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Getting Ready for a Horsey Holiday and Horsey New Year! (Part Two!)

12/24/2020

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In part two of this blog series, we are going to finish talking about preparing your horses, barns, and stables for winter!

Hello trail friends, and welcome back to the blog! We hope that you've been working on going through the checklist we shared with you in part one of this blog and putting it to good use for your horses, stables, and barns! We also hope that it helped prepare you with any last-minute items you might have forgotten or might have not even thought about. For all of our first-time horse owners, we know that every changing season brings another lesson to learn, more excitement, and even more surprises. Owning a horse for the first time is very similar to having a child. It is a beautiful and magnificent creature that needs your help, dedication, and care. The longer you have your horse you find out more and more things that all the manuals and books never mentioned. They're worth it though, aren't they?

While so many people might hate the cold weather, especially for those not used to it here in Charleston or the South East, it might surprise you that it can still be a very wonderful and beautiful season with your horse. There is nothing quite like seeing a horse crunch its way through a frosty field in the morning while their breath puffs up around their head. There is also nothing like watching a horse play in the snow, but that might be an even rarer event here in Charleston. You might have to make a trip up north to see that! To make this winter season as special as it can be, make sure to take this blog to heart. Make sure to follow all of the tips, suggestions, and ideas we are providing in both of these checklists to allow both you and your horse to enjoy this chilly season. If you put the work in, this will be an easy winter to navigate and work through. After this crazy year, that is something we all need, right?

For all of our horse owners, don't forget that we have some of the best horse boardings right here in Charleston. We are here to help care for your horse when you need it most. If your stables are barns are ill equipt for the season, if you need to go out of town on an emergency, or just need an extra pair of hands Middleton Equestrian Center boarding is here for you. Please don't hesitate to reach out and talk with us if you have any questions or comments about our horse boarding! Also, we are still open for our historical trail rides! Dress in layers and come see the Lowcountry in a way you never have before! We are still following all COVID precautions, and what better way to adventure out and stay socially distant than on the back of a beautiful horse? If you are still looking for a wonderful holiday or end of the year gift, shop small and give big with Middleton this year! Gift cards are available to give to all of your loved ones. Introduce them to the best horseback riding in Charleston, and share some of the best horseback riding trails in Charleston with your loved ones. Make sure to visit our website to learn more, and we are always here for all of your questions!

Let's get back to the blog series, shall we? We still have a little wiggle room for these last-minute additions for winter preparations since it has been a mild winter here in the Lowcountry so far, but as we all know that can change in an instant. Let's get back to work!

COMFY AND COZY!
As we mentioned in the first part of this blog, your horse will be burning a lot more calories during the winter months to keep them warm. While they are burning these calories to stay warm and eating more to help with this, they will still need a little extra protection from the cold. Allow their natural coats to grow out as much as possible, but keep up with their grooming habits and schedules. If you plan or working or training your horses hard during these cooler months, keep them trimmed. This will make sure that they will not get overheated during their training and work sessions. In either of these situations, make sure to have warm, waterproof, and lightweight blankets to provide extra warmth throughout the winter. Make sure to check your horse's skin often when they wear their blankets for extended periods. Blankets, while extremely helpful, can cause irritation and sores from rubbing or long term wear if not properly taken care of. Before blanket wearing weather arrives, make sure to inspect and clean each of your blankets, since it has been almost a year since they were last used or touched. Replace and repair them if needed before it gets too cold. Also, make sure you have enough blankets for all of your horses. Your younger horses might have had a growth spurt since the last time they wore their blankets, and your older horses might have lost some weight due to their age. If more blankets need to be purchased for these reasons, make sure to do so! Blankets need to fit your horses properly. Ill fitted blankets can cause irritation, be unsafe, or not provide the warmth your horses need while wearing them.

The cold weather will attack one of your horse's most fragile parts of their bodies, and that is their feet! Make sure if they are going to be shod all winter that you pick the proper shoe fittings with your Ferrier. You can choose shoes that will help them navigate the snow and ice much easier and help them prevent slipping. Regardless if you are going to be choosing to keep your horses shod or not, their hooves need to be cleaned of cold wet mud and ice every day to avoid infection and irritation. Make sure that they are also dry at the end of their day when they are put back into their stables. If you are choosing to go without shoes for the winter months, make sure to do so before it gets too cold, and give them time to acclimate to this change.

