Painted Bar Stables' Blogging Log

"I'm an Equestrian": what your description of your riding says to a trail guide

2012-01-26T23:48:00.000-08:00

A compilation of reflections and thoughts from years on the trail:

As an owner of a trail riding stable, I have seen many people come through my barn doors. Many are self-admittedly not riders. Others claim to have skills. And some truly impress me - in the good way. I have met some of my best friends on trail, I have seen some truly impressive riders, and I've made some good stories.

One thing I have learned is that the way people describe their skills says more about what we are in for than what they actually are able to do on a horse.

Here is what your classifications via email say to me:

"I am not a rider"
This means you ride Pepsi or Dozer. It's going to be a long and slow ride, even on the short trail.

"I'm a recreational rider who can gallop"
This means you have gone on a handful of guided rides and the horse started trotting and you thought it was really fast (good or bad).

"I'm a recreational rider and I can trot and canter"
At least you know about the multiple speeds of a horse. You probably haven't taken lessons but you have been on a horse enough times to know the difference and you probably won't fall off.

"I used to be able to post a trot, but it's been awhile"
Okay, you took lessons. You're probably really rusty and are going to get continually frustrated with your deteriorated skills and lack of riding endurance. You will be severely focused on yourself, but the horse won't care because while you pay attention to your form they can actually do their job, or better yet grab some grass.

"I barrel race"
This means that you know how to accelerate but you probably don't know how to steer or stop without torquing on a horse's mouth. You let the horse's need for self-preservation act as breaks and you're going to always be testing your (and my) limits.

"I do dressage"
This means that you are going to be under-impressed with my trail horses and they will probably be under-impressed with you too. You're going to expect a higher level of control from my horses throughout the ride that they might be able to do in an arena but isn't realistic on trail. Your constant vying for control might actually tick them off as the horse frames up and collects while continually telling you to "let go and let me do my job" (Unless it is Beau, however. He will like you). Now, if you aren't a dressage rider and think that riding dressage is the same thing as winning a blue ribbon at the county fair in an on the flat walk/trot event (class of 2 riders), well, it will be severely obvious.

"I show jump and take weekly lessons"
What this tells me is that you can steer, you can post a trot, and you might actually have good form but that you can't really control a horse. You have probably always taken lessons on a push-button mount with an instructor basically free-lunging as you ride from the center of the arena. I know I do that unconsciously in the lessons I teach and that as soon as I step out of the arena the horses stop appearing to listen to their rider (they were actually listening to me). Out on trail you'll be pulling on the horse's mouth and vying for control that you're not actually capable of. The horse will get riled up and frustrated with your over-confidence.

"I ride western pleasure"
You're used to responsiveness and smoothness that you just won't find in many trail horses. That push button horse you have been sitting on is a bit different than our rugged, indestructible trail masters. And while they listen up just fine, it's a 51/49 power relationship on trail and they know how to keep themselves (and you) safe and you're going to have to let them take the lead sometimes. And for heaven sake, please shorten up your reins. You might need to do some direct reining near that corn field.

"I played polo"
This is probably the worst thing to tell me if you're not accurate! If you say you've played polo I am going to assume that you are comfortable on a hot horse, used to jigging and dancing, and capable of maintaining fast speeds around sharp turns. My horses will seem boring but they will love you and your fantastic seat and flexible reining. If you lie to me, you will end up on the very wrong horse.

"I do three-day eventing"
Okay, a little jumping, a bit of dressage and some cross-country hacking; you've been both in the arena and out of it. You know the difference between a peaceful stroll and arena work. You also know horse's abilities and how to negotiate obstacles. Win for horse, win for me, win for you too (if you're accurate).

What you should actually tell me is more about your personality and what you are looking for from your ride. While it is important to mention whether you have only been on guided trail rides, taken lessons, or ridden independently, your personality makes a big difference in the horse I choose for you. All of my horses are safe but it's like matchmaking for the perfect marriage.

Also, by only telling me about your past I won't know what you want from a trail ride. Giving me a heads up on if you want a simple ride, a couple challenges or a rugged experience will give me a better idea.

How to Clean a Stall

2011-12-19T11:06:00.000-08:00

A clean stall starts off with lime dust covered with 4-5 bags of pelleted bedding. The lime helps reduce odors and the bedding should provide soft footing and be absorbent for both urine and manure. As a result, bedding should be spread in areas that it is needed the most: the center of the stall, locations where the horse is most likely to urinate and any areas that they tend to pile their manure.

Each stall may be different as horses tend to have different habits. Bedding should not be placed in the following locations as it is wasteful and unnecessary: at the entrance of the stall, under the water bucket, under the hay, and under the feed bucket. This pelleted bedding should last a month. Certain stalls may need one bag added throughout the month, others will not.

Different horses have different habits in stalls. Know your horses, know their habits! Here are some examples of horse "housekeeping" habits:

Differences between the sexes
- Mares tend to urinate in the rear of their stall or in one corner
- Geldings tend to urinate more near to the center of their stalls
- Stallions tend to defecate in large piles, called stallion mounds and urinate more centrally or on their manure piles to mark their territory
Pooping Patterns
- Rear Wall Poopers: these horses will only poop along the rear wall of their stall
- Corner Poopers: these horses tend to choose a corner of their stall to poop in, and often urinate in the opposite corner
- Doorway Poopers: these horses seem to have it backwards and poop in the doorway to their stalls
- Bucket Poopers: with deadly aim, these horses almost always seem to poop in their water buckets or feed buckets, wherever they may lie
- Everywhere: the worst are the horses that just don't seem to care where they poop
Stall behavior that affects stall clean-outs
- Rototillers: These horses are pacers, they tend to walk in a circular pattern. The result of their movement tends to cover the manure and spread it to the edges of the stall. It is important to sift underneath the bedding in all corners of the stall to find the buried poop and the hidden urine areas.
- Lazy Horses: some horses lay down on their manure packing it into the stall making it more compact and harder to clean
- Hold-it-in Urinating: many horses, especially in the winter, hold in their urine until they get to their stall. As a result their urine spot becomes large and needs even more bedding for absorbing the urine. If this urine spot isn't cleaned to the bottom regularly the urinated bedding will begin to mound.
- Breeding Season: mares especially urinate more during breeding season
- Slobs: some horses will keep it clean if it starts clean, but if it's already messy they turn into true slobs - similar to humans in our bedrooms!

Daily Cleaning of Stalls:

Start at the doorway and sift through the bedding using the basket pitchfork, collecting all manure and dirtied hay.
Where bedding is wet, just toss the bedding without sifting
Any potential area where the horse has urinated, take the metal pitchfork and dig into the bedding to loosen it and remove any compressed or wet bedding - this may be the entire rear area of the stall
Scrape all bedding away from the walls of the stall, the doorway or any feeding areas and mound it in the center

Full Cleaning of Stalls:

You'll notice as the month goes on that the bedding is appearing "used" and it is losing its absorbent qualities and the amount of bedding is reducing. Coach it through the last week of use with very thorough daily cleanings but do not add any bedding because the stall will need a full clean out shortly. Some horses may need a full clean out monthly, others may be very tidy and need a full clean out less often.
Use the metal pitch fork first to dig into the stall removing as much bedding as possible. You will notice that the bedding may be removed in layers - cleaning a stall may seem like an archaeological dig. Remove all layers until you reach the base of the stall.
Scrape the remaining bedding off of the ground using the large muck shovels. At this point there should be no bedding, dirty or clean, left on the surface of the stall. All manure should be removed.
Spread lime on the entire base of the stall, especially where horses tend to urinate or defecate.
Replace bedding with 4-5 bags of new bedding, centered in the stall.

