Finding your Perfect Trail Horse

Advice for finding your perfect trail match.

By Jennifer Nice

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-exclusives/finding-perfect-trail-horse.aspx

When people search for a new horse, the first thing they often do is make a list of attributes they want in the horse, such as size, color and markings. They then try to find a horse that closely matches the list.

When searching for a trail horse, my advice is to forget the list of those attributes. You shouldn’t care what color he is, how big he is (unless he’s way too big), how small he is (unless he’s puny), or if the horse is a mare or gelding. You shouldn’t care too much if his legs aren’t perfectly straight, if his neck doesn’t come out of his withers just so or his head looks like a briefcase. If you get too hung up on what he looks like, it will cloud your judgment when it comes to evaluating his abilities. Therefore, forget his physical attributes and go straight to checking his credentials. Can he do the job?

The only way to truly determine if a particular horse is the one for you is to spend some time on the trail with him. The seller should let you take him on a few trial trail rides. If the seller won’t, then pass on the horse. Take the horse out as many times as you can and expose him to as many different situations as you can before finalizing a sale. Here are the skills a good trail horse should possess:

•  He must be patient. A horse that is is in a hurry, is antsy or won’t stand still is annoying.
•  He must be willing to lead, follow or go his own way, when necessary.
• He must be willing to drink whatever water is available to him.
• He must like to travel, enjoy going to new places and seeing new country.
•  He must be social and get along with other horses. A trail ride is no place for a horse that kicks, bites or generally dislikes other horses.
•  He must willingly go over, under or around whatever is before him.
• He must never jump what he is able to  step over.
• He must be willing to jump what he cannot step over.
• He must accept encounters with things he has never seen before as a routine part of his job.
• He must have a very low flight response. Some horses will spin and bolt at the slightest sound or sight. They act first, ask questions later, which is not a desirable characteristic of a trail horse.
• He must accept flapping jackets and the rattle of plastic bags.
• And last, but not least, you must like him and he must genuinely seem to like you. The two of you are going to be spending a lot of time together. It’s important that you get along with each other.

If the horse has the credentials, then go on to the very important pre-purchase exam.  During the pre-purchase exam, your veterinarian will check the horse’s soundness and ability to handle the rigors of trail riding. The vet will also check for conformation faults that may hinder the horse’s abilities on trail. However, the best trail horse I ever had also had the worst conformation of any horse I’ve owned. His neck was too heavy, his back was too long and he stood like a bulldog. Most people would take one look at his crooked legs and turn away. But he turned out to be a horse whose innate skills on the trail far outweighed his poor conformation. He wasn’t built to do what he could, and yet he stayed sound for years. For this reason, I have always weighed less-than-ideal physical attributes carefully against skill and disposition. I will always take a good-minded horse with a conformation flaw over a perfectly-proportioned nut case.

And speaking of nut cases, some horses love the great outdoors, while others are scared to death of it. If a young, inexperienced horse is insecure about going out on the trail, he will probably learn to love it over time if he is properly exposed to it and learns in the company of a seasoned trail horse. However, a mature horse that is advertised as being a good trail horse but in reality isn’t, might not ever be. Just as jumpers, reiners, cutters and dressage horses have a certain amount of natural aptitude for their discipline, so, too, do trail horses. 

A good trail horse deserves the utmost respect. He should be treated like he is the king of the mountain, and in return, he will take care of you. You can’t measure having a good feeling about a horse. But if its there, you’ll know it. That’s how I found my perfect trail horse. 

  

Jennifer Nice has competed in top-level endurance competitions, so she appreciates the attributes of a well-trained trail horse that can handle any situation in good form.

I Am a Horse

By JIM GATH

Jim Gath is the founder and executive director of Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary in Cave Creek, Ariz. Tierra Madre is the “forever home” to 34 previously abandoned, neglected, injured or abused horses.

You know me. 

We’ve known each other since you were just a child.

Remember the pony rides at the Field Days?  Remember Fury?  And Flicka?  And Silver?  And Trigger?  And Black Beauty? And me and my brothers and sisters at the Fair? And that little figurine of me that you kept on the shelf in your bedroom?

And do you remember when you got a little older and you came to ride me one day?  How scared, but excited, you were when you first climbed up on my back?  And how that fear went away when the two of us marched off?  I knew you were a little scared.  That’s why I took such good care of you.  We ended up having a ball that day, didn’t we?

