Reading between the lines...another horse shopping afternoon.

Yeah, I am still looking at horses. Somehow my search took me to Ontario, where I came across this website.

http://hardyfarm.webs.com/horsesforsale.htm

We have the Kind of Cute Rimsky...who was born late, so was started as a four year old. That sounds ok...until you get further down and read about Joker who is only 2 and already started...and interestingly has Rimsky as a father.

Somewhere above Joker is a mare who is 5. They are quite proud of the fact she has already had 3 foals for them! Can you imagine Piper, Coregel or Cara pregnant and expecting?

So...if it is ok to ride Joker at 2, and breed the mare at 2, why was the first horse left until 4 to be started? Maybe I am reading too much into this, but horse shopping over the internet does seem to require a lot of reading between the lines.

I have also learnt to always click "view posters other ads". Best way to uncover a lazy scammer. Like the person with the ad for the Hanovarian gelding named Jack for $1700.00. Sounds too good to be true...because it is. A quick click of View posters other ads will show the same horse advertised in various provinces. The scam isn't even that clever in its carry through either...the person claims the horse was in what ever province you inquire about, but that the owner moved to the UK and took the horse, but is now needing to sell it, so will sell it for the cost of shipping...yeah...right.

The Friesian scammers are the worst for posting the same ad in multiple states/provinces...although at least now they are changing the horse's name for each state. It must be hard to legitimately sell a Friesian for cheap...everyone will assume it is scam! What is it about Friesians anyway that make them so popular with scammers? Why not Gypsy Vanners or some other fairy tale breed? Maybe because one Friesian is hard to tell from another? I think that is what happened with one of the Friesians I had here for training that was imported and turned out to be greener than advertised...I think the trainers in Europe just swapped one horse for another in the video...how would you ever know?

I love the trade ads where the person is asking to trade for pretty much what they are offering in trade. There is an ad on Kijiji like that; wanting to trade a APHA stud colt for a....APHA or AQHA registered broodmare, filly or COLT. It may be legit...it may be that they just want a colt that is not related to their mare, but then they should put that in their ad. The way I read it, I am just thinking something is seriously wrong with their boy and they just want to replace him with something (anything) breedable and registered.


Karen

Getting ready for winter

In preparation for winter, Rob arranged to have the first load of Round Bales delivered today. 13 bales. Hay man was supposed to be here at 2:00 pm with his self unloading truck. Pulled into the driveway at 2:01 with 13 bales. Unloaded behind the arena. Pulled out of the driveway at 2:11. 10 Minutes to unload 13 bales. I was impressed. Hay looks good too. On time, quick and good quality. Wish it was always that way!

Natalie and I are also organizing the end stall to house winter blankets for this winter, so if you are wondering where your blankets are, look there! Coolers will still hang in the entrance way, but on the opposite wall so that Ginger can hide behind them like a tent. She seems to like that.

Indoor horses can once again have up to two blankets on their stall, and will have one hook in the end stall. Outside boarded horses will have two hooks allocated to them. Ideally we want any horses that will be blanketed to have at least 2 winter blankets in case one rips.

Karen

Thinking ahead to next year...

Already starting to think ahead to next year's show season...if anyone has certain shows they went to and would like to attend again, or that they heard were worth going to and would like on the schedule for next year, just let me know. In particular I am interested in hearing about jumper shows on sand...would rather not have to worry about corks on the lesson horses!

I hate waiting

I hate waiting for videos and photos of horses advertised for sale. if you have a trained/proven horse for sale, why on earth would you not have at least photos available? I can understand having to wait if I want something specific...but even then, is a week really a reasonable waiting period?

And DON'T tell me you have this horse for sale and then not let me come look at it for weeks! Am I supposed to put horse shopping on hold just in case your horse is the one?

Karen

No, I am not having an affair, Rob just has another new work truck. It is cool. The blue truck is jealous. The Caddy is feeling neglected.

This week in lessons we are working on transitions. Better transitions that come from behind and result in balanced gaits. Jump riders will also be working on flying lead changes.

Enjoy the weather this week!

Karen

Sneek Peek of the new tests...

The USEF website has the new dressage tests up. It seems likely Canada will use the same tests. It does seem that there are only 3 tests in Training to second level now.



The directives seem to be much more explanatory, the the cumulative scores have broken out the rider score into two parts, and the coefficients have changed.



