A PDF of all the articles uploaded to www.horse

Transcription

. . .Online
A PDF of all the articles uploaded to
www.horse-journal.com in July 2014
Table of Contents
Horse Journal July 2014 Uploads to www.horse-journal.com.
■ Nervous Horses 3
■ Fourth of July Advice
■ Genesis System Nice Fit
for Aachen Saddle
27
6
■ This Feeder Gets It Right28
■ Horse Journal OnCall: 6
■ Look For Online Pharmacy
Accreditation
29
■ Older Horse With Worn Teeth 6
■ Media Critique: Jane Savoie’s Dressage 101
■ Getting The Horse’s Cooperation
■ A Phone Call Makes Me Ponder How
We Communicate with Our Horses
■ Deadly Nightshade
8
■ It’s Time to Re-Think Early
Weaning of Horses
30
■ PAST Act Needs Your Support 33
9
10
■ Resources for Horse Owners
7
11
■ Veterinary Medicine Mobolity
Act - One Step Left
12
■ Why I Decided to Stop Competing
Alba
34
■ Queen’s Horse Tests Positive
for Morphine
35
■ National Tennesee Walker
Show Monitors 35
■ Taking A Pony Out In Public Shows How
Much Outreach We Need
13
■ Grocery Store to Sell
Equestrian Clothing
35
■ When Your Horse Turns Out to
Be a Lemon
14
■ Too Many Horses35
■ Media Critique: All Creatures
Great and Small 18
■ Soft Saddle G2 Has Its Place in the
Tack Room
36
■ Horse Journal OnCall: Why Does My Horse
Canter Disunited?
19
■ “It Ate Tony.”
37
■ Avoid Heat Stress in Your Horse20
■ Chester Webber Wins Fourin-Hand at Aachen
37
■ Beautiful Video to Watch
■ The All-Important Bed Check
21
38
■ Oregon Veterinarians Will Undergo
Background Checks
21
■ What I Learned This Month From One
of My Horses
40
■ Organization Leaders Need To Embrace
Members’ Use of Social Media 22
■ Equine Areata Alopecia 41
■ Long Distance Hauling Experiences
42
■ Media Critique: Zen Mind, Zen Horse 24
■ Media Critique: Suffering in Silence
42
■ With His Hands, Dougie Hannum
Treats The Equine Athlete
25
■ Horse Journal OnCall: What Do You
Recommend for White Line Disease? 43
Article from Horse Journal Online - www. horse-journal.com - Copyright ©2014
July 1, 2014
Nervous Horses
Whatever your particular issue, equine anxiety is the No. 1 training
and management issue for every rider and trainer.
Article by John Strassburger, Performance Editor
Y
ou’re hacking peacefully
along when you feel a tremor
go through your horse’s body.
His previously floppy ears snap forward, and his head rises up. As you
wonder when your horse turned
into a giraffe, his steps become
slower and shorter, his back drops,
and he emits the emphatic horse-injeopardy snort.
You look left and right, desperately
trying to see the flesh-eating monster that must have just emerged
from the bushes. But you see nothing. Nothing but rocks, trees and
grass. The same rocks, trees and
grass that have always been there.
But wait, what’s that? There, in the
tree, a tiny shimmer of white. It
looks like a piece of a grocery bag,
caught on one of the branches. And
just as you think, well, it can’t be
that, your horse wheels, leaving
you hanging in space for a moment
as he hightails it back to the barn,
not noticing whether you’re still attached to him.
Every person who rides encounters something they dread while
they’re working with their horse.
Maybe Dobbin has a thing about the
trash truck. Maybe he’s convinced
that whitetail deer are masquerading as peaceful, grass-eating creatures but are really waiting for the
chance to pounce on a delicious
meal. Or perhaps what really unhinges your horse is being alone.
Whatever your particular issue,
equine anxiety is the No. 1 training
and management issue for every
rider and trainer.
No matter what the cause or expression of your horse’s anxiety, all
riders need to accept that all horses
will be afraid of something periodically. It’s the nature of a prey animal to always be ”on the lookout,”
and it’s a behavior we must accept.
The first step — and this often
harder than you would think it
should be — is to determine what’s
causing your horse to be anxious
and thus unruly or disobedient.
The very thing that makes horses
such fabulous animals to train,
their incredible memories and ability to extrapolate from previous experiences, also causes them to hold
on to negative memories and makes
them difficult to convince that future situations won’t be negative.
Seven Types Of Fear
The causes of equine anxiety usually fit one of seven categories:
1) Objects. The objects that horses
most commonly find terrifying include: rocks, farm equipment, cars,
buildings, jumps, garbage cans and
pretty much anything they consider
out of the ordinary.
2) Situations. Many horses are
uncertain about dark or enclosed
places (like an indoor arena), and
even more are genuinely scared of
Stay calm, confident and reassuring when
riding a nervous horse.
being alone (they are herd animals).
Often this fear will be expressed by
being buddy-sour or barn-sour, and
sometimes they don’t want to go in
Three Cardinal Rules For Riding
Apprenehsive Horses
1) Stay calm, confident and reassuring when riding an apprehensive horse. Your aids, body language and voice must communicate
to the horse that you’re in command and that he must listen to you.
Then he’ll relax, reminded that you’re in charge.
2) Give the horse a chance. Let him become acclimated to new situations or let him look at the object that’s frightening him. But don’t let
him take advantage of you by spooking at the same object 15 times
to avoid work (see rule No. 1).
3) Accept—and this is really hard—that you just can’t change
some things. Some horses are always going to spook at cows or
goats, or a rock they’ve seen hundreds of times, or puddles because
they’re genuinely afraid—just like some people are genuinely afraid
of heights or snakes. If that fear is genuine, then you have to figure
out how to live with it.
a ring, either at home or in a competition.
3) Sounds. Highly strung horses
are easily unglued by loud, unexpected noises (a car back-firing, a
garbage can falling over). Others
can’t stand hissing noises (like from
a leaky hose coupling), and others
don’t like rustling noises (in leaves
or under something). Both probably
sound like a snake.
4) Clipping or other grooming/
handling. Some horses are genuinely afraid of clippers, either the
sound or the sensation. Some don’t
like to receive shots, and others are
anxious about being shod.
5) New places. This can be as
obvious as moving to a new home
or going to a competition. Or it
could just be moving to a new stall
or riding in a new trailer. Anxiety could even be caused by more
subtle changes around the barn (the
jumps were moved in the ring, for
instance).
6) Type of work/type of rider.
Horses often prefer a certain type
of rider. And often horses with a
strong desire to please become anxious because they don’t understand
what’s being asked of them, either
because the exercise isn’t clear to
them or the rider’s aids are confusing.
7) Other animals. Horses are often
afraid of birds, cows, goats, sheep,
donkeys, deer or other wildlife.
And some are afraid of other
horses.
Remove The Cause
Once you’ve isolated the cause of
your horse’s consternation, the big
question is what can you do about
it’ And that’s where you have to be
creative, confident and even willing
to do an unusual thing or two.
Five Tips For Anxious Moments
1) Don’t look at the object or area of fear. Focus your eyes on a spot
in the distance and ride to it. This prevents you from acknowledging
the object as something fearful and keeps your eyes, head and balance up and forward.
2) If you have a horse who’s perpetually spooky, try riding with a
breastplate, racing yolk or grab strap. This will give you something
to grab if he wheels or bolts, other than his mouth. Catching nervous
horses in the mouth can often send them over the edge.
3) If the horse is contorting its body to look at an object in or
near your ring every time you go past it, and thus disrupting your
work, instead of fighting to force him not to look at it, force him
to look—but keep working. Ride a leg-yield or half-pass (or even
a simple outside bend) that puts the horse’s eye on the object, but
follow it up with strong leg aids that force him to continue stepping
forward and working.
4) If your horse is walking like a tense ball about to explode, pick
up the trot and start riding figures like serpentines or figureeights. Concentrate on the geometry of the figures and the rhythm
of the trot. Ignore everything else. Some top riders sing while they’re
doing this to force themselves to breathe consistently and release
tension, and the rhythm of the song helps them create a consistent
rhythm in the trot.
5) Remember, the hardest thing for some horses to do is walk on
a loose rein. The loss of contact with the rider can feel like abandonment, and they’re more likely to become anxious or startled. Although
being able to walk on a loose rein is a must, be patient with horses
and riders who struggle with this concept. Begin by trying brief periods of loose rein between two letters of a standard dressage court,
increasing the amount of walk over time.
The first thing to determine is the
degree of your horse’s fear. Is he
genuinely terrified? Can you feel his
heart pounding’ Is he shaking’ Does
he bolt blindly away? Or is he really
using the object, which startled
or unsettled him, as an excuse to
produce bad behavior or get out of
work? We know a horse who’ll walk
past about anything on the buckle,
but when you pick up the reins to
work, the same objects immediately
become terrifying.
If that’s the case, focus on your
work and more or less ignore the
horse’s behavior and the object of
his concern. Once horses learn that
their histrionics don’t produce the
intended result, most will learn to
go on with their work quietly after a
momentary spook.
But if your horse is truly afraid,
then it’s time to analyze the cause
and to best determine how to combat it.
Sometimes you can remove or
alter the cause of your horse’s anxiety. Perhaps he prefers to be in a
quieter stall or turned out with different pasture mates or a different
pasture. Perhaps he’s more comfortable in a taller or lighter-colored
trailer.
But the only way to deal with
most things that cause equine anxiety is repetition, because they’re
things you just can’t change or that
your horse just has to deal with.
Dealing with objects that cause
your horse to shy can be extremely
vexing. Most horses, if given a
chance to look hard at an unfamiliar object — and especially to sniff
and to touch it — will lose their
anxiety. Usually, if you remain
calm and just let them take a deep
breath and assess something they
haven’t seen before, they’ll accept it.
Often letting them put their noses
on it seals the deal.
If your horse is really unglued by
an object, to the point where he becomes dangerous to you or others,
discretion is always the better part
of valor. Dismount and lead him
to the object. You can even longe
him near the object until he calms
down.
Situational anxiety can be trickier.
Horses that are worried about dark
or enclosed places will likely al-
ways be that way, probably because
they’re genuinely claustrophobic or
they have poor eyesight. You just
have to plan ahead.
Know that if you’re going to show
in an indoor arena, you have to get
there a few hours or the day before
the show to school him in the ring
so he’ll be comfortable.
Make A Circle
Horses that are barn-sour or buddysour can be a long-term challenge
— and sometimes you can’t completely cure them. Be sure to ride
barn-sour horses strongly and
actively away from the barn. Don’t
hesitate to use your spurs or your
whip to make them really walk (or
trot or canter) away from the barn,
because you want to develop their
own belief that they’ll be fine and to
confirm their respect for your aids.
Buddy-sour horses usually call
repeatedly for other horses and jig,
and sometimes the fireworks are
even more explosive.
Put the horse to work. Don’t just
try to walk calmly around, because
it usually doesn’t work. Make him
work to force him to pay attention
to you, using circles and leg yields,
to get his mind off his friends heading toward the barn. Then, when
he’s settled and answering your
aids correctly, walk, reward him
with a pat or two, and walk to rejoin the other horses or to the barn.
But be prepared to go back to work,
right away.
Barn- and buddy-sour horses
usually balk or refuse to move
forward, away from their friends or
home. Balking can evolve into the
extremely dangerous behavior of
rearing and is not to be tolerated.
When you ask the horse to go, he
must GO. If your horse balks, you
must IMMEDIATELY become far
scarier to him than the cause of his
initial anxiety.
Use your legs, spurs, whips and
voice (growl and scold, don’t
scream) and GO FORWARD. Having to gallop out of the barnyard
for a week to get past this problem
is worth it, if it prevents the horse
from eventually rearing.
Noise anxiety is extremely tough
to school. How do you prepare a
horse to stay calm in the midst of a
backfiring engine or gunshots until
it happens’ The most useful advice
is to hang on and stay calm. And
immediately return to whatever
work you were doing, so that the
horse sees that you weren’t fazed
by the sound. He should learn from
your example.
But if your horse is unusually anxious about noise, you can condition
him with a sensory-overload type
of training, like they use in policehorse training. Shake, rattle and
bang pots and pan, bells, rattles,
plastic bags or other common items
around him while you reassure him
(with your voice, stroking or food)
until he accepts the sounds.
It’s rare that you can’t convince
a horse who’s afraid of clipping or
other care requirements to relax.
But it can take considerable time
and repetition, repetition, repetition. There’s nothing wrong with
using some Acepromazine or other
mild tranquilizer to settle his mind,
if you don’t have the time or the
situation is too urgent to take a
slow, proper training route.
For most horses, 1 to 3 ccs of
Ace (depending on his size and
temperament) will do the trick.
But, remember, tranquilizers are
not training substitutes, and some
horses won’t learn anything while
under their influence. Plan a proper
training session in the near future.
Note: If you use tranquilizers to
facilitate care, be sure it’s under
veterinary guidance and far enough
ahead of competition to avoid
breaking the show or event’s rules
for using performance-enhancing
substances.
Convincing horses to not be afraid
of other animals is usually an
uphill struggle. If they’re afraid of
cows, pigs, goats, dogs or wildlife,
often there isn’t much you can do,
except try to avoid them and hang
on if you can’t.
ing) but love to do certain other
things (such as herding cattle).
Your job as rider or trainer is to
determine if they can be convinced
to do the job you want them to do
or if the horse (and you) would be
better off by selling him to someone
who wants to do the same job. Almost always, both horse and rider
are far, far less anxious if they’re
both doing a job they like.
From a training perspective, it’s
often extremely challenging to meld
a partnership between a horse and
rider who aren’t suited. Perhaps it’s
a mismatch in style — the horse
is hot-blooded and his rider is so
busy in the tack that the rider is, in
effect, shouting at him all the time.
Or perhaps the horse and rider are
too similar — each is green, nervous or unambitious.
One, or both, has to change, and
sometimes that’s not possible. And,
although it’s always far preferable
for riders to truly work to improve
their skills and suppleness and to
expand their experience, sometimes trainers just have to admit
that a change needs to be made.
Sometimes, though, riders can’t
bear to make the change.
As trainers, it’s our job to tell our
students when things are going
wrong. Make riders aware of the
tremendous challenges they’ll face
with their current mount given
their respective personalities.
Honestly explain what changes
will have to take place to achieve
harmony. But, ultimately, it’s up to
the student to decide.
Job Stress
The anxiety you have the best
chance of changing is that caused
by horses who are worried about
the work they’re doing or the ride
they’re getting. Everyone who’s
trained more than a few horses has
come across horses who don’t like
to do certain things (such as jump-
July 1, 2014
Fourth of July Advice
Great stuff from our sister site EquiSearch and Dr. Joyce Harman.
Article by Cynthia Foley, Editor-in-Chief
O
ur sister site, EquiSearch, has some awesome tips for keeping your
horse healthy, safe and calm on July 4. And it’s written by Dr. Joyce
Harman, who is simply an awesome vet!
Click here: http://equusmagazine.com/article/fireworks_070308-10668?utm_
source=EquiSearchNL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter
Some horses aren’t thrilled with fireworks.
July 2, 2014
Horse Journal OnCall:
Older Horse With Worn Teeth
Our reader is having trouble keeping weight on her horse.
Article by Juliet Getty, Ph.D., www.gettyequinenutrition.com
I
have a 24-year-old Quarter Horse
gelding I am having trouble keeping weight on. His bloodwork is
normal, but his problem is worndown teeth. The barn where I board
can only feed morning and evening,
not three times a day as I see suggested on other sites.
The barn owners work full time,
as do I, so ease of feeding and prep
are important. I can make the dry
components up ahead of time for
them, but need feedback about getting weight on my horse.
Besides beet pulp, senior feed, oil
and chopped hay, all made into a
softened mush,
are there any
other suggestions?
Nutritionist Juliet
Getty, Ph.D.
responds: You are
correct in spotlighting his poor
teeth as the crux
of the problem.
