Your eyes meet across the barn aisle.  Your heart beats a little faster. “There’s the one I’ve been looking for, “ you think.  And, suddenly, you’re in love. But before you ride off happily together into the sunset, consider a pre-purchase exam.

When someone says, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” they are talking about the custom of telling a horse’s age by looking at his teeth.  It is possible to estimate the age of a young horse by observing the pattern of teeth in the mouth, based on which teeth have erupted.  A horse's incisors, premolars, and molars, once fully developed, continue to erupt as the grinding surface is worn down through chewing. A young adult horse's teeth are typically 4.5–5 inches long, but the majority of the crown remaining below the gum line in the dental socket. The rest of the tooth slowly emerges from the jaw, erupting about 1/8" each year, as the horse ages. When the animal reaches old age, the crowns of the teeth are very short and the teeth are often lost altogether.  Differences between breeds and individual horses, however, can make precise dating impossible. 

Many of us have experienced that almost spiritual feeling we have when connecting with our horses. For us, to ride is to fly, to leave our cares behind.  But try explaining that to a non-horsey person.  Most times they will roll their eyes and shake their heads when we praise our horse.  Or, even worse, sigh and ask when you're going to "grow up and give up horses."

Days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder. Look through any horse product catalog and you’ll see an overwhelming amount of cover-ups for your horse for the coming inclement weather.  Quarter sheets, coolers, stable sheets, turnouts.  While it’s great to have so many choices, having all those options can be a bit overwhelming.  Here are some things to think about before you decide to buy.

If you’ve been involved even peripherally in the political scene over the several months,  you have probably heard of lobbyists and special interest groups using their voice to be sure that our government is aware of their concerns and needs.  But who is speaking up for the horse industry?  The American Horse Council!

One of the best ways to improve your dressage scores is to volunteer to scribe for a judge at a dressage show.  This gives you a front-row seat to see the ride and hear how the judge scores it.  It can help you learn just what the judge’s are looking for in each movement.  Not only will you hear the number score, you will also hear any comments the judge makes as to why they scored the movement the way they did.

Earlier this year, I attended my first Julie Goodnight clinic at the Washington State Horse Expo in Ridgefield, WA.  For those of you who don't know her, Julie Goodnight is a multidisciplinary rider and clinician, with experience in dressage, jumping, racing, reining, colt-starting, cutting, and wilderness riding. She teaches natural horsemanship, emphasizing doing what is best for the horse, and also the rider's safety at her clinics and on  her television show on Horse Master With Julie Goodnight.

It's sometimes called “horse ballet” by those that don't understand the sport.  But actually, they are not too far off. The power and elegance of dressage combined with the beauty of appropriate music can turn our sport into art – like figure skating or, yes, even ballet.