by Kathryn Kincannon
Dear Alpha Mare,
We have a good-sized ranch and I have started many young horses. I have learned a lot from both your column and your husband, Chris Irwin’s, training DVDs.
My 19-year-old daughter has just dropped out of college – not at all sure what she wants to do with her life -– and is living back home with her Dad and I. We have a young just-two filly that I am getting ready to work with, and as my daughter and I are struggling a bit with understanding each other, I wondered if it wouldn’t be a good idea for the two of us to work with the filly together.
My daughter has lived with, worked around, and ridden horses all her life, and I felt that maybe this could give us some common ground. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
High Hopes in Lethbridge
continue reading "Earn the Right"
How do bits affect a horse’s mouth? Gordon J. Baker BVSc, PHD, MRCVS, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Surgeons says, “There is a lot of fairly wide misunderstanding about where the bit is placed in the horse’s mouth and if it engages on the horse’s teeth. I don’t believe the teeth are tremendously involved in where the bit is.”
Hair on Allan and Wes Gordeyko, Willow Way Farm of Ohaton, AB, who had the World Champion Hitch of Mares at the World Clydesdale Show, held October 12 to 14 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Earlier in 2007 the Canadian Performance Futurity’s Prairie Zone held its Dressage classes in Edmonton, Alberta. A quick glance at the results for those classes reveals a lineup of Canadian Warmbloods as the prizewinners.
Before trucks and tractors, draft horses performed the heavy work of pulling wagons, plowing fields, and hauling logs. But the internal combustion engine did not entirely replace these animals, and they are still used in many parts of the country for agricultural and other jobs, as well as for pleasure driving and county fair pulling contests.
Drawing on the theories of the old masters of dressage, this book shows how both horse and rider can greatly benefit from traditional dressage techniques and exercises. Written by a veteran horse trainer with more than 30 years of experience, this is the only book that takes the core elements of classical dressage and applies them as the basis for good general horsemanship today. With this step-by-step program, the rider is taught to focus on subtle nuances of communication, while the horse develops gymnastically so he can respond correctly to the aids.
Each year, when winter first arrives hundreds of people are caught unawares. Ready or not, the snow has come so here are a few tips to keep you and your horse healthy now that the cold weather has hit. 
