Technology`s Influence On Barn Life

Volume 21 • Number 2
www.horse-journal.com
February 2014
20th Anniversary:
Technology’s Influence On Barn Life
Horse Journal turns 20 years old this month,
and we reflect on trends we’ve seen in horse keeping.
C
an you hear me now? That’s
the one phrase heard more in
our barns now than 10 years
ago, and 20 years ago cell phones
weren’t in wide use. As horsemen,
we’ve become tethered to our cell
phones to the point where they never leave our bodies while cleaning
stalls, riding or driving the trailer.
This cell-phone dependence
persists even though many barns
are cell-phone hell and you need to
slink around to find adequate reception. If you’re truly a child of this
millennium, you long ago traded
your flip phone for a smart phone
that’s the repository of all your
important numbers, including the
vet and feed store. It’s your calendar and daily to-do list, your online
research tool and your camera.
The cell phone is just one aspect,
however, of how technology has
changed our lives as horsemen over
the last decade. It’s almost impossible to maintain a horse business
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
2 Equine Manufacturing
3
Wire Between Fences
4
6
8
9
12 14 15
16
20-Year Trends
Towing Vehicles
Too Clean Stalls; Double Bridle Reins
Thrush Products
Horses Who Pull
Books: Phillip Dutton
Ask Horse Journal; Dogs and Hoof Chews
Aged Horses
When we started 20 years ago, we couldn’t have predicted someone on a phone while riding.
without a website and Facebook
page. Print classifieds have all
but disappeared, as we sell horses
online. You can’t market a horse
without a good-quality video, and
if you want to buy a horse you can
verify his show record online. Prize
lists and entry forms now require a
computer click rather than stamp.
When Horse Journal marked its
10th anniversary in February 2004,
we noted a significant impact on our
horsey lives from our improved understanding of health issues, including ulcers, arthritis, laminitis and
equine metabolic syndrome, plus
the dramatic emergence of diseases
continued on page 3
A Home For Every Horse
A double whammy to horse ownership occurred during
the past decade when the economy took a dive. Many
people were no longer able to care for their horses, and
rescue shelters were flooded. Some people even abandoned horses, setting them “free.” This crisis led to an
increased need for rescue facilities and for new horseadoption protocols.
This is one place where the Internet has helped. “A Home for Every Horse” at
equine.com is dedicated to working with established rescue groups to help
these horses find a stall to call their own. The program was initiated by the
Equine Network, which owns Horse Journal and other media holdings, and
works under the American Horse Council’s Unwanted Horse Coalition.
Copyright 2014 Horse Journal. Subscrber only copy. This PDF may not be reproduced or redistributed in any form by any person for any reason.
Editor-in-Chief
Cynthia Foley
Associate Editor
Margaret Freeman
Performance Editor
John Strassburger
Contributing Veterinary Editors
Deb M. Eldredge, DVM
Grant Miller, DVM
Contributing Farrier Editors
Lee Foley, Steve Kraus, CJF
Contributing Nutrition Editor
Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D.
Contributing Writers
Beth Benard, Nancy Butler,
Beth Hyman, Susan Quinn, Esq.
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Horse Journal™ makes every effort to provide information on horse health, care
and treatment that is authoritative, reliable and practical. It is not intended,
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not assume any legal responsibility. Readers should always consult qualified health
care providers for specific diagnosis and
treatment.
Editorial:
Consumers Direct the Marketplace
Every time we make a purchase, we cast a vote.
S
ince our founding 20 years ago,
Horse Journal has maintained an
open relationship with manufacturers. We don’t evaluate products
in secret. We believe manufacturers
are true experts, and we seek their
insights. A discussion with a manufacturer who has researched their product
is a valuable educational experience.
Early on, I was heartened by the
reception to our critiques from most
equine companies. We became wellacquainted with company executives.
Sometimes we were told they’d also
already noted problems we’d found.
Many times, we’d see our suggestions
incorporated into the products.
Both Associate Editor Margaret Freeman and I have been here since the
first Horse Journal in 1994, and we’ve
learned a lot about equine manufacturing. Anyone who thinks it’s easy is
in for a surprise. Competition is stiff,
and horse people are a tough crowd.
The ever-climbing costs of labor and
materials have caused many companies
to shut down.
While most Americans will say they
prefer made-in-USA goods, their wallets contradict them. Classic CoverUps,
an awesome blanket company started
in 1986 by Lynn Bishop in Pennsylvania, closed after over 15 years. Despite
successful product lines like Horses In
Black and Big Kahuna, the company
could no longer pay workers what
they considered a fair wage.
We’ve also seen equestrian household names like Eisers, Whitman,
Courbette and Miller’s swallowed by
large companies and then disappear.
Cashel and Equine America, on the
other hand, were sold to big companies
but their best products continue today,
seemingly unchanged. We will need to
wait to see what happens to the Ariat
brand, sold in 2012 to the Fisher family
that founded The Gap.
We’ve also seen good companies become great companies, as we watched
Stephen Day take the reins of Dover
Saddlery in 1998 and gallop into a
retail giant, with a strong Internet presence and an ever-growing number of
brick-and-mortar tack stores.
While we’ve witnessed many equine
supplement companies come and go,
Grand Meadows remains a leader. It
was started 1984 by Nick Hartog and
human nutritionist Angela Slater, a
horse owner unhappy with supplements then available for horses.
Their dedication to quality is reflected
in Hartog’s founding of the National
Animal Supplement Council (NASC) in
1999. NASC companies agree to comply with quality and safety standards.
Of all the changes we’ve seen in our
20 years of watching equine manufacturing, we feel this is by far the most
significant and has the greatest positive
impact on our horses.
We equine consumers drive the market. If we balk at a price and refuse to
purchase that product, it won’t last. If
we avoid a product because it doesn’t
meet our standards, we can make it go
away. And if we support the
companies that support us, we
all gain.
Cynthia Foley, Editor-in-Chief
The goal of Horse Journal is to provide practical solutions and hands-on information our readers
can take into the barn and use. We work to make bottom-line recommendations on products we
believe will best serve our readers while standing firm with a back-to-the-basics philosophy on
training, nutrition and horse care. We base our evaluations on field trials, research and experience.
Horse Journal does not accept commercial advertising.
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Andrew W. Clurman
Brian Sellstrom Patricia B. Fox
H o r s e J o u r n a l CHAIRMAN AND CEO
PRESIDENT AND COO
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Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
20th Anniversary
continued from page 1
such as West Nile, Lyme and EPM.
Continued veterinary advances provide insights into horse health that
challenge long-held beliefs.
“It ain’t just hay” is an old phrase
rarely heard among horsemen today. The price and even the source
of hay—due to decreasing land
available to grow hay and increasing price of fuel to ship it—have
become major issues addressed in a variety of ways,
depending on where you live
and what is available locally.
While it’s true that equine
nutrition should be centered
on forage, it’s becoming difficult to
maintain that focus when good hay
is harder to find than good grain.
Instead of piling in hay bales,
horsemen are turning to bagged
forages: pellets and even the old
standby alfalfa cubes, which they
soak and feed in a bucket instead
of on the stall floor. In order to
reduce waste and gain the benefit of
keeping hay available all day, many
barns are using “slow feeding”
techniques and products.
Owners concerned about health
issues are looking for seemingly
“safe” feeds (i.e. low-carbohydrate),
while overweight horses continue
to be a growing problem—pun
intended—especially when turnout
and time to ride become limited.
