Horace Ponii's Blog
July 30, 2012
Sound Horses
In a fantasy novel, people jump on their horses & ride off almost all the time on a sound horse. I wish it worked that way in the real world, but it doesn't. I wanted to show Chad on Saturday, but he was lame, so Mary showed Slash by herself. A month ago, the reverse was true. Slash had a gravel that worked itself out a few days later & he was sound again. Chad seems to have a stone bruise that is healing nicely, but we'll have to see. A bruise will sometimes seem to get better, then get worse as the original bruise turns into an abscess.
Have you ever taken a good look at the proportions of a horse? Ours have hooves that have about the same surface area as my foot with ankles that aren't much bigger, yet they're five to six times as heavy as I am & run around with us on their backs over jumps. It's pretty amazing when you think about it & keep the square-cubed law in mind. Almost magical, but it's no wonder they're lame several times a year. Actually, it's a wonder they're ever sound.
The lower legs of a horse have no muscle, just bone, tendon, & some blood vessels that don't work very well unless the horse is moving. Injuries in the lower legs or hooves aren't usually the kind they can walk off. They're not stiff muscles, but actual structural damage. They're complicated and end in the hoof that has a few finger like bones in it, not a lot to support all that weight.
The frog, a rubbery triangle on the bottom of the horse's hoof absorbs some of the shock & helps pump their blood around. The rest of the hoof isn't stone, either. It's a complicated mass of horny tissue that is continually growing & must be meticulously maintained. The number of issues we have to watch for is incredible.
Stones can bruise the concave sole, especially if they're caked with mud & manure. A bad bruise can cause an abscess, a pocket of pus. Thrush is a bacteria that causes a black, stinking rot that starts in the grooves between the sole & the frog. It can eat away the tissue. The outer layer of the hoof, the wall, is actually made up of several layers. A piece of stone can travel up into the middle layer or 'white line' causing a 'gravel'. The horse is lame until it pops out of the top of the wall at the coronet band. Then they're almost instantly sound, but it generally takes a week or so to happen.
Shoes can help mitigate some of the wear & tear on hooves, but they circle around the outer edge & stay clear of the actual heel. They can also cause problems. A 'hot' nail is one that has gone through live tissue & that's a problem, like sticking something under your fingernail. The horse is lame until that nail is pulled out & sometimes after until it heals up. Poorly fitting, loose, or a thrown shoe can all screw up a horse's balance, just as it would on a person.
Sticks & rocks can poke right up into the sole of a horse's hooves past the shoe. It happened once to Opal when he was ridden across a newly cut corn field. Fifty other horses had ridden across the field without a problem, but he suddenly came up lame. A piece of corn stalk had gone into his hoof like a nail. Worse, the stalk had splintered. I got the worst of them out, but the vet had quite a bit of work to do. He put a drain into it that we pulled out a bit every few days. We had to soak that hoof twice a day for over a week & keep it bandaged. I think he was laid up for a month.
Just above the hoof & below the ankle (fetlock) is the pastern, a very delicate area. The back of the pastern is a hollow that can grow fungus easily, especially when the grass is damp. That makes the skin crack & makes movement stiff. Chad has a scar there from getting caught in a wire fence & we have to keep it soft with Vaseline (petroleum jelly) or he gets stiff. Any cuts to this area are critical since the tendons lie close to the surface. There aren't any three legged horses in nature & damn few even today, as the sad case of Barbaro attests.
The ankle or any other joint up that long leg can get sore, too. Knees & hocks get chipped & worn by racing. Tendons can tear or stretch. A bowed tendon is a common issue in race horses as are splints. It's common for horsemen to run their hands down a horse's leg to feel for knots & heat. The latter, even a slight extra warmth, is always cause for concern.
One of the worst hoof problems is founder or laminitis. Then a horse's hooves get hot, but I don't think anyone is really sure why. We just know that it does & it is often caused by overeating or another sickness such as colic. In the worst cases, the bones in the hoof can actually push down through the soles of the hoof. We had a pony mare that almost happened to once. Her soles felt like old peanut butter & she was in horrible pain. We hosed her feet in cold water, but there wasn't much else we could do. We almost put her down, but she worked out of it. After that, I had to trim her toes hard & barely even out the heel of her hooves, though. It had actually changed her conformation.
There are a lot of other reasons a horse might not be fit to ride or 'sound'. I've hit just the high points from the knee down. So when a person hops on a horse without any thought to their condition or rely on one mount without a backup plan, I wonder. The cavalry & cowboys used to have an extra herd of horses just because they either wore out or used them up. A knight probably couldn't afford to have or train more than one destrier, but I've never heard of one missing an important joust because his horse came up lame, either. That's a bit of reality that could be interesting.
Have you ever taken a good look at the proportions of a horse? Ours have hooves that have about the same surface area as my foot with ankles that aren't much bigger, yet they're five to six times as heavy as I am & run around with us on their backs over jumps. It's pretty amazing when you think about it & keep the square-cubed law in mind. Almost magical, but it's no wonder they're lame several times a year. Actually, it's a wonder they're ever sound.
The lower legs of a horse have no muscle, just bone, tendon, & some blood vessels that don't work very well unless the horse is moving. Injuries in the lower legs or hooves aren't usually the kind they can walk off. They're not stiff muscles, but actual structural damage. They're complicated and end in the hoof that has a few finger like bones in it, not a lot to support all that weight.
The frog, a rubbery triangle on the bottom of the horse's hoof absorbs some of the shock & helps pump their blood around. The rest of the hoof isn't stone, either. It's a complicated mass of horny tissue that is continually growing & must be meticulously maintained. The number of issues we have to watch for is incredible.
