I've been a horse owner for over 20 years now. We all understand that taking on a 1,000+ lb. animal requires a lot of emotional involvement, love of the creature itself, and, perhaps most of all, the financial commitment. It can sometimes be a daunting task for those weekend owners who have their horses boarded out and ride as a hobby, for enjoyment. For those who have one horse, it's been challenging enough in recent times - for those of us with more than that, it may be getting a bit tricky.
I don't think I have to say it out loud for everyone reading this to agree that the United States is in a financial panic. You can't turn on the news, listen to the radio, or read any major internet news web site without hearing about the financial crisis and recession that we're in, or at least starting. With gas (and diesel) prices soaring to places we never thought they would go, I don't think there's a person in this country that isn't saying 'uh oh' and seriously reconsidering where their money is spent. I know I am. And probably many other horse owners are as well. And let's face it - as much as we love our equine friends, they are not necessarily on the 'essentials for life' list like food, water and air (although I would definitely say I have sacrificed my own food intake over the years for my horses, when the need arose).
Last year was a great year for me and my show horses. I traveled to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania and just about everywhere in between, showing miniature horses at the Local, Regional and World level. I showed 4 miniature horses last year in various performance events, with each of them (thankfully) having extremely successful show records to show for it (so the 15,000+ miles on my new truck wasn't entirely in vain). We even racked up a few AMHA World Top Tens and Top Fives, 3 AMHA Eastern Championship titles, an AMHR Country Pleasure Driving Hall of Fame induction, an AMHR All-Stars Top Ten in Showmanship, and an AMHA Honor Roll Top Ten in Showmanship, along with the much-anticipated retirement of my favorite miniature stallion from his competitive career.
But this year is going to be very different, it seems. Much as I want to show like I did last year, there's a lot of factors that are weighing in at once. Diesel is $4.35 a gallon (holy cow!), and rising. Feed prices are rising fast. The bale of hay that I paid $2.75 for last year is now up to $5 or more. I'm sure the Northwest isn't the only area being affected by this economic problem, and I'm sure I'm not the only horse person this year suddenly not preparing as much for my horse's show careers as I'm preparing for how I'm going to pay for their feed in July and August.
I've watched horse shows fluctuate over the past 20 years - one year there's 30 horses in a class, the next there's 80, the one after that there's 15. It all depends on a number of miscellaneous factors, particularly at the higher levels of competition.
But my curiosity is piqued as we start April of 2008.... When most people are usually putting the finishing touches on their show critters this time of year, and buying new shiny equipment to wow the judges - are they now carefully setting aside their show equipment and bracing themselves for the economic times to come, vowing to show in 2009 instead? Are they weighing in the factors of paying their own personal bills (mortgage, credit cards, utility bills) against the 'fun' factor of showing their equines in competition? And what about those who keep their equines being conditioned by trainers - are they suddenly moving those animals to boarding facilities or home, to save their money for more necessary things in life like the car payment or their mortgage?
I have been a horse show junkie for as long as I can remember. Like many others like me who are addicted to such adventures, regardless of their level, I will literally do just about anything to afford to go to a horse show. I've been very clever over the years in my abilities to make enough money to show at the level I love, yet this year I'm sitting back and saying 'OK, I have to make sure there's going to be enough money to keep my animals fed this year - for the first time in a long time, this showing thing might have to be put on hold.'
Am I the only one? I sincerely doubt it. And don't think I'll be alone in my hesitations about showing horses anytime soon, with the massive media frenzy that tends to feed on people's fears (i.e 'There's going to be a blizzard, stock up on bread and milk' , or, perhaps, similar panic to the Beanie Baby craze of the late 90's), and take all the fun out of being alive. Right now my herd isn't too large - I did some shifting around over the winter, sold a few, and I currently have far less critters on the property than I normally would this time of year. And while usually I have planned well into the summer what shows I will be attending and who I'm taking to the Nationals or Worlds, I find myself saying "Well, my goal is to go to two Local/Regional shows and the Nationals this year, I hope", rather than planning to be at a horse show pretty much every weekend from April through October.
