HORSE MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER AND MORE!!!
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Topics in this issue:
1) A Special Request: The Path of the Horse Documentary
2) Feature: Horseshoeing from A to Zeta
3) Recommended products and services: Amazing breech sale continues!
4) A note about DSLD (degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis)
5) Questions and answers: throwing shoes, recordbooks
6) Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs: Naked Liberty by Carolyn Resnick
7) Fun and educational websites: veterinary podcast, Connemara site
8) Featured rule: Halter identification
9) Horsey Humor: Only horse people...
10) Free item exchange

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A Special Request: The Path of the Horse Documentary
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Who wants to join me on a trip around the world to meet the greatest living
horse trainers? We'll start out in California and then progress to Colorado
and Arizona. Then we'll take a hop overseas and check out some people in
Denmark, France and even Russia! Worried about the passports, airport
security, and the fact that you can't speak Russian? Donıt be, you can all
take this trip with me right from the comfort of your own couch by watching
"The Path of the Horse" documentary. The trip won't happen without some
effort on your part though. I've got the crew, the contacts, and the
questions. What I need from you is some moral and financial support.

This project is big, I've been working on bringing it together for three
years now and this year is the time to start filming and make it happen.
These people aren't your average trainers, as the people who have seen my
preliminary doc presentations can attest. I like to think of them more as
horse communicators. They have the most amazing ways that they have
developed for working with horses. However, the way they work with horses
is just one fascinating part of the mystery. The bigger part is the lesson
that we can learn from them about how to live our own lives, relate to our
own horses, our spouses, our children, our bosses, our employees, and all of
life.

Sound like fun? The first easy step to take is just visit my website and
read the proposal which outlines the project and describes the trainers who
will be featured. The second step will be to help with fundraising. As a
trainer myself, unfortunately I don't possess the means to fund this
endeavor on my own, but I truly believe that this idea is big enough and
there are enough wonderful people out there who would like to see it made
that the funds will make themselves available. Please feel free to forward
this idea and my site along to anybody else you think might be interested.
I'm looking for people who would like to make an investment with the
possibility of a huge return on it. On a smaller scale though, donations of
any size would be gladly welcomed. If you just think this is a worthy idea
and would like to see it made, please vote with your dollars.

www.stormymay.com

Let's get going!

Spasibo (Thank you in Russian)
Stormy

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Feature: Horseshoeing Methods from A to Zeta
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by Tom Stovall, CJF İ copyright 1997

There are only three valid reasons that horses are shod: protection,
traction or to effect a therapeutic change in the way a horse moves. All
else is vanity.

Protection is the most obvious reason: Simply put, if a horse's rate of foot
wear exceeds his rate of foot growth, his foot must be protected in some
way. If not protected, continuing the same routine, in the same environment,
will cause soreness. Once sore, the owner can either lay him up while he
grows out enough to protect himself with hoof wall and exfoliating sole, or
shoe him and accomplish almost the same thing artificially.

The most obvious form of protection is a horseshoe. But, what kind of
horseshoe? Horseshoes are made from rubber, plastic, steel, aluminum,
titanium and occasionally from other materials ranging from brass to
rawhide.

The most common type is steel. Steel horseshoes are readily available and
easiest to use. They can be easily modified or forged from barstock with
only minimal forging skills. Steel is easily welded or brazed for specialty
applications. Steel comes in a variety of widths, thickness and
configurations. Many farriers die of old age without ever nailing on
anything but steel shoes. Occasionally though, horses need other kinds of
shoes.

Aluminum has found widespread acceptance in flat and harness racing, and on
the fronts of speed event (e.g., barrel horses) where weight of the shoe is
an important factor. Aluminum is also very popular on the fronts of hunters
as many trainers feel it enhances a hunter's way of going. It is also the
first choice of many veterinary farriers as its greater width and thickness
(relative to steel) can be used for protection of sensitive structures
without adding weight. Aluminum is not quite as easy to forge or weld as
steel.

