Warning: Some contents of this video may be disturbing to viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Episode #11 of The Horse’s Mouth TV sees us join Lisa Huhn as she teaches her Triminology101 course in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Lisa provides us with a look at the physiological and biological truths of the horse. For more information on this amazing natural way of caring for your horse’s feet, email Monica at monica@thehorsesmouthtv.com.
The Horse’s Mouth TV was pleased to have guest star, Darlene Chalmers, MSW, to share with us her thoughts on the horse-human connection. Darlene is completing her PhD thesis in conjunction with the University of Calgary, and interviewed host Monica Culic on her 25 year involvement with horses as a research participant.
Our second guest star, Christian McEachern, CD is a 14 year Veteran of the Canadian Forces who struggled with an occupational stress injury following tours of combat duty overseas. He rebuilt his life and became introduced to horses through his friendship with Monica. He is now the proud owner of Sozo, an off the track Thoroughbred gelding who had a difficult time adjusting to life off the track. Together the two have formed a special bond and learned to trust others again. He happily spends his days with his three other horses on a farm near Calgary, AB.
Watch and share as Darelene, Christian and Monica connect with their horses and share their love for these amazing creatures. Special thanks to the great folks at Woodspring Farms for the lovely backdrop of our shoot. To reach Monica, email her at: monica@thehorsesmouthtv.com. Thanks for watching!
Monica Culic and her friends at Bear Valley Rescue. Note: Cavalia adopted two colts from BVR but not these two who are still awaiting homes.
Good news arrived in my Inbox recently with firstly a note of thanks from Bear Valley Rescue’s Kathy Bartley and then confirmation from Cavalia’s PR firm, Bottom Line Productions (both below). The Horse’s Mouth will be filming with Cavalia on May 19th at their new venue, Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. That’s one show you won’t want to miss folks! Stay tuned! Can you tell we are excited?!
Cavalia’s media release indicated that they had adopted not one but TWO (see, I told you they’re addictive!) yearling colts from the Alberta horse rescue located north of Sundre.
First, a note from Kathy at Bear Valley Rescue that I had to share with you all as it touched my heart:
“I thought the show was great! It was so well put together and well edited…we had a lady from France come out a couple of days ago and she said she saw the show right after arranging to come out to see us, so she figured that was karma. And we had someone out from Belgium yesterday (visiting relatives in Calgary) and they saw the show as well and called right away to come see us before they head back to Europe.
“…we got a call this week from Cavalia, they want to come out and look at some of our youngsters to maybe adopt one or two for their show. Very exciting! I think it was really, really, well done!”
Nice to hear that the Horse’s Mouth show about Bear Valley helped an organization like Cavalia, who relies on horses as their equal partners in entertainment, see that rescued horses can be as valuable equine partners as horses purchased from a breeder. Gives me hope that this summer my 5 year old Canadian Horse, Secret (from Chris Irwin show fame) and I will become the cohesive riding team I know we’re capable of being.
Cavalia’s news release read:
“CAVALIA’S 49 HORSES ARRIVE IN CALGARY
Two Alberta Rescue Colts will Join the Equine Cast
The 49 four-legged athletes of Cavalia, the world-renowned multi-media and multi-disciplinary production, will take their first steps in Calgary at the White Big Top located at Canada Olympic Park (88 Canada Olympic Road SW). The trailers transporting the horses to their new stables are the last of the 90 semi-trailers necessary to transport the show. As the horses arrive at the world’s largest touring Big Top, final preparations are being made for Cavalia’s Premiere on May 25. Cavalia will also welcome two Alberta rescue colts, from Bear Valley Rescue, to the show.
Within Cavalia, the horses are the stars. They range in age from 9-month-old rescue colts from Alberta to a Lusitano stallion named Edros, who is the eldest at 19 years old. There are no mares in the Cavalia stables. In fact, half of Cavalia’s stables are stallions; no other show features as many stallions, which are more difficult to train than geldings or mares, but are far more spirited performers. The stage is the full width of a regulation football field, allowing these exquisite chargers and trotters enough space to gallop and play with the artists, while creating a fascinating connection between human and horse—one filled with trust and a genuine sense of partnership.
