WHAT WE BELIEVE
(these are things we found to be true from
working with the thousands of horses that have come through this program)
"It can be Done!"
THE
HERD SOUR HORSE, 24 HOUR TURN OUT AND ONLY HAVING 2 HORSES, the Myth that
keeping horses on 24 hour turn out is natural, like the wild horses
We can no longer duplicate life as it was meant
for wild horses, wild horses travel thousands of miles to good weather and good
grazing, they move when the weather is bad to stay warm, they bed down under
trees when its too hot and they are tough or they die. Wild horses live an
average of 12 years... domestic horses, horses kept by people live much longer
and they should, we are taking care of them.... that means shelter in extreme
heat, cold, storms, cold rains, drafts, etc. Horses were domesticated thousands
of years ago, they no longer have the ability to live and survive without our
care (water, shelter, feed, grain, farrier, vet, dental care, etc).
-Its so critical to understand where the horse is
coming from and the problems he had with previous owners. Many of the problems
the horse has had can be alleviated by changing the environment or changing the
handler/rider. One example: Horses that are kept on a 24/7 turn out allows the
horses bond with the herd to be even stronger, the horse never stands on its own
4 feet by being separated and put into a stall, being put into a stall builds the horses
confidence in himself and makes the horse more dependent on you, forcing it to
bond with you. It is no surprise to me to see a 24/7 turn out horse being herd
sour. This should not surprise any owner. Unfortunately many beginner owners
leave the horse in 24/7 turn out, then start thinking the horse is crazy or
difficult and the problem can't be fixed and then horse becomes an ornament
because they can't handle it away from the herd and the problem just becomes
worse. This is an environment problem that is worsened by the owner not knowing
enough about horses, their instincts and how to get a horses respect. I've
always felt that beginner owners, especially older riders (who
can't afford to get hurt) should never have horses in 24/7 turn out because they
don't know how to handle the fresh herd sour horse, they don't know how to
reestablish the respect of the horse each time they pull it away from the strong
herd bond. The herd is so important to that horse in this situation and the
owner is only a visitor, an intruder, an annoyance more than anything... someone keeping them
from his friends. The first thing we do when we get a horse like this is put
them into a stall (with regular daily turn out of about 8 to 12 hours a day in
the herd) but he's in the stall about 12
hours a day, we get control of his life and make him stand on his own 4 feet and
make him depend on us, make him realize we have control of his schedule and
life (and that he can depend on us, we will take care of him and protect him as
his alpha). If you have a herd sour horse, put him in a stall and away from the
other horses and you will have a much more controllable horse in no time. Even
in a stabling situation you have to ask the horse to walk away from the group on
a regular basis, even the bad horses will become bad about this is you never ask
them to be independent. We feel the worst thing you can do is have only two
horses, because you are asking for them both to be herd sour, being alone is
better than just having two. Three horses or companions are a better choice. I
mean you have to ask yourself, do you want to just look at a horse in the
pasture or do you want a safe mount that you and your family/kids can enjoy and
ride?
THE MYTH THAT HORSES WILL DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM
-This is ludicrous, horses are like kids, they
absolutely will not do what is best for them, we have to make our kids
come in bad weather when they want to play in the snow to protect them from
frostbite, we have to do the same to horses. The gray horse covered in
melanoma's will stand in the sun all day long, the horse that really needs to
exercise will stand in the field and do nothing, the horse that needs to sit still and not move
will run all over the field and re-injure that same bad tendon, the horse that really needs to get out of the sun,
the weather, the snow, ice and rain doesn't, they will even stand in a pond or
under a tree during a lightening storm, they will run across icey snow, fall and
break a leg (we have this happen every year with an adopter who put the horse
out when the horse had no business being out). They may do what they like but
they have no understanding of what is best for them, they only follow their
instincts... that will get them killed.
We domesticated horses, we now have to take care
of them as domesticated animals. We have to pull them in during bad weather, we
have to keep the gray horse out of the sun, we have to protect them from
themselves. Good examples of this is we had a horse with an adopter that allowed
a horse to stand out in an Indiana snow storm instead of putting the horse in a
shelter and it died of hypothermia. Its clear the owner should have put that
horse in a shelter and the excuse about he hates being in a stall will kill your
horse. Another example is the horse who has always lived in a dry stall with
straw up to her knees and she goes to a home with a run in and she stands in the
mud all winter long and her feet fall off from abscesses and she had to be put
down. If the weather is bad, if their are lightening storms, if the horse needs
to not move around, if the horse must exercise, if the gray horse needs to be
inside during sunny days, then we must make them do that, regardless of what the
you think the horse 'likes'. In many cases, it may mean your horses life. There
are tough love times with horses, you have to do what is best for them even when
they don't want to do it, that includes stall rest if they have an injury.
