Strangles Day

In springtime we have barn wide vaccination of the horses. The vet comes and with only minimal fuss each horse is given the shots that will boost their immunity throughout the warmest part of the year. Many times it is on this day that horses who will be showing or traveling out of state also get their Coggins drawn.

It’s an organized affair, it’s our goal to make this appointment happen in an orderly fashion. I email a list to the vet’s office of who is getting what, and in turn the vet arrives with said list and we go horse by horse through the barn and vaccinations are given out with very little drama and we get the vet back out the door on time to continue their day. With the exception of one horse, Gus, who, because of his long battle with allergies of all kinds, really REALLY HATES needles. He goes full on “Dark Gus” when the vet is there, we learned this the hard way. Now he gets his shots before anything else in the barn happens on vaccination day. SURPRISE!!! It’s needle time..and done. Much like people, not all horses are super great about getting shots and blood draws.

Strangles Day is a separate day. As you know Spring shots are many. This means about 2 weeks after shots the most dreaded day of the year comes around: Strangles Day. The vaccination against Strangles is given as a mist up through the horse’s giant nostril. There is a little plunger attached to a tiiiiiiny little tube about 4 inches or so long that has to get threaded up in there and then once that’s done a quick POOF of liquid goes up their nose. There is a lot of sneezing on Strangles Day.

Strangles, not for nothing, is a highly contagious disease spread by nose to nose contact. It causes swelling in the lymph nodes and a nasty discharge out the nose. It’s pretty commonly spread at horse shows. As such, we need to vaccinate against this disease to prevent it from coming into the barn. One of the big reasons for our vaccination policy is of course: health of our horses. And this is because they don’t just stay here, no! They get out in the world, go to shows, trail rides, travel across the state and the country and will be occasionally surrounded by horses who are not so well cared for as our herd. To protect them, and of course the vaccination policy shields all the other horses in the barn from incoming diseases.

It’s an annual occurrence to find out a show ground has had an outbreak of disease and I’m always thankful, and comforted to know all the horses have been vaccinated. It’s a comfort to our boarders as well, who when the news spread all share the news with me, in texts of great concern. I then remind them all our horses were vaccinated against this on X Day, but thank you for letting me know.

As you can imagine, giving a nasal mist to a horse is, well, challenging. Strangles day is as orderly but far far less efficient and smooth as Spring Vaccination Day. The horses toss their heads, shake their their big 100 pound boney heads right next to our beloved, cherished, hard working Vets. Larger, stronger horses can lift the vet up off the ground while they are trying to administer this vaccination, which in my opinion is in the stupidest possible form. Only if we had to mist it onto their eye balls could this be a worse delivery system. I once asked Dr. Black as we were struggling to get a horse vaccinated, then wait for the return fire from our patient (they sneeze after it’s over, really, Strangles Day is so fun) if this vaccination was the revenge plot of a spiteful biologist going through a rough divorce with an equine Veterinarian. He chuckled and went into a suitably technical explanation of why the composition of this vaccination in particular had to have this delivery system.

Everyone agrees it’s okay for a horse to have an opinion about Strangles Vaccination. Even Gus can put on his “Dark Gus” sunglasses and come out to play because he’s so hateful about needles. We can all relate, especially after what we’ve been through in the last 4 years with COVID testing and vaccinations, that many of the things we have to endure to be healthy are not ideal. Certainly not comfortable. The memory of that VERY LOOOONG pokey cotton swab going up your nose for a flu test or a Covid test is one I’m sure you will take to your grave. The horses are no different.

The rubber hits the road in horsemanship during these encounters which are a normal and necessary part of a horse’s life multiple times each year. A horse who is well-mannered can certainly have a strong opinion, but the people be they a vet or a farrier still need to be able to reason with the horse. To start, each horse needs to be able to stand for the vet, which means still. Horses need to be able to be caught in a pen of any size, stand in crossties and listen when given a correction. They need to respect people. And that’s the owner’s job.

80% of equine Vets across the country report sustaining at least one equine-related injury throughout their career. They are more likely to have 7 to 10 equine-related injuries. Farriers, don't even get me started. I think farriers are just happy to come home every day if they aren’t bleeding. Now, what your Vet will consider an “Equine-Related Injury” is worthy of consideration. Just working in our barn over the last 10 years I’ve watched and held horses who have put equine professionals in danger. One horse getting his temperature taken during an exam very nearly could have killed the vet whilst violently, unexpectedly kicking out. We had to move him in front of hay bales and a door to get the job done. My own very large horse is an absolute BEAST to get a tube up his nose and it can take up to 3 people to get the job done. I’ve watched my vet get drug around a stall by a horse who was afraid of needles, several times. I don’t know that the vets consider a minor kick, bite or slam to be an injury. But they are, and they add up over time.

