Innovative Equine Products seen at the World Cup of Show Jumping and Dressage (2015)

In April of this year, I had the pleasure of seeing the World Cup of Show Jumping and Dressage in Las Vegas.  The world championship not only brings some of the best competitors from around the world but also brings vendors to demonstrate their products at the shopping area adjoining the competition.    
 
I wanted to share with you information on three products that intrigued me.  The first is a quick-release product for tying your horse.  The product is called a Safe T-Tie.  The second is a DNA screen you can run on your horse's color genetics, certain abnormalities, and other attributes.  The third is a way to build an arena that addresses in a new way how to water an arena and how to get rid of the water when it rains.
 
Tying a horse to a post, inside a trailer, stall wall or cross ties is something everyone does.  I was taught to always tie a horse up using a slip knot so that if the horse panics, which can happen with some regularity, you can pull the slip knot to free the horse and stop the panic.  While this is well intended in concept, most horses panic faster than you can pull the slip knot and often tighten the knot in their panic making it impossible to undo.  You end up helplessly watching as your horses pull against or break or bend the thing to which they are anchored. 
 
Later  I learned a better way.  First, tie a single strand of baling string to a ring or post.  Then without using a slip knot, tie your lead rope to this string.  A single strand seems to be just strong enough to restrain a horse if it is doing ordinary pulling, but weak enough that it breaks when a horse spooks and panics.  In doing so it frees the restraint and the horse does not further panic as it strains against an immovable object. 
 
Though this works well, it looks rather uncool to have a baling string as part of your grooming area decor.  This is why I was impressed with the Safe T-Tie which essentially solves this same problem while looking more professional.  The Safe T-Tie is a piece of molded plastic with a bunch of ridges forming a clasp.  When put together it roughly makes an oval shape.  Put one end into a tie ring and tie your lead line to the other.  Just like the string, it will hold a horse as it moves around, but if he panics and jerks with a force greater than 80 lbs, the clasp mechanism opens and Safe T-Tie is pulled through the ring and your horse is free.  Since it is reusable, you can just put the clasp mechanism back together and you are ready to go.  At about $8.00 it is a reasonable device to add.

Watch this video to see a demonstration.

Their web site is http://www.horsetieups.com/ and it is available at many online tack shops.

A DNA screen from a company called Etalon Diagnostics was the second product that impressed me.  The CEO, Christa Lafayette, took her knowledge of Biotech in Silicon Valley area of California and has applied it to genetic testing in horses.  They have created a screen for multiple attributes in your horse's DNA all at once from one hair sample.  The screen includes 14 color attributes including Cream, Splashed Whites, and Bay coloring. The screen also includes 18 known gene mutations related to diseases such as Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy, a muscle sugar storage disease, susceptibility to West Nile Virus infection, and Lordosis, a sway back defect seen primarily in Saddlebreds.  Also tested is the gaitedness - like that seen in Tennessee Walkers, and Peruvian Paso's.
 
Even more ambitious are tests in the discovery phase.  One is for curiosity/vigilance which can give you clues to genetic aspects of your horse's personality.  As described on their website, "Curiosity in the horse has been defined as an interest in novel objects and a willingness to approach them. Vigilance refers to the tendency of a horse to examine its surroundings."  Also in the discovery phase are examinations of genes related to speed - long distance vs. sprinters, as well as jumping, and dressage ability. 
 
The test is performed by pulling out the roots of hairs from your horse's mane or tail similar to pulling your horse's mane.  Results are available within 3-4 weeks.  More information can be found at www.etalondx.com.  Etalon Diagnostics wants to hear what other traits interest you, so let them know.

The arena is built by a third company, Dammann Risohorse, which uses a new approach to construction..  Handling water is a prime issue when building an arena. You need to put on water to get the sand just firm enough to ride, but not so dry that horses cannot get a grip or it is too dusty and not so wet that it becomes sloppy and slippery.   When it rains the water should drain and run off the arena as easily as possible. 
 
