Barn work

There is always barn work to be done. Our current project is putting down stone dust inside the barn, and putting a moisture barrier on the outside walls to keep the barn dry.

Our horses are always willing to 'help' with this work.

Roheryn helps Bill dig the trench.

She also inspects the work, to make the lines are all straight.

She is quite curious about the tools..really wanted to play with them. She followed the shovel for a bit.

Dixie was fascinated with the the magic plastic coming under the wall.

Despite her best efforts to pick up the shovel, Roheryn was not able to help put the stone down. But she did supervise the whole project.

Hay delivery - Wordless Wednesday

New technology for rider safety

I found this interesting article about using an 'air bag' vest when riding cross country. Looks like it would work very well, in the case of a fall or impact.

Added Safety in the Saddle

By KATIE THOMAS

Published: August 23, 2010

Spectators gasped and expected the worst when the horse ridden by Karim Florent Laghouag somersaulted over a fence and fell on top of him at a prestigious equestrian competition last September in France.

Enlarge This Image

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Doug Payne demonstrated how an air bag would work for eventing riders.

Enlarge This Image

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Despite their relatively high cost — $400 to $700 — the vests have sold well.

Laghouag had taken a so-called rotational fall, a dreaded spill in the Olympic sport of eventing. At least 13 riders in the past four years were killed and several others were seriously injured in such tumbles.

But soon after his horse jumped to its feet, Laghouag stood up too. He had a dislocated elbow but no broken bones. He attributed his good fortune to an air bag vest, a simple safety innovation that was virtually unheard of in the equestrian world until last year and now is standard issue for the world’s top riders.

“Today, I wear it all the time — even when I’m training,” Laghouag, 35, said in French during a recent telephone interview.

Leaders in eventing — a three-phase competition involving dressage, show jumping and a cross-country obstacle course — have long expressed frustration over attempts to make the cross-country portion safer. They have tried imposing stricter rules on riders and building fences designed to break apart more easily on impact.

But the arrival of the air bag vests has generated the most excitement, even though some caution that the technology is too new to be wholly embraced.

Link to full article.

Spa treatment...

It was over 100 degrees today, and while the horses spent most of the day in the barn or in the trees, they were still sweated and sticky when I got to the barn after work.

After dinner, I took each of them and gave them a shower massage treatment. Most enjoyed it, but Roheryn, being a good Texas girl said "water was for drinkin, not getting sprayed on!" So we had to do a little work on getting used to the shower. Eventually she relaxed and enjoyed it, even playing with the hose and drinking.

Afterwards, and much cooler and cleaner, everyone spread out to graze. (as you can tell they never get any dinner...)

Shadow looking sleek and fat.

But then she had to roll..

Symphony, Oreo and Roheryn graze.



Hey, what are you doing?



Got treats?? How about scritches then?

Symphony cruises by.

Roheryn says what's that in your hand?

Are you sure I can't chew on it?

Notice her mixed mane, she is a sabino roan buckskin with sooty factor.

Oreo is not happy with being ignored!

Dreaming of spring...

Spring is coming...

Snow!

Blast from the past...

I was searching online for a file, and came across these photos:














They are from the 1999 Cherry Blossom Parade in DC. That is me on my TWH Shadow, and one of my riding students on her mother, Neysa. Both of us in 1840's riding habits. The lavender one my student is wearing is the first one I had made, but authentic means 22 tiny buttons up the front. Yeah, I decided to try again. The green one I am wearing has a hidden zipper. Not so authentic, but easier to get on and off.

The full skirt made riding much easier, and I actually had people who believed we were riding side saddle. Nope, not me. My horses were great, and had done many parades, but experience has shown me other people do not know how horses react, so just not taking the chance of kissing pavement. This was with the Chesapeake Plantation Walking Horse Club, who did the parade for several years.

It's funny, our horses always did very well in all that chaos. We held parade practices, passed around tapes of bands, etc to get the horses used to the noise, and did a lot of bomb-proofing clinics. Except for one year when parade planning fell apart and the horses got cornered against a band who deliberately tried to spook them, everything always went well. Our horses were well trained and trusting.

One year we were waiting in the line up, behind a wonderful group all decked out as cowboys, with a mule drawn chuckwagon. They were seasoned parade riders, having done these parades for years. A band marched by, and I noticed their horses never even looked up. I commented on how calm the horses were, and the rider said "You would be calm too with two tubes of Quietex in you."

