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
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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
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
Monday, March 23, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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.
Friday, March 6, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, February 27, 2009
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.
“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.
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