The Little Things That Count

California Horsewoman and trainer Sharon Camarillo.   When you're unsaddling your horse, that's the time to look for dry spots, rubbed hairs, soreness when you're brushing that horse's back off. I always like to use just a little alcohol and water or liniment on my horse's back as I brush off that sweat. And you know, you're a good sitting saddle with the right pad when you pull it off, should have an even sweat pattern. If you see white hair starting in an area up on that spine, it's pretty confident that it's a pressure point. When your horses quit working, when they're switching their tail, when they're grumpy, when their ears move, you need to listen to that horse. He's trying to tell you something and a lot of times you can fix it by just paying attention to quality of equipment. It's not how much you pay for it. It's really the fit. How it sits on that horse's back, the type of pad you're using. I said it earlier, I'm going to say it again. When you're around your horse, when you walk to the stall or the pasture to catch him, that's when you need to put your mind in the game.