Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Summer is definitely in full swing! I would like to remind everyone that in this heat there are precautions to take not only as a rider but with your horse as well. Here is a great article on keeping your horse cool and below are a few quick tips:

Consider the time of day you ride The hottest time of the day is afternoon. Try getting up an hour early to ride. Or, if you are not an early riser, try riding in late evening. These times when the sun is not as high in the sky are cooler times to ride.

Ride in the shade If you have a covered or indoor arena with plenty of air circulation, ride there. If you do not have a covered space, try riding on trails or in and around the edges of fields that have tall trees for shade. This will lessen your horse’s exposure to the direct heat of the sun.

Condition properly Evaluate your horse’s current physical condition and his/her body condition score. Most obese or poorly muscled thin horses cannot combat the extra stress of working in the heat. If your horse has not been in regular work or you are unsure about a new mount’s work history, begin your summer workouts slowly with approximately five to 10 minutes of trot only. Increasing your total workout time by five minutes each week, as well as increasing the intensity or speed at which you ride, will give your horse time to acclimate to the heat and humidity.

Replace electrolytes Give your horse electrolytes in a water bucket or in feed. The horse loses salt and other minerals when he sweats, and these must be replaced. When adding electrolytes to water, make sure you also have a water bucket available without electrolytes. The horse might not like the taste of the electrolytes or he might not need many electrolytes.

Cool the horse properly After you ride in the heat apply cool water to your entire horse. Spend time hosing his largest muscle areas and the largest and closest-to-the-surface blood vessels, the jugular vein in the neck and the saphenous vein on the inner thigh. Doing this cools the body faster.

Stone Place Boarders Pot Luck Dinner!

Stone Place Stables is very excited about having it’s first ever boarders pot luck dinner on Wednesday July 13th. We want to give everyone a chance to meet some of the Wallace family and hear their goals for the farm. They are looking forward to meeting you! Mary Lowry will also be at the dinner to help us accomplish all of our goals. The farm will provide chicken, buffalo and veggie burgers to grill if you will bring your favorite side and a lawn chair.

We will also be giving out door prizes of gift certificates to the hitching post and free lessons!! It should be a fun night. In addition to everyone getting to know each other the farm has some bookkeeping to get current. We will have new emergency information sheets that we will need everyone to fill out. We ask that you all be there, so please mark the date in your calendar and join us for a fun evening! Please let me know if you do plan on attending and if you are not able to attend please get in touch with me so that I can get you up to date with everything that is covered at the meeting.

Thanks so much and I will see you all soon!

PS – Don’t forget to like our new Stone Place Face Book page!

2011 Eventing Season is Well Under Way!

The year has definitely started out with a bang with lots of exciting things happening. One thing that I am excited about is the creation of the 42 Fleur De Lis Mini Trial series right here in Louisville. Right now the series consists of six mini trials with a year end awards banquet. These events are economical and a great way to introduce new horses and riders to eventing. For more information click here.

Another exciting thing that has happened this year is that some of the young horses are now competing at the Beginner Novice level: Fancee, Manchester and Big Glen are a few that have enthusiastically completed their first event.  I also have several horses and riders moving up to the next level including Sarah Busche and PJ, Lindsay Satterthwaite and Bella and Emma Burch and Winston. This year will prove to be an exciting competitive year!

On a side note I would like to encourage everyone at Stone Place to keep a close eye on ticks on yourself and your horse. We have had several horses have some issues. If your horse suddenly becomes ear shy or starts acting erratically they very well could be the cause. And just like with humans, ticks can pass on many diseases to the horse so best to get them taken care of asap.