THE MYTH THAT PUTTING HORSES OUT ON 24/7 TURN OUT IS THE WAY NATURE INTENDED
-If you study horses in the wild you will quickly
understand this is not true. Let me explain. In the wild, horses migrate to the
area of the country that has the best weather (moderate weather), you would
never see a wild horse migrate to the new england winters), they move when the
weather is bad, cold and wet and they move over anywhere from 100 to 1000 acres
of land (depending on the weather and the location of food and water). they move
in order to keep warm and find rich grass/forage and water. Putting a
domesticated horse (or even a wild horse) out 24/7 on 1 acre, 10 acres or 50
acres in foul weather is really more abuse than it is as 'nature intended'.
Moving in the wild kept them fit and kept their feet hard and strong, putting
horses on small tracts of land, especially in freezing temperatures (and even
more so in extreme hot, anything about 90 degrees) is just
making the horse figure out a way to survive and live miserably. These are
domesticated animals, we domesticated them and we have to care for them as
domestic animals and bring them in out of the
cold, hot extreme weather, protect their bodies and feet from extreme temperatures
(hot or cold), provide good shelter from drafts and cold and provide them
regular exercise that they would get naturally in the wild. The biggest reason
people do this is they are too lazy to take care of the horse as a domesticated
animal and clean their stall daily and they use the excuse that its more
natural.
We feel from experience the best situation is to
have a stall for each horse, to always feed them in that closed in stall, so no
other horse can take their food and they never get to the point where they feel
they have to fight over food. Give them all the time they need to eat all their
feed (at least 2 to 3 hours each feeding) and turn them out on at least 2 to 3
acres of land per horse, but 10 to 20 acres per horse is much better. Turn them
out in a diverse herd, not alone and not with only one horse. The herd teaches
the horse badly needed respect and social skills and will make him a easier
horse to handle for you. Bring them in to their stall and close them in during
electrical storms, high heat or buggy times (80 degrees and up), very low temp
times (freezing or below), rain anytime the temps are below 40 degrees, snowy
and icing conditions. Injured, sick, young and older horses need more care and more
protection, more time in and things like rugs and blankets, especially if they
don't grow a winter coat. If you always feed horses a carrot or apple when they come
in, they will always come to you, even in the best weather.
REHAB FROM INJURY OR EPM,
INJECTIONS AND DRUGS
-90% of all injuries will get better with time
off (after taking care of any breathing problems, open wounds, lacerations,
fractures, bleeding, or subsequent infections). Time off means more than a
couple of weeks, it could mean a year off or even two, but the horse will become sound.
-Most youngsters (6 and under) will come back
from an injury and be sound with enough time off, sometimes it might take a year
or more, the magic number seems to be 2 years to get past the worst injuries but
its critical to know when to start rehab work to keep joints flexible. The only thing we have not been able to bring back is sesimoid injuries
and fractures in major joints like hocks. All other injuries the horse become
sound again. This does not mean the horse will be able to jump and stay sound,
in fact what we have found is most horses should stop jumping after injury if
you care about the long term soundness and quality of life of the horse.
-Injecting joints to maintain soundness by
putting toxic materials into a horses body damages that joint. It is only a
short term fix and ruins the long term life of the joint. Every injection means
a shorter life of that joint.... is that blue ribbon, saddle or even cash prize
really worth crippling a horse for life?
-Any equine athlete that has had a lay off with
have what the racing industry calls 'come back pains'... more pain coming back
than getting fit the first time. People go through the same thing after time
off, it hurts more to get back to the level of work you were at but takes 1/2
the time once you've been to that level of fitness and work. There is some
memory in the muscles and bones. Bones have to get tougher too and they take
longer than muscles and soft tissue. Its no different for horses.
RETIREMENT
-The worst thing you can do is totally retire a
horse. The average man lives only 7 years after retirement... the horse is no
different. They must have something to keep their minds sharp and their bodies
engaged. I'm not talking about necessarily tough jobs but they must have a job,
whether it be as a lead line horse with children, getting dolled up and walking
in the local parade, a baby sitter, in hand therapy and just being petted and groomed by
kids, an easy trail horse for someone who rarely rides, there is a huge range of
jobs all horses can do and every horse can be useful. The horse who has no
reason to live will decide to die.
COLIC
-Banamine is a life saver, always keep it on hand
in paste or injectible, know how to administer and give it at the first signs of an upset stomach or any
signs of colic.
SHOTS AND DEWORMING
-Over doing shots and deworming is just as bad as
not giving them, it reduces their immunities. We give shots once a year and
de-worm quarterly and even with all the horses we have coming in and out of
here, we never have a problem. The worst thing we ever see is a cold. We are considering going to only twice a year for deworming now, one before the growing season and one in the middle of the
growing season. In hot climates where there is no freezing, that would be every
6 months in areas of the country and in canada where you have very long winters
possibly one worming a year may be enough.
-Worms can cause permanent damage to internal
organs, there by making horses more susceptible to colic. When you buy or adopt
a horse, don't just look at the last deworming but make sure the horse has
always been on a deworming program.
-Too much deworming is a bad as not enough.
You will have just as much of a problem with the horse that has been wormed
monthly as one that is never wormed.
