EveryRider

Barbaro - Rest in Peace

 
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, was euthanized early today at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center, after suffering another significant setback over the weekend.

The decision was made early Monday after consulting with Dean Richardson, D.V.M., chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania'€™s veterinary school. After Barbaro developed a deep abscess in his right hind foot, surgery was performed Saturday to insert two steel pins in a bone that was shattered but now healthy, to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing foot.

"It reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain,” co-owner Roy Jackson said. “It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time.”

The leg was on the mend until the abscess began causing discomfort last week. Until then, the major concern was Barbaro’s left rear leg, which developed laminitis in July, and 80 percent of the hoof was removed. 

It was a series of complications, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a recent abscess in the right rear hoof, that proved to be too much for the valient colt, whose breakdown brought an outpouring of support across the country.

the get-well cards and banners eventually will fade, but the biggest gift has been the $1.2 million raised since early June for the Barbaro Fund. The money is put toward needed equipment such as an operating room table, and a raft and sling for the same pool recovery Barbaro used after his surgeries.   

The Jacksons spent tens of thousands of dollars hoping the best horse they ever owned would recover and be able to live a comfortable life on the farm - whether he was able to breed or not.  The couple, who own about 70 racehorses, broodmares and yearlings, and operate the 190-acre Lael Farm, have been in the horse business for 30 years, and never had a horse like Barbaro.

Barbaro captured our hearts, bringing international attention and unprecedented emotional support. He was brilliant on the race track, running  the Derby's fastest final quarter-mile since Secretariat in 1973 to win by nearly seven lengths -- the biggest margin of victory in 60 years -- in a 20-horse field. 

Barbaro... May you rest in peace... You will always will be remembered for your amazing talent and your brave fight for survival.

Follow The Leader

It is easy to get lost in all the vast sea of opinions in regard to how to best communicate with your horse.  We all want the same result, a horse that is respectful, responsive and a joy to be around.  Partnership training, regardless of the method or style is reliant upon the fact that horses instinctively seek leadership.  It is absolutely essential that you are aware of this instinct, and the nature of the horse you are interacting with. Your success and more importantly your safety rely upon this knowledge.

If you have seen enough movies you may have been lead to believe it is the stallion that leads the herd.  They are protectors, responsible for keeping away intruders and predators.  Stallions “own” the herd, but they are not the leaders.  It is the "Alpha" Mare that provides leadership and security within the herd.  She leads them to food and safety,she disciplines the unruly youngsters; she decides the route of travel when emergency arises.  The alpha mare isn’t necessarily the strongest mare.  Leadership within the herd isn’t as much about physical strength and domination as it is about good decision making.

When a mare has proven herself as the alpha, her herd becomes dependent upon her for survival.  Being disobedient or disrespectful may result in rejection from the herd.  Horses instinctively seek protection from the alpha mare and the safety of the herd.  Being alone in the wild means being venerable to predators.

There is another important role in the herd that is referred to by many natural horsemanship trainers as the passive leader. “Horses Never Lie” a book by Mark Rashid gives insight into passive leadership and how to incorporate this attitude into your training.  He explains that in observing the horses within a herd you will notice that while they definitely respond and seem to respect the "alpha", they don't spend very much time in that particular horse's company. In fact, the majority of horses in a herd will go out of their way to avoid the "alpha".

While the alpha mare is the leader essential to the survival of the herd she is not the only one with ability to lead. There are small bands within established herds, the second in command is the "passive" or "chosen" leader. This horse doesn't try to gain followers, but goes quietly about its business, avoids fights, conserves energy by observing a social situation before taking action, and is consistent in its behavior. These horses end up being followed by a peaceful band that interacts respectfully, going out of their way to be polite and fair with each other.

Now to the point :) We have established the fact that horses need leadership, and we understand the two prominent leadership positions we can assimilate in working with our horses.  So, which one are you?  Which one should you be?  Horses are individuals with personalities as different from one to the other as the humans beside them.

When I was studying to become a trainer, I was broken down and evaluated just as I learned to do to my horses.  I had strengths and weaknesses, personality traits and patterns of habit that could aid or impede my progress.  I am by nature a quiet, compassionate trainer.  I’m not shy or timid, but I’m not necessarily aggressive or assertive either.  In the beginning I didn’t see this as a problem.  I was good at working with nervous horses, frightened horses, the ones that just needed a little patience and compassion.

