Gotta Love Paints

As most of you know, my riding companion is Chief, and he is a registered Paint.  Paints are known for their even temper, nice demeanor, and they are of course beautiful so I've always loved paints.  But, after owning a paint there are two key things I will look for in my next paint so save myself some headache.  Firstly, my next paint will not have a white nose, and the secondly, he will have dark eyes and dark skin around the eye.  Now this isn't to say that all paints with pink skin on their eyes and nose are a bad thing, but that I personally, will try to avoid these traits in my next purchase and here is why.

First, if your horse has a pink nose, he is subject to sunburn during the summer.  Now, there is an easy solution to this if you horse will wear one of these super cool fly masks:  Fly Mask with Long Nose.  However, if your horse is anything like mine and lives in a pasture with other playful horses that pull it off his face, it gets interesting try to keep it on. I also use Coppertone Sport in 70 SPF and that works pretty well.  And per my post from Nov. 18 if they do get sunburnt put Desitin on it.

Second, if your horse has pink skin around his eyes, you need to be really careful again with the sun.  This summer Chief got a cancerous spot on the skin around his eye.  It was small but noticeable and as it continued to grow, I called the vet to have him take a look at it.  Sure enough, it was cancerous and needed to be removed.  Had Chief been able to wear his fly mask, the Cashel ones are also UV protectant, he probably wouldn't have had this issue.  But since I couldn't keep the fly mask on, this happened.  Once I noticed it, I started taking pictures of it so I could tell if it was growing.  I've noticed if you look at something too often, it seems like its not changing but it is...
July 22

Notice the small bump in the pink skin right next to the eye.  By July 26 the bump had gotten more defined.

The bump seems to be getting larger on Aug. 6.

This is when the vet got called.  Shortly thereafter the vet removed the bump kind of like you would with a wart, they freeze it off.  Kind of cool actually.  No real after care instructions other than some ointment for the eye.  This is what it looked like shortly after the "surgery."

You can still kind of see a bump and at this point I was a little worried, but as it continued to heal, it continued to disappear.  And this is what it looks like as of October.

This picture is blurry but its hard to get a horse to stand still so you can take a picture of his eye... just so you know.  The skin looks a little irritated still but the bump is gone and that was the important part.  Honestly, that skin typically looks a little red, its just one of those things with Chief.  As the time goes on, it continues to look better and better.

The important thing to note here folks is if you have a horse with pink skin, please be sure to keep an eye (no pun intended) on those areas to make sure they don't get burnt or get little bumps that could be cancerous.  If you notice something out of the ordinary, contact your vet.  This cancerous bump could have grown into the actual eye and then it becomes a real problem.  So if you can catch things like this early, its not a big deal.  If you can stall your pink skinned horse during the summer that is another great way to keep him out of the sun.  But God love my low rent horse he hates the stall so we use the fly mask.  If we can keep it on him, it does its job.

This summer I'm enlisting my Mother-in-Law to help me design a fly mask that fits over the halter thereby hopefully making it impossible for the other horses to pull it off his face.  I'll let you know when we get that designed and if it works.  If it does, maybe I can sell the design to Cashel and go into early retirement  : ).

Happy Trails folks!

Seriously?

So trail riding folks I've been cheating on you... that's right, I've been riding English.  I know, I know, I can't believe it either but I have this dream of turning Chief into an Eventer.  No he doesn't like stadium jumping or dressage, but he could be good at cross country.  One out of three ain't bad right?

Well my foray into jumping has been a bumpy ride.  My In-Laws have an old English saddle that they've let me take over because no one has ridden in it except for me in the past 10 years or so.  But since no one has been in it, the leather is a bit warped and was painful to ride in.  So I worked out the leather with Neastfoot Oil and made it slightly more comfortable and with a pair of chaps, it's not so bad.  But then my stirrup leathers were too long so I got the hubs to put another hole in them and now they fit right.  So I thought on Monday when I went up to ride that I was finally set in my English saddle.

It started out good enough we spent some time in the arena working on transitions and leads.  And the leads are getting better, I am happy to report.  Then we went down to the lower arena because some jumps were set up and we went over a couple of those cleanly (maybe not pretty) but clean.  I felt Chief getting tired so I took him around the pastures.  As we were headed for home, I signaled for the right lead and he picked up the left so I pulled back on the reins to slow him down.  We were headed for home so it was a little tougher to slow him down than normal, when all of a sudden my left foot fell right out from underneath me.  Now this could have been catastrophic but I was able to grab my seat easy enough.  I looked down at my stirrup and most of it was gone.  That's right gone.  Seriously?  Did the stirrup iron just break?  I looked down again to double check.  The stirrups are breakaway stirrups so I thought maybe the rubber band just broke, but no it was the iron itself that had snapped in two.  So we retraced our steps and I was able to find the stirrup so I jumped off, which was a sight without the left stirrup, and picked it up.  Of course there was no riding back since my left stirrup was gone but it was a short walk back to the barn.  When I got back, I took this picture.

