….really excited – we finished the ISR/Oldenburg inspections with the pony mares today – the first time ponies have gone through in the 20 years they’ve had it at this location.

Both mares got just 5 points short of premium status! IE, very very good for 6 days’ preparation.  6 days ago, Baby Katie (Cannon’s Majestic Miss Hepburn) didn’t know how to trot in hand. Going in today I wasn’t sure how she’d do but she gave me the best she could have considering her inexperience.

I could hardly believe her score, whereas….

Gray-White (Wyndam Hills Little Queen, half sister to the sire of Katie) was naughty and lost a bunch of points for crappy walk (I had to CRANK her back from trotting, in the two hour delay they had for paperwork, she decided Katie was her best friend and acted HERD BOUND! What I don’t understand is her trot kicked into gear to the point where the judge said “Big trot on that little pony” and I could hear on the video the murmur of chatter slow and several people say ‘wow!” and yet she scored that same – a 7 -  as Baby Katie who was afraid to trot out?) )and not setting up, but she still scored well. But it was a bit disappointing as she was really capable of going premium, the highest rating an adult mare can get other then nationwide high score..

The highest score was 107 in a breathtaking as good as it gets mare! So 100 out of 150 is pretty darn good! The percentage of 7 more points becomes pretty small….

Overall very pleased. Both mares ARE for sale, price highly negotiable.

 ….really excited – we finished the ISR/Oldenburg inspections with the pony mares today – the first time ponies have gone through in the 20 years they’ve had it at this location.

Both mares got just 5 points short of premium status! IE, very very good for 6 days’ preparation.  6 days ago, Baby Katie (Cannon’s Majestic Miss Hepburn) didn’t know how to trot in hand. Going in today I wasn’t sure how she’d do but she gave me the best she could have considering her inexperience.

I could hardly believe her score, whereas….

Gray-White (Wyndam Hills Little Queen, half sister to the sire of Katie) was naughty and lost a bunch of points for crappy walk (I had to CRANK her back from trotting, in the two hour delay they had for paperwork, she decided Katie was her best friend and acted HERD BOUND! What I don’t understand is her trot kicked into gear to the point where the judge said “Big trot on that little pony” and I could hear on the video the murmur of chatter slow and several people say ‘wow!” and yet she scored that same – a 7 -  as Baby Katie who was afraid to trot out?) )and not setting up, but she still scored well. But it was a bit disappointing as she was really capable of going premium, the highest rating an adult mare can get other then nationwide high score..

The highest score was 107 in a breathtaking as good as it gets mare! So 100 out of 150 is pretty darn good! The percentage of 7 more points becomes pretty small….

Overall very pleased.

The problem isn’t bitless, it’s uneducated idiots. I catch a lot of incorrectly fitted bits, too. Knots across a horse’s nose damage nerves. People, not the bridle, become the issue, feeling a bitless or a bit can stop a horse. Incidentally, how many people have worked in a bosal? And what percentage of those know to adjust it every 30 minutes to prevent nerve damage to the horse’s nose? I did get thrown badly once racing a horse in a bosal, but that’s another story… <> We have moved from a era of “gimmicks instead of horsemanship” to “fad methodology and brand name natural gimmicks” replacing horsemanship and what used to be horse sense. few people even understand herd structure and our place in it and how to effect that. My 6 year old does that – with reminders! I often use bitless bridles to correct horses that have learned to evade or run though bits. A bit does not stop a horse and just like there are good and bad bits and stupid bit designs, there are good and bad bitless options and stupid bitless designs, and because the whole bitless notion attracts those easily swayed to “in” ideas, you may get an extra measure of stupidity. But please please don’t ever feel your bit stops the horse; a conditioned response causes the bit to be effective. As someone who has taught many horses to respond to the bit in the first place as well as retaining horses that have biting issue I cant testify to this. A good bitless option – nothing involving fads please, or chain, nerve damaging materials, etc., are very effective control. I’d like to know how many hours you’ve spend using some form of bitless? I grew up with a old flat leather band hackamore, with short aluminum shanks and a flat leather curb strap. Basically a halter with some leverage. Still use it today, but with new leather as the other stuff (over 3 years old) finally rotted away from to many rainy rides. I also am a speed demon to this day and have ridden anxious jumpers when I wanted off the mouth tissue, scared ‘rouges’ for retraining, and a whole lot of holding back my gelding or mares that want to race! LOL Yep I’m that (or was) kid, the one who galloped cross country before we had eventing in our area. I could also do some upper level dressage before he was retired on my fellow in his hackamore. Bitless, like a bit, when correctly designed and fitted, is every ‘bit’ as effective control. My concern would be in harness any thing snagging on shafts? Anyway, not that I have strong pinions or anything. !!! But please don’t blame bitlessness or think a bit holds too much effectiveness because then you’ve missed a vital element about the whole training process. From halter breaking on we are developing a set of conditioned responses to yielding to pressure that would never occur without training, and are really what stop a panicked runaway. I’m using conditioned responses on my almost 2 year old daughter, too. Poor kid. She has quite a temper and she likes to yell NO, MINE and STOP. We’ve taught her to associate them with laughter and the first time she tried to get mad at me and yelled STOP, then giggled be the associative response, she got even madder at me for making cranky baby laugh. Now she tries to crank and pretty soon laughter ensues! I love this process….

