Equine Enthusiast - Summer 2014

FEATURES • CLASSIFIEDS • EVENT COVERAGE • COW CUTTINGPublished by News Media Corporation/California Edition

FEATURES • CLASSIFIEDS • EVENT COVERAGE • COW CUTTING

SUMMER 2014

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From the coverA ChAllenging Competition .........................................................8

FeaturesSporty equine FACility in templeton .........................................6

White horSe CArriAge CompAny ................................................ 10

FirSt memoriAl teAm roping .......................................................12

teAChing An old horSe neW triCkS .......................................... 13

pilAteS And dreSSAge ..................................................................... 14

12 yeArS oF polo in loS oSoS ....................................................... 16

Vel miller, 41 yeArS in the trAde ...............................................20

SAlinAS VAlley FAir ......................................................................... 21

columnseden memorial pet Care: Who Will CAre For them ....................... 22

Barbi Breen-gurley: plAnning For Future CompetitionS .......... 22

the equine Center: equine CuShingS diSeASe (eCd) .......... 24

lee pitts: houSeBroke horSeS ........................................................ 26

SUMMER2014

equine e n t h u s i a s t ™News Media Corporation/California Edition

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South County Newspapersand Register-Pajaronian.

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equine e n t h u s i a s t ™is a FREE quarterly publication. 12,000

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PublisherJOHN BARTLETT

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Ventura counties:Brad Koyak

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on the cover:Terri Hicklin of Walnut Creek and Caliber DJ - Read more on page 8.Photo by Tarmo Hannula


Published by News Media Corporation/California Edition


SUMMER 2014

SUMMER 2014 | Published by News Media Corporation6 equine enthusiast

By ALLYSON OKENOf EquinE Enthusiast

Imported sand from Germany, specialty mirrors for training, a professional jumping ring, an

equine enthusiasts dream — all of this and more can be found at Tem-pleton Farms, a top-of-the-line fa-cility for sport-horses in the North County. This haven for equestrian sports was a labor of love for owner Gina Bornino-Miller and her family.

She explained that her husband’s need to escape the speed of city life brought them to the tiny town of Templeton and allowed her to pursue her life-long passion.

“My husband wanted to move

back to a small town because he grew up in small town Minnesota and so we moved to Templeton in about 2003,” she said. “I made the assump-tion that there would be a high-end sport horse barn here because there are so many horses, but there wasn’t. For a while, we toyed with the idea of building a barn on our property, but I like the whole environment of a community barn. I love the atmo-sphere with all of the other horses, the people, their dogs and the train-ers, and, in general, the great inter-actions that can be had. I didn’t want to be by myself. So a few years later, we started to take on the project with the idea in mind that ‘If you build it, they will come.’ We opened three

years ago this coming October.”For nearly three years, this top-

notch facility has offered 18 irrigated grass day pastures, two large irri-gated grass retirement and or young horse pastures, five sand turn-out paddocks, a 20-by-30 meter oval Kraft Brothers Eurociser, a mile-long groomed perimeter trail, an equine rehab and conditioning center, a 35,000-square foot covered arena with 66 foot mirrors, OTTO sport footing, satellite radio, sound system and lighting, a 140-foot-by-240-foot outdoor arena with all-weather OTTO sport footing and last, but, not least, the wild west with its 17 paddock shed-row, complete with its own tack room.

Miller was not always as knowl-edgeable about equine facilities, coming from humble beginnings as a city girl. She said that she didn’t have any formal training until she was an adult and married to boot.

She said, “I grew up in L.A. of all places and I learned to ride on a trail ride when I was 9. That is when I fell in love with horses and started clean-ing stalls to ride. I bought my first horse when I was 12 and I worked to pay for the horses’ upkeep. But I had no formal training, mostly bareback. Then after I got married, I started riding more seriously again and that

is really when I started training. I just got more and more involved in it and then I started dressage and fell in love with it and got more and more involved in it. I started train-ing back East and in Germany. So I modeled Templeton Farms after the best of the barns that I have been to in Europe and the East Coast of the United States.”

Miller has also competed in dres-sage at the Grand Purée and in-ternationally. Though she is not competing right now she is in the process of schooling a few horses for competition in the Grand Purée. She said it takes a lot of patience to train a dressage horse and many years to get them ready to compete. This is why opening a facility in this area was so important to her being able to continue to pursue her passion. She the facility has been able to in-corporate all that they do to create a fully-fledged sport-horse facility.

“What we do is operate the facil-ity and then there are some inde-pendent trainers and rehabilitation folks that work here,” Miller said. “So we have jumping trainers, two dressage trainers in residence, two other dressage trainers that come in for a client or two and then we have rehab and conditioning services. So we have another couple that runs

Sporty equine FACility in templetonCelebrating 3 Years of exCellenCe in oCtober of 2014

Photos By Allyson Oken

the barn and office of templeton farms.

SUMMER 2014 | Published by News Media Corporation Published by News Media Corporation | SUMMER 2014 equine enthusiast 7

the rehab and conditioning. This is just like conditioning a professional athlete. All the horse that are here are part of a program or training activity and we do not board horses.”

The rehabilitators at Templeton Farms have many options when working at this professional-grade facility.

They have an equine hydrotherapy center run by Mike Scully and Angie Hager, who utilize a saltwater spa, an aqua-pacer and an underwater tread-mill. This helps develop, strengthen, rehabilitate, train and cross-train to improve their skill in their sport. They also have an Eurociser, a therapeutic tool for conditioning horses as well as rehabilitating from injury. Known as a free walker, it can help horses work at their own pace. They can move in both directions as the rehabilitation process allows for the injured area to become loaded in a controlled manner. Rub-

berized footing in the Eurociser helps support the horse’s legs while exercis-ing in the walker.

Templeton Farms also has talented trainers. Cindy Ramirez-Smith is a dressage trainer as are Ellen Eckstein, Thomas Walker and Katey Augsburger, who also train jumpers. With the ad-dition of Erika Cooper, who teaches show jumping, Templeton Farms well-rounded equine sports facility.

Another service they provide goes above and beyond is their equine re-tirement program. According to Miller, they offer retirement plans for a time when an equine friend has completed their service to the rider.

Templeton Farms provides a wide array of service to the equine com-munity. The facility is located at 1799 Templeton Road in Templeton and to contact this facility call 805-434-1485 or visit www.templetonfarms.com.

the imported German sand, the rustic look and the specialty mirrors make templeton farms an inviting place to train and learn.

this professional regulation jumping ring is where many come to train for competition.

nelson is just one of the horses housed in the barn. Part of training and rehabilitation occurs in this ring known as a Eurociser.

SuMMer 2014 | Published by News Media Corporation8 equine enthusiast

By TODD GUILD and TARMO HANNULAOf EquinE Enthusiast

Quinn Durbin has been riding horses since she was three, Quinn, 9, of Brentwood,

said she appreciates the challenge of keeping her pony under control as she competes in equitation and hunter-jumper events.

