During the 2009 Ford AQHYA World Championship Show, Showtime Show Clothing is offering youth a unique opportunity to design their own show clothes and perhaps even win a one-of-a-kind outfit.

Penny Young of Showtime Show Clothing displays the t-shirt that will be given to any youth that enters her design contest. (Journal photo)

The design contest is the brain child of co-owner Penny Young.

“I was drawing designs one day and was thinking about kids and what turns them on,” Penny said. “I thought it would be fun to have some sort of contest and came up with a design contest. I thought it might be right up their alley and they could win a big grand prize.”

That grand prize is an entire outfit made from the winning drawing. There will also be many more prizes, and each entrant will receive a free t-shirt that says “I Read the rest of this entry »

What stallion owners and cooled semen users should know.

By Dr. Thomas Lenz, from The American Quarter Horse Journal

Stallion owners who ship cooled semen have a certain amount of responsibility to their clients. The most important responsibility is to provide mare owners with quality semen that survives the cooling and transportation process and arrives on time.

Most stallions produce semen that remains viable for extended periods of time after being cooled and shipped. However, some stallions’ semen does not survive the cooling process, so it is important that, prior to breeding season, the stallion’s semen be evaluated for sperm concentration and motility. Read the rest of this entry »

Ulcers can be a serious problem in competition horses.

While veterinarians are not certain what exactly causes ulcers, a high-concentrate diet and increased stall confinement may be partially to blame.

Many of today’s competition horses are affected by gastric ulcers. In fact, according to recent studies, equine gastric ulcer syndrome affects 93 percent of racehorses and more than 60 percent of performance horses.

Symptoms of ulcers include:

• Loss of appetite
• Decrease in performance
• Poor body condition
• Poor hair coat quality
• “Sour” attitude, or depression
• Overall discomfort

Many people try to treat ulcers with home remedies or nonmedical treatment. Unfortunately, the only currently known treatments for ulcers are prescription medications.

What causes ulcers in horses is a hotly debated topic among veterinarians and horse owners. While it is understood that ulcers are caused by an increase in acid exposure, scientists are unsure what causes the increase in the quantities of acid. Possible causes include stall confinement, stress resulting from hauling and performance, feed deprivation and a high-concentrate-feed diet. Read the rest of this entry »

Ranch sorting grows in popularity among American Quarter Horse owners.

From America’s Horse

Three Bars (TB) excelled in arena events like ranch sorting.

Two riders, two horses, two pens, 12 head of cattle — and only 60 seconds to work. Sound like fun?

A relatively new team class — ranch sorting — became an AQHA class as of January 1, 2007, with points awarded and qualification possible to the World shows. The class is offered in the open, amateur and youth divisions.

Ranch sorting begins with 12 head of cattle shuttled into two round pens connected by a narrow entrance. Ten of the cattle are wearing numbers 0 through 9, and two of the cattle are unmarked.

The two riders enter the pen without cattle in it and are given a number by the announcer. From the second they enter the pen with cattle in it, the two riders have just 59 more seconds to work. Read the rest of this entry »

How and when to complete an AQHA authorization form.

In my last post, AQHA Memberships Defined, I touched on the necessity of authorization. Authorization from a member lets AQHA know who can sign documents or change addresses and other personal information. If a membership is in the name of a farm, ranch, family, partnership or business — basically any time an individual’s name is not listed in the membership — authorization is required for any business to be completed by AQHA. Think of it like your credit card. You are the only one who can call your credit card company and ask questions pertaining to your account, unless you add an authorized user.

AQHA has created a form called an authorization form. It’s required to list an authorized signatory on a membership. It is a blanket form and can be used for all types of membership. Read the rest of this entry »

This company had a choice — to save American jobs.

This comfort-stretch cinch is among the long list of Professional's Choice products that will be manufactured in southern California.

It was fun to watch the posts today on Twitter from @ProfChoice — the best one being “They’re here!!!”

“They” were a CNN news crew, working on a segment for Lou Dobbs that will air tonight (July 28) at 7 p.m. Eastern. And @ProfChoice is the Twitter alias for AQHA Corporate Partner Professional’s Choice. The two came together when Dal Scott, owner and founder of Professional’s Choice, moved a substantial portion of his manufacturing business back to southern California, saving at least 20 American jobs.

Production had originally been sent to China in an effort to decrease internal costs and pass along savings to customers. However, when Dal realized overseas production was putting American jobs in jeopardy, he knew changes had to be made.

“Most family-oriented businesses look at their staff and their employees as part of their family,” he said. Forty-two percent of his workforce has been with Professional’s Choice for more than 10 years. And five staff members have been there for more than 20 years.

So he gave a mandate to general manager Monty Crist: Find a way to keep prices stable without cutting any American jobs. The solution was to purchase, at considerable expense, computerized sewing machines that would end up saving money in the long run by speeding up production. The jobs would be saved, and retail prices wouldn’t be increased.

Dal was a little surprised that the move won him attention from CNN.

“I certainly don’t consider ourselves heros just because we’re doing what we should do,” he said. (I’d bet the 20 people whose jobs were saved would say otherwise!) ”Loyalty is a two-way street,” Dal continued, whether you’re talking about employees, customers or even partners like AQHA, which Professional’s Choice has supported for about a dozen years.

