Slow and Steady Wins the Game and Being Cost Effective

I have been using Dynamite products with all of my animals and some of the animals at the farm where we board for a few months now. We are very pleased with the results we have witnessed.  My initial concern was the cost involved, but the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" made sense to me.  In other words, if I can prevent a problem from occurring in the first place, it will save a great deal more in time, effort and vet costs down the road if I am proactive.

Dancer can be a hard keeper, and requires a close eye at all times.  Being a thoroughbred, her metabolism is different than other breeds.  I have also long suspected she may have ulcers.  

Ben, on the other hand is an "air fern."  He can look at a blade of grass and gain weight!  

And Katie-Cat is a sweet little Arabian who in her 20-ish years is slowing down a little bit with a few joint problems and a constant sore back.  We all know what happens as we age,; our metabolism slows down and we often pack on the pounds!  She is quite the plump thing....

At the direction of my equine health practitioner, Carrie Eastman, we started the horses on a simple program of Dynamite supplements.  My advice when starting any new program is to remember SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE GAME.  You don't want to overload your horse with too much, too fast.  Introduce things slowly, one at a time.  The other point to remember is to give things  time and be patient. While results can certainly and often do happen faster, the body on average needs about 30- 60 days to adjust.  The routine we currently have our gang on right now is as follows:


Dancer:

• a handful of PGR  (Pelleted Grain Ration*)
• one small scoop of Dynamite

Ben:

• a handful of Standlee timothy hay pellets (available at Tractor Supply, so he feels like he's eating something)
• one scoop of Dynamite**

Katie:

• a handful of PGR 
• one small scoop of Dynamite

*PGR is a clean, high-quality grain ration consisting of chemical-free oats, corn, barley, Dynamite Plus™, and an additional pellet containing a special high protein compound (Dynamite HES). Fat is provided in the form of whole extruded soybeans, which are not GMO by the way.  You can read more here about Dynamite's soybeans if you are skeptical. The cool thing about the PGR is it comes in a 50 pound bag which with one or two horses will last 40 or 50 days. It is very cost effective.

**After having Ben on the regular Dynamite, I have decided to move him to the Easy Balance which 

aids in supporting normal blood sugar and thyroid levels as well as maintain strong endocrine and nervous systems.  I suspect he may be insulin resistant (IR) and after doing some research, this appears to be a better choice for him.

***Katie will be moving to Free and Easy to support the joints, cartilage, and ligaments. It contains a unique blend of targeted nutrients, aloe, Ester-C®, glucosamine, chondroitin, and associated catalyst elements.

 A little bit about the Dynamite program:

 For more than 27 years, Dynamite has manufactured an entire line of nutritional products whose quality and effectiveness are unsurpassed.
The mission of Dynamite and each of its distributors is to improve the lives of all living creatures, extending from people and horses to dogs, cats, ferrets, alpacas, birds, zoo animals as well as plants and crops. The cornerstone of our success has been and always will be quality. Our manufacturing process is done with careful detail to ensure each finished product meets the Dynamite standard. Because of this, Dynamite guarantees the quality of our products 100 percent.

Dynamite is unusual in the industry because of the inclusion of human-grade materials, organic ingredients and chelated minerals in our animal supplements. All Dynamite supplements are top-of-line and utilize cutting-edge technology-leading the industry.

You simply won't find a company more committed to excellence in nutrition, balance of nutrients and quality of ingredients. We want to help you, your animals and your plants reach new levels in health.



Here is my Dancer girl after about three months of being on the new Dynamite regimen:

 Look at those dapples!  I don't know what it is, but I have noticed a shift in her mood, too.  She seems calmer, and happier!  Can it be a coincidence that it happened right around the same time we started the Dynamite program?  Wink, wink!

I can't tell you how many countless articles and forums discussing various feeds, supplements and  remedies I have poured over through the years.  It seems everyone has different advice.  It is important for me to have concrete, tried and true evidence to support what someone says it does.  I am feeling confident enough that I am now ready to put my name behind these products.

I have so much more to share with you regarding the many issues and concerns that we as horse owners often share.  Weight issues, lameness, EPSM ,Lyme's Disease and Herpes.  Feel free to email me at theaminfamily@comcast.net with any thoughts or questions.  I am so excited for you to join me on this wonderful journey! XO Andi, Dancer, Ben and Katie.

