P ...If only…
ublisher’s Welcome
our horses could talk and let us know what is wrong or where it hurts. You know the scenario. Something is not quite right with
your horse, and you can’t figure out the source of the problem. In the last year I’ve had to deal with this frustration, not with one horse, but with two. What’s made it tricky was that neither horse was lame, yet something was keeping each one from being truly connected to the bit, especially when traveling to the leſt. I blamed myself and possibly the tack, so I experimented with a variety of saddles, bits, training exercises and chiropractic therapy. Still no improvement and very little progress in either horse’s training. I finally called a veterinarian to look at the first horse. In a matter of minutes, he announced that EPM was the culprit. “Really?
Are you sure?” I asked shockingly. “Yes, I’m 95 percent certain,” he responded. “But his resistance is almost entirely on the leſt side,” I exclaimed, perplexed that my horse could have contracted such a terrible disease. I had seen EPM horses in the past with severe balance issues, and their prognosis had been poor. “EPM can be one-sided, and his tail is also very limp,” the vet pointed out. Since chemical testing for this disease is usually inconclusive, the easiest thing to do was to treat it and see if he responded. Te vet
assured me that since my horse’s EPM didn’t appear severe, his prognosis was promising for a full recovery. As of this writing, it’s been seven months since his treatments and so far so good! He feels like a normal, happy horse and is making great progress in the training. Te second horse was just as baffling as the first. He was new to the barn and arrived behind in his training for his age, so at first I
blamed his problems on that. However he didn’t really want to take the contact on the leſt side of the bit, or even bend to the leſt, and his leſt canter lead was weak and disconnected. Aſter examining him, my vet found something he had never seen before in 40 years of practice. Radiographs revealed a serious
fracture in his leſt jaw up high by his TMJ (temporomandibular joint—just below the ear). Poor horse! He must have wacked his head on something—maybe the fence—we’ll never know. And as it turns out the act of chewing his food had been keeping the fracture from healing. (Putting a bit in his mouth wasn’t helping either.) So we are currently in the midst of multiple treatments, waiting for his jaw to heal. I share these two stories with you because they have reminded me of some valuable lessons. One is that subtle problems in a horse’s
training are oſten hints that something else, something potentially serious, is going on. Second is that one can read all kinds of material about a topic, i.e., EPM, yet still not truly understand its intricacies until experiencing it firsthand. Tird is that no matter how safe, clean and horse-friendly we make our farm, disease and/or accidents can still happen as horses are generally leſt to their own devices 23 hours of the day. In this issue’s first article, we present some bizarre conditions that riders at last fall’s U.S. Dressage Finals had overcome with their
horses. Teir comebacks make their awards and results that much sweeter, so kudos to them. Other features include top eventers who also breed; jumping techniques from Kyle King; invaluable advice about barn design; signs of gastrointestinal problems with foals; and an enjoyable breed section that celebrates Hanoverians succeeding with our youth—our riders of the future. You also might want to check out the USEF annual meeting highlights that start on page 80—there is an important new rule change regarding unique identification numbers that will follow a horse throughout his lifetime. Tis is a major win for breeders and the breeding industry, aſter a battle they’ve been waging for years and years. Tis issue is full of comebacks, advice and interesting information since we work to provide articles that entertain, inform and
hopefully educate. Our learning never seems to end as we strive to make our horses healthy, more comfortable and performing at their best. I began this piece with, “If only our horses could talk.” Tey do, in their own quiet way. I just need to learn to be a better listener.
Liz Cornell
editor@warmbloodstoday.com
Our Mission: Warmbloods Today is the leading magazine in North America focused on the entire spectrum of Warmblood breeds. It’s a place where people from all aspects of the sport horse community can come together: amateurs, owners, trainers and breeders. Each issue contains interesting, informative and often heart-warming stories of peoples’ experiences with their horses, along with thought- provoking opinions from various professionals and amateurs. We cover all horses from European descent bred for the sports of jumping, dressage, eventing and driving including the Iberian breeds and American Warmbloods.
12 March/April 2015
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100