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Hendra toll: the search for truth
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Natasha Bita, Inside Story | August 18, 2008

KANDICE Pritchard could hear the ear-splitting screeches from a colony of flying foxes as she trudged through a paddock to feed her horses one chilly winter's morning.

Casemma, a mare, was hot to touch. Soon the animal started stumbling and throwing fits.

"I took her straight to the hospital," Ms Pritchard recalled yesterday. "They put her straight into a stable next to two other horses.

"I said to (the veterinary staff): 'I don't know what's going on, should she be going into a box with the other horses?"'

Just 17 hours later, on June 7, the horse died in the Redlands Veterinary Clinic, in Brisbane's southern bayside.

Ms Pritchard believes her mare, Casemma, was ground zero for what appears to be a mutated form of the killer Hendra virus.

Two more horses treated at the same veterinary hospital died before the clinic alerted Queensland's Department of Primary Industries a month later. Biosecurity Queensland, the government agency in charge of exotic disease control in animals, has concluded it was "improbable" that any of the trio died from Hendra virus, even though no samples could be conclusively tested.

By the time the clinic alerted authorities, five other horses were suffering inexplicable neurological problems, which were later discovered to be the result of the Hendra virus. Four died.

The only survivor, a racehorse named Tamworth, was destroyed on Friday by order of Queensland's Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin, acting on the advice of the federal Government's Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases.

The order to euthanase over-rode advice by the DPI's Hendra virus expert group, which had recommended the surviving horse, which beat the virus, be studied for a year, as a "low-risk" option to improve scientific knowledge.

Hendra Virus, named after the Brisbane racetrack suburb where it was first detected in 1994, is a deadly rabies-like disease that health authorities believe can be passed from bats to horses, and on to humans.

A vet and a nurse from the Redlands clinic remain seriously ill in hospital after being diagnosed six weeks ago with the virus, which killed horse trainer Vic Rail in 1994 and Mackay sugarcane farmer Mark Preston a year later.

The owners of horses which died in the Redlands clinic in the lead-up to the Hendra outbreak now want an independent inquiry. Two have lodged complaints with the Veterinary Surgeons Board, alleging the clinic did not properly sterilise equipment or thoroughly clean itsstables.

The Redland clinic's owner, David Lovell, sits on the Veterinary Surgeons' Board.

Dr Lovell said yesterday he would step aside should the board decide to investigate his clinic, but dismissed his former patients' complaints as "just ridiculous emotive rambling".

He denied that any of the first three horses had displayed the same symptoms as the five confirmed with Hendra Virus. Ms Pritchard's mare, he said, could have been poisoned from eating clippings from a hedge.

Ms Pritchard, however, said the hedge had been in the paddock for years. Instead, she pointed to a nearby colony of flying foxes, which are known to carry the Hendra virus.

Dr Lovell said the other two of the three horses that died - Loddy and Noddy - died of complications from pre-existing problems. But he admitted medical equipment was not sterilised between each horse being treated at the clinic, and that syringes sometimes were left in the stables.

"Oh, for God's sake, that's going to happen every now and again," he replied when asked about allegations from one owner that she had found a syringe in her horse's feed bin. "There'd be hundreds of syringes used every day ... there would be occasions where that would happen; I do it myself. For the volume of work that's done in the place the breakdowns are very minor as far as frequency is concerned."

Dr Lovell insisted his clinic's cleanliness was "well within the realms of industry standards".

"I'm sure we go to a lot of lengths that other people don't," he said. "I've got no problems with it. I think the issue will be what standards are going to be applied across the industry in future in light of what we've had here. There's never, ever been this sort of thing before."

Describing himself as the world expert on assessing horses with Hendra Virus, Dr Lovell insisted he had no idea what he was up against in the latest outbreak: "This is an entirely new disease. It's a bit tough to be able to anticipate something like that."

In earlier outbreaks of Hendra Virus, horses had respiratory problems; this time they had neurological symptoms.

Investigations by The Australian point to a chain of sickness between horses at the clinic. Ms Pritchard's mare, Casemma, had been stabled next to a Clydesdale, Loddy. Loddy's owner, Pam Smith, said she took her horse home when she considered him cured of kidney failure.

Five days later, he was running a fever. She rushed him back to the clinic for treatment, but he died the next day, on June 17.

Ms Smith said Loddy had been in a stall next to Regal Power, a stock stallion being treated for a broken jaw - and one of five horses the DPI diagnosed a couple of weeks later with Hendra Virus.

Tamworth, the $195,000 racehorse put down on Friday, went into Loddy's stable a few hours after the Clydesdale died.

A week later, owner Warren Small was at a barbecue when the clinic contacted him to say the horse was wobbling as if it had been doped. By the time the DPI placed the clinic in quarantine, Tamworth had recovered.

Leonie Parker, who lives in Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast hinterland, is convinced her Arabian stallion Noddy also died of Hendra Virus after colic surgery. Six days after she took her horse home, she noticed his limbs and testicles were swollen and took him back to hospital. He died a week later.

Noddy died two days before the DPI diagnosed the first case of Hendra Virus on June 26. In an interim epidemiology report, Biosecurity Queensland concludes that the first three horse deaths were "improbable cases" of the Hendra Virus.

Queensland's chief veterinarian, Ron Glanville, also said it was improbable that the first three horses died of Hendra Virus, even though no blood samples were tested or autopsies carried out.

In a letter to Ms Smith, he said tests of Loddy's blood smears were "negative for Hendra Virus but not conclusive". "I do not consider that we will ever know conclusively either way," he wrote in an email on August 11.

The Hendra horses probably had been infected through "nose to nose contact", he said. "They were in adjoining stalls with just wire mesh between them. If there's equipment used on an infected horse and then on a non-infected horse, that could potentially spread the virus."

Dr Lovell said his clinic's equipment was sterilised daily. "They're cleaned in between each horse, that means flushing it out and cleaning it with disinfectant," he said. Asked about allegations the stalls were not always cleaned between each horse, he said: "We have a full team of people who are working all day, every day cleaning the stalls."

 

 

 

 

 

Got to give it to this Guy. He bagged Dressage on his Radio Show. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

16th August, 2008

TEA TREE GULLEY COUNCIL

We attended the Council Meeting at the Pegasus Pony Club yesterday, which ended up taking in a tour of the District as well. Finally, the 'cards were put on the table' which was much appreciated. We went along with an open mind, always ready to be flexible and understanding of the needs of the District as this is a Re-Cycling of Storm Water scheme that the Council is wanting to build. Unfortunately though, they want the 55 year old Pegasus Pony Club to put it on. There could have been other sites no doubt.

As I said however, Jim Thompson has always been mindful of the fact that the Club grounds have always been restrictive to the expansion and the successful running of Shows as Float Parking gets just too squeezed, hence the open mind.  Council Bosses came with a number of alternative site options for the Club, such as along side the Motor Bike Track that I had spoken about, as well as others that would be lease basis on Mining Lands that at some time into the future, the Club would no doubt on the move again.

The Doors are about to close on the City of Tea Tree Gulley as it has been most evident that there is very little Land left, which has seen the Council Officers scratching to even find alternative sites for the Club and certainly, they couldn't find a permanent one. Both Jim Thomson and I have been warning Council since 1993, personally, in meetings, hundreds of emails but our words have fallen on deaf ears. Council have not had any visionaries.

The Meeting was going along well, co-operatively, getting the heads together and so on but then came a moment that I think shocked the Ward Councilors who were present. Barry Winter, Jim McLafity (sp) and Bernie Keane. What could only be described as a COUNCIL THUG, who was interestingly dressed in Black, interrupted proceedings with more intimidation of safety works that needed to be immediately carried out on the Club Rooms, to make them legal again. He threw a list of demands on the desk at Jim who was visibly upset. This was the epitome of all that is wrong with the Tea Tree Gulley Council and none of this would have been written here today if they had have continued to act with Honor but no, the nasty work is obviously ingrained deeply into this Council which is self destruction as we speak. That is what happens to any organization that becomes ruthless and deceitful in it's dealings with those who it is supposed to be helping. It was obvious to me that he was there with the blessing of those in charge, which signaled the bad old ways were still at play in the way that Council deals with it's constituents and you can just imagine the dampener on proceedings. What organization in it's right mind would pull such a stunt in the middle of such an important meeting for all, if they wanted good outcomes? Executive Management at it's worse.

You see, I can tell that Jim Thompson has been under a lot of strain over all of this and his Health is suffering for it. He just wants to leave the job, safe in the knowledge that he has handed the Club over that has a secure future. So now we have to look at the background and the History of the dealings. Sorry International guests, skip reading all of this but the Locals around here will want to know.

