EATING
LIKE A HORSE How she eats is as important as what she eats.
TODAY’S
HORSE CARE: A new look at the industry standard
STRINGHALT
IN HORSES:
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO TREATMENT
How to check
YOUR HORSE’S DIGITAL PULSE
SWAYZE’S JOURNEY
Rescued from a kill pen through a case of mistaken identity, Swayze hits his stride as VIP Ambassador at Sky Dog Sanctuary
Natural horsemanship:
Teaching your horse how to TIE VOLUME 12 ISSUE 5
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FEATURES 10 EATING LIKE A HORSE
Your horse’s health depends not only on what he eats, but how he eats!
14 TEACHING YOUR HORSE TO TIE
Being tied doesn’t come naturally to horses, but it’s an essential skill for them to learn.
20 FEARLESS VICTORY
35 STRINGHALT IN HORSES The underlying causes of stringhalt remain poorly understood. A whole horse perspective can offer insight into better understanding and addressing this mysterious condition.
38 MEMORIALIZING YOUR HORSE
This therapeutic program uses equine-assisted activities to help military veterans find peace of mind.
It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved horse. Honoring his memory through ceremony, art or keepsake is a meaningful way to celebrate his life.
24 SWAYZE’S JOURNEY
40 TODAY’S HORSE CARE
30 REIKI FOR EQUINE
We are often faced with conflicting information, especially if we enjoy training and advancing in equine sports, yet also want to keep our horses in a more natural way.
From a kill pen in Colorado to VIP at Sky Dog Sanctuary, Swayze is a remarkable horse who is finding his stride.
TRAUMA
It can be a powerful way to help horses dealing with trauma. Learn how to create a Reiki Space to promote healing.
– A FRESH LOOK AT THE INDUSTRY STANDARD
44 HOOF CARE -- CHECKING HIS DIGITAL PULSE
A bounding pulse in your horse’s digital artery can be a warning sign of pain or inflammation in the hoof. Learn how to find and assess his digital pulse. 4
Equine Wellness
48 HOMEOPATHY FOR EQUINE SKIN CONDITIONS When selecting homeopathic remedies for your horse’s skin conditions, deciphering the nature of his symptoms is key.
52 HORSE ADOPTION
GUIDE: FINDING THE RIGHT RESCUE
Adopting a rescue might not change the world, but it can make a world of difference to the horse you bring home. Here’s how to find the right match.
56 BRINGING YOUR HORSE BACK FROM RETIREMENT
A horse may be “retired” for any number of reasons. When it’s time to bring him back, it’s important to ensure he is ready, both physically and mentally.
nts 40 DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS
6 Editorial
8 Neighborhood news
29 Product picks 47 Heads up
18 Acupressure at-a-glance
50 Equine Wellness resource guide
23 Herb blurb
60 Marketplace
28 Minute horsemanship
61 Classifieds
55 Green acres
62 Events
58 To the rescue
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TEACHING YOUR HORSE
TO
TIE By Anna Twinney
Being tied doesn’t come naturally to horses, but it’s an essential skill for them to learn.
T
here are many situations in which it’s important for your horse to tie well. It could be for the vet or farrier, at a show or event, or perhaps while you are grooming and tacking up. While it may seem simple enough, your horse may have quite a different perspective.
may learn fairly easily to accept being tied, others may have had experiences where they’ve broken their halters, hitching posts or worse, and have subsequently developed a phobia to tying. The good news is that no matter what his age, any horse can be taught what is expected of him if you use a kind and patient manner.
As prey animals, horses have a strong inborn desire to flee in the face of perceived danger. When a horse is tied, he can’t respond in this way. For the uninitiated or fearful horse, this can set off alarm bells and send him into a state of frantic panic, particularly if there is no breaking point or release in sight.
SET YOUR HORSE UP FOR SUCCESS
It is also important to recognize that horses are innately “into pressure” beings and – by their very nature – they lean into the point of pressure. This leads a horse to lean into you when you press on his flank, rump or other part of his body; or to raise his head high when asked to follow the feel of the lead rope. Without any support, or formal trust-based training, it is unlikely a horse will automatically take to being tied. While some horses 14
Equine Wellness
There are a number of things you can teach and practice with your horse to help prepare him for being able to tie well. By taking the time to do this work and approaching the task in an open, empathetic and supportive manner, you can create powerful and lasting results while avoiding mistakes or gaps in training that will require fixing later.
PRESSURE AND RELEASE One key to training your horse to tie well is teaching him to yield to pressure in situations that are stress-free, before introducing him to stressful scenarios. The first rule is to never attempt to tie without first exploring your horse’s knowledge of pressure and release.
Some simple yet essential exercises to prepare for tying include: • • • •
Light touch head drops Neck stretches and yields following the feel of the line Forward and back rocking horse steps Altering gait and speed while leading
As the exercises build on one another, make sure to create times for your horse to feel somewhat restricted while being given a chance to find a way out using collaborative communication.
DESENSITIZATION EXERCISES Once your horse fully understands how to get himself out of trouble by coming forward towards the pressure, it is time to introduce him to some surprises. It’s easy to teach him to tie when everything is calm, but you would be remiss if you didn’t prepare him for the unexpected, and provide him with appropriate coping skills for those stressful or startling moments.
Before tying a horse anywhere, integrate some in-hand, spook-busting methods: • Desensitize to scary objects and items • Desensitize to startling and unusual sounds • Graduate to an in-hand obstacle course of higher learning
BUILDING CONFIDENCE Another key to successfully training your horse to tie is to address the emotional and mental factors that create a “non-tying horse” to begin with. Training is essential to building the horse’s confidence in both himself and you, and will allow you to create a trust-based partnership. This can be done over time as your horse learns to come into himself more, leave the herd behind, explore and venture off campus, and experience a multitude of environments and situations. Once he has a good foundation of confidence, you can gradually introduce him to new locations and scenarios, and increase the stimuli that will trigger fears, such as a fear of isolation. Soon, fear will be replaced with the understanding that he is safe, even when you are asking him to be restricted or isolated for a time.
TRAINING YOUR HORSE TO TIE The simplest way to begin is to loop the line over a hitching post to create some resistance, and hold it in your hand while grooming! This way, the horse does not hit a rigid line and panic, which could put both of you at risk for bodily harm. Instead, your horse will be able to feel the give while at the same time making a pleasant association with tying through mindful grooming. This same looping method applies while teaching the horse to tie at a trailer, wash rack or other location, keeping in mind the
Looping the line around a fence or hitching post and holding it while grooming will ensure that your horse does not hit a rigid line and panic while he is learning to tie.
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