My wife and I recently spent four devastating days in Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford, British Columbia assisting with the rescue and evacuation of animals following the disastrous flooding caused by the “atmospheric river” of torrential rain in mid-November 2021. It’s one thing to watch it on the news — it’s surreal to be on the ground in the middle of it....
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Sitting in the trees, the boys could feel warmth in the air, the breath of the herd rising to their feet. Pounding hooves echoed through the oaks like a warning bell, chasing Bill and his friends into the low branches. Here they sat watching dozens of horses pass below. Through Ontario’s Carolinian woods, the boys often followed snake-like “miikaans,” the little roads created by the horses. Emerging from the trees, the herd would wade across the shallow waters of the river to a small island, cooling themselves while they escaped the bugs. When the drumming of hooves had faded, the boys would drop from the branches like apples in autumn and continue on their way....
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Respiratory disease is one of the most important health concerns facing the horse industry, and accounts for one of the biggest reasons why horses miss training days (Rossdale et al., 1985). Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO), also known as “heaves,” is one of the more troublesome small airway diseases which causes an elevated respiratory rate, chronic coughing and runny nose, and affected horses often find it difficult to exhale....
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In England, the Romans were the first to build canals as irrigation or land drainage waterways. They used mules to haul boats loaded with cargo along those canals and it became a highly effective and economical way to transport goods. A horse towing a boat with a rope from a towpath could pull 50 times as much cargo as it could pull in a wagon on the road....
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Polysaccharide storage myopathy or PSSM is a muscle disease that occurs primarily in horses with Quarter Horse bloodlines such as Quarter Horses, Paint Horses, and Appaloosas. PSSM also occurs in other breeds including Drafts, Draft crossbreeds, and Warmbloods. The primary clinical sign of this disease is muscle cramping or tying-up; however, clinical signs may vary with different breeds and severity....
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Teaching children to ride is extremely rewarding. Their enthusiasm, open hearts, and keen attitude to learn make children good students. Their fondness of ponies is a joy to behold. Most children are quite fearless when it comes to riding and it is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure their safety comes first and their exuberance to ride is carefully channeled. For the nervous rider, much patience is needed and allowing a child to sit on a pony and be led can work wonders for their self-confidence....
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Sadly, ponies get a lot of bad press. Even so, their reputation as being lazy, stubborn, and difficult to train, plus their seemingly inherent displays of poor behaviour, have less to do with their innate nature and more to do with a lack of training....
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Canada’s premier horse industry resource is being delivered to subscribers and is available at newsstands and other industry outlets now. Here’s a preview of what’s in store for our readers:
SPECIAL FEATURES
- How Climate Change is Impacting Our Horse Industry
- Emergency Preparedness
- The Magic of Syndicates
- Colt Starting Competitions
- The Many Hats of a Horse Show Judge
- Burnout in the Horse Industry
-
Ojibwe Spirit Horses — Little Horses of the Big Woods.
HORSE HEALTH
- The Wild West of Canada’s Unregulated Horse Industry
- An Alternative Approach to Colic Operations
- New High Performance Riding Simulator
- Progress in Predicting Catastrophic Racehorse Injuries
- Perils of Using Symmetrical Saddles on Asymmetrical Horses
- EHV-1 Research and Infection Control Tips
- Understanding Stringhalt
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Many people enjoy setting goals to help give focus and guidance to the year ahead. If we map out our desired goals appropriately, make them realistic and attainable, then initiate them with baby steps, there is a greater likelihood we will achieve success. When we write down our goals we are, in essence, making a commitment and a contract with ourselves. I challenge you to improve your overall physical posture and riding position to become the best rider you can be....
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You chose both the mare and the stallion, and you waited almost a year during the gestation of your anxiously anticipated foal. Now the foal is here and approaching the age to wean. The mare has done an admirable job of supporting that young life for the past 15 months during pregnancy and nursing, but now you must take over the task of meeting the nutritional requirements of your growing horse....
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Horses are among the most free-ranging of domestic animals. They evolved as nomadic and migratory animals and have adapted to many variables in terrain and weather. They are built and instinctively driven to move, and their first reaction to anything remotely considered a threat is to flee. Domestication has changed some of these genetic qualities to fit human goals, but not by much....
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Non-horse people naively assume that “whoa” is one of the most important words in a horse person’s vocabulary. In reality, “whoa” has little significance in the horse world. Unfortunately, the word’s lack of directive power is almost comical. It’s as if horse people use it just to see what might happen....
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