Thinking Ahead

2011, the year that was. Or is that wasn't? 2011 was very good to me, in many different ways. A new shop, a new place to get working happily again. I really hated the old digs. I mean, HATED them. I liked the neighbours, the people, heck, I liked the one small (by Toronto standards) mall. I hated the drive, and the traffic, and the crappy old building I was trying to breathe in. The decades old crud just overwhelmed me, and since we had too much square footage.. I know I've typed this before.
Just keeping my tape-recorder tuned.

So, moral of the story, smaller can be happier:) The whole process, so far, knock wood, has been unwinding smoothly, with all the things that I thought would happen, once we shrunk, actually happening!

I think ahead. A lot. Too much, but that's another ramble. Or maybe this IS the ramble. We'll see:)

What a silly expression, really. Think ahead. Well, how do we think behind? It's a huge problem if you drive, either way, if you like to take things to extremes, like I do... When I first started driving (cars, they had them back then, too) I'd look behind me too much, worried that I was annoying cars behind me. As I've gotten older and more experienced, my "normal" mode is imagining a myriad of "what is about to happen", in every single scenario I encounter. It's a little tiring.

I was reading a car section of the paper, with a driving instructor admonishing people to think about "what would happen if___?" Telling them to think ahead! It sort of hit me then, that maybe I was slightly more abnormal than I thought. People generally don't think ahead, I guess.

I think ahead every single minute of the DAY! You'd have to blindfold me, in order to make me tail-gate. It's not that I drive slow. But I'm always watching for a leopard to pop out of nowhere.  I must have been a prey species in my previous life. I guess I can blame it on my hyper-disease.

Some people can "see things coming", and some people can't. Or won't. I always thought the "won't"s were the majority. Now, I'm not so sure. I really think many people just can't. Otherwise, why would people drive like I see on "Canada's Worst Drivers"?

Lots of people prefer not to think ahead. They don't want to know what will happen, until it happens. I am forever thinking about the things that could happen, might happen, will.. Do you know what I mean? I don't think I have precognition, but I do (in everything I do) project ahead with the next action. Whatever that might be.
I remember, as a super weird kid, wondering why exponential growth (I understood it, even then) was considered a good thing. So many good things. So many bad. The balancing act the planet is planning is going to be interesting.

The same prescience comes in handy with horses. All animals of course, love thinking ahead. My dogs love Walk? Toy? Dinner? Belly-rub! Bliss! Well, my dogs' lives can be summed up like that, anyway. My point is they look forward to what's next, and they live right now, for what's next. It's a lovely way to live, if you have the right attitude about it. Life, that is. Animals have that schtick down pat.

Working with large animals means everything that happens next could injure or kill you. Without a sense of what the animal is planning to do next, you can very quickly get thrown, or kicked, or whatever. Bitten, in the case of dogs. Stomped, if you're an elephant keeper. That's one of the reasons it's so important to work slowly around animals. They can and do mirror our actions. It's easier to plan ahead, when you move more slowly, too.

Everything is always possible, in every instance of every day.

Be prepared, is my motto. I try to be prepared for everything... Any idea how hard that is?!

I am NOT saying this is such a great thing about me. It makes me kinda nervous:) You can't really over-prepare, unless you have OCD, which maybe I am. Maybe because of the nuclear fallout shelter in our basement when I was seven.. Who knows, eh?

We always want to ride our horses forward. At least, I would. With every step your horse takes, you have to be there. Aware, as he is. Ready for that ghost in the trees, or that squirrel chucking walnuts at you. The same is true of any animal you work with. They are seeing a future, with every movement.

We tend to hang in the present, or the past. Maybe it's time to give some lessons in not thinking with your behind:)

Merry Christmas!

I swear, taking that bald face shot, that Butch had eye-shine.. My antique first horse still has his tapetum lucidum. Wow. Sadly, the camera didn't quite capture his innocent, sentient, elfish expression. Butch loves red sequins, and for some strange reason, so do I:)

The Stanley Report

Stanley's thyroid continues to be medication, he was high again, so Doc ordered "up the tapazole". Unfortunately, this medication is more expensive than replacement thyroid meds, since I cannot afford to nuke his thyroid. Hmm. I should do the math, really. Hard to prognose a cat with an unknown future.

Stanleys' now is wonderful. He enjoys having his very own house, with his very own human. When I visit, Stanley will happily cuddle, but eventually he'll leave, and lounge at Dad's feet.

If Dad isn't home, Stanley will gladly snuggle on your lap, and when you do have to move, he'll try to push you back down again, mreowr-ing his mild annoyance. He has his own backyard, with a soft bunch of dirt handy for business, and the area is safe and secure. Stanley can't jump very well, from an old injury perhaps, he won't say. And since Stanley arrived declawed, he cannot climb out, either. He has a loud meow, which he knows how to use. He and Dad seem to have a nice little routine worked out.

