Horseback Magazine November 2012

2 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE - November 2012 www.horsebackmagazine.com

www.horsebackmagazine.com November 2012 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 3

* $0 down, 0% A.P.R. nancing for terms up to 60 months on purchases of select new Kubota ZG, ZD, ZP, BX, B, L, M and TLB Series from available inventory at participating dealers. “No payments until April 2013” does not mean any payments are waived. Contract balance will spread over the remaining months in the term following the deferral period, and payments will vary depending on contract start date. Example: A 60-month contract term at 0% A.P.R. will require between 54-55 payments ranging from a minimum of $18.18 to a maximummaximum of $18.52 per $1,000 borrowed. 0% A.P.R. interest is available to customers if no dealer documentation preparation fee is charged. Dealer charge for document preparation fee shall be in accordance with state laws. Only select Kubota and select Kubota performance-matched Land Pride equipment is eligible. Inclusion of ineligible equipment may result in a higher blended A.P.R. Not available for Rental, National Accounts or Governmental customer. 0% A.P.R. and low rate nancing may not be available with customer instant rebate ((C.I.R.) offers. Financing is available through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A., 3401 Del Amo Blvd., Torance, Ca 90503; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. See us for details on these and other low-rate options or go to www.kubota.com for more information.


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©2012 Cargill, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.©2012 Cargill, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

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• added lysine for muscle maintenance and health• biotin to help support hair coat and hoof quality• added vitamins and minerals for balanced nutrition

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•• added vitamins and minerals for balanced nutrition added vitamins and minerals for balanced nutrition

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©2012 Cargill, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.©2012 Cargill, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

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6 HORSEBACK MAGAZINE - November 2012 www.horsebackmagazine.comTriple Crown® is a registered trademark of Triple Crown Nutrition Inc., Wayzata, MN.

SOONER OR LATER, EVERYONE HAS A MIDLIFE CRISIS.

Keep your horses looking and acting young with Triple Crown® Senior, the senior feed recommended

by veterinarians. The quality starts with the fiber. Triple Crown was the first senior feed to use shredded

beet pulp as the primary fiber source. It also provides the highest fat level—10%—of any senior feed on

the market, in addition to more nutrients designed to enhance digestion: organic minerals (including

recently FDA-approved organic selenium), probiotics, yeast cultures and digestive enzymes. For more

information, visit www.triplecrownfeed.com or call 800-451-9916.

TCN_4826_Senior #3_8.88x11.375_4C.indd 1 10/15/12 11:01 AM

www.horsebackmagazine.com November 2012 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 7Triple Crown® is a registered trademark of Triple Crown Nutrition Inc., Wayzata, MN.

SOONER OR LATER, EVERYONE HAS A MIDLIFE CRISIS.

Keep your horses looking and acting young with Triple Crown® Senior, the senior feed recommended

by veterinarians. The quality starts with the fiber. Triple Crown was the first senior feed to use shredded

beet pulp as the primary fiber source. It also provides the highest fat level—10%—of any senior feed on

the market, in addition to more nutrients designed to enhance digestion: organic minerals (including

recently FDA-approved organic selenium), probiotics, yeast cultures and digestive enzymes. For more

information, visit www.triplecrownfeed.com or call 800-451-9916.

TCN_4826_Senior #3_8.88x11.375_4C.indd 1 10/15/12 11:01 AM

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10 Horse Bites

14 Parelli

16 Dream BiG & Believe - Kelly Kaminski

36 Whole horsemansiP - Dianne Lindig

38 TACK TALK - Lew Pewterbaugh

40 on the enGlish Front - Cathy Strobel

42 horse sense - Dr. Jessica Jahiel 44 the CoWBoy Way- Corey Johnson

46 COWBOY CORNER - Jim Hubbard

PUBLISHERVicki Long

EDITORSteven Long

NATIONAL NEWS EDITORCarrie Gobernatz

LIFESTYLE EDITORMargaret Pirtle832-349-1427

[email protected]

EVENTS EDITOR Leslie Greco

ADVERTISING OFFICESCORPORATE OFFICE281-447-0772 281-591-1519 [email protected]

BRAZOS VALUE BUREAUDiane Holt936-878-2678 Ranch713-408-8114 [email protected]

GULF COAST BUREAUCarol Holloway832-607-8264 [email protected] [email protected]

Volume 20, No. 11 Horseback Magazine, P.O. Box 681397, Houston, TX 77268-1397, (281) 447-0772. The entire contents of the magazine are copyrighted November 2012 by Horseback Magazine. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Horseback Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and other material unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Horseback Magazine is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or management. Subscription rate is $25.00 for one year.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Horseback Magazine, P.O. Box 681397, Houston, TX 77268-1397. Fax: (281) 893-1029

Email: [email protected] Phone: (281) 447-0772

November 2012FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

We are moving into our most exciting time of year as horse shows spotlight the very best and most beautiful horses and riders from across the globe. Rodeo goes into four glorious months with the NFR, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Denver, Houston, and Austin. And at least down south, we enjoy year round riding for most of the winter..January will be a very special time for us around the Horseback offices. It was 20 years ago that the predecessor publications, Horse

Talk, and Texas Horse Talk, opened the doors for what you will be reading soon, the 2013 editions of Horseback Magazine. Nobody ever said it would be easy, and it darned sure hasn’t been. The difficulty of bringing fresh, provocative, and even innovative journalism to the horse world has been nothing short of revolutionary. Simply stated, we do stories that others won’t touch – and we do that as a matter of routine. It shows. While we remain relatively small, we are now in four states and can boast close to 70,000 readers. Horseback Online is another matter altogether. Not only do our readers get a digital version of the print magazine, but they can read a daily newspaper crafted exclusively for the horse world. We are well on our way to 260,000 unique visitors on www.horsebackmagazine.com. Whew! The paper is created from scratch and is ready for our readers by 11 P.M. CST each and every day. So we just thought it was about time to say thanks to the folks whose hands on work make Horseback possible. It’s their passion for quality that makes us the fastest growing horse publication on the continent. Thank you: Shweiki Media, our printer, Carol Hollaway, Diane Holt, Margaret Pirtle, Crystal Shell, and Mari Crabtree, our independent sales team. Our stalwart writers are Cathy Strobel, with us from the beginning, Jessica Jahiel, Pat Parelli, Kelley Kaminski, Lew Pewterbaugh, Diane Lindig, Jim Hubbard, and Cory Johnson. Also thanks to our calendar editor, Leslie Greco, and our New Mexico Distributor Laurie Hammer. An incredible help to us is our Chicago based National Editor, Cary Gobernatz, who rides heard on national news on the wires 365 days a year. Finally, there is a very special person we want to think who contributes in so many unseen ways. Vicki’s sister, Roni Nordquist has been there with us from the beginning. We don’t know what we would do without her.Come January when the calendar rolls over and Horseback turns 20, we don’t know how we are going to celebrate, but you can bet on one thing. It will be on the back of a horse. Steve and Vicki

By Steven Long

staFF

Cover Story: 20 The Sport of Bings & Del Mar - Steven Long

Lifestyle Feature:32 The King of Bling - Steven Long

Heading Towards Our 20th!

NORTH TEXASMari [email protected]

NEW MEXICO BUREAU Laurie Hammer505-315-7842 [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJim Hubbard, Steven Long, Vicki Long, Dianne Lindig, Roni Norquist, Pat Parelli, Lew Pewterbaugh, Cothy Strobel, Dr. Jessica Jahiel, Cory Johnson, Margaret Pirtle

Special Sections:28 Holiday Gift Guide

On the Cover:Mr. Bing Crosby during the 1930’s.

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Texas Thoroughbred Racing Sees New Stakes Races

NEW $400,000 HOUSTON LADIES CLASSIC TOPS $1.7 MILLION SHRP STAKES PROGRAM

Kudos to Andrea Young,presidentofSamHoustonRacePark,and Eric Johnston, vice president ofracing,forthinkingoutoftheboxandmaking an effort to put the track inthe national limelight in late January,atimebetweentheBreeders’CupandTripleCrown,wheninterestinracingisrelativelydormant. Theyhavedonesobycreatinga major new stakes, the $400,000HoustonLadiesClassicat11/16miles

forfilliesandmaresonJanuary26tobe the centerpiece of the 4-stakesConnally Racing Festival. Thestellar card will include the renewalof the Grade3 $200,000Connally TurfCup at 1 1/8miles, plus twos u p p o r t i n gsprintstakes,the$75,000ChampionEnergyServicesat five furlongs on turf and the$50,000Allen’sLandingStakesatsixfurlongsonthemaintrack.

