Rest in Peace, Macho

Macho Nacho was the first Shetland I ever met, and a pony I will remember for a long time.

We received him the summer of 2013, he had some unsightly health issues but was very adorable and very sweet. He'd wander up to you to say hi, and loved being pet and scratched, and loved it even more if you had 'the G word': grain.

He was euthanized the night of December 23, 2014. He was happy and content and stayed warm and cozy in the barn with his grass hay and grain, but he was in his mid-30s and his sores hadn't ever fully healed. We all knew it was the right thing, but I still miss him very much.

Love you, Macho boy <3 p="">

Macho Nacho, Shetland Pony, ~1980 – 2014.

For more about Macho, see "Nacho the Shetland" and "Nacho the Grain Stealrz (and Sham".

When You Find A Dead End

When you find a dead end, try the other door.

No, I'm serious.

If one aspect of being with your horse is getting nowhere, work instead on improving the other aspects.

For me, this means just chilling and bonding with Beauty, enough of all that riding stress for now. Instead, I'll go hang out with her and maybe give her massages, and take her on walks with me. :D

And because I know that our relationship won't fix all the issues with riding her and not wanting to, I'll continue riding...on other horses!

So going back to the basics on a horse that won't try to run away with me and will show me which of my riding needs work. Without running away with me. \o/

From that horse, Splash, I'll eventually go to Tia, who'll help me to refine and stretch those calf muscles.

Perhaps you've got a horse that does awful in-hand? And because of the mutual stress that occurs when you two do such, you'd rather not work the horse at all? Instead of not working the horse at all, try something new. Change things up a bit. Learn how to give horses massages and try that. Braid your horses mane. Take your horse on walks with you. Just try to get that stress gone and return to being best buds with your horse. :)

3-in-1 Open Show: Results with Pawnee

This past weekend was the 3-in-1 Open horse show out in western Washington. Saturday was a two-judge affair, followed by a single, different judge on Sunday.

I went in a total of five classes; three of them on Saturday. We weren't too impressed with the Saturday judges nor our Saturday results. Pawnee was being more of a fidget that day, though. :P

However, I am completely happy with our Sunday results! Pawnee got 5th in mini mare halter, even though she did rear up in the show ring from being mad. xD Guess the judge didn't see that, lol.

Then we did adolescent (3 years or younger) trail-in-hand. The course included sidepassing, a gate, backing an L, and lots of trotting. I had already seen one horse balk on the backing, so when Pawnee had a near-perfect run I figured she'd place pretty decently. Also, her sidepassing? It was a dream. She has never, ever done so well at it. In fact, the only thing she maybe messed up on was wanting to speed up to a canter.

Anyway, it completely shocked me when I heard that Pawnee and I got first. We got first!

Here's a pic of Pawnee and I with our first-place ribbon. So proud of my girl. :D

Pawnee and I with our first-place ribbon from winning Sunday's adolescent trail-in-hand class.

Progressing with Beauty

Now that's progressive.

Lol, jk. But things are coming along really well with Beauty! Here's a quick timeline of what she's been doing and how she's improving. :)

We got the mare in mid-April and she was thin, hairy, and probably wormy:

We knew she'd need a tune-up done on her so we sent her out to a trainer's for 2 weeks, which ended up being 1.5 months. Turned out Beauty didn't hardly know how to do anything under saddle. But the trainer taught her well; the two times I visited to ride went really well!

She returned from the trainer's early last month and got a nasty cut on her face during the trailer ride:

It was worse than that ^ looks, believe me. It took an awesome vet, stitches, and an excess of $200 in vet charges to fix it. That was done and then we turned Beauty out to pasture for a few days by herself. We put a fly mask on in hopes that she wouldn't dirty her face.

After about 5 days I tried riding her bareback and bridleless. It was okay in that she didn't try anything stupid, but it didn't work so well. ;)

Finally the injury healed enough to use the bridle, yay! Using that and either our Western saddle or the bareback pad I've been riding her almost everyday for the past 22 days.

She and I had a few things to work through. The first couple days she'd get nervous when I rode her and just want to trot. Got her past that and things have been going pretty well! Her walk is good, and so is her stop (on a dime) and back. She also knows how to sidepass and half-pass, though she only does it when she's confused.

With that said, I started neck reining instead of direct reining a few days ago. She's learning it incredibly fast. Just yesterday I rarely had to use any direct reining with her at the walk. At the trot? We still need to work on that.

Here are a few more pictures of Beauty. She looks so much better now that she's getting grain and lots of hay. :)

Hiii! I'm da pretty girl. :D

And I have nice conformation and muscles.

The other day my owner rode me to her house. Can you tell how relaxed I am? 

This was the day we rode in the ten-acre field. I really liked it!

Muzzles

Horse muzzles are one of my favorite parts of a horse. They're friendly, expressive, and the sweet horses nuzzle you with them. :)

Hi, I am Luke.

:P

Reminds me of a TB.

Hiiiiiii!

Luke needs to shave methinks. 

Cute horse.

Lol yeah, you need a shave too.

