Author Archives: JW Equine

And Now for Something Completely Different…

I thought it might be time for a bit of levity (or just plain irreverence), so I am sharing a few previously published Mane Mare letters and responses.

Horse’s Mouth Video

DEAR MANE MARE,
What is lipstick and what is so darn funny about it? Every time I eat one of my favorite treats, all the people at the stable laugh at me and say it looks like I’m wearing lipstick. Don’t they know I have feelings? I’m not just any old grey gelding; I’m sensitive. Should I give up eating strawberries?
Baffled

DEAR BAFFLED,
Don’t take this the wrong way, but I must admit to having a bit of a chuckle myself when I read your letter. Lipstick, my dear, is the colored stuff women – and of course clowns – put on their lips. Women use it to make themselves more attractive even if they try to tell you it protects their lips from the sun and wind. With clowns it is part of the costume they use to entertain people. Either way, you should be delighted to have your favorite treat and make people laugh. A happy human is a much better thing to be around than an unhappy one.

DEAR MANE MARE,
I used to be a racehorse, but apparently I wasn’t good enough to stay with that career. The trainer sold me. (Gee I miss the groom I had there; she never made any demands on me.) For the past 4 years I have been ridden by a teenage girl, doing the canter and jump thing. All was going along rather well and life was easy. We were taking lessons from this nice lady and occasionally we all went to local shows. (I look pretty good with a ribbon in my bridle, if I do say so myself.) Well, now we take lessons from another lady and she is of the opinion that I can go further – and higher! I knew that from the beginning, but now they are intent on making me prove it by moving me from the hunter classes to the jumper classes. Now I’ve seen the size of some of those jumps when we have been to shows, and I’ve got to tell you, if I wanted to exert myself, I would have won a few races when I was younger. How do I discourage their plan? Ideas?

DEAR IDEAS,
Buck up! When approaching any fence you deem too high, too wide or a bit spooky, slide to a stop and buck. That ought to do it.

DEAR MANE MARE,
I know you usually answer questions from fancy show horses and personal saddle horses, but would you consider a question from a lowly lesson horse? If so, I would like to know how I can choose who rides me. Some of the student riders are a lot easier on me than others. Do I have a say in anything like this?
Gentle Ben

DEAR BEN,
Get a grip, lad. Just because you are a school horse doesn’t make you any less worthy than any other horse. If it weren’t for horses like you, just imagine what those fancy show horses would have to endure. You do all the teaching and they get all the credit. I say you can pick your riders in any way you see fit – kindness, affection, biting, bucking, whatever makes your preferences known. Be assertive.

DEAR MANE MARE,
My human wants to get on my back, but I buck her off. I don’t mean to be mean, but I don’t like it. What can I do to make my human happy and not sell me?!
Concerned

DEAR CONCERNED,
It seems to be a trend: humans want to ride their horses. Chances are if you don’t cooperate, you will be sold. Today’s horses are expendable. You will have to find some way of being invaluable if you really don’t want anyone on your back and you don’t want to change owners. Offer to clean your own stall, repair fences, do their homework, save children from wells…you get the idea.

Sharing

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I may regret doing this, but I’m willing to take the risk. Please don’t make me regret it!

What prompted this particular topic? I get a number of requests from people who want to know if/when I will be doing a clinic or seminar in their country or in their general region. Some of them ask to be placed on a contact list if I am coming to their part of the world, and some are even interested in organizing a clinic.

Unfortunately, one of the problems for organizers is knowing if there are enough interested people in their area to warrant a clinic. That is usually because the person inquiring about a clinic has a specialized interest when it comes to either discipline or breed. It could be that the dressage aficionado is unaware that there are several barrel racers nearby who are interested in attending a clinic. Maybe the Thoroughbred breeders are unaware of the number of Pony Clubbers in their horsey neighborhood. And so on.

I am neither breed nor discipline specific, even though I create specialized and audience-specific presentations. So…

What if there was a possibility of sharing resources and having more than one presentation in order to have them as audience-specific as desired?

If someone is interested in having me do a presentation near their locale, I could collect their contact information and, if they were willing to share that info, I could put them in touch with other interested participants or organizers close to them.

Maybe combining forces – and contacts – could mean the difference between actually having a clinic in your region and just wishing there was one.

Please let me know what you think of the general premise…gently.

And, if you are so inclined, kindly email me the following information:

Name:
Email:
Phone:
Location:
Distance willing to travel:
Disciplines/breeds:
Interest in organizing (alone or in combination):
Willingness to share this information with others in your area:

Thank you and I look forward to meeting more of you in person!

Clinic Testimonials

Pedigree Mode

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The last few weeks have seen me busy writing articles in pedigree mode.

First there were the World Cup Finals in Dressage and then Jumping. Then there was the Rolex Kentucky 3-day event. Then there was the Kentucky Derby. And then there was another 4* event: Badminton.

Yes, I went from dressage to jumping to eventing to racing and back to eventing in very short order.
(Note that some of the links below may ask for a log-in to Sporthorse-Data. It is free!)

The jumping finals saw Simon (Mr. Blue/Polydox) emerge victorious and his pedigree analysis will appear in Gaitpost under my column, Bold Bloodlines. I was surprised to find that our stallion, Hero’s Tribute, was related to a couple of the jumpers in the finals (Monterrey EJC and Flexible) since the Thoroughbred influence is usually European and further removed in jumpers.