The debut of the $400,000Houston Ladies Classic, the richestrace in the track’s history, has caughtboth national and local televisioninterest. Young has advised thatnegotiations are close to beingfinalizedwithHRTVandFoxSportsinHoustontotelevisetheLadiesandConnallyliveonJanuary26. The Connally Racing Festivalwill include a fund-raising eventto benefit the Houston affiliate ofthe Susan G. Komen for the CureFoundation. SamHoustonofficialsarealsointroducing a “Ship Assist Program”toencourageownersshippingafillyormarefortheLadiesClassictoalsobring

“Horse Bites is compiled from Press Releases sent to Horseback Magazine. Original reporting is done as circumstances warrant.

Content is edited for length & style.”

oneormorehorsesfortheotherthreestakesonthecard.ForanyownerwithastarterintheLadiesandatleastoneother horse in one of the other three

stakes, SHRP willwaive the owner’soriginal pre-entryfee or $2,000of the $10,000s u p p l e m e n t a lnominationfee.

The restructured stakesprogramistherichestintrackhistory,totaling $1.7 million. The scheduleincludes one or more stakes everySaturdaynight,withmultiplestakesonsixofthenineSaturdayprogramsplusthree stakes to kick off the season onopening night, Friday, January 18, tostartTexasChampionsWeekend.Fourmore stakes for Texas-breds headlinethenextcardonSaturday,January19. TexasStallionStakesWeekendfinds the Jim’s Orbit and TwoAltazano, both $75,000-guaranteedstakes for Texas-sired runners, beingrenewedatonemileonanightwhenTexas Thoroughbred Association willbeholdingitsAnnualAwardsBanquethonoring the owners and breeders ofthe 2012 Texas Champions of eachdivision and the Texas Horse of theYear.

Texas Thoroughbred Racing Sees New Stakes Races

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Horse Bites - Con’t. on pg. 18

Makeover Founder Hailed by Cowtown Business Press

TheFortWorthBusinessPresshas named Patti Colbert of Bertram,

Texas, as the 2012 recipient of theLegacy Award. Colbert was honoredat the Great Women of Texas AwardCeremonyattheFortWorthClubonNovember7. Each year the Fort WorthBusiness Press honors several womenfromtheareaandaroundthestateasGreatWomenofTexas.Thenominatedwomenhavemadegreatcontributionsto the community, either throughtheir business skills, philanthropy or

other avenues that contribute to FortWorth,TarrantCountyandTexas. Colbert is the executivedirector of the Mustang HeritageFoundation and a member of theNationalCowgirlHallofFameboardof directors. She is credited withcreating the concept for the popularExtremeMustangMakeoversthathaverevolutionized wild horse adoptions.ShealsohelpedtocreatetheCowgirlHall of Fame’s popular Cowgirl U

The 1 1/8-mile $100,000MAXXAM Gold Cup heads theMarch2programwiththree$50,000supportingstakes.

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FEED YOUR HORSE’S LIFESTYLE, NOT ITS AGE.NOW THERE’S NUTRITION FOR EVERY STAGE OF SENIOR.

They may be the same age, but their nutritional needs couldn’t be any more different. After all, walking around the pasture takes a different amount of energy than running around it. That’s why we’ve developed two distinctive senior feeds, based on more than 17 years of Purina senior equine nutrition research: Equine Senior® Active Healthy Edge® for active aging horses with good dental and digestive health, and Equine Senior®—the most vet recommended senior horse feed*— for horses with problems chewing and digesting.

To learn more about managing your senior horse’s nutritional needs, visit activestill.com.*Recommended by 4 out of 5 veterinarians.

Join the Purina DifferenceRewards Program at purinamills.com/rewards. Receive coupons, E-newsletters, information on contests, promotions and more!

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Horseback_Senior_October2012_ 8.75x11.25.pdf 1 9/12/12 3:16 PM

DEALER NAME CITY STATE WEBSITE EMAIL ADDRESS PHONE NUMBER

Steinhauser's Alvin TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (281) 388-0388

Angleton Feed & Supply Angleton TX www.damonfarmandranch.com [email protected] (979) 849-6661

Arcola Feed & Hardware Arcola TX www.arcolafeed.com [email protected] (281) 431-1014

The Feed Station Austin TX www.jensfeedstation.com [email protected] (512) 301-7788

Bandera Ranch Store Bandera TX www.theranchstore.com [email protected] (830) 796-3342

Bastrop Feed & Supply Bastrop TX www.bastropfeed.com [email protected] (512) 321-3700

Moore's Feed and More Blanco TX (830) 833-1651

Wheeler's Feed & Out�tters Boerne TX www.wheelersfeed.com [email protected] (830) 249-2656

Steinhauser's Brookshire TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (281) 934-2479

AG Mart Brownwood TX www.agmart.com [email protected] (325) 643-3636

Clifton Feed Clifton TX www.cliftonfeed.com [email protected] (254) 675-3416

Conroe Feeders Supply Conroe TX www.feederssupplycompanies.com [email protected] (936) 756-5549

J & D Country Store Conroe TX (936) 756-7667

Damon Farm & Ranch Damon TX www.damonfarmandranch.com [email protected] (979) 742-3317

Chachere Feed Store Dayton TX www.chacherefeed.com [email protected] (936) 258-2670

Stockman Seed Feed and Fertilizer DeLeon TX [email protected] (254) 893-5149

Gulf Coast Equine & Pet Center Friendswood TX www.gulfcoastequinepet.com [email protected] (281) 482-7186

Ranchland Country Store Feed Goldthwaite TX [email protected] (325) 648-2741and Fertilizer

Maci Feed & Supply Hardin TX [email protected] (936) 298-9404

Steinhauser's Hempstead TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (979) 826-3273

Cypress Ace Hardware Houston TX www.cypressace.com [email protected] (281) 591-2443

Hieden Feed & Supply Houston TX (281) 444-1010

Sam Houston Feed & Supply Inc. Houston TX [email protected] (281) 591-2443

Herrmann Feed and Supply Lampasas TX [email protected] (512) 556-5212

Livingston Feed & Farm Supply Livingston TX [email protected] (936) 327-8853

Spring Creek Feed Center Magnolia TX www.springcreekfeed.net [email protected] (281) 252-5400

Steinhauser's Magnolia TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (281) 356-2530

Needville Feed & Supply Needville TX www.needvillefeedandsupply.com [email protected] (979) 793-6141

Steinhauser's Richmond TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (832) 595-9500

Fort Bend Feed & Farm Supply Rosenberg TX (281) 342-2452

Tibaldo's Feed & Supply Santa Fe TX [email protected] (409) 925-2735

Steinhauser's Sealy TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (979) 885-2967

D & D Feed & Supply Tomball TX [email protected] (281) 351-7144

Haney Feed & Farm Supply Waller TX www.haneyfeed.com [email protected] (936) 372-3652

King Feed & Hardware Wimberley TX www.kingfeedandhardware.com [email protected] (512) 847-2618

To find a Purina dealer near you, visit:horse.purinamills.com

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FEED YOUR HORSE’S LIFESTYLE, NOT ITS AGE.NOW THERE’S NUTRITION FOR EVERY STAGE OF SENIOR.

They may be the same age, but their nutritional needs couldn’t be any more different. After all, walking around the pasture takes a different amount of energy than running around it. That’s why we’ve developed two distinctive senior feeds, based on more than 17 years of Purina senior equine nutrition research: Equine Senior® Active Healthy Edge® for active aging horses with good dental and digestive health, and Equine Senior®—the most vet recommended senior horse feed*— for horses with problems chewing and digesting.

To learn more about managing your senior horse’s nutritional needs, visit activestill.com.*Recommended by 4 out of 5 veterinarians.

Join the Purina DifferenceRewards Program at purinamills.com/rewards. Receive coupons, E-newsletters, information on contests, promotions and more!

