Downeast Medal Finals

July 2023

September 14-17, 2023

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

Happy Summer!

We hope that everyone is enjoying a great show season. A little bit of dry weather would be welcome, but it seems as though a little rain has not slowed anyone down.

Show managers, trainers and riders, please remember that some classes can be combined if there is difficulty filling. We sent out a special email about combining the Junior and Adult medals in order to fill, please be sure to refer to this if needed. Please feel free to contact Scott or Ginger with any questions.

We are working hard on the prizelist, and next will be the program. Please consider placing an ad to support your riders or your business. We are open to accepting ads whenever you would like to send them in. To our sponsors who receive an advertisement, please start thinking about sending your ad to us (katie@downeastmedalfinals.com). We will never complain about receiving the ads early!!

Please remember that all riders are welcome to show at DMF, even if they aren’t qualified. Sunday is the only day reserved for qualified riders only.

Scholarships will be posted soon! Please be sure to check the scholarship tab on the website and check for all information including deadlines and requirements.

Horsemanship riders, please be sure to read the articles in the newsletters. They will help you to prepare for the written test!

If you are a new trainer to DMF, or just have a question, please feel free to contact me (ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com).

We want to have your students qualify and come and have some fun. Please let us know how we can help.

Happy riding!

-Ginger

Helping Horses Handle the Heat

Learn how your horse’s internal thermostat works in extreme heat and ways to keep him cool.

Posted by Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA

Like most mammals, horses come equipped with complex—and very effective—ways to thermoregulate, or self-adjust their internal body temperature like a thermostat. The primary goal of thermoregulation isn’t comfort but, rather, survival, keeping the internal organs functioning properly at the ideal equine body temperature of around 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, says Kristina Dahlborn, PhD, professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, in Uppsala.

Ambient temperatures affect body temperature significantly. When it’s cold out, the equine body works to conserve and increase internal heat. On hot days it dissipates and reduces heat, she says, through its interface with the air: skin. Thermal receptors in both the internal organs and the skin send messages to the hypothalamus—a small part of the brain responsible for many hormonal functions—which then activates various thermoregulatory mechanisms to trap or release heat as necessary.

While sweating is a good tool for dissipating internal heat, it is less effective in horses than in humans—simply because pound for pound and inch for inch, humans have much more skin surface area for their body size, says Dahlborn.

Read the rest of the article here.

If you are a Downeast Medal Finals winner or rode at DMF 2022, we would like to feature you! Send your bio and picture to ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com

EquiFit

Thank you to EquiFit for sponsoring the Downeast Medal Finals!

EquiFit, inc. is a Massachusetts-based company which designs and manufactures technologically advanced products for top riders and horses throughout the world. From their ImpacTeq technology to the D-Teq Boot line, the T-Sport Wraps to the GelCompression Therapy line, EquiFit continues to raise expectations by pairing innovative designs with highly advanced materials.