Horses usually adapt easily and quickly to winter’s challenges. But it’s important to provide them with the extra care they need to stay safe and healthy when the cold winds blow.
1. As pasture quality or accessibility decreases, increase hay. The best heat source for your horse is extra hay. During the cold weather, it’s best to increase the amount of hay, not concentrated feeds. Hay is digested in the cecum and colon which results in heat production by bacterial fermentation.
2. Get a pre-winter dental checkup. If your horse isn’t grinding up her food properly, she may not be getting all the nutrients and energy out of it. Food is energy and energy creates warmth!
3. Even if your horses are stabled over night, make sure they have a windbreak or shelter. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate structure. Dense shrubbery or a stand of trees may be enough.
4. Consider blanketing during wet, very windy, or frigid weather. Like a wet down jacket, your horse’s haircoat looses loft and won’t hold body heat when it’s wet. Older horses, horses unused to the cold or clipped horses may need blanketing.
5. Remove the blanket every day. Brush your horse and check for chafing and irritation from the blanket. Don’t neglect grooming during the winter. A dirty, matted coat loses much of its ability to insulate.
6. If you put your horse in a stall during very cold weather, keep in mind she may still need blanketing. In the wild, horses forage, move continually and huddle together during cold weather to keep body temperatures up. These options are not be available to a stalled horse and body temperatures can decline.
7. Inside the barn, be sure there is adequate ventilation but no direct drafts. Consider weather stripping the stalls. If your stall floors are cement, add rubber matting or extra bedding for insulation.
8. Be sure to provide adequate water during the winter. Horses may not drink enough if the water is very cold. Try to keep the water temperatures as far above freezing to increase water consumption and avoid dehydration.
9. Watch for frozen puddles around the water troughs. These can be really dangerous to your horse. Sprinkle alfalfa meal on the icy spots. Alfalfa contains nitrogen to promote melting and has a texture to provide traction. Non-toxic and cheap! Fireplace ashes and plain old dirt can provide traction, too.
10. Keep hooves in good condition. Well trimmed hooves will chip less, hold less snow, and provide better grip on slippery ground.
In the wild, horses acclimate very easily to cold weather. In a domestic setting, we may need to provide a little extra care to ensure our horse’s safety and heath. Learn to balance your horses needs with her current environment for the best possible horse health!
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Jumper courses are very demanding, calling for technical accuracy on the part of the rider and absolute obedience from the horse. Connecting with the horse from the hind legs, through the back to the bit will prevent most of resistance problems that horses have with jumping. As the riders head toward the jump, they focus on the rhythm of your horse’s strides.
Elements of successful show jumping include riding lines, related distances, bending lines, and jumping off of turns. Competitors in jumper classes are judged on number of faults caused by knocking down or refusing to jump obstacles and on speed. A typical jumper course is 8-12 fences consisting of natural as well as brightly colored jumps. Most jumper classes consist of a first round (or two rounds) followed by a jump-off among all riders with clear first rounds. A jump-off course has fewer fences than the jumper class.
Penalty points are assessed if the horse refuses a jump, or brings down the highest element of an obstacle. Additionally in the jumper ring penalty points are added if the allowed time limit for the course is exceeded. Riders near the end of the starting order have the advantage of seeing how the first riders complete the course.
Classes are broken into a variety of sub-groupings. Amateur owner jumpers must be ridden by amateur owners only. Adult amateur jumpers must be ridden by amateur rider, but do not have to actually own the horse. While Junior jumpers must be ridden by riders under the age of 18. Schooling jumpers may be ridden by anyone.
In the jumper show ring, style does not count; jumper classes are purely athletic tests of speed and strength. Competitors in jumper classes are judged on number of faults caused by knocking down or refusing to jump obstacles and on speed. In addition to the faster speed of jumper class competition, courses in jumper classes are also composed of more varied obstacles.
The dynamics and beauty of horse and rider soaring over fences makes jumping a thrilling sight.
Tip! Learn Respect – Children will learn to respect their horses and themselves. Horses are large, dangerous creatures and they demand respect, yet in order to be handled safely they must also respect their handlers.
When spring returns to Kentucky, so do the Thoroughbreds (I’m talking horses). Native Kentuckians say that Kentucky is the home of beautiful horses and fast women and great Bourbon. Anyone who has ever lived in Kentucky knows that spring is Kentucky’s best time of the year. The forsythias, azaleas and dog woods are in bloom, the temperature is perfect and the grass that gives the Blue Grass State its name will soon be going to seed. It is at this time, that the blue of the grass is most apparent to the eye.
