HORSE MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER AND MORE!!!
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Topics in this issue:
1) Feature: Interview with Nicole Steib
2) Recommended products and services: Effax
3) Rally and rating tips: Formals tips
4) Questions and answers: Ponte polyester
5) Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs: Cloud-Wild stallion of the
Rockies
6) Fun and educational websites
7) Featured rule: Spurs

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Interview with Nicole Steib, C1, Liberty Oaks Pony Club
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by Stormy May

The strikingly handsome, tall dapple grey with a cloudy white mane and tail
trotted around the jumping arena at Hisken's Eventful Acres preparing for a
lesson. His rider posted lightly with a loose rein and quiet legs. Though
he looked like he might get strong over fences, Nicole had only a simple
snaffle bit in Marlin's mouth and rode with no crop or spurs.

As the jumping lesson progressed, Nicole worked on staying with Marlin's
motion better over the fences and asking him to jump more round without
pulling. When asked what she could do to improve the jumps, her first
response was, "I could guide Marlin better with my seat and legs, and stay
lighter in my hands." Jump after jump, Marlin would start to get heavy.
Nicole would quietly, gently guide him into a circle to rebalance and then
they would position themselves to the next fence.

By the end of the lesson I knew I was watching someone I admired, someone
who put the horse's well-being ahead of her own goals. The next day I asked
for an interview.

Stormy: In the lesson yesterday I noticed that you have so much
consideration for your horse, it was amazing to watch how you focused so
well on riding from your seat and legs and not pulling on the horse. How
did you learn that?

Nicole: I've been studying natural horsemanship. I've always been a soft
rider, not aggressive. I would see dressage horses ridden with big spurs
who were so nervous, they didn't seem happy, I didn't want to do that to my
horse. When I had a horse that was hard, I would always go to the reins,
and it never got better. Then I saw people who did natural horsemanship,
both the horses and riders looked happy. I wanted to learn how to do that.

S: Tell me about Marlin, how long have you been working with him, what have
you accomplished?

N: He used to go Preliminary Eventing but when I went to look at him, he
just looked mad. He would refuse to do a lot of things, he always had to
argue and fight back. There are lots of stories of him rearing, throwing
people off, and then bolting away. He had been ridden in a gag bit before
but I didn't want to do that to him. When we first started working together
3 or 4 months ago he had a very hard mouth. At first I had hard hands too,
I could hold the reins tight and he'd put his nose vertical but that was
about it, there was no real connection.

S: How did you change things?

N: I learned to focus on steering and getting him to move from my legs, not
the reins. That's how I discovered how soft he really is.

S: So what do you think now, when you see someone else being overly harsh
with a horse, or using the reins rather than their seat to steer?

N: I just remember that I was like that too until I tried something new and
it worked. It took lots of repetition, it's not something that's going to
come overnight.

S: If someone came to you kicking and pulling on their horse, what would you
have them do?

N: I'd have them work a lot on a loose rein, moving the horse away from the
leg and getting them to tune into the seat. It might take a week or a
couple of months. When they could ride around without reins I'd have them
start taking a rein connection again.

S: What about if a rider has a horse that can only be ridden in a harsh bit?

N: I'd suggest the rider learns on a safer horse and have a trainer work on
softening the horse in the meantime. Maybe eventually they could work
together again.

S: Thank you so much for your thoughts and especially for the way you ride,
I really admire all the work you've done, I think you set a great example.

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Recommended products and services
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Is your Lexol leather conditioner running low? Time to replace it with
Effax! Effax Leather Balm (lederbalsam) is my current favorite leather
conditioner. With beeswax,lanolin, mink, and avocado oils, it has a sweet,
honey-like smell and soaks into leather like warm butter on toast. It's
much too nice to use with a rag, I just dip my fingers right into the
semi-solid goo and rub it into the leather. A little goes a long way!

