Category Archives: Horse Care

From the horse’s mouth

18 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in Horse Care, Tack

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How well do you know your horse’s mouth?

If the answer is, “not very well,” it might serve you well to become better acquainted.

That’s especially true if you feel that your horse’s mouth isn’t exactly the way you want it to be — hyperactive…dry…gaping open…gnashing…or, worst of all, up in the air or with a tongue hanging out. Even worse if that’s a blue tongue, but that’s unlikely to be the case with your horse.  We’ll reserve that distinction for Patrick Kittell and his ilk.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I’m always talking about hands, and a rider’s hands have a lot to do with whether a horse’s mouth is comfortable or not, but with the wrong bit, even educated hands can have a hard time making a horse feel comfortable, look comfortable or act comfortable.

So let’s put our hands aside for the moment and focus on your horse’s mouth. It’s critical to look at your horse’s mouth and understand what you’re seeing if you want to fit your horse with the proper bit, whether your horse has a perfect, untouched mouth or whether you’re trying to solve mouth “issues” (so often bit-related).

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Outbreak Alert

12 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Horse Care

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Animal health company Merial has put together a website and notification system to help protect your horse from infectious diseases.

If you want to see outbreak and disease information in your area, you can simply go to www.outbreak-alert.com and enter your zipcode.  When I enter mine, I can see more than one rabies outbreak near me, as well as West Nile Virus in mosquitoes and animals, and endemic Eastern equine encephalitis.

Current information is compiled by gathering data from reputable sources, including the USDA, veterinarians and departments of agriculture.  Veterinarians as well as horse owners are invited to contribute reports of disease events.  You can read recent news relating to diseases that can affect your horse.

You can also sign up for Outbreak Alerts simply by entering your mobile phone number or email address on the site.

On the site, just for fun (if this is your idea of fun), you can also take a quiz about the major equine diseases.  I did.  I breezed through the first four questions, and then blew it when I got to the question, “How far can droplets from a horse’s cough travel?”  All told, I got only six out of the nine questions correct, missing one on Potomac Horse Fever, one on rabies, and another one on equine disease in general.  How embarrasing!  But now I know better.

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Bread to win

27 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Horse Care, Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Gervase Markham’s book Cavelarice, or The English Horseman: containing all the Arte of Horse-manship was published in 1607.  For those interested in obtaining a copy, they do come up from time to time.  A first edition of this rare and important work sold under the hammer at Christie’s in London, South Kensington a few years ago for $3107.

The author was the Martha Stewart of his day.  He was a trainer of hunting and racing horses, he enjoyed baking, and he published his recipes in several books on country life.  He had this to say about horse bread:

“First therefore you shall understand that the principal food whereupon a running horse is to be fed most; as the very strength and chief substance of his life must be bread, for it is of all other foods most strong, clean, healthful, of best digesting, and breed the best blood.”

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Updates on diving horses & the blood rule

16 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Horse Care

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Yesterday afternoon, one of my readers alerted me to the fact that the plan to bring back the diving horse act to Atlantic City had been abandoned by the new owners of the Steel Pier.  The internet is a powerful medium for change, and a petition against the act garnered 50,000 signatures at Change.org. That’s all it took.  I’m wondering whether the developers thought there were fewer animal rights activists now than there were in 1993?  Have they thought about bringing back the organ grinders — just as a flyer, to see if anyone objects?

Is that a lead rope on that monkey?

So we’re stuck with racing and Rolex when it comes to extreme horse sports, at least for the time being.  But wait!  There’s more!  How about the puissance?!  And you also get…the Tevis Cup!  Think about extreme horse sports now and you’ll get Grand Prix dressage!

Do you think all those folks signing the petition against the diving horse act over at Change.org know about the battle over blood in the 20 x 60 meter arena?

There’s news there as well. It’s actually yesterday’s news, reported yesterday on eurodressage.com, which is itself reporting on yesterday’s news (actually, February 3rd’s news) regarding “the blood rule.”

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How to spend your money – the Porta-Grazer

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Horse Care, How to Spend Your Money

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I like the horses I care for to have hay in front of them 24/7 in order to prevent ulcers.  Having treated ulcers before, I can honestly say that preventing them is much less expensive than attempting to cure or manage them.

Even if it means buying a Porta-Grazer.  Which is what I did (actually I bought two) when I went to the Equine Affaire last fall.

Ulcer prevention wasn’t my only reason.  What actually prompted the expenditure was a new horse, who likes to take huge bites of hay, the bigger the better, dunk them and eat them.  I’ve never seen a horse go through a flake as quickly as this one.  I can throw a flake into his stall, walk down to the end of the aisle, and by the time I return, it will be gone. The only thing I’ve seen like it is my Yankee-Irish horse whispering boyfriend with half-a-dozen donuts from Mrs. Murphy’s.

They don’t have slow feeders for donuts, which I could definitely use, but they do have slow feeders for hay.  When a slow feeder looked like the best alternative to two bales a day or an empty stomach all night, I immersed myself in the virtual world of slow feeders.  In the process, I visited a lot of websites that reminded me just how unnatural natural horsemanship can be.

