Let's support our local Colorado Companies!

This week's featured products are going to all be products made in Colorado. It is important to support our local companies and thus our local economies. Our biggest local company is Gateway Products. Gateway Products makes many supplements for just about any need you might have. They have recieved many accolades from the Horse Journal and other publications so not only are they local they are quality. Our best selling Gateway products is Mag Calm. This product is especially good for calming nervous and tense horses. Mag Calm was also rated the best magnesium supplement by the Horse Journal. One of our other best sellers is Su-per Flex Wrap. This is a self sticking wrap comparable to Vet-rap and works just the same. One of my favorite products is Su-per SuBstitUTE. This is a great pain management product for horses that can't be on bute long term. It is our strongest Devils Claw product and combined with Yucca, MSM and other herbs it works really well to combat pain in older horses or ones who have chronic problems. Horse Journal also recommends Su-per AntiOxidant regularly for its vitamin, mineral and antioxidant profiles. All in all Gateway has a lot of really good products and are worth a look into.

Our next featured product is Forco. Forco is a very good pre and probiotic made in Flagler, CO. This product helps feed the good bacteria and microbes in the gut. Forco also includes digestive enzymes to help utilize feed better. A good healthy gut keeps a horse happier and in better health. Weight will be regulated and stress won't have as big an impact. For horses that are prone to colic or diarrea Forco is a must to getting the horse back to healthy. Available in 5, 10, 25 pound buckets.

Eileen's Homebrew Hoof Goo is made in Aurora. It was formulated and tested here in Colorado for our unique climate. With a combination of cosmetic and culinary oils, pine tar and venice turpentine it is a high quality product that doesn't dissapoint.

Mile Hi Biotin is simply that, biotin. It is 20mg of biotin per serving to help with any hoof or coat problem you may be having.

Horsey Nibblers were developed in Elizabeth as a necessity for a horse owner faced with a lengthy stall confinement for one of their horses. They devolped the nibbers as a way to combat boredom and boy do they work. Made out of quality ingredients the nibbers are round so they are hard for the horse to get a bite out of and last along time. Now in several different flavors there is one your horse will like. A great boredom buster.

Dowdells Best Remedy is our newest local product. Started in 1907 as a topical liniment Dowdells has a great reputation on the racetrack. They have recently moved into the jumper market by sponsoring Charlie Dennehy at the Colorado Horse Park. We do still have samples so come by to try it today.

All these products are on sale for 10% off until August 31st. Make sure to stop by today to support your local companies!

Aural Plaques week four

We are now on week four and as I sit here babysitting drunk horse ( have to sedate her now to clean the ears) I thought I would show the progress. This is the last week for treatment and then we see what happens over the next month. I cleaned out her ears really well and got a lot of crusty scabs off. Underneath the scabs the skin is still pretty raw but there are areas of fresh, pink, healthy skin. I think this is a good sign and I just hope the hair grows back in dark like the rest of her. So all in all I think the treatment worked. I think I will post again only after the raw spots have healed up to show the final results. I will continue to clean the ears weekly to remove scabs.

Left ear

Right ear

Great places to ride and hike - Deer Creek Canyon Trail Jefferson County, CO

Or not so great. This was not the best trail for horses. I will just start there. I grw up in this area and thought I knew the trail well. I thought my green trail horse, who is still barefoot in the front, sliders in the hind, would do well on this trail. Well she did so well but the trail was not anything I remembered. I did remember that there are horse/bike trails here and hiker only trails. Not a big deal we all walk fine together. We start up the horse trail called Plymouth Creek and for the first half mile or so the trail is great. The bikers at this trail are very courteous and even though we surprised one Taylor did very well with them. After the first part the trail becomes VERY steep and rocky. The rocks were not something I was familar with at this location. I was really worried about my horse being barefoot but she was very careful and didn't get any stone bruises. We continued up the trail until it met up with the Meadowlark trail. This is a hiker only trail but the walkers with me were beat the trail was that steep and difficult. My parents decided to walk down the Meadowlark trail while my husband and I contiunued up the Plymouth Creek trail.

We only got another 100 yards(shortly after this picture was taken) or so further on it when it turned to all rock. There was a staircase for the hikers and literally a rock face for the horses and bikes. I decided it was too much for my horse and we decided to head back to the trailer. It was a little disappointing of a ride and I probably will not be back here with the horse. Maybe if I was a mountain bike rider or wanted just to hike but this trail should really be only for the experienced horse and rider. That said I was very proud of the green horse and she handled the hard trail well. I think there are better trails out there for horses. For hikers though the view is beautiful and it may be well worth it.

Happy riding!

