Cowboy Shower. A cowboy shower isn’t an expensive upgrade to a trailer, but it can return dividends in on the road comfort and convenience. Not only will you be able to shower without having to wait your turn at a camp bath or barter a shower off someone with living quarters, cowboy showers can be used to wash your horse down or help him cool off on a hot day.
Solid-Sided Stall. Whether this is a smaller stall or a full-sized box stall, having at least one of your trailer stalls outfitted with a solid divider gives you a flexible storage area. Whether you choose to stash extra supplies, a cot or an infirm or young horse in the solid-sided stall, you’ll be prepared for any sort of surprise your horse travels may bring.
Trailer Cam. Everybody worries on long trips with their horses. It helps to stop and check on them every few hours, but horses can get tangled or caught in mere seconds. With a trailer cam and a co-pilot to keep an eye on it, you’ll know right away if something isn’t right in the horse compartment. Often, trailer cams can make the difference between a horse who is seriously injured in the trailer and one that can be calmed and reloaded with little noticeable wear.
Extra Water Tanks. From fueling cowboy showers on the road to giving your horse a drink, an extra water tank or two can make traveling much easier. Some horses are very sensitive to the flavor of the water they’re drinking and will dehydrate rather than drink water that tastes strange -- all the more reason to bring enough water from home to sustain your horse through your journey.
HayRaks and HayPods. To keep your horse trailer as short as possible, look up for extra storage. HayRaks and HayPods are convenient storage options for necessary supplies like hay bales and water tanks, but they can also be used to stash portable generators, camping supplies and extra horse equipment. These lightweight roof racks are great for getting weather-resistant items out of the horse box -- an optional weather-proof cover makes HayRaks and HayPods great for all sorts of travel conditions.
Whether you’re ready to commit to a new trailer or are simply looking for a way to make your old trailer work better, these five extras are a great place to start. After all, they don’t require any extra space, are simple to install and can make your old trailer useful for many more years. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to travel a little easier, after all, a decent night’s sleep and a shower can make all the difference on a horse trip.
]]>Dear Fellow Equestrians,
As there has been an increase in horse trailer accidents and horse related disasters of barn fires and other life threatening events, I feel it is now more important to get the horse community involved.
Please send this out to your friends, community responders and veterinarians.
This class usually cost two to four times as much. We are NOT trying to make a buck. We are trying to get people educated so we do not have to see the same heart breaking scenes occur over and over, due to lack of education.
Why invest thousands in an animal, equipment, and lessons and then not be able to help do a few things for it in a crisis that can save its life or help it be able to be used again?
Its not a matter of if something will happen, its when. Until then few think about it. Only then do they wish they knew what to do.
You can know what to do and you can make a difference for all involved.
Thank You- Jonna Johnson TSHC chair-------------------------
Even if you have attended the class before, come join us again as every class is different.
New and updated material will be covered.
A big THANK YOU to TLAER, TEEX, Brazos Valley Equine Hospital and the Sam Houston Race Park for making the 2014 Texas class possible.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Thank You-- Jonna Johnson
TSHC Disaster Preparedness Chair
Links to the registration form and to other information can be found below.
http://texasstatehorsecouncil.com/wp-content/uploa...
https://www.facebook.com/TexasStarSaddles?ref=hl#!...
For a look at the Alamo saddles that we sell you can go here.
]]>The second book on our list is also by Heather A. Smith and is entitled The First 51 Barrel Racing Exercises to Develop a Champion
The third barrel racing book on our list is Charmayne James on Barrel Racing by Charmayne James.
The fourth book on the list is Fine Tuning Barrel Horses by Jessi Mead.
The fifth book on our list is Barrel Racing 101: A Complete Program For Horse and Rider.
I hope you have enjoyed the list. Please feel free to share comments below about any of these books that you have read. You can also add comments about other books about barrel racing that you have read that you like.
Whether you are a barrel racing enthusiast or you just love horses I hope you will visit our website. We have a wide selection of western horse saddles. We carry an extensive line of barrel saddles. If there is ever anything you are looking for that you can't find in our store please contact us using the form provided on the "Contact Us" page or simply email us at admin@texasstarsaddles.com.
]]>Over the next few months I am going to start from the beginning, and tell some of my stories. Now, I never went on to do anything more than local open Gymkhana or English shows, I was never a great instructor or champion of anything, but I did have a best horse friend, who shared a mind with me, who shared a mutual respect and understanding with me that we were going to let each other be ourselves. I was just an adventurous farm girl who grew up in a tiny town in Michigan. But I think the majority of horse lovers are the way I was, and so they will be able to smile and laugh along with me.
Ziggy was born in the early summer about 16 years ago, to a little snow white pony named Littlebit with brown patches on her face and rump. He was very tall since he was born to a mother that was no more than 12.5 hands, his legs were longer than hers! His coloring was mostly brown, a beautiful reddish brown, with four white stockings on each leg, a white patch on his shoulder, rump, and a star, strip in the shape of a zigzag (hence his name), and a snip on his face. Ziggy loved people. I remember as a little girl yelling his name and running next to the fence, he would come running and whinnying next to me, a tradition that would continue through the years.
Unfortunately, we sold him and he was gone for a few years but then we got him back when he was about 7 years old. He had changed a lot. He was very mean. Dangerously mean! My older sister had to train him to submit. Why is it important for horses to submit to us? Because horses view you as a part of their herd. If you are not their leader in their mind, then they are yours, which will not only be dangerous for you, but for them as well. After all, who is going to be leading them, telling them it's all going to be okay? If you're not their leader, why should they trust you or listen to you? That's what submission is all about.
So, Mandy got him into a round pen, stood in the middle with a lunge whip, and tried to make him run away from her. Why make him run away? Well have you ever watched a herd of horses when a new one joins? The leaders of the herd will chase them, even keeping them out of the herd for days until the new horse understands its place in the herd. Once the horse shows mutual respect and understanding of the pecking order, the others allow it to "join". Most horses will run just by you swinging the whip through the air, but Ziggy, did NOT budge, even when she would whip him a little (not abusively!) the only thing that got him to move was when Dad brought out a board and gave him a little spanking. Then he gave into her and began to run. Round and round he ran. Mandy was looking, waiting for his submission. We know that a horse submits by their body language. First they will lick their lips, or start to turn their ears towards you. Finally he did! Mandy stopped, and turned her back to him. He walked up to her on his own, and she turned and stroked his nose. Next she began to walk away. Ziggy perked up his ears and began to follow her without her needing to touch him. Next, she turned to the right, he followed, to the left, he followed. Turned towards him and walked towards him and he backed up. All this without having to lay a finger on him. What does this mean? He TRUSTS her. Two minds, two bodies, became one.
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