Whoa Podcast 2.0 Archives ⋆ The Whoa Podcast

We’re Taking a COVID Hiatus

May 12, 2020 by John Leave a Comment

We’re Taking a COVID Hiatus

Hi everyone. I hope you are doing well. This COVID pandemic has really turned everyone’s world upside down. Somehow, I think horse people take these things a little better. When you sit on a 1,000 lb animal, sometimes things go wrong. It’s you and the horse and you learn to deal with them. We get manure under our fingernails and horse slobber on our shirts. We clean water troughs brimming with algae. We know the smell of Numotizine, Furacin, and that purple stuff you spray on cuts and wounds. We hear the COVID is tough. I sure wouldn’t want to mess with it, but I’m still thinking my immune system is ready.

It’s been challenging getting guests booked during the last two months. I’ve produced podcasts through it all so far, but now I need to take a little COVID Hiatus. I have commitments from two really cool people in the horse industry. I hope to get those interviews done, edited and posted. I just don’t know when. If you want to keep in touch, hit the subscribe button wherever you get our show. They will notify you when I release a new episode.

I hope to produce shows when I find a good topic and a cooperative guest. Meanwhile, all 200+ episodes are right here for you to enjoy. I hope you have a listen. If you have an idea for a show or just want to say “HI”, email John@whoapodcast.com. Thanks for all your support.

Check out the Shoulder Relief Cinch

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show. Tell us about your horse. Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique. Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone. Or contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone. Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #170

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The Masterson Method with Will Friday

October 15, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

The Masterson Method with Will Friday

Will Friday is a Masterson Method Certified Practitioner. I ran across Will Friday at the Skills of the Rancho this summer. The Skills celebrates the tradition of the Californio Bridlehorse. I was walking around the stables when I saw this man doing what looked like a cross between chiropractic and massage on a horse in the breezeway. I stood and watched for a while and found the procedure fascinating. As Will skillfully tugged, pulled, and laid his fingers on the horse, I could see the horse relax. In our short conversation that day, Will said he was trying to let the horse release tension and soreness in his body using the Masterson Method.

The Masterson Method, developed by horseman Jim Masterson, is a systematic way of releasing tension and soreness in horses. The procedure can last between 1 and 2 hours as the practitioner places fingers along the horse’s body looking for areas of tension and soreness.

I contacted Will at his company Performance Equine BodyWork. He invited me to a Parelli clinic that was being hosted by one of his clients at the 3L Ranch. Owners of the ranch, Maurice Thibault and Susan Nelson, invited me to come up and observe the clinic and watch Will work on some of their clinic horses. Both Maurice and Susan are 4-Star Parelli Professionals.

Here are the links from the show:

Performance Equine Bodywork Facebook

The Masterson Method Website

3L Ranch

Parelli Professionals

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show. Tell us about your horse. Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique. Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone. Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone. Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #157

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Update on Jessie’s Lameness

June 25, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Update on Jessie’s Lameness

My 19-year-old Foundation Quarter Horse mare, Jessie, has been struggling with lameness since the first of the year. You can find out the background from a post in early May here: Lameness and My Mare Jessie

After going through the lameness evaluation process and taking it up to the point of an MRI, we decided on a treatment program. Jessie would get one gram of Bute morning and night. We would shoe her front feet with egg-butt shoes to increase her break-over angle. Additionally, we packed her sole with a gel product to protect her feet. The last part of her treatment program involved riding her 3-5 times a week.

Progress?

Well, it’s difficult to tell. The vet stated that her lameness score went from a “3” to a “2”. The doctor wanted us to move forward to the MRI. Jessie is an aged horse not used in competition. We enjoy trail riding and trail trials. We generally do both activities at a walk. There is no guarantee the MRI would provide a definitive diagnosis. The most prudent approach seems to enjoy her for as long as we are able. I suppose we could breed her. She has good bloodlines, a good mind, and the lameness is a genetic defect. It’s something to consider.

For now, we have changed her medication from Bute to Equioxx. I’ll still take her out for exercise 3-5 times a week. If she doesn’t improve, I may try swim therapy. There is a place in town that offers it may help.

I’ll keep you updated on our progress.

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show. Tell us about your horse. Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique. Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone. Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone. Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #148

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Kellie Auld, Her Mare Little Girl, and Lameness

May 28, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Kellie Auld, Her Mare, Little Girl, and Lameness

I’ve been asking you to share your stories about making medical decisions with your horses. Kellie Auld from California sent me this email of a story she wanted to share about her mare, Little Girl.

Kellie bought Little Girl as a 2-year-old. Her registered name is Skip to My Leaguer. Together they went all over California competing in little shows and eventing.

The Big Scare

Kellie and Little Girl had a good relationship. When Little Girl was 11, the two took part in an eventing clinic at their boarding stable. Little Girl had worked hard during the clinic and Kellie wanted to get her out for a hand-walk on the trail the next day to stretch her legs. This was a trail they had been on many times. Both of them knew about the free range peacocks living in the area. About 1/2 mile down the trail they ran into a male “paint” peacock. A big blue-and-white peacock. This was a first.

Little Girl is a high-energy horse, and she went into survival mode. Kellie had to hang on to the lead rope while trying to disengage her horse. The ground was hard, rocky, and uneven. They had only walked out about 10 minutes when this happened, but they took nearly 30 minutes to get back. So much for a relaxing walk. They both came back in a sweat. Poor Little Girl was lathered up.

