I thought I would share a first.

So last night I was looking on the YouTube at all my videos I had created and I can across something interesting. My first barrel racing time and my first time using spurs. It was actually for a project last year, but it was a lot of fun! The horse was an American Paint named Millie. She actually wasn’t a barrels horse; she was a retired Western Pleasure horse. I think she may have been 10 at the time. However Western Pleasure or not we still had a pretty good time of 34 seconds on our first run! I think this one moment is when I truly earned my spurs! I have grown a lot in my riding since then, but it was still fun getting to look back. Anyway here is my first timed run. Enjoy!

A tad bit about my new bit!

So last week I had the greatest day ever! I used my new Myler O ring Combination Snaffle bit that I got for Christmas on Daisy for the first time! For those who don’t know a bit is basically what helps you to stop and steer your horse. It goes in their mouth and when you want to stop you pull back and it gently pinches their mouth, which is their cue to stop. Parts of the bridle are that they either have a brow band that that goes around both ears or an ear band that just goes around one ear. Then most have what is called a throat latch. This basically goes under the jaw and latches to the other side. This should be tightened snug enough that you can fit at least two fingers through it. Then some may have a curb strap the is placed just behind the lower lip. Here are some pictures to give you an indication of what it looks like thanks to Mini horse and Pony Tack guide and America’s Horse Daily:

A given that Daisy had not used a bit in a super long time, like in eight months plus longer, I just used a halter and lead rope before I got this. So I was just a little worried to use it on her! Let me tell you folks, Daisy did AMAZING with it! This bit is very unique in the sense that it is not like most bits. Instead of pulling on the mouth, which by the way if you pull to much it can make the mouth harden and be painful, it applies more pressure on the poll and nose and less on the mouth. That way you have less hardening.

Here is a diagram of the head of a horse by extension.org:

What’s also really unique about this bit is that you can set it to the level of pressure that your horse needs from the bit. This not only is a great tool, but also saves money in having to buy another bit. Considering bits can be well over 100 dollars apiece. The first ring is designed for minimal mouth pressure and more pressure from the poll and nose. This challenges them to work mainly off their nose. The second, (what I set Daisy to.) is designed for slightly more mouth pressure and less pressure from the nose and poll. The third ring is designed for complete mouth pressure. Now I bet you are wondering how I come to my decision on what one to set Daisy to. Well looking back it was simple really. I first set her to the third ring. Well when I got on her she started throwing her head and chomping on the bit. I tried adjusting the chin strap, noseband, throat latch and other adjustments to the headstall. None of those worked. I sat there for a while completely stumped. That’s when the epiphany happened. I moved her up a ring. After I did that she completely changed. She stopped throwing her head and lowered it to the horizon line right away. For horses the term horizon line means that the horse drops their head even enough that it isn’t low enough for them to buck, but not high enough for them to throw their head. An even medium. It is said that a horse’s head is so even that it is completely parallel to the earth’s natural horizon. Here is a great example of this thanks to Jeff Williams Quarter horses:

This bit can be quite expensive depending where you buy it. My mom got mine on sale for $56.00 at Leashes and Leads in Byron. (http://www.leashesandleads.com/) However full price was $156.00. Even though this bit is quite expensive it’s well worth the money! In just one day I noticed a huge difference in Daisy. Now imagine the difference it will make in the future! J
Check out the difference it also made in other peoples horses. Notice how much more the horse and rider are related and the horse gains more bend. Thanks to Julie Goodnight on Youtube.com for providing this video.

Anyway, thanks for reading and watch for more posts to come!
See ya!

Why I love my horse.

Today I was thinking about my American Paint Daisy. I then got to thinking about how much she means to me. Thats when I got the idea for this poem. So here it is folks: Why I Love My Horse.

Why I love my horse
Your coat is soft and beautiful
Like a cotton shirt on a summer day.
Even though that’s what I say
That’s not why I love you.
You do all I ask of you without a second thought.
As much as you don’t like it
I appreciate it a lot.
But that’s not why I love you.
You love me unconditionally.
No matter what I do.
I can tell you what I want to say or do
And you won’t tell a soul.
You looked at me with those auburn eyes
And that’s when I knew to my surprise
That something so wild deep inside
Can be so sweet in good time.
You’ve taught me to love.
You’ve taught me to hate.
But all in all I cannot wait.
For this love for you burns so true
And this is why I love you.

