Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2017 i Practical Horseman

After reading Traci and Carleton Brooks’ article, “Sharpen Your Course- Riding Skills” (page 30), Prac Assistant Editors Emily Daily and Jocelyn Pierce, both eventers, said they wanted to try out the three jumping exercises in the story and Emily planned to use them with some of her students. I’d been having similar thoughts of trying the exercises with my elderly dressage horse, but using poles on the ground. Though Traci and Carleton are hunter/jumper/equitation trainers, their exercises have a universal appeal because they can help riders of all disciplines and levels both in the competition arena and at home. For instance, the first exercise is about tuning your eye to a small vertical that you canter to through a curved chute. When the vertical is replaced with a ground pole,…

PH Was it hard to be a working-class kid breaking into such an expensive sport? AD We came from a working-class family. What we were lacking in money we made up for in love and support. I viewed the kids who had more as being a real opportunity, even when I was a kid. They had fancy horses and often extra horses and I got to ride them and help train. I also think that being around these kids was the start of my American Dream. I would see them drive up to the barn in their BMWs and I would say to myself, “That’s not just for them. That’s for me, too.” I wanted to have it all. Live in the big house on the hill and have a…

George H. Morris is the former chef d’équipe of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Show Jumping Team. He serves on the USEF National Jumper Committee and Planning Committee, is an adviser to the USEF High- Performance Show Jumping Committee and is president of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. 1Nothing is more important to me than leg position, so I remind readers to send photos where I can see all of their leg. Nevertheless, I can see this rider’s leg is stable, just behind the girth. Her heel is lower than her toe, her ankle is flexed, her toes appear turned out and she has contact in her calf. Her seat is too far out of the saddle. She needs to allow the thrust of the horse to open her knee…

Have you noticed that as you ride around a course, it tends to get harder, rather than easier? That’s because you have a constant stream of variables to tackle, including the questions posed by the course’s turns, jumps and striding options as well as the many aspects of your and your horse’s performance, which can change from one second to the next. Maybe he lands off a jump with too little pace and threatens to break to trot or perhaps your balance tips forward onto your hands. If you don’t address each variable immediately, you won’t be ready to face the next challenge in time, so things can unravel quickly. Instead of schooling courses over and over again at home, the best way to prepare yourself for these high-pressure situations…

When Andrew Teer Jayne arrived at Maplewood as a teenager in 2010, in the then-called Maplewood Internship Program, his first experience was to immediately jump into a pickup truck heading to the HITS Thermal circuit in California. Andrew wasn’t exactly sure where his time at Maplewood would lead, but his job was to assist young professional Kevin Winkel, Julie Winkel’s son, with Maplewood’s jumpers and see if a career with horses was in his own future. It didn’t take Andrew long to decide that Maplewood’s program would be the perfect next step to launch his professional career after he decided to detour from the traditional path from high school to college. “I didn’t really know anything when I started,” says Andrew, who had competed in modern pentathlon and foxhunted but…

When trailering, you want to find a balance between good ventilation and reducing exposure to road dust and other irritants, depending on the type of trailer you use. For instance, stock trailers have plenty of airflow but increased wind will kick up dust and shavings. A trailer with solid walls may reduce wind but during hot weather opening the windows for optimal comfort will be necessary. If bacteria enter into the lungs, horses may be at risk of pneumonia, which in this case is called “shipping fever.” Shipping fever will cause a horse to have a fever that is often accompanied by respiratory signs such as a cough and nasal discharge. Most cases can be treated with antibiotics, but delayed recognition and severe cases can be deadly. Horses need enough…

CHEER ON ponies and their riders at the annual USEF Pony Finals, Aug. 8–13, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Competitors will vie for titles in Green and Regular hunter pony divisions, pony jumper divisions and the Marshall and Sterling/Pony Medal Finals; www.ponyfinals.org. ROOT FOR top hunters during the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, Aug. 17–19, in Lexington, KY. Qualified pairs compete in the Classic Hunter round and their scores determine who advances to the second round—either the Handy Hunter or Derby Challenge; www.ushja.org. WATCH rising talent at the Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships and USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals, Aug. 24– 27, at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Part of the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, the competition features Children, Pony Rider,…

Kessler, Bloomberg Honored For their exceptional commitment and positive influence on the equestrian world and beyond, U.S. show-jumping riders Reed Kessler and Georgina Bloomberg each received the Longines Ladies Award in May at a gala dinner during the Pan American Conference in Washington, D.C. “My whole life I have been raised to believe I am capable of achieving anything I set my mind to, and I’m humbled to be recognized as a strong woman in the sport and a positive role model for young girls,” said Kessler during her acceptance speech. In addition to contributing to causes to better the equine community, she has for the last 12 years been an ambassador for JustWorld International, an organization that supports impoverished children in Cambodia, Guatemala and Honduras by providing access to…

