Horseback Magazine December 2013

2 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE - December 2013 www.horsebackmagazine.com AN-49f (0113)

For stable coverage that makes sense, pick a winner. PROPERTY COVERAGE • Residences • Barns • Hay & Grain • Farm Machinery • Farm Products & Supplies• Tack

LIABILITY COVERAGE• Care, Custody & Control • Riding Instruction • Clinics • Boarding Liability • Shows • Carriage & Buggy Rides • Hay & Sleigh Rides • Umbrella

LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE

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Products and services may not be available in all states and eligibility requirements will apply. Personal and com-mercial lines insurance is issued by American National Property And Casualty Company (ANPAC®), its subsidiaries or a liates, including American National General Insurance Company, Paci c Property And Casualty Company (California), American National Lloyds Insurance Company (Texas), American National County Mutual Insurance Company (serviced by ANPAC®-Texas), and ANPAC® Louisiana Insurance Company (Louisiana). American National Property And Casualty Company is a subsidiary of American National Insurance Company. Life insurance and annuity products are issued by American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas.

www.horsebackmagazine.com December 2013 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 3AN-49f (0113)

For stable coverage that makes sense, pick a winner. PROPERTY COVERAGE • Residences • Barns • Hay & Grain • Farm Machinery • Farm Products & Supplies• Tack

LIABILITY COVERAGE• Care, Custody & Control • Riding Instruction • Clinics • Boarding Liability • Shows • Carriage & Buggy Rides • Hay & Sleigh Rides • Umbrella

LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE

One-stop shopping for your EQUINE

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Horse Sense.

To learn more about American National’s Insurance for Equine Operations visit:

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Products and services may not be available in all states and eligibility requirements will apply. Personal and com-mercial lines insurance is issued by American National Property And Casualty Company (ANPAC®), its subsidiaries or a liates, including American National General Insurance Company, Paci c Property And Casualty Company (California), American National Lloyds Insurance Company (Texas), American National County Mutual Insurance Company (serviced by ANPAC®-Texas), and ANPAC® Louisiana Insurance Company (Louisiana). American National Property And Casualty Company is a subsidiary of American National Insurance Company. Life insurance and annuity products are issued by American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas.

4 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE - December 2013 www.horsebackmagazine.com

© 2013 Purina Animal Nutrition LLC. All rights reserved.

Feed your horse’s liFestyle, not its age.Now there’s NutritioN for every stage of seNior.

They may be the same age, but their nutritional needs couldn’t be any more different. After all, walking around the pasture takes a different amount of energy than running around it. That’s why we’ve developed two distinctive senior feeds, based on more than 17 years of Purina senior equine nutrition research: Equine Senior® Active Healthy Edge® for active aging horses with good dental and digestive health, and Equine Senior®— the most vet recommended senior horse feed*—for horses with problems chewing and digesting.

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www.horsebackmagazine.com December 2013 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 5© 2013 Purina Animal Nutrition LLC. All rights reserved.

Feed your horse’s liFestyle, not its age.Now there’s NutritioN for every stage of seNior.

They may be the same age, but their nutritional needs couldn’t be any more different. After all, walking around the pasture takes a different amount of energy than running around it. That’s why we’ve developed two distinctive senior feeds, based on more than 17 years of Purina senior equine nutrition research: Equine Senior® Active Healthy Edge® for active aging horses with good dental and digestive health, and Equine Senior®— the most vet recommended senior horse feed*—for horses with problems chewing and digesting.

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Columns: 8 Horse Bites18 Why Are you Hitting Me? - Pat Parelli with Steven Long20 On the English Front - Cathy Strobel23 Whole Horsemanship - Dianne Lindig28 Tack Talk - Lew Pewterbaugh36 Foot Form Function - Pete Ramey50 Cowboy Corner - Jim Hubbard

PUBLISHER EDITORVicki Long Steven Long

NATIONAL NEWS EDITORCarrie Gobernatz

LIFESTYLE EDITORMargaret Pirtle832-349-1427

[email protected]

EVENTS EDITOR Leslie Greco

ADVERTISING OFFICES• CORPORATE OFFICE

(281) 447-0772 Phone & (281) 893-1029 [email protected]

• BRAZOS VALUE BUREAUDiane Holt(936) 878-2678 Ranch & (713) 408-8114 [email protected]

• GULF COAST BUREAUCarol Holloway - (832) 607-8264 [email protected]

• NORTH TEXASMari Crabtree - (216) [email protected]

• NEW MEXICO BUREAULaurie Hammer - (505)315-7842 [email protected]

Volume 20, No. 12 Horseback Magazine, P.O. Box 681397, Houston, TX 77268-1397, (281) 447-0772. The entire contents of the magazine are copyrighted December 2013 by Horseback Magazine. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Horseback Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and other material unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Horseback Magazine is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or management. Subscription rate is $25.00 for one year.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Horseback Magazine, P.O. Box 681397, Houston, TX 77268-1397. Fax: (281) 893-1029

Email: [email protected] Phone: (281) 447-0772

December 2013FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

We have spent the better part of two days digesting the results of a comprehensive survey conducted by the esteemed American Horse Publications, an industry group we have not joined but profoundly respect. Well into the data a little gem appeared

that bolstered something we have long believed.The survey question was: How do you prefer to receive your horse health information? A full 57.9 percent of respondents said they liked to get that information from short articles in print, followed by 40.3 percent who prefer to get it from long articles in print, and 28.7 percent who gather the information from online sources. All in all, this data tells us we are doing something right because Horseback’s equine health stories are found in all three categories in abundance. In the same survey the question was asked: Where do you get your horse health information?Magazines scored second only to veterinarians with more than 70 percent of respondents saying our genre was their first choice. Why? Because magazines in general, and Horseback in particular, provide the kind of long form journalism written by authoritative experts readers, particularly horse owners, have trusted for generations. As we head to a new year, it’s time to again pledge that our commitment to providing our readers with unvarnished fact will not change. But we also promise this. While we will continue to publish the serious stuff like comprehensive horse health articles, we darn sure plan to have a little fun along the way.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.Steven and Vicki Long

By Steven Long

Staff

Lifestyle:12 Holiday Gift Guide38 Real Estate Roundup 42 Barn & Garden

Where do you get your information?

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJim Hubbard, Steven Long, Vicki Long, Dianne Lindig, Roni Norquist, Pat Parelli,

Pete Ramey, Lew Pewterbaugh, Cathy Strobel, Cory Johnson, Margaret Pirtle

On the Cover: Peter Max original cover made for Horseback Magazine.

Cover Story:28 Charitable Equine Giving - Steven Long

Features:24 Peter Max - Taking it to the Max- Steven Long

www.horsebackmagazine.com December 2013 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 7

SOONER OR LATER, EVERYONE HAS A MIDLIFE CRISIS.

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minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, yeast cultures and digestive enzymes. For more information, visit

www.triplecrownfeed.com or call 800-451-9916.


11-Time World Champion Charmayne James Comes Out of Retirement to Compete for Biggest Payout in Western Sports History

Eleven-time World Champion, Charmayne James, has accepted an exemption invitation and will come out of retirement to compete in the barrel racing event during RFD-TV’s THE AMERICANon March 2, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. James dominated the sport of barrel racing from 1984 - 2003. She started riding horses by the age of three and running barrels by the age of six. At 14, she won the title of World Champion Barrel Racer and held the title for the next 10 consecutive years. She qualified for Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) every year of her decorated career, 19 consecutive years in total. In 1992, James was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. She retired from the sport in 2003. After 10 years of retirement, James now runs barrel horse clinics around the country and designs saddles and riding gear. She is among one of the most decorated female equine athletes of all time, with titles including; All Time Leading Money Earner, Barrel Racing’s First Million Dollar Cowgirl, First Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) member to earn the right to wear the number one on her back and is holder of more individual world championships than any other woman in professional sports when she retired. RFD-TV’s THE AMERICAN Rodeo will be held on March 2, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the richest rodeo in the history of western sports with a $2 million payout. The top-five winners from the semifinals will compete against the top 10 athletes after the PBR World Final standings and WNFR final world standings. The only other way to qualify for THE AMERICAN is a special exemption granted by RFD-TV.

“Horse Bites is compiled from Press Releases sent to Horseback Magazine. Original reporting is done as circumstances warrant.

Content is edited for length & style.”

Judge Finds Against Cloud’s Herd on Pryor Mountain in Questionable Ruling

A United States District Court judge ruled against The Cloud Foundation (TCF),

Front Range Equine Rescue and Carol Walker regarding the number of mus-tangs that can live on the Pryor Moun-tain Wild Horse Range in southern Montana and northern Wyoming. The plaintiffs also challenged the US Forest Service’s construction of a 2 mile-long fence built across a sub alpine meadow on the jurisdictional boundary between BLM and the Custer National Forest. The fence blocks horses from historic,

crucial grazing land. “We are currently studying the judge’s decision,” states Ginger Kathrens, executive director of TCF. “We will formu-late our strategy after we have thoroughly discussed options with our legal team.” When BLM reduces the number of wild horses it will manage on the range, it threatens the genetic viability of the herd. Equine geneticist, E. Gus Cothran Phd, who has studied the Pryor Herd since the early 1990s cautioned BLM managers of the PMWHR in his newest report issued on August 22, 2013. The report reveals a herd at risk of losing genetic variability. Cothran states that “compared to past sampling of this herd, variability levels for all measures has been in decline.” He further states that the expression of the Spanish heritage is “stronger than seen recently,” but we could be seeing “the very beginning of evidence of inbreeding.” Cothran advised that the population be increased if the range could support it. In the spring of 2013 The Cloud Foundation volunteers helped the BLM apply PZP to control population growth in the PMWHR with the shared goal of reducing the need for removals, however, unless crucial grazing land fenced off by the USFS is restored, as well as vital win-ter range once included in the designated Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area portion of the PMWHR, the current range size may not support a herd of the requisite 150-200 adults or more to ensure the ge-netic viability of this world famous herd.

