Full Circle Equestrian Center

02/10/2025

ALWAYS turn your horse toward you and his butt away before releasing. Then get out of the way. They are often excited when being released and don't think before kicking out.

02/03/2025

Knowing how much your horse weighs is useful in determining how much daily feed is needed. Also, dewormers and other medications are designed to be dispensed at specific levels relative to a horse’s weight. Unfortunately, most horse owners do not have easy access to a set of scales and must often resort to visual evaluation for estimating weight. A simple formula to help you more accurately estimate your horse's weight.

02/02/2025

Yep! Saw that coming!

01/31/2025

01/25/2025

I went to a clinic by Mark in the early 2000's. Liked him as much as John Lyons. Great horseman!

🤩It’s our first online Jim and Mark show! If you’re a fan of their popular collaborative clinics, you’ll love their new online series.

Part one begins TODAY - with Jim and Mark discussing softness. Click on the link below to find out more information and how to reserve your spot. 🔗

All sessions will be recorded and will be available for two weeks after the course ends.

We hope to see you there!

https://www.markrashid.com/event-list

01/09/2025

This Is A Reprint Of A Very Good Post From A Very Good Horse Woman: Really Worth The Read
Jo Christensen AERC: American Endurance Ride Conference
Hey everyone,
Temperatures inside horse trailers are a concern to most endurance riders I know. We tend to haul very long distances, both in the heat and in the cold. I had to do some winter hauling today and before I left, I installed a temperature monitor inside my horse trailer. What I discovered was surprising and fascinating and changed my mind about what I thought was going on back there… so I decided to share what I learned in case of value to anyone else.
I hauled two horses about 6 hours today through the mountains here in western Montana, to a veterinary facility in another town. I was concerned about temperatures for the horses before I left. Forecast temps along some of the route were in the low single digits. My horses have very good winter coats but I was trying to decide whether to blanket or not. I recently switched to an enclosed gooseneck trailer and realized that I had no idea what hauling conditions in the winter were like back there.
I bought an inexpensive temperature monitor with a base station- the kind folks hang out on the porch so they can see what outdoor conditions are like without going outside. Before I put it into use in the trailer, I verified its accuracy by comparing its readings to some equipment I know is very accurate.
I hung the sensor in a mesh bag (good air flow) about halfway up the side of the wall in the trailer that encloses the rear tack room. I didn’t put it on the roof (heat rises) or near the floor (cold air sinks). My trailer is a 3 horse slant load, and I put it in the stall that did not have a horse in it. It was not hanging on an exterior wall. My trailer is not insulated- no living quarters, just a standard small dressing area in the front.
The trailer did have about 3 inches of hard encrusted snow insulating the roof-this snow stayed the entire journey.
The side windows could not be opened- they were encrusted with ice- however we opened all three roof vents to their maximum extent and turned the so that airflow would be maximized.
When we left our house in the Bitterroot, the temp inside and outside the trailer both read 20 degrees. BTW I was using my truck temperature monitor to determine the outside temperature (I had previously verified its accuracy and that it read the same as my newly purchased gear).
We loaded the horses and took off this morning about 0345 hrs. By the time we got to Missoula (30 minutes later), temps in the trailer had risen from 20 degrees to 32 degrees. In contrast, outside temp was still 20 degrees. By the time we had been on the road for an hour, the temperature in the trailer was (are you ready for this?): FORTY FOUR DEGREES.
Along our route, outside temps dropped as low as 14 degrees. At the same time, temps in the trailer NEVER dropped below 39 degrees. For the vast majority of the journey, the trailer was holding at 44 degrees. Temps inside the trailer were ALWAYS OVER TWENTY DEGREES WARMER than the outside.
We stopped for a half hour pitstop did not unload the horses. However I opened the back door and let cold wind flow into the trailer. Temps in the trailer quickly dropped to the high 20s. But they were back up to the low 40s in about half an hour.
We left both horses at the vet in Three Forks and returned with an empty trailer. All the way home, temps inside the trailer were identical to temps outside.
So here are my take-aways from all this. First of all, it’s very easy to monitor temps in your trailer and I would highly encourage everyone to do it! I think I spent about 20 bucks on my monitoring stuff and it was easy to use and very accurate. Secondly, I cannot believe how fast two horses could heat up a 3 horse trailer in very cold weather and keep it warm. I never dreamed that horses radiate that much heat. And to think I had been considering blanketing them.
Of course the need to blanket and other things might be different if your horses are body clipped or your trailer is different. And of course this is an enclosed gooseneck, not a stockside trailer. But rather than just guess what might be going on back there and whether it is appropriate for your clipped horse (or sick horse or…?) just go get a temperature monitor and find out!
And believe me, my eyes are going to be GLUED to this thing come summer and I’m hauling in hot temperatures…

01/07/2025

western bridle

01/07/2025

Types of snaffle bits

01/05/2025

Saddle Fit for Horse and Rider

12/30/2024

Horse Tack

12/29/2024

How To Go Horse Camping_ Where to Keep Your Horse

12/20/2024

I would add to pull the pad up into the swell of the pommel to relieve pressure when tightening the cinch.

Great visuals on checking saddle placement and shoulder and cinch checks.

*The saddle should sit even in front and back, this image shows a downward slope to the hind.

12/17/2024

This is actually the technique I taught in my foal handling classes! Makes it so easy to handle the babies!

Body Haltering A Foal CavvySavvy_com - We Know Working Horses

11/20/2024

Yellowstone fans that are real horse people got a little confusing information on the Sunday, November 17, 2024 episode. This popular show appears to take pride in its western production on being very authentic - yet some how they had a BIG mistake with treating a horse with intramuscular Banamine.

What is the BIG deal? In this Yellowstone episode a horse was administered Banamine (Flunixin Meglumine) intramuscularly. Yet the nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory is only administered orally (in the mouth) or intravenously (in the vein). Remember Banamine is never recommend to be administered to horses any other way.

Why not? Banamine causes muscle damage when injected intramuscularly! There are spores of bacteria known as clostridium that can rest in healthy muscle; however, the bacteria may awaken if the muscle becomes damaged from an IM injection particularly when Banamine is administered this way. This may cause clostridial myositis - which is a serious and sometimes fatal disease. Post injection signs of a problem would be swelling and a painful injection site with gas underneath the skin. The bacterial toxins may migrate into the bloodstream causing depression, colic, fever and a lose of appetite. Treatment by a licensed DVM is necessary if you make this mistake. Supportive care, antibiotics, and possibly a surgical excision of the infected injected site may be necessary.

This episode of Yellowstone was a good reminder - what is entertaining may not always be real and correct. Check with your equine veterinarian if you are unsure how to administer Banamine.

10/29/2024

10/23/2024

So true 😂😂