Rode Yesterday!

Rode RV yesterday for the first time in a month or two since he had his mild flare-up and it was so hot (not to mention he needed shoes too)......however we have continued to lounge in between then. I got on him yesterday and we picked up where we left off, we had an awesome flat lesson. He just went around and did his thing, no counter bending at all! My mom was shocked to see how well he did. Hopefully, fingers crossed we can continue to get back into some work other than lounging. He loves to work and he is definetly in his element in the ring. He's not a happy horse being in his stall or just outside everyday-he likes to please. I rode for about 20 minutes, becuase he is a but out of shape and I didn't want to stress him out. Hopefully he will continue to build muscle and get back into a routine. It was so nice to see him happy last night :)

New Jump Course!

My husband is bailing hay this weekend! As soon as its all cut, the barn girls are going to set up a cross country course in our field :)

Horse Trial

The girls went to watch a horse trial today- I think they want to school the next one.

Let It Snow!

We are expected to get 12 inches of snow tonight.....hope everyone is staying in-goodluck shoveling. I hope we dont lose power because then I have to worry about water for the horses, since its too cold for buckets-ahhhh!

Results of barn test!

Hi All,

AS you know in my last post I was telling you how we had a horse come down with lyme disease. The vet came out to test the rest of the barn, and luckily only 2 other horses have it. My husband is in the process of purchasing the necessary equipment so we can spray our own fields, this will ensure the fields get sprayed more often. Please have your horse tested, I can't stress that enough.

Happy 4th and Happy Riding,

Donna

New Jersey- one of the worst places for LYME DISEASE in HORSES!

Silver Fox Farm has been one of the few farms that has had 0 cases of lyme disease in the last couple of years. Recently one of our horses tests came up positive. This horse had NO symptoms, except for Uviteous in one of his eyes. His attitude never changed, he was always willing to work, and there was no lameness.

Needless to say, the rest of the barn is currently being tested. Silver Fox Farm is not going to except that horses get lyme. We are in the works of getting licensed to spray our own farm, instead of waiting for the mosquito commission. If we can spray, we can monitor how often and if there is a decrease in the tick population. We don't want our boarders to have to worry, we want them and their horses at ease.

In going up to pick up a few things in our local tack shop, the owner explained to me that every one that comes in has a horse with lyme, and New Jersey is one of the worst places for this disease right now.

Even if your horse has NO symptoms, get him/her routinely checked. Wouldn't it be nice if Horses could talk? Things would be a lot easier :)

Happy Riding,

Donna

Some information on Horse Allergies

Why It Is Difficult To Diagnose Equine Allergies?

Veterinarians often tell horse owners to ask before purchasing a horse about any past allergy symptoms or outbreaks a horse has experienced. Just because a horse has had allergic reactions in the past, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy the horse. If your newly purchased horse starts to come down with an allergy, you will have past health information to get the horse treated quickly and effectively.
Equine allergies can take months, or even years, to fully develop. A horse that has never been allergic to something before might develop an allergy, without warning. Undetected allergies are very difficult to prevent and diagnosis initially, since there are so many sources of environmental allergens. The horse’s age, gender, or breed is not a significant factor that contributes to allergies. Any horse can come down with hives or other skin allergies at any time in their life.

What Causes Allergies in Horses?

Many different items commonly found in any horse’s environment can cause allergies. Under normal living conditions, horses are engulfed in dust, mold spores, and other allergens all day long. In the pastures where horses graze, there are many different proteins that could potentially cause an allergic reaction. Usually a horse can fight off these allergens with a healthy immune system, but not in every circumstance.
A healthy horse’s immune system makes proteins called antibodies. Antibodies are used by the body as weapons against antigens (the allergens). When the system works correctly, the antigens are eliminated. Allergic reactions, also known as hypersensitivity, occur when the immune system overreacts to an outside antigen that is introduced to a horse’s body.
Some allergies are quite minor, while others can be life-threatening allergies that can cause problems with the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Anything in the air, like mold or spores can cause allergic reactions. In addition, certain foods, feeds, grains, hay, nutrition supplements and insect bites can also trigger allergic reactions.

Skin Allergies in Horses

Skin allergies are among the most commonly experienced allergies in equines. They usually appear 12 to 14 hours after the horse is exposed to the antigen. Skin allergies usually appear as hives and in horses often show first around the neck and shoulders. Horses may experience fever or itchy skin when they have hives. Skin allergies can be caused by food allergens or even insect bites.
Allergic reactions caused by gnat bites are particular common in equines. Sometimes mosquito bites in certain invested areas of the United States can also be a problem. Many horses will rub the areas where the bites are present until they have very little hair or even a bald spot remaining.
Horses often recover from hives and other skin allergies without any intervention needed. However, if the hives occur often, with no apparent reason involved, a vet can do an intradermal skin test to identify the allergen. If an antigen is found through the test, hyposensitization (similar to allergy shots) may help fend off hives. In addition, corticosteroids are commonly used to treat skin allergies.

Respiratory Allergies in Horses

Heaves is the term most vets use for respiratory allergies in horses. The symptoms can include coughing, exercise intolerance and nasal discharge. It is extremely similar to asthma in humans. In some horses, owners will notice wheezing associated with respiratory allergies. There may even be a visible “heave line” in the area between the flank and the thorax. It is important to get a heaving horse treated as soon as possible because severe cases can cause weight loss.
There are several environmental issues that can cause heaves in horses. Pollen, dust, and mold, easily found in most horse stables, are the more common triggers. The best treatment to cure or relieve your horse of heaves is to identify and remove the trigger as quickly as possible.
In many cases, you can simply take the horse out of the stable and let it out to pasture for some fresh air. Also try changing the bedding to shavings or shredded paper to reduce the possible irritants in your horse’s pen area. If all standard bedding choices seem to bring on heaves, some horses must sleep on rubber mats to resolve their allergy.
Hay, common in almost all horse environments, can host many organisms that cause heaves. Soaking your hay in water can help remove any unwanted spores. If your horse still can’t stay healthy with hay in its immediate environment, owners may need to take hay out of the horse’s diet completely and replace with pelleted feed rations.
A secondary course of action that your vet can prescribe in some cases of heaves is corticosteroids. We recommend that all horse owners speak with their vet directly about any and all horse and equine medications before using them.

Time to Body Clip and get the dentist

Hi All,

Silver Fox Farm has been spending the last few nice weekends body clipping! I've gone through more sets of blades than I can count. To top it off, I had the vet come out to finish spring shots and the dentist to file the teeth.

Some of the horses teeth are getting sharp and there going to start bothering them soon. Show season is just about here, and that is one headache we try to avoid!!! Hope your all enjoying the nice riding weather.

Happy Riding,
Donna

Spring Shots

Hi All-

Its that time of year! The vet is coming tomorrow to give the horse's spring shots. My boarders are dreading receiving the vet bills!

Happy Riding,
Donna

Body Clipping and Shots= Great Moods for Riders!

Hi All-

Its that time of year again! Silver Fox Farm is body clipping non- stop (and going through a gazillion clipper blades). We tried holding off a few more weeks, but boarders horses are shedding like crazy, and since its been warmer their also sweating! It's also time for spring shots. A lot of horse owners dread this time of year, as the vet bill is not cheap!

With all of this happening, it seems as if the show season is right around the corner. I can sense the enthusiasm in the barn as the nicer weather is starting to stay. It seems like it's taken forever for winter to leave...and I don't think its quite over.

That's the barn update!

Happy Riding,

Donna

Jumps are Out!!!

Hi All-

Since its getting so nice out, we dedicated today to setting up our outdoor ring. We took the jumps out of the indoor and made some awesome courses outside. It was nice having some of the students to help with the setup. We added some triple lines, sharp turns, and all different distances to get us ready for the show ring!

Happy Riding,

Donna

The Proper way to Trailer a Single Horse

When Tailoring a single horse in a two-horse trailer, put the solo traveler on the left sife of the partition. The puts the bulk of the weight on the highest point in the road. Most highways are designed to slope downward from a "crown" at the center to facilitate drainage. If the horse were in the right side of the trailer to pull or trip toward the edge.

A Few Reasons Groundwork is Important!

Groundwork is important for many reasons but listed below are the three most important reasons that horses should have a good foundation in groundwork, with a reputable trainer.

First, improve and build upon your relationship with your horse through grooming.

Grooming simulates what the horses naturally do in herds. Horses will stand facing each other's hind end, shoulder to shoulder, and facing opposite directions. This allows them to "scratch" each other's shoulders, where they normally would not be able to reach. Horses tend to exhibit this behavior when they have similar ranking within the herd and have close relationships. You generally will not see horses that are at opposite ends of the pecking order exhibiting this behavior. Grooming also helps to establish "boundaries" for your horse. For example if you are brushing your horse, and he tries to reach around and give you a friendly nibble (return grooming), it gives you an opportunity to let your horse know that "friendly" nibbles are inappropriate. You can do this by pushing his/ her head back to face forward. You can also use your hand in a waving type motion which will "create" a wall that the horse understands. Now this doesn't mean to go crazy with your hands and start swatting all over. That would be an incorrect way to "wave" your hands. You want to be calm and relaxed around your horse. And your "waving" type motion should also be calm and relaxed. If you allow yourself to get worked up over anything this can create nervous energy in your horse. Your horse can perceive this as threatening and be intimidated by it, which can hinder the building of a close relationship with your horse.