Owners complain bitterly about how challenging it is to get a vet to come out. And in our area, the lack of farriers available to work on their horses. The shortage of Equine Professionals in our area is in part due to the growing number and demand for services. It is also due to the fact that the life of a Vet or a Farrier is VERY VERY HARD. Long hours, long drives, high stress clients both human and horse. A lack of true gratitude and respect for their work, professionalism and talent.

Add to all this the drop in quality of horse behavior and expected horse behavior from horse owners. No matter how much you love your job and horses, these situations are both frustrating and dangerous for professionals. In our barn we work to have safe spaces for horses, riders, and professionals coming in. We are well-lit. When the vet comes we are ready, the horses come inside for their visits and are let out after. And at an increasing rate, because of the little injuries we don’t report or remember but still impact our lives we only want horses in our barn who know how to behave, and owners who appreciate the need for horses to behave.

Horses will have moments. I’ve been knocked into stall walls by a spook. Hit with a horse head full speed by a horse spooking. I’ve had my right foot fractured, stomped on full speed by a horse, SPOOKING. I’ve been kicked by a horse who decided today was the day she didn’t want me to clean her stall. Bitten to the point of a deep long lasting bruise by horse too eager for me to dump grain into his feeder. I’ve been yanked out of horse trailers countless times. And it adds up. A life with horses is a lot of painful mornings, waking up to a body that says “Not again. Please no.” After a while you don’t want to, and shouldn’t have to be the one to handle and manage horses who aren't justifiably nervous about something but are instead: simply being naughty.

These little injuries, and little scares and close calls create a mental toll. And they are all PHYSICALLY DANGEROUS to human beings. As a barn owner who is now only taking horses with good manners and horse owners who train and work with their horses to be manageable, I implore you all to learn to be good horsemen. If you are new to the game, learn. Learn from seasoned people. If you have a young horse who is naughty, work with your horse until they are good and be ready to have your horse sedated for shoeing appointments and vet appointments. Yes, that costs more.

I have been both of these people. The newbie who needed to learn. And the owner of the terrible young horse who needed to learn. I paid for the education to become a good horsewoman who can now handle damn near any horse thrown at me. And I paid extra when my young horse was a nightmare, because as a seasoned horse woman who respects not only my Vet, and Farrier I can’t live with the idea that my horse would be the one to ruin someone’s day/Week/Life.

Because that’s what bad or lacking horsemanship does. At best, it makes a simple day like vacations a pain in the ass. A spoiled, untrained horse could ruin your Farrier’s morning and throw off his entire schedule because it took 3x longer to do your horse and so he’s now late for every appointment and maybe loses business because he was AGAIN late….not because he was eating lunch in the park on a beautiful day, but because Mr. Sparkles wouldn’t stop kicking with his left hind for a trim.

A spoiled untrained horse could be a pain in the ass, but it also could be what sends your vet to the hospital because Mr. Sparkles doesn’t like to have his face touched and no one works on it and the vet got smacked full tilt in the face with his huge 100 pound boney head and now your vet who you complain you can’t get to come out is bleeding and has a broken nose, needs to go to urgent care and someone else in the clinic has to try to pick up those appointments on her docket for the day.

How horses behave has REAL WORLD consequences. Their (the horse’s) personality, need for freedom of expression of their emotions or whatever plays a big role in lives of the people who work on them. The people you need. The people you complain about not coming in the exact time frame you want them to be there to help you with your horse. Having a well behaved horse has REAL WORLD consequences for owners as well. Sooner or later if you don’t reform your horse’s bad behavior and you refuse to allow the vet or farrier to sedate for whatever reason you may find the number of equine professionals willing to work with you and your “naughty”/DANGEROUS horse has dropped significantly.

Let me be now, the latest voice in a growing chorus of voices in the horse industry BEGGING. PLEADING with horse owners to: do better. Buy the horses that are suitable to your level of horsemanship. Get the help you need to become the person who can manage your horse. It is not the job of your barn owner, farrier, vet to train YOUR HORSE to be good to work with. It is your job. DO THE WORK regularly to make your horse a solid citizen so that when Strangles Day comes around again your Vet, and your barn owner aren’t looking at your horse with dread wondering not only if they are gonna get this done, but also if it will get done without blood and bruises.

Talking to Horses

Forging relationships with horses can be difficult. The primary difficulty is obvious: horses and people are totally different animals. People by nature are EXTREMELY verbal. We communicate constantly with our mouths, our voices and written language. Expressed words are a REALLY HUGE part of how we use our gigantic brains to connect with each other. Humans are omnivores living in group units. We have the capacity to use tools to hunt and build. Our offspring grow slowly and we use our words to teach and pass on information as well as to thrive in climates across the globe. Words and actions have kept us alive all this time.

