DMC Stables

DMC Stables in Springbank is hiring!

Located at 230 Lariat Loop DMC is looking for a RELIABLE part-time weekend worker. Will need both days for most weekends covered. Hours are flexible.

Wage is dependent on experience

Tasks include but not limited to..
- morning feed, checks, and med administration
- p**p picking paddocks
- arena maintenance
- some yard maitenance (fixing fence boards, mowing grass)
- Using skid steer to drop round bales

The right candidate will:
- have pervious experience working at a barn
- reliable
- able to work alone
- have valid drivers license with reliable vehicle
- take initiative
- able to work alone
- able to lift at least 50lbs

Please message me if you are interested OR email resumes to Rochelle at [email protected]

DMC is so exciting to be hosting a Saddle Fit Clinic this May! Don’t miss out!

NEXT 2 DAY SADDLE FIT CLINIC:
MAY 30TH & 31ST
@ DMC STABLES IN SPRINGBANK

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS 2 DAY SADDLE FIT CLINIC??

Day 1 includes (4.5 hours):

• Anatomy and Biomechanics as they relate to saddle fit
• Anatomy based saddle fit principles
• Signs and symptoms of potential saddle fit issues
• Factors that affect saddle fit
• Dispelling common saddle fit myths
• Basic principles of saddle fit for both English and western saddles
• Identifying your horse’s imbalances and how they affect saddle fit
• Landmarking/Mapping the horse’s back
• Palpation skills to identify back soreness

Day 2 includes (4.5 hours):

• Building on your knowledge from Day 1
• Dynamic saddle fit, assessment in movement
• Saddle shims and their use
• Shimming to improve imbalances and fit, where and when to use them
• How conformation affects saddle fit
• Structural conditions that affect saddle fit
• Saddle Pads; the good, the bad, the ugly
• Girthing
• Sweat Patterns
• How to create templates of your horse’s back to assist in saddle shopping

Clinic cost is $300 & gst/person.
Deposits must be received to ensure your spot!
If you would like to attend only Day 1 the cost is 150 &gst/person.
If you are interested in attending or hosting one of our clinics, please contact Tralauney at 403-831-4745 or [email protected]
www.equinoxhealth.ca

DMC Stables will be hosting an Equine 1st Aid Course on March 28th! See poster for details.

Yes! Great and accurate information on blanketing.

Blanketing is not just about adding warmth. Horses heat themselves very differently than we do and understanding that helps us support them instead of accidentally making them colder.

Horses heat themselves from the inside out. Their digestive system ferments fibre all day which creates steady internal heat. Their winter coat traps this heat when the hair can lift and fluff, a process called piloerection. This creates a layer of warm air close to the skin and acts as the horse’s main insulation system.

A thin blanket can interrupt this system. It presses the coat flat which removes the natural insulation. If the blanket does not provide enough fill to replace what was lost the horse can become COLDER in a light layer than with no blanket at all.

Healthy horses are also built to stay dry where it matters. The outer coat can look wet while the skin stays warm and dry. That dry base is the insulation. When we put a blanket on and flatten the coat, the fill must replace that lost insulation.

Problems begin when moisture reaches the skin. Wetness at the base of the coat flattens the hair and stops the coat from trapping heat. This can happen in freezing rain, heavy wet snow, or when a horse sweats under an inappropriate blanket.

Checking the base of the coat tells you far more than looking at the surface. Slide your fingers down to the skin behind the shoulder and along the ribs. Dry and warm means the horse is coping well. Cool or damp means the horse has lost insulation and needs support.

Horses also show clear body language when they are cold. Look for tension through the neck, shorter and stiffer movement, standing tightly tucked, avoiding resting a hind leg, clustering in sheltered areas, a hunched topline, withdrawn social behaviour, and increased hay intake paired with tension. Shivering is a clear sign but it appears later in the discomfort curve.

Ears can give extra information but they are not reliable on their own. Cold ears with a relaxed body are normal, but cold ears paired with tension, stillness, or a cool or damp base of the coat can suggest the horse is losing heat. Always look at the whole picture instead of using one single check.

If you choose to blanket, pick a fill that REPLACES what you are removing. Sheets and very light layers often make horses colder in winter weather. A blanket that compresses the coat needs enough fill to replace the trapped warm air the coat would have created on its own.

Blanketing is a tool, not a default. Healthy adult horses with full winter coats often regulate extremely well on their own as long as they are dry, sheltered from strong wind, and have consistent access to forage. Horses who are clipped, older, thin, recovering, or living in harsh wind and wet conditions will likely need more support and blanketing. The individual horse always matters.

It would be easier if a single number worked for every horse. But in my own herd I have horses who stay comfortable naked in minus thirty and others who need three hundred and fifty grams (+) in that same weather. That range is normal. It is exactly why no one chart can ever work for every horse, and why watching the individual horse will always be more accurate than any temperature guide.

Thermoregulation is individual. Charts cannot tell you what your horse needs. Your horse can. Watch the body, check the skin, and blanket the individual in front of you.