Thank you. Though three different geographical areas were involved, it makes sense that the problem isn’t as widespread as it seems… 
1 Like
This isn’t in the same vein as some responses, but if you’re looking for overall answers from an SEO perspective… not learning to “play the game” when showing.
What do I mean by that? You need to understand the rules you’re playing before you start showing to give you and your horse the best odds of being successful.
I show APHA - and I’ve finally clued into it. In APHA, you can be a novice in an event as long as you have <40 lifetime points in the event, your horse can be “green” if they haven’t won >25 points in an event -or- you/horse haven’t won a World or Reserve World Championship in the event.
We just wrapped up our World Championship show and in two of my classes - I went in with 37 Novice points in one, and 12 Green points in another. We had our bobbles which means we’ll keep that status for 2023. Either we were going to win a title, or we’d get another year to refine ourselves at the same level… it was putting ourselves in a win-win position.
However, back several years ago I screwed this up. I went to a couple of decent sized shows and I earned 46.5 points in the Horsemanship. I’ve only shown the class maybe a dozen times in my entire life. However, because I “pointed out” in 2015 - since then I’ve had to show against the girls who went to college on full NCAA scholarships in the Horsemanship. It’s not exactly equal footing, but I did it to myself because I didn’t understand the rules and implications of them.
If you plan on showing, really look at your goals. If there is a green status to maintain, if there is a rookie level to chase, etc. Once you break that, you can’t easily get it back.
our primary error was building a barn that could house four head, of course all stalls became filled in a short time and another detached two stall barn was required
From time to time there has been an empty stall however always a new horse finds its way to occupy that vacant space
3 Likes
We need one horse per kid plus one troublemaker to round a stable’s needs, that can be a little pony, mini or donkey.
Assorted other critters of any description are always welcome additions.
1 Like
It’s an interesting question for discussion. I live in the northeast, and most of the horses that seem to be prone to them are either Thoroughbreds or horses with softer, white hooves (paints and appaloosas). Like human fingernails, diet does affect hoof growth as well as weather/geography/exercise stress.
I’ve found that certain individual horses seem to be quite prone to them, while many others never get one. So I suppose a person could be lucky and just never encounter a hoof abscess. I’ve worked with hundreds of horses and only a few ever had them, but those few individuals would often have them multiple times over the years.
6 Likes
we had that plus, then there are the goats… grand kids “rescued” one from the huge herd next door then suddenly there are six goats (all “rescued”) … and wife was concerned about the coyotes attacking the poor goats (even though one is a 220 pound neutered buck–Chip is its name) so… now we have a nine week old Great Pyrenees that is one of the seven that we baby sat for ten days… that was a pile of puppies, all looked pretty much a like so we had to get colored collars to ID each one.
So from getting this first horse, Foxie,
we currently have three Morgans (each rescued) with a intentional purchased Morgan weanling coming in October, the three miniatures, six goats, three dogs (all have a job, Sucha is a certified emotional support dog, Sage was trained by FEMA for scent work (retired now) and now there is Phoenix the Great Pyrenees pup who is intended to watch over the goats) and then there are the two cats (both rescues)
Second mistake after building the barn was naming the place Sanctuary Morgans, it was intended to be a safe place for our kids (and it was for them and other kids also) but has since become a safe haven for many
2 Likes
Absolutely! There’s always the one person with the baby diapers and tape at the top of their tack trunk!
1 Like
out of 15+ horses we board with, 1 of them gets an abscess about once a year. I think 1 or 2 others may have had one sometime in the past 6 years but its not common and we get a lot of rain. The vet says a good portion of abscesses are never caught because they don’t always cause pain.
We didn’t have any of the issues that plague our horses today ( i am sure they were there but very rare).
Our BB had well over 160 horses and metabolic issues, ulcers, vast lameness issues etc… just never seemed to be a problem like we see now. It also seemed like I used pretty much 2 saddles to ride horses of varying breeds / sizes and I rode them hard and regular and never has a fit issue or soreness.
The 2 things I can see that might make a difference is that most horses were shod all around and while horses did get fed grain by their owners, it was not anywhere near the amounts that are fed today.
Free choice hay was also not something that was common in our region unless the horse was a hard keeper. Otherwise they were fed 2x a day.
Abscesses seem more common in wet areas or where soil conditions can compromise the health of the feet. We were in a dry climate and that had to make a difference too.
These horses in the 40s are a whole different thing from what we started breeding in QHs, especially tiny-footed halter horses and over-bulked muscle monsters in the 80s. and I remember plenty of horses in my youth that I now realize didn’t have well fitting equipment- either from white spots or other issues.
