Red Tail Arabians, LLC

07/11/2024

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

06/16/2024

06/06/2024

lol

05/12/2024

Considering setting up part of the farm for retirement horses. Would this be of interest to horse owners without land to keep their old friends? Feedback expected and welcomed. Nasty comments will be deleted

04/23/2024

𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑨 𝑭𝒆𝒘 𝑫𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆...

⭐Jerland Farms⭐ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!

🗓️ 𝐀𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟓𝐭𝐡 - 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴 ⤵️
🔗 https://auction.ahtimes.com/Event/Details/1077954/Jerland-Production-Sale

04/21/2024

We have openings for part time stall cleaner and general horse/farm hand!

20-30 hours per week more hours depending on season.

Must be able to work alternating week-ends must be able to work around horses and work as a team member

This is a year round job! Help with closing chores and work full day on Saturdays and Sundays.chores include but not limited to; feeding grooming,general cleaning mowing, fence clearing,and stalls. Projects as they arise. Must be able to work on own and with others More hours available during summer months.
Hours are between 7a-630p Saturdays(depends on shift) Schedule is somewhat flexible on week days can start as early as Noon and go till 630.

Starting pay is $15. Per hour Week day hours will change in summer months
Pm for interview

03/22/2024

*** PLEASE DO NOT GIVE AWAY/SELL YOUR OLD and/or UNRIDEABLE HORSES ***

Today I did one of the saddest euthanasias I have done in a long time. This wasn’t a client of mine, and to be fair, it actually wasn’t this person’s fault. I don’t normally go out to non-clients, but I wasn’t going to say no when I was told the horse had collapsed and couldn’t get up.

I arrived to find an emaciated 20+ year old, riddled with lice. The client had been sold the mare 7 weeks ago, and told she was a 7 year old. The old mare was gobbling away at feed, so she genuinely was just too weak and emaciated to stand. With some really good, strong help, we tried twice to get her up, but she just didn’t want to. So I made the quick decision to let her go.

No horse should end his or her life like that. She was scared, and whickered at me when I came back with the catheter and Somulose. She went with no dignity, in a place she had been for just a couple of months.

I want to cry when I see these awful posts on social media, offering a 20 year old horse for sale “as a companion”, for £50, or “free to good home”. I want to cry even more when I see posts on social media, with people in complete and utter shock and disbelief that the “beloved/much loved etc” horse, that they gave away just two months ago, was now being sold as a ridden horse.

I’m sorry, but wake up. Not many people really want to take on an old horse and the associated vet bills. I do appreciate there are exceptions, but if you are going to give your old or unrideable horse away, do NOT expect to then be able to take the moral high ground when he’s advertised two weeks later. He’s not your property at that point, and, unless your circumstances drastically changed, you didn’t care enough about him to now be “devastated” and “appalled” that he’s being moved on again. I do understand that circumstances can change, but the kindest thing in most (not all) cases at this point, is to let your horse be put to sleep with you, at the home he has known for many years.

A horse is as expensive to keep as a companion as it is a riding horse, so not many people want to take on old or unrideable horses. Or if they do, they don’t have the money to be able to look after the horse properly.

It is obviously completely different if you have known that person for many years, and know the home the horse will be going to, and I know several old horses who have been successfully rehomed to friends, or at least acquaintances.

You could also try a reputable rescue centre, if your financial circumstances changed, but many of these are full to bursting. Rescue centres normally ensure that if the home doesn’t work out, the horse is returned to them again, and therefore won’t be passed around.

If you can’t look after your old and/or unrideable horse, then do the responsible thing, and if you can’t rehome to a person you know extremely well, have them put to sleep at home, with you by their side. Don’t let someone you don’t know, have the horse for free, and sell him two weeks later as a lot younger, or ‘buted up as a ridden horse. Your horse deserves better.

Photo of my old man, Harold, who is rising 22 this year! He hasn’t been ridden for a few years now, and is just an expensive field/stable ornament….as is Molly….as is Mojo….as is William 🤦‍♀️😂

03/17/2024

Great idea!