Dad went away for a week, and I was able to enjoy Dad's wonderful house for a few days, in order to keep Stanley fed/pilled/accompanied. Stanley was not thrilled by having canines in his house, but adapted quickly, as Stanley does know I have two dogs. Plus, I am the original food lady, and Stanley does love to be fed. Both dogs quickly decided it was just easier to give Stanley the upstairs.
Stanley is BosS, and Flip avoided his baleful glare/hiss/spats, while Blaze just looked sadly hurt & confused by Stanley's incomprehensible wrath. By the end of our little stay, Blaze finally managed to sniff Stanley's butt. Once.
Stanley wasn't looking.

Humpfh.

Dad has reported Stanley's interest in Dad's Scotch whiskey. Stanley was allowed two licks. It's something else they have in common:)

And something else I have to worry about...
But not now. Now is good, for Dad and Stanley.

Fear of trotting (Thanks for the title, NCC)

Why is the trot so scary? Well, that's an easy one. It hurts. MAN, does it hurt. Get out of synch, and torture awaits that most sensitive of areas that we all try to protect. The horses' sheer power as he pushes off his diagonal legs is scary. Horse can THROW you forward just as easily from a trot. Well, of course he can, he's moving, isn't he? 600 to 1500 pound horses all have a lot of power behind their movement. It's physical. Physics. Ya know??

Every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction, and all that crap. Riders have this perception that they are in control of the horse, and that first shove of your butt can be disconcerting. Horse is saying, come along. If you fall back, you bother him, and this can translate into further kerfuffle as you attempt to accelerate, fearfully or foolishly, as this rider is doing here. It's a moebius loopy thing. You want to accelerate, but you hinder his forward, by falling back as he shoves forward off his diagonal hind legs. You both dislike it. Trotting becomes a drag.

To be continued, following a short commercial interlude from our sponsors, brought to you by HorseSticks!

Only one rider in this group would NOT be able to post the trot, without bothering the heck out of his horse. Her horse, whatever. Sticks have no gender. Mind you, I've never really looked to make sure;)

Here's an example of some slightly better riding;)

Look Again..

Simplification Ceremonies and HorseSticks-reprised

As we all know, I have too much space and time in my head.


HorseSticks, first in a series of 'toons about riding. or Not.


Anybody notice a correlation between this picture and the cartoon above?


I chickened out of going to the Master Clinic, drat! I just can't, okay, won't, drive late at night when the temperature is hovering around freezing, and the roads are shiny wet/frozen/maybe black ice. Call me a coward, it fits, in this instance. My energy ebbed a lot, with all the heavy snow slogging. But the cool thing is I found my notes from 1983, of the George Morris/Christilot Boylen Clinic. The notes even make some sense!

CB at 16.


GoLightly's Christilot Boylen Clinic Notes, 1983
"Shoulder-in, is the beginning of half-pass. BIG problem, is quarters leading. Travers on a diagonal = good half-pass!"
"Increasing pulling will decrease effectiveness. Horse must carry himself".

Sound familiar, anyone?? Hmmmm?

"Pirouette training - 90% of horses will do it too small, train it BIG".
"Problem in extensions - rider thinks work is accomplished in itself, should just balance, Collect, increase energy, and then let it go."
"Passage and Piaffe - Horse must be gifted, ultimate outcome of schooling. Energy is channled upward, with rhythm and cadence maintained. Easier to piaffe from rein-back, than from halt. Transitions are JUST as important".

Cool, huh.
1983. Boy, were horses even around then??

OH, re: the above oddity! I was messing around with making a Centered Riding cartoon for Union Square, even though she's abandoned me for the pleasures of wordpress. Her blog is still great, btw. Mine, not so much, apparently.

I realized something, as I was messing around. Please, people, try to think of yourselves as sticks. Try to just look at what I'm showing you up there.
Sally Swift's "Stubby legs", to me, means that you don't really need your lower leg to stay on, at all. And you don't, at all.

HorseStick Kits will be available on this site. Watch for future updates!

Don't just snort and think I've lost my mind again.
Well, maybe I have, but that's not the poinT. The point is, on a horse, you cannot fold in two. Unless you know how to make your shoulders touch, and your hips fold.

You are just that simple, though. I mean, WE are. I mean...

Random Amazing Old Horse, who's name I recall being spoken with reverence. I think an early horse owner I knew had some lovely youngsters with his name in their lineage. Princequillo I'd take HiM home:)

Oh, truly bad movie of funny Blaze and the naughty rubber chicken.
The donor, Millie dog, had never really shown an interest. Both girls, first shown it, were frankly horrified. Maybe because the chicken is wearing clothes, in very poor taste...

Anyway, Blaze is saying, EwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, I don't even like TOUCHing it! That's disGUSTing! It makes great noises in it's squeaker, too. I will never understand dog logic when it comes to toys. Flip LOVES squeakies! They BOTH love floppy, squeaky things, but the things are usually fake-furrier... hmmm.



