We're on the road to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the 2013 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships! We have two IHSA members on the ground to bring you lots of behind-the-scenes coverage. Here is a little info about our correspondents:

Madison Harris is a senior at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, studying Business Management. As team member of the Berry Hunt Seat team, Madison has held the captain's position of Historian for 3 years as well. On top of team, riding her Appendix Quarter Horse mare, Sassie, and participating in the IHSA Media Internship, she also started and manages her own photography business called MHarris Photography. Photography and horses are two of her passions and she is incredibly excited to be helping out with the Practical Horseman coverage this year in Harrisburg.

Nicole Mandracchia has been riding for over 10 years and is a working student at James and Robin Fairclough’s Top Brass Farm in Newton, New Jersey. She helps tend to the farm's 25 driving and jumping horses. She grooms and shows at major horse shows on the East Coast, such as HITS Saugerties and Ocala, Garden State, the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, the Pennsylvania National and Lake Placid. She attends Centenary College and is the senior captain of the IHSA team where she has been competing in the Open level for four years. Nicole is planning to graduate in May 2013 with an Equine Studies degree with a concentration in Communications.

For the latest results and information about the 2013 IHSA Nationals, click HERE. Watch live streaming of all the action HERE.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Nicole Mandracchia's Blog: Final Hunt Seat Day at IHSA Nationals: I heard one of my favorite songs, “Titanium” by Sia, come over the loudspeaker this morning while all our horses were out schooling. I sang along with it for a few bars and then turned to one of my teammates with a smile. “It’s going to be a good day—this is a good song.” He looked at me like I was crazy, but I was getting good vibes.

As the saying goes, it ain’t over until it’s over. It seemed as though Centenary’s luck finally turned around today. Senior Cori Reich won the coveted USEF/Cacchione Cup title, something she has been working very hard for. This is the third time in five years that a Centenary rider has claimed this title; graduate Lindsay Clark won it in 2009 and graduate Marissa Cohen won in 2011.

It was so stressful listening to the announcer list the riders’ names in reverse order of placing during the awards presentation. Our entire team was there to cheer for her when her name was called in first place—we were all in tears. After all the ribbon pictures were taken, we stormed into the arena and enveloped her in a group hug. There are so many of us that I’m sure it looked like a stampede! Cori is amazing and we are so proud of her.

Our Open Flat rider, junior Kathryn Haley, scored a win for us in Team Open Flat. The judges did not call the riders back for further testing like they did last year. Instead, they asked the riders to drop their stirrups to the right and perform flatwork without them, including a lengthening of stride at the canter. Katie rode beautifully and with the same grace and poise that she always has. I wish I could flat as well as she can!

That win brought us to a tie with Goucher College for 5^th overall in the team placings, which was the same placing we received last year. Being one of the top five teams in the country is pretty good and we’ll definitely take it! Skidmore and St. Lawrence deserved the win—their riders were exceptional all week. Stanford University jumped to the Reserve Championship, which was great for them! The Savannah College of Art and Design was third and Mount Holyoke was fourth.

The show always does three sportsmanship awards to recognize three individuals who have worked hard all week to make Nationals possible. Rebecca Folk of Lafayette College won the Rider Award, Erin Githens of Lafayette College won the Coach Award and Centenary’s very own Amy Gregonis won the Volunteer Award. Congratulations to them—all were very deserving!

There’s also a Horse of the Show award given to the horse that has been the most consistent all week and has been a favorite among riders and coaches. Centenary’s King won this award, and he proudly posed in the winner’s circle. He will receive free SmartPaks for a year and won a beautiful bridle, which we want him to wear in his lessons every day. Centenary has had King for 7 years, and he has been such a great addition to our program. He has taught countless riders how to ride and always comes to Nationals with us. He also does ANRC Nationals, IDA shows at Centenary, IHSA shows at Centenary and Hunter/Jumper team shows. He a professional and knows his job well.

After the award presentations, we packed up our equipment and horses to go home. This was the last IHSA show of my college career—I graduate from Centenary in two weeks. It’s so surreal and I do not know where the past four years have gone. IHSA has been a part of my college career from day 1; I have always been committed to our team. I have learned so many essential riding skills competing in IHSA shows in Zone 3, Region 3. As a captain, I’ve learned the value of teamwork and how to run horse shows successfully and efficiently. I have learned how to get the best out of my team and encourage them to work hard and never give up. I’ve made so many life-long friends that I will never forget and will always keep in touch with. And most importantly, I’ve learned horsemanship skills that will last a lifetime.