Hard pressed to choose a fa-vorite aspect of her hobby, however, she said she loves “everything” about horses.

Quinn was competing Thursday, July 10, in the Almaden Farms Summer Horse Shows medal finals at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, a two-week event that drew more than 150 horses and hundreds of riders and trainers.

In its 34th year at the fair-grounds, the event is an important one in the equestrian community, said announcer Chelsea Stone.

“This is a big deal,” she said. “A lot of people look forward to this all year long.”

Tasked with three rounds of increasingly difficult tasks, the riders were competing for place-ment in the medal finals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition to a medal, riders were vying for cash prizes ranging from $2,500 to $7,500.

Zoe Dupzyk, 10, came from Sacramento to compete in the event. Inspired by her mother and brother, both of whom are equestrians, she has been involved in the sport for approximately six years. She said she enjoys coming to new places as she participates in up to 10 shows per year.

“Once you get to know them, when you build up that trust they are really fun to be around,” she said.

Alexandra Myers, 17, qual-ified for the weekend medal final after an equitation competition.

Myers said she has been riding and competing on and off her entire life as she juggled school, but

that she appreciates the relationship that develops between rider and horse as both practice.

She said she has also picked up a few life lessons from the sport.

“It teaches perseverance,” she said. “How to get yourself back up at the end of a hard day.”

Katie Montague, 13, of Lincoln, was with about a dozen other riders competing for Lin-coln-based Stardust Pony Dreams stables.

Despite the fact that she’s been around horses her entire life, she said she still finds challenges in the sport.

“There’s never an easy day riding,” she said. “You’re constantly doing something.”

Cathy Belmont, who runs Belmont Training Stables at Monte Vista Christian School, said she enjoys competing at the local venue.

“This is our favorite event of the year,” she said.

Event manager Peggy Fackrell gave kudos to fairgrounds manager Dave Kegebein, who she said has vastly improved the venue.

“He is simply a joy to work with,” she said. “That’s what keeps us coming back.”

In fact, Fackrell said the horse arena in particular had become run down enough that people in the Almaden event were starting to go elsewhere and atten-dance numbers began falling.

“But with these upgrades our numbers are back and people notice,” Fackrell said. “You know, these animals and these competi-tions are not cheap and you have to have the right footings and struc-tures or people will just go pack up and head somewhere else.”

Kegebein said the event is one of about 15 equestrian events held at the fairgrounds, which this year are expected to bring in ap-proximately $100,000.

“It’s a very important part of our business,” he said.

A ChAllenging Competitionhundreds Compete in fairgrounds equestrian event

quinn Durbin, 9, of Brentwood rides her pony, Posh trick shot, in the maiden equi-tation championship. Photos by tarmo hannula/Equine Enthusiast

Craig Rice of sunol rides his Oldenburg horse in an equitation flat event where he placed second.

alexandra Meyers is shown atop her Galleano warmblood.

Equine EnthusiastFROM THE COVER

SuMMer 2014 | Published by News Media Corporation


By Luke PhillipsOf EquinE Enthusiast

For the past three years Arroyo Grande residents Madaline and John Mac have been

helping to add a special touch to weddings and other events on the Central Coast with their stately white carriage and two white horses.

Madaline, who graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in horse training, started White Horse Carriage Co. on her own in 2010 before meeting and marrying John, who was a surfer and didn’t

want anything to do with horses at first. In fact, when she needed a second horse for her business, Mad-aline says she had to trick John into getting another horse by telling him that it was going to be his horse.

“I didn’t really think it was going to be his horse, because he wasn’t into it at all,” she said.

But on the ride home, she says John started to warm up to the idea and quickly became more interested in riding when he got his own horse Pearl.

“Now they’re totally insepara-ble,” Madaline said. “Now he’s 100

percent on-board.” John says that before he became a

horse owner himself he didn’t really understand the relationship between horse and rider.

“I think I always saw horseman-ship as this aggressive, mean rela-tionship, you know?” he said. “And the more I learned about it, it’s a really tight bond that you have with your horse. It’s not like beating your horse into submission — when you get a horse that you relate to and you go out riding or driving, it’s as much fun for them as it is for you. All of them love what they do so much and

I don’t think I saw that before until I got my own horse and was riding my own horse.”

After years of working in a variety of trades including carpentry, glass blowing and welding, John’s new-found love of horses also led him to a new career as a farrier.

“I was always fascinated with the farrier when they came because I’ve always been a craftsman myself,” John said, adding that he wanted to bring a new, more compassionate at-titude to the business. “I think a lot of the old school guys see horses as livestock, and that’s not really how

White horSe CArriAge CompAnyadds speCial touCh to loCal events


it is any more. Now horses are pets and people have close relationships with horses. We saw a lot of farriers and people who have that attitude and that’s something that we didn’t appreciate. They’re part of the family and they need to be respected.”

After attending the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Sacrament, John immediately started an appren-ticeship with Paso Robles farrier Joe Schouten and also started building his own business in the south county.

“Immediately out of school I was shoeing five days a week,” he said. “So I really didn’t get a chance to lose my chops from school.”

The farrier business keeps John busy during the week and then on the weekends he and Madaline take their white carriage to events all over the county and beyond with Mad-aline driving the carriage most of the time and John mostly serving as the footman and safety coordinator.

The couple routinely encounters a variety of challenging conditions that force them to be vigilant about safety concerns.

“They sometimes want us to do some really ridiculous obstacle courses,” Madaline said. “Through this awning, around here, through this crowd of people who will be cheering and have sparklers — there’s a lot of stuff that can go wrong. It’s very stressful. If you’re a caterer and you’re going to do a wedding and something goes wrong, it’s like the food is cold — you’re not going to die, but if something goes wrong with a horse and carriage people could get run over. It could be really dangerous, you really have to be on-point.”

John says that his background in construction gave him the training necessary to foresee possible safety concerns and prevent accidents from happening.

“I’m really trained to see any pos-sible thing that can go wrong,” he said. “With the horses, that’s my role. I foresee anything that could happen and prevent it from happening.”

Madaline says her horse Angel has been through a lot of situations that may have spooked other horses, but Angel’s training helps to keep her calm in nearly any situation. During the recently Fourth of July

parade in Paso Robles, John and Ma-daline where stuck driving Angel in between a marching band and a group of kids shooting off paintball guns, but she never lost her cool.

“She perked up and was like ‘this is really intense’, but she kept her pace and kept truckin’,” John said.

Madaline says that Angel doesn’t respond like a typical horse in stress-ful situations.

“She doesn’t spook like a tradi-tional horse would and try to get out of the situation,” Madaline said. “She’ll just get irritated and by the end of it she’ll have her ears back and start stomping, but she’s so safe about it. She just kind of holds it all in until she’s done.”

As a reward after a stressful event, Madaline says they let Angel roam around their 10-acre property to blow off some steam.

“When she’s done with her job, we open the door and let her run all over the property,” she said. “We call it liberating her, she just gets to prance around and have fun.”

