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| Caroline and Forrest |
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| Forrest |
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| Forrest |
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| Franklin County Sherriff' Mounted Patrol Unit Demo |
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| Dr Naomi Chlero, Teresa Burke, and Prada |
Aug 17, 2015
A Busy Few Weeks...
Other than turning everyone out, cleaning stalls, bringing 'em all back in I got a chance to attend theDelaware County, Ohio Horseman's Council Open House with lots of great demos on horse and rider safety. I even got a chance to ride a little bit along with Caroline, who is helping me at the barn, and do a little much needed groundwork with Lexi. What I have found is that she knows all the Clinton Anderson Groundwork Fundamentals as I ran a little test the other day. Of course, she passed with flying colors just to placate me. My goal for her is of course, consistancy and having more confidence around scary objects. Anyway, here's a few photos from the last two weeks....
Jul 29, 2015
I'm not a REAL botanist; I just play one on Blogger
For the past few months I've been taking photos of plants toxic to horses. Here's a good, informative site for plant identification including some details on toxicity. Ohio Biennial and Perenial Weed Guide . I'm just going to use common names for ease of posting. Most horses and livestock will avoid these plants, but young or curious stock may sample, plants could be ingested if other non-toxic forage is not available, they could be baled in hay, or certain hebacides if not applied correctly may make the plants more palitable and increasing nitrate levels in all dying plants, not just the toxic ones.
I want to note that many herbicides that are labled safe for livestock 24 hours to even hours after treating may contain a somwhat fine print precaution about making deadly plants more palatable, and over time, livestock can build up toxicity of the herbacide itself. For the goods on that visit these sites: EPA publication , Penn State argricultural extention , and Merck Vet manual pet health--herbicide poisoning
So, for now, heres a few photos to start, with more to come in other posts. Below is Poison Hemlock, one of the deadliest, like water hemlock, it grows in moist areas and can become quite tall. Where I photographed this, there were stands at least 6ft tall and 2 to three feet thick, growing along a creek bed. Early growth looks like a lovely low growing fern-like plant So don't go transplanting it to your garden! All parts of the plant are most toxic during early spring and can cause immediate death. If baled in hay, it can lose some potency, but depending on volume baled and eaten can also cause poisoning, possibly fatal.
I want to note that many herbicides that are labled safe for livestock 24 hours to even hours after treating may contain a somwhat fine print precaution about making deadly plants more palatable, and over time, livestock can build up toxicity of the herbacide itself. For the goods on that visit these sites: EPA publication , Penn State argricultural extention , and Merck Vet manual pet health--herbicide poisoning
So, for now, heres a few photos to start, with more to come in other posts. Below is Poison Hemlock, one of the deadliest, like water hemlock, it grows in moist areas and can become quite tall. Where I photographed this, there were stands at least 6ft tall and 2 to three feet thick, growing along a creek bed. Early growth looks like a lovely low growing fern-like plant So don't go transplanting it to your garden! All parts of the plant are most toxic during early spring and can cause immediate death. If baled in hay, it can lose some potency, but depending on volume baled and eaten can also cause poisoning, possibly fatal.
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| Poison Hemlock |
Another common one: Horse Nettle, one of the various nightshades. Below is an excerpt from Equus mag... how toxic is this weed?
"Horse nettle, like many plants in the nightshade family, contains solanine, a glycoalkaloid that irritates the oral and gastric mucosa and affects the autonomic nervous system, which controls various internal organs. The glycoalkaloids act on the digestive system to cause excessive salivation, colic and diarrhea or constipation. These signs may be followed by depression, weakness, depressed respiration, dilated pupils, collapse and death if horse nettle is eaten in large amounts. - See more at: http://equusmagazine.com/article/how-toxic-is-this-weed#sthash.vwvc6xHm.dpuf "
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| Horse Nettle |
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| Horse Nettle flower |
Jul 23, 2015
Evening Ride Selfie
Here's a selfie of Forrest after one of our evening rides. Did I mention his barn name is Forrest Gump?
R. I. P. Willie
It was a beautiful, yet sad day yesterday as an old campaigner from another barn was helped over to the Rainbow bridge. It is always a hard thing to watch these regal creatures go down and breathe their last breath, but much harder to see the sadness and grief of their owners when they must do the unselfish thing and let them go.
R. I. P. Willie, it was a loving gift, your trek to the rainbow bridge, as it was paved with a bounty of friends, of family, and the sweet taste of clover as you crossed to the other side.
R. I. P. Willie, it was a loving gift, your trek to the rainbow bridge, as it was paved with a bounty of friends, of family, and the sweet taste of clover as you crossed to the other side.
