In its inaugural season the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Series has been a major focus for the U.S. and Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland. Thursday's competition marked the second and final Nations Cup competition for the North America, Central America and Caribbean League and a strong finish by the designated "point team" the Stars Team was vital to winning the League and Final's qualification. Additionally, to demonstrate the strength and depth of the U.S. program the second American squad, the Stripes Team, was also looking for a podium finish.

McLain Ward and Rothchild

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The U.S. did just as they had set out to do as the Stripes Team of Brianne Goutal, Katie Dinan, Candice King and McLain Ward cruised to a second place finish. While the Stars Team of Kent Farrington, Reed Kessler, Charlie Jayne and Christine McCrea earned a fourth place finish and in doing so clinched the top spot in the League and Final's qualification for the U.S.

"This really fit into our plan. It would have been nice to win but we had two good finishes," said Ridland. "We've now qualified for the Finals and won the League to boot."

Ridland also believes the strategy of having two equally powered teams helped the U.S. on Thursday and is an example of things to come.

"We did it a little differently than most by having two equal teams but I think it really worked out today. Each team had a mix of veterans and young riders or young horses with more experienced riders. I believe the future looks really good."

Course Design Leopoldo Palacios built a demanding 12 obstacle track that tested not only rider's ability to leave the rails in place but also ride efficiently to finish within the time allowed. It was made all the more difficult in the second round as high winds and pouring rain picked up.

Goutal (New York, N.Y.) and Remarkable Farms LP's Nice de Prissey were the pathfinders for the Stripes Team, collecting four faults after rolling the pole at fence three in the first round. In round two the 12-year-old Selle Francais stallion produced another four fault trip after dislodging the rail at the bicycle jump at eight.

Next up for the Stripes was Dinan (Wellington, Fla.) and Grant Road Partners LLC's 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding Nougat Du Vallet. In round one the pair jumped an immaculate clear over Palacios' challenging track. They returned later in the afternoon to repeat their faultless effort to be one four combinations to jump double clear.

"I was really pleased, Nougat felt great, I knew when we walked the course it was do-able but you still have to do it. There's always more pressure when you're on a team and it was only my second Nations Cup and I just wanted to rise to the occasion, stay calm and poised. I knew after the first round I was only halfway done and needed to make some adjustments for the second round. Which I was happy I was able to do. I'm just so happy and my horse jumped great," said Dinan of her double clear effort on Thursday.

Jumping in the third spot, King (Wellington, Fla.) and Campbell VDL produced a 13 fault trip in round one after lowering the heights of three obstacles and collecting a single time fault. In their return effort the pair demonstrated improvement with Stateside Farm's LLC's nine-year-old Holsteiner stallion just faulting at two fences and again collecting a time fault for a second round score of nine.

Rounding out the Stripes Team effort was Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and Sagamore Farm's 12-year-old Warmblood gelding Rothchild. The veteran pair produced a tidy and efficient effort as a clear never looked in doubt in the first round. Jumping in a deluge of rain in round two, the pair repeated their clear effort to join Dinan and Irish riders Conor Swail and Cameron Hanley on the double clear list.

The Stripes Team finished on a two round total of nine faults.

Leading off the Stars Team was 2011 Pan American Games Team Gold medalist Farrington (Wellington, FLa.) and Robin Parsky's Blue Angel. In round one the 11-year-old Anglo-European mare lowered the heights of two fences for an eight fault effort. The pair returned with an improved trip in round two, just collecting four faults for a foot in thewater at fence four.

Kessler (Lexington, Ky.) and Mika jumped in the second spot for the Stars producing a near foot perfect trip in the first round that was just marred by a mistake at the plank at fence five resulting in four faults. The 2012 Olympic Games veteran and her own 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding returned in round two producing their second four fault of the day after also putting a foot in the water at four.

Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) and Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher's 10-year-old Zangerscheide stallion Chill R Z produced a four fault effort in the first round after knocking a block off the top of the wall at fence 10. In round two they again jumped a four fault trip, just rolling the front rail of the oxer at fence nine.

Riding in the anchor position for the Stars Team was McCrea (East Windsor, Conn.) with Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables' Zerly. The pair jumped a stylish first round but after losing a shoe early in the course the nine-year-old KWPN mare rolled the poles at the final two efforts coming out of the triple at seven for eight faults. In round two the 2011 Pan American Games Team and Individual Gold medalist used all of her experience as she guided Zerly to an impressive fault free trip.

The Stars Team finished on an overall total of 24 faults.

The Stars Team's fourth place finish resulting in 75 points paired with the 100 points the U.S. earned with a win at the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm at CSIO Wellington meant they finished with a total of 175 points to top the North American, Central America and Caribbean League. The U.S. and Canada (172 points) have now qualified for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Season Series Final to be held in Barcelona, Spain September 26-29.

The team from Ireland finished on a score of four to earn victory in the $100,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup, with the Stripes Team finishing second and Team Canada One earning third place on a score of 14.

To learn more about the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows 'Continental' Tournament visit; http://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/view_tournament.jsp?id=25

Follow the 2013 U.S. Jumping Team here.

Sometimes dressage riders think it is enough to teach their horses the movements, but they don’t take into account that a young dressage horse needs more than just movements to excel in competition and move up the training scale. Respect and self-assurance are the indispensable preconditions for building a harmonious partnership.

There is no question that horses are stronger than we are. Because they are flight animals, trouble can happen in the daily handling and work as well as at the more intense atmosphere of a show. All too often we observe bad behavior: Horses pull their riders around, do not stand still while they are mounted and use the rider to scratch their itchy heads. While all this is tiresome, it more importantly shows that the horse has never learnt to respect the rider as the herd leader. This is the position in which the rider needs to be, and so respect needs to be established early on. This includes fairness, which is key to a horse’s contentment and happiness.

The harmonious partnership we aim for begins with groundwork even before we have the young dressage horse under saddle. Securing a form of general obedience from the ground allows us to work in a relaxed way with our equine partner and helps a lot when it comes to riding because the horse has learnt to trust and follow us as he would in nature, following the lead mare in a herd. In this article, we show how we establish respect from the ground and how this leads to strengthening a horse’s self-assurance, which is necessary preparation for his first shows.

Step 1: Establish Respect
There is no magic. Rather, systematic training and consequence are indispensable in gaining a horse’s respect. And it must be done in a way that lacks any force, violence and injustice. Your uppermost aim has to be to become the herd leader, because in doing that you give your horse the security he needs when being worked, thereby increasing his faith in you and in the environment in which you work. The horse learns that you are the one determining the speed and direction in which he moves.

You do this by using specific body language and repeating short voice commands. Horses are usually quick learners. After showing them something new, given the right timing and praise, you only need about three repetitions to secure the behavior you want. One general remark on the use of the voice: In nature, horses communicate soundlessly. Voice aids are still useful, but we are not allowed to completely rely on them because in stressful situations the horse will pay less attention to them than to our body language. So the latter is of greater importance.

The basic needs: Groundwork begins by teaching the horse to halt, go forward and back up. With a young, unbroken horse, we most often use the Dually Training Halter designed by Monty Roberts. It works with pressure on the nose that can be quickly applied or loosened as needed.

Attached to the halter is a heavy lead rope that lies comfortably in the hand. Gloves protect the rider’s palms in case the lead rope slips through them when the horse jumps. We prefer a length of three meters (9 feet, 9 inches) in contrast to the usual two, because we have a better chance of holding on to the horse if he tries to break away.

With some horses it is useful to additionally use a stick/dressage whip to give signals, but you must first teach him to accept the touch of it on his body without fear. If a horse is not well-behaved on the ground when you begin with him, take a whip along with you, as it can be useful whether he pulls and rushes ahead of you or wants to trundle behind.

We start with the first exercises in the security and reduced space of our round pen, but later it should be possible to do the basics in every environment. For us, it is important to establish a “relaxing zone” in the middle of the round pen, where we allow the horse to rest after an exercise. Here, he gets praised and stroked and soon knows that this is a place where he can relax.

Lead forward. Lightly pull at the rope and combine it with a voice command. I use a “kissing” noise. Usually horses understand this very quickly and soon the noise is all you need to ask them to step forward. There are several positions the leader can be in: We prefer, particularly with stallions, to have the horse’s head at shoulder height. We walk relaxed at that position while keeping a certain personal space between us. The horse is not allowed to touch us, let alone push.

If a horse tends to pull, the typical reaction is to pull back. To stop this cycle, put either the Dually halter on or attach a lead chain running from the right cheek down over the nose and into your hands. It is not about using force but about refining the signals you give. Each time the horse tries to pull forward, give a short but firm signal with the lead rope and put the end of the whip in front of his nose. Praise him when he reacts promptly.

If the horse trundles behind you, carry the whip in your left hand and point its end at the hindquarters of the horse. Usually this is already enough, and the horse will catch up with you. If not, you can slightly tap the hindquarters to get the desired effect. Repeat until the horse has learned you will not tolerate him staying too far behind you.

Halt. A much-needed basic the young horse has to learn is to react to pressure applied by the rope running over his nose. The horse should learn to give to the pressure. If we want the horse to halt, we give a short impulse with the rope and combine it with a short but clear voice command. I use “whoa.” As soon as the horse reacts to this combined command, the pressure applied by the halter has to stop and he has to be praised accordingly. Some horses—in particular, sensitive, “electric” ones—understand the signals promptly, and you soon can give very fine impulses. Others will only react to your voice command. But some more phlegmatic types don’t react immediately to the impulse given by the rope over the nose, and you have to give several small but firm impulses in succession. If he continues to ignore me, I increase the impulse by putting the end of a whip in front of his nose.

