ANNUAL 2022
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EASY TIPS
RIDING THROUGH
TO SAFELY CHANGE HIS DIET
TRAUMA
HOW ENVIRONMENT AFFECTS TRAINING U PDAT E
WHAT’S NEW IN
COLIC RESEARCH
TACK FITTING FOR MAXIMUM COMFORT AND PERFORMANCE
HEALTHY
BAREFOOT HOOVES
— HOW TO GET THERE
GUIDE TO
ANNUAL 2022
Immune-boosting Herbs EquineWellnessMagazine.com
CONTENTS
NNUAL 2022
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Departments 6 Editorial 31 Product picks 35 Business profile 60 Heads up
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NEED TO KNOW What’s new in equine colic research? Improving the odds for horses suffering from colic remains a top priority for research.
24 RIDER FITNESS How meditation makes you a better rider Meditation helps you quiet your mind and find mental focus. That’s a great state to be in when riding or being with your horse.
Features 8 HEALING INSIDE & OUT 3 complementary therapies for horses A variety of complementary therapies are available to your horse nowadays. If you’re new to alternative medicine, here are three worth trying! 10 NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP How environment influences your horse’s training Your horse’s environment can have a large impact on her ability to learn. Here’s how to create a training space that sets her up for success.
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HELP FOR HOOVES Understanding sidebone in horses A look at sidebone and why a natural approach to prevention and reversal is ideal for your horse.
20 DIGESTIVE MATTERS What factors affect your horse’s gut health? Let’s look at a few of the factors that are positively and negatively affecting your horse’s gut health, and what steps you can take to protect his microbiome.
26 WHOLE BODY HEALTH Tack fitting for maximum comfort and performance Poorly-fitted tack can cause your horse pain, along with a range of performance problems. 34 IN THE NEWS How stress and exercise affect your horse’s ability to learn Exercise may enhance a horse’s learning ability, while activities that expose him to stress may impair it.
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REWIND
Herbs to boost your horse’s immunity These herbs can help protect your horse from illness and infection by giving his immunity a boost.
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EATING WELL
3 easy tips to safely change your horse’s feed You probably know your horse’s nutrition is key to his health. But what happens if you need to change his diet? Find out how to make the transition as safe and easy as possible.
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LEARNING CURVE
An inside look at horse photography Horse photographers work to capture an equine’s essence — and that’s no small feat! Learn more about how they do it.
Social Media Tips, contests and more! /EquineWellnessMagazine News, events, and tips! @ EquineWellness Tips, horse photos, and more! EquineWellness
ACUPRESSURE AT-A-GLANCE
Improve your horse’s balance by supporting the coronary band The coronary band is essential to the health of your horse’s hooves and whole body. Here’s how stimulating it with acupressure can help improve his balance and overall well-being.
Our relationships with our horses influence decision-making
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Nutritious cookies for your horse! This recipe incorporates applesauce and other wholesome ingredients for a nutritious treat your horse will love.
NEWSWORTHY
According to a UK study, the bond you share with your horse plays a significant role in the decisions you will make for her over her lifetime.
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HEALTHY TREATS
ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
Should I have a chiropractor for my horse? To answer this question you first need to understand what chiropractic is about, and how it can benefit your equine partner.
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HEALTHY HOOVES
Healthy barefoot hooves – how do we get there? These tips on transitioning from shod to barefoot will help you make the switch as gentle as possible for your equine companion.
HEALTH WATCH
What horse caretakers need to know about salmonella Knowing the facts about Salmonella and how it can affect your horse is key to control, prevention and treatment.
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SPOTLIGHT
Riding through trauma Trauma-focused therapeutic riding is a valuable tool for people recovering from abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Here’s a look at the positive effects it can have on participants.
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NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP
How environment influences your horse's training By Judi Whipple
Your horse’s environment can have a large impact on her ability to learn. Here’s how to create a training space that sets her up for success.
W
ondering how to create an environment that encourages your horse to learn? If, as Shakespeare says, all the world’s a stage and we are merely players, then we have to set up a helpful stage, and be pleasant players. You, as the teacher, must create a pleasing atmosphere that helps your student, the horse, relax — a stage that sets the mood for
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Equine Wellness
learning. Any time you interact with your horse there are three main variables to consider — her mental and physical state, your mental and physical state, and the physical environment you are in. It’s not possible to control every one of these variables, but it is possible to enhance learning by becoming more aware of how your horse perceives her world, and what you can do to help her learn. Here are five steps to staging a positive classroom.
