Learn how to give your show horse the perfect clipping job.

As a trainer of halter horses, AQHA Professional Horseman Randy Jacobs of Dover, Ohio, knows a lot about clipping horses. He has clipped hundreds, from weanlings to stallions to his daughter’s old pleasure gelding.

In the Horse Clipping Tips report, Randy offers his tried-and-true advice on setting yourself up for clipping success, even if that’s not what your horse has in mind.

Have the Right Attitude

In Randy’s opinion, you won’t get anywhere with your horse, regardless of his attitude, if you don’t have the right attitude.

“It takes a lot of patience,” he says. “So many people want to rush and get it done in a hurry. Take your time.”

If you rush, you increase the chances of having a bad experience.

“Avoid bad experiences,” Randy says. “Like spooking them or getting a horse hurt. And when I say hurt, I mean just something as small as nicking him with the clippers. It hurts, and he won’t want it to happen again.

“Every bad experience only makes the next time worse.”

Get the rest of the story in AQHA’s FREE Horse Clipping Tips report. Download it today, and share it with your horse-show friends!

“This horse clipping article really helped. We have shown a sorrel with lots of chrome for several years. Like it said, patience is a big part of getting a good clipping. I have learned to clip early in the week before the show, have the horse clean, particularly the white stockings, and mostly to take my time. The difference in results and the horse’s attitude is amazing! Being a small-time participant, good free advice is always welcome.”

AQHA Member John Boyd

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“I enjoyed the clipping tips, especially how to maintain a safe clipping environment. It helped me realize I need a clean animal, sharp blades and the right type of clippers. Having help is something we sometimes cut corners on, but I agree when it comes to the right attitude that will carry you far in any endeavor.”

Marilyn Faye Parney

Learn the correct way to tie a rope halter.

The rope halter is a valuable tool, but it needs to be used correctly. A poorly tied rope halter can put your horse in danger, so it’s worth your time to learn how to properly use it and keep your horse safe.

In AQHA’s FREE How to Tie a Rope Halter report, expert tack maker Dennis Moreland explains in simple terms how to tie a rope halter.

“I prefer to use rope halters on my horses. I have to admit, I’ve been too embarrassed to tell anyone I didn’t know how to properly tie them and I would not ask for help. This article, with numbered steps and matching photos, made it so simple to understand and follow. Now I can tie them properly every time. Proper tying is safer for me and my horse and gives me more overall self-confidence working with my horses.”

AQHA Member Janet Hart Brinn, Murray, Kentucky

Dennnis’ method ensures the rope halter becomes a safe and effective way to communicate with your horse.

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Registering an American Quarter Horse is easy. AQHA’s FREE report shows you how.

Each year, 75 percent of the horse registration applications submitted to AQHA glide through the process without hitches.

Then there are the 25 percent that stall out.

Of those, about 20 percent are delayed due to simple problems such as missing information.

In AQHA’s FREE report, Guide to Registering a Quarter Horse, we offer some hints to make sure your horse’s registration gets through the first time, whether you choose to complete your application online or by mail.

Get detailed information on what you need before you begin your paperwork. We even include a checklist with dates, photos and other important information you’ll need to speed the registration process along.

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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 at home with shipped semen?

Learn the ropes from equine veterinarian Racqhel Rodeheaver of Fort Collins, Colorado. In AQHA’s FREE Mare Care report, Racqhel 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,” Racquel 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.”

Racquel 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.

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“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

Learn how to develop a simple horse betting system.

AQHA’s free report, Horse Handicapping 101, gets you on track to having a great time at the races.

You’ll learn the basics of betting and different strategies for playing the odds.

This guide is divided into three sections:

• Elementary School – Getting Acquainted With Your Track covers track accommodations, types of wagers and some easy wagering options

• Middle School talks about exotic wagers that are easy for beginners

• High School familiarizes newcomers with more sophisticated methods for making selections.

Download Horse Handicapping 101 today. Share AQHA’s FREE report with your friends!

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 Trail Safety report will keep you and your animals 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 protecting 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,” Hill said.

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,” Butler notes.

The Trail Safety 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,” DeGregorio said.

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

DeGregorio 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 it today!

Learn all of the approved American Quarter Horse colors and the infinite possibilities for your future foals.

Learn the difference between a buckskin and a dun, a red roan and a blue roan, a cremello and a perlino and many more. Download AQHA’s Free Coat Color Genetics report today.

This stylish, full-color report is loaded with easy-to-understand coat-color genetics information, with explanations of each of the 17 AQHA recognized colors.

This report is helpful when determining a new foal’s color, and it’s great for science projects and school reports.

