Feeding Regimes — How Regimented is Yours?

I used to be a real feed Nazi. I wanted my horses fed on a schedule and was sure that deviating from one would cause real issues. I imagined colic . . . or worse.

I contemplated how much I’ve changed from that person as I skied over to the barn this morning to feed. It was snowing so hard that school was canceled and I got a late start, arriving about 9 a.m., an hour later than I normally show up. I remembered a time eight or so years ago when I showed up at the barn on an equally snow day at the same time and was just livid that the horses hadn’t been fed yet.

So, what changed?

Over time I discovered that the horses survived just fine when they weren’t fed at exactly the same time each day. In the summer, as a barn we fed late in the day; in the winter, or when it rained, we often fed early. At a co-op barn life sometimes got in the way and it wasn’t always possible for the person feeding to get there at the same time every day.

I started feeding differently, too. When I boarded at a full care barn, hay was rationed. A few flakes at night, a few in the morning and I never saw how much they got during the day. Now that I bought my own hay, I was able to feed more of it so that during the day the horses had enough hay to keep them busy in between meals.

Later, I started letting the horses stay out at night with access to their stalls. Once they weren’t standing inside waiting for me to show up, they seemed far less concerned about when they got their breakfast. They spent most of their time outside and ambled over taking their own sweet time when meals were served.

In fact, once we started having a more relaxed feeding schedule, the horses seemed to relax more, too. They didn’t anticipate being fed and so they didn’t get anxious around feeding time.

Today, we feed within a range of hours. None of the horses have complained, none has coliced. They are more relaxed and it makes me more relaxed, too.

How about you?

Lessons Remembered: Never Lose Your Temper

Not every ride goes according to plan. I’ve had a few where after I mounted my horse it seemed that nothing went right. My horse wouldn’t listen, I felt I couldn’t ride, and what should have been a pleasurable experience became an exercise in frustration. Funnily enough, it often happens when I most need the enjoyment of a ride and it’s usually because something else has me irritated and distracted before I even get on my horse.

A wise instructor that I rode with back in Connecticut gave me advice that sticks to this day. When you have a day like that, either get off or go for a hack.

I know, we’ve all been told to “ride through” issues as you don’t want your horse to get away with murder. But this approach is for the days when it’s better just to stop and not dig the hole any deeper. You know those days: the ones where you’re really tempted to use that crop again, or you have an overwhelming urge to snatch at the reins, or you just want to scream at your horse. Those are the days where the best you can accomplish is to avoid the confrontation, give your horse a pat and put it away.

It seems that not even the so-called “professional” riders can’t always keep their tempers in check, so it’s not just an issue for amateurs who are trying to squeeze a ride into their only free hour that day. This incident of the abuse was reported widely and the perpetrator was brought to trial. I’m linking here to a thread that appeared on the Chronicle of the Horse:

German ex-toprider caught (again) on hidden camera (*warning* horse abuse)

A former German toprider was caught (again) on hidden camera while beating
her horse over 500 times with the steel end of the whip, this beating went on for over half an hour.

At the end you can see that a girl from Animal Welfare toke this horse to a clinic.

This rider was already convicted for the same thing almost a year ago. (REMEMBER)

In the meantime the rider moved to Danmark.

****** Warning schocking footage *******

http://www.rtl.de/rtlaktuell/rtl_akt…le=22414&pos=5

It is an appalling example of how tempers and horses should never mix. My horses will never compete at the upper levels of anything, but at least I have enough control over my emotions that they will never suffer this kind of abuse.

Celebrating the Snow

Doesn't this picture make you want to go ride in the snow?

If the photo didn’t send you straight to the barn, this post certainly will! I’ve thought about it several time when I’ve been out enjoying the crisp white snow.

On the Wings of a Storm

This is one of my favorite (of many) posts at The Barb Wire. Tamara’s poetic postings always inspire me.

Would you Buy a Horse that Cribs?

I’m working on an article about cribbing and wanted to know what all of you think about it. I know some boarding facilities don’t accept cribbers; some people avoid them like the plague; and others don’t care. I ended up with a cribber without really planning it, although if you’d asked me ahead of time I probably would have said it was a characteristic I could do without!

So, what do you think?

Get it in Writing! The Importance of Contracts

Every few weeks I read about an equine-related transaction gone wrong: someone free leases their horse and later finds the horse (and the lessee) is gone with no forwarding address; a leased horse is injured requiring thousands of dollars in vet bills and several months of layup and the lessee wants to return it; someone arranges for a trainer to sell their horse then finds its no longer where they dropped it off but they now owe “back board”; someone sells a horse for a friend or student and finds no commission coming their way; a horse sent on trial colics and dies, or is ridden into the ground before being returned; a horse is sent for training but the owner suspects the training rides aren’t taking place. Some of these situations turn out alright in the end; others have more tragic outcomes. What almost all of them have in common is that they had either no — or an insufficient — contract up front.

It would be nice to be able to do business on a handshake and a mutual understanding. In some cases, that works. Most of the time it doesn’t. It’s far better to spell out each person’s requirements and responsibilities well in advance of a problem arising.

Why don’t people rely on contracts? Partially, it’s because they have faith in the goodness of human nature. What a shame that when pushed, many people choose to do what’s right for them, rather than what’s morally right. Some people don’t like to think about what might go wrong, or have little imagination in that area. When it comes to horses, almost anything that can go wrong will go wrong, so plan accordingly. Other people don’t press for contracts because they are worried that they will offend the trainer or potential buyer or agent. In truth, a good contract protects all parties and if you can’t agree on the terms up front, imagine how tough it will be to negotiate after a problem has occurred!

I haven’t had too many needs for equine related contracts, but when I sent a horse on a one-week trial to a potential buyer I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about potential problems and wrote a contract based on those issues. From what I recall, the trial period contract included the following:

• She would purchase short term mortality and loss of use insurance naming me as the beneficiary.
• She would be responsible for any medical care or rehabilitation for injuries or illnesses that occurred during the trial period. Any injuries or illnesses must be reported to me within 24 hours.
• She would pay board for the horse at the facility during the trial period.
• No one except me could transport the horse.
• Only the potential buyer and her trainer were permitted to ride the horse.
• The horse was not allowed to leave the property of the barn where the trial occurred
• The horse was not to be jumped higher than 2′6″ and only jumped under supervision of her trainer.
• The mare was to be ridden no more than once per day.
• The horse was to eat only the grain provided.
• The horse was to be turned out wearing bell boots and tendon boots as provided and was to be led individually, not in tandem with another horse.

When I’ve needed a contract I’ve generally gone to the free downloads offered by the Bay Area Equestrian Network and then modified them to suit my needs. However, I’m generally talking about a half lease on a horse kept in my barn or a trial period for a horse worth less than $10K. For anything more complicated (or for a more expensive horse), I would use a form from an equine attorney (many sell standard contracts as well as custom ones). They are easily found by searching “equine law” on Google. It’s a good idea to hire one that works in your state.

A few articles/resources that came up on this topic while I was researching it include:

17 Costly Mistakes that Force Horse Owners, Breeders and Trainers into Court

How to Buy and Sell your Horse or Pony

Equine Law Blog

Horse Trailer Ride Shares – Making them Work for You

Equine Partnerships: Traps for the Unwary

Here’s a Bike that will Win a Young Equestrian’s Heart

Pony Pal Bikes come in three color variations. Learn more about them at www.ponypalranch.com

When I was a kid — actually, this lasted well into my teens — when I rode my bike I always imagined that it was a horse.

I used to practice my “two seat” and as I approached shadows or lines in the pavement, I would pretend to jump them.

I certainly would have begged for a Pony Pal bike. Certainly, the folks who created this knew that to inspiring equestrians, authenticity is key. Especially as this may be as close to a real pony as many kids ever get.

Details include:

The miniature English saddle for Pony Pals was created by Paul Selvey. Paul is a master saddle maker from the original saddle making capital of the world, Walsall, England. He has made many of the saddles used by the top riders for the U.S. Equestrian Olympic team. He has designed the Pony Pals saddle to include authentic equestrian touches.

