October 2009 Blog Posts (86)

We are on Barn Mice now too!

Hey all! Cool venue isn't it? Don't expect too much from me here... I will most likely update my own site. Later!

Added by Michelle Carter on October 23, 2009 at 10:46pm — No Comments

Equine Science: Weekly News and Trivia Question - October 23, 2009

Welcome once again to the Equine Science News blog – I hope you’ve all had a good week with your four legged friends and are now ready to hear about the latest science news from the equestrian world.

A fortnight ago you may remember that I mentioned the concerns some vets have equine roundworms developing resistance to worming drugs. Well earlier this week it was announced that £1.2million worth of… Continue

Added by Chloé Sharrocks on October 23, 2009 at 3:31pm — No Comments

Tips for Riding a Great Dressage Test Part One

When it comes to riding a polished dressage test, preparation is the key to success. So I want give you some competition tips to help you have the best experience possible.

Before I get started with the actual tests, I want to just talk in general about riding dressage tests because there’s a lot of things that they all have in common.

1. MEMORIZE YOUR TEST

The first thing is that you need to know your test. I mean REALLY know it. Even though from…

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Added by Jane Savoie on October 23, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Not quite the start I planned to my blogging life but ...

I'd intended to use my Barnmice blog to record elements of my my equestrian journey that I thought might interest, inform or 'delight' others.

Real life etc seems to be blocking much of equestrian my journey currently. So in the interests of taking a small step to start my blogging life, let me share with you a link to an article that seems to be causing an international stir in the cyber dressage community.…

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Added by Maria C on October 23, 2009 at 4:00am — 4 Comments

SM experience

Home…and dry – it rained a lot of the way back from Blackpool and my goodness a TERRIBLE crash on the M25. Seriously mangled car. Poor poor people.

I enjoyed my exam – examiners were: S1: Feeding & Fittening – Carole Broad, S2: Tack, teaching + vet – Sarah Simpson, S3: Presentation + biz management – Rob Lovatt, S4a Examining for purchase + soundess – Mandy Luesely and S4b Teaching conformation + breeding – Becky Johnson. Tim Downes was floating and Sabrina Jones… Continue

Added by Anna Trinder on October 22, 2009 at 2:25pm — 1 Comment

SPCA Workshop - Keeping our Constables Safe During Seizures & Rescues

On November 18th I'll be holding a workshop for the local SPCA constables, volunteers & others in related capacities at our facility in Langley, BC. The focus will be on safety, handling & assessment of potential rescuees.

The session will be videotaped, & upon authorization the video may be made available to other interested offices.

I have an outline drawn up, but I'd like to hear some suggestions from everyone too. What would you like to see in such a workshop?… Continue

Added by Kevan on October 22, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Western Saddle Fitting and Purchasing

Question: How do you determine what size of Western saddle to get your horse?

Answer From April Reeves, Horseman's U.com: I will give you enough information to be able to purchase a good saddle that not only fits the horse, but fits you as well.

One thing I like to stress, when looking for a saddle, the cheaper they are the worse they fit. Cheap saddles do… Continue

Added by April Reeves on October 22, 2009 at 12:30pm — 5 Comments

Moving cows

Just the other day, I had the opportunity to get out with some friends and drive their cattle down the valley towards my place, about a 4hr ride. We left the main barn and headed to the bluff, to start rounding up the cows and calves along the bottom of the valley, then up in the hills and out towards a little lake not far from my place. I was riding along and thinking,,,,,here's another "beautiful BC !!" as I watched the 100 or so cows and calves being pushed along the winding trail in front… Continue

Added by Charlene Winter on October 21, 2009 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments

I would like to know more about martingales, particularly the German Martingale

Question: What is a German martingale and how does it work on a horse? My horse tosses her head all the time and my friend told me to use one. Are they expensive? How much will one cost? What are other types of martingales and how do they compare?

Answer from April Reeves, Horseman's U.com: Wow, lots of questions here! The German martingale is a specialized piece of training equipment for experienced riders. It differs from other martingales as it allows lateral… Continue

Added by April Reeves on October 20, 2009 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments

Is Posting in Western Different than English? What about Diagonals?

Question: I am just learning to ride western. I have been riding english for 5 years. Will I need to learn how to post all over again? Is there a difference? I don’t want to look stupid. And how do I get diagonals?

Answer from April Reeves, Horseman's U.com: Posting the trot in Western is the same as English. Remember, horses cannot distinguish the difference in disciplines, only humans do. The movements of a single horse are the same regardless of a Western or English… Continue

Added by April Reeves on October 20, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Basic Groundwork and Saddle work for the Herd Bound Horse

By April Reeves, Horseman's U.com: I get this question all the time so I thought I would address it here. Herd bound horses can become dangerous if the problem is not nipped in the bud right away. However, it’s one of those problems that many people are unable to deal with as it takes a certain level of skill.

