EquiSearch Community

How are your knees?

EQUUSeditorial — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:19:25 GMT

The December issue of EQUUS features an article by Dr. James Warson on the toll riding can take on human knees. Have you experienced any problems with your knees as a result of years in the saddle? How are you managing your joint problems?

The Editors

Overwieght riders

Jumpittb — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:17:05 GMT

So I dont know if this topic has been addressed on here yet, I know its been a subject of controversy in the past but I was flipping through the new smartpak catalog when I noticed the new 'fuller fillies' section. Dedicated to plus size riders it offers clothing and boots all the way up to size 44. I'm a little torn about this issue since I think its great for everyone to enjoy riding, but I also grew up in the old style hunters community where fat was a huge no-no. It seems the horse world is getting more accepting of it, what are your thoughts?

Friends of RR - the official thread

SeeingStarz — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 21:59:18 GMT

Ok so all of you who have enjoyed the wit and discussion with our friend RR - so as not to hijack any other threads- lets meet here!
SeaSmiles - I call you that because you make me smile
RC, Lucy, AMM and all the rest lets have some fun here!

Coolers

horse_angel730 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:21:08 GMT

Like many of you, i LOVE riding, i mean, who doesn't? But when I ride in the winter my horse gets sweaty. And Last winter, the first one that i owned my own horse for, after i was done riding, i would get one of the large blankets from in the house, turn on her heater, and lock her in her stall. So even though I didn't know it, I was sort of using a makeshift cooler. This year, I want to get her a real cooler. But there are soooooooooo many choices. I've been reading a few different articles and it seems that wool coolers work best but are hard to clean and fleece coolers work nearly as well but are a lot easier to clean.Any preferences? Also, I was wondering if the ones that look like a blanket or the ones that come down to the horse's knees and cover their necks are better. Another question, can I leave my mare out with it on or should I lock her in her stall for an hour or so until she's dry then take the cooler off and let her out. Would leaving her out with the cooler on damage her fuzzy coat? Thanks in advance for any suggestions and/or advice. :-)

Boots for the Beginning Barrel Racer

horse_angel730 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:30:23 GMT

So, I was reading this month's horse&rider, and i read the article about keeping your horse sound. Since, Christmas is coming up, I figured I could add boots to my Christmas List. The problem is, I don't know what kind of boots to get. I know I need Splint and bell boots because I'm starting to barrel race my mare. I was thinking about getting Professional's Choice because my best friend and her sister have been barrel racing for 13 years and that's what they use so I dug out my latest horse magazine and looked up protective Professional's Choice boots. Well, they have the SMB and the SMB elite and the SMB elite 2 and the SMB 3 and they have they come in packs of four or packs of 2 or if you buy a pair of bell boots and front boots, you get the back ones free and I have NO clue what to get. Is the protection really $15 better in the SMB 3 than in the SMB 2? Should i get splint boots for her front and back or for just her front? And since she's so tiny, will the small fit her? (she' s about 14.4, give or take) So, if there are any knowledgeable barrel racers or just equestrians in general, please reply and help me figure out what to do to protect my baby's legs.

won't stop rearing...

Mandalark — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:04:15 GMT

Hey all, its been a while since I've posted but I have an issue I just haven't been able to figure out.
My new trainer mare has deveoped a problem and I can't seem to get to the root of it. She's rearing.
I lunge her for 10 mins before each session, then another 10 bitted up with a surisingle, she's beautiful on the ground, gives well to the bit, listens well, moves nicely, look good. So, we're all warmed up so now I get on her back. The second I lay any leg into her to move her, massive tail swishing, ears pinned, head shaking, which leads to rearing. She didn't do this two weeks ago but now I can't get her to stop. (she also does not do this on the ground) I have checked the essentials, the saddle fits her nice, the pads are fine, I've tried different cinchs, to no avail. I had her back and ribs checked, no problems there, she is sound and healthy. So what do I do now? I don't want to put a tie down on her and have her flip over if she freaks. I also don't want to 'make her' flip over like some people may suggest, I don't want to risk injuring her permanently or damaging my saddle. I'm at the end of my rope with ideas and have came here for some words of advice. Anyone else been in a similar situation?

Mustang- Nature does it best!

madel_equestrian — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:02:28 GMT

Can you believe this little guy! The first picture was about 2 1/2 weeks from wild visiting with a news reporter and second picture is about 5 weeks from wild.

