If there’s any collective tradition observed between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, it’s to look back on the year and reflect. Here at the end of 2020, however, that exercise holds little appeal. The lucky among us spent months caught in an exhausting, anxious holding pattern of sorts, while the unlucky ones had devastating losses that will forever mar the memory of this year.
But the equestrian community has one shared bright spot for 2020. As the world closed down and we could do less and less, caring for horses—already outdoors and socially distant—became our outlet. While others coped by baking bread and logging into Zoom happy hours, we pulled on our boots and headed to the barn. There were still horses to feed and stalls to clean and, because of that, the world felt a little more familiar than it might have otherwise. No matter what else was going on around us, we were still committed to giving our horses the best possible care.
So how can we reflect on that positive equestrian experience of 2020? With another year-end tradition: The top-10 list.
Here are the 10 most-read articles on the EQUUS website for 2020. It’s a peek into how we kept ourselves informed to protect the well-being and happiness of the horses in our care, even as the world around us became uncertain and chaotic. Coronavirus makes an appearance, and that’s to be expected, but the rest of the list is refreshingly routine. Take a minute to browse through the list and see what you may have missed. And here’s to a better 2021 for all of us.
How to identify 8 common equine skin diseases
How to read your horse’s body language
Seven things you may not have known about DMSO
Feeding horses for weight gain
10 most poisonous plants for horses