Oh my boots, oh my boots.

Last night after I got home from riding, I was putting all my gear away. I took a step back and looked at the bottom shelf, all my boots. These boots are much like eye witnesses to all I have done in the horse world. From my first ride to my first fall and everything in between. It’s amazing what all these boots have done and seen. This Christmas I got new riding boots. As of actually needing them, well let’s just say new boots for me is like a mall -a- holic adding a new pair to her already full closet. I go through boots really fast. I mean I have a good excuse working with horses right? My new ones are actually ones that I would not normally pick out or should I say PINK out being that pink is not my favorite color. My new ones are pink Fat Baby Ariats with boltey looking things on them. Thanks to Ariat.com here they are:




This takes me back to my first pair of boots. They actually weren’t even boots at all; they were more like make shift shoes. If I could sum them up in one sentence it would be, “Mom only bought these because she wasn’t sure I would stick with riding!” At the time I didn’t care, they were shoes that were just the beginning of my journey. Now having been a part of the horse world for about almost 4 years, you come to realize that riding is not only about skill, but style. So I figured it was time to upgrade. I in total have 4 pairs of riding boots. So that’s like a pair a year.

I remember the day when I graduated from possibility to going to stay to I will be a real contender someday. I got my real riding boots. They were Laredo and I thought they were the best. They looked really authentic too. I felt a true cowgirl. Thanks to horse town.com here is my first pair:



I am not boot bias, but I really do like my Ariats. I remember when my trainer convinced me to buy my first pair of Ariats and I never went back since. They are comfy, cute and durable, just the way I like them. These and my new pair of boots are the type of boots that you can wear to the barn or clean them up for a Rodeo/party. I think that’s when you know you have a really good boot. these ones are purple Doll Baby Ariats. Here is my first pair thanks to Ariat.com:



It may not seem like it, but when riding boots are just as important as the rest of your tack. They help keep you safe. The heel helps the foot stay in the stirrup so that your foot doesn’t slip through. Which can be extremely dangerous because if you fall and your foot is all the way through the stirrup you can get dragged which can lead to great injury or even death. To me is a really scary thought. If you want a good example of this, here is a video by dodisandperky on Youtube.






All in all, boots are not just good for style, but also safety. They do and see it all even though they don’t have eyes.

How the horses helped the handicapped.

This is kind of different from the other posts that I have done, but is one that is very close to my heart. It is about my first experience helping the handicapped people in my town ride. This one day taught me something very valuable in life. Keep reading and you will find out.

It was about May of 2007. My current riding instructor had convinced my mom, my two best friends and me to participate in helping the handicapped residents from Cardinal group homes ride horses through the RideAbility program in my hometown. We pull up to the barn and my mind was just spinning about what we would be doing. My instructor had given no other instruction other than dress for the weather and pack a lunch. So it was a given that I was slightly nervous.

We come to the barn to see the usual barn horses grazing in the round pens. We also saw a large white van and a bunch of strangers trying to feed one of the horses. Being a little shy, I kind of hung towards the back of the group, not really sure what to say to handicapped people, having never really met one before. However my mom reassured me that they aren’t harmful and are just people, but I wasn’t too sure.

We are assigned our person. I was assigned a women that looked about middle 40’s. We will call her Rosie. She was pretty average looking, besides the fact that she had a disability.

One of the first things that we do before we ride is brush our horses. So I go to the tack bucket and pick out two brushes, hand one to her and ask, “Would you like to help brush Holly?” She slowly grabs the brush and begins to imitate my actions much like a child trying to be like their parent. She lightly applies the brush all along the horse’s back. I instruct her to apply more pressure because horses love being brushed. She continues to brush and stare plainly at the horse, as if I had not said anything to her. I thought that she had just not heard me, so I repeated what I had said. Her helper that had come with her informed me that she had developed a strong case of stranger anxiety and hardly talked to anyone.

