Further Confusion Of Cadence In Gaits

Good Cadence: Diagonal pair of legs moving in rhythm, at the same rate.  Mostly. 

The nature of cadence is applied to music, dance, marching, voice, poetry, and cranksets.  In almost all definitions there are common elements: flow, rhythm, sequence, beat, rate.  Synonyms of cadence are tempo and rhythm.  So, when I was asked to define what I was referring to as cadence in my last post, I decided more work on the subject was necessary.  Ergo, it is my solemn duty to further confuse the subject completely.

I spoke to a retired judge who directed me to the USDF Glossary of Judging Terms 2011.  She warned me that often a judge will incorrectly use the terms cadence, tempo and rhythm in evaluating a test.  So, here is the Law According to USDF:

CADENCE

The marked accentuation of the rhythm and (musical) beat that is a result of a steady and suitable tempo harmonizing with a springy impulsion.

RHYTHM

The recurring characteristic sequence and timing of footfalls and phases of a given gait. For purposes of dressage, the only correct rhythms are those of the pure walk, trot, and canter, and rein back and piaffe (not those of amble, pace, rack, etc). In music, the repeated pattern or grouping of musical beats.

(Note 1: “Rhythm” is sometimes used mistakenly to mean “tempo” [rate of repetition of the rhythm]. This usage is not consistent with the correct English definition of “rhythm” [per Webster], nor with its normal usage in music.

Note 2: In English, there is no one term that covers both the rhythm [as defined above] and the tempo, as does the term “Takt” in German. This has caused

confusion because “Takt” has commonly been translated as Rhythm. For purposes of the Training Pyramid, the German term “Takt” is translated as “Rhythm” and is used as shorthand for both the rhythm itself [as defined above] and the suitable rate of repetition of the rhythm [tempo]. See Foreign Terms and Pyramid of Training sections.)

TEMPO

Rate of repetition of the rhythm, the strides, or of the emphasized musical beats—beats per minute, as may be measured by a metronome (in walk and trot, the

footfalls of both forelegs are typically counted [two beats per stride], and in canter the footfall of the leading foreleg is typically counted[one beat per stride]).

(Note: Often confused with Rhythm, Cadence, and MPM/stride length.)

PHEW!  I'm so glad we've got that cleared up! To break it down, I came up with the following definitions:

Cadence is the measure of movement.  Rhythm is the pattern of movement.  Tempo is the rate of movement.  Therefore, cadence = rhythm + tempo.  [I made math.  Someone please tell Ms. Beck, my old algebra teacher, she will be astonished.]  Now, I'll put that into a practical application [oops, someone call a medic, Ms. Beck has now fainted.]  At the trot, the horse moves the diagonal pair of legs in unison [rhythm].  Duh, everybody knows that, welllllllll...sometimes the horse is a little out of tune/step and picks up one of the diagonal pair of feet before the other and sets it down before the other [tempo]. This breaks the USDF Law of Sequence and Timing of Footfalls, producing a trot that is uneven or irregular, which the USDF defines for us:

UNEVEN

An irregularity in walk or trot in which the front or hind pair of legs does not move symmetrically, the right leg making a different length of step than the left leg.

Uneven trot-hind legs taking a shorter stride than the front legs and in the cornfield where I live it also means that the horse is moving its front legs [above] slower than its hind legs as evidenced by the near hind striking the ground before the off fore which would be a tempo as well as a rhythm issue therefore the fault of incorrect cadence.  But I could be wrong...

IRREGULAR

Impure, unlevel, or uneven. Can be momentary or pervasive, and may or may not be due to unsoundness. Should not be used to mean unsteadiness of tempo.

Momentarily Irregular?  Off hind put up before near fore/ near hind put down before off fore.  This looks like a two beat gait, but the diagonal pair are not creating it.

So uneven is irregular and irregular is uneven, very clear.  If the diagonal pair is moving unevenly or irregularly, as the case may be, the trot ceases to be a two beat gait of 1,2,1,2 and becomes 1&2&1&2&, which leads us from algebra to music and beat vs tempo.  "BUT," I hear you say, "The beat is the tempo!"  Nope, sorry to say, not.  [Mr. Menning, my high school band teacher has also fainted at the thought of me trying to speak intelligently about music].  Back to the USDF:

BEAT

A footfall within a gait. A hoof, or pair of hooves virtually simultaneously, striking the ground.

