I am posting this blog to educate people about the disease to help better understand it. I hope u find this helpful.



Thank you



Hazel Miller BHSAI



Strangles - The Diagnosis



Strangles is an infection with the bacterium 'Streptococcus Equi'.



It's extremely contagious and is spread by direct contact with the pus and nasal discharges that occur so readily with this disease.



Contaminated tack, feeding utensils, water…

Convincing people of the need for thoroughbred blood in the event horse is the easy bit in this series of articles. Ireland has been the World Breeding Federation number one country for event horses for the past 14 years with horses that are almost exclusively 3/4 to full thoroughbred, as have been the majority of the greatest event horses in history. The key component and value of the TB is obviously speed……and safety.



LESS THAN MAXIMUM SPEED = SAFER



Cross-country…

I am often asked what types of strategies I am thinking about for different types of jumps, that aspiring eventers might also keep in mind.



When I ask riders what they most fear it is normally jumping downhill, apexes (corners) and ditches. I'll focus on downhill and ditches today.



When I walk a course and I’m walking it to ride a young horse, I’m very mindful of the lay of the land. I will plan to slow down in plenty of time when a downhill jump is coming up, as the…

I started reading non-fiction books about horses for about 47 years ago when I got my first serious horse book "Cavalcade of American Horses" by Pers Crowell. Since then I have been trying to read just about every non-fiction horse book I have run across. In 1963 I got access to books on HOW TO RIDE in my junior high school library and have been reading books on how to ride ever since. In high school I finally got access to two serious riding books, "Common Sense Horsemanship"…

I am amazed at how perfect music can improve and enhance a horse's movement and the rider's rhythm! When music fits the horse and rider, both the quality of the gaits and movements improve. The music enhances both the artistic aspect and the technical side of the ride. Because rhythm is maintained!

After years of studying the effects of music I…

Very often problems on approach are caused by rider involvement in the wrong areas and an incorrect focus. The rider’s focus should be on trying to keep a nice regular and balanced approach, while staying within a rhythm, not the take off distance from the fence.

Crooked approach

It is vitally important for the horse to…

Here's a fun training tip that uses visualization to help you ride your Training Level Dressage horse better. I call it RIDES WITH FRUIT.



I'm sure you remember Kevin Costner's movie, Dances with Wolves. Well, I call this training tip, Rides with Fruit. I thought it was appropriate since it's summer, and many of us start to eat more fruits and vegetables.



So let's use visualization and bring some fruity images to your dressage horse! When you're on a circle, your…

It is to the advantage of the European stud books to be quiet about their thoroughbred genes as they develop their highly successful brands…and that is what most have become. They are often presented as breeds but in fact they are brands, and part of a marketing system rather than a method of showing the true breeding of horses. A number of leading sires are even approved by all the major European stud books, and therefore have registered offspring in different stud books. In addition many…