Here’s a look at part of the campground as we were coming back in from a ride.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT CAMPING HERE

• The sites are gravel and level for the most part
• Trail access directly out of the campground
• Miles and miles of trails to ride
• The cleanest and nicest bathhouse we’ve ever seen
• Good size stalls for horses with extra shavings if needed
• Quiet and peaceful atmosphere
• No cell service and limited internet
• They have a dump station

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE

• Big hill to climb to the barn
• Stall floors are hard and uneven
• The creek crossing going into the campground can be tricky (have to go through it just right to not have the trailer hit your truck bed)

This picture can give you an idea of the steepness of the hill. It’s taken from standing close to the barn and looking down at the first couple of campsites. Fun to go down, not so fun to walk up.

THE HORSE BARN

As you can tell, there isn’t much we don’t like about this horse camp. It really is a great place to stay and if they would fix the stalls and add some stall mats, it would be even better. My horse struggled with the hard, uneven stall floors. Her legs would stock up pretty bad and she wouldn’t lay down to rest like she normally would at home. I tried to pad the stall with a little extra shavings but that didn’t help.

Aside from that, the barn is nice and the stalls are a good size. There are inside or outside stalls to choose from. You need to bring bucket hooks when you come though. There are hitching posts to tie to for tacking up or washing your horse off. They provide all the shavings, muck buckets and pitch forks. As mentioned, it is at the top of a steep hill so you’d either have to drive your tack up or bring your horse down to your camp site to tack up.

Horses are only allowed at the camp sites when tacking up. This is a good thing though. It helps to keep the campsites clean and nice.

CAMPING AREA

There are 14 sites all with water and electric hookups. One camping site has sewer access as well. Each site is pretty level but for some you might still need leveling blocks. All sites are gravel and stay pretty dry. Some are closer together than others. There are fire rings and picnic tables at each site.

The bathhouse and office are located in the middle of the campground which is a short walking distance from most sites. Here you have access to the internet if you need it. They also have a nice sitting area with a tv in the office for the husbands that don’t ride and want to watch football….like mine, lol.

I can’t say it enough but the bathhouse is the nicest one we’ve seen anywhere we have camped. There are 2 women’s bathrooms and 2 mens. All 4 are extremely clean and roomy. Each bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower. Each one is separate for single use with a locking door, which I really like. I don’t like the bathhouses that are like locker rooms. They have heat and ac.

There are 3 campsites and another barn at the entrance to the campground before you cross the creek. These are nice too but you do have to cross the creek and walk further to use the bathhouse.

All campers must unload horses in the designated area which I’m sure helps to keep the campground clean and nice.

THE HORSE TRAILS

There are miles and miles of horse trails here. You can either stick to the trail loops around the campground or venture across the road and ride as long as you want on the VA highlands trail. The first day we rode a short loop which took us about 3 hours. The second day the group group 8 hours.

On the trails you can expect creek crossings, mountain views, historic cabins, steep hills, lots of rocks, grassy open areas, narrow paths, etc. You would definitely want your horse to be in shape to ride here. They would also need shoes or boots due to the rocky terrain.

I will say though, if you’re someone who likes to ride from sun up to sun down, this is a great place to do that. You can ride different trails each day and not have to ride the same trails over.

Overall, this is one of the nicest places for camping with horses. We really liked it there and can’t wait to return. If you’d like more information or want to make reservations, please visit the Hungry Horse East Website.

Also, make sure to check out my list of other places to trail ride and camp. When I return this spring, I will take lots of pictures and update this post to include them. So make sure to check back in a few months if you are interested in seeing those!

So Tell Me..

Have you camped here and ridden the trails?

How It Started

I think it’s best if I begin with the trigger that started the rabbit hole I went down. Hyperethesia. That was the diagnosis given by the vet and something real I could research. It kept coming up in forums and articles that this “symptom” is common in horses with Lymes. The more I read on Lymes the more I was convinced Keira could have it. However, the vet tested for it and bloodwork showed no traces of it.