HEALTHY CHANGES!
Make sure your horse has a proper and thorough visit with the vet before the cold weather hits and stays around for a while. It might have been a minute since their winter or spring checkup, and this is a good opportunity to catch any early issues or help prevent anything that could potentially happen to them during the cold months. This can be a great time to ask for other supplements and additives for your horses from your vet to help make the winter months healthier and happier for them. Make sure you give your horse a good balance of indoor and outdoor time throughout the winter. However, it is important to make sure that they are kept away from deep snowdrifts and extra icy paths to prevent slipping and damage done to their legs. Make sure the ventilation in your barns and stables is enough to keep fresh air flowing throughout, enough to limit dust and debris build-up, but not enough to cause drafts in the barn. Your horse's skin can become extra sensitive through the harsh cold months so if it is possible, exercise them in a dry and clean area through the winter!

Also, consider your health, safety, and comfort this time of year. If you get sick and you're unable to care for your horses, what will they do without you?  Make sure you have the proper winter clothing to keep you warm and safe while being comfortable enough to do your job and daily tasks of caring for your horse.  Also, think about your day to day tasks and duties, and ways to make them easier. One way to help is to insulate your hand tools. You can cover them with blankets when they're not being used, store them in styrofoam, or you can even slip styrofoam pipes over the handles of all of your hand tools to create a little extra insulation. Grabbing or using very cold hand tools can be cold enough to burn, even when wearing gloves. Make sure to properly clean all of your hand tools before these winter months and before the new year. When you get into the depths of winter, you won't want to stop and make time for doing simple tasks like that, you will want to get your work done and get back inside.

This is also an excellent time to service all of your power equipment on your property. Check all of the engines, oil levels, lubricants, and tires on your tractors, mowers, trucks, snowblowers, and all of your powered equipment. When stocking up on equipment and supplies for the winter, don't forget back up items to help with broken hand tools, power tools, and all of your vehicles. Again, you want all of these items to be working properly so when the bad weather comes, you won't get stuck with a broken-down tractor, truck, or snowblower on the bad weather days.  

Time to get to work friends! We have been busily working on all of these things ourselves; preparing our horses, barns, stables, tools, equipment, and ourselves for what's to come. Our staff has been working as hard as ever to not only prepare for this but to keep up with keeping our stables and riding equipment sanitized to help keep us all safe during the cold weather. We are thankful that the temperatures during the first few weeks of December have felt more like fall, but who knows when that will change. We also want to thank each of you for what this year has been. You have helped us continue to share our passion and love for our horses and our horse trails. You have helped us continue to show off the beautiful land of the Lowcountry, and you helped keep all of our staff and fellow guests safe and happy. We couldn't be more thankful for all of that! We aren't sure what 2021 will bring, but we hope it's truly a year to celebrate. Stay safe and healthy friends, we can't wait to see you on our trails in the new year! From all of us at Middleton Equestrian Center, we wish you a very Horsey Holiday and a very Horsey New Year!


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Caring for Your Horses Tail and Mane (Part Two)

10/28/2020

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In the second part of this blog, we will be continuing our discussion on how to properly care for your horse's mane and tail. 

Hello, trail friends! Welcome back to the blog! We are thrilled you decided to come pay another visit to our blogs and continue to learn more about the care and maintenance that your horse's mane and tail requires. The end of October is right around the corner, so make sure you come and learn more about the history of our beautiful trails and the land we are connected to. There might even be a ghost story or two lurking in the shadows waiting to be told! Make sure to schedule your rides with us ahead of time and get ready for the best horseback riding trail in Charleston! We can't wait to see you soon! 

