It is pretty rare and I’m real happy when someone ELSE takes pix of us and the horses! Friends like Horse Gal, fellow drivers, Emmie and others take our pictures at times.
Last fall a photographer named Vanessa Wright visited our GSCA event in Newbury and photographed us and most all the drivers there. She chose a shot of Hubby driving the boys to illustrate a Black Beauty theme in her Literary Horse exhibit. Vanessa has kindly shared these photos of us and I love them!
Hubby, me, and the boys…
What a shot huh! Vanessa just happened to be there with her camera at the ready when Glen’s bridle fell off!
The brothers have this annoying habit of scratching their heads on each other when we’re standing around– which we were doing, chatting– and next thing we knew, Glen had no bridle on. I just got out of the carriage and put it back on him, discovering that the “OFF” (right) buckle on his throatlatch was unfastened. We never unfasten that side, we bridle them like normal bridles from their left sides and honestly I never pay attention to that other buckle. I will in the future!
Life is good!!
Peaches the wonder dog. Wasn’t Vanessa great to get this shot!
Happy Trails! (as Horse Gal would say) Apologies to our friend Claudia for retouching her out of the back seat of the carriage– I am using these prints to display in a grouping of “just us” and the boys!
Please visit Vanessa Wright’s website to learn about her Literary Horse photography exhibits…
The article is placed on Huliq’s Recreation Channel which shows a lead-in photo of Gilford and Glendale driven alongside Lake Champlain in Shelburne, VT (view from the carriage.)
Time lapse of best photos over 2007 from a web cam on Black Cat Island, complete with sound effects– by blackcatnh on YouTube… Mike Colclough Photography, Black Cat Images, Lake Winni weathercam
You don’t even have to be an island person to love this!
Right here in little old Laconia New Hampshire, the 80th running of the World Championship Sled Dog Derby, Feb. 14, 2009!
For the third year we went to watch, happy that there was enough snow again this year (but just barely, one day of racing was cancelled due to warm weather and the necessity to repair the track from snowmelt.) Two years of the last five the Laconia Derby had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
Saturday was cold enough though, and the dogs were hoppin’ to get goin’! It’s fascinating to see how the prep work is done: transporting the dogs in truckbed-mounted kennels (usually homemade); tying them out around the truck; putting booties on the paws of some of the dogs; laying out the towline in front of the sled; harnessing the dogs, bringing them up and hooking them on; using the ATV to hold back the sled until the starting flag; a helper at almost every dog to keep them in line; and then the countdown, and they’re OFF!
Team 4 to the starting line, ATV holding back the sled
Dogs in this race are typically greyhound/husky crosses, or greyhound crossed with “something.” A musher once told me that Huskies and Malamutes, as you usually picture pulling a sled, are only used in Canada and Alaska; it is too hot for them as “far south” as New Hampshire. With their heavy fur coats, they are built to race in colder climes. Here locally, a Gilford man years back used to raise and race Irish setters. I could see Peaches enjoying this, the way she loves to run!
The scene in the staging area becomes bedlam as soon as the crews start hooking up the dogs; the dogs’ excitement is uncontrollable as they leap and bark like crazy. The starts are timed at 3 minutes apart; today’s race was 15 miles, which I think was shorter than normal. They are racing against the clock. The dogs respond to verbal commands for steering and speed; each musher chooses his most reliable for his lead dog.
RUNOUT! Sledder gets pulled off course by dogs who felt like taking a short cut back to the truck. Sidewatchers help with getting them back onto the track. Then another team goes racing past in the opposite direction!
Usually they race 3 days in a row, this year only 2 days. There are places on the track where two teams actually have to pass each other head-on. There were 22 teams this year, and a couple of sleds actually got back before the last teams started out!
[Fifth in a series based on our own personal experiences-- we believe early foal handling was very positive for both our boys; different people raising foals will have different opinions on what is "best." To those who think you should just "let him be a horse" for 3 years or longer, I love trainer Sharon Soileau's viewpoint: Imagine raising a child with never any restrictions or behavior guidelines until he is a teenager, then suddenly trying to "teach" him how to behave! See Peaches post Two year old horses: to train, or not to train with Sharon's remarks.]
Glendale starting his ponying training, about 2 weeks old
-Prep work: Having the baby in the stall with mom while I saddled and bridled her gave each colt his first practice with seeing and hearing blankets and saddles, seeing things flap around above his head, and seeing momma unperturbed by such things.
-In previous posts I mentioned we started ponying each baby boy beside momma mare at 2 weeks of age, as soon as he could lead reliably on the ground. Baby wore a well-fitting halter and I used a very thick rope lead (6 feet long) with a very sturdy bull snap fastener.
-Before mounting, I positioned baby to the right of mom with his leadrope draped over the saddle at her withers. I got secure hold of the leadrope with my left hand while mounting, taking care not to kick baby in the face when I swung my right leg over the mare. Now baby starts to become used to a person being up above his head and back.
Glen learning to be ponied in the security of the paddock. Mom mare wears a hackamore.
