Improving Communication Between Horse and Rider

Merry Christmas & New Blog Reminder

2008-12-25T06:47:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! I can't believe that Christmas is already here. My how time flies. Cristino, our little cowboy is six months old already. This is our Christmas card for the Riding Academy this year. He is wearing his "trophy buckle" fringed pants. I didn't have a hat for him, but thought it might be a bit too much. He can't upstage Santa right?

I also wanted to remind my readers that the blog has moved. You can access it at deannacastro.com and subscribe to the feed HERE. I am posting on My new Professional Horse Blogazine on a daily basis. I'm still learning the whole wordpress thing, but I'm learning more every day. I will try and post over here on the "old blog" once and awhile so that my subscribers to only this blog don't forget about me.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy (Belated) Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year!

Deanna

The Site Is Moving - Please Update Your Bookmarks!

2008-11-13T09:50:00.004-05:00

This post today will be the last post here on this site, the site is moving to deannacastro.com please update your bookmarks!

It will be the same information, just with a new location. I hope you all enjoy the new look and site :)

Deanna

Clip Of The Week - Men Doing Dressage

2008-11-12T05:30:00.000-05:00

I thought I was the only one who did this kind of stuff...

October Blog Contest - Winners

2008-11-11T05:30:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to blog readers Zahi and Kenley the winners of the October Blog Contest!

They will each receive a copy the book Wild Horses by million selling author - Jenny Oldfield.

I am currently working on my next book review to be followed by another contest so stay tuned for more details...

Deanna

You Can't Feel What You Don't Touch

2008-11-10T05:30:00.001-05:00

For me as a riding instructor, one of the most difficult things to teach a rider is to feel the horse. The reason it is so difficult is because as you are learning to ride, your legs are not where they should be, softly on the side of the horse.

*Note: It's quite natural and common to have to learn to develop correct leg position, as it would be unnatural to automatically have perfect leg position when you are learning to ride.

If your legs are away from the horse's sides, you won't feel it when he takes a step. The horse will actually have to walk into your leg before you feel him.

Here is an easy exercise you can do to improve your leg strength, position, and feel:

Take your feet out of the stirrups.
Keep your heels down with your toes pointed slightly out.
Wrap your legs around your horse with your entire leg all the way down to your heel (depending on the length of your leg, some tall riders legs may extend past the horse's sides and won't be able to keep the heel next to the horse) while maintaining complete contact with your horse's sides.
Hold your legs in that position and focus on feeling each step the horse takes.

After a while, if you are doing it correctly your legs should begin to burn. If your legs don't burn, you probably are not doing the exercise correctly.

There are of course times that your leg will be away from your horse's sides, but if you never put your leg next to your horse's side you won't be able to feel him.

It's kind of like looking a piece of fabric, pointing at it and not touching it and then expecting to know what it feels like. It's impossible to feel what you don't touch.

Deanna

Stable Scoop Episode 13 - Horse Photography

2008-11-09T05:30:00.002-05:00

This episode of Stable Scoop is definitely for me! I don't know about the rest of ya'll but I take the worlds worst horse photo's. I can make the best looking horse look squatty. Hopefully now I will have some better looking pictures ;)

Enjoy this weeks episode,

Deanna

This episode of the Stable Scoop Radio Show is brought to you by the Horse Radio Network.
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Everyone is a photographer at heart. Listen in as we speak with the world's leading horse photographers to find out their secrets. Glenn the Geek and Helena B. learn the top 12 tricks to taking a better horse photo and we take a look at the best cameras for Holiday Gifts. What a fun show this is!

Stable Scoop Episode 13 - Show Notes and Links:

Hosts: Glenn the Geek and Helena B.

Co-Host: Carien Schippers is one of the leading horse photographers in the county and founder of the Equine Photographers Network. Carien lives in upstate New York and her websites are imagequine.com & horsedrivephotos.com.

Guest: Scott K. Trees from Trees Media is one of the world's best equine photographers. He is in demand around the world but took a minute to share some of his secrets with us.