I didn’t stop researching though. One of the big changes horse owners were making was moving to a forage based diet. Many owners were saying their horses were doing better when they removed grain. Horses were having less gut problems (i.e. ulcers) and behavior was better. According to some vets, certain ingredients in complete horse feeds are considered anti-inflammatory. Since I was starting to get desperate, a forage diet was a change worth trying.

Diet Changes for Gut Health

Therefore, I started switching all my horses to a forage diet with only a ration balancer given as “feed.”

After doing weeks of research, I learned that forage diets lack certain vitamins and minerals. This is especially true in winter time when grass is dead. I didn’t want to create a deficiency problem. Therefore, I had to analyze everything I was feeding to make sure I was hitting the NRC recommended amounts.

So to do this I:

• Had my hay tested (equi-analytical is who I used to do this)
• Tested my Well Water – ( I’ve used this company for years)
• Pulled the Guaranteed Analysis for each product I was feeding (hay pellets, ration balancer, supplements, etc)

I took the information I gathered and put it into a spreadsheet. Then I started converting it all to the same units (grams, mg, IU, etc). After that, I added up the totals of each nutritional component to see where I needed to balance things out. For my horses, I need to balance out high iron in the hay with more copper and zinc. In winter when the grass is dead, Omega 3 and Vitamin E are lacking. Therefore, I knew to add these into the diet as well. Salt is another important component I needed to add.

So this is where I started. Through all the research I did, I learned that vitamin and mineral deficiencies could cause some of the issues Keira. However, it takes time to see if the diet will make a difference. I patiently waited a few months to see what changes might happen on the new diet.

When All Else Fails, Do a Gut Check

From November to end of January, I fed the new diet and started to see small improvements in Keira’s appearance. Her feet were growing out better and thrush was starting to clear up. Her coat was becoming softer and not so rough feeling. She wasn’t walking with the head tilt as much, but she was still grumpy. Her body was showing change but her mind was the same.

As luck would have it, a friend posted about a gut product on FB. I had heard about before on the Feed Room Chemist Podcast and was intrigued.

Sidenote – if you haven’t listened to that podcast you should!

My gut (haha) told me I needed to learn more about this product and give it a try for Keira. I knew that it was given to horses with ulcer symptoms and hind gut dysbiosis. Both of which could explain Keira’s grumpiness.

Some symptoms related to hind gut issues:

• Poor coat
• Flank sensitivity
• Hard time holding feet up
• Excessive gas
• Grumpy
• Tiredness
• Stiffness especially in the hind end

Plus many more. Again, all symptoms that can mimic other illnesses or problems. And again, all symptoms Keira had, so why not give this product a try. So I did and FINALLY I started to see bigger and better changes in Keira.

Changes in Keira

After 2 weeks of taking the hind gut reset, she was less stiff and more relaxed. Her coat got even softer and shiny. Her mane/tail started to feel softer and not so brittle. The copper color hair strands started to return to black. Her grumpiness started to go away and I could touch her without being kicked at. She even started to yawn when I would brush her! She actually started to have a calm happy demeanor about her. I didn’t see her laying down as much in the pasture and she was standing normal versus slightly parked out.

I am 100% convinced this horse had hind gut dysbiosis! Looking back I started to realize all the “triggers” that could have caused it too.

• The stress of moving to a new place (I think this started before I bought her)
• 2 rounds of antibiotics
• Weeks on Bute
• Stress of traveling
• Stress of training

I only wished I had tried it sooner! This product works and has been a game changer for her!

After being on it for 4 weeks, she’s much more pleasant to be around. I now plan to give her lifeline+ and Gastro phix for another 30-90 days. I want to make sure her entire gut is good and stays that way. IMO, these are superior products for that.

So Tell Me…

Has your horse had gut problems? If so, what did you do to help the gut?

More Backstory

In the last post, I shared my experience with colt starting and ended it with a cliff hanger of Keira getting hurt. In case you missed it, she ran into the gate and the latch caused a large puncture wound in her shoulder. She was put on antibiotics then given the summer off.

