Most horses aren’t simply pasture pets — they provide some sort of active service to their owners. But many horses are not totally sound, and most horse sports don’t allow lame horses to compete. Lameness generally means a horse is in pain; hence, it’s not acceptable to ride lame horses. So, what can owners and riders do? Gerard Laverty says many horses that are less than 100 percent sound are living comfortable lives as “serviceably sound” partners. “It’s most horses that have saddles on,” he says. Laverty teaches the farrier science program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, British Columbia and has his own farrier business.

Are They Good, Bad, or a Bit of Both? Colt starting competitions are wildly popular with audiences, imbuing a sense of wonder at what trainers can do with previously unhandled three-year-old horses (colts) in just a few hours. They’re judged events, where each trainer is paired with an unbroke horse and has just a few hours to start it under saddle. While the trainers work with their horses, they explain their training methods to the audience. On the third and final day of the competition, the trainers show off their horse’s skills over an obstacle course. The young horses are started by top-notch trainers, the spectators are entertained, and the trainers win prizes and kudos for their skills. So, what’s not to like?

Elite equestrian riders often credit their success to a dedicated team of professionals who work together to optimize both the rider’s and horse’s performance. However, successful teams go beyond the standard mix of farriers, grooms, owners, saddle fitters, sponsors, sports psychologists, and veterinarians. Three prominent Canadian riders—amateur show jumper Stephanie Valdes, 2020 Paralympian dressage rider Winona Hartvikson, and seasoned Olympic three-day eventer Kyle Carter—there’s much more to building a winning team.

Canada’s prairie country always seems barren to me, as though something is missing and the ecosystem is incomplete. Probably because it is. For tens of thousands of years, as many as 30 million bison formed the cornerstone of a complex ecosystem, which dominated the Great Plains. In 1890, bison were perilously close to extinction, with less than 1,000 animals scattered across the continent. Today, largely due to conservation efforts by Parks Canada, bison thrive in parks and private herds, worldwide.

When it comes to purchasing hay this year, John Bland says, “[Horse owners] are between a rock and a hard place. This year, there’s typically nothing to cut.” Bland is a member of the Alberta Forage Information Network and has been producing and selling hay in Alberta for over 40 years. He says this year’s drought covers the majority of North America’s Great Plains region, so is different from other dry years such as 2001, 2009, and 2019 when droughts were more regional.

Many riders dream of being a cowboy, and every cowboy needs to be able to rope a cow. Some riders grow up on ranches and learn to swing a loop from friends or relatives, but other wannabe cowboys aren’t so fortunate. So, how does the average rider with cowboy dreams learn that essential roping skill? And why rope a cow, anyway?

A champion jockey won some of the world’s biggest races. But away from the track, he was racing for his life. Horse lovers enthralled by the moneyed world of Thoroughbred racing will be fascinated by Eurico Rosa da Silva’s account of how he transformed from a poor Brazilian boy into a world-class jockey, earning over US$150 million in prize money and Canada’s annual Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey seven times.

In our busy world, it’s easy for exciting competition results and new equestrian products to get lost in 24/7 news cycles and an internet slathered with social media posts and click-bait advertising. But connecting with supporters, introducing new products, and staying top-of-mind with potential sponsors, are integral to the success of professional riders and equine businesses. What can riders and horse industry businesses do to ensure their fans, owners, and potential clients, stay engaged? Hiring a public relations professional may be the answer.

The horses were tired and hungry, and we needed to find them good feed. We had travelled all day in the alpine, over shale ridges and snow patches, through meadows that were just greening up, and finally over a pass between two rocky promontories. Route finding had gone well, but the last trail — dropping 1000 feet down into a pass — eluded us. We ended up in the bottom of a bowl above 400 foot cliffs, taking the brunt of a nasty wind.