Enjoy this FREE excerpt from a popular horse-training book.

Learn a dressage-based exercise created by Ellen Eckstein and Tom Dorrance that teaches your horse the beginning of self carriage.

In this FREE 15-page booklet, you’ll learn the Reach Forward Exercise.

This exercise progresses from the horse stepping out, in a type of turn on the forehand, with large confident steps from behind, to stepping under and forward with large confident steps from behind. It also explains to the horse that when the rider reaches for the rein, the rider wants activity. That the rider wants the horse to come from behind, and step up to the rider’s light hand.

Check out the 10 most popular FREE reports on America’s Horse Daily this month!

If there’s one thing we know here at America’s Horse Daily, it’s that there’s always something new to learn about horses. A willingness to learn new things and try out new methods is the mark of a true horseman. We are dedicated to bringing you as much knowledge as we can so you can learn as much as you can. Read the rest of this entry »

Learn the steps for preparing your mare for breeding and get the facts on receiving shipped semen.

So, you’re ready to breed your mare. What steps do you need to take to breed her with shipped semen?

Learn the ropes from equine veterinarian Racquel Rodeheaver of Fort Collins, Colorado. In AQHA’s FREE Mare Care report, Dr. Rodeheaver explains the process of preparing your mare, targeting a breeding date, ordering semen, inducing a follicle to ovulate, receiving and evaluating semen and much more.

For instance, did you know that you should never leave a semen shipping container in the sun? Although shippers are designed to maintain a constant internal temperature through a variety of weather conditions, it’s best to keep it in a cool spot.

Did you know that you should NOT warm up the breeding dose? The semen should go straight from the shipper to the mare.

The Mare Care report is a perfect resource for beginning breeders wanting to breed their first mare.

“First things first,” Dr. Rodeheaver says. “You’ll need a breeding soundness evaluation on the mare to understand exactly what your expectations are going to be for her reproductive health. If you can find out previous breeding history, it’s helpful just to know if she’s ever had problems becoming pregnant or how she has performed reproductively. If a history isn’t available, then that’s all the more reason to do a breeding soundness evaluation.”

Dr. Rodeheaver offers advice for mare owners approaching their target breeding date:

“I look at breeding through a couple of different avenues,” she says. “When you’re dealing with fresh semen, the viability and longevity of the semen is longer. Therefore, your time of breeding and your time to ovulation can be a broader window. Usually, you want your time of ovulation to be within 48 horse of your time of breeding with fresh semen. With shipped, cooled semen you have to narrow that window. You want your breeding time to be within 24 hours prior to ovulation. With frozen semen, it’s even narrower. Because that window becomes narrower, and we’re having to time insemination so closely to ovulation, it requires more intensive management of the mare.

“A normal cycling mare has a three-week cycle: two weeks they’re out of heat, one week they’re in heat. When you see that mare come into heat, that’s when we want to be checking her via ultrasound. I monitor the developing follicle. I check the mare initially every other day, and then at least every day as we get nearer to the time of breeding.”

Get more helpful tips in AQHA’s FREE Mare Care report. Download it today, and share it with your friends!

Training for the trailer requires time and patience.

It’s easy to lose your temper when teaching a horse to load in a trailer. Unfortunately, getting impatient is the worst thing you can do.

The late Bill Van Norman insists that you need to take your time and keep your temper when teaching your horse to trailer load.

Bill offers his valuable advice in AQHA’s FREE report, Horse Trailer Loading Tips.

To begin training your horse to trailer load, Bill suggests these tips:

• Send your horse in a circle around you directly behind the open trailer.
• Use a lead rope, not a longe line, so you can keep your horse fairly close to you.
• If your horse wants to stop and smell the trailer or look inside, encourage this behavior and recognize it as a sign that he’s trying.
• When his attention fades off the trailer, ask your horse to move out again and continue circling you.
• Circle in both directions behind the trailer to help him become comfortable with being worked from either side.

“I have a 3-year-old Quarter Horse mare named Channel, and she has always been very difficult to load and I have tried everything. But I tried what you suggested in this article and, like magic, she got right in! It is so great to not have to worry anymore about how I would get her to the vet if she got sick or injured. Last winter, during a snowstorm, she would not get in the trailer so I could take her into town for a vet check of her eye injury. It’s good to know that if something like that happens again I should be able to get that rascal in the trailer! Thank you!”

Daily reader Greg Cooper

Get the full story in Horse Trailer Loading Tips from AQHA – FREE!

