This has been a very eventful day with mixed results, at both the national (bad result, boo, hiss) and the personal level (good, sometimes odd results! Like my really loud and terribly funny squeaky shopping cart at WalMart today. There are some things that are not worth getting embarassed over, you just have to laugh at them!)
I also found out that my last "insider" connection to the horse rescue world, the Fugly Horse of the Day blog, is being sold. So, in celebration of of 5 years of exposing bad trainers, animal abusers, faux rescues, abusive and silly training techniques, slaughter industry evils, and (of course) some of those very shoddy breeders and the poor horses that ended up as a result of their work (or unhappy accident) AND all the happy endings and court-of-law justice that came from such unfortunate situations, I am putting up the top things Cathy Atkinson said we should learn from her blog. And believe me, ANY horse person should have these things on record. Ah, the end of a good era, although it will still continue away from the public eye! And she will still be writing the occasional article for Horse Illustrated!
Let us begin:
- Old horses are never skinny because they are old. Old horses that are skinny have a problem that can be fixed 99% of the time.
- Slaughter is never the right answer. Slaughter provides a paycheck for irresponsible ownership and irresponsible breeding. Are there more horses than homes right now? You bet. The solution is the same sort of anti-breeding campaign that has worked VERY successfully in dogs and cats.
- Stallions are never ill-behaved because they are stallions. Stallions are ill-behaved because of a human permitting them to bounce around like an orangutan on crack. Expect gelding behavior from your stallion and you will get it from most stallions, of any breed. If he’s still an idiot, that means he needs to be a gelding. Great stallions are not a threat to everyone in a 20 foot radius when led down the aisle.
- There is no miracle about birth. Mosquitos breed. A thirty year old horse that is still in a great home and receiving excellent care…THAT is a miracle and something to be heartily applauded.
- That sick feeling in your stomach is NEVER wrong. If you feel it about a trainer, barn, etc. – RUN and take your horse(s) with you.
- Breeding animals responsibly isn’t easy. It actually takes a lot of research, knowledge and money. Most people should never breed an animal.
- Horses appreciate having a kind, fair, consistent leader — not a best friend that they can plow over and push around.
- That said, temper tantrums are counterproductive in everything from horse training to the job world. Learn to have self control. Not every impulse needs to convert itself into an action. Walking away is always better than losing it.
- Every time you think “oh, I should fix that, but it’ll be fine for tonight” — it won’t be. This is like a law of nature. Fix it tonight.
- Every time you think that something might be a bad idea, it is probably a bad idea. Remember the gal who tied the lead rope to her waist…
- The reason you have to report abuse or neglect is because horses and other animals can’t type or use the telephone. You are the only chance they have. Take pictures FROM THE ROAD…NEVER trespass. Go down to animal control or the sheriff’s and file a report. Call in a few weeks and follow up. If you fear you are being ignored, and that the situation is urgent, call your local media. Post to horsey message boards and blogs with the numbers to call to demand action. Getting a prosecution is a long, difficult but very rewarding road, especially when you see the horses safe in new homes that do take care of them.
- You cannot tell a rescue is good from their web site or Facebook page. Please support GFAS Accredited Rescues or rescues that you can visit in person (ideally, on a regular basis) and verify are taking proper care of their animals. Also look for a lot of before/after pictures proving the horse improved, as well as the ability to account for the whereabouts of horses adopted out years ago.
- You will not enjoy riding and your horse more from attending clinics or watching videos. You will enjoy riding and your horse more from riding a lot and taking lessons from a good trainer so that riding becomes easier and your ability to communicate with your horse improves. The better you ride, the less equine misbehavior you will experience. If you have fear issues, the #1 most valuable thing you can do to combat them is improve your riding, because that makes scary things happen less often.
- Also, on fear issues, allow me to quote something I read on Facebook and loved: “Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes. ~ William Gibson” Stop thinking you’re a shitty rider because your trainer is an insecure asshat who has to yell at and belittle students to make him/herself feel better. GET A NEW TRAINER.
