break

I am sorry that I have not been able to write for a few days. We (in Kentucky) are having major weather related problems. We (Van Bert Farms) have been without electric now for 3 full days. During that time we have had a bad ice storm, a flood, and snow. We have been spending all of our time trying to keep everyone (including the animals) warm and dry. I am including some pictures of the first flood in 2009. This one really sneaked up on us, because the ice was making a natural dam in the river. We had a lot of rain, but not the amount that would have caused this much damage. It is all much better now, we still do not have electric, but we are surviving. :o)

According To H.T. part 3

You are now in the saddle. Yesterday we got in the saddle today after placing both feet in the stirrups...sit still for a few seconds and then dismount. We want the horse to be comfortable with this before we ask him to move on. Now, we don't want to make any sudden moves, but at this time we want to ask the horse to start flexing his head to one side. We have been working with the horse doing this on the ground, so if we have done our homework right, this is what he will do from the saddle. Try this by putting your arm in a straight position to the left or right. If you have his head turned to the right ask him to step over by putting pressure on his right side. This will start his feet moving. Cluck at the same time. Remember, you have to get his feet moving. If he takes a few steps you are on the right track. The secret that I have found in getting a horse to do something is not to get him excited. You can also praise him when he does what you ask. Before you put him up for the day, I like to walk him around for about 3 to 5 minutes then dismount and put him up for the day. Tomorrow when you start your horse again, be sure to do the ground work with him first before you get in the saddle.

According To H.T.

After you have gotten your horse familiar with the bit, I would now introduce the saddle. If you have done all the preparation for this you should not have any trouble. When you put the saddle on for the first time, you do not want to tighten the cinch very tight. Just enough so that it stays on then send your horse out on the rail. Let him move around the pen with the saddle for a few minutes, call him back, tighten the cinch a little more and send him back on the rail for another minute or two. Continue doing this until you have the saddle tight enough that you feel comfortable mounting.

Before you start to mount the horse, take your lariat or stick and rub all over the horse, under his belly and down his legs. This is a very soothing thing for your horse and just a way of telling him everything is OK. Move through the exercises you have been working with him on now. Such as stepping over with his front feet and then stepping over with his back. Ask him to back up, then circle you by holding him close with the reins. Do all of this from both sides. With the lead over your left arm and the reins over his neck start slapping the stirrup leathers making a popping noise. Pull on the stirrups and have them gently hitting the sides of the horse. If he is not happy with this you need to send him back on the rail so that he continues to get used to the saddle moving around on his back. If he is OK with all of this, then you can feel comfortable mounting. Turn the stirrup so that the opening is facing you. Place your foot in the stirrup and begin putting pressure in it, just a little at first, more of a bounce. Again, if he is not happy with you doing this or moves around, send him back on the rail. We want the horse to be more comfortable with you and what you are doing than he is running around the pen. When you think he is ready to listen, call him back and try it again. Move to the other side and do the same thing. When he stands perfectly still, start straighting your leg out... putting all your weight in the stirrup. Still do not mount, but stand in the stirrup for a few seconds, come down and reassure the horse that this is all you want. Be sure and do this on both sides until you and your horse are comfortable. You will know when it is OK to swing your leg across and mount. Again, only for a few seconds and then dismount. Be prepared to use your leg muscles on this day, because it is a lot of repetition.

Part 2 by H.T.

When a foal has been handled like Vera wrote about in her previous post, there is seldom a problem when you decide to put them under saddle. They are broke to lead, and they have been desensitized, they yield to pressure, they know verbal commands (Cluck and Whoa). The only thing they have not had is actual weight on their back.

I would suggest, before you put a saddle on a horse, to have a Equine Dentist to look at your horses mouth. We have the wolf teeth extracted, floated and anything that the dentist feels needs to be done, before we put a bit in the horses mouth. I urge you to call a Equine Dentist. There are very few veterinarians that have enough education in the dental field to be as good as a Equine Dentist (the same with people doctors). I know we like to keep our expenses to a minimum when we can with our horses, but this is not the place to do that. An Equine Dentist is the best money you will spend on your horse. After you have had your horses teeth checked, then tie a ring snaffle bit onto a halter and put it in your horses mouth. Leave it in for about 5 minutes and then take it out, increasing the time each day until your horse is comfortable with the process. This will introduce the bit slowly to the horse, and will keep him from fretting with it when you get ready to introduce a saddle and rider.

