Why Rodney Will Never Be An Outstanding Obstacle Horse

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 
We figured out why Rodney doesn’t like to be touched on the side. Well, my genius in-house diagnostician figured it out. I agree with him.

Years ago, long before he came to us, Rodney was gouged in the side by a doorlatch. The resulting scar is gnarly-looking, but there are no lumps, no adhesions, no stiffness, nada. The incident left no lingering physical effects, as far I can determine. [Remnant of Rodney’s Past]

Flash forward to our attempt to get Rodney to walk through pool noodles. He doesn’t like it. Oh well. He’s brave about some things, spooky about others. I file this under obstacles to work on and don’t think more about it. It’s normal to have reservations about walking through a press. That’s why it is on an Obstacle Challenge course. [ It Touched Me!, In The Ring]

Then, a while back, we stood Rodney between the shafts of the cart, as we have been doing with Milton [Holiday Rides]. Rodney will never be a driving horse. He would not tolerate all of the straps involved. I figured he’d be okay with this exercise as he would not be bound in any way. No reason to feel claustrophobic. If he started to get upset, I’d simply walk him forward out from between the shafts.

As the shafts came down on either side of him, I remembered that he doesn’t like to be touched by weird stuff on his side. I said as much. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, one shaft gently bopped him. Eeeeep. He jumped straight up in the air with all four feet.

When I lay it out like this, the conclusion is obvious. He has a strong, visceral memory of something reaching out to bite him on the side. He’s fine with hand, brush, leg, or saddle. He doesn’t tolerate odd, unexpected solid objects. It is not location specific. It is anywhere on either flank. Since the injury does not affect him functionally, I tend to forget about it. Rodney does not.

Duh.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Walking The Tests

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Rodney walks to warm up body and brain. It takes a while. Why not use the time to practice my dressage tests?

We – the barn we – used jump standards and poles to lay out a 20×40 ring. Rodney and I walked UDSF Intro A & Intro B over and over and over. He strolled. I practiced my position and worked on my geometry, while holding as little rein as possible consistent with steering. I hope to continue this exercise through the winter. It’s a good one for muddy days.

He was fine but never completely bought into the program. Either he didn’t like being in the sandbox, rudimentary as it was. Or he didn’t like being ridden for an hour. While he never exerted himself beyond a few big walks across the diagonal, he did have to move his feet or stand around with me on his back for 60+ minutes. Or because it was 39o. My feet were certainly not speaking to me by the end.

Anticipation will not be a problem. Rodney is the sort of horse who will feel more secure knowing what comes next. Doing the test again and again won’t damage our competitiveness. Will it help? We’ll see.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Lunar New Year Stamps, The Undesirable Becomes Adorable

Celebrating Art

 


 
The stamps are cute in pictures. They are gorgeous in person. The crown and the forehead circlet are bright, shimmery gold color. Judging by the drawings around the border, this style will continue through the 12-year cycle. If so, we may have annual feature on our hands.

“The image offers a contemporary take on the long tradition of the paper-cut folk art crafts that are another Lunar New Year hallmark.” Postal Reporter: USPS to release Year of the Rat stamp Jan 11 2020

“Patterns based on Asian textiles are visible on the mask. The circle in the middle of the rat’s head symbolizes the new moon that heralds the beginning of Lunar New Year. Specifically, Lunar New Year starts on the second new moon following the winter solstice in December.” Linn’s Stamp News: New U.S. Lunar New Year series begins Jan. 11 with Year of the Rat forever stamp

Other 2020 Rats
Instead of overloading you with links, I suggest Googling “year of the rat 2020 stamps” > image, to see what other countries have come up with.

Previous USA Rats
2008 USPS: Celebrating the Chinese New Year PDF
1996 Smithsonian, Arago™, The online database of the National Postal Museum: Chinese New Year Issue: Year of the Rat
Slideshow Smithsonian, National Postal Museum, Virtual Exhibits: Lunar New Year Postage Stamps , 1992-2004 and 2008-2019.

VBB Archives
Year of the Horse
[A Colorful Quad]
[Pretty Pink Horses]
Year of the Dog
[Graphic Design: Year of the Stamp]
[Foto Friday: Year of the Dog]
List of Links
[Stamps]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Have You Read This? Happy Lunar New Year!

From The Bookshelf

 
Series Intro
I know the feeling of finding a good book. I want to spread the joy. Not reviews. Imagine we are in a bookstore. I wander up to you, hand you one of these books, say ‘Have you read this one?’, then wander off. Whereupon you look at the cover, turn it over, look at the back cover, read the blurb, flip through the book, and decide for yourself if you are interested. It’s like that. Enjoy.

Scanner broken. All covers off the Internet.

