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Teaching a response – leg yield

Along with its cousin, the rein yield, the leg yield is an essential tool I teach my horses.  Before I go over how I teach it, let’s learn some vocabulary.  

When a leg is moved away from the body, that is abduction.  Just like child abduction, when a child is taken away from its parent.  

When a leg is moved inwards underneath the body, it is adduction.  Just like people add to a crowd by getting closer to it.

The horse should be able to adduct and abduct each leg.  You may find your horse has a leg, or legs, that are difficult to adduct or abduct.  Your horse may never have been taught to do that motion and he might lack the strength and flexibility to do it.  Teaching him to abduct and adduct each leg will help him balance his body better.  It’s also a great way to build strength.

I begin by standing at the horse’s side and putting my palm on his barrel at roughly the height my calf would be while I’m mounted.  I’m the beginning, I’d place my other hand on the horse’s  shoulder to help him understand that I don’t want him to only move his haunches.  I apply pressure until I see the horse move away from me.  The horse may step forward or back before he goes sideways, and your job is to move with him.  Watch his feet and as soon as the horse takes a step away from you, release your pressure by ceasing to touch your horse.  Praise, wait a few moments, then repeat.

After the horse understands the two handed cue for leg yield, leave out the shoulder cue and only use pressure on his barrel. After that, you can start to keep the pressure on until you see abduction and adduction from each pair of legs.

Blue respond to the pressure on his barrel and abducts his outside (left) front leg
The release of pressure becomes more clear in the next moment as Blue adducts his inside (right) hind.  You will notice that I did not move at all from one picture to the next, Blue simply steps away from my hand, and my hand does not follow him.
Keep in mind the amount of pressure you apply to the horse, and quantify it in your mind.  We want to build a response to a light cue.  One way to quantify the pressure is if you are touching the air near the horse, the horse’s hair only, the skin, then even harder is pushing against the muscle, and then pushing on the bone.  You want your horse to respond to hair/skin level pressure, but you may have to get tougher at times and use muscle/bone pressure.  Tougher horses sometimes begin with harder pressure, but with correct application of release, praise, and repetition they usually learn to respond to a lighter touch happily.  This is good news for me, since I don’t want to have to expand unnecessary energy when I ride.

You want to be sure to work both sides of the horse, but don’t expect the horse to connect what you did on one side of his body to the other side.  You will essentially have to train each side of the horse separately using the same techniques of gradual progression, release, and patience.
Once the horse has an understanding of how to move sideways from the halt, you can try the cue while he is walking.  Be sure to keep a hold on your line so that you can pull your horse’s head toward you if he tries to kick you.  He may never have had constant  pressure applied to his side while in motion and take offense.

Blue respond to pressure on his barrel to yield while walking.  
Next, try longing your horse and asking for him to step sideways from a distance. While he is moving I direct my energy toward the part of his barrel I apply the yield cue on.  I lean in to the area, and follow up by pointing, then shaking the flag at his barrel.  As soon as I see the abduction or adduction, I stand up straight and lower my flag.  As he gets more sensative to the cue, I ask for more sideways steps.  Once it’s going well in the walk, you can try the trot, and even the canter.

Blue yields from a distance.  I’ve directed my energy toward the place on his barrel that I was applying pressure.  In this instance I am walking towards the area to amplify my intent.  As with all the yields in this series, I keep his nose pointed towards me.

Each horse is an individual.  Some horses may get through all these steps in one session, some may need a dozen sessions to get through this.  Have reasonable expectations and listen to your horse if he says he’s had enough. 

Once you get on your horse, you can begin the leg yield while mounted.  Your horse now knows the cue to move sideways from pressure on his barrel, the difference being that your leg is now applying the pressure, instead of your hand.  You may use your reins to keep the horse from solely moving forward, but be sure the horse has an “open door” to go through.  

Blue easily moves away from my left leg despite having his focus on something happening to his right.  My inside (left) rein helps him to look to the inside, my outside (right) rein helps to prevent him from moving solely forward and opens the door for him to go through.  My right leg makes sure not to block blue from traveling towards it.
Whether you have a green horse, or an established horse, it is good to check on these basics from time to time to see if your horse can easily adduct and abduct all four legs.  If there is a way in which your horse cannot move his legs, that is a hole in his training that ought to be filled in.