In trying to get a better handle on
what to feed, horsemen continue
their love affair with supplements,
throwing money and tubs of powders at problems instead of focusing first on the nutritional content
of forage and going from there. In
many instances, new ingredients
can help our horses, such
as the addition of oral
hyaluronic acid to joint
products. But, all too often, they are a balm to the
owner’s mind more than
they are to a horse’s physical (and mental) well-being. Because there are so
many supplements now,
with more pouring onto
the market, they’re
confusing, expensive and not always
safe and effective.
Hence, we welcome
the National Animal
Supplement Council to
identify quality products.
Where and how we buy
supplements continues
to change as SmartPaks
dominate that market.
Tack shops now often sell
more fashion choices than
supplements.
Horse Journal Favorites
Our 20-Year Top 10
Since 1994, we’re reviewed thousands
of products. Many have changed over
the years (for better or worse), while
others have disappeared. But a few
have maintained an amazing level of
quality and reliability. Presented here
are our all-time Top 10 products.
★ Absorbine Liniment
★ Corona Ointment and Shampoo
★ Grand Flex
★ Lexol Leather Conditioner
★ Miracle Collar
★ Original EasyBoot
★ Orvus Shampoo
★ Show Sheen
★ Sore-No More
★ UltraShield Fly Spray
Health Issues
The last decade has seen our veterinarians better able to solve problems through improved diagnostics
and treatment modalities. A horse
that once might have been permanently sidelined due to a stifle
or suspensory injury now often
is back in the show ring in a few
months, and “navicular” no longer
strikes fear in our hearts. That’s the
upside. The downside is cost. Vets
can do so much more, but they have
to charge more as well.
Then there is the price of drugs,
an area where we have little wiggle
room when manufacturers control
patents and distribution. There is
Safety Thought:
Fence Wire
Good fences make good
neighbors (17th century proverb).
I
f horses are kept in pastures or paddocks with a common fence line, the
fence should be topped with a line
of electric wire to reduce interaction. Horses that fuss or kick at each
other through a fence can be injured by the fence itself.
Horse Journal
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m only one real (FDA-approved) cure
for ulcers at present, and it’s more
than $30/day. Doxycycline, once
poured into the feed tub like water
for a Lyme-disease horse, is now
prohibitively expensive—if you can
even find a supply.
And then there are the other professionals who can help our horses.
We used to have the just the names
of the vet and farrier pinned to the
bulletin board. Now the contact list
inside our cell phones contains a
saddle fitter, chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist, nutritionist and a floater with an impressive
array of power tools.
Fortunately, these professionals—and publications like Horse
Journal—can give horsemen new
information. We know better now
about how a bit should fit the mouth
conformation, about weight-bearing
issues, and about how movement
affects soundness.
We’re learning more how syndromes can be related more to physiology than training: teeth grinding
due to ulcers and headshaking
because of allergies rather than bad
hands, for example. Ulcers, indeed,
can lead to a litany of issues that
were once thought to have “behav-
Copyright 2014 Horse Journal. Subscrber only copy. This PDF may not be reproduced or redistributed in any form by any person for any reason.
Februar y 2014
20th Anniversary
ior” or “training” as a source—treat
the ulcers and your horse becomes
easier to ride and handle.
Another issue from the last decade
that looms for the next is the concern about resistance to deworming
products. One answer is to analyze
fecal samples to determine actual
drug needed for deworming and
do less of it overall. But, for now,
most consumers still prefer to buy
a broad-spectrum drug in a simple
tube based on a calendar rotation.
At Home and Away
Along with increased costs generated by improved veterinary
techniques and devices, therapies
at home to help a horse stay sound
or recover from training stress are
becoming more popular and also
more expensive, including such
hands-free devices as treadmills.
A dramatic development is the
advance in footing technology.
Farms are turning to what looks
like dirt mixed with dryer lint for
rings, and the various formulas are
wonderfully stable and dust-free.
Again, the downside is cost. Another potential negative is when a
horse works only on perfect footing and never gets out onto varied
surfaces and terrains, which can be
a problem when at a show or arena
with different footing.
Show facilities now also face
pressure from competitors if their
footing is not upgraded to a similar
standard. While we applaud the
show facilities whose footing can
withstand any contingency, from
drought to flood, we can appreciate
that the cost is being passed along
to show management and thus to
competitors in higher rentals.
Indeed, the cost of showing
continues to go up across every
discipline due to increased use of
computers (necessitating skilled
paid staff rather than volunteers),
Commentary:
Which Products and Trends Have
Most Affected Equine Performance?
A look at the best and the worst tendencies in the equestrian world.
I
f you ask 100 horse owners to name what they conUnparalleled Performance
sider to be the most important products or trends
It’s too bad that the Game Ready system is expensive
of the last two decades, I’ll bet you get 100 differ($3,199 and up; rental $450 per week), because I’d like
ent answers. So let’s agree right now that it’s OK if you
to have one in my barn all the time. In the ’90s the first
disagree with me on my top two performance-affecting
Game Ready units were made for sports teams as their
choices. But maybe you’ll agree that some of the other
trainers discovered its benefits. Within the last decade,
things I’ve named were at least influential.
Game Ready branched out to the horse world.
The two most influential things I’ve written about for
While you can find numerous manufacturers that
the Horse Journal are the Game Ready cold-compression
produce cold-water treatment systems and massage syssystem, a product that was created to help horses stay
tems, we know of no other manufacturer that uses this
sound and competitive, and “learned helplessness,” a
cold-compression system.
training philosophy that has emerged in response to our
era’s drastic increase in the number
Misguided
of inexperienced people who ride
On the other hand, learned helpand own horses.
lessness is a philosophy we keep
I’ve used dozens of products in
out of our barn. Training horses
Horse Journal field trials, and all
should not be about negating
but one were either variations on a
their reflexes and their power.
larger theme or were created for a
Yet, that type of training has besmall niche. But I believe that only
come distressingly popular.
the Game Ready cold-compression
Learned helplessness is a conditreatment system is, literally, a game
tion first identified in humans in
changer, a device that can non-invathe mid-1960s, following research done with dogs. Psycholosively heal a wide variety of injuries
gists have since found that if a
and help prevent soft-tissue injuries.
child is constantly told that he’s
The worst isn’t a product: Learned
doing something wrong or that
helplessness is a training methodolhe can’t accomplish a task, he
ogy that has arisen in the name of
stops trying to do it.
producing a safe, or “bombproof”
The child has learned that he
horse. In it, the trainer or rider seeks
has no control over his fate, and
to remove the horseness of the horse,
he simply gives up. And often
basically through mental or physical
Game Ready is a welcome addition to the
competitive horseman’s barn.
they become rebellious or antidomination.
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20th Anniversary
higher insurance costs, and the
higher price of gas to get there.
People who show can look forward
in the next decade toward dealing
with microchips as IDs and DNA
testing at breed shows.
Recent technology has greatly
affected the clothes we show in.
Fabrics, even for coats, are now
more high-tech so that just about
everything will stretch, wick moisture, and be machine washable.
More boots are sporting zippers and
more colors are being seen there.
You can pay anywhere from $50
to $500 for the same proven level
of protection in a helmet, the dif-
ference in price being factors of
appearance, lightness and ventilation. Dressage in this country has
gone full-scale for helmets since the
devastating head injury to Olympic
rider Courtney King-Dye, while that
influence is spreading more slowly
to other non-jumping disciplines.
We predict 10 years from now that
helmet use will be more pervasive.
Looking ahead
As Horse Journal enters its third decade, we recognize that media have
also changed greatly. If a publication wants to keep its readership,
it has to be multi-platform with an
social, because they’re seeking some means of self-esteem or recognition.
