Dublin show at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge is the centrepiece and driving force for many in the Irish Equestrian community. It is so dominant in our culture that people just talk about it as ‘the horse show’, despite the fact that there are…

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Dressage Canada is pleased to announce the following rider/horse combinations have been named to the Canadian Dressage Team for the World Equestrian Games.

 

Ashley Holzer of Toronto, ON and Pop Art, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Rusty Holzer and Moreen Nicoll, earned an average qualifying score of 72.329%.

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It's completely reasonable that you might have some fear when horseback riding. After all, you’re dealing with a reactive (reactive means bolt, spin, buck, shy, or rear!) animal that outweighs you by a lot! But you can solve those horseback riding fears by adopting an attitude of gratitude.

The first thing you need to remember is that 99% of the things you fear never come to pass. So why waste all that energy worrying about things that will probably never happen. Mark…

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We are all aware of the latest development surrounding Gerd Hershman, one of the driving forces in the anti-rolkur/hyperflexion/LDR methods of riding. For those who are not aware I will attempt to sum it up in an unbiased manner for as long as I can. But I must admit at…

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Just a warning about the use of cortisone shots in horses that are prone to laminitis. IMO don't use it. Our 17 year old broodmare had a severe bout with laminitis 10 years ago and is probably insulin resistant. She has had hoof problems for years though not another severe bout with laminitis since the original. We had her hocks injected with cortisone to treat inflammation that was… Continue

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Well, my little Havoc is adorable and home. He's scraped a bunch of hair off of his face, lord only knows how. He's happily ensconced in his paddock with his momma, and he goes out in the field with momma and Auntie Cass. He now gets just the tiniest bit of pellets because he can't share his Mom's food, and thinks he's hot stuff with his very own bucket of goodies. And he munches hay with Mom, looking very serious about the whole thing.

He's such a saucy thing. He does NOT…

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I have noticed this a lot recently, I don't know if it is me looking at the world through adults eyes, or whether it is just becoming more and more common, that so many people are buying and riding horses as they would buy and drive a car, let me elaborate.



My mare Navara, I have had since November, and have barely ridden her because I feel her confidence and ability to cope mentally with being ridden is not as high as it should be, she is receiving reiki, and is also having a… Continue

This Week in Horse History - August 2nd Through August 8th

August 3rd, 1863 - Saratoga Racecourse opened in Saratoga Springs, New York. The opening meet was organized by John Morrisey, John Hunter, William Travers, and Leonard Jerome. Because it was so successful, it was repeated the following year, and was moved across a street so that the track could be…

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Lulled by previous successes, I started to make a serious mistake last week when riding Mia at Debbie's last week.

As you know, I have been doing an experiment this summer, seeing how long it will take for the two ladies I ride with to tell me that my hands have gotten too bad for a bit. Part of the reason is that I wanted to see for myself if the Wellep bit is truly an advance in bit technology or just another gimmick.…

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