Back in April, Jim Thompson was summons to Council and the News of the grab for Pegasus was announced cold Turkey. Once again, Jim was roughed up with a document revealing a Council survey of the Club required a figure of $70,000 to be immediately spent to make it legal. Over the last few months, it became obvious that the real figure was about $8,000 as the Club diligently went about fixing all of the problems. Spending most of their savings. But you see, Council wants the Building as their site office for the Works Depot which has to be re-located from Harpers Field as the New Oval nears completion. So if the Club agrees to re-locate, Council gets the works. Good onya :) Meanwhile, they throw millions at other Sports in the District and have spent $3,000 on the Club in 55 years. Go figure.

There has been much turmoil in this Council and it is still ongoing. The Chief Executive Greg Perkin (who I met in his office 5 years ago to think about Pegasus) has resigned and now the future City Manager, Bill Chandler is going. Meanwhile, another Boss is on stress leave and other trouble is brewing.

Anyhow, then, half way through the Meeting, came a new proposal. No, it's not an episode of Dallas :) That Council would attempt to alter the drawings of the recycling Tanks to only take a small part of the Pegasus grounds and to co-exist. Even in the face of it all and the unfair manner of dealing, Pegasus remains with an open mind, wanting to do the right thing by all and in the end, just cater for the Recreation and Health of the Youth of the District. Hell, I just realized.....that admirable aim was almost forgotten :( By the way, congratulations to Manager Brenton Curtis. Council could well be served by taking a leaf out of his book. Nice, fair and honest bloke. Jim will take it all to his Members.

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Here we go again....

SAVE THE ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS

 

Hi All!

With the Aussie eventing community on a high at the moment with our Olympic Team Silver, it is important that we make the most of the positive news coverage to help save the Australian International 3 Day Event!

The event desperately needs your support as it is currently open for public consultation by the Adelaide City Council. So please visit the link below and fill in the submission form ticking the 'Support the application' box!

http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/scripts/nc.dll?ADCC:STANDARD::pc=PC_151127

Our Aussie eventers need this event more than ever so show your support!

Kind Regards,
Amelia.

--
Amelia Weston
Ph: (08) 8388 4580
Mobile: 0407 976 845

PO Box 622
Oakbank SA 5243
Amelia.Weston@gmail.com

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THANKS TO INTERNATIONAL GUESTS.

My thanks to the many kind words of thanks to the rapidly increasing International guests to this website. My wife and I thank you.

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Use of horse wormers being surveyed

How horse owners use wormers is central to important research in Britain into the growing resistance of equine parasites.
Information from the online survey will be used to analyze horse owner's current beliefs and practices relating to the control of intestinal parasites.

Keith Allison, from the University of Reading's Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics Research Unit (VEERU), said resistance to worming agents is increasing worldwide and existing strategies to control intestinal parasites are becoming unsustainable.

"A key issue is that the main patterns of equine wormer use are not known, which is important when studying the development of resistant strains," he explained.

"We know that horse owners are often busy people so we have kept the questions as straightforward as possible.

"This questionnaire takes around five to ten minutes to complete - if you don't want to finish it in one go, there is a very easy way of saving it and returning later."

British horse owners who complete the question will be making a valuable contribution to this important research, he said.

The research will help understand the contribution of inappropriate use of wormers to the growing resistance problem.

The survey seeks UK respondents only.

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GERMANY CLAIMS DRESSAGE GOLD


     As expected after Wednesday's first session, it was the Germans who claimed Dressage team gold at the Sha Tin Olympic Stadium in Hong Kong last night, with victory sealed by an emphatic test from Isabell Werth and Satchmo in the closing stages.

The Gold Medal winning German team. © Kit Houghton/FEI
The Netherlands had to settle for silver while Denmark earned their first-ever Olympic dressage team medal when taking bronze. And the Americans, compromised by a below-par performance from Debbie McDonald and Brentina who simply failed to show their sparkle, finished just outside the medal zone in fourth ahead of Sweden in fifth and Great Britain in sixth.

Werth's mark of 76.417% was earned with a near-flawless display that oozed confidence and determination and put her at the top of the individual leaderboard, but she put her country's success down to just one thing - "the whole team really pulled together, we were working for each other and supporting each other. I'm really happy and it's very exciting because a lot of people didn't believe in us after the European Championship last year but we really proved ourselves today!" she said.


Germanys' Isabel Werth on Satchmo

German spirits had already been lifted by Heike Kemmer's first-day leading score of 72.250% and that continued to be the target in the early stages tonight when Spain's Juan Manuel Munoz was first into the arena with the high-stepping stallion Fuego who registered a mark of 66.083%. It was Denmark's Nathalie Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein who first broke the 70.000 mark however when her lovely Danish Warmblood gelding Digby showed fabulous piaffe and passage along with correct canter-work, and when they put 70.417% on the board, the Danes were very definitely on the rise.

In order to capitalize on Kemmer's first-day advantage it was always going to be essential that Germany's second rider, Nadine Capellmann, kept the pressure on with a good result from Elvis and she did not disappoint although she was critical of her own performance. "I was not pleased with the piaffe but in general it was good although there were some small mistakes. It could be that I was trying for too much and in the end I got less. My first mistake was in my first extended trot," she explained after scoring 70.083%.

She wasn't the only one who thought she could have done better; America's Debbie McDonald was devastated by her performance with the 17-year-old Brentina who seemed to struggle all the way through. "I don't know what to say, I just feel awful, I know I've finished the team," she said after the judges awarded her a mark of 63.000%. "It felt terrible and I knew when we got to the pirouettes it was just a bad day. She was much different in the warm-up - it took me by surprise as much as anything else," she added, looking shocked and distressed.

Everyone wondered if Anky Van Grunsven could pull the Dutch back into the game with one of her dazzling displays of brilliance with Salinero but when she recorded a mark of 74.750 to take the individual lead it was clear that The Netherlands were unlikely to stay far enough ahead to claim the ultimate prize. "I couldn't take all the risks," she said. "I almost wanted to do too much but I had to be safe for the team - in the Grand Prix Special and the Kur I can take risks - this was not the time," she explained.

"After yesterday we already forgot about the gold medal," she pointed out. "The first two results from Holland were just not good enough but the draw didn't help although on the other hand we should have had a better performance and another country was better than we were," she added. "It's not the end of my life," she continued, "although I am disappointed". And she said that this will probably be her last Olympic appearance as she wants to take more time with her children and retirement may be on the cards. "I am getting older and I have already been spoiled with two unbelievable horses. Unless somebody offers me another wonderful horse I cannot see myself going to London," she explained. But she's not quite finished here in Hong Kong yet - "I still have a very fresh and strong horse," she said, looking forward to the individual medal challenge ahead.

Meanwhile Portugal's Miguel Ralao Duarte had to retire when his 13-year-old mare Oxalis became totally uncooperative in the ring while Great Britain's Laura Bechtolsheimer was doing nicely with Mistral Hojris until the judge's bell rang to tell her she had made a mistake in her test and she subsequently fell apart. "My horse offered my everything," the deeply disappointed 23-year old said, "but I let him down".

Japan's Hiroshi Hoketsu was looking very good indeed until his mare Whisper suddenly caught sight of the dreaded big screen and took fright, badly spoiling his test, but Finland's Kyra Kyrklund and Max put in a balanced and focused performance to earn 70.583 which was always going to keep her in the frame. "I'm very pleased because for three days Max had a high temperature and I had to wait and see if he would come right," she explained. "However for the last few days he felt better and I thought he could be competitive again although he was almost too fresh tonight!" she added.

As the competition began to draw to a close Russia's Alexandra Korelova and the lovely grey stallion Balagur charmed the crowd and pleased the judges enough to gain a mark of 68.500. The girl who hails from central Russia knew that she and her special horse had done a good job.

"His breeding is Orlov trotter and I have been riding him for six years," she explained. However his appearance at Olympic level is quite something because he never performed a dressage test until the age of 11 when he was bought by Alexandra from the local police force where he was used for crowd control and street policing. "Tonight I think he felt like he was doing crowd control again because he didn't want to walk and was looking around the stadium but then he settled and I was very pleased with how he went," said the rider who has trained with George Theodorescu and most recently with Monica Theodorescu and who believes that her very cute 18-year old horse still has plenty of competition years ahead of him - "he feels like a five year old!" she insisted.

