Dressage is far more challenging than you think it is. On September 23, 2022, the Canadian Eventing Development Foundation hosted a one-day dressage symposium with Peter Gray at Alborak Stable, west of Calgary, Alberta.

This complex memoir recounts Johnston’s internal tussles and deep reflection on finding meaning in the latter part of life. After splitting with her long-term partner, leaving her job of 16 years, and losing family relevance, Johnston — a 60-year-old woman from Vancouver Island, BC — goes to Africa on horseback safari. Her writing invites readers to question their limiting beliefs and internal barriers while navigating life’s challenges and opportunities. Nuanced storytelling and Johnston’s willingness to share her raw feelings while hoping for “an opening in the dark forest” of her life drew me in.

By Vivien Gorham

Nimbus Publishing Limited, 2022; Fiction; ISBN: 9781774710654; 296 pages; paperback. 

Reviewed by Sage Millen 

Should you worry about iron overload? Horse owners who are interested in equine nutrition, and actively involved in planning the composition of their horse’s diet, will know that iron intake has become a subject of much discussion. Terms such as “iron overload” are easy to find using a Google search, and the risks associated with “free radicals” and “oxidative stress” are often coupled to the amount of iron in the equine diet. Iron levels in typical equine diets have been targeted as the reason for many equine health issues, including metabolic conditions, reduced immune function, poor hair coat and hoof wall, and developmental disease in growing horses. The internet has several popular websites available for the average horse owner to “educate” themselves about iron in the equine diet. Frequently, these sites also have products offered for sale or have links to sites that sell products that are supposed to help the horse with “iron overload.” So just what is iron overload in the equine diet, and do horse owners really need to worry about it?

It used to be thought that using tools was one of the things that set us apart from the animal kingdom. However, it is now known that some species use tools. Reports include chimps using sticks to reach food, sea otters using stones to break open shellfish, and even elephants deactivating an electric fence by dropping rocks on it.

A new study shows that horses can be more reluctant in new situations if they have multiple riders or have had several owners, or if the horse has been with its current owner for only a short time. The international research team, including scientists from Turku and Helsinki Universities in Finland and the INRAE of Nouzilly in France, studied interactions between horses and humans as well as how horses react in new situations. The findings are published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

Although there is no shortage of year round American show circuits to choose from, here in Canada, during the winter months the show season comes to a halt for most people. The benefit is that it gives us an opportunity to assess our goals and make whatever changes are necessary.

In the July/August 2017 issue of Canadian Horse Journal, we celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary with stories of 20 exceptional horses that have reflected our values and fired our national pride. One of those horses was Midnight.

“Bad” horse behaviour, frequently labelled as resistant, lazy, or even explosive, can be an indicator of pain according to equine orthopaedics expert Dr. Sue Dyson.