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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.