Flynt Hylls Gypsies

05/16/2024

Wayne Wedin is a Kansas-based country artist whose music blends heart, faith, and grit with a modern edge. A U.S. Army veteran and lifelong storyteller, Wayne writes songs drawn from real-life experiences.

01/28/2024

Old Synthic Wintec Saddle with Adjustable Gullet

02/06/2023

08/28/2022

Did you know?

Feeding 100% alfalfa as a forage program presents several issues that can be problematic for some horses. (100% meaning no grass or grass hay.)

Before moving on, please re-read the first paragraph, emphasis on "can" and "some."

Issue 1: Excess protein intake. When a performance horse consumes a lot more protein than required the extra protein must be excreted via the urine. Along with the protein being excreted, water and electrolytes are also excreted. This can result in poor stamina, predisposition to dehydration, and reduced heat tolerance (especially in hot and humid conditions).

Issue 2: Alfalfa may also have negative implications in horses that suffer from Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (commonly termed “bleeders”). Here’s why--if the diet contributes more protein than the horse requires, the excess is broken down into urea and excreted in the urine (this is evident by the ammonia smell). Ammonia fumes inhaled repeatedly over time can cause irritation in the airway which may cause the horse to bleed when exercised at high intensity. **Note: the root cause is excess protein in the diet, not alfalfa itself. Excess protein can also come from unnecessary amounts of grain and supplements.

Issue 3: A 100% alfalfa diet alters intestinal pH in a manner that predisposes the horse to enteroliths.

-The late Dr. Bill Vandergrift and Dr. Jyme Nichols

In general, alfalfa is recommended at 50% or less of total daily forage intake for most performance horses.

07/23/2022

“Why are you so hard on yourself?”

Because I never forget that kid.

The kid who saved her pocket money to buy the latest pony magazine, to then spend hours pouring over each page, analysing every photo and reading every single word.

The kid who was incessantly bullied for being the “weird horse girl”. The one who was never at the parties, but always at the yard. The one who found a way to make every single school project about horses.

The kid who overcame, what felt like enormous fears, because she believed that was the only thing that stood in the way of her biggest dreams. The one who used to be sick before jumping round 60cm because she wanted, so badly, to do well.

The kid who sat in the stands at Olympia every year, watching the showjumping, completely mesmerised by the whole thing, deep down hoping one day it would be her in that ring.

The kid who would canter along overgrown tracks on a little 30 year old pony every Saturday morning, pretending she was at Badminton, truly believing that one day she could be doing it for real.

That kid who believed in the power of the underdog, who didn’t believe money dictated success, who didn’t care about having the newest saddle or shiniest boots, the one who cared about nothing but her pony.

So yes, I’m hard on myself. But only because I refuse to let every sacrifice that kid made, every tear she cried and every mountain she climbed to be for nothing.