Horseback Magazine June 2015

your horse.

powered.

THERE’S A SAfECHoiCE® foR EVERY HoRSE. The SafeChoice® family of feeds are proven controlled starch formulas that give your horse quality nutrition—and give you peace of mind. Their ideal blend of nutrients delivers unmatched digestion and performance. Balanced for all life stages, helps reduce the risk of metabolic concerns and promote improved immune support.

No matter what your horse needs, there’s always a SafeChoice®.

Power your horses with SafeChoice®, visit SafeChoiceFeed.com.

Featuring SmartGrain Formulation.® Exclusively from Nutrena.®

©2013 Cargill, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

2 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Horse Sense.

One-stop shopping for your

EQUINE INSURANCE SOLUTIONS

For stable coverage that makes sense, pick a winner.

PROPERTY COVERAGE • Residences • Barns • Hay & Grain • Farm Machinery • Farm Products & Supplies • Tack LIABILITY COVERAGE • Care, Custody & Control • Riding Instruction • Clinics • Boarding Liability • Shows • Carriage & Buggy Rides • Hay & Sleigh Rides • Umbrella LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE

To learn more about American National’s Insurance for Equine Operations visit:

anpac.com | keyword: equine

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Products and services may not be available in all states and eligibility requirements will apply. Personal and commercial lines insurance is issued by American National Property And Casualty Company (ANPAC®), its subsidiaries or a liates, including American National General Insurance Company, Paci c Property And Casualty Company (California), American National Lloyds Insurance Company (Texas), American National County Mutual Insurance Company (serviced by ANPAC®-Texas), and ANPAC® Louisiana Insurance Company (Louisiana). American National Property And Casualty Company is a subsidiary of American National Insurance Company. Life insurance and annuity products are issued by American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas.

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 3

AN-49f (0113)

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

First Aid on the Trail

W

ithout a doubt, scores of horses have been injured on the trail, their injuries compounded by a rider who was not prepared for the worst. Every time you take

By Steven Long your horse for a ride of more than a mile, it’s wise to pack the saddlebag with some minor essentials such as the hoof pick, so take a moment and think of what first-aid is all about.

Hopefully, if you are going out on a trail, you know that at least one person in your party is carrying a saddlebag. In it, there should be a basic first-aid kit.

That kit should always be kept up to date, and kept with your saddles and tack so it won’t be forgotten during the excitement of packing and saddling for a ride.

First-aid kits are readily available for both horses and humans. A basic kit should include adhesive tape, different sized bandages, scissors without pointed ends, repellant to keep flies away from open wounds, a flashlight, gauze pads, and an equine thermometer - bearing in mind that a horse’s body temperature is slightly elevated from your own, ranging from between 99 and 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Also keep on hand some antibiotic ointment, a stop watch for measuring pulse and respiration so you can tell your vet when you finally get to him, or he or she gets to you. And cutters are essential if your horse is tangled in fencing or wire.

At camp, or even in your saddlebag, you should have a clean towel. You will also need a bucket in camp for cleaning the wound. Equine first aid experts say to make sure the clean buckets are used only for first aid, not for watering the animals, otherwise you risk infection.

I have never known a horse that isn’t accident prone.

In fact, I strongly believe they are the most accident prone of all God’s critters. Let’s be honest here, horses are big, and dumb. There’s no sugar coating that fact no matter

Publishers - Con’t. on pg.45

On the Cover:

Horses are spiritual creatures!

4 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

June 2015

Cover Story: 14 Balancing the Equine Athlete - Jessica Lynn 18 Horses: Heaven on Earth - Vicki Long 22 Calling All Healthy Horses - Juliet Getty Ph.D.

Lifestyle & Real Estate: 38 Realtor Roundup 40 ACTHA & 4H -

Columns: 8 Horse Bites 10 Emotional Behaviors & Triggers - Linda Parelli 12 Ride-N-Sync™ - Terry Myers 24 Tack Talk - Lew Pewterbaugh 26 On the English Front - Cathy Strobel 32 Hoof N’ Horse - Jaime Jackson 46 Cowboy Corner - Jim Hubbard

ADVERTISING OFFICES

• HEADQUARTER OFFICE (281) 447-0772 Phone & (281) 893-1029 Fax Advertising@horsebackmagazine.com • BRAZOS VALLEY BUREAU Diane Holt (936) 878-2678 Ranch & (713) 408-8114 Cell Dianeh@horsebackmagazine.com • GULF COAST BUREAU Carol Holloway - (832) 607-8264 Cell Carol@horsebackmagazine.com • NORTH TEXAS Mari Crabtree - (216) 702-4520 Mari@horsebackmagazine.com • NEW MEXICO BUREAU Laurie Hammer - (505)315-7842

Staff PUBLISHER Vicki Long

EDITOR Steven Long

NATIONAL NEWS EDITOR Carrie Gobernatz LIFESTYLE EDITOR Margaret Pirtle 832-349-1427 Horsebackmag@gmail.com EVENTS EDITOR Leslie Greco

Goldenhorses7@hotmail.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jim Hubbard, Steven Long, Vicki Long, Roni Norquist, Linda Parelli, Kelsey Hellmann, Lew Pewterbaugh, Cathy Strobel, Cory Johnson, Margaret Pirtle, Jaime Jackson Volume 22, No. 6 Horseback Magazine, P.O. Box 681397, Houston, TX 77268-1397, (281) 447-0772. The entire contents of the magazine are copyrighted June 2015 by Horseback Magazine. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Horseback Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and other material unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Horseback Magazine is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or management. Subscription rate is $25.00 for one year.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Horseback Magazine, P.O. Box 681397, Houston, TX 77268-1397. Fax: (281) 893-1029

Email: vicki@horsebackmagazine.com

Phone: (281)

447-0772

www.horsebackmagazine.com

BALANCING THE EQUINE ATHLETE FROM WITHIN

Nutritional Supplements for Optimal Health and Performance When it comes to the health of your horse, the key is‌ A BALANCED IMMUNE SYSTEM. The Smooth Run line of equine nutritional supplements combines the best of nature and science.

Our proprietary formulations provide your horse with the key ingredients to maintain and support optimal health and performance in addition to supplements that target specific needs or conditions.

To learn more about the importance of a balanced immune system for the health of your horse, please visit us at www.smoothrunequine.com or call 888.711.6218.

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 5

Meet Our Research Team

A Stable of Knowledge.

They don’t have Ph.D.s after their names, but they’re valuable partners in every aspect of Purina equine research. From palatability studies to growth and development analysis and exercise physiology, our carefully tended horses faithfully support our nutritionists and veterinarians. Thanks to Mick, Flash, PJ, Teddy and 68 other loyal equine coworkers, we develop the world’s leading feeds for horses of all ages and lifestyles. At Purina Equine Research Farm, our horses make a difference for your horse.

6 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

See it at horse.purinamills.com www.horsebackmagazine.com

LOUISIANA Serios’ Feed and Seed Bossier City, LA • 318-746-8559 Atlas Feed Mills, Inc. Breaux Bridge, LA • 337-332-1466 G & H Seed Co. Inc. Crowley, LA • 337-783-7762 Southern Feed & Supply Deridder, LA • 337-462-3333 Thomas Nursery and Feed Farmerville, LA • 318-368-2425 Chastant Brothers, Inc. Lafayette, LA • 337-234-2351 Ranch Outlet LLC Lafayette, LA • 337-235-2163 Currie & Son Feed & Garden Lake Charles, LA • 337-433-2111 Bayou Roberts Coop LeCompte, LA • 318-445-3108 Family Farm & Garden Many, LA • 318-256-3167 Rocking Rooster Minden, LA • 318-382-1400 Valley Farmers Coop Natchitoches, LA • 318-352-6426 T & S Milling, Inc. New Iberia, LA • 337-365-7007 Austin Ag Pineville, LA • 318-466-9538 Landry Feed Store, Inc. Rayne, LA • 337-334-4224 Tommy Feed Store and More Ruston, LA • 318-255-4095 Paul’s Farm and Garden Supply Shreveport, LA • 318-425-2222 Slagle Mall Slagle, LA • 337-239-7611 Taylors Feed and Farm Supply Springhill, LA • 318-539-5818 Joyce’s Farm & Home Supply St. Martinsville, LA • 337-342-2615 DeSoto Town & Country Stonewall, LA • 318-925-0998 Fletcher’s Feed & Farm Supply Sulphur, LA • 337-527-6610 Thibodeaux Feeds, Inc. Thibodeaux, LA • 337-898-1829 Crawfish Center Ville Platte, LA • 337-363-4502 Vinton Feed Store Inc. Vinton, LA • 337-589-3260 S and J Farm and Feed West Monroe, LA • 318-388-5858 Sullivans Winnsboro, LA • 318-435-3104 NEW MEXICO Circle S Feed Carlsbad, NM • 575-885-8369 Bunk’s Feed Hobbs, NM • 575-397-1228 OKLAHOMA AgriProducts Ardmore, OK • 580-223-7355 TEXAS Johnson Feed and Western Wear Alpine, TX • 432-837-5792

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Angleton Feed & Supply Co., LLC Angleton, TX • 979-849-6661

