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Here you can find our archive of stories from Equestrian Weekly, our once-a-week look at affiliate news, international competition, amateur profiles, horse care tips, and more. You’ll also find stories from the USEF Insider, a twice-monthly email newsletter packed with features about USEF people and programs, including our drugs and medications program, regulations, and competitions departments.

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Is Your Horse at Risk of Choking?

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Jan 30, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

Choking—an obstruction in the esophagus, often involving food—can affect horses of any age or type. And it can be serious: a bad choke can cause potentially life-threatening secondary lung infection and can injure the esophagus. Grass has more moisture content than hay or dry feed. In the winter, horses whose diets switch from less pasture to more dry matter--and who possibly are also drinking less--can be at higher risk of choking. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help...

WEG Talk: Dressage and Para-Dressage

by FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 | Jan 30, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

Dressage is the ultimate expression of communication and elegance between a horse and athlete and has rapidly grown in popularity each year around the world. This Olympic equestrian discipline is often compared to ballet, with a scoring system similar to that of figure skating. The harmonious connection between the human and equine athletes allows each pair to perform an intricate pattern of movements for which they receive scores from a seven-member judging panel. The rider’s cues are...

American Horse Council Webinar to Discuss ELD Mandate

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Jan 30, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

The American Horse Council will host a webinar on Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. ET to discuss the recent Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate, which the AHC notes has caused much confusion in the equine industry. In addition to hosting the webinar—which requires registration but is open both to AHC members and to non-members—the AHC also has published two informational brochures. One is about the ELD Mandate , and the other is about the Commercial Driver’s License , or CDL. Both...

Nine Lives and a Big Personality

by Kathleen Landwehr | Jan 23, 2018, 4:00 PM EST

Sarah Medler and Ares competing at the 2017 IFSHA World & Grand National Championships (Avalon Photography) Sarah Medler and Ares, her 17-year-old Friesian gelding, were featured in the Snapshot department of the 2017 winter issue of US Equestrian magazine . The photo showed two individuals, human and equine, who appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves while competing at the International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFHSA) World & Grand National Championship. US Equestrian...

Seven Ways Vaulting Can Improve Your Ride

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Jan 16, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

Vaulting —gymnastics on horseback—is one of the world’s oldest equestrian sports. And while it might look exotic to those of us more used to riding or driving, the sport of vaulting offers a wealth of great training for any equestrian, regardless of discipline. Not surprisingly, many vaulters have fast-tracked into other disciplines, like dressage, jumping, and eventing, after building a strong foundation in vaulting. So what can you get from vaulting? We asked two vaulting...

Know Your Treats: Some Natural Ingredients Can Cause Accidental Drug Positives

by Glenye Oakford | Dec 26, 2017, 3:00 PM EST

Photo Credit: Kim Russell Photo If you like to reward your horse with edible treats, remember to be mindful of exactly what you’re feeding: some natural ingredients, like honey and licorice, can cause an accidental drug positive. “You may think something sounds familiar and benign, but you don’t necessarily know what’s in it,” said Dr. Stephen Schumacher, DVM, chief administrator of US Equestrian’s Equine Drugs and Medications Program. “You know the...

Hoof Help: White Line Disease

by Glenye Oakford | Dec 19, 2017, 3:00 PM EST

Like thrush, white line disease is a fairly simple hoof ailment that is not terribly difficult to treat, provided it’s caught early. “White line disease is often a mixed fungal and bacterial infection, and, like thrush, it’s opportunistic,” said Dr. Bryan Fraley of Fraley Equine Podiatry at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute . “It likes to capitalize on any little defect in the hoof wall that will give these organisms a chance to get up under the hoof wall. It grows...

Dressage Trainer Jim Koford on Friesians, Freestyles, and Coloring Outside the Lines

by Glenye Oakford | Nov 28, 2017, 3:00 PM EST

Adiah HP just loves to dance. That’s how her trainer and rider Jim Koford puts it. “It’s physical, and it’s exciting, and you have to stay on your game!” Koford said of partnering Adiah in the dressage ring. Adiah HP and Jim Koford during their Grand Prix Open freestyle championship ride at US Dressage Finals earlier this month. Photo by SusanJStickle.com. Their joy in performing is obvious—you can watch their winning performance in the Grand Prix Open...

Filing a Repeat MPA Disclosure Form Online Just Got Easier!

by US Equestrian Communications Department | Nov 14, 2017, 4:13 PM EST

Effective Sept. 1, 2017, the United States Equestrian Federation requires the reporting of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) administration within 90 days before a USEF-licensed competition, and a new form must be filed with each subsequent MPA administration. The electronic MPA Disclosure Form is the fastest, easiest way to file. And if you have repeat administrations to report, that process just got even easier, thanks to a new autofill feature that automatically adds your horse’s...

Horses are Helping Veterans Find New Joy—and a Path to Equestrian Sport

by Glenye Oakford | Nov 7, 2017, 3:00 PM EST

When U.S. Army veteran Seyward McKinney took fifth place recently in a dressage competition at the Virginia Horse Center with a Quarter Horse mare named Trinity, it wasn’t just any result. It was an important early milestone in what McKinney hopes will become a competitive para-dressage career, thanks to programs that are introducing military veterans to horses—often for the first time—both for therapy and for sport. Seyward McKinney and Trinity. Photo by Sonya Weaver....