M & M Farms

Vet makes funny

2008-10-14T08:33:00.002-04:00

I was listening to Dave Ramsey on my way home from lessons last night. An equine vet called in. He had been on a farm visit earlier in the day. The client mentioned that she was a liberal, or in some other way conveyed such to the vet. When he was finished and writing the invoice he informed her that he would be adding a 10% surcharge to her bill. The proceeds would then be held in reserve for the next horse owner who couldn't afford vet care.

Low and behold the horse owner didn't think it a very good idea. Personally, I thought it was an excellent example of liberal "redistribution".

All that said we are back in full swing this week with lessons. As soon as my camera surfaces I will post some pictures of the new farm. Which I'm calling my own piece of nirvana. (that means tranquility)

We had an excellent showing at the state fair this past weekend, but I'll post more on that as soon as I have those pictures from Amelia...hint, hint.

Move over

2008-10-09T11:32:00.000-04:00

Our new blog is http://www.charlestonriding.blogspot.com

Come on over

Final Post

2008-10-04T06:23:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I have been absent for awhile. Dan and I have been very busy moving our house and the farm. Many of you are very interested/confused with what is happening.

The econonmy has taken a large dive as most of you are aware. As a result Dan and I are not going to move forward with building a new farm on United Dr. at this moment. We are going to patiently wait until the market has improved.

I spent several weeks not sure what we were going to do. We talked about closing the doors, tried to find a lease on another property, and just in general considered any option we could brainstorm.

At the 11th hour God came through. Our general contractor who had also tried to salvage the construction project invited us to use his farm. Thank you Cecil and Dawn!!!

They have a beautiful 15 stall barn, several horses that have been lesson horses the majority of their lives, very well LIT ring for evening lessons, an ample hay supply of their own, showers in the bathrooms...I could go on and on. The long and short of it however is that we have come to an arrangement with Cecil and Dawn that will allow us to stay at Mills Farms for as long as we need/want to.

The sad part of the situation is that we are now 8 miles outside of Moncks Corner. I know for many of you this is quite a hike the first time or two. Those of you who have already started coming out are discovering as you get to know land marks and get comfortable with the drive it's not too bad. There are also a couple of short cuts I can help you with as you get comfortable.

I know I will lose some of you to the drive. I would really appreciate any word of mouth recommendations you can give to friends or family who live up this way. Our telephone number for now is my cell phone 408-7500. E-mail is info@charlestonriding.com

We are having a pot luck at the Mills Farms today at noon. All are welcome to join us. I will be setting up a new blog, and will post the info one last time here as soon as it's up and running.

Weekly skill improvement

2008-09-21T07:11:00.002-04:00

I am going to try and post a weekly entry that will help you improve your skills in between your lessons. This week is an excersise used in martial arts to create weight in your heels, balance, and strengthen your legs.

The horse stance, or riding stance, is a common stance in most traditional martial arts systems. The horse stance, known as ma bu, or kiba dachi, requires that the legs be slightly wider than shoulder width, knees bent, back as straight as possible and chest out. The hips should be kept forward. The depth and width of the stance varies depending on the style of martial arts. Some styles require the knees to be bent to a ninety degree angle while others only call for a slight bend to the knees.
The horse stance is used in traditional fighting systems for several uses. Primarily it is used during training to strengthen the legs. It can also be used as a way to attack the knees and the balance of an opponent. Finally, it can be used as a way of getting low and close to an opponent to set up another technique. The example shown here is a horse stance used in various kung fu styles.

Trusting God

2008-09-20T20:02:00.003-04:00

Trusting God is always a roller coaster. It has been a very appropriate sermon series at Seacoast this month. We are learning all about dreams realized and dashed. For those adults among us you know that the economy is struggling right now. In particular the banking industry. Sadly, the nature of banking right now is forcing us to delay and slow down the construction of our new farm.

We are not going to be able to stay at M&M any longer either. We are about to enter a new (yet temporary) era of Charleston Riding Academy. We have entered a very beneficial partnership with Cecil and Dawn of Mills Farm. They are located just outside of Moncks Corner. They are welcoming us to share their beautiful facility. They have a a 14 stall barn, well lit arena (that drains), and numerous other "luxuries". There are even some luxuries just for our parents.

We will be taking a couple of weeks off the beginning of October to let our horses settle in to their new environment. Lessons will resume October 13th for our general academy students. Our horseshow students will be able to continue their lessons during the transition time.

I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to take some. I will have a letter for everyone this week detailing the transition and a couple of special opportunities. If you don't make it to the farm and would like the letter e-mailed please let me know.

It will be important to remember that this is their home and we need to be respectful of their personal space. They do have young children and it will be important to establish that the outdoor toys are not a free for all. If we just keep a general rule that we need to stay a minimum 100 feet from the house this shouldn't be a problem.

Moving Day is upon us

2008-09-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

We are going to be moving the farm and our house next weekend the 27th and 28th. Many of you have offered to help. WE can use any and all help both days. If you are available and are willing please show up and your convenience. I'm sure I don't need to stress the volume of stuff that will need to be moved. We will have trailers and trucks, but if anyone can be bring bodies there are jobs for anyone and everyone.

Lessons cancelled

2008-09-17T12:46:00.001-04:00

Unfortunatley last night's rain has left us under puddles again. Please call me to reschedule. I need to get any and all make ups in by next Friday.

Lippizaner Stallions

2008-09-11T10:05:00.001-04:00

The lippizaner stallions are coming to the coliseum in January. I'm planning to buy tickets tonight if anyone wants to go as a group give me a holler and I'll get us all tickets. Please be prepared to reimburse me by Monday. If you haven't been to this show before it is a good time. The horses are amazing. If anyone wants to know why we think Em looks like one then you should come check them out. You can learn more at their website.

Lessons today

2008-09-11T09:36:00.001-04:00

It rained all night, and the ground is just saturated. I'll have to cancel lessons tonight. Call me to reschedule.

It's official

2008-09-06T22:26:00.002-04:00

Well, I can finally make a public announcement. I think all details are finalized. We're moving. Charleston Riding Academy will finally be a dream realized. We have purchased 18 acres a few miles up United Dr, and are building a farm from scratch. We have ordered a barn from Horizon Structures. We will have 10 stalls, a heated wash rack, large tack room with lounge, office, and seperate feed room. We will have ample pastures and turnout (although the grass won't likely sprout until spring at this late date). We will have a seperate large (near double our current size) jumping ring and dressage ring. We're ordering a full set of brand new jumps with walls, gates, and rolltops. I'll be updating the website soon with all of the details including the name change. As soon as we have a final move in date likely mid to late October I will post our Barn Warming Celebration information. You all are invited. That includes anyone who is a former member of our barn family. We hope this will serve as a sort of family reunion/home coming and a time to catch up with many of you.

Disappointments

2008-09-06T08:54:00.004-04:00

As some of you know I was hoping to adopt this horse from Second Wind Adoption.

I just received an e-mail from the director that he sustained a pasture injury the other day and is going to be under rehab for awhile. The vet says they don't expect it to effect his soundness, but I'm not sure I'm prepared to risk it. This is the second horse up for adoption that I have been serious about that got injured within days of my intended visit. It's the third horse that something has gone wrong with. Maybe I'm not supposed to have a horse of my own. Back to the wings to wait for the next beauty.

Weathering the storm

2008-09-06T08:52:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone weathered Hannah okay. The farm is still standing without many concerns. The red barn did flood and has quite a bit of standing water in it. For those of you who left please remember to touch base before coming back. I will let you know when the clean up is complete and there is space to come back to.

Trailer Infor

2008-09-06T06:08:00.000-04:00

This is a great article about bumper pull trailers. I copied it from the equispirit website. Lots of great definitions and things to consider in this article.

Are You Trailering Safely?
By Tom Scheve

Free Safety &
Travel Tips
Newsletter

Get Details

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Judy pulled her Jeep Cherokee and two-horse tagalong trailer into Southern Pines Tack and Saddlery's parking lot. Out of habit, I glanced at her hitch - saw she wasn't using weight-distribution bars. I strolled over, introduced myself, and said, "Do you know you're pulling 5000 pounds with a 2500-pound hitch?"

"What do you mean? The Jeep salesman told me the hitch was rated at 6500 pounds."

"Yes and no," I answered. " Only one model of hitch fits that Cherokee. If you look at its rating sticker" - hers, I pointed out, was on the back of the hitch - "you'll see two ratings. The weight-distribution rating is the weight you can safely pull if you're equipped with weight-distribution bars to spread out the load - and yes, that's 6500 pounds. But without them, the weight-carrying rating applies, and that's just 2500 pounds."

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Thinking about a new horse trailer? Learn why
EquiSpirit trailers are built for your horse's safety.

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Judy thanked me - and promised that the salesman would be in for an earful when she called him on Monday…

Like Judy, most of my customers are intelligent, safety-conscious women pulling two-horse tagalong trailers. But here's something I don't understand: Though most women today are willing to question just about everything we men say, they don't question information men give them about mechanical "stuff" - including trailers and hitches.

That's unfortunate, because - much as it pains me, as a man, to say it - a lot of us husbands, brothers, boyfriends, salesmen, and mechanics pass on a lot of information that's wrong. And in trailering, wrong information can be disastrous.

What You Need to Know

With a two-horse tagalong, you're pulling more weight than just about anyone else except professional truck drivers. What's more, you're towing live weight that's stacked badly. As any truck driver will tell you, the way to stack big loads is to put the heavy stuff on the bottom and the lighter stuff on top to minimize weight shifts that can cause sway and loss of control. But with horses, most of the weight is four feet above the trailer floor - and it shifts at will!

Unfortunately, many tow-vehicle dealers and service technicians haven't a clue about the dynamics of a loaded horse trailer. Some, as we've seen, don't even understand hitch ratings. So, for your horses' safety and yours…

If you have a hitch, you need to check for yourself that it's up to standard.
If you're buying new, you'll want to make sure you're getting what you need.

This article will help you in either case.

Here's the guideline to remember about hitches:

The rating of a hitch and each of its components must be equal to or greater than the loaded weight of the trailer it's pulling.

(You'll have the best chance of getting a quality hitch, correctly installed, that meets this guideline if you buy a hitch by one of the large manufacturers, such as Draw-Tite or Reese, who constantly research and test their products, and who support their dealer with training.)

Choose the Right Hitch

First, though - even before we get into ratings - let's be clear that you can't safely link up a fully loaded two-horse tagalong to a tow vehicle's bumper. Why? It weighs too much - so it's likely to pull the bumper off your tow vehicle.

The kind of hitch I recommend (and a number of states require) for any tagalong trailer is a frame-mounted receiver hitch. In this, the hitch ball is bolted to a square-steel-tube slide-in ball mount; the mount slides into a receiver tube and is secured with a heavy metal pin held in place by a cotter pin. Slide-in ball mounts come in two-inch-increment "drops" to permit level connections between trailers and high-off-the-ground four-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) - and can be inserted upside-down to level with vehicles that sit lower than trucks.