Given all of the above, the biggest event of spring in Kentucky is the opening of the racing season which starts with Keeneland’s Spring Meet (Lexington, Kentucky) in mid April followed by the running of the Kentucky Derby (Louisville, Kentucky) on the first weekend of May.
I particularly love going to Keeneland not only to watch the races but to see the ladies of Lexington dressed in their finest, wearing hats that would make the Queen of England weep for joy.
If you are lucky enough to be in Lexington during the spring meet at Keeneland, you should plan to get up early in the morning when the dew is still on the grass and go to the track. Admission at this time of the day is free and you will be allowed to visit the horse stalls to see the Thoroughbreds who will be running in the races and will possibly get a chance to talk to the owners, the trainers or even the jockeys. You will be able to observe and time the early morning work outs of the horses. Finally, you will be able to go the cafeteria to eat along side the men and woman who make racing the Sport of Kings. The atmosphere in the restaurant is warm (a nice change after walking around the field in the cool of the morning) and cozy (or crowded, depending on your definition). The breakfast menu is a complete working man’s meal in the true cafeteria tradition: greasy and tasty and the conversation (if you care to listen in to the surrounding buzz) can be salty, informative and hilarious (and perhaps you‘ll pick up a hot tip for the race). And the check for all this is CHEAP.
Tip! How to Learn From Our Mistakes – When your child first starts learning to ride and handle horses they will make a lot of mistakes and will learn quickly not to make the same mistake twice. That is what horsemanship is all about.
On the other hand, if you are in Kentucky for the running of the Derby and do not have tickets to the Grandstand at Churchill Downs, I would advise you to visit this historic track on a day when there are no races or when the races are not of great import. During Derby day, the track is as crowded and as crazy as Times Square (NYC) on New Year’s Eve. You will not be able to see any significant part of the race. You will not be able to find a bathroom quickly and when you do find one you will wait and wait and wait for the opportunity to relieve yourself in private (a particular problem for women). You will not find a place to eat although there are vendors on the outside of the track where you may purchase a hot dog (the heart burn that sets in later is part of the charge). However, if you are in the mood to mingle with drunken frat boys and their girls, (the campus of the University of Louisville is a short walk away) the in-field may be your cup of tea. Otherwise, you can see the race on TV or you can get yourself invited to the ubiquitous parties that are held by native Kentuckian’s all over the Commonwealth. Don’t worry about finding an invitation to one of these since you can just start a casual conversation with any native and you’ll probably find yourself invited to one. No matter where you see the Derby, don’t forget to catch the singing of “My Ole Kentucky Home” at the end of the race (guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of any listener, especially if you‘ve been drinking Mint Juleps. Mint Juleps are a particular tradition on Derby Day in Kentucky).
Tip! If you choose to work with green horses (youngsters) you have to recognize that you are taking on the role of teacher/parent/disciplinarian and in that role, anytime you lose your temper you cause more work for yourself down the road and you confuse the horse. It is specifically for this reason that I don’t recommend HOT clubbers purchase green stock.
When you are in Lexington, I would advise you of the following: go to desha’s (a restaurant in downtown Lexington) and get a piece of their Cornbread with Honey Butter (recipe to follow); and make sure you go to Roger’s Restaurant (a bit out of downtown on Harrodsburg Road) for their Wilted Lettuce Salad (recipe to follow). Roger’s is an old Lexington landmark and a favorite with old Lexingtonians and some in the race horse industry. I am really not recommending the food in general, although I’ve had worse…but I really like that salad.
While in Louisville, treat yourself to a meal at the Brown Hotel. This is an old Louisvillian landmark and a fabulous Hotel with a good restaurant. It is also the creator of the Kentucky Hot Brown sandwich (recipe to follow). I’ve never seen the Hot Brown served outside of Kentucky, but it is a great sandwich which can be had in just about any restaurant in Kentucky.
Tip! Learn to be Open Minded – Every horse is different and will have to be handled differently. A good horseman never stops learning, even experts and trainers will admit that they learn something new everyday from their horses.
