Saturday, October 15, 2011

The Battle on Worms

    What's your worming program like at your barn? Do you have monthly fecal egg counts done or do you buy a random tube and hope for the best? Over the years, a lot of conflicting advice has amassed. Here are some general considerations you should have when it comes to choosing your wormer:
  • Two times the normal dose of wormer containing Strongid kills tapeworms.
  • Panacur is a pretty mild wormer, therefore it can be used on sick, undernourished, or high anxiety horses.
  • Ivermectin kills worms on contact and should be used primarily in the winter months. In the summer, horses will have lots of migrating larvae in their bloodstream. If Ivermectin is administered, the horse could have massive internal blockage that is fatal.
  • Another reason Ivermectin is a cold weather wormer is it promotes hair growth in horses. Panacur, on the other hand, helps horses shed out quicker in the spring and summer.
  • Pay close attention to dosage in order to prevent parasite resistance to a particular wormer.
  • Lastly, did you know that a horse can spit out 1/3 of their wormer up to four hours after you administered it? And that's after we stand there and make sure they swallow it...
Hopefully you can incorporate some of these tips into your current program and see better results in the future.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Tip of the Day

How can I tell if my English saddle fits me?
An English saddle seat size is measured from the brad near the pommel (front) of the saddle to the cantle (back) of the saddle. Many adults require a seat that is size 16.5 inches to 18 inches.

When sitting in the saddle, you should have a distance of 4 fingers between the front of the pommel and your body.

You should also be able to fit 3-4 fingers in the space between the cantle and your body.

When you ride, your ear, shoulder, hips, and heels should all align on an invisible vertical line. If your heels are too far forward in front of this line first try adjusting your position. While riding, if you feel your feet start to drift forward again, this may indicate that your saddle is too small for you.

If you have a long thigh, you may need a larger seat than other people. A more forward flap on your saddle could also help to position you correctly.

Deeper seats, which can be found on dressage saddles and all purpose saddles may feel smaller than they actually are. Flatter seats, which can be found on close contact or jumping saddles are flatter and therefore a rider may be able to get by with a smaller seat size.

Remember that you could be 5' tall and 90 pounds when wet and still need a size 18" seat! It all depends on the proportion of the rider and the build of the saddle.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

News

HERD REDUCTION: HORSES FOR SALE

Hinton Arabians will be reducing their herd size. Check out the sales page on the website for sale horses and their information. While you're there, you might see:

Shahra Su
LD Echshahlon x Que Su ZQ

"Shahra" is a 13 year old registered chestnut mare who is the spitting image of her sire LD Echshahlon (a son of the great Bey Shah). She is halter broke, leads nicely, lunges, ties, stands for the farrier, and has been regularly turned out. She has never been broke to ride but with a steady, patient, and kind owner who understands her nervous disposition, could be under saddle in no time. Please email hintonarabians@yahoo.com if you are interested. Thanks!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hello!


Welcome to the blog.


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