Horse camping is a great way to have fun with your horse. Just make sure he's prepared for different types of containment, including highlining.

Photo by Becky Pearman Photography

If you're a camping enthusiast as well as a horse lover, overnight horse camping could be the perfect combination of your interests. If you're interest in events such as endurance riding or competitive trail riding, horse camping is often part of the experience.

No matter why you're hitching up and camping out, the key to having a good time is making sure that both you and your horse are prepared.

One of the ways to be prepared is to make lists.

"I have a camp list for horses and a people camp list that I use," says Bonnie Davis, consulting editor for The Trail Rider.

Horses
This is my basic camp list for horses. As I load an item in trailer or towing vehicle I check it off list. Before leaving, items are reviewed to make sure everything has been checked off and loaded! Add your own items too!

• Highline ropes
• Lead ropes
• Highline lead ropes
• Extra ropes
• Hammer
• Insect spray
• Bickmore
• Grain bags
• Rags
• Nails (various sizes)
• Saddles
• Saddle pads
• Gloves
• Water cans
• First-aid kit
• Bridle(s)
• Extra head stalls, reins
• Saddle bags
• Hay nets
• Knot eliminators
• Water tubs
• Pails
• Horse blankets (summer & winter)
• Manure rake
• Feed (weed free when required)
• Extra set of shoes
• Horse shoe nails
• EZ-boot
• Salt blocks (Mineral & plain)
• Broom
• Funnel
• Hooflex
• Spurs
• Halter(s)
• Extra halter Grain
• Horse’s medication
• Grain tubs
• Coffee can (for measuring)
• Baling wire or string
• Burlap bag(s)
• Hay hooks
• Tree savers
• Hoof cleaning tools
• Brushes Folding rake
• Duct tape Flashlight (extra batteries)
• Garbage bags Shovel
• Papers (ownership, vet, etc.)
• Leather sewing kit
• Water

Emergency road equipment-road flares or stands, spare tires for both trailer and towing vehicle checked to make sure they have air in them, jacks, lug wrenches to fit lug nuts on both trailer and towing vehicle tire nuts, chocks, large piece of canvas or folded lug tarp to put on ground when wet or snowy.

While investigating a 5,600-year-old village site in Kazakhstan, archaeologists determined that its Copper Age inhabitants were among the first cultures to tame horses. The evidence? The buried remnants of corral posts. Clearly, fences have been crucial to our shared relationship all along.

Unlike ancient horsemen who were limited to sticks and stones to enclose their horses, we benefit from a vast variety of traditional and modern materials from which to choose. Unfortunately, despite over 5,000 years of development, there’s still no ideal fence for every horsekeeping purpose. Each fence choice involves balancing safety concerns with aesthetics, cost, and upkeep.

Chances are you’ll employ a variety of materials and fence designs on your property for paddocks, arenas, and pasture fences—or even mix fence materials for a single enclosure. Choosing carefully will help maximize the safety, value, appeal, and utility of your fences. Before looking at the broad range of choices, let’s discuss safe fencing construction.

Safety
America’s West was tamed by blazing guns and barbed wire. Both remain murderous when used improperly. While barbed wire is relatively safe for huge pastures holding thick-skinned, placid cattle, the use of barbed wire for horse properties has caused untold tragedies. If you have any on your horse acreage, your first fencing priority is to remove it.

Building codes may ultimately determine fencing requirements for your land, but some general rules of thumb apply nearly everywhere. Field fences should be 54 to 60 inches above ground level. Err on the side of caution and go with a 5-feet minimum height where fences abut highways or anywhere that an escaped horse can flee your premises. Six feet is the safe minimum height for stall runs and paddocks.

At bottom, an opening of 8 to 12 inches will keep feet and legs from getting trapped, and also prevent foals from rolling under the fence. Fence openings should be either large enough that a hoof, leg, or even the head can’t become trapped, or very small (no more than 3 inches by 3 inches) to prevent a hoof from penetrating. To maintain tension, most wire fences, both fabric and high-tensile smooth wire, require triangular-shaped bracing at the corners and at intervals of about 1/8 mile. The acute angles formed by brace wires represent entrapment hazards if the horse can reach them; good design (such as boards used in corners to block access) can prevent injury, even death.

Visibility, especially with wire fencing, is too often overlooked. While a white plank fence of wood or PVC is easily seen by horses, wires can be almost invisible when a horse panics and runs—the time when the worth of a fence is truly tested. Improve visibility to wire fences by adding a top rail of wood; PVC; or durable white vinyl fence ribbon, either standard or electrified. This addition not only makes a wire fence more visible, it also deters horses from reaching over the fence to graze.

Regardless of fence material and design, one of your goals should be to present a smooth side to the horses. Do-it-yourselfers occasionally make the mistake of mounting boards on the outside of fence posts, which makes them easy for horses to knock loose. Further, the exposed posts can injure a horse that runs down the fence line. With cross-pasture fencing, you may not be able to avoid this exposure; in such cases, using an electric fence wire to create a psychological as well as a physical barrier offers a safe solution.

