https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQjOjHmICjg
Knowing the accurate height of your horse or pony can mean the difference between making a sale to the right person, or in some instances entry into certain types of competition.
You can’t always guess accurately.
Hay season is here. Make sure you have a clean source for hay that has been protected from contamination. Here is information on EPM from a simple source…wikipedia.
EPM was first discovered in the 1960s by Dr. Jim Rooney. The disease is considered rare, though recently, an increasing number of cases have been reported. Outdated[citation needed] research at the University of Kentucky identified the opossum as the definitive host of the disease. However since that time it has been learned that all wildlife can be a host and mostly the “barn cat”[citation needed]. Horses in the Rocky Mountains have been found with EPM where no opossum has ever lived or been[citation needed]. The term EPM refers to the clinical neurologic symptoms caused by the parasite, not infection itself. The majority of horses infected with S. neurona do not exhibit neurologic symptoms consistent with EPM. There are six subspecies of S. neurona which can be identified by surface antigens (SAG). Equine EPM is caused by the parasites that exhibit SAG1, SAG5, and SAG6. SAG1 and SAG5 are responsible for the majority of EPM cases in horses. Horses produce antibodies to these surface antigens. Serum antibody testing is available that measures levels of these antibodies in the blood of horses, which is helpful in diagnosing EPM in an ataxic horse. Serial blood levels are helpful in guiding treatment. In experimentally infected horses it takes 17 days from infection to positive antibody tests. 80% of horses with EPM have positive antibody tests. A negative antibody test in the presence of EPM results if testing is done before 17 days or if the horse has been treated with antiprotozoal drugs which delays antibody production.
Life cycle of S. neurona
EPM is caused by the parasite Sarcocystis neurona. The life cycle of S. neurona is well described. In order to complete its life cycle this parasite needs two hosts, a definitive and an intermediate. In the laboratory, raccoons, cats, armadillos, skunks, and sea otters have been shown to be intermediate hosts. The opossum has been proven not to be the definitive host of the disease. Horses most commonly contract EPM from grazing or watering in areas where wildlife or cats has recently defecated. However, horses cannot pass the disease among themselves, that is, one horse cannot contract the disease from another infected horse. The horse is a dead-end, or aberrant, host of the parasite.[1]
The neurologic signs that EPM causes are most commonly asymmetric incoordination (ataxia), weakness and spasticity, although they may mimic almost any neurologic disorder. Clinical signs among horses with EPM include a wide array of symptoms that may result from primary or secondary problems. Some of the signs are difficult to distinguish from other problems, such as lameness, which can be attributed to many different causes. Apparent lameness, particularly atypical lameness or slight gait asymmetry of the rear limbs are commonly caused by EPM. Focal muscle atrophy, or even generalized muscle atrophy or loss of condition may result. Secondary signs also occur with neurologic disease. Airway abnormalities, such as laryngeal hemiplegia (paralyzed flaps), dorsal displacement of the soft palate (snoring), or airway noise of undetermined origin may result from protozoa infecting the nerves which innervate the throat, although this is uncommon.
In experimentally infected horses, very early and in some cases transient signs included dropping feed, decreased tongue tone, facial paresis, mentation change, generalized weakness, and lameness.
It is thought that Sarcocystis neurona does not need to enter the CNS to cause disease, in some cases S. neurona has been found in the CNS but usually not. In cases where S. neurona is found in the CNS,leukocytes (white blood cells) probably play a role in the parasite’s penetration of the blood brain barrier.
EPM is treatable, but irreversible damage to the nervous system is possible. It is important to identify the disease as early as possible and begin treatment with antiprotozoal drugs. There are currently three FDA approved treatments available in the US: ReBalance (sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine),[2] Marquis (ponazuril), and Protazil (diclazuril). These drugs minimize the infection but do not kill the parasite. The use of anti-inflammatory agents such as Banamine, corticosteroids, or phenylbutazone are often used to help reduce inflammation and limit further damage to the CNS. Antioxidants, such as vitamin E may help promote the restoration of nervous tissue. Response to treatment is often variable, and treatment may be expensive. Recently, antiprotozoal treatments that kill the parasite and clear the infection have shown great promise. The inflammatory component is thought responsible for the symptoms of EPM; anti inflammatory drugs that target the IL-6 pathway have been particularly effective at reversing symptoms.
