I’ve been hoofing around New York and DC in the pursuit of a holiday and book two (which will be out in, ooooooh, 2015?). Shanks’ Mare and I saw a surprising number of equines on our travels, although we missed the zebra and pony on the loose on Staten Island. Books two and three are …
Category Archives: Western Horsemanship
Do You Want to Win a Pony?
Well, do you?
Horse vs. Grizzly
Here’s an absolutely cracking story from The Spokesman Review about a young woman and an 18hh Percheron/Quarter Horse called Tonk who chased after a grizzly bear that was pursuing an eight-year-old boy on a terrified horse. They faced up to the bear and charged. “… when you’re riding, the horse is your best protection, if …
Temple Grandin on the Thoroughbred Breeding Industry
At the Calgary Stampede. Also applicable to miniature horse breeding.
Whole Heap of Little Horse Links
An escaped German circus pony attempts to board a tram. A riding corset from the 1870s – you see how Skittles managed that waist. A new anti-slaughter feature film called Saving America’s Horses is underway in the USA, while a new government report looking at the negative impact of the effective ban on horse slaughter …
Beauty and the Beast
Quick hit: an earlier news story about “rodeo queens” in New Mexico completing their routines on hobby horses raised a question for European horsefolk – what the hell is a rodeo queen anyway? And why are those little girls wearing eyeliner but not, you know, hard hats?* Jezebel.com has republished a piece on the phenomenon …
A Cure for What Ails Reining
Thank you to Roo for sending me this link. Stacy Westfall demonstrating that you don’t need a curb or, indeed, anything but good horsemanship, to be a reiner. The antidote to Craig Schmersal.
Riding Your Hobby Horse
Thank you to Ed and Maff for this story. A US outbreak of equine herpes and restrictions on horse movement has led to young rodeo queens having to improvise a little at a competition.
The Definition of Abuse
FEI GENERAL REGULATIONS 23rd edition, 1 January 2009, updated 1 January 2010 Article 142 – Abuse of Horses 1. No person may abuse a Horse during an Event or at any other time. “Abuse” means an action or omission which causes or is likely to cause pain or unnecessary discomfort to a Horse, including without …