Tips and Tricks of the Trade is a new article series being provided through a partnership between Athletux and the USEA.
At Lauren Kieffer Eventing (LKE) it seems like with our busy schedule and high number of horses, we are always clipping in the winter months, and once all the horses are clipped, I feel as though it is already time to clip some of them again. As a result of this, the horse's coats can become increasingly dry resulting in different funguses and at times blanket rubs from always having their coats on.
My tip for blanket rubs and this dry coat issue is to wipe the horses down with Witch Hazel, followed by a coat moisturizer. Witch Hazel can be easily found at the drugstore and applied to a towel to be used. For the coat moisturizer, my favorite is Ecolicious Glossy Gloss Coat Tonic which comes in a nifty, easy to use spray bottle.
Blanket rubs seem inevitable with certain horses, and I have had a great deal of success using olive oil cream anywhere I see them getting rubs, or to prevent rubs on the chronically rubbed areas such as the shoulders. Any olive oil cream will do for this use and it can be found very inexpensively at your local drug store.
Shannon Kinsley is the groom for CCI4* rider Lauren Kieffer. Shannon has many years of experience taking care of horses both at home and in International Competition. For more information about Lauren Kieffer and Shannon Kinsley, visit www.laurenkieffer.com or be sure to follow their adventures via social media at https://www.facebook.com/laurenkieffereventing. Kinsley pictured left. Photo via LKE's Facebook Page.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.