Join us Saturday, April 6 at 2PM for Trailering 101 with Shawn McLane of All Mac Inc.!
Learn all about DOT inspections and the latest regulations, safety tips, preparedness, maintenance, and soo much more!
Pre-registration required! Only $10!
Register by clicking this link- https://stcroixsaddlery.com/events/trailering-101-seminar-apr-6/

03/15/2024

The Badger Show is scheduled for July 13-14, 2024 at the Elkhorn Equestrian Center in Elkhorn, WI. In preparation for show offering Traditional and Western Dressage, Sport Horse, and Main Ring disciplines we value your input. What classes would you like to see the show offer? Please respond by Thursday, March 21st with suggestions.

03/12/2024

We have openings for part time stall cleaner and general horse/farm hand!

20-30 hours per week more hours depending on season.

Must be able to work alternating week-ends must be able to work around horses and work as a team member

This is a year round job! Help with closing chores and work full day on Saturdays and Sundays.chores include but not limited to; feeding grooming,general cleaning mowing, fence clearing,and stalls. Projects as they arise. Must be able to work on own and with others More hours available during summer months.
Hours are between 7a-6p Saturdays(depends on shift) Schedule is somewhat flexible on week days can start as early as Noon and go till 630.

Starting pay is $15. Per hour Week day hours will change in summer months

Please read all requirements and job duties before applying.

Requirements:
* Valid Drivers license and transportation
* Ability to lift up to 50 Ibs
* Abilty to work alone and stay on task
* Work in the hot/cold temps
* Every other weekend a must

Barn/Equine Duties:
* Scheduled feedings
* Cleaning stalls, buckets, feeders, etc.
* Grooming, turnout/bring in
* check for injuries or illnesses (treat if any)
* General cleaning and organizing of barn
* Follow lists, charts, and schedules
* Maintaining arena (water, drag, and til)

Property Job Duties:
* Mowing, w**dwacking, and trimming
* General landscaping
* Fence and gate repair
* Maintaining clean fence lines
* Shoveling and plowing in winter months

Equipment Job Duties:
* Ability to check fluids and tires
* Keep equipment clean

Our goal is to maintain excellent care for our equine animals and facility! If you’re looking to join our team, please send a resume, description, contact info etc, and we will get back to you.
Via private message or email
Thank you!

03/10/2024

Showbill for the Spring Schooling show at the Compeer Arena, April 20th. Call or email to reserve a stall!

03/02/2024

🌿🌱 THE LOW DOWN ON SHORT VS LONG GRASS FOR HORSES🌱🌿

Equine nutrition has progressed in leaps and bounds these past few years. I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly things are moving in the right direction.

That said, I still hear people talk about how they want their horse to lose weight so they put it in a paddock with, ‘nothing in it’. The ‘nothing’ they refer to is usually very short, stressed grass of one or two species, with a decent spread of w**ds popping up for good measure.

Understanding the effects of grazing on short grass versus longer grass is crucial for any horse, but particularly for those with endocrine issues or a history of laminitis (usually caused by endocrine issues).

Somewhat ironically, these horses are often the ones who are purposely put on short, overgrazed grasses with the objective of keeping weight off.

🌱There are many reasons why short grasses cause issues:

