Rain Rot (dermatophilosis))

However this is incorrect as dermatophilus congolensis shares characteristics with both fungus’s and bacterias. It is an actinomycetes, which behaves like both bacteria and fungi.

Many people believe that the organism is present in soil, however, this has not been proven. The organism is carried on the horse, who has it in his skin. A horse who has this organism in his skin may or may not be affected.

In horses the dermatophilus congolensis works by entering the follicle of the horses hair shaft. Once it’s in the horse’s hair shaft it can be seen in the form of a large hive. When these hives are removed from the skin horse owners can easily see several (literally dozens and dozens) of hairs embedded in each large lump. Because the dermatophilus congolensis damages the hair root removing these hives does not seem to bother or pain the horse in any way. Once the scabs/hives are removed owners can see that the skin under the hives is generally a pink color and oozing a yellow pus.

Dermatophilosis is a condition commonly referred to as rain rot, rain scald, and streptothricosis. Dermatophilosis that appears on the horses lower leg is often called dew poisoning. Although Dermatophilosis can be seen throughout the country it is most common in the southeastern portion of the United States where the weather condition is frequently wet, warm, and humid. It appears that the younger the horse the more likely it is to contract Dermatophilosis.

One of the factors that encourages the development of Dermatophilosis is that constant rain washes out the protective skin oils, softens the horse’s skin and allows the organism a chance to invade the skin.

Horse owners that have dealt with cases of Dermatophilosis say that their horses had scabs or hive like bumps on that measured approximately one fourth of an inch across, these hives are typically easy to peel or rub off. Although these lesions were most commonly seen covering the horses haunch area it is not uncommon to see the horse’s entire body affected by Dermatophilosis.

In the early stages, you’ll be able to feel small lumps on the horses’ skin or hair by running your hand over your horse’s coat.

Fortunately horses affected by Dermatophilosis do not seem to be in pain nor do they appear to be embarrassed by their condition. The only time the condition appears to be painful is if the area affected is a covered with a saddle. Owners who have a horse who has signs of Dermatophilosis on their spine should refrain from riding until the condition has cleared.

Video:  Shows extreme rain rot  (dermatophilosis)

Treating Rain Rot  (dermatophilosis)

Typically, veterinarians recommend  that  the treatment of Dermatophilosis, when discovered early, is that the horse’s skin be dried and gently groomed to stimulate the body’s natural defense mechanism. However, if the condition is more advanced, it needs a more rigorous treatment. This is done by clipping away the hair surrounding the crusts and shampooing the skin with a medicated wash, such as Betadine or Chlorhexidine to remove the crusts. The uncovered sores will need an antibiotic ointment such as penicillin, amoxicillin and erythromycin. The application of the ointment will need to be repeated until the Dermatophilosis is clear up.

Contrary to the treatment I’ve just described is that you shouldn’t be using any ointments to treat Dermatophilosis because the ointments simply add moisture to the affected areas of skin. One old time method for treating Dermatophilosis is swabbing the affected are with used motor oil (for some reason fresh motor oil doesn’t have the same affect!).  I must admit that this is a treatment I wouldn’t my use on my horse!!!.

When the Dermatophilosis has cleared up most owners like to bath their horses with antibacterial shampoos.

Dermatophilosis is contagious.

If you have a horse that has been affected by Dermatophilosis  try to separate it from its pasture mates. Make sure that you keep its grooming supplies separated from those used on other horses. Don’t use leg wraps, saddle blankets, splint boots, and halters on any other horses. If you have to use equipment on other horses make sure you completely disinfect all the equipment before it touches their hide. Keeping equipment such as leg wraps and blankets dry will help prevent a second outbreak of Dermatophilosis.

Because the skin that has been affected with Dermatophilosis is hairless it is prone to sunburn. Rather than swab the bald patches with sunscreen which adds moisture to the skin, horse owners that keep their horses outside should use a fly sheet to protect their horse from UV rays. The blanket should be washed on a regular basis to kill the Dermatophilosis.

