My World Blog

I grew up on a cattle ranch.  My family has been ranching in the Klamath Basin for really close to 100 years. I first rode a horse as a toddler. No matter what has been going on in my life since then I’ve ridden my horses or other peoples horses….moving cattle, riding miles into rugged wilderness areas, helping friends get young horses started by accompanying them for their first rides out, and casual rides though so many of the beautiful scenic areas we have to enjoy here in the Klamath Basin. I’ve trained many horses for myself and others and work diligently to improve my horsemanship skills.  I’ve also taken more than 250,000 photos of ranch and ranch rodeo folks in eastern Oregon, northern Nevada and northern California to get the 150,000 photos that people can see on my website. The ranching community has  a culture built around cattle and horses that we all generally agree to. We share our skills so there is a lot of knowledge about the health and well being of our stock. Ranch animals generally have a herd to run with, plenty of exercise, space and pastures to graze. The result for the animals is that I haven’t seen much colic, ruined legs, ruined feet, behavorial problems rooted in boredom and lack of discipline, and ulcers in the ranch world….problems that are common with stable horses.

Now I keep my horse Rio in a stable.  Its not important which stable. Any place where horses are closely confined I hear has the same problems. And the problems are so prevalent that horse owners who have always stabled their horses or who are new horses owners don’t have the outside-looking-in perspective that I have from living in both the ranch and the stable worlds. As well intentioned and loving owners wanting to do only the best for their horses, they feel passionately that by caring for their horses like the other stabled horse owners they’ve learned from, and buying the greenest prettiest looking hay that they are doing the right thing.  I can understand that, I felt the same way about the ways I’d learned on the ranch before I had to adapt to the stabled horse environment.

Here are my thoughts and observations for consideration

Rio is a part mustang raised on my uncles wild horse sanctuary.  He is a hybrid mix of mustang, quarter horse and Northern Dancer thoroughbred bloodlines…he’s a big, seal-brown animal who has the healthy feet that wild horses have, sturdy legs, and the best  features of his blue roan dam and sorrel colored sire….only his wild mustang head and long mane speak of his Nevada-captured mother’s heritage. I was shocked when I was introduced one by one to his stable mates. Navicular and hoof abcesses here and all kinds of special shoes and pads there, crippled crooked legs, ulcers, colic a few times, tiny mis-shapened feet, as many unrideable horses as rideable….many behavioral problems. I very quickly began a search of how these horses were being cared for so that I could learn what NOT TO DO to keep Rio healthy.

What I found was a different culture from the ranch culture….a stable culture centered not on horses as working partners but horses as pets and hobbies.  So in addition to health and behavioral problems I see blanketing year around; horses in stalls with small paddocks, some of whom are let out for exercise for short bursts of intense activity without proper warm up,  then improperly cooled down; lonely, bored horses standing day and night in their small area with maybe a turn out once in a while, but all by themselves, where they pace frantically up and down the fence; all kinds of bandages, wraps and boots on legs; and, occasionally, harsh visor-like contraptions on heads to help inexperienced riders keep control. I also see more owners who don’t know how to ride and handle horses than people who do which has directly resulted in several serious injuries to the people and many more near misses. And finally, I see horses too young to be ridden being pushed hard while they are actively growing and changing, developing bone and tendon damage and in some cases, life threatening injuries.

I didn’t know what to do in the beginning.  First thing. What were the others doing? After an extensive search on the internet, I came to the conclusion that they were “loving” their horses to death. Let me summarize what I think are the most important reasons why:

• feed meant for dairy cattle but not horses–alfalfa and grassy alfalfa–so rich it can founder susceptible horses and I suspect adversely affect growth in young horses and pregnant mares. Plus it’s generally fed in such small portions that horses live with empty stomachs most of the time, increasing the risk for ulcers and colic. Removing alfalfa and other rich hays from stabled horses diets is like suggesting treason, I know, as it is so commonly fed to stabled horses, but I think it is a real problem to stabled horses health;

• lack of exercise, stimulation and social interaction with other horses. Stabled horses generally aren’t ridden more than an hour at a time if that and then only every once in a while is usually the case.Then they go back to their stall to stand for the next day or days or sometimes months on end;

•too much rich grain and supplements;

•and blanketing which stresses the horses when it interferes with their own attempts to regulate their body temperature naturally.

• I see horses who have been crippled by shoeing when stabled horses probably shouldn’t be shod because they are not active enough and improper trimming that leaves hooves so short that horses have been lamed for weeks.

