With Loris Epis - Collection is not about putting the horse's head down or slowing the speed or tempo of the gait. Instead, think about collection as a well-balanced feel of softness and control through the horse's entire body.

By Lindsay Grice - I describe spurs as a megaphone for your leg aid. Every horse should learn to respond to a clear but subtle cue from the rider’s leg. If that cue is understood but ignored, the rider should immediately amplify the aid until the horse responds.

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - Last fall, the Vancouver Police Department bid a fond farewell to a friend and retired colleague. Pico, a tall, Dutch Warmblood gelding, served the City of Vancouver for nearly two decades, first as a police horse, then as a therapeutic riding horse, before returning to the VPD stables in Stanley Park in 2011 to live out the remainder of his retirement. He was humanely euthanized on October 21, 2012, at the ripe old age of 31, having enjoyed a long, full life.

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - Seventeen years ago, Walter White had a vision. A lifelong rider, he dreamed of combining his love of horses with his dedication to community service. And so, in 1996, Walter founded the Okanagan Wish Trail Ride in Kelowna, British Columbia, benefitting the BC & Yukon Chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society’s mandate is to house, rehabilitate, and adopt Ontario’s retired Thoroughbred racehorses out to the horse loving community, as well as to educate Ontario’s racehorse community about the merits of a proper and dignified retirement from racing for their horses. Since its inception in 1999, LongRun has assisted in placing over 700 horses in permanent, loving homes.

New for Spring/Summer 2013, the Muck Boots Breezy Cool Series from The Original Muck Boot Company™ features a casual, all-purpose shoe and boot for women to wear all year round. The XpressCool™ unique evaporative, cooling liner rapidly pulls moisture away from skin, creating a cooling effect in warm weather, and a drying effect which keeps feet warmer in cold weather. The flex-foam bootie is 100 percent waterproof, lightweight, and flexible. Available in a variety of colours and print patterns.

Could you save your horse if your trailer overturned on the highway? How about if he was stuck in a ditch? Would you know what to do in a barn fire? Course participants at the Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER™) course, taught by Drs. Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez and hosted by the Atlantic Veterinary College, in Charlottetown, PEI, in early July 2012 learned how to better prepare themselves for everything from small scale emergencies, such as freeing a large animal stuck in mud, to larger scale emergency situations and natural disasters.

Foal pneumonia is a common disease of young horses and one of the leading causes of death in foals. Estimates put the incidence of infection as high in one in ten for all foals. Overall mortality is about 20 percent, but on some farms as many as 80 percent of affected foals may die. Foal pneumonia can be viral or bacterial, but one of the most common causes is infection with Rhodococcus equi, a type of bacteria found in the soil. Adult horses often harbour R. equi without developing disease signs, but foals between two and six months are quite susceptible to infection.

Despite their strength and grace, horses can be notoriously prone to a range of injuries, from torn tendons and ligaments to fractured bones. Over the past two decades a host of rehabilitation technologies have emerged, all intended to speed up recovery from various lamenesses.