Trees, Treeless, or Bareback? Yes, Please!

 We went to a lovely little tack shop in Carlisle where they have saddles on consignment for very reasonable prices.  The girls had saved up some money and we decided it was time to see if we could find one to try out and see how it would fit on all or any of our gang.  We are a bit spoiled now as the saddles we own appear to fit everyone.  The challenge is we have two saddles and if we all want to go riding together we really needed another.  While we love riding bareback, we like the security of a saddle on a trail ride.  We were really lucky to find two really great fitting ones on Ebay and Craigslist, but recently, our luck hasn't been as good.

The nice thing about this store is they have a 5 day return policy.  Two trips later and I suppose I didn't realize just how blessed we were to have bought a used saddle and have it work out, even on just one of our horses.  I must admit, I was looking at saddles more for me and how they would look; I wasn't really considering that fitting would even be an issue.  I have been spoiled for the entire time I've owned horses because I have always been around folks who have had lots of experience with saddle fitting and had told me right away if what I had would work or not.  Now that we are by ourselves, I must admit I haven't much of an idea of what to look for to know if a saddle fits correctly.  There's more to it than you think.  I figured if it had a medium tree, it would be okay.  The first one we picked out was a beautiful Thorowgood that I fell in love with immediately.  It was the equivalent of a little black dress for Dancer.  With her fancy dressage bridle (and I don't even do dressage, lol!) she would have turned every head.  It doesn't matter that the only ones who would have probably ever seen it would have been my daughters, the barn owner who competes in cutting and reining and the rest of the herd Dancer is turned out with.  Okay, and I secretly admit that if and when we made the trek to the Gettysburg Battlefield, I wanted her to be drop dead gorgeous when making her debut.

After discovering that the fit was too high and much narrower than it looked, we trudged back to the tack shop, where the owner greeted us cheerfully and listened to our plight.  She graciously accepted our return and we proceeded to seek out something else.  We ended up with a handsome all purpose saddle which I felt good about because it still had some black in it-remember, the bridle, right? It had a medium tree and I was all set!

We got back to the barn and excitedly pulled off Dancer's blanket, brushed her and placed the saddle on her back.  It appeared to fit okay, but looking at where it sat I was concerned about the range of motion at her shoulder.  It looked like it might restrict movement.  Not that I do much other than walking, trotting and the occasional canter but I was still worried.  Because she is the slenderest with a high withered build (Ben and Katie are built like tanks!) I knew in my heart this was not going to work either.  After all, I want Dancer to be focused on me, not on how the saddle is pinching her.  

I remembered a friend mentioning having her saddle reflocked and that it made all the difference in the world.  I briefly considered this before returning the second saddle.  The saddle fitter actually comes out to your barn which makes sense-the horse has to be fitted to the saddle, right?  Duh, I had so much to learn!  I did some checking around and discovered people with this skill (in this area) are few and far between.  And yes, they are expensive.  But as I discovered over the course of my research, it is much less expensive than purchasing a saddle and is very much worth the investment as like a human, the horse's body is constantly changing.  As I was doing my investigating (online of course!) I happened upon a great video explaining the basics of a horse's anatomy and the importance of proper saddle fit:

And if you haven't considered just how important a role your saddle and it's fit plays, this will surely make you think twice.  All those issues you are having with your horse could very well come down to this.  

Fortunately, the girls had been eyeing a bareback saddle pad for a while at Peggy's place and they talked me into it being a worthwhile purchase.  I had seen this type around before and had sort of scoffed at it because it had stirrups.  I thought-what is the purpose of that?  You may as well have a treeless saddle!  Which led me to research if bareback riding is okay for a horse which led to treed vs. treeless saddles. You know how those google searches go-it's like the domino effect!