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Lunch with Emily

I first heard about the Thoroughbred Makeover competition when it showed up on my Facebook news feed as something one of my friends was doing.  Emily Flaxman, now Emily Spicer, was a student of mine for awhile before striking out on her own as a professional.

Emily did very well in the first Thoroughbred Makeover.  She earned fourth place with Go Wheeler Go.

It had been awhile since I had seen Emily, so we scheduled a lunch to talk about her experience in the Makeover.  The thoroughbreds owners, Mark and Ann, came to lunch too.  Emily graciously answered our endless questions.  We talked about cross country hauling, what the Kentucky Horse Park was like, and the format of the competition.  Emily shared the things she noticed that the judges like, and what they penalized.  More than anything, Emily shared her experience of community and lasting friendships she gained through the experience.

Ann and Emily

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From wombat to WIMBAT (How to cure a horse that roots)

So you know what they say about wombats, right?  

A wombat eats roots and leaves.  

Or

A wombat eats, roots, and leaves.(For those of you unfamiliar with the slang, “roots” means has sex)

I’ve got two horses in my barn that are wombats.  Brio is fat (eats), tries to mount the other horses (roots), and breaks away when longing (leaves).Brio is making progress via a diet, and longing in the lass-rope halter.  

The other wombat is one of our makeover thoroughbreds, Blue.  He eats because he needs to gain weight.

To be fair, he quit leaving.  He used to casually wander off when I let go of his lead.  He turned a corner a couple weeks ago and now chooses to hang out with me when I let go of his lead. He has become my partner, instead of an insolent pupil.

The rooting in Blue’s case refers to pulling his head and neck straight down when being ridden.  Us horse people call this rooting.  I don’t know why.  

Blue rooting.

Perhaps a rooting horse is searching for his favorite root vegetables?

Or desperately checking to make sure there are no trip hazards in his path?

Or maybe suffering  some Kunta Kinte style angst?

The term rooting probably refers to rooting in the mud like a pig.  It looks about the same.

In my experience horses root in order to exert some sort of control over their riders.

Before you begin to address your horse’s rooting, be sure that you aren’t contributing to the issues. First, make sure that you aren’t balancing on your reins.  Check to see if you can ride with super loose reins. Then make sure you can maintain an even contact in all gaits. Ensure that your tack is comfortable for the horse, a horse might root to evade an ill-fitting saddle, or a bit that pinches. If you have any doubts or questions about these areas, consult your trainer.

My first approach to correct rooting is to treat it as an innocent game the horse is playing with his rider.  Horsey thinks it is fun that he can pull his head down and he has trained his rider to pull back on the reins in response.  It is something for him to do while making those monotonous laps around the sandbox.  

In this instance I find the best cure for rooting is to simply not participate in horsey’s game.  When I anticipate a root coming, I release my reins before the root begins so that the horse never gets to feel like he’s in charge of the amount of contact on the bit.  For green horses, I find this cures them of this habit within a couple weeks.  Starting here will also reinforce the independence of your seat and hand.

Blue tried to root, but found no contact to pull against.  He was rewarded with a “good boy” to encourage him to stretch down.

Then there are the not-green horses.  The horses who are well established in their pattern of rooting and pulling.  These are the ones that are trying to pull you out of the saddle and get you to do a front flip over their heads.  

These ones need to meet their own pressure and pull against themselves. 

When you anticipate a root, change your posture.  I call this “doing the ashamed puppy.”  Imagine that you have been a very bad boy and tuck your tail between your legs.  Now when the horse pulls on you, you will be pulled deeper into the saddle instead of forward.  Some horses give up rooting at this point.  Their game is no fun if they cant win by unseating you.  

 Marie in her ordinary seat on the left and in the ashamed puppy position on the right 

If precious horseykins is still pulling on you, ride with your reins in a bridge.  Make sure your reins are pushed down into the horses neck.  When he pulls, the pressure on his sensitive mouth will change by exactly the amount he pulls.  When he’s done pulling, the pressure is exactly the same as it was before the pulling began.  Your rein length did not change.  His rooting had very little effect on you, which is no fun for him.