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CHOOSE THE BEST WORKSPACE
All the world may be a stage, but you don’t want the whole world in the initial training sessions. Pick a location that is small, quiet, and neutral. It should be a calming space with just you and your horse. Horses see differently than humans, and their hearing is much keener. They even “feel” ground vibrations before we do. Finding a private space free of as many distractions as possible makes it easier for you (the teacher) to become your horse’s main focus. If the space is too large, it is also easier for the horse to find an escape. A funny viral video shows a mini dragging its handler all over a large outdoor arena. Teaching that little guy to lead and lunge in a small stall-sized enclosure first would have led to a better end result. Indoors is best if you have that opportunity. Move away from pasture buddies and any space that your horse associates with food, rest, or play. If your indoor space is sometimes used for turnout, then you may need to block off a smaller “classroom”. My young gelding was born at our farm, and at times was turned out in the arena with his mom. He used to nap and roll in in one corner of the ring, so during his first year of training he always gravitated to that corner. To this day he will, at times, try to convince his rider that this would be a good place to lie down. Our arena has never been a neutral space to him, one that has no other agenda attached to it.
Positive reinforcement techniques your horse will appreciate TREATS — When used as a reward , not a bribe, treats are a wonde rful way to positiv ely reinforce your equine compa nion. Be sure to discour age beggin g, which can lead to biting, and learn how to defer gratific ation by not offerin g treats every time he does someth ing right. VERBAL PRAISE — You can say the word “good”, for example, any time you feed grain or hay to help your horse build association with something pleasant. PHYSICAL TOUCH — Not many horses dislike pats, rubs, and wither scratches! Observe your horse with her buddies to learn where she likes to be scratched. REST — Rewarding your horse with rest offers the perfect opportunity for him to process your session and unwind physically. LEISURE TIME — Congratulate your horse on a job well done by going for a walk with her or giving her some free time to graze. What does your horse enjoy? Up the reward at times so he doesn’t get bored with the reinforcement techniques you’re using. Let him see your enthusiasm, reward small progress, and always reward immediately after he does something right!
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PREPARE YOURSELF AS THE TEACHER
As the horse’s main focus of attention, it is important that you, as the trainer, be perceived in a positive way. Before you even enter the arena, make sure you are in the correct mental and physical state to be constructive. Have you spent time developing trust between yourself and your horse? If not, then it might be helpful to spend time either in the workspace or outside, grooming your horse and getting to know him. Equines are great readers of mood and body language. It is almost impossible to lie to them, and they will quickly mirror a bad mood. Sometimes just grooming or grazing them is the best lesson for a sour mood day. Consider the tools necessary for the lesson. What type of tack will be needed? Will a crop be used? Are there props such as balls, mounting blocks, or poles? Introduce your horse to the tools first, and make sure he can adjust to them.
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Prerequisites to all learnin g
Equine Wellness
Basic needs o food have b f exercise and een met The studen tm mentally an ust feel well, d physically
Safety both w it space and th hin the learning e living envir onment Trust betwe en teacher and studen t The teacher h things that as observed the create a nerv reaction in th ous e student
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ASSESS THE STUDENT
The pupil needs to be a willing partner, not a victim. Listen to your horse. If she balks on the way to the arena, that should tell you something. It’s your job to figure out if she has a negative association with the workspace, if she’s experiencing physical discomfort that day, or if something in the area is creating fear. Listen to the cues. Balking might not mean you need to change the location of your sessions, but it may mean you need to change what you are doing within those sessions. It might even mean you need to have the horse vetted. Relaxation is the first element in a student’s ability to absorb information — it is the beginning of all training. The horse has to be relaxed mentally and physically to accept input of any kind. The best thing you can do for your student is to help her relax every minute you spend with her. Relaxation begins with mutual trust. Consider the horse’s five senses within the environment you are creating. Some are more reactive to outside sound than others. Horses can hear and smell better than we can. They also see differently — we probably see “better”, but their perception of the surroundings is different from ours. Trainers joke that a horse has two brains, one for each eye. Due to how the equine brain transmits information, your horse will react when something is seen from the left eye even if she’s already seen and reacted to it from the right eye. Introduce new things in the environment from both directions. Take this into consideration when you start moving things around within the stage. Studies have shown that a stallion can smell a mare in heat up to five miles away. The more you know about your student, the easier it is to validate him and help him relax.
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CONSIDER THE LESSON PLAN
Come to your training session with a plan, not an agenda. Have a vision, but no expectations that might cause frustration. Listen to your student and work with what is presented to you in the moment, with no time limits. The variables within the learning environment are just that — variables. Neither the student, teacher, or space will be exactly the same each day. Take a good look at all the variables and decide if this is a good day for the original plan. It may be a day to shorten the session, or really vary it and do something playful, like letting the horse loose to investigate his space while you observe. That might be all that should happen that day — developing trust. Your horse will usually show you where his mind is. One of my minis came into my planned work session with his own agenda Equine Wellness
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