-Very soon, we could lead (”pony”) the baby wherever we could ride the mom, on short excursions to start (around the pasture) then out onto woods trails and neighborhood streets once he led reliably in the pasture.
Glen at 1 month old, being ponied on a neighborhood outing.
-During ponying sessions, I took every opportunity to familiarize the baby with voice commands by saying “whoa, walk, trot, stand” whenever we did those things, also clucking to him whenever we started moving. I encouraged the foal to stand quietly beside mom when we stopped, and not to try to run in front of her or lag behind when we were moving (first lessons in patience, and in maintaining a steady pace).
Gilford’s first experience being trailered was to a GSCA ride/drive in Chocorua, NH.– S. Cahill photo I rode momma mare and ponied him a couple of miles on dirt roads; he was 5 weeks old here. (Can you believe he would turn into a black bay! He was just beginning to lose his foal coat in this pix, you can see a little black peeking through on his hocks and his face and upper neck.)
-When trailering them, momma mare was tied facing forward but the baby was loose inside a 2-horse box trailer (with no dividing wall.) I felt it would not be safe to tie the baby in the trailer as he might lose his balance and fall. I trusted mom not to step on him if he happened to take a nap, though I don’t think he would do that while we were moving. Gil’s first trailer ride was about an hour long. He loaded willingly to stay with mom; it was a ramp-load trailer.
-While ponying, I taught each baby he was not permitted to nibble on my leg or on my stirrup or boot or on the saddle blanket or mommy’s butt or the lead line. I would push his mouth away with my boot when he tried to nibble it or my leg, and give an annoying little snap to the lead line each time he tried to mouth that or mom’s saddle blanket. This helped established behavior boundaries very early.
We did short sessions of actual “training” due to the baby’s short attention span; I kept it mostly fun for the foal. Usually what happened was he would start out full of vim and vinegar, trying to see what he could get away with; then after a while he would settle in and just enjoy the walk and the scenery. Plus, we could stop for lunch breaks whenever he needed!
-By 3-4 months old baby could pony next to another horse when mom was along too, so Hubby and I could take turns doing the ponying. We ponied Gilford next to Abby (above), and 2 years later, Glendale next to Abby also his big brother Gil.
-Neither of our boys was difficult to pony until they became older and hormones made them feisty. There was a spell of time as weanlings (5-6 months) until after their geldings were done (around a year old) when they didn’t behave well enough to pony often, they became too much of a pain in the butt. Especially Gilford, who only had a mare available to be ponied beside (his momma mare or Abby) and behaving himself around either of them didn’t seem to appeal to him! It’s no fun to be trying to lead a weanling and have him trying to rear up onto the mare’s back behind you! Glendale did better when ponied next to brother Gilford at that fractious age.
-Gilford went into Gilford Old Home Day’s parade at 2 months old. I led him, Emmie rode Willy momma, and Dad with help of a friend drove Abby put to the Meadowbrook cart. The parade theme was “Gilford– All American Town.” Aren’t they so cute… LOL. Gilford took the parade excitement quite calmly, actually quieter than his mother was about it. The only thing that startled him was a motorcycle starting up right next to him.
Gilford in Acadia at 3 months, in stall with mom– see how his color has changed!
Leading out at Wildwood Stables, baby Gil and momma with me
At 3 months old, Gilford became the first “tourist” foal to stay at Wildwood Stables in Acadia National Park, Maine. With Wildwood’s permission, we took him along with Willy and Abby for our week-long vacation; he stayed in the stall with momma, and ponied with us on the Carriage Roads.
Abby went out with us to carry Hubby…
Ready to hit the Carriage Roads! Notice the flaxen tail, which Gilford kept until almost 2 as it gradually turned black.
We made sure the Acadia outings were non-taxing, took it easy and didn’t go more than 3-4 miles at a time. We did a little bit of trotting; at 3 months, Gil could trot as fast as his mom. Gil got to experience bicycles, walkers, draft teams pulling large wagons, cart horses pulling smaller carts, bridges, ponds, and strange horses being ridden past. The trailer ride was 6 hours each way. I think on this trip I left them both loose in their box; we stopped several times along the way to give them a break from the road.
Ponying Glen on a ride/drive in Lyndeborough NH, about 11 months old– T. Turner photo. Through ponying, both boys got exposure to carts, carriages, and other horses in non-threatening situations. See more about Lyndeboro and pix at Horse Peaches training cart.
Ponying is not without its dangers, however. When Glendale was about 3 months old and ponying nicely along a local woods trail, I got careless with my leadrope length and gave him more slack than usual. As we approached a fallen log on the left side of the trail, I assumed Glen was on the (usual) right-hand side of me and the mare, but having a longer lead he went to the left behind her.
As Glen hopped over the log, which was a pretty good jump for him, he speared himself in the chest on a short but thick spike branch sticking out from the log and gave himself a good bruise and a puncture wound. The vet flushed the wound as best he could but it had enough debris in it to take about a month to heal, during which time I had to warm compress it with epsom salt solution twice a day and keep him on antibiotics. Lucky for us it wasn’t worse!
