Canadian Horse Journal - Early Summer 2021

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2688 256th Street, Langley, BC MLS# R2548675 • $7,800,000

Fantastic location in Langley! 31 acres of rolling hills perfectly set up for horses with two road frontages. 130 x 240 outdoor arena with lights and second 130x130 large round outdoor arena, two barns with 20 stalls in total, firstclass 60 ft covered exerciser, fully fenced and crossed fenced with auto waterers in each field.

This gorgeous property also features a 4100 sq ft executive home with a master on the main floor, a 1000 sq ft suite above the garage, and a second updated farmhouse at the front. Power gates at both entrances, backup generator, large shop, hay barn, and all the extras to be expected from a property of this calibre. Truly a must-see!

1280 Powerhouse Road, Abbotsford, BC MLS# R2551196 • $2,799,000

6.45 acre equestrian property.

1,911 sq ft renovated rancher, plus a 1,225 sq ft 2 bed/1 bath suite above the barn that is tenanted w/ the option to give an additional 2 bed/1 bath plus large utility room downstairs. 72 x 220 indoor riding ring, heated viewing stand, 125 x 295 outdoor riding ring & 11 stall barn. An additional 11 shed row stalls run the length of the indoor arena, 18 outdoor shelters, recently added Pro Panel corner feeders, 55 ft round pen, fully fenced and more. 4 cattle pens w/ return ally. House fully renovated inside and out; granite counters, stainless appliances, new windows, metal roof, and more. A beautiful large deck off the back of the house, perfect for entertainment or relaxing.

38751 Old Yale Road, Abbotsford, BC MLS# R2548675 • $1,875,000

Rarely available 2.5-acre turn-key equestrian property. Ride out to the trails from this beautiful property located in the quaint community of Arnold. This perfectly set up property features an 11 stall barn with 6 in and out crusher dust attached paddocks, tack room, feed room, hay storage, wash rack with hot water, a separate 4 stall barn within and out crusher dust attached paddocks, professionally built 100×200 riding ring with lights, 3 fenced pastures, a second paved driveway to the barn and excellent drainage throughout.

This well maintained and updated 5 bed 3 bath 3271 sq ft house with separate entry in the basement makes this the perfect package for every horse lover!

Amy Brattebo

PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION

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SPECIAL FEATURES 24 If Your Horse Could Drive…

How to be a safer and more competent driver when you take your rig on the road.

With creativity and market research, you can turn your homestead into a budget booster.

40 Make Rotational Grazing Work For You

For more productive pastures and better quality forage, try rotational grazing.

48 Your Riding Gear

Is it working for or against you and your horse?

52 The Science of Tack and Training Aids

Sifting through the truth, tradition, and emotion around this controversial subject.

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62 The Bridle Horse Tradition Horsemen and women continue to train horses in this centuries-old tradition.

70 Roping 101: Cowboy School Maybe it’s time to indulge your inner cowboy and give roping a whirl.

74 Get the Most From Carrot Stretches

Adjust your routine to keep these time-tested exercises working for your horse.

78 The Two Faces of Perfectionism

How to strive for excellence through constant growth and improvement.

30 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

30 How to Increase Your Horse Property Income

52

ON THE COVER

Our very own Sales and Social Media Manager, April D. Ray, on her Warmblood mare, Fire Foot MR5 (Fire).

PHOTO: SOUL TOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS

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24 PAM MACKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY | 30 ISTOCK/JASONDOLY | 40 ADOBESTOCK/CHELLE129 | 52 PETER BRUCE

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12 78

DEPARTMENTS 2

HEALTH & WELFARE 10 What is West Nile Virus?

Among large animals, horses are especially at risk for West Nile virus infection and disease.

12 Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis

6

Protect your horse against these viral diseases that cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. www.HORSE Journals.com

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14 Back Pain in Sport Horses

With correct diagnosis and treatment, equine back pain can usually be treated successfully.

22 The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada

Practical, science-based information to help horse owners make good decisions for their horses.

Celebration of Horses Photo Contest

3, 85 Country Homes & Acreages 8 Editorial 47, 77 To Subscribe 82 Horse Council BC News 84 Canadian Therapeutic Riding 86

Association

Canadian Quarter Horse Association News

87-88 The Business Stable 89 Manitoba Horse Council News 90 Meet Our Contributors 91 Index to Advertisers

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CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

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EDITOR’S DESK

Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind.

b

— John Donne, written in 1623.

Your Horse b Your Passion b Your Magazine

No one has escaped the changes the pandemic has forced upon us. My hope is that we will emerge from these times as better people, honouring the value of those who are society’s most vulnerable by virtue of their health or age or social status. We will have newfound respect for the contributions of front-line workers who sustain us, whether they are doctors, nurses, and teachers, or those who prepare our food, clean our homes, and scan our groceries at the checkout. We will understand our essential interdependence with nature and the myriad species of creatures that share the world with us. We will emerge from these times having changed for the better.

Kitty O’Meara, a retired teacher, wrote the poem And the People Stayed Home in March 2020, at her farmhouse in Wisconsin, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She posted it to her Facebook page and blog, and it promptly went viral.

It has since been translated into many languages and shared around the world. It has inspired and fascinated millions, and in November 2020 it was published as an illustrated 32-page book, with the audiobook version read by Kate Winslet.

Described as “the poet laureate of the pandemic,” her simple poem conveys a magnitude of meaning.

Stay safe and well everyone!

Kathy

Published by Horse Community Journals Inc.

Volume 21 • Issue 5 Early Summer 2021 Issue (May/June) of Canadian Horse Journal EDITOR / PUBLISHER Kathy Smith ACCOUNTS Geri Pronovost ADVERTISING April D. Ray • Terry Andrucko • Janna Reimer SOCIAL MEDIA April D. Ray SUBSCRIPTIONS Steve Smith MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION Janna Reimer ART DIRECTION, PRODUCTION Elisa Crees CONTRIBUTORS Tania Millen • Shawn Hamilton • April D. Ray Jec Ballou • Shelagh Niblock • Annika McGivern Alexa Linton • Lindsay Grice Kevan Garecki • Dr. Billy Hodge WCVM • HCBC • MHC • CanTRA • CQHA ADVERTISING, SUBSCRIPTIONS & GENERAL INQUIRIES 1-800-299-3799 • 250-655-8883 or email: sales@horsejournals.com

And the People Stayed Home

ADVERTISING DEADLINE 4 weeks prior to issue date e.g., Oct.1 for Winter (Nov/Dec) issue.

BY KITTY O’MEARA And the people stayed home, and read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.

And listened more deeply.

Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.

And the people began to think differently.

ONLINE EDITION

WEBSITE www.horsejournals.com MAIN OFFICE EMAIL editor@horsejournals.com PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT EMAIL design@horsejournals.com

Publishing 6 issues per year SUBSCRIPTIONS – REGULAR RATES 1 yr/6 issues: $24 + tax 2 yr/12 issues: $37 + tax US $59/2 yrs, 12 issues ORDERS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICES, & UNDELIVERABLE COPIES ARE TO BE SENT TO: THE CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL Suite 202, 2400 Bevan Ave., Sidney, BC V8L 1W1 (250) 655-8883 • fax: (250) 655-8913 • 1-800-299-3799

And the people healed.

And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

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And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART OF ANY MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. The information and services listed herein are intended to facilitate accessibility to the professionals, products and services that play a part in the horse industry. While readers are encouraged to use the products and services of the merchants listed in this Guide, Horse Community Journals Inc. does not recommend or guarantee the products and services of advertisers or associates listed.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PIRITA

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Manuscripts and photographs will be returned only if SASE is provided. The return of unsolicited material is not guaranteed.

Contributors and advertisers warrant all materials supplied are free of copyright and they have the legal right to use the same.

All material accepted for publication is subject to such revisions as are deemed appropriate by Canadian Horse Journal (CHJ).

The opinions expressed in CHJ are not necessarily those of the publisher. CHJ reserves the right to refuse any advertising or submission. Contributors consent to have their submissions published in CHJ and on www.HorseJournals.com and elsewhere as determined by the publisher.

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Top Level Equine Respiratory Health Support Starts With Flexineb Most horse people will remember being surprised and concerned when research first revealed just how pervasive equine gastric ulcers were. Turns out, the vast majority of racing, performance, and pleasure horses suffer from some degree of gastric ulceration.

Would you be just as surprised to learn that recent studies show approximately 80 percent of some working and pleasure horses show signs of mild to moderate equine asthma?* Being the athletes they are, horses have enormous lungs, with an average capacity of about 55 litres of air (nine to ten times larger than human lungs). At rest, they might only breathe about 12 times per minute, but during high-stress exercise their lungs contract and expand up to 140 times per minute, a truly remarkable increase.

Horses and humans share many respiratory health concerns, including allergies and chronic lower airway inflammation, now described by veterinarians under the umbrella term “equine asthma” and further classified as mild, moderate, or severe.

Watching a horse physically heave for air and struggle to breathe is distressing, but some respiratory issues are far more subtle and can present as mildly as a cough or two at the start of exercise. It’s important to remember that horses are obligate nasal breathers — they can only breathe through the nose — so a cough would indicate something is certainly going on and you should contact your veterinarian for advice. Spring and summer pollens can be problematic for some; winter stabling and decreased turnout are an aggravating factor for others.

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“The gold standard of equine respiratory care is wet nebulization,” says Sarah Spooner, international sales and marketing manager for Nortev Ltd., an Irish company which designs and manufactures the Flexineb E3, a silent and portable nebulizer system which comes in three sizes for horses and ponies.

“Wet nebulization has for many years been utilised in the veterinary sector, but has been loud, noisy, and cumbersome requiring cords, hoses and power outlets.

Flexineb has revolutionized equine nebulisation in a silent, flexible, and portable integrated nebulizer, the Flexineb E3, giving maximum flexibility to both the horse owner and veterinarian to utilise a wide range of medications and possibilities to treat a specific horse’s issues.

The Flexineb E3 converts liquid medications to an aerosol of the correct size for maximum deposition and absorption in the horse’s respiratory tract — 71 percent of the aerosol created is likely to reach the lower respiratory tract** — where it really needs to be.

Nebulization has an important advantage over respiratory medications delivered orally or by intramuscular or intravenous injection

(i.e., systemically), Spooner says. “Targeted medication delivery for respiratory health care allows low dose treatment, which is what’s best for the animal in managing a lifelong condition. Like human asthma, the condition needs to be managed long-term and many horses continue to compete internationally very successfully with equine asthma managed by Flexineb.”

While Flexineb E3 is an investment, the advantages are impressive.

Completely portable and battery-powered, the Flexineb E3 is free of the hoses, wires, and compressors of earlier models. Utilising leading vibrating mesh technology, it operates silently during use, ensuring maximum patient acceptance. The Flexineb mask is a soft, durable, rubber-like material allowing for complete comfort during the short nebulization process.

Best of all, the Flexineb E3 can deliver a wide range of medications from antibiotics and bronchodilators, to mucolytics, corticosteroids, and natural products. Your veterinarian can prescribe the medications best suited to treat your horse’s particular respiratory issues.

Whether a world-class athlete, or a wellloved pasture potato, your horse can benefit from inhalation therapy with Flexineb.

Contact Sarah Lauren Scott, Sales Manager, Nortev Canada, for information on how to incorporate Flexineb into your program.

Sarah Lauren Scott, Sales Manager, Nortev Canada sscott@nortev.com • (905) 875-5876 > Flexineb.ca

*According to a 2018 study by Kathleen Ivester, Laurent Couetil, and George Moore, published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, “An observational study of environmental exposures, airway cytology and performance in racing Thoroughbreds.” **Scintigraphy imaging and study carried out at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute by Dr. Nathan Slovis, with particle size testing carried out independently by Melburn Scientific.

EARLY SUMMER 2021

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CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

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WHAT IS

West Nile virus?

UC Davis Center for Equine Health

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that affects humans and other animals, of which horses represent 96.9 percent of reported non-human cases. Introduced to the United States in 1999, WNV is now found in all of the contiguous 48 states. In Canada, 86 human cases and three deaths had been reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in between January 1 and October 24, 2020 as well as 40 WNV-positive wild birds and six positive horses. In addition, a total of 15,945 mosquito pools had been tested for WNV in four provinces: Saskatchewan (71), Manitoba (1,264), Ontario (13,179) and Québec (1,431). Of these, 198 WNV-positive mosquito pools have been reported to PHAC. Wild birds are the natural hosts for WNV. Humans and horses are considered dead end hosts. The virus is only transmitted through mosquitoes; humans and horses cannot give it to each other.

Many horses that become infected with WNV do not show signs of illness, but some develop neurologic disease. The virus enters the bloodstream, where it multiplies, through a bite from an infected mosquito. If the virus crosses the blood-brain barrier, it can cause inflammation of the brain and possibly death.

enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test is the most reliable method to detect WNV infection. It is capable of identifying the virus within six days, and up to two months, after infection.

What are the clinical signs of West Nile virus?

Including WNV vaccine as an annual core vaccine can protect horses from infection, and local veterinarians can provide guidance on appropriate products and strategies.

Owners and facilities can further protect horses by practicing good mosquito control, including eliminating breeding sites by removing standing water, cleaning water containers, and stocking water troughs with fish that feed on mosquito larvae.

It is also important to minimize horses’ exposure to mosquitoes through use of repellents and bringing horses in at peak mosquito-feeding periods (dawn and dusk). b

The effects of WNV in horses range from mild, flu-like signs to inflammation of the brain (West Nile Encephalitis), which can be fatal. Some infected horses show no clinical signs and recover without intervention.

Clinical signs of WNV infection may include fever, incoordination, stumbling, falling, weakness, muscle twitching, seizures, drooping lips, lip smacking, head drooping, grinding teeth, and abnormal sensitivity to touch or sound. Serious cases may be unable to rise (recumbent).

How is West Nile virus diagnosed?

To make a diagnosis of WNV in horses, veterinarians will first rule out other neurological diseases. An IgM capture 10

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How is West Nile virus treated?

There is no specific treatment for WNV in horses. Supportive care for clinical signs may include anti-inflammatory drugs and intravenous (IV) fluids.

What is the prognosis for West Nile virus?

Many horses recover fully from WNV infection. Some that recover exhibit long-term effects, including gait and behavioural abnormalities. The prognosis is poorer for horses that are severely affected. Older horses are more likely to experience severe signs than younger horses. The case fatality rate for horses exhibiting clinical signs is approximately 33 percent and recumbent horses are at greater risk of death or requiring euthanasia.

How can West Nile virus be prevented?

Printed with the kind permission of the UC Davis Center for Equine Health.

The UC Davis Center for Equine Health is dedicated to advancing the health, welfare, performance and veterinary care of horses through research, education and public service. https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/RITA KOCHMARJOVA

HEALTH

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/RITA KOCHMARJOVA

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PHOTO: PETRI VOLANEN

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PERNSANITFOTO

HEALTH

Eastern & Western Equine Encephalitis Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE), also known as sleeping sickness, and Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE) are viral diseases that cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

Wild birds are a natural reservoir for EEE and WEE viruses, and mosquitoes that feed on these birds can transmit the virus to mammals, including horses and humans.

Cases of EEE are most commonly seen in the southern and eastern parts of North America. The mosquito Culiseta melanura is the primary vector (although other species of mosquito can also transmit the virus). The Canada Food Inspection

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/STOKKETTE

Keep horses in the barn at night when mosquitoes are active.

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Agency (CFIA) reported eight horses testing positive for EEE in Ontario in 2020. No human cases were reported in the 2020 season.

WEE virus is distributed more in the west, although both WEE and EEE can occur outside their normal geographical areas.

Outbreaks of WEE virus have resulted in significant numbers of deaths in horses and humans. Survivors can have permanent neurological impairment. The virus circulates naturally in birds and is transmitted to horses and people primarily by the mosquito vector Culex tarsalis.

Incidence rates vary each year, and both EEE and WEE occur most frequently in late summer to early fall. In addition to mosquitoes, ticks and other bloodsucking insects can also transmit the virus after feeding on an infected bird. The incubation period ranges from two days to three weeks. Direct transmission between horses, or between horses and humans, is not likely.

EEE is more virulent, although both EEE and WEE are both life-threatening neurologic diseases.

The clinical signs of EEE often come on abruptly and signs of both viruses can include depression, anorexia, fever, and lethargy. Neurological signs may include tremors, weakness, ataxia, paralysis, seizures, decreased awareness of surroundings, and recumbency.

Both EEE and WEE viruses are diagnosed through bloodwork.

Testing can include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples to identify the WEE or EEE virus.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PERNSANITFOTO PHOTO: PETRI VOLANEN

Moaquito larva hatching in water.

Treatment largely consists of supportive care for horses with clinical signs, including intravenous (IV) fluids and anti-inflammatory medications. There is no cure for EEE or WEE. The prognosis for horses with WEE is fair. The disease has a 20 to 40 percent mortality rate, and long-term deficits may occur in horses that recover from WEE. The prognosis for horses diagnosed with EEE is very poor, with up to 90 percent of infected horses dying from the disease. Horses with neurological signs that become unable to stand on their own have the poorest prognosis for survival. Horses that do survive can have permanent brain damage.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) recommends the EEE and WEE vaccines as core vaccines. Horses

should be kept up-to-date on vaccinations, which are usually administered yearly (boosters may be recommended more frequently in warm climates with year-round mosquito activity).

Boosters may be advised when outbreaks occur. Work with your veterinarian to establish an appropriate vaccination schedule for your horse and situation.

In addition to vaccination, it is important to practice good vector control. Use insect repellents and keep horses in at night when mosquitoes are most active. Eliminate mosquito breeding grounds such as standing water, brush piles, and old tires. Stock tanks and water troughs with mosquito-feeding fish. b With files from UC Davis Center for Equine Health and Boehringer Ingelheim.

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CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

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HEALTH

BACK PAIN in Sport Horses Diagnosis & Treatment

By Dr. Billy Hodge

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s

I

Summarized below are the most common causes of back pain in the sport horse, depending on the horse’s discipline.

n recent years the addition of the back examination to a routine lameness exam has become commonplace. With vast amounts of information available on the internet and social media pages, it can be daunting to understand and clarify “back pain” in the sport horse. This article will organize the clutter of information into a clear picture for riders and owners.

Muscle and Soft Tissue Pain From Incorrect Saddle Fit Horses can become locally or generally sore from an ill-fitting saddle. Horses, like humans, can change shape as they grow and develop more muscle, even during the show season. Just as we need to adjust our gear as riders, the horse must have tack that fits correctly in order to succeed.

Anatomically, the mid/caudal back of a horse is comprised of bone (eighteen thoracic vertebrae, six lumbar vertebrae, and the sacroiliac articulation to the pelvis), linked by soft tissues (ligaments), which together form joints that are propelled into action by muscles.

DIAGNOSIS & THERAPY: Ill-fitting tack can lead to pain that can present acutely or as a low grade, longstanding issue.

THORACIC REGION

LUMBAR REGION

SPINOUS PROCESS

THINKSTOCKPHOTOS/GLOBALP & CANSTOCKPHOTO/ ANDRIIOLIINYK

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/CATWALK PHOTOS

Most Common Causes of Back Pain

This image shows the most important structures of the horse’s anatomy relative to the regions of common injuries in the horse’s back.

Any of these areas can become injured.

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NUCHAL LIGAMENT FUNICULAR PART

SUPRASPINOUS LIGAMENT

LAMELLAR PART

THINKSTOCKPHOTOS/GLOBALP & CANSTOCKPHOTO/ANDRIIOLIINYK

This will usually present as the horse being unhappy with saddling, areas of rubbing, white hairs, hair loss, saddle slipping, and/or areas of bruising-tenderness-swelling, which can be felt. Clinical examination is usually sufficient for diagnosis, but incorporating radiographs and ultrasound can aid in ruling out other common issues. Usual therapy is one to three weeks of back free exercise, topical or oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and careful saddle fitting. In our clinic, we routinely use laser therapy and/or light therapy with acupuncture to help relieve some of the tension that has developed.

Equine back showing kissing spine. X-rays confirmed that eleven of this horse’s vertebrae suffered from kissing spine, and four vertebrae had fused together.

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Overriding Dorsal Spinous Processes or “Kissing spine” The pain arises from the region known as the dorsal spinous processes.

This condition can be found in all disciplines and breeds of horses, and in horses of almost any age.

DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT: This condition can be suspected in horses with pain on palpation, saddling, walking, trotting, and commonly in the canter. It can be diagnosed and graded by the lesion seen with radiographs, ultrasound, or gamma scintigraphy (bone scan) and by the presentation clinically (mild, moderate, severe). Interestingly, the radiographic findings often don’t support the clinical findings. This individual variation is seen often and can be confusing for owners. Some horses may have severe signs with only one area of abnormality on radiographs, and other horses will have moderate to severe radiographic findings with mild clinical signs.

Often there is a bone component, as well as soft tissue and local nerveassociated pain, making treatment of “kissing spine” case dependent.

Therefore, a single therapy is usually unable to significantly reduce pain and improve rideability. Treatment should be aimed at reducing pain, and this will usually involve local ultrasoundguided injections, bisphosphonates, a short course of NSAIDs, mesotherapy, shockwave therapy, and regenerative laser therapy (RLT). Therapies such as the Bemer Blanket and Magna Wave have not been clinically trialled and therefore the exact response is not discussed here. There are anecdotal reports of improvement with their use.

The horse should be rested for up to four to six weeks, with non-riding exercise allowed. Topical and oral NSAID treatment should be given until signs of pain and inflammation have subsided.

The injury can be also treated concurrently with shockwave and RLT in addition to local therapy depending on the acute/chronic nature (ice/heat).

Thoracolumbar Facet Joint Pain (Osteoarthritis)

Osteoarthritis is a relatively common finding in sport horses but rarely

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discussed or diagnosed. It can present as acute or chronic pain arising from the thoracic/lumbar facet joints (the small interlocking joints that allow rotation in the back). Loss of performance, decreased rideability, and behavioural issues when ridden are all possible manifestations.

DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT: This condition is diagnosed by ultrasonographic evaluation of the joint just off midline.

The use of scintigraphy can be warranted but is expensive and requires special equipment. Radiography is also

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Supraspinous Ligament Injury

This is a relatively common injury found in sport horses. The supraspinous ligament is very elastic and can be over- stretched resulting in mild to moderate tearing causing pain and reduced performance. It is usually a sudden onset swelling over the midline back region, and diagnosis is strongly supported by palpation.

DIAGNOSIS & THERAPY: Ultrasound is the diagnostic technique of choice, and examination with careful evaluation of this fibrous/ligamentous structure that runs from the top of each dorsal spinous process and has a wave-like undulation along the back.

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PHOTO: DREAMSTIME/CHERNETSKAYA

The horse’s back changes over time due to training, nutrition, and other factors. For this reason, the fit of the saddle should be checked at regular intervals and adjusted to accommodate these changes.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEADOW LAKE EQUINE CLINIC

A unique non-surgical technique that allows horses to work and compete with less pain, mesotherapy uses a mixture of homeopathic substances which are injected along a region of pain (usually the back, sacroiliac, lumbosacral areas). The injections are made in the skin layer called the mesoderm where nerve fibres that provide deep pain sensation are “dampened” in order to allow pain-free movement. This very effective method of pain relief is commonly used to treat conditions such as sacroiliac joint disease, lumbosacral joint disease, kissing spine, facet joint disease, and fractured withers or degenerative joint disease.

utilized but precise technique is required as well as a machine with higher settings (KV/Mas).

