I just read an interesting article in America’s Horse the March/April 2014 issue that we can file in the back of our minds to try to ease the squeamish new horse persons concerns, and possibly even your neighbors.  I will share what their findings were and if you want to read the research behind these talking points, visit www.bayequest.info/static/pdf/manure.pdf. – From Equine Land Conservation Resource, WWW.ELCR.ORG.

As horse owners we don’t give it much thought.  We step in it and shovel it, it’s just part of having horses.  But it’s always funny to watch people who are new to horses deal with it.  They step around it and giggle about the natural bodily functions of an equine.  Not that humans don’t do the same thing.  So the next time someone makes a comment about “it” you can share the real “Scoop On Poop.”

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For Horse people, manure is part of day-to-day life.  For people who do not have experience with horses, manure can appear dirty and even toxic.  Here are some talking points to help dispel that myth:

• Horse manure is 70-80 percent liquid and 20-30 percent solids.  The liquid portion absorbs quickly into the ground.  The majority of the solid portion – mostly grass and forage leavings – breaks down in the first six days.
• Horse manure is biodegradable, natural and contains no petroleum or animal byproducts.
• Horse manure is an excellent fertilizer and can improve soil conditions.
• There are no known toxic effects on humans due to exposure to horse manure.
• The Environmental Protection Agency excluded horse manure from solid waste regulation because it contains neither significant amounts of hazardous materials nor exhibits hazardous characteristics.
• Horses do not carry any of the 120 viruses and pathogens that create risk for humans from carnivore and omnivore species.
• The pathogens that do exist in horse leavings require ingestion to create a health risk, typically abdominal discomfort.
• Most of these pathogens have a very short lifespan on the ground, meaning the risk of infection through ingestion is very limited.
• No record exists of horses transmitting any disease to humans.”

This article was reprinted by permission from the American Quarter Horse Association.

So now that researchers have proven what we’ve always known, you can rest easy when you see your children or grandchildren running through it barefooted.

How many times do we just get on and off our horse without giving it much thought?

Yet so many times I just cringe when I see someone mount their horse.

Let’s start with the horses perspective.  Truthfully his spine isn’t really made to carry weight.  So in the old cowboy movies when you see someone run up behind their horse, palms hitting their rump as they propel themselves into the saddle, or jump from a second story balcony onto their horses back you always see the horse almost fold in half.  Picture yourself just lying there watching television and your dog takes a running leap and lands on, usually your belly, or rib cage area.  Startling impact isn’t it, even if you do see it coming.  Scares you, knocks the wind out of you, and your body reacts by folding in half.  Same difference.

Oh but I don’t get on that way, you may say.  No, but when you do get on do you ease yourself into the saddle or just flop down?  Look for a reaction from your horse the next time you mount.  Back sinks, head and neck come up, eyes bulge, you get the picture.

In the old days, before there was an equine chiropractor, you had cold backed horses.  You couldn’t sit on them for about 15 minutes.  You had to stand in the stirrups and trot around until they got warmed up.  They usually bucked for the first 10.  They were just cold backed, nothing you could do about it.  Really?  If you still have a cold backed horse you need to start looking into taking care of it.  Usually a equine chiropractor or some one who is trained in acupuncture can help, or maybe all you need is a different saddle.  If you’ve been riding with a bad fitting saddle for a while,  your horse may need therapy for his back to remove the soreness.

Very few people, years ago, were concerned about the fit of the horse’s saddle to his back.  Too many today don’t even take it into consideration.  Oh Dad I really need that saddle.  All the other show riders are using it.  Oh it’s so comfortable, I just love it.  Well is it that comfortable to your horse.  Put on a shoe a size too small, walk around in it for a day.  Let’s see how that works for you.  And just because the saddle fits him at 8 years old, it may not fit him at 12, 18, 24, 30.  If he gains or loses weight his back will change.  More muscle or lack of muscle will also change his back.  This is something you must monitor all the time.  Find someone who can teach you to fit a saddle properly, or ask your saddle dealer to find and fit the right saddle for your horse.

Mounting from the ground, another issue.  Oh I don’t look cool or experienced if I use a mounting block.  Yes everyone should learn to mount from the ground, but if you can use a mounting block, log, or something sturdy to mount from, please do so.  Now I said sturdy, something that’s not going to roll out from underneath you, or crack and break letting you slip underneath your horse.

Why should I use something to stand on?  I’m glad you ask.  When you mount from the ground you pull the saddle across the horses withers.  Ouch!

Now if your girth isn’t tight, (Remember January’s 10 Things You Should Do Before Getting On Your Horse) it’s really going to pull the saddle across the withers, shift your pad, or pads, and you are left lying under the horse.  Scary!  Not a good place to be.  Always make sure you put your hand under your pad pushing it up from the withers so it’s not putting too much pressure.

To anyone who really knows about horses you will look more professional if you are a thinking, kinder horseman to your horse.

Okay, so you’ve tightened your girth, have your trusty old mounting block and your ready to mount.

Control.  So many people never shorten their reins before mounting.  You should have control of your horse at all times.  What if something scares him and he takes off?  You have one foot in the stirrup, and  at this point it doesn’t matter if you have a mounting block or not.  There is always the possibility of getting dragged.