Madaline says she always tries to make sure her horses have fun while they work so they don’t see it as a chore and are more willing to be co-operative.

“I really wanted to make sure that she was trained almost like a dog,” she said. “You train your dog that going for a walk is fun and they’ll be bringing you their leash. And if you train a horse that you’re the boss and it’s tough and you did a horrible job — they’re not going to want to do it. I always tell her ‘you’re doing great’ and if I ever tell her that she did something wrong, she has a total meltdown. I always try to keep things positive with her.”

In addition to weddings and other private parties, John and Madaline also provide winery tours by ap-pointment.

Their latest tour takes riders on a beautiful three-hour sojourn through the wine country southeast of Paso Robles. The tour starts with a wine tasting at Pomar Junction Winery, followed by a short half-mile ride through the vineyards to Sarzotti Winery for another tasting. After another leisurely half-hour ride through the vines the tour ends back at Pomar Junction with a picnic in-

cluding wine, strawberries and cheese. The carriage can accommo-date up to six passengers (as long as they’re willing to squeeze in) and tours cost $125 per person, which in-cludes wine tastings and a picnic.

“We meet them at Pomar and go have some fun with horses, wine and cheese,” Madaline said. “I think it’s one of the funnest things we do.”

When picking a carriage, Madaline says she wanted to stay away from the traditional style and go for some-thing more modern, leading her to buy a white carriage with midnight blue interior.

“I didn’t want to go with an old-style carriage,” she said. “I don’t want to dress in a man’s suite and top hat and just have that kind of look. I don’t want to make carriag-ing like country time. Most of our rides are in cities and at wineries and I think that it’s a very modern thing that we do.”

Madaline’s horse Angel and John’s horse Pearl, both Spanish Normans, are also white and match the carriage perfectly and are perfectly suited to the job, Madaline says. They are made up of half Andalusian and half Percheron stock.

“I like them because they still have the work ethic of the Perche-

ron, but they’re way fancier than just the regular draft horse,” she said. “They’re a really nice hybrid.”

In addition to events and winery tours, the carriage is also often booked by different cities for a variety of special events to provide free rides for residents. Madaline says that those who would like to try a carriage ride, but don’t have the money should keep an eye on the company’s Facebook page for up-coming events where free rides will be offered.

“It’s not something that’s in every-one’s budget, but it’s something that everyone should get to try,” she said, adding that her favorite part of the job is getting to make people happy for a living.

“We bring people so much joy,” she said. “I’ve worked in restaurants before and things can go wrong and then people are mad at you, but you go for a carriage ride and how can you get off and possibly have a com-plaint? It’s so much fun and people are just all smiles. It’s a dream job really.”

You can contact the White Horse Carriage, Co. by email at [email protected], or by phone at (805) 296-2289 or you can visit their Web site at whitehorsecarriage.com.

John and madaline mac take their white carriage for a stroll around their arroyo grande neighborhood.


By SAMANTHA BENGTSONOf EquinE Enthusiast

The first Memorial Team Roping event was cele-brated at the Borzini Ranch

in Reliz Canyon on June 29. Twelve team ropers com-

peted in several rounds to win prize money, belt buckles and pride.

“This is a three-steer competi-tion, it will be progressive after one (round),” said Jaime Brown, announcer. “We’ll go into high teams on the third steer. It looks like we’re going to pay one money in the go-round and two in the average and there are belt buckles to the average winners.”

Brown was joined in the an-nouncing booth by John Pekema. The team roping was a memorial roping, in honor of Roy Gianolini, Bruce Nance and Walt Griva. The event was hosted by Lew Borzini.

“I think this is great, every-thing’s going fine,” said Borzini. “I wanted to do this because they were three of my best buddies and

I’ve had a lot of good times with them. And I just wanted to do it.”

Team ropers came from all around South Monterey County including King City, Greenfield, Soledad and San Ardo. The first successful team of the day was David Bunch and John Soares who roped both the front and back end of their steer in 12.69 seconds. The only other team to complete the first team roping round was Ray Borzini and Dougley Little in 14.48.

The winners of roping number one went to Frank Johnson and Ron Roth. The winners in roping number two went to Ron Blom-quist and Justin Farr. The prize for high money girl went to Renee Little.

Team roping patrons also were provided with Swiss sausage, rolls, salad, chips and watermelon to enjoy while watching the show. Los Vaqueros Hunting Club Trav-eling Band was also on hand to provide music.

FirSt memoriAl teAm ropingevent KiCKs off

Corey Walker gets ready for his portion of the team roping event as Melissa Bramhall ropes the head of the steer. Photos by Samantha Bengtson/Equine Enthusiast

amanda Gianolini, having already roped the head of the steer, waits as Cyndi Johnson prepares to rope the leg of the steer.

Corey Walker and Melissa Bramhall work as a team to complete the team roping contest. Bramhall was able to rope the front end of the steer but the team could not complete the back end of the steer in the first round.


amanda Gianolini, having already roped the head of the steer, waits as Cyndi Johnson prepares to rope the leg of the steer.

By PAULA MCCAMBRIDGEOf thE EquinE Enthusiast

Thirty-one years old is consid-ered an over-the-hill age to begin a career in the modeling

industry — that’s if you’re human — it’s over one hill and halfway up another if you’re a horse.

A Paso Robles Arab — a large, white horse — beat all odds and became a model at 31. The now-de-parted equine clothes mannequin was known, as many models are, by a single name — Rusty. He was dis-covered by a family member in the industry.

“My nephew’s wife, Jessica Davis, is a fantastic photographer in San Diego,” Lauren Lekai said. “Her friend was an [established] photog-rapher who wanted a shoot with Jessica modeling, so she brought up

a crew from Los Angeles and took some beautiful shots — they wanted to include the horses.”

That’s where it all started. The fol-lowing year, Lekai’s friend, Cologne Schmidt, wanted to photograph for her business, Show me your Mumu.

“They came up to shoot their fall catalog and wanted to use the horses,” Lekai said.

For Lekai, it was a little like watch-ing her son follow in the family footsteps, since in her early 20s, she posed in high fashion.

“I modeled in Italy — I did de-signer fashion shows and catalogs,” Lekai said. “It was fun.”

Then talking about Rusty and his stable mate, Sunny, she playfully de-scribed the changes that came over them as they evolved from family horses to lifestyles of the rich and famous.

“They were just really in touch with the whole scene,” Lekai laughed. “They became used to have beauti-ful women around them. Rusty liked the fussing.”

Considering an image of Rusty where he’s got a large blanket draped over him and a model stands looking off into the distance, Lekai admires Rusty’s natural ability.

“If you’ll notice, he’s per-fectly poised, one leg up,” she said.

And while modeling may change many a gentle soul into something less pleasing, that didn’t happen to Rusty.

“Sunny is more robust and bossy,” Lekai said. “Rusty is more easygo-ing.”

Rusty died just this past spring in April, a very sad day for Lekai and her family.

