Real-life cowgirl: Ontario High School Rodeo Association competitor Amber Gregson
By Lorie Black
HILLSBURGH – Ontario High School Rodeo Association (OHSRA), a division of National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), held its first event of the season in Clinton last weekend.
For some competitors, like Amber Gregson of Hillsburgh, the Clinton Spring Fling rodeo marks the beginning of their final season with OHSRA.
NHSRA was created in 1947, and is an international non-profit organization “dedicated to the development of sportsmanship, horsemanship and the sport of rodeo,” officials state. The association has members from 42 states, five provinces and from Australia.
OHSRA’s mission is to “promote the positive image of rodeo, preserve the western heritage and maintain the highest regard for livestock.”
Popular shows like Paramount Network’s Yellowstone have spiked interest in the competitive equestrian sport of rodeo, specifically rough stock and timed events. But for Amber Gregson and her mother Victoria Gregson it has been a way of life.
The Wellington Advertiser spent some time on the Gregson farm recently, where Amber said she has trained her horse Hoss “since he was a baby. This will be Hoss’s maturing year, his first year competing,” Amber said.
Victoria explained that horses can run as four of five year olds in their maturity year. “He’s big and to build his confidence more we held him back. So, he is running as a five,” she said.
Growing up in the renowned horse country of Erin, Victoria passes on her love of riding to her daughter. Victoria began barrel racing when she was 13, and still does today. At one time, she won the title of Ontario Rodeo Queen in a competition that involved a series of elements including horsemanship.
Grade 6, and has continued on through to this, her final year.
Amber, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student at Erin District High School, has been a rodeo competitor since she was five. Of the ten events available to compete in with OHSRA, Amber focuses on barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending and breakaway roping. Amber joined the Junior OHSRA when she was in
In the past few years, OHSRA has introduced Lil Buckaroos for students in kindergarten through Grade 4 and adjusted their Junior High School Rodeo program to begin in Grade 5 rather than Grade 6, and run through to Grade 8.
Amber has had measurable success as a competitor including winning the title of champion on her horse Big Chief at the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) championship in 2019.
“The sport has grown so much,” Gregson said from the stands at the
The OHSRA is highly competitive, so much so that “girls from New York have come up to join us,” Gregson said.
CONTINUED ON PG 22
It’s an amazing way to allow our next generation of cowboys and cowgirls to learn about rodeo... “ “ - Olivia Jamieson
Home on the range – Amber Gregson with Hoss and riding bareback on the family farm in Erin. The 17-year-old has been competing in rodeos since she was five.
Photo by Lorie Black
Miniature horses – bringing big joy to owners and fair goers
By Lorie Black
ERIN
– This year marks the first time there will be a Mini Horse Show at the Erin Fall Fair. Chair of the show, Jen Ying, who cares for several minis at her farm – 2 Acres Hobby Farm in Ospringe – is excited about the event.
There has been great success and interest in the Welsh Pony component of the fair for decades now, and when Ying was asked to bring her minis to the equine tent at last year’s fair, she agreed. “They were a huge hit. I asked why there wasn’t a mini event, and that’s what happens. You bring it up, you take it on,” she said with a laugh.
Jennifer Mitchell, chair of the Welsh Pony Show since 1996, said, “There’s not really any connection between the two breeds, other than miniature horses were developed by selectively breeding small horses and ponies – so that may have included Welsh Ponies at some point.”
The huge success, and the hard work of those involved in the Welsh Pony show prompted the Welsh Pony and Cob Association of Ontario to select the Erin showing as a Campion of Champions qualifier at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
The Mini Horse Show seems a great fit for the Erin Fall Fair.
The Wellington Advertiser spent some time with Ying on her farm where Ying said that as chair of the event, she will not be handling any of her minis, but believes the event will be a success.
Her love for her minis is apparent in how she interacts
with them. She laughs as one of her equine friends, Abby, nudges her playfully, looking for treats.
Ying said there has been “huge interest already. We’re having an open show. So, your horse doesn’t have to be registered with the American miniature horse registry or association.”
Ying brings “unwanted” minis to her farm and rehabilitates them. “Minis have so much to offer,” she said. Ying is a psychotherapist and is able to use her minis to help some clients work through their challenges.
“It’s important to spread the word that these horses don’t just have to be ridden by small children. Adults can have fun with them, too,” she said.
“You can dress them up in costumes, which Abby loves to do, and train them in in-hand agility, much like when you run beside your dog for agility courses. Minis love it and Abby is
really good at it.