-Rescue horses will always be more susceptible to
colic because of past parasite damage to internal organs. If the person was not
feeding the horse, you can bet they were not deworming. So adding to that risk
by breeding a rescue mare may not be worth risking the life of the mare.
-Never deworm or give shots to a rescue horse
(or any sick or skinny horse)
until you have it healthy and at a stable healthy weight.
-Its important to understand that all dewormers
are poison. You might as well give it rat poison because its basically the same
thing so you need to select the best time, amount and condition of the horse as
to when to do this and watch the horse for several hours after deworming.
Absolutely do not deworm before shipping or after shipping.
ADOPTION
-Most
beginners over estimate their abilities on the adoption application. They think
that just because they can ride the professional trail horse or lesson horse,
they can ride all horses. This is a huge lesson to learn and hopefully it comes
to each person without a broken back or neck.
-Most
experienced male riders over estimate their riding abilities and most experienced women
under estimate their riding abilities.
-When
moving from east to west the percentage of riders change from mostly women
in the east to mostly men in the west (the numbers reverse).
-We can
look at every possibility for attempting to match a horse and rider or handler
and have it still not work out. Its like trying to fix up a couple, sometimes it
just does not work even though everything tells you it should on paper and by
all the descriptions of both.
-Parents
either extremely over estimate their child's riding capabilities or greatly
under estimate it but 8 times out of 10, they over estimate the ability of the
child. The best thing to do is see the child ride.
-You really have to consider what the person has
been riding and their experience to really know how good of a rider they are. If
they have been riding old lesson horses that never get out of line or their
backyard appy that is nearly 30 or even professional trail horses, then that is
really more like riding a merry go round or the mechanical pony outside of
Walmart.
If they have ridden untrained horses, ridden hot
young TB's in shows or competing, if they have ridden maybe 20 or 30 different
horses of all ages. If they have ridden Arabs or TB's that were not lesson
horses and younger than age 10. If they can handle of shy, a straight buck, a
run off and a small rear. If they can handle a walk, trot, canter and hand
gallop in all environments. If they have competed, traveled with their horses,
taken their horses camping or ridden them away from their normal environment. If
they can read a horse and know when to get on and when to not get on, then that
is a good rider, that we would consider an intermediate rider, beyond a beginner
level.
-Our
placement is only as good as the adopter knows themselves, their experience,
what they want and how well they can express that to us. If we do not get
a realistic view of the adopter/handler/rider then we will not be successful
with the placement.
-No
matter what you do there are some people that will take the worst horse you have
with the most problems, (both physical and mental) and they will make it into
the best horse, a horse that everyone wants.
-There
are those that will take the best horse in the program and ruin it in a week or
two or they will give up the day, a week or a month after they get the horse
home. This is not a horse problem, its a people problem and nothing in the
application will ever tell us who these people are in advance. No application
can figure out whether a person is fickle or gives up easily.
-Dump all
the old myths and wives tails about mares, stallions, colts, babies, older
horses, injuries, breeds, etc and look at the individual horse first (yourself,
not through someone else's eyes), then look at the sex, breed, age, training,
past experience, past problems and what past owners/adopters have thought of the
horse last.
-You can
compete and ride a horse (on the flat) until its 30 and older, it all depends on
the care you give, the warm ups and cool downs you provide. We have seen this be
done successfully and there is nothing like seeing a 30 year old horse that is
fit, well cared for and still doing 100 miles a week in endurance rides. Don't
let anyone ever tell you.... 'well that horse is old, he is suppose to look like
that' that is just not true. Don't accept the cop out, older horses can and will
look wonderful and do all sorts of things if you take care of them and give them
what they need.
-Horses
are different with every handler, with every rider, in every living environment
and in every situation. To get a horse to be exactly the way he was with the
last owner, you must be able to duplicate everything the last owner did, even
down to the living environment, feed and turn out, tack, regional influences,
predominant weather, schedule, handlers and riders who ride exactly the same
way.... otherwise you will not see
exactly the same thing as they did.
-When an
owner, previous adopter, foster, even if I give an opinion about a horse, its
only one opinion that reflects that persons experience, their knowledge and what
they have seen from that horse (it is not the horse talking about himself). Change any of those things and you might see
something totally different. If that person has more experience than you, in
handling and riding horses, they will get a different result. This is sometimes
a hard lesson to learn but its a critical one to learn. Just because everyone at CSS can ride a horse does not mean that you can. That is not the horses fault or
your fault, it just means you either need an easier horse to ride or you need to
learn and practice more. We recommend both. The horse is only half of the
puzzle, the handler and rider must progress as well.
TRANSPORT
-Never never never hand your horse over to anyone
without completely checking them out
and not without discussing the complete plan for their transport.
click here to read our transport page full of
critical information to keeping your horse safe.
-If there
is any question as to the safety of the driver, truck or trailer, pay them and
send them away. Its better to lose that money than to lose your horse or have a
12k colic surgery at the other end of the trip.