And since he cannot chew hay, he
must rely on softened feeds. But
It can be difficult to ensure your older horse consumes enough
calories.
this is truly a matter of not enough
calories - he simply needs to have
forage in front of him at all times.
The easiest way to do this would be
to provide him with softened hay
cubes in large containers that he can
nibble on throughout the day and
night.
Then, you can provide two “meals”
of more concentrated feeds. Beet
pulp, senior feed, and oil are fine.
Go with rice bran oil rather than
inflammation-producing soybean
or corn oils. To this mixture, you
should also add some ground flaxseeds – about 1 cup per meal. And
also consider feeding some copra
meal (coconut meal) to boost overall
protein quality. You can feed 1 lb.
per meal as long as the total meal
does not weigh more than 4 lbs. dry.
The other necessary component
of weight gain, in addition to extra
calories, is feeding the hind-gut
microbial population. These organisms are responsible for digesting
fiber and without enough of them,
the hay cubes will not be digested
completely, leaving him unable to
derive calories from fiber. A good
pro/prebiotic that offers billions (not
millions) of colony forming units
(CFUs) would be worthwhile to add
to each meal.
You are not likely feeding the
senior feed according to the instructions, so he is not getting enough
vitamins and minerals. You can go
with one of two routes: (1) Eliminate
the beet pulp and feed about 3 lbs.
of senior feed, along with the copra
meal, flax, oil, and probiotic. Or,
(2) Keep the beet pulp and other
ingredients and add a comprehensive vitamin/mineral supplement to
the mix.
You can mix all of the dry ingredients together in advance. But provide large containers of moistened
hay cubes in the morning and again
at night to last him 24 hours. Timothy/alfalfa hay cubes work nicely.
So, it’s: Forage first, all the time (as
hay cubes); Concentrates to provide
calories; and Pro/prebiotics to keep
the hind gut microbes in good condition.
You can hear more from Dr. Getty
at www.gettyequinenutrition.com.
July 3, 2014
Media Critique: Jane
Savoie’s Dressage 101
This woman really shines as an instructor.
Article by lee foley, contributing farrier editor
W
hen you get right down to
it, we all “ride dressage,”
that is, if we’re properly
training our horse. So, don’t let this
book’s title cause you to turn away.
If you’re struggling to get your horse
balanced, on the bit and supple in
any discipline, you’ll find suggestions, solutions and even sympathy
and understanding in this book.
Jane Savoie is an experienced dressage competitor, with an impressive
list of credentials, but she really
shines as an instructor, clinician
and writer. She makes things clear:
“By using your driving aids a fraction of a second before you use your
rein aids, you ride your horse from
back to front. This is your goal no
matter what type of riding you do,
because it’s the only way you can
honestly connect with your horse
and make him more athletic and
obedient.”
Language like this simple description of the half-halt, with photos
and diagrams, makeup the entire
book.
Bottom Line: It’s a wonderful com-
panion to her excellent two-part
DVD series “The Half Halt Demystified.” It looks and feels like a textbook, but it reads like a conversation
with a fellow rider.
Best Suited For: Serious riders in
any discipline at any level who
want to improve their horse’s performance.
You’ll Be Disappointed If: You’re
looking for directions on Grand Prix
movements or want this book to replace your trainer. DVDs and books
can clarify things, but you need a
person to teach you to ride properly.
July 3, 2014
Getting The Horse’s Cooperation
This woman really shines as an instructor.
Article by Margaret freeman, associate editor
L
et’s talk for a moment about
semantics and, yes, the pun
is intended. A discussion is
starting in dressage circles about
the word “submission.” The concept of submission goes to the heart
of horse training no matter what
the discipline. You can download a
PDF of the above graphic here.
At the bottom of a U.S. Equestrian
Federation dressage test score sheet
there are six additional boxes for
collective marks: gaits, impulsion
and submission plus three more
for the rider’s position and aids.
(The FEI uses only four boxes on
international tests: gaits, impulsion, submission and rider). There
has been some talk about whether
it might be a good idea to substitute
“cooperation” for the box under
“submission.”
In other words, do we want our
horses to work with us or simply
submit to our will?
The submission score is defined
as: “Attention and confidence,
lightness and ease of movements,
acceptance of the bridle, lightness
of the forehand.” Actually, to me
that sounds a lot more like cooperation than it does submission.
Does such a semantic distinction really matter all that much?
Is it worth our time and effort to
discuss, or even a much greater
amount of time and money to make
such a dramatic change to widely
distributed dressage tests? As a
journalist, I believe in the power
of words, and there are plenty of
instances where the use of certain
words in the horse world can confuse people. Start with the basic
word “collection,” which means
something very different to a dressage rider than it does to a hunter
rider.
“Submission” has a rather harsh
connotation, as in being compliant
to authority. “Cooperation” sounds more like
a horse and rider are
working with each other.
I like the sound of that.
I keep telling my nonhorse friends that there
can be only one alpha
mare in a relationship
and for my own good it
better not be the one that
weighs 1,200 pounds.
But things are a lot more
fun when I ride (not to
mention when I’m on the
ground) if my mare does
what I ask her, not what I tell her,
even though once in a while I do
need to insist with some emphasis.
After all, I weigh a lot less and I
break more easily.
Several years ago, there was
another semantic discussion in
the dressage world that resulted in
some changes to the Training Scale.
I am not sure under whose authority the change was made, and there
are a bunch of different versions of
the Training Scale out there now.
For non-dressage folks, the Training Scale is a sort of food pyramid
where the nutrition blocks are
replaced by the building blocks of
training. The Training Scale is also
the basis for determining scores on
a dressage tests – if all the elements
are fulfilled the score is high, while
if one or two elements are mission
the score is low – an over-simplified explanation but basically how
it works. At the base of the Training scale is Regularity (three clean
gaits) followed in ascending order
by relaxation, contact, impulsion
straightness and finally collection
under the point at the top.
The discussion was over the
heading of relaxation vs. suppleness, which had been the previous
heading for the second box in the
table. The argument – a good one
I feel – was that a horse can be
relaxed without being supple, but
that a horse can’t be supple without
being relaxed. Picture a horse lying
in his stall. That horse is pretty
relaxed, but you wouldn’t describe
him as supple. The “relaxation”
advocates, however, won out on
that one.
Okay, so this all a lot of talk. Does
it matter? Judges discuss shadings
of performance and rules all the
time, but this gets closer to black
and white than to gray. Even if the
heading for the submission score
isn’t eventually changed, the discussion is still worthwhile.
July 4, 2014
A Phone Call Makes Me Ponder How We
Communicate with Our Horses
The language we have to teach our horses, continuously, is a
language centered around communication with our bodies.
Article by john strassburger, performance editor
A
couple of weeks ago, I had my
first real telephone “conversation” with my son, Wesley,
who’s 4 ½ years old. I probably
haven’t tried to talk to Wesley on
the phone much more than half a
dozen times, but this was the first
time that I was sure he understood
that he was talking to me, even
though he couldn’t see me.
After I hung up, I was struck with
a minor sense of awe, a sense that
his developing brain had entered
into a new era of communication.
From there, I began to ponder, once
again, how we communicate with
our horses, especially since communication and comprehension is
a continuing theme I have when
discussing horse training with our
students here at Phoenix Farm.
There were actually two things
about this phone call that struck
me. The first was Wesley’s increasing vocabulary and ability to express himself. For the first time, he
told me in some detail about what
he’d done that day at pre-school and
then with his grandparents.
This reminded me of my often-repeated theme that, as with children, we have to teach horses our
language in order to communicate
with them, but it’s a language that
doesn’t rely on words. I like to say
that when a horse gets confused
and doesn’t respond properly to
your aids, the horse feels like the
student would if I’d suddenly
started speaking Greek to them.
The language we have to teach our
horses, continuously, is a language
centered around communication
with our bodies—our legs, our
seat, our weight, our hands, our
eyes and, yes, sometimes our voice.
Yes, horses can
respond to voice
commands, but
it’s by association with other
cues (especially
reward clues),
not because they
“understand”
the words in the
sense we do.
When we’re
riding them, we
have to teach our
horses to respond
to the signals or
cues that we give
them, and we
have to learn to
We have to teach our horses to respond to the signals or cues that
understand the
we give them.
meaning of the
way they respond to those cues. We
have to learn to understand whethsociation with signs of either one.
er they’re saying “yes,” “I don’t
They can also remember when and
understand,” “something’s worwhere these things were before. But
rying me,” “this is hard,” or “no, I
they can’t imagine them in a differwon’t do it.” And we, then, have to
ent place.
respond accordingly.
This point caused me to ponder
But the second, and more interhow our elders began to communiesting, thing from my phone call
cate using phones and how human
with Wesley was that I could tell,
interaction has changed as a result
for the first time, that he wasn’t just
of telecommunications in the last
staring at the phone in confusion
century.
and amazement, wondering why he
I think of my father, who was born
could hear what sounded like my
in 1914 and died in 2000, and how
voice when he couldn’t see me.
he never seemed to be truly comThis ability to imagine using our
fortable on the telephone. It was, to
modern communication, to “see”
him, a device to communicate mespeople who aren’t in the same place
sages, not to have conversations.
we are as we talk to them, is an esGranted, that was partly because he
sential difference in the brainpower
was a doctor who was often on call,
between us and our animals. Their
so the phone line had to be kept
brains are very literal—something
clear in case of an emergency call
(food, predator, rider) is either
(especially since this was in the
with them now or it isn’t. They can
days before call waiting).
anticipate the arrival of food or the
I look at the teenagers we coach
presence of a predator through astoday, who are constantly texting
or surfing the web, and I know that
my father would be absolutely astounded and confused by what cell
phones can do today. And I suspect
that when someday I tell Wesley
how telephones required you to call
an operator first to reach another
person’s phone, and how when I
was his age each state had only
one area code, he’ll look at me with
bewilderment.
And yet the way we communicate with horses has changed very
little during the last five or six
centuries. Yes, we have a far better understanding of how to communicate with them; our methods
are far more sympathetic and the
way we care for them is certainly
much improved, but we still can’t
talk to them with words or abstract
thoughts, whether we’re standing
next to them or on a cell phone.
We’re still using the same natural aids (legs, seat, weight, hands,
voice) to “talk” to them, and we’re
still relying on bits, whips and
spurs to amplify our natural aids.
Just another sign, I guess, of how
the more the world changes, the
more some things remain the same.
I’d say that—particularly in this
case—that’s a good thing.
July 7, 2014
Deadly Nightshade
This is definitely not a good pasture plant.
Article by Deb M. Eldredge, DVM, Contributing Veterinary Editor
D
eadly nightshade or
belladonna as it is
sometimes called is a
toxic plant that grows easily in
many areas of north America.
This relative of potatoes and
tomatoes acts through solanine, saponins or atropine like
chemicals. Leaves and stems
are toxic with the green berries also being poisonous.
Signs can range from dilated
pupils to erratic changes in
heart rate and rhythm to death.
Horses may show neurologic effects
including excitability, incoordination and seizures. Definitely not a
plant you want your horses eating!
Nightshade does not appeal to
most horses and in fact is often
found as an incidental when people
walk their pastures. Given options,
horses seem to naturally avoid
eating nightshade. Unfortunately
nightshade can be incorporated into
hay if it has infiltrated hayfields.
Also, if your pastures are overgrazed or dry up in drought years,
even nightshade may look palatable
to a hungry horse.
This plant has white or lavender
flowers with berries that range from
green to yellow/orange to black.
(Common nightshade is another
species and not as toxic but still not
a desirable diet for a horse). It will
grow alone or more commonly as
a vine twining in and around your
10
fences – this makes it harder to pull
up and clear.
If you suspect your horse has
eaten nightshade you need to contact your veterinarian as soon as
possible. Early and mild cases can
be treated successfully using drugs
to reverse the atropine type symptoms.
It makes sense to walk your fields
and turn out areas monthly looking
for poisonous plants. Nightshade
can be pulled up, cut back or dug
up to remove it. If you cut it back,
you can treat the root areas with
herbicides or salt. Make sure the
pulled up plants are removed to an
area safely away from any livestock
(or pets).
July 7, 2014
Resources for Horse Owners
Programs designed to get you and your horse through troubled times.
Article by grant miller, DVM, Contributing Veterinary Editor
I
t seems that horse ownership is
getting more and more expensive every day. Costs associated
with just about all aspects of the
business aren’t even “creeping” up
anymore, now they are increasing by leaps and bounds. Take, for
instance hay, there appears to be no
end in sight when it comes to the
rising costs associated with feeding
horses. Select hays are now selling for has high as $30 per small
bale in some parts of the country!
With extreme drought conditions
throughout a significant portion
of the hay growing regions in the
western United States, prices may
rise even higher.
Undoubtedly, many horse owners
will continue to have to make tough
decisions when it comes to keeping,
selling or re-homing their horses.
The following organizations are
doing a great job in providing some
assistance.
The Unwanted Horse Coalition
(UHC) seeks to reduce the number
of unwanted horses and to improve
their welfare through education
and the efforts of organizations
committed to the health, safety, and
responsible care and disposition of
these horses. The UHC manages
on online directory of facilities in
each state that accept
unwanted horses and administers the Operation
Gelding program which
provides financial aid to
local non-profit horse organizations that facilitate
equine castration clinics.
In addition, the coalition
creates and disseminates
excellent information
regarding the costs and
responsibilities that one
can expect when owning
a horse.
A Home for Every Horse provides
an online clearinghouse to not only
post a national ad to place your
horse or find a new one, but also
to find a horse rescue in your area.
This website is user friendly and
provides an ehttp:xcellent way to
connect with horses around the
country.
The American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA) continues to demonstrate
strong support for horses in need
through their ASPCAPro Equine
Fund. The fund provides several
different types of grants to organizations seeking assistance in caring
for horses. Other ASPCA initiatives
include the “Hay It Forward” pro-
gram in which patrons of participating feed stores or horse show
participants at certain competitions
can opt to contribute to a non-profit
horse rescue.
The much needed Second Chance
Fund offered by the American
Humane Association will review
requests for assistance in rehabbing a neglected horse, however the
request most come from a 501(c)3
horse rescue organization.
It is nice to know that help is out
there as some of us struggle to make
ends meet and care for our hooved
companions. Is anyone else aware
of resources to assist horse owners
during these difficult times? Please
share if you have any thoughts!
11
July 9, 2014
Veterinary Medicine Mobolity Act One Step Left
President Obama is expected to sign it into law.
Article by grant miller, DVM, Contributing Veterinary Editor
T
he American Veterinary Medical Association announced
yesterday that the House
passed the Veterinary Medicine
Mobility Act. This is a significant
Bill for all animal owners, as without it, veterinarians are severely
limited in what medications they
can legally carry with them to your
barn. The Senate approved the Bill
in January, so all that’s left is for
President Obama to sign it into law.
He has until December to do so.
One of the main issues surrounded euthanasia. Without this
bill signed into law, veterinarians
would not be legally able to carry
the medications needed to your
barn, such as sedatives or eutha-
12
nasia serum. You would have to
transport the horse to a clinic or
find another way to euthanize your
horse.
Interestingly, many people don’t
understand that the law prohibiting
veterinarians from carrying these
drugs is already in place, having
been made a law in 1970. It had
simply not been enforced. When
that law-enforcement oversight
was brought to light, veterinarians
everywhere rallied to get an amendment to the 44-year-old law.
For more information on the significance of this Bill to horse owners (and all animal owners), read
Grant Miller DVM’s article here.
You can also read editor Cindy
Without this Bill made into law, your veterinarian will be limited in the medications he
or she can bring to your barn.
Foley’s article about the importance
of the Bill here.
July 9, 2014
Taking A Pony Out In Public Shows How
Much Outreach We Need
Do they not understand that he’s a living, breathing creature?
Article by JOHN STRASSBURGER, PERFORMANCE Editor
O
n the morning of July 4th, we
loaded up one small pony,
what seemed like a ton of
red-white-and-blue decorations, our
4-year-old son, Wesley, and ourselves to drive into the middle of
our hometown of Healdsburg, Calif.