Finally, it’s usually hard to differentiate rain rot (Dermatophilosis) from other similar skin conditions, so if you are unsure, call your veterinarian.

And for those who have not yet checked out my Review Post of Applied Posture Riding, I recommend that you do so now by

CLICKING HERE

Related posts:

1. Equine Influenza ~ The Facts As I Understand them!
2. Some thoughts about sunburn (solar dermatitis) in horses.
3. Facts About Teeth Floating.

Jesse Beery.

The Jesse Beery Manuals

Perhaps this was due to the fact that I’m “way down-under” tucked away in Tasmania, Australia. Anyway, it appears that he was a significant figure in the “horse world” during the latter 1800s until he passed away in 1945.

Based on what I’d heard about Jesse Beery I did a bit of research and discovered that there’s lot of information available about his impact on the horse training world.

Wikipedia, in their introductory paragraph described Jesse Beery this way.

“Professor Jesse Beery (June 13, 1861 – February, 1945) was an American horse trainer and writer. He claimed he could train any horse, horses that ran away, horses that pulled too hard, horses that were spooked too easily and horses that refused to be shoed. His best-known work was Prof. Beery’s Mail Course in Horsemanship, and sold widely through mail-order ads placed in various equine magazines. His horse training methods are claimed to have been used by horse trainers all over the world over the last hundred years.”

It also appears that in his early life he found that he had a unique skill at handling animals. So he decided to capitalize on these skills and he began to visit various areas of the US in order to display his techniques. After 16 years of impressing spectators with his talents, Jesse eventually finished up with a greater volume of demand for his work than he could handle.

To quote further from Wikipedia …

“In 1905, Berry made the decision to go back to his hometown and start an educational enterprise he would call the Jesse Beery School of Correspondence in Horsemanship. The main objective was to help others gain the skills and mastery that he believed he possessed. He propounded common sense horse training methods, and even today, his supporters claim him to be one of very few horse trainers to have had this kind of far-reaching effect.

“In addition to his unique talents in the realm of horse training, he was the inventor of an array of implements he claimed to be intended to help gain mastery over the animals he oversaw, creating an assortment of tools, bridles and bits that were also sold via mail order. The correspondence school was said to be inundated with scores of letters and notes throughout its history containing endless gratitude and respect for the techniques promulgated by its founder.”

Jesse Beery authored a series of 8 mauals covering these subjects …

1. Colt Training
2. Disposition & Subjection
3. Kicking & Baulking
4. Shying & Running Away
5. Bad to Shoe & Halter Pulling
6. Promiscuous Vices
7. Afraid Of Automobiles / The Story Of Kate
8. Trick Training & The Story Of Queen’s Life

These manuals have been commercialized in a number of ways and can be purchased in various media formats. I’ve included links at the end of this article, including a link to my own reproduction of the originals which you can download at no cost. At the finish of the YouTube video on this page is one way in which you can purchase the manuals.

There is so much information about horses and the fundamentals of training theme that I suggest it should be essential reading for everybody, whether novice or professional.  It may be old, but it is the basis of what every horse trainer is doing today.

On the lighter side, one of the manuals has a chapter on the life of two horses. It’s written from the horses’ perspective and covers how each horse was trained, their life experiences, their phobias, and feelings. It gives you a real insight into what it must be like to be a horse and also what a great understanding Jesse Beery had of the horse.

Though Jesse Beery passed away in early 1945, his legacy in the world of horse training is obviously still highly regarded and many thousands of students of horse training have learned his approach.

Now for the links to get your copy of  the Jesse Beery manuals I mentioned earlier … for access to these, please click the Google +1 button below.

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Could this be Black Beauty?

I was looking for one of my old books a few days ago and came across my copy Black Beauty.  Memories came flooding back. Along with a book titled Tess and Tony, it was a book that I loved and read over and over.

For those who don’t know, and for those who’ve forgotten, Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell.

