Monthly Archives: March 2010

Rachel Alexandra drops out of Apple Blossom Stakes

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Thoroughbred Racing and tagged with , , , ,

The much talked about match up between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will not happen at the Apple Blossom. Although both were entered, Rachel Alexandra has been scratched after her second place finish last weekend in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes. Owner Jess Jackson has stated that Rachel Alexandra is not yet in top form and needs further conditioning.

Although this may not be sporting, I hope these two great mares don’t run against each other. They are both spectacular competitors and athletes. I don’t want either one of them to be declared the “winner” based on their performance on single day. They are both champions.

Imperial Commander wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Steeplechasing and tagged with , ,

Imperial Commander wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

I love watching the English steeplechase races. Cheltenham doesn’t have the same amount of carnage as Ainstree (thank goodness) but there’s plenty of drama in this race.

What amazes me is the length of the course, the number of jumping efforts and the rolling terrain. That race is grueling. Not the least of it is the final uphill gallop to the finish line. Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies is known for conditioning his horses really well and it showed.

Imperial Commander wasn’t the favorite in the race. It was expected to be a battle between Kauto Star and Denman. However, Kauto Star came in really wrong to a fence, almost falling. Rallied and then fell. Denman just couldn’t catch Imperial Commander coming up the hill and finished seven lengths behind.

This was the fourth time that the 9-year old Imperial Commander won at Cheltenham. So maybe he likes the course?

It’s mud season with a vengeance

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Barn Management, Commentary and tagged with , , ,

We had so much rain that much of our pasture was flooded.

We had 10 inches of rain between Saturday and Monday. Had it been snow, it could easily have stacked up to more than 100 inches! Instead, we had mud. More mud than I remember seeing — ever.

Saturday we had heavy rain and high winds. The combination pulled down several of our fiberglass poles for our temporary electric fence. My husband and I went down to fix the fencing and came home soaked to the skin and cold to the bone. The field was about five inches of mud over ice. Driving those poles in was a chore.

When I went to the barn on Sunday the rain was steady and there was a stream running through the paddocks. Not just a trickle, either. There was a current! One of our paddocks was almost completely under water and if you stepped in the wrong place, you sunk. At one point I sunk about 8 inches down into the mud. Deep, sucking mud that wouldn’t let go. I thought I might need to leave my muck boots behind but I hate coming home in mud soaked socks.

I felt sorry for the horses. We don’t lock them in their stalls. I’d rather have them out and about than deal with horses that go nuts when they are finally let out. Mostly they are standing in the barn and looking out. But it’s wet in there, too. There is water oozing up through the floor. There’s  no point to putting down shavings; they are wet before you can turn around and there is no place to put the muck. You couldn’t push a wheelbarrow more than a foot or two, and that was when it was empty. I am so glad that Freedom is still barefoot. It’s nice not to worry about keeping shoes on his feet.

To enjoy the last rays of sun, the horses all crossed the "pond" to the small bit of land above water.

It was a big relief when the sun finally came out. We’ve had splendid weather the past two days — sunny and in the 60s. The relief amongst both humans and horses has been palpable. The first day of sun, I stopped by the barn in the afternoon. The horses were so desperate for sunlight that all three had waded through the pond-that-used-to-be-their-pasture, to stand in the last remaining rays.

The next day I found them all sleeping in the sun (on high ground) just enjoying the warmth.

The big question is — how long will it take to dry up? Where I live the flooding has closed roads, closed schools, and generally destroyed basements.

Saddle fitting part I: Balance

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in saddle fit, Tack and tagged with , ,

It’s hard to truly understand saddle fitting until you’ve had the chance to watch how a fitter evaluates a saddle. I recently came across an excellent series on the subject from Schleese. This 9-part video series gives clear instructions that demystify saddle fit.

Here are the first one. In addition to talking about how the balance of the saddle affects both the horse and the rider, this video clearly shows where to place the saddle on the horse’s back. It amazes me how many people put their saddles too far forward.

Balance

The cost of adding fat to your horse’s diet

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, equine nutrition, Horse care and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Adding fat to your horse’s diet is one of the quickest and least expensive ways to add calories. If you are already meeting your horse’s nutritional needs, you don’t necessarily want to feed more grain. Certainly, that’s been the case with Freedom. He is a bit of a “hard keeper” but if I feed him too much complete feed, he gets too hot to focus.

Oil is messy to feed. For many years I assiduously avoided it for that reason, preferring to feed rice bran. However, when you have a horse that is thriving on the calories provided by two cups of oil per day, it quickly becomes advantageous to find the least expensive source for fat. Over the winter, when feeding oil was a non-issue because it froze in the barn, I asked my husband to prepare a cost per calorie comparison to determine which fat source offers the biggest bang for the buck. I had just bought a bag of rice bran and was amazed by how much it cost.