But all eyes were on Isabell Werth who, second-last to go, knew that the fate of the 2008 Olympic team Dressage gold medal lay in her hands. And she rose to the occasion with grace and poise, delivering a test that was filled with power, impulsion and precision. "Heike gave us a positive base from which to start and then Nadine did a good test too so I knew it was important to be safe and that I could not afford to make a mistake," Isabell said afterwards. "I went in with a really good feeling because the other riders had done a good job but it was a lot of pressure because last year we lost gold to The Netherlands at the Europeans and we knew it was time to wake up - we didn't like it!" she said. And Kemmer pointed out "the Netherlands and Germany are partners really because we fight against each other and it makes great sport but outside the ring we can drink a glass of champagne together!".

For the second time this week the champagne corks are popping, not just in Hong Kong, but all over Germany as Isabell Werth, Nadine Capellman and Heike Kemmer scooped their country's tenth Olympic team dressage title in the finest of style. With this success added to the team and individual Eventing gold won earlier in the week, can anyone stop the Germans from making a clean sweep of the equestrian medals at the 2008 Olympic Games?

I reckon the Judges got it right. Can anyone tell me when the Halt was removed from the Grand Prix Test? :)

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HENDRA VIRUS HORSE PUT DOWN

A racehorse that survived an outbreak of the Hendra virus has been euthanased in Brisbane.

Gold Coast racehorse 'Tamworth' was infected with the virus at the Redlands Veterinary Clinic last month.

Two staff from the practice remain in hospital being treated for the potentially deadly virus.

A final round of blood tests this week cleared 12 other staff at the clinic of the virus.

Queensland Health says there will not be any further human tests for the virus.

The $200,000 racehorse recovered, but national biosecurity guidelines stipulate horses infected with the virus must be put down as a precaution.

Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) officers administered a lethal injection at about 10am AEST.

There had been calls for the horse to be kept alive and used for research, but Biosecurity Queensland chief vet Dr Ron Glanville said it would be too dangerous.

"In terms of the risk to people who would be handling this horse on an ongoing basis it would probably be limited information that we would gain from keeping the animal alive," he said.

The horse's breeder Warren Small says the decision was wrong and he wants compensation for losing his horse.

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A VIDEO ASSESSMENT

We do many video assessments for people, just to support them, especially when they are in the Bush. Here is one. The Lady was concerned about Veterinary issues with her Horse.

Hi Tanya,

We watched it all 

Now, take no notice of the blunt way I dot point things. We are very busy. Every comment is meant for your best.

• Tie up rail too low
• Star droppers could cause a horse death.
• Hay net not necessary and over kill
• Hay net highly dangerous tied there.
• Horse tied too long
• When leading at trot, get down the reins another 18 inches and free the horse up so Judges can see the track straight.
• The Horse showed slight unevenness at the trot up. Left hind.


OK. The Riding 
• Commencement of Riding Horse uneven.
• Ground not helping and possibly jarring Horse up. I would harrow.
• Above the Bit.
• Not supple
• Flexed off
• On the forehand.
• Horse not bending
• Horse hollow and not over the back
• Therefore not engaged, with back legs hanging out the back.
• CANTER LEFT. Rider being shifted out to the right, probably by the Horse so that Rider doesn’t sit on inside hind.
• CANTER RIGHT not such a problem.
• Rider needs to sit trot longer to prepare for canter transition
• Rider would benefit enormously if they could improve athleticism and Horse would respond.

So, this Horse is not a chronic Veterinary Problem and the subtle but real Veterinary indications are being caused by the way of travel.

The Muscle tone on the rear end is also as a result of the way of travel.

The resistance shown 100% of the time, is also a ridden problem.

This Horse could improve markedly and so would it’s movement which at this time is stilted and short stepping. You would both benefit tremendously if you could possible gain some Dressage based knowledge of correct training.

The Horse must :


• Leg Yield first and foremost. Only then can you get bent and suppleness.
• The Horse should be warmed up long and low, following the German Training Scale.
• The Horse would vastly improve if ridden “Inside Leg to outside Rein.
• The Horse needs to collect up, give it’s face and soften, heaps of transitions .

Essentially, fix the Dressage and you fix the Horse. Not only it’s movement and form but it’s Veterinary condition.

Recommended DVD’s.

Inside leg to outside Rein and
German Training Scale.


Hope you don’t cry  Very cute video, lovely Horse, lovely head  nice neck, Rider looking great.

x

You guys are just the best! Thank you so so much!!! I can't believe how quickly you have responded to me. I can't believe also you watched the whole video, goodness, thank you so much, hope I didn't bore you too much :)

Nope, I didn't cry and was not offended by the bullet points in the least. I know you are so busy and I really appreciate both of your time and effort to try help me, I really do and you know what, I would rather hear these comments from people like you guys that know what they are talking about as opposed to hearing them from fellow agistees that I don't know that may not necessarily know what they are talking about (eg future possible know alls at new agistment property) and therefore miseducating me if that makes sense and ending up in no mans land.

I sat there smirking biting my lip and kind of putting the fingers over my eyes as I read the email because I guess I knew that this would be coming :) I for one know I am no expert and need to get to work. Even though my skills are kind of embarrasing, I see it as a positive because I can try and work on improving things, if you don't ask, you don't learn as far as I am concerned and that is one thing I like to do, ask. I don't care if I go to a show and don't win, I just want my horse to be round and to go around well and to listen to what I ask of her. I will come home from a show a happy woman, I truly mean that. I have known deep down for some time that she wasn't going around correctly but where I used to live it was out in the sticks and there was absolutely no horsie people to really help. However, now we have moved to Qld I am dead set certain I will be able to get some sort of dressage coach to help me, so if you know of any up this way at Rockhampton that you can refer me to, fire away, otherwise I have someone in mind that I haven't approached yet that I have heard is very good. Horse will arrive here in Qld late Saturday night from NSW and I can't wait to see her. I just wish I was closer in distance to you guys to get lessons off you :) I would LOVE Mrs HP to be able to get on her to rider her around in the arena to show me just what Wish would be capable of doing.

I am pleased to hear that there is no huge vetinary condition that can't be amended, as I was really worried about that. I promise I will work on trying to improve her. Maybe when I think I have improved some small bit, I could perhaps send you some more footage (not as long don't worry) for you to view?? :) to see how we are going.

You would be proud of me however John I have shed 8kg since that video! (and I know you are not being mean about the athleticism thing, its dead set true, a fitter rider no doubt benefits the horse absolutely). I cut out all the naughty choccies I was eating and I pretty much eat whole foods now ie healthy pyramid thing we learnt as school moons ago and not too many lollies and it has worked a treat without starving myself. A tad bit more to go with the help of the running machine, its all going well though.

So, you think that if I get her going correctly and do all what you say below I will be able to build her rump up more? Its just I could try and gage if the rump rounds up more as an improvement, over time, if that was the case.


Thanks again so much and I agree 100% with all of what you guys have said.

I watched Isobel Werth last night who just had me in absolute awe (even though according to Simon Marshall it was skipping like a child down the street (got to love that! did Mrs HP cringe??) )and that ancient Japanese man that hadn't competed at the Olympics for 44 years, the 67yo and although his mare was a bit scared and flighty from the plane I thought he was so so inspiring. Gosh it must be just stiffling hot there with the sweat dripping off that Japanese man and his mare, it must have been a bit taxing on the eventers mustn't it.

Oh yes, so, did you think I need to get the farrier to try and correct her back feet angels somewhat or not? I think that whilst I am up here in Qld I will go barefoot actually because the ground is nice and spongy up here with the springy grass, or do you think I should keep shoeing her?

Once again, I can't thank you both enough and I can't wait to start riding again to try and work on these comments.