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Rally and rating tips:
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For all you going to Kentucky, how do you think the pro's deal get through
formal inspections without even one penalty point? Here are some tips you
may not have thought of:

Bring a hoofpick, mane comb, and rag with you. If you can get your stable
manager to bring them, that's even better! There's always that last pile of
poop they walked through that will need picking out, the boots, nose or dock
that will need wiping, and the tail that will need one last swipe with a
brush to get out the tangles from that tail swish.

Most importantly, be a few minutes early! Being even one minute late will
give you 6 penalty points, with a point added for each additional minute
you're late. Setting your watch and barn clock 6-7 minutes ahead of
official rally time should keep you on track.

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Questions and answers
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Hi Stormy,
I've been trying to find "ponte polyester" with no luck. Is there,
by any chance, another name for it? I did a search at Jo-Ann fabric online
- didn't find it. Any ideas?
Thanks, Linda Talken, DC, English Hills Pony Club

(Note to new readers: ponte polyester is what the commercial standing wraps
are made of, it's a semi-stretchy fabric that comes in many colors. It's
very easy to make your own standing wraps from it, see the May 2003 issue of
the Horse Management Newsletter at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HorseManagementNewsletter/message/2 for more
information.)

Hi Linda,
When I went to Jo-Ann fabrics in Vacaville they did have it, perhaps you can
call them and see if they have a different name for it, but it was listed as
ponte (pronounced pon tee) polyester in the store. Let me know if you find
anything different!

Wrap it up,
Stormy

Well, I finally found the ponte polyester - it's at Hancock Fabrics in
Vacaville, Jo-Ann said they definitely don't carry it. It's $4.79/yd at
Hancock and there is going to be a 30% off coupon in the paper this week
sometime.
Linda Talken, DC, English Hills Pony Club

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Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs!
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Cloud: Wild stallion of the Rockies, and
Cloud's Legacy: The wild stallion returns

These two nature documentaries about wild horses are great resources for
comparing natural, wild horse behavior with what we ask our horses to do.
Ginger Kathrens, a rider herself, films and narrates these two, hour long
PBS shows.

See more about it at this site: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cloud/

For the best deal, both programs plus a special feature together on one DVD
for $19.95 + s/h go to: www.shopthirteen.org and type in "cloud" in the
product search window.

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Fun and educational websites
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Want more information about wild horses, or to support a charity that
returns wild horses to freedom? How about visiting a wild horse sanctuary
in Southern California? Ever wanted to meet the real "Spirit"? It's all
available at: www.returntofreedom.org

Going on a foxhunt this year? What does it mean when someone yells, "VIEW
HOLLOA!"? Find the definition of this, and many other foxhunting terms in
the files section of the Horse Management Newsletter under, "Glossary of
foxhunting terms" at this link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HorseManagementNewsletter/files/
Thanks to this year's quiz qualifiers for sending that along.

Do you have an Andalusian, Lusitano, or other horse with Spanish bloodlines?
Take a look at this beautiful website that supplies horse equipment from
Spain and Portugal including their beautiful saddles, and bridles. Do you
know what a mosquero is?
http://www.elsuenoespanol.com/english/index.html

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Featured rule
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2002 Horse Management Handbook page 34 section D:

Spurs

Smooth metal spurs with a shank of no more than 3.8 cm (1 3/8 in.) and
without rowels are permitted. The end must be blunt, and if curved, point
down. Excess spur strap should be cut or tucked in. Strap buckles lie just
to the outside of the front of the boot. The spur points down, the longer
shank goes to the outside of the boot. The shank should lie on the counter
of the boot or on spur blocks, parallel to the sole. The straps of the
spurs should match the color of the rider's boots. If spurs are to be worn
for any phase, they must be worn for formal inspection or safety check for
that phase. Riders may put spurs on at stable shortly before inspection and
carefully walk to inspection. After inspection, the rider may walk to
warm-up area and mount. Spurs must be removed immediately after
dismounting.

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Call for submissions
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Help make this newsletter the best it can be. Do you have any issues you'd
like to see addressed here? How about ideas for recommended products, books,
or videos? Want to submit your own article, or a question for the questions
and answers section? Send them to: stormy@... and I'll keep a log
of topics and articles for upcoming issues.

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