http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/ a horseless rider in pursuit of any score at all en rider@halt-near-x.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-06T03:29:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/i-want/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/i-want/#When:03:29:00Z It’s much easier to window shop when you live in a relatively isolated area without much selection, don’t you think? That way, when you find a horse you like, you know he’s too far away to get.  Look at this guy, listed on the LOPE site: Chan Chan Man. I’m lounging on the couch browsing horses for sale sites, and he’s the first one that made me sit up and really take notice. He is cute. If he’s sound… if I had a truck and trailer… I’d be in so much trouble. Good thing he’s in Dallas and I have neither a truck nor a trailer. I’d be in a whole lot more trouble if he were nearby. Must… not… call… owner. Must not. I’m waiting until next spring to buy a horse. Patience is a virtue, and I must uphold my virtues even in the face of pretty chestnuts. Especially in the face of pretty chestnuts. Someone go buy this horse and remove the temptation, please! Random Rambles 2008-05-06T03:29:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/in-the-mail/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/in-the-mail/#When:23:59:00Z I finally broke down and ordered some books on dressage, and they arrived today. I’ll post reviews as I get through them, if anyone is interested. I started with three: The Complete Training of Horse and Rider in the Principles of Classical Horsemanship by Alois Podhajsky Dressage in Harmony by Walter Zettl The Principles of Riding by the German National Equestrian Federation I chose these three of all the options because they were on the USDF “L” judge program’s recommended reading list and they are ones I’ve seen recommended frequently on bulletin boards. Also, Borders had them in stock. Convenient, that. Random Rambles 2008-05-05T23:59:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/i-must-be-cold-and-callous/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/i-must-be-cold-and-callous/#When:12:59:00Z I think I’ve said before on this blog that I don’t like racing. Love TBs, would like nothing more than to buy an OTTB and retrain her, but don’t like racing. I never have—in high school, it baffled my friends that I was so horsey and yet couldn’t say when the Kentucky Derby was being run, much less who was in it. However, my head is not entirely in the sand, so of course I heard about Eight Belles. Of course I’ve seen the hand-wringing going on across the internet about the evils of racing and how, now, everyone is going to stop supporting racing and oh my god isn’t it heartbreaking and blah blah blah. Of course it’s heartbreaking. What I don’t understand is why people come out in such droves over Eight Belles, or Barbaro, and the rest of the time apparently don’t think about it. Breakdowns happen at the track. Frequently. Go to any website of any organization that deals with rehoming TBs and look at how many of those horses are injured at age three and four. Fortunately for most of them, the injuries aren’t catastrophic, but that doesn’t mean catastrophic injuries don’t happen. They do. I just get so frustrated with the “oh god, this particular horse got injured, and now I’m going to get up in arms over racing because now I remember all the evil things about racing that I’ve been trying to forget, and now I’m boycotting racing forever” attitude that comes out at times like this. And then in a year or two, I bet most of these people will be back to watching racing. You know why I think this? Because half the comments are “I watched Ruffian, and said I wouldn’t watch racing ever again. Then I watched Go For Wand and said I was through with racing. Then the same thing with Barbaro. And now Eight Belles is gone. And this time, I really mean it! This time, I’m boycotting racing forever!” Yeah, right. I’m too cynical to believe that. I suspect that one of the reasons the racing injury goes on much as it has before is that experience has shown that all the churning fury will die down, and in a couple years people will be back watching, cheering on the favorite of the day, and betting again. And what I love most, I guess, are the people saying, “I’m going to donate money to such-and-such rescue organization in Eight Belle’s name. That’ll show the racing industry!” Show them what, exactly? I think it’s a great thing to do—I think if Eight Belle’s connections find out about money being donated in their filly’s name, they’ll be extremely touched. I think helping legitimate rescues is always a good idea. Donating to a rescue is not, however, going to do a thing to change the problems at the heart of the racing industry. Clearly, I’m a cold and callous person, because I have not been bawling my eyes out over Eight Belles. Since I didn’t pay attention to the media hype pre-Derby, I didn’t know a filly was even running in it. Had no idea who the favorite was. Didn’t even know it was happening this weekend. I don’t feel her death is any more tragic than any other Thoroughbred’s death on the track. I think it was just more public. The real tragedy, as far as I’m concerned, is that all the froth and bubbling angst surrounding her death is going to turn out, as it has before, to have no substance underneath. People will donate to some rescues, sign some petitions, and wait for the next tragedy to come along so they can wring their hands and wonder why the racing industry hasn’t changed.  