Table of contents for Summer 2019 in Equus

New horses, like new humans, spend a lot of their time asleep. In fact, a study done years ago at the University of Georgia showed that in his first week of life the average foal spends about 32 percent of his time in recumbent (lying down) sleep. The researchers found that this percentage steadily decreases over the next four months of life. A month-old youngster spends 27.5 percent of his time lying down sleeping; at 3 months, this percentage drops to 15.1, and at 4 months he spends only 5.1 percent of his time in recumbent sleep. The Georgia researchers also found that a youngster’s sleep habits change as he grows. Upright rest, meaning dozing or sleeping while standing, begins to appear during the first week of life. At first,…

Cowboy son Hard Twist was foaled in 1942. The story of Hard Twist’s downfall and comeback as a racing sprinter is a good read worthy of Laura Hillenbrand Seabiscuit treatment. A really beautiful horse, Hard Twist represents the kind of substantial, correct conformation that I wish we could return to among Quarter Horse so-called “halter champions” of today—the kind of horse who not only reflects an ideal of “type” but is sound and substantial so that he can actually be used for work, whether that be racing, riding the range, handling cattle on a ranch, or rodeo and show events. Hard Twist’s short, very stout cannon bones and excellent hooves carried him through a career total of 56 starts with 33 wins, along the way setting four track records, which…

Old Jim (P-10) foaled 1922, sired numerous valuable broodmares and a few horses who earned records as rodeo or arena performers. Photos of horses closely related to him have proven impossible to find. Old Jim himself represents an excellent example of Anson breeding, a blend of Thoroughbred, Mountain Horse (via the Jim Ned-Traveler line), Suffolk Punch and Billy. A handsome and substantial stallion, his overall body balance is near level. This is definitely a bloodline I would seek out for producing reining, dressage, Western riding, and general-purpose trail and ranch horses. Old Jim pedigree, with tail-female probably going to Southwestern Cayuse stock with Spanish influence and to Anson Suffolks. There is Thoroughbred in the top half of the pedigree but blended overall with classic Billy and Rondo.…

This portrait of Colonel (P-8), foaled in 1925, was drawn from a photo of him as an aged horse. Jim Minnick, an avid polo player and professional horse procurer, was the original AQHA livestock inspector. His work through the 1940s in finding suitable horses and getting them registered is largely responsible for fixing Quarter Horse “type.” Colonel was Minnick’s favorite Quarter Horse stallion, which he used to get dozens of broodmares suitable for racing, polo and general ranch work. Interestingly, Colonel probably has the highest percentage of draft ancestry of any foundational Quarter Horse. This shows in his thick mane and tail, excellent bone and large feet, high weight-for-height ratio and lightly feathered legs. This image of Colonel (P-8) in his prime shows that the stallion had a longer and…

When Romeo developed a minor cough in August 2017, I didn’t give it much thought. Having worked for the local equine veterinarian for nearly three decades, I knew dust-related coughing was common in our part of California during the summer. Plus, Romeo seemed perfectly healthy. A gaited Appaloosa, Romeo was a good fit for me. When I bought him three years earlier, I hadn’t ridden in almost 20 years. But he made returning to the saddle easy and enjoyable. We had been exploring the acres of vineyards in our area and had even begun learning to negotiate trail-course obstacles. I looked forward to riding him for many years to come. In September, I noticed some swelling on Romeo’s belly, with a small, oozing wound. The thought briefly crossed my mind…

The Ounce of Prevention Worth Pounds of Cure Fly Predators stop flies before they emerge and reproduce, so you’re not continuing to battle each subsequent and very prolific generation. They’re the easy-to-use natural alternative to spraying gallons of pesticides, only to have the flies keep coming back. And flies will keep coming back because sprays (even ours), traps and bait only affect the adult fly stage, ignoring the other 85% yet to emerge. By comparison, Fly Predators stop those future flies, really fixing your fly problem. There’s no down side as Fly Predators do not bother people or animals. 5,000 Fly Predators Just Sprinkle Out Quick and Easy-To-Use During warm months you’ll get a Fly Predator shipment every three to four weeks. Simply sprinkle them where flies reproduce, such as…

