Some exercises we teach our horses require the horse and handler to learn a series of complex steps that require intense focus and impeccable timing. The ground tie isn’t one of those exercises.

Although simple, trainer Clay Cavinder explains that the ground tie exercise teaches a horse how to be accountable and reduces the temptation for you to micromanage him.

Cavinder is a professor and extension horse specialist for Mississippi State University. In addition to training horses and teaching students, he is a professional judge for the American Quarter Horse Association, American Paint Horse Association, and National Snaffle Bit Association.

Why Ground Tie

While many horse-friendly locations provide ample places to secure horses, not every place has a solid, safe place to tie, Cavinder explains. When hitching posts are lacking, ground tying can come in handy.

Also, if you’re interested in showing in ranch horse classes, you may encounter patterns that require your horse to know how to ground tie. So what does a good ground tie look like?

Cavinder explains that the ground tie exercise demands a horse know how to stand still. In a show setting, the obstacle requires you to dismount and walk around the horse or go accomplish a task while the horse stays where you left him.

“Once you park the horse’s four feet, he doesn’t move—he stands there,” Cavinder says.

When he is judging this obstacle, he not only wants to see the horse’s hooves planted, but he also wants to see the horse’s head and neck stay still, too. He’s looking for a horse that mimics a statue. The horse shouldn’t be putting his head on the ground and fidgeting in the dirt. Instead, he should be alert, still, and focused on you.

The horse should stand with all four feet, head, and neck still, like a statue, while ground tied. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Preparing to Teach

Before you consider teaching a horse to ground tie, Cavinder advises settling your horse. This isn’t an exercise to teach a freshly halter-broke horse that jumps when your hands move.

Instead, the horse should feel safe around you and know simple cues, such as what “whoa” means. If that’s the case, teaching the ground tie can help you build trust with your horse.

“Ground tying develops ‘Whoa means whoa, don’t move your feet, and let me work around you and develop this trusting bond with you,’” says Cavinder.

He uses a three-step process to train horses consisting of cue, response and reinforcement. It breaks down as follows:

Step 1: Provide the horse with a cue. A cue is any stimulus you give the horse. It can be verbal or physical.

Teach a verbal or physical cue to stand. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Step 2: Read the horse’s response to the cue. The response is the horse’s feedback (or lack thereof) to a cue.

Step 3: Reinforce the cue. These are actions you take that help the horse understand if his response was right or wrong.

Once these prerequisites are complete, Cavinder says you can begin teaching your horse the ground tie exercise.

Teaching the Ground Tie

To teach this exercise, outfit your horse in a nylon halter. Cavinder recommends using a longe line instead of a lead rope while your horse is first learning the exercise. He breaks the ground tie down into the following three steps.

Step 1 (Cue): Drop the longe line on the ground in front of the horse and say “whoa.” (Hold on to the very end of the longe line in case your horse tries to leave.) Take one to two steps away from him.

Drop the longe line, use your verbal or physical cue to stand, and take a couple of steps back. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Step 2 (Response): Watch how the horse responds. Does he choose to follow you, or move in another direction? Does he take a step and then stop? Does he stand still the entire time? Carefully assess the horse’s response to your cue.

Step 3 (Reinforcement): Communicate to your horse whether he responded correctly to the cue. If he responds by moving, show him that was the wrong response by either lifting his head and backing him up or asking him to move his hip away from you in a forehand turn. Then start over at Step 1.

If your horse responds by standing still or taking a single step and then standing still, show him he found the correct answer by returning to his side and petting or praising him.

As he begins to understand the exercise, you should gradually increase the number of steps you take away from the horse and vary their direction. The horse should remain still until you return.

Gradually increase the number of steps back you take while asking the horse to stand. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Common Pitfalls

Although simple, there are several pitfalls Cavinder sees equestrians struggle with when teaching their horses how to ground tie.

Micromanaging the Horse: Cavinder cautions against micromanaging the horse. For example, when a horse is first learning the exercise, Cavinder doesn’t correct him if he takes a single step forward. Instead, he watches the horse’s response and gives him time to self-correct.

As the horse gains an understanding of the exercise, Cavinder’s expectations increase. You want the horse to try to answer the question being asked of him, and that requires him to search for the correct answer.

Giving Up: Horse training takes time. Too often, Cavinder sees equestrians watch or read training material, try the exercise a couple of times, and give up. Like humans, horses take time to learn.

Setting Unrealistic Expectations: Every horse is different. One horse may learn the exercise in three days, but others won’t. Additionally, a horse’s age and experience should help determine the expectations set for him. For example, Cavinder says yearlings should have lots of wiggle room for errors, while an older, well-trained horse will be expected to respond correctly sooner.

Misunderstanding the Three-Step Process: If you aren’t implementing the three-step process correctly, you can’t expect your horse to understand what you’re asking him to do. For example, being inconsistent with cues or misinterpreting the horse’s response will confuse him.

While simple, ground tying is a great skill for you and your horse to learn together. When a safe place to tie isn’t available and you’re faced with ground tying as the only option, you’ll be able to count on your horse to stay right where you left him.

As an added bonus, properly executing this training helps strengthen your relationship with your horse and lays a solid foundation for learning more challenging exercises together.

This article about the ground tie appeared in the October 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Master the Ground Tie appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

If you’re considering building, improving or fixing a riding arena, it’s easy to become confused by all of the natural and man-made options. The first step, however, is to learn what makes good arena footing versus poor arena footing in order to prevent injuries to your horse. These are not only costly in terms of vet bills, but also require rehabilitation time that keeps you out of the saddle and the show ring. 

Photo by Video_StockOrg/Adobe Stock

The Basics of Good Arena Footing

The ideal footing needs to:

• Have traction
• Have no dust
• Have cushioning
• Deter injuries
• Boost performance
• Provide stability
• Provide rebound energy (the responsiveness and resiliency of the footing surface to return it its original form by returning energy back to the horse)

Factors that make footing poor quality include:

• Too deep
• Too hard
• Too uneven
• Too loose
• Too dusty
• Non-draining
• Slippery

Footing that doesn’t drain quickly or properly can become problematic. Photo by Laura Boynton Jobson

There are three primary layers to arenas: the top footing, the sub-surface, and the base.

Sand is the most popular surface used across the world, both with and without synthetic fibers added. Others include wood chips/sawdust, rubber chips, grass, and dirt. The sub-surface has many options: a drainage layer, grid-mats, compacted stone, sand, or another manufactured material. Most bases are made out of clay, stone dust, and the natural native soil of the property.

Synthetic fiber blends are popular for new arena builds. It tends to be more uniform and low-dust than pure sand. Photo courtesy GGT-Footing

What the arena is made of, how much traffic goes through it, precipitation and temperature all play a part in keeping an arena safe.

Different arenas have different requirements to keep them in peak performance, but most require the following:

• Watering regularly
• Regular dragging and grooming
• Removal of manure, urine and other organic material
• Adding new sand
• Raking upkeep
• Picking out weeds, rocks and other debris

Regular watering, dragging, manure removal and adding sand as needed are important parts of maintaining safe footing. Photo by Christiane Slawik

Sand and Fiber Footing

Cynthia Brewster Keating is the national director of sales and marketing director for GGT-Footing. For more than 25 years, Polysols, the parent company of GGT-Footing, has been producing innovative equestrian footing products for riding arenas.

“The arena footing products are repurposed remnant virgin material that’s used to make various fibers and textile blends,” says Keating. “The focus is on developing the best combination of synthetic chopped non-woven material and combining it with the highest-quality sands from quarries across the county.

“The different disciplines require a different amount of tightness in the sand,” she adds. “The pleasure blend has minimal fiber and is designed to keep the sand fluffy. The dressage blend has 15 percent fiber and is designed to provide variations according to how it is groomed and maintained. The jumper blend has 30 percent fiber, designed to offer concussion, relief, and stability as well as rebound energy.”

