Well actually apparently they do. A local vet reported three incidents in the last three years. That is crazy. What is wrong with people. As the vet answered, " A lot."
A friend who owns a Lippizan herd down in Arkansas, once had her young breeding herd turned loose in the woods. About thirty horses were chased for as long as two or three days on and off, shot at, maimed and some killed. Others required surgeries or were only useful for lawn ornaments afterward. This was done apparently 'for fun' and the authorities never prosecuted the perpetrators even though they had strong evidence to support arrests.
When it's not people shooting horses by accident, because oh yes, they look just like a deer grazing open fields in bright colored blankets, you've have people stealing them for horse meat.
If the horse meat craze hits the U.S.A. you can expect to be locking every gate to every field in creation. This has been a huge issue in the U.K., where horses are often stolen and trailered over to France. So sorry Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern, while I love your shows your bizarre appreciation of eating horse meat does not gel with my idea of high cuisine. Or any cuisine for that matter.
But then there are those that love the notion and flavor of the low fat horse meat. The delicate flavors from horses' delicate herb grazing behaviors. Perhaps you are one of THEM.
Perhaps it was visiting France as a child and seeing foals hung, skinned and not, outside butchers shops all over the place, Paris and country towns alike, that put me off eating horses. Perhaps that offended my childhood fascination with all things animal. Well I admit to being vegetarian for the first eighteen years of life. I have loved horses with a passion since I was old enough to sit by the farrier three doors down from my house and watch him shoeing horses of every variety. I would sit there for hours and hours apparently from the age of four. At that time owning a pony was my dream, and it wasn't until age eleven when we moved to a lovely house with fields - yay - that my horse ownership dreams were realized. So for the last fifty or so years, horses and ponies have been a real presence in my life and not a dream, and I am proud to say, not on a plate.
Have I ever eaten horse meat? Yes. By accident I hasten to add. You soon learn to tell the difference between horse meat and beef but it's not always easy and I was only thirteen. Where? France of course. It was chewy and horrible. But then contrary to belief, not all French people can cook,
Then we have the whole horse meat in frozen foods debacle. I won't even comment on that. Guess knowing the provenance of what is on your plate is even more important than we thought.
But the shooting of horses purely for fun is just too disturbing. I hope that whoever has been doing this is found and prosecuted.
It's a shame to have to add cameras to your property but unfortunately security demands it though I appreciate not everyone can afford that. Not so easy when you have large pastures far from the buildings, though a neighbor of ours uses them to patrol hunting in his woods too with the added benefit they cover our hay fields and farm road.
The favorite mode of transport is the ATV so you may possible perpetrators around. We regularly chase down any ATV riders who trespass on our property. While most have no bad intentions, somehow friends always get added and 'parties' ensue. Tossed beer cans, errant fireworks, races across the swales, tents bowling around by the paddocks in the winds freaking the horses out, noisy snowmobilers, loose dogs. You name it, we've seen it. And the amazing thing is folks seem to think they have a God given right to be there, on yes, YOUR property.
Be vigilant and if you see any suspicious behavior, be sure to report it.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Competing Your Horse - It's Not About What Happens at a Show - It's About How You Handle It. Keep Calm and Carry On.
I sometimes think more things go wrong at shows than go right. But then that's the competitor in me talking and I'm not channeling Jane Savoie's In Your Minds Eye, - positive thinking in a nutshell. It's not just about the ribbons is it. Jane knows.
As a dressage rider I've messed up many tests despite my horse's best efforts to correct me. Going off course, wrong movement at wrong time. I've actually had instances where my horse offers an extension and I'm saying no and holding him back because I'm thinking medium. I am wrong, he knows the test better than I do.
I've inadvertently and on purpose left the ring during a test. Once to escape a dog barking ferociously and snapping at my poor mount's hind legs, once because my horse simply would not stay on the right side of the chain despite my every effort, and other times just because my steering was not right. Being consistently told my by present coach Greta Kemmer to 'use the corners ' and 'ride to the letter exactly' sometimes my horse seems to spin out on the way around or understeer - a bit like Jeremy Clark's Top Gear brigade - every horse rides like a different car. You have to know just how much gas, bumping leg and seat aids to give it and precisely when.
There have been other fun instances. For example, tack mishaps like a rein that simply fell off the bit. Which of course happens when you switch bits after the warm up and are not fully focused. I was left holding the horse with one rein and he promptly took advantage and took off at a smart canter. Lucky for me the ring steward was paying attention and caught us. There was the time I was being driven home and was checking my test sheets and found all the names are correct on the top and front but all the scores pertain to a different rider. I knew it wasn't me when I scored an eight for a piaffe, because my horse shuffled in passage and never quite sat down and stayed on the spot the entire day. To this day they never figured out what the mess up was - and I didn't get credited the score. A shame because it was higher than I think I actually attained. There rears that annoying honesty thing again.