Kind Regards
Cheryl
 

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LETTERS OF THE DAY

 

Dear john&linda
Ihave a highland and a welsh cob among others, the highland floated well for six years but i year ago he decided he could no longer stand up in the float if it was moving he walks in fine he walks out fine he does,nt panic at any time even if the float is moving he just slides around it scraping the walls and falling under the breast bar divider when it was there even if the float is,nt moving and you rock it he starts to slide he has never had an accident and i am a careful driver too careful my husband says.The cob is a new aquisition she came from sydney in a truck with cuts on her legs, i have had her 6 mths took her to a show and she was fine going ,coming home she moved around quite a bit i put yhat down to being in my daughters angle float but was told by her previous owner thats what she has so took her to her next outing in my straight loader she was fine until i got there pulled up and left her on the float 5 minutes later i heard banging open the door to see her sliding down the wall in slow motion until she was laying under the divider with her legs walking along the walls moved the divider and up she got walked her out she was like nothing had happened she started eating but we could not get her back on at all every time she went back in she went to go down. Ihave had both checked by vet,chiroprator dentist.I have no problems with my other 4 horses .CAN YOU HELP.
regards bev

The only way I could help with this one Bev is to perhaps point you in a direction of investigation. Even though the other Horses re fine with their floating, doesn't mean that all is well with the Driving or the Float. Over 50% of people I meet, floating for years and think they are perfect but are not. Different Horses have different levels of tolerance. Secondly, it could be the Float and once again, difference Horses react differently. Both of these Horses would be gauged as chronic now and that must be a huge worry to you. One needs to travel in the float themselves. It could be as simple as a wheel bearing going or some other new mechanical thing or it could be just the design of the Float. Lack of view, light, springs and so on. I take it you are not using a division as you mustn't. Float them both together with no division. They travel much better leaning on each other. The danger isn't diminished but so what. You have it anyway. At least you give yourself and them a shot at improvement and meanwhile, you are learning and investigation. A photo sent to me with such questions is always important. Photos of the float and inside the float. Regards

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Channel 7 obviously has no idea when choosing suitable commentators for the Olympic equestrian events! Simon Marshall (former jockey) and his addle brained co - presenter have no idea what they are supposed to be commentating on! Surely I am not the only one disappointed here :(

Naomi

Yes Naomi, I have read the ravings of everyone and know that he is getting up everyone nose but let's look at it from Channel 7's perspective and the wider general Public. We know what's going on and we don't need any commentator. The Public wouldn't have a clue that he is not honed in his knowledge of the various Sports of ours. The Public don't care and from the Publics perspective, they would be far better off with Simon Marshal than some stuffy Pommy up your nose with a rubber hose getting all technical. We should be very happy to have the Horses on and leave it at that . I do understand where you are coming from though. Thanks

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Our mare has a little problem when our gelding leaves the trailer to compete, she can't go in to the arena so she is forming a habit of pawing the light and hubcaps off of our trailer. I put alot of hay infront of her and do some clicker work to keep her occupied and if I ride her too close to the arena our gelding will call to her and he will not listen as he is about to compete. This is her first year at rodeo and I want her to continue coming and they do travel together but I need to find something that she can do while he isn't around. Sometimes it could be about an hour long. She will not do this at home or at the place that we rope at and she only does this at rodeos. HELP if you can . Thanks so much. Nancy

Of all of the problems we get with Horses Nancy, this would be the most difficult. You are in good company as there are thousands in the same boat as you. We are dealing with the emotional side of things here and often "true Love" :)  SEPARATION ANXIETY IN THE HORSE

I personally wouldn't leave such a Horse tied up and if I did, I would hobble it to stop the damage and digging but it would be handy if you could work and warm her up under saddle or ground work whilst the other Horse is competing and to demand attention to you via the training scales. That is far more manageable than them standing at the float. I have sat with a stock whip and warned them to not call and flicked them if they have and with vigilance, controlled them and improved them but it is always against their will of course. Best of Luck

 

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Hi John

Well I'm a newbie to western saddles - I found out that I could adjust the fenders by sliding the whole thing around the pivot point up under the flap. Doh ! No modifications required.

Course the major problem now is the older son wanting to steal my horse!

 

Poor Mum :) So that would be the Saddle you just brought back from Pat's place? Looks good :) So does the combination :)

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John,

Just thought I would let you know how I got on with the Market Harborough. After finally fitting it correctly (thanks for your patience) I took my 5. yo TB into the arena and lunged him on the loosest setting. He had no problem with it so I took it to the second setting and lunged him at both the trot and the canter and he was fine with it. He doesn't have too much of a problem on the lunge so I wasn't surprised. His real problem appears under saddle when I ask him to canter. He is nicely rounded at the trot although still not in front of the leg enough but he is getting better (second week back in work after a long spell off). However when you ask him to canter his head goes up, his back hollows and it is absolutely disgusting!! Very hard to ride and very ugly. Well the first time I asked him to canter with the MH on he put his head up, but not as far as usually and went off into a fairly ungainly canter. As his head wasn't so far up I was able to push him on with my legs and. I asked a few more times, both ways, and every canter was a little bit better than the last. So I left it there took him for a lovely trail ride and we were both very happy!!! All in all it was a very marked improvement and I am sure we are now on the right track.

Thanks again for your help and patience.

Cheers, Anne

Well done Anne. That is the classic Horse that needs the mouth re-educating and of course the MH is one of the parts of that. Keep going and don't be afraid to demand as much as is safe (providing you have FORWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

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Dear John.
Received both DVDs and e book. 1000 THANK YOUS.
Yours sincerely

PS. Started with the Mouthing. My horses mouth is so light that he is yielding to the weight of the rope. He is learning everything so quickly and is very responsive. He's learning faster than I can savvy the DVDs! He has given me so much more confidence in my self and in him. Also, Linda's DVD has made sense of 30 years of struggling with my only European Dressage theory book ( by Noel Jackson). Many Thanks Linda.

Ben

Thanks Ben. Regards

***************

Hi John and Linda,
Michelle here with the Coffin Bay Pony and Jade,

I have obviously got my details wrong as Louise (spoke with you last night) told me we don’t have a lesson booked with Linda this week, so can I book in for the next available Saturday around 11am for 1 hour.

I have to tell you that after only 2 lessons with Linda the pony has improved beyond belief where as we have had no success prior. We are EXTEMELY FORTUNATE to have such an awesome instructor available to us in South Australia.

I have been getting Jade to ride bare back and when the saddle is on she has been doing the exercises Linda asked her to do with and without stirrups so hopefully there will be some improvement showing.

I was in contact with the person who bought him at auction from Coffin Bay and she said she did not keep him as he regularly just jumped out of the paddock into neighboring properties and one time disappeared for 3 days before he returned and just jumped back into his own paddock. She also said that he cleared a 4’ plus farm gate from a standstill! I was thinking dressage for him but maybe jumping is his thing. He likes to take himself over jumps in the back arena at Franks which is our sometimes turnout paddock…

Thank you John, for going in to bat for the Pegasus PC where the council is concerned.

I hope you are both having some time to just relax and watch the Olympics.

Keep smiling! M….

Wow M. He will certainly excel at the Pony Club Jumping then. Thanks for your kind comments. I will beat Mrs. HP after I finish this email :)

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 Hi John,
Watched the video you had on site regarding the light bulb moment, all day have been thinking cant be real, maybe its really old footage or something! Anyway glad he working on it but I am a bit thrown by that video simply because that is what my trainer has been teaching us and trying to get through to us for years, oh and he competes in events such as campdrafting and stockhorse challenges! Really I think a lot of people round here need to look out of the square, there are plenty of good western trainers out there that could give riders the best chance they have of producing top dressage horses but sadly they wear the wrong clothes or something I don’t know? OH had laugh at your comment on the horse slaps after the games events. Watched the jumping and at the end of each round I said good horsey and now I will beat the crap out of you! What is the deal there?
Anyway am happy that the light has come on with some of our riders out there, a long way to go still and I know it not an easy road, I know I will be p
practicing for the rest of my life and as for cow horses all I want is the dressage moves!
Oh and p.s I have a long way to go!
 

Lol to the slaps :) Full marks to Heath. I like his Irish nature :) Straight, passionate, honest and fun.

****************

Hi Mr. HP, You replied to my email of 01/08/08 and asked about the honey.
I did a Google and found some info on Wikipedia Salvation Jane/Patersons Curse is so named after Jane Paterson or Patterson from Albury who imported this plant for her garden (pretty purple/blue flowers I guess). Surrounding properties/pastoralists were not impressed when the plant starting appearing in their fields.
In a high yield year they can produce 30,000 seeds per square metre. There was a investigative report (can't remember who wrote it) in 1985 stating this weed cost a $30 million loss and $2 million profit per year. They honey maybe toxic in times of drought.
40 horses had to be put down after the Canberra fires.
CSIRO investigated 100-odd insects to find some that would not destroy crops or native plants and found 2 weevils and the flea beetle to be OK and the Department of Ag NSW are trialling them on Patersons Curse.

One a Government website it is mentioned there are 10 alkaloids in Patersons Curse which are toxic and it depends when in the weeds growth pattern if the horse gets an acute case (dies within 2 - 3 weeks) or chronic case (takes a few months to die - in this case the horse has a chance at survival if vet treatment started quickly). They can still be affected by the toxins after they are removed from the pasture.

