my horse has really nice front motion but no motion behind. She's Five gaited and always sound. she has a low, short neck. So next to the other horses it almost looks like she is plodding along. I think this comes from not being strong enough behind. Is there anything you would recommend for getting stronger behind?

Thank you so much for your question concerning your horse Blossom. I can tell by the lovely picture, she is well loved and well taken care of. I was impressed to see that not only are you wearing a helmet for protection, your concern is also for your mare as you have taken the proper steps to protect her legs, as well. Since I saw my first pair about 40 years ago, I never worked a horse without a pair of ankle boots behind. Whether riding, lining or jogging, they never left the stall without them and I attribute much of the good fortune I had with soundness problems, to those boots. Perhaps they are part of the reason Blossom is so sound too.

The picture, however, also points out some negative things. Although you were quite right feeling she is lacking motion behind, I am afraid strength is not the issue. In the pictures, she does appear to have a very low head carriage, but believe me, I have seen shorter necks.

What I do see in the pictures is a mare that is definitely trotting "downhill". That is with her head lowered and sort of pulling her rear end along. As mentioned in the Tip of the Day, the rear end is the engine that pushes the horse forward and into frame. In other words the weight must be shifted from the forehand to the rear end so that the hocks may fulfill their purpose....to drive the horse forward like an engine. To accomplish this, the head (point of Balance) must be lifted to distribute the weight to the rear. Can you do this with Blossom? I am not sure but think it might be worth a try and this is the time of the year to reconnoiter.

Firstly, it appears she is wearing an extremely long shanked curb bit. This type of bit will serve no purpose in lifting Blossom's head but is guaranteed to keep it low. I would ask myself if she uses her ears more happily when not wearing this bit such as when working in a snaffle? Along those lines, I would hope her dental work is current.

The next step would be a good bit of long lining or jogging with a side check bridle. You must teach her to become comfortable working with her head raised. ( do not worry about tucking her nose or setting her head at this juncture!) You cannot do this all at once but as she becomes comfortable, raise her a little more until she starts to look as if she is trotting "Uphill". This will not be accomplished in a couple of weeks or a couple of months but will take most of the winter. When she is wearing her head up, it would be time to try an overcheck bridle and for riding in a two reined snaffle with a running martingale. Riding her with her head up, not by holding it up but by allowing her to put it up. Keep her mouth supple and you will find when she is ready for a curb bit bridle, she will need little curb and the process will be an easy one for you and for Blossom. It is true, you probably will not be ready to win the World Championship, but I am certain, if you are religious in this training, you will be more than pleased with your mare and she will be more than pleased with you.

Once again, thank you so much for your question. I look forward to reading of your progress in the Guest Book. Good Luck and Good Riding!

LF Lavery

I just bought a pony last week. He seemed quiet. Good with handling feet, lungeing, bridling, saddle. He is a little afraid of some things such as clothes flapping on the line and strange objects such as fly masks lying on the ground. I've been sacking him out and he's ok with that and getting him used to plastic bags etc. However he seems to have these invisible demons who scare the hell out of him without warning. Then he's tense and can't be calmed down. I think that someone who owned him before has beaten him for spooking at things. But he's so unreasonable when it comes to these invisible tigers. How do I teach him to be not afraid. The real objects I can deal with but these invisble ones have me stumped. I have owned horses for many years and have shown at fairs and club shows. I work for a standardbred guy right now and I am also a farrier. Please let know of any ideas you have that would halp this pony Thanks

Thank you so much for your question. As eluded to by the Tip of the Day, I have always thought that to train a "Pet" pony, one needed to be a cross between Sigmund Freud and Guenther Gable Williams!! Of course, the behavior you describe is not limited to ponies. If you and your veterinary have ruled out a problem with the pony's vision, I feel you are most probably correct in your assumption he is lacking confidence and although your "sacking out " approach does not deal with the specific issues, it is a wonderful place to start as a confidence builder. I too, feel the pony has probably received some severe punishment for this behavior thus compounding the problem. That type of punishment does even more to destroy the confidence and quickly becomes a part of what is frightening to the pony.. On the other hand, I know of no quick fix for this behavior but do know that many hours of quiet, patient work, gentle persuasion and intelligent correction is the best way to deal with these issues. Whether leading, riding or driving, take every opportunity to condition the pony to the environment around him. Let him quietly find out there is nothing to fear from these strange things. Continually getting him accustomed to these triggers by repeated exposures followed by your assurances will eventually solve the problem. When the pony is confident enough to ignore the physical "triggers" you describe, I am sure he will also find little need to "spook" at the Phantom ones.

Thank you once again for your great question. I hope this has been of some help. I look forward to reading of your progress in the Guest Book. Good Luck and Good Riding!

