A Few Thoughts On Conformation

I was going to write a blog post on what conformation you should be looking for in a new horse, based on what discipline you wanted to ride or compete in.  But after doing some preliminary research, while there are certainly some more desirable characteristics, it seems to me like you can't really choose or discount a horse based on conformation alone.

From what I've read, it’s up to the horse.  Some horses can overcome their conformational set-backs and become high level competitors.  For example, I was reading "Selecting The Dressage Horse" by Dirk Willemstad Rosie, with commentary by Anky, and she states that her Grand Prix dressage stallion, Cocktail, had a hollow back.  Other conformation books I had read in preparation of this article - and even books on purchasing horses - said to bypass horses with hollow backs as they were weaker and would likely be unable to perform at higher levels.  These books also said that hollow backs were often early warning signs of a sway back.

If you're like me, you're thinking to yourself, "Hey, if a horse is hollow backed, how could he possibly round his back and properly come up under himself?" Well, in my research so far, it seems that a horse’s natural athleticism can overcome a number of conformational obstacles.

Now, I’m not saying to go out and buy the next hollow backed horse you see and he'll take you to the Olympics!  And certainly if the horse has a number of conformational faults, the likelihood that they will be a successful competition horse in any discipline is low.  I'm just saying that maybe, sometimes it boils down to attitude, athleticism and the horses own willingness and drive to compete.  Which is another topic for another time... Be sure to watch for my post on finding the discipline that suits your horse, and not trying to suit your horse to the discipline - coming soon to a blog near you!

Evaluating a Horse

When looking at a horse you're considering buying, keep the following in mind in terms of the purpose/discipline for which you are purchasing it

• Soundness
• Any blemishes
• Movement
• Conformation
• Manners
• Health (history and current)
• Training and show history
• Size (and is it full grown?)
• Quality/flash - is the horse eye catching? will it stand out in the show ring?
• Pedigree (if considering breeding)

Be sure to keep safety in mind at all times - a timid rider probably shouldn't be paired with a timid horse.

Medical Monday: Abscesses

An abscess is basically an infection of the lamina.  Bacteria gets in, causes an infection and then white blood cells attack the infection.  Normally this would cause swelling but because this is in the hoof and the hoof cannot expand, pressure builds and results in pretty severe pain.  The purulent fluid (pus) that is the source of the pressure (product of the body fighting the infection) needs to find a way out.  Generally it takes the easiest path which could either be a hole in the hoof (drilled by either a vet or a farrier) or through the coronary band. 

Causes:

• Introduction of bacteria to the lamina resulting in infection.  This can happen a number of ways:
• Pierced sole
• Wall cracks
• Bruised sole
• Unsanitary living conditions (softens the sole which allows bacteria in)
• Infrequently cleaned hooves (again, softens the sole which can allow bacteria in)

Symptoms:

• Horse appears lame, doesn’t want to put any weight on the foot (usually a sudden and extreme lameness)
• Increased digital pulse in the hoof
• Swelling of lower leg
• Decreased ground contact with heels

 Treatment:

• Your vet or farrier will hoof test to try to pinpoint the location of the abscess, they will then cut a small hole for fluid to drain
• Be sure to keep the drainage hole clean so no new bacteria is introduced
• If unable to pinpoint the location, your vet/farrier might recommend soaking the hoof or poulticing the coronary band to soften it to provide an easier path for the pus to escape through
• To increase blood circulation and promote healing, your vet/farrier may recommend hand walking your horse

 Prevention:

• Regularly pick your horses hooves
• Keep your horse in a clean, dry area
• Use a qualified and competent farrier.

 Note: I found an article regarding soaking a horses hoof to help bring out the abscess and according to it repeated soaking, over several days, can result in the hoof wall to loosing integrity causing it to expand or bend outward.  Take a look at this article and remember to always consult your vet or farrier!  www.equipodiatry.com/footsoak.htm

HRNs 2nd Contest!

What?! Already?! This is madness! Madness, I say!

While Meredith is putting the finishing touches on the portrait for the winner of our first contest, I got a little eager to do another one!

Enter to win a new saddle pad! And not just any saddle pad, the very sleek, very sexy, very toight (Austin Powers movie reference intended) saddle pad pictured below!

To enter HRN's contest, place any type of ad on HRN before July 25 and your name will automatically be entered into the draw.  Make sure to get your ads in before July 25, because at the stroke of midnight on July 24, Cinderella turns into a pumpkin! (and the contest ends) :)

Say it with me now: Ooooooh. Aaaaaaaah.