Check the Hitch Rating

On the back or bottom of any quality frame-mounted tagalong hitch, you'll find a sticker with two ratings.

The weight -carrying rating, as I said above, is the weight the hitch will safely hold on its own, without weight-distribution bars.

The weight-distribution rating tells you the amount the hitch can safely hold if you're using weight-distribution bars (sometimes - incorrectly - called "sway bars"; see "Terms for Trailering")
(Besides being rated, hitches come in several classes; horse trailers need a Class III or Class IV hitch. Class III hitches usually have a weight-carrying rating of 5000 pounds and a weight-distribution rating of 7500 pounds; Class IV, a 7500-pound weight-carrying/10,000-pound weight-distribution rating.)

Later we'll talk about how to determine the actual weight you're asking your hitch and tow vehicle to handle. For now, though, here's another guideline to remember.

You need weight-distribution bars to tow a fully loaded standard tagalong with a vehicle other than a full-size truck (half-ton and up) or or if the weight of the loaded trailer exceeds the weight carrying capacity of your hitch.

Here's why.

How Weight Distribution Works

A hitch with weight-distributing ability has a head (called a trunnion head) attached to a large, heavy, adjustable slide-in ball mount with steel flanges on either side. The two steel weight-distributing bars - also called trunnion bars - attach to the flanges at one end and at the other to snap-up brackets on either side of the trailer tongue. You attach chains on the bars to the open snap-up brackets, then close the brackets and pin them. The sheer force of closing the brackets actually returns the rear of the tow vehicle to its height off the ground before the trailer's weight pushed it down.

Once connected this way, the bars take much of the tongue weight (see "Terms") off the hitch ball and the tow vehicle's rear axle, spreading it evenly through the steel bars and the tow vehicle's frame. Besides leveling the two vehicles, this eliminates the risk that the trailer's weight might cause the tow vehicle's front to "float" (bounce up and down) and lose control - or, in the case of some lighter, short-wheelbase SUVs, even lift off the ground. (See more about our variety of horse trailers for sale.)

With a full-size truck, you don't need weight-distribution bars to prevent floating; the truck's long wheelbase and its heavy engine sitting over the front axle do that. But you do need bars (or a higher-rated hitch) if the weight of your loaded trailer exceeds the weight-carrying rating of your present hitch. With something like a Suburban or Expedition, you need bars if your loaded trailer weighs more than 7000 pounds. (And even with bars, midsize trucks - Dakotas and S10s, for example - and smaller vehicles just aren't up to pulling a fully loaded standard two-horse tagalong.)

Check the Hitch Components

Besides checking your hitch rating, you need to check that the ratings of all its components - hitch ball, slide-in ball mount, coupler - are at least equal to the rating of the hitch itself.

Where do you find them?

Hitch ball: Its rating, etched on top of the ball, relates to the thickness of the ball's threaded shaft; the thicker it is, the more weight it can take. (The ball size - 2 or 2 5/16 inches - is also etched here.)

Slide-in ball mount: The rating is usually etched into its side - and isn't always easy to read! If this rating matches your hitch ball's (either 2 or 2 5/16 inches) - as it must for safety - the shaft should fit snugly in the mount. Make sure it does, with no play.

Coupler: Its rating (as well as its size - 2 or 2 5/16 inches, like the ball) is etched into the metal - and, again, not always easy to read. Most manufacturers weld correctly rated couplers onto their trailers, but I've seen some older trailers with couplers rated for less than the trailer's loaded weight.
Note: Always check that your coupler is the same size as any hitch ball you want to hook up to. A 2-inch coupler won't fit on a 2 5/16-inch ball; a 2 5/16 coupler will drop onto a 2-inch ball - but it'll pop off again on the road.

Weight-distribution bars have ratings etched in, too - but instead of matching your hitch rating, they need to match your trailer's tongue weight: usually 500 or 700 pounds. With a name-brand hitch and a trained installer, you have little risk of a problem here.

Ratings tell you how much weight you can pull safely. So now it's time to…

Determine Weights

To make sure you're not asking your hitch or tow vehicle to do more than it can, establish these weights for your rig.

Trailer weight: This weight may be listed on your Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin (MCO - see "Terms"), or on the sticker insider a door that also lists the trailer's GRWR (see "Terms") and axle ratings - but the number may not reflect factory-installed modifications (such as added length). The same goes for what your dealer tells you unless he weighs your trailer with the add-ons installed.
So what do you do? Weigh your trailer yourself - at a gravel yard, recycling yard, garbage dump, or truck stop (but not a highway weigh station; neither the officials nor the long-distance truckers who must stop at these busy places will welcome you). Make sure the scale is clear; pull on so your horse trailer is on the scale but not your tow vehicle; then unhook the trailer. Someone in a nearby booth will give you a weight slip, the cost will probably be $5 or less.

Gross vehicle weight (GVW): to your trailer weight, add the weight of your horses (determine with a weight tape from your feed store) plus everything else you normally haul - hay, grain, tack buckets, water, et cetera - to get your GVW. Or load everthing but your horses, go back to the scale, unhook, and weigh as before; then add the horses' weight. For safety, your GVW must not exceed your trailer's GVWR - or the rating of your hitch or any component.

Combined gross vehicle weight (CGVW): This time, put the whole rig - vehicle and loaded trailer - on the scale; then add your horses' weight. Your CGVW must not exceed your tow vehicle's gross combined vehicle weight rating (GCVWR) (see "Terms").

Tongue weight: Your dealer can give you a figure, but (again) it won't reflect added options. To get the weight yourself, drive your empty trailer to the scale but stop before the trailer tires roll on; disconnect the trailer, crank down the trailer jack so it's supporting the tongue, and drive your tow vehicle off.
For safe towing, a tagalong's tongue weight should be ten to twenty percent of the empty trailer's weight. (I like it around seventeen percent: for a 2200-pound trailer, say, a tongue weight of 374 pounds.) Well-designed trailers balance the horses over the axles in such a way that the tongue weight is about the same with the trailer loaded or empty.

Generally, more tongue weight (within that recommended percentage) is better for stability and tracking. (Next time you see a tractor-trailer, notice how far back the wheels are; the reason's the same). So a longer trailer with a dressing room up front is likely to pull better than a shorter trailer. But with the popularity of shorter-wheelbase SUVs, some companies are producing trailers with a lighter tongue weights by moving the trailer axles forward, putting more of the horses' weight behind the wheels - where unfortunately, their moving around is more likely to cause "fishtailing" than when they're centered over the wheels. You're wiser to pick a trailer with a tongue weight within the percentages recommended above - and support your hitch with weight-distribution bars.

Spread the Word

An unsafe trailer is a risk not only for you and your horses but also for everyone else on the road. But now that you know how to make sure you're hitched up properly, you're equipped to make your own trailering much safer.

That being so, let me make two final requests: Take pleasure in the accident no one will ever see because you prevented it happening, and don't keep your knowledge to yourself. Check the trailers and hitches of your friends and barn buddies. Any time you see a trailer that's not level, or that's hooked up wrong, tell the owner. Or leave her a copy of this article, saying "Thought you ought to know."

Oh yeah - give your mechanical-stuff-know-it-all men friends a copy, too.

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Installation Info
A tagalong hitch generally runs between $250 and $350. (If you're financing your trailer purchase, you may be able to include the cost in your financing package.)

Most new trucks and SUVs offer factory-installed hitches. If the hitch really is factory-installed, you can usually trust its installation and quality. If the dealer is doing the installation, check that you're getting a name brand and check the training of the installer - who may be a local hitch specialist. Such specialists, found in every major city, carry name-brand hitches, plugs, electric brakes, and hitch-related products. Supporting them are the name-brand companies' good documentation and programs that teach correct installation and maintenance through individual training, videotapes, and manuals.

All lights go

2008-08-27T14:37:00.000-04:00

We ARE having lessons today. If the weather if foul we'll be in the part learning tack parts and cleaning techniques.

Labor day

2008-08-26T16:12:00.001-04:00

Just a reminder that there will not be lessons next Monday as it is Labor day. If you want to reschedule let me know.

Cancelled lessons again

2008-08-25T13:21:00.001-04:00

I know I had said I would be doing lessons rain or shine for the fall, but the rain Fay is bringing is making it even too wet for that right now. I had a great barn lesson planned, but we have so much standing water today I don't think even that is a good idea. Please call me to reschedule if you had a lesson scheduled for this evening.

Pics are starting to roll in

2008-08-24T07:14:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to get some of the pictures from Clemson. There are many of you who still owe them to me. Get them sent so I can add them. Keep your eye on this slideshow. I'll add pictures as they come in.

Lessons Cancelled

2008-08-22T15:22:00.001-04:00

I'm going to go ahead and cancel lessons for tonight. It is just too wet out here.

Stay tuned for weather reports this afternoon.

2008-08-22T08:21:00.002-04:00

Right now it is too wet to ride out here today. I am planning unmounted lessons in the barn for todays lesson at 5:30. I'm planning to work on saddle and bridle parts and how to correctly assemble a bridle. However, if the rain hits really really hard I may cancel. If I do I'll post it here.

We all need a reminder from time to time

2008-08-20T08:12:00.002-04:00

I've seen the billboards for this pair, but this video is still very touching. Just a reminder that we can accomplish more than our imagination can fathom with our hearts in the right place. This makes lame horses, bruised riders, and battle worn trailers seem like nothing. Sometimes we all need a reminder... I'd love to hear how this video effects each of you.

Stay the course (Clemson recap)

2008-08-17T21:38:00.007-04:00

I'm not talking about a jump course here. Leading up to this weekends show God placed every road block possible in our path. I'm sure it was to test my endurance and commitment. We had riders not able to practice, horse injuries, trailer issues, and equipment failure all before we got off the farm Friday morning. I left here with a sense of dread. We arrived in Clemson and all seemed to be smoothing out. Everyone started out schooling very well. Then it happened Tansey's stubborn streak came out and she decided to do a 90 degree pivot right in front of the fence. She pitched Nicole off right into a box. Nicole caught her knee pretty hard on the way down. After the shock wore off she seemed a bit better, but I was still concerned. I had Jessica run her over for x-rays which were inconclusive. The GP in the ER decided to air on the side of caution and put her in a knee immobilizer for the weekend. Sadly, that meant she couldn't show. With a new sense of determination Nicole announced that she absolutely wanted Tansey shown, so Ann stepped in and agreed to get her around cross rails. Needless to say that turned into everything up to 2'3" jumpers for the day. They pinned in everything!!!

