Festival News & Results

Clovis Horsemanship Award Essay 

By: Abigail Parent

My horse's name is Benny. He is a 6 year old Connemara and I have owned him since he was a yearling. What Benny lacks in conformation of his front legs, he makes up for with his big heart! There are several key management strategies that we do to keep him happy and comfortable in his job. We x-rayed his feet as a 3 year old before he was backed and learned he had cysts, arthritis and sidebone in both front feet. My farrier uses pour in pads on his front feet. This helps increase frog to ground contact, improves blood flow, and provides cushioning. We also make sure to keep his shoeing cycle to every 5 weeks to help maintain his hoof angles. This past spring our vet injected Benny's front feet with Arthomed because he was showing increased discomfort. Arthomed is a hydrogel that does not harm the joint like other injectables can. This is especially important because he is only 6. This drug used to be just used as a final option but now it is being used earlier as a method to prevent joint damage and great results have been seen. (Which I have seen as well) Some other things we do in everyday life to help him is use fly boots in the summer to help lessen concussion on his feet from stomping. I am also very particular with the types of footing I ride him on and never ride him on hard ground. He gets 24/7 turn out with an in and out to maximize movement. Since Benny has experienced pain at times in his life he is very prone to stomach issues. WIth Benny it's really important to be very observant of changes in behavior as he does not alway show how much pain he is in. Management of his nutritional needs is also very important to keeping him comfortable. I am so lucky to have such a great farrier and vet team and a supportive family who will give the world for him. I believe that learning good horsemanship skills is fundamental to owning horses and developing as a rider.