hoofbeats issue june july 2015

June July 2015 -

Produced by HOOFBEAT PUBLICATIONS

90 Leslie Road, Wandi, 6167 Ph: (08) 9397 0506

Fax: (08) 9397 0200

Email:Office/accounts: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected] Horse: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]

www.hoofbeats.com.auMANAGING EDITOR

Sandy Hannan

Contributing EditorsWendy Elks

Kaye MeynellADVERTISING

Tracy Weaver Sayer Jodee Mathews

OFFICE / ACCOUNTSKatrina Bailey

GRAPHICS AND WEBCaitlin Bolger

Louise and Adrian Redman

E-MAGAZINE Diane Bawden

SUBSCRIPTIONSBob Hannan

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSEquine Dental Veterinarians

Felicity WischerDr Maxwell Hall Wendy Murdoch

INSERTS W.A SHOW SCENE

Available in magazines sold in WA , in the e-magazine

and to subscribers

THE GREEN HORSESustainable horsekeeping

DISTRIBUTORS:Gordon & Gotch

PRINTERSP.K.Print

MEDIA PARTNERS

Manuscripts, results and photographs are welcomed. Preferably these should be emailed. Failing this, clearly written or printed material will be accepted. No responsibility is assumed for errors from handwritten material. Emailed photographs should be scanned at 300dpi then saved as jpegs and attached to email.

All material should be addressed to The Editor, Hoofbeat Publications, 90 Leslie Rd., Wandi 6167 or emailed to [email protected] Although maximum care is taken, no responsibility is assumed for such material while in transit or at this office. Material will be returned if a stamped self addressed envelope is enclosed. All material published remains the property of Hoofbeat Publications.Reproduction of any part of Hoofbeats is protected by copyright and only permitted when a written release has been received from the publisher.The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers or the editor.Contents of advertisements are the responsibility of the advertisers.

A National Riding, Training and Horse Care Magazine . . . .incorporating The Green Horse -sustainable horsekeeping.

hoofbeats

M

Equine Veterinarians Australia

Vol 37 No 1June/July 2015Inside

Wheat intolerance in the horse - page 33

4 SOFT TISSUE INJURY IN SPORT HORSES by Dr Maxwell Hall With high level horses performing a variety of athletic feats soft tissue injuries are an ongoing risk. Veterinarians now have more treatment options than ever for these injuries and highlight the importance of a rehabilitation program after treatment.

7 POTENTIAL CAREER ENDING INJURY by Katelyn Prendiville ‘Suspensory’isdefinitelyawordnohorseownerwantstohearwhenthevetis making a diagnosis, but show jumper Annabel Cowcher and her mare Bellhaven Paris are now well on the way back to the performance arena after treatment with a procedure called Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).

10 FINE TUNE YOUR RIDING by Linda Parelli Riders often don’t focus where their horse is focussing, which can give the horse mixedmessages.Refiningtheaidsanddevelopingprecisionandfinessecanbe achieved by a simple technique developed by Linda Parelli.

16 READER’S STORY CHEST ABSCESS by Janet Forster GRAPHIC IMAGES: When her stallion was found with substantial swelling from his chest down his foreleg Janet initially worried he may have broken his leg. When a huge hole opened in his chest a few days later, it became clear that a significantabscesswastheproblem.

19 ABSCESSES What are they and why do they occur?

20 PONY SADDLE FITTING by Kaye Meynell Poniescomeinallshapesandsizes,andsodotheirriders,whichcanmakefinding theperfectfittingsaddleadifficulttask.There’sanumberoffactorsthatshouldbe taken into account, as explained by Master Saddler and Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow and other leading professionals.

27 TRAINING TIPS food for though with Monty Roberts Clinician’s such as Monty Roberts can just be talking away and some of their more offhand/off the cuff remarks and insights may well be the ‘light bulb’ moment for their audience.

28 HEARING and the equine ear by Kit Prendergast With more information emerging of how the horse perceives the world around it, riders and horse handlers have the opportunity to maximise their horse handling skills by understanding aspects of hearing and how it affect the horse’s behaviour.

32 PRODUCT NEWS Thelatestonwhat’snewandproductsinthemarketplace.

Potential career ending

injury - page 7

Soft tissue injury in sport horses - page 4

mailto:[email protected]







http://www.hoofbeats.com.au

June July 2015 -

BONUS

* RRP inc GST $7.50 ISSN 0811-8698

BONUS View this in the e-mag, App and FREE e-preview atwww.hoofbeats.com.auARTICLEARTICLE

Vol 37 No 1June/July 2015

BONUSBONUS

33 WHEAT INTOLERANCE by Angela Davison Could the consumption of wheaten chaff, hay and products containing wheat be having an impact on some horse’s health?