 We have all been doing a lot of bareback riding over the years for lots of reasons, but the most important is the gut feeling that it is much better for the horse than an ill fitting or super heavy saddle and almost just as importantly allows us to improve our seat and balance to be the best riders we can be for our horses.  In addition, the pad offers some cushion for the horse's back as opposed to riding with no pad at all.  The argument for bareback riding vs. riding in a saddle is primarily the weight distribution.  I found a pretty interesting article on newrider.com (a UK website-note all the measurements are British) from which I quote:  

"When it comes to scientific research, it's not the results that matter but how they're interpreted and this is especially the case with pressure testing saddles & bottoms. I'm going to throw a little mud in the water now .....  Treeless pressure test: 2 horses; a skinny thoroughbred and a very table topped cob. Same rider, same gaits and same surface used in testing.

The results are the overall averages:

TB weight bearing area - 153sq inches 

TB average pressure - 1.6psi

Cob weight bearing area - 182sq inches Cob average pressure - 1.8psi

The treed results we were given for comparison had an average area of 220sq inches and an average pressure of 1.8psi. As you may notice, the treeless gave considerably less area, especially on the TB but the pressure was lower & visa versa for the cob. But both results are within the same bracket as the treed saddle which showed a greater bearing surface. So where is the proof that the larger weight bearing area = better pressure distribution? 

There are far more elements that affect pressure readings which shows that weight bearing area is only a very small part of the equation. A 15 stone rider with a saddle that fits him & horse will exert far more psi than a 10 stone rider. Having a saddle that does not allow enough room for movement, will give a higher pressure reading even with the broadest, best weight distributing panels.

Just because a saddle gives a good pressure reading still does not mean its a great fit. If a saddle has been fitted to an atrophied horses shape, it could give a good result because it fits that shape but the atrophy shows it's far from ideal. Mankind has spent far, far longer riding horses bareback or on some form of pad than they have in treed saddles. I see no problem with bareback riding but just as with anything else, it depends on the rider's and horses shape. Pressure on the spine is only going to be a threat to a prominent spined horse but no-one would want to ride that bareback, ouch! There is also a difference riding totally bareback or with a bareback pad which is more beneficial for both concerned.

In the end, it's all down to static vs fluctuating pressures. Our feet have a very small weight bearing area in comparison to our bodies. I know that standing still for any length of time is far worse on my feet, (even in my most comfortable shoes) than moving around for the same period length. Similar principles could be applied to riding whether with or without a saddle."

I also read something on yourhorse.co.uk  by Janine Burns which I quote here:

"The point of having a tree as part of the saddle is to distribute pressure (in the same way a snow shoe works), hence the results from ....tests. However....The benefit of a Treeless saddle is the flexibility it offers (something not covered in the test) - ask any engineer what they would chose if they had to join two moving objects together (rigid or flexible), hopefully they would chose flexible. Then add in the fact that a lot of horse owners do not take in to account the ever changing shape of their horse (not much of a problem for a Treeless owner but a huge problem for a Treed owner). So, both saddles have an advantage over each other and a disadvantage, and only one of these is covered by the above test. 

I am a personal trainer by trade and was a Physical Training Instructor in the military, i know what it is like to do hard physical exercise and i also know what it is like to wear ill fitting kit or the wrong kit...whichever saddle you chose - Treed or Treeless , it needs re-fitting on a regular basis, and if you do extremes of activity with your horse (like hunting) you may need 2 saddles if you are Treed (unlessTreeless of course)."

I think what everyone can take away from this is that it really depends on the horse and the rider and it will depend on many variables like condition and age of a horse, breed, etc.  What I have learned is to not discount things that I haven't given an honest chance.  And I'm telling you, this bareback pad is really FUN! 

I think Dancer enjoys it too-she appears to be more relaxed, her back rounds instead of hollowing out, and she seems to be stretching her neck more; also her head is down.  I have started riding her brideless with this pad too and I think she is more responsive! She is licking her lips and sighing contentedly.  One cautionary note:  I've heard the stirrups can be very dangerous because the fleece pad can slip.  I personally love them but can understand how it could be bad if a foot happens to get caught. As with everything, there is always risk involved.  Make sure to check your girth often to prevent any slipping and pay attention to what your horse is telling you and of course, wear a helmet!

The bottom line for me as a horse owner is to do right by them.  My motto is and has always been "It's about the horse."  Dancer is such a forgiving soul as are all horses and most creatures for that matter.  I read somewhere that  "horses are very stoic because they are prey animals and need to hide any weakness."  The best advice I can give you is to be in tune as much as you possibly can with your equine counterpart and this will help to figure out any problems.  Horses are trying to tell you how they feel all the time-it's just a matter of you listening.  

