“This cow looks weird” Photo by Wendy Steele.
This summer has really tested my hoof management experience and skill, I tell you what. With weekly rains (which is unheard of in Virginia summer), unprecedented grass growth, and a barn full of horses that are tricky to shoe even in the best of times, it’s been a season of challenges. I learned long ago how to adapt my management for the usual Virginia summer, which is dry as all hell and hard as concrete, but I was thrown by the excess of rain. I can’t imagine moving to another climate and having to learn all over again how to keep all my horses sound. Honestly, hats off to all the west coast riders who come to the east for any period of time, just the hoof skills alone might defeat me.
U.S. Weekend Preview
Caber Farm H.T. (Onalaska, WA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Full Gallop Farm August HT (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Volunteer]
Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club H.T. (Geneseo, NY) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Ocala Summer H.T. II (Ocala, FL) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]
The Event at Archer (Cheyenne, WY) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Waredaca Farm H.T. (Laytonsville, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Major International Events
Nations Cup CCIO4*-S (Arville): [Website] [Entries/Start Lists/Scoring] [Schedule][YouTube/CMH.TV]
While exercise off the horse is always useful to improve a rider’s cardio fitness, strength, and flexibility, there’s still no substitute for time spent in the saddle. If you’re looking for some variety in your training and have a safe, reliable horse, lunging can be a useful tool to improve your seat, strength, and coordination in the saddle. ECP Level V Coach and ECP Faculty Member Mary D’Arcy says that longing the rider can help improve position faults, posture, core strength and fitness, improve the use of the aids, and develop an independent seat. It can also improve the horse’s gaits, transitions, and lateral suppleness. [The Art of Lunging with Mary D’Arcy]
If you think the equine vet shortage is bad now, unfortunately I don’t have good news for you. Equine veterinarians across the globe are warning of a looming crisis as a shortage of practitioners persists, particularly in rural areas. As the number of graduates taking up specialist roles continues to diminish in an industry already struggling to attract fresh blood, equine vets say a “massive” shortage is coming. [Equine Veterinarians a Rare Thing Indeed]
Area I was hit with some massive flooding this summer, and the beloved GMHA facility took a fair amount of damage. But eventers are tough, and honestly Vermonters are even tougher. A massive group of equestrians and family members and friends and local folks banded together this week to clear fields of debris off the competition land, and I never thought I would love a video of people picking up rocks more. [Area I Fights Back]
And finally, in the news of truly weird and disturbing, there seems to be a black market for horse tails in Colorado. There has been a sudden uptick in equine tail thievery recently, with owners arriving at the barn only to find their horse sporting a bob on the back-end. Eight tails were stolen from a single facility in one week, prompting them to beef up security against tail theft. [Tail Chopping in Colorado]
