HORSE MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER AND MORE!!!
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Topics in this issue:
1) Happy Anniversary
2) Feature: Lovely Little Lyra's Nutrition Quiz
3) Recommended products and services: Video editing
4) Rally and rating tips: D2 prep guide
5) Questions and answers: Marcy's dilemma, Ann's insight
6) Safety checklist
7) Fun and educational websites
8) Featured rule

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One Year Anniversary!
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This issue marks the one year anniversary of the Horse Management
Newsletter. One of the things that Chief Horse Management Judges have been
asked to do is to teach more than they judge. This newsletter has allowed
just that, it's a clearinghouse for information, discussion, tips, hints,
and talk about horse related topics. I'd like to especially thank everybody
who has contributed over the past year with their questions, comments, and
encouragement! The subscription rate has grown substantially and there are
now subscribers from all over the country. Keep up the great work!!!

This month's feature, a nutrition quiz, is a real treat to add to the
line-up. Stay tuned in May for the next edition, "Uncle Moose's Trailer
Safety Quiz.

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Lovely Little Lyra's Nutrition Quiz
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by Talitha Neher
Including:
Rough trade
The truth about cellulose
Whatıs his sign?
Boris makes a deal

Questions:

1. You want to give your new pony a carrot but are worried about getting
your fingers bitten (your neighborıs Aunt Cindyıs son knew some kid who lost
three fingers giving a treat to a pony). Which is the best way to give a
treat safely?

a. Push it between the bars of his cage with a long pole.
b. Throw it at him, then quickly run the other way.
c. Offer it on the flat palm of your hand.
d. Arrange for the veterinarian to pull out his teeth so you donıt
have to worry.

2. Which of the following is not a good way to feed hay?

a. On the ground
b. In a hay rack or manger
c. In a hay net or bag tied high enough that the horse canıt get his
foot in it even when itıs empty.
d. In a hay net hanging at the level of the horseıs knees so that he
does not have to strain to reach it.

3. Uncle Yuri and his friend Jack Charmenian are watching you feed your
horse. Jack Charmenian asks how much water the average horse drinks in a
day. You consider telling him to look it up, but since heıs cleaning his
teeth with a switchblade, you decide to be agreeable and tell him itıs about
8-12:

a. cups.
b. pints.
c. quarts.
d. gallons.

4. Switchblades are:

a. Good for emergencies when you need to cut a lead rope loose in a
hurry.
b. Fun.
c. Illegal in most places.
d. Good for emergencies like being mugged.


5. What kind of water does a horse like to drink?

a. Water with mud in it.
b. Fresh, clean water.
c. Water with mosquito larvae in it.
d. Water with scummy green algae in it.


6. Because horses are grazing animals with small stomachs, it is best to
feed them:

a. Frequent small meals
b. One really big meal
c. Lawn clippings
d. Every other day


7. Which of the following is not a good rule for feeding horses?

a. Feed little and often
b. Provide plenty of roughage
c. Make changes in the horseıs diet gradually
d. Always provide fresh, clean water
e. Provide a source of salt
f. Feed at different times each day to keep the ponyıs life
interesting

8. Horses need a lot of roughage to maintain a healthy digestive tract.
Do you know what roughage is?

a. High-fiber foods like sawdust, newspaper clippings and old leaves.
b. High-fiber foods like hay and beet pulp.
c. High-energy foods like oats and corn.
d. A young man with tattoos and a drug problem you picked up outside
a bar on the waterfront last Friday night.

9. You are making a feeding chart to take to a competition. If you
werenıt a devil-may-care rebel and wanted to do everything by the book, you
would list your horseıs grain in:

a. pounds per meal
b. coffee cans per meal
c. scoops per meal
d. quarts per meal

10. A good way to package grain for individual meals during a competition
is:

a. In old whiskey bottles.
b. In plastic bags.
c. In paper bags with the horseıs name, type of grain and amount
written on it.
d. In the pockets of the clothes you plan to wear each day.

11. Whatıs the best way to store grain at home and on the road?

a. In a waterproof container that horses canıt open and mice canıt
get into.
b. Under a tarp.
c. Just empty the bag in the stall or pasture so the horse can eat as
much as he wants when he wants.
d. In old whiskey bottles.

12. Uncle Yuri knows where you can get a deal on some hay. His friends
Boris and Sasha show you a lot of hay under tarps in a warehouse. They say
they got several cuttings from different fields this year. You look at some
sample bales and select the hay that is:

a. Yellow and stemmy because it will provide lots of roughage.
b. Crisp, green, leafy and sweet-smelling because itıs high quality.
c. Still a little damp in the middle of the bales because youıre
worried about your horse getting dehydrated this summer and want to maximize
his water intake.
d. Brown and a little dusty because itıs cheap‹you can shake off the
mold before you feed it.