PHOTO: DREAMSTIME/CHERNETSKAYA

Sacroiliac Pain/Dysfunction This very common condition affects horses of all ages, breeds, and disciplines. The presentation is acute pain, or more commonly chronic pain, resulting in poor performance, decreased ability to canter, swapping leads, behavioural changes, inability to hold one limb up for long periods of time (difficulty with farrier), and in some cases sore on palpation over the sacroiliac region.

DIAGNOSIS & THERAPY: An experienced ultrasonographer using careful rectal ultrasound or scintigraphy can diagnose this condition. A misconception that a “hunter’s bump is suggestive” of sacroiliac pain is untrue.

Therapy is directed at decreasing the pain in the sacroiliac region, and therefore cases should be treated utilizing a short course of oral NSAIDs, sacroiliac injections using steroids (ultrasound guided), platelet-rich plasma therapy such as Pro-Stride or IRAP. Horses should have reduced work for two to three weeks depending on presentation. Rehabilitation using a walker or high speed setting is ideal for up to 45 minutes a day. The use of mesotherapy (multiple mesoderm injections) can be utilized along with RLT, shockwave, and acupuncture.

Moderately affected cases will need longer rehabilitation and may have concurrent other lameness issues which should be identified.

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Laser therapy is the use of an intense beam of laser light directed into the patient’s tissue.

This reduces pain, inflammation and accelerates healing. The laser causes vasodilation, which brings healthy nutrient-rich blood to the target area. It also brings more oxygen to the cells and generates more energy. Increased energy for the cells means quicker recovery, enabling wounds and other injuries to heal faster and with better quality fibre alignment.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEADOW LAKE EQUINE CLINIC

Laser therapy has a multitude of uses for both acute and chronic injuries as well as for preperformance use. At this time only FEI classes have a withdrawal time assigned to laser treatments.

lameness exams and a careful examination with a thorough history, coupled with a ridden exam if possible, is key to diagnosing primary back pain in horses.

We commonly see both primary and secondary back pain in horses. The widespread use of radiography and ultrasound has made diagnosing back pain much more reliable. Therapy is never a single approach, but usually a selection of beneficial therapies (mesotherapy, local/systemic injections, shockwave, and saddle fitting) are chosen. With patience and correct diagnosis, equine back pain can be managed in the majority of cases. b > Dr. Billy Hodge is a new contributor to this magazine — read his bio on page 90.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is widely used for managing pain and optimizing healing in soft tissue injuries. Its most common application is following tendinous or ligamentous injury and for management of navicular syndrome. It can also be helpful in treating back and neck conditions, and select cases of bony injury.

Acupuncture is typically performed without sedation and begins with a thorough history and musculoskeletal examination of the horse.

Saddle assessment or soundness evaluations may also be performed. Acupuncture can be very beneficial in the diagnosis and relief of musculoskeletal pain caused by ill-fitting tack, trauma or extended lay-up, kissing spine or other conformational abnormalities, laminitis, muscle atrophy secondary to nerve injury, and compensatory musculoskeletal pain secondary to lameness.

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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/RITA KOCHMARJOVA

The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada

HWAC

By Shelagh Niblock, PAS It’s safe to say that horse owners across Canada are passionate about their horses and their industry. Whether they are pleasure riders, competitors, or those who breed or train horses for a living, Canadian horse owners are invested in the equine industry both emotionally and financially. We read, we research, and we invest in them in the hopes of having the satisfaction of seeing a healthy horse in our barn or a successful one in the arena.

Sometimes we are faced with making decisions about the welfare of our horses, and although social media is filled with opinions on what is the “best” thing to do for them, it isn’t always obvious as to what is the “right” thing to do for them.

Sourcing reliable information on topics such as equine welfare can be challenging, and it is helpful to have websites to go to that are associated with the leading research-based and industrysupported organizations. The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada (HWAC) is one such organization. The HWAC is a non-profit organization which has been 22

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very successful in developing a platform for equine industry stakeholders and equine researchers, providing practical science-based information about equine welfare and equine health issues to horse owners in Canada.

What is HWAC?

The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada (HWAC) is an alliance of equine organizations in Canada, including provincial horse councils, a number of breed and sport organizations, equine veterinary colleges and research facilities, as well as Equestrian Canada (EC). HWAC is managed by a Board of Directors, including a number of leaders in the Canadian Equine Industry.

The goal of HWAC is to provide a platform for the partner equine organizations to disseminate accurate information both to stakeholders in the Canadian equine industry and to the public. The statement of purpose (SOP) for HWAC is as follows: 1 Promote humane handling of horses throughout all of their life stages;

2 Develop equine education resources and programs; 3 Inform constituents and partners of matters and issues related to the welfare of the horse population; 4 Enhance public awareness of matters and issues relating to the welfare of the horse and the horse industry.

The HWAC supports the equine industry in Canada through their alliance with stakeholder groups, focusing on areas that include the goals of liaising between specific groups, providing education to stakeholders and the general public, and monitoring issues that have the potential to impact horse health and welfare and the success and health of the industry itself. The objective of the HWAC is one of education — it has no regulatory or policing role.

What is the History of HWAC?

HWAC was formed in 2008 as a response to concerns related to the humane care and handling of horses. It was

registered under Corporations Canada on 29 July 2011, as a not-for-profit corporation. Stakeholder concerns, as recognized by a number of stakeholder groups, were not being adequately addressed by other equine industry organizations, and so a working group was established. Bill desBarres as the Chair is well known as a participant in the equine industry in Canada, and has been active in a number of different capacities for many years.

DesBarres assumed the role of Chair of HWAC at that time, and to this day generously continues to donate his time to the organization. His practical but research-based approach to the equine health and welfare issues has helped to make the HWAC a respected resource for horse owners across the country.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/RITA KOCHMARJOVA

NFACC and the Equine Code of Practice The HWAC provides an invaluable resource to the horse owner looking for information about regulations or issues associated with the Canadian equine industry. A quick click on the “About Us” tab on the website homepage (www. horsewelfare.ca) takes you to options that connect to an interactive list of virtually every agency in Canada that might have important information for the horse owner. Not only is a link to the full National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines (also referred to as the Equine Code of Practice) included, but links are also included to information such as body condition scoring for horses, poisonous weed identification, and emergency preparedness for horse owners, to name just a few.

Research and Education HWAC has partnered with several schools providing educational resources for future equine professionals, including the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atlantic Veterinary College, and Equine Guelph. Equine Guelph is the heart of the equine program at the University of Guelph, including educational programs for virtual learning for those seeking education but not a degree, as well as degree and graduate degree programs in Equine Science. Equine Guelph is also the home to the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, as well as the Ontario Veterinary College, which grants degrees in Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and diplomas in Veterinary Technology.

HWAC has also partnered with the

world-renowned animal welfare expert Dr. Temple Grandin. There are probably few horse owners in Canada today who have not heard about the work Dr. Grandin has done in promoting animal welfare standards by implementing changes in feedlots and slaughter facilities for farmed, commercial livestock. She brings to any discussion a very realistic perspective on the subject of the humane handling of animals intended for food.

Her work has been a foundation stone for the excellent research done on the same subjects in our own Canadian agricultural universities. Dr. Grandin could — and probably should — be a part of the conversation on equine welfare and “the unwanted horse” in Canada.

Training Opportunities Through HWAC

HWAC offers training in the NFACC Equine Code of Practice in Safe Transport for horses, and in Emergency Preparedness for horse owners. The training for the Equine Code of Practice includes two options. The first option is a guided study program through the entire Equine Code of Practice with supportive material and YouTube videos. The second option allows the participant to pursue certification of achievement in a minimum level of expertise in the Equine Code of Practice through an exam process for the low cost of $25. Learning about the Equine Code of Practice and becoming a certified practitioner of it is now being included in the curriculum for some school programs teaching equine science.

Regulations and Resources at Your Fingertips

HWAC provides a one stop option for any horse owner seeking to find out more about the regulations that support equine welfare in his or her home province. At the bottom of the home page on the website is a link to Animal Laws and Regulations for all provinces. The home page also provides a link to the Equine Code of Practice and to the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System (CAHSS), through which any horse owner can be kept up-to-date on the incidence of any health concern in the Canadian equine industry.

COVID-19 and Canadian Horse Owners

The 2020 Equine Industry Symposium, held virtually in November 2020 and hosted jointly by the University of

Guelph, Ontario Equestrian, and Equestrian Canada described the enormous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian equine industry. Due to the complete shutdown of all equine activities and facilities, many owners and businesses were hit hard, both emotionally and financially, in a way that no one could have predicted. The industry spent several months trying to regroup and organize some semblance of normality in the midst of a situation that was anything but normal. The rest of the country was also hurting, and there seemed to be minimal sympathy and/or empathy for barn owners who had no more cash flow but still many mouths to feed. Information was coming from multiple sources but finding help could be confusing and frustrating. The COVID-19 shutdown forced many horse owners and equine businesses to seek resources they may not have had to seek in the past. At the time of writing this article, our industry is one year into the social distancing and biosecurity protocols required by COVID-19.

As more Canadians become vaccinated, it is hopefully much closer to being in a position where we can all look back at 2020 and reflect on what we learned from the experience.

What Did We Learn From COVID-19?

The experience of a complete shutdown of the Canadian economy taught our industry to be more prepared for unforeseen events. In particular, it demonstrated the need for central organization of resources for horse owners who need help. HWAC has helped to provide a reliable connection to the resources horse owners need to make good decisions for their horses no matter what the circumstances.

Whether you want to familiarize yourself with the Equine Code of Practice, find out what Equine Guelph has to offer in the way of online courses, or find out about the incidence of reportable diseases in our horses, HWAC has it all.

The HWAC website and all the reliable information it brings to the Canadian Equine industry can be found at www. horsewelfare.ca.

Next time you are sleuthing the internet, look up this very useful organization and explore the many b resources it has to offer. > Shelagh Niblock is a regular contributor to this magazine. Read her bio on page 90.

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PHOTO: PAM MACKENZIE

TRANSPORT

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If Your Horse Could

Drive...

PHOTO: PAM MACKENZIE

By Kevan Garecki

I knew someone who considered himself to be an extraordinary driver, yet the horses he hauled always had more than their fair share of mysterious nicks and bumps, and every horse that stepped off his rig was sweated. I tried to tell him that it isn’t about handling his rig as if it’s a sports car; it’s about providing the horses in his rig with the most comfortable ride possible.

He scoffed and pooh-poohed this until one day I’d had enough. I opened my trailer door and asked him to step inside on the pretense of helping me with a divider. Once he was in, I latched the door from the outside and said, “See you in 15 minutes.”

Then I took him for a rather spirited drive.

He stepped out with a very different mindset about how to haul a horse trailer.

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Humans get inside a trailer and know what to expect. We recognize the sound of a passing tractor-trailer or the siren of an emergency vehicle, and we understand all the sounds caused by the bumps, cracks, and rain on the road. If we know all these things, how can that 15-minute ride still be terrifying? Because during the trip our safety and well-being is entirely in someone else’s hands. We don’t know where we’re going or when to brace for changes of direction, and we’re not able to anticipate a swerve or braking action.

My first driving mentor had a simple but very effective teaching method. He’d place an open cup of coffee on the metal dashboard of the old truck we drove back then, and tell me to drive without spilling it. I got really good, really fast! When hauling horses, if you drive as if you’re trying not to spill a cup of hot coffee

to help you understand what he experiences during transport he might suggest that you stand inside the horse trailer, with your hands in your pockets and your eyes closed, while he drives you around. sitting open on the dashboard, the horses behind you will get the best ride possible.

This is the exact approach I use when teaching my students.

Cornering should be done with deliberation and planning. Don’t wait until you’re half a block from the turn before braking. Begin a block or so early by easing off the throttle, then softly apply the brakes, increasing the pressure gradually.

Releasing the brakes should be done just as smoothly, and your foot should be completely off the brake pedal before you enter the turn. But don’t just let the pedal pop back up — ease your foot off.

A common misconception about anglehaul trailers is that folks believe they’re more stable, so when pulling an angle-haul they tend to drive as if they’re driving a car.

Angle-haul trailers do not eliminate the need for balance; in fact, in many situations horses have considerably less control in an angle-haul than when standing in line with the direction of travel.

We all talk about balance when we’re riding, but should also consider the horse’s balance when in the trailer. Road surfaces are canted to allow for water

runoff, so when we change from the right lane to the left lane, the horse will have to compensate for the change in the angle of the floor. The difference is harder for us to detect as we’re sitting down as this occurs.

When standing, our centre of gravity is much higher, and we don’t have the security of the seat to hold us in place.

Every driver thinks they’re in the top five percent of “good drivers.” The two most important lessons I’ve learned in over 45 years of driving are: I’ll never drive as well as I think I do; and the more I improve my driving, the more I realize how much I don’t know.

We can always improve, and we can always learn something.

Tips & Tricks From the Pros

Even though driving is my profession and many people have complimented me on my skill, I am not a natural behind the wheel. I have had to work hard at every technique I’ve ever learned. Yet, doing so has made me more aware, and hopefully made me a safer and more competent driver.

Fellow professionals have shared with me similar admissions about their own driving.

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PHOTO: MANE FRAME PHOTOGRAPHY

Following Distance — The two-second rule is acceptable for ideal driving conditions with most common passenger vehicles. It is wholly inadequate when trailering. When the weight of a vehicle is doubled, the stopping distance is doubled.

Take this show out on the freeway and the problem increases exponentially.

When the speed of a vehicle is doubled, the stopping distance is quadrupled.

That’s right — it takes four times longer to stop from 100 km/h than from 50 km/h. Take your horse trailer out on the freeway and you’re in for a surprise when you try to stop in a hurry, because when the weight and speed are doubled it takes eight times longer to stop!

Keep in mind that these calculations are under the ideal conditions of a dry, smooth road; excellent vehicle condition; and a fully alert driver. Under adverse conditions, it is not unusual to require 12 to 14 seconds time lapse between you and the vehicle ahead.

When a horse steps inside a trailer, our job is to give him the safest and most comfortable ride possible.

When the weight of a vehicle is doubled, the stopping distance is doubled. When the speed of a vehicle is doubled, the stopping

Over the years, I’ve learned many techniques for the various tasks we faced on the road. More importantly, I have unlearned some habits that I discovered were either ineffective, or just downright unsafe.

Here are a few tidbits of hard-earned wisdom: Awareness — The single most prevalent condition I’ve seen in non-professional drivers is ignorance. Most have little idea of the dynamics involved when trailering, and very few are interested in finding out what they don’t know. At the very least, understand that when you attach a trailer

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/DMYTROPEROV

distance is quadrupled.

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loaded with three or four horses behind your truck, you’re now pulling at least twice the weight of the tow vehicle itself.

That trailer is higher and wider than the truck, and even when empty can assert considerable force and stress on the tow vehicle. More importantly, those are living, breathing, thinking beings in the trailer. They get scared, feel pain, and need reassurance from us that all those scary things we do to them won’t harm them. The best reassurance we can give our horses is to raise our level of alertness and always drive defensively.

Always Leave Yourself an “Out” — Ensuring adequate space ahead of you is only half the battle. We never know when we’ll need a way out or where we’ll need to go, so protect the space beside and behind you as well. Avoid the driver who lingers alongside the trailer by simply slowing down to let them pass.

When nearing a freeway on-ramp, watch for merging traffic and either adjust your speed to reduce congestion or change lanes to allow merging traffic a clear path onto the freeway. Look for spaces, not obstructions. By looking for the space we need instead of focusing on the traffic itself, we tend to ease towards those spaces we need for safety.

Plan Ahead, Look Ahead — Looking ahead to anticipate signal changes and Hands on the steering wheel should be at the 9-and-3 o’clock position.

When hauling horses, drive as if you’re trying not to spill a cup of hot coffee sitting open on the dashboard.

traffic patterns, and making appropriate adjustments to minimize slowdowns is one way the real professionals make themselves “invisible.” We can use these techniques to make the trip as smooth as possible for the horses with us in the trailer. Anticipate stale traffic lights, slow down early, and in most cases you will avoid having to come to a complete stop.

Easing off the accelerator early for turns and curves can all but eliminate the common jerk from actuation of the electric brakes in most horse trailers. The less often those horses need to brace against turning and braking actions, the more comfortable they will be, and their stress level will be reduced.

Don’t Get “Zoned” — We tend to get lazy now and then, and stare straight ahead when we drive, and in doing so can hypnotize ourselves quite easily. Anyone who has driven a long stretch of straight highway can attest to how easily this can happen. The best way I’ve found to avoid this is to keep the eyes moving. Never rest on any one area for more than a few seconds. I get into a routine when I’m driving; a glance in the right mirror, then look ahead; a peek in the left mirror, look ahead; peruse the instruments, look ahead again. I save some time for checking the trailer monitor as well, but keep these to short snapshots, thereby never averting my attention from the road for more than a second at any one time.

By keeping your eyes moving you stay more alert, with the bonus that not much

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Mirrors should be adjusted with the tow vehicle hooked up and in a straight line, and while sitting in the proper driving position.

will sneak up on you because you’re always aware of what’s going on around you.

Setting Up and Getting Comfy — One of the first exercises I walk my students through is how and where to sit, and how to adjust the mirrors. This may seem elementary, but when I was doing road tests for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, this was by far the most common shortfall when people were trying to negotiate traffic. It often resulted in the applicant not qualifying when doing a simple exercise, even though the rest of their driving was excellent.

Take a seat in the cab and relax: • Your back should be flat against the seat back with your spine on roughly a ten-degree angle from vertical; • The seat cushion should support your legs evenly along the length of your thighs; • You should be able to place both feet flat on the floor directly in front of the seat.

Now reach for the wheel: • Hold the wheel, not at the classic “10and-2 o’clock” position, but at a more comfortable and safe “9-and-3” position. The bend in your elbows should be approximately 30 degrees; • Your hands should not be higher than your shoulders; • You should be able to make a complete 28

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PHOTOS: MANE FRAME PHOTOGRAPHY

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The left mirror should be adjusted to show a sliver of the left side of the truck at the inside edge. Repeat the adjustment for the right mirror.

circle of the wheel comfortably by steering hand over hand from the top of the wheel. NEVER steer underhanded from inside the wheel.

Mirrors

Side view mirrors are aids that allow us to see what’s going on beside and ultimately behind the vehicle. We don’t really need them to help us see where the vehicle itself is, and I’ll explain this in detail below.

Incorrect mirror adjustment makes negotiating lane changes more difficult, backing nearly impossible, and can skew your perception of lane position and distance from other objects. You may need to adjust your mirrors twice — once with the tow vehicle by itself, and again with the trailer hooked up and in a straight line.

When adjusting the mirrors, enlist the help of an assistant unless you have power mirrors. Sitting in your newfound comfy spot, head straight up, turn your head

slightly to the left, just enough to catch a view of the driver’s side mirror. Adjust the mirror in or out until all you see is a sliver of the left side of the truck at the very inside edge of the mirror — you should see just enough of the truck body to put it in relation to the big, scary world beside you.

Repeat the process for the right side.

Assuming you’ve not left your comfy position (and that’s why you have a helper), you should still be in the ideal spot behind the wheel. Now vertically adjust the driver’s mirror carefully until the centre meets the horizon; you should end up with the bottom half of the mirror showing you where the planet is, and the top half showing you where the birds live.

The right side may require slight variations in adjustment depending on whether the right mirror is made of flat glass or is the common convex style. If your mirror has a small opaque warning lettered across the bottom of the lens telling you that stuff looks closer than it really is, the mirror is the convex sort. If no warning, the glass is quite likely flat.

If convex, adjust the right mirror so the centre of the lens roughly lines up with where the end of your trailer meets the road. This will give you the best compromise between seeing traffic beside and behind, and offer a decent view of what you’ll need to see immediately beside the rig when negotiating narrow roads, changing lanes, and backing.

If flat, raise or lower the mirror until the horizon is approximately two-thirds of the way up the lens. Same reasoning here as for the above with this adjustment.

If your tow vehicle is equipped with wide-angle convex mirrors that are adjustable independently of the main mirrors, repeat the same process as above, but remember that the wider angle lens is meant to show you what you may not be able to see in the main mirror, so try not to duplicate views in both mirrors.

What all this should give you is the largest view of what is beside you, offer a workable compromise for seeing what’s out back, and allow you to take advantage of the vista by moving your head only slightly to either side to take it all in.

All of this will NOT make you a better driver. Rather, it will give you the best view of the spaces beside and behind you, which will help you become the best b driver you can be! > Kevan Garecki is a frequent contributor to this magazine — read his bio on page 90.

24 WAYS TO

Increase Your Horse Property Income

By Tania Millen As property values increase and everyday equine management expenses go up, keeping horses on your own property is becoming more costly. All across Canada, horse and property owners are undertaking myriad activities to make money from their farms and acreages without operating commercial boarding stables or becoming professional coaches.

While every potentially money-making activity has benefits and drawbacks depending on the property’s size, layout, and infrastructure, as well as the owner’s interests and talents, there are many options for creating additional income. By implementing a few of the 24 innovative ideas summarized below, owners can start earning additional income from their property to help pay the bills.

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Of course, before embarking on any new activities, be sure to investigate zoning bylaws, insurance and liability concerns, tax implications, and business requirements of the proposed activity, plus beware of neighbours who may be concerned about new activities in the neighbourhood.

1

Part-Lease Your Horse

Sharing the costs of keeping a horse by part-leasing it to a suitable rider can be a win-win for both the horse owner and the other rider. A lease agreement detailing how long the lease will last, how many days per week the lessee (person leasing the horse) will ride, plus the owner’s and lessee’s responsibilities regarding care and costs will help keep both parties happy.

2

Board Other Horses

Boarding someone else’s horse on your property can provide a myriad of benefits including shared costs, herdmates for single horses, and help with feeding and maintenance. Boarding agreements detailing everyone’s tasks will help maintain clear communication.

3

Host Instructional Clinics

Clinicians, instructors, and event organizers need facilities to conduct both riding and non-riding educational activities and are willing to pay a rental fee for suitable space. If you have facilities such as an indoor arena, riding ring, or a large meeting room available, there may be opportunities to rent out

PHOTO: ISTOCK/PICTURE STORE

those facilities and possibly gain some free instruction at the same time.

4

Hold Events

Riders and horse owners are often looking for unique activities to share with their horses, such as navigating obstacle courses, playing at liberty, or attending a fun games day. Depending on your property set-up, holding fee-based fun, educational, or competitive events, can provide some income. Ask riding friends and potential attendees for event ideas.

5

Host Equine Professionals

Many equine service providers such as saddle fitters, farriers, veterinarians, body workers, chiropractors, and other alternative practitioners prefer to treat EARLY SUMMER 2021

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PHOTO: ISTOCK/SITIKKA

OUTSTANDING EQUINE PRODUCTS

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multiple horses at one facility rather than drive long distances between service calls. Hosting equine professionals at your property, where other clients can trailer in for treatment, makes good sense. The professional doesn’t have to travel as much, and the property owner may charge a rental fee or receive lower-cost services in exchange for providing the facilities.

6

If there’s an indoor or outdoor riding arena on your property that is under-utilized, consider offering riding rights to others via a monthly membership or punch card. This can be a simple, passive income source that requires very little input from the property owner. Just be clear about property rules and utilize appropriate liability forms for those taking part.