New research may help answer the question of why zebras have stripes while offering clues to new ways of protecting horses from flies. For their study, an international research team from the University of California, Davis, and the University of Bristol and University of Exeter in England observed three captive plains zebras and nine solid-colored horses kept in adjacent fields. Initially, the researchers documented the number of horseflies that approached and/or landed on the animals---as well as how many of the insects attempted to feed. In the second phase of the study, the researchers repeatedly covered seven of the horses with sheets that were one of three colors---black, white or black-and-white striped---and observed subsequent fly behavior for 30 minutes. Once again, the number of landings were documented. In addition, the…

Just about any working adult appreciates a good night’s sleep, and a whole industry has grown up to help us achieve that goal: From custom-stuffed pillows to white noise machines, there’s no end to the products and services designed to ensure restorative slumber. Concern about sleep rarely extends to our horses, however. We know that rest is important to equine health but pretty much leave it up to our horses to get the sleep they need. And that can be a problem. Bustling modern barns and equestrian facilities aren’t always conducive to normal equine sleep patterns, and it can be particularly difficult for horses to get rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The deepest and most restorative phase of slumber, REM sleep is vital to a horse’s well-being. But to achieve…

The founding of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) in 1940 was one part of a worldwide effort to preserve equine bloodlines and horsemanship as they had existed prior to The Great Depression and World War I. The “war to end all wars” did not, unfortunately, put an end to large-scale international conflict, but it was the last hurrah for cavalry horses in warfare. Thoughtful people in many countries feared that the extinction of cavalry, which had historically been a great repository not only of good livestock but of technical knowledge, would lead to the complete loss of the ancient art of horsemanship in a modern era dominated by tanks, warplanes and automatic rifles. While the AQHA was established with American horses in mind, founding members were certainly influenced by…

Midnight’s Pedigree. See pedigree for Fourth of July (Chubby’s dam) for notes on ancestral horses. Midnight, foaled in 1916, in a color portrait made from two original photos: The “big knee” acquired from an unreceptive mare is an injury sported by more than one ranch-bred stallion allowed to serve a band of broodmares on range. That lump is the only flaw in the appearance of this highly influential and important foundational Quarter Horse. Standing 14:2 hands and weighing about 1,150 pounds in breeding condition, Midnight exhibits excellent bone substance, near-level overall balance and a high-quality head. A grandson of Peter McCue on the top half, and a great-grandson of the same on the bottom half of his pedigree, in conformation he nonetheless takes after his many Billy and Rondo ancestors,…

Rialto (P-2), foaled in 1923, is another important foundational Quarter Horse for whom analyzable photos of near relatives are impossible to find. Bred by old-time short-horse fancier Ott Adams on his ranch in Alice, Texas, Rialto represents exactly the sort of horse that AQHA founders were looking for. By the three-quarter Thoroughbred Billy Sunday (whose name on papers “for racing purposes only” is given as “Huyler”), Rialto stood barely 14:2 hands. Heavy-bodied, he shows the short forearms, extremely deep chest, long shoulder and long loin coupling that are today characteristic of most Quarter Horses. Rialto’s pedigree typifies the technique that short-horse breeders used during the early quarter of the 20th century: cover a Billy-bred mare with a Thoroughbred or mostly-Thoroughbred stallion. Rialto’s dam Dora DuMar was by Little Joe, Ott…

Patrick Benson knows firsthand the physical and emotional strain veterans can feel on a daily basis. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry from 1998 to 2004, spending time in combat zones throughout the Middle East. After he retired, Benson, like many, struggled to make the transition to civilian life, battling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other invisible scars of service. The young veteran found light at the end of what could have been a very dark tunnel by studying under John Lyons and becoming a horse trainer. Horses, he believes, saved his life. “They gave me a sense of compassion, forgiveness and humility,” Benson says. “I learned to be vulnerable again.” It occurred to Benson that if horses saved his life, maybe they could do the same for…