Horses by comparison have relatively less complex brains and far fewer verbal forms of communication. Certainly you hear horses make noise. They whinny, nicker, grunt, and squeal however most all of those noises are used in communication with other horses, and as a person who inhabits a barn, I’ll tell you for the most part, they’re not making a lot of verbal communications with each other throughout the day. Now, if you were a horse, a herd animal, a prey animal you’d learn pretty quick that you really don’t want to talk out loud that much either. If everyone in the herd is standing around whinnying their heads off…well it’s pretty easy for a pack of wolves to find you and eat your family. So yes, horses do “talk” out loud but so much of the way they communicate is done with their bodies.

You can learn a lot about horses, and how they communicate simply by watching them. If for example you watch horses in turn out over the course of a few hours you’ll find out that they spend the first bit of turn out saying “hello” to their neighbors. They whinny, squeal and kick and buck. It’s like everyone is saying “HEY GUYS IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!” They also posture at each other, either sidling up to one another for a scratch or perhaps backing up to a pushy neighbor and giving a kick with a squeal as to say “this is my personal space bubble pal!!” After awhile they settle in and everyone goes back to silent playing and companionship….until the garbage truck comes by or something startles the group, then they get chatty again. Just as they do when we bring them in…they begin to neigh and call for their friends, especially the ones who are waiting to come in “DON’T FORGET ME OUT HERE!!!”

But when you are riding your horse he really shouldn’t make that much noise. A horse whinnying during a ride is usually a nervous horse or buddy sour calling to a friend. A horse whinnying while you ride isn’t telling you “great job up there I understand what you want loud and clear.” Actually, the whinnying-under-saddle horse in that moment is treating you like an afterthought.

So, as you grow in horsemanship and become a true horseman you need to learn your horse’s body language. Learn to listen to him with your body. Slow down those verbal parts of your brain and begin to fire up the “feel” sections of your brain. The same receptors in your mind that can “feel” that your air conditioner has kicked on making the room colder are the ones that will help you “feel” your horse’s mood. You need to learn to feel in your own body what your horse is telling you. This is easily accomplished while grooming, which is a natural behavior for happy well-adjusted horses. As you brush feel his body, are his muscles tensed or relaxed? is he paying attention to you and quietly following your movements or is he cocked to the side watching something else happen in the barn or looking for his pasture buddy? Does he jump to the side when you brush or does he lean in to the curry?

It follows then, that if you must listen with your body you also need to learn to talk with your body. As a child I remember some fundamental moments of my education in horsemanship. One is that people told me over and over horses “knew” when you were afraid. I always kind of thought this meant the horse was reading my mind, but in reality as 7 years old I was unaware that my emotional/mental nerves created physical reactions in my body. Tightness in legs, hands, tilting forward, breathing quickly. I was ACTING nervous and my body communication to the horse was telling her there was a HUGE ALLIGATOR in the arena and we needed to run. Of course knowing that the horse “knows” I’m nervous only served to make little Margo MORE nervous…that was until I learned more about riding and became more confident.

Famously, in my first dressage test ever I verbally communicated with my horse Dolly the whole time. “Now Dolly, we’re gonna go across the diagonal here….okay now at B we have to trot a circle.” At -2 points a shot per voice command the opening act to my competitive dressage career earned a generous 43% (that’s terrible). Dolly the horse wasn’t voice trained, and she didn’t know what a circle was, she only knew what I physically told her to do, which ultimately was to trot, slowly a weird polygon shape in the middle of the dressage arena.

It took me a while to figure out how to communicate with my body ONLY to my horse. Yes, I do still talk out loud to my horses but there is also a HUGE amount of information being shared with my body, my own emotional control and how I use those things to communicate with them. After 35 years of being around horses I feel very fluent in body communication with the horses. If you were to watch me with the horses I work with you’d see me touching them and speaking my language with them the entire time I work with them. And when I meet new horses, I certainly do introduce myself to them politely and try to begin our dialogue. Every horse, like every person is similar but different and the more horses you meet the better equine communicator you become. You learn that speed, level of intensity and repetition mean more than words.

Horses certainly can pick out an experienced horse person from someone who is just starting out. Horses make a humongous array of facial expressions mostly because they’ve been domesticated for thousands of years and they are really really good at reading human beings. They have learned, by watching us and feeling our bodies when we are in a good place emotionally or a bad place. They are very sharp animals and they 100% know you’ve had a bad day at work just by the stiffness of your eyebrow. Imagine for a moment that you could slow down enough and be so observant of your horse that you could tell just by the stiffness of his nostril what kind of mood he was in….and then have the physical and emotional acuity to make it better.

If you don’t believe me that your horse understands what your facial expressions mean take a minute out of your barn time to yawn obnoxiously at your horse and you’ll discover that yawns are contagious across species.