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DEALER NAME CITY STATE WEBSITE EMAIL ADDRESS PHONE NUMBER

Steinhauser's Alvin TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (281) 388-0388

Angleton Feed & Supply Angleton TX www.damonfarmandranch.com [email protected] (979) 849-6661

Arcola Feed & Hardware Arcola TX www.arcolafeed.com [email protected] (281) 431-1014

The Feed Station Austin TX www.jensfeedstation.com [email protected] (512) 301-7788

Bandera Ranch Store Bandera TX www.theranchstore.com [email protected] (830) 796-3342

Bastrop Feed & Supply Bastrop TX www.bastropfeed.com [email protected] (512) 321-3700

Moore's Feed and More Blanco TX (830) 833-1651

Wheeler's Feed & Out�tters Boerne TX www.wheelersfeed.com [email protected] (830) 249-2656

Steinhauser's Brookshire TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (281) 934-2479

AG Mart Brownwood TX www.agmart.com [email protected] (325) 643-3636

Clifton Feed Clifton TX www.cliftonfeed.com [email protected] (254) 675-3416

Conroe Feeders Supply Conroe TX www.feederssupplycompanies.com [email protected] (936) 756-5549

J & D Country Store Conroe TX (936) 756-7667

Damon Farm & Ranch Damon TX www.damonfarmandranch.com [email protected] (979) 742-3317

Chachere Feed Store Dayton TX www.chacherefeed.com [email protected] (936) 258-2670

Stockman Seed Feed and Fertilizer DeLeon TX [email protected] (254) 893-5149

Gulf Coast Equine & Pet Center Friendswood TX www.gulfcoastequinepet.com [email protected] (281) 482-7186

Ranchland Country Store Feed Goldthwaite TX [email protected] (325) 648-2741and Fertilizer

Maci Feed & Supply Hardin TX [email protected] (936) 298-9404

Steinhauser's Hempstead TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (979) 826-3273

Cypress Ace Hardware Houston TX www.cypressace.com [email protected] (281) 591-2443

Hieden Feed & Supply Houston TX (281) 444-1010

Sam Houston Feed & Supply Inc. Houston TX [email protected] (281) 591-2443

Herrmann Feed and Supply Lampasas TX [email protected] (512) 556-5212

Livingston Feed & Farm Supply Livingston TX [email protected] (936) 327-8853

Spring Creek Feed Center Magnolia TX www.springcreekfeed.net [email protected] (281) 252-5400

Steinhauser's Magnolia TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (281) 356-2530

Needville Feed & Supply Needville TX www.needvillefeedandsupply.com [email protected] (979) 793-6141

Steinhauser's Richmond TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (832) 595-9500

Fort Bend Feed & Farm Supply Rosenberg TX (281) 342-2452

Tibaldo's Feed & Supply Santa Fe TX [email protected] (409) 925-2735

Steinhauser's Sealy TX www.steinhausers.com [email protected] (979) 885-2967

D & D Feed & Supply Tomball TX [email protected] (281) 351-7144

Haney Feed & Farm Supply Waller TX www.haneyfeed.com [email protected] (936) 372-3652

King Feed & Hardware Wimberley TX www.kingfeedandhardware.com [email protected] (512) 847-2618

To find a Purina dealer near you, visit:horse.purinamills.com

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HORSEBACK MAGAZINE: It’smaddeningwhenyouhaveahorsetiedtoahitchingringandallofasudden,hegetsthatcrazedlookinhiseyeandpullsbackinsheerterror,sittingdownonhishaunchesputtingathousandpoundsofpressureonthepost,ring,andrope.I’vehadhorsesstraightenoutperfectly round stainless steel rings, breakhalters, tear ropes, and even pull boardsoffof fences inorder togetaway.Areaderapparently suffered the same problem andwantstoknowhowtofixit,theParelliway.PAT PARFELLI: To the human brain wethinkthisbehaviorisillogical.Allofasuddenheisstandingthereandthenhestartstopull

“Remember, The Horse is a Prey Animal”

By Pat Parelli with Steven Longback.Firstofall,wemustrememberthatthehorseisapreyanimal.Theyarebornskeptics, cowards, claustrophobic andp a n i c - a h o l i c s .They pull back,jump forward,and again pullback, somethingbreaks and theyflip over on theirback. Peoplehavegottenhurt.We all knowthe trauma andthe danger. I,myself, when Iwas 19-years-oldwastyingahorseatarodeoandthehorse pulled back.I was tying herwithabowlineknot forsomebodyand

a boy spooked her and she took most ofafencewiththerope.Soweallknowtheramificationsofahorsethatwillpullback.

H OR SE BAC K :So what is theb a c k g r o u n dof this trait in“horsenality?”PARELLI: Justremember, you aretyingapreyanimal.Again,neverforgetthat it’s a coward,c l aus tro p h o b i c ,andapanic-aholic.What we haveto realize is whatnature puts inside

of a horse’s DNAis the response thatsays whenever you

feelsomethingapplypressuresuddenlyyou

“Horses tend to be Panic-aholics”

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pushagainstit.Youreactagainstitsoyoucansurvive.Thisisasurvivalmechanism.Overthelastfewgeneration,humanshavebredthepreyanimalinstinctsoutofsomeofthem.Throughgeneticengineeringweoften breed one gentle horse to anothergentlehorseresultinginyetanothergentlehorse – we breed a fast horse to anotherfast horse sometimes resulting in a fasterhorse.HORSEBACK: Sothisbadbehaviorcanbebredoutofthem?PARELLI: We can make them tractableand trainable and make that bred intothem. This is one thing we learn, and

we know that some horses may bemore claustrophobic. The real trick isconfidence,andtheabilitytosortthroughsituations.HORSEBACK:Andthosewhocan’t?PARELLI: Here’s what I would suggest.Numberone,Iwouldworkonmyhorse’sconfidence. Secondly, I would teach itto learn how to figure out the puzzle bythought. The exercise I would suggest istotrainahorsearoundlotsofthingsthatmovesuchastarps,biggreenballs,astickwithabagonit,anythingyoucanthinkofthatisgoingtohelpyourhorsebecomemore confident because he is exposed to

thingshenormallywouldn’tbe. Also, most horses that pull backreallydon’tfollowthehalterandleadropewell.Iwouldteachthemtobackupabout20feet,andthenIwouldturnaroundandhavethemfollowme.Again,backupthehorsebecauseeverytimehebacksuphe’sresponding the halter. It becomes a coolthing.Next,Iwouldasksomeonetofindan umbrella to open and close it whileI’m asking the horse to come to me onthehalter.Thesearethingstheycanthinktheir way through and feel rather thanreact.

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You are heading to the competition, driving the truck, mentally going over the list of what should be in the trailer,

(besides your horse!) and your stomach hurts, you have shallow breaths and feel like snapping at everyone around you because you are trying to stay focused. After arriving at the arena, you nervously saddle your horse, get on to warm up and everything seems to be making you grumpy and your horse jumpy. The music is wrong, the parking

is crazy, your neighbor brought a dog that won’t stop barking or they have a few kids hanging around running and screaming while you try to keep your horse quiet. Mounting up, you head toward the warm up area, then on to the arena to wait your turn. You can’t seem to concentrate and your name

is called. Making your way down the alley you are in such a state mentally, you most likely are not going to win. Years ago, I attended a personal growth seminar. I sometimes will go back and coach others to help them and to remind me what tools for life I may have forgotten. One such tool is “changing your state of mind.” I’m going to use this for the purpose of competing. We all get nervous or have the adrenaline rush of nerves before we make our competition. That is normal. It

means you care about how you and your horse perform. You put a lot of time, energy and money into your sport and should try to make everything count. Sometimes it could be a new horse, or dealing with a trauma from a previous competition, or a young horse that is green, etc. Whatever the case may be, you have to focus. Most of us are worried about embarrassing ourselves in front of our peers or competition. Here’s a piece of advice, get over it. You cannot take yourself too seriously. You should be as prepared as you can be, but it’s supposed to be fun, not make you sick! Take deep breaths and hold them in then letting out slowly. Focus by making your competition run in your head. You can’t worry about Betty Barrel Racer or Randy the Handy Roper who seem to win everything. You can only concentrate on yourself and your horse. Haul or hang around with folks

