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Horse Mania Newsletter #12
December 11th 1999
Subscriber Count: 441
************************************************************
The NEXT deadline for ALL article writers and things submitted to the
newsletter is December 20th. Please let me know if you cannot meet this
deadline for some reason.
************************************************************
Hello everyone!
There is only one more issue to go after this before the New Year. Please
can all the column writers make sure that they get in their next articles
by the 20th so I can get it out before Christmas- I don’t want to have to
wait for people again! Thank you to everyone who always sends in their
things in time, I really appreciate it. :o)
I finally got around to getting Horse Mania a GUESTBOOK. This is on the
webpage at http://horsemania.cjb.net so you can leave your comments,
questions, suggestions, criticism and read what others have written.
Please sign it if you haven’t already, the direct links are
Sign:
http://neptune.guestworld.lycos.com/wgb/wgbsign.dbm?owner=horsemania123
View:
http://neptune.guestworld.lycos.com/wgb/wgbview.dbm?owner=horsemania123
Speaking of the webpage, I am nearly on summer break from school. I’ll
have the middle of December to the end of January off. During my nice
summer holidays I plan to reorganise the webpage and maybe spiff it up a
bit- I’ll notify everyone when changes have been made.
As I’m sure a few of you noticed, I was having big problems with my email
address over the past couple weeks. I couldn’t send or check my email and
I DID NOT receive anything sent to me on December 2nd and 3rd- so if you
sent me an email or form then please resend it. I’m sorry for this
inconvenience. Just in case this happens again I have made a “backup”
email address, suzuki182@yahoo.com so if you every have problems
contacting me you can try there. I will also always post a little message
on the front page of the Horse Mania website when I’m having problems with
it. It’s all cleared up now though, so you can send things to
thehorse@hotpop.com as usual. Thanks!
As usual any criticism, comments or suggestions are welcome! All things
that are written here without a name are by me, and everyone else's
columns has credit given to who has written it. See you until next time,
Susan
(thehorse@hotpop.com)
http://horsemania.cjb.net
'\__~ '\__~ '\__~
\ \ / \ / / cantering
In this Issue:
-Wanted
-Breeds in Focus: Morgan and Suffolk Punch
-Your Opinion
-Tell Us About Yours
-Manes & Tails
-The Name Game
-Thoroughbred Racing
-Horse Care
-Horse Story (part 2)
-Horse Poems
-Horse Jargon
-Websites
-Horse Polls
-Pen Pals
-Voting
-Archives
-Change of Address
-References
*WANTED
-------
I don’t have any regular columns that I currently need done but remember
you can submit anything horse-related you want, poems, jokes, stories
about your horse, experiences you’ve had or once off articles. And I am
always open to your own column ideas.
If you like maybe you could write something special for Christmas, New
Year, or other holidays. Horse related of course. It can be anything you
like, just make sure you send it to me at thehorse@hotpop.com before the
20th of December and it will make it into the last Horse Mania newsletter
for 1999!
*BREEDS IN FOCUS- Morgan and Suffolk Punch
----------------
MORGAN
Origin: USA
Type: Light Horse
Height: 14.1-15.2hh
Colour: Bay, Black, Brown, or Chestnut
Physical Characteristics: The Morgan has a medium sized head with a
straight profile. The ears are pointed and set apart, and the muzzle is
fine with large nostrils. Morgans have well defined withers and sloping
shoulders . They have a strong build and a broad chest. The action is
straight and free. They have slender but strong legs, with well formed
joints. The Morgan has a large, round body which is close-coupled and has
a deep girth. They have a broad, short, and muscular back. Morgans have
perfect symmetrical quarters and hind legs. They have a long, full,
flowing tail.
Use: Morgans are a very versatile breed. They do well in both harness and
ridden classes, they are used for western and pleasure riding, trail
riding, and driving.
History: Figure was the first Morgan stallion and lived for around 30
years. He was born in the late 1700’s. Figure was renamed after his owner,
Justin Morgan, after his owner died and that’s how the breed got its name.
This little horse was exceptional and in great demand as a sire. Together
with his three most famous sons, Sherman, Woodbury, and Bullrush, Justin
Morgan the horse created what is considered to be the first American
breed.
SUFFOLK PUNCH
Origin: Great Britain
Type: Heavy Horse
Height: 16-16.3hh
Colour: Always Chestnut, they are bred in seven shades. (however in
reference to this breed it is usually without the “t”, as “chesnut”.
Physical Characteristics: The Suffolk Punch has a broad head with alert
ears which are fairly small for a heavy breed. The neck is powerful, deep
and muscular. They have low shoulders which contribute to the horse’s
pulling power. They have a deep girth which can measure to 2.03m (80in)
which is more than a Shire or Clydesdale. The Suffolk has short legs that
have great strength, and their feet are small compared to other heavy
horse breeds. Suffolks have huge, powerfully muscled quarters.
Use: They were developed as a farm horse, now the Suffolk Punch can be
seen both at work and shown.
History: Every Suffolk Punch traces to a single stallion, Thomas Crisp’s
Horse of Ufford, stud book #404, who was foaled in 1768. This horse was
described as being a large bodied, short legged, bright “chesnut” standing
at 15.2hh.
*YOUR OPINION
-------------
In this section I will ask a question every issue and put in the
responses. Send in replies to me at thehorse@hotpop.com with "Your
Opinion" in the subject line.
Do you have a good question for “Your Opinion”? Please send it in to me at
thehorse@hotpop.com and I’ll use it!
This issue’s question is:
“Tell us what you do for your horse in the holidays/Christmas.”
Now we’ll take a look at the responses to last issue’s question which was:
“How should horses be trained? Or should they not be trained at all?”
Thank you to everyone who replied!
“I think horses should be trained with patience and dedication. I trained
my
own horse and I enjoyed doing it. It also takes time to train an
individual.
you have to make sure that you the time to do it. Horses can't be trained
overnight. The patience HAS to be there cause if you get frustrated with
your
horse and he/she senses that, that horse will think he/she is the boss;
you
will lose big time. When training a horse, the person has to have
dedication.
