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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

For Inspiration: Tom Bass on Horse Connection

This is a fabulous article on one of my heroes: Tom Bass, whose biography made me weep for the joy, love, life, fate, and impossibility in it.  Horse Connection gives a very good synopsis:

http://www.horseconnection.com/site/story-nov08.html

Whenever I need a leg up, I look to Tom Bass.

   "Before Jackie Robinson ever donned a Dodger uniform - there was Tom Bass. Before Rosa Parks ever demanded a seat in the front of the bus - there was Tom Bass. Before Martin Luther King ever had a dream - there was Tom Bass. Before Barack Obama ever ran for President - there was the legend of Tom Bass – the black horse whisperer."


If you need some inspiration, you'll find it.


Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Reinsmanship: A Photo Tutorial

As an exercise towards enhancing my curriculum for teaching reinsmanship, I decided to post a few photos on what is admirable and what is far less than correct to illustrate my philosophy.  I always try to find a clear way to communicate to each whip on the cause and effect of their own bodies on their horse's ability, so this might be another way of defining it.

These photos were shot on a numbered cones course, by my dear friend and professional photographer, Tobin Bennett.  I think they give a very unique reference for judging my reinsmanship and I thank Tobin for his skill in capturing them.  I am driving The Major General, a Morgan and Caddy That Zigs.

Approaching Start/Finish: Good collection, contact, shoulder to hands angle is open and allowing.  Major is soft and alert.

This course was mostly short and tight, on the side of a hill.  I knew I needed to let Major go long and low as much as I could.  I open the angle of my shoulder to hands, and he opens the angle of his nose.  He seeks contact, so he lengthens his top line and stride to find it.  His cadence is lovely.
I have driven the outside line on the turn through this set of cones very nicely.  We are on the side of a hill turning down fairly sharply.  Notice we are starting the bend without the wheel completely clear of the cone.  It is tight.  The gig is high.  To keep the wheel on the ground, I am leaning.  When the whip drops the shoulder, so doth the horse.  You can see this in the photo: horse mirrors whip.  One saving grace for me as whip: my hands are still fairly level.  In the gig, you must drive the horse and ride the vehicle, or you will end Up. Side. Down.
BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD.  When I first saw this photo, I screamed, "NO!" And almost deleted it from record.  But then I decided to keep it to remind me NEVER to do this again.  This is an epic fail.  I misjudged our speed and the distance for the turn.  See how far under himself Major is with his inside hind leg.  Fail.    My shoulders are telling his body to go straight.  Fail.  My inside hand is bending his head around the shaft. Fail.  My outside hand is not supporting him through the bend.  Fail.  I am bending him front front to back.  Fail.  Cadence is completely lost.  Fail.  What I should have done was check his speed two strides before the cones, raise my hands slightly to rock him back on his hindquarters, support him through the turn with the outside rein, while bringing his shoulder back to his properly supported inside hind leg.  He then would have pivoted through the turn [two strides sooner] at an angle to get straight through the cones on the left.  Only Major's supreme athletic ability got us through this.  I beg his forgiveness.
This is more like it.  We serpentine right to go left.  Notice Major's properly supported right hind leg.  He is rocked back on his hindquarters, bending from behind.  His cadence is still somewhat compromised: look at how uncertain he appears.  My shoulders are somewhat [could be better] open to the direction I want him to bend- right, but I am looking left to judge the change of rein...
..which he does beautifully.  Bless him, he has forgiven me already.  Again, his inside hind leg is near vertical to support his weight through the turn, he is light on his forehand as a result.  If you have been paying attention you will see I have again dropped my weight over the wheel to balance the gig, but my reins are level to balance Major.  Cadence is restored.
Asking him to go long and low to the Finish, but gave the contact away too quickly and lost a little cadence in the process.  He is more than ready to stretch out, though, after a grisly drive...
And we're done.  Asking Major to transition to the walk, I have dropped my center of gravity by my hands are a little too low and I'm applying too much front brake: using too much bit, ergo, throwing him slightly on his forehand [that common front to back problem].  He is trying hard to get his hindquarters under him to transition correctly and if I had lifted my hands to allow him to finish getting underneath himself, he wouldn't be slightly behind the straight pull of my hands on the bit and the transition would have been great.  Instead, what probably happened was as his stopping leg [left hind] hit the ground, he hollowed out his back for relief of the bit and popped his nose up.  If I realized my mistake, I may have lightened my contact to give him the relief he needed as he stepped on his left leg.  I am focused quite intently on his frame, but there is sadly no photo proof of what happened next.

