08.29.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy, Other interesting stuff at 2:48 pm by petArtist Cmoses
We’ve heard about local lakes’ milfoil problems, but there is another noxious plant spreading on land in Gilford, and this plant is highly toxic to livestock and even people if eaten. Spotted Water Hemlock, aka. Cowbane, is present in Gilford; owners of cattle, horses, sheep– all grazing animals– and also hay farmers should be aware.
Water Hemlock, cicuta maculata, was identified on Schoolhouse Hill Road over a year ago by the county extension service. It is considered one of the most poisonous plants in the U.S., containing a deadly toxin which affects the central nervous system when ingested. The roots of the Water Hemlock have a high concentration of cicutoxin, and ingestion of even small amounts can be lethal. One gram of Water Hemlock per kilogram of body weight will kill a sheep, and eight ounces (approximately 230 grams) is enough to kill a horse.
Article in Laconia Citizen (will request you to sign in to read)
Poisonous Water Hemlock, aka. Cowbane, grows up to 6 feet tall in Gilford NH. Leaves in bottom third of photo are the cowbane foliage; the flower spikes grow very tall above the thickest area of the branches. You may find plants without any flowers, because it is a perennial which flowers in its second year (we believe.)
Fresh leaves and stems can be deadly when browsed, especially in the spring. Animals have been poisoned by drinking water that had been contaminated with trampled Water Hemlock roots. Humans have died after only one or two bites of root, which they mistook for wild parsnip or artichoke.
Related to the parsnip, carrot and parsley family, Cowbane can grow up to 6 feet high; it produces white blooms similar in appearance to Queen Anne’s lace in late summer, and is easiest to spot right now while in bloom. It has leafy lower foliage and thick, sometimes purplish-marked or mottled, hollow jointed stems; broken stems may exude yellowish oily or watery liquid smelling like parsnip.
Cowbane blossoms, similar to Queen Anne’s Lace
Water Hemlock occurring in hayfields causes some concern. If cut in a hay crop, drying reduces the above-ground Cowbane’s toxicity; its toxic properties are lower later in its season as well. Therefore, Cowbane in hay might not cause clinical toxicosis. However, should the Cowbane’s roots, which are NOT made less toxic by drying, enter a hay harvest (such as through cultivation,) there would be considerable risk to the hayfed animals.
Cowbane grows in damp, marshy areas, and the recent rainy summers have helped it to spread locally, often into stream banks and roadside drainage ditches. Stands of Water Hemlock/Cowbane have been identified in the following locations in Gilford (and may be in other areas as well):
Schoolhouse Hill Road
Gunstock Hill Road
Watson Road
Gilman Road
Old Lake Shore Road
Cherry Valley Road at 11B junction
In controlling the Cowbane’s spread, precautions should be taken, according to Doug Cygan, New Hampshire Dept. of Agriculture (contact info below):
Wear rubber gloves, and avoid skin contact with sap, especially to face or eyes– when it’s flowering, there is also chance of a dermal (skin) reaction to the pollen;
Use spade or tined fork to uproot the plant and remove its branching root system;
Place plants in black plastic trash bags;
Place bags in the sun to “cook” for a few days to dry out the plants;
They may then be disposed of in regular trash.
Stem structure, thick and hollow, distinctive joints
As concerned horse owners, my husband and I, along with several of our neighbors, are working to mow down large patches of Water Hemlock and also to pull up individual plants. We urge other area residents to help curtail the spread of this dangerous species immediately, while it is easiest to identify and before full bloom is past, when it will spread even further.
Find more information and more photographs of poisonous Spotted Water Hemlock see here:
Purdue Univ. report
all-creatures.org
survivalIQ website
N.C. State Univ. Horticulture Dept.
photos, CT Botanical Society
_____________________
Please note that Emails, calls or letters of concern to Doug Cygan below will help to focus the state’s attention onto this New Hampshire problem.