We were there to participate in the
annual children’s parade, but while
most kids were going to be riding
scooters, bikes or tricycles, Wesley
going to ride his wonderful pony,
Little Bit.
We try to always welcome people
to our Phoenix Farm and to take the
time to educate them about what
we do and about the animals with
whom we share our life. But I never
cease to be amazed how foreign
animals that aren’t dogs or cats are
to people these days. Their unfamiliarity is even more noticeable
when you actually take your horses
somewhere else.
We arrived early to be sure we
could easily park the trailer at the
downtown plaza, and we then took
Little Bit out to acclimate him to
the situation. Instantly, we attracted visitors. Of course, he is a
ridiculously adorable pony (whom
Heather had spent the early morning hours bathing and decorating),
but there was clearly a novelty aspect too. We spent a good two hours
chatting with passers-by and their
kids, and they wanted to admire,
pet and cuddle Little Bit.
There were a lot of “Muggle” questions: “Is that a pony?” “Is he full
grown?” “Can we pet him?”
But we noticed an odd trend, especially since Healdsburg is a largely
rural community. (There are nearly
20,000 horses in Sonoma County,
plus several thousand cattle and
other livestock.)
Most of the kids, and
not just the tiny ones,
went straight for Little
Bit’s eyes or his nose.
Heather would say politely, “Hey Sweetie, be
careful not to poke him
in the eye. Why don’t you
pet his shoulder?” But after the 20th time or so we
started to wonder what
the deal was? Do they not
understand that he’s a
living, breathing creature? That he, like them,
Little Bit and Wesley lead the July 4th Healdsburg
doesn’t care to be poked
children’s parade.
in the eye? Surely some of these
kids have dogs or cats at home? Do
of our population moves further
they get to poke them in the eye?
and further away from animals,
My meditations on this topic infarms and nature, reaching out and
creased when we started the actual
drawing in our next generation of
parade. We were asked to lead the
riders and horseman is going to be
parade (since Little Bit was the
ever more challenging. In addition,
only pony), and Heather ended up
we’re going to need to educate their
spending the entire parade walkparents as well as the kids, to ening behind Little Bit with her arms
sure that they too become ethical,
spread out wide, gently but coneducated horse owners.
stantly reminding the pack of kids
behind us that they needed to not
run in to Little Bit with their scooters and bikes. The kids were reasonably obedient about it, but they
were clearly confused, as though,
again, they couldn’t understand
why the pony would have an issue
with getting a bike wheel rammed
into his backside.
Because Little Bit is the World’s
Greatest Pony, he handled all of it
with great aplomb, and I’d like to
believe that he was an excellent
ambassador for his species. Still,
animals do not care to be poked in
the eye or run over by bikes.
But, as we move forward in this
century, this July 4th parade experience reminded me that, as the rest
13
July 12, 2014
When Your Horse Turns Out to Be a Lemon
You do have legal rights.
Article by Susan quinn, esq., contributing writer
F
irst, a disclaimer: Horse Journal believes that most horse
sellers are honest individuals
who understand the value of maintaining a professional, ethical reputation. (Yes, word does get around!).
However, just as in any business,
there are those who engage in dishonest horse selling practices.
You know the kind. They’ll try
to sell you a horse they tell you
is named “Cupcake” but which
around the barn is known with fear
and trepidation as “Spawn of Satan.” In short, if the horse was a car,
it would be considered a “lemon.”
The legal world of caveat emptor
(“Let the buyer beware”), which
once left buyers harmed by dishonest horse sellers with little recourse, is changing. As the Florida
Supreme Court articulated in the
equine case Besett v. Basnett, “[a]
person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation should not be permitted
to hide behind the doctrine of caveat emptor.” There now are laws to
protect you from the unscrupulous
horse seller.
It Can Happen to Anyone: Actor
Tom Selleck became famous for
his portrayal of a private investigator par excellence in his role in
the television show Magnum, P.I.
Unfortunately for Mr. Selleck, his
detective skills failed him in real
life when he paid $120,000 for a 10
year-old show horse named Zorro
for his daughter. A few weeks after
the Sellecks took possession, Zorro
went lame and became unsuitable
for competition. Zorro was a lemon.
It came to light that Zorro had
received a steroid injection a week
prior to the veterinary pre-purchase
exam, a fact which was not disclosed to the Sellecks by the seller.
Selleck’s lawyer George Knopfler
said, “If we had known that the
horse had been injected a week
14
before the veterinary exam,
we would have
postponed the
examination
for at least 30
days.” Long
story short, the
Sellecks sued
the seller for
fraud and the
court awarded
them $187,000
($120,000 for
the cost of the
horse plus
$67,000 to comInsist on enough time to get to know the horse before you make a
pensate them
purchase.
for the costs of
the boarding and veterinary exhave a firm, honest discussion with
penses they incurred while Zorro
them about the horse and request
was in their possession). The seller
to return it with a full refund of the
was also required to pay an addipurchase price along with compentional $75,000 in punitive damages.
sation for any additional expenses
If Magnum, P.I. could fall victim to
you may have incurred as a result
purchasing a lemon horse, it can
of the horse. In many instances, a
happen to anyone.
seller will do the right thing by taking the horse back and refunding
Start with Doing it the Nice Way:
your money.
Lemon horses can come in many
If the seller ignores your request
categories. The horse may become
or refuses to return your money
lame or ill shortly after you have
and take the horse back by a set
bought it. The horse, which seemed
date (preferably, the sooner the
so well-behaved and trained at
better, lest the horse cause personal
the seller’s farm, may turn out to
injury or property damage or the
be rank, dangerous or unable to
horse becomes injured or ill while
perform in the discipline in which
in your possession causing you to
it was represented to you by the
incur untoward expenses), the next
seller.
step is to contact a trial lawyer who
So what legal recourse do you
understands the horse business and
have if you buy a lemon horse?
have a certified, legal demand letter
First, we cannot underscore enough
sent to the seller stating that should
the need for a written sales contract
the seller not comply with your
that spells out the rights and duties
request for a monetary refund and
of buyer and seller. This contract
return of the horse, further legal acwill prove invaluable should the
tion will be taken. In the meantime,
horse turn out to be a lemon.
document everything with videos,
If you’ve had the misfortune of
photos, receipts and the bills you
buying one of these horses, there
may incur. You may need these
are steps you should take. As soon
later if you have to go to court.
as possible, contact the seller and
If the Nice Way Doesn’t
Work...If your lemon horse
problem can’t be resolved
through non-litigation
means, you may need to
hire a lawyer to bring a
lawsuit against the dishonest horse seller. (Note:
we said, “Hire a lawyer.”
While you may think you
have a slam dunk case
that you can handle on
your own, representing
yourself in court is rarely
a wise idea.)
Depending on the facts
of your case, your lawyer
can sue under the legal
A pre-purchase exam should include blood tests.
actions of fraud, negligent misrepresentation
or breach of contract. In addition,
agent (representing the buyer and
there are also several state laws
the seller is usually a conflict of inunder which you may obtain legal
terest) in the horse sales transaction
relief.
unless both sides have prior knowledge and attest to their knowledge
1. Horse Lemon Laws: In most
of the dual agency in writing.
states, if you buy a motor vehicle
Additionally, the FELL requires
that turns out to be a lemon, there
that the sales contract contain a
is an Automobile Lemon Law to
statement by the buyer or agent
protect you and to help you recover
acknowledging awareness that
from financial loss. Not so with
any warranties or representations
horses unless you live in or bought
have been stated in writing. This
your horse in Florida which is the
includes the horse’s age, medical
only state that has an actual Equine
condition, prior medical problems
Lemon Law.
and treatments, as well as any liens
In 2008, Florida passed its Equine
or encumbrances. In an auction
Lemon Law (Section 535.16 of
sale for licensed Thoroughbreds,
Florida Statutes Chapter 535),
the issuance of an auction receipt
which charges the Florida Departmay substitute for a bill of sale.
ment of Agriculture and Consumer
However, it must state the horse’s
Services to evaluate the “conditions
identification, date of purchase,
surrounding the sale and purchase
the purchase price and contain the
of horses” and promulgate rules to
signatures of the buyer or buyer’s
prevent unfair and deceptive trade
agent. Additionally, the receipt
practices in the horse sales busimust state or incorporate by refness.
erence all conditions of the sale
Florida’s Equine Lemon Law
including any warranty terms. The
(FELL) requires a written bill of
FELL also gives buyers the right
sale to the buyer which includes
to inspect the horse’s veterinary
the name, address and signatures
records. Horse sales made through
of the purchaser and owner or their
claiming races at licensed pari-muduly authorized agents, the name of
tual facilities are exempt from the
the horse, its sire and dam, its breed
Florida Equine Lemon Law. Failure
registry status and age if known.
to comply with the provisions of
The bill of sale must also state the
the Florida Equine Lemon Law will
date of the sale and the purchase
be considered deceptive and unfair
price along with a statement by the
trade practices.
seller attesting to ownership and
the right to convey legal title. The
2. Uniform Commercial Code
Florida Equine Lemon Law prohib(UCC): Another law often used in
its a person from acting as a dual
equine lemon cases is the Uniform
Commercial Code. The
UCC has been enacted in
various forms in all 50
states, and its Article 2
grants certain rights and
protections for buyers and
sellers who have entered
into contracts (there’s that
word again!) for the “sale
of goods.” In most courts,
horses are considered
“goods” under the UCC.
Thus, a buyer who has
entered into a horse sales
contract with a dishonest
seller may find the UCC to
be a valuable legal tool.
In order for a horse sale
to fall under UCC enforcement, the horse must be
valued at $500 or more, the sale
must be in writing and signed by
the person against whom enforcement is sought (the seller in the
event of a lemon horse lawsuit). The
UCC can also be used if there is an
oral contract as long as one side has
performed their side of the bargain
without objection from the other
party to the sale. The UCC’s provision regarding a good’s “fitness
for a particular purpose” is most
often applied to lemon horse cases.
This provision of the law basically
says that where the seller knows
the purpose for which the buyer
is purchasing the horse and the
buyer is relying on the seller’s skill
or judgment to select or furnish
a horse suitable for that purpose,
there is an implied warranty that
the horse is indeed suitable for that
purpose unless the seller and buyer
have agreed to exclude or modify
that warranty.
An important catch to this provision is that the buyer must be
relying on the seller’s “skill or
judgment.” If the horse shows an
obvious defect at the time of purchase (i.e. a horse that is noticeably
lame), then the buyer is considered
to be equally as capable as the seller
in having knowledge of the defect.
Additionally, a buyer’s lawsuit
under the UCC may fail if the buyer
is equally as knowledgeable as the
seller about the horse’s suitability,
or lack of it, for a specific use. One
important caveat to be aware of is
that many courts have held that the
15
refusal of a buyer to have a horse
undergo a pre-purchase veterinary examination is considered a
waiver of the buyer to the implied
warranty of fitness for a particular
purpose. Have your vet perform the
examination before and not after
money has changed hands.
The UCC is widely applied in lawsuits involving horse sales. Its specific provisions and caveats, which
also impose certain duties on the
buyer as well as the seller, are the
subject of an entire law school
course and beyond the purview of
this article.
Generally speaking, the UCC and
its provisions concerning “warranty of fitness for a particular
purpose” when applied to equine
lemon law cases can result in
outcomes that may be favorable to
the buyer. In a successful lawsuit
brought under the UCC, a buyer
may be entitled to reject or revoke
acceptance of the lemon horse. Additionally, the buyer may be able to
recover for the consequential financial damages incurred as a result of
the bad deal. These damages may
include expenses incurred with
veterinary care, transportation, care
and custody expenses, personal
injury or property damage and any
other expenses associated with the
purchase of the lemon horse.
3. Consumer Protection Acts
(CPA): Modeled after the Federal
Trade Commission Act, which
prohibits unfair or deceptive trade
practices, state Consumer Protection Acts (and every state has one)
provide another way of getting
justice against dishonest horse sellers. Unlike the U.C.C., which has
as its goal to regulate contractual
relationships and expand freedom
of commerce, CPAs are not as dependent on legal contract principles
and are intended to address unfair
and deceptive trade practices, in
particular practices that harm unsophisticated buyers (i.e, your first
time horse buyer).
Most CPAs require a buyer to
send a demand letter before filing
a lawsuit to give the seller an opportunity to remedy the situation,
and some courts may not allow a
lawsuit under a CPA if the seller is
16
Be sure someone else rides the horse before
you do, whether it’s the horse’s owner,
trainer or designated rider.
not actually in the horse business.
CPA claims fall into two categories:
automatic violations and unfair and
deceptive practice violations.
Automatic CPA violations are
acts that are specifically spelled
out as prohibited under your state
CPA. Unfair and deceptive practice
violations are those which could
mislead or deceive even the most
unsophisticated buyer. It’s important to note that CPAs generally
don’t require proof that a buyer
was actually deceived. They only
require a showing that the practice
has the capacity or tendency to
deceive. Furthermore, most CPAs
do not require proof that the seller
intended to deceive or that the
seller knew that a representation
was false. Additionally, in some
courts, a seller’s failure to disclose
an important fact is tantamount to
a deceptive practice in violation of
a CPA.
CPAs also prohibit “unfair practices” that maybe deceitful and that
are likely to be repeated on other
customers. Taking unfair advantage of a purchaser’s inexperience
or contracts that are unethical,
unscrupulous or unconscionable
could be considered unfair trade
practices. Unlike the U.C.C., a
seller’s defenses that a buyer signed
a contract with an “as is” provision
or disclaimer of warranties, or if
the seller failed to inspect the horse
prior to purchase will not defend
a dishonest horse seller being sued
under a CPA.
Depending on your state’s particular consumer protection act,
a horse buyer who has been dealt
with in a deceptive or unfair manner may recover their out-of-pocket
costs (some state CPAs allow for an
award that triples the amount of
financial loss), attorney’s fees and
punitive damages. Punitive damages can be substantial if a court
finds that a seller acted maliciously,
willfully or recklessly.
In general, duped horse buyers
may be more likely to prevail and
to receive greater financial recovery
when bringing a lawsuit under a
state consumer protection act rather
than under the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.). Under a U.C.C.
claim, courts typically base their
rulings on the terms of the contract, and there is an assumption
that both parties were on an equal
footing in the bargaining. That assumption may be valid when both
parties are experienced in the horse
business, but for the uninitiated,
unsophisticated horse buyer, that
assumption may not be fair. CPAs
place less importance on contract
provisions and more importance
on whether unfairness or deception
were present in the transaction.
3. Equine Liability Laws: Finally,
some horse buyers may look to their
state’s equine liability laws for relief
when they find themselves stuck
with a lemon horse. Generally, state
equine liability laws are written to
limit all or most liability for an injury to or death of a participant that
results from dangers inherent in an
equine activity. These laws carry a
presumption that absent due care
by the owner, the person riding the
horse has assumed the risk and the
owner is immune from liability.
These laws typically do not address
horse sales. Thus, most equine liability laws are not a good way to
go if you’re looking to recover from
injury from buying a lemon horse.
However, your attorney should consult their relevant equine liability
law for potential application in a
lemon horse case.
An Ounce of Prevention (or How
to Beat a Dishonest Horse Seller):
No one enjoys being a victim and
when the victim is a horse buyer
who has discovered that they’ve
been duped into buying a lemon
horse, the misery can be great. As
we said earlier, most horse sellers
who care about their reputations
want to be honest, but unfortunately there are some bad apples out
there. Here are some tips and some
red warning flags to watch for so
that you can avoid falling victim:
1. Before you buy a horse of your
own, take lessons from an experienced, reputable riding instructor.
Do not undertake buying a horse on
your own without the advice and
assistance of your instructor. Many
mistakes in horse buying are made
by “newbies” who think they know
more than they do. See the Prepurchase Agreement.
2. Watch out for ads that describe
a horse as 100% bomb-proof or
child-safe. While a horse may be
very docile and well-behaved, no
horse can ever be considered 100%
safe. Furthermore, be honest with
yourself as to your own riding ability. If you are just starting out, avoid
young horses or horses advertised
as “green broke” “halter broke,”
“needing an experienced, confident
rider” or stallions. Who needs the
emergency room bills?