You have to be a member to have an easy way to look at them, but here is a link to a few;



Training Test 1; now has a stretchy circle, as does Training test 2. The stretch circle comes after the canter which will be a bit of a challenge for young unbalanced horses. Training Test 3 is pretty much the same as the old training test 4.



First level 1: Totally different then the old one. Still no lateral work in it though, but lengthening at trot and canter included.



First level 2 has the basics similar to the old test 2 and 3. The new First level test 3 is something else though....leg yield from the corner to X, the figure 8 and X, then leg yield the other way. Still has the dreaded canter loop in it, similar to what we have been doing in lessons this week.

The main difference for First level though, is that you can now post the trot in first level.

Second level 1 is about the same as the old one, but they add the turn on the haunches to test 2, and test three has a harder counter canter than the old one did. Third level test 1 looks about the same as the old one, so that is still my goal for Tango for next year.

Not sure why, but I thought they were making the tests easier...

Karen

The new Java horse definitely jumps cute! I will have to find a show that has pairs jumping for her and Tommy.

I put her in with Carma and Lily today. Least exciting mare addition ever. Carma looked at her, then showed her where the auto waterer is. Lily acted like she thought she knew her. No squealing whatsoever. Maybe this is why people like Paints and Quarter Horses.

.....

Some new Hillside Rules for the new year:
1- Students who wish to buy new horses, must have the new horse approved by Karen or Natalie before it can come to Hillside. (and if anyone is thinking of buying a horse let me know...I am already looking for one for a client, it is easy enough to look for two!)
2- New horses must have at least two syllables in their name. The exception is mares...mares can have one syllable names as long as they are no more than 4 letters long, and include the letter "i". It just seems to be a pattern of success.

....

Rob says that if anyone wants to try the "natural riding" on Sunday, that he will set jumps no charge.

What can I say. He is a boy.

Karen

Well Ginger's new squeaky toy lasted one week. It had a good run, and the squeaker was starting to get a little annoying, but I was still hoping it would last longer as she is so happy to have a toy!

In her defence, it was not that she destroyed it; it has just gone missing. Ordinarily I would think was that she headed out back with it and dropped it to investigate something else, but in this instance I think she is blameless. Instead I blame our mischievous fox for taking it. The timing is just too perfect. Same day I notice the toy missing, the cell phone that Rob dropped/lost reappeared. And where did it reappear? In Dexter's pen in plain sight. There is no way it was laying there for over a month! If the fox took the cell phone it explains why we couldn't find it even with the metal detector...and it also explains why its fabric case is missing. My theory is that the fox exchanged the cell phone for the ball.

The fox has chewed up and stolen Jolly balls too. As long as it leaves the cats and duck alone I am ok with that though!

really, are there any words to describe this?

http://www.topdressage.tv/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1723

Bliss left for her new home today; she is headed over to beautiful British Columbia where she will have beautiful warmblood babies and be treated like the Princess she thinks she is.

Triton was also sold today...congratulations to Christine on the purchase of this wonderful gelding!

Karen

Have I mentionned I hate horse shopping?

This horse looks cute...but somehow I would be afraid to go look at it. "Come on out ladies, you know you want to come out and ride my horse". anyone else get that vibe? Cute horse though. Love his big white star.

This Stable's Website's top banner made me a little motion sick. I did like one of there horses though...once I could find my way to the Gallery . I like the look of Give-em-a-Lyckin, but really got a laugh out of the photos of Sweet Mystery Pride; check out the face of the kid on the pony, and the face of the kid behind her! I don't think either of them think she is going to survive the jump. Cute pony though. If I were them I would be more worried about the kid on All that Jazz. I really hope she found her saddle on the land. Again, another cute horse though! If we end up expanding the search to the Calgary area I think I would want to stop there, as their horses do seem nice...I would just have to get over the giggling at the sight of their logo!

I see that little paint mare I kind of like is still for sale too...sad as she likely is a nice mare, but kids should not be allowed to advertise their own horses. It really turns off buyers when your sales video shows the horse shying from your coach handing you a crop, and when you misadvertise the height of the jumps in the video or the height of the horse.

There is a black warmblood that has been for sale for a long time too. Price keeps dropping and I keep thinking...gee, maybe he isn't so bad...then I watch the video and see the head flipping all over again. Wouldn't it be cheaper to put the horse in one months training rather than pay month after month in board because the video you have to sell your horse shows something very green/annoying to ride...and the horse is not young enough for that to be excusable?

