the senior horse, 6: sweet moments

I'm not sure if this is a senior thing or just a November Hill farm thing. All our equines have sweet moments pretty much around the clock.

But somehow the moments seem sweeter as they get older, maybe because we know that as much as we wish they did, horses do not live forever, nor do they tend to leave at the exact moment we do, which would in some ways be the perfect ending for people and their long-time senior equine companions.

A couple of days ago I was in the barn. The pony stuck his head over the stall door at the exact moment I was walking behind Salina, who was definitely in pony range. She squealed and stomped her front leg at him, and the squeal and stomp, though not near me per se, caused me to exclaim "Whoa! I'm back here!"

I walked on to the end of the barn aisle doing whatever it was I was doing and within a few moments, Salina had come to where I was and turned so that she was looking me in the eye with her eye, and nuzzled my arm.

I've said before that Salina is incredibly telepathic, and I feel extremely attuned to her. But she is not what I would consider a particularly affectionate mare. She enjoys being groomed and pampered, and she often backs me up when I'm asking one of the geldings to do something. I feel like she and I are on the same wavelength almost all the time. But lately she seems intent on thanking me for things, and in this case, seeing if I was okay and apologizing for startling me.

She stood there until I put my arms around her neck and leaned my cheek against hers. "It's okay, girl. I know the pony was pushing the limit." She gave me another nuzzle and we spent a few moments communing.

The day after that, I had opened the stall door to do something for Keil Bay. He very much wanted to come out through the barn aisle and spend time in the barnyard but I was busy and said no. He got a little pushy - shoving the stall door as I tried to close it. I stopped and just looked at him over the stall door. I waited a moment and then said "Don't be so grumpy! You can come out. Just please be nice about it."

I opened the stall door and let him out, thinking he would saunter straight out to the grass. But he turned around carefully in the barn aisle, angling his big body between the stall door, the wheelbarrow, and me. He came up to me and just stood there, touching my arms and hands with his muzzle. He, too, positioned his head so he could look me right in the eye. I rubbed him under his forelock and we stood quietly for a minute. He waited for me to say "go on, Big Bay," before he went to graze.

As much as I love riding and feeling the beauty of lightness in the saddle, these sweet and tender moments when I'm having conversations that were initiated by the horses are my most favorite times.

It boggles my mind that there are people who believe that horses don't feel affection and attachment and that they will try anything to get their way.

I wish I could put everyone who doubts or doesn't believe into my body so they could know what happens between horses who are treated with kindness, care, and the deepest respect, and a woman who simply learned how to listen.

working on a new permanent page for companies who sponsor riders/trainers who use abusive methods with horses

I've decided to make it easier for readers to follow my ongoing research into the companies from which I purchase equine supplies, tack, feed, and various other items.

In the next week or two look for a new page here that will list the companies I use, companies I have corresponded with due to their sponsorship of abusive riders/trainers, and companies I have stopped using because of their continuing to sponsor people when abusive practices are pointed out to them.

Epona TV answers every possible question about the Craig Schmersal debacle

GO HERE to read the editorial.

And if you are Purina or Spalding, please read it and most especially click on the link they have provided to the Cease and Desist letter they received by Schmersal's attorney. Unless Craig has an attorney who acts on his behalf without his knowledge or permission, this is clear evidence that in fact Craig DID threaten legal action.

I have been told that Craig has denied having done so. If the video of Craig's riding alone is not enough to bring about a re-examination of company sponsorship, does the fact that he lies to you make any difference?

Epona TV's goal is to document what happens at the upper levels of equine sport. They did not target Craig Schmersal in particular - they simply aimed their cameras at what they recognized to be abusive riding.

My goal is to vote with my credit card, giving my business to companies that stand squarely on the side of the horse and of riders/trainers who use humane training methods, humane horse-keeping practices, and who sit on the horses' backs who win them fame and money in a kind, respectful fashion.

And my secondary goal is to make the information I uncover in my effort to do this available to anyone else in the world who wants to read it and do the same.

Spalding has promised me an official response on Monday. Purina has promised nothing, but I will ask them again if they would like to address this given Epona's editorial.

quick update: Purina, Spalding, Schmersal

I'm fielding emails, phone calls, and trying to get to the bottom of this, so please stay tuned. Craig Schmersal has denied that he got a verbal warning in the warm-up/training session (part of which was videotaped by Epona TV), and he has denied threatening to sue.

I am in the process of talking with Epona to see what their response is.

And I am appreciative that both Purina and Spalding are paying attention and looking into this situation.

As a friend just wrote on my Facebook wall: Take a deep breath and remember that you're only one person! One thing at the time and you'll get through it! I have confidence that you can tackle it all!!

Wise words.  I will stay on top of this, collate the info, and write it up as soon as I can. Meanwhile I have horses to feed, trims to supervise, teenagers to chauffeur, and book sales to celebrate! But I will follow up on this AND on the BLM issue very soon.


 

the senior horse, 5: don't mess with the boss mare!

This morning my husband came in from the barn to tell me that there had been some excitement sometime last night/early this morning.

An entire section of the barn, an exterior half-wall that makes up part of the barn overhang, had been kicked out. That half-wall was in need of some work. There were two holes in the Hardie Plank from previous kicks, and as are many things around here, it was On The List.

This morning it went to the top.

Based on the crime scene this is what I think happened:

Salina, the boss mare and resident goddess (and a senior at 28 years old) had come in from the pasture to relax under the shelter on the back of our barn and wait to be let into her area for morning hay.

An 11-year old painted pony gelding, who seems to be in the midst of trying to take over the herd in general, came in and moved in too close to the boss mare. I saw him stick his head over a stall door two days ago and bare his teeth at the black mare's rump. She responded with a double barrel kick to the stall wall and I am not kidding when I say that the pony did not move a centimeter. He has also been annoying the heck out of Keil Bay during the day, crowding into Keil's stall and not budging when Keil tells him to scram.

So, probably early this morning, when he moved in too close, Salina let loose with a double barrel kick and it completely shattered two panels of Hardie Plank. There were pieces strewn 25-30 feet back into the paddock.

The good thing about Hardie Plank is it does not splinter like wood does, so there were no sharp edges and Salina had one little scrape above the hock and one scrape on her forehead (I am guessing she spun around and scraped the stall door).

She also had one rear hoof that abscessed last year and the weak spot had just grown down to the toe area where it was very close to being ready to be trimmed away. I had looked at the fault line yesterday and wondered what our trimmer would do with it.

Guess what? He is coming today for our regular scheduled trims and Salina has basically done his work for him. When she kicked, the fault gave way and basically his job will be to clean up the edges.

As I did my investigation, Cody and Keil Bay lined up together in Keil's stall. "WE didn't do it!" was written all over their faces.

The pony was nowhere to be seen. Then I realized he was quite literally laying low in his stall, head and neck lowered so I couldn't easily see him over the wall.

Salina was happily munching hay in the barn aisle with her two donkey boys. "No problem here. I just did what needed to be done."

Which was put the pony in his place and move a barn project up to the top of my husband's list.

Salina, I salute you.

AND, further investigation reveals: another November Hill senior, Keil Bay, was also involved in the barn smashing incident. I still think the provocateur was the pony, but it appears upper level management had a smack down in the wee hours of the morning.