THE GREEN HORSE sustainable horsekeeping 38 Information Exchange - Natural Corridors 39 Reducing Run-off Polution on horse properties by Wendy Elks 40 The Next Step- se�ing up an equine property by Cynthia Cooper 43 Stable Waste- straight to pasture or compost first? by Andrea Carmody

44 WINTER FEEDING by Kaye Meynell It’s important to assess a horse’s feeding requirements over the winter months to determine if they require additional feed to cope with colder, wet conditions.

50 EQUINE STABILITY by Wendy Murdoch Few consider how the horse senses the ground through its feet and just assume their horse knows where its feet are. With a few simple tools anyone can help a horsefindbetterbalanceandimprovetheirperformance.

54 FROM HOBBY TO BUSINESS Part 2 by Wendy Elks Continuing on from last issue, ideas on marketing a small business are explained and number of equestrian business owners share their knowledge and experiences gained from from running their own hobby or equestrian businesses.

62 PLEASE EXPLAIN Equine Dental Vets of Australia explain what’s involved when removing a horse’s tooth and the implications for a horse that’s missing a tooth; Champion reiner, Ian Francis, answers the query ‘What is a reining bit?’, and with breeding season rapidly approaching what it means when teasing a mare is explained.

66 ELECTROLYTE USE by Dr Tania Cubitt Commonly used in summer, horses in heavy work over winter may also need electrolytes replaced with an appropriate supplement.

70 HORSE FRONT News, veterinary advances and horse happenings around the world.

73 SUBSCRIBE TO WIN a pair of Dublin Apex boots, Meridian Gaiters and Supa Slender Performance Breeches from Dublin Clothing. All subscribers (new and current) can enter and are eligible to win this superb prize.Tosubscribe,visitwww.hoofbeats.com.au or phone us on 08 93970506

Linda Parelli on Fine-Tuning your riding - page 10

EDITORIAL

Australia seems to be constantly under threat from fire, flood or drought and, despite the best precautions by owners, it is invariably the animals that are often the victims of the elements. While the recent floods, and fires from last summer, no longer dominate the news, out thoughts go out to all those who are still overcoming the ongoing affects from these events. INSIDE THIS ISSUEThis issue sees part two of our series on Hobby or Business with a number of small business owners sharing their experienc-es. With more than two million small busi-nesses in Australia the equestrian sector certainly has its fair share of enterprising individuals running their own business or hobby. With small businesses receiving a tax cut in the May Federal budget, let’s hope that this and other positive changes announced in the Budget helps the equine industry’s small business sector, as it’s not easy sometimes for those running their own business or setting one up. We look forward to bringing you more stories from those involved in the equestrian business scene in coming issues and welcome input from readers.HOUSE KEEPING For those of you who receive the Hoofbeats Sneak Peak email, sent every two months to preview the new edition, you may have noticed that the frequency of our contact has increased recently. In response to feedback requesting more accessible news and content we will now be sending out a ‘Newspeak’ email twice a month. This will include some of the latest equestrian news releases from across Australia and internationally, as while our facebook page does regularly highlight breaking news, the Newspeak format better suits the delivery of equestrian news and educational information that is of interest to all those with horses. To be added to our email mailing list simply email [email protected] with ‘Send Newspeak’ in the subject line.

The Hoofbeats TeamSandy, Bob, Tracy, Caitlin, Di, Jodee, Katrina, Wendy and Kaye.

Hearing and the equine ear - page 30

Chest Abscess - page 16

Pony saddle fitting - page 20

Winter feeding - page 44




Common

Image 1: An ultrasound image of the flexor tendons of a forelimb. A grade 4 (severe damage) lesion of the superficial digital flexor tendon. This lesion takes up approximately 50% of the maximal cross sectional area of the tendon.

Blood �lled hole in the SDFT

A soft tissue injury is one involving skin, muscle, tendons, ligaments

and or nerves. Most of these injuries (but not all) will result in the horse becoming lame but will all result in

decreased performance in the equine athlete. (See previous issue on ‘determining if

your horse is lame’ in Hoofbeats.) Image 2: A typical appearance of superficial tendonitis. ‘Bowed tendon’.