Ultimately, we had a great year and that’s all that really matters. We were undefeated, winning every show all semester and we claimed the Zone 3 Finals Championship. None of Centenary’s success would have been possible without the help of all 60 people on our team, and I thank each and every one of them for one of the best years our team has ever had. I can’t thank our coaches Michael Dowling and Heather Clark enough for all their support and dedication to the team. All those no-stirrup lessons and practices ultimately made us stronger riders. It has been an honor to work with each member of this team, and I hope that they will learn as much from IHSA as I did.

2013 IHSA Nationals ended in a tie this year between Skidmore and St. Lawrence. Both coaches had wonderful things to say about the other team. Mary Drueding (St. Lawrence): "I'd rather share than lose the title. I'm incredibly proud of Zone 2 in itself. We have strong riders, strong coaches, and we all fight until the 8th class on the last day." Belinda (Asst. Coach of Skidmore): "This was a really special camaraderie and we're both thrilled to share the title within Zone 2."

© Madison Harris

I have to share this photo of my own team, Berry College, who claimed 6th place today. On a personal note, we have fought the past three years of my college career to reach Nationals and haven't made it as a team past Zones. This year, after an undefeated season, my team made it to Nationals. I have never been a part of such a hard-working and supportive group of people before and I was proud to watch them accomplish this goal. This was probably the greatest present I could've received at the end of my senior year. Go Vikings!

© Madison Harris

King, the Dutch Warmblood from Centenary College, won Champion Hunt Seat Horse of 2013 Nationals. What a beautiful guy!

© Madison Harris

I had the chance for a quick word with Peter Leone after the Cacchione Cup final. He stated: "The Cacchione final testing was Maclay caliber of skill. All the coaches and teams should be incredibly proud of their riders. I was impressed."

© Madison Harris

We have some fantastic video footage provided from a number of sources this week!

© Madison Harris

Running the in-gate at a horse show, especially Nationals, takes a large amount of skill and multitasking. I caught our manager, Chris Mitchell, in the middle of a vary precarious situation involving the balance of coffee and calling riders.

© Madison Harris

Everyone has a tendency to stop and check out the coveted Hunt Seat National Champion trophy, I know I have a couple of times.

© Madison Harris

Meet Lucy! Lucy is a 12 year old, Dutch Warmblood, who is owned by the United States Military Academy. After speaking to her owners, Lucy was found by a friend of the family and shared with them her remarkable talent as a jumper. Lucy has been a show-favorite this week due to her floppy ears as she listens to her riders. As her owner said: "She's known for it, and sometimes you can't really help how big your head is!"

© Madison Harris

While we're here with our teammates cheering us on, we have a tendency to forget how proud our parents are of us. As our number one fans since we start our careers, countless hours are spent watching ringside. They stick with us through the highs and lows, the falls, the smiles, and most of all, the moments that matter most. I had the pleasure of capturing Flavia D'urso's father watching from the gate as Flavia received her Champion ribbon in Collegiate Open Equitation Over Fences for Skidmore College. Not a single person could help but smile as he pointed her out in excitement and pride.

© Madison Harris

The final 10 riders from the Cacchione Cup line up for the awards ceremony.

© Madison Harris

Peter Leone is present today at Nationals. Winning riders have been awarded his "Show Jumping Clinic" book as a prize here. All 10 of the Cacchione riders received a book as a token of competition. Peter is a Member of the United States Equestrian Team and has represented the United States on numerous occasions including in 1982 when he helped the U.S. finish fourth in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland, and in 1996 when he and Crown Royal Legato were part of the USET's Silver Medal team at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.

© Madison Harris

Cori Reich, of Centenary College, becomes emotional as she is left standing in the lineup as the winner of the 2013 Cacchione Cup. After finishing 15th last year in the Cacchione Cup, Reich was ecstatic with this accomplishment. Speaking to her after the awards, she "thanked Heather and Michael for pushing her incredibly hard and expecting a lot out of her and her teammates. That's how accomplishments are made."

