Back to Basics Equine Awareness

06/01/2024

05/04/2024

This topic rolls around my head all the time. The more horses I get under, the more I understand equine behavior and their body, the more I am convinced I don’t need to be stronger. Hear me out.

I am 5’6” and 125 lbs. I am a strong and fit person, with limits. Like most people, we all have limits to what our bodies can handle. Working with a 1000 lbs animal, has understandable limits. I have heard more than once, that the horse just needs “a strong man” to get under them and not have it be awful. That a man can “just hang on”. Just because that man can bear down and hold on, doesn’t mean it was any better for the horse than me being slung around. It just makes the human at the end of the lead feel better not seeing me slung around or struggle.

But here is the thing I know. Besides a handful of horses, very very few intentionally want to make it hard to hold a leg up. If they are struggling to stand well for the farrier, it almost always comes down to a few things. The following is said assuming that the farrier is truly a horse person and knows how to help your horse have a positive experience and adjust their approach when necessary.

1. Pain or fear of pain or altered sensation or awareness
2. A reduction in stability and appropriate loading patterns
3. Lack of understanding
4. Lack of emotional agility

As I primarily work with performance horses, I most commonly see 1 and 2. Yet, no performance problems are noted and an obvious head nodding lameness isn’t always present.

It’s tough because I know about how the body and nervous system works and equine behavior more than most farriers, more than a lot of horse people. I understand gait patterns and muscle development. I can feel your horse’s body every time I pick up a hoof. I have picked up 100s of 1000s of hooves (no joke, I did the math, it’s well over 150,000 hooves). Every single one of them is attached to a leg, attached to a horse. I have felt the bodies of so so many horses in every stage of life, from pasture puffs to Olympic level dressage horses and in many different compensation patterns, with all sorts of aches and pains from arthritis and other diseases. I know what a healthy body has the potential to feel like when I pick up a leg. I know what is possible for hoof care when the body is functioning well. I also know the possibilities of what a body will feel like that is struggling with nerve compression in the shoulders, hock arthritis, kissing spine, DSLD, Etc.

If a horse can’t relax, shift its weight, engage it’s core, lift a leg and keep it there, there is work to do to help the horse. Inherently, horses want to stay vertical and eyes level with the horizon to protect their spine, it is imperative to their survival. If they aren’t doing this, there is work to do to help the horse.

I know it can be an uncomfortable topic, especially when nothing seems wrong otherwise with the horse. It’s easier to blame the other human than take a look at the horse in front of us and truly listen.

I can also acknowledge that my approach isn’t right for every horse. I am not saying every visit with every horse needs to be perfect. But I know horses. I know what they feel like and I understand what they are telling us. If I don’t know, I will be the first to say it. I know the potential that exists in every interaction when we listen.

I don’t need to be stronger. I don’t need to hang on. I don’t need to be a man. We need to listen to what the horse is telling us. They don’t tend to be disingenuous with what they are saying. I will always seek to find a way to make hoof care easier and more relaxing for the horse and if I can’t find a way, we really need to look deeper at the horse and see what answers we can find.

Can we stop misinterpreting their behavior and take a deeper look?
Can we stop trying to out muscle and strong arm?
Can we collaborate more for the horse?
Can we start to recognize the subtle changes?
Can we get softer and listen?

04/01/2024

This photo is absolutely stunning 😍 Join Horse Owners & Lovers
Credits📷 Tony Mendes Photography

03/08/2024

“Horses don't have a gallbladder. Because of this, horses' livers only secrete bile acids, salts, and buffers when stimulated by consumption of food. Horses with an empty stomach for a prolonged period of time are more prone to ulcers because the stomach continually releases stomach acid, regardless of whether or not food is consumed. The buffering agents which neutralize this acid are only released when food is consumed. Do not let your horse go more than 6 hours without eating. Do not exercise or transport your horse on an empty stomach.” - Podcast Ep. 48 | Gastro pHix - Foregut Health

Listen to the entire episode wherever you consume your podcasts!

bluebonnetfeeds.com

03/05/2024

Turn your damn horses out.