Random Rambles 2008-05-05T12:59:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/carnival-of-the-horses/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/carnival-of-the-horses/#When:23:56:00Z The first Carnival of the Horses is up at Hoofbeats—a great turnout, including a couple of blogs that are new to me. The June 1 carnival will be hosted at Rising Rainbow. Deadline is… oh, I don’t know actually. Keep an eye on Mikael’s blog and see. The July 1 carnival will be hosted here. More details closer to the date. In the meantime, check out the current carnival and submit your entry for the next one! Random Rambles 2008-05-02T23:56:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/half-passes-vs-leg-yields-reclarified/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/half-passes-vs-leg-yields-reclarified/#When:03:35:00Z Remember how stuck I get on the half pass vs. leg yield issue? I think I have my brain wrapped around it now. Watch this video (sorry, can’t embed it here—you’ll have to see it via YouTube). Notice how much collection and impulsion the horse has. Also notice they are doing a shoulder in to the half pass—by the end of the video, it’s a five meter circle to the shoulder in to the half pass. Look at how much reach the outside hind has to have, and how it’s the outside hind pushing the horse forward and sideways, not that the horse is dragged towards the wall by his shoulders. Even for a horse with less extravagant movement, you can see that the horse would have to be collected and pushing from behind to do this movement. So now I can understand the progression. One of the first lateral moves you teach to horses and riders is the leg yield, because you don’t have to worry about collection. You’re establishing the idea that it’s possible to move both forward and sideways. Then you refine that with the shoulder in and renvers, where you’re moving part of the horse’s body laterally (vs. the whole body movement of the leg yield). But for a shoulder in to really work, you also have to teach a degree of collection—the horse has to rock back on his hind end and push from behind, otherwise you’re just yanking his shoulders off the rail with the rein and you’re not going anywhere. And then—well, you can see in the video that they use the shoulder in to establish the correct bend, and then ask for sideways movement as well as forward movement in the half pass. To get that movement, you need an even greater degree of collection. So that last post I had on this issue, about the bend of the horse, isn’t quite right. It’s not the bend in and of itself that makes the half pass more difficult—it’s the degree of collection required. Watch some YouTube videos of leg yields, and then watch some of the half pass. I found it especially helpful to watch the outside hind. There’s a significant, obvious difference in the degree of strength and engagement required for the half pass, and that’s going to come from the horse being able to collect. I asked about the leg yield vs. half pass in my lesson today, and we ended up working on them for the whole lesson. Then I came home and watched YouTube videos. Amazing how that helps clarify things. Progress Journal 2008-04-28T03:35:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/responsibilities/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/responsibilities/#When:05:21:00Z Over the past few weeks I have received an unbelievable number of “Wow, you shipped an eleven-year-old cat all the way down here? You must really love her, huh?” Aside from the obvious (I need to stop talking about my cat...), why is this so unbelievable? She’s my cat. She’s not a bookshelf or a mattress or any other inconveniently large and ultimately expendable piece of furniture. Just what do people think I was going to do with her? Drop her off at the shelter? “Bye, sweetie. You’re a nut when you’re in a kennel, so it’s an absolute certainty you won’t get adopted. Enjoy your injection!” I know people can be stupid about their pets, and I am stupid about my cat in particular, but there’s more to it than, yes, being rather attached to her quirky little furballness. She’s my cat, and I’m responsible for her. (It would be nice if she felt any joint sense of responsibility, and took on, say, the task of killing spiders and other insects in the house, but no. I have the most passively dependent cat in the world. She will come and get me, show me the spider, and wait for me to kill it. Wimp.) So, here’s a question for everyone: just how responsible are we, really, for our animals? I think we all realize people will answer with anything from “OMG! I bred this baby myself so her mother could experience the joys of motherhood and I’ll never, ever sell her because selling animals is cruel and no one can take care of her like I can!” to “Horse, meet auction house. Have a nice day!” Notwithstanding the fact that I’m a little too close for comfort to the first example with regards to my cat, I think both extremes are a little nuts. If a person and an animal (any animal) genuinely do not suit each other, I think it’s unreasonable to expect the person to assume complete responsibility for the animal for the rest of its life. Find it another, more suitable home. On the other hand: dropping a horse off at a low-end auction is not finding another, more suitable home. People who insist all horse selling is evil mystify me. Where do they get their horses, then? And then they won’t sell their horses; they will only send them out on leases. Except they won’t, really, because all leases go bad and the horse gets hurt. At least, if you believe anything you read on an internet forum, they do. (And if you believe what you read on internet forums, let me talk to you about this bridge I have for sale.) I don’t have a problem