September 2009 Blog Posts (65)

Techniques to Help with Needle Shy Horses

Hi Julie,

We have a 2 year old filly who weighs in at about 1000 lbs. We have done all kinds of groundwork exercises and desensitization exercises with her. She is golden...until its time for immunizations. She will not tolerate a needle. She is getting hurt in the process, as are the people around her. We even tried snubbing her (tying her to a post and squeezing a gate against her). I thought she was going to break her neck or tear the barn down. We are running out of…

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Added by Julie Goodnight on September 11, 2009 at 10:30am — 6 Comments

Sit in the Direction of Movement in Half Pass

Many riders lean to the outside in half pass because they use too much outside leg to push their horses sideways. Use your outside leg mainly to help bend your horse around your inside leg and secondarily to ask him to go sideways.

Keep in mind that the predominant aids in half pass need to be inside leg and outside rein…not outside leg pushing sideways and inside hand pulling the neck around in a fake a bend.

Here are 3 quick tips to help you sit in the direction…

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Added by Jane Savoie on September 11, 2009 at 10:30am — 3 Comments

New horse stall cleaning study results revealed

A change in your approach to horse stall cleaning might result in improved air quality in the stable, report researchers from Georg-August University of Göttingen, in Germany.

Researchers measured the air quality in the stable with different bedding types (wheat straw, wood shavings and straw pellets) and mucking out regimens. The experiments were carried out in an enclosed, roofed stable with five box stalls housing two warmblood mares with foals and two warmblood riding… Continue

Added by Sarah at HorseJobs.ca on September 11, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

Day 2 of Spruce Meadows Masters

I don't have much time to post so I'll just upload some pictures of the exciting competitions:

Will Simpson won the Akita Drilling cup on Black Cherry by taking an inside turn in the jump-off that no-one else tried.

And Jaime Azcarraga of Mexico won the Cana Cup on his gorgeous and talented stallion Presley Boy

Sad News for Tim Stockdale

Unfortunately Fresh… Continue

Added by KatyM., Community News on September 10, 2009 at 8:27pm — 2 Comments

My Top 17 Favorite Sites to Buy Western Show Clothes

We all have our vices. Some women collect purses. Some collect shoes. I have a closet full of western show outfits in various colors. For some reason, I have a weakness for them. Maybe because of the Swarovski crystals, the multi-hued material, or because they are related to horses. Either way, I love to spend my money on show clothes. Since there are no local shops that I can buy show clothes from (see About Me), I have bookmarked online websites that I like (and can afford) that sell western… Continue

Added by Adrienne Tange on September 10, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Spruce Meadows 2009

It's day 2 here at Spruce Meadows for the Masters Tournament, one of the biggest stops on the yearly international show jumping tour.

I'm just getting started updating my blog, so I'll start with the results from day One:

There were two classes in the International Ring on the first day. Eric Lamaze won the Zeidler Financial Cup riding Take-0ff, a 9 year old Dutch… Continue

Added by KatyM., Community News on September 10, 2009 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Anticipation is mounting---and we're blogging about it!

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games invites you to follow the road to 2010—the athletes, the planning, the insider information—on the Official 2010 Games blog.

On Friday, September 11, the 2010 Games blogging will begin at http://www.2010alltechweg.blogspot.com/, with an inside look at our staff trip to the Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament.

We’ll be blogging three times a week. On Mondays, check out “In the Saddle” for an inside perspective from our staff as we profile… Continue

Added by 2010 Alltech FEI WEG on September 10, 2009 at 9:41am — No Comments

We Got 9th at the NAJYRC!

It's been such a hectic summer, I finally have a breather. Chance was so good in Kentucky, and considering he's only seven, he handled everything fabulously. We ended up 9th out of 36 in the Individual test and 13th in the freestyle. It was a blast and I already can't wait untill next year. I think we'll do Juniors again so we have a year to train the PSG. Thankis everyone for being so supportive!

Added by Catherine Chamberlain on September 9, 2009 at 8:38pm — 3 Comments

Burghley Horse Trials: what an amazing experience!!!

So I just came back home from the Burghley Horse Trials, I didn't have much time to blog while I was there...I was too busy posting the videos. I figured it would be more interesting to see the incredible performances than to read my chitchat.

Ok, so I was there because my company sponsors Phillip Dutton, Buck Davidson and Karen O'Connor, and they were all selected to be part of the US team competing at Burghley.

Upon my arrival, the first thing that really struck me is how beautiful… Continue

Added by Patricia at ECOGOLD on September 9, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

There's Nothing Like That New Horse Smell

Buying a horse takes an incredible leap of faith. You hope that this will be your "forever" equine partner. And yet, you are ready to commit after less time than you would spend on a typical first date. How many people do you know who got engaged to be married after a coffee date at Starbucks? Ask any horse owner how much time they spent getting to know their horse before purchase, though, and the answers will probably range from an hour or less to a few days, on the high (and rare) end. I… Continue

Added by saddlebroke on September 9, 2009 at 11:30am — 4 Comments

So far...

