Practical Horseman Practical Horseman Extra Volume 18

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…

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. In 2017 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…

To learn to walk lines accurately, use a measuring tape to mark a distance of 12 feet in your arena at home and teach yourself to cover 3 feet with each step so that you walk the measured distance in four steps—that’s one horse stride. When you walk your courses, stand at the landing side of the first jump of each line with your back to it and your heels against its base, then count your steps to the center and base of the next jump, noting the number of strides with each fourth step: “One, two, three, ONE [stride], one, two, three, TWO, one, two, three, THREE.” Subtract one stride to account for takeoff and landing.…

Does your horse ■ have trouble holding his head straight when ridden, ■ have difficulty bending to the left or right, ■ chew on the bit or excessively or turn his head when consuming grain, ■ eat slowly or drop a lot of hay out of his mouth when eating, ■ or act head shy or resist when receiving oral deworming paste? These and many other behaviors could be signs that your horse is in need of dental care from a qualified and experienced professional. As an equine veterinarian who focuses only on dentistry, I have found there is a lot more to dentistry than just grinding off the sharp enamel points. In this article, I will describe the common problems that many horses develop within their mouths and how…

In the world of equine dentistry, the term “erupting” is different than “growing.” By the time a horse is 2–4 years old, his teeth are at the maximum length, but they have a very long root. Throughout the horse’s lifetime, the teeth are constantly being pushed into the horse’s mouth from the root area at the same time they are being worn down. This is why older horses have shorter roots and tend to lose more teeth. Canine teeth are the single, large teeth that are located between the incisors and cheek teeth. Shortening them is not recommended because of their increased risk of fracture and the likelihood of damaging their internal structures. Wolf teeth, if present, are located in front of the first cheek tooth. Some horses do not…

■ The person should always perform a thorough head and oral examination under sedation using an oral speculum to keep the mouth open, utilizing a light and oral mirror (or oral camera) to visualize the fine details within the oral cavity. ■ He or she should prepare a detailed medical record describing any dental abnormalities. ■ Any abnormal teeth or areas of teeth should be addressed (which may require X-rays or extraction of teeth). ■ The mouth should be well balanced (without overaggressive reduction) and sharp enamel points should be rounded off. ■ Incisor teeth require attention as well. ■ Packed feed and tartar should be removed.…