with buying and selling horses. I honestly don’t care why a person feels the need to sell their horse, as long as they take the time to ensure the horse is going to a good home. But here’s a question for you: what if you sell a horse to a good home, and in a few years the owner is ready to step up to a more complicated horse. The horse is sold on to another home, where it packs around a beginner. Then the horse is sold to what is supposed to be a retirement home, but after a while the retirement home is tired of feeding a horse they can’t ride, and the horse ends up at an auction. Who’s responsible for that? I know there are people who will castigate every single owner the horse has ever had, blaming every single one of them for the horse being at the auction. Which is nonsense, as far as I’m concerned. The only one responsible for the horse being at the auction is the person who put them there, and, maybe, if that person has a history of actions like that, the owner who sold the horse to them—they should have checked references better. But what about all those previous owners—are they now responsible for going to the auction and picking up the horse? Me? I’m a bleeding heart and I’d go if it were at all possible, even if it meant all I could do for the horse was give him a dignified end. For what it’s worth, I am on the retirement list for a horse I rode in college—didn’t even own her, but Project Pony helped me through some tough situations, so if I get a phone call saying they need a home for her, I’ll move hell and high water to give her one. Would I get up in arms against every former owner of an auction horse who didn’t show up to buy the horse? I don’t know about that. I mean, who is the most responsible, then: the person who bred the horse, the first owner who had him at the peak of his career, the one who had him as a packer? The retirement home that copped out? Trying to figure out who I should blame and how much blame they should get is exhausting, and this is a completely hypothetical situation. Yes, ultimately I think one of them should do the right thing, but I’m not going to blame them for the horse being there in the first place. Which is another way of saying I think you can sell a horse responsibly, and if you find out down the line that the horse ended up in a bad situation, you can choose to take responsibility for the horse again—but you are not responsible for someone else being a jerk and doing the wrong thing. I have a feeling that’s not going to be a popular statement, so let’s have it: where do you stand? Random Rambles 2008-04-27T05:21:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/back-in-the-saddle-again/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/back-in-the-saddle-again/#When:01:31:00Z Oh, wow. It’s been a while. News: I’ve started lessons again, and it’s all Lynda’s fault. For which I’m very grateful, of course. I was going to wait a month or two, let the financial fall-out of the move, you know, fall out, and get over the electric bill sticker shock before I took lessons. After all, it’s been so long since I’ve ridden—what would a month or two more matter? Then Lynda invited me out to her barn (and gosh her horses are cute), and a lovely family there let me ride their very sweet horse, and… obviously I wasn’t waiting months to start lessons after that. You know the best part? All the pain issues I was dealing with in the frozen north are gone. I knew the cold was a contributing factor, but I didn’t realize how much of a factor it was. Sure, I had the expected “Hi, remember us? We’re your thigh muscles” soreness, but not the “Take four Aleve and hope for the best” pain I was dealing with after every day at the barn up north. I think this climate is going to be great for me. (Never mind about the heat and humidity that are just around the corner. I’m ignoring them. La la la la!) At any rate, I think I’m pretty much moved in and settled down. My living room still looks like someone tried to build a cardboard maze in it, but my cat seems to like having places to hide, so who am I to argue? Edited to add: I forgot to mention: Lynda’s running a new blog carnival since the Horse Lovers Blog Carnival seems to be on hold. Details here (scroll down) and Submit here Random Rambles 2008-04-26T01:31:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/halfway-back-to-normal/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/halfway-back-to-normal/#When:07:27:00Z I’m in Houston now and over my jet lag. I’m already learning all sorts of lessons about living in Houston: Buy a Map Sure, that GPS thingy my family bought me for Christmas will probably be very helpful. Eventually. At the moment, it’s just confused. I asked it to get me from the airport to my hotel, and it apparently thinks I’m still in the far north, because it tried to route me through North Dakota. And of course I didn’t have a map on hand, because I was counting on the GPS thingy to work. I bought an overpriced map at the first gas station I found. I bet that gas station makes a fortune on selling maps to idiots (like me) who get on a plane without once thinking “maybe I should have backup directions to the hotel… just in case.” The city WANTS you to violate the EZ pass lane restrictions Maybe it was my jet lag, but I swear the non-EZ pass/change given lanes were NEVER where the signs said they would be. Fortunately traffic was light and I was able to get into the correct lane without any problems, but good grief—what if it had been busy? (Actually, if it had been busy, my rental car has an EZ pass thingy in it, but the rental company wants to charge me $2.00 for each use. Forget that.) The U-turn lanes on Highway 10 are