Book Concept: How To Horse

2011-12-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

Truly thinking about compiling a book about horse how-to's. Here's the outline of my chapter concepts. What's missing?

"Painted Bar Stables: How to Horse"

HORSES
Anatomy
Breeds, breed standards
Colors
Markings
Gaits

MEDICAL CARE and DISEASES
Vet
Farrier
Dentistry
Annual vaccines and tests
Limping - how to tell
Thrush
Abscess
Hives
Rain Rot
Tying Up
Colic

GROOMING
Curry Comb
Shedding Brush
Hard Brush
Soft Brush
Face Brush
Mane and Tail Brush
Picking Hooves

WORKING AROUND HORSES
How to halter a horse
Lead a horse
How to tie a horse

TACK
Saddle parts
Bridle parts
Types of bits and hackamores
How to put on the saddle
Saddle Fit
How to put on the bridle
How to adjust stirrups
How to put on Bell Boots
How to put on Sport medicine boots
How to put on polo wraps

STABLE MANAGEMENT
Clean a stall
dump manure
Types of bedding
Hang buckets and give water
Give horse feed
How to open hay bales
Working in order - don't miss a stall
Tools:
- Metal pitch fork
- Plastic basket pitch fork "sifter"
- Wheel barrow
- Spigot and Hose
- Feed Buckets
- Water Buckets
- c hooks
- Hay Hooks

HORSE NUTRITION
Protein, Fat, Fiber, carbohydrates
Feed types
Hay types
Supplements and Salt licks

BUYING A HORSE

What do you really want?

Red Flags

Questions to ask

THE BUSINESS OF HORSE OWNERSHIP

Liability

Insurance

Contracts

Memberships at Painted Bar Stables

2011-11-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

The membership program is designed as a lease option here at Painted Bar Stables.

Because of the need for our horses, we are unable to do half leases on our horses as we can not guarantee that a specific horse will always be available. However, as we rotate our horses through our lesson and trail programs, there are horses left in the barn that are free for use. The membership program came out of this situation.

Instead of leasing a specific horse, the membership program is a way to lease a selection of horses from our stables. This gives our members the opportunity to experience a number of different horses for different uses and occasions, as well as increased flexibility when it comes to access to our horses.

There are different levels of memberships available depending on the skill of the rider and the number of rides desired a week:

Arena-Only - $100
Arena-Only memberships are an entry level membership level designed for those who can ride independently in the arena but may not be ready to ride on trail without the supervision of Painted Bar Stables staff.
With this membership, a member is granted 1 ride per week.
Standard Trail Riding - $100
Standard memberships are for riders who are able to ride independently in the arena or on trail without the supervision of a Painted Bar Stables staff. Some riders may be required to ride with other riders; others may be granted the right to ride alone on trail.
With this membership, a member is granted 1 ride per week.
Triple Trail Ride - $250
Triple memberships are the same as the Standard Trail Riding membership but more riding privileges are granted.
With this membership, a member is granted 3 rides per week.
Full Access Memberships - $300
The Full Access Membership guarantees the member unlimited access to the stables and its horses. Members are allowed to ride as often as horses are available for riding.
Minor Surcharge - $50
Youth and adults have different liabilities and needs for supervision and education. As a result, we require that all members under the age of 18 pay a surcharge of $50 on top of their membership rate.
Certain discounts may be available to youth who would like to apprentice or help guide trail rides.

Members are allowed to use their weekly rides on the Sunday Community Trail Ride that is hosted by Painted Bar Stables staff weekly. They may also use their membership to join guided trail rides for trail ride clients, understanding that the priority and safety of the non-regular riders will be prioritized and there may be limited independence offered on these rides.

Memberships are a pre-paid riding opportunity. All memberships are paid by the 1st of the month and last throughout the entirety month. Only the first month can be pro-rated.

It is the responsibility of the member to use their privileges that they are entitled. No discounts, refunds, rebates or pro-rates will be offered to those members who do not fully use their membership privileges.

Sierra and Little Joe take a trip to Cornell

2011-09-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

So today's agenda had nothing to do with the betterment of our horse's training and everything to do with the improved understanding of our horses. Little Joe and Sierra have both had their various issues so today was the day to take them to Dr. Fortier at the Cornell University Equine Hospital.

Little Joe and Sierras All The Gold awaiting tests at Cornell Equine Hospital

Little Joe and his Fibrotic Myopathy
About two months ago, I noticed a change in Little Joe's gait and a hard buildup in his left hindquarters. In an instant I knew what it was ossifying myosis or a fibrotic myopathy. I had seen this before in one of my previous horses, Bubba, and Joe had all of the classic diagnostic symptoms:

His walk was very slow, however his trot and canter were unaffected.
His gait at the walk was changed. His left hind was no longer reaching forward as far and had an accentuated outward swing. As the landed it first had an upward lift with a heavy plop down.
The tight ball in his hind quarters followed the groove of his semitendinousus muscle and felt like a rock inside his body.

Little Joe receiving his ultrasound

Today at Cornell, Dr. Fortier instantly agreed with me, however reassured me that he was displaying very minor conditions. The ultrasound proved that there was in fact a mineral build up in the muscle that extended roughly 15cm down along his semitendinousus and was roughly 4cm thick and 2.5cm wide. Luckily the build up was centralized in his muscle and did not cross into his semimembranosus.

This is a view of Little Joe's semitendinosis. You can see the white line (which was measured to be 4.46cm). That is the mineral deposit in the center of his muscle. The shadow below indicates that this not the muscle fascia and is instead the hardened area as the shadow is created because the ultrasound cannot pass through the mineral deposits.

How did this most likely happen: fibrotic myosis is especially common in Quarter Horses and other stock breeds such as Paints. It is unknown if it is because of their muscle structure or the work that they typically do, however. Often this occurs after a injury such as a kick to the hindquarters. Considering Little Joe has very active pasture manners and is turned out with an even more active companion (Fire) they probably got in a tiff and Little Joe received a swift kick to his butt that did not heal properly and began building up mineral deposits.

What does this mean: Fibrotic myopathy is rarely progressive and this is a mild presentation causing only mechanical lameness that is not affecting Little Joe's athetic ability. The muscle will continue to exist as is does. It will not improve and it will not degrade. Little Joe will always have a shortened stride but he does not feel any pain. He can be ridden to whatever his capability may be and will continue to enjoy it. His walk will continue to feel a little uneven but he is not unsound or lame - just stiff. His trot will remain even and his canter, he will slightly favor his right lead. I was encouraged to ride him.
The only option for fibrotic myosis is surgery to remove the mineralized buildup in the muscle. There's no guarantee that it will improve his ability, and there's also a chance it could cause more issues. Because he is so minimally impacted by the issue, there is no reason for surgery.