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Re-Sell Hay

Not every horse owner has the space, facilities, or machinery to handle a full year’s supply of hay; however, those who are able to purchase hay in larger quantities can often negotiate better pricing.

For property owners who have the space to store more hay than they need, there’s an opportunity to purchase excess hay and re-sell it to others at higher prices and in smaller lots. Regular annual commitments between hay farmers, purchasers, and the ultimate buyers can make this an ongoing turnkey proposition.

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Offer Grazing Rights

Property owners with more grass fields than they need might consider offering grazing rights to owners of sheep, goats, cattle, or horses that don’t have access to enough grazing areas. Different animals come with different fencing, grazing, and housing needs however, but depending on the property, suitable infrastructure may already be in place. Utilizing a clear rental agreement is beneficial.

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Rent Your Riding Arena

Sell Manure

As owners know, horses produce a lot of manure — more than eight metric tonnes of manure per year. But rather than viewing manure as a useless waste product, composted manure may be a saleable product that local gardeners are keen to purchase. It’s worth connecting with local gardening groups or community gardens to discuss their needs and the potential market for this product. Building and maintaining a composting system can turn manure into black gold to sell or use yourself.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/ROSSHELEN

Offering riding rights in your arena can be a passive source of income, as long as rules are clear and liability forms in place.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/PIXALOT

Why mow your pastures when you can offer grazing to appreciative horses? Providing grazing rights can augment your farm’s income.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/ROSSHELEN

PHOTO: ISTOCK/SITIKKA

When part-leasing your horse, the rights and responsibilities of each party should be fully discussed and covered under the lease agreement.

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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PETER TITMUSS

Boarding someone else’s horse can provide many benefits. Just be sure to have a written contract setting out the rights and obligations of all parties involved.

Let’s Have a Barn Raising at Your Place!

10

Riders traveling with their horses need safe places to stop overnight, and riders looking for weekend adventures tend to seek out new experiences. Offering accommodations or a place to camp for riders plus simple horse pens for horses can be another source of income. Trail riding social media groups are good sources of information about infrastructure needs, plus a potential market for your offerings.

11

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Provide Bed & Bale or Horse Camping Options

Operate a Used Tack or Consignment Store

Even though online shopping is popular, buyers still like to see and touch products before purchasing them. All shoppers like to save money and every rider has unused tack and gear that could be turned into extra cash. Establishing a used or consignment-based tack store on your property is another way to increase income. Consider setting up your store in a towable trailer to save space and so that the store can be easily transported to horse events.

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Offer Equine-Related Custom or Repair Services

Horses are notorious for wrecking blankets and breaking tack, so blanket repair, washing and waterproofing, and tack repair services are always in demand. Additionally, riders and horse owners are often seeking equine-related custom clothing, tack, leatherwork, and household items for both practical and decorative purposes. Depending on your skills and enthusiasm, turning sewing or leather-working skills – or any other hobby such as painting, pottery, or metal and woodwork signage – into paid commissioned work, is a realistic possibility.

13

Host Hives or Keep Bees

14

Rent Storage Space

Renting out empty storage space is another money-making option. Owners of recreational vehicles, boats, skidoos, horse trailers, and other towable toys often need covered storage space during the off-season and will pay to park their investments in a secure place. Rental contracts help ensure that all parties are clear about the terms.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PETER TITMUSS

15

Teach Art Classes

Drawing, painting, pottery, photography, writing, and other art forms all rely on creativity. Offering art classes at a horse property or where horses can be used as subjects can be a very calming and creative opportunity for budding and established artists. Offering classes online using live video from the property widens your market to accommodate students near and far!

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Teach or Offer Agricultural Skills

Horse properties require a lot of upkeep and many owners have a multitude of skills that others covet, such as repairing machinery, fencing, carpentry, exterior painting, animal care, pasture rotation, tilling, manure management, and other

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PETER TITMUSS

Horse’s fields can be perfect locations for beehives, as bees need flowering plants such as clover to survive and create honey for their owners. Hives don’t take up much space, and the bees pollinate flowers thereby ensuring that plants continue to thrive. Consider either hosting hives for other apiarists or getting into beekeeping yourself. Electric fencing will ensure that horses, dogs, and bears don’t bother the hives.

Set up a manure composting system and turn that manure pile into black gold for local gardeners. You’ll also be doing something great for the environment!

husbandry skills. If you need a helping hand for a bigger project around the farm, rather than hiring and paying wages to a labourer, offer the learning opportunity at no charge to someone who wants to get hands-on experience in learning a new agricultural skill. Or gain some income by offering classes — in person or online — to new or wanna-be property owners and less handy homesteaders who want to be do-it-yourselfers.

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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/FOTEMA

Your arena can host professional service providers who want to save travel time in order to see a larger number of the area’s horses in a day. Event organizers who need facilities to hold clinics and all sorts of riding activities may also find your arena the ideal location.

If you have an agricultural or husbandry skill that others want to learn, such as driving a team of draft horses or horse plowing, there will be folks in your neighbourhood who are willing to pay you to teach them how to do it.

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Rent Space in Unused Farm Buildings

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/DEE BROWNING

One of the easiest ways to increase property income is to simply rent space to another business. Whether it’s an unused outbuilding for small-motor repair or a lockable shed for a tinkerer, many properties have space that another small business may be willing to pay for. A rental agreement will assist both parties.

18

Put Your Tractor to Work

If you’ve invested in a tractor and implements that sit idle for a good portion of the year, consider the services you could provide your neighbours for a fee. These may include snow plowing, tilling, moving hay bales, brush clearing, pulling out roots and bushes, and so on.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/BOLDANGELS

If you have the storage capacity, purchase hay in large quantities and re-sell it in smaller lots at a higher price later in the winter when hay is in short supply.

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Offer Boarding Services for Small Pets

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/FOTEMA

When owners of dogs, cats, and other small pets can’t take their animals with them when they go out of town, they either hire pet-sitters or board their animals with someone else. Since most horse owners are already good with animals, offering small pet boarding — even if it’s only for one or two pets at a time — is another way to increase income from your horse property.

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Raise Farm Animals

Farm-raised eggs, chicken, pork, lamb, and turkey are all in high demand by consumers who want to know that the animal products they eat are ethically produced. Raising farm animals for meat or laying hens for their eggs can increase farm income. Be sure to thoroughly research the legalities of the sale and slaughter of farm-raised animals and their products prior to investing in the animals.

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Grow & Sell Extra Produce

Fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers are all saleable goods that may be grown by enthusiastic gardeners on a horse property and sold at the farm gate.

Raised garden beds laced with on-farm composted manure can produce far more edibles than one family can eat, so selling excess produce may simply be a by-product of a successful growing year.

22

Build a Corn Maze

If you have the land and time available and a large enough customer base close by, a corn maze can boost your annual income. A corn maze can be hard work and takes serious advance planning, but for farmers who do their homework and invest the time and energy to do it right, a corn maze can be a significant source of extra income.

Nowadays, there are businesses that can help you build and run your maze, and software is available to help with planning. Remember, the more elaborate the better, and people will pay for a memorable experience.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/BOLDANGELS

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Provide Scenic Locations for Photo and Video Shoots

Photographers and videographers hired to take wedding or graduation photos, custom horse photos, advertising shots, and sale videos all need scenic backdrops for their work. Offering hourly or day-long rentals of unique on-property locations is yet another way to earn additional income from a horse property.

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24

Host Weddings or Other Ceremonies

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/DENNIS WEGEWIJS

Brides and grooms planning outdoor, ranch, or cowboy-themed weddings need suitable locations for their ceremonies and dinner parties. Look at your property and consider whether it might work for an outdoor wedding. Other events such as graduation parties, milestone birthday parties, and celebrations of life often need outdoor spaces too, and rentable tents and stages can turn many a lawn, field, or barn into suitable spaces for these events. Contact event planners to discuss options.

There are many more opportunities to create income from a horse property.

With a bit of creativity and market research, most property owners can create additional sources of income that fit their properties, skills, and lifestyle while continuing to keep horses in their backyard. Now that’s a win-win. b > Tania Millen is a regular contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 90.

< Corn mazes are growing in popularity.

Depending on the suitability of your property, with hard work and planning a corn maze can be a money-making proposition.

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For country weddings and other outdoor celebrations, your farm just might be the ideal location.

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CK/JASONDO

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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/VOLODYMYR DURDIAK

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Many farms and acreages provide a wealth of opportunities to photographers and videographers.

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How to Make

Rotational Grazing Work on Your Horse Farm

Rotational grazing can help you take better care of your pastures and provide more feed for your horses.

By Laura Kenny, Extension Educator, Equine Most farm managers have heard the term “rotational grazing” but may not fully understand the concept. When used correctly, rotational grazing is a management practice that results in healthy, thick stands of forage to provide horses with a significant source of nutrition. High-quality pasture can meet or exceed the protein and energy requirements of horses with low calorie needs. Rotational grazing requires a bit more oversight than continuous grazing, 40

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but the payoff is increased feed value for horses and productive pastures that need less frequent renovation. It is also a good way to manage moderately stocked farms for maximum productivity.

In general, you need two to four acres per horse if you want the horses to be out all the time and not overgraze the pasture. Most farm owners don’t have this much space, but with more intensive grazing management, horses can be maintained on fewer acres and still have

great pastures. Of course, even using rotational grazing, there is a limit to the number of horses the land can sustain.

What are the drawbacks of Continuous Grazing?

Most horse farms practice continuous grazing, in which pastures are occupied by horses daily. There might be one group of horses outside all day, or multiple groups of horses going out in shifts. The important factor is that the pastures are

Paddock #1

SHELTER

Paddock #2

WATER

Paddock #4

Sacrifice Lot

Paddock #3

HAY FEEDER

An ideal rotational grazing system has several grazing paddocks attached to a sacrifice lot. In this example, the horses have access to the paddock with the tallest forage. They just finished grazing the bottom left paddock and will graze the top right paddock next.

not “rested” or left empty for more than a portion of the day or night. While this is usually the easiest way to manage turnout, it can be very hard on the forage plants and often results in overgrazed pastures on farms with less than two to four acres per horse.

Horses have a tendency to graze their favourite grass species close to the ground, then return to graze the regrowth as soon as it appears. This is overgrazing, which is very damaging to grass plants. First, it removes so much of the leaf area that the plant can’t capture sunlight to make energy for regrowth. The plant must then use stored energy to regrow, and with repeated close grazing, the energy stores run out and the plant dies. This is how

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This farm has two totally separate rotational systems, as shown in green and yellow. The yellow system has a sacrifice lot in the middle of the pasture area and adjacent to the driveway, with gates allowing access to the paddocks. The green example shows the sacrifice lot beside the driveway located fairly far from the paddocks, attached to them by a laneway along the driveway.

Driveway

pastures lose desirable forage species like orchard grass, smooth brome, and timothy. Horses overgraze these palatable forages until the plants die, leaving less preferred species. As they die, the bare ground left behind allows opportunistic weeds to germinate and take over. You can overseed again and again, but the grazing management won’t allow desired forages to survive except in the ungrazed roughs (areas of taller grass where manure is deposited).

Rotational Grazing

Sacrifice Lot Sacrifice Lot

Farm managers can avoid overgrazing pastures by managing their horses’ grazing using a rotational system. In a nutshell, rotational grazing involves moving a group of horses between several paddocks on a regular basis. The forage is grazed once and then rested to regrow. The most important part of this system is the grass’s recovery period while horses are on other paddocks. This means that paddocks must be left empty for a few weeks at a time.

Every farm manager will figure out the right schedule for their rotation, but in general, horses should be in a paddock for no longer than seven days, because that is how long it takes for forage regrowth to begin after grazing.

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The ideal system has a minimum of four paddocks connected by gates to one sacrifice lot (dry lot, stress lot, animal concentration area, etc.). The sacrifice lot contains a shelter and feeder/water sources so that each paddock doesn’t need to have its own; horses have access to the sacrifice lot at all times no matter which paddock they are grazing. The size of each paddock depends on the number of horses in the group and the overall area available for grazing.

To use this system, the manager starts by walking each paddock and identifying one that is ready to be grazed. It should have at least six to eight inches of forage before grazing. The manager opens the gate to Paddock #1 and closes the gates to all others. The horses graze until they have removed about 50 percent of the forage, leaving three to four inches of forage remaining. This is the take-halfleave-half rule. The grazing period should take no longer than seven days, and forage should not be grazed any lower than three inches. The manager then opens the gate to Paddock #2 (or whichever one is ready to be grazed) and closes the gate to Paddock #1. This continues until horses have grazed all the paddocks.

If the horses graze each paddock for seven days, each paddock will get three weeks of rest, which should be enough time for forage to regrow to six to eight inches in the springtime. However, in hot summers, cool-season grass growth slows and recovery might take as long as eight weeks. It is important to decide when to graze and move horses based on forage height, not by sticking to a strict timeline.

If no paddocks have recovered by the time all have been grazed, then the horses should be confined to the sacrifice lot and fed hay as needed until a paddock is ready to be grazed.

Horses graze the most desirable forages, and then regraze them as soon as regrowth appears. If overgrazed, these desirable plants will die and because nature abhors a vacuum, weeds will germinate and grow on the bare ground.

Remember to gradually reacclimatize your horses to pasture when the paddock is ready to avoid colic or laminitis.

Having empty fields for a few weeks makes it easier to take care of some other routine pasture maintenance. For instance, if you need to apply fertilizer or herbicide, you can apply them right after you move horses and rest easy knowing the paddock will be empty for several weeks. A regular schedule also allows you to mow the pasture to a uniform height right after you move horses so that all forage begins its recovery at the same height.

Common Issues and Solutions With the cost of fencing, how can I afford rotational grazing?

As long as you have sturdy perimeter fencing, you can subdivide the paddocks using temporary electric fencing. They can be powered by solar chargers. This cuts down on cost and also allows you to move the fence-lines if needed.

It has been seven days — why haven’t my horses grazed the forage halfway yet?

Your paddocks are probably too large. If you divided them with temporary fencing, you can move the fence-lines to make them smaller. You could also try adding a horse to the group to increase the grazing pressure.

Q:

PHOTO: PAM MACKENZIE

Q:

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E Q U I N E GAT E S & C O R R A L S

Rotational grazing pays dividends by making pastures more productive and increasing the forage value.

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My horses aren’t grazing uniformly; some areas are tall and others are low. How do I know when to rotate?

Q:

This is normal grazing behaviour for horses, but rotational grazing aims to reduce this pattern and get horses to graze more uniformly. Walk your pasture with a yardstick to get an idea of the average height of the forage. Mow after moving horses. Make sure low areas have grown to the minimum grazing height (6 to 8 inches) before grazing again. Your pastures also might be too large.

How can I avoid changing my horses’ diet suddenly if I confine them to the sacrifice lot?

Some people keep “summer paddocks” available for this purpose. These are extra paddocks to be grazed when other paddocks are recovering. The extra paddocks will grow very tall if left unmanaged, so they might need to be mowed a few times to keep the weeds down and the grass at a reasonable height until they are ready for use. If you have the equipment, you could even take

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This small acreage was split into three sections for three horses, and manages to keep nice This farm used electric rope to divide larger pasture into strips. vegetation in each paddock.

The largeasacrifice lot in the foreground is used for turnout The paddock on the leftpaddocks has had more time to rest than the paddock in the middle. when the forage in the do not provide enough forage for grazing.

PHOTO: SARAH RALSTON

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hay off this paddock in the spring to take advantage of the rapid forage growth.

With only have one acre of pasture, do I have room for rotational grazing paddocks?

Q:

If you have room, split your one acre in half and rotate between the two halves.

I have several horses that don’t get along so cannot put them all in the same group for turnout.

What should I do?

Q:

You can create more than one rotational system on the same farm.

For example, you might divide half the pastureland into a system for the geldings, and the other half into a system for the mares. Put in as many different rotational systems as you need and have room for.

My sheds aren’t in a suitable location to have a central sacrifice lot. What do you suggest?

PHOTO: SARAH RALSTON

Q:

There are endless possibilities for how to design a rotational grazing system. You can keep the sacrifice lot close to the barn and use laneways to access paddocks farther away. Another option is

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PHOTO: DANIELLE SMARSH

This farm used electric rope to divide a larger pasture into strips. The paddock on the left has had more time to rest than the paddock in the middle.

to graze individual pastures one at a time without a fully connected system. For this latter option, individual paddocks must have their own water source.

The Penn State Extension Equine Team is a group of equine educators providing research-based information on equine health, nutrition, and pasture/ environmental management. Serving the state of Pennsylvania, the team offers educational material to horse owners through publications, workshops, online courses, webinars, and consults.

For more information about the team and current educational offerings, visit > extension.psu.edu/animalsand-livestock/equine. Be sure to follow the team on Facebook at > www.facebook.com/ PennStateExtensionEquineTeam.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/CRINGUETTE

Rotational grazing can meet the needs of horse farm managers, just as it works well for managers of many other types of livestock. No matter how you lay out your fields, the key is finding a way to give paddocks enough recovery time for forage to regrow.

The most important question to ask is: How did my pastures get in poor shape to begin with? If your pastures are in

poor shape, it will be helpful to renovate by soil testing, liming, fertilizing, reseeding, etc. If the pastures are overgrazed, and you renovate them but don’t stop overgrazing, they will inevitably look the same in a short amount of time.

Grazing management is crucial to maintaining lush, productive pastures that provide nutrition for your horses and benefit the environment by reducing erosion and filtering water.

Rotational grazing is an effective way to b take better care of pastures.

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ARENUS ANIMAL HEALTH 500 North Link Lane Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 866-791-3344 ARENUS.CA

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THE ARENUS STORY The health and happiness of our animals depend on our care.

As owners, trainers and veterinarians, we naturally want the best for them. When they’re suffering, we desperately seek the best solutions. But the best solutions are more than just a quick fix. The best solutions resolve the issue AND prevent future problems. These are the solutions we look for when our animals are suffering.

This is why I founded Arenus Animal Health. To offer long term solutions for the everyday health challenges that horses face.

As a practicing veterinarian, I’ve spent many sleepless nights tending to colicking horses and decided there had to be a better way to support these recurrent colic cases long term. After much research and careful attention to the formulas, the Assure product family was introduced. Since that time over a decade ago, veterinarians across the United States have come to trust the Assure products to solve their toughest digestive cases.

Most supplement companies are created without research or simply built on the grounds of others’ ingredient research.

Arenus Animal Health offers an exclusive line of unique products, extensively researched and clinically proven in their final form to offer lasting solutions to common health concerns.

Every product, as with every effort of Arenus Animal Health, serves the singular purpose of supporting better, more complete health and wellness through nutritional science. Our philosophy is grounded in the thought that more is not always better. If you’re feeding a large cocktail of daily supplements to your horse, then something is wrong with the program or the supplements themselves. Many horses, particularly performance horses, will benefit from supplementation.

However, you need to be critical about the supplements you’re giving your horse.

At Arenus, we don’t bring on new supplements to fill a catalog or sell more products. Our line of supplements is limited to those that provide optimum health and serve a purpose in solving a problem. Our products contain the highest formulation technology, the best ingredients and proven researched results. For that reason, you will find simple, straightforward ingredients and a product line up designed to work with your overall care program to promote long term health and wellness.

I personally guarantee that our products will help with the major challenges they are formulated to address. Whether it’s for digestive, reproductive, respiratory, structural or overall health, our products simply work. Try them for yourself. If your horse isn’t healthier or you are not satisfied for any reason, just call me or anyone on our team. We will not only be happy to personally help you to figure out a better solution for your horse, but we will also take the product back and give you a full refund.

Caring for our animals is a great responsibility. It’s one that myself and the Arenus team take seriously. That’s why we’ve dedicated ourselves to developing products that actually prevent and resolve the most challenging health issues that horses face. We look forward to working with you to enhance your animal’s wellness and longevity.

Sincerely, Jay Altman, DVM CEO, Arenus Animal Health

Arenus nutraceuticals are available through participating veterinarians and veterinary clinics or direct through Arenus. Should your veterinary clinic not stock the products please let us know and we will work to see if they will begin as a stocking location for Arenus solutions.

1

DIGESTIVE HEALTH THE DIGESTIVE HEALTH CHALLENGES OF TODAY’S EQUINE ATHLETES SECURE OR ASSURE - WHY THE DIFFERENT NAMES In working to bring the Assure line of products to Canada, it was discovered that the Assure name had been registered to another company. So, Canada gets the whole Assure line of digestive aids but under the new name Secure. The Secure products will bring the same great results with the same great guarantees as Assure.

= ASSURE

SECURE

STRESS AND DIGESTIVE ISSUES Colic remains the number one killer for horses. Modern veterinary medicine has reduced and nearly eliminated colic caused by parasite infestations. Advancements in diagnostics, treatment and surgical methods have greatly improved the lives of horses suffering from colic episodes. However, with all these advancements, little has been done to address the management of stress that today’s horses suffer. Stress comes in many forms for our horses. Feed schedules, show schedules, training and exercise, separation from friends and everyday life in stalls and confinement all contribute to stress. For many horses this leads to varying degrees of digestive disturbance, leaky gut or even inflammatory bowel disease or colitis. These conditions are at epidemic levels among horses today. The worst part is that many riders are unaware their horses are even suffering. Digestive disturbance symptoms are too often dismissed because they’ve sadly become the norm. Bad attitudes, cinchy horses, difficult training and frequent bad performance days are all indicators of poor digestive health. Even overt symptoms like poor body condition and diarrhea get overlooked. It’s time that we started looking out for our horses and offered them the relief they deserve.

THE SECURE SYSTEM SOLUTION The Secure System has become a staple for veterinarians across the country in the fight against tough digestive and gastric issues.

The stressful challenges that horses face has made it necessary to not only resolve digestive health problems, but to prevent issues and maintain long term health. Today more than ever our horses need digestive maintenance and support throughout their lives. They need the help of a great digestive support program. The Secure System addresses these modern day challenges for optimal health, comfort and enhanced performance.

SECURE PRODUCTS - A DIFFERENT APPROACH The Assure/Secure products were developed with a different approach than other digestive supplements. The goal was to provide the best support to all portions of the digestive tract by adjusting the physiologic disturbances that are the root cause. There is no pharmaceutical product that can achieve this goal, nor a single supplement ingredient that comes close. By combining all of the right ingredients in just the right amount and then utilizing our proprietary Gastrointestinal Stabilizing Technology (GST) to produce an enteric coated delivery system we are able to effectively reverse the causes of GI disturbance. Reducing acidity, improving enzyme digestive function, stabilizing the hind-gut microflora, reducing inflammation and accelerating colonocyte repair and regeneration are all part of the functions of each and every Secure product. Not only have the products been extensively researched, but they have been awarded patents for reducing recurrent colic, reducing ulcers, resolving diarrhea and improving GI motility. Secure provides the most complete and effective method to resolve digestive disturbance and provide a digestive maintenance program that will keep your horses healthy and “happy”.

“I am amazed at the difference that I have seen in my horses on Assure Guard Gold, they are feeling better and performing better. I recommend Assure Guard Gold to anyone and everyone, even if their horses do not have diagnosed ulcer issues the GI improvements make a remarkable difference.

GI health is so important to the overall health of the horse that the long-term benefits are tremendous!”

Laura Chapot Professional Grand Prix Show Jumper, Arenus Ambassador 2

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TOTAL DIGESTIVE SUPPORT: Secure Guard Gold works to support the entire digestive tract from the stomach through the hindgut. You can trust that your horse’s total digestive health is being supported for optimal function.