© Madison Harris

The Cacchione Cup is a wrap! Final standings were: Cori Reich, from Centenary (Champion), Flavia D'Urso, from Skidmore (Reserve Champion) and Blake Roberts from Virginia Intermont (Third).

© Madison Harris

Here's the mounting arena where the riders meet their horses. Afterward they make the walk through the tunnel to the competition arena.

© Madison Harris

Given the forces that this joint handles day in and day out, it’s not unusual for horses to develop SI pain. The trick is recognizing the problem: SI injuries are notoriously hard to pin down, with subtle and confusing signs, easily mistaken for other physical or even behavioral problems. Even a “hunter’s bump,” a raised area at the top of the croup that’s often thought to reveal SI trouble, isn’t a reliable sign. (For a closer look inside the joint, see the box below.)

How can you tell if your horse develops SI pain? And, more to the point, what can you do to help him if he does? For this article, we asked Kevin Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD, of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University, for help in answering those questions.

Who’s at Risk?
Any horse can injure his SI joint in a fall or some other accident. The injury may leave the joint less stable than it was originally, so it can become a source of chronic pain. Performance horses may develop SI problems through simple wear and tear—and the more mechanical stress the joint comes under, the greater the risk, Dr. Haussler says. SI problems are fairly common. In one recent survey, these problems accounted for more than half of 124 horses presented for back problems at the University of Minnesota equine clinic.

Show jumping and dressage seem to be especially hard on the joint, according to a study carried out by Sue Dyson, FRCVS, and others at the Center for Equine Studies, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom. That study analyzed records of 74 horses seen for SI pain at the center. Dressage horses and show jumpers accounted for almost 60 percent of the group. Slightly more than half were warmbloods, suggesting that breed may play a role. And horses with SI pain tended to be taller and heavier than average, another sign that mechanical stress is an important factor.

Under stress, Dr. Haussler says, the joint can be injured in several ways. The SI ligaments can tear, just as ligaments and tendons in a limb can give way under stress. And the joint itself, like the hock or any other joint, can become inflamed. Over time, osteoarthritis develops—cartilage wears away and bone remodels. Thoroughbred racehorses sometimes get pelvic stress fractures directly over the SI joint, and those need to be differentiated from SI joint arthritis.

If you’re looking for a riding instructor, you’d want to work with someone who has lots of horsemanship knowledge and experience. You’d choose an instructor with proven teaching skills who could relate his or her knowledge to you in a meaningful way. You’d expect this someone to be respectful and professional.

“Anyone can hang out a shingle and call himself or herself a riding instructor,” says Christy Landwehr, CEO of the Certified Horsemanship Association and a Master Level instructor herself. “I go to a stylist who has a certification to do my hair, so certainly I want at least the same level of expertise from someone who’s teaching me or my child how to ride a horse.”

Given this explanation, if you teach riding yourself, this certification process might be worth your time.

Validated Skills
As one of the largest and oldest certification programs of its kind, CHA is the original. While the association doesn’t claim to teach clinic participants how to become instructors, Landwehr notes: “You can’t help but learn how to teach riding when 10 riding instructors get together and teach four lessons each during a five-day clinic, with instant feedback from one another and the clinic staff.”

CHA offers an extensive menu of certification clinics designed to offer something to everyone — including arena instructors, trail guides, combined trainers, recreational vaulting coaches, therapeutic riding instructors, college and university programs, seasonal riding-program instructors (summer camps, dude ranches, etc.), and even equine-facility managers.

CHA revolves around a public safety and awareness platform. “We want to help the public identify teachers who have a validated skill set,” says Landwehr. Certification demonstrates to both potential employers and customers that the instructor has been tested and proven against a respected standard, under independent evaluation.

CHA Clinics
The Certified Horsemanship Association offers two- to five-day certification clinics open to riders/instructors 18 years old and up.

“During the program, you’ll be evaluated by a written test, by a riding test to ascertain your skill level, and by teaching at least four lessons, one of which is a ground lesson, with CHA-certified clinicians evaluating you for your teaching ability,” explains CHA Program Director Polly Haselton Barger.

If you like working with active learners, have teaching skills in your background, and have time and energy to start your own business, consider becoming a riding instructor through the CHA.

At the end of the clinic, you’ll be assigned to a certification level based on your evaluations by the two CHA clinicians. “Levels range from one to four in both Western and English riding,” Barger explains.

