Kids N Horses March 2015
Things Going On:
I would love to include YOUR story and events in this newsletter. Submit shows/clinics/events
and what your club has been doing by the 15th of the Month to: kfhuser@ruraltel.net
(785-735-4193)
There are lots of horse activities going on throughout the state.
Horse judging camps
Horse Judging Contests
Local, District, County Fair, and State Fair
Horse shows
Horsemanship Camps
State Horse Panorama and area Quiz Bowl
Contests
Standards of Excellence—Levels 1, 2, 3, 4
Check Out http://www.kansas4h.org/ for:
4-H Horse Show Rulebook
Judging Manual
Horse ID form
Snafflebit Forms
Educational Material
Horse ID papers are due to your Extension
Office by May 1(earlier is fine). Remember to
have a profile (3/4 view) picture with the head turned to clearly show facial markings.
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JUDGING
February 13 was a cold, chilly morning but still brought out 180 horse judging contestants to
EquiFest of Kansas in Park City. Hailing from the eastern 2/3 of Kansas, northern Oklahoma,
and as far as southern Illinois, 4-H and FFA contestants and individuals judged six classes —
gelding halter, mare halter, western pleasure, western horsemanship, hunter under saddle, and
hunt seat equitation. Gracious EquiFest volunteers providing horses and handlers were: Lisa
Johnson, Cloud 9 Therapuetic Riding, Greenwood Stables and Rescue, and Melissa Albert.
Additional outside horses and riders were: Richta Training and Performance Horses, Wichita
Riding Academy, Kasandra Huser, and Steve Gray. We appreciated all the volunteers for
donating their time to host this horse judging contest for those that judged. Also, an extended
thanks to the horse judging teams from Kansas State University and Cloud County Community
College officiating and listening to reasons. Multiple parents and Horse Action Team volunteers
assisted with the contest to keep it moving. We appreciate all these folks greatly!! Results can
be found at http://www.kansas4-h.org/p.aspx?tabid=425.
Congratulations to all those that participated!! Remember: The State 4-H Horse judging
contest will be held June 25 in Salina.
Trimming Horse Chestnuts
August 19, 2013
How do you care for thick, hard-to-remove chestnuts on your horse’s
legs?
Question:
I have two horses. One has enormous, unsightly chestnuts. My other horse has normal, flat
chestnuts. I sometimes remember to ask the farrier to trim the large chestnuts, but even then,
he only cuts off a little bit and leaves an inch or more. They are rough and cracked and ragged.
Do chestnuts have nerve endings? How much of them can safely be trimmed off? I would be
worried about using a sharp enough knife in case of accidentally cutting his leg, so are there
some type of clippers that can be used? I’ve never seen any advice about this problem, and no
other horses in our barn (about 30 of them) have these overgrown chestnuts. He is going to be
shown and I’d like him to look nice. Thank you!
For the answer to this question, we consulted Dr. Lydia Gray, the medical director/staff
veterinarian for AQHA Corporate Partner SmartPak Equine, in conjunction with AQHA
Alliance Partner American Association of Equine Practitioners.
Answer:
I love this question! Chestnuts are one of those things that no one ever talks about, and if you
weren’t born into a horsey family, you may not know anything about them. I’ve always heard
that chestnuts are the remnants of toes that horses lost during evolution. My anatomy book
specifically says chestnuts are versions of footpads, the cushions on which animals walk. Foot
pads are quite pronounced in some animals, such as bears, and less pronounced in other
animals, such as dogs and cats. In horses, the foot pad is incorporated into the hoof as the
frog. The chestnuts are described as “vestigial” knee and hock foot pads, meaning the
structures have atrophied and become nonfunctional.
But that doesn’t solve your problem, because the darn things still exist and continue to grow.
Thankfully, the horse I have now has chestnuts that remain flush with his skin and hair. They
don’t ever seem to grow. But the horse before him was a different story. His chestnuts could
become long and sharp, almost like the spurs on a rooster, if I didn’t keep them under control! I
used to peel them off after I gave him a bath, because they were softer then. But as he got
older, the chestnuts seemed to grow more sensitive, and he didn’t even like me to touch them.