“Changing Your State of Mind”


that really care about you, not play the “one up” game. Those folks will drive you crazy and pretty soon you feel “less than” when you are near them. It’s always about them, which is something to remember when you have a conflict with someone else or they don’t like you for whatever reasons. It’s about them, not about you. Don’t give your power away. Listen to music that will pump you up or calm your nerves. Move your body, keep it in motion so that you don’t freeze up for competition, in other words, stay loose. I will do jumping jacks at times. Your horse feels your nerves as well. While you are focusing, think of a time when you were victorious and remember that feeling, then use your power move at the same time. My power move is putting my fist up and yelling “YES!” If you have ever attended a sporting event with me, you have seen this move. One of my favorite victorious moments came during the 2004 NFR. It was round 10 and all we had to do was make a clean run to win the World Championship. First, I was a bundle of

nerves that morning as we packed and got ready to leave after the rodeo. I clean when I am upset, nervous or trying to focus, so the trailer and truck were spotless! I always pin my number on my shirt so I don’t forget when I’m getting dressed. I went through the Grand Entry and warm up without knowing I was missing my back number, which could be a disqualification if not wearing it to compete. We were standing in the holding alley ready to compete, when I heard one of the girls yell to me that I didn’t have my number. Luckily Jerry was back in the warm up area and started running back to the trailer. Someone gave him a ride on a golf cart and he made it back before I was to run. We were moving down each time someone entered to make their run. Three people were in front of me now and Jerry made it to me and was desperately trying to safety pin my number on. I focused on my breathing trying not to panic or feel the pins as he stuck me several times. I’m sure I had blood running down my back. Finally, it was on and I asked Rocky to move up and it was our turn. We came down the alley to the roar of Bob Tallman’s voice introducing us, the theme

hB

Kelly Kaminski has twice won the WPRA World Barrel Racing Championship, and has

also won the Reserve Championship twice at the National Finals Rodeo. This great

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to the movie, “Rocky” was playing and all I heard from Bob was, “Rockem Sockem Go! Go Rocky!” We took off and were around the first clean, I was encouraging Rocky to keep going , we rounded the second barrel and on to the third where I told him I loved him and we did it! We won the World! I don’t remember fist pumping and yelling on the way out of the arena, but it is there on the video. When I get nervous, that is one of the runs or the times that I felt successful. I focus on everything that was in my power and block everything else out. Now you take your moment and make it work for you! You can do it, I believe in you!


program and has long been an advocate for many horse-relatednon-profitorganizationssuchastheRideonCenterforKids(R.O.C.K)inGeorgetown,Texas. Astheexecutivedirectorof theMustangHeritageFoundation, Colbert has helped the organization inadoptingmorethan3,500ofAmerica’s iconicwildhorses.Always a supporter of America’s next generation, Colbertoftenhostsrides,campsandothereventsforyouthgroupsat Colbert Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. She has alsohosted events for veterans and their families at the ranch,which also offers programs for juvenile detainees andhorsebackridingexperiencesforthepublic. With more than 45,000 American Mustangswaiting to be adopted in BLM facilities, the MustangHeritage Foundation is stepping up its efforts to helpthese American legends find adoptive homes. Since thefirstExtremeMustangMakeovereventwasheldin2007,the Mustang Heritage Foundation has facilitated theadoptionsofmorethan3,500gentledAmericanMustangs.TheFoundationinpartnershipwiththeBureauofLandManagement continues to increase its efforts to raiseawarenessofAmerica’sMustangs.Formore information,visitwww.mustangheritagefoundation.org.

Horse Bites - Con’t. from pg. 11

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BING CROSBY& The Horseman’s Playground

The Sport of “Bings”


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An anniversary of some significance passed quietly this past spring. Seventy years ago,

superstar crooner Bing Crosby walked into a recording studio, stood before the John Scott Trotter Orches t ra and the K e n D a r b y Singers a n d m a d e history in 18 minutes flat. In those brief m o m e n t s he recorded the most beloved and largest selling single record of all time, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. While Crosby will forever be remembered for his music, his horsemanship and love of racing were almost immediately forgotten after his death in 1977 but had equal prominence for him while he lived. Yet his love of a good horse race is remembered to this day at a sun drenched stretch of turf next to the Pacific Ocean. It is called, Del Mar.

Crosby would host children from an orphan’s home at

his Rancho Santa Fe Residence nearby Del Mar


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Be f o r e E l v i s , before the Beatles, and before Michael Jackson,

there was a superstar. His name was Bing Crosby, and from 1934 until his death, the crooner’s popularity,( according to polls), out did baseball star Jackie Robinson and even the Pope in Rome. And with that popularity came immense wealth from personal appearances, movies, and above all records. During the 1930s, horse racing was also immensely popular, rivaling baseball as the national pastime. Many Hollywood stars made the plunge into the sport of kings. Crosby and his pals were no exception. When the crooner moved his family to the San Diego area, local civic boosters, knowing his love of horse racing, quietly suggested he contribute toward putting on a meet at the fairgrounds being constructed

on the shores of the Pacific just north of the city. The crooner jumped at the chance and summoned film buddies Pat O’Brien and Oliver Hardy to a meeting at the Burbank studio of Warner Brothers and the Del Mar Turf Club as born with Crosby as president. Other stars at the initial organizational meeting included Joe E. Brown and Gary Cooper. The track was to be built as a Works Progress Administration project (WPA), but soon funds dwindled and Crosby and O’Brien borrowed against their life insurance to finish the project. Del Mar was born, and the boys had a place to play. The legendary track opened its gates July 3, 1937. With the crooner’s typical casual bravado, Crosby was at the front gate with his movie star pal Pat O’Brien to greet his first patrons for

the 22 day meet. In fact, some of Del Mar’s paint was still wet as the opening day crowd of 15,000 streamed into the building of architecture patterned after some of California’s Spanish missions. At 2:24 PM horses charged out of the gate and racing was underway. A two-year-old gelding, owned by Crosby himself won, it’s name was High Strike and it was piloted by jockey Jackie Burrill. The following day the crowd surged to 18,000 with bets totaling a quarter million. Racing at Del Mar settled into a slow paced casual atmosphere, a reward that required a 100 mile trip by train or over rough roads from Los Angeles. The atmosphere was more refined than at other tracks in California and across the country prompting one wag to state its patrons “…liked something a little classier than a crap

Bing Crosby, President of Del Mar with pal and Vice President, Pat O’Brien, set a tone and style for the track in the early days.


game.” That tony atmosphere has never left. That atmosphere included trainers working their horses on a nearby beach with the unlikely claim that the salt water was good for the horse’s legs. Crosby, O’Brien, and their families were regular fixtures at the track. And their activities weren’t limited to betting on horses. Bing loved to ride as well. And then there were the stars. Hollywood legends were regulars at the track and Del Mar press conferences would feature such luminaries as Jimmy Durante, who lore has it, would dismantle a trick piano as part of his act. But at one such party, “The Schnoz” forgot to bring the bogus piano and dismantled an upright owned by the bar. Del Mar happily reimbursed. More often than not Durante,

like Crosby pal W.C. Fields, was immersed in the Daily Racing Form planning the wager for the next race. Alcohol flowed freely. San Diego Sun reporter recalled the pre-opening press party vividly in the track’s commemorative book, Del Mar – It’s Life and Good Times. “I walked around with a hangover for two days.” In the early days of the track, Crosby often closed the days racing and singing with John Scott Trotter’s band late into the night. Del Mar press parties were more like a Fryer’s Club Roast with legendary toastmaster George Jessel at the microphone. It was a grand time, worthy of a Busby Berkley musical in its own right as Hollywood royalty, all racing fans and friends of Bing and O’Brien converged on the track. Then,

Del Mar was feted with the likes of Al Jolson, Pat O’Brien, Danny Thomas, the Ritz Brothers, Tony Martin, Donald O’connor, and even Bob Hope when the comedian paired with the crooner to make their historic “Road” movies – sometimes all of them were at the track at the same time. Legend has it that Al Jolson, then the biggest star in Hollywood, let Pat O’Brien get under his skin. The big Irishman was riding high in Hollywood after starring in his memorable 1940 film, “Knute Rockne All American”, with Ronald Reagan, and needled Jolson about his age. The legendary hoofer finally had enough and tore a tablecloth off a setting of china and crystal. Paraphrasing his line from The Jazz Singer (the first sound spoken in talking pictures), the sometime black minstrel performer shouted, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” as elegant glasses and plates went flying. He then jumped the 28 inches (standard table height) from a standing position onto the surface and started to tap dance. (The actual line that changed movie history was “You ain’t heard nothing yet) Bing, the impresario, was a savvy marketer. He knew stars would draw the sophisticated Los Angeles gamblers to his track in the sleepy town of San Diego which was just a stone’s throw from the Mexican border.And the stars kept coming as the years went by. On any weekend patrons could see the likes of glamorous Ava Gardner, or Hoagy Carmichael, composer of the beloved “Stardust” pouring over the form or dining in the restaurant next to the likes of Walt Disney or a young television star and her husband, Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnez. Crosby, a natural at packaging and promotion, hosted the Kraft Music Hall for NBC. It was the nation’s number one program on radio, so using that clout, he persuaded the network to allow him to do a half hour from the track on Saturday mornings as he wandered around asking startled patrons tricky racing questions such as “How high is a hand?” At the end of each program he would retire to the Jockey Club where he crooned a couple of numbers with his velvet baritone voice.

Crosby with his horse “High Strike” winning on opening day of Del Mar in 1937.

