TopTips TRAILERINGTIP
Stay in Control Trailering your horse in inclement weather? Keeping forward motion and tension on the hitch can prevent loss of control from trailer sway. If your trailer starts to sway, don’t apply your tow-vehicle brakes. Instead, apply the hand brake on the controller to your trailer in brief spurts. This slows your trailer behind you and keeps your tow vehicle going forward, which should result in straightening out your rig. Don’t apply the brakes on your tow vehicle until your trailer is under control. — Neva Kittrell Scheve
SEASONALTIP
Overcome 3 Cold-Weather Challenges Here are expert tips to help you overcome a few potential winter challenges. • Physical fitness. Your horse probably isn’t getting as much exercise as he did when temperatures were more temperate, so he may be losing some of his physical fitness. The fix: Perform ground work, including longeing, to keep your horse in shape. When you do ride, warm up slowly. Stay alert for any signs of fatigue, such as heavy breathing, sweating, and stumbling. • Joint stiffness. Cold weather quickly stiffens areas of arthritis and old injuries. The fix: A brisk rub with a warming liniment, plus stretching and flexing by hand, will help your horse loosen up. Wear heavy-rubber housecleaning gloves to protect your hands from the chemicals and the cold. Wrapping your horse’s legs overnight will also help keep his joints more flexible. • Icy ground. Ice is a particularly treacherous situation, as your horse can slip and fall, risking serious injury. The fix: A barefoot horse will have better grip on ice than a horse in shoes. But even the barefoot horse will be safer on ice with hoof boots. Applying borium or studs on your horse’s shoes provide much better traction, but at the price of more strain on the joints, ligaments, and tendons. Hoof boots over shoes is another option. — Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD USRider® Equestrian Traveler’s Companion
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CLIXPHOTO.COM
When you ride in winter, be considerate of your horse’s fitness level, and be careful of the ground conditions. Winter 2022