3. Watch out for dirty horse-selling tricks. The horse that is already
saddled, bridled or sweaty when
you arrive at the farm may have just
had a work-out to tire it and make
it appear calmer than it really is.
If possible, arrive a few minutes
earlier than your appointment time.
Observe the horse in its pasture
or stall and while being handled,
groomed and tacked. Look at the
horse’s overall physical and mental
condition. An overly relaxed horse
may have been drugged. Inspect the
horse’s living conditions and the
conditions of other horses in the
barn (look in trash cans for syringes
or pill bottles).
4. Have the horse’s owner or
trainer ride the horse before you
do. Be suspicious if the horse is
only ridden in a round pen and
not in an arena or on a trail away
from the barn. Ask to see the horse
perform in the discipline for which
you intend to use it. Again, it’s a
good idea to bring your instructor
or trainer along to help you evaluate the horse. If that’s not possible,
videotape the horse and have your
instructor view it prior to purchasing the horse.
5. Be suspicious if the seller wants
to meet you somewhere other than
the horse’s usual place of boarding
to show you the horse.
6. Beware of the “Bait and
Switch” where a seller says the
horse you had intended to look at
is no longer available but wants to
show you another one.
7. Always get a pre-purchase veterinary exam performed by your
vet. We also advise obtaining a
drug test on the horse. See Prepurchase Exams.
8. Ask to inspect all of the horse’s
veterinary records (including a
current Coggins).Consider it a big
red flag if the seller refuses to let
you see them or claims to not have
them.
11. Be a private investigator yourself! Verify as much information as
you can. Check equine databases.
The USEF and Centerlinescores.
com have searchable databases
that allow you to research a horse
and verify its age, owner, rider and
performance results. Check social
media such as Facebook. You may
be surprised to read posts from
the seller about the horse you are
considering to buy (Red flag Facebook post: “My horse is lame again.
I sure hope I can get rid of this nag
as soon as possible!” Or... “That
darn horse refused every jump
and dumped me in the show ring
today.”). Ask people who may know
the horse or the horse seller or who
have seen the horse at shows for
their opinion.
Bottom Line. Buying a horse is a
serious undertaking that should be
done with great care. While there
are laws that can protect you from
dishonest horse dealers, you have
a duty to protect yourself from
becoming one of their victims in
the first place. Do your homework
by investigating and finding out
all you can about the horse before
you buy. Don’t ignore the red flags.
Verify everything you can and
commit it to writing in a signed
contract. Ask for the advice and
counsel of a reputable trainer/instructor to guide you. If you do end
up a victim, stand up for yourself
and consult a lawyer who can help
you.
9. Ask to see the horse’s registration papers to confirm that the
horse’s breeding is as it has been
represented.
10. Be suspicious of high-pressure
sales tactics such as telling you that
someone else is about to buy the
horse if you don’t act quickly.
9. If possible, take the horse on a
trial basis prior to buying it. See
Escrow Accounts.
10. Always use a thorough written contract signed by both parties
when buying a horse.If the seller refuses to sign a contract, walk away
from the deal.
17
July 13, 2014
Media Critique: All Creatures
Great and Small
If you’ve read it before, you’ll enjoy it again. And if you haven’t . . .
get cracking!
ARticle by John Strassburger, Performance Editor
I
first laughed my way through
James Herriot’s All Creatures
Great And Small more than 40
years ago, and over the next decade
or so I’d devour all the books that
followed—along the beautifully
dutiful depictions of them in the
90-episode PBS TV series—with
undiminished joy. But it’s been
20 years or more since I last read
the Herriot’s works, even though
the hard-backed originals rest in a
place of honor on my bookshelf.
So it was with genuine excitement
that I read the just-released, paperback reprint of the tales first published in 1972. I wondered if they’d
been altered or updated at all—and
the good news is that they haven’t.
Still there are the laughable tales
of the tubby Pekinese Tricky Woo
and the so-kindly Mrs. Pumphrey,
along with to the bone-chilling and
gut-wrenching stories of Herriot
delivering cows, sheep, pigs and
horses on cold nights in a muddy
barnyard or manure-sodden barn,
then cleaning himself with only
cold water and, maybe, a piece of
burlap.
Herriot’s stories, which begin
in 1937, paint a picture of the old
days of veterinary medicine--days
with strange mixtures of chemical
compounds or herbs to treat colic
or skin diseases and of procedures
that today seem almost barbarous.
But back then the biggest thing they
did was to force rest in working
animals, rest that allowed Mother
Nature to take her course. Veterinarians then could often do little
more.
What makes this first collection
and the seven books that followed it
so endearing and so enduring?
18
First, they’re stories about farm
animals and house pets and about
their eccentricities. And who
doesn’t love an animal story?
Second, they’re also stories about
people and their lives. We all love
reading and hearing stories about
people, and Herriot can describe
them in a charming way, depicting
the people with genuine affection.
And, for us Americans, the folks of
Darrowby 80 years ago are people
of a type that we’ll probably never
meet.
Third, and related to that, Herriot’s stories are about a time gone by,
a time gone by even in the Yorkshire Dales. It was a time of farmers and their families living close
to the land and to their animals.
Many paid no attention to the time
on a clock—they rose when the sun
came up, went to be when it went
down, and in between fed themselves and their animals when they
were hungry. Mostly they traded
with their neighbors for food and
the few simple things they needed.
Finally, it’s the story of James
Herriot himself. Born in 1916 (he
would die in 1995), Herriot was a
warm-hearted, generous man who
was able to get his dream first job
as a veterinarian in the days of the
Great Depression, as the early tides
of World War II were rolling across
continental Europe. In the decades
that followed these stories, England, the United States and Europe
would change more than they had
in the two centuries before. So
these stories of the animals and
people of Darrowby take us back to
a time that is both relatively near
and yet very far from today.
before, enjoy him again. And entice
your children and your friends to
read it too.
Best Suited For: Anyone who
loves animals.
You’ll Be Disappointed If: You
only like to read software manuals
or science fiction.
All Creatures Great and Small. by
James Herriot. Soft Cover 2014. St.
Martin’s Griffin. $15.99.
Bottom Line: If you’ve read Herriot
July 14, 2014
Horse Journal OnCall: Why Does
My Horse Canter Disunited?
The canter requires strength and conditioning.
I
have a horse who goes
disunited when cantering loose in the arena.
She will now change back
to the correct lead after
awhile. She will start on
the correct lead and then
change behind at the
corner.
I trot her over ground
poles (raised) and trot low
jumps (2’ or less). This has
helped, and her back is
soft now.
What am I missing? Any
other suggestions?
Also, if your horse
switches leads behind and
becomes disunited while
you’re riding her, don’t
just happily keep cantering disunited, hoping that
somehow she’ll switch
back. Perform a trot transition and resume the correct
lead right away.
Why? Two reasons. First,
if you don’t correct this evasion or disobedience, she’ll
just keep doing it, because
to her it doesn’t matter that
she’s wrong—she’s comfortable. Second, if you don’t
Performance Editor John
require the correct lead, she
Strassburger responds:
won’t get stronger.
Note how this horse brings his hind leg up under his body during
I strongly suspect that
For more on strengththe canter.
your horse has a weak or
building exercises, see my
misaligned back, but I think you’ve
requires regular repetition and
blog “Strength Is So Important In
made a good start to address it.
conditioning.
Horse Training.” I have also writI’m going to surmise that your
When you’re working in the ring,
ten numerous articles of the Horse
horse is young and has been in limdo lots of transitions and teach her
Journal on building strength during
ited work, so she’s not very fit. It’s
lateral work—turn on the forehand,
the last several years.
common for young horses to have
turn on the haunches, leg-yield,
weakness or alignment problems
shoulder-in, haunches-in. All of
in their backs, either from the way
these exercises require the horse to
they were positioned in the uterus
bring either the inside or outside
or from running around and playhind leg underneath their boding as babies.
ies, developing suppleness and
I urge you to find a good equine
strength. If you don’t know how
chiropractor and have your horse
to do these exercises, please seek
adjusted regularly, starting with
qualified instruction to learn them.
every four to six weeks for the first
Trotting over raised ground poles
several months. If you can’t find an
is an excellent strengthening exerequine chiropractor, consult your
cise, and you can do it mounted or
veterinarian.
on the longe line. Jumping will also
Concurrent with medical treathelp strengthen the back and hindment, you must strengthen her
quarters. I’d suggest you continue
back, so that it can hold the realignthese exercises.
ment and move correctly. Think of
Outside the ring, walk, trot or
it as physical therapy.
canter up hills. You can use either
The most basic part of this is that
short, steep hills or long, gradual
she needs to have regular work—
hills. Walking up and down short,
ride her three to five times a week.
steep hills is a great strength-buildTraining for any activity or sport
ing exercise.
19
July 14, 2014
Avoid Heat Stress in Your Horse
Summer heat can lead to devastating heat illness- follow these tips to
stay safe.
ARticle by Grant Miller, DVM, Contributing Veterinary Editor
I
decided to spend a long
weekend in Scottsdale
after a new client who had
recently relocated from there
reminded me how much fun it
can be for sun worshipers. So,
I escaped the 100+ degree California heat to the 108-degree
summer sizzle that undoubtedly helped Phoenix earn its
name.
As I lay by the pool living the
good life, I thought about how
my client described her horses’
Soaring Summer Temperatures Sacramento, CA
irritability in the Arizona heat.
For nearly all horses (and all
mammals for that matter), high
temperature and/or humidity can
exhaustion are inevitably dehydratmake strenuous exercise prohibied and, in extreme cases of dehytive, especially if the body is not
dration, anhidrosis (the inability to
acclimated and in excellent aerobic
sweat) will occur.
condition. In some unfortunate
In such cases, the horse is in criticases, heat illness can cause serical condition since a key mechaous physical consequences or be
nism to dissipate body heat is no
fatal. Knowing how to identify heat
longer available. Remember: Excess
illness, treat it early and, preferably,
heat energy leaves the body as
avoid it completely is key to avoidsweat evaporates from liquid to gas
ing catastrophe.
and off of the skin surface. Horses
Heat illness actually consists of
with heat exhaustion are fatigued
several stages with the most recand are clearly working to just
ognizable being heat exhaustion
breathe. Other signs will include
and heat stroke. They can come on
dry, tacky gums and nasal passages
fast - especially if your horse is not
and the inability to decrease rectal
acclimated to high heat. Although
temperature despite physiologic
they are most commonly observed
efforts.
with strenuous exercise, they can
Heat exhaustion will quickly
also occur in a hot trailer or stall.
progress into heat stroke if left unHeat exhaustion is characterized
treated. Both are serious, but heat
by high body temperature (often
stroke is more likely to result in
times greater than 104 F), high
permanent or fatal consequences.
heart rates (60 beats per minute
Horses with heat stroke continue
or greater) and respiratory rates
to exhibit the signs associated with
exceeding 80 breaths per minute.
heat exhaustion, but also begin
The horse appears to “not be able
to show signs of organ dysfuncto catch his breath” and cool down.
tion (due to electrolyte and water
Interestingly enough, depending on
imbalances) and neurologic probthe stage of heat exhaustion, sweatlems. The most common include
ing may or may not be occurring.
an altered mental state (stuporous,
Why? Because horses with heat
obtunded or depressed), walking
20
abnormally (drunk appearing)
and in more advanced stages,
seizure and death.
For horses that survive, organ
failure, laminitis and colic have
been commonly reported along
with pulmonary edema (fluid
in the lungs.) OK, OK - enough
of the horror story! How do we
treat heat exhaustion to avoid it
getting to this stage?
Treatment
Immediately move the horse to
a shady area and place him in
front of several fans if possible.
Fans fitted with misters are also
helpful since the mist cools the
air that makes contact with the
horse. Removing tack, blankets, fly
sheets, masks or any item that is
insulating the horse is important.
Now, in addition to all of this- the
most rewarding chore! Repeated
application of ice cold water on a
two to three minute interval is advised to help reduce the core body
temperature. Since the dissipating
heat will quickly warm the applied
water, it is imperative that water
be scraped away and reapplied as
much as needed until the rectal
temperature returns to normal.
If you are unable to effectively
rinse the whole body, concentrate
on the neck, chest and the area of
large blood vessels on the inside of
the upper hind legs since these areas are richest in major vessels that
run close to the skin surface.
Also, since horses in advanced
stages of exhaustion do not sweat,
the moisture adds evaporative ability to the skin surface, which more
efficiently dissipates body heat.
Some people also mix rubbing
alcohol in with the water, which
lowers the evaporation point to allow for quicker dissipation of heat.
No problems here - just keep the
alcohol out of cuts and eyes!
Horses should be allowed to drink
cool temperature to slightly cold
water when being treated for heat
exhaustion. Many will not drink.
It is imperative that in all cases
horses receive IV fluid support
as quickly as possible. IV fluids
provide blood fluid volume, which
assists in delivering oxygen and nutrients to tissues as well as balances
electrolytes that have been insensibly lost during the heat exhaustion
episode.
Some veterinarians may choose
to administer medications that can
protect the horse from heat shock,
which can occur when cells run
out of energy due to lack of proper
nutrient and oxygen perfusion. This
decision must be made on a case by
case basis.
Pay Attention to Heat Index and
Provide Access to Water
After reading about this nightmare, you probably figure that the
best approach to heat exhaustion is
to avoid it altogether. The best way
to prevent it is to pay particular
attention to the heat index in your
area. The ambient temperature
only is part of the equation when it
comes to heat index. You must also
consider the relative humidity.
The heat index is determined by
adding the temperature (in degrees
Fahrenheit) to the percent humidity. Rule of thumb: If it is below
120, you are riding in safe conditions. Between 120 and 150, things
can get a little dicey, especially if
the humidity is equal to or greater
than the temperature. In these situations, you may only want to do a
light ride and consider wetting your
horse before you start.
Anything above 150 is an absolute
thumbs down! Do not get on and
ride if you are facing this type of
heat index - there will be other days
to ride. If you do find yourself riding in a risky heat index, make sure
to provide your horse with plenty of
fresh cool water and amble opportunities to cool down and rest in
the shade.
July 16, 2014
Beautiful Video to Watch
W
e enjoyed this pretty little song and the accompanying equine
video. Nicely done.
From the producer: “I am a filmmaker out of Edmonton, Alberta,
and recently filmed a quick short film about the human/horse connection. I
love your site and thought it would be a very fitting post if you think so too.
. . Simple, powerful and beautiful message.” You can see more of his work
here.
See more at: http://horse-journal.com/video/beautiful-video-watch23816#sthash.oZNuqmCX.dpuf
July 16, 2014
Oregon Veterinarians
Will Undergo Background
Checks
Must be done prior to licensing, veterinarians
and vet technicians.
M
andatory background check for criminal activity will now be
required in Oregon for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. It
will cost them an additional $50 licensing fee and additional fees.
The state will run background checks annually on all licensees. The
Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board will put this plan into action
immediately.
See the full story here. See more at: http://horse-journal.com/article/oregon-veterinarians-undergo-criminal-23819#sthash.8ZZTzvnT.dpuf
21
July 16, 2014
Organization Leaders Need To Embrace
Members’ Use of Social Media
Looks like our sport’s leaders are trying to slam a lid on something—
social media and public comment—that’s far, far bigger than they
are.
T
he Internet horse
cial_Media_2014_Rule.pdf]
world is abuzz this
that seems to be seeking to
month about a deciprevent its members from
sion just announced by the
saying anything at all about
USEF Hearing Committee,
eventing on any kind of
which has censored and
social media. It even says,
fined hunter judge and
“British Eventing reserves
trainer Jimmy Torano “in
the right to monitor, interconnection with the 2013
cept and review, without
USHJA Pre-Green Incenfurther notice, social media
tive Championship held
postings and activities
on August 14 – 15, 2013,
that include references to
where he was engaged to
it and/or its Members, to
judge, in that following
ensure that its Rules are bethe first day of the chaming complied with and for
pionship, he added negalegitimate business purpostive comments to a thread
es. All Members consent to
on Facebook regarding the
such monitoring by their
As a journalist and a USEF member, I believe strongly in our
format of the inaugural
agreeing to these rules.”