Go backward. Once the horse learns to halt obediently and reliably, start teaching him to go backward. For that you need a rail on one side of the horse so he cannot evade you. Stand in front of him and take the rope with your left hand about where the snap attaches to the halter. The shorter the rope is held, the more directly the impulses are transferred to the horse’s nose.

With your right hand, hold the rope in a loop. The horse already knows that the pressure on the nose means to yield. It is important that the impulses you give via the rope are short but repetitive. If the horse does not react, use the end of a whip or bamboo stick to apply short taps on the shoulder. Eventually, it should be sufficient to give slight impulses on the nose for the horse to walk backward in a quiet rhythm.

Directly after the last step backward, you must establish the forward impulse in your horse again and ask him to step forward. With some horses, you may need to pause and relax for a moment at the end of the rein-back, but the horse must always be willing to step forward out of the rein-back at any time.

Step 2: Increase Self-Assurance with Long Reins
Once the young horse becomes familiar with the voice commands to go forward and he can halt, we begin longeing him in a round pen. We start with a single longe line, then add a second line so he gets used to them running behind his hindquarters. This is good and necessary preparation for the work in long reins.

Cautionary note: Find someone to help you. Remember that we have a lot of experience longeing and using long reins, and you need to be experienced too if you are going to try it.

Longeing and long-rein work releases the horse from the immediate proximity of his herd leader and asks him to discover his environment almost on his own. Going out in long reins develops and strengthens a young horse’s self-assurance and consolidates his faith in his rider, who now walks behind him. With more advanced horses, this work is a way of keeping them entertained between training sessions in the dressage arena.

What you need: We use a snaffle bridle with an egg-butt or full-cheek snaffle bit in combination with a flash noseband. The cheekpieces and noseband help keep the bit quiet and straight in the horse’s mouth.

We prefer soft, round long lines to flat, webbed ones. We attach them to the bit rings and always wear gloves.

We use the same voice commands we’ve been using. In general, the long reins replace the rider’s calves and together with the voice commands take care that the horse moves in the direction and speed we intend to go.

We don’t use a surcingle when long-reining so the reins can have more freedom of movement. We can touch the horses where we need to and can work them in a more sensitive way than when the reins are fixed on a surcingle.

First exercises. The first time we use long lines on young horses, we stay in our longeing circle or round pen, but you can also use a normal arena or indoor. We use all the commands the horse already knows from his weeks of groundwork.

Day by day, we explore the yard a bit more. For example, we might go to a nearby field or to the edge of the forest. If you observe that the horse is more and more comfortable in his new position ahead of you, show him some new tasks to deal with, such as walking into puddles or over logs, walking, trotting or even jumping over poles on the ground. Never forget to promptly praise him after he has mastered a new task.

The more faith he develops in you and himself, the more you can look for new challenges. We may ask our youngsters to pass by a grazing herd or work in long reins next to others. Or we might ask them to go through the creek running through our property. After extensive rainfall, we sometimes have a kind of lake in our courtyard, and we like to ask the horses to walk and trot in there to get used to water splashing their legs and belly. Be sure to do everything slowly, never asking for a second step before the first one. Then your horse will develop positive self-assurance, helping him to deal with the same things more easily when being ridden.

Step 3: Desensitization—Prepare Your Horse for the Unknown
Sometimes there are dressage riders who think that working their horses in a focused manner is only possible by excluding them as much as possible from any outside influences. A horse might be oversensitive for whatever reason and so needs to be worked in quieter surroundings in the beginning. But, in general, we are strong believers that it is no good hiding horses behind the walls of an indoor arena with the atmosphere of a monastery. Dressage horses are destined to be competed at shows and there they will find a whole lot of stimulation and noises that could easily distract them if they have not already seen and heard as much as possible at home. This is particularly necessary for stallions.

So part of our dressage training at home is to desensitize the horses to a lot of different noises and visual impressions that could come at them when it counts the most—at the showgrounds. Of course, we will never be able to simulate the special atmosphere at a show, in particular the ones held in a big stadium. And we will never know for sure what we will find there. But the more we show the horses, the more we know how they might react, and that gives us, the riders, the chance for prompt reactions. For example, we accustom stallions to working in the presence of mares step by step.

Cautionary note: Get help to do this, and remember that beforehand the horse needs to have learned respect for and faith in his rider.

The easiest form of desensitization is to keep horses outside as much as possible where they can see and hear a lot more than they do just standing in stalls. It helps to include regular trail rides in your training program so that your horse is not panicking if a bird flies out from a bush. Training outside in all types of weather helps horses when they have to compete in rain or worse.

The most decisive factor is that you have a firm impact on your horse if he spooks. “Firm” doesn’t mean to bore spurs into his flanks and holler loudly for him to pass the frightening object. Such a reaction, often seen, only strengthens the horse’s flight instinct and lets the “monsters” appear even more dreadful. Horses think in pictures and next time will associate the monster with the pain of the spurs or whip. Instead, when your horse meets a frightening object, react in the following way:

• Take the reins a bit shorter and halt in front of it. Allow your horse time to look or sniff at it quietly while you talk calmly and pat or stroke him. This also calms you down as the spook of your horse usually also makes your heart beat faster.

• Then pass the object a few times on each lead in walk, preferably in the shoulder-fore position.

• Now divert your horse’s attention from the object that frightened him by starting to trot and going on with focused work. Very effective, for example, is riding lots of different transitions so that the horse soon puts his thoughts in another direction and forgets about the fear.

Often it is typical objects like flags rattling in the wind, umbrellas being opened, running and barkings dogs, loudly clapping crowds or music that frighten young, inexperienced dressage horses at shows. Luckily, these are things that can quite easily include in desensitization training at home. All you need are some helping hands confronting the horse while you sit in the saddle. The advantage is that, in this case, you are aware of the fact that your horse might spook, jump sideways or show a little rear as a first reaction. Go slowly, step by step.

Don’t confront your horse with more than one frightening object in a lesson. Switch to another one the next time. Then, on another day, go back to the first object to confirm the horse’s positive reaction. If he ignores the once-disturbing object, great, but try once more on another day until there’s no significant reaction to it anymore.

There are horses that have to repeat this training several times over a longer period and only a very few never become bombproofed. The decisive factor is that you and your horse have built faith in and respect for each other. Then the horse will not bolt away panic-stricken.

Desensitization is just a way to strengthen this respect and faith and see if it is already strong enough or has to be deepened even more. When your horse is familiar with several different objects and doesn’t panic or spook at them, you can try an obstacle parcours, or obstacle course, including several of the objects following one another. You can ride this parcours or lead the horse, however, the motto has to be “make it more difficult.” This kind of overstimulation will harden your horse and done step by step, it will help enormously at a show.

It is also useful to take the horse to a show just to work in that atmosphere. There, you can see how he reacts to different objects and determine whether he still needs training at home or if you can start him with a quiet conscience.

Knowing that the young horse’s future is destined to be in the dressage arena, we set a good foundation from the ground. This kind of work helps you and your horse master the first starts outside the secure surroundings of your home turf. The horse knows that whatever comes his way does not have to be frightening because you, as his herd leader, are at his side.

Stefan Schneider and Uta Gräf are headquartered at Gut Rothenkircher Hof in Germany. Schneider, a veterinarian specializing in equine dentistry, has competed in jumping, reining and working equitation at the highest levels. Gräf is one of Germany’s most successful competitive and classical dressage riders. Both are well known for combining top sport with natural horsekeeping. At home, Schneider works the horses from the ground while Gräf does the riding. Gräf’s DVD series, “Joy of Dressage,” comes out in English in April 2013. Schneider has co-authored the book Stallions Care and Management. Look for reviews of both in future issues (gutrothenkircherhof.de).

June 10, 2013--William Coleman III and Phillip Dutton both maintained their leads in the final show jumping phase to win the CCI3* and CIC3* divisions respectively at the 2013 Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, held June 6 to 9 at the Bromont Olympic Horse Park in Bromont, Quebec.

The Olympic equestrian discipline of Three Day Eventing is often referred to as the triathlon of equestrian sport, with the phases of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping taking place over three consecutive days. While the cross-country is considered the most thrilling phase, the show jumping at Bromont held plenty of excitement, as scores were very close among the top contenders in all four International Equestrian Federation (FEI) sanctioned divisions.

William Coleman III of the United States became the winner of the CCI3* division and the Todd Sandler Challenge. Riding Obos O’Reilly, owned by Four-Star Eventing Group Syndicate, Coleman posted one of only two clear show jumping rounds in the CCI3* division. The challenging show jumping course was designed by Mauricio Garcia of Puerto Rico, who was assisted by Canada’s Jean Pierre Ayotte.

“I do love this event,” said Coleman, who was a member of the U.S. Eventing Team at the 2012 London Olympics. “I like the way it’s run and the people who run it. I always have a good time here. Some people have events where they tend to do well, and Bromont is one for me.”