Crosby - Con’t. on pg. 26


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www.horsebackmagazine.com November 2012 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 25 www.horsebackmagazine.com September 2012 - HORSEBACK MAGAZINE 51

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The 1930s – 50s were a much more formal time, and patrons

“dressed up” to go to the track more than we see today at a horse racing venue. Women, especially movie stars such as June Haver and dancer Ann Miller, wore their Sunday best to Del Mar, ever ready for the paparazzi, a presence even in those long ago days. A trip to San Diego might bring in some much needed revenue for a photographer if he caught a photo of Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper, Paulette Goddard, or Edward G. Robinson, all frequent patrons in the club house. The actor and actual gangster George Raft once escorted celebrity columnist Louella Parsons across the track to the infield, the photo was naturally caught

by Hollywood photo journalists. The Del Mar archives show pix of Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Swanson willingly posing and holding roses for a would-be winner. By 1938 Del Mar was becoming well established but Crosby wanted more for his track, the lure of a superstar horse in a match race. A horse owned by Del Mar partner Charles S. Howard fit the bill. He would bring Seabiscuit to the track by the sea “where the surf meets the turf,” as the venue’s theme song proclaimed. Crosby had bought a South American horse named Ligaroti in partnership with Lin Howard, son of Seabiscuit’s owner. The Argentine distance runner “The Biscuit” who had won 29 of 79 races over a four

year period and had twice lost the Santa Anita Handicap by a nose. Del Mar general manager, Bill Quigley, proposed a match race between the elder Howard’s Seabiscuit and Crosby’s horse, Ligaroti with a purse of $25,000, a staggering sum during the late Depression. The race would cover a mile and an eighth. Seabiscuit was assigned the weight of 130 pounds with legendary jockey, George Woolf aboard, while Ligaroti carried 115 pounds with Noel (Spec) Richardson guiding the Crosby horse into the clubhouse turn and down the stretch. When the race day, Friday, August 12, came the stands were full and the match race was carried live on the radio before a national audience. At the mike were two veteran broadcasters and owners of Del Mar, Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien announcing the race from the roof of the grandstand.

High Strike, a 2 year old Gelding, Owned by Crosby, won the first race on Del Mar’s Opening Day

Del Mar and surrounding countryside from the southeast view.

Del Mar’s arichitecture favored the popular California Mission Style.


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Breaking from the gate, Seabiscuit came out first and was ahead of Ligaroti by a length at the first turn but the game Argentine Thoroughbred immediately

rallied and drew within a head of The Biscuit all the way around the track and into the clubhouse turn. At the stretch, Woolf and Richardson

went to war!

“That was as rough a race as I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” track announcer Oscar Otis remembered later. “They were hitting themselves over the head with their whips and Richardson had Woolf in a leg lock. ‘Never seen so much trouble in one race and there was a hell of a stink about it.”

Seabiscuit won by a nose and broke the track record by four seconds Later that year, Ligaroti won the Del Mar Handicap while Seabiscuit upset War Admiral in the greatest match race of all time at Pimlico.

Crosby’s horse was retired to stud where Ligorati was a dismal failure, but the horse had heart- as much heart at breeding as he did running races for the crooner and founder of Del Mar, Bing Crosby. In one great final

effort the horse that almost beat Seabiscuit collapsed and died while covering a mare. Yet the breeding took.

Crosby named the foal, “Last Bang.”

A fixture at Del Mar during those early days, Crosby could often be found astride a horse riding the grounds or hanging out trackside smoking his pipe.

South American import Ligaroti went head-to-head with the legendary Seabiscuit

during a highly publicised 1938 Match Race at Del Mar.

Del Mar and surrounding countryside from the southeast view.


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Fa s h i o n ’ s unchal lenged “King of Bling” is a

scruffy Kenny Rogers lookalike. He has decades behind him with a lineage as a rag merchant to match. He lives and works in the fashionable environment of San Diego’s Coronado Island. And instead of becoming the the king of an accessory market that reaps millions worldwide, he could just as easily have remained an upscale shopkeeper working in the shadows of one of the world’s

grand hotels, The Hotel del Coronado. Kippy’s (www.kippys.com) began on Coronado Island as an uppity women’s shop catering to movie stars and their fans. Nearby, at Del Mar Race Track, the old crooner himself, Bing Crosby, played the ponies. It was a magic time in 1948 when the store was opened. Regulars in San Diego and on the island were Dorothy Lamour, W. C. Fields, Paulette Goddard, Edgar Bergen, June Haver, Ann Miller, Don

Ameche, Ava Gardner,

Hail to the King

Fashion Icon, Bob Kipperman, turned a family business and a personal tragedy into a gilded fashion empire.


Kippy’s - Con’t. on pg. 34

Red Skelton and, of course, everybody’s two favorite movie priests, Pat O’Brian and Crosby. It was a heady time for young Bob Kipperman to inherit a top retail store. By 1964, his parents were ready to turn over the reins of the store to their son and his brothers when they finished school. “My dad said, ‘You can make this anything you want,” he remembers. “I wanted to travel, liked good food and pretty women.” In short, Bob began to change everything bringing the store into the ever so hip ‘60s fashion scene specializing in pants with long legs. “And to do that I had to make my own stuff,” he laughs. “We started manufacturing only for our own store.”

The business quickly became international. “I did all my buying in Europe for about 25 years,” he said. “My brothers came into the business with me and we opened six retail stores. During that time I was making things for our own stores. We were carrying people like Roberto Cavalli, all the big European names. We were all over Southern California. When the economy went downhill we started closing stores but we were doing more manufacturing.” Kipperman’s brothers left the business and his own life took a

turn for the worse when he was hit by a car. “As a therapy I started making belts,” he remembers. “About a year later I was sitting there upside down with no money, making these belts, and went to a friend on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles who had the Theodore store there and I asked him for $1,200 bucks. I told him I was making these belts. I offered to pay him back in belts with a guaranteed mark-up or I could pay him $100 a month. He humored me and said come on up, and when I got to Beverly Hills he


wrote a $12,000 order.” “I said, I’m making these in my kitchen,” Kipperman laughs. “He said, ‘Kipperman, you’re in business, or you’re not in business. Do you want the order?” Thus, the cottage industry of Kippy’s was born and the kitchen suddenly got crowded. Kipperman brought in his mother, his mother in law, and a few friends, and one of America’s great fashion accessory creations was born. He has kept the business small despite its prestige in the world of fashion. Kippy’s employs only 30 people at its headquarters, still on the island. “We filled that first order in two weeks,” he said. “I delivered the belts and he gave me a check for $10,800. It didn’t even register to me that I was in business. He came back to me a week later with an $8,000 re-order. All of a sudden a light went off in my head, and I don’t think there had been any lights in there for a year, and before I knew it, my stuff was in all the big stores in Europe.” Today, the Kippy’s brand

crosses all styles but has had a profound influence on western wear. “I hadn’t even thought of western wear,” he told Horseback Magazine in a conversation from his Coronado Island office. It was a natural connection for Kipperman. “I love western,” he says. “I had always done jeans, t-shirts, and jackets. I was making this stuff for a lot of entertainers because that’s who they sold to on Rodeo Drive. I was making stuff for people in the horse show world, making belts for dancers, and it went from swing dance, to country dance, to line dance. Once it hit that the western world picked up on it. From there it just spread and I was doing clothes for rodeo queens. Kipperman has been dressing rodeo’s queens for 15 years.

Men’s rodeo and bull riders have also embraced the fashions of the King of Bling. The first to take a pair of Wranglers and a Resistol to the next level was Texas bulldogger Sid Steiner, ever on the cutting edge

of men’s fashion. “All of a sudden we began seeing rodeo cowboys start coming in buying crystal belts,” Kipperman remembers. Now Kippy’s rodeo market has expanded to cowboy mounted shooting. A winning rodeo queen pays between $2,000 and $5,000 for

a coronation dress, Kipperman says. “They’re buying jackets from $400 to a couple thousand dollars.” “In ’99 when Madonna wore one of my belts in one of her shows, that just made it explode,” he remembers. Kipperman calls himself a non-competitor. “The way to not compete is

Originally known for their belts, Kippy’s produces everything

from purses & accessories, through

guitar straps.

Kippy’s fashions have adorned everyone from housewives to celebrities, including Madonna & ZZ Top.

“We began seeing rodeo cowboys coming in and buying crystal belts!”

A winning Rodeo Queen pays

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for a coronation dress.

Kippy’s - Con’t. from pg. 31


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to make it so difficult that they don’t bother to copy you,” he says. The way we keep people from copying here or in China is by working with mixed materials and stuff that people aren’t going to bother with because it’s either expensive, or it’s difficult to work with. For example, on a jacket I’ll use several different leathers, not just one. I work with metals or crystals that nobody is going to bother with. Right now we think pearls are going to be very strong.” “I also guarantee everything I do, so if somebody bought something 25 years ago, I fix it,” Kipperman said.

