Most of you have heard by now that we have lost a great cowboy, trainer, dear friend and one of the finest horsemen ever. Doug Williamson passed after a long battle with cancer. He will be missed by many but forgotten by none. My 2 favorite quotes from Doug are, “When a horse’s head is high (well above its withers) all its brain dribble out and he can’t think properly!” and “You should never apply more pressure to the bit than it takes to back your horse up.”
I think of Doug every time I quote him and whenever I do the exercise I’m going to share with you below. I smile now thinking all the awesome horses he’s riding out in that great pasture in the sky!!
Circle-Stop-Sweep I’d like to share one of Doug’s favorite exercises to do on a horse with you. Doug used to say, “The circle-stop-sweep, warms up my horse’s body for any situation. It doesn’t matter if I’m reining, cutting or doing fence work. The drill allows my horse to get his physical and mental game tuned in.” Doug used to begin the drill by loping in easy, relaxed circles, coming to an easy stop, then backing a couple of steps, loading up the horse’s hindquarters for action. With the horse’s feet squarely up under his center of gravity, the horse is ready to sweep, or turn move out in any direction with propulsion. The main cue that Doug would give was just enough direct rein to barely see the eye in the direction the horse was traveling, and using the indirect (outside) rein towards the opposite hip to prevent too much bend. The neck rein laid against the middle of the horse’s neck in line with the opposite hip helps keep the rear end engaged and keeping the front end from getting too much bend. The “sweep” is an approximately 180* turn before loping off on the other lead.
It’s a great exercise for all purposes, but here’s how it works for the cow work. Loping an easy circle, then stop, loading up on the hindquarters and a 180* turn towards the outside (where the cow would be), teaches him to think stop and back up before making any turn. A 180* turn is all we ever need on a cow. It’s important for the rider to balance without squeezing his knees or clamping his legs, as that will cause the horse to go forward towards the cow. That causes the horse to roll up into the cow and get behind it, losing control and chasing it across the arena. Doug also said, “It’s important to keep some weight in the outside stirrup so as not to lose your balance.” He might use the direct rein to hint at directionality, but once the turn is initiated he likes to let the horse have the cow. Because the repetition of this exercise, the horse thinks stop and rock straight back before turning on a cow too and will automatically load up his outside hind leg in preparation for the turn. This puts a slight arc in its body with nose and butt being slightly closer to the cow and rib and shoulder slightly moved away. Without that slight arc, the horse is likely to turn on its inside hind leg, which tends to push the horse towards the cow instead of exiting parallel to it. “When the cow takes him, my bridle reins are loose and the cow draws him through the turn.”
This is how the circle- stop- sweep helps Doug with the cow work. It reminds him to always back up before turning and he’s got to back up straight with the butt towards the direction he’s going to turn. If all goes as planned, the horse will be pushing off on the outside hind leg. He is physically prepared to go with and stay with the cow.
We love you Doug and you’ll be sorely missed by all!
Here’s a question that you may have heard before: If you had to pick between receiving $1,000,000 today or the value of $0.01 doubled every day for 30 days, which would you pick?
I’ve heard this question before, but recently a mentor of mine who worked in finance challenged me to prove the benefits of compounding interest to myself.
Doing it took a few minutes, but it provided some valuable insights.
Here are the calculations (my insights below): As of Day 10, the doubling penny is worth only $5.12.
As of Day 20, the penny is worth approximately $5,000. At this point choosing that doubling penny still seems like a poor choice.
On Day 27, which is 3 days before the 30 days ends, the penny is worth approximately $670,000. Now, that’s a lot of money for that penny to have turned into but still a lot less than $1,000,000.
But on Day 28 is the first time the doubling penny’s value exceeds $1,000,000. At that point, the penny is worth approximately $1,300,000. Until 2 days before the deadline, that penny seemed like a bad investment.
As of Day 30, that doubling penny is worth an incredible $5,368,709.12.
Approximately $4,700,000 of that growth occurred between days 28 through 30.
So, what’s my point?
My point is all of us strive every day towards pursuits that we have and we love (our horses and our riding), and sometimes it feels like we’re not making progress, especially during the tough times when progress is slow and success is elusive.
