Barn Etiquette 101: Advice regarding Training
Jan 13 2012
Today’s post is a guest post that someone submitted in application for the job as writers here. We thought it’d be kind of fun for people to post their own horror stories – come on, don’t be shy, we’ve all come across our share of “crazy horse people”. That phrase is so prevalent my ex boyfriend actually managed to find me a freaking Hallmark card with that on it! lol
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Every barn has one. The more unfortunate barns have more than one. These “ones” mean well 99.9% of the time but 99.9% of the time you also do not need what they give. That is unsolicited advice. In my opinion unsolicited advice is almost never needed, unless you are addressing something deadly, crippling or legally actionable, but most of the time? Not needed when it comes to the training of one’s own horse—especially when the horse’s keeper already has a trainer.
I will begin by saying that I love my barn. The facilities are awesome. The real trainers, the owners, and most of the other boarders know what they are doing. My mare, Chance, loves these people and the other horses. She is doing awesome and my trainer, Carolyn, has very high hopes for her athletic future. I also love, quite love, having my horse three miles from home. How cool is that?
But, as you know, it can just take a few to cause unpleasant experiences. In my case, the few equals two. Most of the time, I am not there when these two are hanging around. Also, one of these two has been a huge help to me at times in figuring out barn procedures and making sure Chance is fed. So, the situation is not all bad. Except for one small thing:
I have a trainer. She is good. I also know my horse better than you do.
Chance is Chance. I rescued her in July 2011 and we are two peas in a pod. She is a joy—easy to train, beautiful, smart and actually quite sweet and gentle, despite her past. Chance is also very dramatic when an event reminds her of past mistreatment and has had what I call her “episodes” about three times since July. In these fits, she pulled against being tied, refused to load into a trailer, and recently she even became tangled up in the hose and got the lead rope stuck between cement blocks while we were in the shower stall one day. (Who knows how that happened—seriously! Let’s just say I finally relate to the parents of toddlers who lose said toddlers after turning their back for “just one minute”. I mean, this entanglement required talent and I am so glad we ended it with nothing more than a bruise on my ankle!) However, in these experiences with Chance, she also stopped her episodes before anyone was hurt, be it animate or inanimate, horse or human, me or her. I learned never to react, never to show fear or anxiety, but to basically stand back, look right at her and ask calmly, “Are we done yet?” Sure enough, she calmed right down and waited patiently for me to fix the situation. Then we moved on. We are looking at thirty seconds of drama per incident—maximum.
We are pretty new at this barn, and I was certain to explain this procedure upfront in case of any future episodes. A year ago, Chance’s former owners decided to stop feeding her and even though she may not be aware of the anniversary, I am fairly convinced that she is aware of the season and what happened last time this season hit. Add this anxiety to the new barn, new people and new horses and, yes, I get unexplained behavior. It will end and my mellow girl will return, but it will take work by me with my trainer. It will also require the healing power of time. I am hopeful but my goals require space to succeed and me listening to the one person who knows Chance and I as a unit very, very well.
However, it is surprising that despite the fact I have a good trainer and that I know my horse better than I know myself most days how much well-meaning advice I receive from people who believe themselves to be trainers. After the previously-described shower stall incident, I had a conversation with one of these “trainers” that went a little like this:
“Trainer”: He’s afraid of water. [Yes, despite my continual reminders that Chance is a mare, she is still "he".] [Another horse at the barn] was afraid of water. I just had her owner spray water around the shower stall while the horse was tied outside of it.
Me: Chance isn’t afraid of water. She has never been afraid of water—she likes water! Crosses it, loves being hosed off, etc. Something about the shower stall scares her and I need to desensitize her. I’ll talk to my trainer [Yes, I emphasized.] about breaking this into small steps . . .
“Trainer”: Yes, it is such a pain when they are scared of water. Also, fill his water buckets while he is in his stall . . .
Me: I’ve done that since I’ve had her. She doesn’t mind.
“Trainer”: Yes. Have him watch you spray water around the shower and fill his buckets while he’s in his stall. Then he won’t be scared of water anymore.
Me: Um, OK . . .[I walk away before my head explodes.]
No, Chance is not perfect and I am not a perfect horsewoman. I am always willing to learn. That is why I have a trainer. Carolyn knows me, she knows Chance and together we find solutions for whatever quandary Chance presents to us. We listen to each other and explore the whole scenario. There are no quick-bake band aid solutions to these issues. Volunteering training “services” does not just step on the toes of the trainers who make a living at your barn. It is also advice that may not apply to the situation.
I understand how hard it is to resist giving unsolicited advice. There is a lovely Arabian mare at our barn who is not taking to the saddle at all. I watch as her owner, a nice fellow who has never owned a “hot” breed before, try to wear her out and then try the saddle again. My past experience with Arabians beat into my head that this technique does not work with these “hot” breeds and I actually no longer use it with any breed. What does work with all breeds in my experience, is engaging their brains, taking them to something they know well, praising them for it and then introducing the saddle or any other Scary New Thing more slowly. When speaking to someone who does not speak your native tongue, you explain concepts differently. You explain it in another way if your conversation partner from a foreign land does not understand the concept the first time. The same with horses; if one method is not effective move on to something new.
