Cold but committed! Photo by Anna Payne.
My horse got me off this week for the first time in years, and whenever I fall off, everything goes in slow motion. We were trotting up a hill which becomes steep at the top, so I decided to stand in my stirrups to help him with the last bit. Mistake. He immediately decided to have some fun and throw his head down between his legs and buck, but then make it more fun by doing his signature move: the repeating 180° spin while broncing on the spot. I had a good hold of my grab strap, and it’s not the first time, and I thought I had it. However, halfway through, he decided going counterclockwise was for chumps, and quickly switched to clockwise! I saw myself slowly losing purchase and falling down the hill, realizing my sticky seat streak was over. Start counting all over again!
U.S. Weekend Preview – First Events of 2023!
Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks (Ocala, FL): [Website] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Ram Tap Horse Park Combined Test (Fresno, CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
News From Around the Globe:
Buying horses on the internet has gotten interesting…for both buyer and seller. I am not unsympathetic to the plight of Sellers. People kick tires, look at horses they can’t afford, window shop, and have unreasonable expectations. So, I get it. Sellers are suspicious. However, buyers need to be cautious and sometimes even suspicious as well. You are likely purchasing off of videos and the seller’s description—without a trial—and then having a strange DVM do the PPE for you. That is nerve-wracking at best and disastrous at worst. Here are a few things to watch out for as you are shopping. [Internet Shopping for Horses 101]
Winter is here and with it comes the rain and mud and boggy fields. The reality is in the wild horses would never choose to stand in saturated ground, they would roam and find more suitable grazing areas. As we enter these wetter months what should we know about the effects of the wet and often wet-dry cycles, on our horses feet? To answer this we need to have a basic understanding of the composition of the hoof wall and then explore its response to hydration. [Wet-Dry Cycles & The Effect on Horse Hooves]
Best of Blogs: The Great Bertalan de Némethy
Madeline Bletzacker wasn’t really looking for a horse in 2008 when she came across Landtino S at a local farm near her home in Ohio.The Danish Warmblood gelding (Solos Lantinus x Chess S) had been imported from Europe as a dressage horse when he was 5 and decided he didn’t like dressage. “He would rear, buck, spin and was very angry. He was real, real sour about dressage,” Bletzacker recalled. “He was turned out, and then a friend of mine was a school student of the owner and suggested I come try him.” Together, they turned to eventing, and now they are Novice champions! [Failed Dressage Horse to Novice Champion]
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