The Importance of Good Horsemanship

It has been a while since I have last written but It has been a busy few weeks. I went horse shopping with one of my students, the vet came and did annual shots on all 26 horses and then I got sick. We are also preparing for a clinic with Dom Schramm this weekend at the farm. Working at a horse farm sure does keep me busy and my days always stay interesting. Maddie got some routine joint maintenance when the vet visited on Tuesday.She seems to be feeling great and ready to get back to work after a few days off. I started thinking about everything it takes to keep a horse going and how much care it truly takes beyond just riding. Horsemanship off the horse is just as important as actually riding to develop your horses fitness and muscle condition. The careful planning that goes into their nutritional needs, daily grooming, and knowing every inch of your horse. Knowing how your horses legs normally look and how their personality normally is can really help if one day they aren't acting right. Some things that I like to do in order to care for my horse are to make sure I wash down her legs with antibacterial soap a few times a week to help keep fungus away. Make sure I keep my saddle pads, polos, and jumping boots clean so that my horse can feel her best and therefore perform her best.Check to make sure you have enough of your horses supplements and when you need to order more so they don't run out. Even on a day your not going to ride take the time to groom your horse check them over for any cuts or anything out of the ordinary. Take time to find out what is normal for your horse so that you can better identify when something is wrong with them. If the ground is especially hard then it is not a good idea to do gallop sets or jump a lot. It puts extra stress on their joints. When things like this happen try and alter your plans so that you can better take care of your horse and they will be able to make it safe and happy around cross country without injury. On days that I work Maddie extra hard in conditioning or jumping I will ice her legs for preventative measure and to make sure I am taking good care of her tendons and ligaments. A true rider puts the extra time in to take care of their horse and their things. When I see a well turned out horse and rider and see riders put their horses needs before their own I know that they are true horsemen/horsewomen and that they really care about what they are doing. So remember to to give your horse some love and special attention even when not riding. Take care of them and they will take care of you.