hoping that my mom doesnt take the horse im training away.. i have a lil problem.... i can bridle him just fine and he likes the snaffle im using but when i get on him and aske him to go, he will walk a few steps and start throwing his head up and down or side to side. i wont even have two fingers on the reins, so i know i am not pulling on the bit causing this. just to rule it out i had my mom clip a lead to the halter and i let go of the reins and asked him to walk, again a few steps then he… Continue

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This week Debbie was gone to some big show, so I had to ride by myself Wednesday. Waking up vaguely nauseous I got to the barn, groomed and tacked Mia, and with my husband's help got to the arena. Remembering my thoughts about last week's ride, we started off at a gentle walk, with SOFT contact, following every move of Mia's head. Mia rewarded me with a good walk, moving right on out with minimal use of my legs. Then two flocks of ducks started sparing in the adjacent pond,…

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Hi Julie

I have been riding for eight months at a stable and am taking classes once-twice a week as well as clinics. I bought a horse from the stables I go to; he is a twelve year old Arab and a very forgiving horse but in the last two months he has started to pull on the bit. I am finding this very, very frustrating. My teacher is a very good trainer as well as a teacher. Just this… Continue

Does Your Horse’s Bit Fit Properly?





Dear Julie,

How do you know when a bit is properly sitting in the horse’s mouth? We have always heard that you look at the "wrinkles". However, this can be confusing to us.

Thank you,

Devonna



Devonna,

This is a confusing issue to lots of people and one that almost always comes up in my clinics. It’s an old-fashioned concept to say that the bit fits correctly when you see one or two wrinkles in the horse’s lips.… Continue

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Today I spent a few hours with a real dentist. Wow! Actually, I was in the easy seat while my wife sat in the hot seat. My wife is the sweetest gal in the world …… until she goes to the dentist.



We had been assured that this guy was good with patients like my wife. And I must admit, he was great! While he examined her, I watched and learned.



As you know, I still live in the dark ages as far as equine dentistry goes. The new dentists drug every horse, jack the mouth open with… Continue

Have you noticed that some horses are wimps with a low or nonexistent threshold for pain while others seem to tolerate all sorts of pain. This seems to be reasonable because if I placed a pebble in your shoe and an identical pebble in your friend's shoe then sent you both running, one of you would stop and cry while the other would continue to run.…

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Horse's teeth erupt throughout their lives with constant wear occurring from teeth grinding against opposing teeth and continual stropping by the tongue. This wear is uneven and creates razor sharp edges that cause discomfort as those edges ulcerate the cheek and their tongue.



So if eruption and wear is continuous throughout the life of the horse and the result is pain within the mouth, AND the removal of the sharp points (floating) is easily done, WHY DO SO MANY HORSE OWNERS AVOID… Continue

Talk about falling off the wagon! Last week, the train derailed! Robin and I skipped our very first ride together on Monday – it was cold, and windy and raining early in the day, so we opted to miss this one time. I was also sick on Easter – woke up with a headache and nausea – it may have been my first experience with a migraine – so I was very worn out on Monday. Well, Tuesday, I…

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We had another "Don't Panic" moment last week. We arrived at the barn to find our barn owner watching The Squirt. Our poor boy was having trouble eating. He would try to eat but each mouthful of his dinner dribbled from his mouth. He also was drooling a lot. Since he wasn't swallowing anything we were worried that he had a case of choke. We called the vet and put him in a stall while we waited for the vet to arrive. The Squirt didn't seem to be very distressed, but I certainly was! I did feel a… Continue

Pic.above: Thanks to uncooperative nature of my Mobile's camera I have actually managed to take this rather interesting photograph. It was taken on my today's hack. Poor woodlands, soaked.



Work has returned to 80% of normal but there are some worrying forecasts about the snow returning again in February. I've… Continue