Solid rubber and plastic shoes have very limited specialty applications
(e.g., horses used for drayage on hard surfaces, pathological conditions).
Full (covering the sole) synthetic shoes trap moisture and create ideal
conditions for Thrush; rim-type synthetic shoes simply don't stay where they
are put: they have an embarrassing tendency to shift and extrude. Open,
(sole not covered) rubber and plastic covered steel, often with factory-made
clips, are the best choice of this lot.

Titanium is sometimes used on horses that need a light, very strong shoe in
front. Usually, either big race horses which routinely bend aluminum
(usually the near fore) or jumpers and barrel horses which must make sharp
turns at speed. Titanium is easily forged or swedged into specialty
configurations, but must be TIG welded. As this once very costly metal
becomes cheaper, it is gaining popularity for routine use in speed horse
farriery.

Historically, brass shoes were nailed on with brass nails and used in
explosive atmospheres (e.g., mines).

Horseshoes have two basic configurations, open-heeled shoes and bar shoes.
These basic types have an infinite number of variations which may be
tailored to the individual animal. To further complicate things, a shoe may
have various accouterments: clips, calks, jar-calks, screw-ins, bubbles,
grabs, etc. Hopefully, these serve some purpose and enhance a particular
aspect of the shoeing job.

Also under the heading of protective devices, are the various types of
metal, leather and plastic pads and the many substances which are packed
between pad and sole for various cushioning and medicinal purposes.

Pads come in two basic types: full or rim. These, in turn, come in two
configurations: flat or wedged.

A full pad covers the entire sole; rim pads usually just the area
immediately beneath the shoe. A special kind of rim pad, called a bar wedge
pad, covers most of the frog area, but is open toward the toe.

Most flat pads may be from one-eighth to one-half inch thick. Wedge pads are
sold in one to four degree elevations (thick at the heel, tapering to toe)
which increase angulation. Pads are made from leather or synthetic (rubber
or plastic) and may be soft or hard. Since leather is sensitive to moisture,
it is seldom used in horses which are routinely turned out.

Most pads are placed between the shoe and foot although some special
veterinary applications (i.e., a "hospital plate") are fabricated from metal
and bolted to the ground surface of the shoe.

Multi-pad applications (stacks) are used in long-footed horses (Saddlebreds,
Morgans, Tennessee Walkers, etc.) primarily to enhance a particular way of
going and only incidentally for protection.

The substance placed between a full pad and sole is called "packing".
Packing takes many forms and usually consists of a two-part application.
First, some kind of medication is painted on the ground surface of the foot.
This may be a proprietary preparation (e.g., Durasole, Reducine) or a
"secret" mix preferred by an individual farrier. Most are iodine-based and
antifungal and/or antibacterial in nature and aimed at retarding the growth
of pathogens in the sole and frog. Next, the packing is placed between pad
and sole, and the shoe nailed on. The basic types of packing are: oakum,
sponge or foam, uncured rubber, silicone and various types of catalytic
hardening soft acrylics.In addition, packing may consist of a mud-like
medicated poultice.

A traction device is anything added to a shoe to enhance or increase
traction. These take innumerable forms: special nails, heel calks, toe
calks, grabs, jar calks, swedges, Memphis bars, etc.

Several special types of horseshoe nails are used for traction. Most are
large-headed nails which protrude below the ground surface of the shoe. Mud
and ice nails are two of the better-known configurations; however, an
emergency traction device might consist of something as simple as a regular
head nail used in a shoe punched for city heads.

Heel calks consist of downward projections of the shoe, located behind the
heel nails. Their design is limited only by the farrier's imagination and
the rule book for a particular breed. They are either forged (a part of the
shoe), built up with foreign material (e.g., Kutrite [tm], borium),
"screw-ins" or "drive-ins". Calks are usually applied singly (to the outside
heels) or in pairs.

