enlightened horsemanship through touch

Bank of America Travel Rewards for Horse Lovers

July 14, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

I have this almost-useless Bank of America Card. It would be useful if I had any money. I checked my “rewards” page on a whim yesterday and found that I’ve racked up a substantial number of points, but not near enough to get one of the two really great rewards offered for horse lovers. If you have a spouse or family member savvy enough to put every expense of a card, check out the details of your rewards program. Maybe there’s something really fun waiting for you. Here’s what I might be doing if I’d spent all my money with Bank of America:

310, 000 Points will get you an original watercolor painting by renowned equine artist James L. Crow. Coincidentally, in my Wordless Wednesday post this week, I featured James L. Crow. I love his work. It would make me supremely happy to have a portrait of Marksman Millie done by him.

Here’s what you get for coughing up your 310,000 points (found at Manage Your Rewards.com:

An original 14 x 18 watercolor portrait by famed equine artist, James L. Crow, “one of today’s best known and most collectable equine artists. Crow’s unique use of light and his gift to capture the magnificence of the horse has made him a best-selling artist in print form, with his originals consistently selling for five figures. James L. Crow has been a professional artist since 1955, specializing in sporting art since 1979. He strives to capture the spirit and epitome of equine beauty, which is evident in his works. Crow has become a premiere artist through his fine originals and limited editions that illustrate his love of these beautiful spirits. Crow’s works have been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums around the world and published in magazines and books, including Racing In Art, The Art of the Horse, Equine Images and Maryland Horse. A collection of Crow’s fine prints are available for viewing at the Collector’s Gallery in Lexington, Ky., or online at Horse Art Gallery.

Morgan, courtesy horseandhound.co.uk

WHAT’S INCLUDED:
• 14″ x 18″ water color painting.
• Framed and double-matted to museum quality.
• 2″ cherry finished frame.
• Shipping and handling.
• Shipping insurance.
CONDITIONS:
• Please allow 10-12 weeks.
• Recipient to provide photo or video of subject horse.
• Limited to one subject (horse).
• Non-returnable item.
• Once points are redeemed, the transfer of points is permanent and non-returnable.

But wait, there’s more!

I would have to give the following award to a friend with good riding skills so as not to reveal publicly my own pitiful lack thereof. But what an opportunity!

For a mere 70,000 Points:

Whatever your level of riding expertise, you can always learn more from Lynn Palm of Palm Partnership Training – One of the Foremost and Respected Horsemen of the World. You will receive one day of personal instruction with Lynn Palm www.lynnpalm.com at her Fox Grove Farm in Ocala, Florida or Royal Palm Ranch in Bessemer, Michigan. Package includes 6 hours riding, lectures and/or demonstrations. Fox Grove Farm, in the heart of horse country, is beautifully situated on 30 acres with big live oaks, lush green pastures, rolling hills and brown wood fencing. Amenities include an outdoor pool, grill, and deck to fully enjoy your stay. Enjoy the private English Pub, the “Red Fox Inn” located in the main house. Here you can have fun at the bar, play billiards, darts, or cards. And, for those who like to dance the music will get you on your feet! Nestled on 100 wooded acres alongside the Black River Byway, Royal Palm Ranch is an equine facility featuring the best in training and teaching equipment for the ultimate experience. Royal Palm boasts a top-notch facility featuring indoor and outdoor arenas with covered observation risers and P.A. system. The indoor arena includes wash and vet room, tack and clothes lockers, lounge and kitchen, VCR and video viewing. The ranch includes miles of riding trails. Lodging is arranged at Big Powderhorn Mountain Ski Resort in quaint chalets just two miles south of Royal Palm Ranch. Camping facilities are also available. Family-style meals are prepared at the ranch daily.