I looked over at the other groups laughing, smiling and talking feeling envious of them. I was beginning to feeling very discouraged. I stood there pondering for a minute on what to do. I thought ‘well this is really a lot of fun! I was the unlucky one and got the person that won’t talk. Why me? I might as well make the best of this situation. I wonder if I just keep talking to her as if she was talking back if she would eventually open up?’

So I talked to her about many things. All about horses, about the horse she was going to ride, anything. Much like before, she never said anything back. I was beginning to wonder what the point of this was if she didn’t respond to anything I said or did. Little did I know I was about to find out.

Time seemed to pass endlessly. It was now time for the people to mount their horses. Myself and three other people help Rosie get on her horse and I begin to lead them around the arena. I instruct Rosie on how to make her horse go, stop and turn. To my surprise, the other horses acted so differently with these people. It was like they were totally different horses.

We kept going around the arena what seemed like an eternity. My legs were starting to ache and my body starting to sweat from the heat. I could not help but hope that it would be done soon. My opinions soon changed when I looked over my shoulder to check on Rosie. I saw something that I had not seen nor expected to come from Rosie. A smile. She was smiling ear to ear and was seeming to enjoy her ride. This made me feel extremely happy to know that someone that could not speak to people in the same way as others could be saying so much with horses through their body language. Rosie was expressing herself without saying anything at all.

This turned the whole day around. It soon came up on lunch time and instead of eating with mom and my friends I decided to eat with Rosie so that she could spend more time with the horse. As I sat down with my back resting on the stall door and my lunch in my lap, I observed Rosie with the horse. The smiles continued and she loved giving her treats and petting her. This is when I got the first look at the magic horses have on other people besides myself. All they need is someone to love them and they will give you all they can. People with disabilities can open up to horses unlike with other people. Maybe its because horses won’t judge them or that they don’t care about what they look like, how they act or about what they say or do. They can truly be free of the image society has painted of them. I discovered that sometimes its not about what someone does for you, but what you do for them and in the end you reap the greatest reward. For me that was knowing that I gave someone who is sometimes looked down in society a reason to smile. On the outside they may look like your average disabled adult, but if you take the time to really look at what is on the inside and what matters most you may discover what is lying deep within yourself. It was this experience that made me decide that when I open my own riding school, I would like to host groups of disabled/handicapped people at my barn. To give many more people a reason to smile.

Here is the website to the program that helped me discover how good it is to help people, so incase you are interested in volunteering with RideAbility:
http://www.rideability.org/

Why we need to save the wild horses!

We have all seen those movies about the girl that saves the wild horse or the cowboy that seems to have this uncanny connection to the wild herds of horses. Now imagine what if all those horses were inilated. Whole herds wiped out by slaughter and euthanasia, foals ripped from their mothers and they would not even have a chance at experiencing a real home. Even worse, what if the government would actually allow and regulate this taking money out of our hard earned tax dollars to kill innocent horses. Now I understand that the population of horses has reached an all time high, but this is no way to go about bringing down the numbers. These horses are a part of our history. Without them, pioneers would have almost no means of travel, the Indians would have had to walk more and we would not have great movies like Spirit or Hidalgo just to name a few.

The approximate number of horses in America is around 6 to 10 million and the number of wild horses has shrunk to 13,600 compared to 1990 when there was almost 19,000. These horses have given us so much and this is how we repay them? It is just so wrong that they give us all they have and we in return resort to killing them in such an unfair manor. Not only that, but these horses are supposed to be protected under the Wild Horses and Burros act. According to Fws.gov, “Wild Horses and Burros Act (16 USC 1331-1340) -- Public Law 92-195, approved December 15, 1971, (85 Stat. 649) provides for protection of wild, free-roaming horses and burros. It directs the Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the Interior and Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture to manage such animals on public lands under their jurisdiction.” So technically they would be breaking one of our own laws because these wild horses are protected. Also the land that they are currently on is not supposed to be changed or tampered with. However there is talk that they may make it for use of cattle farmers. Why should these protected animals have to forfeit their home?