I urge everyone: slow down. Look, feel, listen…absorb and immerse yourself in the life of your equine partner not by projecting your emotions onto him but by allowing yourself to be more equine. They (the horses) really are trying their level best to do what you want, if you find that your horse is naughty or is not listening it might be time to examine your communication skills with your horse.Its worth doing because as you learn to communicate more like a horse your confidence and security will grow. Good communication skills are after all the bedrock of any good relationship.

How was your day hairball?

HOrsemanship: A Beginners Guide

Strictly speaking “horsemanship” is a term that simply means: the art and practice of riding horses.  However, many (including myself) would argue that horsemanship is a broader term, extending beyond simply riding. In my mind horsemanship is a skill set which encompasses the competent handling, management and riding of horses. 

Horsemanship in my mind covers: knowledge of breeds, colorations, markings, standard brands and anatomy of horses. Knowledge of all pieces of tack, how and why they are used. A functional ability to manage a horse through an endless array of situations: loading in a horse trailer, riding, leading down a barn aisle, familiarization with new places, hand grazing. A horseman should also know equine first aid, the equine digestive system, giving a horse a bath and basic biomechanics…

This is a short list. Because identifying suitable hay, changing tires, mucking stalls, providing and maintaining proper housing, riding correctly, training horses, communicating with vets and farriers, and the entire giant subcategory of "horse showing"  also appear on this list.

When you own a horse you need to know A LOT of things relating to the animal you own and ride, apart from simply how to pilot your steed.  Horsemanship is a broad ranging topic. Becoming a competent horse person is quite the undertaking.

There are many styles of horsemanship.  Traditional, natural and all things in between. Between disciplines and styles of riding and driving good horsemanship means something different. Truly, there is a broad spectrum of expectations.  All of them are hoping to achieve the same thing: happy healthy horses, and good safe riding.

There are a few things a person needs in order to become a true and competent horse person:

1: Time.  Spending time in your riding stable around horses and horse people is important. Becoming aware of the rhythms and patterns of horses and how things are done. Becoming part of the local culture and of course time enough to become fully comfortable around horses, and the situations that present themselves as part of horse life.

2: Observation. A lot of time the best way to learn about horsemanship is through simply watching. Observe horses and observe horse people. Watch what other riders and trainers do, then see if you are capable of emulating what they do. Posture, timing of corrections and asks. What do horse people wear (gloves are a good example)? Observe horses moving and how they act when they are in turn out, when they are in their stall. Watch other people ride, both in clinics, lessons and just for fun. What does posting look like or asking for a lope off? Head set, over-stride. Observe your horse’s reactions to things and the environment and the interactions you share with them.  If a horse is scared or nervous, what makes them better? What makes them worse?  Watch and see. 

Observation includes listening as well. The equestrian world is filled with its own special vocabulary. Listen to how seasoned horse people communicate, pick up the lingo, the special terms and when they are used. 

3: Mentors. If you’re new to the sport or looking to increase your skill, after spending your time in the barn, and observing things, also find the person or people whose horse skills you most admire and refer to them, if possible for help and advice. “If this was your horse what would you do”  Watch how they wrap legs, or handle a spook. Watch how they get a stubborn horse into a trailer or how they lead and handle their horses. Horsemanship is a skill which has been handed down for millennia. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice from people who know more than   you. All horse people get a large portion of their information by asking for help. 

4: Education. Where possible seek out reputable educational materials and experiences. Take riding lessons and askyour instructor or mentor to help you learn how to do things you are unsure of. Read books and magazine articles from reputable sources. Be wary of self-published books, miracle cures for problem horses and guarantees of expertise within short periods of time. Be mindful that ANYONE can post videos on YouTube and the technique you may be watching on YouTube is perhaps dangerous, improperly done or just simply ineffective. 

Good books and magazines have the information you are looking for. “What does the bit do?” “Why do I need to change my posting diagonal?” Becoming a good horseman is primarily an experiential endeavor but a wealth of knowledge can be had from publications. Reading and watching videos can communicate the same concepts you are learning but in a different or more in-depth way. 

Reputable Sources include: (magazines) Equus, Practical Horsemanship, Chronicle of the Horse. (Books) Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship, Complete Equine Emergency Bible, International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds.

5: Find your own Style. You don’t have to be a horseman like Buck Brannaman. You can be and should be your own horse person. It’s okay to meld natural horsemanship techniques with more traditional methods. So long as it’s safe, and effective develop the style that works for you and be confident in how you do it. The shared language between on rider and one horse may not necessarily work exactly the same for another rider and a different horse. 

Becoming a knowledgable horseman takes time and effort, but it’s worth it! In horses there is no end to the opportunity for expanding your knowledge base. Just when you think you have seen everything and done most everything something brand new crops up to challenge what you know. Horsemanship is something you can take pride in, and that pride will carry over into the rest of your life. Giving you more confidence than before you started your great journey.