Author: Amanda

equestrian history

The Ideal Horse, According to Daniel Chipman Linsley

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I don’t intend to cross post over from Figuring History too often, but I came across this passage in Daniel Chipman Linsley’s book Morgan Horses, the first book to really detail the history and lineage of the breed, and couldn’t help but share it.

Prior to this passage, Linsley had devoted pages and pages and pages to a detailed conformation description of the ideal horse that would fit what he decided was the typical needs of the American population at the time – namely, a game driving horse that could also serve as a pleasure riding horse when necessary. (He basically meant an all-arounder, but spent a lot of time describing various jobs.)

He concludes:

Such a horse as we have attempted to describe, we feel the greatest confidence in asserting, will prove admirably adapted to all ordinary kinds of service. When used upon the road, he moves off easily, quietly, and freely, without the least disposition to fret, at a lively pace, on a pleasant rein; but when roused a trifle by an increased pull on the bit, and an urging word, his head raises higher, his eye dilates, and he is at once a full hand for the best horseman; the taller, more open built, and longer horse, with a long, reaching stride, may easily dash by him at the first start in the morning, but if their course is the same, and the journey be continued for a day or a week, he will have ample opportunity to renew the acquaintance. Such horses will be hardy, rarely affected with any complaint, easily kept in good condition, will always be ready for use, and easily taught to perform almost any kind of service, with ease to themselves, and pleasure to their owners.

Yeah, I would ride that horse!

road hacking

Good Morning, Vermont! #winteriscoming

Amanda3 Comments

Took this screenshot shortly before I threw a leg over for an early morning hack out before work.

GODDAMN IT, VERMONT.
Can we also take a look at the low on Thursday? Already? REALLY?
Sigh. Beautiful morning, even if it was flipping freezing. 

Some pony was a little bit tight and quick due to the cold – striding out much faster at the walk than usual!

This is what Eye on the Sky means when they say “valley fog.” 
Not terribly long, but at least I got something in.

tunbridge world's fair

Pony Pulling at the Tunbridge World’s Fair

Amanda4 Comments

The Tunbridge World’s Fair is a Vermont institution. It’s one of the longest-running agricultural fairs in the entire country, and I believe it’s also the longest in Vermont. It has been at its current location since the 1880s. The first ever fair was in 1867, and it’s only been canceled for World War I (1918 only) and World War II.

I do an event on the fairgrounds for work earlier in the summer, but had never been to the World’s Fair. Since I had some work-related business to take care of with the fairgrounds staff (who are the nicest, coolest, most hardworking people I think I’ve ever met), I got to go down on Thursday for work. I took some time to get in some horse-related sightseeing while I was there.

I knew nothing about pony pulling when I sat down to watch the 1,850 lb class. I had seen video of a draft pull, and knew from a friend who’d worked with a team that they were trained to pull as soon as the hitch dropped, but that was it.

Wow, was I in for a treat. Warning: this is video-heavy, and you really should watch them. They are amazing.

There were four teams in the class that I watched. The announcer explained the rules: the team had to pull the stone boat a minimum of 6′ in one continuous pull. They had 5 minutes to make 3 attempts. (Though I do not know for sure, in researching since I have found out that most pulling events at ag fairs follow the Eastern Draft Horse Association rules, which are complex.)

I can’t emphasize this enough: these ponies were AMAZING. Absolute firecrackers. So flipping cool to see this in person.

The pull started with 1,600lbs on the boat. Here’s Molly and Rowdy showing that they pull that much weight every morning before breakfast, yawn.

Then they added more weight, bringing it up to 2,400 lbs.

Here’s a pull of 2,400 lbs. Colonel and Major rock it.

3,700 lbs and shit starts to get real, but Colonel and Major still come through.

4,200 lbs and Colonel and Major start showing their grit, and also how amped up they are if the hitch doesn’t catch!

In fact, it was at this point that the team you saw in the first video, Molly and Rowdy, had some real trouble. They had been getting progressively more ramped up, and their driver had trouble getting them to settle in long enough to drop the hitch. They took off again and again without connecting. Then the hitch dropped correctly and they were off! The crowd cheered and cheered…and then when the hitch was lifted they TOOK OFF.
It was a very scary few minutes, but thankfully there were lots of good horse people around, who could handle them and get the hitch untangled from where it had gotten stuck in the tractor (!). So, at the beginning of the next video, which is Colonel and Major trying 4,700 lbs, you’ll hear the announcer say that Molly and Rowdy were withdrawn. They were both perfectly fine, but I think it showed great horsemanship on their driver’s part to realize that they were just done for the day.

5,200 lbs, the final weight. This one’s a fair bit longer and it shows you a failed pull. It also shows you how crucial it is – at least it seems to me – to get both ponies pulling immediately and evenly. One pony has no hope of shifting this weight.

Neither team pulled the full 6′, though Colonel and Major made 51″ on their final pull, which I think made them the winner. (The announcer, I think, sometimes assumed that everyone knew what was going on – which was a fair assumption, given the commentary I heard in the stands around me. Some serious pulling fans there!)
All in all, an awesome way to spend an hour. Next up: fairgrounds harness racing!
dressage

Dressage school – first in a long time!