Have a question about your horse’s health, care or training? Our experts offer solutions for a range of equine-management problems. Write to EQUUS Consultants, P.O. Box 7510, Falls Church, Virginia 22040; email: EQLetters@aimmedia.com. Send photos when helpful. MANAGEMENT Fly spray savvy Q: After I ride, I often hose off my horse, particularly on hot days. Then I apply fly spray before turning him out. But I always do my best to dry him off before spraying on the fly repellent. Is this necessary? If I simply apply fly spray to my horse when his coat is wet, what would happen to the active ingredient as his coat dries? Would it dissipate so much it would be less effective? Or would the chemical become more concentrated, possibly becoming harmful? I wonder…

The glossy cover catches my eye. I hold the weight of it in my hands. The feel of the slick paper between my fingertips is smooth, even slick. Pages full of equine-related items dance before my eyes. What is this treasure trove of possibilities? A tack catalog. Online shopping certainly has benefits. A reduction in wasteful paper production has, no doubt, spared many trees and is positive for the environment. The convenience of point-and-click shopping is hard to beat. I would not want to go back in time, but I must say that I had a special relationship with the tack catalog, one that is hard to forget. I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. My immediate family was not equine-inclined, but an aunt who lived across the country…

Managing a horse with arthritis goes beyond giving him supplements and medications. Decisions you make about his environment and day-to-day care can also have an impact on the health of his joints. Here are three ways to manage your horse to protect his joints: • Tend to his footing. Deep, slick, wet or uneven surfaces can take a toll on joints, in the short and long term. Be vigilant about maintaining your arena footing and replace it entirely if it’s gone “dead.” When riding on trails, pay attention to what’s underfoot, avoiding mucky and excessively deep footing and going slowly over rocky or uneven ground. Also consider the surfaces your horse encounters when you aren’t riding: Make sure stall floors are level and cover them with thick stall mats if…

We’ve all heard advice about the best way to take ticks off of horses, from coating them with nail polish to “cauterizing” them with a smoldering match head. But these approaches aren’t necessarily effective and may be counterproductive, causing the tick to regurgitate its meal, possibly increasing a horse’s exposure to disease-causing pathogens. Instead, keep it simple when it comes to tick removal. Using tweezers with a flat head, grab the tick near the skin and gently but firmly pull it out at the angle of attachment. Drop the tick in a jar that contains rubbing alcohol to kill it, then wash your hands thoroughly. Don’t worry if the head of the tick remains embedded in the skin. The horse’s body will mount an immune response and eventually reject it,…

As you pour your horse’s grain into his feed tub, you might assume he doesn’t care—or even notice—how his meal looks, but research from the University of Minnesota suggests otherwise. The study focused on the color of oat hulls, which range from white or yellow to tan and even black. The color has no effect on the quality of oats but, historically, feed companies have assumed that horse owners prefer those with white hulls. As a result, white-hulled oats are the most commonly planted for use in horse feeds. To determine whether horses have a preference for particular oat colors, the Minnesota researchers used six mature horses who had not been fed oats before. In separate trials, the horses were repeatedly given the choice of eating either white or yellow…

Management measures such as switching to wood or paper bedding and steaming hay rations can cut down on the levels of fungi in a horse’s environment, reducing the risk of inflammatory airway disease (IAD), according to a new study from Belgium. “IAD is a milder form of respiratory disease, which does not translate into such severe signs as seen with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), but which nonetheless reduces the horse’s breathing capacity and, as a consequence, his capacity to exercise and perform,” explains Emmanuelle van Erck-Westergren, DVM, PhD, of the Equine Sports Medicine Practice in Waterloo. “Some scientists think that IAD can be a precursor to RAO.” The role of environmental dust in triggering respiratory disease is well documented, and one component of dust is fungi. To determine the role…

If you were to provide horse owners with scientifically sound advice on how to protect current and future generations of horses from parasites, while saving themselves money in the process, you’d think most would enthusiastically adopt those recommendations. But, for some reason, that hasn’t been the case when it comes to parasite control. For at least a decade, we’ve known that targeted deworming programs---which use regular fecal egg counts (FEC) to identify horses that need treatment---are far superior to the traditional calendar-based methods, in which each horse in a herd is treated every eight weeks. Not only is the old system financially wasteful, but it increases the risk that parasites on the property will become resistant to a particular anthelmintic, rendering any product containing that chemical ineffective on that farm…

