May 5, 2010
Horses In Flooded Waters
This video shows horses trapped in floodwaters near Nashville, Tennessee this week. Rescuers in boats were able to herd the horses, but it is very interesting to observe the horses’ behaviors in deep water and what instincts they have when dealing with this type of emergency. Here’s the video:
There are a few things that can be drawn from this video, and that is the horses did not seem in a hurry to get out of the floodwaters, and the black horse being led in shallow water actually seemed afraid to walk to dry ground. Watching this sort of thing reminds me of how important it is to have horses that are used to being caught and handled so that rescuers are able to help them. Can you imagine trying to catch a frantic or shy horse in these waters? It could result in people falling in the water, the horse getting hurt in underwater rubbish or wire, and who knows what else.
I’ve always heard you’re supposed to have a plan for fire, flood, and other emergencies. Keeping a five gallon bucket with a lid on it that holds halters, ropes, first aid kit, and maybe something to blindfold a horse with is a great idea.
I’m glad these horses made it to safety, and hope things dry out for the Tennessee folks soon!
Posted by admin @ 11:27 am
Filed under: Uncategorized, horse videos
Tags: horse care, horse videos —
April 13, 2010
You Take the Horse; I’ll Gladly Take the Dog
You Take The Horse; I’ll Gladly Take The Dog
By Dave Barry
Recently a woman I know named Michelle came into the newspaper office with a big ugly wound on her upper arm. Realizing that she might be self-conscious about it, I said: “Michelle, what’s that big ugly wound on your upper arm?” Sensitivity is the cornerstone of journalism.
It turned out that Michelle had been bitten by a horse. It was her own horse, and it bit her while she was trying to feed it.
This is a typical horse maneuver. Horses are the opposite of dogs, gratitude-wise. You give a dog something totally wretched to eat, such as a toad part or a wad of pre-chewed Dentyne, and the dog will henceforth view you as the Supreme Being.
It will gaze on you for hours with rapt adoration and lick the ground you walk on and try to kill the pizza-delivery person if he comes anywhere near you.
Whereas if you spend hours grooming a horse and lugging its food and water around, the horse will be thinking: “Should I chomp on this person’s arm? Or should I merely blow a couple gallons of horse snot into this person’s hair?”
I don’t trust horses. “Never trust an animal with feet made from the same material as bowling balls” is one of my mottoes. I never believed those scenes in Western movies when bad guys would tie the hero up, and his horse would trot over and untie the knots with his teeth. A real horse would size up the situation and stomp on the hero’s feet.
I don’t blame horses for being hostile. I myself would feel hostile toward somebody who was always sitting on me and yanking on my lips. But what I don’t get is, how come they’re so popular? Especially with women?
Now, you’re probably saying: “Dave, you’re just bitter because in fifth grade you had an intense crush on Susan Cartoun, and you wrote `Sue’ on your notebook inside a heart, but the name inside the heart on her notebook was `Frosty,’ an imaginary horse that she loved much more than you, despite the fact that, if Frosty ever had the chance, it would have got imaginary snot in her hair.”
Yes, it’s true that I am a little bitter about that. Also, I have not forgotten my first experience with a horse. I was 9 years old, at a farm, and I attempted to ride a pony.
“Pony” is a misunderstood word. Many young people, having grown up watching the “My Little Pony” cartoon show, believe that a pony is a cute little pastel-colored critter with a perky voice and a nurturing personality and a 1973 Farrah Fawcett hair style. Whereas, in fact, a typical pony is the same weight as an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme but with no controls or moral code.
Anyway, following my sister’s directions, I put my foot into the metal thing hanging down from the pony (technically, the “fetlock”), and instantly the pony, not wishing to be boarded at that time, trotted briskly off, with my leg attached to it.
I attempted to keep up by bouncing next to it on my other leg, like the famous Western cinematic star, Hopalong Dork, but finally, in a feat of astonishing equestrian skill, I fell down backward and got dragged across the field with my head bouncing gaily behind amongst the cow doots.
I could tell the pony enjoyed this immensely. It couldn’t wait to get back to the stable and tell the other horses via Snort Language.
“You should have seen his hair!” snorted the pony. “He’ll need to shampoo with industrial solvents!”
“Next time,” snorted one of the older horses, “try stepping on him. It’s like dropping an anvil on a Hostess Twinkie.”
“And the legal authorities can’t prosecute, because we’re horses,” snorted another.
