4H fun show

Our barn is mostly western with a large lesson program and now a 4H program. Bodhi's part boarder rides western with Bodhi and is in the 4H club. The barn hosted a 4H show yesterday and since they did not get enough interest from other clubs that opened it up to us boarders and other barns to join in the fun.

So the part boarder, me, and Bodhi teamed up (team Bodhi). I competed in the senior group and she was in the junior. One other farm showed up with three teenage girls and three all business gamer ponies. It was quite funny to see the juxtaposition between our lesson kids (mostly beginners) the boarders, who had never done an egg and spoon race in their life, and these kids--they were professional butterfly race extraordinaires!

This was my fist fun show ever and I had a blast. I rode western (comical) and I tried all the games. Bodhi was surprisingly keen, kept a great attitude through the whole ordeal, and tried his best with all the crazy things we asked him to do!

The part boarder and I both did command class, barrel racing(we got third!), Egg and spoon, Toilet paper challenge (we got second), butterfly race, flag race (we got third which is pretty good for any competition with the word race in it), trail class, and keyhole(second!). When we got to take off the saddle Bodhi and I really did well. We got first in both the bareback command class and the bareback five dollar bill class. I may not have a fast horse but I have a very smooth horse. Go team Bodhi!

So proud of my boy for being such a trooper. It was a proud day for me to see my little man all grown up standing tied and working all day in a crowd and keeping a keen positive attitude. He has really grown into a great guy.

learning lateral

I have been working with Bodhi for a few five minute segments on side passing at liberty. We Keep it very short (5 mins) and work on it a few times a week. The biggest break through was getting him to hold still long enough to really understand what I was asking. That is one of our issues right now. He gets very excited and jumps into a behavior with out waiting for the cue. I know this just means he needs more work on cue control but I am also thinking about teaching him a chill cue. Never thought I would need a chill cue for this horse! It would be used specifically when he gets worked up during a shaping session. It is so adorable how hard he tries. He is one of the hardest working horses I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His slow little dopey baby self is shifting into a serious hard working adult horse. It is very fun to see him mature.

I am inspired by him to work with other horses. I wonder if it is just Bodhi or if it is the new way I am approaching training that gets me such consistent, positive results? I would love the opportunity to work with other horses so I can hone my skills as a positive trainer. Too bad as a graduate student I do not have the funds or time for a second horse.

I posted two videos below showing our process so far. The first one shows how I rewarded him after one correct step. The second video is later when I reward him after he fixes a straightness issue he was having.

Great comments I wanted to share..

My last post had a few questions about the issue of horse slaughter. Calm, Forward, Straight posted especially insightful answers and she said I could share them. I think she has a great idea about contacting your local congressperson.

1st comment
The main markets for horse meat are Europe and Japan, although it is also served in Canada. The meat is often misrepresented as being from wild free ranging mustangs, and touted for it's healthfulness. The reality is that bute, banamine, wormers and most other horse meds are explicitly labeled "not for use in horses meant for human consumption".

The horses aren't raised for meat per se, it has just become a convenience for folks who can't be bothered to humanely euthanize, or to be responsible for horses that are no longer "useful"...

Horse slaughter is not actually illegal, but horses began being transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter after the last American slaughter house closed several years ago. You do not want to know how they kill the poor horses who end up in Mexico.

The three slaughter houses that operated in the USA until recently were owned by foreign companies, Belgian I believe, and there is documentation ( I have seen the tax records) that they paid next to no taxes here.

Hopefully not too much information... I used to be the NC leader for Americans Against Horse Slaughter. We were trying for years to pass legislation that would outlaw the transport of horses across the borders for slaughter.
2nd comment
While the slaughter plants closed, in part due to the inspection issue, there is no legislation that I know of actually prohibiting horse slaughter. Just hoops the plants had to jump through regarding inspections which affected profitability.

Once there was no facility left in the US to continue slaughtering, horses began being double deckered across the Mexican and Canadian borders to their slaughterhouses.

The next strategy to end the slaughter of american horses was to get the transport across the borders outlawed, under an anti animal cruelty act. This legislation could never pass both houses - bogged down by obstructionist agriculture lobby $$$$.