Lexington Farm & Feed Lexington, TX • 979-773-2782

Holt Ranch & Feed Royse City, TX • 972-365-3695

Arcola Feed & Hardware Arcola, TX • 281-431-1014

Livingston Feed & Farm Supply Livingston, TX • 936-327-8853

Sabinal Grain Sabinal, TX • 830-988-2215

Smith Supply Lockhart, TX • 512-398-3785

Mummes San Antonio, TX • 830-980-4924

Lab Supply/Argyle Argyle, TX • 940-241-2444

horse.purinamills.com

Adams Feed Arlington, TX • 817-548-8661

Smith General Store Corsicana, TX • 903-874-1372

Giddings Ranch & Pet Center Giddings, TX • 979-542-3188

Jakes Feed and Animal Center Longview, TX • 903-663-3139

D&L Farm & Home - Sanger Sanger, TX • 940-458-0111

Geddie Feed Athens, TX • 903-583-721

DeWitt Producers Cuero, TX • 361-275-3441

Goliad Feed Goliad, TX • 361- 645-3266

Lufkin Farm Lufkin, TX • 936-634-7414

Tibaldo’s Feed & Supply Santa Fe, TX • 409-925-2735

D&L Feed & Home Aubrey, TX • 940-365-3129

Aggie Feed Dallas, TX • 214-391-3595

E-Barr Feeds Gonzales, TX • 830- 672-6515

Luling Feed & Supply Luling, TX • 830-875-5423

American Feed Seagoville, TX • 972-287-5984

The Feed Station Austin, TX • 512-301-7788

Feeders Dallas, TX • 972-224-5559

J&N Feed Graham, TX • 940-549-4631

Mabank Feed Mabank, TX • 903-887-1771

Producers Coop-Seguin Seguin, TX • 830-379-1750

Bandera Ranch Store Bandera, TX • 830-796-3342

Pasturas Dallas, TX • 214-563-9875

Arrow Feed & Ranch Supply Granbury, TX • 817-573-8808

D&D Farm & Ranch Seguin, TX • 830-379-7340

Bastrop Feed and Supply Bastrop, TX • 512-321-3700

Damon Farm & Ranch Damon, TX • 979 742-3317

Steinhauser’s Greater Houston Area, TX • 979-885-2967

Standley Feed and Seed, Inc. Madisonville, Iola, Normangee, TX 936-348-5272

Bay City Feed Bay City, TX • 979- 245-2712

Chachere Feed Store, Inc. Dayton, TX • 936-258-2670

S&S Ag Center Groesbeck, TX • 254-729-8008

Sam’s Western Store, Inc. Beaumont, TX • 409-842-2625

AgVantage Farm & Ranch Decatur, TX • 940-627-2312

Helena Chemical Hallettsville, TX • 361- 798-3296

Bear Creek - Bells Bells, TX • 972-965 -4900

Del Rio Feed and Supply Del Rio, TX • 830-775-5090

Watson Ranch & Farm Supply Hamilton, TX • 254-386-3717

Linseisen’s Feed & Supply-Bellville Bellville, TX • 979- 865-3602

Stockman’s Seed & Fertilizer DeLeon, TX • 254-734-5088

Maci Feed Hardin, Texas, TX • 936-298-9404

Belton Feed & Supply Belton, TX • 254-939-3636

D&L Denton Denton, TX • 940-891-0100

Lubianski’s Hedwig, TX • 210-667-1145

Howard County Feed Big Spring, TX • 432-267-6411

Martin Farm and Ranch Edinburg, TX • 956-383-4949

Mummes Hondo, TX • 830-426-3313

Wheelers Feed and Outfitters Boerne, TX • 830-249-2656

United Ag-El Campo, Edna, Eagle Lake El Campo, TX • 979-543-7756

Hieden Feed Houston, TX • 281-444-1010

Fannin Ag Bonham, TX • 903-583-7121

Elgin General Store Elgin, TX • 512-285-3210

Sam Houston Feed and Supply Houston, TX • 281-591-2443

Berend Brothers-Bowie Bowie, TX • 940-872-5131

Potts Feed Store, Inc. Emory, Quitman, TX • 903-473-2249

Cypress ACE Hardware & Feed Houston, TX • 281-469-8020

Brenham Produce Co. Brenham, TX • 979-836-3523

Capps True Value Hardware & Ag Fairfield, TX • 903-389-4504

Huntsville Farm Supply Huntsville, TX • 936-295-3961

Brazos Feed & Supply, Inc. Bryan, TX • 979-779-1766

Farmersville Feed Farmersville, TX • 972-784-7261

Lindemann Store Industry, TX • 979-357-2121

Producers Coop Assn - Bryan Bryan, TX • 979-778-6000

Noonday Feed Flint, TX • 903-561-5622

Farm and Ranch Supply Isidro, TX • 956-481-3346

Davis Feed & Fertilizer, Inc. Buffalo, Centerville, TX • 903-322-4316

Pecos County Feed Fort Stockton, TX • 432-336-6877

H-Brand Feed Jacksboro, TX • 940-567-3794

Hooper Feed Carthage, TX • 903-694-9499

M and M FarmSupply Inc. Franklin, Cameron, TX • 979-828-3516

Odiorne Feed & Ranch Supply Johnson City, TX • 830-868-4579

Bernardo Farm & Ranch Supply Cat Spring, TX • 979- 732-5161

Lochte Feed and General Store Fredericksburg, TX • 830-997-2256

Cordell Farm and Ranch Kaufman, TX • 972-932-2164

D&L Farm & Home - Celina Celina, TX • 972-382-1197

Gulf Coast Equine and Pet Center Friendswood, TX • 281-482-7186

McDonnell Feed Keller, TX • 817-431-3551

Boles Feed Center, TX • 936-598-3061

William Gin & Grain Frost, TX • 903-682-2611

Tractor City Country Store Kenedy, TX • 830- 583-2017

Reeves County Feed Pecos, TX • 432-447-2149

Silvers Pet & Feed Cibolo, TX • 210-566-8020

Marshall Grain Ft. Worth, TX • 817-536-5636

Kerrville Ranch and Pet Kerrville, TX • 830-895-5800

Wells Bros Plano, TX • 972-424-8516

Ricks Farm and Home Clarksville, TX • 903-427-3395

Rendon Feed Ft. Worth, TX • 817-561-1935

Hoffpauir’s Ranch & Supply Lampasas, TX • 512-556-5444

Neuhaus & Co. Raymondville, TX • 956-689-2481

Lonestar Ranch & Outdoors Cleburne, TX • 817-645-4325

D&L Farm & Home - Gainesville Gainesville, TX • 940-612-1210

Laredo Country Store Laredo, TX • (956) 722-7500

Anderson Ag Refugio, TX • 361-526-5018

Close Quarters Feed & Pet Supply College Station, TX • 979- 690-3333

Ganado Feed & More Ganado, TX • 361-771-2401

LaVernia Country Store LaVernia, TX • 830-779-2600

Rockdale General Store Rockdale, TX • 512-446-6100

Conroe Feeders Supply Conroe, TX • 936-441-5549

Coryell Feed & Supply Gatesville, TX • 254-865-6315

Hill Country Feed Leander, TX • 512-259-1658

Round Top Farm & Ranch Round Top, TX • 979-249-5666

J&D Country Store Conroe, TX • 936-756-7667

Georgetown Farm Supply Georgetown, TX • 512-930-4054

Bear Creek Store Leonard, TX • 903-587-0385

Eagle Hardward Farm & Ranch Royse City, TX • 972-635-7878

Spring Creek Feed Center Magnolia, TX • 281-252-5400 Mansfield Feed Mansfield, TX • 817-473-1137 Watson Feed Store Mart, TX • 254-876-2501 McGregor General Store McGregor, TX • 254-840-3224 D&L AgMart McKinney, TX • 972-562-9995 Midlothian Feed and Supply Midlothian, TX • 972-775-1005 Walden Farm & Ranch Supply - Millsap Millsap, TX • 940-682-4667 Walden Farm & Ranch Supply Mineral Wells Mineral Wells, TX • 940-325-8500

Beran’s Agri-Center Shiner, TX • 361- 594-3395 Somerville Farm & Ranch Somerville, TX • 979-596-2224 Springtown Feed Springtown, TX • 817-220-7656 Allied Ag Stonewall, TX • 830-644-2411 Taylor Feed Taylor, TX • 512-365-9436 Temple Feed & Supply Temple, TX • 254-778-7975 Three Rivers Coop Three Rivers, TX • 361-786-3242 D&D Feed and Supply Tomball, TX • 281-351-7144 Texas Farm Store Uvalde, TX • 830-278-3713

Scott’s Crossing Murchison, TX • 903-469-3122

Northside Ranch, Pet & Garden Victoria, TX • 361-573-5000

Boles Feed Nacogdoches, TX • 936-564-2671

Waco Brazos Feed & Supply Waco, TX • 254-756-6687

Middle G Naples, TX • 903-575-1869

B&S Farm & Home Center Waco, TX • 254-752-0777

Needville Feed and Supply Needville, TX • 979-793-6141 New Braunfels Feed and Supply New Braunfels, TX • 830-625-7250 Berend Brothers-Olney Olney, TX • 940-564-5674 Engledow Farm & Ranch Supply Palestine, TX • 903-723-3210 Big Country Farm Center Paris, TX • 903-785-8372

Bar None Country Store Waco, TX • 254-848-9112 Haney’s Feed and Supply Waller, TX • 936-931-2469 Ark Country Store Waxahachie, TX • 972-937-8860 Walden Farm & Ranch Supply Weatherford Weatherford, TX • 817-598-0043 Wharton Feed & Supply Wharton, TX • 979-532-8533 Berend Brothers-Wichita Falls Wichita Falls, TX • 940-723-2736 Walker’s Farm & Ranch Supply Willis, TX • 936-856-6446 King Feed and Hardware Wimberly, TX • 512-847-2618 Berend Brothers Windthorst, TX • 940-423-6223 Tri County Enterprise Winnsboro, TX • 903-342-3586 Poole Feed Wylie, TX • 469-323-7814 Yoakum Grain, Inc Yoakum, TX • 361-293-3521

Lone Star Country Store Corpus Christi, TX • 361- 387-2668

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 7

ACTHA Host Support Team Member Joins the Equestrian Medical Safety Association’s Board of Directors Spicewood Texas-Fellow non-profits, ACTHA and the Equestrian Medical Safety Association (EMSA) are pleased to announce the addition of Selena Lucas of West Virginia to their Board of Directors. Ms. Lucas is a member of the ACTHA Host Support Team, an ACTHA Ride Host, a certified ACTHA judge and a certified Canine and Equine Sports Massage Therapist. A long time equestrian who has ridden over twenty breeds of horses Ms. Lucas is an active member of many different breed organizations, riding as-

at our events, now she will be able to help EMSA with her experience.”

“Horse Bites is compiled from EMSA, the Equestrian MediPress Releases sent to Horseback Magazine. Original reporting is cal Safety Association is a 501c (3) done as circumstances warrant. tax-exempt volunteer organization Content is edited for length & style.” dedicated to the safety of persons in all equestrian activities through edusociations and horse councils. Her cation, research and providing inforshow experiences range from plea- mation resources. sure classes including saddle seat to in-hand classes, trail competitions and parades. Ms. Lucas, a long time National Reining Horse Association Anadvocate for safety in all equine ac- nounces the Addition of the Classic Equine tivities, including halter classes, is 4D Reining Competition at the thrilled and thankful to be allowed 2015 NRHA Derby to serve on the EMSA board as they work to improve the safety of the Oklahoma City, Okla.,– The National entire equine industry.

Reining Horse Association is proud

EMSA President Dr. Debbie to announce the addition of the ClasStanitski is delighted with Ms. Lucas sic Equine 4D Reining competition coming on board and said, “EMSA for exhibitors entered in the Youth, is trying hard to envelope other disci- Novice Horse Non Pro, Amateur and plines in the improvement of equine Green Reiner classes on June 21 at the safety, not just the disciplines of 2015 NRHA Derby. Exhibitors comEventing and Driving. With Ms. Lu- peting in these classes at the NRHA cas’ vast experiences in other disci- Derby can enter the 4D portion for an plines and riding for pleasure she will additional $20 by noon, June 20. The add perspective and insight to our mis- 4D portion will be run concurrently sion.” during those classes.

ACTHA President Robin Til The 4D jackpot method is a ghman states, “EMSA couldn’t have new innovative concept in the reining picked a better person to help them as world, and was first introduced at the they work to educate the public about 2012 NRHA Cowtown Classic in Fort all aspects of equine safety. ACTHA Worth. “We’re so excited to bring this has been fortunate over the years to concept to the NRHA Derby. It not have Selena as she advocates for safety only allows NRHA to test a widely Horsebites - Con’t. on pg. 28

Selena Lucas joins ACTHA & EMSA Board of Directors

8 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 9

General...

Emotional Behaviors & Triggers

By Linda Parelli, Photos by Coco

(at Emotional Fitness Super Clinic in City of Industry, CA.)

W

hen we have difficulty with horses, it’s interesting how quick people are to call them crazy, lazy, stubborn, unpredictable, bad, and some other words we cannot print here! What I want you to think about is not so much what your horse is doing, but WHY.

Why do horses buck, bite, kick, strike, charge, and rear? First we have to realize that these are natural herd behaviors for horses, and can be observed in their everyday lives. And there are only two reasons for them: dominance or defense (fear). In the horse’s world, they need to establish a pecking order, and that’s all about who moves who. This is how dominance is determined. He or she who is the smartest, fastest, bravest, and strongest will be the leader. The more dominant horse will move other horses away from food, water, and other horses, and will use all the techniques I mentioned above in an assertive and sometimes aggressive way. The more submissive horse will exhibit these same behaviors but in a different way because it’s self-defense, and usually if they are trapped and cannot get away. And this will also occur in the presence of humans.

How do you know which is which?

The more confident, dominant horse is calm, and tends to be pushy. They have a tendency to move you with their nose, push you with their shoulder, drag you where they want to go, and fight with you when you assert yourself. They are

10 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

more inclined to bite, strike, or charge than to turn and kick; as Pat Parelli would say, “The front end is more dangerous than the back!”

The more submissive horse is the opposite. There is more tension, shyness, and evasion evident in their body language, and they are more inclined to escape, and to turn and kick if restrained or cornered.

Let’s add in here the emotional quotient. Fear is, of course, a powerful emotion, and a lot of negative behaviors come from fear, even in dominant horses who exhibit the fear of submission. This is because horses are prey animals and they default to fear in the presence of predators, which is why it is so important to build a bond based on mutual trust, respect, and understanding. We need to teach horses to make sense of pressure, or we will bring out negative behaviors because of fear, tension, frustration and even anger.

Let’s look at body language and triggers for these emotions. Of course there can be some overlap in these behaviors, but this will give you a good insight as to what might be going on and help inform your best approach.

ing, clamped tail, rearing, explosive bucking.

Triggers: The two main triggers are predatory behavior and feeling trapped. Predatory behavior comes from, well, predators (dogs, wolves, lions and us humans), so horses are always on the lookout for signs of danger: sneaking or chasing; rustling or moving grasses, bushes and leaves; sudden noises or movements; aggression; and heightened energy. Horses are flight-from-fear animals, so they avoid anything that feels like a trap. In the human environment, this can be in the form of stables, trailers, stocks, chutes, being tied, restraint from a halter, rope, bridle (and of course draw reins, tight nosebands, martingales, etc.), and even the girth.

TENSION

Body Language: Tight

FEAR

Body Language: shying, spooking, bolting, running away, wide eyes and nostrils, high head, flicking ears, sharply pricked ears, ears out to the side and tilted head, excessive sweatwww.horsebackmagazine.com

back, choppy stride, elevated head, tight tail, tight lips, tight ears, ears back, chomping mouth, sweating in odd places, braciness, prancing, ‘squeaky belly’ (the noise you often hear in geldings that is said to emanate from the sheath area, but is produced by a tight belly), elevated heart rate, low tolerance.

Triggers: Think of tension as the first stage of fear. Horses get tense when they are confused, pressured, forced, held back, or suppressed when training – both on the ground and riding.

FRUSTRATION

Body Language: Head tossing, head shaking, grinding teeth, tongue displacements, frothy mouth, open mouth, switching tail, ears back/pinned, bucking, refusing to go forward, low tolerance, weaving, lip-popping and other stall ‘vices’.