13. Why should you bring a feeding schedule for your horse to competitions?

a. Because itıs the rule at Pony Club events and you donıt want to
lose stable management points.
b. In case you forget what to feed him under the strain of
competition.
c. So that someone else will know what to feed your horse if you meet
with an accident such as alien abduction or accidental evisceration.
d. To help you remember all the changes‹at home you just feed grass
hay, but this weekend at competition youıre feeding alfalfa, oats,
electrolytes, a mineral supplement, a joint supplement and a bran mash every
night.

14. Cellulose is a plant material. Thereıs a lot of it in grass and in
bark. You and I canıt digest cellulose. Who can?

a. Jack Charmenian.
b. Termites.
c. Horses.
d. Microbes.

15. Uncle Yuri and Jack Charmenian are sitting on the fence watching you
feed your horse. Jack Charmenian points his vodka bottle at you and says
that since your horse obviously likes it so much, you should feed him a lot
more grain. You explain that too much grain is bad for a horse. Which of
the following is not a possible consequence of too much grain?

a. The horse could get laminitis, or founder.
b. The horse could colic.
c. The horse could get too fat.
d. The horse could get tuberculosis.

16. You need to come up with a feeding plan for your pony. What donıt you
need to take into account when designing a diet?

a. The type of work he will be doing‹a weekly amble through the park?
Dressage? Eventing? Racing across the frozen steppes of Mongolia?
b. The condition heıs in right now‹fatty-fatty? Pleasantly plump?
Lean, mean and fighting fit?
c. His astrological sign‹Leo? Scorpio? Libra? Virgo?
d. His size, breed and metabolic rate‹itty-bitty? Super-plus
econo-size? Easy keeper? Canıt keep weight on?

17. What is a good source of protein for a horse?

a. fresh, raw meat
b. baked tofu
c. alfalfa hay
d. granola bars

18. Concentrates are a good source of energy for horses. What are
concentrates?

a. grains such as oats, corn and barley
b. just-add-water horse food in a can
c. hay such as alfalfa, timothy or meadow grass
d. high-energy foods such as fish meal and bone meal

Questions 19-25 are about the seven basic nutrients that make up a horseıs
diet: protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals and water.
Learn the seven nutrients. Learn them now. If you do not learn them, you
will be an ignorant ignoramus and people will shun you.

19. Water is very critical‹itıs important in maintaining blood volume and
cell hydration and is needed everywhere in the body. Horses can become
dehydrated even when water is available if they stop drinking for some
reason‹if they are sick, itıs very cold, or they are nervous in new
surroundings. Which is not a sign that a horse is dehydrated?

a. Gums are sticky and tacky.
b. Sunken eyes.
c. Tongue hanging out and panting.
d. If you pinch the skin on her neck, it stays tented for a few
seconds instead of snapping back right away.

20. Fats provide energy, heat and warmth. Of the following, what is the
best way to supplement fats in your horseıs diet?

a. A cup of Crisco
b. Corn oil
c. Lard
d. A stick of butter

21. Fiber is important for proper digestion. It is supplied as roughage
(hay, beet pulp) and is broken down by microbes in the horseıs digestive
tract. I bet you donıt know which part of the horseıs digestive tract is a
big fermentation vat to break down fiber. Is it:

a. The anus?
b. The cecum?
c. The esophagus?
d. The gall bladder?

22. Protein is used by the body for growth and repair. What are proteins
made of?

a. daisy chains
b. amino acid chains
c. gold chains
d. dandelion chains

23. Carbohydrates provide heat and energy. How should you give
carbohydrates to a pony?

a. Carbo-load her before an event with a big plate of pasta and a
whole-wheat roll.
b. Give grain according to condition and work done.
c. Supplement with Power Bars or a similar product containing a
balanced source of protein and carbohydrates.
d. Cat food is cheap and high in carbohydrates.

24. These nutrients are supplemented in some salt blocks. Calcium and
phosphorous are an example‹they an important part of bones.

25. These nutrients are named after letters of the alphabet. D is made by
the body when the horse is exposed to the sun and is also found in sun-cured
hay. It is important for healthy bones. K is important for blood clotting.


BONUS QUESTION: Back in the day, horses that worked grinding wheat in flour
mills were fed sweepings from the floor. They tended to develop Millerıs
Head Disease, or Big Head Disease, a condition in which their heads became
enlarged with deformed bones. What caused this?

a. An improper calcium to phosphorous ratio‹these horses were getting
way too much phosphorous in their diets.
b. Being regularly beaten about the head by irate mill workers.
c. An allergy to wheat, resulting in swollen sinuses.
d. Ill-fitting halters.