This is such a small amount of what I want to write on the subject but in the time I have, I’ll dash off a tiny note:

We all need to fail. Forming a good habit requires time and repetition and will involve many failed attempts. Failures aren’t really failures. Just not finding the light bulb yet! They are just ways of discovering how not to do something on the road to success. They teach us valuable lessons.

Don’t feel like a failure Don’t feel like you are not learning a lessons. 

Conditioned responses are built into our brains over time, not by getting it right once perfectly.  We learn as children not to touch a hot burner. While we may also learn that same conditioned response in approaching a jump and guarding in case our horse refuses (example courtesy of a darling girl who fixed her problem in one wonderful laughter filled session) that leads to a cycle of causing refusal and fear, we also can learn how important our minds our in riding and how extremely we effect our horses.

In this case I distracted her by doing silly things and making her laugh while increasing the difficulty of the gymnastics I was asking of the team. We reprogrammed the response to happy forwardness but I hope it’s the lesson of controlling her thoughts and attitude that really stick.

First and foremost, make sure there is no pain issue. Bit should be the correct size, a lot of experienced riders use overly large snaffles because it can appear to be the right size due to collapsing in the mouth at the hinge. Hold the bit in the horse’s mouth once the bridle is on and pull both sides outward. You should not be able to see the mouthpiece protruding more then a few hairs’ width once you confirm the bit is straight in the mouth.  Alternately the sides should be resting easily against the sides of the mouth and not pinching or confining the lips.

Vets often check dental condition by grabbing the tongue and looking with a flash light but in all reality this only gives a general impression.  To thoroughly rule out dental problems, the horse needs to be visually inspected by having the mouth FULLY opened by means of a gag (that hideous looking device that holds the mouth open, not really gagging in any way).

A tool you can use at home is feeling the outer edges of the molars through the cheeks. While it doesn’t rule out problems, it often reveals points and sharp edges that we miss and is simple for the horse owner to check. It should be done with regular frequency, and you need to feel a lot of horses to teach yourself what normal feels like.  If you think you are discovering a lot of points an sharp edges, don’t be discouraged. Sometimes you’ll encounter barns full of horses that haven’t had good care and even horses who have ‘just been checked by the vet and are fine!’ will have obviously noticeable sharp points.   The field of dentistry needs some help, there are a lot of inadequate vets out there. <G>

Once you’ve experimented with different bits (think, thin, different hinge or straight configurations) and ruled out pain or had pain fixed, it’s now time to address the training side. Even of there was a fit or pain cause, it often leaves behind conditioned responses of the bad habit once the initial cause , pain or discomfort is removed.