Virtually simultaneously?  Seriously?  Wellllll, let's put it this way.  A horse performing a correct two beat working trot can increase or decrease the rate at which it moves it's diagonal pair of legs without deviating from a correct two beat working trot.  The tempo [rate] has altered, but the rhythm [pattern] has not.  As to a horse that is trotting uneven or irregular in a working trot the tempo and rhythm are both altered.  I think.

Still confused?  OK, lets talk German. [I didn't study German in school, so I am uniquely unqualified to speak on this subject, too.]   Takt is defined as rhythm and tempo, although usually used in shorthand as simply rhythm.  ["Isn't that Cadence?" I hear you ask.  Maybe.  I think so.  But then again.  Maybe not.]  The horse picking up and/or setting down a foot of the diagonal pair virtually unsimultaneously is exhibiting irregular beat.  Or is that uneven tempo?  Oh, bloody helk, lets call it impure takt, that sounds much more interesting.

[Big, heavy sigh]  After all that, I still say, "That horse's cadence is off."  Guess that is why I'm a blogger and not a dressage judge.  That is accidental sagacity for today.  I know... You Are Most Welcome.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Conditioning and Training the Whip: Body Awareness and Driving Part Two: Hands

What a pretty picture?  After reading Article One on Posture and Article Two on Hands, it will be apparent where improvement can be made.  [Lovely] Photo by Robert Mischka

The exploration of body awareness provides the whip with a different dimension for improving the relationship with the driving horse.  As we discovered in part one, the effects of tension and poor posture are translated directly down the reins to the horse.  Improving posture not only alleviates discomfort for the whip and the horse, but redistributes muscle control where it is most effective- in maintaining proper alignment.  Correcting posture is the first step to opening communication with the horse.  The second step is refining the communication with the use of the hands.

[Missed Article One, find it here: http://hossbiz.blogspot.com/2009/09/definitions-of-carriage.html ]

The idea of ‘good hands’ is familiar to all equestrians.  It means that the equestrian uses subtle shifts in pressure of the hands holding the reins to cue the horse of his or her intentions in direction and speed.

Still, our hands can be only as good as the arms, shoulders and trunk that support them.  It is an integrated system.  Take, for instance the movement of raising your arms to use the keyboard or mouse on your computer, something many of us do all day long.  However, if this movement is poorly coordinated, tremendous strain is placed on the neck, shoulders and back, consequently interfering with the proper functioning of the hands.

Similarly, placing too much importance on the role of hands for driving, can and strain other areas of the body, and interfere with effective use of hands for communication with the horse.  Consider the following exercise, based on the Feldenkrais Method of Awareness Through Movement, to aid in body awareness for driving and everyday activities.

Sit in a chair, with your back away from the backrest, both feet on the floor, hands in your lap.  Raise your hands to assume the position you use for driving or working at the computer.  Lower your hands.  Think about how your hands feel.  Are they light or heavy?  Raise and lower your hands several times, taking notice of how the movement feels.  Inhale deeply, raise your ribcage, as you learned in the posture exercise, as you raise your hands.  Exhale and lower them.  Repeat and note the feeling of raising the hands.  As you raise your hands, draw your attention to your shoulders lift your hands using your shoulders and arms.  How do your hands feel now?  Lighter? 

This exercise is one of the most illustrative uses of body awareness for whips that I have found.  How many times have you even considered how you hold your hands?  Or how your hands hold the reins?  When I redirect my student’s attention from using just their hands and arms for transitions, they are awed at the transformation of their horses from being heavy on the bit or sluggish through a turn to the very epitome of lightness and willingness.

Half Halts

The most overused and often abused term in riding or driving must be the use of half halts.  Using the hands only in cueing the horse for transitions can result in confusing the horse and becoming a counterproductive use of an aid.  Consider employing a different set of signals for a downward transition involving body awareness.  Instead of pulling on the reins or rein with the hands, signal the half halt with a release of breath while squeezing the shoulder blades together and releasing the tension when the horse has complied with the downward transition.  If you use a verbal aid for the transition, add it during your exhalation. 