Instructors may recertify at the end of the three-year certification period by providing documentation of at least 25 hours of continuing education and work within the industry. However, if you’re interested in raising your certification level, you must attend another CHA certification clinic and be reevaluated.

Certification clinics take place all over the United States and Canada. Host sites set their own prices according to the amenities they offer, but in general the clinics run from $500 to $800 for the five days, which usually includes lodging and meals.

Trade Perks
Achieving CHA certification brings instructors some neat perks. For example, some insurance companies offer a discount on premiums. Most important though, Barger says having a CHA certification raises the level of professionalism in your horse community.

You’ll also receive a subscription to The Instructor, published by CHA, a biography and photo listing on the CHA website, use of the CHA logo on your business cards, and professional insurance and sponsor discounts. You’ll also have an opportunity to attend an annual educational conference, plus regional conferences.

Renowned clinician and trainer Julie Goodnight is a CHA certified Master Instructor. “Through this organization, I have learned so much about safety, professionalism, and industry standards,” she says. “CHA has just completed a new edition of their excellent manual, The Composite Manual of Horsemanship, which I edited. It’s a must-have for all riders and instructors.”

Emily Esterson is a freelance writer, editor, and dressage rider based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jenny Sullivan is an equine-industry writer, editor, and horsewoman based in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

My favorite competition is Spruce Meadows. I have never shown there but it is my dream to one day. I have gone to watch the "Masters" twice now and it is always amazing to be there. The atmosphere at Spruce is fun, friendly and competitive. For the "Masters" riders from all over the world go and it is always fantastic to see them compete in the "BMO Nations Cup" and "CN International." For those showing, the grounds are amazing and for those just watching, there is always stuff to so such as shopping in the "Equiplex." Spruce Meadows cannot be beat!
Kelly Donaldson, North Vancouver

Every year I find myself looking forward to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association's (IHSA) National Competition. As a college student, riding as a freshman at IHSA Nationals for Delaware Valley College was the most thrilling, intimidating, challenging, exciting, and now the most memorable horse show experience of my life. I attended all four Nationals that occurred while I was in college at venues such as the Coliseum at Middle Tennessee State University, The Big E Complex in Massachusetts, and the Harrisburg Show Grounds either as a rider or volunteer. Since then I have only missed one National Competition and have continued to attend with colleges I have coached for. I love every moment of it. Spending quality time with my teammates and now riders on my team are some of the best memories I carry with me, and many of the stories we continue to tell year after year become legendary. Seeing all of the wonderful horses that colleges are able to loan to the competition, reuniting with friends (old and new), and watching the students ride hard for their teams is the highlight of my year. Riding in the IHSA brought so much to my life as a student and seeing other riders and teams that seem to feel the same way is thrilling to me. We are looking forward to bringing the nation to our backyard again this year; see you at Harrisburg in May!
Emily C Miller, Pennsylvania

In the nearly 50 years that I have been riding I have participated in many different types of competition, from lead-line equitation and gymkhanas to Pony Club rallies and USEA recognized horse trials. My favorite to prepare for and compete in was the Versatile Horse and Rider Competition at the Equine Affaire in Springfield, MA in November, 2011. I decided to send an entry video in on a whim, and didn't start to do any serious preparation until early September when I got the acceptance letter. I went onto YouTube to look at videos of previous competitions and get an idea of what we might be faced with. I have had Gabriel, my 10-year-old Belgian/ Thoroughbred cross, since he was a baby and we do a lot together: eventing at Novice level, fox hunting, trail riding and pleasure driving, but never anything like this. With props from the Halloween supplies at Walmart, round pen panels and other stuff I had around the barn I built an obstacle course behind the barn and practiced every chance I had. I even had friends come over with their kids to yell and cheer to prepare Gabe for the audience. Preparing for this brought our partnership to a whole new level. Gabe was great at the competition; we tied for 11th place out of 30 entries, just missing being in the top 10 for the final round. I definitely want to try it again. (My favorite competition to attend is Rolex Kentucky. I've been twice and loved it!)
Rebecca Hunter, via email