Tendon injuries: The superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT). Over-strain injury of the superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendon, which runs from the back of the knee/hock down to the level of the pastern, is common in performance horses. This type of injury is also known as tendonitis or a ‘bowed tendon’ (see image 1 and 2), and the damage that occurs is either due to chronic, low grade tearing of the tendon during fast work or, less commonly, to a one-off traumatic injury. It should be noted that these horse are typically NOT lame but are painful on palpation of the tendon that is swollen and hot.These SDFT injuries are slow to heal, with anywhere from 20-80% of affected horses returning to future competition. Such a variance in outcome is due to the different severity of injuries, combined with possible management strategies.Treatments have previously included firing; blistering; tendon splitting; implantation of carbon fibres; and intra-lesional injection of, variously, corticosteroids, BAPTEN, polysuphated glycosaminoglycans, hyaluronic acid, and growth hormone. The range and variety of treatments for the condition attest to the difficulty in successfully rehabilitating affected animals. What treatment a horse requires really depends on the type and severity of injury. No matter what, a graded rehabilitation program (see Post Treatment Discharge Instructions) is essential for a successful outcome.Recent research has turned the spotlight towards the use of mesenchymal stem cells, PRP (platelet rich plasma) or bone marrow aspirate. These cells are the natural units of adult tissue regeneration, as opposed to simply repairing or replacing with scar tissue.

Common Common Common Common Common Common Common

soft tissue injuries in high level sport horses

June July 2015 -

To read more click to purchase this issue or subscribe.


Sourcing the perfect saddle for one’s horse isn’t always plain sailing. When it comes to finding a great fitting saddle for a pony, things appear even more difficult, with many riders despairing over the seemingly impossible

task of finding a saddle that fits the pony well. Muddying the waters further is the fact

that ponies are not necessarily ridden by children – many adult riders own ponies - and this combination often

compounds the difficulties faced in finding a well-fitting pony saddle that can also accommodate the rider. Kay Hastilow - UK Society of Master Saddlers“There are two main issues with fitting saddles to ponies,” advises Master Saddler and Qualified Saddle Fitter, Kay Hastilow from the Society of Master Saddlers in the UK. “The first is preventing the saddle sliding up the pony’s neck - which will lead to the back of the saddle bouncing and an unhappy pony. The second is that sometimes the rider is tall, or generally large for the pony, so getting a saddle that is large

enough and with big enough flaps, without swamping the pony can be challenging.”

Sharon, a rider from Victoria, agrees: “I’m an adult who rides ponies. I’m 5’3”, and what little height I’ve got is in my legs! I have trouble with

the leg flaps on a lot of pony saddles not being long enough to accommodate me; couple that with a stallion with a very short back (only 14 inches to put a saddle on) and I had to search the world over looking for something to fit the pair of us! In the end I had to go with a made-to-measure saddle as nothing would fit the horse length-wise and me leg-wise.”

Pony Saddle

Fitting

Sourcing the perfect saddle for one’s horse Sourcing the perfect saddle for one’s horse isn’t always plain sailing. When it comes to isn’t always plain sailing. When it comes to finding a great fitting saddle for a pony, things appear even more difficult, with many riders despairing over the seemingly impossible

task of finding a saddle that fits the pony task of finding a saddle that fits the pony well. Muddying the waters further is the fact well. Muddying the waters further is the fact

that ponies are not necessarily ridden by children – that ponies are not necessarily ridden by children – many adult riders own ponies - and this combination often many adult riders own ponies - and this combination often

compounds the difficulties faced in finding a well-fitting pony compounds the difficulties faced in finding a well-fitting pony saddle that can also accommodate the rider. saddle that can also accommodate the rider.

“There are two main issues with fitting saddles to ponies,” advises Master Saddler and Qualified Saddle Fitter, Kay Hastilow from the Society of Master Saddlers in the UK. “The first is preventing the saddle sliding up the pony’s neck - which will lead to the back of the saddle bouncing and an unhappy pony. The second is that sometimes the rider is tall, or generally large for the pony, so getting a saddle that is large

enough and with big enough flaps, without swamping the pony can be challenging.”

Sharon, a rider from Victoria, agrees: I’m 5’3”, and what little height I’ve got is in my legs! I have trouble with

the leg flaps on a lot of pony saddles not being long enough to accommodate me; couple that with a stallion with a very short back (only 14 inches to put a saddle on) and I had to search the world over looking for something to fit the pair of us! In the end I had to go with a made-to-measure saddle as

The difficulty in finding a saddle to fit the pony is compounded by also needing the saddle to fit and suit the rider and discipline.

by Kaye Meynell



June July 2015 -

Reader’sReader’sReader’sStory

When Janet Forster found

her stallion with a swollen chest and leg she was concerned that his companion mare may have broken his leg, but within a

few days it was obvious that the problem was a chest abscess.