It was composed in the last years of Anna Sewell’s life, during which she remained in her house as an invalid. The novel became an immediate bestseller, with Anna Sewell dying just five months after its publication. Fortunately this was long enough to see her first and only novel become a success. With fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time. While forthrightly teaching animal welfare, Black Beauty also teaches how to treat people with kindness, sympathy and respect. In my opinion, a book with character!

The following two paragraphs summarizing the Black Beauty plot I’ve borrowed from

Wikipedia.

Black Beauty Cover First Ed 1877

“The story is narrated in the first person as an autobiographical memoir told by a horse named Black Beauty—beginning with his carefree days as a colt on an English farm, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country. Along the way, he meets with many hardships and recounts many tales of cruelty and kindness. Each short chapter recounts an incident in Black Beauty’s life containing a lesson or moral typically related to the kindness, sympathy, and understanding treatment of horses, with Sewell’s detailed observations and extensive descriptions of horse behavior lending the novel a good deal of verisimilitude.

“The book, Black Beauty, describes conditions among London horse-drawn taxicab drivers, including the financial hardship caused to them by high licence fees and low legally-fixed fares. A page footnote in some editions says that soon after the book was published, the difference between 6-day taxicab licences (not allowed to trade on Sundays) and 7-day taxicab licences (allowed to trade on Sundays) was abolished and the taxicab licence fee was much reduced.”

Sadly, Anna Sewell died of hepatitis or tuberculosis on 25 April 1878, only 5 months after the novel,  Black Beauty, was published, but she lived long enough to see its initial success. She was buried on 30 April 1878 in the Quaker burial-ground at Lammas near Buxton, Norfolk. In Norwich, England, not far from her resting place, is a wall plaque marking her resting place. Her birthplace in Church Plain, Great Yarmouth is now a museum.

For those who’ve not read Black Beauty, and for those who may wish to bring back memories and to read the book once again, I invite you to download the book by

CLICKING HERE

And for those who have not yet checked out my Review Post of Applied Posture Riding, I recommend that you do so now by

CLICKING HERE

Related posts:

1. A Black Beauty – For Character, Strength And Elegance, You Must Look At The Friesian Horse.

Before giving your horse drugs or hormones, it’s important that you know and understand the reason for doing so and what the risk or benefit might be.

If your veterinarian has recommended drugs or hormones for your horse, you should discuss it thoroughly with the vet and make sure you understand the reasons behind their usage. There are some very good reasons to use drugs or hormones with your horse, but you should realize that they can be dangerous if not used correctly and with supervision.

To begin with, consider why you think giving a horse drugs or hormones would be useful. If you’re of the opinion that some sort of drug or steroid can make your horse faster or stronger, you should definitely think again. Using drugs to enhance the performance of a racing or working horse can be very dangerous, even life-threatening to your horse. Besides the health risks, the use of performance enhancing drugs with racing horses is illegal.

On the other hand, there are some good reasons for giving a horse drugs or hormones. They are giving for many legitimate reasons, apart from mere performance enhancing.

For example, hormones may be used when breeding horses. Hormones are often used to control a mare’s ovulation when a breeding program relies on having her ovulate at a certain time, or to prepare the uterus for an embryonic implant. Stallions (or their frozen sperm) may have to travel from other parts of the country in order to breed your mare, so hormones may be required to regulate her cycle while waiting for the stallion to arrive. Of course, this type of undertaking should absolutely be overseen by a qualified veterinarian.

Then, a horse might be given hormones or drugs in order to maintain their health. If your horse is ill, a veterinarian may prescribe the use of hormones or drugs. Again, you’ll want to discuss the usage of these medications thoroughly with your vet so that you understand the benefits and risks involved.

If your horse does require the regular use of hormones or drugs, you should have your veterinarian teach you to administer the medication yourself. Being able to receive medications in a home environment is much less stressful on your horse. Make sure that you’re comfortable with the technique before doing it alone.

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When it comes to keeping your horse healthy, cleanliness is vital. Many illnesses and infirmities can be avoided simply by maintaining a clean equine environment. As a horse owner, it is your responsibility to provide proper care to your pet, which includes keeping the horse and its environment clean and healthy. This article will give you an idea of just what that entails.