Lynn Palm

WHAT’S INCLUDED:
• Full-day personal instruction including six hours of riding, lectures, and/or demonstrations.
• Training disciplines include Dressage, Quarter Horse in Dressage, Versatility (active competitors, those who want to improve hunt seat or western discipline), All-Around, Horse Care, Family Partners.
• Two-night lodging at the farm or ranch to enjoy all the amenities of the farm or ranch.
• Two-night stabling for horse at the farm or ranch.
• Dinner for evening of arriving day.
• Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner for day of training.
• Breakfast for morning of departing day.
• Depending upon scheduling, enjoy Fox Grove Farm’s favorite night at the cookout/bonfire. Food is cooked on the grill or open fire with other refreshments at the bonfire. French wine is served to those who choose. Great time for making new friends!
• Autographed photos.
• Unforgettable Rugged Lark DVD.
• Beer, wine and spirits are not included.

You could turn this into a family vacation!

So in this day of the decline of credit, maybe it’s to our advantage to pull out the plastic again.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American Express Rewards, James L. Crow, Lynn Palm, Lynn Palm Partnership Training | Leave a Comment »

Long Ears Help US Marines Fight the Taliban in Afghanistan

July 13, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

It takes training to go back in time to fight a war. Afghanistan exists in a centuries-before bubble that often confounds the militaries that are trying to bring peace to the area. Abigail Butcher wrote about donkeys’ role in military operations in yesterday’s Horse and Hound online. Here is the link to the full article.

At Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in the remote eastern Sierra Nevada, five marines are learning to handle donkeys and mules before going to Afghanistan.

Visiting military have found that traveling in traditional motor convoys has been both difficult and dangerous. Their solution? In part, a return to tradition. In Afghanistan donkeys and mules are used for transportation and as pack animals for hauling everything from personal supplies to artillery. Long ears will be used as transport through the torturous mountains where military four-wheel drive vehicles cannot go. Mules and donkeys have no trouble in the high mountain air, where even helicopters find the going dangerous. To mules and donkeys, it’s all in a day’s work. Or maybe, a thousand years’ work. They’ve been doing just this kind of thing with expert skill for about that long.

The soldiers are the ones receiving the “alternative” training, learning to assist the equines in transporting ammunition, medical and food supplies to the marines. They must learn how to pack their loads evenly and how to lead the donkeys and mules safely through treacherous territory.

It’s a very primitive way to carry very modern weapons, but it works. They all have their own quirks and personalities — like any of the Marines you’d work with.

said Sgt. Joe Neal, one of the instructors at the training center.

They can be pretty stubborn.

said one trainee.

I hope he knows that this inherent “stubbornness” is the trait that has kept them flourishing in hostile worlds throughout history. I wonder how encountering another sentient being whose language you do not speak will affect the military men. They will have to interact with a creature who will not automatically follow their orders. Will they try to understand what the donkeys tell them, or will they use the model of dominance hierarchy already in place in the military? I fear the worst and hope for the best, knowing that even men who are pressed to their limits, especially men pressed to their limits, are open to learning miraculous things.

Click here to watch a slideshow of the Marines in training.

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Posted in Horses | Tagged Afghanistan, donkeys, longears, mules, US Marines | Leave a Comment »

Netflix for Equestrians: HorseFlix!

July 12, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

When my daughter was away at college, I was able to dispense with television entirely because, well, I hate it. It serves no purpose in my life other than to introduce noisy and offensively mindless material into my home. I have never been able to understand why people keep the thing on endlessly and even eat in stupefied silence in front of it. What happens to family life? To conversation? Or to the life of the mind? How can you develop your mind (or stillness of the mind) if you are so busy filling it with garbage?

Ok, enough ranting disguised as rhetorical questions.

I’m a huge fan of Netflix. I get to choose Netflix among a large variety of independent film and documentary, and on the rare occasion when a guest insists on a horror flick or my daughter is home and insists on SciFi, she can have that, too. On a limited basis. Hooray for a limited basis.

I can never find equestrian instructional DVDs on Netflix, and now I don’t have to keep trying.

Now, there’s HorseFlix, an online/mail video rental service for equine/equestrian videos.