Corners also present problems, especially if you plan to pasture horses that don’t get along well. Any corner can create an entrapment situation where one horse is bullied. The problem is especially bad when the corner angle is acute (90 degrees or less). Some solutions include corners that curve. This requires placing wire fence barriers on the outside of the posts, but this is less of a problem in corners than it is along straight runs. Another solution is to affix planks across corners to block access.

Wood posts, field fence, a highly visible electric tape, and a twisted smooth-wire top line makes this an exceptionally safe fence.

Posts
The strength and integrity of a fence come from good fence posts, properly installed. Wire fences require tension, which means that corner assemblies and gate assemblies need to be braced against the pulling forces. Generally, when using wood posts, it’s best to use concrete to set corner assemblies and gate posts. Metal T-posts benefit from having sturdy wood corner and gate assemblies as well. These are an absolute requirement for high-tensile wire.

Wood is traditional and commonly used for fence posts. Whether you’re making a plank fence or just using wood posts, local availability and custom may determine your choices in woods. For instance, while hardwood fence materials tend to be readily available in the East, Southeast, and parts of the Midwest, softwoods predominate in the West. To deter decomposition, common softwoods that are resistant to rot and insect infestation include cedar, redwood, and cypress. Unfortunately, these woods are very expensive.

For this reason, horsemen often choose pressure-treated lumber (usually pinewood or fir); such lumber costs 1/3 to 1/5 of the above-mentioned varieties. With pressure treated lumber (or “PTL”), the manufacturer impregnates the wood with chemicals that resist rot, fungi, and insects. Look for treated lumber posts that are certified for in-ground use. Paint won’t bond to the material, so PTL fences are invariably natural.

ROBarrelHorse: I have an 18 year old broodmare that just recently foaled. She gets free choice grass hay, all she can eat, and 2 pounds of beet pulp, 2 pounds of alfalfa pellets, 1 pound of oats twice a day along with 1 cup of omega horseshine. I believe she is in good body condition. She's not too fat nor thin. Do I need to supplement anything else?

Dr. Katie Young: I would suggest at least adding some Enrich 32 to provide the essential nutrients that are typically lacking and/or imbalanced in forages and straight grains.  Depending on your horse’s body weight, feeding rate would be 1-2 lbs/day.

However, since your mare just foaled and is in early lactation (therefore her nutrient requirements are greatly increased over gestation), you may want to consider switching to one of the feeds designed to support milk production as well as growth and development of the foal.  Although your current ration may have supported your mare’s calorie needs through gestation, she may lose condition quickly due to the demands of producing milk for her foal.  Strategy GX, Omolene #300 or Ultium Growth will support your mare through lactation and are also suitable for the foal to eat along with its mom to help meet its own nutrient needs.  Also, it is important during this period to ensure that your mare is maintaining appropriate body weight and condition. We recommend maintaining a broodmare at body condition score 5-7, and not allowing the mare to fall below a score of 5 for best reproductive efficiency.  If you are not familiar with the Body Condition Scoring system, please visit our website www.horse.purinamills.com, and use the Body Condition Score Chart to determine your mare’s body condition score.

Susan Lang: I have a 35 year old American Saddlebred mare with PPID, fractured pelvis from osteoporosis due to PPID, had an eye problem, now resolved, and now skin crud. Add osteoarthritis in her Kees and all 4 fetlocks. I figure if I hurt, she gets the Previcox. I had 5 wonderful years on her once we taught her to be a horse and then a trail horse. My question has to do with her constantly changing her preferences for food. Yes, sloppy beet pulp and senior, then no beet pulp, just groats and Senior, then not much at all (peppermint extract in the food helps). Any other ideas on keeping her appetite up? She really decreases as the South Florida heat climbs. I feed her small amounts 3x a day.

Dr. Young: We do sometimes see older horses that become more finicky in their feed preferences.  Sometimes adding a small amount of Omolene #400 to the Equine Senior can be helpful.  I’d also suggest checking in with your veterinarian to determine whether the change in appetite may be related to pain issues.  If so, addressing that may level out her appetite preferences.

Horsegirl91: I have a 28 year old mare but she dose not act old. On cold days she is really stiff in the front what can I do? She dose not always come out of it.

Dr. Young: Your mare may have developed osteoarthritis.  I’d suggest checking with your veterinarian to help determine if that is the case.  If your vet feels that a joint supplement may be of benefit, our new FreedomFlex Joint Supplement has had great results in clinical trials.

MkC: Hi - I have a 30 yr old Arab mare who is eating about 3 pounds of Safe choice and mixed hay/day. She seems to be doing just fine on this, but I'm starting to wonder if she's on the best feed for her age. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your help!

Dr. Young: At 30 years, your mare may have some decrease in digestive capabilities, resulting in higher requirements of some nutrients.  Equine Senior Active Healthy Edge was designed specifically for horses such as yours – to meet the nutrient requirements of aging horses that are still well able to chew hay and maintain appropriate body weight and condition.