What’s wrong with just being a passive leader?  Well, nothing in and of it self is wrong with that.  I’m still good with those types of horses.  It will always be easier for me to work with horses that respond to what comes naturally to me.  However, I learned very quickly that while passive leadership has its place, it is not effective in training aggressive, bullies that are persistent in challenging your leadership.  It was only a few weeks before my teachers robbed me of my beloved comfort zone.  They took away my sensitive, timid partners, and replaced them with nasty stallion like geldings, and defiant, sometimes violent mares.

They made me cry, they pushed me into walls, they ran me over, bit me, pinned their ears and scoffed at my “gentle nature” I had to learn to lead before I could expect these horses to follow.  Not every horse is a gentle giant.  I am not suggesting you become an aggressive, dominant brute.  I am suggesting you learn to assert yourself and demand to be acknowledged and respected.  Only when you have earned respect from your horse will she say, “I’m ready to get along, I’m ready to listen, I’m ready to follow".

One of my instructors used to have me role play as “Helga” the 200 pound German matriarch.  I was stoic and firm.  I marched along side my bullies, expecting nothing less than obedience as we walked to the arena.  If they overstepped the line or invaded my space, I walked them ten steps backward.  Teaching the horse and myself, that I was not to be walked on.

Eventually, when you are truly acknowledged as the leader your role can be a more passive one, even with horses that are by nature more aggressive.  The key is being consistent in your expectations, rewards and consequence.  Do not allow disrespect of any kind when dealing with a bully.  DO NOT allow a bully to circle you, DO NOT allow a bully to put his head over yours.  DO NOT brush off nippy behavior.  If a bully senses weakness in their leader, the leadership will be challenged.  Everything you do must remain calm and consistent.  Even when correcting the disobedient horse, be swift to act, steadfast and certain.  Never act out of anger or frustration.

In order to be effective leaders we must be flexible.  Knowing when to assert ourselves and when to be quiet.  Some times we have to be firm before we can be gentle. When you are a fair and just leader, your horse will not resent your authority.  You can shape your horses behavior, teaching it what to do rather than what not to do.  You can apply pressure with your horse trusting release will come when they assume the shape you desire.  It is very rewarding to gain a horses respect, especially when it is a respect born out of trust rather than fear.  Horses are happy when they know what to expect, they want to know their boundaries and expectations.  They want to feel safe and comfortable.  The best thing you can do for your horse and for yourself is to become a leader worthy of following.

 

When Fear Strikes

"Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyways" - John Wayne

I don't know, at times I've wondered is it courage or insanity?  I'm not entirely sure.  I do know that great riders and fearlessness seem to be synonymous. 

It's not a secret that horses are inherently dangerous.  In fact that is the exact wording in the waivers we make each of our students sign.  The same waivers we signed ourselves.  It's not that we enjoy being bucked off, stepped on, kicked or bitten. Its more of a decision.  We know what its like to eat dirt.  It just happens that to most of us, it is worth it for that one perfect moment on the back of a horse.   When everything comes together, and this powerful creature begins moving willingly and effortlessly beneath you at  your slightest touch.  Equestrian Ecstasy... like a drug we constantly crave from the first moment we feel it... trying to get the same fix from every horse we ride from that point on. 

It's been about 2 years  since I had the displeasure of winding up beneath the beloved, voluptuous school horse "Miss Kitty".  It wasn't  her fault or mine. It just happened. She had been on stall rest for a week and needed to be ridden.  I was a graduate assistant, working to extend my education as long as possible, and riding all the school horses is one of the "perks"

In true Miss Kitty fashion, the microphone in the arena squealed and we were off.  Then another squeal trying to turn it off and she did a spontaneous slam on the brakes.  I tried to save it, losing my balance, and my foot got caught in the process.  Bummer...  I wound up caught beneath her, trying to pull my foot from the stirrup.  She was frantic, and just as frightened as I was. As I tried to maneuver myself out from under her she actually appeared to be trying to tip toe off of me.  At 1100 pounds she wasn't tip toeing anywhere.  She took the closest path, running up my leg, with the majority of her weight landing on my knee.

I was lucky, I damaged my knee, but I was able to continue on to teach and train within 6 months. It didn't necessarily make me afraid to ride, but my confidence was shaken.  I no longer felt invincible.  When Horses  are the way you make your living you can't afford to not be able to ride.  Sustaining injuries while training isn't just possible its probable.

