ICSI | siMPly exPlained

By Sharee LaRue

xtreme heat and horses do not mix. What is extreme? That depends on where E you live and what they are used to. Regardless of the temperature outside, horses must endure it unless they live in air conditioning. There are also times that they need to be exercised, hauled, and competed on. This article will simply outline safety measures, symptoms, treatment, and prevention.

Avoid riding if heat index is over 180

To calculate the heat index: • Add the temperature in Fahrenheit and the percentage of relative humidity. • If the sum is below 120, there should be no problem exercising a horse. • Suppose the sum is between 130 and 150; the horse will probably sweat but should not experience any problems if he gets plenty of water to replenish fluid lost during sweating. • When the heat index exceeds 180, do not exercise a horse because the horse’s heat dissipation systems will not be adequate to prevent heat stress.

Dehydration Tests

• Press your fingertip against the horse’s gums. When you release your finger, you will see a white spot. If the pink color returns in one to two seconds, this is normal. If it takes three to four seconds, your horse is dehydrated. • Make sure your horse’s head and neck are straight and not turned to the side. • On the neck, pinch the skin, pull out, and release. If the skin goes back in a second or less, your horse is good to go. If it

takes more than a second or does not go back, the horse is really dehydrated. Call your veterinarian if you can still see the pinched area after five seconds.

Heat Stress & Stroke

When a horse’s temp is 104°F, the metabolic system is affected. At 105°F, the horse’s organs and the circulatory system begin to shut down. Symptoms • Sweat becomes thick and sticky; the horse stops seating • Gums become dark and/or discolored • Heart rate is high and weak • Depression • Breathing becomes either rapid and shallow or deep and gulping Treatment • Move to shade • Give Electrolyte paste • Offer water • Hose the horse off, scrape off water, hose again, and repeat until temperature drops to 102°F • Apply ice packs to neck, throat, and legs • Stand horse in front of fans Prevention • Make sure the horse has access to a salt block at all times • As the temperature outside climbs, give electrolytes daily • Know what the heat index is

Hauling | Turn your trailer into a swamp cooler!

• Put down shavings about a foot deep and hose the entire trailer, soak the shavings, and don’t forget the ceiling • Make sure all vents and windows are open • If you have mangers, get a small bucket, fill it with water, and set it in manger • Hose down your horse and load • You can also put a fly sheet on your horse after you hose him/her down and

then soak the flysheet • If it is

REALLY hot, you can find flexible ice packs anywhere, freeze, and apply to all four legs with polo wraps.

Keep extra packs in a cooler to change out when the first set warm-up. You can also buy ice packs with Velcro that are for back pain. These fit perfectly around the top of the neck to cool down the horse’s blood as it circulates. • There are also ice blankets that you can secure with poor wraps as well.

Just Google it. • All the things above are manufactured for horse use, but they are expensive.

They are the same as the human ones at a fraction of the cost • Stop every two hours to check horses and see if the ice packs need to be changed out. If you stop at a rest arena or a gas station, they will have access to water so you can soak down the trailer and horses again. Don’t forget to pack a hose.

Competition

• If you must compete outside or indoors in extreme heat, it can be done. • Warming up a horse is where the danger starts. There should be no reason to do this if your horse is broke and knows its job • Keep your horse in the shade with cooling products until just a few minutes before your contest. • Saddle and hand walk • Right before you are up…mount up • After you compete, unsaddle, and hose your horse down

Classic Crown was the first of three foals out of Tiara Bar sired by Doc’s Benito Bar. This horse earned a ROM with 30 working points. The next foal from this Cross was First Priority. This foal had no AQHA show record. The last foal from this Cross was High Corona, and this horse earned 1 AQHA amateur point. Okies Ovation was sired by Okie Leo Money and had no AQHA show record. The last foal out of Tiara Bar was Royal Corona by Corona Cody. This horse had no AQHA show record.

Ruth Bixler was bred by the Waggoner Ranch, but Matlock Rose bought her for the Phillips Ranch from L. G. Bixler and Sons of Waynoka, Oklahoma, in April 1956. She was one of four horses they bought that day. Her dam was a Blackburn Mare, and she was out of a Waggoner Mare whose pedigree is unknown. Ruth Bixler would have an interesting impact on the Phillips Ranch performance horses and the siring success of Steel Bars, just as Tiana Bar and Tiara Bar did.

The 1956 foal for Ruth Bixler was Beaver’s Pep Up by Beaver Creek’s Joe by Beaver Creek. He was either at the side of Ruth Bixler or she was in foal with this colt when they bought her. He would earn 11 halter and five performance points in western pleasure. He would later be gelded and shown in youth by Sue Gasson, earning a ROM with 22 points in western pleasure and western horsemanship. Beaver’s Pep Up did sire 42 foals with five-point earners. The leading point earner was Beaver Beach, with five AQHA Halter Points.

