Dawn Park, the hardworking coordinator of the Pleasant Valley Days in Houston, has already sent me the results from the long weekend of equestrian events - WOW! I know how hard it is to get everything organized that quickly, when you’d really rather take a long vacation... Thanks Dawn, for all your help, and we’ll start printing those results in next week’s columns.

I managed to find some time to ride my filly again this weekend and was very pleased with her. I didn’t have anyone else to ride with, so I asked a friend to spot for me in case I got into trouble, and took Karisma out to the round pen.

We had a super ride, and I am thrilled with the way my filly seems to learn things. I continued working easy turns at the walk and trot, and even loped her a few times - at least between crow hops I counted them as lope strides anyway!

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

We also added some basic neck reining cues and did some halt and back up.

It’s very exciting for me to actually feel like I am getting started on this filly. I have some very high aspirations for her, and every time I work with her, I feel we are getting closer to those goals. It’s a great feeling!

Til next week, I hope you are getting some time in with your special equine pals!
~ Kristi :)

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Last week we left off talking about cues to lift the horse’s hoof. Most people run their hand down the horse’s leg and tug at the back of the fetlock, often coupled with a verbal cue.

Another fairly common method is to squeeze the horse’s chestnut. On the front leg, the chestnut is the small scaly piece located on the inside of the forearm, midway up.

On the rear legs the chestnut is located near the top of the inside of the cannon bone and may not be as squeezable but this method works very well on the front legs, even with most unwilling horses.

Some people will take the time to teach their horse to respond to a cue that does not require the handler to reach all the way to the ground or tug on the fetlock. You can teach your horse this by starting with a specific cue further up the leg, and then backing it up with picking up the foot if the horse doesn’t respond. To teach this cue, the chestnut squeeze often works well, as it removes the need to reach all the way to the fetlock.

Something else that many of us handlers forget about when we are working with a young or untrained horse is that in order for the farrier to work on the horse, they must be willing to stand quietly with their leg up for a period of time, not just pick it up and put it down as we usually do in practice or hoof-cleaning sessions.

When you are working with your horse’s feet, take a few minutes to pick the hoof out, check the sole and frog for punctures, take note of excessive wear or chips of the hoof wall, and inspect the condition of the frog itself.

You can help your horse prepare for the farrier by holding the leg between the legs the same way the farrier does, but do be careful when you first start this. Most horses will try to pull away at first, so you should graduate to this step once he is fully comfortable having his foot held in your hand for a couple of minutes.

When you do tuck his leg between your legs, have an escape route planned should he begin to panic, so that you can remove yourself from under his feet. Mostly though, you should be able to hold his leg quietly and firmly without too much trouble, so that he learns to stand quietly for the farrier’s visits.

You can also ready your horse for the feel of nails being tapped into the shoe by rapping on the hoof near the walls with the blunt side of your hoofpick. As with any aspect of horse care and training, the more time you spend doing things with your horse, the better he will be!


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

In this week’s Technique column, we talked about the horse’s chestnuts. Have you ever wondered if you could remove them, and if so, how? You can; read on.

The chestnut is a small scaly thing located on the inside of the horse’s leg. On the front legs, you’ll find it midway down the inside of the forearm, on the rear legs you’ll find it near the top of the inside of the cannon bone. Historians tells us this is the remains of one of the primitive horse’s toes, withdrawn back to that point. Another explanation I’ve heard is that the chestnuts are where the horse’s legs are joined together in the womb, but I don’t think this holds any truth (not that I know of anyway).

The ergot is another prehistoric toe, no longer needed as the horse developed into a hoofed animal. The ergot is located at the back of the fetlock, often hidden in the thick tuft of fetlock hair. Incidentally, the fetlock hair is designed to help the horse’s legs shed water, which helps prevent scratches. It’s kind of like the fringe found on a leather coat or chaps - they are also designed to help shed water.

So, what do you do if your horse has thick, hard knobby chestnuts or ergots? Many people think the horse will bleed to death if you cut them, and for years it was normal not to remove them. In today’s age of fashionable horse shows and the like, most people opt to keep them as short and tidy as possible. Closely cropped chestnuts also lessen the chance of you getting cut or scraped on them when working on your horse’s legs.

So how do you remove them then? Much like the extra hoof that the farrier trims off, the outer parts of the ergot and chestnut are not susceptible to bleeding. If they are very long, you can choose to trim off the main excess part at one time, and then slowly remove the rest so as to avoid getting too close to the skin at one time. This is similar to trimming a horse whose feet have been severely neglected - the farrier will trim less foot but make frequent visits.

If you are unsure about trimming long ergots or chestnuts yourself, ask your farrier if he or she will use the nippers to remove the excess. Once the main part is gone, you can peel away at them. If they are very hard and scaly, you can use baby oil or Vaseline to soften them. Most horse’s chestnuts are easily peelable if you keep on top of them - if you bathe your horse, pay attention to them right after the bath as they are soft and peel easily then.

Ergots, once soft, can even be cut with your scissors. Don’t cut too close up as it can feel uncomfortable for your horse when the scissors pinch down, but you can trim up fairly closely with the scissors if you take the time to round off the sharper corners and edges.

If you take a few minutes to peel the excess off on a regular basis, your horse’s legs will be left smooth and cleaner looking, with minimal effort!


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

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• Baerental Ranch
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