In captivity suffering the cruel and unusual punishment
of stall rest !
We’ve been busy around here lately. It seems I’ve had another one of those dreadful birthdays last Monday. No need for best wishes and all that claptrap, it’s over and done with. However, I’m just so excited that my birthday present was delivered yesterday I had to share. What’s the big deal, well it’s an arena drag I can attach to the Kubota. I’ve wanted this for a while now for the new indoor. Thanks dear, it’s really appreciated now that we’ve actually got footing!
Some of my friends and family probably think it’s sad that this is the sort of present that makes me happy. Not jewels, new cars, fancy clothes, flowers etc. I’m sure they think there is something majorly wrong with me. My three children also chipped in and gifted me with a new bridle for Dusty that I’ve been admiring…well, okay I’ve been hinting at. I can’t wait to try it out and see how she likes it. After all it was her birthday in the beginning of July too. A girl deserves some new tack once in a while.
Unfortunately, Dusty is still on stall rest for another week or so. The vet was out last week and x-rayed her foot. Seems she’s got about a 5% rotation in her coffin bone. I wasn’t too happy to hear about that but when she heals he feels it shouldn’t hinder her performance at all and she can do everything she did before. He suggested there might be a way to reverse shoe her that may even correct the rotation. The gut feeling around here is that she stepped on a rock and injured herself that way. It’s nothing metabolic and there is no laminitis suspected.
This all comes under the heading of “It figures”! Now that the arena is finally able to be used I have no horse to ride in it. Okay, I’m lying, that’s not exactly true. Rest up Blue cause we’re heading out this weekend.
Well it seems that most of the country is swamped by the heat and humidity of summer temperatures lately. I’ve found an article on a study that makes sense and validates what we’ve been doing for our horses in this miserable weather. Normally we hose the sweat from their bodies scraping them afterwards and at other times we sponge them with a cooling Vetrolin bath. In addition to their cooling baths we also add salt and/or electrolytes to the horses' feeds and also offer it free choice to make sure they're getting enough in hot weather. (we have automatic waterers so adding it to their water wouldn't work).
Unfortunately, there haven’t been many days that riding would be enjoyable for either the horses or ourselves so we’re kind of in limbo here until the weather cools. Normally, I don’t like to reprint articles because it seems a little lazy or like cheating. I feel my addled brain should come up with subjects that are original, however, I thought this article was timely and perhaps might be helpful.
Summer Riding: When the Rider is Hot, the Horse is Hotter
By: University of Guelph
A hot humid day. One rider. One horse. Both are exercising at a moderate level. Who is more likely to overheat? It might surprise you to know that your horse gets hotter, much faster than you and is more susceptible to the negative effects of heat stress.
Michael Lindinger, PhD, MSc, an animal and exercise physiologist at the University of Guelph, explains: "It only takes 17 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in hot, humid weather to raise a horse's temperature to dangerous levels. That's three to 10 times faster than in humans. Horses feel the heat much worse than we do."
And the effects can be serious. If a horse's body temperature shoots up from the normal 37 to 38°C to 41°C (98.6 - 105.8°F), temperatures within working muscles may be as high as 43°C (109.4°F), a temperature at which proteins in muscle begin to denature (cook). Horses suffering excessive heat stress may experience hypotension, colic, and renal failure.
Lindinger, a faculty member in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, became interested in the effects of heat on horses when he was a lead researcher on the Canadian research team that contributed information on the response of the horse to heat and humidity for the Atlanta Summer Olympics. He recently presented a workshop on the topic at Equine Guelph's outdoor Equine Expo held June 4 at U.G.'s Arkell Research Station.
Horses are more susceptible to heat for several reasons, explains Lindinger. First, they are larger and have a higher percentage of active muscle than people do during exercise. When muscles are being used, they produce a lot of heat.
Horses also rely to a significant extent on sweating to cool them off. They can sweat 15 to 20 litres per hour in cool, dry conditions and up to 30 litres per hour in hot, humid conditions, but only 25-30% of the sweat produced is effective in cooling the horse by evaporation.
"Because so much more sweat is produced than can be evaporated, the rest just drips off the horse's body," says Lindinger. "By comparison, up to 50% of the sweat people produce is evaporated from our bodies during exercise and helps to cool us."
