Things you should know but are ashamed to admit you don't...

[onelanerode]

I don’t know how to ask for a flying change either. I grew up riding some fantastic but very green ponies, and flying changes were not among their skills. They’d jump anything you pointed them at, though.

Can you use a colored pad during the dressage phase of a schooling CT, is it strictly black or white for dressage, always?

And how the hell do you change your whip over the neck without getting your reins and whip horribly tangled?! (In hunterland, where I am from, we used to just pull the whip up parallel to the shoulder till it cleared the withers and then switch hands and put it back down where it belonged.) My eventing trainer’s been working with me on the “proper” way to change your whip hand, but this apparently requires more coordination than I have.

I’m quite amused at the number of different phrases people have come up with to help them remember the proper order of dressage letters. The one I was taught: All King Edward’s Horses Carry Many Bloody Fools.

A tip on poulticing – Walmart’s shop towels (the heavy-duty blue paper towel-type things) are great for poulticing. They conform to the leg much better than wet brown bags and are more durable than paper towels. I’d always heard that saran wrap was for sweating, not poulticing. Anyone?

[Duramax]

@KaraAD;2001027

In addition to the other instructions, a tip for poulticing - get your hands wet (I put a couple of inches of water into a small bucket and keep it next to me) before you reach into the poultice and as you are smushing it on. That way, it will stick to the horse and not to your hands and you can mold it onto the leg better and your hands are less messy when you’re done.

Wearing surgical gloves prevents you from having to pick out poultice from your fingernails for days after! :yes:

[Duramax]

On wrapping…do both the pillow wraps and the standing wraps get wrapped in the same direction (i.e. clockwise on the right legs and counter on the left)? Do you start wrapping on the inside of the leg or the outside? Thanks!

Yes, both the padding and the bandage get wrapped in the same direction. You can actually anchor the end of the bandage under the padding as well.

[Slewdledo]

[QUOTE=cosmos mom;2000759]
ground mounting…is…not my friend :([/QUOTE]

Not only is it not my friend either, it HATES me! :winkgrin: I can try to be all suave and attempt to jump and then pull myself up…and I end up with a halfhearted jump followed by sliding down the horse’s side. And I am NOT stretchy - it’s all I can do to lengthen the stirrup and get on!

[Duramax]

@onelanerode;2001156

Can you use a colored pad during the dressage phase of a schooling CT, is it strictly black or white for dressage, always?

Traditionally black or white is preferred but if its just for a schooling ct and its not some obnoxiously loud color you’d be okay. Although you can’t really go wrong with black or white.

I’d always heard that saran wrap was for sweating, not poulticing. Anyone?

Same here. Saran wrap keeps everything moist and sweaty and you want to use paper for poulticing because its the drying action of the poultice that helps keep the leg tight and allows the drawing to occur- if the poultice is kept wet it doesn’t really do its job.

[Duramax]

A really good resource that has a lot of answers to these questions are the United States Pony Club manuals, especially the C level manual and the B, H/A, A manual. Mine are dog-earred from being read so many times and I still use them! They are an invaluable addition to your equine library. They cover almost every imaginable topic in a very easy to read and understand way and have great illustrations. :yes: You can get them from www.abebooks.com for next to nothing a lot of times.

[Duramax]

I don’t know how to tie a stock tie. :uhoh: I have one of the fake ones and if I ever am forced to use a real one I have to get someone else to tie it for me!

[cosmos_mom]

[QUOTE=Slewdledo;2001174]
Not only is it not my friend either, it HATES me! :winkgrin: I can try to be all suave and attempt to jump and then pull myself up…and I end up with a halfhearted jump followed by sliding down the horse’s side. And I am NOT stretchy - it’s all I can do to lengthen the stirrup and get on![/QUOTE]

There must be a trick to it!!! I watch the kids at the barn hook a heel over a bareback pony and up they go- It’s witchcraft I tell ya!!!

[areaIIeventer]

What the heck is DMSO?
I know it comes in a white bottle and is vet-related, but what does it actually do for a horse?

Is SMZs just a generic antibiotic? What do you typically give it for? How much? Can you buy it in a tack shop or is it vet-prescribed?

Ive always boarded and knock on wood never come to a point where I have needed to use either products, so I just dont know anything about them

[arabhorse2]

Cosmos and Slewdle, as far as ground mounting goes, just say no!!! :lol:

I use either a mounting block, or more usually, my mobile tack box to mount up. It’s supposed to be better for the horse’s back anyway, because you’re not pulling on them.

I used to be embarrassed to use one, but it was either that or quit riding after I got a bad back/pelvic injury. I can’t lift my left leg up high enough to get in the stirrup, and God help me if I have to get off, or get thrown off during a ride! :eek:

I can usually find a downed tree that’ll give me just enough height to get back in the saddle.

Pah, ground mounting is highly overrated!!!

[hey101]

Which leg is ouchy?

Unless it is 3-legged lame or there is swelling or a cut or definite heat (and therefore 100% obvious), I have a VERY hard time deciding which leg the horse is lame on. I am quite good at discerning that there is a lameness problem SOMEWHERE, but… In spite of repeated reading about which leg hits the ground when the head goes up or down or what side of the hip is higher… I can almost never tell which leg is the issue.

In fact it’s quite comical sometimes to see me out there in the pasture or ring or wherever, mimicking the horses’ gait and then evaluating that if ~I~ were the sore one, and was walking like that, which leg would be hurting me!!

In the end I usually give up and just assume the horse needs a few days off or whatever

[Duramax]

@areaIIeventer;2001194

What the heck is DMSO?
I know it comes in a white bottle and is vet-related, but what does it actually do for a horse?