So, there you go, the dynamics of reinsmanship on an obstacle course, where it matters most.  Ultimate communication through the reins is achieved by understanding how to use them to support and balance the horse to allow him to be brilliant, instead of solely as a means to control him.  If you have photos that you would like me to evaluate for you, let me know.  I am also available, in person, for carriage driving lessons, and carriage driving clinics on this very subject.  The best way to improve your horse's performance is by improving your own.

Again thanks to Tobin for these great reference photos and to Major for his greatness.

Please leave a comment or contact me with your questions/suggestions.  I greatly appreciate everyone who stops by to read this blog and Google Analytics tells me how many of you do and approximately where you come from, but I am old fashioned and still like know faces or names.  So, thanks for stopping to read Accidental Sagacity and please don't be anonymous!

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.









Wednesday, March 23, 2011

"Do You Speak Carriage?"




High Country Driving Club has several pages of linguistic history regarding terminology derived from all things carriage.  There are some very interesting historical allegories and I congratulate them for their research.

http://www.highcountrycarriagedriving.org/index.html

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Equine Electrics or Muzzle Tok

The equine nose knows electricity.
Don Pecos, Kitten and Ace were out in a new, larger paddock the other day.  I noticed them standing around the automatic waterer; staring at it.  I was pretty sure they weren't gossiping, so I wandered out and asked them what was up.

Don Pecos looked at me.  Then at the waterer.  Then at me, "Watch."  He carefully stepped up to the waterer, slowly stretched out his neck, until his nose was just over the rim of the waterer and then he jumped back like he had been shocked.

"No way.  That waterer is Not. Hot," I said to him.

"Really?"  He looked at me, sighed and stepped up to the machine again.  Same result.  Ace and Kitten looked at him, looked at me, looked at the waterer, looked back at me.

I climbed over the fence.  "I do not believe this thing is shocking you."  I touched the waterer.  No shock.  "See?"

He raised his eyelids, looked at me with that incredible sweetness of his and tried again.  Same result.  He blew at it and walked away.  Kitten decided a female needed to check this.  It shocked her, too.  She so affronted by the audacity of the waterer that she immediately tried again.  Shocked twice, she moved back and joined Don Pecos.

Ace was watching the whole situation unfold intently and bravely took his turn.  It shocked him, too and he only needed the once, so he reformed the line with the other two.

"DDDDDAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDD!"  I called my father.

"Well, those metal waterers always gave me trouble," he said. "That's why I switched to the plastic ones."  He then gave me a very short course in electricity and automatic waterers.

"But why couldn't I feel anything?"  I asked.

"Were you wearing boots?"

"Ah.  Yes.  I was insulated..."

"And the horses were grounded.  Is it wet around the base of the waterer?"

"It is March in Iowa, Dad, of course it is wet."

"Well," he said glibly, "if you went back out and took off your boots and stood in that wet mud while you grabbed on to the waterer, you might just feel something..."  He paused for about half a second and I could hear the thought that was running around in his head "Why don't you try it.  Might knock some sense into you." He continued to explain that the horses could sense within seconds of the electric fence grounding out to let themselves out of it, so they could undoubtedly feel stray current, reverse polarity or the heating element shorting out inside the waterer.  Or whatever the problem was.

Now I know enough about electricity to be really dangerous.  I apologized to The Ponies.  And took out buckets of water that I held for them while they drank.  They do like being served their drinks.

Around the waterer later, I could guess about the conversation...

Don Pecos: Why does she alway doubt me?  She doesn't love me.
Kitten:  She doubts you because you are so reactionary.  But she is a little daft sometimes.
Ace: Shut up you two!  She tries really hard.
Major [Enters, singing]: I'm coming up, So you better get this party started!

[Don Pecos wheels to kick him, Ace lunges towards him, teeth barred, ears flat, Kitten squeals and strikes.]

And. Scene.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Turning Sibling Rivalry Into Harmony?

The Major General, Don Pecos du Cheval and Chevals Topp Mentor are half brothers.  I have wanted to put together a show pair for almost a decade and just can't find a fit with these three.  This is my dilemma:

Major
Confirmation: Round
Way of Going: More Hock than Knee Action
Height: 14.2HH
Color: Black

Ace
Confirmation: Angular
Way of Going: More Float than Bounce
Height: 14.3HH
Color: Brown
Don Pecos
Confirmation: Very Round
Way of Going: Supercharged on all Four
Height: 14 & 1/2HH [the half is important!]
Color: Applevale Orange


















Maybe I'm splitting hairs.  They all look pretty round in the above photos.  But I know them.  They don't look, move or match each other.  But, this is what I have and I want a pair.

Major and Ace match the best in size and color.  Major is a stud.  Ace hates him.  Ace kicks and bites and generally beats the snot out of Major.  Major just wants to be friends.  Ace does not.  Oh, well, color is the last determination for a pair.

