The Equine Reader began in 2008 as a way to chronicle my personal equestrian experience and provide glimpses into a variety of horse worlds through reviews of events and industry news updates.

As for me, I am a lifelong equestrian and equine aficionado who lives in, and rides just outside of, NYC. I have owned, shown and trained stock horses but love everything equine. I have thrilled to the pounding of hoofbeats at Saratoga Springs, trekked on horseback through Southern Spain, volunteered at a therapeutic riding center in Brooklyn, and watched morning gallops under ancient willow trees at a yearling training center in Florida. My love for horses is both deep and diverse, and I can't fathom a better way to spend ones time than in the company of these fascinating creatures.

I welcome all questions, comments or suggestions, and can be reached via email at Corinne@TheEquineReader.com.

Here's to all things horse!

My Kingdom for a 2-Year-Old.

It is interesting to me that trends in equine welfare and health care tend to be reflected across industries, breed lines and disciplines. On several other posts I have remarked on changes in the equine industry that have been called into practice by convergent concerns over health and wellness issues affecting all of us who seek the safest competitive environment for our equine athletes.

Recently, the "hot topic" up for discussion seems to be the starting of very young horses. In many equestrian sports (racing, reining, and cutting come to mind), horses are trained under saddle and then shown in intense competition during their two and three year old years - a strategy that some argue can lead to increased injuries and breakdowns, and shorter careers due to an earlier onset of soundness problems. There is so much money to be had, however, in both stock horse futurity competition and in two-year-old and three-year-old racing (who, after all, could imagine a Kentucky Derby field without its requisite three-year old superstars?), that the practice persists. In the last couple of months it has finally gotten some press from prominent trainers and is sparking continued debate.

I, myself, have often lamented that (especially) racehorses and western sports horses are started before their minds and bodies are fully physically developed. The verdict has yet to be in, but a recent presentation by veterinarian Larry Bramlage at the Jockey Club Round Table conference in Saratoga Springs argued that training racehorses at young ages is in fact a proactive way to ensure that their muscular and skeletal systems develop the strength needed to withstand the physical challenges of racing. He cites data conducted in a Jockey Club study that showed that horses started as two-year-olds race on average many more times over the course of their lives than those who get a later start. As Bramlage explains, "This data shows that horses that began racing as two-year-olds are much more successful, have much longer careers, and, by extrapolation, show less predisposition to injury than horses that did not begin racing until their three-year-old year."


In a related editorial in Volume 23, No. 3 of the Grayson-Jockey Publication, Research Today, Edward Bowen sites anecdotal evidence from racing's history to argue that racing healthy two-year-olds does not result in ill effects. He notes that many prestigious races over the years, including the Breeder's Cup Juvenile, have tested horses as two-year-olds without causing long term harm. That most of the Breeder's Cup two-year-old winners do not have the mettle to best competitors at the Kentucky Derby the following spring (Street Sense being an exception) is an issue explained away by the assertion that the racing two-year-olds matured faster than their counterparts, but can then be beaten when their three-year-old classmates catch up in strength and fitness. As Bowen asserts, "the Breeder's Cup Juvenile specifically, or racing 1 1/16 [miles] in general, can hardly be accused of compromising our best young prospects."

But there is dissension in the thoroughbred ranks. A letter published in the October 11, 2008 issue of the Blood Horse, from equine veterinarian Dr. Mark Rothstein, argues that the Bramlage study is flawed, because it does not compare two-year-olds that are ready to race and do, with two-year-olds that are ready to race, but don't. It only compares two-year-olds that start racing at two, with three-year-olds that start racing at three, and etc. He argues that the two stages of racing development are simply "not equivalent," and that if a horse is not ready to race at two years old, there is often a physical or behavioral reason for holding the horse back. They cannot thus be compared in terms of lifetime fitness and stamina with those who were ready to race, and did race at two years old.

In the September 27, 2008 issue of the Blood Horse, Ocala equine vet Dr. Sam Ferguson offers another critical view of the practice. As he explains, the trend in thoroughbred racing over the last 30 years has been toward fewer lifetime starts per horse, but larger numbers of starts per two-year-old. He does not call Dr. Bramlage's study into question, but does suggest anecdotally that two-year-olds who are sound and fit enough to race are "the minority," and "tend to have a high number of bucked shins, ankle chips, etc." He returns to his point about lifetime starts and argues, "I like to see horses race as 2-year-olds. As Bramlage suggests, their active, young physiology supports development at this time, but it still appears the soundness of the breed is in jeopardy, whether from genetics, corrective surgeries, or exogenous medications (e.g. steroids) administered."

