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Showing posts from 2010
Soul of a Horse
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A few weeks ago, I read Joe Camp's book "The Soul of a Horse." Its a well written and interesting book about newcomeers to the horse world (Joe and his wife Kathleen) and their introduction to the world of natural horsemanship through Monty Roberts. I really enjoyed the book overall, but there were some other take home messages as well. I've struggled with John on trail rides in the past. His favorite thing to do in an "unsure" situation is to sit, spin and run the other way. This really bothers me. Secret loves to challenge authority. She really believes that she should be in charge. Remi is young and impressionable and sometimes impatient. I really want to train her well and not repeat mistakes I have made with the other two. I have been using some of the principles of natural horsemanship that Joe Camp's book reminded me of to work with all three on ground work. Clinton Anderson says that if you are having trouble under saddle, go back to groun
Secret's Feet
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On September 24, 2010, I was grooming Secret to tack her up for a ride. As I went to pick up her hoof and clean it, I felt a weird lump on her leg. I looked down and found a splint, just under her knee. All summer long, I had been watching Secret's feet and worrying about them. But I never did anything about it. She could not last in between trims without touching her feet up with a rasp. A few weeks after the farrier had visited, her feet would start chipping and cracking. In the end, they could not stand up to the pressure of hard work on hard, dry ground. My farrier said her laminae is not strong enough to suppport her body weight. The splint never made her lame and it was never hot. But it is certainly there. I gave her two and a half months off. When I found the splint I thought, "Well, she will just have to wear shoes next year." But as time wore on, I was not so sure that had to be the answer to the question. O ordered Glanzen 3 - a hoof, coat and attit
Merry Christmas Everyone!
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Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your holiday season is peaceful and happy. I took Secret out for a short trail ride today, she's been out of work for a couple months (a blog for another day) and it was her first time back on the trail (and only the second time I've ridden her in two and a half months). She puffed herself up and snorted and blew down the woods trail. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon!
Black Friday Trail Ride
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I was deeply saddened to learn that my good friend Katrina died this week. My friend Debbie decided the best remedy for a heavy heart was a trail ride. On Black Friday, instead of heading to the mall, we went to Mansfield Hollow State Park for a two hour trail ride. And we had fun. Thank you Debbie!
Turkey Trot
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Connecticut Morgan Horse Association had their Trail Ride and Turkey Trot at Bluff Point in Groton yesterday. Since I was helping with it, I wasn't going to take a horse. But my friend Debbie was driving all the way down from Massachusetts to ride with me. I decided to throw perfectionism and super-organized trail ride thoughts to the wind and loaded the horse on the trailer instead. I am really glad I did. John was actually pretty awful for the first mile of the ride (well, I should qualify my definition of awful - he was dancing around between a park walk and a western jog). He had to sit on the trailer for about forty five minutes while I helped with registration and other things. Sitting and not being the center of attention never thrill John. Debbie (riding Mini) and I headed out on the trail and John was spooking and dancing at everything. A leaf blew, there was a large rock on the side of the trail and his least favorite - lots of joggers. It was a windy day and we we
Gadgets
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Okay, I have to admit that I am one of the least safety conscious equestrians that I know. Although I wear a helmet, I usually ride alone and rarely tell anyone when or where I am riding. Sure, I am riding at the farm, but in which fields and trails, no one knows. To be fair, sometimes I don't know which way I want to go until I get there. I prefer to leave my cell phone on my tack trunk in the barn when I go out riding. I have also left my cell phone in my sweatshirt pocket and lost it on more than one trail ride, riding back later to find it. Last week, I finally invested in one of those cell phone holders that riders wear on their arms or legs. They are not expensive (I paid $7 for mine), I just had not gotten around to it. I used it for the first time last Friday, wearing it on my left arm. Honestly, the only thing I could think of the whole time I was riding was that someone had put the blood pressure cuff at the doctor's office too high on my arm. Hopefully, I get us
Indian Summer
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Did you get outside last weekend and enjoy some of the Indian summer weather? It was absolutely beautiful in New England and I went for a long walk around the farm on John. As I rode through the fields, holding my reins on the buckle, I reminicsed about all of the rides that led up to this point. Truly, it was a relaxed and really enjoyable trail ride where I could enjoy the scenery and think about other things. I could not have "checked out" on a trail ride around the farm with John last year. Or earlier this year. But with a lot of hard work and communication between us, he has become the trail horse (at least at home!) that I have always wanted to ride. Sure, he still tries to change the route sometimes - including this ride - and I can't always walk around the farm without really riding, but sometimes it is nice to enjoy the efforts of all of the previous rides. Every stride counts.