Fast forward to fall and we started working on the barn. We started the process of opening up the area behind the stalls so that we can eventually remove the windows and add doors so the horses have 24/7 access to a small lot and their stalls. Well, as my luck goes, somehow Keira cuts the top of her hoof above the coronary band on the metal at the bottom of the outside wall. It’s a pretty deep cut in a bad place, so as a precaution I start cleaning it daily and give her a round of antibiotics. Not to mention, some days she acts lame on the foot and other days she’s fine. I should also mention this is the opposite side of the shoulder injury and the front foot.

With her seeming off, I decide it’s best to not push her too hard and just give this injury time to heal. However, I still am spending time grooming her and doing some of the groundwork basics. During this time, she’s still pissy when I’m grooming her or trying to trim her feet. It’s mainly when I brush her or am near her front end and sometimes when I brush over her flank area. She doesn’t act like she has ulcers. I can brush the girth area and I can even put a bareback pad on her and do up the girth. None of that causes a reaction. So I’m starting to think maybe it’s something internal.

Now, I forgot to mention, from the time I brought her home, I’ve have this nagging feeling something is off. I just couldn’t figure out what was causing that feeling. Part of me thought it might just be lack of training and the other part thought maybe she has some internal problem. I’ve brought up the bad attitude to the vet multiple times and 2 vets said it’s just her being young and possibly hormones. If I’m lucky she might grow out of it as hormones level out. So I continue to give it time.

1st Things First

Another couple months pass by and her attitude starts to get worse and the lameness is intermittent. I tried bute and it would get better but then return. So I thought, why not try the chiro. Donna has been my equine chiro for many years and is good at figuring out problems.

She comes out and starts adjusting Keira. All seems normal and fine until she gets to her neck. As soon as she starts trying to adjust Keira’s neck she starts rearing up. Now she’s done this to me in the past too and I chaulked it up to lack of training. However, Donna’s opinion is that there is something going on in her neck.

2nd Opinions

So I make an appointment to take her to Denali Equine to get looked over. Dr. Workman is one of the best sports vets I know and has tremendously helped Gracie and Freya, so I knew if something was wrong she would find it.

Now keep in mind, you have to trailer into her vet practice. She doesn’t come to you and Keira has only been on the trailer 1 time. That was the previous year when I brought her home. I know an hour long trailer ride plus going somewhere new was going to be tough and stressful but something she was going to have to do.

So we went and surprisingly, Keira did great in the trailer. Of course, we spent a couple weeks practicing loading and unloading at home until it was time to go. But the hour long trailer ride didn’t bother her at all. She didn’t seem nervous and displayed no bad behaviors. However, when we get to the clinic and unload, the new experience was a lot and she was a ball of nerves.

Despite her constanting looking all over and not wanting to listen very well. Dr. Workman was able to thoroughly look her over and take some x-rays of her neck. Other than some arthritis already, her neck looked good with no past injuries or problems. Nothing to explain why she gets angry when you touch her there or tries to rear. So the diagnosis was hyperesthesia which means sensitivity to touch. The solution is to give her a high dose of Vitamin E and magnesium and see if her attitude improves in a couple weeks.

Searching for More Answers

A couple weeks go by of being on both and there is slight change but nothing major. She’s still just as moody but now her coat is starting to look worse, her foot isn’t healing that well and I just have a sense of there’s still something wrong. I can’t put my finger on what it is so I start researching all the symptoms starting with the hyperesthesia.

The first thing that come up in a google search as possible things related to this symptom are Lymes disease and EPM. Both of which could be possible for our area. Not to mention, the ticks in the woods of my pasture are horrible! I’m constantly finding small ticks on the horses and pulling them off. It isn’t a stretch to think Lymes could be a real possibility since some of symptoms fit too. Such as these:

• Shifting lameness – yep I was seeing this
• Stiffness – she would not track up in her hind end and looked stiff
• Lethargy – she was tired all the time and constantly laying down
• Irritable mood – YES
• Difficulty swallowing – I thought so and actually had the vet come and check her teeth were ok.
• Head Tilt – when she is walking she tilts her head to the side
• Unable to hold her feet up – she acted like she couldn’t and would pull away or try to lay down
• Dull coat – her coat looked horrible and felt rough

Now keep in mind, some of these symptoms are the same for EPM too. Heck they are the same for vitamin and mineral deficiencies too. So, the only thing I knew to do was start the process of trial and error and see what would help.