As we mentioned in our last blog, caring for your horse's mane and tail comes with a huge responsibility. This is just one of the multitude of things you need to take care of and care for when it comes to owning a single horse. We urge you to remember this when thinking about purchasing your very first horse or perhaps even your second. Every horse deserves every moment of meticulous and well-planned care as the next. We hope that you take these two blogs and every blog dedicated to the care of your horse to heart. We want both you and your horse to have an incredible life together. Please remember too that a horse is going to be a full life commitment, many of them live to be 20 years of age if not older. They will need your constant love, support, and care for every single one of those years! So, let's hop back into the barn and talk more about the care and maintenance of our beautiful horse's manes and tails! 
  • Braiding
The last tip for mane and tail care in our last blog talked about how to wash, how frequently to wash, and the best ways to wash your horse's tails and manes. One of the most important things you can do for your horse once both tail and mane have been properly washed, dried, and brushed is to braid them. This isn't just a fashion choice or for show purposes, although beautiful braids do help with both of those things. A good braid goes far beyond just looks. While a horse with a braided mane and tail does look stunning, it does more than just leave your horse looking pretty out on the field. Braiding helps keep your horse's mane and tails clean and helps prevent them from snagging, ripping, matting, or breaking. Also, according to US Equestrian, it protects the mane and tail from bleaching out in the sun, causing severe damage and change to their look and presentation. US Equestrian does recommend that you start with a loose braid at the base of both the hair of the mane and tail and grow into a tighter braid as you move down each section of hair. This helps relieve tension on the hair and from pulling on the roots. For the mane, you will separate the hair into one to two-inch sections and braid each section. For the tail, you traditionally only have one long braid, but you can do multiple if you so choose. Braids can also help keep your horses cool in hotter months, keeping the hair away from their skin and removing the extra weight it can cause off their bodies. You can secure the braids with either a rubber band or electrical tape, it is your choice. Either option won't tangle in your horse's mane or tail between cleanings. 
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  • Frequency
We've mentioned a couple of times that to keep your horse looking and feeling its best, a consistent regime of care is necessary. This doesn't mean you should be washing, drying, and braiding their mane and tails every day. It's recommended by US Equestrian to wash and braid every 14 to 19 days. When it comes to spraying your horse's coats down, that will be done much more frequently but should be done and met with the same amount of importance, care, and dedication that you give to your horse's mane's and tails. All the tools you use for grooming your horse's manes and tails should be clean and up to date. If they're getting rusty and old, please replace them. After you use them, clean them, and leave them to dry for their next use. It is also recommended by Horse and Rider to use all-natural products. The more natural they are, the less likely they are to harm or strip the hair and the more likely to help nourish and care for your horse's mane and tail. Also, just like you do in training and daily care, be consistent in the bathing process. Once you find a system that works well for you and your horse, consistently stick with it and repeat it with every wash! Also, don't let your horse's manes and tails grow too long. You don't want them stepping on their manes and tails or allow them to become a danger to them. you want them to look great, but you also want them to freely be able to train, live happily, ride well, and do all of their tricks and maneuvers without harming themselves or their hair. 

Keeping your horse healthy, clean, and looking gorgeous is a multi-staged approach. It does take time and dedication that every horse deserves. Just caring for their mains and tails is complex, don't forget about every other aspect of caring for them too! This needs to be considered when you are thinking about buying a horse of your own, can you handle this kind of responsibility? Of course, as fellow horse lovers, you know they are worth the time and care and to look and feel their best, always! We hope this how-to guide was helpful, and we look forward to seeing you on the trails very soon! If you have any questions about the care of your horse between now our next blog, don't hesitate to reach out. We are here to help you care for your horses as best as possible. Until next time, stay safe and stay hopeful everyone!

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Caring for Your Horses Tail and Mane (Part One)

10/19/2020

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While the seasons begin to change, it's time to start thinking about caring for every aspect of your horses from the tip of their tails to their noses! Let's focus on the best ways to care for your horse's mane and tail! 

Hello, trail friends! We are back again at our writing desk after taking a break from our saddles! We continue to have incredible rides with our guests that are safe, full of fun, and surrounded by the beauty of the Lowcountry! Have you visited lately? We'd love to hear about your trip! Make sure to comment below after reading this blog! We would appreciate the feedback because we have been loving every moment with you all on the trail! 

In this two-part blog, we are going to be moving away from the trail and back into the barn. As much as we hate to admit it, we are going to see the weather change and get cooler over the next few months. Rain will mean muddy fields, trails, and paddocks that will cover our horse's bodies, hooves, manes, and tails. While this is very normal, it is also very important that we keep our horses coats, manes, tails, and hooves clean and dry throughout the winter season. This can help promote healthy skin, help avoid sores or irritated skin, and help maintain your horse's overall health. To learn more about caring for your horse during the winter months, follow the link below to one of our past blogs that discusses exactly that! 

https://www.middletonplaceequestriancenter.com/blog/archives/11-2019

In this blog, we are going to be specifically focusing on the care of your horse's manes and tails. This extra care will not only keep them healthy and happy, but it will also help keep them ready for the next season of competition, riders, tournaments, and more! 

