I saw the first holiday decorations come out a few days before Halloween. I did not burst into a rousing rendition of Here Comes Santa Claus. Christmas is not my holiday.

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The heat has come back to NC.  Both my teachers have already started murmuring about me coming out an hour earlier to ride.  My wonderful half chaps have come off--they are too hot.  Fortunately my new support stockings are tight enough so my lower leg has some idea of where it is.  Soon I will have to start riding in my ice vest, though I am delaying this as long as I can since the ice can trigger muscle spasms if I use it when the weather is still coolish.  We…

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Fatigue is the worst symptom of my Multiple Sclerosis.  Not only does it affect my riding, my fatigue makes it extremely hard to take care of horses.  If it was not for the fatigue the rest of my symptoms would not matter as much, but everytime I ride or handle horses I tire quickly, and as I tire all the rest of my symptoms rapidly get worse.  ANYTHING I do before I ride tires me, getting up, eating, riding in the car to the stable, and then walking around the…

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Finally and at last, the ice on the pond has thawed and birds have returned. It’s our spring break.

My elderly, domestic ducks waddle off to the pond with a very officious gait, business-like in their bathing.  They quack around with wild ducks, exchanging opinions. Mine are easy to tell apart, they swim much lower in the water and act like they own the place.  They return to the yard in late afternoon for dinner- the old gelding shares his with them. It has been a long,…

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Professional Dressage Groom’s Top Ten Grooming Items for Horse Shows

By: Justin Ridgewell

- Over the past six years I have been a professional groom and working student to the elite dressage training facility Oakcrest Farm. I have had…

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Has anyone encountered this issue with their horse? My Cleveland bay gelding on occasion falls asleep while on cross-ties. Can happen while he is being groomed or while he is simply standing. His knees buckle and he collapses as far as the cross-ties will hold him. He's done it a couple of times and caught him once while he was standing in his paddock..... Any thoughts on this and what to do to correct the problem would be appreciated. Hopefully this is not a narcolepsy issue!

Well, after a mammoth 8 hour drive in the new truck we arrived safely and everyone travelled well. Wentworth is in the western district of New South Wales, so a fair way from Inman Valley. My wife ,Kate, has a family connection with the area and she was the first Miss Wentworth showgirl. As this was the 20th anniversary of that milestone in her life we felt duty bound to return for the show ( plus the mother in law said we had to!). I took two Showjumpers and the kids took a pony each , plus…

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Well, my little Havoc is adorable and home. He's scraped a bunch of hair off of his face, lord only knows how. He's happily ensconced in his paddock with his momma, and he goes out in the field with momma and Auntie Cass. He now gets just the tiniest bit of pellets because he can't share his Mom's food, and thinks he's hot stuff with his very own bucket of goodies. And he munches hay with Mom, looking very serious about the whole thing.

He's such a saucy thing. He does NOT…

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Do You Know What’s Hiding in Your Equine Grooming Products?

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Show groomers share secret techniques for making their horses stand out on show day.





Every top show groom has his or her own bag of tricks out of which they pull some secret technique to make their horses stand out. Here's a list of tips to help you shine on show day:



For really white socks or stockings, dust the legs with baby powder, corn starch or French white chalk.



To cut down on static electricity in the mane and tail, use dryer… Continue