Right now, I’m not even sure I can open my front door. There’s no way out of here…and there might not be for a while. The firewood supply is dwindling as we enter the third day of the storm and I can’t get to the barn to bring more in.

Those kinds of problems can only be solved by the arrival of SuperMan or SnowZilla, whichever comes first. But one thing being snowbound in New England this weekend has done for me is to give me time to discover some interesting news on the web, which I’m happy to share with you.

Hilary Manners updates us on equestrian events for the Rio2016 Olympics. Officials are on the job and London veterans are in plentiful supply. I even saw a notice in the UK recruiting farrier volunteers. From “Inside the Games”:
http://www.insidethegames.biz/blogs/1025413-hillary-manners-london-2012-equestrian-legacy-lives-on-as-focus-shifts-to-rio-2016

I’ve lived this nightmare, have you? But it was never as bad as this. Horses charged across a golf course in England and destroyed the greens. Video to make a lawn lover weep:
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11776249.VIDEO__Loose_horses_leave_golf_club_looking__more_like_Wetherby_racecourse_than_a_golf_course_/

Maybe you and I will never ship a horse to Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore, but plenty of racehorse producers and trainers do. What are the health risks and who’s looking out for the valuable cargo on these planes? Well-known Irish vet Des Leadon flies cargo-class and tells some good stories in this article by Sean McGee for Thoroughbred Racing Commentary:
https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/how-flying-vet-des-leadon-helps-horses-cope-hazards-air-travel

Pippa Cuckson, writing for Horse Canada, stares down the new face of endurance racing as a tragic breakdown is caught on camera in a non-FEI race in the UAE. But does its lack of international rating mean the FEI shouldn’t protest it? Pippa keeps holding feet to fires:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/fei-dismisses-persistent-welfare-concerns/

It doesn’t get any better than thisL Epona.tv created a mini-course on the different types of sarcoids with one of my heroes, Professor Derek Knottenbelt of the University of Liverpool in England. This is a subscription service, but through a special offer, if you register for the site, you can watch one of the sarcoid videos for free. There is no better resource in the world on this subject than Professor Knottenbelt. Just follow the register instructions, watch the trailer + free video, and then decide if you want to pay to watch the rest of the videos in the sarcoid set.
http://epona.tv/types-of-sarcoid

Something simple but something special: Dutch dressage rider Edward Gal showed a four-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion in a stallion show this weekend. What’s so special about that? He’s Toto Jr. Yes, that’s his name. This son of Edward’s former mount, the great stallion Totilas, Toto Jr. was shown with a natural, loose frame. Shades of things to come, perhaps?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_AqYpo9Nvw

In case UPS can ever get to my house again, here’s what I’d like for Valentine’s Day, and so would any horse lover. Secretariat.com has made a casting of one of Big Red’s raceplate’s and you can order it with a signed gift card from Secretariat’s jockey, Ron Turcotte. This is too wonderful…better order it today:
http://secretariatcom.stores.yahoo.net/secretariat-chocolate-shoe.html

Hey, let’s buy a racehorse and make a documentary about it and the horse will win and the film will go to the Sundance Film Festival and win an award. What do you say? That’s what happened for Dark Horse, directed by Louise Osmond. It’s the unlikely story of a Welsh barmaid who buys a racehorse for 300 quid and watches her win. And then she sat in the theater in Park City, Utah for the screening at Sundance, where the film won the Audience Award. Phew. (Can’t wait to see it.) To be distributed in the USA by Sony Pictures:
http://www.film4.com/reviews/2014/dark-horse

It may not be their “old” Kentucky home, but maybe they can write a new song to go with the new offices. The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) is moving to a new building in the Kentucky Horse Park:
https://www.facebook.com/128570532690/photos/a.347949547690.160919.128570532690/10152576234182691/?type=1&theater

While I’m out there tunneling my way to the woodpile, remember to keep an eye out for updates on EHV, make sure your horses are drinking water and dropping manure, and count the days until spring!

I t’s deeper than it looks.

Image of the numeral 9 by Leo Reynolds.