Electroencephalographs (EEGs) are diagnostic tools that veterinarians and researchers use to detect changes or dysfunction in a horse’s brain activity. An EEG can help in the evaluation of disease, trauma, the effect of medication, even thought processes. The catch is, conducting EEGs on horses gets complicated. In humans, it’s easy enough. The electrodes that conduct information on the brain’s activity can be attached directly to our skin. Humans can also be instructed to stand still for the scan–critical, since movement can interfere with the quality of the recordings. With our horses, it’s not so simple. Often, equine EEGs rely on invasive techniques requiring anesthesia, such as surgically implanted electrodes or needles placed under the skin. Noninvasive methods exist, but may require shaving the horse’s forehead to glue on electrodes and…

Based at Fox Covert Farm, in Upperville, Virginia, Jim Wofford competed in three Olympics and two World Championships and won the U.S. National Championship five times. He is also a highly respected coach. For more on Jim, go to www.jimwofford.blogspot.com. Chances are you would pay good money to be able to listen to the “matriarchs” and “silverbacks” of eventing when they get together. Naturally, adult beverages feature prominently in such gatherings and the conversations soon turn toward the “good old days when things were right.” I remember sitting outside the circle as a young rider, listening to the verbal pyrotechnics and thinking, “Wow, these geezers can talk.” When they were in a gathering of their equals, they could talk and they had a lot to talk about. They talked about…

Husband-and-wife team Carleton and Traci Brooks run a successful hunter/jumper/equitation business called Balmoral, which they operate in two California locations— Malibu and Brentwood, on the west side of Los Angeles. This unique setup allows them to provide their horses with plenty of healthy open space while also being accessible to their diverse clientele, which ranges from Short-Stirrup to Adults and high-performance levels. They shuttle horses back and forth between barns almost daily to be sure everyone enjoys plenty of turnout and trail riding. Traci and Carleton have coached riders and trained horses to a long list of wins, including many Indoors championships and Horse of the Year awards. They developed and competed top show hunters, including Wish List, Triton Z, Ragtime Cowboy, Penn Square, Doubletake, Trinity, Vested, Play with Fire,…

Julie Winkel (right) grew up immersed in horses and knew from age 5 that she wanted to be a horse trainer. Although her family didn’t have the means for Julie to take formal lessons or show at top-rated competitions, her parents had a passion for horses and education that they passed on to her. And when those traits were combined with her work ethic, the end result is a successful and fulfilling career that she now shares with her son Kevin, 31, also a professional rider and trainer at Maplewood. Julie, 57, owns and operates the 150-acre facility in Reno, Nevada, and is a judge, clinician, trainer and industry leader who is rarely in one place for long, logging tens of thousands of air miles traveling the country to teach…

Some respiratory diseases are caused by bacterial and viral infections, such as strangles (equine distemper), equine herpesvirus (rhinopneumonitis) and equine influenza. However, they can be prevented through regular vaccinations. Strangles is a bacterial infection affecting the upper respiratory tract. It is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi and named for the swollen lymph nodes that appear beneath the jaw and can cause difficulty breathing and swallowing. It is rarely fatal but highly contagious. The American Association of Equine Practitioners considers it a “risk-associated vaccine,” administered only if horses are going to come into contact with other horses potentially carrying strangles. These include those who travel to horse shows. Equine influenza and equine herpesvirus (EHV-1 and EHV-4) are viral infections that affect the lower respiratory tract. They may be spread through…

North American League Kicks Off Third Year The calendar is complete for the 14 competitions that make up the 2017–2018 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League series. The action begins in early August in Canada as riders vie for a spot in the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, April 4–10, 2018, in Paris, France. Fourteen North American League riders will qualify: seven from the Eastern League, three from the Western League and two each from Canada and Mexico. The North American League is one of 16 that participate in the worldwide FEI World Cup™ Jumping series. Each venue that hosts a Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League qualifier will also hold two additional classes that will be live-streamed for free on the FEI’s YouTube channel.…

Sleeveless Summer Top The lightweight and breathable Aoife Training Tech Top from Horseware® wicks moisture and contains an antibacterial treatment on the fabric. Figure-flattering back panels feature contrasting colors. The top is 95 percent polyester and 5 percent spandex. Available in pool green or violet tulle; sizes extra-small to double extra-large; $35; www.horseware.com. Open-Front Boots for Daily Use The impact-absorbing Open Front MultiTeq™ Boots with SheepsWool™ Lining from EquiFit feature a two-layer ImpacTeq™ lining, which is comprised of a foam layer that helps protect on impact and a mesh layer that promotes air flow and circulation. Hypoallergenic and water-resistant SheepsWool™ helps move excess heat away from the leg and also fights odor. The nylon, polyester and microfiber EverLeather™ casing is resistant to scratches, punctures and tears. Three elastic straps disperse…