Wow, what a time it’s been since I last wrote! The wedding was wonderful, the holiday was great, and not only did I get a good visit with my family but I also got to meet more of Randy’s family on the trip as well. What a super time we had! Still, when you pull in the driveway on the way back, you realize how nice it is to be home and back to normal again.

Let’s see, what else has happened? I’ve moved Karisma out to a friend’s place as it turns out our landlord doesn’t want us to have horses here. That’s a real source of frustration as you know my preference for having my horses at home! I find it especially crucial with a young horse, as somehow when you have to drive half an hour to your horse it just doesn’t get done as often, especially when you only work her for a few minutes at a time.

Now we are considering moving to a better location, one in which we can keep Karisma at home. I’m fortunate that Randy understands how important it is to me to have my horses at home! I was going to move her to the indoor arena down the road, but I just can’t afford the extra costs right now. Also, the pens that were available near the arena were smaller than what we had her in at home, and she needed more room to burn off her energy, so out on pasture with three other horses is just perfect for her until we can find something else.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

Speaking of money matters, I just started a new job last week after I got home from Osoyoos. I’m trying a job out at the Chevron bulk plant and am so far quite enjoying it. It’s closer to home and saves me nearly two hours a day in commuting time, as well as saving mileage on my poor, decrepit old car! I’ll miss the post office but hope that this new job will work out well for me - although I may not have enough time for the column here now as I will be working full time.

I’ve gone through lots of changes in my life in the past seven months, and it’s been interesting for someone like me who doesn’t like a lot of changes. Still, it’s been a good lesson in learning to be more flexible!

‘ Til next week, I hope you are enjoying your four legged friends!
~ Kristi :)

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Last week we were successful in moving the horse’s hindquarters, but how do you get the front end to move away? For that matter, why would you need to get the front end to move away?

If you ever plan on showing your horse in Showmanship or Halter classes, the proper way to turn your horse is away from you. In Showmanship (a horse show class in which the judge rates you on your ability to show your horse to its best advantage), especially critical is the turn, which they usually refer to as the pivot. In a properly executed pivot, the horse should remain stationary with his hindquarters and move his front end around the back, crossing his outside foreleg in front of the inside fore, while his body and neck remain relatively straight.

However, if you don’t plan to show in in-hand classes, the pivot is still an important thing to teach your horse. Turning your horse away from you reduces the risk of being stepped on when turning your horse around. It also teaches the horse to move out of your space when cued - making your regular handling of that horse much safer.

An added advantage to teaching your horse to pivot, or turn on the haunches, is that it is the beginning of teaching your horse how to turn around or spin under saddle. While not all horses can spin like a reining horse, any horse can be taught to turn around. This movement will come in handy in gymkhana, trail, or even just out riding if you need to maneuvre closer to a fence or mailbox. You can even utilize this movement if you are trying to mount bareback and want to get a little closer to that big rock or other mounting block!

Start your horse’s front end moving by turning and facing the side of your horse’s head. Step towards him - this is the beginning of the cue that tells him to move out of your space. Enforce the movement cue with your cluck. Chances are he will do nothing - this is normal if he hasn’t been schooled in this maneuvre!

At first, reward any try he makes to move his shoulders sideways away from you. If he backs up instead of moving sideways, make sure you are pushing slightly forward as well as sideways with your lead hand. Most of the time though, the green horse will turn his head away from you (as dictated by the lead rope pressure) and leave his shoulder sticking straight out where it was.

Next week, we’ll continue teaching the turn on the haunches.

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.
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Personal stories continued...
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We had a run of strangles come through here last year - according to our vets, we weren't the only ones. It seemed to be area wide.

Strangles can live in the soil for years. The horses shouldn't rejoin the general population for at least three months after they they no longer have an open abscess. We isolated horses as soon as they showed the nasal discharge. If they didn't develop strangles, then they were allowed to go back to their own corral. Under the jaw is the most common place for the abscesses to form, but they can form anywhere. Nasty stuff.

The vet told us the horses were still contagious up till three weeks after they seemed over it, so that didn't help any at first. By then we were seeing more. But once we realized that, nobody went home (to their own corral) until that period was over! We had eruptions everywhere - one horse had three on his face with none under the jaw. One cheek, one right below his right ear & one just past his throatlatch.

You're right about bastard strangles - as least as far as I know. We didn't give antibiotics either, for that very reason. The vet said true bastard strangles is when they internalize and the abscesses are in the gut with no way to drain to the outside.

We did have the flu going around at the same time, too. It started getting confusing enough that anyone who showed flu symptoms was tested for strangles with blood work. Made it a lot easier! Ages ranged from the two yearlings to a 15 year old & everything in between! Didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to who got it & who didn't. We don't have any community pastures; everybody is either stalled or corralled. And some stalled horses got it, too - not just the ones outside.

Horses that came down with it generally weren't even close to each other except for two yearlings who roomed together. We finally figured out it was probably spread by flies who would walk around on the pus with their little feeties and then fly off to a healthy horse and walk around on him. So we tried to be really diligent about keeping up with the cleanup!

Out of 115 horses (or so) we only had ten cases & the vet said that was a much lower percentage than most places that were having outbreaks. We figure the initial case was a rescue horse that came in - the owner at first had said she'd been isolated before she left the feedlot; later she admitted she didn't know. So now ALL horses coming in from rescue places will definitely be isolated for three weeks before being allowed to go where they can touch anybody else.
Susan
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If you have information to share, please email me at kristim@hiway16.com

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