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Posted on 06/19/2006 8:46:45 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.
I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!
I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.
So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
Previous threads:
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
Agreed. The blocks look ridiculous to me. I can't think of one thing attractive about it.
A flat shod running walk is a cool thing.
Well, my friend used these Plantation Walkers for bird hunting, and they were dead quiet and glassy smooth. They just seemed to glide over the ground, without all that head bobbing and leg flinging. You really COULD carry a full glass of water in your open hand and not spill a drop.
When I was at the racetrack vet with Tuffy, I took a walk through the "sick barn" and there was a very young Walker with those blocks fixed to his feet. Huge slanted blocks with the horse's toe pointing down. No dang wonder he was at the vet's. He was a youngster, too, probably a yearling. A vet happened to be walking by so I stopped him and said, "what the heck? Do you agree with that?" He said, "of course not."
I understand how these things happen, though. Judges will reward a certain look or action, and the trainers immediately produce more of the same. Over time it becomes exaggerated to the point of parody.
Seen it with Siamese cats, judges gave winner's ribbons to the cats with long, lean bodies and long chiseled heads . . . eventually you got cats with heads so narrow their brains had been squeezed out, and bodies so slender that they broke their legs jumping off sofas. Ditto with Labrador Retrievers - the judges went in for the stocky look, now some of them look like little beer barrels on wheels.
LOL My next door neighbor's lab looks like a beer barrel on wheels! Funny, that's an excellent description.
This is interesting:
"Stacks": Added under the "big lick" horse's natural hoof, stacks can vary in height. They are usually made of plastic, although some may be made of leather. Stacks have a metal band that runs across the hoof to help keep them on the horse's foot. Stacks may be up to 4" thick in the heel and no more than 2" in the toe.
Users of chains do not believe they cause the horse pain, stating that it creates a similar feeling as a loose bracelet would around the wrist of a person. However, some trainers and veterinarians believe that they may be harmful. The well-known "Auburn Study," conducted from September 1978 to December of 1982 at Auburn University, examined the "Thermography in diagnosis of inflammatory processes in horses in response to various chemical and physical factors." Using thermography, the researchers found that chains "altered thermal patterns as early as day 2 of exercise with chains. These altered thermal patterns persisted as long as chains were used," with normal thermal patterns seen after 20 days recovery. A stallion in the study also developed lesions from his 8 ounce chains, after wearing them in nine 15-minute exercise periods (scattered from September 22 to October 3). Please note that an 8 ounce chain is an illegal weight of chain that is not used in the NHSC shows.
Stacks are also controversial. Some are also critical of the band that holds the stack on, which they believe cuts into the hoof and may wear a slot into it. However, it is a common pratice for a trainer to loosen the band when the horse is not being exercised, thus eliminating this problem. It is also dangerous if a horse wearing stacks tears off a shoe, as the stack will come off and the band may rip into the hoof and tear off a good part of the hoof wall. Therefore, horses wearing stacks should not be turned out.
[edit]
Soring
Soring is an abusive practice that is associated in part with the production of a "big lick" Walker. It involves using chemical agents such as mustard oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, salicylic acid, and others, on the pasterns, bulbs of heel, or coronary band of the horses, burning or blistering the horse's legs so that it will accentuate its gait. These chemicals are harmful, usually quite toxic and sometimes carcinogenic, and trainers must use a brush and wear gloves when applying them. The area may then be wrapped in plastic while the chemicals are absorbed. The chemical agents cause extreme pain, and usually lead to scarring. Scars are tell-tale signs of soring, and therefore may be covered up by a dye, or the horse's legs may be soaked in salicylic acid before the animal is stalled (as many can not stand up after the treatment) while the skin of the scars slough off. Other signs that a horse has been sored include:
The horse stands with his feet close together, shifting his weight to his hind legs
Granulation or scars on the pasterns or coronet
Wavy hair growth or hair loss in the pastern area
Pastern has darker hairs than the rest of the horse's coat
Hocks are carried low and may twist outward when moving
Horse lies down for extended periods of time, and is resistant to standing up
Horse resists handling of feet
Horse has difficulty walking, and may fall; falls can cause severe shoulder disfigurement
Other methods of soring include pressure shoes, where the hoof is trimmed to the quick so that the sole is in direct contact with the metal shoe. The horse may then be "road foundered," ridden up and down hard surfaces on the over-trimmed hooves, until they are very sore. Trainers sometimes place objects, such as metal beads, nails, or screws, under the pad causing intense pressure, although this practice has begun to decrease with the advent of fluoroscope to detect such methods. Abusive use of chains (such as using them with chemical soring agents) is also a common practices by sorers.
Measures have for many years been taken to stop the practice, and many supporters of the Tennessee Walking Horse Association have banded together against such cruelty. The 1972 Horse Protection Act [2], created specifically to stop such practices and to monitor the TWH in particular, prohibits the use of soring agents. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Spervie (APHIS) is working with the industry to enforce the law; Walking Horse organizations send DQP's (Designated Qualified Persons) to shows to inspect the horses alongside the federal Vetrinary Medical Officers. According to the APHIS, less than 1% of horses inspected were cited for any violation, including technical violations such as use of hair dyes and shoeing measurements.