The classes on Saturday were very large. Sean (for the second time ever) gave x-rails a go and took the red ribbon in equitation (that's judged on rider position and ability) out of a total 27 riders. Absolutely amazing to me. He then went back in for 2' hunter and eq, both of which went very well. Paula made Amador's debut in the 2' hunter division. His over fences classes did not go as well as we would have liked, but it gave Beth an opportunity to really see how he performs. That set us up for a long overdue conversation. (Announcement to come in the coming weeks) Clemson is a unique show because there is not a hack class for each height, but only for each division. That meant that I had 4 riders in the moving up hack. There were a total of 24 riders in the class. They split the hack in half calling back 4 riders from each half for a final round. We ended up with 3 of the 4 in the final. I have to say it was a very proud moment for me as a trainer to have my riders come out first, second, and third!!! Then we moved on to 2'3". Normally I wouldn't have allowed Emily to ride in the low height, but here mom was able to make a rare out of town appearance for the day. I had to find something she could ride in, so in she went. I was a bit concerned because Gift can be a bit sloppy with her front end when the fences aren't high enough. But low and behold Emily walked away with the reserve for the division. She only rode in half the division classes. Can't imagine how we would have rocked the house had she done the whole division. We rounded out Saturday night with a fantastic meal at Fuddruckers.

Shelton and Randall went on a limb and decided to order the 1lb burger. Randall went the extra mile and added bacon to his. Needless to say (happily by my standards) neither of them finished it. It was fun watching them try though.

This morning started with me waking everyone up to the most amazing Harvest Moon. As soon as the sun came up it brought the rain with it. I never knew how scary an empty indoor arena could be until I saw lightning touch down just outside the front entrance. It shook every beam in the building and was accompanied by the loudest thunder clap I've heard in quite awhile. Today was to be a full day for Emily and Gift. I was fully prepared to scrap some classes if they started to look tired, but all went very well. Emily walked away with a champion winning all but one class. She took second in an equitation over fences as she completely dropped a rein and was forced to jump the oxer with it hanging on Gift's neck. Paula got in on the jumper action and took home the yellow in the beginner jumper (2'6") class. Emily also gave the jumpers a go and came out in the ribbons in the larger jumper class and the gambler's choice.

The final component of this show was the Dressage. That is what Kaijsa came for. She rode 3 dressage tests. One of which was part of a combined training test that also required her to complete a stadium jumper course. Kaijsa was really looking forward to the opportunity to get the rest of the barn engrossed in "her" sport. Not every move went according to plan as Em thought this was a good weekend to iron out her flying changes, but if you didn't know any better her test looked seamless. The judge must have thought so to. Kaijsa brought home the blue, in not one, not two, but all three of her tests!!! Paula also got in on the dressage action. She jumped way up the starting rungs and jumped straight into a memorized Training level test. But, no not Paula she couldn't start with the first test of the level and build up to the more challenging one. If she was going to do it she wanted to push herself to the limit. We did the final test before you move up a level. She rode Training level test 4 on Amador. They've really only worked on his flat movement and putting him into a dressage frame for about two weeks. I didn't have high expectation. I told her if they came out with a 50 I'd be happy. Woo Hoo was I suprised when she pulled a 59 out of her helmet. If we can fine tune her accuracy and seat usage she'll be ready to move up. Oh wait, she has to learn what a shoulder in is. All in good time.

I want to extend some special gratitude to a few behind the scenes members of our team this weekend. The show portion of this weekend went off without a hitch. I was only given one occasion to be frustrated. I'm sure that without the following members of our team it never could have happened. Emily's boyfriend Tyler who has been around the fringes the last 3 months or so jumped in with both feet this weekend. We had him holding horses, moving hay, moving trailers, and anything else possible. He, Randall, and Shelton were a true pleasure to have. Heck without Randall's mechanical ability we never would have got off the farm on Friday. Then we have Jessica who served as my right hand in the barn this weekend. She was given the opportunity to show Tansey (whom she truly enjoys), but passed that up to fulfill the commitment she had made in the barn.

Last, but not least we have our parents. I have some of the most outstanding parents. I have trained in enough barns to know that I am a very blessed trainer. Many of the parents were faced with very big growth areas this weekend. I think everyone of them stepped up to the plate and hit home runs. The kids may not say it to you, but I know that each and everyone of them appreciates what you do. They know how lucky they are to be able to do this and recognize the sacrifices that you make to allow horses in their lives. NONE of them say it enough, but THANK YOU from me and them!!!

(slide show coming soon)

Great learning tool

2008-08-14T08:03:00.003-04:00

One of my mom's was talking about a website that her daughter has been spending a bunch of time on. Howrse.com is a horse "game", but you have to gain knowledge and experience to progress. There are natural time restraints built into the game to keep the flow going. When you register it will ask who referred you. My user id is trainerextrodinare If you register and want to come check out the farm I'm boarding at let me know I'll send you the address.

Weather and lessons

2008-08-13T06:53:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to remind everyone that with the return to the fall schedule we will have lessons rain or shine today. I'm guessing it will be raining so rain jackets will be a good plan. We will be in the barn working on anatomy today. If the weatherman is wrong and it dries up we'll go ahead and ride. If the wind is out of control and driving becomes unsafe I will post a cancellation notice later today.

Never ends

2008-08-12T06:29:00.002-04:00

The excitement never ends around here. I was going for 14 hours straight yesterday. I didn't even get a chance to check e-mail midstream. I taught a lesson in the morning. Then Paula and I went across town to check out a couple of horses for sale. I got home just in time to teach evening lessons. My Intermediate kids had a very good night. We were working some gymnastics to establish rythym for all of them as prep for this weekend. Amador still believes he has to get the big horse distances, so is a bit quick down the lines. But, he truly has given Paula his heart. He hasn't offered to stop with her since the very first time. After this weekend I will ride him a few times (with her permission) and really force the slow down with him. Sean and Maggie are doing fantastic for novice riders. When they have a funny landing she will still think about a small buck, but man when they get it together they are almost unstoppable. LEt's hope all pistons are a go this weekend.

Speaking of car repairs...Dan was working on his brakes last night after I came in for the evening. I got in the shower and had just sat down when I heard a scream out the back door. I look out and he's hopping around on 1 foot with a wealth of colorful vocabularly coming out of his mouth. Before he even had his shoe on there was a knot the size of a raquetball on his foot. I gave him some ibuprofen and had him get cleaned up in the shower. Then we went to East Cooper. I whole heartedly expected it to be broken...Good news it was just soft tissue damage. Needless to say he's home for a couple of days with limited mobility, and the car is laying on it's rotor. I know not good, but not something I can deal with right now.

I'm on my way to meet Diane to go to North Carolina. We need to make a new addition to the family. We're picking up Danny who is the camp pony that Paula learned to jump 3 foot on. He can't do that sort of height anymore, but she is still very excited to have him coming to the farm as a lesson pony.

Finally, you will find I added a couple of features to the blog page. The important one is an SMS sender. YOu an send me text messages if you need anything. Yes, I do in fact have a new phone, and yes I am in fact carrying it. I won't list the area code. If you're local you should know it. The rest is 408-7500.

Not ready to show, but want to get involved?

2008-08-07T17:04:00.003-04:00

The Pinto association is looking for some help with gates, ribbons, announcing, etc this fall. If anyone is interested in helping get with Landry through the association website.

Lessons Cancelled

2008-08-07T13:45:00.002-04:00

Due to the incredible heat I am canceling all lessons tonight. I'm sorry but it is just to hot to ride. If you'd like to reschedule feel free to call me.

Hunting Season

2008-08-06T15:34:00.004-04:00

Just a short reminder Deer season starts Aug 15. Be sure you wear orange on the trails. If you need vests they are in the lesson tack room.

Heat Advisory

2008-08-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

We're under a fairly significant heat adivsory for today. I'm going to cancel all afternoon lessons. (Sean your late one is the exception) If you want to reschedule please give me a call to do so.

Kenzie's Birthday

2008-08-06T07:25:00.002-04:00

Kenzie turned 3 this week. We're planning to celebrate her birthday at Splash Island this Sunday at 3:30. Everyone is invited. Please RSVP this week if you'd like to join us.

Lesson Update 8/4 am

2008-08-04T07:07:00.001-04:00

I'm cancelling all morning lessons for today. It stormed hard here last night and is very wet. Stay tuned for an afternoon report. At this point I'm planning on it drying out enough that we will be okay to have lessons. I will try to post cancellations to the blog as much as possible this fall to simplify getting a hold of everyone.

Congratulations Amelia!

2008-08-03T22:03:00.001-04:00

The website hasn't been updated yet, but it's official Amelia WON the photo contest with her submission. Her picture of Sean and Maggie at Clemson won the division. Her picture of Shiloh took fifth. It wasn't a "true" head study as it didn't include his entire head.

Fall Schedule Reminder

2008-08-03T09:45:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder that the fall schedule starts tomorrow. If you have any questions about what time you're riding let me know.

Curly Cow...

2008-07-30T16:50:00.002-04:00

We have a famous one among us. It's amazing all the different ways you can be competitve in the horse world. Check out what our ever faitful manager/historian is up to now. Who do you recognize?

Happy Birthday Paula

2008-07-29T20:39:00.002-04:00

Today was Paula's offical birthday. Happy Sweet 16!!! We had a big party for her on Sunday with nearly 50 people in attendance. We rented a dunk tank and big speakers on tripods. I'm sure our friends at J & B could probably hear the ruckus. I'll post pics as soon as they get downloaded.

My big girls have camp all this week. We had a good first couple of days. They spent yesterday working on their dressage tests for Clemson in a couple of weeks. Then today we schooled over fences. Followed by a trail ride and another evening lesson. Paula and Amador are doing really well, and will be ready to get around the courses at Clemson. She won't be able to do the height fences that she really wants to, but is excited to get him around. Nicole is still debating who she is showing and where. One of her horses is going to Clemson, but we're not sure which one.

We did take a break today and went to Splash Island for awhile. It seems we can't go anywhere without running into someone you know. We ran into Annie Walters and her family at Sonic, and then Nancy Harrel at the water park.

The girls will finish out the camp week schooling cross country Thursday at One Tempi, and then Friday at Stono River. Pictures to come after we've been.

Middleton Jumper Recap

2008-07-26T14:45:00.003-04:00

WOW!!! Thank you to all of you who turned out to cheer us on. I won't list everyone for fear of missing someone, but we had about 15 friends of the farm turnout to cheer. That added to our friends from J & B and the families of the girls who showed made for quite a party. We had a fantastic time at the show. Everyone did their part and we had very little upset. We did some trailer shuffling at the 11th hour, so I didn't take a horse for myself, but did show Squeeks. Squeeks had an outstanding day. She won her class with Nicole aboard, but then wasn't crazy when the fences went up. She was excused from the 2 foot. Which of course turned on my trainer determination. When I took her back in for the Open 2 foot we came back out in 4th with 11 competitors.

Then the fences went up again and Kaijsa, Paula, and Emily rode their hearts out. If only I could get them to ride that way at home. Kaijsa came out saying..."that's it she's off the market." So I guess we aren't shopping anymore. If Paula and Jack can perform at the Pintos the same way she did last night she'll be sailing into the first spot on the eq list. Heck she's only 1 point out of first right now. Emily actually got gift to give the 12 foot strides resulting in some stellar performances at 3 foot. Unfortuantley it was too dark for pictures by the time Emily jumped. All the rest of the pictures will be coming in the next couple of days. Amelia our ever under appreciated manager and photographer is out fishing a tournament today. I'm sure I'll have the pictures by Monday. Thank you Amelia who didn't get to bed until after midnight and had to be back up by 4 to go fish.

