Mandy, Stavire and Van Helsing

Sep 9 2010

Bryce Canyon 5 day XP just came to a close. An all time favorite for the Global Endurance Training Center because of the mostly good weather, great scenery and excellent management by the Nicholson family, this year again met our expectations. Yes, the trails were more rocky because of excessive rainfall throughout July and August, but with proper hoof protection it was not a problem for our horses. EasyCare hoof boots were used by many horses, www.easycareinc.com, so were Equiflex horseshoes. www.equiflex24.com. Great thermograph imaging was done by Duncan McLaughlin. You can visit his postings at the Easycare blog and convince yourself of the advantage of the hoof boots and/or plastic horseshoes vs traditional steel shoes. It is truly astounding how much healthier a hoof protected by EasyCare glue ons or gloves is throughout an endurance ride.

No surprise then, that all winners and all BC winners were wearing EasyCare hoof boots.

4 days were won by horses of GETC, one by Kevin Waters, BC was won by Garrett Ford on The Fury, Kevin Waters on Stoner, Dian Woodward on Halyva Night and Stavire and Christoph Schork on Mandy.

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Christoph on Mandy in the Moab area.

GETC is especially proud of Mandy, aka Asamaan, Stavire, our stallion and Van Helsing. These horses had been through a thorough conditioning program prior to entering any endurance rides, and the results proved that the training regimen applied at GETC is bearing fruits. Mandy did now 3 endurance rides, two at Bryce, won all three and received two BCs.

Stavire did two endurance rides with Dian, placed 3rd and 2nd and received BC. What a great accomplishment for Dian and our stallion.

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Stavire at his home base in Moab Utah, showing off.

Van Helsing has been going through a 3 year intensive training program before we entered him on his first endurance ride. His training showed. He placed third and fourth on his first two rides. Tarnia Kittel, who has been with GETC now for over 4 weeks, training and conditioning horses, did an outstanding job getting Van Helsing through his first two endurance rides and placing top 5.

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Van Helsing enjoying a pasture turnout in Durango, Colorado, at Garrett Ford’s place.

Global Endurance Training program is getting better and better. GETC horses have won over 120BCs, most of them during the last 5 years. Christoph has now 199 wins, more than any other endurance rider in the world.

Big part of our success is learning. We are constantly studying, listening, reading. What contributed also and facilitated our training is the new EuroXciser. It helped conditioning our horses and saving time.

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EuroXciser in action. 6 horses can travel freely in each compartment, speeds can be adjusted. 

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From Powell Point, highest point of the Bryce Canyon XP.

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Under the Pink Cliffs

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Dian and Tarnia riding under the Pink Cliffs.

GETC staff members will travel to Sonoita next week to take part in the Las Cienegas 100 mile ride.

  

by: Global Endurance

Beyond dressage – easy collection exercises

Aug 20 2010

Endurance riders know the importance of proper carriage and framing of the horse. Especially during the long endurance rides, horses that travel heavy on their forehand won’t last and sooner or later will be compromised, either with sore and hollow backs and/or forelegs injuries. Horses forehands already take a bigger load just by their design; that’s why it is of utmost importance that the rider trains and helps the horse to shift as much of the work load as possible to the hind quarters. It will help lighten the front end, protect the joints and tendons of the fore legs and reduce stumbling.

Today we want to share with you some basic and simple exercises that you can fit easily into your riding and training schedule. You can do it by yourself, it doesn’t require an instructor to be with you for feedback and you won’t have to spend lengthy periods of time in the arena. Easy to learn and easy to apply, yet the payback will be enormous.

What does “collection” or “bascule” actually mean? Simply explained, it is the result of engagement of the hind quarter, which is flexion of the lumbosacral joint. It starts from there and is completed when the top line of the back of the horse extends upwards. As a final result the observer will notice a neck telescoping gesture, where the top line of the neck is arched upwards while the head is carried somewhat lower and extended.

Horses, just like people and other mammals, have trigger points throughout their body. When these trigger points are stimulated through certain touch, muscles will contract or extend involuntarily, that means without using cognitive involvement. The most known trigger point in humans is the knee reflex trigger. The horse has a couple of trigger points that will make it contract the abdominal muscles and raise the his back and top line.

The following exercises are to be done with the rider on the ground. You can do these before you go riding or after you come back or just about anytime you are spending time with your horse.

Stand at the side of your horse, use the fingernails of both hands and gently press them upwards from the mid line of the underside of the belly.

