May 21, 2013 6 Key Horse-Hunting Questions By Heidi Melocco with Julie Goodnight Looking for a new trail horse? Here are six key questions to ask the owner from top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight.
“Try to find the safest and best-trained horse your money can buy,” advises Julie Goodnight (shown). “You’ll love a horse that makes you feel safe.”
Photo by Heidi Melocco
When you’re hunting for a new equine trail partner, look for an experienced horse with a mellow, kind, forgiving attitude. For trail riding, also look for a horse that’s been out and about, hauled around a lot, and will enjoy the ride with you.
When you visit a prospect, ask the following questions before you mount up—and before you buy.
1. Why is the horse for sale? You’ll see the warning glances if there has been an issue or training problem with the horse. There are lots of legitimate reasons to be selling a good horse, but the answer to this question can possibly throw up some red flags. Trust your intuition.
May 21, 2013 The Equine Vaccine ChallengeHave you ever wondered why your dog gets a rabies shot every three years, but your horse must endure one every year?
Well, you’re not alone. Horse Journal Contributing Veterinary Editor Deb Eldredge DVM explains:
Talk to any dog or cat owner and they competently discuss titers, three-year vaccines and the Rabies Challenge Fund (www.rabies challengefund.org) whose goal is to get rabies vaccines approved for five to seven years for companion animals. My sheep get the exact same rabies vaccine as my equines (horses and donkeys). For the sheep, the vaccine is considered effective for three years, but for horses it’s just one year. More info...
May 21, 2013 Healthy, Safe TraileringWhat can you do to make sure you and your horse arrive safely and legally at your destination, and how can you ensure your horse is healthy and ready to tackle the show, trail, or whatever awaits?
Listen to this question and answer session about safe house trailering with Rebecca Gimenez, PhD and Catherine Kohn, VMD. More info...
May 13, 2013 Can Horses Recognize People and Voices? By Christa Lesté-Lasserre
Are horses really capable of recognizing their owners and their voices? Study results from a team of British behavior researchers suggest that horses really do appear to be capable of matching voices to faces when it comes to the humans they know.
“We already know that horses can discriminate between different human faces and between familiar and unfamiliar people, but this is the first time we have shown that they can associate the right voices with the right people,” said Leanne Proops, PhD, of the Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research group at the University of Sussex, in the United Kingdom. More info...
May 12, 2013 Start Now With Fly Prevention: 5 Ways To Keep Flies Under Control by Amy Herdy
Spring may be late in many parts of the country this year, but horse owners don’t want to be late with preventative fly control practices, according to Laurie Cerny, publisher of www.good-horsekeeping.com, a website devoted to practical horse care.
“You don’t want to wait until it’s 85 degrees out and with humidity to match to think about fly control,” Cerny said. “Early prevention is key to having fewer flies around your horses and stable this summer.”
Here are some things you can do now to be ready for fly season:
1. Harrow pastures (break up manure piles) and muck out dry lots or pens. This might also mean bringing in some new sand for areas that have been saturated with manure and urine. Stalls and run-in sheds should also be stripped of old bedding. Old manure, dirty bedding, and feces saturated soil will all attract flies and insects once the temperature increases. More info...
May 11, 2013 Use Caution when Fertilizing with Raw Horse Manure
For home gardeners, spring is a busy time of year and there’s never a tomato with more flavor than one grown to full ripeness on the vine. But there are also many safety precautions to follow to prevent contamination of fruits and vegetables with pathogens that cause serious foodborne illness.
Michele Jay-Russell, DVM, MPVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVPM, a veterinarian and research microbiologist at the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security and program manager of the Western Center for Food Safety, recently co-authored a study that highlights the need to be aware of the hazards associated with using raw animal manure to fertilize home gardens. The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Zoonoses and Public Health.
The basis for the study began in July of 2010 when a Shire mare from a rura More info...
May 8, 2013 Avoid Big Vet Bills By Juli S. Thorson
You can save $100s, even $1,000s on vet-care costs with simple changes to your everyday routine.
Illustration by June Brigman
You probably need no lessons on how to cut your everyday horse-care costs. As mandatory enrollees in The School of Struggling Economy, that's something we've all had to learn in the last few years. Many of us even have become A students in the subjects of scrimping, saving, and getting by. We could write term papers about buying bulk, giving shots on our own, and making old things last.
But there's one thing guaranteed to flunk just about anyone's carefully studied horsekeeping budget, and that's the unexpected big vet bill for a horse that's injured or ill. A single emergency farm call can run into hundreds, and ongoing crisis-care costs can come to resemble student loans-large, with lots of zeroes, and daunting, in terms of what it'll take to pay them off. More info...
May 2, 2013 Rolex 2013 Cross Country You have got to see this
May 2, 2013 Some great tips from Chris Cox Horsemanship about using your seat to communicate... By Cynthia McFarland with Chris Cox
Cue your horse by using a correct seat position.
Seat position #2: Sit in the center of the saddle seat upright on your seat bones, not rocked back on your pockets.
Photo by John Basseaux
“Your seat is your greatest aid in communicating with your horse,” says two-time Road to the Horse Champion and popular clinician Chris Cox of Mineral Wells, Texas. “Using your seat effectively can keep you from overusing your reins.
“As you begin refining your horsemanship, your first cue—whether you’re stopping, slowing or turning your horse—should always come from your seat, and then travel down and through your legs. Your hands should always give the lightest of your cues.”
As you fine-tune your seat position, keep your shoulders square and in line with your horse’s shoulders. Avoid unconsciously twisting your shoulders to one side, which puts you off balance.
Remove items from your back pockets, which can also offset your balance. Breathe deeply and evenly to enhance your balance and stability. More info...
Apr 28, 2013 How Horse Wounds Heal Erica Larson, News Editor
Whether large or small, serious or innocuous, all wounds follow a distinct and complex healing process. During the 2013 Western Veterinary Conference, held Feb. 17-21 in Las Vegas, Nev., one veterinarian reviewed how wounds heal and how owners can help facilitate healing.
"(Wounds are) a fascinating topic; you never know what you're going to come across," said Bimbo Welker, DVM, MS, a clinical associate professor in the Ohio State University (OSU) College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a practitioner at OSU's Large Animal Services, in Marysville, Ohio. More info...
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