What I mean by this is that the person has to want to train the horse.
Not
just say OK cause he wants to but he wants to truly do it. The individual
training the horse will be pleased when he/she sees that they are making
progress. Once that horse is trained, the individual has the opportunity
to
enter their horse in a show to see how well they have come along. Usually
the
first show is not the best but it gets better after that. When i trained
my
horse, it took time. When i taught him one thing, I would not go on to the
next thing until he knew what i was asking of him. I had all of his basic
training done before I decided to show him. So, I entered him into a
schooling show. The first show was not the greatest but when I entered him
into the second show, he was awarded reserve champion. This show was for
green riders/green horses. After I had this show out of the way, I started
on
his western pleasure training. He picked up on the neck reining real quick
and I then worked on the jog and lope. I used voice commands on him along
with pulling on back on the reins a little bit. Believe me, this worked.
He
had the jog down perfect. And of course, he got the lope down too. If any
of
you are wondering what kind of horse I trained, it was a half-Arabian
half-Quarter Horse.”
-Sharon
“I think the best way to train a horse is to be gentle and take it
slowly. The way NOT to train a horse is to use whips and throw the tack
on and get on all at one time.
If you take training slowly the horse won't be so scared, if the horse
got scared it would take a whole lot longer to train him.”
-Cindy
*TELL US ABOUT YOURS
--------------------
This a section where you can tell us about your own horse, or the horse
you ride.Send it in to thehorse@hotpop.com and I’ll put it in. It can any
length you like.
Me and my horse Dance are great togethe !
I got her on May 20. She is an retired endurance racer
that competed in 5-75 mi races. She raced 20+ times
and placed 3rd and up in EVERY race! My trainer owned
her since birth then sold her cause she had 2 many
horses . Then she came up 4 sale and I bought her .
She is so special . Dance is an 9 y/o PUREBRED GREY
ARAB. She stands 15 hh and is 1st place quality. In a
few years we will race together and next year we will
do the Grand Nationals . She is an all a round horse
and a proven broodmare . She has 1 gelding and 1
stallion that is standing. Another foal was lost!
She is bred to Serad,Serakix,Washoe,Karadjorge, and
Oromana. I ride her on trails, english, western, and I
jump her . She is the BEST horse and I LOVE her!
I have 4 horses but she is my favorite!
-acbdance
First Gunflash
Gunny
Gun Collection x Abitofflash
1990 APHA
Dun Tobiano
15.2hh Gelding
Gunny is the greatest horse ever!!
I just got him like 1 week ago today exactly (Wednesday) He loves to jump
and is so much fun! He's just a big puppy, and he's soo well trained. Also
if
he wants a treat he lifts his right front foot up to his chest and holds
it
there until someone gives him a treat!
-TobianoGunFlash
Holy O Moses is my 16.1 hand Appendix Quarter Horse gelding. He is 14
years old, yet he acts like he is 4. I used to ride Moe in Western, but
I am currently retraining him to go English... We are training with a
gal named Beverly at Haunaleigh Hill Stables outside of Elkhorn,
Nebraska. I have to brag a little... Moses is a GRRRREEEEEAAAAATTTT
horse. Even though he's a big chicken when it comes to trail rides, he
can get through them without having a heart attack. One day, I thought
he WOULD have a heart attack! I was grazing him ona little spot of
grass, and he heard a pig squeal, he swung around, and stood there
shaking. His heart was beating so hard, you could hear his shoulder
blade going POP... POP... POP... he calmed down FINALLY after, like 10
minutes! Moe is a GREAT horse, and I hope that everyone reading this is
as lucky as I am, to have a horse like Moses...
~*~Emily the horse Nut~*~
*MANES & TAILS by Jamie
--------------
Famous TV and movie horses
Hello, fellow horselovers! In continuing with
my series on famous equines of movies and TV, I'm
going to start off this column with a somewhat
different star--a famous MULE who made films for a
Hollywood studio between 1950-1956. Sometimes these
films can be seen on a cable channel like American
Movie Classics, but, again, like many other films made
decades ago with major animal stars (at the time),
they are seldom shown anymore.
This was a whole series of films made starring
FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE. Although FRANCIS was
supposed to be a male, it was actually a female mule
who played the part. Her name was Molly, and she was
found in California after a nationwide search for a
mule to play the part of FRANCIS. She was 20 years
old and NOT trained when she got the part. Her
trainer was Lester Hilton, the same man who trained
TV's MR. ED, the talking horse (more about him in
future column) and TV's FLICKA. These movies were
based on a novel, "FRANCIS" by David Stern. In the
novel, FRANCIS talks ONLY to a klutzy guy named Peter
Sterling, played in most of the FRANCIS films by
actor/dancer Donald O' Connor, whom I believe is still
living. In the last FRANCIS film, Peter was played by
veteran actor Mickey Rooney. The novel was made into
a screenplay in 1949, and the first FRANCIS film was a
huge success, leading to at least 5 sequels, with
titles such as FRANCIS IN THE NAVY, FRANCIS GOES TO
WEST POINT, FRANCIS IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE, FRANCIS GOES
TO THE RACES, and FRANCIS JOINS THE WACS (for the
younger people, WACS was the old Women's Army Corps).
Molly the mule (FRANCIS) was purchased by Universal
Studios for only $350.00 (U.S. dollars) and she made
MILLIONS for them.
Trivia on FRANCIS and the films: In 7 years of
films, only 3 stand-ins for the mule were used. After
the first film, Molly gained too much weight and had
to lose 250 pounds, which was done by--get this--a
steam cabinet(can you imagine a MULE getting into one
of these?!) and jogging around the studio lot tied to
the back of a moving station wagon. These two unusual
methods apparently did the trick.