It has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things, and I'm sure I'm not the only horse show enthusiast second-guessing myself right about now. I have always been concerned about my horses' care and welfare first, no matter if they are part of my show string or not. And right now, I want to make sure I don't run in to a shortage of anything for them - feed, grain, or otherwise. Anyone else out there like me? Please feel free to share your stories here - I'd like to see if I'm just backing off a bit on my lifelong horse addiction (which I sincerely doubt - it's in my blood, and no cure), or if this industry, much like many others, is going to take a downward turn in 2007 as well.... Please share your stories - I'd love to hear them!
3/31/08
The Art Of Catching Horses...
I have learned over the years that if a horse doesn't want to be caught, you just can't catch it... unless you devise some clever plans to outsmart it (or wear it out completely).
I totally understand a horse's 'flight' mechanism, and why it's there. I understand that their innate ability to run from predators has kept wild horses alive for many generations. However, I do not understand why horses (particularly miniature horses) need to exercise that particular trait in an indoor arena... When I'm tired...
I brought two new miniature stallions home the other day - one is a year old, and one is a 3-year-old. Neither of them have had a lot of halter work done, and both of them are (unfortunately) extremely fast, and can spin like World Champion reining horses. I should have known I was in for trouble when it took me several minutes to catch each of them in their 10X12 stalls. Whatever possessed me to turn them out in my 50X60 indoor arena together (after the struggle it took just to get their halters on in their stalls), I don't really know. But I was tired, I'd had a long day, and they had energy to burn. Rather than clean their stalls with them inside, I decided that I could get them exercised and have their stalls cleaned, thus making me the great multi-tasker of the day. Or maybe the biggest idiot. I haven't decided.
Once I was done cleaning their stalls, I foolishly wandered over to the arena, knelt down, and called their names. Pretty much all of the miniature horses I've had so far either come when they're called, or can at least be cornered when it's time to be caught. Not so with the two new guys....
In a lot of ways, full-size horses are somewhat easier to catch. You can mess with their heads a little bit, and convince them that when you open your arms wide, that creates some kind of imaginary barrier that they can't cross when pinned in a corner. It doesn't always work, but it is possible to catch a horse that way. With miniatures, I am convinced that their smaller size means their brains have to work much faster, and therefore it makes them craftier when it comes time to catch them in a large area (or small one, like their stall). And today was no different - I was just more tired than usual.
It actually only took 10 minutes to out-maneuver the clever 3-year-old. He finally gave up his frantic running circles when he realized that hey, it was close to dinner time, and he was suddenly hungry. I got him to his stall, and went back for the yearling. He hasn't decided if he likes the food here or not, and was a little tougher to convince that the grain I was rattling around in the bucket was worth allowing me to catch him. He trotted glorious circles around me, would allow me to get within 3 inches of him, and then he'd take off with his head in the air, whinnying. I love horses, and have spent my entire life around them. But on nights like this, turtle farming was looking real good.
The yearling has not been body-clipped yet, so the more he ran, the hotter he got. We call him the 'little llama', because he looks like a llama at the moment, with long shaggy hair that even feels like a llama. I was concerned that he'd get a chill, and decided he had much more energy to burn than I did. I had to devise a clever plan, and quickly, before we both worse ourselves out.
I must say that this was the first time I had ever 'given up' on catching a horse. Something about evasive horses creates a challenge in my head, and I have to outsmart them no matter what. Tonight, however, I didn't care about devising a clever plan to capture this little 80-lb creature. I just wanted dinner. And a warm shower. I know we've all been there, fellow horse people. You know how it feels.