There is a hesitation that isn't easy to rid yourself of once your become concerned for your well being. In the process of trying to save ourselves we put ourselves more at risk. As a trainer you must be able to make the decision to ride through the problem in the instant it occurs or else it's pointless. In order to continue training effectively, I had to rehabilitate my confidence, as much, if not more than my physical wounds.

So what do we do when a horse gets the best of us?  Maybe you took a bad spill, or sustained an injury, or perhaps you just rode a horse you've ridden before that for the first time just wouldn't stop. The most important lesson I ever learned as a trainer (and in life) is that control is an illusion.  There is a moment of awareness that you are riding a thousand pound animal with a mind of its own.

Whether you are professional trainer or a backyard warrior you have inevitably experienced fear of some sort in your riding career.  Fear, is a natural response intended to protect us from making errors of judgment. While anxiety is normal after a negative experience, not addressing the issue can make a bad situation much worse.

Don't be persuaded to "get over it" or "face your fears" alone.  It is essential to find a qualified instructor to help you get back on track.  Its important to work with someone who acknowledges your fear,  with patience and understanding, while not catering to it. There is a difference.  A good teacher knows when and how much to push.  In riding the best way to conquer fear is to acquire skill.  The stronger our foundation, the less likely you will be to repeat history.  Don't have expectations for yourself that you wouldn't put on your horses.  Learning takes place in the small space between what we know and what we don't.  If a horse is not ready physically or mentally to perform a task, we take a step back, and focus on the basics.

There are extreme cases in which conventional methods of dealing with riding anxieties may not be enough.  A new technique used to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

 

With a trained therapist, patients talk over the trauma while following a rapid movement of a light or moving object before their eyes.  This allows the patient to release disturbing emotions through stimulated eye movements available in REM sleep.  EMDR combines several therapeutic methods, psycho-dynamic, cognitive, behavioral, etc. with eye movements or other forms of rhythmical stimulation, such as hand taps or sounds. It involves recalling a stressful past event and reprogramming the memory in the light of a positive, self-chosen belief. While the effectiveness of EMDR remains controversial amongst medical professionals, many patients have experienced quick, long lasting results in as few as 3 sessions.

I also suggest reading Overcoming the Fear of Riding: Featuring Interviews with 12 Top Riders, a book by Theresa J. Jordan, Ph.D. and Peter De Michele, M.Ed.  The book is full of advice from riding's greatest stars, who reveal their own histories of overcoming fears. The experts discuss fear of injury, embarrassment, failure, and performance anxiety. These interviews and the author's professional approach provide the insight you need to deal effectively with many different manifestations of fear that relate to riding. 

Coping with fear is just another part of learning to ride.  If you are facing this issue, there is hope and help available.  Achieving our goals often requires a determined spirit, sweat, and energy well beyond what we think is possible.  Be patient with yourself and acknowledge your successes along the way. It may not happen over night, but commitment combined with action will eventually achieve results. You just have to take the first step.

 "You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great." Les Brown

Uveitis and Bailey's Blues

Bailey is a 12 year old Appaloosa, and one of our best lesson horses. Yesterday I took off his mask for his daily eye check to find the pretty blue hidden beneath a yellow cloud and swollen lid. Bailey was diagnosed with  Equine Recurrent Uveitis a few years ago, and despite surgery, he still suffers from  occasional episodes. This is his second flare up in the past two months. Prior to last month he was flare up free for almost a year.

Bailey is a sweetheart of a horse and always a trooper despite the extremely painful episodes. He stands in his stall with his head stretched, tilted to the side paitently waiting as i fumble with the three ointment concotion. One antibiotic, one dialator, and one steriod.  He knows the routine, and doesn't even mind the foul taste of banamine as long as its followed immediatley with cookies.

Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is the most common cause of blindness in the horse. Uveitis is also known as "Moon blindness" due the recurring nature of the disease once thought to coincide with the phases of the moon.   Despite extensive research, the causes of ERU are still unknown. In general, the disease is believed be an immune-related disease, where the horse™s own cells attack the eye. ERU is triggered by many different sources, including bacteria,viruses, and parasites.  Direct trauma to the eye and stress of any kind can also be sources of ERU flare ups. Identifying the source may then be very difficult, and in many cases, the source is never identified.

Any inflammatory condition of the eye is extremely painful, but the inflammation associated with ERU is also very damaging. Each flare up inflicts more damage, causing the horse™s vision worsen a little more each time. In extreme cases, the eye is so badly damaged and the pain so difficult to manage that removal of the eye is the only humane option. Diligence in cleaning and checking for any signs of change  have helped to catch  the  episodes early enough to maintain Bailey's site.