Doug Cygan 603-271-3488
Invasive Species Coordinator
State of N.H. Dept. of Agriculture
Division of Plant Industry
29 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301
Email: dcygan@agr.state.nh.us
Website– general N.H. info, invasive plant species list for N.H., etc.: N.H. Dept. of Agriculture
Detail of Cowbane/Spotted Water Hemlock leaf structure
as posted in equinesite.com by petArtist
as submitted to local newspapers by Connie Moses
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
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08.28.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 12:06 am by petArtist Cmoses
AUG. 28
Thanks for coming up. It was a lot of fun. John, Jamie & Emily had a blast, too! I think we’ve gotten Emily addicted. I think riding would be a great thing for her and she’d do really well.
Sitting high and pretty– Emily on 3 yr.old Gilford
Doe this girl even notice it’s raining?
Grinning from ear to ear!
Gil is a great horse, and I think any issues he may have had with his canter before were related to his being inexperienced, unbalanced, and uncomfortable in his own skin. The walk and trot are your foundation, and once you establish the basics at those gaits it should translate into the canter fairly easily… as we witnessed this weekend. I was very pleased with Gil, and even excited to see he had a frisky side, too! I was beginning to think he was just too perfect! I’ve had a lot of fun working with him.
Def. send the Orvus [horse shampoo,] I’ll give him another bath next weekend… to see if I can get him cleaned up more. I haven’t felt that he’s gotten that clean with what I’ve been using. Fly mask will be good too.
EM
Not ANOTHER bath!
AUG. 29
I went to visit Gil yesterday, but didn’t ride him. The weather was cool still, and he was a little on edge€¦ but good. I groomed him really well, and trimmed the fronts of his feet. I also clipped his chin and muzzle and he was totally fine. Didn’t phase him at all, except when it tickled.
I’m going to ask [the barn owner] to separate him from the other horses€¦ he had some small cuts on his face, and a welt on his neck (looked like a swollen bug bite, but hard to be sure.) Poor Gil.
EM
EMAIL TO EM FROM DAD, AUG. 29
Em,
It was fun riding Gilford on Saturday and Sunday. I was so paranoid about cantering him since he tried to buck me off every time I tried to make him go while he was here. I can only trot so far since I am lousy at posting. You€™ve done a good job with him and he is turning out to be a great guy.
dad
EM’S REPLY:
Dad,
I’m glad you both came down. I had a lot of fun, and it was nice to see that some of the work I have been doing with Gil translates when the both of you are on him. That’s the goal! Sometimes when a horse bucks when you’re riding him (especially when transitioning between gaits) it means that they’re confused or uncomfortable with what you’re asking them to do. The walk and trot are the foundation gaits for any horse, and once those are developed, it should translate fairly easily into the canter… as we saw this weekend.
I think Gil was just unbalanced and unstable and probably unsure of what to do with himself. If you are asking him in a field, or on a trail.. he’s likely to be even more unbalanced because he would not have a ring, or circle or corner to support him (riding rings can come in handy every once in a while!). I’ve been teaching him how to move properly, to support himself efficiently and to be smoother in his gaits and transitions. It was nice to see that even though I had only cantered him once (and it was pretty rough), that we were able to get through it easily. He has only bucked on me once, the very first time I asked him to canter.
Having Gil around has been great, and it reminds me of what I have been missing for so long. I’ll be sad when he leaves…
EM
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
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08.27.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 11:34 pm by petArtist Cmoses
AUG. 26-27
We visit Gilford both weekend days, to observe Emmie and to ride him ourselves. Also Em’s boss and his wife dropped by with daughter who loves horses but hasn’t been around them before. Emmie shows us the results of her training so far, Gilford does great, dad canters him and Connie feels weird in the English saddle, since she usually rides hybrid western.
Dad waits for Em to get started on our perch/Arab youngster
Gilford’s 2nd schooling session for canter, and he picks up his correct leads!
Dad won’t be left out of the fun either!
Connie fakes riding hunt seat… and keeps trying to neck rein.