So I stayed off horses altogether until 20 years later, when I was courting my wife. We were in the Rocky Mountains, and they had rental horses, and she wanted to ride one.
Naturally, she loves horses. As a child, she used to ride a neighbor’s horse bareback, an experience she remembers fondly even though she admits the horse would regularly try to decapitate her by running under low tree branches at 27 miles per hour.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but why is it that a woman will forgive homicidal behavior in a horse, yet be highly critical of a man for leaving the toilet seat up?
But I was in Raging Hormone Courting Mode, meaning I would have wrestled a giant snake to impress my wife-to-be, so I let her talk me into getting on this rental horse.
It turned its head around and looked at me with one of those horse eyeballs the size of a mature grapefruit, and I knew instantly what it was thinking. It was thinking: “Hey! It’s Hopalong Dork!”
So while my wife’s horse trotted briskly off into the scenery, looking for low branches to run under, my horse just stood there, eating and pooping, waiting for me to put one leg on the ground so it could suddenly take off and drag me to Oregon.
So I sat very still, like one of those statue generals, only more rigid. I’d say we moved about 11 feet in two hours. Next time I am definitely renting the snake.
Fortunately, my wife’s horse was unable to kill her, and we got married and lived happily ever after, except that she keeps saying that she wants us to go riding again.
I don’t know what to do. I think maybe tonight I’ll fix her a candlelight dinner, give her some wine, and put on some soft, romantic music. Then, when the moment is just right, I will gently but firmly bite her upper arm.
Dave Barry’s column appears Monday on The Times’ editorial page.
Copyright (c) 1991 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved
Posted by admin @ 1:02 pm
Filed under: horse humor, horse vices, ponies
March 25, 2010
Thank God for Cowboys!
It’s not often you hear of a cowboy being the hero these days. But that was the case on Wednesday, March 24th, as a 56-year-old ranch hand from Otay Mesa, California helped catch a band of renegade horses that were running through city streets in Chula Vista.
Reports say a band of about a dozen horses stampeded through the suburban neighborhood, followed by news broadcaster helicopters, Humane Society workers, and police.
No people or animals were hurt, thanks to Abel Canales, a cowboy who arrived on the scene with his horse and a lariat. “He was a real cowboy,” a witness is quoted as saying. Canales roped the lead horse and safely guided the herd to some corrals. There is no news on how the horses escaped in the first place, or who they belong to, but I’m sure that’s all been settled by now.
It’s just good to know that when you really need a cowboy around, there’s one to be found. Without an experienced horseman with a skill in roping, this story could have been a sad one.
Posted by admin @ 10:06 am
Filed under: horse news, runaway horses
March 17, 2010
Horse Trainers – if you can call them that
It’s been a little while since our last blog post, but with good reason. I witnessed a horse training video online that I’ve wanted to blog on, but I’ve been waiting for the right words to describe it – no, I have the right words to describe it, I’ve been waiting for the right words to use that won’t get me sued for libel.* The person I would like to defame is a famous horse trainer that would certainly have the means and motivation to probably shut down this entire site, so I’ll let them remain nameless – but certainly not blameless.
We all know that a percentage of horse trainers are probably more qualified to take out your tonsils than train your horses. And frankly, even great trainers can have bad moments. But there are certain trainers that I wish all of us would just refuse to watch on RFDTV, refuse to buy their videos, refuse to go to their traveling tent circus clinics, refuse to buy their high priced carrot sticks, etc etc. Simply because point blank, these people need to be stopped. Much like our government, it’s yours and my dollars that are fueling the madness!
The (very prominent) trainer I saw in this particular video was in this situation, a man had his horse – presumably at a clinic – and as near as you can tell, the horse isn’t paying close enough attention to it’s rider on the ground. As soon as Ms. Spandex pants takes over, things get quite a bit weird. Although if you want to make a big leap of logic, you can kind of tell what she’s trying to do, however, I’ve rarely seen such a demonstration of rudeness and poor timing in dealing with a horse. In a nutshell, she simply jerks the horses head towards her and as soon as the horse looks at her she then shoo’s his head away. She also spends alot of time randomly jerking and pulling on the halter rope, and every time the horse actually gives a little, she is either too late releasing the pressure or simply doesn’t do it at all! To make matters worse, there is speculation by some who’ve seen the video that the horse is obviously blind in one eye – I don’t know that I agree, but if so, it makes the whole thing nearly criminal. I wouldn’t hire them to muck my stalls, much less train a horse for me.