Triggers: Frustration arises in horses when they can’t find comfort. What’s important to horses is safety, comfort, and play, in that order. After a horse gets over its www.horsebackmagazine.com

initial fear of humans, seeking comfort becomes a primary driver. For example, a horse in fear mode seems oblivious to pain or the annoyance of flies, but once they feel safe they will react more to a fly landing on them and causing them to feel uncomfortable. This is why pressure and release is an effective way to train a horse. You create a kind of discomfort by applying pressure with your leg, seat or hand and removing the pressure when the horse responds in the desired way. Good trainers have a clear picture of what they are trying to get the horse to do, and have excellent timing of release in order to let the horse know he’s moving in the right direction.

The problem with people is that we get emotional too. When the horse starts having trouble, it can trigger our own fears or frustration, and that takes us down a troublesome path. There is no way we can help a horse when we are not calm, confident and clearheaded. The Parelli Program teaches you to become more mentally and emotionally fit and educated with

horses, and it also shows you how to overcome emotional issues with horses by teaching you how to read them and do what they need. This is so important because when things are going wrong, people put on more pressure, instead of less. They react instead of think.

Ultimately, you need to know techniques, but more importantly, you need to know more about the mental/emotional nature of horses so you can keep them calm, connected and responsive. I encourage you to train your horse using behavioral psychology; it will change your horse’s life, not to mention yours.

Never have a bad horse day again!

Resources: Parelli Levels Program (a step-bystep guide to training your horse through behavioral psychology) Horsenality™ (The breakthrough study of horse profiling, behavioral tendencies, and strategies) Emotional Fitness Super Clinics with Linda Parelli & Dr. Jenny Susser June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 11

Training Tips..

Rider Body Position

Arms & Legs

O

ver the past few months we have been reviewing the importance of rider body position. This month we will discuss the shoulders, arms and hands. The rider’s shoulders should be open and even.

If the rider pinches the shoulders together in the front or collapses the chest, the shoulders will roll down, shifting weight forward and the rider’s seat bones will lock down. I hope you are starting to realize that all of the pieces of the puzzle work together and one problem can cause a cascading effect on other parts of the body. Open shoulders will allow the rider’s back to be straighter while pinched shoulders will throw weight on the horse’s front end. The rider’s shoulders should always be square with the horse’s shoulder.

This month we have a good exercise for you to try. Ride your horse at a trot in an arena. Count your horse’s foot beats and notice his cadence and movement. Try to determine if he sounds heavier on a front leg. Now pick up your inside arm (the arm closest to the inside of the circle). Hold your arm straight out in front of you and continue to ride at a trot for several laps around the arena. As soon as you pick up your arm, your horse will elevate his front end allowing his front end to be lighter. The horse’s inside front leg will no longer stab the ground and his shoulders will be more even. He will also drive better in the hind end. The front end has to be light and out of the way so the horse can come through in the hind end. Now lower your arm and see if you and your horse can maintain the lightness in the front end. If not, pick up your arm and continue to practice until you can maintain the same feeling without your arm held up. Reverse and try the other direction. Is one direction more

12 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

difficult for you? Don’t forget all of the other pieces to the puzzle as you try this new exercise.

Riders are sometimes taught to ride with their elbows at their sides and to pick up the reins by only bending at the elbow. This method causes the shoulders to twist and for the rider to lean slightly forward out of the correct position. As you are reading this article, keep your elbows at your sides and pick up your hands. Now try picking up your hands by using your whole arm and shoulder. Lifting from the shoulder will encourage your body to stay within the correct position and your horse will move more balanced. Also riding with hands forward with elbow opened and out of your side will help you to be lighter with your hands. Simply put, hold your arms out like you are airing out your arm pits!

An easy way for english riders to determine correct hand position is to do the following. While in the saddle, put

your hands in front of the saddle on your horse’s withers. Now pick up your hands.

Your thumbs will be pointing at 10:00 and 2:00, if you extended a line from each of your thumbs they would cross in an X. Hold your hands only high enough that you could draw a straight line from your elbow to the bit. That should be the correct position of your arms and hands.

Many Western riders will start with a proper hand position but then turn their hand over with the palm up and move the hand to the side of the saddle horn when they are trying to turn their horse. When the hand holding the reins moves in this way, the rider’s shoulder will drop down and the hips will slide to the side. For the Western rider holding split reins in one hand, try this exercise for the starting position for your hands and arms.

Try holding the reins in one hand directly in front of the saddle horn. To turn your horse to the left, don’t pull back but pick up your hand and move it up in a V towards the left shoulder, picking up your whole arm. Then go back to the neutral

www.horsebackmagazine.com

position at the bottom of the V (hand still in front of the saddle horn). Try turning to the right by picking up your whole arm toward the right. Once perfected, I think you will be surprised at how little you really need to move your hand, because the horse feels the movement in your arm and shoulder.

Proper arm and shoulder position are a few more pieces of the puzzle that help create that partnership with our horse which we all want. Hopefully

with this and the previous few months articles about body position have helped you understand all the different ways that your body position helps or hinders your horse. Work on a few pieces of the puzzle at a time, to build the total picture of a balanced rider.

Questions about this or any of our articles can be emailed to us at myers5000@aol.com.

Terry Myers is a national clinician and champion horse trainer with a depth of knowledge developed from over 45 years in the horse industry. Myers has been a popular clinician at multiple expos in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about Myers’ RideIn-Sync methods as well as clinic and training services/products available, visit Myers at www.tmtrainingcenter.com and on Facebook.

10 miles south of Reliant Stadium Stadium or Order Online www.arcolafeed.com

6215 FM 521 Arcola,TX 77583

• High Plant Source Ratio 3:1Omega 3 to 6 essential oils.

• Helps Prevent Sand-Colic and Impactions.

• Supports Gastric and Digestive Health.

• Helps Prevent and Heal Ulcers.

• Effective for Treating Insulin-Resistance.

• Supports Mucosal Lining & GI Tract Health.

• Complete protein with all 9 amino-acids.

• Rich in Antioxidants.

• Reduces Inflammation.

• 100% natural, organically grown.

• No mechanical or chemical Veterinarian processing.

FREE SHIPPING Recommended! on all USA orders!

877.322.CHIA (2442) www.EquineChia.com

www.horsebackmagazine.com

281-431-1014

June 2015 2

arcolafeed.com

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 13

M

ost of today’s performance and competition horses are for the most part bred along specific dam and sire lines for the sports they compete in to theoretically have “the edge” in competition, be it barrels, reining, cutting, endurance, dressage or racing.

Coupling that with years of conditioning and hard work one hopes to have a winner. However, when it comes to getting an edge on the competition the key is the health of your horse, which ultimately is derived from a healthy digestive tract.

To achieve digestive health your equine athlete needs to be provided with the highest potency pre & pro-biotics along with digestive enzymes. This combination promotes and maintains microbial balance within the intestine, helping him be the best that he can be.

Most of the feeds on the market today are moving in the direction of natural, no sugar, no molasses, and no GMO corn or soy, trying to respond to the equine owner’s needs for today’s horse.

Owners and trainers over the years have added oils thinking they will give their horse energy, when energy really comes from having a healthy functioning digestive tract that is balanced in its microbial populations so that it can absorb and utilize all of the energy provided in hay and other feedstuffs (which for example may be rich in the Omegas).

14 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

Balancing the Equine Athlete from the Inside Out

By Jessica Lynn, Smooth Run Equine

It’s no secret that probiotics are good for your horse’s gut, but did you know they are also loaded with other benefits too? These include supporting the immune system, reducing inflammation, preventing diarrhea, and helping to prevent gas and some types of impaction colic.

Another far too common source of digestive disturbance can be starch and/or sugar overload,

which can come from grazing on rich spring grass, eating a diet too high in sugars (including grains), or adding oil from GMO crops to bucket feed. All of these things can disrupt beneficial microbials, causing partial die-off of good gut bacteria, which raises acidity in the gut and alters the natural pH balance.

The result is massive destruction of the normal micro-flora which can inhibit the absorption of vitamins and other nutrients essential to not only good health, but to be in top form for competition as well.

Unfortunately, the microflora/microbial balance in a horse’s gut can be upset much faster than it can be restored. Beneficial intestinal bacteria can be depleted or destroyed and the pH of their environment severely altered by many situations, although the effects may not show up immediately. Your horse may just seem a bit off with no explanation and you may think nothing has changed, but your horse is not able to digest his feed and convert it to the energy he needs to compete.

Let’s look at your horse www.horsebackmagazine.com

The Original THE BEST SLOW-FEEDING SYSTEM FOR

A HAPPY, HEALTHY HORSE!

10% OFF

use coupon code

SUM15

by horse owners Thin Air Canvas, Inc. has been designing and creating innovative, high quality products since 1979

from the inside: When a horse starts grinding food with his teeth, his mouth releases enzymes, and thus begins that mouthful’s approximately 75 to 100 foot journey through the digestive tract. The food mixes with digestive juices as it enters the stomach, where digestive enzymes and billions of microbials begin their work. Although a horse’s stomach is relatively small compared to his size, it is tasked with initiating the breakdown of nutrients using digestive enzymes and stomach acids; very little absorption takes place here. Soluble carbohydrates, along with minerals, fats and proteins, are absorbed in the small intestine. Insoluble carbohydrates that are not so easily digested, as well as any undigested soluble carbohydrates, then pass to the cecum, or the “fermentative vat”, before moving into the large intestine. A variety of live microbials that live in the cecum break down the remaining nutrients into viable, usable forms – among these are absorbable www.horsebackmagazine.com

volatile fatty acids which the horse uses for energy and nutrients.

What is “MICROBIAL DIGESTION?” Microbial digestion is the breakdown of organic material such as hay and grass, and especially concentrated bag feedstuffs, by microbial organisms. It is the basic function of the horse’s large intestine, and can be seriously damaged by prolonged or heavy dosing with antibiotics or sulfonamides & other drugs. The population of beneficial live microorganisms in the cecum remains relatively “stable” under normal conditions. As long as a horse is never stressed, never needs to be chemically wormed, is never vaccinated, never has a change in feed, and never needs antibiotics, then the balance should remain unaltered. However, as we all know, horses do experience stressful events, may need antibiotics or worming on occasion, and do have feed chang-

es with the seasons and each load of hay. Without a strong army of beneficial intestinal bacteria, food moving through the digestive tract is not “fermented” properly, and some remains undigested. When it hits the gastrointestinal tract, this undigested food may lead to colic, bloat, impactions or laminitis, and increase the possibility of developing food-related allergic conditions.

A combination of select bacteria (microbials/probiotics), at approximately 10-20 billion or more CFUs (colony forming units) per serving/ scoop, along with digestive enzymes and yeast, will help support and maintain a healthy digestive tract in your equine athlete, giving them more stamina and energy. If your horse is heavily competing or training then the higher dose would be recommended.

SELECTING A PROBIOTIC BLEND Combining probiotics and yeast June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 15

cultures with digestive enzymes is an art, and if you can find a product that also includes natural vitamins C, E and D, minerals including zinc and copper, colostrum and extracted beta glucan from mushrooms, then you have found an excellent product.

In her “Nutrition as Therapy” course, Dr. Eleanor Kellon quotes Dr. Scott Weese, DVM, the closest thing there is to an expert on veterinary probiotics and equine GI tract diseases, “..at minimum, a microbial feed additive needs between 10 and 20 billion live CFUs per serving size, minimum, to have any effect in a horse.” Dr. Juliet Getty, PhD in Equine Nutrition concurs that YEARS FOR 60 EXANS

SERVING T

the guaranteed CFUs have to be in the billions not the millions. Dr. Joyce Harman of Harmany Equine Clinic from Virginia has been an advocate of probiotics for horses for a long while, and she is now also advocating mushroom beta glucan as an immune modulator per her recent article “10 Herbs for Your Horse” in which she states “Exciting research with immune system & cancer treatment support has been done with this mushroom or its extracts. The beta D-glucans appear to stimulate immunity for a broad spectrum of conditions. Extracts of the D fraction can be obtained in glycerin, which is palatable to many species.”

There are only a couple products on the market that contain the pre-biotics, pro-biotics, beta glucans, and added natural vitamins and minerals and have been on the market for more than 15 years. Do

your research, read your labels, give me a call, or email me. These companies have the health of your horse in mind!

Jessica Lynn writes articles for various national and international horse publications. She is the owner of Earth Song Ranch, is an Equine Nutritionist, a feed & supplement manufacturer based in Southern California, and a distributor for Smooth Run Equine. Jessica has been involved in alternative health care, herbs, homeopathy, alternative health and nutrition for almost 40 years. Contact Jessica via e-mail at Jessica@earthsongranch.com or phone 951-5149700. Her web site is: www.earthsongranch. com where there are numerous published on equine digestive health – or go to www. smoothrunequine.com to learn more about equine digestive health.

HIEDEN Feed & Supply, Inc.

