Sometimes, no matter what the discipline, a show horse hits a brick wall in the training process and just fails to perform at the level expected. There are many potential reasons for the change – stress, horse show burnout, a change in rider or discipline. The first thing that needs to happen is that any […]
Competition in the pattern classes at top breed shows and futurities has improved so much in the past decade that course designers have had to add maneuvers and to the degree of difficulty just to keep up and make the classes challenging. Some of today’s Showmanship Horsemanship, Equitation, Trail and Ranch patterns can get extremely […]
Western Pleasure. In terms of entries, it’s traditionally been one of the most popular classes at American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and other breed association events. Large purses and prestigious titles have traditionally drawn big numbers to the pen to be evaluated on quality of movement. The National Snaffle […]
Madeleine Bayless waited 20 years to return to showing horses and with the help of two very special new horses – Im Willy Good Today and Best Money Made – 2023 is shaping up to be a year to remember for the Alabama native. Bayless didn’t come from a horse family or have any natural […]
Horses in Ryan Cottingham’s Indiana training barn follow the same dental routine as most people – the horses receive an oral exam twice a year. That allows Cottingham and the equine dentist to enable horses to be comfortable so they can perform their best without the distraction of a problem in their mouth. The preventative […]
The constant pull, achy arm muscles and red blisters that appear on fingers after riding a hard, dull mouthed horse isn’t something any rider wants to experience. When it comes to communicating simple demands like steering and speed control with horses to even more advance training with a young prospect, they all must learn how to […]
Zippo LTD, one of the American Quarter Horse Association’s most decorated show horses of all time, has died at the age of 30. Julia Taylor Cheek, of Dallas, Texas purchased Zippo LTD in 2000, earned many of his youth and amateur points and World and Congress titles and owned him until his death. “It’s with […]
Vital Signs Are Good, one of the most decorated horses in American Quarter Horse Association history, was humanely euthanized today due to complications surrounding a coffin joint infection. The 2000 red roan mare by Zippos Mr Good Bar and out of Vitalism was a superstar from the start. She won the Open 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure […]