Tabla de contenidos para July 2017 en Horse Illustrated

The biggest and best of all summer riding plans usually start with one small step. And that small step—the one onto the trailer—can be the hardest of all. We’ve all been there at some point in our equestrian lives with the hard-to-load horse. Even worse is when it’s show day, and you’ve got the added pressure of time constraints or a gathered crowd of spectators offering “helpful” advice. There’s also the disappointment of all the missed opportunities to haul out to explore new trails with friends, or to attend lessons and clinics. Then there’s the safety issue. If you live in an area that’s at high risk for wildfires or other natural disasters, your horse needs to know how to load on a trailer. His life may depend on it…

While horses rely most on body language to communicate, the noises they make are also meaningful. There are four types of equine vocal communications: the whinny, nicker, snort and squeal. Each one has a precise meaning, and the sounds mean the same thing each time, for every horse. SOUND 1 whin•ny; /(h)winé / a loud, high-pitched neigh. What it is: The whinny is a social call. In the wild, the whinny is how horses find one another. Each horse has a distinctive whinny that you (and other horses) can tell apart. What it Means: This call means, “Where are my friends?” Or, “Who is willing to be my friend?” The horse is lonely and looking for a herd he knows or any horse that is willing to be…

Once considered “alternative,” chiropractic, along with therapies such as acupuncture and massage, are now viewed by knowledgeable horsemen as “complementary.” None of these therapies will replace traditional veterinary medicine, but in the right situations, they can enhance and improve a horse’s health and well-being. “It’s not a matter of ‘either or,’” says Andria Cog-swell, DVM, who has been a veterinary chiropractor since 1999. “You can use traditional veterinary medicine and then add chiropractic to complement it. For example, a horse with a lameness problem may still need to have his hocks or stifles injected, but will also benefit from chiropractic adjustment. “In the last decade, there has been much more awareness of chiropractic, and it’s much more accepted,” Cogswell continues. “I find that by the time an owner calls me…

s equestrians, we put up with a lot of pain. But what about the type of pain that “hurts so good”? That’s how I would describe foam rolling. Most athletes have a love-hate relationship with it, but the love for foam rolling greatly outweighs the hate, especially for this Fit Rider. What is Foam Rolling? Foam rolling is basically like giving yourself a massage. It offers a myofascial technique for muscles, especially in the lower body. The foam roller is a cylinder that measures 6 inches in diameter and approximately 12 to 36 inches long (longer ones are used for the back). They can range from a soft version best for beginners to a hard, dense foam. Some have ridges or dots (recommended for more experienced users). You can purchase…

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Horse flies. Stable flies. House flies. Deer flies. Toss mosquitoes, gnats and ticks into the mix, and you have the bane of every horse’s (and horse owner’s) existence. As much as we all look forward to the lovely long days of summer, that warm weather inevitably includes insects of all types and sizes. The nuisance factor is huge, from the incessant stomping and swishing to trail rides cut short by swarms of bugs, not to mention training sessions interrupted by the buzz of attacking mosquitoes. But the risk of disease is even more important. From pigeon fever to West Nile Virus, these insects can inflict damage far outweighing the irritation they cause. Many of us turn to the fast and easy solution: fly spray. We douse our horses with our…

The Appaloosa horse is steeped in a rich history, beginning with the Spanish explorers who brought horses to the New World in the 1500s. By the 1700s, the Spanish and their horses had made their way into the West of North America, catching the eyes of many Native American tribes. Originally a sedentary tribe of fisherman, the Nez Perce Indians expanded their lifestyle and, as a result, their wealth, by using horses they acquired from the Spanish to hunt, trade and excel in war. The Nez Perce were particularly drawn to colorful horses and became the first to selectively breed for a specific trait: spots. Settlers in the area would refer to these horses as a “Palouse Horse” in reference to the Palouse River running through the region of Northern…