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Learn how to tie your horse safely with AQHA’s Free Report.

Tie your horse’s lead rope too high, and you’re asking for trouble. Tie it too low, and your horse could end up in a big wreck.

Tie an incorrect knot, and you won’t be able to release it in an emergency.

A correctly tied lead rope is extremely important, whether you’re tying your horse in a trailer, to a stall wall, to a picket line or to a fence.

Get AQHA’s FREE report: How to Tie a Lead Rope.

In this valuable report, Dennis Moreland explains the bowline knot, which you can untie easily in an emergency. Dennis shows you step-by-step how to create a bowline knot and how to keep your tied horse safe.

He also points out things to look for in a good lead rope.

“People often ask me where I learn the many tips I suggest to them. All I have to say is that I am an avid reader of Americas Horse Daily. Americas Horse Daily has proven to be a great resource for me. I especially enjoy the training and showing tips. I am one of those people who likes learning and trying new things with my horses. I love how I can print out the free reports and have a written copy to take out and use in the barn. The articles and tips are brief but detailed enough for anyone to use. This is ideal for my busy lifestyle. I often find myself sharing the free reports with my daughter and her 4-H friends at clinics and other events. The greatest reward is to place in the show ring, and I find satisfaction in knowing that I did the work all by myself, without the use of a costly professional trainer. It just goes to show that you can be successful with good information and the ambition to see it through. The difference between try and triumph is a little ‘umph!’ “

Julie Kunz
Clear Lake, MN

Check out the 10 most popular FREE reports on America’s Horse Daily this month!

Guess what? It’s summer at last! The days are getting longer, and that means there’s more time for you to spend doing your favorite things, like riding, training, and spending time with your horses.

Is there a tricky maneuver you’d like to teach your horse, but you need help? What about that rope halter that you just can’t figure out how to tie? No problem! Read the rest of this entry »

Stay safe on the trails!

Trail riding is one of the most rewarding and relaxing activities you can do with a horse. It gets you both out of the arena, experiencing new sights, and breaks up a monotonous training routine. But it is not without its dangers.

AQHA’s FREE Trail Safety Tips report will keep you and your Quarter Horse out of harm’s way when you’re on the trail.

Experts on three different areas of trail riding offer tips and advice on how to better enjoy trail riding while keeping your horse’s health and the environment in mind.

Veterinarian Rick Hill discusses how to deal with emergencies on the trail such as cuts, thrown shoes, colic and infection.

“You are not going to take the same things for a one-hour trip like you would if you were going to be gone for three or four days. It’s going to depend on how long a ride is, and how far you are going to be away, the more you are going to want to be able to handle anything you might be facing,” Dr. Hill says.

Hoof care is extremely important when you are trekking out in the open, and Doug Butler, professor of equine sciences at Colorado State University and renowned farrier, has advice to keep things moving smoothly.

“One thing all trail riders are concerned with is what to do if their horse throws a shoe while on the trail,” Doug notes.

The FREE Trail Safety Tips report guides you through your options for shoeing your horse so he can negotiate the trail better.

Finally, we must protect our precious wilderness areas so that future generations can enjoy them as we have. Mark DeGregorio of the Rocky Mountain National Park explains minimal impact trail riding, more commonly known as “Leave No Trace.”

“What we mean by minimal impact is you are going to try to do your best to have the least impact you can on that land,” Mark says.

Learn helpful tips for leaving your favorite trails as beautiful as when you found them.

Mark sums up his thoughts on minimal impact with a quote he calls the horseman’s creed, ‘When I go into the back country, I will leave only hoofprints, take only memories.”

This report is a must-have for all trail riders. Download, print and share it today!

How to be prepared for and deal with a horse affected by HYPP.

Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis is a serious muscle deficiency in horses that causes muscle twitching, weakness and more.

Learn all about this dominant genetic disease in AQHA’s FREE HYPP Survival Guide report.

In 1996, AQHA designated HYPP a genetic defect and undesirable trait. Two years later, the Association added that all Impressive-descendent foals born after January 1, 1998, were required to be tested for the disease and parentage verified for registration, with the results placed on the registration certificate. Since 2007, any horses tested as H/H are not accepted for registration with AQHA. Find out why in the HYPP Survival Guide.

Also in this detailed report,  you’ll learn:

• Definitions of HYPP’s three designations: H/H, N/H, and N/N.