Dale berger: I have a 35 year old standerd bred mare. She gets senior feed and hay but has poor pasture. She needs more weight and muscle mass is poor. What else can I do for her? She will only eat so much senior feed and walks away. She is turned out on 5 acres 24/7. That is how she likes it. I don't live at the farm where she is turned out. I go there 2x a day most of the time so feeding is a little bit of a problem. She is turned out with her 21 year old son, so I can't just leave the feed out. She does have some teeth problems as well.

Dr. Young: Dale, you may want to try mixing a bit of Omolene #400 in with the Equine Senior to help tempt your mare to eat a bit more.  Ideally, she would be fed more meals during the day, but I understand that sometimes that is not feasible.  With the dental problems, she may very well not be receiving adequate nutrition from the hay/pasture, and the Equine Senior is the only part of the ration that is providing nutrients.  If that is the case, increasing the Sr may be your best option.  Again, if she will not eat the amount that she needs, mixing in Omolene #400 may be enough to persuade her to eat an appropriate amount of Sr.

Lauren D.: Hi! I have a 20 year old thoroughbred/welsh pony. He is a great jumper, and had some issues with his hooves about a year ago. Everything is back on track, and we are now feeding him the Purina Senior Feed. He really likes his feed, and has been acting a little spunky. I was wondering if this had anything to do with him getting a lot more protein and energy from the feed, or if it was the weather change (it was a warm, humid, rain). Thanks!

Dr. Young: Lauren, Equine Senior is fairly low in sugar/starch, and high in fiber, so is not usually a feed that results in horses exhibiting an increase in energy/activity (unless they were not being fed to meet nutrient requirements prior to the Equine Senior, and now are feeling better and acting the way that they do in good health).  Without knowing more about your pony and the total diet (body weight and body condition score, lbs of Equine Senior per day, pounds of hay/day, pasture, etc.), I can’t determine where you are on meeting nutrient requirements, or if another feed would be more appropriate for your pony (Strategy Healthy Edge, Equine Senior Active, possibly Enrich 32).  If you would like to contact our Customer Service Department, we’d be happy to go through your current feeding program and help determine the best feeding recommendation for you and your pony.

Natasha: I have a 26 yr old, 15 hh, TB gelding. He is a hard keeper and is semi-retired. He gets 5 quarts of Ultium Performance twice a day to help maintain his weight. Is there another feeding regimen that might perform better for him?

Dr. Young: Natasha, if your horse is doing well on Ultium and maintaining appropriate body weight and condition, I’d keep doing what you’re doing.  As long as his teeth are in good enough condition to allow him to eat hay/pasture, Ultium is an appropriate feed for older horses.  However, if he gets to the point that he can’t do well on long stemmed forage, then you’d need to look at Equine Senior as a complete feed to replace most or all of the forage in his diet.  Your veterinarian can help you determine if/when his dental condition warrants switching to Equine Senior.

Bellllla.: Hi! I own a 22 year old quarter horse mare. We currently ride at least 4 days a week and show often. We ride Western, do reining, and do a lot of trail rides. I have noticed that she has A TON of energy. We dont do timed events. She will NOT walk, more of a "jig." I know some of this is in the training, but I was reccomended to change her feed. We currently feed Purina Senior. Is there anything I could change it to to make her have less sugar, but enough other stuff to keep her fat? Shes not underweight, but could definately use a bit more fat. She also eats just fine. Any help? Please I beg you!!!

Dr. Young: Without knowing more about your horse and the total ration (how much Equine Senior and hay/pasture you are feeding daily, your horse’s body weight and condition), I can’t really make a specific feeding recommendation.  Equine Senior is fairly low in starch/sugar and high in fiber, but Strategy Healthy Edge or Ultium may be good options that are low in starch/sugar, high fiber, but also higher in fat and calories than Equine Senior.  If you would like to contact our Customer Service Department, we would be happy to help you determine the best feeding options for your mare.

Judy Hudson: My horse is 27. How much endurance is expected at that age. He is in good health

Dr. Young: Judy, the amount of endurance that your 27-year old would be expected to exhibit is highly variable – dependent on genetics,  conditioning/fitness, management, nutritional status, etc.  I’d suggest that if you are concerned about your horse’s endurance, you may want to check with your veterinarian to determine what you can expect from your horse and if there is anything that may need to be addressed.

Laura Tifft: Hi Katie, I have a33 year old QH mare that I have owned since she was a 4 year old. She is a wonderful horse and has given me some great memories. She can't chew hay anymore, she quids it so I try everything I can to keep her going. (She is able to eat the chaf from alfalfa hay so that helps). She is holding her weight well, but she is so picky about her senior feed, I am getting very frustrated. I have tried just about every brand of senior feed there is. She will like a particular brand for a few feedings, then she won't eat it. Same with every feed I try with her. She does love her sweet feed so I have even tried to mix senior with the sweet feed, but then she won't eat even the mixed feed. So I have supplemented her through this last winter with hay cubes, sweet feed, (senior when I can get her to eat it), and a special mix from a recipe my friend who is majoring in animal nutrition came up for me. I also supplement her feed with Vita-Plus every day. Now that spring is here, she is able to graze. Any suggestions for this old lady? Thanks.