The Standie is on pasture (kikuyu, couch, clover, tall fescue and this autumn I put in cocksfoot, tall fescue, 60/40 autumn/winter rye, the birds didn't eat all the seeds lol) the only problem is he shares with 3 alpacas, wild ducks, rabbits (there is a patch of bindii jo-jo now), galahs (they pull the middle out of the kikuyu I think, why do they do that!) so it is ground level.

I hope someone can help with the feed.
Regards, Angela


Thanks Angela. Most interesting. Well at least they also brought eh Porkie Pie  and John Cleese :)

 

14th August, 2008

Well, what did you think about our performances so far? Everyone's got an opinion so I guess I can too. I thought the Eventers did a wonderful job. It's a tough ask with Horses that are jumping out of their skins but they sure belonged on the World Stage. The Show Jumping has improved out of site too and I must congratulate all involved for bringing that side of things up to World standard where we used to be a bunch of bloody Cowboys a few years ago.

OLYMPIC DRESSAGE

I watched Heath Ryan in the Dressage last night and the other lass that is based in Germany. Heath got 62 odd percent and the Lady 65 odd. I thought it should have been the other way around. No doubt about it, true to his words on the video on this page, he has worked it out and I could see a marked change in his Horse. Not only the way he was Riding it but even it's muscle tone is changing for the better. The only areas that he got caught out on and penalized by the Judges were really caused by a lack of 'forwardness' but once again, that would be because he is trained by Australian Dressage Judges who want calm, trail riding in the dressage arena, plod on and if you make a small mistake they will hang you at Sunset. The accent on penalize rather than reward. So that is how he rode the test and that is all that contributed to some of his technical errors imho. Fantastic to see such a change in him, his hands, the Horse even giving it's back where in the past braced and hollow due to iron fists and bottom reins. Top Marks Heath!! As I said, I would have had Heath ahead of the other Horse, regardless of the more obvious glitches because of the resistance in the Bridle, lack of bend and suppleness throughout. You will have noted the better forwardness however and that is because she is trained in Germany. Actually, to compare the two Horses is to compare the overall attitude of the EFA Judging system here versus the European.  Calm versus having Horses being able to 'express themselves' and to reach for the Stars whilst still retaining some credibility. I am reminded of Mrs. HP in her last Competition with the SA A Level Judge. Mrs. HP got given a 6 for her Riding where she ran second in the Prx St. Georges the other day, by a South Australian Judge  whereas the Victorian Judge gave her an 8. The former are the Judges who have ruined the Sport in this Country. There is no point going to the Dressage to get 5555655666655666. Complete waste of time and money and a disgraceful way to deal with true Professionals who spend mega dollars being serious about the Sport. Well I guess there goes Mrs. HP's chance at the Royal :(

*************

 

WEIGHTED BOOTS

Phillip Dutton qualified for the second, individual jumping round, despite two rails down in the first round on Connaught, who he said was distracted by the lights. “Coming into fence 1 he was not concentrating; he was looking at everything apart from the jump,” he said. “He was still going high but not focusing on where he was going. It was a bit disappointing.”

“Maybe I should have taken more use of the time we had to jump under the lights the other night, but we thought after yesterday he’d be a bit tired and more concentrated,” he added. But he came back in the second round to jump flawlessly, only to be disqualified for a piece of equipment that wasn’t allowed. A pair of weighted boots that Connaught wore were found to be over the weight limit of 500 grams set by the FEI in February of 2008. According to Jim Wolf, U.S. Equestrian Federation Executive Director of Sports Programs, the boots, which were front boots applied to the hind legs, weighed just over 700 grams each. The rule change is a jumping rule modification which is applied to eventing.

"We should have known about it, but we didn't for eventing," said Wolf. "They felt heavy, so [the stewards] put them on a scale. I asked them to show me the scale, to make sure it was properly calibrated. Our federation owes Phillip an apology for not making him aware of [the change]. It's our federation's responsibility to make sure the athletes know the rules. Believe me, in the future we will be weighing everyone's boots in eventing. Phillip was unaware of the rule and certainly was not trying to give himself an unfair advantage. But the rule is on the books, and we're abiding by the rule, and Phillip is taking it on the chin."

Without the disqualification, Dutton would have finished 12th. The team results have been published with the U.S. counting Dutton's team score and finishing seventh, although Technical Delegate Guiseppe Della Chiesa was unsure whether that would change or not.

Why won't Humans compete on a level playing field? Weighted Boots??? Disgraceful. If the bloody Horse can't jump high enough you can't select your Horse. Go get another one. I note that the weights can be up to 500g I think. That too is bloody disgraceful and the FEI has double standards for even allowing that as it eggs people on to a culture of bending rules. For God's sake, haven't these Horses had enough to go through in the run up to the Show Jumping. I remember when Mrs. HP had to carry 25kg of lead in Eventing. They miss the point about Justice to their Animals......and on that point

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TRUE UNITY

Nothing drives me nuts more than these false high armed actions slapping of Horses on the neck for the crowd. The Horse must hate it and most of it is false as. I saw both ends of the scale when it comes to true love of a Horse and it being returned in kind. I saw a Horse that hated it's Rider and I saw one that loved theirs. The German on the Grey was fantastic. He genuinely loved the Horse and the Horse knew it. They had a fantastic relationship and the Horse just did everything possible to please him. That is the Grey who led the Eventing I think. Note he didn't come with the high arm waving and slapping of the Horse but rather stroking it's neck and talking to it after every Jump on the Cross Country, genuinely thanking the Horse I reckon. There is a big lesson for the young one's in watching him as I rarely see a Teenager pat a Horse these days. They are used as machines and a tool to stroke their ego.

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DRESSAGE - RISING OR SITTING?

Hi John

There is a movement happening here in Perth to get the Novice dressage tests to allow rising trot. I have forwarded a few emails to you regarding this and you and Linda may like to think about the proposal. Perhaps you could put it on your website as well as your opinions on the idea.

Regards
Angela C


Hi All
Would love your feed back on

RISING/SITTING TROT AT NOVICE LEVEL

Since arriving in OZ from *** in 2006, and then seriously starting to Judge in 2007, I have watched {Judged} so many riders struggle to do sitting trot at Novice Level.
I'm not sure what the logic is of asking NOVICE riders to do this for most of the test. So many of them look very uncomfortable and the horses look in pain.
In UK riders have the option in Novice Tests and recently this has been changed so they can do rising at Elementary level too.
So are there answers to these questions????

1 Why must Novice Riders be forced to sit when they are only at the start of using the Training scales, RHYTHM, SUPPLENESS, CONTACT. What do we want them to show at this lower level???

2 Is there a serious WELFARE ISSUE HERE in that so many novice horses have back problems and will never go further up the levels as they are???

3 And isn't it bad for business? We need more riders at the ground roots levels.
I know we are discouraging riders at the moment, they say "It's too hard, it's so uncomfortable, what is the point as I get really low marks?"
Their way of dealing with it is to creep round the arena at trot.

90% or more of the riders, mothers of riders, and Horse Physios that I have spoken to all support this change. It would give the riders that option, more encouragement, more enthusiasm.

Please consider this don't just say "We have always done it that way, why change???


AREN'T WE HERE TO ENJOY OUR SPORT?????

Reply No 1:
As a "low level" rider I know that sitting trot discourages some people from taking that next step to Novice level. When we first start doing sitting trot we are told by our instructors to do small amounts at a time, especially on a young horse. I often find myself slowing my horses trot down to be able to "sit" better and then understandably lose marks for not being "forward" & "engaged".

I think it would be a great idea to be able to do rising trot at Novice level. Really it seems you don't need to do sitting trot until lateral movements are used in the test. The only question I have is would anyone then do sitting trot at Novice and then would we run into the same problem coming into Elementary level, i.e. riders won't be riding there horses effectively in sitting trot. Even though I have to sit trot in my Novice tests, I very rarely (if ever) sit trot in my Prelim tests because I know I can get a better test rising trot. I suppose if a rider wishes to progress to Elementary level they will have to work on their sitting trot in training.

If it is done in other countries then Australia should take their lead because obviously it is a proven way of encouraging & nurturing riders at the all important start of their career, not to mention the horses welfare/comfort.

Reply No 2:
I think you are all missing the point that the tests are "national" tests and are set by the ADC in consultation with the NDJC. The proposed tests will be/have been circulated to all state dressage authorities for comment. If you wish the concept of rising at novice level to be considered then you must state this in your report on the proposed tests. One state cannot alter the tests to suit themselves, they must be ridden as directed on the test sheet.