What do y'all think about him? He is used for reining and cowboy mounted shooting.

blind mare

caitlyn_horse — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:08:08 GMT

Well we have a older brood mare we think shes about 25ish that we dont do anything with but breed her. Recently we have noticed it takes her forever to come up to water and eat and when she does make it up she just stands around and doesnt move a whole lot. When i went to bring her out of the pasture and put her in a pen by herself i walked up to her like i would any other horse, when i touched her she flipped out. i finally got her calmed down and moved into a pen. We took her to the vet a couple days later for a teeth floating and checkup while there the vet said she is going blind! Well we want to keep her and hopefully breed her at least one more time before we have to make a more drastic decision. Ive heard of people putting a bell on a buddies neck, so she would have some one to follow in the pasture. So i was thinkin if we bred her again we could pen her up with the baby and put a bell on the baby. What do yall think im stumped on this one

Am I Wasting My Time?

My Gracie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:48:38 GMT

I'm riding a nice mare who, in my half-educated opinion, has great dressage potential. She's about 7 years old and has never done anything but hunters. She has wonderful gaits and great work ethic, but she's very strong and heavy on the forehand. She's usually ridden in a slow twist copper snaffle to keep her up off the bit. She's not a bolter or unsafe at all. I don't think she likes her bit, so I got permission to ride her in my loose ring french link. I ride her about once a week, and the rest of the time (at least once or twice a week) she's ridden by hunter students.

I'm getting really fond of this mare and what she can teach me, and she's beginning to respond well to half-halts, but boy do I have to be strong with them (I mean in my body: I don't use the reins much in half-halts). She doesn't try to yank the reins away as much with me as she does with her other riders/other bit, but still, I wonder if I'm ever going to make much impression on her considering the amount of time I can spend with her. So far I've only ridden her about 4 or 5 times. She's apparently a good jumper, but I'm not interested in doing that with her. Would you think dressage is a lost cause with her? Am I being a fool to ride her in the gentler bit?

Anticipating the Canter Problems

cafl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:56:05 GMT

Hey, Everyone!

I've gotten some great advice here recently and in the past, so more wonderful advice would be greatly appreciated

My horse and I are having some kind of communication issues when it comes to canter trasitions:

When I go to ask him for the first canter of our ride (aids: outside leg behind the girth, inside leg on the girth, raise inside rein, say, "canter") he doesn't always get it immediately and sometimes runs into the canter. AFTER that first canter, our problems begin. When I ask him to trot again, he gets tense and starts rushing. Even when I relax and get him to relax more, the problems continue. When I go to circle him at the trot to prepare for another canter transition, he anticipates and starts to canter without me asking him.

I have tried work on frequent transitions to keep him sharp and listening, calming him down with longer periods of walks/halts and trots/halts, etc. and he seems to be getting worse and worse. Once we have begun to canter in our daily ride, he starts anticipating at the trot more and more, and starts feeling like he's hopping around like a bunny

My instructor says he's just trying to run the show, but I'm not sure if it's an issue of confusion, discipline or a combo and of how to correct it.

Please help.

Smarty Jones

SBWhisperer27 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:49:27 GMT

Found this wonderful video about the 2004 Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones.

The Blood Horse put together the video.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/videos/watch/58A2DF64-4321-49F3-A5FD-EEE6E7DB3A88

petition against rollkur

DTEditor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:02 GMT

Here are some things you can do if you want to protest against the use of rollkur, especially in the warm-up before shows. These are from emails I received:

Dear Friends,
I have just read and signed the petition: "Ban usage of Rollkur".
Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. We are trying to reach 50000 signatures - please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-rollkur Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.
Thank you! Helyn

Dont know if you have seen the video of Patrik Kittel of Sweden riding his stallion Scandic at the World Cup Qualifier in Denmark, with the stallions tongue hanging out and blue, being ridden for 90 mins in rollkur. The video has really sparked huge anger, and as soon as I saw it I started a facebook group. We now have over 2000 members, and it is really kicking off. Would love to have you as a member too! Have a look:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=181093975134&ref=nf

Marcel Toulouse Saddles

madel_equestrian — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:36:28 GMT

Does anyone have any experience with the Marcel Toulouse saddles? I am looking at one of their new model monoflap dressage saddles. How do they fit? how do they hold up? Any comments?

Diseased Ticks Infecting Horses in Texas...