Horses are very labor intensive pets. As the owner, you need to be sure that all its needs are met. Your horse will require fresh food and straw daily. You’ll need to provide a clean water source at all times. Apart from that, your horse needs plenty of space to move around, room to run and sufficient rest time after working. However, there is one thing that impacts all of these needs, and that’s cleanliness. Your horse needs to be kept clean, or it can develop infections and other illnesses. Its stall must be kept clean and its food and water must also be clean. Even outdoor areas need to be kept clean to prevent the horse from picking up unusual bacteria. Your horse isn’t able to clean up after itself, obviously, so it falls on you as a responsible horse owner to provide this care and keep your horse at maximum health.

There are several aspects of your horse’s care where cleanliness comes into play. First of all, your horse must always have clean, fresh water available. Your feed must also be kept clean – make sure that storage areas are kept organized and free of vermin. Of course, it’s not enough to keep the food and water clean – feed buckets and water troughs must also be washed out regularly. If not, you run the risk of bacterial growth that can cause illness for your horse.

Next, you’ll want to keep the stall cleaned out. Horse’s can become ill or develop infections from an unclean stall. Thrush is one of the more common illnesses our equine friends develop from being left in a dirty stall. Whether you clean the stall yourself or pay to have it done, as the horse owner it’s your responsibility to make sure it’s done right.

Finally, make sure that you keep your horse itself clean and well groomed. A good brushing should be done every day, taking care to remove tangles from the mane and tail. Keep hooves cleaned, and make sure shoes haven’t become loose. An uncared for horse will be unhappy at the least, and could quite possibly become ill or injured due to lack of care.

Related posts:

1. Prevent Parasites from Attacking Your Horse.
2. Recognize and Prevent White Line Disease in Your Horse

 Once again, as a change of pace for my Posts, this time I’m talking about a “horse game”.

Lucinda Green is a record holder in the Badminton Horse Trials. She won the trials for an astounding six times! What’s more, she rode six different horses during those trials! Isn’t that just amazing? Now, you can share her experience in the thrills of being an equestrian through Lucinda Green’s Equestrian Challenge.

The game challenges players on three fronts: cross country, show jumping and dressage. The ultimate goal of the game is for you to win all four-star events in Adelaide, Badminton, Burghley, and Kentucky. Before you get ahead of yourself, however, you need to cover the basics.

The game starts with you as a young two-star equestrian taken under the wings of Lucinda Green. Full customization of the character allows you to create a rider that truly matches who you are or, at least, who you perceive yourself to be.

You also get to take care of your own horse. This is a very important aspect of the game, as your success depends on the amount of work you put into training and caring for the horse. It must be fed, watered, brushed, among other things. You also need to make sure that its attributes are distributed properly so that you will be able to grab the prize every competition.

There are four “stats” or attributes that you need to balance. They are: Speed, Stamina, Jumping, Agility, and Trust. Each person will be able to develop a horse differently by simply adjusting the allotment of stats.

Lucinda Green teaches you and trains you until you can compete in the four-star competitions. At this level, you will pit your character in various contests against the biggest names in riding today.

Graphically, the game is stunning. That is, if you compare it to other equestrian games today. The customizability of the character is also a nice touch. However, the gameplay is nothing revolutionary. The game just does not push any gaming boundaries.

It is less tedious than other games, which means you can enjoy yourself more and take care of the details less. After all, gamers who buy equestrian games are more interested in the competition rather on the simulated horse-care lessons, right? The life of the game is also quite good: you are able to enjoy the different challenges and you don’t end up feeling a bit disappointed because of the length.

However, the repetitive motions that one must go through in order to compete and the actions involved in taking care of the horse can be very dull at times. The menu is also quite clumsy and this means that you might have a hard time navigating around the controls.

