Blast from the past!

I started riding at 4 when we lived in the Bahamas. This was taken when I was 6 riding a little chestnut mare (old habits die hard) named Cleo. She trucked me around my very first shows and offered me a maiden voyage on a nearly upright rear (when I clung to her neck and stayed on). Cute little thing with her roached mane and all.

I think my Mom made me push my helmet back for a good photo!

The other girl in the photo was my best friend Christina who was responsible for getting me involved with horses in the first place...simply stated, I had to do anything she did too.

Let's see your silly childhood horse photos!

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!

I am sure I've mentioned before that I work as a photographer for a rare book company...the largest in North America to be exact...my work week varies day to day, I have an assistant and I more or less arrange my workload (unless we have a big catalog coming out -- fall is our busiest time of year). One of the best things about my jobs (and why it suits me as a self-proclaimed nerd) is that I am surrounded by rare and valuable things all day lone. Even better than that, I get to handle each and every one as they come through the studio. Things that most people will either never see, or may stumble across in a museum or famous library. The owners just returned from a huge book fair in NYC and acquired some really beautiful and expensive new things for our inventory. In the last two days I have handled over a million dollars worth of books split between 8-9 different titles. Crazy.

Today, while photographing Shakespeare's Fourth Folio (ahem, $250,000) I highlighted a few passages for use in the upcoming catalog. I thought I would include one here...work life + horse life meld in the blogosphere!

fondling rare books -- it's how I pay the bills

there's no such thing as boredom

Recently, when I was trying to explain horse shoeing to a friend...we came up with a really great cartoon image of Kazi after he gets new shoes. This was a collaborative effort.

hehehehe

Wide Open Spaces

I was disappointed to arrive at the farm Saturday to find out that Kazi had not been trimmed or re-shod. Also, a side note: The pictures taken last week do GREATLY exaggerate the toes in front, but his toes are simply too long for me to feel comfortable asking for much from him. I wanted to get further photos but there were tons of people around and I didn't want to seem like a creep. The horse does have a heart of gold though and has been foot perfect since his tumble last week. That said, I was not about to do any sort of real riding on him and further exacerbate the issue. I did not want to ride him Saturday if his feet weren't done and if I did, it would be just tack walking around. A group of people were going on a walk-only trail ride and asked if I wanted to go so I could see the trail system a little (and they knew I was worried about Kazi's feet). The two trainers there agreed his feet were fine for a walk in the park, so off we went! Sometimes in situations like this, it's good for me to be ambushed with a new plan. Given any time to think about what lies ahead I have a tendency to worry about silly things. This was Kazi's first trail ride of the year and I knew it would be interesting and educational.

What I know about his experience on trail is limited to a few stories. He is apparently pretty good in groups, will lead or follow, isn't particularly spooky, jigs on his way home...the usual kind of stuff. I have heard about him bolting when other horses have spooked and getting a little goofy in open spaces...so I tried to keep an open (and sensible) mind heading out. We took the opposite route of the loop we were going on which took us into an area called the Meadowlands. It is essentially a huge clearing that they are working on to reroute some of the trails (sadly to accommodate bikers). The footing is great and it's nice and windy with some good hills here and there. Kazi had a really hard time keeping it together once we got out there and he could see for acres and acres. I didn't react, simply kept my reins soft (short enough that if he bolted I would have reins to use, but not so short that he felt restricted in ANY way) and followed his head with my hands. I counted his rhythm in my head and chatted with the trainer who was leading in front of us. The two girls riding behind me are both teenagers who were on pretty dead broke mounts (though, they both have their moments). The horse leading is a really cool Rocky Mountain Horse that is just as sturdy and calm as can be, but he is a big baby. He can handle pretty much anything unless that "thing" is coming towards him at speed. If that happens he wheels around and runs in the other direction. In my mind I pictured a little cartoon horse running away from something scary with a big cloud of dust and it's little legs going so fast but the horse isn't going anywhere. The trails were pretty quiet and there weren't too many tough questions along the way. The was one point where a log had fallen and created a beautiful 3 foot vertical across the trail. We had two options to get around it, but Kazi couldn't figure out the first one -- which was following the horse in front off to the left over a narrow path and back down. As we started in that direction, I could feel him thinking about leaping to get to the lead horse, so I turned him around and headed up an embankment and around the whole fallen tree instead. It was a much better choice for both of us. He still seemed pretty confused with how to get down the other side, but at least he wasn't pressured into any airs above ground. The whole loop took about an hour, and as we headed back to the barn all of the horses got a little goofy. I didn't mind at all, but then we headed toward a horse eating monster. Said monster was just a small piece of equipment about 50 yards away (and on the trail path) that was moving rocks around. The unit must have been a little bigger than a ride on lawn mower, but holy crap, this thing made soooo much noise. The horse in front, Sonny, was coming unglued, and Kazi was following suit. We stood there for about 5 minutes trying to get the operator's attention so he could shut it down for us to pass. The two boys were just losing it a little and Kazi just wanted to keep moving. Having him stand there was pretty awful and I could tell he couldn't figure out what to do with his body. Finally, the guy shut it off and now we had to convince the already terrified horses that they had to meet their maker! Sonny was actually so bad that it somehow calmed kazi down. He was spinning and trying to bolt away and Kazi stood like a gentleman while I patted his neck and encouraged him to walk (slowly) past. I like for horse to really SEE the scary thing, touch it if they need to and learn how to walk away from it. Everyone got past just fine and we were nearly home (I think that element made everyone want to just run for home). Kazi proceeded to just stay really excited and worried about maintaining the distance between him and the leader so we switched places. Putting Kazi in front meant he had to look around and pay attention. His whole body relaxed and we marched back to the barn on the buckle.

