Dear Tim,

Welcome to the March issue of the www.horseshoecorner.com newsletter.  We had so much going on this month that it was difficult to choose which topic to highlight.  Highlights include plans for our first radio advertisement, increased services to nonprofit organizations and of course the permission changes.  In the end I determined the modifications to our membership had the greatest affect on our membership and should be discussed in detail, as well as explain what they'll mean to our members. 

After a great deal of effort we were able to reach our goal of altering the permissions levels, such that non members have the ability to purchase the products and services of our members.  Prior to this change when a non member clicked on a member's product or service they received an invitation to join our community.  As a result our system caused members lose out on sales opportunities and needed to be altered.  Today we are proud to say those alterations are complete and non members have full access to business profiles, horse profiles, and classified ads.   

Although non members are being granted services previously controlled by members they'll still be missing out on many of our great services.  Non members are still excluded from services such as posting advertisements, the chance to field test products and the point system, take part in the discussion forum, or meet and greet section.

We believe this was a major change to horseshoecorner.com and should increase our ability to serve our members as well as enhance our ability to recruit new members.    

Thank you,
Tim Van Loan
www.horseshoecorner.com 

Featured Horse for Sale 

  Missile Fire: 1989 National Show horse, 1/2 Arab (double registered), flashy beautiful former show horse, sound and healthy, always well cared for.

Sire is Easter Vanity and Dam is Rare Form, chestnut with tons of chrome, health care always kept up to date, goes in a snaffle, he showed halter until he was 5 years old, then English Pleasure horse in the show ring and then shown as a Hunter Pleasure Show Horse at the national level (was 6th in the Nation), for the last several years he's been a pleasure horse and not been in the ring, has done bridleless work with the adopter who is now having some family illness and has to give him up, good manners, knows leads, easily trained, respect your space but is better with people he knows and respects, loads, good with vet/shots and farrier, likes people, sensitive to cold, bugs and sun, good alone, comes when called, good with other horses, high on pecking order in a group, ties and cross ties, can be ridden today, confident, clips and bathes, quiet in stall, can catch in an open field, smart,

High energy when showing, has slowed down some but still needs an experienced rider, good temperament, needs a stable home, does not do well with a lot of moves, free lunges or on a line, no jumping at his age, no speed events and no serious campaigning/competition. Always lived in a stall with loads of horse clothes but does like his turn out time too.

   

 

Ten issues to consider for new horse tenants

Posted by: Nanette Levin

If you haven't had a lot of experience with horses moving into your stable, or even if you have, there are some simple things you can do to ease the transition for the new arrival as well as you and your existing herd.

1.     If possible, find out the grain type and amount being fed at the prior barn. It's best to slowly introduce a horse to new feeds, so if you can buy some of the former feed and transition over to your choice, this will help reduce the risk of colic. If you do not know what the horse was eating, it's better to start with low amounts and increase over time rather than risk foundering a horse that is not used to a lot of grain.

2.     See if a few bales of hay can be sent with the horse. This way you can introduce him to your hay over time.

3.     Figure out turnout arrangements prior to the horse's arrival. Usually it's best, if you're going to be turning the horse out with others, to pick one horse to test their behavior and temperament that will be firm but fair if they get aggressive.  If possible, introduce a new horse to a herd adding one horse at a time.

4.     Horses that are not accustomed to grass need to be introduced to it slowly. If you will be eventually turning a horse new to your facility out on acreage where good quality and ample grass is readily available, start with ½ hour of grazing and increase daily by ½ - ¾ of an hour each day until you reach six hours.

5.     Have an area on your property where you can isolate new arrivals for about two weeks to ensure they are not carrying illness into the barn that can be spread to others. At least one horse should be in this area with them so as not to add stress to their move, but it's best to keep them away from the rest of the horses in the barn when possible.

6.     Get vet records on the horse to determine when he was vaccinated and any other issues that have been a factor that you should be aware of.

7.     Determine when the horse was wormed, when his teeth were last checked and when his feet were trimmed/shod.

8.     Be clear about what fees will be covered by the owner and when payment is expected. It's best to have a written contract, but this isn't always feasible.

9.     Discuss barn rules prior to arrival if the owner will be coming to care for or ride the horse. Also, have safety policies in place that are enforced to ensure riders, horses and property are protected.  Equine liability insurance is advisable in any situation where you will be allowing others to handle horses on your property.

10.  Keep a close eye on the new horse initially to determine his normal behavior and be able to recognize quickly if something is wrong.

Bringing a new horse into the barn can be an exciting time, especially for the small operation that doesn't see a lot of traffic. It can also be a nightmare. If you have a good plan in place to address potential challenges before they occur, though, life should be easier for all involved.

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Gender Differences: Training Mares

by Ron Meredith

President, Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre

The first horse I ever bought for myself was a registered Arabian mare. Her name was Rafsu and after all these years I can still remember her registration number. She was one of my two favorite horses ever and she survived my early attempts at breaking her, which was how people perceived training back then. She just forgave all my mistakes and kept on being a nice mare despite everything I did wrong.