Some people teach making your left rein shorter than the right so the horse will circle you and the mounting block.  In a controlled situation it works.  When I was Fox Hunting, I’d have to get off sometimes to open a gate I couldn’t reach from my horses back.  There wasn’t always something to stand on, so I’d have to mount from the ground.  At this point there were usually 25 couple (50 hounds), give or take a couple, the Huntsman and staff barreling down on me.  I needed to get on fast.  When I used to shorten my left rein my horse, who didn’t want to get left behind, would be circling me, and circling me, and…. So I learned that if I shortened the right rein she would turn her belly and butt into me and I could get on in one shot.

You should always make your horse stand perfectly still until you are fully seated and in control.  The horse is only to move off when you are ready and give them the signal, not when they feel like it.  Remember, you are lead mare at all times.  The hunt field comes with its own set of excitement and challenges.  When hounds, staff and field (all the people on horseback) are on a run, your horse doesn’t really care who you are, or if you come along for that matter.  He plans on joining the excitement, with or without you.  The old herd mentality at work.

Be a watchful, thinking, caring horseman/woman.  Your horse will thank you for it.

For those of you old enough to remember that movie, it was great.

Horses are also great escape artists.  I had my granddaughter’s pony years ago who was a regular Houdini.  Every morning he’d be in the pasture with burrs in his mane and tail.  Now there were no burrs in my pasture, but there were plenty in the vegetable farm next door.  Checked the fence, all was well.  That was until one morning when I called everyone in for breakfast and my Quarter Horse Desert was missing.  Walked out to the back pasture and there was Desert running the fence line screaming for help.  Mane and tail full of burrs.  It seemed he had gotten under the fence with the pony.  The pony was smart enough to get back in but Desert forgot how.  So it seemed that every night Chester the pony had been getting out and spent the night in the neighbors vegetable field and would come back before I was awake.  He was great with the grandchildren, but Chester was a true pony, always up to no good.

However, this great escape is not about loose horses, it’s about us always needing an escape route.

So many times I see people in a dangerous position, with no way of getting away if the situation presented itself.  They’re up against a wall, fence, tree, post, other horses, vehicle, etc. “Danger Will Robinson!”

We’re back to the fight or flight instinct.  If something goes wrong a horse is going to react.  This isn’t an instance of the horse standing there and rationalizing “let’s see. This thing is going to eat me so I must leave.  If I turn right I can get away, but there is a human body I’ll have to step on to get out of here so maybe I should go to the left?  Oops, no there is a wall.  Human body, wall?  Human body, wall?  Maybe I could ask them to move so I can leave?”  Nope, it’s “Oh my gosh, I’m dead meat, I’m out of here!”

The best advise I can give is, always leave yourself room to get out-of-the-way.  And let me add, make sure that way is clear.  When you have a horse that is in a total state of panic, even a lot of room becomes not enough room.

Situations that can get you in trouble –

• Your horse is down in the stall, you go in to see if he’s okay, he panics, struggles to get up, can you scale the divider?
• Your horse is cross tied in the isle way.  Something scares him, he pulls back and breaks the cross ties.  Maybe there is enough room to get out-of-the-way, but are you going to fall over a tack trunk, the milk crate you were standing on to pull his mane, the dog that was sleeping by your feet?
• Your horse panics in the trailer.  Are you caught against the wall, another horse?  If he goes down, where do you go.
• You’ve got your horse tied to the fence, you’re cleaning his feet, something spooks him, he body slams you into the fence.  Your back now looks like a waffle cone or your picking splinters out for weeks, if you’re lucky.

Before you do the simplest things, check for the exit signs, and make sure that nothing is in your way.

Now that’s a “Great Escape.”

Okay so you think I may be crazy, but let’s explore the idea.

What is a Float Plan?  A Float Plan is what a captain of a ship/boat files before he leaves the port.  I believe a pilot files a flight plan.  It lists your estimated time of arrival, your destination and how you plan on getting there.  Perhaps who will be going with you, emergency contact information, your type of boat, etc.

You may ask “What does this have to do with horses?”  Well I’m glad you asked.

When I was young and stupid, now I’m just old and senile, I would hop on my horse and go where ever the spirit moved me.  No thought other than spending time with my horse in God’s beautiful creation.  The wind in my hair and the sun on my face.  Now that my hair is getting grey and my face looks more like a crunched up road map, my brain is starting to think of things that could happen.

Oh sure if something happened while I was out trail riding, the horse would go home, hopefully not crossing any major highways.  If I was lucky I’d pick myself up off the ground and start the long walk home myself.  But what if I couldn’t get up?  If I had my cell phone on me, as opposed to in my saddle bag, I could call; “you know I’m by the big oak just past the dip in the road, by last nights road kill.”  What if I was really hurt or unconscious?  My horse isn’t going to disclose where he left me.  “I don’t know, we were cantering along and she just jumped off a couple of miles down there somewhere.”  Of course if you’re married to Tonto (for those old enough to remember the Lone Ranger) he could follow the hoof prints.  That is, unless other people recently have ridden that way.  A dogs tracking collar would work, might look a little odd, (I said tracking, not shock) or if you’re lucky enough to have GPS tracking on you phone that would be a great thing, but what if you don’t?