Past Have You Read This? [Graphic Novel], [Travel], [Inspiration]

Post Intro
In honor of the year of the rat. Movie posters from the Internet.

Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants
Robert Sullivan, @RESullivanJr
(Bloomsbury 2004)

Robert Sullivan, In The Alleys With ‘Rats’, Interview on NPR, 2009
“In thrall to ratdom” Guardian 2005

Chess With A Dragon
David Gerrold
(Waker 1987)

They may be sentient rats but at least they are our kind of species.

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
by William Goldman
(Harcourt 1973)

I drag this in by the tails of the R.O.U.S. as an excuse to plug the book. Even if you’ve seen the movie, give the book a try. There are significant sections that can’t be rendered on the screen.

Charlotte’s Web
E. B. White
Illustrated by Garth Williams
(Harper 1952)

I admit that while I remember the book, I do not recall Templeton the Rat from those pages. OTOH, I retain a vivid memory of Paul Lynde as Templeton singing, “A fair is a veritable smorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord.”

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

What do you have for me to read?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Imaginary Photos, Open Shutter Horse Show

Photography

 

 
Michael Wesely: Open Shutter
Sarah Hermanson Meister
(The Museum of Modern Art 2004)
bought from Thrift Books
via Abebook.com

Michael Wesely takes long exposure photographs of spaces as they are used and change over time. The one I saw in person was his three year – yes, three YEAR – photo of the MOMA renovation. It was seriously amazing.

“Buildings that are demolished or constructed over the course of Wesely’s long exposures often appear ghostlike, evoking simultaneously a vanishing and emerging presence.” Exhibittion, Michael Wesely: Open Shutter at The Museum of Modern Art October 20, 2004–June 27, 2005

Can you imagine horse-world versions of this technique?

Imagine a hunter show. The arena and jumps would be solid while the horses would create a blurry figure eight around the jumps.

Or an ASB show. Solid walls and center ring. A blurry circle of ghostly horses.

Or a dressage test. The arena and letters would stand out while the horse would be a vague suggestion around the pattern.

Or a riding lesson. The ring fence would be solid, the horses a circular blur around the outside, and the instructor a semi-blur centered in the middle of the image.

Or a barn aisle. The aisle and stalls would be solid, the opening and closing doors and the moving people and horses would be ghosts down the middle.

Would someone get on this please?

I would like to thank, once again, The Errant Moon. This time for indirectly being responsible for me getting my paws on this book, finally. I’ve wanted it for a while, but it was out of print and the used prices were insane.

In the post Doodles and Delights, they recommended the work of Jason Shulman, who creates a “a growing series of durational photographs … Capturing a film in its entirety—setting the exposure rate to the film’s duration.” Hotel: ‘Bad Science’ in conversation with Jason Shulman

This made me think of Wesely. I recommended the book in the comments. On a whim, I took another look at Abebooks. Lo and behold, several places had copies at normal prices. Sold!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Bold As Brass, National Horse Brass Society 2019, 2020

Driving

 

 
The National Horse Brass Society, UK. Leather martingales by Cox the Saddler.

[It Beats A Membership Sticker, NHBS 2018]
[National Horse Brass Society 2016]
[NHBS]

I don’t know of a parallel US association. Am I missing something?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What Think You? Biomechanics Vs. Feel

Discussions On Riding Theory

 
Background Statement: Riding is part biomechanics & part reacting to the horse. How much of each depends on your training philosophy.

Motion: Of the two, feel is more important.

Discuss.

My Thoughts
Both is best. Beezie Madden, Micheal Matz, and Micheal Jung are examples of exemplary style meeting effective riding.

Meanwhile, back in the land of us mere mortals.

Biomechanics is hugely important. It is not simply posing in a perfect position. It is knowing were to put your heels and knowing how much the position of those heels effects everything further up. Sally Swift/Centered Riding(R) & Mary Wanless/Ride With Your Mind(R) have built entire schools of thought on the application of biomechanics to riding.

However.

We’ve all seen people who ride like cowboys (and cowgirls, cowfolk?) yet still manage to go fast &/or get to the other side of the jump. We’ve probably all had our cowboy/girl/folk moments. Correct biomechanics will improve your communicate with your horse. At the end of the day, the communication with the horse is the important part, however you achieve that.

In sum. Instinct beats analysis.

Thoughts?

Process Notes
I’m trying a new feature for Wednesdays when I do not have any saddle seat to report.

Prior Ponderings on Equitation
[Can I Ever Get Away From Equitation?]
[Wherein I Reflect on the Questionable Utility of Equitation Theory]
[Equitation Counterpoint]
[Three Reasons I Suck At Equitation]
[Form Does Not Follow Function]
[Form Follows Function]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott