Our dear friend and ace film maker, Tim Maloy of Cavewood Productions has produced a brilliant series of film shorts with Boyd Exell driving obstacles at Sandringham. I can watch them repeatedly and see different angles and something I missed on the previous view. These film shorts are stupendous from the advantage that you and I can witnness how the current World Champion drives: what he does and the standout things that he does not do.
I am not going to spoil these films by babbling. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Once again: All Hail, Tim Maloy! And sincere thanks to Boyd Excell for sharing his seat with us.
Boyd Exell - Sandringham Obstacles 1 and 2 from Tim Maloy on Vimeo.
Boyd Exell - Sandringham Obstacles 3 and 4 from Tim Maloy on Vimeo.
Boyd Exell - Sandringham Obstacles 5 and 6 from Tim Maloy on Vimeo.
Boyd Exell - Sandringham Obstacles 7 and 8 from Tim Maloy on Vimeo.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation Company.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Morning Dew Musings
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| My dew laced weather vane |
Dawn is starting to sleep in as the kids go back to school. Heavy dew drips from the corn and the infernal heat of summer is only an ember most days. All the signs that Villa Louis Carriage Classic is right around the corner.
With the strength and conditioning phase of training over, Don Pecos and I are working on elasticity and form. This is the most difficult part of the training curriculum, but also the most rewarding. I must convince the horse to repackage his strength from stamina into performance. While Don Pecos never complains, he just 'pretends' that he doesn't 'get' it, perhaps with the hope that I will give up or the season will end. But I know he has it inside. I just have to get it out in two weeks for the show. And before winter wraps us in her long, cold embrace.
Oh, Iowa...
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Worth 1000 Words
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| Theresa Burns and her four in hand in front of the Villa Louis. Photo: Lori Schoenhard |
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| The Picnic Class at Villa Louis Carriage Classic. Photo by Lori Schoenhard |
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| Lucy, Don Pecos and I in the workout section of the Picnic Class at Villa Louis Carriage Classic. Photo by Lori Schoenhard |
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| Blanket for Two: the Picnic Class at Villa Louis Carriage Classic. Photo by Lori Schoenhard |
Kind Regards, Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
On The Fly: A Brief on Bugs
With summer in full swing, and fly season entering its third month here in Iowa, I thought I'd share some of the tricks that have been working for my horses thus far. The Morgans suffer from fly bites so horrifically they rub themselves raw. All but one of them refuse to leave on fly masks and fly sheets are shredded within hours. So, I have to treat the symptoms. I have tried garlic, vinegar in the water, feed through fly control, fly predators, composting manure, timed fly spray misters in the stalls, Cortizone injections and a bevy of fly spray recipes ranging from costly essential oil mixtures to my own mad scientist versions [see How Does Turquoise Smell? http://hossbiz.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-does-turquoise-smell.html ] as my horses break out in enormous hives if I use fly spray with petroleum distillates: which is the only fly spray that actually works for any length of time.
This year, I had a gallon of Bronco fly spray on hand, so I decided to add some vinegar, and Dawn dish washing liquid. The vinegar cuts the petroleum distillates to manageable levels and the Dawn helps it stick. Or so I believe. This worked fairly well, until it got hot and the bites were all over all the horses, not just in the usual spots. The horses were crazy with itching, so I got out a bottle of Betadine Surgical Scrub added it to some water and gave them all sponge baths. Which, of course, they all complained about vociferously.
But...aha..itching subsided, as did the incidence of new bite sites. I have continued the sponge baths a couple of times a week and now my mare comes up and whinnies at me when I am bathing one of the boys, lest I forget her. She stands stoically for her sudsing, as she has never stood for one second in her lifetime of baths.
"If this is so good as a sponge bath," I reckoned, "Maybe I should put some In The Fly Spray." I will say with confidence, this is the first time in 14 years of treating this problem that I have felt I was at least keeping up with it, rather than continually losing the battle until October. I put about a 2-3 table spoons of the Betadine Surgical Scrub in the fly mix of Bronco/ Vinegar/Dawn to make a half gallon of potion.