⚫️ Short grass is constantly trying to grow. Therefore it will store its sugars and starches (Non-Structural Carbohydrates or NSCs) to prepare for improved growing conditions. Growing conditions won’t improve as your horse will continually keep eating it down, but the sugars will stay there.
⚫️ Because NCSs are predominantly at the base of the plant, each mouthful has a high NSC:fibre ratio. Typically the sugars are lower, and fibre higher, towards the top of the grasses, so the longer the grass, the less sugar and higher in fibre it is. A high fibre, low sugar diet is what a horse’s gastrointestinal system is designed to eat.
⚫️ The higher the grass’s fibre content, the lower the NSC intake will be.
⚫️ Eating longer grass means the horse has to chew more. This not only slows down their intake, but increases saliva production. Saliva helps to buffer stomach acid and helps to prevent ulcers and other gastrointestinal issues.
⚫️ A healthy (non-metabolic) horse eats until they have a specific amount of fibre in their stomach. Eating grass with a high-sugar and low fibre ratio means a horse consumes a lot of high-sugar grass before it feels satiated. This is why you might see horses with ad-lib hay standing around in the shade more than you will see horses with short grass doing the same. Horses with access to high-fibre hay can go and eat, then rest. Horses that need to eat all day to feel full will rest less.
⚫️ Because a horse’s front teeth (incisors) work so well, they can eat enough to stay fat on grasses that are 3cm - 4cm. Ponies can do the same on grasses that are even shorter (1cm - 2cm).
⚫️ Grasses grown specifically for lawns have their growth points very close to the ground so the plant can cope with being kept constantly short. These grasses have been selected specifically for this. Overgrazing results in only the 'lawn' type grasses surviving - so the result is a monoculture; just one or two species of grass. In addition, lawn type grasses are typically not ideal grasses for your horses to be eating a lot of.
⚫️ Horses are more likely to pick up sand while grazing short grass than they are on longer grass.

🌿 Property owners who want to take care of their paddocks should also keep in mind that:

⚫️ Short grass plants have short root systems that cannot reach far down in the soil for nutrients. A short root system results in much less organic matter in the soil, causing soil compaction and poor drainage (not to mention less carbon sequestration).
⚫️ Short, sparsely grassed areas in a paddock quickly turn to mud in wet weather and become dusty very quickly in dry weather. Both lead to soil erosion.
Short grass plants are not as able to outcompete certain w**ds as longer grasses are.

🌱 How long is short?

Clients need to fill in a form to get a diet consultation and I ask for a description of their pasture as part of the process (both written and photographic). I was once astonished at the difference between what they tell me the grass is like, and what it is actually like.

A lot of owners describe grass that’s around 3cms long as, ‘heaps of really good grass’. Because of this misunderstanding of what good grass is, they then don’t offer any additional hay. I end up having a lot of discussions with clients about grass. Sometimes we chat more about pasture and hay than the diet itself which is understandable as grass is complicated!

Short grass is generally shorter than 5cm (2.5 inches). However you need to look at the average height across your pasture as you will (hopefully!) have several species of grass available to your horses. There may also be areas they use as toilets which they won’t eat unless they’re almost starving. While 5cms is pretty short, in reality, on many horse properties, the grasses are as short as 1 or 2 cm.

Many horse owners think a paddock full of grass that is 5 cm long would be regarded as too long. At 5 cm, the plant is just about reaching the stage where it has 2 to 3 leaves, and it can now start to make a rapid recovery, using its stored sugars/starches for growth; at less than 5 cm it becomes stressed.


🌿 Why is longer grass better for horses?

⚫️ Longer grasses are healthier and typically not stressed (so they have less NSCs).
Taller pasture plants have a higher fibre-to-sugar ratio than short grass. As mentioned above, this is ideal for a healthy gastrointestinal tract.
⚫️ Longer grass typically allows for more biodiversity (i.e. less monoculture).
⚫️ Longer grasses have a longer and thicker root system. This results in more healthy nutrients being brought up from deeper layers in the soil.
⚫️ Longer/thicker roots equal better soil protection which means less mud or dust. Obviously this is good for the ground and for your horse (less mud is better for a slew of reasons), but it also means plants may be able to be grazed in wetter conditions for a longer period of time.
⚫️ Longer grass shades out and outcompetes many w**d species.
⚫️ When the roots are longer the plant can ‘trades' some sugars for other nutrients such as amino acids. When the grass is short and stressed, it hangs onto excess sugars.
⚫️ The horse has to eat from the top; this means they need to eat the higher fibre, lower sugar part before it can get to the higher sugar part of the plant (at the bottom of the plant).
⚫️ The horse has to chew more, creating saliva to buffer stomach acid.
⚫️ Horses walk more when grazing longer, more diverse pastures as they seek out different plants.
⚫️ Longer grasses mean horses are essentially also browsing, not just grazing, this variety of eating postures is good for them biomechanically.
⚫️ Horses pick up their feet more if they live in paddocks with longer grasses, this is also good for them biomechanically.

