Author: Amanda C

Last Saturday I finally had the magical combination of time, good weather, and an empty ring, so I seized the opportunity to set up some fences and have a little jump school. We hadn’t jumped more than 2 fences since Holly Hill two weeks before and I couldn’t really decide which thing out of my “bag of tricks” to work on, so I ended up setting up a random mish-mash of stuff.

For me – a low wide oxer and a triple bar, to force me to ride all the way to the base but still support with my leg off the ground. For Henry – a big cross rail to help tighten up his sometimes drapey legs and a vertical with placing poles on the approach and landing to get him rocking back on his hind end a bit better. For both of us – a skinny box that was set in a place where we could either ride it as the “in” or “out” of a bending line, or as a very tight rollback from the vertical next to it. Straightness, it matters.

We warmed up, I got Henry out in front of my leg, practiced a lot of adjustability in the canter, and then hopped over a little vertical a few times each way. He was feeling good and happy and attentive, so I went right into our Weirdo Exercise of Random Crap (ha, WERC). I started with the vertical with placing poles, then over to the low wide oxer, the big crossrail, triple bar, and ended with the vertical to skinny box rollback. All no big deal, he gobbled it up happily and landed from the skinny box with a tiny squeal and a few little dolphin-leaps to celebrate his badassery.

At that point I just laughed at him and grinned ear to ear – a grin that stayed in place for the rest of the ride. We hopped through everything a few more times in different configurations, Henry listening and understanding each question as we came upon it, ears up and looking for the next fence. I’m not perfect, he’s not perfect, but we were both having a lot of fun together, and that alone made it the perfect moment. It brings me so much joy to ride a horse like Henry, and it’s so rewarding to have him enjoy his work too. Fun is what it’s all about.

I’ve made a few lists over the past couple years of my own favorite things, but Henry has never made a list of his own. Granted, his very favorite things in the world are eating, sleeping in his own pee, and cross country, so I had to really work at it to find tangible items that made his list. But we finally did it, so here are Henry’s top 5 best things evarrrr.

Himalayan salt block

Henry has his salt down to a science. He likes to eat his dinner, get a drink of water, lick his salt, drink more water, lick his salt some more, and drink more water. He closes his eyes as he methodically and rhythmically licks his salt, to the point where he looks high as a kite. Dude loves the thing, and it seems to encourage him to drink more, so he always has one hanging in his stall.

Leistner Prinz brush

I love the Prinz brush because it works so well, but Henry actually loves it too. And that’s a pretty high compliment coming from a horse that really doesn’t like to be groomed. This brush is really good at getting the dirt off while also leaving a good shine, so I think of it as kind of a 2-in-1. Anything that is super soft and equals less grooming time gets two ears up from Henny.

Ogilvy half pads

Simply put, this horse is a Princess. He also is not shy about his opinions. So if Henny doesn’t like something, you know immediately. Likewise, if Henny does like something, you also know immediately (due to a lack of pinned ears and swishy tail trying to lash your eyeballs out). He’s been super happy in his Ogilvy half pads since day 1, and when I tried to go without it one day as a mini-experiment, he told me that was a no-go. Well, what he really said included a lot of expletives and was quite rude, but let’s just say it equaled “no”.

Back on Track mesh sheet

I’m still not totally convinced that the Back on Track voodoo is real, but I can’t deny the fact that Henry feels really good every time I get on him after he’s worn his mesh sheet. He’s too much of a blanket shredder to wear it unattended, but I’ve put it on him for a couple of hours before dressage at most of our shows this year and he does seem more limber right from the start. Plus he’s never once pinned his ears at it, so there’s that?

Uncle Jimmy’s 

As far as treats go, Henry isn’t that picky, but he does seem to really like the Uncle Jimmy’s Squeezy Buns. I think part of it is the excitement and anticipation that comes with the crinkling of the wrapper as I open each one; he’s like a kid on Christmas. Plus they’re nice and soft and apparently really delicious. He also likes the Uncle Jimmy’s Licky Thing, a treat that is reserved for horse shows. Weirdo horse has a crazy strong oral fixation and will stand in his stall just licking the wall or the bars when he’s bored. When I put the Licky Thing in there he’s at least got something to lick besides the wall. The Licky Things also last him a lot longer than a Likit (he gets about 2-3 days out of a Licky Thing vs a matter of hours out of a Likit, so they’re perfect for shows).

