SPECIAL REPORT:
The latest info on and
TICKS
LYME DISEASE
TACK ROOM MAKEOVER
Check out these money–saving tips
TOP
HOW TO
CROSS TRAIN YOUR HORSE’S MIND
Tips on making the perfect
SUN SHELTER
10
SUMMER READS THE TRUTH ABOUT
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Healthy Hooves Learn how to balance riding surfaces 80% 1.5 BWR PD
Why frame of BODY equals frame of MIND 5.95CN / 5.95 US
VOLUME 13 ISSUE 3
DISPLAY UNTIL JULY 23, 2018
ONE HEALTH
How this global approach applies to us and our horses.
$5.95 USA/Canada
June/July 2018
EquineWellnessMagazine.com
Conte 47
FEATURES
34
10 HOOF BOOTS FOR A
26 HOW RIDING SURFACES
a lifesaver for rehabilitating a sore horse. Know their benefits and challenges.
hooves are resilient and adaptable, and can handle varied riding surfaces – as long as you pay proper attention to basic hoof care, conditioning and a balance between wet and dry surfaces.
top 10 horse books for your summer reading pleasure covers a wide variety of genres, from love to war to the classics.
30 SHADE AND SHELTER
MAKEOVER Check out these
SORE HORSE Hoof boots can be
14 CROSS TRAIN YOUR
HORSE’S MIND WITH MOUNTAIN TRAIL Physical
conditioning is important for your horse, but cross training his mind may be even more critical. Here’s how the exciting discipline of Mountain Trail can help.
18 SPECIAL REPORT: TICKS
44 SUMMER READS FOR IMPACT THE HOOF Your horse’s HORSE LOVERS Our list of
FOR YOUR HORSE Protecting
your horse from sun, wind and storms can be as simple as giving him access to a hedge, trees or hillside – or building a shelter for more complete coverage.
AND LYME DISEASE IN THE EQUINE Caused by ticks, Lyme
34 ONE PLANET, ONE
22 EQUINE LEAKY GUT
When we consider the connections between human, equine and ecosystem health, a more holistic, integrated understanding of wellness emerges. The “One Health” approach is gaining momentum in veterinary medicine and beyond.
disease can have serious consequences for your horse. Protect him by arming yourself with the latest information.
SYNDROME – PART 1
A leaky gut allows undesirable molecules into your horse’s body, adversely affects her nutrient absorption, causes inflammation, and may seriously impair her bodily functions.
HEALTH – HUMAN, EQUINE AND ECOSYSTEM WELLNESS
40 YOUR HORSE: THE FRAME OF HIS BODY = THE FRAME OF HIS MIND Learn to use your own body language to shape your horse’s body, so he feels good mentally and wants to be with you.
4
Equine Wellness
48 TACK ROOM
eco-friendly and affordable tips for transforming your tack room.
52 RESPONSIBLE HORSE
BREEDING Mass versus selective
breeding – we take a hard look at the ethical and financial aspects of the horse breeding industry.
56 DISASTERS: ARE
YOU AND YOUR HORSE READY? When dealing with
disasters, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Learn how to prepare yourself and your horses, come what may.
nts
14
56
COLUMNS
DEPARTMENTS
8 Neighborhood news
6 Editorial
43 Saddle fit
33 Product picks
46 To the rescue
37 Business profile: SciencePure
47 Herb blurb
38 Equine Wellness resource guide
50 Natural horsemanship
51 Heads up
55 Rider fitness
59 Events
62 Acupressure at-a-glance
60 Marketplace 61 Classifieds
SOCIAL MEDIA “f ” Logo
CMYK / .ai
Facebook “f ” Logo
CMYK / .ai
Facebook Like us /EquineWellnessMagazine
44
Twitter @ EquineWellness Instagram EquineWellness
Equine Wellness
5
Photos courtesy of Photos by Hal Cook
PHYSICAL CONDITIONING IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR HORSE, BUT CROSS TRAINING HIS MIND MAY BE EVEN MORE CRITICAL. HERE’S HOW THE EXCITING DISCIPLINE OF MOUNTAIN TRAIL CAN HELP.
CROSS TRAIN your horse’s mind with Mountain Trail By Mark H. Bolender When we condition and cross train horses, we canter or lope (cantaloupe) in a way that builds muscle and improves performance. While physical conditioning is vital for any horse, training the mind is even more critical – and often the least addressed. Cross training using the discipline of Mountain Trail is a great way to build a horse’s mind. Mountain Trail, founded in 2000, challenges horse and rider to become partners in order to navigate obstacles of varying difficulty. If you and your horse specialize in other disciplines, 14
Equine Wellness
cross training with Mountain Trail can benefit you both in myriad ways. At our facility, we build boldness and confidence through Mountain Trail, using many obstacles to get into a horse’s mind. We find that most of the four-bar jumpers or dressage horses coming to the facility lack confidence, and many are nervous wrecks with very poor ground manners. Since these horses, for the most part, are 17 to 18/2 hands, manners are a must and need to be corrected on the first day by properly establishing
ourselves in their world (see sidebar on page 16). This must be done before cross training really starts.
MOUNTAIN TRAIL – LET THE CROSS TRAINING BEGIN
Start with simple obstacles
Once we have established that we are above a horse in the pecking order, cross training work can begin, using Mountain Trail. I start by introducing the horse to simple obstacles, such as a few logs to step over. I do this from the ground; I never begin with riding because this time belongs to the horse and I want my own heartbeat out of the equation. After the horse has navigated (not mastered, but willingly walked through) the first obstacle, I move to the next one. The second obstacle could be a small bridge that does not move. I simply let the horse walk over it. I don’t lead him because this wouldn’t build the boldness and confidence I am looking for. I want the horse to begin to look to himself and hunt the obstacle. That means he is dropping his head and thinking his way through it. If you force the horse, he will not buy in, meaning you will always need a “tune-up” and he will not have that quiet, bold, confident look. If your horse is given time to process and think things through, he will “own the obstacle”. Once he develops this attitude, the obstacles will become easier to teach, even though they become more difficult. A good indication that the horse is buying into learning the obstacles is a dropped head; he will often also chew on or paw at them.
Cowboy Poet Extraordinaire
Our final goal is to be able to cantaloupe between obstacles, then break to a walk and step into the obstacles.
All this behavior is positive and appears to be a sign of acceptance and learning. I find that the majority of horses will begin to seek the next obstacle. If a horse doesn’t do this, you will need to back up what you are doing and change the program slightly. The final obstacles at our facility, such as the suspension, rolling bridge and balance beams, are the last things we teach. A normal horse will take approximately five to ten minutes to learn an obstacle. We know, for example, that 50% of horses will be able to do a 180° turn and walk off within ten minutes. At this point, we are ready to ride, for these horses are now learning what to do with their feet. The most critical thing at this point is to relax. Allow the horse to do what he knows, and get out of his way. When you approach the obstacle, allow him to naturally drop his head and step into the obstacle. Use your legs to keep him straight and work with him. Continued on page 16.
If you are looking for a professional, polished, clean and funny western speaker for your banquet, fund raiser, variety show or family gathering, you should consider Bj Smith. This horse trainer, mountain guide, survival expert and retired Mountie has kept audiences in stitches from Alberta to New York to Arizona and even on cruise liners. His stories are put to rhyme and meter and sure to tickle your funny bone and maybe inspire some deep thoughts of our place in Nature.
For More Information Contact 403.317.4918
www.bjsmith.ca • bj@bjsmith.ca Equine Wellness
15