By Julie Hall
The North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) celebrated its 50th anniversary February 10-13, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. “NATRC Gone Country” attracted riders from all over the United States to celebrate the golden anniversary, to honor riders and horses who have contributed much to the sport and NATRC, and to hear an excellent selection of speakers. There was also the shopping available through approximately 18 vendor booths.
The convention speakers included: Dr. Jim Blackford, DVM of the University of Tennessee who talked about colic surgery from diagnosis and triage to recovery and return to competition; Dr. Ken Marcella, DVM on fitness and conditioning; Dr. Nancy Loving, DVM, on a proactive approach to the best NATRC ride; Dr. Troy Nelson, DVM on equine chiropractic; Linda Salinas, animal communicator; Mike Davidson of Trailer Solutions, Memphis, TN on trailer maintenance; and Tony Stromberg with his beautiful “visual poetry,” images that embrace and reveal the incredible beauty and grace of the horse in the natural environment.
Speaker presentations:
Dr. Ken Marcella, DVM stressed the importance of fitness and conditioning of your equine partner both mentally and physically. He explained the causes of equine stress, from trailering to leaving the herd, and what you can do to minimize the effects of stress. He explained the physiology of conditioning and the Rule of Three’s – long slow distance, gymnastics, and power/strength training – also known as cross training. By working the Rule of Three’s, you both physically and mentally condition your horse. The signs of good performance in a horse include improved muscular strength, fewer sleep disturbances, reduced stress and fatigue, lower rates of perceived exertion at exercise, lower heart rate, better appetite and brighter overall mood. Dr. Marcella encourages riders to keep records, follow the signs, learn your horse, listen to your horse, and enjoy the ride!
Dr. Nancy S. Loving’s interest in horses began at a young age and continues to figure prominently in her professional and personal life. She specializes in equine medicine and surgery at her Loving Equine Clinic in Boulder, Colorado. She has been involved with endurance riding as an FEI-sanctioned veterinarian and as team veterinarian for the United States Equestrian Federation national endurance squad. Dr. Loving (Cont. p. 22 NATRC) (NATRC, cont. from p. 21) has authored four books, including her most recent equine health care publication All Horse Systems Go. She is working on a new book, First Aid for Horse & Rider. Her previous books include Go the Distance: The Complete Resource for Endurance Horses, Conformation and Performance, and Veterinary Manual for the Performance Horse. As an competitive endurance rider, Dr. Loving showed her experiences in a slide presentation: “A Proactive Approach to the Best NATRC Ride.”
Dr. Troy Nelson, DVM and his wife, Dr. Rebecca Nelson own and operate Country Clinic for small and large animal medicine and surgery near Huntsville, AL. Dr. Nelson is also an equine chiropractor, certified by the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association. Dr. Nelson took the audience through a chiropractic examination on video, showing how veterinary medicine and chiropractic medicine are complementary. He emphasized that chiropractic does not replace veterinary medicine, and that your veterinarian should be consulted when the condition is a “medical” one. However, he would be happy to keep your pets in a “well adjusted” state.
Mike Davidson of Trailer Solutions captivated audience attention with his presentation on trailer maintenance: what to look for, and how often to get trailer systems examined. Mike has experience as farrier and doing trailer maintenance with Sundowner of Nashville. Mike explained the frequency of checking wheel bearings; what to look for with tire wear patterns; how to determine the age of your tires, battery life, and roof seals. He fielded a lot of questions from the audience members on how to properly take care of their trailers.
“The spirit of the horse is a magnificent teacher to humanity,” says Tony Stromberg, who listened to his inner compass, left a successful career as an advertising photographer, and began a personal journey of photographing horses in their natural environment. “Horses help to bring us back to something wild and unrestrained, reminding us of a sense of freedom that many of us have forgotten. They teach us about honesty and authenticity, because they know no other way of being.”
Tony’s work is homage to the equine spirit, and a celebration of their remarkable presence. Tony showed a selection of his beautiful photographs put to music that had everyone in awe of the beauty and grace of the horse. His presentation left the audience with a renewed sense of “Awakening the Spirit of the Horse within Yourself.” Tony has two books of his magnificent “visual poetry” titled Spirit Horses and The Forgotten Horses. Tony was available to autograph books and to answer questions after his presentation.
For more information about what NATRC is all about, visit their website www.natrc.org.