“The day he died, he was still

looking gorgeous,” she said. “He was such a sweetie. It was really hard, but he was so relaxed; there was no trauma.”

Lekai grows quiet remembering her beloved animal. Finally, with tears in her eyes, she begins to talk.

“If we could have brought him into the house as a house pet, we would have — he was that darling,” she said.

“My friend Jody brought him to us when he was 12 — We had him 20 years,” said Lekai. “Generally speak-ing, horses live to their mid 20s. He started his modeling career at 31 years old.”

Lekai runs a local business, paso-robleswineries.net, an “insider’s tour guide.” For information on Show Me Your Mumu, go to showmeyour-mumu.com.

teAChing An old horSe neW triCkSrustY reaChes top model status toward the end of a long happY life

The Arab, Rusty, started his modeling career at the age of 31. He is seen here with model Jessica Davis. Photo submitted


By LUKE PHILLIPSOf EquinE Enthusiast

When competing in dres-sage competitions — what the International

Equestrian Federation calls “the highest expression of horse training” — riders are expected to show poise and perfect union of movement with their horse and Atascadero trainer Megan Isola says this can be achieved through a regimen of Pilates exercise tailored to each individual rider’s needs.

“It’s just amazing to me how much dressage and Pilates go together,” Isola said. “It really is like doing Pilates on a horse. What you’re doing is you’re controlling your body and you’re learning how your body works and where to move from for safe, effective movement. And whether you’re on a horse or walking down the street or driving your car, that’s important. It’s just that when you’re up on a horse you get direct feedback from the horse, so it’s instantaneous.”

Just like in Pilates, Isola says that dressage riders are always thinking about their posture, about lengthen-ing the spine, keeping the pelvis in a neutral position and engaging their core and Pilates provides the perfect set of exercises to strengthen these abilities.

“So you’re working from your core out as opposed to trying to muscle things out with your limbs and extremities,” she said. “So you’re working from the inside out and it just gives you a really smooth, strong, effortless, poised look and that’s what you’re going for.”

Isola says that riders experience a lot of deep hip flexion when riding, so she likes to concentrate on strength-ening the quad muscles in extension, which will give riders more control of their leg muscles when riding.

“So rather than working on a lunge, we’ll do exercises that work on the quads, but works them in an extended position,” she said.

Isola also works with riders on strengthening and stabilizing the muscles that support the shoulders, such as the lats and lower trapezius muscles, to ensure that riders look at ease when holding the reins.

“Shoulder tension is something that you always want to get rid of because the horse feels that in the reigns,” she said. “So we work on strengthening and stabilizing through the supporting muscles and joints so there is almost an element of relaxation. When you see anybody who does anything amazingly well, it looks effortless.”

Isola says that the same principals apply when practicing Pilates — ev-erything should look very easy even though the body is working very hard.

“There is an element of effort-lessness to it and that’s important because when you’re relaxed you have more range of motion, you have more freedom of movement,” she said. “When you’re tense, if you think about it, all you motions are sharp and quick and kind of edgy. Dressage is almost like doing Pilates on a horse, or you could flip it the other way and say that what we’re doing in here is dressage for the human body.”

When working with a dressage rider, Isola assesses the posture and muscle structure to find strengths and weaknesses and then uses indi-vidualized Pilates routines to help them achieve their goals, and work in better unity with their horse.

“They’re going to set the tone for the horse,” she said. “If they have asymmetries in the body, the horse feels that and the horse responds to that. So it’s our job to give them the best physiological structure that we

can so the horse works how it’s sup-posed to.”

Isola trains riders at her studio on Traffic Way in Atascadero and still has spots open for any dressage riders who may be interested in train-

ing with her. If you’re interested in booking a training session, you can reach Megan Isola at (805) 466-9642. You can also find more information on the North County Pilates Web site at www.northcountypilates.com.

pilAteS And dreSSAge go hAnd-in-hAnd

the kneeling hip stretch, performed on the Reformer, stretches the quad and hip flexors.

north County Pilates student Odie Cawley performs a standing lunch on a Reformer machine to help build her core and lower body strength, essential elements for a dres-sage rider. Contributed photos

SuMMer 2014 | Published by News Media Corporation Published by News Media Corporation | SuMMer 2014


the king’S Sport12 Years of polo in los osos

Jessica Hartley digs deep to get the hit in chukker training. Photos By Allyson Oken



Imagine an 80-acre facility dedi-cated to the game of polo that is not in Los Angeles or San Diego,

but in the heart of the Central Coast in the small town of Los Osos. Then jump back to reality and find it was not a dream, but the Central Coast Polo Club.

Megan Judge is the manager and founder of this nonprofit. Since the club’s inception in 2002, Judge has built and developed a very well-rounded program to bring the “King’s Sport” to the Central Coast. Her 80-acre facility offers riding lessons, polo lessons, horse rentals, weekly scrimmages, boarding, a 1-mile track, numerous mountains and monthly tournaments. The club also participates in circuit tourna-ments with California Polo Club, Santa Barbara Polo Club, Orange County, Bel Air, Menlo, Horse-park, Eldorado, Lakeside, Empire, Poway Polo Club and San Diego Polo Club.

Judge named the arena for the man, who taught her all about the sport, her grandfather William “Bill” Carter Jr. as a memorial to him. It was completed in August of 2009 and is a regulation 300-foot by 150-foot polo arena with 5 foot walls — the final touch needed to make her facility the premier polo club in San Luis Obispo

County.She said she developed a passion

for the sport as a teen.“I love what I do. I have been in-

volved in polo since I was 13 years old. I learned to play from my grand-father Bill Carter,” she said. “I grew up in Santa Monica and he played at Will Rodgers State Park, so he and his friends taught me everything I know. Then when I was looking at colleges I saw that Cal Poly had a polo team so I got in and decided to go. Then after Cal Poly, I found a job locally and I thought to myself, ‘Well what if I started a club’. Then I would not have to drive back to L.A. every weekend just to play and I could teach people how to play. So that is how the whole thing came to-gether.”

In addition to providing training for beginners Judge offers Scholas-tic or Collegiate Player, packages for the month, quarter or semester. She has agreements with both Cal Poly and Cuesta Colleges to provide this service to the students at these cam-puses. Eligible players must be:

Attending Cal Poly State Univer-sity or Cuesta full-time

Making progress toward a degree, an AA or transferring to a 4-year school.

Under 25 years of ageFor all of her programs Judge also

provides the horse, and all of the

equipment along with instruction. The polo school teaches the polo swing, the rules, polo riding tech-niques and strategy. There is also emphasis on horse management and budgeting for polo as a hobby. Judge explained that they offer a well-rounded education for the serious polo player as well as the novice.

