How-To

How to Give Your Horse a Spring Checkup

Updated:

April 4, 2014

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Do you ride all winter, no matter how deep the snow gets, or do you hang up your saddle at the first cool breeze in autumn? If the winter season has caused any modifications in your horse’s exercise level or feeding plan, you will need to consider the following points as you bring the horse back into work in the spring.

How to Pep Up the Lazy Horse

Updated:

February 19, 2014

By Lindsay Grice - Riding should not be an aerobic workout like riding an exercise bike. Self-carriage is when a horse maintains his pace, straightness, and frame or outline when you lighten up on your aids. You’re not really riding until you take the training wheels off!

How to Collect Colostrum

Updated:

February 11, 2014

Winter snow may still blanket the ground, but foaling season will be here before we know it. If you have a pregnant mare in your barn, plan ahead to collect and freeze some of her colostrum — that all-important first milk — so you have it on hand if a foal is born without access to this essential liquid.

How to Prepare for Piaffe and Passage

Updated:

January 27, 2014

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With Bonny Bonnello - The apex of the dressage training pyramid, collection is of the utmost importance for a dressage horse when it comes to performing expressive flying changes, half-passes, piaffe, and passage. Collection can be described as the shortening of your horse’s frame – not just his neck, but his complete longitudinal frame – and transferring more weight onto the hindquarters. But this shortening should not affect the forward rhythm.

How to Collect Manure for a Fecal Egg Count

Updated:

September 12, 2013

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When a growing resistance to dewormers is cited as a major issue concerning horse owners today, a fecal exam to see if your parasite control program is working makes sense. Collecting a manure sample is easy, but it must be done properly to ensure accurate test results.