To the END of February!!!!
Seemed to take forever.

Sorry, just one teensy gloat? Hockey GOLD for Canada, Men AND Women!! The men knew they'd never survive/live down losing, after the women won. I mean, c'mon! I saw their faces in the box, after the women won. Boy, they were SERiously Serious.
Now if we could just channel all that energy for such ultimately trivial pursuits into...

Ooops, didn't mean to type that out loud.
(originally posted in March 2010. Wasn't I in a great mood?!)
Amazing how quickly times can flip, and blaze.

FurtherEvolutionsIn2Driding. Reprised

Alrighty, starting at the top, working your way down, left to right...Two HorseSticks, Mr. Left and Mr. Right, arguing over who will ride the preddy horsie. Isn't it odd how one looks bigger than the other? I love perspective. I can't really DRaW perspective, but I like it anyway:) I'm kind of 2d, too. Two Dimensional. Or maybe too dimensional. Not sure yet. I'll let ya know.

In the next frame, still on the top, moving right, like a comic, do I have to keep telling you? Gawd, I hope not. I thought about numbering.. Nah.

Anyway, it happened so fast, you missed it, the Stick on the left, jumped up, kicked the RightStick flat over, knocked RightStick out cold, and hopped on. But, Left Horse Stick made one critical mistake. LeftStick assumed the chair seat, just a smitch tooo far back. Mare hasn't been rode in a while. A tad cold-backed. LeftStick has been bucked out of the frame. How innocent mare still looks!

The End?

OH, the bottom two pictures show a Giraffe on the right, and a Tapir on the left. Again, both types present challenges. The key to any saddle fitting properly is it's levelness relative to the horse's top-line, which you hope is pretty level to the ground. Notice I said hope. I kinda flattened the Giraffe's back a bit, sorry about that. It didn't hurt, promise:)

The real mare has a nice place to put a saddle. The altered ones show the crazy extremes that can happen.
It's important you feel "level" too. Feeling like you're about to go over the head, or over the butt, should be avoided. That's where padding comes in, and custom fitting, and dollars I can't spend anyway:)

Oh, and never mind looking at the last post's SaddleToon, I think this one is way easier to peer at, for me anyway.

I have a few million billion things to say about the chair seat, but they must wait. I'll start by saying the HorseSTicks on the far right, in both center frames, are what is mostly seen riding, today. I think. Sure see it a LOT, anyway. It is not a "dangerous" flaw. It can be a lazy flaw. It is a defensive posture. It is tougher on the horse, purely from a weight and simple physics point of view. Where does your weight go, in the chair? Which way is more fair? Do you dare? Laissez-faire. Okay, I'll stop.

British Equestrian Fan Tangent..
What I'm afraid many won't appreciate about watching Geoff ride, is his physical body type. But if you watch him, he's actually completely light, on the horse's back.

In ANY of those HorseStick Figures above,I could widen them considerably, and not change the balance, correctly centered over the horse.

Does anybody get what I'm trying to burble this time?
Let me know, will ya?

Feel like I'm yelling into a vacuum, here:)

And That's nothing new, neither:)
Old Crone Out.
(originally posted March 21, 2010)
At least I found it!

Sticks and Stock

Yes, just when you thought it was over....

Just when you thought it was safe.

My memory cells are insisting I've posted this before, and since I can't argue with myself very effectively, I'll just post it again. I'm trying to make a point, and it's really simple. If you've read Practical Horseman ragazine lately, you'll have seen an article by Jimmy Wofford, about studies done using jockeys and different leg-body positions. The horse's workload decreased with the shortening of the stirrups, as the speed increased. We knew this already, of course, as jockeys (both jump and flat) have stirrup lengths that dressage queens cower before. The best show jump jocks also ride with a stirrup that doesn't hinder the horse's ability to carry the rider comfortably and effectively.

The times have changed, very slowly and painfully. John Whitaker, one of Great Britain's greatest show-jump riders, and Milton's partner after Caroline Bradley's tragic death, had ridden with very long stirrups, until Milton was able to teach him to shorten them.

GoLightly was the horse that unlocked my doors about riding with shorter stirrups. Do you want the horse, or yourself to be the most comfortable, and which is the priority, in different riding disciplines? Is there a priority?

Do you notice anything about the above pictures?
There's a quiz, so be ready.

Bouncing among the Cabbages - Blaze Feb. 2011

Further Jollies

I'm baby-sitting Stanley at the moment, really appreciate the way higher speeds of internet you city folk enjoy! Lookit that, I CAN load a big honkin' video!
I feel for Blaze and her hyper-ness. Hmmm, wherever did she get that from?

