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Stress - A Requirement of Horse Training
By Don Blazer

          There's virtually something for everyone in the world of horses--barrel racing to dressage, halter to jumping, working cow horse to driving, gaited to trail-in-hand, back-country packing to downtown parades.  To each his own!

         If you can do it on a horse or with a horse, there's probably an organization that sponsors or records it.  (There's no less than 137 recognized breed associations in the US and most have some way of telling and showing you all about their horses.)

         And there's more than one way to train that horse-clickers....
Unbalanced Hooves
By Eleanor Richards
        
       There she stood - with her head in the stall corner. She was fat, shod badly; the joints and pasterns on all four legs were swollen and she laid back her ears when approached.

         When we watched her being ridden, prior to the auction, she was nasty and sour.

         So we bought her.

         Babe also had a pretty head and under all that fat was a nicely balanced horse.

         The first step toward fixing her was to pull her shoes.

         Babe is 15.2 hands and a large mare.  She was wearing double ought shoes (00) - shoes meant for a smaller horse.  Her heels were contracted and the shoes provided no heel support.

         Because of a long history of wearing shoes too small Babe's hooves were twisting…rolling under.  Using a shoe too small for a horse does not allow the hoof to expand so it begins to twist - looking for the path of least resistance.  Soon the hoof becomes unbalanced.
Did You Know....
          Capillary refill time is the time it takes for blood to return to blanched tissues in the gums; it is an indicator of blood circulation.
          Normal refill time is 1 to 2 seconds.
          Lift the horse's upper lip and firmly press your finger against the horse's gum.  Apply pressure for up to 2 full seconds-or long enough to create a white mark.
           Release the pressure and the white mark should return to a normal pink color within 2  seconds.       
From the online course Stable Management; taught by Eleanor Richards.
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