Posts Tagged ‘happy threads’
Equestrian Social Media Awards
Just a super quick little shout…the results are coming in. I got 2nd in Twitter, so thank you VERY much for your votes and if you’d like to follow me and don’t already, I’m @CathyAtkinson1 on Twitter. 1st place was TheHorse and 3rd place was OfficialParelli.
(You can see the grin on my face from here, right? I thought so.)
In the International Charities, I am beyond thrilled…1st place, Save A Forgotten Equine, 2nd place Angel Acres and 3rd place Second Chance Ranch — all rescues I LOVE and support 100%!
THANK YOU for your votes!
Justice!
What else can I title this post? It’s so rare that everything works out exactly the way it is supposed to with an equine abuse case. The bad guy winds up in jail. The horse not only survives and makes his way to safety, but even returns to his previous level of glory in the show ring. The good guy (or in this case, girl) who fought to save the horse gets to live happily ever after. It doesn’t happen often, but it happened here. My original blog about the saga of Capone I: And more about Doug Spink, arguably the ickiest person ever to be involved in the hunter/jumper world.
Get the gelding bus – and not for the horses!
And an update about Doug Spink finally going to prison, where he belongs.News flash: Intelligent judge fails to buy any of Doug Spink’s b.s.!
To make a long story short, our heroine, Corinne Super, had the good common sense to get the poor horse out of Doug’s little farm of horrors in 2008. She successfully kept him out of Pervy McPervert’s hands until sometime in 2009, when, apparently, Doug managed to get him back. When Doug got arrested again in 2010, the horse got to return to Corinne’s and now he is back out there winning Grand Prix jumping. From the Chronicle of the Horse:Capone I Endures Long Strange Trip Back to the Grand Prix Ring at HITS Desert Circuit
From the article: Super’s first concern when Capone arrived back to her Langley, B.C., farm was his health. “He was in horrific condition when we picked him up. He was dehydrated and underweight and wormy. His feet hadn’t been done,†she said. It just goes to show that the nicest horse, like the nicest person, is still at risk of winding up the victim of a crazy person. Doug Spink is about as valueless a human being as I can imagine. Everyone knew he shouldn’t have ANY horses in his possession – just read the Internet postings from this freak show. Yet there was no law in place to prevent him from owning horses, and if his equally twisted “customer” hadn’t messed up and gotten caught (see the story about the Gelding Bus above), Spink would STILL be doing whatever he was doing (which wasn’t feeding or trimming) with this magnificent animal. That horse is safe and back in the show ring today for one reason: Someone loved him and didn’t give up, despite more drama than most of us will ever have to deal with. I’m sure it has been a phenomenally expensive and stressful fight for Corinne, and she deserves a lot of credit for not giving up. What a wonderful comeback and a great happy ending story…thought you would all enjoy this to start your week!
Valentine’s Day Question!
I know it’s a day late, but weren’t you all busy celebrating yesterday anyway?
AQHA tweeted this story out yesterday and I thought it was cute, especially since the old fart horse got a happy ending, too!
So I think this is a good question for today: Who here met their significant other because of or through horses or a particular horse? Let’s hear the stories!
All right, last minute shoppers!
I usually manage to do this post earlier in the month but, what can I say…it’s been a crazy month! And hey, almost everyone has last-minute shipping and there’s stuff here you can buy instantly so I’m going to plug some fun holiday stuff anyway.
This sweatshirt at Hoofprints cracks me up because it’s SO true. Just some of the things NOT to say to a horse owner:
- Should you still be riding at your age?
- Why do you take lessons? I thought you knew how to ride.
- Riding isn’t a sport, the horse does all the work.
And many more. Hahaha, SO true! Check out Hoofprints for all sorts of fun horse and dog related stuff.
It’s Not For Sissies is a fun site with lots of fun horsey stuff and some other stuff. I personally think this is hysterical and kind of want to buy a bunch and creep around in the night sticking them on certain whiny peoples’ cars…muahahaha!
