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Merck Animal Health; EPM: The Master of Disguise
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is often referred to as the “master of disguise” because it can look like many other neurological diseases or even obscure lameness. This is why it is critical to have your veterinarian conduct a thorough physical and neurological exam and appropriate diagnostic work up to confirm EPM. Treating without a diagnosis can be frustrating. If you’re concerned about EPM, talk to your veterinarian and keep the following risk factors in mind: • Mature horses are more commonly affected than very young horses • There is a higher incidence among horses used for racing, western performance and other strenuous activities • Events such as long-distance transportation, concurrent…
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Workshops. Need We Say More?
Its getting cold in Kentucky at the USPC National Office. Most people are thinking of Thanksgiving in a couple weeks and then Christmas. Pony Club is thinking about the 2017 Equine Symposium and Convention in SUNNY California! The workshops list has been released and it looks more exciting than ever before! Here is just a sampling of the fun seminars that YOU can attend! Create a Winning, Effective Certification Prep Plan with Deb Sobottka-Smith This session will provide a set of easy tools that members can use to assess their specific readiness for a certification Demystifying the Mounted Lesson Plan with Erin Boddaert, Nancy Grout, and Kim Lowman-Vollmer Come find…
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Book Review: The Gift of Failure
Welcome to the new topic on the Pony Club Pizza blog! Have an interesting book you feel would benefit Pony Club members or leadership? Send in your reviews to Mandy@ponyclub.org to be shared! Our first book review was sent in by Katie Graham, RS of Middle California Region. The Gift of Failure: How the best parents learn to let go so their children can succeed. By Jessica Lahey This wonderful book deals with failure as the most valuable parenting tool from household duties and friends from the earliest years through the grades to adulthood. It includes tips on parent-teacher partnerships, homework and grades and more. But the chapter that caught…
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Pony Club Members Win at North American Junior Field Hunter Championships!
The 2016 North American Junior Field Hunter Championships were hosted by Dr. & Mrs. Jack van Nagell at their own Boone Valley Farm on October 23rd in Lexington, KY. The event, designed for junior riders, is set in the hunt field with participants competing in Hilltopping and First Flight divisions. More than 20 current and former Pony Club members competed and finished in the top ten of some challenging divisions. Hilltop Division Champion Mary Katherine Leveridge, C-1 Traditional, Half-Halt Pony Club, Heartland Region Reserve Champion Cian Yorba, D-2 Traditional, Keeneland Pony Club, Midsouth Region 4th place- Grayson Yorba, D-1 Traditional, Keeneland Pony Club, Midsouth Region 5th place- Madison Elliott, D-3…
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Merck Animal Health; Time for Fall Vaccinations
Vaccination may be the furthest thing from your mind this fall, but the rigors of travel, training and performance may be taking a toll on your horse, lowering his ability to fend off illness. Performance horses traveling and in contact with many different horses and environments will likely need fall booster vaccinations. These vaccinations are administered to help prevent highly contagious diseases such as equine influenza virus and equine herpesvirus. Late summer and fall is also prime mosquito season, which means an increased risk of our horses contracting serious and often fatal diseases like Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (EEE, WEE), and West Nile virus (WNV), which are transmitted by…
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Meet your 2016 National Youth Board members!
USPC would like to highlight the National Youth Board Members for the current term. Today we meet Area 7 member Julie Jacobs. Julie Jacobs is an H Traditional, C-3 Dressage member of Greenville Foothills Pony Club in the Carolina Region. She started riding in 2004 and has been a member of Pony Club since 2007. Julie primarily competes in dressage and has attended Dressage Championships in 2014 and 2015. She is also passionate about horse management and enjoys teaching Pony Club members, as well as attending regional rallies as a Stable Manager. From 2009-2011, Julie attended Quiz Championships, twice as a competitor and once as a volunteer. In addition, she…
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Meet your 2016 National Youth Board members!
USPC would like to highlight the National Youth Board Members for the current term. Today we meet Area 2 member KC van Solinge. KC van Solinge is a B Traditional member from the Camino Real Region. K C was born and raised on the beautiful central coast of California in the city of Santa Maria where she joined the Santa Ynez Valley Pony Club at the age of 8. She has been very active in Pony Club for the past 12 years competing in 3 different Championships and representing the USPC in the 2015 Inter-Pacific Exchange Team last summer. KC was a member of the National Youth Congress in 2014…
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Pony Club Alumni contest Rio Round 2!
As we all know the 2016 Rio Olympics are in full swing. Thanks to USPC staff member, Jenny Van Wieren-Page, we can share a few awesome Q & A articles with some of the US Dressage Team members who are Pony Club Graduates! Traditionally when you think of Pony Club Alumni who go on to become Olympians you think of the sport of Eventing. While, that may still be true, many Dressage Olympians also have a history of beginning with Pony Club. The 2016 US Dressage Olympic Team has two athletes (Kasey Perry-Glass and Allison Brock), Chef d’Equipe (Robert Dover), a groom (Holly Gorman- sister of Kasey Perry-Glass) and Team…
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Pony Club Alumni contest Rio!
As we all know the 2016 Rio Olympics are in full swing. Thanks to USPC staff member, Jenny Van Wieren-Page, we can share a few awesome Q & A articles with some of the US Dressage Team members who are Pony Club Graduates! Traditionally when you think of Pony Club Alumni who go on to become Olympians you think of the sport of Eventing. While, that may still be true, many Dressage Olympians also have a history of beginning with Pony Club. The 2016 US Dressage Olympic Team has two athletes (Kasey Perry-Glass and Allison Brock), Chef d’Equipe (Robert Dover), a groom (Holly Gorman- sister of Kasey Perry-Glass) and Team…
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Taking T,P,R
After teaching camp for a local Pony Club and recently working on creating better lesson plans for the Pony Club website, we found out how many of our lower level members have trouble understanding the term, “taking the T,P,R” for a horse, or knowing their horses’ resting T,P,R. What is TPR? Short for Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration, taking your horses TPR should be routine for general horse care. Knowing your horses resting TPR can be helpful to your vet if there is ever an issue with your horse. An issue can be illness, fatigue, poor performance, and general wellness. Every horse has “ranges” their resting temperature, pulse, and respiration are…