Innehållsförteckning för April 2016 från Practical Horseman

Isosceles triangles, fulcrums and pivot points are not terms commonly bandied about in barn aisles. But they should be according to Kristi Wysocki, dressage and sporthorse breeding judge, FEI rider, trainer and rehab expert. And—oh yes—an engineer who worked in the oilfields 15 years before turning to horses professionally. Kristi’s engineering background helped her develop the Evaluating Sporthorse Form and Function Symposium presented during the California Dressage Society’s annual meeting, Jan. 23–24, in Sacramento, California. Dressageclinic.com was the weekend’s sponsor. In clarifying how the horse’s form relates to his ability to perform the functions asked at all levels of dressage, the presentation’s mission was multifold: ■ to help riders evaluate their own horses and understand how their conformational strengths and weaknesses can be capitalized on or compensated for through correct…

As of December 1, 2015, horses entering the grounds of U.S. Equestrian Federation-licensed competitions must be accompanied by documentation of administration of equine influenza and equine herpesvirus vaccine within six months of entering the show grounds (USEF General Rule 845). Below is a description of each disease and a chart to record vaccination details to bring to competitions. Equine influenza: Equine influenza (EIV), or flu, is a common highly contagious virus that causes respiratory disease. The flu virus spreads rapidly between horses in aerosolized droplets via coughing. In addition to coughing, signs include high fever (1–5 days), nasal discharge, lethargy, reduced appetite and muscle soreness. The incubation period is generally 1–3 days. Most horses recover in 10–14 days with supportive care but often require additional time off for the respiratory…

We humans excel at color detection, compared to other mammals, but horses are much better than we are at detecting even the smallest movements in low light, as at dusk. This is because horses, compared to us, have a greater proportion of super-light-sensitive rods to every color cone in their eyes. There seem to be wiring differences as well. Some rods in horse eyes send messages to the central nervous system at much greater speeds than do the rods in our own eyes. On the other hand, our eyes adapt more quickly to changes in light levels. If you turn out the lights in a room at night, you’ll be able to see in a matter of seconds. The horse requires about a half hour to make the equivalent change.…

A new vaccine can protect horses from leptospirosis, an infectious bacterial disease that has been linked to equine recurrent uveitis (ERU, or moon blindness), late-term abortion in pregnant mares and other serious effects. It’s the first vaccine against this disease licensed specifically for horses. Bacteria that cause leptospirosis (called leptospires) can infect many animals, including rats, skunks, opossums, raccoons, deer, dogs and cattle, and even humans. Different strains (servovars) of the bacteria seem to affect various animals in different ways. Many healthy horses have been exposed to one or more strains without harm, research suggests. The new vaccine, Lepto EQ Innovator ® (Zoetis), targets the servovar L. Pomona, the one most often responsible for serious disease in horses. Leptospires are shed in the urine of infected animals, and horses can…

Whether I am judging a model class, evaluating a prospect for a client or sizing up the yearlings at home, I first stand back and look for an overall impression of balance and symmetry. My ideal horse “fits” in a square box. By that, I mean he is defined by matching and equal parts, both front to back and side to side. This allows for athletic ability, soundness, trainability and longevity in the job. A horse who fits in a box will have a body that is made up of one-third shoulder, one-third back and one-third hindquarters. I like to see the withers and point of croup at the same level. The horse’s stance, from point of shoulder to buttock, should equal the distance from the height of the withers…

One of the most important aspects in an event horse’s training is exposure to cross-country water jumps. With a positive, well-planned introduction, you can avoid the all-too-frequent heartaches that many riders experience when their horses refuse or are eliminated at this inherently challenging element. In this two-part series, I will walk you through the training plan that I follow with both green and experienced horses. This month, I will help you see water jumps through your horse’s eyes and will explain how to overcome his initial fear and hesitation in your first training sessions. Next month, I’ll show you how to teach him to jump fences in combination with water. Let’s begin by recognizing exactly how difficult this task is. Horses don’t magically go into water without being trained to…

In the spring of 2011, one of the largest equine herpesvirus outbreaks in North America impacted horse communities in the United States and Canada with potentially exposed horses in 19 states. Ten states eventually reported a total of 90 confirmed cases, 13 of whom died or were euthanized. It took more than a month and countless hours of work for state and federal veterinary agencies to contain the outbreak. Thousands of competitors and businesses in the horse industry were affected. But it all began with a single competition: the National Cutting Horse Association Western National Championship in Ogden, Utah. Josie Traub-Dargatz, DVM, MS, DACVIM, an expert on equine infectious diseases and professor of equine medicine at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, calls the Ogden outbreak…

HAVE A QUESTION? Email it to Practical. Horseman@EquiNetwork.com or mail to 656 Quince Orchard Rd., Suite 600, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. Q I show my horse at local hunter/jumper shows. When we do the hack class, he behaves beautifully until we have to line up in the center of the ring. He can’t seem to stand still, and it has negatively affected our results. At home, he stands fine. How can I get him to stand still at the end of the class? JAMIE MANN A Behavior like this is not uncommon, so don’t feel like you’re alone. It can be a tiebreaker in the judge’s mind, but it might not be the primary reason for your disappointing placings. To find out if any other factors are involved, read the U.S.…

Perhaps the 12 riders at the George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session thought Olympic medalist Christine Traurig would be easy on them the first day of the clinic. After all, George wasn’t there, it was unseasonably hot and humid on the last day of 2015 and it was dressage day. When Christine kindly and thoughtfully checked each horse’s bit and bridle fit before the riding began, it appeared to be a softer start to the 10th annual clinic compared to George’s rigorous legacy. But when the long-legged dressage icon strode to the middle of the ring, she seemed to channel George’s no-holds-barred style. As Christine drilled the horses and riders, they were peppered with dressage theory and she cut them no slack in the South Florida sun. “It is a…

Nassar, Farrington and Luzardo Excel As part of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League, top riders from around the world competed in three winter events to qualify for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, March 23–28, in Gothenburg, Sweden. South California-based Egyptian rider Nayel Nassar and his horse, Lordan, won the $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Thermal CSI***-W Feb. 13, after a year-long layup for the 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding. Kent Farrington and Uceko topped 14 other competitors in the jump-off to win the $200,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Wellington, which unfolded Feb. 7 in Florida. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum took second and Richard Spooner finished third, just six one-hundredths of a second behind her. Uruguay’s Juan Manuel Luzardo and Stan captured the blue ribbon Jan. 22…

*“I finally have an unobstructed view of my buried treasure: a Vogel boot box harboring 117 horse-show ribbons. Spanning nearly 50 years, they aren’t so much trophies as touchstones.” Less is more. That’s the theory, anyway. The reality is that my tack-room closet conceals floor-to-ceiling stuff, keeping me from installing clothes rods and shelves to turn the space into a functional storage area. More important, this stash keeps me from laying my hands on a particular box. For years, I’ve debated what to do with its contents, and now I’ve hatched a plan. Like geologic eras, my horse equipment forms layers representing old friends, phases and fashions. An upholstered saddle rack, a gift from my late best friend, tops an immense pile of long-unused saddle pads and polo wraps. Below,…