Kids N Horses
August 2014
How To Win At Losing
by Kristin Carpenter
Chronicle of the Horse
5-15-2014
Laughing at misfortune is as essential a skill in riding as heels down.
I am a competitive person and I like to win. However, I think I am particularly talented at losing. For me, being
a good loser means that you can maintain a sense of perspective and still be a fun, positive person to be around
all weekend.
A few weeks ago I took Lizzie out for her second preliminary run. From start to finish, it was a bit of a train
wreck of a weekend. All three phases left me wanting to cry, but I also figured that if you are going to bomb out
in a phase, it might as well be all phases on the same weekend instead of one phase at three different events.
This way I wasn’t left with the trouble of thinking “what if…”. Rather, I was undoubtedly going to be at the
bottom of the leaderboard no matter which way I looked at it.
Off The Rails
I arrived to the event hopeful, as Lizzie has been really consistent in her schooling and events for a while. In
fact, her last hiccup was back in August at her training move up when she took a disliking to the water and
picked up a stop.
The morning of dressage she was cool and composed, and we had a fabulous warm-up. It is her strongest phase,
and she is rarely out of the top four or five after dressage. I went in to do my test and knew immediately that it
wasn’t the most polished test we have done, and lacked a certain sparkle we often have, but it also wasn’t that
terrible. She was obedient, it was accurate, it was just the kind of test most of us would immediately forget.
When the score was posted a bit later, I was confused. A 40? I have never gotten anything in the 40s with
her…..ever. Further, we were third to last. I mean, it wasn’t the kind of test that makes angels sing, but it
certainly wasn’t bad!
I picked up my test, read through the comments, and was sure the judge used my 6 minutes in the ring to file her
nails because—while my test was a lot of things—“tense” wasn’t one of them. Whatever. I told the team I had
achieved a new dressage worst score and suggested we hold a vigil later in the evening and symbolically burn
the test.
It was time for showjumping, our weakest phase, so this day wasn’t exactly looking up. The footing was deep
and slick and lots of horses had been stopping. Lizzie isn’t a stopper, but she isn’t a ballerina in the air either. I
warmed up and tried to adjust to the feeling of her hooves being sucked in by mud on take-off and her hurling
herself into the air to compensate, but eventually decided the time of my reckoning had come and went in the
ring.
I had a perfect approach and spot to the first fence, but then her hind legs slid out from under her on take-off
and we went flailing across, black legs flying in every direction. I got my stirrups back and kicked with all I had
to fence 2, only to come skidding in too close to it and awkwardly leaping over while rails scattered the ground.
I thought to myself, “This is really not the plan; I’d better sort this out.”
I composed my mind as we did the roll back to fence 3, which was going OK until she slid again and I realized
we were a perfect one and a half strides away and power was fading fast. I couldn’t kick any harder, so I
resorted to flailing anything that could flail in an attempt to muster both confidence and power. We scrambled
over as my arms, head, elbows, legs, crop, and words all waved about.
For a moment, I considered retiring. This truly was a tragic round, and there were SO MANY fences left to
jump. Shortly after letting this thought enter my mind, I thought about trying to explain this to my trainer, and
decided if I was going to go down, I had better go down fighting. So I kicked and kicked. Lizzie jumped out of
her skin and got better with the footing as we went.
This was only her 14th or so event, and only her third time jumping on grass, and her first in mud. She was
shocked, I was shocked, but we both just kept trying. We made it through, and when they announced I had three
rails, I felt like it was a gift from God himself.
In Perspective
On cross-country the next day, while I left the box expecting redemption, I got a fat dose of penalties at the
second water jump. I mean really, Lizzie? The second water?! It was a puddle!
She went through the huge first water complex fine, sailed over the jumps and corner and skinnies and sunken
road, and came to a screeching halt at the puddle at the end of the course. I got her through it, and we finished
on a score of roughly 1 million.