To get FRANCIS to "talk", they first tried using
chewing gum and chewing tobacco in his (her?) mouth,
but that didn't work, so they simply tied threads to
either side of the mule's mouth to get movement for
talking. Character actor Chill Wills was the voice of
FRANCIS, and he was so well-suited to the part he very
often made up his own lines in the movies, which added
to the comedy effect.
FLICKA--a movie and then TV
The film "MY FRIEND FLICKA" came out in 1943,
with four different horses playing FLICKA. The name
means "little girl" in Swedish. During the first
film, they tried to "save money" by using UNTRAINED
horses, which of course was a disaster, so they hired
a top trainer, and the film was shut down for two
weeks while he got the horses ready. This film and
the sequel, "THUNDERHEAD, SON OF FLICKA" which came
out 2 years later, were based on novels by Mary
O'Hara.
The story is set on a Wyoming horse ranch and
centers on the McLaughlin family. Mr. McLaughlin is
in the business of capturing, taming, and training
wild horses to sell for riding and ranch work. He
wants to teach his young son Ken some responsibility,
and gives him the pick of any of the young horses he
wants at the next round-up. It will be his to tame
and train. Ken chooses a young, beautiful chestnut
filly which he names "FLICKA." Despite his father's
misgivings about his choice and some setbacks, Ken
finally manages to tame and train FLICKA, and as it
turns out, he's the only one she lets ride her.
In one of the most famous scenes from the movie
"MY FRIEND FLICKA", audiences were upset and outraged
at a scene where FLICKA "charged into a barbed-wire
fence" and got tangled up in it. It looked so real
that thousands of people protested what they saw as
Hollywood's cruelty. In actuality, the "barbed-wire
fence" was made of cork and rubber, so no horses were
injured. So, if you happen to see the movie on cable,
remember that.
In the TV series of the same name, Johnny
Washbrook starred as FLICKA's young owner, with Gene
Evans and Anita Louise as his parents. The TV show
aired from 1956-1958, then aired off and on in reruns
for almost 10 years. Not too long ago, The Family
Channel had it on for a few months, but then took it
off.
There were 2 horses and 2 riders in the TV
series-one horse was a beautiful pure Arabian chestnut
mare named WAHAMA. She was gentle and sweet and
played the tender scenes. The other horse was almost
identical to her and was actually a Thoroughbred
gelding who was much harder to handle and HE was named
GOLDIE. He did the action and fight scenes when
"FLICKA" was upset. His rider was a 10-year-old GIRL
named Steffi, who doubled for Johnny Washbrook in the
action scenes on the horse.
FLICKA became one of the most famous TV horses,
and then along came my personal favorite, FURY.
To be continued next issue. Most of the
information in this series comes from the book,
"ANIMAL SUPERSTARS" by John Javna. In the next issue
I will talk about FURY, then the horses who played in
"National Velvet," TRIGGER, and MR. ED.
*THE NAME GAME by Katie (kmh7787@aol.com)
---------------
How to Play: Look at the horse’s details and picture (linked) below and
come up with a name suggestion that would suit the horse. Send in the name
to Katie (kmh7787@aol.com) with your name and email address and she will
choose the winner(s) who come up with the best name! They will be posted
in the next newsletter.
Name: Mr. Tinsel Towne
Age: 3
Breed: Quarter Horse
Height: 14.3hh
Color: Palomino
Gender: Stallion
Picture: https://www.angelfire.com/id/horsemania/ngame1.jpg
URL (came from): www.appaloosas.com
FULL credit to the owner of him, who very kindly let me use his picture. :)
*THOROUGHBRED RACING by Anna Rempfer
--------------------
********************Thoroughbred Racing************************
November 25, 1999
**********************************************************************
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL! This was a very active week in the sport of
Thoroughbred Racing! If you think football has been around for a long
time,
the first Kentucky Derby was May 17,1875. That race was victoriously won
at
a two length margin by Aristides, ridden by O. Lewis, bred and owned by H.
Price McGrath, trained by Ansel Williamson. A statue stands of Aristides
in
the Churchill Downs Clubhouse Garden.
============================================================
COMIC STRIP ROLLS IN RIVER CITY
============================================================
Comic Strip, carrying highweight of 119 pounds including
jockey Pat Day, circled the field turning for home then
rolled to a 1 1/2-length victory in the grade III, $171,150
River City Handicap at Churchill Downs Sunday. It was the
second stakes win in as many days for the mare Now That's
Funny, who produced Saturday's Mrs. Revere (gr. II) winner
Silver Comic.
Keats and Yeats rallied in the drive for second, one-half
length in front of Aboriginal Apex, who set the opening two
fractions then held on well for third. Treat Me Doc finished
fourth after a rough trip, a head shy of third place. Then
came El Angelo, Joe Who, Stay Sound, Scagnelli, Midway
Magistrate, and Merlin's Song.
Comic Strip, trained by Neil Howard, completed the 1 1/8 mile
distance on firm turf in 1:50 3/5 off fractions of :23 4/5,
:47 4/5, 1:12 3/5 and 1:37 4/5. It was his fourth victory in
nine starts this year and his 10th win in 23 starts overall.
The 4-year-old Red Ransom colt earned $106,113 for the
victory and advanced his lifetime bankroll to $967,474. Comic
Strip is owned W. S. Farish, G. Watts Humphrey, and James
Elkins.
"He's a funny kind of horse, you just have to wait for him to
give you the nod," said Day, who collected four wins on the
card. "When he drops down and starts picking up these horses
you can go to town on him. If you encourage him before that
he resents it."
Comic Strip came to hand this season winning the grade III
Fourstardave Handicap over soft going at Saratoga then
finishing second in his last two outings, the grade II
Belmont Breeders' Cup and Knickerbocker Handicaps at Belmont
Park.
Comic Strip, out of Now That's Funny, by Saratoga Six, was
bred in Kentucky by former Governor Brereton C. Jones.