“There is so much you can do. Some of our minis drive – you can attach a cart behind them. They also do liberty work, which is the tricks. You stand next to them, and you ask them to bow, or you ask them to sit, but you’re not actually tethered to them by a halter or lead. So, there’s lots of really amazing things that you can do. And what’s great about minis is you don’t need a huge acreage,” she said.
Ying’s minis include a miniature donkey, which she said is considered a mini horse in the equine world, and is welcome at the fair. Group A minis can be up to 34” at the wither (shoulder), and Group B up to 38”.
Ying said fair goers can expect a lot of events at the Mini Show this year. “There is going to be some fun games, like egg and spoon races. While handling your mini you’re going to have to
balance an egg on a spoon. And young children who are able to mount their minis can actually try to hold the egg and spoon.”
There will also be costume events, mini cart driving and contests that feature showmanship – like handling, pedigree, and in-halter. “There will be about 15 events,” Ying said.
Ying’s dry lot is perfect for Wilma, Tonka, Eddie, Abby, Tom and the others. Ying said it’s important to keep them busy, active and in a dry paddock.
“Morbid obesity is a huge killer for many,” she said.
“Minis don’t need fancy barns. They make great backyard pets,” she said. Life with a mini
Sara Veenstra (née Vanderpol) has had her 21-yearold mini Sunny for 20 years. He hasn’t been in any fairs, but he has given great joy to Sara, her
12 years old.
“It was the love of horses as a little girl that brought him into my life,” she said. Veenstra’s family got their first ponies when she was six years old, “and we haven’t looked back since.”
I wanted a young pony to work with and make my own.
He was bred by good family friends of ours who offered him to us as a yearling.”
She credits Sunny with her career as a farrier. “He hadn’t been handled that much when we bought him. So, I spent a lot of time with him that summer when I was 12.”
Veenstra worked with Sunny and learned about reading equine body language and “not asking them for too much all at once,” she said.
Her business, Warrior Horseshoeing, takes her all over Wellington County where she works with many types of horses,
donkeys and ponies. But she still finds time to spend with Sunny every day on her family’s farm.
Veenstra loves Sunny’s “spunky personality, his character quirks, like diving for the first grass available, having his itchy spots, swinging his head when he’s excited, always nickering and whinnying when we come out to the barn.”
Veenstra said there is an open door at the back of Sunny’s stall so that he “has the option to be outside whenever he wants to.”
She takes care of his grooming, hoof and wound care and keeps a close eye on his teeth. “Minis are prone to have deformities in their mouths and are also prone to laminitis, a condition when excess sugars in the blood lead to inflammation and damage to the feet,” she said.
“I rode him a bit when I was younger but have always been a bit tall for him even when we got him.” While he was never formally trained to ride, Veenstra said on occasion she “let him gallop across the field with me aboard.”
When Sunny was seven, Veenstra trained him to “lunge, and ground drive (have the harness on and me walking behind him, sans carriage).” Sunny’s breeder helped the young Veenstra hitch Sunny up to his cart so she could take him out along sideroads. “All of the cart pulling he has done has been at the farm or on quiet backroads,” she said.
“Sunny has a spunky personality,” Veenstra said. When the Wellington Advertiser spent some time with him, he was in sweet spirits. “As a stallion he is always trying to be the leader, as he would be in a herd in the wild,” Veenstra added.
Sunny needs regular reminders of his boundaries, Veenstra said, but “he is sweet with those he knows and absolutely loves having his mane and tail combed.”
Sunny’s braided tail swept across his flanks, and he lifted his ears as if he understood. Like all of us, Sunny has his quirks. “He is very food motivated and easily excitable,” Veenstra said. She added that he is not fond of cats “and has been known to chase cats and pick them up by their ears!”
Veenstra said it takes time to get to know Sunny. “He tries to have a tough guy shell but really is a sweetheart,” she said.
While Sunny won’t be there, people will have an opportunity to enjoy the talents and beauty of mini horses at this year’s Erin Fall Fair.
LEFT: Small but mighty – Jen Ying of 2 Acres Hobby Farm in Ospringe and chair of Erin Fall Fair’s new Mini Horse Show is surrounded by her equine friends. RIGHT: Groomed and gracious – 21-year-old Sunny poses with his owner, Sara Veenstra.
Photos by Lorie Black
Climate change has impacted horses’ health in recent years: vet
By Robin George WELLINGTON COUNTY –
As the warming climate changes local weather conditions, horses in Wellington County are facing different viruses and infections than they did in the past.
Dr. Emma Webster of Drayton has been working as an equine vet with Heartland Veterinary Services for about 16 years. She describes climate change’s impact on equine health as a “slow, insidious change.