You can either hold both reins in both hands (double bridge) or 

You can hold both reins in your planted hand and your other hand can hold the rein normally (single bridge).  If you do this style of bridge it is best to make your outside hand the one holding both reins.

If the rooting persists, it’s time to”pull the trigger.” When horseypooh is getting ready to root, grasp both reins in your left hand, and use that hand to push down on his neck.  With your right hand, pull up on the excess rein, effectively shortening the reins, then close your right hand firmly around the reins.  Hold this short rein until the horse gives by lightening the pressure on the bit.  Repeat as necessary.

Kristin pulls the trigger, she is planting her right hand, which is better for people with stronger left hands.

So back to the weird title of this post,”From wombat to WIMBAT.” A WIMBAT is a horse that is Welcome In My Barn Any Time.  I’m happy to say both of my wombats are well on their way to becoming WIMBATs.

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Corny’s update, January

My last post updated Blue’s progress towards the Thoroughbred Makeover.  This post will update you on his brother Corny’s progress.

Corny has been steadily improving under saddle.  Occasionally he pushes back when he feels the rider’s leg.  Kate has been doing a great job with teaching him that the rider’s legs mean go forward.  He’s given us some sass along the way, but ultimately is heading on a steady trajectory of improvement.

That is, until last weekend.

I recently posted that it is very difficult to hurt a horse while cleaning his feet, stating that the only time I did so was when I accidentally discovered, and popped, an abscess in a horse’s sole.  Well now I’ve hurt a horse by picking his feet twice.

I took Corny to a clinic with Terry Church last weekend.  On the second day he jumped and pulled back when I was cleaning his hoof. When I picked up his hoof after this incident, this is what I saw.

Yup, Corny is bleeding from his foot.

I knew this was likely deep thrush, but I freaked out anyway.  Thrush is a fungal infection that is very common in its mild form.  This is a severe form.  I knew a farrier friend of mine was on his way to the clinic as well, so I frantically texted him and he talked me down a bit.  He thought I could probably still use Corny in the clinic, but unfortunately Corny was significantly favoring the foot.

I brought Corny home and tried treating him as my farrier friend suggested.  Cleaning up his hoof the best I could, and applying a Betadine mixture to it. The problem was that Corny is so tender on that foot that he wouldn’t let me touch his frog, even with my finger.  Normally good natured Corny was simultaneously yanking his front foot away from me and trying to kick me with a hind foot.  He was unsuccessful because he isn’t quite athletic enough to pull that off, but I wasn’t getting anywhere in treating  his thrush.

I had the vet take a look because she had drugs if Corny decided not to participate in his treatment.  Corny behaved nicely for the vet who was able to clean up his foot, pack with iodine, epsom salts and gauze, and wrap it.  Corny has to wear the wrap for a week, then he gets shoes with a hard pad.  Hopefully he won’t be painful by then and he can resume training.

Corny’s hoof wrap

Unfortunately this is not the same sunny update as we got with Blue.  Hopefully Corny will be back on track in a couple weeks.

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Blue’s update, January

Olympic Blue is one of the thoroughbreds I intend to take to the Thoroughbred Makeover in Kentucky.  He’s now been in part training with me for two and a half months, this is an update on his progress.

The format of the Thoroughbred  Makeover  competition is to take a racehorse and transform it into another kind of horse (trail horse, polo pony, hunter, etc) in less than a year.  This strict timeline encourages training short cuts just like futurities tend to do.  However, I’m more concerned with Blue’s long term training than I am about going to Kentucky, so I’m going slow and trying not to leave any holes in his basics.

Blue’s groundwork has improved, he can now easily yield his hindquarters, shoulders, and barrel in the walk.  He can do most of these yields on the line in the trot too.  This work is lightening him in my hand, as he habitually keeps a strong and steady pressure on the line.  The canter is still more problematic, and while he can canter a circle on the line now, he can’t hold a lead yet.

Yielding his barrel while Terry Church looks on Nice abduction of the outside hind!  Blue is softly executing a walking rein yield/haunch yield.