I find that the basic step used in acclimatizing the horse to a bit, simply wearing the bit under safe conditions (I usually bit a horse in a headstall while doing schooling on the halter or while I’m working on another horse so I can keep an eye on the horse for safety).  With some horses, adjusting the bit slightly LONG, just maybe 1/8″ past the normal setting so the tongue has room to play, and letting them figure out it doesn’t feel very good under the tongue, and relax carrying the bit is needed. Make the game of tongue over the bit commonplace and no fun, so they just accept and carry the bit and look for entertainment elsewhere.

If the horse must be under saddle/driven during this time of retraining, I’ll adjust it a bit snug if needed to break the habit in conjunction with the above non-working bit carrying sessions.

I really feel like this isn’t making ANY sense. *sigh* 

The horses job also needs to be interesting. If you feel the horse playing with the bit excessively start mixing up your requests, transitions, lengthening, as appropriate to the horse’s understand, start giving them something else to think about.  This requires a sensitivity to where your horse’s attention is going to catch him just BEFORE the tongue goes over, and as with all training, will be slightly trial and error as you learn to fine tune it to the individual horse.

Nose bands will offer a temporary fix but will not resole the root issue of a problem. I personally would rather teach the horse to carry and accept the bit appropriately. I think because we rely so much on tools like nose bands that we are forgetting the skills and horsemanship and most importantly, TIME it takes to produce quality foundations for our training.

This was written for a Welsh Pony list I belong to, but once I speand this much time at a key board, I want to share it. ….or misery loves company…  LOL

Nothing like discussing breeding with someone who’s done horse rescue since before the term was coined! LOL  I love the process, the foals, the decisions behind it, selection of the perfect match.  That being said, my valuable, rare breed mares (the Welsh I don’t breed, just ride/train) with valuable foals remain open this year.  I’ll use the time to prove them out more, get ready for inspections, IBOP (A performance test) and dressage and eventing competition. 

First off, I’m guess that I didn’t read the post about supporting the registry correctly. <G>  I can’t imagine breeding to pay/support a registry, it would be better to make donations – and cheaper then feeding!  But as I DO deal with a rare breed that has come back in numbers, I have to address the declining numbers issue.

Most horses, not picking on Welsh here, I believe it to be all breeds, have lines that should die out.  Sadly, it never seems to happen.  So the same holds possibly true in reverse, that some of the valuable lines will survive until numbers reach the endangered level – which I CAN’T see happening with welsh.  Shetlands have more limited use and the fine harness/saddle type market took a hit which affected many breeds.  Arabians will survive because they make great dressage or endurance horses, Morgans can adapt as well – trying to sell the breeds for profit’s not likely, but they won’t go away with this trend.  Shetlands, well, I’m biased, but  let’s just say I bought welsh ponies for my girls???? <G>

Welsh are more usable for adults as well, more versatile, are sensible, attractive, and the only competition for a lot of what they do is pricey imported riding ponies.  Oh, wait, I have a pricey, imported (sort of, Canada) Welsh… hmmm. LOL As a dressage/sport horse person, I can’t see the Welsh ever going out of favor.  Peaks and valleys in popularity happens to all breeds, but popularity is more damaging, IMO…

There are special quality lines that must be protected from dieing out, I do agree, but breeding to keep a line alive, well, if so few people want them, then just a few knowledgeable people maintaining a select group is very appropriate. 

Secondly, the economy hype is only one factor regarding the horse market’s drop.  The significant loss of hay fields (aside from development and the usual loss of agriculture land, the NW was getting government subsidies to take hay fields and put them into corn crops for ethanol, of I heard from a reliable hay farmer $1500 an acre) and price gouging of hay (yes, gas costs were high, but we experienced a 300-400% increase in hay prices in 2 YEARS – nothing can account for that, and I grew up bucking hay, my dad custom bales, so I know what work and time goes into it.  This is not a guess on my part!) has made the price of keeping a horse SKYROCKET. 

The other factor, near and dear to my heart, is the closing on US slaughter houses.  These houses enabled irresponsible breeders (I have some amazing pictures of leg flaws in horses bred purely because they had ‘color’ for example, totally irresponsible breeding,a nd it’s common) to still harvest CASH for their unwanted and unusable horses.  OTTBs as well – we have a auction near a race track nd I often went to pick up really really nice TBs for dressage and eventing – I retrained as many as I could, beautiful, SOUND, talented horses who were just to slow, to prevent them form being meat.

