Fatbottom Ranch

09/10/2024

09/08/2024

The harder you work, the luckier you get! Mike Major Horsemanship

09/01/2024

This is cool art!

Stunning Artwork from Dvate
Silo Art Trail. Goorambat Australia. Jimmy DVATE's work of Shire horses on the town's grain silo`s is hugely popular with tourists.

08/31/2024

Ok y’all we have to discuss diet! This is going to be a long post albeit an important one. At the end of the day I am an advocate for the horse. So I will try to help them be happy and comfortable to the best of my ability. But I also try to walk a fine line between between “bossy know it all Hoof Care provider” and said advocate lol. Diet is extremely important! For horses to grow strong healthy feet they need movement, a good diet, and quality hoof care in that order of importance. So a good diet makes up at least 1/3 of that recipe for helping a horse have the best hooves possible. They say for humans abs are made in the kitchen. Well for horses hooves are made in the feed room lol.

Here are some things I have discovered through continuing education, personal research, and personal experimentation. I read recently the only short cuts to entrepreneurial success is to learn from other people’s failures and choose not to repeat them. So basically do what they succeeded with last instead of what they failed with first. I have failed a lot over the years so please take advantage of my experiences, take that short cut and jump ahead!

Throw stones at me now because I used to feed SafeChoice, sweet feed, calf manna, and even red cell 😱. But at the time before the age of the Internet and Google, I did what my friends and mentors recommended. I trusted their opinions and followed them. As a byproduct I ended up with a horse that needed 4 corrective steel shoes, was a hard keeper, and was so crazy I could barely handle or ride her. That horse was really the one that began my horsemanship journey. I failed her in almost every way possible. So from then on I started researching and learning a better way to do things. I researched training, hoof care, and all things related to diet. And now I feel the need to share some of the things I have learned.

First of all some great resources about how to safely feed your horse are the ECIR Group, Dr. Kellons Nutrition courses, the safergrass.org website, the Facebook group Hoof Care and Rehabilitation, the Facebook group Equine Nutrition. Loads of mind blowing information in all of those sources that will help you learn to understand what horses should eat, how they properly process those feeds, their daily dietary requirements, and what ingredients safely fulfill those needs.

The next few items of discussion may or may not be specific to where I live and trim in Northwest Arkansas. When in doubt research the things I have shared in this post:

In general we have high iron and manganese in this area. Both minerals compete for absorption with copper and zinc. Copper and zinc are minerals that are needed in high quantities for horses to grow healthy hooves. Throw out those red mineral blocks and Himalayan salt lick’s. Both are high in iron and will do more harm than good to your horses bodies and hooves.

Salt blocks need to be replaced with loose salt or used in addition to them. Any type of mineral or salt block was originally created for cattle because they have rough tongues and can usually lick enough off of a block to meet their daily dietary requirements. Horses have smooth tongues and cannot. When it’s hot and they are sweating all day they may need to consume up to 4-6 tablespoons of salt a day! There is no way they can get that much salt off of a block. So either add some loose salt to their feed or provide free access to it in their shelter or stall.

Commercial horse feeds were originally created to find a way to package and sell by-product ingredients that would normally just be thrown away. Instead they decided to package it as horse feed and make some money off of it. Since horses are not a species that are raised for human consumption in the US this industry is not heavily regulated. While things have improved over the years most commercial feeds are still sub par and some are just plain harmful. There are very few labeling regulations in place and many companies still find their way around those regulations. Do you know how protein is measured in horse feeds? They take a sample of the feed, burn it, then measure the amount of nitrogen in that sample. So when a feed label says 16% protein that doesn’t mean anything more than when they measured it contained 16% nitrogen. It does not mean that the feed contains a quality protein source that is an absorbable form for horses. It does not mean that the protein contains the 3 limiting amino acids, lysine, methionine, and threonine which are essential in the right ratios to build strong healthy hooves.