I could only laugh about my misfortune. I think it is silly to ever take horse showing too seriously. I mean, we
should all be properly trained and our horses properly conditioned, but that aside it really is just a somewhat
absurd endeavor. When I hear someone having a meltdown over having too many rails or storming about
because they didn’t get the dressage score they wanted, I always picture myself trying to explain the dilemma to
the average person:
“Well, I had a really horrible day. I took my giant expensive pet horse to another state to play in the sunshine
and grass and see my friends, but my horse didn’t prance as fancy as she has been prancing at home. Further,
my horse has been a great stick jumper but today it was muddy so my horse hit three of the sticks. Then my
horse decided that it did not want to go into the water, even though I have trained it to go into the water. Worst
day ever!”
While competing is important to me, I never forget that it isn’t that important in life. I got my Master’s at
Georgetown University, and my area of specialty is genocide. I never for a second confuse the horse show
world with the world at large. In my opinion, each and every one of us is so absurdly privileged to even be able
to compete that we have won long before the event has started.
The luxury of being an amateur is that I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself. When my results are a
mess, I don’t beat up on myself, because I spent too much money to have a bad time!
Instead, I spend the weekend cheering on my friends, helping them however I can, and loving on my horse
because she does her best every weekend. Who needs a ribbon when privileged enough to enjoy the sport you
love?
As I left Plantation in my rearview mirror, I left with a happy healthy horse and a ton of great memories. As for
the score and the sticks and the puddle, better luck next time!
And a few weeks later, we did have better luck at her third prelim, with Lizzie winning the dressage despite an
error, jumping a positive show jump round, and sailing around a big cross country with some time to finish
sixth.
Sometimes it all goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t, and that is true in every part of life. I’ve learned to
laugh at my misfortune and to embrace my share of bad luck, because horses and life are a bumpy ride, and you
might as well enjoy all of it.
Kansas State Fair Information
Check-in before entering the Fairground:
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All horses must be checked by the officials of The Kansas Department of Agriculture/Kansas Division
of Animal Health (KDAH) before entering the Fairgrounds.
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Inspection booth located east of the Fairgrounds at the Fairgrounds Water Park. Enter parking lot from
Severance Street between 17th Ave. and 23 Ave. Access Severance Street from 17th Avenue.
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Daily check-in hours will be 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Exhibitors should plan to arrive during these hours. If
arrival is going to be delayed past 10 p.m. check-in hours due to circumstances beyond exhibitor's
control, please call the Highway Patrol at 620-669-3627.
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Once inspected and approved, the officials will officially stamp the health papers which will allow for
entry onto the Fairgrounds.
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The KDAH reserves the right to inspect or test any animals on the Fairgrounds, if necessary.
Required Health Papers:
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Current Health Certificates needed (issued within the past 30 days prior to September 10, 2014).
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A negative Coggins (Equine Infectious Anemia) test conducted within one year of the show.
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Negative Coggin must accompany the health papers.
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Horse Stall assignments given at the Stalling Office located south end of Expo II. Once stall given will
be directed to stall.
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Show check-in table located next to the announcer's stand – double check classes and horse
identification papers. If showing a two-year old snaffle bit or three-year old have information available
(if entered in those classes).
Show Day:
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Check-in with the gate person prior to each class.
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Exhibitor has conflict visit with the Horse Events Coordinator or 4-H Horse Superintendents.
Youth Horsemanship Clinic Held
Josh Lyons, renowned equine clinician, hit the Kansas border for a 4-H Youth Horsemanship Clinic in
Washington, Kansas on Saturday, June 28. Eleven 4-H'ers, ranging in age from 7-18 years old, braved the
Kansas rain and heat under the roof of Tim and Lisa Zenger's indoor arena. Under the talented guidance of Josh
Lyons, youth mastered their ground handling maneuvers and improved their riding skills through games. Riders
weren't only blessed to ride alongside Josh Lyons himself, but he also brought two of his certified trainers,
AND his brother Mike and his son. What better riding companions!! Thank you Lisa and Tim for hosting this
event.
Legends.............from the Sunflower State
The Roberts grew up in Strong City, Kansas, surrounded by horses, cattle, and wide open pastures. They rode
wild horses to school to break them and spent their childhood on any wild animal they could get their hands on.
Gerald and Ken became world champion rodeo cowboys along with their sister Margie, who became a bronc
rider and famous trick rider. Their father, E.C., was a stock contractor and pickup man. The Flint Hills Rodeo,
the longest consecutively run rodeo in Kansas, was started at E.C.'s ranch in 1937. The Flint Hills Rodeo is still
held in Strong City, Kansas every year in June.
