-
Managing Event Horses In The Heat At Shows
Managing Event Horses In The Heat At Shows – written by Karen Nyrop Horses are superior athletes when compared to humans. Horses can sweat twice as much, can loose twice the amount of body water before fatigue, and have twice the metabolic capacity for work. -the increased sweating is enabled by the large reservoir of fluid and electrolytes in the gastrointestinal tract. In high intensity work, the fluids in the gut can be used by the horse to augment blood volume. -the increased work capacity is due to the huge muscle mass of horses when compared to man. -however, the horse has a 50% lower body to skin surface area…
-
Cross Country Designs For The Future – Educational Video
James Atkinson led a panel including course designers Captain Mark Phillips, John Michael Durr, Gretchen Butts, Morgan Rowsell, and Cathy Wieschhoff in a discussion about the responsibilities of the course designer and the many factors that influence course design. Atkinson began by stating that course designers are horsemen first and are constantly thinking about how every part of the course will affect the horse. Captain Phillips said, “Our job is to educate the horses . . . We must not go down the road of making courses more difficult.” The panel educated attendees on how the horse’s vision works and provided examples of how designers use decoration to help the…
-
Leahona Rowland HP Clinic Report & Vlog
Written by Jessica Kerschbaumer Last weekend saw the second of 2 spring clinics put on by our High Performance program. This north clinic took place near Fort Saskatchewan at Rose Bush Equestrian Center. A lucky handful of riders got to have dressage lessons on Friday night. Leahona is great on the flat as she has a knack for really breaking things down to find where the horse and rider need improvement on a basic level, and then picking out great exercises to really work on those things and improve the overall ride. For example, Twiggy and I have always struggled with our canter transitions, and instead of trying to fix…
-
Gary Brewster/Leahona Rowland HP Clinic Report
Written by Becky Staden It’s the first Alberta High Performance Clinic of the year, and contrary to the weather’s opinion, event season is right around the corner. This seasons kicked off with Gary Brewster and Leahona Rowland at Diamond Willow Stables in Calgary. While it was a chilly weekend, the heat was cranked inside for riders and spectators and the facility was impeccable. (Shout out to everyone at DW who organized/hosted us!) Over the course of the weekend there was substantial learning and horses came out of the weekend more confident and correct. Day 1: Jumping with Gary Brewster Relaxation and rhythm was the key for success throughout the weekend.…