ALL-IN-ONE DIGESTIVE AID: A single ingredient won’t fix a horse’s digestive system. It takes the right combination to ensure

proper digestive health. Secure Guard Gold combines our proven pairing of Secure Guard and Secure Plus into an all-in-one digestive aid. It’s the only product on the market that blends the quality ingredients necessary for a complete, daily solution.

This patented and veterinary approved supplement provides a powerful digestive support solution for enhanced performance and conditioning. Our proprietary psyllium process and special enteric coated pellets ensures delivery of beneficial microbes and ingredients. It addresses common ailments like colic, ulcers and more.

ELIGIBLE PRODUCT References: [1] Mélo S, Santiago T, Duarte T, Abreu J, Manso H, Filho H. A Proton-Pump Inhibitor Modifies the Concentration of Digestion Biomarkers in Healthy Horses. J Eq Vet Sci 2014; 34, 11-12: 1318-1323.

[2] Moreaux S, Nichols J, Bowman J, Hatfield P. Psyllium Lowers Blood Glucose and Insulin Concentrations in Horses. J Eq Vet Sci 2011; 31, 4: 160-165.

[3] Fecal Sand Clearance Is Enhanced with a Product Combining Probiotics, prebiotics, and Psyllium in Clinically Normal Horses.

3

DIGESTIVE HEALTH SECURE EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE

Efficient and reliable, Secure is our original and proven foundation to address common digestive health problems in a daily, granular supplement. This patented and vet approved formula provides a solid foundation for your horse’s total digestive health needs. Pair with Secure Plus as part of the Secure System for a powerful combination to help fight digestive disturbance at the lowest possible cost.

LONG-LASTING DIGESTIVE SUPPORT: horse’s digestive health maintenance.

Secure was designed by a vet to be used as a safe, long-term solution to your

IMPROVED HEALTH AND OVERALL WELLNESS:

Retired, pleasure and performance horses alike benefit from daily digestive support and sand clearance to keep them happy and healthy.

WIDE RANGE PROTECTION: recurrent colic, and more.

Secure is designed to tackle a variety of digestive challenges including diarrhea, loose stool,

WHOLE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM SUPPORT: hindgut.

Secure works to support the entire digestive tract from the stomach through the

FLEXIBLE, ECONOMIC COVERAGE:

Use Secure daily for cost-effective maintenance. Add Secure Plus during times of stress for maximum support when your horse needs it most. Pair with Secure Plus during the loading period and one week out of every 4-6 weeks for a tailored program yielding the best results.

4

SECURE GUARD SOOTHING AND POWERFUL

Soothing and powerful, Secure Guard offers a solution to the most challenging digestive health problems in an effective, daily granular formula.

SOOTHING ULCER RELIEF:

Ulcer treatments can wreak havoc on any horse by throwing off the normal balance of the digestive system. Secure Guard soothes the system and is patented to ameliorate ulcers to keep your horse feeling healthy and comfortable.

IMPROVED HEALTH AND OVERALL WELLNESS:

Any digestive issue can disrupt your horse’s performance and comfort. Cinchy and irritable horses often have underlying digestive health problems. Ulcers are painful and make travel, training and riding a nightmare for your horse. Having a calm and happy digestive system keeps your horse relaxed and focused.

WHOLE DIGESTIVE SUPPORT:

Secure Guard works to support the entire digestive tract from the stomach through the hindgut where additional gastric conditioning is required.

FLEXIBLE, TARGETED COVERAGE:

Use Secure Guard daily for cost-effective maintenance of difficult gastric problems.

Add Secure Plus during times of stress for additional support when your horse needs it most. Pair with Secure Plus during the loading period and one week out of each month for maximum benefits.

This patented and vet recommended supplement is proven to combat serious digestive issues and can be paired with traditional ulcer treatments for maximum results. Combine with Secure Plus for optimal digestive health support and maintenance.

ELIGIBLE PRODUCT

References: [1] Brendemuehl JP, Altman J, Kopp K, Blikslager A. A multi-center clinical trial utilizing a combined probiotic, prebiotic and psyllium product for the management of chronic gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea and colic) in clinically affected horses. 2010; Novus Nutritional Brands, LLC. [2] Sykes BW, Sykes KM, Hallowell GD. Efficacy of a Combination of Apolectol, Live Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae [CNCM I-1077]), and Magnesium Hydroxide in the Management of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in Thoroughbred Racehorses: A Blinded, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. J Eq Vet Sci 2014; 34, 11-12: 1274-1278

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DIGESTIVE HEALTH SECURE PLUS CONCENTRATED AND DYNAMIC

Concentrated and dynamic, Secure Plus offers a custom solution to digestive health problems in an effective, pelleted psyllium supplement.

POWERFUL DIGESTIVE SUPPORT: Secure Plus boosts the effectiveness of routine digestive health programs. It delivers additional psyllium during times of heavy stress, exercise or digestive upset.

OPTIMAL PSYLLIUM:

Secure Plus was developed with the largest inclusion of high grade specially processed psyllium of any Secure product. These enteric coated pellets deliver the most psyllium to the digestive tract to provide a rapid and cost effective customized solution to GI disturbance. After an initial loading period, these pellets were designed to be fed on an interval basis for maintenance. By feeding for one week out of every 4-8 weeks you can not only tailor your horses digestive health program, but control your costs. By combining with one of our daily granular products you can get the best of both worlds, a great digestive health program and the most reasonable cost.

EASY TO FEED: One of the only equine psyllium digestive aids available in a pellet form. This allows for easy feeding and enhanced palatability.

WHOLE DIGESTIVE SUPPORT: stomach through the hindgut.

Secure Plus works with the Secure System to support the entire digestive tract from the

CUSTOMIZED FOR YOUR HORSE: Secure Plus can be paired with Secure or Secure Guard to create the right solution for your horse’s digestive health needs.

This patented and vet recommended supplement is a powerful addition to the Secure Systems routine maintenance programs. Proprietary psyllium process and special enteric coated pellets ensure delivery of beneficial microbes and ingredients. It conditions and cleans the entire digestive tract for optimal support and GI function.

ELIGIBLE PRODUCT Reference: [1] Moreaux S, Nichols J, Bowman J, Hatfield P. Psyllium Lowers Blood Glucose and Insulin Concentrations in Horses. J Eq Vet Sci 2011; 31, 4: 160-165.

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THE SECURE SYSTEM RESEARCH PROVEN

The

64 equine veterinarians and owners throughout the United States volunteered 144 horses with challenging gastrointestinal disorders to be enrolled in a research trial using the commercially available and patented Secure System. The cases were chronic or recurrent and trial periods were variable and limited for each particular digestive disorder. The trial established expectations for resolution within these limited feeding periods.

System®

RESULTS 100% of horses with recurrent colic had shown a decrease in frequency of episodes.

Horses saw an average of 90% fewer colics within the initial treatment period.

80% of horses with chronic diarrhea were fully resolved or improved in 30 days.

81% of horses suspected with gastric ulcers were resolved or improved in 60 days.

100% of horses with sand accumulation were resolved or improved in 45 days.

94% of horses with poor body condition or weight loss were resolved or improved based on desired weight in 60 days.

TAKE HOME Treatment during a relatively short term research trial has shown The Secure System of digestive aids to be excellent support products for both challenging digestive cases as well as regular daily support with proper dosing and duration.

Improvement and resolution has been seen in all forms of digestive health issues including horses with chronic gastrointestinal disorders, particularly recurrent colic, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and motility disturbances.

Reference: [1] Brendemuehl JP, Altman J, Kopp K, Blikslager A. A multi-center clinical trial utilizing a combined probiotic, prebiotic and psyllium product for the management of chronic gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea and colic) in clinically affected horses. 2010; Novus Nutritional Brands, LLC.

COLIC ASSURANCE PROGRAM

OUR COLIC COVERAGE PRODUCT GUARANTEE 

Up to $10,000 in coverage



Coverage for horses with PRIOR HISTORY OF COLIC*



Coverage for horses with one abdominal surgery



Coverage for multiple colic incidents



MEDICAL and SURGICAL colic coverage



Coverage while horses are TRAVELING INTERNATIONALLY*



PURCHASING directly through Arenus, veterinarians or veterinary clinics for program eligible products



NO AGE RESTRICTIONS once horses are weaned



NO LIMIT on the number of horses an owner can enroll



Coverage for LEASED HORSES

*Some restrictions and requirements may apply.

ENROLLING IS EASY! 1

Head to arenus.ca or arenus.com and complete the CAP enrollment form.

2

Choose your product(s): Secure Guard & Secure Plus OR Secure Guard Gold.

3

Wait for your final approval letter & make your initial purchase.

4

Begin feeding based on your horse’s tailored Wellness Program.

Note: If you plan on enrolling in our Colic Assurance Program extensive coverage and you have already made an initial purchase, the label feeding instructions are for general digestive health. Feeding and loading dose requirements of the Colic Assurance Program may be different from label instructions and are specifically designed to help eliminate any risk of colic. Inquire or enroll soon to access your custom feeding program.

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RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTH RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNE SUPPORT DHA­— THE RIGHT OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID

When it comes to Omega-3 products, not all are created equal. This is because not all Omega-3s contain DHA, one of the most beneficial, natural Long Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids. DHA provides advanced cellular support for reproductive, respiratory and immune health.

Omega-3 supplements commonly source their Omega-3 Fatty Acids from low-DHA fish oil or non-DHA flaxseed.

These sources do little to support your horse’s respiratory and immune health. Fish oil also exposes horses to the risk of heavy metal toxicity. Flaxseeds, although vegetarian, don’t provide the right type of Omega-3 Fatty Acids to optimally support respiratory and immune functions, yet can be of benefit to other body systems.

Our Omega-3 products are made from the same, safe algae-derived DHA used in human infant formula. As herbivores, horses are able to naturally absorb this bioavailable, algal-DHA for maximum health benefits.

This is why we use it as the base of our respiratory and reproductive health supplements. Aleira is a unique blend of algal-DHA, antioxidant-rich mushrooms, vitamin C and MSM. This effective combo addresses inflammation and immune responses for horses with a range of respiratory issues.

THE STRUGGLE TO BREATHE Stall confinement. Tighter living quarters. Travel and trailering. Indoor exercise and dusty arenas.

All of these factors have led to a significant increase in allergic reactions and low level respiratory disease. More horses than ever before show symptoms of low level cough, drippy noses and low level breathing difficulties due to the early effects of airway inflammation. These horses need daily support instead of a medical treatment alone.

David Ziegler Arenus Ambassador

“Aleira’s use as a therapy in both acute and chronic cases has impressed me to the degree that it has become a go to product in my practice and one that I highly recommend.

In EIPH, IAD and severe dermatitis cases, Aleira has been a great success as an adjunctive therapy. A grand prix jumper I worked with who suffered from severe, chronic EIPH on a daily basis, showed marked clinical improvement after 45 days on Aleira. Other therapies and treatments had been unsuccessful in this horse. This is one of the many cases where I have witnessed significant improvement while using Aleira.”

Meg Miller-Turpin DVM, DACVIM 8

Even when it comes to severe respiratory disease issues such as Heaves or Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD), anti-inflammatories and steroids are not always the best answer. Like a band-aid they offer a quick fix and at times are very necessary, but often don’t get to the root of the problem. Cellular support addresses the underlying issue and offers consistent, daily maintenance.

Years of research by our veterinarians and nutritionists have resulted in an algal-DHA based formula that makes a dramatic difference in horses with breathing and allergy challenges. Our formula can also be safely used in conjunction with traditional treatments. In many cases, horses are able to be supported on Aleira alone. If your horse is a bleeder or struggles with other respiratory or immune problems, then Aleira is the answer you’ve been waiting for.

ALEIRA RESEARCHED RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNE SUPPORT

Essential respiratory support, Aleira helps maintain optimal respiratory function in a daily, non-medicated supplement.

IMPROVED PERFORMANCE: Addressing airway challenges keeps your horse comfortable and at the top of their game. Aleira offers effective support for bleeders and horses with respiratory or immune responses. Aleira combats performance limiting conditions like Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO), Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD), allergies, hives and dermatitis.

NON-MEDICINAL ALTERNATIVE:

Powerful respiratory support without the negative side effects of traditional treatments like steroids. Safe for horses that are sensitive to traditional medications. In many cases, horses using Aleira are able to be supported on Aleira alone!

SAFE TO USE:

maintenance.

Can be safely combined with conventional treatments for additional respiratory health support. Safe for long-term

Our research-proven formula combines algal-DHA, an immune-modulating and anti-inflammatory Mushroom Matrix, Vitamin C and MSM into a powerful supplement. It addresses inflammation and immune responses for horses with a range of respiratory issues.

Reference: [Nogradi N, Couetil LL, Messick J, Stochelski MA, Burgess JA. Evaluation of an Omega-3 Fatty Acid Containing Feed Supplement in the Management of Horses with Chronic Lower Airway Inflammatory Diseases. J Vet Intern Med 2015; 29: 299-306.

“Managing equine asthma (RAO and IAD) cases has been easier thanks to Aleira. After research in my lab as well as recommending it for use in the field, I have found Aleira to be a valuable tool in managing difficult respiratory cases. My goal is to reduce equine asthma burden and find a cure that would reduce the reliance on prescription drugs, especially steroids, in managing these cases. It is helpful to horse owners and veterinarians to have at their disposal a non-drug therapy that has proven efficacy and is easy to administer. I have many cases that are now well controlled by proper management of environmental conditions and replacing or reducing drugs with Aleira.”

Laurent Couetil DVM, DACVIM, PhD 9

RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTH ALEIRA RESEARCH PROVEN STUDY OVERVIEW This study was designed to examine the effects of ALEIRA® on coughing, respiratory effort and performance. Aleira is a patent pending formulation of ingredients including a specific and purified omega-3 fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Through the research conducted at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, Aleira was fed in conjunction with a low dust diet to 35 client-owned horses with chronic inflammatory diseases both recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Evaluation of laboratory and clinical parameters were made as well as assessment of daily on farm performance and results.

RESULTS Overall, both clinician assigned VAS scores and owner assigned VAS scores improved 8 weeks in to the trial however, the clinician assigned VAS receiving Aleira supplementation reached statistical significance. Placebo clinician assigned VAS score increase was not significant.

VAS cough scores improved significantly in all 3 treatment groups but horses with 1 times per day dose of DHA exhibited a significantly higher VAS score 2 months later than placebo.

The effect of Aleira supplementation and pelleted feed on VAS scores was noticeable first at 2 weeks.

The effects of Aleira supplementation and pelleted feed reached maximum benefit for coughing between weeks 2 and 5.

The effects of Aleira supplementation and pelleted feed reached maximum effect for respiratory effort between weeks 5 and 6.

The effects of Aleira supplementation and pelleted feed reached maximum effect for poor performance between weeks 3 and 5.

Aleira Supplementation for 2 months resulted in a significant reduction in neutrophils in BALF which was not observed in placebo fed horses.

Aleira Supplementation for 2 months saw a significant improvement in lung function in horses supplemented with DHA. Aleira Supplementation for 2 months resulted in a 10-fold increase in plasma DHA levels. No other fatty acid was affected.

TAKE HOME Supplementation of ALEIRA to horses with RAO or IAD, in combination with a complete pelleted feed, showed significant improvement in clinical signs, including cough, respiratory effort and performance as well as lung function and BALF compared to the placebo group.

Reference: Nogradi N, Couetil LL, Messick J, Stochelski MA, Burgess JR. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation provides an additional benefit to a low-dust diet in the management of horses with chronic lower airway inflammatory disease. J Vet Intern Med. 2015; 29(1): 299-306.

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REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH FOR ALL DHA—THE RIGHT OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID SOURCE ADDRESSING TODAY’S REPRODUCTIVE CHALLENGES Low conception rates. Mares taking multiple cycles to become pregnant or not conceiving for the year at all. Stallions with low sperm counts, poor quality and motility. Late-born, smaller foals at a disadvantage in yearling sales and competition.

These are some of the most pressing challenges in today’s breeding industry. These common reproductive issues are reduced with the help of a good DHA and cellular support supplement.

We developed Releira because there were no supplements available to help mares with fertility issues. There were only a few designed for stallions, but the reproductive health of mares was being ignored. Our research-proven formula offers a unique solution for a wide range of reproductive health issues, including problems with difficult mares. Supplementing with Releira helps mares that have difficulty conceiving become pregnant in fewer cycles. It reduces post-breeding uterine inflammation and fluids for higher pregnancy rates and it safely supports the mare and foal throughout gestation.

The same supplement can be fed to stallions to improve fertility. Pure algal-DHA works to not only increase sperm production, but to improve the quality of the cellular structure and progressive motility of the sperm for successful AI and live cover breedings. Even stallions with normal sperm counts often have numbers dip mid-season. Releira keeps numbers high throughout the entire season and improves numbers in stallions with low counts.

DHA improves molecular development of foals, creating a better cell membrane and more foals carried to term. Studies have proven that foals of mares supplemented with Releira have increased cognitive function and trainability. This is because quality DHA transfers to the foal during gestation and nursing.

If you’re ready for a more productive breeding season, try Releira. Our algal-DHA, research-proven formula is the solution for today’s most common fertility challenges in mares and stallions.

“I conducted a controlled trial utilizing a very robust frozen semen challenge that demonstrated a significant influence of supplementation with Releira on reducing the post breeding inflammatory response in all classes of mares.

A subsequent clinical trial involving thoroughbred mares and stallions in a commercial breeding environment further demonstrated the benefits of Releira in reducing breeding induced inflammation and improving per cycle pregnancy rates.”

Jim Brendemuehl DVM, PhD, DACT

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REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RELEIRA ESSENTIAL REPRODUCTIVE SUPPORT

Essential reproductive support, Releira helps mares and stallions reach their full breeding potential in a daily, DHA supplement. This research-backed Omega-3 formula provides reproductive health benefits for mares, stallions, and foals. It addresses common fertility issues with a readily-absorbed, vegetarian algae source.

KEY BENEFITS FOR MARES: Success in fewer cycles: Releira significantly improves conception rates in broodmares with a history of complications. Our DHA helps difficult mares that are typically bred in three to seven cycles to become pregnant in one cycle.

Reduced costs: Mares that don’t become pregnant still need care and resources. Quicker, successful pregnancies reduce the expenses for unbred mares and eliminates the missed opportunity of not having a foal to sell or compete with for another year.

Improved conception rates: Releira reduces post-breeding uterine inflammation and fluids for higher pregnancy rates.

Support throughout pregnancy: Safely provides constant reproductive support throughout the entire gestation period.

KEY BENEFITS FOR STALLIONS:

RESEARCH PROVEN The goal of this study was to determine if a significant difference existed in the uterine inflammatory response to frozen semen in response to supplementation with a blended algal and flaxseed source (RELEIRA) of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. 15 mixed breed horses were used in the study. 10 mares were classified as resistant based upon uterine biopsy scores of I-A or I-B and ability to clear all mating induced endometritis at 24 hours post insemination. 5 mares were classified as susceptible with uterine biopsy scores of II-B or III and the presence of uterine hyperechoic fluid at 24 hours post insemination.

Boosts fertility: Improves pregnancy rates from stallions with a history of common fertility issues.

Increased sperm count: Stallions with normal sperm counts often have numbers dip mid-season. Releira keeps numbers high throughout the entire season and improves numbers in stallions with low counts.

Improved sperm quality and motility: Pure DHA works to not only increase sperm production, but to improve the quality and motility of the sperm for successful AI and live cover breedings.

KEY BENEFITS FOR FOALS: More live foals: DHA improves molecular development. This creates a better cell membrane and more foals carried to term.

Less late season foals: Mares bred in fewer cycles result in foals born on time.

Late-born, smaller foals are at a disadvantage against older foals in yearling sales and competition.

Improved cognitive health: Studies have proven that foals of mares supplemented with Releira have increased cognitive function and trainability.

Quality DHA transfers to the foal during gestation and nursing.

RESULTS A very significant reduction in uterine fluid accumulation and neutrophil infiltration was noted in the five mares classified as susceptible.

Plasma DHA levels were significantly higher at day 28 and day 60 as compared to day 0.

The inflammatory response, as indicated by uterine fluid presence and neutrophil infiltration, was significantly reduced at 12 and 24 hours in both resistant and susceptible mares fed RELEIRA for 63+ days. ®

TAKE HOME Oral supplementation of RELEIRA given to susceptible and resistant mares significantly reduced the post breeding inflammatory response to frozen semen. ®

References: [1] Brendemuehl JP, Altman J, Kopp K. Influence of dietary algal N-3 fatty acids on breeding induced inflammation and endometrial cytokine expression in mares bred with frozen semen. J Equine Vet Sci. 2014; 34(1):123-124.

[2] J Equine Vet Sci. 2014; 34(1):123-124. Adkin AM, Warren LK, McCall CA. Effect of maternal docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on behavior and cognitive development in nursing foals. J Equine Vet Sci. 2013; 33(5):363. Hansen TL, Adkin AM, Warren LK. Effect of early exposure to maternal docosahexaenoic acid on memory and cognition in weaned foals. J Equine Vet Sci. 2013; 33: 364. Adkin AM, Muniz AV, Mortensen CJ, Warren LK. Maternal fatty acid supplementation influences memory and learning ability in yearling and 2-year-old horses. J Equine Vet Sci. 2015; 35: 419.

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STRUCTURAL HEALTH ORTHOPEDIC SUPPORT SOFT TISSUE SUPPORT YOU CAN TRUST THE DAILY RISK OF ORTHOPEDIC INJURY The daily physical demands on performance horses and changes in modern footing have resulted in new challenges for our equine athletes. Soft surfaces and deeper footing puts horses at increased risk of soft tissue injuries. Orthopedic diseases like osteoarthritis only add to the problem.

But it takes more than traditional joint support to protect our horses. Today’s athletes need broader protection from tendon, ligament, joint capsule, muscular and soft tissue damages.

Equestrians today must find and use the best tools available to avoid major soft tissue injuries and control small, undetected strains and sprains before they become a major problem. This is the reason it’s crucial for riders to use great nutritional support and topicals to protect their horses.

Our Steadfast line goes beyond the abilities of traditional joint supplements. Most supplements ignore bone and soft tissue health, leaving your horse exposed to a variety of painful or career-ending injuries. Our clinically proven Steadfast formulas offer total structural support for the most comprehensive protection available today.

“RC Fancy Step has been great his entire career and he seems to be getting better with age.

We attribute some of his success to using a great product like Steadfast Equine. I also use Steadfast Equine on some of my derby horses and all of my futurity horses.”

Shawn Flarida NRHA Champion and Arenus Ambassador

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STRUCTURAL HEALTH STEADFAST EQUINE PERFORMANCE COMPLETE ORTHOPEDIC SUPPORT

Steadfast Equine Performance protects and preserves your horse’s joint health to extend their career and keep them comfortable in training and competition.

No other equine joint supplement offers the unique formulation and scientific backing of Steadfast Equine Performance.

2X NATURAL PROTEIN NEM: Each packet of Steadfast Equine Performance contains a double dose of NEM compared to our original formula. Natural Eggshell Membrane provides a naturally occurring matrix of joint and structural support components that are synthetically manufactured in other supplements. NEM is a natural protein source that’s easily absorbed by horses for maximum structural support benefits. NEM results are proven more effective and faster acting than using traditional chondroitin and glucosamine.