Now you’ve gone and grown up and made a life for yourself.  A lot has happened in your life since that day so many years ago.  You moved or you got a job or you went to college or you raised a family or a hundred other things.  But I know you remember me because I remember you.

I’m still here.  And I miss you. 

We’ve always had a great relationship, you and I, going back hundreds of generations.  Our histories are inextricably tied to each other.  And it’s a bond that can’t – or shouldn’t – be broken.

My ancestors carried your ancestors from the big port cities in the East across mountains and plains and grasslands and deserts to places where they all ultimately settled down.

Your ancestors farmed the land and my ancestors pulled their plows and their wagons to market.  As a team, your ancestors and mine built big cities.  And together, they delivered all the goods and services to the people who made those cities their homes.

full article link

LET THE HORSES INSPIRE YOU! Call For Entries: WIHS 2010 Poster Contest

- contest page link -

Washington, DC – May 12, 2010 – Let the horses inspire you! The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), the leading indoor equestrian event in the U.S., is seeking original poster designs for its 52nd annual event, to be held Oct. 26-31, 2010, at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The six-day equine extravaganza features the country’s leading horses and riders in exciting jumping competition.

The poster contest is open to U.S.-based artists, both amateur and professional, 18 years or older. A maximum of three entries per artist will be accepted. There is no entry fee. Artists submit photos (prints or digital files) of their work (not slides, not original art). The work submitted must be original and may be in any medium suitable for duplicating on posters and souvenir merchandise. The deadline for entries is 4:00 P.M., Monday, May 31, 2010.

Entries should be inspired by the WIHS and reflect an equestrian or horse theme. Artists also should consider the event’s longstanding ties to Washington, D.C.

The winning design will be selected by a panel of judges and will be used to promote the 2010 horse show. The winning artist will receive significant publicity, 100 posters and a package of all other items produced with the winning design, plus four weeklong passes to the show and other items. The artist retains the original artwork.

Previous poster designers include well-known illustrator Mickey Paraskevas as well as Virginia-based artists Jane Gaston and Dagmar Giffen Cosby. For complete contest rules and entry blank and a sampling of some of the wonderful WIHS posters from past years, visit: WIHS 2010 Poster Contest.

Photo Caption: New York artist Mickey Paraskevas designed the 2009 WIHS Poster.

About the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS)
An equestrian tradition since 1958, the Washington International Horse Show brings top horses and riders from the U.S. and abroad, including Olympic champions, to the nation's capital to compete for more than $400,000 in prize money and championship titles. About 500 horses participate in show jumping, hunter and equitation events during the six-day show. Special exhibitions, boutique shopping and educational and community events round out this family-friendly show. Since its debut, the Washington International has been a popular Washington, D.C., fixture visited by presidents, first ladies, celebrities, business and military leaders, as well as countless horse enthusiasts of all ages. WIHS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, charitable organization, is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Learn more at www.wihs.org.

New Organization Listing - Healing Harvest Forest Foundation

www.HealingHarvestForestFoundation.org

Healing Harvest Forest Foundation
... is a 501(c)3 organization established in 1999 to develop, implement and support community-based sustainable forestry initiatives, through the widespread use of animal-powered (horse, mule, oxen) extraction of logs and "worst first" single tree selection of individual trees in timber harvesting.


Ours is a "whole forest" eco-system management approach, toward the end of restorative forestry, community stability and achievement of our mission statement.

Four horses at Spring Hill stables die from botulism

It's been a wet year, look carefully for mold in anything you feed your horses!

SPRING HILL — Many in the area have experienced tough times recently, and Spirit Horse Stables is no exception. In fact, the business has gone through the worst tragedy in its history.

The Spring Hill riding stables lost four of its horses to a rare form of botulism poisoning last week and another six are hospitalized.

"I can't even tell you how absolutely devastated we are," manager Nancy Haines said. "These horses were and are greatly loved. Some of them the owners had since we opened in 1996."

The often-lethal botulism is the result of bacteria in decaying matter. The horses can be infected through a cut or by ingesting even a small amount of the toxin.

Although the cause of the Spirit Horse infections hasn't been determined at this point, Haines believes the bacteria grew in wet hay the horses ate, perhaps due to the recent floods. The property drained well but still got very wet.