On the subject of meat, i am all for sensible recycling of horse life, I’m not anti eating horses.  I am anti-enabling and anti-cruel conditions, suffering and pain PRE-SLAUGHTER.  The shipping laws are well publicized for being ignored.

Anyway, I don’t want to start an argument because there are always pro-slaughter people and we each have our own views  If you are going to reply to this, remember to keep it polite!  I love disagreements, they make me grow, just not attacks….

Several times have been told how nice and comfy the slaughtering process is for horses!  But check out my poorly neglected blog for some more info: http://elijahpark.com/blog/?p=34  ….never did get to that article, BAD me!

SO, my breeding ethic in a good market is this:  Do I have a purpose? Will it improve the breed or preserve a status quo (or in the rare case of the best of the best mare crossed with good stallion, preserving the standard of perfection, status quo is okay! But few horses attain the standard of perfection, being realistic about the inevitable flaws in good horses is mandatory for breeding) and what life will it head to? 

Who will provide it a home?  Just breeding for numbers, foals to sell in general, so-so mares of good bloodline but never used or proven, to champion stallions I believe to be unethical.  We try to prove out our mares, riding, showing, getting inspected, the same as a stallion. 

Mares contribute 70% of the dna, albeit a prepotent stallion can override that visibly as breeders know, but the mare’s selection seldom gets anywhere near the attention a stallion’s does.  “Okay, I have X mare, who will be the best cross” isn’t okay. It should be “I have X mare, why should she be bred? What does SHE offer?  only then should we consider a positive stallion match.  I hear a lot of ‘but I’m breeding for myself”. Well, there are a lot of quality foals better then yours lily will be for cheaper then your breeding costs.  they cost the same to feed, so why not get the better horse?  Sentiment is a powerful thing and behind too much breeding choices, I suspect.

And breeding in this environment? This is the first year many of those oblivious irresponsible breeders (I am NOT being personal, because the mere fact that you are here on the list excludes you – I’m talking the toss ‘em some hay, chew on wood for the extra, wear big spurs and always use a tie-down environment) realize they aren’t getting money for their horses.  The horse collectors have been having a ‘hay day’ (until the hay runs out).  Kind hearted but illogical rescues have been getting in over their heads and needing rescuing.  So I’m holding off totally one more year.  At least. <G> 

Good heavens, are you still reading? Congratulate yourself for your fortitude.  Then go get some fresh (lightly horse manure scented counts) air!

I find stallion myths to be most damaging to their quality of life.

When should yours stallion get aggressive? NEVER. Not allowed. Hormones can kick in as soon as 18 months, and usually no later then 2-1/2. Have a good foundation of training before then!

Pushy behavior in a stallion that would be fine in a mare or gelding is NOT okay. It is a precursor in a stallion to check ‘willingness’. I’ve even know people who thought it was cute/funny to encourage the stallion to mount them. Can we say STUPID?

You will see a surge of hormones in spring, but it absolutely no excuse to behavior changes. Just expect them to TRY to get you to let them change their behavior. )

As for keeping with geldings if they can’t be kept with other horses (bred mares, gelding, yearlings) off season at least, you re condemning them to a life of hell. This was a hard lesson for me with a very badly abused and valuable stallion that was my first to own. Horses are herd animals and if you can’t create a bachelor herd, I don’t believe it is fair to keep them a stallion. This includes breeding animals.

It is however the one exception I make for spring behavior, to closely monitor the bickering. I have an ex-breeding stallion here who used to buddy up to my old gelding. Now that he’s part of my mare herd, he won’t let the gelding come eat with them. Meanie. but it’s just stallion behavior.

I suggest you study wild horse herd structure. The MARE rules. The stallion guards. Bachelor herds should be of special interest.