In a human study, NEM provided significant improvement to knee and hip osteoarthritis pain and stiffness within 10 days [1].

HIGH LEVEL PERFORMANCE PROTECTION: The lifestyle of equine athletes is stressful on joints, soft tissue and bone.

Heavy training schedules, regular competition, frequent travel and uneven footing can lead to career-altering soft tissue injuries and chronic pain. Steadfast Equine Performance protects and preserves your horse’s joint health to extend their career and keep them comfortable in training and competition.

IMPROVED MOTION AND FLEXIBILITY: Performance horses with stiff, painful movement need total structural support for relief and comfort. Steadfast Equine Performance works fast with a powerful dose of Natural Eggshell Membrane to make your horse feel better for a longer stride length and more fluid motion.

RAPID REPAIR AND PREVENTION: Horses on Steadfast Equine Performance have the structural support to avoid time consuming and costly soft tissue injuries. Increased bone density, tendon strength, ligament strength and healthier soft tissues help prevent injury. Horses in training and competition need maximum support to keep them feeling and performing at their best.

TOTAL STRUCTURAL AID: Complete structural support for healthy joints, soft tissue and bones. Made with the highest level of naturally occurring glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen and hyaluronic acid available. No other equine joint supplement offers the unique formulation and scientific backing of Steadfast Equine Performance.

PRE-MEASURED SINGLE DAILY PACKETS:

Convenient, daily dose pouches come pre-measured for easy feeding and storage. No need to use two packets for a loading dose or during times of added stress. Your horse receives the maximum level of joint support in a single packet. Easy to travel with or store.

NEM is a registered mark of ESM Technologies, LLC References: [1] Danesch U, Seybold M, Rittinghausen R, Treibel W, Bitterlich N. NEM® Brand Eggshell Membrane Effective in the Treatment of Pain Associated with Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis: Results from a Six Center, Open Label German Clinical Study. J Arthritis. 2014; 3: 136.

[2] Dibner JJ, Quiroz MLM, Richards JD. Benefit of MINTREX P blend or organic trace minerals on the tibial dyschondroplasia, synovitis and pododermatitis in heavy weight tom turkeys. Abstract presented at: Poultry Science; July 16-19; 2006; Edmonton, Alberta.

[3] Zhao J, Harrell R, Greiner L, Allee G, Knight C.. Chelated trace minerals support sow reproduction. Feedstuffs. 2012; 84: 86-28.

[4] Wedekind KJ, Coverdale JA, Hampton, TR, Atwell CA, Sorbet RH, Lunnemann J, Harrell RJ, Greiner L, Keith NK, Evans JL, Zhao J, Knight CD. Efficacy of an equine joint supplement, and the synergistic effect of its active ingredients (chelated trace minerals and natural eggshell membrane), as demonstrated in equine, swine and an osteoarthritis rat model. Animal Physiology. 2015; 7: 13-

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STEADFAST EQUINE COMPLETE ORTHOPEDIC SUPPORT

More than a joint supplement, Steadfast Equine offers complete structural support for all horses.

The patented formula contains Natural Eggshell Membrane (NEM ) and TêlaFIRM. ®

These proprietary ingredients combine to provide your horse with a bioavailable source of glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen, hyaluronic acid and chelated minerals for maximum joint and soft tissue support and performance recovery.

IMPROVED MOTION AND FLEXIBILITY: Horses with stiff, painful movement need total structural support for relief and comfort. Steadfast Equine works fast to make your horse feel better for a longer stride length and more fluid motion.

REPAIR AND PREVENTION: Horses on Steadfast Equine have the structural support to avoid time consuming and costly soft tissue injuries. Increased bone density, tendon strength, ligament strength and healthier soft tissues help prevent injury.

ACTIVE HORSE SUPPORT: The lifestyle of a performance horse is stressful on joints, soft tissue and bone. Preserve your horse’s joint health to extend their career and keep them comfortable in training and competition.

SENIOR SUPPORT: Horses of all ages benefit from structural support maintenance. Arthritic and aging horses have additional stress on their joints that require support for optimal health. Steadfast Equine helps senior horses feel younger and more agile.

PRE-MEASURED POUCHES: Convenient, daily dose pouches come pre-measured for easy feeding and storage.

TOTAL STRUCTURAL AID: Complete structural support. No other equine joint supplement available offers the unique formulation and scientific backing of Steadfast Equine.

RESEARCH PROVEN 16 mature horses with OA were fed STEADFAST® Equine or a placebo for 42 days. Blood was collected every two weeks and levels of the biomarkers CTXII, PIIANP, and osteocalcin were measured. CTXII collagen is a byproduct of cartilage breakdown, PIIANP is a protein found in cartilage and blood increases indicate cartilage regeneration while the protein osteocalcin is important in bone mineralization and increases suggest chondromodulation.

TAKE HOME The decrease in serum CTXII and increase in serum PIIANP and osteocalcin suggest slowing of cartilage loss and rebuilding of cartilage and bone tissue in horses fed STEADFAST® Equine.

References: [1] Wedekind KJ, Coverdale JA, Hampton, TR, Atwell CA, Sorbet RH, Lunnemann J, Harrell RJ, Greiner L, Keith NK, Evans [2] JL, Zhao J, Knight CD. Efficacy of an equine joint supplement, and the synergistic effect of its active ingredients (chelated trace minerals and natural eggshell membrane), as demonstrated in equine, swine and an osteoarthritis rat model. Animal Physiology. 2015; 7: 13-27.

15

STRUCTURAL HEALTH STEADFAST CANINE SOFT TISSUE AND JOINT SUPPORT

Optimal soft tissue and joint support, Steadfast Canine is a powerful, daily chewable tablet that reduces exercise recovery times and helps keep aging dogs active and comfortable. Supports joints, bones and soft tissue to keep dogs comfortable in their golden years and acts as a preventative for dogs of all ages. The proven blend of glucosamine, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid and double chelated minerals provide the most bioavailable source of structural support for aging and injured dogs. Bringing together NEM and TêlaFirm provides for a complete blend of ingredients. ®

FAST RELIEF: Most owners see improvement in 7 - 10 days of using Steadfast Canine.

TASTY, CHEWABLE TABS:

Your dog will think it’s a treat! Most dogs love the liver flavor of Steadfast Canine by itself. Or simply mix it into their food for easy feeding.

ALL BREED SUPPORT:

Steadfast Canine comes in two sizes - small and large. The tablets can be easily tailored for dogs of all

breeds and sizes.

IMPROVED MOBILITY: Aging dogs suffer from conditions like arthritis and stressed joints that make movement difficult and painful. Total structural support for bone and soft tissue keeps your dog healthy and strong so they can live their golden years to the fullest. Reduced pain and inflammation keeps your dog comfortable. Acts as a preventative for dogs of all ages.

RAPID HEALING AID: When dogs are injured or recovering from surgery they need optimal joint and structural support to accelerate the healing process. Dogs with CCL tears or ruptures, joint capsule issues, canine hip dysplasia, hip and knee problems benefit from soft tissue support during recovery and rehabilitation. Steadfast Canine gives your dog the right ingredients their body needs to heal quickl Reference: [1] [Ruff KJ, Kopp KJ, Von Behrens P, Lux M, Mahn M, Back M. Effectiveness of NEM® brand eggshell membrane in the treatment of suboptimal joint function in dogs: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Vet Med: Research and Reports 2016; 7: 113-121.

“Steadfast Canine is an indispensable tool in our rehabilitation practice. We recommend it for every animal we diagnose with a soft tissue injury. We have seen great results in cases of biceps and supraspinatus tendinopathy, iliopsoas injury, and carpal and tarsal strains. I strongly recommend considering Steadfast as part of a rehabilitation treatment plan for musculoskeletal injuries.”

Jordan Sedlacek DVM, MPH, MAgr

Arenus Animal Health 16

866-791-3344 · arenus.ca

PHOTO: ISTOCK/CRINGUETTE PHOTO: DANIELLE SMARSH

Your Riding Gear

By Alexa Linton, Equine Sports Therapist

Is it working for or against you & your horse?

PHOTO: ISTOCK/KELLY J HALL

Let’s unpack our tack.

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I’ve always found the subject of tack to be very interesting. The tack we use on our horses is in many ways symbolic, marking a rider as English or Western, and beyond that, categorizing them more specifically as hunter, jumper, dressage, reining, cutting, barrel racing, endurance and so on. I still recall the strange looks I got in my Western saddle with English headstall or rope halter, and then later with my treeless saddle and split reins. I still see sidelong glances at my hackamore with half-inch bosal, mohair mecate, and felt bareback pad. My riding friends would jokingly call me a “cross dresser,” but in reality, I was choosing tack that felt good and fitted Diva and me the best (and that I could afford).

So why did I write this article about tack? Because a dear friend once pointed out the incredible generosity of horses when it comes to the equipment we use on them. She stated bluntly that to be ridden, our horses, as prey animals, have the hide of a dead animal strapped to their backs in the very place where a cougar would attack, and a piece of steel in their mouths controlling their movements (and their flight response).

As an equine therapist, I’ve seen my fair share of physical and behavioural issues caused by poorly-fitting saddles, overly-tight and pinching girths, too-tight nosebands, and harsh or poorly-fitted bits, as well as by excess tack such as draw reins or martingales being used as a bandaid for gaps in training or poor biomechanics. I’ve been to and worked at barns where staff would not lead a horse without a chain over its nose, or would leave halters on 24/7 for ease of catching.

Now I want to pose the question: Is the tack you are using necessary, and does it really work for you and your horse?

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Think back to when you first learned about tack and equipment. For me, it was at an English lesson barn when I was about 12 years old. I was told to use this tack for this horse, that it was necessary in order to ride, and that I had to clean it after every ride. End of story. It wasn’t until I became an Equine Sport Therapist that I began to understand that the tack we are using has an impact on the well-being of our horses, and we are allowed to change it for the betterment of our horse/human relationship.

Like most horses, my mare Diva is highly sensitive and she’s not afraid to express discomfort, which means she lets me know immediately if her tack is not fitting well or is causing discomfort or pain. How does she do this? She walks away in the paddock when I come with the halter; she flinches and moves when I’m putting her saddle on; she resists moving to our mounting area; and she doesn’t want to move out under saddle. Some might falsely label these behaviours as naughty or bad. Diva has been ridden bitless for many years, but many horses will also show bit and headstall discomfort with head tossing or shaking, resistance to their face being touched or to bitting, or physical issues at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or in the mouth.

On Instagram, I’ve been following a rider named Alizee Fremont, and her incredible bridleless and bareback classical dressage riding furthered my curiosity about the necessity of much of our tack (I highly recommend checking her out!). If someone can ride their horses in this way, with nothing but a neck rope, why all the add-ons? How much is our tack covering up gaps in our training, the gymnastic inability of our horse to do what we are asking, poor biomechanics, rider imbalance, or a disconnected relationship between horse and rider?

What are some easy tack changes we can make now? First, take stock of the tack you use and why you use it. Be really honest with yourself about each piece of equipment and its purpose.

Ask yourself if you use it for one or more of the following reasons: • You and your horse love the fit and feel; • It is what everyone else in your type of riding is using and it symbolizes something; • It looks good; • It is what you can afford or what you already have; • It creates relaxation in your horse;

• It stimulates action (spurs or a whip); • Someone told you to use it, or it’s what your teacher or mentor rides in; • It controls or limits some part of your horse’s movement (a certain bit, draw reins, a martingale or a tight noseband); • It helps you feel safe.

Now, ponder the following questions while thinking about your horse’s attire (and your own, especially if it includes spurs or a whip)...

What Can I Lose?

Are there any pieces of tack that are not serving a helpful purpose, or can be replaced with training that works better for your horse, biomechanically sound work, or a change in focus or fit? For example, I rode Diva in spurs for years to try to create forward movement but have since realized that my change in training style allowed her to carry herself better and move forward easily and freely on her own, without me pushing her.

What Can I Loosen?

Over the years I’ve met my fair share of cinchy and head shy horses. Many of them are suffering from the myth that our girth, headstall, and nose band need to be really really tight to be safe. Give your horse some breathing room and she will be far happier and safer in the long run, as overly tight straps are painful and can cause nerve and muscle damage, as well as limit breathing capacity and stride.

What Can Fit Better?

Our horses are constantly changing shape and condition. Be sure to have regular saddle fitting done and recheck the fit of your other tack frequently. There are some excellent saddle fitters around who can help you find a fit that works for you and your horse, as saddle fit can affect everything from mobility to jaw movement to digestion. As well, every mouth is shaped differently and can change with age, so bit size and type matters, or in my horse’s case, bosal size. Your comfort and balance also matter to your horse, so finding a saddle that allows you to ride in harmony with your horse is important.

What Works Best For My Horse?

If you are relying on a specific piece of equipment to get your horse into a certain position or control a certain behaviour, consider incorporating different types of training that work with correcting biomechanics and creating

< Be sure you are using what’s

best for your horse by thinking carefully about each piece of tack you use and why you use it.

relaxation to fill these gaps, so you can move towards simplifying. In the longterm, it is far more beneficial for your horse to offer a movement like collection from a place of relaxation and choice and build up the strength to maintain this position naturally over time, rather than being pulled and held against resistance or weakness. Your horse may also need manual therapy to be able to move into these positions and sustain them in comfort.

Also, remember that not all horses want to do the job you’re hoping for as much as you do. Your jumping horse may be happiest on a loose rein out on the trail. Providing varied, relaxing, fun, and appropriately challenging experiences for your horse can support her in the work you’re asking her to do, and support you in your efforts to decrease your reliance on certain types of tack.

And finally, ask yourself if you are willing to look a bit silly and a bit out of place for the love of your horse. Sometimes we need to mix things up and be creative to find the right fit for our horse.

At the end of the day, a happy horse is a lovely thing, and I believe (hopefully not naively) that this is something we are all working towards. I look forward to hearing about all your creative equipment combos and how they are working for your horses! b > Alexa Linton is a regular contributor to this magazine. Read her bio on page 90.

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The author’s Canadian mare, Raven, in her fave combo, a side-pull bitless leather cavesson and my Filzsattel felt riding pad.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALEXA LINTON

PHOTO: ISTOCK/NYCSHOOTER

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The author with her mare, Diva.

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The first signs of equine botulism are generally vague neurologic signs like abnormal gait or dropping feed. Almost all affected horses will have loss of eyelid, tail, and tongue tone. Some horse will display mild signs of colic as well. Untreated, these symptoms will progress to the horse being unable to stand, eat, or drink. Symptoms can progress over hours to days, with the faster progressions being associated with higher amounts of consumed toxins and a worse prognosis. Once a horse has become unable to stand on its own the prognosis is grave.

PHOTO: ADOBESTOCK/EDOMA

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Unfortunately, about half of horses affected with botulism will die, even after expensive therapy with specific antibodies is attempted.

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HORSEMANSHIP

The

Science

of Tack &

Training Aids CA

Sifting through truth, tradition, & emotion

PHOTO: SOUL TOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY

By Lindsay Grice, Equestrian Canada coach and judge

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nosebands or the mindless application of equipment, regardless of whether it is suitable for this horse at this stage of training…

Yet when I ask riders whether they have tried other nosebands, or even no noseband, they look at me as if I had just stepped down the ramp of the mother ship.”

In barn aisles and on social media platforms, equestrians debate, disdain, and defend the use of training aids, as in the following examples: PRO: Artificial aids “aid” riders in training effectively and safely. They are useful tools to influence and contain the responses of a 1000-pound animal, or motivate one unresponsive to learned signals.

ISTOCK/ SOMOGYVARI

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NO

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AND FIG

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CON: These gadgets are training shortcuts, compensating for a lack of skill. They’re bad for the industry; spectators see them as abusive and this reflects poorly on our sport. They stifle normal equine behaviour and are a source of stress. As one writer for the UK magazine Horse & Rider once asserted, “The whip is an admission of failure.”

FL

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DR

CA

hen we think of training tack, we think of whips, spurs, nosebands, and martingales. It’s a divisive topic in the horse industry. Horse show committees, popular clinicians, coaches, competitive and casual riders all differ in their views. In a sport where truth, tradition, and emotions often collide, I’ve had to sift through the issues to form my own system as a horse trainer, show judge, and riding coach. By trial and error, from training hundreds of horses and watching countless horses and riders, I’ve honed my sense of what works and what tends not to.

But personal experience alone is not a guarantee of truth; I weigh my experience against research findings. The emergence of equitation science has supplied fascinating insight into how horses think and learn.

Do artificial aids themselves cause stress, or is stress caused by the way those aids are used? I’ve heard it said that the best teachers are the curious so I ask lots of questions. As a result my thoughts about artificial aids have been challenged and shaped over the years.

SH VA UTT TSE ERST OCK/ SVEGLANA RYAZAN

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OSE

BAND

SHU A TTER JOV STOCK/RITA KOCHMAR

SHU AN TTER STOCK/JENNAY HITESM

When first meeting a rider in a clinic or for a lesson, I usually ask why they’ve chosen their bit or tack. Responses vary from It’s the tack that came with the horse when I bought him, or It’s what everyone’s using, or I just like the look of it!

Sometimes, there’s a well-reasoned reply, formed from thinking through the facts: I understand the mechanics of how the equipment works and on which part of the horse. Based on that, I’ve chosen this equipment to help solve this issue for this horse.

Jim Wofford, revered coach and US Olympic eventer, shared his insights in his Practical Horseman column The Times They Are a-Changin’ on the “mindless application of equipment, regardless of whether it is suitable for this horse at this stage of training” as follows: “Nosebands are one of my many irritants when coaching…

Almost every horse I see is wearing one. Flash nosebands are inherently ill-fitting; a flash is basically an inefficient figure-eight noseband so they are invariably overtightened, causing a pronounced indentation in the flesh of the nasal bone and, occasionally, small sores on the lips. In addition, these nosebands can interfere with the horse’s normal swallowing mechanism, producing the very resistance they are intended to cure.

“I can’t decide which irritates me more: overtightened

We are routinely preventing normal swallowing, chewing, yawning, and licking in the name of sport. — ISES.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/ABRAMOVA KSENLYA

PHOTO: SOUL TOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY

KNOW YOUR NOSEBANDS n Before using a noseband, understand what it’s meant to do, and remember that to a horse that hasn’t mastered the basics, more restrictive equipment only amplifies signals he doesn’t fully understand.

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PHOTO: LINDSAY GRICE

A standing martingale strap, when lifted, should reach almost to the throatlatch of the horse.

PHOTO: PETER BRUCE

PHOTO: PHOTO:LINDSAY LINDSAYGRACE GRACE

PHOTO: PETER BRUCE

A standing martingale, adjusted too long, may entangle a horse’s legs when jumping or after a stumble.

Standing martingales, ubiquitous in the hunter ring, are permitted in only the lower levels in the jumper ring.

This martingale is too tight.

I’m convinced the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Let’s lift the lid on the tack box, looking objectively at the evidence concerning training aids — how to choose them, use them, and avoid the ways we might abuse them.

How To Choose Them

We teach horses in a language of aids, which are cues or signals to bring a response.

An artificial aid is equipment used to back up a rider’s light aid. Examples are spurs, whips, martingales, and draw reins.

There are endless variations of these devices used in the quest to lift, lower, or supple the neck, round the back, slow down the legs, or speed them up.

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As decision-makers in the horse/ human partnership, we owe it to our horses to clearly define our expectations such as, for example, the boundaries of speed, shape, and direction; a six- or twelve-foot canter stride; the amount of lateral bend in the horse’s body; short frame or longer outline.

WHAT SHAPE IS THE “BOX” YOU ARE SETTING AROUND YOUR HORSE? — When my horse stays inside the box without being held in place, that’s selfcarriage, similar to cruise control. He’s discovered the box’s boundaries by trial and error, and with any unauthorized changes he’ll meet my aids. For example,

if he speeds up, he’ll meet my rein contact. If he cuts a corner, he’ll find my inside leg. If his rhythm falters, he’ll encounter my leg nudging him forward again. In turn, my horse discovers what I DO want by trial and error, finding release within the box. Negative reinforcement is the main way we train horses, taking away (negative) the annoying pressure to reward (reinforce) the behaviour we want.

Our ultimate goal is to use the lightest of pressures. However, if a horse becomes desensitized to those light pressures, a rider may choose an artificial aid as a reminder.

The training aid you choose may depend on:

Although this Western martingale is adjusted too tight, it does have the required rein stops.

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PHOTO: PETER BRUCE

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• Which boundary of the box you wish to emphasize; • How much pressure it takes to motivate your horse; • Your current level of skill to use the tack effectively; • What’s permitted in the schooling areas and show rings of your riding association.

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THE BACK AND SIDES OF THE BOX — Spurs and crops address the back or sides of the box. Has your horse become dull, content to lean against your leg signal like the butt bar of a horse trailer? Spurs help deliver the appropriate amount of motivation if your light “go forward” or “move over” signal is ignored. As soon as your horse responds, immediately lower your heel and soften your leg to send him the “thank you” note.

The whip should be used directly behind your leg to follow its nudge.

Technique is important. Less confusing to your horse than individual wallops are continuous whip-taps, just until he responds. By trial and error, horses figure out that only acceleration turns off the tapping.

Using the whip without affecting the rein in your whip hand takes practice.

Choose a whip for schooling that is long enough to reach the horse’s barrel and lightweight enough for you to tap. Length and weight of the whip in competition is determined by your riding association.

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The correct release with draw reins may feel exaggerated. It takes some skill for riders to develop a timely and clear release when using draw reins.

THE TOP OF THE BOX — With martingales and Western tiedowns, the horse encounters pressure when he elevates his head, lowering it into freedom. Running and standing martingales are the most common types. A tight martingale, allowing no release, defeats the purpose. The horse must be thinking: So where DO you want me to carry my neck?

THE FRONT OF THE BOX — Draw reins and side reins correspond to the front of the box. Like a pulley, draw reins augment the rein aids in order to influence head carriage and outline. They function differently according to the height at which they’re attached to the saddle. It takes some skill for riders to develop a timely and clear release with draw reins.

How to Use Them

Artificial aids may either amplify or replace a rider’s natural aid.

AMPLIFY — Used after the first cue, training aids motivate a response when the light aid doesn’t. This logical system (light cue, stronger cue, reward) is similar to a car’s lane departure warning, alerting the other drivers of your intention to change lanes. It’s then up to the other drivers to take corrective action.

Soon, all it takes is a light signal to inspire self-carriage in the horse — freedom is found within the perimeter.

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REPLACE — An artificial aid may act in place of a natural cue.

Lunge or dressage whips, even spurs, can serve as a reaching assist to touch precisely the right spot. Side reins and other lunging devices substitute for the rider’s hands, setting clear boundaries.

A horse can’t find the boundaries of a box when those boundaries keep moving. I teach riders the importance of applying cues at the same place, in the same way, and releasing

Check your rule books before you attach draw reins between the horse’s front legs. Such an attachment is not permitted by some organizations, even in the warm-up ring.

A horse can’t develop self-carriage if his head is held in place.

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at the right moment. Although training aids should be reserved for those who have developed independent use of the seat, legs, and hands, occasionally tack “aids” the horse by replacing unsteady signals.

Standing martingales, for example, may balance human error for hands not yet educated enough to provide a consistent box “lid” or when hands are busy, such as when roping. Check the adjustment: With your horse in neutral topline, is the martingale strap too tight or too slack?

An over-check limits the extent a horse can lower his neck — handy for young pony riders!