The reality is that the doubled efforts will eventually add up to huge gains. Sometimes, it just takes those few extra days for those gains to exponentially increase! So, rise to the challenge and persevere through the times when it seems like you’re not gaining with your horse and you’ll be rewarded when you least expect! Remember slow and steady wins the race and as Greg Ward used to say, “If you improve your horse 1% a day, in 100 days, your horse will be 100% better!” Now that’s doable and well worth striving for!
I hope that you find some inspiration in that like I did. Be well. Be safe.
The summer show season is upon us! And while it brings longer days and time for more shows, it also brings warmer weather and its own set of challenges for you and your horses.
Any animal expected to perform at its top level should be regularly evaluated by a veterinarian during show season. This will allow you to stay ahead of any impending lameness issues which could become problematic under the different training and footing conditions at a show. Hot weather can present additional risks to the horse which you can help prevent with your trainer and veterinarian ahead of time. The two most common clinical problems we see at summer horse shows are colic and shipping fever.
Colic, which is described as the outward clinical symptoms due to abdominal pain, can be caused by many different factors including the following three common culprits: dehydration, a change in diet, and stress. Since the show environment often exacerbates these factors, particularly in the summer, it is common to see colic at horse shows. Even in a perfect management scheme, horses can still experience colic. Although these are quite variable, many episodes of colic are started by the three factors listed above and then progress to something more severe. There are several key steps you can take to mitigate these factors and decrease the odds of your horse experiencing colic this summer.
Dehydration is one of the key factors that lead to colic. Making sure your horse is well hydrated before hauling and during the trip so that there is less “catching up” to do upon arrival is one way you can stay ahead of dehydration. This can be easier said than done as some horses don’t drink very well while traveling. You can encourage a horse to drink by adding a daily electrolyte powder supplement in their feed 3-5 days before leaving and continuing through the show and trip home. Alternatively, you can administer an electrolyte paste starting 2-3 days before leaving and continuing daily. A salt lick in the stall or feed trough also helps keep the horse drinking well year-round. Be sure to offer water at each stop along the way and when the horse arrives. Some horses do not like the taste of new water at different venues, and you might choose to offer water mixed with apple juice or Gatorade to help encourage them to drink better. If you do this, always make sure to hang a second bucket of plain water as not all horses like flavored water.
Another common way horses colic is an abrupt change in diet. Most of us travel with enough of their own feed to last throughout the show for the shorter ones, but since many shows are quite long, it is often impractical to haul enough. So, sometimes you will have to change the hay portion of your horse’s diet at shows. Something as common as a slight change in hay can stress a horse’s delicate GI tract which can lead to colic. However, if the transition to the new hay is done slowly, the GI tract usually has time to adjust to the new hay and colic can be prevented. In order to ease the transition, start folding the new hay in slowly with the hay brought along on the trip so the change is less abrupt.
Stress manifests itself in different ways in horses, and gastric ulcers is a very common symptom of stress. Gastroprotectants are particularly useful in show horses since a large percentage of them have at least a minor amount of gastric upset during hauling and showing. Omeprazole, found in Gastrogard and Ulcergard, is made up of proton pump blockers that reduce the production of acid in the stomach. This is doubly effective as it heals ulcers that are already present and helps prevent new ones from forming. Pump blockers must be started three days before hauling since they are absorbed in the small intestine and work through the bloodstream.
The stress of hauling can also manifest in another way, which brings us to our other most common clinical problem seen at shows: shipping fever. Shipping fever is a condition where horses commonly develop a fever after hauling a long distance or upon arrival in a new environment. The two main reasons for this are bacterial pneumonia from airborne debris and particulate matter and exposure to a viral pneumonia agent such as the equine herpes virus or equine influenza. Horses have a long trachea, and the cilia that helps them clear mucous and debris from their lungs and airway is not very efficient. They really need the ability to lower their head to help clear their airway. Long trailer rides with their heads tied up make this difficult. Compounding this issue is dry bedding containing urine or manure and hay that swirls around in the trailer and becomes inhaled as well as drier dustier conditions during the summer at show grounds. If some of this dust contains bacteria and settles in the lungs without being cleared out, it can set up an infection. Likewise, exposure to viral agents in new environments around new horses can lead to infection. This pneumonia leads to fever and systemic illness, loss of appetite, depression, increased respiratory rate, and sometimes coughing. Since the fever is often the first sign, this condition has been dubbed “shipping fever”.