So what do the Western people have to say? As I mentioned it was compelling that the questions called forth by Bramlage's publication had far reaching implications across industries. As noted in the article "Too Young" by Bob Avila, in the October issue of Horse & Rider, the American Paint Horse Association has recently orchestrated a Fall Championship Show in November of this year, to offer world-level competition for young horses five months after the June APHA World Show, thereby giving young Paints several additional months of maturity before they compete. The Fall Championship show will "host World Championship title classes for weanling and yearling halter, yearling longe line, and 2-year-old performance horses, plus the 3-year-old Challenge classes in Western pleasure, hunter under saddle, and reining." Similarly, at its annual convention this year, the National Cutting Horse Association proposed to change the NCHA futurity age of competition from 3 years old to 4 years old.

And what does Mr. Avila himself have to say about the debate? He does argue that in a perfect world, giving 2-year-old and younger animals time to mature before competition is a plus in terms of their safety and psychological health. It prevents over stressing their developing bodies and burning them out mentally. However the issue that could arise in today's money-hungry world of competition is that training will not start any later on these horses, trainers will just see this window as a way to get additional months of settling on their mounts. The five months will be used, therefore, not as down time to foster maturity and development, but as a longer training period. This could, potentially, lead to stressing the animals even further. Avila suggests simply being smart in one's training practices, and letting the animal guide the training. If a baby needs more time to be a baby, let him be so. If he's fit, and sound and raring to go, put the hours on him and give him a head start. Starting them early could in fact actually improve future potential soundness because it allows training to progress slowly and methodically, with less immediate stress to the animal. Bob does offer the caveat that if training starts before 2 years of age, it should focus on training for more days, but less hours per day. As Bob explains, "the key to my horses' longevity is that I start them easy."

Always the consummately thoughtful and compassionate horseman, Bob likens this process to building a house. He says, "Have you ever watched a cement foundation being poured? The builders take special care - they don't want it to dry too quickly, because that makes the cement brittle. The slower it dries, the stronger it is. Without a strong foundation, the rest of the structure will fail. Early training is the foundation of a good horse. Without a good, strong one you won't have a horse that lasts. And it takes a long time to build a good, strong foundation, which is why I start my futurity horses young. It ultimately lessens the stress on them."

Thanks Bob. That's horse sense we can take to the bank.

Reining with the Best

I have always respected Bob Avila.

His competency as a horseman has never been in question. He is a renowned reining and cow horse trainer who holds over 37 World Championship and Reserve Championship titles in Quarter Horse competition, spanning a variety of Western and cow sports. He has won the "Magnificent 7" competition three years in a row, and the "World's Greatest Horseman" competition twice. His excellence needs no introduction and he knows his craft possibly better than anyone in the business.

What makes him, however, in my opinion, truly a cut above, is that he is an open advocate for the equine partners that he raises, trains and shows. I watched a clinic with Bob Avila and Al Dunning at this year's Equine Affaire, and while Dunning suggested tying horses out to a "thinking post" for hours on end to encourage them to somehow contemplate their bad behavior, Avila stressed engaging a horse's mind and feet at every phase of training, and giving him a break when he's lost his focus. Horses "go" for him because he puts their needs first, and he understands implicitly that if his horses are to show their hearts out and put food on his table and trophies in his case, he needs to be on the forefront of promoting their welfare and well-being.

And he certainly is.

Horse and Rider magazine contracted Bob several issues back to begin writing a series of monthly articles pertaining to training and showing techniques in the reining pen. Articles have always featured very useful content and have covered such topics as properly bitting a reiner, best methods for selecting one, and an interesting article about those little extra bits of effort that separate good horse people from great ones (all had to do with horse welfare, by the way).

But it is Bob's most recent article in H&R that has truly earned him my profound admiration. He addresses the current "trend" of low-headed reining horses, and the "fad" of horses dropping their noses as low as they can after each maneuver. He discusses the dangers of forcing horses to lower their heads unnaturally, and calls out to fellow reining competitors to focus on buying and exhibiting horses built properly (with a level topline, and low set neck) for traveling low. He also cautions the reining industry not to earn itself the same bad reputation that the Pleasure horse industry suffered for forcing unsuitably conformed horses to carry themselves in the "peanut roller" position. Bob stresses the need for proper conformation, proper collection, and proper engagement to ensure that reiners travel naturally and comfortably. The article was a pleasure to read, and in an era when horse abuses seem prevalent in every show pen, a breath of fresh air delivered from the top level of professional competition.

The Most Difficult Decisions

I have always had a bleeding heart for animals and children. Seeing abuse or mistreatment of either gets my hackles up immediately. So it was, of course, with consternation that I read a recent conversation on MSN.com regarding a reader who had opted to turn the family horse (and dog) loose rather than continue to pay its bills or deliver it to an adoption facility. Many readers wrote in responding that it was downright dangerous to do such a thing, both for the animal's welfare (as it would surely starve) and for human welfare in the vicinity, because the occupants of a car colliding with a loose, scared horse would likely suffer significant injuries. Many others, however, argued very reasonably that if it came down to a choice between feeding the horse and feeding the children, it would not be so difficult to make such a decision.


