South African holistic management specialist Ian Mitchell-Innes discussed management tactics with a group of Manitoba producers last month.

Focus on nutrition will also help pastures

World-renowned holistic management specialist says green is not the only right colour for grass

Reading Time: 3 minutes Many graziers have a theory that if you look after the soil, the rest of the operation will take care of itself, but Ian Mitchell-Innes looks at it the other way around. “The biggest mistake that people make after learning about holistic management is they try and save the ground. I did this also when […] Read more

A couple runs through a trust exercise in a Can Praxis course. The program uses equine therapy to help veterans suffering from PTSD and their spouses communicate.

Working with horses offers a lifeline to vets

Alberta-based equine therapy program teaches veterans how to communicate with their loved ones

Reading Time: 3 minutes Horses can be a mirror for human behaviour — act aggressively or refuse to communicate and it will let you know. “You can lie to a human, but you can’t lie to a horse,” said Steve Critchley, co-founder of Can Praxis, an Alberta-based equine therapy program that uses horses to help Canadian military veterans and […] Read more





The lowdown on the common lumps and bumps of horses

The lowdown on the common lumps and bumps of horses

Horse Health: Often the best treatment is benign neglect until they get better on their own

Reading Time: 4 minutes Over their lifetime, horses present with an array of lumps and bumps on various occasions. At times the lump or bump will seemingly appear suddenly from out of nowhere, or it may develop slowly and remain for years without change. The behaviour and clinical picture of the lump/bump will determine whether it needs further investigation […] Read more

Renaud Léguillette (on left) fits a horse with a special mask to measure the maximal rate of oxygen  consumption (known as VO2 max) as the animal exercises.

Equine athletes to benefit from new research program

The focus will be on reducing injuries in racehorses, show jumpers, 
and Western pleasure, rodeo, and draft horses

Reading Time: 2 minutes High-performance equine athletes are like people — they need to be at peak fitness to perform at their maximum. And, as with any athlete, injuries can occur. How to train horses for top performance while avoiding injury is one issue facing the sport horse industry in Alberta that will be studied further thanks to a […] Read more


Some of the volunteers put on period dress in the reenactment of famed horseman Slim Moorehouse’s 1925 feat.

Neil Dimmock’s big dream — and his really big wagon train

Reading Time: 4 minutes Planning and preparation make for a good road trip — especially if your mode of transportation is 30 horses pulling eight wagons. Neil Dimmock needed porta-potties, campers, dozens of volunteers (and enough food to keep them happy), generous landowners and sponsors, a stack of permits, hundreds of gallons of water, tons of hay and oats, […] Read more




horse with muzzle

Management strategies for using grazing muzzles

Horse Health: Grass consumption can be reduced by 30 to 80 per cent 
depending on the horse or pony wearing one

Reading Time: 3 minutes The grazing muzzle is a simple, effective, and sensible tool caretakers can use to manage the grass intake of their horses. The grazing muzzle is a basket-like contraption — a piece of headgear a horse wears with the intention of slowing down and reducing grass intake on pasture. The horse wearing the muzzle can breathe […] Read more