Control of this disease includes proper storage of hay and feed, the control of opossums on the property, and prompt disposal of animal carcasses. No vaccine is available.
Resources on wikepedia page
By Allison Griest – @allisongriest | December 10, 2014
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Geldings
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Mares
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| At a Glance: |
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| In-Depth: | If you want a reliable mount, a gelding is most often your best bet. He’s less likely to have an off day, but he’s also indifferent to your hugs and pets. | There is something about the loyalty of a mare. I think mares test you more, but if you gain their trust and respect, their ability to bond is unmatched. |
Are you offended? Maybe you’re nodding and thinking, “Agreed!” Or perhaps it’s the opposite: “How dare you suggest my most amazing partner-in-crime doesn’t love my hugs? He’s the best. And you are clearly a closed-minded fool.”
 The author with Gabby |
While I believe there is a pattern, I’m not claiming there is an absolute. That being said, I do think that my 20+ years of catch riding experience allows me the credibility to make generalizations about my experiences.
When you own your horse, whether mare or gelding, there’s no question of the bond you share. When you’re a catch rider, sometimes interesting patterns emerge, like the common differences between geldings and mares.
I will forever love my Gabby Giggles. Gabby, a mare, was:
Basically, Gabby represents what I have come to recognize as ‘the mare.’ If you’re a jerk to her, in your body language, verbal language or overall attitude, she will be a jerk to you. If you take a moment to say hi to her before you throw on the saddle, if you take a moment to give her a soft pat on the neck when she’s done something well, if you give her a pattern to follow, such as a nice graze after a hard ride, she’ll recognize it. She’ll love it. She’ll be your ally day in and out. She’s bonded to you, and she shows you and everyone else at the barn. I’ve found that a deep bond with a mare is hard to beat.
 The author with Wrigley |
I will forever love Wrigley. Wrigley, a gelding, was:
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Wrigley was one of the most important teachers I’ve known, outside of my human trainers of course. Wrigley was one of the most important teachers to every rider at my barn. Unlike Gabby, who really responded to me and was quite the pill to others, Wrigley was a consistent mount. He wasn’t for the first time rider, though he could be. He was for the novice rider like me, who had grown up riding ponies and had never really ridden a large warmblood who could actually perform a shoulder-in movement. Wrigley was great, but when I’d be excited to see him, I felt like he was excited because I might have a peppermint, not because it was me.
These generalizations are often true, but I love how many horses go against the grain. I love the trustworthy mares. The ones who really just want to eat, but they’ll respectfully tote around any rider. And I love the geldings who surprise me, like the gelding who knickers in the pasture and runs up to his rider.
I love that horses are partners, not equipment. There’s an ideal partner for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn to ride different personalities – that’s what makes our sport so unique. Every horse, gelding or mare, is different.
But I still love mares.
Liked this article? Here are others you’ll enjoy:
The Mare Mystique
Connecting with Your Horse
Gaited Morgan Horse Organization
Gaitways Program
The Gaitways Program has been developed to recognize Gaited Morgan Horse Organization Club Members for the time spent enjoying your Registered Morgan Horse/s. As you Trail Ride, Show, Drive, Train, attend Expos, parades, or clinics, you are an ambassador for the Gaited Morgan and the Morgan Horse Breed, promoting the versatility of our great horse. While enjoying activities with your horse you can also accumulate hours that can earn nice awards.
Who Can Join
Gaited Morgan Horse Organization
Gaitways Program
GUIDELINES
1. GMHO Member at the time of logged hours
2. GMHO Gaitways member of $25 lifetime fee
3. Registered Morgan with number
4. Logged hours not limited to just one horse
5. Recorded hours on GMHO Gaitways log sheets only
6. No time limit for accumulating hours for awards
AWARD LEVELS
T Shirts Awarded for 100, 250, 500, 750 logged hours
Jackets Awarded for 1000, 1500, 2500, 4000 logged hours
Each T-Shirt or Jacket will be custom ordered with your name , the GMHO Logo and hours achieved
Start Logging your GMHO Gaitway Hours NOW!!
Gaitways application fWhat Hours Count
Enjoy Trail Riding, Driving, Showing, Competitive riding, Training, attending clinics and expositions.
