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Enhance
the natural aids: as instructors, we should all be stressing
the importance of the natural aids in communicating with the
horse. Traditionally, four natural aids are taught: the seat,
legs, hands and voice. I like to teach six natural aids including
the rider's eyes and breathing in addition to the traditional
natural aids. Exhaling on downward transitions and inhaling
on upward transitions automatically gives a psychological
and physiological cue to the horse. The rider's eyes communicate
direction and leadership to the horse and should be used to
initiate turns and to communicate your level of determination
and commitment.
Julie Goodnight
CHA Clinician
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A cheap
and easy addition to your tack room is spray saline solution
made for people that use contact lenses. It comes in a tall
aerosol can, but squirts out a gentle and quiet stream of
sterile saline solution. Available at Wal-Mart or Target for
less than $2 per can, this handy liquid can be used for cleaning
eyes (horse or human), wounds, or anything else. Since the
can makes no squirting sounds, even a nervous horse will stand
quietly when it is applied.
Jennifer Babeon
CHA Clinician
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Cribbing
vs. wood chewing: these terms are commonly misused by novice
horse people and could give a horse a bad reputation unnecessarily.
Cribbing is not the same as wood chewing. Cribbing refers
to a habitual behavior of a horse when he places his front,
top teeth on a rail or anything he can grip on, and pulls
as he gulps in air. The horse will make a sound like a burp
as he sucks in air. Cribbing causes an endorphin release for
the horse, which rewards the behavior and causes him to repeat
the behavior excessively and even become addicted to the behavior.
Cribbing is considered a vice and is often found in Thoroughbreds
and horses enduring a great deal of physical and/or mental
stress such as confinement or hard training. Wood chewing
is the beaver-like propensity of horses to want to destroy
any piece of wood within its reach. Wood chewing is most common
in horses that are confined and get limited grazing opportunity.
Horses in the wild will graze up to 18 hours a day and chew
in excess of 40,000 per day; confined horses have the need
to chew too and with no opportunity to graze, will chew on
whatever they can find.
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For
cheap and effective wound treatment, keep a box of sanitary
pads in your first aid box. They are great for use in cleaning
wounds, applying ointment and protecting saddle sores. Buy
the kind with a sticky backing, medium thickness and without
wings, then apply them directly to the girth for protection
and prevention at the first sign that a sore might be developing.
Sanitary pads are much cheaper than buying gauze from a first
aid supply store and are readily available.
Polly Barger
CHA Clinician and Board Member
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