We found a bit that Blue likes better than the simple dee ring snaffle I had on him .  He’s now going in a 3 piece loose ring snaffle (French link with bean).   I took the opportunity to switch bridles at this point so he could have a black one to match his saddle, instead of a brown one. I stole his bridle from my pony (My Poni) since he has a dainty head.  I’m leaving the noseband on, but keeping it super loose.

Under saddle Blue has found an even walk tempo with consistent stretch and energy.  We can do this walk in the arena and around the ranch.  He can execute a rein yield and a leg yield in the walk without resistance.

This is about as high as Blue’s neck gets in the walk right now.  He’s got a pure rhythm with good energy and reach.

Blue is working on these same elements in the trot.  He’s making good progress towards an even tempo, an even stretch over his top line, and yielding from the rein and the leg in the trot.  When he is more consistent in these departments, we will begin cantering under saddle.

 This is the worst we do in the trot right now.  Even so, it’s not horrible.  While his neck is up and his back is down, he is not bracing against my lateral aids.  This arena is on a bit of a slope and we had some trouble turning and balancing while going down hill.

 I’m certainly not winning any equitation contests here, but I am encouraging Blue to lower his neck via direct pressure.  Moving around in the tack is also useful to teach Blue  how to balance with a rider on top of him who is not going to hold him up.

Ah ha! This is what I’m going for!  Blue is stretching his neck down and lifting his back up.  He’s got an energetic trot that isn’t running.  He’s softly following my left rein’s request for turning and bending without leaning in.  If I’m being hyper critical I would like to see his mouth more relaxed.  

That last picture looks like an example of a good stretchy circle as is required in training and first level dressage tests.  In competitive dressage, my reins would have less slack in them, but Blue’s outline would be the same.  The stretchy trot is worth double points because it is demonstrative of having correct basics, just like the ones I’m trying to teach to Blue.

Picture credits to Elise Lalor, who took photos of my ground work lesson with Terry Church, and riding after the lesson at Zorado Fields.

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Grunging

Lately I’ve come to think of my longing as longing and groundwork hybrid.  I’ve decided to call it grunging.  In order to grunge properly, I need to put on my flannel shirt, ripped jeans, and converse sneakers.  My horse has far more options on what to wear.  I tried to think of all the setups I do with horses when I work them from the ground, and took pictures of each one.

Attaching to the halter

Rope HalterThe vast majority of the time I like to use a rope halter with the line coming off the bottom.  I change directions a lot and this gives me the best feel from side to side.

Make sure you tie the halter like this.  The crown piece should tie to the loop, not back on itself.  The excess should point up over the horses withers when you’ve completed your knot.  

Flat Halter Some horses have heads that are too dainty for rope halters but a flat halter stays in place just fine.  No matter your setup, make sure that your halter doesn’t pull into your horse’s eye while you are working him.  I leave the line attached to the bottom ring of the halter so I can change directions frequently.

Attaching to the bit

If the horse is pulling on me too much in a halter, usually I go to the bridle next.  These ways of attaching the line to the bridle should be switched when you switch direction.  However, you can sometimes get by without switching them if you are a good hand.

Be sure to take the reins off your bridle, or tie them up so your horse doesn’t get his leg through them when he puts his head down. Twist the reins under the horses neck.  Run the throatlatch of your bridle between the reins and buckle normally.

Or toss both reins over one side of your horse’s neck, strangle him with them, and buckle the reins in place. Secure the reins with the throatlatch and make sure they are not pulling on the bit…or actually strangling him.

Under the chinI like to run my line through the bit, loop around the bit ring, then under the chin and clip to the other side.  I find this discourages the horses from hanging on the contact of the longe line and is closest to the feel of the rope halter.  

Gag reinOnce in a while I will have a horse who is too sensitive to the under chin style, so I will use the gag rein style.  Run your line through the bit ring, over your horse’s head, and clip it to the bit ring on the other side.  This keeps the bit off of the bars of the horse’s mouth and transfers it’s action to his lips.

CouplerCouplers clip to the bit on either side.  Pacifico looks like he has the same opinion of couplers as me.  The coupler will probably prevent you from pulling the bit through the horse’s mouth, but really just puts pressure on the far side of the bit.  

Simple ClipThe only time you should just clip the line to the inside bit ring is if you are using side reins.  Otherwise you will likely pull the bit through the horse’s mouth.  I rarely use side reins, so I rarely use this style.