May 6, 2015
Livin' the Dream, Livin' the Dream...
My last post was 2012! The last three years have been spent operating and managing my own barn, It has been my second home--well, it's practically a main residence 'cause I'm there so much. There is always so much to do to stay on top of things because, well, this is Ohio; the weather likes to throw a few kinks in your well laid plans. Right now there are six horses to care for and the sad part is that five of them are mine! At least for the moment I have five. I don't know how that happened but it did, which is why my last post was 2012. For ease of posting, I set up a Facebook page so stop on by
KSTequestrian Services and take a look if your curious about what's keeping me off of blogger for so long.
KSTequestrian Services and take a look if your curious about what's keeping me off of blogger for so long.
Apr 23, 2012
Star's Saga
Star, a difficult loader, recently suffered yet another bad
experience in an attempt to be loaded onto a trailer by a handler
working alone (both were injured in the process, the handler with a
concussion and lacerated finger). A day after the incident, the
assistance of a vet was called to tranquilize him and after 5 doses, a
vet and her assistants were also unable to get him loaded. Not only
would he not get on, or at this point, get anywhere near the trailer
without a fight, he's learned he can rear, strike, buck and haul back
when asked to do something he doesn't want to do. To sum it up Star
needs desensitizing to the trailer to overcome his fear before success
with training to load and actual loading can be achieved.
So, the following, which only took a few short sessions over a period of three days,( many thanks to Parelli, Anderson, Tom Dorrance and Ray hunt for the tools and knowledge) is how i approached Stars problem with people and trailers.
We parked the trailer in the arena. I did groundwork exercises away from the trailer and when he was ready, let him rest near the trailer. His owner and I set his am and pm grain on the trailer, sometimes standing with him, sometimes leaving him alone. He was more apt to relax and eat when no humans were around.
After a few sessions of doing groundwork to get his attention and his respect, and letting him understand that the trailer was where I'd let him catch his breath, It wasn't long before he'd take me to the trailer when he wanted to rest. I stood on the trailer and he was comfortable to stand quietly with his head and neck in the trailer. Before he even thought of leaving I would back him off and put him to work, then repeat., He got the idea very quickly that backing away was not going to take him where he wanted to be. By this time i was able to move and jiggle things on the trailer, myself included, and desensitized him to pressure from behind with the stick and string. Even with dogs barking, cats running around, heavy equipment with air brakes coming up and down the drive, he eventually was willing to stand quietly with a relaxed attitude and ignore distractions. At no time did i pull him to try to get him on the trailer as these sessions were focused on getting a relaxed response rather than a fearful response when a human interacted with him at the trailer. Their were times when he got cranky, and disrespectful, but were short lived. At no time did i get mean, yell or frustrated with his behavior, I simply redirected the behavior, moved his feet, smiled and gave lots of praise and encouragement when he got the answer right. All in all, we were just playing a game with a goal in mind and having fun.
Since we were expecting a professional handler who used natural methods, to finish the job and get him loaded, my sessions were done at this point. The owner continued to feed him on the trailer, but I told her not to do any work around the trailer and to only lunge him away from it, as if this person showed up, we didn't want to do anything inconsistent or interfere with his methods to get Star to load.
To find out what happened next and the outcome, read the note titled "Good Boy, Star"
So, the following, which only took a few short sessions over a period of three days,( many thanks to Parelli, Anderson, Tom Dorrance and Ray hunt for the tools and knowledge) is how i approached Stars problem with people and trailers.
We parked the trailer in the arena. I did groundwork exercises away from the trailer and when he was ready, let him rest near the trailer. His owner and I set his am and pm grain on the trailer, sometimes standing with him, sometimes leaving him alone. He was more apt to relax and eat when no humans were around.
After a few sessions of doing groundwork to get his attention and his respect, and letting him understand that the trailer was where I'd let him catch his breath, It wasn't long before he'd take me to the trailer when he wanted to rest. I stood on the trailer and he was comfortable to stand quietly with his head and neck in the trailer. Before he even thought of leaving I would back him off and put him to work, then repeat., He got the idea very quickly that backing away was not going to take him where he wanted to be. By this time i was able to move and jiggle things on the trailer, myself included, and desensitized him to pressure from behind with the stick and string. Even with dogs barking, cats running around, heavy equipment with air brakes coming up and down the drive, he eventually was willing to stand quietly with a relaxed attitude and ignore distractions. At no time did i pull him to try to get him on the trailer as these sessions were focused on getting a relaxed response rather than a fearful response when a human interacted with him at the trailer. Their were times when he got cranky, and disrespectful, but were short lived. At no time did i get mean, yell or frustrated with his behavior, I simply redirected the behavior, moved his feet, smiled and gave lots of praise and encouragement when he got the answer right. All in all, we were just playing a game with a goal in mind and having fun.