As the even-money favorite, Comic Strip paid $4.20, $3.00 and
$2.20. The exacta returned $34.40.
============================================================
WALDEN HORSES RUN ONE-TWO IN MRS. REVERE
============================================================
Elliott Walden, who is the third leading trainer in the
country, saddled the first two finishers in the grade II,
$174,750 Mrs. Revere Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday.
The lightly raced and steadily improving Silver Comic took
the lead from stablemate St Clair Ridge near the furlong
marker then drove clear to win 1 1/16 mile turf event by 2
1/4 lengths under Larry Melancon. The 3-year-old Silver Hawk
filly ran the distance in 1:45 over a good turf course.
St Clair Ridge forced or set the early pace then held on for
second, one-half length in front of Circle of Gold, who
offered a strong bid from the inside in midstretch before
finishing third under Shane Sellers in the field of 12
fillies and mares. The opening fractions were :23 3/5, :48
3/5, 1:14 1/5 and 1:38 4/5.
Silver Comic earned her first black type and $108,345 for her
efforts. She is now a perfect 3-for-3 over the infield course
at Churchill and returned $15.60 to win. In her last two
starts, Silver Comic breezed through her first two allowance
conditions going long on the grass. Overall, she has recorded
four wins in six starts on turf and four wins in seven starts
lifetime.
Bred in Kentucky by her owner, Brereton C. Jones, Silver
Comic is out of the Saratoga Six mare Now That's Funny.
St Clair Ridge, sent postward as the 8-5 favorite with Pat
Day aboard, raced uncoupled in the wagering with Silver
Comic. The exacta was worth $47.80.
============================================================
MONARCH'S MAZE CLOSES FOR RED SMITH SCORE
============================================================
Monarch's Maze closed from last in the 14-horse field to win
the grade II, $150,000 Red Smith Handicap by one length at
Aqueduct Saturday. It was the last turf stakes race contested
in New York this century.
Williams News, trained by Tom Amoss and ridden by Jerry
Bailey, looked a winner in midstretch but had to settle for
second, 1 3/4 lengths clear of Gritty Sandie, who ran third.
John's Call, the mild 3.40-1 favorite, finished ninth in the
14-horse field.
Monarch's Maze, trained by Pat Kelly and ridden by Joe Bravo,
completed the 1 3/8 mile distance on firm turf in 2:14 2/5.
The 3-year-old Kingmambo colt put in a quick five-wide move
on the final turn then finished full of run to be clear under
the line. Dawson's Legacy set fractions of :23 3/5, :48 4/5,
1:14 1/5 and 1:38 2/5 before tiring.
Monarch's Maze, who was dismissed at more than 14-1, won the
grade II Jamaica Handicap going nine furlongs over the lawn
at Belmont Park last out. He earned $90,000 for his owner and
breeder, Live Oak Plantation.
Monarch's Maze, out of the Text mare Puzzle Book, was bred in
Florida. As the ninth choice, Monarch's Maze returned $30.20,
$15.00 and $10.80. The exacta paid $229.00.
============================================================
GREY MEMO TAKES HOLLYWOOD PREVUE
============================================================
California bred Grey Memo circled five wide turning for home
then got up late to win the grade III, $100,000 Hollywood
Prevue Stakes by one-half length over Magical Dragon at
Hollywood Park Saturday. The 2-year-old Memo colt ran the
seven furlong distance in 1:24 2/5 under Matt Garcia. It was
the first graded stakes win in the U.S. for his sire.
Magical Dragon, a Bob Baffert-trained son of Dispersal,
finished second after taking the early lead then dueling from
the outside around the turn. Cameron Pass, also trained by
Baffert, offered a bid from between rivals on the turn, then
finished evenly for third. Then came favored Joopy Doopy,
Service Term, and Tejan. The fractions were :22 2/5, :45 4/5
and 1:11 1/5.
The gray colt, trained by Warren Stute, earned his first
black type and $60,000 for his owners, Ron Manzani, Ridgely
Farm, and Russell Sarno. Out of B. Mozelle, by Snow Chief,
Grey Memo was bred by Ridgely Farm.
As the fourth choice, Grey Memo paid $12.80, $5.00 and $3.80.
The $1 exacta returned $22.00.
============================================================
VICTORY MOVES PINCAY CLOSER TO SHOEMAKER'S MARK
============================================================
Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., seeking to become the all-time
leading rider by number of wins, had one victory in five
mounts at Hollywood Park on Sunday, moving him to within 13
wins of tying Bill Shoemaker's all-time record. Pincay won
the ninth race with Aly McBear, who returned $10.80 to win.
From four other mounts, Pincay had one second and was
unplaced with the other three horses. Pincay was shut out
aboard two mounts on Saturday and now has 8,820 lifetime
victories, compared with Shoemaker's all-time record of
8,833.
============================================================
MASH ONE DECLARED OUT OF JAPAN CUP
============================================================
Mash One, the lone U.S. entrant in Saturday's Japan Cup
(Jpn-I), has been withdrawn from the race due to a recurrence
of a cracked hoof on his left foreleg. Trainer Bobby Frankel
had planned to race the Oak Tree Turf Championship with a
patch to protect the hoof, but subsequently decided to return
the horse to the U.S.
With the defection of Mash One, seven foreign runners are
expected to challenge eight Japanese contenders in the 1
1/2-mile test that is part of the Emirates World Series. The
foreign-based horses are High-Rise, Alborada, Fruits of Love,
Montjeu, Borgia, Tiger Hill, and Indigenous. Included among
the Japanese entrants are Special Week, Umeno Fiber, Osumi
Bright, Stay Gold, and Rascal Suzuka.
**********************************************************************
Next issue, I will have a different twist to TB Racing. Stay tuned to find
out about Legends and memories of the sport as we look back at the
century's
art of horse racing.
*HORSE CARE by Lindsay Casper
-------------
Warming Up Exercises
by Lindsay Casper
Warming up: what will you do? Here are some suggestions that everyone
can use!
