WHILE SOME YOUTHS are frittering away time watching TV or tweeting the latest gossip, others like First Nations Riders Horse Club member Isabele Pullen are learning horsemanship skills along with leadership skills, performing community service and learning how to help others.
With that in mind, I’d like to congratulate Isabele on winning the Janet Fry Outstanding 4-H’er Award.
The award is given to the 4-H youth who best personifies the “spirit of 4-H,” for going above and beyond the requirements of the 4-H club in leadership, citizenship, community service and helping others, along with active participation in 4-H events.
Club leaders Bill and Karen White nominated Isabele because she’s shown herself to be an “excellent model of gracious, kind and self-sacrificing leadership” during her two years as club president.
Not only has Isabele done well competing at the Clallam County Fair, but this year, she also qualified to compete at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup.
There, Karen says, Isabele set an example of diligence in preparation, taking responsibility and was “a very gracious hostess to our club’s 4-H barn, greeting the public warmly and politely.”
To view highlights from First Nations’ show season, visit http://tinyurl.com/PDN-1stNations4H.
Clarification
In my Nov. 23 column, I wrote about retired Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Barbara Noble and her suggestions on nutritional supplements to give my Indy, who may have the neuromuscular condition called shivers.
Equine nutrition experts have suggested a horse with shivers could benefit from following the same nutritional guidelines given to horses suffering from equine polysaccharide storage myopathy.
Barbara had suggested I try adding trace minerals to Indy’s diet through a hoof supplement, such as Integri-Hoof by Kauffman’s, along with HorseTech’s High Point-Grass daily vitamin and mineral supplement and adding a sprinkle of ALCAR, a combination of amino acids.
I need to emphasize the ALCAR is suggested only for horses with equine polysaccharide storage myopathy.
Barbara, who’s taken classes from equine nutrition expert Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DVM, stated that in the Pacific Northwest, iron is so readily available that getting too much can be a problem.
Trace minerals
Manganese is usually plentiful, so deficiency is not problematic. However, copper and zinc are barely present in our soils, and consequently, they are barely present in our pastures and hay. Keeping copper and zinc levels balanced is vitally important for equine soundness.
Barbara says quality hay and pasture are an important basis of our horses’ diets, but we have to be smarter about our supplements.
More isn’t always better; balanced is better. More supplementation can take our horses out of balance if we don’t do our homework.
Getting your hay analyzed and balanced with just the right supplements can be less costly than you think and will make a positive difference in your horse’s health.
Barbara is available to help test hay and balance diets for a horse with an equine metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance or Cushing’s syndrome. Email her at nobledq@centurylink.net.
Rescues
To better describe the work they do, rescuing and helping to rehome horses, Eyes That Smile has changed its name and is now Olympic Peninsula Equine Network, or O.P.E.N.
O.P.E.N. will be hosting an equine vet clinic with Dr. Sean Tuley today, starting at 10 a.m. at Olympic View Stables’ indoor arena, 136 Finn Hall Road in Agnew.
Services include teeth float for $100; teeth float with hooks for $150 (limit 10 per day); and castration for $200.
Other services available such as chiropractic, vaccinations and worming, are a $25 farm call per animal.
To reserve a spot, contact Valerie Jackson at 360-207-1688
Jefferson Equine
For a limited time, the Jefferson Equine Association is offering a set of four concrete coasters with horses handmade by Quilcene artist Candy Raab for $14 to help raise money for JEA.
Order at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-HorseCoasters or contact Raab through the email link on the website. Or you can visit the Chimacum Arts & Crafts Fair today at Chimacum High School, 91 West Valley Road, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a $3 entry fee.
Events
■ Sunday, Dec. 21, noon-3 p.m. — Cowmanship class, Freedom Farms, 493 Spring Farms Road, Agnew. Contact Mary Gallagher at 360-457-4897 or freedomf@olypen.com.
■ Sunday, Dec. 28, noon-2 p.m. — Adult horsemanship class, Freedom Farm. See contact information above.
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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears every other Sunday.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also write Griffiths at PDN, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