International Survey on Equine Management is Underway

Just found this this morning; a survey on equine management and how it varies from country to country.

Link: http://www.equitationscience.com/announcements/equine-management-survey

The survey takes about 15 minutes and is being done by the University of Sydney. Its questions include what artificial aids you use to train, how you think a horse should be fed, how you stable your horses, and many other horsey questions.

And, it's international! So no matter what country you live in, please take the survey. It's quite fun. :)

Nacho the Grain Stealrz (and Sham)

Made these a few days ago. The chestnut and white is Nacho, a Shetland, and the black is Sham, a slightly larger Shetland. These aren't as good as the Meena and Squirrel ones, but I still like the pictures. :)

Beauty Trotting

A week or so ago my younger sis got this video of Beauty trotting. Isn't she smooth? :)

Pressure

Use as little pressure as possible; as much pressure as needed.

Recently I've been reading books on horse training and psychology. One if the main concepts is how you view pressure; an interesting thing both physically and mentally.

The books I'm referring to are "Nature in Horsemanship: Discovering Harmony Through Principles of Aikido" by Mark Rashid, and another book written by one of Rashid's apprentices (I can't remember the title; sorry).

We all know what pressure is; either in the form of being dragged across a slippery grass field by a horse, or that mental feeling where you *must* get something done and can't ignore it.

So, let me give you a tip for understanding pressure in relationships and also training. This is: Use as little pressure as possible; as much pressure as needed.

There you go. I've recently re-discovered this after the horse I have decided she would stop lunging by turning towards me; a position you can't drive a horse from. The solution? Watching the horse's hip *very closely* and getting after her with the lunge whip and strong verbal commands.

I didn't really like it. As folks who know me will say, I'm pretty softhearted and not very aggressive. But sometimes it takes aggressiveness to reach the point where both parties are safe and compliant.

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I'm double-posting this on my personal blog, take a look.

Beauty

I have a horse now. :)

How to Tell if Your Horse has EIA

Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), also known as Swamp Fever, is a very contagious and dangerous horse virus. I learned a lot about it yesterday through several credible online articles and even started an article about it on wikiHow: http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-Your-Horse-has-EIA

Let me know what you think!

Digging out the Watercolors

A friend had a birthday recently and I decided I'd make her a really simple horse card. It took 4 versions, but I finally got the horse's look right. :)

The eye color isn't that of your average horse, but I was basing this off a palomino stud I know. He's got amber eyes, a stripe down his face, and does have red-gold highlighted mane and steel dust jowls. This representation of him is a bit refined (it looks more like a mare than a stud; a Morgan than a QH), but perhaps a future revision will be more accurate.

The scanner didn't quite capture the true color, and the muzzle is shaped a little oddly when you think about it, but I'm pleased with this horse. I'm still awful at drawing whole horses, but at least I can do the heads. :)

Horses and the Expression of their Markings

We’ve all noticed a horse’s chrome; whether in common leg white or a tobiano pattern. And as breeders we’ve all given some thought to the mechanics of the stuff, and producing the desired amount of it in our next foal batch.

Even horses with the same genotype will vary with amounts of white expressed, yet there is one factor that influences the white’s expression to a certain degree.

. . . can you guess what it is? That’s okay, neither could I.

The factor is the horse’s base color - the color the horse would be if all dilutions, modifiers, and white patterns were removed. For example, a palomino sabino’s base color is chestnut, and a silver dun’s base color is bay.

It turns out that chestnut-based horses will generally express more white than a bay-based horse. And a bay-based horse will generally express more white than a black-based horse. Horses will also usually have more white on their hind legs than their front legs, and on their near side than their off side.

Interesting? I thought so.

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Chrome (in horse terminology): White markings
Genotype: Genetic make-up
Near side: A horse's left side
Off side: A horse's right side

SCRAPS and the Hickerson Case: Part 1

It's a scorching July day and Jan Hickerson is probably out managing her horse ranch along with the help of three hired hands. One solely feeds, the other waters, and the third does anything else that needs done.

Then SCRAPS (Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service) shows up and seizes 25 horses. The charges? The horses "weren't getting enough food and water".

(Let me point out that this is the same organization that told a lady that the two ponies she had adopted were both mares . . . when they were geldings.)

Hickerson claims that SCRAPS is incorrect and her horses do not need to be taken, saying that they are fed everyday and receive plenty of hay. She also says her horses are ones that were unwanted and, usually arriving in a poor state of health, she is trying to nurse them back to health.

Others also defend Jan. “She's done a pretty good job of feeding them and putting weight on them, getting them in better shape and finding homes for them,” says neighbor Barbara Thompson.

SCRAPS isn't happy with this, however, and exports the horses immediately.[1]

Hickerson was charged with 21 counts of animal cruelty.


Who: Jeffrey and Jan Hickerson vs. SCRAPS (Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service)
According to SCRAPS: The horses had open wounds, were emaciated, moldy hay, and no water was in sight
According to Jan: She previously had more horses than she could care for, and had hay sitting on trailers right then, and had just bought hay the night before
Results: Animal cruelty charges, arrest warrants (and Jeffrey arrested)

Works Cited
1. ^ "25 horses seized from West Plains ranch". KXLY. Retrieved 15 Mar. 2014. Web.
2. ^ "SCRAPS takes 60 horses from in animal cruelty investigation". KXLY. Retrieved 15 Mar. 2014. Web.