Dr. Young: Judy, Omolene #400 may be a good option for you.  While it is not specifically designed for senior horses, we have used it with great success for older horses.  It is a complete sweet feed, designed to replace most or all of the forage in the diet (as is Equine Senior).  I often recommend adding a bit of Omolene #400 to Equine Senior when older horses are picky about eating, but in your situation, using Omolene #400 alone may be the best option.

Captdave: Boomer is a 19 year old Qtr Gelding. When I enter his corral he sometimes semi pins his ears back. Once out he is the normal very friendly Boomner. What's up?

Dr. Young: I’d suggest checking with your veterinarian to see if there is any type of medical condition that is affecting Boomer’s attitude.  If not, possibly a local trainer could help you out.  This is not an unusual behavior in a horse during feeding time, but it is always a concern if the horse acts on any aggression by biting or kicking.  As a nutritionist, I could help you determine if your feeding program is meeting Boomer’s nutrient requirements, but it sounds like this is not a feeding/nutritional issue.

Approach these exercises at a calm, regular, balanced pace with quite a long or possibly even loose contact. I place a great deal of emphasis on awakening the horse’s initiative at an early stage of training and attempting to maintain that initiative throughout his career; thus, my emphasis on soft reins.

Do not ride your horse as if you must give him a good ride, but rather attempt to be an intelligent passenger. Once he gets to the obstacle, he must arrange his footwork and propel his body over the fence. At this point, it is your job to stay out of his way. If you run into difficulties, you should either lower the obstacle or, if you are jumping gymnastic obstacles in sequence, remove the last obstacle and lower the others until you get your horse going forward again. Once he is calm and balanced, you can resume the exercise.

Your goals are for your horse to maintain his rhythm, balance and regularity of stride over obstacles. I think that we should teach the horse to balance himself, not to expect us to balance him. An excellent exercise is to count in rhythm with his stride as he proceeds down the line of obstacles. For example, if you have obstacles set up to produce one stride in between them, as the horse lands over the first element you should be able to say out loud, “land.” Then, as he reaches the end of his stride before leaving the ground over the second obstacle, you should be able to say, “one,” in rhythm with the takeoff. If there are succeeding obstacles, you should be able to repeat this down the entire gymnastic line.

This sounds like a very simple exercise, but you will find it surprisingly difficult to perform correctly while your horse is jumping. You may find that the timing of your voice is not in rhythm with your horse’s landing. This is the most common mistake I see in my clinics. Riders who make this mistake usually have some weakness in their jumping positions that causes a loss of balance. This loss of balance is very distracting because the rider will think more about self-preservation than about maintaining balance and rhythm in the landing phase of the jump. If you land out of balance, it means there is something wrong with your position. If there is something wrong with your position, it is usually that your lower-leg position is faulty. Most of the time, if you improve your lower-leg position, you will improve your landing after jumps.

Your horse should maintain an absolutely steady, regular cadence down the line of obstacles. Your counting should also be steady, regular and cadenced. Riders who become agitated when jumping will find that their voices rise in volume and pitch. Many riders will quicken the cadence of their counting until their voices and their horses’ strides are no longer in synchrony. Many times, these are the same riders who will blame their horses for rushing.

Practice keeping your eye on the next object in your horse’s path. For example, if you are trotting toward a pole on the ground, look through his ears at the pole until it goes out of sight. With young ­horses and inexperienced riders, I do not ask the rider to alter the horse’s step in front of the pole because I want to ­awaken the horse’s initiative. Whether he takes a slightly long step or adds a step before the pole, I am equally satisfied. If he steps on the pole, the chances are good that he will learn from the experience and not do it again. If he continues to step on the poles on the ground, I ­suggest that the rider find another prospect, as this one is probably too dumb to improve over obstacles.

Look sequentially at each object in your horse’s path. If you are trotting over a series of ground poles followed by an obstacle, look at the first pole on the ground and then keep your eye on the obstacle until it goes out of sight ­between your horse’s ears. This will help you maintain a straight line through the gymnastic exercises and will also help you develop your timing. You can’t see your stride if you don’t see the jump.

These exercises rely on cavalletti to stabilize your horse’s length of step, speed and balance. If an obstacle follows the cavalletti, use the posting trot until your horse steps over the last pole, then softly lower your seat to the saddle. This ensures that you are in touch with your horse’s back when he leaves the ground.

Do not lean forward while negotiating the cavalletti. When your horse leaves the ground to jump the obstacle, you should have the sensation that he has brought his withers up toward your chest.
For all cavalletti and jumping work, your horse should wear protective boots or bandages on his legs as he may knock his legs while learning to ­coordinate them.

For this column, I am excerpting Gymnastics 2 and 3. To learn Gymnastic 1, which consists of four cavalletti exercises, click here.

Given the forces that this joint handles day in and day out, it’s not unusual for horses to develop SI pain. The trick is recognizing the problem: SI injuries are notoriously hard to pin down, with subtle and confusing signs, easily mistaken for other physical or even behavioral problems. Even a “hunter’s bump,” a raised area at the top of the croup that’s often thought to reveal SI trouble, isn’t a reliable sign. (For a closer look inside the joint, see the box below.)

