Tabla de contenidos para November 2018 en Practical Horseman

I’ve owned my horse, 23-year-old Merlot, for 16 years. We’ve spent the last 10 in the same boarding facility. During that time, he has demonstrated that he really dislikes one of the two grooming stalls. Interestingly, the stall he doesn’t like is closed in on three sides and the one he is much more comfortable in has a door in the back of it. The door isn’t often used, but when people do come through it and Merlot is there, he is totally fine with it. It seems to go against instinct for him to be happier with someone coming up from behind as opposed to being in what I think of as a “safe” enclosed area. Similarly, he also has never really liked the closed-in wash stall. A Thoroughbred,…

Of the 44 riders who set out to conquer or at least survive the 2018 Mongol Derby, 33 completed the race with an official placing, including winners Adrian Corboy and Annabel Neasham, who completed the race together on Day 7. Retirees suffered from a wide variety of injuries from falls—broken ribs, broken collarbone, dislocated shoulder, torn ankle ligaments. (Riders have also been knocked out of races from dehydration, hypothermia, exhaustion, illness, chafing and a whole other slew of ailments.) At the end of Days 1 and 2, my whole body was so sore, I could hardly walk when I got off my horses. But by Day 3, the muscle soreness dissipated as joint pain (knees and ankles) and chafing set in. From the outset, I taped both my ankles, as…

You remember every horse that’s been part of your life. But would those horses still remember you? “I am convinced that horses are every bit as smart as dogs, which do recognize people from the past,” Sue McDonnell, PhD, says. “Horses also make associations, good and bad, with people and they can read honest expressions of emotions.” Leanne Proops, PhD, has done research that backs up that belief. In her study, horses were shown photos of an unknown person wearing an expression of either anger or happiness. Hours later, they met the model in person, now wearing a neutral expression. Their reactions (as indicated by behavior and heart rate) depended on the expression the model had shown in the photo: They were warier if they’d seen the angry photo and…

O’Neill Captures First Qualifier in Vancouver With the only clear round of the competition, U.S. rider Uma O’Neill and Clockwise of Greenhill Z took the top prize at the Aug. 26 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Vancouver in Langley, British Columbia. “I am ecstatic,” said O’Neill of her first victory in a World Cup qualifier. “I just went out and gave it everything I could today and asked a little bit extra of myself and my horse, and it really paid off!” Ireland’s Conor Swail finished the competition second in the field of 29 competitors with Rubens LS la Silla. 4 Competitions Scheduled For this Month Nov. 3/7 p.m. Eastern Time—Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington, Kentucky; part of the National Horse Show, Oct. 27–Nov. 4; www.nhs.org Nov. 10/3 p.m.…

Fun with Fergus He’s at it again: Fergus, the world’s most popular cartoon horse, is embarking on an epic adventure inspired by a classic holiday poem in Fergus and The Night Before Christmas, by Jean Abernathy. Expect colorful illustrations and a laugh on every page as Fergus and his motley group of equine teammates bravely take to the skies in this delightful book. Can Santa handle this awkward team and deliver the perfect gift on the most magical night of the year? Hardcover, 80 pages; $15.95; www.EquineNetworkStore.com. Plush Pony The perfect holiday gift, an award-winning Piccoli Horse makes a great companion for anyone in need of a huggable buddy. Each classic 14-inch stuffed horse comes with a saddle tag code that can be entered on the Piccoli Horses website to…

Many American eventers readily admit that stadium jumping is their weakest phase. Yet today’s medal winners—from countries like France, Germany and Great Britain—all look like they could walk into a jumper ring and not appear out of place. Some top U.S. eventers, such as 2018 World Equestrian Games competitors Lauren Kieffer and Will Coleman, are beautiful show jumpers, but as a whole, our skills are far behind those of other countries. It’s time we Americans take a look in the mirror and set the bar higher for ourselves. One factor helping us to do this is the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s eventing show-jumping course advisor, Richard Jeffery. He’s pushing course designers around the country to raise their standards. Now as good as any in the world, our courses at all levels…

CHECK OUT top eventers during the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event, Oct. 31–Nov. 4, in Temecula, CA. Bring the whole family to enjoy the competition in wine country as well as food, music and local vendors; www.galwaydowns.com. WATCH young riders compete in the ASPCA Maclay Finals, Nov. 5, in Lexington, KY. The equitation championship is a highlight of the National Horse Show, which features the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington on Nov. 3; www.nhs.org. EXPLORE clinics, demonstrations, an extensive trade fair and shopping opportunities at Equine Affaire, Nov. 8–11, in West Springfield, MA. Tik Maynard, Jan Ebeling, Lynn Symansky and Emma Ford are among the featured clinicians; www.equineaffaire.com. SEE top competitors shine in adult amateur and open divisions from Training Level through Grand Prix at the U.S. Dressage Finals,…

Sandy Porter-Bean and her daughter Audrey have a reputation for taking on hard-luck cases. So when Sandy got a call late in 2012 that a 9-year-old chestnut Thoroughbred mare was going to be euthanized because her owners had lost their patience with the sensitive creature, she was behind the wheel almost before she had hung up the phone. “They told me to just get her the bleep off the property,” says Sandy. Once the mare arrived at Sandy’s Pendragon Equestrian Center in Cornville, Maine, her students looked up the mare’s tattoo. They found that Lycius Lydia (Lycius x Whisper Lightly) seemed to have been unraced and had had nearly a year off from being ridden. She could be bossy with other horses. When she was in heat, she was reluctant…

International eventer Sara Kozumplik Murphy rode in her first Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event at age 20 on an off-the-track Thoroughbred named As You Like It. In 2009, she was named to the U.S. Eventing Team short list. Last year, she and Rubens D’ysieux finished second in the Bromont CCI*** and won both the $15,000 Ocala Horse Properties Eventing Prix, hosted by Southern Cross Equestrian, in Florida, and the inaugural $50,000 Arena Eventing class at the Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania. A graduate “A” Pony Clubber and United States Eventing Association-certified instructor, Sara is a popular coach and clinician. She coached the Venezuelan event team at the 2013 Bolivarian Games in Lima, Peru, and the 2014 Central American Games in Veracruz, Mexico. Sara’s husband, Brian Murphy, is an Irish show…

The Mongol Derby is a complicated event to organize and run, to say the least. Hats off to the brave crew members who deal with any number of problems and continue to make the competition a resounding success year after year. Led by Mongol Derby Chief Katy Willings and Head of Mongolian Operations Shatra Pgb, they select the 1,400 horses for the race, work alongside the 200 Mongolian herders and include essential personnel, such as drivers, translators, veterinarians and the four-member medical team. By the time the winner crosses the finish line, about half of the riders will have just reached the midway point. The pack is so spread out along the route that running the derby becomes a juggling act to make sure enough crew members are at each…

When former stablemates are reunited after a long time apart, they may nicker greetings or, just as likely, seem completely indifferent to each other. Do they recognize each other? “That’s hard to establish scientifically. How do you determine recognition? But I have no doubt that they do,” Sue McDonnell, PhD, says. “The ponies we study clearly know their families within the herd. If a pony escapes, it will run straight back to its family when it is returned, even when the herd has moved to a different field.” Like wild horses, these ponies live together for years and form long-lasting relationships. Most sport horses lead a different life—shipped to different barns and competitions, stalled and perhaps turned out alone, with a rotating cast of stablemates. Their “bands” are constantly changing.…