I was flabberghasted, it never even occured to us to give our horses Quietex, or something like it. (honestly, most of us had never heard of it) I have to admit, they didn't have the same dancing and snorting we had. Even the calmest and best trained horse is still going to look and snort when I giant balloon goes over head, or a band booms it's drums right in your ear. Plus the crawl and stop, crawl and stop movement of a parade is especially trying on TWH since they really love to move out.

But after hearing this, I was even more proud of our horses, and our club. For novice parade riders, we did well and never had an incident. We eventually did parades ranging from St' Patricks Day in Alexandria, to Fourth of July parades all over Md, to the Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia.

Parades are a lot of work, but it's worth it all for the kids. They love seeing the horses, and I remember being just such a kid, whose only contact with a horse was watching them dance by in a parade. It was the biggest thrill of the day.

Holidays with horses

Having horses during the holidays can be a blessing or a burden. If you are rushing around with family to visit, dinners to cook, in between work and school, then going out to the barn to take care of your horses probably seems a chore.

While I have felt that time crunch, to me, they are more a joy. Being at the barn, listening to them munching is my zen moment, away from it all. Even when it's freezing outside. If there is snow, there is nothing more fun that your horses bounding through the snow to the gate to come in. Hooves make the best crunching sound in snow. The horses are warm, furry, and nose you for treats. Don't tell me they don't know about Christmas, because mine certainly know about candy canes! They will line up for their pieces as soon as they see them, or hear the crinkle of the wrapping.

In years past I have hung stockings of horse cookies and treats, and learned the contortions horses can do to get to them no matter where you hang them. We have had barn parties, gone Christmas Caroling on horseback. Christmas parades are always fun, the one time where you can hang ribbons, bells, wear santa hats and never raise an eyebrow. More is always better for a parade!

One Thanksgiving I was kid free, I went to Philly, and rode in their Thanksgiving Day Parade. A group from my riding club went, drove up the day before, stayed in a Youth Hostel, rode in the park, had a blast! Freezing cold for the parade, but good fun. Last year we went trail riding with friends on Christmas day. Good fun, and we met quite a few other people out riding also. This year we had the farrier on Christmas Eve, so all the horses got a complete grooming, while waiting on their pedicure, and lots of treats. But no time to ride over the holidays.

I always do apples and carrots in their dinner, and either for Christmas or New Years a hot bran mash. The last two years they have gotten their very favorite treat, a hot bran/oatmeal/brown sugar/dried apple and carrot/peppermint candy mash. Oh yeah, that's the good stuff! (yay SmartPak!) I've been tempted to sample it myself, it smells so good.

So I hope you took time to see your horses this holiday. I hope you went down to the barn, and enjoyed the sounds of quiet munching and footsteps. Smelled fresh hay, grain and furry horses. Horses don't have a wish list, color doesn't matter. No worries about batteries, cooking times or setting tables. No matter what you bring, even if it's just your company and some scritching, they will be thrilled to get it.

Welcome to the New Year.

Equestrian roadside assistance

I'm not talking about one of the companies who do this for a fee, like US Rider. (Great company, by the way). I am speaking of the unwritten law in the horse community that we all seem to follow.

Traveling through the hinterlands of PA recently on our way to pick up a couple of horses, we broke down with a busted hose. We were on the side of the road next to a convenience store, when a smiling lady pulled up in a pick up truck, and asked if we needed help. She explained she also had horses, and a trailer if we needed to unload and put them somewhere while we repaired the truck.

It's a funny thing, once you have horses, if you see someone with a horse trailer, on the side of the road or in an accident, you have to stop. I have done this many times, a horse trailer pulled over on the hwy, stopping to see if they needed help. In the news, these trailer accidents where horses are involved, horse people seem to appear out of nowhere to assist with the horses.

Recently in Calgary Canada, a trailer bound for a feedlot overturned, and staff from Spruce Meadows came over to help. Here are people who daily handle 100k horses, coming out to help auction horses who went for 50 cents a pound. But they were still horses, and they needed help. That's all that mattered.

It's one thing that gives me hope for the horse community. While we may argue and sling mud at each other, malign each others chosen riding discipline and techniques, when it comes down to horses scattered across the hwy, we are of the same mind.

See you guys out on the road, I've got your back.