That said, this fellow has a trainer. I am not certain what she has tried but she is one of the barn trainers and I am not going to present myself as better than her. I am a boarder and I am not in that barn to make a living, but she is. But I will tell you what I did do: I let this fellow know that I have experience with Arabians and that if he had questions he could ask. I told him I was willing to give advice, but he would need to run it by his trainer first to make sure what I suggest works with their program. He was very appreciative. Basically, I calmed my conscience but his trainer is still in charge of this project.
My only exceptions to this rule are if the conduct is legally actionable, as in cases of abuse or neglect, or if another living thing that is not the horse’s owner or over the age of 18 is in immediate danger of death or dismemberment. At that point, barn etiquette goes out the window and quick action is needed either to prevent an arrest or a hospital visit.
I also remember something else: like all living things, horses have good days and bad days. I may be seeing one of the bad days. Just as I would not like to be judged on my bad days, the horse deserves the same courtesy. Again, unless there is imminent danger or my help is requested, it is best to stay out of the way and reserve judgment. Rest assure if an individual puts me, my horse, or even her horse at considerable risk she will hear about it and not always gently. The safety of living things is paramount, but always to be tempered by the straight thinking of those who know the situation best.
Today’s guest post is brought to you by the letter J – for J.M. Mackie 
Check out her blog here!
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Quick reminder to everyone – we are always looking for guest submissions and in case you haven’t noticed we’ve been sticking to our promsie to feature one guest post per week! So step right up ladies and gentlemen 
Happy weekend everyone!
Branding: Yay or Neigh?
Jan 09 2012
Ha! That was pun-derful!
There seems to be a movement sweeping the world, albeit not too quickly. Seriously, if Cinderella swept this slowly she wouldn’t have met the prince until she was 80. But hey, at least it’s happening right? So what are we talking about? The elimination of hot branding as a viable identification tool for horses. It’s unnecessarily painful and risky – complications generally aren’t serious, but infection is definitely a danger. And anyone who’s burned themselves can testify to the level of pain!
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Hot branding has been around for thousands of years; it’s a cheap, effective and relatively easy way of permanently identifying your livestock. Obviously, hot branding still has its place in the equine world: for example; when liquid nitrogen and/or RFID readers aren’t readily available or are too expensive to be feasible. For the rest of us, why employ a method that causes necrosis of the skin (literally kills the tissue) when you don’t have to?
For some it seems to be a matter of tradition. The Hanoverian, Holsteiner and Trakehner breed registries in Europe are against the proposed banning of hot branding. Microchipping is actually required in the European Union and has been so since July 2009. So why then do these registries still insist on hot branding?
There have been several studies performed to try to determine which method is the least painful to the animal: hot branding or microchipping. One such study (a summary of which was published on The Horse) was performed by Dr. Christine Aurich of the University of Veterinary Sciences in Vienna to determine the differences in stress levels of foals being microchipped vs. foals being hot branded. Dr. Aurich found “no significant difference in stress levels”.
In another study, Dr. Kennedy of Anglia Ruskin University found branding to be “painful and unnecessary”. His conclusions were based on “observation of moorland ponies being hot branded and microchipped”.
So we guess that was kind of useless. Certainly didn’t provide any conclusive information. However, it is interesting to note that Dr. Aurich “believes the branding procedure is more harmful because it produces an increase in skin temperature of the whole body, not just around the brand.” Some food for thought perhaps.
Finally, a team of researchers at the University of Copenhagen did a study comparing the pain and inflammation response in adult horses who were microchipped and branded. Their conclusion? “Results indicated that hot iron branding does inflict more pain and should be abandoned where possible.”
So let’s look at some alternatives:
Freeze branding
This method uses liquid nitrogen or dry ice to lower the temperature of the branding iron to -300 degrees F. When the brand reaches the desired temperature the brander will hold the iron against the brandee’s skin for a prescribed amount of time – ranging from 8-60 seconds depending on the horse’s age and color – and at the prescribed amount of pressure (35-45 pounds). The freezing will actually destroy the color follicles of the individual hairs so that when the current hairs are shed out and new ones grow in, they will grow in without pigmentation. On light colored animals, the brand will be applied for longer in order to completely kill the hair follicle, leaving a hairless mark as opposed to a white one.
Freeze branding doesn’t inflict permanent damage to the skin and it’s generally considered to be far less painful than hot branding, but does have a couple drawbacks. It’s more expensive and requires more skill to apply.
Microchipping
This method has been widely adopted in Europe, to the point where it’s required in the EU. The chip itself is placed inside a glass vial, roughly the size of a grain of rice, and implanted in the left nuchal ligament (approximately half way up the horse’s neck).
This method is perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing, but, as a means of deterring theft, it ain’t really helpful. A thief isn’t going whip out his personal, handy-dandy RFID (radiofrequency identification) scanner and scan a horse’s neck prior to the act! However, if theft deterrent isn’t your primary concern, this option is thought to be less painful with a shorter recovery time.
