Caring For Your Horse Tack

Posted on January 10, 2019 by blogeditor

Tack Care and You

In our previous article Colorado Horse Tack, we explained how important it is to take good care of your horse tack and equipment. Taking care of your horse tack is a big commitment that will need your focus all year round. When looking for horse tack for sale, consider how it will need to be cared for. Wipe and clean your saddle and bridle once a week if you ride regularly. You will want to use a good saddle soap from your local horse supplies store. Just like washing your hands, make sure to rinse off the soap with water after application. Saddle soaps can be harsh on your saddle and remove too much moisture, so make sure to apply a leather moisturizer when you’re done.

Not all soaps are created equal. Soap that has a basic pH level and sweat are the two greatest enemies when it comes to leather. Test out a small bottle of soap to see how well it works before invested in a large quantity. Read product reviews if your ordering online. These two factors affect the longevity and appearance of your tack if they are not washed off properly. Soaps that contain glycerin or include moisturizers are generally better for your horse tack than the more basic products.

Another thing you can do to care for your horse tack is to use leather oil. However, leather oil should be used sparingly and should not be allowed to soak into the seat. This could cause irreparable damage. Leather oil is notorious for leaving stains on clothing, so you’ll want to be wary for getting in on you. During the winter, consider keeping your leather tack in your home, especially if your tack room does not have any form of heating. Looking for a Colorado horse property for sale? Contact one of our horse-person realtors at Colorado Horse Property.

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Colorado Horse Tack

Posted on January 9, 2019 by blogeditor

Horse Tack for Sale

If you’ve ever spent a day on a ranch and aided in the care of horses, then you’ve probably been in a tack room. Inside would have been bridles, bits, halters, shanks, saddles, pads, wraps, fly masks, and blankets. Also, there are buckets and grooming tool organizers stuffed with brushes, combs, hoof pick, sponges, chamois, sprays, shampoo. This is horse tack. Anything used to dress or care for the horses nearby. Most of these items can by hung up on the wall, with a few items stored in cupboards. Cupboard items may include cleaners, conditioners, polishes, rags, and sponges to maintain all that tack and equipment.

Make sure to lock up your tack room at the end of the work day. The cost of all that tack and gear is astronomical. The comfort and safety of your horse is paramount. Therefore, it is essential to take extra steps,making sure that your tack and equipment is kept safe. Also, cleaning your tack is important. As much as tack should be cleaned regularly and the bit and stirrups washed and wiped dry, the challenges of keeping tack in perfect condition can be overcome by having them in a secure and dry place. Leaving your tack outside and in the elements will greatly reduce their lifespan.

A lot of your tack will be made out of leather. Leather is treated animal skin and has about 25 percent of its original moisture. Today’s tanning process, which takes about six weeks, permanently alters the protein structure in the skin, making it more durable and less susceptible to damage from bacteria. Knowing how to care for your leather products in your tack room is very important. Looking for Colorado horse property for sale? Contact one of our horse-person realtors today.

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Horse Stress from Noise

Posted on January 8, 2019 by blogeditor

Horses are amazing animals that humans have been involved with for centuries. Like humans, horses can become stressed by many things. One of the biggest stressors for horses is noise. Horses have remarkably sensitive hearing—they can hear the sound of footsteps from a mile away. With this in mind, noisy horse trailers are very stressful to horses. Many trailer manufacturers have recently taken this into consideration. Within the past decade, makers have incorporated alternative fastening materials to reduce noise pollution. This makes for a safer and less stressful environment for our horses and a more appealing product.

Visual Signs of Horse Stress

However, no matter how well-designed and manufactured a trailer is, it will have normal wear and tear. Trailers develop squeaks, rattles, and other signs of age over time. Though you can fix problems when they occur, not much can be done to prevent them from happening. In short, your horse trailer will eventually cause noise stress in your horse. It is inevitable. Likewise, there are many visual signs of horse stress.

If you see your horse displaying any of the following behavior then you should take steps into reducing your horse stress during long stints in trailers. Behavioral signs might include unwillingness to work, decreased appetite, flightiness, depression, or some other change in a horse’s usual demeanor. One of the best ways to help with trailer noise stress is to have your horse ride with another horse. Their is strength and confidence in numbers.

Noise is a primary stress factor for horses, as it is for most prey animals. Stress increases fatigue, reduces the effectiveness of their immune system, and long-term exposure to stressful situations can cause permanent psychological and physiological damage. So by managing the noise levels in our trailers we can effectively reduce the degree and amount of stress our horses experience during transport. For help with finding horse property for sale, contact one of our horse-person realtors at Colorado Horse Property.

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Judging Western Pleasure

Posted on January 8, 2019 by blogeditor

What the Judges Are Looking For

There are a lot of things that horse performance judges look for when judging a western pleasure competition. The aspect of Western pleasure that sets it apart from other equestrian competitions, there is no real winner. Riders are placed in an order of who performed the best to the worst, but the difference between first and second could be astronomical. How would you judge between a horse that doesn’t perform all three required gaits and one that tries to buck or run off with its rider? Which one should place over the other? It would be easier to judge a group of dressage performers than one without any real winner.

