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Horse Play News May - June 2010

The Running Horse

A Bi-monthly Newsletter from Horse Play

Issue May - June 2010

Horse Play

EIN: 05-0506340

Website: www.hptrc.org

Email: horseplayri@msn.com

Message from Aidan – the…

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Added by Horse Play on April 27, 2010 at 9:30am — No Comments

This Week in Horse History - April 26th Through May 2nd

This Week in Horse History - April 26th Through May 2nd

April 29, 2003 – Barbaro, the famous Thoroughbred racehorse, was born at Springmint Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky. His sire was Dynaformer and his dam was La Ville Rouge. He was owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson. Barbaro was foaled and raised by Bill Sanborn. In 2006 Barbaro would go on to win the Kentucky Derby before breaking his leg in…

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Added by Paige Cerulli on April 26, 2010 at 7:30am — No Comments

A Minor Change of Plans--Bumper Spurs

Last week, with visions of rowel spurs in my head, I went to my "local" tack shop--a 60 mile round trip, and discovered they did not have what I was looking for. There was ONE set of smooth rowel spurs, with the extra long neck, made of zinc of all things but only $10 US so I got them anyway for future experiments if needed. I also found this weird looking set of slip-on spurs, with the "spur" interface being a series of rounded metal curves. This set looked…

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Added by Jackie Cochran on April 25, 2010 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Dressage in my state

I would like to start off by saying that I am not a "DQ" (completely)....I am though very strict on my training and horse management as thats how I was trained by some of the best in the World. Coming from a family of Dressage riders and competitors, I am really amazed at how the Dressage community in my area demonstrates 1.sportsmanship 2. horse care 3. training 4. barn…

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Added by john deppen on April 25, 2010 at 11:00am — 2 Comments

Riding with a loose rein

I don't know if I have brushed more horses in my barn or in my dreams. I can spend hours just grooming a horse. I think by now I can draw them with my eyes closed just pretending that I am running my hands over their magnificent bodies. Every inch of their bodies memorized in the palms of my hands has forever captured their beauty and by now it has been blueprinted permanently into my imagination.

When my son was training horses with me, I actually spent more time being the groom. I… Continue

Added by Roberta Edstrom on April 25, 2010 at 10:22am — No Comments

Building Confidence with Free Jumping

Building Confidence with Free Jumping

Have you ever heard someone say “that was a long spot” or “you really chipped in there?”

Learning to jump takes patience and time, for both you and your horse. Allowing your horse the time to build confidence over fences will ensure he’ll trust you to jump any fence, from any distance, and most importantly, he’ll want to jump for you.

When your horse wants to jump for you,… Continue

Added by Lindsey Forkun on April 25, 2010 at 9:00am — 2 Comments

Starting and running a 501(c)3, or how to use up all your free time (24 April 2010)

So...what's in a by-law, anyway? Apparently, a LOT of legal jargon! Bluebonnet Humane Equine Society (www.bluebonnetequine.org) sent us their by-laws, and Colleen had been preparing some for what would become Borrowed Freedom Equine Therapies (www.borrowedfreedom.org). Still, I had to download forms (thanks, Google!) as to what needed to be in the by-laws, what constitutes a director, how many you need, how you will… Continue

Added by Special Horses, Inc. on April 24, 2010 at 12:19pm — No Comments

Why eventers can't show-jump, training half-steps, napping,shadowing Anna and watching Human Performance in action - week in review

Pic.left: Watching dressage warm up with Barney who after becoming friends with me decided being close by is the way to go!

Where were we?

Tweseldown trip was very interesting. The reason I like to go to various events is because I like to… Continue

Added by Wiola Grabowska on April 23, 2010 at 8:00pm — 4 Comments

Having fun keeping your young horses focused?!!!

Less distractions are better if you can help. If your horse is not listening on the ground first, you may have a problem once you get on. If you are not in the saddle yet, work with your horse on a shorter lead, keep the horse closer to you and try to keep their head towards you or looking where they are going.

Keep sessions short. When asking for something new, and you succeed, make sure you repeat it again before stopping.

Start your next sesssion with what they…

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Added by Laurie Aditajs on April 23, 2010 at 11:55am — No Comments

Training Tip of the Week: Lunging for Respect

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Added by Clinton Anderson on April 23, 2010 at 11:34am — No Comments

9 Tips for the Warm-Up Ring

Hi Guys,

With show season right around the corner, I thought I should go over some tips to help you in the warm-up ring. So many riders are confused about how to warm-up their horses so they can have a productive schooling session. So here are 9 tips to help you with your warm-ups.