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Another look at the two-finger rule

04 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in Horse Care, Tack

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Yesterday, I contrasted the “two-finger rule” established by the United States Dressage Federation with the “two-finger rule” proposed by the International Society for Equitation Science.

There are many points of divergence which I highlighted yesterday, among them being where those two famous fingers actually go.

To recap:  The USDF says “under the noseband on the side of the face under the cheekbone.”  The ISES says “between the noseband and the horse’s nasal midline.”

What difference does it make?

Well, let’s take a look at a horse’s skull:

Drawing by Pisanello, c. 1433-1438 @ The Louvre

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The two-finger rule

03 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Horse Care, Tack

≈ 4 Comments

The International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) released a position statement a few days ago relating to nosebands.  Yippee!  Every little bit helps (actually, often a smaller bit does help, but we’re talking about nosebands now…more about bits later).

The ISES states that the “two finger rule” should be applied to nosebands in competition.  Just like the USDF.  Where they vary is where the two fingers should go, and in their general attitude towards the welfare of the horse.

According to the ISES, the two fingers should go (actually, they recommend they should “fit easily”) between the noseband and the horse’s nasal midline.  To avoid any gray area, the ISES further recommends that the noseband tightness should be officially measured during competitions, with a taper gauge.  The statement reads, “The gauge should be placed without force and be clearly marked to show the desired stop which, in alignment with established industry guidance, should be the dimensions of two average adult fingers.  Riders should be advised and encouraged to use the same gauge in practice.”

Pretty taper gauge commonly used for body piercing

Don’t you think that taper gauges similar to the one I’ve pictured at right could catch on?  They’re so pretty.

Much prettier than the USDF rule regarding nosebands.  Here it is, rule DR121.6, established in January of 2010 (the italics and boldface are my own):

“6.  Only those bits listed with Figure 1 are allowed.  At any level of competition, a cavesson noseband may never be so tightly fixed that it causes severe irritation to the skin, and must be adjusted to allow at least two fingers under the noseband on the side of the face under the cheekbone.  Cavesson nosebands may be used with a chin pad.  At any level of competition, a browband may be multicolored and may be decorated with metal, beads, gemstones and crystals.”

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Saddle saga

26 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in Horse Care

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Years ago, I became a member of the “My Saddle Cost More Than My Horse” club.  I am currently a member of the “I Have [Many] More Saddles Than Horses” club.  And I am about to proudly join the “I Buy a New Saddle Every Four Months” club.  At least I hope so, if I can find a new saddle that works.

Butet dressage

County Drespri

In the last several years, I’ve sold a Crosby close contact saddle, a Butet Premium close contact saddle, a Jimmy’s 20th Century close contact saddle, an Hermes Steinkraus and a Butet dressage saddle.  That’s just for me. For my clients, I’ve sold a County Drespri, a Collegiate close contact, a Beval Natural and an Albion Legend 5000.

Smith Worthington Brianna

Hennig Classic

I have a brand new Smith-Worthington Brianna advertised for a client.  I tried selling my Hennig privately, but there were no takers even after I dropped the price to $3200, so it’s now on consignment with a prominent Hennig dealer.  Same with my brown Adam Ellis Brio, which is on consignment somewhere else.

Kieffer Wien

Crosby Equilibrium TC

In the interests of full disclosure, I also have a Kieffer Wien up in the attic.  It has a broken tree point.  It makes no sense to repair it (although it’s old and the leather is really nice) and I won’t sell it to anyone in its current condition. It would be nice on the wall of some restaurant/pub, but I think that there are already plenty of candidates available on ebay.  I’m also hanging on to my old Crosby Equilibrium designed by Tad Coffin, which was such a deal I can’t see letting it go.

How many saddles is that?  I don’t want to count.

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Inspiration from Michael Jordan

25 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Horse Care, Inspiration, Notes & Quotes, Training

≈ 4 Comments

Have you ever felt guilty because you pushed your horse too hard?  Or felt you let your horse down by not pushing him far enough, so he could show the world what he could do or simply gain in confidence?

Have you ever yanked on your horse’s face and regretted it later?  Yelled at your horse?  Told him or her something you wish you could take back?

Have you ever forgotten to release or just been too slow?

Have you ever walked by your horse without saying hello?  Or neglected to pick feet or groom or give a wither scratch when you had time?

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Barefoot break

24 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Horse Care

≈ 3 Comments

Photo courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt

Loyal readers of my blog know that I periodically get fed up with the nonsense I read in Practical Horseman magazine (articles like “The Pulley Rein — Not Just for Emergency Stops”).  But I like to give credit where credit is due, and I have to give PH credit this month, for bringing back the wisdom of Vance Glenn, CJF.

It’s been a long time since Certified Journeyman Farrier Vance Glenn wrote a monthly column for PH, but it’s nice to see him back this month in the “Here’s How” department.  The question was “Should I pull my horse’s shoes for the winter?” and Mr. Glenn’s answer was a resounding “Absolutely!”

I no longer have the article Mr. Glenn wrote years ago about this very thing, but as I recall, it was very much along the same lines as what he writes in the February issue.  He talks about how a barefoot break can stimulate new growth, restore the natural balance of the foot, and make the hoof stronger and healthier.   He talks about the best way to transition to barefoot, what to expect, and what to do along the way.

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