-Give a
horse at least 7 days before you ask them to do anything, when arriving at a new
home. Don't ride, don't tack up, don't lunge, don't train, don't bathe, don't
clip, don't bring in the farrier, don't give them short, don't bring in the vet, the dentist, don't even deworm or
turn out. Even if the horse seems totally settled as soon as they arrive.
Quietly groom, feed, water and hand walk or hand graze only.
-Some
horses may take months to settle in enough to be safe to ride. The less the
experience of the rider/handler, the longer they should wait before getting on
the horse. The first ride is always after getting to know the horse on the
ground thoroughly, after being quietly lunged (not pushed) and shown signs of
allowing you to get on, any red light signals and you must stop or chance being
hurt.
-Transporting is a high stress situation for a horse. Never transport a sick
horse, a horse that is down in weight, a horse that has had shots with in the
past week, a horse that has been dewormed in the last week, a horse that has had
its shoes changed in the last week. Never put wraps or shipping boots on ship
day on any horse unless they are totally comfortable in them and used to wearing
them. If you feel the horse must wear these things to protect legs, spend 3 to 4
days making them wear them in their stall before the shipping day. Shipping is
high stress already, don't add to the problem by changing anything in their life
and what they are used to. When in doubt, don't change anything.
-When
moving a horse or accepting a horse, make every attempt to completely duplicate
the horses former environment, schedule, the way the horse was kept, everything
in detail for at least a month and slowly, very slowly change one thing at a
time to get the horse on your schedule, feed, training, tack, farrier, deworming,
turn out, etc. Always consider the life and environment the horse has lead and
lived in most of its life (especially during the young years because that is
when habits are formed). You can easily kill a horse by not considering the
place (stable, surroundings, people handing the horse, how busy the stable is,
how the daily life is different, what's different and what do you need to
introduce them to... like the neighbors Emu's or crazy dogs, the wire fencing
you can't see, the chicken coop, the cows, etc), consider the schedule they are
used to, region of the country they come from, predominant weather (hot, dry or
all seasons and extreme weather) and winds, how kept (whether in a stall and
blanketed), the soil (grass or sand), the terrain (hills or flat), the pasture,
the rider and how the rider rides (weight of rider, experience, how much and how
the use their legs, how much and how they use their hands, how heavy they are on
the horses back and how quiet or not quiet they are in the saddle), the tack and
the changes in tack (do one change in tack at a time, if you change more than
one thing at a time, you are asking for trouble, ask the previous owner/rider
about saddle pads, bridles, bits, type of saddle, size tree, type of tree,
weight of rider and weight of saddle, even the normal schedule before riding the
horse).
FEEDING
-Stay away from sweet feed or any feeds
that have artificial or natural sugar of any kind in the feed. Sweet feed is fed to race horses to hype up the horse, make them want to run and work
and to get them hot. But Race horses get worked 6 days a week, 52 weeks out of
the year. If you can't handle your horse, look at what your feeding them. If you
can't get a totally natural feed (most times it has to be shipped and its
usually 20. a bag) then get a simple natural feed like oats, corn or a simple
pelleted feed. STAY AWAY FROM SUGAR, ITS
JUST LIKE FEEDING SUGAR TO YOUR KIDS!!
-Water,
Water, Water. Loads of clean fresh water every day. 20% of dehydration to a
horse is death.
-Grassy
Hay gets the grain through the horses body (along with the water). Always make
sure they have water first when feeding, Hay next and grain last. If you are
feeding grain first or by itself, then you have nothing in their stomach too get
the grain through their body. Always feed right beside the water supply and
always hay before graining.
-All the
problems that come out of feeding are more management problems than problems
with the amount of feed your feeding. Race Horses are eating as much as 60 lbs a feed
a day with out colic or foundering but its carefully managed.
-Stay
away from all sugar, for snacks choose carrots and for feeds select whole feed
that have little or no sugar. If you think he will not eat anything but a sugar based
feed then you didn't feed the other feed long enough for him to acquire a taste
for it. The stickier the feed, the more sugar it has in it. The more sugar in
the feed, the higher the energy the horse will be and the harder they will be
handle. Sweet feed is the worst, then oats is a high carb feed that is high
energy, that is why sweet feed and oats are fed to race horses to give them a
spike of energy. The best feed are low carb, low sugar, high fat, high fiber
with enough protein for the horse (ie. whether they are young and growing, a
mare in foal, a stallion breeding and horses in work require more protein).
-If the
horse has a sensitive stomach or susceptible to colic or founder, stay away from
rich feeds, go to a simple pelleted feed that does not have a lot of additives
or supplements.
-Don't
ever assume anything about a horse or assume your new horse can eat what your
other horses are eating and be fine. He may require double or triple the feed.
You feed what the horse needs. When you see the back getting lean and not
cushioned, you need to bump up the feed. Back bones, ribs or butt bones should
never be seen, They should be felt but not seen (regardless of the horses age or
condition). We don't feed more than 15 lbs in any one feeding, so if they need
more, you add another feeding so if they are eating 60 lbs of feed a day, it should be
in 4 feedings or more, evenly separated.