Janet shares her experience with

readers.

Owning and caring for your own horse can be a financial and emotional drain when something goes wrong and, it is a rare horse owner whose horse doesn’t experience some equine illness or injury that requires long hours of care and often unpleasant chores.Sharing these experiences with others can help people be prepared and have a hands-on insight into a range of horse afflictions.

Chest Abscess

Saturday January 31st 2015 dawned chilly and blustery. I was up at first light to check on a couple of colicky horses, one of which was my 7-year-old stallion Lucky. He’d been treated for colic several days prior and had been well and truly on the mend, but his behaviour the previous night had been a bit odd so I was hoping he hadn’t had a relapse.



June July 2015 -

IMPROVE YOUR FINESSE Finesse is all about precision and refinement, and it can be hard to figure out how to get that without becoming stiff in the body and upsetting the horse by using the reins too much. A technique, which Linda Parelli calls ‘Ride The Line’, will help develop quiet hands, a happier and more relaxed horse, and better performance results.

One of the most common issues in riding is the rider not focusing where the horse is focusing, and vice versa. While this works for riding that doesn’t require a lot of accuracy, it does not work for Finesse.Continued

By: Linda Parelli

REFINING FOCUS“ Most riders know they need to look where they are going, but when it comes to precision, they have to develop a more detailed focus. For example, instead of riding towards that tree or just doing circles and straight lines in an arena pattern, riders can imagine a line on the ground to follow. Even more importantly, for the horse’s nose to follow! As soon as they begin to do this, things change dramatically.Their focus becomes laser sharp; hands are quieter; their body becomes more aligned; their leadership improves; the horse is calmer and more relaxed. Harmony happens.When a rider’s mind and body are more coordinated, they become more balanced and clear in their communication. One of the most common issues in riding is the rider not focusing where the horse is focusing, and vice versa. While this works for riding that doesn’t require a lot of accuracy, it does not work for Finesse. In fact, it gives the horse mixed messages, because everything has to be so precise and when a rider turns their head too much, the horse feels this and it tries to go where they are looking. As a result, precision becomes difficult and the horse loses balance and rhythm.What riders need to do is to ‘see’ the line on the ground in front of the horse’s nose and keep the horse’s nose on it. This will ensure that

Fine-Tune your riding

Fine-Tune your riding

Reader’s



Despite hearing being a relatively neglected topic, auditory (hearing) signals form a core component of the horse’s sensory perception and interpretation of what is occurring around it. Horse handlers and riders need to be mindful that some aspects of equine hearing differs from their own, which influences the horse’s behaviour.Behavioural ‘peculiarities’ are often incorrectly attributed to the horse being ‘dumb’ or ‘disobedient’, however, such behavioural problems can arise due to a lack of comprehension on how horses interpret signals in their environment. Much can be achieved by understanding the how and what a horse hears.SENSORY SYSTEMDifferent species’ sensory systems and brains have been shaped by natural selection, adapted to promote survival by extracting and interpreting relevant information from their surrounding environment. For all animals, sensory systems function as filters, passing on only a

Hearing and the Equine Ear

As awareness of ways to handle and train horses by understanding

how they think and react has increased, it has become a

training tool for thinking riders and handlers across the

disciplines; increasing the ability of both horse and

handlers to achieve a working relationship

that maximises performance ability.

by Kit Prendergast BA & BSc(Hons)

: and it should not be assumed that they hear what humans hear.



and the Equine Ear


http://www.dublinclothing.com


June July 2015 -

With the cooler days signalling that winter is well and truly on its way, many horse owners across Australia are tackling the change in dietary needs of their animals that this new season brings. Whilst for many equines winter warrants an alteration in the type and amount of feed consumed, this is not the case for all. Even for those that do require some feed modification, a mindful owner will be continually reassessing their horse over the coming months, rather than simply ramping up the amount of feed given at the start of winter and not evaluating the ration again until springtime!Changes to the environment and the horse’s body in winterBefore one can determine what to feed their horse over winter, and how much, what must first be understood are the changes occurring in the horse’s body in the colder weather. In a nutshell, cold, wet and windy weather means the horse has to work harder to maintain its core body temperature of around 38°C (thermoregulation).

FEEDING

June July 2015 - Page 10

by Kaye Meynell

Provide turned-out horses with all the hay they can eat as it is like an internal heater.Below: The stabled horse’s feed takes into account exercise and turn-out times.