Civil War Re-Enactment Mount Revived by Innovative New Regenerative Therapy

Ten-year-old registered Tennessee Walk-ing Horse gelding, ‘Ben’, and his owner are no strangers to the fields and former battlegrounds of Virginia’s Civil War re-enactments, but in November 2012, after a pasture-mate back home kicked Ben in his right foreleg, the real fight to keep him sound and performing began. After a long battle of lameness, and thanks to an inno-

vative new regenerative therapy called VIV8 from VIVREGEN, LLC, Ben is back on the re-enactment battlefield. Originally purchased in Septem-ber 2012 as a trail horse and Civil War re-enactment mount, Ben was a solid citizen until shortly before Thanksgiving last year, when he sustained a kick to his right front leg from another horse. His owner’s initial course of treatment, like

that of most, was to cold-hose the injury and wrap it. “It was a kick to the right carpus,” said M.W. Myers, DVM, at Deepwood Veterinary Clinic in Centreville, who first dispensed Surpass, a diclofenac ointment, and a furosemide/dexamethasone paste to reduce swelling. By early December, Ben’s lame-ness remained at 2 to 3 on a scale of 5 in his right front. “He was on pasture rest and it was noted that he would not take his right lead in the pasture,” Dr. Myers said. Come April, some swelling was still present so it was decided to bring Ben to the hospital for further evaluation. “Only fifty percent range of mo-tion was noted on his flexion and his lame-ness in the right fore still graded 3 out of 5,” Dr. Myers said. “Radiographs demon-strated an older lesion on the medial aspect of the carpus, likely due to his conforma-tion and show career as well as more recent inflammation in the swollen area of the carpus, with bony remodeling over the cra-nial medial area. The soft tissue component of the swelling was involving the extensor tendon.” At this point, Hylartin V and Vetalog were injected into his tendon sheath and around the swelling but “no im-provement was noted.” In June, Ben’s radiocarpal and middle carpal joints were injected with Gel50 “There was some improvement to this therapy… the lameness reduced to a Grade 2 out of 5.” Over the last 10 months, Ben had been through three dif-ferent courses of treatment but still showed unrelenting lameness. So on September 8, 2013, Dr. Myers decided to try a new regenerative therapy called VIVR8: “Ben had been re-examined and was remaining at a Grade 2 out of 5 lameness on the right fore, so his carpus was clipped and prepped for intra-articular injection. One vial of VIVR8 was reconstituted and injected into the articu-lar area.” The result was significant. “This case had a dramatic response to VIVR8,” said Dr. Myers. “Although carpal swelling was evident within 30 minutes, and en-larged in the first day, the swelling rapidly regressed with increasing comfort and re-turn to full use was evident by the fifth day. NSAIDs and ice pack were used during the five days to keep Ben comfortable. By Day Five the carpus had returned to original size and the range of motion had improved

Horsebites - Con’t. on pg. 10


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to approximately 70 percent of the original examination. Ben’s lameness reduced to a Grade 1 by Day 5.” After a few short weeks on VIVR8, Ben was sound to ride and use again, both on the trails and in Civil War re-enactments. He takes his right lead eas-ily under saddle and in the pasture.“There is still a Grade 1 of 5 lameness when he first begins work, but he warms out of it quickly,” said Dr. Myers. “Currently, Ben is sound to ride.”

Draft Horse Show Participating at RFD-TV’s THE AMERICAN’s Semifinal Rodeo

The best of six hitch horse teams from

across the country will gather in Mesquite, Texas at THE AMERICAN’s semifinal rodeo on February 22-23, 2014, to com-pete in a Draft Horse Show. These majestic creatures will move through the stadium in unison pulling historically restored freight wagons. Each draft horse weighs more than a ton and are maneuvered by the driv-er who handles them with six individual lines. The draft horse teams will be judged on presence, style, animation and how the team moves as a unit. Teams made up of bay and white Clydesdales, black and grey Percherons and sorrell Belgians will com-

pete for $100,000, the largest purse ever offered for a six horse hitch competition.THE AMERICAN is being closely coordi-nated with Professional Bull Rider’s (PBR) Iron Cowboy V, which will take place the day before THE AMERICAN on March 1, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Combined; the events are expected to bring over 100,000 fans and participants to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Tickets for RFD-TV’s THE AMERICAN are on sale at americanrodeo.com.

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ift Guide


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DID YOU KNOW...

Along with many English customs, after the American Revolution, Christmas fell out of favor. The first Christmas under America’s new constitution December

25, 1789 Congress was actually in session. Christmas was not declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870. Before the Civil War, the North saw Christmas celebrations as sinful, while in the South it was an important part of the social season. The first three states to make Christmas a legal holiday were Alabama in 1836, Louisiana & Arkansas in 1838.

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Letters to Santa!

There are many addresses, in which children can send their

letters to Santa. However, the Santa in Finland

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Santa Claus,Santa Claus Village,

FIN-96930 Arctic Circle,Finland

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HORSEBACK MAGAZINE: How does a horse see a human when that person is do-ing what he considers to be punishment for something the animal did wrong?PARELLI: Punishment of a prey animal makes them feel like you are acting like a predator. He will nip and strike out at us. There is a big difference between what pun-ishment is and what negative reinforcement is.HORSEBACK: I understand that differ-ence, but the person hitting a horse we’ve

all seen so many times clearly doesn’t get it. Not so long ago on a trail I saw an otherwise s e n s i b l e w o m a n s t r i k -ing her h o r s e a f t e r t h e animal d i d s o m e -t h i n g as com-mon as g e t t i n g loose from their owner to run away. When this individual did


Why are you hitting me?By Pat Parelli with Steven Long

Western...

catch the horse she was beating it with a rope across the withers. I suspect the horse had no idea what he had done wrong and why this predator was hit-ting him.PARELLI: Horses are zone specific animals. The zones of the horse are the nose, neck, torso, hips and tail. If a horse does something wrong in one of these zones and you specify punish-ment in another zone it doesn’t make sense to him.HORSEBACK: Okay, I’ve got that. PARELLI: Horses value safety. The important things to them are safety, comfort, and play. In or-der to make a horse feel safe, you have to give him three things; love, language, and leadership. It says in the Devil’s bible, “An idle horse is the Devil’s work-shop.” You must keep your horse busy and interested, and then you can make

hB

sure the negative things never, ever, happen.HORSEBACK: Keep him busy, huh? If the horse is engaged in doing some-

thing interesting to him it’s un-likely you will do something stupid like hitting him.P A R E L L I : Right. Our horses are well bred, well fed, and under exer-cised. Horses in the herd envi-ronment get all types of exercise. Pastured horses get exercise and interaction with their neighbors. They get physi-cal exercise when

they search for food and water, even if that food and water is right at home. They get mental exercise playing domi-nance games – the pecking order and through reproductive behavior. The

best leader whether mare or stud gets to procreate first.HORSEBACK: So what about that guy on the ground flailing away at his horse for something the horse suppos-edly did to him? What do we do? What should that person do?PARELLI: Americans usually get hurt and say, “What happened?” Then they attempt to punish the horse. Leader-ship is what horses are looking for, and very few humans exhibit the leadership quality to make horses feel safe. Some-one is going to be in charge, be it horse or human. To be a great leader we have to be mentally, emotionally, and phys-ically fit. When we aren’t, we take it out on the horse. To err is human. To blame it on the horse is more human.HORSEBACK: And being a leader in-volves discipline and respect.PARELLI: Experience tells us that horses need to be disciplined. One of my favorite sayings is “God help me be the human my dog thinks I am and my horse wants me to be.” One of the secrets instead of punishing your horse is to do less sooner – and more later.

“The most important thing for horses is safety,

comfort, and play.”


S L O W Feeding & Horses. . .

I am asked more and more lately about slow feeders for horses and whether or not our company is coming out with a slow feeder anytime soon. ProPanel Inc. has been manufacturing a slow feeder for nearly 20 years now right here in the USA. To understand slow feeding we need to understand how a horse is programmed to eat vs. how we would like them to eat. Horses are grazers by nature and if you take the time to observe them in a natural setting you will notice that their head is down and they are eating approximately 17 hours each and every day that feed is available to them. On average a horse will eat close to its own body weight each month. is is nature’s way of slow feeding. It has worked since the


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Imaginations run wild when you are young or even just young at heart. Riding bareback with the wind

blowing in your face while galloping down the beach on a beautiful steed; jumping monstrous obstacles before a crowded stadium of cheering spectators; riding through the woods on an incredibly steady mount who is also your best friend. These are the dreams of so many little girls, and big ones too! Holiday time can churn those wishful thoughts into hopes, dreams and sometimes, reality. Not a Christmas went by in my youth that I didn’t wake up and run immediately to my window to see if there was a horse tied up in the yard to surprise me. While the surprise that I hoped for never came, when I was twelve, my parents graced me with ten riding lessons, a velveteen helmet, a pair of rubber riding boots and a crop. You would have thought I had just won the lottery. The boots and helmet went on immediately and the beginning of a long career in horses was launched. I would have to say the lessons were my

“Holidays & Horses”favorite gift ever but it was closely rivaled with the spring horse I was given on my fifth Christmas. I spent countless hours on my “pony”, trotting down the road in my head and making up songs as I bounced up and down on my trusty steed. You may think the young horse lover in your life is just going through a phase but there could be a lot more to it. There is something about horses that

gets in your blood. Some people are born with it while others d i s c o v e r it later in life. One of the best things you can do for that horse crazy person is to test the waters at holiday time with a simple horse related gift. And then, of course, there are the confirmed horse addicts that can always give you a quick answer of the top ten items on their horsey wish list. If you need some help thinking of gifts for your equestrian, here are a few suggestions. For the horse lover who likes to read: Books about horses, both fact and fiction can thrill any age. You can

find illustrated stories for the younger set. The Saddle Club series is wonderful for the young reader. Classics such as Misty of Chincoteague or National Velvet or The Black Stallion series are fun. For educational books, my personal favorite for the kids is Happy Horsemanship by Pinch. It teaches kids about horses with very simple verbiage. George Morris’ book on Hunters and Hunter Seat Equitation is a classic for the active hunter rider or Sally Swift’s Centered Riding that applies to every rider. And there are always

the beautiful coffee table books with incredible artwork and photography for the horse lover who has it all. There are thousands of books to choose from to satisfy the taste of anyone. For the non-rider, use your imagi-nation. Movies about horses such as The Black Stallion, Wild Hearts Can’t be Bro-ken or National Vel-

vet are fun. Breyer horses and other horse related toys are irresistible to most horse crazy kids. Jewelry, belts or clothing with an equestrian theme are sure to please most horse lovers. Household goods such as candle hold-ers, plates, coffee mugs, wine charms, holiday ornaments, blankets, throws or artwork can be found in tack shops or any number of catalogues and websites


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Cathy Strobel has over 30 years of experience as a trainer, judge & clinician she can be reached at Southern Breeze Eq. Ctr. at (281) 431-4868 or www.sbreeze.com

hB

Free pick up & delivery in the San Antonio area, with 3 blankets or more!

