Get your tickets for the inaugural QuarterFest in Murfreesboro today!

AQHA is excited to announce that you can purchase your tickets to QuarterFest, May 1-3 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, safely, securely and quickly online.

You’ll get to pick, step-by-step, the events you’d like to participate in and reserve your stall and camping space.

QuarterFest is your opportunity to connect with other horse owners, bring your horse for great clinics (limited availability), watch exciting entertainment and much more!  Be sure to check out our schedule of events to see all the great things you can do at QuarterFest.

Follow our easy instructions to purchase your tickets online and see all the fun that awaits you in May! Read the rest of this entry »

Accurate measurements are key to fitting your horse showing chaps properly.

Wear your chaps while AQHA's Incentive Fund pays you to show.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

Some of us dread it, but it’s a fact. To find comfortable, practical, perfectly fitting chaps, we have to face the measuring tape.

Babe Woods is the resident artisan at Woods Western, where chap fitting has become an art.

“We’ve had a booth at the AQHA World Championship Show for around 20 years, and I’ve been doing this work for even longer,” Babe said. “I showed horses, worked for a trainer and worked in a western store. I saw the need for riders to get chaps that fit right and filled it.” Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday was Bill Brewer’s last day as AQHA executive vice president.

Although we’ll still see him occasionally around the building as he helps the American Quarter Horse Foundation, he will be missed.

When I came to work at AQHA in 2004, I only knew Mr. Brewer as the signature on my horses’ registration papers. But the first thing I received during my employee orientation was a gift from Mr. Brewer: a book, “Life’s Little Instruction Book,” and a laminated card that said “Bill’s Bits on Life.” That card hangs on my wall where I can see it every day when I’m at my desk.

I thought with Mr. Brewer’s retirement, I would share his “Bits on Life.” They are well worth not only incorporating in your work life but in your personal life as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Advice for a horse owner whose horse had a bad trailer experience.

America’s Horse Daily recently received this question from a visitor. We think the answer, from AQHA Professional Horsewoman Julie Goodnight, will help many horse owners get their horses safely and easily into a horse trailer.

Question:

Can you tell me your ideas of re-training a horse that reared up and flipped over two partitions in a three-horse, slant-load trailer?

Bonnie Rae Wright

Answer:

The slant-load trailer is not always the best thing for horses. While it is convenient for us humans, for many horses it is too confining, with their face pressed against the window at the same time their rear is against the wall. On the slant, they have to work to maintain balance on both turns and stop/go, so they never get a rest. Read the rest of this entry »

AQHA’s QuarterFest is for horse clinic junkies.

Julie Goodnight is coming to QuarterFest. Are you?

Information provided by AQHA member publication America’s Horse

If you’re a clinic junkie – someone who attends every horse clinic possible – you’ll want to circle May 1-3 on your calendar for QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

We’ll have clinics all weekend long, with four AQHA Professional Horsemen and two nationally recognized trainers: Julie Goodnight of Salida, Colorado; Curt and Tammy Pate, a husband and wife from Newell, South Dakota; Jeff Griffith of Gallatin Gateway, Montana; Christy Landwehr of Aurora, Colorado; and Bo Winslow of Estes Park, Colorado. Read the rest of this entry »

Tips for lush pastures that provide your horse with healthy forage.

Your pastures can be a source of healthy forage.

From AQHA educational marketing alliance partner Country Living Association

Getting Started

Talk with a qualified expert (perhaps a county extension agent) about the number and types of animals you plan to have on your pasture and how much forage each would require. With the agent’s help, you can determine soil needs, conditions and appropriate grasses to cultivate in your area.

Walk the property and determine whether the existing plants are appropriate for grazing. Although you might want to preserve some brush for wildlife habitat, you need to eradicate growth Read the rest of this entry »

Tips for keeping your stallion healthy and productive into his golden years.

Stallions can successfully reproduce well into their senior years with proper management.

You’ve heard the success stories of stallions who reproduce well into their 20s. There’s no magic potion. These breeders are simply meticulous about the care of their stallions, monitoring all aspects of their lives – from turnout to nutrition to collection schedules – to keep attitudes happy and avoid burnout at all costs.

Read on for 17 tips on maintaining your stallion for a lengthy breeding career.