- Practice makes perfect! It's time to practice those new skills you have
been working on. Halts, flying lead changes; you name it, work on it.
- Big Circles. The classic warmup. Circles improve balance and flexion.
- Poles. A fun one! Work over poles to work on your hunt seat, or to
extend
gaits.
- Washer Practice. What? you may ask. Take a washer (as in, a bolt and
washer), and tie a bright ribbon on it. Try to keep the washer between
your
thigh and saddle -or bareback!- to improve your seat contact. Try at all
gaits- it's really hard.
- Gymkhana fun. Try all the gymkhana games you know- and go from a walk,
trot, jog, etc. Do speed trials. The faster it is, the more fun!
- Egg in Spoon. Pretty self explanatory. To save money, use potatoes.
This
improves balance, and control. Time and test yourself- you will improve!
Any more fun stuff you can do for warmups? Please write and tell me!
I'd love to hear from you at tareana@cs.com
Thanks!
*HORSE STORY (part 2) by SARAH MCKINNEY
------------
This is quite long, with 11 chapters that will be spread out over several
issues of Horse Mania. This is the third part. It started in Horse Mania
issue #10. If you have just joined Horse Mania recently and missed parts
you can read the previous chapters in the back issues of Horse Mania
starting from #10, located at the archives
https://www.angelfire.com/id/horsemania/archives.html
THE ONLY ONE FOR HER by SARAH MCKINNEY
CHAPTER 4
Melanie stared at her father for a moment, and then took her gaze over to
her mother, who was beaming just as much as her father. They didn’t seem
to understand what this meant for the girls.
“But, but--,” Melanie started. Then, seeing her parents happy faces shut
her up. Who was she to tell them that they couldn't t move? But, what
about her?
The two sisters glanced at each other for a brief moment as Melanie
inhaled a deep breath. “I, I thought you weren’t really serious about
moving,” she told her parents. Cassidy nodded in agreement.
“Oh, we were,” Samantha said, still aboard Chance. “But seriously girls.
I think you’re going to like it there. It’s much bigger than here. It’s
got three barns; the stallion, broodmare and training barns, and we’ll
have a lot more business there. Plus, you girls are absolutely going to
love your rooms!”
Melanie didn t know what to say to them, if she could say anything at all.
It just wasn’t fair! Did they have to pick right then, just when she had
started to ride Flash, and Lisa might be willing to sell the filly to her?
Yes, it was always that way with her parents.
“So, I want you guys to get packing, we’re leaving in five days. There are
some boxes in the basement, and tape with them. We’re almost all packed.
Anything not packed by Friday is staying at the house for the new owners.
Got it?” Kevin asked the two girls with a smile across his face. They
nodded, and walked themselves into the house. Melanie led the way, feeling
as confused as ever.
The initial shock was to come later, when the girls would realize that
they had to leave their friends and other things that belonged to their
home in Virginia. Sure, Melanie figured that they were going to take the
horses, but what about Flash? Now she was never going to get to know the
wonderful filly, and it was all her parents fault!
Friday came all too soon for Melanie and her sister. The previous night
when they had all had their dearest friends over to say good-bye, it had
been the hardest. There had been tears and tissues piled up like a
mountain before all of them left.
Moving vans were driving into the small driveway to pick up their
furniture and their boxes. Melanie could only watch in sorrow as both her
mother and father helped load the boxes into the van.
She had had her last lesson on Flash the previous morning. It had been
hard; harder than Melanie had imagined it to be. Lisa had looked pretty
teary herself, and Melanie didn t know what to say to her dear teacher.
I’m going to miss you, Lisa had said to Melanie. Then she managed a
laugh and motioned over to Flash, who had her elegant head over the bottom
half of the door. So will she. They both laughed as they exchanged final
hugs and promises to call or write.
The horses had been vanned to their new home in Kentucky a couple of days
prier to the moving of the things in the house. Some were staying behind
for the new owners.
Melanie, tears filling up in her hazel eyes, took one last look around her
beloved farm. She knew she was going to miss it like crazy, but she didn t
let her feelings get the best of her.
As Melanie and her sister stepped into the car for the long ride to
Kentucky, Melanie said a silent farewell to her farm. As the moving vans
pulled out of the driveway, her father following with the car they were
in, a warm tear ran down Melanie s face. No matter how great the place was
where they were moving, it would never compare to her first home,
Windswept Farm.
Melanie woke up to the sweet sounds of birds singing and the chirping of
grasshoppers. It was so familiar to Melanie, she almost forgot where she
was for a moment, until she opened her hazel eyes and looked around.
They were still driving in the car to the farm in Kentucky. Melanie
glanced over at her sister who was lying beside her in the seat of the
car. She was still asleep, and Melanie didn’t bother to wake her.
As Melanie sat up straight in the car, she winced as a sharp pain shot
through her neck from sleeping in an unnatural way for so long. She rubbed
it in pain as she closed her eyes and sat back against the seat. Kevin
noticed the movement in the back and looked in the rearview mirror.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” her father said with a smile. Melanie stretched and
groaned.
“Sleepyhead?” she asked in a joking tone. “I’m the first one up! I’m no
sleepyhead.”
Melanie’s father laughed as he turned his attention back to the wheel.
Melanie turned her head to look out the window at the scenery. It really
was beautiful. All along the road there were horses grazing in Kentucky
bluegrass with white-picket fences bordering the roads.
It’s so beautiful, Melanie thought. Way better than Virginia!
As Melanie watched the beautiful horses, she couldn't t help wondering
when they would get there. She was getting kind of tired of sitting in the
car. She couldn’t stretch out her long legs in the car that they had, and
it had been very uncomfortable for the long ride so far.
“How long until we’re there?” Melanie asked as she grimaced, moving her
leg that had fallen asleep through the ride. It felt like a thousand
needles were being stuck in her leg as she moved it.
“Not long,” her father answered. “I know you and your sister are going
to absolutely love it there, though.”
