Country-Life jump at Kyalami Park Club showing a filler underneath the fence - HQ Magazine

ASKHQ: SCARY FILLERS

Q: My horse is generally very forward going and happy to jump. However, the second you introduce any type of filler she is a nervous wreck. How can I help her with this? A: With these kinds of issues, the best advice is to go back to basics. The first thing to do is revisit simple…

BylizzieNovember 17, 20250Comments

Horse Health

WINTER WOES

Keeping your horse healthy South African winters are not nearly as harsh as those in Europe, yet this time of year still presents some challenges for horse owners. As the temperature drops, how do we keep our equine partners in tip-top shape? Maintaining weight Take care As the days get shorter and the nights get longer,…

BylizzieNovember 11, 20250Comments

Horse Training

CIRCLES

The wonders of circles Dressage is all about suppleness. Without consistent bend throughout your horse’s body lots of exercises become difficult and you’ll struggle to get a respectable dressage score. Here we give you two simple exercises that you can work on that will ultimately help to improve your circles: Spice it up: Circles are…

BylizzieOctober 23, 20250Comments

Ask HQ

ASKHQ: WEIGHT, GRASS AND LAMINITIS

Q: My horse is overweight, and with the rain and fresh grass, I’m worried the situation will get worse, or that he will develop laminitis? A: Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for your horse’s overall well-being, as obesity can lead to serious health issues like laminitis, joint problems, and metabolic disorders. If you’ve noticed…

BylizzieAugust 26, 20250Comments

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ASKHQ: STRENGTHENING THE LOWER LEG

Q: How can I go about strengthening my lower leg? A: Many of us have issues with our lower leg when riding. It might be that we struggle to keep our heels down, or our lower leg slips back when jumping or even that we regularly lose our stirrups. The four exercises outlined here are…

BylizzieJuly 28, 20250Comments

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ASKHQ: POOR POSTURE TRANSLATES TO THE SADDLE

Q: I tend to hunch in the saddle, which I think is related to my poor posture at my desk at work. How can I fix this? A: This problem is often due to a lack of physical training away from riding. For example, if you hunch over your computer at work, you’re ‘training’ your…

BylizzieJune 4, 20250Comments

Horse Health

IN KNOTS – TYING UP

Tying up was once thought of as a racehorse-only muscle disease, but we now know that more equines are at risk of tying up than we originally thought, including those in low levels of work. What is tying up? Tying up is a muscle disease of horses, known in technical terminology as exertional rhabdomyolysis. More colloquially,…

BylizzieMarch 18, 20250Comments

Horse Health

IN SUSPENSE – UNDERSTANDING SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT INJURIES

The suspensory ligament is one of the most common soft tissue structures to be affected by injury in the horse. This ligament plays a significant supportive role in the horse's lower leg, so injury to this structure can prove devastating. The suspensory ligament The horse's suspensory ligament runs from just below the hock or knee and…

BylizzieMarch 5, 20250Comments

Horse Channel Horse Health

MOVEMENT IS MEDICINE

Text: Shelley Wolhuter Horses are designed to move. In fact, when it comes to horses, movement really is medicine. In the wild, horses have been known to cover an average of 40km daily. Different terrains and climates would affect this average, but regardless, that distance is still rather impressive! Living as Mother Nature intended offers certain…

BylizzieFebruary 6, 20250Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #18: LEG YIELD TO CANTER

Trot down the three-quarter line and use your inside leg on the girth to push your horse towards the track, while using your outside leg behind the girth to control the angle of his quarters. Ask for a little flexion to the inside, you should just see the edge of your horse's eye and nostril, but…

BylizzieApril 25, 20240Comments

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