Turning the Horse

The use of the hands for turning the horse is also often misinterpreted.  Using one element of the integrated system leads to poor functioning of the total system.  Consider turning the horse to the right using the right hand.  The natural response of a tense body will be to rock forward or tip the pelvis and drop the right shoulder in front of the hip to accommodate the arm movement backwards.  Hence your posture is compromised as is your stable position in the carriage.  If you were a horse, you would be criticized for being heavy on the forehand!

Try the following exercise to encourage body awareness and integration for turning the horse and carriage.  Sit on a chair, away from the backrest, both feet on the floor, hands in front of you, simulating driving.  Turn to the right and then turn back to center.  Think about how your body feels as you turn to the right and turn back to center.  Is there any stiffness in the turn through your shoulders, neck, back or arms?  Turn to the right and turn back to center.  Inhale deeply as you turn to the right, exhale as you turn back to center.  How did your breath affect the turn?  Inhale and begin the turn with your eyes, exhale and turn back to center.  Inhale, turn your eyes, head, neck and bring your left shoulder and left knee slightly forward, exhale and turn back to center.  Notice how as your left shoulder comes forward, you right shoulder and hence your hand naturally move back.

Transfer this natural engagement of your own body to your driving and feel the ease and comfort it brings to your turns.  When you are mindful that your whole body should be employed in the turn and the hands are not the only half halt tools to the horse, your performance as a team will solidify. 

You ask your horse for collection, flexion and impulsion at the same time, why shouldn’t you return the favor? 

One Step Further

When you notice a particularly good transition or turn, take inventory of how you were able to accomplish the maneuver.  What did you do differently?  How did you use your hands?  How did you engage your torso?  Was your posture more balanced, weight distributed more evenly?   Once you begin to identify the correct use of your body, the processes you involve in driving will become as natural and involuntary as breathing.

Learning to drive with minimal effort and maximum freedom of movement by maximizing body awareness will transform not only how you drive, but will add to your enjoyment of it and many of your day to day activities.  It makes sense; a more responsive whip will turn out a more responsive horse.  A more responsive horse greatly improves the satisfaction of driving.  Beware, Moshe Feldenkrais told us, it just might alter your life forever…for the better.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

The Mermaid's Dad

As Beautifully As I Can

When I was a tween, my mother made me join the town swimming team.  There were a number of reasons why swim team was a complete torture for me.  Firstly, it took time away from riding horses.  Secondly, I have many confirmation faults that can not be disguised by a Speedo.  Standing next to the other lithe, long legged little mermaids on swim team, I felt like a troll with my high waist and thick thighs.  Lastly, while I can swim, I am not a fast swimmer.  Coupled with my fierce competitiveness, I felt like a failure of a troll.  My coach helped [unwittingly] heap insult to injury by assigning me to be the anchor of the B Team's Medley Race.

At every meet, after the beautiful, bronzed dolphin swimmers had completed the race, I stood at the edge of the pool, while my fellow troll teammate floundered through her laps of the butterfly stroke, before I dove in and swam my lengths.  All alone.  When I finished, I drug my rubber limbs from the pool and dove into the anonymity of my beach towel.

"Everyone went to the concession stand," I told myself.  "No one was watching."  Dripping hair about my face disguised the tears of humiliation.

After one particularly gruesome home swimming meet, I was trudging in flip flops, robed in beach towel back to the car, to get the You'll Just Have To Try Harder Lecture when one of the Mermaid's Dads stopped me.  "I just wanted to tell you that my favorite part of these swim meets is watching you in the Medley Relay.  You swim so beautifully."  I hope I remembered to thank him despite my tween stupor at his compliment.

When I climbed into the car, I burst into uncontrollable, convulsive sobs, so moved was I by this man's kindness.  Misunderstanding, my mother said, "Well, if you feel this strongly about it, I guess you don't have to go to swim team anymore."

"No!" I shrieked and those sobs choked out any form of explanation.  She let out one of her characteristic I'll Never Understand You Child Sighs and drove me home.