Here are some of the categories offered:

Bits
Clicker Training
Documentary
Dressage
Driving
Eventing
Feature Films
Foal Care
For The Rider
Gaited Horse
General Interest
Grooming
Health – Horse
Hoof Care
Horsekeeping
Hunter
Jumper
Natural Horsemanship
Pony Club
Saddles and Fit
Travel
Trick Training
Western
Wild Horses

There’s a lot of good stuff in there, and there’s also some questionable stuff, but not much of it. I would very much like to copyedit the site, but that’s a bad habit of mine, so ignore that statement. I am thrilled to see that there are five Mark Rashid videos. *doing a little happy dance* and I can now watch Chris Irwin, which will make Shoshin happy.

Take a look, see what you think. Let me know what videos YOU most would like to see.

Posted in Horses, video | Tagged HorseFlix | 9 Comments »

Anger and Sorrow From Horizon to Horizon: Death of A Rescue Horse

July 11, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

I am unworthy of being called Shoshin’s sparring partner; his superior intellect requires that I take time to parse his sentences and think hard to formulate replies. Often, I feel like a dope. Nonetheless, we communicate via email about issues dear to both of us. He: extreme and passionate. Me: passionate yet measured. But there’s one thing that unites us today and that is the passing of the mare, Sadie, whom Shoshin recently rescued.

When people hear the individual stories of horses who have suffered at the hands of humans, the anger rises. Yet the subjects of horse slaughter, animal abuse and neglect, etc. in toto often fail to ignite the same fire in the belly. There are a few good souls who make the fight against this kind of thing their life’s work. Though we often cast sideways glances at them and their often extreme tactics, they are doing a job we, for whatever reason, choose not to do. They do it on our behalf. And because we have not worked up the courage to do it ourselves, they do it at our sadly passive behest. I am guilty of this passivity, I know.

When I read the story of Sadie, my usual efforts at allowing anger to pass away after a careful examination failed outright. The sky of my consciousness is not clear, but clouded with anger at the “owner,” the barn manager (for shame!), and anyone else who turned away from what was being done to Sadie.

Shoshin’s Memorial Site for Sadie on Flickr

This is Sadie Mae

Please visit Shoshin’s Flickr site to read the story of Sadie. Sharing in the knowledge of what actually happens to unwanted horses raises the collective consciousness. The more we know, the better armed we are to support the actions of those willing to act.

Posted in Horse Care, Horses | Tagged Flickr, horse abuse, rescue, Sadie Mae, Shoshin | Leave a Comment »

Thankful Thursday: The Mind and Spirit of Sandy Rakowitz

July 9, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

As Simrat at Akal Ranch says,

Gratitude creates its own attitude.

Once again, It’s Thankful Thursday, and I’m taking a moment to consider all the things I have to be grateful for. Part of mindful awareness is living gratitude every moment of every day, and not just while writing Thankful Thursday’s post, however. Please remember that even if you don’t participate in Thankful Thursdays, be mindful and grateful for everything.

Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday. If you don’t have a blog of your own, you are welcome to post your thoughts here. If you have a blog, post what you are grateful there, and please link back here. Feel free to tag other bloggers. We are trying to get a mindful movement of gratitude going.

For more thankfulness try out Akal Ranch, Tired Dog Ranch, or the Pony Expression.

The past week and a half I’ve been trying to assist with a very large project at Tellington TTouch Training. Since I missed the first two weeks of the visit to Hawaii of Sandy Rakowitz (One Heart Healing Center and The Holistic Animal), I played catch-up the whole time.

Even after mostly catching up, I could not contribute in a quality way to the development of the project because I don’t have the 25 years of experience with Tellington TTouch that Sandy has. But that’s not what this post is about.

