Innehållsförteckning för Fall 2025 från Practical Horseman

You know your horse inside and out. So, you notice when your gelding has a little trouble swallowing his treats or seems to be losing muscle instead of gaining it. You pay attention when your mare has an odd tilt to her head or her gait seems uncoordinated. And naturally you wonder what’s going on. While there could be many causes, one significant possibility is EPM. Formally known as equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, EPM is one of the most common equine neurologic disorders in North America. There is no vaccine for it, and prevention revolves around managing a cat-size marsupial—the opossum. Luckily, there are effective treatments, so infected horses do stand a chance, even if they’re standing on wobbly legs. To put you in the know about this scary but manageable…

I magine his head, shoulders and hips as three connected train cars. All the parts have to follow each other along the same track. And the cars need to stay upright. To do this, put more weight in your outside stirrup while maintaining a level pelvis, and stay lifted in your core to allow your shoulders to follow the direction of travel, pointing your belt buckle up the track as your horse enters the turn. David Marcus is among North America’s top dressage competitors. He and Chrevi’s Capital represented Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games and 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, Marcus is a well-respected trainer who has helped students of all levels meet their goals. He and his husband, Nicholas Fyffe,…

Hover over the code with a smartphone camera for video comments. 1 Overall: This is a very pleasing picture. The rider has good basics, and the horse is a beautiful jumper. Some minor adjustments to the rider’s leg will improve her position. Leg: The rider’s foot position looks good with the stirrup correctly on the ball of her foot. However, I’d like to see more weight in her heels in the air. Also, she’s pinching slightly with her knee, which has caused her lower leg to slide back. Rather than gripping with her knee, she should distribute her weight along her calf, knee and thigh. Overall, her angles are quite good, except for her heels. Release: I like her nice crest release along the horse’s neck. While there’s not a…

For most of my life I’ve jumped courses off the seat of my pants. But over time, I’ve learned that while it’s great to go off feel, you should always have a plan—and a backup plan. In this article, I’ll show you how to effectively walk a course to come up with a plan of attack, while keeping in mind that the plan may vary depending on the type of horse you’re riding and other outside circumstances. Then, I’ll share some exercises to help you with common on-course questions, so when you and your horse walk through the in-gate, you’ll be calm and ready to tackle the course. Evaluating the Course The main point of walking a course is to consider the questions the course designer is asking and create…

“ Rescue cat” and “rescue dog” seem to roll off the tongues of many Americans. The concept of rescuing a pet became mainstream so many years ago, that it’s practically a breed to many. Now, the perception of horse rescues and adopting horses has evolved to become nearly as universal, and horse rescues play a vital role in the horse industry at large. “Thanks to the tireless work of many rescues and initiatives like A Home for Every Horse, along with the reach and impact of social media, I’ve seen much greater awareness of the work of rescues as well as a change in public perception about horse adoption,” shared Amy Cairy, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation for W.F. Young. “There’s widespread understanding of dog and cat rescues and…

The photo is of Alexandra Margalith and her horse Sinatra. Here is what Alexandra had to say: “I’m a middle-aged hobby rider who started later in life. My horse, Sinatra, is a rising 7-year-old Trakehner, who I bought unseen and unbroken from a video as a 3-year-old. We are learning the ropes together with a lot of fantastic professional help. Together, we are hobby-professionals!” In reading about Alexandra and Sinatra and seeing the photo, I thought how lucky they’ve been. Buying an unseen, unbroken horse off a video without a profound horsemanship background and ending up riding him like she is in the photo is a big success story in itself. Well done! The photo isn’t level, which makes the horse appear downhill. I’ve been told this is a common…

As dressage riders, we tend to spend a lot of time focusing on what our horses are doing and what we’re doing becomes secondary. But really, we can better communicate with our horses if we pay more attention to ourselves to understand how our body position is influencing them. Working on your position takes a lot of concentration. You’re not just sitting still like when you’re driving a car. Instead, you are traveling on a moving animal, so you must constantly check and tweak your position, which isn’t easy. When I teach, I always try to find what words and visualizations make sense to my students and what translates into improvement. Here are some of my favorite tips that I’ve found resonate with a lot of riders. I hope they…

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