There are SO may myths about stallions, some incredibly stupid (do you have any idea how many times I heard women can’t handle stallions because we cycle? ACCCCCCCCKKKKK! We cycle NOTHING like mares, that is the stupidest old cowboy holdout idea I’ve ever heard. Really, I had to fight that as a teen handing stallions many times,people really BELIEVE it!) and many damaging (stallions are dangerous i stupid. They are a working animal and you need to be educated, but there is absolute NO justification for them to not be able to work with and around other horses. I used to have to ride Barry, my first stallion, in crowded warm-up arenas with mares in heat, and we’ve had a mare in heat halt in front of us when we were in a good canter more then once. We’re talking a single length ahead suddenly halting. One a stallion with a horrible mishandled life before me. *sigh* NO reason for them to be dangerous, just different in their triggers and common handling.

Last but most significant, they a re not for everyone. While I love stallions probably most of all to ride, romantic ideals have no place in owning a stallion. I appreciate the focus, stamina and challenge of stallion partnership.

There are lots of geldings with equal presence and happier lives. Few stallions get a happy life. It’s harder to find boarding, good lifestyle and conditions for them and very little reason to justify breeding them. Plus you encounter weekly people with idiot ideas about stallions.

So in spite of my support of stallions as everyday citizens I still mostly will encourage you to geld, geld, geld.

Note: I am NOT the author (not this good~! LOL) I just thought it a worth-while concept. 

Dust if You Must

Author unknown

Dust if you must…but wouldn’t it be better
to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake cookies or a cake or plant a seed,
ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear and books to read,
friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world’s out there
with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,
a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around, again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
old age will come and it’s not kind.
And when you go – and go you must -
you, yourself will make more dust!

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This is written for someone who has lost their baby boy. Loosing a child… thank God I haven’t been there, only close.  I don’t have the heart to re-write it in context on horses, but it’s a very real look at grief. I’ve noticed that grief especially in relation to an animal or if it lasts more then the socially accepted time frame, is just not understood. It needs to fit in a box to not make people uncomfortable.   Maybe, just maybe it can help someone else to read this someday…

We’ve had 6 major losses in our family in the past 2 years. My little 6 year old is so pragmatic.  I try to be grateful of that rather then resent that she’s had to learn.

Of the stages of grief, I think one of the worst 2 is the first. You go to sleep finally out of exhaustion, once you’ve agonized into almost oblivion, wake up, and have to realize all over again it’s real.  The pain is …excruciating.  I remember once just knowing. Everyone told me it would turn out fine, but the shock and agony hit and all I could do, reserved, quiet me, was scream and sob.  A year later I can not recall it without  deep aching soundless, gut twisting tears. 

I have to say, we’ve found with this repetition that my husband is strong and doesn’t seem as affected as long as I need him. Once my grieving eased and I didn’t need his careful care, it hit him. I’d expect that same for Chris, it’s not easier but rather you need him and take is focus and until you’ve gone though some of this stage, he’ll continue to focus on you instead of his own grief. It seems a God-given balance. We’ve flip-flopped roles, too. 

The second horrible stage for me was once I could live again. The first happy though you have separate from the grief can hit you as hard as the initial grief. I don’t know how to express it. Contrast of emotion, the shock of a now unfamiliar feeling (happy), guilt, fear that you’ll forget the grieved one?  I don’t know.

For Mekena and for Carter, you will survive, and you will do more then tat. While part of you may not wish to, you will bring joy into your family again.You are a mother. It’s what we do.

When you are ready, you will honor Carter’s memory and MeKena’s presence in the best of ways: Living a joyous and meaningful life.

But for today, grieve, scream and suffer. You are a mother. It is what we do.

I’m snuggled up in my hastily cleaned up from wrapping paper (we open our gifts to each other on the 26^th as there are so many places to go the 25^th) living room, aglow with ivory lights and walls and a sluggish, admittedly, but still lovely fire.  I’ve just savored some really cinnamon-y raisin bread, soft cheese and tea for lunch, and the bred is a gift from our great horse-owning neighbors.  Having good neighbors is special. Having good neighbors who actually take excellent care of their horses, share some of my ideals about care and training? AND are fun people? Wow.  And she even put enough cinnamon in the bread.

I know fixing fences and getting my wires hot in the formerly frozen and over-saturated soil waits for e, but for now, some peace and time spent with milord was my goal. Serenity, so long absent from my hectic life, is mine today.  For at least 15 minutes!

