Tuesday News & Notes from Ocala Horse Properties

Sierra Lesny, recipient of the second SEE Ever So Sweet scholarship, and her OTTB Pea. Photo by Sally Spickard.

After the hustle and bustle of the first round of holidays, I’m delighted that we’ve made it to Giving Tuesday and, even better, Give Back Week. We’re working with our brand partners to deliver you some brilliant deals that also do great things in the horse world this week, with proceeds going to Ukrainian horse charities, access programmes, and more. From November 28, through Sunday, December 4, we encourage you to shop with the brands listed in this article, each of which has committed to donating a portion of proceeds during this week to a nonprofit or charity. We also encourage you to check out your social media feeds and emails for other brands giving back this week. Do good, feel good!

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

By now, you probably know that France’s Maxime Livio won the inaugural Agria Top 10 Indoor Eventing. But do you know how he managed to clinch the title in Sweden? [Check out the video and see his strategy in action]

The Area X Championships were held a week ago in Tuscon, Arizona. Three riders capped off their season with titles — not a shabby way to head into the holidays! Even better? The winning mounts include a Clydesdale cross and an Appaloosa. [Meet the champs]

A primarily indigenous community in Australia has come up with a novel solution to their wild horse problem. Though the horses are much loved by the people of Mornington Island, they’ve also done plenty of damage to gardens and green spaces in the community — but the folks in the area were adamant that culling wasn’t an option. Instead, they’ve created a programme that’ll allow young people to work with the horses, gaining valuable skills and setting them up for future careers. [Talk about a win-win]

Are you a hay-steaming fan? Me too: it doesn’t just make the yard smell incredible, although honestly, nothing is better than the sweet smell of a freshly-opened HayGain — but it has a marked positive effect on our horses’ airways. But new studies suggest that horses that are fed steamed hay might need to be provided with an extra protein source, as the process can strip some of this important macronutrient out of forage. [A bit of chicken breast with your hay, madam?]

As the year creeps closer to its end, it’s time to start thinking about the next. With that comes resolutions, plans, ideas, things to change and improve, goals — and some serious reflection on the year that’s been. Here’s an interesting treatise on what all of us could stand to work on in 2023. [The ‘less Instagram’ one feels targeted at me, tbh]

Ocala Horse Properties Dream Farm of the Week:

<

Racing yards tend to come with some seriously cool amenities, and while they do require additional work (like, for example, putting in an arena), you can’t fault them for what they do have — such as the capacious exercise track, actual spa building (with a water treadmill!), and enormous amounts of space that this one has. With over 100 stalls, plus tonnes of human accommodation, you could keep this one for its intended purpose — or you could set up the eventing training base of dreams and run some incredible shows and clinics out of it, too.

Watch This:

Excuse me while I steal this concept at Badminton next year.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments