Notes From Around the Arena
July 9th - July 15th , 2013
How I see it.
Most horses during the heat will be quiet, some will be very low energy others may be very irritable
Horses may sweat in unusual patterns which may include on the muzzle, over the eyes, behind the ears, neck, shoulder, chest, flank, thigh and on the buttocks. Horses may lay flat out. Most will gather around the water. Keep an eye on them as they may all gather but the dominate horse may not be allowing everyone to drink.
Watch your horses for signs of heat exhaustion/stroke and dehydration and dehydration/colic.
cold to the touch.
Stumbling or loss of balance
Not eating
Dark gold to reddish brown urine
Biting or kicking at the stomach, repeated rolling, (this may also be from flies or dripping sweat)
It is a good idea to check throughout the day,
Pinch skin on eyelids or neck, if the skin remains up or tented this may be a sign of dehydration.
Hosing them off with cold water before they have a problem is great. Especially Neck and chest and up between hind legs. Whole body too.
Make sure the water available to your horse is not hot. Buckets or troughs with less then 50 gallons often get too hot and the horses will not drink enough. Dehydration - Colic is another problem when the weather stays hot day after day. You can wet or soak your hay for a few minutes to give added fluid and prevent the dry feed from pulling too much fluid from the body to digest. Pelleted feeds also pull fluid from the body so add a little water to your pelleted feeds.
If you think your horses is in crisis take it's temperate and call your vet!
Move your horse to a shaded area with good ventilation. If you use a barn or a stall also use a fan to move the air. Use a hand Sprayer to mist or use a wet rag or sponge to cool an overheated horse. Use a hand Sprayer to mist water in the mouth and nostrils.
If the only sign you notice is dark urine your horse needs to drink more water now. Some horses like cool aid added to the water to get them to drink more. Floating apples in the water will keep them interested in the water. Also added electrolytes are probably necessary when you see dark urine. Take temperature and also call you vet.
Pony Camp this week was great fun:
Olivia Williamson from Seattle, stayed on for a second week, Alex and Olivia Mazzucco, Jamila and Luna too.
Who would believe it rained. We cleaned and treated our saddles and learned that leather can get wet if it is properly treated.
We played Pony Express and had three stations; Starlight Plains, Hart Ridge Station and Smiley Face Mountains, where we had to put a special stamp on each letter the riders where carrying in the mail bags. The riders had to change out horses and re tack new ones and ride on to swap riders and they all did it again. The whole event was timed and group B (Olivia M. Olivia W. and Alex) was faster then group A (Luna, Jamila, Alex).
Thursday we met super early and drove to old-town Sacramento to watch the 34th re-ride of the Pony Express. The horses left Missouri on June 17th. Taking 10 days to reach Sacramento California. And we were there to see them ride in. It was so much fun. We totally want to be riders next year. Check out the pictures on our web sitewww.Gypsystation.com
The following riders have qualified for the California Gymkhana Association State Championship Finals:
Tara Woodard riding Zen
Maddy Dutra riding I'm A Cowboy
Sally Kimsey riding Linus
Clair Amador riding Rock It Rockstar
Clair Amador riding Pharaoh
The Following riders will be riding in solo and individually announced during the
Grand Entry opening ceremonies for the California Gymkhana Association State Championship Finals on Sunday July 28th.
Maddy Dutra 2012 FC Horse 14 and under High Point Champion for the state of California. (Cowboy)
Sally Kimsey 2012 A Horse State Title Holder for Birangle for the state of California. (Linus)
Clair Amador:
2012 A Horse 15-19 Reserve High Point Champion for the state of California. (Rocky)
2009 A Horse High Point Champion for the state of California (Ocho)
2008 A Horse High Point Champion for the state of California (Lord Rayden)
What a great week. Stay Cool.
Most horses during the heat will be quiet, some will be very low energy others may be very irritable
Horses may sweat in unusual patterns which may include on the muzzle, over the eyes, behind the ears, neck, shoulder, chest, flank, thigh and on the buttocks. Horses may lay flat out. Most will gather around the water. Keep an eye on them as they may all gather but the dominate horse may not be allowing everyone to drink.
Watch your horses for signs of heat exhaustion/stroke and dehydration and dehydration/colic.
cold to the touch.
Stumbling or loss of balance
Not eating
Dark gold to reddish brown urine
Biting or kicking at the stomach, repeated rolling, (this may also be from flies or dripping sweat)
It is a good idea to check throughout the day,
Pinch skin on eyelids or neck, if the skin remains up or tented this may be a sign of dehydration.
Hosing them off with cold water before they have a problem is great. Especially Neck and chest and up between hind legs. Whole body too.
Make sure the water available to your horse is not hot. Buckets or troughs with less then 50 gallons often get too hot and the horses will not drink enough. Dehydration - Colic is another problem when the weather stays hot day after day. You can wet or soak your hay for a few minutes to give added fluid and prevent the dry feed from pulling too much fluid from the body to digest. Pelleted feeds also pull fluid from the body so add a little water to your pelleted feeds.
If you think your horses is in crisis take it's temperate and call your vet!
Move your horse to a shaded area with good ventilation. If you use a barn or a stall also use a fan to move the air. Use a hand Sprayer to mist or use a wet rag or sponge to cool an overheated horse. Use a hand Sprayer to mist water in the mouth and nostrils.
If the only sign you notice is dark urine your horse needs to drink more water now. Some horses like cool aid added to the water to get them to drink more. Floating apples in the water will keep them interested in the water. Also added electrolytes are probably necessary when you see dark urine. Take temperature and also call you vet.
Pony Camp this week was great fun:
Olivia Williamson from Seattle, stayed on for a second week, Alex and Olivia Mazzucco, Jamila and Luna too.
Who would believe it rained. We cleaned and treated our saddles and learned that leather can get wet if it is properly treated.
We played Pony Express and had three stations; Starlight Plains, Hart Ridge Station and Smiley Face Mountains, where we had to put a special stamp on each letter the riders where carrying in the mail bags. The riders had to change out horses and re tack new ones and ride on to swap riders and they all did it again. The whole event was timed and group B (Olivia M. Olivia W. and Alex) was faster then group A (Luna, Jamila, Alex).
Thursday we met super early and drove to old-town Sacramento to watch the 34th re-ride of the Pony Express. The horses left Missouri on June 17th. Taking 10 days to reach Sacramento California. And we were there to see them ride in. It was so much fun. We totally want to be riders next year. Check out the pictures on our web sitewww.Gypsystation.com
The following riders have qualified for the California Gymkhana Association State Championship Finals:
Tara Woodard riding Zen
Maddy Dutra riding I'm A Cowboy
Sally Kimsey riding Linus
Clair Amador riding Rock It Rockstar
Clair Amador riding Pharaoh
The Following riders will be riding in solo and individually announced during the
Grand Entry opening ceremonies for the California Gymkhana Association State Championship Finals on Sunday July 28th.
Maddy Dutra 2012 FC Horse 14 and under High Point Champion for the state of California. (Cowboy)
Sally Kimsey 2012 A Horse State Title Holder for Birangle for the state of California. (Linus)
Clair Amador:
2012 A Horse 15-19 Reserve High Point Champion for the state of California. (Rocky)
2009 A Horse High Point Champion for the state of California (Ocho)
2008 A Horse High Point Champion for the state of California (Lord Rayden)
What a great week. Stay Cool.