It's supposed to be warm later today but right now it is just wet. I gave the ponies yesterday off. They are getting their winter coats in quite thick and I didn't want to make them all sweaty (lazy day, didn't feel like a lengthy cool out) so I hope it dries up enough to work them this afternoon. It is supposed to be 70 today. They will get all sweaty but it will be warm enough for them to dry without catching a chill. But if it is muddy I won't bother. Brego is just not terribly graceful or coordinated. He tends to slip and slide on those massive pie pan feet when the ground is mucky.
I'm almost done with these socks I have been working on for months now. Size 1 needles and baby weight yarn... takes a lot if knitting to make progress. Mind numbing, repetitive, knit purl knit purl knit purl arg! I think in the future I will stick with worsted weight yarn for my socks. It makes for thick warm socks and I need shoes a bit bigger to use them but they knit up a lot faster, haha!
I'm tired. This rain... ugh. I just want to sleep.
*curls up under her favorite blanky and closes her eyes*
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Longevity in horses.....
I get two horse magazines, Horse Illustrated and Horse & Rider. I got the Horse & Rider because I got a cheap deal on it. It is geared toward western riders, and I do not ride western, at least I haven't since I was a teen. In fact I don't REALLY even ride English. I am a driver at heart, who would like to occasionally swing a leg over... But it has general horse care articles and such. And it is about horses, so I'll read anything about horses, hehe.
Anyway, two things in this month's issue just had me sitting here with my mouth hanging open. The first was in their letters column. It was a response to an article called "Size Matters" which suggested perhaps cutters and reiners might have longer careers if they were not started as long yearlings and two year olds, and pointed out that FEI-level jumpers can't even compete until they are 6. One response was "Have you forgotten what side your bread is buttered on? I'd expect this kind of commentary from an English magazine but not one with Western training as it's focus!"
I have to be honest, this left me shaking my head. I come from a horse world where horses are still in their prime into their late teens. They don't even start to compete until they are 4 or 5. They might get their first ride when they are 2, but usually they are closer to 3, 3 1/2. And their work at that age is mild. But then they go on to compete from the age of 5 or 6 until their late teens (I've even seen a few in their early 20's still competing at reasonably high levels).
I guess I was shocked that anyone would think discipline choice would have anything to do with the science behind the fact that a horse's skeletal structure is not mature at "just barely 2" and they might possibly stay sound longer if you wait a year to start them into heavy work and competition. So because Horse & Rider is a Western magazine they should just ignore that fact? Well, if we used that logic we would still be in the dark ages.
So then I read on and saw an article listed that said, "What an aged Quarter Horse stallion has taught Bob about making a horse last." So I flip to the page and see this: The "aged" stallion is 9.
*stunned*
I guess I knew that this was common in race horses. It's part of the reason that I am just plain NOT a fan of the race industry. But to read it about something not related to the race industry has me kind of flabbergasted. Is 9 really "aged" for a competition horse? If so I am glad I am not involved in competition. When I talk about longevity in a horse I am not thinking bout keeping him sound until he is 9, I'm thinking about keeping him sound until he is 23.
I guess I have just been really out of the loop. I'm probably way more shocked by these things than it warrants. I just can't wrap my head around the concept that a 9 year old stallion is "aged". Learning about equine longevity from a 9 year old reining horse sounds a lot like learning about old age in humans by studying 25 year old gymnasts.
Anyway, two things in this month's issue just had me sitting here with my mouth hanging open. The first was in their letters column. It was a response to an article called "Size Matters" which suggested perhaps cutters and reiners might have longer careers if they were not started as long yearlings and two year olds, and pointed out that FEI-level jumpers can't even compete until they are 6. One response was "Have you forgotten what side your bread is buttered on? I'd expect this kind of commentary from an English magazine but not one with Western training as it's focus!"
I have to be honest, this left me shaking my head. I come from a horse world where horses are still in their prime into their late teens. They don't even start to compete until they are 4 or 5. They might get their first ride when they are 2, but usually they are closer to 3, 3 1/2. And their work at that age is mild. But then they go on to compete from the age of 5 or 6 until their late teens (I've even seen a few in their early 20's still competing at reasonably high levels).