•Well-meaning but terribly inexperienced owners, many of whom seem to be Parelli followers….which I observe is not a good system for inexperienced people trying to handle their horses without highly experienced support. The biggest challenge to inexperienced riders seems to be the fear and intimidation they feel. The horses sense it and take advantage of it starting a downward cycle of events that often leads to injury for the horse or person. This process is hard to stop because people who “luuuuv” their horses don’t want to get tough with them, thinking they are being mean and cruel. Oh my gosh it’s hard for me to watch! An undisciplined horse is dangerous not only to the owners but to others like me.

All that being said, I have kept Rio healthy and thriving for three years. Of course it could be just luck but he’s the only way I can prove that what I believe works until others try it too with hopefully the same success.

•I have learned to follow natural horse and hoof care which might not be necessary for ranch horses (who generally live naturally anyway) but I think it is critical to the health of stabled horses.

• Rio gets as much natural meadow grass hay as he can eat (twice as much as any other horse in the barn) to keep hay going through his digestive system as much of the time as possible, helping prevent ulcers and colic. He has maintained a good healthy weight this whole time and is not over weight.

•I throw it on the ground so he can eat with his head in a grazing position.

•During the day he hangs out (and plays hard) with his gelding buddies in a large pasture making him a very happy horse. Many owners won’t allow their horses to have these vital social experiences because they’re afraid they will get hurt. I say in response that the damage to their horse both physically and emotionally that comes from standing around in a stall year around is much worse than the scrapes and missing hide Rio experiences from the endless rough housing he does with his friends.

•He gets a small portion of grain, just enough to get him to eat a mineral supplement to make sure he gets enough selenium.

•He has plenty of fresh water and a mineral block.

•I have a natural hoof trim specialist care for his feet which are as healthy as any she has seen she says.

•I don’t blanket him no matter how cold it is so that his winter coat can grow properly, and he can fluff up when he needs to hold heat in and lay his hair down when he needs to cool off…important in the Klamath Basin where the sun can be shining one minute and it can be a freezing, blowing blizzard the next. The weight of a blanket impairs this natural response to heat or cold and leaves them mostly too hot or too cold I observe….because I’ve been paying attention.

•I never use boots or any other leg contraptions that chaffe and rub. I prefer bringing my horse along slowly enough (taking years instead of weeks) that he learns to maneuver without interfering with himself. He might bump himself a few times but he learns from that. (Which reminds me, folks who use leg wraps on dusty, wet, and/or muddy trail rides NEED TO TAKE THEM OFF AND NOT USE THEM.)

•I have a friendly relationship with Rio, but I’m in charge and he knows that.

In a perfect world horses would all be trained the old traditional vaquero way which I follow. It factors in the impact to young horse’s bodies of too much, too soon. Years ago, horses were not started until they were 5-6 years old. Nowadays, with so much pressure to start horses at 2 years old, the old ways have been adapted so that 2 year olds are just lightly ridden to prevent damage to growing bones and joints. This is in contrast to modern training where many young show horses are started at two years old and rammed and jammed during their formative years ending up physically and emotionally ruined by five years old. Most modern horses are started in a snaffle bit, and are often ridden their entire lives that way.

The old way is to start a horse in a snaffle bit or start the horse right from the gitgo in a hackamore, making sure that , especially thru the fourth year, when the horses’ teeth are in transition, that the horse’s sensitive mouth is protected by going bitless with the hackamore. At the beginning of the fifth year, the horse’s teeth are full size and now there is a good environment for him/her to start packing a bit using a “2-rein .” Control is still with a small hackamore, but the young horse can carry the bit and get used to it for another year to year and a half before he gradually transitions to “straight up” in the bridle.

Everything is done slowly during this time as a solid foundation is carefully built physically and emotionally for the horse. The ultimate goal is to put the horse into a spade “signal” bit but not many horsemen know how to do this anymore! This process, along with traditional vaquero training techniques, results in the highest level of harmony and communication with the horse that can be achieved in ranch riding. Rio is basically in the two-rein phase and likes the spade bit very much. I have taken him back to the snaffle though while we work on lead changes for a while.

