This column is being written well in advance. I’m going away over Easter Weekend and I know I won’t have time to get it done if I don’t do it ahead of time!

How exciting! I’m going to drive to Osoyoos with Randy to go to my Mom’s wedding on Saturday, April 19. She and Roger (her new husband) have recently relocated from Vancouver Island, where I grew up, to the hotter climate of southern BC.

For those of you northern BC’ers who are unsure where Osoyoos is, head for the Okanagan area via Kamloops and then just keep going south on Highway 97 - Osoyoos is only just a short distance north of the US border into Washington. The last time I was down that way was in October of 2000 when I dropped two horses off in WA state for delivery into Colorado and Texas. Beautiful country!

I’m looking forward to seeing my Mom’s family again - the last time we were together was a couple of years ago when we had a family reunion. I certainly hope that most of them will be there - living as far north as we do, we don’t get to see much of the family! With the cousins all reaching adulthood, I’ve found them to be quite an interesting bunch - I was much older than most of them and so not very close over the years, but they are quite entertaining now!

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

The peculiar thing about this man my Mom is marrying is that he is the father of one of my oldest and dearest friends. Sue and I grew up together, played horses together, rode horses together... we pretty much did everything we could with horses both real and imagined. In fact, we were so close as youngsters that we always wanted to be sisters so I didn’t have to go home after we were done playing (of course, we both wanted to give away Sue’s younger sister, Gillian; we didn’t want a YOUNGER sister to bug us!).

Imagine our surprise, years later, when we found out we would indeed be sisters! Time being what it is, both of our families lives have changed considerably since those younger days. Sue’s parents split up a long time ago, and her Mom passed away last summer. My parents also split quite a few years back, and Dad remarried last September. Imagine our surprise when Mom and Roger hooked up a few years back as partners in a series of dance classes - and so began a friendship that blossomed into a marriage!

The universe works in mysterious ways sometimes, and when I get to call Sue and Gillian my sisters I guess it just proves the age-old saying: Be careful what you wish for!

‘ Til next week,
~ Kristi :)

A new feature...

Would you like to Share a Trailer Ride? View the rides offered here... or submit your offer for a ride here
Foal Announcements View the latest or...
If you have a Foal Announcement you wish to submit, click here

Last week we left off *niggling* the horse’s side in an attempt to get him to move his hindquarters away from you. If your horse still shows no sign of moving away from you, or (as many unschooled horses will do) actually leaning into you, you may have to take slightly more drastic measures.

In that case, continue the pressure of the cue, and using the palm of your other hand, smack him near the cue spot. This smack is designed not to hurt him but to make him move - NOW.

If you have to resort to a smack, be prepared for him to jump. He may jump ahead instead of moving his hips away from you, so be careful of your space and your escape route (just in case he comes towards you instead). Ideally you will be able to maintain the cue pressure until he moves his quarters away, then release the pressure and praise him.

No matter which method you had to employ, also try to ask softer and softer. Ask him again, and again, until you have slowly moved about a quarter of a circle with his hips moving around his front end. If his front is moving right now, that’s okay too - he is moving his hips away and that is the important part of the lesson!

Change sides and you go back to square one - horses learn each side differently. Practice on both sides for a few minutes each day until your horse consistently moves away from a light pressure. Ideally, you will be able to motion towards his side and cluck, and he will move away with only your intention and no physical cue. This means that he is tuned right in to you, your body language, and your voice.

It is best to only practice this maneuvre for a few minutes each time, as the horse is likely to do one of two things. Some horses will get mad and start to resist you, which requires time and patience on your part to work through the resistance. However, most horses will become so tuned to you that they are reacting out of habit, just assuming that you are going to ask for the hips to move. If this is the case, you need to mix him up a little bit by working on some other type of body control, such as moving the front legs or backing up.

Next week, move the front end!

If you have comments or suggestions along the way, please share with me at kristim@hiway16.com

As in the last few weeks, the following information does not come from veterinarians, but is compiled from emails that I received when I was on the quest for information about strangles. If you suspect strangles in your horses, please always start by contacting your veterinarian.
---------------
Personal stories continued...
---------------
I had strangles on my farm about 2-3 years ago, it’s terrible and several people in the pony business and horses have lost equines due to it just this year. Please tell your friend to disinfect everything she has, change shoes, scrub before getting near any other equine, this is a VERY contagious and dangerous infection!

There were a few farms that lost foals and yearlings with this strangles. Because it abscesses everywhere, it abscessed in the stomach and killed a few ponies/horses. As for disinfecting a big place, you can do this if you keep the horses separated immediately when they show signs BEFORE the abscesses break or the drainage from the nose. This helps a lot.

This bacteria can stay on your farm (live and needs no host) for 2-3 years and can keep reoccurring. There is a nasal spray that is highly effective, it’s called streptocococis ecoli (sp?). Ask your vet about getting some and give it to the rest of your horses. Also, I had to take my ponies in to have a tube run up their lymph nodes to drain the abscess, some broke out on the legs, neck, stomach, places that I didn't know could have exits!

Some ponies may not show signs other than going off feed or a slight fever, others have full eruptions....be careful who you touch, and use bleach for water buckets, etc.

The reason I am so up on this strain of strangles is that several people in our state (Texas) have had this show up and now it is becoming an epidemic here. It is showing up in MO, KS and IA also so beware.
Sandi
---------------
This reminds me of when my mare got strangles. This was about 4 years ago. It started with a broodmare/baby bringing home a snotty nose. Mare showed nothing more but the baby got a small abscess. Vet lanced it but it didn't drain much. Baby was fine shortly. Went through the rest of the horses from yearlings to an old pony. Yearlings showed slight fevers and recovered quickly. Our pony abscessed under the jaw and throatlatch. Abscesses busted on their own, he never acted sick, and was well within 2 weeks.

The last mare to get it........ I thought she was going to die. Took 2 months for her get over it completely. She ended up swelling in her legs and under her belly. First stages of purpura hemorrhagica. Caught it quickly, otherwise the prognosis is very poor. Purpura hemorrhagica causes swelling in the extremities, serum oozing through the skin, and loss of hair.

If anyone has to go through strangles, be very watchful of the early signs of purpura hemorrhagica. If I recall correctly, 98% of purpura hemorrhagica cases are fatal.
Denise
---------------



If you have information to share, please email me at kristim@hiway16.com

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

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

Do you have a horse or equipment to sell? Want to buy a horse or equipment? Check the Free Classified Ads...