And finally, while I am sharing recipes I will offer one for the Mint Julep (see below). This particular recipe comes from an old Kentucky family’s private recipe file and as this drink goes this is a pretty good recipe (although to be truthful, I don’t really like this drink), but, as I said, it is a Kentucky Derby tradition and as they say: “When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do” or as they do in Lexington and/or Louisville, Kentucky.
3 cups self rising corn meal
1/3 cup sugar
6 eggs
1½ cup vegetable oil
3 cups sour cream
2 and 2/3 cups cream style corn
1¼ cups softened butter
½ cup butter
Combine first 6 ingredients in the order listed and mix well. Pour into greased 9 by 13 inch greased pan and place in preheat oven (350 degrees F.) and bake for 30 about minutes. Makes 12 good sized squares.
Honey Butter
Mix equal amount of softened butter and honey together. Serve with warm cornbread.
Wilted Lettuce Salad
6 generous handfuls (about 12 cups) fresh leaf lettuce
2 green onions, sliced thinly
6 slices thick-sliced smoked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Wash and dry the lettuce thoroughly. Place the lettuce and onions in a serving bowl. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and let it drain on paper towels, leaving the bacon drippings warm in the skillet over low heat. Add the vinegar and sugar to the bacon drippings, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and cook the mixture until it is very hot, but not smoking. Pour the hot dressing over the lettuce and onions, tossing to coat and wilt the greens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately after pouring the hot dressing over the lettuce and onions because once you do this step, the salad won‘t keep. Makes 4 servings.
Tip! Self Discipline – Horses take a lot of time and work, so your child will have to be dedicated to learning how to ride and handle horses effectively. I have found that dedication is rarely something that children lacks when it comes to horses.
Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, room temperature and beaten
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup prepared whipped cream
8 slices toasted white bread, crust trimmed off
1 pound cooked turkey breast, thinly sliced
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained (optional, I don’t like pimientos)
8 bacon slices, fried crisp
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Gradually add flour, stirring constantly, until smooth and free from lumps. Gradually stir in milk until sauce comes to a gentle boil, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted and well blended.
Tip! Teaches Sensitivity – Horses can be very sensitive creatures. They have keen senses, and can sense if someone is afraid, angry, happy, etc.
In a small bowl, beat egg. Gradually add 1 cup of hot sauce, 1/3 cup at a time, to the egg, stirring constantly. Gradually add egg mixture to remaining sauce, stirring constantly until well blended; add salt and pepper to taste. Fold in whipped cream.
For each Hot Brown sandwich, place two slices of toasted bread on a metal (or flameproof) dish. Cover the toast with a liberal amount of turkey. Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Place entire dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, sprinkle with diced pimientos (optional, as I said, I don’t like pimientos), and cross two pieces of bacon over the top of the sandwich, and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings of two open-faced sandwiches each.
Mint Julep (special thanks to k.a.s., of Oldham County, Ky.)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water (branch water is best)
Fresh Mint (this grows like a weed in Kentucky gardens)
Crushed Ice
Kentucky Bourbon (2 ounces per serving) (Note: I like Jim Beam, but any good–and they’re all good–Kentucky Bourbon will do).
Tip! Learn Trust – Horses must be able to trust their handlers. One of the first things that your child will learn about handling and riding horses is to be trustworthy and dependable, because if the horse doesn’t trust its handler it will not obey him/her.
Make a simple mint syrup by boiling sugar and water together for 5 minutes; cool. Place in a covered container with 6 or 8 bruised mint sprigs. Refrigerate overnight. This makes enough syrup for about 44 juleps. To “bruise” mint: Put some leaves or sprigs in a cup and press the leaves lightly, a time or two, with the bowl part of the spoon. This releases the minty fragrant of the leaves).
Make a julep by filling a julep cup or glass with crushed ice (NEVER ICE CUBES), and then add 1 tablespoon of your mint syrup and 2 ounces of bourbon. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost outside of cup or glass. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig.
Mint Julep Tips:
1. Always use premium Kentucky bourbon (I can’t stress this enough)
2. Use crushed or shaved ice and pack in cup (Never, never Ice Cubes which would be Barbaric).
3. Add a straw, cut to protrude just above the rim of the cup, and serve. You should be able to get a faint smell of the mint sprig when you’re sipping.
4. Keep the covered syrup in the refrigerator (after removing the mint leaves) if you don’t plan on drinking all the servings.
