I’m always tempted to take one of the baby goats home from our local farm. I wonder if Freedom would appreciate having a goat friend as much as this horse.
Monthly Archives: May 2009
The important part of Graceland is now open: The stables
Elvis Presley on his prized Palomino horse Rising Sun
Horses were a big part of Elvis Presley’s life. Who knew? But I read recently that the stable of Graceland are now open to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
For Elvis, like for many of us, riding offered him peace and solace.
Elvis’s favorite horse was a golden palomino he called Rising Sun. His stables from then on were called “The House of the Rising Sun.”
The stables at Graceland.
Artifacts on display as part of stable tour will include saddles used by Elvis and his entourage, personal western wear including chaps, hats and boots all worn by Elvis.
In 2008 Priscilla Presley brought two new horses to Graceland. She adopted two horses, Max and Merlin, who were rescued from slaughter. The two horses, ages 2 and 3, are brothers.
Max, one of the two horses adopted by Priscilla Presley
“I have always had a bond with horses,” Presley said. “Elvis gave me my very first horse. It was the horses that made Graceland home to us.”
For more photos and information about Elvis’ love of horses, read Rising Sun and other horses at Graceland.
Some corrections — In case you don’t read the comments, the woman who rescued Max and his brother, Carole-Terese Naser, sent me some corrections to what I’d written. I
Please note some corrections on your story about the new horses at Graceland: Max of Maine is one of 6 horses I rescued from slaughter here in Maine. He was adopted by Priscilla Presley from me in January of 2008. I took him to Graceland that month. He is now 5 years old, not 3. His full brother Merlin is not at Graceland, for while Priscilla and I had originally intended to transition him there, I found that – after some initial groundwork – Merlin’s personality is not suited to the public Graceland lifestyle. The handsome Merlin is, instead, looking for an excellent foster home with an experienced horse person. Therefore, the second new horse at Graceland is little Bandit, rescued from an egregious neglect situation in Tenn. For the full story of Max and his escape from slaughter, and for more about possible foster of his brother Merlin, please visit http://www.sixhorsessaved.org. Thank you.
Actually, the thanks should go to Ms. Naser for helping to save these horses for slaughter and for following through and helping them find appropriate homes.
Rachel Alexandra to sit out the Belmont Stakes
Superstar filly Rachel Alexandra will be on vacation during the Belmont.
Since moments after she won the Preakness Stakes, there has been much speculation about whether or not Rachel Alexandra would run in the Belmont.
Now the wait is over. The filly won’t run.
In a statement today, Jess Jackson said:
“Rachel Alexandra is an incredible thoroughbred who has proven to be the best three year old in racing today. We are elated by all the attention her wins in the Oaks and Preakness has garnered the sport. The many letters and emails we have received from young girls and racingenthusiasts lets us know that many fans are proud of Rachel. When we purchased Rachel, our goal was to restore the sport’s vitality and grow its fan base by extending the racing careers of its stars.
After careful consideration, we have decided not to run Rachel Alexandra in the Belmont Stakes next weekend. We have advised Calvin Borel, Chip Woolley and Belmont of our decision. We thank them, the media and the fans for their many courtesies and patience while we pondered.
We know the media and many fans would have liked to see her run in the Belmont Stakes — we feel the same. But all of us sincerely interested in the horse must agree that we only want to see her run when it is best
for her. While she is in great shape, having strong works, and recovering well from her amazing performances, we feel Rachel deserves a well-earned vacation. Since March 14, Rachel has won four graded races with just two weeks rest between her last two victories. We will always put her long-term well being first. And, of course, we want to run her when she is fresh.Rachel, her owners, her trainers and her fans can continue to anticipate an exciting campaign. All major races will be considered as we look to the rest of Rachel’s racing career.”
It’s nice to hear an owner making decisions based on the long-term health of their horse. I hope she has a long and successful career!
Now the only question is whether Calvin Borel will ride Mine That Bird.