Damon Hill (Donnerhall/Rubinstein I) won the finals in dressage and his pedigree analysis will also appear under Bold Bloodlines. As a son of Donnerhall, he was one of five horses in the top 10 descending from that powerhouse stallion. That is good news on a personal level as we are breeding a Hero’s Tribute daughter to a Donnerhall son this year.

Rolex once again proved that the Thoroughbred influence is still strong in the sport even though the winner did not have any close Thoroughbred ancestry. Again, on a personal note, it was great to see the horses related to our stallion: Calico Joe (3rd), Ballynoe Castle RM (4th), Donner (5th), Gin & Juice (7th), Pirate (12th), Ringwood Mississippi (13th), Parker (14th), The Deputy (18th), Daily Edition (19th), Syd Kent (20th), Houston (21st), Park Trader (22nd), Jumbo’s Jake (23rd), Ballylaffin Bracken (25th), Sal Dali (26th), No Boundaries (28th) and the final finisher, Irish Diamonds (29th). All relationships are within six generations, but some are fairly close up.

Even though he was a longshot, Falling Sky (Lion Heart/Sea Hero) earned his way into the Kentucky Derby field. And, although the sloppy conditions did not suit his front-running style, it was gratifying to see a relative of Hero’s Tribute (Sea Hero/Damascus) run in the big race, especially since Sea Hero actually won the 1993 Derby.

And then, while I was writing the Bold Bloodlines piece after Badminton, I was thrilled to find that the winner, Clifton Promise (Engagement/Cautious Style), was also related to our stallion. The sire of Cautious Style is a full brother to Hero’s Tribute’s second dam, Euryanthe. The siblings are by Nijinsky II and out of Quill by Princequillo. Clifton Promise and Hero’s Tribute are also related on other lines within their six-generation pedigrees.

And who said pedigree research was dull?

Hero’s Tribute

How to take photos for a Conformation Analysis

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It’s that time of year again… when my brain tries to hibernate. Not really, but I am kicking myself for not writing this particular post earlier.

Breeding season and the approach of the outdoor riding season correlate with an increase in requests for functional conformation analyses, and, in the online versions, the client provides the photos (sometimes supplemented with video).

What is needed to assure the most accurate assessment possible? Here’s a bit of a guide.

Photos

– One photo of each side taken with the lens aimed at the middle of the underline of the torso and the horse’s legs closest to camera furthest apart. The horse should be standing on a level surface.

– One rear view and one front view – both with the horse standing square.

– Sufficient light so that muscle development and skeletal points are clearly visible. There should not be a light source behind the horse. This is particularly important on dark-coated horses.

An example of a suitable photo to submit for an online conformation analysis.

An example of an unsuitable photo for conformation analysis.

Here are a few examples that can be downloaded and printed for reference:

Photos suitable for Conformation Analysis – suitable.pdf
Photos unsuitable for Conformation Analysis – unsuitable.pdf

Videos

– Short clips of upward and downward transitions plus over fences, if that is part of the expected use.

– Free movement (flat and/or jumping) is often more informative than under saddle work.

Tips

Ceci (www.imagesbyceci.com), a photographer friend, had a few useful suggestions to share.

– Allow enough time so that you can be patient, and be prepared. Be ready to shoot (zoom set, etc.) if horse happens into the right stance.

– Turn off the camera’s flash for two reasons: risk of scaring the horse and flatness to the photo.

– The best times of day to shoot are early morning or late afternoon – not high noon.

– Kneel or crouch if need be and hold the camera steady by keeping your elbows to your side and one hand under the camera. No holding the camera at arm’s length.

I hope this helps you.

P.S. Sometimes I have to settle for less than ideal stances when taking photos of top competition horses rather than annoy the people who have been kind enough to let me take photos.

Welcome

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Wow… my first foray into the blogosphere!

I asked for input from a few friends and colleagues and they all said I should talk a bit about myself, which is something I don’t really like doing. What if I start by saying that I am almost always on the horse’s side and that I realize that I may be misunderstood at times?

Oh, and one other thing you should probably know about me: I see the glass as half full, half empty and having the potential to be more of either depending on the next action or inaction…all at the same time. Maybe that is why people say I think outside the box, to which I reply, “What box?”

Some suggested that I give some insight into the types of things I intend to talk about in this blog. To some extent, I can do that. I will talk about places I have been, places I am going, observations I have made, conversations I have had, horses that I have encountered and anything else that strikes my fancy or catches my attention for one reason or another. And don’t be surprised if some of the topics (or takes on the topics) are a bit different or controversial.

Last month I was at Hilltop Farm in Maryland. Great place and very professionally run! What was I doing there? I was speaking at the US Eventing Association’s Future Event Horse educational seminar. I met some great people and think my presentation was well received.

Photos are courtesy Leslie Mintz of the USEA. Thanks Leslie!

Other things on my agenda? The usual: clinics and writing. Aside from the regular magazine articles, I started my next e-book while in Cuba. This one will be on the functional conformation of the western disciplines, focusing primarily on barrel racing, which is a departure since the last two books were on the Olympic disciplines – one on conformation and one on pedigree.

Whew! Blog #1 done and I’m still alive.