For training horses, this methodology relies on domination, punishment and exhaustion. These trainers
“longe till dead” to wear the horses out; they ride them
with their heads tucked in to their chests (with or without draw reins or other devices); they drill the same
exercises repeatedly and forgive no error whatsoever;
they ride their horses only on strong contact or in a
collected attitude, never letting them stretch out, relax
or look around; they reprimand them every time they
kick at a fly or react to a new sound; they use the bit and
spurs only as a reprimand or punishment, instead of as
a means of communication.
We’re not suggesting that the other extreme—letting
horses behave however they want—is correct either.
In fact, letting horses run rampant is even more dangerous. Like so much in life, training horses is about
finding a middle ground—rather like teaching children.
The trick to training horses is that they must respect us,
but they shouldn’t fear what we’ll do to them.
More 20-Year Trends I Like
I wonder how many lives have been saved and serious
head injuries prevented by the improvement in riding
helmets and their rise to use during the last 20 years?
I know that ASTM/SEI-approved helmets have twice
saved my life during that period.
In the same period, body protectors have become less
expensive because of their greater use across disciplines, which has meant that manufacturers can make a
greater range of sizes, almost eliminating the need (and
expense) of custom-making each vest.
Most riders and trainers have become much more
aware of how important it is for a saddle to
comfortably fit a horse. That’s partly because of
saddle makers’ increased awareness of their customers’ needs and bank accounts, and because
of the increase in the number and education of
veterinarians, equine chiropractors and body
workers—people who deal with saddles that
don’t fit.
I think a tremendous product innovation has
accompanying website, and it needs
to identify and fulfill the specific
needs of its readers. Horse Journal
plans to continue our focus on the
best way to care for our horses by
keeping abreast of research, studying new products for their usefulness and safety, reviewing the best
training techniques, and talking to
horsemen throughout the country
about the issues that affect their
daily lives and the health of their
horses. The essential horse doesn’t
change, but what he eats and wears
will indeed change.
Article by Associate Editor
Margaret Freeman.
been the changeable gullet systems, which were first introduced slightly more than a decade ago. I have three
saddles that use this system, and I hope that in the future the process of changing the gullets becomes easier
so that saddles can be even more interchangeable.
Overall, our care of equine athletes has noticeably
improved over the last decade. We’ve become far, far
more aware of how hard competition horses work, and
we’ve developed a host of products and veterinary and
alternative therapies to help them. Trends like these
need to continue.
Performance Editor John Strassburger
Unfortunate Trends
The expense of competing. Entry, stabling and
other fees keep increasing. That’s because everything costs more, starting with the services we all
want (footing, competent officials, fancy jumps,
stabling with water and electricity, prizes).
The loss of land. It’s slower than it was in the late
1990s. Instead of thousands of acres at once, now
it’s 50 or 100. But, still, every acre lost drives up
hay prices. It also affects the price of housing and
stabling, and it inevitably affects the availability
and cost of trails and show facilities.
The zany trendiness of helmet wearing. They’re
a fashion statement, and it’s become chic to wear
a $500 helmet (that isn’t proven to protect
you any better than the $50 helmet) or to
wear one with bright color patterns or fake
jewels. Yes. I’m a traditionalist.
John Strassburger is Horse Journal’s Performance
Editor. An experienced, versatile horseman, John
trains event riders and horses at his Phoenix Farm in
Healdsburg, Calif.
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Trailering:
Towing: Torque
Means Muscle
You also need to know the GVW,
GVWR, and horsepower.
One of the best ways to learn the
GVW is to find a scale. If you don’t
have your own towing vehicle yet,
perhaps you can beg or barter and
get a friend to help you load everything up and head to a public weigh
station, such as a commercial truck
stop. If that particular scale also
factors in the weight of the vehicle,
it will be necessary to come back
with the vehicle only, to subtract
that weight from the total number.
Yes, it’s worth the effort.
The TOW PACKAGE
Y
ou don’t have to learn a mindboggling list of truck terms
and specifications in order to
choose the right towing vehicle. In
fact, when you get right down to it,
it’s pretty simple.
We looked through 2014 trucks
to see what could pull a loaded
two-horse trailer. Armed with our
figures, your communication with
the dealership staff will go much
more smoothly.
WEIGHT MATTERS
The first step is calculating how
much weight it will need to handle.
This includes the empty weight of
the trailer, plus the total weight of
horses that will be hauled, and an
average of any floor mats, feed, hay,
tack, water, and gear that will come
along for the ride. Every single
thing that’s put into the trailer adds
to the total. And since vehicles are
rated on how much weight they can
safely handle, this is an important
equation to use.
We figured 2,400 pounds for an
empty two-horse, although some,
like the Featherlite 9405 straightload, are only about 1,800 pounds.
Move up to something like a twohorse slant load with a dressing
room and the empty weight can be
closer to 3,300 pounds.
Most trailers will have a sticker or
plate that shows the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) that specifies the weight rating that the trailer
axles are capable of handling. You
want to know this anyway so that
Horse Journal
you never overload your trailer.
But this is not the only magic
number that you need to shop for
a towing vehicle. The other is the
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), which
is the total of your trailer, horses
and gear. In other words, what the
fully loaded ready-to-go-down-theroad trailer weight will be.
Even if you only haul one horse
in your two-horse trailer, figure a
weight with two horses. You want
a maximum possible total, because
you never know when you might
have an extra horse.
Be aware that it’s just as dangerous to overload a trailer as it is to
use a vehicle that is underequipped
to handle the load. There is a maximum weight in each towing vehicle
class of what it can safely handle,
so knowing the numbers counts,
and rest assured that number is
truly the absolute maximum.
Armed with the numbers for GVW
and GVWR, head to the dealership
and seek out a sales person who has
experience in towing, especially in
towing horse trailers, if possible.
This might require some research.
A horseperson who can help you
make a wise decision in a towing
vehicle is worth seeking out. Hauling horses is different from pulling
a boat or a recreational vehicle.
Boats don’t move or scramble in
a trailer. Your vehicle must stay
stable on the road, even if the
horses move a lot. A knowledgeable
sales person can steer you in the
right direction.
Looking for the smallest vehicle
capable of doing the job might not
be the best decision. If money is the
problem, sacrifice bells and whistles, not towing capacity.
The sales person will ask you how
often you plan to tow. Let’s look a
little on the heavy side. Say your
loaded trailer is in the 7,000- to
10,000-pound range. While a halfton truck might handle it, if you’re
running that vehicle at maximum
The SUV Debate
There is some debate over whether SUVs have the stability to tow,
especially on long hauls over steep terrain. Many people do successfully use an SUV. However, the numbers still come into play. Be sure to
discuss with the dealer if any special equipment is needed for towing.
One review, for the 2013 GMC Yukon XL, said it was “a great choice
for towing cars, boats, horses and travel trailers.” It’s in both 1500 and
2500 versions. The 1500 is said to have a towing capacity of 7,800 to
8,100 pounds. The Yukon XL 2500 tows about 9,500 pounds. But a
note said to subtract 1,500 to 2,500 pounds if the Yukon is fully loaded
with cargo and people. While subtracting that number is something
figured into SUV totals, it’s not something listed with the towing capabilities of trucks.
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m Copyright 2014 Horse Journal. Subscrber only copy. This PDF may not be reproduced or redistributed in any form by any person for any reason.
Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
Trailering
capability all the time, such as
towing three or four times a week,
you’re putting a lot of stress on that
vehicle. You might want to move up
to a three-quarter ton, which may
handle the stress better.
HORSEPOWER AND TORQUE
Vehicle specifications can be
researched online on the manufacturers’ websites, and that includes
horsepower and torque. Horsepower
is a term most people probably understand. It’s just that—power—and
that’s what speed is all about. But
torque is different. It could be considered muscle—that extra oomph
that the towing vehicle has to have,
to get the load moving in the first
place—and that extra muscle that
keeps that trailer moving up hills
and overpasses. Torque is extremely
important when pulling horse trailers, especially out of a boggy field
after a local horse show.