Its a big time anti-inflammatory. It easily penetrates membranes and eases pain. If you get it on your skin, when you exhale you will taste garlic. No joke. It can carry other chemicals which is why its sometimes used, so you have to be sure if you apply it there is no flyspray or residue of anything else on the horse’s skin. Its a fairly controversial drug.

Is SMZs just a generic antibiotic? What do you typically give it for? How much? Can you buy it in a tack shop or is it vet-prescribed?
You can get them from the vet or with a Rx, but I don’t think you can buy them otc. You usually have to give something like 15 tablets 2x a day depending on the horse’s weight of course. They dissolve easily in water so they are fairly easy to administer. They are usually given for more minor things- abscesses or minor wounds, and Tribrissen or something more aggressive is given for puncture wounds or more aggressive infections.

[cosmos_mom]

[QUOTE=areaIIeventer;2001194]
What the heck is DMSO?
I know it comes in a white bottle and is vet-related, but what does it actually do for a horse?

Is SMZs just a generic antibiotic? What do you typically give it for? How much? Can you buy it in a tack shop or is it vet-prescribed?

Ive always boarded and knock on wood never come to a point where I have needed to use either products, so I just dont know anything about them[/QUOTE]

DMSO= Dimethyl sulfoxide- is a vehicle that moves molecules across membranes- many times used alone to reduce inflammation or in combination to apply topical medications. Be careful to use it on clean skin (horse’s), also be carefoul that you don’t get it on your skin in combination with a chemical because it will carry it right into your skin and you will dose yourself with whatever chemical-plus your mouth will taste like garlic for hours ;).
SMZ= Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim it is a broad spectrum antibiotic- aka Bactrim- for bacterial infections- vet perscribed. (little trick: they disolve in water immediately)

Duramax- I guess we posted at the exact same time

[Duramax]

[QUOTE=hey101;2001217]
Unless it is 3-legged lame or there is swelling or a cut or definite heat (and therefore 100% obvious), I have a VERY hard time deciding which leg the horse is lame on. I am quite good at discerning that there is a lameness problem SOMEWHERE, but… In spite of repeated reading about which leg hits the ground when the head goes up or down or what side of the hip is higher… I can almost never tell which leg is the issue.

In fact it’s quite comical sometimes to see me out there in the pasture or ring or wherever, mimicking the horses’ gait and then evaluating that if ~I~ were the sore one, and was walking like that, which leg would be hurting me!!

In the end I usually give up and just assume the horse needs a few days off or whatever 8-)[/QUOTE]

“Down on sound” is what I use to diagnose. When the horse is trotting and is head bobbing lame, his head will go down on the sound leg, and the head will come up on the lame leg. Sometimes its tough to tell if its front of back, but at least you can narrow it down by 50%!

[JH1]

[QUOTE=BAC;2001139]
Actually its supposed to be on the off side of the saddle, at least that is according to one of the British magazines I read (either Horse or Horse & Rider or Your Horse, can’t remember which). The article was on proper use of tack/equipment and it said keeping the elastic end on the near side means when you tighten the girth you are only stretching the elastic portion of it. By keeping the leather end on the near side it allows the entire girth to stretch when you tighten it, since its stretching from off to near side (the entire length of the girth) instead of just from the elastic end. Not sure if I described it correctly, nor do I know if this is true or not. Anyone care to comment?[/QUOTE]

If you were to tighten the girth from the non-elastic side… Then as the elastic stretches, either the girth has to slide, or the saddle has to slide to take up the space made from the stretching elastics.

I think having the girth not slide while tightening would be preferable for preventing girth sores (I also lift up and stretch out their front legs).

Some horses are very sensitive, and just a small wrinkle of skin under the girth close to their front legs could cause a girth gall.

[eclipse]

Ok, if you’re cantering (or trotting) across a large open field, no edges or fencing in site, how do you know what is the correct diagonal (or lead)??

[Dazednconfused]

[QUOTE=Duramax;2001172]
Yes, both the padding and the bandage get wrapped in the same direction. You can actually anchor the end of the bandage under the padding as well.[/QUOTE]
But it doesn’t really matter where you start the bandage, as long as you are wrapping the standing-wrap and quilt the right direction.

[Simkie]

@eclipse;2001275

Ok, if you’re cantering (or trotting) across a large open field, no edges or fencing in site, how do you know what is the correct diagonal (or lead)??

If the horse is bent to the right, then you should be on the right lead and rise when the left shoulder comes forward, and it would be opposite if the horse is bent to the left.

If you’re going in a straight line, then it doesn’t matter. It is good to periodically switch your posting diagonal or lead so the horse uses himself evenly.

[hey101]

@Duramax;2001260

“Down on sound” is what I use to diagnose. When the horse is trotting and is head bobbing lame, his head will go down on the sound leg, and the head will come up on the lame leg. Sometimes its tough to tell if its front of back, but at least you can narrow it down by 50%!

Duramax- oh, I’m well versed on the theories and tricks! I can recite them verbatim.:yes: But in actual practice, I STILL can’t tell.:no: Sadly, my little trick of mimicknig the horse’s walk helps me quite a bit, but it’s probably not fool proof. I tell you, I am hopeless at it.

The good thing is that I am VERY good at knowing when something is NQR in the first place, so in the end the horse gets time off and a close watch to make sure things don’t get worse (at which point I"d call the vet).

[hey101]

@eclipse;2001275

Ok, if you’re cantering (or trotting) across a large open field, no edges or fencing in site, how do you know what is the correct diagonal (or lead)??

There is no correct diagonal when you are hacking, but you should change your diagonal every 5 minutes or so to make sure you even the balance and distribution of weight-bearing on the opposing pairs of legs.