Ok People, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???

Picture this scenario: A rural neighborhood of small farms. Just about everyone has 10-15 acres with horses in fences. A dead end road with a private gravel drive, horses in pastures on each side. What in this scenario says "Drive onto this private property with your dog or kids, and go in the pasture with the horses?"

We had a lady pull in the driveway, park next to the barn and get out with her dog. She ducked under the electrified high tensile fence with her dog and was walking around. (how she did that without getting shocked I don't know) The land owner saw her, went down to the barn, and asked her what she was doing. She replied "I wanted my dog to meet the horses." She was informed this was private property and told to leave, but really, WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? Hasn't everyone seen that You Tube where the guy gets kicked by the horse (and dies, by the way)?? Surely she is aware some dogs chase and bite other dogs, wouldn't that be a whole lot worse if a 1200 pound horse decides to do it?

A month ago our Morgan mare produced a colt. Granted, he is a stunning little man, solid black, and convinced he is the lord of all creation, but that birth did not turn us into a free petting zoo. The typical example: minivan full of moms and kids pull up. Kids pile out of the van, run to the gate and start climbing. Moms sit chatting in the van and ignoring what the little flip flop clad darlings are doing. Never mind that horses, and especially foals bite, and can sever little fingers without effort. Never mind they can step on toes and break or remove them. Never mind mother horses are just as protective as other mothers and may kick without any warning. Never mind this is private property, way off any main roads and NO ONE INVITED YOU THERE! Why in heavens name would you EVER take your kids and let them run around in a strange place without getting out to watch them?? What kind of mother of the year award do you get for letting you kid run up to a strange 1200 pound animal, with teeth and hooves? What about snakes, wasps, rusty wire, stray dogs? Do you think at 4 or 5 they are ready to start 'taking care of themselves?'

My son grew up on a farm, knows all about those dangers, and STILL I would never allow him to go some place and take off without me watching him. Just how stupid are these people?

The basics, getting up there!

Last Sunday Dear Abby had a letter from a 17 yr old girl who was having trouble getting on her horse. Read letter here.
I thought Abby's response wasn't very helpful so I fired off an email with some helpful hints. Since none of the emails I have sent to Dear Abby have ever been answered, I'm guessing this one disappeared into cyberspace as well. So lets address this here where all 2 of my readers can benefit. :-D

First off, this girl was being ragged on by the barn and fellow students because she had trouble mounting. I'm guessing it's a barn where mounting a 17 hand horse from the ground is your measure of being a horseperson. You aren't a 'Real Rider' unless you can. I have run into this all my life, and once bought into it as well. Sure, I used to be able to swing on those tall horses with the best of them. I also used to grab the mane and vault on bare back. Neat trick, never mind that the horse never seemed to think it was so great.
Now fast forward to today, where many studies have shown (don't ask, I know I read them in Equus, The Horse, and several other magazines, can't find a link to them now. If you do, sent it to me and I'll add them here) that repeated mounting from the ground torques the saddle tree against the horse's spine, and causes damage. If you think about it, it makes sense. It really doesn't take much of a twist to put anyone's back out, but imagine your horse, with all your weight suddenly slamming against the side of his spine, over and over. It's no wonder horses get girthy, or sore backs. I just paid for 3 chiropractic treatments for my horses to fix misalignments in their backs, and they weren't that bad. I can't imagine some poor old school horse, doing 6-8 lessons a day, bounced on, yanked on, and spine slammed to the left multiple times a day.

I have used a mounting block ever since the first article came out. All of the upper end barns in my area also use them. But many of the lower end barns still promote the 'You aren't a rider unless you always mount from the ground' mentality. I have one answer to that, watch Robert Dover in 'America's next Equestrian Star.' Does anyone doubt Robert's ability to swing up on any of those horses? Does anyone want to dispute his spot as one of the top horsemen in the world? No, I didn't think so. Not only does Robert use a mounting block himself, he brings them over for his contestants. He isn't being nice to the people, he is taking care of the horses.

Now, all that being said, I do believe there is benefit to learning how to mount from the ground if you are going to trail ride. You need to be able to mount and dismount as needed, in case there is an emergency. Granted, I am almost always able to find a rock, stump, or just put my horse down hill from me to make it a bit better for her. But there are several things you can do to make things easier.

