EQUUS

How are your knees?

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

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

The Editors

Active, older horses

EQUUSeditorial — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:25:30 GMT

The November issue of EQUUS features an article about fitness programs for older horses. Do you have a horse in his 20s that is still active and athletic? We'd like to hear your experiences, stories and tips.

The Editors

Lazy or resistant horse?

EQUUSeditorial — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:29:25 GMT

The August issue of EQUUS features a story by Susan Harris on how to get lazy or resistant horses to move forward. Have you had any luck motivating a slow mover? How did you do it?

Looking for a print....

cowboywaltz — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:20:07 GMT

A horse called King’s Own was ridden into unofficial history in the 1940s by Fred Wettach Jr. - there is a VERY famous photograph of this jump.... I would like very much to find a good, clear, "high-definition" print of this photograph, suitable for framing as a gift for a friend who loves jumpers. If anyone can direct me to a place where I can purchase same, it would be MUCH appreciated - email me directly at cowboywaltz@gmail.com if you have any ideas! Thanks!

SEPT. 2009 ISSUE: THE CASE AGAINST EQUINE SLAUGHTER

tlrobertshsnt — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:50:11 GMT

Good morning sir. I am really hoping that this is a good email address for you and that it reaches you. I am the lead humane investigator for the Humane Society of North Texas. I am sure you will receive a wonderful response to your article in the September issue of EQUUS, and I wanted to take the time to personally thank you for such a well written look into this very controversial issue in Texas. I was an animal control officer in Indiana for about 6 years before moving to Texas almost 3 years ago, and the issues of horse cruelty and neglect were no where near the numbers that are right here in horse country.

Our organization has taken in over 500 horses in the past two years, and most people's opinion regarding this is due to the loss of slaughter houses. I, being open minded on so many issues, am not of the same accord regarding this issue. We are still having to seize animals for neglect, as opposed to the thousands of stray cats and dogs that are brought in each year because of unwanted litters, and lack of spay/neuter for these animals. We are not seeing loose horses roam the neighborhoods, and people are not willing to give away their horses 'for free' to families that are willing to care for them.

I strongly agree that the reason we are seeing so many horses die of neglect and starvation, is not because people have no other solution due to slaughterhouses closing, we are seeing them because the people that will break the law and will treat animals cruelly not matter what, have no where to HIDE these animals that they were starving. I get into many heated discussions with law enforcement regarding this situation....I never win.

Your article was truly an inspiration to me and I am so grateful that there are so many other people out there with the same beliefs that I share. We need another solution.

We spend a lot of time educating people, taking feed to them when they are in a bind and we euthanize for free, when the owners have no other option. I have been working on a program through our organization that will hopefully make a difference in our community. Thank you for your words and I hope it reaches out to so many other people that initially thought that slaughter was the answer to this problem of abuse and neglect.

equus article the natural

melanie ward — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:45:23 GMT

I would like to express my horror concerning the article the natural, published by Equus magazine.. How could a magazine dedicated to the the welfare of horses publish such an article, This horse was presented as a horse who loved being used as a bucking horse in rodeos. What a ridiculous statement. The rodeo is a cruel abusive practice. It should be outlawed.Animal rights supporters have been fighting it for years. Equus, shame on you for being so clueless, and supporting such an abusive practice.

Back-Saving Techniques

Jayne-Admin — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:24:41 GMT

The October issue of EQUUS magazine had an article on a topic near and dear to my heart -- "Back-saving techniques for horsekeepers"

I've put my back out lifting bales of hay, even hoisting a saddle on to a 16 hand back, so it's something I think about often!

The article offers tips on lifting hay bales and feed sacks and many other heavy chores around the barn.

Do you have a special Back-saving Tip to share with other horsekeepers?

Share your "Fall" stories

EQUUSeditorial — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:14:10 GMT

The October issue of EQUUS features an article by Susan Harris about regaining confidence after a fall. Have you ever had a riding accident or experience that left you so shaken you didn't know if you could get back in the saddle? How did you regain your confidence?

