All Blog Posts (4,786)

A Little Horse Therapy

I'm currently in the process of recuperating from a broken humerus in my left arm. That would be the bit bone between your shoulder and your elbow. I broke it March 31st during a fall from a new horse I got off the racetrack. It's not like I'm an inexperienced rider. I rode and started racehorses when I was younger. I actually remember thinking before that I needed to take her back to the roundpen because she wasn't paying enough attention to me. I shoulda listened to my intuition. Ah well,… Continue

Added by Desirea Herrera on June 28, 2009 at 4:30pm — 4 Comments

Scholarships for 33 equine veterinarian students

Scholarships for 33 equine veterinarian students

June 28, 2009

Thirty-three students studying equine veterinary medicine in 28 American states, four Canadian provinces and one school in the West Indies will continue their education with a financial boost from the Winner's Circle Scholarship Program.

Under a partnership of The Race For Education, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation and Platinum Performance started in 2007, scholarship… Continue

Added by Sarah at HorseJobs.ca on June 28, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

EQUICHALLENGE is ON!

Olympic show jumper Ian Millar barrel racing!

Racing legend Sandy Hawley playing polo!

CALEDON, Ontario - High-profile riders from a variety of disciplines will be changing reins for the inaugural Equi-Challenge, an exciting and entertaining equestrian event at Iron Horse Farm in Caledon August 27th from 5:30 to 9:30pm.

Equi-Challenge, the first-ever event of its kind in Canada, will showcase the leaders and legends of the sport and benefit the… Continue

Added by Sarah at HorseJobs.ca on June 28, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

School Horses

During my youth, I used to read dressage books that insisted that a person could learn to ride dressage only by riding an already schooled horse. I used to dream of finding a stable full of these wonderful equines who could transform me from my usual slightly effective riding to become a polished top rider.

And guess what? I never found that dream dressage riding stable, not that I would have been able to afford lessons at one. When I finally got to go to a…

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Added by Jackie Cochran on June 28, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Energy Work....

One of the last times I roundpenned my horse it was pretty disastrous.... we had bad chemistry, he reared, and I got scared and cried, bugged my trainer, scared my horse, just really screwed up.... so I quit.... wow, she's a quitter..... no.... I quit to take like the 20 steps back I needed to take to get myself under control so there was ZERO emotion when I worked with Oliver the next time... to figure out why he was pawing and rearing and what was wrong with our communication. .... Steve, my… Continue

Added by Jennifer Lamm on June 28, 2009 at 11:18am — 7 Comments

Put Your Horse On the Bit to Help You Sit the Trot

Many riders don't realize that the reason they have trouble sitting the trot, is because they haven't put their horses on the bit. No matter how good a rider you are, it's nearly impossible to sit on a back that is stiff and hollow.

The key to making both you and your horse more comfortable in sitting trot is to connect him so his back is round. You do that with what I call "the "connecting aids".

Before you try to give connecting aids, check that your horse…

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Added by Jane Savoie on June 28, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Lesson Today & Schooling Plan

Lesson went well Frankie is starting to respect my inside leg on circles and ease off it.

I learnt if I open my rein a little before I start to ask for bend he understands and can get his big ol' butt to come in.

Frankies Plan:

I ride Frankie 5-6 times a week so he's in top phys. condition and out of those rides two are lessons.

Heres my plan to get ready for show season:

Warm up: 1 way around on rail at walk both directions,

2 at trot both directions on the… Continue

Added by Emily Stopp on June 27, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Calvin Borel and Rachel Alexandra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZsVGIY3chY&feature=channel

They did it again! Amazing race today as they won the Mother Goose stakes at Belmont and set a record. They won by over 20 lengths! And she made it looks SO EASY!!

Added by Lori Tankel on June 27, 2009 at 9:07pm — No Comments

Beware of Easy Answers

It was a few too many years ago that I remember the first group of certified trainers from my “train the trainer” program got together at their graduation party and they collectively gave me a box of Depends diapers. This was their way of teasingly letting me know how they felt about the fact that I answered just about each and every question they ever asked with the answer “it depends”. In fact, this happens so much that it has become somewhat of a trademark for me. Often when I am at a clinic… Continue

Added by Chris Irwin on June 27, 2009 at 2:30pm — 8 Comments

Pathways through Pennsylvania

I have to smile when I read this week's quote, because I just returned from photographing 50 plus Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania! My sister Sharon traveled with me throughout the state. I had my MapQuest notebook filled with directions, but we relied mostly on my new Garmin nuvi for directions from one farm to the next. And sometime it seemed to be directing us "where there is no path." With our tight schedule, we were not in the mood to… Continue

Added by Karen Brenner on June 27, 2009 at 11:13am — No Comments

On Balance

The vertigo I have been suffering turns out to be due to a condition called Meniere's Disease, or so I'm told...

