Rattlesnakes and Horses, Not a Good Fit

About those two things, rattlesnakes and horses - they don't go along well together, now do they? I usually write an article, coming Spring, about the dangers of Rattlesnakes for when you are horseback or for your horses in general. This is the time the weather's warming up and Rattlesnakes are pretty active, leaving their dens to hunt as they have been dormant for several months. When warm weather is here to stay, Rattlesnakes will leave their dens traveling several miles to hunt and mate.

For most of the late Spring and Summer, it is rare for me to see a Rattlesnake unless it's in the early morning or evening, as during the hottest parts of the day they will tend to lay dormant out of the direct Sun. During the out of peak hot days, you'll sometimes see Rattlesnakes laying out in the open, such as on a trail, sunning themselves and soaking up the heat of the Sun.

An the late Summer - early Fall, depending upon the temperatures, is another dangerous time of year. The weather is cooling, promoting Rattlesnakes to be more active so they can hunt and get ready for hibernation. It's that time of year now, so be careful when you ride out.

I'm told that some Rattlesnakes don't den up for the winter, but most do. While I have encountered Rattlesnakes in the winter here in the Desert Southwest, all of those were likely disturbed from their winter dens.

If you have ever seen a Rattlesnake in the natural environment, you probably remarked that it was hard to se because of his color and pattern blending in with the environment. And you can't rely on the Rattlesnake warning you with this namesake rattling of his tail.

Many snakes won't rattle even when they become aware of your presence. I have heard some theories that believe Rattlesnakes have learned not to rattle as that attracts more attention from potential predators, namely human. Many Rattlesnakes bites come without the victim being warning and there can be a wide array on post bite damage depending upon how much venom was injected by the bite.  

Best to not be bit in the first place. That's takes being aware. You are counting on your horse taking you somewhere and back, and your Horse is counting on your to keep him out of trouble. I have seen a wide range of awareness or response, or a lack of either, from horses when encountering snakes. As you know horses are generally curious. Something fairly small and moving can attract their attention. They drop their head, then wham! they get bite on the nose.

My wife and I were riding several days ago. She and her horse almost walked right on a stretched out Prairie Rattler. The snake did not rattle nor coil. My wife backed away and I positioned up on my horse to shoot it as this is my habit if Rattlesnakes are close to population (we were about 1/4 mile from a house, children and animals). Then the snake turned and started moving into some heavy brush right on the trail. I shot it in the body as that was the only shot I had, then as the snake curled up where I got a shot at his head.

If you end up killing a Rattlesnake or coming upon what you think to be a dead one, be careful as the head can still function and bite for an hour or maybe longer after the snake is for all practical purposes dead.

So as the weather gets cooling and your rides get longer just be a little more careful as Rattlesnakes are more active and you may not get the warning rattle.

Functional Tie Rings for the Horseshoeing Stand

I have received several e-mails on using my Functional Tie Rings in cross ties after introducing my Functional Tie Rings in a previous video where I briefly mentioned that I use them in my cross ties on the horseshoeing stand. The video below shows my shoeing stand and cross ties which are approximately 2 1/4 inch poles sunk 4 feet into the ground and the concrete shoeing stand pored around the cross ties.

I drilled eyes bolts into the cross ties about six feet off the ground,..I know in the video I say 5 feet,...but's it's actually about 6 feet high. I just might be a midget, but only in the mental sense.

I attached the Functional Tie Rings to the eye bolts and use about an 8 foot section of white 9/16ths inch diameter yacht braid rope with a brass bolt snap as my tie lines. These tie lines are similar to the lead ropes I make, but without the leather poppers. I put a brass bolt snap into the end of the rope and melt the rope together. Then I use two separate lengths of cotton line to tie the loop together for added security, then shrink two layers of heat shrink tube over the cotton line. This is the same way I make lunge lines as well.

The yacht braid rope feeds easily through the tie ring for adjusting your horse's position on the shoeing stand and if your horse pulls back he gets a slowed release caused by the friction of the rope feeding through the tie ring giving him time to think and stop pulling.

When a horse pulls back it's the not fact that he's hard tied when he breaks a lead line, the halter or a metal snap. I's the pressure on the poll from the halter and sometimes the halter under the jaw and over the nose which panics him. The Functional Tie Rings greatly reduce the chance of a horse's feet going out from underneath him or breaking the halter, lead or snap by giving that controlled release.

Some people have panic snaps on their cross tie ropes, but if you have ever seen a horse panic and pull back on cross ties, flip over or have his feet go out from underneath himself, you know how quick it happens and the manual release of the panic snap is only useful for unhooking the horse and getting him to his feet, not for reducing the chances of the wreck itself.