Stones can bruise the concave sole, especially if they're caked with mud & manure. A bad bruise can cause an abscess, a pocket of pus. Thrush is a bacteria that causes a black, stinking rot that starts in the grooves between the sole & the frog. It can eat away the tissue. The outer layer of the hoof, the wall, is actually made up of several layers. A piece of stone can travel up into the middle layer or 'white line' causing a 'gravel'. The horse is lame until it pops out of the top of the wall at the coronet band. Then they're almost instantly sound, but it generally takes a week or so to happen.
Shoes can help mitigate some of the wear & tear on hooves, but they circle around the outer edge & stay clear of the actual heel. They can also cause problems. A 'hot' nail is one that has gone through live tissue & that's a problem, like sticking something under your fingernail. The horse is lame until that nail is pulled out & sometimes after until it heals up. Poorly fitting, loose, or a thrown shoe can all screw up a horse's balance, just as it would on a person.
Sticks & rocks can poke right up into the sole of a horse's hooves past the shoe. It happened once to Opal when he was ridden across a newly cut corn field. Fifty other horses had ridden across the field without a problem, but he suddenly came up lame. A piece of corn stalk had gone into his hoof like a nail. Worse, the stalk had splintered. I got the worst of them out, but the vet had quite a bit of work to do. He put a drain into it that we pulled out a bit every few days. We had to soak that hoof twice a day for over a week & keep it bandaged. I think he was laid up for a month.
Just above the hoof & below the ankle (fetlock) is the pastern, a very delicate area. The back of the pastern is a hollow that can grow fungus easily, especially when the grass is damp. That makes the skin crack & makes movement stiff. Chad has a scar there from getting caught in a wire fence & we have to keep it soft with Vaseline (petroleum jelly) or he gets stiff. Any cuts to this area are critical since the tendons lie close to the surface. There aren't any three legged horses in nature & damn few even today, as the sad case of Barbaro attests.
The ankle or any other joint up that long leg can get sore, too. Knees & hocks get chipped & worn by racing. Tendons can tear or stretch. A bowed tendon is a common issue in race horses as are splints. It's common for horsemen to run their hands down a horse's leg to feel for knots & heat. The latter, even a slight extra warmth, is always cause for concern.
One of the worst hoof problems is founder or laminitis. Then a horse's hooves get hot, but I don't think anyone is really sure why. We just know that it does & it is often caused by overeating or another sickness such as colic. In the worst cases, the bones in the hoof can actually push down through the soles of the hoof. We had a pony mare that almost happened to once. Her soles felt like old peanut butter & she was in horrible pain. We hosed her feet in cold water, but there wasn't much else we could do. We almost put her down, but she worked out of it. After that, I had to trim her toes hard & barely even out the heel of her hooves, though. It had actually changed her conformation.
There are a lot of other reasons a horse might not be fit to ride or 'sound'. I've hit just the high points from the knee down. So when a person hops on a horse without any thought to their condition or rely on one mount without a backup plan, I wonder. The cavalry & cowboys used to have an extra herd of horses just because they either wore out or used them up. A knight probably couldn't afford to have or train more than one destrier, but I've never heard of one missing an important joust because his horse came up lame, either. That's a bit of reality that could be interesting.
July 23, 2012
Jargon
Jargon is a terribly difficult problem for any writer. Using too much loses the reader that isn't conversant with it, but not using enough, especially in the dialog of expert characters can ruin them. They lack depth & aren't believable. Using just enough, yet making it understandable to the uninitiated, is an art. One of the best is Janny Wurts. Her book To Ride Hell's Chasm revolves around horses, their frailties & strengths, yet those with no experience with them can still understand the issues. She uses just the proper amount, with short explanations believably aimed at less knowledgeable characters, & turned this problem into an asset. We subtly learned volumes about the characters & world in an interesting way.
Every sport or specialized endeavor has its own jargon, a necessary way for other practitioners to communicate quickly & clearly with each other. Horsemen have a number of different jargons depending on their area of origin, what sort of horse they have, & how they use them. Those of us that ride English hunters may share some of our specialized vocabulary with those that use drafts for hauling wagons, but not as much as you might think. The work & issues that both face are completely different. Even among riding horses there can be a lot of differences.
Mixing jargon can be horribly jarring. If a cowboy put a headcollar on a horse, it would jar me right out of the story unless there was a good explanation for it. The British use 'headcollars' while most in the U.S. use 'halters', even if they ride English & use many other terms in common. Cowboys 'saddle up' while English riders 'tack up', although both put 'tack' on horses. Small, enclosed fields are 'corrals' out west, but we call them 'paddocks'. English riders use a 'girth', western riders use a 'cinch', but both pass over the girth area of the horse. Out West, their jargon is full of Spanish terms.
As a general rule, pick your lingo & stick to it, but every general rule has an exception. Correct terminology can override common usage & a mix of styles, types, or people will mix the jargon. While we only ride English, one of our neighbors has Walkers & Saddlebreds, several others ride Western, & one is a vet. When we all get together the conversations can quickly become a confusing mess of different lingo. We'll try to use the other's jargon to be polite or make points in their terms. Sometimes we don't get it right. It can be funny or frustrating.
I've had trouble understanding my wife when she tries to correct my riding. Many of her corrections sound remarkably like English, but they just don't make sense. For instance, she told me "my hip was too open" over a jump the other day & seemed to think that explained the issue. I hadn't a clue what she was talking about. I finally figured out that I was standing up a little too much which opened the angle between my thigh & belly too far. So why didn't she say so? Why is the floor of a boat called a deck or a sole? (What's the difference?)
Horses & Horse Information has a pretty good glossary of English equine riding terminology, although Discover Horses might be better. For other types & disciplines, you'll have to do some research & there can be a fair amount. Something as simple as a bit is actually incredibly complex. Take a look at the Horse & Saddle Shop's rundown on their bits. It's hard to believe, but my wife has a trunk full & still mourns the loss of one that she hasn't been able to replace for over a decade. Golfers are as fussy about their equipment. I think it is the curse of the expert & most heroes in fantasy novels should be experts. They trust their lives & the fate of the world to their horse all the time.