On Sunday it starts to rain but our guests for the day are not daunted; Gil is friskier than usual and Emmie welcomes the opportunity to work him through an unusual (for him) distracted spell. Connie explains all about horses to horse novices and fields their questions. Everything is a learning experience!
Visiting friends meet Gilford Sunday, feed him corn cobs and carrots
All observing and learning about horses, and now the rain starts!
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
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08.18.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 11:26 pm by petArtist Cmoses
AUG. 18, You don’t even want to know
So I was riding last night, having a good ride, Gil was doing great, my ankle was hanging in there, everything is hunky dorie¦ when all of a sudden I went to trot, started to post and felt a “pop” in my left foot. Yeah, the one that I broke, but it had stopped bothering me months ago (even with all the running I’ve been doing) and hadn’t given me an ounce of concern the last 2 weeks.
After the ‘pop’, I couldn’t put any weight on it, not posting, not standing in the stirrups, not even any pressure just to get my heel down. I can manage to walk on it, as long as I walk on the inside edge (the break was on the outside). I was planning to take today off anyway, so I’m hoping that it just got tired and strained and I’ll go back on Saturday and it will be fine. If not, this could be a HUGE setback for me and I and I’ll be so disappointed. It won’t be the end of the world, b/c I can do much more round pen work and leadline work, but I won’t be able to trot with him (on his back, or on the ground) unless I do some stirrup-less work which won’t last too long b/c I’m not in any kind of shape to be able to maintain that very long.
See how he flies… oblivious to Emmie’s painful ankle
I’m going to the store again today to see if I can find some kind of shoe insert that will offer some support to my arches and that area of the foot. If I were smart, I would have thought about that before all of this and maybe prevented it, but who knows. I’m just so frustrated. I’m worried this foot is going to be an issue for the rest of my life. I had gone at least 2 months without any kind of pain or soreness out of it, and now all of a sudden. I could tell my body was tired (especially my legs and ankles) but I was trying to be careful not to push myself too hard or take any stupid risks. This just came out of nowhere, totally random, just all of a sudden. I just went up for the first post of the trot and I must have pushed on just the right spot of my foot.
Oh well, woe is me. I’ll take a lot of Aleve, and wrap it in all kinds of bandages and get on with it.
Gill is such a sweetheart, by the way. I wish I had a video camera b/c I could really gain from seeing how he moves while I’m on him so that I can be sure that what I think I’m feeling, is actually what’s happening.
EM
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
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08.16.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 11:26 pm by petArtist Cmoses
AUG. 16
Last night I finally got Gil to understand that not only did I want him to move forward, but I wanted him to reach his head down and go round. and he did!! He nailed it at the walk, realizing that my little squeezes on the inside rein and supporting outside rein combined with leg were asking him to soften his poll and bring his nose down.
Gilford learning that there is more than one speed of trot
I even felt his back come up under me for a few strides and he felt so loose and forward. So I dared to try it at the trot, and he did it! Just a few strides, but it was there! I’ve been working on it for the last week and he just seemed kind of confused and would put his head down, but stick his nose out and tense up a bit. I finally got one stride out of him and praised the crap out of him and it finally clicked.
Once he hit it once, and understood that that’s what I was asking for, he kept it up. If felt so good! His frame reminds me so much of Moose [a thoroughbred Em schooled for 4 years]… long and low, but forward moving. He really does cover a lot of ground I bet all that carriage driving has helped lengthen him out. I was so excited!
And, I bought myself an ankle brace which helped tremendously. It didn’t solve the problem, but makes it bearable much less pain, and it wasn’t locking up on me like it has been. It actually helped SO much, that I was starting to notice some issues with my right ankle. Nothing more than what I would usually have, but I hadn’t even noticed it because my left ankle had been hurting so much.
Phew. I’m very pleased with him and I can’t wait to go back tonight to work with him again. I’ve been going at night after he eats so I can work under the lights (and in the much cooler temperatures). It’s nice to have the barn to myself.
