KD Performance Horses

03/04/2025

🔺🔻🔺🔻𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞🔻🔺🔻🔺
💥How does one accomplish a good lead change in the pattern?
💥How do I earn credit?
💥How should I cue it?
💥Where Should I place it?
💥Should I do a simple lead change?
𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
The Lead change can be a daunting maneuver for the ranch classes, especially when in a tight Trail course, or unpredictable Ranch Riding pattern. In this article we’ll dive into how someone would earn credit in the lead change, cueing options and strategy, as well as the debate of simple or flying lead changes.

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 (𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞)
Lead changes are hard. If you can do it on one plane, with no anticipation, delay, disruption of frame, gaped mouth, change in speed, or spearing of the ground…that is worthy of credit.

💥Many horses shoot forward after the lead change, if your horse remains the same speed before and after the change, you may be awarded credit.

💥It's common to see counter cantering and cross-firing, if your horse actually changes leads in one stride without spearing the ground, he’ll likely get credit.

💥Often, horses anticipate and disrupt their frame, if the horse waits on your cues and remains balanced with quality movement the whole time…you’ll likely get credit.

💥Lots of horses duck into the lead change and forget to engage their hindquarters, if your horse remains straight before, during, and after the lead change…you’ll may be credited.

💥In the case of simple lead changes, it's common to see horses fall out of frame and take well over 3 steps. Simple lead changes must be done within 3 trot steps at the most. If you can keep the horse in frame and change within 1 or 2 strides, there may be credit.

A nice lead change is one that demonstrates control of the horse. A nice lead change also demonstrates that the horse waits patiently on their rider’s cues. If at any point the judge has to question whose idea that maneuver was… you will miss out on credit. Think about a real ranch setting, do you want your horse making executive decisions? The answer is probably no.

𝐂𝐮𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞
There are some strategies to cueing, neither is more right than the other. Cues are important because they are invitations for dialogue with the horse. It would be wise to find the most appropriate tone, wouldn't you agree? There are a few ways to go about cueing, in the next section we’ll explore the hows and whys of each:

𝗣𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗽
A school of thought says that lead changes are nothing more than a midair lead departure. Lead departures, at least in most western riding, come from haunches in aka two-track. Haunches-in is basically just pushing the hip to the inside. To cue in this fashion, the rider will push the horse’s inside hip over, thus changing leads. It's quite effective and what most people are taught initially, though it lacks some nuance.

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲
This cue requires the rider’s outside leg to come off the horse, “opening the gate” for the horse’s hips to swing over. This cue is interesting because it's not the application of pressure that cues the horse, but rather the lack thereof. It can be very difficult to teach a horse to do this, but once they learn, it's quite effective and stylish.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭,𝟮,𝟯
When approaching the lead change, the rider will use their outside leg and bounce their foot off the horse’s rib two times. This serves to straighten the horse from the natural arc created in each lead. Once straight, the horse is cued with the inside leg to change leads. This cue is predictable, for better or worse. It works nice for horses who constantly crossfire since this cue puts them in the shape of the next lead before actually changing…a step many forget.

𝗦𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻
For highly intelligent horses, this may be a way to smoothen out the cue. All that is required is to quickly cue with no prior preparation or “tells” for the horse. This cue lacks a lot of refinement, but it shines in its ability to make the rider focus so deeply on their movements. If you can successfully prevent the horse from anticiping and be aware of all your subtle body movements and “tells”... your cueing will get way better.

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬
The timing for the lead change should be when you’re “falling”. The lope has an up and down cadence. When “falling” the horse’s front feet are hitting the ground, this is the optimal time to cue as their back feet are in the air and can land in the new lead.

Factoring in human delay, it's best to cue just before falling. This way, the horse sets his front feet down, changes the hind as they are midair, and lands on the new lead.

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬
Due to the 3 stride rule with simple lead changes, they must be done quickly. Timing for the slowdown doesn’t really matter as long as they rate quickly. Rein rate cues risk the horse going out of frame due to anticipation. Vocal rate cues risk being degraded and the horse not listening the second time around. Body cues are by far the best for this maneuver. By teaching the horse to slow down off of your seat and a release of legs, the horse can easily be slowed down without going out of frame.

Once at the trot, cue the other lead asap when the outside front foot lands. If the desired lead was left, cue when the front right foot is falling to the ground. This almost always helps to make sure the other leg (left) shoots forwards and assumes the left lead.
This works for both sides.

𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞?
The main question in this debate is which one earns the most credit. That is usually the flying lead change. Some judges score both fairly, but there are many who put a figurative “cap” on how much credit a good simple lead change could get compared to a flying lead change.

The other question is when to do a simple lead change over a flying lead change. As a rule, I tend to do simple changes on schooling runs and with green horses. The reason for schooling runs is because simple changes have more “moving parts” to them and force the horse to focus on my cues and listen more intently than a flying lead change. With green horses, I’ll simple change because they are not educated enough to reliably perform a flying change. With each case, I keep in mind the end goal of my horse doing flying lead changes.

Simple changes should not be the final evolution, all Ranch Riding horse and rider teams should eventually know how to perform a solid flying lead change.

Ｃｌｏｓｉｎｇ
Try to do a flying lead change if you can, it's almost always regarded as the highest degree of difficulty when compared to simple lead changes.

Within the western world, if you’re doing a simple lead change…it's likely that you’re doing that because your flying lead change is not up to par. Whether or not that's true is irrelevant because now it's at risk of being called into question. Never leave your judge questioning…

This is not to say that you must do a flying lead change, YOU DON’T. If you’ve got a green horse who’s bad at changing leads, by all means perform a simple change. Its better than a crash and burn flying change.

Just keep in mind the end goal and work toward it.
Thank you for reading

Written by: AQHA Professional Horseman Johnny Flores


Ps...this section is an excerpt, stay tuned for more details 😉

03/04/2025

I have addressed this problem so many times in the field and in my group that I still don’t quite know why it has taken so long to actually do a short article on F***l Water Syndrome aka “FWS”.

FWS typically presents in horses as an excessive amount of thin brown liquid being ejected from a horse’s a**s. This is different from diarrhea because it doesn’t have any f***l matter contained in the liquid. The horse’s manure may be on the soft side or may be perfectly formed.

In most cases FWS isn’t debilitating to the horse but it is messy and can coat their butts and legs with nasty smelling and irritating liquid. It is especially difficult during the cold winter months as you can see from the photo I used. The fluid clumps on fur and freezes while the cold temperatures make it difficult if not impossible to clean.

Obviously FWS is a gastro-intestinal issue but most owners miss the mark when treating FWS. Owners will throw expensive supplements at the problem and the symptoms will persist. I know this from personal experience with my mare, Flair. That poor mare had about 32 different supplements thrown at her and nothing worked.

Probiotics, prebiotics, biosponge, ulcer treatments, gut supplements and anything else I tried wouldn’t clear it up. Nothing ever even slowed it down.

Then while attending an equine nutrition clinic I was having a cocktail with one of the more well known equine nutrition PhDs and I mentioned my frustration to her. Of course she had the answer!

Just so everyone knows, it’s not that I’m really smart but I hang out with really smart people!

In the overwhelming majority of cases FWS is being caused by a mild case of a condition known as Right Dorsal Colitis. I got the full monty clinical explanation, and as I would do in any conversation with an extremely bright, lovely woman who is twenty years younger I sat at the edge of my chair in rapt attention while understanding none of it but all I needed to know was that it is a condition similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in humans.

IBS is something that most people in my age range (somewhere between classic and Jurassic) are familiar with. The cure for both conditions is simple: add easily digestible fiber. I began taking a tablespoon of psyllium each day and my IBS cleared up almost immediately.

Right Dorsal Colitis can become very serious and require clinical intervention in some cases. In severe cases FWS is accompanied by lethargy, weight loss, lack of appetite and colic. I am NOT a vet so you should discuss any concerns that you have with your vet and follow their treatment advice.

Many times RDC is caused by coarse hay. Mature, coarse hay is very high in fiber and can be difficult to process in the gut causing some inflammation resulting in the watery fountain of stench emanating from your horse’s butt.

My own experience with FWS is very much like what I hear from others. The FWS shows up in the fall when the horses are off grass and on hay. Whenever I get different hay. My horses are both easy keepers and metabolic so I feed mostly very mature low NSC grass hay ensuring that I am dealing with FWS for most of the year. Quite often you will find that it is worse during the winter and the simple explanation is that they are eating more hay which attenuates the problem.

