What is it about French horses?
Last year, French police horse Garibaldi, made a tour of the downtown, sans his rider.
Now, eight ponies managed to dump their riders and take off down the A4! Apparently they were spooked by a horn.
Luckily all the ponies were caught and returned unharmed.
Elmer Bandit, the 38 year old competitive trail horse, was euthanized on February 14th after he was unable to rise. Although he was alert, cold temperatures and wind had caused him to become hypothermic. He was surrounded by his friends and his owner, Mary Anna Wood, at the end.
The Horse has set up a page where readers can send their condolences to Ms. Wood and share their memories of this extraordinary competitor: Memories of Elmer Bandit.
Pathologist Examines Elmer’s Body
Competitive trail horse, Elmer Bandit, 38, euthanized
Elmer Bandit still going strong at 38
Move over Wing Tempo! Elmer sets new competitive trail riding record!
Author Dick Francis died yesterday at age 89.
I’ve been reading Dick Francis books since, well, since I could read.
They were among the first “grown up” books that I read. I gobbled them up because combined my two favorite things: horses and mysteries. Even better, he wrote 42 books, so there was plenty to read. My mother (a non horse person) also enjoyed them. We’d go to the library and come back with our arms laden with books and curl up on the sofa and read. They gave me endless hours of pleasure.
I read Dick Francis in college when I needed to take a break from studying and term papers.
I read Dick Francis when I moved away from home to take my
first job and I hardly knew a sole.
I read Dick Francis on planes when I was traveling for business and on beaches and by the pool while my kids played.
Most recently I’ve listened to Dick Francis on audiobooks when I’m doing chores at the barn. Each time I enter into the world of one of his books I’ve enjoyed the plot, the humanity of his protagonists and, of course, the horses.
When I first started reading Dick Francis I had no idea of his distinguished career as a jockey. He rode for the Queen Mother from 1953-1957. He was finally persuaded to retire after a final bad fall when he was trampled by several horses and kicked in the stomach. He once said that on average he hit the ground once every 12 races. Given that he rode in 2,305 races (winning 345 of them), that’s a lot of falls.
His greatest ambition was to win the Grand National. He came dishearteningly close — he was once second and then, the last time he rode in the race, in 1956, his horse Devon Loch, inexplicably fell 50 yards from the finish line while
Dick Francis riding Finnure in the Champion Chase in 1950.
in the lead (see a video of the race below).
Francis turned to writing novels after working for a time as a racing correspondent and publishing his autobiography. He published his first novel in 1962 and delivered one every year thereafter until his wife, Mary died in 2000. After that there was a six year hiatus until he published a book with his son, Felix.
According to an article in the Telegraph,
Francis picked up ideas for his novels in his travels round the world’s racecourses. The idea for Slay Ride (1973), for example, came to him when he was in Oslo for the Norwegian Grand National in 1972. It was a small and charming course with a pond in the middle – “Just the place to find a body”, Francis remarked – and the book was all about a corpse discovered in the pond at the Oslo racecourse. The Norwegians repaid the compliment by naming one of their races the Dick Francis Handicap.
Sometimes Francis claimed that he would begin a book with no preconceived plans at all: “I just start with a first line. With Enquiry (1969) we said ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen to a jockey?’ and I wrote down: ‘Yesterday, I lost my licence.’ The rest of the book just followed from that. There is no going back. I start on page one and go straight on to the end. I never scrap a chapter or change my mind halfway.”
She was the one who did all the background research: for Flying Finish (1966), she learned to fly, produced a book about flying, then started an air taxi service which she ran for seven years. She learned to paint for In the Frame (1976) and became such an accomplished photographer for Reflex (1980) that she was asked to take a picture of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for a book’s dust-jacket.
According to Graham Lord, who wrote a biography of Francis writes in the Daily Mail that, “In 1980, Mary told me: ‘Yes, Dick would like me to have all the credit for them, but believe me, it’s much better for everyone, including the readers, to think that he writes them because they’re taut, masculine books that might otherwise lose their credibility.”
http://www.dickfrancis.com/site/DIFR/Templates/Gallery.aspx?pageid=109&cc=GB
Not horse related, but this short animation strikes a chord.
We have three cats. Four actually, but one is so old that mostly she sleeps in her box on the kitchen table.
