Table of contents for Fall 2019 in Practical Horseman

On PracticalHorsemanMag.com Fundraising Efforts for Irish Olympian Kevin Babington One of the training articles featured in this issue is with Irish show jumper Kevin Babington (page 58). Shortly before we went to press, Kevin suffered a spinal-cord injury in a catastrophic fall while competing his grand prix mount Shorapur at the Hampton Classic in Bridgehampton, New York. Kevin’s family is in the process of setting up a trust which will be accepting donations in the coming weeks. In the meantime, there are several online fundraising options available for those wishing to contribute, including a Facebook fundraiser and a GoFundMe campaign. In addition, the equestrian community has rallied around Kevin and his family and there are several benefit horse shows in the works, as well as equestrian businesses selling specific products…

You turn the corner and approach the jump. Suddenly your horse gains speed and grabs the bit as he makes a bid for the fence. You try to slow him by pulling back on the reins and sitting deep, but he ignores your aids and continues to increase his momentum. You can’t see a distance, and on the takeoff, your horse either launches himself at the fence from a long distance, jumping it very flat, or at the last second, fits in a small stride and fumbles over it. You’re riding a rusher. At best you feel disorganized, and at worst you have zero control and sometimes are even afraid. You are losing confidence and worry your horse’s confidence is also at risk. The most common reason a horse rushes…

Allison (Ali) Brock grew up in Hawaii, where she was very active in Pony Club, jumped, rode dressage, exercised polo ponies and rode Western. After high school, she moved to the mainland to work with several well-known dressage trainers, including Olympian Sue Blinks. When Sue moved to the West Coast in 2004, Ali took over the head trainer position at Fritz and Claudine Kundrun’s DeerMeadow Farm in Keswick, Virginia. She developed the Kundruns’ nowretired Hanoverian stallion Rosevelt from a 6-year-old to a team bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics. While bringing along her next stars, she continues to be an active clinician and official ambassador for Brooke USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys around the world.…

Sometimes the distinction between a blemish and an unsoundness isn’t clear cut. Here are three examples when the designation depends on details. Scars. These are considered blemishes if they involve only the skin or subcutaneous tissue just under the skin, or if the scar moves freely, like the surrounding skin, so that it doesn’t interfere with the horse’s movement. If the scar causes sensitivity, pain or lameness, or is located in a place where it may interfere with the horse’s rideability or comfort under saddle, it would be considered an unsoundness. Curbs. These appear as a swelling or thickening of a ligament or tendon on the top and rear of the hind cannon, almost at the back of the hock. They’re easiest to see from the side. Curbs can be…

What’s in a name? Plenty, when you’re a gray off-the-track Thoroughbred called “Cannot Stop.” Once a lackluster racehorse who’d hit a dead end, Cannot Stop transitioned successfully to a hunter/jumper prospect with help from Second Chance Thoroughbreds, Inc. in Spencer, New York, and a team of dedicated horsewomen. Like many Thoroughbreds, the New York-bred son of Alphabet Soup was a rank-and-file claimer, running at the lowest levels of the sport for his entire 24-start career. He ended up in Puerto Rico, where, amazingly, he survived Hurricane Maria in 2017. Then, after running one last race, Cannot Stop was retired through Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare. This “unstoppable” gelding’s story could have ended there. But, living up to his name in terms of travel if not racing, Cannot Stop found his way back…

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The nice thing about my job is that I get to travel; the bad thing, of course, is that I have to travel. My clinics take place around the country, which means I get to see a lot of different people in a lot of different places. It also means I spend a lot of time either in airports or driving down interstates. People are feeling better about themselves because of the growth in the stock market, which has created a rise in consumer confidence; everywhere I go, it is crowded, especially airports and highways. I was in Los Angeles earlier this summer and the entire community was in cars, going somewhere. Crazy. People with rising prosperity are good for the clinic business, and I have been taking advantage of…