Questions? Email us at info@horseresourcenet.com.  Operators are standing by now!

A hoof, a hoof, My kingdom for a ... hoof?

It has recently been brought to my attention that the horse world is a strange and wondrous place.  A place where magical, I daresay incredulous, things take place.  Or at least that is what a non-horsey friend has recently tried to convince me of.

This friend, we'll call him Mike (mostly because that's his name) asked of me the age old question, "if you remove a horses hoof, will it grow back".  As I'm sure you're aware, this question has been asked thousands upon thousands of times over the years, asked in frequency second only to "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it , does it make a sound?" (well? Does it?).  What's that you say? No, you weren't aware that non-horse people thought horses had magical regenerative capabilities? Well, neither was I!

At first I just assumed Mike meant the hoof wall - logic dictating that 1 - No one would want to cut off a horse’s hoof, and 2 - That as a functioning adult he had a working knowledge of the basic physiological structure of domesticated animals.  Oh no, my friend, he actually meant the harvesting of the entire hoof for the purpose of gelatin production!

Ignoring the obviously heinous gelatin comment, I proceeded to educate Mike in the structure of the equine hoof.  I dumbed it down to no hoof = no horse.  It seemed the best way to go given who I was dealing with...

So now, in an act of contrite redemption, Mike has suggested writing a blog post on the common, but grossly inaccurate, assumptions of non-horse people about our beloved creatures.

1.  Horses, as wonderful as they are, do not possess magical regenerative capabilities. They are not like lizards in any way, shape, or form.

2.  As much as I wish it were true, Pegasus does not exist.

3. ...and here I'm at a loss.  I'm trying to come up with outrageous assumptions made by non-horsey people and I'm coming up empty handed.

So I ask, what are some of the weird and wacky questions that have been posited to you over the years regarding our (hopefully) hooved friends?

Medical Monday: Laminitis & Founder

Some people use these terms interchangeably but they are actually two different conditions – founder being a possible result of laminitis.

Laminitis is an infection of the laminae (tissue) that connects the coffin bone and the hoof wall.  Founder occurs when the laminae die, causing the attachment of the coffin bone to the hoof wall to breakdown completely.

Cause

There are several causes of laminitis and founder, including:

·         Too much grain – overconsumption of carbohydrates

·         Too much grass and/or grass clippings (aka grass founder)

·         Drinking too much when overheated

·         Repetitive and excessive concussion of the hooves (aka road founder)

·         Exposure to black walnut shavings

·         Repeated used of high doses of corticosteroids

Symptoms

·         Typically the first tell-tale sign is the horse standing in the “founder stance” – where the horse stands with his hind legs well underneath his belly and his front legs out in front to relieve as much pressure from them as possible.

·         The horse will be reluctant to walk

·         Horse will turn by pivoting on the hind end rather than walk a full circle.

·         Increased temperature in the affected hooves

Treatment

·         Doing your best to make the horse comfortable

o   Encouraging them to lie down (relieves pressure on hoof)

o   Extra stall bedding

o   Painkillers

·         Purge the horse’s digestive tract to limit absorption of toxins

·         Antibiotics to ward against infection

·         Anticoagulants to improve blood flow to the hooves

Prevention

·         Dietary restrictions – especially for breeds that are predisposed to laminitis and founder (watch for horses with cresty necks and ponies)

·         Keep your horse at a healthy weight

·         Keep feed securely locked away to prevent binging

·         Regulate water intake when horse is overheated (for example, after a hard workout).

HRN's First Contest - Progress Update

Here's a quick update on the portrait that Meredith is currently working on for our first contest winner.  We'll post a few more as she races towards completion!

If you'd like Meredith to do a portrait for you, she is available for commissioned artwork.  Contact her at meredith.madderom@gmail.com for more information. 

Safety Notice for Langley Residents

The following was forwarded to me today.  Residents of Langley, BC beware.

-----

It has come to my attention that a number of farms have had things go missing and have noticed a man on a bike coming into their driveways and looking around or riding in the area.

Recently a bike was noticed at the gate by someone coming home so they went out to the barn to check things out. A man came out from the barn area and assaulted the home owner knocking them unconscious.