Every sport or specialized endeavor has its own jargon, a necessary way for other practitioners to communicate quickly & clearly with each other. Horsemen have a number of different jargons depending on their area of origin, what sort of horse they have, & how they use them. Those of us that ride English hunters may share some of our specialized vocabulary with those that use drafts for hauling wagons, but not as much as you might think. The work & issues that both face are completely different. Even among riding horses there can be a lot of differences.
Mixing jargon can be horribly jarring. If a cowboy put a headcollar on a horse, it would jar me right out of the story unless there was a good explanation for it. The British use 'headcollars' while most in the U.S. use 'halters', even if they ride English & use many other terms in common. Cowboys 'saddle up' while English riders 'tack up', although both put 'tack' on horses. Small, enclosed fields are 'corrals' out west, but we call them 'paddocks'. English riders use a 'girth', western riders use a 'cinch', but both pass over the girth area of the horse. Out West, their jargon is full of Spanish terms.
As a general rule, pick your lingo & stick to it, but every general rule has an exception. Correct terminology can override common usage & a mix of styles, types, or people will mix the jargon. While we only ride English, one of our neighbors has Walkers & Saddlebreds, several others ride Western, & one is a vet. When we all get together the conversations can quickly become a confusing mess of different lingo. We'll try to use the other's jargon to be polite or make points in their terms. Sometimes we don't get it right. It can be funny or frustrating.
I've had trouble understanding my wife when she tries to correct my riding. Many of her corrections sound remarkably like English, but they just don't make sense. For instance, she told me "my hip was too open" over a jump the other day & seemed to think that explained the issue. I hadn't a clue what she was talking about. I finally figured out that I was standing up a little too much which opened the angle between my thigh & belly too far. So why didn't she say so? Why is the floor of a boat called a deck or a sole? (What's the difference?)
Horses & Horse Information has a pretty good glossary of English equine riding terminology, although Discover Horses might be better. For other types & disciplines, you'll have to do some research & there can be a fair amount. Something as simple as a bit is actually incredibly complex. Take a look at the Horse & Saddle Shop's rundown on their bits. It's hard to believe, but my wife has a trunk full & still mourns the loss of one that she hasn't been able to replace for over a decade. Golfers are as fussy about their equipment. I think it is the curse of the expert & most heroes in fantasy novels should be experts. They trust their lives & the fate of the world to their horse all the time.
July 16, 2012
Basic Training - The Rider
Riding looks easy, but it isn't. It can be an extremely athletic sport using a lot of muscles you didn't know you had, requiring a very precise set of actions & rhythms. Have you ever watched a jockey ride a race? They perch up there in the most awkward position imaginable & have to guide the horse at the same time. Barrel racers & ropers look as if they're part of their ponies as they race around the ring during a rodeo. Dressage looks as if the rider is just sitting in a chair, yet they guide their horses through intricate moves that are often set to music. And all of them make it look effortless, the mark of a real pro.
Even putzing about on a horse is harder than it looks. Put a non-rider on a horse for a short ride & they'll complain about stiff leg muscles for days. Their crotch has been stretched wide & inner leg muscles have instinctively worked to keep them in place. Any back problems are exacerbated by the constant bobbing of the horse's stride & that's if they don't get dumped. Falls from a horse are usually awkward & painful since they're done at speed starting with your butt at least five feet in the air.
A rider doesn't just sit on a horse, but grips with their inner thighs, NOT the knees or their seat will be loose & they'll get rubbed. (I wish I had a nickel for every time I've been corrected on that!) Rubs are painful & dangerous. Inner thighs & crotches can actually wind up with weeping sores. It's one of those things not typically mentioned about the Calvary during the American Civil War, but it happened frequently on their long, forced rides. Obviously your muscles can't constantly grip, so your posture must be correct to force your leg & pelvis structure into gripping for you with a properly fitting saddle & protective clothing to help. Then, & only then, can a person spend hours in the saddle each day, otherwise they'd be walking just to get some relief.
A rider doesn't steer with just the reins, but also with leg pressure & balance. In many ways, riding a horse is similar to riding a bike, but one that reacts with intelligence & sometimes it has a mind of its own. So, a horseman watches, feels, & generally pays attention to the horse & where it is stepping at all times. With practice, much of that becomes a subconscious habit. It can be a matter of life & death. No, I'm not overstating the case, but we'll save that for another post, "Horse Wrecks".
A horseman's relationship with his mount is much like that between a parent & their child. The horseman must be in charge, but also has to protect & respect the horse. You can't take them into situations they're not prepared for or ask too much of them. You need to work out how certain things are done & always do them the same way. Horses learn well by repetition & are comfortable with it. They like rituals as much or more than people. Teaching Chad has been a learning experience for both of us. Eventually, he figured out how to move properly, which was comfortable for both of us, & I figured out the best way to ask him. I'd like to tell you when that is, but I can't.
It's a truism that if you start riding as a kid you have an automatic advantage over someone who starts later in life. Kids have an entirely different balance than an adult since they're top heavy & much lighter. A posture that works when you're little will often just lead to grief in an older person. Think about how awkward many teens get as they go through a growth spurt. They wind up stumbling over their own feet at times, so it's important to learn the correct techniques early on.
One of my biggest challenges as an adult rider is that I'm a 'natural'. I started riding while still in diapers & was taught properly early on by professionals, starting with Mom. I quit showing, thus learning the technical points, in my early teens, but my body still remembers those early lessons. I'm in fairly good shape & somewhat athletic, so I don't consciously know what I'm doing much of the time even though I usually ride well. For instance, I post on the correct diagonal while trotting, but I couldn't begin to tell you how or why. It just feels right, but when something is wrong, I have no clue how to correct it.
