Thoughts Of Spring

The EQUUS Spring issue now at the printer is chock full of advice on handling seasonal horsekeeping challenges but it offers a whole lot more.

Although the temperatures around here lately have been in the 20s and out West some people are contending with two feet of snow, here at EQUUS our thoughts are all on spring. That’s partly due to our natural eagerness for warmer weather and the coming season, but it’s mainly because we just shipped our Spring 2021 issue to the printer.

The Spring issue of EQUUS offers advice for handling the special challenges of the season, including scratches and hoof care. We also offer tips on getting your medicine kit ready for the busy season ahead.

The seasonal theme carries into our latest “Starting From Scratch” installment, “Progress at Last,” in which author Bobbie Lieberman brings readers up to date on the completion of construction, electric, fencing and other projects that are transforming 40 acres of New Mexico range into the ranch of her dreams.

Another dream ranch appears in the spring issue as well, though the story, while uplifting, has an element of poignancy. In “Grateful, Thankful, Blessed” we chronicle the experience of an Oregon family who nearly lost everything to wildfires last year

And though it’s not strictly a “spring” story, our feature “5 things to Consider When Refeeding a Starved Horse” is certainly about renewal. Even if you never have to tackle the challenges of restoring the health of a rescue horse you’ll likely find many of the facts presented in this story interesting and surprising. I know we did!

But there’s more to the Spring issue than than talk of mud and shedding. In fact, the centerpiece is a Deb Bennett, PhD, story about the great American horseman Tom Bass. Despite being born into slavery and coming of age during the Jim Crowe era, Tom Bass earned renown for his ability to understand and train horses and for his ingenuity and integrity. With her usual exhaustive historical research, Bennett brings to life a man whose contributions to the horse world still reverberate today and who deserves to be included on the list of great Americans in any realm.

Finally, those interested in the latest developments in equine research will find much of interest in the Spring issue Medical Front. We’ve included stories on CRISPR technology, body language, equine asthma,  pain relief and a troubling condition commonly known as sidewinder syndrome.

So if you’re a subscriber, look for these stories and more in your mailbox soon. In fact, the Spring issue should arrive around the time the weather will actually start to feel like spring in the northern climes. We hope you enjoy these stories and invite you to share your thoughts about them. In the meantime, though, we’ll be thinking about summer.