What's the One Thing You'd Like to Know About....

...Trail Riding?

From time to time, I'm going to pitch out a question like this on various want-to-know-about subjects.

First topic up: trail riding (I know, we all have our versions of what that is, exactly...but that should be part of the fun in reading your answers.

One thing--and it can be anything!

Jim Bortvedt Photo

What Is This Wild Man Doing?

You know those wedding vows, "for better or worse?"

My splendid husband, Edward Sala, may not have had a clear idea of  WHAT that would involve when we were married by a female preacher whose name we got from the phone book (true story).

Nevertheless, he's always been pretty game for the spousal-support duties that come with being wed to a horse-mag editor, and here is some recent proof.

What he's doing, exactly, is making himself the "ride to" target for trail riders being photographed for future shots in Horse & Rider. We had those riders out in a 1,600-acre section of rolling hills out behind our barn, and without a target, it'd be hard for them to stay at just the right angle for the camera.

The Edman also transported the crew over hill and dale in his Dodge dually, handed out bottles of iced water to the riders and the photographer, AND fired up the barbecue to provide a great meal for everyone once the shoot wrapped.

When H&R hired me, they definitely got a two-for-one.

(Love ya, baby, and thanks!)

Horse-Products Maker on CNN--Today (July 28)!

Remember my blog post from a while back, re: Professional's Choice bringing outsourced work back to the U.S., in order to save American jobs? (Click here to review.)

Lou Dobbs, of CNN, is onto the same piece of news, and will do a segment on it on tonight's edition of his program. The show is set to air at 7 p.m. Eastern. In my time zone, Pacific, that means it'll be on in about half an hour.

Read more here.

"School Pictures" of the Other Horse Kids

Remember "school pictures day" from back when you were a kid? When your mom got you all dressed up so you could get your picture taken?

That's kind of what happened this past weekend, when Ed and I managed to get pictures taken of Riley and Tiffany--the two horses we have left at the ranch of our own after the deaths of Tank and Miss Rose.

Both are Quarter Horses. Riley is a 6-year-old sorrel gelding that we have owned since he was about 4 months old. Tiffany is a 2-year-old gray filly that we bred and raised.

"Meet the kids," says their horse mom! They will be Smitty's big brother and sister when he gets here later this summer.

Photos are by Jim Bortvedt, who's been shooting my horses (and other parts of my personal and professional life) for over 20 years. Thanks, Jim!

 

Some New Baby Pictures of Smitty

I am starting to count the days until Smitty, my next new horse, is weaned and able to leave North Dakota for Idaho.

Smitty, of course, remains blissfully unaware that life will ever involve anything but snuggling with mom, playing with his half sister, eating on demand, and taking baby naps.

Here are some new pictures of him, at about 3 1/2 months old. You'll note that both the foals are shedding from bright sorrel to dark chestnut.

Thanks to Gail Smith for the photos!

Happy Birthday to Mr. Appaloosa, George Hatley

One of my mentors had a birthday last weekend, and he celebrated it the way he has for the last 40-some years--by inviting other horse lovers to his Idaho ranch for a wagon-drive and picnic.

George Hatley, aka Mr. Appaloosa, reached 85 years of age on this latest milestone, and I sure wouldn't have missed it. George gave me my first job in equine publishing, back in 1975, and has been a dear friend ever since.

The guests--some with teams and wagons, some on saddle horses, others taking seats in the wagons, still others staying back at the starting point in order to prepare food--spent about 3 hours on a relaxing trip through meadows and forested segments on the Hatley ranch. Upon their return, with a worked-up appetite, they feasted on all kinds of homemade treats, birthday cake and ice cream, and home-grown fruit toppings.

When I thanked George for the lovely day (that's him, admiring the cake with 85 spots on it), he thanked ME for taking the time to come. "It wouldn't be much of a party if no one cared to come," he added. Classic George comment.

Here's a selection of photos from Mr. Appaloosa's 85th birthday bash. (Why is George called Mr. Appaloosa?  Well, that's another whole story!)

P.S. The lovely lady in the fancy hat and dark-red top is my mom, Marie Smith, who was here visiting from North Dakota. She's heard me talk about the annual Hatley Sunday drive for years, and this time she finally got to attend and find out what all the fun is all about.

 

Hay: What a Difference a Year Makes

Question for you: In your area, how do this year's hay prices compare to last year's?

In mine (north-central Idaho), the grass-hay market has taken an abrupt nosedive--from $200/ton last year, to $80-$100/ton as of this writing.

Good news for horse folks who have to buy their supply (we rushed out to get another 5-ton flatbed load over the weekend, while the gettin' was good), not such good news for the growers who are suddenly having to slash prices to get their product sold.

The grower we buy from tells a classic boom/bust story: Last year's high prices prompted many growers to buy, lease, and/or plant more hay ground for 2009. But at the same time, the historically high hay prices seen in '08 also forced many people to cut their horse numbers or to get out of horses entirely: More hay, for fewer horses.

These two factors, complicated by a rain that fell when much of the current-year crop was still in the field, led to what he calls "a market collapse."

Makes you wonder what will happen NEXT year. Will some of those fields sit idle, or go back to producing some other kind of crop? Will that send prices back up again?

I sure don't know. But I do know that we now have hay stashed into every nook and cranny we can find, and that I'm not going to be worrying this winter about what our horses are going to eat.

August's Horse & Rider: On Its Way To You!

OK, troops, what do you think about this one--the August '09 issue of Horse & Rider?