If you note the pictures of me they are prime examples of why you don't get on and just ride without warming up. I did NO warm up. I commented when I got off how all my muscles were shaking, but man can you tell in the pictures. Sometimes even I forget we are athletes and have to treat ourselves as such.

If the boot fits

2008-07-23T20:51:00.002-04:00

The question is does Paula know where that boot is supposed to go. It's been a busy few days all with little stuff here and there. Monday I had a meeting regarding buying the farm in addition to all the regular lessons, and camp. It's ridiculously hot here, so we only have one camper this week. Paula and Nicole have worked very hard to try and make it as much fun as they can for her. Yesterday I was at Rein and Shine meeting with Stuart. I was sharing some of the great things I picked up at the Expo.

Then today was a bit more of a play day. Nicole is in charge of camp the rest of the week, as Paula had to carry the bulk last week. Paula, Amelia, and I ran down to Tack-n-Tow to pick some stuff up. We then stopped at Meeting Street on the way home. Paula found some of the largest bell boots I've ever seen. I guess warmbloods are getting bigger than ever. I just want to know if something with feet that large can actually track up far enough to justify bells.

When we got home Paula had a lesson on Amador. We continued to work on finding the distances and pace setting. We also added a breast collar and changed out his bit finally. Yeah what a "Happy Mouth" Amador must have now. We are right on track for Amador's debut at Clemson in August. Pics to come. (Wonder how many times I say that)

Old Friends

2008-07-20T20:38:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy weekend of seeing old friends. I spent yesterday in the car with Nicole, Diane, and Amelia. We travelled to Raleigh. Yes I've now been there two weekends in a row. We went to look at a horse and a pony. We're reserving a decision on the horse, so I won't say much just yet. Pics are coming though. The pony belongs to the family that we got India from. Robbie (the mom) and Savannah (the daughter) met us for lunch at Applebees. It was a great chance to catch up. I filled Robbie in on India's show career here. We commisserated on the politics of showing, and got the run down on the pony's situation.

Then we all went out to a very beautiful private farm where they keep Skittles. He's the cutest little 11.3h paint you've ever seen. You can find a link to his and Savannah's blog in the blog list to the right. Skittles has been winning everything with Savannah. Then he recently had a bad experience that has set him back. It sounds that as soon as they have found a Medium for Savannah to move up to Skittle is coming to come live here to regain his confidence and carry some of our lesson students up through the low levels.

I had a wonderful suprise visit from another old friend this evening. Janet stopped by to drop off a couple of things. I can't tell you how suprised I was to see her knocking on my side door. We had a nice chat and talked about the Middleton Jumper show this weekend. We're all looking forward to the show.

Olympic Schedule Announced

2008-07-18T07:12:00.003-04:00

Here is the schedule of the televised events during the olympics in August. Some of you are too young to remember the last summer olympics, but this is exciting this is more equestrian coverage than ever before. And better yet it's not on at 3am.

The schedule is as follows: Date: Program—Time (EST) on Channel
Aug. 9: 3-Day: Dressage—2:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on USA
Aug. 11: 3-Day: Cross- Country— 6:00pm-8:00pm OXYGEN
Aug. 12: 3-Day: Stadium Team Gold Medal Final—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 13: Dressage—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 14: Dressage Team Gold Medal Final—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 15: Show Jumping—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 16: Dressage Individual – 5:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. MSNBC
Aug. 17: Show Jumping Team Gold Medal Final 1st Round—10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m on NBC
Aug. 18: Show Jumping Team Gold Medal Final Round— 6:00pm-8:00 p.m. OXYGEN
Aug. 19: Dressage Individual Gold Medal Final - 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 21: Show Jumping Individual Gold Medal Final- 10:00am- 1:00 pm

I know I'll be setting the DVR to record. We've also got some "home town" representation in the 3-day. Heidi White from Aiken will be a member of the team this yeear.

Clinic Registration is Open

2008-07-17T10:41:00.005-04:00

We are hosting a clinic with my trainer Michael Richardson on Oct. 25 and 26. The clinic is open to a very limited number of participants. You can learn more about him at Broken R Ranch. This will be a fantastic weekend of learning. I am so excited to see Michael again and have an opportunity to ride with him. It's been 10 years since I last saw him. I strongly encourage any of my students to participate. If you have questions about using lesson horses or your suitability to participate please let me know.

The cost for the two day clinic includes lunches and stabling.

2-day private instruction (45 minute sessions) is $400

2-day group instruction (1 1/2 hour session) is $350

One day participation does not include lunch or stabling

1-day private is $225

1-day group is $200

Both of the above include a round pen demonstration in addition to mounted sessions.

Auditors are also welcome

One day $40

Two day $70

As soon as the registration form is loaded to the website I will post a link here.

For those of you who board with us the farm will be closed to all not participating this weekend. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I hope I can keep it going this long

2008-07-14T18:54:00.003-04:00

There's not much to say, but check out this Cowgirl

For all my adult riders I've just diffused any arguments you may have.

Roll Call

2008-07-13T21:29:00.000-04:00

Alright, I've been doing this blogging thing for awhile now. 60+ posts and counting. Yet, not a single comment. Please if you read this can we all check in via comments so I can get an idea who I'm entertaining if anyone? Heck, maybe I should just quit.

Traveling without fires.

2008-07-13T21:00:00.009-04:00

It's taken a year to get to this point. Yep that's right our one year anniversary here at M & M slipped by without me even realizing it. I'll post an anniversary recap in the coming week. In the meantime we've travelled quite a bit this year. Back to St. Louis for family obligations, Clemson for horseshows, and around the entire East side of the Mississippi. Many of you have pitched in to make these trips happen. There hasn't been a single one where my phone hasn't rung once, or a note wasn't on the board about a disaster while I was gone. This time was different. Not a concern was risen. (Okay, maybe one, but it wasn't of consequence)

Now wheeerrre did I go???? Dan, Isabella, and I went to Raleigh, NC for Equine Extravaganza . It was a fantastic couple of days. We had the opportunity to audit several clinics. I chose to go to several done by Colleen Kelly from Australia. Watch out she gave me lots of ideas to help fix posture and balance. Don't be suprised if you start finding headlights on your horses, or blackout while you're riding.

Another fantastic clinician we had the opportunity to see was Matt Mclaughlin on his horses Pecos and Coral II. He did some clinics on teaching the spanish walk, bowing, and engagement for the low level dressage horse. He also was a spectatcular entertainer during the evening show. If anyone would be interested in some private lessons with him let me know. I may try to get him to stop over on one of his trips through the area.

USERL was also in attendance. It was nice to be able to support them, and update them on Jack and India's day to day lives. They had the cutest minis on site to do some fundraising.

There were loads of other marvelous clinicians and lecturers. They will be in Virginia in the fall. I won't likely go because it conflicts with the Coastal Carolina fair, but I would encourage any of you to go. It's a great experience.

Oh yeah, did I mention the shopping??? I came home with breeches for $10 a pair, some really cool new wraps, and a cute pony backpack for Kenzie. Maybe now she'll quit wearing her beach chair around the farm.

So you want to ride in the McClay?

2008-07-08T07:33:00.006-04:00

I know that the centered seat I teach is questioned and disputed from time to time as not true equitation position. This is a call back round from the 2004 McClay winner. She is riding the runner ups horse in the second round of call backs here. Tell me does she looked perched? She has a clear 2 point or is sitting down and back between fences.

Here is another winning Eq round. This one is the winner from the WIHS Finals in 2007. The WIHS finals are an even stronger test of a riders ability. The horse rider combination start over a hunter course. Then they have to ride a jumper course. The final ride off requires all riders to swap horses and ride a jumper course again.
Again notice that this winning rider Maria Schaub (who won the Mcclay in 2007 as well) also sits deep, yet light on course.

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We have a barn manager

2008-07-07T14:21:00.002-04:00

Well it's official we have a barn manager. Who is it is now the question on your mind. Well... She'll be with us on a part time basis for the next couple of months while some other exciting details are worked out. She will be handling all farm management that is not time crucial. She'll be available via phone and e-mail when she's not here. She'll be travelling with us to shows. She'll be supervising hired weekend feeders when we travel. She will supervise the working student performance and hours.

As for the key question who it is. You'll have to stay tuned. It's only fair that the boarders find out first.

Other entertainment

2008-07-06T08:02:00.001-04:00

For those of you who don't think I post enough...I have added a couple of new blogs to the horse list on the left.

Beautiful 4th

2008-07-05T09:51:00.003-04:00

I've updated the slideshow from Clemson with more pictures. This time contributed by Vel. We had a wonderful 4th. Dan and I carved out some time for lunch and a movie. We saw Narnia which is always a great catalyst for discussions on faith. Gave us a great opportunity to reconnect following his last trip.

We met the Friedmans, and Kellie and Gia at IOP for dinner and fireworks. It was great to see Kellie and Gia as it's been a bit more than a week.

We're off to the auction with more friends this evening. We're all heading into Walterboro for Barbecue beforehand. All of you are welcome to meet us there or catch a ride from the farm. We'll head out about 2 this afternoon.

Keep the Cameras Rolling

2008-07-03T22:20:00.003-04:00

Or actually keep the pictures rolling to me. Everyone has started getting me the pictures from Clemson. Here are several of the more than 200 Amelia took. As I get more I'll add the best ones here. If possible try to use photobucket, as it's the easiest to download from.

Hopefully I will be able to add portions of the video footage shortly too.

Calendar change

2008-07-01T21:51:00.001-04:00

We have some changes to the calendar for the upcoming weeks. I'll keep this abbreviated for your convenience.

July 11-13 heading to Raleigh for Equine Extravaganza
July 17-21 trip to Ohio cancelled
July 25 Jumper show at Middleton Plantation added
Aug 2 First meeting of the High School Equestrian Team

Clemson catch up

2008-07-01T21:37:00.004-04:00

This weekend in Clemson went fantastically. Several of our riders finally crossed the threshold to the next level. There is one blue ribbon absent from the picture courtesy of Jessica on India. We went up Friday to unload and school. The big arena wasn't open on Friday, so several of our Clemson rookies went to bed Friday night having no idea what they had gotten into. Saturday morning Paula met us at the barn ending the family vacation a day early to help show Shiloh in the classes I'm not eligible for. The rookies got to see the ring for the first time and one or two were in complete awe. Everyone improved as the day progressed. The highlights included Kaijsa cantering a couple of courses on Em overcoming some significant confidence issues, and Nicole not only competing at 2'6", but winning her first class at the height. The best part... was it was an equitation class with 16 competitors in it.

We'll be heading back to Clemson in August and plan on competing in the hunter/jumper show as well as everyon completing a combined training test. We're currently planning to make this show Amador's debut with our barn. Watch out HUS riders here we come!!!