EM
**BACKGROUND:**
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
Also see Gilford in July pulling a training cart, along with his baby brother Glendale being ponied at 11 months old, on Blog posts Horse Peaches Training Cart and Carriage Driving Young Horse.
**PREVIOUSLY** See Gilford at 3 MONTHS old, ponied alongside his mom in Acadia National Park, Maine, at Blog post Baby Colt in Acadia.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
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08.15.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 11:12 pm by petArtist Cmoses
AUG. 15
Hi mums,
Thought I’d send you another quick update. Gil continues to be great! I’m going to have a hard time letting him go home at the end of the month. I’ve been to the barn every day since he was dropped off. He’s such a sweetheart and I think he’s going to be such a perfect horse for you and dad.
Emmie encouraging Gilford to soften at the poll and walk energetically
This weekend I started doing some in-hand leading work with him. It’s a good thing I’m working with him, because he has no idea how to lead ‘properly’, or at least how they want him to [at an AWS Inspection.] The walk is fine, I can give him a loose rein and use my whip to ask him to walk next to me and forward and he’s pretty good about that but the trot is a whole other story. He was so confused that I was asking him to trot. Poor guy thought I was nuts. Every once in a while he would get it and I’d give him lots of praise and he’d seem to understand, and then I’d ask him again, and we’d start all over again. I’ll have to keep working with him to get him to the point where he’ll transition up to a trot consistently and forward. I’m also having trouble keeping up with him at the trot. Though he seems lazy, he covers A LOT of ground when he’s moving forward. I’m going to have to try to find time to keep running on my treadmill even while he’s here, just so I can run him around the ring like we’ll need to. But he continues to be such a good boy, and so willing to learn.
Yesterday I had a great session with him almost entirely at a walk. I spent a good hour, and even worked him into a sweat, just at the walk. I worked on getting him to move forward and lengthen and stretch his body out and down, and really use his hind end to propel himself. We also worked on circles and staying round on the corners, and working on keeping him straight on the long ends. By the end, I finally got him to break out of his little quick, short stepped baby horse steps and into a real ‘manly man’ big horse walk it was wonderful! When he really reaches with his steps it feels so nice. Then I did just a little trot work to see if it could carry over and I managed to get a few strides of ‘big horse’ movement at the trot, too. That’s what I call his gaits now”baby horse gaits”. He’s still stuck in the short strided, quick steps of a baby/young horse. He’s really good at walking faster when you give him leg, but I realized that he wasn’t necessarily tracking up just walking faster. So that’s when I decided we needed to start with the basics and begin with the walk. He picked it up in one session and I’m sure he’ll get it again right away tonight.
The other reason I decided to spend most of my session at the walk was that I’m have really trouble with my left ankle. You probably remember how I had an ongoing problem when I was younger, but it was manageable b/c I was riding consistently and able to maintain the strength in my ankle. It really only came up when I was really tired, or over working it. I’ve been really frustrated this last week because I’ve only been able to do minimal trot work b/c my ankle locks up so quickly. I think the muscles are completely out of shape riding, combined with it likely being weakened even more b/c of the break last Fall, it’s just been a real problem for me. I think that it’s getting a little bit better every day, but it’s still a handicap, and I’ve had to cut sessions short several times because I’m not able to keep my foot in the stirrup or post any more. I think I’m going to try to find a brace or wrap for it today and see if that extra support might make the difference. It’s SOOO frustrating.
Watch out for the meter maid!
I gave Gil a bath on Sunday and he was so good. Now he’s shiny & clean and I’ve managed to work through his mane some. I found a thinning comb and have used it a little just to neaten it up. It’s looking much more manageable. I still feel strongly that his fetlocks need to be trimmed for the inspection. Yes, he’s a percheron, but those fetlock hairs don’t look any different than what the mare’s would look like if you let them grow. He doesn’t have the ‘percheron feathers’ that would look OK if you left them. Right now they just look kind of messy and unkempt. Just sayin’
He’s really looking like a big warmblood, and I swear he’s grown since he got here. If only he had another hand or two in height, he’d be perfect! I think he could make a nice little dressage horse if you wanted one.