Guest: Tom Mahan of Porters Cameras give us some great camera gift recommendations for this Holiday Season.

Here are the top 12 things that the guests agree make a better horse photo. To get more detail on each of the items, take a listen to the show.
- Read the manual and understand your camera.
- Take the camera out of automatic mode.
- Best lens for good horse photos is 80/200 or 70/200.
- Shoot at the end of the lens, further away from the subject zoomed in.
- Timing is critical for action horse shots. Learn when to snap the picture.
- Patience, patience and patience.
- Learn how horses move.
- Framing - eliminate horizontal line in your image.
- Take picture of a horse from heart level.
- The best light for horse photography is early morning or late afternoon.
- Shadows are your friend.
- When the horse is done - it's done!

Porter's camera pick's for this holiday season. Follow the links and get those gifts today:

Lower Price Point:

Canon PowerShot SX110 IS Digital Camera - $279.00

Medium Price Point:

Nikon D60 Digital SLR w/18-55mm f3.5-5.6G
Vibration Reduction Lens - $599.00

The Really Nice One: (This baby will get you brownie points!)

Nikon D700 Digital SLR - $2,999.00

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This Week In Horse Blogs

2008-11-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

What a week we've had. We have been up, down, on the edge of our seats, and now we know who our next president will be. I have high hopes for President Elect Obama as does the rest of the country. In the beginning I wasn't so sure of this mans capability, after all what did we know about him? But I am starting to firmly believe he can do a great job.

As I made my way with Cristino and the Pug to the polls to vote I kept thinking "You might be a redneck if you take your dog along to babysit as you vote". I put the baby in the stroller, the pug in the basket of the stroller and headed off to church to cast my vote. No lines, no waiting, and no baby sitter except for the dog who stayed with the baby just outside the curtain (they were both in arms reach of course) just hours before one of the most historic moments of our time.

I really was the only person there voting. The pastor was there and so were the other church folk who run the polling place, so bringing down the baby and Pugsly made their day I'm sure. The only thing that may have been more redneck of me would have been if the three of us rode in on a horse.

Anyway, here are some really cool blog posts I read this week.

Enjoy!

Welcome Home, Brego - The Eventing Percheron

I Am The Goldilocks Of The Horse World - Adventures of A Horse Crazed Mind

Skywatch Friday - Two Opposing Views - The 7MSN Ranch

Blind Horses Trust Makes Anything Possible - Behind The Bit

It's November, and the Pasture Party's Over - Juli Thorson's Horse Talk

Reader Question - Teaching A Horse To Tie

2008-11-07T05:30:00.003-05:00

Recently I had a reader question about tying a horse, and I think it's a great question so here it is complete with my answer.

Hello, Deanna:
My daughter and I are in the position of selling our horse we've spent a lot of love on. But, I am finding that we have allowed an important part of her training to go unattended. Our mare doesn't tie. She was abused nearly to death (as a filly) by attempting teaching her to tie with a stud chain under her chin and one over her poll at the same time. In large part because of her history we have not forced her to tie. We have been at boarding facilities that discourage tying and offer cross ties instead which just allowed us to overlook this issue. We have just never required that she tie solid, she cross ties quite comfortably, but sets back in a panic when tied. She is very well trained with precise showmanship skills and is VERY easy to handle and show and quite respectful with soft responsiveness in every other area of her training.
I really hate the thought of allowing her to hurt herself through thrashing and pulling back with that much force. But I am feeling the pressure to tackle this now. We have lost at least 1 sale because the prospective buyer wouldn't have a horse that couldn't tie. If you have any tips that might help us overcome her very real fear of being tied we are open to suggestions.
Thank you for your help.
Jeanette

Hello Jeanette,

Thanks for the question! What a shame your mare was abused so badly when she was learning to tie. I would never ever tie a horse with a stud chain, how awful for her. I completely understand your concern for her injuring herself that is really dangerous behavior for herself, which you already are aware of.