Seen by close to 3 million people worldwide, Cavalia is a poetic tribute to horses. This multimedia extravaganza features 86 two and four-legged artists, including the beautiful horses, riders, acrobats, aerialists, dancers and live musicians. Cavalia is the brainchild of Normand Latourelle, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil. Visit Cavalia on the web at www.cavalia.net and follow Cavalia’s latest developments at www.twitter.com/cavalia or www.facebook.com/cavalia.”
Every fairy tale has a happy ending and this one is no exception. Stay tuned for more “amazing stories of horses and their people” straight from the Horse’s Mouth. Share! Like! Comment!
Goldilocks and the Three Horses
If you keep your horses at home and feed them yourself, creating a personalized feeding program is doable. Keeping horses at a board facility means your horse is fed to an average level of care. As a boarder, you have two options: you either pay an additional amount monthly for customized feeding or drive the miles necessary before and after work to visit your horse and feed him yourself.
Feeding one horse and making sure his or her nutritional requirements is met is simple, feeding three horses effectively is complex and can make a horse owner’s sanity the stuff of fairy tales. Unlike Goldilocks, who found Papa Bear’s dinner too hot, Mama Bear’s dinner too cold and Baby Bear’s meal just right, creating a feed program that sustains each horse can be simplified with a little work on your part.
Feeding a senior formula, high fat, low protein, complete feed to the off the track Thoroughbred (OTTB) gelding; a low fat formula to the four year old Percheron X Thoroughbred filly; and a working horse ration to the in-training five year old, easy-keeping Canadian, needn’t have you running for the hills.
A customized, workable feed program in partnership with your stable’s barn staff can be had with a little creativity and a whole lot of collaboration, something Goldilocks should have considered before getting herself into trouble sampling stolen oatmeal.
Most stables will feed your horse the important supplements and additional fats he needs in his paddock or stall once daily for a fee. If he’s out on paddock, they will charge for their time to remove the horse from his shared pen, feeding him separately from his paddock mates, making sure all those expensive vitamins, glucosamine, flax seed, and kelp end up in his tummy and not in his buddy’s. A solo life in a large pen, while not ideal, can mean a hard keeper has weight on consistently so he can build fitness and enjoy working weekends with you.
After purchasing the feed, make sure you store it in a clean, dry location that’s secure from rodent invasion. I like those big plastic bins with locking lids used for storing camping gear you can purchase from discount family or large hardware stores. If you keep an eye out, you can often find them on sale before summer starts. Don’t forget to put your name and your horses name on the bin in large letters! Each horse should have their own bin.
Do not expect your barn staff to measure and fiddle with tricky scoops and buckets! It’s your job to measure out all the feed your horse needs per week to help your stable meet your horse’s caloric requirements. In the past, I used extra large freezer bags for premeasured supplements and feed for my skinny Thoroughbred filly, marked in big letters with the days of the week which the barn staff easily added to their feed routine. Make sure to recycle the plastic bags after washing them out with soap and water.
Make it easy for barn staff to feed your horse the rations he needs and save yourself the worry of wondering if he’s being fed properly while you’re busy working. While your horse is number one in your heart, he may be number 32 on their list of horses to feed that day. If a month into your new program, your Goldilocks is still munching ravenously and showing ribs, watch her eat. Is she dropping food from his mouth? She could be in need of a dental visit from your Vet and to have the sharp points rasped from her teeth. If she cannot chew her food properly, chances are the expensive feed and nutrients are not making it down her throat to that big burning furnace called her gut and ending up as bird food. Ask the barn staff what they’ve noticed about her. Is he being bullied from his feed? Again, do your homework.
A happy, properly fed horse is a happy, healthy riding partner and as Goldilocks discovered, life is good with a full stomach.
The Horse’s Mouth TV Episode #3 Part 2 from Monica Culic on Vimeo.
We return to the Horse’s Mouth Episode #3 with trainer, coach and author, Chris Irwin who shares more great tips and tricks on using natural horsemanship methods to partner with your horse. Share! Like! Comment!
Interview with Chris Irwin, a leading coach and trainer-of-trainers in the international horse industry.