What a brave boy!

I was really proud of him for his first trail ride of the year and our first together! Nothing he did was dangerous or crazy, and it was helpful to have a trainer there to help guide me through the scary parts. One of the things I like so much about thoroughbreds is that they just have great brains. They really try to figure things out and want you to help them along the way. It's a real partnership.

There were some really cool spots along the trail for trotting and cantering and I am looking forward to working up to that with him!

I gave him plenty of love, stuffed him full of granola bars and gave him a kiss on the nose!

*His owner was out on Sunday and worked on trailering again...she said he still wouldn't stay in the trailer -- sigh. I think it's just too small.

too many cooks in the kitchen

Here's reason #537658 that leasing a horse is problematic: he's not YOUR horse. Right, I know, obvious enough. But when it comes to certain issues I have a really hard time not putting my two cents in no matter how much my inner voice tells my outer voice to shut the hell up. So far, I have been really good at sitting back and letting Kazi's owner show me the ropes with him. She wants him handled in a really specific way...most of which is normal stuff, but some of it goes against 20+ years of horsemanship habits I already have. For example, she lets him walk through a gate before her and she follows behind...this is a really tough one for me to break -- but I am working on it. *Gates are a bit of a problem for him sometimes and he gets worried in tight spaces. I don't mind doing anything the way she wants because again, he's her horse and I have complete respect for that. I am going to forget things here and there and she's ok with that too. But there's little things that I will question...I was picking out his feet last weekend and I let go of his back foot in a way that she didn't like. She told me to help guide his toe to the ground so he can feel it first before letting go...huh? This is where part of me says "he's a horse, he'll figure it out". The surface at the cross ties is rubber bricks and there's no worry of him hurting himself. So I questioned it. Again, I'll do whatever she wants, but it's hard for me to remember when I have been picking out horse feet for years and years.

She mentioned to me that some of the people at the barn have differing opinions about specific things. Most importantly, they don't believe you should free lunge your horse. Initially, I though that this was because they didn't want to footing to be chopped up in the arena...it's not. They simply think it's bad training for the horse and that he'll simply get confused between work and play. Well, much like when I put my dog's leash on, horses have a pretty good understanding that when they are tacked up, it means work. Period. He's not a green bean or a baby, so there's no worry that there could be confusion. The horses there are turned out all day long but in small paddocks where they can't stretch their legs at all. At best they might be able to get in a few canter strides. I truly believe that thoroughbreds need to stretch -- not run per se -- just stretch out their back muscles. Whether or not we believe that a horse is capable of protecting himself against injury, I do think that they can balance themselves running around and releasing some tension.

