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All about horses in northern B.C. Issue # 26: May 1, 2000 Published each Monday by Kristi McCrindle, editor As promised, here is a report from the clinic. For those of you just tuning in, check our past couple of weeks in the archives to come up to speed on what we've been working on. On Easter weekend, I took a J.P. Forget reining clinic in Vanderhoof. This was my 6th J.P. clinic in the past two years, and I was once again really happy to have taken it. I have been struggling with lead changes with my one gelding for some time now. Various instructors have given me a variety of exercises to teach Raime to change leads, but none of them seemed to work. Once in a while I'd get a flying change - maybe a sloppy one dropping the shoulder and changing in front only, or trotting behind (a major no-no in a reining horse) to get it, or just not getting a change at all. I was getting very frustrated - this horse has to be shown in open patterns this year and we can't do that if we can't change leads! J.P. recognized that Raime simply doesn't carry himself round enough to execute the lead change. By that he meant that Raime doesn't achieve a high enough degree of collection. He needed to drive his hocks farther up under himself, yet remain soft and yielding in his head and neck. What a challenge that turned out to be! All three days of the clinic were spent on working roundness, and I was lucky to have been able to fit Riser, my other show gelding, into a last minute cancellation, so I ended up working roundness on both horses all weekend. It was plenty tough, I'll tell you! It is not something I have ever worked with either of these horses, and thus it is a hole in my program that needs fixing.I worked very hard at trying to achieve it with both horses, and in the end J.P. rode Raime for a couple of sessions to give him the idea. Because I haven't done it before, it was hard for me to know when the horse was doing it right, and therefore give to him in order to encourage more correct responses. J.P. showed Raime the right way and now I've been working hard at trying to carry that on since the clinic. The other really interesting thing is that Raime did not seem to know how to pick up both hind legs to change leads behind. In the course of the weekend, he started to throw in little bucks when being asked for a change. While some people thought he was being disobedient, I was thrilled! He finally realized that he has to pick up both hind legs to switch the leading leg - from there the changes should come along. To test that theory, after doing a bunch of roundness work this weekend, I asked for a few changes. After setting him up well and giving him the cues, sure enough, up went both hind legs in a buck - and he came down on the correct lead. We tried again, and had a better response - less buck but he changed leads. Elly was watching and agreed, he just hasn't quite figured out how to move those hind legs yet. So it is coming, never give up hope! This horse is 14 years old and learning something many horses learn as three year olds. Sometimes you just have to break down the steps farther than you ever imagined. And now I'm off to another J.P. clinic, this time in Quesnel. By the time I get back from that one, we ought to be changing leads! Till then, happy riding and sliding, Till next week, happy riding! ~ 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) NEW! Foal Announcements - add a listing or check out the latest

Horseshoe hangers and more Horseshoes can also make fancy looking bridle hangers. If you have open stud construction in your chosen location, you can simply nail an old shoe to the side of a board, with one side sticking out to hang things on. If you are using a main board, ask your farrier to bend the horseshoes in half at the toe, a 90 degree bend. Nail one side on the board and the other side sticks out as a hanger. You can also get creative with horseshoes if you have a welder - try various shapes and patterns. One common one that works well (if you have the equipment and know-how) is to cut a shoe in half at the toe, then join that piece at a 90 degree angle to the toe of another old shoe. This leaves the second shoe intact to be nailed to the wall and the half shoe sticks out to act as the hanger. Another recommendation I once saw in a magazine was to take two inch chunks off of a round rail or fence post. Simply nail those chunks to your main board. You can decorate your bridle hanger anyhow you see fit. If painting horseshoes, paint them before nailing on to your board. Use a good quality spray-on rust paint. For a wood chunk hanger, you can get creative with paint by colour coding your hangers and your main board, either in the barn colours or certain colours for certain horses (match their halters maybe?). 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. 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	Past articles are all available in the Equine Infectious Anemia & Coggins test A Coggins test is the name given to the lab test for Equine Infectious Anemia (swamp fever). EIA is caused by a virus which reproduces in the red blood cells, and when an infected horse's immune system tries to fight the virus it also destroys the healthy red blood cells. This causes anemia, which makes the horse vulnerable to other infections and diseases. A horse can have the acute form in which the virus is actively multiplying in the system. In this case, the horse will usually appear very sick in some form or another. The chronic form is when the horse suffers from the illness, and then goes into remission. A horse with the chronic form of EIA is often underweight and showing showing signs of illness on a repetitive basis (routine colics, recurring cold/flu's, etc). Lastly, an infected horse may be a transmitter only - the disease is unapparent but the horse can transmit it to others. A horse with no outward signals may suddenly show symptoms in cases of stress or other illness. Symptoms can include one or more of the following: fever, depression, reduced appetite, fatigue, rapid breathing, sweating, weight loss, swelling of lower legs, chest or abdomen weakness, pale mucus membranes, irregular heartbeat or weak pulse, colic, or abortion in mares. Having one of these conditions does not mean your horse has EIA, but chronic problems or quite a few of them at once can suggest it, and discussing the case with your vet will probably bring the suggestion to have your horse tested, especially if he has been at risk (either living with or near horses that have turned up positive, or if you travel frequently, like a show horse, to places that don't require testing). EIA is usually spread by blood (shared needles, horseflies, etc) or through breeding (10% of the time). Stallions may transmit to mares and mares may transmit to foals. Under these circumstances, large herds starting with only one positive case can quickly build into a full scale outbreak. EIA is considered an infectious disease by Canadian Food & Inspection Agency and horses with a positive Coggins result will be retested by another lab. If both tests are positive, the horse must be euthanized or permanently quarantined. While there is lots of debate on this issue, that is the current rule. While you may think it will never happen to you, there have been cases in the Smithers/Houston area, the Kispiox Valley, and the Caribou. It can and does happen way up here in northern BC. There are also outbreak areas in Alberta as well, so anytime you are buying a horse it is a good idea to have a Coggins test done on the animal before the purchase is complete. A negative Coggins is also required to cross the US-Canada border, and many trainers and breeders require a negative test as well. This may add to your costs, but it is for your own safety! Thanks to Dr. Britt Mills, DVM, for providing me with an up-to-date write up on EIA for NBCH research purposes. If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com	Horse selling - across the line As far as border crossings, to start, be aware of the exchange rate, and how it works when you are selling American money to the bank - the selling rate is lower than the rate you use when you buy it. Right now it is around 1.45 (though to buy a horse in US dollars you need 1.51 times the amount). So make sure you know what you need in US $ to equal what you want in Canadian $. Talk to your local vets about the federal requirements - they ought to know about crossing the border, and if not, they will be able to put you in contact with someone who does know. If your vets are not very well versed in selling horses across the border, contact Horse Council BC to see if they have any info handy they can mail or fax out to you. Their number is 1-800-345-8055. You will need a current negative Coggins test, which takes up to two weeks to get back from the provincial vet, so plan accordingly when selling. Right now, a negative Coggins result is good for 6 months. That might be different when you go to sell - check it out with your vet! For more info on what a Coggins test is for, see the Feed & Care column on Equine Infectious Anemia. You will also need a current 30 day health exam done by a vet. This is a cursory examination in which the vet states that the horse appears to be free of infectious diseases such as influenza. While inexpensive, you cannot cross the border without it. if certificate has expired You also need a US vet to do the same exam to bring the horse back across the border if the buyer changes his mind once the horse arrives, so your best bet is to ensure that your deal is signed and sealed before you transport the horse. If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com

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