- Turn-out is NOT optional. How well would you perform if you were locked in a shower stall whenever you weren’t at work? All horses need regular turn-out.
- Colic is 99% avoidable with daily turnout, regular rotational deworming (or fecals to determine what is needed), fresh and clean water available 24/7, a low stress environment, sand treatment if you’re in the sandy part of the country, and a consistent diet. If you are having colics frequently, figure out why.
- Proper conditioning is the #1 thing you can do to lower your vet bills and extend your horse’s useful life. When you do not ride all week and then go out on hilly trails for six hours on Saturday, do not come crying to me when your horse pulls a suspensory. That is like you trying to run 20 miles once a week after sitting in your recliner eating Ding Dongs the rest of the time … let’s see you do it. And folks, when your trainer is telling you in a lesson to push your horse past what YOU know your horse’s fitness level is, you have to say no. Ask yourself who will be paying the vet bill…will it be your trainer? Uh, no. So you have to have the guts to say, he’s tired, I want to quit now and cool him out. Even if he’s being bad, do something easy that he can get right, and then quit. There’s no value to making a training “point” that results in a horse that is out of commission for six months!
- It really is true…the vast majority of equine misbehavior results from pain. Before you punish, check for a sore back or neck, lameness, or dental problems. Check saddle fit, make sure the horse hasn’t been crammed into too-small shoes.
- Parents, put a helmet on your child every time they are on a horse. It is a long way down and all it takes is landing wrong to be a quadriplegic. When you are an adult, you can do as you see fit, and assume the risks you see fit, but a 5 year old cannot make those kind of adult choices. While we’re on the topic, stop overmounting your kid…the rest of us are all tired of watching in horror to see if the child will survive the parade on the jiggy horse who looks about to explode, or the hunter round on the horse who is clearly running off, or the barrel run on the horse who is bouncing off the arena walls like the meth-head stripper on “Intervention” was bouncing off her room walls.
- No one person has all the answers when it comes to horses. Any of you might come up with an amazing solution to a training or health issue (or diagnose a pesky health issue that the vet couldn’t figure out). Read, read, read, and watch the trainers in your discipline whose horses are both performing well and seem happy (i.e. bright expression, happy ears, fluid movement, a general aura of enthusiasm while performing). I highly recommend The Horse for learning more about horse health. I also highly recommend the Chronicle of the Horse message board as a resource…you’ll find excellent information there.
- Finally, when you are between that proverbial rock and a hard place, and I know those situations happen, euthanasia is (100% of the time) a better solution than the auction. Yes, it will cost a few hundred dollars, so make the call while you still can, after you have made a true good faith effort to place the horse in a checked-out, proper home, but before you are down to your last $50 and your unemployment has run out. The only one who suffers when a horse is euthanized is his owner…he just goes to sleep. I never think of euthanasia as a tragedy. I always think of a horse being shoved onto a double-decker as a tragedy.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Bareback 7-5-2011
She looks a bit downhill in this video. Weird. Counter-canter to rebalance her, didn't work out so well. BUT we had fun!
2 Years of a Sunny, Funny Face
So, our two year anniversary was actually May 19 lol BUT I just could not come up with anything suitable for such an amazing horse that I have been blessed to have. Re-watched Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire a month ago, and realized the title song was the perfect song for Miss Greta.
Here's to many more years of fun, my dear!
This is Stylish: Cheval Fashions Riding Shirts
A wonderful and chic idea that I hope ends up being cheaper in the future or made cheaper by another equestrian clothing company! When you're on a budget, a schooling shirt and a show shirt in one is a great idea!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Equine Americana
Happy Fourth of July!