It’s hard to deny that these tack items are overused and under evaluated. Yet, I also see them appropriately and temporarily used by others.

How to Abuse Them

Now let’s consider how riders might abuse artificial aids.

After years of watching horses and riders and exploring the evidence, I’m convinced it’s not so much the equipment that’s stressing out the horses as much as it is the careless operators of the equipment.

We are careless operators when…

WE HAVE POOR TIMING — A common misuse of artificial aids is missing the moment or failing to release the pressure when the horse responds. Conversely, by relaxing the pressure when a horse hasn’t responded, a rider accidently rewards the wrong behaviour.

WE STARTLE THE HORSE — Megaphones are handy to amplify and clarify instructions, yet they can startle and intimidate.

Surprise the horse with a spur jab before “asking” with the calf and you may be riding out a buck. The hasty tightening of a "As a professional horse trainer, Dynamint Equine Leg & Muscle Rub is an important aspect of my program. Dynamint is a natural product that has a cooling effect, it calms tired, sore muscles and rejuvenates horses keeping them feeling their best.

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Would Your Horse’s Noseband Pass the Test?

Technology now allows researchers to peek inside the equine mouth, comparing the effect of restrictive nosebands on bit action and swallowing. Overly tight nosebands, with the leverage they afford, can create measurable damage.

Dressage rules specify that nosebands must permit one finger between the horse’s cheek and the noseband. Current research has revealed that noseband tension must be tested on the bridge, or the front nasal plane, of the nose.

The International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) responded to the dilemma of cranked cavessons in equine sport by designing a noseband gauge for horse show ring stewards.

Researchers compared 750 horses with a noseband gauge at a variety of national and international dressage and eventing competitions. The consensus? “We are routinely preventing normal swallowing, chewing, yawning, and licking in the name of sport,” — ISES. Riders should ensure that their horse’s noseband is not excessively tight and complies with FEI rules. The ISES recommends a minimum spacing between the noseband strap and the horse’s nasal bones, and increasingly, sports governing bodies are introducing new rules to this effect, with several countries specifying a spacing between 1.5 and 2 cm. A minimum spacing of at least 1.5 cm is achieved when the ISES noseband taper gauge is inserted without force up to the raised stop.

In addition, three notches on the side can be used to measure the diameter of the bit’s mouthpiece, and two Bit’s mouthpiece (100mm marks on the reverse size measurement: lines to side measure the meaure curb 10mm 12mm 14mm length of the curb shank length shank. on reverse The question side) upstream from noseband constraints is: Are we masking bit evasion without askRaised stop mark ing WHY the horse might be resisting?

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PHOTOS: ISES

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Don’t Get Caught With Your Splint Boots On!

Some examples of what’s allowed and what’s not across the riding disciplines.

NOSEBANDS — Equestrian Canada (EC) dressage and jumper rules permit various drop, flash, and figure-eight nosebands in the show ring. Plain cavesson must be part of an English bridle for EC hunter and AQHA English competitors, while none are allowed for Western competitors. A Western tie-down (similar to a bosal attached to a standing martingale) without any built-in noseband is authorized for competitors in Western speed events and roping. Most rule books now specify that nosebands must not be over-tightened or used in such a way that they interfere with a horse’s breathing. Thankfully, research has developed less subjective methods of determining noseband tightness.

SPURS — In Western disciplines there are few specifications for

spurs, except that they not be used in front of the cinch or “excessively.” Across the board, raw or bleeding skin from spur use is a quick ticket to disqualification. AQHA does not allow slipon spurs and restricts English spur length to one inch. English spurs are typically limited to the non-rowelled type, with the exception of rolling balls.

Dressage rules permit longer spurs of almost two inches or five cm, and those with smooth rowels are allowed.

WHIPS — Many rule books include a permitted whip length.

Dressage whips are limited to 120 cm and most other EC classes specify a 75 cm maximum length.

AQHA hunter flat classes don’t permit whips, while they are allowed in EC flat classes. AQHA forbids whips in schooling for showmanship or in any Western

classes, except for speed events.

In all rule books, excessive use of the whip earns a disqualification. EC states that excessive use of the whip includes overhand use, more than three times in a row, or on the horse’s head.

DRAW REINS — Most disciplines include restrictions for draw reins. A low attachment, between or around front legs, while acceptable in the EC hunter/ jumper schooling ring, is not allowed on AQHA show grounds.

EC open jumper riders may use draw reins at lower jump heights.

Restrictive devices such as the chambon and side reins are forbidden on AQHA show grounds whereas they are authorized in the schooling ring, on the flat, and at EC hunter/jumper competitions. Side reins are the only permitted lunging devices in the dressage warm-up ring.

MARTINGALES — These are commonly allowed in classes over fences, but not on the flat. Most rule books specify that running martingales must be used with rein stops. Dressage riders may warm up in running martingales, but not standing martingales. A Western speed event rider may compete with either a standing or running martingale.

In my 30 years of molding horses for their jobs, I’ve collected an endless array of leather and buckles and snaps, promising to fix every equine evasion. You likely have a tack box full, too.

Now, with a wealth of evidence available to us, we can make our artificial aid choices by analysis, not by accident. I remind my students to always consider: • WHY am I using this tack?

• Why am I using THIS tack?

Your horse will thank you.

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PHOTO: PETER BRUCE

Use a whip behind your leg to supplement your leg cue.

martingale may panic a horse and cause him to rear. To a horse that hasn’t mastered the basics, stronger bits and more restrictive equipment only amplify signals he doesn’t fully understand. It’s like using a megaphone to communicate a foreign language.

Louder isn’t clearer — it’s just scarier. Tack such as martingales, side reins, and draw reins should be introduced gradually. Horses are claustrophobic and prone to panic when feeling trapped. Start with the loosest setting and adjust incrementally.

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WE TRAP THE HORSE — When a horse’s correct response isn’t rewarded with freedom, he becomes desensitized and stops trying to find the right answer. Learned helplessness is that apathetic state in which the horse has learned, through trial and error, that there’s just no option to escape the equipment’s pressure. For example, take the controversial issue of racing whip use. Associations vary in pronouncing how often jockeys may strike with the whip in a race, how many times they may strike in a row, and the manner in which they may strike — underhand or overhand. Yet the horse may ask: What behaviour will turn off the sting?

Studies have found while most horses are whipped in a race at some point, it seems that frequent whip use doesn’t lead to winning. While some racing associations mandate the use of cushioned, absorbing whips, we must ask: Is the solution to alter the tool itself, or the method? Do the rules make sense to the horse if not related to his acceleration response?

“In racing, jockeys may use the whip when the horse cannot go any faster; they sometimes stop the whip when the horse has not gone any faster or continue to use the whip when the horse has already gone faster. Small wonder that whips can be ineffective for some racehorses.” — Dr Andrew Mclean.

Elevated heels lead to a dull horse. Lower your spur and relax your ankle at the moment your horse accelerates or yields to your leg cue.

WE USE TACK IN THE WRONG WAY — We can abuse training tack by using it in ways it’s not designed for. When judging, I’ve seen upside down spurs, curb chains fastened to the wrong ring, and nosebands tightened beyond the intention of their design. While some of these are accidental modifications, others are a premeditated shortcut to gain a competitive advantage. Thus, competition committees annually revise the rules, staying one step behind the shortcuts! (See Don’t Get Caught With Your Splint Boots On!, page 59, for a sample of current tack rules across several disciplines.)

Are we using tack in the wrong way if only for aesthetics?

After all, no hunter is fully dressed without a standing martingale. No horse in any English discipline is fully dressed without a noseband. Logically, I believe if there’s a way to adjust the equipment so the horse finds freedom when he’s within the intended boundaries, there’s no harm in b decorative tack.

PHOTO: LINDSAY GRICE

PHOTO: PETER BRUCE

Draw reins can be abused by trapping a horse in place, achieving a headset by simply holding it there. Used correctly, a rider’s elastic arm provides release the moment their horse finds the “sweet spot.” I ask the riders I teach: “Does your horse understand what you DO want?” Learning comes when the training wheels come off — determine not to babysit your horse with nagging aids.

A martingale, adjusted too snuggly, can trap the horse, interfering with the appealing bascule over the jump. That in itself should be a motivating factor for competitors!

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Martin Black riding his 16-hand Appendix Quarter Horse bridle horse out on the range.

PHOTO: KIM STONE SHINANATU PHOTOGRAPHY

Continuing the

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Bridle Horse Tradition The horse will teach you if you listen.

Spanish cowboys (vaqueros) who came to North America over 500 years ago left a lasting legacy — not only in words such as chaps (from chaparreras) and rodeo (rodear) which are engrained in today’s Western lifestyle — but in their riding and horse training skills, too.

In the early 1500s when Spanish cows and horses were imported into what is now Mexico, cattle ranching and bridle horses were introduced to North America. Vaquero bridle horses were highly trained, handy stock horses that worked as partners out on the range and were in tune with their riders’ every aid.

Making a bridle horse was and is a multiyear process whereby horses are started in a hackamore (bosal), then advanced through a two-rein bridle (small diameter hackamore beneath a spade bit bridle each with a set of reins) until they are ready to be ridden “straight up in the bridle” in a spade bit.

Horsemen and women today still value the vaquero methods, and some choose to train their horses in this traditional way. But as cowboy lifestyles and values change, those horsemen have become few and far between. To learn more about these centuries-old vaquero traditions I spoke with Martin Black, a fifth-generation rancher based in Idaho, whose family has been raising and training horses in the vaquero tradition for close to 150 years. Black is a well-respected horseman who is passionate about preserving the bridle horse traditions.

Finished bridle horses will be ridden using minimal cues in a spade bit like one of these.

“Basically, the bridle horse is an allaround stock horse,” he explains. “The ultimate goal was to have a good horse to work cattle on. What made the bridle horse ideal [was] you could have a rope in one hand and steer your horse with the other, and what everybody strived for was a horse you could ride without pulling on him.”

Black says that even today he starts all his horses in a hackamore. “Pretty much everything in my string I start in a hackamore, then go to the two rein (bridle), and then they go straight-up into the spade bit. The spade bit is a leverage bit but also a signal bit. We want [horses] to respond to the slightest movement of the mouthpiece.”

He says the bridle horse tradition “… came from the Moors of Africa over to Spain where they had a weapon in one hand and the reins in the other.” After arriving in Mexico, vaqueros and cattleranching spread north into the southern United States, and by the mid-1800s the vaquero style of riding, tack, handbraided rawhide reatas [lariats], and ways of roping cattle was prevalent in what is now California. Subsequently, vaquero horsemanship spread northeast to Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho. “That [horsemanship] came with the cattle to the Great Basin and so my family being in the horse business …my great grandfather and uncles pretty much followed that tradition,” says Black.

PHOTO: KIM STONE SHINANATU PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO: KIM STONE SHINANATU PHOTOGRAPHY

By Tania Millen

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PHOTO: KIM STONE SHINANATU PHOTOGRAPHY

Martin Black’s well-trained bridle horse is tracking this cow on a loose rein with no leg cues, completing a complex maneuver on its own.

Black was introduced to California style vaquero horsemanship by his great uncle. “When I think of a bridle horse, it’s not what you see today in the show pen. When I was growing up, the goal was to make a good bridle horse, not go in a three-year-old futurity. You worked your young horses kind of like you send your kid to grade school, hoping that he’d eventually go to university and become a doctor, lawyer, or scientist.

Today, I don’t spend much time riding the three-year-olds. I maybe ride the four-year-olds a bit more, but I’m really looking to the five- and six-year-olds to start blossoming, so they’re good six, seven, or eight-year-old horses.”

“It doesn’t take much to ask your

six-year-old bridle horse to do something he’s never done,” he explains. “They learn to accept challenges. They don’t start shutting you out. The way a lot of people train horses, by the time they’re six or seven years old they’ve been through repetition training so much it’s pretty hard to present a different idea to them as they’re pretty much closed-minded. [When} training through repetition you’re doing it over and over again until the horse sort of learns to follow the maze, but there’s not that much decision-making or thinking on the horse’s part. You just keep practicing whatever the maneuver is until the horse gets to whatever level the rider is satisfied with. [Training the bridle horse] is a whole different way of training horses.”

It’s this unique training style that tends to attract noncowboy riders to the bridle horse tradition, too.

Stefanie Travers is a British Columbia-based self-described philosopher of the horse who has been training her horses the bridle horse way for the past 12 years. She says, “A quote that summarizes what the bridle horse thing means to me is:

Stefanie Travers believes that one of the things that sets bridle horse training apart is the lack of a timeline.

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Albert Harley (great-great uncle) herding range horses in a spade bit, 1890.

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Martin Black is passionate about preserving the bridle horse traditions. His family has been raising and training horses in the vaquero tradition for almost 150 years as these fascinating family photos chronicle.

Albert Black (grandfather) riding in a spade bit, rawhide reata, and long tapaderos, 1926.

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Joe Black (great grandfather) using a silver spade bit, rawhide reata, and woolly chaps, 1900.

Paul Black (great uncle) with a hackamore horse, 1949.

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Stefanie Travers riding in a hackamore.

PHOTO: DANIELLE WEGELIN

What I do is not a sport, it’s an art — and in the horse world, that’s a pretty big distinction. Not a lot of people think of it that way, but I absolutely do. To me, it’s art.”

Travers explains that one of the big differences of bridle horse training is the lack of a timeline.

“Our horse world is so steeped in three-day colt starts and 90-day training where one day the horse is a baby, the next day it goes to school, and the third day it’s going to work. A lot of the horse world just thinks that’s how it is. And it’s not. But that’s the standard. So, the glaring difference to me [between bridle horse training and other styles] is that most of the California-style riders say: Who cares? There’s always tomorrow. It’s the horse that matters.”

She explains that historically, the vaqueros of California, “… would sit up there on those hills watching their cows get fat and they’d fiddle fart around with their horses. They’d pick up a soft feel and they’d figure out how the horse could best carry them, and they just had the time to make it an art.”

Although the nuances of bridle horse training may be interpreted differently depending on a riders’ beliefs, Travers says that all bridle horsemen allow their horse’s full abilities to shine, yet still maintain a relationship with their horse.

Paul and Mattie Black (great uncle and aunt) using a spade bit with bosal or two rein (right), and straight up bridle (left), 1950.

Doug Black (uncle) competition roping in a spade bit, 1958.

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“The bridle horse tradition is the art of developing a horse to be the very best that it can be as a stock horse. This is a live creature. They’re not a program. The horse dictates the training timeline. They speak a completely different language and we’re trying to work together.”

“Everything is based on staying in the centre of the horse,” she explains.

“There are no wide hands, no low hands, everything is very centrally bodyoriented, for both the horse and human.

I almost think that the horse is a horizontal creature and we are a vertical creature, and we sit in their epicentre. So to me, developing a bridle horse is about how we find our centres together, and how I present myself in a way that the horse wants to be with me and remain with me, and how we travel through space together. That’s a bizarre interpretation of what a bridle horse is from a working cow horse standpoint,

but I think the really good horsemen — if they were pushed to explain what a bridle horse is — would say they need to know where the centre of their horse is.”

But the training methods, values, and horsemanship are just part of the bridle horse tradition. The tack plays a big part, too. “One of the things I’ve learned is how brilliant the equipment is,” says Travers. “This stuff came from working cowboys, who would build their gear at night to the best of their ability.”

As one of those working cowboys, Black says that when he was growing up, he and his uncles and friends would sit around in the evenings trying to make better gear, then try it out on their horses, and if it wasn’t quite right, try again. Now, most of the equipment is created by artisans — silver makers, mecate traders, and rawhide braiders.

“The good horsemen understood how mane hair that is spun into a rein and lies

in the place where that material grew, is profound — mane hair [of the mecate] is lying where mane hair should be,” explains Travers. “And how the number of plaits in your rawhide [on the nose of the bosal] or strands in the mecate [reins] can communicate more or less subtly, or with more feel or clarity. All those horsehair strands and rawhide braids are like fibre optics between your hands and the horse’s mouth.

“The gear is able to translate the communication lines but the biggest tool we have is our body. It outweighs our saddle. So, learning how to use our body and energy, our breath, presence, and awareness, allows the equipment to finish that conversation with the horse.”

Travers thinks that bridle horse riding appeals to non-cowboys who have tried different things with horses and perhaps have become a bit jaded.

“I think it’s embraced by people who

PHOTO: WOJTEK KWIATKOWSKI EQUINE PHOTOGRAPHY

“One of the things I’ve learned is how brilliant the equipment is,” says Stefanie Travers, who explains that working cowboys used to build their gear at night, always aiming to improve it.

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are fascinated by this creature that carries us around and are driven to know more about themselves through the horse,” she says. “The horse is always a reflection of you and the development of a bridle horse calls upon us to become better horsemen.”

For bridle horsemen, the ultimate goal and test of the human-horse relationship is training their horse to be straight up in the bridle. Horses in a spade bit have silver-adorned tack, which honours the horse and rider who have put in the time to create this special relationship.

“The spade bit requires the horse be round and driving from behind, with the motor in the back end and the steering in the front end with the shoulder elevated,” explains Travers. “The bit just hangs in their mouth in a completely neutral place. It’s not forced — it’s what ends up happening. The horse’s head is

in an almost vertical position and that’s because the horse is happy, engaged, and its back and jaw are relaxed, and that’s been developed through sensitive hands that are aware of what is going on in them and a rider who is aware of what’s going on underneath them.”

“The horse will teach you if you listen is not just a beautiful saying, it’s the truth,” she says. “That curiosity about how to find the centre of the horse, how to move them, how to not be offensive to the horse, how to make my idea my horse’s idea and have them run with it — that’s the essence of the bridle horse.”

It’s those lofty goals that drive horsemen and women today to continue training horses in the centuries-old bridle horse tradition. b

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ROPING 101

PHOTO: TANIS PAYNE

y o b w o C l o o ch

By Tania Millen

Many riders dream of being a cowboy, and every cowboy needs to be able to rope a cow. Some riders grow up on ranches and learn to swing a loop from friends or relatives, but other wannabe cowboys aren’t so fortunate. So, how does the average rider with cowboy dreams learn that essential roping skill?

And why rope a cow, anyway?

Growing up in suburbia and riding in English tack, cows weren’t part of my life.

But I’ve dreamed of roping cattle for many years, so I finally took some beginner roping lessons with Cody Braaten, a competitive calf and team roper based in 150 Mile House, British Columbia. Braaten has roped for over 20 years, even though he’s less than 30 years old, and students enjoy his clear, relaxed teaching style. At the lessons I attended, there were no live cows. We started with the basics — learning how to coil the rope and build a loop, then swing it overhead and throw it at hay bales with plastic cow heads.

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The first loop I learned goes over the calf’s head and lands around its neck, while the second loop Bratten taught ideally just catches the horns. The third loop — which I didn’t master — catches the back feet or heels of the cow and has quite a different approach, swing, and throw than the first two. We progressed to roping the hay bale while sitting on our horses, and eventually we were throwing loops while trotting after a “dummy” cow pulled by an ATV. Unsurprisingly, my throws were inconsistent, so I was fortunate to be riding my chill mare Jewel, who just rolled her eyes when I roped her head by mistake.

On our last clinic day there was an informal horseback roping competition, and I managed to successfully rope the dummy three times in a row, which won me a new rope from Braaten — a ridiculously satisfying thrill for this non-cowboy.

After five days of lessons, it was obvious that successfully roping cattle isn’t just about whirling a rope overhead.

Ropers must be able to steer with the left hand while holding excess coils of rope, move their horse one step at a time, plus swing a rope overhead, all while reading cattle and influencing their movement.

There are also over 30 different types of loops to throw, depending on the cow’s position in relation to the horse. So roping is undeniably challenging — akin to patting your head, rubbing your stomach, and dancing a jig all at the same time.

But why would you rope a cow?

Many people are familiar with timed rodeo events such as calf roping and team roping where the fastest roper to catch their calf, wins. These events are

PHOTO: TANIS PAYNE

PHOTOS: MARIAN FINUCANE

competitive versions of activities that still occur on ranches across North America.

Ross Smith grew up on a ranch near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and genuinely learned to ride before he could walk. He’s president of the Canadian Ranch Roping Association and says, “The number one reason you rope an animal out on the ranch is because it’s sick. And because our [cowboying] job is on really big areas of land, it might be 10 miles to a corral. If the animal is sick, [getting him to a corral] is not going to happen. The alternative is to rope them… so we can treat them.”

“We might take five or ten minutes… to gradually sneak up close to the animal and then try to rope it,” he explains.

“Since it’s sick, we don’t want to chase it and further stress it more than it already is. If we can rope it standing still or just walking along, that’s more beneficial to the animal because the idea is to get them caught, treated, and released with the least amount of stress possible.”

Reducing stress is important for many reasons — not just for the health and welfare of the animals — but for financial reasons, too. Cattle are generally raised to be sold and slaughtered, so gaining weight is a priority and stress can cause cattle to lose weight.

Smith advises that it’s preferable to have two people to rope a cow. “One person ropes the head, then the other person ropes the back feet. You get the

Ranch roping is quite different from the timed roping events seen at rodeos. It takes longer, and the goal is to keep the herd calm, and to catch, treat, and release the animal with a minimum of stress.

cow on the ground and then usually the header ties his rope off to the saddle horn, then gets off and ties the animal up. Then you can do whatever you need to. Then you have to get your ropes back off it once you let the cow go, which is often hard to do.”

“So number one, you need a horse that’s familiar with being roped off,” he says. “It’s not necessarily a rodeo trained

horse because what happens out in the pasture is quite a bit different than what happens at the rodeo. At a rodeo, it’s bing, bang, boom and in seconds flat you’re done. When you treat an animal out at pasture it could be 15 minutes, depending on how cooperative they are and how well it goes. You have to keep in mind that you’re miles from home and if you get hurt it’s not good.”

To succeed at ranch roping you need a horse that’s familiar with roping, and an understanding of the cow’s flight zone and how it will react.

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“We use a long rope, too,” says Smith.

“Usually 50 or 60 feet (15 to 18 metres). If we use a 60-foot rope, we might rope the animal 30 feet (10 metres) away from our horse. Whereas the rope used in rodeo events is only about 30 feet long, so the rope isn’t even long enough to throw it that far. It’s a completely different style than what you see at a rodeo.

“The way that I rope on the ranch and the way we compete [in ranch roping events] is styled after the Spanish vaquero [cowboy] that came up from Mexico and into California back in the 1700s. Out on the open plains of California, they were able to take their time... Whereas in Texas, where there’s thick mesquite bush, if you found a cow, you had 100 feet [30 metres] to rope her or she was gone. So, things got faster and more aggressive. What you see at a rodeo now evolved from the original ranch roping, but it got more developed in Texas and to the east. Geography has a lot to do with how roping has developed.

“Ranch roping is based on skill, horsemanship, and stockmanship. You go slow,” adds Smith.

Riding slowly allows the roper to get much closer to the targeted animal while keeping the herd quiet and unstressed.

Cows are flight animals just like horses, and each cow has a flight zone around it.

So once a horse and rider enter that zone, the cow will move. The direction the cow goes depends on where the rider is in relation to the cow’s balance point —

Today’s ranch roping helps to preserve the traditions of the vaqueros whose skills and knowledge of horses and cattle were legendary.

generally the shoulders. Understanding the flight zone and balance point of cows directly transfers to dealing with horses, which can help riders develop timing and feel in their horsemanship, too.

