Tandem and Trotters

New York Times Review of the Society Horse Show at Madison Square Gardens, 1892

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE5D61E39E033A2575AC1A9679D94639ED7CF

This is a wow critique of society, fashion, young people, and horses from the NYT Archives. It has considerable humor, a good dose of cheekiness and a perspicacious review of the classes and horses of this event. The vernacular of the late 19th century never fails to esteem itself. The comparison of Hackneys' high knee action to that of the more comfortable Kentucky horses [to become the American Saddlebred] is a harbinger. Fascinating how that style of horse with flashy movement comes into and out of fashion, and reinvents throughout history, and seems to be, in one form or another, what catches the eye and imagination of all judges of fine horseflesh.

And I just couldn't resist writing: dwarf hackneys and midgits- as the article refers to the ponies. Lest you bombard me for discriminatory remarks, read the article to find why I am so delighted by this description. Ah, I heart the NYTA.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Barnyard Remedies

Throughout the years, I have had the great privilege of coming into contact with old horsemen and their home remedies for various equine maladies. I've put together some of them and will add more to future blogs as I discover where I put all of them.

Abscesses and Open Wounds

The very best and cheapest way to treat an abscess or an open wound is sugar. Sugar is a natural antiseptic, it breaks down the cell walls of bacteria, killing it. Honey and salt work the same way, but honey is expensive and salt can sometimes burn the skin and hair follicles.

For an abscess mix sugar and water, draw into a syringe and squirt it directly into the hole. If you feel the need to 'plug' the hole, use a mix of petroleum jelly and sugar.

For open wounds, my own spin on the subject is: if the wound looks like hamburger, put 'ketsup' on it. This particular recipe doesn't work for burgers, though, it is a mix of sugar and iodine- the consistency of ketsup. Slather liberally on the wound, wrap/dress it and replace the dressing every other day. [Harold Ault uses disposable diapers for dressing, another neat tip.] When the wound heals, there will be no trace of injury.

I have personally avoided many hundreds of dollars in vet bills with sugar and iodine. Sometimes it takes guts to treat a wound yourself, but after the first time, you won't hesitate to reach for the sugar. If, however, you are in any doubt, call your vet. And speaking of the vet, it is always a good idea to ask for an extra tube of Bute and Banamine to have on hand with an understanding of how and when to use them. Then store them next to the sugar and iodine.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Horse Training, Riding, Carriage Driving Treasure Map

"I never thought of it like that!"

"Why didn't my last trainer tell me about this?"

"I wish someone had taught me this years ago."

These are some of the things I've heard from my clients over the years. Training horses and people in the arts of riding and carriage driving is a passion for me. One that has required many hours of watching horses and people go in circles, looking for the subtlest of clues, both negative and positive to polish and hone my own skills as well as theirs. The rewards of which have come by accident and sagacity, trial and error. It is always a treasure hunt.

Finding the hidden treasure within a horse or a person is worth all the painstaking effort it requires. The moment the timid horse believes he can do it, when the rider or whip suddenly makes sense of what she is doing, and the click when it falls into place for them both is a heady elixir. I have been privileged over the years to be a party to these gems many times.

The map to these cache moments isn't always as clear as I'd like it to be; sometimes the directions are vague. Sometimes the landmarks aren't where I expected them, or they are rather less like landmarks and more like hallmarks-so small as to be almost imperceptible. Half halts are notoriously ambiguous, so, as it seems, are twenty meter circles and halt at 'X'. Often the navigating takes more deciphering than the training. Even when the direction is a circle.

Riding or driving a circle depends on the ability to understand straight lines. A minimum of two straight lines, in fact, intersecting in the middle of the desired circle. Silly, everyone knows that, right? Well, I'll tell you who doesn't know that [I know, I promised no names]- the horse. Yes, well, Ace knows that, but that is another blog. Every circle, every equitation pattern, every dressage test, every cones course, every lesson has a map, a diagram, a plan. It is your responsibility to read it, understand it, follow it as your best guess allows.

Training the horse, rider or whip is no different to following an ancient treasure map. Every step along the way asks a question. Am I going the correct direction? Am I leading this expedition to success? Am I missing a clue? Am I being clear, consistent in my directives? The measure of value is in answering the questions, interpreting the clues, and discovering riches beyond silver and gold.

I wish someone had told me that 20 years ago...

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serndipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Carriage Museum of America

It is worth a blog to note the Carriage Museum of America's website:

http://www.carriagemuseumlibrary.org/

Visit for information on carriage types, manufacturers, resources, a fine collection of archived articles relating to, but not limited to: rain aprons, foot warmers and accessories, and absolutely everything you ever wanted to know about copal, an ingredient in coach varnish found predominantly in trees on the Zanzibar coast.

The site has an elegant presentation of articles from The Hub and Carriage Driving Monthly that provide superb insights to all matters carriage. This is a site to bookmark and return to, because one visit is not enough. There is so much information it is a little overwhelming. Eighteen pages devoted to copal seemed indulgent, but skimming over it. I found it worthy of a more detailed look. If it is detail you are searching for, try sixty two pages on the evolution of the trap.

I detect the stamp of Susan Green all over this site. Ms. Green is nothing if not thorough [her book on driving tandem is a mere 362 pages]. No detail is left out, and some very interesting segues are included not only within the site, but within the archived articles as well. Perusing through it is an excellent way to spend a snowy day.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

To Ace and Pecos, With Love

Yesterday was a really tough day in the life of this blogger. I was fighting so many battles at once and being repeatedly wounded. I retreated to the barn and found more problems. It all seemed too much to bear. I thought of Belle Beach and her teaching and tried to 'ride' above the problems.