8-5:30 (M-F) 8-4 (Sat)

North Houston's Most Convenient & Complete Feed Supplier

ALL THE HAY YOU NEED! Alfalfa Coastal Timothy Straw If You Need It We've Got It!

Nutrena & Purina Lone Star & Wendland Acco & Moorman's

281.444.1010 14403 Stuebner Airline Houston TX

16 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com

formulated to help horses prone to colic

improved top line

increase

fiber digestion up to 15%

exclusive

prebiotics + probiotics

Nutri-Bloom Advantage

working together

速

Research backed. Proven results.

Texas A&M University

safechoicefeed.com

Ask your vet or feed retailer about SafeChoice速 Senior. www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 17

Horses;S A WAY TO PEACE, HOPE & TRANQUILITY

Heaven On Earth!

earching the web for famous horse quotes, I found this one that got me thinking how much spending time with horses has really been the biggest catalyst in my personal spiritual journey: “The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.” Sharon Ralls Lemon.

While I was raised by an atheist father, as a small child I always knew there was a power greater than us and longed to find a spiritual home for my soul.

I was born in Salt Lake City Utah, so I hail from Mormon stock.

But my father went to work for Conoco, and we left Utah and our heritage behind, and I grew up in Idaho, Colorado, Oklahoma, and finally when I was in the eighth grade we settled in Houston Texas. Had we stayed in Utah, I am sure I would to this day be a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). It would have been a good life as they are wonderful people, but I was to take a long path to finding my spiritual home.

Even though my father did not believe in God (at the end of his life he had found his own spiritual-

ity), when I was a child he never imposed his atheist beliefs on me. In my heart I was always a Christian, and I was allowed to attend every Christian church under the sun with friends and acquaintances. In college most of my friends were Catholic, and consequently I would go to mass quite frequently with them.

In all the Christian churches I attended growing up, one day I walked into Unity Church of Christianity in Houston, and knew I was home. Not only had I visited churches in my quest for God as a youth, but I was an avid reader of books on spirituality, and in their book store was just about every book I had read on the subject of finding spirituality, so I knew I was home.

Unity’s philosophy is “ God is Spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is the one power, all good, everywhere present, all wisdom.” , and that “Jesus expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express ours as well. We see Jesus as a master teacher of universal truths and as our Way Shower.”

I’m not writing about my sojourn into my beliefs to proselytize, as I believe there is no one way to God or spirituality and we are all on our own paths, but simply as an ex-

By: Vicki Long

18 18 H HORSEBACK ORSEBACK M MAGAZINE AGAZINE 2 2 June June 2015 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com www.horsebackmagazine.com

planation for why I write this article, and why it is true for me.

The Bible tells us to “be still and know I am God.” To be still to me means to quiet the incessant voices in our heads about the past, or the future, and just be in the now.

It is the easiest for me when I am with horses.

Anne Shrago, of Equine Essence, Inc. writes in her article “Horses: A Spiritual Prescription for Women” ....that ”Horses live in the here and now and do not worry about the past or the future. Horses have a contentment and peace that we desire in our lives. Learning to be present with our horses allows us to experience this contentment and peace. Being present de-emphasizes our worries about what has happened in the past and increases our awareness that the past is history. Being present also diminishes our worries about future events that are possibly out of our control.

When considering the future, positive and forward moving questions we can ask ourselves are – what do we want to happen, what do we want to do and where do we want to be – and we can learn to abolish negative thoughts.”

This was so profound for me because when I am with horses it

www.horsebackmagazine.com www.horsebackmagazine.com

is the only time I can totally divorce the negative and scary events of my thoughts about my past and my future, and I am just there, simply being in the moment and sharing space with them, and feeling the Divine.

Ms. Shrago further writes, “Being present is an ability to go with the flow of nature. Learning to go with the flow with our horses will expand our openness without predetermined expectations. The ability to flow with nature in the present is a basic principle of classical Taoism. As our openness grows, we are receptive to new possibilities, new ideas, new experiences and new ways of viewing the world. Learning to live in the present alongside our horse allows our empathy to grow and expels narrow-mindedness.

The peace we obtain from the contentment of being present is the foundation of connectedness, compassion and relationship enhancement. An inner state of calm and well-being enhances our serenity and diminishes anger, violence and worry. Horses teach us to be aware, assess a situation, find a solution and go back to just being in the present.

Horses teach us that living in the moment bring us peace, se-

renity and connection.”

Those words truly capture the essence of what I personally feel being with horses.

There are some that feel horses can be angels on earth as Allen and Linda Anderson in their book Angel Horses: Divine Messengers of Hope write: “Time and again, they [horses] serve as angelic messengers when humans are under duress. If people can still the chattering of minds and ignore social, intellectual, and cultural restrictions about what is and is not possible, horses “speak to them with astonishing clarity.”

Steven Brooks in his book Working with Angels: Flowing With God in the Supernatural: writes An “interesting similarity between horses and angels is that they will bond only with those they know. A horse will only bond with someone it trusts. ... When a horse bonds with its owner, there is mutual respect and cooperation. Bonding requires patience because it takes time and is an ongoing process. Bonding requires spending quality time together, especially in a non-working environment where demands are not made. The best way to bond with a horse is simply to hang out together and have fun getting to know each

June June 2015 2015 2 2H HORSEBACK ORSEBACK M MAGAZINE AGAZINE

19 19

other. A horse will bond when it can sense unconditional love. ... Just as horses will bond only with those they know, so will angels only work in harmony to the greatest extent with those who respect their presence and with those who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit.”

In his book Zen Mind, Zen Horse: The Science and Spirituality of Working with Horses. Dr. Allan J. Hamilton that we were fortunate enough to interview last year writes: “Horses connect with our souls -- the part of us that links us to everything.” Horses. “offer us a unique opportunity to see ourselves in ‘divine mirrors,’ reflecting back the chi we give off in our own emotions, to show ourselves in the moment. Horses react to what lies in our hearts, not in our heads.”

He also states: “They are perfect teachers because they uncover your real motivation. They tell you when you’re wholeheartedly committed or faking it, when you’re making a sacred vow or just paying lip service. Horses see what’s holding you back. And when you find the courage to confront those shortcomings, horses will always reward you with a way to overcome them.”

In their Book Angel Horses Allen and Linda Anderson write “Horses are sensitive to everything and everyone around them. This makes them both receptors and messengers for God, Divine Spirit, the Sacred, or whatever you want to call the love that flows through all creation. Perhaps because they are prey animals, horses have had to learn to tune in to the slightest changes in their inner worlds and outer environments ... If you are ever in doubt about the direction to take in your life, and you need a second opinion, you couldn’t do better than to listen to a horse’s advice.”

And what has been my horse’s advice? That life is good in the here and now, and not in the past nor in the future. When I am with her time stands still, I am at peace breathing in her essence, her love, and her wisdom.

20 20 H HORSEBACK ORSEBACK M MAGAZINE AGAZINE 2 2 June June 2015 2015

Due to some life circumstances I have not spent enough time with my horse that I keep at a wonderful boarding barn, but I am going to try

harder to get out there because it is getting difficult to just “let go and let God” that we like to say in Unity.

www.horsebackmagazine.com www.horsebackmagazine.com

Horseback_Magazine_Quarter_Horseback_Magazine_Vertical3.62x4.88

®

Ultimate Slow Feed Hay Bag

INCREASED DIGESTION

Designed for IR, Cushing’s, EMS, & other metabolic disorders!

No added sugar or grains High in Omega 3’s

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AS NATURE INTENDED

Available in 1/2”, 3/4”, 1”, 1 1/4” & 1 3/4” Mesh Sizes

T H E H AY P I L L OW. C O M or call 888-489-0022

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Save $3.00 on any avor 3lb bags use code horseback at checkout!

beetebites.com June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 21

We

know you’re out there.

Horses who are enjoying life. Horses who are brimming with health – strong muscles, shiny coats, hard hooves, good digestion, normal metabolism, strong immune function – just plain healthy! How do you do it?

What is it about your care and feeding that allows you to enjoy such wellbeing?

We’re always searching for answers. Our typical approach is to study sick horses.

But that only helps us to understand the disease. We look at fat horses to understand fat horses.

We look at horses with pain, metabolic problems, and digestive ailments to understand those who are experiencing the same hardships. While such research is worthwhile, wouldn’t it also make sense to evaluate fit, hearty horses so we can strive to make our own horses be more like them? Shouldn’t we be looking at what healthy horses experience?

CALLING ALL HEALTHY HORSES!

Here’s what a healthy horse would say to you: • My owner doesn’t stuff me with excess calories. Obesity is a real problem and it comes from piling on the calories, combined with lack of physical activity. Forage is the staple of my diet and is steadily flowing throughout my entire gastroinORSEBACK MAGAZINE AGAZINE 2 2 June June 2015 2015 22 HORSEBACK

What's your secret?

By Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D.

testinal tract. Pounds and pounds of concentrated feeds would shorten my life.

• I don’t get fat during the winter.

If I were living in a natural setting, feed would be sparse during the winter months. I would graze continually, but I would not have as many calories, so I wouldn’t become overweight. Then, when the spring grasses come, I would enjoy them without the risk of developing laminitis because my body has not been unnaturally put in a state of insulin resistance (through too much body fat). My owner feeds me all the quality, varied forages I want, and only enough concentrates to meet my needs.

• Stress is not in my daily life. I can eat when I want to and not rely on my owner’s schedule – forage (preferably fresh grasses) is available to me all throughout the day and night. My owners under-

stand my need to graze, roam, socialize, and eat a variety of plants. I have companionship to protect me against threats (real and perceived), which calms me down and permits me to truly rest. I don’t get ulcers, and I don’t get laminitis. I don’t colic, and I am easy to get along with.

You see, the hormonal response to stress is capable of doing terrible things to my body – I’m more likely to develop infections, allergies, and skin disorders. I’m more likely to become insulin resistant. Free radicals are produced, potentially damaging every tissue in my body including my brain, blood vessels, hooves, eyes, skin, and digestive tract. Instead, I am allowed to self-regulate my intake of grasses according to my own instincts.

If you have any doubt about my need for forage flowing through my digestive tract at all times, educate yourself about how my digestive system works. And, oh, by the way, I am not forced to wear contraptions that inhibit my natural way of living.

• My immune system is strong. Besides living a life the way nature intended, my owner fills in the nutritional gaps that occur when I am fed dead grass (hay) by giving me the proper vitamins and minerals I need to stay healthy. I also get omega 3s and I’m fed a variety of protein sources to supply a large enough amino acid pool so my body can produce and repair www.horsebackmagazine.com www.horsebackmagazine.com

tissues, keep my blood proteins where they need to be, and allow me to naturally fight off disease.

• I am allowed to move. You might enjoy sitting in a small space for hours at a time, but we horses do not like cozy places – I need to run away from that gust of wind or bolt of lightning. I am in fear for my life when I cannot move.

The stress (though I may not show it) is real and takes its toll on my health. Furthermore, standing in one place wreaks havoc on my body. If I must be kept confined, my owner makes sure I get plenty of exercise every day – exercise keeps my digestive system healthy and without it, I develop ulcers and colic. My hooves become weak and thin, my joints deteriorate, and my overall natural healing ability is diminished.

And let’s not forget becoming overweight – exercise not only burns calories, but it makes my cells more receptive to insulin, allowing my body to burn fat.

• As I age, my needs are met. My creaky joints do best when my muscles are strong. My owner encourages me to move and feeds me enough quality protein, vitamin C, and omega 3s to slow down the progression of arthritis.

My teeth are cared for and my owner checks my blood for proper kidney and liver function. Since saliva production diminishes as I age, my food is moist so I can chew better, and I’m always permitted to eat at ground level to www.horsebackmagazine.com

avoid choking.

• My diet is varied and nutritious.

Eating the same thing day in and day out, even if it is nutritious, can lead to nutritional imbalances. My owner gives me variety!

A pasture that is thick with one type of grass is not going to keep me healthy. I need different types of grasses, lots of weeds, bushes, berries, flowers, and trees – I need choices. I can judge what I need when I’m given much to choose from.

Keep it simple Now you’ve heard it from the Healthy Horse himself. We are so busy micromanaging our horses’ lives and their diets that we have forgotten the basics: Fresh air, water, companionship, freedom

to move, and fresh grasses and plants. The ideal is a pasture with plenty of variety where all you need to add is water and salt. Most of us do not have this amount of land to offer our horses, and must rely on hay. Choose a mixed grass hay, but realize that hay basically provides forage for a healthy digestive tract; it is missing so many key nutrients that you must also feed a good vitamin/mineral supplement, a source of omega 3 fatty acids, and may need to improve the protein quality by adding other protein sources.

Your horse will thank you. And you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you are giving your horse a lifetime of vibrant health.

Information on Consultations: http://gettyequinenutrition.biz

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 23

Tack Care...