With so many skills to develop and practice, roping provides endless fun, but it’s practical, too. So maybe it’s time to indulge your inner cowboy and give roping a whirl. b > Tania Millen is a regular contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 90.

The author, Tania Millen, successfully roping the dummy!

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Adjust Your Routine to Make Progress

By Jec A. Ballou

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The disappointing news of fitness is that we cannot keep repeating the same thing to get results. After a while, we need to modify exercises in order to keep gaining conditioning adaptations from them. Otherwise, the body becomes so efficient and habituated at performing movements that it recruits fewer muscle fibres to do them and operates with less involvement from the nervous system.

Movements become robotic, a state in which no conditioning gains occur.

The good news is that horses are sensitive creatures, and it does not require complexity to add novelty to their routines. This becomes particularly worth considering for exercises that are most beneficial when practiced frequently, such as baited stabilization exercises often fondly called carrot stretches.

First, let’s review what these movements accomplish and then discuss how to keep them working for us once they have initially helped. Several years ago, researchers studied carefully controlled groups of horses that received no other exercise for 16 weeks beyond baited stabilization maneuvres daily for three times per day. At the end of the study period, the horses’ deep spinal muscles had increased in size and strength by 20 percent. This

finding gave compelling evidence to the efficacy of these simple moves for both rehab and performance horses alike. Their benefit comes from strength building rather than from making the horse highly stretchy as their name might imply.

In the study, horses were asked to stand still while following a bait (usually a piece of carrot) with their noses to different positions that required them to activate their core for balance. These included reaching around laterally towards their flanks and hind feet, down between their knees, chest, and forefeet, and extending their necks up towards the sky.

These routines are low impact, quick to execute, and require no special skills.

In other words, there is no reason to not do them. As you practice regularly, bear in mind that about every month you need to slightly alter the position and request of each maneuvre to prevent the horse from becoming robotic in his efforts. Below are my suggestions for simple and effective ways to add novelty to these exercises that are most beneficial when repeated at high frequency, yet run the risk of becoming robotic.

For the sake of simplicity, this article assumes that most riders currently perform about three of these movements

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. BALLOU

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. BALLOU

HORSEMANSHIP

daily (one lateral bend/stretch around to each side, and one forward and rounding move of head-between-knees) rather than the whole gamut.

Low to High

If you have been practicing baited stabilization exercises by asking the horse to reach his head around towards his flank, the simplest modification is to raise the bait either higher or lower for the next few weeks. With most baited stretches, the horse can be asked to reach low (towards the outside of his hind or front fetlocks), neutral (straight back towards his stifle), or high (up towards his pelvis).

Most of us settle on a position that seems to challenge our horse and continue to practice in that range. Once we have been doing this for a few weeks, though, we should leave that position alone and ask instead for one of the higher or lower positions.

Provide variety by using different surfaces and by adding movements between stretches, such as walking over an obstacle, as each provides different stimulus.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PATRICIA BARKER

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. BALLOU

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. BALLOU

The unstable surface of a mat or foam pads adds novelty and challenge to the exercise by introducing new instability.

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For instance, I began by asking Diamante to reach his head around towards his flank for several weeks, and he made some improvement in his range of motion with that exercise. Tempted as I might have been to keep repeating this for the next several weeks, I then switched to ask him to reach around and down towards the outside of his front foot on each side. Some days I also asked

him to reach down low towards his hind foot. I repeated these lower stretches for the next three weeks, after which we moved on to practice only higher stretches (reaching around and up high towards his pelvis) for the next period of time.

maneuvre. This helps keep both mind and body more fully engaged. I recommend adding five to ten seconds of walking type exercise between each baited stretch. For instance, you might perform a baited stretch asking the horse to retrieve a carrot from between his knees, and then walk him backwards or forwards — or around you in a small circle — before repeating the between-theknees maneuvre. Other suitable movements to intersperse between each stretch might include: turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, walking around or over an obstacle, or a few walk-stop-walk transitions. Occasionally during a lunging session, I will ask the horse to stop every two minutes and perform a few baited stretches before resuming another two minutes of lunging. This is a good way to combine the benefits of core muscle conditioning with the mental stimulus of forward movement.

Add Movement

Another simple modification is to add a little movement in between each

Adding forward movement between maneuvres helps to keep the horse mentally and physically engaged.

Movement can be five to ten seconds of walking, walk-stop-walk transitions, or walking around or over an obstacle.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. BALLOU

Try an Unstable Surface

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For horses that are highly practiced with static maneuvers like baited stretches and physical therapy techniques, it often helps to introduce a different surface under their feet. This awakens the nervous system and can cause the horse to rearrange himself to find balance, which creates novel stimulus and adaptations — the goal of conditioning! Here is where a soft or slightly unstable surface helps. By placing foam pads or a mat under the horse, we introduce a new amount of instability during the baited stretches.

In the photo, you can see me asking the mare Semele to stand on a foam mat while practicing our normal routine.

During the first few days, Semela wobbled around quite a bit as she found her balance reaching for the bait. Soon enough, she found stability and ease.

Once she began to find the routines on the mat very easy, it was my cue to then add more novelty. My options included the previous two modifications or changing her standing surface yet again. At my barn, we can choose from pavement, sand, rubber, grass, and pea gravel.

Again, each surface offers different stimulus and therefore a chance to keep the nervous system participating fully in our conditioning tools. > Jec A. Ballou is a regular contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 90.

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The Two Faces of Perfectionism in Riding

Most of us see perfectionism as a harmless tendency to hold ourselves to high standards, or a reluctance to accept mediocre results. In fact, many of us consider perfectionism to be a positive trait, a sign that someone cares and is deeply driven to succeed. Unfortunately, this casual acceptance of perfectionism conceals a potential danger because a lack of clarity around what perfectionism is and isn’t opens us up to a fatal error. Unknowingly, we celebrate and endorse a habit that leads to unnecessary pain and suffering, as well as impacts our performance.

In many ways, perfectionism acts as an enemy in disguise. If, after reading these opening lines, you hear an inner voice saying: Perfectionism isn’t all bad… how else can I achieve big things if I don’t push myself and hold myself to high standards?, then read on because this one is for you. I know what that voice is 78

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saying because I personally bought into the perfectionism myth for many, many years and experienced a great deal of mental suffering as a result. So much so that I now refer to myself as a recovering perfectionist. This article will challenge your assumptions around the best way to motivate yourself, create discipline, and see results as a rider. It will show you that there is a way to drive yourself that does not rely on negative self-evaluation.

Why do we celebrate perfectionism? It seems obvious to celebrate the pursuit of excellence and high achievement, but, as it turns out, excellence and perfection are not the same thing. At first glance, these two concepts may seem similar.

However, with a closer look you will realise that they are different in an important way. Striving for excellence supports performance by moving us towards higher and higher standards of

By Annika McGivern

achievement. Perfectionism is different.

It hinders performance by supporting the false assumption that we are continually falling short of expectation.

Our positive view of perfectionism is built on a faulty assumption: that without our inner critic we will end up as a blob on the couch, an underachieving, underperforming failure. When this perception is in charge, we beat ourselves up over a missed distance when jumping or a messy movement in a dressage test, and we believe this makes it less likely we will repeat the mistake. In essence, our inner perfectionist presents a very convincing lie that sounds something like this: Hey, I’m your inner perfectionist. Without me, you will underachieve and not reach your full potential. You need me to succeed.

This idea is oh so convincing, but false.

Not only does our inner perfectionist not deliver on his or her promises in the long

In the show ring, we can control our expectations and reactions, but there are far too many factors at play for us to control the results. For the perfectionist, results that do not meet expectations are inevitable, resulting in a cascade of negative emotions.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/ANASTASIJA POPOVA

run, but it causes the exact opposite to happen. Being a perfectionist usually results in us experiencing significantly more negative emotion, learning less, and progressing slower, all of which can result in less success. To understand how to move forward, we need to untangle striving for excellence from insisting on perfection. Understanding how to do this is the key to success.

First, we need to challenge the idea that beating ourselves up is motivating.

Negative motivation seems effective, but it’s not. Beating ourselves up only works in the short term. In other words, we might win the battle, but we are likely to lose the war. We may successfully scare ourselves into paying extra attention and not repeating the initial mistake, but over time our perfectionism results in an overload of negative emotion, which makes it harder to remember important information and powerfully detracts from our performance. In my experience, most riders who try and motivate themselves through fear end up falling out of love with competition. They are unknowingly making their experience of being an equestrian more about shame, guilt, worry, and fear, than about discovery, growth, connection, and challenge. The more time we spend subjecting ourselves to shame and fear, the less effective we are as riders.

This unhelpful cycle occurs because negative emotions block our ability to learn. When we beat ourselves up over mistakes and failures, we cultivate a headspace in which we are unable to think creatively, problem solve, and most importantly, learn from what has happened. Interestingly, this means that beating ourselves up over a mistake can make it more likely that we will repeat it again in the future. We miss the key learning opportunity which could help us understand how to do things differently.

Because of this, it helps to understand that at the core of this pattern of behaviour is a simple formula: Expectation + Result that doesn’t meet that expectation = Negative reaction (guilt, shame, frustration, anger, sadness… etc.)

We have control over two parts of this formula: the expectation and the reaction. We do not have full control over our results. Think about it — you could canter into the show ring and give the best performance of your life and still not win. There are too many factors influencing our results. When our inner perfectionist is in control, we set our

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With perfectionism in charge, we labour under the false assumption that without our inner critic we will be continually underperforming.

Manage Mistakes and Failures — To strive for perfection is to strive to be the finished product right away, believing that mistakes and failures are not acceptable and should not be tolerated.

To strive for excellence is to constantly

improve, accepting mistakes and failures as inevitable and vital opportunities for further growth towards excellence. This perspective will turn anything that happens to you into an opportunity to improve.

Focus on Learning not Having — Striving for perfection is about trying to look like you have all the knowledge and skills already. Striving for excellence is about being comfortable admitting you don’t know how… yet. Recognise the power of the “learner mindset” where we attribute progress to effort instead of natural talent.

This perspective will allow you to let go of your self-conscious desire to look perfect and focus on the more important work of learning and improving.

A perfectionist experiences more negative emotions, which block the ability to learn and progress, and detract from performance.

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PHOTO: ISTOCK/RAYLIPSCOMBE

expectations around an ideal of perfection. We expect that we should not make mistakes, never fail, and always be in the ribbons. When we set our expectations in this way, we inevitably experience results that don’t meet those expectations because we do make mistakes, we do fail occasionally, and we don’t always win a ribbon.

We need to know exactly what it means to strive for excellence instead of perfection. There are three key areas where we can work to change our perspective to change our results. Here are some suggestions to get you there:

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Take Action — Don’t wait to act until everything feels perfect. This often results in a lot of waiting, not much action, and not much practice either. Never hold back from giving it a go because of a fear of failing.

Strive for excellence by learning and improving through imperfect action. This means going to the clinic, signing up for the show, going on the trail ride, even if you don’t feel 100 percent ready. It means letting go of ever being perfect and instead, getting excited about the possibility of getting one percent better every time you get in the saddle. This perspective creates rapid growth because we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone again and again and learn from everything that happens, good and bad.

If fear doesn’t work in the long term, what is the best motivator? We usually underestimate the things that offer us the truest form of motivation such as wonder, curiosity, growth, adventure, joy, and personal development. Instead of self-punishment, the best response when things have not gone according to plan is to focus on understanding exactly what went wrong and getting curious about the best way to learn from what happened. This means focusing on curiosity instead of blame and emphasising understanding and learning over self-punishment.

It’s important to emphasise that politely showing our inner perfectionist the door doesn’t mean we have to expect less of ourselves, rein in our dreams, and be content to stay where we are. Absolutely set big goals for yourself and your horse and strive for excellence. Excellence is a wonderful thing to pursue. The secret is to adjust our expectation of what it will be like to work towards those goals. Perfection is not the ideal, while constant growth and improvement is.

Are you willing to let your inner perfectionist go? Doing so has helped me and my clients develop greater confidence in the saddle and reach higher levels of achievement. It has changed my life and I know it can change yours. b > Annika McGivern is a regular contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 90.

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My Horse • My Passion

My Magazine

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NOTES FROM THE OFFICE IC

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BY JOCELYN ADAMS

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BC Summer Games 2022

The Road to Prince George Starts Now! If you are an equestrian athlete competing in Dressage, Jumping, Vaulting or Eventing and will be 12 to 18 years of age as of January 1, 2022; or if you are a Para Equestrian athlete, 13 to 30 years of age, you are invited to qualify for the 2022 BC Summer Games being held in Prince George, BC, July 21–24.

Make it your goal and part of your yearly training plan to set your sights at competing at the BC Summer Games!

What Are the BC Summer Games?

The BC Winter and BC Summer Games are British Columbia’s biennial celebration of sport and community. Since 1978, the BC Games have taken place in 38 communities and involved over 350,000 participants and volunteers, and thousands more as spectators and supporters. The purpose of the BC Games is: “To provide an opportunity for the development of athletes, coaches, and officials in preparation for higher levels of competition in a multi-sport event which promotes interest and participation in sport and sporting activities, individual achievement, and community development.”

The BC Games bring together British Contacts: Columbia’s best emerging high performance Provincial Sport Organization athletes, trained coaches, and certified officials Equestrian for three days of competition. This experience Horse Council BC (HCBC) is an important development opportunity and (604) 856-4304 • competition@hcbc.ca stepping-stone towards higher level sport Provincial Advisor Equestrian competitions. Host Communities of the BC Lynda Ramsay Summer Games will realize a direct economic (250) 470-0424 • lynda@dlequine.com benefit of over $2 million, while also building More information, Athlete Declaration volunteer and community capacity and Forms and Technical Packages are promoting sport and healthy living. available at www.hcbc.ca.

Rise above. Reach beyond.

Census 2021 Is Coming This May Do you live on an acreage with your horses? Then you may qualify to complete the upcoming Census of Agriculture as an agricultural operation.

In May 2021, Canadian farm operators will have the opportunity to take part in a national dialogue by completing the Census of Agriculture questionnaire.

The Census of Agriculture is a source of community-level data on agriculture. By drawing on these data, decision makers will act in the interest of farm operators, farm communities and agricultural sectors across Canada. Farm organizations are heavy users of census data and draw on this information to formulate policy recommendations, produce communications and outreach activities, and conduct market research.

An agricultural operation is defined as a farm, ranch, or other operation that 82

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produces agricultural products for sale.

The definition does include horse operations that do not sell agricultural products but offer boarding, riding, or training services.

The data collected from the census will greatly improve our government’s understanding of the equine sectors needs and will empower our industry to build and maintain a sustainable and healthy equine lifestyle.

When you are completing your Census of Population questionnaire, it will ask you if you are a farm operator. If you answer yes, you will be required to complete a Census of Agriculture form.

This May, speak up for your horses and your industry. Information is available on the Census website: www.census.gc.ca/ resources-ressources/cst-tsc/agriculture/ horizon-eng.htm.

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March Madness Equine Education Series

Thank you to everyone who attended our first March Madness Equine Education Series.

Our “rock star” line up of speakers did not disappoint. It was fantastic to see how engaged and interested our BC Equine Community was with this program. Every session was sold out!

Every Monday evening at 7:00pm for the month of March, HCBC was happy to provide five excellent virtual presentations given by industry experts to participants in the comfort of their own homes.

HCBC would like to thank Lesley McGill “The Saddle Doctor,” Dr. James Carmalt, Dr. Julia Montgomery, Dr. Christine Fuchs, and the Western Canadian Farrier Group for their informative presentations.

A very special thanks to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine for their continued support of Horse Council BC’s educational programs.

HOW TO REACH US OFFICE HOURS:

Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 Pm OFFICE ADDRESS:

27336 Fraser Highway, Aldergrove, BC, V4W 3N5 PHONE: 604-856-4304 • FAX: 604-856-4302 TOLL-FREE: 1-800-345-8055 WEBSITE: www.hcbc.ca EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: administration@hcbc.ca AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY: industry@hcbc.ca MEMBERSHIP: membership@hcbc.ca COACHING & EDUCATION: coaching@hcbc.ca MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS:

communication@hcbc.ca

RECREATION & TRAILS: recreation@hcbc.ca COMPETITION: competition@hcbc.ca COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:

development@hcbc.ca

HCBC BOOKSTORE: bookstore@hcbc.ca FINANCE & GRANT FUNDING: finance@hcbc.ca

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Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association <

(L-R) Kenny riding Willy, Jon riding Bobby, and Shieanne riding Major.

Kenny, Jon, and Shieanne are independent riders who have all progressed from riding with a leader in the early days (six to ten years ago) to riding in Para-dressage video competitions.

PHOTOS: HILARY WEBB, T.E.A.D. EQUESTRIAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DISABLED

<

Colby riding Hottie.

Colby has been riding for a year and is perfecting his steering at the walk and sitting trot.

Mentoring Instructor Candidates Structuring For Success

BY CHRISTINE ROSS, CANTRA VICE PRESIDENT One of the most important aspects of training for any of the levels of CanTRA Instructor is that of mentoring. CanTRA has a longstanding tradition of mentoring and supporting candidates through the instructor certification process.

What is the concept of mentoring in CanTRA? All instructor candidates who have registered to train with CanTRA select a mentor whose role is to prepare the instructor candidate by acting as a role model and providing advice in all areas of knowledge and conduct. The CanTRA office can help candidates locate a mentor who is ready and willing to assist.

It is important that mentors have a CanTRA qualification at least one level above that of the level the candidate is challenging. This way, the candidates can know that their mentor has already trodden the same path successfully.

Mentoring is a supportive learning relationship between a qualified experienced CanTRA Coach or Instructor who shares their knowledge, experience, and wisdom with another individual who is training to become a CanTRA Instructor, and who is ready and willing to benefit from this exchange to enrich their own instructor training journey.

Instructor candidates can approach the mentoring process in two ways. The first is to go to an accredited CanTRA Program and learn firsthand by initially observing lessons and later conducting lessons while being observed by the mentor. This offers the opportunity for constructive critique and suggestions for improvement. In addition to this, the mentor can help the candidate learn to carry out lesson planning, how to set goals for their students, and how to implement rider progression into a lesson. They can learn volunteer training, how to assist the mount 84

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and dismount of a rider with a disability, and how to write a student report.

The second approach to mentoring for instructor candidates is to connect with their mentors by video conferencing or phone.

With current technology, it is simple to create videos of lesson practice or volunteer training and send these to the mentor for discussion and critique.

It is also possible for instructor candidates to combine training received at a CanTRA Program with additional training carried out remotely. The remote system of mentoring enables those living in more isolated areas of Canada and away from a CanTRA Program to gain the knowledge and experience they need.

When all training tasks have been completed, the mentor signs off on the training hours and recommends the candidate go forward to the final evaluation process of technical evaluation and exam. b

For more information or to find a centre near you please contact our Head Office at ctra@golden.net.

Follow us on Facebook @ Cantra_ACET and visit > www.Cantra.ca or donate at > www.CanadaHelps.org.

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Canada’s farmland market remained strong and stable during a year marked by economic turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Farmland Values Report released March 15, 2021.

The average value of Canadian farmland increased by 5.4 percent in 2020, slightly more than the 5.2 percent increase reported in 2019.

The report, which describes changes in Canada’s farmland values from January 1 to December 31, 2020, covers almost an entire year of disruptions caused by the pandemic. For Canadian agriculture, disruptions included temporary food processing plant closures, some displaced exports, sectorspecific labour shortages and significantly altered consumer buying habits.

“Since land is the most valuable asset on any farm operation, the agriculture land market is a good barometer for measuring the strength of Canadian agriculture,” said J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist. “Despite having gone through a uniquely volatile year, farm income generally improved and the overall demand for farmland remained strong throughout 2020.”

Despite important supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, commodity prices climbed in the last half of 2020 for many crops and interest rates kept close to historic lows. Domestic demand for food remained strong and global supply chains continued to have an appetite for Canadian food and commodity exports, Gervais noted.

The highest average provincial increases for farmland in 2020 were in

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SOURCE: FARM CREDIT CORPORATION

British Columbia and Quebec, with averages of 8 and 7.3 percent, respectively. Alberta followed with a 6 percent increase and Saskatchewan mirrored the national average increase of 5.4 percent. Ontario and Manitoba both reported increases of 4.7 and 3.6 percent, respectively.

Farmland values across the prairies were mainly influenced by tenants purchasing land from landlords, neighbour-to-neighbour sales, producers buying or selling land to gain operational efficiencies, and family farm purchases to support succession plans.

Atlantic provinces saw the smallest average farmland value increases in 2020. Prince Edward Island reported an increase of 2.3 percent, Nova Scotia’s increase was 1.6 percent and New Brunswick had a 1.3 percent increase. This follows more significant increases in 2019.

Weather was a significant factor in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and other parts of Atlantic Canada. The region experienced the worst drought in decades during the critical growing season, which significantly diminished the value of cash crops, and created hay and forage shortages.

There was an insufficient number of publicly reported sales in Newfoundland and Labrador to fully assess farmland values in that province.

Average farmland values have increased every year since 1993; however, increases were more pronounced from 2011 to 2015 in many different regions. Since then, Canada has seen more moderate single-digit increases in average farmland values.

(ALSO SEE PAGE 3)

1.866.345.3414 PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/SONYA ETCHISON

PHOTOS: HILARY WEBB, T.E.A.D. EQUESTRIAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DISABLED

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Storm watch on Eagle Ridge at Yaha Tinda Ranch in Clearwater County, Alberta.

PHOTO: KIRK PRESCOTT, BAR XP PHOTO

The Canadian Quarter Horse Association Past and Present

By Laurie Haughton, Chair, CQHA Media, Marketing & Communications Committee During the early 1950s, Quarter Horses began their introduction into Canada’s west.

The Canadian Quarter Horse Association (CQHA) was first formed in 1957 by inaugural president John G. Millar of Milestone, Saskatchewan with George M. Cheatham of Calgary, Alberta acting as vice president. The following year, Roy Ionson brought the first registered Quarter Horse to Ontario. Ionson, the founding president of the Ontario Quarter Horse Association, was also the first person from the province elected to the CQHA’s board of directors in 1961.

In 1965, the Canadian Livestock Registry published the first volume of the CQHA Stud Book. A PDF version of the Stud Book is available on www.CQHA.ca. The book lists the first 1,277 registered Quarter Horses in Canada, most of which were in AQHA’s registry, as well as the CQHA board of directors from 1957 to 1965, and 1964’s membership list.

Interest in the breed grew, as did the list of events the horses competed in. Classes for registered Quarter Horses were established at fairs and livestock shows Canada-wide. In 1969 Quarterama, Canada’s largest single breed horse show, was founded. The weeklong horse show was held in Toronto, Ontario every March, and dominated Canada’s Quarter Horse industry. It held the honour of being the second largest AQHA show in North America for the next 25 years.

By the 1970s and early 1980s, as the Quarter Horse population and interest in Canada blossomed, AQHA sanctioned shows and races rapidly increased in numbers. The Canadian provincial affiliates of the AQHA began taking on the primary role of 86

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promoting breeding through their regional futurity programs. Slowly the Canadian registry became redundant, eventually leading the CQHA to close its books.

In the gap of time between when CQHA ceased and before it would be reinstated in 2001 by AQHA, Canada’s horse industry exploded. The politics and practices of the horse industry matured and at the same time they began to be challenged by urban mindsets. The need for a national body in Canada to voice the concerns of Canadian Quarter Horse owners with their own government became apparent, and so CQHA was reborn.