My wife didn't learn to ride as a teenager & isn't as athletic. She has to consciously think about her riding & wound up learning so well that she teaches people professionally. She has a fantastic eye for horses, riders, & form. She'll occasionally correct my riding, but often has to go into long explanations to do it. I have neither the consciousness of what I do nor the vocabulary for some of the finer points that I goof up & need to learn now that I'm showing again with Chad.
Why should you care? Well, anyone who does something for hours on end better do it correctly or they're going to wear themselves out & get hurt. That includes all those people riding for days to save the world in epic fantasies. It would be a hell of a thing for the hero to arrive at the villain's castle only to have his crotch so sore he couldn't walk, wouldn't it? Actually, that might be a fun twist, but it doesn't bode well for the rest of the party or the world.
Even putzing about on a horse is harder than it looks. Put a non-rider on a horse for a short ride & they'll complain about stiff leg muscles for days. Their crotch has been stretched wide & inner leg muscles have instinctively worked to keep them in place. Any back problems are exacerbated by the constant bobbing of the horse's stride & that's if they don't get dumped. Falls from a horse are usually awkward & painful since they're done at speed starting with your butt at least five feet in the air.
A rider doesn't just sit on a horse, but grips with their inner thighs, NOT the knees or their seat will be loose & they'll get rubbed. (I wish I had a nickel for every time I've been corrected on that!) Rubs are painful & dangerous. Inner thighs & crotches can actually wind up with weeping sores. It's one of those things not typically mentioned about the Calvary during the American Civil War, but it happened frequently on their long, forced rides. Obviously your muscles can't constantly grip, so your posture must be correct to force your leg & pelvis structure into gripping for you with a properly fitting saddle & protective clothing to help. Then, & only then, can a person spend hours in the saddle each day, otherwise they'd be walking just to get some relief.
A rider doesn't steer with just the reins, but also with leg pressure & balance. In many ways, riding a horse is similar to riding a bike, but one that reacts with intelligence & sometimes it has a mind of its own. So, a horseman watches, feels, & generally pays attention to the horse & where it is stepping at all times. With practice, much of that becomes a subconscious habit. It can be a matter of life & death. No, I'm not overstating the case, but we'll save that for another post, "Horse Wrecks".
A horseman's relationship with his mount is much like that between a parent & their child. The horseman must be in charge, but also has to protect & respect the horse. You can't take them into situations they're not prepared for or ask too much of them. You need to work out how certain things are done & always do them the same way. Horses learn well by repetition & are comfortable with it. They like rituals as much or more than people. Teaching Chad has been a learning experience for both of us. Eventually, he figured out how to move properly, which was comfortable for both of us, & I figured out the best way to ask him. I'd like to tell you when that is, but I can't.
It's a truism that if you start riding as a kid you have an automatic advantage over someone who starts later in life. Kids have an entirely different balance than an adult since they're top heavy & much lighter. A posture that works when you're little will often just lead to grief in an older person. Think about how awkward many teens get as they go through a growth spurt. They wind up stumbling over their own feet at times, so it's important to learn the correct techniques early on.
One of my biggest challenges as an adult rider is that I'm a 'natural'. I started riding while still in diapers & was taught properly early on by professionals, starting with Mom. I quit showing, thus learning the technical points, in my early teens, but my body still remembers those early lessons. I'm in fairly good shape & somewhat athletic, so I don't consciously know what I'm doing much of the time even though I usually ride well. For instance, I post on the correct diagonal while trotting, but I couldn't begin to tell you how or why. It just feels right, but when something is wrong, I have no clue how to correct it.
My wife didn't learn to ride as a teenager & isn't as athletic. She has to consciously think about her riding & wound up learning so well that she teaches people professionally. She has a fantastic eye for horses, riders, & form. She'll occasionally correct my riding, but often has to go into long explanations to do it. I have neither the consciousness of what I do nor the vocabulary for some of the finer points that I goof up & need to learn now that I'm showing again with Chad.
Why should you care? Well, anyone who does something for hours on end better do it correctly or they're going to wear themselves out & get hurt. That includes all those people riding for days to save the world in epic fantasies. It would be a hell of a thing for the hero to arrive at the villain's castle only to have his crotch so sore he couldn't walk, wouldn't it? Actually, that might be a fun twist, but it doesn't bode well for the rest of the party or the world.
July 13, 2012
Basic Training - The Horse
Have you ever read a novel where the hero snags a horse out of a field & gallops off into the night with it? The horse always seems to perform well, too. It must have been by the blessing of the gods, because I've never found that to be true.
Horses need training to carry a rider. When I carry around a backpack sprayer full of herbicide (about 1/5th of my weight) I can sure feel it. My whole center of balance is off. If I do it for any length of time, my feet & legs start to hurt, my shoulders get stiff & I get tired a lot faster than if I was just walking around without it. Horses are no different than people, they notice the extra weight, too.
Chad was full grown when I got him, a stocky pony of about 800 pounds. I weigh about 175 pounds, a little over 1/5th his weight & sit up just behind his front shoulders. That's a huge change to his balance & to the muscles he needs to maintain it. I'd seen him canter around the field on his own. He did it just fine, but the first time we tried it with me on his back, his front & hind ends wound up doing different paces -- half canter-half trot, a trope or something. It was awful! We slowed to a walk & then tried again. He figured it out fairly quickly, but it took months for him to build up the muscle & the knowledge to get it every time.
A horse is an intelligent being. They're always checking out their surroundings & the rider often trusts them to make decisions, but they start out ignorant & as self centered as any of us. On a narrow trail, I want him to stay far enough away from trees that he doesn't scrape my leg or the saddle. That takes a lot of practice & we've had a couple of arguments about his thoughtlessness, especially when he cracked my knee against a rock. Just cussing him doesn't help after the fact. I have to first train him to leg yield, move sideways to specific pressure from my leg. Only then can I expect him to understand the concept & get him into the habit of thinking about my comfort.