Amanda2 Comments

Yesterday was fairly epic: important early morning meeting at work, followed by a day at the Tunbridge World’s Fair for work, then puppy class with Arya, and then I headed out to ride Tristan. Then I got home and collapsed. Whew.

I had tentatively planned on a dressage school, and luckily my headache cleared up in time.

We’ve been concentrating so hard on adding miles that this was the first time we’ve worked in a ring for more than a few minutes in…4 weeks? 5 weeks? Either way, a loooooong time!

I started off with lots of marching walk, and then modified that into some lateral work at the walk as I picked up the reins. We then segued into trot, and spent a lot of time working on getting the trot forward. Lateral work checked out ok in the trot, too.

He felt – not hitchy, or problematic, but uneven, so I focused a lot on getting him stable in the outside rein, on getting him to soften up through his jaw and poll and not brace against the reins.

Canter was actually pretty darn good. He felt strong, which was great, even when he turned that against me. I would call the canter work mildly productive, in that while he was strong and very heavy, I was able to lighten him up a little bit. He also stayed relatively straight, which was great.

He did get a little more winded than I hoped for, but we took frequent walk breaks and picked back up again when his breathing returned to normal. We took a longer break at the end and then finished with about 5 minutes of long and low trot to stretch him out.

He wasn’t exactly warm, but I did toss his cooler on him anyway, since the temperature was dropping fast. He then proceeded to freak me out by being slow and picky to eat his hay, which is VERY unlike him. I listened to gut sounds, and watched him drink and poop, then texted the barn manager anyway to ask if the hay was new. Turns out he had just had extra turnout that day and had gotten way more hay than he usually did. He was a bit tired and just not pretending to be starving to death!

I still got almost all the way home, couldn’t stop worrying, turned around, checked in on him, and made sure I’d latched his stall door. (A perpetual freakout of mine.) He was almost done what hay was left and just started at me like “Seriously, mom?”

Then I proceeded to worry until this morning when I knew someone else would lay eyes on him for breakfast. My brain, it is not always fun.

2014 goals

September Goals Preview

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From my 2014 Outline:

September

Lots of options for getting out and about this month, depending on how we want to structure it. Do we want to do more low key stuff, or do we want to show off a bit? Some really good schooling show options if we choose to go that route. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Eddy Farm Schooling Three Phase (no dates yet), Equestry Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), East Hill Farm Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), GMHA Fall Hunter Pace (September 7), GMHA Horse Trials (September 13-14), GMHA Fall Foliage Ride (September 26-28)

 Yeah, there will be no showing off this month. There’s nothing to show off.

However, we are officially committed to the GMHA Fall Foliage Ride on Sunday, September 28.

Modified goals: more fitness, for both of us. Add some dressage schools back in. Stick to the frequency of riding, keep track of everything in the ride calendar. On September 28, at the end of the month, re-evaluate everything based on a full month of pergolide + Cushings diet.

2014 goals

August Goals Wrap Up

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From my 2014 outline:

August 

Keep turning those screws, keep hauling out to jump with Vergennes trainer, keep fine-tuning the dressage. Foxhunting if possible. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Vermont Dressage Days (August 9-10), GMHA Combined Driving Event (August 23-24), GMHA Distance Days (August 29-31)

When I previewed these goals, I wasn’t very confident about hauling out or foxhunting, and Tristan’s vet appointment to check on his foot was still in the future. I didn’t yet know about the Cushing’s.

In short, August looked quite a bit different than I thought it would. I didn’t get to any of the events I’d listed – work or family commitments made them all impossible.

With the Cushing’s diagnosis, however, I made a commitment to up his fitness levels, and I guess that falls under the “turning the screws” part of this goal. I’m actually pretty pleased with the way August shaped up in terms of frequency of riding, as shown by the ride calendar I’ve started.

endomondo · physical fitness (horse)

Adding Wind, Not Just Strength

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I don’t always claim to be the quickest off the mark. Case in point: last week, I was hacking out bareback with one of the barn working students, and M., the assistant trainer, joined us by trotting up the hill. She was riding one of the really talented upper level dressage horses, an Andalusian, and commented at the top of the hill that “I can feel his heart going pitter-patter!”

That started a slow burn thought in the back of my head. This is a horse that’s schooling all the Grand Prix movements, and is right now gaining strength to refine his piaffe and passage. He is in superb shape. But his wind – his aerobic capacity – needed work, hence why she was out with me in the field.

I’ve been doing so much work on building strength with Tristan; 90% of the work we’ve done for the last 3 weeks has been at the walk. He’s responding to it well. His walk is more energetic, and he’s building some muscle. But I’ve been totally neglecting his wind.

So last night we incorporated some quick sprints, too. We started out with a walk around the field, with some short trots up hilly areas. Then we went into the outside ring and worked for about 10 minutes on trot and canter, getting him supple and keeping him forward and even. He can be tricky in the outdoor ring, and he showed that last night when a horse down in the barn kicked its stall and he tried to bolt for the barn. I got him back in a few strides and he settled in to some nice work.

Note to self: remember to stay deep in the saddle! Far too easy to prop out of the saddle and leave the re-gathering to my hands alone when he gets strong like that.

Then we walked around the field again, and from the bottom trotted and then cantered up the hill. Aha! He felt strong and capable, and even pulling away a bit, but he was breathing so hard he was almost roaring. His muscles were more than capable of the work; his lungs were behind the ball. Interesting!