Downeast Medal Finals

March 2024

September 12-15, 2024

Visit our website for more information about Downeast. We welcome all feedback and suggestions: please email Ginger at ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com

Message from the President

We have almost made it to the first show of the season!

March 17th is Evenstride in Byfield, MA., offering the DMF classes for the first show in 2024! A reminder for all riders and show managers about some of the class changes:

The Mini Medal will now be 2’ for all riders/horses/ponies and open to juniors and adults
The Junior Medal will now be held at 2’6”.
If classes do not fill, classes of the same height can be run together ie. the modified adults with modified juniors, short stirrup with long stirrup, and adult with junior medal riders.

All of these changes can be found on the website under the classes tab. Any questions can be directed to either Scott Laffey or myself (Ginger Albert). All of our contact info can be found on the website as well.

NEW FOR 2024: For all 18” divisions, we would like all riders to compete as one. We have therefore decided to allow a well executed simple change in the short and long stirrup divisions so there will be no need for a novice division at finals in September. In doing this we have allowed time to add a 2’ section to the $1500 2’3” Derby. So riders in the 2’ special hunter division (Mini Medal) will be able to enter a Derby!

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting us again in 2024, DMF would not be what it is without you! Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor please feel free to reach out.

We wish everyone a great show season and we look forward to seeing you in September!

Ride On!

-Ginger

Hoof Abscesses in Horses

By Christy M. West

This common problem can cause sudden, severe lameness, but it often can be resolved quickly with the proper treatment approach.

Yesterday your horse was perfectly sound, but today he won’t touch one foot to the ground. There’s no apparent injury or sign of a problem in his leg or hoof other than the sudden, severe lameness. What could have happened?

One strong possibility for the cause of this scenario is a hoof abscess–a localized accumulation of pus within the horse’s hoof. The good news is that abscesses can often be resolved quickly and easily with proper veterinary care and leave no lasting damage. Even better, they can usually be prevented by practicing good routine hoof care and management.

As an owner, how do you prevent abscesses and what do you do if your horse gets one? First let’s discuss what they are and what causes them.

The simplest comparison we can make to define a hoof abscess is that it’s like a whitehead pimple. That little bubble of pus under the skin can be slightly sore or it can be incredibly painful. You might feel soreness in that location well before the pimple shows its ugly head, or it might show up overnight in all its glory. And the fastest way to get rid of it is simply to pop it and let it drain; the pain relief is immediate because the pressure has been relieved.

This is the same way a hoof abscess causes pain in a horse; it usually starts with a localized, walled-off infection, which the body fights with white blood cells and inflammatory mediators. The buildup of infection, inflammation, and white blood cells expands, causing increasing pressure, particularly because the rigid hoof wall can’t expand to relieve pressure. When lameness appears and how severe the lameness becomes will vary. Some horses might never get lame before the abscess ruptures on its own, or lameness might be transient and go unnoticed, especially if the horse is at pasture and not monitored often.

Read the rest of the article at The Horse.

If you are a Downeast Medal Finals rider, we would like to feature you! Send your bio and picture to ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com

Blue Seal Feeds - Kent Nutrition Group

Thank you to Blue Seal Feeds for sponsoring Downeast Medal Finals!

Kent Nutrition Group (KNG) is the home of the Kent and Blue Seal quality animal nutrition brands. Kent is the brand serving the Midwest, and Blue Seal is the brand of the Eastern U.S., from Maine to Florida. The origin of KNG is grounded in the innovation of Gage Allison Kent of Indianola, Iowa, who in 1927 revolutionized the livestock feeding industry of the time by using only quality ingredients to develop Kent 34% Baby Beef, which was christened “The Feed Without a Filler” and set the tone for the Kent quality nutrition the brand continues today. Meanwhile, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the H.K. Webster family had been executing on a similar business model of quality animal nutrition since 1868, under the H.K. Webster Company name and its line of Blue Seal quality animal feeds.

Kent Nutrition Group is a division of Kent Corporation, a family-owned American company with a history of innovation in animal nutrition. KNG is dedicated to commercial producers, farming communities, and animal lovers. The people behind the Kent and Blue Seal brands are proud of their role in animal nutrition, and work every day to enrich the lives of those who raise and care for animals.