CARE
-Horses
know instinctively who cares about them and who does not and they figure that
out immediately. If your horse won't come to you, if they won't relax with
you, if they don't come running when you call, if they shy or back away from
you, or if they have developed a vice they are telling you something about you.
Listen, because all these things can be changed by changing your care, how you
treat them and how you think.
-Your
horse is a reflection of you, if you don't like your horse, change what you are
doing and your horse will change.
-When
horses are not cared for and not getting what they need, bad habits will arise
and training and attitude problems will come up. Horses will crib and chew more
if they are hungry and they will throw fits and throw people if they are
hurting. Always consider their care, condition and how they are feeling when you
are seeing problems arise.
WATERING
-Always
make sure water is given to the horse first, then hay, then concentrated feeds.
Always have clean fresh water within 10 feet of the normal feeding location.
-Horses
are like people, they can live much longer without food but will die immediately
without water. 20% body weight loss in dehydration will kill a horse.
TURN OUT
-Almost
any combination of horses will work together (mares, gelding, mares/foals,
colts, older just castrated geldings and even stallions) if its managed well and
given plenty of time to allow horses to settle in. The smaller the turn out
area the longer it takes and the less likely it will work. Most problems occur
when you have less than 3 acres of turn out per horse in the pasture and less
than 5 horses.
You will tend to see more problems with one or
two horses and will tend to see more problems when their turn out area is small
(below 3 acres per horse in the pasture)... once you get over 6 or 7 horses in a
larger area (over 5 acres per horse in the pasture), the problems seem to work
out better in the group, maybe because the underling can move away and get with
a horse they do better with or the alpha has more to think about than just one
or two, therefore less of a focus on one or two. There are always a few
exceptions but we've seen this over and over again, with anywhere from 5 to 50
horses in anywhere from 25 to 150 acres, you can throw most any horse (mares,
geldings, mares/foals, very young colts, older castrated geldings, etc) together
and they will probably work it out over time.
Many time when you separate the bad horse away
from the group, it just makes them worse, even when it comes to how they are
with you. If you are having problems with a horse you are separating from the
herd, rethink that separation. Especially if the horse was ever a breeding
stallion or castrated late in life or is an alpha mare (who knows she has a job
to do) as their sense of fairness is very strong and they feel cheated.
There is always a horse they will get along with, whether it be mares or
geldings, even babies but you must give them the appropriate space and number to
make that happen.
FOUNDER AND NAVICULAR, FOOT CARE FOR EVERYONE
Founder and Navicular are
no longer show stoppers for riding and getting a horse sound or keeping a horse
sound, go to
www.naturalhorsetrim.com and see
how natural trimming can cure (YES CURE) these problems (and do it without the huge
expensive shoeing and drugs). Stop putting those $120. pair of shoes on your horse every 4
weeks and drugging it to keep riding because that only masks the problems, it
does not fix the problem. Think about natural horse trimming and you can fix the
problem. Natural trimming and care gets the foot working as it was intended, it
increases the blood flow and oxygen into the foot which is the life of the foot.
Shoes actually decrease those things and if a horse is in shoes long enough,
those veins will close off and stop allowing blood into the foot, permanently
damaging the horses feet, the foundation of the whole house. Even if you compete
and feel you must compete in shoes, pull shoes in the off season, between events
and shows.
-If you live in Florida or Southern California
(or any place else) where you don't have a built in 'off season' because of
weather, then make your own. Its absolutely critical to keeping the horse sound
for life.
BREAKING YOUNG HORSES,
WEIGHT LIMITS
-Never canter, gallop or jumping a light boned horse before
age 4 (warmblood and draft should be age 6), horses are not fully developed
until age 4 so you are damaging their legs, knees and back by galloping and
jumping before they are fully grown.
-Never get on a horses back before age 2, and
even then confirm by x-rays that the knees are totally closed.
-Horses under age 4 should only be worked for a
maximum of 1/2 hour per training session, with some one on their back. You
can do longer sessions if there is no additional weight on their back.
-Horses with a longer back, have a smaller build
or have less bone in the leg or a smaller diameter around the leg below the
knee, then you should wait to get on the horse until 2 1/2 or even 3.
-Never start jumping a horse as a new profession
after age 12, the age when bones begin to change and get more delicate and lose
substance.
-Follow the 20% rule, never put more than 20% of
a horses weight on its back. Most full grown light boned horses are around 1000
lbs, which means it should not carry a rider bigger than 200 lbs with all its
tack.
TRAINING
-Anybody can call themselves a trainer, an equine
dentist, farrier or transporter (with no formal training or experience). Check
out these people before allowing them to do anything with your horse, look at
their formal training and don't hesitate to ask for proof, ask about years of
experience and how many horses they move, train or take care of each year. Look
for trainers who have experience and references doing specifically what you are
hoping to do with your horse. Don't get a barrel racing trainer to teach your
standardbred to do dressage... it does not work that way, don't put a QH trainer
on your saddlebred or arab. Look for a trainer that has the same philosophy that
you do, amount of work to be done, when, how much and how high to jump the horse
at what age and experience level, whether they hit the horse or not, whether
they force things like head set with things like side reins and draw reins.