Sandy’s knowledge is astounding. Just by talking about the subject at hand, she taught me things I might never have had access to. By her demeanor, so calm, grounded and honest, she shows me a better way to be. I spent much of our time together marveling at the rich complexity of her body of knowledge and her skill at integrating it into the project, and in communicating it to me and others. There aren’t a lot of people like this in the world. I’m grateful to have spent this intensive time with her, and even more grateful to know her.

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Posted in People, TTouch® & TTEAM, Thankful Thursday | Tagged One Heart Healing Center, Sandy Rakowitz, Thankful Thursday, The Holistic Animal | Leave a Comment »

Affirmations of Awareness for Horsepeople: Chaos Theory

July 9, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

Out of clutter find simplicity;
From discord find harmony;
In the middle of difficulty
lies opportunity.

–Albert Einstein

No matter how much is happening at a given moment, or how many things are going wrong, I can choose to concentrate fully and with an open heart on a single unifying opportunity.

A conversation with gin at High Mountain Musing produced the above quote, from one of her quote-a-day calendars. Calendars are rife with chaos. At least mine are. I have several, and all have conflicting appointments, to do lists, phone calls, and much more that, mostly, I don’t get done on time. But that’s not what this affirmation is about.

There are days when you take your horse into the round pen, or mount for a riding session, and it seems that everything is thrown at you at once. You HAD a plan (or maybe you didn’t, *tsk, tsk*), but the universe has another one that naturally supersedes yours. And it’s chock-a-block full of stuff you don’t want to deal with.

Normally I do the thinking and writing on the affirmations. But you guys did such a great job on my last post that I’d like to invite you to offer examples of this affirmation and how it has played out in your lives.

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Posted in Affirmations of Awareness for Horsepeople | Tagged Affirmations of Awareness for Horsepeople | 6 Comments »

How Do You Do It?

July 8, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

I’m working full-time away from home for the first time in 20 years. Prior to moving here to Hawaii, I worked from home freelance, because my daughter’s health required that I be ready to visit the hospital short-or long-term at any time.

Now, we both have the luxury of approximating a “normal” life for a while. There are adjustments.

How in the world do you guys do it?

If I had horses now, I wonder if they would add to the burden or decrease it.

I especially would not be able to accomplish all that YOU do with any kind of presence or moment-to-moment mindfulness. Here’s what I’ve been doing: racing from one task to another after work, trying to get it all done before collapsing onto the sofa at eight or nine o’clock, and then desperately hoping that a second wind doesn’t come just at bedtime, ushering in a night of insomnia.

Multi-tasking is anathema to mindfulness. One thing at a time is the standard method of Buddhism. Pure-hearted focus and attention leaves the mind free to observe its own judgments of arriving and passing phenomena. If you multi-task, you’re on overload.

I would like to believe that the presence of horses and the tasks associated with caring for them would cause a mindful slowing of action and focusing of attention and affection that would alleviate some of the rushing around. Who knows?

I’m wondering: In your busy lives, how does caring for your horses, your families, and doing your jobs all fit into one life? What prevents it all from being too much? Do the horses help? Are there times when you wish someone else would just come and feed and muck? Or maybe feed your kids or husband and let you cry out, “Calgon, take me away!”?

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Calgon, How Do You Do It?, multi-tasking, Take Me Away! | 25 Comments »

Wordless Wednesday: Pulling Their Weight – Draft & Carriage Horses in Fine Art at the American Academy of Equine Art

July 8, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

“Befitting the horses commonly seen on Mackinac Island, this show seeks to deliver a broad awareness and appreciation of contemporary draft and carriage horses in equine art as a specific and distinctively worthy segment of fine art in America.”

Andrea Harman Steiner "Power House" oil on linen, 18x24, $2300

James Crow "Horse Power" Charcoal, 21x29. $2600

I’m such a sucker for Percherons.

