TERA Fall 2015

The Official Newsletter of the Texas Endurance Riders Association

Volume 15, Issue 3 Fall 2015

www.texasenduranceriders.org

Trail Markers is published Quarterly in January, April, July, and October.

It is distributed solely to members of the Texas Endurance Riders Association, and is comprised of both their input and the opinion of the editor, neither of which represent the organization’s views or official stance. Of course, if there is no input from members, then you’re pretty much stuck with the editor’s opinions. Which don’t amount to much, really, but they can sometimes make interesting reading. Other times … well, the term “bird cage liner” comes to mind.

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Advertising rates are as follows (these are for black and white. Call or email for color rates): Full page - $80 Half page - $55 1/4 page - $32 Business Card - $22 These are one time rates. Contact Todd for yearly rates.

AERC Regional Convention - p3 Editor’s Musings - p3

Locating the site of Lameness - p4

Reminiscing Through the Rides- p6-7 Pulsing Down - p8

We are also offering a classified section free to TERA members. Non-TERA members -.50¢ a word.

An Old Ride - p9

Deadline for the next issue is Janurary 11th, 2016.

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Wanna be published? Get it in!

Trot Out - p10

Riders pass the windmill out on trail at this years Spirit of Texas ride at the LBJ National Grasslands.

2015 -2016 TERA Sponsored Rides Old Glory

Racing Stripes

Oct 31 Nov 1, 2015 Parrie Haynes Ranch, Kileen, TX John Nowell 972-672-8250 jcnowell@msn.com

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April 9-10, 2016 Priefert Ranch, Mt Pleasant, TX Khristin Seymore 903-563-6639 HorizonAggie@aol.com

Shuffle Away the Summer Nov 14-15, 2015 Trace Trails, Athens, TX Jamie Lemon 281-732-0629 jamie.lemon@yahoo.com

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River Run at Los Caminos Naturales Dec 5, 2015 Land Heritage Institute San Antonio TX Eron Howell 830-537-4604 eronh@gvtc.com

Heart of the Hills

Mar 5-6, 2015 Hill Country State Natural Area Bandera, TX Eron Howell 830-537-4604 eronh@gvtc.com

Spirit of Texas

April 23, 2016 LBJ National Grasslands Selena Copeland 214-793-0311 spirittxarabians@aol.com

The Last Hoorah

May 14th, 2016 Six 0 Ranch, Cleburne, TX Bo Parrish 936-852-3532 lindapparab@valornet.com

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Ride Calendar - p2

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In This Issue:

2015 Board of Directors Ride Manager Director Valerie Bixler 3598 CR 406 McKinney, TX 75071 214-514-3618 bixlerdvm@gmail.com

Vice-President Caryne Edwards 311 Hunters Creek Dr. New Braunfels,TX 78132 830-660-5552 cedwards23@satx.rr.com

Publicity & Awards Director Khristin Seymore PO Box 559 Daingerfield, TX 75638 903-563-6639 HorizonAggie@aol.com

Secretary John Nowell 3651 White River Dr. Dallas, TX 75287 972-672-8250 jcnowell@msn.com

Membership Director Hope Finan 1560 Rogers Hill Rd. Waco, TX 76705 254-339-0012 HopeUrban@hotmail.com

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Education Director Selena Copeland 2219 County Rd 2690 Alvord TX 76225 214-793-0311 spirittxarabians@aol.com

As well as the wet. October has been a busy month with rides and we have plenty left to ride. Looking forward to a busy fall ride season and so much so, the cooler weather. We have a new ride that is coming up in the first of December to start off the new ride season and please do not forget about the Central Region Convention going on in Januarary as well as sending in your renewal for memberswhip!

See you on the trail...

Safe Riding, Todd

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Treasurer Russell Betts 6101 FM 1374 New Waverly, TX 77358 832-331-3164 rzbetts@aol.com

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Welcome to fall!

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President Vickie Roden 11227 Wild Rose Lane Anna, TX 75409 972-978-0072 Vickier_is@yahoo.com

The Editor’s Musings...