The salts in horse sweat are also four times as concentrated as in human sweat. Lindinger refers to a photograph of an area where endurance horses had been standing while their sweaty bodies were repeatedly scraped and cooled with water. As the liquids evaporated from the ground, the soil surface was left white because of the salt in the horses' sweat.
"Those salts have to be replaced," he adds. "Just giving the horse water will not rehydrate a dehydrated horse. When horses drink plain water, it dilutes their body fluids, and their bodies respond by trying to get rid of more water and more electrolytes."
Horses also pant to dissipate heat, but Lindinger says this is only effective if the air is at least five degrees cooler than the horse's body temperature.
His tips for protecting horses from the harmful effects of summer heat begin with teaching your horse to drink an electrolyte solution (water with the right proportion of salts dissolved in it) to replace sweat losses. "Start with a small amount in the water, allowing the horse to get used to the taste, and gradually increase it over days and weeks until you have reached the manufacturer's recommendation." Keeping your horse properly hydrated is the most important step in protecting it against the harmful effects of heat, he says.
If you're preparing for a competition, Lindinger recommends trying to acclimatize your horse to the heat by spending four hours daily, at least five days a week for three weeks, in hot conditions. For best results, exercise the horse for an hour during the second hour of each of those days.
"Many riders will train their horses in the mornings or evenings, when it's cool, then go to a competition held during the hottest part of the day. You need to get horses used to being ridden in the heat and allow them to develop the full spectrum of beneficial adaptations that come with heat acclimation." Lindinger says that horses who have been through a process of heat acclimation will lose more heat through sweating and respiration and will be better able to stay hydrated because they are more likely to drink.
When your horse is hot, look for shade and breezes to help cool it down, but never use a blanket or "cooler" on a horse that is sweating, he adds, suggesting the best way to cool a horse quickly is to rinse the horse's body repeatedly with cold water and scrape off the excess water.
"You can cool the horse two degrees in 10 minutes this way: pour on the water, scrape it off, pour on more, and just keep repeating it," says Lindinger. "The scraping part is important because otherwise the water will be trapped in the horse's hair and will quickly warm up. By scraping and pouring on fresh, cold water you keep the cooling process going."
Just as equestrians pack a canteen of water, some sunscreen and a hat with a brim for summer riding adventures, Lindinger says they should also equip themselves with the tools needed to protect their horses from the heat and humidity. If you prepare your horse in advance and have a plan to cool him down if he becomes overheated, he says, even the hot, muggy days of summer can be great riding fun.
--Teresa Pitman, University of Guelph
Until next time
Quote for Today
You can lead a horse to water but you can't stop him from rolling in it
Recently I was doing some research on sitting trot and came across this article below. The research was simply because I wanted to see how Dusty’s conformation would be able to withstand the sitting trot. She has a rather long back and she’s not yet totally fit. I’d like her back to muscle up a little more and be able to carry the saddle’s weight and me easily. She’s a tank but still I’d like to make sure sitting trot would be comfortable for both of us. We haven’t been able to do as much fitness work this summer as I’d like. This is mainly due to the fact that it’s just been too hot and humid to ride and she’s also got an injury at present that has sidelined her activities for a while. I found the following study interesting and will take it into account when we’re able to get back to our normal activities again. Hope you find it interesting/helpful as well.
A rising trot is less loading to a horse's back than a sitting trot, producing less vertical force as measured through new biomechanical techniques, according to Dutch researchers.
From the kinematic data of 13 riders on two horses, scientists were able to determine that two force peaks are present during each trot stride. Calculations of the rider's center of mass acceleration as it varied during the stride were used to find the reaction force between the rider and the horse's back. Comparisons revealed that for both peaks, the force was significantly lower in the rising, or "posting," trot than in the sitting trot.
Earlier research by the same group compared the horse's back extension at the trot under a rising rider, a sitting rider, and an empty saddle. They observed in the rising trot, when the rider's seat is up, the horse's back is less extended than it is during a sitting trot. However, when the rider's seat is down in the rising trot, the horse's back extension is similar to the extension seen during the sitting trot.
