Ready for Anything
- Written by Shannon Habenicht - The Carolinas Equestrian
Will Zuschlag grew up loving horses and dreamed of being a cowboy and riding the rodeo circuit one day, not imagining that instead he would be riding with Karen and David O’Connor, looking to tackle some of the top events in the country. Will’s dad, Geoff, took English riding lessons when he was young and told young Will that if he tried English for a year, he could switch back to his rodeo dream. After a few years at the local English riding school, Will learned about eventing and completely forgot about the rodeo.
Understanding the Horse’s Digestive System
- Written by J. Frank Gravlee, DVM, MS, CNS and Scott Gravlee, DVM, CNS
Life Data Labs, Inc.
Makers of Farrier’s Formula® and Barn Bag® Pasture and Hay Balancer
Whether it is an animal, plant or other living organism, all living things must have a genetic code and chemical process to maintain life. All living organisms have nutrient requirements that are basically the same at the metabolic level. The difference is how these requirements are absorbed to provide nutrients and energy to live. For example, plants can manufacture the nutrients and energy they need by staying in one place. They can do this by using the energy from sunlight, along with water, oxygen and nutrients from the soil. In essence, they are self-sufficient. Unlike animal life, plants do not depend on other living things to survive except for the soil microbiome at their roots.
A Driving Force
- Written by Dana Diemer
In 2009, I resigned my position as organizer of horse trials at a major competition facility in the southeast and took up the sport of combined driving. I inherited a throw-away pony recovering from concussion founder, was lucky enough to be in a community where combined driving is very strong, and nine years later I’m still competing. My husband, Manny, an adrenaline junkie eventer, navigates for me. What follows are some fun facts about Combined Driving.
Combined Driving is the sister sport to Combined Training (now called Eventing). It was created in the mid-1960s by, among other notables, His Royal Highness Prince Phillip. Like eventing, combined driving has three phases: dressage, marathon (our cross country) and cones (our stadium).
En Vogue Equestrian: Bre Avery
- Written by Stephanie Shepard
Like most equestrians, Bre Avery was infatuated with horses as a child. Inspired by her grandmother, Janet, an avid horse lover, Bre inherited and developed her love for horses and art. Bre describes her grandmother as having “equestrian art all over her house and amazing photographs of her in the saddle. She always got me birthday cards and gifts with horses on them.” Bre nurtured her passion for horses and art, transforming her hobby into a business venture by creating her own fashion line, Bre Avery.
