I am really enjoying working with Tori, in spite of the fact that she is not anything like Raime to work with. I am learning to set different kinds of goals in our sessions - for instance, instead of wanting to see an improvement on her spins each time out, I concentrate on ignoring her mistakes such as jogging a few steps when she is supposed to be walking.

While it may sound odd to ignore a horse for making mistakes, it actually is helping Tori to gain trust in me. Every time she gets anxious and jogs a few steps, if she is disciplined for it, eventually she becomes more rattled. Instead, I have been working at not doing anything unless the error is serious (say, trotting four or five strides). This is building her confidence so that she realizes she doesn’t HAVE to be anxious every step she takes under saddle.

So, when she is being hot and silly and just won’t settle and walk quietly on a loose rein, instead of being frustrated that my horse STILL doesn’t walk 100% of the time when asked (!!), I am learning to look on it as yet another opportunity to build her trust in me.

Interestingly enough, I find it easiest to ignore her antics by closing my eyes when I ride. Our 15-20 minute warm up consists of walking all over the arena, and as I usually ride alone, I don’t need to keep my eyes open to avoid anyone else. We have a stereo at the barn, so I turn on some soothing music and just float away with my eyes closed. Tori is smart enough not to hit the walls, and I can use the time for meditation and relaxation.

One side note before trying this at home - you must be experienced enough to know if your horse is trustworthy or not.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

Having your eyes closed when you ride can affect your feeling of balance, so your seat must be good (I actually hang on to the saddle horn much of the time, just in case).

You are also at risk if your horse spooks at something you didn’t see. However, you do have the option of simply opening your eyes at any time (or peeking, as I do often).
In any case, it does seem to be helping Tori. Being a reiner, she has a lot of issues surrounding the center of the pen. Center is where circles are started, where spins are performed, and where the rider tends to be the tensest in front of the judges. For Tori, the center is a place of apprehension and worry - she nearly always jogs when she approaches center.

However, by ignoring her break of gait going to center (only asking her to walk if she jogs more than four or five strides), and then carrying on past center without asking for anything else, she is slowly learning that she CAN go to center without anxiety. I also sometimes stop at center and then continue on at a walk. Last weekend she was actually wandering around with her head down, totally relaxed, after a 15 minute walk session.

For me, the biggest change from Raime to Tori is accepting these baby steps, and making a big enough deal out of them that I feel like we are making progress. And I know we are!

Till next week, happy riding!
~ Kristi :)

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If you show your horse, especially in western disciplines such as halter, showmanship or western pleasure, chances are you may have used or considered using hoof black.

Hoof black is kind of like nail polish for horses. If done correctly, painting the hooves black adds a finished look to your show ring presence and just generally makes your appearance look more professional.

However, hoof black is not always simple and easy to use. For one thing, it is very easy to get hoof black in all sorts of places it wasn’t meant to go - on your horse’s white leg markings, on your clean show jeans (or worse, your shirt!), and of course all over your hands. And hoof black is VERY hard to get off of those objects!

Start by making sure your horse’s coronet hair is clipped. You don’t want any hair curling over the edge of the hoof to get in the way of the brush. Once the coronets are clipped, sandpaper the hooves lightly before applying hoof black. This helps give a more even surface for the hoof black to stick to, allowing for a more polished look.

Always wear grubby clothes - or better yet coveralls - and rubber gloves when applying hoof black! Anyone who has ever used hoof black without these tools can attest to their usefulness.

Pick an area with solid footing such as concrete, wood, or at least packed gravel (a washrack is ideal). Applying hoof black in dirt, shavings, or soft gravel will cause you no end of headaches as the wet applicator touches the material and brings it along to leave in other areas of the hoof. You can also apply the polish carefully at home in your barn, and then touch it up once you get to the show grounds.

Another simple method for application at shows (when the washracks tend to be heavily used) is to bring a piece of plywood with you, a small section that can be easily packed in your trailer. A piece 3’ by 3’ works well for both front or hind feet at a time, or you can use a piece as small as 6” x 6” to just do one hoof at a time (don’t forget to train your horse at home to stand quietly on the board - at the show is not the time to add this to their training!).

Remember when you learned to colour between the lines, and you would outline the edges of the picture with your crayon before filling in the main space? Using hoof black is much the same. Start with the coronet band and heel areas, then move down to the bottom of the hoof - then simply fill in the space between. You can also pick up your horse’s hoof to get the bottom edge but remember that when you put it down you may smudge it onto yourself.

When you are done, take a walk around your horse and touch up any spots you missed - the judge will see them if you don’t! Now your horse will look more show ring ready.

Lastly, remember to remove the hoof black after the show. For some reason the polish tends to dry the hooves so it is important to take it off and oil the hooves to keep them healthy. You can use nail polish remover and a steel bristle brush to help take off the polish that remains after the show.

Coming up on Northern BC Horse we have some exciting topics that are all in the works, and we are always on the lookout for others.

As you know, our Colour Genetics 101 series is on hold, but we have help coming with both the Appaloosa (Bob Lapp) and Silver Dapple (Lewella Tembreull) genes. I will tackle the champagne gene in the next few weeks (I’m travelling this week so it may not be until some time in June).

I have spoken recently with Ron Gerhardi about ticks and Lyme Disease. While most of the info on Lyme Disease is in reference to human infection, there is also tick problems with horses and small animals such as your cats and dogs. We will be covering this as best we can in the next month or two as well.

There were at least two big events during the long weekend that we can expect write-ups for. Penny Stavast will be sending in news of the Wish ‘Em Well Slide, a WCRA high point reining show held May 18 & 19 in Williams Lake. Houston’s Dawn Park will be sending us a report on the Pleasant Valley Days weekend which ran right from Friday, May 17 to Sunday, May 20. We look forward to hearing from these ladies!

I am also compiling research on the interesting topic of spaying mares. If anyone has any info on this subject, please email me! I have found very little info so far as it doesn’t seem to be a very common practice. I will mention that I have already learned that you can perform an ovariectomy on a mare and still expect foals from that mare!

Kim from Florida has requested more information on competition jumping safely on wet grass, and I will be spending some time on that topic with the related subject of how to decide when scratching your entry is in the interest of safety versus the possible glory of the show ring.

That’s all for now, please keep those topic requests coming! Also, if you will be holding an equestrian event in northern BC, please let us know as we would love to feature your articles - both leading up to the event and after it is over.

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

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

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