You KNOW you are thinking about who you’d do this to! Admit it!
Lynn Reardon’s book “Beyond the Homestretch” has become a best-seller, and for good reason. Her tales of what horse rescue is really like, with all of the quirky horse personalities and the good, bad, and sad moments, is a must-read for anyone who loves horses or thinks they might want to rescue horses one day. Lynn tells it like it is and you shouldn’t miss out her stories!
Now, since most of us think of the holidays (and the end of the year) as a great time for giving, let’s go over some good places to send a donation this year.
The Oregon Hay Bank desperately needs your help. What they do is provide short-term gifts of hay to help people suffering temporary financial distress hang on to their horses. They do NOT endlessly fund slackers who won’t get a job. These grants are for people suffering from the poor economy, illness, etc. and they don’t just keep on coming – they’re a helping hand, not a hammock. The economy continues to suck in the PNW and helping the OHB helps ensure that some horses won’t go hungry this Christmas.
Of course, another great way to help horses is by donating to a reputable rescue. If you’re a Thoroughbred lover, check out Angel Acres, Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue or Second Chance Ranch. These organizations focus on rehoming off the track Thoroughbreds, and all have a solid record of success to show how many of their alumni are in great homes, often excelling in the show ring.
And I gotta say…Jo Deibel deserves a donation just for writing this blog entry about Sue Walrus Wallis. I mean, this line alone: “I got two words for your program their Slaughterhouse Sue Wallis and Dave D. and they rhyme with DUCK SHOE!” WIN. That line was full of WIN.
Now, if you prefer your donations to go to more of an all-breed rescue, Shiloh Horse Rescue helps a very wide variety of horses outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. One thing I particularly love about Shiloh is the constant stream of riding videos posted, showing us all that they DO NOT merely warehouse horses…even if something comes in unbroke, if it’s old enough to ride, it will GET broke at Shiloh and have a future. Love that! It has obviously been a really tough year for them with the loss of Tony Curtis, but the rescue is back running at full capacity and Tony’s legacy will continue saving horses far into the future.
Obviously, there are many quality rescues out there and this isn’t an all-encompassing list. My advice is always: donate wisely. If you value my recommendations, great. If you prefer to choose a local rescue you can check out, that’s great too. I always approve of GFAS accredited rescues, because it is NOT easy to get accredited. A donation to Habitat for Horses, Horse Harbor Foundation, Front Range Equine, etc. definitely won’t be wasted funds. Be careful, and please don’t throw your cash at someone begging on Facebook, who may be a scammer like Sharon Crumb – that’s all I ask!
I’ll wrap this up by saying that if you have the ability to take on another animal, small or large, you’ll never find a better Christmas to do it. The shelters are overflowing and so are the horse rescues. Your donations are appreciated but if you can offer up a home and create space for one more animal to live instead of die, well, that’s beyond awesome. And I really believe this – if you have kids, there is no better lesson you can give than saying that this holiday, instead of dropping $300 on a video game system so that everybody sits on their butt in the house machine-gunning imaginary people, we’re going to spend that money taking in a sad, neglected animal and feeding it and vetting it and watching it turn into a happy, healthy animal. Or fostering a horse for a month or two. You can teach charity, kindness and unselfishness for the price of a Wii…what do you think is the better use of your money? Now, if you do rescue a new one, I think you know the drill – WE WANT PICS!
Last thing – what are you dreaming of receiving? What horsey stuff have you seen for sale that’s really super cool? I have a green horse that is making me think it’s time to invest in the Kerrits Stick Tight breeches…or some padding for my butt, LOL! Damn ground has gotten HARD!
What do your horses really want for Christmas?
Most of us admit to holiday shopping for our horses and/or fixing them the Christmas bran mash full of neatly chopped apple and carrot pieces. After all, why shouldn’t they enjoy the holiday? But let’s look into that a little deeper. What does your horse really want? What would he say if he could talk?