The other three monitor my progress at waking up in the morning. Many times the first thing I see when I open my eyes is a furry face. Now, they know better than to actively wake me, but it’s the feeling of being stared at that usually rouses me!
Anky Van Grunsven and Salinero
Anky van Grunsven is considered the queen of Rollkur by many. She calls her system Low, Deep and Round (LDR). In these three videos, Anky talks about her system of LDR in a clinic while demonstrating the techniques on her horse Nelson.
While I’m not a fan of Rollkur (and yes, these videos are meant to put the training technique in a more positive context), I did find these three videos to be really interesting and if you can put the Rollkur issue aside, and listen to it with an open mind, they are thought provoking. It’s not every day that you get to audit a clinic from a rider/trainer of her caliber for free.
One interesting bit at the beginning is that she states that these are techniques for the professional rider and should not be attempted by amateurs without supervision. Kind of like those car ads that say in the small print, “professional driver on a closed track.”
What do you think?
The luckiest horses live out their lives in equine retirement homes. This one, Smooth Moves Equine, looks idyllic but the cost ranges between $4,950-$6,000 per year. And they rarely have an opening!
Recently I tried to help someone find a home for a horse that at the tender age of six, has been declared pasture sound only. After spending thousands of dollars at a well known large animal veterinary hospital the diagnosis was severe kissing spines. While the horse looks fine at liberty, he can’t carry weight.
This is a tough time to give away a horse that can’t be ridden. Just look at Craig’s list — there are any number of horses being given away for free, many of them (supposedly) sound. The desire for a “companion horse” has also diminished as the economy has tanked. With hay and other feed costs high, most people don’t want to take on an extra lawn ornament, especially one that is only six and could well live into his 20s.
It’s heartbreaking to find out your horse is broken in a way that can’t be fixed. If you’re lucky enough to have your own barn, maybe you can afford to keep him out back because your incremental costs are low. For those of us who board, the decision is a lot tougher.
What are your options?
When Patrik Kitell warmed up Watermill Scandic, his tongue protruded from his mouth.
The so called “Blue Tongue” video, which shows Patrik Kitell training the stallion Watermill Scandic at a World Cup event last October sparked a huge debate about the use of Rollkur (or hyperflexion) around the world. A horse’s tongue can turn blue when the curb bit presses down on the tongue, impairing blood circulation.
After reviewing video of the event, the FEI says it has found “no reliable evidence” that the warm up techniques used by Kittel on his horse were excessive. The FEI issued Kittel a warning letter and was told his actions will be watched in the future.
That’s not to say that the FEI issoft on Rollkur. A round-table discussion on Rollkur by FEI officials yesterday has declared that any head and neck position achieved through aggressive force is not acceptable, and agressive riding must be sanctioned and emphasized that the main responsibility for the welfare of the horse rests with the rider.
The backlash against Kittel was swift. Many people wrote letters to the FEI protesting the use of hyperflexion and posters such as this sprang up on the Internet.
The video below was shot by Epona.TV of the warm up area. Their criticism of his ride included the length of the schooling, as well as the use of hyperflexion. Their description is below:
For a minimum of two hours, Swedish Olympic rider Patrik Kittel trained his stallion, Watermill Scandic, in various degrees of hyperflexion, on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Grand Prix. EPONA.tv was passing by the warm up at 3.45 pm, and at this time, the rider was well into his session. At circa 5.45, the session ended.
During the first part of the training session, the horse’s tongue was briefly showing. The tongue was clearly blue, and flopped limply from the horse’s mouth. However, Patrik Kittel was quick to notice, and halted the horse before reaching for the muzzle with the hand furthest away from the camera. Afterwards, the tongue did not reappear.
I find the video incredibly difficult to watch. It’s not so much the tongue; I’ve seen many horses that stick their tongues out and it’s not always a sign of distress.
But to make a horse work with its nose almost touching its chest going around and around ad nauseum? To me it seems the diametric opposite of what dressage is supposed to be — lightness, balance, harmony and impulsion. I can’t come to terms with the idea that an end performance that attempts to achieve those goals can be built from a foundation that’s so forceful and restrictive.
Hyperflexion seems to be the training fad du jour. It’s been embraced by many top international riders and even if (and that’s a big if) they have the skill to use it judiciously, it will be emulated by less skilled riders and create a downward spiral of bad riding and unhappy horses.
I hope that FEI makes good on their promise to hold riders responsible for the welfare of their horses and that they start at the top.