I suppose until I come into some money I will be riding bareback-I'm not sure having a saddle fitter come out to remedy our second saddle is the answer.  Because I would like to hope for the best and ask to have my saddle reflocked.  But I think I know deep down that this isn't going to be the right solution either.  Sometimes all the reflocking in the world doesn't help some of those inexpensive saddles-how does that saying go?  "You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig."  There really is no substitute for a good investment in a well made saddle that fits properly.  And  then I can call the saddle fitter.  I suppose it's like anything; cars, houses, you get the idea-everything needs to be adapted eventually.  Maybe we can swing it when the kids' braces are paid off?  Oh, yeah, I forgot about the college tuition, and my retirement!  I suppose it will always be something, lol.   

Oh well, that pad is working really nice for us right now! What do you think, Dancer?

Your Daily Inspiration

“Where your mind goes, energy flows,” and it’s true. I mean, if you REALLY focus on something and you want it …my whole life is like that – things come to me in this very magical way and it’s hard to describe. It’s kind of about the law of attraction and what you really focus on, what you really want, you attract. And if you start thinking about all these things that you DON’T want – which a lot of people do – you just get more of THAT. I think about what I DO want and then that comes to me."-Cindy Meehl, Director.

Do yourself a favor and start your day off on a positive note-this is a great article to inspire any horse owner...but actually, as I write this, it is good for anyone.  And, if you haven't watched this movie yet, Buck, take the time-it is something every horse owner (or not!) should watch at least once, or twice, and for some of us, maybe more.  It gives everyone an opportunity to step out of themselves and view the world differently. It sounds cheesy, but I'm not kidding. xoxo, Dancer.

I Have A Lot to Say....

Okay, so in my travels I have learned some habits-some people will say they are bad, but honestly, I just do them because that is how I was originally trained. Thoroughbreds are born to run, and as fast as they can. Not much else is taught to us-most of us don't know good manners, or how to slow down. My owner has had the good fortune of working with a gentleman who dubs himself the "Horse Helper." A kind and knowledgeable man, and smart enough to know how not to make someone feel bad about their decisions to get the kind of horse they did, he is helping my owner change some of these learned behaviours.

The lady who owns me does not have an extensive background with thoroughbreds; she tells everyone her decision to get me was based strictly on emotion; "it was love at first sight," she admits. My beauty does have that effect on people. I'm not surprised it played a big part in her choice to own me. What she didn't realize about me (but will freely admit) is just how smart, sensitive and insightful I am, Yes, I do protest when I don't want to do something, but its mainly because I don't understand what is being asked of me. Through lots of patience and work sessions, I am learning to slow down and in turn I get rewarded. I am not being lazy or obstinant. I am just doing what I have learned over time.

People forget that horses don't have the same emotions as humans-this is something they have projected on horses for their own benefit of explaining and understanding certain behaviors. Horses have become "humanized." We are not human;we are herd animals. We think differently, and reason differently and it all comes down to our survival instincts. We do not want to be eaten and we want to feel safe, so we react in a way that helps us to avoid any upleasantness. Try to understand when we act up, it's 9 times out of ten because we don't know what you are asking. In our world, there is this thing called a pecking order. We are just trying to figure out how humans fit in to this alot of the time. Some will put fear in us to get us to pay attention, and others will treat us like a dog. Yes, we can be loyal and will give you our heart, but you have to understand how we think.

In addition, the thoroughbred breed in particular gets bored easily and appreciates it when the humans "mix it up." While we often appreciate repetition to learn things, we don't like too much redundancy or prolonged periods of instruction. Because we are so smart we often start to anticipate what is being asked of us-this is actually another avoidance tactic we pick up to try to get out of things. For instance, in longeing, if I am working on transitions, I will try to figure out what is being asked of me before it is asked. My owner observed this early on and knows how to anticipate it and trys lots of different things with me so I can't pull this stunt too much. She knows my favorite past time is eating and my goal is to finish my work as quickly and precisely as possible so I can start chowing down.