Explaining the Bulkless 3 Way Rigging STEP 1

Horseback Magazine’s Saddle & Tack Editor

Y

ou don’t see them much anymore, but several years ago, when Monte Foreman was riding the wave that the round pen gurus are currently riding, bulkless three way rigging was pretty common. Unless you are familiar with this type of rigging, you are likely to say, “What the-----!” Well, it really isn’t that difficult. Slim Fallis was the originator of the balanced ride saddle, as far as I know. Monte Foreman did a lot of study and filmed a lot of riders, and decided that people needed to shift their weight more forward so that the horse could use his hind quarters more effectively. He talked Fallis into letting him use the “Balanced Ride” concept, and licensed the manufacturing of the “Monte Foreman Balanced Ride” saddle to various mass production saddle makers over the ensuing years.

One of the unique features of the Monte Foreman Balanced Ride saddle was the bulkless three way inskirt rigging. The particular saddle shown in this article is not a balanced ride saddle, but does have the same bulkless three way rigging. This saddle was made by Circle Y in the early ‘80’s. Circle Y was one of the producers of the Monte Foreman Balanced Ride saddle, if my memory serves me correctly, about 1973 to about 1976. Tex Tan was the first I remember making the Monte Foreman Balanced Ride saddle starting about 1970. Crates made the saddles for a while, and after Monte Foreman died, his son tried to get more production by having Saddlesmith do them, but the wave had crashed by then.

Anyway, the correct way to use the rigging is to start with the latigo in the back slot. The latigo comes down to the girth, then up to the center hole, through and back down to the girth, and then up to the unreinforced slot in the front of the skirt.

The front slot is just a latigo hanger like on a regular saddle, and should have no strain on it. The strain is all on the higher hole in the center. This is not only doubled leather, but there is a piece of rawhide that goes from the back slot, between the skirt layers surrounding the high slot. This adequately reinforces the high center slot. The latigo is thus fanned out, eliminating bulk under your legs.

I guess having seen this rigging for so long that it seems perfectly logical, but it’s amazing how many people have no idea how to properly rig this arrangement, so for those of you who may have one of these old saddles, this is how you do it. It is a pretty satisfactory rigging for pleasure riding and reining. I sure wouldn’t want to rope a big old steer with my rope tied hard and fast with this rig.

STEP 2

STEP 3

24 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Beautiful Portable Custom Barns... ...Delivered directly to your facility!

CUSTOM built • TOP QUALITY PORTABLE HORSE BARNS 254.546.2276 Chilton, TX • www.deercreekstables.com

I bought a like new Tex Tan Monte Foreman Balanced Ride saddle several years ago. Saddles of that period were typically low cantled, and without much swell to the fork. My first ride in it, I got bucked off and broke my back. Never rode it again. It was an interesting time in saddle making and riding science. Monte Foreman was certainly trying to find a better way to ride. Now we have moved the saddles back off the shoulders and moved our center of balance farther back on the horse. I think it’s right to get off the shoulder, but the horse’s best weight carrying ability is right behind the withers. Saddle bronc riders set their saddle way forward to get in that sweet spot right behind the wither. I wish I knew how to tell how much the tree affects the shoulder movement when the shoulder is rotating under the tree.

Obviously we are still evolving, but it’s good that we continue to try and find the best ways to do things.

I’m thinking of different tree designs, but I always come back to thinking about wheels. No matter how many ways we try to design a wheel, the end result is it has got to be round. So many times in doing saddle fittings I find the old saddles still work better than a lot of the newer saddles.

Hmmmm.

Bandera’s Lew Pewterbaugh has been called the most knowledgeable saddle and tack authority in the Southwest. For private fitting consultation call (830) 328-0321 or (830) 522-6613 or email: saddlerlew@gmail.com. www.horsebackmagazine.com

$10,000 Cash Purse plus added prizes

Professional Novice Non-Pro Youth Horse Pick Up

BLUEBONNET RESCUE HORSE TRAINING CHALLENGE 2015 Trainer Applications accepted through July 10 Foster homes and trainers demonstrate what rescue horses can accomplish with just four months of training/handling. www.bluebonnethorseexpo.com

June 2015 2

starts June 1 Train for 4 Months Compete October 17, 2015 Austin, TX

Event held at: Travis County Expo Center For more details, contact: Stephanie Harvey harveygirl29@gmail.com 512-567-5994

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 25

English...

Y

ou’re absolutely right, honey.

Welcome to summertime!

Now let’s have a reality talk.

There’s no getting around the heat for at least a couple of months each year. So what do you do about it? The way I see it, you have two choices.

You can stop riding and let your horse have a long vacation or you can develop some strategies for dealing with the heat. Personally, I feel that life without riding is like life without sunshine.

I don’t think I could last for 4 months without the feeling of a horse underneath me.

Therefore, I thought I would share some tips on dealing with the heat to keep both you and your horse safe.

As with anyone who participates in outdoor sports, learn the signs of heatstroke. The signs to watch for in people are dizziness, nausea or vomiting, muscle cramps, headache, profuse sweating followed by no sweat, and a bright red face that turns white around the nose and mouth.

The signs of heatstroke in a horse are similar. You may see the horse stumbling or staggering. He may sweat profusely and then stop sweating. His pulse and respiration will be extremely higher than normal and his gums could turn pale. He might refuse to go forward or act colicy. Because working muscles significantly increase the amount of heat a body produces, the internal temperature of the horse can

rise to dangerous levels very quickly if not carefully monitored in a hot environment. When overheating, blood will be carried closer to the skin’s surface and sweat is produced by the body to help dispel the heat through evaporation. If there is no sweat produced (a condition called anhydrosis) the body could end up in a life threatening heat stroke episode requiring urgent vet care. You will also find the respiration increases significantly when the horse is overheating. The breathing helps to disperse some of the heat by bringing cooler air in and letting hotter air out of his body. Let’s talk about some ways to prevent heat stroke.

To fight the heat, there is the obvious tip; ride early in the morning or late in the evening. Peak heat is

you are trail riding, ride through a forest instead of the beach.

Keep an ample supply of fresh, clean water available to your horse and allow him to drink as often as he would like during your workout. I like to keep a water trough filled with fresh water in each of my arenas. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water yourself. Keep in mind however, neither of you should drink large quantities of water all at once as it can cause a stomachache or colic. Instead, drink small amounts frequently to stay hydrated.

Supply mineral salt blocks in the stall or pasture to encourage your horse drink and add electrolytes to his feed or water when he sweats to replenish them. Make sure your horse has plenty of shade and fresh water in his pasture. A fan in his stall can also help tremendously too.

Know how to check the vital signs on a horse. The respiration rate is the most obvious sign to check when your horse is hot. At rest, the normal rate is 8 – 12 breaths per minute (BPM). Periodically during your workout, stop your horse and count how many breaths he takes in 15 seconds. Then multiply that number by four to find his respiration rate. You can expect his rate to increase to over 40 BPM during heavy exercise. When his breaths are in excess of 60 BPM, you can be sure that his heart rate has risen significantly. It would also be wise to assume that he is experiencing stress on his body at this point so take a few minutes to cool him down a bit.

When your horse is hot, allow him to walk, preferably in the shade. Do not stand him still when he is breathing hard because he needs the frogs in his feet to help pump the blood back up through his body. A horse’s heart is small and the volume of blood flowing through him is great.

Standing him still when he is stressed from heat could cause heart failure.

Watch for sweating. If you notice an absence of sweat when he is very hot, you need to create artificial sweat.

I like to keep a hose by the arena and

I’m So Hot!

26 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

typically between 3 and 5 PM in the summertime. The coolest time to ride is in the morning before the sun starts heating things up too much. The next best time to ride is after 7 PM when the shadows are getting long and the temperature begins to drop.

If you must ride in the hotter part of the day, seek shade. Covered arenas are a God-send but if there is no available covered arena, ride where there is as much shade as possible. If

www.horsebackmagazine.com

stop periodically to rinse the legs, neck, shoulders and haunches to help cool the horse when he must be worked in the heat. Make sure you scrape the water off if you are in a humid climate so the water doesn’t insulate him. It needs to be able to evaporate to cool him down.

Monitor his breathing frequently. When you are finished riding, pay close attention to how quickly and easily he cools down. If he has difficulty, make sure you get him in the shade, rinse him, walk him, and rinse him again. Standing him briefly in front of a fan when he is wet will also be a great help in reducing the heat in his body.

This process of rinsing, walking and standing in front of a fan can be repeated until his vital signs are approaching normal. Be sure to check him carefully before returning him to his stall and remember to never feed a horse when he is hot.

Wearing light colored clothes and a cool pack of sorts around your neck can help keep you cooler when you ride, also. There are a few varieties of bandanas or neck straps filled with gel packs kept in the freezer or helmets designed to hold cool packs that can help www.horsebackmagazine.com

with your own body temperature when you ride. Check your local sports stores, tack shops and horse supply catalogues for the latest on such items. I even know a woman who made a cool pack for her horse’s neck. She used a v-neck t-shirt to slip over his head. Then she sewed pockets into it to fit gel packs kept in her freezer and used Velcro to close the pockets. She tells me it makes a huge difference in his energy level and ability to cool down in the summer heat.

If you or your horse is still struggling with the heat, take the opportunity to slow things down and work on some details that have been a problem for you. You might try working transitions. Practice walk to halt, walk to trot, walk to canter, canter to walk, trot to halt, et cetera. If you want to jump, try trotting into a low jump and canter away from it on a particular lead. Walk briefly after each jump.

Practice keeping your horse in a specific frame in each gait. Try introducing strange objects slowly to your horse that you could encounter in your discipline that might spook him under normal circumstances. Be careful to watch his reaction so you don’t over challenge

him. If your focus is dressage, practice the lateral movements at a walk or start working on a new or challenging movement at the walk to teach your horse the balance.

I’m sure you can come up with a variety of slower exercises to work on in order to continue riding during the hot months without endangering you or your horse. You can even give yourself a break and just go for a shady trail ride somewhere. Just be sure that you take water for yourself and have a supply of water for your horse along the way or keep it brief enough that he doesn’t dehydrate while you are out.

Summertime can be physically challenging for both you and your horse. But with careful planning, attention to heatstroke prevention, and a little imagination, both you and your horse can still enjoy your time together and stick with a training regimen.

Cathy Strobel has over 30 years of experience as a trainer, judge and clinician and can be reached at Southern Breeze Equestrian Center at (281) 431-4868 or www.sbreeze.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 27

Horsebites...

popular concept in the barrel racing industry, but also gives riders a chance to win better paychecks. We are always looking for innovative ways to make Reining more and more appealing to those not already in our sport and we think this is an excellent direction to grow the sport of reining,” said Shianne Megel, NRHA Director of Events & Affiliates.

A 4D styled competition is a four-division scoring system (1D, 2D, 3D, and 4D) with the highest score being declared as the 1D winner. The highest score determines the winning score of the three other divisions. This spreads winnings across four competitive levels, based on the level of competition that day and without the need for pre-determined class eligibility.

This format doesn’t require in depth knowledge of class rules and may serve to be a great tool to welcome new competitors to the sport.

The division breaks are determined using the highest score as follows: 2D marker is the highest score minus 3 points, 3D marker is the highest score minus 6 points, and 4D marker is the highest score minus 12 points. The score closest to the division marker without going over is the division winner.

The 4D reining is slated to run concurrently with the Youth, Novice Horse Non Pro, AQHA/APHA Amateur, and Green Reiner classes. Exhibitors must enter a concurrent class to be eligible to enter the 4D Reining, and the entry fee is only $20.

Entry forms and conditions for the 4D are available at nrhaderby. com. The 2015 NRHA Derby will be held June 20 – 27 at the Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.

Thousands of spectators, exhibitors and horses attend the event each year with their eye on the most talented and beautiful reining horses in the world, plus approximately $1 million in cash, prizes and nominator incentives awarded there. Updated Derby Conditions for 2015 as well as a schedule and list of host hotels are available now at nrhaderby.com Gardy Bloemers Strikes a Balance as a Competitive Dressage Rider and Financial Advisor

28 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

Horsebites - Con’t. from pg.8

Wellington, FL - For most amateur equestrians, riding is an escape and a stress reliever from everyday life, with few similarities to their professional lives. This is not the case for dressage rider Gardy Bloemers, a USDF Bronze and Silver medalist, who currently competes her horse, Crusedor, at Third Level.

Bloemers is a successful financial advisor for a leading wealth management firm, and the relationship between the challenges of her career mirror many of the requirements of being a successful dressage competitor. Dressage is a sport known for its precision, attention to detail and complexity, and her role as Senior Financial Advisor providing holistic financial planning and advisory services to families and privately held businesses demands the same qualities for success.