Bit and NosebandI took a longing workshop years ago through the USDF and they advocated using an auxiliary loop to go around the inside bit ring and the noseband.  Personally, I hate the feel of this.  The bit keeps the noseband from being a good point of control and vice versa.  But I guess you won’t pull your horse’s bit through his mouth.  I made this particular attachment from the coupler, though I’ve seen a cat collar work too.
Naughty horses

There are a few styles that I use with a very naughty horse.  I’m talking about the jerks that set their neck against you and pull the rope out of your hands.  I don’t use these set-ups very often because I don’t encounter this level of naughtiness very often.

Lass-rope halter

This looks like a lariat because it is one.  This usually does the trick for me with the horses that pull away.  If the rope went through the mouth instead of over the nose, that would be called  a war bridle.  I’ve heard you can break a horse’s jaw using a war bridle so I’ve never used it.  I’m keeping that idea in my back pocket in case I get a horse too naughty for my other methods one day.

Sliding rein The line runs through the bit and clips to the surcingle on the same side.  This gives you more leverage for the horse that braces his neck against you and tries to pull away.  I think the lass-rope halter works better.

Other styles

Every so often situations arise to necessitate alternate attachment methods.

Stud Chain There are a bunch of ways to attach a stud chain.  That is a topic for a whole other day.  The most mild way of using the stud chain is to have it come over the noseband of your halter.  Every time you run the chain through a ring on the halter, be sure to go from the outside in.  

Longe Cavesson These suckers are heavy and noisy.  They are widely used in European styles of working horses.  It has a similar feel to the halter, but is more restrictive in the jaw.  The line attaches to the center ring on top of the horse’s nose.  

Longe Cavesson and Bridle If you want to use the longe cavesson and the bridle, put the bridle on first, then the longe cavesson over.  Be sure to run your cavesson’s noseband under the cheek pieces of your bridle.  Either remove your bridle’s noseband or be sure the cavesson isn’t sitting on top of it.  Lastly, be sure that the longe cavesson is sitting in your horses nose bone, not his cartilage.  I usually only use all of this when coaching someone for a pony club testing  or USDF longing examination.  

Which style of attachment is right for you and your horse?  That depends on you, your horse, and the exercises you like to do while grunging.  You should experiment to find out what is right for you.  Try some different attachments while working your horse, and see which ones make your horse go the best without making you work too hard.  

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Ten commandments of eventing

I was raised as an eventer.  I didn’t have religion at home, so eventing took the place of instilling virtues in me that I’m guessing non-horse people get at church.  Those of us raised in an eventing barn are lucky enough to have had all these experiences and can take them into other facets of our lives.

Toughen up.  We rode in all weather conditions, no matter what.  Weather won’t stop an event, so don’t let it stop your ride.  Downpours?  A good time to practice riding with wet and slippery tack.  Extreme heat?  Better practice your electrolyte recipe.  Windy? A chance to practice your ability to adapt should your jump blow over on your approach.  Aww, you break your finger? Tape it to the next one and keep riding.

Your horse comes first.  We learned to care for our horse before ourselves.  Your horse didn’t sign up for any of this eventing business, performed for you, and didn’t kill you during your ride, even though he could have.  You respect him and put his needs before your own.  Doesn’t matter if you are sick from the sun, you hose your hot horse down before turning the hose on yourself.

Help each other out.  Cheer on all your stable mates at the horse shows, even if you don’t know them or don’t like them.  Did Beth forget to bring her girth to the event?  Lend her yours, even if it means you won’t get much warm up.  Did Stacy break her arm coming off of Dobbin?  Put Dobbin away, give Stacy a ride to the hospital, and add a portion of Dobbin’s care to your routine for the next six weeks. Even if Stacy is not your friend, you still help her and her horse.  

Volunteer.  Event organizers aren’t in it for the money.  Respond to their plea for jump judges. Lots of volunteers are needed to make sure you can compete, do your share to help someone else compete.  Remember to thank the volunteers for their time at the horse shows.

Learn to be thrifty.  Arrange to share a hotel room with three of your stable mates.  Make your own bandages.  Do your own braids.  Repair track instead of replacing it.  Don’t spring for shipping boots, you’ve already got standing wraps.  Add some bell boots and they are now shipping wraps too.