Even if a horse never experienced anything negative they still can have a problem when tying. The reason for this, is even though our horses are domesticated the wild instinct is still there. If a horse was trapped (which is basically what they are when tied) they would become easy prey for a predator. So when a normally docile well trained horse feels that their life is in danger they can absolutely lose their mind and fear for their life. Your mare is also experiencing fear but for other reasons.

For me a horse that won't tie will not make or break the sale because I know the horse can learn to accept it. But not everyone feels the same way, so here's what you should try:

Work in an enclosed arena.
Invest in a blocker tie ring. The tie ring is $24.99 but well worth it.
Use a smooth and long lead rope and tie the mare to the ring. The reason it should be smooth, is so that the horse can pull through the ring and not feel trapped. A long lead rope will help with that too. The horse will pull the lead out long, but not completely become untied.
Practice sacking your horse out while tied. The horse will soon see that she can move her feet and that there is nothing to fear.

This will need to be done over and over again until she has confidence that nothing bad is going to happen to her. Your mare will begin to relax and realize there is nothing to fear and she is not going to have pain inflicted on her while trapped.

In my barn I use the blocker ties but in the spots where I don't have them I use bailing twine. I tie bailing twine to my eye hooks that are attached to the post and then I tie the horse's lead rope to the bailing twine. This way, if the horse freaks out he or she can break free without getting injured. There is a never ending supply of bailing twine so I just tie a new piece when an old one gets broken. I just continue to replace the twine as needed. If the horse just keeps breaking the twine right away and does not stop the pulling back, it's time to take the horse to the tie ring. But that doesn't usually happen. It may break the twine every now and again, but the times become very far and few between.

I hope this helps, and you are able to find a buyer for your mare. Let me know how it works out!

Deanna

Book Tag - The Job A Horse Was Born To Do

2008-11-05T06:30:00.003-05:00

I was Book Tagged by Karen at Karen’s Musings & Endurance Ride Stuff

I have been wanting to write a post titled, "The Job A Horse Was Born to Do" or something like that. It just so happened the book nearest me gave me a good suegway into that post.

Here's the rules:

Grab the nearest HORSE book.
Open the book to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the next two to five sentences.
Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one. Pick the Closest.
Tag five people to do the same.

Here's mine, it's from "How To Be Your Own Veterinarian Sometimes" by Ruth B. James, DMV

The chances of producing a winning cutting horse are much greater when both parents are proven cutting horses. A foal with stakes winners on both sides of his pedigree has a far greater probability of winning races than one from a casual, guesswork mating.

If you are breeding for type, start with a broodmare who is as close as possible to your desired goal. If you want stretchy, tall Quarter Horses, start with that type. Don't buy a bulldog mare and breed from there.

Amen to that! Just as people can be miserable in the wrong job so can a horse. If you force a reining horse to do western pleasure you will always be slowing him down. He will get bored riding around on the rail, but once you introduce that horse to some patterns, spins and stops it will be like penguin in water. On land a penguin lumbers around, but in the water you can see that he is a bird that flies, and he flies beautifully.

So in essence, if you are breeding, breed your horse with the correct bloodlines. If you are buying a horse, let him to do what he was bred for!

With that, I have five people to tag so here goes:

Theresa at A Bumpy Path

Beckz at I Will Jump Sweet Jumps

Jessie at Jessie and Remington

Equine Spirit at Education With Equines

Mikael at Mikael's Mania - Arabian Horses

Clip Of The Week - Slide Stop!

2008-11-05T05:30:00.000-05:00

I can watch this clip over and over...

A Flame Faced Pony

2008-11-04T05:30:00.002-05:00

I was at the horse sale, and they had 200 ponies come through. I don't know if I was allowed to take pictures or not, so I snapped only one with my phone. I really like the black pony with the white face. His markings looked like flames on his face. Whether that meant he was a demon or he was born to be a tiny barrel racer, I don't know but he sure was cute.

