Setting goals with our horses

As we look back upon the year and look forward to the new, thoughts of goals and more riding are swimming through our heads. Did you accomplish your goals with your horses this past year? Give up after a few months? Thought you rode quite a bit but its not reflected in your riding? How about your horses behavior on the ground and in the saddle, see any improvement?

One way to keep better track of how often we work with our horses, and what we work on, is to make a simple Excel spreadsheet. Here is what I do. For each month I have a new sheet, across the top are the names of the horses, down the left column are the dates .  I use a simple legend, R=Ride, TR= trail ride, GW= ground work, GD= ground driving,  TW= trailer work, W= worming, S= shots, T= trim, etc. Each day that something is done with a particular horse, I put the appropriate letter under their name on that date. If I did something noteworthy, or reached a certain goal, I will write a little note over in a column to the right called 'Notes'.

I also have a separate packet of papers that has a list of the tasks I would like to complete with each horse that comes in for training. With most horses I have three months to complete these tasks, and all might not be complete because it depends on the horse, but small goals lead to the bigger goal of turning out a nice, safe riding horse.

Having a record of our training program makes it really easy to look at the facts of how often we are working with our horse. It can be a reality check of how little we work with our horse and why we are not achieving our goals.  At the end of the year we can look back over our spreadsheets and see if we reached those goals and if not, what becomes part of the future goals, what needs to be broken down into smaller goals, maybe add a new goal.

Keeping a written schedule helps to see the reality of how much we work with our horse, and helps to develop and keep track of a well schooled training program. I hope this idea, and a new year, helps you start your own horsemanship program so you can improve your horsemanship and the relationship you have with your horse.

Happy New Year and God Bless!

Amy Allen

Transitioning from shoes to barefoot- The second trim

Left front solar view before trim

Left front side view before trim

Its been 6 weeks since I pulled the shoes off this horse and trimmed her hooves.

Right hind solar view before trim

Right hind side view before trim

In the solar view of her left front (after trim), you can see her toe is starting to shorten and hoof widen. This horse is also building a toe callus. Currently the area where the toe callus is building is very smooth and pretty wide, from the apex of the frog all the way to the toe, however as her hoof starts to change its shape from long and narrow, to shorter and  wider, the toe callus will be located closer to the hoof wall at the toe and she will start to gain some concavity. The concavity will allow the coffin bone to be suspended higher up in the hoof, which will lead to less sensitivity to rocks and other uneven surfaces.  

Left front solar view after trim

Left front side view after trim

After 2nd Trim

Also, as she continues in her transition her sole will gain thickness, which will also add protection and less sensitive hooves.
What are some key elements to transition and healthy bare hooves? The trim, diet, exercise to promote circulation which promotes healing, hoof protection and time. 
Can I ride my horse during barefoot transition? Absolutely, but be aware of stride and movement. If your horse is showing signs of pain, put on some boots and most likely your horse will move right out, this will increase circulation and healing.
The owner of this horse reports she has some sensitivity to rocks, which would be expected, but under saddle in the arena there is noticed improvement in her movement and she is now doing roll backs comfortably.

Merry Christmas!

Long toe and under run heels - transitioning from shoes to barefoot

Left front solar view

Left front side view before trim

Add caption

Long toes and under run heels are very common in shod horses. You can see in these photos a good example of long toes and under run heels. The heels should be not be so far forward, they should be back, aligning with the back of the frog, or very close to it. Shoes do not allow the frog and heels to expand and get wider as they grow, so they grow forward and contract.

Right hind solar view

Right hind side view

This side view of the hind hoof, if you can imagine it before it was filed off at the toe to fit the shoe, that is a very long toe and under run heel and has affected the way this horse travels.

How is a horse trimmed to correct a long toe and under run heels? In this case the farrier was trying to grow a longer heel, but when you try and grow a longer heel, you get even more long toe and under run heel, especially if a horse is shod.
A heel will chase a toe, so you trim back the toe then the hoof gets back under the horse. Eventually the horses heel will get back in alignment with the back of the frog and the angle will change. Instead of being forward and low, it will be back under the horse and the angle will be correct.

Left front side view after trim

solar view after trim

This was the first trim of many for this horse and I am setting up the hoof to change and heal. All can not be corrected in the first trim because the bones in the hoof and leg have to change. You can see in the solar view, there is more toe in front of the widest part of the hoof, the heels need to widen and the heels will come back and align with the back of the frog.

Over time, as I keep trimming this horse, and backing up her toe, and balancing the rest of her hoof, the anatomy of the horse will change and she will be more comfortable. In comparing the  before and after photos, you can see how the the toe has backed up a little and the heel is a little more under the horse.

