Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2025 från Practical Horseman

Made to Stand Out 1. Crafted from supple Italian leather, the KL Select Elite Dressage Bridle features the brand’s signature peaches-and-cream crystal browband, elegant cognac piping and stainless-steel hardware. The anatomic, liberally padded crownpiece is contoured behind the ears and was specifically designed for comfort and dispersion of poll pressure. The bridle’s flash crank noseband measures 1½ inches but narrows to 1 inch on each side for recess to prevent bit interference and allow for clearer rein aids. Additionally, the bridle includes hook-stud fittings on the ½-inch cheek pieces and a roller buckle on the adjustable noseband. klselect.com Pique Performance 2. A quintessential addition to your show wardrobe, Huntley Equestrian’s Italian-crafted Grand Prix Saltare Dolce Show 4 Jacket fuses timeless elegance with functionality. Designed out of a polyester, polyamide and…

Hover over the code with a smartphone camera for video comments. 1 Overall: This rider might be a the most novice of the group, but her basics are quite good. Her leg position is great, but she should make an adjustment to her release. Leg: I like the position of the stirrup on her foot because it’s right on the ball of her foot. The outside bar of the stirrup is ahead of the inside bar, and her toe is turned out slightly. I like how she has contact with her calf and thigh. Although her knee is against the saddle, I don’t think she’s pinching with her knee. The angles in her ankle, knee and hip are excellent. Release: She’s using a long crest release, which I like for…

I wasn’t looking for a life partner when I saw the first photos of him—“Magic”—while following his neglect case from the kitchen table of my friend Deb Noem, owner of Sunrise Ranch in Morning View, Kentucky, where I’d been riding horses for several years. She helps horses out of bad situations and finds them new homes by volunteering her talent and horse trailer to rescue groups like Speak Up for Horses with the goal of saving just one more animal. I was blown away by Magic’s stance and beauty. I asked Deb if she was bringing him to the ranch. “Probably not,” she replied. “He isn’t even gelded yet, and I don’t need that kind of nonsense at a barn with kids. I’m going to focus on the babies, and…

What Is Osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis (OA) involves inflammation of joint tissues. OA is typically a chronic, progressive disease which involves steady deterioration and thinning of articular cartilage. Traumatic joint injuries occur suddenly and often will lead to OA over time. OA—also known as degenerative joint disease—is the cause of approximately 60% of equine lameness. OA commonly occurs in joints of the lower limbs, however, there is a growing awareness of OA in horse’s neck and back. Affected horses can have poor performance, shortened competitive careers and, if left untreated, potential quality-of-life issues. In a normal, healthy joint, articular cartilage lines the ends of bones to reduce friction and act as a natural shock absorber in weight-bearing joints. A joint affected by OA may start off with inflammation of the synovial membrane…

I magine the energy coming from the push of the horse’s hind legs, through your arms and into the reins so that they feel like broomsticks. The energy connects the horse, and the “broomsticks” enable you to direct the horse’s neck up or down into the desired outline and prevent the horse from dropping behind the bit or getting short in the neck. Jackie Kinney is a Grand Prix rider who has been training horses and riders for 50 years and has found imagery and visualization to be important tools. She is a Graduate A Pony Clubber and USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold medalist. Kinney is the owner and operator of Horses in Harmony Farm based in Preston, Maryland, and Vero Beach, Florida.…

The photo shows Elle Rogers on her horse Kandy. Here is what Elle had to say: “I am a novice rider starting my dressage journey with my first horse Kandy, an 8-year-old Hanoverian/Quarter Horse-cross mare. At 24, it feels like I’ve waited my whole life to have my own horse, and I can’t wait for a lifetime of adventures together! This photo is from our second show.” A first horse is a very exciting beginning, and Elle is right—there is a lifetime of adventures waiting for them! Hopefully Elle has many years with Kandy and other horses in the future. While Kandy isn’t round and on the bit in this photo, it clearly shows the pair starting their journey together. Kandy is moving forward in a natural balance without any…

Every time Endel Ots rewatched a Lars Petersen video as a budding young rider, his aspirations of one day competing in the Olympics seemed increasingly possible. But as he matured, Ots gained a deeper understanding of the physical, mental and emotional demands required to make it to the top of the sport. “Everything has to line up perfectly at the right time with the right horse, the right coach and the right combination of circumstances,” he said. “Early in my career, I didn’t want to put that much pressure on myself. It’s easy to dream about, but you eventually find out just how hard it is.” Ots grew up riding on his family farm in Wisconsin, and after a brief focus on jumping, he found his true calling in dressage.…

Kaylawna Smith-Cook, daughter of top five-star eventer Tamie Smith, has become a successful eventing rider and trainer in her own right and currently has a promising string of up-and-coming mounts. But even with her eventing super-star mom, Smith-Cook didn’t take riding too seriously growing up. She rode off and on as a kid while spending time at the barn with her mom and has vivid memories of clashing with an aggressive goose while trying to retrieve her pony from the back turnout field. She continued to ride casually throughout her teenage years, but something changed after high school. “I kept feeling this pull to come back to riding,” Smith-Cook said. “That was the moment I knew I really wanted to take eventing seriously.” While she continues to help run Smith’s…