Equinox Equestrian Center

05/25/2025

05/16/2025

'Allowing the horse to stretch on a long rein' (sometimes called 'chewing the reins out of the hands') requires your horse to lower his head forward and down while maintaining an elastic contact with your hands. His nose should be slightly in front of the vertical (not curling up behind the vertical), and his mouth should be at least level with his shoulder.

The purpose of this movement is to test your horse's willingness to work through from behind and into the contact, and to demonstrate balance, relaxation, and suppleness.

Here's what the judge wants to see:

✅ As your horse stretches forward and down, your horse's mouth should reach inline with the point of his shoulder.
✅ Although your reins are lengthened, a consistent and elastic contact must be maintained throughout the stretch.
✅ Your horse must remain balanced, with his hind legs stepping under to support the stretch and remaining light in his shoulders.
✅ The rhythm and tempo of the pace must remain the same before, during, and after the movement.
✅ The rider should take the reins back smoothly, and there should be no loss of balance, resistance, or tension.

05/12/2025

https://amzn.to/3RWMMEv

04/28/2025

The April/May newsletter is out with results from our USEF show at the beginning of March. Take a look.

Email from Equinox Equestrian Center E-Newsletter April/May 2025 USEF Show at Equinox Equestrian Center Written by Gareth Archer Selwood For our first official USEF Horse Show at Equinox Equestrian Ce

04/27/2025

Last Call For Entries for our Spring School Show on May 3.

Equinox Equestrian Center Spring Schooling Show

Saturday May 3, 2025
Driving Dressage and Speed Course Event
Entries Open: April 1, 2025 Close: April 27, 2025
Equinox Equestrian Center
22507 NW County Road 1493; Alachua, FL 32615
Divisions: Training, Preliminary, Intermediate, Advanced by Request
Classes: VSE, Small Pony, Pony, Horse
Turnouts: Single, Pairs, and Teams
No Special Qualifications
Show Manager and Contact: Kami Landy
email: [email protected]
Phone: 305-781-3882
page: Equinox Equestrian Center
Judge: Gareth Archer Selwood
Course Design: Gary M. Yeager
Veterinarian: Springhill Equine (352)472-1620
Tentative Schedule:
9:30 AM Dressage Test
Small Break
Speed Course
Lunch
All trainers (Gary Yeager, Marianna Yeager, Gareth Selwood, and Kami Landy) are available for a private lesson either riding or driving. You can make arrangements with them directly.
The wooded trails will be open for leisure driving eg take your pony or horse for a drive through marked trail in the woods if you wish.
Dressage Test: Choose your dressage test. Tell us what test you want to drive for the judge so we can have the correct form for the judge.
Footing: Grass, all rings 40m X 80m
Speed Course will be two marathon obstacles; the mound and the grid; with a mini cones course (ten cone sets) in between. Cones: standardized settings for cones You must wear a helmet and a vest for the speed course. A marathon carriage is preferred for the course.
Arena/warmup footing: Fiber arena and grass area
Negative Coggins REQUIRED
Full refund on scratched entry prior to closing
Stabling: There are a limited number of 10 x 10 stalls under pole barn by covered arena
Food on grounds: TBD
Entry Fees: $75 per driver
Stabling Fees: $25 per horse/night
Extra shavings: $8/bag
Hotels Nearby:

Hampton Inn & Suites Alachua I-75
Holiday Inn Express and Suites
America’s Best Value Inn
Camping: Limited camping is available in the pasture near trailer parking. No hookups.
Directions to EEC: Exit 399 on I-75; take US 441 South through Alachua (heading toward Gainesville); Turn left onto CR 235; stay right at the fork in the road; turn left onto CR 121; drive through La Crosse; at the railroad crossing turn right onto CR 1493; Equinox Equestrian Center is 1.4 miles down the road on the right.
Spring 2025 Registration Formhttps://equinoxequestriancenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/EECRegistrationForm_Spring2025.pdf
Send check and entry forms to:
Equinox Equestrian Center
22507 NW County Road 1493; Alachua, FL 32615
Or scan and email to [email protected]
Paypal fees to [email protected]