Melanie was watching out the window when her father pulled into a long
drive. She sat up from her slump position and gazed at the scenery.
“Is this it?” she asked excitedly, popping her head in-between the two
front seats to get a better view.
“This is it,” her father replied in a singsong voice.
There were acres and acres of rolling pasture field and three barns in a
horseshoe shape made out of pure stone, as was the house. Inside the ring
that the barns made was a very good-sized ring with a white fence around
it. On the side of the barn, however, there rested a very good-sized
indoor ring that matched the barns and house beautifully.
“Wow,” was all Melanie managed to say. The place was truly breathtaking.
Oh wow! I ve never seen anything like this farm before! Melanie thought in
awe. Dad was right. This is a much better farm than Windswept! Suddenly,
Melanie felt disloyal to her first home. She shook her head of the thought
as her father parked the car.
Melanie hopped out, stretching her arms and legs as she looked across the
wide-open spaces. There had to be hundreds of acres before their property
ended! It was totally unreal.
“How many acres are there?” Melanie asked her father.
“About one hundred,” he said as he looked around himself. Then he turned
back to his daughter. “Great, huh? “
Melanie nodded in total agreement as she and her father started to wake up
Samantha and Cassidy.
As Melanie shook her sister, Cassidy woke up in a start. “We’re here,
Cassidy. You won’t believe it. It’s totally breathtaking,” Melanie told
her sister. Cassidy immediately sat up and looked out the window. She
opened her door and crawled out. Her hazel eyes, which matched Melanie’s,
widened in amazement.
“Whoa.”
The barns were incredible. They were very large, stained in a perfect wood
stain. The horses had already been vanned, so they were already settled.
Cassidy had gone straight to see Twilight, of course, who had recovered
very nicely from her colic experience, before she did anything. Melanie,
on the other hand, went to check on her favorite horse on the farm, Sierra
Springs.
Springs was the only horse Samantha and Kevin allowed Melanie to ride and
take jumping lessons in until she had found Morning Glory Farm. Springs
was very docile and loveable for a horse of her age. She was a bay
Thoroughbred with a wide blaze and no other markings. Melanie loved her
very much, and had thought about asking her parents if she could be her
horse. But Melanie knew they would disagree right when she mentioned the
idea. They would probably say something about Springs being a very
valuable horse, and with too good of potential to be a lesson horse with
Melanie. Melanie understood what they were saying, as nicely as they
could, but she still wanted a horse to call her own.
“Mom!” Melanie called to her mother down the aisle. Melanie was standing
in front of Spring’s stall. “Can I take Springs out on a trail ride?”
Samantha seemed to be considering as she checked off another horse and its
health on her clipboard. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “But be careful.
It s new territory for Springs, okay? Just take it easy.”
“Great! Thanks, Mom!” Melanie called as she ducked into the tack room.
Luckily, the movers and the grooms that had gotten to the farm before
anyone else and had unpacked the saddles and riding materials before
Melanie and her family had gotten there.
Melanie grabbed Spring’s saddle and bridle and brought the horse out into
the middle of the aisle and into the cross ties. Springs fidgeted as
Melanie ran the brush over her quickly but skillfully. She quickly hushed
the horse down as she tacked her up and walked her out of the barn.
Melanie mounted the filly and rode her through the gate that led to the
field.
Oh wow, Melanie thought for the hundredth time since they had gotten to
Kentucky. The green meadows flowed in front of her and Springs as she
urged the filly into a trot along the woods.
Melanie was totally enjoying herself. The Kentucky air was as clean as a
fresh stream in the middle of the summer. And the soft sound of Spring’s
hooves hitting the ground made the best sound Melanie had ever heard.
But suddenly, a rustling in the woods made Springs prick her delicate
ears. Melanie could feel the filly’s muscles tense and tighten. Then, as
quickly as they heard the sound, a horse with a rider aboard crashed
through the brush at a hand gallop. Springs stopped dead, bracing herself.
When the horse and rider cantered toward them, Springs lost it. She
reared, thrashing her powerful hooves in the air!
CHAPTER 5
Melanie grabbed handfuls of mane in a desperate attempt to stay in the
saddle. She held on tightly with her legs as well as she could as Springs
thrashed her hooves wildly in the air. The rider only stopped her horse
and stared.
Finally, Springs landed down on all fours, but taking a wild buck,
twisting and turning like a rodeo horse. Melanie’s mother’s voice flashed
through her mind.
“Always keep your head up, Melanie, and your eyes straight forward. Never
let your eyes wander, and keep your seat as best as possible. Then yank
hard on the horse’s mouth to get her head up.”
Melanie did what her mother told her to do so many years ago. She sat back
and looked straight forward. She held only tightly with her legs and her
hands, still full of mane. Then, as if nothing had happened, Springs
landed docilely on all fours and stood like a lady.
Melanie let out a relieved breath as she stood in the middle of the field.
She clasped her hand over her heart as she stood there to catch her breath.
“That was some great riding,” Melanie heard a voice say. She turned to
see the horse and rider who had scared Springs still standing in the
field.
“Thanks,” she said. The rider frowned.
“Do I know you?” she said.
“I just moved here,” Melanie explained. She pointed in the direction of
her farm. “That’s where I live.”
“Oh!” the girl squealed. “So you’re our new neighbors! My name is
Jennifer Smith, and I live over there.” She pointed across the field.
Melanie could see a red-tipped barn, trimmed in white, but that was all
she could make out. She squinted against the bright, rising sun.
She nodded. “I’m Melanie Nelson,” she introduced herself. “Nice to meet
you.”
“Same here,” Jennifer said, shooting a warm smile at Melanie. “Hey,
sorry about scaring your horse like that. I didn’t see you, or else I
would have stopped. I was jumping that wall.” She nodded her head toward
where she had cantered out. “It’s pretty fun.”
“That’s okay,” Melanie said as she tucked some stray hairs that had
gotten loose from her ponytail behind her ear. “How could you have known,
anyway?”