There were also about 15 pony foals. Fredi already said that when Cristino gets older he's getting two of them. I read about a five year old boy who's father is a horse trainer and the kid has his own pony training business. This kid trains them and then runs them through a sale. There are a lot of people that want to buy the kid's ponies and they come from far and wide to buy them because he does such a great job training. How cute is that?

They say ponies are much harder to train than horses. Is that because they are untrained, or are they really mostly pigs? Most of my experience with ponies was when I was very young so I thought they were great. I started riding the big horses exclusively at the age of ten so I don't really remember. I guess I will find out, because I am taking a young un-broke pony into training for a client on Thursday. I have been wanting a pony for about two years so this should be interesting. The last pony we were training got the boot after a few weeks, we decided he wasn't worth it. The pony tried to scrape Fredi off on the fence, he was downright nasty. He belonged to an eight year old girl, and he wasn't suitable for her so he was promptly sold.

Maybe in a few years the flame faced pony and I will cross paths again and this time we will take him home for our little cowboy.

Posting The Trot Demonstration

2008-11-03T05:30:00.005-05:00

When I am working a horse, my usual riding routine mostly starts out the same. I mount, walk for a few minutes and then begin a brisk warm up with a working trot.

In this video clip I am demonstrating posting the trot.

I digress... I'm brand new at this video thing, for some odd reason it looked a lot better before I uploaded it to iMovie, now it's pretty grainy.

I can tell a rider one hundred times how to do something or I can show them once and get the same results. When I was on the other side and taking riding lessons I used to watch my instructor demonstrate, and then as I would ride I would visualize her and emulate.

As your instructor this is what I would ask you to watch for during this demonstration:

Rise and sit softly. I am not rising too high out of the saddle and then slamming down on the horse's back.
Hands taking hold of the horse's mouth while remaining still and soft. I find the position that best helps my horse balance and collect, then I stay in that position with my hands gently and softly.
Driving the horse forward and into the bit with my legs. I sit, squeeze, and then rise with the amount of pressure that particular horse needs to keep pace.
I'm not sure if you can see it but I am looking ahead at in the direction of travel and not down at the ground or the horse. Don't have tunnel vision while riding, be able to look and see the whole area around you.
Not balancing on the horse's mouth, body moves independently of the hands. Kind of like chewing gum, hopping on one foot, and patting your head at the same time.
Be on correct diagonal at all times! (A major pet peeve of mine is seeing a professional trainer on the wrong diagonal.)
Rider cueing horse to change direction by changing diagonal.
Rider steering horse with legs as opposed to pulling the horse's nose around the turn.
Perry is moving forward collected while reaching and extending her stride. This horse is extremely short strided and to get any type of reach out of her I have continually drive her forward with my legs more than I have to drive most horses.
Perry is remaining pretty straight from head to tail while moving forward and moving her shoulder to turn as opposed to being heavy on the forehand and resisting me.

Note *When trotting, I take a hold of my horses face more and for a longer period of time than I do any other gait.

Stable Scoop Episode 12 - Economy

2008-11-02T22:24:00.002-05:00

The economy is in a sad state these days. What I have been doing personally to try and combat the recession is to spend more money on investing in advertising my horse business and my new blog which is soon to be revealed!.

What has been saving me through these tough times is "not putting all my eggs in one basket". With finances as well as riding, I have to try and get creative and if what I am doing doesn't work, I just try something else.

I feel that the only way to make money is to spend money, but spending money wisely on something that will give me a return on my investment. That's my two cents on the subject...

Enjoy this weeks episode!

Deanna

This episode of the Stable Scoop Radio Show is brought to you by the Horse Radio Network.
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How are these economic downturns affecting horse business owners and what can they do to get through? Four guests that know a whole lot about horse businesses help us evaluate the options and what business owners need to do in these tough times. A must listen for anyone in the horse business.

Stable Scoop Episode 12 - Show Notes and Links:

Hosts: Glenn the Geek and Helena B.

