Cougar Hill Training

04/25/2025

The horse trailer, or “horse box” as it was commonly known in England, was invented in 1771! A horse drawn carriage was adapted to pull the famed racehorse turned stud Eclipse, who had a history of bad hooves. His owner wanted a way to save his energy and hooves for his sire duties. The practice did not become common until 1836, when the owner of a racehorse named Elis wanted to give him a competitive edge. The travel to the racetrack was far and the odds were against Elis winning. Elis easily won the race and his secret trick of transporting the racehorse quickly became popular. Another common use was to transport injured horses for veterinary care. During World War 1, horse ambulances were constructed to transport injured horses from the front lines to base units for care. Once vehicles became motorized in the early 1900s, it became even easier to move horses long distances with little discomfort. The horse trailer as it’s known today was developed in the 1950s. The demand to transport horses increased throughout the 1960s and 1970s as trail riding became more popular. Horse trailers were expanded to accommodate multiple horses at once. The horse trailer industry has grown to a multi billion dollar industry in the 21st century!

04/23/2025

How horsey is your location?

04/21/2025

The grass is here and here's some helpful tips on grazing the fresh pasture from the Fenway Foundation for Friesian Horses:

🌱SMART GRAZING! 🌱 Spring is here, which means the arrival of grass, but knowing when to let your horses 🐴 graze and why and why can be confusing. 🤔

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy, like sugar, that can be stored for later use; essentially, it’s how plants make their food. Sunlight directly influences when sugars in the grass are at their highest. Grasses accumulate sugars during the day, with sugar levels peaking in the late afternoon and evening.

USE CAUTION WHEN WEATHER IS COOL OVERNIGHT

During cool nights (below 40°F), plants use their sugars for growth at a slower rate, resulting in higher sugar concentrations in the grass the following morning. Spring and Fall are especially prone to temperature fluctuations, so use extra caution during these seasons.

HORSES AT RISK

- Overweight horses, including those with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or insulin resistance, are particularly vulnerable to laminitis due to the increased insulin sensitivity caused by high sugar intake.

- Fructans, a type of sugar found in grasses, can contribute to digestive issues like colic and hindgut acidosis. Take extra caution if your horse's digestive system is sensitive to change.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES:

- Incorporate a dry lot or track system if possible to reduce/eliminate intake of high-sugar grass.

- Introduce horses to spring grass slowly if they are not on full turnout to allow their gut microbiome to adjust to the increase in sugars and avoid digestive upset.

- Use grazing muzzles during turnout to restrict grass intake and reduce sugar consumption, especially if your horse is at risk (see above).

- Avoid overgrazing and maintain pasture health. When plants experience stress, such as drought, overgrazing, or nutrient deficiency, they may store more sugars to conserve energy and survive until conditions improve.

**This graphic is only a guide. Factors such as location, weather, grass species, and your horse’s health history should be considered. Consult your veterinarian if you have questions.**

04/18/2025

04/16/2025

Piggybacking off Monday's post about 10-meter circles and bending, here's our other favorite: serpentines! Dressage is all about using those circles and curves to help build our horse's strength, flexibility, collection, and accuracy under saddle. Three and four-loop serpentines can help you increase your focus and plan out the accuracy of your movements within the arena. If this is tricky, use cones to help mark out your turns across the centerline as you work to train your eye.

04/14/2025

One of my favorite exercises to link the horse and rider and pull out errors in body control is the 10-meter figure of eight. This exercise can be used as a warm-up, part of the work session or in the cool down phase of the ride and without fail will show the rider where they need to readjust their cues or help the horse more. I have this drawn out in the center of the arena between B and E but it can be ridden anywhere using the centerline as the center of the exercise where the change of direction happens. Riding these two small circles helps with balance, flexibility, and definitely ensuring accuracy with both horse and rider. You can begin from the rail or the centerline and work towards keeping the moment of change on the centerline smooth, straight, and seeing how quickly and accurately you can change the direction of bend. How long does it take to get your horse to move into the next bend? Does the horse want to fall in more to one direction? How hard is it for you to get your leg in position in time? Does one hand want to pull more than the other? Are you able to switch easily from one seat bone to the other? This exercise will help you keep your eyes up and looking forward to the next step while also focusing on your body accuracy as well as your horse's ability to follow your cues. Try it in walk first, then move to trot!

04/09/2025

As we're entering the next season, you may still be using the occasional sheet or even switching to a fly sheet if needed for your horse as the weather brings out the bugs, so I'll once again share this reminder for fastening your sheets correctly:
- Chest buckles should be fastened with the snap opening facing inward to avoid catching the snap on anything else while the horse is moving around in turnout or its stall. That can include hay nets, bucket hangers, other horses' gear, fencing, etc....

- Leg straps should be looped through each other to hold the blanket in place and also prevent rubs. Criss-crossing tends to pull with opposite forces as the horse moves each hind leg and not looping the leg straps may increase the possibility of the blanket slipping to one side or the other.