EM
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– website since 2001:
Portraits With Pets.com aka PortraitsWithHorses.com
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08.11.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 10:50 pm by petArtist Cmoses
AUG. 11
I rode Gil again last night, in the lights! It was kind of sticky and rainy early in the evening so I went over at about 7:30 pm and by the time I was on him at 8:00 pm or so it had cooled and was really pleasant. He got a kick out of the lights and shadows at first…all the spooky monsters coming out to get him…but after a few times around the ring he settled. He really seems so happy to be worked and to learn new things. I never get an ounce of resistance from him… no twitchy ears or tail, no annoyed looks or protest. He can be a little inconsistent with his pace, but we’re working on it. Baby steps.
Gil used to be afraid of the hose!
I did some work at the trot yesterday, round his circles and asking him to move off my leg. Then some speed change exercises, asking him to speed up & lengthen and then collect and track up without losing momentum. He really seems to get it. He has a really nice natural pace about him. He covers ground really well so sometimes it’s hard to tell from his back if he’s actually moving forward and tracking up, or just has a big step.
Relaxing on a longer rein, starting to stretch his neck down
When I was cooling him down I worked on circles and serpentines at the walk, asking him to lengthen and continue to move forward, even while at the walk. He responded well to my corrections when zigzagging or popping out his shoulder and I really think he seems to understand what I’m asking. I can’t get over how responsive he is to cues. I guess that’s a young horse for you… almost over-doing it, because he’s so light and responsive.
I think Gil is feeling right at home at the barn. They’ve got a very relaxed schedule, and feed late at night and keep them out until dark, kind of like at home. Gilford did get a big scrape on his butt on Tuesday night… It’s not bloody or scabby, but it’s a big bald strip across his hip. It doesn’t look like a horse nip or anything, more like he rolled on a stick or rubbed up against something too hard….
I bought some basic ointment for it, to keep it moisturized and help promote the hair to grow back, but it’s likely we’ll have to cover it up with shoe black or something for the inspection. He doesn’t seem the type to rough house at all so I’m not sure how he got it.
EM
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– website since 2001:
Portraits With Pets.com aka PortraitsWithHorses.com
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08.09.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 10:11 pm by petArtist Cmoses
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
__________________
AUG. 9
Gilford is doing great. He’s fit right in at the barn and is happy as a clam. He’s turned out with two other horses who seem to care less that he’s there. It even looks like he’s getting a good amount of grass. I’ve gone over both days after work. Monday I just worked with him in the round pen, which was probably better because it was SUPER hot! I forgot how gross and sticky being around horses could be. He was really good… I worked mostly on keeping his attention on me (which wasn’t hard at all, he’s so eager to learn), and then also worked on being more forward and staying forward through his walk-trot-walk transitions. He picked it up right away and is learning my cues quickly.
Em fetching Gilford from his new paddock
Grooming up the youngster on crossties
Yesterday I saddled him up and put him in the round pen to warm up. I’ve start adding in some transition work, while also keeping him moving forward. I don’t really think that he’s that lazy naturally, I just don’t think he’s ever really been asked or understood that he should put more effort into moving. I did a lot of quick transition work in the round pen to get him on his toes and to encourage him to lift himself up into the transitions instead of falling into them, and he did great. He got very springy and with a little encouragement every once in a while he started trotting very forward naturally. The round pen is a little bit smaller than I would like, so it’s hard to get too forward, or to extend at all, but he was tracking up well and using his hind end to push off.
All tacked up– Em bridling Gilford in snaffle bit
After the warm up for about 20 minutes I hopped on him in the ring and worked on some of the same… and he was great. He’s getting used to the contact of my hands, is very responsive to me tickling him with the dressage whip to get him to move off my leg, and he was springing up into his trot when I asked. By the end of the session I was able to give him some extra rein and encourage him to lengthen into the bit then stretch his trot out. It was really nice. I’ll do more of the same for the next week, and work on polishing off his circles and roundness, before I ask for any canter work. I want him to be comfortable and confident at the trot (and myself) before I step it up. I plan to do ring work this week, and then possibly take him out on the trail Saturday for something different.
