Equine Feature Supplement April 22, 2016

EQUINE

The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016 PAGE TWENTY FIVE

SPRING EDITION

MARVELOUS MINIS Small in size, big in personality

HORSES & HUMANS

Researcher eager to explore connection

GOING THE DISTANCE

Endurance riding fun for all ages, breeds

PAGE TWENTY SIX The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016

Marvelous minis: little horses with big personality

BY OLIVIA RUTT

MOUNT FOREST Upon seeing a miniature horse, many remark on the adorableness of the “pony,” while others ask what they offer other than companionship.

But don’t be fooled, these small creatures are anything but one-trick ponies, experts say. In fact, they are not ponies at all. A full grown miniature horse, known tenderly as a “mini,” can be as tall as 34 to 38 inches to their withers.

These little guys have

made big gains in popularity in Ontario.

At the annual “Fuzzy Show,” dozens of members of the Miniature Horse Club of Ontario (MHCO) gathered for their first show of the season. They are the first to say how kind, fun and versatile miniature horses are.

Doug Savage, president of the 23-year-old club, said the popularity of the miniature horse has grown in the last decade.

Each year the club opens its show season with a Fuzzy Show, at which members can

have fun, learn new tricks and socialize.

This year’s show, held on April 9 at Quardream Equestrian Centre north of Mount Forest, saw dozens of minis in one arena showing off their longest whiskers, longest bridle path, shortest unclipped body hair as well as some costume and trick classes.

But it’s not all fun and games. There is a competitive side to miniature horses.

Many members of the MHCO are hoping for a shot at getting to the American

Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) national show held each fall in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The AMHR has two height classifications, explained Savage: an ‘A’ division horse is under 34 inches tall and ‘B’ division horses measure between 34 and 38 inches.

According to the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) standard of perfection, a miniature horse “is a beautiful, small, well-balanced horse that if all reference to size were eliminated, would have the same conformational proportions of other full-sized light breeds.”

Savage said the breed has evolved over the years.

“The style of the miniature horses 10 years ago was like a mini draft horse. Now they’ve bred into them more of the Arabian style horse, finer bone, better movement,” said Savage.

“The mini horse has graduated to the point that a lot of them have Shetland blood.”

Savage said people get into miniature horses for many reasons: seniors start showing minis because the “big” horses are harder to handle and children use them as a stepping stone for bigger horses.

“There’s so many people getting into them that had big horses and they have a young family; the young kids are getting their confidence up before moving up to bigger horses,” he said.

Nikki Trumpler, 16, of Alliston, said that was how her family started training

miniature horses.

“My sister was afraid of big horses and my mom intended to use them as a stepping tool to work her way up, but we sort of got hooked on them,” she said.

The AMHR national show is the highest level of competition show, Trumpler said.

The national show has over 1,600 horses competing in 356 classes, from halter to driving and even jumping.

Halter class is like a dog show, said Trumpler. The minis are shown on their conformation.

The driving classes can use a single mini or a team of horses to drive two-wheel or four-wheel wagons. In the jumping class, minis leap over

reserve champion in the yearling youth gelding under class. She and a horse named “Steven” won reserve champion in the youth driving versatility under 34 inches class last year. Trumpler was also the 2015 Champion AMHR youth showmanship in the mares and geldings over 34 inches division age 13 to 17.

In 2014 she was reserve grand champion in this division.

Miniature horses are not just used for shows and competitions.

Carolyn Aarup of Dakota Winds Farm in Meaford uses her horses for therapy when she’s not driving.

“I went into therapy work because one of my mentors used to go to retirement

My sister was afraid of big horses and my mom intended to use them as a stepping tool to work her way up, but we sort of got hooked on them.

- NIKKI TRUMPLER

jumps taller than they are and are judged on grace and accuracy. There’s even an obstacle course where the horse is led through a series of obstacles such as a tilting bridge.

Trumpler, who has been to the national show twice, said, “It was so great, there’s so much competition and so many great horses.”