Owners Judy and Jay Schwartz had never had an animal come down with the illness since the stable's founding.

"The bacteria grows in areas where it doesn't dry out and where there is a great amount of protection from the air," said DeWayne Perry, the county's agriculture extension officer.

- full article -

There's a new ministry in town!

Horsemen's International Ministry, established by Charles and Michele Pellham, is a non-denominational, Spirit filled Christian ministry based in Reva, Virginia.

 

HIM is there to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through clinics, seminars, public and private worship, retreats, and Cowboy Church. The message reaches across denominational boundaries to empower and encourage believers in their walk with Christ. It is the intent of HIM to introduce people to the joy and adventure of serving Jesus Christ, using horses in demonstrations and presentations.

 

Charles and Michele regularly include Cowboy Church in conjunction with events scheduled for Cornerstone Horsemanship at their farm in Reva. They also volunteer to hold Cowboy Church at any other events they travel to. Charles has been a guest preacher at Step of Faith Ministries in Locust Grove, Virginia on several occasions. They have also provided church service for the West Virginia Horse Expo for two years, and twice for the Culpeper Harvest Tour.  Everyone is welcome to attend any event.

 

Charles and Michele are available to come to your church or event. See the Ministry website www.horsemensministry.org  or call 540-292-5213 for their current schedule and more information. Horsemen's International Ministry is a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt organization.

Equestrian Exchange Coming Up in Roanoke

Don't miss this opportunity to see some equestrian things you don't need, or buy those that you do need!

- full event flyer -

Wild N.C. horses were determined to become Virginians

By Mary Reid Barrow
The Virginian-Pilot
May 10, 2010

Two gangly young foals on spindly legs tottered after their moms while several other horses grazed contentedly under a tree in a field of yellow buttercups down in Pungo.

From afar, the herd appeared to be just like horses you might see in other farm fields nearby.

But this is not an ordinary herd. Wary and alert, the horses are not apt to wander over to the fence to get a nose rub from a stranger.

They are far from domesticated animals. Instead, they are thought to have been descended from Spanish mustangs that lived free on the North Carolina Outer Banks for centuries.

While many of these mustang descendants now live in the Currituck Wild Horse Sanctuary in North Carolina, the Pungo horses were bound and determined to cross over the state line and establish residence in Virginia.

Over time, this group, under the leadership of a shiny red stallion with a long black mane, left their larger gang behind in North Carolina. Perhaps to isolate his mares from the other stallions, the big male began bringing his family up into Virginia, where they enjoyed fine dining in grassy Sandbridge yards and entranced many residents.

The handsome stallion, dubbed Red Feather, would lead his harem back into Virginia no matter how many times the horses were trucked back to North Carolina and no matter how many obstacles were put in their way.

Red Feather would even go so far as to lead his family on a swim around a fence that had been erected out into the ocean to halt the roaming horses, said Donna Snow.

- full article -

Interesting Press Release from American Horse Council

American Horse Council Press Release

Contact: American Horse Council
bharrison@horsecouncil.org

 

AHC RELEASES REPORT ON EQUESTRIAN ACCESS

Today, the American Horse Council released its 2009 Report on Equestrian Access on Federal Land. The 2009 report is intended to provide a brief overview of the responses the AHC received from equestrians to its ongoing access survey in 2009.  The report can be viewed and downloaded here.

In July of 2009 the American Horse Council launched an effort to collect information regarding equestrian access issues on federal lands.   This effort was prompted by a growing concern among recreational riders around the country that they were seeing a reduction in the number of trails and trail heads open to equestrians on federal land.

The center piece of this effort has been an AHC online form riders can use to report their personal experiences regarding trails on federal lands that have been closed to them or other access issues.  This online form is located here.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans use horses and pack stock to enjoy America’s great outdoors each year.  However, it is an experience that cannot be enjoyed without access to public land, trail systems, and trailheads. 

“The AHC will use this report to illustrate some of the challenges facing recreational riders,” said AHC President Jay Hickey.” “Our federal land mangers work hard to provide recreational opportunities and we need to make sure they have adequate resource and equestrians need to work with them at all levels.   However, sometimes there are issues and conflicts that need to documented and brought to there attention. This report is just one part of our efforts to ensure equestrian continue to have recreational opportunities on federal land.

-click here for full article-

First Trailer: New Disney movie about Secretariat

Looks great!!