Editor, Todd Hezeau 7259 CR 3223 Lone Oak, TX 75453 469.261.8733 maccwall@yahoo.com

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AERC CENTRAL REGION CONVENTION January 15-17, 2016

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Make your plans now to join the Central Region AERC family for our annual mini-convention in Ardmore, OK. The event will start with a meet and greet on Friday night; continue with vendor browsing (including the popular used tack exchange), speakers and the Awards Banquet for TERA and OCER on Saturday, and conclude with our annual members meeting on Sunday morning.

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Susan Garlinghouse will be our primary speaker. She will present two sessions: Ten Things You Can Do Better and The Myths of (Mostly Facebook) Equine Nutrition in the afternoon.

Jamie Lemon will have a presentation on Mentoring and Membership, and our favorite Vet panel will close the sessions.

TERA and OCER awards will be presented at the annual awards banquet Saturday evening, followed by our “PARTY TIME”.

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Locating the Site of a Horse’s Lameness

By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · May 14, 2012

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Further investigation can involve having the horse led at a trot on a hard, level surface.

The horse should be trotted away from, towards, and past the observer. It is vital that the horse trots on a loose rein so its head is free to move up and down. If the horse is lame in a front leg, the head goes up when the lame leg hits the ground (as the horse attempts to put as little weight as possible on that leg), and the head goes down when the good leg takes weight. If the horse is sore in both front legs it will have a stiff, choppy action. Sometimes longeing a horse will demonstrate lameness that is not evident when moving in a straight line, and working on a soft rather than a hard surface may reveal different

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diagnosis. Keeping a record of the following factors will be helpful for the vet.

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Once the lame leg has been identified, recheck for heat in the leg and foot; swelling; a strong digital pulse; pain when a joint is palpated or flexed.

• Has the horse been lame in the past?

• When was the horse last shod, and does the horse have any abnormal shoe wear?

• Have there been any recent changes in the management of the horse?

• Does the lameness increase when the horse is ridden?

• Does the lameness disappear/ change with exercise?

• How old is the horse?

• What type of work is the horse doing now?

• Is the horse stumbling?

• Is the horse undergoing any treatments?

• What surface does the horse usually work on?

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If the lame leg is not apparent, pick up and pick out all the feet.

Inspect the legs and feet for signs of injury such as bleeding, swelling, heat, or a bounding pulse. Check to see if the horse is unwilling to put full weight on a limb when the opposite foot is picked up. Look for objects such as stones, nails, or wire that may have caused injury to the foot.

degrees of lameness.

Hind limb lameness is harder to detect than forelimb lameness because the head nodding may not be as obvious. The horse may nod its head down when taking weight on the sore hind limb. From the side view, short stepping in the lame leg may be seen; from behind, the hindquarter on the side of the lame leg may rise higher than the other side (again, as the horse attempts to put less weight on the painful leg).

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When examining the lame horse, care must be taken to avoid causing further pain and harm. First, look for obvious signs while the horse is at rest.

Does the horse appear to be favoring a leg? It is normal for a horse to rest a hind leg; however, it should willingly take weight on the rested leg. It is not normal for a horse to rest a front leg.

TERA Determining exactly where the problem is once the lame leg has been identified can take a lot of skill, and usually a veterinary examination is required. This may involve a number of diagnostic procedures or tests such as:

• a flexion test in which the leg is held in a flexed position for one minute and the horse is then immediately trotted out by a handler; the vet will watch for lameness in the first steps taken after release; • hoof test using hoof testers; • diagnostic imaging using ultrasound, thermography, radiography, and/or scintigraphy; • nerve blocks

Once the exact site and possible cause of the lameness have been determined, a proper course of treatment can be prescribed.