A glimpse of an old friend. Or, remember when saddles were flat as pancakes?
This Hartley Galaxie looks just like my first saddle.
I was looking at saddles on eBay — my favorite form of window shopping — and I came across an auction for a saddle that was a dead ringer of the first saddle I ever owned: A Hartley Galaxie.
I bought the saddle when I was 14 using babysitting money. My recollection was that it cost $325. Mostly I remember that it was the most expensive item I had ever bought.
Technically, the saddle was used. Someone at the barn had bought it, had her initials stamped into the flap, and changed her mind. So I got it for a good price. I didn’t care about the initials. In fact, I can’t remember what they were. All I knew was that this was my saddle and it was perfect. At that time the Crosby Prix de Nations was the saddle that everyone wanted. This looked close enough to fit the bill. It was flat as a pancake without even the hint of a knee roll. This was at a time when I scoffed at the few who owned Stubben Siegfrieds with their unsightly knee rolls.
Of course, back then I didn’t know that all saddles didn’t fit all horses, so I rode everything in that saddle. And in those days I rode a lot of horses. I never had my own horse growing up; instead, I worked for trainers, begging to ride any and all horses that needed work.
I had that saddle until I was about 30. During the intervening 16 years, I still didn’t know squat about saddle fit, but my riding discipline changed. In my early 20s I began to event. That’s when I discovered the limitations of having a completely flat saddle: when riding cross country it didn’t offer a lot of support. I had small knee blocks added to the saddle which more or less held me in place (I remember hitting the dirt a lot back then and don’t remember it hurting quite as much as it does now).
Eventually, I traded that saddle for one with big honking knee rolls. Funny how all of a sudden I found the concept of knee and thigh blocks to be comforting.
But I still remember that Galaxie with fondness and pride.
35 uses for baling twine at the barn
This bridle shows an innovative use of baling twine.
Baling twine is right up there with duct tape as being one of those “can’t live without” items. The best part is that you always seem to have more of it than you can possibly imagine and it’s included in the price of your hay!
I’m not sure I can come up with 101 uses, but it will come close! Here’s what I’ve used it for:
- Lead rope
- Cross ties
- Blanket straps
- Bit keeper for full cheek snaffle
- Side reins
- To hold a stall door open
- Braided and used as a stall guard
- Dog leash
- Standing martingale
- A grab strap
- Laces for my boots
- Fix a broken halter
- To tie a gate shut
- Temporary fencing
- Overcheck to prevent grazing
- To tie the scissors to the wall so they won’t get lost
- Belt for my chaps
- Headband or hair tie
- To tie up water and feed buckets
- Braided together as a balance rein
And here are some of the innovative uses that I found on horse forums.
- Curb strap
- Braided together as a muck bucket strap
- Home made hay nets
- Replacing broken ends of lunge whips
- Spur straps
- Reins
- Grazing reins
- Rope halter
- Crocheted or braided into a rug
- Tie plants to trellis
- Grooming whisk
- Bucket scrubber
- Handles for the end of electric fencing
- Hammocks!
- Art!!
Seriously, the baling twine as art is pretty cool. Check these out:
Baling twine as art as shown at the Kyneton Agricultural Show in Australia.
More artistic interpretations of baling twine.
If only my barn was as nice as this!
PetPlan's Virtual Stable Yard creates an on-line learning environment.
PetPlan, a U.K.-based provider of insurance policies for horses and pets has introduced the PetPlan Virtual Stable Yard.
Called “Your Stable”, the site is a three-dimensional interactive environment that allows the online visitor to choose where they go in the yard and what information they wish to pick up on their journey. Surfers can roam from the stables to the tack room and on to the horse clinic, and at each section download short films on subjects such as pre-purchase vetting, grooming and back care.
What a cool way for people to access information about horse care and riding!
But I’d better not show this to my horse or he’ll want to move in.