In 2014, she entered her mini “Jimmy” in the halter class and ended up winning

homes and I thought what a fabulous thing to do,” said Aarup who is also the treasurer for MHCO. “So now on average we go to about four local nursing homes every year, when the weather is nice, with our minis. She added the therapy can be especially beneficial for residents of retirement or long-term care homes that BIG PERSONALITY - Nikki Trumpler, an AMHA national show reserve grand may have had horses in the champion, plays with her horse Jimmy, which she describes as “sassy.” past. photo by Olivia Rutt LEATHERTOWN “They’ll reach out and LU they’ll just be like ‘oh, it Farm & Residential Fencing Contracto smells so good’ or ‘it feels so SERVING good’, then they’ll start remiAlso Construct and Install HALTON Supply & niscing and it’s really good WELLINGTON •therapy,” Concrete Work • Chain Link she said.

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The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016 PAGE TWENTY SEVEN

The world of endurance riding: fun for all

BY JAIME MYSLIK ARTHUR - A healthy rider, a sound horse and an open trail is the recipe for a good endurance ride - and the Ontario season is just around the corner.

Arthur resident Vivianne Macdonald has been participating for over 50 years in the discipline, which is based on controlled long-distance races.

“It’s for any age, any person, any breed,” she said. “It’s not a fashion thing, you don’t have to wear your hair up in a bun, you don’t have to have the best cowboy hat.

“I think it’s just that ... you’re caring for the horse ... in a different way.”

The key aspect to any endurance ride is the horse’s ability to cool down, Macdonald explained. She added she never goes to a competitive ride without her stethoscope and stopwatch for just that reason.

The vet measures the horse’s baseline heart rate and other medical indicators before the ride starts and again at various check points along the way. The horse and rider are not permitted to continue on the ride or stop the clock at the end of the day until the vet has given them the all clear.

“An average horse goes from anywhere from 36 to 42 (heart) beats when it’s at rest per minute and when you finish a ride, the vet who’s

in charge of the condition of the ride will decide where the horse should be,” Macdonald explained.

“If it’s a really tough ride or it’s a cold day or a hot day they might vary it but usually it’s around anywhere from 56 to 60 (heart) beats, and as soon as your horse comes down to that criteria then you can say, ‘I’m in’ and they will ... check the horse and see.”

So when looking for the ideal equine partner, size and

ing. You have to do all of those things well.”

While the horse and rider require conditioning to have the strength and stamina to compete in an endurance ride, Macdonald said she doesn’t work her horses over the winter, instead starting training in the spring when the mud is gone.

“Just get out and ride,” she said. “Long, slow distance they call it and you’ve just got to put the miles on.“

It’s for any age, any person, any breed.

- VIVIANNE MACDONALD

speed are not the only criteria - the time it takes for the horse to cool down is also considered.

“Last year ... I had been riding a horse and my horse got lame ... so I switched and started riding ... a half Welsh pony that I raised out of an endurance horse and she has such fantastic, quick recoveries; she beats all the horses,” Macdonald said.

However, she said there isn’t any one factor that indicates a horse will excel in endurance competitions.

“You’ve got to have a horse that will relax, drink well,” she said. “Eating, drinking, peeing and poop-

Rides can range from 40km (25 miles) to 160km (100 miles).

The first endurance ride Macdonald participates in each year is the Queen’s Bush Training Ride taking place in Chatsworth on May 8. She goes as a clinician.

“They have lectures in the morning and then they bring a horse in and explain how they (measure) and then in the afternoon they have a six mile,” she explained.

Macdonald said sometimes at endurance competitions riders learn about health issues they didn’t know their horse had.

“We have a grey mare that

LONG-HAUL RACE - Vivianne Macdonald has been participating in endurance riding for more than 50 years. She’s photographed here with Modern Major General. submitted photo I took to a ride in Michigan.

We drove nine hours; got there, let her rest overnight.

The next morning I went for the vet check and the vet said ‘no she can’t go, she’s not sound,’” Macdonald explained.

“I brought her home and I took her to a specialist here and she has a degeneration of a little bone in her foot so she doesn’t get ridden anymore.”

