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July 2008 - Tips of the Week

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Monday, July 28, 2008 9:36 PM

Driving a horse usually involves more risks than riding him. You can get bucked off a riding horse, but when he got rid of you, he usually calms down and eats some grass when he finds a green spot. Not so with a driving accident. When you hit a post and turn over or fall out of the carriage, then often, all hell can break lose as the horse, without your leadership, will now be frightened even more with a loose carriage behind him and will run and smash it into pieces, endangering bystanders and property, besides himself. So carriage accidents must be prevented at all costs.

That starts out with the driver. He should properly learn how to drive and take lessons. Books, videos and the Internet cannot replace proper lessons. Most people would not try to attempt learning to drive an automobile either without proper instructions. So if you want to start driving, do it right and get some lessons from an experienced teacher.

The next item of importance is the proper education of the driving horse. Unfortunately, too many people try to do that themselves without the proper knowledge. Accidents, injuries and ruined horses are often the results. So don’t try to teach a youngster or even your old riding horse how to drive unless you really know enough about it and are a confident driver and horse trainer. Rather go with a well-experienced driver and try to find a well-educated and experienced driving horse. Note: Don’t get distracted by flashy action of your future driving horse. Rather look for a good mind and a horse that is calm and willing. You will have much more fun with him and you will be safer. You can always get that high-strung, flashy mover after you have had fun and gained enough valuable experience with your calm and willing and well-educated driving partner and you yourself have become an experienced and confident driver. For a good driving horse, what is between his ears is one of his most important parts.

Then comes the equipment—harness and carriage. I know the equipment is a major cost factor in driving—but before you buy that cheap old harness on e-bay and take the old cart that’s still in your neighbors garage from his grandfather, do keep in mind again, driving can be dangerous. Your life and that of your horse depend on good and safe equipment. It does not have to look fancy, but it must be sound and properly fitting. If you would start parachute jumping, you wouldn’t try that with questionable equipment either. So again, take an experienced driver along when you buy your equipment and have him also help you to fit it to your experienced driving horse and take him along on the first few drives.

He should help you to become a confident leader for your safe driving horse with sound equipment, and remember, the line, “Oh, I don’t know much about driving, but I got this old experienced horse—he’ll teach me” really does not work. You need to be in charge. You need to be a confident leader who makes all the decisions.

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Posted Jul 28 2008, 09:36 PM by

hzantke with

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Filed under: Driving, Safety

Friday, July 25, 2008 3:35 PM

Bridle Path Trimming

by jgoodnight

Here’s a quick tip about clipping your horse’s bridle path. Although bridle path length varies in expectations with breed and discipline, in general, less is more. For Quarter Horse- and Thoroughbred-type horses, the bridle path should be fairly short—just long enough to accommodate the headstall of the bridle. For gaited breeds and the more ’upright’ breeds, such as Arabians, Morgans and Saddlebreds, the bridle path is often cut long to enhance the look of the horse’s long, elegant neck.

If you are unsure about the proper length of bridle path to cut, gently lay the horse’s ear back on his neck and make sure the bridle path is not longer than the horse’s ear. To make the mane lay nicely over the horse’s neck, at the wither-end of the bridle path, cut a 45º angle underneath the mane. Always make sure your clippers are clean and oiled so you get the best cut the first time.

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Posted Jul 25 2008, 03:35 PM by

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Filed under: Horse Care

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:12 PM

Beginning Riders: Find a Well-Trained Horse and a Critic

by tmcquay

I would say the best thing for those getting started is to find a horse to let the young rider learn on that has some patience—a pretty broke horse, something they can go practice on and learn to do the maneuvers.

Then they need to work with someone who is a good ground person, who doesn’t necessarily need to be a great rider, someone to give them some good advice. Everybody, even myself, needs a good ground person to watch and say, “Hey, this is where we’re at. This looks good.” Everyone needs someone there to be a critic.

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Posted Jul 22 2008, 03:12 PM by

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Filed under: Better Riding, Success in Showing

Friday, July 11, 2008 8:01 PM

Fly Stomping

by jgoodnight

If your horses are constantly stomping and kicking at flies, their actions could be causing unnecessary wear and tear on their joints. Flies also carry disease by transporting infectious agents to humans and horses. In addition to fly spray, make sure you implement a fly-control plan for your entire property to keep your horses healthy for years to come.

Like humans, a horse's joints wear out with age and use. The harder you use your horse, the sooner his joints will begin to deteriorate. Sports like reining, cutting, jumping and dressage are particularly hard on a horse's joints. Stomping constantly at flies adds unnecessary wear and tear on a horse's joints that, added to other stressful use, cause excessive wear and inflammation of the joints. If a horse is already dealing with an injury or joint problem, the stomping may prohibit healing. He can't help himself—if the flies are bothering him, he'll stomp, regardless of injuries.

Some horses are more sensitive to flies than others. I have one buckskin that the flies just devour, while the horse standing next to him is totally unbothered. These sensitive horses especially need the best fly control so they aren't constantly fidgeting and stomping.

For me, there is also a training issue as it applies to flies. When I ask my horse to stand, I expect him to not move a single foot. If my horse is constantly stomping at flies, it is difficult for me to correct him and teach him to stand still because before I correct him, I have to determine if he is picking up a foot to move it or simply reacting to a fly biting him.

I have been using fly predators as my primary fly control system for over 20 years on three different properties. We have been at our current location for about 13 years and have seen a reduction in flies every year. I think it is the best product for fly control because it is safe to use, highly effective and protects the environment.

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Posted Jul 11 2008, 08:01 PM by

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Friday, July 11, 2008 6:47 PM

Leadership

by hzantke

I think good horsemanship includes good leadership. Especially in carriage driving we always must be in control in order to be safe. We can never let the horse be the leader.

Horses are herd animals. They accept a good leader. Good leadership means being competent, confident and calm. Fear has no place in good leadership. One should be careful and not reckless, but not be fearful.

Never give a command that you cannot see through, and when you give a command always do see it through. If you don’t, then you just taught that your commands don’t need to be obeyed, and then your role as a leader breaks down. Then the horse cannot put his trust into you as a leader and then he will make his own decisions. He will spook for example or turn and run when he thinks he is in danger.

So never bite off more than you can chew. If in doubt, don’t go there—as otherwise you risk failure and with that you’ll let your horse down and he will lose confidence in your leadership. This does not mean to remain stagnant. Never lose sight of the big goal way up there. But do break it down in as many small steps as you can, and keep pushing the envelope, one small step after the other. Asking for too big of a step will lead to failure and breed unhappiness as you then can’t reach the goal. The step was too big. You will be unhappy and so will your horse.

Asking for many very small steps will assure a much greater rate of success. You will be able to make the small step, thus be successful and that creates happiness for you as well as for your horse. So keep pushing, but in many small steps. Keep in mind that you can’t reach high goals if you only take out your horse once in a blue moon. Working as often as possible gives you more chances for many small steps to reach higher goals.

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Posted Jul 11 2008, 06:47 PM by

hzantke with

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Filed under: Driving