“Just as climate change is a trend that you see over decades, we are probably seeing that same shift happening for our horses as well,” she said.
The biggest shift Webster has seen is with mosquito-borne diseases.
“With climate change, you see different populations of mosquitoes and other carrier insects in areas of southern Ontario that didn’t used to be at risk, because of longer seasons and warming temperatures,” she said.
West Nile virus
Webster said migrating birds, particularly crows and jays, carry viruses including West Nile virus from the south. Mosquitoes contract the virus by biting the birds, and then pass it along to horses through bites.
Most horses who contract West Nile virus from infected mosquitoes are asymptomatic.
However, about 20 per cent of infected horses become sick, and Webster said of those, an average of about one third die.
She said the West Nile virus vaccine has been recommended throughout her career in equine veterinary medicine, but many
of her clients used to opt out “because they didn’t see it as a risk.”
But that’s not the case anymore, she said.
Last year there were six reported cases of symptomatic West Nile virus in Ontario horses, according to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
The cases occurred between August and October in Kawartha Lakes, Niagara, Simcoe, Hastings, and as far north as Thunder Bay.
Symptoms included fever, colic, drooling, twitching, depression, uncoordination, seizures, and an inability to stand.
All six of the horses were unvaccinated against West Nile virus, and at least three died, according to OMAFRA.
Webster said she has seen the virus “fluctuate over the years.
“It was first identified in Canada in 2001, and even that is relatively recent past. Prior to that, it was not something people were worried about. But it came to Canada and became endemic – it’s here to stay now.”
She recommends horses get vaccinated against West Nile virus every spring, so they’re best protected in late summer and fall, when mosquitoes are most likely to be carrying the virus.
Equine encephalitis
Equine encephalitis is another virus carried by mosquitoes, and this one is even more deadly.
Webster said veterinarians are seeing “a lot more” equine encephalitis locally.
Heartland Veterinary Services did not vaccinate against equine encephalitis 16
years ago, she said, but now it’s part of its core vaccine program.
Last year, OMAFRA reported 18 cases of equine encephalitis, and all but one of the horses died – many within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. All were unvaccinated or undervaccinated.
Equine encephalitis causes brain inflammation, and horses showed a range of neurological symptoms including uncoordination, lethargy, fever, seizures, inability to stand, and blindness.
The cases were all reported between July and October in Muskoka, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Ottawa, Leeds and Grenville, and Lanark.
In 2022, OMAFRA did not report any cases of equine encephalitis, and in 2021 it reported four.
Potomac horse fever
Webster said another growing concern for local horses’ health is Potomac horse fever.
Horses pick up the infection by accidently eating freshwater snails, dragon flies, or damsel flies carrying rickettsia, an organism that causes Potomac horse fever, she said.
With wet weather and more standing water in fields, horses are at higher risk of being exposed to snails and aquatic insects carrying the organism, she said.
Potomac horse fever was first identified in Maryland, and has “worked its way up the Eastern coast to Ontario,” Webster said, particularly Ottawa, which she describes as a “bit of a hotbed.
“When I graduated we didn’t see cases of Potomac horse fever here,” she said. Though she’s
rarely seen it herself, Webster said the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph “has definitely seen cases in the last couple of years, so it’s definitely in Wellington County.”
Potomac horse fever symptoms include depression, loss of appetite, fever, diarrhea and colic.
Heartland Veterinary Services has not yet included the Potomac horse fever vaccine as one of its core vaccines because
although a vaccine does exist, its not the most effective, Webster said.
“But I could totally foresee
a future where this does become part of our core, if this does become an endemic disease that we are seeing more regularly.”
When I graduated we didn’t see cases of Potomac horse fever here - Equine vet Emma Webster “ “
Vaccines –
are
by
vet
said certain
including
Here, Webster Aria, a warmblood mare from a barn in Moorefield, is vaccinated against tetanus, West Nile Virus, Equine encephalitis, rhinopneumonitis and influenza. Aria got her rabies vaccine in the fall. Submitted photo
Equine
Emma Webster
vaccines,
West Nile virus and Equine encephalitis,
becoming increasingly important as a warming climate impacts how frequently these viruses, carried
mosquitoes, are effecting horses in Wellington County.
Real-life cowgirl: competitor Amber Gregson
Clinton Agricultural Arena on Sunday. “It never used to be this busy.”
The Advertiser took in the event on Sunday. The skill and control exhibited by even the youngest competitors as they worked with their horses was impressive. The friendship and respect amongst peers was evident.
