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December 2009 
Best Saddle and Tack Gripping ProductsThe best way to stay steady in the tack is with correct equitation, but sometimes we can use some extra help: over drop jumps cross-country, spinning turns on a reining horse, sitting the extended trot on a big warmblood, holding the lines steady while driving a carriage through water obstacles. No-slip products come in an array of materials and containers. There’s a wide range of stickiness that corresponds directly to a reverse range of convenience: The stickier the product, the messier it is to use, and the harder it is to clean up. The two moderately sticky products, Effax and Sekur-Grip, come in convenient push-up tubes that resemble a deodorant tube. They have a soft, waxy consistency and can be applied before mounting or go into a pocket to be reapplied while on horseback. Sporty Haft-Spray, is exactly that, an aerosol spray that is most easily applied before mounting. Two ointments, Guter Sitz and Friction Wax, come in small cans and are the stickiest products in this trial. They should be applied before riding, using a cloth, because they’re difficult to wash off of your fingers. Horse Deworming Q & A With all the recent press about drug-resistant parasites and how to combat them, many horsemen aren’t sure what to do. We’ve compiled a list of frequent questions in order to help you make rationale decisions. It’s important to shop by the drug type, then factor in price. 2009 Horse Journal Products of the Year We take great pride in choosing the top 10 Products of the Year. These items were in field trials during the past 12 months and ended up being products that we reached for repeatedly long after the actual field trial was completed. We’re presenting these in alphabetical order. Hoof Infection and Skin Wound Combination Products As we were researching details of products submitted for our recent skin wound and infections trial, we came across a few that specifically claimed to treat both thrush/hoof infections and skin problems as well. We decided that if the products work, it could be save time, money and storage. The common property of all of these products is a disinfecting effect. They don’t have a conditioning or moisturizing effect, and they don’t contribute to healing except to help prevent infections. Disinfectants (aka antiseptics) kill organisms on contact within minutes but usually have no long-term residual effect (iodine is an exception here). Digestive Enzyme Products for Senior Horses Since food only remains in the stomach and small intestine for about six hours, it’s important for the digestive enzymes to be operating efficiently. If they’re not, the horse won’t be able to absorb all the nutrients and properly digest the feed. Fortunately, most horses have no trouble at all and don’t need to receive supplemented digestive enzymes. For other horses, though, digestive enzymes can make a big difference. Situations where digestive enzyme supplementation may be helpful include... Winter Arthritis Care for Horses Like all athletes, few horses completely escape the scourge of arthritis in their lifetimes. Even horses that have been sound usually develop arthritis in their later years, when age-related declines occur in the number of cartilage-producing cells. Some chronic conditions also influence bone and joint health. Cold weather is particularly difficult, making stiff joints stiffer, so get ready to fight back. Horse Training for Calming a Startled Horse When your horse loses his cool, you shouldn’t lose yours as well. You need to have your reactions planned well in advance of a meltdown because you won’t have any time to think of just the right thing to do if your horse jumps sideways on a trail ride or pitches a fit in the middle of the warm-up ring at a show. Sudden explosions are more likely to occur in crisp winter weather, especially since horses can’t get turned out or ridden as regularly as they are in warmer months. The traditional method of coping with this behavior is to give the horse something to do to take his mind off things. Basically, put him to work. Many try to calm an overly tense, inattentive horse by riding in a small circle, but it doesn’t always get the job done. We’ve found that a clover-leaf pattern at the walk, where you ride 10-meter loops while alternating with straight lines and changes of direction, keeps the horse’s attention better than one continuous circle. This pattern is also useful for suppling a horse and can be done at the walk in the snow and mud when winter footing is less than optimal. Being in Harmony with Your Horse The October editorial ("Looking For Poetry In Motion") was wonderful. The best moments when riding are when we’re in harmony with our horses. I know you don’t have much coverage on Natural Horsemanship, but Linda Parelli and Parelli Natural Horsemanship focus a lot on this. The great thing about their system is that everyday non-competitive riders like me (even though I spent 20 years in the hunter ring prior to discovering Parelli) can apply the techniques at basic levels and can take it as far as being able to do piaffe and passage one day. At higher levels, riding without reins is possible and encouraged. Clean-Stalls and Respiratory Health It’s well established that the level of ammonia, bacterial toxins, molds and plant-based allergens inside stables can easily reach levels that pose a threat to a horse’s respiratory health. It seems logical that keeping your barn meticulously mucked out is a must. However, a recent German study had surprising results. The lowest levels of ammonia were found in barns where stalls were only picked free of manure, followed closely by stalls that were not mucked at all. Ammonia level was 1.5 times higher when stalls were mucked out completely on a daily basis. They also found that ammonia levels didn’t increase over a six-week period of partial mucking and that ammonia levels were lower when horses were bedded on wheat straw rather than straw pellets or wood shavings. The lowest levels of particulate matter in the air was when stalls were not mucked at all. |
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