A New Horse For Christmas?

The snow begins to fly and the shortest day of the year is around the corner. Yay! The New Year will soon be here and no doubt you will be setting new goals for yourself for 2018. Do those goals include doing more horse riding? Perhaps you used to ride and think about getting back into horses or perhaps you've been training at a lesson barn and think about buying a horse of your own? Perhaps your present horse is in need of retirement and you need to think about starting a new prospect?

A new horse for Christmas? Is that something you dream about? Of course the biggest concern is probably the budget. What can you afford? Should you go and look for a rescue horse, and do a noble deed or should you find an off the track Thoroughbred and give one a home? Or should you enter the horse market and search for a prospect.

In my experiences as a clinician I've seen a myriad of horses of all shapes, sizes and soundness. While I truly applaud the efforts of those that choose to rehabilitate a horse and realize sometimes this does work out well for both horse and rider, I would also suggest that if you are in search of a performance horse and competition partner, you may wish to consider buying just that. A horse that is bred to do the job you want. A horse that is a clean slate and not recovering from a soundness issue and does not have to overcome trust issues.

The reality is that your time is worth money. Time you spend working through physical and mental issues with a rehab horse will delay your progress and may even inhibit you from attaining your goals altogether. The recovery process for a rehabilitation case is also often an expensive option and one that may pay off or may be a dead end. The costs for chiropractic work, special shoes, working through past bad or poor training mishaps or issues, vet bills etc. all add up. Suddenly your inexpensive horse has become a giant drain on your bank account.

So if you are looking for that diamond in the rough and think you can beat the statistics and find a solid, sound partner for your high performance needs at a kill pen, auction, rescue or in someone's backyard go ahead. But be smart enough to realize that what you don't pay for in the beginning you may have to pay out down the road. 

U.S. breeders do a great job training and custom designing horses for specific disciplines. For my buck I'd start there. Believe me, your foray into your chosen discipline will go much smoother with a horse that is bred to do the job. But of course, as a horse breeder for more than thirty years in the Hanoverian, Dutch and Iberian marketplace, I would say that!

Fenix ( Furioso/Aktuell) my first warmblood purchased as a weanling...

 

Joy of Joys. The NYS Equine Inherent Risk Law Signed

It has been a long and arduous road to success but finally it is here! Woohoo! Governor Cuomo signed the New York State Inherent Risk Law into reality. 

Many organizations have been stalwart in their push for this much needed bill. New York Farm Bureau and the New York Horse Council among others, have pushed hard for many many years, fighting the status quo.

With the exodus of corrupt lawyer politicians that have since been jailed or sentenced, the door was finally open for this bill, which has always had stellar grass root support, to finally pass. As a horse owner, horse business owner, and lover of everything equestrian life I give sincere thanks and kudos to all involved in supporting this bill and getting this job done.

What will it mean to the average horse lover?

Hopefully it will mean more availability to ride horses. Many horse businesses e.g. trail riding horse entities, have been forced to stop offering trail rides and horse riding opportunities because of ridiculously high insurance premiums that have prohibited their growth. These premiums, theoretically, should now become more affordable as New York horse businesses will be better able to compete for the tourism dollar with the offer or more services for the equestrian.

In fact tourism is a key reason that the bill passed. With the vast amount of open riding land, maintained trail systems and parklands, New York State offers the equestrian boundless pleasures on horseback. 

While the Inherent Risk Law does not mean that folks still can't sue for damages, (so keep those waivers signed folks), it does mean that the number of court cases and suits issued should diminish. It should also mean more favorable outcomes of law suits for the horse owner.

Many amateur riders that own horses say to me, " Why does it matter to me? I don't own a business?"

It does matter to you. If you want to conserve riding trails and openland for horse riding and horse keeping, the state needs to be horse friendly. If you don't want your riding lessons to cost an arm and a leg financially, then you want your local barn or boarding facility to be able to afford their insurance premiums. If you want others to provide shows, events and clinics for your enjoyment and participation at reasonable fees, then the insurance premiums need to be affordable. Many, many shows have disappeared as the costs to run them have skyrocketed on the insurance side.

Additionally most Homeowner policies do not cover livestock liability. So as a horse owner you may have thought you had protection that indeed you did not. As an amateur you can obtain coverage through membership of the New York Horse Council, still worth checking out.