I finished the season in swim team, trying to swim as beautifully as I could in the medley relay for the Mermaid's Dad. The Troll Team never came close to winning a race, but we came third once.  As I climbed out of the pool, I heard cheering, lead by none other than The Mermaid's Dad.

He died too few years afterwards.  At his funeral, I promised him I would spend the rest of my life trying to do everything I could not do as well as others as beautifully as I could.

For the most part, I have kept my promise.  I try to walk and breathe as beautifully as I can.  I try to ride and drive horses as beautifully as I can.  Whether I can win or not, I try to compete as beautifully as I can.  And whenever I can, I give an awkward little girl a compliment from my heart: as the legacy of the Mermaid's Dad.

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

Child, Dog And Pony Problems

I made the decision not to have children when I was eight years old.  Looking back, that was a rather sagacious choice.  How could I be a good mother when I was such a problem child?  I just didn't understand the whole Kid Role.

You can dress me in frills, buy me a tea set, but I'd rather be out on the Ford tractor with Grandpa.

"We are going on a long trip in the car and you have to go potty now."  But I don't have to go potty now.  "But you will later, so you have to go now."  But I don't have to go potty now.


"Where is your brother?"  He is in [insert a place we were forbidden to go].  "I thought I told you not to play in [insert a place we were forbidden to go]?"  But I'm not playing in [insert a place we were forbidden to go].  "Go get your brother out of [insert a place we were forbidden to go] right now.  But I thought I wasn't supposed to go to [insert a place we were forbidden to go]?


How do I know I am really me?  "What are you talking about?"  How do I know I am really me and not someone else?  "Because you are you."  How do you know I am really me and not someone else?  "Go to sleep."

My poor parents.  It wasn't until I got a dog that I realized what they were up against with me.  My problem poodle, Lucy Fur [who is a Beagle, but that is another blog], does not want to potty in 'our' yard.  She prefers to do her business in the neighbor's yard, which is all very well and good when the neighbors have dogs who have the same bathroom habits as Lucy.  However, when the neighbors don't have dog[s], don't like dogs and are submitted to Lucy barking at them after she has completed her toilette in their hostas, this makes for a rather strained set of relations.

Yes, Ma'am.  It is quite dead.

The parallel: Lucy goes potty when she has to go potty, not when I tell her to go potty.  Going potty where she is forbidden to go potty will be the last place I will demand that she goes potty.  Lucy does not fit neatly under the list of ideal dog characteristics: loyal, faithful, obedient.  While she has certain measures of these qualities, the problem arises that she defines them differently, just as I did as a child and [ahem] still do.

To treat Lucy like a dog is the source of the problem.  She is an individual who also happens to be a dog.  My horse, Kitten [that was another blog, but there may be a pattern emerging] also refuses to be treated like a horse, she has higher expectations.  I see this in ponies all the time.  They are the original hedge fund investors: taking long and short positions on the market price of domestication.  In almost every case, it is those individuals with the extra large personalities that will not be contained within the title "dog", "pony", "child" who provide us with not only the most trying, but also the most hilarious, most poignant, most precious anecdotes.

But they are so cute when they're asleep.

Today's accidental sagacity is look at your problem dog/pony/child as an individual before you treat them as their title.  They might still potty in the neighbor's yard or tear up the horse trailer if you leave them [tied to it], or be incapable of holding down a real job with benefits, but it will perchance be easier to understand and therefore love them in spite of it.

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

Working Pleasure: A Photo Tutorial

Laurie Renda has graciously agreed to use photos of her horse to demonstrate my philosophy of developing a horse for working pleasure.  Missy is a four year old Friesian cross mare.  These photos were taken last summer during one of my Carriage Driving Clinics.

Missy is demonstrating a common tendency among Friesians and Morgans: all front action, no back end engagement or motor.  Horses that move this way are not correctly using their bodies.  I hold that flashy knee action without engaged hindquarters is not desirable, nor pretty.  My dear friend and mentor, Bob Riley called this 'cake walking' although, unfortunately I don't know why.  When I see a horse moving this way, it looks like he is dragging himself around with his front end.  Wrong.  Not Pretty.  In this photo, Missy is heavy on her forehand, a result of improper engagement of her hindquarters.