Toe calks are protuberances placed ahead of the toe nails. They are attached
in the same way as heel calks with the exception that few are forged. A grab
may be either forged or welded/brazed to the toe of the shoe. it usually
consists of a relatively thin projection placed lengthwise, between the
toenails. Technically, a grab is considered a kind of toe calk.

Jar calks are usually placed across the web (width of the ground surface) of
the horseshoe. They are usually used more to send the foot in a certain
direction than as a pure traction device. They are often used singly at the
toe; in pairs at the heel. However, the most common usage is the familiar
"mud calk" or "sticker" hind race plate which consists of a single, outside
heel jar calk.

Swedge refers to a lengthwise indentation in the web of the shoe. In theory,
the swedge fills with dirt which gives more traction than the parent
material of the shoe alone. The ridges formed by the swedge may be the same
height (rim shoes), higher outside (barrel racing shoes, Levelgrip [tm] race
plates) or higher inside (polo shoes, "Argentine" race plates). The swedge
is used to increase traction; the relative surface heights created by the
swedge, to determine breakover.

A Memphis bar is a narrow piece of metal welded/brazed (usually, not always)
across the quarters of the shoe. They are usually used singly, across the
toe quarter, and on hinds. Their main purpose is traction/ breakover on
long-footed horses.

Each traction device may be used in conjunction with others; thus, the usage
may be customized for an individual animal to suit a specific set of
circumstances. For example: a flat racer running on a sloppy track might be
shod with a grab and sticker behind, and a grab and jar calks in front. The
same horse, on a dry track, might run with only a grab behind and rims in
front.

The final reason to shoe a horse is to effect a therapeutic change in a
horse's way of going, most often to stop the horse from hitting (interfering
in some way). In reality, most attempts to modify a horse's way of going
are not therapeutic; rather, they are an attempt to modify a particular gait
to better meet an arbitrary (subjective) standard, usually related to a
particular breed. (Non-therapeutic considerations are an important portion
of pragmatic farriery.)

The specifics of this particular aspect of farriery require particular
expertise and are beyond the scope of this overview. In general terms, a
gait may be modified by changing the way a foot leaves the ground
(breakover) or its behavior off the ground (flight path). These factors are
changed by the removal/application/utilization of weight and length. A gait
may also be modified by changing the timing relative to opposite members;
e.g., fronts to hinds.

A horse will do whatever he does most efficiently if he is balanced, both
fronts and hinds, in the two basic planes (anterior-posterior;
medial-lateral) from the fetlock to the ground. Recognition, analysis and
treatment of gait aberrations are some of the most difficult tasks facing
the farrier.

Tom Stovall has been an AFA Certified Journeyman Farrier since 1983 and is a
Texas Professional Farrier's Association life member. You can read this and
many other very informative articles by Tom at:
http://www.katyforge.com/farrier.htm

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Recommended products and services: Breech deal of the decade held over
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If you didn't get around to ordering breeches in January, there are still
some left. The sizes, colors and styles are limited, so email early if you
want to get your size.

Here's what one newsletter reader had to say:

Stormy,

I saw the information in your last issue about the breeches for sale. I
ordered two pair because the price was so great. After I received my order
I bought two more pair because I was so impressed with the quality of the
breeches. Thank you for letting us know about this great deal!!

Laurie Weaver
Casper, Wyoming

Here's all you need to know:

I'm helping out a former Pony Club parent who was going to get into the
business of selling breeches on the internet but is now moving on to other
things. There is a stock of nearly 400 new breeches that need to find homes.

I have tried them and can vouch that they are of excellent quality and
workmanship. The cheapest you would ever find these in a catalog like Dover
is $40 (on sale) plus shipping for the knee patch breeches, up to about $70
for the clarino full seat style.

So what would you expect to pay here...maybe $30-$50 plus shipping? How
about between $12.95 and $24.95 plus shipping! I've never seen a deal like
this on first quality, new in the package breeches. They are very
comfortable, sturdy cotton with 7% lycra for just the right amount of
stretch, a nice zippered pocket that's the perfect size for a cell phone,
front zipper, belt loops, standard waist, and velcro closures at the bottom
of the legs.