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Posted in Equine Art, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged American Academy of Equine Art, Andrea Harman Steiner, Draft and Carriage Horses in Fine Art, James Crow, Pulling Their Weight, Wordless Wednesday | 3 Comments »

The Horse In Human History: The White Horse At Ebbsfleet

July 5, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

A controversial giant statue of a white horse by sculptor Max Wallinger will soon be erected at the Ebbsfleet station in southern England, the UK’s new gateway to continental Europe for Eurostar high-speed trains. Pita Kelekna tells us why this symbol is especially appropriate….

Well, it's big alright!

Pita Kelekna has uploaded another segment of her book, The Horse In Human History to This Side of the Pond. Entitled, The White Horse at Ebbsfleet, this chapter describes equine images and their role in history. In a previous post, I wrote about the White Horse of Ebbsfleet and the controversy it has engendered. Kelekna views this enormous sculpture from a historical perspective.

From among those perspective, she writes,

In 620, the Prophet Muhammad mounted the winged white horse Buraq* on his miraculous Night Journey through the seven levels of heaven to speak with Allah, Moses, and Jesus, thus linking Islam with the two older religions. In medieval England, Saint George battled the dread dragon on a magnificent white steed. And in Mongol equestrian culture, Khubilai khan celebrated each spring a Great Feast in which herds of pure white stallions and mares, all revered as sacred, had free run of the summer palace park at Xanadu. Later in the summer, the khagan performed the ritual horse sacrifice and the scattering of white mare’s milk to the winds as a symbol of Mongol ascendancy over the vast steppes.
*American President Barach (sic) Obama’s first name refers to this white horse.

I find that fascinating.

At Ebbsfleet station, Max Wallinger’s White Horse stands poised to embark on a new era of high-speed locomotive travel. Its presence reminds us the locomotive was first known as the “Iron Horse.” As international passengers catch a fleeting glimpse of this giant statue, they will know the White Horse embodies man’s ambition for ever more rapid and complex travel.

The White Horse of Uffington, courtesy BBC.com

The White Horse of Uffington, one of England’s oldest horse images, carved into the chalky earth. This horse represents the earliest horse history to which Kelekna connects the modern era of imagery as well as transport.

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Posted in Books | Tagged Cambridge University Press, Pita Kelekna, The Horse in Human History, The White Horse at Ebbsfleet, This Side of the Pond, White Horse of Uffington | 4 Comments »

The Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare A Solid Foundation For An Equine Bill of Rights

July 4, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

In my post Toward An Equine Bill of Rights, I asked if anyone had thoughts on what might comprise an acceptable enough standard of horse care to be called an Equine Bill of Rights.

Either no one read it, no one thought it was worth commenting on, or no one had any ideas. In lieu of interpreting silence as indifference, I’m assuming it was too big a ball of wax.

I was greatly encouraged today when I discovered a kindred spirit in Ethical Horsemanship, who speaks of the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare as they might apply to competition horses. I wonder if these Five Freedoms were based upon Norman Rockwell’s famous Four Freedoms paintings which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on February 20, 1943. (Lucky for me, in spite of an unhappily-upcoming birthday) I wasn’t around then, but those photos never fail to arouse a feeling of gratitude tinged with sadness. Particularly poignant is Freedom From Fear, which affected me deeply long before I even had a child I could not protect from pain.

(click on each photo for a much larger version)

If it was an intentional nod to the (sentimental) brilliance of Rockwell, The Farm Animal Welfare Council chose a solid platform to build their Five Freedoms on. If we love our animals, why not ensure that they enjoy the same benefits of living in the modern that we hope to provide for our loved ones? After all, when we assume the stewardship of an animal, we also take on the responsibility of treating it humanely. But I don’t want to limit this discussion to what is humane treatment and what is not. That’s a different ball of wax. There’s a lot of wax in this post, isn’t there?

The Farm Animal Welfare Council says nothing of Norman Rockwell on its web page. It’s probably just more anthropomorphizing on my part to make such a sentimental connection. Here’s what they have to say about the origins of the Five Freedoms:

The concept of Five Freedoms originated with the Report of the Technical Committee to Enquire into the Welfare of Animals kept under Intensive Livestock Husbandry Systems, the Brambell Report, December 1965 (HMSO London, ISBN 0 10 850286 4). This stated that farm animals should have freedom “to stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch their limbs,” a list that is still sometimes referred to as Brambell’s Five Freedoms.