Second, proper groundwork will give your horse a very solid foundation for
more advanced training.

Lunging and under-saddle work is an important aspect of groundwork that is often overlooked. It is very common for average horse owners to discredit the importance of groundwork and just focus on under-saddle or mounted work. For example they won't teach their horse to "whoa" during groundwork. Then when they are in the saddle the horse doesn't understand "whoa". When the horse doesn't understand the "whoa", it is now the horses fault. If the trainer had taught the horse to "whoa" while doing groundwork, the concept of "whoa" would have carried over to the under-saddle work. This makes it much easier for the horse to understand "whoa" while under-saddle. Just
like a home has a solid foundation, groundwork is a horse's solid foundation for training. Without a solid foundation everything will begin to crumble, and in a horse's case it will have various training issues that develop. Almost every single issue that occurs under-saddle, can be attributed in some way to poor ground training. You should allow the ground training to be nice and relaxed. The goal of ground training is to build a better relationship with your horse, and also to establish a good training system that the horse understands. This will then be built upon through the horse's career no matter which direction the horse takes.

Third, ground work is also very important for the safety of handler and horse.

If your horse does not have solid ground training it can become a chore just to lead your horse out of his stall, and tack him/ her up. From there it can escalate until you have a safety issue that not only affects you , but now affects others around you. Solid ground work starts by teaching a horse its personal space "bubble". Teaching a horse where it's ""bubble" is also allows the handler to direct where a horse places its body. By teaching a horse where to place different parts of his body you have much more control on the ground. This type of training is especially handy for when your horse has farrier or vet appointments. If you have this type of "control" on the ground it will make it easier for your farrier and vet. You will be able to tell the horse where to put his/ her body, and do it without shanking or jerking on your horses halter. Having this type of communication with your horse is a very rewarding relationship. It will allow you and your horse to have an enjoyable and rewarding relationship no matter which discipline you are in.

Learn something new every month from Horse Logic. A new article will be featured every month in From the Horses Mouth by Sara McKiness from Horse Logic.

Benefits in the Economic Stimulus Act for Horse Industry

President Barack Obama has signed the Economic Stimulus Act into law. The bill is intended to provide a jump-start to the U.S. economy.

“The new law contains two important tax incentives that would allow a much bigger write-off for horses and other depreciable property purchased and placed in service during 2009,” said Jay Hickey, President of the American Horse Council. “These provisions expired at the end of 2008, but their reinstatement should provide an additional incentive for people to purchase horses for racing, showing and breeding as part of their business activities.”

The first incentive continues the so-called $250,000 Section 179 expensing allowance for horses purchased and placed in service in 2009. This allowance also applies to farm equipment and most other property with a depreciable life of less than 20 years. Once total purchases of horses and other eligible depreciable property reach $800,000, the expense allowance goes down one dollar for each dollar spent on eligible property over $800,000.

“The horse industry almost lost the Section 179 expense deduction in 1996. The House of Representatives passed legislation taking this deduction away from the horse industry,” said Hickey. “But we were able to convince the Senate to remove this restriction before passing the final bill and the deduction was preserved. It was worth $17,500 then. Over the years it has been increased and will be $250,000 for 2009. That is a real benefit to horse owners.”
To illustrate the expensing allowance, assume a horse business purchases $750,000 of depreciable property in 2009, including $650,000 for horses. That business can write off $250,000 on its 2009 tax return and depreciate the balance. If instead, purchases were $900,000, the expense allowance would go down by $100,000.

In addition, bonus depreciation has also been reinstated for 2009 in the new Stimulus Bill. This second incentive allows a horse owner to take first-year bonus depreciation equal to 50% of the cost of horses and most other depreciable property purchased and placed in service during 2009. It does not apply to property that has a depreciation life of over 20 years.
As was the case last year and in 2003 and 2004 when bonus depreciation was first instituted, the property must be new, meaning that the original use of the horse or other property must begin with the purchaser for the property to be eligible. “Original use” means the first use to which the property is put, whether or not that use corresponds to the use of the property by the purchaser. “There is no limit on the amount of bonus depreciation that can be taken, as there is with the expense deduction,” noted Hickey.

To illustrate bonus depreciation, assume that in 2009 a business pays $500,000 for a colt to be used for racing and $50,000 for other depreciable property, bringing total purchases to $550,000. The young colt had never been raced or used for any other purpose before the purchase. The business would be able to expense $250,000, deduct another $150,000 of bonus depreciation (50% of the $300,000 remaining balance), and take regular depreciation on the $150,000 balance.