American right to express our views.
pre-green incentive chamSounds rather Soviet,
pionship.” To read the
doesn’t it?
entire decision, go to https://www.
social media and public comment—
Of course, we should remember
usef.org/documents/rules...ePenalthat’s far, far bigger than they are.
that the USEF, BE and others are
ties.pdf
Yes, I can understand why USEF
membership organizations, and
What did Torano do? He pressed
leaders consider it improper for
membership in them is a privilege,
the “like” button on the Facebook
judges to comment publicly on comnot a right. Their rules specifically
page of fellow judge Don Stewart Jr.,
petitions at which they’re currently
allow them to take disciplinary
who’d written a several-hundredjudging, so I’ll agree that the timing
action against members, to suspend
word evaluation on his Facebook
of Stewart’s Facebook post was
them, or even to deny them mempage after the first day of the comimproper. He probably should have
bership.
petition, at which they’d both been
waited a few days, although spendUnderstandably, the leaders of
required to judge several hundred
ing an entire day judging pre-green
these organizations are worried
pre-green horses for more than 12
hunters would probably cloud
about how easy social networking
hours. Sounds like water torture to
anyone’s judgment. But I’ve read a
makes it to spread speculation and
me.
transcript of Stewart’s comments,
lies or to make derogatory stateI’m confused and concerned about
and I thought they were extremely
ments about them, their staff or volthe USEF ruling against Torano,
valid and constructive about the
unteers or their competitions, and
who did nothing but agree with
first running of this event.
they want to take steps to control
Stewart’s comments. I understand
The Torano penalty has evoked
what people say.
that the USEF is pursuing aca storm of protest, partly because
But taking an action against a
tion against Stewart too, and that
last month British Eventing, the
member for something they write
concerns me too. This ruling, along
organization that runs eventing
on social media is fraught with
with another recent event, makes
in England, announced a new
potentially dangerous repercusit look like our sport’s leaders are
rule [http://www.britisheventing.
sions. While libelous or personally
trying to slam a lid on something—
com/library-media/documents/Sodamaging comments should cer22
tainly be penalized, I would argue
strenuously against any attempt
to contain or control discussion
by members who are critical of an
action, decision or event. Because
I’ve been a journalist for more than
30 years, I believe strongly in our
American right to free speech and
expression of our views. It’s one of
our country’s founding principles,
a founding principle of any free
society.
After all, dozens of times during these last 30 years I’ve written
evaluations and criticisms of the
USEF, other equestrian and animal
organizations and competitions. I
believe it’s my right and duty as a
member, as a competitor and as a
commentator.
The goal of any membership
organization, especially a sports
membership organization, is to gain
and keep members. They always
want and usually need more people
involved, but if they burden their
members with onerous rules or
policies, they’ll likely discourage
people from joining and participating in whatever it is they’re doing.
It seems clear that the intent of
both groups’ rules is to prevent
members from unfairly bashing
other members, competition management or the organization. I don’t
think they’re worried about civil
communication or enlightened
comment. And I suspect these rules
were written by their legal departments because someone, somewhere, said something that angered
someone else, someone who felt
unfairly persecuted. (I’m going to
guess that, in the case of British
Eventing, it was a sponsor who felt
damaged by someone’s comments
and threatened to withdraw their
support.)
But both rules smack of “Big
Brother” watching, and while trying to be all-inclusive and yet specific, they’ve become too broad and
vague. What’s “offensive” or “improper” (words used in both rules)
to an aggrieved party can easily be
seen as deserved or constructive
criticism by the person making the
statements or by a third party. Any
member, or official, of these organizations could tightly read these
rules to mean that members cannot
comment at all on the programs,
competitions, rules or decisions
that are under their umbrella. You
could read them to mean that if we
want to be USEF or BE members,
we have to shut up and accept everything they do—or they’ll come
and get us.
I don’t think that was the intent,
but the devil is in the details, in
the wording. The basic intent of the
USEF rule is to prevent members
from rude, aggressive or improper
conduct at a show (especially toward a judge or other official). But
writing a rule regarding a form of
communication that’s constantly
evolving is a big challenge.
Social media offers lots of opportunities to anyone trying to promote
anything and lots of challenges to
anyone who doesn’t want publicity. What it really does is to allow
people to say the things they used
to say on the telephone or in person
to their friends and colleagues—except in a much more public way, a
way that is publicly verifiable.
I think these groups’ leaders
are barking up the wrong tree
regarding social media. The comments that an individual makes
on Facebook or Twitter or similar
applications are not anonymous, as
this situation proves. We know exactly what Stewart “said” and that
Torano liked what he said.
The problem with many chat
rooms and bulletin-board sites is
that people can post their comments anonymously, which allows them to make statements that
thousands of people can see with
no evidence and with little fear of
reprisal. But with Facebook and
others, no one but the account holder can make postings on your page.
(I couldn’t go on Don Stewart’s page
and write a post for him.) And the
only people who can see it are the
person’s friends, unless a friend
copies and pastes it and sends it
elsewhere.
So, to me, prosecuting a member
for comments made on their own
page or account is just like prosecuting them for standing in the
middle of their barn and making
exactly the same comments to the
people standing there.
The horse (meaning social media)
is already out of the barn, and locking the barn door isn’t going to put
him back inside. Social media can
give organizational leaders unprecedented insight into what their
members want and need and allow
them to communicate with them
as never before. That’s why I think
that the USEF and BE need to use
them better, not just try vainly to
bottle them up.
23
July 20, 2014
Media Critique: Zen Mind, Zen Horse
T
his book allows you to become
quietly, confidently enlightened about your mind and
your horse’s mind, a concept we
find appealing.
Anyone involved with horses
knows there’s an intangible aspect
to training and communicating
with horses. And nearly everyone
understands the concept of “Zen,”
a school of Buddhism that emphasizes meditation, with methods you
can use to clear your mind, find
inner peace and harmony in the
world.
The author is an experienced,
earnest spiritual practitioner and
horseman. He’s also a neurosurgeon, which may be why the book
is heavy. At times, it contains more
than we need, or maybe want.
The practical training exercises
included are good, based heavily
in natural horsemanship methods.
He stresses how important it is to
make a connection between how
the horse interacts with his world
(through feelings) and how we
normally interact with our world
(through words) and explains how
24
these exercises can help achieve
that. He believes that the most
productive communication occurs
between horse and handler when
the handler can truly understand
the spiritual lives of horses and the
inner working of their psyches.
There is a lot of good in this book,
including interesting philosophical
platforms to explore. But sometimes
you need to be willing to work to
get there.
Bottom Line: It contains fascinating observations about equine and
human brains, and the spiritual,
intangible aspects of horse training,
but it can get bogged down.
Best suited for: The experienced
horseman with a strong interest in
spiritual writings.
You’ll be disappointed if: You’re a
novice. There are really two books
here: one spiritual and one practical, and both require a certain level
of education and familiarity to be
useful.
ZEN MIND, ZEN HORSE: THE
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY
OF WORKING WITH HORSES.
BY ALLAN J. HAMILTON, MD.
SOFTCOVER. 2011. STOREY PUBLISHING. $24.95. AVAILABLE AT
WWW.HORSEBOOKSETC.COM,
800-952-5813.
July 20, 2014
With His Hands, Dougie
Hannum Treats The Equine
Athlete
Horses move and perform better after he’s
worked on them.
R
iders across the country are
glad to see Dougie Hannum
whenever he drives his car
into their driveway or walks down
their barn aisle at a competition.
Because they know their horses are
about to feel much better.
Hannum has been a therapist to
horses at the highest levels and to
horses just starting out for almost
four decades, at seven Olympic
Games and at competitions from
New Jersey to California.
“It’s hard to really say what I do.
But what we try to do is to give the
horse the best opportunity to give
the best performance. We try to set
a horse up for his maximum performance,” said Hannum.
That means that he looks at the
whole horse, not just parts of the
horse. And if the horse appears to
be sore in his hindquarters, Hannum tries to figure out why. In the
meantime, he treats the symptoms
too, with treatments like cold-laser
therapy, magnetic-blanket therapy,
specific pain- or inflammation-reducing topical products, and, especially, handwork and manipulation.
“Across the board, in all the disciplines, it’s body soreness that we
treat—muscles and soft tissue,” he
said.
“We try to teach people about a
good management program for their
horses so that they can help us
maintain their horses as athletes,”
added Hannum. “And it doesn’t
really matter what level the horse
is competing at. Sure, the higher
the level, the higher the risk, but it
all comes back to the same things. I
mean, a horse is a horse.”
The Five Keys
Basically, Hannum deals primarily with five areas of equine health:
* The immune system
* Muscles and skeleton
* Front feet
* Saddle fit
* Teeth.
Ulcers are his primary immune
system concern, because “horses
don’t have the time off they used
to and because we ship them such
long distances.”
But he doesn’t necessarily prescribe expensive equine ulcer medications. He advises most people
to feed their horses a daily diet of
papaya pills, available online from
one of several vitamin suppliers
for $10 to $15 for 500 tablets. Most
horses eat papaya pills like candy,
either in their feed or even out of
your hand.
Hannum also advises riders to
use APF supplements to boost their
horses’ immune systems and to protect them from ulcers. “You can’t
heal a horse from the outside in.
A horse has to be healthy from the
inside,” said Hannum.
Still, he advises riders and trainers to be watchful with feed
supplements. “You need to be
careful when you’re feeding a lot of
supplements, that one’s not washing the others out,” said Hannum.
“And horses are like people—some
people do better with Advil than
with aspirin, and vice versa. With
horses, some do better with Cosequin than with Cortaflex, and vice
Who Is Dougie Hannum?
His mailing address is Nottingham, Pa., but rarely will you find
Dougie Hannum there. He spends almost the entire year traveling
by motor home, car or plane to competitions across the country and
around the world.
Hannum’s work with international horses
began while grooming show jumpers in
the ‘60s. In 1968 he groomed for the show
jumping team at the Mexico City Olympics,
and he hasn’t missed an Olympics since.
In 1988 he became the three-day team’s
equine physiotherapist, and for the 2008
Olympics he was the manager for all three
teams.
In the early ‘80s, he founded the Equine Therapy Center in Unionville, Pa., a non-invasive clinic using dental care, acupuncture, laser
therapy and more. “We worked without drugs because of the FEI
rules—that’s what I have to work with all the time,” said Hannum.
He closed the clinic more than a decade ago and took to the road to
treat competition horses.
“Years ago, the vets didn’t really accept what we do, but now they’ve
accepted that there is a place for what we do. I think people in general are more open-minded about health care these days, for their
horses and themselves. I think that’s a good change,” said Hannum.
25
versa.
“It’s all about knowing your
horse,” he added.
And Hannum believes that
“the most important things
are the front feet, the teeth
and saddle fit. They’re the
things I look at and deal with
the most.”
The front feet are a key
point on every horse because
they’re the body part that
hits the ground first and
holds the horse up, so everything depends on them. Sore
front feet will cause a horse
to try to shift his weight onto
his hindquarters, making his
back and hamstring muscles
stiff and uncomfortable.
“If those feet aren’t in good
On the initial exam, Hannum evaluates the horse from
shape and properly balanced,
poll to tail.
I can guarantee you’re going
to get a sore back,” he said.
Proper shoeing and trimming are
we’ve written about often at the
the key elements to foot comfort,
Horse Journal—is a problem he sees
said Hannum. If necessary, he recsurprisingly often in competition
ommends Equithane pads, because
horses. Hannum estimates that 75
they seal to the foot (preventing
percent of the horses he sees have
thrush) and can be relatively easdental problems.
ily removed without removing the
“And—just like with people—if
shoe.
their mouth hurts, something else
“To me, saddle fit is massive,
is probably going to hurt too,”
because if your saddle is pinching
said Hannum. “Just listen to your
your horse, it’s going to make him
horse—he’ll tell you.”
sore, and then he won’t track up, he
Bottom Line
won’t get round, and he probably
If you ask Hannum to evaluate
won’t want to jump,” said Hannum.
and work on your horse, he’ll be
He prefers saddles that are stuffed
willing to listen to you describe
with wool, because they can be
what you’re feeling or what your
relatively easily re-stuffed, and he
horse’s symptoms are—but mostly
regrets that many of today’s saddles
because he might hear a clue to the
are stuffed with foam and cannot
problem. Even if you insist that you
be re-stuffed.
know what and where the problem
Hannum knows, though, that
is, he’s going to examine your horse
not every horse can have his own
in the same deliberate fashion he
custom-made saddle and that the
examines every single horse—he’s
only choice is usually to use pads.
going to run his hands over him
But he warns that using more or
from poll to tail, on both sides of
bigger pads isn’t always the answer.
his body, to see what he feels.
If a saddle fits tight on the withAnd along the way you might see
ers, a smaller pad may be the right
him wince, you might hear him let
choice.
out a sigh, and you might even hear
“It’s like the princess and the
him whistle. When he does any of
pea—just because you have 150
those, it means he’s found somemattresses on top doesn’t mean
thing, and his reaction is usually
it’s better,” he said. So he advises
a good indication of the problem’s
taking the time to look at how your
severity. It will also likely mean
saddle is fitting and figure out what
that what he’s found isn’t what you
to do. “Use common sense,” he said.
were expecting.
Lack of dental care—an issue
And then he, or his assistant,
26
Grant Showalter, will go to
work, addressing the soreness
that they’ve found. What Hannum does is a combination of
deep-tissue massage and chiropractic work. Using the heel of
his hands, his fingertips or his
knuckles, Hannum kneads sore
muscles until they become loose
and flexible; or he manipulates
the forelimbs to relieve strain in
the shoulders and withers, or the
hind limbs to relieve strain in
the hindquarters; or he manipulates the head to relieve soreness
in the upper neck.
And sometimes, if Hannum
believes that the way a saddle
fits is causing the problems he’s
finding, he or Showalter will
evaluate how the rider’s saddles
are fitting the horse. (Showalter
is an experienced saddle-fitting
specialist.) What they find often
isn’t welcome news, although it
doesn’t always mean you have to
buy a new saddle.
Hannum works primarily in the
eastern half of the United States.
To contact him, call 610-656-9890.
Showalter lives in central California and works primarily along the
West Coast. To contact him, call or
text 484-639-4454.John Stras
July 20, 2014
Genesis System Nice Fit for
Aachen Saddle
This adjustable tree is a snap to use.
ARticle by Horse Journal
W
e had the M. Toulouse
Aachen dressage saddle
with the Genesis Adjustable Tree system in a field trial
for over 30 days, allowing several
different riders—from beginner
through advanced—use the saddle.
The initial glance tended to be one
of caution, but that changed dramatically when they rode.
The biggest question surrounded
the Genesis Adjustable Tree. The
saddle arrives with tools and a
two-minute how-to DVD (see video
below). The mechanism hidden
in the pommel adjusted one click
(millimeter) at a time. We changed
it from a Thoroughbred build to a
wide, flat-withered Quarter Horse
in a few minutes.
Although some experts advise
caution with adjustable-tree saddles, claiming a pommel-based adjustment can cause the points of the
tree to bend/bulge/flex improperly,
we had no problems. We learned
that’s because the points of the tree
adjust as the device widens and
narrows the tree.
Comments from testers:
“It felt like a saddle I had ridden
in for years. Comfortable. My horse
was relaxed and happy.”
“It was comfy, and I like its
smaller size and ‘sticky’ seat.”
“I particularly liked how the
saddle supported correct riding
form. Felt like it molded to me. Seat
and legs slid into position. Secure
but not confined.”
“Saddle felt cushiony and secure
(beginner who cantered for the first
time in the saddle).”
Most Suitable For: A rider who
wants to use the same saddle on
different horses or someone who
anticipates physical changes in
their horse (from aging or muscle
development/loss) in the coming
years.