The percentage of fiber to sand is higher in footing used by hunter/jumpers, who need more rebound energy. Photo by Laura Boynton Jobson

Keating has found that the quality of the sand is not as good as it used to be in the United States due to amount of fracking and the oil industry.

“Because of this, we have found that it’s important to use more fiber, regardless of what your discipline is,” says Keating. “Ninety percent of our sales are blend. We use our competition blend at high-end horse shows, which is 50 percent geotextile and 50 percent fiber. [These shows] require the most support and concussion relief, especially in the Grand Prix dressage and jumper arenas.

“Nowadays, it’s recommended that you hire a consultant that can test the sand that you are thinking of using,” she adds. “Many professional arena builders are now using mixtures of variable grades of sand to achieve the best results.”

Keating says anyone building arenas should assess the level of riding and how many horses go through their arena each day.

“Across the country, there are a varying products available for base, so it’s best to work with a contractor who is familiar with your specific property and ground,” she says.

A Vet’s View

Poor footing can be a big contributor to lameness, according to Rob van Wessum, DVM, M.S., who practices at Equine All-Sports Medicine Center in Mason, Mich. He’s also a Grand Prix dressage rider who holds a diplomate from the American College of Equine Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR).

He says that close to 50 percent of his case load of lame horses is due to improper footing and improper training techniques in inadequate footing. He mostly sees tendon or ligament injuries related to both these factors.

Dr. van Wessum says that close to 50 percent of his case load of lame horses is due to improper footing. Pictured: deep, dry, uneven footing.

“In deep footing with lack of stability, the horse moves the footing material too much, which means less rebound of ground-reaction forces into the horse, causing tendon injuries, especially suspensory ligament injuries,” says van Wessum. “The horse loses energy with every stride, moving footing instead of himself. That puts a lot of strain on muscles to deliver more energy. A horse is built for rebound energy stored in tendons, so a lot of kinetic energy is stored as elastic energy during the air phase and then used in the next stance phase. With deep footing, there is far less rebound energy.

“When muscles get fatigued due to excess work in deep footing for too long in the same kind of work, a horse can’t stabilize his core anymore, which will cause damage to the connective tissue as result,” he continues. “Connective tissue is often ligament, fascia or tendon. You can find it in the limbs but also in the back, neck, and pelvis region. Damage to all those regions is diagnosed daily in our practice.”

Consequences of Poor Arena Footing

Footing that is so deep the coronary band disappears is one of the most common kinds of bad footing.

“The opposite of too deep is too hard, which can damage to the bone structures due to concussive forces,” says van Wessum.

He explains that footing that has too much grip, like when too much fiber is added, can cause damage to the collateral ligaments of the coffin, pastern, and fetlock joint. This is due to rotational forces when riding in small circles, lateral gaits, or landing and turning after jumps—any time the foot gets stuck on the footing while the upper part of the limb turns. He also sees this with too-deep footing when it is muddy or clay-like and sucks the hooves in.

“Footing that is too slippery due to rain or over-watering causes many injuries, such as ligament and tendon injuries in the lower limb, but also spinal ligament injuries in the neck, back and pelvis,” says van Wessum.

One of the worst kinds of footings van Wessum sees is when the same arena has different areas within it, like harder, softer and then deeper areas.

“When the quality of the footing suddenly changes, a misstep and strain or distortion of joint or ligament is the result,” he says.

Van Wessum stresses that there is no general rule for quality footing materials.

“It depends on what the arena is used for, where it’s located geographically, the traffic through the arena (one or two horses a day versus 60), and the quality of the maintenance,” he explains.

The Best Prevention

What are the best steps a rider can take to protect their horse? Incorporate proper training and exercise to adapt to the quality of footing, according to van Wessum.

“When the footing is deeper, shorter bouts of more intense work, alternating with walking, helps the horse recover and avoid fatigue,” he says. “Proper shoeing and timely reshoeing so the angles don’t change too much is extremely important.”

Van Wessum does not see any advantage to boots or leg protection when it comes to preventing injury due to bad footing.

His client horses receive regular soundness exams (approximately every six months) to monitor any small changes in performance and sensitivity of tendons and ligaments before they become a bigger issue.

“We saw horses from the same facility showing tenderness in the suspensory ligament,” says van Wessum. “After looking at the footing, we could see that it was getting too deep because of less watering in dry times.”

It’s smart to take a walk in any new footing with your horse before riding, exercising or competing. Pay attention to the depth, consistency and condition of the arena.

What’s under your horse’s feet will affect his overall soundness, confidence and performance. Knowing how horses react to different surfaces will help you determine the best type of footing to ride in.

With patience and proper training, you can help your horse travel on many surfaces safely and without injury.

This article about arena footing appeared in the September 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Arena Footing 101 appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

1. Push: Push-Up

The goal of the push-up is to improve upper body strength, shoulder mobility, and posture. This exercise incorporates upper-body postural control with core strength while improving shoulder stability, which adds more confidence and better control with your horse when mounted.

Start on your hands and your knees with your hands positioned under your shoulders. To begin the exercise, assume a high plank position (or modify with knees on the floor). While keeping your body straight, lower your chest and hips down toward the floor as far as you can. Push up to the starting position and repeat.

Assume a high plank or modified plank position (on knees).

This should feel like an upper-body workout of your shoulders, chest, and triceps. You should also feel your core, glutes and quads working to maintain a stable position.

While keeping your body straight, lower your chest and hips down to the ground as far as you can.

Form Tips

• Keep your body in a straight line with your neck neutral.
• Engage your core muscles throughout the movement to stabilize and protect your lower back.
• Stay evenly balanced through both arms as you lower down and push up.

2. Level Change: Bodyweight Stationary Lunge

The goal of this exercise improves the strength, balance, and stability every equestrian needs for effective riding. The unilateral nature of lunges mirrors the independent leg actions required in the saddle, ensuring precise cues. Strong and stable legs aid in maintaining a centered seat, especially during intricate movements or dynamic transitions.

Start standing upright with your feet together, then step forward with one leg, keeping the other leg stationary. Lower your body until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Ensure your front knee is directly above your ankle, and the other knee hovers just above the ground. Pushing through your front heel, return to the starting position. Repeat.

Step forward with one leg. Lower your body until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Keep your front knee directly above your ankle, and the other knee just above the ground.

You should feel all the muscles in your legs working, especially the quad muscles. Your front leg should be doing most of the lifting.

Pushing through your front heel, return to the starting position.

Form Tips

• Refrain from pushing from your back leg.
• Maintain your balance by engaging your core.

3. Pull: Single Leg & Arm Row

The goal of the row is to improve your balance, position and shoulder mobility for better posture in the saddle.

This exercise offers numerous benefits that enhance riding performance. Rows improve your posture and stability in the shoulder girdle by strengthening your upper back and shoulder muscles, both of which are important for maintaining balance with your horse. This exercise helps correct body asymmetry, helping create more balanced aids.

Begin in a standing position on one leg and hold the dumbbell in your opposite hand. From this position, hinge forward at the hips, reaching down with the weight. At the bottom of the hip-hinge position, perform a row motion by starting with your arm straight. Initiate the row motion and pull your shoulder blade back while bending your elbow toward your ribcage.

Begin standing on one leg, holding a dumbbell in the opposite hand. From this position, hinge forward at the hips, reaching down with the weight.

You will feel the muscles of your leg working, including your quads, hamstring, glutes, and foot muscles. When performing the row, you work your shoulder muscles and the muscles surrounding your shoulder blade.

Perform a row by pulling your shoulder blade back and your elbow to the side of your torso.

Form Tips

• Perform a hip-hinge by pushing your hips back and shifting your torso forward.
• Don’t lock your knee straight; instead, keep a slight bend in it.

4. Rotation: T-Roll

The T-roll is a fantastic exercise that combines elements of strength, balance, and mobility, all of which are important for riders.

This exercise strengthens your core, which is crucial for maintaining a stable seat and effective aids in the saddle. The rotational component also improves your shoulder stability and overall body awareness and control. These are factors that can contribute to better self-carriage and communication with your horse.