That kind of life

I'll bet you've been dying to know how my war with mentalpause has been going, I'm sure you've noticed a slight mood swing, from time to time? I sure have. Blimey, there I might be, listening to a song that twangs my heart, and booHooHOO. Jeepers. I guess it's not the tears that bother me, it's the suddeness of the emotion. I mean, I can get all emotional, but usually I know WHY I'm getting all emotional. Not used to this OMG I MUST SOB emotional switch.

Oh, the midnight oven scenes are really getting interesting, especially at 3am. It's like a toaster popping off, BING, I am wide awake, and I am nine million degrees! Super Nova time! Dogs think it's great. Up we get, they get to go outside, while I stand there not shivering in sub-zero weather.

Hey, it can be fun. At least the whiskers on my chin & upper lip haven't outpaced my scalp hair growth yet, maybe that's why I've let my hair become it's own planet lately. My hair is freakin' big. Huge. Farrah Fawcett (rip) suffered from alopecia, compared to this freakin thing. Sorry, who has big hair today? I am such a dinosaur..

tangent... Whilst the great dismantling of the ecosytem in the basement has been going on, I've had lots of time to admire how tough hard water really is.
I (whisper) think most of my current hair colour is from the water. I love our well water, even if it does like a darned good chiseling off of every surface it touches every once in a while. I wonder what that does to my tummy. Cast-iron guts from water? Hmmm, I rarely have issues with that end of things, since I've lived here.
The basement is completely like new, now, I'd move down there if I could. It's the cleanest part of the entire house.
However, the furnace is condemned. BUT, we have a new sump pump in, YAY!!! But, the taps are still drippilating hot money water down the drain. and the bathroom? Seriously, I've been threatening to take pictures and send them to HGTV, but they'd probably just call me a dirt hoarder or something.
I am NOT! I am a tad stubborn, is all. Let's put it this way. We have an old cast-iron tub, and I bet the hard water coating it right now is about oh, 1/64" thick. I stopped chiseling it right around the time I quit taking baths. I SHOWER, (briefly) now, and rarely. But that's another issue.

My brilliant baby sister took a few pictures of the spectacular squalor, (she actually shoots for those magazines that show you clean, nice houses), but she never did get the nerve up to show them to anyone else she actually knows. Can't say I blame her. Hard to take a picture of the smell, anyway.

The contractor guy that did the basement wanted to do everything else sort of all at once, but noooo, LL said "get another price!" LL's said that 12 YEARS ago, about the floor tiles in the kitchen. Did you know tiles used to be made with absestos? Neither did I!! ( Or I might have forgotten, always an option).

We found that out when we hired a (rip you off twice) Mould Specialist, and now I have yet another thing to kafuffle about. Asbestos. Yum! BREATHE, breathe in the airr. Don't be afraid to care..

Oh, so now there are NO tiles in the kitchen, but there is no floor either, just plywood. Real country feel, I tell ya.
OH, the bathroom. Ugh, the bathroom. i wanna new bathroom. I WANNA NEW BATHROOM!!!! whO puts carpet in their bathroom?? Well, it sure as hell wasn't me. As HusB gets older, his aim has worsened. I mean, c'mon, sit down already. But noooo. I am NOT removing the carpet, either.
NOT MY JOB.
My brief showers are a study in efficiency, cause I want outta there ASAP. The creeping fungusoids that thrive in filthy environments have entirely surrounded the shower surround, and everytime I climb in, I wonder if I'm about to fall through into the basement. Ah, well, at least it's clean down there.

My LandLords are showing odd signs of cordiality, which always makes me nervous. I think they are starting to figure out that when you own a property, if you don't MAINTAIN that property, well, hey, it falls apart. And Tenants get right cranky.
Just watch me.

In Flanders Fields
the poppies grow..

To All Our Brave Soldiers, who offered their lives so that we may have the freedom to rant.
Thank you.

RIP, Hickstead

Xenophon...

"For what the horse does under compulsion, as Simon also observes, is done without understanding; and there is no beauty in it either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer."

"The hand must neither hold so strict as to confine and make the horse uneasy, nor so loosely as not to let him feel it. The moment he obeys and answers it, yield the bridle to him; this will take off the stress and relieve his bars, and is in conformity with that maxim, which should never be forgot, which is to caress and reward him for whatever he does well. The moment that the rider perceives that the horse begins to place his head, to go lightly in the hand, and with ease and pleasure to himself; he should do nothing that is disagreeable, but flatter and coax, suffer him to rest a while, and do all he can to keep him in this happy temper. This will encourage and prepare him for greater undertakings."
Xenophon 444-365 BC.

Fun for people?

Happy Birthday, Blaze!

Oh, how I've loved watching and learning from this one, my first OWN puppy since I was 18 or so. Talk about ga-ga. Her little feet smelled so GooD!

Blaze is front right, trying to eat the wood edging.

Close-Up, This puppy still loves to eat:)

Her first act upon arrival at her new home was to go and hide in some bushes, necessitating a search and rescue that was epic in how long it seemed to take to find her, and how well she'd secreted herself into her creeping juniper cave.