Turkey Trot This Saturday!
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The Connecticut Morgan Horse Association Trail Ride and Turkey Trot is this Saturday, November 20th at Bluff Point State Park in Groton. Registration is $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Youth are $10. Directions to Bluff Point are at the bottom of this post. The extended forecast says it will be partly cloudy with a high of 51 degrees - so grab a jacket and come join us! Some fun prizes have been donated by our generous sponsors! Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm and Red Fence Farm are both sending gift cards for turkeys! Indian Hollow Stables sent an English Saddle carrying case and Dana's Doodles sent two necklaces, an anklet and a canvas tote. The Traveling Tack Room sent a Breyer trail horse set and we have several beanies (hats) from Kerrits Equestrian also on their way. Thanks to all of our sponsors for donating these items - maybe you will win one! The registration money from the Trail Ride and Turkey Trot will be used to set up a Sport Horse Training Scholarship Fund f
Veteran's Day
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On Veteran's Day, I am thankful for all of the soldiers who have given up so much for all of us to enjoy our freedoms. I read an interesting article today on thehorse.com about remembering the fallen horses. So many horses have also gone to battle and lost their lives. Here is the link for the article: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=17231 The last two weeks have been challenging and I am thankful for my horses. They greet me every day with a whinny. The bright, expectant looks on their faces (maybe they are more excited about seeing the apple in my hand) always brings a smile to my face.
Lengthening The Leash - Sort of...
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On October 6th, I had my one and a half years post-chemotherapy CT scans. Six scans later I left the hospital feeling quesy (the combination of barium sulfate and injectable dye gets harder to stomach every time). My follow-up appointment with my new oncologist, Dr. B was not until the end of the month, so I emailed Andrea, my nurse, a couple of days after the scans. No Evidence of Disease, see you at the end of the month! On October 27th, I headed back into Farmington and met with Dr. B. First I met with the resident. I truly believe that the job of a resident oncologist is to scare cancer survivors. Did you know there was swelling in my bronchials that showed up on my CT scans? Neither did I. But she sure listened to me breathe for a long time before checking my prior scans and deciding it was always like that - residual scar tissue from the cancer. The joys of being a human science project :) Dr. B came in and he did a shortened version of the results talk and exam that the
NEATO Trick or Treat Ride
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Last Saturday, I loaded John onto the trailer and drove out to the Hartford County 4-H Camp in Marlborough for the New England Arabian Trail Organization (NEATO) Trick or Treat Ride. It was advertised as a 13 mile pleasure ride with two river crossings, numerous brooks and rocky footing where shoes or hoof protection were recommended. I was eager to take John on a "fun" ride and it has been years since I rode the trails at the 4-H camp. Trick or Treat with NEATO sounded like the perfect opportunity. I arrived at the campground and parked next to Jim and Esther (who also ride Morgans on the competitive trail circuit). The next trailer into the lot was one of the riders I met at Fun In The Forest the previous week. Its a small world! NEATO does a great job organizing rides. I went to register and there was a huge breakfast spread, including coffee, candy (makes sense, it was a trick or treat ride), fruit for humans and apples and carrots for horses. I grabbed another cup
2nd Annual Fun In The Forest Trail Ride A Success
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The 2nd Annual Fun In The Forest Trail Ride to benefit First Descents (www.firstdescents.org) was held on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at the Silvermine Campground in Natchaug State Forest in Eastford. Short story - it was really windy from leftovers of a Nor'Easter but we had a lot of fun and raised $800 for First Descents. For the long story, keep reading. It was windy and cold. Only nineteen people rode. Some came, walked around and decided it was too windy for their horses and then went home. The nineteen that did ride had a great time. I usually don't ride the rides I am organizing - its just too much to do. But my good friend Debbie was driving an hour and a half down from Massachusetts with a three year old gelding that had never been on a trail ride before. I decided to ride with Debbie. Dice K (Debbie's gelding - nicknamed after the Boston Red Sox pitcher) got off the trailer and walked around pretty calmly. So far so good. We tacked up our horses and off
