Good morning Eventing Nation! I’m going to keep this brief because we are going to have a lot of information in the next few days about the happenings at Rebecca Farms. Let’s just say that I hope you are all having a terrific Friday, and you are excited for the weekend! I’m heading off this morning for some cross country schooling, which is always a blast. I wish the best of luck to all of the competitors around the globe today, but especially the FEI riders in the dressage today at Rebecca Farms!
Rebecca Farm Links:
[Website]
[Schedule]
Other Events This Weekend:
Horse Park of NJ: [Website] [Entry Status]
USPC National Championships: [Website] [Eventing Program]
Stoneleigh-Burnham School [Website] [Ride Times]
News:
A Canadian University has released an online colic risk calculator, to help horse owners better understand their management techniques for colic. Its goal is to provide horse owners a simple way to determine if their horse is at a high risk for colic, given the horse’s personal scenario. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and provides logical feedback for how to reduce your horse’s risk. [Colic Calculator]
In the most important news, there has been an incredibly adorable addition to the equine family: a ZONKEY. Yep, a donkey and a zebra got together and created possibly the cutest thing that I have ever seen. While Zebras and Donkeys don’t usually like each other that much, the two parents of “Ippo” found love in unusual places. Ippo is a one of a kind baby, currently living in Italy, and looks like a stripey donkey, but sounds like a Zebra. [ZONKEY PICS]
Did you want to see a real horse stripped of it’s skin in all it’s anatomical glory? With a rider? Rearing? Good, because that’s exactly what’s happening. Thanks to a process called plastination, there is now a scientific/artistic exhibit of a horse and rider stripped bare of their skin to show all parts. It will be available for gawking in Times Square, if you’re dying to have a look. [Plastic Fantastic]
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission says that their new drug regulations are truly working in the racing world. They have begun a new policy of regulating when and how the drug Lasix, or Salix, is administered prior to racing, and the effect is that traces of other drugs has decreased due to the added security bonus of the new regulations. Let’s hope this can transfer to other states! [KHRC Drug Regulations]
If you’ve got trouble managing your nerves at horse shows (just like the rest of us), you should read this. EN & HN blogger Lila Gendal lays out a few ways in which you can really decrease your stress levels, and increase your chances of success at competitions. [How To Reduce Stress]
Just to show you that you should treat your barn help with respect at all times, a British eventer was attacked by her groom and punched in the face. Camilla Kruger asked her groom to do usual barn work, when the groom apparently lost it and started screaming at her. Ms Kruger then left the situation, only to be followed by the groom and punched directly in the face, leaving her with a concussion and a restraining order. [British Eventer Attacked by Groom]