After shaping and compressing the underlying dirt, many arenas are built with 6 inches of base rock or decomposed granite.  On top of that is 1.5 to 3 inches of sand or a mixture of sand with other things. Watering is done with sprinklers set up around the perimeter, or water trucks, or a water wheel, which is a large sprinkler on a trolley that moves across the length of the arena as it waters.   For rainy times the arena is shaped in one of two common ways.  One is where the length of the arena is sloped about 1 foot per 100 feet and the width about 1.5 feet per hundred feet.  This arrangement sends all the draining water to one corner of the arena.  Another way is to slightly dome the center of the ring sending water to both sides and draining along the length of the arena.
 
Dammann Risohorse has a different approach entirely.  The arena is completely level and no sprinklers are needed. Instead, after they level the underlying ground a watertight plastic liner is placed. Over the plastic liner are precisely laid perforated pipes.  Over the pipes is another layer of fabric that will allow water to flow through but not sand.  Over that is 12 inches of sand.  The top 2-3 inches may include textile material mixed in.    Now you have an arena with piping throughout attached to a watering system laying under the sand. 
 
The watering system is computer-controlled with a sensing shaft outside the arena.  As the arena dries this is detected and water is pumped into the pipes below the sand.  Through capillary action, the water works its way up and moistens the top 2-3 inches that make up the riding surface.  As opposed to using sprinklers or water trucks, this system spreads the moisture equally in all parts of the arena.  Overcoming a shortcoming of sprinklers in a windy environment.  Another advantage is that once you decide how firm or soft you want your arena, the system will keep it at this level of moisture content consistently throughout the day.  There is no more need to break while the sprinklers are run halfway through a hot dry day that would otherwise turn your sandy dusty.   For an arena in California that is suffering through its third year of drought, this system may be valuable in terms of saving excess water usage. 
 
When it rains the arena works in exactly the opposite way.  Because the arena is not tilted, all rainfall drops down through the sand. As water builds up in the arena it flows down.  This will be detected as too much water entering the pipes below the sand.  Now the computer-linked pump will pump water out of the arena.   According to the builders, you can be riding after heavy rain in as little as 1 or 2 hours as the water is pumped away. 
 
Their representative gave me a ballpark figure of $80,000 to $100,000 for a typical dressage arena of 13,000 to 14,000 square feet.  A lot depends on the local price of sand.  That is in no way inexpensive.  However, for commercial barns where building a covered arena is not in the cards or where water is limited, this way of building an arena offers a viable alternative. 
 
In California, the Risohorse system has been installed at Thousand Oaks at the Royal Oaks Farm.
 
Their website is http://www.risohorse.de/us.html.   They also have a US partner in Florida, Equestrian Footings & Services.  You can contact them at info@dammann-risohorse.com and at sales@worldclassfootings.com
 
Finally, I wanted to share another way of making an arena rideable shortly after rain.  Let's call this the low-tech way.  Two people mentioned to me that the barns where they train use giant tarps to cover the arena when it rains, just like it is done on baseball fields.  This requires purchasing not only the tarps but adding something to weigh them down like sandbags or lead weights as well as the man or woman power to set them up when rain is coming.  On the other hand, once the rain is done the tarps are rolled to one side and riding can begin immediately. 
 
Depending on the quality of the tarp your costs will vary.  Home Depot has 50 ft x 100 ft blue tarps for as little as $205 and better quality tarps the same size for as much as $975.00 http://www.homedepot.com/s/100%2520ft%2520tarp?NCNI-5.

This web site has 100 ft x 100 ft blue tarps for $346.95 http://www.bestmaterials.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=1356

Amazon has a 100 ft x 100 ft tarp for $409.00
http://www.amazon.com/Kotap-100-ft-General-Purpose-Blue/dp/B0096LZRX4
If you can afford the quality that would be used on a baseball field, you can get a 120 ft x 120 ft tarp for $2985.00 at http://www.sportsfacilitiesgroup.com/store/p/2273/full-field-tarpcover-baseball-softball-field-maintenance-misc