Now I just wish that some of the people I emailed get back to me...

Karen

Stupid Michelle

One day off...one day where I still do chores but don't teach or feel obligated to ride...so of course that is the day Michelle's farrier can make it out. Wait until she sees her bill...

I am sitting her with a cat on my shoulder waiting for our new matress set to be delivered. They said between noon and 2. We shall see.

The sun is nice today. The frozen puddles this morning not so nice.

Karen

Winter ?!?

September 16th and I had to put winter blankets on a couple horses?!?

Jeepers.

Stupid sleet, rain and cold.

I found a rain sheet to fit Tommy; Ziggy's old rain sheet. I had Nat put it on him, then stick him back out...the other geldings seemed to think he was a new horse...even mellow Mr. Calvin was chasing him!

I wish I could find out what happened to Rocket's rain sheet. I am sure someone just took it by mistake, so I am hoping someone figures out their mistake soon so Rocket can be warm and dry too.

Weather change gave me yet another nasty migraine. I wish I could find a way to keep them at bay, but as it is I had to cancel lessons for the night...which really sucks as I was eager to see Miss Java jump for the first time! She is such a cute mare!

Karen

Guess Who?

Any guesses on who this little jumping cutey is?

What a superstar; 3rd time jumping.

Apparently I need to put my stirrups up a hole or two though! Dressage legs do not make for good jumping legs.

Coregel's vet visit yesterday was neither good nor bad. The chip is still there, floating around, but it is not irritating the area, and looks like it is trying to settle down. It IS the collateral ligament that was torn off, it is just behaving oddly, as instead of being pulled down towards its other attachment point, it is being pulled up/out by some unknown force. I guess collateral ligaments are hard to ultrasound as they are twisted, so she shadows regardless of their status.

So...another 30 days and then we recheck her. Poor kid.

Karen

Today is the big day for Miss Coregel. Fingers crossed.

Weather is suitably nasty; if this was TV you would just know it was going to be bad news based on how dreary it is out.

But I don't believe in omens. This is a week for good news.

Rhiannon's new saddle came in yesterday; hand delivered by Tudor Tack. I rode Lily in it yesterday...is it every comfy! And grippy! The downside to the grippyness is that Lily is grey and shedding...so little white hairs fleck the saddle already. Why are the horses shedding so heavily this fall?

The Wintec Equisuede spoiled me though; to go from Lily's grippy dressage saddle to Michelle's super shiny, super slippery saddle was quite an adjustment! Michelle...stop cleaning your saddle with Pledge!

Karen

In need of tack?

Tudor has their tent sale coming up on the 24th if you need any new tack. They are also offering 10% off most items if you shop during their new business hours (Thursday they now open to 8, and Sunday from noon-5...I think). Saddles, helmets and clearance items are exempt.

Not sure how long the 10% off is going for though...I just heard about it on their voice mail!

Karen

Stupid Vet Priorities...

So the stupid vets thinks that performing a potentially life saving operation is more important than ultra sounding my Coregel! They also didn't want to spend their Friday night or weekend doing it. The nerve!

So now I have to wait until Wednesday. On the bright side that gives another 5 days for her to continue to heal so that hopefully that helps.

.....

I have been looking at sales ads for a new horse for Nicole. She found some good ads herself, but I am surprised by the number of people without a video of their well trained, show experience horses.

Found an ad on Kijiji that showed potential; big gelding, dressage and jumping trained. I don't think there was a photo. Emailed to ask about the horse's experience competing over fences, and for a video. He has jumped to 3'6", but only for fun, not competed. That's fine, but not what I am looking for. And no video. Then ads the horse has mostly done dressage....high level stuff. My interest is back, so I email to ask what level the horse has competed to. She doesn't know.

Does that seem odd to anyone else? It is not like the horse is 20 years old. I think sometimes people just throw stuff out there and see what gets the potential buyers attention.

It is like when we found an ad for a horse we had sold as a light use trail horse as being a level 2 jumping horse. I don't think the horse ever jumped higher than 18".... and was in no way sound enough to continue jumping (which the buyer knew and agreed to). Level 2 is 3'0"-3'3" jumps. But apparently that sounded good in the ad.