Ponying does require due diligence and really paying attention, also a lead horse who is sane and easy to manage. Being able to neck-rein the horse you’re riding is a REAL plus. I never wrapped the baby’s lead rope around a saddle horn or anything, but I managed to grip it both with my right (leading) hand and also my left (rein) hand. Often I would trap the leadrope under my right knee to help keep baby’s head right where I preferred it to be. And I did a lot of patting him on the head and neck while we were ponying.
Sometimes little stream or puddle crossings could be interesting, when mom went across but the baby decided he didn’t want to. At those times I had to give him a longer lead, encourage him to come over gently but firmly, and possibly even cross back over and try again. Eventually he’d decide to cross, though he might jump over instead of just walking through the water. In which case, he might just jump on top of momma. Be prepared! And if he stops suddenly, you can’t just drag him by yanking on his head, either he’ll be too strong to do that or else you might injure his neck.
Once Hubby was ponying Glen next to Gilford on an organized trail ride; I was in the lead on Willy. Suddenly Glendale spooked and bolted ahead, passing Gilford and passing momma too. I had to partially duck the lead rope before Hubby let go of it. Glen stopped pretty soon and I got hold of him again; he had spooked from the sounds of another group of horseback riders coming up unexpectedly behind us.
A BIT ABOUT SELF-TRAINING…
We are also firm believers in letting the horses train themselves however possible, whatever (safe) method you can dream up… Gilford at one point got afraid of the noise of us crumpling up feed and shavings bags, so we would place empty ones into his stall. (Be SURE there are no staples left in a shavings bag.) By the next morning the bag would be in shreds, and he got used the the noise of it all by himself.
-self trailer-loading: We let both our babies train themselves to get onto our horse trailer by feeding mom (with each of them by her side) on the trailer! We backed it just through the gate with rear door secured open and left it a week or two, feeding mom her grain and hay on the trailer. We hung her grain bucket high so baby couldn’t get his head or foot caught in it, fed him his grain in a ground feeder, and did NOT use a hay net ANYWHERE near a foal’s reach.
-Self-loading works with both a ramp-load and a step-up trailer, 2-horse or 4-horse size. (Ours were straight-load trailers; you’d want to figure out potential safety issues on a trailer having fixed dividers, such as a slant-load.) It didn’t take long for each baby to figure it out for themselves. After weaning, we repeated this process for the weanling to go solo into and off of the trailer, putting his grain bucket also his hay on the trailer. Pretty soon he hopped on and off without thinking twice about it!
Speaking of self-training, here is how Glendale got used to a tarp when he was a yearling…
First look at the scary blue thing– which had a few tempting handfuls of hay on top of it…
… then after a couple of minutes it’s no big deal. I made the mistake of leaving the tarp there overnight; by the next morning, Glen and his brother Gilford had drug it all over and ripped it to shreds!
Doing this doesn’t mean he’ll never get spooky about a tarp again, so doing occasional refresher training for just about everything is always a good idea! Living on a farm gives our guys exposure to a lot of stuff… and the barn is right next to a street so they grew up hearing and seeing traffic too, including lots of fire trucks and police cars.
The New London ski joring event (NESJA) was filmed by the Discovery Channel and will apparently be airing in March or April on Wreckreation Nation… Dave Mordal took a turn at it, which lasted all of 8 seconds!
LOL, I myself was contacted by the Discovery Channel when they found my ski joring videos on youTube. They were inquiring about using some of my “footage” on the TV show; however, I am afraid my camera-taken video, even though the highest resolution that my little camera can take, was not good enough quality for broadcast because I have not yet heard back from them.
Search Discovery Channel Weekly for airing schedule of show Wreckreation Nation with Dave Mordel, expected in March or April 09. Generally found Tuesdays at 10pm. (I have not yet seen the Ski-Joring special announced as of April 1 schedule.)
NYTimes.com article here Thrill of Victory, the Agony of the Host. The TV crew actually rigged Stormy with a belly-cam (pointing backwards between his hind legs) in an attempt to film the ski racer being towed behind him! Now Stormy is a gelding… use your imagination on that one!
Bob Skelding, who has been hospitalized in a Meridian hospital for a week after being involved in a collision with an 18-wheeler that destroyed his horse drawn RV and killed two of his horses, has been taken off a ventilator.
Skelding’s sister, Cathy Fagan of North Carolina, has been in Meridian for most of that time trying to care for her brother’s affairs while providing him with support. She said Monday afternoon there really wasn’t any real news to relay and probably wouldn’t be for quite some time.
“It’s going to be a long recovery time and I can’t go into any specifics of his injuries,” she said. “I have to leave at the end of this week and hopefully we’ll have another family member take my place.”
Skelding is listed in serious but stable condition. He is being treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
Fagan said she understood a great many people wanted to stay abreast of her brother’s condition but that at this point there really isn’t much to say. She said for those supporting her brother to keep the prayers coming in but that his recovery would take weeks.
Just added this link to my Horse Links and Blogs… it is so interesting I wanted to point it out. Wonderful daily pictures from a Friesian horse ranch in NW Montana– makes you want to live there!