This post has gotten long and on the verge of rambling, so I’ll stop. I guess the moral of the story is, there are so many good trainers out there and most of them don’t have their own show on RFDTV. Can’t we please get past the point in our society where a good “show” marketed well or a funny way of saying things makes you incredibly popular for no apparent reason and makes you automatically pass for someone capable at your trade?! I bet political elections would turn out much differently if we did that, and we wouldn’t have the mess we have in this country. And, much like the truth behind our politicians, most of us “common people” never hear the stories of many of these trainers. For example how one of the most popular ones was sued for abusing and basically ruining a very expensive dressage horse but the suit was made to go away with alot of hush money because his RFDTV show was about to begin airing.** We also don’t see or hear the backstage antics where a prominent trainer refuses autographs and drops f-bombs all the way down the hall as his (mainly children) fans watch and stare.***
I guess my point is, fame and money in the horse business truly don’t always translate to competency. When you are watching a trainer, make them earn your trust, don’t simply give it to them because they are on tv or have a fancy marketing gimmick.
*(libel is written defamation)
**true story – given to me from a first hand witness
***true story – given to me from a first hand witness
Posted by admin @ 6:59 am
Filed under: bad horse trainers, horse training tips
March 3, 2010
Great Horse Gifts
So…we’ve all had to shop for that “hard-to-buy-for” person in our lives. I’m sure that most of you who are reading this blog have horsey friends and loved-ones to shop for who fall into this “hard-to-shop-for” category. You’d think that the way horses seem to dominate our lives, it would be a slam dunk to shop for a horse person, but as evidenced by this thread in our forum, it’s sometimes harder to shop for horse people. Take me for example, if you bought me a new bridle, I’d sincerely thank you for your thoughtfulness and then not use it because – like most of us do – I have THE bridle I want to use. It’s not that we’re ungrateful or anything, it’s just that so many of us develop such a comfort level with our horses and equipment, we just know what works for us and it’s sometimes hard to get a horse gift for a horsey person.
I have recently stumbled on a great horse gifts website that I thought I’d share with you. It’s called horseandwildlifegifts.com, they have a great selection of horse gifts and decor. So, instead of buying a perfectly great set of reins that your favorite horse person will just let hang there because the set that they patched with a shoestring is finally just getting broke in the way they want them, check out our friends at Horse and Wildlife Gifts, it might make your quest for the perfect horse gift a lot easier!
Posted by admin @ 9:04 am
Filed under: Uncategorized
February 17, 2010
Some Closure on 3 Strikes Ranch fiasco
As you can see if you follow this link, the Jason Meduna, 3 Strikes Ranch Horse Neglect trial has ended. Although sentencing isn’t until February 23rd, Mr. Meduna has been found “guilty” on 145 of 149 counts of animal abuse.
I think that Medunas’ lawyer summed it up best when he said… “He may have been arrogant, he may have been stupid. He may not have been a ‘true cowboy.’… He may not have made the right decisions. In fact, he made some pretty stupid decisions.”
I don’t have a lot of legal expertise, but I’d say it’s pretty bad when this is the best your defense lawyer can come up with.
If you are a Jason Meduna “type”, you won’t heed my advice anyways, but I’m still compelled to say – If you aren’t a capable, professional trainer, don’t pass yourself off as one. If you can’t properly take care of an animal (ANY animal), don’t take possession.
Posted by admin @ 1:57 pm
Filed under: 3 Strikes Ranch, neglected horses
February 10, 2010
Horses at their best – without even trying
My last post about the National Western Stock Show’s Rodeo (for this year anyways!) concerns the last event of the evening. After the last bullrider had been bucked (the bulls really had the advantage over the cowboys that night) they killed the lights in the event center and when the lights came up a large box wrapped in Christmas paper and a big red bow was placed in the center of the arena. A cowboy, probably about 5 years old, ran out to the center and began tearing the paper off of the box. As the announcer was talking about the blessings God has provided for all of us and our Country, he mentioned what a great gift God gave humanity in the horse, and at that moment a colt bolted out of the package. The announcer let us know that the little filly had been born on Christmas day. With that, the filly’s mom (one of the bucking horses) was turned loose in the arena, the two horses quickly joined up and then ran out of the arena with the filly kicking up her heels all the way!