Want more from Nicholas Fyffe? In his new video series “Cross-Training for Horse and Rider,” Nicholas shares how his previous experience as a gymnast has influenced his approach to dressage, explains the benefits of cross-training and demonstrates some exercises for you and your horse. Nicholas invites his student and her horse to join him through the cavalletti exercise, offering viewers a look at how two very different horses can utilize the same exercise. Enjoy a sneak peek of this series or watch the entire training video, plus more than 1,700 others, by taking advantage of a free trial membership at DressageTodayOnline.com/30free.…

Shortly before we went to press, Kevin Babington suffered a serious spinal-cord injury from a fall while competing his grand prix partner Shorapur, who was not injured. For updates on Kevin’s condition, visit PracticalHorsemanMag.com and for more about fundraising efforts for the Babingtons, turn to On the Web (page 18). Kevin began riding in his native Ireland at age 11. He foxhunted and participated in Pony Club before training with Irish show-jumping veteran Iris Kellett and earning his British Horse Society instructor accreditation. Kevin then moved to the United States, where he worked for Frank and Mary Chapot for several years. In 2000, one of Kevin’s students, amateur jumper Saly Glassman, gave him the opportunity to ride the phenomenal Irish Sport Horse gelding Carling King. The pair went on to represent…

Terms like rhythm, tempo, regularity, cadence and suspension come up frequently in dressage tests. Here’s how the U.S. Dressage Federation defines them: RHYTHM: The recurring characteristic sequence and timing of footfalls and phases of a gait. For purposes of dressage, the only correct rhythms are those of the pure walk, trot, canter, rein back and piaffe. TEMPO: The rate of repetition of the strides as may be measured by a metronome. Tempo is measured by counting the number of times per minute that one of the hooves touches down (indicating completion of one full stride). Alternatively, at walk and trot, both emphasized beats of the stride may be counted. REGULARITY: The purity of the gait. At walk and trot, denotes symmetry in terms of evenness of the length of the…

“It is interesting to know that some conformation abnormalities may lead to the development of certain blemishes,” says Mark Holman, DVM, owner of Boston Equine Associates in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. For instance, a horse who turns out from the fetlocks may move narrowly in front with the legs swinging inward. This horse is at higher risk of hitting his own inner fetlock with the opposing hoof, which may lead to thickening of the skin and scarring on the inside surface of the fetlocks, he explains. Similarly, Dr. Holman adds, a horse with offset knees—where the cannon bone is set more to the outside of the knee rather than under the center—or with legs that deviate outward below the knee may be more prone to developing splints. This is due to the…

The main purpose of braiding is to enhance the horse’s appearance. A good braid job—neat, tidy and uniform—shows the judge that you are a winner. A bad one—loose, messy and unkempt—is distracting and gives the impression that you don’t care about your presentation. Braiding is all about the economy of motion and getting into a rhythm. To do a good braid job takes practice, but it doesn’t have to take so long that you’re tired and frustrated by the end of it. Instead, it’s about having a sensible and effective system that doesn’t wear you out. Eventually, your muscle memory will take over and braiding will become instinctual. In this article, I’ll explain not only how to make beautiful mane and forelock braids for the hunter ring but how to…

One aspect I love about my job is seeing training correlations among different disciplines. As Olympic eventing legend Jim Wofford shares in his column (page 28), “when it comes to really good riding, the disciplines overlap more than they differ.” In this issue, three trainers demonstrate such a correlation. Dressage Olympian Ali Brock explains that horses need to be equally balanced on both sides to maintain their rhythm as they advance (page 66). A horse can have rhythm issues if he “cheats” during work by stepping his outside hind leg to the outside of the track he’s following. One fix Ali suggests is using shoulder-in to help keep his hind legs, especially a weaker hind leg, under his body. Similarly, Irish Olympic show jumper Kevin Babington (photo below) describes that…

For a successful equitation, hunter or jumper round, your aids need to effectively communicate with your horse. And he must respond to those aids—shortening his stride for a steady line or lengthening it for a forward line and moving laterally for turns and to navigate bending lines. How well he responds determines his rideability—forwardness, straightness, balance and rhythm. And the more rideable he is, the smoother—and in jumpers, the faster and cleaner—your round will be. To help you and your horse develop and improve these skills, I’m going to share one of my favorite exercises. The Exercise This exercise is basically a figure eight with jumps. It’s a course of four lines—two bending 3-stride “fans” at the short ends of the arena and two 3- or 4-stride lines across the…

