Loving your horse won't save it from stupidity.

I saw this video months ago and didn't have the means to really put forth my outrage at the idiot riding this poor mare. A few years ago I had the misfortune of briefly giving lessons to a know it all girl who's dad had a bottomless wallet and no backbone. Little girl got everything, including a brand spanking new horse from a decent trainer in the area. Little girl took this horse and ran and jumped the hell out of her- every day she was a frothy mess and every night she required bute. Nothing I could say would deter her from this treatment and I was little more than an apprentice to the owners... I was forced to sit and watch the inevitable happen. Little girl decided to run her sweet horse across pavement and then jump her over a curb on to more pavement. Horse slipped and, for lack of a better description, ripped all the muscles on her underside and armpit. I don't know the exact muscles, I do know the horse had to be put down on the spot. A beautiful horse that could have been any little girls forever horse had to be overdosed on the pavement because her little girl was an idiot who could not respect the decency of life.

So tell me, why is this girl jumping her horse on what seems to be pavement? Why is she using poorly designed standards capable of causing serious injury? AWESOME you can jump 4 feet... now lets learn to jump it correctly and footing that won't kill your horse. Frankly, loving your horse just isn't enough to save him from your own stupidity.

While on the topping of jumping in general... here is something else near and dear to my heart... height. Is it so hard to gauge the difference between 2'6 and 4 ft? When riding a pony to a fence you claim is 4ft and the pony towers above the fence... please don't get confrontational over your inability to measure.... if you can't tell the height of the jump, you really have no business jumping it and contrary to popular belief, overstating your abilities does not make you cool, it makes you a buffoon.

On another note, campers are here... we used Jovie as our anatomy horse... she and Stupendous got the names of their major body parts taped to said body parts... and both girls acted perfectly and politely. I love my mares... and I don't care what any of you anti-mare people say :) Do you have a preference on mares or geldings? My favorite horses have been mares except for Jackson- and he was a stud! Geldings have always been trouble in my book.

Jovie Log 1

I need to start looging Jovie's progress so here it goes.

Bought her a few months ago as a 3 yr old cutting mare. Daughter of Mr. Skyline Peppy and out of HighBrow sassy, she is a grand daughter to HighBrow Hickory, Peppy San Badger, Prissy Tari and SR Docs Seranade. She's bred for cattle, had 6 months cutting training anf 6 months reining training at the time of purchase.

I am a fox hunter learning to cut. This has been an interesting pairing and now, a few months in something I do not regret even a little bit.

4 Things Jovie Needs To Work On:
1. Stopping on cue
2. Not fighting the bit/pressure while backing
3. Rollbacks w/o such a strong leg cue
4. Not crowding the cow


4. Things TheCityHorse Needs To Work On
1. Lighter contact while cutting, more leg pressure
2. Sitting the rollback w/o being flung forward
3. Not posting!


Jovie does most things well. She will side pass and open/close gates, walk through anything, pony horses, lead trails and stand like a statue when small children pet her. She knows the difference between being tide and being REQUIRED to stand where I put her, she knows the difference between a pleasure trail and a "This is business, be a trailguide' trail. She also has the most adorable western pleasure lope and will do it every now and then... I know it's in the way I cue, but I can't figure out exactly what the button is! Regardless, I love her, she's perfect.

We will start competing in some penning/sorting events soon.. the clinics have gone well and we have placed first in all three novice jackpots, prompting us to be asked not to ride in the novice any more.

Videos:









My horse is the shorter horse, I'm in brown and I am not Sarah... but I'll be the first to admit that she and her OTT TB are AWESOME! Yay for Bob the TB and Sarah!

from a pro-slaughter stand point- fire at will

I couldn't watch the drama at FHoTD any longer with out saying something- the fighting has gotten ridiculous and frankly the anti-slaughter crew are about as coherent as the most backwoods pro-lifer and with far less grace and tact. I am staunchly pro-slaughter. I have seen first hand the look of nothingness in a horses eyes after years of neglect, the fear in a load of 1/2 wild horse brought into their first auction after a week on a stock trailer and the total suffering in the eyes of a horse that's been sick longer than it's been starving. These horses will not be rehabbed, if they are lucky, the will die quickly of illness instead of the prolonged death of starvation, and many of them will never feel kindness from any human. Slaughter, in all it's sickening bluntness, is a kinder treatment than suffering endlessly.

Horses are magnificent animals, and it's our culture that has taught us to believe that simply being magnificent is sufficient enough to spare them the dinner plate fate... Hindu's believe the same of cows and McDonalds refutes it every day. Is slaughter, as it was in the US before it's ban gruesome and cruel? Yes. Are horses starving for weeks, months on end with no shelter, no nourishment and no vetting or even a little tube of wormer cruel? Infallibly more so than the few moments it takes to slaughter.