A horse & rider have a symbiotic relationship that's not too different from that of a man & his dog, although a horse is a prey animal, a very important difference to remember. If given a choice, most horses tend to flight rather than fight, so there is a matter of trust or understanding between them & the person. Chad & I have worked together a lot & he trusts me even more than Mary, the person who usually feeds him. He'll walk right on the trailer for me, but won't for Mary, for instance. Oh, she can get him on, but it's a bit of a battle. (It's definitely not a matter of authority. We all know who's in charge of the place & it isn't me. I'm just hired help.)
So, experience with a lot of different situations is very important. Chad spent his first year on one farm then went to another where he was turned out in the field for 5 years, never ridden or even messed with much. In the past 5 months, he's been tacked up & ridden. Some of the experiences almost blew his mind, like when he was hosed off for the first time. That was quite a traumatic experience -- a snake-like thing that spit warm water on him. Amazingly, it didn't hurt, actually felt good, but it scared him half to death when he first saw the hose.
Since then, he's been taken to a variety of different places, seen different countryside & horses. He's been to an indoor arena, a very spooky place with odd lighting & sounds. He saw kids for the first time & didn't know what to make of the fast moving, brightly colored, loud little humans. (I think he finally classified them as weird dogs, something to be wary of, but probably not harmful.) And we keep slowly throwing new things at him.
In all of these situations, I've been with him. I talk to him a lot in a soothing voice. I let him check out what I can & help him avoid issues. Occasionally I'll smack him on the side to focus his attention on me & keep his mind from haring off into a plain goofiness. After facing so many unique situations, he's come to trust my judgment to some extent. It might be new, it's definitely weird, but I've never let him get hurt -- yet. I don't know that he'll ever come to trust me fully, but he is a little quicker to settle into a new situation each time.
Horses need training to carry a rider. When I carry around a backpack sprayer full of herbicide (about 1/5th of my weight) I can sure feel it. My whole center of balance is off. If I do it for any length of time, my feet & legs start to hurt, my shoulders get stiff & I get tired a lot faster than if I was just walking around without it. Horses are no different than people, they notice the extra weight, too.
Chad was full grown when I got him, a stocky pony of about 800 pounds. I weigh about 175 pounds, a little over 1/5th his weight & sit up just behind his front shoulders. That's a huge change to his balance & to the muscles he needs to maintain it. I'd seen him canter around the field on his own. He did it just fine, but the first time we tried it with me on his back, his front & hind ends wound up doing different paces -- half canter-half trot, a trope or something. It was awful! We slowed to a walk & then tried again. He figured it out fairly quickly, but it took months for him to build up the muscle & the knowledge to get it every time.
A horse is an intelligent being. They're always checking out their surroundings & the rider often trusts them to make decisions, but they start out ignorant & as self centered as any of us. On a narrow trail, I want him to stay far enough away from trees that he doesn't scrape my leg or the saddle. That takes a lot of practice & we've had a couple of arguments about his thoughtlessness, especially when he cracked my knee against a rock. Just cussing him doesn't help after the fact. I have to first train him to leg yield, move sideways to specific pressure from my leg. Only then can I expect him to understand the concept & get him into the habit of thinking about my comfort.
A horse & rider have a symbiotic relationship that's not too different from that of a man & his dog, although a horse is a prey animal, a very important difference to remember. If given a choice, most horses tend to flight rather than fight, so there is a matter of trust or understanding between them & the person. Chad & I have worked together a lot & he trusts me even more than Mary, the person who usually feeds him. He'll walk right on the trailer for me, but won't for Mary, for instance. Oh, she can get him on, but it's a bit of a battle. (It's definitely not a matter of authority. We all know who's in charge of the place & it isn't me. I'm just hired help.)
So, experience with a lot of different situations is very important. Chad spent his first year on one farm then went to another where he was turned out in the field for 5 years, never ridden or even messed with much. In the past 5 months, he's been tacked up & ridden. Some of the experiences almost blew his mind, like when he was hosed off for the first time. That was quite a traumatic experience -- a snake-like thing that spit warm water on him. Amazingly, it didn't hurt, actually felt good, but it scared him half to death when he first saw the hose.
Since then, he's been taken to a variety of different places, seen different countryside & horses. He's been to an indoor arena, a very spooky place with odd lighting & sounds. He saw kids for the first time & didn't know what to make of the fast moving, brightly colored, loud little humans. (I think he finally classified them as weird dogs, something to be wary of, but probably not harmful.) And we keep slowly throwing new things at him.
In all of these situations, I've been with him. I talk to him a lot in a soothing voice. I let him check out what I can & help him avoid issues. Occasionally I'll smack him on the side to focus his attention on me & keep his mind from haring off into a plain goofiness. After facing so many unique situations, he's come to trust my judgment to some extent. It might be new, it's definitely weird, but I've never let him get hurt -- yet. I don't know that he'll ever come to trust me fully, but he is a little quicker to settle into a new situation each time.
July 11, 2012
Spooky!
Some horses are easily startled, especially the hot bloods like Thoroughbreds, but any horse will suddenly jump if they catch sudden movement out of their peripheral vision. Their peripheral vision covers a lot of territory - pretty much their entire side - & engages a very primitive part of their mind. They don't think, just react.
If a horse sees something with their binocular vision, anything straight ahead of them, they're not usually as skittish, but check it out with a fairly logical mind. Usually.
Qualifiers are a necessity with any animal. They're individuals & their reactions to anything vary a lot by breed, temperament, & even the day. They have moods just like people.
The weather can have a lot to do with it. A crisp day with the wind blowing & the ground soft will usually mean the horse is really ready for some action. On these days, they'll often shy at anything just for fun. A very hot or cold day with hard ground & they don't feel like doing much. They'll just do the minimum grudgingly & couldn't care less about minor distractions.
