Making a commitment to yourself and your horse to be the best horseman you can be.  Growing up in a small rural area that had few opportunities to experience the outside world, having the opportunity to have a horse was my lifeline. Having generous people around me like neighbors who owned horses, relatives like my uncle who gave my family our first pony, and grandparents who operated a very small dairy farm that offered me the opportunity for boarding at a very young age. I remember riding my pony a few miles to the neighborhood fun show, held in my friends back yard. My friend had., in my opinion, the best horse show mom.  She was always present with her cooler full of sandwiches, soda and snacks! She stayed with the kids writing down times for the gymkhana and always making you feel part of something special. She cheered us all on, not just her kids. As we continued our 4-H career our skills got better, as our parents and leaders introduced to more and more things that made us better riders and began our journey to be much better horseman.  In those early days, I remember having a realization that I was outgrowing my spunky little pony Lady, and I pestered my parents tirelessly about getting a horse. I dreamed of the horse I would have, dreamed of a beautiful black horse with the flowing mane and tail, not unlike the horse from one of my favorite books, The Black Stallion. Then came that day when my mom started talking about a woman she worked with looking to sell her horse before she left for college. We finally went to see her, and I remember having a dream of a Bay horse. Well to my surprise, this sale horse was Bay, and she was beautiful! She was a dark dappled Bay, with a star, stripe and snip. She was the one and from that day on we shared over 20 years of friendship. We rode for miles and miles just the two of us, bareback, sometimes barefoot up and down the the country roads in a small community in Wisconsin. We got to know our neighbors well as we were a regular sight on the shoulder of the roads. We started our initial competition life barrel racing, but soon transitioned to western Pleasure and western equitation when we flund our niche. She loved it and tried so hard. She learned her cues so well I many times said, if I thought it she would do it. We practiced things at 13, that I now know of as a spiral circle in canter. She had the most amazing, collected canter and was the most comfortable horse I ever Road. She was 1/2 Arabian and 1/2 Quarterhorse giving her amazing athletic ability. She gave me so much joy to ride and we even tried a class called Handy Horse which had moves similar to reining and flying lead changes dressage riders refer to as Tempe changes.  I have been on a journey my whole life dedicated to the ownership and then memory of this very special horse. She was truly an extension of me, where the two blended into one. I search everyday to recreate those moments and realize how very blessed I was to truly have had this bond with her. It was because of her, that I decided not to follow a career in accounting but instead to enroll at an Equestrian College.  I wanted to be better for her. A better owner. A better trainer. A better horseman.  I think we owe it to ourselves and to them to never stop learning.  When training your horse, always remember to analyze your situation.  Have an understanding of the goal you have set for that day, but be open minded enough to know sometimes you have to adjust to what is going on that day. Reward a try generously, and don’t pick on the horse continuously with cod rections after corrections You are riding and communicating with another living creature so help him to understand what you are asking. Be clear and concise. Be consistent. Use the same cue clearly. Help your horse to be the most confident he can be. Then also, be sure to be fair, clear and consistent with your correction.  You will find far more harmony and understanding while you are making that bond.  I have also, had opportunity to practice some different natural Horsemanship methods as I have started many horses. These tools can be very valuable creating that bond and helping your horse learn a good work ethic.  I find any horse with whom you have established that bond and good work ethic becomes a much happier and confident partner.  My students seem to embrace this as well, as it gives them tools to use at home and when we travel away from home. Until next time happy riding!

Hi all my fellow horse enthusiasts.  I am going to take a short moment to introduce myself and to talk a little bit about my motivation for starting to blog.  I am a longtime horse owner, growing up with a pony and then joining the local Shooting Stars 4-H Club, in our county.  We somehow ended up with almost all of our members being horse owners that rode and showed and participated at the county fairs.  My neighbors had horses, and most people we knew had horses in their back yards.  It was not uncommon at that time to see 3 or more horses behind someone's house with a little shed for them to use as a shelter.  I was lucky to be surrounded by horse crazy kids, ugh hard working parents, who knew the value of kids growing up with horses. I am the lucky one. I had neighbors who noticed the barefoot little kid sitting astride the little pony, found trekking most days up and down the county roads. If not for my neighbors, and my local 4-H club I’m really not sure what my purpose would of been in this crazy life!  But those initial things I was taught at a very young age have stayed with me and inspired me to always see this learning process as never ending. I just need to keep raising the bar and through all the bumps in the road learn not to settle and more importantly to never give up.  So as I tell a little of my story I will try to share some learning. training or tips that have presented itself along the way.  I hope you find somethings that are useful along the way.
One of the things that came up at our barn while I was away at MHF, was one mare getting kicked by another.  My hoarder contacted me to explain her horses injury and to ask what she should do. Many times over the years I have been asked that question and many times the owners are not sure when is the right time to call the vet.  As I had the conversation with my boarder, here are some of the questions I asked:
1) Is she bleeding? If yes, how much? Is it spurting or trickling (artery or vein)
2) Is there swelling?
3) Is she putting weight on it?
4) Is it fresh or old?
5) Is it deep, a puncture or scrape?

More importantly in the days of the smartphones can you take pictures and send them to me?

This is the check list that goes through my head when trying to assess an injury. If you have been caring for horses for as many years as I have you too have received these calls. For many of us we are the first call before even the vet. We need to know how to assess the injury, call and speak to the vet when needed.

Some of the more severe injuries I have seen happened when horses kicked through the tin from the siding from an indoor arena. I saw one injury when the horse kicked from the inside of the unfinished arena out and one farm had the fence around the outside of the barn with the barn siding being the wall. Then one horse had the tiniest of holes on her cannon with a quarter size swelling on it and the barn owner had just cold hosed the injury but hadn’t planned on calling the vet. It was a classic puncture wound and the vet was called. The horse would have been in very serious condition had she not been treated. Well back to my story of my boarder calling me when I was out of town. Well it was decided that most of the injury was a scrape but a section was a bit deep and definitely needed good cleaning and treatment with a triple antibiotic. Having horses is always a daily adventure and it always seems they are getting themselves into something and the most important thing I try to teach my students is to stay calm, assess the situation and call vet when needed, and lastly to be able to talk to the vet about the situation.  Closing my blog for now, Gabe an early morning, horses to ride and lots of people stopping out! It is Easter weekend and they say it will be 70 degrees in Sunday! Yeah I am suddenly inspired to make tommrow a good day! Until next time enjoy the ride!