Improvements we’d make: Few
riders need thigh blocks, so we’d
prefer to purchase them separately.
The stitch right in front of the dees
worries us a bit in terms of longevity.
Bottom Line: We were delighted
with this saddle’s feel, looks and
price. And, since nearly all horses
change physically over time, we
think the adjustable tree could help
avoid major saddle change.
We prefer this saddle’s adjustable
mechanism over the interchangeable gullet system we’ve seen in the
past, as there’s no “wrestling” in
and out of the gullets and you don’t
The Toulouse Aachen saddle is well balanced.
have to purchase additional gullets.
However, you do need to lubricate.
The Toulouse Aachen saddle with
Genesis tree system an excellent
value for its design and quality. We
appreciate the tree’s 10-year warranty against defects www.intecperformancegear.com.
The adjustable piece is
hidden in the gullet and
changed by loosening the
outside screws.
Genesis Toulouse Aachen Dressage Saddle
* Nonexistent; ** Poor ; *** Good/Average Normal; **** Excellent; ***** Outstanding
Feature
Rating
Comments
Balance
*****
Well balanced. Puts rider in center of seat.
Billets
***
V-system with long billets. Leather billets attach to saddle with web.
Flaps
***
Close feel. Padded knee rolls of moderate size. Adjustable thigh blocks
attach by a relatively roomy piece of Velcro, given you a lot of options.
Gullet
****
Wide gullet that clears the horse’s back bone.
Leather
***
Shows original grain, so it doesn’t mark easily. Soft, supple, durable.
Panels
*****
Latex rubber and wool flocking. Evenly distributed. Well balanced.
Seat
****
Medium depth. Medium twist. Measured accurately.
Stirrup Bars
***
Lockable stainless steel.
Tree
*****
Genesis adjustable spring tree. Steel mechanism on hand-laminated
beechwood. Innovative. 10-year warranty. Requires monthly lubrication.
Value
*****
Well-priced for the quality. $1649 with adjustable. With fixed tree, $1149.
Warranty
*****
10 years on the tree.
Weight
NA
Approximately 17 lbs.
27
July 21, 2014
times happen with a hay net, depending upon how it’s secured. (Of
course, a really bored horse might
do better with a hay bag that he has
to “chase,” as it will take up more of
his time.)
We found The Natural Feeder
ARticle by lee Foley, contributing farrier editor
simple to load, although it did take
a little effort. Basically, you have to
e fully support
flip the feeder over to
the concept of
fill it. Next, you ensure
slow feeding
that the top grate with
because it best mimics
the feeder openings is
natural grazing, which
in place. You then inthe modern horse’s
sert a bale of hay (more
physiology is set up to
or less, depending
use but today’s horse
upon your horses) on
management systems
top of the grate, slide in
often can’t match.
the solid bottom piece
Like you, we’ve seen
in and turn the feeder
all types of homemade
right side up. And,
hay feeding devices
because you load from
for horses. It seems
the bottom, the “oldest”
We believe the Natural Feeder is a comfortable way to slow feed hay.
the more accepted the
hay is consumed first.
concept of slow feeding
It’s not as time conbecomes, the more numerous are
entire apparatus was secured to a
suming for the horse as the usual
the do-it-yourself (DIY) products.
fence. The attributes were that the
slow-feeding hay bags, but it still
Those DIY products are interesthay would stay dry and it would
limits hay consumption and waste.
ing, and we applaud the effort and
hold a full bale. However, a hay
There are variable grates (3”, 2.5”,
ingenuity it takes to produce a good
net hung that low to the ground is
2”) to put on top of the feeder to
hay feeder. Like most of our readgoing to become worn more quickly
adjust to what your horse needs. It’s
ers, we maintain pretty tight horse
and pick up mud. Plus, it’s in a spot
made for use outside or in a run-in
budgets, so DIY can be attractive.
just asking for a horse to get someshed. It’s a little too big for most
But not everyone is capable of makthing caught on it.
stalls.
ing a horse-proof feeder. If you go
When we did our field trial of
The feeder is very lightweight,
to YouTube and search for “horse
slow-feeding products last year, we
about 55 lbs., so turning it over
feeder,” you’ll find a host of confound a number of hay nets that
constantly is not a big deal for most
traptions out there. Or search on
were durable, offered a variety of
horse people. It’s only a little larger
Google for slow feeding and click
hole sizes to suit many different
than a good-sized traditional bale
the images tab.
horses, and were relatively easy
of hay. For the average horse, its
Most of the homemade feeders
to fill. Still, though, they involve
height is a little more than kneewe’ve come across involve a barrel,
hanging a device with strings and
high.
trash can or wooden feed trough
clips or other hardware around
Our Trial
of some type with a net or board
our horse. We did find bags that we
The three horses in our test barn
covering the top. The board has
were told you could fill and simply
loved the feeder, never hesitating to
holes drilled in it, so that the horse
leave on the ground, but – worry
grab some hay form it – even when
simply has to push down on the
warts that we are – we couldn’t
the grass was green and lush. As
board to get the hay to poke out of it
get fully secure using that system
the website will tell you, three
so they can grab it. However, we are
either.
horses is the limit for one feeder,
not keen about our horses constantWith all this in mind, we were
and we agree. We’d actually sugly chewing at a board to get their
delighted when The Natural Feeder
gest one feeder for every two horses
hay, as we worry about splinters.
asked us to try their product. With
(bear in mind that a recommendaAnd the netting can be difficult to
this system, you can feed a bale
tion like this is assuming the horses
keep tight and avoid stretching as
of hay at a time, but it limits how
are close to the average weight of
horses pull on it.
much hay the horse can grab at
1,100 lbs.; draft horses may need
As an example, last January, on
once – like a good slow feeder. It
one each, while four miniature
Facebook, we saw a plastic barrel
rests on the ground, so we didn’t
horses might share one feeder).
turned upside down with a hay net
have to wrestle with hooks and
As instructed, we began our trial
secured the bottom of it. The horse
hanging devices. And our horses
with the largest grate and we pulled
pulled the hay out of the net, reachdidn’t have to chase a “moving
hay up through the grates. We also
ing under the barrel to get it. The
target” to get hay, which can somepurposely began with our most-ap-
This Feeder Gets It Right
Our test horses were attracted to it.
W
28
pealing hay to ensure interest in
the product.
We gradually moved down to
the smallest grate without trouble.
After that, though, we determined
that our horses were fine with the
middle grate and our usual hay.
However, this is what really surprised us: The waste associated
with this feeder was minimal. Our
trial horses didn’t pull out tons of
hay and just scatter it all over the
place. They were content to stand
there and eat with their heads over
this manger-like device. Note we
said “our” horses . . . experiences
may vary here.
The Natural Feeder is made in the
USA of recycled plastic. It appears
extremely durable to us, as we had
no problems with it over the course
of our trial (almost a year).
The downsides we found? Well,
a horse can push it around if he
chooses to do so, and we all know
horses who love “toys” of any type.
Even with a bale of hay in it, it’s
not that heavy. And you probably
don’t want to use it in a stall due
to its size and height (think about
yet another place to remove manure). Finally, some folks may find
flipping the feeder over and back
daunting.
Bottom Line
If your horse spends most of his
time in a small area, like a stall,
you’re probably better off with one
of the hay net-style slow feeders.
You can read about our favorites
here. However, if you need a slowfeed product for a larger area, we
were very happy with the Natural
Feeder.
Its design “naturally” places the
horse in position to eat with his
head lowered. And we believe the
solid plastic will likely reduce the
chances of an injury. (That said,
when it comes to equine injuries . . .
if there’s a will there’s a way.)
The Natural Feeder is durable,
easy to use and well designed.
Our test horses were immediately
attracted to it, possibly because it
resembles a water trough.
Prices start at $379 with discounts
for purchasing multiple Feeders at
once. www.thenaturalfeeder.com
July 21, 2014
Look For Online Pharmacy
Accreditation
It helps ensure the pharmacy is the real deal.
W
e have expressed
caution over the
years to our readers
about using Internet pharmacies. Many aren’t reliable or safe, selling inferior
drugs, contaminated products or incorrect compounded drugs.
We recently learned that
the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) has instituted a
program that can help protect consumers. it’s similar to the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) accreditation program, in that it’s voluntary for pharmacies, but it does hold the pharmacies to a high standard.
This new accreditation program for online pharmacies selling animal
drugs is called Veterinary-Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site or VetVIPPS. They have no regulatory powers, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Accredited pharmacies will need to be properly licenses and in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, which not all Internet
pharmacies do. Interestingly, Google requires online pharmacies that advertise with them to be accredited by the NABP.
As you may be aware, there’s a lot of controversy about non-veterinarian
sales of products that are supposed to be available only through a licensed
veterinarian. These products include both prescription and non-prescription products. Among the concerns is that some products may not be
handled properly or may be contaminated. How and why the sellers even
receive the products is unclear, although efforts are being made to curtail
the operation.
To find an accredited pharmacy visit www.nabp.net or call 847-391-4406.
Accredited pharmacies will likely have the Vet-VIPPs logo on their site.
If you’re not purchasing your horse’s medications directly through your
veterinarian, we recommend that you consider pharmacies that have completed the NABP program and are accredited. At the moment, it’s the best
defense you have, if you’re not using your veterinarian to supply drugs.
29
July 21, 2014
It’s Time to Re-Think Early
Weaning of Horses
Separating them too soon benefits no one.
ARticle by Beth Benard, Contributing Writer
F
or the most part, the
symbiotic relationship
between the domestic
horse and humankind works
out well. The horse gets immunization from fatal diseases,
readily available food and protection from predators. (One
can also argue farrier care
and deworming, but neither of
those would be essential if we
hadn’t domesticated the horse
Late weaning offers the foal more benefits.
in the first place.) Humans
benefit from the partnership
with horse power for transportation
If you’ve seen photos of working
and agriculture, recreation, comdraft horses in the 19th century,
panionship and even as a source of
you may have seen a team engaged
food.
in some farm activity with a large
But our stewardship is not without
foal tied to his dam’s harness.
error. Overlooking outright cruelty,
My mentor (born in 1917) recalled
our caretaking has led to health
his father plowing Vermont roads
issues that seldom occurred in the
in winter with a six-horse team
horse’s natural state, including
plus one or two foals alongside.
colic, ulcers and laminitis. Many of
Foals remained with their dams
our decisions regarding the mainfor extended periods of time, and
tenance of horses have been made
breeding texts from that period
with our own convenience at the
recommended six to eight months
forefront. One that receives little
of lactation as the minimum.
discussion is weaning.
Even into the 1960s, it was rare to
Don’t Show The Foal
With the exception of the neonatal period, foals are at their most
vulnerable in the period after weaning. The immunity they received
from the mare’s colostrum has waned and their own immune system hasn’t begun to reach peak efficiency. At a show, they’ll be exposed to many foreign bacteria and viruses and at a time when they
haven’t overcome the stressors of weaning. The new experiences of
trailering, a strange environment, and unfamiliar horses all amplify
that stress, making them highly susceptible to illness and injury.
Although the acclaim and money up for grabs in some foal futurities
is tempting, don’t sell your foal’s health for it. All blue ribbons eventually turn purple with age, but you may have this foal for the next
30 years. And the mare who carried that foal, nursed it, protected it
and then lost it to weaning deserves a year’s vacation from competition for all her effort.
30
see a weanling under the age of six
months. If they went to the show,
their dams were held outside the
ring in varying states of frenzy.
Around that time, a study came out
that demonstrated a mare’s milk
supply decreased sharply after the
third month of lactation. Although
the study didn’t recommend early
weaning, breeders seemed to almost universally decided it would
be in the foal’s best interest to be
weaned at three to four months
and be fed supplemental grain.
Initially, this technique appeared to be a good decision.
Early weaned foals were bigger
and fatter than their still nursing counterparts of the same
age. The few holdouts for extended lactation soon became
convinced and joined the early
weaning faction.
While there is little published
research to either support or
refute early weaning, recent
studies are now coming down,
albeit tentatively, on the side of
delayed weaning. Let’s call “early”
those foals weaned at three to
four months, and “delayed” as six
months or later. We’ll look at the
arguments for early weaning and
see what science now has to say.
BIGGER, FATTER FOALS.
Almost immediately after the
1960s lactation study, creep feeding
became established as the means
of compensating for the mare?s decreasing milk output. (“Creep feeding” refers to any type construction
either in a field or a stall that allows
the foal to have access to grain, but
prevents the mare from obtaining
it.) High-energy grains were often
supplied free-choice to both nursing and weaned foals.
It was not long after this practice
became widespread when the first
reports of unusual lameness in
foals began to appear. Eventually
lumped into the broad category of
developmental orthopedic diseases
(DOD), they’ve never been irrefutably linked to creep feeding. Still,
the index of suspicion is high,
especially since creep feeding, DOD
and increasingly accurate diagnostic tools all emerged practically
simultaneously.
Early weaning and supplemental
grain does result in fatter foals and
rapid growth. These foals do reach
their final height faster, but they
don’t grow any larger than their
delayed weaning counterparts.
A well-designed study by the
University of Kentucky compared
groups of Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred foals weaned at 4.5 and 6
months of age. It found that by 224
days of age, there was no difference
in withers height. However, there
was a statistically significant difference in cannon-bone circumference
and one measure of bone density,
with the earlier weaned foals demonstrating losses in both areas.
MARE’S LOSING WEIGHT.
Assuming attention to dental care
and monitoring of fecal egg counts,
the primary reason mares will lose
weight during lactation is inadequate nutritional intake. In other
words, if a nursing mare is getting
thin, she’s not being fed enough.
Maintaining adequate body fat in a
broodmare should start even before
conception with her diet adjusted
in the last trimester of pregnancy to
allow her to foal with a body condition score of 7.
A lactating mare requires between 2 to 3% of her body weight
per day in forage and concentrates
(compared to 1.5 to 2% for a horse
at maintenance).With free-choice
high-quality forage, be it pasture or
hay, she should easily obtain that
much nutrition and maintain her
weight, even while nursing a large
foal. Not only are you putting your
foal?s joints and bones at risk, but
it is false economy to think buying “designer” foal grain is cheaper
than delayed weaning with good
hay or pasture.
The science here is clear: If your
mare is thin, don’t wean the foal,
feed the mare.
TRAINING ISSUES.
Renowned California veterinarian
and lecturer Dr. Robert Miller is a
strong proponent of initiating human contact and foal education in
the neonatal period. His philosophy
of imprint training recommends
intervention long before weaning. Independent evaluation of his
Developmental Orthopedic Disease
DOD includes osteochondrosis dessicans (OCD-cartilage defects),
physitis (joint inflammation), angular and flexural limb deformities
and cervical malformations (wobblers). Despite considerable research,
there’s no one proven cause for any of these. That said, genetic predisposition is a likely cause for some of the diseases in some horses.
That means if the environmental conditions are right, the problem will
develop, but not in every foal.
After the creep-feeding boom, followed closely by the DOD explosion, excess protein was blamed as the cause. It was circulated so
widely at the time that even today some breeders still quote that
conclusion. The theory has long been discredited. Current theories
include:
1. Rapid growth
due to overfeeding. This is most
likely following an
illness or lack of nutrition, followed by
abundant food.
2. Obesity. It is felt
the stress of excess
weight on immature
cartilage causes it
to shear off and/or
develop imperfections (OCD).
3. Intense episodic
exercise. Coopedup foals only perThis gorgeous Morgan weanling gets plenty of exercise.
mitted intermittent
freedom may damage the growth surfaces of long bones in their
enthusiasm to blow off steam.
4. Mineral imbalance. Initially a copper deficiency was implicated,
as supplementing copper in mares and foals seemed to decrease the
incidence of OCD. That’s now known that the entire mineral profile
needs to considered and balanced.
An investigation in Germany of 629 Hanoverians on 83 farms demonstrated the necessity of forage testing and mineral balancing. The
foals were all fed supplemental, mineral-added grain shared with their
dams. The diets weren’t balanced to the forage and displayed both
excesses and deficiencies in some minerals in the total diet. X-rays revealed 226 foals had OCD lesions between five and 10 months of age.