Not many people are bound to buy equestrian games. It just doesn’t seem like a genre that appeals to the common couch soldier/strategist/athlete. Equestrian challenge attempts to change this through lots and lots of eye candy. However, its sticking to realism doesn’t really help in making it more popular with gamers. Even a little bit of imagination could surely have helped this game.

The bottom line is this: Equestrian Challenge is a great game. In fact, it’s superior to any equestrian games available today. However, if you are not fond of the sport, you might not see enough in this game to try it out. You should get this game if you love horses, but if you are the typical point-and-shoot guy, you might want to skip it.

Related posts:

1. Equestrian Bridles: 11 Tips On Bridling Your Horse.
2. Horse Racing Games
3. Equestrian Wear – Tips On The Use Of Horse Rugs, Boots, and Bandages.

Helping a lonely horse …

Tasmania, the island State south of the Australian mainland, is unique in that you only have to travela few kilometres from Hobart, the capital city, to be in virtual bushland and farming land. I live more than 70 kms from Hobart and as I drive around I’m somewhat saddened to see so many horses alone on so many properties. Horses are herd animals, so these solitary horses could quite well, in fact probably are, lonely

My first experience of horse loneliness was about nine years ago. A year prior my partner, Jill, and I moved from the mainland to a property in Tasmania bringing our horses with us … plus two dogs and a cat! We’d been here roughly a year and where just driving out to meet a friend in Hobart. Our horses were in our front paddock and as we drove past I had a feeling that something was wrong. I glanced into the paddock and saw my horse, but no sign of Jill’s horse, Satin. I stopped the car, went through the fence and walked towards my horse, Middie. Then I saw that he was standing next to Satin who was stretched out on the ground. Then I suddenly knew Satin was no longer with us. It turned out that he had succumbed to a snake bite.

Middie became a lonely horse.

My horse’s reaction to the passing of Satin was typical of a lonely horse. Middie paced the fence line for hours at a time. From time to time he paused and gave a pathetic whinny. I tried to help Middie by taking him off the property for leisurely rides. This didn’t work so I arranged for a neighbour to graze his horse in Middie’s paddock. However, this was only a temporary solution.

Another neighbour to the rescue!

Reasonably close to our property was a large horse stud. The owner of the stud had been told about my dilemma and it turned out that he had a five year old thoroughbred steeplechaser that had taken a bad fall which had ended his racing career. The horse had been put out to pasture and had not been ridden for quite some months. I was extremely fortunate as the stud owner called in and offered me the horse on a permanent loan basis. Of course I readily accepted the offer and the chestnut ex-steeplechaser was delivered to our property. Middie welcomed the new arrival and they became the best of friends.

What I learned about horse loneliness.

It appears that horses that are stressed due to being alone will frequently show signs of uneasiness. Pacing the fence line, as Middle did, is common behaviour as in excessive whinnying. The persistent pacing can cause stress on the legs and hooves to the extent that it can cause lameness.

Worse, severe stress can cause ulcers which can result in behavioural or training problems, dulling of the coat, lack of enthusiasm for work, and perhaps biting and kicking during girthing.

If you have an only horse.

It’s important for you to be aware of how your horse is coping with being alone. It’s always best for a horse to be with at least one other horse, but sometimes that’s not always possible. If your horse seems happy and gets plenty of attention, he might be OK. But just keep an eye out for behaviours that tell you he’s stressed and lonely and is crying out for a companion.

 What to do to prevent loneliness.

 One way to overcome the possibility of stress and loneliness is to get another horse. This could well be an older or a lame horse that is past its prime and is no longer rideable.. If you have the space and can afford it, this is the ideal solution. A further idea which is not so costly is to board another horse.

Should you not be able to afford another companion for your horse think about a less expensive animal such as a pony, donkey, goat, or llama. Very often this type of animal does the trick of avoiding loneliness. But a word of warning. Both Jill’s Satin and my Middie reacted violently the first time they met a donkey!

And finally, an unhappy horse makes for an unhappy owner. Making your horse happy will ensure that he is willing to perform the required work for you to the best of his ability.