Horses have a very interesting and different digestive tract. They can’t throw up because the don’t have reverse peristaltic contractions. They are an herbivore with a digestive tract designed halfway between an omnivore like pigs and a ruminator like cows with the design flaws of both lol. If they eat something harmful they can not throw it up. It must pass all the way through their digestive tract before exiting their body. Since forage goes into their true stomach first they are more susceptible to stomach upset and ulcers. Their stomach is very small therefore they are designed to be constant grazers. If a horse goes longer than 4 hours without consuming forage they may start to have gut issues. They ferment their food at the very end of their digestive tract in the large intestine. Cows, sheep and goats do this first. Actually the micro biome in the hind gut is what breaks down the cellulose in forage into a form that is absorbable for the horse. If the microbes in that biome are killed off by inflammatory feeds the horses no longer has the ability to process forage properly greatly reducing the calories and nutrients they should get from their hay.

Forage should always be a horses 1st and main source of calories and nutrients with supplements a very far off 2nd. The majority of horses can actually live happy healthy lives on just quality forage and salt!

Like most commercial feeds sold at feed stores, Safe choice is not safe. They were all tested by the ECIR group and starch and sugar were on average around 20%. Horses without metabolic issues should consume feeds that are no higher than 15%. Metabolic horses no higher than 10%.

Sweet feed is absolute crap for horses. I don’t know of a more PC way to say it. It is highly inflammatory and contains very little nutritional value. It would be comparable to us eating cake and candy all day.

The only commercial complete feed I feel I can safely recommend for most horses is Triple Crown lite. Not the complete or the senior feed. The lite tested around 10% for starch and sugar and has an ok mineral profile.

A much better option is to order a quality vitamin/mineral supplement. The ones I am personally using and currently recommend for our area are KIS Trace low selenium or Vermont Blend no selenium. I recommend soaked timothy pellets as a carrier for the vitamins and minerals. In the winter I recommending adding 2,000 I U’s of natural vitamin E as well. I am not a nutritionist, I’m just sharing information about products I have seen improve my personal horses and my clients horses hooves.

The best vitamin/mineral supplement to feed your horses is one created by a nutritionist that is balanced to the hay you feed. You can test your forage through a company called equianalytical. I know this is not a feasible option for many horse owners but it’s still the best option regardless.

The safest forage with the healthiest nutrition profile in our area is usually Bermuda hay. In some cases, it may contain too much starch and sugar for horses with metabolic issues and will need to be soaked before feeding. The only way to know the starch and sugar content of the hay is to have it tested.

Prairie grass hay is also usually a safe healthy option.

I don’t know anything about brome hay yet.

Mixed grass hay is one of the least reliable types of hay for horses. If it contains large amounts of Rye grass or fescue it can easily become a dangerous recipe for laminitis.

Alfalfa is trickier. Some horses can do fine when a percentage of their diet consists of Alfalfa. On paper this hay looks relatively safe, but when it is further digested in the large intestine the microbes can convert it into much higher levels of starch and sugar. This can make it very unsafe for metabolic horses. But some horses, especially those in heavy work can do just fine on it. Also if Alfalfa does make up a significant percentage of a horses diet the offset ca:p ratio needs to be considered and balanced. Over time it can also be the underlying cause of enterolithes - gastro-intestinal stones that if large enough can be life threatening.

Old hay is not good hay. It will not help your horse lose weight. It just deprives them of nutrients they need to fulfill their daily dietary requirements. Over time the nutrients in hay degrade. Most hay over a year old is sub par And over supplementing to compensate for poor quality hay is not good for the overall health of your horse.

Managing horses that live on pasture can be tricky. Hoof care professional and mentor Ida Hammer says that when it comes to hooves nothing happens all of a sudden except for trauma. 90% of horses with laminitis are caused by metabolic issues, mechanical founder (supporting limb) and toxemia induced founder are much rarer comprising a mere 10% of laminitis cases. Metabolic horses usually start showing small signs of inflammation mostly in the spring and fall. Small signs of inflammation can include prominent growth rings on the hoof wall, bruising, stretched and discolored lamina, sore hooves on hard ground, and abscesses. If you horse is showing any of those physical symptoms they may need to have their grazing pasture time limited or removed all together. If limited horses should be turned out early morning and put up in a dry lot in the afternoon. The longer the sun is on the grass the more sugar it makes. The Sugar in the grass is at its highest levels right before the Sun goes down. So the worst time to turn out a horse that has suspected or known metabolic issues is at night.