Kippy’s fashions have adorned everyone from housewives to celebrities, including Madonna & ZZ Top.

Belts, purses, intricate jackets & more can be found at Kippy’s.

hB


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As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded of Thanksgiving 2011, when many of us looked

back with both relief and gratitude, at what we and others had endured previously that year. Across the nation, lost homes, jobs, and savings, had left lives destabilized , with little to fall back on. Floods in the Northeast, tornadoes in Missouri, and fires in Texas had taken lives, destroyed homes, and damaged many of the places we loved, beyond recognition. The severest drought since the 1950’s had taken its toll across much of Texas, and had left many of us exhausted, struggling to save crops and plants, and to care for our animals. Yet, as I wrote my November 2011 article, in the midst of this great hardship and loss, we witnessed gratitude all around us. When the smoke cleared after the fires East of Austin in early September 2011, State Parks Director, Brent Leisure, sent out an email in which he emphasized, not the loss of his home, and the homes of many who had fought the fires, but rather the gratitude and pride that he felt for the State Park division staff, Wildlife division staff, and volunteers whose courage, professional preparedness, and tireless work had helped to save the Civilian Conservation

Corps buildings of Bastrop State Park. “And more important than all of these great accomplishments,” he wrote, “our staff that worked the incident and those colleagues that live in the community can celebrate that they and their families are safe and unharmed.” In the October 2011 Horseback Magazine, writers Kelly Kaminski and Lee Ann Johnson, told how they, and many others, had come together to help horses, (and their owners), endangered by the Texas wildfires last September. Their articles told of the selflessness of those who helped, and the unconditional gratitude of those who received it, expressed by words, yard signs, and any other expressions they could muster under their difficult circumstances. Earlier in 2011, and several of my dear friends and I, myself, had lost beloved family members and friends (some human, some animal). We were drawn together, through the sharing of our losses, as well as the amazing memories of our loved ones. Though difficult, this experience connected and reconnected us in a rich and profound way that I had not felt before. For this, I am forever grateful, and these friends have expressed their gratitude for this connection to me. What all of these examples have in common, is that they are situations in which hardship, and emotion, born of empathy, brought people together. In each situation, people had a common desire. The firefighters near Austin wanted to save the historic Works Progress buildings. Kelly and Lee Ann’s volunteers wanted to save endangered horses and help their owners. My friends

and I wanted to comfort each other, and to share one another’s losses. We didn’t all have to agree on everything- just one common need and goal at a time. Unfortunately, all too often these days, hardship and emotion are used to divide us. When we’re each encouraged to focus just on our own difficulties, it is easy to manipulate us into thinking that we have no common ground with others. When we’re angry, we’re quick to think there’s no room for compromise. And with all of us having to do more and more to keep our heads above financial water, it’s easy to use the excuse that we don’t have time to research sources of information, (or disinformation), and to ask such basic questions as, “What’s the source of this person’s information?”, “Who do they work for?”, or “What do they have at stake in reporting it this way?” When this happens, emotion drives us apart, instead of encouraging us to see the common needs and emotions that bind us together, much less the paths of compromise that will help us to reach our common ground. Our horses, and our relationships with them, always teach us about life. For most of us, our emotional connection to our horses is a vital part of what makes those relationships fulfilling. However, emotion alone, cannot form the basis of a successful human to equine to human relationship. Emotion and reason must be balanced. Just as affection for the horse must be accompanied by consistent, disciplined training, the training must be tempered with emotional empathy for the horse. Before we give a knee-jerk reaction to our horse’s behavior, born of our own emotions of frustration or anger, we

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should step back, think, and reason, before responding. The best horsewomen and men strike a balance between emotion and reason. So do the best citizens. The next time any of us starts to take another person’s opinion as our own, we should take a step back, and make sure we’re not reacting solely out of the fear, anger, or frustration that the “source” has ignited in us. We must apply our own critical thinking, consider the source of information, (or disinformation), ask the obvious questions, and do our own research before forming and expressing our opinions. Instead of letting our differences divide us, our empathy for others can unite us through our many common needs and goals, just as it united so many in the face of adversity in the Summer and Fall of 2011. I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, full of love, empathy, and gratitude. This November, and always, remember to enjoy the ride.

Dianne can be reached at Hill Country Equestrian Lodge where she teaches Whole Horsemanship year-round.

www.hillcountryequestlodge.com, or (830) 796-7950

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“Driving for Dummies”

Horseback Magazine’s Saddle & Tack Editor

Driving a horse to a cart or buggy is a lot of fun. You get a lot more looks from non-horse people

when you’re driving than when you are horseback. Training a horse to drive can be fun and exciting. It’s also a lot of walking and can be very frustrating. Mostly, you do a lot of ground driving, or walking behind the horse holding long lines, getting your horse to move ahead, stop, turn left and right, stop, back up, and then you put him in some shafts, could be PVC or something light. The horse cannot make a bending turn in the shafts, so they have to learn to cross over, especially in the front, to make a turn. This can cause the horse a lot of confusion, and they can panic the first few times they try to turn. You can actually do most of your ground driving without even having a harness. A pair of long lead ropes running behind the horse will work fine to get started. You can get a good nylon harness for basic driving for about $250.00 in horse size, or you can buy a made in India nylon horse size harness for about $150.00 A good driving harness made of leather will start about $600.00, or you can find a nylon , leather combination, or nylon and vinyl, or many other combinations. We all know that leather is great, but harness is hard to clean and oil. Nylon gets stiff with sweat and age. Biothane, a rubber like coated nylon, give the look of leather, and ease of maintenance. It looks good, doesn’t get stiff, wipes with a damp cloth, and is strong. Again, you can go with an Indian made harness, made from urine tanned

water buffalo. I found a really nice used harness from a carriage company. It’s black nylon with a shiny black surface. Very shiny, very pretty, very strong. So I spent 2 weeks ground driving a 12 year old recycled race horse. He took to it really well, after his initial confusion of wanting to turn and face me. I put a “single tree” in the traces and walked behind him, letting him pull my weight. I drove him with one hand while pulling a “meadowbrook cart” in my other hand, so he wouldn’t be afraid

of hearing the wheels rolling behind him, thinking something was about to run him over. I left the cart in the round pen while I worked him around it. He was as unconcerned as a horse could be. This is a really laid back thoroughbred. He stands 16.1 hands and weighs 1250 pounds. My average horse size harness fit at the very end of everything. Most horse size harness is to fit 900 to 1200 pounds. The shafts on the meadowbrook cart are pretty far apart, so when I ran the shafts up along each side of him, I had to try to

let the shaft loops, which are part of the driving saddle, out to the very end. As my horse stepped into the shaft on one side, he swung to get away from the strange restriction, found another on the other side, and the next thing you know, the cart is upside down with a broken shaft, the harness is sideways with the driving saddle torn apart, and the horse needs to start over in training. I am not going into the business of training driving horses. Because of this horse’s age and easy way, I skipped a few steps. Hence the Driving for Dummies headline. As far as wrecks go, this wasn’t a very exciting one. Now years ago, when I was training a team of driving ponies, I had some real exciting rides. The first wreck was the very first time we hitched these two full sisters to a really cute wagon that my wife’s uncle had built. My father was still alive back then and I invited him to come along on our initiation ride. The ponies struck up a fancy trot and we started


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up a hill, got to the top, and as soon as we started down the hill, the holdback yoke broke and the wagon was trying to run over the ponies, so they were trying to outrun the wagon. We were headed down hill with the ponies’ legs going faster than they could keep up with, and I knew they’d go down if I didn’t do something like a minute ago. There was a stone bluff on one side of the road that I might have been able to crowd it and scrub off a little speed, but that would wreck that pretty new wagon, so I decide to jump them off the road into a field that was fairly level, but about 5 feet below the road’s elevation. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Here, hold my beer and watch this. There was a little rise just before the drop off and the wagon hit that rise and did a flip, as the pin came out of the tongue, fortunately, and the ponies took off across the field, unhindered by the weight of the wagon. My Dad had asthma and a bad heart. He was wearing my white and green high school sweater. He landed on his hands and knees and lost his false teeth and his glass eye. As I got to him, he had just found his false teeth,