The scriptures I was reading were so beautiful to me. I opened my bible at random, as I usually do, and it opened to I Kings 8:22.  Solomon’s prayer of dedication, and all of it struck me deeply today. But especially the interplay or conversation referring to God’s promises, goodness and very real presence.  And the words “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; How much less this house that I have built! (verse 27).

\How beautiful.   One of the things I cherish in my daily life is the opportunity I get to see God’s presence all around me. The natural beauty of my home is not only expressive of His presence, but also of His loving kindness towards me to give us this home.

But on to the point of my musings today.

I have the best gift of all this year. Living the life we’ve chosen, where hay gets paid for high on the priority list, and professional manicures are unimaginable, well, I don’t fit in with the “Mall Moms” most of my peers are. I have far more in common with our 60+ year old neighbor Lyle then I do with most women my own age.

But as I mused my scriptures, well, I had someone to share them with who’d understand.

Not just one but this year I have been gifted with several women who share the joys of my most hidden heart. Who understand that this is a lifestyle, horsemanship, that grows us and reveals much about us and makes us better. Who, most joyously of all understand this relationship with our great Lord and Savior.  I do believe much of His intent for a relationship is revealed by what a productive relationship with a horse is like….

But what a gift.  Real fellowship with believers who understand my life as well. While happily a loner, I find deep enjoyment in having the opportunity to find friendship with you.

My best gifts of 2008…

I don’t understand why flash nosebands are standard in the dressage world where education and the objective of getting the best results, and happiness in your horse, with the least extra equipment should be emphasized.  And bits?  Have you looked at the range of what gimmicky bits are available?  Aside from issues of fit and mouth shape, there is pretty much no reason why twists, differing leverage allowances, etc. are necessary. Training, not a bit, stops a horse.  Short term corrective use to reprogram a horse of something special might be allowable, but as standard equipment, it’s like you are riding your horse with a sign saying “I take shortcuts”. And guess what? It’s fashionable!

I don’t mean to be harsh, but justifying it as “keeping them from developing a bad habit” or “helping them keep their mouth closed” is nonsense.  I guess partly I just want to be officially on record with my stand.  And for people to question it for themselves and pursue the answer.  When a bridle comes here, any flash attachments are removed. A loosely adjusted French cavason (plain single band with normal padding) is all I use.

I do not have an issue with horses unable to carry the bit, opening their mouths, chewing incorrectly or running through the bit without a flash. No issues. Not just not usually.   Unless there is pain, it doesn’t happen.  I do find a lot of horses who are accustomed to leaning on the front end and being ridden bridle first, which can’t carry anything when the tight hand is removed, but that’s a separate issue.

Running through the bit as addressed with ground work, mostly long reining where a solid halt off the bridle (I often use the halter instead of a bit to establish this as it seems to translate well, with a verbal cue or without, to bit work and you can simply plant your feet, make yourself a wall, and encourage a firm prompt halt with no harshness. Keeping the resistant horse straight and between the reins is the challenge! ) is taught, as well as basic respect in all handling, feeding behaviors, special respect and foundational issues that may otherwise undermine even your simplest cues.

Obviously pain issues must be addressed FIRST.  And sadly, I usually find them. Perhaps we need to address testing for pain issues and developing a good foundational seat and the resulting lighter/steadier/more connected hands instead of the equipment.

I do upon occasion and depending on the horse’s learning style and background/issues, go to a beloved mullen mouth Pelham because you can use the snaffle rein for everything unless reinforcement is needed, but this is for the advanced rider only, and only with the right case. 

Interestingly, this trusty old bit is one I turn to a lot because many horses just love the fit. I think the stability is reassuring to horses who have had their teeth bumped a lot, and the mullen seems to fit many otherwise hard to fit mouths. I find I’ve shifted from traditional snaffles, to French link to mullen mouth ring snaffles as my first bit of choice for schooling.  I do love the feel of a French link on a well schooled horse for the sensitivity and connected ‘living’ feel it gives, though.

Okay, off the hobby horse and back to the real ones again….