It's easy to trash the financially broke horse owner who cannot afford a vet to overdose their horse, a backhoe to bury it or some other means of proper disposal or even the heart to do such a thing. These are often not the people who take their horses to slaughter. These are the people with the starving animals and no viable outcome, no possible answer other than an agonzingly slow death. To punish these owners is to punish the horses suffering under them and a better solution should be found... a quick, humane alternative to slaughter that is not as expensive as a shot and less frightening than being shoved through a shoot and shot between the eyes. Processing plants should offer a pick up of recently put down horses for use in whatever it is they use deceased horses for.... the remains SHOULD be utilized.

SFTS said:
Hold people accountable for their actions...DON'T reward them. Offering slaughter as a means of dumping the horses they cannot (or refuse to) care for properly or find homes for is a reward for bad behavior and I simply cannot support such a notion.

Let me say this again. It is not the down on his luck horse owner making money via slaughter. They aren't taking good old Rusty to the slaughter house for a few bucks.... they sold him first to a broker or auction thinking, hoping, praying a kind person would buy him... we all of course know that doesnt happen often any more with the market as flooded as it is. Rusty would have been sold and then would have traveled the country in a stock trailer full of other down on their luck horses, catching who knows what illness and getting who knows what injuries from the journey. He may go to several auctions before he finally gets bought- and I'll bet money its a kill buyer. I simply cannot support blaming the wrong person... and frankly, the kids on FHoTD need to stop being such snobs... this is a hard economy on most of the population, people are making horrible, life changing decisions on every corner and the choice for someone to either sell or put down their horse is a hard one- not something to be mocked or even worse... vilanized.

10 Things The Casual Trail Rider Should Know

I am a trail guide part of the day and am continually shocked by the complete ignorance of most people when it comes to horses. Casual trail riders often present you with the most DOH! problems, and this is not to judge or belittle in anyway... just to put some basic guidelines out in the open.

1. If you've never been on a horse before, tell your trail guide. No need to ask for a quiet horse/brown horse/ small horse your guide can, and will place you properly. Size does not determine temperament and neither does color.

2. If your riding experience is limited to a handful of trail rides, do not say you are an experience rider... your guide just may take you seriously and give you more than you can handle. Of course they might also just make fun of you on the inside and put you on the quiet old gelding and tell you he's a killer. We all have our little jokes.

3. If the stable you go to is walk only... they won't break the rules for you, insurance means more than your hour trail.

4. Shorts, flip flops, skirts, tube tops, big gold earrings worth 60$ etc... all things to avoid when going for a trail. This seems like common sense- a big horse with a lot of leather between you, unless you like big raspberries shorts are just stupid. Wear trousers/jeans/pants and close toes shoes... horse hooves hurt, ask someone to show you what a big toe looks like when a horse is done with it.

5. Don't. Scream. Horses are prey animals and they run fast. A screaming flailing banshee on their back is perfect motivation to take off and run like the beasts of hell are after them.

6. When your the last horse on the trail and stop your horse and run to catch up... you're not being sneaky, we know what your doing and it really makes us hate you.

7. When you want to stop your horse... pull to your belly button not to the sky, you look like an idiot and you piss the horse off. Don't piss off the animal carrying you.

8. Sunglasses and hats aren't attached, they will fly off, dangly earrings will too. Cell phones don't stay in pockets well either. Nobody really wants to stop the trail so we can pick up your junk.

9. Riding double is dangerous/a no no on insurance applications and very few trail barns if any still allow it. Most horses won't tolerate it and really... if you can't control a horse confidently on your own, why add a small child to the equation?

10. TIP YOUR TRAIL GUIDE. It's a hard job, we have to brave more weather than a postman and deal with larger animals... plus we have the fine task of showing you a good time... so show your appreciation.


To some people, these things will seem a little bit like common sense, but you'd be suprised how many screaming, flailing skirt wearing riders there are.

Trainers & Twainers

Anybody new to horses beware... with the economic crisis, twainers are flourishing. They pray on unsuspecting newbees and though their intentions are usually good the damage they can cause it insurmountable. They lurk around boarder barns, auctions and on craigslist. They rarely have well trained horses (leaning more towards the 'hot' horse, it gives them a false sense of skill) and they are never over 30. A twainer knows everything, rode everything, showed everything and doesn't need Parelli because she is the second coming to natural horsemanship with her own unique and dangerous 'make the horse lay down' method. Is it obvious I don't hold them in high regard?



