We Are Fam-i-ly...

Sister Sledge. Anyone out there remember them? (If you are under 50, you probably have no clue...) It was the anthem of the 70's (well, plus Y-M-C-A..)

We are family...
I got all my sisters with me...

I have three sisters and two brothers. Six of us in total plus Mom and Dad. Which I thought was a large family until I moved to Kentucky and kept meeting people with 10 and 11 siblings. Lordy, poor Mom!

I don't get along with all of my sisters and brothers all of the time. One or two I could meet at a bar after work and talk with into the wee hours. Some of the others I can't comprehend, wouldn't live their lives they way they do. Some are very religious (part of the family up-bringing, trust me! Church three times a week without fail) and some not so. Some spend money over their heads, others are frugal. Some love to venture to places unknown, others don't like any food other than plain meat and potatoes.

But we are family. We see each other at Christmas, exchange stories, admire each others' kids, and sit at the table together. Underlying all of the differences, we have the same basic values. And we want each other to do well in life and be happy and healthy.

I think that deep down, horse people are the same way. We don't like each other all the time. We think our way of owning or riding or keeping horses is the right way, and can't comprehend another's choices about their horses.

Some ride, some just own and watch. Some like high stepping, some like low down and quiet. Some strive for the perfect tempo and gait in a riding ring, others go straight down the path on a trail. Others drive like hell in a carriage across a field, through water obstacles. And then there are those crazy few who careen around a course of 5 foot jumps at breakneck speed. (Oops, did I say crazy?)

There are other ways we often don't agree. Our politics. Our stories to legislators that focus on our issue to the detriment of others who own horses. Our ideas that if my breed "wins", yours has to "lose". Our idea about funding the horse business which means funding MY part of the horse business, but not yours. Our arrogance that what our association does is more informed, more sophisticated, more valuable than what your association does.

But we are all part of the family. And like me and my siblings, we can put aside our differences and focus on our similar goals. Making Kentucky "horse-friendly" for all - business and pleasure - regardless of economy, politics and personalities.

GET THE HECK OUT OF DODGE

OK, first of all, a confession. This is going to sound like a sermon. Don't want to do that routinely in a blog, right? I mean, if you need a sermon, you go to church.

And furthermore, I am not the priestess of wisdom. (Ah, wouldn't I like to be.. wouldn't we all like to be?)

I just report what I see and think. Take it or leave it.... so yes, here is a sermon. And a sense of frustration being expressed. It's directed at those who live in Lexington.. my neighbors... some of my colleagues....and at myself as well.

Get the heck out of Dodge.

Like, LEAVE LEXINGTON for a change.
Like, see the rest of the state.
Like, drive a little bit further to talk to other horsemen, ride on a trail ride, participate in a show.

This year the KHC president is from Northern Kentucky. YAHOO! She knows what it is to constantly drive south. Other board members are from Louisville and Shelbyville and Bowling Green and know what it is to constantly drive east. Go to Lexington, the "MECCA" of the horse world. Hmmm...

This needs to be changed.

Yes, Lexington was the site of the World Equestrian Games.
Yes, the Kentucky Horse Park is the best in the country.
Yes, there are a lot of beautiful Thoroughbred farms in Lexington (declining in number now, but still there are a lot in Lexington and surrounding counties)

But really -- where do Kentucky's horsemen live?

The answer: All over the state. Everyone knows that. We know about the concentration of Saddlebreds in Shelby County. The cluster of Eventing and Dressage in Oldham County. The collection of Quarter Horses in western KY counties and Bowling Green area. And trail riders in every nook and cranny of every county.

Being a horsemen is about owning your own horse, caring for it every day (or paying someone to care for it, if you are so lucky to be able to afford that)...riding despite the weather, riding sometimes because of the weather, living through Kentucky winter/spring mud. Fixing your trailer, buying a new bit, scheduling the farrier.

It's also about the horse business. Training horses, instructing riders, breeding horses... and trying to make enough to survive. Watching the feed and bedding bills to figure out the most affordable but healthy choices. Being tied to your cell phone when you leave the barn. Getting calls night and day with concerns or questions, or God forbid, emergencies. Trying to keep up with the latest news in vaccinations, deworming, diseases. Trying to keep connected with your breed organization, your local 4-H horse club, your community.

People all over this Commonwealth are horsemen and horse professionals. Muhlenberg County, Lewis County, Harlan County, Marion County, Campbell County, Boyd County, Warren County...

Get the heck out of Dodge.

It's time to drive west, east, north and south AWAY from Mecca. It's time to meet up with the rest of the world of Kentucky's horses.

New Horse in the Household

I just bought a new horse.
How easily that slips off the tongue.
But my question to you is: Does everyone go through the same gut-wrenching experience that I do when I commit to a new horse?

