HAT Chat Articles – October 2007
A word from our
President
Fall is here! Although one could easily be confused by the
warm weather and myriad of holiday decorations and items on display in the
stores – everything from Halloween to Christmas! But let’s not get in a rush or you may miss
some of the fun activities HAT has scheduled in the next couple of months.
Join us at
Hold on to your hats as
November rolls in! The month begins with
a spectacular program planned for our monthly meeting as we relive a European
equestrian vacation with a lively and animated speaker. You won’t want to miss it and you will be
there to vote for next year’s officers and open board position!
If that’s not enough, there
is a new and exciting show venture planned for Saturday, November 17th! Mark your calendars and check the website or
yahoo group for details.
Speaking of shows, HAT
volunteers out did themselves at our September 8th show. Sincere gratitude goes to everyone who helped
in whatever way they could – from planning to preparation to production! How nice it is to hear again how much
exhibitors and spectators alike enjoy coming to HAT shows because they are fun,
friendly, and well run. Without our
dedicated volunteers, there would be no show.
Thank you, thank you!
When all this becomes
overwhelming, take a quiet ride along the lake with best friends on great
horses. Follow it up with barbeque and
fantastic food under a full moon. You’ll
know you’ve lived a perfect day…with horses at the heart.
Happy Trails,
Reminder: HAT Trail Ride October 7th
HAT will hold its fall trail
ride on Sunday, October 7th, at 2pm at
Reminder: HAT Futurity October 20th
Don’t forget that our annual
Open Weanling / Yearling Futurity and Open Show will be held on Saturday,
October 20th at the TQHA Arena in
A flyer for this event and
the showbill are printed in this newsletter and are also available on our website,
www.hat-texoma.org.
Stallion Showcase Coming In December
Our annual Stallion Showcase
will be featured in our December issue. If you are standing a stallion in 2008
and would like to be included in the Showcase, you must get your information to
us by November 16th (this applies to both the Stud List and the
Showcase Ads). The Stud List and Showcase Ads will also be listed on our
website throughout the 2008 breeding season. Check our website, www.hat-texoma.org, for more details.
Don’t wait – November 16th
will be here before you know it!
HAT Membership Renewal Time!
All
HAT memberships expire on September 30th of each year. If you
haven’t renewed your membership yet, it’s time to get it in! You can pay your
membership dues at any HAT meeting, HAT event, or by mailing it in (a
membership form is printed on the inside back page of every newsletter, and is
also available on the HAT website).
HAT Chat
Subscription Rate Change
As
approved earlier this year, starting this month the annual subscription rate
for HAT Chat has been increased
from $12 to $15. The increase was made due to increased postage costs, and is
the first time it has been changed since subscriptions were first offered in
October 2003.
A
subscription form is printed on the inside back page of every newsletter, and
is also available on the HAT website.
State/Local
News
“Roger and Jenni Dougan Fund” Set Up
Donations to help with expenses of rebuilding
following home fire
An account has
been set up at American Bank of
On
the morning of August 28th, a fire swept through Roger and Jenni’s
home in
Roger and Jenni
have both been very active supporters of HAT. Roger is a Past President of the
group, and Jenni has served as the group’s Treasurer. They both have
volunteered countless hours of their time in support of the many shows, clinics,
and other activities HAT has produced or sponsored over the years.
Donations can be
made at any American Bank of
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Mystery Classic Nearly Sets Track Record At
As if winning his fourth
consecutive stakes wasn’t enough, Texas-bred Thoroughbred Mystery Classic
nearly established a new track record with a dominating performance in the
$45,000 J.R. Straus Memorial Stakes on September 29 at
Trained by Robert Schultz for
breeder/owner John L. Pierce II, Mystery Classic has won 11 of 16 career starts
and his earnings now stand at $249,510. In his three prior starts he won a six-furlong dirt and a five-furlong turf stakes at
Cary Noteboom’s
Nuttyboom chased Mystery Classic throughout but had
to settle for second, followed by War Bridle, Toga Too and Lissa’s
Star. Although the Straus Stakes was an open race, all five starters were
Texas-breds.
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Dedicated to presenting and
preserving the traditions of the Old West,
The day long event will
benefit
Admission to the festival is
only $5 per person with children ages 3 and under admitted free. Chuck wagon lunch tickets purchased in
advance are available in limited supply and include admission. Gates will be open from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday,
October 20 at the 165 acre
National
News
Officials To
Investigate Horse Deaths At
Santa Fe, NM (September 14) –
The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) will investigate the deaths of
the two horses that were hit by a car after crossing the finish line on day
seven of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race, said AERC President Mike Maul.
The investigation will be conducted independently of the insurance
investigation into the incident.