Send To: BANDERA EQUINE VALET 2687 Winans Creek Road, Bandera, TX 78003

(830) 328-0321 or [email protected]

V A L E T

that cater to the horse crowd. For the avid rider, you might consider a crop, lunge whip and lunge line, new helmet, boots, gloves, saddle pad, boot socks, half chaps, show jacket, show shirt, breeches or just a pair of warm riding gloves and a winter hat to wear to the barn. For the horse owner, you can always splurge on a new saddle or bridle or a more conservative gift such as grooming tools, a new set of clippers or colorful splint boots. A new leather halter with a name plate is always nice, too. Don’t forget the horse’s comfort either. This is the time of year when blankets are likely to be in full use. If a new one would be beneficial, make sure you know the size and weight needed and check to see if a stable or turnout blanket is preferred. Accessories for a horse trailer such as new trailer ties, a corner water container, or a new shovel and broom for cleaning out the trailer might be greatly appreciated. For the do-it-yourself horse keeper, how about a new pitchfork or wheelbarrow to make the daily chores more pleasant? A new feed tub or

storage container, water trough or stall guard could be a winning gift. And then, there is the ultimate gift; a new horse. However, you need to know what you are doing and perhaps enlist the help of a knowledgeable horseman if you plan to surprise your loved one with a horse. And don’t forget to budget for the stabling and care of the horse once it is given. If you have a big budget, you might even consider a new horse trailer with the proper vehicle to pull it. If you need more help I think every rider can tell you about their

favorite horsey gift. It can be almost anything. I can tell you mine; the ten lessons that started a lifetime journey for me. I can’t imagine what I would be doing now if I didn’t have these incredibly sensitive animals to enrich my life and give me an avenue to enrich the lives of countless other people. God bless horses and the joy they bring to us!


General...

As instructors, students, and trainers, we tend to fo-cus on the “doing” of our craft, sometimes neglect-

ing to take the time to mentally process the changes we may need to make in or-der to improve our skills or technique. After all, riding, particularly, requires the “doing” of many things simultaneously, moment by moment, in order to manage not only our own movements, but those of our horses in a balanced and athletic way. In a sport that demands so much from us physically, we can forget that im-proving our horsemanship is a mental, as well as a physical process. As an instructor, I am some-times guilty of not giving my students time to recognize this. I’ll give them moment by moment feedback- saying, “That’s good, that’s it!”, when they are doing something well, or giving them a succinct correction when I see something they need to change. Some students are able to make the changes immediately, and to contin-ue to the next movement without inter-ruption. However, there are many times when, although the student has heard

me, and wants to make the change, they continue to do exactly what they have done all along. At those times, it is important that we take the time stop briefly, to review what they have been doing up to that point, to explain the change they need to make, and to have them visualize and to process the change in their technique before they continue. It may take one minute, two, or three. It may take stopping to review the same correction more than

one time. It takes whatever it takes. While I try to maintain a flow to the movement and energy of a lesson, it is equally important that we take these brief “thinking breaks” when necessary. Once the student has success-fully made the correction, or at least im-proved their technique, I will also take a brief break then, to let him or her relax,

to acknowledge and remember what the “new” way of doing it felt like. As a student, you should let your instructor know when you need more time, or a slower pace, to process a cor-rection. Then use that time well to close your eyes, visualize, and imagine the feel of making the suggested correction. Don’t look around, talk, or let yourself be dis-tracted while your instructor is reviewing the correction with you and while you are visualizing it. Before you continue, vow

to yourself that you will make the change, even if you do not do it perfectly. Remember, the movement or technique will feel different to you than it did before you corrected it, but that is good. Accept your instructor’s affirmation when she says you did the technique or skill well, and promise yourself to repeat it in the “new” way every time, as you

“Think About It”


continue through the lesson, and in sub-sequent riding sessions. As trainers, (and every rider is a trainer!), it is important that we also give our horses these brief “thinking breaks”, as well. While it is important to help your horse flow from one movement to the next, (simpler to more difficult), it is also important, from time to time, to give your horse time to process what it is you are asking him or her to do. If your horse seems confused by a new skill or maneu-ver, don’t get angry or frustrated with them. Think of a way to show them what you want in an incremental way, or at a slower pace, while still maintaining his or her correct body position, weight dis-tribution, and balance. When they have done the skill, or even a part of it, bet-ter than before, stop for a moment, soften or release your rein pressure, and praise them. When they lick and chew, they are acknowledging and enjoying your praise. (When I was training Molly, if she did a beautiful, deep stop, I would stop, drop my reins, and massage her neck briefly before we went on. She would lick and chew and sigh. To this day, stopping is one of her favorite things to do.) It is also helpful to take “thinking breaks” in the broader sense, between your riding or training lessons or sessions. Giving your-self time to process the information from one session, before you begin the next. If a lesson or training session goes poorly, don’t “beat your head against a wall”, and force yourself to take another one the same day, or even the next day, unless you have had time to step away from it, look at it from the outside, and visualize a dif-

ferent and better outcome from the next lesson or session. Of course, if a lesson or session has gone well, picture yourself re-peating that positive experience and out-come in the next one. You can also let your subcon-scious work out problems and reinforce good experiences as you sleep. Have you ever noticed how a problem that seems huge one night, seems totally manageable the next morning? There is research that supports that this is not only because you can think better when you are well-rested, but that it is also because your subcon-scious can work out problems while you are sleeping. Just before you fall asleep at night, try thinking of the positive aspects of your horsemanship that you want to repeat or continue, and visualize how you would like to change those aspects you would like to improve upon. This type of thinking break is virtually effortless, and can yield, at the least, sweet dreams, if not big results! Finally, take your “thinking breaks” into the rest of your life. With the fast pace of life, and in a cultural environment that encourages us to re-act immediately to whatever we see and hear, try thinking first, before you form an opinion, or act out of pure emotion. Your body, your mind, your horse, and the world will thank you for it!

Contact Dianne with questions or comments any time at Hill Country Equestrian Lodge,

Bandera, TX, where she teaches Whole Horsemanship year-round. (830) 796-7950, info@

hillcountryequestlodge.com, www.hillcountryequestlodge.com.

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HORSEBACK MAGAZINE FIRST BECAME AWARE

OF LEGENDARY AMERICAN ARTIST

PETER MAX’ INTEREST IN HORSES WHEN WE

SAW A SNIPPET IN ONE OF THE NEW YORK

PAPERS MENTIONING HIS OPPOSITION TO THE

USE OF LARGE DRAFT BREEDS PULLING THE FAMOUS CARRIAGES

ON GOTHAM STREETS. OUR INTEREST IN HIS INVOLVEMENT WAS

FURTHER PIQUED UPON LEARNING OF HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE ASPCA.

SO WHEN WE GOT A PRESS RELEASE THAT HE WAS COMING TO

HOUSTON, WE ASKED FOR A VISIT. HE DID

MORE THAN GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF HIS TIME.

PETER MAX OFFERED TO PAINT AN ORIGINAL

COVER FOR US. THE IMAGE YOU SEE ON THIS

MONTH’SCOVER IS OF OUR NIECE LUCY REYNA

AND OUR QUARTER HORSE MARE, BRUJA.

THE PAINTING IS BASED ON A PHOTOGRAPH

TAKEN SIX YEARS AGO.

Taking it to the

MAX

a visit with PETER MAX


By Steven Long


HORSEBACK MAGAZINE: I’ve been a fan of yours for 40 years.PETER MAX: If I had known you I would have said the same thing.HORSEBACK: You were born in Berlin, I read from your bio. So was my great grandfather.PETER: You know, I’ve lived all over planet Earth. I left Berlin at the age of one, my parents went to Shanghai where we lived for ten years, if you can believe it. Then we went to Tibet for about four or five months. From Shanghai, there was a boat going to Israel. We got on the ship and we went 49 days by boat – we went all around the world until we got to Israel. I lived there for three-and-one-half years, and then we moved to Paris for six or seven months, and then to New York City, Brooklyn.HORSEBACK: Then I have one question. How in the heck did you end up with that New York ac-cent?PETER: (He laughs) I guess China. HORSEBACK: Well, I love your work, and I especially love the fact that you are into horses. Boy, when they get you, they are kind of all consuming. You painted a beautiful carriage horse, Bobby, for an ASPCA fundraiser. PETER: I love animals so much. The horse is such a beautiful, beautiful, species. You know, we’re now living in a century, the 21st century. Something started in the last decade of the 1900s. The whole planet is going to become very, very, animal friendly, animal loving. We realize that we come from the same part of the Uni-verse, you know what I mean? HORSEBACK: Absolutely.PETER: You know, different body, different faces, different language, different breeds, but you know