My Experience In Starting A Horse

My daughter Vera in previous post talked to you about a horse that had never been handled. I think she did a great job in those post, but I would like to talk to you about starting a horse that has had some ground work and has been handled from birth like she talked about in some of her first post.

As I said in the beginning what I relay to you is from my experience and what I have learned from others over the years. On a news program this morning the commentator was asking a political figure a question. When the party answered, the commentator said, "let me read what you said 20 years ago," then he ask," why is your answer different now than then?" The political figure answered, " I hope I have learned something in 20 years." Don't ask me how I started a colt 50 years ago, because it was a lot different. I usually mounted a horse a whole lot quicker than I do now, and I also, usually dismounted quicker than I wanted . There is a better way!

Before you begin working with your colt with the objective of riding him, I suggest you have available to you a round pen. The first one I built by the standard John Lyons had at the time and I made it 60 ft. in diameter. I found that I can accomplish the same thing in a 50ft diameter pen and I don't have to walk as much to make contact with my horse in order to keep him moving. It doesn't take a horse long to realize you can't reach them from the center of a 60ft round pen with a lariat or lunge whip. I also used the John Lyons technique of a lariat (and it works), but I have also found I have better control of a "carrot stick" (fiberglass rod with a knotted leather popper tied to it). However, don't throw the lariat away because there are several times you will want to use it later. Of course you will need a halter, lead, and later a saddle, pad, and bridle with a snaffle bit.

Please Welcome

For the next little bit you will be reading some postings from my Dad. I want to let him introduce himself to you today, so that those of you who are not familiar with him will somehow be able to relate to the topics he will cover in the next few post.

My name is H.T. Derickson, I am a very young 73 years old. My wife Wilda and I have been married for 53 years and have raised 5 children. We are fortunate in that they, their children and grandchildren all enjoy and love horses. My wife and I started our training facility in 1965 and all of our children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren have been involved at sometime or other, some more than others, and some just keep hanging on with me, as they say, "for the love of the horse." :o)

My post on this blog will come from my experience and knowledge that I have learned over many years. I have always said, "if there is a better way to teach a horse or a prettier place to ride it, I want to learn it or go there." I was once told by an old horseman that if you are green, that means you are still growing, I like to think (even at 73) that I am still a little green.

I was sent an email yesterday. It seems an old trail rider was out in the forest riding his horse along a trail when he decided to get off his horse and rest a spell. He looked down, and there on a stump, set a frog. The frog yelled at him, as he bent closer to hear what he had to say, "kiss me and I will turn into a beautiful woman". The old horseman, just stuck the frog in his saddle bags. The frog yelled in a muffled voice, "did you hear me?" "Kiss me and I will turn into a beautiful woman," she repeated. The old horseman smiled and said, "that's alright, I don't need a beautiful woman, but now a talking frog is something else." ......so they tell me "with age comes wisdom", and I hope I can share some of that with you over the next few weeks.

Pasture Breeding

Friday, I told you I was going to start giving you some information on breeding. Since then I have received a email from Jerusha who is a student doing a report on pasture breeding. She is requesting information from us on this subject, so I thought this would kill two birds with one stone and write it on the blog. I am sorry I did not get this to you yesterday, but the "bug" has hit us here at the farm. It seems to be a 24 hour thing, but it kept me from posting yesterday. I hope all of you are staying well this winter, because it is not fun to be sick.

