Elk Country Equine Services LLC

01/27/2025

01/24/2025

WHY YOUR 4-H KIDS DON’T LIKE CLIPPING…

As much as the title of this sounds negative I promise it is the exact opposite. I have been pondering for a while now why lots of 4-H and FFA members don’t fit their own animals. Sure some do and I applaud them loudly! However I see more and more leaving it up to one person or a couple people in their club. This got me asking a few 4-H members I know, hey why don’t you clip? Their answer, 99% of the time is “Oh I don’t want to do that, I hate clipping”.

If I ask them why I may get any number of responses but it all boils down to one main point. They find it uncomfortable, either physically or mentally. Physically it can be hot, sweaty, itchy or painful. Sometimes a combination of all four! These factors can all be controlled to a point by wearing a good quality clipping coat, bib overalls and clipping in a well ventilated area.

The real struggle is the mental discomfort. Being insecure about their skill level. Being nervous of messing up their calf or their friend’s calf. These are the real challenges we need to help them overcome as parents, 4-H leaders, FFA advisors and Ag teachers! Getting good at fitting is a lot like working out. It takes work, it takes struggle, it takes practice and reps before you truly see the results. They need to know they are going to suck at it at first. Some of them will be better than others naturally, the same as some people start out being able to do more push ups or being able to run further. So how do we do we help them? The same way a personal trainer helps someone get in shape. Teaching them the form, spotting them as they begin the reps, giving encouraging words and pushing them to expand their knowledge by entering competitions and clinics.

We all recognize the role that showing livestock can play in the development of a child. Teaching responsibility, graciousness and work ethic are a few of the positive things that come from showing a livestock project. What about teaching them the art of digging deep, the satisfaction of honing a craft and the confidence that comes with knowing you can take any animal and your clippers and make them better. Lots of people comment on the amount of swagger that fitters have and that confidence in their ability is why. So encourage your kids to fit their own animals, help them where you can and push them to seek information from others that are more experienced and knowledgeable! There are more clinics and competitions every year. Take advantage of them! Happy clipping and learning!!

01/19/2025

01/06/2025

There is a reason, I think, that horsemanship is so hard to teach, and that is because it's truly an art and not a science.

You can go to school for art. You can learn from masters of a particular art form. You can study the chemical composition of your medium and learn about how those mediums behave in different circumstances. You can learn about the history of your art, how it originated and how it's evolved. You can study trends and dabble in different methodologies.

But no matter what, in order to become an artist, you have to experience it. You have obsess over it. You have to go to bed thinking about it and get up thinking about it. You have to become a little bit consumed by it. It drives your passion and your curiosity. You have to dedicate a part of your soul to its inception, creation and development. In some ways, you have to get to the point where you cannot separate yourself from it, as it has become a part of you and you of it.

I have received requests in the past asking me to write more about specific techniques, "how-to's", if you will. I will admit I struggle with this because it feels to me kind of like someone asking me how to have a conversation. I can give you a very general framework, but a conversation is intimate and personal. To write one for someone else would seem to me to be a request to boil down everything that is beautiful and awe-inspiring about horsemanship into base mechanical elements: important, but ultimately in my experience not AS important as the energy, flow and feeling of what is happening between the horse and the human.

Yes, you need a basic skillset to be an artist. You need to know how to hold the brush. You need to know how to choose a canvas. You need to know a thing or two about how your medium behaves and how to bring out the best in it.

But what ultimately creates art is the person behind the tools and the feeling within them. And since no teacher can create this for you, we simply have to try and set up scenarios and allow space and spark inspiration for people to go seek it within themselves.

12/11/2024

How do hay nets on round bales impact the axial skeleton of the horse?

You all asked, and we delivered with more research! And I promise it has been worth the wait!

Last week, the second portion of our study evaluating hay nets was accepted into the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, and this time we teamed up with an equine chiropractor (thanks Dr. Taylor Rieck) to evaluate changes in the axial skeleton!