-Horses problems are a direct reflection of its
handler/rider/care taker, a sign of something being wrong physically or the
environment its living in (ie. 24 hour turn out, no shelter, not enough turn
out, stall bound, in a climate or region of the country its not suited for, in a
job its not suited for mentally or physically). When you see a horse with
a problem, look first at everything around the horse instead of just writing it
off to being the horses fault. The horse is only a reflection of you and its
environment.
-If you
are an adult and not ridden since you were a kid. Trust me, things are different
as an adult. You know you can get seriously hurt and you now have fear.... since
you now know that, the horse feels your 'worry' in your butt and will then also
be afraid. Its a vicious cycle. Anyone who comes off a horse over the age of 30
can and will get hurt, potentially an injury that could change their life
forever. People over 30 do not bounce so don't get on a horse until you
thoroughly know the horse and have spent several months on a lesson horse first.
Also get a youngster with tons of experience to get on the horse first. If
you can not afford to get hurt, then riding may not be the hobby for you, buy a
bike or 4 wheeler... something that does not have a mind of its own.
-It is unsafe to ride out alone hacking or trail
riding. This is like Scuba Diving. YOU ONLY DO IT WITH A BUDDY. Most horses
will not trail ride alone without other horses and usually its only safe
with the most advanced riders or with a rider who has been riding this horse for
at least a year or more with no breaks in riding. When you are riding alone,
even in a ring, its critical to let someone know you are riding and call a
friend when done. Most farms are very rural and you could be hurt for as long as
a day without someone realizing it.
-Sensitive horses or horses with a lack of
confidence need at least a month to settle in to a new environment (new rider,
new home, new schedule) before being ridden or asked to do anything except be
mannerly in hand. Advanced riders and trainers who ride consistently (at least 3
times a week) and have done so for years can go faster but there is always a
risk and many horses will now show their stress until you are on their back. So
don't assume they have settled because many have not.
-Want a better riding horse, drive...drive....
drive.... Long line or put them on a cart and go for miles. You'll be amazed at
what a difference it makes. Everything you can teach under saddle you can teach
them in long lines or with driving.
-The
person with 20 years experience of riding hundreds of different horses 5 to 6
days a week can get away with more with less risk, the less experience the more
risk involved.
-If a
horse can not get you to listen to him when he's telling you he's hurting or
what you are asking him to do he is not ready for mentally or physically. He
will find another way to tell you, it usually involves an injury to you.
-Stay
away from killing a fly with a sledge hammer. Have appropriate responses for
everything that happens with your horse and get what you want with the least
amount of pressure, the easiest tack, the lesser restraints first.
THE STRONGEST LEAD ROPE OR BIT YOU CAN EVER MAKE IS INSIDE
A HORSES MIND, TRAIN THEM TO DO WHAT YOU WANT, DON'T TRY TO MAKE THEM.
DO WHAT YOU CAN AND WALK AWAY, OR CONTINUE UNTIL THE HORSE
SETTLES
IF YOU RUN INTO A NERVOUS
REACTION FROM YOUR HORSE, WORK THROUGH IT RIGHT THEN AND DON'T QUIT UNTIL THE
HORSE IS TOTALLY SETTLED, IF YOU QUIT BEFORE THE HORSE IS SETTLED, THEN YOU
IMPRINT THE FEAR INTO HIS MIND.
SULLEN AND NERVOUS REQUIRE 2 DIFFERENT RESPONSES
A HORSE WITH A CONFIDENCE PROBLEM
REQUIRES A DIFFERENT RESPONSE FROM YOU THAN A HORSE WITH A RESPECT PROBLEM
FASTER MOVEMENT W/ TRAINER MEANS FASTER MOVEMENT IN THE
HORSES, THE HORSE WILL MATCH YOUR TEMPO OR HAVE A HIGHER ONE
HORSES ARE ALWAYS LEARNING, BOTH GOOD
AND BAD. ITS UP TO US TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE LEARNING THE GOOD STUFF AND NOT THE
BAD
RED LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT, LOOK FOR
THE GREEN LIGHT SIGNALS TO MOVE ON. They are talking to you clearly, listen or
you can get hurt. If the horse is giving you red light signals, moving to the
next point (like say getting on their back) can get you hurt. Learn to read
their crystal clear communication. Look for the signs and know when to stop and
back off.
3 TIMES A CHARM, GET THE HORSE TO DO IT
3 TIMES AND HE'S PROBABLY LEARNED IT. Until he's done it 3 times, he will
probably act like he's forgotten it twice.