The EQUUS editors

Sept 2009 Equus Editorial: The case against equine slaughter

mousemistresz — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:36:00 GMT

Kudos to Craig DiBenedictis for his outstanding editorial, "The case against equine slaughter" featured in the Sept 2009 issue of Equus Magazine. Finally, a major horse magazine such as Equus has the courage to print the truth about horse slaughter! Mr. DiBenedictis' article reflects the sentiments of the majority of Americans and American horse owners. Thank you for being the voice of so many of us who are fighting to stop this tragedy, and for our American horses who continue to suffer the brutality that is horse slaughter. Horse slaughter needs to end, now.

blind eye color change

jilloconnor — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:37:39 GMT

I have a 25 year old gray gelding who has been blind in one eye for about 10 years. He has recurring Uveitis from any injury prior to when I bought him. I keep his eyes shaded and about once or twice a year have to put him on eye drops for slight boughts of irritation. Overall he has been ok. He gets checked every 2 months or more if need be. His eye has been clouded and gray for the last 5 years. Almost milky colored. Last week I put him on the drops as his eye seemed irritated. Pink and swollen. Also a little bute. All of a sudden the eye has become dark and almost normal in color. I know he still cannot see out of it but I am wondering why after all these years the color would change? If you looked at him today you would not take a second look.........it looks the same as the other eye. Any information would be appreciated. I am just curious as to what is creating this change. I haven't been doing anything different.

When "nerves" are contagious (Sept 2009)

arabpaso — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:19:30 GMT

I have no doubt the research findings in this article are accurate, however it doesn't always seem to apply. My horse is a prime example--there have been days out riding when I felt nervous and he was calm and cool. Other days I was calm and he would keep wanting to go, go, go and shy at everything. This has happened so consistantly I am beginning to think that with my horse at least the opposite is true--he senses when I'm stressed that he needs to "take care" of me, but when I am relaxed he knows he can "get away" with something!!

Arena footing

EQUUSeditorial — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:03:58 GMT

In our July issue, we explore what horses might want in arena footing. Now
we'd like to know what you think. What sort of footing do you have in your
riding arena? What do you like best about it? What don't you like? If you could
have any type of footing, what would you choose?

Lamitis

Smoky Joe — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:44:21 GMT

My mare is 16 yrs old and has developed lamitis. I have had her shod with the round rubber shoes and she is given

Frank Lampfrey's formula for lamitis 3 times a day. Now my vet tells me to take off her shoes and let her go barefoot. He also suggests she should be exercised more, even tho she is quite sore on that right front foot.

Has anyone had experience with lamitis and what did you do to combat this? I keep her trimmed as suggested.

Thank you for any recommendations.

Smoky Joe

Index of Suspicion

Jdorward — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:24:05 GMT

Read with interest the Tellington-Jones article "Good Reasons for Bad Behavior" (Oct/06). I didn't start riding until I was forty years old, and was able to learn to ride and show a Thoroughbred in hunter classes. When we wanted a quiet family horse for our farm, we acquired Prince, a 13 year old quarter horse gelding, from a pack station. He seemed to have some good training on him, but no "voice brakes." He just kept going through "whoa," like he didn't hear it. Several times the kids had to ride him into the fence to get him to stop. He also startled many times when we walked up to him and put a hand on him (even though we spoke to him as we approached.) More than once the neighbors came and told us that Prince was dead- he was lying flat out and didn't move when they yelled at him. Several times we suspected that he didn't hear, but he pointed his ears (at what he saw?) and functioned in our herd without any difficulty. Because of the ear pointing and low index of suspicion it took us several years to figure out that he is totally deaf. Now that we realize his deafness, we are able to interact with him more usefully and he is so much more relaxed. Our farrier says that he "glows from happiness" that someone finally understands him.

Judy Dorward

Heart Rate Variability

Anne Perkins — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:08:09 GMT

I was very excited to read about HRV as a tool to predict breakdowns in race horses. I am familiar with the work of HeartMath a company that is using HRV as a biofeedback mechanism for teaching humans how to call into play their parasympathetic nervous system. HeartMath has made many claims about its value for humans in reducing "bad stress". I am an endurance rider. I love my equine partners and ride with a Polar heart monitor all the time to monitor cardiovascular work. At endurance rides the heart rates need to return to 60-64 before a rider is allowed to go back out on the trail. Veterinarians conduct an exam at least three times during a 50 mile ride, I believe that HRV vs HR might be even better for helping endurance riders know if thier horses are in trouble. I am trained in both animal behavior and physiology and would love to conduct a research project using HRV and endurance horses. How can I learn more? Dr. Anne Perkins, Director of Human-Animal Bond Program at Carroll College.