Competing in the heat--USHJA article

2008-06-26T08:31:00.000-04:00

Some Advice From the USHJA Horse Welfare Committee onCompeting in the HeatMaintaining optimum performance while protecting your horse from the effects of extreme heat.
By Dr. Mark Baus

With the summer months approaching, it is useful to review some basic methods of dealing with the heat while competing at horse shows. The horse evolved over time to cope with the vast extremes of temperature that exist on the great plains of the world. If the horse is simply provided adequate nutrition, dealing with cold temperatures is not a problem. Dealing with summer heat, while performing as an athlete, is another story.

Horses generate huge amounts of heat from their muscles while undergoing physical exertion. Most of this heat is dissipated from the skin in the form of evaporative cooling [sweating] along with increasing circulation through the skin to provide further cooling. Although horses are well adapted for most activities during severe heat, it is important to consider several things to prevent and treat overheating and heat stroke.

The first consideration is determining activity levels based on temperature and humidity levels. By adding temperature and humidity, the heat index can be calculated and standards for activity can be set.

Most levels of activity for a heat index under 130 [e.g. 70 F & 50% humidity] are not a significant challenge to the horse’s ability to regulate body temperature. As the heat index approaches 150, especially as humidity exceeds 75%, the horse’s cooling mechanism becomes significantly limited and activity levels need to be monitored closely. As the heat index exceeds 180 [e.g. 95 F & 90% humidity] all activity should be significantly limited or even postponed.

Although electrolyte administration is widely used in the horse world, the need for them is minimal if a high quality hay and premium grain formulations are fed consistently. Most electrolyte supplements are high in sugars to enhance palatability and to allow them to be added to the drinking water. I am reluctant to add electrolytes to the water since it may inhibit water drinking and it is also difficult to determine the exact amount they ultimately receive. Electrolytes are best used at manufacture’s recommendations and only during periods of added heat and activity.

At horse shows, it is important to provide your horse with shade, especially during periods of inactivity. Since most horse’s skin is heavily pigmented, the sun’s rays contribute significantly to heat build-up during hot weather. It is also important that horses have access to drinking water. If your horse has been significantly exerted it is okay to allow water drinking to avoid the complications of dehydration. In addition to drinking water, water for bathing and cooling should also be provided for added cooling when necessary. When at rest, each horse should have access to 2 buckets of clean water at all times. If electrolytes are added to the water, make sure it is added to only one of the two water buckets to give the horse a choice of drinking from either bucket.
Although it is important that our horse’s performance be kept at optimum levels for competition purposes, protecting their health and wellbeing during hot weather is always the principle concern. Recognizing early signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke is critical. Most riders and trainers are adept at monitoring their horse’s response to exertion by watching respiration and overall vitality. As heat levels are rising during periods of activity, the horse’s cooling mechanism is challenged and they will attempt to dissipate heat with increased respiration. This may be the first sign that the horse is no longer compensating for overheating.
Signs of impending heat stroke are critical to recognize:• Body temperature in excess of 104 F.• Rapid breathing and elevated pulse.• Weakness and depression.• Refusal to walk or eat.• Dry skin.• Total collapse.

If your horse is showing signs of heat stroke, it is important to take the body temperature as soon as possible. The normal body temperature ranges from 99.0 F. to 100.4 F. As the body temperature exceeds 102 F, it will become necessary to provide additional cooling quickly. Cold hosing or ice packing at sites of major blood vessels will be helpful. This would include the jugular veins along with the blood vessels on the insides of each limb. If heat stroke is suspected, drenching the body with water will provide immediate cooling to lower the body temperature effectively.

It is important to call your veterinarian at the first sign of heat stroke. As heat stroke develops, blood flow is shunted away from the intestines and vital organs so the potential for catastrophic effects increases dramatically if the body temperature is not brought down to normal quickly.
Since sweating is the horse’s primary method of shedding excess heat, it is important that your horse’s ability to sweat is constantly monitored. Anhydrosis, a disease in horses that limits sweating, is seen fairly commonly in the southern states but it can affect any horse during hot weather. Veterinarians have tried many therapies to treat this disease but the key to dealing with anhydrosis is early recognition. Many of these horses are simply not able to compete during hot weather conditions.

If your horse is in a good health and good physical condition, it is unlikely you will encounter a significant problem with hot weather. The key factor avoiding heat related complications is simply using common sense to determine the proper level of activity for your horse. In my experience at all levels of horse shows, riders are more likely than horses to succumb to the effects of competing in hot weather. If conditions are too rigorous for the competitors, it is likely too much for our horses as well.

All engines go

2008-06-21T07:42:00.001-04:00

Well it's a bit wet here, but there's no standing water so we're a go for the show today. See you all in a couple of hours.

Rain rain go away

2008-06-20T21:37:00.002-04:00

We have a huge cloud burst here today. I'm not sure if we'll be able to have tomorrows show or not. We'll have to see how much it dries out. I will try to post in the morning. Either way we're planning to cook out here at the farm for lunch. All are welcome. If you're planning to come please bring a side to share, meat for your family plus 1 (I'm sure we'll all want to sample), and beverages for yourself. Oh yeah, and if just 1 or 2 could grab some paper goods I'm pretty low after camp this week and haven't had a chance to go get more. I know, I know what am I thinking. Paper goods is my job so I never have to worry about not providing my share of the food.

Flying Finish to a Friday

2008-06-20T13:59:00.003-04:00

Camp finished strong today. We painted the ponies and had a good time. Pickles was his usual self and did step on a toe, but everyone survived. Big news of the day...

Dan's security clearance came in today!!! No more nervous waiting to see if he would still have a job next week, or the week after, or next month. Now he does need to get Top Secret clearance, but we're set for now.

Camp is going...

2008-06-19T13:40:00.004-04:00

Well we are down to one more day of camp. All in all it has gone well. Thank goodness for all of my committed cooperative "big" kids. I never could have pulled it off with all of their help. My extreme gratitude to all of you parents who have done such a fabulous job raising good kids. Last night was fantastic. As our last camper left at 5 it was time for me to start teaching again. Nicole and Paula have moved in for the week. About 7:00 Paula stuck her head out to ask about where to put my dry laundry, so she could put in a load for me. Then she and Nicole needed both my Foreman grill and the food processor. They cooked the most fantastic fish and taters I've had in a while. Might have something to do with them not being microwaved=) Nicole even emptied my dishwasher for me. Can't tell you how much these kids mean to me. Here are pictures of some of our campers.

Late notice

2008-06-19T09:14:00.001-04:00

We are still having the fun show planned for this Saturday the 21st. Life has been hectic with summer camp this week. I haven't had a lot of time to promote or notify everyone. We will start at 9am. All of our students are welcome to participate. Cost for the day is $40. Hope to see you there.

News, news, news Take 2

2008-06-12T06:53:00.002-04:00

The second iron in the fire is one I can't fully announce yet. What I can say is that there will be some big changes coming around M&M...uh I mean Charleston Riding Academy in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information.

News, news, news Charles Towne Equestrian Team

2008-06-12T06:36:00.004-04:00

There has been a lot going on. As usual I've been burning the candle at both ends. I've got a couple of big announcements.

The first is the formation of a high school equestrian team. I will be coaching the team while Susan Batten will be sponsoring us. The team is open to students at all of the area high schools, but we have partnered with a Wando teacher to help us promote it within the school as well.

So you ask what is different with being on an equestrian team. You already have a trainer/coach/instructor, and may have your own horse. Why would you want to be a part of an equestrian team? Well many of you have dreams and goals of competing at the University level. Perhaps even at the NCAA Varsity level. The University level is a very different competition to anything that you have done in your show career to date. This team will be goverened by the Interscholastic Equestrian Association.

The format imitates the University system. When we go to competitions the only things we will take with us are our show clothes. The show organizers will provide the horses and equipment for us to use. We will be allowed to watch the horses schooled in the morning, but will not be allowed to get on them. During the day they will do a lottery draw to determine which horse/pony each rider will compete on. You will be allowed 10 minutes to acclimate yourself to your mount on the flat, and allowed 2 fences before you enter the ring to compete. One big difference will be the height that you compete at. The association has standards for what height each rider will compete at based on the height you jump at home. The assocation heights are considerably lower than you compete at home. There is sizeable consideration given to safety as you are competing on horses that you aren't familiar with. For example if you jump 3'3" at home you will compete at 2'6". If you jump 2'6" at home you will compete at 2' at the shows.

The competition is scored in 2 parts. Everyone competes at the individual level and can win their division. There is also an open division championship round for the top riders at the Varsity open level.

The second part is a team points total. The coach is responsible to submitting 5 riders in advance to be totaled for the team division. These 5 riders can change at each competition and will be determined the week of the competition.

Again this team will be open to any high school students in the area. If you are interested please comment on the blog and we will add you to the mailing list. We are planning an organizational/information meeting for the first weekend of August.

You can learn more at www.rideiea.com

Mythology meets Reality

2008-06-12T06:29:00.002-04:00

Well I know we all think of these as horses, but this is more likely the origin of the folk lore. Check out this article from the AP.

Single-horned 'Unicorn' deer found in Italy
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 11, 3:06 PM ET
ROME - A deer with a single horn in the center of its head — much like the fabled, mythical unicorn — has been spotted in a nature preserve in Italy, park officials said Wednesday.
"This is fantasy becoming reality," Gilberto Tozzi, director of the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato, told The Associated Press. "The unicorn has always been a mythological animal."
The 1-year-old Roe Deer — nicknamed "Unicorn" — was born in captivity in the research center's park in the Tuscan town of Prato, near Florence, Tozzi said.
He is believed to have been born with a genetic flaw; his twin has two horns.
Calling it the first time he has seen such a case, Tozzi said such anomalies among deer may have inspired the myth of the unicorn.
The unicorn, a horse-like creature with magical healing powers, has appeared in legends and stories throughout history, from ancient and medieval texts to the adventures of Harry Potter.
"This shows that even in past times, there could have been animals with this anomaly," he said by telephone. "It's not like they dreamed it up."
Single-horned deer are rare but not unheard of — but even more unusual is the central positioning of the horn, experts said.
"Generally, the horn is on one side (of the head) rather than being at the center. This looks like a complex case," said Fulvio Fraticelli, scientific director of Rome's zoo. He said the position of the horn could also be the result of a trauma early in the animal's life.
Other mammals are believed to contribute to the myth of the unicorn, including the narwhal, a whale with a long, spiraling tusk.

Things a new

2008-06-08T08:11:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I've been absentee. Seems like I apologize for that a lot around here. I am very distracted and have doubled my work load in recent weeks. I have 2 BIG suprise irons in the fire at this moment. I'll post details in the coming week so stay tuned.

As for show updates. We were supposed to go to a schooling show at Mullet hall this weekend, but the show manager never confirmed the dates. I'm assuming they didn't have the show. Next weekend is the PSJ at Mullet Hall. We have decided not to go. We will be going to the Pendleton area saddle club show on the 28th at Clemson instead.

Clemson is a fun place to show. It has a big stadium arena which makes you feel on top of the world. We will be taking 5 horses up there at this moment. I need a parent to volunteer to pull a 2 horse trailer for me. If anyone else is interested in going let me know.

Here are a couple of pictures from the last Clemson show we did at Christmas.

