Equine Affaire Is A Wrap

I am home from Equine Affaire, and what an experience it was, to be able to speak to an audience who want to learn more about preventing barn fires! Thank you to those who came by to listen to me! It was wonderful to make new friends and to see a few familiar faces!

Before I get off topic of Equine Affaire, I wanted to touch on two things:

First, I made a point to walk into Barn C, the barn which caught fire last month. Walking into the barn was like walking back in time. It reminded me so much of the older barns I visited or showed at in my youth. The stalls were wood and tiny. Lots of lumber construction everywhere! There were horses being stabled there for Equine Affaire and what shocked me was this photo…

…. How can stable management allow the hanging of strings of electric lights in a barn that just recently experienced a fire? Not just the Big E, but all show ground facilities need to start getting strict about what is being utilized in the way of electrical devices, especially in old, wood structures, such as this. And by the way, I did not see any fire extinguishers! Show grounds must do better by our horses, before another tragedy strikes.

Another item I want to mention was the number of riders I saw, who were leading their tacked horses with stirrups down and dangling! This is not a practice that is isolated to this event, but it is something that I wanted to mention, as it will be a part of my next book!

There is a reason we roll stirrups up when we are not mounted. Good reasons! Horses are known to whip their head around to nip at a biting fly or to give them a good scratch. If a stirrup is dangling, it is possible for the bit to get caught in the stirrup. I have seen a horse become caught, panic set in immediately and it was an incredibly frightening situation. While it lasted less than 30 seconds, it felt like it went on forever. The horse suffered mild injuries as a result.

Dangling irons can also catch on fences or posts, with the same disastrous results.

Another reason to roll irons up is because stirrups that are loose will dangle and bump the horse. Most horses will tolerate this, but it is inconsiderate and rude to your horse to subject him something so annoying.

And while I am on the topic of stirrups, it is important to keep the stirrup bar down, rather than locked in place. This should be done so that in case of an emergency, such as your foot becoming caught in the iron and putting you at risk of being dragged in the event of a fall, the stirrup leather will be able to be released.

Onto other news of much importance. Sadly, the horse thieves in Florida have gotten back to work in recent weeks. Horses have gone missing in the neighboring counties of Okeechobee and St. Lucie. One family lost all three of their horses. Once again, the equestrian community is on high alert, with reports of suspicious vehicles flooding social media pages.

Here is a link to my blog regarding how to keep horses safe from thieves:

Are you ready for the holidays?

The holidays are fast approaching! Check out the Cowgirl Christmas Shop Hop | Virtual Holiday Shopping Event | Cowgirl Biz for some awesome small equestrian owned businesses to support, while possibly winning some fabulous prizes at the same time!

And of course, Common Sense Horse Keeping is the perfect gift for your barn owner or manager, your boarders, your riding besties, or to gift yourself! Please check out Common Sense Horse Keeping to order the book, the laminated resource guide, and gift sets!

I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving, with lots of good food and quality family time!

Don’t forget to hug your horse!