FocusCalmPatience — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:53:13 GMT

Have you guys heard about this?!?!?! I received this article in an email...

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced the imposition of import restrictions on horses coming into Florida from Texas following the discovery of hundreds of Texas horses positive for Theileria equi, one of two organisms responsible for causing Equine Piroplasmosis (EP).

Bronson is requiring horses from Texas to have blood tests to check for Theileria equi within 30 days of entry into Florida, have a health certificate, be checked for ticks that carry EP, and be sprayed with a pesticide no more than two weeks before their arrival in Florida.

EP is considered a foreign animal disease, not endemic to the United States. It is a blood-borne parasitic disease primarily transmitted between horses by ticks or contaminated needles and is not directly contagious from one horse to another. Ticks are the natural method of transmission of the EP organisms, and the tick species known to be efficient at transmitting EP is not believed to be in Florida.

Acutely affected horses can have depression, fever, anemia, jaundiced (yellow) mucous membranes, and can die from the disease. In its milder form, EP can also cause horses to have roughened hair coats, constipation, colic, generalized weakness, and lack of appetite. Some horses become chronic carriers of the disease, showing little clinical signs but have the ability to transmit the disease to other horses via ticks. Treatment of infected horses has not been shown to be effective in eliminating the organism (Theileria equi), and infected horses must remain under quarantine.

The establishment of Equine Piroplasmosis and associated vector ticks would seriously threaten the horses and equine industry of Florida, which produces goods and services of more than $3 billion annually.

"We are being very proactive in testing horses that came in contact with positive horses that were imported from Texas over the past few years since we are not sure how long the problem has existed in Texas," Bronson said. "This is a serious disease, and we must take all precautions necessary to prevent the spread of this disease as well as to prevent the introduction of any ticks that are carriers of the disease."

Ten horses that were exposed to EP in Texas and traveled into Florida before the outbreak was discovered have been located, tested and quarantined. Five of those horses have tested positive for the organism. The State Veterinarian's Office is working with the owners to test all horses exposed in Florida and to minimize the risk to other horses in the state. So far no horses that were exposed to horses imported from Texas have tested positive.

Because some states have placed import restrictions on all states with positive horses, the Florida State Veterinarian's Office recommends that anyone traveling out of state with their horse to call the state of destination to ensure there are no additional requirements enacted associated with this outbreak.

For more information about the import restrictions and the disease, visit the department's Division of Animal Industry web page at http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai/ and click on the link under Announcements titled Equine Piroplasmosis.

Odd Behavior

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:06:58 GMT

I have this mare I started riding she is about 8 years old and had some training when she was younger but sat for a couple years do to a family issue the last owner had. When I ride her she has a lot of energy but typically listens well. After a couple of weeks of riding she started this thing where when I'm getting off her she turns her head toward my foot and nickers or squells at me like a mare in heat would to a stallion. I normally just move her head and shes fine. The other day I was riding and I stopped to talk to someone and she kept turning toward my stirrup and doing this again I would just turn her head straight and she would stop but then one of the times I pulled her head over and she just came unglued started to buck and have a fit. I just kicked her forward and made her work since she wouldn't stand nicely. I've never had a horse react this way and was wondering if any one had or if anyone has an idea what to do about it?

Ridiculous Spooks

BMBlackbird625 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:36:18 GMT

My horse recently inspired me to write this topic. I was wondering what stupid stuff your horse has spooked at. My horse spooked at horse poop the other day. It wasn't like it was something that caught from the corner of her eye because after she jumped and we continued walking by, she kept giving it the evil eye waiting for it to jump at us. I thought it was hilarious and was laughing as this whole thing was happening. Does anyone else have any good stories??

Choke Episode Aftermath(kind of long)

Amber — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:27:22 GMT

It's been a while since I've been on this forum, but I've always gotten pretty good advice and help so this was the first place I thought of for help after my horrible morning. So, here's my situation and question.