I closed the big doors to the barn, opened his stall door, and proceeded to herd him down the aisles to his stall. The barn cat was highly amused, having watched the previous 20 minutes with great interest, probably saying to herself 'Wow - Deb hasn't had a worthy adversary in this barn for a while - this one's a keeper!'. This new game was even more fun and challenging for him, since it narrowed the space we were working with, and increased his excitement for being loose and naughty. After another 5 minutes of his games, he finally walked quietly into his stall, without any flourish or ferver. I was even more hungry, even more tired, and even less interested in being a horse person. I guess that's where the true horse addiction stuff comes into play - when we're nursing a sick horse, spending every last dollar on their care, or chasing them in endless circles trying to capture them. I think I'm going to take up gambling instead - at least you get to stay still. ;)
I totally understand a horse's 'flight' mechanism, and why it's there. I understand that their innate ability to run from predators has kept wild horses alive for many generations. However, I do not understand why horses (particularly miniature horses) need to exercise that particular trait in an indoor arena... When I'm tired...
I brought two new miniature stallions home the other day - one is a year old, and one is a 3-year-old. Neither of them have had a lot of halter work done, and both of them are (unfortunately) extremely fast, and can spin like World Champion reining horses. I should have known I was in for trouble when it took me several minutes to catch each of them in their 10X12 stalls. Whatever possessed me to turn them out in my 50X60 indoor arena together (after the struggle it took just to get their halters on in their stalls), I don't really know. But I was tired, I'd had a long day, and they had energy to burn. Rather than clean their stalls with them inside, I decided that I could get them exercised and have their stalls cleaned, thus making me the great multi-tasker of the day. Or maybe the biggest idiot. I haven't decided.
Once I was done cleaning their stalls, I foolishly wandered over to the arena, knelt down, and called their names. Pretty much all of the miniature horses I've had so far either come when they're called, or can at least be cornered when it's time to be caught. Not so with the two new guys....
In a lot of ways, full-size horses are somewhat easier to catch. You can mess with their heads a little bit, and convince them that when you open your arms wide, that creates some kind of imaginary barrier that they can't cross when pinned in a corner. It doesn't always work, but it is possible to catch a horse that way. With miniatures, I am convinced that their smaller size means their brains have to work much faster, and therefore it makes them craftier when it comes time to catch them in a large area (or small one, like their stall). And today was no different - I was just more tired than usual.
It actually only took 10 minutes to out-maneuver the clever 3-year-old. He finally gave up his frantic running circles when he realized that hey, it was close to dinner time, and he was suddenly hungry. I got him to his stall, and went back for the yearling. He hasn't decided if he likes the food here or not, and was a little tougher to convince that the grain I was rattling around in the bucket was worth allowing me to catch him. He trotted glorious circles around me, would allow me to get within 3 inches of him, and then he'd take off with his head in the air, whinnying. I love horses, and have spent my entire life around them. But on nights like this, turtle farming was looking real good.
The yearling has not been body-clipped yet, so the more he ran, the hotter he got. We call him the 'little llama', because he looks like a llama at the moment, with long shaggy hair that even feels like a llama. I was concerned that he'd get a chill, and decided he had much more energy to burn than I did. I had to devise a clever plan, and quickly, before we both worse ourselves out.
I must say that this was the first time I had ever 'given up' on catching a horse. Something about evasive horses creates a challenge in my head, and I have to outsmart them no matter what. Tonight, however, I didn't care about devising a clever plan to capture this little 80-lb creature. I just wanted dinner. And a warm shower. I know we've all been there, fellow horse people. You know how it feels.
I closed the big doors to the barn, opened his stall door, and proceeded to herd him down the aisles to his stall. The barn cat was highly amused, having watched the previous 20 minutes with great interest, probably saying to herself 'Wow - Deb hasn't had a worthy adversary in this barn for a while - this one's a keeper!'. This new game was even more fun and challenging for him, since it narrowed the space we were working with, and increased his excitement for being loose and naughty. After another 5 minutes of his games, he finally walked quietly into his stall, without any flourish or ferver.
Miniature Horses Stuck On The Trailer...
I have taken a few months off of horses. I boarded out one of my geldings, and one of my mini mares is at a friend's house. I sold my hunt seat mare, and I have my 24-year-old retiree here at home, along with her 4-year-old granddaughter. I just needed a break. I was on the road constantly showing the miniature horses for months at a time, and I just needed some time to breathe.