And Henry’s slave owner also appreciates that if you’re a fan of Riding Warehouse on facebook, you can always get 10% off your order with the code FB10. Money saved = more Henny treats.

 

Anyone who has read this blog regularly or looked really closely at our show pictures has probably picked up on the fact that Henry goes au naturale – he gets to keep his ear hair and whiskers.

Basically, Henry keeps his ear hair and whiskers because I can’t think of a single good logical reason to remove it, but I can think of a lot of good logical reasons to keep it.

He keeps his ear hair because he has some aural plaque in one ear, and while he’s not at all ear-shy, he gets VERY fussy about wind/bugs/rain in his ears. The hair gives him some protection from the elements, so I won’t clip it out. Even if he didn’t have the aural plaque he’d still keep his ear hair… over the years I’ve really come to feel like horses genuinely need it, so while I used to clip the ears with some of my past horses, I won’t do it anymore. The hair prevents dirt and insects from getting in, and since Henry spends the majority of his time outside when the weather is good, I don’t think it would be fair to take his ear hair away. Plus Henry’s little squirrel ears really match his personality, I get a kick out of them. I just trim the little dingleberries before we go out in public.

The whiskers, I feel a little bit less strongly about. Henry keeps his because he manages to scrape and bang his face enough as it is, I’m not going to cut his whiskers off and make it even easier. Plus I do believe that there’s something to the fact that the whiskers have so many nerve endings and are actually sensory organs that link to the brain… I think they’re more important than we realize. I wouldn’t clip the whiskers off a cat or dog, so I can’t think of a good reason to clip them off my horse either. I’m not one of those that thinks trimming whiskers is cruel, but it makes me happy to see horses that get to keep them.

In Germany and Switzerland (and I think Belgium and Sweden, at least) it’s illegal to clip the whiskers off, plus I know the Brits discussed a rule change proposal a couple years ago as well. Go to a show in Europe and whiskers are the norm. I figure if they can do it, so can I, and no one has ever commented negatively on Henry’s whiskers. Probably because you really can’t even see them unless you get very close.

What’s your opinion on trimming whiskers and ear hair? Is your horse clean shaven, or au naturale? Why?

 

Because sometimes you just need a bunch of baby horse pictures to brighten up your life, I’m gonna do everyone a favor and post very few words today. These pictures were all taken at First Flight Farm in Boerne, TX (the farm where Sadie is currently residing for breeding). Happy #foalfriday!

Quinton by Quaterback out of V.Pr.St.Donnabelle (Donnerhall-Plaisir d’Amour)

Fyodor FFF by Fursten-Look out of out of Donnerball (Donnerhall – Akzent II)

 

Isadora FFF is by Cancara, out of Wynona (Cacique – Calvadur)

What do you do when it rains 15″ in 3 weeks and turns everything into gross squishy swamp land? You get creative, that’s what. Hence the newest sport taking Texas by storm: Driveway Dressage.

Arena too slippery? Pastures bogged down in mud? Horse hasn’t been turned out in a week and you think you might die? Not a problem. All you need for Driveway Dressage is a death wish and a semi-rideable strip of ground 3-6′ wide. You’ll easily recognize it as literally the only surface your horse can stay upright while trotting on. The shoulder of your local county road or the strip of grass beside the driveway of your barn should work just fine.

Driveway Dressage is super informal. In fact, tacky looking outfits are encouraged. Ideally, nothing should match. Bonus points for big flowy shirts that make you look 20lbs heavier than you actually are and a ponytail flopping out of your helmet (skull caps are all the rage in DD these days).

In Driveway Dressage everything is freestyle. Really you should just make it up as you go along. Planning is strongly discouraged. All you have to do is make sure you include walk, trot, canter, and do something that is a vague attempt at lateral work but not actually a success. Lengthenings are extra credit, especially if they’re not intentional and feature some bucking and squealing. Straightness is strongly discouraged.

Oh, and every time you get to the end of the driveway and have to turn around to make another lap, don’t forget to halt and salute properly – with a fully extended middle finger aimed directly at the nearest puddle.