Sierras and the Fractured Navicular
When I bought Sierras All The Gold, I purchased my dream horse. He was a 6½ year old stallion who was peaceful, intelligent, beautiful, nice conformation, and moreover, a pleasure to ride. His trot was the epitome of a Western Jog. He rode in mixed company and was always a gentleman.

About 1½ months after I bought him, I noticed something was off. He had a limp that would come and go. I was too busy to ride often so it didn't really affect our riding schedule, but it bothered me on many levels. The first vet I brought in thought it might be a result of the thrush that I had been battling since I had purchased him. The next vet thought it might be navicular syndrome, a degenerative tendon disease. The third vet xrayed him and we found a clean fracture in his left navicular bone dividing the bone in two on the far left side of the bone (the outer wing).

In many ways I was relieved: I am very glad that it is not navicular syndrome. Since Sierra is a stud, a disease such as this would have ruined his career. Though navicular disease is not a genetically inherited disease, predisposition for it can be inherited (such as cancer or eyesight issues in humans). I could stand never riding him, but never breeding him would have been an added blow. Unfortunately, at the time, I was short on money and short on ideas. I brought him to the Cornell farrier, at the time Mike Wildenstein, and we did a series of glue-on shoes but I felt that it didn't make enough improvement so I backed off and just continued with usual farrier care.

This summer Branden Van Loon was kind enough to bring those old radiographs to Dr. Fortier at Cornell for a peek. Based on those radiographs, she felt it would be possible to do a partial neurectomy (not full!) and reduce his pain and even make it possible to use him for regular light riding. I was encouraged! I spent all summer saving money to try to help him out and get him on the road to the most productive life possible.

After nerve blocks today it was indicated that blocking the nerves via neurectomy would eliminate his pain. However, we learned today is that his navicular bone has degraded significantly since those initial x-rays. Perhaps is was that the initial x-rays were films taken on my dirt floor barn without sedating Sierra compared to the minimally sedated digital x-rays in Cornell's immaculate facility that made us see all of the actual problems. Or perhaps his bone had really and truly just degraded. Either way, at this point the gap between the bone segments had increased and the larger portion of the bone had worn away significantly along the fracture line and there was weakening to the internal bone structure.

Sierras All The Gold receiving his nerve block shots peacefully

What does this mean: Sierra is now not able to safely receive a neurectomy. The degradation of the bone has created a roughness along the bottom. This is the surface that the digital flexor tendon crosses as it connects to the hoof. As long as Sierra is aware of pain, he will know when there is too much friction between the bone and the tendon. If we did the neurectomy he would not feel this pain and there is a chance that that friction could sever the tendon. A severed digital flexor tendon is an end of life injury. Additionally, because the structure of the bone is compromised we could no longer do a partial neurectomy and have it eliminate his pain.

What can we do: Before the doctors could even get to it, I had Steve Krauss, the current Cornell Farrier, summoned to Sierra's side. The doctors and Steve decided that through bute and corrective shoeing we could make improvements to Sierra's life that could even make him capable of rare riding experiences.
Steve also noted that Sierra's hoof was not currently proportioned correctly. The distance between his heel to frog tip was shorter than the distance from frog tip to toe (this is backwards of what it is supposed to be). So he shortened up Sierra's toe and filed the toe at a 45-degree angle to increase roll-over. He also installed a pair of inverse aluminum shoes with heel supports with a silicone putty pad on the heel and frog for additional support.

Here we go! Let's see if it helps!

Summary
While Joe had good news and Sierra is still going to give me many hard decisions, all I can say is both of the boys showed off our stable amazingly. Their peaceful and calm demeanor was heavily respected and rewarded. Joe was used as a student walk-through demo. One of the Farrier students even gave me an offer on Sierra. It was lovely to have such well-behaved boys who took each test with grace.

At the end of the day, they both jumped right up on the trailer, excited to go home again.

Dozer is Lazy

2011-09-17T17:20:00.001-07:00

Horse: Dozer
Tack: Dozer's Western Saddle, Curb Bit, Waterford Spurs
Purpose: Trying to get Dozer to move

Description:
Dozer is definitely lazy. My trail riders have been having a really hard time getting him moving of late. I myself avoid leading rides with him because it just takes too much work. So, I thought today I would get on him and see if we can make movement a part of his life.

First off, Dozer is almost solely used on trail, not the arena. On trail Dozer turns on a dime and steers without issue. Well, in the arena that just wasn't the case and I can't say I blame him. Because he's never worked in the arena he has absolutely no bend. This is coupled with the fact that he doesn't flex at the poll, making it very hard for him to grasp the concept of "circles." He's got all of the straight-away concepts, turning on the haunches and the forehand (kinda), but anything requiring a flex or bend was out. Homework.

Second, I definitely will never completely understand gaited movement. I'm not sure I like it much either.

Right off, I noticed a big difference in Dozer with the spurs. He quickly got into his running walk (which isn't really running. We maybe hit 6mph). However, whenever I asked him to accelerate he pushed into a trot or a pseudo-canter. After about 6 times around the arena it was almost as though I didn't have spurs anymore. His lazy hit with full force.

Now, I know cantering isn't the best for gaited horse training, but I did want to get him MOVING, in whatever way possible. I was excited to get him going in any way, shape or form. That said, anything over his 6mph running walk was a miserable experience - he shook the clothes right off me - and it just took too much work.

After a great text conversation with Keith Reynolds, who continues to be my gaited expert, we think that the first issue to address is his lack of flex at the poll. Gaited horses truly need to collect, flex and get their bodies engaged to work and Dozer just isn't doing that. He suggested I get a bit with a longer shank to encourage poll pressure - my only fear is that stopping is definitely not an issue and that a longer shank might mean more of it. Either way, I think Keith and I need to have a trail date with Dozer in the near future.

Tally Whoa: A Revisit

2011-09-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

Horse: Tally
Tack: My Western Saddle, a Tie Down (decently tight by my standards) and a combo gag/hackamore
Purpose: Transitions Downward

Description:
So, last time Tally felt mostly out of control so today when my second ride was a no-show it seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit her schooling. We had already gone on a 45 minute trail ride so we were pretty well warmed up and ready to go.

I first wanted to experiment with switching her from her usual gag/hack combo to just a hack. Last winter we found that she steers and collects better in a bit but stopped better in a hack. Well, she now steers and collects in a hack but definitely not the stop we need. Back to her usual bridle set up!

In the start I felt like she was overly sensitive in the leg. We worked a bit to desensitize that and I think we made a lot of headway. She still sometimes fishtailed as a mis-response to leg cuing but we did a lot better. We did a lot of warm up with differentiating between leg yields, bends and forward cues.

Tracking left I felt like we got a decently balanced trot and a very very balanced canter. While her transitions between speeds tracking right felt better, the balance definitely did not feel as good. Her trot going to the right was bouncier and less guided. Her canter was always on the proper lead but just didn't have the nice free-flowing rhythm that we got on our left lead.

We spent a lot of time circling. Three circles down and three circles back on every loop around the arena (SE corner, E side, NE corner, NW corner, W side, SW corner, etc...). I'm always impressed at how easy it is to circle Tally and steer her. As mentioned before, it was much easier to get her to balance, and therefore turn without leaning or shouldering out, to the left. Tracking right we had a lot of fishtailing and overflexing of the neck.