Keep in mind that this comparison is only to evaluate cost per calorie. At a later date I’m planning to write about the reasons why you might — or might not — choose  particular fat source based on other issues.

Here’s what he compared: Soybean oil vs. corn oil vs. rice bran vs. flax seed.

Here’s a caveat. We belong to Costco. Price clubs like Costco allow you to purchase vast quantities of products such as oil at low prices. To benefit from the price comparison that’s detailed here, you need to have a bulk source of oil. I’ve been feeding soybean oil although I also feed half a cup of flax seed per day.  For Rice Bran I used the Triple Crown rice bran available from my feed store.

Zenyatta still undefeated as she starts 2010 with a win

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Competition, Horse breeds, horse racing, Thoroughbred Racing and tagged with , , ,

Zenyatta sure knows how to work the crowd. There was no shortage of suspense during the Santa Margarita handicap today.

Zenyatta finally found a hole and charged through to win the Santa Margarita.

Zenyatta broke last out of the gate and loped along at the back of the pack for the first half mile. At times she was 10 lengths behind the leaders.

At the top of the stretch, jockey Mike Smith didn’t pull her wide for her run as he usually does, instead opting to stay behind Chantal Sutherland. The decision looked like it was going to cost her the race as she ended up boxed in. She made a hard jump toward the rail before she found the hole and then accelerated through to win by a length and a half. Zenyatt is undefeated, now with 15 straight wins.

It looked like a hand ride with Smith not touching his whip. Given that Zenyatta was carrying 127 pounds (most of her rivals were at 111) makes the victory even more impressive.

Imagine riding against a horse like that. Thinking that you’re in the clear and then being smoked as she comes from behind. All I can think is that this is a horse with her own strategy. She obviously has a strong desire to win but is content to wait for her move at the end rather than fighting to be in the front from the get go.

Rachel Alexandra also made her 2010 debut today, finishing second to Zardana  in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes. Many who watched her training runs leading up to the race felt she was not 100% fit.

Both fillies are aimed at the Apple Blossom Stakes in three weeks. Will it be the match of the year?

Geoff Billington: Comedian or showjumper?

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Competition, equestrian, riding lessons and tagged with , , , ,

One of the coolest things on the Internet is the wealth of educational materials.

I’m not going to be heading to England any time soon to ride with (or audit) a training session with show jumping great Geoff Billington, but I don’t have to. Horse and Country TV brings it right to my laptop.

I haven’t been able to embed this on my blog, so you’ll need to click through using this link. Yes, it’s almost an hour, and it’s well worth watching. His going rate for lessons is almost $275 for an hour — that makes these free video classes a real bargain.
Geoff Billington has represented Great Britain twice at the Olympics (1996 and 2000) on their show jumping team and won the Hickstead Derby in 2007.

http://horseandcountry.tv/episode/geoff-billington-masterclass-episode-1


Determined dressage rider makes her own top hat helmet

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, dressage, equestrian, equestrian apparel, equestrian helmet, Rider Safety and tagged with , , , , ,

Like most good ideas, it turns out that someone has already created a top hat helmet, laying the groundwork for a commercial product.

In an article on Equisearch, Jennifer Tilley writes of Megan Rust, a dressage rider who wanted to wear a top hat that also protected her head. As someone who had already suffered a traumatic brain injury (not riding related), she had the motivation to make it happen.
Rust’s first inspiration came when she saw Troxel’s derby helmet, a base helmet with a derby cover fitted over it. The helmet was certified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) approved. She immediately called Troxel to inquire about the concept of using a top hat cover instead of a derby, but they hadn’t had any interest in protective top hats and were not currently making any.

Rust decided the key was to find a company that could make a cover large enough to fit over the base helmet. She contacted the manufacturers of the derby cover in Arizona and commissioned them to make her a top-hat cover with traditional styling. The prototype was not close enough to a top hat for Rust’s liking, so she sent her idea to Baron Hats, a Los Angeles hat maker for the movie industry. They were able to narrow the rim and sharpen the corners, achieving the more traditional look that Rust wanted.

A year after her search began, Rust had her top-hat helmet. It is, of course, larger than a normal top hat. The helmet peeks out below the cover with a visible chin strap.

According to Shay Timms, CEO of Troxel, the thinnest ASTM/SEI approved base helmet can be purchased for $49 (troxelhelmets.com; 800-288-4280).

Mark Mejia, master hatter at Baron Hats, says they can make the cover in four to six weeks. “All our custom hats come with a leather sweat band, silk-satin lining, a lifetime guarantee and a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity,” he says. The price of the cover varies from $500 to $1,200, depending on the materials used and the cost of labor (baronhats.com; 818-563-3025).