5. High glycemic diets. Kentucky Equine Research published their
investigation of 218 Thoroughbred weanlings on six farms, all of
whom were fed a foal-specific concentrate, either texturized sweet
feed or molasses-bound pellets, testing between 40-50% NSC. There
was an almost linear correlation between the glycemic response to
the diet and the development of OCD. As further evidence of the
harm caused by overfeeding, the researchers found the farms with
the heaviest foals—115% above “normal” weight for age—had the
highest incidence of OCD. Interestingly, on the one farm where the
foals were underweight—97% of normal—no OCD was found.
31
methods has concluded the young
foal is just as capable of learning
and retaining many of the imprinted exposures even if they are not
introduced immediately after birth.
It stands to reason foals will be
more comfortable with the learning
process while still with their dams.
It’s far easier to teach a foal to pick
up his foot if He’s leaning against
his calmly grazing dam. Likewise,
the first haltering goes much more
smoothly if the foal is young and at
his mother’s reassuring side.
Prior to weaning, the foal should
stand quietly to be haltered, lead
without resistance, be immunized,
dewormed, and reasonably wellmannered for a professional farrier.
Yes, you might have to make the
effort of walking into the pasture
or bringing the mare and foal into
the barn to provide these essential
training and health interventions.
If that’s too much trouble, you
might want to ask yourself why you
wanted this foal.
NEED MORE REASONS?
Foals in the wild remain with their
mothers for extended periods. If
the dam is pregnant, she will wean
her foal herself at about 10 months
of age, allowing for the production
of colostrum for the new foal she’s
carrying.
If she isn’t pregnant, she may permit her foal to nurse well into the
yearling year. (If she’s got a cheeky,
randy colt by her side, the herd stallion will likely run him off into a
bachelor herd at some point in his
yearling year.) In a study of zebras
in the wild, natural weaning occurred in pregnant zebras between
days 243 and 355 after foaling.
Milk production in mares is a
“demand-supply” feature. If the
demand is there, she will continue
to supply it. On large preserves for
Przewalski’s, the last truly “wild”
horses, foals have been observed
remaining with their dams and
nursing for up to two years.
As the volume of milk decreases
by the third month, its mineral profile also changes. This is believed
to be an evolutionary incentive to
encourage foals to learn to obtain
foodstuffs on their own and gradually establish independence.? The
32
Foals in the wild remain with their mothers
for extended periods. Why not domesticated
horses?
key word here is “gradually.”
Research has shown that early
weaned foals, especially those with
a high proportion of grain in their
ration coupled with increased confinement and isolation from peers,
are at high risk for developing
stereotypic behaviors like cribbing/
wind-sucking, weaving and stallwalking as the horse grows. These
behaviors have not been observed
in feral horses.
The horse has survived for millions of years. It’s only been in the
last few thousand that man has
begun meddling with it. That’s the
evolutionary equivalent of a blink
of an eye.
We’re slowly recognizing our wellintentioned stewardship has caused
us to make errors in our care-giving
and, in fact, we now realize that, for
the most part, the closer we maintain horses to their natural state,
the better off they are. When it
comes to weaning, maybe it’s time
we park our hubris on the shelf and
admit we were wrong.
July 21, 2014
PAST Act Needs Your
Support
We need this Bill to become law. What is the
hold-up?
The PAST act will prohibit anything on the horse’s leg that “moves.”
T
he Preventing All Soring Tactics Act (PAST Act) (H.R.1518 /
S.1406) is gaining momentum
in the United States Congress. It
currently has nearly 300 cosponsors
in the House of Representatives and
nearly 60 co-sponsors in the Senate.
For those who are unfamiliar with
the bill, it seeks to amend the Horse
Protection Act (HPA) to strengthen
the law prohibiting soring tactics
(commonly used in Tennessee
Walking Horse training). In other
words, it is an act intended to deliberately cause pain to the horse in
order to exaggerate the leg motion
of high-gaited horses.
Horses are sored in many ways.
Caustic materials (e.g., kerosene,
mustard oil) may be used to in-
jure the skin of the lower leg, the
hoof and/or sole may be ground to
expose sensitive tissues, hard objects may be inserted between the
shoe pads and the sole, metal hoof
bands may be over tightened, or
improper shoeing techniques may
be used. Irrespective of technique,
the purpose of soring is to cause
the horse pain so that it lifts its legs
faster and higher (known as the
“big lick”).
Editor’s Note: YouTube has several videos showing extreme cases
of cruelty in this industry, with
several from HSUS (the Humane
Society). We warn you that they
are graphic and disturbing, which
is why we opted not to include any
here.
If passed, the PAST ACT will:
· Define “action device” to include
any boot, collar, chain, roller, or
other device that encircles or is
placed upon the lower extremity of
the leg of a horse in such a manner
that it can: (1) rotate around the leg
or slide up and down the leg, so as
to cause friction; or (2) strike the
hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or
pastern of the horse. Excludes from
such term soft rubber or soft leather
bell boots or quarter boots that are
used as protective devices.
· Create a penalty structure that
requires horses to be disqualified
for increasing periods of time,
based on number of violations (from
180 days to 3 years).
· Require USDA to license, train,
assign and oversee inspectors enforcing the HPA.
· Make the actual act of soring or
directing another person to cause a
horse to become sore illegal.
· Prohibit use of action devices
on any limb of Tennessee Walking Horses, Spotted Saddle horses,
or Racking horses at horse shows,
exhibitions, sales or auctions. Also
bans weighted shoes, pads, wedges,
hoof bands, or other devices that
are not strictly protective or therapeutic in nature.
· Increase civil and criminal penalties for violation.
· Allow for permanent disqualification for violators on their third or
higher violation.
Amazingly enough, the Horse
Protection Act was passed in 1970
to stop soring - yet the practice still
continues today due to a lack of
needed components in the original
law.
In the House, it remains bottled
up in the Energy and Commerce
Committee, where Rep. Marsha
Blackburn of Tennessee, an opponent of the PAST Act, is vice-chairwoman. Perhaps now is the time to
tell her what you think.
33
July 23, 2014
Why I Decided to Stop
Competing Alba
She competed mostly on heart, because she
tries her hardest every minute of every day.
A
few months ago I came
to the difficult conclusion that it was time to
stop competing my wonderful Quarter Horse mare Alba
(who competes as Firebolt),
and allow her to become a
schoolmaster here at our
Phoenix Farm.
I didn’t make the decision
because of soundness probHeart and trust made Alba and I a great cross-country
lems or because of old age
team.
(she’s only 12). I decided to
stop because she’s gone as
far as the rules allow her to go in
her back and rush the jumps, causeventing, so there was no point in
ing her to drag her hind feet and hit
continuing to ask her to give her
the rails. We tried everything posmaximum effort in almost every
sible to address this weakness, and
event.
her jumping certainly improved,
Plus, after starting eight intermebut that’s mental baggage that will
diate events (and completing six of
never go away.
them without cross-country jumpAt the 3’9” intermediate horse
ing faults), she’d accomplished far,
trial height, the result was that we’d
far more than we ever thought the
lower three to seven show jumps in
15.2-hand mare ever would when
each round. Those results strongly
her former owner left her with us
suggested that it was unlikely
without a word in October 2008.
we’d ever be able to qualify for a
And she did it mostly on heart,
CCI2*, because we’d first have to
because she tries her hardest every
complete a CIC2*, where the show
minute of every day. In fact, on
jumps are 3’11”, with four lowered
some days I wished she’d try a little
rails or fewer. That’s what I meant
less hard!
when I said she’d gone as far as the
Unfortunately, the show jumprules allow her to, although I don’t
ing phase was her nemesis, largely
think she quite has the scope to go
because the only thing she’d ever
advanced.
done before she came to me at age 6
So I admitted to myself that there
was barrel racing, and it had fried
was little point in continuing to ask
her over-eager brain. I think that
Alba to compete at intermediate.
show jumping was her weak phase
But I’m still having trouble acceptbecause the jumps in an arena, with
ing that I won’t get the privilege
people sitting around it, reminded
of riding her cross-country again.
her too much of barrel racing. So
She was just awesome—she’d fly
she’d become so tense and stiff in
across the ground, always looking
34
for the next jump to attack, and I
could always count on her to figure
out the question and land on her
feet. I can’t think of another horse
I’ve ever ridden who approached
a cross-country course with such
enthusiasm.
The video above is Alba’s round
at last November’s CCI1* at Galway
Downs. You can see more than a
dozen more videos of her in action
on the Ride One Video and YouTube
sites.
Training and competing Alba has
been the center of my riding life for
the last six years, and I’m still adjusting to that not being the case
any longer. Fortunately, she’s
still full of health and in the first
stall as you walk into the barn.
What’s Alba doing now? She’s
a schoolmaster here at Phoenix
Farm. We have three or four
teenage students who’ve been
taking lessons on her, learning
what it feels like to ride a sensitive and highly strung horse
who has a lot of buttons. Just
yesterday, I took one of these
girls galloping on her, and Alba
turned on the after-burners going up the hill. After we pulled
up, the student smiled in amazement. “I’ve never gone that fast
before. That was incredible!” she
said, beaming.
We may also breed Alba in a
couple of years. But it will have to
be by using embryo transfer. Living
through Heather’s extremely difficult pregnancy with Wesley five
years ago took a few years off my
life, I fear, and I couldn’t bear the
thought of Alba struggling through
pregnancy, or worse.
I’ll admit that my decision to stop
competing Alba was made easier by
the fact that I have three younger
and very promising horses to compete now, two of whom we bred.
It simply made more sense to use
my time and financial resources to
further their careers than it did to
keep going with Alba.
But I will always believe that Alba
contributed greatly to whatever
success I may be fortunate to have
with her successors. She helped get
me ready for them, teaching me so
much about controlling my body
and balance, giving me experience
of riding the upper levels after years
of riding young horses at the lower
levels, and, above all, making me
feel comfortable and confident over
the big jumps.
Alba also reminded me, again and
again, what it feels like to ride a
horse who has a bottomless heart.
July 23, 2014
Queen’s Horse Tests
Positive for Morphine
Report from The Blood-Horse.
T
he Queen of England is probably not a happy camper at the moment.
The Blood-Horse magazine reports that one of her racehorses tested
positive for morphine. However, given that five horses all tested positive with trace amounts of the drug, there is strong suspicion that a feed
may have been contaminated. - See more at: http://horse-journal.com/article/queens-horse-tests-positive-morphine-24701#sthash.e8fjfUf8.dpuf
July 23, 2014
National Tennesee Walker
Show Monitors
A three-veterinarian advisory committee will
be on hand.
T
he Tennessean reports that a new, three-member veterinarian advisory
committee will handle rules around animal safety for the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, which runs Aug. 20-30 in
Shelbyville. If you’re wondering why we consider this news, please read Dr. Grant
Miller’s blog about the PAST Act. - See more at: http://horse-journal.com/article/national-tennessee-walker-show-monitors-24702#sthash.9pBNWkpk.dpuf4
July 24, 2014
Grocery Store to Sell
Equestrian Clothing
In the U.K., but it’s Aldi, which is here in the
USA.
A
story from The Telegraph announces the sale of equestrian items in
Aldi grocery stores in the U.K. Do you think that could be a possibility here in the USA? Awesome? Or horrible? Read the story here.
July 23, 2014
Too Many Horses
Rescue facilities are bursting at the seams.
A
bandoned horses continue to be a major problem for rescues.
35
July 24, 2014
Soft Saddle G2 Has Its Place in the Tack
Room
It offers light weight, easy care and a low
price.
ARticle by Karen havis, contributing writer
W
e rode in the Cashel Soft
Saddle G2, a recent offering
from Cashel Copany. The
saddle is available in medium or
large seats and retails for $279.99. It
is universal fit for horses because of
its flexible design.
Overall, we liked this saddle
when used for its intended purpose,
which is light trail and pleasure
riding. It is comfortable for both
horse and rider, feeling somewhere
between a bareback pad and a traditional saddle.
The saddle fit our flat-backed horses well, but it didn’t work as well on
horses with a more contoured back.
The built-up seat offered our riders security and comfort. Our test
saddle was a large, and our test riders were fairly average-sized adults.
Cashel cautions you, however, that
riders will not be comfortable in a
saddle that is too large
for them.
Cashel recommends
using a felt pad under the
saddle. Initially, the pad
was difficult to position
on the horse’s back and
didn’t lay flat. However, once the saddle was
placed on it, everything
was fine and our horse
and rider were happy.
Cashel told us that it can
take some experimentation to determine what
thickness pad will be
best for your horse, as it
could range from a ¼”
liner to a ¾” thick pad.
Cashel’s Soft Saddle G2 offers a comfortable secure ride.
The Cashel Soft Saddle
helps teach the rider
balance more quickly than a traoff) and provides extra grip.
ditional saddle, and you do have
* Well padded for the rider, very
a better feel the motion
comfortable to sit in. Seat is built
of the horse. It allows
up in back and front to provide
riders whose horses are
more security, and be more like a
not comfortable bareback
regular saddle.
to experience “riding
* Very lightweight (6 lb).
bareback,” in a less-struc* Comes with Western style stirtured saddle that is more
rups.
dependent on the rider’s
* Wither strap for easy carrying or
position but not like
for extra security for a younger or
riding on just a flat, thin
less experienced rider.
bareback pad. While
* Front and back D rings for atwe prefer no stirrups on
taching packs, breastplates, or other
actual bareback pads, we
accessories.
like them on this saddle.
* Adjustable stirrups.
The stirrups helped keep
* Comes In two seat sizes (Methe rider centered and
dium and Large).
focused on body position.
* Horses seem to like it (lick and
chew while riding in it).
Pros:
It’s more than a bareback pad, but it’s not a traditional
saddle.
36
* Very well made, quality construction.
* Synthetic sueded fabric is easy care (just wash
Cons:
* We would appreciate longer,
thinner billet straps. We had to
use a long English girth on a small
horses and the billets barely fit
through our girth buckles.
* The Western-style stirrups cannot be adjusted while mounted.
They were made of plastic and ran
small.
* Padding on the lower skirt interfered somewhat with getting our leg
on our horse.
It’s more than a bareback pad, but
it’s not a traditional saddle.
Bottom Line
This saddle isn’t a substitute for a
regular saddle for long rides, competition or serious training, but it is
a good solution for the casual rider,
especially for pleasure trail rides
(you’ll even be comfortable riding
in shorts). Its light weight and easy
care are absolute pluses.
We believe it’s also a good in-between choice for those who would
like to rider bareback but aren’t
quite ready for it. You get a close
feel of the horse with “seat” security, but it helps you learn independent rider balance, if you’re struggling with that issue.
Our Western tester enjoyed the
comfort of the saddle – it is truly a
“soft ride.” Our English dressage/
trail riding tester also enjoyed the
comfort, but missed a knee roll.
Our eventing test rider was not
comfortable in the saddle and
found it difficult to adjust to the
feel and stirrups.
July 24, 2014
“It Ate Tony.”
One of the lines from the funniest videos
series on horses ever.
ARticle by cindy foley, editor-in-Chief
I
became a fan of SmartPak’s series of videos, titled “If Horses Were
People,” as soon as I saw the first episode. They are laugh-out-loud funny,
and Sarah, who plays the horse, probably ought to get an agent and head
to Hollywood. She’s awesome, as is her “straight man.” A fabulous team!
Included here is their June release - “It ate Tony” is positively something
I’ve “heard” my horse say on more than one occasion. All I have to do is
think about that line and I laugh.
If you want to see them all, here’s a link to the entire playlist. There are
nine total, so far.
SmartPak is an equestrian retailer, best known for their innovative SmartPak system of supplement distribution.
July 27, 2014
Chester Webber Wins Fourin-Hand at Aachen
First American win in this division at this
show.
C
hester Webber makes history as he wins the Four-in-Hand Driving at
Aachen! Read the story here.
37
July 28, 2014
The All-Important Bed Check
With a thank you to Leonard for teaching me one important lesson
years ago.