I amazed by the beauty of America. Even just driving up North I-35 through the ranchland between Austin and Dallas, or through the vast Hill Country to Lampasas, or down 290 to Elgin, or the short spurt of oak forest to the get to the barn - places I'm familiar with - the beauty of it blows me away. The enchanting desert of the Southwest, the feeling of stun and amazement and humility peering into the Grand Canyon or driving through the Rockies, the peaceful quiet felt watching a herd of elk from the other side of a crystal river in Yellowstone, looking across the beautiful Southern Appalachians from Lover's Leap in Chattanooga, or driving through the Smoky Mountains on a cool morning with old pines and carefully crafted stone walls rushing by you - all of it fill me with a love for this country.
Because this blog is about ponies, I thought I bring to you some pictures of another place of beauty I found myself in: the lush bluegrass region of Kentucky. If you've never drove through the backroads outside of Lexington, alongside Scottish stone walls and white and black wooden fences, or sat by yourself on a cool misty morning at the Keeneland Track while the lone jockey and horse warmed-up on the track before you, or awed at the golden roof and extravagantly detailed gate of a sheik's stables, or sat under the shade of some old trees at Claiborne Farm paying your respects over Secretariat's grave... then you are missing a truly enchanting and restorative experience. The horse country of Kentucky is a wonderful mix of grandeur and simplicity. It is simply beautiful.
First, some theme music from one of my favorite movies which takes place in Kentucky, and NOW....
Here is some equine Americana from 2008:
A beautiful star spangled banner outside of a Cracker Barrel near Lexington.
Scene from the scenic drives outside of Lexington, on the way to Paris.
My dream barn! This IS the land of opportunity, right?
Scenic drive to Versailles. Many towns in Kentucky were named after French towns, cities, and nobility as a sign of gratitude for French aid during the American Revolution.
Almost all of the famous stone walls that line the back roads of the bluegrass region were hand done by hired Scottish masons. Most have been in place since the 1700s and 1800s! When some of these roads were widened less than a decade ago, the walls were carefully taken apart and redone once again by Scottish masons.
The polo fields and banquet tent at the Horse Park. There was a couple of polo tournaments being held at this time, although they were not open to all!
Riders awaiting their turn during a Saddlebred breed show at the Horse Park. Saddlebreds are a signature Kentucky breed, and an original American breed as well. What an honor it would be to compete there!
The Horse Park's Secretariat memorial. Big Red himself is buried at Claiborne Farm a few miles away in Paris, KY, where he lived out the rest of his days as a stud. His stall still remains uninhabited as they wait for a suitable successor. Such a great American stallion will be extremely hard to live up to. There was an even grander War Admiral memorial a few steps away. Both are popular spots for wedding photos.
Two Freisian horses on vacation at the Horse Park graze on a cool, misty Kentucky morning on green Kentucky grass.
Forego, a racing great, is buried at the Horse Park along with many other great horses, such as Bask and Bret Hanover. It is also the current vacation home for greats like Cigar.
The Buck Davidson statue at it's original location near the entry to the Horse Park. The amazing new stadiums were still under construction for the WEG 2010 at this time, and once they were completed this statue was moved to the entry of the new outdoor stadium, where American greats like Steffen Peters rode and brought home a bronze for his adopted country after some tough competition. Read the quote by Akiko Yamazaki, owner of Peter's WEG mount Ravel, about the opportunities she and Team Ravel found and made true in America.
More lovely Kentucky scenery. Wouldn't you like to be the person who woke up to such beauty in that house every morning?
Grazing Thoroughbreds. Many farm owners made the move from traditional white fences to black fences to save money on maintenance. They still look classy!
More Kentucky greenery.
The Keeneland Racetrack, home to some of the largest Thoroughbred auctions in the country. I love going to this track, because it's free to watch the jockeys warm-up (very) early in the morning and to go to the big auctions! You can rub elbows with sheiks and millionaires, and even though you probably won't be able to buy any of the yearling stock, it's an amazing experience.
The Keeneland courtyard. This track was used to film the match race scene between War Admiral and Seabiscuit in the 2003 movie, because it is one of the few American tracks that still retains it's original turn-of-the-century design. A very classy and well-groomed track.
