Go West Performance

10/10/2024

This puts it into perspective

Ever wondered how our anatomy compares to a horse’s? 🧐 Check out this colorful schematic of a human foot and a horse’s hind limb! Did you know that our heel is actually the equivalent of the point of the hock in a horse? 🦶➡️🐴

07/30/2024

I love seeing them rest during rehab! This mare had hock surgery a little over two weeks ago and hasn’t been comfortable enough to lay down much since then. Seeing this tells me two things. 1.) She’s going to heal more efficiently, and 2.) the treatments are working because we’ve alleviated pain and inflammation so that she can trust her body to get up and down from a laying position. We are well on our way to beating that 9 months to a year predicted healing time!

07/27/2024

Great trainers with great programs and great owners are worth their weight in gold ❤️‍🩹 Having a maintenance schedule in place will prevent so much physical set back in training and competition. And your horse is already set up to speed recovery by half if it does sustain an injury.

07/26/2024

Working on this mare post hock surgery. On stall rest alone, she could take 9 months to a year to be cleared for riding again, but we will have her rechecked much sooner to see just how much of that time will be shaved off using rehab Acuscope protocols. The Acuscope is an FDA medical instrument, and will facilitate healing the body 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 50% faster than vet medicine alone. In many cases, we see healing accelerated more than 50% faster, too.

07/02/2024

Getting horses prepped and feeling good to make these wicked summer runs over the 4th of July!

07/01/2024

Seriously, how about this Texas heat y’all! Dang is it hot out there with several days reaching over 100*F this week alone. So real talk- how can we help our horses not only survive, but thrive in the dead of summer in the South?

#1 Hydration: On average, horses need at least 5 gallons of water per day for body maintenance. This can easily double or triple when they're working hard in hot weather. Bring water from home when traveling, as some horses are picky about unfamiliar-tasting water, or acclimate your horse to water with a scoop of Equine Senior or Omelene 200 in it. This is usually enough to mask different tasting water while on the road. Electrolytes are also a must! I like the powder you can pick up at the feed store to top dress my horses grain. I have also found that the “Horse Lic” buckets make my horses consume much more water each day. (I have no ties with this company- just a product I use here at the place.)

#2 Heat exhaustion: Body temperatures can quickly rise above 104 degrees Fahrenheit when exercising in heat and humidity, particularly if sweat isn't evaporating. Other risk factors for overheating include obesity or poor fitness, heavy muscling or a dark coat. For an overheated horse, find shade, if possible, and repeatedly douse him with TEPID water, using a scraper to remove it immediately. Continue until his temperature drops to 101 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Again, to emphasize…. DO NOT USE ICE WATER!

#3 Sun protection: Horses with pink around their muzzles or eyes suffer from sunburn (JUST LIKE ME… the ginga ninja!) Human sunscreen that does not contain para-aminobenzoic acid is generally safe for use on horses on small areas of the body. Long-term ultraviolet (UV) ray exposure can predispose horses with pink skin around their eyes to cancer, so get UV-blocking flymasks for these animals. These legit work!

#4 Trailering safety: During travel, horses shift their weight with trailer motion. The energy they expend is almost equal to walking, so an eight-hour trailer ride is as much work as an eight-hour trail ride. Don't expect your horse to arrive at your destination fresh and ready to go; arrive the night before or allow a few hours for recuperation. It is critical to open all vents and windows (with appropriate bars in place), and never park your trailer in the sun for an extended period with horses inside. Another pro tip is to put shavings under your mats to help insulate the horse from heat coming from the road. Occasionally we’ll even put some ice on top of the shavings or in the mangers. It kind of acts like a swamp cooler. We also like to drive at night in the summer as well to make it less stress on our rodeo horses.

#5 A Veterinary Hospital in Turkey actually did a scientific experiment to see if horses prefer certain colored buckets. The study aimed to investigate the preference of horses in terms of different colored buckets. They used red, light green, yellow, green, light blue and turquoise buckets and measured how much water was consumed from each bucket. Their study concluded that significantly more water was consumed from the turquoise bucket and it was also observed that the light toned colors (turquoise and light blue) were preferred to dark ones (green, red and yellow). In light of these results, the researchers suggested the use of turquoise or light blue buckets might encourage horses to drink.

With that- I hope everyone has a fun and successful summer with your horses. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you have about heat stress.

Alyssa Doering
Equine Surgeon at Cutting Edge Equine

05/27/2024

Getting a spa day after he smoked off a run this morning! I’d say he is finally feeling good and ready to go again!

05/14/2024

My morning coffee date. ❤️‍🩹

05/02/2024

It’s that time of year! Abscesses a problem in your barn? I can help!

04/19/2024

How you get broke horses 😂😂

04/19/2024

I do farm calls! Serving Erath county and surrounding areas! (406)220-1648

04/15/2024

Equine Sports Therapy

I have multiple certifications with 15 years experience, treating horses since 2009 nationwide! I offer multiple modality treatments and sales (Acuscope, PEMF, professional grade cold laser).

Books are open! Currently accepting limited new clientele! Text (406)220-1648 to schedule. I offer farm calls!

Servicing Weatherford, Stephenville, Comanche, Hico and surrounding areas.

01/21/2024

Horseman friends….

Tell me about mecate reins for c**t starting. I really like yacht braid ropes and I think I’ve seen similar in mecates, but my gosh they are either 🌶️ 💰 or actually pretty j***y.

What do I get? I don’t want to go the horse hair route, I’m not seeking ranahan status😂.

I am making my own loping hack because I’m stupid picky about how I want it. I need a decent weighted and flexible mecate that is good quality but will also hold up to hard use without getting nasty brittle or collecting every piece of w**d and burr within 20 feet of it. Doesn’t need to be fancy or have any floofy tassels or anything like that.

Suggestions?

01/06/2024

For anyone that’s wondering about starting a BULLYMAKE subscription, I highly recommend you DON’T. The toys are absolute trash and they have a pretty predatory subscription service. I’m not very impressed with their treats, either. But the toys have proven dangerous for our heavy chewer.

12/30/2023

Stephenville/Weatherford friends! I have a friend in the area trying barrel horses with a good budget mid $xx,### ready to buy, and she’s only here TODAY 12/30 to try!! Tag anyone you know that might have something. Please post or message a video, price, pedigree and location/contact info and I will pass them on to her!