How can you tell if your horse develops SI pain? And, more to the point, what can you do to help him if he does? For this article, we asked Kevin Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD, of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University, for help in answering those questions.

Who’s at Risk?
Any horse can injure his SI joint in a fall or some other accident. The injury may leave the joint less stable than it was originally, so it can become a source of chronic pain. Performance horses may develop SI problems through simple wear and tear—and the more mechanical stress the joint comes under, the greater the risk, Dr. Haussler says. SI problems are fairly common. In one recent survey, these problems accounted for more than half of 124 horses presented for back problems at the University of Minnesota equine clinic.

Show jumping and dressage seem to be especially hard on the joint, according to a study carried out by Sue Dyson, FRCVS, and others at the Center for Equine Studies, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom. That study analyzed records of 74 horses seen for SI pain at the center. Dressage horses and show jumpers accounted for almost 60 percent of the group. Slightly more than half were warmbloods, suggesting that breed may play a role. And horses with SI pain tended to be taller and heavier than average, another sign that mechanical stress is an important factor.

Under stress, Dr. Haussler says, the joint can be injured in several ways. The SI ligaments can tear, just as ligaments and tendons in a limb can give way under stress. And the joint itself, like the hock or any other joint, can become inflamed. Over time, osteoarthritis develops—cartilage wears away and bone remodels. Thoroughbred racehorses sometimes get pelvic stress fractures directly over the SI joint, and those need to be differentiated from SI joint arthritis.

In Modern Gymnastics: Systematic Training for Jumping Horses, published by Practical Horseman, Wofford details his proven methods of teaching horses to jump and improving their performance through an updated system of gymnastic exercises. Never before has there been a more comprehensive book on this important training method, which utilizes two or more obstacles set at different heights and distances.

The gymnastics are progressive, with each exercise building on earlier exercises—and all of them designed to help you and your horse realize your true potential. Regardless of your mount’s talent and experience, you will find lessons here that will make him a better jumper and you a better rider.

A regimen of these exercises will improve your and your horse’s:

- balance

- technique

- flexibility

- confidence

- fitness

Also included are chapters on rider position, selecting a suitable mount, correcting errors/ remedial training, and even training facilities. In addition, Modern Gymnastics is lavishly illustrated with photos by Practical Horseman’s managing editor Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore and diagrams by Practical Horseman’s art director Philip Cooper. “Whether you’re an amateur rider or a professional hunter/jumper trainer, this book is a must-have,” says its editor Sandra Oliynyk, who is also editor of Practical Horseman.

"I am excited that my new book is finally ready," said Jim. "I have revised and expanded my original book on gymnastic jumping. The color-coded diagrams and montage-style photos show the reader exactly what I mean when I describe a gymnastic, and the expert riders in the photos give the reader excellent visual role models."

Modern Gymnastics: Systematic Training for Jumping Horses, a 109-page soft-cover book, is available for $24.95 from HorseBooksEtc.

April 17, 2013--Ever wished for Olympic-caliber training for you and your horse? Would you love to get some feedback on your riding from a winner of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event? Award-winning magazine Practical Horseman, in partnership with Cosequin, wants to give you an opportunity to win a clinic for you and up to nine of your friends with Olympian Phillip Dutton. This isn’t just any clinic: Phillip will come to you!

To enter, write an essay of 250 words or less describing why you deserve to win the clinic and submit your entry at www.PracticalHorsemanMag.com/PhillipDuttonContest. Ten finalists will be selected to submit videos of themselves and their horses, and a winner will be chosen from among the finalists. Phillip will give the clinic at your barn or a suitable local facility.

“One of our goals here at Practical Horseman is to provide our readers with a riding lesson in print,” said Editor Sandy Oliynyk. “With this contest, we’re offering a chance to win a real-life lesson with an Olympic rider. Phillip is a longtime friend of the magazine, and we’re excited to give a lucky winner a once-in-a-lifetime experience riding with him.”

A five-time Olympian and five-time World Equestrian Games team rider, Phillip is also a 13-time USEA Rider of the Year and two-time Olympic eventing gold medalist. In 2007, he won team and individual gold medals at the Pan-American Games. Based at his True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Pennsylvania, which he owns with his wife, Evie, Philip coaches many adult amateurs and several U.S. Equestrian Team short-listed riders.

10 finalists will receive a copy of Modern Eventing with Phillip Dutton: The Complete Resource—Training, Conditioning, and Competing in All Three Phases. This fabulously illustrated book covers training, conditioning and competing in all three phases of events: dressage, cross-country and show jumping. The book includes full chapters describing the special needs of the event horse, with tips and advice from the top experts. It is available for purchase on HorseBooksEtc.com.

The contest is now open and will close on June 17, 2013. For more information and to enter, go to www.PracticalHorsemanMag.com/PhillipDuttonContest.

Did you know that there are a great many wonderful ways that plants and animals can actually work for you on your horse property?

Native plants and animals can serve both utilitarian and delightful aesthetic functions on your horse property — all while saving you time and money, and reducing your impact on the environment.