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Hold this up to 30 seconds. You will notice the contraction of the abdominal muscles and clearly see the extension of the back upwards.

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Observe the raised top line, it is almost parallel to the concrete below.

After applying the belly lift 3 to 4 times,   step behind the horse. After placing the thumbnails of both thumbs over the haunches near the croup,  quickly slide them with moderate pressure towards you and finish in line with the dock of the tail.

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Clearly visible the upward extension of the back.

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This all can get achieved within a few minutes, the payback over a period of time will be tremendous.

After saddling, you can spend a few minutes practicing half halts over cavaletties. This will get the horses mind and body ready for the obstacles on the trail and instill some discipline.

During our clinics at Global Endurance Training Center, we do spend a lot of time teaching proper collection to our attending clients.

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This horse is still young and inexperienced. But you can already notice some flexing at the poll and arching of the neck. 

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This horse demonstrates a better bascule, his right hind leg steps nicely under his body.

Once on the trail, we seek out steep up and down hill slopes. We walk the horse up and downhill, then stop in the middle. The horse will only be able to stop comfortably, if his SL joint is flexing and the hind legs are far enough forward under the body thus supporting his and the riders weight. Examine the following images, and compare.

Can you observe the various degrees of colletion and SL joint flexion? Telescoping necks?

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During these Stop and Go exercises, we only walk. Once your horse handles stopping in the middle of the down and uphill and can stand comfortably for several seconds, you can then make your horse step on step back up the hill or down the hill, depending which way you are going. That will make them step under their body even more and flexes the SL joint further. 

We never trot up the steep hills. Trotting will have a tendency to stretch your horse out and make them pull themselves up instead of pushing with the hind quarters. Sometimes we canter uphill, but cantering is more a cardiovascular exercise. Horses will have to use their hind quarters, but they also use momentum for uphill propulsion.  Only walking uphill will build muscle strength. From a horses point of view, it is not energy efficient, they would rather canter uphill. But for exercise and strength training, the walk up and down steep hills will get you the best results.  

For flat terrain, the canter is a better gait to train for collection than the trot. 

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Both images show the lightness on the front and the strong push off with the hind quarters. We can observe bascule and good SL flexion.

In a canter, a horse is more likely to collect himself compared to the trot, which often encourages the horse to stretch and hollow out But the rider plays a big role in the outcome. Without a proper seat and the proper aid and cues, the results will probably only be mediocre.

At Global Endurance Training Center, we emphasize collection in our clinics. It is so important for the longevity of your horse and for successful outcome of your endurance and trail rides. We teach the cues and aids for collection in a way that is easy to understand and easy to apply.  Your horse will thank you for attending one of our clinics.

Christoph Schork, GETC Staff member
  

by: Global Endurance

Euroxciser in action, finally!

Jul 8 2010

After 3 months of installation, the EuroXciser is finally operating at Global Endurance Training Center. It was hard and frustrating work, from preparing the ground to installing the arms and the most difficult part, assembling and erecting the fence. We had all kind of problems, the computerized controller didn’t work at first, a tornado demolished half of the fence and had to be redone. But, hurray, it is finally working and horses are getting a good work out. Today, thanks to the Euroxciser, we worked 17 horses. A huge time saving.

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Just coming back today from Germany. Garrett Ford from EasyCare and I, attended the Huf Partners Conference in Schwaebish Hall, Germany. This conference was organized by Bernd Jung, the owner of Hufshop.de. This company is the exclusive importer for Easyboots. Bernd did an excellent job conducting this conference. What a treat to be invited to demonstrate together with Garrett the application of Glue On boots to over 40 participants. We reconnected with old friends, Christoph Mueller, for example, who now is the Vettec representative for Germany and northern Europe. Christoph Mueller explained all the VETTEC products to the participants.

As an additional bonus, we were able to witness Germany’s soccer win over Argentina. We had a big party.

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The conference participants.

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Garrett Ford is telling the story of EasyCare, Inc, from the beginnings to now

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Easyboot Glue on demonstration by Garrett and Christoph

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Garrett receiving recognition for inventing the most innovative Hoof protection product of the year. Sponsored by Germanys National Hoof Care Practitioners Association  

This been a busy two weeks for GETC. Just before the Germany trip, two GETC horses attended the Western Regional WEG Observation trials in Brothers, Oregon. Stars Aflame and TC Mounshine are both qualified for the WEG, held in September 2010. Christoph and Tennessee Mahoney rode the horses during the try outs. They were supported by Dian, Andy Bown, Sean Mahoney and Arnie Garcia, who were the essential crew. They did an awesome job. 

