HORSE MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER AND MORE!!!
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Topics in this issue:
1) Feature: Finding success in failure
2) Recommended products and services: Cool Medics
3) Rally and rating tips: Dressage Freestyle music
4) Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs: Teaching Safe Horsemanship by Jan
Dawson
5) Fun and educational websites: Equestrian Network Magazine
6) Featured rule: Tying at rallies
7) Horsey Humor: Horse-aholic
8) Free item exchange

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Feature: Finding success in failure
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by Stormy May

The following is a letter I wrote last fall to six Pony Clubbers who took
their C3 test in the Sierra Pacific Region. Not passing a rating can be
very tough on everyone involved, from the examiners, to the candidates,
their parents, and even the horses. At this rating I was the impartial
observer. The impartial observer is the person who helps ensure that the
rating is conducted fairly and that there is clear communication between the
examiners, parents, and candidates. Hopefully this can add a little
perspective to this whole process.

********

Some of you passed, others didn't. I had the unique perspective of watching
all of you over the past few years as an examiner, judge, trainer, prep
clinician, and impartial observer. For some, it was only a few hours
evaluation or teaching once a year, and others I had the pleasure of working
with on a more regular basis.

For every single candidate, from the time of the proficiency assessment in
August or last spring, to the time of the test this past weekend, I saw
tremendous improvements. Even if you didn't pass the test this time, I want
you all to realize that if you hadn't been striving to achieve this rating,
your riding and horse management skills wouldn't have improved the way they
did. I know it can be crushing to put in all that effort and still fall
short of your goal. It's enough to end some people's Pony Club or even
their entire riding careers. I personally have experienced failure not only
in Pony Club but also at job interviews, in school, while teaching, and in
competitions. I've learned that most often, the difference between the
successful person and the unsuccessful one in the end doesn't come down to
talent or natural ability at all. It is only that the successful person
persevered through failures while the unsuccessful one gave up and let
perceived blocks stop her. Having big dreams and goals to work towards is
infinitely more important than whether or not they are ultimately achieved.
Goals and dreams are what motivates us to learn, grow, and expand our skills
and awareness; and you all demonstrated this beautifully at the test.

The way testing is set up in USPC, the examiners can only get a snapshot of
your riding and horse management skills on one particular weekend. Their job
is to fairly evaluate whether what they see is meeting the standard or not.
Their job isn't to "pass" or "fail" you, it's to give you a progress report
that you can take and use to further your equine career. "Meets Standard" or
"Does Not Meet Standard" is not a reflection of how hard you worked to get
to the test, how much progress you've made, how worthy you are as a person,
or any other such meaning that we might consciously or subconsciously attach
to it. It merely means that on this particular weekend, you were or weren't
demonstrating the skills and knowledge required at the C3 level. If the
testing was based on the amount of progress shown by everybody since I last
evaluated you, every single one of you would have exceeded standards.
Please keep this in mind.

For the parents who are reading this, I recall how my dad supported me as I
was growing up. As he would watch me go out the door (to trailer myself and
my horse to a lesson, rating, camp, or clinic) he would say, "Have a good
experience." He knew it wasn't about whether I was successful or
unsuccessful. All that mattered was that I had a good experience, that I
learned the lesson I needed to learn. It was only years later that I fully
realized that although everything is an "experience", I am the only person
in control of whether or not I perceive the experience as good.

One of my favorite quotes that I live with today is "Wisdom is meaningless
until our own experience has given it meaning." - Bergen Evans. Even though
I am not a parent myself, I know that the best thing my parents gave me was
the chance and space to have my own experiences, make my own choices, live
with the consequences, and decide what kind of person I wanted to be.

For the candidates, now that you've been through the C3 test, I would
appreciate knowing how could we help you and others to follow be better
prepared for the next C3 test. What message would you like future
candidates to have? What do you wish you would have been told, or if you
were told, what did you not fully realize until you experienced the test? I
look forward to hearing from you so we can improve the program for next year
and the years to come.

Many thanks and congratulations on lessons well learned!!!

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Recommended products and services: Cool Medics products
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At the end of last summer there was a vendor at a horse show selling "Cool
Medics" vests. The vests looked stylish enough, but I couldn't imagine how
wearing an extra layer in temperatures already over 100 degrees could keep
me cooler. I had tried neck coolers with the little beads that expand with
water and end up looking like a sausage but just ended up with hot water
around my neck. Dubiously, I tried on one of the vests that had been
briefly soaked in water and then squeezed out until it no longer dripped. I
only wore it for a few minutes but did notice a pleasant cooling around my
torso. I thought it might be nice, but certainly not worth the $90-120. it
cost. I told my partner about it and next thing I knew, I was given one as
a present.

By the end of that summer, I was sold on the vest. I still can't explain
exactly how it works (something about a special evaporative fabric) but I
can vouch wholeheartedly that it works extremely well. I now consider it a
required piece of riding and teaching attire when temperatures rise above 90
degrees. I'm not sure how well they would work in a very humid area when
it's hard to get anything to evaporate, but in dry California and the other
southwest states it performs beautifully.

To read more about the Cool Medics products or order them, you can visit
their website at: www.coolmedics.com . We may even get a local vendor out
at Western Championships in Sacramento in July. Don't miss the booth!