Solitary confinement is used as punishment for humans, yet stabled horses are described as "living like kings".

Horses don't want to live like kings, they want to live like horses; horses run, play, roll, doze in the sun, mutually groom, fall over, get kicked, get bitten- it's just how herd life works and they need that entire spectrum to be functional individuals.

Maybe you have a horse who doesn't like his pasture time. I can assure you that your horse likes time outside. What he doesn't like is lack of shelter, lack of company/incompatible company, lack of hay/grass/forage and whatever else is it that the average pasture tends to lack.

Another argument is "my horse has all that and he's still waiting to come in every evening!", chances are that you feed your horse in his stable and he therefore has a positive association with it. What if you fed your horse in the stable then instead of bolting the door, left it open all night? Would he still be in there by morning, content to stare at the walls for 12+ hours, or would he be raiding the feed bins or going around saying hello to his neighbours?

Everyone is doing their best and the reality is that the majority of horse owners are bound by the rules of yard owners, so 24/7 turnout in herds is not always possible. However, let's stop pretending that the main reason we lock horses up for half their lives is because they like it. No being on this earth likes being locked up with no choice about when to come or go, so why would horses? Sure, all horses are different but all horses are horses!

Here's some of our mare herd letting off some steam with Spring living up to her name!🤠

12/29/2023

12/16/2023

Baby it’s cold outside! ❄️⛄️

Many people think of donkeys as hardy, low-maintenance “small horses.” However, while they have similarities, donkeys are a completely different species and as such have a different physical, mental, and emotional make-up.

As the weather gets colder, it’s important to remember that donkeys are more sensitive to changes in temperature than their equine friends. They don’t grow a winter coat like horses and their hair is less waterproof, so they require shelter from the elements (like a run-in shed or a waterproof blanket). Being stoic animals, they also won’t show signs of discomfort and hypothermia until they are very sick.

Remember that every animal is different depending on age, breed, and other health conditions, so be sure with your primary veterinarian to address any concerns or questions!
•
Brough to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

12/11/2023

Long and Slow.

I am looking for it. I think we lost it. I think we lost Long & Slow somewhere. Somewhere on our desire to achieve, be seen, and have what we want from horses, now. We lost Long & Slow.

I love Long & Slow as a principal and you could too, because the benefits of its application are wide ranging.

Unsound hooves? Condition them with adequate protection, over variable footing, on long and slow walking.

Weak muscles? Condition them with long and slow distances and long and slow postural adjustments

Unbalanced emotional expression? Bathe it in the balm of Long & Slow and watch patience, space for thought, processing and regulation unwind a mind twisted by worry or rage.

Less than desirable behaviour? Seek to change it with a long application of regular slow work introducing alternate skills or improved responses.

Health emergency? Once the horses immediate needs are under control, recovery is best done long and slow.

Moved homes? Come back into work long and slow and be confident that your horse is not carrying any confusion forwards to the future.

Arena sour horse? Show them that not all training is harsh and demanding and Long & Slow rides can be valuable too.

Bored horse? Instead of feeding their attention deficit by chasing their scatter brain with endless barrage of attention grabbing Must-Do's, gently show them that their brain and body can stretch into a long format of thought, that they have time to respond, think and even, down time during training. Watch them become fascinated by small and simple things too.
..

Can't forgive yourself for what you did to horses in the past? Give yourself the grace to work through it Long & Slow. There is nothing wrong with you that needed to be different yesterday. Give yourself the grace to allow forgiveness for your past to be a slow and comprehensive roll out of new habits and knowledge. That replaces guilt with acceptance and responsibility

Feel stuck in training? Go Long & Slow. Be it on a trail or in the arena, I know no horse or rider that weren't able to come to a conclusion that benefitted everyone by finding value in Long & Slow work where the reinforcement was gradual and the outcomes well considered.

In a world that pushes us to rapidly escalate, dare to be something old fashioned. Maybe it is my 19th century soul, or maybe I have been in Spain too long and am now fully adopting a manaña attitude to everything. But I find tremendous value, peace and confidence in working with horses, and myself, Long & Slow.

12/08/2023