Finishing second in the CCI3* was Canadian Olympian Selena O’Hanlon of Kingston, ON, who piloted Foxwood High to the only other clear round in the division, rising three spots from fifth place following Saturday’s cross-country phase. O’Hanlon also rode two other horses in the CCI3*, both of which finished in the placings. With Bellaney Rock she was fourth, while A First Romance placed 12th.

“This was the first CCI3* for all three of my horses,” said O’Hanlon. “I am thrilled with how all of them went this week, and I’m happy to be taking them home happy and sound. I’m looking forward to the future with all three of them.”

In the CIC3* division, Phillip Dutton maintained the lead he established after cross-country with Team Rebecca’s Ben. In the CIC3* division, competitors rode a shortened cross-country course compared to the CCI3*, but the final show jumping phase was over the same course as the CCI3*. Dutton had one fence down in the show jumping, but with a two rail lead, he still comfortably finished first with 72.1 penalties.

“I am overall pleased with Ben; he’s a very talented horse,” said Dutton, a two-time Olympic Team gold medalist for his native Australia who now competes for the U.S. “Ben’s work is getting better and higher quality.

Dutton, a frequent competitor at Bromont, was once again impressed with the calibre of competition.
“Bromont and Fair Hill CCI3* are the two hardest competitions of this level in North America in terms of terrain and course design,” he said in reference to the annual events held in Quebec and Maryland.

Moving up to second place with one of only two clear show jumping rounds in the CIC3* division was Canada’s Jessica Phoenix on Pavarotti, the horse with which she won individual gold and team silver at the 2011 Pan American Games.

“Pavarotti was awesome all weekend long, and he was so rideable on cross-country,” said Phoenix, who was the highest placed Canadian at the 2012 London Olympics. “He couldn’t have jumped any better.”

In the CCI2* division, Erin Sylvester of the United States managed to maintain her lead, despite a less than perfect show jumping round riding Mettraise. Her eight fault round and final score of 70.4 penalties stood up against the field of 14, after only four riders went clear in the show jumping.
“Overall I was really happy with my horse today; she got excited in the ring but she still tried really hard,” said Sylvester. “This is a big improvement over where she was even a few months ago.”

American Buck Davidson moved up five places in the CCI2* show jumping phase, vaulting from seventh after cross-country to second place after posting one of the division’s few clear rounds with Santa’s Keeper. Davidson was also third with Knight Lion.

In the CCI1* division, Waylon Roberts of Port Perry, ON, was the only Canadian winner at the 2013 Volvo Bromont Three Day Event. It wasn’t an easy victory for Roberts, who went into the show jumping with Yarrow only 4.8 penalties ahead of Erin Sylvester on Paddy the Caddy, who had added a single time penalty to their score in the show jumping. That one time penalty turned out to be just enough to keep Roberts in the top spot. After taking one rail and adding four faults to his score, Roberts finished just 0.8 points ahead of Sylvester, with 49.7 penalties.

“I thought the course today was really well designed. It was challenging for the level,” said Roberts, who was excited to have had such a major success with Yarrow, a six-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding sired by Yavari and bred by his parents, Canadian Olympians Ian Roberts and Kelly Plitz. “I’m really excited about Yarrow. He’s also a part of our family.”

The success of the Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event relies on the support of many sponsors and volunteers each year. Volvo returned as title sponsor for the second year, and Bromont was included for the third time in the PRO Tour Series. The Professional Riders Organization (PRO) is a non-profit group of accomplished event riders dedicated to promoting the sport and advocating safety for horses and riders.

“We are delighted with Volvo’s involvement again this year,” said Sue Ockendon, Event Director of the Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event. “We are also grateful for the sponsorship we have received from SSG Gloves, and from Keith and Debbi Eaman. We greatly appreciate the support from all of our sponsors.”

While the weather didn’t cooperate for much of the weekend, Ockendon says it’s a tribute to the ongoing improvements to the footing and drainage at Bromont, and to the efforts of the cross-country jump crew that the event was a success in spite of the rain.

“Jay Hambly and his crew worked very hard to make it possible for the horses to run at every fence,” said Ockendon of Bromont’s resident course builder and his team. “They put gravel down at every fence throughout the day on Saturday. That’s what helped the footing stay solid.”

The cross-country courses at Bromont were designed by Derek Di Grazia of the United States. Riders agreed that Di Grazia, the resident course designer at Bromont since 2009, created tracks of world class quality at the 2013 event.

“Derek is arguably one of the best designers in the world,” said Dutton. “What you find with his courses is consistency, and his courses are bigger than what you see in most of North America. You can have confidence in the lines that the distances are going to work.”

The 2013 Bromont Three Day Event was host to an FEI Course for officials, technical delegates, stewards and course designers. The course drew people from around the world to Bromont, which is in the final stages of bidding for the right to host the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games.

“The FEI Course was very good,” said Ockendon. “It gave people from all around the world the opportunity to come to Bromont and see how it works.”
The Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, is made possible in part through a contribution from the Government of Canada. The organizing committee also wishes to thank the Gouvernement du Québec, Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, for their support of this year’s event.

For more information about the Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, please visit the bilingual website, www.bromontcci.com. Live scoring is available throughout the duration of the event.

Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event – Final Results

CCI3*
William Coleman III (USA) – Obos O’Reilly – 58.2
Selena O’Hanlon (CAN) – Foxwood High – 65.6
Sarah Cousins (USA) – Tsunami – 68.2
Selena O’Hanlon (CAN) – Bellaney Rock – 69.5
Alison Springer (USA) – Copycat Chloe – 77.0

CIC3*
Phillip Dutton (USA) – Ben – 72.1
Jessica Phoenix (CAN) – Pavarotti – 76.3
Lauren Kieffer (USA) – R. F. Cosima – 80.5
Caroline Martin USA) – Titanium – 91.6
Sarah Cousins (USA) – Westerly – 92.7

CCI2*
Erin Sylvester (USA) – Mettraise – 70.4
Buck Davidson (USA) – Santa’s Keeper – 78.8
Buck Davidson (USA) – Knight Lion – 82.4
Booli Selmayr (USA) – Castle Diamond – 82.7
Kate Chadderton (AUS) – VS McCuan Civil Liberty – 83.4

CCI1*
Waylon Roberts (CAN) – Yarrow – 49.7
Erin Sylvester (USA) – Paddy the Caddy – 50.1
Mikki Kuchta (USA) – Calle – 54.5
Phillip Dutton (USA) – Mansfield Park – 54.7
Lucia Strini (USA) – Petit Filou II – 54.9

APHA gelding Frankly Zippin overcame major leg problems to become a successful Western pleasure mount.

Photo by Sabrina Tarter

Barn name: Frankie.

His people: G. Larry and Judy Murfitt, West Point, Indiana.

What grabs us: After an incredible growth spurt, Frankie suffered from severe tendon problems in both front legs. With some corrective shoeing, homemade casts, and dedication from Larry, the gelding went on to become a successful Western pleasure mount-earning 55 national points, as well as a Register of Merit award in the event.

Find out how Frankie overcame these issues in this Q&A with his owner, Larry Murfitt.

H&R: What did you first do when you found out about Frankie's tendon problems?

Murfitt: We took him to the vet and did all kinds of X-Rays and procedures to try to see what we could do. We were given three options. We could do surgery: We could cut his suspensory tendons, and, hopefully, the big tendon behind his leg would stretch and grow, they said sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t.

The surgery was rather expensive—especially when you had to consider that we had to do it on both legs. So the other two possibilities were corrective shoeing to try and lift his heel and elongate his toe to try and take some pressure off his tendons. They didn’t give much hope that that would do anything.

The third alternative was put him down. We’d just bought him and hadn’t bought insurance on him. I’d spent quite a bit of money getting him. We couldn’t afford the surgery, and I didn’t want to put him down, so the only alternative was shoeing.

I got together with the vet and the farrier, and we came up with a design of a shoe that would raise his heel and extend his toe at the same time-to try and take pressure off the tendon, but still have enough pressure that it would continue to stretch. However, that wasn’t very probable.

H&R: What did you do then?

Murfitt: I brought him home, and I remembered from years ago, I was talking with an old horseman. He'd had a problem with a similar situation, and he made some casts out of PVC pipe. He cast the horse so he could stand without knuckling over and to help stretch that tendon.

So I made some casts and put them on him; he had to stay in his stall all day. He got 20 minutes of hand-walking: I’d take the casts off and walk him 20 minutes a day. Then I'd put him back in his stall, put the casts back on, and he’d stand in his stall the rest of the time.

We got through the winter and come spring, he was walking pretty decently when I was hand-walking him, so I decided to put him on a longe line. He went ahead and walked nicely on the edge of that longe line, so I thought I’d see how he did a trot. So I trotted him a little bit, and he was fine. He didn’t mind at all.

I’d still take him back and put him back in his stall and put his casts back on. Then about the time it was warm enough to ride, one day I was longeing him and thought, ‘Heck, if he can go around and walk that way, he can carry me. So I got on him bareback and we just walked around the arena. He was a 2-year-old, and he hadn’t been broken yet. But I just got on him anyway, and he walked around that arena like he was very pleased to do so.

After a few days of that, I thought, 'Let’s see what he does when we trot.' So we trotted, and no problem. A few more weeks went by, and I thought let’s just see how he does at the lope. I put him up into a lope, and not a problem. So I stopped using the casts and kept exercising him.