The entire experience reminded me of one thing important for my own self-growth: the importance of the outside rein. I'd catch myself not reinforcing her turn with the outside and merely relying on a lifted inside rein and, wow! when I engaged that outside rein things would change quick. Her fishtailed butt would flip back in place and her head would pop back in front of her body. But she'd still keep turning, following my gaze. It was nice to get a lesson from Tally instead of me always teaching her!

Because today was downward transition today my overarching goal was to get her to exaggerate her slow-down. Every time we stopped we would go backwards. Trot to to walk to whoa then backwards. Trot to whoa then backwards. Canter to trot to walk to whoa then backwards. Canter to walk to whoa then backwards. We never really got a fabulous canter to whoa but it was worth trying. By the end Tally was pretty sick of the backwards concept, but her halts were much better.

As our downward transitions improved so did our upward transitions. Because Tally is actually a decently vocal horse, I really wanted to mingle vocal cues into her upward transitions. For instance "can-TER" with a inside reinforcement on the "can" and a outside cue directly on the "TER." Her walk to trot still sometime starts with a hop, but she was truly settling into it. We had a couple really phenomenal walk to canter transitions and a lot of nice trot to canter transitions.

At the end I had Colin take a video. Tally was pretty tired by this point and we had a couple "moments" and there is still a lot of room for improvement but I think there's some good parts as well.

Mister's First Ride

2011-09-14T15:33:00.001-07:00

Horse: Mister
Tack: Scotch's Western Saddle, Fleece Lined Hackamore
Purpose: First time carrying a rider.

Description:
Mister was ready. And after his breakout last week it was obvious he needed a job.

Mister is now two years old and some change and 15hh. He has been lunged with decent regularity (not as often as I would have liked but often enough to know speed cues). He has been lunged with a circingle and saddle as well. All he needed was a rider.

After a short walk-only lunging I hopped on using the mounting block. I think it's best he gets used to the mounting block from the start and he did decently. His first reaction to a rider was "backwards!" It was obvious he didn't quite have his balance but he quickly figured it out. Once he decided to go forward on his own I knew we were in the clear.

Just like every horse, he already knows where the gate is. That was his first destination. It took a bit of gentle prodding to get him away from the gate. Steering was definitely an issue but he was trying hard. After we unglued ourselves from the southeast end of the arena his next destination was the horses on the paddock fence to the north. A much smaller discussion ensued there and we were on our way.

We did a couple dozen loops of the arena, keeping it slow and not really working on much except a general sense of direction and balance. We did test the breaks and they were there. He would have preferred playing follow the leader with Crystal and Dutchess who were also in the arena being ridden but he was willing enough not to.

Overall, I have to say it was a success. It was decently an easy ride and he will be a pleasure to work with moving forward.

Tally-Ho and the upper Gaits

2011-09-14T15:24:00.001-07:00

Horse: Tally
Tack: My personal Western Saddle, English Bridle with Loose Ring Snaffle, Draw Reins connected at the side
Purpose: Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast

Description:
Today was the first time I was able to get some good quality time with Tally since she had her feet trimmed and shoes reset. My goal was to encourage a slower and smoother way of moving at the trot, and then to touch on her trot to canter transitions that are definitely lacking.

I used draw reins connected at the side to try to add an element of stability to her movement. I used them loosely and only as a secondary rein. My hope was to reconnect her neck and head to her body. She tends to overflex her neck onto turns or as avoidance and I wanted to try to get her back in line. While she was very responsive to the draw reins I definitely want to ride her without them as she leans into them as a crutch. They are providing her the support she needs to straighten out but I don't feel like they are teaching her the lesson I had hoped.

While Tally will never be a really smooth ride, particularly at the trot, I found her gaits much improved from a week ago when she had her shoes reset. Her feet had definitely been too long and was affecting her way of movement.

We worked for an extended amount of time on her trot. My main goal for her trot is to slow it down. The energy that she puts into it is being translated into upward movement instead of propulsion so I wanted to take some of that energy out of the equation and replace it with focus.

As different as she is from Beau, I find her struggling with many of the same issues at the trot as Beau had when I first bought him: high head-carriage with a hollowed back that is often substituted for a fake collection with just a deeply arched neck frame, lack of speed diversity within the gait, and a very bouncy forward movement.

By the end of our trotting work she was moving at a very nice slow and focused speed. She was much smoother and was actually engaging her entire body into the movement. While she was bending decently, she had a little bit of an issue fishtailing around corners when I asked for more bend with my inside leg and less shoulder with my outside. She was still overflexing around turns with her neck but it was easily corrected with leg.

I also noticed that she always throws me on the left post.

She still has a hard time truly differentiating leg cues in terms of direction and speed but as always it's there, just gotta keep going with it.

We practiced canter transitions. While a couple of them worked out nicely some were, as usual, a mess. I'm just going to keep on working on the concept of slow and steady. She speeds up her trot thinking I'm asking for more speed when really I just want the gait change.

Once I did get her into a canter we really worked to slow it down. It seems to be the trend of the day. She is QUICK, but fast at the expense of form and control. If I have her in a nice slow canter she steers nicely and stops, well average at best. When she gets going so fast it all is lost.

Next lesson is going to be called "Tally Whoa," for sure!!

Mud Management

2011-04-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

So the mud management webinar suggested cutting my paddocks into small 1 acre single and double turnout paddocks with gravel footing to use as sacrificial areas...... not sure if I actually like this idea. It means that many of the paddocks around the barn would be dirt year round and that horses who cannot go out in the big field because they don't get along would never have any grass.

Notes from the webinar:

Green Horse Keeping: Mud Management

Equestrian Professional

April 19, 2010

Speaker: Alayne Blickle - www.horsesforcleanwater.com

Mud

Issues associated with living in mud:

Scratches
Mud Fever
Rain rot
Thrush
Increased insect problems (mosquitos, filth flies, midges)
Hypothermia
Weight Loss & General Unthriftiness
Sand colic:
- Ingestion of dirt, sand and soil particles

Issues for owner convenience and efficiency

Difficult to do chores
No fun to catch horses or clean for a ride
Looks bad!

Environmental impact:

Mud, erosion and run-off of sediments deteriorates nutrition of the soil and can cause problems for aquatic life

What is mud?

Fine organic material + soil + water = mud

Fine organic material is key because it holds 200x its weight in moisture.

Mud Buster Options:

Establish a sacrifice area
An area is sacrificed and understood that grass will never grow in that area. It should be on a high, well-drained area with vegetation as an absorption buffer area below it because as this area becomes hardened there will be a lot of run-off.
This is where horses are kept on the winter when pastures are dormant and soil is soft. Prevents over-grazing.
Pick up Manure regularlyA horse produces about 50# of manure on a regular day. Manure is the basis of most mud because it provides that organic absorptive material.
Use footings for paddocksSacrifice areas need footing: gravel, sand (can be dusty, do not feed on sand, in sloped areas, sand can migrate; but, horses love rolling in it), hog fuel (large chipped wood product – be sure it’s non-toxic).
Use footings in other high traffic areasHigh traffic areas: watering areas, in front of gates, walk ways.Options: Stall and trailer mats, used conveyor belting
Install gutters and downspoutsCapture clean rain water and keep it clean and out of the mud.Roof rain runoff can be routed directly to a water trough for watering horses.
Use trees as mud managersTry to always use native trees and shrubs.Evergreens are great because they do not go dormant in the winter and continually use water. Rows of trees and shrubs can intercept run-off.