SUPER BONUS QUESTION: Uncle Yuri owes Boris and Sasha a lot of money. Sasha
wants to break Uncle Yuriıs kneecaps, but Boris is very interested in
anatomy. He says that if you can trace a morsel of food through a horseıs
digestive system, he will give Uncle Yuri another week to come up with the
money. Boris can remember the parts of the digestive system, but he canıt
put them in order. He does know that the small intestine goes like this:
duodenum, jejunum, jejunum, jejunum (the jejunum is very long), ileum. Can
you help Uncle Yuri by putting the rest in order?

Colon, mouth, oral cavity, small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, jejunum,
jejunum, ileum), stomach, rectum, esophagus, anus, cecum.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Be sure to look up the answers, they are just as good as the questions! You
can find a printable version of this quiz, followed by the answers at the
following link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HorseManagementNewsletter/files/
Look for the Lovely Little Lyra's Nutrition Quiz link.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Talitha Neher was a Pony Clubber in Idaho (did the pony club thing, liked
run/swim/jump/shoot, liked dressage/jump/jump), got older, taught at some
camps, helped local kids, earned a Creative Writing Masters degree in
England, and is currently waiting for the last six weeks of vet school to
drag by so she can get the internship thing done and finally have a horse
again. Talitha likes bat-eared, muscular dogs with undershot jaws and screw
tails and kayaks big enough for bat-eared dogs to ride along.

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Recommended products and services
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Do you have a horse or pony for sale?
A well-edited sales video can attract many buyers, while a badly edited one
will send them looking elsewhere. In today's video age, people are used to
seeing well presented products. It shouldn't take a potential buyer hours
of looking at a tape, hoping to see one or two good moments where the camera
wasn't jumping around and the horse actually got over a fence. If you need
equine video editing services for sales horses or stallion promotional
videos, look no further than Stormy May Productions!

After working on the "Understanding Bits" video, we have the experience and
equipment to make your raw video footage shine! Or, if you're not too handy
with the camera, schedule a video shoot with us. We can add music,
narration, titles, transitions, special effects, and more to make your video
stand out to the buyer or breeder.

We can work with VHS or DVD formats. If you'd like to see samples just ask!

For more information visit http://www.stormymay.com and click on the Equine
Video Production Services link. Prices start at only $30.00 .

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Rally and rating tips: D2 prep guide
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For the next 2 months I am going to spotlight a prep guide for each of the
rating levels. The questions are ones that give a good indication of the
depth of knowledge needed at each level. Only certain sections may be
covered. The guides are not meant to be comprehensive, they are only
intended to get you studying on the right track. Many of the answers can be
found in the Pony Club manuals. Additional resources include veterinarians,
trainers, farriers, and graduate Pony Clubbers. Memorizing this knowledge
from books is a start but the examiners will also want to hear of practical
experiences and applications of this knowledge. These guides should be
used along with the standards.

Please join in! I started 6 months ago with the H-A level, which is the
highest level that tests horse management skills, and I'm working my way
down to D1. If you remember any questions that were asked at ratings you
took, let me know what they were, especially if you realized you should have
studied that section more! Be sure to include your name, current rating
level, and the rating level each question was from.

**Most importantly, I hope there are never any answer keys made for
these questions. It isn't necessarily these questions or answers that are
the most important part. The studying and questioning that you have to do
to find the answers will be the biggest value.**

Good luck!
~Stormy

What are 3 balancing and suppling exercises the rider can do?
How can you tell when you're on the correct diagonal?
How can you tell when your horse is on the correct lead?
Have you practiced putting protective boots on your horse?
What condition is your horse in?
What are three things to check to see if your pony is cooled out?
What's the feeding rule about how much to feed?
What's the feeding rule about when to feed?
When and what does your pony get fed?
What is the safest way to use a hoofpick?
When would you use a curry comb?
What body parts should you not use a curry comb on?
How do you clean a body brush?
What's the difference between a dandy and a body brush?
What are two things that could be unsafe on a saddle?
What are two things that could be unsafe on a bridle?
What stable vice is talked about in this newsletter issue?
Where is the pastern?
Where is the fetlock?
Where is the dock?
What's the difference between a chestnut and a bay?
What's the difference between a palomino and a cremello?
How can you tell if a horse is truly black?
What is a seal bay?
What's the difference between a tobiano and an overo?
What is it called when a horse has white up to his pastern?
What's it called when a horse has white extending over his hock?
What is a little white patch on the nose called?
Which breeds are used for racing?
Which breeds are used for pulling plows?
Which breeds do little kids ride?
Which breeds are used in the Olympics?
Which side of the road are you supposed to ride on?
What should your horse be wearing on his head in a trailer?
What should your horse be wearing on his legs in a trailer?
What does the vet do when he or she comes out and it's not an emergency?
Have you practiced your quick release knot?
How many hands should you keep on the reins or leadrope when leading?
Where should your pony be facing when you let him go in a stall?
Why is it important to take care of your horse's feet every day?
Why do you need a farrier to check your pony regularly?
Why is it important to learn how to bandage your horse's legs correctly?