Yes, the longe line is over-kill, but I wasn't planning on losing her again:) Blaze was the sillest lookin' puppy...

Since she's my dog, and we share a birthdate, and are somehow psychically linked, it is amazing how she mirrors me. And no, for sure, not always are those very GooD ways. Blaze is shy, and so am I.

I knew I needed to get her out and socialized more than the average dog, and I have tried my best, but I'm afraid I didn't quite do enough. The call of just going home after a long day's work was just too powerful.

How much she mirrors me, was pointed out to me today.

A gentleman came into the shop today, and although I had been expecting him, I had expected a call first. (I had been waiting for him for well over a month.) Since I was feeling a tad acerbic, my body language inspired Blaze to (stealthily, from a foot or so distance away) nip at the guys' work boots, as he was leaving. Blaze had her full evil face on, doing the same weird thing she has done to stranger dogs she doesn't know, she likes to "herd" them with the most diabolical look on her face..

MAN, we need to get out more;).

Monday, Monday....

Can't trust that day. No kidding! What was my first act of stupidity this morning, as I headed for my car to go to work? I step in a fresh pile of doggie doo doo, Flip's, and I'll tell how I know it's Flip's. Flip can put an invisibility shield around her poop. It disappears. How do I know this? I WATCHED her poop, TWICE, at Dad's, poised to do my scooping thing. It vanished. She pooped into a bush, and then she pooped beside the bush. It's not THERE. I looked, I did! 

I found the ancient family heirloom tape, made onto VHS, from a super 8 film. Yes, FILM. People used that back then, in the stone ages. The recorder person cut my 'ead off, a lot. Took me awhile to tape the whole thing, I kept trying to raise the tape UP. How crappy is this?? I yam 14 years old, and I know EVERYthing, in life. I think I do, anyway. 'specially about horses, oh, man, was I lippy. gah. Here it is. The rest of the abomination is on the YouBee channel.

Nasty, just nasty. This was a saintly mare, as most horses are..

Then there was the weird rest of this Monday. A big rush job screwed up, cost me money. Check.  Did you know you can buy organic frozen produce, from CHINA?? And it's the SAME price as Canadian regular stuff?? Give me a BREAK.

And then I heard, coming out of the grocery store, Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", done as MUZAK. WHAT the hell are people thinking?? They did the melody all wrong, to make it Muzakier. It was sooo creeepY. It's an abomination, is what it is!

To Neil Young's "After the Goldrush".

Lookit that young rider, yank her horse, in the NINEteen seventeeeeS.

Time to Fall

It's so tragically pretty this time of year, the trees blazing away with their last bits of ATP.

The wind has been hard on many of them, this year had made most trees very happy, but some have drowned with all the rain.
We have a different look, this fall. Some of my favourite scenes are as I drive home, and pulling over and snapping is really not an option. It's just a short walk to my own scenery though.

I wish.. I wish..

The girls, as usual, keep me smiling:)

I wish.. I wish.

The HeartBroke Horse

ack, I sure hope blogger continues to behave.. I never know, with this rural connection, if all the bits and bytes are blinging or not..

I wish I knew how to download a video, and copy stills from it. Take clips from it. sigh. So much technology, so few brain cells left..
I laugh at my poky left elbow, those puppy paws, I guess you call them today.
This guy was such a neat horse. I knew next to nothing about him, other than he had an ammy owner who wanted him gone. He was either full or half Trakhener, big name breed in those years.My boss had been riding him in the preliminary jumpers, but they hadn't had a good mesh, so I was grateful for the chance to ride him. I ended up showing him at a schooling show in the green hunters, actually got a couple good ribbons, laughable when you watch how un-huntery he is. This is the horse that needed Ami dog (my neighbour at the time, Mrs. Smalls' Standard Poodle) to give him his yaya's back. Horse was so morose, so sullen, so sad when I started with him. I cajoled him along, kidded with him, tried to keep everything light and cheery and easy. He didn't really brighten until I had a few "chase the big black poodle" games in the arena, me whooping and hollering, AMi having a blast too.. He was ever so much better after that!