Co-Host: Laurie Cerny from One Horse Press: Laurie wrote the book "Horsin' Around The USA Guide To Marketing & Promoting Your Horse Business". Laurie A. Cerny is a professional journalist and marketing professional who has won numerous state and national awards for her writing, photography, graphic design and advertising both in mainstream media and within the horse industry. Her work has appeared in John Lyon’s Perfect Horse, The Horse, Horse Illustrated, Western Horseman, Equine Times, Kalamazoo Gazette, Detroit News, Chicago Tribune, and more. She also served as the communication director for a major saddle and horse product manufacturer.

Guest: Megan Lanzarone of Team CEO Eventingin Lexington, KY. Team CEO is a successful full service Eventing facility, offering locations in Ashland KY and Lexington KY. Megan Lanzarone (previously Megan Moore), 4th in the 2005 USEA Gold Cup Advanced Level Standings. Megan has successfully competed through the Advanced Level and has students through the Intermediate level. They are into the training and sales of event horses and have a very active training and lesson stable

Guest: Todd Branson is the AQHA Sr. Manager of Marketing. Todd graduated from Purdue University with a bachelors of science degree in Animal Science in 2001. Shortly after graduating, Todd went to work as a 4-H Extension Educator with Oklahoma State University. In 2004, he moved to Amarillo to begin his career with the American Quarter Horse Association in marketing. Today, Todd is the Sr. Manager of Marketing and focuses most of his time with AQHA on show marketing and outside print, web and television advertising for the Association.

Guest: Ingrid Andrews from equinnovation.com. Ingrid Andrews is an equine business consultant who has been helping horse business owners with operating and marketing their businesses for over 15 years. She has given seminars, taught a college course on equine legal issues, has articles on many business and marketing topics published in print and online, and is also the owner of a breeding farm. You can get more information at her website, www.equinnovation.com, a great resource for equine professionals.

AQHA Guide to Showing with Accounting for the Arena.

SCORE - Councilers to America's Small Business. Lots of good financial advice and resources for business owners on this site.

Dressage Daily's article on how "Horse Businesses Can Survive Economic Slump".

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Modified Dismount

2008-11-02T05:30:00.001-05:00

I am always reading how to become a better blogger. I recently read a post (forgive me but I forget where) that said it when blogging you shouldn't say how fat you have become and then post the pictures to prove it. I thought that was hilarious since I just posted my fat pictures a few posts ago. It probably is a mistake, but hey whatever I'm human.

Now I am including some video documentation. It's not just to say hey look how fat my you know what got, I am doing it because I know riders come in all shapes and sizes. This is a dismount that I started using years ago when I injured my left knee.

The modified dismount sure has come in handy for my students that have had injuries, are small, or just had trouble dismounting the traditional way for one reason or another.

Check it out!

This Week In Horse Blogs

2008-10-31T05:30:00.000-04:00

Ignorance is not bliss!

Tasteful Tips For Transporting Your Horse - Regarding Horses

How Much Grass Equals A Flake Of Hay? - Behind The Bit

Read This First...
Holy. Crap. Fired Up Friday Strikes Again - Oh HorseFeathers & Related Twisted "Tails"

...then Read THIS

Then...

Project Shake-Up - Fugly Horse Of The Day

A $10 Horse

2008-10-30T05:30:00.001-04:00

I went to the horse auction on Monday, and I was talking to one of the regulars and she told me that last week a horse sold for $10. Ten dollars! Can you believe that? I asked her what kind of horse could you get for that price, I was thinking it must have had three legs or something. She said it was a nice sound horse.

That actually makes me feel really sad that such a magnificent animal can have such a low value. I hope with the low price horses are selling for that people who buy them can afford to take care of them. Just because a horse is cheap to buy, doesn't mean they are cheap to feed that's for sure. My Father warned me a while ago that the price of horses would drop once they were not allowed to go for slaughter anymore. He would never sell a horse for slaughter, but he's a very matter of fact kind of guy and tells it like it is.

I have been going to horse auctions with him since I was a kid, and I have always had a hard time with some of the horse's that I see go through there. The sick, the thin, the lame and the occasional emaciated cows. It always broke my heart.