“The Stimulus Bill includes several other changes that may benefit horse owners, including allowing taxpayers a deduction for state and local sales and excises taxes paid on the purchase of new cars, light trucks, and recreational vehicles in 2009; a change in the net operating loss carryback period to five years for small businesses; and a reduction for 2009 in the required estimated tax payments for some small businesses,” said Hickey.

A few quick fixes to getting rid of that blanket rub!

It's that time of year when "blanket pattern baldness" will appear on your horse or pony. Hairless patches develop on the shoulders, withers, tail, and other areas where he moves. The ultimate solution is a better fitting blanket, perhaps with a different cut, but there are some temporary fixes to the problem you can use before going shopping.

Sew think fleece on the inside of the blanket on the "rub" areas. You can also put a tight fitting lycra "underwear" that covers the rub zones. With these fixes, you will prevent further damage to the hair follicles that can result in discoloration or permanent hair loss.

Tallest Horses of 2008

Luscombe Nordram, aka "Noddy", a Shire, as a five-year-old was measured by his owners to be 20.1 hands tall. He lives in Australia. "It sounds like a mountain moving when he gallops across the paddock to come and get his breakfast," says his owner, Jane Greenman.

Digger, a Clydesdale gelding was measured at just over 19 hands high at the age of four! Digger resides at the ILHP farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Horse Muffins!!!

Horse Muffins

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Bran
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¾ cup skimmed Milk
½ cup Molasses
2 tablespoons Corn oil
1 Egg, beaten

-Stir together bran, flour, soda, and baking powder. Mix together milk, molasses, oil, and egg. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Bake in greased or paper lined muffin tins at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Silver Fox Farm has a small part in helping the environment!!!!

Silver Fox Farm is doing their part to conserve our resources, which in turn helps the environment.
With the extreme cold temperatures, water buckets are freezing. Silver Fox Farm has decided to put the frozen buckets into a wheel barrel and wheel them out to the water troughs. The ice is broken and put into the HEATED water troughs instead of throwing the ice outside. The ice is warm water by the time the horses get around to drinking.

In conserving energy, Silver Fox Farm has purchased the thermo cube. The thermo cube plugs into an outlet, which automatically turns on when the temperate reaches 35 degrees and will turn off when the temperature reaches 45 degrees. We are using this for all our water trough heaters so electric is not wasted. This unit can be found in any of the horse catalogs for around $10.00.

Until next time, Happy Riding!!!!

Fleece Linings replace second blanket in the winter and are awesome!!!

Does your horse have a thin coat and need two blankets in the bitter cold? Silver Fox recently tried Fleece linings on some of the horses. They close in the front and are fitted, so there is no bulk from a second blanket. These come in all colors and are pretty sturdy. These linings range from $20.00-$70.00.

Silver Fox recommends trying them out, they are awesome.! Any of the horse catalogs carry them, we ordered from Dover and Country Supply. We guarantee your horse will thank you!!!

Happy Riding!!!

Thoroughbres and Pure Breed?

In some horse movies, for example Hidalgo, the term "thoroughbred" is incorrectly thrown about as if to mean of pure breeding. Many people make the mistake of thinking if something is not a mutt, it's a 'thoroughbred'. In fact, a Thoroughbred is not just any purebred horse, it is a specific breed of horse. Since it is a specific type, it is a proper noun and should be capitalized in writing, unlike the word "purebred".

The Thoroughbred was developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the first pedigrees being tracked and published in the General Studbook in 1791. The breed was selectively bred to produce horses that were fast and athletic for the sport of racing.

Toay the breed is used primarily for racing but they are used in other events, such as jumping, dressage, barrel racing, and eventing. The breed is tall, built for long-distance speed with a lanky build, and is known for being high-strung. They are registered with the American Jockey Club.

Thoroughbreds are sometimes crossed with other breeds to add long-distance racing ability. Quarter Horses crossed with Thoroughbreds can still be registered with the American Quarter Horse Associatioin as "appendix Quarter horses".

A purebred horse, on the other hand, is a horse that has two parents of the same breed and is registered with the appropriate breed registry. There are hundreds of breeds out there-- from Clydesdales to Arabians to Akhal-Tekes.

A horse that is not a purebred is a "cross" if it has two parents of known breeding-- for example, on parent a registered Arabian and one a registered Appaloosa-- and is generally registered. Many breed registries do register crosses, and some crosses may have special names-- ie, "appendix quarter horse" for a TB/QH cross, "arapaloosa" for an Arabian x Appaloosa. Some crosses are sought after for certain events, such as Friesian sporthorse crosses.

A horse of unknown parentage is considered a "grade" horse, or unregistered horse. Generally these horses are of lower value and quality or questionable background, as the horse has no papers showing previous ownership, age, or breeding. It is generally considered unethical in the horse world to be breeding "grade" horses.