The life-like pony head for Pony Pals was created by Lado Goudjabidze. Lado is an award winning, internationally renowned sculptor and artist born in the Republic of Georgia. His numerous works include the bust of Mahatma Gandhi which is displayed at the United Nations headquarters in New York and a portrait of John F. Kennedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Special Features:

The mane on the Pony Pals pony bike is made of synthetic hair and can be groomed and washed.

The saddle seat can be raised or lowered 4 1/2″. The handlebar height is also adjustable.

The tail is designed to “bob” up and down (much like an Arabian horse’s tail) when the pony bike is ridden.

The good news? No need to feed means no need to muck stalls, even if you keep your pony in a “stall” in your garage.

The company sells appropriate equestrian attire for the pony’s owner, making the illusion complete! Just make sure your small equestrian brings her own ASTM approved helmet.

Snow can be Your Friend

Between bitterly cold weather and work and family obligations the chances to ride lately have been few and far between. We’ve had beautiful snow just inviting me to ride through it since Sunday.

Finally, today I was able to sneak in a half hour. It was a picture perfect riding day: 30 degrees, no wind and about a foot of untouched fluffy snow on the ground.

I was glad of the snow. Freedom was itching to be naughty and full of energy. The snow made it easy. I didn’t have to fight him, I just let him go. Half an hour wasn’t long enough to really tire him out, but it took the edge off and got the kinks out.

As for our perfect field of untouched snow? Its pristine surface is no longer. Instead, it tells the story of a glorious winter ride.

What to do when you’re chased by a dog.

While horses occasionally chase dogs, usually it's the other way around

Hands down the scariest thing that ever happened to me while riding was when my horse was chased by a dog. Although this happened more than 20 years ago, thinking about it still makes my heart palpate!

At the time I was living in Pennsylvania and leased a young Hannovarian/TB gelding. He was probably about 5 when this happened. I knew he had some trail “issues” and phobias, but I’d been hacking him out without incident.

This particular day we were walking on the side of a paved road. A dog ran out from the front of a house and kept on coming. The gelding spooked then bolted. The dog kept right after us. In a matter of seconds we were galloping full tilt down a paved road with the dog in pursuit. Luckily, it was early on a weekend morning and there were no cars on the road. I didn’t want to try to pull him up because I was afraid he’d slip and go down; there simply wasn’t enough traction on the asphalt and we were galloping down hill and around a slight curve.

Finally we came to a place where the road was bordered by a field and I was able to ease him onto the grass where he stopped. Somewhere along our ride, the dog had turned back. The whole thing probably lasted less than five minutes but it sure felt like an eternity!

I got off my horse and my legs were shaking so badly I couldn’t stand. In fact, I sat down for a good long time stunned. The gelding just stood there with his head down. I guess he was as scared as I. That was the last time I ever rode that horse out onto the trails alone.

Since then, I’ve learned more about how to deal with a dog that wants to chase or attack a horse and rider. I’m not sure — given this particular horse’s fear issues — how I would have dealt with the situation but in general, here’s what I do now:

• If I pass a house where a dog is barking, I stop to see if it is going to come out. Many homes near me have an electric fence and the dog won’t leave the property.
• If I encounter an unaccompanied dog on the trail, or a dog follows me off his property, I turn my horse and face it. Most of the time I’ve found that if you face the dog (on horseback) and say “No!” the dog will back off.
  If the dog keeps coming at us or tries to circle around, I will keep turning to face the dog and walk toward it. I’ve never had a dog that doesn’t back down at this point. I do know other people who were chased and I think that mostly it occurred when they let the dog get behind their horse.
• One thing you should never do is start to trot or canter away from the dog (like I did in the scenario above). This puts the dog “in control” of the situation and will encourage it to continue to chase you either as part of a game or because your horse is reacting like prey.

Most of the dogs I encounter out riding are not dangerous or  bad. Many have never seen a horse before. They bark either because they want to play or because they are scared. By remaining calm you can help them stay calm too.