There is strong resistance to change in the stabled horse world as there always is when habits are institutionalized. Because of my influence, many of the horses where I keep Rio are now being fed good grass hay, that’s very good. Unfortunately, though, the portions are still as small as ever which leaves horses hungry most of the time and which leaves them still vulnerable to colic and ulcers. The argument is that they put on too much weight. My response is that meadow grass hay is not nearly as rich so they can have a lot more of it and, if they are an easy keeper, exercise the horses enough to burn extra calories because it is more important to keep food on their stomachs.  None the less, I’ve seen some clear improvements in several horses that were here when I came three years ago. I’ve seen dramatic improvements in some of the horses that are getting natural hoof trims. On the downside, one hungry young horse in the pasture bit me recently trying to get to my wheelbarrow of manure to see if there were bites of hay she could eat.

The battle I’m clearly never going to win is blanketing. Though horses have not ever needed blankets, horse owners in stables are notorious for wanting to “help” their horse by covering it as they do themselves. Drives me nuts to see it! Poor horses…they suffer so as the temperature varies throughout the day and the blankets are not adjusted accordingly.

Now let me say this, at this point in my life, I’m in the category of people who have a horse for recreation. I understand how important a horse can be as a companion or even “pet”. Though I don’t get out in the country much any more, I still need a horse in my life.  I want to make clear I’m not critical of other horse owners for wanting to own a horse even when they don’t have much experience with them. Horses are great teachers and companions. Just would like to encourage new horse owners to ask for help when they need it, keep up on the latest horse health research, and I guess I would also recommend that brand new horse people not do Parelli. Get a ranch person to help you. That would make you so much safer.

To stable owners I would recommend passing out a natural horse care suggestion sheet to all new boarders. Charge by the bale for horses that are fed more hay.

In conclusion, I love my horse but I’m trying not to love him to death. Stabling a horse requires  so much more of a commitment than pasturing a horse. Owners often don’t have a sense of that and the animals suffer so. I’m hopeful that my thinking is correct as my horses health is at stake. Something clearly has to change and the place to start is for owners of stabled horses to not accept the status quo.

If you are reading this and don’t agree with me then I would welcome hearing what YOU think is the reason for the high incidence of physical and emotional problems with stabled horses.

Here is some reference material that leads into the world of natural care for stabled horses:

http://www.thehorseshoof.com/WhatIs.html

http://www.heelfirstlandings.com/faqs.htm

http://www.heelfirstlandings.com/hoof-abscesses_treatments.htm

http://www.heelfirstlandings.com/wildhorses.htm

And here is a wonderful S.Omar  Barker’s poem from  http://www.cowboypoetry.com that is perfect to go with this blog:

Horses Versus Hosses

I heard an oldtime cowboy swappin’ off some drawlin’ talk
About them nags men used to ride, who didn’t like to walk.
He spoke of them as hosses, so I up and asked him why
He didn’t call them horses.  Well, a gleam come in his eye,
And here is what he told me—be it right or be it wrong—
Some salty information that I’d like to pass along:

“You go out to the race track or some modern ridin’ school,
And what you’ll find ‘em ridin’ there is horses, as a rule.
You’ll see ‘em wrapped in blankets when they raise a little sweat,
And bedded in warm stables so they won’t git cold or wet.
Their saddle is a postage stamp; they’re combed and curried slick:
Their riders bobble up an’ down like monkeys on a stick.
Them purty tricks are horses, son, but that there ain’t the word
We used to call them shaggies that we rode behind the herd.
They might not be so purty, but they stayed outdoors at night.
They maybe weighed 900 pounds—all guts an’ dynamite.
They took you where you had to go an’ always brought you back,
Without no fancy rations that you purchase in a sack.
They loped all day on nothin’ but your two hands full of grass.
On a Stetson full of water they could climb a mountain pass.
They swum you through the rivers an’ they plowed you through the sand—
You an’ your heavy saddle, an’ they learned to understand
Which end of the cows the tail was on, till all you had to do
Was set up in the saddle while they did the cow work, too!
Sometimes they sorter dodged your rope, sometimes they bucked you high,
But they was sure the apple of the oldtime cowhands eye!
These stable-pampered critters may be horses sure enough,
But them ol’ cow range hosses, they was born to take it rough.
So that’s the way they took it, till they earned a tougher name
Than these here handfed horses, all so delicate an’ tame.

So you can have your horses, with their hifalutin’ gloss—
I’ll take four legged rawhide—or in other words, a hoss!”

© S. Omar Barker, reprinted with the permission of the estate of S. Omar Barker

Here’s a photo of Rio.

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