Full-color photos of horses with all 17 colors will help you train your eye and become a coat-color expert.

Download your copy today!

Keep your horse safe from injury with this handy free report.

As much as we love them, our horses have a way of finding trouble.

An accident can happen in the most unlikely of situations.

So it’s important to use good judgement around horses to keep them safe and out of harm’s way.

One simple thing any horse person can do: learn how to properly tie a hay net. Learn today with AQHA’s free report.

We use hay nets all the time, in our horses’ stalls and trailers. And, if they’re tied incorrectly or too low, we’re setting our horses up for potentially serious injury.

AQHA wants to help you keep your horse safe. Get AQHA’s FREE report: Tie It Right. This full-color, downloadable report shows you exactly how to tie a hay net correctly and safely. Horseman Dennis Moreland takes you step-by-step through the process with easy-to-follow directions.

Also in the Tie It Right report, Dennis shows you how to safely tie your horse’s buckets. It’s easy to do, but it’s often overlooked.

So do your horse a favor and download the Tie It Right report today. And share this FREE resource with all your friends who care about their horses’ safety!

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Learn about a new treatment option that may help horses cope with arthritis.

Your faithful babysitter horse limps a little in the mornings, and he has a hard time getting up if he’s been laying down. You dread it, but you know the reality is that arthritis might be setting in or getting worse.

You’ve tried joint injections, and while that might have worked for a while, he’s in pain again. So now what?

In AQHA’s FREE Horse Arthritis Treatment report, you’ll learn about a new treatment option – IRAP – that is gaining results in horses with osteoarthritis.

Your first question might be, “What the heck is IRAP, anyway?” You’ll get the answer to that question and others when you download this free report.

IRAP stands for Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein, and it might be able to help decrease inflammation and pain in joints affected by arthritis.

Your FREE Horse Arthritis Treatment report will show you:

• What IRAP is

• What the treatment can do

• How IRAP is used as a treatment

• The uses of IRAP in humans

• What conditions IRAP may not be able to help

• The importance of proper diagnosis in the treatment of osteoarthritis

• The costs associated with IRAP procedures

IRAP is still a new treatment, and more extensive testing is currently underway. In horses that have been treated with an IRAP procedure, results have been promising in terms of reduction of joint pain and inflammation. In general, after treatment with IRAP, test subject horses moved with minimal lameness, if not completely soundly.

The Horse Arthritis Treatment report addresses:

• What procedures are involved in IRAP treatment

• What types of joint pain may be most responsive to treatment

• Where IRAP treatment originated

View a video about horse arthritis on America’s Horse TV!

Stem cell therapy is helping horses with tendon and ligament injuries.

New medical research and improvements in technology are giving hope to horses that suffer from bowed tendons, an injury that typically puts an end to a race horse’s career.

Find out more in the FREE Stem Cell Therapy report.

This report will explain the research from studies coming from prestigious institutions such as Cornell University and leading researchers and experts such as Dr. Linda A. Dahlgren, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech University. Also, hear from Dr. Robert Harman, the veterinarian who founded and runs Vet-Stem Inc.

This report takes you through the following topics of stem cell therapy:

• What stem cells are

• Bone marrow stem cells

• Adipose stem cells

• Treatment and recovery of stem cell therapy

• Other uses for stem cell therapy

• Future of stem cell therapy

• Other options to stem cell therapy

See for yourself, with detailed pictures, how stem cell therapy compares to traditional methods, such as saline treatments, in the healing process. Other pictures show harvesting of adipose stem cells and the injecting of stem cells into a tendon with the assistance of an ultrasound for guidance.

Get up to speed by reading the FREE Stem Cell Therapy report.

“It’s a very big misconception both in the medical community and the lay community that a stem cell just makes tissue. They recruit new cells into the area, produce growth factors and they manage the healing process in a very different manner than we thought five or 10 years ago,” Dr. Harman says.

Find out where different types of stem cell therapy are being used around the world and learn their status on becoming approved in the United States. Discover other leading companies such as VetCell Bioscience Ltd. and their contributions to this state-of-the-art medical treatment.

“It is the horse’s own tissue,” Dr. Harman says. “It is just moved around and concentrated where we want. It’s about as natural as you can get for the horse, so they usually have the opposite of a reaction to the inflamed area.”

Discover how stem cell therapy can also be applied to repairing and treating fractures, intra-articular joint therapy, arthritis and OCD (osteochondrosis dissecans).

“Rather than speeding the process, if we can just improve the healing process, we’re further ahead,” Dr. Dahlgren says. “If we can make the end product better, the tendon will be better able to hold up to the training process like a normal tendon.”