Gas vs. Diesel
Many horse owners will tell you
that they feel more torque from
their diesel vehicles, compared to
gas. Often, these are people pulling
larger rigs and using one-ton diesel
trucks, because they need the extra
“muscle.” But, how about the horse
owner who will pull a two-horse
trailer? Is that big diesel truck truly
necessary?
Not anymore. For 2014, Dodge
will produce the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel V-6, a full-size half-ton pickup
that consumers have requested for
years. Though official fuel economy
hasn’t yet been announced, it is
expected to be 26 mpg or higher
highway (not towing, of course).
It is believed it will have more
torque than the Hemi V8 (gasoline
engine). While diesel engines have
characteristically been somewhat
noisy, one review of this new vehicle said, “You have to stand next to
it to hear the traditional, yet muted,
diesel chatter.”
Before you attempt to make the gas
or diesel decision, consider some
pros and cons. “If I were going to
tow constantly,” said our local Ford
salesperson, “such as making a trip
two or three times a week, I’d probably get a diesel. They have more
horsepower and torque (than gas
Horse Journal
vehicles) and are made for towing.
But maintenance costs are more on
a diesel. You’re looking at a significant difference, maintenance-wise.
And obviously, there’s a big price
difference with the purchase.”
Many drivers feel that the long life
and fuel economy of a diesel engine
makes it worth the extra purchase
price and maintenance costs. With
the new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, an
Edmunds review stated that it
“adds $2,850 to the price of a Ram
1500 with the Hemi V8.”
dad’s Duramax GMC. We hauled
his fifth wheel down to Arizona
from Oregon and the truck pulled
it like it was nothing.” She went
on about the creature comforts of
the vehicle and what a pleasure it
was to drive. But, she added, “The
downside for us is you cannot rebuild a Duramax diesel engine, but
you can a (Dodge) Cummins Diesel.” Like many people, they would
love to keep their towing vehicle on
the road for years and years.
Longer Life
Do the math. Have your needed
GVW and GVWR numbers so you
can match the specifications of the
vehicles. Decide how often you’ll
tow your horses and if you’ll drive
the truck itself every day or not.
We found 2014 trucks we believe
are capable of towing a loaded
two-horse trailer. There are options
you may prefer, of course, but these
choices will help you with general
towing capacity.
Article by Contributing Writer
Lynda Layne.
Trucks these days last longer than
in days gone by. Our Chevy salesman commented that through
the 1970s and early 1980s, getting
100,000 miles on a truck was lucky.
But nowadays, it’s not rare to see
trucks with 250,000 miles on them.
Horse owners in Oregon told us,
“We drive our trucks old.” They
went with a Dodge diesel for towing
their horse trailer because of “the
cost and long life. The Dodge was
just better for us. I really like my
BOTTOM LINE
Horse Journal’s Loaded
Two-Horse, Straightload Trailer Towing Choices
2014 Models
Vehicle
Manufacturer
Towing
Capacity
Basline Price
(no options)
Chevrolet
Silverado 1500
5.3L EcoTec 3 V8
2WD
12,000 lbs.
$27,700
Ford F150 5L
8,800 –
11,300 lbs.
Varies engine
size, EcoBoost,
wheelbase
$24,100
Toyota Tundra
10,400 lbs.
With tow
package
$32,500
Dodge Ram 1500
EcoDiesel
9,200 lbs.;
Hemi V8
10,450 lbs.
$24,385
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m Copyright 2014 Horse Journal. Subscrber only copy. This PDF may not be reproduced or redistributed in any form by any person for any reason.
Februar y 2014
Urgent Care:
early can mean a quick fix with
extra fluids given IV or subcutaneously plus encouraging drinking.
Bladder stones blocking the urethra
may require sedation at the least
or possibly general anesthesia and
surgery. Kidney failure is treated
medically but hospitalization with
IV fluids 24/7 may be part of the
veterinary care.
Horses with bladder stones tend
to act irritable and painful. Kidney
hether or not a totally clean
or renal disease may contribute to a
stall is reason to
depressed horse, worsen■ What you see: No damp areas, no manure or both.
be worried varing as toxins build. Apies. Some horses pass little
petite may be off as well.
■ Panic level: None to emergency.
manure or urine in their
Bladder stones and kidstalls, if they go out for
ney problems may first
■ Causes: Many and varied, including colic.
most of the day. Mares are
show up as back pain.
notorious for either only
Colic and/or an obstruc■ Immediate Action: Compare to normal stall mess.
urinating in their stall or
tion/impaction can be beonly urinating outdoors.
■ Call your vet: If there’s no normal urine, if your horse hind a failure to pass maYou need to know what
is straining or shows depression or lack of appetite. nure. If your horse shows
is “normal” for your horse.
any sign of colic, such as
■ Prevention: Know your horse’s normal water intake
Pay attention during daily
sweating, depression and
and normal stall.
stall cleaning. Does your
looking or kicking at his
horse normally have three
abdomen, contact your
piles of manure? Is a cervet right away.
tain area generally wet from urine?
ing with no results is reason to call
Does your mare pee with a sigh of
your veterinarian.
Bottom line
relief as soon as she gets into her
A horse could go a full day or two
Know your horse’s normals, so you
stall? Or maybe your wonderful
without passing manure though
notice early changes in his health.
horse pauses on his way in from
that isn’t normal. Not urinating beArticle by Contributing Veterinary
comes an emergency more quickly.
Editor Deb M. Eldredge DVM.
the pasture to pass a pile of manure
Urine that’s held in
before entering the barn.
the body will lead to a
Be aware that some horses are
buildup of toxins in the
sensitive. A horse used to having
blood. Your horse needs
shavings for bedding may balk at
Tenting skin is a crude test for dehydration
to urinate.
urinating on straw. If you find a
in your horse. Pinch a fold of skin up along
Causes for no urinadry/clean stall and a horse with a
the neck then let go. In a normal horse, this
tion range from dehydecreased appetite or depressed
will immediately flatten back down. In a
dration (try the skinattitude, you should be concerned.
dehydrated horse it will take a bit longer.
tenting test) to bladder
This is also true if you notice your
It’s not foolproof, though. Also look at your
stones to kidney failure.
horse straining to urinate or pass
horse’s gums. They should be pink and
Catching dehydration
manure but with no results. Strainmoist with a glistening appearance.
A “Too Clean” Stall
This could be a warning sign of an illness,
like impaction.
W
Quick Dehydration Test
Fix A Problem
Double Bridle Rein Materials
The trick is to differentiate the feel of the reins.
I
f you use a double bridle and have difficulty keeping each rein at the desired
length, use different materials for each rein. The problem usually occurs when
the rider attempts to shorten the snaffle and inadvertently shortens the curb at
the same time, thus getting it too tight. Less traction for the curb helps avoid this
problem. For example, in the picture, the snaffle has a rubber rein while the curb
is plain leather. Or try a web rein or braided leather for the snaffle. It also helps when the two reins are of different widths.
Horse Journal
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Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
Hoof Care:
Trouble in the Grooves of the Hooves
Thrush isn’t usually serious, but it can get that way.
T
hrush can develop right under
our noses . . . literally! Fortunately, it’s usually easily
treated and managed. The worst
thing you can do is ignore it, as
serious thrush infections can cause
injury and lameness. But fear not!
You can head it off . . . at the frog.
nantly we find a nasty little stinker
named Fusobacterium necrophorum. In addition to bacteria, thrush
has a fungal component. Fungi are
hearty bugs that can be difficult to
kill. They love environments that
are moist with little air.