Once again I am not an equine nutritionist. I am an avid learner and an advocate for the horse. I notice patterns. One pattern that I notice is the horses on better Nutrition have much better hooves. Laminitis is diet related, white line is diet related, abscesses are diet related, thrush is diet related, scratches/mud fever is diet related. Diet is very important!

Thanks for reading my book and happy horsing peeps 🤟.

(Photo shows new growth coming in on a clients horse after dietary changes were made.)

08/29/2024

>Updated 9-1-24 with a glimpse of happiness.<
The level of catastrophic loss that’s still unfolding at the Beutler Ranch in Elk City, Oklahoma right now is beyond comprehension. The horror of so many dead horses—the death toll is now approaching 70 and counting, I’m told—is devastating a family-dynasty breeding program that’s a 95-year-old cowboy empire. What Elra, Jake and Lynn Beutler started in 1929, and Elra’s grandson Bennie and his son Rhett built onto with Beutler & Son Rodeo Company today can’t be replicated or replaced.

I have intentionally sat quiet on this story, knowing the Beutlers can’t even breathe right now. They have no words, or tears left. They also have their hometown rodeo to produce this weekend, and with so much of their horse herd and generations-deep legacy wiped out without warning.

I’ve had many off-the-record conversations with cowboy people about this tragic turn of events in the last few days. I just had my first one on the record with the friend and veterinarian the Beutlers have entrusted with their four-legged family, Dr. Gregg VeneKlasen. Because of what may lie ahead legally, we will stick to only the facts that can be appropriately shared publicly at this time. More to come later, when the time is right for the Beutler family.

Early reporting that many of the Beutlers’ horses were accidentally fed cattle feed is false, according to VeneKlasen.

“What these horses got was actually a horse feed mix with a huge amount of the cattle drug monensin (brand name Rumensin) in it,” VeneKlasen said. “This was a tragic case of human error somewhere along the line, because tiny amounts of monensin is poison to horses. It kills them. Monensin is used in some cattle feed, but this amount in this horse feed delivered to the Beutlers would have killed cattle, too.

“Much is known about what has happened here that cannot yet be told. But the bottom line on this story is that it’s an important one to tell, so this never happens to anyone else. I will say this: Never buy horse feed from a mill that makes cattle feed. Period. Please quote me on that. Every horse that ate this feed is dead. The only bucking mare still alive is (NFR bucker) Black Kat, because she was at my place (Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital in Canyon, Texas; that’s her in this picture) when this feed was delivered. The only Killer Bee baby that is still alive refused to eat the feed.

“I cried. We all cried. These bloodlines were five generations in the making. Many of the stars of this breeding program are gone. To see what’s happened here to these horses will make you puke.”

I stopped using the word “tragedy” a long time ago for situations that did not warrant it. “It’s not a tragedy if nobody died” has become a famous line of mine when perspective is lost and drama is overblown. This, my friends, is a tragedy in our rodeo family.

The one silver lining I’ve seen so far is the heartwarming generosity of other stock contractors stepping up and offering their stock to the Beutlers. That’s how our rodeo family rolls in the toughest of times, and it’s something special to behold and be very proud of.

This story continues to unfold. More when we can. Until then, God Bless every horse who has died. And prayers for the Beutler family as they try to find a path forward with so many family members missing.

---

8-31-24 Update 1:
To help prevent further public panic over feed safety, Dr. VeneKlasen today made the following statement on this subject:

“Many brands of feed—Purina, Nutrena and Bluebonnet, to name a few off the top of my head—are made in equine-only mills, and are safe. I suggest people stay with the big commercial companies with strict regulations in place. Because bucking-horse genetics are prone to metabolic syndrome, I feed Triple Crown Senior to everything here at Timber Creek (Veterinary Hospital), even the babies, because it’s beet-pulp based with low sugar and high fat content.

“If you’re going to get custom feed from a mill that makes feed for multiple species, including horses, cattle, goats, pigs and whatever else, make sure before it leaves the mill that it’s been tested for ionophores. It’s not an expensive test, but it’s a critically important one. You can’t have even trace amounts of ionophores, which can happen in unintentionally cross-contaminated feed, because the smallest dose impacts horses’ hearts. If they eat even a tiny amount of it and don’t die today, it might kill them in three weeks, three months or three years.”