Medical Monday: Tetanus

Medical Monday: Tetanus (aka Lockjaw)

I wanted to do an article on tetanus because, if you’re like me, you always get your horse vaccinated against it but it’s become so automatic that you’ve kind of forgotten what tetanus is exactly – the finer points of the disease, if you will.

Tetanus can occur when a wound becomes infected with the Clostridium tetani bacterium – which is naturally found in soil and animal feces.  This bacterium produces a powerful neurotoxin which results in muscle contraction and spasm.  The incubation period for this disease is anywhere from 3 to 21 days. 

Symptoms:

• Inability to eat as the jaw is unable to move (“lockjaw”)
• Movement becomes progressively more rigid
• Tail may be raised
• Ears constantly pricked forward
• Horse may be unable to bend or flex their neck
• Muscle spasms affecting small areas, or possibly the entire body, will become apparent
• As the disease progresses, it moves into the horses’ lungs and causes an inability to breath resulting in death. 

Treatment:

• Generally consists of antibiotics, muscle relaxants, and the tetanus antitoxin.

Prevention:

• Vaccination – annually on regularly vaccinated horses.  If the horse hasn’t been vaccinated, or its vaccination status is unknown, the horse should receive 2 doses administered 3 to 6 weeks apart.
• Proper wound management

Well this was informative, but depressing.  Please, make sure to take proper care of any/all injuries your horse sustains! Here’s a pretty picture to leave this on an upbeat note!

Tips for Buying a New Horse: Part 2

Questions to ask the seller:

·         Has the horse ever foundered

·         Does he kick? Bite? Rear? Bolt? Spooky?

·         How well does he trailer?

·         How is he on trails?

·         Can he be pastured with other horses? –how is he in a herd situation?

·         Any vices? Cribbing? Weaving? Chewing?

·         Any history of colic?

·         Is the horse an easy keeper or hard to keep weight on?

·         When did the horse last see a vet? Teeth floated? Vaccinations? Farrier? Wormed?

·         What equipment does the horse come with? Blankets? Saddle? Bridle? Halter? Lead rope?

·         What is the horses training level and show history?

Don’t forget to examine your own personal needs to determine what other information about your potential new horse you might need to know.  For example, do you have young children that will be riding the horse as well? –if so, you’re going to want to ask how the horse is with kids.

Remember, given the choice, visit the horse a few times before making a purchase decision as this is a huge commitment :)  Good luck with your purchase!

Contest Winner!

Winner winner chicken dinner!! (can't believe I just typed that...)

HRN's first contest officially came to an end last week.  We have contacted our winner, randomly drawn from a hat (a top hat so we could be classy) and their photo has been sent to Meredith Madderom for her to start on production of the oil pastel portrait.  Meredith estimated that it would take her approximately two weeks to complete the project so check back here for updates on how the portrait is developing - we'll also post photos on our facebook page so make sure to "like" our facebook page and stay tuned!

Even though we've just finished this contest, we're already thinking about our next one and are looking for suggestions! Maybe a funny photo contest? I know, I know, it's been done - but who doesn't love a funny horse photo?!  They're classics for a reason :P

Medical Monday: West Nile Disease

Given that it's mosquito season, what better than to post on Medical Monday about West Nile Disease.  (I imagine that if this was being narrated aloud, "West Nile Disease" would be all echo-y and have ominous tones playing in the background - da da daaaa.)

Symptoms (can include):

• listlessness, change in behaviour
• muscle twitches 
• lack of coordination
• limb weakness
• partial paralysis, inability to get up.

Treatment:

• Currently there is no treatment available for horses

Prevention:
 While there is a vaccine available for horses, it is not a guarantee that your horse will not contract the disease.  The best preventative measure, currently, is to do your best to reduce the mosquito population at your barn by reducing the number of areas with stagnant water - ie. clogged rain gutters, ceramic pots, recycle boxes (drill holes in the bottom to allow better drainage).  Keep wheelbarrows overturned to prevent them from collecting water.  Fly sprays containing mosquito repellent are available and may help keep them away.

The good news:
There is currently no evidence that the disease is transmitted any other way than by mosquito.  So if you do have an infected horse at your barn, he or she will not be able to pass the disease on to your horse.

I hope that helps - for more information on mosquito prevention and population reduction, check out google, they're a wealth of information!

Upcoming Events

Woohoo! We just booked our booth at The Mane Event coming up in October in Chilliwack, BC.  I've attended this event for the past few years and have been waiting for the day when HRN was up and running and I could get a booth of my own. And that day is finally here! Or, at least it will be in October :D

In the meantime, HRN has proudly signed on to be a sponsor of the Kamloops Dressage Show coming up later this month - June 25-26 to be exact.  Look for our rack cards in competitor packages and their show program!