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Rally and rating tips: Music for Musical Freestyles
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http://www.horsedances.net

If you frequently find yourself spending hours trying to find the perfect
dressage freestyle music, you may want to invest in some CD's or individual
tracks from this website.

The rare and unpublished tracks are specially organized into walk, trot, and
canter categories and the website gives some good tips on how to edit
everything together right on your home computer.

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Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs!
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Teaching Safe Horsemanship by Jan Dawson

Here's the write-up from the USPC website:

The author, President of the American Association for Horsemanship Safety,
attorney, and longtime trainer of riding instructors, helps to ³create and
maintain a safe riding environment.² She covers horse nature and responses,
how to decide when a student is safely ready to advance, and balance
problems that are responsible for 80% of falls. Sample lesson plans,
exercises, specific suggestions for dealing with troubles faced by students,
and a chapter on liability complete with sample forms, combine to make this
book infinitely valuable to instructors, DCs or anyone in a position of
leadership with horses. Compliments the USPC Manual of Horsemanship, Vol.
III (B/HA/A Manual).

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Fun and educational website
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www.equestmagazine.com

Equestrian Network Magazine is an offshoot of the Bay Area Equestrian
Network website. It has some good articles and best of all, it's Free!
This month features include an article on equine ulcers, a very good "risk
assessment guide" for determining if you're up to an equine task, and an
article about working with wild horses, in addition to several other
interesting finds.

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Featured rule: Tying at rallies (and home!)
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2002 Horse Management Handbook page 29 section 8:

Mounts stabled in standing stalls or in the open must be secured to an
immovable object or to a picket line by a tie rope with a quick-release
knot. The tie rope should be attached at the mount's shoulder height or
higher and be of such length that the mount cannot entangle himself. Mounts
must always be tied or stood with enough distance between them to avoid
injury to each other and to allow safe passage for people.

Stormy's note: We just had a tragedy next door when our neighbor tied her
horse to her portable round corral. The horse pulled back slightly and then
when the pipe panel started moving with him, he panicked and ripped the
whole panel free and galloped around the yard dragging it until he got so
entangled that we had to cut him free. He was so badly injured by the
ordeal that if all turns out for the best, he will only be sound enough to
walk around a pasture for the rest of his days. Never tie to moveable
objects! I've even seen a horse easily rip a fence board off and go
galloping down the road with it dragging. Of course use a breakaway halter
as well.

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Horsey humor: Horse-aholic
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Good Afternoon. I AM a horse-aholic. I would like to welcome you to this
month's meeting of Horse-aholic Anonymous. Some of you are here tonight
because a friend or relative brought you. You may be sitting here thinking
that you are OK and don't really need any help. It is not easy to admit that
you are a horse-aholic and it is even harder to bring yourself to an HA
meeting for help.

HA is here to assist you. I have some questions to ask. If you can answer
YES to more than three of the following, you have come to the right place:

1. Can you say "sheath" in public without blushing?

2. Do you drive a big truck with a towing package when everyone else drives
a real car?

3. Do you have more than one vehicle? One for you and one for the horses?

4. Do you spend your holidays going to shows, clinics and seminars when
everyone else goes on a cruise?

5. If you do go overseas, is it to a riding vacation in Ireland or to Spruce
Meadows to watch the Grand Prix?

6. Do you discuss things at the dinner table that would make most doctors
leave in disgust?

7. Do you consider formal wear to be clean jeans and freshly scraped boots?

8. Is your interior decorator the local tack shop?

9. Was your furniture and carpeting chosen with your horses in mind?

10. Are your end tables really tack trunks with tablecloths thrown over
them?

11. Is your mail made up primarily of horse catalogs and horse magazines?

12. Do you get up before dawn to ride? Go to horse shows? Clinics? But do
you have trouble getting up for "work?"

13. If you do have dresses, do they all have pockets? Do those pockets often
contain bits of carrot, hay, or sweet feed?

14. When you meet a new person do you always ask them what kind of horse
they have and pity them if they don't have one?

15. Do you remember the name of their horse sooner than you remember their
name?

16. Do you find non-horse people boring?

If you answered YES to one of the above, there is still hope.

If you answered YES to two, you are in serious trouble.

My advice to all of you with three or more YES's is to sit back and smile,
turn to the smiling person next to you, and know that your life will always
be filled with good friends and good horses and it will never be boring.

--Author Unknown

from www.equisearch.com/humor

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Free item exchange
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**FREE**FREE**FREE**

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Submit your free horse-related items or services here. If you or your club
has items they are willing to pass along to a new family, this is a great
place to list them. Listings can come from any part of the country, or even
overseas!

Free items may include but are not limited to:

riding clothes
rally equipment
horse-related games and toys
tack and training equipment
blankets, wraps, halters
books or magazines
horse-related artwork
and of course...horses and ponies!

The recipient may be expected to handle any shipping costs.

Please provide a phone and/or email contact with each listing. Items will
be listed in the next HM Newsletter and will not be renewed unless an
additional email is sent asking for the listing to be continued.

So...clean out your tackroom and make room for more stuff!

To submit your items, simply reply to this email or write to:
stormy@... .

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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.