More details will be released as is appropriate from Team Beutler. Thank you all for your patience, understanding and prayers.

---

8-31-24 Update 2:
Livestock Nutrition Center, who delivered the load of feed to the Beutlers, issued a statement today. Team Beutler wanted it shared with you all.

~

From Ronnie Castlebury, Ph.D
President of Livestock Nutrition Center

“We are truly sorry for what the Beutler family is going through.

Our preliminary tests show a load of feed delivered to Beutler and Son Rodeo Company in Elk City contained monensin, which can be toxic to horses. This likely occurred due to a combination of a failed cleanout procedure and a sensor malfunction. We have confirmed this is an isolated incident to this single load of feed from a single facility and no other feed has been impacted and is safe for animal consumption.

We take this seriously and are working with the State Departments of Agriculture in Oklahoma and Kansas and the FDA to get to the root cause of the problem and will take any and all corrective actions needed.

Words are cheap but we are dedicated to assist and support the Beutler family and make this right because our customers and employees expect and deserve it.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Mr.’s Bennie and Rhett Beutler and family and everyone affected by the recent tragic event at their ranch. The loss of so many valued animals is devastating.”

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8-31-24 Update 3:
After speaking with Dr. Mottet, Dr. VeneKlasen asked that she write this statement, and that I include it as today’s third important update. “This is information everybody needs to know,” Dr. VeneKlasen said. “It’s a simple way for horse owners to check on the safety of their feed. There are so many feeds I’ve never even heard of. This is an easy way for people to check on the feed they’re using.”

~

From Rachel Mottet, MS, PhD, Equine Nutritionist:

Most U.S. feed companies are extremely safe and reliable, even those with multi-species mills. The greatest safety risk comes from mills that produce ionophore-containing feeds in the same mill and production lines as their equine feeds. This becomes fewer mills each year, yet there are still some that do this, often for logistical reasons. The most important thing you should find out is what your feed company’s policy is regarding ionophores (the toxic compound involved in this situation) in their equine feed manufacturing mills.

My team has been compiling a list of company statements to give owners assurance about the safety of their feed. You can find this list here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17IVu88GVlLU04C3uitCTPHQ5Q2cB-khka_-eMJaMSCY/edit?usp=drivesdk. There are some blanks as we are awaiting the response from a number of companies. A blank does not mean that your feed company is not safe, but for legal reasons, these statements can take time and we will populate them as they become available.

In our list, Ionophore Free refers to a mill where there are no ionophores present. Ionophore Safe refers to a company that has production policies to keep equine feed separate from feed with ionophores. If your company is ionophore safe vs. free, please connect with them directly to ensure they have completely separate equipment for equine feed production and ionophore free trucks to haul bulk feed. If they do not, please make a decision about how to best reduce your horse’s risk of exposure.

The major U.S. feed companies tend to be extremely safe and have many checks and balances in place due to the volume of feed they produce. If your feed is Ionophore Safe vs. Free, do no panic, yet I advise that you follow-up with your company to get clarification on their production practices.

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9-1-24 Update:
As fate, God and all those brand new Beutler bucking horses in Heaven would have it, the lone bucking-mare survivor of the recent Beutler-horse-herd tragedy, Black Kat, just won the Elk City Rodeo of Champions…held in Beutler and Son Rodeo Company’s hometown…in Beutler Bros. Arena, which was named after founding brothers Jake, Lynn and Elra…for the second-straight year. Roedy Farrell of Thermopolis, Wyoming went 88.5 on the big black beauty for the win. Bonus points for it be a Cowboy State cowboy with all the 400,000-plus wildfire hell going on in his home country right now. We all needed something to smile about. And we got it tonight.

08/27/2024

HORSEMAN
There are horse trainers, horse traders and horse whisperers. There are show men, show boaters and show offs. There are fast talkers and would be magicians.

But then there are true Horsemen and Horsewomen, and these are harder to find and sometimes even harder to recognize because they are often tucked away in quiet hidden places, working slowly and silently without national recognition or appreciation.