At the age of 5, Gerald not only knew he wanted to be a rodeo cowboy; he wanted to be a champion. Margie,
the oldest, and Ken, just a year and a half older than Gerald, went off to join Clyde Miller's Wild West Show
when Gerald was about 12. At 13, Gerald followed suit and joined the show too.
The Roberts’ group was known for putting on impromptu rodeos on the Robert's Ranch. Parked cars would
form the arena and the Roberts' kids would put on a show for anyone around town who wanted to watch. E.C.
and his friend, Wally Evans, got the idea to start the Flint Hills Rodeo when Margie, Ken, and Gerald decided to
have a rodeo on the family farm in 1937. “They threw up some snow fence and the fun began.”
Margie grew up to be a nationally acclaimed trick rider and a champion bareback bronc rider. She rode
bareback at all the big rodeos of her day, including Cheyenne and Madison Square Garden. She won the
women's bronc riding in 1940 at Cheyenne, Wyoming. Margie was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of
Fame in Fort Worth, Texas in 1987.
Ken is a three time World Champion Bull Rider in 1943, 1944, and 1945. He was an original inductee in the
Cowboy Hall of Fame and an inductee into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Gerald rode in three rodeo events: bull riding, bareback riding, and saddle bronc riding, with saddle bronc his
favorite. He is one of 16 rodeo cowboys in the history of professional rodeo to win multiple All-Around World
Champion titles. Gerald was the first to endorse Wrangler jeans. Gerald was the topic of books and magazines,
including Sports Illustrated. He also spent time in Hollywood as a stunt man. Six time world champion saddle
bronc rider, Casey Tibbs and Gerald became very close friends and traveled together. Together, they were the
first to travel to rodeos using an airplane.
Gerald passed away on December 31, 2004 at the age of 85. The Strong City Rodeo continues every June.
------borrowed from www.geraldroberts.com
Equine Digestion (Continued from April Newsletter)
Nutrient Intake and Digestion
Water
The daily minimal requirement for water has been estimated to vary from 5 to 20 gallons. Requirements depend
on factors such as environmental temperature, workload, production state and intake. Voluntary water intake
can be expected to increase as the amount of ration eaten increases. Also, rations low in digestibility increase
water intake. Furthermore, horses can be expected to drink more frequently when exposed to hot environmental
temperatures. Horses exercising in temperate environments may have increases of 300 to 400 percent in water
requirements for replacement of water that is loss in expired air and sweat. Since restriction of water intake may
cause digestive upset, recommendations generally are for free choice access to clean, palatable water.
Energy
Energy is the fuel for chemical reactions which run the various systems of the body. Energy-containing compounds are part of grains, forages and many supplements. Energy is supplied in the form of starch, fiber and fat.
Starch is found mainly in grains, and as much as 55 to 85 percent of starch is absorbed in the small intestine.
Starch bypassing to the hindgut is digested by microbes and absorbed as volatile fatty acids. Large amounts of
starch presented to the hindgut predispose horses to colic because of gaseous products of microbial digestion
and abnormal changes in gut pH and fluid balance. The amount of starch bypassing to the hindgut depends on
intake level, rate of flow through the digestive tract and amount of mechanical disruption of the hard seed coats
of grains. Results from nutritional studies suggest that approximately two grams starch per pound of a horse's
body weight increases starch bypass to the point of causing digestive upset. Considering starch levels in
typically formulated grain mixes, recommendations are to split daily grain needs to two or more daily feedings
when grain levels are greater than 0.5 percent of body weight per day (example:5 to 6 pounds of grain for a
1,000-pound horse).
Hay and pasture forage are the most common sources of high-fiber feeds fed to horses. Fiber digestion is
dependent on the efficiency of digestion from microbial fermentation in the cecum and colon. Compared to
cattle, horses are less efficient in digesting most sources of fiber, presumably because of faster rates of passage
of ingested matter. Also, fiber digestion is dependent on the maturity and type of forage. Mature, stemmy
forages are inefficiently digested, whereas digestion of immature, leafy, small-stemmed sources of fiber are
similar in horses and cattle. Processing hays in cubes, pellets or chop has little effect on digestibility but may be
helpful for feeding to older horses with poor teeth condition.