I know you don’t want me to, but I think we should trim his legs up for the inspection. The feathers aren’t thick enough to be clear that he’s part percheron. To me they just look like overgrown fetlock hair and I think it might reflect poorly on him. I braided his mane yesterday to get it out of my way when riding. I may do some thinning of it this weekend, and give him a bath too. Did you send me shampoo?? Also, I didn’t notice if my black paddock boots where in the trunk? Your shoes are doing OK, but I’m starting to get blisters around my heels. I may have to go find myself my own pair…
My legs aren’t sore yet. I’d be surprised if they do get sore. I have been running for the last 4 months on the treadmill and I’m in pretty good shape. Gil is such a sweetheart and totally happy to be around people and work. It’s so nice! I’m in love already.
EM
P.S. Cute blog…I’ll have to start checking it more regularly. I like the pics and cute notes. Oh, and that pic of me with Freckles… I was definitely at least 9 or 10 years old because I always remember that we got Freckles when I was in 4th grade.
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– website since 2001:
Portraits With Pets.com aka PortraitsWithHorses.com
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08.08.06
Posted in Dogs for dog lovers, Horses for the horse crazy, Other interesting stuff at 12:12 pm by petArtist Cmoses
WHAT??? Horse peaches??? That’s Peaches our English Setter riding next to dad in the training cart behind Gilford, our 3 yr.old Arabian/percheron warmblood. I wrote about the Lyndeborough drive (Granite State Carriage Assoc.) in my July 11 post; thanks (again) to Tracey Turner, here are HER pictures of us in Lyndeborough!
Peaches (English Setter) perched in training cart with dad driving Gilford the young perch/arab starting out on Lyndeborough, New Hampshire carriage drive/ride of July 9– Tracey Turner photo
Connie Moses on Willow’s Bask, Arabian dam of Gilford and Glendale, with 11-month-old Glendale ponied at side– Tracey Turner photo
Now raising our second colt (Glendale, 11 months,) we still firmly believe in early exposure to new stimuli for the foals. Both Gilford and now Glendale were ponied beside their mom at a VERY young age, starting at 2 weeks old, and taken along on trail rides and drives, and in Gilford’s case taken in a parade at 2 months and to Maine’s Acadia National Park at 3 months. So far this practice is still proving out, giving us very tractable youngsters who are sensible, reasonable, and not at all flighty.
Baby Glendale in tow, starting off behind Gilford and the cart– Tracey Turner photo
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– website since 2001:
Portraits With Pets.com aka PortraitsWithHorses.com
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08.07.06
Posted in Horses for the horse crazy at 4:36 pm by petArtist Cmoses
Sunday we took our horse Gilford on his first real carriage drive abroad, solo, to Granite State Carriage Assoc. drive held in Bear Brook State Park. He was a wonderful trooper, the day was perfect with crisp cooler air– it felt like driving in Acadia National Park in September, which we do yearly with our horses for a week.
Gilford got to meet a few other driving horses on this excursion. The most interesting part was driving through a campground full of tents, campers and people pulling up stakes; all new sights for him but he was mostly unfazed.
Please see my Horse training disclaimer
Connie driving Gilford, 3 yr.old Arabian/Percheron gelding in Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown NH
Our handsome guy after the carriage drive and his sponge bath
Afterwards, poor Gilford got time-warped by being hauled to Springfield MA to visit with our daughter for a month. He is boarded now in Somers CT while Emmie does some training and schooling with him (advanced of what we can do,) and also she’ll help prepare him for his American Warmblood inspection coming up in early September. Right after that we WILL take him and his Arabian mom to Acadia!
__________________
Connie Moses, petArtist– website since 2001:
Portraits With Pets.com aka PortraitsWithHorses.com
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