Since we were expecting a professional handler who used natural methods, to finish the job and get him loaded, my sessions were done at this point. The owner continued to feed him on the trailer, but I told her not to do any work around the trailer and to only lunge him away from it, as if this person showed up, we didn't want to do anything inconsistent or interfere with his methods to get Star to load.
To find out what happened next and the outcome, read the note titled "Good Boy, Star"
Good Boy, Star!
Ok, well, the trainer
never got in touch with the owner, but she did arrange with another to
bring a trailer today to see if he could get him loaded. I had not
worked with Star for the last week but went today to help my friend and
review some groundwork to prep him for the load.
To coin Clinton Anderson, the horse doesn't really have issues with the trailer, he has general handling issues due to lack of respect that just happens to show up at the trailer. The baggage Star brings to the trailer is not being properly trained to stand tied (yield to pressure), hauling back and backing away, rearing and bucking to scare the handler when he doesn't want to do something or is challenged to push further, fear of whips, ignoring handlers requests to whoa, changing gait and direction whenever he wants to, pushing into handler's space, or pushing past handlers through narrow spaces.
The focus is to get star to use the thinking side of his brain, rather than the reactive side, and me being consistent in what im asking and being particular at the right time and for the horse to ask, "how can i get them to stop so i can get my air back?" Bribing or rewarding with treats is counter productive in this case and also one must be careful to not inadvertently reward undesirable behavior by not being aware of your body language and actions. Horses are great people trainers!
Here's the rundown of exercises I did with Star that would also help him with handling and respect issues in general if kept up on a consistent basis:
Liberty work- direct which direction I want him to go, turn and face me on whoa giving me both his eyes, not just one. Make transitions, walk trot walk, don't change gait or direction unless I ask. Stop, back up, come to me, join up.
Online - lunge in circles around me while I remain in neutral position keeping my feet still and without him changing gait or direction. When that's good, get him to slow to a walk on the circle by bending and looking at his hindquarters. Speed up with minimal cueing- point and look at the direction i want him to go. (circle game, and "dont make me pick up the stick")
Stop and face me, change direction. Turn on the haunches right and left at the walk and trot. (lunging for respect stage 2)
Touch it game-- also online, using driving and porcupine game to yield to pressure and desensitize to stick and string.
Find object /target and direct him toward it with the stick to block and guide his body in the direction I want. I focus my vision on the object and drive him to it using pressure from my body position or stick, not necessarily touching him unless redirecting.
If he backs away from object, i use gentle pressure with the stick moving the air or touching him behind with it to encourage him forward to the object. when he touches it with his nose, I rub his hindquarters with the stick and praise then we go to the next object. This helps desensitize his fear of driving pressure of a whip or person behind him.This exercise helps with trailer loading, where backing up is not the answer, but touching an object like a trailer or on the trailer is.This driving game also gives him a purpose, a goal, and somewhere to go and helps him to use the thinking side of his brain.
Yield to pressure at the poll- teach him to lower his head when asked or when feeling pressure at the poll. This helps with tying, leading, etc. Also teaches them not to panic when feeling pressure from the halter or being tied. When they learn to give, they learn that they can reward themselves by lowering their head or standing still to get the release. Star needs lots of work at this as well as suppling exercises from side to side.
All this took an hour or so and star was doing wonderful. I would have liked to end the session by looping the rope around the pipe gate and letting him stand as a reward. The trailer showed up so that was the end of our session. I left as there were many bystanders by this time and one was ready with treats. I left hoping for the best. Yes, star did load and didn't seem to take that long as he was at the new barn, relaxed and happy as a clam when I got there.
I have to say that I've worked with Star in the past, and even loaded him in 20 30 minutes using same techniques, exercises--well he actually loaded himself, so it helps that what ive been doing with him is review and we've had a relationship based on trust and respect. He still needs consistent work with a focused handler to really get him reliably loaded onto a trailer anytime anywhere.
To coin Clinton Anderson, the horse doesn't really have issues with the trailer, he has general handling issues due to lack of respect that just happens to show up at the trailer. The baggage Star brings to the trailer is not being properly trained to stand tied (yield to pressure), hauling back and backing away, rearing and bucking to scare the handler when he doesn't want to do something or is challenged to push further, fear of whips, ignoring handlers requests to whoa, changing gait and direction whenever he wants to, pushing into handler's space, or pushing past handlers through narrow spaces.