There are a lot of nice horses that go through the auction too, you just have to make sure that you are buying from a reputable seller with some paperwork proving the animals health and soundness.

Don't even get me started about the guys that shoot the horses up before they are run through the sale! Those guys make me crazy. I never understood why someone would want to make a quick buck by being dishonest when they could build a reputation and have repeat buyers and make much more money. To me that is selling your soul for a piece of bread.

I'll never forget the time a few years ago when my Father was telling me about a woman who had sold her horse at the auction unknowingly to a meat buyer. She was telling him what he eats, and things that he liked and disliked. He said the guy just nodded and let her go on and on without really listening because the horse was being hauled to the slaughter house and none of that really mattered. You know that guy slept like a baby that night, and his conscience didn't bother him at all.

I know times are tough and putting a suffering horse out of it's misery and having to bury the corpse is expensive but I'd much prefer to have to pay for that than to have my friend brutally murdered. So even though such a valuable (to me) animal can sell for such little money, I'm glad he cannot killed in such a brutal manner (at least in this country) anymore.

This subject is very controversial, and I understand some points of the opposing side, but I just can't stomach horses being killed and people profiting from it. Instead, I'll deal with the $10 horses.

Deanna

Clip Of The Week - Pard's Western Wear Boot Seminar

2008-10-29T05:30:00.000-04:00

For all you Western Boot Lovers out there.

Refining Your Leg Aids - Part Three, Leg Pressure

2008-10-27T05:30:00.002-04:00

This is the last Monday in October, so in the final installment of "Refining Your Leg Aids" we will discuss the amount of leg pressure to use to cue your horse.

It is very important that we teach our horses to be light and responsive, yet I see many riders with stiff and rigid legs. The fix just takes some thought, understanding and practice.

Try this:

Open your left hand all the way open and don't be shy.
Take your right index finger and touch the palm of your left hand.
Don't press your finger into the palm of your hand, just use the weight of your finger to touch it.

That is how much leg pressure I use to cue a broke horse to turn. There are times I will need more leg pressure for things, such as collecting the horse while trotting, teaching him something new, etc. but in general when asking the horse to turn or change a gait I will use just a touch of my leg to communicate with the horse.

Touch your palm again a few times, yes it really is that light. If a horse can feel a fly land on his body he certainly can feel my leg when I touch him with it.

This lightness does not happen overnight, there are a few things a rider must do to train the horse to respond to this type of a cue.

Use your calf with your heel down to cue the horse not your toe or heel. Your calf is your "communication device". Using your toe or your heel to cue the horse is like talking with food in your mouth, a bit rude and difficult to understand.
Always initiate a turn or change of gait with a touch, making a touch the cue. If you stiffen up your leg and jab your horse to turn or move forward this will be your cue not a touch.
Follow up a touch with a hard bump if the horse does not respond to the touch. When you give the horse a hard bump with your leg you should hear your leg "bang" off of the side of the horse. - Don't feel bad, he should have been paying attention, besides you can never kick as hard as another horse can kick him, you won't hurt him.
Repeat - Always cue with a touch, punish with a bang no in between.

If I were a horse I would much prefer a soft touch for a cue followed by one big BANG on my side for punishment when I did not respond as opposed to hard press, stiff leg, hard press on my side each time. All the hard pressing on my side would make me stiff, dull and resistant. A soft touch would be enjoyable, and it would be no ones fault but my own if I had to get kicked occasionaly for not responding.

When you touch softly, and punish harshly you are speaking the horse's language. He will respect and most importantly understand you. He won't understand when you say, "Awwww come on Bucky please don't try and eat grass wile I am riding you." He'll keep on eating. But if you lift his head and give him a good kick with both legs, he will understand that what he is doing is not acceptable.

One last thing I would like to mention about using a soft touch for a leg cue, you will more easily maintain your body position. When you use a stiff leg with too much pressure you will be more likely to drop your shoulder, tip, balance on the horse's mouth or cock your head to one side.