THE RIGHT AIDS AT THE WRONG TIME ARE STILL THE WRONG AIDS
A HORSES TEMPERAMENT IS A REFLECTION OF YOURS, GET TO KNOW
YOURSELF
MUST HAVE CALM DOWN CUE
PAIN GETS IN THE WAY OF TRAINING
HORSES ARE MUCH
LIKE PEOPLE THEY WOULD RATHER BE WITH THEIR FRIENDS OR IN THEIR STALL THAN
WORKING. USE THAT INFORMATION IN TRAINING. ESPECIALLY IF YOUR
HORSE DOES SOMETHING BAD, IF YOU PUT HIM BACK INTO HIS STALL OR BACK INTO THE
PASTURE, YOU HAVE JUST REWARDED THIS BAD BEHAVIOR. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL SEE IT
AGAIN
NUMBER ONE RULE! THE PERSON CAN’T GET HURT,
THE HORSE CAN’T GET
HURT, THE HORSE MUST BE MORE RELAXED AT THE END OF SESSION THAN IT WAS BEGINNING
ANYTHING FORCED IS NOT BEAUTIFUL, ANYTHING NOT BEAUTIFUL IS
NOT RIGHT
BE PATIENT, CONSISTENT, PREDICTABLE
90% OF ALL HORSE TO HORSE CONFLICT NEVER ENDS IN CONTACT,
95% OF ALL HORSE TO PEOPLE CONFLICT ENDS UP WITH CONTACT, THERE IS SOMETHING
WRONG WITH THAT
THE MORE RESTRAINT, THE BIGGER THE CRASH
-When
hanging anything on a horse, (new or different tack, a different bit, a new
saddle, side reins, draw reins, standing or running martingales, drop nose
bands, figure 8, tail cruppers, leg wraps, shipping boots, a driving harness, a
cart, long lines) allow the horse to just sit in his stall for at least an hour
before you ask him to do anything with the new equipment. The more comfortable
the horse can get in his own environment, the better he will be when you have to
put him into your environment or some place new. Don't hang anything on a
horse and then immediately ask them to perform and expect it to go perfectly,
some are so sensitive that it may go very badly unless you allow them time to
get used to the new equipment.
HORSE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS (FROM THE HORSEMAN'S POINT OF
VIEW)
FOOD/WATER, SHELTER, SEX FOR STALLIONS,
HEALTHY BODY, SOCIAL/HERD LIFE, NOT ACT LIKE PREY, GIVE TRUST/RESPECT, HEART &
DESIRE, SELF ACTUALIZATION, THE BASICS HAVE TO BE CARED FOR BEFORE YOU CAN ASK
THE HORSE TO DO ANYTHING, THE MORAL OF THE STORY: YOU CAN NOT ASK A HORSE TO
CARRY YOUR FAT BUTT AROUND IF HE'S HUNGRY OR HURTING!!!
RED LIGHTS: RAISING HEAD, TENSION, BIG EYE, FLARED NOSTRIL,
SHAKING, SHYING, SNORTING, RUNNING OVER A PERSON IN HAND, RUNNING OFF UNDER
SADDLE, TAIL UP, NECK ARCHED, ANY SIGN OF DISRESPECT OR FEAR IN HAND, THEM NOT
ALLOWING YOU TO GET INTO THEIR SPACE, THEM NOT ALLOWING YOU TO TOUCH THEM
EVERYWHERE. RED MEANS STOP, DO NOT GO ON UNTIL YOU ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS AND
GET THE GREEN LIGHTS. NEVER NEVER NEVER GO ON IF YOU HAVE ANY RED LIGHT
SIGNAL!!!!!
GREEN LIGHTS: CHEWING, LICKING LIPS, EAR COMING IN, LOWER
HEAD, RELAXED FACE, CALM, LISTENING, RESPECTFUL, RELAXED HEAD, SMOOTH MOVEMENTS, QUIET, RELAXING TOP LINE & TAIL,
RESPECTING HANDLERS SPACE, DOING WHAT IS ASKED OF THEM ON THE GROUND
MOVING OR SELLING OLDER HORSES
(ESPECIALLY MARES)
-Take
extreme care when moving older horses, especially when you are changing more
than just the home (ie. changing their humans, the environment, the region of
the country, the climate and humidity, type of ground and ground cover).
-It takes
most healthy young horses about 4 months to really settle in to a new home. It
takes about 8 months for an older gelding and about a year for an older mare.
-BEWARE
with horses of all ages if you are changing regions of the country, predominant
weather, terrain, type of ground and ground cover, people and the home environment (from stall to run in or from
stall to pasture or from pasture to stall). Many horses will not survive extreme
changes.
-If you
have any horse over 25, do everything in your power not to move it at all.
If you have a strong gelding over 20 use extreme care but do not move a mare
over age 20. Mares are more sensitive and many will die within 6 months to a
year of their move. Most of the ones we've seen we believed just died of a
broken heart when their owners gave them up.
-Mares
are very much like women, they do run the show but they are also very sensitive
about things that do not matter to most geldings.
-Every
horse sale should include more than just a bill of sale, the seller should
define what they expect in future sales, the minimum care required, the daily
care required, the feed it requires and type of feed, any special care it
requires, shelter it requires and have the buyer agree to that and sign it.