Macdonald said another aspect of endurance riding that sets it apart from

other equine disciplines is the camaraderie between the competitors.

The horse of Macdonald’s daughter Diana once lost a shoe at the beginning of a ride and another participant gave her an easy boot to temporarily replace the shoe.

Another time, Macdonald gave a bandage to another rider whose horse was bleeding from a cut.

She said the riders support each other, whereas in ring events the atmosphere is

more competitive.

Endurance riding also allows the rider to see the countryside and areas they haven’t been before.

Macdonald does a number of rides in the U.S and said the views are a highlight.

Last year Macdonald and her daughter completed in just two endurance rides, but this year their goal is to double that figure.

To learn more about endurance riding in Ontario visit www.octra.on.ca.

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PAGE TWENTY EIGHT The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016

University researcher delves into horse/human relationship

EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPY - Horses at Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre in Puslinch will be used in trials for new research by the University of Guelph’s Dr. Katrina Merkies, who’s looking at horse/ human interactions. Nikki Duffield, left, is the Sunrise program director and head instructor. Instructor Tiff Nelson, right, gave Starbuck Scout, a therapy horse to be used in the trial, one-on-one time on April 12. photo by Jaime Myslik

COME SEE US FOR ALL YOUR

BY JAIME MYSLIK PUSLINCH - Many horse people be lieve their horse understands them on an emotional level and offers comfort.

However, there is very little scientific research that actually backs up that belief.

That’s where University of Guelph researcher Dr. Katrina Merkies comes in.

“My research focuses on horse/human interaction ... more working on the ground and working around horses and how horses respond to different movements, different ways that humans work and approach horses,” said Merkies.

“The logical field to look at that is in equine-assisted activities, whether it’s therapy or just learning activities of some sort. I guess it all sort of does come back to how horses and humans interact and looking with an eye to the welfare of the horse.”

Merkies is in the process of conducting base level research to look more closely at the human/horse interaction. With a $10,000 innovation research grant from the Ohio-based Horses and Humans Research Foundation, Merkies and her team are using 20 horses from Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre in Puslinch for the trial.

“We feel like any opportunity to be involved in research

in therapeutic riding or in people working with horses is a good thing because there just isn’t enough research,” said Sunrise program direction and head instructor Nikki Duffield.

“We discussed it with our board ... and we decided that we wanted to be involved in research about this topic.”

Merkies said her research is important for the welfare of both horses and their human therapy partners.

“Essentially we’re putting the horse in the role of a psychiatrist and as you can imagine psychiatrists dealing with people with mental trauma, day after day after day. That’s really stressful,” she said.

“That’s a stressful job for them to do and so if we’re putting the horse in that role does the horse experience that same kind of stress? From my perspective you know horses tell us things all the time, we just don’t pick up on them.”

Beginning in May, four people with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a control group of four people without PTSD but mimicking the actions of those with the disorder will spend two minutes with each of the trial’s 20 horses.

Merkies’ basic research question is whether horses can distinguish between humans who have mental trauma and those who don’t.

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The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016 PAGE TWENTY NINE

U of G team to look at behavioural, physiological reactions of horses From previous page

“The volunteer humans with PTSD, they will be entering a round pen with the horse, just one horse and just themselves, one at a time and they will just be in the round pen with the horse,� Merkies explained. “The horse will be loose to move around as it chooses. They are not to interact

to note the humans are not being observed; it’s the horse and its reactions that are being studied.

After the trials with people who have PTSD are complete, another four people from the control group will spend the same amount of time with the horses. “We are trying to mirror everything exactly the

In our day-to-day lives we see that the horses ... respond differently to people with special needs than they do to the average person.