Aural Plaques update

Dr Dunbar cam out today to float Broadway's teeth. Boy is she not a light weight. Much like Scarlett before her she took a lot of drugs to make her sleepy. The noise is what gets her and she doesn't react well. After the float we decided to inspect her ears for how the Aldera was treating the Aural Plaques. We were able, with a little fight, to clip the ears so we could get a better look and clean them well before treatment three. When we first started it didn't look like there had been a lot of improvement but as we started cleaning the ears the plaques sloughed off showing raw skin below. Based on the University of Minnesota study this is really common and actually treatment week three, where we are, is supposed to be the worst. Thankfully she was sedated so we were able to clean the ears well and put in the next treatment. I have included the pictures below but stop here if you don't want to see them as they are raw and open. I will post pictures again after the next treatment and then after the rawness heals. If you are considering this treatment for your horse make sure you have a good fly mask with ears to keep the ears protected.

Vaccination Clinic Success!

Although this vaccination clinic was a little slow we vaccinated 60 dogs and 7 cats and ran heartworm tests on 25 dogs. Remember heartworm is in our area and it is worth it to test and use monthly preventative to prevent this aweful infestation. Failing to do so can result in death so it is really important to tay on top of it. Thank you to all the staff at Vetlink of Parker who help make the clinic a success. Dr Sorley for vaccinating all the dogs and cats, even the unruly ones! Dr Sabbatini for drawing all the blood and running the heartworm tests. Laurie for helping Dr Sorley so well, Maryann for helping Dr Sabbatini. Justinn for keeping the line moving and people flowing. Thank you to Rebecca who came and helped us with the paperwork it really helped having you help. I know with a great team we can make the vaccination clinics run smooth.

We do these clinic 2-3 times a year, usually in the spring and fall and they are always really busy and a benefit to the community. Make sure to watch our website and facebook for the dates of the next clinic.

Pictures from the clinic:
Doing a blood draw to test for heartworms, luckily every one was negative.

Vaccinating a little one

:

A BIG guy waiting in line, would you let him cut?

Can't wait to see you at the next one!

Great places to ride and hike - Dawson Butte Castle Rock Colorado

Dawson Butte, located just outside of Castle Rock is a great trail for any rider. There is a five mile easy loop around the park that is great for any level horse and rider. When it is wet there is one small water crossing that is more just water over the trail. It was the only place my green trail horse balked.

The trail is well-groomed and not rocky. Good for unshod horses or horses like mine who have sliders on for reining competition. The trail is lined in places with scrub oak, through a wooded area, and open in others. There are also numerous out trails that meander through the park. These are mostly there to feed the small cross country course. Because I had my reining horse I wan't able to scope out any of the jumps but they look well made with a variety of questions. Looks like a lot of fun. The natural beauty here is outstanding with wildlife like deer that join you. We completed the five mile loop in about 2 hours. This included me riding and three people walking with two dogs.

All in all everyone enjoyed themselves.

The parking is well thought out with lots of places to park even a big horse trailer. The one thing the park asks is manure to be picked up from the parking lot. I am ashamed to say not many horse people followed this rule as there was manure everywhere. If we want to have places to ride we need to respect those places rules or they will stop allowing it to be open to horseback riding. Please don't let this happen by making sure you have a fork to clean up after yourself.

Dawson Butte is a great trail I would recommend to anyone. Happy riding.

Products I am loving right now!

With summer in full swing there are a few products I can't get by without. The first is Calm Coat fly spray.

This all natural fly spray actually works! I love when I spray it on the flies leave. The Calm Coat Fly Repellent has a really pleasent odor and it is great for those who don't want to use chemicals.









Speaking of Calm Coat they also have a great Detangler and Shine.

I love how this smells, like a pina colada, and boy does it detangle. I get so many compliments on how shiny my horse's tails are. A must buy for anyone showing this summer or anyone really who just wants a shiny, tangle free mane and tail. Vetlink of Parker sells both Calm Coat products in quarts and gallons, come give them a try. For a limited time Calm Coat is $1.00 off per bottle.

Back to the subject of flies, London is very allergic to fly bites so I have to change her routine a little in the summer to keep her comfortable. The first thing I do is add Garlic DE from our local company, Gateway Products. Garlic DE combines garlic, diatomacous earth and apple cider vinegar.

The combination of these ingredients makes the horse less appitizing for flies it also inhibits fly breeding in the manure. I feed this product to all my horses to limit the flies on my property and I feel it has really helped.








I also feed flaxseed to all my horses with the product OmegaHorseshine.

This is a balanced flaxseed product so it woun't mess up a balanced diet for calcium:phosphorus ratio. Flaxseed, because of its high omega 3s is great for inflammation and can lessen allergy symptoms. Flaxseed is also beneficial for stabled horses that aren't getting a lot of fresh pasture grass as flaxseed best mimics the natural omegas in pasture grass. I feel it is a great all around product that most horses will benefit from.

That is it for now. I will keep up with the products I am loving at the moment. I hope everyone is enjoying their Father's Day and getting in some horse time!