This article is for those who are baffled and need a solution that they can accomplish. It is the longest one I have written to date, and covers some very extensive… Continue

Added by April Reeves on October 20, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

"Mad" Horse Terrorizing Indian State

Residents live in fear as "mad" horse rules the roost

October 21, 2009

A horse's reign of terror in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has residents living in fear, according to a local news report.

India's central Chronicle, in a story headlined "Horse goes wild, bites people, many injured", reports at least 12 people "have fallen prey to the mad horse".

The animal is reportedly "wandering amok at a gallop", causing panic among… Continue

Added by Gary Stuart on October 20, 2009 at 4:59pm — No Comments

TOMMY - Latest bulletin - 15.35pm, Monday, 19th Oct.

Just spoken to Marrakech - he has 'un grand amelioration' - ie he's much better - even sucking milk all on his own now (that's a terrific step forward).

Though apparently, with all this energy, he's making a real nuisance of himself, bouncing around and getting into mischief all over the place - knocking over the vet's trays while they're trying to work on other animals. But of course everyone has fallen for him - especially the two girl volunteers. But with ears like that, who… Continue

Added by SPANA on October 19, 2009 at 10:34am — 1 Comment

Paige Presents: This Week in Horse History - October 19th through October 25th

October 19th through October 25th

October 22, 1883 – The first National Horse Show was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event lasted for four days and featured over three hundred show, work, and race horses. The National Horse Show is America’s largest indoor horse show. It now offers one of the highest levels of equestrian competition. More information about the show can be found at its official website, www.nhs.org…

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Added by Paige Cerulli on October 19, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Dressage Two-Step

Dressage is often compared to dancing with your horse. I soon learned that with a young horse, the choreography involves two steps forward, and one step back, if you're very lucky.

My dance with Sammie had us tripping over our feet a bit at first, but we soon established a rhythm. As I mentioned at the end of my last post, once I adopted a more confidant attitude (even if I had to fake it), we started making progress. Lisa was very happy with my improved longeing skills, and… Continue

Added by saddlebroke on October 18, 2009 at 7:30pm — 8 Comments

CELEBRATION DAY! MANDIBA 2nd AT FAIR HILL CCI*** WITH KAREN O'CONNOR

Our homebred star Mandiba and Karen O'Connor stormed back to form today to be 2nd at the *** CCI International at Fair Hill in the USA, despite Karen breaking her scapula and ribs only weeks ago in a motorbike accident, and despite terrible weather. The pair showed their class and courage to lead after the dressage and go clear across country.

"My shoulder was getting sore so I slowed down towards the end of the track," said…

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Added by William Micklem on October 18, 2009 at 3:30pm — 3 Comments

The Forward Seat Position for Fast Equitation

The Forward Seat position for fast equitation is quite similar to the Forward Seat position for slow equitation. There is a logical progression in learning position in this system since riding forward seat requires physical strength, and it takes time for the rider's muscles to develop and get strong. Though the differences between the slow equitation seat and the fast equitation seat are few, they are important to develop a secure jumping position. I am quoting the same books…

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Added by Jackie Cochran on October 18, 2009 at 10:00am — 3 Comments

Wonderful new book: satire of modern dressage with hilarious illustrations

Wanted to let everyone know about a book a friend of mine just published. Its called SuperPrix and it is a vitriolic and humorous expose of competitive dressage in 2060. The illustrations alone are worth getting it!…

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Added by Karoline on October 17, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Equine Science: Weekly News and Trivia Question - October 16, 2009

Caterpillars are one of the features of this week’s Equine Science Blog, but first I’ll be talking about news of strangles in the UK, Swedish nutrition research and why British weather may be contributing to laminitis.

Every owner knows how serious strangles can be. A highly contagious disease, it’s usually recognised by abscesses under the horse’s jaw as well as nasal discharge and general lethargy.

Caused by the Streptococcus equi bacterium which gains… Continue

Added by Chloé Sharrocks on October 16, 2009 at 3:14pm — No Comments

Conformation Catastrophe!

How many times have you heard "what do you think of my horse's conformation?". If you know llittle about judging conformation, you likley will click the "back" button on your browser. Well that is why I am here with this blog post today!

I was NOT a conformation expert before, but I had some freinds tell me about this lady that had written books and really dug deep into the myths and facts of equine functional conformation. Her name is Judy Wardrope. She is located in the Edmonton,… Continue

Added by Rachel G on October 16, 2009 at 2:16pm — 2 Comments