Major and Don Pecos grew up in adjoining paddocks.  They sort of get along.  Don Pecos tolerates Major. Just.  Pecos clocks Major with both hind feet when Major pushes his buttons too far.  They match in conformation.  Sort of.  Pecos is just so bloody short.  But we don't tell him that.  Ever.  Major has a longer stride because of his extreme hock action.  Pecos can keep up, though.  They just don't match.

I've been working Major and Don Pecos together, free lounging in the indoor arena.  This works out well about three quarters of the time.  Until Major's AD/HD clicks in and he leaves the tandem formation they have assumed and runs off to the far corner of the arena to sniff some sweet smelling something.  I run after him and Don Pecos stops, rolls his eyes and waits for me to herd Major back behind him.  

We get the whole thing going again and I study them.  I watch them move.  I do a lot of observing horses movement to determine how I can adjust the conditioning regime to get the best performance from the horse's potential.  After about 20 minutes, I see their cadence beginning to match.  After some sprinting, I can see their strides balancing.

Maybe.  Just maybe...

When we finished today, they decided to groom each other.  Major got a little too enthusiastic and Don Pecos wheeled and plowed him in the gut.

Brothers.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Yorkshire (Carriage) Driving Club 2


Again, many thanks to Mr & Mrs F C Greenwood of Halifax for this wonderful archive of the Yorkshire Carriage Driving Club.  Ditto to whomever copied it to disk and put it on youtube!  If anyone knows anything about Mr & Mrs. F C Greenwood of Halifax, please let me know!

And how many people are in that Governess Cart!?!

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Yorkshire (Carriage) Driving Club



I am so happy that  Mr & Mrs F C Greenwood of Halifax took the responsibility of getting out the moving picture camera and preserving this super footage for us.  There is so much to love about this. Especially because there is more: Part 2 tomorrow.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Eras Ago: Equestrian Haberdashery

In my insatiable quest to find purveyors of all things over the top, I find an article about Swaine, Adeney, Briggs & Son of London and just take a gander at what they sold circa 1982.  Why, oh why can't we bring some of those equestrian accessories back into fashion?

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/02/travel/outdoor-gear-for-milord-and-lady.html

Alas!  Where am I ever going to find a child's christening hunting whip now?  If only I had an elegant silver box designed for cucumber sandwiches, surely the picnic class would be mine!?!  Woe is me.  Swaine, Adeney, Briggs & Son: We still need holly driving whips and glove shampoo. After 250 years, why do you only stock unisex hunt shirts and stocks?  Unisex?  Seriously?

To visit what they sell nowadays without the trip to Piccadilly:  http://www.swaineadeney.co.uk/  It is still worth a look.  The umbrella I chose online- the Ladies' London Tan with hand stitched saddle leather handle runs a mere $860. If I added up all the money I spent on umbrellas that I consequently left on the Tube, a back of a chair in a bistro or in a dumpster because the wind caught and shredded them, I could maybe have bought 1/2 of this umbrella.  The Swaine, Adeney, Briggs & Sons umbrellas keep the rain off Kate Middleton's silly little clip on hats, after all.  And, I suppose, if you can spend $860 on an umbrella, you probably won't have to worry about leaving it on the Tube as much as forgetting it in the Roller. In which case you send Carson or Branson to fetch it.

Take some time for a day dream today.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Major Quality Time

The Major General and I at Columbus Carriage Classic where we were Open Horse Division Champions in 2002.

After a considerable period of time, I am now reunited with The Major General, my beloved black Morgan god.  With a nod and a wink to his long time foster family, I am happy to have him back in my daily life.  Major gives you a reason to stop in wonder everyday, and often more than once.  Not all these wonders are the most pleasant, but many of them are.

We were doing some serious barbershop the other day.  Major has this foot long forelock, which I have secretly always detested.  But it keeps the flies out of his eyes and lends him a rock star air.  He has rubbed out almost all of his once shoulder length mane and so we pulled it to be even.  Which Major did not one bit appreciate.  Maybe that will teach him to rub out his lovely mane.

While I was trying to clip his whiskers, unable to see anything, I lamented to him about how old we'd become.  "Ten years ago, Old Man, we were in our prime," I said.  "And now look at us.  I am flabby, mostly blind and desperately trying to hold on to the final remnants of beauty.  You are losing your mane, and really out of condition."  He let out a sigh.  A tear fell down my cheek.  "But you are still beautiful, Laddie.  And I'm so glad to have you back."

He looked at me, raised his eyelids and pricked those tiny little ears forward.  "Maybe we could make a comeback. Together,"  I offered.  His eyes brightened and he brought his front feet forward, dropped his croup and parked.

"Lets Go!"  Was the voice I heard.

Lets go, Black Horse.  Lets go.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.