The search for the horse first takes over my life. Hours on the internet. watching videos on YouTube, first of the horse you were looking at and then of the other interesting videos that pop up right after that video finishes.
Doing searches with all combinations and permutations of the right words.
Running across interesting horse books on the way, or a trailer for sale that looks like a possibility -- only to remind myself that I'm not buying books or trailers.

Then there's the visits. Setting up the time and day. Watching the weather. Finding the place. Trying not to be affected by how the barn looks, but focusing on how the horse looks. Trying to judge if the owners are telling the truth. Looking into the horse's eye to see into it's real character. Looking at its legs. Picking up its feet. Trying to spook it to see its reaction. Stepping back 20 feet to look at topline, overall conformation. Watching its reaction to being led and saddled.

Then there's the ride. Is there a place to really test the horse's capabilities? Is going around the barn aisle going to tell you anything? Or circling around a small roundpen (NO.) Does the fact that he goes slow away from the barn and fast coming back mean he's going to be barn sour or just acting like every other horse trying to get back to his buddies. Does he feel rough or is that just the saddle you are using?

And if everything is right... There's that final decision, should I make an offer? Do I like the horse enough to live with it for the next few years, or maybe a lifetime? Will she become my best friend or "the mistake I made"? Will he turn out to be Mr. Manners on the trail or "Hell Bent for Leather"? (Where DID that saying come from?)

Finally, if I can answer Yes, this one is a keeper, there's the offer and the negotiation. I hate that part. Wish I were rich and could just say "Yeah, asking price is good, load 'er up." But the asking price is never good. Always too high and everybody knows it.

And finally the getting home. Is her one foot a little clubby, didn't notice that before. Gosh she makes a mess of her stall. But, oh, she's as sweet as she was before I bought her, her coat is just as shiny...

Gut wrenching, that's what it is for me. Exciting but nerve wracking. Do all horse owners feel this way?

Paradise is Not Found.

Paradise is not found. It is created.

I am constantly searching for Paradise. The perfect trail. The perfect horse. The perfect (yes, even this..) committee member.

I'd better stop searching and start doing. How to create paradise? It's in our own hands. Where do we start?

We all know about the perfect horse. He is not born. He is created when someone takes time, attention and lots of patience to constantly and consistently ride and teach him what they want and how to respond to aids, and listen to the rider's body language, weight shifts, verbal commands...

And that is why I have not found the perfect horse. The perfect horse is in me. (struggling to get out). Nothing for me to do but invest the time. Stop searching. Start working. (Gosh, that's a hard thing to admit.)

Maybe that's also the reason horses are becoming less attractive to Americans as a hobby. They are not "fast". We want fast food (waiting more than 2 minutes in a McDonald's line??? Oh, pul-ease, you call this fast food?..!), we want ready made meals (pop in the microwave and in 5 minutes..), we want clothes to fit off the rack (small, medium, large, (XL and XXL and XXXL), petite, long, short, wide calf, wide foot...)... We want to order off the internet and have it appear at our doorstep in three days (or preferably less). We don't want to go to the bank for paper money, we want to use a code anywhere we go that represents money.

We don't have time to create our paradise. We want paradise delivered on a platter, cellophane wrapped, available at CVS and Walmart 24/7. MBA degrees in 8 weeks.

Horses haven't figured out this demographic yet. They are stuck in pre-history... "Teach me - over and over - and I will learn. I'd rather run free, but if you feed me repeatedly, I'll come back. I'd rather go left when you want to go right, but if that bit pulls on my mouth enough times (or weight shifts right, so I feel so unbalanced)..I'll go right. Well, OK--- I got the point!"

And voila! After enough of this repetitive human behavior, we have the perfect horse.

AH HA! So there's the real problem. Horses don't understand the new way of human life.

Perhaps we need a new class for them. "Marketing to the New Demographic".If horses want their version of paradise to stick around, they need to change their marketing techniques.

They need to be on Aisle 6 at Walmart. They need to have auto saddlers built in, activated by an electronic code. They need radio frequency GPS-based steering systems (with that nice Mr. Ed voice telling the rider where he's going). They need to plug in at night to recharge (enough of this hay and grain mess). They need a built-in flat screen with USB ports. Their neighs need to be downloadable in forty different choices of sound.

Nah. Forget the class. That wouldn't be any fun at all. I say we stick with pre-history, our one escape from the fast life.

Green Makes Me Scream

OK, I admit it.
If I hear one more activity, product, service, company, hobby or process say it is "green", I am going to SCREAM.

Love green. Love things that care for the environment. Love the creation of products and services that save the earth from further destruction.