The daughters of Beaver’s Pep Up would produce 98 foals, with 14 performers earning 521.5 points. The majority of the points earned come through his daughter Cooksey’s Pep Up. This unshown mare produced seven of these performers, with six of them earning points. The six were all sired by Two Eyed Jack. They include Pep Up Jackie, the 1974 AQHA Youth World Champion Two-Year-Old Mare. This mare earned an AQHA Championship with Superiors in halter and western pleasure; Two Eyed Beaver was the second AQHA Champion, and the third AQHA Champion was Two Eyed Cooksey. Two Eyed Beaver is the sire of Torima, the dam of the 1989 NRHA Open Futurity Reserve Champion Jac O Rima.

Ben Bar was the first Phillip Ranch foal for Ruth Bixler. This 1958 son of Steel Bars became an AQHA Champion with a Superior in halter with 126 points and 25.5 performance points in western pleasure (20.5), reining (4), and working cow horse (1). He earned 18 Grand Championships with 13 Reserve Grand Championship.

Ben Bar stood a number of years beside his sire at the Phillips Ranch. His sire record tells us that he sired 30 performance ROM with 13 AQHA Champions and his performers earned 13 Superior Awards in halter and western pleasure. His daughter Caramelle was the 1967 AQHA High Point Western Pleasure Mare. Two of his AQHA Champions were Cactus Ben and Miss Vista Bar. Miss Vista Bar was Superior in halter and western pleasure. Cactus Ben is a true Phillips Ranch bred. His sire Ben Bar bred on the Phillips Ranch. His dam Mico Lori was Phillips Ranch bred. She was sired by Cactus Breeze, and she was out of Nellie D by Blackburn. Nellie D was one of the early Blackburn mares used on the Phillips Ranch. The Ben Bar/Mico Lori cross produced four performers with three AQHA Champions consisting of Cactus Ben, Ben Lori, and Mico Bar Ben. Mico Bar Ben was an AQHA Superior Western Pleasure Horse. The fourth performer was Ben Bella, with 13 AQHA halter points. Benetta Bar was the 1959 foal of Steel Bars and Ruth Bixler. She was unshown, becoming a broodmare for the Phillips Ranch. This is where the Eternal Sun comes into the picture. Eternal Sun was purchased as a yearling at the John L. Taylor Estate Sale in California in 1959 by the Phillips Ranch. He was sired by Eternal War and out of Sierra Glitter by Silver King by Old Sorrel. Eternal Sun would first go to the track and run AAA time and then enter the halter arena to earn his AQHA halter points to become an AQHA Champion. He was later sold in the Phillips Ranch Performance Horse Dispersal to Harold Howard and became a highly successful sire. He counts among his foals Eternal Too, the 1969 AQHA High Point Halter Stallion, Big Sun the 1973 AQHA High Point Working Cow Horse, as well as the 1973 AQHA High Point Calf Roping Stallion, and Eternal One the 1972 NRHA Open Futurity Champion. Eternal One was out of the Phillips Ranch bred mare Silent One by Dividend, and out of She’s My Girl by Parker’s Trouble.

Benetta Bar would produce five foals for the Phillips Ranch with four-point earners by Eternal Sun. The first One was Eternal Ben with an AQHA Championship, Del Oro with nine halter points, Eternal Sun Bars with an AQHA Championship and a Superior in halter, and the last one was Eternal’s Lucky with nine halter points.

Vista Bar was the last foal produced by Ruth Bixler. He was sired by Steel Bars. He earned 21 halter points, six Grand Championships, with three Reserve Grand Championships. He sired three arena ROM including Bending Bar, Strich Of Leede, and Rocking Baby. The daughters of Vista Bar produced eight arena ROM with one Superior performer, and that was Sonny Corleone, who was Superior in Hunter Under Saddle.

When we look back at the history of the American Quarter Horse Association, we can truly marvel at the work that went into putting the Stud Book together. Just think of all the stories that could be told about the pedigree history of those early quarter horses. Every horse has a story. As we have seen through Pep Up, one little instance can change the pedigree history of our breed. Thankfully, the pedigree history of Pep Up was verified and changed by people who knew what had happened.

About the Author | Larry Thornton is a Pedigree Analyst and freelance writer for Working Horse Magazine, Speedhorse and Quarter Horse News. Thorton started his writing career in 1984 with his first article being printed in the Speed Horse Magazine. He was also an Agriculture Instructor for 37 years.