This exercise also engages your shoulder and back muscles, which promote better posture and upper-body strength for more effective rein control and pressure.

Begin in a high plank position, with your hands underneath your shoulders and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.

Engage your core and shift your weight onto one hand. Lift the opposite hand off the ground and rotate your torso, extending your arm toward the ceiling to make a “T.” Hold this position briefly before returning to the starting plank position. Repeat the movement on the other side, rotating and extending.

Begin in a high plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders and your body forming a straight line. Engage your core and shift your weight onto one hand.

You’ll feel your core muscles engaging for stability. Your shoulder and arm muscles are stabilizing when holding the plank and during the rotation. Your obliques engage during the twisting motion, and your back muscles contribute to maintaining the “T” posture.

While keeping your core engaged, lift the opposite hand off the ground and rotate your torso, extending your arm toward the ceiling in a “T” shape.

Form Tips

• Keep your body in a straight line when in the plank position; avoid letting your hips sag or lifting them too high.
• Maintain a strong, engaged core throughout the entire movement to stabilize your spine.
• Keep your weight-bearing arm straight (but not locked) to support your body during rotation.
• Choose a controlled, deliberate pace for the exercise to ensure proper form and maximum benefits.
• If balance is a challenge, you can widen your foot stance in the plank position for more stability.

5. Locomotion: Anterior Reach

The goal of the anterior reach exercise is to improve single leg stability, proprioception (sense of body position) and balance.

This is an effective single-leg exercise that engages your core, improves balance, and promotes functional mobility, all of which are crucial for maintaining a steady seat and effective aids when riding. By strengthening your lower body, this exercise will help improve your stability in the saddle, a fundamental component of good horsemanship.

Start by standing straight with your feet hip-width apart. Choose a leg to extend. Keep your toes lifted and foot flexed. While extending this leg, push your hips back and slightly bend the knee of your standing leg, keeping a flat back and an engaged core.

Begin by standing up straight. Choose a leg to raise, keeping your foot flexed.

Gradually lower your torso, reaching your back leg parallel to the ground. Hold this position for a second, then return to a starting position. Repeat the same motion with the other leg.

This primarily engages your core and lower body, specifically the hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, and calf muscles. It also engages the stabilizing muscles of the foot and ankle.

Push your hips back and slightly bend the knee of your standing leg, gradually lowering your torso and raising your back leg until parallel to the ground.

Form Tips

• Keep a neutral spine and engage your core.
• Perform the exercise with slow, controlled movements to make it more effective.
• Focus on maintaining balance and form, not how far you can reach.
• If balance is a challenge, do this exercise near a wall or a stable object for light support.
• Begin with a smaller range of motion and gradually increase as your strength and balance improve.

More From Ifa Simmonds

• Core Strength for Equestrians
• Barn Banter – Episode 16, featuring Ifa Simmonds

Get more info on Ifa Simmond’s Equestrian Fitness Academy website, or message him to set up a clinic, workshop, or live training session.

This article about functional exercises for riding appeared in the September 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post 5 Functional Exercises to Improve Your Riding appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

I’ve been on the search for a new (to me) horse trailer for years. Growing up, I’ve gone from having a four-horse bumper-pull livestock trailer to a five-horse aluminum gooseneck trailer. We’ve hauled our trailers with vans, gas trucks, diesel trucks, and back to gas.

While I had my “dream trailer” in mind, I also knew what my budget could handle and what our honest needs were, which set me on the course of constantly perusing the trailer selling groups on Facebook and talking with many different contacts to learn what to buy and what not to buy.

I finally found a trailer that checked most of the boxes on my list. It’s an early 2000s Sooner two-horse straight-load bumper-pull trailer with a small dressing/tack room in the front. The 7’6″ height was more than I was looking for, but I also know that the resale value on this trailer is amazing, especially being a warmblood trailer. So what if my stocky Quarter Horses and chubby Miniature Horse are a little dwarfed when they’re inside? Plenty of head room!

I’ll share a little about what I did to make this trailer mine.

BEFORE: Most dressing/tack rooms look huge when empty, but once you start adding your tack and equipment, they can become cluttered very quickly. Photo by Megan Arszman

Cleaning the Back of a Horse Trailer

There’s not too much you can do to change up things in the back of the trailer where the horses are hauled. Within the first day, even though the previous owner had cleaned it out, I dragged out my pressure washer to clean the inside from top to bottom; you can never be too careful with biosecurity.

The butt and chest bar padding on the inside of the trailer was original—so it was stained, faded and not as soft as it once was. Did you know that you can replace these pads?

What I Did

I purchased replacement padding (without the pipe inside) from my local trailer shop for the chest and butt bars. These are generally affordable and easy to replace.

The protective pads on the sides of the trailer and dividers are a little more difficult and expensive to replace. These are also made from vinyl and foam, but they require screwing into the trailer sides. This isn’t something I’m looking to do right now, unless I decide to sell my trailer down the road, but I was happy to find that I could replace those pads if I wanted.

With a straight load, I have a decent size empty space in the front of the trailer, where you might see a grain manger. The previous owner installed 1-inch-thick plywood at the bottom of her horse divider and the front divider to use the second stall and front for more storage. I removed both dividers, but I may later reinstall the front just to protect anything from potentially falling or moving into the stalls and getting tangled in their legs. For now, the front will hold a bale of hay and cooler, two objects that won’t easily move on the rubber flooring.

Organize the Dressing/Tack Room

My wish list was to have a rear tack and front dressing room, but for my family’s needs right now, we are OK with the lack of rear tack. Two horses shouldn’t require that much equipment, and if you store things properly, you’re able to fit quite a bit in small spaces.

What Storage Exists There Already

My trailer has a saddle rack for two saddles, nicely spaced out for my western saddle and my daughter’s western saddle. It already had rubber-coated hooks for hanging bags, tack and equipment. There’s also a small area in the back where you can slide clothing hangers for show clothes—however, you must use thinner wire hangers, not plastic or wooden hangers.

The rubber-coated hooks that came with Megan’s trailer hang a small pitchfork for traveling that comes apart and can be hung by its handle. She always packs an extra halter and lead rope, and a color-coded bridle bag keeps her show bridle clean. Photo by Megan Arszman

What I Added

1.  I installed a couple of two-by-fours so I could hang a grooming caddy from the short wall by the door. One of the worst things you can have in a small space is clutter—not only is it an eyesore, but it can be unsafe if you’re trying to move around inside, and it’s easy to lose things.

Wooden two-by-fours installed aftermarket make this a not-so-wasted space. A trailer caddy allows Megan to hang up brushes and spray bottles. Photo by Megan Arszman

I love the grooming caddy I’m using because it has so many pockets, including a mesh zipper pocket and clear plastic zippered pocket, and it can hang up in the trailer or at the stalls if we were to show out of stalls. It allows me to store my grooming and sport boots off the floor.

2. I purchased a white plastic shoe storage cabinet from IKEA; the two drawers stack on top of each other or next to each other, or you can use just one. I’m using it to store my mesh sheets, small spray bottles and sport boots. I love it because it’s thin, easy to keep clean, and can be moved around if needed. (I keep the cabinets in place with strong hook-and-loop fasteners.)

Shoe cabinets easily hold two mesh coolers in the top door. The bottom holds shampoo and conditioner bottles and brushes to keep them upright without making a mess. Photo by Megan Arszman

3. To keep the original flooring clean, plus add a little comfort, I purchased interlocking fitness flooring. The flooring is cheap ($5/square at Five Below) and easy to cut to fit into the corners. Plus, if something is spilled or I just need to replace a square, it’s easy and affordable!

4. Finally, make your trailer your own by outfitting it in matching travel gear. What’s more fun than accessorizing your saddle carrier, bridle bags and hay bags in a fun matching pattern? It’s the best way to protect your many investments, makes it easy for identification (I have one color and my daughter will have her own color), and they make your storage look neater.