So how about a riding plan, trail plan, or I’m going out for a ride don’t bother me plan.  Give it any name you would like, but let someone know where your destination is and how you are planning to get there.  Now I have to admit I’ve done that and then changed the direction because of unusual circumstances.  Trees down in the woods, trail closures, water is too deep, the horse eating (you fill in the blank) Dogs, Donkey’s, Cows, Lammas, Ostriches were out there and my horse wouldn’t go by them, but basically someone would know about where to look for you when your trusty steed says “See You Later.”  Have you ever noticed they’re brave until something scares them?  Then its sacrifice the horse behind me, or if there isn’t another horse around, the rider will do.  Most horses are smart enough to not be the first or the last horse in the group.  Another word for first horse or last horse is dinner.

So just to make it easier on your relatives or friends, let someone know where you plan on going.  My husband wouldn’t notice I was missing until dinner wasn’t on the table at 6:00, but most people really hate it when they’re out there in the dark, with flashlights, looking for you when they would rather be home watching their favorite TV show.

Oh a couple of more thoughts.  Don’t forget to program ICE into your cell phone.  Police and Paramedics look for that.  For those of you who are cell phone challenged it means “In Case of Emergency” contacts.  Also if you don’t carry a cell phone have emergency contact information on you.  You can usually pick up a little card that fits into your wallet at your local hospital, at least you used to be able to.  It will give anyone who finds you your name, phone numbers and any allergy’s you may have to medications.

Think about it.  Maybe telling someone what direction you plan on going isn’t such a bad idea after all.

We all have our favorite breed of horses.  Horses that take our breath away.

What is it about a horse in general that reaches beyond our thought process and goes straight to our hearts?  Our pulse quickens, our breath comes a little quicker, our eyes can’t take in such beauty in one look.  Manes and tails flying in the breeze, fluid movements almost hypnotize us.  Poets have spoken about it, books have been written on it, yet we still can’t explain it, even to ourselves.  We, as horse people, just know it.  Even in the song “Run for the roses” by Dan Fogelberg when it says, “The fire of a mare and the strength of a stud” speaks to our inner being.

It amazed me that in the very beginning of the movie Secretariat they quoted the Bible.  It comes from Job 39:19-25.  I don’t think many people caught the reference, but they portrayed the fire and spirit of the horse behind the words.

God is trying to make Job realize what wonderful things He has created and that Job just can’t measure up to God.

Job 39:19-25

Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?

It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength when it charges out to battle.

It laughs at fear and is unafraid.

It does not run from the sword.

The arrows rattle against it, and the spear and javelin flash.

It paws the ground fiercely and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.

It snorts at the sound of the horn.

It senses the battle in the distance.

It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.

There have been many horses through history who have performed such as this.   My Magic was brave and full of spirit, my Zoey is not one of them.  She just worries.  I checked into her family tree.  I wanted to know what she was bred for.  Her father’s side were halter horses.  Her mother’s side were race horses.  Yup, that’s my Zoey, looks pretty and runs fast (usually in the other direction).  Other than that, not so much.  So for now we’ll stick to look pretty and running fast.

Each one is a gift.  Each one is a teacher.  Each one makes us the horseperson we become.  Each one touches our hearts and take a piece of it with them when they cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Magic, at age 30, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on February 3rd.  Anyone who knew Magic will testify that Heaven will never quite be the same.

Your spirit and fire gave me confidence.  Thank you for all you taught me about life, and myself.  I’ll always love you, and I will miss you Magic.

How did we ever live without them, and how can we live safely with them?

The key word here is safely.

We need to have them near us in case of an emergency, but they can’t be a distraction.

When we’re around horses our full attention must be on the horse and it’s surroundings.  Bad things can happen in a heart beat.

Most horses won’t react to things you expect them to, but rather to the unexpected.  We must always be aware of our horses body language and outside stimuli.

For example –

• A dog or child suddenly runs through the barn
• A plastic bag, someone left lying around, suddenly takes flight when the wind sends it into action
• A strange noise or movement in the distance that you may not even hear or see
• Or something as simple as an unexpected sneeze.

These are all horse eating things that horses may be startled by.  If you are on the phone you may not catch the subtle signs that life, as we know it, is about to change.

Don’t forget they are a fight or flight animal who depend on a quick reaction to survive.  Maybe we should learn from our horses to pay attention and react accordingly.  Seems to work for them.

Let the calls go to voice mail, and just enjoy what little time you have with your horse. (There’s never enough time.)  Return the calls after you leave the barn, when you can then focus on the person who called you.

One more thought.  It could be a pain to land on one.

Always stay in the moment, you’ll enjoy it more.

Have you given them much thought, or do you just carry it out of habit?

There are pros and cons to carrying a cell phone with you when you are at the barn and riding.

Check in next week to see what they are, and let’s see if your ideas match mine.

I want you to be a thinking horseman/woman.

1. Be clear with your instructions
2. Set boundaries
3. Be consistent