04/18/2025

🐎COOLING HOT HORSES - THE STATE OF THE ART🐎

*** PLEASE SHARE ***

Apologies to those in cool climates at the present time :)

Seems we need to keep sharing this basic information to counter the myths that keep being circulated by certain "experts" :(

🐎WHY DO WE NEED TO COOL HORSES AFTER EXERCISE OR IF THEY GET TOO HOT?
-Horses produce heat 3-5 times faster on a per kg basis than we do
-Although horses are 6-7 times heavier, they only have 2 to 2.5 times as much surface area
-The majority of heat (~85%) is lost at the body surface
-Heat loss is also impaired in horses because they are covered in hair
-Horses can sweat faster than any other animal
-Sweating is efficient but slow
-Cooling with cold water is fast
-When horses compete in hot climates they can struggle to cool down after
-We cool them down with cold water (less than 15°C/60°F) to reduce the risk of heat illness and because there is no advantage to them being hot and uncomfortable after exercising. The quicker they cool, the quicker they drink, eat and recover.
-The methods to cool them are now well understood.

🐎Since Atlanta 1996 we have known that using continuous application of cold water (less than 15°C/60°F) all over the horses body without scraping is the most effective way to cool down horses that are moderately to severely hyperthermic (re**al temperature in excess of ~40°C/104°F), especially in hot or hot/humid conditions.

🐎The sources for this evidence are:
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLISHED PAPERS
1) Williamson, L.S., White, S., Maykuth, P., Andrews, F., Sommerdahl, C. and Green, E. Comparison between two post exercise cooling methods. Equine Vet J., 27(S18), 337-340.
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/7MBUJJWJZPVWQKTNIJWN?target=10.1111/j.2042-3306.1995.tb04948.x
2) Marlin, D. J., Scott, C. M., Roberts, C. A., Casas, I., Holah, G., & Schroter, R. C. (1998). Post exercise changes in compartmental body temperature accompanying intermittent cold water cooling in the hyperthermic horse. Equine veterinary journal, 30(1), 28–34.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9458396/
3) Kohn, C.W., Hinchcliff, K.W. and McKeever, K.H. (1999) Evaluation of washing with cold water to facilitate heat dissipation in horses exercised in hot, humid conditions. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 01 Mar 1999, 60(3):299-305. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10188810/
4) Takahashi, Y., Ohmura, H., Mukai, K., Shiose, T., & Takahashi, T. (2020). A Comparison of Five Cooling Methods in Hot and Humid Environments in Thoroughbred Horses. Journal of equine veterinary science, 91, 103130.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32684268/
5) Kang, H., Zsoldos, R.R., Skinner, J.E., Gaughan, J.B. and Guitart, A.S. (2021) Comparison of post-exercise cooling methods in horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 100 (2021) 103485
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103485

🐎DATA COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT
a) Atlanta 1995 Olympic Test Event
b) Atlanta 1996 Olympics
c) Athens 2003 Olympic Test Event
d) Athens 2004 Olympics
e) Beijing 2007 Olympic Test Event
f) Beijing 2008 Olympics
g) Tryon 2018 World Equestrian Games
h) Tokyo 2019 Olympic Test Event
i) Tokyo 2020(1) Olympic Games Dressage and Eventing

🐎Cooling hot horses with cold water DOES NOT
1) cause muscle damage
2) cause laminitis
3) induce shock
4) give horses heart attacks
5) prevent them from cooling by constriction of skin blood flow
Water left on horses DOES NOT
1) insulate and prevent heat loss
2) cause them to overheat

🐎It is NOT MORE EFFECTIVE TO
1) start at the feet and work up
2) scrape water off whilst cooling (it causes them to warm up)
3) focus on large blood vessels
4) cover the horse with wet towels
5) place ice on large blood vessels near the surface such as the jugular veins or femoral arteries
6) put ice in the re**um
7) rely on misting fans

*** PLEASE SHARE ***

04/12/2025

Three weeks until EEC's Spring School Show om May 3, 2025. End your season with a bit of fun!