Key Takeaway

With these DIY hacks, you can affordably organize and customize your horse trailer to optimize storage. This will make for easier trips to horse shows and other hauling adventures. Take photos of your DIY horse trailer projects and tag us in them on Instagram (@horseillustrated)!

This article about tips to organize and customize your horse trailer storage appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Organize & Customize Your Horse Trailer Storage appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Bodywork

Massage may be considered part of bodywork, but not all bodywork is massage.

“Bodywork is more of a broad term incorporating a lot of different modalities, like stretching, acupressure, myofascial release, manipulative therapy, breath work, or energy medicine,” explains Meghan Brady, a certified Masterson Method practitioner for equine bodywork, among many other therapies, based in Virginia. 

Meghan Brady is a certified Masterson Method practitioner for equine bodywork based in Virginia. Photo by KTB Creative Group

“Bodywork techniques also aim to assess or improve posture, promote awareness of the body-mind connection (an approach that sees the body and mind as a single integrated unit), or to manipulate the electromagnetic field alleged to surround the body and affect health,” says Brady.

Because of the wide range of techniques, the list of benefits is lengthy. These include relaxation and stress reduction, improved posture, activating under-used muscles and deactivating over-used muscles, increasing joint flexibility and range of motion, encouraging faster healing, improving blood and lymph fluid circulation, strengthening the immune system, and more.

Brady performs bodywork on a client horse. Photo by KTB Creative Group

Sara Hassler, a client of Brady’s, has seen a vast improvement in her barn full of horses.

“Meghan has worked on my horses for the past few years and has made a tremendous difference both in their training as well as day-to-day demeanor,” she says. “The horses have an overall sense of peace and relaxation as she works on them, and their minds and bodies feel ready for action! They consistently feel softer and more elastic through their bodies after a session, and the feeling lasts a long time.”

Brady adds that bodyworkers don’t treat injuries or ailments, and all horses should see a vet before being started on bodywork.

Massage

Most of us are familiar with massage therapy. A therapist uses different pressures to manipulate muscles, tendons and ligaments. It’s known to help relieve stress, tension, tightness and soreness.

Leda Mox, a certified equine sports massage therapist and owner of Armstrong Equine Massage LLC in Minnesota has been using massage on horses for over 25 years with great results as a treatment, but also as a preventative.

“There are many reasons why your horse would need a massage,” she says. “The first and most important reason is to prevent injuries.” She adds that massage also helps increase blood flow, boost the immune system, increase range of motion, improve flexibility, and assist with pain management.

Leda Mox is a certified equine sports massage therapist who finds that injury prevention is a top reason to use this therapy for your horse. Photo by Harris’s

Mikayla Tibbetts, a client of Mox, found massage a blessing for her horse Moseby, an off-track Thoroughbred.

“He came to me lacking muscle, strength and balance, and was sore in multiple areas,” she says. “Since his massages, he has become so much happier in his work. As he’s developed muscle, Leda has helped identify his sore spots and given me new stretches to target those areas. After his massage, he picks up his canter leads so much easier.”

Chiropractic

Chiropractic adjustment—the manipulation of bones and joints—has become almost mainstream as a human treatment, and is rapidly gaining popularity with horses as well.

Anne Marie Ray, DVM, is a veterinarian at Ridgefield Equine Clinic in Washington state who also practices chiropractic care.

“In simple terms, chiropractic care is to adjust the chiropractic subluxations affecting the nervous system to allow the body to heal itself,” she explains. “I like to think of it as a tool in our toolbox for treatment for a variety of issues. It may be used complementary to other treatment options to ensure the best care for our patients.”

Anne Marie Ray, DVM, is a veterinarian at Ridgefield Equine Clinic in Washington state who also practices chiropractic care. Photo by Dr. Meg Brinton

Her favorite patient story happened while she was in chiropractic school during a hands-on lab class where the students, including her, were supposed to be palpating the cervical vertebrae on a horse’s spine.

“It was cold and windy that day, and the horse we were trying to work on appeared anxious, uncomfortable, and did not want to stand to allow us to palpate him,” she says. “Our professor asked the owner if she could adjust the horse, and after adjusting the horse’s neck, he took a deep breath and stood perfectly for the rest of the afternoon. I’ll never forget that moment, because it showed me that chiropractic care has a place in veterinary medicine, and that we need to keep an open mind about modalities that will keep our patients healthy.”

Ray says that while most horse owners come to her after an injury or an issue such as lameness, back pain, or a change in behavior, she says it works best as way of decreasing the chance of these problems occurring.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese therapy that uses thin metallic needles inserted into the skin at very precise locations. These are then moved gently and specifically to stimulate tissue, muscles and nerves.

Linda Cimetti, DVM, is a veterinarian at South Shore Equine Clinic & Diagnostic Center in Massachusetts who is also certified in equine acupuncture. She says most of her acupuncture patients are suffering from musculoskeletal injuries, although she also helps horses that have routine pains from training and showing.

“I see a lot of clinically sound horses get that last 10 to 15 percent of performance that you can’t achieve without alternative medicine,” says Cimetti. “A lot of horses in training have sub-clinical neck, back, or hip pain, as well as joint pain that can be identified and addressed with regular acupuncture treatments—before it develops into a clinical unsoundness.”

Dr. Cimetti says that acupuncture can get the last 10 to 15% improvement in performance that alternative medicine provides. Photo by Melissa Ruscio

Cimetti helped the owners of Equinox Bossanova, a Morgan stallion, find the cause of his lameness using acupuncture when no other vets had been successful. She found his stifle acupoints to be very reactive.

After the treatment he was better, but not 100 percent sound, so Cimetti combined acupuncture with stifle joint injections.

“We got the horse’s stifles injected and he was fixed,” says his owner, Christine Nava- Moulthrop of Timber Hill Stables in Kingston, Mass. “It took Linda’s non-traditional methods to find the problem. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be trying to figure out what was wrong.”

Boss went on to a successful show career and was inducted into the American Morgan Show Horse Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Connecticut Morgan Show Horse Hall of Fame in 2023.

If you’re interested in alternative therapies for your horse, it’s always good to start by discussing it with your vet to see which type they think might work best for your particular situation.

PEMF

PEMF stands for pulsed electromagnetic field. Each of the cells in your horse’s body has an electric charge; when the charge gets low, the cells cannot heal and are dysfunctional. PEMF technology uses a pulsing electromagnetic charge to stimulate cells and essentially recharge them, allowing for tissue healing and reducing inflammation and pain.

Amy Perez, owner/trainer of Stellar Equine Solutions LLC in Washington state, is certified in PEMF therapy and helps people, horses and small animals with PEMF treatments.

“I firmly believe there is not one injury or ailment that doesn’t benefit from PEMF,” she says. “From sore muscles to broken bones, arthritis, Cushing’s, navicular, or just daily maintenance for our hard-working horses, PEMF can help it all.”

She has seen many horses have incredible reactions to treatments.

“I have treated a horse with a broken leg through a cast, [which] helped speed up the healing process and the horse fully recovered. I have treated horses that could barely walk due to a Cushing’s flare-up, and by the end of the session, they trotted off in their pasture. Every horse starts to get a soft eye, begins yawning, and lets out a huge sigh of relaxation during treatment. Most of their owners’ reactions start with a ‘wow’ and end with ‘I am so glad to see my horse happy again.’

“The main benefit for PEMF with horses would be pain relief,” Perez continues. “PEMF oxygenates the blood cells to promote healing in the body. The body naturally heals itself, but sometimes it can’t get back to complete repair without help. PEMF does just that—it helps the body heal itself.”

Summer Crosby has seen incredible results.

“My horse, Shooter, receives PEMF therapy on a regular schedule from Amy Perez,” she says. “Shooter has had ongoing issues in his right shoulder for some time: soreness, short striding and frequent lameness. After a year of vet visits and no real diagnosis, it was suggested to start Shooter on PEMF therapy. The changes I’ve seen following his treatments have been nothing short of amazing. Shooter has received both chiropractic and massage therapy, and the PEMF has helped him achieve even greater progress. We have been able to continue competing on a regular basis.”