Reflections on Progress

2011-04-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

The mothers last night, particularly Cathy, came up to me glowing and said "Erika! This is a real barn now! It's a real business!"

Meredith and Zoe were two of my first students here at Painted Bar Stables. They have been around almost 2½ years now and they remember when it was just me teaching a couple lessons after work with my horses.

At the point when I bought the stables in early 2008, the barn was a mess because the previous owner was unable to keep up with the repairs and also apparantly unable to keep the liqour bottles out of the barn. At the point the girls started riding here there were only 5 stalls I had cleaned out the rubbish, repaired the doors so that they could close and lock, and made them safe for horses to live in. It took me so long just to get those stalls ready.

At that point the fences were in complete disrepair except for a couple just near the house. I was amazed that horses even stayed in the back field. I was still collecting tack beyond my personal saddles and it was insufficient. I'd probably also say that my teaching was rudimentary at best at that point, simply because I didn't have time to keep up with my research and own knowledge.

Moreover, I had no help. It was just me and I was also working a full-time job in Ithaca.

The past couple of months (not to mention the couple years before that) there has been such amazing progress! Yesterday, Cathy walked into the new tack room for the first time and her jaw hit the floor. Every saddle was clean, organized, repaired and maintained on it's own rack. Every horse had not only an adult western saddle assigned to it, but also was assigned to kid saddles and English tack as well. She saw all of the volunteers working like clockwork and she was impressed. She saw that I could actually focus on the kids in the lessons and know that no horses were waiting for me because Lisa was running such a tight ship for the evening shift. And she saw how clean and put together are farm is, how organized we are, how we have everything worked out.

I could not have done this without everyone. Our farm has reached an amazing level of success and acheivement because of each person that contributes. And what is amazing is that we can still go even further!

So thank you to our volunteers and motivators, past and present:

Tia Bernagozzi

Sabrina Bruso

Sylvia Cadwell

Deb Chapman

The Champion Family

Lyn Gerry

Andrea Jacobs, who has for some reason put up with me and my endless neediness since I first met her 3 years ago

Victoria Katz

Dakota Landon

Kerrigan Long

Sonny Pagliaro

Ryanne Phillips

Jenn Schmid

Christian Thompson

Dani Van Orden

Linda Van Orden

Missy Van Orden

Lee Welles, who motivates me more than she realizes

even Amber Schorpp, who taught me many many lessons

And of course our latest additions:

Lilian Balasanian

Alaina Christine

Ashley Tieppo

Rachel Cronin

Dorothy Sherrill

Jen Schrage

Lily Oxley

I especially want to thank:

My parents, Dean and Barb Eckstrom, for simply putting up with me and giving me such amazing opportunities and pep-talks.

Lisa Birch for her enthusiasm, hyper-organization practices and her amazing ability to motivate our volunteers.

Oh... and Colin for making sure I wake up every day, don't have a mental break down, and ensuring that I might actually eat lunch on a clean plate and have a couple pairs clean socks, even if I took them out of his drawer.

Poisonous Plants Webinar Notes

2011-03-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

My notes from tonight's webinar on Toxic Plants. Please be aware I have not edited them and that some plants were spelled phonetically.

Poisonous Plants

Hosted by TheHorse.com

March 30, 2011

Anthony P. Knight, BVSc, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, is a professor of large animal medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. He received his veterinary degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, in 1968. After completing a master’s degree at Colorado State University, he joined the faculty in 1974. His current professional interests include livestock heath, foreign animal diseases, emergency management, and plant toxicology. He has written two books on poisonous plants of animals in North America, and maintains a poisonous plants website for use by anyone wanting poisonous plant information.

Karyn Bischoff, DVM, MS, Dipl. ABVT, is a veterinary toxicologist at the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center and an assistant professor at Cornell University. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in Animal Science from the University of Wisconsin (Platteville campus), and she obtained her DVM from the University of Illinois. She earned her master’s degree at Oklahoma State University while completing a residency in toxicology, and she went on to complete a pathology residency at the University of Florida before ending up in the lovely rolling hills of upstate New York.

Can a horse tell a toxic plant from a non toxic plant?

They do naturally avoid toxic plants. Bitter tastes tend to avoid them if they have something else to eat. Some plants are very palatable and even addictive. Some plants are also more toxic under certain conditions than others.

What would increase a horse’s risk of eating a toxic plant?

Seasons can make a plant more toxic. Climate conditions can be more toxic. And some plants are more tasty after sprayed with herbicides because they produce more sugars.

Are poisonous plans still poisonous if they are cut and baled in hay?

Yes. They may not be as toxic as they are when they are green but remain toxic when dry. A good example is milkweed.

Are there any general symptoms of harmful plant ingestion?

There are not. Plants do all types of different things: sudden death (you plants); chronic disease (ragwort); colic (gimsun weed, walnut); kidney failure (oaks), etc…

What should be a horse owner’s first response when plant ingestion is suspected?

Take them off of the suspected source (hay, pasture, etc…). Symptomatic therapy is the best.

Are there any medications you should keep on hand?

Banamine if they are showing colic to relieve those symptoms. Laxative to remove them from the GI system.

Activated Charcoal (not BBQ coal) can be very healthy as an absorbent – if you can get a horse to eat it!

What is the most common toxic plant?

West Coast – Hounds Tongue. Causes irreversible liver disease. Loco Weed. Milk Weed.

East Coast – Rag Wort causes liver disease. Red Maple Poisoning.

Florida – Crotolaria

Environmental conditions and their affect on plant toxins:

Drought changes the compounds of the plans. Also affects the plants if they are in the shade versus the sun. Rainfall also makes plants grow more vigorously.

A stressed plant generally has more potential for poisoning than a healthy plant.

Is there a horse by horse basis for toxicity that could cause some horses to react and not others?

Sometimes plants need to be ingested in HIGH quantities to have an effect. “It’s the dose that makes the poison.”

Some of these plants don’t produce clinical signs for months.

What is a good resource online for identifying poisonous plants with good photos?

http://southcampus.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants

Cornell’s poisonous plants website

USDA Plant Database

Wikipedia – if you know what you are looking for

Is there a website where you can send in photos of suspicious plants?

http://southcampus.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants

Dr. Anthony Knight is very willing to identify the plant for you: aknight@colostate.edu

Local plant stores can also identify plants so you can research further.

Plant biologists and taxonomists at universities.

Poisonous Plants:

Japanese and English Yew plant --- Sudden Death

Water Hemlock -- The root is the most poisonous. 4-6 oz. kills a horse.

Can weeds cause hives and edema?

Yes there are possibilities. Poison Ivy doesn’t affect horses.

Recent evidence to show that tall fescue (especially of the Mediterranean type) that is infected with the fungal entophyte will cause swelling of tissues.

Can poisonous plants cause laminits?

Yes. Some are associated.

Black Walnut Shavings. 20% of the bedding or more can cause it. Ingestion of bark and twigs can also do this.