We gradually brought back the extended toe on the shoe and lowered the heel and got back to a three-degree wedge shoe, and shoed before the end of that summer and then we started showing him.

Introducing In-Hand Equipment
No matter how advanced your horse is, the following steps will walk you through correct in-hand work. Begin by wrapping your horse’s tail so you will be able to touch his whole hindquarters with the whip during work. Put the saddle or bridle on in the same order you tack up for mounted work.

If you are beginning with the saddle, place a well-fitting surcingle around it after you have placed the pad and saddle on your horse’s back and attached the girth. You will know the surcingle is a good fit when you are able to tighten it enough that it does not slip during work. If you only use a saddle, the side reins you will be using might move during work or be incorrectly placed on the girth. The key to an appropriate surcingle is that there are enough rings for attaching side reins at varying and appropriate heights. The side reins can attach to the bit or the cavesson, depending on your preference and your horse’s reaction to the varying contact.

Use your horse’s snaffle bridle so you have use of the bit. Over that, put on a well-fitting longeing cavesson. Make sure to remove the noseband of the bridle so that it does not get in the way or pinch the horse on the chance that it comes into contact with the cavesson during work.

When I work in-hand, I carry two whips that are an appropriate length for this type of training—one is stiffer and the other is softer. Before you know which in-hand whip you will need, you have to test to see which the horse prefers.

As you progress in your in-hand work, if your horse has an overreaction and seems unsure about coming under with his hind, consider your whip aid. Some horses react better when you touch them with the whip over the croup or on the hock, but you have to figure out where they prefer to be touched. Always look for the point on your horse to touch that makes him think, forward and come under.

Introducing In-Hand Work
With a pocket of sugar, a pair of riding gloves and a longe line, you are ready to work in the arena. Begin by attaching the side reins from the surcingle to the bit rings. Make sure that their placement is parallel to the ground so they do not pull down on your horse. Instead, their height and length should encourage him to be on the bit. Remember that the goal is to build correct neck muscle, and we cannot do this without correct side-rein placement. Make sure the side reins are an even height and length on both sides before beginning so that when you hold your horse’s head with his poll at the highest point and his face on the vertical, your side reins offer a steady, unrestricting connection.

It is also worth pointing out that a more advanced horse will carry more weight behind, which will make him go up in the wither. We want to account for that by choosing a slightly higher surcingle ring to attach the side reins to.

The horse should not get excited when he is doing in-hand work. Our primary goal is that he is relaxed in his work. It is also our job to remember that we get to choose our horse. He does not get to choose his owner/trainer/discipline. As a result, we have the responsibility of checking in and confirming that we are making fair requests of our horses when pushing them to do something new. If, at any point, they get excited, reassure them with a pat or sugar.

Exercise One—Forward and Backward: The first thing I do when introducing in-hand work is to invite the horse to pick his legs up and achieve a square halt and rein-back correctly. As you are doing this exercise, make sure to watch your whole horse. If you stand too close, you are at risk of getting in his line of travel and you can’t see what he is doing with his body language. If you are too far away, you cannot use your aids effectively. Have the horse between your left hand and right whip on the left rein.
1. Touch your horse’s inside hind leg, just above the hock with your in-hand whip to ask that leg to come under. Cluck to reinforce the aid.
2. When he steps under with that leg, stop your whip aid and reward him.
3. Ask your horse to step forward and under with his legs until you have achieved a square halt.
4. With a soft half halt on the longe line, ask your horse to rein-back. Make sure he steps back in diagonal pairs. If your horse does not step back with
diagonal pairs, repeat the rein-back until it is correct.
5. If he needs a stronger aid for the rein-back, touch his shoulder with the whip to show him you want him to step away from the aid (as he did in steps one and two).
6. Touch his inside hind leg with the whip, asking him to step under again.
7. Touch his outside hind leg above the hock to ask that leg to step under.
8. Repeat the square halt and rein-back again.
This rein-back exercise is helpful in teaching your horse to move from his hindquarters, through his body and onto the bit.

Exercise Two—Turn On the Forehand: Now you can practice something a bit more advanced. The turn on the forehand is a great next step because
it teaches your horse to stretch by
asking him to step his hind legs in a semi-circle around his stationary inside fore while the outside fore moves forward only slightly. It encourages your horse to bend opposite his direction
of movement.
1. Off the rail, stand to the side of your horse near his head.
2. With your whip, touch your horse on his haunches to ask him to move away from the aid.

With this movement, you should achieve an easy turn on the forehand. This type of lateral stretching is helpful for warming up your horse as well as relaxing him and building his muscles. Remember that dressage exercises the whole body, so make sure to do the turn on the forehand on the other rein. Everything has to be done as if you are playing, and you must always check that your horse is relaxed and happy in his work, not nervously moving away from your every move.

Advancing the Work
As your horse develops in his training, you are ready to start half-steps.
Exercise Three—Half-Steps: Using the same equipment as you did in the previous exercises, follow these steps to introduce half-steps to your horse:
1. Confirm that you can move him forward with a cluck and whip tap.
2. Ask your horse to move straight and forward with diagonal pairs (the two-beat trot rhythm) as you continue next to him.
3. With your whip, ask your horse to step under with his inside hind as you asked before with a touch on the hind. When you have achieved a few half-steps, stop your whip cue.

Pay attention that he is trying to carry extra weight on his hindquarters. Once you have developed half-steps, you are ready to start thinking about piaffe with your horse. It is the most collected exercise in dressage, so sometimes introducing the work from the ground is easier than under saddle. This is an exciting time in your horse’s training, as he will completely change in balance and strength from this collection—from his withers to his hips to his hind legs.

Exercise Four—Piaffe: To prepare for piaffe, ask your horse to walk into a square halt, with his nose in front of the vertical. Remember that the side reins should not be pulling your horse down. When you first start this exercise, it is important to allow him to move forward when he is learning piaffe.

To begin, start from the halt and follow these steps:
1. Ask for walk on a straight line.
2. Shorten his steps by softly touching his croup with the whip (to cue his whole hindquarters) and adding a cluck.
3. Piaffe starts in diagonal steps and the hind should come up only one hoof in height. He should stay uphill.
4. If he is lazy, ask for more forward.
5. If he does not take weight back, insert your rein-back exercise and then move forward to piaffe again.
6. When he responds correctly, praise your horse for a job well done.

Just play when you are doing these exercises and don’t be afraid to combine your rein-back exercise with your forward and back exercise to take a break from the more collected work. What is important is that you remember to take a break, because a horse cannot concentrate for too long. This variety will keep him motivated in his work. As he develops skill and collection, only then can you work the piaffe without moving forward, so he performs the movement in place.

In-hand work builds the muscles because it is like bodybuilding, so repeat the exercises on the other rein.

The Double Longe
When you and your horse are comfortable with in-hand work, you can have two people work together with the double longe. The first person’s entire job is to watch and control the amount of forward movement with a lead line attached to the cavesson. She stays at the horse’s head during in-hand work.

The second person’s job is to continue with the other elements described in this article’s in-hand exercises, but with two lines connected to the cavesson and running through the surcingle instead of the single line connected only to the horse’s head. This second person is the one who can tap with the whip and cluck to ask for collection while holding the double-longe lines. Again, this second person’s whip and voice aids ask the horse to collect or “come from behind.” The person does this by standing a safe distance from the horse, near his hind, to tap with the long whip on the hindquarters.

When you have the double lines, the surcingle should have rings toward the top so that when he is ready and more uphill, your horse can have a higher topline. You know he is ready (in this stage of bodybuilding) when you can ask for piaffe and the degree of collection needed for Prix St. Georges.

When you are comfortable with the double longe, you can ask your horse to perform all of the exercises you did on the single line: ask for straight, forward, back and collected. Don’t forget to reward your horse with a piece of sugar—it is always important to keep him as your friend.

When you are ready to develop your horse’s piaffe in the double longe, the first person asks for the forward movement. The second person, holding the two reins and the whip, asks for walk and then collects the horse into piaffe. As you develop this, you can continue asking your horse to move closer to piaffe in place.

During the piaffe exercise, the first person must remember to watch that the topline stays correct while this is happening. The key is for the handlers to communicate to each other. Correct the topline by making sure the horse does not hang on the side reins. Gently bring the horse up with an upward aid of the lead line.

Once a horse is comfortable with the double longe, the first person can remove the lead line and step away. At that point, the second person can connect the lines to the snaffle bit to facilitate increased communication. He can then stand as the second person and ask for the same collection and piaffe with his whip and voice aids. Always praise a horse when it is a job well done. Remember to stay quiet, so there is respect but not fear.

The Mounted Translation
Once your horse is under saddle, you can ride shorten and lengthen the walk steps, making sure that the highest point of the poll is right behind your horse’s ears. Play around by riding forward and back. We have to see that our horse learns to carry the weight.

Exercise Five—Collect Under Saddle: Thanks to the in-hand work you have done, you can have a groundperson help you collect under saddle using the whip and voice aids.
1. The groundperson asks for piaffe forward, while the rider sits quietly.
2. The rider has a light rein contact.
3. Walk out of the piaffe.

Always avoid fear in your horse. The work in-hand will allow him to sit behind and go up in front, helping the shoulder to improve. Now you are dancing!

Brace yourself. The 21st century is about to rock your world. Several trends that have the potential to change our little horse world are converging on us.