Some potential downsides to consider when microchipping include migration (the chip can migrate, which would require re-implantation with a new chip) and it only lasts for about 25 years. With improvements in veterinary care and nutritional information horses are experiencing longer life spans – 25 years may not cut it anymore! (Can we get a “hells yeah!”) One more potential downside to consider is the long term effects implanting these devices could have on horses. It has been suggested that these chips could cause cancer. That being said (well, typed) people used to rant and rave about cell phones causing cancer (while they puffed away at their cigarettes…). We couldn’t find any scientific studies on the long term effects of microchipping but whether that’s because there aren’t any side effects or rather because the technology isn’t old enough for long term studies to have been conducted, we don’t know.
Lip Tattoos
Lip tattoos are primarily used in the racing industry. They’re not really the best way to go as they tend to fade and become unreadable. They also run the same concern as microchipping in that they are not immediately visible and thus won’t serve as a theft deterrent.
On the horizon
EyeD – The Mission Impossible-esque technology of the horse world. That’s right, now your horse too can access secret government rooms with a scan of the eye! Ok, maybe not. EyeD takes a digital photo of your horse’s iris and stores the data. It’s (obviously) non-invasive – which is a huge plus if you’re at all opposed to burning your horse’s flesh. This is a very new technology and may actually not be available yet – not 100% sure. Like microchipping, it’s not a useful way of theft prevention, but it could be very useful in regards to conclusive identification of an unknown horse.
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Hot branding has been widely accepted for a very long time and so a lot of us don’t even really think about it. I (Snugly) certainly didn’t – my horse was actually branded before I bought him and I never thought anything of it; it’s an accepted practice and cool, there’s a little picture on my horse’s bum. But now I kind of wonder if the process isn’t a little bit like torture. And would it really be so different if that doodle on his hiney was composed of white hairs instead of a raised scar? I know many of us associate freeze branding with the ugly string of letters and numbers on the side of a Standardbred or Mustang’s neck, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be used with traditional brands. One of the articles I read mentioned that horses aren’t as sensitive on their hind end since that’s where most of their muscles are. Are you kidding me? Do they not use their tails to swat at flies on their rumps? That’s kind of like saying human’s thighs aren’t as sensitive since they have the most muscling. Step right up, I’ll brand your thigh right here and now if you believe that bullshit for a second!
What? No takers? Hmmm…
And we can be deceiving too!
Jan 07 2012
Ok, so we didn’t want to take focus away from the point of yesterday’s conformation critique. Buuuuuut now we can introduce you to
Jumper Girl (aka Snarkly)’s horse!
Toplines can be deceiving!
Jan 06 2012
Emily did a hilarious review of her pony Lemony a couple days ago. One of her major criticisms of the little jumper was how “downhill” she is – and the point of her croup is most definitely higher than her withers! A few posters thought that she looked fairly balanced regardless; one even suggested that perhaps it was how the photo was set up that was making her look that way. (We think we’ll take Emily’s word on it!) But it does bring up an interesting point and a common misconception.
So we’re going to borrow Lemony again for this post! While the relation of wither to croup seems like a simple way to determine levelness, it’s far from accurate. Take the two pictures below. One is Lemony, the other is a Thoroughbred gelding.
At first glance the TB appears to be far more uphill than Lemony – his wither is clearly higher than his croup. But we’re going deeper than that today! Here’s a closer look, first at the gelding:
We’ll start off with the obvious – he has a wither that resembles a combination of a camel hump and a shark fin. Woe be the rider who attempts to ride bareback on this fellow! That wither skews things somewhat; combine that with quite a level hip (the red line) and you’re left with a horse that is functionally slightly downhill.
How you can tell – the yellow dots mark corresponding points on the horse’s forehand and hind end. Hind cannons are typically a little longer than fronts, so the fact that his hocks are slightly higher than his knees isn’t concerning. What is concerning is that that trend continues further up. His stifle is also higher than his elbow (blue line) and, as the green line shows, his hip joint (where the femur rests in the hips) is marginally higher than the structural base of his neck (the C6 vertabrae). This means his weight will tend to be carried on the forehand and he’ll have a harder time bringing his hind end underneath him. Now, with proper riding and conditioning he could likely be trained to lift the base of his neck sufficiently to carry himself around level or possibly even slightly uphill, but that’s certainly not what he’s doing in this photo!
So let’s take a closer look at Lemony, shall we?
She has the opposite conformation – almost non-existent withers and quite a sloped butt. (That’s the technical term, right?) If you look at the relevant points on her body you’ll see her hocks are also slightly higher than her knees. Her stifles, as well, are higher than her elbows, but to a lesser degree than the chestnut’s. And the final test, base of neck to hip joint? Almost perfectly level! In fact, if we were to believe the poster who thinks this photo has her standing slightly downhill, she could possibly be functionally uphill.
So, as far as how these two will actually move, the bum-high pony is the one who’ll have an easier time rocking her weight back to her hind end and carrying herself in a balanced manner. Strange, huh?
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