BUT being green has become a "ME TOO" concept. Somehow the thought is if you say your idea/product/service is "green" -- You have risen above the crowd and joined the angels.

How does this relate to horses?
Horses have ALWAYS been green to some extent. Manure composts into soil. When they eat hay and grass, it is converting energy into energy with no chemicals added. They don't need air conditioning and heating in their barns and sheds. They transport US without putting carbon in the air.

We still have a problem - when we transport THEM. To take our horses to shows, trails, races and auctions, we need these great big carbon spewing trucks, which quite frankly don't make the grade in gas mileage and DO put carbon into the air.

I'm waiting for the "green" truck. Electric? (experts say no, can't get enough power out of electric). But technology charges ahead and I still hope that someday, our trucks and trailers can be "green".

UGH, there is that word again.

Who buys the horse license plate?

You may know that much of the Horse Council's income comes from the horse license plate. That little, thin, bendable rectangle... good for cars AND farm trucks.

Sure would like to know who is buying them. I know people who don't own horses who get it. I know horse people who don't get the horse plate. [The 4-H/FFA plate is too tempting..]

We are trying to find out who and where those horse plate owners are. We've petitioned the state transportation to give us a one-time use of the 2010-2011 purchasers so we can send them a survey to find out why they get it..

Is it because they own horses and that's part of their identity? Is it because they live in KY and are proud to be in 'the horse capital of the world'? Do they just think it's a pretty picture?

And do they know who gets the proceeds and what is done with them?

All good questions, and we'd sure like to know.

Why do you have the plate on your car/truck? Or why not?

Secretariat versus the Woman

I got caught in the middle of a Secretariat the movie argument yesterday. In one corner of the ring, a 60-something woman, smart, works in the office of a horse farm. In the other corner of the ring, a 70-something, vibrant UK faculty member in the arts who bets on horse races in every state of the union, knows more about jockeys, specific horses and tracks than I ever will.

The woman (let's call her Lil) loved the Secretariat movie for how it portrayed Penny Chenery and her courage to stand up in the man's world of racing and do what needed to be done for Secretariat to have a chance.

The man (let's call him Stan) refuses to go see the movie because he says that Secretariat was the greatest horse that ever was, and this movie (from what he's read) is more about Penny C. than about the horse. And furthermore, it got some facts wrong. And if that wasn't enough, it was made by Disney for god's sake and you know what Disney will do to animal movies.

Lil and Stan sparred back and forth. Lil held her ground, saying it sounded like Stan was chauvinist and just didn't like the fact that the story had a strong woman in it. Stan shot back that Penny didn't really make all those decisions - like about the syndication of Secretariat - that it was Seth Hancock and other major horse farm owners (men), and she just went along. And furthermore that she was the daughter of one of the richest farm family in Virginia, so enough of this "poor little Penny" stuff.

Lil kept going, not willing to give an inch, especially to a man who had not even seen the movie. Stan said, that's right and I WON'T see any horse movie made by Disney.

To which Lil replied, well I won't go to the races and bet because these horse owners have an addiction to breeding horses and they turn out all these animals that don't make it big on the track, then discard them.

It occurred to me that Lil represents as close as we get to what the general public perceives of the racing industry. Even though she works on a horse farm, she is not "into" the business, does not have hands on experience in the barns or tracks, and is perfectly happy to watch a movie by Disney about a great horse, because she loves the story that surrounds that horse as much as the story of the horse itself.

The big question out of this argument between the "general public" and someone who is immersed in the betting part of racing, and therefore knows his facts and cares mostly about how THE HORSE was portrayed, that they got the facts right -- Is: "Are movies like Secretariat good for racing?"

What if Secretariat the movie DID get the facts wrong on who did what? What if there is more screen time focusing on the people and not much on the horse? What if the main player is from the well-heeled Virginia horse crowd which reinforces the public's image that all horse owners are rich? What if the movie is produced by Disney, which is famous for the personification of animals, which has contributed to the public's unrealistic view of how livestock is treated, how much time and effort goes into caring for them, and the false impression that animals have the same type of feelings as humans do?

My opinion is YES, let's support these types of movies. The success of the movie shows once again that the public has a love affair with horses, even though they may contain a somewhat unrealistic view about how the animals think and act. Is it important to the industry whether or not Penny Chenery did a particular thing, or had a particular idea? These are movies, not documentaries. If you want facts true down to the detail, go watch the History Channel.

We need the images of horses, of all shapes and sizes, and all jobs and sports, in front of the public. And we don't need just the famous stars, we need the backyard horse stories too. This is good for ALL of the horse owners in this country. American is beginning to forget how horses have impacted our history and our lives. We need it all, and if it has to be Disney that does it successfully, we just do our best to make the story show the realism of horses, good and bad.