You will be judged on how true your horse’s gait is. Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans. To test your horse’s performance, ask yourself these questions when practicing. Is you horse exhibiting ‘lift’ in its shoulders? Is the performance consistent? Every stride that your horse takes should be the same as the one before and the one after. Does your horse have an easy, collected manner? Does the horse appear to present a pleasant picture? To present a good picture, your horse should have a consistent frame and natural head carriage.

Knowing the rules is important, but it isn’t enough to produce a win. One of the best things you can do it to remember to have fun. Do you want to become a Western pleasure judge? Go to a few practice shows, before trying to peruse a career. Offer to be a ring steward for an incumbent judge at a local open show. For more information on the nuances of Western Pleasure, read Colorado Western Pleasure. For help in finding Colorado horse property for sale, contact Colorado Horse Property and speak with a horse-person realtor today.

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Colorado Western Pleasure

Posted on January 7, 2019 by blogeditor

Western Horse Training

Western Pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on their relaxed but collected gait. These types of competitions include nearly all breeds. However, breed restrictions apply in the highest levels of competition. Western pleasure classes are a big part of most open circuit horse shows in the state of Colorado. However, this does not mean that the Western horse training discipline is any easier than the others. Judges of Western Pleasure shows look for a plethora of skills. The two skills that beginners should start with is horsemanship and technical skills.

Just like other skilled performance sports, Western Pleasure is hard to judge. The riders compete as a group at the same time, traveling around the outer edge of the arena. Then, each horse and rider team performs three gaits going one direction in the arena. When the riders reverse direction, they will do the same three gaits the other way. If the performers aren’t tripped up by the direction change, they will also be required to back up. The three gaits are the walk, jog, and lope. This may sound easy to do at first, but that is not the case. The act of being judged can be a stressful thing to endure. That stress only goes away with practice and increased professionalism.

Western pleasure is one of the most technical performance sports in the world today. Many riders compete in Western pleasure and never truly understand what the judge looks for when selecting a winner. In a pleasure class, the judgement occurs to the horse’s performance rather than the rider’s. Riders are judged in horsemanship and equitation classes. Knowing that you’ll be judged separately means that you and your horse must be at the top of their game. For help in finding Colorado horse property for sale, contact one of our horse-person realtors today at ColoradoHorseProperty.com.

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Improving Your Dressage Riding Skills

Posted on January 4, 2019 by blogeditor

Your Dressage Riding Skills

Dressage is an equestrian sport; it is a highly skilled form of riding performed in exhibition and competition. A big part of riding (and riding well) is keeping the right frame of mind when in the saddle. You should always be thinking about the rider position and function. This is especially true when trying to improve your riding skills relating to swiftness. If you are always thinking about what you should be doing to ride your horse the fastest, then you will already be ahead of the competition. For example, if I have really tight arms or wrists, or holding tension anywhere in your body, you will not be able to push the horse as fast as it can go.

There are exercises that can be used out of the saddle to help you. Wrap a long flexible cord around a helper’s upper chest and shoulders, and pretend the other end is the reins of your horse. Have your helper walk forward, turning left and right, while you try to maintain a steady contact with these makeshift reins. Then switch places and have your helper steer you. This will provide you with insight into what your horse experiences.

Following those steps, grasp one end of your test rope and have your helper grasp the other end. Have your helper move their hand. Follow their movements to keep a soft, even contact. Pay close attention to your wrists, forearms, and shoulders. Are your wrists locked? Forearms tight? Shoulders stiff? This is indicative of how you will be in the saddle and gives you a chance to correct them before straddling your horse. For more information on English horse training in Colorado, check out our Colorado Horse Training page. Looking for horse properties for sale in Colorado? Contact a horse-person realtor today.

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Colorado Horse Stall Doors

Posted on December 29, 2018 by blogeditor

The last piece of the puzzle when it comes to Colorado horse stalls is the type of door you should use in construction. For more information on Colorado horse stalls, check out our articles “Constructing A Colorado Horse Stall” and “How To Design A Colorado Horse Stall.” There are a plethora of door materials and configurations. The most common stall door types are swinging and sliding doors. Some doors cover the full length of the doorway while others are divided into two panels. Other doors partially cover half to three-quarters of the doorway, and other go all the way up. The type of door depends on your style. Work with your contractor in the kind of door that fits your style best.

Horse Stall Doors and Construction

Though the door style will differ from horse-owner to horse-owner, some things will be the same. First of all, the doors and doorjambs need to be durable. The average horse weighs upwards of a thousand pounds—not just any door will do to keep these animals inside their horse stall. You’ll need secure latches, and the door must be free of sharp edges or protrusions. Door guides on sliding doors should be rounded. Door latches should be operated with one hand. Keep door latches out of reach your horses, especially the escape artists.