Key Takeaway

Therapies outside the standard western medical options are continuing to gain steam as horse owners discover their complementary benefits to equine health and soundness. You may find that trying out these alternative therapies in your horse’s care routine may do wonders for his health.

This article about alternative therapies for horse care appeared in the August 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Groundwork Exercise 1: Longeing

Longeing can be used to develop engagement, build stamina, and enhance your horse’s range of motion. To longe your horse correctly, follow these steps.

Longeing can be used to develop engagement, build stamina, and enhance your horse’s range of motion. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

1. Clip your line to the side of a halter or use a longeing cavesson. 

Note: For safety reasons, avoid attaching a longe line directly to a bit. The line can pull too harshly on the bit, potentially causing harm to the horse’s mouth.

2. Avoid a continuous hard hold on the line whenever possible. Too much tugging and contact creates tension and unbalances your horse.

3. Make your circle as large as possible to reduce strain on your horse’s joints. Break up the circle with straight lines occasionally by letting your horse travel slightly ahead of you while you walk forward and parallel to him.

Break up the circle with straight lines occasionally by letting your horse travel slightly ahead of you while you walk forward and parallel to him. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

4. Your horse’s body should mirror the shape of the path he’s following. If he’s on a straight line, his spine should be straight from poll to tail. Conversely, he’s only able to travel in comfort and balance on a bend if the arc of his body is uniform.

If your horse isn’t able to maintain proper alignment, he may not understand the concept or be balanced enough. Give him a hand by leading him on a straight line until he can walk with his body in alignment for several strides on a loose lead.

Next, switch back to longeing for a few strides, then back to straight-line leading and so on, until he can hold it on his own.

Groundwork Exercise 2: Ground Poles

To develop impulsion, improve posture, and increase flexibility, try laying down some ground poles. Better yet, use landscape timbers (square-shaped poles) because they won’t roll if your horse bumps or steps on them.

Ground poles help develop your horse’s impulsion, improve his posture, and increase his flexibility. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

1. Start with one pole to introduce your horse’s brain and body to the idea of stepping over something on the ground. Any new movement needs to be introduced slowly to avoid causing emotional stress or physical strain.

2. Build up to two or three evenly spaced poles at a distance that is comfortable for your horse. A 3-foot span works for most horses at the walk, and 4 feet for the trot.

3. Take your horse over the center of the poles. Again, it’s important that his head, neck, and body are in alignment so he’s using his muscles symmetrically.

4. When your horse is ready for a greater challenge, increase the number of poles. You can also add height by alternately elevating the ends of the poles slightly.

Groundwork Exercise 3: Backing Up

Backing up is a deceptively simple yet useful exercise for activating your horse’s hindquarters, core, and back.

1. Back your horse with his head straight and his neck in a neutral position. Cue him by applying light alternating pressure on the lead, rocking his weight back and forth until he takes a step.

2. If he moves his head toward his chest instead of moving his feet, rhythmically press your fingertips against his chest at the same time.

3. Start with one or two steps at a time, slowly building to eight to 10 steps.

4. Once your horse can easily back several strides without crookedness, increase the intensity by reversing him on a slight incline.

Groundwork Exercise 4: Bands

Proprioception bands help restore healthy patterns of movement by bringing awareness to the areas of the body that they are in contact with. These bands are strips of slightly stretchy fabric that do wonders for developing engagement, symmetry, and range of motion.

Proprioception bands help restore healthy patterns of movement by bringing awareness to the areas of the body that they are in contact with. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

There are bands available that are specifically made to use on horses, or you can stop by your local pharmacy and purchase long, wide elastic bandages. Standing or polo wraps work too.

To activate the hindquarters, a band can be placed behind your horse’s rear legs, while his core can be engaged by wrapping a band around his midsection.

Proprioception bands may feel odd to your horse, so introduce them slowly. Use them for short periods of time at first to give his body a chance to acclimate to them.

Groundwork Exercise 5: Carrot Stretches

Stationary mobility exercises, AKA carrot stretches, are great for developing stabilization and core muscles. They also loosen tight fascia for better comfort and improved flexibility.

Stationary mobility exercises, aka carrot stretches, are great for developing stabilization and core muscles. They also loosen tight fascia for better comfort and improved flexibility. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

These exercises don’t require a lot of time or space. A routine of three to five movements can be completed in 10 minutes.

Useful stretches include chin to chest, nose to knees, and nose to fetlocks. Flexing the head and neck to the side activates muscles that stabilize spinal vertebrae so your horse can have a stronger more comfortable back.

Key Takeaway

Next time you don’t want to tack up, turn to groundwork to improve your horse’s fitness and quality of life. These five exercises may seem simple, but remember: the basics are the cornerstone of your horse’s training.

This article about groundwork exercises for horses appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Tamie Smith of Next Level Eventing in Temecula, Calif., winner of the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*, has a strong focus on pole work in her program.

“Not only do they help your horse become stronger, but they get the horse to a place where he’s super rideable,” she says. “You can start off super simple, just trotting over one pole.”

Tamie Smith, winner of the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 5*, regularly uses ground poles to check in on her horses’ adjustability and relaxation. Photo by Mary Cage

Smith emphasizes that setting up pole exercises doesn’t need to be complicated.

“In my ring, I just have random poles out,” she says. “It’s a really good exercise for the horses to learn where their feet are and for them to let go of their bodies because they have to push over their back when they trot over them.”

Relaxation & Rideability

Additionally, Smith uses poles as a check-in for riders to see if their horses are adjustable and listening. Instead of passively riding over the poles, Smith encourages her riders to think about how their horse is completing the exercises and what holes in their training the poles bring into focus.

Smith says to ask yourself the following: “Do the trot poles create more tension and make your horse stiffen? Do they create anxiety?”

The more trot pole work the horses do, the more comfortable they get and the more rideable they become.

“I always err on the side of making sure that the horse isn’t feeling overwhelmed by the trot poles,” says Smith. “If he’s struggling, I’ll take away multiple poles and only use one until he gets really confident with it.”

Fresh Footwork with Ground Poles

Catherine Donworth has spent most of her riding career focusing on fox hunting. When her long-time partner, Skippy, was ready to retire, she got a ranch horse named Doolin Banjos. She began prepping Doolin to be her next fox hunting mount, but quickly discovered that he might be destined for a dual career, so Donworth began her dressage journey.

Catherine Donworth began doing more dressage after getting her former ranch horse, Doolin Banjos. Ground poles add variety to their riding, especially in the winter. Photo by Samantha Clark

She uses ground pole exercises to keep things fresh for both herself and her horse in training.

“When you have a dressage horse that doesn’t jump, or doesn’t jump very often, poles are a huge way to introduce variety into your schooling,” says Donworth.

Pole work breaks up the monotony of ring work, especially when the weather doesn’t permit trail riding or other activities. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

She regularly sets up different pole exercises in the ring year-round and finds new creative ways to use the smaller space of the indoor arena in the winter to keep training going, especially in colder weather when hacking and hill work aren’t an option. When Donworth sets up an exercise, she tries to leave it up for others at the barn to benefit from.

“You can tailor the exercises to whatever level your horse needs very easily, depending on his level of collection or how quickly he can do transitions or how much he can lift his hocks,” she says. “You can easily lay out a pole exercise, and with tiny alterations, work several horses at different levels without needing to set the whole thing up differently again.”

For Doolin, Donworth has found that the main benefit has been that poles keep him thinking.

“It’s helped sharpen up his feet,” she says. “It sharpened his reflexes, and he has to think for himself about where he puts his feet.”

In addition to the mental benefits, Donworth has also seen physical perks.

“It’s good from a physiological standpoint,” she says. “It keeps their hocks and back moving in a way that plain flatwork might not. It strengthens their bodies and can increase range of motion without putting extra pressure on their joints.

“Even walking over small, raised poles gets them to lift their hocks. If a horse has hock problems or arthritis in his hocks, just even walking over poles can loosen, flex, and extend his hocks. It’s like us stretching as part of our warmup.”