I began gathering my critters back up a few days ago. It looks like the frigid temps here are lifting a bit, and I actually saw a flower the other day, so I decided it was time for me to retreat from my winter-long hiatus and get my act together.
I have been showing miniature horses on a Local, Regional and World level since 2005. After 6 reconstructive surgeries to the tendons, ligaments and nerves to my right ankle and knee (plus I broke in there somewhere, too), I switched from the big horses to miniatures, so I could continue with my passion, but give my ankle a much-needed break from riding. That has resulted in me getting 'hooked' on miniature horses, and completely intrigued about training them. It's interesting for me after so many years in the 'big horses' to train the same brains in smaller packages. The view is also a little different between the saddle and the seat of a show cart, and I was ready for a change after 20 years of showing the full-size horses.
In 2007 I completed the amount of points and championships I needed to get AMHR stallion 'Lauralees Royal Jammin Man' his induction in the American Miniature Horse Registry Hall of Fame in Country Pleasure Driving. We retired Jammer from competition at the AMHA World Championships in October 2007, and I was suddenly looking for a new project. A friend of mine had a 3-yr-old black and white colt for sale, and I decided that he would be my new project. His name is 'Stryker'.
My friend kept him at her barn all winter, while I was on my hiatus from horses. Two days ago, I decided it was time for me to pick him up. I also accidentally picked up a yearling colt as well. If you're a horse person, you know how that is - how you easily rationalize in your horse-addicted head, going to pick up one horse and coming home with two instead. But that's a whole other story.
I still have not ventured into the world of buying a miniature-size scale horse trailer, so my minis travel in my 2-horse, Thoroughbred-height stock trailer (which is kind of funny to see, actually). I tied the 3-year-old in the center stall behind the tack area (I don't have solid partitions to the ground - there's open space underneath the divider, but low enough so that minis can stand in that center partition and still be separated from whatever else is in the trailer). I tied the yearling in the back of the second stall. They're both stallions, so I didn't want any fights if I could help it.
When I got home, I opened the back of the trailer to find the yearling in the center partition with the 3-year-old. He had somehow managed to get under the partition (his lead rope was still attached both to his head, and to the side ring of the trailer back there), and was now squashed against the 3-year-old. I didn't think anything of it at first, until I realized what he had done to get there. My center partition is removeable, and he had somehow managed to knock the partition off its hinges, and it was dangling precariously from the pin that is used to allow it to swing open. Nice. Not only that, but that divider is heavy enough that it takes two people to remove it. And at that time, there was just one of me, and it was dangling by the pin that is already hard to remove....
If you've hauled horses before, you know that strange things can happen back there when you're cruising down the road. And that when something does go wrong, it's usually not a very good thing. These two little mini colts were standing there, completely unhurt, blinking at me as if to say "Did we do this? Oops-sorry!". I suddenly realized that those two were now stuck behind a divider I could not move on my own, I was home alone (of course), and I had no idea how I was going to get them out. The partition only swings one way, and despite the things I have been able to train minis to do, I have never been able to teach one to crawl on command.
I struggled with that partition for a while, trying to prop one end up while I juggled the stuck pin on the other. Every time I tried to do anything, both of the colts freaked out and tried to scramble over one another, which wasn't helping. After struggling for quite a while (did I mention it was 35 degrees and raining outside, and that I have been battling bronchitis for over a week?), I decided to convince them to squeeze through a small opening I was able to make by swinging the divider in the wrong direction. While I was able to maneuver the older colt with some convincing, the yearling was a little less trusting of me (kind of like trusting someone to lead you blindfolded through a dark room). He finally agreed that it was better to follow me than be left alone on the trailer, so he catapulted himself out through the tiny opening with some flourish. Neither was worse for the wear at all, but I was now wet, cold, and coughing even more. Nice.
I've been trailering horses around the country for a long time now, and I must say this was the first time I had ever had two stuck in a trailer with no way out (unhurt, to boot). It's days like this that I often question why I'm not more into turtle farming than horses....