Sad day

2008-05-31T07:15:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted anything. I've been very busy with some irons in the fire. But this post needed to happen. M & M Farms would like to extend it's condolences to everyone who is feeling the loss of Theodore O'Connor. "Teddy" may very well be one of the most unique equines to have ever walked the earth. At only 14.1 hands he was still a pony, but carried his rider who shared his name, Karen O'Connor to gold medal wins at the top of one of the toughest and most dangerous equine sports. His loss at such a young age will be missed. Full details are available at USEF.org

Save the date

2008-05-21T07:36:00.001-04:00

We're going to host another funshow on the 21st of June. All are welcome

Techical difficulties

2008-05-21T07:33:00.002-04:00

It's been almost 10 days since i last posted. at this moment we are having technical difficulties. I want to upload the videos from the cross country schooling, but my dvd rom is dead. SO is the media card reader, so I can upload pics either. If anyone wants to send some of the cross country videos via e-mail I'll put them up

Great tip

2008-05-12T19:38:00.002-04:00

I know, I know I have to post the pics and videos from cross country schooling but the cd rom is broken on my laptop right now. In the meantime here's a great tip.

Tick Removal
Please forward to anyone with children . orhunters,etc!! thanks!
A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!!
I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair , etc. Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and let it stay on the repulsive insect for a few seconds (15-20), after which the tick will come out on it's own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!" It is that time of the year again. Just a reminder. :)

Amazing...

2008-05-08T07:29:00.003-04:00

A Fantastic Pony Story

Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana , USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he chang ed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there. 'This was the right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse. Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little p ony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too.' And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse', she laughs. Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it. 'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life', Moore said, 'She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.'<>'She's not back to normal,' Barca concluded, 'but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'
This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind! Is that cool or what???????

Visit from the Vet

2008-05-01T20:00:00.002-04:00

Shambley Equine was here on Tuesday. It was a busy visit. We started with India having her hocks injected. They use a combination of steroids and hydralonic acid to lubricate the joint. It will make her more comfortable and free up her gaits. She has received routine injections for the last couple of years.

We then had Shiloh evaluated for the same thing. Shambley agreed that he also was limited in his movement and that his hocks were in the process of fusing so he also was injected.

We then looked at Rosie to determine if there was a reason for the funny faces she makes, but it appears to be behavioral.

After all of that it was time for the big event... Rizzie became a gelding. Here is a picture or two. If you have a weak stomach I apologize the pictures are courtesy of Jessica our resident vet tech.

Farmer's Wisdom

2008-04-30T20:37:00.000-04:00

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
* Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word. * Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of someinfluence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.Speak kindly.

Little man becoming a gelding

2008-04-24T11:33:00.002-04:00

Many of you have expressed an interest in being here to see Rizzie gelded. Sadly most of the kids will be in school. Shambley will be here at 11 on Tuesday.

Teaching and toddlers

2008-04-23T21:17:00.003-04:00

As most of you know we pulled K out of her preschool two weeks ago. I want to thank all of you for your patience both while I have taught with her on my lap, or while many of you have chased her around the farm.

Our new sitter will be starting on Monday. We'll only have her 3 days a week, but then K will go to my mom's 1 day a week as well.

I thought I would share how K spent her time during my morning lesson today.

Migraine, graine go away

2008-04-22T09:37:00.002-04:00

I am on day two of a migraine. I cancelled all of yesterday's lessons. I haven't decided what I'm doing about today yet. Dorothy is coming to get me so I can try and get something for this.

Some of you are probably wondering what happened with the show this past weekend. Well it was cancelled. There has been an outbreak of strangles and the registration was very low. Strangles is the equine response to the streptococus bacteria. It spreads like wild fire. It's not overly prevalent in this area, so a lot of farms do not vaccinate for it. It was brought in by a horse from up north.

The next show is still scheduled for May 10th and 11th at Mullet hall.

This coming weekend some of us are going to neighboring One Tempi farm to school cross country. I'll be sure to post some pictures, and maybe video next week.

For now I'm off to the world of heavy pain killers and my pillow.

Horse shopping again

2008-04-20T20:02:00.002-04:00

We picked up a boarder to fill our final boarding spot. The only problem...they don't have a horse yet. I spent the day out horseshopping in Orangeburg. We looked at a lot of good prospects. We are a ways off of making a decision yet. But I thought I would post a video of one of the possibilites that we have considered.

Jumping practice.

2008-04-15T09:33:00.003-04:00

I got the video camera out for the lesson this weekend. But there's someting wrong with it. I did get some stills of some jumping.

Gia on Jessie over a fan.
Paula on Storm the new horse riding a refusal.
Paula getting it done.
Nicole F. on Tansey landing from the big boxes.

Delayed welcome

2008-04-14T22:04:00.002-04:00

This chestnut lady is Alexis. She belongs to our newest boarder Mary. Alexis is a very seasoned lesson horse who spent most of her career at the Girl Scout Plantation. She will now be available for use in our lesson program.

This grey lady is Bristol. She is on trial from Landry who manages the Pinto shows. She has been retired from her jumping career as a hunter. If she fits in we will use her for our walk, trot, canter students, and maybe some occassional cross rails.

This bay boy below is Storm. He also belongs to Mary and is going to be available to the lesson program. At this time he will be reserved for the intermediate and advanced students. He has previousy been showing in combined training and is very forward over fences.

High school

2008-04-10T15:52:00.001-04:00

I got this forwarded in an e-mail today

If Horses Were in High School

Quarter Horses:
Definitely jocks Strutting around flexing those muscles, showing off their
butts...definitely jocks.

Thoroughbreds:
Preppies. Sometimes athletes, never 'jocks' Monogrammed blankets,
leather halters, Nike eventer shoes, the latest custom trailer and tack. They are the
'new money' rich.

Appaloosas:
Could only be the stoners. They like to trip acid so they can watch their spots move.

Arabians:
RAH! RAH! SIS BOOM BAH! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO .TEAM! (need I say more?)

Shetland Ponies:
Frightening, spiky hairdos, snotty attitudes and any color of the rainbow ....
Gotta be PUNKS. Some even sport tattoos.

Friesians:
Big, buff, and always in black, they are the biker clique. Cigs hanging out of the corner of
their mouths, dangerous glint in the eyes, daring anyone to cross their path.

Morgans:
They're the nerdy teacher's pets, running around doing everything from yearbook to decorating
the gym and ratting out the bikers, stoners and jocks. They have perpetual wedgies.

Drafts (all breeds):
No real clique, they're just the big guys who sit in the back of the room and fart a lot (and
then laugh).
Who's going to STOP them?

Icelandics and Paso Finos:
They're the little squirrely geeks who flit around a dance trying to fit in and fail miserably.
The kind who wear Toughskins jeans from Sears (or would that be rip off WeathaBeetas? )

Ahkle Tekl (Akle Takl? Ackle Tackle....!! Akhal Teke!!):
Foreign exchange student(s). And no one can spell their names either.

Hackney Ponies:
A breed this manic would have to be a band geek. Marching along with their knees and
heads held high.....even going to the bathroom.

Warmbloods:
Old Money Preppies, as opposed to the TBs who are new money preppies.

All their tack is imported from Europe, they drink Perrier water and eat only organically
grown feed. They look down on everyone and talk amongst themselves about summer in
Paris and skiing in Gstad and wasn't it dreadful how provincial Spruce Meadows has become?

When I say tight leg...

2008-04-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

Busy Friday

2008-04-04T22:16:00.003-04:00

The kids were out of school today. It was a busy work day around the farm. We rode in the morning. Tansey was sound walk/trot. Yippee!!! It's been a very long road back to sound after she scraped her leg. We will take it a bit easy to be sure she is good to go for the next show.

I delivered Maje and Zee to their new home today. They both seemed very happy.

Tomorrow is another full day. We have the show group lesson in the morning. Followed by a well deserved trail ride for a show students sister. I have a new boarder coming to check us out as well. Then it's off to look at a new horse for myself. Finishing off at the auction tomorrow night. I need to pick up some cheap equipment and am ready for a new rescue.

Sunday following church we are planning to clear more fence line. If anyone wants to bring over their chainsaw to help. All are welcome.

Backwards anyone??

2008-04-04T22:13:00.001-04:00

Watch closely...

Lorenzo : the Flying French Man...
Uploaded by alatebo

Barn Improvement

2008-04-02T15:14:00.006-04:00

Since last week was spring break I thought it would be great to have the kids free to help Beth and I get everything moved to the show grounds. I was wrong. I totally underestimated the efficency of the routine Beth and I have establised. We took a total of 10 horses with us this weekend. That meant two trips for Beth with the big trailer. We got running behind on time and she almost missed a session at LEAP.

The Friedman's prepared our team dinner instead of us all going out to eat this time. They made a wonderful salad with pears, and sugar coated nuts (Diane knows what a sweet tooth I have). Spaghetti with meatballs, and sausage grinders with not one, but two types of sausage. The food continued throughout the weekend with french toast and sausage for breakfast, chicken salad pitas, and more each day.

Saturday was a day of highs and lows. Kenzie showed for the first time. She was adorable in her dress clothes and little saddle on Pickles. We made two laps before we were asked to reverse. K was talking a mile a minute saying she wanted to trot, canter, and "jump that fence". After the reverse she promptly threw her reins down and announced she was done. She had to tell the judge the name of her pony. She received her first ribbon and a small stuffed pony for a job well done.

Sean won his equitation class and took a reserve champion in his division. Paula had a stellar Saturday, and rode to the best of her current ability. Sadly the competition was a hair better in most of her classes. She did bring home seconds in her jr/am hunter division. I was very proud of how well she rode. We did have a few mishaps and learning curve moments Saturday. We ended the day hoping for a much improved Sunday.

Sunday started with Sean and Kaijsa riding in the hunter hack. Sean only last week got Maggie to actually jump a fence. Kaijsa took second on Rosie in the hack and Sean was fourth. Everyone rode better. Nicole F. brought home points on Pip Squeek in the medal class. Nicole A. brought home her own horse. That's right her parent's bought Whistle for her as a birthday present.
Anita managed to improve her steering and speed on Sunday. Gia did a fantastic job on Pickles and showed him to his best. She pushed him out into a fabulous trot.

All in all I'll let the picture talk for itself. It is missing several seconds and thirds from Paula's riding on Saturday. They got left in my truck.

Next stop Ashley Hall show on the 13th. (We're not showing Sat.)

Spring Break... how wonderful

2008-03-26T15:13:00.003-04:00

Well it has taken a couple of days for me to really make use of the extra help, but we've got the swing of it now.

We did a show kid jumping lesson first thing. It gave me an opportunity to make some final adjustments to who was riding/showing in what classes/divisions.

Then the kids tackled several projects including moving the feed room, so we can open up another stall spot for a boarder.

The next few days are going to be jam packed with show preperations so you probably won't see another post until the results go up.

Spring Break

2008-03-24T22:15:00.002-04:00

Well first off I've been told I'm not posting often enough, so I'll try to be better. Secondly, it's spring break. I've been without husband or child for 2 days and had all sorts of grandiose plans, but ...
I've been busy rehoming horses instead. Big Jake left yesterday. He was adopted by a family in Alabama. I will put one of his going away pics up shortly. He will be joining one of his former pasture mates, so I'm sure will be quite happy.