ARticle by beth benard, contributing writer
W
hatever your age
his large behind against the
when horses first
door. He’d pulled all the
entered your life,
supplements off the shelf and
someone was probably there
helpfully mixed them up.
to usher you through the baHe’d broken apart 4 bales of
sics of both rudimentary care
hay and scattered them in the
and riding. My first legitimate
aisle. He turned my barn radio
horse contact came late - in
into pieces the size of a guitar
my 20s, but fate plunked me
pick and bitten through the
right down less than a mile
telephone wire. And for spite,
from a horseman’s horseman.
he’d chewed all the training
He quickly sized me up as
tack, with special emphasis on
being fervently clueless and
his personal bridle.
from the start was astound* A rabid raccoon curled up
ingly generous with both his
under my frost-free hydrant.
time and knowledge.
In my myopic, somnolent state,
I’d known him less than a
I thought it was my deaf, grey
week when the phone rang
tabby cat and bent over to pet
around midnight. I’d had a
it, until I realized at the last
hard day trying to dig post
second Deaf Kitty was asleep
holes in rocky pasture and
in the house by the woodstove.
Your horses won’t care if you’re dressed in jammies and
had finally fallen asleep.
* Far too many empty water
pink fuzzy slippers.
When I picked up the receiver,
buckets that I’d forgotten to fill
it was Leonard. “What are
at dinner time.
your horses doing right now?” No
missed a barn bed check. Guilt
* A filly pumping blood after
greeting. I mumbled something
and habit are not the only reasons.
somehow scalping the entire front
like, “Uh, eating or sleeping?” He
Here are just some of the things
of her face.
said, “The last thing you do before
I’ve discovered over the years when
* My best and favorite mare (being
you brush your teeth and get into
making my final rounds:
treated for a mild mastitis) in shock
bed is check your horses.” And he
Too many gas colics to even count.
and in severe respiratory distress
hung up.
Yes, they might have all resolved by
with purpura hemorrhagica. Saving
I dragged myself out to the barn
morning, but a dose of Banamine
that mare alone makes every trip to
– the dogs wouldn’t even get up – to
prevented many hours of rolling
the barn at night worthwhile.
find two drowsy horses blinking
and pain.
Hay is Cheaper than Gastrogard
in the light. I split another flake of
* An ultimately fatal colic in my
Disaster prevention is not my
hay between them and patted their
old stallion. Stoic as he was, I was
only motivating factor, however.
necks, feeling like an idiot. When
able to make his last hours comfortIf you’ve been a reader of Horse
I walked out of the barn there sat
able.
Journal for any length of time,
Leonard in his big old Chrysler.
* A beloved broodmare aborting a
you know we encourage care that
He flicked his high beams at me,
30-day-premature foal. She was a
closely mimics the horse’s natural
backed out of my driveway and
hydrops foaling, and when I opened
environment. We’ve very strong on
drove away. I’ve often wondered
the door at 11 p.m. only the foal’s
free-choice forage, while making
how long it would have taken me to
lifeless head was hanging from her
concessions for insulin resistance
earn his respect if I’d stayed in bed
vulva and amniotic fluid was runand obesity with the use of muzzles
that night. And I thank him every
ning out from under her door.
and slow feeders.
day for this lesson.
* My naughtiest gelding trashing
You’ll probably also recall our arHeart-Stopping Situations
the barn. He managed to pop the
ticles on ulcer prevention and cribSince then, my horses have never
bolts in his stall latch by rubbing
bing, both of which stress the need
38
to keep that stomach full of roughage. Unlike people, who excrete
most stomach acids only following
food intake, the glandular portion
of a horse’s stomach continues to
pump out digestive enzymes even if
nothing has been ingested. Without
food to absorb those acidic enzymes, they accumulate and begin
eroding the upper, non-glandular
portion of the stomach resulting in
ulcers.
Bed check allows you to furnish
one more essential feeding of forage
(and to top off those water buckets). Think you’ve given your horse
plenty of hay to last the night? Just
once, provide your horse with his
normal dinner time ration and
then go back to the barn an hour
later. How much hay is left? The
answer? None. Surprised? I was.
Now calculate how many hours it
will be before the horse has food
in his stomach again. Scary, right?
And all that time those busy little
acidic enzymes are eating away at
your horse’s stomach.
quiet, unhurried atmosphere of a
barn late at night.
In addition to the usual scurrying,
nocturnal animals about, miracles
abound. I’ve seen:
1. The Northern Lights
2. A total eclipse of the moon
3. A legion of fireflies
4. The Perseid meteor shower
5. A snowy owl
6. The international space station
I never cease to feel wonder.
I hope by presenting the health
benefits to your horse I’ve now convinced you to make that late night
trek to the barn. And I think I’ve
shot holes in all your excuses not
to do so. Tonight’s the night: Grab
a jacket and your bunny slippers
and get out there. You never know;
I might be sitting in your driveway
...
The Boarding Problem
So what can you do if your horse is
stabled elsewhere and not in your
back yard? You may be fortunate
enough to have an enlightened
barn manager who already makes
a bed check and a generous feeding
of late night hay. If not, you need
to have a discussion. (Bring this
article along.) Money talks, but so
does bartering your time or talent.
Perhaps a fellow boarder who rides
late in the evening would be willing to throw your horse more hay
just before she leaves. At the very
least, on the days you are there, you
can stuff a slow-feeder hay net and
ask the manager to hang it with the
last meal of the day.
There Are Rewards
Bed check will eventually become such a part of your horse care
routine that you will not be able to
sleep if you skip it. Use those few
minutes of late-night solitude to remind yourself why you have horses
at all. Introduce that young horse
to the sound of running clippers.
Give that old retiree a spa treatment
to compensate for all the times he’s
dropped to the bottom of your “to
do” list. You’ll learn to love the
39
July 29, 2014
What I Learned This Month From One of
My Horses
Boogie’s training has focused on developing his “holding” strength
while trying to maximize his natural “pushing” strength.
ARticle by john strassburger, performance editor
I
like to say—often—
athletically gifted that
that if you haven’t
it’s hard to convince
learned something
him to really work, to
every time you ride your
get him “through” from
horse, then you aren’t
his rear to his front, to
paying attention. It can
harness that power. My
be a tiny lesson (perhaps
training with him has
an affirmation of somefocused on developing
thing you learned years
his “holding” strength
ago), or it can be a huge
while trying to maxilesson, a gigantic breakmize his natural “pushthrough.
ing” strength.
With that in mind, I’ve
Well, I finally
decided to start periodiachieved a lengthy
cally writing about the
period of heavenly
things my horses teach
“throughness” that day.
me as I work toward
I was truly able push
my competitive goals in
him forward with my
eventing with them.
legs and seat and then
My observations will be
half-halt him with my
I finally achieved a lengthy period of heavenly “throughness” that day.
primarily about the three
back and fingers and
competition horses I
have him hold an uphill
have here at our Phoenix
balance, along with a
Farm, two of whom we bred and
and painful enough to prevent him
steady stride length and rhythm, all
one whom I’ve been training since
from bending his knee properly
with a light but consistent contact.
he was barely 3 years old. Phoenix
while jumping, so he had a week
Wow, it’s a great feeling when that
Amani (whom we call “Amani”) is
completely off and another week of
happens, especially on an excep7 and now in her second season of
light work while the antibiotics did
tional mover like Boogie.
competing at preliminary; Phoenix
their job and the swelling subsided.
And then on Friday we went for
Bellisima (whom we call “Bella”)
Consequently, I had to scratch
a cross-country school at a farm
is 5 and in June completed her first
Boogie from a schooling event on
called Jack Rabbit Flats, near
training level event; and Bravo’s
July 13 that I thought would be an
Sacramento. Boogie was jumping
First Class (whom we call “Boogie”)
important experience for him. That
willingly and boldly, but he was
is 6 and is preparing to move up to
was a disappointment, but when I
leaning and nearly pulling me out
training level in September.
jumped him again (last Monday)
of the saddle, causing me to wonder
I had an up-and-down month with
for the first time since the infection
if I needed to try a stronger bit for
Boogie, who’s an Oldenburg geldhad developed, he went beautifully,
cross-country.
ing, mostly because he missed two
keeping a steady stride and jumping
I wanted to conclude the school
weeks of work with an infected
carefully.
by galloping Boogie over the four
right forearm. How’d he get that?
Then, on Wednesday, I felt that
steeplechase fences at Jack Rabbit
He ran up behind his pasture mate,
we had a breakthrough on the flat.
Flats, placed on a track of about
who naturally kicked him, and the
Boogie is a happy-go-lucky guy
half a mile in length. On the first
cut on the inside of his forearm
who’s, honestly, a bit lazy, although
time through, he continued to pull
became infected. He was never
he has gaits that are remarkable for
and lean, and we got to awkward
lame, but the forearm was swollen
their power and scope. But he’s so
distances on the first two jumps as
40
a result.
So I resolved to run Boogie again
over the four steeplechase fences,
to see if we could do it better. And
as we were making our way back
to the starting point, I decided to
really push him together and do
several trot-walk-trot transitions, to
get him to push his hindquarters up
underneath him and use his back,
instead of just pulling me along.
Holy cow, was that the right decision! He picked up the gallop and
was immediately round, in front
of my leg, and beautifully light
in my reins. And we met all four
fences perfectly. After I pulled up,
I exclaimed excitedly to his owner,
our stable manager Roxanne Rainwater, and to one of our students,
“Now that was some runnin’ and
jumpin’!”
And I said to my wife, Heather, a
few minutes later, “I’ve always said
that he doesn’t go like any other
horse I’ve ever ridden, and I guess
today’s lesson is that I have to warm
him up for cross-country like he’s a
dressage horse.”
I’ll give my theory the full test
on Aug. 8-10, when Boogie runs in
what I plan to be his final novice
start at the Woodside Horse Trials
in Woodside, Calif.
July 30, 2014
Equine Areata Alopecia
Researchers at UC Davis have now described
this skin disease in horses.
ARticle by grant miller, dvm, contributing veterinary editor
I
n 2008, a client of
mine headed to
Kentucky and came
home with a trailer load
of horses for resale.
One of them, an older
mare named “Sugar
Babe,” appeared to have
a ringworm infection.
She had round, raised
welts over most of her
body, including her face.
Despite a dozen different
types of treatment, we
could never get it to fully
resolve. It seemed to just
“come and go” on its own, despite all of our efforts to treat it both systemically and topically.
Another client, who enjoys dressage, has dealt with a similar problem in
her 22-year-old gelding for several years. Every winter, he developed large
round lesions of lost hair that would scab and sometimes bleed, but then
slowly disappear. No medication seemed to work on them, which would
drive the owner crazy!
Both horses made their way to the U.C. Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching
Hospital in Davis, Calif., where they were examined by the dermatology service. In the end of it all, they were diagnosed with a disease called Equine
Alopecia Areata. This disease causes hair loss due to inflammatory changes within and around hair bulbs and lower portions of the hair follicles.
Although it can look grizzly, it is thought to be more of a cosmetic problem
than a serious medical condition.
Alopecia areata in general has been known to occur in other species including dogs, cats, cattle, mice, chickens and humans. Until now, it had not
been described officially in horses. Alopecia areata is
an auto-immune disease in which the body produces
antibodies to the base of the hair follicle. The antibodies then attack the hair follicle causing it to break
off at the base. The antibodies will often prevent
regrowth of the hair follicle for several weeks.
The disease is diagnosed by both visual assessment and by taking skin biopsy samples and then
examining them under a microscope. At this point,
immuno-suppressive treatment is not recommended
since the condition is cosmetic. In other words, it
does not appear to be hurting the horse enough to risk
the potential side effects of immune suppression. For
horses that have light to white skin, a zinc-based sunscreen can be helpful to reduce secondary sunburn as
a result of exposure.
41
July 30, 2014
Long Distance Hauling Experiences
Would you share your stories with us?
H
ave you ever shipped your horse commercially over a long distance? Want to share your experience with us?
Please email us at [email protected].
July 30, 2014
Media Critique: Suffering in Silence
This book by Jochen Schleese has a lot to offer.
ARticle by Deb M. Eldredge, dvm, contributing veterinary editor
I
admit, I was dreading it when I
received this book in the mail for
a review. Suffering In Silence by
Jochen Schleese sounded like some
horrible animal rights book. I was
prepared to say I would be out of
the country and totally off the grid
for a year or two.
Instead, I found a fascinating read
on saddle fitting for both horse and
rider! The title comes from Mr.
Schleese’s feeling that he had done
a disservice to his eventer, Pirat
due to poorly fitted tack. Learning
about his horse’s arthritis led to his
study of saddles and saddle fitting
for both horses and riders. He also
founded SaddleFit4Life, a network
of master saddlers, veterinarians
and riders dedicated to educating
horse owners about saddles, saddle
fit and how to achieve the best possible fit for both horse and rider.
The book is a marvel for anyone interested in tack, especially
saddles. There are many historical
references – significant to me as my
very first saddle many years ago
which was thrown in with the purchase of a crazy bay gelding that my
cousin and I bought was a McClellan (the cavalry saddle). I might add
. . . it was the most uncomfortable
saddle I have ever ridden in!
I really appreciate the fact that Mr.
Schleese uses science and actual
facts to develop his saddles and his
42
theory on saddle making. Veterinarians, riders, trainers and physicians
all provided insights and input.
The book is filled with excellent
diagrams and photographs showing
where there are pressure points on
a horse’s muscles and back. He does
not forget the rider either – there
are diagrams, skeletal examples
and even “butt molds” to show the
differences between female and
male riders. The book shows how
both human and equine health can
benefit from a properly designed
and fitted saddle.
Saddle pads are also covered in
this book as well as individual
saddle design preferences – how do
you like your thigh rolls?
Bottom Line: This is a superb
account of the factors you should
consider when purchasing a saddle,
with plenty of extra historical and
medical information thrown in.
Best Suited For: Any serious rider
though geared mostly towards
English riding, especially dressage,
jumping and eventing.
You Will Be Disappointed If: You
are a Western rider or were hoping
for an animal rights diatribe.
You can purchase this book
through HorseBooksEtc.
July 31, 2014
Horse Journal OnCall: What Do You
Recommend for White Line Disease?
This fungi are opportunists, searching for a weak immune system.
ARticle by Steve Kraus,CJF, Head Of Farrier Service, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
M
y horse has been battling white line disease for almost a year
with resections and CleanTrax. We’ve now moved to a
copper sulfate solution. My
question is whether you’ve
ever evaluated any of the
“white line” products, like
SBS Sav a Hoof, which says it
will soak into the hoof from
the cornet band? I understand the big thing is air and
light exposure; I’m more wondering about for prevention
once we get the hoof grown
out again as last time it was
nearly grown out and then
flared up again.
White line disease fungi typically eat the hoof from the
bottom up.
Contributing Farrier Steve
Kraus,CJF, Head Of Farrier Service, Cornell University College of
Veterinary Medicine, responds:
White line disease (WLD) is a
fungal infection of the internal layers of the hoof wall. Typically, WLD
starts at the bottom of the hoof and
works its way upward, similar to
the way termites eat their way up
a board on the barn. Resection debridement must be aggressive along
with soaking.
I like White Lightning for soaking, which is chlorine dioxide in
solution. You can apply it
directly to the resected area
as well as make a soak of 1
part white vinegar, 5 parts
White Lightning, 10 parts
water, I use used IV bags that
can be taped closed around
the fetlock with about 6 oz. of
solution. The vinegar activates the chlorine dioxide to
make a gas in the bag. Soak
for 20 minutes.
I usually use a heart-bar
shoe for frog support when
a resection is done. This
stabilizes the hoof wall. The
fungi that cause WLD are
all around us, and they are
opportunists, looking for a
weak immune system. You
may want your veterinarian
to check your horse for that.
Also, I would use lime in your
stall. If your horse is not stalled,
keep him out of wet conditions. Application of Thrush Buster or Durasole twice a week to the bottom of
the foot will also help.
43

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