I need to come up with key phrases too it seems. I have no idea why I have been unable to sell Charmer (she goes home tomorrow). She is one of the most fun horses I have right now to ride; goes English, Western, bareback jumps a little, trail rides....just a fun little horse...and only 4 years old! The only people that wanted to try her were looking to buy for an under 10 child...as nice as she is, I think she deserves someone with more experience than that...as does the child.

New boarder should be coming today. Another pinto. Fortunately Michelle's chestnut comes Sunday to keep the Chestnut to other colours ratio stabilized.

Karen

It is fun watching someone ride a new horse when you are used to seeing them ride a horse of a different type.

Thursday night had Clare riding YJ...the first jump was a bit of a wake up call for her, but it definately got better as it went...he is just a little more enthusiastic than Sunny was, but a little less accomidating of rider foibles, and a little less adjustable.

Then Nicole rode Edgar. I have video. Edgar seemed pretty happy to have the freedom that comes with Jumping and it went pretty well. I am curious if Nicole can walk tomorrow.

I jumped Carma again today. Second try. She really does like jumping. It helps her keep her focus and she is much more settled with a jump in front of her than just hacking around. She was able to canter a little cross pole course without much difficulty at all. She is pretty fun to jump, and despite the fact she is only 15.2, I don't feel tall on her at all.

For next week in lessons (jumping lessons anyway) I think we might work on landing leads...with failed attempts resulting in payment of a $1.00. I figure this will help me pay Coregel's vet bills...err...I mean, motivate riders to try harder.

Karen

Rain :(

Cold and dreary rain. And so many of you seem to be fair weather friends. I am lonely. Ginger is feeling sorry for herself and Milo is getting fat. And the new students starting this week are getting spoiled by the empty barn and arena.

When you finally do decide to come out to the barn, there is a sign up sheet for Fall deworming. All the horses need to be dewormed after the first hard frost with a broad spectrum dewormer that does bots. We are going with Equimax this year, but you can also go with Quest Plus or Zimectrin Gold. Cost of us deworming your horse is $20.00. If you want to buy it and do it yourself, the cost is $18.00.

Is anyone interested in going to the Harvest show at Amberlea? Dressage, jumpers, and Hunters. I will go if we have at least three horses to go. Otherwise perhaps we will do a little fun show at the barn like last year. That was fun....and much more affordable!

The vet news on Coregel is still uncertain. The new x-ray isn't quite showing what would be expected if she had ripped her collateral ligament along with pulling off a peice of bone, so it is possible that it was not damaged....we are going to ultra sound on Friday to see what soft tissue damage is there....fingers crossed!

Dexter on the other hand continues to allude us with the source of his issues. It is very odd for him to be as wonky as he is, for as long as he has been, yet show no sign of muscle atrophy or uneveness. We had hoped that he would start to show some signs of wasting so we could get a better picture of where the issue could be. If only he could talk so he could tell us where it hurt! Of course we would likely have to sit through a week of compaining and begging for treats before he got around to discussing his pain issues. Perhaps the winter off will somehow allow whatever it is to heal. Or perhaps the Saskatoon clinic will finally get approved for Scintography and he can finally get his Nuke scan done....at least then we would be able to pinpoint the general area of concern.

Karen

I have been lazy on the updates lately!

Sunny left last week...first time since we openned that we haven't housed a horse belonging to Gloria. Sunny and a few other horses of hers are available to be leased if anyone is interested though...including what I am told is a very fancy pony.

Magnus took Sunny's stall, and seems to be loving it. Be careful what you leave in his graps though!

Mini Edgar sold and was replaced by mini Edgar's mom, Flair. Flair is here to be started under saddle. She is pretty sweet.

Calvin came back and seems pretty happy to be with his chestnut friends.

I find out today what is going on with Coregel. Fingers crossed, but I am really not sure what to expect.

Lessons are back on for the fall; I need to post the schedule on the web soon.

Karen

More safety

Why I cringe when I see people in flip flops around horses:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193583&id=196692248644&fbid=419373098644&ref=mf

Reno's first "ride"

I got on Reno for the first time today. It was uneventful. Like all baby horses, he thought my feet hanging on either side of him were fascinating...and as soon as he realized I was no longer beside him he headed over to see Natalie. I like just letting them more or less do what they want for the first ride whether it be to walk off or just stand there so they can adjust to the weight on their back however they choose.

Don't I look good on him? Hard to believe he is only three!