Refining Your Leg Aids - Part One Timing Corrections
Refining Your Leg Aids - Part Two, Balance and Feel
Fix The Problem - Fix The Symptom

Stable Scoop Episode 11 - Cloning

2008-10-26T05:30:00.002-04:00

This episode of the Stable Scoop Radio Show is brought to you by the Horse Radio Network.

Stable Scoop Radio Show Episode 11 - The Cloning Episode with Viagen

Stable Scoop takes on cloning this week with two of the most knowledgeable guests on the subject. We are joined by Blake Russell, VP of Business Development for ViaGen, "the" cloning company in the United States. He joins us for an enlightening talk on how cloning is done, why it is is done and addresses the many negative feelings people have toward it. Then we finish out the discussion with Jos Mottershead of Equine-Reproduction.com. Jos is one of the leading authorities in the country on advanced breeding of horses. How does he feel about cloning? This is an episode you do not want to miss.

Stable Scoop Episode 11 - Show Notes and Links:

Blake Russell, VP of Business Development for ViaGen. ViaGen is the sole cloning company for horses in the United States and can be found at ViaGen.com.

Jos Mottershead is one of the most knowledgeable people in the country in the area of equine reproduction. You can find his website at Equine-Reproduction.com.

Stay tuned next week for our "Hard Time in the Horse Business" episode as we explore ways to get your horse business through these hard economic times.

We want to know how you feel about cloning - contact us by email or voicemail.

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Sales and Specials

2008-10-25T05:30:00.001-04:00

I have never been one to pay full price for an item. The Internet has really helped me find bargains especially during this recession. Christmas is right around the corner...

Here are some deals I found interesting this week:

Kodiak blankets 40%off plus free shipping - Horseloverz.com

Bimectin 1.87 Ivermectin Paste $2.25 - Big Dee's Tack & Vet Supplies

Enter Promo Code WC213Q at checkout Specials valid web only through 09/28/08

50% off all Horse License Plates - Wild West Living Promo Code LC50 Expires 12/15/08

This Week In Horse Blogs

2008-10-24T05:30:00.004-04:00

Bumper Stickers, Photo's, and Injuries Oh My!

My other car is a horse: the new car in my life! - Behind The Bit

Picture Perfect - Food For Founder

“Bowed” Tendons and “Pulled” Suspensories - Ask The Vet Blog

London- The Last Day 10/23/08 - Shiloh Horse Rescue and Sanctuary

Skywatch Friday At The Gate - The 7MSN Ranch

Stranger Things Have Happened

2008-10-23T05:30:00.000-04:00

Just not to me or at the barn.

We have a paint mare at the barn named Dusty Pebbles. A few months ago, I got a new student who brought her horse to the barn. He's a paint too. I kept saying that he acted like Dusty with the way he liked to do patterns. I was telling my student that I think he must have reining blood and that I would like to see his papers.

Well, the other night, the gelding's previous owners came to the barn to see him and when they got to Dusty's stall they said "Dusty?!!! Is that Dusty Pebbles?"" My student said, "Yes" and then his previous owner said, "She's his mother!". I knew she had a baby, I just didn't know he was that baby. She has reining in her blood lines so now it all makes sense.

It wasn't like the two horses came from down the street, it was something like 100 miles away. Dusty moved to the barn about four and a half years ago, and her "son" this past summer.

I got on the phone and called everyone I knew, I conferenced Dusty's owner with her son in law, text messaged the news to a few other people, and had lots of fun shocking everyone!

Since I don't handle the boarding anymore, I don't keep copies of all of the horses papers. My Father took over the boarding aspect of the business a few years ago. He's not as obsessive with details as I am. I was totally caught off guard.

What are the odds?

Clip Of The Week - If Wishes Were Horses

2008-10-22T05:30:00.003-04:00

I'm ready for another baby, the four legged kind.

This filly is for sale, and I really like her. She is in my price range, cute, and a nice loper.