Coming up in July, look for our half page ad in the BC Half Arabian Horse Association show program for their July 15-17 show at the Cloverdale Agriplex. 

We're looking in to a bunch of other events that HRN can sponsor or advertise with this show season - so if you know of any please let us know! If your event is looking for sponsors or advertisers you can email the info to us at info@horseresourcenet.com.

Medical Monday: Sweet Itch

Sweet Itch is an allergic reaction that may result in itchy skin lesions, typically on the tail.  Some horses are sensitive to bites from a specific type of midge – when bitten by Culicoides midges, these horses can experience inflamed and itchy skin: sweet itch.  Watch for this allergic reaction during the warmer months, generally between April and October.

Symptoms include skin lesions on affected areas – which may include the tail, mane, back, ears and/or head.  These lesions are generally very itchy and cause the horse to excessively scratch affected areas, which will usually result in broken hairs, progressing to bald patches and then irritated and/or bleeding skin.   In severe cases, the skin may become thickened, blackened and/or wrinkled with the hair becoming coarse and sparse.

Unfortunately there are few treatments available for this condition.  The best defense, in this case, is a good offense!  Prevention, prevention, prevention.  This can be accomplished a couple of ways including insect repellents and blankets to prevent bites from midges.  It has also been suggested that immunotherapy (“treatment designed to produce immunity to a disease or enhance the resistance of the immune system to an active disease process” – dictionary.com) may help.  Another option is to go directly to the source and work on your farms fly control.  Equisearch.com has an interesting article with some suggestions for prevention (apple cider vinegar in your horses feed, applying menthol products, rubbing dryer sheets on your horse, etc.)

If your horse is allergic to these midges, watch for signs of infection.  Their attempts to scratch the affected areas can introduce bacteria, potentially causing a whole other slew of problems.

Medical Monday: Rain Scald

Rain Rot (aka Rain Scald) seems to appear on some horses left exposed to wet, dirty conditions. Clues that your horse may have rain scald include

• In early stages you’ll feel small lumps on your horses skin
• Scurfy patches or crusty scabs on the shoulders, back and/or haunches
• Skin underneath scurf patches may be raw and oozing

If your horse does get rain scald, you can help get rid of it by clipping away long hairs and giving your horse a bath – some recommend using medicated shampoos, however, it seems to me that the goal is to get your horse clean (and then dry) to get rid of this condition so either should do the trick.  Now, some research says you should put an antiseptic ointment on the affected areas, and some says not to, stating it’s better to let the air get at them.  Of course, if the affected area(s) appear infected, you should consult your veterinarian. 

Prevention seems to be similar to that for mud fever – keep your horse clean and dry.  I’ve also seen it recommended to not share equipment (saddle pads and leg wraps, specifically).

If you’ve dealt with this ailment before and had success treating it, please reply to this post and let us know what worked for you!

HRN's First Contest

Horse Resource Network has partnered with Vancouver artist Meredith Madderom for our first contest!  Do you have a beloved horse you want to immortalize?  Enter HRN’s contest and you could win a custom portrait of your horse!

How:                                        Place an ad! Any ad!

Who:                                        Anyone and everyone!  You’ll automatically be entered to win when you place an ad on HRN.

When:                                      The contest closes the moment we hit 50 ads so get yours in quick!

What (aka The Prize):             The winner will receive a custom portrait of a horse of their choice. 

The winner of HRN's first contest will receive an 11" x 14" portrait by Meredith Madderom done in their choice of pencil crayon or pastel.

Once a winner has been selected, they will be asked to send in a photograph of  a horse of their choice.  After receiving the photograph, it will take Meredith approximately 2 weeks to produce the portrait. Upon completion HRN will mail the portrait and photograph back to the winner.

Samples of Meredith Madderom's work:

Pencil Crayon:

Oil Pastel:

Medical Monday: Thrush

Most horse owners, at one point or another, have had to deal with thrush.  In wet climates (*cough* Vancouver *cough*) it may have even been recommended that you treat your horses hooves with something like Coppertox to help keep the hoof dry and prevent thrush. 

Symptoms of thrush can include:

• Bad smelling hoof
• Black pus in the frog area
• Frog appears to be decaying
• Lameness and/or increased sensitivity of the frog.