• Symptoms of HYPP

• Prevention tips

• Signs of an attack and what to do to keep your horse safe

• Feeding suggestions for HYPP-positive horses

• How to test your horse for HYPP

The most-common symptoms of HYPP include muscle tremors, weakness, muscle cramping, yawning, depression, an inability to relax the muscles, sweating, prolapse of the third eyelid, noisy breathing and/or abnormal sounds or whinnies.

HYPP cases usually start with muscle weakness and prolapse of the third eyelid, sweating and minor tremors most commonly in the flank, neck and shoulders.

More severe attacks can involve severe weakness, high heart and respitory rate, staggering, dog sitting and collapse. In its most extreme form, HYPP can lead to collapse and death, usually from a heart attack or respiratory failure.

Be prepared for situations involving HYPP-positive horses by downloading the HYPP Survival Guide today. This FREE report will give you the knowledge to identify symptoms and react accordingly to a horse experiencing an attack. You’ll also learn steps to preventing HYPP attacks, such as stopping frequently on road trips to give your horses a break and reduce their stress levels.

How to get your bosal out of the tack trunk and into use.

If you’re like many horsemen, you have a bosal in the tack room but made the mistake of untying the mecate line while adjusting it to your horse. Now, the bosal is lying there, useless, because you don’t know how to tie the mecate safely and correctly.

AQHA is here to the rescue with our free Tying the Mecate report. In this handy, downloadable report, you’ll get easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions from AQHA Professional Horseman Patrick Hooks.

Patrick gives you some funny anecdotal advice on why people struggle with the process of tying the mecate. Then he dives into a nine-step process that he learned years ago from a 90-year-old man who definitely remembered how to do it right.

Steps for Tying a Mecate

1. Begin by turning your bosal just as though you were looking up at your horse. The hanger will be turned down, and the hanger tie will be to your right.
2. Place the tail of your mecate up through the cheeks of the bosal and leave a short tail hanging just over the heel knot of the bosal.

Get the rest of the steps in AQHA’s Tying the Mecate FREE report! Colorful photos will guide you each step of the way.

Once you know how to correctly tie the mecate, you can start using your bosal for all kinds of horse riding and training endeavors. Good luck, and leave us comments about your success tying a mecate on your own!

The wooden rocking horseshoe is helping many horses survive laminitis.

Laminitis is a medical emergency that, unfortunately, many horses are subjected to.

What is laminitis, exactly?

According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, laminitis results from the disruption (constant, intermittent or short-term) of blood flow to the sensitive and insensitive laminae. These laminae structures within the foot secure the coffin bone (the wedge-shaped bone within the foot) to the hoof wall. Inflammation often permanently weakens the laminae and interferes with the wall/bone bond. In severe cases, the bone and the hoof wall can separate. In these situations, the coffin bone may rotate within the foot, be displaced downward, “sink” and eventually penetrate the sole. Laminitis can affect one or all feet, but it is most often seen in the front feet concurrently.

The terms “laminitis” and “founder” are used interchangeably. However, founder usually refers to a chronic (long-term) condition associated with rotation of the coffin bone. Acute laminitis refers to symptoms associated with a sudden initial attack, including pain and inflammation of the laminae.

Luckily, there are a few options to help ease the suffering for horses with laminitis. Learn about one, the wooden rocking horseshoe, in AQHA’s FREE report, Laminitis Treatment.

In Laminitis Treatment, Dr. Micheal Steward, a veterinarian in Shawnee, Oklahoma, explains how he finds success with placing wooden shoes on laminitic horses. The shoes, he says, help support the hoof and help it heal.

You’ll also get a detailed explanation, including diagrams, of exactly how laminitis affects a horse’s foot and leg.

In Laminitis Treatment, you’ll hear a first-hand story about how Dr. Steward’s technique took a critically ill horse and gave him renewed life:

When ‘Tooter’ Kiser took his good ranch horse, Pepperoani Wolf, to Dr. Steward, the little red roan gelding could barely walk off the trailer. But by the time Dr. Steward and a farrier finished with him, “I led that horse out of that X-ray room and he hit that concrete and gravel, and he just gave a little. It was like he was already 95-percent better,” Tooter says.

Get the full details on how Pepperoani went from almost being euthanized to returning to the ranch as a full-time helper.

Plus, get other tips for keeping horses with laminitis comfortable and happy.

Download your free copy of Laminitis Treatment today, and share it with your friends!