– we are all so simi-lar. Many times were are more similar than different. HORSEBACK: People are finally beginning to realize that ani-mals are much older than we are. They have their own ways of communicating that we don’t even comprehend yet, es-pecially horses. PETER: The more people get involved in supporting oth-er animals, it’s the greatest deed we could do because the human race so far controls the whole planet, but with our sophisticated brains and communication we are now passing along through different media and mediums, to the beau-tiful animals that exist among us. They’re all cousins to us. They are all so close. We already live with kitty cats and doggies at home, rabbits, and turtles…but the world’s getting very animal friendly. It’s finally arrived. A few hundred years ago it wasn’t any-thing like this.HORSEBACK: Do you ride?PETER: I love horses, but I don’t ride. I look at them. HORSEBACK: There is a move-ment in the horse world, there are people who don’t ride but are perfectly content to play with their horses on the ground. PETER: Yeah. I love them, I love being with them, I love looking in their eyes, I love petting their little sweet faces, I just love these ani-mals, these beautiful animals that are so elegant. HORSEBACK: Has it always been

that way for you, or did you come to love horses later in life?PETER: Well, I always admired them since I was a kid growing up in Asia. You learn more about various animals, and then I got in-volved in them.HORSEBACK: Prior to this Bobby horse you have painted, have you incorporated horses into your art at all?PETER: I have painted them from time to time. Over the years I’ve known some beautiful horses. Sometimes I was sent some pic-tures of some horses. I’ve done close to six to eight beautiful paintings. HORSEBACK: Do you have a par-ticular breed that you like? Do you like race horses, for example? Do you like rodeo?PETER: You know, I like the whole species. I’ll just tell you this. There’s a movement in this country that’s affecting the whole world. It’s the animal rights groups, and there is an enormous amount of love for horses in these groups. (Max cites Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the

Grammy Iconby Peter Max



Humane Society of the United States). These groups are big, being funded with millions of dollars a year by the thousands of people who belong to these organizations. It wasn’t like that 100 years ago. If I ever find a sweet little bug in my house near the Hudson River, I will never hurt it. I pick it up, take it 15 floors down, walk it across the street into the park, then I find a nice place where I think that animal will be happy. I let it crawl off my hand, and I usu-allyu put it a foot away from water , and I’ve done that at least 500 times – a little ant even.HORSEBACK: This horse, Bobby. It was a retired carriage horse. I’ve interviewed both sides of this controversy. Both sides have a compelling story to tell. The carriage drivers work closely with the ASPCA under some pretty stringent rules and regulations. What do you think of the carriages?PETER: It’s sad for me when I walk by them at Central Park South. They’re standing there for hours and hours, you know, with all that stuff around their neck. You just kind of feel sorry for them. Imagine if a human being was stand-ing somewhere like this with stuff around him eight or ten hours a day. It’s sad. At the same time, I think the people who own those car-riages horses, their lovely little friends, they love them.HORSEBACK: They do.PETER: You bet they do, but it’s like – we have a long way to go in this world to free up ani-mals and show respect to the Universe that created these amazing sweet little animals.

Max Heartby Peter Max

You know, we’re so amazing, what we have – our brains, our nervous system, we can hear, we can see, and you know, every animal has the same thing. It’s magical. A lot of people don’t put their head around this. H O R S E B A C K : What’s next for Peter Max?PETER: I love to draw and paint all day. I can do it at home. I can do it when I’m in a car.HORSEBACK: Do you doo-dle?PETER: I doodle all the time. I think creative thoughts. I’m all about creativity. I’m think-ing about doing several ani-mated feature length films. I have all the art it takes for many years, and I’m care-ful about my filing system. I just need to pick out the order I want them to be in, and I have lots of story lines. What I don’t have complete

is music. So I’ve called up my friend Ringo Starr, I’ve called up my friend

Paul McCart-ney, I called Bon Jovi, and I’ve called a whole bunch of friends up and I’ve got-ten something like 18 -20,000 d i f f e r e n t songs that I’ve put on three miniature iP-ods. So I’ve got all the music on about 35 iPods. When I

have time, I listen to the music a lot and when I find something I like I give it five stars. I’ve been rating the music for three and a half years. Of the 20,000 songs, I’ve select-ed about 3,000 that are mind boggling, fantastic. So now, I’m organizing what I’ve selected and am putting it in order so it can be used for the films.

“THERE’S A MOVEMENT IN THIS

COUNTRY THAT’S AFFECTING THE

WHOLE WORLD. IT’S THE ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS, AND THERE

IS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF LOVE

FOR HORSES IN THESE GROUPS.”


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Rather than sending out Christmas cards, each year at this time Horseback Magazine likes to point out our favorite equine charities as a guide to giving. These are the non-profits who have most impressed us with their programs, volunteers, and the just plain good works they do for horses. We urge during this Christmas season that you remember our four hooved friends who have done so much to make our lives better in such a variety of ways. We don’t know of a single one of these organizations that is rich, but we can assure you that every one of them is needy.

The POWER of Equine GIVINGHorseback’s Annual Recommendations for Horses in Need...

Habitat for HorsesStudies are now showing a close relationship be-

tween animal abuse and future acts of violence both at home and in the community. In fact, ani-

mal abuse is a strong predictor of future violent acts among juveniles. It might start with a young child throwing rocks at a cat, but it can end up years later with the person in prison, convicted of assault or, even worse, murder. Some people think they need to have extreme power and control over other living things. While teaching a dog to heel or teaching a horse to ride re-quires control, it doesn’t require whips and chains. Starving animals to death, leaving them chained to a tree for months and years, all these are examples of an unhealthy need to dominate others. Sometimes it isn’t domination. Sometimes it’s just lack of knowledge. The beautiful pony bought by a family for their child requires a lot of knowledge and care. When that knowledge isn’t there, when the “pleasure” becomes too much work or the dream of owning a horse is replaced by the realities of ownership, the horse suffers. Lack of knowledge about the proper food, water and medical care spells a slow and painful death for the horse, as does the owner who knows little about train-ing, who becomes frustrated and angry, striking out with physical abuse that can permanently injure or kill. Starvation is the biggest complaint at Habitat for Horses, and neglect comes second. Most of the cases they work on are obvious, but other cases re-quire testimony from witnesses who are sometimes reluctant to get involved. It’s a sad commentary on our society when abuse and neglect, be it a horse or a child, goes unreported because, “I didn’t want to bother anyone.” Habitat for Horses is a 501.c.3 nonprofit equine protection organi-zation supported solely by donations with around 200 donkeys and horses under care, plus one ornery, old mule. The ability to rehabilitate and re-home them comes from the financial support of people like you.

Please support Habitat by making a donation for the horses at www.habitatforhorses.org/support-us/donate-by-paypal,

or via mail at: Habitat for Horses, Inc., P.O. Box 213, Hitchcock, TX 77563.

“Starvation is their biggest complaint

at Habitat for Horses, and neglect

comes second...”


Above: Wild Mustang Colts, Photo by Laura Leigh courtesy: Wild Horse Education

Wild Horse Education

Several years ago the editors of Horseback Magazine were impressed with a lone individual who was working single handedly to save wild horses from a

government agency run amok, the Bureau of Land Man-agement. That person was photojournalist Laura Leigh. The work grew and Wild Horse Education (WHE) was eventually founded by Leigh. After attempting to tell the story of America’s mustangs and burros Leigh began to have to fight for the right to observe the treatment of wild horses and burros in government care by going to federal court. The things she documented, and the fight to document them, caused the birth of this organization that is continu-ing to make a stand in federal court through four (currently) active fed-eral lawsuits against abuse, unjustified removals and the public’s “right to know.” Through on the ground observation WHE brings you to the frontline of wild horse and burro issues. From document-ing horses in the wild, in gov-ernment holding facilities and during roundups WHE takes you first hand to where the horses are. To read about some of the big efforts of this small organization, or to donate, visit the link: www.WildHorseEduca-tion.org.

Paypal, credit card and mailing info can be taken at:

www.WildHorseEducation.org/donate

Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The Wild Horse Freedom Federation pledges to fund legal challenges against the Governmental agencies that continue to further their programs to eradicate

native, American wild horses and burros from their rightful public lands. Founded by author and wild horse advocate R.T. Fitch and award winning photographer Terry Fitch the Board of Di-rectors of WHFF brings together years of collective equine advocacy expertise while the organization’s Advisory Board is comprised of a multitude of first rate equine welfare or-ganizations and individuals.

WHFF was created to unite and strengthen the stance and prog-ress of several different, yet fully aligned, advocacy driven legal ac-

tions and is registered with the State Attorney’s Office of all fifty (50)

states in the nation. By combining forces the founders of WHFF are con-fident that not only will the advocacy movement, overall, experience a united synergy but the organiza-tion will be poised to more effectively help protect the welfare and safety of wild horses and burros from the

onslaught of the Obama Administration’s Wild Horse

Harvesting Machine.To donate go to

www.wildhorsefreedomfederation.org, or call 1-800-974-FOTH

(Force of the Horse)


Below: Foal Resting at RescuePhoto courtesy: Triple Me Mac Equine Rescue

Above: Burro FoalPhoto by Terry Fitch, courtesy: Equine Awareness Alliance

Triple Me Mac Equine Rescue

We’ve known of Dixie Neeley and her work for close to a decade. Her Triple Me Mac Equine Sanctuary is an or-

ganization of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about saving horses from the cruelty of abuse, neglect or slaughter. The sanctuary has become well known locally and nationally through its rescue efforts and participation in anti-slaughter and anti-cruelty efforts. Since its founding by Neeley in 2009, TMMES has participated in the res-cue of more than 100 equines through-out the U.S. and Canada. In addi-tion to its primary mission to rescue equines in jeopardy, TMMES partici-pates in promoting responsible horse ownership and is currently developing a program to assist owners who are expe-riencing hardships so that they can keep their equines rather than having to surrender them. At present, TMMES has 35 horses in the sanc-

Equine Welfare Alliance

The Chicago based Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) is an umbrella group rep-

resenting over 300 organizations and 1,100 individual members worldwide in 21 countries. EWA focuses on the welfare of all equines and the preservation and protection of wild equids. Originally conceived in 2009, EWA incorporated in Il-linois in February, 2010, and re-ceived its 501c4 status in Febru-ary, 2011. EWA’s inception was driven in large part by a need for sourceable, factual information to expose misinformation from the equine processing industry lobby and the media. This mis-sion has grown until the orga-nization now performs statisti-cal research, data analysis, and even field investigations into all aspects of equine welfare. EWA has become a repository of in-formation and is the go to orga-nization for statistics and driv-ers impacting equine welfare. Most recently, EWA’s president, John Holland, ex-

posed the fraudulent re-port on horse welfare is-sued by the GAO in 2011 and authored a paper along with Laura Allen of Ani-mal Law Coalition that was published in the Ken-tucky Journal of Equine, Agricultural and Natural Resources Law. He is fre-quently asked to speak at conferences and has made his statistics and analysis available on the EWA web-site at www.equinewelfar-ealliance.org.