OHSRA student board of directors president Olivia Jamieson said, “OHSRA is a place where anyone should feel at home. Absolutely anyone attending elementary or high
school can be part of this amazing association.”
Jamieson added that she has made many friends through the association and has developed life skills like leadership, dedication and commitment “while focusing on the importance of education and sportsmanship.”
“It’s an amazing way to allow our next generation of cowboys and cowgirls to learn about rodeo, horsemanship and most importantly, having fun,” Jamieson said.
Amber confirms the value in building relationships that OHSRA provides. She said that
one of things she likes most about competing is the “family it creates around you.”
She also values “the amount of knowledge you gain each and every day. With horses, you can never learn enough. There is always something to improve on.”
For Amber, Sunday’s Spring Fling in Clinton was a success. “Hoss did well in all events for his first rodeo. I was mostly impressed with his poles, as that is a harder event. He tried his heart out for me and that is all I wanted.”
In the fall, Amber plans to
take an online pre-health course and hopes to be able to “squeeze in riding when possible.” Her goal is to become a paramedic.
As for competing, Amber said she will most likely continue barrel racing with the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) and the Ontario Barrel Racing Association (OBRA), and maybe compete in a few Rawhide Rodeos that are sanctioned in Canada and the U.S. by the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA).
Barrel racing: three barrels are set in a triangular pattern and riders round each one. Lowest time wins. Knocking down or touching a barrel adds time penalties.
Breakaway roping: riders tie the end of rope to a thin string that is designed to break away from the saddle horn when the calf is roped, and the string becomes taut.
Goat tying: competitors dismount their horse when it is still running or sliding to a stop. They must flip the staked out goat on its side and tie together three of its legs, then signal with hands to indicate they have completed the run. The event is timed, and the goat must stay tied for six seconds or more.
Pole bending: this timed event tests the speed and agility as horse and rider weave twice through a course of six poles placed in a straight line, 21’ apart.
There are two opportunities to take in OHSRA events locally this May in Hillsburgh. Go to ohsra.ca for details.
TOP: Goat tying – Amber Gregson competes at OHSRA’s Ancaster Fall Fair event in November of 2023. ABOVE: Dismount – In goat tying events, contestants can dismount as their horses are sliding to a stop, or when they are still running. Amber Gregson makes the dismount from Bam at OHSRA’s Ancaster Fall Fair event, November 2023. Submitted photos
Experts say biosecurity measures reduce risk of strangles
By Robin George WELLINGTON COUNTY –
Strangles is a respiratory disease that has for centuries spread fear throughout equine communities across the globe.
While the disease, also known as equine distemper, is rarely fatal, it can cause concerning symptoms such as high fever, lack of appetite, coughing, thick white nasal discharge and severely swollen lymph nodes in the head and neck.
It gets its name because the lymph nodes can swell so severely that they are said to “strangle” the horse, restricting breathing.
Strangles is a highly contagious and serious infection that is considered endemic in most horse populations, according to the government of Ontario.
Records of the disease date back to 1251, and it can be found in almost every country in the world. Strangles affects all equids, including horses, mules, donkeys and zebras.
A strangles case was confirmed at a boarding facility in Wellington County on April 15, according to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
The infected gelding developed a draining lymph node and nasal discharge. An additional three cases are suspected at the same facility.
Two strangles cases were confirmed at a private standardbred farm in the county late in February.
Other cases have been confirmed this year in Waterloo Region, Halton Region, Grey County, York Region, Kawartha Lakes, and Hamilton.
Since February 2023, strangles has been designated as an “immediately notifiable disease” under the Animal Health Act, meaning all veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Ontario must report positive strangles test results to OMAFRA.
The Advertiser reached out to many equine professionals for information on strangles and they kept pointing in the same direction: Dr. Allison Moore.
She is the lead veterinarian for animal health and welfare at OMAFRA, and professionals from as far away as Kentucky say she’s the best person to speak with to gain a deep understanding of the disease.
However, Moore did not respond to the Advertiser’s multiple interview requests.
She did, however, sit down with Standardbred Canada for a
question and answer session all about strangles.
Moore told Standardbred Canada strangles is frequently diagnosed in Ontario, during all seasons, but it is rarely diagnosed within the horseracing industry.
Recognizing strangles
Identifying strangles as early as possible is key to reducing its spread. Temperatures often rise a day or two before the horse starts shedding the contagions, so isolating a horse as soon as its temperature rises can significantly slow the spread.
If a horse has a higher-thanusual temperature or any other signs of infection, it’s important to isolate the animal and call a veterinarian right away, experts advise.
