Sugartown Equestrian

11/07/2024

I always wear a helmet, but this is true!

The words 'holes in the foundation' get bandied about quite often these days, and I have a little different take on this subject. One that I'm sure isn't going to be all that popular as the blame isn't placed on the 'other guy's ' shoulders, but our own. As riders and horsemen the level of commitment and drive is becoming more wishy-washy than it has ever been, despite all the knowledge and advice and training videos offered for free on the internet.There is nothing, absolutely NOTHING, you can find on YouTube that is going to teach what used to be called courage...but I'm not sure if that is considered a dirty word these days. There are lots of articles and podcasts and guru's that will teach you how to groundwork your way around or through a problem with your equine partner, but nothing that will take your foot to the stirrup and your leg over the saddle. That step is always going to be on you.

The biggest hole I see in the foundation of most horses in this day and age, is the holes in the foundation of their riders. Let me tell you something; if a trainer can get on your horse and make him line out and behave, then the problem isn't in your horse's training. I do not care how much ground work you do on that horse. I don't care if you side pass him to and fro a dozen times up and down the fence, or tie tarps to his tail. None of this is going to help you at the end of the day if you don't have the nerve to ride.

I can't tell you how many times I've had people come to me for riding lessons with their horse in tow, and tell me how scared they were to actually ride. I am always flabbergasted at this statement. I want to say, "Then what are you doing here? You need a life coach, not a riding instructor."

(I understand horses, people not so much. 🤷)

The pendulum in this world of horsemanship is swinging so far off dead center, that fear and misunderstanding is actually being pandered to instead of encouraged to be overcome. Horses are being trained and desensitized as if it is their responsibility to keep us from dying. Ground worked into zombies. As if we are taking our very lives in our hands every time we swing a leg over any horse, well educated or not, and it's up to the horse to keep us utterly safe despite any lack of common sense we may have where the horse is concerned.

Helmets, instead of riding ba****ck; lessons and lunge lines and arenas, instead of kids playing (God forbid!) cowboys and Indians on horseback and hunting one another down like scoundrels of old. Riders used to be expected to fall off, it was part of the learning process. Sometimes they even got bucked off...a little education and ego control all in one quick lesson. But now, to be bucked off is catastrophic. The horse is ruined...or had a major hole in his foundation!

"My goodness, I hope you were wearing a helmet or you could have been killed due to a head injury"...you weren't, but you could have been!!

The entire world wagging their jaws about what you did wrong.

All this fear...it leads me to wonder where the faith (and the fun) has gone?

Have a good day folks! 😊

P.S poor old Honest Abe (Sue) with his little horse thief in the saddle.

10/25/2024

People love to get easy answers. I’m guilty of wanting them too. It would be so nice sometimes to believe I didn’t have to improve my riding, to improve my feel, to improve my mental awareness and emotional control. Sometimes it’s really tempting to displace the blame - the horse is not responding because of their own deficiency - which is always a possibility of course - but when you witness a masterful hand work the same horse as you, and see it transform immediately into something more balanced, more beautiful, more calm- then you know where your work truly lies.

Everyone wants a teacher to really deliver - but this comes with accepting uncomfortable truths. And to really receive the gifts of this kind of teacher, you have to stop looking for easy outs. Stop looking for cheaper, quicker, nicer, easier. Stop looking for protection emotionally from your skill deficiencies - it’s not an insult to hear you have them , it’s a gift from someone who wants your success. Reprogram your thinking to realize this is not an attack on you but the source of your elevation.

Of course the horse needs training, exposure, and skills. Sometimes the horse’s deficiencies are why they can’t respond correctly.

But unless you work on yourself religiously - your balance, your timing, your mindset, your awareness - how are you going to sort out the difference between you blocking them and the horse not having the skills?

Easy answers are nice to hear. But there are some universal truths- and in texts dating back to Xenophon, we know that the rider is the key to unlocking a horses brilliance, or blocking it. And we know that, throughout time, no shortcut has ever worked or taken hold - we know that there is no escaping self development for the true horseman.