The Keeneland track in the late morning. On my 2008 trip, I had gotten to the track too late in the morning to see the jockeys warming up. But on my first trip in 2005, I got to watch them and, like I have said, it beats watching the Derby any day.
The signature Keeneland jockey statues. You'll find these all over Kentucky, sometimes painted with a stable's silk colors, and often just for decoration. But they were first made popular at the Keeneland track!
Rolex also made big clocks like the ones seen at the Horse Park for the Keeneland track as well. They are huge in person and seem to be all over the place. I'd much rather these all over the place than Starbucks shops! And because they are Rolex quality, they rarely need maintenance, which is good because I can only imagine the cost to fix one of these
I amazed by the beauty of America. Even just driving up North I-35 through the ranchland between Austin and Dallas, or through the vast Hill Country to Lampasas, or down 290 to Elgin, or the short spurt of oak forest to the get to the barn - places I'm familiar with - the beauty of it blows me away. The enchanting desert of the Southwest, the feeling of stun and amazement and humility peering into the Grand Canyon or driving through the Rockies, the peaceful quiet felt watching a herd of elk from the other side of a crystal river in Yellowstone, looking across the beautiful Southern Appalachians from Lover's Leap in Chattanooga, or driving through the Smoky Mountains on a cool morning with old pines and carefully crafted stone walls rushing by you - all of it fill me with a love for this country.
Because this blog is about ponies, I thought I bring to you some pictures of another place of beauty I found myself in: the lush bluegrass region of Kentucky. If you've never drove through the backroads outside of Lexington, alongside Scottish stone walls and white and black wooden fences, or sat by yourself on a cool misty morning at the Keeneland Track while the lone jockey and horse warmed-up on the track before you, or awed at the golden roof and extravagantly detailed gate of a sheik's stables, or sat under the shade of some old trees at Claiborne Farm paying your respects over Secretariat's grave... then you are missing a truly enchanting and restorative experience. The horse country of Kentucky is a wonderful mix of grandeur and simplicity. It is simply beautiful.
First, some theme music from one of my favorite movies which takes place in Kentucky, and NOW....
Here is some equine Americana from 2008:
A beautiful star spangled banner outside of a Cracker Barrel near Lexington.
Scene from the scenic drives outside of Lexington, on the way to Paris.
My dream barn! This IS the land of opportunity, right?
Scenic drive to Versailles. Many towns in Kentucky were named after French towns, cities, and nobility as a sign of gratitude for French aid during the American Revolution.
Almost all of the famous stone walls that line the back roads of the bluegrass region were hand done by hired Scottish masons. Most have been in place since the 1700s and 1800s! When some of these roads were widened less than a decade ago, the walls were carefully taken apart and redone once again by Scottish masons.
The polo fields and banquet tent at the Horse Park. There was a couple of polo tournaments being held at this time, although they were not open to all!
Riders awaiting their turn during a Saddlebred breed show at the Horse Park. Saddlebreds are a signature Kentucky breed, and an original American breed as well. What an honor it would be to compete there!
The Horse Park's Secretariat memorial. Big Red himself is buried at Claiborne Farm a few miles away in Paris, KY, where he lived out the rest of his days as a stud. His stall still remains uninhabited as they wait for a suitable successor. Such a great American stallion will be extremely hard to live up to. There was an even grander War Admiral memorial a few steps away. Both are popular spots for wedding photos.
Two Freisian horses on vacation at the Horse Park graze on a cool, misty Kentucky morning on green Kentucky grass.
Forego, a racing great, is buried at the Horse Park along with many other great horses, such as Bask and Bret Hanover. It is also the current vacation home for greats like Cigar.
The Buck Davidson statue at it's original location near the entry to the Horse Park. The amazing new stadiums were still under construction for the WEG 2010 at this time, and once they were completed this statue was moved to the entry of the new outdoor stadium, where American greats like Steffen Peters rode and brought home a bronze for his adopted country after some tough competition. Read the quote by Akiko Yamazaki, owner of Peter's WEG mount Ravel, about the opportunities she and Team Ravel found and made true in America.