Behind the scenes: We tried several foal/weanling shots for this particular cover, and chose this red roan foal as the most visually interesting.

The article that goes with it, with weanling-lesson advice from Team H&R's Robin Gollehon, is one I'm personally interested in--because in just a few weeks, Smitty will be weaned, moving to Idaho from North Dakota, and ready for a few lessons of his own.

Let us know how the rest of the cover articles sound to you!

Grooming Tools and Products: Name Your Faves

I just love a well-groomed horse, and thus have shelves full of tools and products for that purpose. To illustrate the point, I grabbed just a few items from the grooming-pantry stash.

What might I find in yours?

I seem to end up with horses that have a lot of white on them, so I'm never without some kind of whitening shampoo ("purple stuff," as some call it, thanks to the bluing added to the shampoo).

For shows and photo shoots, I always have a can of  spray-on coat sheen. Can't live without a good detangling/conditioning product for manes and tails, and I'll sometimes reach for a little hoof polish, and some white or black grooming chalk as well.

Of course, as I suspect most folks do, I employ numerous items that aren't made specifically for horses. The stubby brush with handle is great for scrubbing hooves and stockings as well as floors. The fat sponge, snatched from the car-wash section, is for squeezing no-tears shampoo onto dirty faces and for rinsing (I'd rather not blast my horse in the face with a hose, thank you...)

The pumice stick? That's what good housekeepers use for cleaning mineral deposits from bathroom fixtures, but I find it also works splendidly for taking off bot eggs stuck to a horse's legs.

A few other faves, not shown:

* A soft rubber curry made of a gel-like substance.

* A rubber grooming mitt with nubs.

* Body and face brushes.

* Disposable razors.

* A fat-toothed tail comb.

* Baby wipes (wishing I held the patent for product wipes in general...)

* Fresh clipper blades! 

July's Hay Days.....Ahh, They're Done!

To me, there aren't many better feelings than knowing that you have your hay supply safely stashed and ready to feed in the months ahead.

Of course, to Ed and his friend Dennis (shown here), it must have been a fairly good feeling to be unloading and stacking the last of it during  sudden cold front instead of on a hot day.

On Sunday, when Ed backed this flatbed load up the barn door, it was 97 degrees. A brewing thunderstorm kept him from unloading it, so he tarped it for Monday--when the high turned out to be 58! (Note the brooding clouds.)

With this gigantic annual summer chore accomplished (have I mentioned how much I love my darling husband?),  summer seems that much sweeter.

(That is, if it manages to return!)

Have You Checked Your Horses' Water Supply Today?

It's July. It's hot in most corners of the country. Have you checked your horses' water supply, TODAY, to make sure it's still available? In very hot weather, a horse can become fatally dehydrated within 24 hours.

I ask after reading and seeing the video with this news story about 11 Texas horses that died of thirst after their unchecked water supply gave out.

Special note:

In today's world, many of us horsekeepers rely on the convenience of automatic watering systems. (This is true at my place.) The trouble with this convenience is that it's all too easy to get complacent and just assume it's working.

This is your reminder to stay on top of your horse-water situation, whatever it might be!

Here's A Nifty Little Product I Like

I recently got the opportunity to check out a nifty little product, The Skeeter Beater, that I thought I'd tell you about. It's a simple but ingenious way to keep mosquitos and other bugs out of your parked vehicle when you want the airflow from open windows.

The Skeeter Beater consists of a pair of magnetic mesh screens, one for each side of your rig. They're available to fit over several styles of vehicle windows (you can see options on the Website).

You just adjust the soft fabric mesh to fit the window, and a series of sewn-in round magnets holds it in place on the vehicle's metal exterior. Each mesh panel is easy to put on and take off, and comes in a little carrying bag that'll fit easily into a seat-side pocket or glove compartment.

I first used my set on a riverside camping trip, when I had to park my truck in an unshaded spot and wanted to keep the interior from turning into an oven. The mosquitos were THICK in that location, but The Skeeter Beater kept them out. On the 4th of July, I used them while viewing fireworks from my truck. I've also learned to apply them even when my truck is sitting in the garage, just for the fresh-air factor.

One more example of a little slice of American ingenuity!

On This Week's Work Docket at Horse & Rider

Now that the fireworks holiday has come and gone, the Horse & Rider crew is back at it, working on projects for the magazine and its online extensions.

On the group's To-Do list for this week:

* Shoot photos for a Buywise article on how to choose horse blankets to solve real-life situations. (Example: You have a job, or go to school, and can't be there to change your horse's blanket when the weather changes drastically. What kind of blanket will cover this special need as well as your horse?)

* Write a step-by-step how-to feature on an exercise for improving a Western pleasure jog.

* Create the next installment of Conformation Clinic (the one regular department that's been running in H&R through one decade to the next, because readers have always loved it).

* Assemble a feature that covers tips for taking photos that flatter your horse.

* Finalize the cover for September's issue.

* Assign more photos and stories to come! (The photo here is by Alana Harrison, H&R managing editor.)

Happy Independence Day Holiday, Everyone!

I just love the Independence Day holiday, don't you? Wishing you all as much sun and fun as you can pack in by Monday.

Today is my husband Ed's birthday, and we are spending it at our trusty cabin. I dragged an old yard sale bed out of the shed, and set it up as an Independence-themed flower bed--for the benefit of the drive-by celebrators. We'll also get in some saddle time, some fishing time, and some saddle time.

How about you?