Equinox Equestrian Center Spring Schooling Show Saturday May 3, 2025 Driving Dressage and Speed Course Event Entries Open: April 1, 2025 Close: April 27, 2025 Equinox Equestrian Center 22507 NW County Road 1493; Alachua, FL 32615 Divisions: Training, Preliminary, Intermediate, Advanced by Request Cl...

04/12/2025

𝐀 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦-𝐔𝐩 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐬

It’s a topic I never seen people talking about at all 🤔

There’s a moment, just before a round begins, where the outside world stills. It’s just you and your horse. No judges. No crowd. No pressure.

That moment is built in the warm-up ring.

But lately, it seems those spaces the warm-up arenas we once relied on for quiet preparation are changing. They’ve become rushed. Loud. Crowded. Sometimes even unsafe. And in all of that noise, something important is being lost.

We’re forgetting what the warm-up ring is meant to be not just for us, but for the horse.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆

The warm-up isn’t just a place to pop over a fence or run through movements. It’s where the conversation between horse and rider begins. A space to loosen muscles, steady nerves, and establish trust before entering the ring.

It’s where the anxious young gelding finds rhythm in his canter.
Where the older mare feels her joints ease before a big ask.
Where we say, without words: “I’m here. You’re safe. We can do this together.”

But that trust can be shaken and so easily by a warm-up ring full of pressure, noise, and disregard for the basics.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

They’re not there to control.
They’re there to guide. To protect.
To offer a shared language so we can work together, even in the busiest of spaces.

Let’s remember them:

Pass left shoulder to left shoulder.
It’s an old rule, but it works. It keeps the rhythm of the ring flowing and avoids confusion. When everyone moves with the same understanding, the space becomes easier safer for everyone.

Call “Jump!” before you approach a fence.
Say it clearly, kindly, and early. Let others know where you’re going. Don’t assume they can see you. Horses deserve a clear path they don’t need to dodge unexpected riders at the last second.

Jumping riders have right of way.
If someone is lining up a fence, they take priority. Step aside. Don’t block their line or wander in front of a jump. Their horse may be working through nerves or hesitation don’t add to the confusion.

Don’t stand or walk in front of fences or along the track.
Walk in the middle or off to the side. A stopped horse in the wrong place causes tension and risk. It teaches horses to expect obstacles where there shouldn’t be any.

Keep it quiet.
One helper per rider is enough. Loud voices, shouting instructions across the ring, or several people gathered at the rail it distracts, overwhelms, and creates stress for horses already trying to focus.

Ride with awareness.
Look up. Know who’s around you. Ride as though your horse isn’t the only one that matters because they aren’t. Someone behind you may be schooling a green pony, a nervous child might be nearby, a warmblood may be spooking at the gate.

Be kind. Always.
Say “Thank you.” Smile. Apologize if you make a mistake. It doesn’t make you weak it makes you a horse person.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁

When we forget the purpose of the warm-up ring, we lose more than order. We lose confidence our horses’, our fellow riders’, and even our own.

Horses, especially young or sensitive ones, pick up on tension. A chaotic warm-up can leave them unsettled before their round has even begun. Some horses start to dread the ring entirely, associating it with stress and uncertainty. Some riders do too.

We also risk pushing out the quiet riders the thoughtful ones who don’t want to fight for space or raise their voices. But they, too, deserve the same chance to prepare.

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗲

The warm-up ring can still be what it once was:
A space of care.
A space of focus.
A space where horses feel supported not rushed or overwhelmed.

It starts with us. Not with show officials or stewards. But with riders, trainers, parents, and helpers choosing to act with awareness and respect.

A good ride begins long before we enter the ring. It starts the moment we mount. And the warm-up is where we shape the kind of rider we want to be not just in competition, but in character.

Let’s give our horses and each other the warm-up we all deserve.

Photo credit:https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/the-idea-of-order-helpful-advice-from-the-warmup-ring--145663369199965328/