I have my 2 horses at a self-care barn. I fed Wednesday afternoon, turned them back out into the pasture Thursday morning. Wednesday afternoon I gave each horse 2 flakes of hay and their usual grain ration(consisting of 1lb. Purina Enrich32 ration balancer and 2 quarts beet pulp). Did not get back out Thursday afternoon because my 21 month old son took a nosedive off a chair so I had to sit in the human ER all evening. To make up for them not being fed last night, I went out to feed this morning. My mare came in and ate with no issues. My 2 year old gelding came in and acted normal as he went to his stall. I walked away for a minute, and when I came back, Decka(2 year old gelding) was not eating and was circling in his stall. I left him and went to get my vet kit. By the time I got back to his stall, he was laying down and I had to convince him to stand back up. He had classic colic symptoms--no gut sounds on either side, lethargic look, wanted to roll, etc. I got my big syringe and oil bottle and got 60cc of oil down him. A few minutes later, he started coughing, complete with white, foamy goop coming out of his mouth and nose. At that point, I called a vet. That vet no longer services this area, and another vet clinic had someone on-site, but we needed to bring him in to be seen because the vet couldn't leave the clinic. My only problem with that is that I don't have a trailer. Someone at the barn had some Banamine, so we gave him that while I talked to the vet, who said it sounded like choke. I was told that as long as his esophagus or stomach didn't rupture, we could work through choke. So after nearly having a panicky breakdown, I borrowed a trailer and loaded him up--off to the vet we went. The vet tubed him and finally flushed the blockage out, which consisted of lots of beet pulp. So the vet told me that Decka cannot have beet pulp ever again and should not have coastal hay anymore either. He said he would only feed timothy or alfalfa--basically, coarser and more easily digestible hays. According to him, choke will now be a lifelong battle and eventually an episode of choke will probably kill him. Decka is on antibiotics to prevent innfection/pnuemonia, which could also possibly kill him. A trusted person told me that this vet tends to give the worst-case prognosis making it seem more grim than it really is. My question is how much of what the vet said true, probable, and possible. I know once a horse chokes, they are more prone to do it again, but how much does the hay play a factor in that proneness? The pasture he's in is putting round bales of coastal hay in the pastures in a few weeks, which would mean he'll be stuck inside with no buddies most of the winter. There is a small private turnout area he can go in, but he loves being in the pasture and I don't want to take that away from him if I don't have to. However, if coastal hay really is a bad choice for him now, I'll keep him in for the winter. I have no problem with taking out the beet pulp, I already plan to replace it with rice or wheat bran tomorrow. How likely is this to be a life-long preventative battle? I've heard of some horses that have a constant issue with choke, but I've also heard of some horses that choke once and never have another problem with it. I greatly appreciate any help or ideas anyone has to offer. Thank you everyone who read this far and has any suggestions.

Amber

Carriage Auctions, You Going?

goodhors — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:08:49 GMT

Tis the season for carriage and driving related stuff Auctions. They are all over the nation. Is anyone saving their money to go "shop"?

I plan to hit Topeka next week, Friday. More for visiting than buying. Am taking a nice cart to run thru the sale. Hope it sells well for more spending money! Also will see what odds and ends are there that I need. Lots of stuff does go thru the sale.

Also planning to attend Martin's Carriage Auction in Pennsylvania, Oct 16-17 as the first stop on our vacation. Again more for socializing, but we often find very interesting things at the sale. Always an education with the stuff being sold. Item may be the "only one like it anywhere" and no one has ever seen another like it! Usually a lot of really fancy sleighs, ready to drive at this fall sale.

I have seen the ad for Sale down south, which we have never been to. Rumor says it has lots of animals, but is improving on the carriages they sell. Does have lots of draft stuff and wagons for them.

There are sales further west, haven't been to them but maybe someone else has and could tell us about it. Waverly Iowa is coming or was held recently. West coast sales should be soon, Small Farmers Journal is the one I am thinking of.

So tell us about any sales you attend, bargins or treasures to be found there!

December Horse of the Month Contest

Jayne-Admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:22:29 GMT

It's time for the December Horse of the Month contest.

It's open to all forum members and to enter all you have to do is upload up to three photos of the horse you want to nominate to the December Horse of the Month Gallery.

It should be a horse that you own, lease, or perhaps take lessons on. Please include the name of the horse in the photo -- so mine would be annapolis1.jpg, annapolis2.jpg etc.

We'd love to hear about your horse too, and why you think he or she deserves to be Horse of the Month, so feel free to add some text in the description when you upload your photo and tell us about what makes your horse special. If you prefer, once you have posted your photo, you can reply to this thread to tell us about your horse.