Questions on Childen's Horseback Riding Lessons

Susan sent an e-mail with the following question. "I found your website as I am researching everything about horses, as I know next to nothing about them. I have my 10 year old daughter taking horseback riding lessons, one hour twice a week. In three weeks she has not yet begun to ride a horse, all she is doing is cleaning horses. Do you have any guidelines or suggested sites for riding lessons, specifically lesson outlines?"

Hi Susan, I think by the time you read this your questions will have been resolved. I am assuming you did some research on your riding instructor such as talking to other parents or maybe you were directed to this instructor from a prior student. Maybe you can ask your daughter's instructor for a lesson guide or schedule. Or maybe better yet, just ask the instructor how you daughter is doing. Is she comfortable around horses? Is she absorbing the lessons she has been taught so far? And while she has not sat a horse yet, she should be learning a great deal about horse care, horse behavior, and above all, safety around horses. So, I don't necessarily think that it is too odd for a child, new to horses, not to ride right off the bat.

My wife, her name is Susan also, taught horsemanship to children for a number of years. We always said that she was not teaching riding, but teaching the next generation of horse owners. If your daughter's instructor is anything like my wife, then I would think that in three week's your daughter has probably been exposed to safety around horses, putting on and leading a horse in a halter, feed and water requirements and how to feed a horse, grooming a horse, cleaning hooves, horse anatomy, horse health issues, and probably been given a few demonstrations on how horses act and react to different things - all the while becoming more comfortable around horses.

I don't think there is a timeline set in stone for children. Maybe the riding instructor is reading your daughter like the instructor reads a horse, determining when being ready is. Having said that, I think your daughter will probably be horseback by the time you read this. And I just bet her first few rides are bareback or with a barepack pad. I would like to her back on how your daughter is doing.

Question on Round Pens

Randy L sent me an e-mail and said he has never had use of a round pen but was thinking about buying a round pen and wanted to know what size (diameter) and what manufacturer would I suggest?

Round pens are a great tool to have. No corners such as a square or rectangle pen for the horse to get himself in trouble with, the round pen also allows the horse forward momentum which of course is necessary.  I think the little bit of freedom a horse has in the round pen quiets the troubleness in him sometimes.

You can do so much in a round pen. Start to build the respect from the horse to you, and vice versa; first exposure to a pressure and release to a un-broke horse; the round pen is a safer place to saddle and ride him for the first time; you can use the panels of the round pen as a barrier or a reason to learn to side pass; exposure your horse to a lariat and to a rope around his feet so he can learn that he doesn’t have to panic.

My round pen is indispensable to me. As far as diameter of the round pen, I have used as small as 35 foot round pens and as large as a 75 foot round pen, but I prefer a 40 foot to 50 foot pen. My current round pen is 45 feet, although one time I put a wild as a bronc paint horse in the round pen overnight and the next morning I had a trapezoid shaped pen. The picture at right is a round pen manufactured by Red River.

The cost of round pens, that come in panels you lock together, has greatly increased in the last five years. I think you will hard pressed to find a quality one under $1,200 now. If you need to have a paneled or solid round pen you’ll probably pay 3 to 4 times as much. Solid round pens with walls the horse can’t see through help keep the horse from getting distracted by events outside the pen. Having solid panels that the horse can’t put this hoof through are safer as well. I was lunging a horse one day and all of sudden he got it into his mind to take off about as fast as he could go and after a couple rotations he stepped out too hard and put his foot through the round pen panel. It stopped his momentum causing him to somersault. Ever see a horse somersault? It ain’t a pretty site. I imaged had a broken leg at a minimum. We both were lucky as hell as he stood up, shook off the dust and was okay. He ended up breaking a stirrup strap on my saddle however. In fact this paint horse is the one in the picture at the top of this post. The picture, upper left, is a paneled or solid walled round pen from Centaur.

Here are some, not all, round pen manufacturers:

Centaur

Powder River

Priefert

Red River Arenas

Trition Barns

Safely Mounting Your Horse - Revisited

Last week I received a call that a friend of mine was in transport to the hospital
after getting tossed off him horse, a young Arabian mare. From a another who witnessed the event, apparently my friend stepped into the stirrup without holding on to the reins or at least not holding onto them in a secure manner. The Arab mare took off as the rider tried to get his seat and a few hops later he was tossed off and landed on his side breaking the ball off his femur as it goes into the pelvis.

This simply happened because he got careless. I have known at least five or six people try to mount with no reins or a loose hold on the reins,...or leaning way back and pulling the horse of balance which gets them to move their feet and when they move their feet they just may not stop. Some of these same people further complicate their safety by letting their horses get away with bad habits such as walking off as they get their seat.

Anyway, I got a little mad when I received the call and was asked to do another post on mounting in a safe manner. Hope the video helps those who still may be mounting in an unsafe manner. Safe Journey.