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All about horses in northern B.C. Issue # 19: March 6, 2000 Published each Monday by Kristi McCrindle, editor Well, now, it seems I am back to work full time these days. While my actual outside-the-home job is still only 3 days a week, my other show gelding came home two weeks ago and now I have two horses to ride full time! I've had to set up a schedule to try and keep them both ridden evenly, and it is interesting keeping things varied as the one horse is mainly on conditioning and manners at this point (he hasn't been ridden since the fall), while the other is in full time training with an emphasis on lead changes. In addition to trying to ride two horses and manage my part time job, the club activities seem as busy as ever! Whoever thought winter was slow time for horse people ought to get into organizing club events! No matter how many commitments I drop, I always seem to fill the void! So, until next time, I hope you get a chance to get out and ride your fuzzy equine pals - I know I will be riding mine (in between show programs, annual reports, income taxes, playing with the colts and filly, etc)!! ~ Kristi : ) email to editor: kristi@hiway16.com (If you see error messages when viewing this page, your browser may be out-of-date. If you upgrade to a 4.x version, the error messages should disappear) Join us for a discussion about everything to do with horses on Horse Talk Your opportunity to meet horse enthusiasts across northern B.C.

Grazing bridle A new item of equipment out now is an overcheck or grazing bridle. Lesley at The Tack Store in Telkwa carries this new innovation, which some people will find very handy! The bridle is made of good quality leather, and features a few special tricks. A long strap attaches to the western saddle by slipping it through the gullet from underneath, then looping it over the horn. It might take a bit of innovation to attach it to an english saddle, but I'm sure it could be done! This strap continues from the horn thru a special keeper on the crownpiece and browband of the bridle, and then passes around the nose of the horse looking kind of like an upside-down tie down noseband. In addition to the noseband, there are also two cheekpieces that attach with snaps (for quick changes) to the bit itself, so it is a complete headstall in itself (just attach reins to the bit). One function of this bridle is to prevent the horse from grazing while being ridden - this happens a lot to young children, who get very frustrating trying to pull their horse's head up from the grass! It works by tightening the long strap when the horse lowers his head, pulling upward on his chin. Conventional overchecks (such as those used in driving) attach to the bit, instead of using a noseband, so this can save accidental damage to the horse's mouth. Another function this bridle was designed for was to help reschool pleasure horses who had been taught to carry their heads too low. If you'd like to check this neat idea out, head to The Tack Store! If you have tips or questions on equipment care, purchases, fit, or anything else to do with equestrian equipment, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com We update the Events Page every week - so be sure to check often.	Past articles are all available in the Equine Anatomy - spinal column and saddle fit We went from one end to the other of the spinal column, discussing the differences in the vertebrae as the spine leaves the neck to start the withers (thoracic), along the loins (lumbar), then turning into the fused column of the sacral vertebrae, then finally into the tailbone (caudal). It was neat to see how the different bones have their specific functions, the main one, of course, being to protect the spinal cord which shrinks in size as it gets farther and farther from the brain (which explains why the vertebrae get smaller as they get farther back). From that, we went into the fit of the saddle to the horse. Dawn brought a couple of saddle trees and showed us how to determine if the tree was crooked by comparing from one side to the other - sounds simple but to the untrained eye the differences can be hard to see! We took these saddle trees outside and tried them on a couple of equine models (thanks Sherry!) to demonstrate areas to check for fit. It was reallly interesting seeing how a tree sits on the horse's back, and how the bars are supposed to to evenly distribute the weight in the saddle across the whole back. Many saddles end up digging into the sides of the withers, preventing the shoulder blade from moving freely underneath it, or it may end up 'bridging' which is the term given when the front and the back of the tree make contact but the center doesn't. Proper saddle fit is a whole lot more complex than just checking under the withers for two fingers! Dawn showed us how to check for straightness of the saddle and then how to fit it to our horse. In case of a balanced saddle that was a close fit, she told us how we could use underlay to help create a better fit - in today's world buying a new saddle isn?t always an option. While just briefly mentioning this may be confusing, you can talk to people involved in saddle fitting like Dawn, or Andi (who is often on Horse Talk ), for more detailed information, specific to you and your horse. You might want to spend some time this spring checking your saddle(s) and horse(s) for correct fit. Sometimes an irritable horse may actually be reacting to poor fit - if he hurts, he can't perform as well. Another caution is that a horse's shape will change through the year. In the spring, his belly may be a bit larger and his back less muscled, but as he gets fitter, his shape will change. I know that my saddle fits Raime until late summer - by then he is so fit, the saddle doesn't fit him as well and slides back. It also tends to make him a bit tender on the loins in the late summer, again, just due to his shape changing. Like I said before, correct fit is a lot more complicated than just checking the withers clearance! Andi is hoping to do a series on saddle fit for us, and she will be able to go far more in depth here than I did. Having more details will make it easier for you to understand the actual mechanics of it. Also, any time you can get into a hands on course on anatomy or saddle fitting, go for it - you'll be amazed at what you learn! If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com	Well, everyone tells me I always have somethng to say, but once in a while I do run out of words, and this was one of those times! Do you have ideas for the Technique column that you would like to share with us? Is there a problem that you would like help with? Do you have any topics you would like to see covered? Please email me at kristi@hiway16.com - and thanks in advance for helping to cure my writer's block! If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse If you are new to Northern B.C. Horse, check out all the previous issues on the Archive page. Kristi is building a great knowledge base about horses, with the emphasis on our area of the world. Northern B.C. Horse is brought to you courtesy of our advertisers including: The Tack Store Ridennoure Paint Horses Burns Lake Building Supplies Hoskins Ford Uniglobe Travel North Thanks to our advertisers for making this all possible... ...for information about advertising, email jim@hiway16.com

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