What is Thrush?
Even the most diligent hoof pickers
can find a thrush infection. And
that doesn’t necessarily equate to
poor horse husbandry or hoof management. Factors such as anatomy,
soil water content, lameness and
hoof pads can stack the deck
against us.
Anatomic predisposition: Some
horses have extremely deep sulci
that make it difficult to fully pick
clean. Draft horses, Friesians, donkeys and warmbloods are the most
common breeds to exhibit this trait.
Environment: If a horse lives
in a perpetually wet environment,
such as a swampy area, it can be an
uphill battle. The constantly wet
environment means air can’t get
into the grooves of the frog and dry
Most of us recognize thrush as a
smelly infection that eats away at
the frog, especially down in the
cracks called the sulci. When we
sink our hoof picks into a thrushinfected crack, we drag out black,
gooey, stinky crud. It can seem like
there’s just no end to it! In some
cases, the frog itself peels away, too.
Thrush predominantly occurs
because of a nasty group of bacteria
called anaerobes, and it can quickly
appear on all four feet. Anaerobic
bacteria grow in environments with
little-to-no oxygen, like deep in the
sulci, the crevices of the frog.
There can be dozens of different
species of anaerobe involved in a
thrush community, but predomi-
How could this happen?
Consider This . . .
■ Strong iodine and Betadine aren’t the same. If you treat
thrush with Betadine or Povidone Iodine don’t expect
great results. You have to use 7% iodine, aka “strong
iodine,” to get true results in most cases.
■ Strong 7% iodine must be obtained from your
veterinarian because sales are regulated by federal and
state laws. (Why? Iodine crystals can be used to make
methamphetamine.)
■ Formalin, a liquid formula of formaldehyde, is a strong
antiseptic that combats thrush (ask your vet for it).
■ Bleach, aka generic Clorox, will effectively kill most thrush
infections. However, it can be harsh on tissues and may
damage them.
Horse Journal
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m Out-of-control thrush can open the door
for more serious problems, like white-line
disease.
them out. Similarly, wet and soiled
bedding provides all the substrate
that thrush needs to thrive. In these
situations, no matter how much you
pick the feet, the odds are packed
in favor of thrush.
Timid picking: A good hoof
picking takes some effort. You
won’t hurt your horse getting down
deep into the cracks. If your horse
flinches, something is wrong and
you need to intervene. (See sidebar
on hoof picking.)
Infrequent hoof picking: If
your horse lives in a stall or small
paddock, pick out his hooves daily.
These horses have a higher risk of
thrush. Horses who have room to
run clear debris on their own.
Caudal heel pain/lameness: Believe it or not, many veterinarians
find first-time thrush infections in
heel-sore horses or horses that avoid
landing on the back of their foot because of lameness somewhere else.
Some veterinary podiatrists
believe that when the horse avoids
landing on the back of the foot, expansion and contraction of the frog
doesn’t occur, and thus debris will
accumulate there. Also, blood flow,
which influences the health of all
tissues in the body, is limited in the
absence of concussion to the area.
How much lameness and heel
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Februar y 2014
Hoof Care
Horse Journal Recommended Remedies
Horse Journal Editor’s Choice $ Horse Journal Best Buy
Hoof Soaks - Use With Veterinary Advice
Product Name
Cost
Comments
Sav-A-Hoof
www.sbs
equine.com 239-354-3361
$20/
32 oz.
$1.25 to
$2.50 per
treatment
Place the hoof in a medicator/soaking boot. Place 2 to 4 oz of
product in the boot, so it is deep enough to cover the affected
area. Soak for 30 minutes twice a day. Strong antibacterial and
anti-fungal ingredients.
Cleantrax
Equine
Technologies
978-443-8078
$22/
25 grams
one
treatment
(1 to 2
hooves)
Mix contents of bottle with one gallon of water. Place contents in
a soaking bag, then put the horse’s hoof in the bag. Soak for 45
to 60 minutes. Product remains active for 90 minutes, allowing
you to do two hooves for 45 minutes each. After soaking, remove
mixture and rewrap hoof for 45 minutes (product continues
to work). Treatment can be repeated every two to four weeks.
Strong disinfectant. Use with veterinary supervision.
White Lightning
www.
grandcircuitinc.
com
888-427-5521
$13/8 oz.
liquid
$3.25 per
treatment
Contains Ciderm EQ, a system containing sodium chlorite and a
mild acid. Mix liquid with white vinegar and soak hoof. Effective.
Works quickly. Stand horse in solution for 45 minutes.
Keratex Hoof
$30/
1 Liter
$1.25 per
treatment
Active against a wide spectrum of bacterial and fungal
organisms. Use one capful to a half bucket of water and soak
hoof for 10 minutes.
Wash
www.keratex.net
888-537-2839
Commercial Thrush Treatments
Product
Cost
Comments
Allen’s Blue Powder
www.farrierproducts.com
800-468-2879
$12/9 oz.
$1.33/oz.
Medicated powder contains copper
sulfate crystals. Works well as
preventative and for treatment of thrush.
$ D-Thrush
www.durvet.com
800-821-5970
$14/16 oz.
87¢/oz.
Copper naphthenate. Effective. Can be
messy to apply.
Hooflex Thrush Remedy
www.absorbine.com
800-628-9653
$16/12 oz.
$1.33/oz.
Chloroxylenol and alcloxa. Effective but
gentle on tissue.
Horseshoer’s Secret Thrush
Treatment Aid
www.farnamhorse.com
800-234-2269
$15/7 oz.
$2.14/oz.
Copper naphthenate, Effective. Quiet
no-pump aerosol that can spray in any
direction.
Kopertox
Zoetis/Fort Dodge
Available from your retailer
$28/16 oz.
$1.75/oz.
Liquid copper napthenate. Effective.
Squeeze bottle liquid can be messy.
Thrush Buster
www.mustadhoofcare.com
860-241-3630
$13/2 oz.
$6.50/oz.
Formalin, PVP iodine, gentian violet.
Effective but gentle on tissues.
Thrush Stop
$13/8 oz.
$1.63/oz.
Undisclosed ingredients. Effective. Works
quickly.
Thrush XX (Farnam)
www.farnamhorse.com
800-234-2269
Liquid $17/16 oz.
$1.06/oz.
Aerosol $17/7 oz.
$2.43/oz.
Copper napthenate. Effective. Liquid or
a no-pump aerosol that can spray in any
direction.
White Lightning
www.grandcircuitinc.com
888-427-5521
$21.95/2 oz. gel
$10.98/oz.
Contains Ciderm EQ, a system containing
sodium chlorite and a mild acid. Gel can
be applied directly to hoof, then covered.
Effective. Works quickly.
www.sbsequine.com
239-354-3361
10
Horse Journal
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m pain play into thrush is still unknown, but countless veterinarians
have reported horses that developed
a sore heel also develop thrush,
often for the first time. In addition,
thrush can be an ongoing problem
in horses with a history of laminitis. Is this due to altered blood flow
in the hoof? Does it relate to how
the horse distributes weight on the
hoof? More research is needed, but
circumstantial evidence exists.
Horses with pads: Farriers may
place a hard plastic pad between
the shoe and the hoof on thin- soled
or foot-sore horses. While pads undisputedly make some horses more
comfortable, they’re often accompanied by thrush because the pad
prevents hoof picking and virtually
cuts off air flow to the bottom of
the foot. Most farriers combat this
by placing chemical-soaked gauze
pads in the cracks of the frog or tell
owners to routinely squirt a desiccating agent under the pad.