LF Lavery

When getting a weanling ready to show, what would be the best way to get them clipped, if you didn't have a lot of time to get them used to clippers. I hate to get in a wrestling match and scare the baby. what about tranquilizers?

Thank you so much for your question. Clipping the weanling for the first time can be a difficult proposition. You not only want to do a good job of it, you also must be aware of the impact this will have on the colt for the future. A job done well is a win/win situation. A job rushed or done poorly may effect the colt the rest of his days. Of course, a little modern medicine can be of great help in insuring all goes well for both parties. Nothing, however, can make up for lack of preparation! If you are sincerely concerned about wrestling or scaring the baby...There is no way not to spend the qualitative time necessary to insure all goes well. I have covered this in depth on this site before so I will quote an earlier entry:

Hopefully, you will find this of some help as you embark on the new phase of your colt's life. Set all variables up for success and strive to make this experience a pleasant one for the colt. If you do, trimming in the future will be an absolute breeze. Thanks again for your question. I look forward to reading about the first hair cut in the Guest Book. Good Luck and Good Riding!

LFL

My question is: "How do you fix a rubbed out top of tail.? Our filly does not have worms but plays w/buckets, etc. by rubbing her rump. Her tail hair @ base is growing all crooked & wiry. How do you fix it? Thank to anyone who knows how!

Thank you so much for your question. You would be amazed at how often I am asked this question. Although I have a product available through World Champion ( Lavery's Old Tyme Tail Balm) that can be of great benefit, money spent on products such as mine is a huge waste until you take some other steps first. To "fix" the problem, one must first identify the cause. You were quite right to think worms as a possible cause as it often can be. Ruling that out and other skin conditions which a vet can identify, it usually boils down to a hygiene issue coupled with a habit they have acquired because of it. To start, next time you go to a horse show where horses carry their tails up, look to that spot under the tail (dock) where it signifies the horse is from "O..hio" or "O...kalahoma." You will see built up dirt and grime there 75% of the time. This area is so often ignored one would even wonder if Captain Kirk would even go where no one had gone before! It is imperative this area be cleansed with a damp sponge or cloth every time the horse is groomed if you wish to discourage rubbing. The next area of concern is the top of the tail. It must be kept very clean, rinsed completely free of soap, and attended to each time the horse is groomed. It should be conditioned with low alcohol content products so the hair is soft and without a build up of oil or grease one can get from baby oil and other products. Circulation should be encouraged, and feathers carefully separated with your fingers or a very soft brush. (only an expert groom should ever attack a tail with a comb or a stiff brush) The rest of the tail from the end of the bone to the end of the length, is really never an issue with the rubbing unless it is braided in a haphazard fashion likely to catch on a bucket bale or some such thing. All the growth and healthy hair comes from the bone. You will need to wash and condition the length of course but your main concern for a healthy tail should be to focus on the tail bone. An earlier answer to a question similar to your's might fill in some more blanks for you....I quote:

Hi Lonnie.

I really am curious as to what a judge is looking for in the slow gait. It doesn't seem that many judges require a distinction between the slow gait and rack.

I remember when I was a kid (a long time ago) the comment "He can slow gait in a teacup" as being an accolade for a gaited horse doing a really good slow gait. What happened to the slow gait of yesteryear?

Because of what I learned back in the 50s and 60s, I still try to keep my horse as slow as possible until asked for the rack but everyone else takes off like the race is on. It's a lot more work for my horse to go slowly and I can feel his relief when I finally turn him loose and let him fly. Am I doing the right thing making him go slowly and let everyone else pass us by?

Thanks for your great question. The gait is called the Slow Gait...go as slow as you can!! Much like you...I have been looking in Show rings all around the country trying to find the "Lost" gait! It is very seldom found. The Slow Gait or Step and Pace, is not a slow rack! It has been correctly described as a horse that is elevated, shifting his weight from the forehand, executing a four beat gait which has the appearance of trotting in front and walking behind. Today's four beat gait seems to have a good deal of trot behind... or worse. As you also say, Radar could find most of today's horses guilty of speeding at the Slow Gait! As you may remember, the "King" of the Slow Gaiters has been and is Don Harris. In fact, I would have to say it is his signature gait and one you could always count on him to have perfected with every gaited horse he showed. Today, Don would be left in the dust, like a wrangler riding drag on a herd of Longhorn cattle, as the others in the class sped past him at their version of the Slow Gait. Sad state of affairs. Do I have a clue as to how it has gotten this way??? Of course. There are many factors.