Stay tuned for the next part of this story to hear what about the things I tried and what finally worked!

Groundwork Basics of Colt Starting

As I mentioned in the previous post about Keira, she came to me as a barely touched 2 year old with no training and only knowing how to give to halter pressure. She would stand tied, let you put on the halter, and would walk but stop and not move at times. I believe most of what she knew, she learned as a weanling. So first thing first was teaching her the basic groundwork exercises.

Here’s a list of all the things we worked on during those first couple of weeks:

• Backing up with halter pressure
• Giving to pressure and starting to read my body language
• Standing to be fly sprayed
• Standing without kicking or biting for me to brush her
• Learning to pick up all 4 feet and hold them up
• Yielding her hind quarters
• Yielding forequarters
• Standing to be hosed down
• Lunging on a lead

Just to give you an idea of what these early days of colt starting were like, I’m going to share quotes out of the diary I kept of her training.

“Today, I worked more on teaching Keira to pick up her feet but she’s still trying to lay down and bite me.”

“Still trying to kick my head off when I go to pick up her back feet with the rope.”

“Keira seems to really like being around me and seeing me until I ask something of her.”

“Lunging is another thing that brings out Keira’s crazy side.”

“Does she have ulcers or is this pain from a hidden injury?”

What I Can Remember

When you hear colt starters say, training a horse requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears. They aren’t lying. The early days of teaching a colt knew things is hard, like really hard. It requires more patience then a buddist has and isn’t for those that give up easily. It’s also not a linear experience. One day your horse is perfect and the next they are bat shit crazy! Welcome to colt starting!

That picture is just a glimpse of some of her antics when trying to lunge. You can watch the full video on my Youtube Channel.

Keira was no exception to the rule and I had to be very mindful when around her. She tested my patience daily and reminded me how to be grateful for good sound horses! Despite all the blood, sweat and tears, she was a quick learner and was willing to do what I asked. That didn’t mean she did it sans attitude, oh no, she still would kick out, paw, and rear. However, each week she did get 1% better.

Despite 1% better, progress wasn’t happening like I wanted it too though and I reached a point of feeling stuck. Nothing I was doing really moved the needle on her attitude. She still would try to bite and kick when brushed. Plus, she still kicked out, bolted and reared on the lunge. So I knew it was time to get professional help.

Lucky for me, there is a great colt starter 30 mins down the road and he was in a slow period (aka winter and coming back from a horse accident). Normally, he wouldn’t travel to other farms for lessons but since he couldn’t train horses at that time, he made an exception to come to my farm to help me. I remember the first thing he said when he got a good feel for her was, “you sure picked a hard one to start.” Of course, that is just my luck.

This trainers name is Richard Schouten of Remount Horsemanship. Truly an exceptional horse trainer and full of knowledge he’s willing to share!

I worked with Richard for most of winter until he healed from his injury and went back to training horses. During those months, he showed me how to handle her outbursts on the lunge and get her started under saddle. At the time, he thought her behavior issues would get better with more training and handling. She was showing progress and each day that passed she was getting better. It just wasn’t happening fast.

Then a set back happened when she ran into the gate and gashed open her shoulder. I thought for sure she broke her scapula with how hard she hit the gate and how deep the wound was. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case but she did tear the muscle pretty bad and would require time off to heal. She was put on antibiotics to prevent an infection and given the summer off.

Timeline of Events

August 2023 – I purchased her.

Sept/Oct – I work with her myself.

Nov-Feb – Richard starts helping me.

March – Keira gets hurt.

This timeline is going to be important as this story goes on. So stay tuned for the next part of the training journey with Keira.

So Tell Me

What were some of the frustrations you’ve experienced when training a horse?

About Keira

She is a registered Paint Horse mare out of Lopin Lazy. Her registered name is Fancy Lopin. I purchased her as a 2 year old and this year she will be turning 4. I had planned to start her last year as a 3 yo but that didn’t work out as planned.

Since it’s a long story, I’m going to share why in future posts. Her story is a bit of a complicated one, but well worth sharing since I’ve learned so much that I know can help others with their horses!