The parallels between navigating the financial industry and riding a dressage test go beyond the basic elements of the sport. Dressage demands curiosity, focus, adjustability as well as patience. Similarly a financial advisor must also exhibit these same qualities.

Throughout her career in financial services, Bloemers recognized that focus, determination and hard work were some of the key ingredients to becoming a successful professional. However, it wasn’t until she began to train more seriously as a dressage rider that she realized the connection between her passions, and specifically, how success in one contributed directly to success in the other and vice versa.

Following her graduation from college and then business school, Bloemers worked in management positions in reinsurance, wealth management and venture capital, living and working in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. During this time she also began her dressage pursuits. “When I started riding dressage, I was interested to figure out how to do the movements, how to fit them together and then to display this in the show ring” Bloemers said. “I realized it takes tremendous dedication and hard work to make riding look graceful and effortless, and it was the first time I really felt challenged when riding. This combination of visual beauty and high

level of difficulty drew me into the sport.”

As in her professional life, Bloemers finds it rewarding to advance the horse through its training from one level to the next. Developing and implementing a financial plan requires finding the right approach for each client and adjusting that as a client’s needs evolve. A rider also has to work to find the right general approach to working with a specific horse and to be able to demonstrate flexibility to make changes to this whether in training or in the immediacy of the show ring.

As she became more involved in the world of dressage, Bloemers realized the positive impact of developing an ongoing, meaningful partnership with her horse. “It is so important to know your horse, just as it is essential to know your clients. If you don’t know your clients sufficiently, you will not be able to make a difference in their financial lives,” Bloemers explains. “The way to understand your client is to ask questions and to listen to the answers; it sounds simple but too many advisors are not willing to take the time to have regular, meaningful dialogues.”

“Since riding is a team effort, you get insights into improving a partnership,” Bloemers said. “In business, my success is dependent upon developing strong partnerships with my clients, and I believe that my understanding of how to do this when riding has sharpened my ability to create professional partnerships with both my colleagues and my clients.”

Bloemers’ work has always been her top priority, yet finding time to integrate riding into her busy schedule is imperative to her. Working towards mastering dressage through practice and competition motivates her to focus on success in all aspects of her life, and to find new ways to utilize the same dedication and attention to detail that is required in her profession.

“To constantly strive for excellence in a completely different setting - the dressage competition arena - makes me focus on achievement at all times,” Bloemers said. “I’m a perfectionist at work and in the ring, and I believe riding makes me a more paHorsebites - Con’t. on pg.30 www.horsebackmagazine.com

HELD AT TRAVIS COUNTY EXPO CTR, AUSTIN, TX

Visit: www.CAQHA.com for High Point Rules & More Info!

Questions? penny.graymar@gmail.com

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 29

Horsebites...

Horsebites - Con’t. from pg.28

tient professional. Perfection does not happen overnight, if it happens at all.

However, patience and tenacity do pay off.”

The symbiotic relationship between Bloemers’ role in the financial industry and in dressage competition has helped her maximize her success in both arenas. As Bloemers continues to develop her riding skills, she finds even more crossover between these two aspects of her life and how one strengthens the other.

“Riding allows me to clear my thoughts through focus,” Bloemers said. “Staying fresh and having an open mind is key to being a successful professional. I think I would go stir-crazy if I didn’t ride and probably drive my husband crazy as well. It keeps me fit, keeps my brain fit and is just so incredibly rewarding.”

D.C.’s “Cutest Sport” is on the Road to the Washington International Horse Show WASHINGTON - The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) is pleased to announce the wildly popular WIHS Shetland Pony Steeplechase Championship Series, presented by Charles Owen, will be off and running again in 2015. The entertaining event features pint-sized jockeys in colorful silks racing the cutest, fluffiest Shetland Ponies to the cheers of spectators of all ages.

The first stop in the series was the historic Devon Horse Show and Country Fair in Devon, Pa., May 24 and May 25, and it will conclude with the finals at WIHS in October at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Introduced in 2013 and expanded last year, the WIHS Shetland Pony Steeplechase races, dubbed “D.C.’s newest--and cutest--sport” by Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post, are run like professional racing events with a bugler, race caller and photo finish, but in miniature--the jockeys are youngsters from seven to 14 mounted on traditional Shetland Ponies racing over a course of minihurdles

The Devon races are archived

30 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

on WIHS.org.

“We’ve had an overwhelming response to the WIHS Shetland Pony Steeplechase Series,” said WIHS Executive Director Bridget Love Meehan.

“It’s been so much fun to create and build a fresh, fun and exciting event for spectators of all ages. Pony racing is also a great way for kids to get into equestrian sports. Not too many people know that Kent Farrington, one of the world’s top-ranked show jumpers and a frequent competitor at Washington, used to race ponies!”

Well-established in the United Kingdom, pony racing is growing in popularity in the U.S., thanks in part to Maryland-based U.S. Pony Racing, LLC (USPR), organizer of the WIHS exhibition series, which runs flat and jumping pony races at events throughout the region, including at Pimlico.

Before entering the USPR program, ponies are evaluated for their suitability and every child is fully prepared for race day. “We don’t want [the ponies] to be little race horses, we want them to be good ponies that kids can ride,” said Regina Welsh, USPR founder and director. “We want wellrounded kids and well-rounded ponies.”

Ongoing sponsor Charles Owen is no newcomer to pony racing.

The Wrexham-based helmet maker has been a significant supporter of pony racing in the U.K. since 2005.

“Charles Owen is delighted to continue its support of the WIHS Shetland Pony Steeplechase Championship Series,” said Roy Burek, Managing Director of Charles Owen.

“With our long association with pony racing in the U.K., we’re especially excited to be a part of its growth in the U.S. Devon and Washington offer an ideal showcase for this sport and we encourage equestrians and non-equestrians alike to come out to experience and enjoy it.”

The 57th annual Washington International Horse Show will be held October 20-25, 2015, at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit wihs.org.

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Awards High School Graduation Gift of

More Than $7.5 Million to Texas Students Houston-Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo awarded more than $7.5 million in scholarships to Texas high school graduates at a banquet held Wednesday, May 20 in NRG Center, where the organization’s annual event previously showcased thousands of animals in March.

Among the 423 scholars, nearly 200 winners will be the first in their families to attend a college or university, and more than 120 of them are the first in their families to graduate high school.

“Education opens the door to opportunity, and we are humbled that our scholarships provide the key to that door,” said Joel Cowley, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. “It is extremely rewarding for our organization, including 32,000 volunteers, to support young Texans who value learning enough to want to continue their education.”

The 423 scholarship recipients will attend 30 Texas colleges and universities in the fall using funds from the Show’s scholarship programs, totaling $7,569,000. Scholarships are awarded to students who meet the program requirements as well as demonstrate academic potential, leadership and financial need. All recipients also must attend a Texas college or university.

The Show awarded 238 Metropolitan, 114 Opportunity, 30 Exhibitor, 16 Hildebrand, 15 School Art, five Technical, and five Military scholarships to students from 58 school districts. Metropolitan and Opportunity scholarships are awarded to students within Harris County, plus students living in Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties.

With additional commitments this spring and summer to Area Go Texan, Texas 4-H and FFA, and other Show scholarship programs, more than 750 students will start college this fall with more than $12.98 million in scholarships from the Show.

These scholarships make up more than half of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s annual commitment of more than $24 million to scholarships, research, endowments, calf scramble participants, junior show www.horsebackmagazine.com

Horsebites...

VISIT BROOKSIDE AND GET READY TO MAKE HAY Hay Season Promotion Days!

Brookside Equipment has a John Deere Baler that’s right for any operation, big or small. John Deere Round and Square Balers set the standard for quality and performance. Contact a Brookside Hay Specialist today. We will help you select the right baler, cutter, rake, and other hay equipment for your operation.

CONVENIENCE: EXPERIENCE: EXPERTISE: SERVICE: STRONG:

8 locations 41 years in business Gold Star Certified Dealer On Site Field Service More than 120 employees supporting your equipment

Hockley, TX

Angleton, TX

33400 Hempstead Hwy (281) 256-6900 US Hwy 290 @ Roberts Rd.

17000 Hwy 288B (979) 849-2325 2 miles south of CR220

SW Houston, TX

Spring, TX

Jersey Village, TX

League City, TX

Houston, TX

Katy, TX

19003 I-45 North Frwy (281) 353-0204 Cypresswood Exit

13250 West Rd. (713) 466-7456 Hwy 290 @ West Rd.

2135 Gulf Frwy South (281) 338-1300 League City Pkwy Exit

9125 I-45 Gulf Frwy (713) 943-7100 College / Airport Exit

28715 Hwy 90 (281) 391-2165 Hwy 90, Exit I-10 at Pedersen Rd.

11700 S. Sam Houston Pkwy W. (713) 541-3535 Near SW Frwy (Hwy 59)

BES7X40501HBM-4C

WE DELIVER EVERYWHERE | www.BrooksideUSA.com

exhibitors, School Art participants and other educational programs in 2015.

For more information on the Show’s educational support, visit http://www. rodeohouston.com/AboutUs/EducationalSupport.aspx.

Vita Flex Victory Team Member Todd Minikus Pilots Four Horses to the Win at Kentucky Spring Horse Shows Lexington, Kentucky - Vita Flex Victory Team member Todd Minikus jumped to first place on not just one but three horses at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington on May 6-10.

On May 15 in the Kentucky Spring Classic, Minikus won the $20,000 1.45m Bluegrass Classic on a fourth horse. He claimed victories aboard well-known mount Quality Girl, young horses Con Capilot and Maharaja Del Juncal, and Oldenburg gelding Cordonos. Vita Flex, a leading equine supplement brand with products designed to help horses carry their riders to victory, is proud to congratulate Minikus www.horsebackmagazine.com

on his successes. The victories in Kentucky came as no surprise to spectators, as seasoned competitor Minikus has already been extremely successful earlier this year in Wellington, Florida’s Winter Equestrian Festival and in the Longines Global Champions Tour of Miami Beach.

Minikus opened the Kentucky Spring Horse Show by winning on a new mount— Plum Creek Hollow Farm’s 12-year-old Westphalian stallion Con Capilot— in the $5,000 1.45m Open Jumper Class. Maharaja Del Juncal, a young horse owned by Two Swans Farms, finished first in the Six-Year-Old Jumpers. Quality Girl, owned by the Quality Group, bested the competition in the $25,000 Bluegrass Classic.

Quality Girl, a 12-year-old Oldenburg mare (Quidams Rubin x Dobrock), has been ridden by Minikus for the past three years. The pair have enjoyed much success, including winning the 2014 Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties, NY. Quality Girl was also named Horse of the Year last year. At the Kentucky Spring Horse Show, Minikus and Quality Girl

were one of only three clear rounds and blazed through the jump-off to beat the starting field of 37 combinations with a time of 33.609 seconds.

The victory earned the pair valuable points for the USEF/Rolex Show Jumping Rankings.

During the Kentucky Spring Classic, Minikus and Cordonos (Lordanos x Tin Rocco), owned by Matthew de Grande, raced to first place in the $20,000 1.45m Bluegrass Classic. Of the forty-seven riders who competed in the speed class, only eleven cleared Bernardo Cabral’s course. Minikus and Cordonos’s time of 60.766 put them ahead of closest contender Shane Sweetnam and Beluga.

The Vita Flex Victory Team rider Todd Minikus credits a wellplanned training program complemented by conscientious nutrition and supplements from Vita Flex as helping achieve such success in show jumping.

“The fine line between good and great is paying attention to your horses,” Minikus explains. “To be able to feel that power and speed and athleticism Horsebites - Con’t. on pg.36 June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 31

Hoof Health...

In Perspective: TNH, HOG and LOS

K

now too, that the predisposition of most horse owners at the time was very resistant, if not hostile, to barefoot hoof care. In 1982, it was virtually impossible even for me -- as a professional farrier and (closeted) barefoot advocate -- to make headway with my own clients.

One of my shoeing clients, when confronted with the opportunity to pull the shoes and try (what I called then) the “wild horse trim”, recoiled in actual terror, “You will not put anything wild on my horse!”. It was that single episode that inspired me to dump the “wild trim” moniker and invent a new term, “the natural trim”. “Wildness”, I learned, seemed to signal fear in horse owners. It is a miracle, given that negative influence, that Northland managed to persuade me to add “Lessons From The Wild” to TNH’s title!

Of course, Dr. Strasser never had the reality of (or the inclination to seek out) the wild horse to guide her after the farrier removed the shoes from her horse. Nor any support from her profession or training at the Humboldt or Free Universities in Berlin. Her realizations came through an intuitive and scientific approach, aided by only scant supporting data from the German and European veterinary literature. It was Sabina Kells who translated, and connected Dr. Strasser to, the astonishing papers of Bracy Clark.

My work infused her, and LOS, with the horse’s genuine natural world.

