Veterinarian Jerry B. Black, DVM, describes the typical conformation of the barrel racing horse as being of the “sprint horse” type, and explains that many competitive barrel racers come from the Quarter Horse race tracks. “Foot size, conformation, and balance are important due to the concussion placed on these athletes,” he continues.

First let’s begin by locating the navicular bone in the horse. Each of your horse’s hooves contains two bones: the distal phalanx (coffin bone or P3) and the distal sesamoid bone (navicular bone). The navicular bone is a small, boat-shaped bone that is bordered by the coffin bone, middle phalanx (P2), and deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT). It is approximately six centimetres in length and two centimetres in width in the average 1200 pound horse.

It sounded like he was being dive-bombed by seaplanes when I spoke with Pedro Cebulka recently. “That’s another one coming over now,” he’d say with a laugh as our conversation about his life and times had to be put on hold again and again. He and his wife, Janet, were staying at a cabin belonging to some friends on a camper-van trip around Vancouver Island in British Columbia just a few days before heading back to their Canadian home on the lake at Invermere, BC. The man known in the equestrian world as “Pedro the Ringmaster” has an insatiable lust for travel, and simply loves being on the road.

Why Are Feeding Guidelines So Important? You may have heard of the National Research Council (NRC) and the Nutrient Requirements of Horses - but what are they and why do they matter?

It’s no secret that the horse transport industry attracts people who think in terms of a fast or easy buck; the rate of start-ups claiming to be “horse haulers” is testament to that. The number of disreputable haulers makes the choice even more difficult. So, what’s a caring horse owner to do when the commercial horse transport landscape is as alien as the far side of the moon?

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner, outstanding horsewoman, entrepreneur, and mother turned great-grandmother, Dianne Tidball takes on everything at a full gallop. Her love of horses was kindled in childhood, when, growing up in 1930’s Shanghai, she took to riding a polo pony. During the Second World War, her Polish mother and British father relocated the family to Canada.

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - Not many horses are fondly remembered for their ability to dump a rider in the dirt. But whether you’re for rodeo or against it, there’s no denying that Grated Coconut, one of the greatest bucking horses of all time, was a superstar.

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - In early September 2001, Karen Brain was one of Canada’s most promising eventing riders, with Olympic aspirations, until she fell from her horse, sustaining injuries that left her an incomplete paraplegic. Just three years later Karen represented Canada in the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, winning Individual and Team Bronze Medals. Her dedication and determination are truly remarkable.

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - The word “Remarkable” nicely sums up Somebeachsomehwere, a whirlwind dynamo who took the Canadian harness racing world by storm in 2007 and 2008, and who now looks to pass on his talent to the next generation of Standardbreds. Trainer and part-owner, Brent MacGrath, of Truro, Nova Scotia, calls him simply “the horse of a lifetime.”