As a rider and trainer, your goal in the warm-up is to take the restrictions away from your dressage horse's body. So depending on the day, your warm-up could be as short as 10 minutes, or it…

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Added by Jane Savoie on April 23, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

Starting and running a 501(c)3, or how to use up all your free time (22 April 2010)

Gail from True Innocents Equine Rescue (www.tierrescue.org) gave us the heads up about the Ralph and Virginia Mullin Foundation. This is an organization that will assist groups devoted to animal welfare wishing to become 501(c)3.

I was doubtful: Special Horses isn't your run-of-the-mill kind of equine welfare organization, even though, at this point, we certainly had established ourselves as making an impact. We still applied, and surprise! we… Continue

Added by Special Horses, Inc. on April 22, 2010 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Catching My Horse

I've only owned two horses (and my wife has owned two), I've played with a couple more and I'm relatively new to natural horsemanship (about 6 years). My point is, I'm not always sure if the behavior I see in my horse is due to my fab skills or just that I have a good horse (I'm fairly certain it's the horse). I don't really think it makes much of a difference as long as I am getting the behavior I want.

Here's what got me thinking about this: Catching my horse. I understand some folks… Continue

Added by John Harrer on April 22, 2010 at 2:44pm — No Comments

Warm up ring gallops and riding the race route

So I really did kind of tear up my back fighting with those lug nuts. I didn’t ride Belle on Tuesday, and I gave her a 15 minute free lunging session on Wednesday. That was kind of interesting. She can now wear out TWO running mates. I run one horse with her, put them up, and put a different one in, and she is still flying circles around them! She used to be dripping wet after just 5 minutes of free lunging, now we are doing 3 times that and she is just damp. Thursday, I had another horrible… Continue

Added by Monica Whitmer on April 21, 2010 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

CDI3* Kentucky Cup

Canadians are once again proving to be a force to be reckoned with at the CDI3* Kentucky Cup.

Yesterday, Belinda Trussell & Anton were second in the Grand Prix with another score over 70% (70.213). Bonny Bonnello and Pikardi were behind them in 3rd, with 68.638%. Today, Bonnello and Pikardi rode in the Special, earning 70.292%. Full results are available at Fox Village… Continue

Added by Dressage Canada on April 21, 2010 at 2:27pm — No Comments

The Riding Quotient Report-When Less is Actually More

My trainer for many years would say, “You spend the first fifteen years of your riding career learning to do, the last seventy-five years is spent learning how to do less.” Intellectually, this made sense to me. But clarification and implementation of “doing IT with less” came from The Feldenkrais Method…

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Added by Suzanne DeStefano on April 21, 2010 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Picking the right boarding stable: Barn safety.

Last week I touched upon the hazards to look for in the pasture your horse will be kept in. Today I want to look at some things to look for when selecting a safe barn to keep your horse in.

I don't believe horses are fussy weather a stall or barn is well painted or has fancy brass hooks and handles. If that's what floats your boat go for it it but don't make decor the number one priority in selecting a barn. Once again put the horses safety and well being…

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Added by Steve Wawryk on April 21, 2010 at 12:06pm — 2 Comments

Resume Pt. 3 - First Promotion: Novice Groom & Stable Hand

Once you have delivered her to the barn, if you choose to stay while she rides, you are going to have to work hard to not be in the way, because if you are anywhere but the lounge or the parking lot, odds are you are in the way. Riding facilities are built mostly with the horses in mind, and do not often account for horse husbands or other non-essential persons. A horse husband standing in the aisle is like a piece of china in a bull shop.

I started standing in the aisle during the… Continue

Added by Green-Broke Groom on April 21, 2010 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Mid April

REAL LIFE Well its official, I'm leaving Holyoke Mass - my last day of work here is July 3rd. The plan is to start my new job on August 1st, so I'll have a nice riding vacation in July. I expect to be working in Randolph VT at Gifford hospital and the horses will be at Huntington Farm in South Strafford VT. I'll get to train with Deb Dean-Smith on a regular basis - which absolutely thrills me! Deb presently has 3 FEI horses (all trained by her) Lady Liberty who showed…

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Added by liz call, md on April 21, 2010 at 10:52am — No Comments

Nature Helps in Bonding with Horses

Horses prefer being with horses in the wild. The carrot of freedom and self direction and community of the herd is stronger than anything that people have to offer so to develop your bond of trust with your horse, rather than getting the horse to join you, why don’t you focus on joining…

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Added by Carolyn Resnick on April 21, 2010 at 10:00am — No Comments