Marking Trail For The Fun In The Forest Trail Ride
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We went out on Thursday afternoon to mark the trail - 10.5 miles in a local state forest, the same state forest I used last year. We rode out of horse camp at 2:25 pm. I started marking trail by myself and then Janeen and Maureen joined me. Janeen had picked the trail and also organized the scavenger hunt. In addition to putting trail markers up, she was placing scavenger hunt items. Now that there were other horses with us, my gelding decided it was a race. We stayed anywhere from 100 to 500 yards in front of the other two at all times. I would ride back to them to check trail routes (turn right or left) and so that we did not get too far ahead and then ride off on my own marking trail some more. When I stopped to put a marker up, he gave me 2 seconds to get the marker onto the tree, if I didn't get it done, I had to try again at the next tree. Luckily Janeen was behind me to fix my "oops" moments when I could not get a marker up fast enough. I ran out of mark
An Easy Way To Help First Descents....
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Start "Good Searching" and Say Goodbye to Google - Round #2 - Download the Good Search Toolbar there is $15,000 on the line!! The toolbar race is on with thousands of non-profits and schools spreading the word about their customized GoodSearch toolbar in hopes of winning the GoodSearch Giveaway grand prize! In the month of October, we're giving away $15,000 to the non-profits that have the highest number of toolbars downloaded on behalf of their cause! $100 bonus will be awarded to each of the first 100 organizations that reach 100 toolbars downloaded $1,000 Grand Prize will be awarded to each of the 5 organizations that have the most toolbars downloaded in the month of October! If you have not set up a FREE custom toolbar for your nonprofit organization, you can still do it now in time for this giveaway. Simply fill out the form here: http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbarapp.aspx This contest begins on Oct. 1, 2010 at 12 p.m. EDT and ends on Oct. 31, 2010 at 12 p.m. EDT. Ple
Volunteers Wanted!
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I am looking for volunteers to help with the 2nd Annual Fun In The Forest Trail Ride on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at the Silvermine Campground in Natchaug State Forest. As many of you know, the trail ride is a benefit for First Descents (www.firstdescents.org). First Descents has had a major impact on my life and I am looking forward to hosting the trail ride for them again this year. Volunteers Needed For: Marking the Trail - Janeen (rode at Fun In The Forest and Spring Fever) is going to help me pick a trail this Sunday. We need to mark the trail on Friday. Pick up apples - Chaplin Farms has donated apples but someone needs to go pick them up Thursday or Friday (October 15th). We have a volunteer - thank you Kelsey! Registration - it starts at 9 a.m. so volunteers would need to arrive around 8:30 am and be there until at least 10:30 am - We have at least one volunteer - thank you! Photographer - we need more pictures this year! I have a lot of prizes being donated and the dono
Warren Tessier
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My last competitive trail ride of the season. And I am kind of bummed about that, but I was really looking forward to this ride because I have heard so many good things about it. The Warren Tessier 30 mile Competitive Trail Ride is hosted by the Hartland Riding Club at Connie Tessier's house in Hartland, Vermont. Once again, Megan picked up John and off we drove (in the pouring rain) on Friday afternoon to Vermont. When we arrived at Connie's house, no one was there. For a minute I had foxhunting deja vu and worried that we were in the wrong place or the ride was cancelled! Once again, I was glad to be wrong! Soon more trailers and horses arrived. We set up our paddocks and unloaded the horses and settled them in. John had spent the past two days in his stall because of the heavy rain at home so I took him for a walk around the riding ring and back. I walked and trotted him and then trotted him in circles. He was pretty spunky to start but he settled down and was trotti