Rider Teresa Wilcox suffered
bruises and scrapes. Rider Sandy Olson suffered a dislocated hip and broken
thumb. Both riders were released from the hospital and returned to the ride
site. The driver of the car received minor injuries and was taken to the
hospital as well, where she was treated and released. The horses died almost
instantly after being hit, and were buried at a nearby farm. Preliminary
reports are calling it an accident, and no charges are
expected to be filed.
“This is a terrible thing
that has happened,” said Maul. “My heart goes out to the riders who were
injured. I am so glad to hear that they returned to the ride site.”
“An incident such as this
during the ride or at the finish has never happened before in the 35-year
history of AERC,” said Maul. “All incidents, whether large or small, are
investigated by the AERC with the purpose of making the sport safer for both
riders and the horses participating in the event.”
According to Maul, the AERC
sanctions almost 800 rides in the
“AERC sanctioning provides a
uniform standard for those rides, which are put on by members of the AERC as ride
managers,” said Maul. “The ride itself is supervised by the ride manager and is
not under the supervision of the AERC.”
The Great Santa Fe Trail
Horse Race is an 800-mile endurance ride completed over a 13-day period. The
ride started in
For more information, visit
the AERC website at www.aerc.org.
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Defendant in Georgia Horse Neglect Case Sentenced to 5 Years, Fines
Pike County, GA (September
11) – Superior Court Senior Judge Ben Miller sentenced Roger Lee Prater of Pike
County to five years after he pled guilty to 31 counts of animal cruelty.
Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin declared an
emergency on Prater’s farm last February and impounded 99 horses and other
animals.
Prater will serve the first
120 days of the 60-month sentence in home confinement, except for tending the
farm and homeplace and transporting his wife to the
doctor.
“I believe that he chose to
accept the conditions rather than continue to pursue the matter through the
courts, because he knew that the people in
The Georgia Department of
Agriculture can only bring civil action--the charging and prosecution of
criminal animal cruelty must be pursued by local law enforcement and officers
of the court.
Other stipulations in the
plea agreement included:
Prater also must perform 100
hours of community service.
“In addition to the sheriff
department and the district attorney personnel, we are very grateful for the
many volunteers who helped move and take care of these animals since February
1,” Irvin said. “The many people who stepped up and bought the rehabilitated animals
to give them a home and the monetary and material donations all are responsible
for helping my staff to be able to bring these horses back to good health.”
Irvin also personally thanked
Horsetown Western Stores for the use of its private
stables for almost eight weeks and to the Georgia Equine Rescue League for
providing volunteers, feed, and raising money to assist the Department of
Agriculture in the recovery of the horses.
Legislative
Update
New Immigration Enforcement Measures
The announcement provides
that new regulations will be proposed to simplify the process of employing
aliens under the H-2A and H-2B programs, which may prove beneficial to the horse
industry. But the plan to more forcefully pursue enforcement of sanctions
against employers for employing alien workers with faulty documents is raising
concerns among employers of these low-skilled workers. Many employers in the
horse industry use the H-2A and H-2B programs to employ willing alien
employees.
The Senate could not agree on
comprehensive immigration reform legislation earlier this summer. It has been
suggested that the Departments did not adopt the new rules while Congress was
debating broad immigration reform. But when Congress could not pass broad
legislation, the Administration decided to move forward with the new rules.
Worksite Enforcement –
Stepped-up Employer Sanctions
The cornerstone of the new
requirements is the announced crackdown on employers who “knowingly” hire
undocumented workers. This is the so-called “no-match” regulation. Under
current law an employer must ask for documents that confirm an individual’s
identity and ability to work when employees fill out the required Form I-9.
These documents include a social security card. Each year employers send the
Social Security Administration (SSA) earnings reports (W-2 Forms) in which the
employee name and the social security number do not match. If an employer has
employees with inaccurate personal identity information, the SSA will send
him/her a “no-match” letter stating that the social security information
submitted by the employer for his/her employees does not match the records in
the SSA database.
In addition, DHS’ U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement will send a similar letter to an employer if an audit
indicates that an immigration status document or employment authorization
document presented or referenced by the employer in the Form I-9 cannot be
confirmed. The new regulations spell-out what an employer can do to avoid
“knowingly” hiring or continuing to employ the individual and avoid liability
for employer sanctions.
If an employer receives such
a letter from either SSA or DHS, he/she must take the following actions or risk
penalties. The steps that will insulate an employer from liability include:
Under the new regulations,
fines imposed on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants will be raised
25%. Current fines are $2,200 for the first offense and up to $10,000 for
repeat offenses. The 25% increase is the maximum allowed under current law.