Donations to support EWA’s efforts can be

made through Paypal at www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-

xclick&hosted_button_id=V4KC2CQN6M5X2

or by check to: Equine Welfare Alliance, P.O. Box 6161,

Naperville IL 60567

tuary and various foster homes, including eight seniors between the ages of 26 and 33, and several donkeys. Feeding these horses and providing veterinary and routine care costs upwards of $3500 a month, and 100 percent of all donations and grants go to-ward these expenses. In addition to monetary donations, TMMES is always grateful for donations of needed items such as feed, hay, hay rings, and water troughs. TMMES also raises funds through the sale of soy candles, horse-themed greeting cards featuring whimsical artwork by a local farrier, and through the sale of baked goods and other items.

Triple Me Mac Equine Sanctuary can be reached via email at tmmes@gvtc.

com; online at www.triplememac.org; or on Facebook at facebook.com/tmmes.



(979) 836-4531 www.washingtonanimalclinic.com2100 Hwy 36 North, Brenham, TX

A "Special anks" to Equine Rescuers!

WASHINGTON ANIMAL CLINICReproduction

Sports MedicinePain Management

SurgeryDentistry

ChiropracticFFarriery

Preventative Care

Below: CloudPhoto courtesy: The Cloud Foundation

The Cloud Foundation

The Cloud Foundation grew out of Ginger Kathrens’ knowledge and fear for not only Cloud’s herd but

other wild horses in the West. The herd was made famous by Kathren’s three PBS specials on wild horses. “I began to realize that we were losing America’s wild horses,” Ginger says. “They are rounded up by the thou-sands, losing in an instant what they value most--freedom and family. I realized that even Cloud and his family were in danger.” “In Cloud’s remote moun-tain wilderness we have a perfect opportunity to step back and watch nature call the shots. Predators and daunting weather are limiting the herd size—naturally,” she states. “Yet, human over management is jeopardizing their future survival. We could lose Cloud and his herd forever, unless we’re willing to stand up for them now.” The non-profit Cloud Foundation is dedi-

cated to preventing the extinction of Cloud’s herd through education, media events and programming, and public involvement. The Foundation is also determined to protect other wild horse herds on pub-lic lands, especially isolated herds with unique characteristics and historical signifi-cance.

The Cloud Foundation offers a variety of ways friends can help

through donations.

To see which is right for you visit:

www.thecloudfoundation.org/about-us/donate.


Wounded Warrior Project

Wounded Warrior Project began when sev-eral veterans

and friends, moved by stories of the first wounded service members return-ing home from Afghanistan and Iraq, took action to help oth-ers in need. What started as a program to provide comfort items to wound-ed service members has grown into a complete rehabilitative effort to as-sist warriors as they tran-sition back to civilian life. Horseback Mag-azine was so impressed when we did a story on a Wounded Warrior be-ing rehabilitated through equine therapy at Hous-ton’s SIRE, that we de-cided to include the program in our annual recommendation for giv-ing. America’s wounded vets deserve nothing less, and we have seen first-hand what equine ther-apy can do toward reha-bilitation. You can empower Wounded Warriors by becoming a Proud Sup-porter. If you’re planning a fundraising event and would like proceeds to benefit WWP, we ask you to please register your event. After your registration has been approved, you will gain access to the exclusive Proud Supporter Community packed with useful event resources in addition to re-ceiving WWP branded material for your event.

Questions? Check out the Proud

Supporter FAQs or call 855.252.4997

SIRE Therapeutic Equestrian Centers

The physical and emotional benefits of horseback riding have been known for several hundred years. Therapeutic riding has been a widely utilized form of therapy for many years, first in Europe, then in the

United States. The movement of the horse provides sensory stimulation to the body and brain of the rider that affects a variety of muscle groups. The pelvic movement of the horse reproduces the proper motion of the human pelvis at the walk. For people who have lost that natural move-ment, or have never had the benefit of this stimulation, horseback riding serves to “inspire” their bodies to achieve this normal motion and im-prove motor coordination. Further, the warmth of the horse’s body and its rhythmic movements help stiff or spastic muscles to relax, much like rocking soothes a crying baby. Benefits of equestrian therapy include improved muscle tone, bal-ance, posture, coordination, motor development, and emotional and psychological well being, as well as sport, recreational, and educational benefits. Specific physical benefits include improved gross and fine mo-tor skills, experiencing three-dimen-sional movements of the horse that is similar to the movement of a walk-ing human, enhancing balance and posture, and stimulating the cardio-vascular system. Emotional benefits include building self-esteem and confidence while developing feelings of self-reliance, control and accom-plishments. Social benefits include developing meaningful relationships with volunteers and a strong bond with the horse, and channeling ag-gressive or hyperactive behavior into constructive activity. Educational

benefits include increasing the ability to listen and follow directions, improv-ing memory utilization, and developing sequencing abilities. There is a benefit that is more difficult to measure but is easy to see. On the back of a horse, a rider who may use crutches or a wheelchair is now taller than everyone else and no longer has to look up at everyone. Full of confidence, there is a sense of control and freedom that comes from making that large animal respond to the rider’s direction. In the clinical setting, the disability can never be forgotten, but on the back of a horse, it quite often be-comes “invisible,” allowing the rider to experience a sense of accomplishment and reward.

To contribute visitwww.sire-htec.org

Left: “Bob”Percheron Cross & proud working equine member of SIRE

Photo courtesy: SIRE



Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center

At Old Friends, the non-profit Thoroughbred Re-tirement Center in Georgetown, KY, the horses may not be racing anymore, but they are win-

ners every day. Founded in 2003 by former Boston Globe film critic Michael Blowen, Old Friends now cares for more than 130 horses across three states, most of them stallions whose racing and breeding careers came to an end. A “living history museum of horse racing”, the farm attracts nearly 20,000 tourists an-nually that get up close and personal with such stars of the turf as Breed-ers’ Cup Champion Gulch, Eclipse-Award winner Sunshine Forever, Whitney Handicap Winner Com-mentator, millionaire gelding Arson Squad, and…the losingest horse in the history of racing, Zippy Chippy. The formation of Old Friends kicked into high gear when the news broke that Kentucky Derby win-ner Ferdinand had perished in a slaughterhouse in 2002. That discovery gave the organization even more impetus.

Old Friends celebrity horses live alongside horses who never earned much more than the love and respect fans give for any equine.

Every horse at Old Friends has a sto-ry to tell, and visitors to the farms can hear them all while learning about racing and ways to help with Thoroughbred aftercare. Racing fans in New York can also visit some Old Friends champs. The first satel-lite division, Old Friends at Cabin Creek,: The Bobby Frankel Divi-sion, is just a short drive from the Saratoga racecourse and is home to biggest loser Zippy, Guests come to visit a few ex-race-horses, but they often leave having been touched by the heart of a Thor-oughbred hero.

To donate or help Old Friends in some other way, visit: www.oldfriendsequine.org/how-to-help.html,

or mail a check to 1841 Paynes Depot Rd,Georgetown, KY 40324. You can also call directly

with a credit card payment at 502-863-1775

SERVICES FOR BOTH LARGE & SMALL ANIMALSMEDICINE SURGERY BOARDING

5375 Hwy 290 East, Brenham, TX on the North side between Brenham & Chappell Hill 979-277-1118 www.philipsveterinaryhospital.com


Texas State Horse Council

The Texas State Horse Council’s Large Animal Res-cue Program joins other equine

professionals in training first respond-ers to trailer accidents, weather caused emergencies, and other unexpected events which jeopardize horses lives. A large majority of first re-sponders such as fire fighters and police, veterinarians, and horse owners, do not have a working knowledge of the highly specialized field of large animal tech-nical rescue to support efforts when a horse is involved in an accident or other incidents. Often, horses are injured or even killed by well meaning first re-sponders who are untrained in how to handle a terrified creature weighing more than a thousand pounds. The program, in its third year, has been involved in assisting training scores of Texas public service profes-sionals. Every horse rescue demands a vast amount of knowledge to help en-sure that the horse will have the best chances of survival with no additional injuries from the rescue. The TSHC has made it one of their main goals to support education that will help all groups acquire the nec-essary skills to successfully assist horses during these emergency situations that can become life threatening in a matter of seconds. From horse trailer accidents to lift rescues, the skills required to proficiently handle such events require specialty training and are very much in need all over the state of Texas. The Texas Gulf Coast is a hot-bed of weather emergencies from hurri-canes, floods, and tornadoes. It is essen-tial that a well trained group of animal experts be on hand to help in a crisis. By donating to the TSHC, a 501(c)5 organization, your funds will help support training and equipment that is in desperate need all over Texas.

To contribute, mail your check to Texas State Horse Council,

PO Box 9294, Spring, TX 77387You may also contribute using

Pay Pal at www.ghhc.com

True Blue Animal Rescue

True Blue Animal Res-cue has been

taking in abused and ne-glected horses since 2004.