Thrush terrors
Thrush can open the doors for major issues in some horses:
1) White Line Disease/Seedy Toe:
This aggressive bacterial/fungal
infection eats the hoof wall along
the white line. Affected hoof tissue
literally crumbles away from the
hoof wall like chalk dust. It can
result in compromised hoof stability and severe pain if the infection
reaches live tissue.
White line requires both the
veterinarian and the farrier. It involves removing the shoes, cutting
away the infected hoof, and applying powerful medications to kill
the infectious agents. Recovery can
take months.
2) Canker: This problem is occurs
more frequently in areas where
soil is moist year round. Canker is
a painful proliferative growth that
originates in the sulci and grows
like cauliflower out of the foot. Canker is like thrush on steroids!
Canker infections must be surgically removed and treated with aggressive, prolonged medical therapy
in most cases. And it can recur. It’s
a long haul with canker.
3) Hoof abscess: If thrush burrows deep enough, it can contribute to the formation of an abscess.
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Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
Hoof Care
This occurs as the body attempts to
battle the infection by walling it off.
As the bacteria replicate and grow,
pressure from the increased numbers cause extreme pain.
Can thrush be prevented?
No, it can’t always be prevented.
But you can lessen the odds:
• Pick hooves every day.
• Keep stalls clean.
• Lay base rock or decomposed
granite in wet or muddy areas.
• Sprinkle wet spots with powdered lime, Stall Dry, Sweet
PDZ or Odor No More.
• Have the farrier trim back the
edges of the frog to open up the
sulci to allow more air in.
• Prophylactically apply a thrush
remedy to the frogs weekly during wet times of year.
He’s got it! Now what?
For mild thrush, apply a good commercial hoof product containing
iodine or copper to the frog daily
until the infection has cleared. Use
it weekly and more frequently during wet times of the year. In addition, if another horse on the property gets thrush, all horses should be
treated because thrush is bacteria
and fungi, which can be spread.
Get your farrier out at the first sign
of thrush. You can get ahead of an
infection physically by having the
farrier cut away diseased and damaged frog tissue. As long as that tissue remains in place, it will serve
as a nidus for thrush infection.
Hoof soaks can be used for extreme cases including white line
disease, seedy toe and post op canker. However, we strongly advise
you to only use hoof soaks under
veterinary advisement.
Pick Out Those Hooves
Remember when you were taught
to pick out a hoof? You learned to
stand at the shoulder/hip, facing
opposite of the horse, holding
the hoof in the hand closest to
the horse. You were told to hold
the hoof pick firmly and place the
pick end in the crevices alongside
the frog. Starting at the heel, you
pulled all the debris out of the
crevice, even if it took two or three
swipes. You then clear the debris
around the sole and rim of the
hoof, finishing up with a hard brush
to remove every bit of dirt.
Remember that the horse’s sole
is normally flaky/powdery and
chunks of dead sole can come off
Put effort into your daily hoof picking.
easily when you pick the hoof.
Some missing frog is also normal. Horses sometimes ”shed” the dead,
insensitive portions of their frog. When you pick up the foot, all you
see is crater with a small triangular structure in the depths of where
the frog used to be. Don’t panic. The frog will grow back without any
treatment. The horse may be a bit sensitive for a few days until it does.
Horses that do not have their frogs regularly trimmed are much more
likely to shed like this.
What tool is best? Choices in hoof picks run from the plain jane basic
metal pick with a plastic coating on the handle to fancier ones. There’s
the plastic pick with a brush on the back, hoof picks with pictures/engraving, and we’ve seen a number of them come out of the forge of
yet another farrier determined to, well, build a better hoofpick.
There’s even one on the market that includes a light (Illuminated Hoof
Pick, MJ Equine Tools, about $20), and one that we would be afraid
to leave unguarded. Called the Cou de Selle, this Hermes hoof pick
comes in a case of morocco goatskin case and will set you back $260.
Clearly, this is for the person who already owns literally everything
else he or she could want.
Bottom Line
As a rule of thumb, if your horse
has thrush, your product should
produce results in a week to 10
days. If the problem worsens or
your horse becomes lame, it’s serious, so call your farrier and vet.
Work to prevent thrush with
through stable management, hoof
picking, trimming, and weekly application of a thrush remedy.
Article by Contributing Veterinary
Editor Grant Miller DVM.
Horse Journal
A clean, well picked-out hoof. We’d finish
up with a quick brushing to move the last
of the debris.
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m We have found one that does
stand out from the crowd with
its ulitarian, workmanlike appearance. The Ultimate Hoof
Pick (www.ultimatehoofpick.
com) truly is a “better mousetrap.” While at $16.95 (or $14.95
for the smaller size), it’s not
inexpensive, it is a sturdy,
balanced hoof pick with a
comfortable rubber grip and
a strong pick end. It cleans
out hooves with ease, even
packed-in snowballs. It gets
the job done quickly. For hardpacked hooves, we don’t think
you can beat it.
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Februar y 2014
11
Performance:
Solving The Puzzle
of Horses Who Pull
Sometimes the puzzle is easy to solve, and
sometimes it isn’t.
I
t’s not a fun feeling: You’re heading down a slight hill toward
a cross-country fence, and you
realize that you have no brakes
and no steering. Your horse isn’t
responding at all to your aids, and
you feel as if he’s pulling your arms
out of your shoulders.
Somehow, you clear that jump and
continue on, but nothing changes.
He’s still just carting you around
the course. You finish and breathe a
great sigh of relief, wondering, how
do I solve this problem?
Self-Analysis
The first step is to analyze why
your horse leans on your hands or
pulls with such determination.
Is it over-enthusiasm for the job?
Is he just too eager to gallop and
jump? These types usually settle
down after two or three minutes
on the cross-country course or an
hour of foxhunting, and they usually relax after they get to know
the routine of your sport. Time and
exposure generally fix this type of
horse, eventually, often with the
help of a stronger bit or noseband,
or a martingale.
But, with some horses, a bigger bit
causes them to refuse, because the
gallop is where they get their courage. In that case, you must learn to
ride the horse like he wants to go.
Is it fear? If they’re afraid, what
are they afraid of? And why? This
can be an extremely difficult question to answer. You have to read
their body language and be aware of
things around them. Even then, the
answer could still prove elusive.
Is it a physical weakness or stiffness? Is he unable to use his back or
hindquarters to lift his shoulders,
because of an injury or a weakness?
Or is it simply because he’s built
12
Horse Journal
To gallop with bridged reins, cross both
reins over the neck and hold both with
each hand, pressing down against the
neck. With this method, the horse pulls
against himself.
downhill, with his head lower than
his hindquarters?
We had a horse named Bordeaux,
who leaned non-stop on the right
rein, whether you were trying to do
flatwork, jump or go across country.
He was a huge horse, and, although
he was young when he came to us,
he was unable to bend or swing his
back or hindquarters, especially his
right hip, so he always pulled left to
get away from that hip. We greatly
reduced his leaning and pulling
with more than a year of chiropractic treatment and training that
emphasized developing strength
and suppleness (including a lot of
trotting and cantering up hills).
Is it actual pain, perhaps in his
back or hindquarters? A pulled
muscle or ligament, or a neurological problem, or perhaps a saddle
that doesn’t fit properly? These
factors could cause the horse to appear to be, or feel like he’s trying to,
run away from something. It would
be unusual, though, for bolting or
running off to be the only symptom of these conditions, as such a
problem would usually cause other
unsoundness symptoms.
Is it your riding? Are you pulling
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m on the mouth of a horse who doesn’t
like you to do that? Are you tense
or anxious, causing him to be the
same? These are the two most common problems.
A Hard-Core “Puller”
We’ve had three horses with fairly
typical cases of pulling.