The Administration will be
proposing additional regulations to reduce the 29 categories of documents that
employers may accept to confirm the identity and work eligibility of their
employees. These are expected in the near future. The purpose is to eliminate
those documents that are most susceptible to fraudulent activities.
Streamlining Existing
Guest-Worker Programs
The announcement also
provides that the Administration has directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to
review the existing regulations implementing the H-2A program and to institute
changes intended to provide agricultural employers with an orderly and timely
flow of legal workers.
In the H-2B program, the
Department will be issuing regulations intended to reduce the time for
processing applications by moving from a government-certified system requiring
DOL to issue labor certifications to an “employer-attested” system. This will
allow employers to attest that they have followed the procedures and could not
find willing American workers.
Finally, the Administration
will be exploring ways to expedite background checks on alien workers in order
to permit visas to be issued more promptly.
All these reforms are
intended to make the temporary worker programs more responsive to the needs of
employers.
Border Security
The announcement states that
the Administration will strengthen security at the
The current policy of “catch
and return” – sending illegal aliens apprehended at the border back to their
country of origin - will be maintained and expanded.
The US-VISIT exit requirement
will be expanded, including the establishment of a new land-border exit system
for guest workers starting on a pilot basis. This is intended to ensure that
temporary workers in the
Interior Enforcement
The Administration will also
be training hundreds of state and local law enforcement officers to address
illegal immigration in the states and communities. 75 U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement Teams will be trained by October to work with local
authorities to remove fugitive aliens.
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As the national trade association
representing the horse industry in
The AHC is member supported by
individuals and organizations representing virtually every facet of the horse
world from owners, breeders, veterinarians, farriers, breed registries and
horsemen's associations to horse shows, race tracks, rodeos, commercial
suppliers and state horse councils.
Equine Science News
The Effect of Floating Teeth on Performance
A wide variety of dental
abnormalities have been described in the horse. It is commonly thought that
they interfere with chewing and grinding of food, which may be swallowed
without being chewed adequately. It is suggested that this may limit the
nutrients that can be released from the food, and may lead to weight loss and
digestive problems such as colic and choke.
Dental problems are also
blamed for poor performance. Horses with painful mouths may concentrate on the
pain rather than the bit cues. Dental abnormalities such as sharp points may
ulcerate the cheeks or tongue and may lead to evasion of the bit.
Interest in equine dentistry
has undergone a revival in the past decade. Despite that, there is actually
little scientific evidence that routine floating is beneficial.
One clinician who has been at
the forefront of research into the benefit of routine dental care is Dr James Carmalt. In trials on pregnant mares, he demonstrated that
floating increased the rostro-caudal movement of the
jaw. However, it had no effect on improving weight gain, food digestibility or
fecal particle size.
Perhaps of more interest to
horse riders is the effect of floating on performance. In work carried out in
The study compared eleven
horses that had not had their teeth floated for at least a year with five
horses that had received regular dental care at six-month intervals.
The horses performed one of
two standard dressage tests approved by the Canadian national equine federation
(Equine Canada). A single experienced rider rode all the horses for each test,
which was marked by two dressage judges.
After each horse had
completed the first test, it was sedated and Dr Carmalt
assessed the state of the teeth. Common abnormalities were sharp points on
outer edges of upper cheek teeth and inner edges of lower cheek teeth. Many
horses also had small hooks on the first upper cheek teeth and ramps on the
last lower cheek teeth.
The eleven horses then had
their teeth floated using a power grinder. The five horses that had received
regular dental care were sedated and examined, but did not have their teeth
floated.
Two days later the horses
performed the second of the two dressage tests. Neither the rider, nor the
judges, knew which horses had had their teeth floated and which had not.
Analysis of the dressage
scores showed that floating the teeth had no effect on their performance.
The horses were also given a
score according to the rider’s impression of how they went. Interestingly,
although the rider did not know which horses had been treated, she correctly
identified five treated and two untreated horses. She was unable to decide
whether the other horses had been treated or not.
This was only a small study
involving 16 horses of different abilities. Dr Carmalt
suggests that further studies of horses at different levels and types of
competition are needed to investigate the value of floating teeth in
performance horses.
For more details see:
The effect
of occlusal equilibration on sport horse performance.
JL Carmalt,
KP Carmalt, SM Barber
J Vet Dent (2006) 23, 226 -
230.
© 2007 Equine Science Update
Reprinted with permission
Monthly
Poll
Last month we asked:
This month’s question: When is
the best time of year to buy a horse?
To vote in our monthly poll,
go to www.hat-texoma.org and scroll
down to “Monthly Poll” on the home page. The results of this month’s question
will be published in our next issue. Be sure to stop by and cast your vote!