My adorable little lesson girls arrived and we got Ace and Pecos ready for the task at hand. Somehow the channeling of Belle Beach gave me the power to make it work. Ace settled back into routine and was being his brilliant babysitter self. I told his rider to ask him to get up on the bit by shortening her reins, moving her legs back and squeezing him up to his elegant self. Pecos was going clockwise with his head off to the left. I told his little rider to bring her right leg back and tap him on his side to move his body to the left and his head over to the right. Both girls worked hard with these new concepts and both horses responded beautifully.

My third poppet [5 years old] rode Ace [who returned to default babysitter] with the beginning of form of a great rider. I could see her processing multiple step directives: eyes up, legs back, hands quiet, rhythm, and making adjustments to each without being prompted. Pecos recovered from the terrifying hoodie malfunction of his winter duds to be a rock steady therapy mount.

The difficulties of the day still permeated and dogged my life, but when I finally gave up for the day, my last thought before falling asleep was of my two beautiful boys: Ace with his reassuring cuddles, Pecos with his constant struggle between duty and fear. They are a constant example to me about why it is necessary to keep on fighting. They are the best reason to do so. Accidental sagacity for yesterday: look for answers in your own reflection mirrored in the eyes of the horses.

Thank you Ace. Thank you Pecos. With All My Love.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Another Historical Horsewoman

Continuing in my current fascination for historical horsewomen, I found, in a reference to the equine Belle Beach, a link to a woman of the same name, for whom the mare might have been nicknamed. Ms. Belle Beach was herself well bred and educated, a superb horsewoman of considerable repute. She taught riding and driving to students and showed horses for the likes of Astors and Vanderbuilt's. She was called the greatest equestrienne of the time, and indeed there is a record of Tom Bass' defeat by Belle Beach in a show in Kansas City in 1904. But, by all accounts Ms. Beach was very private and little by way of details is recorded of her life.

In 1912, Ms. Beach published the book, Riding and Driving for Women. It is mysteriously inscribed: "To My Friend, Without whose help this book could not have been." The book itself is perfectly suited to its target market- women-during a time in history when the roles of such a market were being redefined. Ms. Beach tells her feminine readers that if they are expecting to hunt, they should be expecting no special favors from the men, as they might otherwise in the drawing room.

The power and grace of her prose is no less a portrait of her skill as a horsewoman than the photos that illustrate her fine treatise on equestrienne form. Nearly one hundred years later, her words still have relevance and serve as an inspiration to me...

"That which takes but a moment to tell has taken me years to learn; learned as a pupil; learned as a teacher; learned by observation; learned by exhibition; by many a triumph, by many a heart-break; much of it a pleasure, much a hard task, but all of it repaid by my comrades through it all- the horses."

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Tom Bass, Greatest Horseman Ever

Years ago, a friend gave me a copy of Tom Bass, Black Horseman, the story of the American Saddle Horse's famous trainer, the son of a slave girl and a plantation owner's son. It is an elegant rendering of slavery, emancipation, and the history of the emerging breed of American Saddlebreds and the reign of one of the breeds most notable trainers. It begins:

"In the East, it is said that those who are born in the shadow of God can fashion their kingdoms from a dream; a special people, they walk among animals as brothers. Such a person was Tom Bass."

Bass was a fine horseman from an early age; my favorite story involved a nine year old Tom and a belligerent old mule, Mr. Potts, whom Tom gaited and trained to canter backwards. Seeing Tom's gift with the mule, his white father also saw dollar signs and began buying up pedigreed renegades at the local sale barn for Tom to rehabilitate.

"There had been rumors, of course, that some mythical colored boy somewhere was training mules to canter backwards and making well mannered horses out of bad ones..."

If this book only told the stories of the killer, outlaw horses Tom Bass gentled, it would not be long enough. Each story is told with an acknowledgement to the horse as well as the man's simple, perfect genius. It would be enough to bask in the triumphs of those horses and the young trainer, but the task of making history was still to be told.

Since Bass was a black man, despite his blue-blooded father's pedigree, he was prevented from showing the high class Saddle Horses he trained. Until, as his father had done, the money signs began to appear to savvy businessmen in the business of selling high class Saddle Horses. It came down to a black mare, whom only Bass could handle, with a beauty that was impossible to deny.

On the day of the show, no incident occurred because all the local trainers heard there was a crazy horse entered and they were more than pleased that Bass was the one in charge of her. Talent trumped race. Still Bass was nervous and the performance of the mare was being compromised as a result. And Bass knew it.

"Good Lord, boy," a voice said to Tom. "You have got to be fearless. You have got to be in control. Our people need your victories." The voice of his grandfather brought Bass' attention back to the mare, and she immediately responded with a performance none present would ever forget. On that historic day, a young boy on a "killer" black mare took on race and conquered his own fear.

Bill Downey's book of Bass' life is a constant triumph. He is as delicate and humble in telling Bass story as Bass was in living it. There is a great deal of humor, feel good first place wins and that tingling sensation that occurs when you come across something that is especially moving. As with all biographies there is loss: people you come to know through the pages come and go, great horses come, great horses go- Lou Chief, Miss Rex, Rex McDonald and the incomparable Belle Beach, who preceded Bass in death by only a few months.

I generally don't read biographies. I don't like them to end; I always feel like I've lost a friend. I really did not want this book to end; I could have read on and on about this great man. Tom Bass, Black Horseman is a really beautiful book about a really gifted man who loved horses and helped to shape history just as beautifully. I highly recommend it.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.