Stall dividers should be at least two inches thick. Dividers are commonly composed of rough-cut oak or tongue-and-groove pine. Using anything softer than these wood types and you will be susceptible to kicking and chewing damage. Use pressure-treated lumber or plywood for the bottom boards. While boards may warp, plywood dissipates kicks and has a better strength-to-weight ratio. For information on horse properties for sale in Colorado, contact one of our horse-person realtors at Colorado Horse Property today.

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Constructing A Colorado Horse Stall

Posted on December 27, 2018 by blogeditor

When it comes to constructing a horse stall in Colorado, lighting and air flow two of the most important things to get right. For more information on Colorado horse stalls, check out our articles on “Planning Your Colorado Horse Stall” and “How To Design A Colorado Horse Stall.” Proper lighting in your horse stall is essential for observing your horses any time of the day or night. Also, cleaning your horse stall because exponentially more difficult with poor lighting. Though natural lighting is a good option, you should keep any glass out of your horse’s reach for their safety. Glass windows should be either out of reach, above seven feet, or protected by sturdy bars or mesh. Plexiglas is a good option for window glazing.

Besides using the standard glass window, another lighting option for horse stalls is using a light fixture. If you place your lighting fixtures along the front or side walls, you are more likely to decrease shadows. One fixture above the center will always create shadows. This occurs as the horse comes to the front of the stall for observation. Similar to the placement of windows, you should place your fixtures at least seven feet high to minimize contact with the horse. You can also consider putting a shatterproof cage around the light bulb. Shatterproof cages are generally available at most lighting supply stores. Now that you have decided on the lighting for your stall, now it is time to think about air flow.

Fresh air promotes good respiratory health for every horse that you have constructed a stall for. A window, which opens for each booth, eave and ridge vents, and no ceiling (or at least a high ceiling), will enhance fresh air exchange. Many older stalls, typically found in restored barns, have hay storage above the stalls. Storing hay and bedding over the top of the stalls is not a good idea in respect to air flow. These items can also carry allergens that could harm your horse’s respiratory system. For more information on horse stalls or finding horse stalls for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today.

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How To Design A Colorado Horse Stall

Posted on December 21, 2018 by blogeditor

The Colorado horse stall is the most basic unit of a horse stable. When designing your Colorado horse stall, safety for you and your horses should be your primary concern. After safety, comfort for your horse and convenience for you are the next priorities. If you keep these things in mind when planning and constructing your horse stall, then you’ll have nothing to lose. If you are using a contractor, then make sure to speak with them every step of the process. For more information, contact Colorado Horse Property today. The first two things you’ll need to consider when constructing your horse stall is the size and the walls.

The size of your horse and the amount of time your horse spends in the stall will determine the size of your stall. Larger horses require more square footage than smaller horses. Your horse will need space to turn around, lie down, and get up comfortably. A 12-foot by 12-foot stall is the standard recommendation for a 1,000-pound horse. Though you can go smaller than this, walls less than 10-feet in length are not recommended. The stall’s wall length is one-and-a-half times the horse’s length. Consider a larger stall size if the horse spends more time in the stall. You’ll also need to account for more space if your hose is more active than others.

Though this is used often, stall walls do not have to be completely enclosed. An open panel design at the top allows for better ventilation. You will also be able to observe your horse better this way. An open panel partition has solid materials along the bottom 48 to 60 inches, with an open panel on top. Bars of three-quarters to one-inch diameter pipe, or equivalent, are standard. Place bars no more than three inches apart or uses a heavy-gauge wire mesh with approximately two-inch openings. Follow this link for more on Planning Your Colorado Horse Stall.

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Planning Your Colorado Horse Stall

Posted on December 19, 2018 by blogeditor

There are many things to consider when in the early stages of planning to build your first Colorado horse stall. What type of things will you need to be stored within hands reach of the stall? Hay racks, hay bags, and hay nets? If so, these items should be stored near at chest height. If they are stored too low, your horse may become tangled. Planning these things out in advance will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. You should also think about how your horse feeds and what type of floor to use.

What type of feeding method do you use with your horse and how can that affect the way your horse stall should be constructed? A hay rack or net will require different specifications than using a hay manger. Many horse owners use mangers because they let the horse eat in a more natural position. Mangers are also less prone to trap the horse and reduce dust fall. Similar to racks or nets, mangers start flush with the floor and ends above horse chest height. Dust can accumulate in the bottom of the manger so you’ll need to make sure there is enough room in your Colorado horse stall for a person to remove the debris manually.

What will you use on the floor of your stall? Horses have their heads close to the ground for most of the day. Most horse owners use an odorless material on the floor and is also non-absorbant. Not all floorings are the same. Dirt is pliable, but concrete is more stable. The stiffness of concrete can be overcome by using rubber mats or deep bedding. Sufficient bedding helps prevent sores or abrasions. Avoid flooring that can be slippery when wet. For more information, contact Colorado Horse Property today.

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