“We offer a little bit of everything here,” said Judge. “The US Polo As-sociation comes and puts on clinics for us periodically. The club offers riding lessons from beginning to ad-vanced riders. We also teach people how to play polo. We have a full Polo School so we have a hitting cage; we have foot mallet instruction, we have 18 school horses, all the equipment and all the tack. We also have coach-ing chukkers twice a week for begin-ners, and then we have beginner to advanced chukkers Sundays. This is where people wear their whites and jerseys and play competitive games. People can come watch our tourna-ments. The best days to watch are Friday at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. We have about seven or eight students that are working with us out of Cal Poly.”

A lesson usually begins with an interdiction to the horse they are working with so that the student un-derstands how important the horse is to the sport. Then they would move onto foot mallet polo where

the student is on the ground to get an idea of what hitting the ball is like without a horse. Moving on to the hitting cage, a beginner can get on the wooden horse to get used to the feel of leaning over the horse and taking a hit. The final portion of a beginner lesson is getting them up on the horse, making sure the student can maneuver the horse and then they get to have a mallet and hit the ball around a bit. Judge said that most people could get up on a horse in a ring pretty quickly at her facility.

She said, “Most people can usually take about eight to 10 riding lessons and then follow that up with about a dozen polo lessons and be ready to play in a club chukker. For a more experienced rider, I suggest two or three private lessons and then they can go into coaching chukkers, as well. Anyone that wants to ride from our area and beyond is welcome to ride. We have even put people up in the past that lived out of the area.”

To see a match, learn to play, check out cost of member dues and in general enjoy the equine facility, visit www.centralcoastpolo.com. Central Coast Polo Club is located at 2320 Clark Valley Road in Los Osos and to contact owner and club manager Megan Judge, call 801-8410 or e-mail [email protected]. the king’S Sport

12 Years of polo in los osos

from left to right, from the Central Coast Polo Club - Megan Judge, Jessica hartley, nick Bolt, Joyce Packston, Glenn Carros and Calder Zarkos.

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Western Interpretations, telling the story of the Old West with every work

of art, is the mission of owner and artist Vel Miller, who has 41 years to her credit as an artist in multiple mediums.

She is known throughout the Western-style art community for her paintings, drawings and sculp-tures of such intricacy and beauty one would never think that she free hands all of her work in clay before going through the bronzing process. Vel said that when she was younger her greatest supporter was her moth-er-in-law who helped her discover her talent.

“When I met my husband, we went to Christmas at his house,” said Vel. “My mother-in-law asked me if I had ever painted because I had drawn some horses for my husband’s broth-ers as a present. I said, ‘no’, and so she bought me my first set of oil paints. Then about a year later, we got married and she was my biggest encouragement throughout our rela-tionship. Then around 1963, I went to the Saddle Back Inn to show my work with the help of a friend. They liked my art so much that I was chosen for their annual show. So I was the only girl in the show and I was in with all the cowboy artists of America. I sold my first piece to Leaning Tree who bought my images for their card line and then a gallery out of Scottsdale and it kind of snowballed into showing in the galleries. I also taught at the LA Art League and took lessons to improve my understand-ing of anatomy. I taught six classes a week and was taking three. I worked there for six years and then I was to busy making art to do it anymore. I painted for about five years and then I saw all these sculptures come out. So all these cowboys gave me point-ers and then I was doing it. Now it is 40 years later and I am still doing

what I love.”Vel loves

to create art that tells a story and that means some-thing to the person she is creating it for. Right now, she is working on a painting for a friend who wanted to preserve some happy memories.

“A friend c o m m i s -sioned this painting of the herd,” she said explain-ing the story behind the art. “He and his boy and wife went out to a dude ranch all the time. It was closing down so he wanted a painting to remember it by. These are his horses and some that they rode when there. All of my work has purpose and meaning behind the art for the person I make it for and myself. So that is one of my paintings.”

Walking around Vel’s home studio is like visiting a gallery. She has hun-dreds of sculptures of all shapes and sizes as well as paintings, draw-ings and even Native American ar-tifacts collected in her travels. She explained the process that she goes through when creating sculptures to be bronzed. These make up well over 50 percent of her collected works of art.

“I start with clay when I am working on a sculpture,” she said. “I do all my bronze work with Genesis Bronze in Paso Robles and I get to work with them every step of the way. I am very hands-on with my work.

Then when I am done working the clay free hand, they paint it with a rubber mold material in section. Then they put a fi-berglass shell around it to keep it ridged. Then they take the shell off and it becomes the cast for the wax to be poured into. Then I have to chase the wax. This means that I have to take off the seams from the mold and fill in any holes or imperfec-tions. So I want it exactly how I want the bronze to look. They

also have gates in the wax. This is an area that is hard to fill and these allow the bronze to flow into the cre-vasses. Then they dip it in a ceramic solution, sift fine silicon sand into it to work into the creases, building the shell up with courser and courser sand. Then they dip it about 6 to 7 times and build a shell about an inch thick. That shell is put into the oven and melts the wax out. This is called the lost wax process. Then that shell cooks and becomes a ceramic shell that they heat and pour the bronze in to. Then when the bronze is cool, they break the ceramic off of the bronze and sandblast any imperfec-tions. With a large work, they create it in pieces and then weld it back together. When it is all finished and ready to patina with different acids, it will react giving you different colors.”

Vel also hand paints many of her sculptures with little details such as

adding color to the jewelry the char-acters are wearing. Native Ameri-can culture and people, as well as Western culture and people, inspire many of her works. When she was young, she had the great fortune of living with the Sioux Natives. Vel said that living with these beauti-ful people has inspired many of her works of art. A piece that she recently completed depicted the transcendent figure of Sioux women.

She said, “Having lived with these beautiful people, I wanted to depict her with the regal, forthright and strong stature that the Sioux people embody. I wanted to show how much I respect these people through my art.”

Versatility is the word that comes to mind when looking at Vel’s long career in the arts. She has even created illustrations for poetry and short stories. Not to mention owning Hayfork Ranch where she keeps a herd of longhorn cattle and more than a few horses. To learn more about Vel Miller’s work, visit www.catl.com /HayforkLandandCattle or call here studio at 805-466-3737.

preSerVing the old WeSt With Artvel miller, 41 Years in the trade and going strong

Working the clay and getting it just right is what Vel Miller does to get it ready for the foundry. Contributed by Vel Miller

Vel Miller just finished this sculpture and was happy with the way it turned out. Photo By allyson Oken/Equine Enthusiast


By SAMANTHA BENGTSONOf EquinE Enthusiast

The Salinas Valley Fair is a massive undertaking, and is accomplished because of the

hard work of many different people who come together for a common goal. Those volunteers were recog-nized on June 26 at the Salinas Valley Fair Orradre Building.

“We may only be open for four days in May but it takes more than that to prepare for it,” said Christine Phillips, SV Fair board president. “Thirty-four thousand people came out to see something that you had a hand in creating. Thank you from all of us for your time and your help.”

Salinas Valley Fair Interim CEO Kelley Ferreira has been running things and making the fair run smoothly for the last five months. Phillips said that there was a little bit of worry about having a new fair CEO come in and work with staff after Sarah Cummings left in

January, but Ferreira proved other-wise.

