My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Freedom got new glue on shoes today. He always yawns a lot when the farrier comes; I think the stretches feel good. Today, though, he needed a little help to get relaxed. In the process, he did a great rendition of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. Of course, he could have just been reacting to the […]
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If the Tevis Cup (starting in just a few days) isn’t an intense enough competition for you, consider the Mongol Derby — a race that replicates Genghis Khan’s horse messenger system over 1000km of Mongolian steppe. If that doesn’t sound challenging enough, your mounts are semi-wild horses, which you swap out every 40 km and […]
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This great graphic, created by Naomi Tavian (@equinaomi), is the best illustration I’ve seen that illustrates how long it takes for a horse to become fully mature — essentially not until they are six. It makes you think hard about the sports where we ask them to perform at ages two and three, where they […]
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How much fun it was to meet a friend and take an early morning ride. The bugs were miserable in the woods, but out in the open you barely noticed them. It’s easy to kill an hour or so hacking in the summer sunshine, letting your horse grab a snack along the way (Zelda was […]
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Everyone’s read about the Larry Nassar scandal with the US Gymnastics team. Now equestrian sports are getting their turn under the microscope of sexual misconduct. In June, California trainer Rob Gage committed suicide after being banned for life for sexual misconduct with a minor. Last year, the New York Times Wrote an expose on Jimmy […]
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Last week, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act (PAST), a bill (333 to 96) that aims to stamp out soring in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry by ending self-policing and strengthening penalties. Backers of the anti-soring bill will now press for the legislation to be brought before the […]
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Sometimes you read something that just makes you feel good about people. Today I came across a post on Facebook by Ty Murray, considered to be one greatest rodeo cowboys ever. After retiring from rodeo competition, he has made a practice of retiring great bucking horses to his ranch in Texas. 12 grave markers sit […]
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I’m recovered enough from my accident that I no longer thing about my injuries. There are a few things my ankle or my shoulder object to doing, but mostly I feel pretty good. Harder than recovering from the physical issues has been dealing with the residual anxiety. I have a pretty active imagination, and a […]
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