* Fueling a roping horse. Horses are natural grazers. Keeping horses healthy under the stressful conditions of traveling, performing at breakneck speed, loading into a trailer and going another 200 miles to compete again requires careful attention to a horse's diet.

To avoid tying up, blister-beetle poisoning or kidney stones caused by a mineral imbalance that can occur when feeding alfalfa, Hadley feeds grass hay and whole oats. Since he began feeding whole oats and grass hay that might contain some clover or a small amount of alfalfa, Hadley's horses haven't had any digestive problems or azoturia (a musculoskeletal condition also known as Monday-morning sickness).

* Creating a healthy environment. Hadley's horses are kept in 16-by-16-foot stalls with outside shelter in their 20-by-100-foot runs. The horses can see other horses and activities around the place, plus the runs are large enough to let them play without running into fences.