Climate change is substantially impacting Canadian horses, horse properties, and their owners. Almost 90 percent of Canadians in recent surveys say they’ve already seen climate change effects in their communities. Horses are increasingly affected by respiratory diseases from wildfire smoke and dust; skin disease and damaged hooves from variable weather; and unforeseen parasites and diseases. Horse owners are struggling to purchase hay, treat unexpected health issues, and adapt to weather-related riding limitations. Meanwhile, property owners are repairing damage from sudden storms, drought, excess water, and wind. So, it’s worth understanding how climate change will affect horses and properties into the future, and what you can do to prepare for these changes.

Many youth dream of becoming horse industry professionals — training horses, coaching riders, managing a stable or riding professionally at top level. Significant barriers stymie those attempting to pursue success, regardless of their talent and enthusiasm. There’s no streamlined path to follow that develops the needed horsemanship, business knowledge, training, and coaching skills required of professional riders, barn managers, and coaches.

The cowboy was not born in a vacuum; he was molded by the fusion of Spanish, Mexican, Native American, and Anglo cultures, as Daniel Pruitt explains in his glossy, photo-rich book Cowboy: American Icon. A Short History of Wild West Culture.

Horse welfare is complex, partly due to the myriad uses, values, and husbandry arrangements for horses. They’re backyard pets, ridden and driven in competition, raced, raised for meat, and used for therapy, recreation, and rodeo. Horses are regularly transported, kept in rural and urban areas, stalls, pens, fields, and pastures, plus managed according to their use. Many horses live on individual properties and their welfare relies on individual owners, making poor welfare difficult to identify.

When Canada becomes a winter wonderland shrouded with snow, many riders hang up their boots or disappear into indoor arenas. For teamsters in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec, winter means hitching their horses to wagons, cutters, and bobsleighs to drive the trails at fundraising rallies.

“There’s huge demand in Canada’s horse industry right now for grooms and caretakers,” says Gayle Ecker, Director of Equine Guelph at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

John Swales is the first Canadian rider to win over $1 million in lifetime earnings in National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) classes and join the prestigious NRCHA Million Dollar Club. Swales earnings surpassed $1 million during the Alberta Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity, Derby, & Cow Horse Show in Claresholm, Alberta at the end of August 2023. He’s only the 27th rider to achieve the feat.

Helping others live their horse-filled dreams - “I do everything I can to make sure that anybody that has a dream or a wish to be around horses gets that opportunity,” — Brian Tropea.

In 2023, 29 percent of surveyed Americans said they got their news from Facebook; 24 percent got their news from YouTube. However, social media platforms are rife with fake news. Consumers know that’s the case but it’s often difficult to discern misinformation from truthful content. So what to do?