Then of course there's the lame horse. The disappearing and re-appearing lameness ( obviously appears just as you enter at A), the head shaking imaginary bugs that also appear only in the confines of the ring, the noisy spectators, the flapping umbrellas and rustling of papers, loose dogs and children, billowing tents at C - well, you get the picture. And let's not forget the wardrobe mishaps. The bouncing boobs because you forgot the right bra and they don't sell undergarments at the show! The stock tie that just won't tie properly backwards. Which wouldn't be necessary if you hadn't got hot sauce all over it after the classes yesterday when you just had to eat that high calorie fried showground food. The white breeches that quite simply, aren't. They were when you put them in the case. A bit like the missing sock mystery and the laundry. Note to self, always bring more than two pairs of breeches!
But I show because it is fun. Seriously. Once you get over the nerves it truly is enjoyable. I learn more about my training from the judges than I ever could at a clinic or symposium. I also learn important life skills like not letting other people get under your skin. Subtle intimidation techniques
( I'm being sarcastic) like the rider cantering their massive horse toward your smaller one with purpose when the entire warm up ring is empty. The ring steward who insists that the horse be bit checked three times because she wasn't there for the first two and who grabs at the reins like they are a life line on a sinking ship causing your horse to rear uncontrollably for two very long minutes.
I've learned to multitask - fixing your hair while holding your whip in your newly bonded teeth ( my dentist loved that), and at the same time talking to your help, ( frankly no-one present can understand you, pity the dentist isn't there to translate). I've improved my language skills during my travels. You will soon learn to read basic directions and facility names like bathroom, medic, technical delegate and of course all types of food and beverages. Plus you'll learn to understand a myriad of call out phrases during the warm up or risk being knocked off your horse. You'll learn that Gasolino in Portuguese is diesel fuel and not gas. Whoops. ( Thankfully it was a rental car and not a towing vehicle and Hertz were very understanding though I did miss my first class). I've also improved my driving skills. Italy is particularly challenging but I've learned to yell out the window like the rest of them. More language and sign language skills.
I have also improved many of my equestrian skills. I can now hum and talk in a whisper during any transition without moving my lips. A true ventriloquist. Of course my horse's ears give me away a bit and I get a few stern looks from the judges occasionally. But I must make each transition count. Greta will berate me otherwise.
I can pretty much fudge through any freestyle error and make a correction elsewhere. But then Greta knows me well and we've built those in.
Somehow when you put your tails on you do sit better and assume a better level of horsemanship - think it's the 'dress up for the stage' and 'act well' part of of the play. I can recover a halt most amazingly well if I do say so myself. My knee wriggle is most useful in all my pirouette works and collected walks.
What I thought was an 8 extension wasn't. What I thought was enough half halting, wasn't. What I thought was a reasonable 10 meter circle, wasn't. On the other hand, what I thought was a medium canter above the bit wasn't. What I thought felt like too much forward movement in piaffe wasn't. What I thought was a spinning pirouette, wasn't. So - all those experienced eyes on the ground and the video playback afterward educated me, even where I thought I knew better. Another note to self - nothing improves your riding quicker than a video of your performance.
My ultra basic ( read British) politeness is under better control. I ask for what I want and if someone cuts me off when riding or passes too close to my horse in the aisle-way I have no problem pointing it out. If I lose something important tack, clothing or equipment wise during the show I have no qualms about asking a fellow competitor or vendor to help me out, even if they are a superstar name that I happen to be stabling near. People can be so competitive in the ring but outside of it can be amazingly kind and almost human, even dressage people. Who knew.
So if you can afford it get out there. Smile at those you meet. Share with those you come into contact with - pretend your an eventer for the day, they are exceedingly generous and friendly. And when things go wrong, and they will, get all British on it and " Keep Calm and Carry On."
As a dressage rider I've messed up many tests despite my horse's best efforts to correct me. Going off course, wrong movement at wrong time. I've actually had instances where my horse offers an extension and I'm saying no and holding him back because I'm thinking medium. I am wrong, he knows the test better than I do.
I've inadvertently and on purpose left the ring during a test. Once to escape a dog barking ferociously and snapping at my poor mount's hind legs, once because my horse simply would not stay on the right side of the chain despite my every effort, and other times just because my steering was not right. Being consistently told my by present coach Greta Kemmer to 'use the corners ' and 'ride to the letter exactly' sometimes my horse seems to spin out on the way around or understeer - a bit like Jeremy Clark's Top Gear brigade - every horse rides like a different car. You have to know just how much gas, bumping leg and seat aids to give it and precisely when.