S O C I AT I The history of the horse is important for making a

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Reminiscing Thr

Pokie Okie Pioneer Ride Sep 11-13th 2015 Stillwater, OK

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Photos courtesy: John Nowell http://www.remuda.smugmug.com

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rough the Rides Wacky Waco Wide Oct 3-4th 2015 C-Bar Ranch

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Photos courtesy: Shane Prevost

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PULSING DOWN

By Selena Copeland

There is an art to pulsing down

monitor so it is difficult to know at the vet check. AERC allows when to present your horse to you 30 minutes to pulse down to the pulse takers. If your horse criteria, but ideally you want your has trouble pulsing down, I would horse to pulse down within 5 to suggest buying a handheld heart 10 minutes of arriving at the vet check that you can use even if check. Your horse’s pulse can you strip your saddle. be elevated for several reasons he next step is to allow him including not being recovered to drink. Most horses will drink from strenuous exercise, being after their pulse has dropped to overheated, being in pain, 90 and they will drink more right having anxiety or being worried. off of trail than they will after you Your horse can be in pain have let them stand around and from lameness, sore muscles, cool off. Drinking is the most cramping muscles, poor saddle important duty of an endurance fit, carrying an unbalanced rider, horse, so do whatever it takes having a wound or tack gall or to encourage drinking. If your colic or the beginnings of colic. horse will continue drinking while Your job is to eliminate the high you cool him then start sponging pulse due to anxiety, worry or not or pouring water on him from a being recovered from exercise. container. Remember that the The vet will identify the other horse does not get cooled from reasons and if necessary either the addition of water, but from pull your horse or give you an scraping the water off. Feel your opportunity to “fix the problem” horse’s body temperature with by at least identifying it for you. your hand, if he feels hot, he ith that in mind, you should is hot. If you just keep pouring know about how long it takes for on water without removing it, your horse to pulse down from the water will heat up from his a training run similar to the loop body temperature and it will be you just finished. (Because you like adding humidity to the heat. should not be going any faster Always keep a scraper in your than you would go at home on crew bag or at least use your the same type of terrain or in sponge to remove the water, do the same type of weather.) If he not just add the water.

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f you rode that loop with a buddy horse or your horse has an important buddy left in camp that he is anxious to see, make sure the 2 horses stick together until after you have pulsed in and completed the vet check.

Nothing raises a pulse faster than a missing buddy horse. You probably need to discuss the need for the other horse to stay with yours before you arrive in camp, so that the other person doesn’t go directly to the vet and then leave you. Also be aware, if you don’t know the person that well, they may not be willing to waste part of their 30 minute hold waiting on you to get your horse’s pulse down. In that case, you may be better off separating before you arrive in camp to see if your horse can get over the separation anxiety before you arrive in camp.

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can normally pulse down in 10 minutes, then 10 minutes before you arrive, dismount, loosen the girth 1 hole (unless it is already too loose) and drop your bit, reattaching your reins to the halter part of your bridle. Make sure your girth is comfortable for the horse, but will not allow your saddle to slip during the trot out.

Doing these 3 things will drop your horse’s pulse from 10 to 30 beats. It tells him he is done for now and can relax. Sometimes when you loosen your girth, you lose the heart beat on your

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If you have a horse that pulses

down and cools down readily, we usually leave the saddle on simply because of the time required to remove it and the hassle of hauling your tack back to your campsite for the hold. But, if your horse is hot to the touch and doesn’t cool immediately or you are at a hot or especially hot and humid ride, you need to remove the saddle and pad as soon as you arrive in camp. Because cooling your horse is your 2nd most important job after getting your horse to drink.

When standing in line to have

your horse’s pulse taken or after you have pulsed in, but you are in line for the vet check, there are a couple of other things you can do. If your horse expects a treat as soon as his ride is over, by all means give him one, munching on grass hay or alfalfa while waiting in line is also relaxing for him and will help him recover. However, for most horses the actual act of chewing and swallowing seems to raise the pulse slightly, so make sure he is finished with his few bites right before it is your turn with the vet. Another thing that helps a horse relax and drops the pulse is lowering of the head. Placing hay on the ground accomplishes that, but that is not the best choice at the moment the PR person is taking your horse’s pulse, because of the chewing, swallowing and excitement over

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TEXAS ENDURANCE RIDERS ASSOCIATION 2016 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION & MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

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PLEASE FILL OUT THE INFORMATION COMPLETELY. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY INFORMATION KEPT ON FILE.

