Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Horse Illustrated

Low back pain is one of the most common and most costly medical problems in industrialized countries. Over 90 percent of the U.S. population seeks help for back pain at one point or another in their lives. Approximately 50 percent of working-age people in the U.S. suffer from acute low back pain every year, and it is estimated that the annual productivity loss from this condition totals between $20 and $50 billion. Back pain affects four out of five people at some time during their lives. It is the leading cause of disability for people between the ages of 19 to 45. Back pain is second only to the common cold for causing adults under 45 to miss work. Furthermore, as we age, low back pain becomes more and more…

It may still feel like fall to you, but your horses know better! Odds are they’ve started to put on their winter coats in response to the diminishing hours of daylight, and there may already be a chill in the air, a forerunner of the cold weather to come. With winter on the horizon, why not spend a few hours—or days—getting your stable and farm ready? It’s a lot more pleasant to do winter prep work while the weather is still nice, and there are a few jobs that you won’t be able to do once there is snow on the ground. Here are a few things you’ll want to prepare. BLANKETS: Do you blanket your horse in the winter? Perhaps you have an older horse, or one that is…

NO BLANKET Can my horse stay warm without a blanket? Yes, if: ✔ The horse has good body condition and is healthy overall; ✔ is adapted to the local climate; ✔ has a good winter coat; ✔ and has access to shelter. While temperature cut-offs may be region-specific, the general premise is the same. If any of those conditions are missing, then a blanket may be needed. BEST TO BLANKET ✔ Performance and show horses that have sleek coats from clipping or lights. ✔ Senior horses with reduced ability to thermoregulate. ✔ In cold, wet conditions. BLANKET TYPES ■ Turnout blankets, as the name implies, are meant to be used outside. They are waterproof and made of heavy-duty fabric, indicated by a denier number (the higher it is, the more…

DRYER SHEETS: Rub the horse with a dryer sheet before blanketing to prevent the shock of static the next time the blanket is removed. ELECTRIC KETTLE: Keep an electric kettle in the tack room of your barn if you don’t have hot water available. A small amount of warm water is perfect for spot-cleaning coats, cleaning tack, adding water to soak feed or make a mash. DUCT TAPE: Make tabs on blanket hardware with duct tape to make the metal much easier to grab and handle without removing your gloves. PLASTIC SLED: Live in an area that gets a lot of snow? Move hay bales on a sled for easier transport. GRIP TAPE: No one wants to hold a metal-handled tool for any length of time when temperatures plummet. Wrap…

Legend has it that some people have unlimited time with their horses. They lazily chat up their friends and cool out for an hour. They graze their horses until they’re bone dry. They linger for hours playing with the dogs and watching the goings-on ringside. They never blow in 12 minutes before their lessons and power-walk their horses to the ring, apologizing breathlessly. They don’t send emails from their horses’ backs. They don’t spill 500 peppermints across the barn aisle because they were trying to carry everything in one time-saving trip. They never cancel lessons with two hours’ notice because they’re stuck at work, and they don’t skip cleaning tack because they have to at least see their husbands tonight. But through no fault of our own, we mere mortals…

Winter may not be prime time for riding, but even when cold temperatures feel neverending, show and trail season will come back around before you know it. It benefits both you and your horse to keep a little fitness going this season. What winter riding considerations should you keep in mind? COLD IS RELATIVE One person’s idea of too cold may be another person’s “just right.” “Horses are amazing athletes, and actually do quite well in cold weather,” says Carolyn Hammer, DVM, Ph.D., professor of equine science at North Dakota State University. “When you think about horses around the world, they are exposed to a variety of temperatures. For instance, 20°F might be considered unbearably cold to riders in the South, while riders in the far North may not see…

A visit to The Royal Agricultural Fair in Toronto should be on every equestrian’s bucket list. The event, which runs for two weeks every November, offers the ultimate in fair favorites with culinary delights, farm animals, shopping, and agricultural demonstrations, but at an indoor venue with equestrian competitions that attract some of the world’s top names. “The Royal,” as it’s often called, was started in 1922 as a place to showcase the best in Canadian agriculture. Its name is the result of petitioning and receiving approval from King George V to add “Royal” to the fair’s name. The Royal Horse Show is a cornerstone of the event with equestrian competitions for driving, draft horse hitches, saddle seat riding, indoor eventing, hunter derbies, and show jumping, including an FEI World Cup…

