In the Spring of 2017, Mom and I flew down to Las Vegas for the AMHA Annual General Meeting. It was an exciting trip, because it was our first AGM with AMHA. We participate in our local WCMHC meetings, but have never seen a meeting like this where the industry is literally affected and moved by the decisions made at those meeting room tables. The AGM would have needed a week of time if they scheduled the meetings all in the same room, so in order to be efficient, there would be 2-5 rooms with smaller meetings going on at all times with scheduled big blocks of time for BIG meetings that everyone was interested in attending. Everything from the Local Officials Committee to the Membership Committee. I got to sit in on a very exciting Promotions Committee meeting where we chatted about how to keep people involved and inspired with AMHA. 

     We also attended the awards banquet, where we were announced as the 2016 Honor Roll Buckle Recipients for the 32-34" Country Pleas...

Being at the top of Google Search results means more clicks into your website, more visitors, more impressions, and more inquiries on horses which could lead to a sale. The key to being at the top of Google search results is having a compelling, interesting website that encourages traffic and  click-throughs. Everything you do online is tracked and recorded through "web analytics". For instance, I can tell that 14 people visited my site on Tuesday and the first link they clicked was "About Us". Thats pretty powerful information!! So how can you harness this knowledge and put it to work?

1) THE MAGIC OF A HOMEPAGE  

Your homepage is hardwired to be the most-clicked spot on your website.  Your home page is a good spot to put News, Events, show string information or links to topics of interest within your website (i.e.- “check out our new article” or “the babies are here! Click here to see our foal page”). At the very least your website needs to have your location and a small description ab...

The  American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) International Gamblers Choice class is coming up on September 1 at the World show in Fort Worth, TX! Last year was it's first year and we would LOVE to have loads of international exhibitors in the ring again this year! This class gives international exhibitors a chance to show. We all put our names into a hat and get a horse by random draw at the gate to handle for the halter class. From what I gathered, exhibitors were to be judged on how they handled and showed the horse to its full potential (for never previously working with that horse). 
This is my story. 
My stallions versatility class was the class right before the International class!! I was sitting in the stands watching the placings while simultaneously getting called down to the loading gate. I got down to the gate and was a swirl of accents and different languages as everyone was preparing to go into the ring. I was handed Elizabeth's mare Madison to handle, a...

 When it comes down to show day, I like to keep everything as organized and straight forward as I can. In my earlier show days, you could see me toting around a giant chest of horse products: sprays, detanglers.. mousse.. hair sprays.. a million different brushes and magic potions. Packing for shows was an ordeal and I always forgot something "super important" which lead to a meltdown on my behalf on show day. 

Over the years I have tried and tested many products and found the ones that work (for me).  My show day essentials all fit in a mini hot pink horse pail, and when I use one of the tools, it is put back immediately. The show halter also goes into the pail, and when I switch the horse out of its barn halter and into its show halter, the barn halter goes into the pail. I buy all of my "essentials" in bulk when they go on sale and they are all I use to achieve my show look. 

P.S. don't pull a Kaycee and forget to pack horse cookies TO EVERY SHOW!!! 

1.) Baby wipes. Great for...

A mares gestation is 11 months long (340 days). Most breeders bring their mares in at 310 days and keep a close watch on them because it isn't unusual for your mare to foal at 320 days. Your mare will need a seperate "stall" "shelter" area to foal in where she can be locked into at night (alone).

Remember mares are very sneaky about their foaling. If you have purchased a broodmare from another breeder it is important you gather her full breeding / foaling history. The best approach to foaling is an integrated one-- using as many methods of testing and surveillance as you can muster.

Signs to look for:

• Watch for a bag filling with milk. We have Maybe Baby milk test strips (we milk them once or twice a day just for a drop of milk to put on the pH strip. Depending on how she tests is relative to how soon she will foal, theoretically. Ie: if she tests 6.2 pH she will foal in a matter of hours. If her milk tests 6.8pH, she could foal within a 72 hour window. We have found this meth...

A long gorgeous tail is something that is held in high regard in the horse world. A long tail takes months, even years to grow, and is fairly high maintenance, but WOW. A long tail that touches the ground is just breath taking and so worth the extra effort!! Grow a long tail on your horses and enjoy the crowd oh & awe over your horse. After show season (August) is a great time to start braiding your horses tail.  

WHAT YOU NEED

1) Human hair ties. I like Ouchless brand because they are gentle.

2) A gentle horse tail brush. I LOVE the TailTamer horse hair brush with squiggly bristles. I have one for my own hair, too.

3) A leave in conditioner product. I just use the product that I buy for myself that I don't end up using. Lately I've been using Redken Anti-snap.

WHAT TO DO

1. Brush out your horses tail. Start at the bottom and work your way up to the tail head to be the gentlest on the tail.

2. Squirt in your chosen leave in conditioner, liberally.

3. Feel for the bottom of the tail b...

A properly sized bit goes a long way to promote communication with your horse and improve his comfort. A bit should not be too small in the horses mouth as to pinch him or restrict movement but you should not be able to see 1/2" or 1/4" hanging slack to either side of his face. A good, snug bit will allow him to be more comfortable and hold that bit in a place where it won't needlessly bang against the roof of his mouth or allow him to slip his tongue over it.  If you have a miniature who tends to flip their tongue over the bit consider a high ported bit to discourage this dangerous habit. It is a good idea to make sure your bits have copper or sweet iron inlay to get him salivating. A dry mouth is an unhappy mouth !

FOR STARTERS have your horses mouth checked yearly if you plan to drive and have any necessary dental work done by a certified equine dentist. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- Permanent marker

- A wooden pencil

- Ruler

1. Slide a wooden pencil into your horses mouth the same way you...

Measuring a foals pastern & canon bone in his first few days of life can give you a good insight on how tall he will end up. We use this formula with our foals and we expect it to be accurate, plus or minus half an inch!

STEP 1.

Measure pastern & canon bone from top of hoof (coronet) to center of knee.

STEP 2. 

Multiply that measurement by 4.

STEP 3. 

Add 2 inches.