P R
ublisher’s Welcome
Little Can Be Big
ecently I was reminded how changing one little thing with a horse can make a big—sometimes huge—difference. One of my two horses is perpetually lazy, for example, and can come “behind my leg” in an instant. I’m embarrassed to admit
that keeping him forward has been a constant challenge. Recently I was cleaning out my tack trunk and found a long-forgotten girth in almost new condition that had elastic buckles. Since this horse’s girth was on its way out I thought, why not use this new girth on him? Surprise . . . we had our best ride ever that day. He moved forward easily and appeared to love the elasticity of the new girth. How can what seems to be such a minor change make such a huge difference? I can only guess that my horse suddenly felt he could breathe easier. Tat day, we turned a much-needed corner in our dressage work. Years ago, I had a horse starting Fourth Level dressage work, and it was time to introduce him to wearing a double bridle. Honestly,
he took the whole new experience “in stride”—no fussing, no resistance to going forward, no mouth issues. But as time went on, his head and neck were dropping lower and lower (rather than getting higher in the collected work), no matter how light the rein contact or number of half halts I did. He was built uphill, so what was going on seemed almost bizarre. My trainer and I were leſt scratching our heads as the problem lingered for months. One day, on a whim, I took a small piece of sheepskin and slid it under the poll portion of the bridle, under the top of the headstall
up between his ears. Voilà, up came his head! It turned out that the weight of the two bits put enough pressure on his poll to make him drop his head, something I had taught him to do when he was just a yearling. From that day on his frame changed and our training finally progressed. Figuring out what things, both large and small, that help our horses stay happy, healthy and performing their best is an ongoing
challenge. As Julie Winkel reminds us in her “Warmblood Whoas” column on page 66, it takes a lifetime of learning and then some. Of course, we equestrians do our best to listen to our horses, and then try to accommodate their requests, within reason. Hats off
to Maya Black who’s had to deal with the quirks of her four-star event horse Doesn’t Play Fair (page 19). Making sure he has the right accommodations at a horse show may be a slight inconvenience for Maya, but it sure makes a big difference in his performance. Ten there’s the frequent, complicated issue of saddle fit where minor adjustments to the saddle (and the rider) can matter. On page
38 we have a follow-up piece from Jochen Schleese that addresses the asymmetries of both rider and horse and how the two can wreak havoc on saddle fit and straightness in your training. Also in this issue, we offer helpful advice for test riding a sale horse, an update on what DNA tests reveal, information on the
Belgian Warmblood horse, an analysis of the bloodlines of this year’s top international horses and, of course, our regular columns. Whether you ride, train or breed, I hope you’ll find take-aways in this issue that can make a difference in your own training and/or breeding program. Te other day I received a call from a Canadian reader who has been following Warmbloods Today since 2009, its first year in print.
She was very complimentary about the most recent issue and wanted to congratulate me on how the magazine has matured. “I still read your magazine cover to cover,” she remarked at one point. Tat one little comment sure made a big difference to me that day. Yup, little can be big. Enjoy the issue,
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.
10 July/August 2016
Ed Haas
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