FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2005

Winter has returned to the Texas Panhandle. There’s a dusting of snow on the ground this morning, and forecasters are predicting another chance of flurries late this weekend.

Betsy Carter of The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia, offers these tips for riders on how to beat the winter blahs.

“The only way to combat the riding-resistant weather is to plan ahead by riding whenever the weather is good enough because you never know when it's is going to get worse. During weather such as this, if you can ride once a week, you're lucky. And if you've ridden often before the bad weather started, a once-a-week ride will keep your horse fit enough until the weather improves.

“In order to get the most out of those few-and-far-between riding days, stay as physically fit as you can. There is nothing worse than riding a horse who has been kept in its stall for several days when you are unfit.

“The best way to stay on a fractious horse is to be physically fit — and it's especially important to be strong in your midsection. This muscle strength gives you the balance you need to stay in the middle of your horse even if it shies suddenly. Midsection strength also allows you to move your upper body independently with free-moving effective arms.

“The second-most important aspect of physical fitness for riders is to be flexible, so you should work on stretching your legs and shoulders to keep them limber. When you can't ride, you'll have plenty of time to exercise, with a few situps, crunches, leg lifts and various stretching exercises. Walking and jogging are good for exercising your whole body if your knees and/or back can stand it. Since many riders suffer from back and knee pain, you'll have to design your exercise plan around those problems.”

World Show to be in OKC until 2015

AQHA has tentatively agreed to keep its world championship horse show in Oklahoma City for at least 10 more years.

The announcement comes just more than a month after Oklahoma City voters increased the city's hotel-motel tax from 2 percent to 5.5 percent. The tax is to pay for about $55 million in improvements to horse show barns and arenas at State Fair Park.

The agreement calls for the association's World Championship Show to remain in Oklahoma City through 2015 if the improvements are made.

The 2005 show will be the 30th year it's been at State Fair Park. Last year's show drew more than 1,300 people and more than 2,000 horses from 49 states and five countries.

Several members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners will be featured speakers at an educational seminar taking place during AQHA’s annual convention March 11-15 in St. Louis. AAEP members will participate in IMPACT (Involving Members, Professionals and Customers for Tomorrow), which will be March 12 and focus on a wide variety of issues facing the American Quarter Horse industry.

Representing the AAEP on a panel discussion on the topic of the unwanted horses will be Tom Lenz, D.V.M., and Nat Messer, D.V.M. In a morning and afternoon session, Kenton Morgan, D.V.M., will present information on drug compounding and how it affects performance horses and their owners. In addition, Jerry Black, D.V.M. will deliver presentations in the morning and afternoon on cutting-edge advances in diagnostics and treatment options for horses.

For more information on the convention or how to register for it, click here.

Entries for Black Hills Quarter Horse Show are up

The Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City, South Dakota, didn’t officially kick off until today, but that didn’t stop Quarter Horse owners and exhibitors from joining in the fun early.

The Black Hills Stock Show Winter Classic Quarter Horse Show began Wednesday at the Pennington County Event Center, and entry numbers were well over the show's debut last year, show secretary Kathy Brown said.

Brown said last year's show had 153 entries on the first day and 147 the second day. She said this year there were nearly 200 entries with exhibitors from as far away as New York and Washington state, although most are from Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and the Dakotas.

Although the show concluded Thursday, there are still plenty of activities featuring Quarter Horses happening throughout the show.

For example, the Super Stallion competition beginning at 2 p.m. February 3 is sure to bring some excitement to the stock show as 17 stallions, most of them Quarter Horses from Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and the Dakotas, will compete in three of four events: calf roping, team roping, ranch horse and barrel racing.

In a story by Steve Miller in the Rapid City Journal, organizer Jim Watkins of Edgemont, South Dakota, said this competition proves that “stallions not only look good, but are good athletes that can perform around the ranch or in competition.

"‘This program is probably the best source to look for a performance stallion,’ he said. ‘It should be the go-to directory for a performance stallion.’

”Watkins said the stock show's Super Stallion event is the only comprehensive athletic competition for stallions that he knows of. ‘There's nothing like this in the country.’"

For more information about this year’s stock show, click here or here.

Passports Required for British Horses

There has been a lot of talk about a nationwide livestock identification system in the United States. That’s why I found this story on icBerkshire.co.uk about horses in Great Britain being required to have passports so very interesting.

Beginning February 28, all equine owners will need a government passport, which costs £14 for each of their animals. The legislation covers horses, ponies, mules and donkeys.

The passports, which will be issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, last the horse's lifetime. They must be applied for within six months of a foal's birth.

Vets will have to inspect passports before offering routine medical treatment, and the document will allow horses to be transported for competitions, breeding, changing ownership or to a slaughterhouse. Each passport will include an image of the horse's silhouette, with descriptions of breed, distinguishing features, and medical history.

Owners not getting a passport for their horse could face penalties of up to £5,000 and three months in prison.

Although I’m not sure if this system would work here in the States, it may be something worth watching.

Couple Prefers Saddle to Steering Wheel

Sometimes, haven’t you just wanted to saddle up ol’ Nellie and ride to town to do your errands rather than drive in the pickup?

For one couple in Beaufort, South Carolina, it’s a regular occurrence. Omar Ford of the Beaufort Gazette writes that it’s not unusual for Bob Provo and his girlfriend Lisa Werthmann to saddle up their horses and ride to the local Wal-Mart.

"‘People always get a kick out of us riding,’ said Provo, a retired Marine staff sergeant who lives in Burton, South Carolina. ‘Kids are the ones that get the most excitement.’

“For about 20 years the Virginia native has freely traded in a car trip for a longer horseback ride.

“‘Some people would rather drive into town but that's no fun,’ the 47-year-old said. ‘Plus it's good exercise.’

The trip to town usually takes about 40 minutes, and the couple usually ties the horses in the shopping cart return lane.

— Tonya Ratliff-Garrison