Personally, I am extremely grateful to all that put in to secure this outcome. I urge you to support your Horse Council and other organizations that helped us with this win. Who knows what is next? Talk of making us license and register every horse, register every horse transport or movement, horse microchipping requirements by municipalities. The list goes on and will continue to grow.

I have to admit it. I am a dressage geek!

I do have to admit it. I am a dressage geek. I simply love trotting about in circles, working on lightness in every step and then there are all the wonderful accoutrements. The soft buttery bridles with padded polls and nosebands, the bling on boots, the white polo wraps accentuating every stride. Oh. The fun of it all.

There are the mystical theorists, who claim to reinvent the wheel of dressage. The Germans, The Portuguese, The French, The British. It's all actually been done before. Explained before. Ridden before. Judged before. The grand old Masters and the new ones, the sport and the classicists. All of them bringing true essence to the world of dressage and oiling the wheel of dressage commerce.

But where are the $$ in competition? Why is this missing in this ancient discipline? Why for goodness sake is everyone still scratching their heads and wondering where are the sponsors.

I'll tell you where they are ~ home and not alone. In my experience working with many different companies who have gone into the arena giving prizes of all descriptions for a variety of events, the return on investment (ROI), simply is not there. It is not quantifiable at the very least. 

I can attest to many, many gift certificates that have been donated to events for prizes that are simply never, ever cashed out? It is like pulling teeth to have the dressage community get involved or show any loyalty whatsoever to a brand or sponsor. And I mean an old, infected tooth in an old horse's mouth that breaks off while you are trying to pull it. Riders sometimes win saddle pads and other gifts and quickly turn them around and sell them on Ebay. Not a problem. They won them after all. But there is no appreciation. No photos sent to sponsors. No thank-you notes. Event organizers sometimes have drawers full of unused gifts and certificates that they suddenly remember and give away randomly. 
Dressage needs to take a good hard look at events like HITS Saugerties who treat their sponsors as VIPs, sell their logo and brand at every opportunity.

The show is supposed to name sponsors. They will mention the sponsors over the tannoy they say. Doesn't happen. Not even when they know a representative of the sponsor is present on the show grounds. I've been to shows that promise a show program and been told at the gate they are all out and watch competitors sharing! What!!! Well worth the cost of that advertisement. NOT!

Eventing in Kentucky recently lost Rolex. Humm. Wonder what happened there?
Big sponsors and small have all had enough. There seems to be zero appreciation for the donations and the PR return is dismal. As a business it seems apparent you are far better off putting the funds into SEO and data collection, split tests and funneling. 

So big pat on the back for those that stick to it. As a competitor or event organizer realize this is going to become a bigger issue not a smaller one. Do the math. Can you hold that show without the sponsors?? 

The Delights of Cross Breeding in Dressage Horses

For over 26 years my husband Paul and I were involved in the breeding and importation of Hanoverian and Oldenburg horses and everything produced was branded, registered and papered. All the i's were dotted and t's were crossed. We produced horses in the U.S.A. and the U.K..

I spent much time in Germany watching, riding and learning as much as I could about the bloodlines and figuring out which ones showed good genetic soundness, both mentally and physically. The Verden Verband vet Dr. Gerd Brunken, would simply open the filing cabinet for the Xrays and vet reports and invite me to go ahead. He knew me so well and knew I was very particular about soundness. I confess the incidence of OCD in the horses was of great concern. It was not dietary after arriving in the U.S.A. because Dr. Brunken explained to me that 65% of the one and two year olds the Verband reviewed for acceptance to the Elite Auctions and Studbook showed OCD. The ability to remove those defects (the ones seen on X-rays anyway) via arthroscopic surgery was all the rage. My U.K. vet, also a German by birth, told me to look keenly now for X-rays that were too clean.

Some time around 2000 my travels took me again to Spain and Portugal and well before the Iberian horses had been properly marketed in the U.S. dressage market I was fortunate to have made a super friend in Jerez who welcomed us into his large and loud family and introduced me to the Andalusian and Lusitano breeds. His wife is from Portugal otherwise I don't think the proud Spaniard would have entertained keeping both breeds in his rather lovely stables. It gave me a great opportunity to see the differences and similarities in these breeds. Needless to say, I was smitten.