I must admit that personally I would like to see more rising in novice and have brought this up at national level, however the tests as agreed by all state dressage authorities must be ridden as directed and we as a state cannot make our own alterations.

Reply No 3:
I have really enjoyed everyone's input to this thread and hope that the conversation does not stop with these emails.

I am a low level rider, a committee member of a fairly diverse mostly uncompetitive dressage club, a pony club mum and an equine massage therapist with a particular interest in this proposal.

* and I have spoken on many occasions about the detrimental effect on horses' backs if the rider is not sufficiently proficient enough ( or supple enough in the case of us oldies) to successfully sit and let the horse's back do it's work efficiently. I see many clients with back issues and usually it is most apparent when they are going up a grade ie from prelim to novice or nov to elem. How many times have we seen a lovely swinging tail going down the centre line in a prelim test only to have the same horse with a strained expression and a very tight back and tiny mincey steps try and accommodate a rider who is causing pain and suffering in their attempts to manage the work?

What is it about a Novice test that requires a rider to sit anyway? I have always wondered why it is introduced at this level.

Our club already runs unofficial novice tests with the option of sitting and I have to say they are very, very favourably received. Clubs should be encouraged to pursue this option from a revenue point of view at the least - how many riders would ride 2 tests instead of one if they could?

From a judging point of view I think it is simple - the horse and rider combination that present the best work on the day should win - rising or sitting. If they are not penalized for sitting then the judging is still based on the same criteria as it always has been. Taking off marks for sitting would complicate things and present a real dilemma to the rider - do I sit and hinder my horse's movement or rise and gain the extra marks? What exactly are we trying to promote? Which is more important?

Let's face it - most riders at this level are not aiming for the stars but, given some encouragement would feel like their training could progress in smaller steps with the "rising trot" option. I am sure it would encourage many more kids as well who struggle with sitting, especially when they make the move on to a horse from a pony. They seem to give up on Dressage as too hard to progress.

So, what is our next move? Is there some way we could write a proposal about this using these emails?

Reply No 4:
I must say I do agree with you, I cringe at times for both horse and rider.
I find a lot of children especially find it hard to sit to the trot on active ponies, so either hang on with their hands to keep their balance or let the trot slop along, to be able to sit it, neither of which we want to see or encourage.
The majority of the entries at shows are at these lower levels and so are the bread and butter of the shows, clubs and EFA members they need to be encouraged to go the next step with out losing the quality of the training scale.
I must also say in *** they also do rising at Novice level.
I think 90% of riders and coaches would prefer rising in novice for the sake of the horses and riders.

Well, I will just add what most won't of course and a different slant on it. I personally agree that it should be up to the Rider, so that those who are not competent may rise trot. That equals Horse Welfare....but there is another reason and this is about a change in the Sport and so the Sport must keep up. I refer to the ever increasing problem of OBESITY amongst the Australian Public in general and the Horse Riding Community in particular. The 'Chubbly Wubblies" cannot sit trot in fairness to a Horse and shouldn't be made to. The after shocks that Horse get, giving conflicting messages is unfair without even talking about the weight and balance factor. So given that Horses come first and Humans Second, rise trot is essential.! HP not Mrs. HP

Mrs. HP says. That horses can relax more and give their back better when rising. That to have young Horses operating to the German Training Scale, Rising trot makes more sense. Horses at that stage of training are still in a long frame and are not ready to be sat trot on. She agrees with your efforts but it should be either or.

 

Regards

****************

Here's something you don't see every day.
Sil

 

Lol. Cool as the Owners who are obviously Country Folk. Can you imagine the City Folk? :) Tears, running around like chooks, all on the mobile :) Love it!

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guilty to a lesser crime

A Fannett man charged with dragging his horse to death must make amends by taking care of other animals.
Victor Guillory, 52, pleaded guilty to attempted cruelty to an animal, a Class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to two years' deferred adjudication in the April 2005 death of his horse.
He must also perform 100 hours of community service for the Humane Society of Southeast Texas and pay a $1,000 fine.
"We think it's a fair resolution," said Mike Laird, Guillory's attorney.
David Lindenmuth, prosecutor during the second trial, said community service helping animals is a fair way for Guillory to make up for the horse's death.
Guillory was accused of tying his unshod horse to a truck and leading it down an asphalt road in April 2005, according to The Enterprise archives. The horse's hooves were severely damaged, and it fell and was briefly dragged, according to the archives.
Guillory initially was charged with cruelty to an animal, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
He was tried twice, with each proceeding ending in a mistrial after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.
James H. Lee, the Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy who arrested Guillory, testified the horse traveled about 2.5 miles from Guillory's home on Texas 124 before it fell, according to the archives.

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Lehi girl critically injured by kick from horse

A young Lehi girl was hurt Monday night when a horse kicked her in the head.

A helicopter took the 3-year-old girl to Primary Children's Medical Center. She was unconcious and in critical condition at the time.

The girl's family called emergency teams around 8 p.m., but no one is sure how long the girl had been down.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff's Department said, "We don't know if she went in to play with the horse or just was playing and wandered into the area where the horse was, but she was in the stall where a horse was when she was kicked."

The girl was breathing on her own when medical personnel found her, but they're worried she suffered serious head injuries.

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ASPEN, Colorado — A Georgia family is suing Maroon Bells Lodge and Outfitter over allegations that one of the company’s horses attacked and disfigured their daughter in 2006.

In a lawsuit filed in Pitkin County Court on Friday, Scott Birkholtz and Tiffany Britt, both of Alpharetta, Ga., allege that on Aug. 19, 2006, while waiting in line for a horse ride at the T-Lazy 7 stables, their daughter, Olivia Birkholtz was “viciously” bitten in the face by one of the horses, “severing, and tearing completely off, a portion of her left ear.”

The horse was tied to a post in a place designed to encourage guests to interact with the animals, according to the suit, and the girl had been petting other animals when the horse bit her.

The horse that allegedly bit the girl had also bitten other people and was later destroyed, according to the lawsuit, but the outfitter later claimed they had no documentation about where they got the horse, how it was treated or of any prior bite.

The girl’s injuries were serious and painful, causing permanent disfigurement and requiring ongoing medical treatment, according to the suit.

Reached by phone on Monday, staff at the outfitter said they were aware of the lawsuit but could not comment.

The company gives horseback riding lessons, runs rides and holds events from leased stables on the T-Lazy 7 ranch west of Aspen on the road leading to the Bells.

“As far as I know, it’s still in litigation,” said Dan MacEachen, owner of Maroon Bells Lodge and Outfitters.

MacEachen said the matter was being handled by the company’s insurance company and he could not comment.

The lawsuit calls for financial retribution for the girl’s injuries, disfigurement and potential economic losses.

The attorney for Birkholtz, Douglas R. Griess of the law firm Peterson, Dymond, and Reagor in Greenwood Village, could not be reached for comment.

The Birkholtz’s allege in the suit that the company was negligent in allowing the child to walk near the dangerous horse and that outfitter staff created a dangerous condition in the petting area.

The family is asking for a jury trial.

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LETTER OF THE DAY

I read your site and I have noted and practiced your suggestions but we don't know what to do next, as we have tried everything from A-Z in our book, but our problem I feel is a little different.

We break and pretrain racehorses, we have a colt that we broke in and sent out for a spell. Now he had this problem when we were breaking him and we managed to ride him thru it, but now on return he is still doing it and to make matters worse, when we tried him again this morning he just wanted to flip over when he thought we were getting the edge on him.

He is a very well bred horse with good sensible bloodlines, so we don't know what's prompting this behaviour:-

When you put a roller on him or a saddle he just lays down. He will do it anywhere. If you lunge him without a roller he is fine, its just the feeling of the saddle or roller. When my husband was breaking him he done the rein pull and kick thing, which is a normal response to do but this fellow just lays there with absolutely no desire to get up unless you take off the saddle or roller. We have tried everything with him with no success. We have been around horses for the best part of 40 years and have never seen a colt be so submissive and just lay.

What can we do, we don't want to see this horse sold on and hurt someone or worse sent to the doggers.

Thanks

Janine

What do you mean by rein pull and kick thing?

Basically, just a commonsense response when riding along if a horse goes to lay down, pull the head to the side, unbalance them and kick them forward, that type of thing. We have had a couple of fillies that have laid down while breaking, but you can bluff them out of doing it again, but this bloke is awful, as soon as that saddle goes on, anywhere, he will just lay down and it doesn't matter what you do to him, he will not move until that saddle or roller comes off. We just spoke to the owner and he feels that if he can't find someone to get him over this he will have to euthanize him, which is awful, he is only two and lived nothing, we just feel helpless.