Over the years they have placed hundreds of hors-

es, but many still remain. When they rescue a horse

their objective is to place it in a safe environment, then help it by providing vet care, good nu-trition and farrier work. For many horses that’s all that is required and they’re ready for a new home, but then there are quite of few that require more. Some need time with a compassionate human who has the patience to work through some of the challenges a rescue horse might have to teach them to trust again. People who adopt rescue horses have huge hearts that are willing to give, but few have the skill necessary to train them. Thankfully True Blue Animal Rescue found Juan Vendrell of TC Ventures in Washington, TX. Juan’s been working with True Blue Animal Rescue horses for a year and many he’s trained are ready for a new home. Juan provides natural horsemanship methods for horses who have never been touched, have behavior issues, and those that are stubborn or spooky. Dancer, pictured, is one of the lucky horses who has benefited from training with Juan. Dancer was one of many horses left in a stall full of manure without proper nu-trition or farrier work. His hooves were long and curled up like elf shoes, and his body was skinny and frail. Dancer didn’t trust and he was nervous and spooky. Dancer has since worked through his issues, and even accepts a sad-dle and rider now. Dancer was rescued when he came to True Blue Animal Rescue but he didn’t have a chance at a new life with a new family until he was trained. If you’re looking for a great riding horse with a great start in training, consider Dancer a beautiful Arabian-Saddlebred Cross (a.k.a. Na-tional Show Horse or NSH). Contact True Blue Animal Rescue for more information www.t-bar.org, [email protected] or 936-878-2349.

Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch Its nearly 1,300 acres near Murcheson, Texas, are home to more than 1,200 do-

mestic and exotic animals, many of whom have been rescued from near-death situations such as slaughterhouses, biomedical research laboratories, and trophy

hunting ranches. Others are discards from circuses or roadside zoos, or were former victims of the exotic pet trade. Still others have come from public lands where they were threatened with extermination by the federal government. Bison and cattle, horses and burros, antelope and apes, camels and llamas, all have permanent, safe homes at the ranch, which was founded in 1979 by Cleveland Amory, author and animal advocate. The ranch is not a zoo and is not open for regular public visitation. Amory’s vision was that it “would be a place where animals are looked after, not looked at.” In 2004, the board of directors of The Fund for Animals voted unanimously to rename its flagship animal sanctuary the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch to memorialize its late, great founder.

Please support the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch by making an online donation, or call 903-469-3811 and donate via credit card by phone.

Checks can be mailed directly to: 12526 County Road 3806, Murchison, TX 75778



Top & Bottom: Rescued Horses residing with Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society Foster FamiliesPhoto courtesy: Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

If you aren’t familiar with Bluebon-net Equine Humane Society, now is the perfect time to get to know one

of the best horse rescue organizations in Texas. BEHS works throughout the state to help law enforcement officials investigate neglect complaints, educate owners of starving horses so they can better care for their hors-es when possible, and remove horses, donkeys, mules, and ponies from negligent owners when necessary. Bluebonnet’s approximately hundred foster homes re-habilitate the horses and other equines who come into the rescue, and then volunteers work together to place those equines into loving homes. While Bluebonnet’s equines come from hor-rific circumstances, they flourish once they enter the foster home network thanks to their dedicated care-givers. Many of Bluebonnet’s former starved, abused, or abandoned horses have gone on to become com-petitive trail, endurance, play day, show, pleasure, trail, and ranch horses. Foster homes take pride in their Bluebonnet horses, and the organization strives to provide support to adopters for the remainder of the horses’ lives. Rosita is a perfect example of the great place-ment BEHS strives for. Rosita came to Bluebonnet early in 2012 along with ten other starving horses. She was in such critical condition that her rescuers wor-ried she might not survive. You could see most of the bones in her body, and she was covered in wounds that resulted from eating toxic plants. While in foster care, she slowly gained weight and her wounds began to heal. In October 2012, she attended the Bluebonnet Horse Expo, a one-day event put on by Bluebonnet to help educate horse owners, raise funds to help the horses, and find the horses homes. While there, she caught the eye of a little girl who quickly began beg-ging her daddy for Rosita. That evening, Rosita, now called Rosie, stepped into their trailer and headed to the next phase of her life. She and her little girl have spent 2013 competing in barrel racing, pole bending, and other play day events. This spring they brought home their first buckle! Together, Rosie and her lit-tle girl have become a wonderful team who promote BEHS at every opportunity: Rosie’s young owner makes sure everyone knows where Rosie came from. Bluebonnet relies on the generosity of volun-teers and donors to make the organization function, and the horses and humans of Bluebonnet hope you’ll consider getting involved in the organization this holi-day season. While financial contributions are always welcome, Bluebonnet also appreciates donations of hay, grain, de-wormers, tack, and horse/farm equip-ment. The organization also needs volunteers to help

foster horses and other equines, check up on fostered and adopted equines, and perform a myriad of other tasks that make the rescue run smoothly.

You can learn more about BEHS on the organiza-tion’s website at www.bluebonnetequine.org or via

www.facebook.com/BluebonnetEquineHumaneSociety. You can reach BEHS at

[email protected], (888) 542 5163, or PO Box 632, College Station, TX 77841.


General...

“The Tack Room”

Horseback Magazine’s Saddle & Tack Editor

When you have too many horses and too much stuff, it’s almost impossible to

organize. As difficult as it is, I’ve tried, and I think I’ve come up with some pretty ingenious ideas as well as having borrowed a few from greater minds than mine. I usually come up with some corny Christmas wishes, but this year, my Christmas gift to you is a collection of ideas that may help you organize your tack room to help keep things shipshape and easy to find. I hope these ideas help. Good bridles, English or western, are expensive. A good Hermann Oak harness leather headstall will set you back about $50.00; a good set of 5/8 by 7½’ reins, about the same. A good U.S. made bit will cost $60.00 and more, so there is a sizable investment in horse head gear. A good U.S. or European made English bridle will set you back about $200.00 to $400.00, so care is not to be taken lightly. If you hang a bridle on a nail, the leather kinks and the oils are squeezed to either side, and if the leather is in that position for any length of time, dry rot will follow right there at the crease. Always hang your bridles on something close to the width of a horse’s head. As you can see from the pictures, we have used half moon shaped pieces of wood, screwed from

the back, and then the board they’re mounted on screwed to the wall. A rustic variance is to take a cedar fence post, saw off

3” sections, and mount them the same way. You will also notice, if you look carefully, I cross my reins from left to right, and right to left. This helps maintain a nice loop on heavy harness leather reins. On English reins we just loop the buckle end of the reins over the crown of the bridle. Nylon halters don’t require as much care, so we just drilled ¾” holes and glued in sections of wooden dowel, cut about 3”. We only use halters when working with the horse, never leave them on to turn out, so every halter has its own lead rope that stays with it. Another case of drilling and gluing is the English pad rack. We have way too many English pads, and if you stack them together, you will have mice, scorpions, spiders, and all other sorts of critters making their home there. So, to give the ¾” PVC enough support, I used 4 x 4 landscape timbers and drilled holes all the way through, inserted the PVC, cut at 27½”, so the PVC sticks out 24”, more than adequate for any English pads. I don’t think this would work for western pads, as they are too long and too heavy. Those racks would need to be supported on both ends. Winter blankets are always difficult to store. They are big , bulky, and just take up gobs of space. I don’t remember where I got this idea, but it works great. If you are vertically challenged, you may need to keep a step


Bandera’s Lew Pewterbaugh has been called the most knowledgeable saddle and tack authority in

the Southwest. For private fitting consultation call (830) 328-0321 or (830) 522-6613

or email: [email protected].

hB

stool handy, or carry a brick in your back pocket to stand on so you can reach. Even open front blankets, we leave the buckles fastened and slip the blankets over the horses heads and the swing them into place. We only blanket for extreme weather, and when it’s cold, the horses slip into their blankets gratefully. As for the rack, just pull out the ¾” dowel holding the blanket you want, and let the blanket fall into your hand. Couldn’t be simpler. Sometimes, hanging them back up is a little more problematic, but I don’t know of a single way to hang blankets that works better or takes up less space. With my POSSLQ (Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters) having so many English bridles, saddles, and about 3 girths for each of her 12 saddles, I had to find a way to keep them from being jumbled together, and make it easy to find the one 52” girth that I use when I ride my English saddle. I was tired of digging through a couple dozen girths looking for the one that matched my saddle. I found an old display stand, threw the rack away, cut a round piece of wood with a hole in the center to go over the center of the rack, drilled a hole in the post so the wood would not fall, installed screw eyes in the wood so it would hold several girths, marked the sizes between every 2 screw eyes, and voila, an English girth rack! I wish I had made the wood circle a little bigger, but it works really well. I hope these ideas are useful to some of you. Maybe, when it’s too cold to ride, you can get busy in the tack room and make some extra space, and get organized. Who wants to look for something buried when it’s time to ride! Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. I hope the season and the New Year bring us all increased hope and happiness.


REALTOR Roundup

TAMMY FOREMAN - REAL-TORHodde Real Estate Co.112 W. Main Street, Brenham, TX

(O): (979) 836-8532(C): (979) 451-2945(E):[email protected](W): www.hodderealty.com

Tours: www.texas-property.com

SPECIALTIES: Farms/Ranches, Residential, Country Homes, Land, Commercial. TERRITORY: Texas

TIM PHELAN - OWNERWaller County Land40040 Hempstead Hwy.Waller, TX

(O): (936) 372-9181(O): (979) 826-4133

(E): [email protected](W): www.wallercountyland.com

SPECIALTIES: Acreage, Homes, Horse PropertyTERRITORY: Waller County & surrounding areas.