My favorite competition to ride in is one that helps to build the confidence of the horse I work with. "George' is an 18.2 hand Thoroughbred gelding whose naturally spooky nature has been tested by a stable accident that resulted in him losing an eye. His owners and I have chosen local shows where smaller class sizes are less likely to over stress him with a ring full of strange horses. It challenges him to be in a different place and still focus on me and what I am asking of him. George gets very proud of himself when he knows he has done well. It doesn't always mean a blue ribbon; just the fact that he did his best in a class is a win for me. He has learned to trust me and if I don't get overwhelmed by an unfamiliar or scary situation, he is more at easy with whatever is going on around him. As a horse person all my life, I am always amazed at the ability of horses to read our moods and emotions. It helps me to focus as well by knowing that how I react effects him and his ability to handle things like another horse cantering on his blind side. George and I have come a long way together and we were awarded champion of our division at our last show.
Lynn Motschmann, New York

The Whidbey Island Pony Club Horse Trials on Whidbey Island, Washington. Been watching it since ‘88, groomed at, and rode in it just a couple of times…fingers crossed I ride this year.
Chris Cole, Washington

The Breeder’s Cup World Championship Horse Races! Where else could you go to see horses of all ages and specialties from all over the world compete in one place over a two-day period? Its fun, affordable and filled with stars of the sport!
Jonie Fanning Reeves, via email

Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event! It’s an amazing atmosphere and world-class facility. I love how they have a spectator’s course walk directed by one of the competitors. It really shows how down to earth the rider’s are, despite their fame and success in the horse world. Being from California it’s the only vacation I can afford for the year but it’s well worth it!
Sarah O’Dea, California

The Metamora Foxhunt’s Hunter Trials at the end of September or the beginning of October. There are varying levels for all riders as well as tailgating for spectators. The hunt has been holding the trials for longer then I have been alive, and I have missed precisely two since I was 6 (mind you that’s 20-odd years) it is the best show around, and all proceeds go to feeding the hounds, I take my greenies before they compete in the hunter ring. (After all, if they can navigate around a hilly trial course, a ring ride is a breeze!)
Kira Wolf, via email

Read more answers to this question in the April 2013 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.

Moving closer I spotted a swelling on his chest, in front of his left shoulder. I stepped through the gate and ran my hand over the protuberance: It was firm but not hot, and it covered his left front chest and extended down between his front legs.

“What happened, Wes?” I asked, rubbing the star on his forehead. “You get kicked?”

Wesley is pastured with two other geldings, and these boys do get rowdy. My horse Zeke had once been kicked in the chest, and the injury had produced a hematoma, a blood-filled swelling, the size of a grapefruit. That must be it, a hematoma, I thought.

I slipped the halter over Wesley’s head, and we headed toward the barn. He was moving sluggishly, reluctant to bear much weight on his left front leg.

My brow furrowed. This could be more than a hematoma. Was it a shoulder fracture? A tumor? I’d lost my first mustang to an aggressive sinus cancer, and I am forever fearful of seeing equine cancer again. Taking a deep breath, I reassured myself that it was probably not cancer and Wesley would be OK. I stroked his neck and encouraged him to come along.

I put Wesley in a stall with hay and water and gave him two grams of phenylbutazone (bute), which I stock for my arthritic horse, to control his pain. In the meantime, my husband hitched up the trailer so we’d be ready to take Wesley to our local veterinary clinic first thing in the morning.

Wesley’s swelling looked about the same the next day, and he had trouble climbing into the trailer because his shoulder and leg made the step up painful. But he’s a good horse, and once he was loaded, we drove to see Steve Shideler, DVM.

Not so simple
“That looks like an injury. Could be a hematoma,” Shideler said as Wesley backed off the trailer. Walking slowly to accommodate Wesley’s pain, we led him to the treatment area.

The veterinarian palpated the swelling, then he cleaned the center of the mound and inserted an 18-gauge needle to see if he could aspirate (draw out) any fluid. Nothing. Shideler said Wesley had probably experienced some trauma. He administered a dose of penicillin in case some infection was present and prescribed daily warm compresses and continuing the bute as needed, but he said he would expect the swelling to go down over time as the injury healed. Relieved, we loaded Wesley and returned home.

Alone in a paddock, Wesley stood quietly for the application of warm compresses. He’s a mild-mannered horse, and he appreciated the attention and the head rubs. We gave him two grams of bute for three days and then tapered him off of it by day five. Bute can cause gastric ulcers, so I didn’t want to keep him on it too long.