Then today someone came to look at Maje who was for sale, and is going to take both her and Zee. I will be delivering them both next Monday.

With Zee leaving I will be looking for a lesson horse or two. I have my eye on one at USERL. I'm waiting to hear if she is available.

As for big projects so far I've gotten some tack cleaned, trash hauled to the dump, and my tack trunk cleaned out. Speaking of hauling trash to the dump Paula managed to get herself lost in route to the Huger dump today. Talk about a challenge. Huger only consists of 2 intersections. Tomorrow may not be much more productive. I pick Kenzie up in the morning. Since she's been gone for 2 days I may have a hard time getting her to school. She may just have to hang out at home with me. We'll see.

That's about all the news for now. I'll try to post more regularly again.

Dust bowl 2008

2008-03-19T15:52:00.003-04:00

Man is the wind blowing today. I miss the midwest where we can water an arena to keep the dust down. It's crazy out there today. Here are some pics of the midday lesson today.

We're gearing up for the Pinto show next weekend. Man are we taking a crew. If I'd been more on the ball we could have reserved and filled an entire barn aisle. Instead we are going to have the majority of our normal aisle and a couple of stalls the aisle behind us. We will have to put tack trunks in the aisles this time in front of the stalls. Even with two tack stalls we're going to be crowded.

We're taking a total of 9 horses and 13 riders. It was going to be 14 riders, but someone realized this week they have a schedule conflict. Miss Beth and I will be making 2 trailer trips to get all of the horses across town. We'll take the difficult loaders down first to be sure we have plenty of time to load them. This will be my daughters first show. She'll be showing leadline on the new pony, Pickels.

Miss Diane is planning a menu so everyone will be sure to eat well. We're having everyone pitch in a few dollars to help defer the costs.

Delayed show update

2008-03-14T14:49:00.003-04:00

ARRGGHHH... technology. I have not been able to log into the blog all week. I'm sorry this post is so late in comng. I have put a slideshow from the 4-h show at the bottom. We had an excellent weekend. The morning started out rocky as one of the trailers had a flat, so we had to leave the 2 horses I was planning to show behind. We did take 5 horses and 9 riders from here, and 2 good friends Amelia and Christine joined us. Both will be showing as part of the M&M team in the future. Sara and Denise also brought Badger down. They wanted him to have an opportunity to get used to Mullet Hall. It was nice to catch up on their lives.

It has been a hectic week here. I've tried to get out on the trails 3 times this week, but something has come up each time. I did replace my truck yesterday. We now have the ability to pull a gooseneck trailer. I will be taking Sierra back to Virginia tomorrow after the show kids lesson. On our way home I will be stopping to see a couple of potential lesson horses.

MIA

2008-03-04T14:40:00.002-05:00

Well I have gone MIA again. I have been working on updating the website so haven't had much time here. I still have more updates to the site to do. If anyone has pictures they'd like me to add to the gallery please start forwarding me pictures. I'd love pics of our horseshows, christmas party, and anything else we've done. I really do need to get better with the media.

I'd like to say a special thank you to the newest member of our horseshow team the Agujia's. They have purchased a farm banner for us to hang in our barn aisle at the shows. Muchas Gracias!!!

I had planned to return Sierra to her new adopter this past weekend, but wasn't able to find a road companion to go with me. I'm hoping to get her to Virginia either this Thursday or Sunday. If anyone is up for a roadtrip let me know. I'm also planning to look at a couple of possiblities for a new lesson horse in the Richmond area.

In the meantime I have been able to start cantering Sierra who is handling it well if not thrilled about a new challenge.

We are all gearing up for another great show this weekend. We will be taking 9 riders to the 4-H sponsored fun show at Mullet hall. We'd love to see you all there.

Well my pages should be about done uploading, so I better quit thinking out loud (or at least electronically) ttfn.

Who needs a trailer???

2008-02-28T08:27:00.003-05:00

Water, water everywhere

2008-02-28T06:55:00.002-05:00

...but not a drop to drink. AGain, I realize I should have gotten the camera out to take a picture. Darn it. I'm really not very good at this blogging thing. Shiloh (my horse) was playing with Jessie (the pony) yesterday and managed to crack the water main on the farm. I guess the people who built the farm didn't bury the pipes very deep. Or the wind erosion has uncovered some of them. I hadn't noticed this particular pipe as being at the surface.

The resulting crack left us with a 15 foot geyser in my front yard. I wasn't here when it happened, but Claire did her best to cut the pressure to the main turning off whatever valves she could find. When I got home it was reduced to about 12 inches tall. I had to turn off the entire pump so that we could wait for the water to recede to begin repairs. I still don't have it fixed wonderfully as I was working by the headlights on my truck last night.

I'll go out this morning and tighten up the clamps to hopefully get it to hold and not leak.

I have a middle school girl shadowing me today. I imagine she is going to be sadly disappointed to see how little my job actually has to do with horses.

Show results

2008-02-25T15:21:00.004-05:00

We spent the weekend at another Pinto show at Mullet hall. It rained all day Friday and dumped absolute buckets on the grounds. The start was delayed almost 3 and a half hours Saturday while they worked on getting the rings to dry out. We didn't get to school before the show started but all went well. Paula had a great Saturday taking another reserve in her equitation division, and placing well in the 3 foot working hunter.

Nikki (formerly Nicole) rode well in her short stirrup division, but we had to scratch the rest of the day as her horse wouldn't drink and became dehydrated. We are going to have to work out a managment plan for the upcoming shows to avoid that happening again.

Nicole took a reserve in her w/t/c division. She has only been riding Whistle for a week, and only jumped her once before the show, so we were quite pleased. We did move her up to the short stirrup division on Sunday. Whistle behaved quite a bit better over the slightly larger fences. Nicole and Nikki traded placings all day Sunday in their division. Hopefully at the next show the splits will fall so they don't compete against each other.

Gia was a real trooper on Saturday as she faced disappointment. Since Jessie her pony doesn't have a lot of show miles she was not fond of the wet muddy conditions so we scratched Gia's day after just one class. I rode the pony extensively Sunday and she did very very well. We have high hopes for the upcoming shows. The more experience she gets the better she seems to do. Which is exactly as it should be.

We had a great experience taking Rosie to the show. I have had Kaijsa riding her for the last several weeks in preperation to sell her. Karen her owner agreed to taking Rosie to the show for marketing purposes. Rosie had a nasty trailer accident the last time she was hauled so Karen was quite nervous about her going. Everything went spectacularly. Rosie trailered better than any of the other horses. You would never have known that she ever had anything happen. Rosie brought home a third in her equitation class and a fifth in her go as you please. The best news of the weekend...Karen has decided to keep Rosie and try to show her for awhile.

We have two weeks of down time now. Our next show will be the 4-H fun show at Mullet hall. We will be taking 9 riders down for the day. Hope to see you all on March 8th.

Want a mule???

2008-02-25T14:57:00.003-05:00

This may be a first... A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion a mountain lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you'll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision. The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs. With that, the mule took off and decided HE wanted a piece of that lion. ; That's when all heck broke loose for the lion. As the lion approached the dogs, the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around, banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, then whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence), and stood there ready to continue his ride as if nothing had just happened.
Fortunately, even though the hunter didn't get off a shot, his wife got off these four pictures.

Happy Trails to You!

Showing traditions

2008-02-22T07:00:00.003-05:00

We will be spending this weekend showing at Mullet Hall. We have spent all week pruning and packing. I swear I will post some pics soon. Hang in with me. We body clipped both Jack and Tansey. jack went from his near black self, to the fanciest Grulla you have ever seen. Hence the need for pictures. We are taking quite a full load this weekend. We are taking 5 horses Jack, Tansey, Jessie, Rosie and Whistle. There will be 6 of us riding over the course of the weekend.

We would love to have any/all of you come cheer us on. It doesn't matter how many times I do dthis I never cease to be amazed at the amount of work it takes. The activity started Monday as I prepared all of the paperwork necessary for registration, record keeping, and transportation. Then Tuesday I packed most of my equipment as the trainer I am responsible for having everything that someone else might forget. I also started clipping Jack on Tuesday. I got his legs belly and one bum cheek done. Then I spent about 9 hours Wednesday clipping the majority of his body. Diane worked on Tansey along side me to get them done. Clipping can be done faster, but I unfortunatley have sold my large set of body clippers. I'll have to get a new set for next winter. Then yesterday I finished clipping Jack's head, and Tansey's legs. The kids were all out to pack the trailer last night. Hopefully everything got in. I did catch a couple of things this morning.

We'll load the horses about 10 this morning after moving a couple of big round bales of hay for the horses staying home. Beth and I will get the show horses settled into their temporary stalls this morning. Then I'll come home to teach a lesson before heading back to the show grounds to school (practice) the girls when they get out of school today.

I am also initiating a new farm tradition this weekend. I will be presenting one person with a spirit award for their performance at the show. It will go to the person who either has an outstanding ride, but perhaps their pony just didn't behave, or the person who really goes above and beyond to help out another team mate, or even another competitor. I can't share what the reward is just yet, but it doesn't necessarily have to go to someone who is showing. So for all of you cheer leaders be on your toes you never know you might just get it.

Hope to see you guys there!!!

Absenteeism

2008-02-18T19:20:00.002-05:00

It's been a full week since the last post. My apologies to everyone. Kenzie had surgery to remove her tonsils last week. We all then got hit with a nasty virus. Which has left me with my second ear infection.

Here are some training updates...

Paula and Jack had a rough couple of weeks since the last show. He has been leaning very hard out of the corners. Just today we took him out of the pelham we used at the show, and put him back in the eggbutt. They sucessfully got around 3' courses today. I'm feeling much better about them showing this weekend.

Jessie has started lunging better, and is riding much better after warming up on the lunge line. So I have high hopes for her and Gia at the show, but am still a little apprehensive about riding her myself. I have such a hard time balancing on her as she is so small.

I can confidently say Jake has acceptable ground manners now. As soon as my body quits aching I will get on him again.

Sierra has come about as far as she is ready for at this point. Now she just needs some constant work at the walk and trot focusing on the turns. It seems all semblance of buck/rear is gone. She will be getting delivered on March 2nd to her new adopter. Congratulations Hunter!!!

Rosie has been doing very well for Kaisja and will be going to the show this weekend. I'm sure Karen would love to have everyone come cheer her on on Sunday afternoon. She will be showing in the first year green walk/trot.

We are taking a good crew to the show this weekend. We will have 5 horses and 6 riders (if you count me) there.

I'm feeling really bad that I haven't been putting more media up lately. So here is a link to a great game that I was forwarded. I warn you it is addictive, so watch out.

http://www.horseridingcoach.com/jumporama/

Busy Weekend

2008-02-11T20:40:00.001-05:00

I got quite a bit of training time in this weekend.