October 2009

September 7, 2009 by annatrinder

How good it feels to be back in England! Finn (my 6 month old Irish Jack Russell ) travelled well, enjoying his boat trip and is now settling into a new routine. He has already been up to London, enjoying the trains and buses but not overly keen on the Underground as it was a hot day. My youngest sister Sophie has just started work for ‘Naked Communications’ as a Junior Strategist so we popped in to say hello to her and also visited Vic… Continue

Added by Anna Trinder on September 9, 2009 at 9:00am — 1 Comment

Paige Presents: This Week in Horse History - September 7th

The Week of September 7th through 13th

September 7, 1970: Jockey Willie Shoemaker earned his 6,033rd win, breaking Johnny Longden’s previous record number of 6,032 race wins. Shoemaker would go on to win 8,833 races in his lifetime, 11 of them Triple Crown races, and some of his mounts included the legendary Thoroughbreds John Henry, Forego, Northern Dancer and Spectacular Bid. Although Shoemaker suffered many of the serious injuries that afflict jockeys, he always… Continue

Added by Paige Cerulli on September 7, 2009 at 5:55pm — 2 Comments

STOP THE PRESS: Job Satisfaction doesn't come in a pay cheque

Finances are tight and the world economy is putting pressure on every business out there to do "more with less".

Employees are your most important asset and should be compensated accordingly, but sometimes giving a raise is just not possible.

It may come as a shock to you to find out that most employees desire more than just a paycheque in order to make them happy. In fact the number one thing that employees wanted the most was RESPECT AND COMMUNICATION (it was a tie) and guess what?… Continue

Added by Sarah at HorseJobs.ca on September 7, 2009 at 4:27pm — 4 Comments

Equestrian Cross-Training. Taken from WCAX TV

Equestrian Cross-Training

Some young equestrians hit the riding ring Sunday morning for a rare opportunity with an Olympic-caliber rider, who also happens to be a Vermont native. But they weren't learning about the technicalities of jumping in the often tense-filled horse ring, they were learning about moving to the music.

It is crunch time for Geoffrey Hesslink and… Continue

Added by Ruth Hogan Poulsen on September 7, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Does This Horse Make My Butt Look Big?

Between the first time I saw her ad on Dreamhorse, and Lisa's phone call to her seller, somebody else put a deposit down on Samba, taking her off the market. But the morning of Lisa's call, mere hours before the scheduled vet check, the buyer forfeited her deposit, canceling the sale. "My trainer saw the video, and told me this horse makes my butt look too big." Seriously. I was getting the opportunity to buy my dreamhorse, because someone… Continue

Added by saddlebroke on September 7, 2009 at 11:00am — 4 Comments

What Horses Mean To Me

I met my first horse (a TB I think) in 1957 in Chile. He was sooo big, and sooo tall. This horse was kind, when my little finger got taken into his mouth with the treat, he pushed it out with his tongue before chewing.

My mania for horses gave me a sort of stability through all the moves of my father's Foreign Service career. I got to ride in the foothills of the Andes, this sort of spoiled me for normal trail riding. Then my family rode on the white sand beaches in…

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Added by Jackie Cochran on September 7, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

Ride Fit 1-2-3: Fitting up for Cross Country

Hi, I had an excellent question about suitable training schedules for getting fit for Eventing in my inbox in response to one of the recent Ride Fit blogs. The question and response are below.

Question:

Hi Heather

Thanks for responding to my blog post about neck stretches. As my neck and back have been causing me problems lately I've decided to start up my clinical pilates again which I'd let slide when life got busy. I'd be interested on your opinion about a couple… Continue

Added by Heather Sansom at Equifitt.com on September 5, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Your September Horseyscope by Lauren Bode

Virgo August 22 - September 22

There will be serious changes this year in your life, good changes, everything you thought you had dealt with in the past is coming back to remind you of

how far you have come. Your energy was also not what it should have been, if you came through without any mishaps with your horse

it is because you were successful in navigating the stressful times. You are being given a chance this year to show how much you have learnt.

You are coming… Continue

Added by Barnmice Admin on September 4, 2009 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

Sit Up Straight on Your Dressage Horse

Horseback riding is all about balance for both you and your dressage horse. To ride in good balance, be sure to keep a good plumb line with your shoulders directly over your hips and over your heels.

In this post, I'll give you two quick tips to help you sit up straight and in balance.

1. Many riders lean behind the vertical (especially in trot extensions!) because they think they're driving their dressage horses more forward.

The problem with leaning…

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Added by Jane Savoie on September 4, 2009 at 11:30am — 2 Comments

My Top Tips: Part One

Hello Everyone!

My next few posts encompass an overview of some of my top tips. Some are easier said than done! The first ten...

1. All veterinary care is paramount – your horse is not going to perform to the best of his ability if he is not feeling great.

2. Horses are like people, they have weaker sides and stronger sets of muscles. Work on improving these weaknesses with the help of a physiotherapist.

3. Learn to recognize what your…

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Added by Tim Stockdale on September 4, 2009 at 11:00am — 2 Comments