Clearly, this initial list might constitute humane treatment, but you’d have to go a long way before it gets close to freedom, or even a Bill of Rights. They went further:

1. Freedom from Hunger and Thirst – by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from Discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour – by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.
5. Freedom from Fear and Distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

For a good look at whether competition horses might enjoy these freedoms, visit Ethical Horsemanship. It’s a good post. And the U.K. has made a good start. To see what kind of start the U.S. has made, start at the National Agriculture Library of the Animal Welfare Information Center.

There is enough material floating around out there to come up with a first draft of an Equine Bill of Rights without breaking a sweat. What do you think?

(and I didn’t even mention wax!)

Many many thanks to Ethical Horsemanship for taking this topic up and kicking me in the pants with a great post.

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Posted in Horse Care | Tagged Equine Bill of Rights, Ethical Horsemanship, Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare, Norman Rockwell, Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms, The Farm Animal Welfare Council, Toward An Equine Bill of Rights | 9 Comments »

Do You Ache After You Ride?

July 3, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

I’ll bet you don’t ache HALF as much as Belinda Daugherty will after she gets the first few miles under her belt in a 1000 mile ride. Though she is described as a “mature rider,” there is no reference to Belinda’s age. I admire her guts and passion, that’s for sure. How many of us would undertake something like this? At any age?

Monday, Belinda will be leaving her home in Ten Sleep, WY, to ride 1000 miles through Wyoming and Montana to the Canadian Border and hopefully win admission to the Long Riders’ Guild.

Beginning July 6th, Belinda and a companion will start out in Ten Sleep, Wyoming riding two horses: a seven-year-old Morgan named Petunia, and Sandy, an eight-year-old Quarter Horse. Both were raised by Belinda in rough country to be accustomed to camping and riding out where surefootedness and sensibility is essential. Belinda and her companion will also pack two mules, Jim Bob and Rosalita, who will carry a first aid kit, recording and photo gear, watercolors, a kettle, water filters, electric corral, hobbles, sheep bells (for bears) pepper spray and a handgun (she doesn’t mention who this is for).

The route will take the riders west through Big Horn Basin to Meeteetsee, WY, to the SE corner of Yellowstone National Park, and then on to Pahaska, and Cooke City Montana. Then on to The Beartooths and Dillon and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The projected halfway mark is the Spotted Bear Trail Head. Next stop: St. Mary’s at the east of Glacier National Park, with a possible foray into the park or to the Canadian border. The plan is to avoid large towns and ensure that they ride 1000 miles.

Take a look at the map:

courtesy matureriders.blogspot.com

I’ve never been to places with names like “Ten Sleep” and “Big Horn Basin.” It all sounds so glamorous in that Legends of the Fall kind of way. I’m going to keep reading Mature Riders just in case Belinda runs into Brad Pitt.

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Posted in People, Science | Tagged 1000 mile ride, Belinda Daugherty, Long Riders' Guild, mature rider plans 1000 mile ride, Mature Riders | 8 Comments »

Petition to Reform the FN Rules

July 2, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

I read this in Camera Obscura, who found it at Glenshee Equestrian Center.

Just Say NO to Rollkur

It’s about time. Riders and trainers have long complained about the decline of horsemanship in general and dressage in particular, especially as concerns competition. In recent years, only the most spectacular, showy performances have been rewarded at the expense of correct dressage and, more importantly, at the expense of the well-being of the horses. The situation is becoming toxic – for horses and riders. It’s time to clean house.
Granted things are unlikely to change when these riders are backed by serious money and corporate sponsorships, but we have to try something to bring the standards back up to some meaningful level.