I wasn't able to ride him this week after work because I had a 2 day migraine and missed my days to go out there. I didn't mind because his feet are way overdue for a trim and I knew the farrier was coming Friday. The other girl that leases him rode him yesterday and when she tried to pick up the left lead canter they both fell. She said it felt as though his whole front end gave out. I have witnessed him tripping on his front toes, where he'll almost tip toe and then his front leg will buckle a little. I chalked it up to his hooves. He does have scars from having his right front pin fired at the track and a slight club in that foot -- which is why he can't/shouldn't jump. I don't think he carries himself heavy on the forehand and overall he does seem well balanced. I got an email from his owner asking for some input to which I responded with my concerns about his feet. She thought maybe there were some exercises we could do to strengthen his front legs, but honestly, I told her that she should have him trimmed, have his hooves tested, and re-shod, and then see what happens. I am a big believer that much of a horse's soundness starts at the feet. If we can get them rebalanced and he's still having issues then I think a vet call might be the next step. The real problem here is that she sent the email to me, the other rider, the girl that trained her and the barn manager. He wrote back that he doesn't think free lunging is good for Kazi. Sigh.

Here's a picture I took Sunday...it was to show how much he's shedding out, but um, look at his feet. Now granted this was taken with a wide angle lens so it's slightly distorted, but his front feet are SO long.

What do you think?

 

You can see his pin firing scars from this angle too. The left front is obviously a little distorted from the lens, but the right front shows a pretty example of just how long they are. I think since the weather has gotten more Spring-like his feet have been growing like weeds. I tried to explain to his owners that it's not her fault, but that he definitely was overdue to see the farrier. Thoroughbreds can be particularly sensitive when it comes to their feet being in balance and it really shows with Kazi.

It's all really a sensitive issue at this point, I don't want to over step my boundaries here. Hopefully I'll get an update later today after the farrier comes out. I am supposed to see him tomorrow and I'll get some new photos!

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed!

Trailering issues, but he's still a saint

Sweetest boy I know

Kazi's owner and I are going to a Parelli clinic at the end of April, which should be fun and interesting (especially considering what a skeptic I am), which means taking Kazi on a little ride in the trailer. Sounds easy enough right? Most ex-racehorses I have encountered love getting on a trailer. They seem to associate it with going somewhere fun and gladly self load and munch on hay with or without a friend. Part of this has to do with how they are handled as yearlings where I think trailer imprinting is essential to their training. Working with L at the other farm I have first hand experience witnessing him with horses of all personality types. In his lifetime he has trained 500+ race horses, so watching him work with a difficult horse is really something else. After this weekend with Kazi, I am curious at to what kind of approach he would have to loading him. Here's the thing, he's not afraid of the trailer, or the ramp, or the sound the trailer makes when he steps on and off. He never panicked completely or lost total focus, but he IS claustrophobic. Period. The trailer we were working with is very small, a straight load 2 horse that's very narrow in the front. Here's where the issues begin and end though...we know what Kazi's problem is...he's fearful of tight spaces (ie, gates, barrels that are too close together etc) and he will panic if he thinks he's going to get stuck. A look at his race history shows us a glaring example of this claustrophobia, he once refused to leave the starting box...

But here's the thing. I don't think that just because a horse has had X,Y, Z issue in his life that he can't get over it and move forward. I really hate to make excuses for a particular horse vice, but it is good to know where the vice stems from. That said we made some headway on Saturday. His owner did some ground work with him and then tried loading him...it was hard for me to watch because I wanted to intervene (I didn't). Basically, he'd walk on the trailer, but back out when he felt like it (which wasn't always right away). It wasn't a panicked backing out either, sometimes he'd just back out on to the ramp. He wasn't unwilling to go on the trailer, but he wouldn't stay on either. He seemed happier once we got a VERY docile friend to stand in there with him, but he still wasn't convinced. He never actually got his whole body in enough to attempt closing the butt bar. It's a small enough trailer that he would really have to get ALL the way in for us to even try that. At one point he seemed to shut down and he started to ignore us, he just stood on the ramp and zoned out. My problem with the whole scenario is that this was all done with a rope halter and the Parelli lead line (which I think is 20 ft long)...while I understand that when he wearing those items he is more focused on his handler, etc...it still worried me. Trying to load a horse into an already cramped space with the lead rope dragging on the ground makes me nervous. While he understands if he steps on it someplace else and spooks he'll catch himself and calm down, if that happens while he's trying to load I think it would make him really nervous and scared (again, I don't know for sure) -- that, and I don't like the idea of the rope halter for loading...but this is just my silly opinion. We spent about 2 hours working with him and tried to make the whole event a positive experience. I think D was disappointed that he didn't make substantial progress, but I think with OTTBs it's important to see the small successes. My recommendation for next time is for her to be a little firmer in regards to him backing out of the trailer. Much like a horse that won't tie, I think that horses will pull back if they think or know they CAN. She is hesitant to use any of the sort of standard methods of loading due to his starting box issues...so we'll have to see how this goes. Personally, I wish we had a bigger trailer to get him comfortable in first.