This is a very difficult one, something that you already know Janine. What to do? Quantum Savvy? :)....sorry. This is the type of Horse that really one would need to meet to be able to get right into his soul but this is a situation where one has to become inventive and imaginative. Do anything, try anything. Off the top of my head, here are a few possibles. Eliminate the Veterinary of course.

• Put the Roller on him, let him lay down. Go to the House and have a cuppa. Leave him there for as long as it takes. Leave it on him when he gets up and over night.
   
• If he won't get up, take hold of his Nostrils and shut his air off. That should get his attention. Repeat it every time he goes down. Make it uncomfortable to be down and to have lovely oxygen when up :)
   
• With the pull and kick thing, I would rather tan his ass.
   
• Take him to the lunge ring, put a Lasso Rope around his girth but not tight.  Just sitting as loose as possible. Lunge him around and when he is forward, just take a strain bit by bit and experiment. Observe the Horse. Get to know what makes him tick. It could be that he can't get his head around moving and girthed. You need to show him.
   
• Put the Roller on Loose, only to the pressure that it won't fall off and the Horse will accept it. The Roller needs to be my type that operates with a latigo set up.   (you tie the rope on the end of the latigo after two wraps as it will hold the tightness that you take without knots)  Put a lasso rope around his Flanks but loose. Lunge him around. Have another rope tied to the end of the latigo. as in photo number one. When you get the Horse nice and forward, gradually girth up. If he goes to slow, give him a tweek with the flank rope without cranking it up. Use your judgment in all of this. See if you can keep him forward and teach him to not slow as if he were to stop and lay down. If he lays down, cut off his air. Repeat.
   
• Hook him up to a Roping HOrse, put roller on, Trot off. Gradually Girth up as Horse accepts. He tries to slow, do what a Roping Horse does :)

Be very careful as to what you are using for a girth. The minimum should be like one of mine on a Horse like that.

 

You must have had a diggens of a job to Mouth that Horse then?? Anyhow, try that for now. Best of Luck.

**************

LETTERS OF THE DAY

 
Hi Again Mr HP
Another question from the lady with two naughty fillies that stamp their feet.

I have another question here that I am sure you deal with all the time with your breakers.

The two girls are 3.5 and 4.5 years old. I had a Farrier/Dentist look at them and they both have wolf teeth that have not yet broken through the gums but are tender lumps in the jaw and obviously in a position to interfere with a bit.

So two question areas:

1)Dentistry: I am remote rural, it is not going to be easy to get a specialist horse dentist. Can a specialist horse dentist remove wolf teeth deep in the gum? Should I wait until the teeth fully erupt so the specialist horse dentist can get them? I presume there will be more wolf teeth coming up over time than the ones we can feel now, - what to do?

Not normally Emma. That would be the job for a Vet.

How to find a specialist horse dentist in my area and how to know he is good?

Contact the Equine Dental Practitioners Website and ask them.

Do I just trust my vet who is competent with large animals?

I would but I would rather let the tooth erupt properly. I think the Vet would too.

The Farrier/Dentist also works on the property. He mostly just files teeth but feels confident to get out a fully erupted wolf tooth if conditions are right. We are going to have a few sessions of teeth filing and inspections to get the horses used to having their teeth done. They were both quite good but we didn’t finish the filling as one was very sore on one side where the wolf tooth is and didn’t want to hurt and upset her when she had been good. Do you see anything wrong with filing their teeth across a number of sessions?

No, but not near the sore one!

2) Biting & Mouthing: I purchased these two girls not long ago. Both are green and have not had much riding. Both had been broken in by a guy who also trains race horses. (They have also both been cross-tied – might explain the pawing). They don’t have good mouths. I have been riding them in a Market Harborough which is helping a lot. Should I ride them without a bit until all these dental problems are worked out? Could you please comment on my thoughts?
* If a snaffle then only with the Market Harborough so as to keep the bit down low in the mouth and away from wolf teeth.
* Rawhide Bosal ie Ed Connell – problem is that a bosal can pull back on the face and gums where the wolf teeth are and where they are sore and takes some training before the horses are ready to ride out. I like using a Bosal but feel these two are not good candidates as they can be very ignorant in the face and to a halter.
* Mechanical Hackamore: Not great but at least it keeps any pressure down low on the face and away from the back teeth.

If their Mouths are poor, I would be re-mouthing them for my own safety anyway but I wouldn't be doing it when there was any chance of pain. That might explain the poor mouths in the first place! Whether ridden in a bit, a halter, bosal or whatever, if the back teeth are sharp, pressure will bear on them and that is not good.

You must ride young horses all the time who are in their teething stage – what do you do? From the evidence it seems you just use a snaffle.

Haha, I don't. If there is any doubt Emma, I call the Vet in or send the Horse Home :) Here is some more evidence :)

(a breaker that rears, ridden in a Halter)

Regards
Emma

You do get into the nitty gritty Emma :) Regards

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Hi John and Linda,
Michelle here with the Coffin Bay Pony and Jade,

I have obviously got my details wrong as Louise (spoke with you last night) told me we don’t have a lesson booked with Linda this week, so can I book in for the next available Saturday around 11am for 1 hour.

I have to tell you that after only 2 lessons with Linda the pony has improved beyond belief where as we have had no success prior. We are EXTEMELY FORTUNATE to have such an awesome instructor available to us in South Australia.

I have been getting Jade to ride bare back and when the saddle is on she has been doing the exercises Linda asked her to do with and without stirrups so hopefully there will be some improvement showing.

I was in contact with the person who bought him at auction from Coffin Bay and she said she did not keep him as he regularly just jumped out of the paddock into neighboring properties and one time disappeared for 3 days before he returned and just jumped back into his own paddock. She also said that he cleared a 4’ plus farm gate from a standstill! I was thinking dressage for him but maybe jumping is his thing. He likes to take himself over jumps in the back arena at Franks which is our sometimes turnout paddock…

Thank you John, for going in to bat for the Pegasus PC where the council is concerned.

I hope you are both having some time to just relax and watch the Olympics.

Keep smiling! M….

Council Meeting tomorrow M. Let you all know then. Regards

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Hi John
Thanks for answering my email.

When i go to Perth im going to have a good look at different saddles and stick with the flocked. I never had problems with these in the past and always had the re stuffed.

Much to my family's disgust i spoiled their enjoyment of watching one of the first tests of the BIG dressage competition. It was Heath Ryans the commentators remark as usual that the judges liked the extended trot passage etc he got 6s and7s etc. Unfortunately after that i noticed uneveness in his back end. The walk was stilted and he was not tracking up evenly then his scores started to drop to 4s and 5s. I wonder why and then his pirouettes just fell apart and the front end of his horse was moving better then the back. (Stifles?)
I was then banished to the portable T.V in the bedroom so they couldnt here MY commentary on the test. Poor old me. Like you have said it is amazing how these horses are being trained under coaches that profess to be experienced and knowledgable but they dont see what straight in front of their eyes. Or do they? Are they afraid of offending students or is it the dollar signs that keep them motivated. Like you say it all comes down to the old BHS and the EFA systems that prevents improvement and a change with the times from happening sooner rather than later.

Thanks for your well wishes for my father and ill catchup in the coming weeks.
Cheers
Maxine

HI Maxine, your poor Family :) As I said up top, I just think the lack of forward contributed to some of the slight Problems that Head had but didn't he look proud :) We are lucky because our saddles are not flocked and therefore there can be no movement. Most of the sore back problems come from English Saddles I note. Regards

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Hello HP,

   I followed my gut with the whole saddle thing, I have ridden Sparky twice in the new saddle and he hasn't missed a beat since, he hasn't shown signs of soreness since then,  I had noticed one white hair appear on his back but no more have spung up, though I am keeping a close eye on it. Also re your comments about the bitless bridles, what Linda had said to you put what I was feeling right into words so he will be mouthed soon   I lunged him in his bridle last week and there was alot of head tossing, which isnt like him. Felt carefully (didn't want to hurt him and he tries to munch my fingers) along the bars of his mouth, my little man has his wolf teeth. They are being removed when the dentist comes back to town at the start of Sept, will try to get some pics.   I also emailed Dagmar today about doing a reading on Sparky, will email you with my feedback once I have spoken to her.

Thanks again for all your time and knowledge.

Jennifer

Cheers Jennifer. Well done on the teeth investigation!!