- NIKKI DUFFIELD

with the horse ... but if the horse comes over to them and touches them that’s fine.�

The horse/human interaction will be recorded so movement and body language of the horse can be studied. “How the humans will act in that situation we don’t know obviously,� Merkies said. “But some of the sort of typical things that humans with PTSD might show (include) disinterest, (they) might yell, they might be nervous or jittery, they might make sudden movements.�

She said it’s important

same so we have the humans with PTSD and they will be matched with a person who looks similar to them, they’ll be wearing a riding helmet when they’re in the round pen so they’ll even look more similar because you won’t really see the facial distinctions and if they can move in the same way as the PTSD participant then essentially everything is the same,� she said. “The only (thing) that would be different is that [one] person has PTSD and some kind of emotional trauma and [the other] doesn’t.

She added, “If the horse

responds differently to those two people then we can perhaps surmise that the horse is responding differently because of the emotional aspect of that human, not the physical aspect.�

Merkies and her team will look at both the behavioural and physiological parameters of the horse’s reactions.

They’ll record each horse’s heart rate and cortisol (stress hormone) levels to measure their level of stress. They’ll also observe how close the horse gets to the human, the horse’s orientation to the human, the horse’s head position, and other types of stress behaviours.

Duffield said Sunrise will likely implement some changes to its program based on the outcomes of Merkies’ research. “In our day-to-day lives we see that the horses qualitatively, in our opinion, respond differently to people with special needs than they do to the average person,� said Duffield. “We’re hoping that the research will show that it’s not stressful for them and that they enjoy it because we see that all the time. “So I guess we’ll see what comes out of it and then we’ll have to see how it impacts things.�

While there is a plethora of research on how equineassisted therapy impacts

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humans, there is very little on how it impacts horses.

Moving forward Merkies said there are two things that will hopefully come out of her broader research.

The first is looking at the welfare of the horse. “Is the horse actually enjoying this job? When can we tell when it has had enough on a particular day?� she said.

The second is to look at human safety. “Again, if the horse is stressed by a certain situation are we putting human safety at risk and how can we ame-

liorate that?� she asked.

Duffield said Sunrise has measures in place to help its horses deal with the “day-today grind and stress.�

Each horse is asked to work a maximum of two hours per day, she said, and they rarely reach that threshold. The centre also takes advantage of the extensive network of trails on the farm property. “Most of [the horses] really enjoy that so that’s kind of a stress reliever,� said Duffield.

The staff work with each of the horses individually at least once a week, whether it be riding, lounging or any-

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HORSES AND HUMANS - University of Guelph researcher Dr. Katrina Merkies is conducting trials this summer to study human/horse interactions and whether horses can distinguish between the emotional states of humans. photo by Jaime Myslik

thing else the horse needs. “Just having someone ride them in a way that maybe is different than what they do in the ring every day,� Duffield said. “It’s a physical break and a brain break and it helps keep them in shape for the work that they do.�

For therapy horses it’s important they be in shape so they’re able to manage a rider that may have poor balance or other needs. “If you have a horse that’s in pain or has a sore back or is not sound then you’re going to run into problems, so we try to keep them healthy as much as possible so that they can do their job properly,� she said. “So we care for them so that they can care for the riders.�

In her future research, Merkies hopes to look at how personalities affect horse/ human interactions (both horse and human personalities).

However, for that to begin she needs her base level trials completed at Sunrise.

The trials will occur in May and over the summer months when there are no Sunrise riders using the horses.

Those interested in participating in the study as a person with PTSD or as part of the control group can contact Merkies at kmerkies@ uoguelph.ca.

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PAGE THIRTY The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016

Local rider takes the next step

BY JAIME MYSLIK GUELPH-ERAMOSA

–

Riding is all about doing the impossible for Shalom Leger.

The 15-year-old from Rockwood began riding when she was 7 years old. However, it wasn’t exactly out of a love for horses.

“When I was younger I was really anxious and so I first started riding as a way to overcome that and ... it really worked because I was really scared of riding at first but once I started becoming confident in my riding it just, it helped everywhere,” Leger said.

Even riding other people’s horses made her nervous so she got her first horse, a 10.2 hand Shetland pony, when she was 8 years old.

“I wasn’t scared of her because she was so small,” Leger said.

Eventually what was once an anxiety coping mechanism became her passion.

