Gray is a common horse color that’s tricky to pin down.

At age 2, All American Futurity winner AB What A Runner, owned by Dennie and Kris Hill of Blackfoot, Idaho, was a steel gray.

By Andrea Caudill

If your dream horse is a handsome dark gray and you want him to stay that way forever, he’d best be on a poster on your wall. The gray color is confusing and frustrating, because while a horse’s coat may be dark and dappled when young, it progressively turns white as he ages.

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Avoid accidents by using training aids correctly.

Hook draw reins to the girth D rings.

Martingales and draw reins are important tools in many training programs. However, they must be used correctly in order to teach your horse how to carry himself.

AQHA Professional Horseman Tommy Sheets offers this advice on proper martingale and draw rein use, to keep these training tools safe and effective.

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Reasons to wrap your horse’s legs, and ways to do it right.

To prevent tendon damage, wrap a horse’s leg from the inside around the front of the leg. This means wrapping clockwise on right legs and counterclockwise on left legs.

A leg wrap has the correct amount of tension if you can get two fingers under it below the pastern and one finger under the wrap at the top.

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With so many showing options, there aren’t enough weekends in the year.

What type of horse show fits your lifestyle?

With the AQHA World Championship Show taking place right now in Oklahoma City, it’s easy to develop a show bug. Not sure how to get involved in the excitement of showing American Quarter Horses?

Check out these descriptions of the types of shows that offer AQHA points.

Then visit the online Show Schedule to map out the shows near you. All that’s left to do is hook up the trailer and hit the road!

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It’s important not to make problems worse by misusing training aids.

By Martin Black

Visit Martin Black's Web site

Why do some horses have more trouble with their head position than others? This is a common issue with horse people, regardless of whether it’s a trainer with performance horses or recreational riders. Often, the solution is tying the head down or using leverage gimmicks that apply more pressure. In most cases, the person ends up identifying the symptom as the problem.

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This legendary ranch won the 2008 AQHA/Bayer Best Remuda Award.

Buy Best Remuda photos!

Moorhouse Ranch Company of Benjamin, Texas, recently won the 2008 AQHA/Bayer Best Remuda Award, which honors ranches that are preserving our Western heritage while raising quality American Quarter Horses.

The ranch is owned and managed by Tom Moorhouse and includes 50,000 acres. The ranch’s remuda has 32 mares, 65 geldings and two stallions. Today’s cattle operation includes 1,200 cows and 1,000 stockers.

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Share the fun of owning a racehorse and experience bigger thrills at the racetrack.

You can own a racehorse!

Perhaps the safest and most inexpensive way to get involved in racing is to become part of a racing syndicate or partnership. Basically, that means that ownership of a horse (or group of horses) is split among more than one party.

This reduces the cost for each party, but can still give the full experience and enjoyment of owning and racing an American Quarter Horse.

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Haul your horses safely by properly distributing your load and maintaining a reasonable speed.

Check out Featherlite's horse trailers.

AQHA Corporate Partner Featherlite Trailers understands the importance of traveling safely down the road with our horses. Exiss provides tips and suggestions for safe hauling on its Web site.

Here are a few tips to help you make your next hauling adventure a safe one.

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You don’t have to look hard to find Doc Bar progeny at the National Finals Steer Roping.

Larneds Ricoche Doc and Dan Fisher. Photo by Dan Hubbell

There’s no doubting the fact that the 1956 chestnut stallion Doc Bar had speed and cow sense wrapped up into one very talented package. His direct offspring earned more than $3 million in the cutting arena and more than 8,800 AQHA points. And today, horses that trace to him are found in win pictures around the world — and in rodeo arenas, as well.

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Test your knowledge of your horse’s teeth.

Horses have a unique dental structure. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, horses’ teeth are divided into two major sections: the incisors, which are the teeth seen in the front of the horse’s mouth, and the cheek teeth, made up of the premolars and molars.

The molars and premolars are lined up tightly against each other, creating the appearance of one chewing surface. This alignment of teeth is called the dental arcade.

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With a little practice, patience and good advice, you can show clip your horse’s bridle path.

By Christine Hamilton

There are many reasons why a horse can be difficult to clip:

He might be sensitive to the feel or to his head being touched; he might be genuinely afraid from a previous bad experience or abuse; or maybe he’s a newcomer to the process and needs some time to get used to it.

As a trainer of halter horses, AQHA Professional Horseman Randy Jacobs of Dover, Ohio, knows a lot about clipping horses.

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A look back at one of last year’s winners at the AQHA World Championship Show.

Majestic Scotch and Charlie Cole in 2007

As we enjoy the excitement of the 2008 AQHA World Championship Show November 8-22 in Oklahoma City, let’s look back at the story of one of last year’s world champions.

Majestic Scotch added to his legacy with a world championship in senior western pleasure at the 2007 World Show.

With Charlie Cole piloting, the 1994 sorrel gelding walked, jogged and loped his way around the Coliseum in Oklahoma City for the second consecutive win in senior pleasure.

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