Entries can be posted through November 22, so you have two weeks to get your entries in. Voting will start November 23 and the winner will be announced November 30. Hopefully that will give everyone time to vote, around the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Once a horse has won in a particular month, that horse will not be eligible to enter for twelve months. However, if you have more than one horse and one wins one month, you don't have to wait before entering another horse.

The winner will have their winning horse's photo framed with a blue ribbon in the December HOTM gallery and the winning photo will also be featured in the EquiSearch.com newsletter.

hard questions

horseservant — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:50:26 GMT

I have a 14 year old mare and two other horses. I love my horses dearly and don't want to be in the situation that I am in now but here I am.

My horses have always had all of the shoeing and vet care they need. They have a good safe barn, good fences and good feed.

My problem is that this mare who is 14 is flat out running me out of money with all of her health problems. I have never had a horse who has had so many.

Here is a sampling:

She has terrible allergies and has required antihistamines, special shampoos and allergy shots.

She escaped the pasture only once and in the 20 minutes she was out she dislocated her navicular bone in one hoof and requires very expenesive shoeing. (i feel a hostage to her shoeing bills).

She has that head tossing thing which is either light sensitivity or allergies no vet can tell me which.

She has melonomas all over her. They are on her lips making eating her pellets harder for her and they are a little ulcerated. They are under her tail, on her udder on her face. She has one in her right eye. They began at age 3.

Now she either has a granuloma on her ovary or a hormone imbalance causing her to be aggressive even though her nature is to be a sweet cuddly mare.

If she has the granuloma on her ovary it will cost $1500 to remove and if I don't remove it she may become more aggressive perhaps even to myself (right now it is just geldings). I have owned this mare since she was 3 and her heats were always unnoticable but now she is in heat all of the time.

Apart from all of this she is glossy and eats well.

I am going to have to get financially creative and sell some personal items to finance this operation should I choose to do so but what will be the next thing? (ebay here I come)

I already asked the vet college for answers about the spread of these melanomas and they had nothing for me. I tried cymedine and every other quack remedy that said it would help and they are accellerating. Nothing works.

I could end up hurting myself financially and have this horse drop dead they next week of an internal tumor no one could see which is growing internally. A friend of mine had a very nice 10 year old mare drop dead in the field with no warning and a necropsy found an internal tumor in her chest wall which had chaffed through an artery. This mare had no external signs of anything wrong before her death.

My vet and my horse shoer keep telling me that they see horses all of the time with more melanomas than mine and that I shouldn't worry. What they don't realize is that I have to worry about paying for all of this. I have a job which used to pay people a lot of money but my job doesn't pay that much anymore. I am single and I have two other horses to support. The unfortunate truth in the matter is that money is what keeps things going and the whole deck of cards may come down if I am not careful and then I will have no horses.

The horse barn owners and trainers understand my issues here. I don't understand why the veternarians all want to make this such a difficult choice. My heart tells me that it is better to humanly euthanize before the horse is layed low in a terrible condition. I watched my father die of cancer and it was a terrible thing to see. I also know that I need to be able to pay my other bills too.

Suggestions? Comments?

Holiday Memories

Juli Thorson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:49:32 GMT

We had a great time coming up with our own holiday horse memories for the December '09 issue of Horse & Rider, and we'd love to hear about some of yours.

Ever get a pony for Christmas? Or something equally wonderful under the tree? Ever catch Santa out in the barn?

Time to reminisce....

--The H&R Editors

Tell Us About It: Horse Life Around Denver

Juli Thorson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:45:09 GMT

Denver and its area horse scene are featured in the December '09 issue of Horse & Rider.

If this is where you and yours call home, share a few things about it with the rest of us. Best aspects? Most surprising? Must-sees or must-do's?

--The H&R Editors

The Flying Frenchman

My Gracie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:30:07 GMT

Has anybody else seen this? This guy is unbelievable! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsuN-56G2rc

Shetland Pony Grand National

Jayne-Admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:58:56 GMT

Practical Horseman posted a cute video on their Facebook page today. While I was watching it, as always happens on YouTube, one of the related videos caught my eye. I thought you'd like to see it.

Shetland Pony Grand National - Olympia 2006

You can catch the other video on our Facebook page (link below)

cute video - horse and goat!

DTEditor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:06:58 GMT

Hi everyone, alert reader Ute sent me this video. I know you'll enjoy it. Ute says, "Oh my...there's human shiatsu massage, but I think this is goatsu massage :-)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wi_9n_BxDI