This got me to thinking about our current economic crisis and how it is affecting those who own, train, breed and sell horses. Numerous articles have been written about the difficulties of supporting an equine passion during a bear market, but I think it's nearly impossible to investigate the myriad angles from which this situation is squeezing the horse owner (both middle income and wealthy). There is already horse overpopulation and economic fallout wrought on America's equine economy by the current ban on equine slaughter. The price of hay, fuel, feed and bedding have all risen meteorically in the last year, making boarding and caring for a horse suddenly out of the economic reach of many American families. Horse purchases are down across industries for horses that lack top conformation and pedigrees, as evidenced by less than stunning figures brought recently at the Kentucky Fasig-Tipton sale and the Ocala Breeder's Sale (thoroughbreds). This confluence of elements is creating a horse industry that is strapped for cash but flush with horses. When top level professionals who make lucrative livings with equines are opting to show less, breed less, and buy less, how is the middle-income horse owner expected to curb the effects of the dampening?

As evidenced by the discussion above, the answer can be quite difficult. I am incredibly lucky to have my retired QH gelding tucked safely away on a friend's farm, but the farm's owner has been gracious enough to keep him basically at cost for his board. Many who own horses aren't afforded the same luxury, and are now being faced with difficult decisions. It is a good time to keep in mind that there are options for your horse if he or she has become too much of a financial burden. Turning a horse out onto the back nine to fend for itself is likely only a death sentence. At least inquire with adoption, rescue and rehab facilities as to whether your horse is a possible candidate for their programs.

And as a final and related note, I recently watched (part of) a documentary on HBO called "Running for Their Lives" about the pipeline that exists in this country to funnel to area auction houses racehorses that get injured or never find success . Here they are kept, traumatized and frightened in small pens with little food or water, and either die or are eventually sold to Mexican slaughter plants. I could only watch about 3 minutes of the video before I began crying and demanded it be turned off. Luckily it appears I am not the only one appalled, and that the racing industry is stepping up to investigate.

Oxers, and combos, and water, OH MY!

This weekend I finally caught a show jumping segment of the 2008 Summer Olympic Equestrian Games, and felt myself suddenly inspired to learn to jump. Watching those scopey horses bravely charging over everything in their path created a significant interest in learning just how they do it. This is a brand new discipline for this dyed-in-the-wool Paint horse princess, but here on the East coast, and especially in the NYC metro area, good Western barns are in short supply. I think, anyway, that it's time to switch things up and reenter the equestrian training scene from a different angle. There is so much to be learned from every discipline, and new training can only diversify my riding resume.


What better way, I argue, to "jump" onto the scene after my recent burst of televised inspiration than at a high-class equestrian facility owned by two former Olympians? Such a venue exists just north of me in Van Cortlandt Park, a place called Riverdale, run by Ashley Nicoll-Holzer and her husband Rusty Holzer. Both Ashley and Rusty are active competitors at the highest levels of the world dressage scene and have ridden for the US Olympic team.

I still have to investigate whether jumping lessons are even available at the facility, as I seem to be getting conflicting reports on the matter. The website shows that jumping training happens at Riverdale, but the office manager with whom I inquired today very strictly informed me that this was a DRESSAGE ONLY barn. Of course, being from the cowgirl set and hearing horror stories about the draconian attitudes of dressage riders, this conversation immediately worried me that Riverdale might exhibit some of the stereotypical snootiness associated with dressage folks. I am still going up with an open mind, and hope that "their" way of doing things will only improve my way.

Unfortunately, my choice of barn certainly has to do with my car-free lifestyle as a Manhattan dweller. I am faced here with commuting issues that do not plague a "regular" horse person. Finding a barn one can go to by train or by bus from the isle of Manhattan is no small feat, but there are a few available locally that I might investigate. Besides Riverdale, I'm also considering Kensington Stables, which rides their horses in true NYC style by utilizing a riding arena apparently located within Brooklyn's Prospect Park. It is a testament to the creative ways that New Yorkers learn to use their limited space when a riding stable works out of a local park.

If anyone has any suggestions for ways to ease my transition into the English equestrian scene I'd be happy to hear. I'm proficient on the flat in an English saddle, and used to do hunter under saddle work with my young Paint gelding after he decided to grow way too big to be comfortable practicing the proper little steps required of a Pleasure horse. Unfortunately this may be of little usefulness, as stock horses in English tack are often barely recognizable as being part of the same discipline as circuit hunters and equitation horses. Before, therefore, I begin jumping, I'm sure I'll have lessons on the flat to ensure that I've got the independent English seat required to make it over those pretty fences in one piece and land on the same side that my horse does. All important considerations.

And yes mom, I will wear my helmet. That's one thing I've always done, regardless of how much leather separates me from my horse. Cowboy hats, after all, aren't the best protection when a fussy baby decides he no longer wants you aboard...