For example, when a sport is featured—front page and above the fold—in The New York Times, it is rarely good news. A recent Times article used the sad death of a show pony to examine the widespread drugging of horses in competition. The article was all too accurate, especially when it laid out a horrifying list of medications that are in common use at every competition in the country. How horrifying was the list? I don’t know about you, but I was sickened to read how 11 medications—anti-inflammatories, corticosteroids and muscle relaxants, as described in the pony’s medication chart—were given to one show pony over a 72-hour period.

Everybody’s Doin’ It
I promise you that this problem permeates our sport, in every type of competition and at every level. Positive drug tests at recent Olympics and World Championships have revealed the use of prohibited substances including pain medication, cocaine, tranquilizers, human migraine medicine and antipsychotics. None of these substances has any role in competition other than to alter the horse’s performance and most of them are not even medication for equines. To be blunt, people are drugging their horses to cheat.

“Absent a diagnosis, medicine is poison, surgery is trauma and alternative therapy is witchcraft,” according to Kent Allen, DVM. (Dr. Allen—whose practice, Virginia Equine Imaging in The Plains, Virginia, concentrates on equine sports medicine and lameness—has served as a U.S. Equestrian Team veterinarian, foreign veterinary delegate and veterinary services manager at Olympics, World Equestrian Games and other Championships. He is vice chair of the FEI ­[International Equestrian Federation] “List” or Medication Advisory Group, serves as head national veterinarian for the FEI and the U.S. Equestrian Federation in the United States and answers sports-medicine and medication questions for veterinarians and competitors around the nation and the world.) I would add to his comment: “Saying that your horse ‘gets nervous at competitions’ is an excuse, not a diagnosis.” Drugs are not the answer; good training and correct standards of care are the answer.

I can tell you from personal experience that this drug problem is not unique to upper levels of competition. Using drugs to alter the performance of horses happens from top to bottom. I served on both the Drugs and Medications and the Hearing Committees of USEF (at that time it was the American Horse Shows Association). I knew which drugs trainers and competitors used, and I knew where the “positives”—test results that positively establish the presence of one or more substances in horses’ bodies—occurred. One year we tested classes at a huge state fair, a common practice. Our technicians misunderstood their instructions and tested a local youth group’s unrecognized classes by mistake. To compound their error, they tested the draft horses showing (also in unrecognized classes) at the fair.

Naturally, AHSA got a tremendous amount of blowback from those two organizations. There were two written protests that the youth of the nation were sullied and slandered by our ­actions and that the honorable tillers of the soil would never recover from the dishonor we had brought upon them. Both letters were obviously written by attorneys, and you can imagine that they went on at some length. The ­AHSA president at the time, also an attorney, responded appropriately, rendering profuse apologies and so on. As a goodwill gesture at no charge, he enclosed the medication-testing reports for the classes erroneously tested. You guessed it: Most of the youth pleasure horses at the state fair were tranquilized, and all the draft horses tested positive for stimulants. We did not hear any further from those two organizations.

I can imagine you reading this and thinking, “That’s awful, but what’s the big deal? I don’t overmedicate my horse when I compete with him.” It’s true that the vast majority of competitors do not abuse medications when they compete. However, consider two things. First, a competition is an examination of your and your horse’s state of training and of your ability to satisfy the judging requirements through patient and correct preparation. When you compete against people who are willing to cheat to win a ribbon, you are not competing on a level playing field. Second, if you tolerate cheaters among you, then how is the outside world going to know the difference?

And speaking of judging requirements, the way we judge each discipline has an enormous effect on how horses are trained. If those requirements are not written carefully, they have the tendency to distort training practices. There will always be people willing to cheat to win. This is reprehensible at any time and even more so when an innocent horse is involved. Show me a discipline where animation and presence are overvalued, and I will show you a discipline where horses are blindfolded for hours before the competition so that they will display “animation” in front of the crowd. Such a discipline will also have a tendency to produce drug positives for stimulants.

Show me a discipline where robotic behavior is rewarded, and I will show you a discipline where horses are deprived of water for 24 hours and worked until they are staggering with fatigue. Tests on horses in this discipline will produce a disproportionate number of positives for sedatives and calming nutraceuticals. If our judging requirements are not written with a deep understanding and respect for the essential nature of our horses, then distortions and aberrations will appear and cheaters will flourish.

I know I am writing for an audience that feels as I do about this, because I talk to my readers as I travel around the country. And the message I get is this: We do not want to use chemicals as a substitute for training. I hope USEF hears that message and takes positive steps to clean up our sport. Blue Ribbon Panels are not enough. USEF is looking into various rule changes to address this. While I wish officials well with their efforts, they need to hear from you—and now’s your chance. A nationwide series of USEF Town Hall Meetings on drug and medication issues is in progress right now. For more information, go to www.usefnetwork.com/featured/­USEFTownHallMeetings. Or write the senior representatives of your discipline, telling them to support reform efforts in this area. You can find their contact information at www.usef.org. (Go to the “About USEF” bar and then click on “Committee List.”)

Anything we can do will be an ­improvement. We are never going to completely prevent humans from using drugs to obtain an unfair advantage (just ask Lance Armstrong). At the same time, in this modern era, if we don’t clean house, some outside agency is going to come in and fix it for us.

The Elephant in the Room
All we need to blow the lid off our sport is a good, juicy scandal. For instance, suppose some billionaire loses a horse due to overmedication and then discovers that his or her trainer has been consistently taking huge undisclosed commissions on the purchase of horses for the billionaire’s show stable. Horses, drugs, crooks—if any of you have some time on your hands, you can write it up and hit the bestseller list. All that is missing is sex, but if you call it 50 Shades of Bay, I guarantee Hollywood will be knocking on your door. (Sorry, when I deal with something this serious, my sense of humor kicks into high gear.)

The part about the undisclosed commissions is the elephant in the room: Any professional in the horse world knows it is there, but nobody wants to talk about it. An undisclosed commission by an agent can be fraudulent and illegal, and it could subject the recipient of the undisclosed commission (and also the person paying it) to substantial penalties. We all know this is going on, yet we have no horseman’s code of ethics. It is generally accepted that horses are a big business these days, and professionals are making a living from it. My point here is that if we do not have a code of ethics, how is “60 Minutes” going to tell the good guys from the bad guys when they show up on your doorstep? If you tolerate it, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. The first step to improvement is to admit that you have a problem, and boy, does the horse world have a problem.

Disappearing Space
Drugs and ethics are not the only problems we have. The next trend I see coming is so serious that I have to resort to humor to deal with it. The story I tell is that I was sitting in a bar discussing “Star Trek” with William Shatner. “William, your show has Martians and Klingons on it. Heck, you even have Democrats and Republicans. You have everything and everybody on ‘Star Trek,’ but there are no horsemen … why is that?”

William Shatner replied, “Well you see, Jim, ‘Star Trek’ is set in the future.”

Yeah, you’re right, that’s not very funny. But when we run out of places to ride in the future, there won’t be any horses. That’s not funny—it’s the truth. Statistics regarding loss of open space make for scary reading. Almost every facility I work at these days has lost open space around it. Bulldozers and horses do not coexist. The change in your lifestyle can occur so quickly that you don’t believe what can happen to the lovely field where you used to hack. Concrete and pavement are like plutonium; they are forever. Once land is paved over, it is forever lost to the horse world.

Many farms along the mid-Atlantic coast, where I live, are under tremendous pressure from developers and planning commissions. Yet those farms and their attendant open space are a priceless part of our national heritage. We are losing that heritage at an ever-increasing rate. But if you lose your heritage, you lose your identity. If you lose your identity, you lose your community, and if you lose your horse community, you will lose your horse.

Just as with the drug rules under consideration, there are things you can do, but you do not have as much time as you think. Get in touch with your local land-use organizations and ask how you can help. A good place to start is with the Equine Land Conservation Resource (www.elcr.org). ELCR can guide you to ­organizations in your area that are working to preserve open space for you and future generations. If you care about your horses, you need to take part in the efforts to preserve your way of life.

Brace yourself: Become aware and become involved … before it is too late.

This article originally appeared in the June 2013 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.

Q: I’ve owned my 6-year-old Fox Trotter gelding for three years, but just last year he started to periodically balk when my husband or I rode him. He stops out of the blue, sometimes rears or bucks a little, and refuses to go forward. I’ve trained horses for many years, and I cannot think of how to get him past this behavior. When I turn him around and try to go the other direction, he still stops and refuses to walk on. I have tried turning him in circles, getting off and walking him forward (which he does willingly), and then getting back on, all to no avail. I’ve tried using spurs and a crop to encourage him, but he will not budge. What could be causing this behavior and how do I fix it?

A: A horse usually resists or refuses a request from his rider for one of four reasons: pain, misunderstanding, fear or disrespect. To correct the problem, you need to identify and address the underlying cause. Without being able to observe you, your husband or your horse, I can only share my thoughts based on what you’ve written.

• Pain can be caused by any number of issues including poor saddle fit or a sore mouth, legs or back. Based on your description, I don’t believe pain is the source of your horse’s problem, but it still might be wise to have a veterinarian rule out this possibility.

• Misunderstanding means your horse didn’t understand you and your husband’s “please go forward” cues. But he understood before, so we can eliminate that possibility.