The dietary treatment for both conditions is to replace some (or all) of the forage with a complete feed enabling the gut to recover by offering some easily digestible fiber.

You can also try using some psyllium but it’s expensive and it typically requires a large dose.

My personal go to and the advice that I have offered to hundreds of people as a first treatment is to simply add a pound of hay stretcher pellets per day to the horse’s normal diet and this usually clears it up. If the FWS doesn’t clear up in a few days I increase it to two pounds per day.

Any genuine complete feed will work as long as the crude fiber is over 20% and the fat level is low. I typically choose to use hay stretcher because it is very high in fiber, usually over 25% and it is not heavily fortified nor high in calories so I don’t really need to make huge adjustments in their diets. I simply toss a cup or two on top of their normal ration and call it a day.

For a 1,000 pound horse two pounds per day should offer relief of the symptoms but if two pounds of hay stretcher doesn’t change things it’s probably time to try something else and at this point all bets are off. Psyllium would be my next step along with a gut supplement.

It is almost never a lack of probiotics unless the horse had recently been on a course of antibiotics.

The long term solution is to feed better hay. If you can find some nice, soft second cutting grass hay it would go a long way towards drying things up.

There are a number of downsides to feeding better hay. Cost and availability are at the top of the list. Then there’s the horse. Second cutting hay isn’t the best choice for easy keepers or insulin resistant horses so this option has its limits.

Many times FWS is linked to insulin resistant horses as a sure sign that they are insulin resistant. The conditions are not related except that most IR horses are on j***y, low starch, low calorie hay.

Please allow me to head off the naysayers and negative comments. This is not by any means a sure fire cure for FWS. It is, however, a very inexpensive treatment as a first go to attempt and it does work in most cases. If not, then try all the whiz bang supplements that probably won’t work either.

In short, if you have a horse with a squirty butt go buy a bag of cheap hay stretcher pellets and run some through the horse. If it works, you got off cheap, if not at least you know something that isn’t going to work.

As a final reminder and a more serious tone, if the FWS persists and the hay stretcher doesn’t work I would strongly encourage you to please consult your veterinarian and have all the appropriate diagnostics done.

Thank you for reading this article.

I am retired and write blog articles to try to make horse owner's lives easier and horse's lives better.

If you found this article to be helpful my horses would be very grateful if you would consider buying some hay for them by going to:

https://buymeacoffee.com/jimthefeedguy

Of course your contributions are not required, nor expected but all are very much appreciated.

Cheers!

03/03/2025

• let the wind lead you

There will be days when the road is uncertain, when the horizon feels distant, when the weight of “what if” presses heavy on your shoulders. However…remember this…you were not made to stand still. Even the gentlest breeze can shift the course of a journey, and sometimes, the only thing you need to do is take the next step. Keep moving. The path will meet you there. 💫

Stunning Gypsy mare in b&w; TMR Awestruck (Fae) 🪷
© Samantha Dawn. All photos are protected by federal copyright. Written permission is required for use or artistic reference.

03/03/2025

"𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚." 🩵 📸:

02/28/2025

Tomorrow is friday!! We are running towards the weekend 🩵🩵

Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography

02/28/2025

Our riding gelding Rosie's Blu Suede Shoes was part of the opening ceremony at the Extreme Events Skijoring this past weekend

Blu was such a rockstar! We joined Jessica Renner and her stallion SD Worth It !

Many thanks to all the photographers that were at the event!!

02/26/2025

🔬 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐀 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 🧬

As we dive into the breeding season, it’s essential to ensure that your cooled shipped or frozen semen is viable both during shipment and upon post-thaw. Semen analysis plays a pivotal role in this process, providing critical insights into the quality and functionality of semen samples.

Whether you’re using basic laboratory equipment or advanced Computer-Assisted S***m Analysis (CASA) systems, conducting a thorough semen analysis is vital for breeders who manage their own reproduction work. This practice not only helps in setting a standard of quality but also enhances the likelihood of successful breeding outcomes.

In our latest article, we will guide you through a basic semen analysis procedure that can help you assess the viability of your samples effectively. By understanding key parameters such as motility, morphology, and concentration, you can make informed decisions that contribute to the success of your breeding program.

Don’t leave your breeding success to chance! Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools necessary to ensure high-quality semen analysis this season.