Pole work can act like physical therapy, encouraging horses to flex and extend their hocks. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Ground Pole Set Up

How to Set Up Distances

• Walking poles: Set 2.5 feet apart for most horses.
• Trot poles: Set around 4 to 4.5 feet apart. Smaller-strided horses may need closer-set poles, while horses with a longer stride may need poles a little farther apart. Adjusting the distance between the poles can help your horse learn to collect or lengthen his stride. Try to avoid having only two trot poles in a row; your horse might think he is supposed to jump both in one go.
• Canter poles: Set around 9 to 11 feet. Like trot poles, the length of your horse’s stride can influence your placement.

Increasing or decreasing the space between trot poles can teach your horse to collect or extend his stride. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

Simple Eight-Pole Set Up

Place four trot poles and four canter poles on either end of a circle. Begin by trotting the whole loop.

Then ask your horse to canter through the canter poles and come back to a trot before the trot poles, and then canter again before the canter poles. See how accurate you can get your transitions.

Once your horse gets comfortable, try raising some of the trot poles to add difficulty.

Benefits of a Single Pole

Whether you jump or not, finding a distance to a single pole will help you learn your horse’s canter stride length and increase his adjustability. Sometimes it feels easier to find a distance to a larger jump, so breaking it back down to a single pole makes you check in on the details.

Cantering over a single pole will help you learn about your horse’s stride length and aid in adjustability. Photo by Shoshana Rudski

For greener horses, trotting a single pole helps build confidence and get them trusting their footwork.

Key Takeaway

Integrating ground poles into your horse’s training program can increase strength and flexibility, add variety, and sharpen response time. A useful tool for riders and trainers at level, pole work is worth adding to your routine.

This article about using ground poles in training appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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A good-fitting saddle with bars making even contact is shown. You can use your hand to feel under the saddle (without pad or cinch) to make sure the bars don’t bridge or pinch. Photo by Heidi Nyland Melocco

Saddle fit doesn’t have to be stressful. To make sure that a western saddle fits your horse well, keep in mind that you want it to make as much contact as possible around the horse’s back so that it can distribute weight well.

Darrell Nephew’s mission is to help horse owners find saddles that fit well without endless research and worry. He began crafting saddles in the 1980s, and is now executive vice president of Circle Y Saddles. He apprenticed with Tucker Saddles founder Steve Tucker and built over 1,000 saddles before taking the helm at a company dedicated to saddle fit.

Nephew acknowledges that some horses are trickier to fit than others, but he says most horses can easily fit into the common tree-type categories.

“The No. 1 reason people have saddle fit problems is they overthink it,” Nephew says. “It’s easy to worry about your horse and worry that you’re inadvertently doing something to hurt him. But saddle fit doesn’t have to be hard.”

The first step to making sure your horse is comfortable is taking the time to learn about fit. Here, Nephew guides you through the process so that you can ensure your western saddle fits—or find a saddle that does.

Share Your Story with a Saddle Fitter

If you’re looking for a new saddle or want to make sure yours fits well, Nephew suggests starting with your story. Talk to a saddle fitter or local dealer and tell them about your horse.

“Most horses can fit into a ‘normal’ saddle type, and saddle fitters know which horses usually fit the categories,” he says. “It’s a good place to start. Instead of going in and giving lots of measurements, tell them about your horse. I would say that I have a 15-year-old horse that’s starting to lose a little bit of his back. He’s a bit wide. I ride about 10 hours a week. With that info, the fitter can pull a few saddles for you to put on your horse and try.”

When he’s helping horse owners find saddles, Nephew says he first asks if the rider is currently noticing a problem with the fit. If so, he wants to know what you’re noticing.

Let the fitter know if your horse has white spots on his haircoat (a sign of a saddle that applied too much pressure to specific spots over a long time). Sometimes, white spots may be from a poor fitting saddle many years before.

Also report if you have noticed dry spots under your saddle pad when the rest of the back is wet with sweat. That’s a sign that the horse’s back may need some extra padding to fill in where a saddle is bridging (not touching all points along the bars). Sometimes finding the right pad or using a shim pad can help your western saddle fit well. Keep in mind, however, that padding a saddle that’s too narrow will just add pressure to your horse and make him feel worse.

Dry spots in the sweat under the saddle indicate poor saddle fit and may require padding or a new saddle. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

Next, Nephew asks what tree type you’re using or the horse last had. If your horse fit well in a certain width of tree in the past, that’s a good starting point.

Then he asks, “Is your horse pretty normal?” While “normal” is a subjective term on its own, Nephew uses it here to refer to typical conformation. If the horse is fairly symmetrical, has an average wither, and has a fairly level back, he will most likely fit in a saddle made to fit the majority of horses.

There are always exceptions, of course, and some horses may require some padding or aid to fit well in a “normal” saddle, but a custom tree is rarely needed.

“Normal” Trees

A saddle tree showing bars making proper, even contact. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

The saddle’s tree is the strong material, usually wood, that holds the saddle together. On the horse, the tree’s bars make contact with the horse’s back. They’re angled to comfortably sit along the horse’s topline so they can distribute your weight evenly onto your horse’s back. The fit of the saddle, for the horse, comes down to the tree and the bars.

For most western saddles, trees fall into two common types: semi-quarter horse bars or quarter horse bars. Semi-quarter horse bars, also known as “regular,” describe trees designed for horses with a defined wither and a refined build.

Quarter Horse bars, also known as “wide,” usually fit stocky horses with round or flat backs. You may also see gaited and draft horse-specific fits. Keep in mind that the horse’s height doesn’t impact the needed tree type—it’s all about fitting the shape that runs the 9 inches behind the horse’s withers.

The 9 inches behind the horse’s withers will determine the shape of tree needed. A “normal” type of back is shown. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

These categories are helpful as a starting place as you choose which tree types will fit your horse. However, there is no industry standard for how different companies name the bar angles. For each saddle you look at, you’ll need to make sure it fits on your horse.

Nephew says that all the saddle companies strive to make a saddle that helps horses.

“They’re all trying to fit a ‘normal’ horse,” he says. “But every company has a different idea of what normal is. I equate it to shopping for a man’s shirt. Lots of different shirt companies want to fit a man with a certain build. If I’m shopping for a medium shirt, some brands of shirts might be tighter or looser, but overall they fit a medium build. Saddles are the same way. The tree types are trying to fit the most common horses.”

Gullet Guide

Nephew says many horse owners worry about the gullet more than necessary. The gullet is the opening between the bars of the saddle, but it doesn’t determine the bar angles or width of the tree.

“If you’re trying to measure the gullet on a finished saddle, it’s very difficult,” Nephew says. “You just want to make sure the withers have clearance, even when there’s weight in the saddle. Whether there’s 6 inches of clearance or 2 inches of clearance doesn’t matter for most riders. It’s more important to put the saddle on the horse and see how the bars make contact.”

Saddle Fit Concerns

Nephew says it’s never bad to get your horse measured by a saddle fitter. However, he likes to place saddles on the horse to check the fit instead of purely relying on measurements.

If you have noticed a change in your horse’s back because of his age, exercise levels or diet, it may be good to have him measured. Horses’ backs can change when their fitness changes. You’ll also want to know if your horse is short-coupled (has a short back) and may need a saddle that is also short so that it doesn’t sit far onto his hips.

A short-coupled horse will need a shorter saddle to make sure the weight doesn’t sit too far down the horse’s back. Photo by Heidi Nyland Melocco

It’s a good idea to look at your saddle and feel where the bars are contacting your horse’s sides at the start and middle of your riding season so you can see if any changes occur.

Try It Out

Start by trying the saddle on your horse without a pad. Nephew advises learning what to see. A level saddle that doesn’t make contact at the withers is a good place to start as you train your eye.

“Saddle fitting is really just being visual and using your touch,” Nephew says. “The first thing I’m looking for is to make sure the saddle makes good contact where the bar is. I’ll take my hand and feel under the saddle close to the horse’s wither. I’m looking there to see if I make some contact from top to bottom of the bar. If you have to guess, then it’s probably making contact. It’s really obvious when it’s not—you can put your hand under the saddle too easily.”