It is a good idea to check temperatures upon arrival and call a veterinarian to treat early if any abnormality exists. If the pneumonia is not caught and treated early, it can lead to a very serious and difficult to treat condition called pleuropneumonia which is an infection outside the lungs but inside the chest cavity. In most of those cases the horse will not get to show, they will require hospitalization and longer term treatment, and will have to stay after the show until they are healthy enough to haul home.
Prevention strategies for bacterial pneumonia shipping fever include decreasing exposure to dust by using larger shavings as bedding, wetting hay, allowing horses to lower their head while hauling, and feeding on the ground when possible. Immune stimulants, discussed later, can also help. The chances of viral pneumonia can also be decreased by adequate vaccination. It can be helpful to have your horses vaccinated for influenza and rhino (equine herpes virus) within the 6 months prior to showing (they have to be given at least twice yearly requiring an initial vaccine and then a booster to achieve adequate systemic immunity.) Also, the intranasal product called Flu-Avert can be effective. It activates a local nasal immunity to these pathogens almost immediately and for a short-term period. Immune stimulants given as a series at least a week prior to hauling have been effective at decreasing illness. Your veterinarian can advise to the appropriate product based on your horse and availability. Products like Eq-Stim and Zylexis are given as a series of shots to help boost the immunity of the horse and make them more effective at fighting off infection.
Using a few simple strategies outlined above such as keeping your horse well-hydrated, easing the transition to new hay, modifying your hauling techniques, and administering some preventative gastroprotectant, vaccination, and immunostimulation strategies prior to hauling can help keep your horse healthier at shows, especially during the summer. It’s a lot easier and less expensive to keep your horse from getting sick than to treat him if he does.
Back in April of 2021, I wrote an article on sworls/whorls/swirls. I find it fascinating and many times a good predicter of certain equine characteristics and disposition. I recently saw an article in Western Horseman that had a few new ones on me, so see what you think. If you have photos of a horse with some of the more bizarre sworls, please send them to us and be sure to weigh in on what you notice about your horse and its sworls.
Interestingly, the brain and hair are created at the same time, from the same embryonic layer, so there appears to be some science in the correlation of the two as it relates to fear response and trainability.
Several very famous equine folks have studied this (Doug Carpenter, Temple Grandin, and Linda Tellington Jones to name a few).
Sworls can be clockwise or counterclockwise on their face, chest, legs, back, neck, poll, stomach and flank. Has anyone noticed a difference in the horse who has sworls that go counterclockwise?
The normal place for a forehead sworl is directly between the eyes. If it is higher, they can be busy minded and lower can mean more complacent. See below how to guage if your horse’s is high, low or just in the middle.
The tighter the hair is coiled, the more focused their mind will be.
Double or triple whorls on the head or neck can indicate multiple personalities. Boy, have I seen that one be true!
A girth whorl can indicate a horse who’s cinchy. I’ve seen that one bear out also.
Here are a few I’d never heard before: a sworl on the check can be a bad omen for debt or ruin!
Mules often have sworls on their ears, a sign of focused energy.
Horses with no poll whorls don’t flex vertically very easily. I have seen horses with whorls half way down their neck that didn’t break at the poll but instead tried to break furth down their neck and also when they’ve had one on only one side of their neck, be less supple in that direction.
A horse will carry it’s head higher if it has a sworl under it’s throatlatch.
A centered chest whorl was thought to indicate prosperity. (I’m not sure if that means for the horse or the owner though!)
A back whorl can indicate a bucker.
If a horse has front leg whorls on the back or the side of them, he can be shorterstrided.
A tail whorl can indicate a horse who will wring it’s tail.
We’d love to hear your observations and see pictures of any out of the ordinary whorls you’ve seen!