In order to correct this, I asked the whip to use good posture by sitting up straight, lighten her hands by supporting her arms with her shoulders and strengthen her contact.  Strengthened contact is not a steady pull but rather like a firmer handshake.  By lifting the hands slightly, the whip encourages the horse to rock back on the hindquarters and transfer the balance from the forehand to properly engage the hindquarters.

Missy's hindquarters are better engaged here, she is stepping under herself and her top line is more level, but her length of stride is still not balanced and her cadence is off.  [Her inside hind will hit the ground before her outside fore.]

The whip has lost a little contact and Missy appears to be lengthening her front end to catch up with it.

Same corner of the arena as the last photo, contact is more supportive, producing a marked improvement in cadence and stride.  

This is a great photo to show how hard Missy is trying to get it.  You can even see her thinking about the whole process.  She is trying to be engaged, but wants to go back to her habit of hanging on her forehand.  The whip is using a half halt to ask Missy to drop her hindquarters, and a voice command to encourage her to take a longer stride behind to lift her off her forehand.   Cadence is slightly off, but engagement is improved.

This is a wonderful photo showing how far Missy has come from the first photo.  She is rocked back on her hindquarters, light on her forehand and her top line is more level: she doesn't look like she is going perpetually down hill.  This is not a working trot, and I think it might be mid transition to the walk, since we will not even think about the collected trot until we get a consistent working trot.  Missy's flashy knee action is still there, but enhanced by a balanced hock action.  As she gets stronger and better conditioned she will seem to float above the ground, not dig herself into it.

Missy has lost cadence here, but her balanced frame is blossoming.  The whip needs to encourage her to be  more forward with a cheerful voice command and consistent aids from the reins, whip and voice.  If you congratulate the young horse on improvement before you correct on another aspect, they come along very quickly and will work to get the congratulation diligently.

At the end of her lesson, Missy demonstrates better balance, correct frame and lovely cadence...

..and there is a pretty picture.

Once the horse is correct in balance, engagement and cadence consistently, conditioning will produce action that is heightened, elastic, flowing and above all natural.  I think it was Charles de Kunffy who said, and I paraphrase, you know your training curriculum is working if your horse becomes more beautiful each time you work him.

As I discussed in the Reinsmanship Tutorial, the whip needs to be attentive to the horse's way of going to be supportive with the reins, whip and voice aides.  The whip also needs basic skills in determining what is correct way of going and what is not.  Look again at the first photo of Missy and then the last photo.  Time elapsed was less than an hour.

Many thanks to Laurie Renda for her photos of Missy and for allowing me to publicly comment on them.  I look forward to witnessing Missy achieve her potential as a driving horse, which is considerable, as the above photos attest.

If you would like to have your photos evaluated for working pleasure, reinsmanship or to arrange a seminar or clinic to help you understand how to help your horse achieve his potential, please contact me.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation Company.

Fixing A Broken Trace

This is a neat video from ponyandcarrige.co.uk about carriage driving spares kit basics to get you home safely.  Great tutorial!

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

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My Own Mearh

Chevals Topp Mentor a.k.a. Ace, Bijou

Mearas were the famous horses of the Kings of Rohan of J. R. R. Tolkein's Middle Earth. They were valiant, strong, long lived and said to understand the language of men. Some horses live only in stories. Ace lives in mine.

This little black Morgan horse is quite possibly the standard of perfection for all horses. Ace is well structured with clean lines of conformation and dense, solid bone. He has intelligence that reflects in his eyes and sweetness in his manner. He is ideal mount for any level of rider and enjoyed by any level of driver. I don't need to attribute human characteristics to Ace; he assumes them.

Ace's clients fall in the range of age from 6 to 60, he drives single, pair and tandem. He always understands the type of work he is required to do and seldom complains. He does ask questions though, and I try hard to understand what he is saying. When I don't understand, he tries harder. And harder.

When Ace has a problem that I can't figure out, I stop and try to listen.  Some would interpret his problems as naughtiness and would try a more severe bit or other man made 'fix'. I just have to keep trying to hear what he is trying to tell me. Because as long as I work with horses, I will never understand their language as easily as they understand mine.