The terms “rhythm” and “tempo” describe two totally different things, yet they’re commonly confused. In dressage, it’s very important to understand how they differ, learn how to evaluate your own horse’s rhythm and tempo and correct them when necessary. Rhythm describes the footfalls, or beats, of a gait. The walk is four beats, the trot is two, canter is three and gallop is four. The rein back is also a two-beat gait: It’s just trotting backward, but more slowly and without the moment of suspension between beats. Whenever a horse’s gait does not clearly have the correct number of beats, it’s considered impure and is heavily penalized. Rhythm is one of the primary factors that judges consider when scoring the regularity of the gaits in the collective marks. Tempo is…

A hallmark of blemishes is that they don’t directly cause unsoundness. However, they may sometimes indirectly cause rideability issues. For instance, the location of a blemish could impinge on other structures, such as bones or soft tissue, and lead to performance problems related to those other structures. A splint could cause trouble if its location interferes with the movement of the carpal (knee) joint in the front legs or if it’s hit by the opposing hoof, says Julie Winkel, a nationally renowned judge, trainer, and CEO of Maplewood Stables in Pleasant Valley, Nevada. In fact, Mark Holman, DVM, owner of Boston Equine Associates in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, recalls a case where a horse had splints that caused no trouble for years but then suddenly seemed to be causing lameness. A diagnostic…

Fire isn’t the only danger that requires trained first responders. Here is a checklist that also can help in preparing for floods, natural disasters or other emergencies: ❏ Devise a plan to handle a variety of situations, including which members of family or staff will do what. Rehearse it with them periodically (and with boarders, if you have them) and keep a written copy.❏ Hold regular fire drills so everyone is up to speed if there is a real emergency.❏ Be in touch with fire departments, police and first responders in your area to familiarize them with the layout of your farm and livestock.❏ Identify water sources, such as a pool or pond, that can be used by fire fighters.❏ Have working fire extinguishers in the barn, and make sure…

• YARN: It’s important to use 100 percent acrylic yarn because it won’t snap. Thicker natural fibers like wool will separate and break more easily, so stay away from those. I typically use Trait Tex® acrylic yarn. I get it from former braider Kelly Ward of All Dressed Up. You can email her at alldressedupstyle@gmail.com. Don’t be afraid to use color, but keep in mind using color draws attention to the mane and can highlight mistakes. If you aren’t confident about your braid job just yet, use a color that closely matches the color of your horse’s mane.• COMB: You don’t need anything fancy. A 7-inch plastic comb for $2 to $3 that does not have sharp teeth works well. I like getting my combs from Sally’s Beauty Supply because…

The intramuscular bisphosphonate injection for control of clinical signs associated with Navicular Syndrome in horses 4 years of age and older Learn more online www.dechra-us.com www.osphos.com As with all drugs, side effects may occur. In field studies and post-approval experience the most common side effects reported were signs of discomfort, nervousness, and colic. Other signs reported were: renal insufficiency/failure, anorexia, lethargy, hypercalcemia, behavioral disorders, hyperkalemia, hyperactivity, recumbency, hyperthermia, injection site reactions, muscle tremor, urticaria, hyperglycemia, and fracture. In some cases, death has been reported as an outcome of these adverse events. The safe use of OSPHOS has not been evaluated in horses less than 4 years of age or breeding horses. OSPHOS should not be used in pregnant or lactating mares, or mares intended for breeding. NSAIDs should not be…

Imagine a person on skis in a slalom race. The skier keeps her torso as quiet as possible while her legs move from side to side. Even if a horse is not as speedy as a skier in a race, this picture helps you understand that the rider does not need to move her whole body from side to side. Instead, she must sit centered and allow the horse to shift weight underneath her. Susanne von Dietze is a leader in equestrian biomechanics. A physiotherapist, licensed Trainer A instructor and judge for dressage and show jumping, she gives lectures and seminars throughout the world, including at the prestigious German Riding Academy in Warendorf. She is a native of Germany and now lives with her husband and three children in Israel, where…