This insect-borne equine disease is a late-summer danger across North America.

Can you spot the signs of Potomac horse fever? Do you know how this devastating disease is contracted? Learn everything you need to do about Potomac horse fever in AQHA’s FREE report, Potomac Horse Fever.

Potomac horse fever gained notoriety when an outbreak shook the Potomac River region of Maryland in 1979. Transmitted by an insect fector, Potomac horse fever results in intestinal distress that can lead to death in up to 30 percent of cases. Potomac horse fever has been identified in 43 states, three Canadian provinces, South America and Europe.

What can you do to help your horse avoid this dangerous and uncomfortable disease?

Download your copy of Potomac Horse Fever today and arm yourself with knowledge that will help your horse stay healthy.

Many horses suffer fever at some point in their lives. But did you know that the first indicator of Potomac horse fever is a fever ranging from 102 to 107 that comes and goes? There are many other symptoms you can watch out for, including dehydration, depression and swelling of certain body parts.

If left untreated, Potomac horse fever can send a horse into shock and ultimately death. Other ailments caused by Potomac horse fever are laminitis and abortion in pregnant mares.

In the FREE Potomac Horse Fever report, you’ll learn:

• Exactly what Potomac horse fever is

• How horses contract it

• Symptoms to look for

• Treatment options

• Prevention tips

• And more

This five-page, full-color report also contains a personal story of one family who fought to save their beloved  horse that was infected with Potomac horse fever while on a trail ride.

Fast facts about Potomac horse fever:

• Caused by the bacteria Neorickettsia risticci
• Most commonly occurs from July through October
• Treatments include antibiotics, fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy and NSAIDs for pain relief
• A vaccine is available
• The greatest cause of death associated with PHF is secondary laminitis and subsequent complications

Get your free copy of Potomac Horse Fever for the full story.

Get the full story on this all-around hand with a passion for Quarter Horses.

Stan Immenschuh knew his own mind, but his favorite thing was working on the minds of horses.

“The thing that I got the most kick out of, and gave me the most satisfaction, was working with the cutting horses,” he says. “You get them broke and everything, and when you first start working them on cattle and they first start watching, putting their ears on them and making the moves, that’s more fun than anything, more than showing or anything else.”

Get the full, colorful story of Stan and his adventures with Quarter Horses in AQHA’s FREE report, Stan Immenschuh: All-Around Hand. Download your copy today!

Stan has a number of stories of working cattle a-horseback.

Here’s one:

“Jimmy Williams was a real good friend of mine,” he says. “I learned a lot from him. Jimmy was a great horse show guy. He had a stable in San Diego County and was training cutting horses. . . . Jimmy and I used to trade out: He’d come out and work cattle on the ranch I was on, the Ivanhoe Ranch in El Cajon, and I’d haul down to his stable.

“He taught me most of the stuff that I learned back then – how to use the war bridle and a bunch of different things. And just being around him, I picked up all kinds of little things, like you’ve got to give a horse time. I was real lucky to get hooked up with Jimmy, because he eventually ended up with hunters and jumpers in at a riding stable in Pasadena, but he couldn’t keep cattle there. He had some good horses and he sent them down to me to work cows on.

“Some of his owners were big in Hollywood, like Larry Lansburgh, the guy that made movies – I broke a Driftwood filly for him, and I rode some other horses for him and other people who were Jimmy’s customers. In those days, a bunch of Hollywood people had horses.

Get even more stories about racing, roping, rodeo, western pleasure, wartime hardships and more in AQHA’s FREE Stan Immenschuh: All-Around Hand report!

“One of the horses that Larry Lansburgh owned and Jimmy sent to me was going to be used in a movie that they made about a cow horse that became a jumping horse, ‘The Horse With The Flying Tail’ (Disney, 1960),” Stan recalls. “Larry Lansburgh owned the horse and Jimmy trained him in a crash course in jumping.

“Larry was interested in cow horses, too, so he sent him down to me to work cattle on. The horse was a double in the movie. They didn’t really want me to make a cutting horse, but just wanted me to get him to where he would work a cow. I was just getting him started working cows a little bit. I had an arena with a hogwire fence with a couple of rails of old boards, one old board on top and one in the middle.

“I was going across the arena on the horse, and something clicked in that horse’s mind when he got to that fence – that he’d better jump it – and he went up, went right down and smashed everything down, hung me over the post like a wet rag. He wasn’t hurt but I was, broke some ribs and got banged up pretty good.”