Creating a natural habitat might increase your property value, too. The United States Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Migratory Bird Management reports that homes in neighborhoods with large trees for birds are worth more than similar homes in neighborhoods without trees.

Native plants are the ones that grow in your area naturally. They generally cost less to buy than nonnative landscaping plants and are equally attractive.

Native plants are better adapted to local climate and soil conditions than exotics, and are more insect- and disease-resistant, than nonnative ones, so you’ll be less likely to need to help them along with pesticides, fertilizers, and even extra watering after they’re established.

Following are eight reasons to “go native.”

Minimize mud. Native plants and trees can help dry up an annoying wet area or be the first line of defense in intercepting runoff from the hillside behind your property. A mature Douglas fir can use from 125 to 150 gallons a day. Other types of water-loving plants include willow, dogwood, cottonwood, aspen, and cedar. Vegetated swales channel away surface water. And, if placed down slope from your horse’s paddock, can pick up excess water and nutrient runoff. Check with your local extension agent or conservation district for specific recommendations on plants suitable for your area and soils.

Bust the dust. Use native plants to help cut down on blowing dust from your arena polluting your neighbor’s property. Generally, a buffer of at least 20 feet deep is recommended. It should include evergreens, deciduous trees, and shrubs. A row of evergreens makes a nice privacy screen between you and your neighbor.

Provide timely sun and shade. Well-placed deciduous trees and shrubs around your barn and paddocks can provide cooling shade in the summer, while the bare branches in the winter allow the warming rays from the sun to reach through to your horses.

Control erosion. Trees and shrubs hold valuable topsoil in place, keeping it from getting washed away by rain or blown away by wind, which can potentially cause a surface- or ground-water problem. If you’re raising pasture grass, protecting valuable topsoil is paramount. Plants need soil and nutrients to be healthy, so put those native plants to work as a filter strip to catch nutrients and hold topsoil in place.

Control runoff. Native plants are also useful around streams, ponds, wetlands, and other water bodies. Trees and undergrowth are nature’s system for filtering runoff contaminants, such as nutrients from manure and sediment from mud.

Feed fish. Vegetation supplies food and shelter for fish and other aquatic life. The overhead canopy trees keep water cool. Cool water is able to carry more oxygen than warm water, which benefits fish.

Encourage insect-eating swallows to move onto your horse property to reduce the flying-insect population.

Photo by Alan Blickle

Banish bugs. One swallow consumes thousands of insects per day. During the spring and summer, violet green, cliff, and barn swallows can be seen and heard diving, darting, and chirping on

horse properties throughout much of the United States. Other types of insect-eating birds include other types of swallows, bluebirds, and purple martins.

Lure insect-eating birds to your property by providing a habitat for them. Help them build their nests by putting out tufts of horse and dog hair. Also, build or buy nesting boxes specific to the type of swallows in your area.

Encourage bats to take up residence. One bat can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in an hour. Create a friendly bat habitat by placing bat houses by early April. Place a bat house on a barn, pole, tree, and/or the side of a house, ideally within a half-mile of a stream, lake, or wetland. Note that it can take up to two years for a bat colony to find your house.

Control rodents. Encourage larger birds, such as owls, hawks, and falcons, which prey on problem rodents, to be a part of your habitat. Protect large trees and snags that provide housing for these predators. Some of these birds will also do well in nest boxes.

Plant trees outside of confinement areas and pastures to keep trees away from teeth and hooves. Trees inside these areas should be protected to the end of their “drip zone,” or the tips of their branches. To protect your trees, use fencing and physical barriers, such as large rocks and logs.

Louis (Paddy) Neilson is shown here on Haffaday jumping the fabled 13th fence in the 1971 Maryland Hunt Cup. Paddy knows as much about riding over obstacles at a high rate of speed as any man alive. When he tells you “speed magnifies mistakes,” he means that the increased velocity of racing over fixed obstacles will expose even the slightest ­weakness in your position. Position always—always—starts with the lower leg because the ­stirrups are the ground for the rider. If you look closely at this photo, you can see that Paddy has a classic leg position: His stirrup leather is vertical, his heels are down and his toes are turned out to a natural angle. The solidity of his lower leg allows him to have a soft touch on his reins. I have never seen a rider with good hands who did not have a secure lower-leg ­position. This is true regardless of the jumping discipline—timber racing, cross-country ­eventing or hunters and jumpers in an arena. I teach people to have a more erect body position over fences than you see here, and by that measurement, Paddy has brought his upper body too close to Haffaday’s neck. ­However, as your speed increases, your hip angle must close if you are to stay with your horse. ­Considering that Paddy and Haffaday are going between 20 and 30 miles an hour (800 ­meters a minute), Paddy looks about right to me. If eventers are to improve in all three of their disciplines, they must learn from riders who specialize in that discipline, be it dressage, show jumping or timber racing. Eventers who ­focus entirely on the two technical disciplines are missing a third of their education. As an aside, if you look at the photo of Bill Steinkraus in the online continuation of my March 2013 column and ­compare it with this photo, you will be struck by the similarities of position between two ­masters of their art.