The focus is to get star to use the thinking side of his brain, rather than the reactive side, and me being consistent in what im asking and being particular at the right time and for the horse to ask, "how can i get them to stop so i can get my air back?" Bribing or rewarding with treats is counter productive in this case and also one must be careful to not inadvertently reward undesirable behavior by not being aware of your body language and actions. Horses are great people trainers!
Here's the rundown of exercises I did with Star that would also help him with handling and respect issues in general if kept up on a consistent basis:
Liberty work- direct which direction I want him to go, turn and face me on whoa giving me both his eyes, not just one. Make transitions, walk trot walk, don't change gait or direction unless I ask. Stop, back up, come to me, join up.
Online - lunge in circles around me while I remain in neutral position keeping my feet still and without him changing gait or direction. When that's good, get him to slow to a walk on the circle by bending and looking at his hindquarters. Speed up with minimal cueing- point and look at the direction i want him to go. (circle game, and "dont make me pick up the stick")
Stop and face me, change direction. Turn on the haunches right and left at the walk and trot. (lunging for respect stage 2)
Touch it game-- also online, using driving and porcupine game to yield to pressure and desensitize to stick and string.
Find object /target and direct him toward it with the stick to block and guide his body in the direction I want. I focus my vision on the object and drive him to it using pressure from my body position or stick, not necessarily touching him unless redirecting.
If he backs away from object, i use gentle pressure with the stick moving the air or touching him behind with it to encourage him forward to the object. when he touches it with his nose, I rub his hindquarters with the stick and praise then we go to the next object. This helps desensitize his fear of driving pressure of a whip or person behind him.This exercise helps with trailer loading, where backing up is not the answer, but touching an object like a trailer or on the trailer is.This driving game also gives him a purpose, a goal, and somewhere to go and helps him to use the thinking side of his brain.
Yield to pressure at the poll- teach him to lower his head when asked or when feeling pressure at the poll. This helps with tying, leading, etc. Also teaches them not to panic when feeling pressure from the halter or being tied. When they learn to give, they learn that they can reward themselves by lowering their head or standing still to get the release. Star needs lots of work at this as well as suppling exercises from side to side.
All this took an hour or so and star was doing wonderful. I would have liked to end the session by looping the rope around the pipe gate and letting him stand as a reward. The trailer showed up so that was the end of our session. I left as there were many bystanders by this time and one was ready with treats. I left hoping for the best. Yes, star did load and didn't seem to take that long as he was at the new barn, relaxed and happy as a clam when I got there.
I have to say that I've worked with Star in the past, and even loaded him in 20 30 minutes using same techniques, exercises--well he actually loaded himself, so it helps that what ive been doing with him is review and we've had a relationship based on trust and respect. He still needs consistent work with a focused handler to really get him reliably loaded onto a trailer anytime anywhere.
Feb 14, 2012
Oct 4, 2011
Settling In
This summer's been spent moving the three horses to new (and old ) digs. Before moving in August to a barn I've boarded at off and on through the years, I took a tumble off my horse Lady. We'd just finished a very nice ride too. My mistake was feeling over confident and not physically up to the task of mounting from the off-side after already dismounting from the offside without incident. This time the saddle slipped and well, my failure to properly desensitize her, or at least test her memory of being desensitized, got me bucked off while I tried to throw my leg over. I remember seeing her butt in the air and thinking, 'oh no! How am I gonna one-rein-stop this?' I hit the ground reeeely hard, with an an audible crack in the vicinity of my rear end,( which was actually the cell phone in my back pocket, and it still works! my butt...not so much.) Soon after, came an electrifying pain similar to what I imagine it feels like to be disemboweled. It's taken me ( as I'd predicted) about six weeks to even feel ready to try riding again, and that's only at the walk, and on my old, reliable yet arthritic senior horse, Wyatt. See Wyatt? it's just like I was always telling you, "Come on Wyatt, cheer up, someday it's gonna hurt me a lot more than it hurts you.''
Currently, I've buddied up with two friends and we're back at our old barn trying to run a co-op deal. I was the first to move and try and settle in, with lots of cleaning up and organizing to do despite pain and discomfort. For a while it seemed a ghost town til my friends got their horses moved. Many of the stalls had flooded, and still do on account of the rainiest September we've had in years. To top that off, the water hydrant has a leak, and we have no charger for the fence, which itself is in disrepair. We have some challenges and have to work with what we have, but it sure is nice setting things up the way we like it and having some control over our own horses. I live 5 minutes away now and it's the next best thing to having them in my backyard. We have an attached indoor arena which will comes in real handy for long winters. Last winter was the pits, trying to get them to the arena for exercise when the paddocks and fields were closed.