"And I was glad, because in the Riddermark of Rohan the Rohirrum, the Horse Lords dwell and there are no horses like those that are bred in that great vale between the Misty Mountains and the White." Gandalph, Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Whitmorr Topaz

Villa Louis Carriage Classic Novice Driver Champion, 1999

Trail Ride

With Jennifer Steensen

Whitmorr Topaz became a part of the family when she was a 2 year old.  It took my mother that long to find her.  Bob Riley and my mother spent two years looking for a horse to suit my mother's idea of a show horse and broodmare.  They looked at lots of horses in lots of states.  It was a good thing Bob was patient and loved to travel.  My mother was picky.

My mother came close to buying several times, but Bob always vetoed her for some reason.  Usually it was for some conformation reason, after all, that was why he was there: to help my mother find the best possible horse.  If I remember correctly, mother was going to buy a mare that they both agreed on, but...Bob wanted to go one last place, so they headed off to Whitmorr Farm and came back with Topaz.  Bob was tickled.  Mother was happy with the filly, even if she wasn't as showy as the other mare.  She trusted Bob.

Well, as with most things, Bob was right.  Topaz performed admirably in the show ring.  She never misbehaved or gave my mother one iota of trouble and I know that was Bob's first priority in helping find Topaz.  But it was as a broodmare that Topaz performed at the highest capacity.  She produced six wonderful foals including my own beloved Major, Don Pecos and Ace.

Then, of course, there are the dreams, many of which were born on her back.  She gave Jennifer Steensen her first ride.  She taught many little girls to ride with poise.  She inspired a therapeutic horseback riding program.  She gave me my first carriage driving championship, wowing the crowd with her ability to defy gravity and float around the arena.

Topaz had a big, forward way of going which disguised her 14.2 hands.  Her stature disguised the largess of her heart.  Not a day of her life was spent outside her aura of loveliness.  She gave us her service with sentience, grace, nary a demand nor protest.

This morning, she walked through the last gate of this world, leaving the paddock of my life emptier because she's gone, but richer because she was here.

"Warm summer sun shine kindly here.  Warm summer wind blow softly here.  "Green sod above lie light, lie light.  Good night, dear heart, good night, good night." Mark Twain

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

A Blog About A Blog

Here is a link to my good friend Todd Frey's blog. Todd inspired me to start this one and I still enjoy all his posts. This particular one is about an outstanding restoration of an important piece of carriage driving history that will be of interest to anyone who likes to see pretty antiques restored to their glory.

Thanks, Todd.

http://americancarriagebuilder.blogspot.com/2010/11/every-time-i-post-new-blog-i-seem-to.html

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipty

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Sex, Clothes and Montana

The addition of the Popular Posts gadget brought me interesting information about my blog and its readers. According to the top 2 posts, you lot like blogs involving any level of sexiness best.

In order to feed your need for sexiness, go visit J.L. Powell's website. They now have a short video that shows the clothing in motion-Mr. Just Luscious [you wondered what the J and the L stood for, yes?] Powell flying, fly fishing, riding a horse, hunting and camping with Montana starring as the view. It is one minute and twenty one seconds of the sexiest, most heavenly, most breathtaking, sighing...

Go:

http://www.jlpowellusa.com/index.html

Enjoy a swig of the Sporting Life from that double hip flask , strap on some English bridle leather, mount your horse and feel the warmth of the cashmere lined J.L. Powell style.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes, indeed.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Rocking Civilization with Tim Maloy and Carriage Driving

A new film by Serendipity's favorite filmmaker...

Driving Trials - A Time For Change from Tim Maloy on Vimeo.

Thanks, Tim!

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

A Horse Cures All That Ails You

The More Things Change

Not wanting to read any current and ultimately depressing news, I trawl through the New York Times Archives. Accidental sagacity found me an article from 1894 detailing carriage and horse sales, betting issues at racing association and results from a driving club race. With horse drawn vehicle sales recently at Waverly and Martin's and the close of harness racing at Prairie Meadows, I find there is nothing new on this earth but ourselves...

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9803EFDB1630E033A25750C1A9639C94659ED7CF

It is always a delight to read that a Morgan park gelding sold for $4,500 over a century ago.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.