“Is that your horse?” Jennifer asked, ignoring Melanie’s question. She
had her eyes glued to Springs.
“No,” Melanie said. “She’s my parents horse. Her name is Sierra
Springs.”
“That’s cool!” Jennifer exclaimed as she walked her horse, which was a
dark chestnut, over to stand beside Springs. The two horses sniffed noses,
and Melanie prepared herself for squealing and kicking. But there was
none, so the girls continued to talk as they walked their horses along the
field.
Jennifer told Melanie that her horse’s name was Whipper Snapple, and she
was a Thoroughbred/Arabian cross. Snapple was very graceful and
beautifully fluid in her movements. When Melanie asked if she and Snapple
did any dressage, since she already knew they jumped, Jennifer
demonstrated a perfect half-pass and a figure eight at a sitting trot in
the middle of the field. She asked for a passage and a piaffe, which
Snapple did beautifully.
“And that’s just the beginning,” Jennifer said proudly. She was happy
with herself, but she definitely wasn’t bragging. Snapple and I have
worked on dressage and jumping hard throughout the past year and a half.
“I can see that,” Melanie said, laughing as she looked Snapple over. The
mare had very well developed muscles and was hardly at a sweat for what
Jennifer and her had just done.
“Do you ride Springs often?” Jennifer asked as the girls trotted down a
smooth path. Snapple and Springs broke into a canter, and the girls let
them go down the worn-in path at a smooth canter.
“Sometimes,” Melanie said. “Before we moved, I was riding this really
talented filly named Dazzling Flash. My instructor and I really thought
that we were both were going places together.”
“Too bad,” Jennifer said, shaking her head. Her shoulder-length brown
hair rustled in the wind. She looked over at Melanie with her sympathizing
blue eyes.
Jennifer’s really nice, Melanie thought as the two girls exchanged grins.
As Springs sped up, Melanie regulated her speed by giving her light
half-halts.
“Say!” Jennifer exclaimed out of nowhere. Her blue eyes sparkled as she
looked over at Melanie. “If you want to keep taking lessons, I know a
place where you can go. I mean, this is where I ride. It s really nice.”
“Yeah, I want to keep taking lessons,” Melanie said. “I hope the
instructor has lesson horses.”
“She does,” Jennifer said. “But you can bring Springs if you wanted.”
Melanie smiled gratefully at Jennifer, not bothering to explain about her
mother.
“Hey, do you want to come over to my place? I can introduce you to my
parents,” Jennifer said, a twinkle lying in her eyes. Melanie grimaced as
she checked her watch.
“Sorry, Jennifer. I can’t. I was supposed to be home ten minutes ago. I
just hope I can find my way! “ she exclaimed. Jennifer bared a smile.
“Okay,” she said as the two girls stopped their horses in the middle of
the field. See you around then. “Hey, I’ll ride over to your place
sometime to see you, that is, if you don’t mind, I mean.”
“Sure,” Melanie said, smiling at her. “I’ll show you around and
introduce you to all of the horses.”
When the two girls parted, Melanie turned Springs toward the farm and
trotted her all of the way, thinking about the new friend she had just
made.
“I was wrong about this place,” Melanie said, beaming as she reached down
to pat Spring’s silky neck. “I think I’m going to like it here.”
“Did you have a fun time on your trail ride, sweetie?” Samantha yelled
to her daughter when she noticed her riding Springs back into the stable
yard. Melanie smiled and nodded.
“Great,” she said. “I met this girl, and she’s really nice. I hope we
become good friends.”
“That s great, Mel. Hey, how did Springs do? Any trouble?” she asked
with a questioning look in her eye, as if she didn’t trust Melanie.
“Fine, just fine,” Melanie managed to spit out. She knew all of the
looks; that one had meant that her mother had doubted her ability. She
hated it when she gave her that look, even when she knew her mother meant
well.
Melanie wandered into the barn to feed and water Springs after their
great workout. As Melanie felt under Sprin’ s saddle for heat, and when
there was none because of their easy walk and trot home, Melanie put her
in her stall and quickly went to the hose with her bucket and filled it
up, and got a half a scoop of grain and a flake of hay, and threw it into
Spring s hay rack.
“Mel, the phone’s for you!” Melanie heard her sister call from the
training barn office. She waved it out of the door as far as it reached.
Melanie frowned as she dropped what she was doing and walked down the
hall. “Who is it?” she called back. Cassidy squinted and frowned.
“Jennifer?” she asked in a questioning tone, shrugging. Melanie s eyes
lightened up as she walked quicker down the aisle.
Melanie took the phone and put her ear. “Hello? Jennifer?” she asked as
she sat down on a crate.
“Hey, Melanie! I looked your number up in the phone book. I hope it’s
okay that I called,” Jennifer said. Melanie smiled and laughed.
“Yeah, Jen! I’m glad you called!” she said. “So what’s up?”
Nothing much, Jennifer replied. “Hey, who answered the phone?”
“Oh, that was Cassidy,” Melanie replied.
“She sounded exactly like you!” Jennifer exclaimed. In the background,
Melanie could hear Jennifer fiddling around with something.
“She should,” Melanie said, giggling. “She and I are identical twin
sisters.”
“Really? Wow!” Jennifer exclaimed. “That’s really cool, Mel!”
Melanie smiled. She liked Jennifer’s cheery attitude. It made her feel
cheery, too. “Yeah, you should come see her. It s like I’m looking into a
mirror when I look at Cass.”
“Wow, that’s really nifty,” Jennifer said. “I always wanted to be a
twin.”
“It’s really cool.” Melanie nodded as she picked up a dirty piece of
leather and started to oil it and clean it. She picked up a cloth and
started to clean the leather.
“So what are you doing tomorrow? “ Jennifer asked her, still fiddling
with whatever she was doing in the background. Melanie shrugged and
cleared her throat.