Sometimes their moods are hormone driven. For about half the year, mares will cycle in & out of season for a week in each three. The same mare has been the best or worst horse we've ever had, but which one we'd find in the barn on a particular day was a mystery. It was a trial when the kids were showing them.
Other times, I just don't know why a horse gets spooky. Horses see hay bales all the time & they don't scare them, but if they're part of a jump, they're cause for great concern. Ours will 'help' me unload bales into the barn. Anywhere in or near the barn & they want to eat it. If I move the bale out in the middle of the field & it's somehow different - an alien laying in wait to eat them. What's up with that?
I don't know, but when training Chad to jump for a show, it's one of the things I'm going to have to do. It should be interesting. Wish me luck!
If a horse sees something with their binocular vision, anything straight ahead of them, they're not usually as skittish, but check it out with a fairly logical mind. Usually.
Qualifiers are a necessity with any animal. They're individuals & their reactions to anything vary a lot by breed, temperament, & even the day. They have moods just like people.
The weather can have a lot to do with it. A crisp day with the wind blowing & the ground soft will usually mean the horse is really ready for some action. On these days, they'll often shy at anything just for fun. A very hot or cold day with hard ground & they don't feel like doing much. They'll just do the minimum grudgingly & couldn't care less about minor distractions.
Sometimes their moods are hormone driven. For about half the year, mares will cycle in & out of season for a week in each three. The same mare has been the best or worst horse we've ever had, but which one we'd find in the barn on a particular day was a mystery. It was a trial when the kids were showing them.
Other times, I just don't know why a horse gets spooky. Horses see hay bales all the time & they don't scare them, but if they're part of a jump, they're cause for great concern. Ours will 'help' me unload bales into the barn. Anywhere in or near the barn & they want to eat it. If I move the bale out in the middle of the field & it's somehow different - an alien laying in wait to eat them. What's up with that?
I don't know, but when training Chad to jump for a show, it's one of the things I'm going to have to do. It should be interesting. Wish me luck!
July 10, 2012
Horse Poop
A bit of reality goes a long way to making a fantasy world real to me. Manure is something that any horseman spends a fair amount of time dealing with, but most fantasy authors never mention it. Each grass fed horse produces an amazing amount of steaming, wet piles. Poop doesn't build up just in stalls, but needs to be picked up daily from the run-in sheds, doorways, & gates.
Manure piles are generally made up of balls (horse apples) a little bigger than a golf ball, loosely piled together into a pile a foot in diameter & about half that high. They can weigh better than 10 pounds when fresh, but dry manure is almost weightless. A big wheelbarrow load of dry is more of a problem because the dry apples want to roll away, blow or bounce out. If it's fresh, we usually don't take a whole load because it's too heavy, depending on how much bedding is mixed with it.
In the spring, manure tends to be wetter, the horse apples less defined & lighter in color as the green grass rolls through them quickly. As the grass matures & the weather dries out, the manure becomes darker & more firm. Horsemen watch to see what their horse's poop is like. Too sloppy might mean reducing their grazing area & feeding some hay, while too dry might mean they're not drinking enough. That's a real danger & needs to be investigated. Is the water trough dirty, empty, or too hot?
Semi-dry horse apples have been used by children for play. If you can nail someone in the side of the head with one, it's a great joke. Gross? Well, I suppose, but not really to most farm kids. Horse poop doesn't smell bad, at least if you like horses, & you're generally getting it on you anyway as you work around & with them.
It's not great hygiene, but farming is a dirty business. We can't swap many diseases with horses, although I've heard worms can be a danger. None of us have ever picked any up & we've had more than a few horse apple fights. (Yes, even as an adult, I've had such fights with the boys.) We used dried cow flops as frisbees & often scaled them at each other. Flicking goat, rabbit, or deer pellets at each other is acceptable play, too. Chicken, sheep, or pig dung is nasty, though. Tossing that at someone is asking for a bloody nose.
A pile of horse manure is not pleasant to step in & will often stick to the bottom of your shoe or trip you. Worse, a horse can pick up a stone & bruise the sole of their hoof, so high traffic areas need to be kept clear of piles. They also trap water, kill grass, & can cause muddy places to develop.
We made a paddock to keep our two ponies in because we have too much grass to allow them to eat all day. They'd get too fat & might founder, especially in the spring when the grass is so rich. The area is big enough (about 70'x150') that the birds & rain usually break down the manure enough that we don't have to clean it up often. When there isn't any rain, it builds up, turning into hard, dry piles that kill the grass beneath them & reduce the area in the paddock that the ponies will use. They don't like tripping over old poop any better than I do.
The dogs like to eat horse poop. I don't know what they get out of it, but they'll often go through a pile or two. They'll munch on some of it & let it fall out of the sides of their mouths as they sort for the good bits. (And then they want to lick you. Ugh!) Tossing a pile with a pitch fork is a game for some of them, too. They'll try to catch it in mid-air, but they won't bring it back like they will a ball.
I know a few people that clean paddocks out daily, but most never bother. We only do it when there's a buildup & time. I've been wanting to get to it for a week or two now, but it's been hot & it isn't an urgent enough job to do in 100 degree weather. When the heat broke & it was merely 80 out, I spent a couple of hours cleaning up, though. It's just one more typical chore on a farm.
Manure piles are generally made up of balls (horse apples) a little bigger than a golf ball, loosely piled together into a pile a foot in diameter & about half that high. They can weigh better than 10 pounds when fresh, but dry manure is almost weightless. A big wheelbarrow load of dry is more of a problem because the dry apples want to roll away, blow or bounce out. If it's fresh, we usually don't take a whole load because it's too heavy, depending on how much bedding is mixed with it.
