THE ISLAND 22 EQUESTRIAN PARK

From Horsetalk.com

Recomend you read the full article here. Excerts below.

"It only takes 17 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in hot, humid weather to raise a horse's temperature to dangerous levels. That's three to 10 times faster than in humans. Horses feel the heat much worse than we do."

And the effects can be serious. If a horse's body temperature shoots up from the normal 37 to 38 C to 41 C, temperatures within working muscles may be as high as 43 C, a temperature at which proteins in muscle begin to denature (cook). Horses suffering excessive heat stress may experience hypotension, colic and renal failure.

Horses also rely to a significant extent on sweating to cool them off. They can sweat 15 to 20 litres per hour in cool, dry conditions and up to 30 litres per hour in hot, humid conditions, but only 25 to 30 per cent of the sweat produced is effective in cooling the horse by evaporation.

"Just giving the horse water will not rehydrate a dehydrated horse. When horses drink plain water, it dilutes their body fluids, and their bodies respond by trying to get rid of more water and more electrolytes."

"Many riders will train their horses in the mornings or evenings, when it's cool, then go to a competition held during the hottest part of the day. You need to get horses used to being ridden in the heat and allow them to develop the full spectrum of beneficial adaptations that come with heat acclimation."

"You can cool the horse two degrees in 10 minutes this way: pour on the water, scrape it off, pour on more, and just keep repeating it," says Lindinger. "The scraping part is important because otherwise the water will be trapped in the horse's hair and will quickly warm up. By scraping and pouring on fresh, cold water you keep the cooling process going."

How to give an intramuscular injection

June 1, 2010

Featuring Dr. Mike Pownall

Learn where all three IM sites are and how to properly and safely inject your horse

Horse-Canada.com

How to bandage a hoof

Featuring Dr. Mike Pownall

Find out what tools you’ll need and how to properly bandage your horse’s foot

Eventing Nation just posted their own video of an air vest deploying. An interesting watch.

Eventing Nation

Also new Canadian Eventing Rules:

Please note the following rule change EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!

“Effective immediately (1/05/2010) - Aninflatable vest is permitted only if worn over the body protective vest.”

ARTICLE D114 DRESS

4.2      Dress – Cross Country test

Light weight clothing is appropriate for this test, ashirt (any colour) with suitable short or long sleeves must be worn (notsleeveless or cap sleeve). Protective headgear in accordance with Art D 114.1must be worn. This headgear may be any colour. Britches or jodhpurs may be anycolour. Gloves (if worn) may be any colour. Boots – black, dark brown, blackwith brown top, field. Boots must be long boots in one piece or a full grainsmooth leather leg piece and matching leather boot. Jodhpur boots only permitted with appropriatebritches. Spurs optional but when worn in accordance with Art D114.3. Aprotective vest must be worn. Effectiveimmediately (1/05/2010) - An inflatable vest is permitted only if worn over the body protective vest. Competitorsmay not wear a stop watch to time their cross country rounds at Pre Trainingand below. (clarification amendment July 20, 2009)

Horse-Canada. com is now doing informative online videos to help you learn how to look after your horses better.

The first in this series is:

Temperature, Pulse, Respiration

Determining the appropriate size for your trailer depends on the breed and type of horses you own. While most horses fit in a standard straight-load trailer—10’ stalls, 7’6” tall and 6’ wide on the inside—many of the breeds used in the performance industry today need a little more space. In general, a horse that is 16.3-17.2 hands needs a trailer that has 11’ stalls and is 7’8” tall. Two inches doesn’t seem like much of a difference, but that extra clearance will make the horse much more comfortable. For the 18-hand range, or an extra wide horse, some width may need to be added. Since the legal width on U.S. roads is 8’6”, the interior width can be 6’8” before the wheel wells would need to be inside the trailer.

Towing And Trailering Safety Part 2: Emergencies On The Road

While many people don’t like to think about emergency situations, being prepared for one can be the difference between a good outcome and a horrific one. Not only should you prepare for equine emergencies, but you should also plan for what will happen to your horses if you have a personal emergency while on the road.

Interesting discussion about the Long lost Long Format going on over here. You might want to join in.

Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

Around the time that the long format died, and there are a zillion opinions as to why this happened, things started changing. A trend in course design became noticeable. Without the endurance factor of Phases A, B and C, "new" ways to separate the wheat from the chaff evolved in the form of cross country courses with questions of ever increasing technicality. I've heard it likened to show jumping without walls. At the peak of this trend, horses gallop like gangbusters between clusters of fences in varying combinations where they are forced to whoa-and-roll back before roaring off again to the next cluster.

And while you are there dont forget to check out Eventing Nations latest Sunday Jog-Up!!

I mentioned this series in our newsletter and our Guest Judge made a comment about horse presentation. You should read this collection for some great tips on getting your horse all cleaned up and pretty.

Some of these articles are a few years old but they still hold great info.

