Last summer I was watching a warm-up ring at Thunderbird Show Park in Vancouver, BC and noticed a rider who seemed to be having a hard time. Her horse was quite tense and wasn’t paying attention, despite her best efforts to create a contact. The horse seemed very distracted and when they trotted up to a practice jump he refused. The rider was fighting to retain composure, but her tension and frustration were evident. She managed to get over a few jumps at the trot but when they began cantering, the horse rushed the jumps and nearly bolted away on landing. After a couple of jumps she pulled up in the corner of the arena and I could see from her face that she was working hard to hold back tears.

Consumers have access to more quality fencing options for their horses than ever before. While it’s crucial to consult a fencing expert, it’s also beneficial to identify your basic requirements and have a design concept in mind. Creating a checklist with guiding questions can help kick off the project:

Visiting a Western art museum recently, I was captivated by the Russell and Remington paintings of horses and riders. The harsh realities of cowboy life were portrayed by hard riding and bronco busting. Horses in action — vehicles of transportation and battle — seemed a sharp contrast to horses in our modern Western cultures as companions or partners in sport. Though enchanted by the artistry, I was unsettled by the common denominator in every painting — every rider hauling on the reins; every horse a picture of mouth-gaping tension.

If there’s one word that strikes fear into the hearts and minds of horse owners, it’s “colic.” Used to describe any form of abdominal pain, colic can affect horses for many reasons and in any season, although cold weather months are a particularly challenging time with increased risk of impaction-related colic.

Preparation is the key to success in every sport. One of the best ways to prepare to jump your course at a horse show is by walking it first.

The speed of horse training differs from horse to horse and from trainer to trainer. As a trainer I am convinced that the slower you train, the faster horses learn. Not only do they learn faster, they learn with confidence.

Define your goals to develop a training plan - While hill training is widely accepted as important for building strength, its actual benefits rely on answering the question: What is the goal for this individual horse?

Rider Down! It’s a trail rider’s worst nightmare: getting hurt and requiring evacuation from a remote area. Whether out on the trails for a few hours or on an overnight trip, the reality that every recreational rider must face is that emergencies can occur. Preparation is key and the success of emergency evacuations has a lot to do with planning for their possibility. It can also determine whether a rider survives.

Improves Mare Fertility - Canadian veterinarians now have another option for treating endometritis in their clients’ mares. Canada is the latest country in which Settle® immunotherapy has received regulatory approval for sale. The product is also approved and available in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and UAE.