First: Stretch. Muscles warmed up work better, that's basic. There are exercises you can do to get your muscles more flexible, and make things easier. Here is a good diagram.
Remember, you use all your muscles when you ride, not just your legs. This is true for mounting as well.

Second: Check your tack. Make sure everything is tight and won't slip. Drop the stirrup a hole if you need to. Have someone hold the opposite stirrup for balance if you need to.

Third: Balance your horse. Get them to stand square, and keep them still with the reins in your hand as you mount.

Here is a series of photos of my 5' daughter mounting a 17+ hand Percheron gelding. (yes, she should have had the reins in her hand, he was tied)

It can be done, if necessary. Just don't see why it's necessary any place where another option is available.

Lets hit the trails!

Ok, you are tacked up, everything is put away in your trailer. You have done 20 questions with the kiddies and their parents have dragged them away. Now you are ready to go. But wait, who's in charge here? It's best to decide who will lead the ride (preferably the one with the map). Who will be drag? No, not A Drag, but the 'Drag rider', the person who rides last in the group, making sure no one gets left behind. You can trade off positions as the ride progresses, to give everyone the experience of both.

So now you gallop off down the trail, right? Not such a good idea. You are still in the parking lot area, with lots of people, other horses, etc. If your group goes charging off, the other horses may spook or kids may dart in front of you and get run over. It's always better to walk your horse the first 15-20 minutes to warm them up anyway. So mosey quietly out of the staging area and out on the trails.

While on the trails, remember the Trail Etiquette guide. Be polite to other trail users, but also be prepared for them to not understand horses. Don't hesitate to call out if someone has a loose or barking dog, but be sure to thank them after they have caught Cujo and restrained him. Let safety determine your speed, and always remember to ask the group if they are ready before a change in speed. Nothing more alarming than taking your feet out of the stirrups to stretch just as the person in front of you decides to work on racing departs. Call out to the riders behind you if you spot any trail hazards, such as low branches, holes, glass, etc. If you are leading the ride, remember the pace (and difficulty) of the ride is determined by the lowest level horse and/or rider. If you have a 'white knuckle' rider, you aren't going to be galloping the trails that day leaping every tree and deadfall you find. If you have a green horse along, probably not the day to explore the cliffs and slides along the river. Keep track of your group, and make sure no one is left too far behind. When you get to an obstacle, such as a log or water crossing, stop, give everyone a chance to catch up, then slowly cross. After you have crossed, move on so the next horse has room, but do it at a slow walk so the following horses don't suddenly think they are being left behind. Always wait until the last horse is clear of an obstacle before speeding up the gait. Any horse can feel abandoned on a ride, and rush to catch up. That's when horses slip, get caught, etc. and riders come off. A little common courtesy prevents a lot of possible problems.

Remember, the goal is for everyone to have a fun and safe time.

Now get out there and ride!

You're ready to ride!

Well, almost...there are still some rules of engagement to consider.

• Trailering - be considerate of your horse and other drivers. Take corners smoothly, and don't accelerate until the trailer is straight behind you. Accelerating through a turn is like playing 'Crack the whip' with your horses. They can lose their balance and slip or fall. Give yourself extra time to stop. hitting the brakes suddenly can also throw your horse off balance. Don't follow too closely, and give other drivers plenty of notice if you change lanes. For practice, put a bucket of water in your trailer, and drive your usual route. If you don't spill any water, you are doing it right. Or attend one of the wonderful trailing clinics TROT and other horse organizations put on. It will be an eye opener!

• Parking - Again, be considerate. Give yourself room to tie your horses, and drive away at the end of the ride. Give everyone else the same consideration. There is nothing worse than getting to a great trail location to find out someone with their big rig has parked across the parking lot blocking everyone else from getting in (or out!).

• Trash Patrol - Always pick up your trash, left over hay, manure, everything! Many areas are sensitive environments, and fellow park users are certainly sensitive to road apples left in parking lots.

• Be an Ambassador - If you are in a public park, someone will come up to admire your horse. Take a moment to talk to them, let them pet your horse if it is ok. Take the opportunity to teach them a bit about horses, and make it a positive experience. Everyday we lose more places to ride. It doesn't take much for parks to decide they don't want horses there any more.

• Never let them ride - Kids always ask, it's not a good idea. The liability issues boggle the mind. Let them know about a local barn with lessons instead.

Lets hit the trails!