High Pointe Stables
3701 Alnwick Hills Road K0K 1C0 Cobourg, ON, Canada

Rip to this truly amazing horse

Sounds exciting!!

It has been confirmed that equestrian events at the Paris 2024 Olympics will be held at Versailles. The famous palace of Louis XIV will provide a fabulous backd...rop for Olympic and Paralympic horse sport, with organisers confirming that all equestrian events will take place at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.... Read more: www.equestrianlife.com.au//Equestrian-events-at-Paris-2024 Image: Paris 2024 #eqlifeaus

On this Veterans' Day we want to take a moment to thank all the brave men and women who served our country and who continue to serve. In honor of the animals wh...o assist their human partners in the armed forces, we hope you'll enjoy reading the story of Nelson, pictured below with his soldier. Nelson was a real war horse who served in the Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery during World War I by pulling the medium-calibre guns and howitzers which were deployed close to the front line. Nelson's handler and driver was Alfred Henn, who kept a photograph of the war horse he had cherished as a young soldier until his death in 2000, at the age of 103. Speaking before he died, Alfred recalled Nelson's unflinching bravery despite only having one eye. With Alfred riding him, and the full weight of a gun carriage behind him, the noble horse galloped directly into the gunfire. Nelson was Alfred's only confidant amid the horror of battle, and also had an uncanny sense of danger that served both soldier and horse well. Horses were a valuable commodity during WWI, but it's said the terror they shared in those days forged incredible friendships between the animals and their humans. It was a very physical relationship, and soldiers and horses often slept together in the mud to ward off the cold. Source: Daily Mail

Excellent winter motivator!! Great advice to keep horse and rider safe

So, sure, it is so much easier if you start riding when you are young, flexible and relatively fearless. But what if you did not have that chance? What if you a...re NOT young, not flexible, and not relatively fearless? But you want to ride---What can you learn from the career of Walter Gervais, the man who was a division boxing champion in the US Navy in World War 2, placed 25th in the Boston Marathon in 1946, but never rode a horse until he was in his mid fifties, won his first novice event at the age of 69, moved up to preliminary at age 72, and rode in his first long format preliminary 3-day event at 75? Well, I am not going to say anything as heart warming and Walt Disney-ish as some inanity like, "Well. if Walt could do it, there's still hope for me." But I am going to deliver some truth, if you can handle it--- Number one---Walt made himself into a hard, tough athlete by doing hard, tough daily work. He walked and, when his injured knee let him, he jogged. He lifted hay bales. He hustled. He knew that while there is no such thing as an ultimate Fountain of Youth, staying physically fit and active comes as close as we have. Number two---Walt made sure that the horses he rode were appropriate for his level, and had the ability to help him reach his goals. He would NOT get side tracked by the wrong horses---he did not have time for that. Number three---Walt sought good help, and when he got advice, he tried to heed it, even if it wasn't advice that he particularly liked. Number four---Walt had a support network who believed in him, wife, kids, grandkids, coaches, friends, who created a web of encouragement. Number five---Maybe it should be number one---Walt Gervais exemplified that archaic phrase "True Grit." He kept trying against many odds. So there are some morning thoughts, take them or ignore them----

15 is the new 10 - keeping the middle aged horse healthy! http://www.thehorse.com//15-is-the-new-10-keeping-the-midd

How to Train for Self Carriage at the Gallop Why is self carriage at the gallop so important? Let me describe what happens with horses and riders in our sport... when the horse is NOT in self carriage at the gallop: On cross country, when horses are galloping along heavily on their forehand between fences, their front feet and legs are taking a *pounding* with every stride. This can often eventually lead to soundness issues. There will also obviously be a huge extra need for "set up" at each fence, especially so with the more complicated fences. And when the rider *tries* to change that balance to approach a fence, there will most likely be resistance on the horse's part. Why? Because even the most well trained horse will find it difficult to comply to his rider's requests with the state of balance they are in. This often means that riders will have to "wrestle" with their horses to try to rebalance and set up for each fence, using the reins quite strongly. Several things happen when this is the case... First of all, a whole lot of energy is wasted with these struggles. So mental and/or physical fatigue can become more of an issue, for both horse and rider, especially on longer, more difficult courses. Also, when riders are adding more and more rein pressure to bring their horses back to them and rebalance, the horse's mouth will become less and less responsive. And you know what this means! Riders then have to pull even harder to be heard, as their horses begin to tune them out. Some horses "shut down" in a way when they have had too much pressure on their mouth - almost like their mouth has gone numb. And others panic and try to *run away even more* when they know their rider is going to start to pull hard on their mouth. This is true in regards to maintaining the desired speed between fences as well. I learned this one the hard way myself. If you have a horse that wants to go, go, GO... It is not a good idea to attempt to "hold them back" through the whole course. Because the horse's mouth will become less and less responsive as the course goes on, and you will likely find yourself having very little control by the end of the course! Horses and riders in any of these scenarios are at a MUCH greater risk of having a dangerous or even catastrophic fall at a cross country fence. Because they are not in true harmony. And any fighting that goes on between horse and rider as the rider frantically tries to rebalance the horse in front of the fence (or to try to attain some preconceived "take off spot") risks taking the horse's focus OFF of the fence. That is NEVER a good thing. And finally, every time riders have to resort to wrestling their horses back to them, more strain is added to the horses' backs and hocks. So the soundness repercussions from not galloping in balance and self carriage can show up anywhere in the horse's body. Fortunately, training for self carriage at the gallop is not terribly difficult. It just takes time and effort. Click on the link below to learn how to do it https://www.myvirtualeventingcoach.com//how-train-self-car