Fat is a component of most feedstuffs. Non-supplemented grain mixes typically have minimums of 2 to 3
percent fat. Adding additional levels of fat in formulations for grain mixes has become a common practice. This
supplementation increases the energy concentration of grain mixes while decreasing the amount of starch.
Therefore, fat-added feeds have advantages of being more concentrated in energy and safer because of
containing less starch as a total part of the energy-containing compounds.
Protein
Proteins supply amino acids. Amino acids are used in a variety of body processes, largely for developing and
maintaining lean body tissue. Amino acids are absorbed intact in the small intestine, while protein in the
hindgut is absorbed primarily as ammonia. Some of the essential amino acids must be absorbed intact because
the horse's body cannot synthesize them. Thus, increasing the efficiency of protein digestion in the foregut is
desirable. Total tract and prececal digestibility vary with protein source and protein concentration in the diet.
Total tract protein digestibility of feeds typically ranges from 40 to 70 percent. As much as 75 percent of protein
in soybean meal is digested in the foregut, whereas estimates for prececal forage digestibility range from near
zero to 20 percent. Slowing the passage of protein by splitting daily needs into two or three feedings per day
will increase amino acid absorption in growing horses.
Minerals and Vitamins
Mineral and vitamin imbalances, deficiencies and toxicity can cause a multitude of health disorders in the horse.
In many cases, recommendations are based on limited research or requirements and have not been established
because of absence of research.
Calcium and phosphorus are the two minerals which have received the most research attention. Horses require
more calcium than phosphorus and are susceptible to skeletal system disorders when fed less calcium than
phosphorus. Additional minerals receiving considerable attention in recent research include copper and zinc,
also because of implications related to skeletal growth disorders.
Research information on vitamin requirements is largely absent in equine nutrition. Fresh forage is a major
source of vitamins, and most needs are considered met when horses have access to quality hay or pasture.
Vitamin A is the most commonly supplemented vitamin in rations, partially because of the large needs for
production and growth. Vitamin D is also routinely added, especially to horses who do not receive fresh forage.
The needs for vitamin D are less than for vitamin A, and recommended upper levels of safe intake are much
lower.
Requirements of the other fat-soluble vitamins, E and K, are less clear, and clinical deficiencies and toxicity are
not as commonly observed. Sources of vitamin E are routinely added to equine diets to guard against
deficiencies which cause myodegeneration, or breakdown of muscle. Vitamin K requirements are presumed to
be met by synthesis of vitamin K sources by microbes in the cecum and colon. Requirements for B vitamins are
largely unknown. B vitamins are assimilated by microbes in the horse's cecum and colon, and these sources are
assumed to meet the needs of most horses. However, B vitamin supplements are routinely added to diets of
exercising horses because of the role of B vitamins as catalysts for energetic pathways.
--David W. Freeman, Extension Equine Specialist
Things Going On:
I would love to include YOUR story in this newsletter. Submit what you and your club have 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.
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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 www.kansas4-h.org for:
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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.
Events/Shows/Clinics
August 7-8, 2014
Sept 12-14, 2014
Cloud County Community College Concordia
Jamieson Gross Horse Judging Camp
Kansas State Fair – Hutchinson
785-243-1435 Ext 273
jgross@cloud.edu
Contact local Extension office
Kansas 4-H Horse Action Team Members
Bronc
Montana
Renee
Jenny
Debbie
Becky
Jean
Kathleen
Jessica
Jesslin
Cara
Destiny
Donnell
Beverly
Katherine
Julie
Kristin
Christa
Hilary
Pamela
Barrows
Beesley
Beesley
Bormann
Church
Dillon
Huntley
Huser
Johns
Lamont
Martin
Mestagh
Scott
Seuser
Shade
Traxson
Wingate
Obermeyer
Hawkins
Van Horn
Golden Prairie District
Stevens
Stevens
KSU
Harvey
McPherson
Edwards
Ellis
Morton
Seward
Marion
Leavenworth
Riley
Central Kansas District
Leavenworth
Labette
Johnson
Horse Events Coordinator
Youth Livestock Coordinator
Extension Specialist