Wow, I tell you, what a difference there has been in Tori since the vet worked on her. She is still in need of a good massage (or two!) but she is loping circles so much more willingly it is amazing! She is easier to walk, better to lope, all in all her attitude is completely different. It sure makes me happy that I went with my gut instinct and had her checked out. I just wish I had done it sooner!

Of course, all wrapped up in this vet trip was also Tori’s ultrasound to see if she was pregnant, and if not, where she was in her cycle. Well, Mother Nature took her toll on mare owners in BC and Alberta this year as she dished out exceptionally cold weather all the way into May. Many mares are still not cycling properly even into July - and a mare who is not cycling correctly is hard to get into foal! Tori was one of these - not only was she found to be not in foal, her follicle was “inconclusive”, which basically meant that breeding her was a waste of time and money.

So Tori is going to wait out one more year as a riding horse (which is now possible again!!) and we’ll breed her again next year. This should prove to be yet another learning experience though - I plan to put her on lights in order to get her cycling earlier (so as to breed for an earlier foal). I don’t know much about it yet but hope to before November when we put her under the lights! Watch for columns about that in the fall.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

I also need to work harder on my plans for showing, as now I will have a horse to show next year! Everything in my future is very exciting to say the least!

I am also still working at showing Karisma, as I am making plans to *hitch a ride* for her to the Smithers Summer Show this weekend. My transmission is still under the weather and I just don’t trust the truck not to leave me stranded. Fortunately my neighbours are going so I will travel with them.

Kari was pretty good at the Spring Show, although she had never seen any of the obstacles, she took them well enough in stride. Since then, we have had the saddle and bridle on her and started teaching her to move away from pressure. We have started sidepass, turn on the forehand, and turn on the hunch, as well as schooling her back up. I hope she behaves a little better at this show, but I will be ready for most anything - babies can be so unpredictable!

Hope to see you at the Northern Saddle Club Summer Show July 13 & 14 in Smithers, but if not, until next week, happy riding!
~ Kristi :)

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Recently someone on one of the mailing lists I am on asked a question that really got me thinking. She was planning on taking her young horse in a parade and was wondering how best to go about preparing him for the event.

Several people sent their replies in, and I have compiled their info here for any of you who may be planning on entering your horses in a parade. This preparation will work for both young, greener horse and also for older broke horses who just haven't been in a parade before. With our Smithers Fall Fair Parade coming up on Thursday, August 22, you can start working on this now and be well prepared.

Thanks to Theresa, Diane, Laura,and Erika from the albertahorse mailing list for their ideas!

For starters, try to choose a horse that has a good temperament to begin with. Training a horse for the activity of a parade is much easier if they are naturally calm and accepting of unusual things in their environment.

Practice riding your horse on pavement, concrete or whatever type of ground the parade will be held on. Many horses spook when crossing the yellow and white lines painted on the pavement, so try to get him used to these ahead of time. Other scary items on the ground can include manhole covers, bridge decks and patched areas - the different colour makes many horses very suspicious!

Consider riding him through the street as a trial run ahead of time - if you can do this safely (some towns are too busy on non-parade days to do this safely). If not, try using other similar streets to accustom him to seeing his reflection in the plate glass windows, to watching people come out of buildings, to see the cars, and so on.

There are always lots of vehicles in any parade, from brightly coloured floats to fire engines to tractors and more. Try to position your horse groups in safer areas in the parade - work with the parade coordinators to avoid being right in front of the fire trucks with their sirens, or the band with their cymbals and drums. Bicycles and other wheeled scooters are common in a parade as well, and your horse should be exposed to these as much as possible - perhaps take him to a nearby school while the kids are riding their bicycles around (for safety’s sake, keep the kids from getting too close).

The more vehicle traffic you can accustom your horse to, the better. This can be done first by having him in a field near a busy road (especially one with heavy equipment traffic), and then by doing things with him near moving vehicles. You can achieve this by tying him (supervised of course!) and having someone take various vehicles past him - bicycles, tractors, trucks, etc. Other heavy equipment may help as well - loaders, combines, whatever machinery your area has can help accustom your horse to the sights and sounds of the parade vehicles.

Look for Part 2 next week.

Lyme disease is a tick borne illness that can affect many different species, including humans, dogs, cats, and horses. While it is not prevalent in our area, Lyme disease should be considered with any tick bites or tick infestations.

Most of the information I found regarding Lyme disease was in regards to humans, but some of the same symptoms apply to horses as well.

In humans, a red-ringed rash may appear three to 30 days after the person has been bitten by an infected tick. If you ever are bitten by a tick, watch for this rash. Of course, in horses, the rash will not be visible.

Lyme disease in humans can cause many conditions that are often confused with other illnesses, and can be tricky to diagnose because many affected people don’t remember being bitten by a tick. Fatigue, flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills, sudden headaches, optical light sensitivity, and numbness or tingling or even paralysis of the face are all symptoms that have been noted with Lyme disease.

Joint swelling with or without pain may also accompany the many symptoms, as can pain in ligaments, muscles, tendons, and bones. Infected people may experience heart problems, although most of those problems disappear without treatment. The disease spreads throughout the other organs as well, leaving the person feeling very unwell and confused at the lack of diagnosis.

The lethargy and general malaise that can affect humans also affects horses with Lyme disease. Your horse may seem off, listless, and dull; he may run a low grade fever that comes and goes. His reluctance to move may come from swollen joints, making movement uncomfortable. There may be an acute phase where your horse seems sicker than at other times.

Arthritis can set into a horses joints and can cause stiffness and discomfort in horses. This lack of obvious symptoms can make it difficult to diagnose, but a blood test can be done to determine exposure. However, as with many blood tests, the horse may have antibodies showing in their blood but not have the disease, or their exposure may have been recent enough for a blood test to be negative even though the horse has the disease (it can take up to six weeks for the antibodies to show).

With horses, antibiotics - especially early in the treatment - may help to get rid of the bacterial infection. However, in a long term case, there is very little hope to repair the damaged joints.

Disclaimer - this text was not meant to be a medical account of Lyme disease but an introduction to the possibility of serious consequences if bitten by an infected tick. According to the local area vet I spoke with, she has not ever seen a case of Lyme disease in horses she has worked on, nor has she found an affected tick. This does not mean that it can’t or won’t happen in our area, but simply that she hasn’t had a case of it. If you are interested in more information about Lyme disease, please contact me at kristi@hiway16.com and I can pass you onto some websites with info, or see your doctor.

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• Baerental Ranch
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• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Ridennoure Paint Horses
• The Tack Store

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