Our friends gave us the opportunity to purchase mares and to breed to the stallions of our choice from either their own or from their wealth of friends who had stallions available. Generously they offered their advice on well thought out matches and before long we had foals arriving in Spain. Of the several we bred I imported just one, the others being quickly snapped up by Spanish and Portuguese breeders and competitors.

In our home breeding program it was inevitable that we would switch from the 100% warmbloods and start to incorporate some other breeds. I wanted well moving 'mutt' ~ horses that had good movement and minds but that would begin and stay sound. Our market to international level riders was now saturated and the trend had moved to shall we say, horses with lots of high knee action and very refined bodies with longer necks. It was not a trend I liked or horses that I found pleasurable to ride so we sold off our Foundation mares and breeding stock and set about working with cross bred horses.

There are an amazing number of breeds that can and do work well in dressage circles when you look at it. The leading Grand Prix amateur horse in the U.S.A. Fynn, ridden and trained by my long time friend Candace Platz D.V.M., is an example. Belgian blood and a PMU rescue, he found himself with Michelle Gibson before Candace purchased him and took him to the top level.

Our home stables in Stamford, NY ( a lovely area of the Catskills by the way), was now full of mostly cross breds. One Hanoverian gelding was the lone ranger of the old days. The others were mixed Andalusian/Percherons/Dutch Warmbloods/Thoroughbreds/Belgians/Lusitanos.

The breeding market was soft for many years and after a three round filly foaling seasons in 2010/11 we decided to pause from the breeding for a bit until the market picked up. The lack of a decent AI vet in the area also factored in at that time.

Then last year, 2016 we were talking with our friend in Jerez and he suggested we breed one of his private stallions, a lovely cross bred Andalusian/Lusitano from the Brio lines, Bailerin Bruiso that I had ridden in Sanlucar years before to one or more of our mares and do a complete outbreeding. As he had exchanged frozen semen from this stallion in part payment for the last foal we had bred on his farm (that he kept), I thought long and hard about it.

The fillies we had were a good age for first breeding, 5 and 6 years old. I confess that we had not done much with them training for dressage wise. One of the three had been started in longe work. We had always planned to breed them as part of the program and had not foreseen how long the market would stay soft. They are all sired by the world class and Canadian Team horse Gambol. A super black beauty that competed successfully under Ashley Holzer on the Big Tour. His conformation was immaculate. I do not say that lightly. His head was sometimes in the clouds but he was a lovely sort.

Two of the fillies dam lines were the same, a sweet Belgian mare that was a love bug, Amore WVH. She is a tough horse, well put together and a delight to be around. As the two mares were full sisters we elected to breed the youngest one, who showed slightly better balance in the trot and canter and has the wildest dark brown chocolate coat with cream mare and tail. The other mare was out of a high class NY bred Thoroughbred, Ms. Montana aka Versailles WVH. This dam has a huge floaty trot and lots of buzz and also had good conformation. Her daughter is a beautiful dark bay, who has darkened just in the last year to be even darker and continues to grow into her father's phenotype.

I am glad we waited so long to breed them. The mares are all still growing taller and they are all continually changing color. Every season they seem to shed closer to black. Weirdly, even the chestnut one.

So with the aid of a good friend and a retired breeding expert vet, we bred the mares with frozen and crossed our fingers, toes and eyes. We did not anticipate they would take on first try though my Spanish friend had warned me the semen quality stats were not just impressive to read, which I could see for myself, but that they translated into good pregnancy numbers. Naturally, they took on first try so the first baby was here before the snow had left!

So as we speak we have one beautiful colt, Extravagancia WVH, who I believe will go gray. He has an Olympic medal winning line in his topline and Gambol on his grand-sire side. Needless to say we are totally smitten and as my husband Paul's Grand Prix horse Lafite is 22 years old this year, this colt will be his replacement ride and so is not for sale.

 

It is incredible to be able to see the Iberian influence in this colt's every move. He has the canter that collects easily and an amazing balance. He is not so keen to trot. Another indication of his Iberian nature and heritage. He has good leg length and is nice and straight and has inherited the size from his 16.3hh dam. I believe he will be tall.

There is nothing quite like knowing the granddam, having bred the mare and now seeing the 3rd generation in front of your eyes. Carefully constructed by your input from choice of mates to handling and upbringing of the mare. You see the mare's nature and level of trust clearly imparted positively to the every day moments in life that the colt collects as he grows.

