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Some of our favorite people and places to visit... Updated 10-14-08 :o)
Andreas Helgstrand & Blue Horse Matinee; I could watch these two all day...I've seen some comments that the mare is annoyed or being mistreated, but I just don't see it. She has floppy ears, which show her to be at ease in her surroundings and that tail looks like lots of happy swishes to me - not irritation at all. (One of those more recent tidbits of knowledge from observing our horses...I didn't even know there was such a thing as a happy tail swish, but there is...cooool :o) If you watch it very carefully, you'll notice that the tail swishes change with the music, as does her body. She seems to really love some of the music, (watch it several times and you'll probably catch the changes). What really tickled me, was the fact that he joyfully flung his arms around his horse afterward (and yeah, he may have startled her a bit but that's not the point). The point was that was his first reaction, and that's a pretty great one in my book :o)
Allen Pogue is one of my all-time favorite horse people; from his site I learned that what I thought of as my "equine experiments" actually had a name - liberty work (What can I say? I didn't HAVE high-speed internet until a couple of months ago :o) A marvelous trainer, he truly loves his horses and is a veritable fount of information. I have several of his videos, and my daughter built me a pedestal set for Christmas using his instructions. What I'd really like to get my hands on next are the bean bag and ball (they're so NEAT!) I don't think it's an exaggeration to label him a Pioneer; blazing new trails certainly, but also clearing away the underbrush and debris obscuring that rarely used path to true horsemanship (how's that for a trail rider's analogy? :o)
Lorenzo the Flying Frenchman has an amazing relationship with his horses; this clip will absolutely take your breath away. I know it did mine (of course the second I got it back - my breath - I was yelling THAT's IT, THAT'S WHAT I WANT - THAT RIGHT THERE, THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HORSES, I KNEW IT...Well, you get the idea (and I'll just betcha everyone in a 5 miles radius of my house knew that's what I wanted too - ha :o)
Meet Molly the Pony; This little gal is amazing - can you picture a pony with a prosthetic leg? I couldn't either until I saw Molly. She was abandoned by her owner when Hurricane Katrina hit Lousianna. She spent
weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were being stockpiled. While there she was attacked
by a Pit Bull Terrier and almost died. Her gnawed right front let became infected and her vet went to LSU for help, but they were overwhelmed and this pony was a welfare case. After surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, however, he changed his mind...
A Sore Subject...The Jackson Family and Champagne Watchout: This link is to actual video footage of newscasts, interviews, and the 1999 World Grand Champion Class at the Walking Horse Celebration in Tennessee. It is a long video, but a definite eye opener and worth watching. The walking horse show industry is huge, and like most big business involved in showing; caters to winning over welfare. I learned an awful lot (following my discovery of this site) about the practice of "soring" and the show industry ~ and oh, my poor Shadow...Some notes before you watch
- If you are not overly knowledgeable about horses or the TWH [Tennessee Walking Horse] breed, you should know that a horse carries 60% of his body weight on his front end - watching all of the other competitors in the class (not Watchout), you can see that in a desperate attempt to lessen severe pain in front (soring), these horses have all shifted the bulk of their weight to the back which results in the staggering swagger you see in the video that is nothing less than grotesque (many barely able to remain upright). The pain these horses endure is further evidenced by their inability to remain "parked" (back legs stretched out behind them), they continuously attempt to draw their legs together underneath them as if they had foundered;
- The thousands of people in the stands are either completely oblivious (most) or couldn't care less. Often trainers wave away any objection over the horse's "mild discomfort", or will insist it doesn't hurt them at all. You may also notice the complete lack of enthusiasm for Watchout, the "naturally gaited" horse from the spectators AND the judges who attempt to find a reason to disqualify the horse in the 1999 video (just watch how long they spend looking him over);
- The thing that really boggled my mind was seeing the horses change direction. If you watch, Watchout and his rider just turn around and go the other way ~ the rest of the class, however, turn and then stand for a moment. Why? To catch their breath; if you look closely you can see the flanks absolutely heaving on some of these poor horses.*
- If you would like some additional information on this topic, please click here to visit FOSH (Friends of Sound Horses). This will open a new window to their site ~ If you are very squeamish, you might want to skip this part.
