This year the Summer Olympics takes place in Paris, France. As you may already know, this international competition includes three equestrian events; dressage, jumping, and eventing. Olympic eventing first made its appearance in the 1912 Summer Games. At that time it was called “Military” and was open only to servicemen and army horses. Twenty-seven riders…
There is a growing awareness among horse owners about the importance of horses being turned out together. Horses are herd animals. They need social contact. So what is the reality for today’s domesticated horses? What are people’s horse husbandry practices around turnout? Horse Talk – horse husbandry: the science of breeding, rearing, and caring for horses. Although…
When you greet your horse, or simply want to thank them for a nice ride, do you pat them or do you give them a good scratch? If you had to guess, which horse human interaction do you think horses prefer, to be patted or scratched? Three researchers at Nottingham Trent University asked this very…
Spring is here, and for some lucky horses this means spending time in a pasture eating grass. It is tempting to turn horses out into spring pastures at the first sight of green grass, especially after a long winter. However, spring grazing should be introduced slowly. How do you go about introducing horses to spring grass?…
Have you heard the expression, “No feet, no horse.”? It means no matter how beautiful or how perfect the rest of a horse may be, without good feet they can’t perform and they can’t exercise. In fact, they can’t really do much of anything. Hooves that are allowed to grow too long not only look bad, they affect the internal…
Water is one of the most important parts of a horse’s diet, and watering horses in winter can be especially challenging. How do horse owners keep fresh thawed water available to horses when temperatures drop below freezing? 1. What is the freezing temperature of water in °C and °F? 2. If the temperature is 10°F…
Have you ever had the job of feeding hay to a barn full of horses? A common method of feeding hay to horses is to simply toss flakes of hay on the ground. The horses lower their heads and don’t stop eating until it’s all gone—or trampled into the ground. If you’ve ever mucked out a stall or…
In this post we head back for the final days of the Bay Area Equestrian Club’s Vet Camp. Day four began with campers designing their own equestrian centre. Here’s what camper Caden Hernandez had to say about designing an equestrian centre: “Math is very important when making a blueprint or map! You need to know how much…
Twelve-year-old Taylor Lai has a passion for horses. She’s attended horseback riding summer camps, and has been fortunate to have grown up with horses in the Mount Diablo foothills in California. “I really want to have my career to do with horses, and I like the idea of being a vet because you get to be around…
When you tack up a horse for a riding lesson, or go for a trail ride, does each horse have their own saddle? Like shoes are for us, if a saddle doesn’t fit, it can cause a horse discomfort. Poorly fitted saddles cause back muscle asymmetry, an unnatural gait, and back pain for the horse. They can also cause back…