Thursday News & Notes from Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS)

Ok, it’s still covered in snow but look at those gallop hills! Photo by Courtney Sendak

I can’t be the only one who looks at scenery while driving and assesses the personal value based solely on whether or not I would enjoy using it as a gallop field, right? I’m lucky to live in Virginia at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so there are a lot of fields on my daily drives that definitely qualify as gallop quality. Now, if only it would stop raining and snowing so I could *actually* gallop!

National Holiday: National Cereal Day

Major Weekend Events:

Red Hills CCI & HT: WebsiteScheduleEntry StatusRide TimesLive ScoresEN’s CoverageEN’s TwitterEN’s Instagram

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Southern Pines H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Full Gallop Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

News From Around the Globe:

For a long time, common knowledge has linked stomach ulcers and cribbing together, but new scientific research shows otherwise. Cribbing is not necessarily related to stomach pH levels, but more likely just general stress. Scientists looked at the stomachs of 42 dead horses, half of which were cribbers and half were not, finding no difference in the stomach linings or acidity between the two. [Cribber Scientific Research]

Due to a sharp uptick in fatalities at Santa Anita since December, all workouts and races have been cancelled indefinitely at the track. With 21 fatalities since the beginning of the winter meet on December 26th, this is a far higher number than any of the previous years, and track officials are trying to investigate the cause before resuming business as usual. Considerations about unusual weather this year in California and subsequent footing changes are under investigation. [Santa Anita Closes]

Ah, dating a horse girl. It’s complicated, let’s be real. Obviously we don’t think anything we do is crazy, but a lot of “normal” people seem to, so it’s semi-necessary to hand out ground rules and guidelines sometimes. You know, to help out the muggles. [Dating a Horse Girl: The Survival Guide]

The Kindness Movement is just what we need in the world today, especially on social media. Often a source of bullying and negativity, the horse world is not exempt from the perils of social media armchair experts. That’s why sixteen-year-old Izzy Baker created the Instagram account The Kindness Movement, where she highlights friendships and love throughout the equine worlds. [Be the Change You Wish to See]