This month's big activity, besides the fencing, is attending the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As a spectator I plan on taking full advantage of it this year, even though I'm pretty busy with all the additional barn chores.
Currently, I've buddied up with two friends and we're back at our old barn trying to run a co-op deal. I was the first to move and try and settle in, with lots of cleaning up and organizing to do despite pain and discomfort. For a while it seemed a ghost town til my friends got their horses moved. Many of the stalls had flooded, and still do on account of the rainiest September we've had in years. To top that off, the water hydrant has a leak, and we have no charger for the fence, which itself is in disrepair. We have some challenges and have to work with what we have, but it sure is nice setting things up the way we like it and having some control over our own horses. I live 5 minutes away now and it's the next best thing to having them in my backyard. We have an attached indoor arena which will comes in real handy for long winters. Last winter was the pits, trying to get them to the arena for exercise when the paddocks and fields were closed.
This month's big activity, besides the fencing, is attending the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As a spectator I plan on taking full advantage of it this year, even though I'm pretty busy with all the additional barn chores.
Jun 13, 2011
May 18, 2011
Mar 22, 2011
On Horses and Autism – America’s Horse Daily
On Horses and Autism – America’s Horse Daily
Great Stuff on horse behavior and training by Temple Grandin
Great Stuff on horse behavior and training by Temple Grandin
Mar 17, 2011
forrest taken to arena
This one's pretty funny. Trying to film forrest being bad, but it's the humans having a problem. well, I have 3 horses, so I've been shovin' this freak'n door open and closed-- 6 times a day-- just about all winter and now into spring. We're not allowed to put our horses out. It's either this or hand-grazing. I do both. And why is it I never ride?
Mar 13, 2011
Buckeye Performance Center
Mar 5, 2011
Alfalfa Horse Feeding Facts
Alfalfa Horse Feeding Facts
The use of Alfalfa has come up again at the barn. The above is from an alfalfa grower so of course they have an interest in dispelling myths--and alfalfa does get a bad rap, but most of this is from user error.
This article however doesn't mention that by feeding less because of it's nature, your horse may not get its forage/roughage requirements, especially for stallbound horses, nor does it mention throwing the calcium phospherous ratio out of balance and it's consequences, or a higher incidence of enteroliths in horses in the southwestern regions, yet, with proper use it can be a very beneficial addition to a horses feed program. Recent research has suggested that the higher calcium content may help neutralize acid and benefit horses with ulcers.
Around here, alfalfa and alfalfa mix hay can be pricey so it doesn't always make economic sense to use it as a main forage ration, especially when considering feeding pure alfalfa, your horse will pee out all that excess protein you think he's getting, and during winter months when water intake can be an issue, he won't be able to flush out all the excess material. All in all, it's not the demon it's purported to be as long as the user understands its impact on equine health and nutrition and how to compensate for it's use.
The use of Alfalfa has come up again at the barn. The above is from an alfalfa grower so of course they have an interest in dispelling myths--and alfalfa does get a bad rap, but most of this is from user error.
This article however doesn't mention that by feeding less because of it's nature, your horse may not get its forage/roughage requirements, especially for stallbound horses, nor does it mention throwing the calcium phospherous ratio out of balance and it's consequences, or a higher incidence of enteroliths in horses in the southwestern regions, yet, with proper use it can be a very beneficial addition to a horses feed program. Recent research has suggested that the higher calcium content may help neutralize acid and benefit horses with ulcers.
Around here, alfalfa and alfalfa mix hay can be pricey so it doesn't always make economic sense to use it as a main forage ration, especially when considering feeding pure alfalfa, your horse will pee out all that excess protein you think he's getting, and during winter months when water intake can be an issue, he won't be able to flush out all the excess material. All in all, it's not the demon it's purported to be as long as the user understands its impact on equine health and nutrition and how to compensate for it's use.
Feb 26, 2011
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Horses are Glamorous
T oday was a beautiful day in horseworld. The temps were in the high 70's, low humidity, bright blue skies and billowy, white clouds, no...
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T oday was a beautiful day in horseworld. The temps were in the high 70's, low humidity, bright blue skies and billowy, white clouds, no... -
I hear this oft used phrase many times throughout my day, often being issued from the lips of farmers, ranchers, trainers, co-workers, all ... -
Ok. We finally made the move in August. Much closer to home and nice places to ride around the property, which makes Wyatt and I both happy....