I don't show my long warm-up, with a cooler, at the walk, the arena grew even colder, as it was getting later in the day. He would start out close to star-gazing, so tight and defensive he was through his back. I wouldn't correct it. I'd just keep riding him forward. He'd forge for a bit, at the trot, his hind toes loudly clacking against his front heels of his  shoes. A dressage whip petrified him, and I didn't like carrying them anyway. Give me a short bat, any day:) His ammy owner always rode him with a dressage whip, so there ya go.
He was almost comatose, but he still had a spook. He'd been known to rear at the in-gate of a class. Not high, just an "eeeeek", as if he was trying to shrink, up. He spooked  in the corner where some shavings bags were stacked, through the whole ride. Going to the left was the REALLY scary way! ooooh. I've posted some more of the tape on YouBoob, tah, daH. Link over there on the right.. Scroll down.  Trust me, it's boring. Of course, I had a blast watching it, I must say:)
There were lots of paradoxes behind this horse. I found him quite light, not dead-sided, just no acceleration. I had to teach him how nicely he was capable of moving. With his ammy, he'd t.r.o.t. a.b.o.u.t. one mile an hour. It was weird to watch the ammy riding him.
This was the funniest moment. Right at the very end of the ride, I was just letting him canter out (as much as you could in that tiny arena).He actually did a tiny little buck 'n play, and did (half) a flying change, at his scary corner. That he changed behind FIRST pleased me no end. So cute.. We had been working on counter-canter, and helping him stay organized. He happily demonstrated he'd learned his lesson at the end:)
to be continued.
If anyone asks:)

I finally found

This. Part of my grumpy factor involves a basement that has developed it's very own ecosystem, one I could not venture into for oh, 10 years, I'm ashamed to say. Since we were having some rather extreme "other" issues with the landlord, we just couldn't bring ourselves to complain about anything else. Weird, pathetic rationale, but there you are.
There was one or two things I had stored in the basement, that I basically had given up on. One of them was a tape of me riding. I've video'ed it with my camera. It was taken by the father of one of my students, great people, still deeply into horses. They were sponges, always imploring more knowledge of all types. When I quit teaching, I donated all of my Practical Horseman's, & Equus's, to them. Books, you name it. I sadly found one of my favourite horse books completely ruined. I'm glad I had forgotten about it;)

This is a mare called "Jaimie", that no-one else really wanted to ride. We had a great time together, being quite kindred spirits. She was hot, and opinionated. A tad of a know-it-all. Remind you of anyone?
:)
Sorry for the terrible quality. I was just pleased as punch to find the darn thing, relatively unscathed. The tape survived! There's more, I just haven't finished watching it yet. I think another horse I was riding is also on the tape, a horse I based one of my characters on, in the fiction..

JollyBall OVERload...

Book Review - The Head and not the Heart

Visit  http://www.nataliekreinert.com/  to order this book, PLEASE! Natalie Keller Reinert, aka Union Square, aka an array of amazing blogs, like http://retiredracehorseblog.wordpress.com/ which will also lead you to her other array of social networking accounts. I find them a little dizzying, but I am older than trees.

Natalie's first comment on my blog made me laugh. I'd have to say most of her comments made me laugh. Her writing skills are superlative, and her grasp of horse life laser sharp. Natalie makes me laugh, and cry, and gasp and cheer over her myriad real and fictional equine escapades, which brings me to the book Natalie was whined into sending me to review. I haven't reviewed a book since my short lived stab at University English courses. So, I have no idea what format is acceptable. It's a book about the track. The End:)

All I can say is, I want MORE. Funny, wonderfully accurate, sad, inspiring, honest. I loved it, raced through it, was so sorry to see it end. I kept paging down, but nope, hit the biography blurb, instead. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the ending! Who wouldn't. I just didn't want it to...

Natalie has an uncanny ability to place the reader firmly into her written world, and you feel/smell/taste the sweetness of a horse's every day life. A rider's bruised butt, a cold harsh wind, a throbbing lack of sleep, a kind horse's generous eye...  Sigh. More, Natalie. Thank you so much for letting me read the whole thing!

As a true fan, I will always want more:)
I'll keep the whining to a dull roar. Promise. I'll try, anyway. When you hit my age, you do what you can to get what you want;)

Here's a poem I found. I dedicate it to Natalie and hearts that will always love horses.

The Midnight Steeplechase
The steam of their steeds
Like a mist of the meads,
Veiled the moon in a curtain of cloud.
And the stars so bright
Shuddered in light
As the unhallowed troop in their shadowy shroud,
Galloping, whooping, and yelling aloud,
Fast and unfailing, and furious in flight,
Rattled on like a hailstorm, and vanished in night.
ANON

FlashBack Alert!

One of my favourite tunes..

Howard Jones - No One Is To Blame 1986

You can look at the menu, but you just can't eat
You can feel the cushion, but you can't have a seat
You can dip your foot in the pool, but you can't have a swim
You can feel the punishment, but you can't commit the sin
And you want her, and she wants you....

I remember, in 1984 or so, a teenaged student of mine expressing admiration that I had a tape of Howard Jones, who wrote/sang/published music for a while in the early 80's. Videos were a major thing too, of course I never watched them. Google YouBoob, he's there! Years later, I discovered how weird lookin' he truly was. He started mohawks that my relations are sporting today. Strange.
His music is a haunting reminder of so many pasts lives I've led. Teacher. Trainer. Candlestick-maker.

Sigh. Those days are still so close. He was GREAT to ride horses to, too. Very rhythmic/hypnotic/rollicking. I've mentioned music and horses before, haven't I?
Howard Jones lyrics and GoLightly had a lot in common.
Oh, and my readership has dwindled, as I predicted it would, but it is hard to hold your fingers back from what they've been fulminating on for 40+ years.