She is a big girl coming in at 15.2h in the front and 16h in the rear right now. It’s my hope as she continues to grow, she’ll level out around 16h. I purchased her with the intentions of starting her myself.

Why I Bought a New Horse

When I saw the ad for Keira, her coloring immediately caught my attention. She was a tall, good looking 2 year old and a mare. Now I know there are lots of you that aren’t Mare fans but I am. I love a good mare with a great mind. So I contacted the owner and went to see her.

Going in, I knew she was being shown as an untouched 2 year old and put out to pasture as a weanling. They just started handling her when they listed her for sale. This was about 2-3 months before I saw her. She was beautiful in person but wasn’t exactly personable. She didn’t seem to hate people but didn’t like them either. I would say she “tolerated” being around people but was willing to do what you asked.

Since she had zero training there wasn’t really much to see or do with her. I lunged her around to see how she moved and touched her everywhere to see how she handled it. I checked out her feet and noticed she has a club foot up front. Not a turn off for me since Gracie has one too and it has never stopped her from doing anything. Plus, I knew the club foot was due to farrier issues and could be somewhat fixed.

Anyway, I could see her potential and thought she would be a good challenge for my first horse to start. As I said, she had not been handled much so everything was going to be new to her. This included getting into a trailer. To say I was nervous to haul her home would be an understatement. To my surprise though, she did great! She loaded onto the trailer with no hesitation, hauled well on the 2 hr ride home and unloaded with little problem. That was honestly the biggest fear. My trailer is a slant load, so trying to back a horse off a trailer that doesn’t know how to back could be an issue. Thankfully, it wasn’t and she gives to pressure well.

Colt Starting Surprises

After getting her home, I turned her out for a few days to get use to the new environment and seeing the “new to her” horses. She was calm, friendly and settled in better than expected. So a week later I start putting her into a new routine which just involved handling her more. This is when things got interesting and I realized how much of a personality she had.

First thing to show up, a bad bad attitude when grooming her or trying to handle her feet. She would try to kick, bite, paw, rear etc. I mean this horse was plain mean. This was the type of behavior that could be dangerous, especially for someone with little horse experience, like my husband.

Getting her started in a training routine was top priority and something that I knew I likely was going to need help with. She was like a mustang coming out of the wild.

However, help was nearly impossible to find so I ended up working with her myself for the first couple of months. Shew, she made me want to cry some days with her bad attitude. I spent hours every day teaching her to give to pressure on the lead, getting use to be touched all over, picking up feet, backing, etc. All the things you take for granted if you’ve never started a young horse.

…and this is where I’m going to stop the story for now. Stay tuned, I’ll be posting the next part to this story in a couple days.

So Tell Me

Have you ever bought an unstarted baby horse before? How did it go for you?

However, the lack of confidence kept me from being able to develop her abilities and improve my own riding. I watched countless videos, got lessons from multiple trainers and rode daily. Yet nothing was helping me ride better or feel better in the saddle.

It wasn’t until I started to get lessons with a great trainer in our area that I started to figure out what might be wrong. You see, every time I would take a lesson with him, he would constantly remind me I’m a good rider, despite not feeling like it at the time. I would say I don’t feel like I can sit the canter, or I felt like I was crooked in the saddle. I kept telling him what I was “feeling” and he would say, “ok, but you look fine”. My horse dramatically improved during our time taking lessons with him; however, I continued to feel stuck. I felt physically incapable of being able to ride longer or sit more than a few strides at the canter.

Time for An Adjustment

I knew I had to try something, so I started going to the chiro. I had to figure out if it was a physical problem or all mental. The Chiro did find issues with my back, hips and neck so I’d get an adjustment. However, after being sore for a few days, I would go see her a week later and the same problems would still exist. This went on for a few months. It was frustrating! Now I will say, in that time I saw some improvements in riding. I didn’t feel as crooked in the saddle but I still couldn’t do much more than I could before I started going to her.