Kind of hokey? Yeah, probably. Kind of neat? Yes. Accurate? Without a doubt. Search any of the horse forums you frequent, or read any of the horse blogs that you know of and compare the passion evident on these outlets to hobbies that your non-horsey friends might have. You would be hard pressed to find any other type of enthusiast who is as grateful for their “hobby” as horse people. In a night full of promoting action, loud music and Coors beer, I applaud the National Western for helping provide some perspective and reminding us all to count our blessings from God, including the fact that we are fortunate enough to have experienced what only a horse can provide. The horse is at it’s best, simply by being what it is, ANOTHER lesson we could learn from it!
Posted by admin @ 7:58 am
Filed under: National Western Stock Show, horse blogs, horse forums
February 4, 2010
More Horses at their best – The Westernaires
Well last week got away from me, but as promised, I wanted to tell you a little more about the National Western Stock Show’s rodeo. There is a kids riding club from Colorado that appears every year at the Stock Show rodeo. On their website, they describe themselves as a “mounted precision drill organization” and the word “precision” doesn’t do enough to describe the amazing maneuvers these teenagers and their horses perform!
It amazes me every time I see the show at how good the horses and riders are. You can join the drill team as early as age nine and ride until you are 19, and it boggles my mind to think of the amount of work and dedication these kids put into their horses and drills. While there are horses running full steam in all directions, you easily forget that it’s young kids doing the riding – which is a testimony to the trainers, riders and of course horses.
Their opening act was all in the dark, and the first rider came flying into the arena with glow-in-the-dark bridle, tack, saddle, chaps, and beautiful American flag. Then the rest of the group joined in, and the arena was filled with flying flashes of red, white, and blue lights, swirling and crossing paths. It was really breath-taking, especially when you realize the speeds these horses are moving at, and knowing just when to race, when to turn, when to slow down, and stand still.
If you ever have a chance to check out the Westernaires, don’t hesitate, you won’t find very many shows like it – whether you are a horse lover or not! A real tribute to the precision and discipline it takes to be a part of this group was when one of the riders fell off of their horse, the entire troupe immediately came to a halt, it was very impressive (and scary) to think about how dangerous of a situation that could have been, but the discipline of horses and riders saved a girl from getting badly hurt – and of course, she got right back on and continued in the drills!
One more blog coming on the National Western Stock Show Rodeo and it’s amazing horses..
Posted by admin @ 10:04 am
Filed under: National Western Stock Show, The Westernaires, rodeo horses
January 27, 2010
Horses At Their Best – Part One
I just returned from a trip to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO. The highlight of the trip once again was the rodeo we attended Saturday night.
I don’t know if you’re a rodeo fan or not, if you are, you’ll know what I’m talking about, if you aren’t, but you love horses, then you owe it to yourself to attend a good, all-around rodeo. Not just a bulls-n-broncs event that has gotten so popular, but one where roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing are also featured. To be honest, I usually miss most of the action while at the rodeo because I am more focused on what the horses are doing, whether they were ridden by the contestants or the “pick-up” men, these are some of the most amazing horses you’ll ever see. Whether it’s assisting a steer wrestler by crowding the running calf just right, or a horse that “turns and burns” for it’s barrel racing rider, these are horses many of us can only dream of having.
It is no exaggeration to say that at the rodeo we saw, one bareback rider owes his life to the good horses the pick-up men were riding. His hand was stuck and he couldn’t dismount so as he was being drug around the arena, the horses the pick-up riders had were the only chance to save this man. These horses (and of course the amazing cowboys on those horses), quickly cut off this bronc that wanted to run, and the riders and rodeo clowns were able to get the cowboy loose. If it weren’t for a couple good horse and rider teams, who knows what may have happened. As the scene unfolded, you could almost see the horses knowing their job and wanting to help. I’ve always had the opinion that probably the best and most accurate compliment you can give a horse is that it knows it’s job, these rodeo horses are the perfect definition of that.
More on these amazing horses coming soon…
Posted by admin @ 3:50 pm
Filed under: National Western Stock Show, rodeo horses
January 19, 2010
The Horse
“…when it greets you with a nicker,
nuzzles your chest, and regards you with
a large liquid eye, the question of
where you want to be and what you want
to do has been answered.”
– A. Borgmann
See our Horse Articles page for more Horse Quotes and beautiful horse photos.
Posted by admin @ 10:32 am
Filed under: horse articles, horse photos, horse quotes