Dal hopes the exposure on CNN might inspire other business owners to take similar measures. If others joined him in thinking “How can I help keep my people working?” he says, “there could be a terrific dent in this recession.”

And maybe, some imaginative thinking is just what it’ll take to turn this economy around.

“There are always good things about tough times,” Dal says. “When you’re in a down economy, it forces you to take a closer look at what you’re doing. It forced us to look inward.”

So, as his manufacturing facilities are being modernized and streamlined, his products are getting a great made-in-the-USA quality control.

The comfort-stretch cinch is one of the products being manufactured in southern California, and “it just makes sense to make that here and make sure there are no flaws. It’s very important to the safety of the rider,” Dal says. “We are completely and totally in control of the quality of that product, from start to finish.”

Not that that’s the only benefit. Warehouse and production manager Leah Horstman says, “Not only is it easier to monitor quality control when products are produced here, but we have an amazing group of people that work for us. In these trying times, it felt so good to be the bearer of great news. Dal has a wonderful heart and truly cares about his people.”

Dal and company … hats off to you guys! I’ve got my DVR set to catch your show on CNN tonight!

Happy riding!
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!

Teach your horse to pick up his feet — so you don’t have to.

From AQHA’s “Fundamentals of Horsemanship”

All you need for this lesson is a halter and leadrope — and your horse. Before performing this exercise, be sure that your horse is comfortable having each of his legs rubbed, and that desensitizing exercises involving the legs have been successfully completed.

Place the lead rope over your arm nearest to the horse. You can see how this should look in the DVD. Stand close to the horse, your shoulder against his, and slide your hand down the inside of his foreleg.

Take the chestnut between thumb and forefinger, and apply pressure to it. Initially, release the chestnut as soon as the horse lifts his hoof, then slide your hand down and under the hoof when he lifts it. Read the rest of this entry »

What you need to know about this procedure to ease a horse’s foot pain.

Question:

I am considering purchasing a Quarter Horse that has had a nerve cut out of his front foot because the veterinarian could never figure out why that foot hurt. I was wondering if cutting a nerve and blocking a nerve are the same things or different? How often and how much does this have to be done?

Answer:

Blocking a nerve means injecting a local anesthetic around a nerve. “Nerving a horse” is a surgical procedure during which the nerve supply to the foot is cut. Usually the nerving procedure is reserved for cases of chronic foot pain (i.e. navicular syndrome) that does not respond to therapeutic shoeing and potential coffin joint or navicular bursa injections. Read the rest of this entry »

Using AQHA’s online records can provide you with all the information you need about an American Quarter Horse.

By Whitney Price, AQHA Marketing and Publications Intern

AQHA’s online records are a great resource, whether you’re an amateur or a professional; whether you’re buying, selling or breeding your American Quarter Horse. This service is available to AQHA members only, so make sure that you fit the bill — become an AQHA member today.

With AQHA’s online records, you have the ability to conduct research in a variety of ways. One popular record is the four-generation pedigree. For a nominal fee, this allows a member to access four generations of a selected horse’s pedigree. Sire, dam and color information is included. Read the rest of this entry »

When one thinks of cowboys, it’s usually Texas that comes to mind. But when I think of cowboys, I think of Idaho.

Idaho cowboys -- and cowgirls -- know a lot about working cattle. (Journal photo)

I know, I know. Idaho is where they grow potatoes but it’s also one of the few places left in the United States where real cowboys are.

You know those beautiful photos by David Stoecklein that you see often in America’s Horse and the American Quarter Horse Journal? Many of those photos are of Idaho cowboys. Matter of fact, it’s near the Idaho Sawtooths where David lives.

Read the rest of this entry »

Experiencing the CRI4* Kentucky Cup – a preview to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The new indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, first used for the Kentucky Cup Reining, the first test event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. (Megan Arszman)

For residents of Lexington, Kentucky, it’s been a long time coming. Drive around town, and you’ll see countdown clocks and billboards all touting that “The World is Coming!” Now it’s down to a matter of a little more than 400 days until the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games hit the Bluegrass State.

For months, entering the Kentucky Horse Park has been a matter of battling construction traffic, cones and hard hats. Mixed with sounds of horses nickering and spectators cheering are truck beeps, cement mixers and jackhammers. While that’s still the norm in some parts of the park, that has dulled a bit, and the roar of approving applause has opened the gem of the Bluegrass: the $45 Read the rest of this entry »

Hello, again!

We made history by completing the first-ever AQHA horsemanship camp in Stare Zukowice, Poland, at the Roleski Ranch. We had 19 participants, 13 riders and six auditors. The participants ranged in age from 13 to 52. The weather has been absolutely wonderful, with lots of sunshine and a slight breeze.

On day 1, we began with the basics of following the nose, giving to pressure, and hip control. That afternoon we conducted a bits and bitting lecture, then rode again from 2 to 6 that evening, working on more collection exercises at the walk, trot and lope.

Day 2 began with class-specific exercises, focusing mainly on reining. We began with the circles and guiding exercise we call the “wagon wheel” drill and the “baseball” drill. We also incorporated lead departures and speed control into the mix. After lunch, Zach Burson did a round pen demonstration with a 2-year-old colt, Read the rest of this entry »