Eventually, I got to a point where I felt I wasn’t seeing the improvement I wanted and was telling all this to a friend when she said to me, “I think you need physical therapy.” At first, I was like no way, I don’t have any injuries to fix. I thought my problem was lack of sore butt time in the saddle and maybe after more time it would get better. Then she kindly reminded me I ride every day and have given it over a year with no improvement. That hit hard and sank in. She was right. I needed help from someone else who might have a better idea of what was going on with my body.

PT aka Physical Torcher

That day, I made an appointment and went to see a physical therapist. To my complete shock, in the evaluation, the therapist found that my entire right side (or maybe it was my left) was weak. I mean shockingly weak for someone that can lift 50 lb feed bags or fill a wheelbarrow full of manure and dump it. I never had issues doing any of my normal farm chores. The ONLY issue I continued to have for YEARS, was pain in my hip when I would sit or stand too long. Unbearable pain that would cause me to be bent over and slowly stand up after sitting for long periods. Picture an old lady in her 90s trying to stand up. That was what I looked like.

I was desperate to feel better though, so PT it was and let me tell you, PT was no walk in the park. I questioned how it could even be working when I would be in so much pain for days after a session. For the first couple of months, I’d walk in and she would say, “how are you doing?” and my answer was always the same….”this isn’t working, I’m in so much pain, something has to give.” Every week she would tell me the same thing, you will feel better with time and as you gain more strength.

She was RIGHT.

6 months of PT and I was finally feeling stronger. Not only was my body physically improving but so was my confidence in the saddle. Looking back now, I realize my fear in the saddle wasn’t because I was scared my horse would hurt me. I was scared I couldn’t take care of myself if something happened. Subconsciously, I think I knew I was physically weak but I didn’t know the problem it was causing mentally.

Some of the “Signs” something was wrong

• very sore if I rode more than 2-3 hours
• pain in my hip when cantering to one side
• pain in my hip when standing or sitting to long
• feeling crooked in the saddle
• could not mount from the ground
• very sore after getting in and out my truck multiple times a day (or on and off the tractor)

What I did to “Fix” my Confidence

• PT – #1 thing I believe helped to correct my issue and give me the MOST improvement.
• Light weight training – lack of strength was my biggest issue so I started with body weight exercises, then went to light weights, then onto heavier weights, then weight machines.
• Massage therapy – when I say I was sore for months, I mean it! I hurt. I cried. I wanted to give up and stop but I knew I couldn’t. Getting massages helped!
• Lessons with a Professional Horse Trainer – someone to keep me in check mentally when I was riding.

Now I know what you’re thinking, this has nothing to do with rider confidence, but I promise you it does! It’s my belief (and maybe there is science behind this) that when our body is weak, our mind is too! I wasn’t scared to ride. That much I can say confidently. I was scared I was going to get hurt! I was in enough pain that I didn’t want to create anymore pain.

It’s my belief, I was so weak that I couldn’t ride correctly or balanced and that is why I had no confidence in the saddle. It wasn’t because I lacked mental confidence riding. I lacked the physical ability to ride well and this led to a lack of confidence mentally.

Another thing I noticed after months of PT, my stirrups were very uneven and no longer felt good. My right stirrup was two holes shorter than my left. This was likely why I felt crooked in the saddle. I actually was sitting uneven! After lowering that stirrup and I couldn’t believe the difference it made.

A Stronger, Better Me

Now, I 1000% believe that sometimes rider confidence doesn’t lack because something happened but instead lacks because of physical limitations you are not fully aware of. Sure, you can lose your confidence if you have a horse accident but I don’t think that’s the only reason it happens anymore. However, if that is the case for you or someone you know, there are tons of videos and articles out there to help trusting your horse again. I would highly recommend watching videos by Ryan Rose or Nate Eicher.

For me though, I reclaimed my riding confidence when I regained body strength. As the saying goes, a strong body = a strong mind!

So if you’re like me and you lack rider confidence and have tried different methods to fix it with no improvement, try working on yourself. Go see a Physical therapist or start doing body weight exercises. If you’re capable, start lifting weights. You’ll never know how much it can help unless you give it a try! I should also mention, Freya is a saint for dealing with me and my unbalanced self for the past couple of years of riding!

So Tell Me..

Have you experienced anything like this? If so, what did you do to reclaim your confidence in the saddle?