Here I am competing as a teen.  Check out my sweet second hand tack.  My saddle was purchased for $65,  breastplate for $3, girth cover for $1.  My second hand jacket was a man’s coat I had tailored.

Be a barn rat.  This is where your horsemanship will come from.   Watch and ask questions about what others are doing in the barn.  Not only will you learn about horses, but you will learn how to talk to people.  This is a great way to learn what you didn’t know you had to learn.


Don’t let any learning opportunity pass you by.  Attend every clinic in your area. Even if you can’t ride in the clinic, you will learn from auditing.  Go to association meetings, even if you think all the topics will be over your head.  Watch horse shows to see what more advanced riders do.  Read books, subscribe to magazines, watch videos.

Be prepared.  Train a level above your competition level.   School the cross country cost before you sign up for an event at that venue.  Take everything you own to the event.  Bring spare tack, including a spare set of shoes for your horse.  Safety check your tack regularly.  Have that first aid kit (human and horse) and tool kit ready.  Bring sunscreen and rain gear.  Plan for contingencies and don’t count on anyone else to bail you out if you weren’t prepared.

Be observant. Scan the fence line for broken rails whenever walking around.  Be in the lookout for doors, gates, and lids inadvertently left open.  Notice if one of the horse’s isn’t eating hay, or is starting to show signs of illness.  Make sure to act on what you see.  Report or fix the broken fence, close what’s been left open.  Call the trainer and owner of the affected horse and care for the horse until you are relieved.

The trainer’s word is gospel.  Do what your trainer tells you to do, she has your best interest at heart.  The trainer is like the pastor of a church with tighter clothes and worse language.  Hope that you haven’t joined a whack-a-doo cult, where the leader is trying to kill you and take your money.  If so, I hope the others in your community will help you get out.

Theses tenants are the cornerstones of developing grit, community, and resourcefulness.  At my high school graduation party my parents thanked my trainer, Sarah Vernlund, for raising me.  I had spent more Thanksgivings with Sarah than I had with my parents in the previous six years because that’s when the last event of the year was held.  I love the person that I am today because of these lessons, and as a trainer myself, my hope is to instill these values in my students as well.  If they become better riders, that’s icing on the cake.

That’s me in the black dress when I was 8 months pregnant.  Sarah Vernlund is on foot next to me.  Sarah taught my students while I was on maternity leave.

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Stereotypes

I’ve had the great fortune to work with a vast array of breeds and cross breeds.  I gave it some thought, and I came up with a list of over fifty different breeds I have experience with!

American Warmblood, Andalusian, Anglo Arab, Arabian (Polish, Egyptian, Shagya), Appaloosa, Belgian Draft, British Warmblood, Canadian Warmblood, Clydesdale, Connemara, Curly Horse, Drum Horse, Dutch Warmblood, Danish Warmblood, Fresian, Georgian Grande, Hispaño Arabe, Haflinger, Hannoverian, Hessen, Holsteiner, Hungarian Warmblood, Iberian Warmblood, Irish Cob, Irish Draft, Lippizaner, Lusitano, Missouri Fox Trotter, Morgan, Mule, Mustang, Nokota, Oldenburg, Paint Horse, Percheron, Pony of the Americas, Quarter Horse (Appendix, Foundation), Rhinelander, Thoroughbred (American, Argentinian, Australian, New Zealand), Trakhener, Saddlebred, Shetland, Shire, Standardbred, Sugarbush Draft, Spanish Norman, Spotted Draft, Swedish Warmblood, Tennessee Walking Horse, Welsh Cob, Welsh Pony, Westfalian,Trakhener, Zweibruker.

With a few exceptions, I’ve seen most of these breeds in purebred and crossbred form.  I’ve worked with imported and domestic horses.  I’ve heard lots of negative stereotypes about different breeds, and I thought it would be fun to share these stereotypes and my experiences.

Arabians are spooky and crazy. This has not been my experience.  I’ve encountered far more spooky warmbloods than spooky Arabs.  What I do notice about Arabs is some of them tend to be a bit more prone to sulling up when pushed past their comfort level.  That means that if they are being asked to do something they don’t want to do, they can become immobile and not move despite any and all attempts to coerce them otherwise.  I have found some of the kindest and most kid-safe horses to be Arabian mares.

