Helping Sara Catch Her Horse

I received a question from Sara in Florida on her hard to catch horse: “I have my 10 year old paint in a rental stables near my college. When I go to get him on the weekends when he is turned out, he is evasive and hard to catch. He spends a great deal of time out in the turnout each week so I don't understand. I've never treated him badly so he should not avoid me. Any ideas? Sara, Florida .”

Sara, if your horse is only turned out on weekends when you come to get him, he may be associating that with being put back in from turnout, and I'm sure he'd much rather have the freedom of the turnout and interaction with other horses than being in his stall.

If you work him hard each time you pull and ride him, he may be remembering that too. Or any other unpleasant thing he is exposed to.

Often if you walk directly up to a horse, they will move off. Watch how a horse, higher in the herd hierarchy, moves other horses off or out of his way with a subtle look or a step towards them. This can certainly be the case if you are anxious to catch and saddle him so you are moving fast towards him. In other words he may see you as a threat.

Instead try moving to him indirectly and watch your body language. I’ll see if I can demonstrate an aggressive approach and a better approach on the video below:

Reader Question on Trail Horses

I received a message from Mike asking if his 15.1- 15.2hh 4 year old Quarterhorse Gelding, who is sometimes lazy and pushy, would make a good back country trail horse, and what should be avoided when choosing horses for the back country?

Mike, I think about any horse can make a good back country trail horse. I have seen Thoroughbreds, Appaloosas, Arabs, Tennessee Walkers, and, grade horses of all shapes, sizes and colors. Quarterhorses can make great backcountry horses as they are generally sure footed, savvy without being hot blooded and that QH rear end is useful when going up hills and down.

I like to differentiate between lazy and pushy. Lazy horses aren’t necessarily bad.  I'd rather have a horse that’s lazy instead of wanting to run or bolt especially when I’m on a narrow trail in cactus country or close to a drop off. Pushy on the other hand is not good. They need to respect your space. You don’t need to be dismounted on that same narrow trail and have your horse come into you pusing you into a cactus or over the edge of a cliff.

If I was looking for another backcountry trail horse I’d look for a horse with good conformation, not to tall (around 15 to 15.1 hh suits me), a short back, inquisitive mind and above all good feet. Although my main trail horse now has exceptional thin hoof walls and my farrier can’t understand how he can hold up putting miles and miles over rock.

Everything else can be taught. I wouldn’t worry so much about their breeding, but I am found of Quarterhorses, Tennessee Walkers, Paints and grade horses with obvious QH type bodies. And I’m partial to geldings. The Paint horse in the picture above was 3/4 Tennessee Walker and 1/4 QH.  I have yet to ride or ride with Mountain bred horses but the obvious with them growing up on rough country and inclines would put them on my short list.    

I expose my horses to obstacles and not necessarily object’s that they will find in the desert or in the mountains, just obstacles none the less that gives them a problem to solve and help them become a brave and thinking horse. What I am looking for is a horse that may although be initially fearful, he doesn’t give into that fear and figures out that he can be okay with new things that he encounters.

A 4 year old is a young horse. Lots of wet saddle blankets will make him a good horse. He may not be a champion in any discipline, but I’m sure given a fair deal and brought along slowly he’ll be more than functional for the trail. Good luck and safe journey.

Reader Question - Carrots or Apples?

I received a reader question, from Shirley, asking which was better for Horses,..carrots or apples?

Actually, both carrots and apples are good feed supplements. Carrots are a little bit higher in energy, producing around 1.7 Mcal of Digestive Energy (per pound) compared to 1.3 Mcal for Apples (per pound), according to Lon Lewis' "Equine Clinical Nutrition - Feeding and Care".

I feed both as supplements from time to time and neither are a mainstay of my feeding routine. Carrots, around 10% protein are twice as high as Apples, and have a higher percentage of calcium and phosphorus at .4% and .35% respectively, compared to Apples at .1% and .15% respectively. Again according to Lon Lewis' "Equine Clinical Nutrition - Feeding and Care".

So all in all, Carrots provide more nutrition for Horses than Apples. I reckon you could substitute one pound of carrots for one pound of hay every day but this is hard to keep up with. Carrots, are cheaper than Apples in most places, and are at least 4 times more expensive per pound than Alfalfa.

I am much more likely to feed Apples as a supplement in the hot months, than Carrots, as the Apples contain more moisture. Sometimes when I'm riding all day on a hot day, I put a couple of Apples in my Saddle Bags so I can give something to my Horse that has some moisture.

I also feed watermelon and watermelon rinds on occasion. I think most of my Horses prefer Watermelon over Carrots and Apples, and in fact, my Mustang won't eat Apples at all. Hope this answered your question, Shirley. Safe Journey.

Reader Question on Guns and History

I received this reader question. "Why all the articles on guns and history? I see Horsemanship in the title but see many articles on things other than relating to riding a horse. I stayed with your site for awhile but am now considering not coming back to read at all because of all the essentially non horseback riding or training information. What gives? P.S. Not trying to offend."

I learned along time ago not to wear my feelings on my sleeves,....that's pretty important when you work with horses, so I don't take offense. Not that I won't get bowed up when I have an inclination to.

I like history, particularly the Old West where living was dependent upon enduring hardships, learning quickly and often relying on horses and a person's ability to build a relationship with one.

My Grandfather (1878-1880) and my Uncle (1914-1918) were in the Calvary and I was one of the last Army Rider Riders who lineage came from the old Army Scouts who were soldiers, ex-soldiers, civilians and Indians. So I'm gonna write about subjects like that from time to time.

As far as guns go, they are another tool, like a pair of fencing pliers (ever used a pair?) or even a lariat. Many places you can still ride while carrying a gun, and particularly carrying a rifle is damn good idea. A Cowboy from Montana, 45ColtLC, and I have been discussing appropriate calibers for riding in Grizzly country for several weeks now.

My original idea, and still main focus, for this site was to provide information and help to the many backyard or small acreage horse owners who otherwise can't access training or attend clinics....and then it sorta branched off into the subjects you asked me about,...kinda natural I think, but if you don't think so then you may one of those who just needs to trailer to a clinic from a professional. Many can't do so, and those are the people (and horses) I'm trying to help as well as also write some things of interest to me in particular. I'm sorry I can't be more than that. Safe Journey to you.