Recent Posts

Topic: Eventing / The Next Generation of Eventing

The new things for eventing now seems to be Express Eventing. Here is a link to the websites description of what the event is all about. (http://www.eeicup.com/about.asp)
I am completely against this seeing that in the first competition on Nov. 30 of this year already a horse broke his leg because of the competition. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocBE7OVPD_U)
I mean do we really need to make eventing more dangerous then it already is? In watching this video I noticed how close the xc jumps were and also in the description it talks about the thrill of eventing a little too much for my comfort. It should be banned in my opinion. RIP Cavi!

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / 2010 WEG PRESS RELEASE

I am posting the entire press release from the USA WEG offices so blog readers can learn more about the new procedure and also more about this international disease control issue. Here’s the official news:
After years of research and planning, a much awaited plan that allows piroplasmosis positive horses to compete in the Alltech 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) was announced at November’s FEI General Assembly, by the World Games 2010 Foundation in coordination with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) and the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Games will be held in Lexington, Kentucky at the Kentucky Horse Park September 25 to October 10, 2010.
“Effectively negating the piroplasmosis risk for both competition horses and the domestic horse population is a primary focus for our team, as part of our overall importation and quarantine plan,” said Dr. Kent Allen DVM, 2010 Games Veterinary Services Coordinator. “We want all horses to enter a healthy environment, and to leave the Games from a healthy environment.”
Piroplasmosis is an equine blood-borne disease, causing sickness in horses that have not been exposed to the disease before. In areas of the world where the disease is more common, it can be transmitted by carrier horses that have encountered the disease previously and carry both the organism and antibodies in their blood.
The piroplasmosis organism requires specific tick species to complete its life cycle. For the organism to spread, this species of tick must feed on an infected horse, then drop off and feed on a non-infected horse. The protective control plan consists of multiple factors designed to reduce the prevalence and introduction of ticks to the environment in and around the Kentucky Horse Park.
Over the past several years, the USDA, KDA, and APHIS have conducted extensive studies and testing to better understand the area’s tick population. The studies identified that the tick population drops significantly during the fall season when the Games will be held.
“The health and well-being of the horse is at the core of everything we must do in preparation for these Games,” said World Games Foundation Chairman John Long. “We are fortunate to have a team of state and federal agencies working with veterinary officials and experts to ensure that all horses enter and leave the country in the best environmental circumstances.”
Multiple tick mitigation practices and policy will be implemented to further reduce risk. These practices include natural tick barriers, establishing designated grazing areas treated with tick retardant agents, and separate stabling and frequent inspection of horses upon reentry into the stables.
Horses will be treated with an equine de-wormer that effectively kills attached ticks prior to entry. In addition, piroplasmosis-positive horses will be shipped directly from their federally-mandated quarantine center to special stables within the Kentucky Horse Park, and will also be required to leave the country directly from these stables.
“The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is confident that these procedures will protect all horses at the 2010 Games,” said Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. “We are supportive of the Foundation’s efforts to ensure the health and safety of both competition horses and the domestic horse population.”
These protective strategies will allow the entire park to be utilized by all competition horses during the 2010 Games, while providing the needed assurance that the U.S. domestic horse population is not put at risk.

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / saddle soap anyone?

okay so i am collecting saddle soap cans now but the cans have to be empty. i wanted to know if ne one had empty saddle soap cans thay they wouldnt mind sending to me. i am using them for my barn as bridle racks…its a new way of “recycling” lol….if anyone has ne i will give you my adress thanks :]

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Who Halter shows Arabians?

I would like to just chat with other arabian halter people.
Do any of you halter? What about SHIH?

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Innovative way to repair equine fractures

http://equisearch.com/equiwire%5Fnews/repair%5F…

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / "May the richest rider win"

let me announce the “big shocker”...jessica springsteen won the 2008 maclay finals…
she rides several horses everyday
shows at every show….blah blah blah….what do you expect…she won
“may the richest rider win”

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Zara Phillips horse Tsunami II euthanized after bad fall at a french event

At the four-star three-day event at Pau in the south of France on Saturday, British rider and reigning world champion eventer Zara Phillips took a bad fall with her horse Tsunami II.
According to our friends at Horse and Hound, the horse did not die on course but was transported to a veterinary clinic and later euthanized because a vertebrae inher neck was fractured.
Phillips broke her collarbone in the fall.
Tsunami II was Phillips’ up and coming horse; Pau was their first four-star effort. The mare, owned and bred by Irish rider Melanie Duff, was being groomed as Phillips’ hope for the 2012 Olympics, to be held in London, just down the road from her grandmother’s home at Buckingham Palace.
Phillips is the daughter of Princess Anne, who also competed at high level in eventing…and also rode racehorses! A last-minute injury to Phillips’ horse Toytown meant that she missed her chance to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics.

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Perhaps the ugliest tall boots EVER lol

now available by Equi-fit
I love Equi-fit but these boots/.........thats a different story haha
http://www.equifit.net/products.asp?id=47

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Cair Girth!!!

The all famous Cair, most often seen in saddles(Bates to be specific) has now expanded to girths. The girth distributes even pressure and the pressure is not concentrated as that of the conventional girth. This is good because it helps to prevent posterior pectoral muscle tightness.PPMT can be a cause of a “girthy” horse, a horse who is reluctant to pick up a lead, cause a horse to cross-canter, show reluctance towards lengthenings and the horse may have dificulty with banks, drops etc. The Cair girth will be in stores SOON!! :]

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Really kool but weird looking stirrups

I wonder how well they work for Eventing…

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Really kool but weird looking stirrups

Whoa! Those are pretty interesting..

Topic: Eventing / ESPN Eventing Video

Found this on ESPN…WARNING: GRAPIC FALLS…INCLUDING FRODO
you were warned…
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/video…

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Have you had enough....