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Here, Andy Bown and Sean Mahoney are getting the horses ready for trot out at the Vet-in.

Next will be the National Try outs in Danville, Illinois. We keep you updated.

We also want to welcome Zach Rabow to GETC. Zach arrived last week to help training our horses and getting them ready for Tevis. We have 5 horses entered.

by: Global Endurance

Strawberry Fields update

Jun 20 2010

GETC horses just came back from the Strawberry Fields 4 day Pioneer ride. 8 Global Endurance Center horses went to Strawberry. One the way there, Christoph’s truck broke down, the Turbo desintegrated and he needed a tow to Duchesne. Thanks to Kerry Redente and Pete, who towed the trailer from Duchesne to the ride site, all horses arrived safely.

The following horses attended:

DWA Powerball

Taj Rai Hasan

Starlit Way

Castle Country Karahty

Double Deux

Double Zell

DWA Millennium

These horses were ridden by Dian Woodward, Christoph Schork, Deborah Whorf and Alene Vale.

Day one, Taj Rai Hasan (Husky) was first, with Double Deux and Starlit Way in 5th and 6th Place.

Day two, DWA Powerball and Double Zell tied for first, DWA Millennium was third and Castle Country Karahty (Kat) fourth.

Day three, Double Zell came in first

Day four, DWA Powerball was first and Kat second.

Global Endurance Training Center horses won every day. The training program is working out great and the hard work Dian and Christoph are putting in every day is paying off.

All GETC horses wore EasyCare Glue on hoof boots. See blog at www.easycareinc.com 

The days were beautiful, lots of climbing, plenty of sunshine. Howard Kent, the ride manager and Kathy Backus, the head vet, did a terrific job laying out the trails and organizing the events.

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Day 3: Double Zell at 10300 ft. He ended up winning this day also, after winning day 2 in a tie with DWA Powerball

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Beautiful views on day 3

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Christoph tailing Double Zell on the climb to the Red Ledges on Day 3 

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DWA Powerball and Kat enjoying a drink while waiting for the BC judging on day 4. PB and Kat were first and second.

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GETC horses munching away at the juicy mountain grass at base camp. (Day 2) 

This 4 day Strawberry Fields Endurance event is a great preparation for Tevis. All the climbing a high altitude really gets horses and riders tuned up for Tevis.

A quick turn around now for Dian and Christoph, on Tuesday they are leaving with TC Mounshine and Stars Aflame to attend the western regional Tryouts in Prineville, Oregon for the WEG in Kentucky in September.


   

by: Global Endurance

Hoof Care Clinic proved to be a great success

Jun 2 2010

On May Kath, Christoph, the Bootmeister, conducted a Hoof Care Clinic during the Fandango 3 Day ride at Oreana Idaho. In spite of the cool and rainy weather, the Clinic was attended by lots of riders who all had lots of questions and interest in learning how to trim their horses hooves safely. The clinic was geared towards the horse owners, riders and trainers, who want to do their own trimming and not rely on farrier services.

IMG_1019 Before the start of the clinic.

All the sponsors banners were displayed:

Global Endurance Training Center

EasyCare

Vettec

Equiflex

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After thanking the sponsors for donating all the raffle prizes, Christoph introduced the few essential tools necessary to trim hooves. Then it was time to actually use them and demonstrate their proper use.

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First: Hoof cleaning with wire brush to remove debris and sand. This will help preserve the trimming tools

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Christoph shows the use of nippers for the hoof wall

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This horse showed signs of bruising through bend over bars. Bars that are excessively laid over, can cause severe bruising and also flares on the hoof wall. They need to get shortened.


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Using the rasp to level the hoof

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Checking for flares and straightening the hoof wall

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Finally, using anti fungal treatment to battle bacterial invasion in areas affected. Here, Sore No More’s THE SAUCE.

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Then, Christoph introduced a brand new tool, The Merlin. This powertool facilitates hoof trimming tremendously. It saves time, energy and especially your back. It was used to trim the other hooves.

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Christoph was so impressed with the ease of use and the results, that he decided to take on distributorship. What a difference that tool makes.