Together, over the years, my owner and I have explored Parelli, Clinton Anderson, Linda Tellington-Jones and numerous others;we've ridden english and tried our hand at jumping as well as a few dressage moves-we've tried our hand at the western thing and trail riding and learning how to barrel race. It's my opinion that if you listen and watch and have an open mind, most trainers usually have some very valuable information to offer in helping you achieve your goals, it's just a matter of sorting through it all and deciding what is pertinent in your particular situation and applying it. Try to remember not to try to do too much at one time, as this can confuse and frustrate any horse-this applies to most every animal or human anyway. Also, know that every minute you are with your horse is a learning opportunity. Did you know it only takes three times of repetitive action to create a habit? The reverse is also true; work on something with your equine partner three times when learning a concept, and he or she should pick it up and it will be imprinted in their mind for the future. But it can't be rushed-it takes unlimited patience and there is no room for frustration. I have taught my owner to practice loads of patience. I have also taught her to stand her ground and learn how to say the word "no." I think I am worth my weight in gold for all the pyschotherapy sessions I have saved her from. I don't judge her, I accept her for who she is, and I don't care if her boots are made by Dubarry.

I can't stress enough that since horses are herd animals, their very lives depend on being able to size up any animal (or human) in a matter of nano-seconds and decide how they are going to interact with it. My owner likes this guy Buck Brannaman, and he once said,"You’ll have to get them (horses) exposed to a lot of things that seem perfectly normal to you, but it doesn’t seem normal to the horse. You walk up to them, smelling like a Big Mac [for which an animal just like a horse was killed] or something. Your diet can make you smell different to the horse. And then you are going to tell the horse: “Don’t worry, I want to crawl on you,” in a similar posture to how a Lion would attack and kill a horse. They jump right up in the middle of them, and they reach their front claws around, and as they’re biting down on their spine, they’re cutting their throat with their claws. You’re asking the horse to let you be in that posture and crawl on him. And then about the time he says “all right, maybe”. And then you say: “Oh, one more thing: I want to strap some hides of other dead animals around you, before I crawl on you.” You damn sure have to have some trust. He's got to believe in you to let you do that. And amazingly enough, they’ll let you do it."
Horses are more about emotions than about intelligence. There is a lineage of people teaching a gentler way of dealing with horses: Tom Dorrance started it, Ray Hunt continued it and inspired Buck Brennaman to become a teacher, too.

If you, the human, are in a bad mood, or angry, they sense this immediately. You are, in essence presenting a mirror of your emotional self to them when you approach. Try to leave the bad day at the door when you spend time with your mount, and remember there is an art to knowing when to step back and when to move forward; it's okay if things don't go the way you planned-go to Plan B. Try hand grazing or walking around the arena and matching strides. The goal is to always end things on a good, positive note-build up the horse's confidence, (which in turn will build up yours) Reward your horse with lots of rubs for something they did right.

My owner likens me most to a small child. Like humans, horses don't always want to do what is asked of them. We figure out ways to get out of things. We also have good days and bad days,just like humans, so it's important to be able to decide when it's best to call it quits and end a session on the upswing. Just grooming and standing in our stall during feeding time can be as good as groundwork and riding. It reassures us as horses that we are not always going to be asked to do something, and it helps us to relax and build a relationship with our handler. On a similar note, horses do need to understand that we are expected to do what we are asked without resistance. Again, quoting Buck, "Gentle in what you do, firm in how you do it." He encourages predictability and respect, but also taking control. He compares handling horses to raising children – as a parent, you cannot always be their best friend.

This can be defined as instilling early on in the relationship that there must be respect,as well as good manners. It takes lots of patience and hard work on both the part of the human and the equine to meet these goals, but the sooner the better in the horse and human relationship.

So, getting back to the Horse Helper-we've been working on slowing down at the canter and understanding it's not always about going as fast as I can. Others have said I do this because I am acting up. The Horse Helper explained that I am doing this because this is the only thing I know; this is what I have been taught. As soon as I slow a bit instead of building to a frenzied gallop and obviously not focusing at all, I am rewarded by being asked to stop. As I stand there, huffing and puffing, the Man comes up and gives me a rub on my face and tells me I did a good job. I am very tired tonight, but I am starting to understand what my owner wants.

I'm ready for my treat now!