Several Articles on Selection & Care of the Distance Equine
OLD ENDURANCE RIDERS’ TALES - Some very successful (but perhaps foolhardy) riders regularly scan the classifieds for ads that might read, ‘‘spirited, for experienced rider only. ” Just how “spirited” the horse is might become apparent as soon as you meet the prospective seller, who is wrapped in casts and covered with stitches! The reasoning behind the endurance riders being interested in this type of situation is that (1) the price will be right, and (2) the horse is a renegade that has successfully thwarted anyone’s efforts to conquer him. He has a fighting spirit. Such a horse might simply be bored to distraction with the job his owner has picked out for him (perhaps dressage, western pleasure, or some other tedious enterprise). It’s possible that the horse just needs a career change, and if this is the case, endurance might be his cup of tea. On the other hand, reclaiming a horse with an attitude problem is a very risky business. A novice rider on the wrong side of thirty might be well advised to beef up his hospital and disability coverage before undertaking this particular type of project! Some riders look for a horse that has a dominant personality in the company of other horses, one that leads the pack. Some feel that an aloof attitude is preferable. Perhaps a socially independent horse might be a better bet than a domineering one, if for no other reason than he would be less likely to quit when he got by himself on the trail. Many people feel that a very low resting pulse rate (less than 30) indicates an exceptionally efficient metabolic system. However, it seems that many (perhaps most) top endurance horses seem to have more average counts. A hearty appetite is an important asset to an endurance horse. Nobody would argue that point. Running hundreds of miles requires huge amounts of fuel, and it stands to reason that a horse that is easily thrown off his feed will not be able to function satisfactorily. There are some big exceptions to this rule, however, and you should think twice before writing off a finicky eater. Another popular theory, especially among people who raise horses in the higher altitudes, is that horses raised where oxygen is in short supply will develop a superior ability to use whatever is available. Indeed, ever since the Olympics were held in Mexico City, altitude training has become a standard tool for human athletes. On the other hand, if a mountain raised horse were faced with dealing with other extreme climatic conditions, such as heat and humidity, the advantages of the altitude training might be more than offset by that individual’s unprepared ness to face the problem of heat dissipation. Now that you have been introduced to a few of the more or less questionable theories, let’s move on to more concrete considerations. Selection Tips (...in a “.pdf” format, click on Adobe Reader if you don’t already have it, it’s free!) Evaluating Conformation of Horses - Conformation is the physical appearance of an animal due to the arrangement of muscle, bone and other body tissue. Conformation is a combination of muscle, skeletal soundness and symmetry. It is the overall blending of body parts to form a graceful athlete. All horses have conformation. However, the quantity and quality of the blending of these body parts determine the acceptability or unacceptability of the horse’s conformation. This fact sheet will outline criteria that can be used to evaluate conformation of horses. CONFORMATION Evaluating Skeletal Structure of Horses - Conformation is directly related to skeletal structure. It includes the bones and the ligaments, which bind the bones together to form joints. The skeletal structure provides the framework that gives the body shape and protects the vital organs. The skeleton of the horse will determine the length and slope of shoulder, overall height and length, length of back, and all the other things that are related to skeletal design. STRUCTURE Conformation and Function in the Riding Horse - Horses today may usefully be classified into five general types: riding horse, flat-racer, carriage and harness horse, draft horse, and "projects." A well-conformed riding horse does not look like a well-conformed flat racer. Thus, in order to train the horse intelligently or to ride it well, it is first necessary to know the use-type to which your horse belongs. To a great degree, this will be determined by his parents and grandparents. Structure cannot be altered, but the way the animal uses himself can be modified through training. FUNCTION Excerpts from…Focus on Discipline: Endurance -Competing in the more strenuous rides demands an equine athlete. Veterinarians scrutinize animals' fitness before, during, and after the ride. They examine how the horse's musculoskeletal and metabolic systems perform over the trail. Only sound, healthy horses are allowed to compete, and failing any exam results in forced withdrawal from the ride. www.thehorse.com/, Article #6548 Is My Horse the Right Size? -Everyone has seen pictures of a smiling child perched high on the back of a huge, placid workhorse. Equally familiar is the stereotype of a tiny burro carrying a portly owner to the village market. Both images provoke smiles from viewers, but neither portrays the best match between mount and master. How can a rider decide what size equine is right? To answer this question, it is necessary to consider several factors about both the rider and the horse. Factors To Consider Estimating Horse Body Weight With A Simple Formula - Knowledge of horse body weight is useful in determining how much daily feed is needed. Also, paste wormers and other medications are designed to be dispensed at specific levels relative to a horse's weight. Unfortunately, most horse owners do not have easy access to a set of scales and must often resort to visual evaluation for estimating weight. FORMULA Monitoring Your Horse's Vital Signs - Vital signs are measurements of body functions that indicate the health status of the animal. Body temperature, heart rate, and respiration (breathing) rate are some easily monitored and commonly used vital signs. A horse's vital signs usually fall within an average range for all horses. However, there are individual differences in vital signs, and some healthy horses may have a slightly higher or lower measurement than the average. Because of small individual differences in values of vital signs, it is important to know the usual value for your horse. Measuring your horse's vital signs occasionally will give you an indication of what is "normal" for your horse. VITAL SIGNS Equine Vaccination Programs - Vaccinations for horses save money—and lives. For relatively little investment, vaccinations for horses prevent diseases that cost considerably more to treat. While your local veterinarian should be consulted for the best vaccination program for your particular situation, the list below describes important equine diseases that vaccines can prevent. VACCINATE Controlling Common Internal Parasites of the Horse - Parasite infestation causes loss of nutrients or blood from the host and serious economical and medical problems in managing horses. While it is obviously expensive to feed parasite burdened horses, depletion of nutrients and blood can cause severe loss of condition, decrease growth, and reduce reproductive and athletic performance. WORMING Respiratory Diseases in Horses What You Can Do to Prevent Them - Early detection of respiratory disease is important for successful treatment and to minimize days lost in training, racing, showing, or poor performance, which often is the greatest cost. PREVENTION The Equine Heart - How it works & what can go wrong- The horse's heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) system is one of the key components required for optimal athletic performance. The modern-day horse has evolved over thousands of years with selective pressures aimed at improving athletic performance. This has resulted in an animal with a large heart which has high blood pumping capacity. In this article I will review some of the basic functions of the heart, the cardiovascular response to training and exercise, as well as review some causes of poor performance related to heart function. THE HEART The Importance of Understanding Resting Heart Rate - The resting heart of your horse is an essential indicator of horse health. An elevated resting heart rate can indicate some type of stress from anxiety, illness, injury or over training and provides an early warning sign to a horse owner that something may not be quite right. An abnormally high equine resting heart rate might be cause for a more serious health concern and may prompt a call to your Veterinarian. HEART RATE NEW - A guide to body clipping your horse. By Lindsey Finn. Illustrations by Jean Abernethy. True or False? A horse's hair coat grows long in winter because the weather turns cold. If you answered false, give yourself a pat. Cold weather plays a part in hair growth, but primarily, the decreasing amount of daylight in fall and winter months triggers the equine body to grow a thicker hair coat in preparation for winter. In the fall, the horse's slick summer coat is replaced with a thicker, longer, and sometimes duller, winter coat. Horses living in pastures or not blanketed require this winter coat for good health.
However, this same shaggy hair can be detrimental to a horse kept in training during winter. Sweat-drenched hair takes hours to dry, putting horses at risk of getting chilled and sick. A long hair coat in a humid climate can lead to fungal or bacterial skin infections. Plus, a shaggy horse is difficult to groom thoroughly.
A common solution to this problem is body clipping. Body clipping removes the long winter coat from some, or all, the horse's body. The Buzz Cut New - A basic understanding of digestion can help you plan an appropriate diet for your horse. Story & Illustration by Lori K. Warren, Ph.D. As a horse owner, you likely make a conscientious effort to select quality feeds for your horse to eat. You are also probably well acquainted with the by-products of digestion each time you clean your horse's stall. But how often do you think about what takes place in your horse's body in between? Ins and Outs of Digestion Understanding Colic in Horses Most horse owners have dealt with colic. Rather than a disease, colic is a condition of pain. Specifically, colic refers to abdominal pain most often originating from the digestive tract. Because it is a condition of pain rather than a specific disease, causes are numerous and sometimes difficult to diagnose accurately. COLIC Myths and Truths about Controlling Pain and Inflammation in Horses - The demands of pleasure and competitive riding result in many inflammatory conditions of the musculoskeletal system. The nature of the work that horses perform causes sprains and strains, and in some cases, failure of ligaments, tendons, joints and bone, which may lead to temporary or permanent disability. Common diseases of horses such as pneumonia/pleuritis and colic also involve… INFLAMMATION.
Are You 'Stressing Out' Your Horse? - What is Stress? Stress is the body’s response to anything it considers threatening. For a horse this could be anything, including trailering and traveling, showing, poor nutrition, feeding at irregular times, changes in other routines, environmental toxins, interactions within their social environment, variations in climate, and illness. Some types of stress include various physical stresses that are based on the physical makeup of the animal and its ability to respond to changes in diet, injury, etc. Psychological stresses are based on a horse’s personality and its perception of life. STRESSED Poisonous Plants of the Southeastern United States - The need for a regional publication on the identification and toxicity of common poisonous plants was discussed at an annual meeting of southern Extension Directors. Extension weed specialists and Extension veterinarians in the South were surveyed to develop a master list of poisonous plants. TOXIC PLANTS AERC Riders Handbook…Revised and updated by the American Endurance Ride Conference Education Committee in 2001 Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension N.J. Agricultural Experiment Station Rutgers, The State University Of New Jersey, New Brunswick http://www.rcre.rutgers.edu/ Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan John W. Everest, Extension Weed Scientist, Professor, Agronomy and Soils; Thomas A. Powe, Jr., Professor, Large Animal Surgery and Medicine, John D. Freeman, Extension Plant Taxonomist, Associate Professor (Retired), Botany and Microbiology, Auburn University Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources • Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension www.fcs.okstate.edu/publications Todd C. Holbrook, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM, Assistant Professor of Equine Medicine at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma Kentucky Equine Research, Inc., Versailles, KY www.ker.com TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE, EQUINE SCIENCES PROGRAM Equine Studies Institute, P.O. Box 411 Livingston, CA 95334 www.equinestudies.org
The University of Tennessee, Agricultural Extension Services. www.animalscience.ag.utk.edu Disclaimer of Liability: The information found on the DistanceRiding website, is provided for entertainment and reference only. DistanceRiding and South Eastern Distance Riders Association (SEDRA) does not specifically endorse or recommend any organizations, companies or individuals referenced on the DistanceRiding website DIstanceRiding and SEDRA expressly excludes liability for any damage, loss or injury that may be suffered as a result of information or opinions expressed on http://www.distanceriding.org/ |