The problem is, she is in Iowa. The last time I bought a horse from a video I thought I found the perfect horse. I had him shipped from Colorado to Pennsylvania. I was so excited to see this perfect horse when he got to the barn. Much to my surprise the woman had sent a different horse than was in the video!

The horse she sent was an ugly, head bobbing, bucking, horrible loper. I lost thousands of dollars on that deal! I vowed to never do that again.

If I were to do it again, this would be the one...

Just A Couple of Fun Congress Pictures...

2008-10-21T06:26:00.008-04:00

Smiles that melt my heart.

Pugsly had his own little basket to ride in while cruising around in the golf cart.

The smallest saddle I've ever seen...

Cristino looks ready to ride. He just needs some boots.

Haley eating fake grapes in a horse trailer.

My dream truck. A girl can dream right?

Refining Your Leg Aids - Part Two, Balance and Feel

2008-10-20T05:30:00.002-04:00

Last week we started with October’s Theme Refining Your Leg Aids – Part One, Timing.

This week I would like to build upon that with an exercise to help you develop balance in your seat and feel in your calf.

The best way to feel proper leg position is to ride without stirrups.

Stirrups can get in the way sometimes and impede your leg position.

At first riding without stirrups may be uncomfortable.

If it is uncomfortable, you are not completely balanced in your seat. When you have perfect balance you should enjoy riding more without stirrups than with them.

Not to worry, with practice you will eventually be completely comfortable and dropping your stirrups regularly.

What is the best way to get comfortable riding without stirrups?
Practice until it IS comfortable.

Start riding without stirrups at the halt, progress to the walk, jog, trot (post without stirrups too), the lope and or canter. If you are not comfortable walking a horse without your feet in the stirrups, then don’t progress to the next gait until you feel 100% secure.

If you are riding English, you can actually remove the irons for this exercise, but make sure you are using a well broke horse.

Riding bareback is always a great way to become more balanced, but for this exercise use your saddle. The reason I say to use your saddle is because I want you to get comfortable balancing on your seat in the saddle.

Just because you don’t have your feet in the stirrups this isn’t a get out of heels down free card, you need to work.

Keep your calves next to your horse with your heels down. Don’t be stiff and rigid or have spaghetti legs either. You are in close contact with your horse’s sides so stay soft but not loose as you concentrate on feeling his movements.

When teaching a rider how to use their leg I always liken the contact of their calf on the horse to a ballerina using a ballet barre.

A ballerina wouldn’t hang on the barre she uses her body to balance and puts less than the weight of her arm on the barre for stabilization. The calf should be used to stablilize your body not to hang on the horse’s side making him dull and unresponsive.

For this exercise and riding in general:

You should have your toes pointed slightly out and not pointing straight ahead or you will not have the correct spot on your calf next to the horse.
With your toes pointed slightly out to the sides, you will have the most sensitive part of your calf on your horse’s side.
With the most sensitive part of your calf on the horse, you will achieve the greatest amount of feel.
The front of the shin is like the palm of your hand and the side of the calf and toward the back of the calf is like a fingertip being much more sensitive.

An additional caveat to riding without stirrups is that if you have any knee pain while riding, you will notice you do not have anymore when you are not using a stirrup.

The reason for this is you don’t have all that extra leather to wrestle with when trying to hold your leg in place.

If you are training along and practicing this exercise and possibly cursing me just think I’m working on the same thing this week too. I noticed when I am not using stirrups while loping it’s not feeling as good as it used to, so I am following my lesson plans too.

I ride without stirrups a lot because when I am teaching I like to hop on my students horses and demonstrate. I don't want to spend their time fixing the stirrup length up or down so I have to ride without stirrups most of the time. Sometimes it's pretty funny when I squeeze into a 12" saddle. I won't do more than a jog or a trot in one of those.

Have a great week!

Deanna

The Trinity of Horseback Riding - Part One Balance

Balance Exercise For Rider

More Balance Exercises For The Rider

Posting The Trot

Two-Point To Balance

Legs! Muscle Memory