So I am a little prejudiced toward mares. Not everyone is. I know people who only want geldings because they believe they are more reliable. They point out that geldings do not have serious mood changes or interpret things differently from day to day because of hormone swings. So they have got a bit of logic to back up their prejudices.

Some people feel that mares are safer than stallions but I do not. You always know what a stallion is thinking about every few seconds so it is easy to predict his behavior and interrupt his thoughts every few seconds so you keep his attention focused on you. Mares are more unpredictable in that they do not necessarily allow you to interrupt whatever it is they are doing. First, they decide whether they are going to pay any attention to you at all. Mares train you to pay careful attention to what they are doing and to what you are doing at all times.

A lot of people say they do not like mares because they have more "attitude" than geldings. They do seem to have more definite attitudes but that does not necessarily mean worse attitudes. The key to working with mares is to understand what is behind their attitudes and to work with them from that understanding rather than fighting with them about who is right.

Mares are naturally protective of their individual territories. If they feel threatened, their first instinct is to get in position to fire both barrels. If a horse kicks in a show class, it is usually a mare objecting because she thinks someone has gotten too close and is coming into her territory uninvited.

When a mare turns her back to you when you open her stall door, she is telling you that this is her territory and you have no rights here. So you just wait at the door until she finally looks back and acknowledges you. Then you step back and acknowledge that this is her home, her space and you respect that. Then she says, "OK, you understand." And she will turn around and allow you to come in to get her.

If you flick a whip at her or try to force her to face you and come over to you, she will expect you to be rude whenever you come into her stall. You will get the cold shoulder every time. Her attitude is, "You're at my house and you have to behave politely if you want to come in." As I said, mares are very good trainers.

Mares, especially those raised in herds, also have higher awareness of pecking orders. If you start a mare and she is really submissive and nice, she will probably stay that way. If you start a mare that thinks she is at the top of the pecking order, you need to go along with her. You lead the dance without ever letting her become aware that she is not the one doing the directing. You accomplish that by never crossing the line that starts an argument.

When you first turn young horses loose in the arena to play, they often take off and leave like they are making a big escape. Geldings and colts will run and show off with a kind of "look at me" attitude. A mare with a strong personality is more likely to make a really big escape, do a lot of posturing, even kick out. She will look back to make sure you saw her display or her kick. Her attitude is, "Did you see that? Pay attention to what I can do."

Never argue with a mare. In her mind, she is right so if you cross the line that makes her mad, she will fight with you. So you just allow her displays and her kicking every time until she finally decides she wants to come up to you. Then you do a lot of grooming and making friends with her, using rhythmic grooming to establish relaxation and creating the feeling that you are a very nice place to be. If she feels she is at the top of the pecking order, she will think it is totally appropriate that you are grooming her and giving her attention.

As you start heeding her on a lead line, you introduce new pressures in the littlest bites possible so that she continues to feel that everything is her idea. If you stay just below the feeling that she is going to become resistant to the new pressure you are showing her, you will keep the situation under control without ever starting a fight. When you start her under saddle, you continue to show her each new pressure in the smallest possible bites. Never introduce something new that is more than two baby steps away from something she already knows and feels she owns.

A really bad mare may be as bad as it gets. But a really nice mare is as good as you will get. Years ago, we used to take extra horses to show and we would lease them to people for classes. One of the best we ever had was a quarter horse mare named WMD Aloha. We called her Mother. She knew the patterns for every contest. You could rope off her. You could put a little kid on Mother for a pleasure class, tell them to just sit there, and she would listen to the announcer and never miss gait change or change of direction. When the ringmaster stood in the middle with his arms out, Mother knew it was time to line up. Once while I was hauling her, the trailer came off the hitch. Thankfully, the trailer just rolled to a stop without incident. When I opened the door to check on Mother, she had broken a sweat but that was all. Mother was about as good as it gets.

Horses are patternistic but the different sexes seem to feel patterns differently. If a mare is used to a certain pattern of interaction with you, she gets to feeling you owe her that pattern whenever she sees you. Say, for example that you have gotten into the habit of stopping at her stall to give her some scratching and loving every time you walk by. Now if you walk by and do not stop, you will look back to see her frowning and fretting. She is indignant because you neglected your duty.

Geldings, on the other hand, see you coming and say, "Hi, good to see you. Are you planning to stop by today?" If you do not stop, they do not hold it against you. Stallions see you coming and immediately start wondering, "Is there going to be a party?" If you do not start the party routine, they just go back to eating.

Old time horse trainers know there are only two ways you can argue with a mare and neither one works.

______________

© 2001 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre. All rights reserved.

Instructor and trainer Ron Meredith has refined his "horse logical" methods for communicating with equines over 30 years as president of Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre (800 679-2603; http://www.meredithmanor.edu), an ACCET-accredited equestrian educational institution.

 If you enjoyed this article, please check out all of the articles we have available at  www.horseshoecorner.com

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