Grey Horse Matters sent me this link from Philippe Karl’s website and I thought I’d pass it along to those who might be interested. Philippe Karl is one of the too few truly classical voices out there, and someone I have great respect for as a horseman. Of course, the Petition only addresses the German Equestrian Federation, however, this organization sets the standards to which we are all eventually subject due to its powerful influence on the FEI. A change in the German system might just positively influence the FEI and other national federations, including the USEF and USDF. I have signed the Petition, and I hope you will consider signing too and possibly forwarding to horsey friends or post on your own blog…

Here is the petition. Please pass along after signing.

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Posted in Horsemanship, Horses | Tagged Camera Obscura, dressage, Glenshee Equestrian Center, Horsemanship, Phillipe Karl, Rollkur | 6 Comments »

Some Folks Call Sculpture Horse Sht, But This Is The Real Thing*!

July 2, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

Horseworld is the U.K.’s leading equine rescue charity, rescuing, rehabilitating and adopting out horses, ponies, and donkeys.

Visitors to the Horseworld Rescue Center in Bristol, England got an eye- (and nose-) full of a new sculpture in the gardens yesterday. Sculptor Sophie Howard is completing a life-size model of a horse out of, you guessed it, manure. The statue is part of a green theme exhibition planned for the center in the second half of July.

photo courtesy www.horseandhound.co.uk

Howard likes making unpredictable sculptures and feels that re-using the manure humorously honors the green and recycling themes of the exhibition. To make the all-natural sculpture, Howard visits the manure pile daily for fresh material to mix with clay and lime for application to a willow frame, which will show through the surface of the manure, representing muscles and flesh of the horse.

I like the idea of the horses at HorseWorld giving something back to the people who will visit the exhibition!

Other sculptures in the exhibition will include a horse made of thousands of CDs created by Bristol sculptor Dean Williams and a horse’s head carved by chainsaw impresario AD Tree Pirate.

For more information click on Horseworld and Horse And Hound Magazine.

If you like what you have been reading, please subscribe to the RSS Feed, and visit Bloggers Choice Awards to vote for Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch.

Posted in Equine Art, Events | Tagged AD Tree Pirate, Dean Williams, Horse and Hound Magazine, Horseworld, manure horse sculpture, Sophie Howard | 6 Comments »

Award Time Again

July 1, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

This time, only one.

It goes to Lori Skoog of The Skoog Farm Journal for her caring attention to her blogging friends, and for having referred over 300 readers to my blog over the last year. Wow!

Thanks, Lori!

Enjoy, and then pass it on.

If you like what you have been reading, please subscribe to the RSS Feed, and visit Bloggers Choice Awards to vote for Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch.

Posted in Blogging | Tagged Compassionate Blogger Award, Lori Skoog, Skoog Farm Journal | 2 Comments »

Enlightenedhorsemanship’s Favorite June, 2009 Posts

July 1, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

Embracing Groundlessness

Profile of Paula Josa-Jones, Equestrian Choreographer, Dancer, Filmmaker and Coach

Animal Ethics and the Hungry Horseperson

Toward an Equine Bill of Rights

The Art of Pam White

Accepting the Teaching That Is Offered

Verlyn Klinkenborg’s Horse Map

The Nose Knows

Teenager Riding Bridleess For the First Time

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Favorite July 2009 Posts | Leave a Comment »

Carnival of the Horses

July 1, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

Welcome to the July 2009 Carnival of the Horses

image courtesy of burdyboo @ Flickr

Below you will find fascinating posts from writers all over the blogosphere. Readers, be generous with your comments, and take a minute to visit these fine writers’ blogs. This is a great opportunity to make friends and learn something new. Click on a link and dig in!

gp presents The Ingredients for Equine Success « Musings from Montana posted at Manely Montana.

gp also presents The 10 Commandments from Horses « Musings from Montana posted at Manely Montana.

Audiobook Steph presents Spanish horse book [Horse books] posted at AUDIO BOOK.

Esther Garvi presents Horse Talk: On Raising Isolde & Kalahari posted at Esther Garvi.