Related posts:

1. Colic in horses ~ how to understand and cope with it.
2. Grooming Tips For Horses ~ A Major Part of Easy Horse Care.
3. Horseback Riding ~ Avoid the Mistakes I Made When Buying a New Horse!

Why you should consider using bell boots.

The wearing of bell boots are really a necessity if your horse is inclined to overreach. That is, if he’s inclined to catch his front heels with the toes of his back feet. This overreaching is the reason that bell boots are sometimes known as overreach boots.

Also it could be the case that your horse may be rather poorly shod resulting in him wearing shoes that protrude behind his feet. A very likely result of this is that if your horse overreaches he can loosen or totally dislodge the front shoes. You’ll find that this is most likely to happen when you’re  jumping, riding in muddy conditions or on a slippery surface, or longeing. Bell boots can effectively help prevent this from happening.

To help prevent your horse from accidently losing a shoe when he’s out in pasture, bell boots will provide some protection and lessen the chance of this happening.

Will bell boots be comfortable for my horse?

It seems that most horses don’t mind wearing bell boots and don’t suffer adverse effects when they are fitted and used in the correct manner. But even a correctly fitted bell boot could chafe and cause discomfort to your horse if the boots are made of very stiff material. And if, by chance, your horse has especially sensitive skin there could be some discomfort.

What are ‘splint boots’ and what are ‘sport boots’?

Splint boots really only protect your horse from ‘crossfiring’ with the other front hoof. Basically they are designed to prevent splint bone fracture, but don’t do anything for support of the soft tissues.

Sport boots are more for protection as they support the tendons and joint as well as protecting the bone and other soft tissues from concussion.  From a personal point of view I’m using and recommending for the average trail rider the sport boots. And these are the boots I’d suggest when you fitting boots prior to putting your horse out in the pasture.

How do I fit bell boots to my horse?

Here, I’ll quote directly from Wikipaedia …

“Bell boots are usually made of rubber. They may be open, with Velcro or other fastenings to close them, or closed and slipped on over the hoof. Although open bell boots are the easiest to apply, close bell boots are more secure as they have no chance of slipping off.

“To apply closed bell boots, it is easiest to turn them inside out, before slipping them over the toe of the foot. It may also help to place them in warm water so they will expand before trying to put them on.

“A correctly-sized bell boot should just touch the ground behind the bulbs of the heel while the horse is standing. The mouth of the bell boot should be just loose enough to fit a finger or two between it and the horse’s pastern.”

Finally …

In finishing this post I’d like to say that all aspects of your horse’s hoof care are essential to the overall health and performance of your horse.  Any effort you make in this area will reward you in the long-run.

Related posts:

1. Equestrian Wear – Tips On The Use Of Horse Rugs, Boots, and Bandages.
2. How To Pick Up Your Horse’s Hoof
3. Horse hoof care ~ this is one of the primary responsibilities you have as a horse owner!

Feed your horse!

While you may think it’s a simple thing to do … feed your horse … you’d be surprised at the number of horse owners that don’t know and understand the very basics. There’s no rigid rule of thumb for feeding as each horse’s nutritional needs will vary depending on a number factors. These include your horse’s age, his weight, and the level of activity.

Forage is the basis of a horse’s diet.

To start with, your horse will naturally use forage as a primary component in his diet. It’s one of the major necessities for a properly functioning digestive system. When I speak of forage I usually mean natural pasture and cut hay. Mature horses usually eat around 2 to 2.5 percent of the body weight in feed every day. So a 1,000 pound horse will eat roughly 20 to 25 pounds of feed each day. Here we’re talking about high quality feed, not low quality high fiber feed which is something that can interfere with proper digestion.

In a perfect pasture world …

… your horse should eat an absolute minimum of 1 percent of his body weight in hay/pasture forage daily. If your horse doesn’t do much work, he will do well on strictly forage, with no grain thrown in. On the other hand, growing, breeding, or working horses must have supplements in addition to forage. This will be, for example, grain or a supplement concentrate. You can think of  it this way, forages should provide at least half or more of the total weight of the feed your horse eats daily for optimum growth and development.