1. Maintain a consistent daily routine.

“It’s a good idea to establish a routine with breeding, feeding and exercise,” says Judy Adams, a breeding manger from Acampo, California.

“They look forward to it. A lot of horses will fret if their schedule is changed. In a stallion, the last thing you want him to do is be unhappy. Have his food on time, and breed him at the same times each occasion.” Read the rest of this entry »

Cloning: It’s a word that invokes deep emotions in almost everyone.

It was inevitable that AQHA would one day have to tackle the subject.

At the 2009 AQHA Convention, which begins Friday in San Antonio, a forum will take place to address equine cloning. Even if you’re not going to be at convention, if you’re an AQHA member, you can still watch the event online at 2 p.m. CST Friday. Just log into a live Webcast at www.aqhamembers.com, using your personal identification number and pin.

Within the past few years, a number of horses have been cloned, including well-known American Quarter Horses Smart Little Lena and Royal Blue Boon. However, under Rule 227(a) of the AQHA rulebook, Quarter Horses produced by any cloning process are not eligible for registration. This rule became effective in 2004.

At AQHA’s 2008 convention, a proposal to change Rule 227 (a) was presented to the AQHA Stud Book &  Registration Committee. That proposal allowed a live foal produced via a particular type of cloning to be registered if its DNA matched that of a registered Quarter Horse. At that time, the stud book committee recommended that any decision regarding the proposed change be postponed pending further study. Read the rest of this entry »

Spring has sprung! I’m happy … and also a little hairy!

Every year, Duchess, my “grandma” horse, starts shedding before me and my fellow-human weather forecasters think it’s time. But always, before long, she proves herself right. This year, the weather has quickly gotten unseasonably warm. Or then again, maybe she just starts early because she knows it’s going to take her so darned long to lose the 80 pounds of hair she packs around each winter.

It’s this ability to quadruple her haircoat that gets us wondering if she might not be part yak. And then we think: maybe that’s the reason for her remarkable longevity, too. What’s the lifespan of a yak? (And we’re talking here about a yak who’s kept in captivity and fed massive quantities of senior feed.) Hybrid vigor, maybe? Read the rest of this entry »

Farnam outlines your options to protect your horse from parasites.

Regular deworming is important to your horse's health

From AQHA Corporate Partner Farnam

For effective parasite control, you must have your horse on a regular deworming program. Several options are available. Pick the one that works best for you.

Single Product, Broad-Spectrum Control

Broad-spectrum compounds, like ivermectin and moxidectrim, kill a wide range of equine parasites, including bots, when used regularly, according to label directions. Dosage is based on the weight of the horse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Give the daily double a shot next time you’re at the horse races.

Can you pick a winner?

The slogan for a popular brand of chewing gum can also apply to the daily double.

The daily double is a $2 bet that allows you to pick the winners of two consecutive horse races. Some tracks offer “rolling” daily doubles on all pairs of races on their cards. Retama Park introduced what they call the “49er Double,” where players attempt to pick the winners of their fourth and ninth races.

Some tracks have daily double wagering on the first two races and the last two races. There are even daily doubles requiring players to pick the winners of races on back-to-back days. Churchill Downs has the “Oaks-Derby Double” combining its marquee races for 3-year-olds on Friday and Saturday of the first weekend in May. Ruidoso Downs provides opportunity for American Quarter Horse fans to select the winner of the All American Derby on Sunday and the All American Futurity on Labor Day Monday. Read the rest of this entry »

2008 Leading Exhibitor J.D. Yates gives helpful hints on warming up your horse before the show.

Originally published in The American Quarter Horse Journal with contributions from Kristin Syverson

This year’s leading exhibitor, J.D. Yates of Pueblo, Colorado, offers his thoughts on getting ready to head into the show ring. J.D. will be presented with his high-point award at the annual AQHA Convention March 6-10 at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio.

Tie-Down Roping

Team Wrangler member, AQHA Professional Horseman and restricted judge J.D. Yates says preparing his roping horses correctly is half the battle.

“I work my roping horses in the rope; I toss the rope out and stop them, step off and work the rope to get my horse’s attention before I go into the pen,” he explains. “If for nothing else, it is to give me the peace of mind that I have the horse’s attention and that he has his mind on the Read the rest of this entry »