LARRY JACOBS - REALTORJacob’s Properties14372 Liberty StreetMontgomery, TX

(O): (936) 597-3301(O): (979) 597-3317

(E): [email protected](W): www.txland.com

SPECIALTIES: Ranches, Hunting & Horse Properties, AcreageTERRITORY: Texas

DEITRA ROBERTSON - REALTORDeitra Robertson Real Estate, Inc.38351 FM 1736Hempstead, TX(O): (832) 642-6789(C): (832) 642-6789

(E): [email protected](W): www.IKnowRanches.com

SPECIALTIES: Farms/Ranches, Horse Properties, LandTERRITORY: Texas

YOLANDA FUSILIER - BROKERPeak Realty17515 Spring Cypress Rd.Suite # C260Cypress, TX(O): (979) 921-9530

(E): [email protected]

SPECIALTIES: Farms/Ranches, Land CommercialTERRITORY: Waller County & surrounding areas

DEE ANN BOUDREAUX- REALTORTexas First Real Estate1116 FM 109New Ulm, TX

(O): (903) 322-3379(C): (979) 583-7305

(E): [email protected](W): www.texasfirstre.com

SPECIALTIES: Residential, Equestrian, Farm/Ranch, Country PropertyTERRITORY: Texas

ANGIE FRANKS - REALTORElite Texas Properties12320 Barker Cypress RdSuite 600-224Cypress, TX

(O): (800) 563-6003(C): (979) 877-5822

(E): [email protected](W): www.elitetexasproperties.com

SPECIALTIES: Acreage, Homes, Horse Prop-erty, Country Homes, Farm/RanchTERRITORY: Texas

WENDY CLINE - BROKER ASSOCIATERE/Max Realty Center13611 Skinner Rd., #100Cypress, TX

(O): (281) 213-6200(C): (281) 460-9360

(E): [email protected](W): www.wendyclineteam.com

SPECIALTIES: Residential, Land, CommercialTERRITORY: Texas

YOUR NAME HERE!- REALTOR/BROKERThe Best Real Estate Co.1234 Main StreetHouston, TX

(O): (123) 456-7890(C): (123) 456-7890

(E): [email protected](W): www.bestrealtor.com

SPECIALTIES: Ranches, Hunting & Horse Properties, AcreageTERRITORY: Texas

TOOTIE LYONS RIXMAN- REALTOR, ASSOCIATEHeritage Texas Country Properties605 S. AustinBrenham, TX

(C): (979) 836-3633(E): [email protected]

(W): www.e-countryproperty.com/page-46/tootie-lyons-rixman

SPECIALTIES: Acreage, Homes, Horse Prop-erty, Country Homes, Farm/RanchTERRITORY: Brazos Valley Texas

BOB BORDERS - ABR, SFRC, LHMSKeller Williams Realty1595 S. Main St, Ste. 101Boerne, TX

(C): (830) 928-7225 (E): [email protected](W): www.bordersrealestate.com

SPECIALTIES: Acreage, Homes, Horse Prop-erty, Country Homes, Farm/RanchTERRITORY: Boerne Texas Area

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Dee Ann BoudreauxTEXAS FIRST REAL ESTATE, LLC.

(979) 583-7305 CELL • (903) 322-3379 [email protected]

43ac horse ranch in Madison County, 3 bed 2.5 bath 2650sf home with heated pool, 3 car carport w office, 1000 sf apartment, pool dressing room and bath. All pipe fencing with horse wire. 9 stall show barn w/2 runs, office vet room and bath, tack room, rubber mats, ceiling fans, cross ventilation, waterers and feeders. Hot & cold washwash rack. (8)12 x 20 Stallion Sheds w 20 x70 runs, (9) paddocks w loaang sheds each w pipe gates to create 22 stalls. 6 horse hot walker and pro cutter ag system. 40x100 hay barn on slab w bunkhouse apartment. 2009 Oakcreek 3/2 mobile home. 150x300 lighted pipe arena w/Priefert “Score” fully automatic roping chute, electric eye, heading/heelingheading/heeling box, concrete walkway to chute and 20’ return alley. Heat and Air announcers box, w PA system and bleachers Drainage by engineer to ensure dry ground. Two lighted 100’ round arenas w/holding pens.

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Destiny Ranch

35ac horse facility with 2 homes. Main home 4300 sq ft 3/3.5 remodeled with upscale amenities, granite & marble, separate climate controlled wine room with 100+ capacity and wine cooler. All counter tops granite or marble. Kitchen boasts Dacor appliances. Mother in Law suite, oversized master bath, 2 vanities, tub w/fp, exexercise area, large master closet with built ins. Master bedroom sitting area with frig & coffee bar. Pool with slide & wooden deck wraps house on 3 sides. Irrigation system and alarm system-owned by Sellers. 6 stall pipe barn with automatic waterers, vet stocks & hot/cold wash rack, 4 horse walker, 125' lighted arena, 75x200 liglighted roping pen with return alley. 30 x 60 workshop on slab with roll up doors. Over 2 miles of pipe fencing. 12 separate paddocks, 9 loaang sheds with concrete oors. 3/2 rental bringing in $1000/month income. Has been continually rented for last 4 years. Double carport and deck with wheel chair accessibility.

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Conner Wilson903-702-8043 mobile, [email protected] Cash McWhorter469-222-4076 mobile, [email protected]

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Mineola 498 Ranch is a well diversified ranch, providing activities for all, with the focal point of the ranch being a state-of-the-art Equestrian facility. The ranch also features an 8+/- & 12+/- acre lake, approximately 1+/- mile of Lake Fork Creek frontage and spring fed creeks. It’s hard to find this many amenities all in one ranch of this size. The property is located just east of the quaint East Texas town of Mineola, TX located on FM49. Featured ranch activities include fish-ing, horseback riding, duck hunting, deer hunting, and relaxing walks on the miles of manicured trails through the mature pine and hardwood forest. 498+/- ACRES - Asking $3,350,000 - Equestrian Facility could be divisible.


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East Texas Mistletoe Christmas -1890

The mistletoe is hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at

Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.


By: Margaret Pirtle, Lifestyle Editor

“All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse,

and a good wife.”- Daniel Boone


GardenTexas Caviar for New Years LuckSure-you’ve heard of Texas Caviar!

Chances are you have settled down to more than one special meal where

this unique vegetable was the center of attention, in spite of being surrounded by such grand dishes as honey-glazed ham, candied yams and an array of succulent deserts. You eat them for the taste, yes but you also eat them for good luck: to make certain the New Year is going to be a profitable and sustaining one. If you’re not from Texas, or a neighboring southern state, then perhaps you don’t observe the annual eating ritual on New Year’s Day when the black-eyed pea takes center stage on dining tables across the region. Most of us wouldn’t consider starting the New Year without them, so rooted has the tradition become in our culture. The nature and history of this humble pea is significantly important to Texans. In fact it is rumored that you can lose your Texas citizenship for not partaking on them on New Year’s Day. What is the origin of this tradition? Apparently during the Civil War it was quite common for the Union troops to burn Confederate crops, but Union soldiers viewed the pea as livestock feed and not an edible vegetable. As legend has it they spared the lowly “cow pea.” But we southerners knew different. We were over-joyed to find the peas still in the field. Hungry and hard pressed by the perils of war, we turned to the pea as a primary staple of substance. The tradition states that those who eat black eyed peas, an inexpensive and modest food, show their humility and thus bring good fortune to themselves for the entire year.


Tree Cycle

Don’t just toss your tree to the curb when Christmas is over. It still has lots of life left in it, but just in a

different way. Conservation groups can use it as a habitat for fish in a lake. It can be used as a barrier against erosion for beach, lake and river shorelines. Put it in your back yard - make sure all tinsel is off - and use it as a bird feeder. They will love the branches to rest on as they eat. And of course you can always mulch it up for the garden.

Keeping Decorating Greens Fresh

Coming inside with branches of holly and pine for holiday decorating is great for the first few days. Then the warmth of the home, combined with the lack of humidity turns even the

freshest vibrant colors into a drab arrangement. But you can keep those branches looking their best longer with

just two items - water and a potato.

First always soak the cut end of the branch for several hours as soon as it arrives in your home. Next, use a potato as a base for your arrangement. Stick the branches into the potato and the natural sugar and

moisture of the potato helps to keep your arrangement fresh and beautiful.


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Pete Ramey - Con’t. on pg. 44

High/Low Hooves: A Whole-Horse Issue

General...

It is fairly common for horses to have mismatched pairs of front feet. When the lower-angled foot seems to be the “problem foot,”

most people call the horse a high/low or refer to that foot as having under-run heel or long toe/low heel syndrome. Others will say the horse “can’t grow heel,” when in fact an excess of heel length is typically being grown—it is just growing forward, instead of down toward the ground. When, instead, the more upright foot appears to be the “problem foot,” people tend to call it a “club foot.” While routine, competent trimming is important to horses with mismatched hooves, it is important to also understand that if the solution was simply trimming the feet to match each other, these conditions would not exist. Like most issues, the first step to helping the horse is to understand “why” this is happening. The hooves are constantly adapting to the way they impact the ground. If a horse repeatedly carries a limb farther forward than normal, the foot will tend to develop the long toe/low heel form. If the horse repeatedly carries the limb farther back than normal, the upright club foot form will persist. So when you see mismatched feet, it is important to figure out why the horse is moving in an imbalanced way. If you can identify and fix the true problem, the feet will adapt toward better balance as well. On the other hand, if you treat it as a hoof problem only, you will find yourself “spinning your wheels” because you are addressing a symptom instead of the true cause.

INJURIESThe first step is to have a lameness exam done by a competent veterinarian. Often these horses are simply compensating for pain from a current injury and/or dealing with a lack of mobility from an old injury. If this is the case, find out if the pain can

be relieved or the injury healed. If so, the feet will tend to become more balanced as the horse becomes able to move in a more balanced way. If pain or reduced flexion from the injury is permanent, so should be the mismatched feet—in fact this hoof imbalance may be very important to the horse’s ability to get around—an important adaptation designed to help balance an imbalanced situation. That said, it is often beneficial to warm up and stretch areas of past injury. If you can increase and maintain mobility, you will find that the feet readily become more balanced. The most common example is simply offering forward stretches to the

limbs of club feet. TRAINING

Injuries aside, normal horses tend to use the different sides of their bodies in different ways, just as we are right- or left-handed. For instance, when horses canter they tend to naturally favor one lead over the other. When they graze, they tend to favor placing one foot forward more often than the other. These tendencies can have dramatic effects on the hoof form. For example, think of the way the front feet hit the ground during a left lead canter: the left foot reaches farther forward, completes its cycle and then leaves the ground just as it reaches a vertical position. The right foot braces the horse’s weight by staying more underneath and the entire cycle of each step occurs farther back (relative to the horse’s body). So you might visualize what would happen if all a horse did, everywhere he went, was a left lead canter in a straight line; he would most-likely develop a low left and high right front feet. This would also affect the musculature of the horse—he would be strong, but have less flexion on the right and perhaps be weaker, but more flexible on the left. Mentally and physically he would resist the right lead and bending to the right.

