WorkSafeBC

Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Your Students - If you enjoy a leadership role in the horse industry, such as riding instructor, stable manager, or mentor, your role places you in a unique leadership position to demonstrate emotional intelligence and maintenance of a balanced life. You and those around you may face difficulty accepting a lack of control over your lives right now, but you have the power to become a role model. You can be the vehicle for positive change in today’s uncertain world by helping your students, boarders, and employees overcome challenges. Now is the time to take a moment to ask yourself what you want your legacy to be. Who do you want to be? How do you want to handle the curve balls in life? Do you want to live within the fear zone, the learning zone, the growth zone, or the action zone?

Can you get a disease from your horse? Yes, but the good news is that direct horse-to-human disease transmission is rare. Here’s a quick refresher on some bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral diseases that can potentially be transmitted to us directly from the equines in our lives. This list does not include diseases like West Nile virus that can be passed indirectly from horses to humans, for example through an insect bite.

Q: Since it’s cold out and my horse doesn't sweat much when I ride him, should I still give him electrolytes?

In March 2024, Skijor Canada will once again hold Skijordue — a skijoring event billed as “a blistering blend of snow, speed, style, and cheese with gritty cowboys, gnarly free-riders, fur, fringe, and fashionista.”

You’ve just returned from an invigorating winter’s ride, your horse enjoyed prancing through the powdery snow, and with the sun shining you didn’t notice the nip in the air. But now your sweaty horse is steaming and with the sun slipping behind the horizon, winter’s chill is fast returning….After a winter workout, a 10 to 15 minute walk will not only guard against muscle soreness, it is essential to allow the horse’s skin to dry. But one method does not fit all. Your winter cool-out regime will be different depending on a number of factors including whether your horse is clipped, blanketed or “au naturel”; whether he lives inside or outside; and the intensity of your workout.

It’s amazing how that same body that tingled at the opportunity to go for a ride this summer is now locked in a horizontal position on the couch. Inertia seems to have set in, and it may take some serious convincing to get some movement going again. What can you do?

“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.

Horse trailers represent a significant investment, which is measured in dollars and, more importantly, in the comfort and safety of the horses that place their trust in us. A few carefully planned steps taken when preparing our rigs for winter can eliminate spring headaches, extend the useful life of the trailer, and increase the safety margin for our horses.