Now that’s a wardrobe malfunction that will really throw a wrench in things! It’s one thing to have a broken breastplate or martingale, but when something like your bridle or, I don’t know, a STIRRUP decides to take a mid-ride holiday, all bets are off. Hats off to the team at Erin Gilmore Photography for capturing this great save! And yes, this rider did finish her round!
U.S. Events Opening Entries Today
The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs (CA); Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall (VA); Rocking Horse Fall H.T. (FL); Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. (TX)
U.S. Events Closing Entries Today
The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm (MD); Woodside Fall International (CA); Apple Knoll Farm H.T. (MS); WindRidge Farm Fall H.T. (NC); Ocala Fall H.T. (FL); Middle Tennessee Pony Club H.T. (TN)
News & Reading
We’re teaming up with Sentinel Horse Nutrition to give away a year’s worth of Sentinel Horse Feeds! This sweepstakes is accepting entries until 11:59 p.m. ET on October 6. You can full the full terms and conditions + enter for your chance to win a big break for your bank account here.
Interscholastic eventing is thriving at Tryon, thanks to the efforts of people like Sarah Lawrence, who helped launch the program earlier this year. The community responded strongly when she announced she was launching an IEL league, and now the group known as the Tryon Collective is showing us all how far the right people and a shared idea can take us. Read more about this program and how it’s inspiring others here.
When Margo Goldfarb first met Ridgetop Pirate Blue, he was an orphaned foal. Margo’s grandfather told her that “Pirate” would be her next horse, but it would be many years before the pair would really get onto the same page and surprise even themselves with what they could accomplish. Margo and Pirate recently contested their first Advanced event together in Kentucky, and as a full-time student who has to balance all of the things to make her riding goals work, the reward of this accomplishment was priceless. Read the full story here.
Does riding actually help build your horse’s topline? There are multiple schools of thought on this concept, which means the team over at Horse Nation took a dive in to do some myth-busting. Take a dive in here.
Sponsor Corner: Kentucky Performance Products
What’s the real deal with gut sounds?
When listening for gut sounds, your veterinarian will evaluate both sides of the horse. The abdomen is divided into four areas or quadrants: left side top and bottom, and right side top and bottom.
The upper left quadrant is where sounds from the small intestine can be heard. This quadrant can be quieter than others because it typically contains smaller quantities of fluid and gas, but sounds should still be present.
The lower left quadrant overlies the left upper and lower colon.
The upper right quadrant overlies the base of the cecum.
The lower right quadrant overlies the large intestine. Constant motility and large quantities of fluid and gas are expected to be found in this quadrant. Sounds should be consistent and of a greater intensity than those heard in the upper left quadrant.
The technical term for a gut sound is a borborygmus (pronounced bôr′bə-rĭg′məs). The plural is borborygmi. Generally, you’re looking for 1-3 borborygmi per minute for what’s considered a normal range. Less than 1 is considered too slow, while more than 3 are considered too much movement.
You can learn much more about gut sounds and what they mean + save a useful graphic for reference here.
Video Break
Take a ride around Junior European Eventing Championships!