1) Child sizes: 6,8,10,12,14
2) Adult sizes: 24,26,28,30,32,34
3) Colors: Beige, Khaki, Gray, White and Black
4) Styles: self knee patch (extra layer of fabric at the knees), clarino
knee patch, clarino full seat (clarino feels like suede but is washable)

Prices:

1) Child's self knee patch $12.95, Adult $13.95
2) Child's Knee patch $16.95, Adult $17.95
3) Child's full seat $23.95, Adult $24.95

All shipped via priority mail, first pair $7.95 each additional pair $3.95.
All payments via PayPal if possible.

I've put up a webpage with pictures here:

http://www.stormymay.com/breeches.html

If you're interested in selling these yourself, either on Ebay or as a
fundraiser for your Pony Club or other organization, you can also email
about a special bulk purchase price.

To buy, please email: thepetp@...

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A note about DSLD - ESPA
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This came to me via the Internet, I have no further information other than
what is written here and am just passing it along as requested.

Dear Horse Owner

We would like to familiarize you with DSLD - ESPA (Degenerative Suspensory
Ligament Desmitis / Equine Systemic Proteoglycan Accumulation). DSLD, more
recently renamed as ESPA, is a systemic connective tissue disease that was
once thought to affect only the legs. The current research, which is
focused on the biochemical and genetic aspects of this disease, has found
ESPA not only in the leg tendons and ligaments, but also in the nuchal
ligament, patella, eyes, aorta, and other organs. ESPA has been found in
many breeds including Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Morgans,
Peruvian Pasos, Paso Finos, Saddlebreds, Warmbloods, Appaloosas, Friesians,
Missouri Foxtrotter, Tennessee Walker, Paints, National Show Horse, Mustang,
crossbreds, mules and more.

Many horse owners and veterinarians are not acquainted with ESPA or the
current research by the Dr. J. Halper (UGA) and Dr Gus Cothran (TX A&M).
Further complicating recognition/diagnosis of ESPA is the fact that that
some horses are misdiagnosed as having EPM, WNV, or other neurological
diseases. This is due in part because ESPA is systemic and mimics various
diseases and/or conditions. Also, ESPA is sometimes recognized/diagnosed
with different names in various breeds; for example, in TBs it may be called
"broodmare syndrome," and in QH's it may be called "down in fetlocks"
disease, in Pasos it may be called DSLD. Thanks to recently published
diagnostic protocols, ESPA is beginning to be correctly identified and
diagnosed in various breeds.

Below is a list of some of the more common ESPA symptoms owners have noted
in their horses (ESPA diagnosed horses typically have more than one
symptom):

* enlarged suspensories, pain upon palpation of suspensories, dropped
fetlocks,
* unexplained lameness, stumbling or tripping,
* frequently laying down and trouble getting up or dog sitting before
standing, reluctance to move once up or stiff robot-like movement,
* back pain/soreness or soreness/stiffness in hips, digging holes to stand
in with toes pointing toward hole, sitting on fences/buckets/rocks,
* change in attitude, broken crest, sudden onset of severe allergies to fly
spray, bug bites, body hives, sensitivity to touch, false colics,
* walking wide in rear legs is often seen when rear legs are affected first,
shifting weight from foot to foot with toe stabbed into ground,
* sudden weight loss and premature aging, very loose skin along with
premature aging, refusal to walk downhill,
* change in horses' normal gait, short striding, an unusual hopping gait,
refusal to canter, landing toe first when moving, stabbing toe into ground
while moving,
* fetlocks knuckling over (forward), extreme rope walking/braiding,
* refusal or difficult to pick up feet for farrier, pulling away, falling
over when farrier picks up feet,
* falling over or falling into stall walls, leaning on walls or fences for
support,
* change in conformation to coon-footed post-legged stance.

