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Vol. 4, Issue 10
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October 2014
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Salty Wants YOU...
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 To Volunteer for
Farm Tour!!
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Dear Friends,
It's a beautiful start to October and as ever during these first few days, we are busy preparing for our local Farm Tour on Saturday! Riders preparing demonstration routines and skits for the arena, and we are getting the grounds ready for lots of visitors and activities! If you'd like to be part of our Farm Tour volunteer team this Saturday (Oct. 4th), drop me an email or call right away!
This issue includes a new series by Jess Crouch on bridling your horse (thank you, Jess! always good to review!), my own latest on reading your horse, including a model that hopefully helps you see where you are on a behavioral continuum. I am also happy to welcome Barbara Noble, who will be sharing her thoughts from time to time here regarding equine nutrition.
Plenty of food for thought!
Enjoy,
Mary
 
OCTOBER DATES:
4 Farm Tour!! 10 am - 4 pm
18 Freedom Farm Games and Horsemanship Series (Hoof Beats)
19 Cowmanship class 12-3 pm
26 Adult Horsemanship 12-2
WEEKLY ONGOING CLASSES:
Tuesday 2 pm: Advanced Jumping
Thursday 1 pm: Dressage
 Friday 10:30 am: Ground Work 1 pm: Riding
CONTACT INFO:
Mary Gallagher
(360) 457-4897
freedomf@olypen.com
freedom-farm.net |
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****Farm Tour this Saturday!!****
Please visit our fun Farm Tour day and enjoy lots of family activities! From giving a pony a carrot treat, to sitting on a real saddle, to pony rides for the little ones, roping,
Freedom Farm hosts a fun day with lots to do for the whole family! There will be horses to meet, pony rides for the little ones along with other activities, plus ongoing demonstrations of riding skill and derring-do!
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Lesson Notes: Reading Your Horse
by Mary Gallagher
Today I wanted to talk to you about a lesson I often find myself teaching, many times over. It is about noticing how your horse is responding to you, emotionally and physically, at any given moment.
Ideally, when we are playing and working with our horses, we can see into the future if we see where we are in the moment. If we know where we are in the moment, we have a 50-50 chance of going one way or the other, which we can then influence. The model below may be useful in helping you see and name where you and your horse are in the moment, then see a positive future and act choicefully in that direction.
Of course, we want to stay in the middle area of the model, but that is not guaranteed because with horses, everything is in motion. We need to read where we are in the moment and then add the proper motion or emotion to maintain the right balance.
My point is: if you know what will likely happen before it happens, you can influence a positive direction.
Find your mark and know what it means. Do I like where I am? Or should we try to move a little one way or the other? As we put motion to the horse's feet we can tip the scale one way or the other. You can use this model as a new way to study, contrast and understand the dynamics of the moment as you work or play with your horse. Notice that Courage is the result of Curiosity and Trust over time.
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Bridling Your Horse - Part 1
by Jessica Crouch
You watch enviously as your friend bridles her horse. The horse happily lowers his head, reaches for the bit, holds it softly in his mouth while the bridle is slipped over his ears, and blissfully chews up his little cookie reward. Soon they are off having a pleasant warm-up in the field and you are still on your tip-toes trying to jam a bit through your own horse's teeth. You love your horse, but are quite frustrated with this bridling problem. Why can't he just take the bit nicely? He can, of course. You just need to spend the time to teach him - and yourself - how.
We are going to assume your horse's teeth and mouth have been recently checked by a qualified equine dentist. Tooth issues can cause all sorts of pain and trouble. We will also assume that you've made sure there are no sharp edges or burrs on the bit and that the headstall itself fits your horse comfortably. Make sure the bit is not pinching the sides of the horse's mouth. At Freedom Farm we generally use some sort of simple snaffle or three-piece bit, loose ring or eggbutt. We avoid any harsh bits as we want to build COMMUNICATION with our horse, not control them with force. Now that you've ruled out any physical problems what's left are learned behavior and relationship problems. That's the fun part to work on!
First, it would be great to review Mary Gallagher's haltering video. Often when people are having serious bridling issues, the haltering is not going so well, either. Haltering properly is so important that it is number one on my
Bridling Prerequisite Checklist: - Horse catches and halters easily.
- Horse lowers head softly, all the way to the ground, and will hold it there for at least 60 seconds.
- You can run your hand over your horse's whole face while his head is lowered.
- You can massage the corner's of your horse's mouth and slip your fingers in and out of his mouth without him objecting.
- You can loosen the halter and slip it over his head rather than untying it when haltering and unhaltering - and he keeps his head lowered for you. He is calm as you slip the tied halter over his ears.
