My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Who knew electric spurs — which deliver a zap to the horse when a rider pushes a button — were even something you could buy? A while back I posted about “electric jockeys” who use “buzzers” or “machines” to shock their mounts. Now, American show jumper Andy Kocher is accused of using shock spurs on […]
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Since horses see colors differently than humans, so it’s important to consider jump colors as they can influence horse and rider safety. Horses have dichromatic vision, which means they have two receptor types (light-sensitive cells in the retina of the eye) used in color vision. This gives them limited color vision, with the ability to […]
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Some of the greatest jumping achievements are still standing the test of time In 1978, when just 21 year old, Nick Skelton and Everest Lastic cleared seven feet, seven and five sixteenths of an inch – the British High Jump record that still stands today. This type of high jump pre-dates the Puissance wall that […]
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The FEI World Equestrian Games™, held every four years in the middle of the Olympic cycle, starts on September 11th at the Tyron International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC. There is something here for everyone: All FEI disciplines are represented – Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining. Right now, […]
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One of the things that brightens my non-riding days is . . . watching other people having fun riding horses. Yes, that seems masochistic, even to me, but I’ve been watching the Longines Jumper Series (broadcast live over YouTube by the HorseNetwork) religiously, gasping at the height of some of the jumps. And, I’ve been […]
Read MoreWatching this video made me think about all the things I’ve done on horses but honestly, maybe I’m boring, but I’ve never done anything as crazy as jump a human. I’ve jumped a few things that I probably shouldn’t have — big fences, things we found on the trail (back when I felt immortal), but […]
Read MoreOver the years I’ve introduced a few horses to jumping by sending them through jumping shoots. I’ve also had a few horses that would occasionally jump a cross rail or small vertical if turned out in a ring. I’ve never seen a horse that was so determined to jumpg a course after losing its rider.
Read MoreThis video has been making the rounds on social media for the past week. In short, Austrian rider Bernhard Maier, was banned from competition for three months after this round on a Paddy’s Darco, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding. Maier bought Paddy’s Darco earlier this year, ostensibly for his daughter (now that’s a scary […]
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