The Heat is On

Summer has finally overtaken the rainy season here in Idaho, and with a vengance. We've had a couple of days over 100 degrees but mostly we've been in the high 90's. This makes for some pretty sucky riding weather, as I don't relish the idea of being out in that sun moving around and the horses are even less enthused, believe me. The evenings are better, cooler and it stays light forever, the problem is the bugs. The mosquitos are just awful starting in the late afternoon, so with a few layers of repellant on the horse and long sleeves it can be tolerable. If you're really moving you can kinda out run them but then the repellant gets sweated away, and horse sweat seems to attract them anyhow. I kick myself for wasting all those spring/winter/fall days wishing it was summer so I could go ride.

There is one horse activity I just can't get enough of in the summer, though. Hose Play. Anything with the hose. My horses spend much of the summer dripping wet, and they don't mind that. I love giving them baths, but you aren't supposed to use soap or shampoo on them too often as it washes away vital oils in thier coats. But boy do we play in the water. They apprieciate being hosed down on a hot day, much like I do. Or I'll set up a soaker hose or sprinkler in the pasture, and Tickles will stand over it or I'll hop on and cross through the spray. Stupid, yes, but fun and oh, so refreshing.

Now there are better smelling things in the world than a wet horse, but I don't ever notice when I see how much more cool and comfortable they are. I stand at the fence and spray the hose at the herd. It's funny, some horses like to stand broadside, some close thier eyes and face it head on, some feel it's unappropriate to stand in the stream and instead pass back and forth in front of it.

The only option for them, it seems, when they're done, is to then lay down and roll and make complete mud-balls of themselves. But then they are happy and wearing an inpenetrable mosquito barrier of cool mud, and the mess? No problem,because as long as the weather holds up, you can bet we'll be getting wet again tomorrow!

Derby's Day

For those who enjoyed my last post, perhaps you'll be interested to learn that yesterday was Derby's Day. Just one week after her first race she was at the track again and completely blew away her competition. There was only only one point in the race when another horse caught up with her and it was only for a moment, she won by almost six lengths. Somehow I kept my head from exploding with excitement by screaming for her... a lot. Todd's parents were in town for this one but we still got to be in the winner's circle picture. As soon as we get our copy I'll post it.

That 40 seconds pretty much made my week, and now back home everyone is so keyed up about the other Thoroughbreds. Everybody has opinions about how best to get them ready for the track. All of the other homebred foals that have departed were sold for performance and show horses. Derby is now the inpiration behind getting the racing end of the business underway, so all the colts still at home are all lined up for race training. No more jumpers for me, except maybe after they retire from racing. And we're even tossing aroud the idea of training my Tuff to be an outrider and pony our horses out on the track. Who knows what will happen, but next year could be a lot more exciting and busy around here.

However, my first love will always be my paints and our projects. I came home yesterday full of excitement and went out and told Tickles all about it. She doesn't win races or jumping competitions, but she's got good listener; a point that these T-breds will never surpass.

Derby Day at the Track

This past Saturday, my husband's parents were out of town so Todd (my hubby) and I went down to the racetrack in Idaho Falls to watch one of the famly's home-bred Thoroughbreds race. If she won, somebody needed to be there for the winner's circle picture.

The horse is a four-year-old and she was born on Kentucky Derby Day, so she was named Derby Cat. We always just called her Derby. The day she was born, the in-laws were again out of town. They're long haul truckers, so they are usually out of town and Todd and I run their operation as well as our own horses. Todd and I checked the mare in the morning, went home and watched the Derby, went back out to check and there was little Derby. I did a lot of the begining work with her and after a stint with a trainer that didn't work out, Todd and I worked with her as a three-year-old and now she's finally racing.

I don't know how many people out there have connections with racehorses. I know most of the people who are involved have some serious money behind their horses, but at the lower levels there are a lot of people who just have a couple of horses trying to break into the big money races. It's terribly expensive but, WOW! So exciting.

I've been a race fan and watched the Triple Crown races for as long as I can remember, way before I met Todd and his family. I used to name my toy horses after my favorites; I felt like I knew them. But it's an entirely different deal when it is a horse you know. My heart was in my throat for the whole race and I didn't have any feeling of let down at the end when she didn't win. In fact I was thrilled that she got fourth out of ten, because she had a miserable start and had to come from way behind. Heck, as keyed up as I was, if she had won my head probably would have exploded.