In the spring, manure tends to be wetter, the horse apples less defined & lighter in color as the green grass rolls through them quickly. As the grass matures & the weather dries out, the manure becomes darker & more firm. Horsemen watch to see what their horse's poop is like. Too sloppy might mean reducing their grazing area & feeding some hay, while too dry might mean they're not drinking enough. That's a real danger & needs to be investigated. Is the water trough dirty, empty, or too hot?
Semi-dry horse apples have been used by children for play. If you can nail someone in the side of the head with one, it's a great joke. Gross? Well, I suppose, but not really to most farm kids. Horse poop doesn't smell bad, at least if you like horses, & you're generally getting it on you anyway as you work around & with them.
It's not great hygiene, but farming is a dirty business. We can't swap many diseases with horses, although I've heard worms can be a danger. None of us have ever picked any up & we've had more than a few horse apple fights. (Yes, even as an adult, I've had such fights with the boys.) We used dried cow flops as frisbees & often scaled them at each other. Flicking goat, rabbit, or deer pellets at each other is acceptable play, too. Chicken, sheep, or pig dung is nasty, though. Tossing that at someone is asking for a bloody nose.
A pile of horse manure is not pleasant to step in & will often stick to the bottom of your shoe or trip you. Worse, a horse can pick up a stone & bruise the sole of their hoof, so high traffic areas need to be kept clear of piles. They also trap water, kill grass, & can cause muddy places to develop.
We made a paddock to keep our two ponies in because we have too much grass to allow them to eat all day. They'd get too fat & might founder, especially in the spring when the grass is so rich. The area is big enough (about 70'x150') that the birds & rain usually break down the manure enough that we don't have to clean it up often. When there isn't any rain, it builds up, turning into hard, dry piles that kill the grass beneath them & reduce the area in the paddock that the ponies will use. They don't like tripping over old poop any better than I do.
The dogs like to eat horse poop. I don't know what they get out of it, but they'll often go through a pile or two. They'll munch on some of it & let it fall out of the sides of their mouths as they sort for the good bits. (And then they want to lick you. Ugh!) Tossing a pile with a pitch fork is a game for some of them, too. They'll try to catch it in mid-air, but they won't bring it back like they will a ball.
I know a few people that clean paddocks out daily, but most never bother. We only do it when there's a buildup & time. I've been wanting to get to it for a week or two now, but it's been hot & it isn't an urgent enough job to do in 100 degree weather. When the heat broke & it was merely 80 out, I spent a couple of hours cleaning up, though. It's just one more typical chore on a farm.
July 9, 2012
Doggone it! - A Short Story Competition
The Fantasy and Vampire Book Club here on Goodreads has a short story competition for July. The story has to be about shape-shifters, between 1500-2000 words long. I thought it would be interesting to try & since it was too hot to do anything outside this weekend, I gave it a shot. You can find my entry in my Goodreads writing folder here:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
Enjoy! Let me know what you think.
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
Enjoy! Let me know what you think.
July 7, 2012
Bareback in the Sun
The sun was out strong even at 8:30 this morning with the temperature climbing rapidly through the 80's into the lower 90's in just the hour we were out. The girls opted for saddles, but I rode Chad bareback. We built up a layer of sweat between us rapidly which made balancing on him a little harder.
After a good canter around one field, we headed over to the jumps. They're all about two feet high & he's jumped them before, but he's barefoot, it was hot, & the ground was hard. He didn't want to do the first one & ducked out at the last second to the right, almost running us over the jump standard.
I pulled him around in the same direction, yelled at him & cracked him with the whip. From a few strides away, we headed into the jump again & did just fine. We circled to the left & went over another jump, then made a larger circle to the left to come into the first jump again from the opposite direction. Again he did fine.
We took a break while the girls did a few jumps & then had Sally on Opal give us a lead over the barrels (55 gallon drums on their sides on 2"x8" bases). Again, Chad ducked out & we actually clipped the standing drum on the right side, but didn't knock it over. Then he bucked a couple of times. This time he got hit twice & we did the jump again from both directions. After that he was fine the rest of the ride.
He's young & was trying to be lazy. He probably also thought he could dump me. It didn't happen, thankfully. The ground really is hard.
Once we were done, I gave him a bath. We use a garden hose with hot & cold running water to it. This was really scary for him the first couple of times, especially as we got up near his head. Today I hosed him down myself without a problem, even his head. He's had maybe a dozen baths now, so it's something they learn to appreciate rapidly.
If we're out at a show without the hose, we just use a bucket & sponge. A horse sweats a lot, so we need to wash them good to get the salt & muck out of their coats & from between their legs or they can get sores. After the wash is done, we use a scraper to get the worst of the water out of their fur.
After a good canter around one field, we headed over to the jumps. They're all about two feet high & he's jumped them before, but he's barefoot, it was hot, & the ground was hard. He didn't want to do the first one & ducked out at the last second to the right, almost running us over the jump standard.
I pulled him around in the same direction, yelled at him & cracked him with the whip. From a few strides away, we headed into the jump again & did just fine. We circled to the left & went over another jump, then made a larger circle to the left to come into the first jump again from the opposite direction. Again he did fine.
We took a break while the girls did a few jumps & then had Sally on Opal give us a lead over the barrels (55 gallon drums on their sides on 2"x8" bases). Again, Chad ducked out & we actually clipped the standing drum on the right side, but didn't knock it over. Then he bucked a couple of times. This time he got hit twice & we did the jump again from both directions. After that he was fine the rest of the ride.
He's young & was trying to be lazy. He probably also thought he could dump me. It didn't happen, thankfully. The ground really is hard.
Once we were done, I gave him a bath. We use a garden hose with hot & cold running water to it. This was really scary for him the first couple of times, especially as we got up near his head. Today I hosed him down myself without a problem, even his head. He's had maybe a dozen baths now, so it's something they learn to appreciate rapidly.