04/07/2025

Looking for some great Spring warm-up exercises? If you've had lessons with me, you know I love to employ transitions for various reasons, starting with super simple walk the short sides and trot the long sides of the arena. This gets the rider to begin focusing on how and when to begin their cues and gets the horse's attention on waiting for the next signal. Try this walk in the corners exercise to further hone your accuracy! For more advanced work, try this working trot to canter or vice versa.

04/02/2025

If you're looking to fill your dance card for 2025 horse season entertainment - here's the current schedule for Francis Field in New Lenox! Be sure to follow the Equine Association & Youth Group of Francis Field for more info as well!

04/01/2025

So last year we had April Fools, Sedona isn't actually moving to Washington because... insert looney tunes reel here.... She's still hanging out with me and I noticed when Breyer sent their holiday catalog out that the Black Beauty model looks exactly like her! So I had to go out and get one to modify to match her markings. LOL Ta-dah!! Who knew it was so easy to make simple white markings on Breyers? Then I made my own paint colors from pastels and nail polish for the pink on her muzzle and her white feet. Has anyone else tried this? I know I have friends who remodel resin ponies!

03/31/2025

It seems appropriate to talk about our long-eared equid friends for Easter! Here's some tips from the American Association of Equine Practitioners:

03/29/2025

Come on out today!

03/28/2025

'Couldn't find anyone to credit for this cool inkblot horse!

03/27/2025

Don't forget the spring tack swap is this weekend if you have any items you're hunting for - all disciplines represented, all horsey needs met!

03/26/2025

To piggyback off of Monday's colic and feeding discussion, here's some further horse management discussion:

We put a lot of thought into the design of the barn trying to keep the horses' comfort in mind while also taking into account our climate, soil, and the desire to make chores as simple as possible for one person to handle. Here in northern Illinois, we have a lot of swampy land around Lake Michigan; the land tends to hold water really well and at the same time has a heavy black topsoil that produces outstanding grass. That grass is so bountiful that while it creates lots of lovely hay for horses, it also tends to be too rich for many horses to graze full time unless the pasture is kept sparse and overgrazed. We get intense winds and high humidity year round which brings high heat indexes in the summer and very cold wind chills in the winter months. Our property doesn't have a lot of wind blocks or shade for the horses, so with all these issues in mind, a barn was a necessary aid.

The barn is insulated with spray foam for both cooler temps in summer and it stays warm enough in winter to generally not need any heat to keep the water from freezing. Windows in each stall provide light and air. The stall walls are spaced for airflow instead of being completely solid and we opted for gates instead of stall doors for more airflow. Airflow is so important for horses to keep clear lungs.

The stalls are bedded with wood pellet bedding to also keep the dust down and we have curtains hanging in the doors and screens in the windows to keep birds from coming in to defecate on everything and it helps to keep the bugs down in summer.

Feedings are spread out through the day and the pastures are offered for a mental health break as possible for each horse's health needs. Hay is fed on the mats both inside and out to try to keep debris out of the food. And fresh, clean water is provided 24/7 with the buckets getting scrubbed out daily.

The turnouts were arranged for as much use as possible by removing the topsoil and filling in a layer of roadmix, followed by limestone screenings that keep the horses out of the mud really well despite a good rain!

Any new facility should take the time to consider what the daily needs might be and how that will work with the land, neighborhood, horses, climate, etc... and make choices that work for the facility. Watch where the water flows across the property - where it wants to settle, where it might be eroding soil, etc.... Try to make use of the wind blocks and shade that you have. Think about where you need to go to do chores and how that relates to the layout of your property. It's a process! And nothing will ever be perfect. :) You'll always spot something you might want to change later or that you wish you did differently, but that's something for the next challenge!!

03/24/2025

Colic is not a disease but rather a term to describe a set of symptoms that may indicate a variety of potential problems in the horse. Colic can happen with any horse for a variety of reasons as well. It's important to know how to recognize the signs in your horse and the symptoms are not the same for every horse. The signs can include pawing, kicking at the belly, looking around at the sides/belly, stretching the head and neck, circling, rolling, sweating, and avoiding food and water, among others.

The best action is of course prevention by ensuring that your horse has access to fresh water, quality food, plenty of daily turnout, and a routine that spreads out feed time to accommodate their digestive system's need for near constant feeding. Make sure to not feed moldy or dirty hay and try to feed in areas clear of bedding, sand, rocks, gravel to reduce the likelihood of creating a sand colic or other impaction. Try to keep grain/concentrate rations to a minimum and don't feed too much at once. Pay attention to parasite control. And try to maintain a peaceful environment for your horse - high intensity workouts need to be balanced with good warm up and cool down periods, and be aware of the effect of changes on your horse - like attending shows or events away from home.

We have brought the horse into our daily lives and tried to mold them to our lifestyle, but we need to remember that at heart they are prey animals surviving on blades of grass (often dehydrated for our ease of feeding) preferably with the ability to move around at will. Great horse care is an all day affair. :)