The least expensive feed source.

Before you can feed a balanced ‘meal’ to your horse you have to know the nutrient content and quality of your forage. Once you know that you can work out the right amounts of feed source to meet nutrient requirements.

The best source and the least expensive one for summer feed is your pasture. and in most cases good pasture by itself can provide all the nutritional requirements your horse needs. How do you figure out how much pasture is needed to feed your horse?  Here is a rough guideline to help you: (using a weight of 1,000 – 1,200 pounds).

Mare and foal   1.75 to 2 acres     Yearlings    1.5 to 2 acres      Weanlings     0.5 to 1 acre

Winter feed.

Winter feed of course would be primarily cut hay. And once again, high quality if you can possibly provide it. It should be cut early, be leafy and green in color and as free as possible of dust, moulds, weeds and stubble. This feed is usually rich in protein, minerals and vitamins.

And yes, you can use alfalfa hay, but you need to be careful about the higher protein content if you are feeding a young growing horse. It may contain an excessive amount of calcium in relationship to phosphorus. To much calcium is not good for growing horses. If you’re not sure about hay, or forage for that matter, I suggest that you have it analyzed.

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Related posts:

1. Colic in horses ~ how to understand and cope with it.
2. Ten Money Saving Horse Care Tips.
3. Cleanliness and your Horse’s Health

Bolting horse … one of the most serious risks the novice rider has to face!

There are numerous reasons why your horse may bolt. It could be that he’s just plain frightened or he may be just taking advantage of your lack of experience and ability. If it’s the latter, you can be sure that your horse will be aware of it.

Other reasons could be:

*    an insecure seat or poor horsemanship, which causes annoyance or frightens your horse causing his nervousness to develop into panic.

*    heavy bumps in the saddle due to poor balance and lack of suppleness.

*    sudden jerks on the reins, sudden kicks with boots or spurs, or constant changes of position in the saddle.

Bear in mind that a horse can always sense when its rider is scared or nervous, regardless of how hard he tries to conceal the fact. There’re few things that frighten even an ordinarily docile horse more than a rider’s funk. When the rider relaxes with complete confidence the horse will follow suit.

Using the pulley rein to stop your bolting horse.

So what is a pulley rein?  It’s not a different sort of rein, it’s an emergency stopping  strategy that can be used if you’ve lost control when your horse has bolted. The actual strategy is moderately challenging and is something that requires some practice in an enclosed riding area. It’s something that can prepare you for dealing with a bolting horse and can help you get your horse back under control quickly.

With the pulley rein you are avoiding turning your horse’s head. The action you should be taking are …

*    shorten one rein as much as you can and press your knuckles of that hand into your horse’s neck with your hand braced and centred over the neck.

*    slide your other hand down the other rein as far forward as you can and then pull straight back and up with the maximum amount of force you’re capable of.

Your objective is to hold your horse’s head straight with your anchored hand, while using your leverage to put the maximum force on the other rein.  The following video should make this strategy clearer to you.

Dangers of pulling a bolting horse into a circle.

Although it’s a common reaction and often done, pulling your horse into a circle sets you up for a number of risks, the primary one being the danger of your horse stumbling and falling, probably with you still in the saddle!

A further common reaction is for a rider to try and stop his horse by pulling heavily on both reins simultaneously. Pulling on both reins will probably make the horse  lock its jaws and just go faster. You’ll find that your horse will be far more responsive if you use the reins alternately; using one rein can be much more effective the two in a runaway situation.

Practice the pulley rein.

This is not a strategy you can just read about, you must practice it.  Do this initially at the trot, then the canter and gallop, until it becomes habitual. It’s hard on your horse so don’t practice so often your horse becomes resistant or panicked.

Related posts:

1. Horse Back Riding ~ Tips and Techniques for the Beginner Rider.
2. Equestrian Bridles: 11 Tips On Bridling Your Horse.
3. The Curb bit. What the horse rider needs to know.