A horse and rider evaluated in the study; the "lights" are the biomechanical markers.
"Biomechanical models have shown that the back of the horse will extend more if extra load is applied to the back," said Patricia de Cocq, MSc, DVM, researcher at the Experimental Zoology Group of the Animal Sciences Group in Wageningen, The Netherlands, and primary author of the studies. "The latest research shows that the two peak forces we are seeing in the rising trot are the up and down positions of the rider. Our measurements show that both peaks are less strenuous for the horse, mechanically speaking.
"However, the fact that the back is less extended in the up position means that this is where the real practical benefit lies," she said.
This would support the conclusions by the Austrian team led by Christian Peham, PhD, published earlier this year, de Cocq said. That study showed that the rising trot is less demanding for the horse's back than the sitting trot, but that the least demanding position is for the rider to maintain a raised position in the stirrups ("two-point seat").
De Cocq's research used the movements of the rider to calculate the force of the rider on the horse's back, as opposed to an electronic saddle measuring device that might cause data variation, she said.
All these conclusions do not mean riders should abandon the sitting trot, however, de Cocq said. Good training and muscle building can allow a mature horse to manage the added force.
"Young horses or those with back problems would be best trained with a rising or two-point seat until they develop the strength to carry a rider," she advised.
Until next time
Quote for Today
Horseback riding is life, the rest is just details.
This is a picture I took this morning around 8 o'clock. It seems we have been waking up to this hazy, hot and humid weather every day for a few weeks. The temperatures are always hovering about 90 degrees or above. Obviously, it's not conducive to working either horses or humans.
Dusty was very lame this morning and the general consensus is that she either has a bad stone bruise or is working on an abscess. She's resting in her stall today. Mellon was allowed out to graze, under supervision of course, while his stall was mucked out. His leg is healing nicely from his torn tendon injury. He still behaves like a 5 year old not like a 22/23? year old horse and that is how he keeps injuring himself. Other than that we're getting through the weather here one day at a time.
Here are some morning pictures before we brought the horses in to spend the day under their fans. We'll put them out again tonight when it's cooler and less buggy. They'll all get showers when they're settled in. I may just turn the hose on myself too!
' Misty and Muggy'
'Grady apparently rolled in the mud after the thunderstorm last night'
'Donnie'
'Nothing phases Blue as long as he's eating'
'Nate hiding out in the shed'
'Sweetie chowing down'
'Sami keeping mom company'
'Mellon and Nate doing their morning groom-fest routine'
' Dusty giving me her "You're annoying me again look"
The remaining pictures are of Mellon grazing,visiting and exploring
Until next time
Quote for Today
Kissed by sunlight, embraced by open fields. The horse is the center of all beautiful things.
My whole life as a woman I can remember being referred to as the weaker sex. Over the years I’ve come to disagree and resent being placed in this category simply because I am female. There have been many times that I’ve thought women were a lot tougher than men, mostly pertaining to dealing with horses. How many women have you known in your life (including yourself) who have been hurt unintentionally by horses? The occasional stomp on the foot, perhaps resulting in a broken toe, a horse’s head swinging into yours giving your brain a good rattle and hum are just a few of the minor inconveniences that come to mind. If you count various broken bones, back and knee issues, or how some of us work through arthritis and daily aches and pains, it becomes clear that we sustain substantial injuries over time working with or around horses. And yet, we forge ahead and ride once more when we are able to get a foot in the stirrup. Indeed, we still get ourselves out there to ride or feed or muck in the most extreme weather, regardless of injuries or illness. My feeling is that there are not too many of us women who sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. Some non-horsey people most likely think we are crazy and maybe we are a teensy bit guilty of that. But the partnership and love we have for our horses goes soul – deep; they are a part of us, making us willing to deal with our infirmities and simply consider them daily inconveniences. Wishing for our stronger and more athletic bodies of youth that we’ll never get back is futile and we know it. However, learning to adjust to the way we are now is a challenge that we are, without a doubt, capable of confronting head on. Why? Because we are not the weaker sex; we deal with situations that occur day by day and rise above the pain simply to enjoy the time spent with our horses. Why? It’s a very simple answer really: if you have never loved a horse and been loved back you will never understand the connection you can have to an animal with a beautiful soul—a gentle being who asks nothing of you except respect and kindness in return for all they bring to our ordinary lives. The weaker sex …indeed! Until next time Quote for Today The love for a horse is just as complicated as the love for another human being...If you never love a horse, you will never understand.
