The Novice Horseman Blog

Even though Iggette is gone now, she still has lessons to teach.    Let’s talk about securing the stall door & gates.  Most people look at the latch on any typical stall and wonder how in the world can a horse open it.  Well let me tell you, Iggette was quite an escape artist.  She learned this little feat while at the first stable and continued it at other stables.

The small pasture I originally put Iggette in just didn’t work out as planned.  She was the only horse there and horses just don’t fair well by themselves.  So I moved her to a shed row with 3 large paddocks and each paddock was shared by 4 stalls.  Everyone who had stalls here rotated paddock time.  Iggette had other horses to visit and a mare next to her.  I felt like I had her in a pretty safe place.  The stall was big, it was in good condition, the stall door was a partial door so that she could stick her head out and socialize and the paddock was secure.  The stall & paddock gate had “horse-proof” latches, so I knew she would be safe.

I’m one of those anal types when it comes to checking & rechecking for closed & locked doors.  When I left everyday, I must have checked the stall door 5 times, the feed room door 10 times and the paddock gate 20 times.  I absolutely wanted to make sure that my horse came to no harm through my carelessness.  Can you imagine the shock I felt one day when one of my friends called me at work to say my horse was out.  Not just out of her stall, not out of the paddock, but out in the open field!!!!  This field had no fence and it was only a few yards from a busy street.  I rushed from worked to the stable.  As I drove up the long driveway, I saw my friend out in the pasture trying to coax Iggette AND her friend to come to her.  I went to the tack room and got a bucket of grain.  If Iggette was anything, she was a chow hound.  I just knew she would come to me with this temptation.  To my surprise, Iggette thought much more of her freedom at the time than what her belly would normally tell her.  Everytime I got near her, she would turn tail & sprint off in the opposite direction.  Remember I told she was hard to catch and she was certainly living up to that on this day.

I talked with my friend while trying to catch up with these two.  She told me she didn’t know how they got out.  She came out to feed her horse which was in the paddock next to mine.  She noticed that my horse was not anywhere to be found.  She looked for her and just happened to catch a glimpse of her through an alleyway between our shedrow and the one behind us.  That’s when she called me.  Since we weren’t having much luck trying to catch them, we changed out tactics.  We decided to try to herd them into a semi-enclosed area.  There at least, we might have a chance putting a halter on them.  Funny how things work out.  Iggette led us right into the alleyway and actually caught herself.  I was quick to put a halter on her and my friend caught the other horse.

I put my horse back in her stall.  The other horse, we just left out in the paddock since it was her time to be out.  Iggette had another idea.  I was standing not far from the stall talking with my friend, all of a sudden Iggette’s stall door flew open.  Iggette promptly walked out and went over to her mare friend.  She actually herded the mare back into her stall & closed the door on her.  She didn’t lock, just pushed it shut.  Then she returned to her stall and closed her door.  My jaw just about hit the dirt.  My friend & I looked at each other in total amazement.  How did she do that?!

It was time for a little investigative work.  I locked Iggette’s door and all of the others in our paddock area.  In no time, Igggette’s head popped over the door and started jiggling the latch with her lip.  You’ve seen how a horse will curl their lip when you scratch just the right spot, well that’s what her lip looked like.  It was only about 30 seconds later and she was out of her stall.  She went next door and got her lip working over that latch.  Soon, her friend was out and they both went over to the gate.  Iggette once again got the lip going.  Fortunately for us, I had figured out where she was going and just got to the gate before it too went flying open.

An escape artist had been born.  Now the hard part was going to figure out how to keep Iggette in her stall and keep her safe.  We start with making sure the “horse-proof” latches have a way to lock it closed.  Get a swivel snap or double ended snap & secure the stall door latch.  A simple $2 piece of hardware can give you piece of mind.  It may be more of a pain to the open the stall door, but wouldn’t you rather have a friendly face meeting you at the stall instead of you meeting your worst fears opening an empty stall?

  Juniper Moon Wind
Affectionately Known As Iggette

 April 6, 1977 To March 20, 2008

 She Was An Outstanding Horse For Many Years

 She Will Be Greatly Missed
By All Who She Taught to Ride
& By Those Who She Helped Overcome Their Fears

If you’ve been reading my blog, you  know  I’ve  talked  about  riding  lessons, checking the stable for possible flooding problems and  what  and  what  not  to consider for your first horse.  Now let’s talk about whether or not a pre-purchase exam is necessary.

First let me say, you need to get the March issue of EQUUS.  If you don’t have a subcription and would like to subscribe to EQUUS, just click on the EQUUS picture at the right.  This issue has a 14 page article on the pre-purchase exam.  It tells what the process is, takes you through an exam and gives you a few stories about different outcomes based on the findings of the pre-purchase exam.  This is another MUST read article for the novice.  I really can’t tell you any more than what is in this article. 

I have only had 2 full pre-purchase exams on horses that I either own or was considering.  I had a partial exam on a horse that had an eye defect.  One horse failed the exam because of arthritis that I would not have found without the vet check.  The horse with the eye defect was cleared because it was a birth defect and it was determined the defect shouldn’t bother her.  I still have the eye checked every year though.  The other horse passed the exam and then I had x-rays done on the knees.  I wanted these x-rays because the horse was just a 2 year old and I wanted to see if the knees had finished developing.  My decision for just knee x-rays was based on what the cost of the exam would be with full leg x-rays.  I simply couldn’t afford all of the x-rays.

You should consider your budget for horse expenses.  Pre-purchase exams are not cheap.  The cost will probably vary depending on which part of the country you live in.  Are they worth the money?  If it prevents you from buying an unhealthy or injured horse obviously the answer is YES!  If the pre-purchase exam proves that the horse is sound, then you not only have piece of mind, but now have a better idea what the horse can do.  Also, the more expensive the horse, the more obvious it is that you should have the pre-purchase exam done.  And if you are considering a less expensive horse, that shouldn’t keep you from considering the pre-purchase exam.  If you are trying to save money & buy a cheap horse that costs you a ton in vet bills, well . . . it wasn’t a cheap horse.  You, with the help of your trainer and/or vet, should make the decision of whether or not to have the pre-purchase exam or at least how much of the exam you can afford.

Like I said above, I had 2 full exams done and only came home with 1 horse.  One exam ABSOLUTELY saved me from buying a gorgeous palomino I really wanted but had unseen problems.  If you are actively looking for a horse, maybe you should consider a pre-purchase exam for the top candidate.  If the horse passes, you have a new equine friend.  If the horse fails, you are only out the cost of the exam instead of the price of an unsuitable horse plus whatever else it will take to keep the horse sound and healthy.

Read the article.  Be informed.  Consider the costs.  Ultimately, the decision for the pre-purchase exam is yours.