Since then specialization and money and improved technologies have made diagnosing issues easier and faster, and horses are asked to do far more in terms of competition and training. Yes, horses have always been in work- but today’s athletes are asked for the moon over and over again.
2 Likes
Really? I don’t see how they are asked to do more in competition? We had serious dressage competitors, jumpers , endurance riders etc at my BB and all the horses seemed to handle hard riding on a daily basis and stay sound doing it.
My own horses were ridden hard 5-6 days a week and sound. If anything I think many horses are ridden less and asked to do more and maybe that is why they aren’t holding up?
1 Like
You aren’t presently campaigning barrel racers or cutters or reining horses or other high demand activities, are you?
Not personally. We had a cutting/ reining trainer who worked out of my BB as well as people who did roping, gaming and barrels. Horses were rode, showed and worked hard. That hasn’t just been something new. It has always been that way?
Gosh, you’re right. Competitions haven’t gotten more specialized and better funded so there’s more money to chase, more sponsors, more everything at stake. Horse breeding hasn’t gotten more tech and data driven in my lifetime. Things definitely are all exactly the same as it was at your BB 40 years ago. Absolutely nothing has changed at all over time.
5 Likes
OMG, thank you so much for that video! I was in the horse program at A&M in the eighties, met B.F. Yeates, and that is truly a gem. I about fell out laughing, “Showmanship at rope!”
3 Likes
The sarcasm. 
I actually agree with you. I think the horses are being asked to do more, and our understanding of veterinary medicine has improved. I think our advocacy for welfare is a much higher bar. However, I do think we’re making crappy breeding decisions in at least 50% of the cases.
I show APHA All Around. I just put in a deposit for a $2,300 MRI for my horse’s foot next week. He just came off of winning Top Ten in both the HUS and WP at the World Show. He’s sound enough that he’s doing that on three weeks of concrete - however, we’re spending the money to put him in the saltwater tank every other day precisely because we’re asking a lot of him. He has had IRAP done this year on the foot, he’s had shockwave done - all because evvvvvery once in a while after lots of showing, he’ll take a funny step. Nothing shows on xrays, nothing shows on ultrasound - we just are going above and beyond to ensure we’re not missing the smallest thing in order to keep him staying happy and comfortable for a long time.
I think back to my horses even just twenty years ago and I don’t think any of this would’ve happened. There wasn’t as much proactive medicine. There were a lot of nerved horses. There were a lot of drugs hiding issues that they didn’t have tests for. The competition wasn’t as hard. (Meaning - we definitely had MORE horses for sure, but I feel like 20 years ago we were all competing at a high school track meet. Lots of people came, there were a few competitors who would definitely go run in college, and then one or two who would do it professionally and end up on the Wheaties box. These days, we’re all full ride college athletes competing against Olympians. The margins for winning are SO much harder to attain because the bar has been raised so many times - it’s not enough to be correct and consistent, you also have to be brilliant.)
The only concession I will add is that in my particular area of the equine world - I see a LOT of mares who don’t hold up in a program… are sold as broodmare sound… and then go on to produce foals who flunk out similarly. Our breeders have GOT to stop breeding horses who can’t stay sound at this level of competition. It’s one thing if they have a freak accident and screw up their leg getting cast in a stall or something - it’s something else entirely if their body will not hold up to what we’re asking of them. For example, we are notorious for OCDs in the fast growing, GIANT hunt seat horses we’re producing. They’re brilliant for their 2 and 3 year old futurity careers, but there aren’t too many that I then see in the pen as senior horses. I’m a H/J girl at heart, but I’m actually hunting for a western bred All Around yearling right now solely due to the lameness issues in our English lines.
9 Likes
Isn’t it fun? I just got lucky finding it today. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Did you notice that a fair number of those horses had white patches from saddle fit issues? 
2 Likes
In the really old days those white patches meant the horse was super easy to handle. Glad those days are gone, at least here.
1 Like
I did, unfortunately. Glad we now know that is not a good thing to see and how to try and avoid it. At least they aren’t as prevalent as they once were!
And moving back to the topic, when I got my first horse and for a long time afterwards, I am sure I used an ill-fitting saddle on a horse more than once without being aware of it. You just rode what you had. Now, all my horses are checked for fit, every ride.
(psssttt - if you’re curious about today’s halter standards, go check out the Fossil Gate Farms online dispersal sale here: https://prohorseservices.com/2022/dispersal-of-fossil-gate-farms-halter-horses/. It’s interesting.)
