Table of contents for Dressage Today Extra Volume 18 in Practical Horseman

High spirits dominated the 2018 West Coast Dressage Convention featuring Dutch superstars Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud. Champagne corks popped at elegant tables in the tented VIP area as fans and friends from far and wide gathered to learn, lunch and shop at Southern California’s equestrian slice of heaven, El Campeon Farms. It was the horses, however, who brought the highest spirits to the April weekend. From Amelie Kovac’s 5-year-old Ivar to Sabine Schut-Kery’s Grand Prix mount Sanceo, the horses provided Gal and Minderhoud with ample opportunity to explain their tactics for putting equine energy to the best possible use. Minderhoud began each morning working with riders on young horses while Gal spent the afternoons with those on more experienced mounts. Even with the horses’ wide ranges of experience…

Dressage horses are frequently just hitting their prime at ages when in other disciplines the competitive edge is beginning to fade. It is not uncommon now to see dressage horses performing well into their 20s and even 30s. There have been many recent surveys/studies of performance and nutrition in aging horses that I will briefly summarize here. Just because a horse is over 18 or 20 years old does not necessarily mean he needs changes in his feeding. As long as he is maintaining good body condition, energy and overall health, don’t mess with success just because his chronological age is advancing. There is no magic age at which all horses need nutritional help. If the old campaigner begins to falter, however, with weight loss, chronic infections, long hair coat…