Jake-- was back under saddle. He is starting to respond to the bit solidly at a walk, but bolted with me at when I asked for the trot. He then settled back down and would give me short spurts of trotting as long as it was in a straight line.

Sierra--I had a working student on her to see how she would respond to a new rider. She did exceptionally well. We'll continue to work her. More coming.

Turner--The chiropractor was here to adjust him for what we hope is the final time. She signed off on his back as being completley normal. We will flex him out midweek to see how his recovery is going.

I did get some trail riding in both days. Even Dan got out with me on SAturday. Gotta love the woods.

Sunday was quieter. But, I did go out with a client to look at a potential horse. I think we're going to pass on the horse. She was a trained barrel racer, and will take a lot of retraining before she is ready to jump.

Training Report

2008-02-06T19:06:00.001-05:00

Well it has been awhile since I had a chance to do any training. I was down for the count last week with a virus and then we were at the show all weekend.

I have ridden Sierra several times this week. She is coming along nicely. She is still showing resistance through her back. We are trying to get her in to the chiropractor this weekend. She is softening in the turns and her willingness is increasing. Yesterday was bath day. She handled the water well, but got very nervous when I approached her with a sweat scraper. Which leaves me wondering if she has been hit with a crop. She had her feet trimmed today, and was fantastic. I then had one of my working students get on her. She was very willing to accept a new rider, and a different style. All in all I'm very happy with her progress. We may go back to some round pen work and see if I see the fear surge with a lunge whip in hand.

It has been so warm here that all of Jake's training has centered around ground manners. He will now stand quietly on the cross ties for grooming. He will lift his feet for picking, but still won't hold them long enough for easy farrier work. He is shedding out tremendously, so hopefully will be able to get back to ground driving soon.

Succesful Weekend

2008-02-04T06:56:00.000-05:00

We had an excellent weekend. It was a great learning experience for everyone. We have come home with a long list of areas for improvement. At the top of the list is body clipping a couple of the horses. The only problem being that I don't own clippers. I'll have to find a set I can borrow from someone. The girls were real troopers. Everyone was coming down with the sinus infection I had earlier in the week, but rode through it. Nicole had only ridden Tansey three times before the show started, and did good Saturday. For Sunday we added spurs to get Tansey moving forward. It payed of Nicole placed much better on Sunday.

Gia had a great growing opportunity on Saturday. Jessie gave her a run for her money in her over fences classes. Gia stuck to the saddle in a way unheard of for a crossrails rider. She had 4 complete strangers come up to her and comment on what a great little rider she is. Even the judge from the other ring commented to her about what a good rider she is. We have decided that Jessie isn't quite ready for fences yet. She needs to get some more exposure to the show environment. We will be riding her on the flat for awhile until she learns to settle down.

Paula had an outstanding Saturday. She rode so well in the 2' 6" division that we moved her up to 3'. She improved her ride with each attempt. Sunday didn't get off to a good start as the division beore Paula's was scratched so we were racing to get to the ingate. In hindsight we probably should have scratched her from the division. Jack fed off Paula's anxietey and wasn't near as sharp as Saturday. After a couple of not so good rounds it was clear the judge wasn't going to look favorably upon us. We scratched the 3' for Sunday. The big decision that we need to make now is whether to show the 2'6" or 3' for the season. We'll see how things go over the next 10 days before deciding.

The team would like to extend their gratitude to all of the friends and family who took the time to drive down and cheer us on. Your support means a lot to every one of us.

Horseshow Weekends

2008-02-02T04:57:00.000-05:00

We got the horses moved to Mullet hall yesterday. For you out of towners...no it has nothing to do with hairstyles. Just the name of the county park that the show is held at. We are in stalls 120-123 if anyone wants to find us this weekend. We had a bit of a rocky start schooling last night. We didn't allow enough time for the horses to settle in. It was getting dark by the time we were trying to school, so none of them were very happy. Hopefully, they will get all of their jitters out over night, and be ready to go this morning.

Horseshows are sort of like theatre productions. When the dress rehersal goes bad opening night goes perfect. Let's hope and pray for a good day today.

Welcome Richman

2008-01-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

M & M Farms would like to welcome Richman to the United States. This gorgeous stallion belongs to one of our boarders Kathleen. He will be stabled in Wellington Florida and be in FEI dressage training with a top 10 rider. His semen will also soon be available to approved mares.

Congratulations Kathleen!!!

UPDATE: BY REQUEST HERE IS A LINK TO RICHMAN'S VIDEO PRIOR TO BEING IMPORTED. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nra3VoUJr4

Down and Out

2008-01-28T12:43:00.000-05:00

It has been a rough few days here on the farm. I started with a head cold/sinus infection on Friday. It has been building all weekend, and I officially am on antibiotics today. The worst is the ear infection. It has my balance totally off, so no riding for the next couple of days. I have cancelled lessons for tonight.

We did manage to get the new horse; Tansey for Nicole last night. She was a dream to load and trailer. No stopping, no kicking, nothing. It was a very long trip as I was pounding the fluids trying to keep hydrated. She waited patiently at each stop for us to get back in the truck, and head on down to her new adventure. She unloaded quietly as could be, with very little concern for her new surroundings. She just took it all in stride. She did have a small love pat for Nicole as she stomped on her little toe as soon as they got into the barn. But otherwise they are a match made in heaven. Hopefully, Nicole will feel up to riding her today. We are planning to take her to the show this weekend.

Well I can feel the Sudafed kicking in, so I'm off to take a nap.

Succesful Saturday

2008-01-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who was here helping today. It was a good day on the farm. Although, I am down and out with a nasty head cold. As a result there hasn't been much riding happening the last couple of days. My sense of balance is way off. I did ground drive Jake today, which resulted in him bolting down the road to create a bit of excitement. He then promptly went back to work and was very willing to the bit. I drove him down the forest trails. He is good at the walk and starting to understand the bit pressure. I'll have to put him in the arena to work the trot on line.

The girls who will be showing next weekend had a lesson this morning, and all did very well. I know Nicole will feel more settled when her new horse arrives tomorrow. I think Paula and Jack are ready for the 2'6" classes. Things really seemed to click for them today. They worked on the roll backs today. Things were good, but Paula realized that she is really going to need to communicate to Jack where the next fence is in advance.

We had two horses come galloping up the drive today with saddles, but no riders. A bit of a scary moment until I learned that they bolted before anyone had a chance to get on.

I want to say a special thank you to Mark for all his work around the farm today. It was really a treat to get to know you better today. I look forward to learning from your constant support and cheerleading.

Lost Post

2008-01-25T08:26:00.001-05:00

I had written and posted a couple of days ago, but apparently it didn't save. Here is a special treat to motivate all of you to go ride. Here is a degree of partnership we should all aspire too.
Thank you Emily for sending this to me.

You can find out more at http://www.westfallhorsemanhip.com/

What is lost is found

2008-01-21T18:47:00.000-05:00

I found my lost post from the 21st. I'm still getting used to this technology thing. For those who were looking for the training updates from early in the week here you go. This should have been posted 1/21/08

The kids were out of school today. We started the day with a lesson for the girls going to the show in 10 days. It was the first time Gia jumped a course with Jessie. They did very well, and should be ready for the show. Jessie has great leads as long as Gia can get her deep enough in to the corners. Nicole helped immensely today by schooling a horse I'm looking at as a lesson horse. The horse isn't going to work out, but she really challenged Nicole's confidence. Nicole came out the other side very well. She made a lot of correction to her position, and hung in there when her nerves almost got the best of her. Then finally Paula tried a course at her show height today for the first time. She and Jack did very well. Although Jack might have done a bit more than Paula. Jack took the opportunity to teach Paula how to tell him when it's time to take off. Paula pulled it all together just in time for one final go round. It's been an amazing journey to see how Jack has helped Paula come into her own. Hopefully it will continue to come together before the horseshow. Stay tuned for the show results.

Sierra-- I worked Sierra in the roundpen today with side reins to start developing her headset and top line. She works very well in the round pen. I'd like to see her slow down her canter just a bit. I then hopped on her to work some circles to improve her steering. She continued to resist the bend and had some small hops, and inverted resistance. She did work on several circles for about 20 minutes. She had a more balanced trot today, and allowed me a few short spurts of sitting trot.

Jake-- A potential adopter came to look at Jake today. He was quite the gentleman. Hopefully he will have a new home soon. I'll anxiously await the call to let me know what they thought.

Rizzie-- The farrier came and so Rizzie had an intensive training session with his feet.

I won't likely get very much training completed tomorrow, so it may be Wed before I post again.

Overzealous initative

2008-01-20T20:34:00.000-05:00

It's been raining buckets here all week. I'm actually running out of indoor projects to tackle. I've updated the book keeping, finished my monthly invoices, and even caught the website up to date. I've had it in the back of mind to get a blog going, so here it goes. I'm sending out an e-mail announcement to as many of you that are affilitated with the barn, as I can find addresses for. If you're here I'm guessing that's how you found this.

It's my intention to try and use this blog to post updates for horses in training, barn announcements, show reports, and the like. Please check back often. If there is anything of interest you stumble across on the web that you think I should include please forward it to me.

Now I need to find my camera so I can make this interesting.

Upcoming Events for February

2008-01-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

We have several events coming up that you will be able to find us at. If you're up for a day out we'd love to have you come join us.

Feb 2 and 3 Pinto Show at Mullet Hall http://www.scptha.com/
Feb 9 Beach Ride at Myrtle Beach (mildly tentative)
Feb 23 and 24 Pinto Show at Mullet Hall http://www.scptha.com/

The Days Training Report

2008-01-20T19:50:00.001-05:00

I'm going to try and post training reports every few days. I will try to refer to each horse both by the name we call them by as well as things they might have been known by formerly.

Sierra (Sienna)-- Sierra is here for training. She belongs to USERL. She is available
for adoption through their program. I was expecting her to take quite a bit of
ground work to establish a trusting relationship enough to let me on her back. But, man was I wrong. She was very warm and receptive during grooming and
had a solid ground work education. So, I through common sense to the wind and
hopped on her. She was very insecure under saddle, and wasn't sure she understood the bit. We walked and trotted for about 20 minutes without event. She even splashed in some puddles with me. I'll give her a couple of days and we'll go again.

Jessie (Just My Size)--Jessie is a medium pony that is green, but will be starting her show career in two weeks. We have been working on Jessie walking through water, and made big progress today. We are also working on her cantering in circles. She would much rather just charge around on the rail and race towards the gate. Jessie has a very busy mind, and needs to be worked on a regular basis. I probalby won't have another Jessie report until after the show.

Rizzie (Risen Son)-- Rizzie is one of the two resident babies on the farm. He's the only one that is "mine". Several days ago Rizzie skinned up his hocks. We've been treating him with a topical ointment, but he hasn't been very happy about it. As a result he has become a little difficult to catch lately. Kate who helps with some of the training on the farm was here today and worked with him both being handled as well as on the lunge line.

Rosie--Rosie belongs to one of my boarders and is up for sale right now. Kate has been working with her the last several weeks, and has gotten her on the bit very nicely. Pictures will be coming soon.