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Name: ___________________________________________________________ TERA #: ___________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________________

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City: ______________________________________________________ Zip: ______________________ Home Phone: ________________________________ Mobile Phone: ___________________________

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E-Mail: _________________________________________________ Date of Birth: ____ / ____ / _____

Renewing Member? ____ If so, prior year TERA #: _______________ AERC #: ______________

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____ Single Membership is entitled to one vote at TERA meetings and is $25.00 per year.

____ Family Membership is entitled to two votes at TERA meetings and is $35.00 per year.

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If you are registering as a family, please indicate below, the first and last names of your spouse and names and ages of any minor family members: _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________

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TERA has an emergency ride information contact program, in the event of an emergency regarding some aspect of a specific TERA ride, you would be contacted with that information.

This is purely voluntary. If you wish to enroll, please fill out the following information.

Your Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Horse’s Name: _________________________________________________________________________ Phone 1: ______________________________________________________________________________ Phone 2: ______________________________________________________________________________

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Please mail this completed application and a check made payable to TERA to: Hope Finan 1560 Rogers hill Rd. Waco, TX 76705

Continued from page 8

are excited, anxious or worried or moving quickly. So, practice the head down cue at home to find just the right pressure that works to relax your horse and lower his head. You can also try rocking his crest gently from side to side.

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regardless of what you do your horse has an elevated heart rate, then he is probably in pain, overheated or overworked.

The rest of your vet exam may pinpoint the problem. Remember the 4 corner posts of endurance riding - manage to stay on, avoid getting lost, pulse down quickly and trot out sound.

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and thumb on the other side. You can also use a motion gently lifting upwards. Linda Tellington-Jones calls this the Clouded Leopard Touch. Different horses respond to different levels of pressure.

She says you can use pressure levels of 1 to 4. It is relaxing to the horse, kind of like having someone walk up and massage your neck for you when you are tense. I used it on my yearling who loves getting a bath, but is fearful of the shower stall. After she had learned to lower her head in a relaxing environment (her stall), I actually managed to get her to sigh and lower her head after she entered the shower stall. Keeping your breathing even, slow and deep will also help your horse to relax and lower their head. One of the most counter-productive things you can do is to yell at your crew or someone in camp even if it is to say hi. Your horse will also pick up on your mood and elevate his heart rate if you

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having food. I have seen a lot of experienced endurance riders use some version of the Linda Tellington-Jones version for the “head-down cue�. She is bestknown for her T-Touch techniques, but I found it interesting that a lot of her techniques were first tried on endurance horses and her personal Arabian. Did you know that Linda Tellington-Jones has completed several 100mile endurance rides? Signal your horse to lower his head by standing just in front of him and slightly to the same side as the pulse taker and tug lightly on the lead rope. Show your horse how to respond to the signal by placing your left hand (if you are standing on his left side) on his head halfway between the muzzle and eyes and placing your right hand on the poll. Holding your right hand gently curved, fingers together, use the pads of your fingers to push the skin slowly in a circle, fingers on one side of the crest

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An Old Ride Returns

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An old ride is returning after an 8 year absence.

We, Ted and I are proud to announce that we will be hosting the Last Hoorah ride in May 14, 2016 at our Six O Ranch in Cleburne, TX. It will be a one day ride with a 25 and a 50 mile distance and we will have some new trails along with all the other great trails .

The ranch has deep woods, open meadows and scenic overlooks. We hope all the riders who rode the last Last Hoorah! in 2008 will come along and ride as well as all the new riders who have never ridden the ride. It will be TERA and AERC sponsored .

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Fall 2015 Texas Endurance Riders Association TERA AS

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%Hope Finan 1560 Rogers Hill Rd. Waco, TX 76705

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Trot Out

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