Sarsaparilla variation.

Usually signs would be within a day.

Can dandelions cause issues?

False dandelion causing string halt causing them to lift their feet very high. It is most common in Virginia.

This is actually a very old disease and not all string halt is plant related.

False Dandelion = Cat’s Ear = Flat Weed

Can plants cause irritated gums with blisters?

Butter cup can be quite irritating to the mouth when eaten regularly.

Could be that the hay has weeds with sharp horns in it.

Could be a chemical on the grass.

Could also be a viral disease.

What plants cause liver failure?

Ragwort. Cineceo. Rattle Box. Amsinkia (fiddle neck). Cow’s tongue.

Finding the source of the plant is very difficult because it is a chronic disease, not a sudden disease. Sometimes you can only identify in certain seasons which makes it more difficult.

What plants can cause choke?

Plants with a hard pit in them. Apples and pears. Persimmons (can also cause GI obstructions further down).

Treatment for minor cases can actually be CocaCola!

Are acorns safe for horses?

The oak tree is not usually good for horses, including live oak. It can cause Colic, Kidney Failure, etc.

But a handful of acorns is not going to hurt the horse.

Are cherry trees safe?

Cherry trees have the potential to contain cyanide compounds. Cattle, Sheep and Goats are much more susceptible than horses. A horse isn’t going to be able to convert the glycosides to cyanide as quickly.

That said in a frost or stress conditions for the tree, and the horse eats large quantities, it could cause cyanide poisoning or sudden death.

Is there any danger from pine needles and pine bark?

Pine trees are toxic to pregnant cows. Pine needles and pine bark have no nutrition but there are not the same reactions in horses as in cattle.

Are maple trees toxic?

The most toxic one is the Red Maple. The poisonings vary by location, but usually in late summer or autumn when the leaves are wilted or drying up.

Damage is caused to the red blood cells causing them to become anemic.

Trees to avoid:

Black Walnut

Red Maple and its hybrids

Oak

Black Locust

Golden Chain tree

Horse Chestnut, Buckeye

Choke Cherry and other cherry trees

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Russian Olive

Persimmon

Chinese Tallow Tree

China Berry

Avocado

Toxic Shrubs to Avoid:

Yew

Oleander

Yellow Oleander

Privet

Hydrangea

Rhododentron (azalea)

Japanese Peiris

Laurel

Black Laurel

Boxwood

Burning Bush

Lantana

Angels Trumpet

Mesquite

Day or night blooming Jasmine

Scotch Broom

Are nightshades poisonous to horses?

The contain glycol-alkaloids that can block motility in the intestine and can cause colic. If they eat enough it could actually stop the heart and lungs.

Potato and Tomato vines are issues, as are green potatoes. These are also nightshades.

Is wild carrot the same thing as queen anne’s lace and is it poisonous?

It is the same and there is no reported toxicity.

Horse Nettle?

They can increase the neurotoxicity of ivermectin.

Horse nettle is different than stinging nettle and is not poisonous.

Indian Paintbrush?

Not poisonous. It is an indicator of high selenium content in soils so the surrounding grasses could cause chronic selenium poisoning with long term exposure.

Butter Cups?

They cause irritation in the oral cavity and are bitter. They are usually the last plant standing in pastures!

Napweed?

The only one that is toxic is Russian napweed that causes chewing disease and can damage the brain and inhibit their ability to bite off and chew food.

Other napweeds are not poisonous.

Thistle?

More of a problem for ruminants but horses are fine with them.

Horsetail?

Tends to like wet areas and is not a good food – indigestible. It has been associated with blindness and colic.

Skunk Cabbage?

Not very palatable and can cause damage to the mucosa of the oral cavity.

Lilac?

No problem!

Bamboo?

Toxic and can develop a neurotoxicity. But there are no reports in North America.

Holly?

Contains high caffeine content.

Bougainvillea?

Non-toxic but could be injurious.

Lavender?

Non-toxic. Can make your horse smell nice though.

Fruits and Vegetables to not give as treats?

Potatoes. Green potatoes. Green tomatoes. Avocados.

How can you safely get rid of noxious plants when horses are on pasture?

Mowing can greatly impact the pasture. Let horses eat half and leave half. If there is viable grass the grass will crowd out the weeds.

Herbicides can increase the toxicity and how attractive plants are as food for horses.

Tickled Pink!

2011-03-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have a student here who is taking the semester long riding course at Cornell for credit. She has learned a lot there but feels like she needs more riding time to really succeed at that course. She needs help with her balance and coordination at the trot and she's absolutely right - more riding time will get her where she wants to be!

The other day after her lesson she said "Your horses aren't like the horses at Oxley. They go where I tell them to go."

Needless to say, I was tickled pink. For a number of reasons.

I grew up at the Oxley Equestrian Center, working as a youth and teenage stable hand, riding their horses, taking their lessons. Amazingly enough, the horse that she rides there is one of the horses I actually learned to canter on. I have a lot of respect for those horses and the workload that they take and the fact that they still behave so well. I also know that they are all worked very regularly to ensure that they keep up to date on their training.
I STILL ride at the Oxley Equestrian Center every Monday night because sometimes, I just need a break from riding here in the cold and need to go to a real jumping facility to hone my skills. I love having a bunch of people there ready and willing to offer advice, consult, and even rip my own riding to shreds because I just can't get that at home. Plus, I have always found the horses there willing and excellent for jumping and most of my horses here are still green at jumping courses.
My horses are good lesson horses, but I always saw them as trail horses first: no spook, no flee, no qualms, sturdy, rugged and willing to do and go anywhere.

It never occured to me that the work I was doing with them has actually changed them into not only good lesson horses, but phenomenal ones. They all move off of the leg, they can collect or extend when asked, they all can frame up, they can move laterally, they can bend (some better than others), and they can pick up the canter on cue almost every time (most can even pick up the canter on the proper lead in my very small indoor arena). For a group of lesson horses, that either came to me green broke or as true-blue trail horses, I am impressed.

Yes, they don't always act like push-button rides, especially if the rider is sending mixed messages or is off in la-la-landl; but what they do offer is the perfect platform to teach on. For instance:

If your heels aren't down Maxie most definitely will not trot in the arena.
If you are too hard on the reins, Pepsi will start to make her lip-smacking noise.
If Scotch even thinks that you're about to fall off she will stop and look at you.

Add to that the fact that a majority of my lesson horses are mares. That's unheard of, I know. But these girls are so good. They listen so well, and even though they can make some ugly faces once in awhile, they always behave themselves under saddle.

This whole thought tickles me pink.

Takeaways from the Ithaca Agway Seminar

2011-03-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Some great takeaways from tonight:

1) Too much of any mineral is a bad thing. Salt included. Just because your horse keeps eating salt doesn't mean he needs it! They might just be bored or there's an underlying condition.

2) Diarrhea can be the result of potentially feeding TOO high quality of food. Horses NEED indigestable fibers that will pass through their system, clean out their digestive tract, and come out as poop. Just because you are feeding them fiber, especially high quality fibers that get digested, doesn't mean that your horse won't have diarrhea. Probiotics, though not helpful in healthy horses, may also be helpful for the rear digestive system in these cases.