Horse Anatomy

KiwiGal — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:20:59 GMT

Hi team, I've just joined, mainly to thank Emily Kilby (if she's still around!) for the detailed info on the endocrine system. I have a very good book on all the physical workings of the horse and couldn't find the thymus; now I know why - apparently a horse doesn't have one! On the other hand, my book mentions the pineal and Emily doesn't (unless I missed it). I do BodyTalk and AnimalTalk (www.bodytalksystem.com) - and as far as I'm concerned it's the be-all-and-end-all for humans, animals, plants .. all that is energy. It is a real Down Under collaboration; created by an Australian, John Veltheim, after a New Zealander, Tracy Livingston (who is now one of his senior instructors) saved his life with a natural body-chemistry technique and which is now part of the BT Protocol.

Since a horse doesn't have a navel or a thymus, which is very important in human BodyTalk, I shall go back to my BT community for more info. I am so grateful for the Internet! I Googled - and your site came up.

Green Horsekeeping

EQUUSeditorial — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:42:59 GMT

The August issue of EQUUS features an article on making your farm environmentally friendly. What steps have you taken, or would like to take, to make your horsekeeping greener?

Bits

Indy Carol — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:37:11 GMT

I'm wondering if we could have a discussion about bits.

Personally, I've never used them on my horses - never have, never will. I do have "bit experience" through all my years of lessons, working with another person's horse, etc. On my own horses I used to use mechanical hackamores, then switched to a rawhide bosal, and am now a believer in the "Indian bosal". I purchased one from Debbie Hanson of Crazy Ropes, and it works beautifully on my little molly mule ( a fairly head strong 2 year old - she loves this bosal). I'm very satisfied with this bosal and will stick with it. I try to follow a more natural way of riding (bareback is my favorite style, too : )

My question is - why are bits made of metal? The bars are sensitive - skin over bone - so why develop something so strong for such a sensitive area? I am in no way trying to tick anyone off or start a controversy - just a discussion about bits and the alternatives to bits. (And I admit to my lack of knowledge of bit history.)

I know there are many reasons why people use bits. On the extreme - some folks want a quick control device rather than a complete base of training and trust with a horse - they rely on devices and equipment, and over time, they eventually wind up with some rather scary-looking "contraptions". Some folks use the mildest bits on the market (I've seen ads for nylon bits) to be as kind to their horses as possible with a bit, or because they are heavy handed and want to give their horse a break. Some folks use a particular bit to encourage high head carriage, quick stopping power, etc.

I am having great success training my mule without a bit. I know many others have the same success.

So many problems can arise from poor bitting. I'm interested to hear what other people use and why they chose that particular bit/bosal/etc., and if they have considered using something other than a metal bit.

Thank you!

breeding race horse filly

sandy scott — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:12:12 GMT

hi my name is mrs scott of ky and i was wanting to know what they give fillys at age of 2 and above from going into heat at the track? im trying to learn alot about race horses and thinking of taking some courses online to get certified in breeding and groomering . thanks sandy scott ky

Halloween on Horseback

Jayne-Admin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:28:31 GMT

If you haven't already seen it, there's a great article in the October issue of EQUUS which gives some cute ideas for Halloween costumes for your horse.

A barn I once boarded at had an annual Halloween costume contest and there were always a wide range of costumes, from simple paint-ons, to elaborate costumes made by talented seamstresses.

I thought it would be a good idea if we shared photographs of our horses in their Halloween or costume class finery here.

Post your photo in your reply

Mules and free-lunging

Indy Carol — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:18:35 GMT

Hi, everyone,

this is one for you mule folk out there. I'm new to the mule world - just got a sweet Molly this week. I've been doing my research, but I'd like to post this quesion to you all:

have you done any free-lunging with your mules?

I love this form of exercise and find it one of the finest ways to communicate with your horse, and bond. I am just not sure if this would startle my mule or if she would enjoy it. She's 2 years old, so needs to have some fun and some exercise (she's had a good start in her training, but I'm waiting until we know each other better, and give her time to grow, before we head out on the trails).