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Hey you! Sorry , you are probably well over the Spooky stuff....but....lol Red had his reading, and I even got the Heeby-Geebies. Basically he just wants to do Bushwalking as he is too lazy to do anything else...his words lol. Gotta give him points for honesty. She found a few medical problems that I was sure he had...Dagmar just confirmed them . Points that were amazing were, He complained about a square wooden box in one of the paddocks that he wanted taken out as he keeps tripping over it. I scanned those paddocks in my head and on foot this morning.... I found an old Pallet tucked nicely under grass, I never new it was there. The other was he showed her electric shocks going through his body. Six months before I purchased Red, he was in a small paddock with another horse, during a very bad storm we had here his mate was unfortunately killed by a lightning strike. Red was only approx 5mtrs away from him. Since then he becomes very scared in storms. He spoke of my Seat in the saddle. He wants me to sit more still. I laughed at this as I only mentioned to my daughter a few days ago that I felt sorry for Red as I am always Squirming in the saddle. He is proud of me as I listening to him in the saddle and to others that are trying to teach me. He gave Dagmar a very good description of Don (old owner) as he can help me with hands as he has good natural horsemanship. He showed her a child and said it was an accident done recently. Due to not watching Red and my daughter for a split second as I turned and bent over a few weeks ago in the roundyard not knowing Red had walked behind me, A stick I had in my hand went up Reds nose, causing him to buck a few good times. My daughter ended up in hospital with a suspected broken hip...all is fine though. Here is THE freaky freaky info, ...He knows when he is been lead and he takes fright that he rushes forward infront of me! Remember I wrote to you for advise on him for doing this. Dududududududu

cheers
chelle

I can tell you Chelle that I fully expect to disprove such people as Dagmar, you know, catch them out, being ever skeptical but accepting until proven different. You would not believe some of the stuff that has been coming back to me, including a Horse owned by Mrs. HP's Sister. Spooky stuff I tell you. We spent half an hour the night before last, listening to the report, which was so extensive. Once again, virtually everything fitted completely.
 

ey you! Sorry I forgot to tellyou this, when daughter and I ride around the house, we let Mini Nemo come with us, he is sooo cute he makes us laugh, he canters infront bucking etc. Well we have taught ourselves a new trick, that if he keeps it up he will be hobbled and left behind. He now tries to jump up and grab the reins that are loopy while we are walking....what tha!

cheers
chelle

I think I might like that Chelle :)

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Hi John,


I stumbled across some of your work on youtube some months ago. But today, I went to have a look again … but can’t find anything. Have you removed it? I searched under “Horse Problems Australia” on youtube and only found the work of Norm Glenn ….. It would be a shame to not introduce your techniques to the rest of the world. I remember some reader comments about using youtube for business or financial gain …. Which I don’t care about … I hope you haven’t removed them because of that. I think it good to view/preview techniques on offer, using youtube.

Anyway, I’m having problems viewing your film clip on “windsuckers” from your website and thought it might be on youtube. I’d like to learn more about the behaviour.

I have my horses down the road at a community run agistment centre. A new horse to the centre, an ex-reacehorse, has been chewing the wooden rails something fierce and now a lot of the other horses are doing it as well. Not too sure if its windsucking or cribbing, both of which, I’m not familiar with. In the 12 years the centre has been running we’ve never had so much damage as whats been done in the past 2 months. It seems to be done a night and I haven’t caught him doing it so far, but his day yard is almost demolished from chewing.

The association members want to do something about it, but the owner of the horse doesn’t see it as being a problem.

Any assistance or access to your “film-clip” would be much appreciated.

Regards, Belinda

Hahaha, "the owner doesn't see it as a Problem" Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. What about the investment in the infrastructure for Pete's Sake? All Horses, every one on the Planet will eat wood. Why, because they love it. The more bored they are, due to the Owner of course, the more they eat it. I have one here now eating cement. There is a big difference then between that and wind sucking. I have a product to fix that on my saddlery page but not to fix eating wood. Electric wires, the bigger the voltage the better lol, is the way to go...or creosote or Steel. Regards

http://www.youtube.com/user/horseproblems

 

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Dear John O'Leary,

I free lease his quarter horse gelding who bucks. The chiropractor has said he gets this thing that is like having a constant migraine. His name is Bernie and is around 6 years old. I am 13 and I have been the only one who he normally behaves for. He lives in a stable with plenty of walking room and is ridden around 5 times a week. The problem is he is slightly unpredictable and has recently bucked me of. I got a deep graze under my eye and now my mum is ready to get rid of him. I love him and don’t know what to do. All I want to do is ride him safely and go to pony club. Please help me.

Thank you for your time,
Harriet

UK

Hi Harriet. Nice name. Very Pommy :) You must eliminate the Veterinary side of things first, being very investigative indeed. The Horse may be telling you something. I don't know how the Chiro could tell if the Horse had a head ache or not but hey, who am I to argue against the principal. Especially when I have been talking about our Friend reading Horses. Regardless of the cause and reason, you have to learn how and to equip you and the Horse so that you can stop him bucking.  You therefore read this: TESTING THE LATERAL MOUTH OF YOUR HORSE

Then watch this:

 

Then watch this:

 

Then go re-mouth your Horse to make all of that completely possible and then stop it bucking. End of problem if it is behavioural. Regards

 

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12th August, 2008

Hi Folks. Still raining off and on and the thousands of mega litres are running out at West Beach here in Adelaide because the idiots don't know what the word Dam means :( Meanwhile the Lakes at Goolwa where the mighty Murray runs out to Sea, are dying a slow death because we are being starved of water by up stream usage including the growing of Cotton in the driest Continent on Earth The Tourist Town of Goolwa is dying as we speak.

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I spoke last week about Heath Ryan apparently having a light bulb moment on his recent trip to Europe and how great that could be for Australian Dressage. I think I have worked out how to have my own player so here goes :)

   

 

 

 

THE YOUNG HORSE - IN FRONT OF THE LEG

There are a number important issues that I want to pass on to you here. Also for some friendly advice to the Owner, who I didn't see when the Horse left today.

We have been hosting a young Horse here for a total of 6 Rides by Mrs. HP. Mrs. HP rode the Horse during the week as it was here for her to put some flat work polish on but in reality, it should have been here for me to properly finish. Mrs. HP was complaining all week long about the Mouth and the lack of forwardness. I was in charge of feeding the Horse and so can mention also, the lack of feeding time Rules. In short, the Horse, whilst well behaved all week, bucked like a Bronco in front of the owner.

As you know, Horses tell you everything and they remember everything. To the point where I have often seen perfectly behaved Horses act up or Buck the moment the Owner shows up and that is a direct indicator of what the Horse thinks of it's prior handling, lack of rules, discipline, direction or what ever else it is trying to communicate at the time. In fact, I will go so far to say that the Horse could even have been saying that it doesn't want to go home!

Progressively, across the week, without any attention paid to him by me other than two days of sending him out of space when feeding him, he has been trying to make friends, culminating with him stretching onto his tippy toes last night, wanting to say hello and have me pat him. A complete turn around from when he arrived, where he was basically anti social.

However, the young Horse lacked FORWARD. He was not 'in front of the leg' the biggest single indicator of how the most important foundation stones have been set or not set. The next indicator was the shake of the head when demanding more forward. Then comes the boldness or not. Walking from the tie up rail down to the arena and stacking on a big scene necessitating a fight to win, just to get him to go past my Gator which was parked nearby. Immediately you know the Horse hasn't had the 'exposure' demands put on him and the subsequent 'boldness' that makes the complete 'Breaker' You straight away know that such a Horse is likely to buck because many things lurk deep inside because the necessary challenges have not been put on the Horse to bring out issues and so therefore, they still reside below the surface.

and so it was today when simply because he shied at a Horse that was traveling in the opposite direction to him and he felt Mrs. HP shift a bit in the saddle, then rear and out of the rear, the buck jump show and we are talking serious. It is always serious when it is a big Horse and more so when it is an athletically equipped Warm Blood Horse. The Owner commented that the Horse had been ridden around the Dam Paddock and no problems but the point I am making here is that there is a vast difference between either riding young Horses in their familiar territory or sitting on them as a steering passage and putting little demand on them rather than being a patient Rider.

Empathy has little place when it comes to putting the acid test on the Breaker. If they don't get put at the frightening things, with demand and win, all of those things remain beneath the surface, just waiting to bite you on the ass!

People misjudge quiet to lazy. We see it all the time. The true Horse has to be found during the Breaking in and that can only happen if the Horse is challenged.

WHO DO YOU SEND THE BREAKER TO?

In our case, we have