There have been other fun instances. For example, tack mishaps like a rein that simply fell off the bit. Which of course happens when you switch bits after the warm up and are not fully focused. I was left holding the horse with one rein and he promptly took advantage and took off at a smart canter. Lucky for me the ring steward was paying attention and caught us. There was the time I was being driven home and was checking my test sheets and found all the names are correct on the top and front but all the scores pertain to a different rider. I knew it wasn't me when I scored an eight for a piaffe, because my horse shuffled in passage and never quite sat down and stayed on the spot the entire day. To this day they never figured out what the mess up was - and I didn't get credited the score. A shame because it was higher than I think I actually attained. There rears that annoying honesty thing again.
Then of course there's the lame horse. The disappearing and re-appearing lameness ( obviously appears just as you enter at A), the head shaking imaginary bugs that also appear only in the confines of the ring, the noisy spectators, the flapping umbrellas and rustling of papers, loose dogs and children, billowing tents at C - well, you get the picture. And let's not forget the wardrobe mishaps. The bouncing boobs because you forgot the right bra and they don't sell undergarments at the show! The stock tie that just won't tie properly backwards. Which wouldn't be necessary if you hadn't got hot sauce all over it after the classes yesterday when you just had to eat that high calorie fried showground food. The white breeches that quite simply, aren't. They were when you put them in the case. A bit like the missing sock mystery and the laundry. Note to self, always bring more than two pairs of breeches!
But I show because it is fun. Seriously. Once you get over the nerves it truly is enjoyable. I learn more about my training from the judges than I ever could at a clinic or symposium. I also learn important life skills like not letting other people get under your skin. Subtle intimidation techniques
( I'm being sarcastic) like the rider cantering their massive horse toward your smaller one with purpose when the entire warm up ring is empty. The ring steward who insists that the horse be bit checked three times because she wasn't there for the first two and who grabs at the reins like they are a life line on a sinking ship causing your horse to rear uncontrollably for two very long minutes.
I've learned to multitask - fixing your hair while holding your whip in your newly bonded teeth ( my dentist loved that), and at the same time talking to your help, ( frankly no-one present can understand you, pity the dentist isn't there to translate). I've improved my language skills during my travels. You will soon learn to read basic directions and facility names like bathroom, medic, technical delegate and of course all types of food and beverages. Plus you'll learn to understand a myriad of call out phrases during the warm up or risk being knocked off your horse. You'll learn that Gasolino in Portuguese is diesel fuel and not gas. Whoops. ( Thankfully it was a rental car and not a towing vehicle and Hertz were very understanding though I did miss my first class). I've also improved my driving skills. Italy is particularly challenging but I've learned to yell out the window like the rest of them. More language and sign language skills.
I have also improved many of my equestrian skills. I can now hum and talk in a whisper during any transition without moving my lips. A true ventriloquist. Of course my horse's ears give me away a bit and I get a few stern looks from the judges occasionally. But I must make each transition count. Greta will berate me otherwise.
I can pretty much fudge through any freestyle error and make a correction elsewhere. But then Greta knows me well and we've built those in.
Somehow when you put your tails on you do sit better and assume a better level of horsemanship - think it's the 'dress up for the stage' and 'act well' part of of the play. I can recover a halt most amazingly well if I do say so myself. My knee wriggle is most useful in all my pirouette works and collected walks.
What I thought was an 8 extension wasn't. What I thought was enough half halting, wasn't. What I thought was a reasonable 10 meter circle, wasn't. On the other hand, what I thought was a medium canter above the bit wasn't. What I thought felt like too much forward movement in piaffe wasn't. What I thought was a spinning pirouette, wasn't. So - all those experienced eyes on the ground and the video playback afterward educated me, even where I thought I knew better. Another note to self - nothing improves your riding quicker than a video of your performance.
My ultra basic ( read British) politeness is under better control. I ask for what I want and if someone cuts me off when riding or passes too close to my horse in the aisle-way I have no problem pointing it out. If I lose something important tack, clothing or equipment wise during the show I have no qualms about asking a fellow competitor or vendor to help me out, even if they are a superstar name that I happen to be stabling near. People can be so competitive in the ring but outside of it can be amazingly kind and almost human, even dressage people. Who knew.
So if you can afford it get out there. Smile at those you meet. Share with those you come into contact with - pretend your an eventer for the day, they are exceedingly generous and friendly. And when things go wrong, and they will, get all British on it and " Keep Calm and Carry On."
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