By Lindsay Grice - I’ve had several horses in my program that, despite their talent, were extremely frustrating in their early competitive years. After investing many years of consistent training they eventually desensitized to the situations that would formerly set them off. Now, as mature horses, they are successful, versatile competitors.

For almost two years, Sonia Sahar has been trying to improve the lives of working equines through the commitments of village women and children. Born in 1975, she lives with her four children in the village of Gozargah, about five kilometres south of Kabul. Her home is a simple rented house with two rooms and a corridor which doubles as their kitchen and washroom. But similar as her life is to that of so many other Afghan women, it is also distinctly, and courageously, different. In the face of resistance from village elders and the male population, Sahar has dedicated her life to teaching women and children how to care for their donkeys.

With Lee Tubman - Lateral suppleness refers to the ability of a horse to bend his body and neck laterally (side to side) while maintaining the same rhythm, balance, and relaxation through his body. In order to achieve lateral suppleness, the strength and flexibility of the horse's lateral muscles must be carefully developed - this is where lateral work comes in.

Before Aklilu Menberu was introduced to the Brooke Hospital for Animals, a London, UK, based aid organization, he didn’t know a lot about his donkeys’ needs. And it never really occurred to him to think about it. For eight years now he has collected, processed, and sold stones to support his family, trekking back and forth from the quarry, loading stones onto his donkeys, shaping the stones, and delivering the finished product to customers.

Unfortunately, when a horse is tense through her neck and spine, there is no way to achieve that long, swinging trot and slow legged canter that we desire. Instead of lengthening, she just gets quick. The solution is to teach your mare that it is “safe” to stretch long and low and to fill out the frame of the box.

By Lesley Stevenson - Throughout the world, horsemen employ many different methods of conditioning the horse. And indeed there are quite a few different "programs" that result in a fit athlete. But most programs focus on the aspects of the horse's fitness that are the most visible - their musculature and their aerobic capacity (cardiovascular fitness) - without enough thought to strengthening bones, tendons, and ligaments.

As a trainer I used to ride a huge variety of horses. Some horses I would meet only once, some I would work with for a few months, but rarely did I get the chance to ride the same horse for much longer than that. They say variety is the spice of life but things can, on occasion, have a bit too much seasoning.