Hours must be on a GMHO Gaitways Log Sheet
Gaitways Log Sheet
http://www.purposegames.com/game/the-skeleton-of-a-horse-quiz
match the dot on the skeleton with the question in the box …timed score
Altruism is a pebble in a lake. The subsequent ripple created can put a little more, or a lot more, good into the world. “What the heck does this have to do with trail riding?” you might wonder. (I’ll get there I promise!)
I know Hannah Anderson’s abduction and her subsequent rescue is old news, but there is one part of the story that I feel must be told. It’s the story before the story.
I wonder what would have happened if the only access into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, “The Frank,” had only allowed people on foot. I’m not talking about the designation of the trail. I’m talking about its physical condition. With the U.S. Forest Service’s budget routinely stretched thin, keeping up with 2.36 million acres of roadless wilderness for recreational use is, sadly, not a top priority.
I didn’t realize, until I became involved in Back Country Horsemen of America, how quickly access can be blocked. In a single storm, or a bad winter, a trail that was traveled via horse, becomes impeded by fallen trees, boulders and landslides. It’s so easy to take a trail for granted when it is open and clean, every time it’s traveled on.
How long would it have taken to find Hannah if those horsemen (and women) had not been able to recreate in The Frank in the first place? It’s amazing, the men and women of Back Country Horsemen of Idaho (BCHI) and other trail clearing organizations didn’t know it, but in clearing trails in The Frank, they were preparing four riders to tip the first domino that saved that girl.
Last year alone, BCHI logged in 12,409 volunteer hours, clearing 1930 miles of trails. Clearing trails in a wilderness setting is no picnic. (Although it almost always involves some Dutch oven refueling). When a land is designated as Wilderness, it is set aside from all mechanized modern conveniences. No chainsaws, no four-wheeler, no generators, just bucksaws, handsaws, hedge clippers, and a few mules to take it all in there. Along with a ton of elbow grease and expert knowledge so the log getting cut doesn’t do anything unpredictable after it’s loose. It is a labor of love. In this instance, it was the pebble in the lake.
This bit of altruism, these people who put in hard work for people they might never see, sent a ripple across the pond that allowed four riders to notice and report the whereabouts of an alleged abductor and his abductee. Isn’t it just awe inspiring that a good deed, done so people could enjoy the land set aside for just that, would sit left done until it could be of the most use?
Farm Ads are from the Gaited Morgan Horse Organization Magazine which is published quarterly by our Organization. Group Ads are published numerous times in Nation wide publications as well as our own Breed Publication The Morgan Horse. We have an ad that runs in every issue of The Morgan Horse
Be sure to click on the ad for a large version and click again for very large version
Ledan Morgans
Sky Harbor Morgans
Missouri Morgans
Rainbows Gait Morgans
Lancelot Morgans
Thomas Morgans
Sky Harbor Morgans Utah
Missouri Morgans
Trail Blazer 2012
Trailblazer Cover
Friends of Sound Horses 2012
The Morgan Horse Ad
Our Gaited Morgan Horse Organization Member Letha Simmons will be featured on the American Morgan Horse Association Calendar. Letha submitted a great photo from a ride at Monument Valley, a pose on the rock on her mare Ayla. Ayla is not gaited but Letha and husband Dan of LeDan Morgans have several gaited Morgans at their ranch in southern Arizona.
Once again singlefooters, gaited Morgans will be featured on the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association Calendar. As a national service organization the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association is supported by numerous members of the Gaited Morgan Horse Organization. Several owners of gaited Morgans have colorful Morgans and submitted photos for the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association Calendar. A fun thing for Morgan Horse Lovers alike.
Sue Schaenzer submitted a photo of her silver dapple stallion KTM Shadowflax, and Missouri Morgans submitted Missouris MOJO River and Beacon Silver Miracle.
“We have ONE RMHA calendar left… Need something special for the Morgan lover in your life? Please contact Dana at [email protected] to purchase this beautiful 2013 edition! $12.00/US & $14.00/foreign, including postage” update…sold out
Jim and I may have a couple extra if Dana does not. contact us [email protected].
Gaited Morgan interview starts at 47:35 marker
HITM for 03-04-2011 by Kentucky Performance Products – Gaited Morgans and Chronicle Interns
copy and paste into your address bar
RIDING WITH LARRY WHITESELL by Dan Simmons
Dan is a member of The Arizona Morgan Horse Club. Dan’s wife Letha is President of the Arizona Morgan Horse Club as well as an advisor for the Morgan Single-footing Horse Association. Dan and Letha raise both gaited and non-gaited Morgans and do a great job of promoting them all over the Southwest United States. See their website at www.ledanmorgans.com
AMHA, MSFHA and the Morgan horse breed made a pretty good impression among multiple breeds at a recent Larry Whitesell Gaited Horse Clinic in Arizona. Promoting the Morgan Horse! They love them!