Towing And Trailer Safety Part 1: It's All About The Horse

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when shipping your horse is that trailering, in general, goes against a horse’s natural instincts.

“Horses are prey animals, and they have a flight response,” said Neva Scheve, author of The Complete Guide To Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing A Horse Trailer. “Their mode of survival is running away, because if they don’t get away, they’re going to be dinner! They are claustrophobic, so if they are stuck in a situation where they can’t run away, there’s going to be a lot of stress, and then you’re going to have a lot of problems.”

All about interval training

Interval training is designed to strengthen the horse's muscles and respiratory system by a gradual increase in 'stress' or exercise levels. In this way, over time, the horse reaches a level of fitness that will enable him to make the sustained effort required in competition.

How to Condition Score a Horse

Condition scoring is a method of measuring the condition (fat) of a horse. It is the best way to monitor a horse’s weight, and it needs no special equipment. If done correctly, condition scoring works despite conditions which may fool the owner’s eye.

This article has a full chart for scoring.

Same scoring but in a Canadian version.

Checking a Horse's Vital Signs Including Pulse, Temperature and Respiration

No matter what breed of horse you have, it's important to have some basicknowledge of how to evaluate your horse's general condition.When the horse's owner is alert and able toperform some basic health checks, it can help your veterinarian keep your horsein the best possible health. Knowing how to spot problems early before they canbecome serious is the best possible preventative.

Just a reminder to all out there. This is very important! If you look at the statistics on horses back when the last survey was taken it is SOOOOO different now. There is little comparison. They need this info people.

That and with the new Olympic Win the Podium fund money still avaliable the horse people are on the list to receive some. They need to know how strong and important we are. Lets not go un-noticed ok!!

And I will admit that it really truly does help the park as it is government land and the FVRD relies on funds from them to improve us.

SO!

The Deadline is April 30th!!

What is the state of BC's Horse Industry?Horse Council BC in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands is embarking on a province wide "Horse Industry Study". The purpose of this study is to determine the current status of BC's horse industry and estimate its economic benefits and value to our economy.

This study will focus on a broad scope of businesses and services in BC directly and indirectly related to the horse industry. The changing perspective of agriculture and livestock among the general public has a direct impact on issues such as environmental stability and animal welfare. These issues are important to all horse people and must be addressed through valid and acceptable strategies by equine industry stakeholders.  

Please take the time to complete this VERY important survey. Your input is extremely valuable and this is your opportunity to have a say in the direction you want to see BC's equine industry grow.

All information will be kept strictly confidential. Please forward this survey to every horse owner, professional or equine service provider you know!

Take This Study  

If you or someone you know  would like to complete this study, but do not have access to the Internet please contact Kelly Coughlin, Manager Industry, at 1-800-345-8055.  

The talk of the town is these new fancy air vests that people are starting to wear.

Check them out:

Point Two Inflatable Air Vest

As well as the obvious protection from shock absorption, the Point Two Inflatable Vest distributes pressure and above all, effectively supports the spinal column so that the neck and trunk have limited movement in the event of a fall. 

For your protection, a simple “click” is all it takes to connect you to the saddle. If you are unseated or thrown from a horse the airbag system is designed to be effective in 0.1 seconds

The Lanyard of the vest connects with the nylon stirrup straps at the front of the saddle. After the rider has mounted the saddle, he or she clips the 2 ends together.

The Lanyard enables full movement in all directions for the rider. The airbag will only be activated if the rider is separated from the horse. The airbag vest will then inflate within 0.1 seconds, protecting the all important areas of the body, the collar of the neck, ribs and coccyx. 

The new system means that your vest will be fully inflated after activation in 0.1 of a second, so should inflation begin from as little as 25cm from the ground your Point Two Air Vest will be inflated before you impact the ground.

The vest is completely reusable by replacing the CO2 gas cartridge. The highly resistant polyester fabric can be brushed or sponged down to remove stains.

Hit-Air Equestrian Vest

Link has a UTube video and the read more link has full diagrams.

The Hit-Air system uses CE certified armor to protect the shoulders, elbows and the spine but most importantly, the Hit-Air system also incorporates an air cushion system. In the event of an accident and a rider is thrown from the vehicle or horse, the air cushion instantly inflates (within 1/2 second) to protect the rider's body. Activation is simple and automatic. A coiled wire is attached to both the vehicle and the jacket or vest. Once the rider and the vehicle or horse, are separated, the coiled wire pulls a "key" out of a gas release system and inert gas inflates the air cushion. The inflated jacket provides the necessary impact protection. After a few seconds the gas is automatically released through the gas release valve.

 The Hit-Air system with its instant activation is the ideal safety for motorcyclists and horse back riders!!

Do I recomend them.... hmm ... dont know. I know that David O'Conner does and a lot of the big names are using them now. I personally have not tried them on.

Research them carefully before you make your own decision.