At the beginning of July, I went over to Vancouver Island for a wedding. Imagine, not only me wearing a dress, but with my hair up, and in the bridal party - scary! All in all though it was a good experience, and my mom even took some pictures to prove I can dress up!

While I was there, however, some bad news hit. Jeanne Tew passed away Saturday, July 6, of an aneurysm. Jeanne was my “horse mom” for my growing up years. It was at Jeanne’s that I learned to ride, and from Jeanne we purchased my first horse, Tia Maria.

Jeanne was always there with a mug of tea, a funny story, and at least one cat underfoot. Thinking about life without her is hard - and harder still for my best friend, Sue and her sister Gillian, as they prepare to spend the rest of their lives without their mother there for guidance.
Having Jeanne die suddenly sure gave me pause to reflect on some things. I consider myself very, very lucky to have had her be my “horse mom”, as my parents weren’t into horses at all. Jeanne used to trailer me to shows, let me use her ring for lessons, and lend me tack if I needed it. I spent hours at their place, playing toy horses with Sue, sometimes including Gill (but not often, funny how we push those little sisters aside!), watching movies, playing Atari (not dating myself at all am I?), reading books, and of course, riding the real horses.

I’d play Canasta with Jeanne sometimes, I used to really enjoy that game with her once I got old enough to understand it.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

We used to all go for trail rides together, sometimes all day ones that had us switching horses part way for various reasons. For instance, if Sue’s horse was acting up, Jeanne would end up riding him home - at considerable discomfort to her back I might add!

For anyone who has been lucky enough to have a mentor, in whatever your chosen passion may be, you know what I mean when I say that the person helped you to become who you are today. Not only do they shape your life in that passion, but in other directions as well. Like I said, Jeanne was always ready with a cup of tea (I still take it sweet and milky the way she always made it), or a funny story (I can still hear her laugh when we shared dirty jokes - she’d even let us use bad words if they were a part of the joke, but not any other time mind you!).

I will miss you Jeanne, my horse mom, and I thank you for always being there for me when I was growing up.

Until next week, I hope you pause for a while to reflect about the people who have shaped your lives. Take a few minutes and write them a letter, a postcard, or an email. Give them a call. Tell them how much they meant to you - you may not get another chance.
~ Kristi :)

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Last week I mentioned some of the vehicles you can use to accustom your horse to the parade activities, but I neglected to mention working with those with sirens.
To get your horse used to sirens, try taping the noise and playing it loudly in the barn or pen near your horse. It’s not a failsafe method but the best one I saw suggested! The local fire department may be happy to help with this project.

Keep in mind the other various types of animals that will be present in the parade. Not only may there be dogs, mules and donkeys, llamas and alpacas, there may also be horses pulling carts - which for some reason appear to the uninitiated saddle horse to be some very strange monster indeed! (perhaps they think the cart is eating the horse? who knows!) As much as possible, expose your horse to these other animals and to horses hitched to carts. Talk to a petting zoo and to the driving club for help on those ideas - perhaps several people planning on entering the parade can get together on days when the driving club is having a practice, and so on.

There are always lots of streamers, flags and other things that flutter and flap in a parade. Try accustoming your horse to these ahead of time by tying plastic bags and strips of cloth to your fence lines on windy days. Some people like to leave sections of old tarp or plastic in their horse’s pen, to allow him a chance to sniff it, chew it, and drag it around. Hanging garbage bags filled with empty pop cans near the feeding area is also a good way to accustom your horse to plastic, as is hanging flapping plastic near the feed area.

If you are planning on carrying a flag or using a costume of some sort on your horse, plan plenty of time to get him used to this before the parade too. While he may be okay at home with these items, he might not be so happy at the parade when everything gets so overwhelming! Even if you are not planning on carrying a flag, it may be a good idea to have other people carry flags nearby on their horses to get him used to seeing flags at that height and proximity.

Balloons are a huge part of most parades, and the biggest problem with balloons is that they tend to have a mind of their own. From waving in the wind, to taking off to the sky, to blowing along the ground under your horse’s feet, these wayward objects can quite startle a horse of any age.

To “balloon proof” your horse, pick up a bag of them at the local dollar store and start puffing! It is helpful if you can also find a helium supply and do some floating balloons as well. Try tacking the balloons around the pen your horse is in (if you have metal or wire fences, tack the balloons to several boards and hang the boards in the pen). After the horse is comfortable with these balloons, let some of them loose in his pen. Some of the balloons will pop and the horse will become accustomed to them floating around him.

In the June 18, 2002 column, I wrote about the ovariectomy, or spaying of a mare.

There are other methods of dealing with a mare’s hormonal imbalances. One of these is Regumate, which is a synthetic progesterone and therefore very expensive. However, it tends to work 100% of the time, so the effectiveness may well be outweighed by the cost, depending on how much you use your horse and how bad her attitudes are. When I spoke with Dr. Britt Mills, she said Regumate can cost anywhere from $200-$300 per month!

Regumate may be expensive but it is effective, and you can also schedule your use of it around your main events if you have a performance mare. Once your mare comes off of the Regumate, she will be in heat within two or three days, so you can plan to have her come off the drug immediately after a major competition.

Another option, although this is off-label use, is progesterone implants. By off-label use, this means that the drug is not made for horses and there are no guarantees. If anything happens to your mare when using the implants, you will have no recourse with the veterinarian or drug company.

Progesterone implants are much cheaper than Regumate (approximately $100 for one implant, which lasts up to 6 months), but they are not always effective. Quite simply, they may not work at all in your mare. The implants also slightly suppress the immune system, which means that low grade infections may flare up as soon as the implant is done. The implant is not the cause of the infection but suppressed the immune system enough for it to show up. The implants may also affect future fertility.

There are also herbal remedies that can be used, but your best bet there would be to talk to several different herbalists or alternate therapists. There are many different routes you can take in the herbs, and it may come down to following your instincts or choosing a herbalist who has helped horses you know personally. I myself have dealt with Horse Sense Herbs out of Okotoks, Alberta (http://horsesenseherbs.ca/) and with Herbs for Horses out of Guelph, Ontario (http://www.horseherbs.com). Both are Canadian companies, and have been very good to deal with.

Acupuncture and massage may also help a mare that shows mare-ish behaviour, as they both may relieve discomfort and restore proper circulation.

One last method, and one often employed by people as a cheaper alternative to maintenance with drugs or herbal remedies, is to breed your mare. Sometimes the hormonal imbalance will not only go away during the pregnancy, but it may resolve itself completely. However, especially in today’s poor market for sale horses, you must plan breeding your mare carefully - what will you do with that foal? This is also not a guarantee that your mare’s problems will be solved, and if your mare has other issues (soundness, attitude, etc), she may not be an ideal candidate for breeding anyway.

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Baerental Ranch
• Burns Lake Building Supplies
• Griffin Crick Ranch
• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Ridennoure Paint Horses
• The Tack Store

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