Recently, I came across this article and thought it was interesting and informative. I'm always trying to learn how horses minds work and this article on spooking caught my eye. Any new information, especially pertaining to spooking since I had the spookiest grey horse on the planet, is a plus for me. I've added this particular article to my knowledge base on how horses think and why they behave the way they do. Hope you enjoy the article.
Study Explores How Horses View the World
by: Multiple Authors
On the trail, in the dressage arena, at the racetrack, on the cross-country train--wherever horses may be, we've all seen it: the "Spook"--that sudden, bolting reaction of shock so particular to our equine friends. It might be because some animal runs up, or some object is blown in by the wind, taking the horse by surprise. But sometimes it's just something you're sure they've seen many times before--so why spook about it now? New research at the Aptos, California-based Equine Research Foundation (ERF) now has answers to that question.
According to Evelyn B. Hanggi, MS, PhD, co-director of the ERF, one theory about spooking is that objects appear different to horses when viewed from various angles. Hence, a mailbox, a sign, or a pile of bars could take on new characteristics when viewed from another side. "What we wanted to know was whether the horses could understand that the parts equal the whole," she said.
Hanggi believed they could. "If not, they would spend much of their time spooking and running away from everything," she said.
To test her theory, she established an experiment in which horses were trained through positive reinforcement to select one of two toys: a lizard rather than a dinosaur; a mower instead of a wheelbarrow; and a tractor instead of a truck. Initially these objects were always placed in the same position. But once the horses were well-trained, Hanggi started rotating the objects to see if they could still identify the "correct" choice. Positions included backward, sideways, and upside-down.
The results indicated that, overall, the horses immediately recognized the objects from many novel viewpoints, although results varied from one horse to another, and some rotations were more difficult to recognize than others, Hanggi said. Specifically, they performed best when the objects were upright instead of upside down.
"This suggests that the horses were using specific, familiar features that they learned initially in the training, when making their decisions," said Hanggi. "Their ability to perform correctly appears to be crucially linked to being allowed to observe and learn about the objects first."
The results suggest that horses that are allowed to look around and discover, whether under saddle or at rest, will be more apt to recognize objects from different angles later and might be less likely to react adversely to them, she said.
Prior ERF research has already disproved another possible explanation for spooking: the theory that horses do not recognize objects with one eye that they had previously seen earlier with the other eye only, Hanggi said.
I received this from my cousin this morning in my e-mail. It had me spitting my tea out when I read it. Since it’s Friday and there’s not much happening around here I thought some of my older blogger friends might find this amusing. And for my younger friends, just be thankful you don’t have to worry about the Black Market Organ Thieves yet.
Heed The Warning!!
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR MY FRIENDS: you’ve heard about people who have been abducted and had their kidneys removed by Black-Market organ thieves. My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs. It was just that quick! The replacements had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? I spent the entire summer looking for my thighs. Finally, hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans. And then the thieves struck again.
My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear-end to the thighs they had stuck me with earlier. But my new butt was attached at least three inches lower than my original! I realized I'd have to give up my jeans in favor of long skirts.
Two years ago I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and was horrified to see the flesh of my upper arm swing to and fro with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary - my body was being replaced one section at a time. What could they do to me next?
When my poor neck suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a turkey neck, I decided to tell my story. Women of the world wake up and smell the coffee! Those 'plastic' surgeons are using REAL replacement body parts - stolen from you and me! The next time someone you know has something 'lifted', look again … was it lifted from you?
THIS IS NOT A HOAX! This is happening to women everywhere every night.
WARN YOUR FRIENDS!
P. S. Last year I thought someone had stolen my boobs. I was lying in bed and they were gone! But when I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept. Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.
Thought this was too 'important' not to pass on. Have a wonderful day - with a joy filled heart. Always remember to laugh!! Helps the heart AND the wrinkles!!
p.p.s. Those same thieves snuck into my closet and shrank my clothes! How do they do it????
Have a great weekend.