The first was a Quarter Horse gelding named Willie, a horse my sister
owned and rode for many years but
whom I competed and foxhunted
for the better part of a year shortly
after she’d purchased him.
Willie was a hard-core puller;
probably the hardest and most
determined puller I’ve ever sat on.
He could literally grab the bit and
run off with you, and the only way
to stop him was to put both hands
on one rein and pull him in a circle
until he stopped.
Fortunately, he didn’t remain a
runaway throughout his life. He
was never what you’d call light in
your hand when cantering or galloping, but he did stop bolting.
We never figured out exactly what
caused Willie to take off. Perhaps
it was physical—he was built quite
downhill, and he may have been
unable to hold himself in balance.
But I suspect there was a training
issue too, from before my sister
bought him. My suspicion has been
that someone became confusingly
rough with their hands (or other
aids) when he’d start to pick up the
speed he couldn’t control, and the
two sensations together scared him.
What did I do in those months
I rode him? A lot of transitions,
circles, and changes of rein. In the
ring and anywhere while hacking—
on the side of a hill, in the middle
of a field, on a wooded trail, in the
middle of a stream. My goal was
to develop the muscles in his back
and hindquarters and to give him a
better understanding of, respect for
and confidence in all my aids.
I recall Willy bolting with me
several times, during the first six
or seven weeks I rode him. Later,
I completed three training level
horse trials on him with no crosscountry jumping faults—and no
bolting—riding him in a D-ring Dr.
Bristol bit, a figure-eight noseband,
and a running martingale.
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Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
Performance
When she raced, Ariel’s downhill gallop wasn’t
a problem.
Built Downhill
Ariel was a Thoroughbred mare
who’d won 10 races before I purchased her to steeplechase and to
foxhunt. I ran her over hurdles and
over timber, placing in two or three
races, before turning to eventing
and competing her through training level.
Ariel didn’t bolt, but she was
built slightly downhill, and
could she lean on the bit! During the three years I raced her,
this wasn’t a problem, because
you want to feel the horse pulling against the reins. That’s why
jockeys ride with a “bridge” in
their reins—you make sort of
a loop so that both hands are
holding both reins, and then you
press down on the neck with
the “bridge” that forms, so that the
horse is pulling against himself, not
you. I’ve always ridden cross-country courses with a bridge in my
reins, taking my hands out of the
bridge at the more gymnastically
demanding jumps.
Ariel’s low head carriage and
strong hold was more of an issue
when I started eventing her. With
lots of flatwork, with an emphasis
on transitions and leg-yields, her
gallop did become more “up.”
I also did a great deal of gymnastic jumping exercises that forced
her to lift her forehand by putting
her hindquarters underneath her.
Those exercises also complimented
her incredible cleverness and her
natural desire to stand up if she
made a mistake.
I never used a “big” bit on Ariel,
because I thought it would just
anger her, plus I felt so comfortable on her. I rode her in a variety
of bits, but I mostly jumped her in
a double-jointed full-cheek snaffle
with a figure-eight noseband.
Alba: Not A Classic “Puller”
My Quarter Horse mare Alba,
that combination expecting
who’s competing at the
the other to do something,
intermediate level in eventbased on our previous expeing, isn’t a classic “puller” in
riences. I was riding quietly,
that she never feels heavy or
desperately hoping she’d
really strong in my hands. But
put in two strides instead
it’s always been a challenge
of one stride between each
to moderate her speed in the
element, while she was—for
jumping phases—because
the first time—waiting for
her head comes up when I
directions from me.
try to restrain her. I’ve used a
How have I tried to deal
combination of training and
with Alba’s speed and head
accommodation, because
throwing? The basic answer
her speed results from two
is 5 ½ years of training. She
factors: her anxiety-causing
now better accepts and
experiences as a barrel racer
I don’t really consider Alba a classic “puller,” but she
trusts my aids, so that, about
before she came to me at age can fly across the ground.
95 percent of the time, I can
6 and the genuine over-enactually
ride
her
to
the
jumps in a balanced and
thusiasm she developed for jumping.
relatively steady manner, instead of just steering
I used to be able to do little more than steer Alba
and hoping.
toward the correct fence for the first five or six
But tack has helped too. When I started her at trainjumps, when I could literally feel her take a breath
ing level, I put a double-jointed three-ring bit on
and come back to me.
her, which has worked perfectly because it gives me
leverage when I need it but softness when I don’t.
In her first year at preliminary level, Alba stopped
twice at early combinations because the second
She’s also always jumped in a short running martinelements simply came up too fast for her to react.
gale, and when I switched to the three-ring, I also
But later in that first year, she stopped twice at the
put on her bridle a second noseband with a shadow
first element of an early rail-ditch-rail combination.
roll. Both pieces of equipment are meant to try to
Confused, I rode her rather aggressively at it on the
keep her head down, instead of at my eye level.
third attempt, determined that we weren’t going to
be eliminated, and she sailed through it beautifully.
Finally, last year I switched Alba’s noseband from a
flash to a figure-eight, and that seemed to add the
After finishing the course and pondering our error,
last bit of control when I needed it, because it keeps
I realized that it had been a watershed moment
her from setting her jaw against my half-halt.
in our working relationship: We’d each arrived at
Horse Journal
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Februar y 2014
13
Performance
Interestingly, to jump Ariel well,
you had to be soft with your hands
and trust that she’d bring her head
up before the jump, which she
always did. You also couldn’t try to
hold her to a deep distance, because
she’d just jump against your hand
and leave out a stride or two. She
insisted that you leave her alone
to do her job. She never fully accepted the discipline that dressage
requires, but I always trusted her to
jump anything.
Runaway Reputation
Sam became my wife Heather’s
event horse, after he’d developed
a reputation as a runaway in the
hunting field and with more than
one event rider. We determined
that Sam’s problem was other
people’s riding—they pulled on
him, so he pulled back. Heather
isn’t a “handsy” rider, so she and
Sam were well suited, because Sam
didn’t pull if she didn’t pull.
But there was more than that to
Heather always rode Sam in a Happy
Mouth snaffle.
Media Critique:
Modern Eventing With Phillip Dutton
Modern Eventing with Phillip Dutton. By Phillip Dutton with Amber Heintzberger. Soft cover.
2013. Trafalgar Square Publishing. $39.95. Available www.horsebooksetc.com, 800-952-5813.
I
n eventing, names don’t get much bigger than
Phillip Dutton, winner of two Olympic team
gold medals and instructor of a long line of
students that have gone on to glory of their own.
Clearly, Dutton’s system is incredibly successful.
This book is the bible of that system. From
feeding programs and saddle choices, to schooling exercises and horse selection, every piece
of what his True Prospect Farm juggernaut has
created is cataloged here.
For an interested student, it’s a comprehensive
how-to guide, even if it’s not terrifically creative. But that’s the trick.
The level of detail here is so intense that it’s hard to envision anyone
other than a dedicated student of the sport getting through it. For a
trainer, it’s a fantastic guide, and implementation of at least parts of
the Dutton program can only help any competitor.
The book is well-written, well-organized, and comprehensive. It’s
filled with excellent, illustrative photos of Dutton, his students, his
equipment and barn. But the level of detail—an intrinsic factor in
Dutton’s success—may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
There are a few exceptions to the technical framework: One is a
small section at the end, in which Dutton discusses many of his top
horses and their careers—at turns funny, enlightening, and sad.
The other is a healthy dose of sport psychology sprinkled throughout
the book. Anyone who has seen Dutton perform with ice water in his
veins time and again can see the inordinate value in his insight here.
He also has segments in the various chapters called Personal Stories,
which illustrate his points with real-life experience.