Getting my problem horse to load
Loading a horse on a trailer.
My TB, Freedom, is a great horse in many ways. But one of his major “holes” is that he is very difficult to load on a trailer alone. He’s resistant to loading even a the best of times. It’s funny because he’s not scared of the trailer. He plants his feet on the loading ramp and just refuses to move. He only melts down when he realizes he’s alone on the trailer (for the record, he can’t be alone in the barn, either — he’d either jump out of his stall or go right through the door). From there it can become a full blown anxiety attack in less than a minute.
The first time I trailered him alone was the day I picked him up. He loaded with the help of a broom and encouragement. Then the trailer started to shake. Really shake. He was weaving violently in the trailer. He was okay while we were moving but when we stopped for lunch, he went full tilt boogie and people were staring out the window at my trailer wondering what type of wild animal we had inside.
After that experience it was almost three years before I tried to ship him anywhere alone. After awhile I gave up and put my other horse on the trailer for company. I know it was a cop out, but it worked. I know, I’ve even written a post on Trailering Safely – Loading Tips and I still couldn’t get my horse to load without help and a companion.
Last year, I wanted to take him to a hunt. My regular hunting partner wasn’t going and I had forgotten that he’d been riding with a friend all this time. I got him onto the trailer reasonably quickly. Then he panicked. I didn’t realize he knew how to piaffe. I thought he might try to go over or through the front bar and try to sneak out the side door! Finally, I realized that motion was required. Once we were moving, he was fine. Circling the block gave me enough calmness that I was able to grab my hunt clothes from the barn and head off to the hunt. After two hours of hunting, he was also fine. It just proves that fatigue is a great antidote to separation anxiety. He even stood quietly on the trailer while I had lunch!
Today we had a major breakthrough. He loaded (after backing up a few times) with some help from my husband. He stayed relatively calm as I got into the truck and started it up. Even better, after my ride, I was able to load him without any help. Yes, I had to back him up a few times but in less than five minutes he was on the trailer and ready to go!
I guess the backing up trick is a well known approach because I found a Monty Roberts video that shows clearly how well this technique can work. My goal for the summer is to fix Freedom’s trailering problems for good and now I can’t wait to try it again.
How often do you clean your tack?
Taking care of your leather goods helps them last longer. Image from www.gentlehorse.com (John Von Haas)
For many years I cleaned my tack every time I rode. As a working student in my teens, I also cleaned tack for other people. My own saddle was always immaculate as it was my most prized possession.
In my 20s I rode at an event barn where our trainer fully expected your tack to be clean and ready for inspection after every ride. The sink and bridle hanger was our “water cooler” where we all gathered after lessons to clean our tack before we left the barn.
Now, I’m not quite so diligent. And I cheat a bit. For instance, when I’m not foxhunting, I ride in a Wintec bridle. I really like the fact that I can dunk the whole thing in a water bucket after I ride and clean both bit and bridle. As for my saddle, I usually wipe it down after I ride with one of those handy tack wipes and then clean it once a week or so.
Compared to many of the 1,050 readers who responded to a poll conducted by The Horse, that’s pretty good.
Results were as follows:
- 31.75% (335) of respondents cleaned their tack just once a year.
- 23.41% (247) cleaned their tack monthly.
- 21.23% (224) cleaned their tack before every horse show.
- 20.38% (215) cleaned their tack when it looks dirty or something breaks 20.38% (215)
- 10.31% (142) other.
- 3.22% (34) said, I don’t clean my tack.
While I consider my own tack cleaning regime to be rather lax, I’m surprised by how many people admit to cleaning their tack so infrequently. I keep my tack clean primarily for two reasons: 1) to make it last longer and 2) to make sure it’s safe. I have a small fortune invested in my saddles and I feel an obligation to keep the leather clean and at the proper level of moisture. Plus, I don’t want to be caught out by having something break because it’s unduly worn or cracked from becoming too dry.