Pasture breeding stallions is something we have always done and with very good success. Like I said in previous post "no matter how much we spoil our horses and take them out of the environment they know, they still know how to be a horse". This works several ways for us. Since we have so many mares it is a easy way to get our mares bred/pregnant. The stallion does all the work for us. We don't have to worry about getting the mare up 3 times a week and teasing her, or having the vet come to ultrasound to see where she is in her cycle. Jerusha ask me how many mares we put in with the stallion. Now, I am not saying you can turn your mares and a stallion out and not have to check on them because you do. If you notice there are several mares cycling at the same time, then your stallion may not be able to get them all pregnant. With each breeding in a single day the sperm will become less and less. If you see the stallion breeding one or two mares on Monday, you may want to take them out of the pasture until Wednesday, so that your stallion will have the opportunity to breed the other mares, and then rotate them out. The sperm will live inside the mare for about 24 hours, so it is a waste of time to breed everyday or more than once a day. We try to stay on a schedule of Monday, Wednesday, Friday with our live cover and A.I. Sometimes a stallion just falls head over heels for one mare and will breed her several times a day and not get to the other mares. Again, you will want to move this mare out after she has been bred. So to answer the question from Jerusha, the number of mares we put in with a stallion is not as important to us as the size of the pasture. Here in Kentucky the rule is 2 horses per acre.

Her next question is, do they stay in when wet and dry? After the mare foals and has about a week with her baby, we will put the mare in with the stallion that we are wanting to breed her to. We have never had a stallion be mean to a foal. They are always very protective and you will sometimes see them babysetting for the mare. The mare and foal will stay in with the stallion until we know she is in foal or if there are not many mares in with the stallion we will leave her there until she is ready to foal again. Most of the time we put the stallions in the barn away from the mares in late July or early August. It is just as hard for us to have a foal in the extreme heat as it is to have a foal in the winter.

Jerusha wants to know what the conception rate is and is it easier to get a problem mare in foal by pasture breeding? We have found that the mares have a much higher rate of conception if we let them do pasture breeding. Sometimes a nervous mare or a maiden mare will have all the signs right, but no matter how many times we breed her, she just will not conceive. We have found if we turn her out with a stallion and let nature take its course, this will usually work.

When do we put the stallion in with the mares? Since it takes 11 months plus 5 days for gestation of a horse, we plan our foaling time around the weather. Ideally, we do not want to have a foal before the end of March, so we will put the stallion in with the mares in April. For showing purposes a horse is considered another year older Jan. 1st so, if we have a late baby, he will always be the youngest in the class and that sometimes does not work when it comes time to start a horse. Some people will shoot for a early January baby if they think it will be something they want to show. We allow all of our mares to foal in the field, so this just does not work for us, but if you want to put the mare up and watch her for a few weeks until she foals, and be able to provide a safe, clean, warm environment, then that is up to you. We have found our mares and foals do much better foaling in the field in the spring.

Do you ever add mares later on and if so, how does the stallion react? Yes, we do add more mares and take mares out as I have said above, depending on when they foal and how many mares we are wanting to breed to that particular stallion. The stallion generally does not have a problem with this, but sometimes, especially if they are not from our farm, the stallion will not accept the mare into the band for a couple of days. This is natures way of keeping out disease. When this happens, we will put the mare in a catch pen or adjacent paddock for a couple of days, so that the stallion can get used to her, and after a few days, he usually takes her right in. I will caution you about putting mares from other facilities that you are not familiar with in with your stallion, unless they have been checked by a vet for STD's. If they have a foal on their side, this is not as much a concern, but it is always a good rule of thumb, to have the owner have the mares checked for STD's and where she is in her cycle. You will not want to run the chance of infecting your stallion and therefore infecting the whole herd. I have had clients think they can bring their mare and leave it for a couple of weeks and think they should be pregnant when they come back to get them. If you don't know where they are in their cycle, and it is not the right time... a couple of weeks will not be long enough. Mares cycle much like a human woman, and they conceive much the same way.

I will be posting for my Dad in the next few weeks, so I am sure he will be covering some of these things for you, but since Jerusha is needing the information for school right away, I wanted to cover this as quickly as I could. Jerusha, if you have any more questions regarding our breeding program, please feel free to contact us.