I began gathering my critters back up a few days ago. It looks like the frigid temps here are lifting a bit, and I actually saw a flower the other day, so I decided it was time for me to retreat from my winter-long hiatus and get my act together.
I have been showing miniature horses on a Local, Regional and World level since 2005. After 6 reconstructive surgeries to the tendons, ligaments and nerves to my right ankle and knee (plus I broke in there somewhere, too), I switched from the big horses to miniatures, so I could continue with my passion, but give my ankle a much-needed break from riding. That has resulted in me getting 'hooked' on miniature horses, and completely intrigued about training them. It's interesting for me after so many years in the 'big horses' to train the same brains in smaller packages. The view is also a little different between the saddle and the seat of a show cart, and I was ready for a change after 20 years of showing the full-size horses.
In 2007 I completed the amount of points and championships I needed to get AMHR stallion 'Lauralees Royal Jammin Man' his induction in the American Miniature Horse Registry Hall of Fame in Country Pleasure Driving. We retired Jammer from competition at the AMHA World Championships in October 2007, and I was suddenly looking for a new project. A friend of mine had a 3-yr-old black and white colt for sale, and I decided that he would be my new project. His name is 'Stryker'.
My friend kept him at her barn all winter, while I was on my hiatus from horses. Two days ago, I decided it was time for me to pick him up. I also accidentally picked up a yearling colt as well. If you're a horse person, you know how that is - how you easily rationalize in your horse-addicted head, going to pick up one horse and coming home with two instead. But that's a whole other story.
I still have not ventured into the world of buying a miniature-size scale horse trailer, so my minis travel in my 2-horse, Thoroughbred-height stock trailer (which is kind of funny to see, actually). I tied the 3-year-old in the center stall behind the tack area (I don't have solid partitions to the ground - there's open space underneath the divider, but low enough so that minis can stand in that center partition and still be separated from whatever else is in the trailer). I tied the yearling in the back of the second stall. They're both stallions, so I didn't want any fights if I could help it.
When I got home, I opened the back of the trailer to find the yearling in the center partition with the 3-year-old. He had somehow managed to get under the partition (his lead rope was still attached both to his head, and to the side ring of the trailer back there), and was now squashed against the 3-year-old. I didn't think anything of it at first, until I realized what he had done to get there. My center partition is removeable, and he had somehow managed to knock the partition off its hinges, and it was dangling precariously from the pin that is used to allow it to swing open. Nice. Not only that, but that divider is heavy enough that it takes two people to remove it. And at that time, there was just one of me, and it was dangling by the pin that is already hard to remove....
If you've hauled horses before, you know that strange things can happen back there when you're cruising down the road. And that when something does go wrong, it's usually not a very good thing. These two little mini colts were standing there, completely unhurt, blinking at me as if to say "Did we do this? Oops-sorry!". I suddenly realized that those two were now stuck behind a divider I could not move on my own, I was home alone (of course), and I had no idea how I was going to get them out. The partition only swings one way, and despite the things I have been able to train minis to do, I have never been able to teach one to crawl on command.
I struggled with that partition for a while, trying to prop one end up while I juggled the stuck pin on the other. Every time I tried to do anything, both of the colts freaked out and tried to scramble over one another, which wasn't helping. After struggling for quite a while (did I mention it was 35 degrees and raining outside, and that I have been battling bronchitis for over a week?), I decided to convince them to squeeze through a small opening I was able to make by swinging the divider in the wrong direction. While I was able to maneuver the older colt with some convincing, the yearling was a little less trusting of me (kind of like trusting someone to lead you blindfolded through a dark room). He finally agreed that it was better to follow me than be left alone on the trailer, so he catapulted himself out through the tiny opening with some flourish. Neither was worse for the wear at all, but I was now wet, cold, and coughing even more. Nice.
I've been trailering horses around the country for a long time now, and I must say this was the first time I had ever had two stuck in a trailer with no way out (unhurt, to boot). It's days like this that I often question why I'm not more into turtle farming than horses....
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