The Diagnosis

Little Girl had a compound fracture in her right hind splint bone and had bruises on all 4 feet despite being shod and wearing protective boots. She was lame all the way around. X-rays and ultrasounds on all four feet showed nothing other than the fracture. The vet prescribed a month of stall rest followed by a month of hand walking. Little Girl finally got turned out for some light trotting. Ice treatments, poultices, DMSO, and water treatments usually followed.

Her splint calcified and resolved and her feet returned to their natural state. Finally, the vets gave the okay for tack-walking and lunge-line work. She was not back to 100%, so Kellie took it slow. Little Girl looked good except for the right front lameness. Six months and two follow-up vet exams passed and still there was no improvement. The vet advised Kellie to stay consistent with her exercise. Don’t increase the workload.

After another month, the lameness worsened. Kellie sought a second opinion. Of course, it was another thorough exam involving x-rays, blocking, and everything that goes with it. This vet said the only way to see what was really going on was with an MRI. Without insurance, it would have to come out of Kellie’s pocket.

About this time, Kellie got another job and moved. The move put her closer to a well-known equine podiatrist and lameness specialist with a standing MRI. The cost of the MRI was $2700, but Kellie had to know what was going on with Little Girl. She put everything on credit cards that were already under the strain of the first rounds of vet exams.

The Decision to Get the MRI

It was a full year after the initial injury that Kellie finally got an answer through the MRI. In all the commotion and chaos with the peacocks, Little Girl had come down so hard on that right front hoof she had internally lacerated her deep digital flexor tendon with her navicular bone. She had slightly chipped her navicular and bruised her bursa. This diagnosis meant stall rest for 6 months (no hand walking) and then light hand walking and stall rest for another 6 months. Telling a fit, high energy 12-year-old they have to stay locked up and can’t go outside was an extreme challenge.

Little Girl Today

Little Girl is now 15 and Kellie faces a tough decision. She has done everything the vets prescribed. Three different farriers and special shoes haven’t made the difference she hoped for. Does she retire Little Girl from riding for good? While Kellie would be okay if Little Girl spent the rest of her life with light trail riding and groundwork, the pain is clear even in those activities.

In Kellie’s words, “I am heartbroken for my own selfish reasons for I put money and time into 4 vets, thousands of dollars (I really don’t have). Now my horse tells me she wants to keep riding and having fun, but she just can’t. I feel for everyone who has to battle with lameness. There is no right answer sometimes. There is just us doing the best we can at the moment. Little Girl is happy, loving, and sound enough to be a pasture pony now. The day may come when she is not. We will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I love on her and let her be, even though when I go out there she still wants to play games. She doesn’t understand why we don’t go for trail rides, because she likes them just as much as me, if not more.”

Join Us on this Journey

I’m not the best community builder. I will need your help for that. I’m not the best at conversation. Let’s change it up together. I hope you will join me.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #144

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Let’s Change it Up Whoa Podcast 2.0

April 30, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Whoa Podcast 2.0 – Let’s Change It Up

Yes, I miss producing the podcast. Sure, I have other things to do to fill the time (like riding my horse). But, it simply got to difficult to schedule guests, record the interview, edit the interview, put together the open and close, publish it to the Stitcher, Spotify, iTunes, I Heart Radio, Google Play, and all the other places these go, then promote it on social media. So, let’s change it up.

I’m calling this new version Whoa Podcast 2.o. We’ll still talk horses and horsemanship, but the podcasts will be more frequent. If I can work it out with an expert or trainer or other interesting horse person, I will certainly have them on the show. The regular version, however, will be shorter. You may ask, what will we talk about?

There are hundreds of decisions we have to make as horse owners. What to feed? When do you change the bit you’re using? What sport do I want my horse to do? Where do I keep him? What happens when they get too old to ride? When will I know he’s too old to ride?

Most of the time we fumble our way through these decisions. then we wonder if we made the right choice. This is the stuff I want to talk about. I want to share with you the choices I make with my horse, but more importantly I want you to share what YOU do with YOUR horse. What criteria do you use?

Participation is Essential

Of course, you need to take part for this will work. We can use the Whoa Podcast Facebook page to communicate. You can always email me at john@whoapodcast.com. And, if you want to share your thoughts, talk about your horse and share your knowledge, we can connect on Skype, I record our conversation and play it on an upcoming podcast. My Skype name is JohnJHarrer.

Here’s What’s Coming Up

This was a big deal for me. My 19-year-old mare, Jessie. came up lame after a ride earlier this year. It was not the first time. We performed a lameness exam in 2016 which was inconclusive. What would be your course of action? While I don’t want to bring economics into the picture, there is not an endless supply of money. Do you have an emergency horse medical budget?

Next week I’ll give you Jessie’s full story with all the details. I’ll tell what we did and give you an early progress report. If you have had a mysterious health issue with your horse, I would love to hear it. Get in touch with me.

The following week, let’s talk about conditioning your horse. It’s been a long, cold, wet winter in many parts of the country. How do you bring your horse back into riding shape? Do you feed them more or are they fat from a winter of inactivity? Let me know.

Join Us on this Journey

I’m not the best community builder. I will need your help for that. I’m not the best at conversation. Let’s change it up together. I hope you will join me.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #140

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