After all of this hard work, we let him free lunge for awhile in the arena which he was soooo happy about. He apparently considers me a friend and despite my best effort to stand next to D in the middle of the arena, he kept trying to get me to play with him. At one point I was trying to get him to switch direction and I blocked his path and flailed a lead rope at him, he spun around galloped a few strides and then tried to get me to play tag with him. I couldn't stop laughing and either could our little audience at the barn! It was really so cute. We practiced a little ground work without a lead rope, which he was awesome for and then got him tacked up for a little ride. It was the first time D rode him in spurs and although she was a little nervous about it, she did great! He was forward and happy. I hopped on and did a little lateral work with him and just put him through his paces in each direction...his feet are really overdue so I didn't want to do too much (his toes are crazy long!). He was completely happy after spending the whole afternoon doted over. He truly is a horse that loves nothing more than to have human attention!

Makes me REALLY wish I could jump him:(

 

 

Oh yea, one more thing...there are foxes that live on the property! One of them just had a litter of 4-5 babies! I tried to get a photo of them! So cute!

tiny little blobs of grey next to her are the babies!

urban decay

Living in a big city means that there are all sorts of strange horse owners floating around. Recently, I found out that This American Life did a series on some young black kids that are known as urban cowboys in the city. they keep their horses at a stable in North Philly and for all intents and purposes the horses seem to be in reasonably good care. Of course, I wish the boys would wear helmets, especially while riding in the streets, but ultimately I am a huge supporter of horses helping kids stay out of trouble. Part of me needs to turn the other way and hope that everything there is ok for the horses. The kids also seem to have a leader of sorts and that is comforting too. Here's a part of the series:

But there is a flip side to all of this. Backyard horses living in conditions that are less than desirable. I am not completely sure what the zoning requirements are for the city and chances are there is a lot of grey area because areas once considered industrial areas are now looked at as loft districts. One thing I know for sure is that the carriage horses, that have been the object of a lot of criticism are very well looked after. I used to live right by the stables and the horses are happy, healthy and if anything, have to follow very strict guidelines to stay in business. My only criticism is that often, drivers have no respect for horses, or carriages and things get a little hairy from time to time.

I remember when I lived in a different part of the city, I would ride my bike home along Spring Garden St, a main thoroughfare of Philadelphia that runs East/West. Right around the "loft district", just north of Chinatown I would occasionally see a grey Percheron behind some buildings. I assumed that someone had a small carriage operation that was run in that district. The horse seemed to be in good shape and I never really thought much about it, outside of the fact that it was strange to see a horse in that neighborhood, until today. One of my good friends often sends me photos of horses he sees around Philly. When he sent this I knew exactly where it was, and after inquiring, I feel a sense of responsibility to do something about it.

This picture looks like something out of a war torn Bosnia. On a very basic level, this is wrong. More than that, I have a personal connection with draft horses and it makes me ill to see this pee stained horse standing out in the elements in a TINY run. His weight seems ok, but I think I need to investigate a little more. For one thing, there's no way this is a legit area for a horse (zoning wise). I don't want to just have a knee jerk reaction and call animal control before finding out more information. The last thing this horse needs is to wind up in a kill pen.

Big city living at its finest!

Tomorrow I will go see Kazi, ride, and give him one million kisses for his second chance at a good life. It's safe to say that everyone deserves a second chance.