- The Jackson family competed again in 2007 trying to bring this issue into the light. The video of last year's show is also available to watch on their site.
*Putting it in Perspective - [Natural Equine Athleticism vs. TWH Industry Standard]
It would be pretty much like a race between Jesse Owens [a famous Olympic gold medal runner] and a 3 pack-a-day chain smoking couch potato trussed up in a corset and wearing stilettos (um, yeah - I don't think so). What scares me is the number of people that think the athlete is the weirdo; WOW.
Connie Reeves was recently inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and her goldenrule is to "always saddle your own horse". Pretty good advice, actually. That's not
the reason I put her here though. Would you believe she is almost 101 years old and
is still riding?? Man, I wanna be her when I grow up...wow!
The video clip is entitled "American Cowgirl" and well worth the click...enjoy!
Body Language and Communication...Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling ~ Author of Dancing with Horses and other works, he is an expert on body language and communication (I love his stuff!) My friend Lori loaned me his book, then his video and it's awesome :o) Some of his ideas sound a bit strange (as in different from common training methods), but if you stop and think, it all makes perfect sense. (see the Story of the Ham on the Mythbusters page) I learned an awful lot from his work. I wonder if he got snickered at initially...
Equine Interaction at its Finest...
Cheryl Ward ~ Artist and owner of Romeo and Julet, shown here with their paintbrushes (yes, paintbrushes). Cheryl took an unloved/unwanted horse (Romeo) and taught him to paint! She has a wonderful video of her horses painting...is that not the coolest thing ever?? You can see by watching it that the horses are having a ball creating their paintings (I just love it). Read her amazing story and check out the many equine masterpieces, they are absolutely fabulous!
Sylvia Scott ~ is a natural horsemanship trainer. Click on her
picture to visit her site (but pack a lunch because she has a ton
of wonderful information there :o)
There is also a newsletter you can sign up for and a huge problem solving section that covers just about anything you can think of.
Monty Roberts ~ Known as, “The Man Who Listens to Horses,” developed a
method of communicating with horses using their natural body language and a technique he calls Join-Up®. Founded on a consistent set of principles, communication, and trust, Monty’s methods assert that violence is never the
answer. He has a newletter you can subscribe to as well as books and videos.
Carolyn Resnick ~ Nationally known for her original training methods, her understanding of natural herd behaviour, and the remarkable connection that she shares with all horses, Carolyn Resnick’s career and studies have spanned over 40 years as a trainer, Arabian breeder, clinician and student of wild horse behavior.
Resnick has trained in most western and English disciplines. Her main interest is dressage, and she has developed her own training method, emphasizing lightness and expression without the use of spurs or dressage whip. She wrote the book, "Naked Liberty" which is absolutely awesome :o)
Regal Realm ~ has a wonderful lens on Squidoo promoting "Dressage not Stressage" (and
A-men to that!) Chock full of great information - having read her lens - it's worth a visit
and I think I should just say great minds think alike (of course that statement may offend
her - ha :o)
Coincidentally, she also has Andreas Helgstraand and Blue Horse Matinee's performance
(you know, like at the top of this page?) on her lens...see what I mean?
Richard Maxwell ~ I came across one of his books by
accident and loved it. He has some wonderful ideas and
suggestions...sure wish he was a little closer, though :o)
Kim and Troy Meeder - Founders of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch
Since its inception in 1995, Troy and Kim have been the backbone of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. Together they have over 40 years combined experience reaching both children and horses that have known abuse and neglect. Troy and Kim continually pour out their lives to the many that are a part of Crystal Peaks. Click on their picture to visit their site.
Dr. Deb Bennet of the Equine Studies Institute Has some of the most marvelous resources on her site. The "Ranger Piece" is an excellent article on the development of bones in the horse and when is the best time to begin riding (and it ain't when the knees close, which is the rule of thumb around here). She also either wrote or had a hand in the bit rating system which I am putting in the Training Blog because it is awesome (not to mention totally handy :o) The site has some great articles and there are a number of books (my favorite thing!) available for purchase. There is also a forum that has some great information; just click on her logo to visit her site.