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wiped them out and popped them back in his mouth, then he found his glass eye and dropped it in his pocket. I thought maybe I’d killed him, but instead, he had the best time he’d had in years. He was laughing so hard, tears were running down his face. I had several runaways with that team, because one pony always wanted to run, the other had to follow. The last wreck was a doozy, and we did wreck the wagon. We were enjoying the third runaway of the day, down a long steep hill, in the middle of which, was my driveway. I broke the splash wall off of the wagon bracing my feet against it, so I’m standing in the wagon with my feet braced against nothing but the traction of the floor, pulling back on the reins as hard as I can, thinking, “Surely they won’t try to make the 90 degree turn in the drive at this speed!” They did. I heard someone scream. In retrospect, I think it might have been me. The wagon stayed upright, the ponies ran right between my car and my truck, I got them turned behind the house where I was relaying a stone patio, and they jumped a wheelbarrow full of stone that I had hauled from the field. Ponies and horses


can jump in harness, but a wagon can’t jump very well. The handles and the undercarriage and the wheelbarrow tub and the rocks got all tangled up underneath the wagon and the twisted wreckage continued on until it got wedged between a utility pole and an apple tree. There the ponies stopped and I devised a way to put an end to the runaway ponies’ careers. It was simple really. I took a small dog collar and put a wool fleece liner on it, ran a rope from the collar, which I placed around the ponies pastern, ran it up through the ring on the driving saddle and back to the seat. Whenever she would start to run, I’d just pull her foot out from under her. Never had another problem with that one. Someday I’ll tell the story about my Arab stallion and the one horse cutter on ice.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


sure the bit is long enough and doesn’t pinch the corners of his mouth. Could your bit be more severe than you need? Are there any sores inside his mouth? When was the last time you gave him a good performance float on his teeth? If it has been over a year, you might want to have his

Karen had a wonderful horse. She rode him nearly every day and frequently competed on him. He

was talented, well trained, willing and fun to ride. Then, she noticed his performance and attitude were deteriorating. She called a friend and told her how he was balking, pinning his ears and refusing jumps. As she was talking, it suddenly occurred to her that this behavior was becoming habitual. Before, it had been showing up in smaller doses that were easier to overlook. But what had changed? What would make him so sour? Lots of things can cause a horse’s attitude to change. Horses are very sensitive physically and emotionally. Let’s start by checking your tack. Look at your bridle and make sure the adjustments have not been changed. Your bit should be adjusted to hang comfortably in his mouth. It should fit snugly against the corners of his mouth, making a wrinkle on each side of his mouth. If it hangs too loosely, it could clank against his teeth, causing pain. Make

teeth checked. Take a look at the saddle. Just like people, horses can change their shape, causing the saddle fit to change. The flocking may need to be addressed by a saddle expert. Flocking can even compress over time and become thinner. If the fit has changed, it could pinch your horse’s withers or shoulders. If the panel over his back has lost its cushion, the horse could have a sore back from a heavy seat. You can run your hand firmly across his back to check for soreness. Look at his withers and make sure there are no sores or rub spots and check for pain by pressing on him. Any evidence of pain should be further investigated by a vet or saddle fitter. If you use a martingale, make sure it is not restricting the normal range of motion. Then check his legs and any boots you might be using in case they are rubbing him. Take a look at his feet. Consult with your vet or farrier to make sure he isn’t dealing with sore feet. Do his shoes fit properly? Could his soles be bruised or is he heel sore?

“Why is My Horse Acting Sour?”

FOR OVER TEN YEARS, I have been demonstrating, teach-

ing, and writing about non-coercive methods of handling horses

and cattle at my ranch near Bellville, Texas.

My work follows in the low-stress tradition of natural horse-

manship established by Tom Dorrance and spread to the world

by Ray Hunt, Buck Brannaman, and Pat Parelli. Currently,

I am influenced by the work of Ron Wall of Australia and

Frederic and Jean-Francoise Pignon of France.

For more information and to see the complete

text of my Published Articles, visit my

website, www.HermanDetering.com or email

me at [email protected].

FOUNDATION GROUNDWORK

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Are his angles where they need to be? Take a general look at his body. If he holds his head slightly off to one side, he might be sore in his neck. Watch him walk and trot. Is he moving straight and evenly? If not, it could be a lameness issue or he may be out of alignment. Perhaps a chiropractor or masseuse could help him feel better. It’s even possible that a good lameness vet might be needed. Don’t hesitate to ask your local professionals for help in determining if physical problems could be the cause of your horse’s unhappiness. If you don’t find anything suspicious, take a look at how you are managing and riding your horse. Rough hands will take the joy out of a ride for any horse. Make sure your aids are clear and you aren’t just pounding on your horse. Could your patience be an issue? If you are ever riding and find you are on a short fuse that day, you might be wise to cut your ride short before you find yourself blaming your mount for your own short-comings. Take a look at his daily routine. Is he getting enough turnout?

Cathy Strobel has over 30 years of experience as a trainer, judge and clinician she can be

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Most horses do best with at least several hours of turnout daily. They need to be able to run freely and get the bucks out. Grazing is important for them physically and emotionally. Contact with other horses can also make a difference. Sometimes we separate them with their best interest in mind so they don’t get hurt by other horses or end up with their coats looking marked up. While they do tend to look better with solo turnout, you need to remember that these are social animals who need physical contact with other horses. If your horse has anxiety or any emotional difficulties, he could have ulcers that could be giving him a sour attitude. Think about your riding routine. If you ride a lot and never change your routine, your horse can get bored. Make sure you change the scenery as often as you can. Ride outside of the arena periodically or switch to a different arena if you can. That doesn’t mean you can’t ride in the arena, just shake it up a bit and vary your routine. If you like to jump, don’t jump every day. He will

get bored and you could make him sore. If you jump high, school him over low jumps more often to work on any issues and only occasionally over big jumps to keep him in practice. Throw in plenty of days to only hack and work on moving him off your leg better. Take him on an occasional trail ride, even if you only ride around your property outside of in the arena. Horses are generally happy animals. If yours is well trained and fit but seems to be experiencing a change in attitude, you need to take a serious look at what could be causing it. It could take a bit of effort and you may need to enlist the help of professionals but don’t forget that he is relying on you to help him and you owe it to him. Make sure you are not the cause of the problem and do everything you can to help him. Riding should be fun for both of you!

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Q&A“My Child’s First Trail Ride.”

Q: My daughter is 9. She has had some big health problems but is now doing a lot better and can’t wait to start

trail riding. She started in English riding lessons when she was 7 years old, but she hasn’t been on a horse in the last six months, so she has never ridden Western or been on a trail ride before. I want her first time on the trail to be safe and fun for her. I’ve leased a great pony for a year. He is very experienced on trails but he is for sure a Western pony. How can I make this work?

A. Since your daughter already has some riding skills, I would begin by making sure that all of her riding clothes fit! Six months is a long time, and at her age she could easily have outgrown everything from her boots to her

helmet. Be sure that she has and wears an equestrian safety helmet that meets or exceeds the current ASTM/SEI standards, and be sure that she knows how to position and adjust it, how snugly the harness should be fastened, etc. Six months is also enough time to grow quite a lot of hair, and hair length can have a big effect on helmet fit, so that’s something else to check before she mounts up. If she does need new boots, she might enjoy owning a comfortable pair of cowboy boots designed for riding. Just be sure that they have a one-piece sole, a safe heel, and are truly comfortable. It sounds as if she’ll be riding her “Western pony” in Western tack, so give her a few sessions in the arena first – or get her a few lessons in Western-style riding. Before going out on the trails, she’ll need to learn how to mount and dismount, how to sit comfortably in a Western saddle, what cues to give her pony and how to give them, how to hold her reins (and why to keep them loose) , and how to neck-rein. Let her get acquainted with her pony and tack quite a while before you venture out onto the trails. Ride with her, even participate in those lessons if you can –

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you probably know it all, but the refresher course won’t hurt you, and children really do learn wonderfully well if they can see their parents doing the same things that they are being told to do. Which reminds me – be sure that you wear your own properly-fitted, properly-adjusted, ASTM/SEI helmet whenever you ride. “Monkey see, monkey do” is so very true: Children typically adore and imitate their parents, and you want your daughter to get a good message about safety from you and imitate you in a way that helps her develop potentially life-saving safety habits. “You’re just a child so you have to wear a helmet, but I don’t” is the message you send when you don’t wear yours. To a child, this says “Helmets are for babies and bad riders, when you’re older and a better rider you won’t need a helmet.” But if you always wear your own helmet, the message your daughter will receive is simply “Riders wear helmets” in the same way that you wearing your seatbelt in the car tells her “People in cars wear seatbelts” instead of “Little kids wear seatbelts, grownups don’t.” The last thing any parent wants is a child drawing the wrong conclusions from watching Mom and Dad’s habits, and then looking forward to taking unnecessary

risks – “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to do without my helmet/seatbelt!” So, now you’re in the arena with your daughter and she’s had a few lessons and is now comfortable with Western tack and cues. It’s time for the two of you to play a variation on an old trail-training game, Follow the Leader. (Once she’s acquired some real mileage on the trail, you’ll be able to introduce her to some of the more complex and demanding versions of this game.) In this, the most basic version, you and your daughter take turns following one another around the arena, maintaining a two-horse-length distance. Don’t just go around and around, do half-turns, half-turns in reverse, large circles and wavy lines, stop and halt for a few seconds or half a minute or a minute or two at a time, then start off again. In other words, pay attention, use your cues, and don’t depend on that rail to keep you straight or give you direction. When you’re on the trail, that rail won’t be there. Let your daughter spend part of her time in the lead, but most of her time should be spent following you and maintaining her distance, because that’s what she’ll be doing on the trail. Spend a week or two doing these exercises,