Introduction: Many horse owners use hay nets. As our last study demonstrated, they have many benefits including a reduction in hay waste and management of bodyweight and body condition scores. Additionally, we were able to explore the impacts on dental health and did not have any concerns regarding soft tissue damage, tooth wear, or dental abnormalities. But that has led us to our next question, can the act of eating hay from a hay net result in changes to the axial skeleton of the horse, specifically relating to the vertebral column?

Materials and Methods: Because I want this post to be able to stand alone (and some of you may have forgotten what we did since the last research post), I will start from the beginning and I apologize for repeating myself. Thirteen mature geldings were used in this study and assigned to treatments based on weight. The study began in September 2021 and all horses received dental work and were assigned to their treatments, seven started on the no hay net control (CON) and six started on the hay net (NET) treatment and all were fed grass round bales. In September 2022, horses received dental work again and switched treatments in the cross-over design. Throughout the study, these horses lived in identical neighboring pens with shelter, ad libitum water, and free choice grass round bales with the only difference being NET horses had their round bale hay placed in hay nets with 1.75”/4.45 cm openings (graciously provided by Hay Chix) while CON horses did not.

During this study, from May through August of both years, changes in the axial skeleton were evaluated. This time frame was chosen as horses were not being worked in undergraduate courses. In May, when the semester ended, an equine chiropractor adjusted all horses to get them to a baseline. Horses were then evaluated for range of motion and pain-pressure thresholds at 4-, 8-, and 12-weeks post-chiropractic adjustment. Cervical range of motion was evaluated using neck stretches for lateral movement as well as chin-to-chest, chin-to-knees, and chin-to-fetlocks. Pain pressure threshold was evaluated at different points on the body using a pressure algometer which documented the amount of pressure applied until the horse moved away to avoid the pressure. Additionally, another chiropractic adjustment took place at 12-weeks and subluxations (misalignment of bones) were documented and rated on a 0 to 3 scale to indicate none, minor, moderate, or severe subluxations. These scores were combined for each location or vertebral region (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral).

Results: There was an average 8% increase in cervical subluxations observed in NET horses (P0.05) and sacral vertebrae were not analyzed as no subluxations were found.

Another finding was that average cervical range of motion was 5 degrees greater in NET horses compared to CON horses for chin-to-chest and chin-to-fetlock measurements (P≤0.05). No differences were observed in pain-pressure thresholds when comparing treatments (P>0.05).

While not the initial objective of the study, we also saw decreased range of motion and pain-pressure thresholds over time regardless of treatment, which suggests the benefits of chiropractic - but I will save this topic for another post when I can dive into into it deeper!

Discussion: Our main findings were a slight increase in subluxations in the neck for NET horses alongside an increase in cervical range of motion. While these findings initially appear to contradict each other, previous research in humans has found that activities which stimulate voluntary neck movements utilizing a wide range of motion and postures can recruit and strengthen cervical muscles. As a result, prehending hay from a hay net may have simulated exercises to strengthen the neck in these horses, however, these movements may have simultaneously resulted in an increase in cervical subluxations.

Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that hay nets do have the ability to influence the axial skeleton of the horse with minor changes. However, the researchers believe that the proven benefits of hay nets, including reduced hay waste, prolonged feeding time, and weight management, outweigh any minor changes in the axial skeleton observed in this study. Additionally, results from this study suggest regular chiropractic work can be beneficial for horses regardless of hay net use!

What Next? While this study gathered some very useful information to create a foundation of knowledge, I would love to investigate hanging net height and hole size to determine how these factors may influence the axial skeleton and time to consumption for horses in the future!

Funding: This study was funded by the University of Wisconsin - River Falls and HayChix.

I hope you find these results as fascinating as we did! There is always so much to learn!