FEEDING



FEEDING

STABILITYSTABILITYAlmost three years ago, International rider and clinician -Wendy Murdoch- started experimenting with placing an unstable surface under the horse’s hooves. The idea was sparked during a conversation with holistic veterinarian, Dr. Joyce Harman, who was using unstable surfaces to rehabilitate dogs. When Wendy experimented with three horses they all made dramatic changes, within minutes, in their movement while under saddle. She has been researching and developing the SURE FOOT™ Equine Stability Program ever since.

“Most horse owners assume that their horse knows where its feet are, how to stand on them and use them for balance and propulsion. Not much thought is given to how the horse senses the ground through its hooves; it is often simply assumed that they do because, after all, within hours of birth, horses can stand and run. However, a horse’s quality of movement is directly affected by how it places its four feet - that supply just a small area of surface contact (approximately 12.5cm diameter circles) - on the ground. The area is, proportionately, much less surface area than a person standing on two feet, yet the horse’s feet are supporting a far greater body mass.HOW THE HORSE’S HOOF MEETS THE GROUND IS HOW THAT HORSE MEETS THE WORLDNo matter the size of the horse, its relationship to gravity and the earth is dependent on the way it stands and lands its hooves during movement. While more and more people recognise that good quality shoeing or trimming are essential aspects of good horsemanship and affect the way a horse moves, they often overlook the fact that almost all cases of training attempts to alter behaviour and movement of the horse, without understanding or assessing the fundamental way the horse’s hooves meet the ground.And while some may argue that a barefoot horse is better off than a shod one, there are many barefoot horses that have just as many poor habits regarding how they stand and land on their hooves as shod horses. Barefoot or shod, the horse has habits. Change its habits and the way it meets the world with its hooves and its outlook can also be changed.HABITUAL PATTERN OF STANDING AND MOVINGHorses also have habitual (unconscious) patterns of standing and moving with and without a rider, which can create anxiety,

Equineby Wendy Murdoch



German

Black Forest

Originating in the depths of the Black Forest in Germany, these horses are making a come back from near extinction.

Horses

One of the smaller draft horse breeds, the Black Forest Horse (Schwarzwälder Kaltblut) stands 14.3 - 15.3 hh with the solid build and calm temperament typical of the cold bloods. They have a distinctive very dark liver chestnut coat and heavy flaxen mane and tail with expansive movement.

Invaded by the Romans in the first century AD, the Black Forest is a heavily forested mountain range 160km by 60km tucked into the south west corner of Germany, with the Rhine river forming the borders to France and Switzerland. WWII bombing destroyed much of the old forest growth.The area is now known for its cake, cuckoo clocks, hiking trails and hot springs.

France

Switzerland

Germany

Black Forest Region

Originally used by the farmers of the mountainous region to pull carts and logs, this sturdy breed was almost lost as the government in the late 1800’s ordered the farmers to use only Belgian stallions for breeding to increase the size of the stock. The farmers secretly used native stallions and forged identity papers as the larger breed wasn’t suitable in the mountainous areas. Finally, during WWI, the authorities recognised the problem and allowed the farmers to use any stallions they wanted.

16 stallions now stand at Marbach/Weil Stud (owned by the state Govt of the area, Baden-Württemberg) and the popularity of the breed is returning as they are adapted to modern day use.

June July 2015 -

Horse people are passionate about their sport or hobby, and many dream of combining business with pleasure by starting up a horse-related business. What could be better?

The truth is that running a business is a little like eventing: there are several spheres requiring different skills and talents, and success requires being competent in all of them, plus all-round ability and intrinsic values like common sense, fitness, good reflexes, and instinct. Being multi-talented helps, and, importantly, having the wisdom to know where one’s weaknesses lie, and how to overcome them.Multi-tasking is part of running any small business, and as nearly every business starts off small, having a grasp of all the basic facets is a fundamental requirement. In business, there’s a saying that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. Part One of this series touched the surface of the wide and wonderful world of equine-related business. In this and future issues, we will ask businesses and hobby entrepreneurs what happens in the ‘real’ world’ of equine business.

CSteele DesignsAll-round rider and equine photographer, Cassie Steele is currently negotiating the journey of turning a photographic hobby she’s passionate about into a business located on the Queensland coast. What steps have you taken to start your business?I’ve been interested in photography for a long time, first with film and then digital. I started taking photos of my brother and friends who ride competitively. The photos were popular

Continued

Cas

sie

Stee

le

E.M

clean

Pho

togr

aphy

by Wendy Elks

You’ve decided to turn

your equine related hobby

into a business . . . now what?

From Hobby HobbyHobby to Business Part 2

A range of small businesses will share their journey and offer an insite into the experience gained from their hands-

on involvement.



hoofbeats issue june july 2015

Documents