3) SOME supplements are SOMEtimes helpful to SOME horses SOME of the time. Even the high quality supplements may not actually benefit your horse. Most horses do not need supplements when being fed a proper diet. Under extreme work or during health conditions SOME supplements are helpful to SOME horses SOME of the time, but they won't be helpful to every horse and might even vary under different conditions.

Further, there is no regulation of the claims that animal supplements make so they can advertise whatever they want it there are no reprocussions, not any scientific or peer-reviewed studies to prove anything.

Most of the contents of equine supplements are filler (water for instance). Just because something is on the ingredient list just means that there is one particle of it in a supplement. Inclusion of useful agents doesn't mean that there is a effectual dosage in the supplement.

4) RIA = Rider Induced Anxiety. The leading cause of problems in horses. This is my personal favorite.

5) As I've always said before: Always make sure you give your horse a chance to win! It was great watching Joann Long work with horses through obstacles to help make sure the rider gives the horse a chance to win.

A Blind Horse and Pretty

2011-02-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

I came across this story today and while there is a religious meaning, I read it a different way thanks to my own experiences.

Here's the story:
Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But, if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing . . .
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to the horse’s halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow. As you stand and watch these two friends, you will see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn’t too far behind to hear the bell.

This reminds me very much of Pretty and Bubba before Bubs died.. Before Pretty (aka. Sock It To You) and Bubba came to me, they lived together in the same stall, same paddock, and went on the same trail rides for 10 years. Pretty had lost vision in her right eye midway through as a result of leptosporosis. While Pretty relied on Bubs for her right-sided vision. Bubs relied on Pretty for confidence and companionship.

Midway through last summer, Bubba died, tragically. Horses usually mourn, but not the way Pretty has ever since. My fast but reliable horse no longer would lead trail rides. She would get nervous more often, even buck and rear if being pushed.

In other words: Pretty started acting like a half-blind horse.

I wonder if she would act this way if the relationship she had with Bubba hadn't been so special due to her blindness. And I wonder if she would be the way she is if she weren't blind.

That said - I wouldn't trade her for the world and she will be my official barrel racing horse this summer despite her blindness and despite the fact that I have many other horses that could replace her.

Pretty and me at the Savannah Potato Festival gaming show showing off her good eye!

A Blind Horse and Pretty: Revisited

2011-02-19T21:23:00.000-08:00

I suppose that some of you may remember my previous post about Pretty and her blindness: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=326169774106 . I wanted to revisit the topic.

Been thinking a bit about the vet's visit yesterday, mostly about Pretty. We've fully determined that she is moonblind in her left eye. I suppose I knew she was already going moonblind in her good eye (remember her right eye is completely blind).

Pretty Booking it in a Field, October 2010

At this point I'm not sure if it really effects anything:

she lives with her stud man, who protects her and guides her;
the stud paddock is the safest paddock at the stables;
she's only ridden by me anyhow, and we're best buddies (and wost enemies, but mostly best buddies);
she still guides trails amazingly, probably better actually since she started going more blind because she doesn't fight me and just goes with my guidance

I am so glad that since my last note (ironically written about this time last year) she has found a new mate in Sierra. When Bubba died I truly worried about her. I'm so glad she paired off and can live protected in her paddock as a pair.

Tally and Pretty Cantering in a Field, October 2010

I'm also so glad that because she is infertile, she keeps the stallion company; meaning she keeps him calm, happy, contented and disciplined. This has given her worth to the stable beyond a riding horse and as a result she is guaranteed a space in the barn. For this I am also thankful for because I never want to have to make the tough decision to re-home her in particular.

That said, I still am concerned for her, and I think of her often.

Western Saddle Cinching

2011-01-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

There are a number of important aspects to take note of when putting a western saddle on a horse and a number of techniques to handle all of theses aspects.

How tight do I tighten my saddle?

The main thing to keep in mind here is that the saddle is not like a car seat... it is not meant to be a piece of equipment to strap you to the horse, but merely a tool to aid you in the balance that you already have while riding. Stirrups in particular are meant to be a tool to reinforce balance at high speeds and fast turns, not a crutch to lean on and rely on. Keeping this in mind helps us figure out just how tight to make our girth.

A number of experts state the following confusing line: the saddle should be tight enough so that the saddle does not move and loose enough so that our horse is comfortable. What does this mean? The saddle should not move on its own or slide side to side on the horse when we tug on it from the ground. It should be tight enough to be secure.But our saddle should never be so tight that it does not allow the horse to move under the saddle, or pinch a nerve. Where is this balance point?

For pleasure riding, when you are in your saddle, you should be able to move the saddle slightly when you put all of your weight on your stirrup and lean. It should allow the horse to move under the saddle but not let the saddle move because of this movement. However, if you are roping, barrel racing, ponying horses, or doing things that will put added movement and could shift the saddle, you should have it tighter.

So now you ask: How do I get on the horse without the saddle moving? How do I ensure the saddle does not move side to side when I'm riding?

When mounting your horse, you should not be relying on the stirrup to get you up on the saddle. You should hold the mane to help you get on, not the horn. The mane will not move and it is a part of the horse. The horn is like a lever to shift your saddle. Additionally, you should not climb up on your horse, but you should mount gracefully using your legs to jump and propel you off of the ground.

When riding you should be a balanced rider. This entails being able to keep track of your own body and maintain balance without the need of tools (stirrups to lean on, horns to hold on to, and heaven forbid you grab the reins for support). When you rely on tools, you are locking down a part of your body that is incredibly useful for communication for your horse. As a balanced rider, you should not be shifting the saddle at all because you will not be putting any pressures or lever actions onto it to cause it to move.

So what does the novice rider do, or perhaps someone operating at top speeds or tying off on their horn? There are a number of additional tools that you can use to reinforce the balance of your saddle without tightening the girth further and causing pain to your horse:

Breastcollars: Breastcollars go around the chest of your horse and provide additional support to the saddle preventing it from sliding backwards on the horse, but also providing resistance for your saddle to slide side to side and therefore more stability.
Crouper: A crouper is a leather loop, passing under a horse's tail, and buckled to the saddle to keep it from slipping forwards.

How fast do I tighten my girth?

A horse should never be thrown into a saddle quickly.

When first putting the girth on it is important to hold the girth up on the horse's stomach. If the girth is continually banging up against the horse as you set, adjust and work with the rigging it will become irritating and your horse will get frustrated and upset. Some horses are particularly irritated by this and will become "cinchy" over time.

Once your rigging is hooked up, leave on the horse loosely. As you continue to tack up your horse and prepare to ride you should incrementally tighten the girth. Tightening your girth in multiple steps will allow your horse to adjust to the girth and prepare for the ride. There should be at least 3 different tightening occurrences and no less.

Where do I put my cinch?

It is very important that before cinching your saddle, you find the appropriate position for the saddle so that it is square, balanced, and not restricting the shoulder movement of the horse. Saddle pads should also be positioned so that they cannot slip back and are covering the horse appropriately.

The girth should lie across the horse's ribs but should not be resting in the "armpit" of your horse. When your girth is too far forward it restricts the motion of the horse and can cause pinching.