London 2012

I've been filling out my passport renewal forms in anticipation for a big trip to India next year. This trip has been in the works since I was in college and I am going with my old professor/mentor. He just got back from his 7th or 8th trip there. He sent me inspiring emails while he was away saying things like "India is calling".  I can hardly believe that this time next year I will be writing about my experiences there.  As a way to follow through on my goal of going there, I stopped cutting my hair about a year ago...I will cut it on the banks of the Ganges (and bring it home to donate). I decided to forgo any other travel plans until I make this trip happen, but I do have a little trip planned afterward.

The 2012 Olympics!

With a sister living in London and a brother in Holland, it will make acquiring tickets relatively painless (the process is INTENSE). I'll have a place to stay when I go over and my Dad has already offered to fly me over to Ireland to visit him after the games. Being that I am the only horse lover in the family, convincing anyone else to join me at the 3 Day Event will be tough -- I don't actually mind though. I am completely happy doing my own thing. I just hope that we can all agree on a few events around the same time so we get to enjoy the Games together in some format. They're only selling 12,000 tickets to the cross country day and knowing what a HUGE following eventing has in Britain makes each and every one of those tickets very special. Basically, to get a ticket for any of the events there is an application process...UK residents getting first chance at any available tickets. I sent my brother information on the dates and events I want to go to with priority on the cross country day. When you send in your application you basically state which events you want to go to in order of most desirable...it's not guaranteed that you will get the one you really want. You are notified within a month or two about which tickets you got. I can't even imagine the organization and management a process like this takes.

So fingers crossed that my brother can make this happen!

100th Post -- and time to reflect

It's nearly a year to the day that I started this blog. Actually it's been 368 days. It seems a bit surreal. For one thing, I have never, ever, ever been able to keep up with a journal. Generally, I think they jinx my life so at the first sign of detriment I stop...evident by a stack of half-started paper journals under my bed and a handful of blogs under construction. Truthfully, I never thought I would keep up with it outside of my superstitions. I get distracted easily, involving myself in various projects to fill as much of my spare time as possible. But, over the last year, I started to feel a real sense of accomplishment from writing here, collecting friends and readers along the way, and discovering something truly satisfying about the ability to look back the last year chronicled. While I know my writing skills are sub par (the result of too much art school), I feel like what I type here comes from the heart, and I consider this space quite sacred. I've found myself touched and inspired by your blogs and that alone keeps me coming back, painstakingly typing out my thoughts and feelings.

St. Patrick's Day

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." William Butler Yeats

New book entitled...Prince of Wales OR Get Off My Damn Leg!

Though I have rarely worn spurs throughout years and years of riding, I am a strong believer in backing up aids, either with a whip or spurs and preferably being equipped during times of frustration...having to get off to fetch said backup can be downright frustrating and counter-productive. Anytime I've hacked out without a stick I have ALWAYS regretted it, as the predictability of a trail ride is like trying to see into the future and I wind up having to yank a branch off a tree to reaffirm my position. I'm not against either when used correctly, ie. The Persuasion Stick (sometimes horses just need ahem, encouragement -- or perhaps, a reality check) and certainly spurs hold a special place. That special place is allowing your leg to be effective without exhaustion. Particularly on a horse that has gotten a bit "dead" to leg in general. I have seen photos of Kazi ridden with a dressage whip, but I have also heard stories of him been rough handled at the track and based on how I've seen him spazz when he feel trapped, I'm going to stick to spurs for now (I've also seen him ridden in spurs and he does really well). Looking at some photos of me riding him last weekend I noticed that my leg was in this intense position trying to get him aware of it. If he was a horse I knew a little better I would probably get on and if I got no response he'd get a swift smack behind my leg -- generally that's all it takes some horses to humbly respect your leg. Sheesh, this paragraph makes me sound like a bully. I'm really not. I'd like to think that the best system is to teach the horse to respond to the lightest of aids. I've seen Kazi be ridden (and ridden him myself) enough to know he's ignoring us a little. I think some of it has to do with fitness, but also, I think he's smart and he's looking for ways to evade the tough work. One thing I know for sure, is that no matter how out of shape I might feel, my inside right thigh should not be burning every time I get off!

A request

Now that I am nearing my 100th post, it would be super nice if you are a curious reader of mine, that you might officially "follow me". I took a quick look at my stats today and was quite astounded at the depth and breadth of my readers (and lurkers)!

So follow me! And, if I am not already following you get after me!