Here are some of my thoughts:
1. Your horse wants safety. This is a pretty broad area. It encompasses everything from not being turned out with a horse that chases him and harasses him to your finally taking the time to make a will and know for sure where he is going if something unexpected happens to you. It also means safe fence, a stall free of nails and rough edges, and hay that is free of mold and weeds. It means knowing that food shows up at fairly regular times every single day. It means not being left with a trainer who makes you wonder if maybe they are not so kind to your horse behind your back, or at a boarding barn with barn help that you’ve seen be unnecessarily rough or short-tempered with the horses. Ask yourself how you can make your horse feel more safe and secure this season!
2. Your horse wants you to be considerate about his fitness level. Time and again, I see people do the most incredibly stupid things when it comes to equine fitness. I just saw someone leave his horses in their stalls for the better part of a month (they got occasionally turned out by the barn manager out of sympathy)…then I came out and they both were covered in dried sweat. The one horse keeps his ears permanently pinned back…can’t imagine why! (Yes, that was sarcasm). If you let your horse sit and then come out and ride it into a sweat, this is cruelty. The horse will be sore, exhausted, not enjoy being ridden and probably develop a host of nasty behaviors and evasions as a result. It is not a damn golf cart. If you want to be able to ride more than an occasional half hour of walk-trot in the arena, you need to keep your horse fit. And horses fit up just like YOU do. You cannot start off running five miles, and neither can your horse. A slow, consistent program (this means, yeah, you ride at least 4-5 days a week, 6 is better) where you do a lot of walking and slowly start to increase the amount of trotting time, working up to fifteen minutes of trot before you canter, and having the horse good and fit on the flat before you jump, is not only the kindest thing for your horse, but will save YOU so much money in vet bills that you won’t believe it. (Offshoot of this: STOP listening to your riding buddies who say “he will be fine, just come with us!” They aren’t going to pay the vet bills or buy you a new horse when you ruin this one, trust me.)
3. Your horse wants a saddle that fits. There are a couple of easy, if not all-encompassing, tests for this. One is to make sure you can put your hand under the front of the saddle, when you’re in the saddle, and that the saddle does not hit the withers even if you are trotting, leaning forward, or going up or down hills. The test doesn’t work if your weight is not in the saddle, so do it while mounted. If your fingers get squooshed, you have a problem. Another test is to look at the sweat marks left behind when you do work the horse hard enough to sweat. If the sweat isn’t all over underneath the saddle — if there are dry spots — you may need a different saddle or pad. Finally, with a Western saddle, if you are watching the back go whap, whap, whap against your horse’s back while longeing with tack on…it doesn’t fit, or it is in the wrong place on the horse. A really awesome gift to your horse is a visit from a professional saddle fitter, and it’s definitely something to consider if he’s had any back issues.
4. Every horse likes a visit from a good equine masseuse and/or chiropractor. Yes, check them out first — like anything else, there are good and bad. But trust me, your horse will let you know how much they enjoy it! My VLC thinks the masseuse is the best thing EVER. And, of course, keeping your horse free from back pain is a good way to ensure that you will stay in the saddle and not wind up in the dirt.
5. Your horse wants you to be happy. When you are happy and content with your life, you are a more patient, consistent rider. If there’s something in your life that is causing you great stress and unhappiness, and if it’s something you can change, resolve to make this the year you change it. There are few things more pointless than getting on a sensitive animal when you are a ball of stress. They pick up on it and everything goes to Hell in a handbasket in a big hurry. Do what it takes to make yourself a happier person, and you’ll find your horse is happier, too!
So what do you think? What do you think your horse would say if you asked him what he really wanted for a holiday gift?
If you’re looking for a good rescue to help out this holiday and you love Thoroughbreds, consider a donation to Second Chance Ranch. In 2010, SCR saved 48 horses and adopted out 36, with 46 currently in the program. This poor girl is one of their latest rescues, and she needs all of her vet work done (and a good home after she is fat!). More info on their Facebook page.