Horses and safety

I have been working with horses a long time now. I used to work for a big hunter/jumper barn with trainers that could sometimes be a little reckless, and so I have seen more than my share of incidents causing injuries. I also read horse related news and bulletin boards, so I read about needless tragedies that highlight the risks that come with working with horses, and how important it is to take reasonable safety precautions.

I realize though, that some of you are fairly protected from what can (and does) go wrong, and so take needless risk. Hopefully I can open some eyes.

#1; Footwear: Boots with a heel. And not just any heel...and heel that is at a right angle to the sole. A heel that slopes to the sole is pointless and just inviting the foot to slide through the stirrup. The heel needs to be sufficient that if the rider looses their foot position and weight ends up going down into the toe, that their foot isn't going to slide right through the stirrup. Why? so if they fall off, their entire leg isn't going to be caught up in the stirrup, leaving them hanging alongside a very likely frightened equine.

This weekend a small child was sitting on a pony with runners and her feet in the stirrups. Mom told me "oh, she is ok like that". To which I responded "well, me and my insurance company are not". All that had to happen for that kid to get very hurt is for pony to shake, kid to get shook off one side, kids foot to slide through stirrup and pony to spook from dangling child resulting in a hoof to kids face.

And then there were the two girls that rode up after the show in runners and no helmet. Watching them ride was painful as they had no concept of heels down.

Western or english, you want to minimize the risk of getting caught in the stirrup if something goes wrong...being dragged rarely turns out well, as even the most calm horse can panic when it finds its rider hanging of its side after a bad stumble!

Safety stirrups help prevent the risk, or hooded western stirrups.

But it isn't just a heel that keeps you safe, you also want to make sure the boot isn't too thick/wide for the stirrup. Those stupid winter riding boots drive me crazy as they are so thick that they pretty much wedge into the average stirrup, leaving the rider at a lot of risk if they happen to come off! Can you imagine having your horse spook, you falling off one side, but having both feet stay in the stirrup?

#2: Helmets: I am a big advocate of helmets. And no, I don't think adults should have the "right" to decide for themselves. If you ride at my barn you are setting an example to others, and have to wear a helmet. Plus, I don't think I could handle cleaning up brains.

The need for a helmet has nothing to do with level of ability or the horse's level of training. Courtney King-Dye was an international level dressage rider, riding an international level dressage horse....he tripped. She fell. Hit her head. Coma.

I really do NOT get the common perception that western riders don't need helmets. I dislike going to the little open shows where all English riders must wear helmets, but gymkhana rider's don't! I do not get the logic.

Do western horses not spook? Trip? Have heart attacks?

Look at what happened to that person at the Calgary Stampede in the Team Penning. Good rider, adult, on well trained horse. Horse has a heart attack. Falls on rider. Rider does not have helmet. Rider ends up in a coma.

I remember a while back...maybe 8 years, there was a news story that broke my heart. Girl used to ride down the road to meet her friends. Parents stipulated that she had to wear a helmet. Girl's friends did not wear helmets so girl would ride to the end of the road, take her helmet off, hang it on a post, and meet her friends, putting her helmet back on when she headed home. Went fine until one day horse made it home without her. Dad went to look for daughter. Found the helmet on the post. The saw his daughter laying in a pool of blood. No idea what happened as the horse was quiet and safe. Kid was in a coma for 3 days before mom and dad had to make the decision to pull the plug. NOBODY, not even a selfish self centered teenager should put someone else through having to make a decision like that, so even if you don't want to wear the gear to protect yourself, wear it to protect people that love you from having to go through that.

Parents tried to do the right thing by enforcing the helmet rule...although they should have gone a step further and told her she couldn't ride with friends that didn't wear a helmet. Of course I bet her friends do now...

Usually people don't use the proper equipment as they are either too cheap to buy it, too lazy to use it, too vain to wear it, or subcome to peer pressure. First year I showed dressage I was one of the few Pros to wear a helmet. Last year when I showed western, I was one of the few in the western classes with a helmet. That didn't stop YJ and I from placing very well...including beating some western pros in their Stetsons.

If you think wearing a helmet is cumbersome or uncool...imagine spending your life wearing a diaper because of a head injury...how cool would you be then?

Karen

I have the pictures from the horse show up on Photobucket. Don't have nearly as many as last time, but if anybody wants a copy of one, just let me know.

http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd89/HillsideStable/Ride%20For%20Red%20August%2029/

Karen