Being strong and fit is the key to achieving the ultimate goal of oneness with your horse. Now, with The Rider’s Fitness Program, you can practice skills at home or in the gym that will bring you closer to this goal when you’re in the saddle.

This unique, six-week workout routine is designed specifically for equestrians. Each exercise will help you build the strength, endurance, and skills that will enhance your riding experience.

Novice and weekend riders will appreciate the exercises designed to reduce aches and pains and prevent injuries. Returning riders will find that these workouts refresh their muscles’ memory until they are up to speed again. And, experts will discover new ways to hone their skills off the horse.

Authors: Dianna Robin Dennis, John M. McCully, and Paul M. Juris
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN: 1-58017-542-2
Price: $28.95 CAD
Soft cover / 214 pages / black and white photographs
To order: Call the Canadian distributor (Thomas Allen & Sons) at (905) 475-9126, write to the publisher (Storey Publishing) at 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA, 01247, U.S.A., or visit www.storey.com

by Rose Johnson

Have you ever wandered out to the corral one morning to find that “Trigger” didn’t seem quite himself? Something’s wrong, but you’re not sure what. Or, maybe you go to check on him in the pasture and discover an ugly cut on his leg.

Should you call the veterinarian right away, or is this something you can handle yourself? And just what does “handling” it entail?
continue reading "Equine emergency or not? Olds College program takes guesswork out of first-aid treatment"

by Jill Ball

Horseback riding – both recreational and work related – is a fundamental component of life in Alberta. Unfortunately, horseback riding is also a significant contributor to major injury.

As a result, our beloved sport has been identified as a higher risk activity than motorcycle riding, skiing, and football.

A team of Alberta researchers led by Drs. R. Mulloy and C. Ball, as well as occupational therapist Jill Ball, recently completed a study identifying the prevalence and pattern of equestrian injuries.
continue reading "Alberta Researchers Study Equestrian Injuries"

by Karen Briggs

In this second article in our two-part series on first aid for the rider we take a look at common rider injuries and how to attend to them on site.

Probably the most common of all rider injuries is the classic concussion, which is the shaking around of the brain inside the skull.

It can vary in severity from the type that is accompanied by unconsciousness, to the very mild version of “seeing stars” for a few seconds. As a result, concussion can be difficult to detect with certainty, but it is usually diagnosed by memory loss (often of the incident that caused the concussion) and a feeling of being dazed.
continue reading "First Aid for the Rider: Part II - Common Rider Injuries"

by Cindy Mark

Have you ever noticed how the best riders – the ones who sit tall and straight in the saddle (be it Western or English) and seem to move effortlessly with their horse as if the two of them were one – also have the best posture when they’re off their horse?

That comes as no surprise to Kristoff Labrune, a personal trainer specializing in rider fitness and rehabilitation. Operating out of Nanton, AB, Labrune creates personalized exercise programs for those who are interested in understanding and improving their riding form, strength, flexibility and, ultimately, their skill on horseback.
continue reading "Keeping Fit for the Saddle"

by Karen Briggs

Know that old saying, “It takes a hundred falls to make a rider?” If true, then the vast majority of us have executed more than a couple of ungainly spirals into the air in our riding careers.

Most of us, fortunately, have also learned to take the inevitability of a few falls in stride, especially after we’ve accumulated a large enough sampling of them to realize that the injuries are generally pretty minor (along the lines of bruised tushes and wounded pride!).

However, if a rider should fall from a horse in your company, would you be prepared? Would you know how to assess their condition and administer correct first aid?
continue reading "First Aid for the Rider"