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Questions and answers
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Stormy,

I have a question for you, oh font of knowledge--what can be done to
discourage wind sucking? Holly Golightly, our 16 mo. ISH/Tb filly, lost her
mom to colic when she was 4 mo. Obviously, it was hard for her, but she
bonded to an older gelding, but went a bit whacky when he was having
surgery, and got hurt herself--long story short, a bit of trauma early on.
We noticed the wind sucking, usually during eating activities and anything a
bit stressful, like "displacement" activities normal horses would do, like
snatching grass when they are worried. I have put commercial remedies in
her favorite places, but to no avail. I put hot sauce on, which worked for
a week until her stable mate, an aged and fond Arab mare licked it all off
and begged for more(????sheesh!) The only thing that really helped was a
cat we called Audrey for obvious cinematic reasons, who let Holly lick her
into a sodden, but happy mass. Unfortunately, Audrey must have gone to that
great cat house in the sky, as many farm cats do (she was young and dense, I
guess otherwise why would she let Holly lick her to smithereens) and Holly
is again cribbing. I have looked up info on wind sucking and colic
relationships, and damage to teeth, etc. and know it isn't going to be
beneficial to her. Anyway, any ideas? Any books, articles, advice to spew?
Thanks.

Marcy Neher, Inland Empire Region and owner of the fabulous Exploding Pop
Tart

Hi Marcy,

What a great question although quite a frustrating problem for you I'm sure.
Windsucking and cribbing are different names for the same habit of hooking
the top incisors on something stationary (usually wood) and then bracing
back and seeming to gulp air. My best advice would be to let her be out in
a large pasture with a herd and plenty of grass or hay to nibble on during
the day. Since it seems so early in her windsucking career you may have a
chance to curb her of this habit by eliminating its probable cause, nervous
tension.

If that solution isn't possible, and the various wood sprays haven't worked,
there is one other product to try. Farnam makes a dietary supplement called
"Quitt" that is supposed to stop cribbing by replacing missing minerals and
nutrients. In clinical studies, 9 out of 10 horses stopped chewing wood in
7 days. And there's a manufacturer's guarantee. I haven't had a need to
try it myself thankfully, but I'd love to hear if anyone has had experience
with it.

I personally would avoid the different "choke" collars or muzzles designed
to stop cribbing and windsucking. I've never seen them work completely and
they just seem like a terrible solution to a man-made problem. One other
option is to put electric tape wherever she may try to crib but I'd use that
as a last resort, the hotwire tends to make horses more jumpy and nervous
than absolutely necessary but it's better than cribbing in my opinion.

No more sucking wind Holly!
Stormy

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Dear Stormy,
On your recommendation, I bought two bitless bridles to try & love them
both. I'll be getting more. But I want to know if there has been a ruling
from Nationals about their use. In Games specifically, we are allowed to
use a jumping hackamore but these are a different principle entirely. Are
they allowed at Nationals? Can you find out before I invest more?
Ann Dutson, Valley of the Moon

Hi Ann,
I'm glad you like the bitless bridles! Here's the official word on the
bridles:

As far as Pony Club is concerned, hackamores and bitless bridles are legal
in every discipline except the two Dressage phases of competition [Dressage
rallies and the Dressage phase of Eventing rallies] and on the flat for
testing. They are allowed in non-competition activities, i.e. lessons.

Wayne Quarles
USPC Activities Services Director

I got further word from the national office that Bitless Bridles are
allowed in the flat portion of testings in "extraordinary circumstances".

Time to invest!
Stormy

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Safety Checklist
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Does your club need an easy checklist to use when teaching parents or older
Pony Clubbers to do safety checks for mounted meetings? I made up a safety
checklist which also includes a turn back checklist that you can download
from the files section of this newsletter at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HorseManagementNewsletter/files/
Click on "Safety Check Checklist"

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Fun and educational websites
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www.equisearch.com

This is a great search page for horse owners and enthusiasts. It is a site
developed by the publisher of the popular magazines; Dressage Today, Equus,
Practical Horseman, and Horse & Rider.

Equisearch includes chats, forums, classifieds, news, show results, and of
course shopping. There's also a nice "ask a vet" section, this month's
topic is basic equine dentistry.

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Featured rule
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2002 Horse Management Handbook Pages 67-72
Did you know that lateness for your formal inspection is calculated at 5
points for being late and then 1 point for each minute late? If you're 2
minutes late, that adds up to 7 points! It's more important to be on time
for a formal inspection than to have a clean saddle!!!

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Call for submissions
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Help make this newsletter the best it can be. Do you have any issues you'd
like to see addressed here? How about ideas for recommended products, books,
or videos? Want to submit your own article, or a question for the questions
and answers section? Send them to: stormy@... and I'll keep a log
of topics and articles for upcoming issues.

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