Extension
Service News
by Eddie Baggs, CEA-Agriculture
Fire Risk and Stored Hay
With
the spring rains
The
principal way to avoid fire resulting from internal heating (sometimes called
“spontaneous combustion”) is to bale hay at the proper moisture levels. Hay put
into round bales should not exceed 18% moisture if placed in a barn. Square
bales should not exceed 20% moisture. If hay is suspect, it should be stored
outside for about 3 weeks. Do not place new crop hay against old crop hay.
Loose stacking may be another way to provide good air movement and ventilation
to lessen risk.
If
there is a need to check the temperature of hay in a barn, it can be done by
fitting a sharpened end on a 10-foot section of 1/2 inch pipe, then driving it
into the hay. Follow this by lowering a thermometer into the pipe. Temperatures
below 120 degrees F are normal, and 120-140 degrees F are in the caution range.
Hay heating to 160 degrees F or higher are in serious
danger of catching fire. Temperatures can build in hay, particularly within the
first week or two after baling. Periodic monitoring of any new crop hay may be
merited if baling conditions were suspect.
Fires
due to external forces are also a concern. The causes can range from lightning
to a mindless toss of a cigarette. Common sense should be your guide to avoid
these situations. A good recommendation would be to establish some sort of a
buffer around areas containing stacked hay to prevent wildfire from moving to
stored hay. A three foot buffer is recommended around the edges of barns.
Always post, “No Smoking” signs around a hay barn. Also, avoid stacking hay
close to anything that might attract a lightning strike such as power lines,
metal posts, trees, towers or antennas. More information about hay and its storage
can be found at http://forages.tamu.edu.
Educational programs conducted by the
A Bit of Humor
How To Mount A Horse
Mounting a
horse is actually very easy if it is done properly.
A rider can only mount a
horse from one side because a horse only likes to be mounted from one side. The
left side is right and the right side is wrong. You’re right to be left and
wrong to be right.
If you mount from the front,
you mount from the right, which is then the left because your right is its
left, and the left the right, keeping in mind that the left is right and the
right is wrong. Put your left to your right and step so your right is to the
wrong and now your right is opposite its left and left the right. To right right is to the left and to right is
wrong is to the right, but backwards, the right is right and the left is wrong
only when your right is on its wrong, and the left is on its right.
Switching right to left and
left to right is wrong. Right is wrong and left is right only from the front or
else the left is right and the right is wrong.
Got it?
Ask The Vet
by Dr. Katie Hayes, DVM
Trailering & Emergencies
The cool weather is here, the flood levels of the lakes
are down, time to trail ride. It’s also time to check your First Aid Kit and
horse trailer. Use a sports bag for your first aid kit and keep it in your
trailer. You can pick up any of the following items at the clinic.
First Aid Kit
Trailer Safety
1. check
tires and air pressure
2. check
trailer floor under mats
3. check
trailer lights, wiring, safety chains, breakaway switch
4. service
trailer axle, re-pack bearings every 6000 miles
5. Driving tips
Rhino Flu Fall Boosters
We give a 5 way vaccination in the spring which has East
& West Encephalitis, Tetanus, Rhino, and Flu. It is time for the 6 month
Rhino Flu booster this fall before winter. We have the Intranasal Flu which has
no side effects and gives protection as early as 7 days. This is especially
good for horses going to competitions such as horse shows, ropings, barrel
races, and playdays when given with the live Rhino vaccine. We have the
Flu/Rhino combo vaccine which you can pick up at the clinic or we can give
Rhino Vaccination for Pregnant Mares: for those mares bred in May or who missed their 5-month
Rhino in September, they can be given the Rhino Flu combo.
Recipe of the Month
Caramel Apple Cake Servings: 15
|
Cake |
|
1/3 cup |
vegetable oil |
|
1/2 cup |
butter or margarine |
3 |
eggs |
|
1/4 cup |
whipping cream |
1/4 tsp |
apple pie spice |
|
1 cup |
packed brown sugar |
|
|
|
1/2 cup |
chopped pecans |
Topping |
|
|
2 |
large cooking apples, peeled, cored, and thinly
sliced (about 2-1/3 cups) |
2/3 cup |
whipped white frosting |
|
1 box |
yellow cake mix |
1/2 cup |
frozen whipped topping, thawed |
|
1-1/4 cups |
water |
|
caramel topping, if desired |
·
Heat oven to 350°F. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, cook butter, whipping
cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter
is melted. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with pecans; top with sliced
apples.
·
In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and apple pie spice with
electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
Carefully spoon batter over apple mixture.
·
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out
clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan. Place heatproof
serving platter upside down on pan; carefully turn platter and pan over. Let
pan remain over cake about 1 minute so caramel can drizzle over cake. Remove
pan.
·
In small bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping. Serve warm cake topped
with frosting mixture and drizzled with caramel topping.