Until next time
Quote for Today
What has two ears, four legs, and a frog? - A Horse!
Today is Dusty's birthday, so a very Happy Birthday Dusty! Of course, there will be lots of treats for her today. There will be no work because, after all, who wants to work on their birthday? And the weather is miserable. This heat wave has got to blow out of here soon. No one should have to wear a saddle when it's over 90 and humid.
In the past year, Dusty and I have come a long way from where we started. She and I have used many different training techniques/activities to get where we are now. At times it is slow going and repetitive, but patience is the key to a well trained,willing horse. We are working on forming a solid partnership and I hope that some day she will form a connection with me. So far that has not happened on her end, unless you count how cute she can be when waiting at the tack room door after her lesson for a Stud Muffin treat. She's a very independent mare and earning her trust may or may not happen any time soon.I believe that she does like the attention she's receiving from me. Then again, due to her celebrity status around here, would anything less be fair to her delicate sensibilities?
In conclusion, Id like to congratulate her on being such a smart girl and having a more than adequate work ethic. I was joking the other day with my daughter during our lesson, and said, " If by some chance we ever do go to a show, I think her show name should be "Curb Your Enthusiasm"!
Just a short post to fill everyone in on the goings on around here. The contractor has agreed to pay for the tractor repairs. The tractor company hasn’t picked it up yet but will next week. The contractor and crew have primed the doors to the barn, finished leveling the sand in the arena and in general have been doing all the little finishing touches that need to be done. So we’re almost there. We have contacted two companies that have a substance that would coat the sand and keep the dust down and doesn’t require watering. If anyone has ridden in arenas or know if these products are good please let me know. The products I’m thinking of using are Arena Kleen or Arena Rx.
I took Dusty into the indoor arena to familiarize her with being inside. We walked around the whole arena while she looked out the windows and investigated the sand with her nose. She hasn’t been in too many indoors in her life and the times she was she wasn’t particularly impressed. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the few times she unseated me by rounding a corner at a trot, stopping dead and running backwards rather fast. I wasn’t ready for the awkward sudden change of direction and came off. This was when she was five years old and hadn’t been ridden more than a few times. Let’s hope she’s a little more mature now and can rationalize working indoors. Except that, after her antics today, I’m not so sure she’s changed her thinking about being indoors. We lunged her for a bit after her walk around and she was very excited. There was no way she was going to walk calmly, and the trot wasn’t there either. However, she did a very animated unauthorized canter in both directions with lots of bucks thrown in for good measure. It sort of validated my decision to not jump on her and walk her around for her first few times in there. I’m of the opinion that she’s in for a lot of walking around until she gets used to the idea that you are allowed to ride inside.
This morning (Saturday) Dusty and I worked on sitting and posting trot but no cantering, as she was being very fresh. Instead of doing cavelletti we concentrated on getting her relaxed and supple by doing bending lines on circles and figure eights. I feel it’s always good to go back once in a while and review what she already knows before continuing with new exercises. It gives her the confidence and inspiration to put her best hoof forward.
(Sunday) We got a short ride in today very early this morning. The heat and humidity around here is unbearable. Temps will hit 95 today and continue through the week. One of the main reasons I hate summer (besides the bugs) is the heat. I’m looking forward to the autumn. Dusty and I had a good ride; she was relaxed and bending, which made me think that it was the right decision to go back to basics with her yesterday. She did two beautiful canter transitions in each direction and we ended with that. I don’t think I will ride again until the heat breaks a little; I hate it and it’s unfair to her. I wouldn’t want someone throwing a heavy saddle on me and working me in this heat and I can’t imagine she does either. So she’ll have a few days off to think about what a good girl she was today.
On the medical front: Grady had his tendon sheath injected, the vets seem to think this may help him return to soundness. He’s on stall rest until Tuesday. Nate and Blue had their hocks injected Friday also, so they weren’t allowed out with the rest of the herd until Saturday night. So, along with Mellon, we had a barn full of laid up horses covered in bandages for Friday and most of Saturday. I’m thinking of painting a big red cross on the roof of the barn and renaming it a MASH unit.
Until next time
Quote for Today
I wake up every day determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day difficult. - E. B. White
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