This Hanoverian had a low left/high right conformation. Front left above, before and after 13 months of treatment. At the time of the left photo, the horse resisted right canter leads, and was usually too unsound for riding. A better trim and padded boots put her in work immediately. At the time of the right photo, she is in dressage training/competition (barefoot), does not significantly favor either lead and is sound. On this foot, growing out the capsule rotation and optimizing breakover was prioritized. This improved heel and toe angles significantly over time. Photo reprinted from the book Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot.Photo reprinted from the book Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot , P. Ramey.

FIGURE 1

This is where balanced training and sports massage are at their most valuable. An imbalanced adult horse can only be corrected if all the pieces come together. Although the farrier work is an important part of this process, it is only one of many parts. Achieving balanced movement is the key—this means good training of both sides of the horse. The farrier work should be designed to get the hoof problems “out of the way” of balanced movement.

RIDER AND SADDLE Kerry Ridgway, DVM, a veteran equine biomechanics expert came to ride with me and look over the horses in my care. I took him to a horse that had recently started trying to develop an upright front-right foot. He briefly evaluated the horse for injury, found a sore area high on the horse’s right side and then asked to see the horse’s saddle. The owner brought out a $3,000 English saddle she had just bought a few months earlier. Dr. Ridgway flipped the saddle upside-down, sighted down it from end-to-end, and said, “Here’s the problem. Your saddle is built crooked.” Sure-enough, once he had pointed it out, it was easy to see—the saddle was built with a left bend in its shape. Of course the horse owner was in tears, but in the end, the saddle company replaced the saddle with a straight one and the hooves quickly became balanced again. Imbalanced riders can imbalance the horse as well. These factors have dramatic effects if most of the horse’s exercise occurs under saddle.

FOALSOnce a horse reaches two-years-old with a club foot or high/low conformation, it is very likely that it will remain, to some degree, for the rest of the horse’s life no matter what you

FIGURE 2


Pete Ramey - Con’t. from pg. 42

hB

do. By then, the joint surfaces, bone shapes, muscles, tendon and ligament lengths have become more set in their ways. Don’t get me wrong—balance can be improved in adult horses—but it can be truly fixed or prevented in foals! Routine and competent trimming of foal hooves is critical, but too-often overlooked or procrastinated. It is common to hear that this or that bloodline of horses has clubby feet or high/low syndrome. But in my experience, foals often show these tendencies but they are generally easy to keep in check if you start early enough. In other words they try to be imbalanced, but I don’t let them. Usually, if it is started within 2-3 months of birth, routine hoof trimming alone can keep foals from developing mismatched limbs provided that they are turned out—not stalled. In more severe or persistent cases, I sometimes also recommend moderate amounts of ground work, in circles, focusing on strengthening the weak lead (caution: this can be important, but also over-done).

TRIMMINGIf you try too hard to trim the feet to match each other, you will probably make the situation worse. Very often, people with good intentions trim too much sole from the toe of low foot (trying to make it match the more upright foot). This causes the horse to avoid sensitivity at the toe and overwork the heels; they carry the limb more “out front.” This makes the original problem worse over time. It is equally common for people to trim the heels of the high foot too low in an attempt to match the opposing low-heeled

Same horse: The high right foot, 13-month duration. A “heel rocker” was used to help lengthen stride. Making gradual increases to stride length (trimming, stretching, training) eventually forged a more normal foot. Meanwhile, the trainer and owner were exercising the right leads, focusing riding/training on the stiff right side of the horse. As her strength became balanced, so did the feet. Note that the feet/limbs still do not exactly match—trying to force them to completely match would negatively affect movement and reverse the progress. [Each trim/shoeing is available on DVD in That’s My Horse #2 available from HoofRehab.com] Note: A significant distal descent (sinker) reversal also occurred on both front hooves—this accounts for the shortening of the overall hoof length, even though the soles were thicker at the end of this 13-month period. Photo reprinted from the book Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot , P. Ramey.

FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4

foot. This often causes sensitivity at the heels of the high foot, shortens stride length, and makes the foot adapt into an even more upright form over time. Instead, everything you do to the feet should be geared at balancing the movement. Good form will follow good function. On the low side, preserve sole thickness and keep the breakover back as far as possible (without injuring the horse). This helps the horse keep the foot on the ground longer (farther back relative to the body) and helps grow out any toe flaring or capsule rotation. On the high side, rocker the heels to enable the horse to extend the foot farther forward, while being very careful not to cause sensitivity at the heels (as this would shorten stride, forcing the horse to carry that limb even farther behind). Other than that, treat each hoof as an individual, and don’t try to force them to match. Just try to grow out wall flares and encourage thick soles and frogs. Work the feet into balance subtly—nudging them in the right direction at each trim. If the rest of the training program is encouraging balanced development, the hooves will become more balanced over time as well.

New Book from Pete Ramey

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1422 F.M. 2223BRYAN

(979) 778-0978

23250 State Hwy 6 S.NAVASOTA

(936) 825-2081

4323 Avenue HROSENBERG

(281) 342-2452

820 Business U.S. 290 N.HEMPSTEAD

(979) 826-3273

6401 F.M. 359RICHMOND

(832) 595-9500

1331 Highway 6 WestALVIN

(281) 388-0388

18821 F.M. 1488 MAGNOLIA

(281) 356-2530

34350 Katy FreewayBROOKSHIRE

(281) 934-2479

228 East Front St.SEALY

(979) 885-2967

NINE TEXAS LOCATIONS!

www.steinhausers.com

Store Hours: Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm • Sun 12pm - 5pm (may vary by location)

Sortin!

Howdy! Welcome to Cowboy Corner.

Thank you Lord for rain. Don’t know if we are ahead yet, but bet we’re sittin’ even. Sure hope we can save a little for next spring. After being hot and dry for so long it’s hard to get used to cold and wet. Have a list of wet weather jobs, which means inside. All kinds of tasks make the list such as clean, repair, and sort. On the ranch there is a never ending supply of items to be cleaned, repaired and sorted. So let’s put another log on the fire and commence. Stumbled on a sorting deal last summer that I think is worth sharing. Most of us probably remem-ber when coffee came in a one pound (16 ounces) can. Lots of the steel cans got recycled into hardware storage. Inside, out of the weather the metal cans worked good. However, when things got wet, the cans rusted in a heartbeat along with the contents. Several years ago when the price of coffee went through the roof, the coffee companies doubled dipped the consumer by raising the price and reducing the quantity. Suddenly a can of coffee went to eleven ounces and Folgers Coffee Company began us-ing plastic cans. The plastic contain-ers are great for part storage, strong, with a good fitting lid. Began collect-ing these plastic coffee cans because I wanted a fastener selection to carry

with me in the truck. The hardware folks call anything that joins materials a fastener and includes such items as nails, screws, bolt, staples, etc. My fastener kit needed to in-clude such items as nails, staples, T- post wire ties, and a few machine nuts and washers. Nothing worse, than seeing a hole in the fence, and hav-ing to go back to the shop, for a few staples or wire ties or whatever. After assembling my kit used masking tape and a felt tip pen to label each plastic can. Sorted and weatherproof, and the price is right. Each can is about 4 inches in diameter and 5 ½ inches tall so I need-ed some type of container to keep the cans from rolling around in the back of the truck. Came upon a container used for horse de-wormer, such as Strongid. The containers are strong, have a lid, handle, and are square with rounded corners. A bucket for ten pounds of de-wormer will hold four coffee cans and the twenty pound size will hold eight coffee cans. The de-worming buckets are deep enough to close the lid which helps keep our fas-tener dry.

Since coffee cans are easier to get than buckets a little more about the buckets follows. Made by Ropak, four can size is 2.1 gallons, 8 ½ inches square and 7 inches tall. The larger bucket for eight cans is 8 ¼ inches square and 15 inches tall, 4 ¼ gal-lons. Not only de-wormer comes in these buckets so keep an eye out. Any square buckets you don’t need let me know, can handle the coffee cans. Folks, the holidays are here. Let’s all pause, take a moment, and give thanks for our many blessings. Feel especially blessed that the good Lord has given me the strength to live my dream. My Mother used to say “Jim came into this world as a cow-boy, and will probably leave the same way.” Words of wisdom. So from the ol’ Brazos bottom cowboy, “Happy Holidays and a pros-perous New Year”. Better get back to sortin’, cause gonna need these fasteners when it stops rainin’.

Happy Trails...

General...


1422 F.M. 2223BRYAN

(979) 778-0978

23250 State Hwy 6 S.NAVASOTA

(936) 825-2081

4323 Avenue HROSENBERG

(281) 342-2452

820 Business U.S. 290 N.HEMPSTEAD

(979) 826-3273

6401 F.M. 359RICHMOND

(832) 595-9500

1331 Highway 6 WestALVIN

(281) 388-0388

18821 F.M. 1488 MAGNOLIA

(281) 356-2530

34350 Katy FreewayBROOKSHIRE

(281) 934-2479

228 East Front St.SEALY

(979) 885-2967

NINE TEXAS LOCATIONS!

www.steinhausers.com

Store Hours: Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm • Sun 12pm - 5pm (may vary by location)


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Horseback Magazine December 2013

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Transcript of Horseback Magazine December 2013