Well, anyway, it was fun, I'm definately going to be at the track for future races and I'll let you know if and when Derby wins. I've got my money on the fact that someday soon will truly be Derby's Day!

What is Natural, Anyway?

For anyone who hasn't seen the latest issue of Horse and Rider, one of my favorite magazines, there is a good article about the never-ending debate over the Western Pleasure industry. For the lay-person, Western Pleasure is a specific class or event at a horse show in which the horse is ridden around an arena at all three gaits, but at moderate speed. The class is judged on which animal looks like it would be the most pleasurable to ride in a western setting( hence the class name ). The horses must be calm, balanced, and obey nearly invisible cues, traveling smoothly and on a very loose or draped rein. It requires a high level of skill and training.

Now to me, that sounds like a horse I'd like to ride every day, show or no show. The problem in the horse industry, however, is that Western Pleasure has a lot of enemies in people who say that it is unnatual for horses to move that slowly and collected, and to have their heads and necks held so low. This debate hits close to home for me, though I can't quite see why it's such a BIG deal. Not because I show in Western Pleasure-I don't show at all anymore, but when I did I enjoyed that class. It's because when I ride my horses western, that's how I ride. I don't feel my horses are being comprimised by being 'unnatural'-isn't it unnatural to ride a horse to begin with? I know it's true that when they are at liberty in the field they move out with their noses up in the air. They also like to kick and buck but I don't care to ride that no matter how natural it may be.

My mother-in-law, Jodi, who is my favorite riding buddy besides my husband, rides her Thoroughbreds western (don't get me started on that, I was taught Thoroughbred=Hunter/Jumper) and she likes them 'lively'. Her word not mine. Sure, that breed tends to be spirited but she really likes to ride them with their heads in the air, really stepping out, thinking about but not quite spooking at everything. I meanwhile prefer to plod along on a steady low-headed mount. I always tell her I'd rather have my horse watching where his feet are going than looking for tigers in the trees.

She says isn't there an in-between?

I guess so, I just like their head down.

A horse with his head low is a calm horse. A horse with his head in the air will find a tiger if he looks hard enough. Jodi says she thinks she'd feel like she was about to fall headlong off with her horse's head so low. She likes to see where he's looking.

I guess I know what I like and that's all I care about. Why are non-Pleasure riders so concerned with the industry? They don't have to enter that class, they don't have to train their horses that way. That's the great thing about horses, there is something for everyone. You can ride your horse your way and I'll ride mine my way.

As for Natural? As soon as you tame a horse and put a fence around it, it stops being natural. Maybe the focus should change to reflect individual riding goals. For me it would be for my horse to be comfortable, calm, trained, and I don't know...happy.

Some Horses Slip Through the Training Cracks

During the summer, the word is fly-spray. Insects can get bad around horses and it's a continuous battle to keep them in check. This includes putting up bug lights and fly tape, fastidious mucking, vigilance about standing water and, finally, spraying the horses themselves.

Now this can be tricky. There is something inherently scary to horses about being srayed with a spray bottle. I don't know if it's the noise or the sensation of the mist or what, but even the most docile horses usually have to undergo some training before they'll stand still and be sprayed. Even then, after a long winter, some seem to have forgotten about being sprayed every summer of their lives and we have to begin from scratch (pun?). And then there are some that put up such a fight that it's dangerous to even try.

One of my in-law's mares is such a horse. The sight of the bottle will send her into a panic, rearing and kicking out with both back legs. We have found it prudent to wipe the spray on this horse with a rag and she still doesn't always get well-covered. Often the horses will be standing calmly in the field munching grass and Shameless (the un-sprayed) will be swishing her tail and kicking at them and constantly shaking her head.

I wish we could convey to these guys how much better they will feel if they just let us do what we're trying to do with them. I know that we can't, though, and thorough training is what's required to just make them stand still, even when they don't trust the procedure. My problem is that the fly-spray training I've put into all of them didn't work with her. Of course, there's another horse that will be sprayed, but will not load into the trailer despite the same basic training that has all the rest of them hopping right in.

Granted, I have to make adjustments from horse to horse as they each require slightly different methods, but some horses just stump me. Maybe Thoroughbreds just aren't my breed. I can always figure out how to get my Paints to respond to me and they remember from week to week or from one year to the next. And yes, they stand politely to be sprayed. So I'll be thanking my lucky stars for them all summer when each weekend we have to go through the herd with a couple bottles of fly-spray, and one rag.