We ask that if your horse (or a friend's horse) has any/some of these
symptoms, that you please visit the DSLD - ESPA website at

http://dsldequine.info/

and/or

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSLD-equine/

for further information regarding diagnosis and treatment.

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Questions and answers
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Hi Stormy,

I have a question for you: Our mare has thrown 3 shoes in the last 2 weeks.
Is this normal? I'm hearing not so good things from one who is not a fan of
our shoer so I don't know if that is where it's coming from or if there's
truth to the fact that a "better shoer" wouldn't have this happen so often.

Shoeless in California

Hi Shoeless,

Even though I do know your horse and daughter I can't give you a definitive
answer. What I can do is lay out the points to consider.

1) With your horse being out in mud this time of year it is more likely that
she will throw shoes no matter who shoes her.

2) Shoeing is one of the most hotly opinionated aspects of horses. In my
experience it has been rare that anybody likes somebody elseıs shoer, and
almost all shoers think other shoers work is bad.

3) Your shoer should be putting the shoes back on for free unless the shoe
isnıt found and he has to make a new one (though most will even do this for
free if itıs been less than 6 weeks.)

4) You may want to try her without shoes or with just front shoes. For the
work that your daughter is doing she would probably be fine without them
although she may be a little sore at first since sheıs been used to them.
None of my horses have shoes. I had one horse who needed front shoes about
twice during the summer months in the past 20 years.

5) If you decide to try someone else, you probably wonıt be able to go back
to your old shoer, sometimes they will take it personally and not find time
to take you back if you decide that he was fine.

6) Some horses just lose shoes easily. Your mare doesnıt strike me as being
one of these but again, itıs very muddy!

7) Your best bet is to ask the shoer's other clients. If everyone
(including experienced horse owners) says that his shoes come off more
easily than other shoers, then itıs probably worth trying someone else
although shoers can be notoriously difficult to contact. Asking someone who
doesnıt like him doesnıt count, of course theyıll say bad things.

Save the shoe throwing for the horseshoe court,
Stormy

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Hi Stormy,

I am preparing to take my H-B C-3 and B this year, on a borrowed horse. How
detailed should my records be for that horse and what costs should I
include? I have a very complete record book for my own horse.

Cathy and Tobin, Mid Cal region

Hi Cathy,

As long as you have the yearıs worth of detailed records for your own horse
that is all youıll need. Donıt worry about records for the borrowed horse
though you might want to know some basic stall-card type info, especially
allergies, feed and insurance information.

Best of luck!
Stormy

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Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs! Naked Liberty by Carolyn Resnick
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Carolyn Resnick is one of the people who will be featured in "The Path of
the Horse" documentary. Her first book, "Naked Liberty" chronicles her life
growing up with horses in Indio California in the 1940s and 50s.

This book is a true inspiration for those of us who really want to
understand what makes horses tick on a level much deeper than words. It is
the closest I've come to finding another book like my all time favorite,
"Kinship with All Life" by J. Allen Boone. In many respects this book is
even better though since the author is still living and working with horses!

Take a moment to join Carolyn as she dances with a herd of wild horses and
ultimately gains an invitation to ride on their backs.

My favorite quote from the book is, "Horses speak in silence, never
forgetting to listen."

A reviewer from amazon.com writes:

This autobiographic reflection of Carolyn Resnick's observations and
experiences with horses in the wild, as well as the domesticated horses
she's partnered with throughout her life, offers the reader an entertaining
view into the world of equine psychology that is sure to manifest a deeper
understanding between humans and horses.

With genuine humility and earnest love, Ms. Resnick shares her journey,
replete with personal anecdotes every horse lover can relate to, those
showing her follies as well as her successes. Her successes are built on
personal learning experiences coupled with an unerring positive attitude and
a willingness to change things within herself that need changing.

Honing her capacity to observe Nature and all its inhabitants allowed Ms.
Resnick to be accepted into the realm of the wild things and it is within
the lessons learned through these diligent studies that the author
discovered a world of non-human communication that she could not only see
was effective for horses and other creatures, but that she, too, could
emulate and participate in.