🌿 Why is longer grass better for your property?

⚫️ Longer grasses shade the soil in hot, dry conditions. This keeps it cooler and reduces evaporation. This, plus the increase in soil organic matter, helps hold water in the soil for longer. This means your grass can keep growing even when it hasn’t rained in a while.
⚫️ Longer grasses provide a habitat for insects, small mammals/reptiles, and ground-nesting birds.
⚫️ With their longer/thicker root systems, taller grasses sequester more carbon than short grasses and even faster than trees! This is improved when the plants are repeatedly grazed and then allowed to regrow (as part of a rotational grazing system), as it effectively pumps carbon into the soil.
⚫️ Taller pasture plants keep the soil warmer in cold weather.


🌿 How long is long?

In a rotational grazing system of land management, the grass is regarded as tall enough to resume grazing when it is approximately 15cm, or just before it goes to seed. When the grass plants have been grazed down to an average height of 5 cm, horses should be removed and the grass given the chance to rest and recuperate.

Won’t free access to long grass make my horse fat/ter?

This answer to this question requires a whole other very long article and is dependent on many other factors. However, provided you do it sensibly, then in my experience, no.

Of course you can’t just let your horse have free access to endless lush, early spring grass, especially if you have high sugar grass species such as rye. If however, you have grasses that are lower in sugars such as fog, and/or you wait until it’s a little drier then your horse is less likely to gain weight, AND it’s a whole lot better for your horse’s gut AND also for the pasture itself.

If your horse has had their grazing restricted to overgrazed, short grasses for a long time (particularly if they also haven’t had access to hay) then you need to make a slow transition to longer grasses. If you suddenly give them access to long, lush grass then they are very likely to gorge and then they will gain weight.

🌱 What about horses on agistment?

Having a horse on agistment makes things more difficult, but not impossible. Ask your agistment owner if you can rig up some temporary fencing (i.e. pigtails and tape) within your paddock to rest part of it, or set up a track system so you can have longer grasses. Setting up a track next to your existing permanent fencing also encourages more incidental movement and means you can restrict grazing at the height of spring and then allow your horse onto the longer grasses when it’s safe to do so. I suggest approaching them from a ‘paddock/pasture preservation’ point of view and use all the above reasons as to why it will be better for their land, as well as for your horse.

*credit to the Equiculture website which was used as a resource for this article

02/13/2024

Good program

Q: Do you know what WIHA is?

A: A nonprofit interscholastic organization associated with schools, grades 6th-12th can participate. If you want to know more please reach out to us at infoWisconsin Interscholastic Horsemanship Association

01/21/2024

Whee Happy Sunday ! Thanks Devin for the vid!

01/20/2024

FUN FACT FRIDAY! Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice, good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
•
Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

01/09/2024

So many of you have asked about first time horse ownership. We know you have so many good questions. Join us Saturday, February 3rd at 10am for a candid discussion about topics such as budgeting, finding your perfect match, nutrition, tack selection, trailering, and more. Whether you seek to keep your horse at home, board at one of the many local facilities, or are have already bought your first horse and aren't real sure what happens next... we are here to help, or to direct you to those many talented professionals in our area who can!

We see the need for these conversations, and we plan to host these events periodically through out the spring.

Small fee of $20 per person per session. Discounts for multiple members of the same family. Registration is required, as space will be limited.

01/06/2024

New for 2024! You asked - we are listening! We're pleased to offer more Horse Time for our youngest riders in our Young Rider Saddle Club sessions. Two Saturdays per month from 10am to noon, we will offer a behind the scenes view of horse care and ownership for our students ages 12 and under. Hands on experience in the aspects of horse care we are not able to cover in lessons; groundwork, lungeing, basic horse health care, proper tack fit, and so much more. Affordably priced and discounts offered for multiple members of the same family.

The first session is planned for Saturday, February 3rd at 10am. Message us to register! Limited space available

Not a current student but interested in learning?
No worries, more info just for you coming soon!