Melissa Smedley presents Missa’s Official Website and Forums – Sometimes Fence Chargers Just Don’t Work posted at Missa’s Official Blog.

The Pet Chatter presents What happens to my pet(s) when I die? An animal communicator’s perspective. posted at Pet Chatter.

The Pet Chatter also presents Are animals sentient beings? What’s wrong with anthropomorphizing? posted at Pet Chatter.

Fiona Leonard presents Year In America: Doctors with Hooves posted at Year In America.

That’s it for this edition of the Carnival of the Horses. The next Carnival of the Horses will be held on August 1, 2009. If you would like to host it on your blog, please let me know by posting here or emailing me (click the email link at the top right of this page). All you have to do is copy the code I send you into your blog and post it. Piece of cake!

Click here for a list of blog carnivals

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of the Horses using the blog carnival submission form.

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Posted in Blogging, Carnival of the Horses | Tagged Carnival of the Horses | 4 Comments »

Mark Rashid Horse Training

June 30, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

I have really been enjoying Mark Rashid. I’m reading Horses Never Lie on my Kindle at night, and as when I was reading Horse Boy, I can’t seem to get any sleep. It’s just that I can’t make myself put the thing down. When one or two a.m. roll on by and I keep hitting the NEXT PAGE button, I know I’m in serious trouble.

Stay tuned for thoughts on the nature of passive leadership. IF I can pry my hands off the Kindle and get some sleep first. If you’ve already read it, I look forward to hearing from you.

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Posted in Books | Tagged Amazon Kindle, Horses Never Lie, Mark Rashid, Passive Leadership | 4 Comments »

PSA: Warning About Dogs and Ivermectin Dewormer

June 29, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

Juli Thorson, editor and associate publisher of Horse & Rider magazine posted this warning in her blog, Juli Thorson’s Horse Talk, on June 17:

It may only take as little as 1/4 teaspoon of the deworming drug to cause serious effects in a dog who ingests it. A horse can easily spit out this much, or you can have this much left over in a discarded tube that a dog finds and starts to chew on.

This warning covers certain breeds of dog affected by a genetic mutation which renders them unable to process the drug effectively metabolically.

Play it safe by keeping your dog(s) confined whenever you plan to administer ivermectin to horses. Watch horses closely after giving the drug, to make sure they haven’t spit any out. Wipe up althing that falls and discard safely. Store tubes of ivermectin paste, whether new or used, out of dogs’ reach. Dispose of used tubes with care.

one brand of Ivermectin

As Thorson warns, play it safe when deworming and keep your dogs secured. It only takes a little, and the consequences of ingesting even a little could be fatal.

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Posted in PSA | Tagged dewormer, dog death and ivermectin, dogs, Horse & Rider magazine, ivermectin, Juli Thorson, PSA, Warning about dogs and Ivermectin Dewormer | 7 Comments »

Question

June 28, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

What’s in it for your horse?

image courtesy www.copyright-free-photos.org.uk

Posted in Equine Intellect & Behavior, Horses | Tagged what's in it for your horse? | 10 Comments »

The Horse In Human History: Efficient Equine Transport

June 28, 2009 by enlightenedhorsemanship

Pita Kelekna has uploaded another segment of her book, The Horse In Human History to This Side of the Pond. Entitled, Efficient Equine Transport, this entry explores the history of the use of horses in transportation and how it affected the course of human history in the New and Old Worlds.

In the Far East, the Chinese achieved two significant breakthroughs during the first millennium BC, inventing first the trace harness (breast strap) and then the even more efficient contoured collar harness. While Roman chariots of minimal size, carrying two persons at most, were often drawn by four horses, contemporary Han vehicles with heavy roofs, frequently carrying six passengers, were usually drawn by a single horse.

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Posted in Books | Tagged Cambridge University Press, Pita Kelekna, The Horse in Human History, This Side of the Pond | Leave a Comment »

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