So yes, this can happen and apparently it happens to me.  I think someone might be trying to tell me something but I'm going to ignore it and go get a new set of stirrup irons.  The moral of the story folks is learn to ride without being dependent on your stirrups, you never know when you might loose one...

Happy Trails!

Falling in to Winter

This week in east Tennessee was a warm one.  Today's high was around 68 degrees which is pretty darn warm even for this area.  In fact, today was our local Christmas parade and I can remember every other year I've been here it has been bitterly cold and I've not wanted to go.  I didn't realize the parade was today otherwise I might have gone, but then I would have missed excellent riding weather.  And one can't miss excellent riding weather this time of year.  The fall is coming to a close and we are headed in to winter.  We've been blessed with mild temperatures so far but everyone is calling for a cold winter this year because last year was mild.  So, I'm going to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.

Earlier this week Chief and I hit the trails on our own.  We took the Creek trail to connect up to Pumpkin Patch Hill.  Chief was being lazy on the uphill per usual and I kept having to urge him on.  But as we made it to the top of the hill we then cut across to Rocky Top trail.  There is a nice flat spot for cantering through the first part so I took the opportunity to try out asking for the right lead.  Yes, we are still working on leads and though Chief has gotten much better, he still isn't consistent.  I'm also trying to make my signals less obvious. Right now I am holding his head to the left hard and using the inside right leg hard to signal a right lead and while it is effective, if I were in a show ring it would be pretty ugly.  So, we are working on consistency and being a little more subtle.  Midway through the Rocky Top trail you have to cross the gravel road which gives you a nice view of the area.  The picture below is of the little pond and in the distance is a little white building.  That building is a church that you pass on the drive up to the barn.  This time of year with the leaves all down, you really can see for some distance.

   From there we headed back down towards the Submarine trail.  There are some nice flat spots to canter here as well.  But we had to stop and take in the view of the creek as it really was a nice afternoon.

There are a lot of new trees down, luckily most of them have fallen away from the trail rather than on it.  But you can see this tree has made it into the creek.  I guess we've had our share of inclement weather recently which brings the trees down.  From the Submarine trail Chief and I headed up the short route home towards the other ponds rather than the Creek trail.  Prior to hitting the trail, we had spent a little time in the arena so I knew Chief was getting a bit tired.  So I thought the short route home would be a good idea.  It was a nice little ride and we added some time to the log book.

Til next time, happy trails!

3 Alternate Uses For Your Riding Crop

People ask me why I carry a crop when I go trail riding.  Aside from the obvious answer, I have a lazy horse that often needs encouragement to go faster, there are a couple of other reasons I take the crop along.

Use 1:  Fly Swatter
In the summer time, the flies and gnats can be really annoying for both Chief and me so I carry a crop as a fly swatter.  For me, when the gnats keep flying around my face, I swish it around my shoulders, bouncing from one shoulder to the other and back.  This keeps those little buggers from buzzing around my ears.  Also, Chief is plagued by those sweat flies that like to attack his ears.  I put plenty of bug spray on but he sweats and then its all over, enter the flies.  So, I use the crop to brush the flies off of his ears so he doesn't have to shake his head so much.  WARNING:  Be sure to desensitize your horse to the crop so you don't spook him by touching his ears on a ride.  As I get close to the barn, while we are cooling off after a long ride, I do weird stuff while in the saddle to try and throw Chief off.  Since he's tired this a great time to do funky stuff like run the crop over his hind end, over his ears, shift around a lot in the saddle, etc.  This gets your horse used to you not sitting prim and proper so if something spooks him or you, he won't be thrown off by you wiggling around.  It's also good in case kids ever ride your horse, gets them used to the unexpected.

Use 2:  Trail Clearer
Trails are always a work in progress in that there are often trees across the trail or bushes grow and enter the trail space.  These branches and bushes are sometimes hard to grab while riding so I use a crop to push the branches out of my way.  This can be helpful especially while going faster than a trot and keeps you from getting scraped up.

Use 3:  Brier Remover
Just like bushes and trees, briers often take over the trail especially in the summer.  Since chaps aren't a possibility in the summer, (just because its too hot) getting briers off the trail before they get to you can be a big deal.  Those briers hurt and typically will go through a pair of jeans so having a crop on the trail to push those aside keeps you from getting scraped up.

So, on your next trail ride take a crop along and have it handy for multiple uses. The crop you choose to use is also important.  I have a red one so in case I drop it, it is easy to find.  Those English black ones blend in to the scenery so having one a different color like red will stand out if you drop it.  Of course use the little wrist let on the end, but crazy things happen sometimes.

Happy Trails!