First, try the saddle without a pad. You’ll know that it’s too narrow if you can see a few inches of fleece under the gullet. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

Nephew says after he feels the saddle’s bars, he steps back and looks at the length of the saddle compared to the horse’s back. He wants to make sure that the saddle is level and that it doesn’t look like it’s making contact only at the front and back.

If the saddle is too narrow for the horse, it will sit high on the horse’s back with a “perched” look. Nephew says you can see this easily by looking at the front of the saddle. If you can see 4 to 5 inches of fleece under the gullet, that’s too much, and the saddle isn’t sitting down far enough. This will make the horse feel pinched and will cause the bars to dig into the horse’s back.

If the saddle is too wide for the horse, the gullet may be too close to the withers and the bars won’t touch the horse’s sides. This can also cause the saddle to pinch because specific points touch the horse, but the bars don’t even touch the horse’s back.

A saddle that’s too wide will sit too close to the withers with the bars not making contact (left); too narrow and the bars will pinch the horse’s back (right).

Nephew advises trying out a few different saddles after you tell a fitter or dealer about your horse.

“The fitter can give you a good place to start, and you can see what looks and feels best on your horse. Make sure you can try a saddle for a few days so that you can ride and see what happens with the saddle in motion. The burden of finding the best fit is always with the horse owner—you’re the one who knows your horse best and knows how he feels to ride.”

Further Reading:
◆ Everything You Need to Know About Saddle Fitting
◆ Get the Right Western Saddle Fit
◆ 5 Tips for Western Saddle Fit

This article about western saddle fit appeared in the September 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Western Saddle Fit Made Simple appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Photo by Dusty Perin

How a Hoof Abscess Starts

A hoof abscess begins when environmental bacteria access the horse’s hoof capsule.

The most common way that bacteria does this relates to fluctuating moisture in the environment. When the ground is dry, hooves become hard and somewhat brittle. This causes small fissures (cracks) to develop in the sole. When the ground becomes wet, the hoof acts like a sponge and softens, further opening these small cracks. Bacteria in the environment can take advantage of these small breaches in the otherwise impenetrable hoof wall and invade the tissue inside.

As they invade the warm, healthy inner hoof tissue, the bacteria multiply rapidly. The horse’s immune system comes to the rescue, but during the battle between good and evil (the horse’s white blood cells versus bacteria), casualties occur as white blood cells die and cause pus to accumulate.

This pus exerts pressure in the confined and inflexible hoof wall. If you’ve ever had swelling under a nail, you know the pain this causes. Now imagine the pain a horse might deal with as they stand on an abscessed hoof.

Hoof abscesses can, however, occur at any time of year, so the weather is not the only cause. Sole bruises caused by hard ground and penetrating hoof wounds also invite bacteria to invade the hoof. One type of penetrating wound is a close nail, or one that is driven too close to the sensitive laminae (internal supporting structures between the outer hoof wall and the coffin bone). This creates a convenient path for bacteria to enter on the nail, which can lead to infection.

Poor hoof conformation can also be a contributing factor to the development of a hoof abscess. Some thin-soled horses are naturally predisposed to frequent abscesses. This is likely due to their increased risk of sole bruising and the shorter distance bacteria have to travel between the outside and inside of the hoof.

What You Might See

While you might expect to see a severely lame horse, keep in mind that not all abscesses are created equal. Observable signs depend on how large the abscess is, where in the hoof it is, and how long it’s been developing. If caught early, some horses are only slightly lame. Others may have some leg swelling up to the fetlock, while others may have a bounding digital pulse and a hoof that’s hot to the touch.

Thin soles, nail wounds or sole bruises can damage the hoof and let in the bacteria that results in an abscess (small hole at toe). Photo by Chelle129/Shutterstock

Horse owners that have seen abscesses before may feel comfortable identifying one and starting treatment on their own. If this is your first time with a hoof abscess, or you feel there may be other complicating issues, it’s a good idea to call your veterinarian for help.

If lameness is accompanied by a visible injury, such as a penetrating wound, or is part of a chronic hoof disease, radiographs may be necessary to assess any internal hoof damage.

Treating Hoof Abscesses

For uncomplicated hoof abscesses, treatment starts with releasing the pressure and granting the horse instant pain relief. This is done by draining the abscess. If your horse is an extremely painful condition, sometimes a local nerve block and/or sedation may be required for safe treatment of the wound. For this, you’ll need a veterinarian.

Using a hoof knife, your veterinarian will clean and trim back the horse’s sole, which gives the ability to see any dark spots or tracts. These are usually indicative of where the abscess is. Hoof testers can also help narrow the location of the abscess.

The hoof knife is then used to carefully pare deeper until the pocket of infection is hit. Once opened, the abscess drains, although it’s usually anticlimactic. A draining abscess may only be a tiny wet spot or area of dark fluid that trickles down. However, the horse may visibly show his relief.

If left alone, an abscess will eventually rupture on its own. However, there are a few downsides to this wait-and-see approach. First, it prolongs pain for the horse. Secondly, if an abscess is not treated, it tends to move up to the coronary band or out the heel bulbs.

Manually draining the abscess with the hoof knife through the sole allows gravity to help with the process; a coronary band abscess (also called a “gravel”) may prematurely close, leaving some infection behind to cause a problem later.

Once drained, your horse now has an open wound in his sole. While it’s important to protect this wound from further infection, it’s also a handy window to allow for continual drainage. Therefore, packing the sole with a poultice and wrapping the hoof with a bandage for protection can ensure the abscess completely drains.

Depending on depth and location, sometimes an abscess can’t be located or easily drained. In such cases, repeated soaking of the hoof in an Epsom salt bath will help soften the hoof and draw the infection closer to the sole for easier drainage. A shallow feed tub makes for an ideal foot soak. Alternatively, there are special soaking boots made specifically for horses, or some owners make “soak bags” out of sturdy plastic IV bags.

Stalling a horse for 24 hours with a soak bag is usually enough time to soften the hoof so that on recheck with a hoof knife, the abscess is more easily drained. Occasionally, you might get lucky and the abscess drains itself overnight. This is often noticeable the next day since the horse is much more comfortable.

If lameness is accompanied by a chronic hoof condition or penetrating wound, X-rays may be needed to assess internal hoof damage. Photo by Dusty Perin

How to Prevent Abscesses

The natural expansion and contraction of a horse’s feet in response to external moisture are impossible to control, so to an extent, hoof abscesses could be considered impossible to prevent. However, a few rules of thumb can help decrease their likelihood.

Regular year-round hoof maintenance is the best place to start. Balanced hooves keep weight distributed evenly, and trimmed feet are less likely to crack and allow bacteria inside.

Providing your horse with the best of nutrition also helps keep hooves healthy, as does daily hoof cleaning and maintaining excellent stall and paddock hygiene. Removing soiled bedding and fixing chronically wet or boggy areas help hooves stay clean and dry so you’ll spend less time obsessing over abscesses and more time enjoying your horse.

Photo by Dusty Perin Using a Poultice Supplies Needed: Iodine, soft and disposable packing material (gauze pads, diaper, etc.), ichthammol or other poultice material, Vetrap, duct tape, scissors Steps: 1. First, thoroughly clean the sole with iodine. 2. Any soft, disposable and clean material will work as packing. One common method is to use a stack of 4×4 medical gauze pads. Other options include a disposable diaper or sanitary pad. 3. Slather a glob of ichthammol or other common poultice on the packing material and place it directly over the draining abscess. 4. Use a stretchy bandage like Vetrap around the entire hoof to keep the gauze or diaper in place. Be careful not to tighten it above the hoof hairline where it could restrict circulation. 5. Next, slightly overlap strips of duct tape to make a square just larger than the bottom of the hoof. reinforce with strips laid at 90 degrees to these. Stick the square to the bottom of the hoof and wrap the edges around to adhere to the Vetrap on the hoof wall. Wind tape once or twice around the top of the square where it meets the hoof wall to hold in place. 6. Keep your horse stalled or in a small, dry paddock for a few days. 7. Change the wrap once a day, replacing the poultice and using new tape. Scissors makes cutting into the bandage for removal much easier than peeling it apart with your fingers. As a general rule, horse’s hoof abscesses tend to fully drain within three days or so, and often sooner. However, anticipate the entire healing time to take seven to 10 days, but this will depend on the depth of the abscess and the size of the drainage hole.

