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Lumps and bumps
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Have you ever noticed a lump or a bump on your horse and wondered what it was? Most of us have been learning about bumps on legs, like splints and ringbone, but what about lumps in other places?
Raime showed up last fall with a small lump under his cinch, right about dead center between the front legs but right along the spot the cinch goes. It was fairly small and not really hard or soft, it seemed at the time like a bug bite. Over the winter it didn't disappear completely, and it was still there in the Spring. The vet took a look at it, and felt that if it was still there, or if it got bigger, that perhaps we should do something about it this fall.
On the way home from Terrace, I stopped at Britt's to have it checked out again. It had grown a bit more, but still seemed not hard but not soft, and kind of lumpy. We decided to cut it out and if necessary, send it to the lab for biopsy - words to strike terror in an owner's heart for sure!
With lots of local anaesthetic, Raime stood pretty quietly while Britt cut the lump out. She then cut into the lump to look at it, and discovered a pocket of granulated pus - it was an abscess! I guess when he got bit by the bug or horsefly or whatever last year, he walled it off as a foreign body, and it has been sitting inside there ever since! So a biopsy was not necessary (letting me sleep a little easier for sure!), and now Raime is off for about six weeks while the incision heals.
If your horse has lumps or bumps that you aren't sure of, call your vet and discuss it. Some aren't cause for alarm, but it can't hurt to find out more information before brushing something off as not important. Many times you can also research an answer in equine veterinary books, and have a good idea of what you might be looking at. They will also likely tell you if it is something the vet should check, just in case - better safe than sorry! |
| 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 |
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Past articles are all available in the
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Invitational Championship Gymkhana
The 5th Annual Invitational Championship Gymkhana was held Saturday, September 30, at the Thornhill Community Grounds in Terrace.
A total of 36 gymkhana riders came from all over - the Nechako Valley Saddle Club in Vanderhoof, the Pleasant Valley Horse Club in Houston, the Northern Saddle Club in Smithers, the Telegraph Trail Saddle Club in the Kispiox Valley, and of course from the Totem Saddle Club in Terrace.
Hosted for the first two years by Houston, where the event was created, the Finals moved for the last two years to Smithers. This was the first year for us all to travel as far as Terrace, and next year the Finals will be held in the Kispiox. It is a great opportunity for riders to travel to arenas out of their normal circuits, and by passing of the job of hosting, the workload is spread out better.
While a regular gymkhana doesn't take much to put on, besides a half dozen or so volunteers, the Finals gymkhana is a huge job. Items were purchased and donated all summer until there were prizes to third place in each age group and each class. Considering there were 6 classes and 8 different age groups, that made for a lot of awards to be found! Three office workers handled the points, placings and announcing, while another team of volunteers handled the presentation of the awards at the end of each class.
Still others were in charge of judging and ring crewing, and each event had to be set to certain standards. The organizers chose to run by the Northern Saddle Club rules as more competitors are familiar with them than any of the other club's regulations. Someone organized a tack sale during the event, and someone else took care of photographing all of the riders and the teams. All in all, hours of organization goes into an event like this, and it was a really great show.
After helping put this show on two years running, I can sure appreciate the incredible effort gone through by the Totem Saddle Club's gymkhana committee, and I wish the Telegraph Trail Saddle Club equal success for the 2001 Invitational Championship Gymkhana!
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| 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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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.
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Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse.
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New to showing series
Dressage and Reining
After taking last week off, I figured I'd better get going again for all you horse show newbies! I've only got two more main disciplines to cover here, as any others (such as driving, cutting, endurance riding, etc) are beyond my areas of knowledge. If anyone would like to contribute a guest column about their sport, please feel free to email it to kristi@hiway16.com and we will print it in an upcoming issue.
Below I've gone into some basic information about Dressage, and next week, Reining. While outwardly these two disciplines may seem worlds apart, there have been many parallels made over the years. One of the most similar aspects between dressage and reining is the high level of communication and cooperation between the horse and rider.
Both sports consist of written patterns or tests, which must be ridden exactly as illustrated. Maneuvres in reining, or movements in dressage, are scored according to the horse's ability to perform them. A dressage horse will be scored on such things as rhythm, pace, and quality of gaits. A reining horse will be scored on speed and precision in his circles, spins, stops and so on.
Dressage
A dressage test is comprised of movements in a dressage ring. Basic Dressage levels are held in a 20 x 40 meter arena, while Medium levels and above are held in a 20 x 60 meter ring. A dressage arena is marked with letters at certain points, and these letters determine where movements are started and completed.
The rider starts her test at 'X', or the center of the ring, by saluting the judge. As the rider performs the test, the judge will tell her writer (usually a dedicated volunteer who isn't riding at the show) to record a score for each movement. Many riders opt to have a friend or parent act as a reader, calling out to them the upcoming movements in their test, as memorizing the whole thing can be difficult.
After the completion of the test, a scorer (another committed worker) will take the paper from the writer and add up the scores. Some movements have coefficients, which means that greater emphasis is placed on them, and so the mark will be multiplied, usually by 2. The total is determined, then divided by the highest possible mark, leaving the rider with a percentage as their final mark.
Kurs are a Freestyle test set to music. The rider choreographs his or her own music and movements. Often three or more songs (usually without vocals) will be melded together, with different pieces being chosen to match the gaits of the horse, all fitting in under a set time limit (depending on the level being ridden). A Kur is probably the most exciting dressage class to watch as the horse and rider working together in perfect harmony with each other and the music can be a very emotionally stirring sight.
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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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So starting this week, I'll be working with Cody and Skip again. I lunged Cody for the first real time last week, and he figured that out quite quickly, how not to pull on the rope but just to stay on the circle, and how to stop and go when cued. They are ready for more knowledge, and at two and half, ready for light riding as well. Perhaps now we'll get that train-along series going again - I'll keep you posted!