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Dr. Jessica Jahiel is the best selling author of Riding For The Rest Of Us.

especially since your daughter hasn’t been on a horse in six months. Any kind of riding is likely to make her sore, and even though her health is improving, be extra-careful and give her all the time she needs. Remember that for your daughter, being out on the trails is an adventure. Riding on different footing, riding up and down gently sloping hills (show her how), all of this will be new and exciting. More importantly, all of this –especially in combination with new tack and perhaps new clothing – is going to require thought and effort on her part, and will also put new demands on her muscles. When you take her out of that arena and go out on the trail for the first time, make it a short, happy trail ride. If she comes back from a forty-five minute trail ride complaining that she wanted to stay out longer and could have ridden all day, that’s good! You can make the next ride a little – not much – longer, say an hour or an hour and a quarter – because she’ll be happy and eager to go out again.

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“Peekin’ Through the Gate”

When I started writing this column, I was also going to write some stories about my Dad, his family and

my Grandpa. There are some wild, sometimes unbelievable, tales that come out when my family gets together. So in the interest of family history, I decided to write some of them down. When my Dad was probably between 9 and 12, my Grandpa was trying to catch a horse in a pen that did not have a gate. So he had my Dad stand in the gate. Of course the horse ran at Dad and Dad moved out of the way! I

think this went on a couple of times with my Dad moving and my Grandpa hollering at him for “heading for the hills” every time that horse headed out through the gate hole! Finally my Dad told him, “you stand here and I’ll try to catch him”. (This surprises me because it was bordering on back talk! I guess he got so tired of being run over that

he did talk back!!) So Grandpa stood in the gate and Dad went in the pen. Dad said as the horse headed out the gate hole, Grandpa stood his ground and that horse ran the length of him. It knocked him to the ground and headed out into the big pasture! Grandpa didn’t say a word, got up, dusted himself off and headed over to a pile of cedar posts. He picked one out and stood behind one of the gate posts and said, “Run him by again”. As soon as Dad was able to run the horse back into the corral, the horse saw the open hole

and headed for the gate at a run. Grandpa stepped out and hit him between the eyes as hard as he could as he yelled, “whoa!” Dad said the horse went to his knees and fell over. He thought Grandpa had killed the horse! Grandpa calmly walked over, reached down and put a halter on the horse. Once the horse came to, he staggered up and Grandpa had him caught! Dad said every time that horse went through a gate after that, he would stop before he got there and peek around at the posts to be sure no one was standing there! I was thinking of this as I sat in the stands watching Pat Parelli on October 13th and 14th. About how much horsemanship was changing, mostly for the better and how it was for my Dad growing up. It was a different generation, and it didn’t make us any better than them, just different. They were offering


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the horse what they knew. I’m sure if Grandpa Johnson had known a different way, he would have done it differently. My Dad made the statement to me one time that “I offered something better for the horse than he did and he offered something better than my Grandpa did”. It was a different generation and a whole different way of handling a horse for most of the public back then. There were a few, the really good ones that were natural horsemen. But, in general, horses

were treated as tools to get a job done. Grandpa Johnson was a horse trader and for him, and other working cowboys the horse was just that, a tool, and that’s all they were. Nowadays, the general population of horse owners are recreational owners. They want something different from a horse. They are not working cows and doing ranch work for 14-15 hours per day (on a bad day they might work 18-20 hours per day). They want a horse that

will walk down the road on a trail ride, or do some specific arena event. There are still small portions that use them for ranch work, but even they are changing some of the ways they use and train a horse. Like I said, my Grandpa’s generation were training the way they were taught. They were not wrong, for what they knew, just different. And like anything else, with time some things get better.


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Howdy, welcome to Cowboy Corner. The 2012 Elk hunt is over and Ol’ bugle cheated

death. That’s why it’s called hunting and not killing. However, did see some really good bulls come out of the mountains and just made the desire to return even greater. Due to the regulations regarding wheeled vehicles in the wilderness areas within the National Parks, hunting using horses and mules is very popular. Met lots of horseback hunters and most were from Texas. Guess Texans just don’t like to walk, especially at higher elevations. Flat land fat boys just don’t make good hikers up around the timber line. Next year when you think summer will never end try the mountains in early October. Warm days, cold nights, low humidity and not a cloud in the sky is a welcome change from the Gulf Coast. Lots of publicity about the turning of the leaves in New England, but the Aspen trees in the mountains are beautiful the first part of October. Lots of wildlife adds to the spectacular scenery. Love these annual trips to the mountains for lots of reasons, but really enjoy the time in the mountains on horseback. Have had

lots of conversations about being in the mountains horseback with a pack string from amateurs like me, to professional outfitters. All agree that to be safe and comfortable in the event of sudden bad weather you must be dry and warm. Dry may mean carrying a small tarp and some hay string in addition to your slicker or rain gear. Small tarps rigged against a cliff or in an evergreen thicket can keep you dry and out of the wind. Warm usually means some type of fire or heater. Prior to the 2012 trip, got to thinkin’ about some type of portable heat source that could be easily carried in saddle bags or a pack. After a little head scratching, I decided on chafing dish fuel, used in the catering business. The fuel cans are round with a diameter of about 3 ¼” and about 2 ¾” high. A screw off cap exposes the wick to light and serves as a snuffer. These cans weigh about 9 ¼ ounces and will burn for 6 hours. Cost of the fuel is just over a dollar per can and cases of a dozen are available from the restaurant supply stores or discounters like Sam’s. After foolin’ around with the fuel cans I decided I needed a wind break or chimney, which would also

serve as a heater. Fruit juice cans, the ounce size were just right. With a diameter of 4 1/8” and 7” tall the fuel cans easily fit in to the juice can with a 4” chimney. Good thing is that two fuel cans can fit into a juice can with extra room for matches or a butane lighter. The can of fuel burning in the juice can puts off a surprising amount of heat. To my knowledge the chafing fuel is safe and usable in the small areas such as a tent or tack room of a livestock trailer. Think these heaters might work good in enclosed wagons during trail ride season. Might be good to put the juice can in a small metal bucket in the wagon for stability and safety. Some of our hunters also used the heater to warm some water for coffee in a metal cup. If the heater was used regularly for warming water then probably holes would have to be punched in the juice can about even with the flame so the fire could breath.This heater might also work good in a hunting blind, give it a try. The price is right. Happy Trails!

Cowboy Heater!

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This Veteran’s Day take the time to

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How will you honor our

heroes this Veteran’s Day?

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This Veteran’s Day take the time to

honor those who have given so much

in service to this country. Remember,

“Freedom is Never Free!”

How will you honor our

heroes this Veteran’s Day?

820 Business U.S. 290 N.Hempstead

(979) 826-3273FAX: 979-826-3255

6401 F.M. 359Richmond

(832) 595-9500FAX: 832-595-9501

1331 Highway 6 WestAlvin

(281) 388-0388 FAX: 281-388-0300

18821 F. M. 1488 Magnolia

(281) 356-2530FAX: 281-356-5264

34350 Katy FreewayBrookshire

(281) 934-2479FAX: 281-934-2447

228 East Front St.Sealy

(979) 885-2967 FAX: 979-885-2969

SIX TEXAS LOCATIONS

www.steinhausers.com

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Happy Thanksgiving!

We would like to take this opportunity to express our best wishes for a happy and healthy

Thanksgiving Day to all of our customers!

Store Hours: Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm • Sun 12pm - 5pm


Texas’ EssentialFeeds Since 1938

Texas’ EssentialFeeds Since 1938

MG’s 14/6 Super Pellet is a horse’s

best friend on the trail

(other than his rider)!

Horseback Magazine November 2012

Documents

Transcript of Horseback Magazine November 2012