Often times, the true horseman or woman does not have the most horses in training or those horses that are exceptionally bred or high priced. Often times, the true Horsemen and Women do not have access to big money owners or run through dozens and dozens of prospects in order to find the few that can take the pressure of aged event prize money or high profile exhibition. Many times, the true horsemen and women are slow and steady, methodical and patient, training on an individual horse's timeline and not to a rigid show schedule set by the seasons or show management.

These people recognize a horse's physical and mental capabilities and showcase their assets without sacrificing their bodies or minds. Horsemen and women take their time developing their horses' skills and confidence through a traditional steps, one before the next, placing just as much credence in their teaching relationship and equine partnership as they do in show pen results. Horsemen and women are humble because their reward comes from within; from knowing that they have taught through kindness, patience, fortitude, and logic. Their rewards coming from creating a confident horse that works with them and not for them, horses that are not scared or intimidated, horses with solid foundations that last season after season and that carry a gamut of riders from the experienced non pro to the Amateur to the Green Reiner. Always Dedicated. Always Patient. Always Consistent. Whether it be riding young horses, resurrecting older horses, or maintaining the Steady Eddy, a True Horseman is one of the first ones to throw a leg over in the morning and one of the last ones to pull their boots off in the evening.
Horsemen and women are a pleasure to watch in the arena or on the ranch as they diligently and patiently impart their knowledge and logic to both horses and students.

In an era where the horse industry is so economically driven and success is measured primarily in prize money and accolades, the tradition of the true horseman and the process of training horses seems to be changing; giving way to an assembly line mentality where immediate success and financial compensation take precedence over handcrafted quality and longevity. Dedicated to their craft, loyal to their students, ambitious, hardworking and a role model for anyone interested in making their way in an industry dominated by pressure to build great animals in less and less time, old fashioned horsemen are women are now Artisans, assets to our heritage and traditions and harder and harder to find.

A thoughtful teacher, a thorough instructor, a gentle hand, a firm guide, a rational yet fearless showman, the greatest compliment that I think could ever be given to someone who works with horses, is to be thought of as a Horseman.

📝Becky Hanson

08/13/2024

An athlete won't judge you
for working out.

A millionaire won't judge you
for starting a business.

A musician won't judge you
for trying to sing a song.

It's always the people going nowhere
that have something to say.

08/06/2024

Pretty wild photo of team roping horses blowing up in the box at the same time . Looks like they could work the other end of the arena!

08/04/2024

Four interlaced horses.
Persia, Safavid Period, 17th century.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

08/01/2024

Classes include traditional halter, equitation, driving, trail, dressage and much, much, more. Jackpot classes are available for cash back winnings. WSGHC is introducing a new Novice Class this year for new showers to learn and grow!

07/31/2024

"The horse knows.
He knows the human twenty to one. It’s amazing how much he’ll get out of things, how he’ll fill in for as little as the human knows about him.
How that horse can handle it has always been a mystery to me. Put yourself in his shoes to live your whole life where no one knows who you really are. Well, I haven’t met a human yet who compares to a horse. A human couldn’t take it.
See, you can get a horse to do something if you’re tough enough, just like you can with a human.
But a willing communication is a different matter.
You fix it so the horse can try, then you allow him to work it out. You have to give him that dignity. You make your idea his idea.
I believe these colts, I trust them.
I always trust they can buck too. Don’t think they won’t.
Just keep fixing it up and let them find it. Don’t try to make it happen.
Prepare to position for the transition. The transition is the last thing that happens. And don’t try to be boss."

Ray's words are from an article 'Ray Hunt: The Cowboy Sage' written by Gretel Ehrlich and appeared in the Shambhala Sun, July 1998.

Image of Ray is by W T Bruce.

07/30/2024

When it comes time to teach your horse a flying lead change, do you have the mechanics and fundamentals in place to ensure your horse is set up to execute a flying lead change?

07/22/2024

Last night in Benton Pa #144 Tee Time sustained an irreparable injury and sadly passed away. Thankfully his young rider had already bucked off and was not in any danger. Our rodeo family mourns this loss of this amazing athlete.