But once the bute was stopped, Wesley’s pain seemed to increase. And, instead of shrinking as we expected, the swelling on his chest grew bigger. Now his head bobbed when he walked, a telltale sign of how painful weight-bearing had become. I put him back on the bute.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, I called Shideler to report that Wesley wasn’t feeling better and the swelling was getting worse. We discussed alternative diagnoses. The possibility of cancer came into the conversation; my heart sank. Shideler recommended taking Wesley to the university clinic, where a specialist could ultrasound the swollen area to get a better idea what lurked beneath that ballooning skin.

A different diagnosis
Worried, I emailed a photo of Wesley to Alison Eddy, DVM, at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine; she’s treated our other horses before. Eddy replied that, although she couldn’t diagnose the problem without examining the horse, she thought the swelling looked like pigeon fever---an infection that causes large pus-filled abscesses under the skin. Also called dryland distemper or false strangles, pigeon fever gets its name because the swellings, which often appear on the front of a horse’s chest, mimic the bulging profile of a pigeon’s breast.

She explained that pigeon fever is caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and is more common in arid regions of southern California and the Southwest. However, she added, they’d been seeing more of this infection in Mississippi this year than they had in the past. Eddy assured me that pigeon fever isn’t usually life threatening, but it does require treatment. I made an appointment at the university for the next morning.

With Eddy’s permission, I gave Wesley two grams of bute one hour before loading to help reduce his pain, and he gamely climbed back onto the trailer. Eddy and the other equine veterinarians were waiting and ready to examine Wesley as soon as we arrived at the hospital. All his vital signs were normal---no fever---and he was bright and alert. His only sign of trouble was the classic hallmark of pigeon fever: pectoral swelling and pain from that king-size abscess. All of this pointed toward that diagnosis---most horses with pigeon fever eat well and have no fever. Eddy told us that an ultrasound of the swelling, to look for the pus pocket, would help confirm their diagnosis.

The swelling was shaved for the ultrasound, and Wesley’s dark-tipped ears flicked forward momentarily with concern as the equipment was wheeled toward him. He stepped back, but after being allowed to sniff the apparatus, he sighed and settled.

A hypoechoic area--one that is dark on the monitor, because it isn’t solid like normal tissue--was found two centimeters (almost one inch) below the skin. This was the abscess. The good news was that draining the pus would start Wesley on the road to recovery. But there was some bad news, too: The abscess didn’t appear to be well encapsulated; that is, it was ill defined and spread out somewhat. If it were opened, the pus might not drain completely, and the abscess would only return. If instead the abscess was left to mature, or “ripen,” the body would wall off the infection into a distinct area that would drain more readily. They couldn’t fix my horse that day.

Eddy estimated Wesley’s abscess might be ready to open in two or three days. Because draining an abscess is a routine veterinary procedure, we had the option of taking our horse home and letting Shideler take care of it when the time came. However, Shideler was heading out of town, so we chose to leave Wesley at the clinic, where he could be monitored until the abscess was ready for lancing.

Crash course
I knew nothing of pigeon fever, so Eddy took a few minutes to explain it to me. Caused when C. pseudotuberculosis enters cuts or wounds as small as fly bites, pigeon fever can take three forms. About 90 percent of the time, the disease causes abscesses, most often on the chest but sometimes under the belly or in other areas, usually near the lymph nodes. In a second type of pigeon fever, the bacterium is carried to the liver, lungs, kidneys or other organs and internal abscesses form; these cases are more likely to be fatal. A third type, called ulcerative lymphangitis, affects the lymphatic system on the lower legs and is much more serious and slower to heal. This type is extremely rare in the United States.

I gave thanks Wesley had the most common and treatable form of pigeon fever. But I wondered how my horse had contracted this infection. Eddy said that C. pseudotuberculosis resides in the soil, and it thrives in arid or droughty conditions. The bacteria enter the skin either directly, when a horse with a cut or abrasion lies down, or indirectly, when he is bitten by a fly carrying
the pathogen.