If we're out at a show without the hose, we just use a bucket & sponge. A horse sweats a lot, so we need to wash them good to get the salt & muck out of their coats & from between their legs or they can get sores. After the wash is done, we use a scraper to get the worst of the water out of their fur.
June 27, 2012
Just a little jump
Last night I took Chad out for a short ride bareback. The ground was very hard, the weather was hot, so neither of us was very energetic. We went up a broad, grass covered path & I decided we should pop over a small jump, about 2' high, just to keep in practice. Chad decided otherwise.
There was nothing scary about the jump & he's been over it several times. It's a small log horizontal to the ground set on a couple of larger, vertical logs with a few others filling in the center. The ground is fairly level on both sides. It does look solid, but there is a good ground line and a fence on the left side. More often than not, we don't jump it, but go around to the right. There is no wing or pole on the right side to funnel the horse in, which isn't unusual on such a small jump.
We started trotting into it about 40' away, plenty of distance to get in straight & build up to it. We broke into a canter a couple of strides before the jump. At the last second, Chad decided to duck out to the right. His sudden sideways move threw off my balance. I held on tightly with my legs & pulled hard on his left rein. This helped me get upright & forced him to face the jump again. We wound up jumping over the far right hand side, but it wasn't pretty.
I let him take a few strides & pulled him up. Then we turned around to jump it again. This is a training issue for both of us. I can't let him get away with trying to duck a fence - ever. He has to learn that if I ask him to do something, we do it right or else we do it until we get it right.
So we jumped back over it & he slammed on the brakes about 2 strides later & turned to go back to the other horses. I almost came off since the sudden stop slid me up on to his withers & I didn't have as good a grip with my legs any more. His sudden turn to the side just about tipped me off & a bounce on his withers hurt my crotch.
I wanted to go back in, but we didn't. Instead, I hit him with the whip once & gave him a piece of my mind, letting him know just how unhappy I was. We jumped that same jump 3 more times & he did fine it each time. He could do it, but he was just being lazy & a bit hard headed, so we had to work it out. We always work out such problems.
Any horse will duck out of a fence or stop occasionally. Sometimes it is the rider's fault. I've occasionally over faced a horse with too big a jump or guided it into one poorly. These things happen. Then the rider needs to do things right. That might mean skipping that particular fence, but I don't like doing that. If I do, I'll take them into a couple of others ASAP, just to make sure they don't get the idea that it is OK to stop.
Sometimes the footing can just be bad or the horse stumbles as he makes the approach. When that happens, we'll usually try again until things are right, unless there was something dangerous like a half hidden hole, in which case we'll skip it.
Not all horses are as willing & honest as Chad is, though. Some, either through poor training or just because they've got a streak of devilment in them, will duck out on fences every chance they get. Some horses (ponies can be especially bad) will figure out that if they almost stop & drop their shoulder as they wheel to the side, they can launch their rider into the jump. That hurts.
Most of us have gone over or through a fence without the horse & it's never fun. Bruised or broken bones (especially arms & ribs) are common when this happens. It's not something to take lightly. Training minimizes such events, although nothing can make every jump a certainty. That's not a bad thing, but part of the thrill of horse riding - the dash of danger in everything you do.
There was nothing scary about the jump & he's been over it several times. It's a small log horizontal to the ground set on a couple of larger, vertical logs with a few others filling in the center. The ground is fairly level on both sides. It does look solid, but there is a good ground line and a fence on the left side. More often than not, we don't jump it, but go around to the right. There is no wing or pole on the right side to funnel the horse in, which isn't unusual on such a small jump.
We started trotting into it about 40' away, plenty of distance to get in straight & build up to it. We broke into a canter a couple of strides before the jump. At the last second, Chad decided to duck out to the right. His sudden sideways move threw off my balance. I held on tightly with my legs & pulled hard on his left rein. This helped me get upright & forced him to face the jump again. We wound up jumping over the far right hand side, but it wasn't pretty.
I let him take a few strides & pulled him up. Then we turned around to jump it again. This is a training issue for both of us. I can't let him get away with trying to duck a fence - ever. He has to learn that if I ask him to do something, we do it right or else we do it until we get it right.
So we jumped back over it & he slammed on the brakes about 2 strides later & turned to go back to the other horses. I almost came off since the sudden stop slid me up on to his withers & I didn't have as good a grip with my legs any more. His sudden turn to the side just about tipped me off & a bounce on his withers hurt my crotch.
I wanted to go back in, but we didn't. Instead, I hit him with the whip once & gave him a piece of my mind, letting him know just how unhappy I was. We jumped that same jump 3 more times & he did fine it each time. He could do it, but he was just being lazy & a bit hard headed, so we had to work it out. We always work out such problems.
Any horse will duck out of a fence or stop occasionally. Sometimes it is the rider's fault. I've occasionally over faced a horse with too big a jump or guided it into one poorly. These things happen. Then the rider needs to do things right. That might mean skipping that particular fence, but I don't like doing that. If I do, I'll take them into a couple of others ASAP, just to make sure they don't get the idea that it is OK to stop.
Sometimes the footing can just be bad or the horse stumbles as he makes the approach. When that happens, we'll usually try again until things are right, unless there was something dangerous like a half hidden hole, in which case we'll skip it.
Not all horses are as willing & honest as Chad is, though. Some, either through poor training or just because they've got a streak of devilment in them, will duck out on fences every chance they get. Some horses (ponies can be especially bad) will figure out that if they almost stop & drop their shoulder as they wheel to the side, they can launch their rider into the jump. That hurts.
Most of us have gone over or through a fence without the horse & it's never fun. Bruised or broken bones (especially arms & ribs) are common when this happens. It's not something to take lightly. Training minimizes such events, although nothing can make every jump a certainty. That's not a bad thing, but part of the thrill of horse riding - the dash of danger in everything you do.
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