It has been about 5 weeks since the first "attack" and I have only really been able to do normal activities for the last week, as I was unsure if I would be safe to drive, and to be honest didn't feel like going out for a few weeks there. After the extreme dizziness abated, there was just a constant feeling of "brain fog" and a buzzy feeling, like a swarm of tiny bees in my… Continue

Added by Ottilie on June 26, 2009 at 6:07pm — 9 Comments

Flatwork Horse Riding Exercises

If things are going wrong with your training, you should ask yourself what is happening, why is it happening and what is the solution? The art of seeing a problem is being able to interpret what is happening and to decide what the solution is.

Flatwork is all about good foundations, which I call 'fundamentals', and they are very simple and straightforward:

Straightness

Calmness

Balance

Rhythm

Responsiveness

If you have that…

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Added by Tim Stockdale on June 26, 2009 at 1:30pm — 3 Comments

Do You Make These Mistakes When Your Dressage Horse Shies?

I've dealt with a lot of spooky dressage horses, and I find that often shying gets worse because riders do one or all of the following things.

1. Hit or kick him to make him obedient.

2. Make him walk straight up to scary object and face it straight on.

3. Forget to go around your ring in both directions.

4. Force him to go close to the scary object.

5. Patting and soothing him while he's shying.

Let's understand the nature of horses:

1.…

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Added by Jane Savoie on June 26, 2009 at 9:00am — 9 Comments

Today went well besides the stalls i had to do, we had a rain storm and I ran out of my house and scrambled to get everyone inside and fed- like a little rain would hurt them. So this morning was a c…

Today went well besides the stalls i had to do, we had a rain storm and I ran out of my house and scrambled to get everyone inside and fed- like a little rain would hurt them. So this morning was a change in scenery as I was inside doing stalls instead of working on my tan..aka paddocks.

Rode Frankie today - what a good boy. He was going exceptionally well so I cut our ride short with a 20m canter circle. He has progressed so much as have I!

Tomorrow we have a lesson togeather with… Continue

Added by Emily Stopp on June 26, 2009 at 4:30am — No Comments

Ride Fit 1-2-3: Rider Question- Rounded Shoulders and Spinal Issues

Hi, The rider that submitted her question for this weeks' blog was so clear, her question is pasted below:

Hi Heather, I have two main problems that I am dealing with right now. The first is that my shoulders are very hunched and rounded forward. I have a hard time keeping them open and back when I'm riding (and in general!). I have some back problems (a rotational scoliosis in my T10/T11 vertebrae and a tendency for my L3/L4 disc to want to herniate), but I do not believe that… Continue

Added by Heather Sansom at Equifitt.com on June 25, 2009 at 8:33pm — 2 Comments

Louie, our latest rescue update!

Louie is making so much progress! He is now a "pocket pony"...it is hard to believe that just a month ago he would not look at us. Now he is the first one to greet me at the gate! He nuzzles and gives kisses! Today he got his feet done and was a good boy! Every day he makes progress! I lunged him and he now stands for baths and fly spray! We hopefully have someone interested in adopting him! Keep your… Continue

Added by Lori Tankel on June 24, 2009 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

The Heart of the Sahara

Last time I was talking about our veterinary clinics in the North of Tunisia, and the bleak arid zone around Kasserine in the centre. But of course, Tunisia stretches way down to the south - in fact it's shaped like a dagger pointing right at the heart of the Sahara.

But I love it there. It is another world, and worlds away from the forests and mountains of the north.

Our centre is in Kebili, where we were given a bit of sand by the Ministry to play with, and over the last six… Continue

Added by SPANA on June 24, 2009 at 9:03am — No Comments

Have Tape Measure Will Travel - But "Ooh the Mud"

Hi again. Since our last blog entry we have been very busy logging air miles and accumulating dirty clothes. After Edmonton we headed to Blainville, Quebec for a great week of jumping. It is great to work in Quebec because they have a unique tradition of holding what I like to call traditional hunter classics. The two round variety - with a course that encompasses all the characteristics of a traditional hunter classic. What is exciting is for Sunday they combine the two hunter rings to make… Continue

Added by Evie Frisque on June 23, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Another week, another video

...now added - hope you like it :-)

Nic

Added by Nic Barker on June 22, 2009 at 6:38am — No Comments

100 miles completed only 250 left to ride plus one sport pony show over

Well I've completed 100 of the 350 Endurance miles I've set as a goal this season.

First was the Aprilfest in May ride on May 17th where we finished the 50 mile Endurance ride in 7:02 for 21st place. Not bad as I didn't consider either Loosi or I fit yet for the season so we rode slowly for the completion.

Last weekend (June 13) saw us in Hesperia MI, about 1 hr north of Grand Rapids saw the Canadian invasion of the White River Summer Ride. 18 Canadian horses… Continue

Added by Diana on June 21, 2009 at 11:15am — No Comments