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Horses do not mind at all, the Merlin runs very quietly and the speed can get adjusted. You can order it now on the Global Endurance Center website and on the Equiflex website.

Then it was time to demonstrate how to glue on EasyCare Glue-on boots.

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This boot has Goober Glue in the frog area. Goober Glue is soft, but supportive. It will set a little slower than Vettec Adhere or Soleguard. Therefore we can apply it first in the boot, before applying VETTEC ADHERE on the side walls.

Finally, on the image below, sealing the top of the boots with Vettec Adhere.

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After a short break, it was time for the raffle

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Every participant won at least one prize, some walked away with two.

The sponsors had donated saddle bags, water bottles, logbooks, EasyCare Glue on boots and Gloves, Vettec Adhere, Soleguard and Equi-Pak, Goober glue, hoof picks, Sore No More products. All in all, several hundred Dollars worth of great and useful items were given away.Besides the free learning, all participants got awarded for their attendance.

Success through learning, the title of the clinic proved to be true in more than one way.

Later that evening, all riders and clinic participants enjoyed a wine and cheese party, sponsored by VETTEC.

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The cheeses were plentiful and beautiful. What a delight for the palate!

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If you couldn’t attend and missed out, there will be more opportunities in the future. Follow us on this blog or the EasyCare blog.

www.easycareinc.com.

  

by: Global Endurance

Test results for hoof treatment and conditionning products

May 19 2010

For many years, Global Endurance Training Center has been testing equestrian products, from horse shoes and hoof boots to saddles, tack, supplements and feed. We have very high standards and accept only the best. When we find the best, we often decide to carry these items on our ‘product’ page on our website. Everything we offer for sale there, has been thoroughly tested and is being used by us and our staff on our horses. We can recommend and endorse these products.

Lately, we have been testing hoof treatment product, especially for sore hooves, thrush and fungus.  We do receive help from our trainers, one of their blogs you can visit at http://schicksaendurance.blogspot.com.

Among many others, Sarah Schick has been helping us with training and testing products. Visit her blog, she has a great training program going herself now.

We are dividing the products in two different categories:

-Sole toughening

-Fungus and thrush treatments

For sole toughening, we found that three products worked best:

1. Venice Turpentine

2. Pine Tar

3. Iodine 11% or higher.

All three products are a good value, inexpensive and reliable.

Many products are on the market for Thrush and fungus control. The key for these products are high volatility and easy penetration into crevasses and tight places that are preferred by bacterias. A lot of the oils have too high a viscosity that they do not penetrate deep enough to kill harmful bacterias.

The top three on our list are:

1. Fungidye

2. Thrushbuster

3. Sore No More Sauce

Fungidye and Thrushbuster penetrate well and seem to work very well.

  We also liked White Lightning, but it needs to be mixed with white vinegar, which is somewhat cumbersome and after mixing it looses its stability after  a few hours.

What we really liked about Sore No More’s “The Sauce” are the natural ingredients they are using. We are guaranteed that no harmful products enter the hoof crevasses of the horse. Arnica, Lobelia and other herbs combined in a witch hazel base makes it penetrate deeply into crevasses. The molecular structure of witch hazel is very small and the viscosity extremely low. We really got results with “The Sauce”.

Therefore we endorsed it and decided to carry it in our inventory to offer it to everybody. Available under “Horse Related Products/Services” on our home page.

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When using ‘The Sauce” or any other fungus treatment products, it is a good idea to use cotton swap tips to help push the product into the crevasses.

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Till next post

Christoph, aka ‘The Bootmeister’  

by: Global Endurance

Global Endurance Training Center hosts Backcountry Horsemen Meeting

May 18 2010

On May 24th, at 6:30 pm, Global Endurance Center will host the monthly meeting of the SE Utah Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen. The Backcountry Horsemen are working on creating equestrian trails, maintaining them and lobbying for equestrian facilities nationwide.

Part of the meeting will be a discussion on the new equestrian trails in SE Utah, especially Grand County. After the meeting, Christoph will conduct a short hoof care clinic with introducing the new Easyboot Gloves and Glue-ons to the attendees.

We’ll have food and drinks for everybody, will socialize, answer questions around a fire pit. Drop in for some education or a good time, if you are close by, or make a special trip for it. We would love to see you at our facility.