the coolest thing ever I don’t know why these things are so fascinating to me, but I’m endlessly amused every time I use one. Anyway. I still have to deal with finding an apartment and getting settled in to work, so who knows when this blog will get back to normal. Lynda, I’ll be in touch soon. Random Rambles 2008-03-24T07:27:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/goodbye-popsicle-world-hello-houston/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/goodbye-popsicle-world-hello-houston/#When:06:51:00Z I’m moving to Houston. We’ve heard that before, right? This time, I mean it. I have a plane ticket and everything. I’ll be saying my goodbyes to the frozen northlands soon. Very soon. Houston will know I’ve arrived when people will report being blinded by a strange white light. That’ll be the sun reflecting off my “what is this ability to ‘tan’ that you speak of?” skin. I will know I’ve arrived when I’ve spent an hour in the saddle without having to wear six thousand layers of clothing. Don’t mind my silent blog over the next few weeks while I try to get out of here and settle in there. You’ll just have to amuse yourselves by placing bets on how long it takes me to turn into a puddle on the sidewalk. My money’s on it happening within ten feet of the airport doors. Better a puddle than a popsicle, though! Random Rambles 2008-03-13T06:51:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/its-just-like-spring/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/its-just-like-spring/#When:09:18:00Z We’ve been having spring-like weather, so I haven’t been nearly as inclined to sit at the computer as I have been all winter. By spring, by the way, I mean “it’s 40 degrees and enough ice has melted that I can see the sidewalk again.” That’s right. Forget green grass and daffodils: I’m celebrating the return of concrete. We are almost certainly bound to get another couple of snow storms before it all goes away, but who cares? It’s warm now, and that’s good enough for me. (I can practically see the expressions of disbelief that anyone would celebrate 40 degrees as warm. It’s all relative, I tell you. After months of sub-zero and single digit temps, this is practically heaven. Add thirty degrees to your current temperature. See? Big difference.) Now that I’m all warmed up and am over the novelty of warmer weather, maybe I’ll get caught up on everything in the blog sphere I’ve been letting slide… or not. It’s warm enough I can start riding again, after all. And that is almost as exciting as the little patch of sidewalk in front of the house. Random Rambles 2008-03-09T09:18:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/need-your-help/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/need-your-help/#When:05:56:00Z I’m trying to create a list of recently-updated blogs. Eventually, this would be for Horse Bloggers, but for now I’m just playing. Is anyone running something similar on their site? What service do you use? So far blo.gs has me mystified and blogrolling.com doesn’t seem to list in recently-updated order, although they claim to do so. Also, can you please met me know&#8212 1) What blog platform you run (Blogger, WordPress, etc), and; 2) If you can update your ping list? It would help to know if you are on a hosted version of the platform or run your own installation, because I think the ability to modify ping servers may be different for each. I do not know where you would find the ping servers listed for your platform. Probably somewhere under the “Publish” section or else in the Settings/Preferences. (My software has the ability to accept pings, if you’re wondering, but there’s no point in pursuing that option if one or more of the major blog platforms don’t let people add their own ping servers.) Random Rambles 2008-02-28T05:56:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/too-funny-not-to-post/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/too-funny-not-to-post/#When:03:51:00Z I am trying to catch up, I swear, but this is too funny not to post. I’ll have to catch up later. In case you were wondering, someone posted “How to Identify Horse Breeds at the Kentucky Derby” on EHow. The relevant (i.e, amusing) text: Step 1: Buy a copy of the “International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds” by Bonnie L. Hendricks at Amazon.com (see Resources below). Use this book as a resource for identifying horse breeds. (Not coincidentally, I’m sure, the link to Amazon.com was a referrer link. So someone was clearly hoping to make some money off this.) Step 2: Measure a Kentucky Derby horse from hoof to withers as a way to identify a thoroughbred. A full-grown thoroughbred that can qualify for the Kentucky Derby ranges from 58 to 64 inches tall, with the shoulder blades as the high point. (There so, so much that could be said...) Step 3: Separate horse breeds eligible for the Kentucky Derby by looking at markings and spots above the hooves. A series of white spots along all four legs instead of a solid white leg indicates an attempt to play around with genetics to create a unique coat. (Say it with me, now: pinfiring.) Step 4: Look at the hair on top of a horse’s head as you try to identify breeds at the Kentucky Derby. A cowlick or a lack of fine hairs between the ears can narrow the potential bloodlines of a thoroughbred when added to other characteristics. (I almost want to go out and research and see if it’s true that certain bloodlines are predisposed to cowlicks. That would be awesome.) Step 5: Stare at the face of a Kentucky Derby horse to see facial patterns that can separate breeds. A thoroughbred that has been sired by a registered stallion will not have a bald face, which