“He (Ferreira) agreed to come on board and help with the transition during our CEO search,” said Phil-lips. “He stepped in one day, and took the reins. He not only was in-strumental in our fair but also in our CEO search, the Orradre moderniza-tion, the automation of our auction this year and he did that in just a few months. I know for a fact there are a lot of things he took care of behind the scenes that we’ll never know about.”

Phillips also announced that the CEO search was over and the new CEO would begin work on July 7.

“We are on our way to new heights of creating more interim events, re-vitalizing our master plan and some major repairs to our buildings that we wish to keep in our plan,” said Phil-lips. “I’m pleased to announce that we will have someone on staff who has the energy and a fresh outlook to help us succeed in our goals. Ms.

TJ Ple brings with her the experience and skill set necessary to our future endeavors. Please welcome TJ to the Salinas Valley Fair family.”

The volunteers dinner also rec-ognized the Blue Ribbon Award winners. The Blue Ribbon award is awarded to a volunteer or volunteers for their extra long term work at the fair, and their volunteerism over the years. It is sponsored by the Western Fairs Association.

“It’s one of those awards that, it doesn’t necessarily have to come every year but when we find people that really deserve it then we present it,” said Bert Silva.

Terry Rodman was presented with the award in recognition and appreciation of dedicated support of the Salinas Valley Fair. Rodman has worked at the Salinas Valley Fair as security, and worked in the sheep di-vision for more than 30 years.

“He spent his life in King City being a highway patrolman, and he’s married to Glenda,” said Silva.

“When his oldest daughter Andrea started showing lambs, he came down and volunteered as a parent. After she was gone, his other daugh-ter was gone, his son was shown, he stayed with it and carried it on through.”

Rodman received the Blue Ribbon Award along with Carl Camney. Camney is a Lockwood resident, who appears on weigh-in day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for showing animals. Camney also helps out during auction day.

“Camney had kids here too, they all went through it (the fair, showing animals) too, and he continued,” said Silva. “He raised sheep for a project of Lockwood 4-H. He still volun-teers to this day, both Camney and Rodman still do.”

Kelley ferreira, salinas Valley fair interim CEO, is thanked by Christine Phillips, fair board president, on June 26, for his hard work and dedication to the fair. samantha Bengtson/Equine Enthusiast

SAlinAS VAlley FAirwelComes new Ceo, reCognizes volunteers

Bert silva and terry Rodman pose for a picture after Rodman receives the Blue Ribbon award for his commitment to volunteering at the salinas Valley fair. submitted photo


Equine Enthusiast

Guest Columnist

Daily-, short- and long-term goals set the stage for a suc-cessful competition season.

By spending some time assessing how you and your horse currently are doing, you have a starting point from which you can realistically plan for what’s ahead. From this point, you can address what is needed to successfully bring your intentions into reality.

If you have a goal to ride competi-tively at your best, it is important to clearly evaluate how you and your horse are currently doing. You can clarify your effectiveness by being videoed or getting feedback from a knowledgeable mentor. Mirrors can be helpful to see the details of your horse’s balance, muscular develop-ment and outline. It is important to remember that what you practice is what you train, so being sure you are working in the right direction daily is very important. Getting good coach-ing may be an expenditure with

limitations, but getting good help in a timely manner can save a lot of money in entry fees and unnecessary frustration from struggling inde-pendently when knowledgeable eyes may save fruitless wasted time.

If you and your horse have specific obstacles presently, it is important to get those settled before introducing more challenging exercises or tasks. Usually slowing the exercise down, even to a walk, helps you clarify and better articulate your aids. Often this alone creates better understanding and compliance to your request. Again, having a training plan to address the weak areas will hasten your resolve of challenging behav-ior. A mentor may be able to add more options for exercises or better timing of aids to solve the problem. Remember if you can produce the desired result from your horse at home, the chance of it occurring at a competition is much more likely. Likewise, when your horse is com-

peting confidently and successfully, your chance of increasing the degree of difficulty with success at an event is much more tangible.

When your training sessions at home show consistent and depend-able results, it is time to begin traile-ring to different locations away from home, especially if your horse is not well seasoned with traveling around. New surroundings can be distracting to any horse, so be sure to do trail rides or schooling sessions away from home to gain experience. This is an important point for more inex-perienced riders, as well. Eventually a changed environment will become comfortable for both horse and rider.

So, if you clearly evaluate your current situation, commit to im-proving the quality of your training sessions and travel to different loca-tions, then a final aspect is to be sure you as the rider are prepared for what is expected at the new, higher level of competition. You must feel

knowledgeable and competent to be a leader for your horse. Any confu-sion, fear or doubt on your part, as a rider, will be immediately trans-mitted to your equine partner, so you must be prepared to “lead” your horse well. Arriving before the com-petition with time to school and fa-miliarize you and your horse with the surroundings helps calm nerves and settle any unsteadiness. And, remember to keep in mind that any outcome is a lesson learned, paving the way for improved performances in the future. This attitude will lessen the anxiety and frustration that sometimes accompany competing at a higher level!

Barbi Breen-Gurley operates Sea Horse Ranch out of 2566 Sea Horse Lane, Los Osos. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or call 805-528-0222.

plAnning For Future CompetitionS

Equine Enthusiast

Guest ColumnistBy Christine Ogorsolka Johnson

fOR EquinE Enthusiast

Life insurance, funeral insurance, living will, aftercare — all terms that many of us are familiar with when it comes to our own life plan-ning. It can all be overwhelming on top of the fact that death is just not something we want to think about. But as an aftercare professional, I can’t stress enough how important making a plan can be. Having an Aftercare Plan in place is extremely helpful to your family members and loved ones. The stress of losing a loved one and the emotions of grief can be incapacitating.

One concern for many people is, “Have I covered everything in my Aftercare Plan?” and “Have I thought of every detail?” Many people have not. What’s missing? A plan for your pets. Who will take care of them in the event that you are too ill, hospitalized, or pass away?

It’s a question that is quite often forgotten. If a family member passes on and or is unable to care for a pet any longer, another family member may take the responsibility to care for that pet. But what if the cost or care is a burden onto that family member? Many pets are euthanized or placed in shelters. In many cases, this could have been avoided by a

simple plan.I’m learning myself of these plans

in our industry. It’s been quite the hot topic lately and honestly, I have recently been doing my own re-search and educating myself on the correct terminology and options that are available.

There are two types of legal docu-ments that can by drawn up by your-self or an attorney. These plans can be added to your own living will and aftercare planning — The Pet Protec-tion Agreement or a Pet Trust.

The first is the Pet Protection Agreement. You can acquire one as simple as going online to Legalzoom.com. They offer documents starting

at $39 and will walk you through the process online. A Pet Protection Agreement (PPA) is a legal docu-ment but does not require the assis-tance of an attorney. A PPA is also recognized in all states and is more of a set of instructions of who is respon-sible for the care of your pet, special medications/food, veterinary care and aftercare wishes for your pet — cremation services/wishes and what company to use. The second plan is the Pet Trust. A Pet Trust is drawn up with the help of an attorney, who specializes in estate planning. This type of trust in not recognized in all states (but is recognized in the state of California). A Pet Trust is more

Who Will CAre For them When i’m gone?