© Douglas Lees

In February and March, I reviewed the correct positions for dressage and show jumping, respectively. This month we are going to study the basics of your cross-country position.

The first thing people notice about the cross-country phase of eventing is that speed is a factor, one that becomes increasingly important as you progress from Novice to Advanced. One reason is “speed magnifies mistakes.” That is a quote by Louis (Paddy) Neilson, one of our greatest timber-race jockeys. Paddy knows something about riding at speed over fixed fences, having won the Maryland Hunt Cup three times between 1968 and 1989. The Hunt Cup features fences constructed of wooden boards and posts and rails that can reach nearly 5-feet tall.

Paddy’s statement is a chilling reminder that the basics of your cross-country position must be as flawless as possible if you are to avoid accident and injury, because the speed of this phase will magnify your every error.

Higher Level, Shorter Stirrups
The correct cross-country position at the lower levels (Pre-Novice through Training) is the same as the show-jumping position: You should adjust your stirrup leathers until you have a 90-degree angle behind your knee when you are seated. If you’re riding at these levels, you are accustomed to this length due to your work in the show-jumping arena. At these levels, the required cross-country speed is not fast enough and the variation in the terrain is not dramatic enough to require you to change your position.

You must, however, change your position as the requirements of the levels change. Beginning at Preliminary level, your speed and the size of the drop fences increase and the variation in the terrain becomes much more challenging.

As your speed increases, you need to shorten your stirrup leathers and close your hip angle. This allows you to stay balanced and connected with your horse’s motion. In general, I suggest you shorten your stirrup leathers 1 inch for each star level. This means at the Preliminary or one-star level, you should ride cross country 1 inch shorter than your show-jumping length, for Intermediate, ride 2 inches shorter, and so on.

Some trainers have recently begun suggesting we return to a position that was widely used in the 18th century, standing straight-legged in the saddle with long stirrups. Fortunately we have scientific research to confirm that this is not the most effective galloping position for your horse—hence, it is not correct. I discuss this research in “The Science of Galloping.”

Regardless of length, your stirrup leather should form a vertical line at all times: uphill, downhill and on the level. The stirrup leather can support your weight only when it is vertical. Many riders try to ride shorter in a saddle not ­designed for shorter stirrups, with the ­result that their leg gets pushed back when landing over fences. Riders in this unstable scenario typically let their stirrups back out to show-jumping length to compensate, even if the speed for their level requires them to ride shorter. (For more on the interaction of saddle design and rider position, click here.)

If you are going to ride at speed cross-country, you owe it to your horse to be able to ride in a balanced and harmonious fashion—and the shorter the stirrup length you ride with, the fitter you must be to be able to sit quietly at speeds up to 20 miles an hour. We ask our horses to do difficult things; we should not make their task more difficult by interfering with their natural movements.

You will be able to partly improve your fitness while you practice this position. During both your trot warm-up sets and your conditioning canters, shorten your stirrups at least one hole from the length you use for your competitive level. Do your warm-up trot sets in a two-point rather than posting. If you listen carefully, you can hear me laughing … most of us cannot trot in a two-point for three five-minute sets, much less stay there for our conditioning canter sets. Even though you will probably fail, stick with it. Make a project of your fitness while you condition your horse. When you gallop through the finish line with a clean and fast round, feeling as if you and your horse could both go back through the start line and do the same course again, then your efforts will have been worth it. Working with short stirrups is hard, but once you return your stirrup leathers to your competitive length, your position will become second nature for you.

In my February column, I talked about the beneficial effect of riding without stirrups. Riding without your dressage stirrups makes your position more independent; when you regain your stirrups they will feel shorter, even though you have not changed the length of your leathers. In the same way, after you practice galloping with very short stirrup leathers and then let them down to your competitive level, you will feel as if you are riding longer than you actually are, which will make you more confident and secure in your cross-country position.

Swap Sensitivity for Security
The speed of cross country requires a few more adjustments. You may recall that for show jumping, I want you to place the ball of your foot on the tread of the stirrup, with your little toe against the outside branch. Once you start galloping at increased speeds, however, move your foot a little deeper into the stirrup and place the ball of your foot against the inside branch. This foot position is not as supple and sensitive as the show-jumping position, but it is more secure. The shorter your stirrups, the more dramatic the penalty for losing them—­remember, speed magnifies mistakes.

Bruce Davidson is famous for his Olympic and World Championship gold-medal-winning ­exploits as an eventer. What we should think about is that his results are based on a ­thorough and complete understanding of each of the three disciplines that comprise eventing: dressage, show jumping and cross-country. Shown here on Appolinax over the 13th fence in the 1983 Maryland Hunt Cup, Bruce looks as if he is out for a Sunday canter. His confidence is based on his secure lower-leg ­position. His stirrup leather is just behind the vertical, which means that Bruce “saw a long one” in the approach and closed his legs to make sure Appolinax stood off. His slightly ­defensive upper body confirms my suspicions. At this speed, the slightest hiccup can ­catapult you out of the saddle. Bruce is making sure that when his horse lands, he will be in a ­secure balance. Once eventers become comfortable timber racing, the speed of upper-level ­eventing feels slow by comparison.