Also these horses would not even have a chance to experience what a real home is like. So really we are missing out on some great horses. Some of the best horses come from wild herds. All I am saying is that instead of hurting them, just standing there and watching this happen or even just saying this wrong and doing nothing is unacceptable. We need to come together and be the voice for these defenseless horses. I encourage you to speak out and make your voice heard. One voice can really make a difference. Some things that you can do is become more informed, email, call or write your local congressmen and representatives voicing what you think, sign petitions either online or in person supporting your cause, adopt your horses from or send donations to the wild horse and burro program. Below I have provided just one of the many petitions for wild horses on the web, a website to locate and contact your congressmen and representatives and the website for the wild horse and burro program. Together we can make a difference and save the animals that have helped shape our nation.


Congress site:
www.congress.org

Wild horse and burro program site:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro.html

Petition site:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/166841148

Horse racing: the real dirty little secrets!

Eight Belles, Ferdinand, Charismatic and Barbaro. Do these names ring a bell? These are all names of horses that have either died or been injured on the race track. Most people who love racing fail to see the unnecessary hazards that both Jockey and horse have to face.

Jockeys are forced to starve themselves, to constantly exercise and train only to receive a very minimal paycheck. They are expected to not only support their families, but also their sport. This can be very costly not only to their bank account, but also their health. Much like teenage girls with body image issues, Jockeys are forced to stay thin at all costs. They have great risk of such disorders as Anorexia and Bulimia. However the Jockeys are not the ones that are the main victims here, the horses are.

You would think that trainers and horse owners would want to keep these top money earning horses in good health right? WRONG! Most race horse owners and trainers will do anything; including using performance enhancing drugs to win a race AKA horse doping. Riddle me this, if it is not ok for professional athletes to use performance enhancing drugs such as steroids, then why is it ok for horses? According to Slate.com among the 38 states with horse racing, 28 have no regulations at all concerning anabolic steroids. The only two states that have agreed to make horse doping completely illegal are Maine and Kentucky. Have these people no sense of heart for these horses? Also, the repercussions if any for trainers and horse owners that do this are as light as a slap on the hand. So while they just usually have to pay a mere fine, horses are left to suffer both physically and mentally. Someone tell me how is that fair. Take the Kentucky Derby winner Thoroughbred Big Brown for instance. Not too long after he won the Kentucky Derby in 2008, his trainer Rick Dutro admitted to giving all of his horses, which includes Eight Belles, a monthly dose of Winstrol which is an anabolic steroid. Not only was he risking the health and well being of many horses including million dollar horses like Big Brown and Eight Belles, but he was also giving them an unfair advantage. Whatever happened to playing fair? Trainers don’t even have to sneak around for the drug, it is put right in front of them to use as they wish.

As I had talked about in another post, it is important for a horse’s health not to run/ride them too young. Horse racing is a prime example of this. Their skeleton is not grown/strong enough to support having a person on their back and running at top speeds simultaneously. This can lead to serious injuries, disorders and even death. Take Eight Belles for example. She had a great career until May 3, 2008. It was the Kentucky Derby and she was just behind Big Brown. Right when she crossed the finish line to take second she collapsed on both front legs. This caused both of her front ankles to fracture and she was so badly hurt that they had to euthanize her right on the track. Now I ask myself, if she was fully grown and her skeleton was strong enough to carry someone on her back and run at a speed of thirty miles per hour, would the injury have been this bad? My answer: of course not. Not only that but racing these horses at such a young age can cause early arthritis or plague them with a disease called laminitis that can cause permanent damage to the front and hind legs. The list drags on and on. Also, when horses are retired from the track, most people will not adopt them because of the potential for these disorders. For some of the retired horses, they are sent to Japan where race betting is more popular and stud fees (what people pay to have their mare breed to a stallion) are higher. However the down side to this is that once their stud fee gets below a certain point the stallion is sent to slaughter. The other more happy option is that they are sent to a retirement farm or an adoption farm. Some though are not so fortunate, they are sent right to slaughter houses.

Not that I am some PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals.) supporter, nor am I completely against horse racing, but I do think that there needs to be stronger rules against horse doping, when the horses can race and ways to reduce pressure on Jockeys both health and money wise. So the next time you watch a race like the Breeders Cup or the Kentucky Derby, stop and think for a minute about what the Jockeys and the horses had to do to get there.