Key Takeaway

In this article, you’ll find common causes of hoof abscesses, methods for treating them, and tips on how to prevent abscesses, all of which are essential for hoof care and maintaining a clean environment.

This article on treating a horse’s hoof abscess appeared in the January 2020 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How to Manage and Treat a Hoof Abscess appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Outdoor Shade Structure

Photo by Alayne Blickle

Cost: $110 – $135 per structure

Need:
◆ Shade tarp
◆ Four 10-foot-long 4″x4″ pressure-treated posts
◆ Four bags of quick concrete
◆ Concrete-mixing receptacle like a wheelbarrow
◆ Posthole digger or posthole-digging shovel
◆ Heavy-duty zip ties

Providing shade to animals during the sunny summer months is important, and if trees and run-in sheds aren’t available, building a very simple shade structure is another option. Luckily, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Harbor Freight sells mesh tarps ranging in size from 8’x10′ to 12’x 20′. These tarps have a close-knit weave that blocks approximately 60 percent of light, and can be doubled up if needed. The tarps cost $33 to $55.

Purchase four pressure-treated wood 4″x4″ posts with a minimum height of 10 feet from a hardware store, and dig four 2-foot-deep post holes in the appropriate configuration for the tarp. These posts cost approximately $17 each.

Drill ½-inch holes through the beams within 4 inches of the top for fastening the tarps with heavy-duty zip ties.

Mix quick concrete to slightly drier than package instructions, and cement the posts into the holes, checking for plum lines and even spacing.

Allow the concrete to set for 24 hours before using a ladder to secure the mesh tarp to the tops of the posts with heavy-duty zip ties. Be sure to watch the shade structure for any wear and tear, including holes in the tarp or failing zip ties.

Five-Gallon Bucket Safety

A quick, easy barn hack to prevent horses from injuring themselves on bucket hooks is to wrap them in electrical tape. Photo by Lillian Kent

Cost: $5

Need:
◆ Electrical tape

Five-gallon buckets are used for all sorts of things around the barn, including storage, step-stools and their intended purpose—watering horses. Their universal nature is appreciated, but when used as water or feed buckets, the small hooks attaching the handle to the bucket can pose a hazard to a horse.

Itchy horses can rub their faces on the small hooks and damage a nostril, eyelid or catch long hair in the tight space. To remedy this, buy some electrical tape from a local hardware store and wrap the electrical tape tightly around each of the two hooks on a five-gallon bucket. The tape will make the hook less accessible, and the stretchy nature of electrical tape means it will grip more tightly as it is applied.

As a safety bonus, make sure all double-ended snaps are facing toward the wall when the bucket is hung. This means there is less opportunity for scratching horses to snag anything on the clip.

Safer Grain Storage

Second-hand sealed bins or chest freezers are a great way to keep pests and mold out of your horse’s grain. Photo by Dusty Perin

Cost: $50-100

Need:
◆ Deep freezer or heavy-duty bin
◆ Clear tape to hang feed tags

Storing grain in a consistent environment can be difficult, especially if the feed room is more rustic. No matter the location, keeping pests and mold out of the grain bin is critical for your horse’s health.

A classic grain storage hack for your barn is using an unplugged deep freezer to store the feed. Freezers are insulated, durable and seal to keep animals out. Plus, they don’t have to freeze things to keep grain safe. They’re frequently available on local sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for less than $100. Any other type of other tight-sealing, heavy-duty storage boxes that you already own or can find for second-hand purchase will work, too.

As a bonus hack for your barn, save all feed tags and tape them to the grain bin for reference while feeding that bag. The white tags located on the bottom of grain bags list the lot number of grain and sometimes “best by” dates.

Should something go wrong with the grain, knowing which lot the grain came from is vital for feed companies.

Metered Fly Spray

Battery-powered fly metered fly spray can get expensive when buying numerous units. Try a bathroom air freshener unit instead to save big—just make sure it fits your fly spray canister properly.

Cost: $25 each

Need:
◆ Automatic bathroom scent sprayer
◆ Batteries
◆ Canister of metered fly spray

Flies are a constant hassle of horse ownership, and controlling them can feel like a never-ending task. Employing fly boots and misting horses daily with the bottle is nice, but automatic fly-spray systems in barns take fly control to the next level.

Although metered fly-spray devices are available at feed stores for around $50 each, you can save by making them from battery-powered bathroom scent sprayers. You’ll need to make sure the device matches with the brand of metered fly spray you purchase. With some leg work, an automatic and adjustable fly spray system perfect for your barn and run-in sheds is within reach.

Muddy Spot Remedy

Gravel, wood chips, or even a simple shovel-dug drainage channel will help combat muddy gate areas during wet seasons. Photo by Seephotos7171/Shutterstock

Cost: $0-50

Need:
◆ Shovel
◆ Organic material to fill

A muddy spot at a gate or barn door is not only irritating; it can also pose a danger to horses. Mud can be slippery and promote thrush-causing bacteria growth. Try this hack for a muddy barn area.

The first step to helping a muddy spot is to see if a small ditch can be dug to direct any pooling water away from the area. The width and depth of the ditch will vary with the size of the issue, but should measure at least 6 inches wide and several inches deep. Using some elbow grease and a digging shovel, dig a channel away from the muddy spot.

If digging an escape route for water isn’t possible, adding product to a muddy spot can help too. Some of the common options are woodchips, gravel and sand. Local tree-care businesses often have woodchips from jobs for free, as long as you pick them up yourself.

Gravel and sand are also widely available at local landscaping shops. Or buy by the yard, and not by the bag, at a hardware store.

Whatever material used, add to the problem area when it is dry and get a nice, sloped base draining toward the lowest point. When it becomes muddy, add material as needed until the mud is subdued. Eventually, the place will be built up with fill material and less water will be able to pool there.

DIY Corner Feeder

Plastic barrels make convenient corner feeders where horses eat more naturally with their head down at ground level — an easy and cost effective hack for your barn. Photo by Lillian Kent

Cost: $30 each

Need:
◆ One 55-gallon plastic barrel
◆ Drill with ¼-inch drill bit
◆ Jigsaw
◆ Coarse sandpaper
◆ Cleaning supplies
◆ Heavy-duty zip ties
◆ Wall eyelets

Feeding horses with their heads in a downward position is the most natural and has been proven to put less strain on their bodies. There are several large, plastic corner feeders on the market, but they start at $100 and climb in price from there.

Make a budget-friendly corner feeder for grain and hay using a 55-gallon plastic barrel. These can be purchased second-hand on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or from local businesses (make sure they only ever held food-grade materials) for approximately $20 each.

Once the barrel is home, measure and mark where it will be cut. Cutting one in half will yield two corner feeders, although the top portion will not be as suitable for feeding grain due to the grooves from the lid.

After measuring, drill a hole into the line of division and use a jigsaw to cut around the barrel as it lays on its side. Jigsaws can be purchased for about $30 or rented for about $15.

Once cut, thoroughly wash the barrel with hot water, dish soap and diluted bleach. Sand the rough plastic edge with a coarse sandpaper. Drill at least two small holes in the barrel near the top to secure it to the wall.

Using eyelets screwed into the wall, secure the feeder to the corner with heavy-duty zip ties and trim them short.

Making life easier around the barn is a constant journey, but one horses deserve and owners will be thankful for. These hacks should improve life around the barn for your horse, so give them a try.

This article about DIY barn hacks appeared in the September 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post DIY Barn Hacks appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.