billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Monday, October 04, 2010
measuring tape and ginger snaps
Time on this gorgeous autumn day to take measurements so I can update my equine weight charts and re-calculate diets going into the winter season.
With ginger snaps and timothy cubes as treats, I was the most popular activity on the property!
Apache Moon taped at 13.2h today. For years he was 12.2 and then last year I noticed he had added an inch. I'm not sure if he was standing on tip-hooves today so his height matches heart girth, or if he decided that he has to grow some to keep up with his girl's long legs!
Salina and Cody taped at their usual, but Keil Bay initially taped at 17h today! Then he taped at 16.3. He has been 16.2. No wonder I have had to resort to the barrel for mounting.
The mysteries of measuring horses...
Whatever the numbers, it is a pleasure to work with this curious, cooperative, fun-loving herd. I think we're all as happy as can be now that fall has arrived.
With ginger snaps and timothy cubes as treats, I was the most popular activity on the property!
Apache Moon taped at 13.2h today. For years he was 12.2 and then last year I noticed he had added an inch. I'm not sure if he was standing on tip-hooves today so his height matches heart girth, or if he decided that he has to grow some to keep up with his girl's long legs!
Salina and Cody taped at their usual, but Keil Bay initially taped at 17h today! Then he taped at 16.3. He has been 16.2. No wonder I have had to resort to the barrel for mounting.
The mysteries of measuring horses...
Whatever the numbers, it is a pleasure to work with this curious, cooperative, fun-loving herd. I think we're all as happy as can be now that fall has arrived.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Horses Never Forget Human Friends
What most of us already know, but it's nice to see confirming research being done and published:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/horse-friends-memory-trainers.html
I have said for years that Keil Bay understands almost everything I say to him. He's absolutely a verbal learner and responds far more quickly to words than to cues, especially the natural horsemanship cues, which he thinks are primitive and beneath him.
Nice article, but would someone please tell me what the heck is in the mouth of the horse in the photo? Not a very nice thing to do to a good friend, imo. :/
http://news.discovery.com/animals/horse-friends-memory-trainers.html
I have said for years that Keil Bay understands almost everything I say to him. He's absolutely a verbal learner and responds far more quickly to words than to cues, especially the natural horsemanship cues, which he thinks are primitive and beneath him.
Nice article, but would someone please tell me what the heck is in the mouth of the horse in the photo? Not a very nice thing to do to a good friend, imo. :/
Saturday, October 02, 2010
more blood at WEG
From Eventing Nation:
Karim Florent Laghouagh and Havenir d'Azac of France were eliminated by the ground jury after blood appeared around Havenir d'Azac's mouth during their dressage test.
For anyone reading who doesn't know, the dressage phase of the eventing discipline is different than the Grand Prix dressage I've been writing about in previous posts. Note that this horse is wearing a snaffle bridle and not the double-bitted bridle of Grand Prix. Even so, you can see the cavesson and flash noseband are tight, the reins are being held very short, and you can see the blood in the horse's mouth. I don't know if this French rider utilizes rollkur, hyperflexion, or LDR in warm-up, but he is riding this test behind the vertical (line from horse's forehead to ground - correct angle is that horse's nose should be slightly in front of this vertical line).
I also read though have not confirmed that in the cross-country phase of the eventing competition, this horse had a rotational fall (meaning it hit the jump and flipped over, hindquarters over head).
Accidents happen, but it's hard not to make a connection between this kind of heavy-handed riding in dressage, blood in the mouth, and a rotational fall on the cross-country course.
I seriously doubt this horse is a happy equine citizen.
Karim Florent Laghouagh and Havenir d'Azac of France were eliminated by the ground jury after blood appeared around Havenir d'Azac's mouth during their dressage test.
For anyone reading who doesn't know, the dressage phase of the eventing discipline is different than the Grand Prix dressage I've been writing about in previous posts. Note that this horse is wearing a snaffle bridle and not the double-bitted bridle of Grand Prix. Even so, you can see the cavesson and flash noseband are tight, the reins are being held very short, and you can see the blood in the horse's mouth. I don't know if this French rider utilizes rollkur, hyperflexion, or LDR in warm-up, but he is riding this test behind the vertical (line from horse's forehead to ground - correct angle is that horse's nose should be slightly in front of this vertical line).
I also read though have not confirmed that in the cross-country phase of the eventing competition, this horse had a rotational fall (meaning it hit the jump and flipped over, hindquarters over head).
Accidents happen, but it's hard not to make a connection between this kind of heavy-handed riding in dressage, blood in the mouth, and a rotational fall on the cross-country course.
I seriously doubt this horse is a happy equine citizen.
a few words on WEG 2010
I just tried to watch the available musical freestyle dressage rides from WEG and I'm not sure if I have totally lost interest in dressage as a competitive sport or if there were no horse/rider teams who moved me, but I couldn't finish watching any of them.
The bright lights, the indoor arena, the huge crowd, the noise, the shadows - all of it made me slightly ill. I can't fathom that any horse, however accustomed to the environment they might get because it's what they know, enjoys that setting and all the chaos. I felt heavy and sad watching Totilas. He performs like a trained robot, and with every step he seems resigned to his life and his job. I watched long enough to see the lack of anything even remotely resembling an extended trot, the break from trot into canter, and the free walk, where at one point he looked slightly lame, and I stopped. That this ride got a score higher than 90 is utterly shocking to me.
I can't say much more about the other riders and horses. I tried to watch, to have a different experience than the Totilas ride, but the sounds of the crowd and the loud music, the tension, the horses' faces and heads/necks in tight frames were more than I could bear.
I have seen competitive rides where I got a good feeling from the horse and rider. I'm not sure if some of that was due to my own lack of education about what I was seeing - the ignorance is bliss syndrome - or whether things are truly worse now for the horses and it shows in competition.
I've read a lot of "reviews" today and it sounds like the ride on Fuego got huge applause and boos of disagreement when the scores were put up. The one part that struck me was what I couldn't get to on the video - Fuego rearing in fear at the end when the applause went through the roof. I don't know - that seems to put the entire thing into perspective for me.
My enjoyment of competitive horse sport may well be gone.
The bright lights, the indoor arena, the huge crowd, the noise, the shadows - all of it made me slightly ill. I can't fathom that any horse, however accustomed to the environment they might get because it's what they know, enjoys that setting and all the chaos. I felt heavy and sad watching Totilas. He performs like a trained robot, and with every step he seems resigned to his life and his job. I watched long enough to see the lack of anything even remotely resembling an extended trot, the break from trot into canter, and the free walk, where at one point he looked slightly lame, and I stopped. That this ride got a score higher than 90 is utterly shocking to me.
I can't say much more about the other riders and horses. I tried to watch, to have a different experience than the Totilas ride, but the sounds of the crowd and the loud music, the tension, the horses' faces and heads/necks in tight frames were more than I could bear.
I have seen competitive rides where I got a good feeling from the horse and rider. I'm not sure if some of that was due to my own lack of education about what I was seeing - the ignorance is bliss syndrome - or whether things are truly worse now for the horses and it shows in competition.
I've read a lot of "reviews" today and it sounds like the ride on Fuego got huge applause and boos of disagreement when the scores were put up. The one part that struck me was what I couldn't get to on the video - Fuego rearing in fear at the end when the applause went through the roof. I don't know - that seems to put the entire thing into perspective for me.
My enjoyment of competitive horse sport may well be gone.
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