Behind the horse's elbow there is a plethora of skin to allow the horse to swing its leg fully. When you put your cinch too far forward you are pinching some of this skin that is supposed to move under the girth. Additionally, you are causing the skin to have to fold around the girl as the leg moves backwards.

The girth should be placed behind the point of the elbow a safe distance to allow movement. Depending on the horse it may be 4-6" inches, but each horse is different. To further prevent pinching, after the first tightening (remember there are multiple tightening moments in saddling a horse), stretch your horse's legs to pull the skin out from under the girth.

Using a back cinch on a western saddle:

Some saddles are specifically designed with a single centralized balance point on the saddle to connect to a single girth. These centralized balance points make the saddle balance both in the front and the back of the saddle so that there is no teeter-tottering forward and backwards or twisting from side to side as the horse moves.

Western Saddle with single balance point

Other saddles are not designed this way. They are designed with two balance points: a front one connected to the cinch and a back one for the back cinch. When using a saddle like this it is necessary to support both of the balance points in order to ensure that the saddle does not teeter-totter or twist.

Western Saddle with two balance points

Many people use saddles with a dual balance point and only one girth. Sometimes as the cinch is tightened, it will lift up the back end of the saddle.Because the saddle is no longer balanced, it is also no longer secure on the horse. To compensate this, often people tighten the girth tighter, which ensures that the saddle will not slip, but only furthers the lack of balance and can bother the horse.

Note lifting

To deal with this there are two techniques: using a back cinch, or rigging the saddle to develop a single balance point.

The back cinch and the front cinch should be connected together with rigging and equally tightened. If using a back cinch it is very important to connect the back cinch to the front cinch with rigging to ensure that the back cinch does not slip back under the horse's stomach and become a bucking strap. If there is no rigging it is important that you remove the back cinch or that you hang the back cinch loosely and not use it for support.

Back Cinch Rigging Note that because the cinches are tied together to avoid back cinch from sliding back they are both tight.

To convert a saddle to a single balance point, use a long latigo on each side of the saddle to create a "Y" shaped rigging that will connect to a single girth. This will ensure that both the front and back balance points of the saddle are being weighed down.

Converted Rigging

You can also use English billet straps or stirrup leathers to convert a saddle.

Use of English billets to convert a rigging. Note that the girth is too far forward, close to the elbow in this photo.

Weekend Adventure up the Mountain

2011-01-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Part 1: The Meaning of "Seasonal Use"

So to celebrate Allie's birthday and the fact that she is house-sitting for her friend Krissy, we have joined her in Richford, NY. Unfortunately there were a couple factors that came into play as we made our way over there:

Instead of leaving the house around 3:00pm we wound up leaving the house at 3:51pm
A small yet magnificent snowstorm descended on upstate New York
The directions that Allie gave to us did not translate onto our cellphone map and instead routed us up Brigham Road instead of Barden Road.
There is a lack of cell-phone reception

So here we are hauling 4 horses in a 32' trailer with a ½ ton Dodge pick-up, thankfully 4x4, in the snow. We follow our "directions" which take us up Brigham Road off of Route 79. We get about ½ a mile up the road when the hill starts to get steep and slick. We slowly grind to a halt and the truck and trailer begins sliding back down the hill. At this point we realize that we have no chance of ascending the mountain. Erika in sheer terror that the truck keeps moving by itself, backs the trailer back down to the base of the hill about ¼ mile off the highway and pulls it onto the shoulder as the sun sets and it starts to get dark.

Parking Spot for Trailer

This is the point that any reasonable person would pack up, turn around and head home, calling Allie on the way.

What does Erika do (Colin in tow)? Unloads the horses, tacks up Kasper and throws his blanket on Scotch. Colin tacks up Tally and helps unload Mack who is dancing all over the trailer. Right as we finished tacking up, packing up and getting our wits about us, the snow plow loudly and brightly emerges from below like alien spacecraft. The plow blazed by us leaving our horses' already fragile psyches in pieces and our own confidence shaken.

We mount up (Erika on Kasper, ponying Mack; Colin on Tally, ponying Scotch; and Seneca running along in her blaze orange vest and ding-a-ling bell). As we start to ride up the hill the snowplow returns; turns out that this road becomes a seriously seasonal road and he had only plowed a ½ mile beyond us. With the return of the aliens, it was evident that Mack's mothership had landed and he was about to return to his own kind.

We continue on, passing the last house, still thinking that this is the path that Allie had taken mere hours earlier. The road narrows, the trees thicken and the snow deepens. We turn around, thinking that there is no hope and we are distinctly headed down the wrong path. The incredulous owner of that last house happened to be warming up his car. Overcoming his wonder of our sheer stupidity (two riders descending from the hill with four horses in the dark), he reassured us that we were on the right track and that Schoolhouse road was in fact at the top hill and he knew of the farm we were aiming at, but that nobody had come down that road in at least two weeks.

The road up the hill (obviously taken during daylight)

Onward we rood up the tree and cliff lined seasonal road, slipping and sliding on the ice as we went (or at least Kasper and Mack did, Colin lucked out with the sure-footed horses).

Now before I go any further, let me say this: it was BEAUTIFUL. The snow was gorgeous in forest as we ascended. Our horses are amazing. Note that we have with us our three youngest riding horses and our foreign exchange student, Mack. The four them were so wonderful riding through the weather and the dark on the strange icy trail. If I ever sell any of them their asking price has instantly risen by $500!

About 30 minutes later we had ascended the mile and a half up the hill and saw what we hoped was the farm. With no barn in sight, and between the wind and the snow there was actually no driveway to be seen either, we realized we really had no idea where our destination might be. Luckily, we had regained cell reception, and were able to call Allie. Asking her to flash the lights in the house so we might know if we had indeed found her, we saw a flicker ahead of us and pulled into the driveway.

Horses are tucked in tie-stall style into two stalls, fed, watered, blankets replaced. We descended with the car and picked up the rest of our supplies and the trailer will spend the night at the base of the hill and we will again ride back down in the morning.

All tucked in

Part 2: A Reasonable Return

After a nice breakfast at the Brooktondale Fire Department Pancake Breakfast, we returned to the farm take a nice trail ride before we had to head back to Painted Bar for evening lessons. We tack up and head out, and as we turn the corner around the house we were blasted in the face with quite the blustery wind.

Overnight the wind significantly picked up. The snow fell horizontally. But Allie seemed excited that "this wasn't a windy day." The farm was most appropriately named Tailwind Farms because the wind was seriously strong enough to move a house. While the horses were obviously a little more "uppity" than usual because of the cold they all did very well and we completed our short little loop around the fields and returned back to the house to pack up the car to ship our stuff back to the trailer.

Car en route with one of Allie's friends, we saddle up again. Allie on Kasper, Erika on Mack, Colin on Tally and Allie's friend Missy on Scotch. The ride back down the hill was quite pretty but the trail continued to be quite slick with a sheet of ice under the 5 inches of snow. We had some slipping here and there, mostly by Mack who sat down only once, but we safely and calmly descended to our trailer and found our gear waiting for us.

Riding back down the hill

About 15 minutes later horses were on the trailer and Erika backed the trailer back down to Route 79. Allie, showing off Seneca's blaze orange vest, directed traffic on the highway as we backed the trailer into the road and homeward bound we went.