Happy Monday!
Along with all the hard work you do with your horse make sure to throw in some fun! I was asked to try this fancy challenge of getting on my horse! I learned I’m still pretty out of shape!🤪
Doesn’t take long to get hot today! Only worked on some collected lead departures, and this before Arrow was too warm! Totally loving how she’s really starting to advance now! She’s a very “watchy horse” meaning every shadow, object and movement she notices and might shy away from to some degree. I wasn’t sure if she would make a nice show horse for me, but I think things are turning around! I feel like since having stifle ligaments split things have resolved themselves mostly!
I’ve spent the afternoon working on sifting rock out of the arena, and I spotted Lyle very closely watching the process! Half the herd decided the arena was a good place to be while I was working!
Our roads had new gravel laid that unfortunately is full of rocks making it pretty difficult to ride on. Nonetheless, we can still put on good old fashioned loping miles right here in the yard! You don’t need the perfect setup to get training done, you just need to make use of what you do have!
Hope everyone has a great weekend! We’ve had very little rain in Aberdeen so for now I’ll keep on riding!
Horse show
Such a fun show day with Arrow and Lyle. Arrow went for more exposure. I was incredibly happy with how she did in several classes. I entered Lyle in open ranch on the rail where we placed second, and sr. Trail where we placed first! It’s been a lot of stress the last few years learning to manage his PSSM, and find what helps him give him relief. I finally feel like I’m getting it dialed in with supplements! He felt like a millions bucks today, and I knew today was a going to be a good day! Sharing trail pattern for those who would like to see it! Had an extra degree of difficulty with having to back through the gate!
I always find how horses express themselves (whether it be discomfort or relaxing) to be so fascinating when they are getting their equine sports massage! In this clip Smoke shared an interesting expression of being uncomfortable (due to tension in his poll, between his ears). Heather kept working on it and eventually he was able to experience a release which led to him relaxing! Over time horses will do things to throw their bodies out of alignment. They could do it when we ask things of them while riding, or playing in the pasture on their own. It’s no different than people. In my experience I’ve found this to be a very, very useful resource, and have had several occasions where a sports massage had horses do a 180 in how they performed! Always grateful to have Heather come out and work on my horses! And the conversations are always great also! Lyle and Smoke will be feeling so much better after this too!😁
#completeequineperformance #equinety #horsesupplements #horse #equine #equinepssm #equinehealth
Taking care of a horse with PSSM.
My palomino Lyle was diagnosed with PSSM which in simple terms means his body doesn’t detox properly and it causes his muscles to be sore and tight. His symptoms can be a change in behavior, senestice to being brushed, kicking up and refusing to do what I ask.
To manage this disease there are specific supplements that must be in their diet. Supplements indeed are vitamin E, sea salt, amino acids, magnesium, complex vitamins, a fat to decrease inflammation and supplements for gut support. These supplements help to give immune support, muscle relief and detoxification. It reduces been stress which takes stress off the gut, and over all body. Some supplement brands shown are being cycled out and after I’ll find a different brand due to some ingredients I read on packages I didn’t love. Horses with PSSM should avoid anything with starches or sugars which is about 90% of everything on the market. So my feed base for several years has been beet pulp with alfalfa pellets, and I add my supplements in. Beet pulp adds in gut health since it has fiber which is so important for the gut, and alfalfa also helps aid in gut support as it helps to buffer stomach acid which reduces stress on the gut.
The supplement brands I plan to keep is Complete Equine Performance products, Equinety amino acids, and my basic sea salt I get at my local farm store. The magnesium I will swap for a different brand, and the jiaogulan I bought from Madbarn (which acts as a vasodilator to promotes blood flow, and immune support) I’m contemplating. I love the product, just want to feed less if I can.
This endeavor has taught me so much about true nutrition and diet both in horses and humans. Understanding what’s actually in your food or supplements can truly make a huge impact on your overall health. With the wrong ingredients or fillers you may not be absorbing anything. Not all supplements are created equal. Lyle is a perfect horse to try supplements on
Dirt road ride.
The arena and yard around the barn is still too wet to ride, but the dirt roads make for a perfect opportunity to get horses moving out, conditioning, exposure, and add some miles to their feet! 60 degrees is perfect weather!