Luckily, I stumbled upon an excellent way of encouraging them to fall off with hardly any effort
on my part: put a little petroleum jelly on them. After a day or two, if they didn’t come off on their
own, they’d easily fall off if I “accidentally” hit them with a brush during grooming.
Although I’ve never heard of using clippers on them as you suggest, I have had farriers trim
them regularly (with a hoof knife, not nippers). And I did just read that some people prefer to
sand or rasp them down. You’ll just have to experiment with what works best on your horse,
because in some horses they’re quite hard and flaky while in others they’re soft and pliable (I
will admit to having twisted them off, although my horse didn’t seem to appreciate this method).
As long as you work within the chestnut’s layers, I don’t think you are going to hurt your horse or
“quick” him, as you can with dogs when cutting toenails.
– Dr. Lydia Gray, from AQHA Corporate Partner SmartPak Equine, in conjunction with AQHA
Alliance Partner American Association of Equine Practitioners.
Horse Sense……………..
Listed below are ten questions designed to test your knowledge of the horse industry.
Elite: 9-10 correct; Superior: 7-8; Excellent: 5-6; Fair: 3-4; Need to study: 1-2
Commonly called large roundworms, these are the largest parasites that
live in horses, growing 12-15 inches long and about the diameter of a
pencil. They are primarily a problem in younger horses because older
horses develop an immunity to them.
2. Bits are classified into three different groups. What are they?
3. In polo, there are 6 time frames (like quarters) of 7 minutes each. What
are these time frames called?
4. What is an injury or imperfection that affects the horses value but not its
serviceability?
5. What is an injury abnormality that affects the horses serviceability?
6. What are the 3 parts of the horses small intestine?
7. The hoof is sectioned into three parts. Name them.
8. What is gymkhana?
9. A respiratory ailment characterized by forced exhalation.
10. Body color is smoky or mouse-colored with mane, tail, and lower legs
usually black.
1.
Answers: 1. Ascarids 2. Hackamore, curb, snaffle 3. Chukker
5. Unsoundness 6. duodenum, jejunum, ileum 7. Heel, quarter, toe
9. Heaves
10. Grullo(grulla)
4. Blemish
8. Games on horseback
April 17
Judges Certificatin
Clinic
Colby
Shanda Mattix
785-460-5464
Shanda.mattix@colbycc.edu
April 25
Kickoff Horse Show
Colby
Shanda Mattix
Shanda.mattix@colbycc.edu
785-460-5464
May 24-27
Colby Comm College
Horsemanship Camp
Colby
Shanda Mattix
785-460-5464
Shanda.mattix@colbycc.edu
May 28-31
Northfork Beginners
Camp
Oakley
Kristy
kristyk2020@yahoo.com
785-672-0950
May 28
Colby Comm College
Beginners Day Camp
Colby
Shanda Mattix
Shanda.mattix@colbycc.edu
785-460-5464
May 29
Colby Comm College
Young Showmans Day
Camp
Colby
Shanda Mattix
Shanda.mattix@colbycc.edu
785-460-5464
June 1-4
Northfork Rodeo Camp
Session 1
Oakley
Kristy
kristyk2020@yahoo.com
785-672-0950
June 2
KSU Beginner
Judging Camp
Manhattan
Teresa Douthit
785-532-1268
douthit@ksu.edu
Tasha Dove
tashakd@ksu.edu
June 3-4
KSU Advanced Judging
Camp
Manhattan
Same as June 2, as above
June 6
Edwards Co Horse Show
Kinsley
Jean Huntley
jhuntley@ksu.edu
June 7-11
Northfork Horse Show
Camp
Oakley
Kristy
kristyk2020@yahoo.com
785-672-0950
June 14-18
Northfork Rodeo Camp
Session 2
Oakley
Kristy
kristyk2020@yahoo.com
785-672-0950