During the past 12 months, we’ve visited our favorite horse shows and equine events, read up on the latest research on horse and rider well-being and continued to educate ourselves on how to best take care of our horses. Here are the news items and articles that were most popular on horseillustrated.com during 2013.
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It’s Another Colt for Zenyatta! Legendary racehorse Zenyatta delivered her second foal, a colt, on April 1, 2013. Although Queen Z has been retired from racing since late 2010, her fans have certainly not forgotten her and still follow her in her second career as a broodmare. |
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Andrew Nicholson Wins 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Rolex is one of the most prestigious equestrian events held on American soil, and one of our favorites to cover here at Horse Illustrated and horseillustrated.com headquarters. You enjoy reading about it, too, as this year’s coverage was among the most popular news stories of the year.
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Help for Crooked Riders Earlier in 2013, researchers in Great Britain examined if and how physiotherapy could help riders who tend to sit crookedly in the saddle. It’s a topic that resonates with a lot of riders, and our write-up of the study generated a lot of interest.
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Grooming vs. Treats Another item of research out of Europe was a Polish study that examined the use of grooming rewards compared with food rewards for training and bonding with horses. The results probably won’t surprise you. |
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Is Halloween Candy Safe for Horses? Plenty of horses have a sweet tooth, but that doesn’t mean you should share the spoils of trick-or-treating with them. In this article, equine nutrition expert Dr. Juliet Getty offered advice on safely enjoying the Halloween holiday with your horse.
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Do Horses Enjoy Jumping? It’s difficult to say whether or not horses actually enjoy their jobs, or if they do what they’re asked simply because it’s in their breeding and training to do so. Researchers in Poland performed a preliminary study to determine whether horses would choose to jump when given the choice. (Who knew Poland was such a hotbed of equine research?)
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Winter Survival Guide Back in early November, our readers were already bracing for the tough winter ahead. Our guide to surviving and thriving during the darkest, coldest days of the year was one of the most popular articles of 2013.
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Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro Set a New Record British dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin and her equine partner, Valegro, have been having a fantastic few years. After winning Olympic gold in 2012, the pair went on to topple every grand prix record on the books, including at the European Championships in August.
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New Mexico Slaughterhouse Receives Approval It seems like horse slaughter is always in the news, and 2013 was no different. While a proposed horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico did receive approval during the summer, legal challenges have kept it from opening. Look for this story to continue developing through 2014 and beyond. |
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Tornado Preparedness for Horse Owners Natural disasters can be devastating for anyone, but horse owners have their own unique challenges when it comes to getting through a severe weather event and its aftermath. After a powerful tornado tore through Oklahoma this spring, many people were looking for ways to be ready for whatever the weather might bring.
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It’s Show Time We like to give our readers a heads up about major shows and events in the horse world, especially those that offer live online streaming so that horse fans everywhere can enjoy the action. Three major breed shows made the top ten list of our most popular articles in 2013. The American Saddlebred World’s Chamionship in August, the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show in February, and the All-American Quarter Horse Congress in October all provided a great experience for spectators, whether in person or through the magic of the Internet.
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cool! a lot of great articles this year!
Nice.