But Dr. Strasser is not the only vet, barefoot advocate, or cross-over farrier I introduced to

32 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

natural hoof care based on the wild horse model, nor the first. What I’m about to say may come as a shock to readers, but the facts are what they are.

First came Dr. Barbara Page, who as President of the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Association, invited me to speak about the wild horse model at her organization’s annual conference in 1993. Not long afterward, she wrote to say that my lecture had inspired her to form a non-profit organization to promote the well-being of horses with the wild horse as an important centerpiece; it was co-founded with Gene Ovnicek (who later created the Natural Balance Shoe) and the frequent contributor to The Horse’s Hoof and controversial researcher, Dr. Robert Bowker.

Dr. Lisa Simon-Lancaster, a Colorado farrier, and later vet and understudy of Dr. Bowker, approached me during this period also to give thanks for bringing her to a greater appreciation of barefoot horse care; this influence is reflected in her book, The Sound Hoof.

Gretchen Fathauer came early too in 1996 -- one of her horses was severely foundered and I guided her out of the darkness.

She soon formed a website to promote the TNH; I introduced her to the work of Dr. Strasser, and before long, Gretchen was promoting both

of us! Martha Olivo, a farrier, came also to me in the mid-1990s, wanting to be involved with what her own intuitions told her was coming. Her sister, an equine vet in TX who had for several years recommended TNH to her own clients, had urged Martha to contact me. Martha began by promoting TNH, buying a box at time and selling or giving them away, such was her enthusiasm! Later she too was referred to Dr. Strasser, and became certified by ISHOP. Still later, Martha formed her own organization, United Horsemanship, a hoof care training program, to promote her own ideas at the hoof. About the same time, I was approached by K.C. LaPierre, also a farrier, who wanted me to consider what he wanted to do; but, telling me in an email that he “never thought of the wild horse hoof as a model”, I encouraged him just to do whatever he thought best.

Jaime Jackson - Con’t. on pg. 34

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Manage acute and chronic lameness...

Problem: Chronic founder, thin soles.

VA.0415.WSHMFNDR

Solution: Equi-Pak|CS for support and thrush protection.

Equi-PakSoft in the toe region to protect and support the sole.

Result: Applied for 6 weeks to increase depth of sole from 5mm to 12mm.

Have a hoof problem? Contact us to talk it over.

1.800.483.8832; info@vettec.com Vettec • Oxnard, California • 1.800.483.8832 • www.vettec.com | Utrecht, The Netherlands • +(31) 30 241 1823 • www.vettec.net

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 33

Hoof Health...

Jaime Jackson - Con’t. from pg. 32

And by the year 2000, numerous trimmers, including Pete Ramey and Cindy Sullivan had arrived and with their support and participation, I formed the AANHCP. Eventually Cindy, and other members of the AANHCP, including Steve Dick and Todd Jaynes, wanted to do things their way, forming the Equine Sciences Academy. Pete needed to do the same, eventually founding the American Hoof Association with his wife Ivy Ramey several years later. Also during this period, I was approached by another ISHOP graduate, Marjorie Smith, also wanting to spread the word about natural hoof care. Her website, Barefoot For Soundness, was a direct result. Ove Lind, another graduate of the AANHCP, departed to form the Swedish Hoof School in 2008. At nearly the same date, Kirt Lander, who trained privately with me and later as a member of the AANHCP, left to free lance, and more importantly, to create the Renegade Hoof Boot. British AANHCP graduates, Nicola Barker and Sarah

Braithewaite departed too to form their own UKNHCP. Richard Drewry, whom I also taught natural hoof care to back in the 1990s, and who helped me legalize the AANHCP as a 501c3 in 2004, left in 2009 to join other former AANHCP CPs at Liberated Horsemanship along with Dr. Bruce Nock. And there are many others, in other countries too, whom I won’t mention here, but I’ve had my hand in helping them get started or providing impetus to form their own hoof care organizations. Even Yvonne Welz has written that her inspiration for The Horse’s Hoof was its chronological predecessor, The Hoof Care Advisor, which I published until the formation of the AANHCP. And I don’t want to overlook, more of late, Joe Camp (of Benjii fame!), who approached me in December of 2006, regarding what would become his now widely read, Soul of the Horse, “Hi Jaime, I come asking a favor. I have finished (still tweaking) my new book . . . and would very much like your comments”.

My hope is that this nar-

No w

comfort for your horse... ease for your body

rative will set the historical record straight and counter the many unfounded claims made about how all of this happened and who did what, and when. What is important is the recognition that many people have been involved with the evolution of the barefoot movement. If I were to say who came first in modern times with the idea that “going natural” is a smart thing to look at, that would be Emery in 1978. But, what to do about it? Understandably, people will disagree and have their own way of seeing and doing things. Just like Dr. Strasser and me. Nothing wrong with that! It’s a free world we live in.

Efforts to characterize this diversity for the express purpose of “factionalizing” the barefoot hoof care movement in the name of “one upmanship”, however, is counterproductive, fuels “Gurism”, and only confuses people. For me, I will stay the course with our natural horses thriving in the U.S. Great Basin, and do my best to represent them as invaluable models for anyone to emulate.

DURASOLE KEEPS YOUR BEST HOOF FORWARD!

DURASOLE

olo in C rs

Durasole creates a tough, living pad between your horse's sensitive sole and the world's hostile environment.

• Antibacterial, antifungal designed to thicken & toughen the sole and frog.

• Effective for thrush & white line disease.

• Ideal for lengthy use on chronically thin-soled horses without fear of drying out the foot.

providing the support you need ® Available from ALVIN FARRIER SUPPLY Two locations to serve you:

Contact us for your free DVD and the dealer nearest you +1-208-278-5283 • www.hoofjack.com

34 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

2498 C.R. 145 Alvin, TX 77511 281-331-3636

Dealer Inquiries Welcome!

16915 FM 2920 Unit B www.alvinfarriersupply.com Tomball, TX 77377 alvinfarriersupply@yahoo.com 281-290-9550 www.horsebackmagazine.com

Enroll in the Natural Hoof Care training program at the Institute for the Study of Natural Horse P Care Practices.

Visit www.isnhcp.net for details.

To ďŹ nd a competent practitioner near you, see "Get Help" at www.aanhcp.net

Advertise in Horseback Magazine!

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 35

Horsebites...

Horsebites - Con’t. from pg.31

is very special. Vita Flex helps me keep my horses in tip-top condition for competing, and makes sure that we stay in the winner’s circle.”

Vita Flex, with advanced supplements specifically created for equine athletes, will be with Minikus and his horses as he campaigns for a spot on the U.S. team for the Pan American Games in Toronto in July.

Vita Flex® products include health supplements, antioxidants, electrolytes, joint supplements, performance supplements, topical ointments, vitamins, and minerals. For more information about Vita Flex, its products, and the Victory Team members, visit www. vitaflex.com or call (800) 848-2359.

Devon Kane Heads Down Centerline in Europe With Grant from USEF Wellington, FL— Grand Prix dressage rider Devon Kane has been selected to compete abroad through a USEF International High Performance Programs grant, generously supported by the USET Foundation, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), and USEF Sponsors and Members. Kane and her 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Destiny (Diamond Hit-Midt-West Regina, Rubenstein) will represent the U.S. at the Nations Cup CDIO5* Falsterbo in Falsterbo, Sweden, July 9-12.

Kane and the other talented grant recipients will represent the U.S. in Nations Cup competitions this summer in Falsterbo as well as in Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Hagen, Germany; and Hickstead in the United Kingdom.

“I am very honored and flattered to have been chosen by the USEF committee for the training grant,” Kane says. “I am so grateful to USEF and the donors for the financial help to keep my education and career expanding. I am truly honored to represent the U.S. at the Nations Cup CDIO 5* in Falsterbo, and we will center our training in preparation for this show.”

Kane, owner and head trainer at Diamante Farms in Wellington, Florida, also traveled to Europe to

36 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

compete and train last summer, and is ready to step up into even more prestigious international competition this year with Destiny. Last year, Kane spent her summer in Europe training two of her horses, Destiny and Winchester, with Olympic Gold Medalist Hubertus Schmidt of Germany. Her history of working with Schmidt has helped her achieve great success in dressage. She is excited to continue training with the renowned rider this year.

“The USEF grant makes this part of my career— being able to train with Hubertus and compete in Europe— possible. It is hard to leave your base and clients to go to Germany to train, and the grant makes my ambitions possible. ‘Desi’ had some down time after finishing the season in Wellington, but he is happily working hard now. We are fit and ready to get to work as soon as we arrive and soak

up as much ‘Hubertus time’ as we can.

Destiny and I are excited to start our summer season and get working!”

Kane and Destiny seem prepared to represent their country in international competition after completing a successful winter show season at the 2015 Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, and before that earning the title of 2014 U.S. Dressage Finals Grand Prix Champion in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kane will leave Florida for Europe on June 1, and will stay for three months. While in Europe, she will be based at Flyenhof stables in Etteln, Germany, with Hubertus Schmidt. Besides Destiny, she will be bringing Winchester, her new stallion Sir Galanto, her working student Mckenzie Jenkins, and Jenkins’s horse Heerser.

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Horsebites...

Barns and Buildings RUSTIC WOOD BARNS HORSE FACILITIES BARN HOMES & ARENAS

Designed & Built for Every Need!

Steve Slivinski (281) 546-1132 Joe Slivinski (832) 584-6088

Building Nationwide! www.barnsandbuildings.com jsj@barnsandbuildings.com

25143 FM 1488 Magnolia TX 77355

By Appt.

Only

www.wdfeed.com wdfeed@yahoo.com

832.454.2516 www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 37

REALTOR Roundup TAMMY FOREMAN REALTOR Hodde Real Estate Co. 112 W. Main Street, Brenham, TX (O): (979) 836-8532 (C): (979) 451-2945

DEITRA ROBERTSON REALTOR Deitra Robertson Real Estate, Inc. 38351 FM 1736 Hempstead, TX (O): (832) 642-6789 (C): (832) 642-6789

WENDY CLINE REALTOR/BROKER CLHMS, SRES, ABR, Million Dollar Guild Wendy Cline Properties Keller Williams Memorial

950 Corbindale Ste 100 Houston, TX 77024

(E): tammy@hodderealty.com (W): www.hodderealty.com

(E): deitra@IKnowRanches.com (W): www.IKnowRanches.com

(O): (281) 858-3469 (E): wendy@wendyclineproperties.com (W): www.wendyclineproperties.com

SPECIALTIES: Farms/Ranches, Equestrian, Residential, Country Homes, Land.

TERRITORY: Texas

SPECIALTIES: Farms/Ranches, Horse Properties, Land TERRITORY: Texas

SPECIALTIES: Equestrian, Farm & Ranch, Land, Residential, Luxury, Commercial TERRITORY: Texas

YOLANDA FUSILIER BROKER Peak Realty 17515 Spring Cypress Rd. Suite # C260 Cypress, TX (O): (979) 921-9530 (C): (713) 417-7567 (E): peak@wt.net (W): www.peakrealty.sbuilder.net

MARY GARBETT BROKER ASSOCIATE Right Time Real Estate LLC at KW Farm & Ranch 950 Corbindale Rd, #100 Houston, TX (C) (713) 213-2420 (O) (713) 470-2055 (E) mary@marygarbett.com (W) www.har.com/marygarbett

DEE ANN BOUDREAUXREALTOR Texas First Real Estate 1116 FM 109 New Ulm, TX (O): (903) 322-3379 (C): (979) 583-7305 (E): deeboudreaux@windstream.net (W): www.texasfirstre.com SPECIALTIES: Residential, Equestrian, Farm/ Ranch, Country Property TERRITORY: Texas

SPECIALTIES: Farms/Ranches, Land Commercial TERRITORY: Waller, Harris, and surrounding counties.

WILLIAM “BOO” CHRISTENSEN BROKER/OWNER RE/MAX Advantage 110 E. Alamo Brenham, TX

TOOTIE LYONS RIXMANREALTOR, ASSOCIATE Heritage Texas Country Properties 605 S. Austin Brenham, TX

(O): (979) 251-7500 (C): (979) 277-8426 (E): boo@realtorboo.com (W): www.realtorboo.com

(C): (979) 277-2694 (E): tootie2@sbcglobal.net (W): www.heritagetexascountry.com/page46/Tootie-Lyons-Rixman

SPECIALTIES: Farm/Ranch, Hunting Property, Country Homes TERRITORY: Texas

SPECIALTIES: Acreage, Homes, Horse Property, Country Homes, Farm & Ranch TERRITORY: Texas

RENEE DIEHL ALHS Round Top Real Estate 101 Main St. Round Top, TX (C): (713) 401-8958 (O): (979) 249-5732 (E): diehl@gmail.com (W): www.roundtopland.com SPECIALTIES: Farm & Ranch, Land, Country & Luxury Homes TERRITORY: South Central Texas

38 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

Attention Realtors & Brokers!