Fine art in the making“Moonshadow” is the title of this photograph by felton photographer Karen asherah. the horse is a mustang who lives at Return to freedom american Wild horse sanctuary, Lom-poc. asher said she produces “fine art digital images from the heart.” she can be reached at www.karenasherah.com or P.O. box 1389, felton, Ca. her phone is 831-331-3384.

knowledgeable and competent to be a leader for your horse. Any confu-sion, fear or doubt on your part, as a rider, will be immediately trans-mitted to your equine partner, so you must be prepared to “lead” your horse well. Arriving before the com-petition with time to school and fa-miliarize you and your horse with the surroundings helps calm nerves and settle any unsteadiness. And, remember to keep in mind that any outcome is a lesson learned, paving the way for improved performances in the future. This attitude will lessen the anxiety and frustration that sometimes accompany competing at a higher level!

Barbi Breen-Gurley operates Sea Horse Ranch out of 2566 Sea Horse Lane, Los Osos. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or call 805-528-0222.

plAnning For Future CompetitionS

at $39 and will walk you through the process online. A Pet Protection Agreement (PPA) is a legal docu-ment but does not require the assis-tance of an attorney. A PPA is also recognized in all states and is more of a set of instructions of who is respon-sible for the care of your pet, special medications/food, veterinary care and aftercare wishes for your pet — cremation services/wishes and what company to use. The second plan is the Pet Trust. A Pet Trust is drawn up with the help of an attorney, who specializes in estate planning. This type of trust in not recognized in all states (but is recognized in the state of California). A Pet Trust is more

Who Will CAre For them When i’m gone?

expensive but can provide a more detailed plan for your pet’s care and aftercare wishes. It also pro-vides you a “Trust” to set up and name a beneficiary to be in charge. The trust would allow funds to be available to your pet for veteri-nary care, medications, and in the case of death — monies to be al-lotted for cremation for example.

There are also organizations that can help. Locally, we are lucky enough to have a non-profit organization, Pet Peace of Mind, associated with the San Luis Obispo Hospice, www.hos-piceslo.org/services/pet-peace-mind.

Both plans are good options to research and discuss with your family members. Once you have chosen a plan, research your options of what care you want for your beloved pet. This care should include veterinary care you feel comfortable with and also aftercare planning, which includes cremation and or burial.

You have provided a beautiful life for your beloved pet. Make sure you provide a plan for them that will ensure they are cared for just as if you were there with them. After all, you are the very best one to do this for them.

For more detailed information on Pet Protection Agreements and Pet Trusts, visit the ASPCA website — www.aspca.org — under Pet Care and Planning for your Pets Future.

Also, Legalzoom.com has nec-essary documents and guidelines to follow. Search under Wills and Trusts.

For more helpful blogs and in-formation, visit Eden Memorial Pet Care’s blog on pet care, local business showcases, and help through the grieving process — www.edenmemorialpetcare.com/blog.

Christine Ogorsolka Johnson is the co-owner of Eden Memorial Pet Care.


By Stefano Schiavo, DVMOf thE EquinE CEntER — san Luis OBisPO

Equine Cushing’s disease (ECD) is a hormonal (endocrine) disorder that is more correctly referred to as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction, or PPID. The pathology affects the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain and the disease is most commonly caused by a benign tumor or abnormal enlargement of the gland. Nowadays horses are living long enough for the disorder to manifest itself, and Cushing’s disease is becoming more and more prevalent.

This article is to help you, the horse owner, recognize which are the early and advanced signs of ECD, pursue the diag-nosis and manage the disease.

Who gets ECD?Cushing’s disease is the most common

endocrine disorder of the horse. Horses, ponies and donkeys are all affected, with the average age of disease onset being between 15-19 years of age. Some studies report that ponies appear to develop this disease more frequently. There is also a breed predisposition and a higher in-cidence of the disease seen in Morgans, Paso Finos, Arabians, Quarter Horses, Saddlebreds, Warmbloods, and Tennes-see Walking Horses. There also seems to be a sex predilection as males are more often affected than females.What does an ECD or “Cushingoid” horse look like?

There are several clinical signs asso-ciated with ECD, some recognizable in the early stages of the disease and others more evident as the disease progresses. To understand if your horse is at risk for ECD review the clinical signs below, if you can answer “yes” to two or more of them, you should consult your veter-inarian as there may be the possibility that your horse is presenting early or ad-

vanced signs of ECD.Early Clinical Signs:

• Excessive hair growth (regional) and delayed or loss of shedding

This is the most common clinical finding (75 percent) and it occurs when the hormonal messages that signal hair follicles to release the winter hair are not occurring properly. This results in delayed shedding of winter hairs (com-pared to other horses in the field or barn) or hair discoloration. In this region of the country any horse that has any re-maining winter haircoat after mid-April should be considered a possible early ECD candidate.• Cresty neck and/or fatty deposits

(regional adiposity) and a change in body conformationThe horse that appears too fat in some

places (cresty neck, fat pads at tail head, bulging supraorbital fat, and potbellied appearance) and too thin in others (loss of top line muscle mass, swayed back, ribs visible).

• Chronic laminitisMore than 50 percent of horses with

Cushing’s disease develop laminitis. Laminitis consists of Third Phalanx (Pedal or Coffin bone) rotation as a con-sequence of a bone detachment from the hoof wall. Signs of chronic laminitis are:

hoof wall rings, chronic lameness and unusual hoof conformation. If Laminitis is not treated in time through the combi-nation of a corrective trimming/shoeing and medical therapy, the rotation of the tip of the Coffin bone can be so severe as to penetrate the sole.

• Behavioral changesMany owners notice a change in the horse’s attitude, the horse acts more le-thargic and mellow. Commonly the horse owner believes the behavioral change to be caused by the progressive ageing of their horses. ECD is also frequently ob-served as decreased athletic performance of unknown origin.Advanced Clinical Signs

Most of the clinical signs observed in the early stages of the disease are ex-acerbated when Cushing’s disease is advanced. The excessive hair growth becomes more generalized as well as a

delay or complete loss of shedding. The horse pres-ents more remarkable evidence of body confor-mation changes such as the typical “pot belly” (rounded abdomen) as well as skeletal muscle

atrophy (decrease in muscle mass).With advanced ECD look for clinical

signs such as:• Recurrent infections (e.g. sole abscess,

dermatitis, sinusitis)• Hyperglycemia (elevated glucose

levels)• Decreased reproductive cycles / infer-

tility• Excessive urination / excessive thirst• Abnormal sweating (increased or de-

creased)

Warning signs to look for with Equine Cushing’s DiseaseEARLY• Decreased athletic performance• Change in attitude – lethargy, de-

creased performance• Delayed shedding – summer coat

delayed beyond mid-April• Regional Hypertrichosis – over long

hair• Change in body conformation: pot

belly, swayed back, muscle loss over croup and topline

• Regional fat deposits• Laminitis and intermittent lameness of

unknown origin in the front feet.• Reproductive failuresADVANCED• Lethargy• Generalized Hypertrichosis (ex-

cessive hair growth)• Loss of seasonal hair growth and shed-

ding• Muscle atrophy• Abnormal sweating (either increased

or decreased)• Laminitis or Founder• Polyuria / Polydipsia (excess drinking

and urination)• Recurrent infections (e.g. sole abscess)

What to do if your horse is showing any signs of Equine Cushing’s Disease

The diagnosis of Cushing’s disease is made by the observation of clinic al signs with the support of diagnostic blood tests. You should consult your Veter-inarian as many tests are available and the test results can be compromised if not performed correctly.