The next big educational seminar will be conducted by GETC at the Fandango ride in Oreana Idaho. On Thursday, May 27th from 1 pm till 4 pm, Christoph will teach a Hoof Care clinic. He will introduce new techniques on bare foot trimming, show you the newest developments on the Hoof protection market and will demonstrate  how to glue on EasyCare boots as well as how to use the Easyboot Gloves with ease.

He will also introduce you to a brand new tool, that will make hoof trimming so much easier and fun. You’ll love it.

At the end of the clinic, we’ll have a drawing among all the participants with great prizes, donated by the sponsors of the clinic:

GLOBAL ENDURANCE TRAINING CENTER

EASYCARE, INC

VETTEC

EQUIFLEX

A big THANKS to the sponsors, without them, the event would not take place.

These companies have been committed to the endurance riders for many years and donated prizes valued at over $ 300 each. So do not miss out! You will learn and win!

After the clinic, at 6 pm, we’ll have a Wine and Cheese Party, sponsored by VETTEC.

The clinic will be in conjunction with the Oreana Fandango 3 day ride. www.endurance.net. Steph Teeter and her husband John are doing an outstanding job managing that ride.

Come, attend, learn,win, ride and have fun! Don’t miss this event!

If any of you would be interested in personal consultation or need help with trimming and hoof protection, you can schedule with us. Right now, we still have a couple of openings each afternoon after the ride.

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by: Global Endurance

Horse Trail Marking in Moab

May 16 2010

Christoph and Dian came back last night from Hell’s Kitchen 50 ride in Gunnison Utah. It had rained the day before, so the trails were slick in the morning, in spite of abundant sunshine. The morning of the ride showed frost on the grass, but throughout the day, temps climbed steadily into the low 70ies.

Christoph and Dian tied for first place on Double Zell and Halyva Night. Our friend Jean Maguire rode DWA Powerball to a 4th place finish. All three GETC horses had EasyCare Glue on boots on their hooves.

Today, Christoph and some Utah Back Country Horsemen members marked the Red Rock Horse Trail, a trail designed during the last two years by Trail Mix, a Grand County Committee for trail development and maintenance for skiers, runners, hikers, bikers and equestrians. The work crew set carsonite posts over a 10 mile trail system through BLM land south of Moab.

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Christoph and Mike setting a trail marking post

by: Global Endurance

Mt. Carmel XP story and GETC results

May 10 2010

Christoph and Dian just came back from a successful 5 day ride at Mt Carmel, southern Utah. The Mt. Carmel ride is part of Dave Nicholson XP series. Scenery was beautiful, the weather just about perfect.

Dave, the “Duck” added two days to this years ride, for many years it has been a 3 day ride. This time we went up to over 10.000 ft on two of the days. With  the heavy snow  Utah experienced last winter, the riders had to negotiate over some snowy patches still left at elevation.

As always, the Nicholson family did a terrific job managing this ride. Everybody was in good spirits and had a lot of fun.

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Dian with Pink, aka Jazz Dancer. Warm up ride before day 1

Deb Whorf, a long time friend and former Moab resident, flew in from Maine to attend the ride. She rode Trinity on 3 days and placed two times 3rd and one time 6th. On the last day, her horse GE Trinity, received the BC award. GE Trinity was formerly owned by Garrett Ford and resides now at the GETC facility in Moab.

Christoph placed first on all days, tying for first on 3 days with Dian and one time with Tennessee Mahoney, who rode Just Magnum, a horse formerly owned by GETC.

Dian’s horse Starlit Way and Halyva Night received BC on day 3 and 4 respectively, Christoph’s horse Double Zell earned BC on day one.

Overall, a very successful trip, with GETC horses winning on 5 days and being awarded 4 BCs.

Every afternoon, Christoph and Kevin Meyers, with help from Kevin Waters, glued on EASYCARE glue on boots on over 52 hooves for clients who were eager to either try the boots or had made previous arrangements and scheduled time for the job. A lot of hooves also needed trimming, so Christoph had his work cut out for him after each days ride. Good thing he went fast enough to have the afternoons available for the job.

A lot of 5 day horses finished in boots, and when riders checked some of the boots condition after 250 miles, they were amazed to see how well the seal on the top  was holding. No sand or foreign objects had penetrated anywhere. Mt Carmel proved to be another success story for the Glue ons from EasyCare.

by: Global Endurance

New Photo of horse C

Apr 30 2010


I took a new photo of horse C, to align the visual aid (crop) with the center of the canon bone. The alignment is better than on horse A

Copy of IMG_0970-1

by: Global Endurance