I guess I was shocked that anyone would think discipline choice would have anything to do with the science behind the fact that a horse's skeletal structure is not mature at "just barely 2" and they might possibly stay sound longer if you wait a year to start them into heavy work and competition. So because Horse & Rider is a Western magazine they should just ignore that fact? Well, if we used that logic we would still be in the dark ages.
So then I read on and saw an article listed that said, "What an aged Quarter Horse stallion has taught Bob about making a horse last." So I flip to the page and see this: The "aged" stallion is 9.
*stunned*
I guess I knew that this was common in race horses. It's part of the reason that I am just plain NOT a fan of the race industry. But to read it about something not related to the race industry has me kind of flabbergasted. Is 9 really "aged" for a competition horse? If so I am glad I am not involved in competition. When I talk about longevity in a horse I am not thinking bout keeping him sound until he is 9, I'm thinking about keeping him sound until he is 23.
I guess I have just been really out of the loop. I'm probably way more shocked by these things than it warrants. I just can't wrap my head around the concept that a 9 year old stallion is "aged". Learning about equine longevity from a 9 year old reining horse sounds a lot like learning about old age in humans by studying 25 year old gymnasts.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Stuff and nonsense.
Yesterday our buddy Jer was over and the guys were getting ready to head out on their ATVs. It was 15 minutes past the horse's dinner time. But I'd been pretty busy all day and had not worked Brego and I decided to push my luck. Let's see if the focus he gave me the other day carried over... so I tacked him up and the guys were standing by the fence chatting and smoking and Brego wanted so badly to stop and beg for grass but he went right around still paying attention to me even though he made his sad face every time he went past them. He was very good. When they went to start their atv's he took off running and it took two times around the area before I got him back focused on me (much to Jer's delight as I heard him make a comment to Tsu about "You wife getting dragged around by her horse..." I was actually running along sort of beside/behind to keep pressure on his face without putting TOO much pressure but it must have looked really silly anyway, haha!) but once he turned his attention back to me he was fine.
I'm just so delighted with how he is doing!
I finally caved and got a facebook. Tsu has had one for a while and left it neglected until recently, so I signed up for one. How did it already know I knew so many people? That is just creepy. lol. I tried to upload pictures and it wasn't working. It kept saying "server not found". I avoided getting a facebook for ages because I got sucked into getting a myspace and would prefer to just avoid those things completely but here I am, less than one hour into having a facebook and it is already annoying me.
Did I mention the salamanders yet? To make a long story short (I actually CAN do that, sometimes, you know!) we found a bunch of salamanders at our friends house and I brought some home. I'm feeding them meal worms and earth worms. OH MY GOSH! They re so stinking CUTE! This morning they were already sleeping when I dropped their food in since it was later than usual. I lifted up their piece of bark that they like to hide under and they were all piled around each other looking up at me with their bulging amphibious eyes, tangled together with their fat little over fed bellies... who would have thought I would get so attached to these silly things? I'll have to see if I can get any pictures of them. They are just so adorable.
I'm just so delighted with how he is doing!
I finally caved and got a facebook. Tsu has had one for a while and left it neglected until recently, so I signed up for one. How did it already know I knew so many people? That is just creepy. lol. I tried to upload pictures and it wasn't working. It kept saying "server not found". I avoided getting a facebook for ages because I got sucked into getting a myspace and would prefer to just avoid those things completely but here I am, less than one hour into having a facebook and it is already annoying me.
Did I mention the salamanders yet? To make a long story short (I actually CAN do that, sometimes, you know!) we found a bunch of salamanders at our friends house and I brought some home. I'm feeding them meal worms and earth worms. OH MY GOSH! They re so stinking CUTE! This morning they were already sleeping when I dropped their food in since it was later than usual. I lifted up their piece of bark that they like to hide under and they were all piled around each other looking up at me with their bulging amphibious eyes, tangled together with their fat little over fed bellies... who would have thought I would get so attached to these silly things? I'll have to see if I can get any pictures of them. They are just so adorable.
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