More lovely Kentucky scenery. Wouldn't you like to be the person who woke up to such beauty in that house every morning?
Grazing Thoroughbreds. Many farm owners made the move from traditional white fences to black fences to save money on maintenance. They still look classy!
More Kentucky greenery.
The Keeneland Racetrack, home to some of the largest Thoroughbred auctions in the country. I love going to this track, because it's free to watch the jockeys warm-up (very) early in the morning and to go to the big auctions! You can rub elbows with sheiks and millionaires, and even though you probably won't be able to buy any of the yearling stock, it's an amazing experience.
The Keeneland courtyard. This track was used to film the match race scene between War Admiral and Seabiscuit in the 2003 movie, because it is one of the few American tracks that still retains it's original turn-of-the-century design. A very classy and well-groomed track.
The Keeneland track in the late morning. On my 2008 trip, I had gotten to the track too late in the morning to see the jockeys warming up. But on my first trip in 2005, I got to watch them and, like I have said, it beats watching the Derby any day.
The signature Keeneland jockey statues. You'll find these all over Kentucky, sometimes painted with a stable's silk colors, and often just for decoration. But they were first made popular at the Keeneland track!
Rolex also made big clocks like the ones seen at the Horse Park for the Keeneland track as well. They are huge in person and seem to be all over the place. I'd much rather these all over the place than Starbucks shops! And because they are Rolex quality, they rarely need maintenance, which is good because I can only imagine the cost to fix one of these"Jumping" 7-3-2011
Who knew one needed to canter over ground poles like that? hahaha Yeah, excuse my eq, it's been a while, but it's getting there. I need to actually, you know, get OUT of the saddle over a jump! I've had a jumping lesson recently, and it helped a lot, but I didn't realize how unwilling I was/am to give a bit on the reins and to stay in two-point all the way over a jump haha. I also need to work on not roaching my back. Granted, I have seen worse, but I still need to work on it. This will be wonderful for my core!
Greta loves jumpies and dressagies. What a good girl!
The tall girl who would rather ride ponies than warmbloods...
Isn't this little lady a cutie?
Ponies (I'm mostly talking about smaller horses here, those under 16 hands, I just like to call them ponies lol) are my favorites. They are short, easier to manage, you're closer to the ground, they don't have massive gaits. I like <16 hand horses.
Too bad I have a little height discrepancy!
I would much rather have a smaller horse freaking out on the other end of a lead rope than a 17.3 hand beast. I would much rather bounce around on tiny gaits rather than feel like I'm about to be surged off into space on huge, albeit beautiful, gaits. I'd much rather groom a horse whose back I can see over than hop on a stool to put a saddle on and hope that big boy doesn't get ancy about the change in the human's height!
Most of the horses I get to ride, including Greta, are all under 16 hands, although Greta is 15.3 hands so she barely makes the cut haha! On most of them, if I were to hang my legs straight down, my femur goes almost to the bottom of their belly!
I see a lot of - although I wouldn't call it a commonality - short riders on big horses and tall riders on smaller horses. Maybe it's the little-guy factor for the short people? I don't know for sure as far as us tall ones go. I'm sure a lot of your taller pros who can seem a tad big on some of their client's horses would probably much rather ride a proportionate big beasty boy, but seeing as they're getting paid, well... they'll ride little firecracker anyway.
I just think it's odd. One would think tall, long-femur girl would like big horses, but, no, not really. I love any horse, don't get me wrong, but Greta is a nice comfortable height for me.
What size pony (er, horse... we can count ponies too!) do you like to ride?
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Twist N Shout Pine "Twist"
Finished reining stallion I was warming up. He's a fun little guy. Secretly I want to buy him and turn him into a dressage stud hahahaha. He could do it too!
There's one bit where he swapped his leads, but I thought he didn't, so right after he did that I asked him to trot because I thought he was on the wrong lead. Oops! He swaps leads auto-magically haha.
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