It presents step by-step training programs and showing advice from recognized experts in hunters, jumpers, equitation, dressage, and eventing, along with money- and time-saving ideas on health care and stable management.
This weekend I found myself studying my horse’s hooves. I kneeled so I was eye level with them—from a safe distance—to look at the slope of the front of the pastern and hoof. Then, I compared the height of the heels from behind (both on each individual hoof and comparing one hoof with another). I also checked that his heels were trimmed to the base of the frog so that all of the structures in the heel share weight-bearing. And finally, I examined the bottom of the hoof to find the widest part and how the foot was proportioned. I did this after reading an article we have in this issue, “Is Your Sporthorse Shod Properly for the Job?” by Stephen O’Grady, DVM, MRCVS (page 40). In the article, Dr.…
Hover over the code with a smartphone camera for video comments. 1 Overall: This is a nice photo of a good jumping horse with a very capable rider. My main criticism is that her stirrups are too short, causing her seat to go far back in the saddle. Then she has to throw her seat high out of the saddle to stay with the horse. Leg: I like the stirrup position on her foot. It’s on the ball of her foot, and the outside bar of the stirrup is farther forward than the inside bar. Her stirrups look a little too short because her knee is up high on the flap of the saddle. This is causing her seat to be too far back and out of the saddle. She’s slightly…
This is Alice Sweeting and her horse Billy. Here is what Alice had to say: “Billy and I have been a partnership for nearly two years. I purchased him as a green 5-year-old, who was gelded and started late. Billy had a suspensory injury in 2023, so my focus lately has been trying to get more throughness and hind-limb engagement during our rides.” This photo showcases the partnership between Alice and Billy. Alice is sitting with a light, soft seat, and she is fully focused on her horse. Billy appears to go willingly forward and has one ear listening to his rider. Improving the Horse’s Roundness Looking closer, I can see some sand flying up between Billy’s hind legs. This can easily happen when the horse is not lifting the…
In addition to helping the U.S. secure victory in the team event at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, Paralympic equestrian Fiona Howard won two individual gold medals with her mount Diamond Dunes and had a personal-best score of 80% in the team competition. This was no small feat, considering the 25-year-old has almost no control of her legs. Howard was an accomplished equestrian in her youth, but a series of complicated heart and digestive problems as well as a degenerative muscle disease kept her out of the saddle and in the hospital for most of her teens. During the four years she spent completing her psychology degree at Northeastern University, Howard spent 800 days in the hospital, and on more than one occasion, her doctors told her she might not…
Many people overlook the sequence of a horse’s gaits and their importance. When I teach clinics, riders almost always want to work on more advanced movements like pirouettes, half-passes and changes. But problems with more complicated movements are often due to a lack of understanding of the basics. Most likely the rider and horse haven’t been in unison, but it didn’t become apparent until the rider asked for a more refined response from the horse. If your horse doesn’t respond to your aids, it’s usually not because he doesn’t feel like it; it’s because you asked him to make an adjustment during the phase of the stride when he cannot do so. This is why the timing of the aids is so crucial. You must know at what point during…
Like all top athletes, health and wellness must be prioritized with horses. To find a horse capable of competing at the top levels of eventing is like finding a needle in a haystack—and once you find one, you’d better take excellent care of that horse, as they don’t come around often. For the three horses we’re spotlighting in this issue, we talked to some of the top riders in the sport as well as a rising protégé about their wellness and care philosophies. One theme remained constant across the board: The horses must be happy and feel good physically to perform their jobs well. With advanced technology, supportive nutrition and comprehensive fitness regimens—as well as plenty of recovery time—these top event horses have more complete wellness programs than some human…