The other mare we are waiting on! Day 347 as we speak and little signs of making her maiden delivery debut except for some mild bagging and ventral swelling.

While these horses can be registered AWS we are in no need of paperwork to tell us how lovely they are and how worthwhile this cross breeding has been. Our two Grand Prix horses aged 17 -22 are still going strong with not a day of unsoundness or issue. The new baby we wait to see of course - you never know how things develop.

After years in the horse sales business from our programs it is no longer important to me to have paperwork from breeding registries ( which is expensive to garner ) even if the horses are for resale. The horse will clearly demonstrate his own talents and nature and the owners we cater to are serious amateur riders who want a good sound horse that can excel through the national levels and FEI, but that is not likely to make the Olympic team ( although never say never), and the price point reflects this.

I have I suppose come full circle in my dressage world.

Here's looking forward to the next foal and seeing what life holds in store for Extravagancia WVH and the gals!

Horse Marketing 101: 30 years of experience taught me....

So here you are with a dream that ends in a nightmare viz buying a horse or even worse horses with a plan to 'flip' them with your supreme and unsurpassed training skills. A dream and a nightmare it will become.

Very occasionally you may just get lucky enough to take something pretty awful and 'done' and make it into something useful and financially beneficial to you. However, ( as the saying goes)," You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." Let's just face it. You can work really hard, throw all the meds and supplements you wish at this 'investment' and work really, sincerely hard trying to train this horse to be someone. Yeah. Occasionally you can get lucky and it can work. But be realistic.

You may not count your time as worth $$ or even fritter it away but I am certain your family values your time and attention even if you have no measure of it. A horse that comes to you cheap or free is never either. Not unless you truly know the seller/breeder/contact and have an established positive relationship.

Why fight reality. Just as soon as that horse that you bought cheap from a kill-pen or just on the cheap ( very noble but know you have a very Mt. Everest battle and better be prepared to spend some $$)., the chances are that unless this is a horse for your kid, friend, self with no strenuous demands to be made of it, you will have a real deal issue selling it on or 'flipping' it. Horses are not houses. They are living beings with mental fragility and physical limits.

So, if you are truly interested in taking the talents you have as a trainer ( of which I am sure there are many) and bringing a horse along to sell him/her on then start, at the very least, with a sound one.

This means the expense of a full veterinary pre-purchase work up and Grade A ( as we say in the U.K.) X-Rays and ultrasounds. Buyers will accept nothing less regardless of what you think. They will hum and haw, they will waste your time. You will put every effort forth to be thwarted by the science.

So. Although it is hard not to buy the horse you identify with/can help/rescue or otherwise be realistic. If you truly are bringing the horse to your barn to put on some good training and resell and help your bottom line find a sound, well bred youngster and go from there. The work you do is the same. The $$ you receive at the end of the 'flip' will otherwise be completely disappointing. And when that happens. As it will. Remember. You are not a gold miner you are a horse trainer. Start with something good and make it exceptional. And please. Listen to the vet report. They know what they are talking about!!

Always buy the best quality you can afford with a full vet report.

On the Road Etiquette for the Horse Owner

When you take your horse to an event or to another barn for a clinic/trail ride or board it at livery etc. it would seem obvious that if your horse damages property belonging to another person that you, the horse owner, would offer to pay for the repair.

It seems increasingly apparent that many riders/owners don't seem to regard this as necessary at all. Some claiming such nonsense as, " Horses do damage, you should expect that."

Well it is true horses do damage fences/buildings/stall walls/gates/buckets etc. in the course of their misbehavior and exuberant moments. But if you place your horse in a stall, or use cross ties or equipment at the event or location and your horse breaks something you should not expect to walk away without making restitution.

Not only is paying up the right thing to do, but you will find news travels fast in the horse world and your reputation will be badly blighted. Perhaps even to the point of you being denied access to some future event or barn altogether.

It is no fair to the barn owners or event management to do anything less. Think about how you would feel if it was your barn. It is hard enough to make a living working with horses without the additional burden of poor horsemanship which walking away without making restitution most certainly is.

As the barn owner or event manager I would not hesitate to send an invoice for damages if they go unpaid on the day. Or even better, don't redeem the deposit. Though a deposit does not always cover the costs of the repairs.