Unfortunately there is no cure for ECD, but it can be successfully treated through proper management and medical therapy.Correct management consists of:• Addressing the overgrown hair coat by

frequent body clipping• Dentistry• Regular hoof care• Proper nutrition• Medical Therapy

The dopamine agonist Pergolide Mesylate (Prascend) has historically been the treatment of choice by Veterinarians to improve the quality of life and reverse many clinical signs of ECD.

By consulting your Veterinarian and correctly managing your horse in terms of preventive care, proper diets, and medical treatment you can manage this disorder and prolong your horse’s life, and also help reduce overall disease in-cidence.

For more details on the pathology of Cushing’s disease, see our website at www.TheEquineCenter.com.

Some Before and After examples of horses treated for ECD

Note the changes in hair coat, and body posture and conformation.

don’t miSS the red FlAgS oF eArly equine CuShingS diSeASe (eCd)

Equine Enthusiast

Guest Columnist

SuMMer 2014 | Published by News Media Corporation

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company Since 1938

hair• Change in body conformation: pot

belly, swayed back, muscle loss over croup and topline

• Regional fat deposits• Laminitis and intermittent lameness of

unknown origin in the front feet.• Reproductive failuresADVANCED• Lethargy• Generalized Hypertrichosis (ex-

cessive hair growth)• Loss of seasonal hair growth and shed-

ding• Muscle atrophy• Abnormal sweating (either increased

or decreased)• Laminitis or Founder• Polyuria / Polydipsia (excess drinking

and urination)• Recurrent infections (e.g. sole abscess)

What to do if your horse is showing any signs of Equine Cushing’s Disease

The diagnosis of Cushing’s disease is made by the observation of clinic al signs with the support of diagnostic blood tests. You should consult your Veter-inarian as many tests are available and the test results can be compromised if not performed correctly.

Unfortunately there is no cure for ECD, but it can be successfully treated through proper management and medical therapy.Correct management consists of:• Addressing the overgrown hair coat by

frequent body clipping• Dentistry• Regular hoof care• Proper nutrition• Medical Therapy

The dopamine agonist Pergolide Mesylate (Prascend) has historically been the treatment of choice by Veterinarians to improve the quality of life and reverse many clinical signs of ECD.

By consulting your Veterinarian and correctly managing your horse in terms of preventive care, proper diets, and medical treatment you can manage this disorder and prolong your horse’s life, and also help reduce overall disease in-cidence.

For more details on the pathology of Cushing’s disease, see our website at www.TheEquineCenter.com.

Some Before and After examples of horses treated for ECD

Note the changes in hair coat, and body posture and conformation.

don’t miSS the red FlAgS oF eArly equine CuShingS diSeASe (eCd)


The latest ploy of the animal right-ists is to get people to think of horses as pets, rather than livestock. The Animal Welfare Council wants teachers to in-corporate into their lesson plans the question, “Is a horse more like a dog or a cow?”

The animal rightists shot themselves in the foot on this one, after all, when is the last time your Quarter Horse curled up in your lap or sat beside you in your pickup, like some teenager in love? Tell your horse to roll over and lay on his

back so you can scratch him in his secret spot and see if his leg jerks uncontrolla-bly like a dog’s does.

Throw a slobbery tennis ball for your horse to retrieve and see if he or she re-trieves it like an overeager mutt, or just stands there like a common cow. And when’s the last time your horse obeyed your command to “shake” or “sit”?

Here is further proof that a horse is more like a cow than a dog:

• Many dogs are housebroken but when was the last time you saw a horse enter through a “horsey door” to sit at his owner’s feet while they watch Dancing With The Stars together? And you hardly ever see a horse or a cow drink out of the toilet, or dig a hole in the flower bed like dogs do.

• Has your vet ever had to remove a squeaky toy from your horse’s stomach?

• I’d guess the average weight of cows and horses to be around 1,100 pounds whereas the biggest dog in history was an old English Mastiff that weighed 343 pounds.

• You can go broke raising livestock like cows and horses. Unless you are betting on Greyhounds or have gone completely crazy buying chew toys and

designer pet outfits, it’s a slower process to lose your life’s savings on your pet dog.

• Horses and cows are vegetarians; dogs are carnivores. Put a flake of hay in front of a cow or horse and it will dis-appear. Do the same to a dog and he’ll pee on it.

• Dogs have litters. If your cow or mare ever gave birth to eight offspring at one time you’d have your own reality show on The Discovery Channel

• Next time you are in a restaurant ask the server for a “Horsey Bag”.

• It’s a common sight these days in urbanized areas to see people chained to their dogs, carrying around a plastic bag of doggy doo. Be honest now, have you ever seen someone walking their horse or cow dragging behind them a tri-ple-strength garbage bag full of horse or cow manure?

• At rodeos cowboys attempt to ride members of the equine and bovine species but you hardly ever see a cowboy or cowgirl getting bucked off a Border Collie. If cowboys even attempted to ride a Dalmatian or Corgi PETA would have a coronary. Put 200 pounds on the back of a Dachshund and it would high center

on a pebble.• Ranchers don’t usually dress their

livestock in cute little hats and handmade sweaters. I’ve never seen a Quarter Horse sleeping in pajamas like some dogs do.

• Horses and cows swat flies with their tails. Dogs try to bite them to death.

• Many dogs are yappers and barkers whereas cows and horses are much more quiet and don’t talk back like dogs have been known to do.

• Even hint that you might be going somewhere and your dog will load itself in your truck faster than your wife does for a trip to Costco. When’s the last time you had a cow or a horse voluntarily jump in the truck for a trip to the auction market?

• Shoot a duck and your Lab will swim in a lake or climb a mountain to retrieve it. Shoot the same shotgun in front of your horse or cow and you’ll have to retrieve your livestock from the next county. And when is the last time your gelding retrieved your newspaper or your slippers for you.

So, go ahead and ask the question, is your horse more like a cow or a dog?

I rest my case.

Equine Enthusiast

Guest ColumnisthouSeBroke horSeS

Lee PittsWWW.LEEPittsBOOKs.COM

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Equine Enthusiast - Summer 2014

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