26 March 2013

By Robyn Brown, EST

Many of us have our horses schedules relax during the cold months, making maintaining physical fitness and reaching goals a challenge. During this time it is important to remember the key facts in maintaining and gaining condition without causing injury or sickness. Starting a fitness program after an extended holiday needs to be done with a few things in mind.

The basics of a conditioning program should be centered around your goals as a rider and be specific to your horse.  There are many factors to remember when designing your program and many professionals available that can help you with this.  The extent of your training specifics should alter with your horse’s age, sex, breed, discipline, competition schedule, terrain and weather conditions.

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06 February 2013

CFIA Lifts All Import Restrictions

By Equine Canada

 

Ottawa, Ontario, February 6, 2013 --- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed that the Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) outbreak in New Mexico has been resolved, and that all restrictions governing horses entering Canada from that state have been lifted.
 
VS was detected in two New Mexico horses on April 20, 2012. These cases were the first confirmed diagnosis of active VS in the United States since 2010. Additional VS diagnoses were made in the state of Colorado in October 2012.
 
In the wake of the initial detection, the CFIA took immediate action to safeguard Canada against an outbreak of VS. Therefore, import and export restrictions were implemented in regards to horses entering Canada from the state of New Mexico, and the return of Canadian horses who were in New Mexico at the time of the outbreak, or thereafter. Similar restrictions were later enforced concerning the state of Colorado, but were lifted in October 2012 once the outbreak was resolved.

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22 January 2013

The 31^st Annual Horse Breeders and Owners Conference in Red Deer welcomed hundreds of horse enthusiasts for a weekend filled with fun and education. In the largest turn-out since the 25^th anniversary in 2007, a total of over 660 people were onsite, hailing from all over Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. The exhibit hall hosted over 50 booths sponsored by equine businesses and organizations. 

The weekend started off with the 7^th annual Stable Owners’ Seminar on Friday afternoon and included four sessions specifically designed for stable owners. Topics on risk management, attracting clients and working with veterinarians were presented to a crowd of over 100 people by Christy Landwehr, Gary Millar, and Becky Taylor, respectively. The highly anticipated last session was a Q & A with three representatives from Strathcona County, Red Deer County, and Rocky View County.

Friday night’s “Open Barn” Welcome Reception was hosted by Pfizer Animal Health’s Equine Division and provided the first opportunity to see sponsor booths set up in the exhibition hall. Early bird draw prizes were distributed to the lucky winners and delegates entered additional bucket draw prizes. This year, the “Open Barn” Welcome Reception extended an invitation for the general public to experience a taste of what the event has to offer.

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