© Douglas Lees

When you are competing in rain and mud or have just been through a deep water jump, the tread of your stirrups and the soles of your boots may become slick. In these cases, I encourage you to place your foot “home” in the stirrup—your foot is so far into the stirrup that the heel of your boot is against the tread. There are situations where it is wise to sacrifice sensitivity for security.
Remember to keep your reins shorter when you will be galloping. If you ­adjusted your reins when you were seated, you will find them too long when you rise to your two-point position because your upper body will be closer to your horse’s neck.

Stillness at Speed
Now that you have made all these adjustments, it is time to discuss your actual galloping position. Cross-country courses typically have 20 to 30 jumping efforts. That may sound like a lot, but it will take you several hundred galloping strides to complete the course. My point is that you will spend a great deal more time galloping than you do jumping. Therefore, now that you have a saddle suitable for cross-country work and have gotten yourself as fit as your horse, it is time to talk about the position that is safest and most effective for galloping cross-country.

The terminology varies, but to be in the most efficient galloping position, you are in what I call a “two-point,” meaning your weight is carried in your knees and ankles and you are suspended above your horse’s back.

I want you to keep your seat close to the saddle while you gallop, without sitting down or—even worse—“posting” at the canter/gallop. Your back should form approximately a 45-degree angle to the ground, and your elbows should be well in front of your hip bones. When you practice your dressage and show-jumping positions, you can often look at yourself in the arena mirror to check on your position. While this is not possible outdoors, all of us can have a friend take photos or a short video with a smartphone.

Make sure you absorb your horse’s motion in your knees and ankles, not in your hip joints. Have the feeling that you are standing on a trampoline, allowing the trampoline mat to push your knees up into your hips and back down. Watch your shadow as you are conditioning your horse; does the distance between your seat bones and your saddle remain constant, or is your upper body moving back and forth? If you can see this extraneous motion, your horse can feel it and will be unbalanced by it.

That we should be quiet in the saddle at the canter and gallop is easy to understand but difficult to put into practice. You will have to study videos of yourself, watch other riders who have discovered how to gallop in balance and persevere until you find the answer. Success in modern eventing requires technical perfection in all three phases. It is not enough to study the subtleties of dressage collection or develop accuracy in your approach to show-jumping obstacles. You need to study every aspect of your cross-country riding—because, after all, speed magnifies mistakes.

And that’s too bad, because the quality of gaits is so important in our sport that Gaits is the first Collective Mark on every dressage test. There is an emphasis on “freedom,” which is manifested by the reach and scope of your horse’s limbs, and “regularity.” This involves his ability to maintain an even rhythm—the recurring sequence and timing of his footfalls at a suitable and consistent tempo.

What We’ll Do
In this article, I’ll explain the differences between the types of gaits, and when and why, in the course of your horse’s training and competing, they appear.

I’ll also demonstrate the types of gaits in photos, so you can contrast, compare and, I hope, sharpen your eye. As you do, please note: The difference between an extended and collected gait isn’t merely about the length of a horse’s steps. I always tell my students, “Don’t only follow your horse with a ruler and measure the distance between his footprints. The lengthening or shortening of his step is important, but only as it relates to his overall outline, the elevation of his steps, the raising of his forehand and neck relative to the lowering of his croup and even the lengthening or shortening of his neck.”

Another point to remember is that dressage training is a slow, logical, step-by-step progression. It builds the strength, muscle, balance, animation, activity and ­cadence (the sum of rhythm plus impulsion, which is expressed by an ­energetic lifting of the feet from the ground and gives any gait an extra quality).

The test levels at which the different types of gaits appear mirror the “building blocks” of the Training Scale: rhythm, relaxation, connection, impulsion, straightness and collection. (In fact, the tests are sometimes referred to as a “blueprint” for your training.) I’m sure that if you pushed your green 4-year-old, you probably could get a nice extended canter, no problem! But when you got to the severe down transition, he wouldn’t be physically strong or balanced enough to carry it off.

That’s why, at Introductory Level, you simply want to show that your horse can be ridden on a light but steady contact (or allowed complete freedom to lower and stretch out his head and neck in the free walk).

At Training Level you want to ­additionally confirm that his muscles are supple and loose and that he moves freely forward in a clear and steady rhythm, ­accepting contact with the bit.

At First Level, he has additionally developed thrust (pushing power) and achieved a degree of balance and throughness (the state in which your aids/influence go freely through all parts of him, from back to front and front to back).

At Second Level, he accepts more weight on his hindquarters, has an uphill tendency and stays reliably on the bit. He does this with a greater degree of straightness, bending, suppleness, throughness, balance and self-carriage.

At Third Level he shows increased engagement with rhythm, suppleness, ­acceptance of the bit, throughness, balance, impulsion, straightness and collection.

At Fourth Level and above, he has a high degree of suppleness, impulsion and throughness, plus a clear uphill balance and lightness. He remains reliably on the bit. His movements are straight, energetic and cadenced, and his transitions are precise and smooth.

Now, how do these requirements ­determine when and where the various types of gaits appear? Keep them in mind as you read on.