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Trail Riding: Bee Prepared
If you are going for a trail ride, you'll need to be prepared in case you run into bees or wasps, which are very defensive of their nests. They are a part of nature that you can't do anything about, so you just need to do your best to minimize attacks and know what to do if you get attacked. If anyone you're riding with is allergic to bees, of course they should have an epi-pen or whatever medication they use with them just in case.
Make sure to stay on well traveled trails and not take a chance of traveling into undisturbed areas. If you do, watch closely for nests in trees and stay away from dead logs or trees. The most commonly disturbed nests on trail rides are yellow jackets, which nest in the ground.
It's good to have a plan in case you do step on a nest because there will be a lot of flying, stinging, and very angry insects. Before you go for a trail ride, figure out what you'll do if you disturb a group of bees or wasps. Plan to yell something like, "Bees!" if you're riding with a group and have a plan so everyone knows what to do. If you do encounter bees or wasps, everyone should move away from the area quickly and continue for at least a quarter mile, because most bees and wasps won't go that far. Plan a place to meet if you need to split up. If the horse leading the trail ride gets attacked, they should continue going forward while the rest of the group leaves to the rear. Try your best to stay on your horse and get it away from the attack site. If your horse bucks you off, get away on foot as fast as you can and find your horse later.
The best thing to do for a horse that gets stung severely is to hose it down with cold water as soon as you can. You should check with your vet, but if you can't get ahold of them, you can give the horse a shot of banamine (5cc's) to calm it down, and then apply an antihistamine or steroid cream like Azium if possible. All the welts should go away in a couple days and the horse should be fine.
By taking proper precautions, a trail ride can be a great group activity and hopefully bee-free!
Horse Grooming
Tools- Names and Descriptions
Rubber Curry Brush: Is shaped like an oval or circle and has soft rubber "teeth". Dandy Brush: A stiff bristled brush. Body Brush: A soft bristled brush that's usually made of horse hair. Hoof Pick/Brush: A combo of a pick for cleaning hooves and brushing them out. Mane Comb: Used for combing the mane, plastic is recommended so as not to break the hair Polishing Towel: A cloth that helps remove sweat marks and makes the coat shiny after brushing.
Grooming- Make sure the horse is safely tied then start at the top of it's nect on one side and work your way to the rear, repeating on the other side.
1. Begin with the Rubber Curry brush. It should be used in a circular motion so it will loosen the dirt under the horses hair. Be sure to be careful around bony areas of the body like the back and shoulders. The Rubber Curry isn't meant to be used on it's legs unless you're extremely gentle with it. Don't ever use it or any other stiff bristled brush on your horses face because you can easily hurt his eye. Eye injuries usually require immediate veterinary attention because they are often serious. 2. Now use the Dandy Brush in the same motion as you would sweep the floor. "Flick" the brush up a away from the coat so that the dirt comes off. A slight cloud of dust should come off the horse's coat unless it's already extremely clean. If you don't see a cloud of dust you need to use more flicking action or the dirt will get pushed back under the hair and can cause irritation. Make sure to be thorough. 3. Next use the Body Brush, which is meant to get rid of any left over dirt and smooth down the hair. Just smooth it over the horses coat to flatten the hair and give it a shiny clean appearance, when the brushes are used in this order. 4. After that comes the Mane Comb. Use it only for the horses mane and use the Dandy Brush for the tail. If you want him to grow a long flowing tail, the Dandy brush doesn't break the hair as easily as a comb. You can also choose not to brush the tail at all and just use warm water to rinse it. To keep it from tangling or getting knots, apply a tail conditioner or "Show Sheen". 5. For the Hoof Pick/Brush, you must know how to get your horse to lift his leg. For safety, ask an instructor how to properly do this, but you can usually run your hand down the horse's leg and squeeze his fetlock (ankle). The horse may loose his balance if you pick his foot up too high, so be careful. Always scrape away from you when using the pick, just like you would with a potato peeler, so that you don't cut yourself or the horse if it moves suddenly or tries to pull it's foot away from you. Be very thorough cleaning out the hollow areas on both sides of the frog and around the sole of the foot. 6. Last, use the Polishing Towel. It doesn't have to be a special kind of towel, any plain cloth or rag will work to wipe over the horses coat and make it shine. Lightly spray the towel with a hair conditioner like "Show Sheen" to make it shine even more. Products like that are very slippery under a saddle, so if you apply it before a ride, don't use it on the horse's back or girth area.
There are two more tools that can be used to groom a horse-a Mud Brush and a Shedding Blade. The Mud Brush has very stiff bristles used for horses that have been rolling around in mud. It's important that the mud be dry before brushing it or it will only smear all over the horses coat and get rubbed under the hair. The Shedding Blade is used in the spring when horses begin to shed to help loosen and get rid of that extra hair. The edges are very sharp, so it's important to be very careful when using this tool. It's not recommended for use on the face and legs.
Good Behavior: Feeding
A horses natural reaction when he thinks someone is going to take their food is to attack by kicking, biting, bumping, etc. When you pour your horses' feed and walk away, that tells your horse that you're afraid to stay while he eats and that he's the Alpha horse. If you do this, you're putting yourself and others at risk. Instead stay by your horse when it eats. Try brushing him, picking his hooves, etc, and move him away from his feed once in a while. This way you'll let him know that you are the "Alpha horse", and that you're in charge if you do these things each time you feed him. And you should have no problem if you approach him in the future while he's eating. Also, others who happen to do the same should be safe too.
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