August 2003

Equestrian Travel: Destination Ireland -Where Horse is King by Judie Framan... 6

Breed Profile: The Andalusian and Lusitano by Crista Vesel....................... 8

Horse and Rider: The Gait We Love to Fear by Christina Fleming..................... 10

Just My Opinion 
by John “Flint” Martin....................... 11

Equine Health: Foals Can Now Be Producedfrom Frozen Eggs by Heather Thomas....................................... 12

Focus on Mules: Grooming Your Mule
by Sophia Sarember.................... 13

The Gaited Horse: How Hoof Length and
Angles Really Affect Gait
by Rhonda Hart Poe... 14

Found
My readers may remember the saga of Teddy the Toad; well I have another critter to write about. It seems, so the story goes, a big potbelly pig fell into an irrigation ditch, spending a few day therein until, with much pushing and shoving, a rescue was achieved. The pig ended up on a piece of land owned by a friend of mine necessitating the perches of special feed by him and much love by me.
Beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder, and with trepidation I cast a hesitant look at him, as beneath rolls of fat two eyes popped out. Poor old Pig-e-wiggly, the name I had given him, suffered the indignity of my scratching his back when I offered a piece of bread. Pig-e-wiggly’s wet snout and stained long tusks were not enchanting, but in the end I did exclaim, “Who could not love a little face
such as yours!”

A New Danger
One may look with suspicion at your horse, now that nature has found a new way of
killing you. The diabolical hunter-virus, monkey pox and mad cow diseases have found a way of jumping from, what we consider our normal rural animals to, admittedly, our insignificant species know as man. Indeed, mad cow and mad Flint have made even the uneducated take note.

Time to Move On?
There is a rumor going around that I have put all my worldly possessions up for sale,
which is true. Admittedly, this is rather a diffi cult thing to do, having had the pleasure of so many friends and enjoyment of this country for the last 16 years or so. One can see the plight I am in as I try to justify my decision to return to Spain.
On reading, “About the Author” in the back of any of my books one can plainly see
the life I have led, from high school teacher to international courier, occupations which have you jumping out of bed with excitement every day. Chasing cows can stir up the blood, not to mention pulling down a 300 pound steer on the run, though most recently I am more likely to be dragged down the arena to the yells of,
“Hang on to him Flint!”
But fear not dear reader, because the publisher, David Lewiecki, the distinguished
owner of this magazine and his illustrious wife, have asked me to continue to write my column. It seems that even horses abound in Royal Spain! HT
John Flint Martin can be 
reached in Spain at rodeo-clown6@hotmail.com.

Horse and Rider: The Gait We Love to Fear
by Christina Fleming

When I ask a student which gait causes the most anxiety, it’s nearly always the canter or lope. When I ask a student which gait they enjoy the most, it’s nearly always the canter or lope. So why the disparity in how we view this movement?
Quite possibly, it’s because when we get it right, it’s great! When we get it wrong, however, the horse may bolt, buck, fall, balk, pop his head or otherwise act like a two year old!* Often the problems begin when the canter is viewed as a “faster” gait. All gaits can have a wide range of speed. Certainly the canter can be extended to cover more ground or move quicker. Ultimately, the canter, like any other gait, is truly about footfall pattern and not necessarily going faster. The ill-controlled
speed factor is more related to level of fitness, training, conformation or rider skill. A less fit/trained/conformational suited or young horse may need to use kinetic energy to “throw” himself into the canter versus using potential energy – the energy stored in body position or “collection” – to canter.
Another early-formed issue for horse and/or rider is over cueing or cue timing. A
horse can be asked to canter in any way we choose to ask. Placing the horse’s body in a position suitable to encourage cantering and then getting a canter requires knowledge of how a horse moves and the timing of the movement. However, the actual “cue” associated with canter by the horse can be a word, a touch to the neck or ANYTHING that we decide to use that signals the horse to canter. The initial cue or aid to ask for the canter should be the least pressure needed to inform
the horse to change gait. The second request is applied with more or different pressure, so that the horse understands that the choice he has is to do as requested or have pressure increase/change. When the cues are not applied in order of least pressure to increased pressure, the resulting issues can be the bucking, head tossing, balking or general “sour” behavior some horses display when asked to
canter. Furthermore, the cue should not be associated with any corrections that follow once the canter has begun. When the horse is not allowed to move forward before excessively schooling him in the canter, he often associates being asked to canter with inappropriate or premature pressure to perform or punishment. In this case, we have taught the horse to fear the gait as he will consistently be
punished or pressured once in it. Balance of horse and rider also play a
major role in the overall quality of the canter. A rider out of balance often does not allow the horse to engage properly and maintain a collected gait. Furthermore, a horse that is heavy on the forehand or conformationally challenged
may pose overwhelming problems for the rider doing his/her best to canter correctly. Finally, the psychological aspect of cantering seems to be the major issue with riders experiencing difficulty in this gait. I often tell riders not to “over-think” the canter or lope. They may have had problems cantering in the past or experienced issues with other horses and assume a specific reaction prior to it actually
happening. This assumed reaction nearly always causes a change in rider position, muscle tightening, shallow breathing or other undesired body adjustment. This adjustment can actually lead the horse to act in the way the rider assumed! Thus, the rider can create a cycle of behaviors from a horse with no such history of problems. Clearly, this situation warrants the expertise of a professional as a horse
that reacts one way with the rider and another way with the professional is demonstrating that he is capable when ridden properly. If the rider is experiencing a love-hate relationship with the canter or lope, it’s a less-than-subtle signal to take a lesson or two. If quality instruction is not within your reach, at a minimum have an experienced rider you trust canter or lope your horse to see if the issue(s) belong to the horse or rider. The canter is just a gait, like walk or trot. It is not something to be feared. Save the fear for the feed bill… that’s another column!
*As with all horse “problems”, rule out health and soundness issues before focusing
on training. HT Christina Fleming is a lifelong horsewoman living in
Cerrillos, NM. She trains, gives lessons and offers clinics
on a variety of subjects. She has a BS in Biology and is a
certified instructor, judge and guide. You can visit her web-site
at www.newmexicohorsetrainer.com or send her an E-mail
at NMVaquera@aol.com.

C H R I S T I N A F L E M I N G