Dr. Galley,

I have a problem that has turned into a big “family” problem and maybe you can help me with it. I bought a heading horse a couple of years ago that used to be a barrel horse and he was on the race track before that. He has always been a lot of horse for me but lately has been really acting up at ropings away from home. My wife is a barrel racer and she hurt her horse last week and so she took my heading horse to the barrel race (she said it would help calm him down for me to rope on). He placed at the barrel race but after she ran him he bled out of his nose. One of my partners used to work on the race track and told me that once they bleed like that they need to be treated or they can die. I told my wife that she had better not run barrels on him until a vet looks at him. Things have not been good at home since we had that conversation. Can you help me?

Answer:

Wow……I may not be tough enough to help you with this one…….Just how mean is your wife?  (JUST KIDDING Ma’am).

Dr. Galley,

My partner’s heading horse got into a bunch of baling wire recently and got a bunch of small nicks and scratches on both of his front legs from the knees down.  None of the wounds need to be sewn up. His horseshoer used to work for a vet and he put some yellow salve on the legs and wrapped them really tight to keep the swelling down. This morning they took the wraps off and both legs are real swollen and sore to touch. I am pretty sure that they gave him some antibiotics yesterday but do you think they could be getting infected?  What else should he do for him?  We are entered at the USTRC Finals and really need him.

Answer:

It sounds as if they may have wrapped him too tightly when they “put some yellow salve on the legs and wrapped them really tight to keep the swelling down." Of course I haven’t seen the horse so I don’t know how severe it is.

Dr. Galley,
Several years ago I brought 2 horses that had hurt their back end to you at your clinic. I had just started roping and was really a novice and you did a very thorough job and helped them both. I remember that you told me that the ground in the arena has a lot to do with keeping my horses sound and when I described my arena dirt to you, you mentioned that I should be raking my boxes every few runs. Since that time I have really watched how the boxes are raked at the ropings. I was lucky enough to win a shootout in the #8 at the USTRC Finals and they had a guy that just raked the boxes during the roping. That is all that he did! A lot of the local jackpots hardly ever rake the box and I wish you would repeat what you told me back then so those guys will know how important it is. Thanks and I hope that you are doing better.

Answer:

Congratulations on winning a shootout. They are not easy to come by. I hope that you enjoyed the Finals and won a bunch of their money. You bring up a very good point about the ground in the arenas that we rope in, not only the local ropings but also some of the larger ones.

Dear Dr. Galley,
I am an average type of middle aged team roper with a problem. I haven’t lived in this area for very long because I moved here from the Northwest. When I moved here I had a lot of trouble finding a horseshoer and now the one I have been using has gotten hurt and can no longer shoe horses. Can you please give me a hint as to how to select a horseshoer? Thanks.

Answer:

Finding a good and competent farrier can be a real problem. You didn’t mention what your location is but in this part of the world there are a lot of good horses and so there are also a lot of good farriers…the problem is finding one that does a satisfactory job and has the time to fit another client into his (or her) schedule.