Nine Eleven, two thousand and one

Who cannot remember the horror, the shock, the fear, the raw courage shown by the American people.
To The First Responders, still dying today. To all who lost their lives. To the families. The children.
We all remember where we were. We will never forget.

Stanley HATES Toys!

Funny Stanley. Bought him a cat toy, to hang from a doorknob, bought the wrong one, of course, as it will NOT hang from a knob. But it is possible that I am indeed the knob.
anywho, it's a stretchy string with a mouse on the end (and other stuff that doesn't work.) (I should have gotten a feather-type one, now that I think of it..) ANYway, I tried to get ol' Stanley to play a bit, and he did WIDEN his pupils, and THINK of pouncing, and then he suddenly looked absolutely appalled, and left in a huge horrified huff. Jeesh, what did I do wrong?? Funny old cat.
He did bonk his nose last week, when I threw a piece of balled up paper for him to chase, and he forgot that the glass table legs were there. Felt SO bad, cause I laughed. Why DO we laugh, at that kind of thing?
It was involuntary. I felt badly for Stanley, cause it must have hurt. So why did I laugh?
See what I mean? MegaPhilosophical...
I am deeeep.
Well, not really;)
Dad Update, Stanley STILL hadn't reappeared, three hours later.

September 18, 2011. Is that a hand patting that cat??

How to... with apologies to Mr. Carnegie

Lose friends and piss people right off.
1) Talk about the different types of riding out there, and voice an opinion, based on epidemiological observation.
2) Watch the horse people fall all OVER themselves insisting that I am a biased, inexperienced, PeTA/SHARK/HSUS/SPCA/IRA/CIA/Vegan terrorist.
3) Smile to myself, because I have voiced these opinions. You just weren't listening.
4) Wonder why NO-ONE (who was royally pissed off) said ANYthing about the WHR. Very interesting.
5) Realize that western and english will never be able to agree about anything. Hard for english folks to wrap their heads around people shrieking "MUG him, MUG him" at the WHR.
5a) I found a video of a colt being mugged. What a great way to start your baby! The owners were laughing their asses off. The colt was freakin'.right.out. But hey, what do I know? I've never started a yearling. Maybe that's how it's done on your side of the fence. Is it?

That's all. Not really worth it, was it?

Shorter, far older sister is now complaining that my blog is boring. Probably because I'm not mentioning her anymore;)

C'mon you guys. Say SOMETHING about the WHR. Or are you sure all I know is how to be nice to a horsie? Do these horses go on to be sound, sane, well-broke citizens? You tell me. I'm waiting.
Haven't we all been basically in agreement that horses have narrow, perfect memories? What will these horses remember?
I'm ASKing.
Oh, and to those who think I was denigrating western, again, I have to laugh. How can you DISagree that western started out as a WORKING style of riding, NOT a pleasure style? Made me laugh, you guys.
You get all huffy, maybe because you know, deeeep down, that particular observation is right. on. Why WOULDN'T a western style saddle be bigger/heavier, 'cause real live cowboys actually USE the saddle to pack just about everything but the kitchen sink, ffs. Honestly.

I didn't realize that the WHR was such a touchy subject with you western folks. It's something you seem to be proud, and ashamed of, allatthesametime. You sure avoided THAT part of the post, hmmm?

Of COURSE, I know that many events are part of real-time ranch work. But really, isn't the point of stock-handling, to NOT rile the stock? Weren't stampedes a BAD thing, once?? Or are all those old westerns movies a bunch of BS?

Oh, well, I know. Just a dumb/pussy/snooty english beeyotch.
That's me.

kinder ways

"Monty has done a good job of getting people to think about kinder ways, and so have the Parrellis. Are their horses happier than the ones trained using Buck Brennaman, Bill Dorrance, or old school English techniques? I'm not seeing it..." Thanks, kestrel. This post has been brewing for a long time.

But isn't "getting people to think about kinder ways" a  sensible direction for training to take? Everyone has their "tricks" of the trade, and in the right hands, tricks work. But give that trick to a poorly timed eye, or a cruel or stupid eye, and lord help that animal.

I have old experience, riding those long ago horses. My TadPlaid was a 3yrold TB stallion, rarely handled. I never had to resort to anything other than turn-out, longing and then hacking. I do understand the rationale behind the tricks, but the tricks would be far less necessary if people weren't always revering/emulating bronc types of rodeo events. I think riding western correctly is really hard, and not that many people do it well. Roughness seems to be normal. I know I am generalizing, I'm just reporting my preliminary findings, is all;)

Me & Chester, 2001

There's a brutal side in all forms of horse-training, and I ain't here to argue that. But by sheer volume, western wins, on the cruelty scale. We celebrate our "struggle" breakin' broncs. We mug the horses to the ground, with brute strength, how strong we are!