Marnie Sommers of Carberry, Manitoba would be elected the first president of the re-established Canadian Quarter Horse Association. She, along with Canadian AQHA directors and members were given this mandate: “The CQHA shall exist to address issues of concern to Canadian owners of American Quarter Horses; to be a communications vehicle for and with Canadian owners of American Quarter Horses; and to promote and market — both globally and within Canada — Canadian-bred and/or Canadianowned American Quarter Horses.”

In the 20 years since CQHA was re-established it has supported numerous Canadian AQHA shows and Quarter Horse events throughout Canada with its grant program; met with regional and national politicians on behalf of its members; been represented through membership with

Canada’s national equine body, Equestrian Canada; and held seats at all levels of directorship and executive within that national structure. It has fielded and supported Team Canada to the biannual AQHA Youth World Cup held internationally and has hosted the competition itself.

Now, as the horse industry in this country faces another shift brought about by the global pandemic, the current CQHA board of directors and the membership has set in motion new ideas and programs to assist Canadian Quarter Horse owners and breeders into the future.

The CQHA offers a free membership to all Canadians who own, breed, or adore registered American Quarter Horses; it has launched a new website that is making the association and its programs more accessible and automated; and it has expanded social media presence to build and connect the Canadian Quarter Horse community.

The grants program has been retooled with the help of AQHA to directly support grassroots events and organizations to help make the breed and equestrian sport more accessible. New programs are also about to be launched to assist professionals and show officials in the Quarter Horse industry with their education and accreditation. Lastly, the CQHA is establishing an export marketing program for Canadian breeders of registered American Quarter Horses to support both the domestic and international markets.

For more information about the Canadian Quarter Horse Association please visit www.CQHA.ca or email info@cqha.ca. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @cndquarterhorseassoc, and on Twitter @ CndQuarterHorse.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII HORSE INDUSTRY PRODUCTS SPONSORED

Safe Trailering Tips and Tools from

PHOTO: KIRK PRESCOTT, BAR XP PHOTO

CURT Manufacturing Horses are live cargo that move around when traveling and they haul very differently than “dead weight” cargo. In addition, horses, trucks, and trailers are all big investments, so it makes sense to use the best tools available to help keep horses and drivers safe while hauling down the road.

Aside from the actual truck and trailer, there are many useful towing tools on the market and Stephanie Pohnl kindly agreed to discuss her favourite trailering tips and tools.

Pohnl is the Channel Marketing Manager for LIPPERT, which owns CURT Manufacturing (CURT), the leading manufacturer of USAmade custom-fit trailer hitches. She grew up around horses and remembers her grandfather bringing a newborn colt into the house to keep it warm, so she understands the need to keep horses safe.

Pohl says the most important consideration for safe towing is to ensure that the gross weight of the trailer and contents (horses, tack, hay, etc.) is less than the truck’s maximum towing capacity.

“Exceeding the towing capacity of the vehicle by towing more weight than your vehicle is rated for is extremely dangerous,” she explains. But what if those weights are hard to find, or you regularly haul a different number of horses? There’s a really handy tool that can help. The BetterWeigh™ Mobile Towing Scale wirelessly links to a smartphone and provides real-time vehicle and trailer weights, payload, tongue weight, pin weight, and weight distribution — just the information needed to ensure your truck and trailer are not overloaded.

Pohnl adds, “Always triple-check that the trailer is properly hooked up, your safety chains are connected and crossed, and that your trailer door is properly latched. These things sound like common sense but when you do them often, it’s easy to go on autopilot and miss a simple step.”

Products that help drivers hook up bumper pull trailers correctly plus ensure horses travel comfortably include SecureLatch™ Automatic Coupling products, which streamline trailer hook-up, ensure a proper connection every time, and greatly

SecureLatch™ Ball & Pintle Hitch.

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reduce chucking and noise. Additionally, the Rebellion™ XD Adjustable Cushion Hitch Ball Mount absorbs vibration, jerking, and jarring; improves control during sudden braking; and helps prevent undesirable trailer sway — all producing a safer and more comfortable ride for horses.

Pohnl says, “Combining the SecureLatch™ with the Rebellion™ unit will give your horses the most comfortable towing experience.”

She also recommends using a weight distribution system such as the TruTrack™, which is made for bumper-pull trailers and combines a weight distribution system with sway control, thereby ensuring towing safety.

These products are solely for bumper pull trailers, but there are many useful towing tools for gooseneck trailers too, as well as a variety of other products that help drivers and horses stay safe while hauling.

Regardless of the rig you’re using and whether you’re traveling to a local lesson or

BetterWeigh Mobile Towing Scale.

hauling to the next province, it’s worth protecting your horses, truck, and trailer — plus yourself — with the towing tools available. Enjoy a safe ride.

All of these towing products and many more can be found on the CURT Manufacturing website. Learn more at > www.curtmfg.com.

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PHOTO: CANSTOCK/EGONZITTER

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Petersen Trailers British Columbia’s Horse Trailer Specialists With spring arriving and the COVID-19 pandemic (hopefully) receding, many riders are thinking about loading their horses in their trailer and hauling to new places. But before hooking up a horse trailer that’s been parked all winter or even one that’s been used all winter on salt and grit-covered roads, it’s wise to have the trailer serviced to ensure that everything is working properly.

Horse trailer servicing, fabrication, and repair are specialties of Petersen Trailers in Langley, BC which was started by Clint Petersen in 1990. When Petersen was a child, his parents operated the Hyline Quarter Horse breeding farm, so Petersen competed on Quarter Horses from age five to nineteen, was involved with Langley Pony Club, and helped his dad build horse trailers. Petersen then competed in motocross, applied his mechanical know-how to 4-X-4 monster trucks, and became a skilled autobody painter before opening Petersen Trailers. Meshing his knowledge of horses with extensive hands-on mechanical skills, Petersen is now known throughout BC’s Lower Mainland area as “the horse trailer guy,” and is a great person to get trailer servicing advice from.

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Petersen says that regular trailer servicing is really worthwhile because it lengthens the life of the trailer, reduces wear and tear on the tow vehicle, helps avoid breakdowns, and ensures driver and horse safety. For trailers that are used rarely, Petersen recommends servicing before use to ensure, for example, that the brakes haven’t seized, moving parts are lubricated, and electrical components are functional.

Petersen says trailers that are used occasionally should have annual servicing.

This applies to brand new trailers too, which Petersen advises should be immediately serviced upon purchase. Although this sounds like overkill, he says that most of today’s new trailers are manufactured on an assembly line, so occasionally defects occur. As such, servicing a new trailer can identify defects while the trailer is still under warranty, and allow them to be fixed before problems arise.

For trailers that are in regular use, Petersen recommends more frequent servicing, including a comprehensive safety inspection in the spring and before any long trips to catch potential problems and ensure peace of mind.

Some of the problems that may arise during an inspection could require more extensive repair work, such as updating the electrical system or lights; replacing the brakes or suspension; structural or kickboard repair; and fixing vents, windows, doors, ramps, or floorboards. Petersen Trailers does all of this work, and will also modify horse trailers to owners’ specifications, such as converting a three-horse trailer into a two-horse trailer, customizing the tack room, constructing stalls for miniature ponies or livestock, and installing specialized flooring or kick-resistant walls.

So before hauling horses down the road this spring, do yourself and your horses a favour and have your horse trailer serviced.

It’s far better to spend a bit of time and money fixing problems before they arise than after having a breakdown on the side of the road.

To learn more please visit > www.PetersenTrailers.ca.

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Manitoba Horse Council Serving Manitoba’s Equine Community

A Successful AGM & Exciting Developments Ahead!

Manitoba Horse Council (MHC) would like to greet new members to its Board of Directors, and welcome back returning Chairs.

At the MHC Annual General Meeting held on April 16, 2021 (virtually), twenty-seven Member Club representatives, eight current Board members, seventeen general members, six Board nominees, and four staff met to discuss the operations of the association, looking back over 2020 activities and forward through 2021.

The meeting was Chaired by Kiirsten May (Marketing & Communications), with intern Emma Richardson at the controls. Board members ran the full slate of AGM reports.

We were all amazed at how much we achieved in the past year, against all odds.

Club representatives in attendance also shared their 2020 activities and 2021 intentions (keeping in mind how COVID-19 may affect their plans). It is always interesting to hear how our clubs have risen to the challenge and how they manage activities throughout these difficult times.

Interim President Geri Sweet, Chair of the Nominations Committee, presented the slate of nominees for open Board positions, one new Director-at-Large position, and the re-election of two incumbents.

Our membership is now represented by a full slate: John Biron – President Lana Stevenson – Vice President & DirectorAt-Large (Human Resources) Geri Sweet – Past President Hugh Crawley – Treasurer Eryn Butterfield – Chair, Equestrian Facility Chris Dolinski – Chair, Coaching Susan Bagg – Chair, Officials Sarah Biron – Chair, Industry Sarah Read – Chair, Competitions Kiirsten May – Chair, Marketing & Communications Tamara Hupalo – Chair, Recreation Jack Boughen – Director at Large Tanis Jones – Director at Large Angela Janz – Director at Large

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/LENKADAN

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/EGONZITTER

By Linda Hazelwood, MHC Business Manager and ex-Recreation Chair

We say goodbye to Marlo Glass and Gwen Donohoe, and thank them for their work and commitment during the past years.

Hearing from the nominees prior to the election, it was evident that MHC has brought on some very capable, experienced, and enthusiastic board members, and our general membership can look forward to some exciting developments in 2021 and beyond.

MHC’s Equestrian Facility is now internationally recognized through the competitions and events held there over the last 40 years and is unique in that we receive no subsidies but rely on revenue to cover our costs. Grants and fundraising do support individual events, rather than directly to the operation.

A park facility must remain open and safe, even when no competition is allowed. Thanks to a very well-timed Federal Sport Emergency Grant, the MHC was able to continue our plan for improving the competition areas and other upgrades including rebuilding dressage ring 2, regrading and maintenance of rings 3 and 5, and footing upgrades and repairs to the lunging ring. Our thanks to Sport Manitoba for their support and advice at all stages.

MHC thanks returning users (Manitoba Hunter Jumper Association and Dressage Winnipeg, etc.) but also welcomes new users coming through for 2021 such as Central Canada Reining Horse Association, WinterFest, Manitoba Quarter Horse Association, and a new exciting Cow Horse

event in August put on by three MHC associations. There is even talk about a draft horse event. Watch this space!

MHC is updating the rules of use for the Equestrian Facility, for instance, that all horses have received a specific set of equine vaccinations. Dogs will not be allowed in any buildings or barns, and feed will be banned from alleyways. We are in a provincial park and these and other measures will help deter wildlife from entering buildings and roaming the site.

Despite a spring storm, which dumped a whole winter’s worth of snow on Manitoba over three days in mid-April, the weather is now warming and riders are preparing eagerly for the chance to get outside and ride comfortably, and safely.

How to Reach Us Manitoba Horse Council, 145 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2Z6 PHONE

(204) 925-5719

EMAIL

mhc.exec@sportmanitoba.ca

www.manitobahorsecouncil.ca Horse Council; Manitoba Recreational Riders WEBSITE

FACEBOOK Manitoba

EARLY SUMMER 2021

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MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS Annika McGivern

Annika McGivern is a Mental Performance Consultant who grew up as a Three-Day-Event rider in British Columbia. Her passion for eventing took her to Ireland, Australia, and America as a working student to world class riders, where she developed a keen interest in the psychological side of sport and performance. Annika has a BA in Psychology, an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and seven years experience as a certified Equestrian Canada Competition Coach. Annika works with athletes and coaches, in person and online, to help them find enjoyment and satisfaction in their sport through achieving their best possible results and outcomes. www.annikamcgivern.com

Tania Millen

Lindsay Grice

Tania Millen is a former Canadian Team groom, a trained scientist, an environmental consultant, a former event rider turned backcountry rider, and an author of several books including Pack em Up, Ride em Out: Classic Horse Pack Trips in British Columbia and Alberta; The Joys of Horse Packing; Rockin’ Whitewater; and Go Horse Camping: A funny illustrated guide to camping with your horse.

“Is it me or my horse?”

Horse show judge, coach, trainer, and specialist in equine behaviour, Lindsay Grice helps riders solve their “horse puzzles,” sharing keys from the science and research of how horses think and learn.

She holds judging certifications in multiple disciplines — Western, hunter/jumper, dressage and obstacle events.

Lindsay has taught classes and seminars in Equitation Science for provincial equine associations, therapeutic riding facilities, and courses offered by the University of Guelph.

She regularly conducts clinics for horse clubs and private farms. www.lindsaygriceridingcoach.com

www.TaniaMillen.com

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EARLY SUMMER 2021

Dr. William Hodge

Dr. William (Billy) Hodge joined Meadow Lane Equine Clinic in Surrey, BC in 2020, and is a certified ISELP member and one of only two elite veterinarians in Canada with these credentials.

Dr. Hodge trained in Europe and spent six years in England after completing a year-long equine/anaesthesia internship at the Minster Equine Hospital in York. He then focused on equine sports medicine by joining a predominantly lameness-based practice performing equine MRI scans, lameness workups, and running anaesthesia for surgical cases. In 2012 he moved to the Hamptons (Long Island, NY) and continued working predominantly in equine lameness on sport horses and racing Thoroughbreds before moving to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest in 2015 where he gained valuable experience in gamma scintigraphy (bone scan), and Western performance horses.

ISELP allows him to utilize ultrasound, MRI, radiology, and scintigraphy to enhance his veterinary care. Combining his experience and ISELP certification he has focused on regenerative medicine to treat injuries and return horses to competition. www.meadowlaneequine.com

Shelagh Niblock PAS

Shelagh Niblock PAS is an equine nutritionist with an extensive background in both ruminant and equine nutrition as well as forage science as it relates to both horses and dairy cattle. She has spent more than 35 years in the feed industry in British Columbia and her lengthy experience working initially as a dairy nutritionist piqued her interest in the nutritional contribution made by forages to the diets of our horses. Shelagh currently practices as an equine nutritional consultant offering advice on the successful feeding and husbandry of horses. Shelagh also teaches Equine Production as well as Ruminant Health at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Shelagh is a horse owner herself and an enthusiastic pleasure rider who is especially interested in the disciplines of Mountain Trail, Dressage and Three-Day Eventing.

Shelagh is active as a volunteer in the 4-H program in BC, BC Pony Club, and is a member of the Board of Directors at Circle F Horse Rescue, a registered non-profit horse rescue in Abbotsford, BC. She is a member of the Equine Science Society, the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists.

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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Jec Aristotle Ballou

Jec Aristotle Ballou trains in Santa Cruz, CA, when not giving clinics around the United States. She is the author of 101 Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider, Equine Fitness, and 101 Western Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider. For further resources on the above topics, she recommends Beyond Horse Massage by Jim Masterson. Jec’s newly published book, 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses, helps resolve chronic postural imbalances and challenges that inhibit many performance horses. www.JecBallou.com

THOROUGHBRED RETIREMENT

SOCIETY

Finding Permanent, Loving Homes for Retired Racehorses.

5 Star Equine Products................................................27 Absorbine (Silver Honey).............................................. 1 Absorbine (UltraShield)...............................................13 Absorbine (Flex+Max).................................................... 21 Absorbine (ShowSheen)..............................................61 Actistatin Canada............................................................18 AFAB Industries................................................................45

Do you have room in your heart and home for a new friend?

Affordable Barns ............................................................34 Anvil Brand.........................................................................59 Arenus Animal Health..........................................Insert

See our web page for horses available for adoption.

Aservo EquiHaler..............................Outside B/Cover BC Appaloosa....................................................................73

Volunteers are always welcome!

Donate Today – Help a Retired Racehorse!

Bear Valley Rescue .......................................................91 Black Diamond Equine Gates & Corrals............. 44 Brattebo, Amy – ReMax..................................................3 Gunningforfranks, LongRun Graduate

Follow us on Facebook:

LongRunTB

www.longrunretirement.com

Canadian Horse Journal................................. 47, 77 CapriCMW............................................................................19 Celebration of Horses Photo Contest................ 2 CF Fence..............................................................................41 Circle F Horse Rescue...................................................72 CURT.............................................................................. 29, 87 Denco Storage Sheds....................................................33 Dr Cook Bitless Bridle (The Original)....................56

Kevan Garecki

Eaglewood Equestrian Supplies..............................81

Kevan Garecki has nearly 50 years of commercial transport experience, ranging from driving to managing international fleets.

He is a licensed commercial driver instructor with over 20 supporting certifications, was a road test assessor for ICBC, and has recently been chosen to deliver the nationally recognized Certified Livestock Transporters course in BC. He has operated his own successful horse transport business, H4 Services, based in Langley, BC. www.iaath.ca

Equiade................................................................................ 17 Equine Cranial Therapy - Alexa Linton................65 Equine Essentials Tack & Laundry Services..... 69 Equine Foundation of Canada, The.......................81 Equinerehab.ca................................................................65 Equiwinner........................................................................ 49 EQyss Grooming Products..........................................55 Flax Farm Premium Bedding.....................................43 Flexineb..................................................................................9 Goldenwings Horseshoes.......................................... 44 Haybury Farms.................................................................72 HAYLO by Silver Suspensions...................................81 Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment..........................32 Horse Council BC........................................................... 83 Horse Habit, The............................................................. 69 Integrated BioSystems................................................ 58 Integrity Buildings..........................................................37 KIOTI......................................................................................31 LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society....91

Alexa Linton

Alexa Linton is known for lighting up her world with her infectious personality, bold facilitation style, and often irreverent, tongue-incheek writing, and for her menagerie of a therapeutic practice. The latter combines her degree in Kinesiology with over a decade of training in BodyTalk and animal communication, and her current passion as a fifth year student of osteopathy. From over 14 years of working with horses as an Equine Sport Therapist, and helping thousands of animals and people, Alexa has developed a therapeutic style that is intuitive and highly collaborative. She is the co-founder of the Cowgirl Re-union, the creator of the Whole Horse Apprenticeship and Podcast, and author of Death Sucks: A Straight-Up Guide to Navigating Your Pet’s Final Transition. She resides in the Cowichan Valley, unceded territory of the Cowichan and Coast Salish Peoples, on Vancouver Island, BC, with her horses Diva and Raven, dogs Reilly and Solo, and cat Parker. www.AlexaLinton.com

Mane ‘n Tail (Ultimate Gloss)...................................57 MannaPro................................................ Inside B/Cover Maple Lane Equestrian Trailers...............................27 MC Quarter Horses Daily Horse Supply...............81 McIntosh Pro Line...........................................................45 Myles Herman - Equine Bodywork.........................73 NEOGEN................................................................................51 New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society....91 Northern Acreage Supply Ltd...................................37 Otter Co-op.............................................Inside F/Cover Peruvian Horse of Canada.........................................73

Dedicated to finding adoptive homes and new careers for former Thoroughbred racehorses.

Petersen Trailers Ltd............................................. 27, 88 Pferde Traum Farm........................................................72 Pyranha................................................................................ 11 Quinis Equestrian...........................................................39 Real Estate Centre......................................................... 85 Saugeen Bluffs Horse Campground......................81 SciencePure Nutraceuticals Inc.................................5 Sports Saddle.................................................................. 60 Summerside Tack & Equestrian Wear.................... 7

• ADOPT • • VOLUNTEER • • DONATE •

ThinLine Canada................................................................ 7 Timberline Tours.............................................................81 Tractor Company, The...................................................42 TRAM Sales Ltd.................................................................35

778-985-5673 • www.newstride.com

Ultra-Kelp............................................................................37 Wisdom of the Herd......................................................81

EARLY SUMMER 2021

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HORSE SENSE

Do Not Toss Yard Waste Over the Horse Fence

By Laura Kenny, Extension Educator, Equine

YEW SHRUB ST CAN P HO T O:

Grass Clippings

Many people think that dumping fresh lawn clippings over the fence will be a tasty treat for horses, but unfortunately, this can lead to a number of health problems.

• Any dietary changes should be made gradually to avoid digestive upset such as colic. Large quantities of grass clippings would count as a different feed source, especially if horses consume them rapidly or are on a dry lot. Therefore, feeding grass clippings can lead to increased risk of colic.

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As horse owners, we spend a lot of time and effort making sure our horses are healthy and well cared for. However, a simple mistake by a family member or neighbour could be disastrous.

In urban and suburban areas where your neighbours may not be familiar with horses, it is important to make sure they know not to throw anything over your fence into your horse paddocks. The same goes for any family members or gardeners who care for the yard. Grass clippings and trimmings from common landscape plants can cause major problems for your horses.

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RHODODENDRON SHRUB

Yard Trimmings

The green leaves and stems of freshly pruned shrubs may also seem like a nice treat for horses. However, many ornamental plants are toxic to horses.

• Yew — The greatest risk comes from a very common evergreen shrub called yew. This plant is highly toxic to both animals and humans. As little as a half a pound of yew can be fatal to a horse. There is no known antidote to yew poisoning.

• The small particle size and high carbohydrate content of lawn grass clippings make them highly digestible. When horses gorge themselves on feeds like this, it can cause rapid fermentation in the hindgut, leading to acidosis and possibly laminitis (similar to a horse getting into the feed bin).

• Rhododendrons and Azaleas — Two related common ornamentals that are toxic to horses are rhododendrons and azaleas. These are less toxic than yews, but two pounds has caused poisoning. All parts of the plant are toxic, especially the leaves.

• A large pile of grass clippings is very easy for a horse to eat quickly. This presents a risk of choke, or feed getting stuck in the horse’s esophagus, which requires veterinary assistance to resolve.

• Other common ornamentals that are toxic to horses include box shrubs, monkshood, milkweed, jimsonweed, day lilies, wisteria, oleander, foxglove, hydrangea, lupine, daffodils, and many more. Several trees are also toxic to horses.

• Piles of wet grass clippings may mold and ferment in warm weather, increasing risk of colic.

It is very important to communicate with family members, yard care professionals, and neighbours about the dangers of throwing grass clippings and yard trimming into your pastures.

While there may be some plants that won’t hurt your horses, it is safer to have a strict “no dumping” rule when it comes to yard waste. It may be useful to post signs in some cases.

• If you have a horse with a metabolic disorder such as insulin resistance or equine metabolic syndrome, the lawn clippings may be far too high in non-structural carbohydrates (sugars, starch, fructan) and could trigger an episode of laminitis.

• Lawns may be treated with chemicals that are not approved for use with grazing animals. Pasture managers must pay careful attention to product selection and grazing intervals when using these chemicals, but your well-meaning neighbour may not consider this. Lawn/turf herbicides have not been tested for safety with grazing animals.

Clippings from regular pasture mowing are less of a concern as long as they are evenly spread out and dry quickly. More frequent mowing creates less cut grass residue, which dries faster.

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The Penn State Extension Equine Team is a group of equine educators providing research-based information on equine health, nutrition, and pasture/environmental management. Serving the state of Pennsylvania, the team offers educational material to horse owners through publications, workshops, online courses, webinars, and consults.

For more information about the team and current educational offerings, visit > extension.psu.edu/animals-and-livestock/equine.

Be sure to follow the team on Facebook at > www.facebook.com/ PennStateExtensionEquineTeam.

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/A40757

PHOTO: ISTOCK/CAPECODPHOTO

Grass clippings and yard waste trimmings can be toxic.

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/A40757

PHOTO: ISTOCK/CAPECODPHOTO

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