09/30/2024

Recent scientific breakthroughs have shed light on the genetic mechanisms behind the greying process in horses and their connection to melanoma susceptibility.

The mutation is particularly common in some breeds, for instance Lipizzaner and Arabian horses.

The key to this phenomena lies in the Syntaxin 17 gene.

Researchers identified three variants of the gene:

G1: The wild type (this is the "normal" or original version of the gene which indicates that the horse will not go grey.)

G2: The variant has two copies of the duplicated sequence. The G2 variant is associated with a gradual/ slow greying process and has no apparent increase in melanoma risk.

G3: The variant has three copies of the duplicated sequence. The G3 variant leads to rapid greying and a significantly elevated risk of melanoma development.

A specific segment of this gene can be duplicated, and the number of these duplications directly influences both the rate of greying and the likelihood of a horse developing melanomas.

The more copies of this duplicated sequence a horse possesses, the more pronounced the greying process and the higher the melanoma risk.

Horses can carry between two and six copies of this sequence, depending on their genetic inheritance.

This discovery has profound implications for horse breeding, since through genetic screening, breeders can now employ tests to predict a horse's melanoma risk from an early age.

Using this knowledge, breeders can make strategic mating choices to influence greying rates and mitigate risks in offspring.

The study genotyped 1,400 horses and 78 breeds/populations and found the G3 variant, associated with rapid greying, is prevalent in 62 breeds, while the G2 variant, linked to slower greying, is found in only eight breeds.

This research could have far-reaching implications for understanding tumor development in horses and may pave the way for improved prevention and treatment strategies for equine melanomas.

Full details - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51898-2

09/27/2024

09/08/2024

Be mindful of your choice of training exercises. Never ride around mindless. Avoid empty miles on a stiff, crooked, unbalanced horse, as they damage the legs.

09/02/2024

Bert Rutten tells us:
“Contact is not determined by the weight you have in your hand, that’s a mistake a lot of riders make, they think contact is weight. Contact is that the horse has the desire to follow the bit at all times...” Pic is Bert riding a young stallion he bred... Follow the link and find out more:
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2024/09/bert-rutten-beautiful-riding-is-simple/

08/15/2024

Here is a topic I find extremely important: access to, and some know how around trailers

Now before we get started, I recognize not everyone can afford a trailer, has a setup where they can store a trailer, or even has a truck to haul said trailer. But bear with me here-
Everyone who has a horse needs to have access to a trailer. Yes, you do. You need to be able to hook it up, load your horse in it, and drive it.

I read comments on horse vet corner every day where a horse has had a medical emergency and the owner doesn’t have access to a trailer, and can’t get any vets out.

I am called frequently by folks having an emergency and request I come haul their horse when I am out of state or unavailable.

I read posts about evacuations from floods, fires, etc where folks can’t get a trailer to their horse.

Your horse’s life could very well depend on access to this trailer and your ability to drive it. You don’t want to be in the middle of an emergency realizing your husband always hooks up the trailer for you, or your friend does, or your trainer does - (these are all things my students have said to me as a reason why they didn’t need to learn how)

I know they are expensive.
There are many solutions to this problem: payment plans, leasing, bartering with a friend, going in on a trailer with a friend. Of all the things we equestrians spend money on- matchy matchy tack, dvds, supplements, lessons (not saying you shouldn’t take them, just saying your horses safety is kind of a priority)- a trailer is not a bad investment.

To me, having a horse and no trailer is like having a baby and no car seat

07/24/2024

Welp. This didn’t age well.

But it did. Because recognition of positive contribution and calling out unacceptable behavior is not mutually exclusive.

We have to do it for ourselves, and we have to do it for others. That’s how we move forward.

07/16/2024

Regular farrier appointments aren't a luxury, they are a necessity for your equine companion's lifelong welfare.

❔Did you know❔
Every extra 1cm of toe length results in -
🔹an extra 50KG of force acting on the tendons
🔹a -1° drop in sole angle where the DDFT inserts into the coffin bone can lead to a 4% increase in the pressure exerted by the DDFT on the navicular bone

(Credit Dr Renate Weller)

07/11/2024

07/08/2024

🤩