Bottom Line: We loved this book. If you want to know every tip,
trick and guideline from one the most successful eventing programs in
American history, this book is for you. It’s a blueprint for success.
Best Suited For: People with enough experience to absorb an in-depth
guide to the care, selection and management of event horses.
You’ll Be Disappointed If: You aren’t an eventer or at least interested
in their management techniques, or, you’re looking for a basic guide.
John Strassburger, Performance Editor
14
Horse Journal
w w w. h o r s e - j o u r n a l . co m Sam. He was opinionated, and before Heather began to ride him, he’d
never learned to respect or trust the
aids, either the driving aids or the
restraining aids. So she spent the
first six months taking him back
to the basics, teaching him that
the aids are how we communicate:
Walk, trot and canter on a circle in
a steady rhythm with transitions,
responding to the half-halt, and
lateral work, again teaching him to
respond calmly to the leg.
Until he reached his teenage years,
Sam often seemed determined to
live up to his runaway reputation
on the cross-country course, especially for the first five or six jumps.
All Heather could do was point him
to the correct jump and then stay
out of his way, which made early
combinations particularly problematic. Eventually, his hysteria
subsided, so that he was rideable
after the first or second fence.
Heather always rode Sam in a
double-jointed, loose-ring Happy
Mouth snaffle, with a flash noseband, because she wanted him to
trust to work into the bit, not to just
fight its restraint.
Bottom Line
If your horse is a confirmed puller
or leans resolutely on the bit, it’s
likely caused by weakness/pain in
the back or hindquarters or a lack
of respect for your aids. Training
that focuses on developing strength
and developing that trust is the
most likely prescription, although
a physical issue will likely require
chiropractic or veterinary care.
Article by Performance Editor John
Strassburger.
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Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
Ask Horse Journal
Ask Horse Journal
Build Your Riding Strength
Just as for your horse, cross-training will help
increase your overall fitness.
I
only have my one horse to ride,
and I’m frustrated by how weak I
feel in the saddle and how tired
I become when I ride. What can I do
to get stronger and fitter?
Performance Editor John Strassburger responds: People who ride
sometimes forget that riding is an
athletic endeavor that requires
fitness, although the fitness level
depends upon what you’re doing.
Athletes in other sports are aware
of the benefits of cross-training.
Running, swimming and bicycling
are all excellent methods to develop
cardio fitness and strength, and
I used to do all three during the
years I too had only one horse and
was aiming for three-day events or
riding in steeplechase races. Each
week I’d run three or four days
(from 2 miles to 8 miles), and I’d
either swim or bicycle another one
or two days.
If you haven’t been performing
any fitness routine, start by discussing it with your doctor. If you get
the green light, begin walking vigorously for 30 minutes, three to six
days a week, building that up to 45
to 60 minutes. If you can, add some
running sections to your walking
route, starting with three or four
minutes at a time and working up.
The thing about walking is that the
only cost is a pair of good athletic
shoes made for walking.
You could also go to a gym or fitness center to develop strength and
cardiac capacity. I’ve also known
men and women who’ve used
personal trainers to great effect.
You can also, of course, invest in a
home-fitness machine.
You’ll benefit most if you make the
Handwalking nicely combines exercise for
both the horse and the person.
exercise a continuing and regular
part of your life. You can’t think,
“OK, I’ll exercise for six months,
and then I’ll be fit.” No, in another
six months you’ll slip back to where
you started, just as your horse
would if you stopped riding him.
Strength and fitness, in humans
and in horses, is progressive, not a
one-shot deal.
Remember, too, that although
cross-training is beneficial for any
sport, the only way to become truly
fit for any sport is to actually do
that sport. To become stronger and
more proficient at riding, you have
to ride, as much as you can.
Did You Know?
Dogs And Hoof Chews
It isn’t always a good idea.
V
irtually every barn has a barn dog or at least canine visitors. And dog owners are
constantly looking for safe chew items for their dogs. So, it’s only natural for dog
owners to consider giving their dogs hoof trimmings to chew. But before you jump
on the hoof chew bandwagon, there are some things to consider.
If a horse has been receiving any kind of treatment for the hooves, such as thrush solutions, the hoof
should be kept away from dogs. Those medications are often toxic if ingested by a canine.
Large pieces of trimmed hoof and small dogs are not a good combination. A greedy dog could easily overeat on a stable’s worth of hoof trimmings. Think Corgi here!
Remember that horse hooves are walking around in manure. If you have dewormed shortly before a farrier visit with any ivermectin product, the hoof trimmings could be contaminated with manure containing
some ivermectin. Ivermectin can be toxic to many breeds of dogs (see January 2012).
Hard, brittle hoof trimmings are not safe for dogs. Just like brittle cooked bones, they can splinter internally, crack teeth and cause intestinal damage.
If you feel your dog needs (basically wants) some hoof, limit it to fresh trimmings and small pieces. Then
clean up all the rest of the trimmings and dispose of them safely where your dogs can’t get to them.
Deb M. Eldredge, DVM, Contributing Veterinary Editor
Horse Journal
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Februar y 2014
15
Horse Journal
on the Web
www.horse-journal.com
★ All new, redesigned website, still
with full access for subscribers.
★ Read Blogs from Dr. Deb Eldredge,
John Strassburger, Margaret
Freeman and Cindy Foley.
★ Sign up for our free monthly
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TM
Aged Horses Vary In Needs
Study finds that most older horses
should be treated like, well, horses.
A
colored by economic factors. An
owner may be willing to spend thousands on a young performance horse
or breeding horse but not so much
for a retired geriatric horse—and
older horses are less likely to be be
insured for such issues. Still, in
the other categories of colic, senior
horses did as well as the younger
horses and the geriatric horses with
colic were not more commonly
euthanized than were adult nongeriatric horses.
Interestingly, musculoskeletal
problems were less common in the
geriatric group. This is also likely
to be influenced by the fact that the
facility was a referral hospital.
Chronic problems like arthritis
are more common in elderly horses,
while trauma and fractures will be
more common among young horses.
The local vet will handle most arthritis cases with pain meds
and supplements. Trauma
cases, including fractures, are
more likely to be referred.
n interesting study out of the
where colics might potentially be
Marion duPont Scott Equine
shipped for surgery. Blood work
Medical Center in Leesburg,
results between the groups were not
Va., was published in the Dec. 15
found to be significantly different.
Journal of the American Veterinary
Colic, however, was a main area
Medical Assn. Under lead author
of concern for the older horses.
Adriana G. Silva DMV, MS, the
Among horses with idiopathic colic
study looked at health problems and (colic with no identifiable cause),
their outcomes in geriatric horses
senior horses were more likely to be
compared to younger horses.
affected and less likely to survive.
This was a retrospective study, as
These results were undoubtedly
it looked back at records. The
horses were divided into two
groups: one under 20 years old,
the other 20 and over. It is important to remember that these
records were from a referral
hospital and thus skewed a bit.
The first point of interest is
that ponies and Arabians were
over-represented in the geriatric group. The generally-held
impression of Arabs and ponies
seeming to live forever may be
somewhat true.
Diagnoses for illnesses from
three areas were most common
among both groups—respiratory, digestive and musculoskeletal. Digestive system problems
led the list by a great margin.
Make decisions about care based on the individual, not a
generalization that the horse is “old.”
This fits with a referral center
Bottom Line
The take-home message from
this study is that a senior
horse in good condition will
generally handle illness and
health problems as well as
younger horses, in many
cases. It thus makes sense to
determine care on an individual case rather than to make
generalizations about whether
it is worthwhile to treat a
horse solely based on age.
Article by Contributing
Veterinary Editor
Deb M. Eldredge DVM.
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