These Arabians are excellent dressage and trail horses 

Appaloosas are stubborn.  This has not been my experience.  I can’t think of any universal truths about this breed.

Draft crosses make good husband horses.   I’ve found draft crosses to be good at ignoring their riders, which has its pluses and minuses when dealing with a novice rider.  If you’re husband is used to being ignored, it could work out.  They are quiet 4 of 5 times in my experience.

These draft crosses are good husband horses

Haflingers make great kids horses. Haffies are draft horses with their legs cut in half.  Some draft horses make good kids horses, and some are unstoppable walls of muscle.  Same is true here.  In my experience they are good kids’ horses 4 out 5 times.

Comet is a great kids horse, and was just about as wide as he was tall!  That is 5’11” me on 13.3h pony.

Holsteiners buck.  My experience shows this to mostly be true of they come from a “C” line.

Morgans…  What do people say negatively about Morgans?  In my experience, they are late maturing and last forever.  I’ve had two Morgan ponies that panted in the summertime.  That was very disconcerting the first time, but I knew what it was the second time.

Poni the pint sized Morgan is 23 and not slowing down.

Mustangs are never truly reliable.  I have a pretty small sample size on this one.  My experience with the 2.5 Mustangs I’ve worked with is that they hold on to a certain quirk, but are otherwise quite even tempered.  

River the Mustang is quite dependable

Paint horses (solid) are crazy.  I’ve heard that when paint horses are born solid instead of spotted that they aren’t given the same attention as their flashier brethren.  This theory is supposed to justify mean behaviour from solid paints. In my experience this can be true.  I’ve seen a solid paint get mad at his rider, jump in the air and land on his side effectively body slamming her.  I’ve also got a solid paint in my program right now so quiet that a dog rides him.

Clifford the solid Paint and Conner the Jack Russell out for an evening stroll

Quarter horses are very quiet.  This is often true.  4 times out of 5 in my experience.  

Standardbreds have bad canters.  Yes, true.  This seems to be a dominant trait as every Standardbred cross I’ve encountered also had a crappy canter. 

Tennessee Walkers are very tolerant. In my experience this is true 4 of 5 times

Thoroughbreds are fast and crazy.  I haven’t found this to be true either.  I’ve seen some unflappable thoroughbreds. I do find them to often be fast but behind the leg 4 out of 5 times.

Commandible the Thoroughbred 

Trakheners are hot.  Honestly I don’t think I’ve had a full blooded Trakhener.  I’ve had crosses though, one was super hot, the other super quiet.

Warmbloods are stupid.  They should call them dumbbloods.  Seriously?  I don’t really understand why people say this.  I have not found this to be true.  I also don’t find a ton of warmbloods who are super quiet these days either.  People like to think they are universally quieter than thoroughbreds, I have not found that to be true.

Warmblood Edward says, ” hey, I’m not stupid!”

I’ve come to realize that every horse needs to be treated as an individual.  Knowing about your horse’s breeding may predict some strengths and weaknesses you encounter, but it also might not.  The concept of a breed is best used to describe a phenotype or genotype, not a guarantee for temperament or attitude.  

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Hoof FAQs

Here is the blank diagram from yesterday’s post.  Could you name the parts 1-9 of the hoof?

Yesterday’s hoof diagram 

Here is a different diagram with the answers, plus more:


Parts of the hoof

These are great diagrams, but they don’t address some of the most common questions I get from my students concerning their normal horses feet.  Behold the hoof of a real life horse!

While  I am not a farrier, I know when to call the farrier.  Here are the most common questions I get about a hoof like the one pictured above.

Q: Oh my god, my horses frog is coming off!

A: Chill out, horses shed their frogs a couple times a year?  Let it be.  Your shoer will probably pare some of the loose bits off at your next appointment.
Q: Why is his hoof black in some places?

