Equestrian Blog

Here at Judson we love our horses.

God has blessed us by giving us beautiful horses to ride while we are here at Judson. Part of the responsibility of having these horses is taking care of them and making sure they are healthy. Aside from regular care, good grooming, and proper handling, there are things that have to be done every once in a while to assure that our horses remain healthy. Thursday was one of those days.

Thursday, equine instructors Mrs. Jennifer and Mrs. Janice along with seven students, took four of Judson’s horses to be scoped for gastric ulcers. This is a medical exam that may not be necessary for all horses and is especially not something that needs to be done regularly. It can, however, help you know how to better care for certain horses. The four horses that we took were chosen for different reasons: two because they were suffering from weight problems,one because he had a slight shift in his temperament and finally one because he has had other health and weight problems in the past. It is possible that horses with issues like these may be suffering from gastric ulcers and scoping for them allows us to see how we need to treat them or if that is even the problem at all.

Gastric Ulcers are ulcers that occur in a horse’s stomach.  These ulcers are found just above where the bottom portion of the stomach’s lining and the upper portion of the stomach’s lining meet. An exam or scoping for these is done by guiding a long cord with a light and camera in it up the horse’s nose, down his throat and esophagus and finally into the stomach.  It is really neat because you can watch, on a monitor, the movement of the camera (or scope)going down into the stomach. Once the scope has arrived in the stomach, the veterinarian pumps air into the stomach to balloon it out. Once the stomach is inflated the vet can move the scope around so you can see the walls of the stomach and examine it for ulcers. Two of the horses we took had a couple of minor ulcers and scarring from older ulcers that had already healed. The two horses that we were pretty certain HAD ulcers were the two that did not have any.

It was a really neat thing to get to go and watch. So, though ulcer scoping may not be routine care for a horse it is definately a good thing to do if you suspect there may be a problem. If your horse does have ulcers it is not a huge deal. Some hoses have them and no one ever knows, but if an ulcer is found there are several treatment methods available or it may be best to just let it heal on its own.

Monday, Dr. Halbrooks’ Equine Disease Management class and other students in Judson’s Equestrian program were fortunate to have the opportunity to hear Dr. Pugh speak on the subject of Disease management. Dr. Pugh is an equine vet who formally taught at Auburn University and currently works for Fort Dodge, a leading producer in Equine Vaccinations.

I am sure that some of you are thinking that listening to a vet discuss disease management does not seem like an opportunity that you would be glad to have and, to be honest, I was not that excited about it myself. I mean I sit in class every week and listen to Dr. Halbrooks speak about equine disease. Don’t get me wrong: Dr. Halbrooks is a great professor and I enjoy his class, but what could another vet really have to say that was that much different? Well, what he said may not have been different, but let me tell you, the presentation was. I don’t think I have ever laughed that hard or that much during a lecture. Dr. Pugh is very knowledgeable and he knows how to make topics that may be a little bit dry very interesting by adding humor.

Havinga guest like Dr. Pugh come and speak to us is not a rare occurrence in Judson’s Equestrian Program. Dr. Pugh has not been here before, as far as I know, but we have had a number of other guests come and discuss a variety of different equine related topics. During spring semester last year we had two guest speakers visit. One of these speakers owned an equine-related business and, therefore, was able to inform us about different laws that were in place or waiting to be passed concerning horses. The other was an animal trainer who was, at the time, working for a horse breeder in the area. He talked with us about methods of training horses and what all is involved in that career. 

Wow, time really flies when you're are at Judson.

We are right around one month until our first IHSA show for the season and I must say I am both excited and scared.

This is my first year riding on Judson's Equestrian Team. I was part of the Equestrian program last year and took some riding classes. I even got to go watch a couple of the shows and see the team compete. This gave me an idea of what being on the team would be like. After watching the shows, I decided that being on the team was something I would enjoy doing since I love riding horses and have a bit of a competitive streak in me.  So, this spring when I was given the opportunity to try out for the team I jumped at the chance. Although I had been working hard all year to improve my riding I still wasn't convinced that I would make the team, but I did. 

With the first show fast approaching, I am definitely getting nervous. I have had to work really hard these past few weeks since this is my first year on the team and I am having to get prepared and learn what all will be expected of me in the show ring. Also, because I was not able to ride over the summer I have had to recondition myself to be in the saddle.  My riding is coming back together and I should be good to go by the time the first show actually gets here...I hope.

The most stressful part of getting ready for show season for me hasn't been getting back in shape riding, but getting all of the clothing I need. This summer I spent most of my spare time surfing the web looking for good deals on the items I needed. There were times when I felt that I would never find everything to fit me and still be able to afford school. Fortunately, I have managed to acquire almost everything (for a decent price) and what I haven't gotten are the easier things to get, like a belt and gloves.

Despite the hard work and the major stress I know that it will all be more than worth it, and I can't wait for the season to start.

            I must admit that I was not looking forward to classes starting. The idea of sitting in a classroom listening to a professor lecture for at least an hour, two or three times a day, just was not something I was excited about. I was however, anxiously waiting for pony classes to start. I hardly rode all summer and I could not wait to get back in a saddle. Unfortunately, the first day of class had to be spent going over the class syllabus, and since I was riding on the team this year, the team contract. It was only a couple of days later though until I was back at the barn getting my horse ready to ride.

            Since the horses had spent the last couple of months at summer pasture it was very important for us to inspect the horses to make sure that they did not have any cuts or bumps that could affect their performance under saddle or that could worsen if rode; as is the case most years there were a few horses that needed a few more days to heal before they could be ridden. As we were grooming and getting horses ready for class we discovered a couple more who had apparently gotten a little rowdy in the pasture and scraped themselves up a bit. So it was necessary for us to sift around some horse assignments so that everyone had a horse to ride, but we eventually made it to the riding arena.

            I was so excited to finally be getting to ride again, or at least I was until I had been on the horse for ten minuets. I quickly realized just how out of shape you can get after not riding for only two months. We had barely finished our warm up and my legs were already aching, my position was slipping, and I could forget about posting without my stirrups.

            The next day was my western riding day and things did not improve. I am more accustomed to riding hunt seat, so not only was I sore from riding the day before and out of practice, but I had to get used to riding in a western saddle. By the time I dismounted at the end of class I was about ready to say forget this and go back to just riding for fun and not be on the team. I felt that I had ridden terribly in class and I was so sore I would hardly be able to walk the next day. How would I be able to get on a horse and ride?! But I gave it an attempt anyway and to my surprise not only was I able to ride, but I rode better than the two days before and  felt better when I was through than when I had started. I was still sore, but I realized that some things take a little time to get used to again. I managed to ride four days in a row, and I am slowly making improvements. It will still be another couple of weeks until I get to where I left off at the beginning of the summer, but how does the saying go: "Rome wasn't built in a day."