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| Question Corner |
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| How it works: Mail me with your question and check back to see it posted and answered. |
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| Q: I have a young quarter horse who has just gotten over a quarter crack. Every time a mount him and start trotting, he favors a foot. It changes every day(the foot) and there is no heat or swelling. My vet tells me he has learned how to fake his lameness(and so have several others) how can I tell for sure whether or not he is faking or is actually lame? Chris. A: Chris, my horse does the same thing. A way to do it that never fails is: Bring your horse in closed arena and set him loose. Then, snap a whip and make him trot a couple times around. If he is still limping, my guess is he is probably not faking and you should do the routine check. If he's going fine, hop on and ride! If you want to be very careful, check for heat and swelling ect. and then do the arena check. It works every time for me! Q: I recently adopted an older thoroughbred mare with weight problems. She is 18 years old and I ride her only lightly and don't jump her. She is very underweight and my vet has me feeding her a high fat diet that includes 1/4 cup of beet pulp. I have been having trouble getting her to finish all of her feed. Do you have any idea how to get her to eat? Lauren Foxhill A: Lauren, As to why she isn't eating, there could be many different reasons. First of all, you should have your vet check her for teeth problems. If she doesn't eat her other feed she may have dental problems that cause her pain to chew. Another thing is that some horses just plain hate the taste of beet pulp. I work with a miniature horse who also never finishes his beet pulp. What I do to make it more appetizing is: a) Add a small amount of oats or another sweet feed to it. b) Mix in a small amount of sugar(this works the best) c) Crush carrots or apples and mix it up well into the beet pulp. (Hint: I usually blend up the carrots or apples and then add them, this makes it less likely that the horse will pick out only the carrots. d) Add all of the above. This has always worked for me. Hope your mare likes it! :.) Q: I have a quarter horse mare who is three years old. When I gallop her she keeps her head straight but sticks her back end out to the side. Why does she do this and is there anything I can do to stop it? Stacy Beckwith A:Stacy, there are many reasons that she may be galloping sideways, and it's hard for me to determine why without seeing her. One of the reasons could be that her saddle is not fitted properly. If this is the case, she could be galloping sideways to escape the feeling of the saddle. But this probably isn't the case. The most likely reason she could be doing this is because she is not responding to your leg. Below are some exersizes to help correct it. I don't know how good a rider you are, but read the below info and I can try to fix the problem. If you don't feel you can fix the problem, my suggestion is to have a proffesional rider or somebody you feel comfortable with to do it for you. Try to do these in an arena. 1. WALKING your mare, do surpentines, using the entire arena. Carry a riding crop for reinforcement. Try to be gentle with your hand, but maintain contact. If she ignores your leg and doesn't bend, use the crop beside your leg to make her listen. Do this everyday(and only this) until she listens and does it smoothly. 2. Once you get the hang of it, do the same thing at a SLOW trot. If you don't feel comfortable doing the 'tines than do it on a circle, making sure she bends, and THEN, once she listens work up to a surpentine. You must do these excersices through positive reinforcement, so never hesitate to reward her when she does bend. 3. When you feel ready, work her up to a SLOW canter. Don't do surpentines with her, just keep her on a circle until she bends. Do this until she has it perfect. If she won't bend, bring her back to the trot and make her. Then ask for her to canter and if she fights you trot her again. Once she bends even a little at the canter reward her and keep her going. 4. Once you have her listening to these basic commands you can gallop her. If she repeats the problem sit up, slow her to the canter and take her on the circle. Then try again. If, afterward she is still doing this I strongly reccomend a proffesional look at her. Hope it helps. :) Q. While visiting with a neighbor, my horse ate a plum off a tree, pit and all. Will this casue an intestinal obstruction or will it eventually pass? A. That would really depend on the size of your horse. I have a 14.3 HH arab, and he has eaten plum pits before. My best guess is that it won't cause a blockage. However, if colic symptoms begin the appear, take the horse to a vet. If you are worried, feeding your horse a bran mash might help, as it is a laxative and if the pit does casue a slight blockage this will help it to pass. Q. What is the best salt lick block to use in the winter? I live in Ontario and our winters get to -30. I have a 6 y/o Morgan mare. A. Personally, I leave both kinds out. (red and blue) Horses know what vitamins and minerals they need and will lick freely. In the winter I leave out red and brown. Since your winter is so cold, you should be careful of salt poisoning, which is lethal to the horse. If you put out a white salt lick block for your mare, it is imperative that she has a fresh supply of water, If she has this, the white block will be ideal. |
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