“Shalom’s a student who’s very self-disciplined and very hard on herself so when you give her some homework to do she’s very good about going home and practicing,” said Leger’s coach Holly Jacks-Smithers.

Leger competes in eventing an equestrian competition consisting of three different disciplines: dressage, cross-country and stadium jumping. Dressage is a judged flat work competition, cross-

NEXT STEPS - Shalom Leger and her horse Ultra Luminous (Lulu) are gearing up for their first year competing at the pretraining eventing level. photo by Jaime Myslik

country is an endurance race over mixed terrain and stadium jumping is a timed event where horse and rider try to complete the course quickly without knocking any rails down.

“I love that you don’t only get one three-minute chunk to show what you have,” Leger explained. “It’s all day and everything you do that day, like how well you cool out after stadium ... for cross country, it all kind of affects everything ... and you learn so many skills that are important.”

Jacks-Smithers said that Leger has the qualities necessary to be successful in eventing.

“I think that’s where she rises above and beyond is her work ethic,” Jacks-Smithers said. “It’s not about having a

groom that takes care of your horse for you, you’re doing a lot of the hands on stuff on your own.”

Leger and her horse Ultra Luminous (Lulu) became a team last August.

“The first time I tried her she was really skinny and she actually, she bucked me off, so we didn’t go see her for like another five months or something,” Leger said.

“Then finally we just weren’t getting anywhere and I was like ‘I want to go see Lulu’ and we went back, I fell off again, I sprained my ankle but I wanted to get her.”

Now the team is progressing through the ranks. Last year they competed in entry level eventing competitions and this year they’ve decided to move up to pre-training.

“She’s a really good jump-

er so she could do pre-training last year but we didn’t want to because she hadn’t really done that much,” Leger said. “She’s only 7 so when we got her she was 6 ... we took her entry just so she could get experience and we did great.”

However the higher levels, beyond pre-training, require qualification for advancement.

To move up to the training level, one higher than pretraining, Leger and Lulu must meet three eligibility requirements. She must earn a minimum score in dressage, have a clear cross country round and have no more than 12 faults in stadium jumping.

Leger won’t be doing it all on her own, she was awarded one of five $1,000 bursaries from the OEF (Ontario Equestrian Federation) Youth Bursary program. The money will be going towards entry fees for three qualifying events this summer. The hope is that next year she and Lulu will qualify for training.

Her goal is to qualify for the Internaional Young Riders championship at the preliminary level.

“Right now prelim is something that’s really terrifying to me but I know when I get there it will just be so amazing because I am still so intimidated by it so you just keep building up and ... you have a partner the whole way.”

Local business donates $15,000 to Classy Lane

The right thing - When Paul Sharpe heard about the Jan. 4 fire at Classy Lane Training Centre in Puslinch he knew Sharpe Farm Supplies had to do something. Most of the trainers at Classy Lane use Sharpe Farm Supplies so when disaster struck, Sharpe said it hit home. “All our employees, everyone just the wind came out of their sail.” He decided Sharpe Farm Supplies would run its own fundraiser for the trainers. “The trainers are the ones who decide who they support by purchasing their feed from them and so that’s why I said ‘okay you know what let’s do a fundraiser, it’s going to be 100% of the proceeds going directly to trainers.’” Sharpe Farm Supplies along with eight of the company’s suppliers, including Masterfeeds, Purina, Brooks, Shur Gain, Tribute, Francis Morin, Return to Earth and Huron Commodities, donated a portion of January and February sales to the fundraiser and raised $15,000 for the trainers. The money was divided by the 43 horses who lost their lives and on March 10, Sharpe, second from left, and some of his staff and suppliers presented cheques to each of the trainers for the horses they lost in the fire. Behind the group is Barn 6 at Classy Lane, scheduled to be complete in May. submitted photo INSET: Paul Sharpe at Sharpe Farm Supplies on Mill Road in Guelph-Eramosa Township. photo by Jaime Myslik

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The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, April 22, 2016 PAGE THIRTY ONE

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