Really AQHA?

Apparently I'm on a video kick, cause here's another one.

Some genius AQHA judge said this horse was world champion quality and they proudly declared this on facebook:

2011 AQHA Yearling Stallions World Champion

I'm no professional show judge, but I would have DQ'd this horse immediately. Anyone else agree? Already lame at one year old and fat as a slaughter-bound pig to boost. Wanna place bets on this horse's future?

PS- is the lip chain really necessary? I thought the ideal quarter horse was supposed to be calm and easy to handle (Gwen notwithstanding). Even the stallions.

Edited to add a video of AQHA naming yet another lame horse world champion, this time the performance halter champion. This is even worse, horses are supposed to earn points under saddle to qualify for performance halter. Was this horse lame for all his under-saddle classes too? What is wrong with these judges?

Always remember...

It's about having fun!

For my fellow bitless fans

For your viewing pleasure.

Uta Graf riding Le Noir bitless:

Jaw flexions

As promised, here is some video of Coriander's jaw flexions.

Of course there are multiple ways to do this, I'm using this method because it directly translates to single rein riding  mechanics. This is my process: I put up a "tai-chi wall" with the rein, then I steady my hands while putting a little pressure on his mouth, and then I wait for him to give his jaw. When he gives the jaw I click and immediately drop the reins. The release is key, if you don't release the horse will just stiffen up and brace against you.

You can see right at the beginning of the first video where I should have clicked and released but didn't. Coriander certainly noticed, he gets a little grouchy when he knows he did something click-worthy and doesn't get clicked. Then he got totally distracted by the horses across the way- they're what he's staring at so intently. At one point I waited two minutes for him to relax his jaw. Lucky for you I didn't include that video, it's more boring than watching grass grow, but I did want to mention it to prove how patient you need to be sometimes to get a response from your horse.

Notice how his mane flips over to the right around his poll? His neck is crooked, he always carries his head a little to the left, which makes jaw flexions to the right a little more difficult for him. I'm considering getting a chiropractor out to look at him but I want to work on the jaw flexions a little longer before I do that. How cool would it be if they straightened his neck out?

Why videos of yourself are a good thing

My husband came out with me on Sunday to help me make a video for my dressage trainer. I guess Coriander had an issue with that because he booked away from me right after I put my saddle on his back. Fortunately he's really easy to catch as you can see here.

At first I thought this little video clip was just amusing, until I took a closer look at myself. Oy. I had no idea I was raising my arm while he ate his treat. See his reaction? Not pretty. If I hadn't seen that on video I'd have never known I was doing it. I'll be making a conscious effort from now on to avoid that.

This next video is a progress marker, this is what we look like now. He's pluggy and inverted and I lean forward and ride in a chair seat. I'm hoping that in a few months we'll look a bit better than this.

How about you? Do you try to get a video of yourself every once in a while to check your progress?

Extreme trail and other stuff

Does this look like fun or what? It's like a horse playground. (I recommend muting this)



Mark Bolender (the guy riding) built an entire facility devoted to extreme trail riding out in Oregon, find it here, the website claims that there are similar facilities all over the United States but darned if I can find where they are. If you live anywhere near this place, please go and tell me how it was so I can live vicariously.

I found another link through one of my list serves that is very enlightening, check out this page that shows you how to spot imbalances in your horse's hind feet. I did this with the Quarters and ended up running for my rasp. Yikes!

In other news, we got lucky here in central NY and missed most of this week's massive storm. I know many of you reading weren't nearly so lucky. Fortunately winter is almost over, the groundhog says so!

Tacking up is so stressful

My husband taped this without telling me, actually he told me he wasn't taping. You can see me halfway through giving him a suspicious glance.

Look at how tense Coriander is, how cold backed and girthy. Obviously being saddled is a huge issue for him...

Sarcasm doesn't always translate very well in type. I thought this video was funny, it demonstrates very clearly Coriander's motto "I'm just here for the food." Seriously, I can do almost anything to this horse if he's got a pile of hay in front of his face. I'm just making the right thing really, stinking easy.