Creekside's June 2006 Newsletter
Creekside's June 2006 Newsletter
Welcome Horselovers!
This is my second attempt at putting a newsletter together. It's easier for me to design one than it is to put together the content every month. Ah well, try, try again...Your Horse's Health and Nutrition
Male Horse Hygiene: The sheath of a male horse needs to be periodically cleaned, but this chore is often neglected by horse owners. Some are reluctant to deal with it; others might not know how to go about getting it done. However, if you have a male horse, you need to become educated about sheath cleaning or you should have your veterinarian or an experienced horse person handle the task so your male horse is healthier, and ultimately happier.[ Top of page ]
A Little Insight Into Proper Riding
Healthy Hooves for a Happy Horse: A horse’s hooves are amazingly resilient, however, titanium they are not. A hoof is actually a living organism and quite capable of being damaged and stressed. It’s useful to apply a hoof moisturizing cream to the hooves to help keep them healthy. However, if your horse does develop cracked, dry hooves try applying Vaseline with a paintbrush (this also a great rain repellant).If your horse is continually suffering with dry, brittle hooves, has cracked hooves that won’t keep shoes, or chronically suffers from sore feet, it’s a great idea to invest in horse supplements for hooves.
*Make sure that any hoof supplement you select contains Biotin and Methionine. Biotin is essential to all connective tissue and Methionine is an amino acid that is crucial in achieving healthy hooves.
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Training Your Horse
A Perfect Fit: When it comes to precision equipment like Australian saddles, it's important that they are a perfect fit for the rider and the horse. A saddle that doesn’t fit correctly will affect the movement of the horse, thus decreasing the amount of control a rider has over the animal. A saddle should fit like a Every horse has a unique build and you need to fit a saddle according to its body type. Here are some important tips on fitting a saddle:• The saddletree must not fall behind the animal’s shoulders—it should fit across the withers.
• The entirety of the panel must be touching the horse's back.
• After the girth has been secured, you should have enough space to place two fingers between the gullet and the withers.
• The saddle should hold the rider in the deepest part, not sagging one way or the other. Both sides must be level.
• You should never put a saddle on a weak, unhealthy horse. Saddles are designed to fit well across well-toned, healthy animals.
• Always buy saddles from someone who is qualified and is willing to give you a guarantee.
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Horse-related Products of Interest
Here is something that we found helpful and interesting at one of the recent equestrian conventions...Aussie Tie Ring by Blocker offers a quick, simple and safe way to tie a horse, allowing you to regulate the degree or amount of “hold” by implementing one of several tying options. Often when a horse backs up against a rope and finds he is tied solid, he panics – breaking something or risking injury. This tie ring allows a horse to pull slack when resisting the rope, without becoming untied. When tied in a trailer, the ring allows the horse to pull enough slack to get up, should he fall while being transported.
When teaching young horses to stand tied, the Aussie Tie Ring™ is a product Clinton has incorporated into his training program. When young horses pull back and don’t feel trapped and confined, they tend not to panic, thus learning that being tied is nothing to fear. You can find this product on Clinton Anderson's DownUnderHorsemanship.com product catalog.
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Horse-related Books and Articles to Consider Reading
Centered Riding by Sally Swift: "Even the best riders know what it's like to hit a learning plateau-- a time when, no matter how hard you work, you seem to get nowhere. Such interruptions in a rider's progress often stem from a false or imprecise understanding of what he or she is trying to do, or the lack of a key image that could put things together, working in synchrony. For the rider who needs either or both of these (and who does not, from time to time?), Sally Swift's Centered Riding will prove indispensable. Wonderfully explicit in explaining and showing what should work how, Centered Riding is also wonderfully imaginative in finding just the right psychological images to help go beyond the mere mechanics. A work of truly remarkable originality and ingenuity, it cannot fail to help many riders attain their present goals, and then move ahead to set higher ones."--William Steinkraus, Chairman, U.S. Equestrian Team, Inc., Olympic Gold Medalist, Show-jumping, 1968, Mexico City... Click here to review the book...[ Top of page ]
Calendar of Events
June 17 & 18 - LMHJA - Lou Don II - Regular and Basic RingJune 17 - SJC H & P - County wide - Pleasure Only - At St. Joe County Fair Grounds
June 18 - SJC H & P - County wide - Contesting Only - At St. Joe County Fair Grounds
June 24 & 25 - LMHJA - Huntington Valley - Regular and Basic Ring
View our website for other details...
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Thank You for Reading Our Newsletter
We would like to thank you all for your continued interest in Creekside Equicenter. We are thrilled to help you with your horse-related needs. If you have questions or would like to send comments, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to bringing you even more good content in the next issue.Stay tuned,
Michael and Tina Prout
CreeksideEquicenter.com
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Creekside Equicenter
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