Horses & Other Interests
I love it when my friends travel & bring back blog posts. Welcome Michelle.
Photos by Michelle Duplichien.
Houston Museum of Natural Science
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Spotted is a big fan of equid history.
Spotted in Boston
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Previous Travel Posts by Michelle
NACHS Recovery Day 1 Disney zebras, Orlando FL
Driftwood Disaster Statue Biloxi MS
Mardi Gras Parades, A Guest Post Metairie LA
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
A Good Horse Has No Color: Searching Iceland for the Perfect Horse
Nancy Marie Brown
Stackpole 2001
Previous Icelandic Horse Posts
[Riding in Reykjavik, a Guest Post]
[Iceland Imports, Guest Flyer]
B Authors on Rodney’s Saga
Broadhurst [Have You Met the $700 Pony? A Guest Plug] & [$700 Giveaway]
Benson [Guest Blogger: Linda Benson, writer of The Girl Who Remembered Horses]
2017 Alphabet
[2016 Alphabet]
[2015 Alphabet]
Project explanation [AlphaBooks 2017]. Open to recommendations for the remaining letters. Which books would you choose?
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
To paraphrase the poet:
I repeat myself? Very well, then I repeat myself.
The blog is large, and I forgot what I said.
In 2013, Lola and I won first, second, and fourth. That would be blue, red, and white for those of you in countries what do their ribbon colors the wrong way around. Since the American flag is red, white & blue, I made the comment,
What can I say, I was feeling patriotic.
Show Report: ASAC, Clemson, SC
In 2017, Robert & I won the same combination of colors. I made the same joke.
Show Reports, Winter Tournament #1 & # 2, 2016/2017
Okay, so I repeated a one-liner. No biggie.
In 2012, I used a story about my father to make a point on inverse snobbery,
The idea that I am so cool I don’t have to prove to you how cool I am.
Cultural Commentary
In 2013, I told the same story at greater length,
Inverse snobbery means being so cool you don’t have to dress for the party.
Why I Drove a Beat-up Jeep to My Senior Prom
This was on different blogs. Excused on a technicality.
In 2016, I used a comparison between two barns to talk about how surroundings influence motivation,
The frog/pond ratio had altered dramatically.
Motivating Me
Imagine my surprise to find the same anecdote, told to the same purpose, four years earlier. I even used the pond analogy in the title. News to me.
It is better to be a small fish in a big pond.
The Fish/Pond Equation
The only solution is to go forth, do more, and have more to talk about. Onwards!
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Previous State of the Blog posts, list.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Rain, glass, tricky lighting, & insufficient lens, but a gorgeous place.
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Decatur AL
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Introducing the new competition team for 2017.
Coach Kate has very kindly asked if Greg would be interested in showing the lovely & talented Bliss at driving events this year. Yes, please.
Since it’s the horse world, many things could go wrong, from soundness problems to personality conflicts. If all goes the way we hope, Bliss will have a job, Coach Kate will have help with her new horse at shows, and Greg with have an experienced CDE partner. Win, win, win.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Recently, I was asked how I would explain the difference between saddle seat and dressage to a dressage rider. Never ask me these things in person. I talk way too much. I finally came home, sat down, and consolidated my thoughts.
Both disciplines want the horse elevated through the shoulder & pushing from behind. Saddle seat horses go with more autonomy and are always collected, instead of extending & collecting.
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My dressage related comments & ponderments over the years.
2014
When a horse objects, I had been taught to turn the head to the inside & push past the Scary Thing with my inside leg. Unfortunately, Saddlebreds go off the outside rein and leg.
Show Report: Winter Tournament 2, Hartselle AL
Obedience Epiphany
Back To The Bigtime
… keep a steady hand and give sharp, jabby picks with the reins. This feels wrong at a cellular level. On the other hand, I have never truly grasped the idea of contact in any discipline. It could be this is the take-and-give that dressage instructors have been yapping on about.
Show Report & Tweets: Georgia Fall Classic 2014
Overall, the guest instructor’s method had more dressage stirred into the mix: bending, leg yield, changes of direction.
Clinic Report: Saddle Seat with Christy Parker
2015
Saddle Seat Vs. Dressage: Patterns
Dueling Disciplines What I say about H/J would be true of Dressage.
The Ups and Downs Transitions
2016
Riding Loose
Show Report: ASAC 2016 Two years later, I’m still confused about the concept of contact.
Thoughts?
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Milton is not Rodney. I forget this.
When I’m grooming Milton, I will slooowly reach toward his head with a brush. He stands there. Then I remember Milton is not head-shy; I can brush his head like any other part of his body.
I take Milton for a walk. He utterly fails to get uptight. (Unless, of course, we encounter a flock of turkeys, or a storm blows in, or other horse-alert events.) The response to the average walk varies between, ‘Meh.’ and ‘Why are we doing this?’ Milton has his moments (see above). Trudging around the perimeter of his own field is not one of them.
This is all on the ground. If-and-when I ever ride them (HA!), it will be interesting to see how the two horses compare & contrast.
If you ride more than one horse regularly, do you tend to a type? Or do you enjoy variety?
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 