Take this list with you and run through the exercises with your horse. You might be surprised at what issues you find. If anything on that checklist was not easy, it's best to remedy that situation BEFORE trying to bridle. Take the time to get all those pieces working well. This could take a few days (or weeks) but it will definitely pay off in the end.
In this article, we've gone over all the preliminaries and outlined some homework for you and your horse. Next month we'll talk about how to actually bridle your horse.
 
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What We Feed Our Horses
by Barbara Noble, BS, CRNA
Barbara Noble is a longtime horse owner and student of equine nutrition who has become a go-to advisor hereabouts on horse feed issues. She advised us on our recent hay analysis (see my article last month), which I found very helpful and clarifying. I hope Barbara will continue to contribute articles on various aspects of horse nutrition as she continues her studies with Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DVM. - MG
Writing for the Freedom Farm newsletter is a new adventure for me, and I plan to share information on horse feeding - and have it be interesting to read! My hope is that you will be able to incorporate some of this information for your horse's benefit.
My interest in nutrition started with my purchase of a filly from a PMU ("pregnant mare urine") farm. At PMU farms the mares are kept pregnant to harvest their urine for estrogen for women. The foals are then a 'by product'. At 6 months old my filly was delivered to my farm in Montana with a 'hay belly' (a distended belly commonly blamed on hay consumption). Later, as a 3-year old on pasture, she started having episodes of laminitis. I had no idea what troubled her until I found and read articles by international equine nutrition expert Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DVM.
Dr. Kellon offers an array of highly-regarded and comprehensive nutrition classes, which I soon signed up for, and of which I have been a dedicated student for several years. As I continue these classes, I am glad to be a resource and pass along helpful ideas to readers.
For example, it turned out that the filly's 'hay belly' had nothing to do with hay. Nor was it related to worms. What was actually happening was poor fermentation of fiber in her gut. This resulted in a thin-looking filly with a big belly. Following Dr. Kellon's advice I decided to try Ration Plus and later switched to Forco for maintenance. These products are pre-and pro-biotics that benefit a suboptimal digestive tract. My filly responded well and her shape became normal.
Long story short, it turned out that my filly has Equine Metabolic Syndrome, of which laminitis is a key symptom. To keep laminitis at bay, I must maintain her on a basic balanced diet, as well as keep her sugar and starch intake low. Admittedly, this filly is an extreme. She definitely got my attention!
The general lesson for me is: horses eat pretty much the same thing every day. They get hay or a hay product, probably pasture and whatever supplements and or grain might be added. When most of the horse's nutrition comes from hay and pasture, which vary regionally and generally are not balanced, their bodies are not getting the essentials for every body function. The only way to know what is in hay is to core it (take a big sample from the core of a bale) and have it analyzed (as Mary Gallagher recently did, and described in the August and September newsletters).
After the analysis of the hay, any deficient minerals can be added in, and the horse can have every major and trace mineral it needs to be it's healthiest most robust self.
I hope to share more with you in the future! My next class with Dr. Kellon starts soon. It is on Equine Cushings Syndrome and Insulin Resistance.
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Hoof Beats Winter Games and Horsemanship Series!
Saturdays, October - December
Our Hoof Beats students will be participating in the upcoming Freedom Farm Games and Horsemanship Series on Saturdays October 18th, November 15th, and culminating in the Series high point awards and Winter party on December 20th! Good riding, big fun!
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Weekly Fitness for Riders Classes!
Get fit and build core strength to ride your best!
Join the Rider Fitness Workout on Mondays, Rider Bootcamp on Saturdays!
Every Monday and Saturday at 7 a.m., Anytime Fitness, Corner of Old Olympic and Sequim-Dungeness
Questions? Email Mary or call (360) 457-4897
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Arena Schedule
Here is a schedule that might help you plan your time at the Freedom Farm arena.
Sunday: Open until 11:30.
Reserved for FF Students until 3 PM
Monday: Open all day.
Tuesday: Open all day. (Lessons ongoing, space is shared.)
Reserved for Port Angeles Equestrian Team 6-8 pm.
Wednesday: Open all morning.
Reserved for Boarders & Hoof Beats 3 - 5:30 pm.
Thursday: Open all Morning. Dressage class 1-3 pm.
Reserved for Boarders & Hoof Beats 3 - 5:30 pm.
Friday: Open all Morning.
Reserved for Boarders & Hoof Beats 3 - 5:30 pm.
Saturday: Boarders and Hoof Beat members only 9 am - 5:30 pm.
Reserved 6-8 pm.
If you have any questions please contact Mary.
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New Hoof Beats Members:
TAKE 10% OFF
Your First Month's Tuition!
(Current members! Refer a friend and get the discount, too!)
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