The disease is common in California and the Southwest because the bacteria flourish in the hot, dry climate. Eddy commented that Mississippi had seen an increase in cases over the past two years. Most of the South has been parched from reduced rainfall those years, and large swaths of the Midwest have been experiencing droughts; in fact, the whole country has seen warmer temperatures. These conditions have enabled pigeon fever infections to sweep eastward and northward in recent years, and veterinarians who had never seen a case in their careers are now treating horses with the illness.

We left Wesley munching horse treats offered to him by the staff. Eddy called me the following evening. The overstretched skin covering Wesley’s voluminous abscess was threatening to split. The veterinarians now believed the lesion was mature enough to make the procedure successful. I gave the go-ahead.

Well-mannered Wesley required no sedation, only the local injection of anesthetic (Carbocaine) to numb the area. Eddy told me that while the process of draining a pigeon fever abscess may be relatively straightforward, it is an extraordinarily messy spectacle. After piercing Wesley’s skin where it was stretched so tight an exudate was beginning to ooze, the veterinarians had guided a 14-gauge catheter into the abscess until pus was aspirated. With the abscess location confirmed, a scalpel was guided alongside the catheter to drain the abscess.

Copious amounts of tan, odorless exudate spilled from the opening; this characteristic appearance of the pus helped confirm the diagnosis of pigeon fever. Because the abscess wasn’t quite fully encapsulated, the veterinarians made a second incision to open another pocket of infection. Wesley fared well during the procedure, and with the wounds left open, he was ready for discharge.

Healing at home
I had to work the next day, so my husband picked up Wesley and received our discharge wound-care instructions. Because the drainage from his wounds might be able to infect other horses, we were advised to isolate Wesley until all the exudates appeared to have exited and the swelling had diminished. Some experts even recommend burning all bedding or hauling it to a landfill, then bleaching all hard surfaces in the stall and any tack that’s come in contact with the horse.

More recent evidence and expert opinion suggest that isolation of a horse with pigeon fever and disinfection of equipment may not be necessary. However, we decided it was just good hygiene to keep this horse with a draining wound away from the others. We also wore disposable exam gloves to treat him and washed our hands after touching him.

Wesley’s daily wound care involved inserting a soft rubber catheter into the open cavities and flushing the pockets with a saline solution. Eddy told us how to make our own saline, using distilled water and table salt. She also advised us to coat Wesley’s chest area below the wounds with petroleum jelly to help protect his skin from the oozing exudate.

Ever the stoic gentleman, Wesley tolerated the treatments well. In less than two weeks, his wounds healed, the swelling resolved and he was released to return to his herd and his duties as a riding horse. We did elect to disinfect his halter and the stall, and I washed the saddle pad

I’d been using on him, too.

Pigeon fever has been around for a long time in the Southwest, yet I’d never heard of it happening here. However, cases have been on the increase in Texas and the South, and the disease has appeared as far east as Florida and Kentucky. The hot, droughty summers we’ve seen in recent years could make the infection more common in states where it had never been before. I hope that my experiences help you recognize the signs of pigeon fever sooner should the infection appear in your area. Finally, Wesley and I are off for that ride.

For more information, see “On Watch for Pigeon Fever” (EQUUS 368).

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #426.

Pulling the shoes of a horse headed to a major international event and doing barefoot dressage isn’t typically part of anyone’s training strategy, but Shannon Peters believed it could be successful for Ravel and Steffen Peters. Just a few months earlier she’d begun working with barefoot trimmer Sossity Gargiulo, who had undertaken a dramatic transformation of Shannon Peter’s own Grand Prix horse, Flor de Selva. The Westfalen gelding had suffered from soundness problems for two years.

Steffen was more skeptical. He wondered how he would keep Ravel in the condition needed to compete against the world’s top equine athletes in London. “I had no personal experience with this,” he says, “but seeing that Shannon had success gave me the confidence to try it.”

Fortunately, a new generation of hoof boots enables newly barefoot horses to maintain their training routines, says Gargiulo. “The shoes can come off and the horse can be ridden the same day.” For Ravel, that meant a pair of Easyboot Gloves for his front feet (he remained shod behind) that were put on prior to training sessions and removed afterward. The gloves have a tough rubber

tread and a neoprene gaiter that fastens around the pastern, protecting the hoof while allowing it to expand and contract and adjust to the ground below. Using heat, Gargiulo and her husband, Mario, are able to fit the boots to each horse’s hoof.