That Ms. Resnick has been able to put her experiences and insights into well
worded vignettes is remarkable. It is very difficult to take non-verbal
communication between species, (which becomes nothing short of a spirit to
spirit understanding) and define it in human language without losing the
essence of things. Ms. Resnick not only succeeds in making her experiences
comprehensible, but inspires the reader to pursue this type of relationship
with his/her own horses.

We owe Carolyn Resnick high accolades for pursuing her unique studies with
horses and then offering us the benefit of her experiences and insights.
NAKED LIBERTY surely leaves readers wanting to read more from this author.

You can order the book through amazon.com or her website:
www.dancewithhorses.com . (Note: if you're on her website, hold off on
ordering her video, she is due to have much better ones out later this year)

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Fun and educational websites
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Hi Stormy...Thought I'd let you know about a great website...a local (here
in Arroyo Grande, CA) veterinarian has done some podcasts about horse
health, especially the herpes dilemma in Florida, and now in a few other
places.

The website is equineu.podbean.com .

Janet Sally

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Here's the nice new site of some of my students and Connemara breeders, the
Freemans. Learn more about Connemaras here.

http://www.freeraynhill.com/

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Featured rule: Halter identification
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I hope by now all you members of the USPC have had a chance to look over the
brand new Horse Management Handbook. If not, you can download it from the
USPC website (www.ponyclub.org). Click on the Rulebooks link and scroll
down to the HM handbook. In the following months this newsletter section
will feature rules that are new or have been significantly reworded.

2007 Horse Management Handbook rule 10c, pgs 4&18:

The mount's halter must have some form of identification on it at all times.

Reason: The halter must be labeled in such a way as to easily find the
mount's rider and/or stall assignment. Competitors must be aware that at
multiple discipline rallies, the same competitor number may be used in more
than one discipline. In those cases, the competitor name may be the better
form of identification to use. The label on the halter may include any or
all of the following:

-Rider's name
-Rider's number
-Barn name/number
-Stall number

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Horsey humor: Only Horse People.....
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* Believe in the 11th Commandment: Inside leg to outside rein.

* Know that all topical medications come in either indelible blue or neon
yellow.

* Think nothing of eating a sandwich after mucking out stables.

* Know why a thermometer has a yard of yarn attached to one end of it.

* Are banned from Laundromats.

* Fail to associate whips, chains and leather with sexual deviancy.

* Can magically lower their voices five octaves to bellow at a pawing horse.

* Have a language all their own ("If he pops his shoulder, I have to close

that hand and keep pushing with my seat in case he sucks back".)

* Will end relationships over their hobby.

* Cluck to their cars to help them up hills.

* Insure their horses for more than their cars.

* Will give you 20 names and reasons for that bump on your horse.

* Know more about their horse's nutrition than their own.

* Have neatsfoot oil stains on the carpet right next to the TV.

* Have a vocabulary that can make a sailor blush.

* Have less wardrobe than their horse.

* Engage in a hobby that is more work than their day job.

* Mucking stalls is better then Zoloft any day (mucking stalls with Zoloft
is heaven)

via the Internet, author unknown

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Free item exchange
********************************************************************

**FREE**FREE**FREE**

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Submit your free horse-related items or services here. If you or your club
has items they are willing to pass along to a new family, this is a great
place to list them. Listings can come from any part of the country, or even
overseas!

Free items may include but are not limited to:

riding clothes
rally equipment
horse-related games and toys
tack and training equipment
blankets, wraps, halters
books or magazines
horse-related artwork
and of course...horses and ponies!

The recipient may be expected to handle any shipping costs.

Please provide a phone and/or email contact with each listing. Items will
be listed in the next HM Newsletter and will not be renewed unless an
additional email is sent asking for the listing to be continued.

So...clean out your tackroom and make room for more stuff!

To submit your items, simply reply to this email or write to:
stormy@... .

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Call for submissions
********************************************************************

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.