By nature, horses are neither diurnal (active during the day) nor nocturnal (active during the night). Rather, they are “cathemeral” meaning their foraging and rest periods continue around the clock. Their sleep patterns have three distinct phases: ▶ First is a deep restful phase during which a horse is relaxed but still easily roused. You may recognize this in a horse who stands under his favorite tree in his pasture with his eyes nearly closed but who snaps to attention and trots over when he hears a rattling grain bucket. ▶ Next is slow-wave sleep: During this phase, the horse is even more relaxed, and his brain waves, charted on an electroencephalogram (EEG), are slow and large. This phase of sleep (which can be further broken down into subphases) is…

For nearly a decade, Elise Backinger explored the trails of Salida, Colorado, aboard her Quarter Horse gelding, Pep. Salida calls itself the “Gem of the Rockies,” and Backinger’s memories of her rides there are tinged with awe. “There is something deeply profound about the solitude and tranquility you experience riding out in nature. It’s just you, your horse and the land,” she says. Backinger and her husband have since sold their hay farm and Pep is now a semi-retired therapy horse, but the horsewoman remains grateful for the bond she and her gelding developed on the trail. Their outings, she says, “taught both of us valuable lessons---from encountering unexpected wildlife to negotiating rough terrain to building confidence and endurance.” To ensure that future generations will have the same opportunity to…

Summer may be the best season to be a horse owner. Longer days mean more time for riding, horses with sleek summer coats clean up easily and dressing for barn chores doesn’t involve rain gear or long underwear. Unless you live in an area of extreme heat, this time of year can be ideal for enjoying your horse. But summer isn’t the easiest time to be a horse. The blazing sun, aggressive insects and drought-hardened pastures common during this season can take a toll on equine comfort and health. It falls to you to anticipate, identify and address potential problems even as you make the most of the warm weather. Here are seven ways you can help your horse cope with summer stresses, making the months ahead more enjoyable for…

The Yellow Jacket cluster is the oldest group that I present, with the founding horse born in 1908. The stallion is about 4 years old in the original photo; I have removed rider and tack. Light dun in color with a nearly white mane and tail, Yellow Jacket was a beautifully balanced individual, not as “downhill” in build as many Quarter Horses. A noted match racer in his day, he was purchased by the Waggoner family (Triangle Ranch) in about 1915 and then given to trainer Lee Bivins. His most noted sons were Cowboy, Blackburn, Yellow Boy and The Strait Horse. Horses to be reviewed in upcoming installments who trace to Yellow Jacket include King P-234, Hired Hand, Bert, Waggoner’s Rainy Day, Dan Waggoner, Hollywood Jac 86, Smart Little Lena…

Sheik (P-11), foaled in 1918, by Peter McCue out of Pet by Old Fred: A golden palomino, Sheik was bred by Coke Roberds after Roberds acquired Peter McCue (see “The Stuff of Legend,” EQUUS 491, for how Roberds discovered Old Fred, and “Change on the Horizon,” EQUUS 493, for how Peter McCue went from the Watkins farm in Illinois to Roberds’ place in Colorado). Although long in the back and coupling, Sheik is otherwise conformationally well-balanced, inviting comparison with Yellow Jacket. Note Sheik’s correctly articulated limbs, substantial bone and excellent feet. The head is short and wedge-shaped, typical of Peter McCue get. Pedigree of Pet 1914, Sheik’s dam, who was out of a mare by Primero 1902. Killed as a 6-year-old in an unfortunate railway accident, Primero was a powerful…

Old Red Buck (P-9), foaled in 1925, is conformationally similar to Rialto (P-2) with an extremely deep chest, short forearms, short fore cannons and overall “downhill” build. This stallion has quite an attractive head and a shorter coupling and longer pelvis than Rialto. He sired numerous valuable broodmares, some winning racehorses and quite a few geldings valued for ranch use and as rodeo and arena performers, of which Baldy (see below) was the most famous. Old Red Buck pedigree, interesting because it blends a little Thoroughbred derived from many individual coverings with Old Billy, Rondo, and Mountain Horse bloodlines. There may also be a dash of draft, which (as we have noted) some old-time breeders used to increase the horse’s ratio of weight-to-height. The Old Red Buck son Baldy was…