A: Those black spots are thrush, an anaerobic fungus.  This type of fungus thrives in damp and abhors air.  Really get in there and dig it out.  It will be white and crumbly under the black surface.  Dig the crumbly bits out too.  While there are many commercial products availible to treat thrush, air is thrush’s natural enemy and it’s free!  So I don’t think there’s any need to put anything else on thrush.
Q: Won’t I hurt my horse if I go digging around his foot with the hoof pick?

A: Maybe if you were Superman or something.  The only time I ever hurt a horse with a hoof pick is when I accidentally and very aggressively discovered an abscess.  Even then, the horse forgave me and experienced relief from me popping his foot pimple.
Q: My horse has a crack on his hoof wall, what should I do?

A: I’ve actually come up with a flow chart for this one.  You will have to zoom in to see most of it.


Those are the most common questions I receive about realistically normal hooves.  Of course there are plenty of other afflictions your horse can have in his feet like abscess, stone bruise, corns, and white line disease to name a few. When in doubt, ask your trainer.

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Fear and fighting in the farrier shed

Blue and Corny got shod yesterday for the first time since they’ve been in training with me.  The experience didn’t go as I thought it would, and I see opportunities to improve upon it with proper training.  Blue was fine, Corny had a tough time.  This post is going to serve as my post-mortem document so Corny can be better prepared next time.

Our horses get their farrier work done in a separate set of cross ties in what we call the farrier shed.  I kept meaning to get the brothers over there to practice standing in that set of cross ties, but I never quite got around to it.  You’d think with all the standing around training that I do, that I would have made it over there. 

In any case, Corny took to the cross tieing portion of his shoeing experience like a champ.  A win for crosstie training!  We got to the appointment 5 minutes early so we could watch the older horse in front of us behave as a good example.  Corny started stressing with his mouth almost as soon as he was tied up.  By the time Fernando pulled his shoes, he was beginning to shake.

 Corny’s stressed out tongue acrobatics

Fernando and I were patient and reassuring with Corny.  I took Corny out of the cross ties and held him.  I lowered his head a few times to place him in a posture of relaxation.  I did the one T-touch I know.  I kept the older horse that had just finished his shoeing appointment around as a buddy.  Despite all of this, Corny was increasing the intensity of which he was yanking  his feet away from  Fernando.  By the time Fernando had finished trimming and rasping Corny’s feet, Corny was striking out with his front feet.  All of our efforts to help Corny relax weren’t working, so I had to think of a way to get the job done.

So I turned to drugs.  I very rarely sedate horses, but I do keep some Acepromazine around for emergencies.  There problem with Acepromazine though, is that it doesn’t really work once the horse is already excited.  It was all I had, so I tried anyway.  It did practically nothing, but it did give Corny a 30 minutes break.

Meanwhile, Fernando started working on Blue.  This was possibly Blue’s first time being hot shoed.  Don’t worry Blue, you’re only on fire a little bit!

So in an effort to keep Fernando, Corny, and myself safe, I went to the twitch.  I use a humane lip twitch.  If you are unfamiliar with how twitching works, you are not alone!  I haven’t found any definitive research about why lip twitching works.  However, it has been proven to reduce stress in horses during procedures.  Check out this scientific study written up in The Horse.

A blurry photo I took while holding the twitch on Corny’s lip.

Success!  Fernando was able to finish shoeing Corny’s front feet and we didn’t get hurt.  We kept the twitch on for trimming his hind feet, but the effects started to wear off as Fernando was finishing up and he had to dodge a couple kicks.

Drugs and twitching are not a substitute for proper training.  Corny and I have some homework to do before his next farrier appointment in 8 weeks.  Here’s a list of things I will do to prepare for a better experience for Corn Cob.

  1. Practice standing calmly in the farrier shed.  We will try to get Corny to eat some meals in there.  Bonus if there is a horse being shod in there at the time.
  2. More work on foot handling.  We took some backwards steps in that department yesterday.  
  3. Work Corny prior to his shoeing appointment.  I had intended to work him after his shoeing appointment, but he will be more relaxed if I can work him first..
  4. Address suspected gastric ulcers.
  5. Get some more effective sedatives to have on hand from the vet.

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, here is some homework for you!  Check your knowledge of parts of the horse’s foot by seeing if you can name parts 1-9 in the diagram here.  Answers will be provided tomorrow, along with some discussion about the brothers’feet.