I'm grateful for any replies!

Carol

Lipinzzaners

googles12 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:30:53 GMT

Hey Guys!

I just found out that I also have to do one on the the history of the White Lipinzzaners. So I will need info on them as well if you know of any..also I need to know for an online report I am doing...How do you make links to differant websites and such?

Sorry for so many Qs on here but I really need some help!

Thanks Guys

Thoughroughbred

googles12 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:10:34 GMT

Hello all,

I have to do a report on thouroughbreds due to a extra-curricular horse class I take. I was wondering if anybody had a good "meaty" place where I can find some general info to look at. I already know alot about the breed ( obviously) But we have to do a kind of report where I need info

Please just put a link to a place you think I could get some

Thank you!

-googles12

Follicular Dysplasia

silntluv72 — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:47:47 GMT

I found the article that was posted in EQUUS before and wondered if anything new has come of this subject in horses. I own a black/white tobiano paint mare, she's now 10. She has this disorder and I've been battling it since I purchased her. I was never told she had this issue and she had all her hair when I did. She was badly sunburned and had white area's that were missing hair shaped in circles. the first year I owned her I put her on a very strict diet of hay (tri-mix), biotin, and trotter pellets. That next summer, she had 98% of her hair back. Each year has been different until the last two. One year she'd lose the white, the next the black, Now, it's steady that the black hair has not grown back. I'm just curious as to whether or not anything new has come out to help these poor animals with this problem. As a single mom, the care for her can get a bit expensive if she has a bad winter and drops weight from being cold, even blanketed all winter long and brought indoors. I've tried locating a forever home for her where she can stay retired and be well taken care of but to no avail. So, any suggestions or medical advice would be greatly appreciated. Biotin is highly expensive these days and I can't always afford to keep her on it steady... thanks for listening... and yes, there are beautifully colored horses out there with this problem... my baby girl has it...

New Equestrian College Recruiting web site

Bridget 1 — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:17:36 GMT

Equestriancollegerecruiter.com

They say necessity is the mother of invention, I could not agree more. The mother of a rising high school Junior, he and I were beginning the daunting task of figuring what to do about college. Having been a rider since conception it seemed very logical to us that a college scholarship just might be attainable. My good friend Denna Johnson runs the College Bound Invitational every year; this seemed like a logical place to start. The weekend was filled with a wealth of information and a chance to showcase my son’s talents in front of college coaches and it also offered the opportunity to meet with the college coaches as well. As much as this was a great experience, we did leave there feeling as if we did not reach a large enough audience. Some colleges in attendance were all women institutions, while others offered only NCAA women’s teams and of the colleges that where left for my son to choose from only SCAD offered the curriculum that my son Michael was interested in.

So now my wheels started turning, being the owner and operator of showtimehorsesales.com, a horse sales web site, I started to think of how our site building talents could ease the task of both college coaches and equestrian high school athletes to make that much needed connection. Equestriancollegerecruiter.com was born while the family was traveling in the truck and trailer to 4H Regional Finals in Lexington, VA. The website is a one stop location for athletes to post an academic and equestrian resume along with pictures and full video of them riding. To make it easier on the busy equestrian athlete we will be offering colleges a bio page as well, here the college can give a brief overview of their institution and there will be a link back to each college for more detailed information about their programs. In addition to the profile pages there are also pages full of important information regarding NCAA rules, the recruiting process, how to choose a college along with links to the IHSA and the NCAA official websites.

Some of the interesting things I learned doing this is that equestrian athletes need to realize that colleges are looking for all skill levels of riders from walk- trot thru USEF Medal riders. Also, they offer Huntseat Equitation both on the flat and over fences, Dressage, Western Horsemanship and Reining and there is even an International Jumper Competition at the college level.

We hope this site will prove to be an asset to all high school equestrian student athletes, college coaches, parents and even equestrian trainers who are assisting their long time students with the process of finding the perfect college. You are personally invited to peruse the site, your involvement is encouraged and your feedback more than welcome. Anyone with questions can contact Bridget or Mike Imparato at 352-746-5875