There are many options for treatment out there – most of which can be purchased at your local tack store, or if the thrush is persistent, talk to your veterinarian for other options.  If you’re on a budget, you can try using sugardine which you can make in your own home.  Sugardine is simply a mixture of Betadine and white table sugar to form a paste.  Some people may suggest using bleach or hydrogen peroxide – DO NOT USE THESE! These are caustic chemicals and can burn healthy tissue and actually retard healing.   

In terms of prevention, if you’re in a wet climate there’s not much you can do.  The thrush bacteria is anaerobic so prevention is essentially keeping your horses hooves dry.  As mentioned above, Coppertox can help as it serves to dry out the hoof.  When applying Coppertox, be careful not to get it on yourself as it stains, and make sure you only put it on the bottom of the hoof as it can irritate the hair and skin and cause sensitivity. 

Here's a video I found on youtube from thehorse.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44r1MvdM3fk

Tips for Buying a New Horse - Part 1

So you've decided to embark on the epic journey into horse ownership.  Congratulations!  There are a lot of things to consider - too many to include right not but, fear not, there are more to come!

• Take the horses fitness level into account.  An unfit horse may be lazy and dull, but as their fitness level increases you may notice energy and behavioral changes.
• When arranging to try a horse, it's a good idea to see the horse being caught from the field (if they're in one), led in, groomed and tacked up in addition to being ridden.  Ground manners are very important and can make or break your partnership with a horse. 
• Before trying any horses develop a set of criteria that suit you and what you're planning to do with your new horse.  If you have a trainer/instructor that you work with ask them for their opinion.
• Finding a perfect match can take time and many trials! You may find it helpful to make some notes after viewing each horse so as not to forget any important details, or confuse one horse with another!

Mud Fever

If you’re one of the dubiously lucky ones to live in Vancouver, or a similarly rain afflicted city, you and your horse are probably not strangers to mud fever ;)

Mud fever (aka Scratches, Rain Rot, Mud Rash, etc.) is a type of skin infection most commonly affecting the hollows of horses’ pasterns and heel areas.

Without going into specific medical details, mud fever is generally found in horses exposed to a persistently wet or muddy environment.  It presents with crusty scabs which may make the underlying skin quite sensitive.

In most cases, owners can treat this condition themselves.  However, if the horses’ legs are swollen or the horse is lame, owner’s should certainly consider contacting their vet.   To treat mud fever, remove all scabs (to make this easier on the horse you can first try soaking the affected area in warm soapy water).  Once the affected area is cleared of scabs and dried, treat with an anti-bacterial lotion.

Prevention:

·         Clip any long hairs (feathers) as they will hold moisture close to the horses skin

·         Keep horses in as dry an area as possible.  Rotate winter pastures to minimize mud.

·         When dealing with muddy legs, it’s preferable to let them dry and then brush the mud away but if you must hose them off, be sure to dry them afterwards.

·         Spray potentially affected areas with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and baby oil after cleaning.  The baby oil will moisturize the skin, preventing it from cracking.  The vinegar will change the pH value of the skin, making it less hospitable to bacteria.

Equine Amputation

Dr. Frankenstein beware – the horse world is about to give you a run for your money!

Well, that may be a slight exaggeration but who among us had ever thought it might be possible to amputate (and fit with a prosthesis) our beloved, albeit typically 4-legged, horse.  According to an article posted on TheHorse.com partial limb amputation in horses has been going on for over 40 years and “should not be considered abstract or controversial procedures”.

This, of course, brings to my mind an image of one of those dogs whose hind end has been injured and its kind, senile, grandmotherly owner has outfitted it with one of those partial wagons so it can still get around.  Can we expect to see these for horses one day?  Or maybe we can pull our aging equines around in those carry carts attached to our bicycles – although I might suggest a motorcycle because good God would that be a workout!

If it sounds like I’m mocking this in any way, I’m not.  I’m all for medical advances and anything that keeps my and my horse together longer.  And if we look goofy doing it, even better! Bring on the carry cart!