Cooler weather to come but still much warmer than typical weather this time of year! Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Utilizing my resources by riding some horses and ponying others in my car so I can save some of my energy! Getting into shape is hard work for EVERYONE! 🤣 The mud makes it tricky to get the greener/energized horses prepped to ride so I figured a couple of miles down the road will help! Thankful for an early spring!😁
Tag along with me in this short time-lapse video prepping this horse’s tail for the tail boot. This year I’d like to attend a few more shows, and plan to have a few horses for sale so I decided to add this type of care management to everything else I do!
I am using a few new products for this. For the hair product I am using a mix of EquiFUSE’s Gleam serum and Rehydrinse stay-in-conditioner mixed in water that I spray on every time I redo the tail about every 7-10 days. Some things I like this far is the scent of it, ingredients it’s based around, and I love how the tail feels from using it.
I am also using a product called The Tail Boot to keep the tail up. There is a tail insert you tuck the tail in, and the outer shell is much like a sport boot for their legs that you secure in place with velcro. I’ve been using this boot on this horse for about a month and have been pleasantly surprised at how clean the insert is yet (the white piece) which means the tail has also stays very clean. I have 3 of these and on every horse they’ve stayed in place, and no breakage! This product also comes with a swisher to act as a tail but I took it off since they don’t need it right now!
Hope you enjoyed this quick view around a little bit of horse care!
These guys sure had a good time this morning! Fonzie was testing the waters with some of these guys seeing what he could get away with! One of my favorite things is to watch them play!
Calendars should be here this week! Message me if you’d like one!
I will be in Madison, MN this Wednesday and can get one to you while I’m there! I will be shipping the rest out as soon as they get here!
Calendars are $20
With shipping or meeting for pick up your total is $25.
We had an amazing sunset which called for a spontaneous photo shoot!boing this warm weather this week!
I’ve been seeing posts about “no stirrups November” and thought I’d get in on the fun with a little flare! I taught Cheyenne how to ride at liberty when I was a teen. I’ve been focusing a lot more on creating a bridle horse the last few years but from time to time I enjoy getting to dabble around in it some! Make sure to Check out the full video on my page!
No stirrups November
I’ve been seeing posts about “no stirrups November” and thought I’d get in on the fun with a little flare! I taught Cheyenne how to ride at liberty when I was a teen. I’ve been focusing a lot more on creating a bridle horse with Lyle and Arrow the last few years, but from time to time I enjoy getting to dabble around in liberty from time to time!
Cheyenne is the only horse I’ve really taught to ride or lunge at liberty as a duo. As a kid who was really learning along the way, riding Cheyenne today makes me extremely proud of my younger self for what I accomplished. I first became inspired by liberty when I saw Clinton Anderson ride and lunge Mindy at liberty, and also watching Shana Terry work with her horse Marty. There was no way of accessing videos or how to’s just yet - only demos on what they have accomplished. So I just studies each trainers behavior and modeled it on my own horse.
Thought I’d share this video of our first time giving dewormer to Festus! The key to keeping it easy is to always approach it like it’s no big deal. If you approach it like it’s going to be chaos it will always be chaos. I also heavily use the “approach and retreat” method even on horses that have taken it for years. It helps keeps the nerves down and helps horses prepare for it.
Deworming horses
Thought I’d share this video of our first time giving dewormer to Festus! The key to keeping it easy is to always approach it like it’s no big deal. If you approach it like it’s going to be chaos it will always be chaos. I also heavily use the “approach and retreat” method even on horses that have taken it for years. It helps keeps the nerves down and helps horses prepare for it.
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” -Winston Churchill
No truer words have ever been spoken!
Arrow was my main mount for the day sorting and moving this small group of heifers. There were a few times of frustration for her as the cows could be a little intimidating, but she allowed me to help her through it. Even if she felt like it was against her will!🤣 Tracking behind the cows gave her some more confidence though. All-in-all she is still a trusty girl to ride because I never have to worry that she would run away with me or start bucking. She simply needs some more confidence with this!
Even the kids learn constructive ways to handle their horses! This sorrel started acting a little fresh while we were practicing other things. So instead of ignoring the issue, or solely focusing all of our energy directly on the issue I taught Eldin how to use this “rollbacks off the fence” exercise to help to help turn negative into something positive for his horse Quickly.
When a horse starts to act fresh the worst thing you can do is try to hold them back. Whether you get off to do groundwork, or stay in the saddle the best way to handle it is to find one or more exercises that will help a horse burn off some steam and also re-engage his mind with you.