“My wife Letha and I made plans nearly a year ago to ride in Larry Whitesell’s Cave Creek Arizona clinic this past weekend, November 11-13. Being relatively new to the gaited side of Morgandom, we were anxious to acquire some skills at riding and training gaited Morgans. I can say without any reservation, this was the best spent time and money we have ever committed to increasing our equine riding skills and knowledge! Letha didn’t have a gaited Morgan of age ready to go and took her almost five year old non-gaited mare Ayla, and I took my four and a half year old gaited gelding Rose K Sunday Star (Dia H Paladin x Mary Mels Snipper). Turns out Letha’s concerns about showing up with a non-gaited horse were unwarranted (in more ways than one; more on that later). Although Larry targets gaited horses for his clinics, the Classical riding approach he teaches apply to any horse. Larry studied under the masters of the Spanish Riding School and their 400 years plus tradition of expert riding skills, which is very difficult to even get admitted to; you have to be an accomplished rider to start with to even be considered. Larry says it has been his experience that when you learn to put a gaited horse in the correct frame and you ride it with the correct seat and aids, you will free it up to naturally gait on its own.
Letha and I had the only Morgans at the clinic and fielded a lot of questions about gaited Morgans from people at the clinic. These ranged from folks who didn’t know there were gaited Morgans; or thought all or most Morgans were gaited; or knew almost nothing about Morgans in general. It was a good opportunity to spread the word about our wonderful gaited Morgans. Larry mentioned that he had trained only four gaited Morgans in all the gaited horses he had trained over the years and commented they had really good minds. During the course of the weekend he twice commented about Sunday, who was performing very well in the clinic, as being a very nice horse. I never heard him say that about any other horse in the clinic the entire weekend. There were only ten riders plus some auditors and the horses included several Peruvian Pasos, a couple of Paso Finos, and a Foxtrotter and Walker or two.”
For the complete detailed story of this clinic with Larry Whitesell, please go to www.gaitedmorgans.org and subscribe the the MSFHA Gaited Morgan Magazine. Watch for it coming out in December, 2011.
The 25th Annual Bison Roundup, Friday, October 28 and Saturday, October 29, 2011. Brent Skidmore and other Volunteer wranglers will once again saddle-up and move the park’s herd of 600 free-roaming bison from the southern tip of the Island to the bison corrals on the northern end of the island.Brent makes this an annual event. If you happen to be in the area, the best viewing opportunities are from the East Shore Road. Brent Skidmore and others from the American Fork area will be working the herd and moving them across the island to a holding facility with the park department as the Wildlife Biologists and Park Managers work to keep the herd healthy and in check. Have fun Brent and be careful!! Stay tuned for new photos and story
Beacon Silver Miracle, a gray stallion bred and raised by member Helga Loncosky, now owned by Missouri Morgans, will be featured on a monthly page of the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association Calendar. While gray Morgans are rare in the Morgan Horse Breed, a gaited gray Morgan is very rare. To order your calendars visit the Rainbow Morgan Horse WEbsite at http://rainbowmorganhorseassoc.com/. Calendars are $12 postage paid. What could be better than a colorful Morgan on every calendar month (except maybe a gaited colorful Morgan on each page?) Maybe someday!
While overnighting at a horse motel in Gallup New Mexico Janet, Jim and Vali met Johnny Warnshuis. Johnny,44 is riding his way across the country on his Arabian rasing money for a cancer cure and other charities. Check out his story at www.cowboyforacure.com photos and full story ahead
See the full story in the 4th quarter issue of the MSFHA magazine coming out the end of December.
http://netposse.com/view_report.asp?reportid=1424
Paula Dennis has a heartbreaking story to tell. When Paula first posted the information to our group forum at [email protected], I don’t think we all knew the whole story. Paula not only lost her Cowboy, but her granddaughters Pony, and her daughters entire home and farm were wiped away down Catskill Creek. Please help Paula keep an eye out for Cowboy…maybe he had a chance and is still lost somewhere. Follow the link above to see his photos and more of the story
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