Cheers!
Dr. DeBoer

09/04/2024

07/22/2024

2yo APHA Filly! (registration pending). Super sweet, in your pocket and always meets you at the gate. Lowest member in the herd. Has been lightly started (about a dozen rides) and has done well, Still a bit lazy in the lope but steering and yielding has come along well.
VS Total Heartthrob X Ima Scarlet Artemis
Mid 🥕🥕🥕🥕

07/22/2024

Updated photos of this 3yo APHA Mare! Lightly started (15 rides give or take), and super sweet! Broke last year, and started back right where she left off.
VS Total Heartthrob X Ima Scarlet Artemis.
Mid 🥕🥕🥕🥕

07/22/2024

07/22/2024

This gorgeous Blue Valentine bred mare has come into my possession, and needs to find herself a forever home! FV Classic Pearls, aka “Millie”. She is a 6yo bay mare who had a 30 day start at 2 or 3yo and then was trail rode in 2023 and was doing great crossing water, bridges, traffic etc. and was rode solo and in groups.
Had a foal in 2022 and was told she is a great mom and loved taking care of the babies.

The downside:
This mare is homozygous for PSSM1 and has sat the last 10 months. Her muscles are in need of a slow and steady rehabilitation to get her back to being rideable. She should NOT be kept on pasture, or fed high sugar and starch feeds. She would do best living in a large dry lot and being used regularly. She is also a dominant herd mare so she will fight with those who want to challenge her.

Rehab her and have a super nice ranch horse, or even a 4H Halter/Showmanship mare, or use her a recipient mare.

She needs more time and space than I can give her, so she is currently low 🥕🥕🥕🥕 and open to offers from the right home. If I have her long enough to do a refresher on her, her price will go up!

Star Valley, Wy

07/15/2024

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞:

We hoped to have our own tests in hand to share the knowledge of Taggline's carrier status of the newest testable disease 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚 (𝐄𝐉𝐒𝐂𝐀). We were made aware of this situation Tuesday and ordered our own test to furnish to the public this week with education on this disorder.

UC Davis released this panel test in April of this year. At the time of release, no specific pedigrees etc were mentioned. "Emoji" has been an extremely successful rising sire breeding a full book of mares in 2022, 2023, and now 2024. We have not been made aware of affected cases until this week.

As breeders, we believe that knowledge is power. Therefore, we wanted our release to come with the power of education for our mare owners. There are several articles on this disorder currently. We will attach those here below.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞:

Phenotype: Affected foals develop ataxia, or incoordination, between 1 and 4 weeks of age. The disorder progresses within a few days until affected foals cannot stand without assistance.

Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal recessive

Alleles: N = Normal/Unaffected, JSA = juvenile spinocerebellar ataxia

Breeds appropriate for testing: American Quarter Horse

𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬:
• Horses with N/N genotype will not have equine juvenile spinocerebellar ataxia and will not transmit the JSA allele to their offspring.

• Horses with N/JSA genotype will not have equine juvenile spinocerebellar ataxia but are carriers. They may transmit the JSA allele to 50% of their offspring. Breedings between two carriers result in a 25% chance of producing an EJSCA-affected foal.

• Horses with JSA/JSA genotype will have juvenile spinocerebellar ataxia.

𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
Homozygous foals are affected and fatal. Carriers will be nonsymptomatic but should not be bred to one another for the reasons above.

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲.
We clearly do not want our mare owners to experience devastating losses. Therefore, now that we are aware of this disorder we encourage all that book and breed to test their mares before making crosses or if your mare is in foal and a carrier to be armed with knowledge. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know.

We will be furnishing the public with our own tests as soon as they are available. Taggline's pedigree is proven and timeless. It is our hope that being transparent and forthcoming will encourage all breeders to test their stock across disciplines.

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬:
https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/news/new-test-available-equine-juvenile-spinocerebellar-ataxia-ejsca

https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/equine-juvenile-spinocerebellar-ataxia-ejsca