Environmentally friendly practices to make your horses healthier and the environment cleaner.

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There’s a lot of buzz about “going green” these days.

From installing energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs to carrying reusable grocery bags, we’ve made steps in our households toward impacting the environment less and improving the global climate.

Managing horses is generally not forgiving to the environment (visualize brownish streams coming down the hillside from the manure pile in the rain, and fly-spray chemicals running down the wash-stall drain).

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Your first showing wardrobe should revolve around the most versatile color.

Black chaps and hat give you lots of options.

No woman’s closet is complete without the essential black cocktail dress. It’s easy to accessorize, matches everything and is appropriate for any occasion.

Think of that cocktail dress when shopping for your first horse show ensemble, say Kay Mortensen and Penny Young, owners of Showtime Show Clothing in Purcell, Oklahoma. The core of the outfit should match anything you throw on top of it.

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Hobbling is a good way to get your horse to accept restraint.

By horse trainer Mehl Lawson

On the ranch, when cowboys need to dismount and leave their horses for a while, they hobble their mounts. Hobbling is a practical, handy piece of training that any horse can benefit from.

Hobbling is a good mental tonic for a horse – it teaches him to accept confinement and control, and not panic with things around his feet. In the process of going through being hobble-broke, a horse gets to where he accepts being roped and having his feet picked up with a rope. He learns to accept restraint of any type and finds out it isn’t going to hurt him.

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Some helpful tips from AAEP for keeping your expectant mare healthy.

Keep your pregnant mare healthy.

According to our friends at the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the average length of pregnancy in the mare is 338 to 343 days. However, normal gestation can range from 320 to 380 days.

You needn’t become overly concerned if your mare is past due. Prolonged gestation is not generally associated with problems or extra large foals unless the mare is grazing endophyte-infected fescue grass.

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Horse trainer Martin Black responds to a head position question.

When horse trainer Martin Black wrote about horses’ head position, a reader submitted a question about her specific situation.

Now, Martin responds:

Question:

I’m 38 and have a 4-year old filly with a pretty rough trot. She has a nice headset at a walk and lope, but her head comes up for the trot. Bear in mind that while I had horses for several years growing up, I had no lessons or opportunity to learn from other horse people, so while I can stay on a horse pretty good, the more I learn about horses and riding, the more I realize that I am really a novice and in need of lessons.

My friend has been helping me some with the training of my filly, and she has used draw reins on her with some improvement. She thinks the filly just needs to learn collection. I don’t want to ignore any possible health issues or the fault being my riding. She gets seen by the vet a couple of times a year, and he keeps a good check on her teeth, so if you could point me in any other directions, I would appreciate the advice so we can get to a more comfortable ride for both of us.

Rachel Smith

Answer:

For me to see the whole picture, I would obviously need to watch you ride your horse and try to see what I believe might be the horse’s perspective on the matter. Saying that, and with some points that you made, all I can do is give you my best guess. Read the rest of this entry »

When you need someone to lean on, sometimes two legs are better than four.

Holly Clanahan

Almost exactly a month ago, I went through what I wish no horse owner ever had to – I had to have two of my horses put down. The elderly mares, known collectively as “the grandmas,” left behind a huge void. They both had been part of my family since the 1980s, and there are some great stories there, but I can’t tell them just yet. It’s too soon, too raw. But here’s what I can write about, most thankfully – the horsey friends who helped me through it.

Last week, the mail brought a fat envelope from a friend of mine near Amarillo. I assumed it was some sort of Christmas something, and I filed away a mental note that my Christmas cards are, as usual, going to be late if I don’t get them done soon. But opening the envelope, I saw instead a handwritten note and a bundle of tissue paper. “Here is a little token to honor your ‘grandma’ horses,” the note read. Read the rest of this entry »

How to avoid the New Year’s changes hitting your pocketbook.

AQHA Customer Service Rep Kayla Randall

Ways to keep your horses and barn safe this winter.

Keep your barn - and everything in it - safe.

Barn fires recently wrought havoc on barns in Maine and Minnesota, bringing devastation and sadness.

In Windham, Maine, a fire broke out at 5 a.m. December 10 in a barn at Spruce Hill Farm, killing eight show horses inside. The horses made up 75 percent of Maine’s 2008 All American Quarter Horse Congress youth team. The Maine youth team members lost their tack, as well. If you’d like to donate saddles, bridles, blankets, bits, bell boots, etc., e-mail Jill Noyes.

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Safely open and close gates from horseback.

By Cherry Hill, www.horsekeeping.com

Whether you ride in an arena or in pastures or on trails, it is helpful to know how to open and close a gate safely from horseback. It is not only handy but it can also be the basis for introducing and using a good number of individual maneuvers. If you have a plan in mind before you approach a gate, things will go more easily. Before you try to ride a horse though a gate, be sure he has good manners as you lead him through a gate from the ground. Read the rest of this entry »

The Van Norman Ranch remuda is one of the best.

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An excerpt from “Best Remudas,”  by Jim Jennings

The Van Normans ranch in the Great Basin area of the Northwest. They are horseback every day, and their remuda is one of the best. Read the rest of this entry »

Highlights from the reining and cutting futurities.

Tim McQuay and Shining N Sassy

By Tonya Ratliff-Garrison

First-time champions as well as long-awaited winners highlighted two of the industry’s biggest 3-year-old futurities this month.

It has been 20 years since his last, but on December 6, AQHA Professional Horseman Tim McQuay finally added a second National Reining Horse Association Futurity open championship to his resume.

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With just a little help from us, our horses do fine in winter weather.

Holly Clanahan

As was mentioned previously, I’m not a big fan of cold weather. And sorry, fair warning … it’ll probably be mentioned again. Really not a fan. But my horses, however, don’t seem to mind the chill.

I was talking recently to a friend in Wyoming, where she said the temperature was -8. It made me cold just hearing it - and it made our weather, in the teens and 20s, sound perfectly balmy. But her horses are getting along fine, too.

A few years ago, I did a story in America’s Horse magazine on winter horse care. Cherry Hill, a horsewoman and author in Colorado, offered some great tips - many of which I have put to use with my own horses. Here are a few:

• To help horses maintain body heat, feed more hay, not grain. The digestion of hay is what warms them.

• Older horses may need more help. I have a 30-something mare who is hard to keep weight on, and she got a fabulous new pink blanket this year. It’s cute, and, more importantly, it keeps her from having to expend precious calories staying warm.

• Water is of critical importance. Not everyone has heated automatic waterers (oh, I wish!), but Cherry had a great idea: Simply draw fresh water for the horses daily. They’ll drink more if it’s freshly drawn, rather than if they have to drink from an icy tank.

A few icicles in the whiskers aren't bothering Zen, my 2-year-old Quarter Horse mare.

• Know your horses’ normal routine. If they typically drink after they’re done with their hay, draw the water then. That way, you know it won’t freeze before they’re ready for it.

• And finally, some tips I’ve learned from a friend in Minnesota on dressing for the subfreezing weather: Mittens are warmer than gloves because they keep your fingers together. They’re fine for feeding, where you don’t necessarily need fine motor skills. You can also wear a pair of thin gloves underneath, so if you do have to remove the mittens to unlatch a gate, for instance, you’ll still have some protection.

• Don’t forget the head protection. Most of your body heat escapes from your head, so forget about hat hair (you can always stick a ball cap on later), and just wear that stocking cap while you feed.

Happy riding, and stay warm!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss the fun, educational and heart-warming stories in the print version of America’s Horse! It goes to all members of the American Quarter Horse Association, and it’ll also keep you in the loop on Association news. We want you to belong!