In the 50's and 60's, you were privileged to be witness to part of the era of the private training stables, fronted by great horse trainers. Financially backed by wealthy aficionados of the American Saddlebred who paid the trainer a great salary, bought or bred the finest horses, and expected perfection not rapid progression and so were willing to wait as long as it takes to get the horse ready. Often, horses were not "brought out" until they were 5 or 6 years old. Stables such as these were the "keepers" of the breed at that time. A trainer might work 5-10 horses a day in these situations. Time was not of the essence. Methodical training and preparation was. Where as today, a trainer might have to face 20-40 horses each day and time is of the essence when trying to process that many. Additionally, pleasing one owner, with plenty of money who is not in a hurry, is certainly much different than trying to please 15 owners who expect it done yesterday and as cheaply as possible.... thank you very much. Most of today's trainers, no matter how talented, simply do not have or are not allowed the time to fixate on the perfect Slow Gait which could take as long as a year to develop as perfection.

Also, back in the 50's and 60's, we were dealing with a different breed of horse than we are today. Over the last 30-40 years, we have gotten very much away from the Shamrock influence that was our breed back then. No matter what anyone says, the American Saddlebred of today is a much more beautiful animal than those of the 50's and 60's. The necks are longer, the heads are keener, the legs are finer etc. etc. His disposition is far better suited for the Amateur rider and the large public training stable environment, Like all things, however, one must take the bad with the good...We now find ourselves with a horse who's conformation we have successfully changed for the beauty that now has an unexpected conformation change that is limiting some function. As mentioned earlier, the elevation of the head and neck and the shifting of all the weight behind is necessary to correctly execute the true Slow Gait. The effort, thus the stress this can cause on the horse's rear end is considerable making this one of the most taxing gaits for the horse. It requires a horse with a good bend in his hock, a hind leg that is not too long and a front leg that is not too short. Most horses today are just the opposite, making the very act of Slow Gaiting, physically more difficult for them. Some cope well, many do not.

In the Show Ring, although the Slow Gait is one of the 5 mandatory gaits, it is difficult to penalize someone for speed when all are going fast and difficult if not impossible to find fault with one doing it incorrectly, when no one is correct!!! All we can hope for, is that rare individual who, for what ever reason, breeding, training, conformation or just plain Show Horse attitude, can take us back to the old days by thrilling us with the flawless Slow Gait we old timers still remember!!!!

I hope this helps answer your question and has given you a bit of insight into why we are where we are. The good news, there are still some horses out there ready to thrill us!! Wishing you Good Luck and Good Riding!

LF Lavery

Hey Lonnie!

I have a question that I've always been curious about but never asked anyone. I figured you might know; is it possible that a horse could have better [& more] motion without a big package? It seems to me that my horse had a harder time and worse motion with a package on, and now that he has just heavy plates on (country pleasure), he moves a lot better. I'm just wondering if that's possible?!

Thank you so much for your question. As I travel around the country, it seems more and more people are confused about the answer to this question. It seems many people subscribe to the proposition that if a little is good ...a lot must be even better! The end result, in most cases is a disaster! In their quest for high motion many exhibitors and trainers have allowed the weight of shoes and length of hoof to become completely out hand. How high a horse goes is not the single benchmark for champion. How a horse goes is much more important. By that I mean a horse that is going very high but has a labored, erratic, non-rhythmic flight path can often be beaten by a horse with far less motion that is going correctly. As referred to in the Tip Of The Day, we have all seen horses that seem to have anvils on their feet and we are familiar with their "heavy" way of going. Aside from appearing artificial, horses with great lengths of hoof, heavy shoes and built up feet will end up paying a price for carrying such unnatural packages around the show ring. Soundness problems are almost inevitable as the effort, leverage and torque such shoeing jobs put on bones, tendons and muscles can do good deal of damage. Saddest of all, these Einsteins think this type of shoeing can replace proper conditioning and training and can make up for a lack of natural ability. They are wrong!!!

Your question was "is it possible that a horse can have better motion without a big package?" Let me put it this way....best way to stop a horse from winging...lighten him up.....Best way to stop a horse from knocking his elbows off...lighten him up....Best way to stop a horse from forging...lighten him up...Best way to stop a horse from interfering...lighten him up etc, etc, etc!!!! Finally...best way to stop a very talented, naturally high motioned athletic horse from using his legs....put a long foot and heavy shoes on him!!!! I am in no way suggesting that all show horses should wear plates and a 4 inch hoof. Sensible corrective shoeing is indispensable for balancing the horse and his gaits as each horse is different. The key word is sensible.

I always felt that if a horse had only enough ability to go almost level and he did so with a 20 oz shoe and went the same with 6 oz shoe, what possible reason is there to carry the heavier shoe? Less is better in that case as well!

I can point out many more examples but I am certain you have gotten the picture. Having just come from the World Championships I can tell you I was really taken aback by some of the shoeing jobs I saw there and surprised that horsemen of that caliber could fall in such a trap. You question was a welcome one, to be sure. I wish you Good Luck and Good Riding!!

LF Lavery