My understanding is that a couple of pro-slaughter congressmen quietly added the plant inspection funding language to the current ag appropriations bill which is one of the very exasperating ways legislation is handled in congress.

As long as the anti-slaughter legislation gets passed - the funding language in the ag bill won't matter.

Call / fax / email your congressperson telling them you want their support for Senate bill S. 1176 and House bill H.R. 2966. Go to http://www.house.gov/ and click on the Bills and Reports tab to read the text of the bills.

so many questions!

I am sure everyone has heard by now about the bill making it legal to slaughter horses in the United States again.... I honestly do not know what to make of it. I am not going to jump up on my soap box either because I have no idea... so please keep reading! :)

Making slaughter illegal didn't stop horse slaughter right? I am not sure making things illegal really even works very well. Look at marijuana as an example. When there is a market and money to be made people will always do it right? Making it legal or not legal probably wont change much. Has not with drugs and has not with horse meat. I mean the horse meat industry seems a bit shady doesn't?

I mean I have never met a farmer who raises quality horses for slaughter and takes pride in his crop of certified black Angus grass fed quarter horse. Do they exist? The way horses go from the pasture to the plate seems really back alley to me. Does anyone know more about the horse meat industry? I feel so ignorant about the basic facts! Who buys the meat we produce? Does it get tested by the FDA for drugs, hormones, etc?
If we are going to eat horses shouldn't we treat them more like food and less like athletes? How could we do both and truly have both human consumers and horses at heart? How do we de-incentivize the practice of irresponsible breeding and the dumping of horses at auctions? It did not stop when slaughter was banned and it wont stop now. How do we stop something people get paid to do?

Ok enough questions. But seriously I would love to hear your thoughts! I know this is heated debate in the horse world but I really don't know what I think. I want to know how you guys feel. I have trusted your advise on other issues for so long!

Ok I am back...

Bodhi this summer while i was away...


It is snowing... but I have my husband and my horse so it can't be too bad.

Bodhi has become quite the western pony while I have been away. He has been to a clinic from a John Lyons certified rider and he is a member of 4H. Best of all he has successfully learned to be happy partner with other riders with other styles.

Riding him again felt wonderful. He remembered everything. I felt like I forgot a few things. He was very happy to jump in right where we left off with clicker training. I think if you have a clicker trained horse and you are wondering if he will adapt to "normal" training.... well I can only speak for Bodhi and I but as long as you find riders and trainers that are soft then you should have no trouble shifting between the two modes of training.

I hope everyone has done well these last 6 months! I missed my horse and reading about your horses.

I would like to start by apologizing for the lack of posts in the recent path. Rest assured, I haven't abandoned Bodhi. In fact, I have been taking lessons regularly and visiting him twice a week. His part-boarder has started riding three times a week, which is good because he is starting to get a bit pudgy. I have been working on more of the basics. My posting trot has improved a lot. I have him turning on his haunches and the walk, trot, whoa transitions are smooth. I need to practice the sitting trot. When I do it is looks (and feels) more like the jostling, bouncing trot.

Upon your suggestion, I was applying apple cider vinegar regularly to his hooves, which look great now. He recently had vet and farrier visits so he is in ship shape. The ground has dried up for the most part and now the bugs are the issue. They don't seem to pose as much of a problem as the bugs in Florida but he is still annoyed by them. I guess that's just one of those things you can't control. I will try to post more regularly in the near future. Hopefully we will see a few posts from the other two authors as well.

Hello all!
I will be posting whenever I can to update everyone on Bodhi's adventures with his new riders. He has been a wonderful sport letting all of these new riders take him for a "spin".
I am Marci and I will be visiting Bodhi at least once a week and hopefully multiple times a week soon! I am just getting back into horses and riding after a long time away. I feel that I came back to my roots and what a better way than to spend time with sweet Bodhi. He is a pleasure to ride and even more amazing to just visit with. Well this is all for now...I am going to see if I can figure out how to post a few pictures and a video of the coolest pony in the world!





As Chris (horse husband) already mentioned cleaning Bodhi's hooves can be quite the task with all of this Manitoba "gumbo" but here Bodhi is waiting patiently!