Soring is prohibited at sales and shows, and is detected by observing the horse for lameness and assessing his stance and palpating the lower legs. Some trainers can bypass inspectors by "stewarding," or teaching the horses not to react to the pain that palpation may cause, by severely punishing the horse for flinching after the sored area is palpated. Trainers may also time the use of the agents so that it will not be detected when the horse is examined, but will be in effect when the rider goes into the ring. Others use topical anesthetics, which are timed to wear off before the horse goes into the show ring. Many trainers that sore will also leave the show grounds when they find that DQPs are present. Although soring is not as prevalent as it was in earlier years, and while the vast majority of Walkers are not sored, the problem still exists.
In 2006, however, due to new techniques in both soring and detection, the USDA has begun a larger crackdown on soring within the TWH industry. A new device known as a sniffer (also used to detect the chemical presence of bombs in airport security) is now being employed where swabbed samples are taken from the horse and then "sniffed."
At the 2006 Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration [3], the dispute between trainers and USDA inspectors came to a head. The inspectors disqualified 6 of 10 horses from showing on the night of Friday, August 25. The trainers denied soring and challenged the monitoring methods. The result was that the celebration classes were canceled that evening and the following morning, Saturday, August 26. At that point, the monitors and trainers reached a temporary agreement, allowing the celebration to continue Saturday evening. Canceled classes were rescheduled. However, a more permanent agreement on monitoring methods still needs to be negotiated, and trainers and inspectors continue to meet.
Trainers have begun to ban against the practice, and many have joined the National Walking Horse Association (NWHA) or Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH). Both of these organizations promote the sound Tenneessee Walker.
[edit]
History
This is also an interesting site:
http://www.eagleridge-twh.com/soredhorses.htm
The spectators loved the action, the judges pinned the flinging feet, the show managers hired the judges that kept the spectators coming and a vicious cycle was established.
That will do it every time.
Ok, I found a hilarious video. Where do these guys learn to ride? Is the "hunched over" look the style in this sport?
http://www.attherisingstar.com/strong-dollar-videos.shtml
Click on the "strong dollar 2005"
The "hunched over look" has been the fashion in the saddle seat ring generally for at least 50 years.
Saddlebred stallion Ch. Wing Commander, with Earl Teater up, around 1948.
Ch. Denmark's Daydream, Lee Roby up, some time in the 1950s.
My own personal theory is that they sit so far behind the motion that they have to throw their upper body forward to keep from rolling off over the tail . . . but that's just my theory, I wouldn't know. Never sat on a gaited horse in my life. My mom rode and taught saddle seat though (she pitched a fit when she found out I was riding jumping horses. She was sure I was going to die on the spot, but somehow I have survived 45 years of jumping horses . . . )
I found a fun "big lick" discussion thread. I haven't read all of it but it's gittin' ugly.
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?s=fa4aa5f95f8a5941582d86903e0ac35b&t=60909
Start here and flip through the pics. Really troubling stuff.
http://www.avalonequinephotos.com/twh06_web/215_Class_154/TWH06_154_17276.htm
Here's a lovely pic:
http://www.avalonequinephotos.com/twh06_web/144_Class_106/TWH06_106_11266.htm
We took Tuffy and Prez to our last show of the season, Prez was running high point and Tuffy was running second.
Tuffy's class was first, with Tuffy, Lisa's black Arab (the one we can't beat) and a young paint. The judge placed the paint first, Lisa's horse second, Tuffy third. Because Lisa's Arab had a thick neck and not a straight enough back. Tuffy placed last because he has bad manners.
We get to Prez's class. Nine entries. Prez did not place, because his neck is too long and his hip too big. Then we get to Color. Eleven entries, Tuffy was 6th. Janelle's mare was 5th, Prez again did not place.
In the Western Pleasure classes, Krista rode in four classes. Perfect ride in all but one when Prez dropped to a walk from a trot. She placed with 13 entries - 0; with eight entries - 0; with 4 entries - 3rd; and with 6 entries - 0. Oh, Janelle's mare didn't place in halter either, another friend whose Quarter mare always takes 1st placed 2nd and didn't place, etc. etc.
To top it off, he was asking Western Pleasure classes to hand gallop. Fortunately that happened in only one of Krista's classes and we forbid her to hand gallop Prez. So I guess, the 0 out of 6 was fair, she did not hand gallop.
Anyway, very, very weird show, lots of head shaking, and no appaloosas winning or placing for the most part.
In a point association? That is really a shame when you run into something like that, at your last show of the season. You have great horses, and one person's opinion doesn't mean a thing. Sometimes, I wonder where they pick these people up. You said "He", usually it's a woman judge, that is way off base.
Alison has her last show tomorrow. I better go charge those batteries up!
Up with the chickens today. Daughter left early to pick up Andy for Alison to show today. Good thing, she woke me,and told me we had over night guests. My SIL and Alison are in a wedding next Saturday and the bachelor party was last night. So, I have "Cowboys" flopped all over the place. The party was at a near by bar and these guys live about an hour away.
Another friend's daughter rides two apps, one English, one Western. She was ring steward for some of the classes (he didn't know the girl on the black and white app was her daughter) and wouldn't place the girl. Told the mother he didn't like the horse. Lots of people left early or scratched.
Anyway, I took some pictures so I'll download them later today. Hopefully I got some of the full classes so you all can see.
Tell Alison good luck, hope you get some pictures.
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