Right hind side view after trim

Right hind solar view after trim

In the solar view you can see there is more toe in front of the widest part of the hoof and the heels are too far forward. The cracking is more sole that will exfoliate, I did remove some, the horse will continue to remove it on her own.  After this horses next trim, I will post updated photos and you will see even more changes to achieve a healthier bare hoof.

Two little girls

Tonight was the last night of lessons for the season, here on the Allen Acres lesson horses.
I'm very proud of these young students, Emily and Sagel. They are both friends and share the common love of horseback riding and learning all about horses.

Emily, she is a returning student and this year she wanted to learn to canter. Raven has a great canter, and Emily, although little, especially on this big mare, has a lot of courage, try and a huge amount of determination.

 

 Tonight, I stepped out of the round pen and said, "She is all yours Emily, you know what to do, pick your spots for your take off and go for it." And Emily did. She cantered and cantered and cantered, both ways of the arena, and did a great job. We all had a laugh towards the end as Raven walked to the mounting block and stopped, she was done.  Emily took Raven to the outdoor arena to do her cool down walking exercises.

A happy little girl, who just loves to be on the back of a horse, around horses and has the confidence to go for it

 

....and a mare who gives her all for Emily. 

Sagel has been taking lessons once a week since May 2010. Sagel has a natural confidence with horses, and likes to have lots of fun while learning.  She can catch up Bob from the pasture, get his halter on, drag his head out of that grass (he LOVES food), bring him to the barn, groom, saddle and round pen him, bridle, get on him, lateral flex and do all her warm up circles before I even start her lesson. And she is 10.

Bob would rather stop than go, and makes his rider learn how to be a rider and not a passenger. Sagel learned the aids, timing and feel and she gets Bob going and keeps him going.

Sagel wants to have a horse of her own some day soon. With her level of responsibility, and her confidence with horses, I believe that dream will be fulfilled.

Training the older horse to stop

Older horses sometimes have a hole in their foundation. I have a 17 yo mare that doesn't have a good stop. She will transition down with seat cues and breathing, but the transition from a walk to a stop is terrible. Tonight my husband rode her and I taught him how to work on her stop. He would shorten his reins to be prepared to use them, then stop seat movement,  exhale, sit down and back and if no response slowly pick up the reins and apply pressure. The release was when she gave to the bit, not when she stopped her feet. Why? If she stops her feet, but is still pulling her head forward and against his hands, she is not mentally stopped. She needs to stop 100%. At first she thought he wanted her to go backwards. Again, he waited for her to stop her feet and then give to the bit. He was consistent, so she started to understand exactly what he was asking.

If this doesnt work and the horse is so strong that they blow through your hands, another way is to laterally flex the horse into a stop, and then back up in your training and just teach them to give to head pressure from the ground, using a halter, then switch to a bridle. Takes time but even an older horse can be retrained to have a good stop.

Barefoot Trim

Here are some examples of what hooves should look like when trimmed using the barefoot method. All of the examples shown are horses that are ridden weekly.

 When the owners ride these horses on trails they are booted. What breeds? Mostly QH's, but one is an OTTB who use to have thin soles and weak hoof walls. The right kind of trim can do wonders for any horse. It's a beautiful sight to see a balanced, healthy, bare hoof that not only looks good but also can perform.

How time flies

I, like many others, start a blog and then time flies, we get very busy and before we know it its been months, or in my case longer, since we post again. Oh well. So I'm attempting to try again and hopefully this time I will be able to keep up.  

So back to blogging.

Some things have changed since I started this blog. Not only am I training horses and teaching students, I have also opened my trimming business to accept a larger clientele. I have been trimming for around seven years but mostly my horses and a few clients. I didn't want the trimming business to take over my first love, teaching and training. The trimming business has grown immensely this year, but instead of it taking over my time, I have found it has lead to an increased client load of students. When a horse owner hires me to trim their horse(s), they see how well I am with their horse(s) and one thing leads to another and I have gained a new student.
Now I look back at my decision, my fears of it taking over my time, and the bit of risk I took and I say to myself, "Wow! I wish I had done this earlier."

RF Before

RF After

One other big step I took with my trimming business was the decision to get certified. I joined the PHCP (Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners) and I am about half way through the program. The benefit of this program is that it not only focuses on trimming, but also on nutrition, a huge benefit  to me as a horse owner and trainer. I feel I can offer more to all my clients with the knowledge I have gained. Of course, the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know....and that is one of the things I love about horses, always more to learn and ways to grow!