  • Getting Started
The changing of the seasons isn't the only reason why a deep clean on your horse's mane and the tail is needed. The big secret to true beautiful hair is being consistent and thorough all year round. This has to be part of your regime for each of your horses, especially horses like Gypsy Vanners, Andalusian, and Lusitano's who are known for their long and luscious locks. Just like humans, a healthy diet and lifestyle are also a huge help in keeping and maintaining lush, healthy, and clean tresses. This consistent care needs to happen all year round, even if it is colder, to keep your horses at the height of health and cleanliness. Each breed will naturally have their own kind of mane and tail, and will each have their own unique thickness and length that they can healthily grow to with proper care and attention. Taking the time to consistently and properly care for your horse's mane and tail will help prevent hair loss or thinning and help keep it strong against natural elements that actively work to destroy it. 

  • The Brush
One of the first things you need to remember is to never over brush your horse's mane or tail. Only brush it when you have to! A significant amount of hair does come out when brushing, and over-brushing can lead to dull, thinning, and breakage of the hair itself. Brushing daily is not something that we would recommend. What you can do daily is shake out your horse's mane and tail to remove any excess dirt, skin cells, or any branches, twigs, or leaves that might have gotten stuck in there. Also, if you do come across any knots or mats, gently break them up and pull them apart with your fingers. Make sure to do this as often as possible. Also, keeping them away from anything that could grab or snag their tails or manes can help prolong the quality of both. Also, don't forget to use the proper tools. Horse and Rider recommends that you use a tail and mane brush that has wide teeth. These brushes help remove less hair when brushing. It also helps you avoid catching tangles and limits breakage. Also, save your brushing for after both mane and tail have been thoroughly washed and have had time to dry. Brushing wet hair can be even more destructive than brushing it every day. If you need to, make sure to secure your horse while letting its mane and tail dry to avoid it getting dirty again or getting more tangles. Most importantly, please don't rush the brushing or grooming process. If you rush through a brushing, this can result in ripping out the hair or cause severe breakage! 

  • The Wash
Just like over brushing, over washing, or using too much shampoo or conditioner can damage your horse's mane and tail. This too can cause the hair to dry out and become very brittle. According to US Equestrian, the best place to start washing is at the root of the mane or the dock of the tail. Really scrub right at the root of the hair, this is where most of the oil, dirt, skin cells and dander will accumulate. Plus, who doesn't love a good scalp massage? Scrubbing deep and right at the root will also help with blood flow and will promote healthy hair growth. Also, don't forget to wash both sides of the mane. Start at the root and work your way down to the very end of the mane or tail for a thorough clean. Once you've accomplished this, make sure to rinse well to help get out any dirt you might have missed, help battle any tangles and knots, and remove the shampoo. 

You can use more shampoo than you can conditioner. Using a lighter amount of conditioner can help avoid it from getting clumpy or being left in the mane after you rinse. This can cause more dirt to build up and stick to the leftover conditioner or the mane and tail can become very greasy. While washing or conditioning avoid tangling it or adding to existing tangles. You don't need to scrub back and forth, according to Horse and Rider. This will also help avoid irritation, itching, and rubbing if you remove the dirt and thoroughly rinse the mane and tail. According to US Equestrian, instead of using large quantities of conditioner, spraying a clean damp mane after the wash with leave-in condition can help with keeping it healthy and shining. Spray on before brushing, and once the mane and tail are dry, you can then begin the brush! 

How does your current brushing, washing, mane, and tail maintenance stand up to this list so far? Are you already a pro, or do you think you might have some work to do? No matter what path your on, as long as you're working towards helping your horse have the best skin, mane, and tail, then you're doing great. Who knew that manes and tails needed so much care? This is just one of the many aspects of caring for just one horse, can you imagine how much time it takes to do this for multiple horses? Owning and caring for a horse takes extreme responsibility, and you must be ready to take it all on if you're wanting to provide the best life possible to your horse. If you have any questions about the care of your horse between now and the second part of this blog, don't hesitate to reach out. We are here to help you care for your horses as best as possible. Until next time, stay safe and stay hopeful everyone!



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