**My post about western being for the comfort of the rider, and not the horse, stands. The good saddle-seat riders have angles. Yes, WAY behind the "ideal" that we have. But the way these horses move allows for just about any contortion, doesn't it? The Saddle-Seat horses were bred to be smooth. Western, to work. Stop. Go real slow, don't jar me. Back up. Lower your head. Lower it more. More. MORE. I'm just not seeing as many comfortable horses wearing western tack. Since western is the dominant rider type these days, you notice things.**

To me, western means I will sit you like an arm-chair, and you will like it. A recent study of horses and jockeys discovered that the old style straight legs placed a far greater load on the horse. Why else would the ideal bronc rider start position be having your heels ahead of the horses' shoulders in the bronc chute? Huge marks are given for lying prone across the horses' back, legs straight out, when in full-buck. How comfy for the rider. The lazy-boy posture WINS! Not so much for the horse. Have you seen some of these guys doing their victory lap after the fact? Painful, and not for the rider.

I'd love to see what would happen if the bronc-riders had no flank strap, and sat up when the horse was released from the chute. Just for my own studies:)
Horses were not built to be ridden COMFORTABLY for them, like armchairs. That they react fairly violently, or shut down completely into their own pain-free little world, is no surprise to me. Quit telling me the flank strap is an annoyance. Why then, do their mouths gape? Why is a bloody good yank applied, JUST before they "explode" out of the chute, every, single, time? It's like winding up a spring toy, and then being surprised at the sproing. I just don't get it. I didn't get it years ago. I STILL don't get it.

I watched parts of the Calgary Stampede this year, for the first time in years, because I wanted to be proven wrong in any of the thoughts I have about rodeo. They had the novice saddle bronc rider event on. To a Horse, they all struggled in the chute. Each was explained as being a real tough character, real experienced bucking horses. One mare, 22 years old, needed a metal bar through the chute, below her throatlatch, so she wouldn't lie down. I watched a documentary series put on here called simply "Rodeo".  In one clip, taken at the Edmonton rodeo, another "very experienced bucking horse" was flipping right out in the chute. Rearing, trying to fall over backwards, trying to jump out the front of the chute. Call me crazy, but those horses didn't seem to be enjoying their job.

Audiences love it. It makes me queasy. Not because of what you think, oh, poor horsie. I think, how odd. How strange, why would you do that? I don't deny the risk of death is the big seller in this sport. Man against the wild angry beast. But we MADE him wild, and angry and terrified, and sure his world has ended, as he head-first slams into the wall. Oh, well, just the rough-stock. I dunno. Because we are going to eat the animal later, does that make it okay to beat it up, and break it down, first? Why doesn't CBC-TV (covering the Calgary Stampede), show the impact of the calf hitting the end of the rope anymore, in "tie-down" roping? Why was it re-named? This event used to be called "calf-roping". Was the sight of clotheslining a young calf upsetting people? As long as we don't see it, it must be okay?

We are in angery times. I found that spelling in a comment made by a youngster about training her horse. "You have to get angery, or the horse won't listen." That made me queasy, too.

The prevailing attitude towards our food animals has always been drool first, ask questions later. But the laughing at an animal's injuries/distress, the cheering when the horse is flipping out, it all makes me wonder. What is the message we send to our youth? To each other? To ourselves?


There is no good reason to terrorize our domesticated creatures, I mean, why did we bother domesticating them, if we revel in making them "wild" again? I know I am in a tiny minority, but I've said from the beginning I'm not a fan of these rodeo events. I don't think all the rodeo events are cruel, of course, you guys already know my theory on barrel-racing. Or maybe you don't.

I watched a video simply named "Saddle Bronc", and I can not get the link to work. It was at a school in the USA. Bronc slammed head first into the concrete stands, and fell backward. They tried to get him to move. He'd flattened his skull, twitching and shaking as his brains slowly scrambled. Saddest thing I ever saw. Kids of about 8-9 were looking on with great interest, wearing cowboy hats. I know, that way they learn about death. But didn't WE kill that animal, just to see what he'd do when we wound him up?

Truly, what is the point behind putting underwear on a cow? Cartwheeling a calf? Mugging a pony, so he flips over on his head? SHARK didn't put out the three videos I posted below. Happy spectators did.
What are we telling ourselves? I wonder.
I know my readership will now shrink down to minus three. I know how popular and profitable the rodeo industry is, for a lot of basically good folks. But it's the premise, I think, that makes me pause, and wonder.

I don't "buy in" to anything. I was thinking this long before SHARK ever put out a video.

I stand by my disgust at the Wild Horse Race. We wonder where our brutality comes from. Then we put it on display, for all to see. To Cheer.

OH, and good news, Dad has changed his mind. I will continue to gently berate Dad to be careful of Stanley's hind claws, which I clipped, he is such a good cat.