TheHorse.com article: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18024

Genetically Modified Alfalfa

This topic seems to be kind of a “hot button” topic in the horse world these days.  Now aside from the obvious concerns with respect to health and potential side effects of feeding anything genetically modified whatever – does anyone else feel like we’re in the beginning of a bad horror movie?  The plot is obvious – a socially awkward, but lovable, scientist successfully modifies alfalfa seeds to the supposed benefit of the farmer (he can now spray for weeds without killing the crop) and at no harm or risk to the animals fed the alfalfa.  But what our lovable scientist doesn’t know is that the organism he genetically modified is mutating! At an alarming rate!  Pretty soon, the farmer (let’s call him Bob) gets up at 4am to start his day, just like he does every other day; he walks outside to check his crops only to find his alfalfa field completely devoid of any alfalfa stalks!  It looks like someone came in the middle of the night and, with the help of an uber-industrial sized vacuum cleaner (compliments of Wile E Coyote and the good people at Acme), sucked up the entire alfalfa population.  But what really happened was the alfalfa stalks had mutated to a point where they could walk, communicate telepathically, and were so dissatisfied with their lot in life that they decided to hammer out a plan for global domination, which will go in to effect immediately after they exact their revenge on their creator.  The alfalfa stalks quickly gather up their brethren from neighboring fields (because, as organic farmers feared, cross pollination did occur) and march on the lovable scientists laboratory.  Cue dramatic music with a heavy marching beat and the stage is set for our protagonist: none other than Chuck Norris outfitted with a rig full of napalm and a flame thrower with which he intends to take out the marching alfalfa. 

As the last alfalfa stalk lies there, smoldering, slowly dying, he whispers “Monsantoooooo…..” and spasms once more before going to that great field in the sky.  Thus leaving the ending open for a new beginning in the form of a sequel where Monsanto and a team of scientists try to perfect the work the lovable scientist started with genetically modified organisms.  And like every bad horror movie series, the villains just get bigger and badder.  If you’re like me, you don’t want to dwell on this because walking, telepathic alfalfa is enough!

So to sum up, the (possible) effects of ingesting genetically modified organisms has not been fully explored and I, for one, will not be feeding potentially telepathic alfalfa to my horse – unless it could make him telepathic and we could have conversations.  Unfortunately there’s no way to guarantee that outcome, and besides, I’m not telepathic (at least I’m not yet, I’m working on it though) so I maintain my “anti” stance on the genetically modified alfalfa issue.

New pictures!

I posted some pictures I took this weekend of my horse and some friends horses to my facebook page - please take a look and let me know what you think!

Megan's Photos!

Back Pain Linked to Aggression in Horses

Say what you will about homeopathic medicine and other non-traditional remedies, they can really make a difference!

I attended a talk given by Myles Herman this past weekend.  He spoke about his experiences and the hundreds and hundreds of horses he has worked on over the years.  It was amazing to listen to – hearing about how he had helped horses and riders improve their relationships by facilitating better communication.  He posits – and so does an article in the January 2011 edition of Equus Magazine – that bad behavior is, at times, a horse’s way of communicating that they’re in pain. 

According to a study done in France, 76% of their equine test subjects suffering from “severe vertebral problems” displayed aggressive behavior (the behaviors they used to classify “aggressive” are listed in the article itself - http://ca.zinio.com/pages/Equus/Jan-11/416149026/pg-10).  I don’t know about you but I find it a little disturbing that when training my horse, some of our “heated discussions” may have been because she was in pain rather than merely being difficult.

Myles ended his talk with a demonstration on a 6 year old Thoroughbred mare - who had the back drop that made her look 11.  She had raced briefly but was off the track before she turned 3.  Myles took his time, got to know the horse and spoke to the owner before he started his own physical evaluation.  After only a few minutes though, he had pinpointed trouble areas in her right shoulder, vertebrae and TMJ (basically the jaw area).  He did some quick manipulations and we had the opportunity to see the mare visibly sigh, close her eyes, and relax.  It was amazing to see such a profound reaction from just a few minutes with Myles.  Makes me wonder what would happen in a full hour! 

It’s definitely something to consider that when showing aggressive behavior, maybe your horse isn’t being difficult or mean, maybe they’re just in pain. I don’t know about you but I can be pretty grumpy when my back hurts!  Personally, I’d prefer to double check and make sure my horse isn’t in pain before I up the anty training-wise. 

My horse has been off most of the last 2 years recovering from an injury.  I plan on bringing him back this spring and hope to start training in dressage again.  After seeing Myles work on that Thoroughbred mare, I think it would be a great idea to have him out to see my horse before I put him back to work.  This way I know we’re starting out on the right foot and that I’ve done everything I can to make him happy, (cue sappy ending) because I know he always does his best to make me happy.