Affectionate Horses: Some Pictures!

I really adore it when the field horses forget that they've never been halter-broke and are affectionate to me. Not to mention, they make for cute pictures. :)

Oh hi, can I nuzzle your sleeve? 

If I show you my pretty nose, then will you scratch my rump? (Spirit's favorite spot to be scratched is right near her tail. Not sure why, lol.)

You aren't giving me proper attention; oh btw, is this edible? 

I'll pose for you if it means you'll itch my neck once you're done!

Wintry Field Horses

Here are more pictures of the field horses; this time in snow. :)

Warrior: An Excellent Horse Book

Title: Warrior, The Amazing Story of a Real War Horse
Author: General Jack Seely
Rating: 4.8/5
Sadness: Enough to make your eyes tear up, nothing more.
Comprehensibility: Good, especially considering I'm unknowledgeable about WWI and war tactics.
Correct portrayal of horses/horse training: Yes. Very.

If you haven't read Warrior, read it. (And don't confuse it with the recent "War Horse" movie. Completely different plot.)

In short, it's a book authored by General Jack Seely (Warrior's owner) of a horse that fought throughout the entire Great War. Let me persuade you as to why you should read it:

• It's a tale about an amazing horse.
• The writing is gorgeous.
• It's written by a British fellow who uses terms like "tenner" and "cheque".
• The past-tense facts feel like present-tense happenings.
• The explanation of complex war movements are comprehendible to those unfamiliar with war tactics.
• You get to personally know both the horse and the author.
• The book was written before the horse died, so you don't have to worry about getting all attached to Warrior before his death.
• The author knew his horses and how to train them; this is incorporated frequently throughout his writing.
• It clearly shows that horses have the potential to be more intimate and close with humans than dogs can be.
• It also shows that horses can be more friendly than dogs:
• To quote chapter 7, "... you will note with what immense interest your horse will eye the new A.D.C. He knows very well that much of his comfort and well-being depends on this mysterious man ... who seems able to order about people who are much older than himself! Horses are even quicker than dogs at noticing these things, although, unlike dogs, they are not snobs." The author then goes on to point out that dogs will attach themselves to the highest person in rank. Horses, on the other hand, offer the same amount of affection to a general as to a servant.

Some complain about the book hiding the real horror of war. Let me clarify: The book is about Warrior, a horse. Not World War I. If you want to read about WWI and the depression that comes along with death, go find a different book for now.

If you haven't yet, read Warrior. I think you'll find this a good read even if horses disinterest you.

Black Chestnut: A Tricky Color

Imagine a black-colored horse galloping through a field lit by the hazy sunset... and the horse had been born illegitimately from chestnut parents. This causes a problem. Chestnut x chestnut ≠ black. Ever. So, what's the deal with this black-colored horse?

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Black chestnut horses are a tricky bunch to the untaught eye. They can appear black (A^a) over more than 95% of their body, when, in genotype, they are chestnut (E^e). Not to mention, the label "black chestnut" may hint that the horse carries the black allele when the horse either may or may not.

The easiest way to tell if a black-looking horse is chestnut-based is to scan the fetlock color (near each hoof). This is where the base coat of a chestnut will show through.

This is the only picture I have of a black chestnut. The Morgan's name was Joker and he was one of the sweetest geldings around. I don't remember much of him except that he was black-colored with red-tinges near each hoof, and this had me deeply confused.

Black chestnut Morgan gelding. Picture taken by my older bro.

Now that you understand what a black chestnut horse looks like, let's move on to the two alleles to blame for black chestnut horses.

Alleles that darken chestnut to black chestnut:

• Shade
• Sooty

The shade allele controls the lightness or darkness of a horse's coat. There is more to be discovered about it; such as how it works, which locus it resides in, and how it reacts with other alleles. The easiest way to understand the shade allele is to realize its effects: the shade (brightness/darkness/saturation) of every color can vary.

Neither the shade nor the sooty allele have a concrete label (for example, Yz^Yz), but that should soon change with the growing knowledge of color genetics.

The sooty allele works a little differently than shade allele to accomplish a similar effect (darkening): Shade darkens (or lightens) the horse throughout the whole coat, whereas sooty mixes in black hairs with the base color, darkening the coat in certain areas and leaving other areas 83.7885% untouched.

The strength of the sooty effects varies greatly and can go unnoticed when minor enough. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there are so many black hairs mixed in that the horse is practically black. On bay, the least-affected sooty areas include the flank and muzzle. On black, the effects generally unnoticeable. And, on chestnut, the sooty is fairly flat and consistent, with only the fetlock area left unchanged.

Geneticists are reasoning that there are two different sooty alleles, noting that the affects of sooty on Agouti-based horses (bay, black) differ from those on chestnut-based horses.