The Morgans can come and go as they please, inside or out, so they manage their own grazing. I spray them twice a day [more if it's beastly hot & humid] with my homemade hooch fly spray. This system is working quite well, but when I leave for five days for a show, I return to find them insect bitten mad horses. After a couple of days of sponge baths, we are back to a manageable bug tolerance level. Sponge bathing 4 horses isn't as time consuming as it sounds, you really only have to scrub the suds into their coats, not dowse them with it.
This is not a cure, don't get me wrong, but it is a vast improvement for my herd. It is cheap enough, with results in a short period of time. Let me know if it works for you.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation Company.
This year, I had a gallon of Bronco fly spray on hand, so I decided to add some vinegar, and Dawn dish washing liquid. The vinegar cuts the petroleum distillates to manageable levels and the Dawn helps it stick. Or so I believe. This worked fairly well, until it got hot and the bites were all over all the horses, not just in the usual spots. The horses were crazy with itching, so I got out a bottle of Betadine Surgical Scrub added it to some water and gave them all sponge baths. Which, of course, they all complained about vociferously.
But...aha..itching subsided, as did the incidence of new bite sites. I have continued the sponge baths a couple of times a week and now my mare comes up and whinnies at me when I am bathing one of the boys, lest I forget her. She stands stoically for her sudsing, as she has never stood for one second in her lifetime of baths.
"If this is so good as a sponge bath," I reckoned, "Maybe I should put some In The Fly Spray." I will say with confidence, this is the first time in 14 years of treating this problem that I have felt I was at least keeping up with it, rather than continually losing the battle until October. I put about a 2-3 table spoons of the Betadine Surgical Scrub in the fly mix of Bronco/ Vinegar/Dawn to make a half gallon of potion.
The Morgans can come and go as they please, inside or out, so they manage their own grazing. I spray them twice a day [more if it's beastly hot & humid] with my homemade hooch fly spray. This system is working quite well, but when I leave for five days for a show, I return to find them insect bitten mad horses. After a couple of days of sponge baths, we are back to a manageable bug tolerance level. Sponge bathing 4 horses isn't as time consuming as it sounds, you really only have to scrub the suds into their coats, not dowse them with it.
This is not a cure, don't get me wrong, but it is a vast improvement for my herd. It is cheap enough, with results in a short period of time. Let me know if it works for you.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation Company.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Introduction to Vehicle Performance
The Whip's Retort has published a very interesting article on center of mass in marathon carriages. While this may sound like more than you need to know, I found it quite enlightening:
http://drivingnews.us/whipsretort/
Driving a gig, which has a very high center of mass, I have learned from experience that I can't take turns too fast. People always remark that driving a gig takes a lot of bravery, but mostly it is a case of respecting the vehicle and understanding its limitations. I know I'm not going to be the fastest through cones, so I adjust my strategy and try to find the best route for the gig. This usually involves taking turns slower and tighter.
However, in the marathon carriage, there just might be a false sense of security for some folks. Having the experience with the gig, I naturally drive slower and look for angles. This article made me stop to consider a few things. Of course, there are very many variables involved in any equation and when people and animals are added the results are bound to be incalculable. However, I think this article has value and I hope you find it useful.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
http://drivingnews.us/whipsretort/
Driving a gig, which has a very high center of mass, I have learned from experience that I can't take turns too fast. People always remark that driving a gig takes a lot of bravery, but mostly it is a case of respecting the vehicle and understanding its limitations. I know I'm not going to be the fastest through cones, so I adjust my strategy and try to find the best route for the gig. This usually involves taking turns slower and tighter.
However, in the marathon carriage, there just might be a false sense of security for some folks. Having the experience with the gig, I naturally drive slower and look for angles. This article made me stop to consider a few things. Of course, there are very many variables involved in any equation and when people and animals are added the results are bound to be incalculable. However, I think this article has value and I hope you find it useful.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Pole Heads for Pairs & Teams
Gotta love the folks at Pony & Carriage for their video shorts: so full of information, so easy to absorb!
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Bandaging Tips
This is a nice, brief look at bandaging from the most excellent Horse & Country.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www,hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.
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