Everything must be in writing and put a clause in the bill of sale with a 20k
fine if the buyer breaks the agreement and a statement that the horse will
immediately come back to the previous owner if breeched. A written contract is
the only thing that will protect your horse. Thousands of Verbal agreements are
broken on a daily basis over horses.
-Your
horses future depends on you making the best decisions and doing things to
protect them during sales. At a very minimum, you must ask specific questions
about the following when selling your horse:
-
the
buyers financial stability (job, how long have they been at that job, salary and
money history such as money problems and bankruptcy, do they have stable work or
do they depend solely on their hubby for their horse money.... remember 50% of
all marriages end in divorce which puts your horse at risk),
-
the
buyers knowledge (training, experience, specifically what they have done....
just saying they have owned for 20 years doesn't mean anything),
-
you
should thoroughly review what the horse requires as far as amount and type of
feed and be very specific, training, care, special care, etc and ask them if
they have any problem doing any of those things.
-
Personal
stability (do they own the farm where the horse is going to be staying? How long
have they lived there? Are they married? How long have they been married.....
80% of all marriages end in the first 7 years).
-
Facilities, see current pictures of their barn, stalls and their current horses.
Current means in the last 30 days.
-
Get a vet
and farrier reference and talk to them. Go see the home if you can. Follow up a
month later and 6 months later (don't just call, go there).
-
We check
all these things, plus give a written test of 50 questions and we check
bankruptcies, criminal records, civil law suit records, credit, talk to the
employer. Even then, there is no guarantee but your chances are much better of
knowing you have a good buyer and a good home.
BREEDING
-Never
make decisions about a bred mare with an early ultrasound, always
wait for a much later palpation. You'll never guess how many mares we've gotten
from breeders or former adopters who say the mare they are donating or putting
back into the program can't get in foal or won't keep
a foal and they end up foaling here because they came to us bred.
-Every
foal is 80% of the dam, you will never have a good baby without an exceptional
mare, regardless of how good the stallion is.
-Never
never bred a mare that has ever been a rescue, more than likely she has years of
parasite damage and breeding means death to many mares with a rescue background,
especially if you add age to the picture. Never breed a mare that is not in top
shape, weight and condition. The baby is a direct reflection of the condition of
the mare.
-Many
mares that people are breeding and can't get in foal will get in foal with
better care, especially with lots of good quality feed and good shelter.
-Don't do
shots or deworm foals until 4 months old. Some shots should not be done until 6
months and some wormers are not safe for foals... read all labels.
-You can
get nearly anything in foal if you work at it hard enough.
-Breeding
any mare the age of 20 or over is risking the life of that mare.
-Always
have bred mares checked for twins very early and have the vet pinch off the
smaller of the two. TB's, Arab's and QH's have a higher probability of producing
twins according to studies done by Colorado State University.
WINTER CARE
-We lose
at least one adoption horse every winter at an adopters because of major
fractures from falling on ice and snow. This has happened every year since we
started the program. Turn out is important but is turn out more important than
the life of your horse? This is one of those tough love things, you keep your
kids in too when going out will hurt them.
-We lose
another adoption horse every winter at an adopters because of colic. Loads of
Fresh water must be available to every horse but not only that, you must make
sure they are drinking. Some horses will not drink cold water, they certainly
won't drink water that is solid ice or has an ice layer on it. Here we have 250
gallon troughs in each and every stall, they are either heated or we break ice
and take it out twice a day. Horses can live without feed but they will die
immediately without water. Feed and no water is a set up for colic. The water
and hay gets the grain through their body.
-Spend the summer getting your horse round for
winter. If the horse if going into winter thin, you'll have to feed 3 times the
amount to get the weight back up in the cold months.
-You
don't have to bump up feeds in the winter to keep horses round if you put a
heavy weight rug on them in temperatures at freezing and below and a light
weight rug between freezing and 40 degrees. Much of the feed is being used up to keep
them warm and you can do that with a simple water proof rug. Without a good rug and good shelter you should plan on adding 1/4
to 1/2
more to the daily ration in the winter to keep them warm and round.
-Some
horses will never grow a winter coat and yes horses do get hypothermia and can
die from being cold and getting core temperatures down to low.
-You need
to put a heavy weight rug on older, thin, sick or injured horses during the winter
months because much of their feed if going to get them better or to take care of
the injury, so nothing is left to keep them round and to keep them warm.
RIDING
-Don't
ever get on any horse until you do a Monty Roberts style join up. Not just
mindless lunging, don't drive the horse around in a lunge, you can actually get
a horse hyped up and hot by driving them in a lunge, this should be a relaxing
lunge to allow them to get the edge off, you must see the "green light signals" that the horse is
accepting of you as their partner and leader and is confident about what you are doing.
If you don't get those signals, you are risking your life when getting on the
horse. Every ride and every training session at SWAP HQ starts with this
procedure in the round pen. Make no assumptions even when you know the horse,
you are between 100 and 200 lbs and they are at least 1000 lbs, you give them
the definite advantage when you get on their back.
-Do not
get on any horse if you get any of the 'red light signals'.
(see Red Light and
Green Light signals above under training).