Veterinarians can test for strangles by taking a sample and sending it to a laboratory.
Disease progression
Fever may last a few days and is typically followed by a thick white nasal discharge, in addition to swollen lymph nodes or abscesses in the neck.
“Lymph nodes infected with Streptococcus equi [the bacterium that causes strangles] become large, painful, and will eventually break open and drain pus,” provincial officials state on an Ontario webpage about the disease.
“Once the lymph nodes open and drain, the horse usually recovers quickly, [but] the pus draining from lymph nodes or present in nasal discharge contains large numbers of Streptococcus equi that can easily infect other horses.”
At times, swollen lymph nodes obstruct breathing completely or internal abscesses rupture and lead to septic shock.
It’s possible for abscesses to develop in the abdomen or even brain, Moore told Standardbred Canada
And horses with strangles sometimes develop immunemediated diseases that affect skin or muscle, she added.
“Although very rare, these consequences can be fatal,” Moore said.
Slowing the spread
Strangles is transmitted through horse-to-horse contact and can be carried on people’s skin and clothing as well as equipment.
In certain wet conditions, the disease can survive for up to six weeks without a host.
“It is imperative, therefore, when dealing with a horse diagnosed with strangles, or with horses of unknown health status
... that shared water sources such as buckets and troughs not be used,” provincial officials state.
And during a strangles outbreak, all potentially contaminated equipment and surfaces should be cleaned with a foaming soap agent, rinsed and soaked in a liquid disinfectant.
“Typical disinfectants include Virkon and Prevail,” Moore told Standardbred Canada. “Bleach is broken down by organic debris (manure, puss, etc.) so is not ideal in this situation unless areas are thoroughly cleaned first.”
And infected and exposed horses should be isolated.
“Ideally .. in an empty barn or paddock away from other horses,” advise Ontario officials.
“If no empty barn is available, the horse should be isolated away from high traffic areas,” Moore noted.
And dedicated equipment, including wheelbarrows, shovels, forks, lead ropes and halters, should not leave the isolation area, and hay and grain for [the isolated] horses should be located in the isolation area too.
“Staff working with infected horses should wear protective clothing (such as coveralls), boot/shoe coverings (or use a foot bath) and gloves,” Ontario officials state, and staff and equipment must not go back and forth between healthy and diseased animals.
All exposed horses’ temperatures should be taken twice daily, Moore told Standardbred Canada, and if fever is detected the horse should be isolated. Checking twice daily is impor tant, she added, as some horses only have fevers in the afternoon and some only in the morning.
Movement of horses on and off the farm should be stopped until the outbreak has cleared completely.
Most horses stop transmitting the disease within six weeks of symptoms clearing.
However, according to pro vincial officials, about 10 per cent of infected horses go on to become long-term carriers if proper intervention and treat ment is not administered.
Horses should therefore be tested after recovery, to ensure they have not become asymp tomatic carriers, provincial offi cials recommend.
And paddocks used by infect ed horses should be left empty for 28 days, Moore advises, “to allow sunlight and dry weather to destroy the bacteria.”
cases require no treatment other than proper rest and a dry, warm stall and provision of soft, moist and palatable food of good quality while letting the disease run its course,” according to a consensus statement from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM).
In certain cases, penicillin is administered to treat strangles infections. But according to ACVIM, “veterinary opinion as to whether or not to use antibiotic treatment remains markedly divided.”
Provincial officials state that “antibiotic use is reserved for those horses that have difficulty
formed “can delay maturation of the abscess and prolong the disease.
“In cases of exceptional biosecurity practices on the farm, veterinarians may treat horses that develop a fever with antibiotics prior to abscess development to stop the spread,” she noted.
Prevention
The best way to prevent horses from contracting strangles is limiting potential exposure to the disease, according to the consensus.
ACVIM recommends “quarantine and screening of all new arrivals, appropriate disinfection and cleaning of potentially conta-
Treatment
“The majority of strangles
the consensus statement states.
Fallout from the disease goes beyond horses’ experiences – it can also have significant financial impacts.
“The disease [causes] substantial economic losses to the equine industry worldwide, directly due to treatment for prolonged duration, extended recovery period and other serious complications, and indirectly due to limitation of house movement and cancellation of equestrian events,” states an article published in Microbial Pathogenesis science journal in 2023.
Iceland is the only place where strangles is not present in horse populations – where the import of horses has been banned for over 1,000 years, states the Microbial Pathogenesis article.
Featured in this photo is Cash who is healthy and vaccinated.