👉 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://online.fliphtml5.com/prvdl/bcff/ =1

02/26/2025

02/24/2025

02/22/2025

We have donated a breeding to the GHRA Stallion Au-ction for McDreamy! Thanks to our trainer, Katie, for making the ad look awesome!

The au-ction is halfway done so don’t miss out! Go check it out and b i d if you wish to add this special boy to your lines for 2026! 💛

https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/123844/auctions/171730/auction_items/5941492

📸: Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography

02/21/2025

🚨 NEW for 2025: Wisconsin Pinto Adds Utility Classes! 🚨
Big news for those of you with Gypsy Vanners, Gypsy Cobs, and draft-type Pintos—the Wisconsin Pinto Horse Association is now offering Utility Horse Classes! 🐴✨

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to showcase your stunning, versatile utility horse, this is it. These classes are designed specifically for horses with classic draft-type conformation—think power, presence, and plenty of feather! 🖤🤍

📅 Don’t miss your chance to stand out in the ring! Check the upcoming show schedule and bring your draft-type Pinto to shine in 2025! 🌟

02/21/2025

Breeding Gypsy Vanner horses is about so much more than just color—though a beautiful coat is always a bonus. The real foundation of a quality breeding program is bone, conformation, temperament, and overall excellence in the offspring. At Footloose Farm, we believe in making intentional breeding choices, not just picking the most convenient stallion. Not all horses produce well, and not all crosses work. Breeding is about carefully selecting pairings that elevate the breed, ensuring each generation is better than the last.

It’s easy to step into an established program and carry on success, but the real challenge—the one we take pride in—is building something extraordinary from the ground up. It takes knowledge, dedication, and the willingness to refine a program over time. Not every horse is destined for the show ring or breeding barn, and that’s okay. Some are meant to be wonderful companions, and there’s just as much value in that. But the breeders who can create excellence from humble beginnings, who thoughtfully craft each generation to be better than the last—those are the ones we admire, and the kind of program we strive to be at Footloose Farm. 💚

📸: Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography

02/16/2025

You know what I’ve never seen?

I’ve never seen someone who’s been to the NFR comment on someone’s Instagram post “critique”

I’ve never seen world class trainers comment “hate”

I’ve never seen someone I look up to in the horse world tear someone down online.

Remember that next time you get a hate comment. These are never written by well respected professionals, a professional wouldn’t be giving you “advice” unless you paid them for it.

📸

02/16/2025

The more repro we do, the more interesting things get. One super common misconception is with the sizes of the breeding dose.

Did you know that all these syringes could contain the exact same amount of s***m cells?

If you get a syringe filled with 60cc… it doesn’t mean you’re getting more semen, and if you get one filled with 10cc it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting less.

For a regular breeding dose, industry standard is to ship a billion cells. Now, when we collect stallions, we will test the collection to see how many s***m cells it contains. We test first on the blue box, and then the nucleocounter and at our farm, the nucleocounter seems to be a little higher than the blue box.

Some stallions are incredibly high… 500-900 MILLION per cc. Some stallions are low, as low as 50-100 million per cc. Most of the time, if that low (from what I’ve seen) a farm with centrifuge it (spin it down to a more concentrated dose) if it’s below 100 million.

Some stallions will give 2-5 billion cells per collection and some will give 15-20 BILLION per collection.

So let’s do some math, we will say a collection is getting extended 4 to 1. 4 cc of extender for every 1 cc of semen.

100 mill per cc means I need 10cc of semen to have a billion cells. Which means I need 40cc of extender to add to the dose. Totaling a 50cc breeding dose.

450 mill per cc means I need 2.5 cc semen (a little over but for the maths sake) and 6cc of extender. (Don’t come at me guys I know the farm will add a little more extender to these concentrated doses, this is just to show an example) this would total an 8.5cc dose.

In this example, two of the EXACT SAME concentrations would be 50cc and 8.5cc doses.

These numbers will prob be a little higher volumes when you factor in progressive motility, etc. a lesson for another day.

In real life… people are literally more happy to receive more EXTENDER.

We typically deep horn all of our own mares with low doses to help minimize fluid response from the mare.

Now, there is WAY MORE into the breeding than this, but all stallions are not created equal and I wanted to give a visual representation of what different doses of the same amount of semen can look like.

PS: These syringes are just extender for visual representation only. No semen were harmed by a rubber stopper in the making of this photo. 😅🐟