• Fear---as prey animals horses are afraid of only one thing: being eaten by a predator. But because you’ve owned and ridden your horse for three years, he has had sufficient time to feel safe with both you and his surroundings, so let’s eliminate fear.

• Disrespect, then, may well be at the core of your training issue. Every decision a horse makes is based on his own best interest for survival. If he is alone, he will make these decisions on his own. If he’s in a herd under an alpha leader, he will become a follower and respect the judgments and decisions of the leader. However, a horse will sometimes challenge the authority of the alpha to see if he can rise in the hierarchy.

A “herd” doesn’t have to consist of just horses---people can also be a part of the social hierarchy. For a horse to comply with your requests under saddle, he must fully accept you as his leader. I suspect that, at some point last year, your horse challenged the dominance of your husband and continued to test his leadership skills on the leader of his herd (you) to see if he could bump up his ranking and become the alpha.

Horses establish leadership with each other by playing dominance games, often referred to as horseplay. The horse who controls the movement of the other horse or human is the winner of the game and is accepted as the leader. That’s why, when training or retraining a horse, groundwork is important: It replicates the natural dominance games and establishes the human as the leader. It is both more effective and safer than trying to re-establish respect while mounted.

Sometimes a person can ride a horse for years without experiencing any resistance. But that does not necessarily mean that the horse has completely accepted his rider’s authority. It could be that the horse considers himself the leader but has decided it’s easier and more comfortable to comply with his rider’s requests---but he always has the potential to suddenly announce, “I don’t feel like going forward today.”

At this point, kicking harder, spurring, hitting and becoming frustrated and angry (which are all predatory behaviors) only destroy any trust and respect he may have had for his rider and reaffirm that it is still in his best interest to continue being the leader.

Long before a horse refuses to go forward he may give us clues that he is testing our leadership role. Moving a few steps when we go to mount or attempting to bite while being groomed are common signs of disrespect. If left uncorrected, these subtle behaviors will invariably escalate to more pronounced resistance like bucking, rearing or in your case balking.

Anytime a horse is resistant while riding, I recommend fixing the problem on the ground. In other words, practice groundwork exercises to reestablish your position as herd leader. A number of today’s training programs include simple, effective groundwork exercises. Although every clinician has his favorite methods, each is based on the same principle---to teach the horse to move away from both physical and emotional pressure and reward him when he complies. When you can control and regain your horse’s respect on the ground, he will go forward willingly and with respect when you ride.

Tim Hayes
Natural horsemanship clinician
East Hampton, New York
www.hayisforhorses.com

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #429.

Few horses get through life without at least a few minor skin wounds, whether from scrapes, scuffles or other mishaps. Most heal quickly and uneventfully, but you’ll want to do what you can to support the process.

• Call your veterinarian when in doubt about sutures. Most cuts heal just fine if left unsutured, but some larger lacerations, as well as wounds near mobile areas such as joints, do better if stitched shut. If you’re not sure whether a wound needs sutures, consult your veterinarian without delay.

• Clean the wound immediately and thoroughly. Flushing a wound right away with water or isotonic saline solution clears out debris that could cause infection. The moisture also encourages granulation, the formation of new tissue across the “bed” of a wound, and epithelialization, the growth of new skin tissue over the surface. Also, keep in mind that small wounds can be deceptively deep---check them daily for swelling, soreness or pus and call your veterinarian if any of these occur.

• Cover wounds, when possible. Not every wound can be easily bandaged, and some do better if left uncovered. However, a bandage will provide a barrier against contaminants and will keep the healing area from drying out. This protection is especially important for lower leg injuries, which are closer to the ground and, therefore, are at increased risk of infection.

• Minimize movement. Deep wounds near joints and other highly mobile areas may take longer to heal because the motion tears at the fragile healing tissues. Your veterinarian can advise you on whether a bandage or cast is needed to limit movement.

• Use topical ointments judiciously. In the early stages of healing, stick with clear, water-based ointments that help keep the wound moist and aid movement of white blood cells in the area. Later, when granulation has progressed, you can begin using thicker, emollient-type preparations that provide a barrier against flies and minimize scarring.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #429.

Arthritis is often thought of as a condition of aging, mainly because its first outward signs tend to show up later in a horse’s life. But in many cases, the factors that lead to the condition are at work---in the way a horse is managed, fed and ridden---for years before. In fact, decisions made about a horse’s care at every phase of his life ultimately affect if, when and to what extent he develops arthritis.

This means that regardless of your horse’s age, you can take steps now to protect the health of his joints. These measures aren’t particularly difficult or expensive, but they do require vigilance, consistency and, oftentimes, restraint on your part. Although a horse’s genetics and the sheer wear and tear of an active life may make arthritis unavoidable, you may be able to minimize the impact of the condition on his soundness, activity level and, ultimately, his enjoyment of life.

“Every horse who has led an active, useful life is going to get some degree of arthritis if he lives long enough,” says David Trachtenberg, DVM, owner of Trachtenberg Veterinary Associates in Penfield, New York. “But I do think that thoughtful care throughout his life can really pay off by keeping that arthritis at a very manageable level. If you’re lucky enough to get a horse young enough that you can make these changes, it’s definitely worth the effort you’ll put into it.”

Foals and weanlings, age: 4 to 24 months
• Feed a balanced ration
• Turn out as much as possible
• Avoid forced exercise

Years before a horse is ready to be ridden, you can influence his joint health. A growing youngster’s feed ration plays a crucial role in determining his vulnerability to developmental orthopedic disease (DOD), a collection of bone and joint abnormalities that arise when the conversion of cartilage is disturbed, usually by overly rapid growth. In the case of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), the cartilage is too thick to be sufficiently penetrated by blood vessels, and the bone beneath develops weak and empty spots known as lesions. In epiphysitis, areas of actively growing cartilage at the ends of bone cannot support the horse’s weight, leading to inflammation in the areas under stress.

“Not every DOD will lead to arthritis later on in life,” says Richard Markell, DVM, owner of Ranch and Coast Equine Practice in Encinitas, California. “But there have been studies that suggest that small osteochondral fragments can cause scoring that leads to arthritis later on.”

Diets that contribute to DOD tend to provide excessive nutrients and calories, leading to very rapid growth and obesity. “The youngsters who develop DOD are the ones who are being fed high-protein diets, such as a high percentage of grain and/or alfalfa hay and lots of vitamin supplements,” says Robin Dabareiner, DVM, PhD, of Texas A&M University. “The owners feel they are doing the right thing by giving their horses the very best nutrition, but really they are giving them way too much. You’ve also got to remember that if they are still with their dam, they are getting nutrition through her milk, so if she is being fed a high-protein diet then the foal is, too.”

Instead, says Trachtenberg, it’s better to offer a ration that provides just the basic nutrition a youngster needs and nothing more: “I like young horses to have a body0 condition score of about 4. That may look a little thin to some people, but it’s analogous to a growing teenager---they often go through lanky stages before they are physically mature. It’s not what our eye is accustomed to, but it’s healthy.”

Don’t overlook hoof care for foals and weanlings. Unbalanced hooves can exacerbate existing problems or create new ones. Schedule regular farrier visits for youngsters, just as you would a mature horse.

If a young horse develops swelling at the joints, call your veterinarian immediately to get a proper diagnosis and make dietary adjustments. “The first thing we do is cut the grain back as much as possible, with only coastal Bermuda hay---no alfalfa---and no supplements,” says Dabareiner. “You can turn these cases around if you don’t ignore them.”

In addition to careful feeding, young horses need plenty of turnout. “Studies have shown that young horses who get regular, but unforced, exercise have greater bone density than those kept in stalls,” says Trachtenberg. “The bone density and improved strength of muscles, tendons and ligaments will protect them from injury and arthritis down the road.”

Keep in mind that forced exercise, such as ponying or longeing, is not the same as turnout. Forced exercise can be detrimental to joints, so resist the urge to devise any formal conditioning program for a horse who is not yet ready to be ridden. If your current situation doesn’t allow a youngster to be turned out full-time or for a majority of the day, look into a boarding or lay-up facility that can accommodate his needs.

Youth, age: 2 to 5 years
• Don’t start work until physical maturity
• Start out with slow and easy exercise
• Don’t push too hard even as fitness improves

The first stages of a young horse’s training offer the opportunity to lay a good foundation for a lifetime of joint health or to set in motion a chain of destructive events culminating in debilitating arthritis. At this point in your horse’s life, the best thing you can do to protect his joints is to move him along slowly and conservatively. “One of the biggest mistakes you can make is pushing young horses too fast, before their bones are mature,” says Dabareiner. “Excessive training on immature bones is a perfect prescription for arthritis later on.”

A young, immature horse’s cartilage is still forming and not able to withstand intense or repetitive work. “The cartilage in these young horses is ‘soft,’” says Markell. “That isn’t a great medical term, but it’s the best description I can give people when cautioning them about starting a horse too early or overtraining a young horse.” Immature cartilage is more likely to be damaged, possibly never healing properly, and leaving bone underneath it at risk.

At what age a horse is physically mature enough to handle regular work depends greatly on his breed. “My practice is show jumpers and dressage horses, so we see lots of warmbloods, and they mature much slower than Thoroughbreds. A 4-year-old warmblood isn’t done growing; his bones aren’t ready for intense work.”