Not long after the birth of America, a special horse was created in the rural South. Carrying the blood of the Narragansett and Canadian Pacer, along with the genes of the Standard-bred, Thoroughbred, Morgan and American Saddlebred, this new horse had the strength and endurance to carry a rider through miles of farmland, all while moving at a smooth gait easily sustainable for hours. Originally called the Plantation Walking Horse, the breed later obtained the name of Tennessee Walking Horse after the state where it first originated. By the 1800s, the breed’s popularity had grown among farm owners throughout the South, who had discovered its vast talents. It wasn’t long before this horse became renowned for its willingness to work and easy-to-ride gait. In 1935, the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’…

MEDAL RESULTS JUMPING, TEAM Brazil Mexico USA JUMPING, INDIVIDUAL Marlon Modolo Zanotelli Jose Maria Larocca Beezie Madden DRESSAGE, TEAM Canada USA Brazil DRESSAGE, INDIVIDUAL Sarah Lockman Tina Irwin Jennifer Baumert EVENTING, TEAM USA Brazil Canada EVENTING, INDIVIDUAL Boyd Martin Lynn Symansky Carlos Parro Jumping Dressage Eventing…

The scrawny foal huddled miserably in the corner of the straw-filled pen, and I moved as slowly as I could so as not to scare her more. My heart sank as I took in her protruding ribs and scraggly coat. She was only seven days old and had been orphaned for two of them. And she was wild. The Mustang herd lived in the high mountain desert on thousands of acres of public land, and the foal’s mother was young and inexperienced. A new stallion had stolen the mom away from her band, and she’d been forced to abandon her baby. The filly had wandered helplessly around the desolate area until being captured by some BLM volunteers almost two days later. She was starving and dehydrated, and she’d had to…

Each season change brings its own set of challenges and opportunities. Here are the most important checkpoints to carefully consider this season before the snow and ice arrive to make life harder for you and your horse. HOOF CARE “Fall is the best time of year for the hoof,” says Brandon Hickman of Hickman Farrier Services in Signal Mountain, Tenn. “Depending on the weather, the nutrients taken in during the spring and summer months are now reaching the hoof. I often see that, for most horses, the hoof wall is better in the fall. Nature seems to be preparing the hoof to be as strong as possible for the approaching colder weather.” Hickman offers the following hoof care advice for fall. INSPECT PASTURES: Closely monitor pastures that include or are…

SERIES IV PIRIT HEATED HOSE Make filling water buckets a snap, whatever the weather. Available in 12-, 25-, 50- and 100-foot lengths, the electrically heated, no-freeze hose will prevent freezing down to -42°F. $109.95 for 12-foot; pirithose.com FARM INNOVATORS THERMOCUBE Operates with any 15-amp 120-volt electric heater or fan, turning on when the surrounding temperature reaches 35°F and turning off when it reaches 45°F. It’s perfect for use with stock tank heaters and more. $10.99-14.99; jefferspet.com DR. SMITH’S HORSE VAC Turn any vacuum cleaner into a horse vacuum. Soft rubber teeth have a massaging action that lifts the coat to allow the vacuum to remove dirt and dust in minutes. $19.95; valleyvet.com DURA-TECH STRAINER & ICE BREAKER Keep hands from getting wet and cold when breaking up ice in water…

Now ask your horses to tölt,” instructed Björk Jakobsdóttir, our Icelandic guide. I took a deep breath, lifted my hands and took more contact, scooped my seat under and closed my legs. Klaengur, the first of many delightful Icelandic horses I would ride over the week-long adventure, rewarded me with a few steps of this mystical gait unique to the breed. I played around with my aids, hunting for the perfect formula to sustain the natural, flowing gait, which has four beats like a walk but can match the speed of a gallop. The sturdy chestnut (a color the Icelandic people call “red”), with his easy-going attitude and clear paces, was the perfect partner for my experiments. When I got it right, he felt like a speedboat skimming atop the…