Nope, it’s great! Thanks for sharing all this terrific information.

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Really kool but weird looking stirrups

http://www.horse-tec.com.au/default.asp

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Lamanitis Research Breakthrough

Dr. James Belknap, associate professor of equine surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded the annual Equine Veterinary Journal Open Award for 2007 for his work as senior author of a paper published in the Equine Veterinary Journal. The Open Award is funded by the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Trust and presented to the senior author in recognition of a paper considered by the judges to be of outstanding excellence.
The paper, “Lamellar pro-inflammatory cytokine expression patterns in laminitis at the developmental stage and at the onset of lameness innate vs. adaptive immune response,” focused on inflammation of the laminae, which they recognized as present in early forms of laminitis.
“No matter what type of laminitis, inflammation is playing a large role in the developmental process,” Dr. Belknap said. “Researchers used to believe that inflammation was not a major component of the disease, and that the disease was mainly caused by a decrease in blood flow.”
Dr. Belknap said discovering that inflammation plays a key role in the developmental stages of the disease has caused a paradigm shift in the way the disease is researched worldwide. This opens up new opportunities for discovery of novel treatments for this disease, which commonly results in crippling lameness of affected horses.
“We still have a long way to go to answer the big questions,” he explained. “We still must determine which specific pathologic will eventually allow us to formulate an effective therapeutic regimen for this devastating disease.”
Dr. Belknap received his DVM from Colorado State University and has worked at Ohio State for four years as a surgeon; he has a special interest in equine podiatry. He grew up in Kentucky on a farm where he developed an early interest in horses.

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Have you had enough....

are you tired of me posting soooo much news?.....lol…...
cuz i just found a NEW site called horse-tech and now ill b posting even more news! lol…just thought id let u know :]

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / bioflax NEW hoof "suppliment"

30 mg Premium Quality Biotin per Serving—100% More Than Popular 15 mg/serving Brands
Lowest cost per mg—compare to popular 6-ounce products!
Full-Fat Flaxseed and Yeast Culture Base
20% Fat From Milled Flaxseed
Loaded with essential Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Full Recommended Level of Zinc and Copper Amino Acid Complexes from Zinpro® Corporation
Fortified with Methionine, & Lysine plus Vitamin E & B6
Added Calcium for Proper Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio
Easy 2 ounce Feeding (1 scoop)—easily consumed in one feeding
Only $0.65 to $0.75 per day (less than $0.025 per mg)—Delivered!
Less than 1/2 the cost per mg compared to some popular products!

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Courtney King banned...

Courtney King was suspended for one month of showing by the USEF because her horse was found to have NSAID in his system at the olympic games and she is now….......suspended
The US dressage team was then stripped from its 4th place.

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Whats Killing Englands Fell Ponies?!?!

Hi—
That’s interesting. I’m glad they received money. I’m going to google these ponies. I don’t think I’ve seen one!

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Whats Killing Englands Fell Ponies?!?!

Fell ponies look like miniature Freisian horses, but look again: this is a unique breed with a long and glorious history. With long feathers and arched necks, they make the loveliest children’s ponies, and the sight of them wandering their native Cumbrian countryside is the stuff that wild horse legends are made of.
But their numbers have dropped since World War II, and the gene pool has shrunken to a bottlenecked puddle. Can this breed be saved? The Horse Trust, a UK charity, has given a donation of more than US$200,000 to the Animal Health Trust, a research center known for its work on strangles and orthopedic problems in horses, and the University of Liverpool. The charity has charged them with the task of finding out how to stop Fells Pony Syndrome (FPS).
FPS is a severe immune system disorder that results in the death of some of the newborn foals, further shrinking the breeding stock available to help the breed survive. The breed is listed as “at risk” by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
Foals affected with FPS appear normal at birth but within a few weeks begin to lose condition and suffer diarrhea, coughing and weight loss. Severe anemia and immune dysfunction follows, leading to wasting and finally death. The disease is always fatal.
Studbook analysis and knowledge of affected foals strongly suggests that this is an inherited disease caused by an autosomal recessive genetic mutation. The problem may trace to a single stallion who was a dominant force in the breed. A DNA-based test for this mutation would enable carriers of FPS to be identified and the conception of affected foals prevented.
As well as identifying carriers in the Fell pony population, the project will be used to identify any carriers in other breeds which have been involved in the extensive outbreeding of Fell ponies over the years.
“Breeders are supportive of our attempt to develop a diagnostic test which will help to prevent carrier-carrier matings, one in four of which results in an affected foal,” says project leader Dr June Swinburne, senior post-doctoral equine molecular geneticist at the Animal Health Trust Centre for Preventive Medicine. “Foals affected by the condition inherit an incurable genetic defect which results in severe wasting and a profound anaemia together with multiple infections. Veterinary intervention is in vain and once the condition is diagnosed foals are often euthanized. The gradual but relentless decline in these foals leaves both veterinary surgeons and breeders powerless.”
According to the Horse Trust, FPS at the moment is restricted to the Fell pony population but could spread to other breeds at any time. Indeed it may be possible that carriers of the condition already exist in other breeds which have interbred with the Fell pony over many years.
Another rare breed, the Dales pony, and other native British breeds will be randomly tested to detect any further penetration of the defect into the equine population.

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / A really adorable horse commercial!

That’s really cute =)

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / A really adorable horse commercial!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPCDIwxAS_8

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / StateLine Tack NOW carrying the new generation of Bates saddles.

http://www.statelinetack.com

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Penn National Horse Show Set for...

Thanks very much for this, BM! We’ll be sure to feature this as an article during the next two months,

Topic: General Equestrian Discussion / Penn National Horse Show Set for...

http://equisearch.com/equiwire%5Fnews/pennnatio…