On the other hand, a Quarter Horse may be ready for work sooner. “Quarter Horses mature faster than warmbloods, that’s for sure,” says Dabareiner, “so generally we can start them earlier.”

But even within breeds, individuals mature at different rates, so there is no set formula for when to start a horse under saddle. “The bottom line is that if your horse doesn’t look mature---if he’s still got any of the gangly look to him---he’s probably not ready for work yet,” says Trachtenberg. If you’re not sure, you can ask your veterinarian her opinion on your horse’s physical maturity.

Waiting to ride a young horse can feel like wasted time, but there are plenty of ways to begin training without ever mounting up. “You can be teaching a young horse without riding him,” says Trachtenberg. “Through groundwork, you can have him responding to basic commands and understanding how to yield to pressure.” Not only will such groundwork spare his young joints, but the lessons will transfer to work under saddle.

When you do begin to work a young horse, take things slowly to protect his joints. “One problem we see in the Western performance horse industry is people who have paid high-dollar fees to enter horses in 3-year-old futurities, so they must train them hard,” says Dabareiner. “They’ll have maybe 60 days under saddle and are then put to cows and worked hard, every day until the event. It’s a fact of the business, but as a result, I’ve seen some 4-year-old horses that have joints that you’d expect on a 15-year-old.”

Condition a young horse just as carefully as---or perhaps even more than---you would a mature horse coming back from an injury. That means short, easy workouts to begin with, slowly building up to longer or more intensive sessions, with regular days of rest and turnout. Also be mindful of the pressures you put on a young horse. The torque associated with tight turns can be particularly hard on joints, so keep circles large and avoid longeing for more than a few minutes at a time. Repetition can also take a toll on young bones. Teach the horse a skill, but resist the urge to drill it over and over.

Showing restraint with a young horse can be difficult, especially if he is promising. “You have to be really careful,” says Markell. “The better quality the horse, the more he’s going to be able to do and the more you’ll want to do it. I see this all time: Someone has a great prospect and they’ll say to me, ‘Just look how spectacular his trot is!’ My response is always, ‘Yeah, just don’t do it too much.’”

Middle age, age: 5 to 15 years
• Maintain good condition
• Insist on good farriery
• Provide periods of rest as needed

Once your horse is mature and trained, protecting his joints from arthritis is all about consistency. For starters, it’s important to keep him in good physical condition, without lapses in fitness, if possible.

“When we are talking about protecting a joint, it’s important to understand that the rest of the horse’s body is a support system for that joint,” says Markell. “The muscles and tendons and ligaments that surround a joint all work together to keep the structure stable. Without fitness, which brings strength and stability, it will move abnormally, and that leads to arthritis. So think of keeping the entire body in shape when you’re thinking of joints.”

Of course, active horses need periods of rest every now and again. A day of rest after a longer-than-usual trail ride or weekend of heavy showing will give your horse’s body a chance to repair any minor damage and quell the inflammatory process. “You certainly need to rest a horse who is fatigued or injured,” says Markell. “And a week or two off isn’t going to be a problem, particularly if the horse has regular turnout. But what you want to avoid is really prolonged periods of inactivity.”

The older a horse is, the harder a comeback from long periods of inactivity can be on his joints. “If you give an older, fit horse time off, it may take too many miles to get him fit again afterward,” says Dabareiner. “In those cases, it’s better to keep him in work all the time. I’ve seen many horses dealing with low levels of arthritis very well, to the point you almost don’t notice it clinically, until they were given six months off, then it becomes something they can’t overcome to get back in shape.”

Regular, consistent exercise will also help keep your horse at a healthy weight. Laminitis is an immediate and real concern in obese horses, but loading of those extra pounds on joints will also take a toll over time. The inactivity that is typically associated with obesity also contributes to the development of arthritis.

Whatever your horse’s activity level, you may want to talk to your veterinarian about the preventive use of supplements that contain such ingredients as glucosamine, chondroitin or avocado soybean unsaponifiables (ASU).

The other place you’ll want consistency is in your horse’s hoof care. Hooves that are long, out of balance or otherwise badly cared for can alter the movement of all the joints above it, potentially leading to arthritis.

“Farriership is super important to a horse’s long-term soundness,” says Markell. “You can take all the precautions in the world with his workload and conditioning, but if his feet aren’t done right, it doesn’t really matter. Study after study has shown that every degree of hoof angle significantly affects joint loading. And repetitive strain on a joint from an imbalanced hoof is going to cause arthritis.”

Recognizing an unbalanced hoof can be difficult, however, because horses learn to compensate and cope. “Horses with poorly trimmed feet may still appear sound,” says Trachtenberg. “The damage being done is all subclinical. You may never know their joints were under stress until arthritis appears years later.”

Markell recommends using word of mouth to find a farrier who specializes in and is successful at shoeing horses with the same job description as yours: “If you have a dressage horse, ask around to find out who shoes the best, soundest dressage horses in the area. If your horse is a reiner, though, you’ll want to get in touch with the guy who takes care of the top reiners.”

Old age, age: 15 or more years
• Be alert for the first signs of trouble
• Start treatments early
• Allow as much activity as possible

Signs of arthritis are very common in horses over age 15. After a lifetime of work, even one that didn’t involve strenuous exercise, it’s almost inevitable that a horse’s joints will develop some degree of stiffness. Arthritis in an older horse can be managed most effectively when it is identified and addressed early.

“Don’t wait for outright lameness to start looking for arthritis,” says Trachtenberg. “Most of the time, the first sign is a decline in performance or a change in behavior. If he suddenly won’t swap leads behind or seems ‘crabby,’ it’s probably because his joints hurt.” Trachtenberg recommends a lameness examination for any horse who suddenly develops performance or attitude problems.

And, of course, a thorough exam is needed when an older horse develops actual lameness. “Mistaking arthritis for another issue can lead to some bad decisions that make the situation worse,” says Trachtenberg. “You need to restrict exercise in horses with soft-tissue injuries, but with arthritis you need to keep them moving. So if you assume an older horse has a suspensory injury, but really he’s got arthritis, you’ll put him on stall rest and only aggravate the real problem.” Trachtenberg adds that the footsoreness of chronic laminitis can also be mistaken for arthritis.

When an older horse is diagnosed with arthritis, it’s not too late to address the underlying cause. “Try to figure out why it’s happening,” says Markell. “You might uncover some problems you hadn’t noticed before. Maybe he’s not being shod the way you’d like, or the footing in your arena is bad. You can still change those things and help slow the progression of the disease. Or maybe you’ve got a friend with a full brother to your horse that also has arthritis, and genetics is the cause.”

Once those factors are addressed, you can focus on preserving your horse’s soundness. Fortunately, there are many early treatment options for arthritic horses. “Most people start with a supplement at the first signs of arthritis,” says Dabareiner, “and there are certainly a lot to choose from.”

Trachtenberg directs his clients toward supplements containing glucosamine or hyaluronic acid: “Those are the ones I’ve had the most luck with over the years. You have to do your research, though, and buy a product that has some good quality controls in place and is likely to have accurate labels. Looking for one with the NASC [National Animal Supplement Council] seal is a good place to start.”

Some medications to treat arthritis can be injected directly into a joint. The decision on when to start such treatments will depend on the individual horse and your veterinarian’s experiences.

“A decade ago, we would line up a barn full of horses prior to a big show and inject their hocks as a preventive measure,” says Markell. “We don’t do that anymore. I don’t think it’s helpful, and anytime you inject a horse’s joints there are risks involved. Now we wait for a sign of arthritis to start thinking about injections. I’m going to be proactive and aggressive in looking for that sign, but I’m still going to wait to find it before I start injections.”

And don’t overlook nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as phenylbutazone and firocoxib as options for managing early arthritis. Not only will they make a horse feel better, but they will stop the destructive chain of events that can lead to further damage. “You can certainly manage a horse with bute and Equioxx,” says Dabareiner, “particularly if they’ve got arthritis in multiple joints. Instead of injecting them all over the place, put them on a low dose of medication and keep an eye out for ulcers and colic.”

“There are hundreds of thousands of people who take a couple of ibuprofen so they can play tennis,” says Markell. “And there are just as many horses out there who might benefit from an Equioxx a day so they can have a great life. If used reasonably and cautiously, NSAIDs are a great thing for horses with arthritis.”

Given how common equine arthritis is, it’s wise to assume that your horse will one day develop the condition. In fact, the smartest horse owners begin to take steps to minimize damage to joints years, and even decades, before the first signs of stiffness appear. And the early efforts pay off when a few simple changes and conscientious choices in management add years of soundness to your horse’s life.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #429.

May 31, 2013--McLain Ward was a familiar face in the prizegiving at the $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon after scoring his eighth victory in the class last night, but who were those guys in second and third place? And what happened to such big names as Beezie Madden, Margie Engle and Todd Minikus?

The sport's next generation made its presence felt here, as Andrew Welles finished second on Boo Van Het Kastanjehof and Devin Ryan was third with No Worries (put in a period here). (add they were, as in) They were ahead of Callan Solem (VDL Torlando), who has placed regularly in the top three at the Dixon Oval and Beezie, fifth in the five-horse jump-off with Vanilla (eliminated in the jump-off after two refusals) and sixth with Cortes C after scoring one time fault in the first round.

