What better way to spotlight trails than do the one thing that can preserve them: Ride them?!

By Horsetrader staff

NORCO—It’s a Friday afternoon, and Mike Williams returns home to Fourth Street with his 16.1-hand Mustang gelding, Cowboy, after a day of what he loves most—trail riding.

This breezy January ride went 20 miles, a perfect distance to get Cowboy ready for an upcoming 300-mile journey that he and others have been planning for more than a year. The three-week trip, leaving Norco April 30 and arriving at Bishop May 21, will take Williams and co-riders Rebekah Wan and Ray Spence along urban routes out of Horsetown USA, up and beyond the Cajon Pass, across the Mojave Desert and ultimately into Owens Valley along the Eastern Sierra.

From Horsetrader staff reports

TEMECULA—A new show with a popular new class made for a fresh start of the 2019 season for the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association, as the inaugural Cowhorse Kickoff brought Casner Ranch to life Jan. 11-13.

Despite some wet weather, SCRCHA members eagerly returned to the show pen for a full line-up that included open boxing and popular ranch riding classes.

What lies beneath your horse’s hooves makes a difference. These products, services and tools will get down in the dirt—and enhance performance, safety and good horse health.

Easy Rider Arenas
(858) 663-5385

Specializing in arena construction and footing, Easy Rider Arenas has finished more than 2,500 arenas since 1985. Their reputation for delivering top tier work to satisfied customers from northern Los Angeles County to the southern border is unparalleled. Easy Rider Arenas developed the industry engineering standards for arena construction and footings that are used throughout the country. From backyard operations to Olympic-caliber farms, the company has a long list of prominent customers. They also exhibit their expertise in related specialized services including barn pad and road grading, fencing, arena refurbishing as well as weekly and monthly maintenance. See ad on page 30

Eco GreenGrid
(503) 975-0141
EcoGreenGrid.com

Eco GreenGrid is a “green” asphalt (and concrete) alternative known “permeable pavement.” It is the eco-friendly answer to paving and allows the flow of water through to the soil below, preventing numerous issues associated with water runoff and erosion. Eco GreenGrid is economical, environmentally sustainable and strong. It can be used for pedestrian, livestock and vehicular traffic and is strong enough on which to drive large tractors and trucks. Installing Eco GreenGrid in and around stalls, paddocks and barns allows for horse’s hooves to remain dry and healthy in any climate. It can also be used on trails, driveways, parking areas and landscape pathways to create a permanent mud free solution. It has been engineered and designed to give the strongest, most durable product per square foot and to last a lifetime. The design is based on the snowshoe principle, which allows for more weight to be evenly distributed throughout its surface area so that it will not sink down. Pieces can be easily taken apart, put together and cut to create any shaper desired. See installation videos on EcoGreenGrid.com, Facebook and YouTube. Call for prices and shipping quotes to your area. Multi-pallet discounts offered. See ad on page 27

By Daniel H. Grove, DVM

Arena footing comes in a wide variety of substrates. There are natural and man made materials used in their composition. In this article we will learn a few basics and then discuss some factors to look at from the veterinary side of injuries and their prevention.

When selecting a footing for your arena, there are some factors to take into consideration.

1) Shock absorption: Shock absorption or cushion is going to take strain off of the legs of your horses. While they do have built in structures to help with this, anything you can do to aid can be beneficial. If you run on concrete you are more likely to be sore than if you run on grass!

From Horsetrader sales staff

The Backcountry Horsemen of California’s annual Rendezvous will return to Norco this year, giving Southern California horsepeople a chance to learn about horsemanship, trail use and preservation and more. The 2019 conference, titled “Preserving Trails for Future Generations”, is set for March 29-31 at the George Ingalls Equestrian Event Center. The BCHC Rendezvous features equine training clinicians, scores of vendors, horse and mule packing seminars, “Gentle-use/Leave No Trace” classes, Western Art Show, awards and accolades, Dutch Oven Cook-off, Trail Challenge, Beer and Wine tasting, Cowboy Church, Youth classes, raffles and auction. There is always lots to learn, lots of fun, and plenty of horses and mules.

The beginnings of BCHC started in 1981, when a group of private and commercial packers met to form the High Sierra Stock Users Association with the purpose of representing horsemen in dealings with the administrators of public lands.

From Horsetrader staff reports

After a year of good competition and camaraderie, the California Reining Horse Association announced its list of 2018 Year-end Champions and Reserve Champions.

The CRHA’s 2019 schedule is upon us, with the Sweetheart Reining scheduled for Feb. 2–4 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank.

From releases and staff reports

RANCHO MURIETA—A memorable 2018 reining season was memorialized Jan. 19 when then West Coast Reining Horse Association held its year-end awards banquet at the Murieta Inn and Spa, the beautiful, new facility owned by Carol Ward, who owns the Murieta Equestrian Center.

David Hanson was master of ceremonies at the event, which included a silent auction that raised $7,500. In addition to awards presentations, the night included prestigious special awards like the Kathryn Cagle “Inspire-Me” Award, the WCRHA “Horseperson of the Year” and WCRHA “Horse of the Year”.

Foundation Training for the Performance Horse with Les Vogt

What is speed control? It’s when we are moving at any gait and have the capacity to reduce or increase speed at will, with little or no effort on the part of the rider. There are a lot of ways to cue a horse to change speeds, but what we will work with here is the concept of riding with the motion. There are three actual ways to ride a horse’s motion: most people ride with the motion; a racehorse jockey leans forward and rides a half stride ahead of the horse to encourage speed; and lot of our real good riders ride a half stride behind the motion—where their weight and position are actually creating some resistance for the horse’s movement. It would be like if you tied a sack of rocks on one horse and had no rocks on another horse; the horse with the rocks tied on him is going to stop way before the horse without the rocks. Why? Because the rocks go against his motion so he slows down after a period of time.

By Sheryl Lynde | Horsetrader columnist

I’ve owned Lil’ Joe since he was four years old. Now 25, he was the catalyst for my seeking help that ultimately led to a career change

During the first years of ownership, I allowed some behaviors to go uncorrected. I wasn’t paying attention to the smaller details. He began to balk at my requests in certain circumstances, which developed into more emphatic refusals. Later, his refusals developed into crow-hopping, and the crow-hopping evolved into a buck.

Then one day I hit the ground. Once he had unseated me, every bucking episode from that day forward continued until I came off. He had my attention now.

I kept trying to ride through the behavior, but no improvement was being made. I was taking the issue with me whenever and wherever I rode. It was time to get help.