Totilas is going to have his dancing shoes on this weekend
Good Morning Eventing Nation! Well, we are on the backstretch of this week now, but hopefully we aren’t on the backstretch for the cooler weather we have had these past few days. I say ‘cooler’ in relative terms compared to last week’s weather where I was ready to keel over in a heat stroke before it had even reached noon! Dressage day at Luhmuhlen begins today, or begun rather at three o’ clock this morning while most of us were sleeping and John was out partying. The CIC3*** dressage starts at 3am ET, the CCI**** rides on Friday. The Live Scores for the CCI**** can be found here, and the CIC*** here. Best of luck to all of our Americans over in Germany, hopefully Jennie, Will, and Tiana will all have solid performances and set the tone right for the rest of the weekend.
Besides Luhmuhlen, there is a good deal of worldly horse news on the radar today as well. Some of it pertains to Eventing, but as with many of the things that find their way on to this site, most of it can be described no better then as ‘off-topic’. But if you’ll still read it, we’ll still write it, so here it goes:
An Ice Age Horse has been found in a snow mass in Colorado. More specifically, the ankle bone of a horse has been found, but much as an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, researchers are hopeful that the rest of the prehistoric remains are buried very close by. Finding an equine ankle bone has been a big break for the researchers in their excavation, as the fossil could potentially provide a multitude of information about the first horses present in North America some 12,000 years ago, before the original species was wiped out by the Ice Age. [Denver Post]
Evidently a study was recently conducted by the Texas Agrilife Research to test the benefits of grazing horses in a multi-paddock rotation as opposed to a large ranch type situation. They tested the vegetation, soil health, and animal production in the two control environments, and found, not surprisingly, that the multi-paddock rotation far exceeded a ranch environment in all categories. Humans discovered the benefits of resting their farm land about the same time they invented the wheel, it’s common knowledge that anything grows better if you allow it time to replenish. What I did find interesting about the study is thinking about the number of horse neglect cases on big ranches that have surfaced over the last few months. I remember linking to an article a couple months back about an entire herd of horses being seized from a ranch after they were all found to be significantly malnourished. When the owner, an aged rancher was interviewed his reply was something to the effect of “I’ve been taking care of my horses the same way for nearly twenty years and never before had a problem.” Obviously there was a more to that particular story, but for those of us who own farms or have land with horses, it is definitely something to ponder. [Horsetalk]
Prepare yourselves for some unwelcome news, as a ninth Equine Herpes Virus case has been confirmed at Washington State University. Evidently a horse came into the hospital yesterday due to colic, but it wasn’t long before the vet techs suspected him for the virus that the nasal swap tests later confirmed. The horse underwent treatment for the colic and is stable at the moment. The equine branch of the University was literally within two days of reopening since the lockdown during the heat of the outbreak. The hospital was disinfected top-to-bottom (following what was thought to be an end to the outbreak) an effort which required a 15 person crew and followed a highly intensive two week cleaning protocol, all of which became a futile effort in the wake of this most recent diagnosis. [The Jurga Report]
If you thought Moorland’s Totilas was cool when he took the WEG by storm last autumn, now your going to think he’s ice cold. Totilas will be performing a Free Style on Sunday, the music of which has been produced by Paul van Dyk, the world famous, Grammy winning producer. I’m excited to see the YouTube videos that will surely follow after Totilas’ performance on Sunday. I wonder if the great Totilas can match the famous performance of Blue Hors Matinee from the 2006 WEG? [Horsetalk]
Speaking of Blue Hors Matinee
Best of the Blogs: Little Gem versus the Rubicon Training Course
That’s all for now Eventing Nation. Have a great day, and be sure to stay tuned for more on Luhmuhlen from John and the rest of the gang.
Go Eventing. 