3 Baby Products to Use On Your Horse

After working at a dude ranch, a boarding barn, and now being a horse owner, I've come across some products that you may have in your home that can be used around the barn too.  Turns out a few baby products are very useful in the horse world.

Product 1:  Baby powder
Got a creaky saddle?  Put baby powder under the skirt of your western saddle to eliminate that creaky noise.  Its a very simple technique, all you have to do is apply liberally.  This works for several months at a time.  If the noise comes back, just reapply.

Product 2:  Desitin
Desitin is used to eliminate diaper rash most commonly, but it has another use for pink nosed horses.  Horses like Chief that have a pink nose often suffer from sunburn in the summer.  Get a tube of Desitin and apply liberally to the nose.  This product is packed with zinc so it soothes sores that occur from sunburn.  And the zinc also acts as as sunscreen to product the skin from further damage.  The smell isn't fun for the horse, but they get over it just like using any other product on them.

Product 3:  Baby Oil
This one is one of my favorites.  For those of us with gelding horses, sheath cleaning is a chore that we don't really like all that much.  So to lengthen the time between sheath cleanings, when your horse is "hanging out" squirt some baby oil on his manly part.  The oil lubricates the area and helps to keep it clean thereby lengthening the time between cleanings.  I do this every couple of months or when I happen to notice Chief is hanging out.  Every horse is different in the frequency of sheath cleanings.  I've known some horse owners to clean once a month and others once a year.  Chief usually avoids any problems with a cleaning twice a year with baby oil in between cleanings.  Try it out and see what works for you.

Got any other products that we use in our daily lives that gets taken to the barn?  Feel free to share.

Fall Trails

Well today was a most beautiful day in south east Tennessee so Chief and I decided to hit the trails.  The sun was shining, it was kind of cool but mostly warm, and the leaves were changing.

We started off on the Creeks trail and headed up Pumpkin Patch hill were I took this shot just looking straight up.  Chief had gotten tired of walking up the hill and took a little break.  I thought he was stopping to poo as he often does, but he was up to his trickery and was just pausing for a short little rest.  As long as he was resting, I figured I could take advantage of it.
As we headed up the hill, we then stopped at a little spot on the trail I call Inspiration Point.  There is a short trail that leads to the top of a rock outcropping and its got a nice little view.

The leaves looked amazing with the sun shining down on them.  So since Chief was being lazy, we hung out there for a minute.  Then it was on to the Big Pond.   I love the big pond this time of year.  The quickest way to the pond via trail (not gravel road) has a big tree across it so its impassable, so we took the long way.  The long way consists of going down the hill to go back up and around down to the pond.  I discovered today, this way has a few trees across it too.  I honestly haven't been on that part of the trail for a long time, but we made it around none the less.  As we went down to the pond it was apparent no one else had used this trail in awhile as it was hard to make it onto the pond trail for all of the briars.  But, we four wheeled our way through.  The Big Pond trail is nice and flat and clear so we took a nice little gallop around the pond.  I might add here that Chief is doing excellent in picking up the correct leads.  For those working on correct leads, all I can say is you must be consistent and keep at it, they will eventually come around.

We stopped to take a good picture at the pond.  Chief was looking back at me like "Can't we go already?"  Silly horse...
From here we cut across the Strawberry Fields devoid of strawberries this time of year and ended up on the Rocky Top trail.  We then cut down to the Creeks Trail which I had planned to take us home.  However, there was a large black snake that disagreed with this route.  He was about 4 feet long and was across the trail.  While he was just a black snake, I really didn't want Chief to be bitten by a snake and then forever be scared of every stick that looks like a snake.  So, we turned around and took the trail between the little ponds home.  As most of you know, black snakes are good snakes, they are non-poisonous and they eat other snakes.  Anything that gets rid of snakes, even if it is a snake, is a good creature in my mind.  So I thought it best to let him be.  We could have tried to sneak by him, but he really was pretty much the width of the trail and I saw no reason to chance getting bitten.  Chief is appreciative I'm sure.  Although I'm pretty sure he thought that snake was just a stick...

So it was an eventful ride, but it was a pretty one, and we had a nice day.  After the ride, I decided Chief needed a bath and since this is liable to be one of the last pretty days of the year I decided to take advantage of it and give him a bath.  It was a spa day for him as he also got his toes painted and mane and tail combed.  Ahhh to be a horse...

Til next time!

Happy Trails Photos

Great news!  A couple of the photos from this blog made the poster and calendar for the American Paint Horse Association.  How cool is that?  Chief is now famous!  Chief made the insert in the month of July

He's down at the bottom corner there.  And then he also made the poster.

He is right under the "2013 APHA Calendar," its another ear shot from the trail. If you want to get a copy of this gorgeous calendar, you can do so by checking out APHA's website:  http://store.apha.com/search?q=calendar.

Til next time!