Maureen R. Sinclair is an American (via N.Y.C. and Lexington, KY). who currently resides in Nova Scotia, Canada. Educated as a Registered Nurse, she holds an M.S. in Psychology. Ms. Sinclair has traveled widely and has many interests. She is an accomplished artist and writer currently writing for onlinecooking.net. She may be reached at mrs3371@hotmail.com or msinclair@onlinecooking.net.
Some Observations on the Colour and Mark of Horses – Info from 1751
Tip! Learn Trust – Horses must be able to trust their handlers. One of the first things that your child will learn about handling and riding horses is to be trustworthy and dependable, because if the horse doesn’t trust its handler it will not obey him/her.
Having recently been lent an original copy of the ‘Treatise on the Diseases of Horses’ written by William Gibson, Surgeon, in 1751, it has been interesting to compare horse lore then to now. This article looks at one of the early chapters on the colour and marks of horses. Beautifully written in expressive old English this book is a real pleasure to read.
We would still agree with Gibson today that ‘so much of the beauty of a horse depends upon his being well marked and of a good colour’ and also that ‘we often meet with good horses that are very ill marked and of bad colours and sometimes very bad horses, that have almost all the beauty that colour and marks can give them’. Reading this chapter from three centuries ago it becomes obvious that then marks and colour were taken to determine the character of the horse, and that much store was put on good looks. It is obvious, for example, that a gentleman in 18th century England would never be seen on the type of coloured horse which is becoming popular today! Some pictures from the book are reproduced at http://www.limebrook.com/1751horselore.html
Bays, Gibson suggests, are ‘perhaps so called from their resembling the colour of dried bay leaves’. In his opinion the bay is ‘one of the best colours, and horses of all the different kinds of bays are commonly good, unless when accidents happen to spoil them while they are colts’.
Although Chestnut mares have a poor reputation in the 21st century, it is interesting that this treatise does not mention this, although he does say that ‘when a chestnut horse happens to be bald or party or to have white legs…such horses are not very agreeable. Chestnuts, however, were preferred by most people to the sorrel, both ‘in point of beauty and goodness’.
The brown horse is described as a colour not so beautiful as the bay or chestnut, and ‘plain brown [horses] are esteemed more ordinary. Many of them are coarse, but strong and serviceable, fit for draught, for burden or for the wars’.
Tip! Learn Respect – Children will learn to respect their horses and themselves. Horses are large, dangerous creatures and they demand respect, yet in order to be handled safely they must also respect their handlers.
Gibson is impressed by black horses, finding them ‘very beautiful, especially when they are of a jet shining black and well marked, and have not too much white’. Too much white, apparently, adds ‘nothing to their goodness’. A little white, however, is good. A star or blaze, ‘sometimes a white muzzle and one or more of the feet tipped with white always looks beautiful and lively, and is no diminution to the goodness of a horse, but most think an addition’ although some ‘form an opinion that horses with mark are generally stubborn and ill-conditioned’. He has however ‘found many of the English black horses, especially of the largest breeds, not so hardy as the bays and the chestnuts etc. However, if they are black brown they are ‘generally the strongest in constitution’.
Of greys he states; ‘The greys are so diversified in colour, and so common and well known that it would be a needless curiosity to describe them particularly’. The dappled greys are ‘reckoned the best and are founding most parts of the world.’ Silver Grey is ‘extremely beautiful’, Iron grey has a ‘gay appearance but are not accounted the most hardy’, the light plain grey and pidgeon coloured grey soon change and turn white.
Of the roans Gibson notes that ‘many of them turn out much better than they appear to be’. Many roans make ‘good road horses’.
There are so many colours of horses that Gibson states would be ‘no great use to describe’, But ‘sometimes horses turn out very finely spotted, some like leopards or tigers, some like deer, with black, red, yellow or other gay colours, and when these happen also to be comply in shape and appearance they are generally reserved as present for Princes or other great men’ but ‘others again as so disagreeably diversified in their colours, and in such a remarkable manner, that no Gentleman would care to be seen upon their backs, or even suffer his servants to make use of them wherefore such are usually condemned to the meanest drudgery, and no properties they can have, will be sufficient to recommend them to any other use.
Tip! If you choose to work with green horses (youngsters) you have to recognize that you are taking on the role of teacher/parent/
disciplinarian and in that role, anytime you lose your temper you cause more work for yourself down the road and you confuse the horse. It is specifically for this reason that I don’t recommend HOT clubbers purchase green stock.
