April 2009

  • Where Prairie meets Grand Prix

    By macallister on 4/30/09 9:14pm
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    Nothing didactic or even particularly instructive today. I did want to share something remarkable with you, though. I've been thinking this week about some of the reasons I love horses, and amateur horse sports, so very much. I've ridden horses since shortly after I learned to walk, and can't imagine being without their unique energy and the very specific challenges of being a horse-owner.

    The working horses I grew up riding were more familiar with prairie, cows, ropes, slickers, and mile after mile of fence to ride, than they were with stadiums, crowds, and loudspeakers. Like many ranch kids, I rodeoed on summer weekends, when there was an event within a hundred miles or so. And those same horses that worked all week climbed into the trailer to go do essentially the same job, just in front of a local crowd of cheering, beer-drinking ranch folks.

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  • Sunny Weather!

    By macallister on 4/27/09 12:20pm
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    It's spring, and the temptation on these first really gorgeous days is to overdo the workout, for both you and your horse. Those sunny trails beckon, after all, and the mud is drying up, so it's easy to go out and cruise, only to find yourself in agony for the next few days.

    Your horse is going to experience the same muscle-soreness if you overwork him, too. Since it's no fun to spend your lovely, sunny afternoons limping around together because you both hurt too much to hit the trails, let's talk about some strategies to gradually work your way up to the hours of saddle time you look forward to enjoying.

    Trail-ridingTrail-riding

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  • Abandoned Horse Epidemic

    By macallister on 4/15/09 10:21pm
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    I was talking with a friend in Montana, recently, exchanging horse stories—as horse people all over the world tend to do. She rescued a geriatric gelding last year, who proved to be a treasure of good sense and unflappability, after he'd put a couple of hundred pounds on and started feeling better. She's calling him "Lucky" and I can't argue for a minute with her choice of name. He's a great deal luckier than the average horse in his former situation might have ended up.

    NY YearlingNY Yearling

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  • Thrush isn't a kind of bird, for horse people

    By macallister on 4/11/09 10:45pm
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    One of the not-so-lovely parts of spring, especially here in the Northwest, is when you saddle up, lift one of your pony's feet to clean it out before your ride, and see that the frog of his foot seems to be turning to that characteristic stinky, black goo that means thrush.

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