Yesterday we had a world class twainer. She came in with a client looking for an intermediate jumper for a very novice but in training client. The trainer (hence forth, Jenelle) listed her requirements which where pretty easy to match, though she was unfortunately another color buyer, everything else was pretty standard. What wasn't standard was Jenelles inability to saddle a horse properly (the saddle about 8 inches to far on the back) and a total lack of confidence on the ground. The hose we matched them with is a 9yr old tb gelding and a real gentleman- she scolded him for being fresh whenever he took a step. When it finally came time to ride, Jenelle not only could not post on the correct diagonal (come on, this is basic) she could not, for the life of her ask the TB to pick of a correct lead. She balanced solely off of the horses mouth and her idea of a correction was sharp tugs on the horses head cause one very angry TB by the end of the ride. It took about an hour and a half to bring him back down to good working form.



I don't mind bad riders, I would hope they find a trainer, but I don't mind them. The idea of her client learning to ride just like her is nauseating however and I feel very sorry for the horses doomed to be in their care.



What would you do in a situation like this? I was always told never to correct a customer unless what they are doing is boldly dangerous to horse and or rider. What she was doing, though painful to watch was not terribly dangerous... saying something could have seriously offended her probably very tender twainer pride. How do you inform a client that the person they have put their trust in not just for training but in purchasing a horse is a total sham?







Ugly stud of the day:

Cruise is a buckskin yearling, registered paint stud colt. He is very calm, gentle and loves people. He gets along well with other horses, not very spooky, leads well, loads, trailers, clips, baths ok, good for farrier. Started on lunging. He would make a great 4h project and be very eye catching in the arena (pictures don't do him justice). He is very cute. He should be easy to train/break and could be taught any discipline (english, western, jumping, barrels etc...) He will finish out over 15 hands and be quite stocky. Asking best offer.
Location: Mio, Michigan



Ok.. YAY! The horse is registered... thats a step a head of most CL studs, but that's where the good ends. first thing: correct me if I'm wrong but unless that Stud looses his nuts, he is NOT A 4h project, and who would recommend a stud to a kid anyways? I don't really care how educated the child is... it's a stud for petes sake... must adults shouldn't even be handling them.
Second: I really doubt that 'the pictures don't do him justice'. If that where truly the case, why didn't you just re-take the pictures? Good pictures help at least get potential buyers interested... and with a little bit of proper staging, a ugly stud can at least be presentable... once way trip on the testicle removal train would help more though.
Finally... is that a loose hanging barb wire fence in the background? Thats not a huge accident waiting to happen or anything...


No price is listed, but I'm interested to see what kind of offers she gets. You can see the add here.

Don't judge a horse by it's color.

It's everything PETA hates, a trail barn, an auction/consignment stable... heaven forbid, a summer horse camp. This is also the job I love (and love to bitch about) with some of the kindest, craziest people on the planet. We see every side of the equestrian and stock world, from the gritty cowboy, the Amish, Dressage arena-weenies and everything in between. Some of it is heartbreaking, some of it is amazingly wonderful... all of it is exciting and a huge part of the equestrian world.

Every business has it's asshole customers, you can't escape them and they are always right. Yesterday I recieved a horse request submission form. It's a really simple form- you tell us what your looking for in a horse, we do our best to match you with one of ours, or find the horse via one of our dealers. Majority of the time, there truly is a horse for everyone. Yesterday however, I got a toughy. Marjorie of the Back Yard Riders Guild (hereby... BYRG) is looking for a horse. In short, she wants a 2-3yr old chestnut arabian mare. She must be 'show quality', she must neck rein, she must ride english and western, jump in hunter paces and be able to work a cow. Also she must be child friendly, for a 9 year old 'advanced' rider. How many cattle cutting, hunter pace jumping, english western 3 yr old arabs do you know? Never mind how many 9 years old advanced enough to manage one in all of the pbove mention events. The specificity of the request, and the mild outrageousness of the request are nothing to what followes though... Marjorie also wants this horse to be $1,000 or under because 'the economic times are tough, however everything listes is a requirment for the requested horse, my daughter only wants an arab and it must be chestnut or at least brown.'

Every request is dignified with a response, and a search for the horse on our end. I know we don't have anything remotley like that here, and cutting horses are rarely consigned at auction. Our dealers have never brought us anything close to that- so I decided on doing a little research. As it turns out, Arabs can, and do cut. I found a video on youtube of Khemander Kody cutting... acording to the title he's a champion, and regardless he looks pretty cool. I bet he doesnt jump.. and I bet he's more than a thousand too.

I completey grasp the concept of hard economic times- but that isn't a good reason for us to give you a deal, economic times, believe it or not... have had an impact on the equestrian business industry too. What I really don't understand is people choosing a horse based on color- and still expecting it to do everything and be kid safe. Choose one- buy a horse on color and get what you get- or buy a horse on skill and understand that color does not, in anyway impact the temperment or trainability of a horse. You cannot judge a book by it's cover, or a horse by it's color. Common sense, please people.