As Gibson fails to describe coloured horses (piebald or skewbalds) one can assume these are those which no Gentleman would ever ride!
As to the markings on horses Gibson says that some have reckoned horses to be lucky or unlucky by the way in which they are marked, but in his modern times of 1751 ‘believe few persons in our times are so superstitious as to regard such things’ He does follow this up by saying though that some people ‘denote all the good or ill qualities or a horse form his marks’. He himself though thinks that a ‘horse always looks the more beautiful for being well marked’.
The most common mark is a star, and an artificial star is often used when it doesn’t occur naturally. Gibson describes marks: ‘When the white descends pretty broad towards the nose it is called a blaze; when it descends into a smaller line it is called a snip; and when most of the horse’s face is white he is then said to be bald. All these marks are beautiful when they are not to extreme, for a very large star is not reckoned so beautiful as one that is of moderate size, neither is that baldness that spreads over a horse’s whole face and cheeks any ways becoming. As it gives him the looks of an ox, and such horses are often plain headed.’
Tip! Learn Patience – Horses are like children themselves, and training a horse is much like teaching a child. When your child has become a confident and skilled rider, letting them help train a horse will be an excellent experience for them.
Unfortunately Gibson has strong views about some horses: ‘where a horse’s pasterns, hoofs and all his four legs are white, especially when the white rises about the knees or hocks, it looks ugly, and a horse thus marked has too much of the pye-bald, which are seldom fit for gentlemen’s use.
Of feathers he is more a fan, saying, ‘wherever they happen to be, they are almost always signs of goodness, and some of them are exceeding beautiful’.
Reading this treatise from 1751 it is obvious that much store was put on what colour the horse was – certain horses would be condemned as war horses, or committed to a life of drudgery simply by their colour. Others, more happily marked (sorry, the 18th century language is addictive) end up living with Prince’s. Although today we still value the look of a horse, we do not tend to group them so much by colour, and a good show jumper or dressage horse can be any colour. It is hard to imagine that a horse would fail to make the Olympics just because he was of a colour that no gentleman would want to be seen on!
Trish Haill is the Webmaster for Limebrook Farm Riding School and Livery Yard. This ever growing website is a great resource for riders and horse lovers everywhere. Check out the site at http://www.limebrook.com/index.html
Tip! Teaches Sensitivity – Horses can be very sensitive creatures. They have keen senses, and can sense if someone is afraid, angry, happy, etc.
Where there are horses there is always work to be found. The job description for a groom will vary from yard to yard, however there are several duties that always go with the job. These duties include feeding, grooming and mucking-out (cleaning the stables). Initially as you begin to fill the shoes of a groom you may realize that it can be hard physical work, especially cleaning the stables.
Your mind and body both need time to adjust to the rhythm and work load. A task that may take you 30 minutes to complete should eventually take you at least half the time to complete as you become competent and efficient.
All horse care facilities, yards and stables have a set routine that is carried out from morning to night. As a groom you would perform the routine for more than one horse. A groom can be in charge of three to seven horses. If you manage to take care of a single horse, consider yourself lucky and if you care for more than seven. I hope you do not end up with an extensive list of duties for each horse!
Here is a basic breakdown of possible daily routine when working with horses:
1. Feeding of the horses (breakfast)
2. Turning out of some horses
3. Grooms breakfast
4. Rotating horses to be turned out
5. Mucking out
6. Exercising the horses
7. Feeding lunch to horses
8. Grooms lunch
9. Bringing all horses in from the field for the night
10. Grooming of the horses
11. Tack Cleaning
12. Skipping out of stables (taking out of droppings)
13. Feeding of the horses (supper)
14. Sweeping the yard
15. Preparing the feed for the following morning
16. Yard check of horses and lock up of yard
17. Grooms supper
18. Late night check of the yard and horses.
Every day the above duties will be carried out and there are usually interruptions and additions as the day goes on, such as a scheduled visit from the farrier or an unscheduled visit of a veterinarian for a sick horse. Take each day as it comes.
Paul Hegarty is the owner of learningfromdvds.com. Price compare Educational DVDs, read reviews, download free E-books. Read this month’s e-book on “How To Spot A fraudulent Email”. Grab your free copy today.
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