Unfortunately, without knowing what causes the onset of the symptoms all we can do is wait and treat as quickly as possible.  The limitations of treating with western medicine have become frustrating enough for me to research alternatives.  The conventional treatments are still necessary, especially when dealing with an ulceration.  However, in my opinion re balancing the immune system, and maintaining overall health could greatly reduce the occurrence of the episodes. 

I found a two interesting web sites Natural pet health blog  and Holistic Horsekeeping that suggest several  homeopathic remedies, including natural supplements to address nutritional  deficiencies,and topical treatments to manage pain. 

I also plan to try a supplement that we used at Meredith Manor for horses with EPM, Cushings, and extreme stress.  Transfer Factor, and Transfer Factor Plus by a company called 4life.  Transfer Factors are messenger molecules with intelligence, commonly known as cytokines. These small proteins act as the brains for the immune system. Transfer Factor performs three immune system functions. They identify infectious agents, and instruct the immune system to produce antibodies (boosts immune defense).  Transfer Factor claims to modulates and balance an overactive immune system (i.e. autoimmune diseases and allergies). 

While  I  haven't heard of  many people using  Transfer  Factor  to assist  symptoms of  Uveitis,  I think it would be a worth wile experiment.  We had great results  using transfer factor  with  EPM and I frequently administer the 7 day stress paks for traveling or high stress situations.  In eastern medicine the emphasis is on overall wellness instead of treating a disease.  It's just a shot in the dark, but for Bailey I think its worth a try. 

Heed your Horses

In my studies at Meredith Manor we spent A LOT of time perfecting ground work.  Ground control Precedes Horse Control was drilled into my head time and time again.  Heeding became an essential part of every minute of every day at "Horse School".  Whether it be filling a water bucket, grooming a training baby, walking a horse to its stall, I learned that every move I made had significance to the horse.

So what is Heeding and why do you care?  Heeding is a method of training emphasizing ground work and communication through body language.  Heeding is defined as methodically applied, horse-logical pressures to enable the horse to feel the shape we want him to take. In essence you use your body language to create a feeling in the horse of where you want him to move.  As the horse's understanding increases, the handler can not only change the direction of the horses strides but also their length, speed and cadence.  It is simple to describe but a bit harder to master.  Here are the beginning steps

We start by bringing the horse into a small ring or paddock.  A round pen is not necessary, however a smaller area confines the horse in way that is understandable him. This also minimizes distractions and making it easier to get the horse's attention.

You start out by turning the horse loose in the ring and letting him play.  Do not direct him.  Let him run, trot, kick imaginary horse monsters, buck with exuberance, whatever he wants to do.  At first you do not direct where the horse goes.  Now envision an invisible line from your shoulder to the horses shoulder.   Slowly (NO running or chasing!)  begin to follow your horse slightly behind that line.

Following from a distance behind the shoulder is a small pressure that will encourage your horse to move forward.   The environment  should be relaxed and quiet.  Your goal is to keep his attention while he moves with out any big commotion or noises.  However, you don't want him stopping to eat grass or running to the gate to call for his buddies.  If he does this, or ideally right before you think he will, make a small sound or tap your thigh, whatever gets his attention back to you.

Eventually when the horse has had his fun and lost interest in kicking imaginary horses and running about he will stop and look at you.  When he does this, you stand absolutely still and quiet.  Try to avoid staring him down or anything that could be perceived as predatory.  Just stand, breath and wait.  Ideally he will begin to walk toward you.  If this happens don't rush to catch him.  Wait until he comes up to you, then slowly walk towards his shoulder.  Turn your body to face the horses shoulder.  Reach up slowly and pet the withers or where ever your horse enjoys a good scratch.

Continue  grooming in this relaxed manner for a minute or two keeping your horses attention.  Now turn your shoulders back to forward position, still standing next to the horses shoulder.  Take a step forward and see if the horse will follow. As you move your foot forward he should take a step with you.  Stopping when you stop and going forward when you go forward.   If he doesn't the first time don't be discouraged.  Take him back to his stall and try again tomorrow.   

You can slowly build on and refine these steps to eventually lead, turn, stop, back and stand wherever you decide.  Heeding your horse will improve every aspect of work with your horse on the ground and in the saddle.  Remember that you are always training your horse,whether you know it or not.