is a white face set against the natural coat color. (It’s not enough to glance casually, you understand. Stare. Stare!) Step 6: Watch the personality of a horse at practice before the Kentucky Derby to identify proper breeds. The breeds allowed in the Kentucky Derby are considered hot, which indicates a willingness to compete and exercise to the point of over-enthusiasm. (Because, you know, anyone NOT allowed in the Kentucky Derby would still be out practicing with all them other horses right before. So if you see one of them imposters, make sure you report it, ok?) Step 7: Pet horses competing in qualifying events for the Kentucky Derby to evaluate muscle tone. The strict breeding and training of thoroughbreds over the last 2 centuries has given most racehorses well-defined hindquarters and necks. (I just bet the owners are going to let you pet their horses. Go on, try it. I’ll be the one back here laughing at you.) Step 8: Glance over the entire body of a competitive thoroughbred to look at the purity of the coat color. Thoroughbreds with clean bloodlines will have pure gray, brown or black coats, without changes in hues from hindquarters to withers. (’Cuz all gray horses are uniformly gray. And there’s no such thing as a bay thoroughbred. Or, apparently, a chestnut. Or a horse with dapples. Throw them horses with dapples right out of the race! Imposters!) Random Rambles 2008-02-27T03:51:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/finding-funding/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/finding-funding/#When:07:32:00Z I received an email today from a lady whose stepdaughter has been invited to a national championship, but we all know (or can imagine, anyway) the costs involved at that level of competition. Aside from the show & related fees, there’s also travel fees and so forth. Her question is how to raise money to pay for this. First off, congrats to the stepdaughter for doing so well.  I would personally start out by looking for sponsors. No… I would personally start out by doing a lot of planning. Check all the applicable rule books. Can juniors even have sponsors? Are there limitations on sponsor branding? Can displays be set up in the stabling area? Logos on shirts and saddle pads? Keep in mind the rules for championship and national competitions are sometimes different than the rules for regular competition. Make sure you’ve researched everything! Assuming sponsors are allowed by the rules—I’d spend some time working out exactly how much money is needed and how that money breaks down. Sponsors want to know their money will go to good use. Then think about how you can thank the sponsors—what sort of display can do you do at the show? What can you do at home (example: a thank you in the local paper, or a feature article for a local horse journal about going to nationals, with a thank you to the sponsors included). Maybe get photos taken at nationals and present them to the sponsors afterwards in a nice frame. And so on. Make sure the sponsors know you are grateful (and that you will get their name out there). Don’t discount goods in place of cash. The local feedstore might not want to donate cash, but they might be willing to donate hay or bedding. Your local gas station might contribute a gas card if you’re trailering. If you find someone willing to donate a trailer, send me their name and address. Will all this work? A similar approach worked for me with college scholarships. Have a plan. Be organized. Know what you really need (this is not the same thing as what you want). There are probably websites out there on how to find sponsors as well, and they probably have sample letters that can be sent out. Google finding sponsorship in general, not just sponsorship related to riding—there are a lot of sports with people looking for sponsors, so you may find useful information in unlikely places. The second major thing I would do is check with the local horse organizations and see if they have any sort of scholarship fund for this purpose. They might, and you won’t know if you don’t ask. And the third major thing I would do is encourage the stepdaughter to do all the odd jobs she can do, whenever she can get them (assuming she’s old enough). Babysit, mow lawns, walk pets, wash cars, anything and everything. All the money she earns goes into the Nationals fund. Sure, it’s not fun and it’s not glamorous, but an extra $100 a week x four weeks a month x four months is $1600. And at the rates babysitters charge (in my area, at least), $100 a week isn’t an unreasonable goal. Anyone else have ideas? Horses and Riding 2008-02-20T07:32:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/a-picture-a-real-picture/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/a-picture-a-real-picture/#When:06:43:00Z Well, ok. It’s a watercolor, not a photo. Does it count that it’s based on a real photo? Behold, the Super Saint: Flashbacks 2008-02-12T06:43:00-09:00 http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/twenty-questions-anyone-game-not-meme/ http://halt-near-x.com/index.php/blog/post/twenty-questions-anyone-game-not-meme/#When:07:26:00Z I have no idea if this will work, but does anyone want to play Twenty Questions? I envision something like this: Someone posts with a general hint of whatever horse-related thing they are thinking of. People can ask questions and make guesses in the comments. The person who finally guesses correctly starts a new round on their blog. And on it goes. I’ve seen this work on forums; it may not work on blogs because the speed will be so slowed down, but you never know. If you’re up for it, I’m thinking of… a piece of equipment. Random Rambles 2008-02-11T07:26:00-09:00