But as has often been the case, the "feisty" (his rider's apt description) Rothchild was untouchable and McLain soared aboard him once again on what almost could be called his home turf. After all, the New Yorker has taken ownership of it so many times since his first grand prix victory in 1999 at the 117-year-old show that he has become a hometown favorite on Philadelphia's Main Line.

"It's always been an incredibly special place for me," McLain said after a victory gallop during which the crowd along the rail greeted him as one of their own, waving and reaching out as he sped by.

"There are some stops along the way (where) things go your way and this has always been that kind of a place for me," said McLain, who also won the style award for the second year in a row.

"Not only is it an incredible venue with great tradition, but I think this is as good a crowd as anywhere in the world and the best in the U.S. and North America."

He cited, "just the vibe you feel, even after I'm getting (to be) a little more of a veteran and obviously experienced winning it enough. Still, it's an electric feeling."

Doing well in this iconic grand prix is a sign for any rider that he or she has arrived.

"This is definitely the biggest result of my career," said a dazzled Andrew. He was more than two seconds behind McLain's mark of 33.564 seconds on the unorthodox but brilliant Rothchild who is achieving superstar status.

"With the atmosphere and the crowd, it's awesome," Andrew said of his first $100,000 Devon grand prix experience, with his mare turning in a very credible time of 35.815 seconds.

Andrew and Devin shared the emotion that McLain always feels here, but even more strongly as unfamiliar faces on the periphery of victory in this venue, where people begin reserving their places on the ringside blue benches before breakfast on grand prix day and there is no spot anywhere within viewing distance of the ring that could squeeze in one more body.

"A lot of times, we'll go to the grands prix and you'll have 100, 200 people watching. To go in and you feel like you're in a real stadium, the feeling after you have success in that stadium is pretty amazing," said Andrew, who has been in business for himself only since 2011.

"I'm still on Cloud 9 after that round. I knew I'd done as well as I could. Second? I couldn't be happier with it."

Devin, who has been running his stable for 10 years, said his grand prix horses have just moved up to the level where they are competing in the premier competitions.

Of his finish on Barbara Rowland's Selle Francais, a handy bay that he broke himself, Devin said, "It's awesome. He's such a naturally fast horse." But asked if he could have cut a few more corners had he been last to go instead of first, he advised, "I've gotten myself into trouble before thinking too fast and having a rail, so I said `be smooth, be nice and try to put in a clean round.'" His time was 36.124 second, slower than Callan's 35.978, but she toppled a pole.

I love watching Sagamore Farm's Rothchild, whose determination matches that of his rider. Following his first round, the brilliant chestnut bucked, as if to say, "Hey, I did it, just like I always do."

"He's a little bit of a unique horse," said McLain. "You've got to meet him in the middle but he keeps rewarding me. He's getting better and better and more consistent. He's slowly but surely racking up a lot of big grands prix."

Rothchild could be a contender for next year's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France, where it seems likely the team may include some new faces. Asked how he felt about being flanked by two rising stars, McLain said, "I think it's really exciting. In the U.S., there's a big coming of younger riders and younger professionals and it's great to see them doing well.

"We need more depth and we need more people that not only are good riders, but good horsemen all around and do a better job if we're going to be successful at the highest levels of the sport. It can't fall on the shoulders of just two riders."

Oh, and to answer the question about Margie and Todd; she was out of the ribbons on Royce with a rail and two time faults. Todd finished eighth after a knockdown aboard Uraguay.

The artful course was designed by Olaf Petersen Jr. of Germany. He's the son of a two-time Olympic course designer, but the younger Petersen has forged his own reputation and does an incredible job. He handled the 28-horse field just right with his layout. It was not discouraging for the less-experienced, but provided a real test for those with the most mileage. Eleven had faults for exceeding the 71-second time allowed, which Olaf called, "really a factor, just enough enough to chase them to ride a little bit more. The time allowed was definitely jump number 14."

We talked after the class about Devon and how the grand prix went.

Listen: Olaf Petersen Jr.

McLain Ward proudly saluted the crowd after winning the five-gaited special class on Callaway’s Born for This.

Photo © 2013 Nancy Jaffer

First place in the grand prix was worth $30,000, but McLain seemed equally excited the previous evening winning $90 as he took the blue ribbon in a special five-gaited class for jumper and hunter riders. Naturally, the money wasn't the point here. Aside from one brief fumble in the canter, McLain did a beautiful job aboard Ceil Wheeler's lovely gray mare, Callaway's Born for This (almost as if McLain were born for this) and raised the slouchy fedora he wore in a jubilant salute to the crowd.

McLain and the other riders -- Peter Pletcher, Todd Minikus, Hillary Simpson and Jen Alfano -- all had a blast and were such good sports to accept the challenge offered by the multi-breed show's co-managers, David Distler and Peter Doubleday.

The class was the idea of Ken Wheeler (the son of legendary hunter trainer Kenny Wheeler) who is ecumenical in his equestrian pursuits. Ken's mother, the late Sallie Wheeler, was equally well-known for her saddlebreds and her hunters.

"We're all in this to promote horses and sportsmanship," said Ken. "I would love to do it again...it was just fabulous."

Listen: McLain Ward

I spoke with the judge, Gene VanDerWalt, about his assessment of McLain's skill, and that of the other riders, after they had just one brief session with saddlehorse trainers.

"It was really an awesome job," he told me.

"If you're a horseman, you can ride anything. I thought it was an amazing initiative. Everyone  had a whole lot of fun and we did a whole lot of good."

One of the nicest things about Devon is that it always feels the same, year-in and year-out, as the rest of the world buzzes along at a faster pace. That continuity often extends to who's winning; for example, McLain.

But there was a big shake-up on the hunter front this year, as Scott Stewart wasn't able to clinch his 11th straight Leading Hunter Rider title.

Back Story, who took the Devon Grand Hunter Championship, was ridden by Kelley Farmer, the show’s Leading Hunter Rider.

Photo © 2013 Nancy Jaffer

It went to Kelley Farmer, the busiest hunter rider, taking the Leading Hunter Rider honors and the Grand Hunter Championship with Back Story, champion in the Green Conformation Hunters and reserve in the Regular Conformation Hunters. Earning the Leading Rider title that seemed to be Scott's exclusive property was understandably exciting for Kelley, whose comment was, "Wow, what an honor."

As she also observed with a chuckle, "To dethrone him, it's amazing, but I'm sure payback is going to be hell."

She noted she's particularly well-stocked with horses at the moment.

"Sometimes you have one, sometimes you have none and right now, I'm lucky to have a barn full."

That can change fast. For example, Jersey Boy, that wonderful hunter derby star, tripped on the flat for no reason after clearing a schooling fence last weekend and as a a result, didn't compete.

Scott, who won the Conformation championship with Showman and the High Performance title with Dedication, was incredibly gracious about not having his name engraved on the trophy yet again.

"I think Kelley really deserves to be Leading Rider. No one works harder than she does, as many horses as she rides; she puts a lot into it," said Scott (though you could say the same about him.)

Asked if Leading Rider had been her ambition, Kelley replied, "My horses going well is first and foremost. Then the rest comes."

Trainer Larry Glefke keeps track of the points, but he didn't have to do much math, since Kelley went off to a runaway lead, and never looked back.

Back Story, a long-strided Dutchbred, is owned by Tia Schurecht, the girlfiend of trainer Jay Golding, who was on hand for the presentation photo.

"You don't have to go anywhere fast; he's scopey. There's nothing that's not available to you," said Kelley, who commented the horse will be going in the adult hunters with his owner.

Although it's not part of Devon itself, the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame induction ceremony is always a feature of the week here. It's held at the very traditional Merion Cricket Club, about a half-hour's drive from the showgrounds. The greats of the sport are honored and you hear some memorable reminiscences.

Jimmy Lee was inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame by his old University of Virginia classmate, George Morris.

Photo © 2013 Nancy Jaffer

Among those inducted this time were Chantilly, the first pony in the Hall; the lovely mare War Dress, who enjoyed great success as a junior hunter; the late Frank Hawkins, joining his sons Artie and the late Steve as a member; breeder Diana Dodge, show manager, rider and committee chairman Bryan Flynn and the late Junie Kulp of All-Around Farm

Okay, a few of the speeches went on a little too long, but you couldn't say that about George Morris' induction of Hall Chairman Jimmy Lee into the ranks of the enshrined.

George was hilarious, telling all sorts of tales about himself and his University of Virginia classmate and lifelong pal. Jimmy told me he breathed a sigh of relief about some stories that weren't related to the packed dining room.

"We were bad boys," George admitted happily, recounting that the friends were more about parties than they were about classes.

"I was a fairly good student until I went to UVA," he noted wryly.

I talked with Jimmy about his induction.

Listen: Jimmy Lee

For more Devon photos, go to facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practicalhorseman.

Better yet, if you've never been to Devon and you're within driving distance, you should go. Get in the car now -- there's still time. The jumpers wrap up tomorrow night with the $50,000 Idle Dice Stake, but until then there's a whole lot to see; coach competition, amateur-owner hunters and saddle horses, not to mention Devon fudge to eat and a country fair with all kinds of interesting items you likely won't find elsewhere. For the kids, there's a midway that also attracts riders. Who can resist trying to win a stuffed animal, or taking a break from the show ring to ride a quieter horse on the carousel? Sunday, the only competition is the hunter derby, wrapping up 11 days of intense competition.

Have fun!