JOIN HORSEBACK’S ROUNDUP! Only $35/month includes both online & in print!

SPECIALTIES: Equestrian Estates, Farm & Ranch, Residential TERRITORY: Ft. Bend, Waller, Austin, Washington, Grimes, Harris Counties CARRIE SHWAGER REALTOR The Property Source 7424 FM 1488, Ste. A-1 Magnolia, TX 77354 (C): (281) 960-5190 (F): (936) 449-4586 (E): carrieschwager@att.net (W): www.texasluxurypropertyrealtor.com SPECIALTIES: Equestrian, Farm and Ranch, Hunting, and Luxury Residential TERRITORY: Texas YOUR NAME HERE!REALTOR/BROKER The Best Real Estate Co. 1234 Main Street Houston, TX (O): (123) 456-7890 (C): (123) 456-7890 (E): info@bestrealtor.com (W): www.bestrealtor.com SPECIALTIES: Ranches, Hunting & Horse Properties, Acreage TERRITORY: Texas

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Tri County Barns

Sales Offices

Horse Walkers

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Stall Mattresses

Fly Spray Systems

100-140 mph Wind Loads Available

800-429-8239 281-255-2230 • 512-394-1761 June 2015 2

our Tomball location moved to: 12751 N. Eldridge Pkwy.

Cypress, TX 77429

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 39

Lifestyle...

“4-H

is the nation’s largest positive youth development and youth mentoring organization, empowering six million young people in the U.S. In partnership with 110 universities, 4-H’s life changing programs are researched-backed and available through 4-H clubs, camps, after school and school enrichment programs in every county and parish in the U.S.” (4-H)

2015 will be the 7th year for Raleigh County 4-H Horse Camp, offering an enriching learning experience for the area youth of Southern West Virginia. The 4-H Club Program in West Virginia is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Services. All local youth are eligible to participate in 4-H activities, which focus on education and personal development in a fun, safe environment.

In keeping with the original purpose of 4-H, to develop agricultural skills, the Raleigh County 4H Horse Camp was designed to teach their youth hands on experience in overall equine care, while providing them an opportunity to learn and practice their riding skills in a safe positive educational environment. At the Raleigh County 4-H Horse Camp educating youth in safety protocols, horsemanship, equitation and showmanship are the beginning stages. Instructors stress the importance of growth from the ground up, while working toward the more advance stages of riding and horsemanship.

Raleigh County 4H Horse Camp is a weeklong residential style camp. The goal of this camp is to turn campers into confident and skilled young riders that are 4-H’ers through and through, with their 4-H pledge and the 4-H’s of head, heart, hands and health. They use their head to think clearly, their heart to show kindness to all, their hands to happily serve whenever given the chance, and are both physically and mentally prepared.

During the planning stages of camp,

40 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

ACTHA

Competitor Lends a Hand to Inspire the Youth of a West Virginia 4-H Club By: Jennifer Wenzel

www.horsebackmagazine.com

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 41

camp director Bridget Adkins asks for feedback from the campers on activities they would like to incorporate into their weeklong camping experience. Bridget’s incentive in asking for feedback is her way of keeping them engaged and motivated with activities they enjoy doing, while encouraging them in their equine education.

Hands down the campers’ response is trail classes, and thanks to Bridget’s involvement with ACTHA she has found the perfect way to connect with the youth. Every year their trail classes keep getting bigger and bigger. So much so, that now they have two trail classes; beginners/intermediate and advanced.

This year they are implementing more trail experiences for the campers to learn regardless of the discipline they ride.

In 2013 Bridget hosted an ACTHA event to raise money for the camp and learned about ACTHA’s mission to end equine unemployment. Through Bridget’s ride host experience she realized trail obstacles used in ACTHA competitions were the perfect addition for her young campers trail riding education. In 2014 Bridget reached out to ACTHA’s West Virginia Open Champion Laura Hark Plumley and her bronze medal winning Rocky Mountain Horse Oohlala to host an ACTHA obstacle clinic at the 4-H camp. With the enthusiasm of youth and requests from

42 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

the campers Laura and ACTHA will be back at the 4-H camp this year with a more involved role.

This year there will be 6 ACTHA obstacles strategically placed around the camp. Laura will provide educational tips on approach and execution of the obstacles, culminating with a mini competition between campers at the end of the week. Besides fun and education Laura hopes she will inspire young equestrians to join ACTHA, where they can compete in the junior division while raising much needed funds for equine charities and have fun doing it.

Working hard to give her 4-H campers a well rounded equine education Bridget also enlists the aid

of other clinicians.

Back again this year will be Bobby Knight of Knight Horsemanship with a more hands on approach to horsemanship and Randi Kenneda of Randi Dove Farms who will offer correct form, tips and techniques to their Contest Class.

Staff and campers alike recognize and appreciate how fortunate they are to have the expertise of countless clinicians and trainers who take time out of their busy schedules to encourage the area youth and give back to the community. Like the Raleigh County 4-H Horse Camp, 4-H programs throughout the country enjoy seeing the progress riders have made as they choose to come back to camp year after year.

Saddle Fitting & Saddle Repair Tack Store Custom Leather Work HOURS:

Wednesday Thru Saturday, 10 AM to Quitting Time 13611 Hwy. 16 N., Medina TX 78055 (830) 589-2286 or saddlerlew@gmail.com www.horsebackmagazine.com

The true testament to the value and impact they have made on the youth of their 4-H program.

Raleigh County 4-H Horse Camp is scheduled for July 19-25, 2015 and is open for any 4H youth from 9-21. If you are interested in participating in their camp, please email raleighcountyhorses@gmail. com. If you would like to contribute to this non-profit organization, please mail to WVU Extension Services, C/O Raleigh County 4H Horse Camp, 322 S Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 25801.

Numerous ACTHA ride hosts and members across the country not only donate their time and expertise to educate 4-H members on competitive trail riding and ACTHA’s junior division, but host events where the proceeds directly benefit their local 4-H groups. If you are a 4-H group that would like to learn more on how you can get involved with ACTHA please contact support@actha.us.

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Still The One! NO DENYING IT!

The Grooming Company

The Brands You Know & Love

Always at Your Favorite Tack & Feed Store www.horsegroomingsolutions.com June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 43

Advertise in Horseback Magazine!

Hassle Free Printing We Take Printing Seriously…Not Ourselves.

5,000 postcards $149 • 10,000 flyers $349 • 1,000 magazines $995 (16 pages, 60# paper)

Call 210-804-0390 for Special Online Pricing!

Visit us at www.shweiki.com

CONTACT TRACY TO SCHEDULE YOUR PLANT TOUR 210-804-0390 • Email samplEs@shwEiki for a frEE quotE or call 512-480-0860

44 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com

Publishers - Con’t. from pg. 6

how much we love them. A horse will get himself into trouble faster than a two year old human.

Therefore it’s wise to have a wellstocked, up to date first-aid kit for both you, and your animal. Fortunately, the bandages and antiseptic you’ll use works on both equine and humans.

But check out that kit before you ride if for no other reason than to replace the melted Snickers bar you forgot when you unsaddled the last time.

The next thing I’m going to tell you is as important to your horse as his treatment itself. Be calm, caring, and actually nonchalant about his injury in front of him. The last thing you want is to excite a traumatized animal that is naturally excitable under the best of circumstances.

Dismount and observe the injury.

Is the horse limping? Is respiration elevated? Look at his eyes. Horses often show fear in their eyes. Are there broken bones? Does the animal suffer from deep punctures, both of which will need veterinary care?

Err on the side of caution. If you are unsure of the injury, call your vet. Do nothing to make the situation worse. Remember, horses are followers, not leaders. If you are

excited and panicked, your horse likely will be as well. Set the best example of competence that you can. Again, the horse is always a follower if there is a strong leader.

If your horse is bleeding profusely your first job is to stop the bleeding immediately. It is no time for panic, and certainly no time for the faint hearted. Take whatever cloth is handy, even if it is your own shirt, and cover the wound with it. Be firm, but gently keep it in place until the bleeding stops. And this word of caution: do not remove thorns, nails, sticks, or whatnot from the wound. It may then open it up resulting in profuse bleeding. Get your vet on the phone.

Tell whoever answers that this is an emergency. Speak calmly, giving the doc as much information as possible about the situation.

Learn how to take your horse’s vital signs as soon as the bleeding stops. To take your horse’s pulse, you’ll find two good spots, behind the left elbow, and on the back of the lower jaw. What is his respiration rate? Is his temperature elevated? Are his gums pink and healthy looking? Finally, listen to your vet’s instructions of what to do until he is able to be at your horse’s side.

Remember, equine first aid is in most respects similar to human first aid. Rule number one, don’t panic.

Rule number two, use common sense.

Keeps stocK tanKs clean Barley Straw treatment for liveStock water tankS • No more dumping and scrubbing tanks • Safe & chemical-free • Keeps tanks clean & drinking water palatable up to 2 months

www.stocktanksecret.com © 2009 Turtle Creek Farm, Springfield, NE 68059

www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 45

General...

Wetter!

Howdy!

Welcome to Cowboy Corner.

Rain, rain, go away, and come again another day, was written last month, and now we can add, same song second verse could be better, but gonna be worse. Saw a jackrabbit last week carrying a life preserver. What a spring, April showers turned into May floods.

Know the rains are going to stop someday, and we’ll be wishing for them in July and August, but we gotta get to July and August. Guess we’re gonna have to just ride out this wet weather, and hope for more normal weather soon. Lots of flooded crops around, and June is too late to start over, so let’s pray for the best possible crop under current conditions.

Now is a good time to check your animals for bacterial infections of the feet. Standing in water is a good environment for infections, and watch closely for lameness. If a horse or cow is lame act quickly with vet help. Antibiotics are gonna be needed, hard and soon. Lameness due to bacterial infection get much worse real fast and animals that can’t walk can’t eat, and go downhill fast.

Horses with bacterial infections of the feet seem to respond well to soaking the foot or feet in a strong solution of warm water and Epson salt. The Epson salt helps draw out fluids associated with foot infections

46 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

and promotes healing. Vet iodine applied to the affected area also seems to help, all used with injectable antibiotics.

Gettin’ ol’ bossie to stand with her foot in a bucket might be a real trick, but with the cow in a squeeze chute the foot can be hydrated with a garden hose and iodine applied. Those lucky enough to have a hydraulic chute that can turn a cow on their side, have a much easier job.

Feet off the ground are easy to doctor with a tilt chute. Most cattle vets I know have hydraulic chutes, so check around. Haulin’ is always better than hurtin’.

In my experience, haulin’ to the vet clinic to use a hydraulic chute doctoring leg and feet problems is faster and with less chance of injury than at the ranch. Remember the injury you may prevent may be yours.

Any injury just causes more work and expense, so be careful.

Some pastures are so wet animals have a hard time staying out of the water. Last month I wrote about using sand pads in high traffic areas.

If you have some ranch roads that

are stable, dumping sand pads along these roads will help the animals in flooded pastures. The sand pads can always be moved when the weather drys.

Sand with gravel makes good ranch road repairs. And after this wet winter and spring, all my roads need repairs.

Years ago when I was working in the feed lots had a real wet spring.

The feed pens got real wet and boggy, so we built hills in the pens using rice hulls. The pens to be hilled were first emptied, cleaned, then a mound of rice hulls put in the middle. When the cattle were turned back in the pen, soon they were playing king of the mountain. The rice hulls are easy to handle, the price is right, and will keep the cattle dry. Dry cattle, or any animal, that stays on dry ground has much less chance of bacterial infection of the feet. Ever heard of cows with foot rot in the Big Bend of Texas, ain’t going to either.

Happy Trails...

www.horsebackmagazine.com

www.steinhausers.com

Feed For The Entire Herd!

Feed & Supplements • Fencing • Fly Control • Health Aids Lawn & Garden • Pet Supplies • Tack • Gifts & Much More

NINE TEXAS LOCATIONS! 18821 F.M. 1488 6401 F.M. 359 228 East Front St. 34350 Katy Freeway 1331 Highway 6 West MAGNOLIA RICHMOND SEALY BROOKSHIRE ALVIN (281) 356-2530 (832) 595-9500 (979) 885-2967 (281) 934-2479 (281) 388-0388 4323 Avenue H 1310 Spur 515 820 Business U.S. 290 N. 1422 F.M. 2223 ROSENBERG NAVASOTA HEMPSTEAD BRYAN (281) 342-2452 (936) 825-2081 (979) 826-3273 (979) 778-0978

Store Hours: Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm • Sun 12pm - 5pm (may vary by location) www.horsebackmagazine.com

June 2015 2

HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 47

A P ORTION

OF

EVERY S ALE

IS

D ONATED

TO

SIRE

W

48 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 2 June 2015

www.horsebackmagazine.com