“Nothing, I guess. Why?” she inquired.
“I was just wondering if you’d like to go to a lesson with me, you know,
to see how you like it,” Jennifer said almost shyly. Melanie didn't
think, for the short time that she had known Jennifer, that she could be
shy.
“Yeah, Jennifer. I d love to go. What time?” she asked as she finished
up the piece of leather and picked up another.
“Um, I think it’s at nine o’ clock. I’ll ride Snapple over to your
house, and we’ll ride to the stable. You can ride Springs,” Jennifer
suggested. Melanie nodded and smiled as she talked to Jennifer before she
realized what she was saying.
“Sure, Jen. Well, I have to go right now, but I’ll see you then,”
Melanie said.
“Okay!” Jennifer exclaimed. “See you then, Mel!“
When the two girls hung up, Melanie sat back against the wall and heaved
a sigh, thinking about what she had just said.
What am I saying? Mom ll never let me ride Springs over to a lesson!
Melanie thought as she cradled her head in her hands.
To be continued next issue.....
*HORSE POEMS
------------------
If you have written a horse related poem, send it in to
thehorse@hotpop.com and I’ll publish it in the next Horse Mania
newsletter! Make sure to include your name.
Horses Advantages
by Emily
Horses are graceful, Beautiful things.
But sometimes they bite and nip
Or rear and get hurt.
They are famous,
They are like flying,
Through the air,
When you ride them
So why abuse them?
*HORSE JARGON by Bethany
------------------
Equestrian Disciplines
Dressage--the word origin is French, Dresser: The meaning is to train.
The understanding is worldwide: Excellence in Unity of Horse and Rider
Olympic Level. Dressage is a sport and method of training in which the
goal is development and acheivement of complete harmony and perfect
understanding between rider and horse. The highest level of "Dressage
competition" is the Grand Prix at Olympic level. An even higher level
(The "High School" or "airs above the ground") is perfected by only a few
riders of present day.
Endurance/Cross Country--the object of the endurance/Cross Country is to
prove the speed, endurance, and jumping ability of the true cross country
horse when he is well trained and brought to the peak of condition. At
the same time demonstrates the riders knowledge of pace and the use of
their horse across country.
Stadium Jumping--a show jumping competition taking place in an indoor or
outdoor arena that will permit a seated audience to view the course of
jumps and action packed performance of the horse and rider. The course of
obstacles varies in height, width, shape, color and design to create
jumps of wood, water, ditches and walls. These obstacles are set in a
pattern that can require the horse to twist, turn, sprint and stride to
finish the course without a fault. The horse must have speed, balance,
suppleness and great courage...with confidence in its rider to execute a
faultless round.
Combined Training--a sport in which tests of various levels of difficulty
of Dressage, Endurance/Cross Country riding and Stadium Jumping are
judged during an event where all three disciplines are included in the
show. All three events are performed by the same horse and rider with the
score being cumulative throughout the three events. The horse and rider
with the lowest score wins, with points being accumulated for faults.
*WEBSITES
---------
If you have a horse website or know of a good one, please send in the URL
to thehorse@hotpop.com for it to be listed here.
All The Neigh
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/horseclub
An online horse club for horselovers!
Allied Sim Horse Assosiation (ASHA)
http://www.alliedsimassoc.com/asha/
This association aims to unite all the sim horse games on the internet and
to share ideas.
If you are the owner of a sim horse game, or even just a player in one,
you might want to take a look at this site.
Horse Kids Club
https://www.angelfire.com/fl3/horsekidsclub
Eric’s Web Page
http://community.webtv.net/oaostby89/Ericshorsepage
*HORSE POLLS
------------
I have some Horse Polls on the website for you to vote for your opinion!
Go to https://www.angelfire.com/id/horsemania/polls.html to vote!
Current Questions:
Which of these is your favorite Horse Breed?
What style of horseriding do you prefer?
Current Results:
Which of these is your favorite Horse Breed?
Total Number of Votes: 46
Thoroughbred- 8 (17%)
Arabian- 12 (26%)
Quarter Horse- 12 (26%)
Other Horse Breed- 13 (28%)
Other Pony Breed- 1 (2%)
What style of horseriding do you prefer?
Total Number of Votes: 36
English- 18 (50%)
Western- 4 (11%)
Bareback- 5 (14%)
Both English & Western- 9 (25%)
I don't ride- 0 (0%)
*PENPALS
--------
Here is the Pen Pal section for adults and children. If you'd like an ad
here send me (thehorse@hotpop.com) in this form with "pen pal ad" in the
subject line.
First Name:
Email Address:
Country:
Age:
Horse Owner?:
Other Comments: (no more than 30 words please)
You can leave out anything if you don't want to give it out, such as age
or country. ill put in probably a maximum of 5 ads per issue so don't
worry if yours takes a while to appear. Feel free to resubmit an ad, as we
have a regular stream of new people joining Horse Mania in between each
issue.
ads for this issue:
Name: Melissa
Email Address: HorseRider@writeme.com
Country:USA
Age:10
Horse Owner?:Yes, his name is Battle Cry.
Other Comments: I would like to have a pen pal from 10-12 years old. My
horse is a retired racehorse now training in jumping.
*VOTING
------------
Do you like the Horse Mania website and newsletter? Please go here
http://www.thehorsesource.com/cgi-bin/top100/topsites.cgi?ID=105 to vote
for us in the Horse Source Top 100 Sites. Thank you to everyone who has
voted for us! We have managed to cling to one of the top 50 spots most of
the time.
How would you rate the Horse Mania newsletter out of 10? 10 being best, 0
being the worst. Please visit
http://www.ezineseek.com/cgi-bin/search/rateit.cgi?ID=935772699 to rank us.
Or you can just click on the buttons located at the bottom of the main
page- http://horsemania.cjb.net
Thank you!
*ARCHIVES
---------
Missed an issue? Want to see a back issue? Remember that all Horse Mania
issues are archived at
https://www.angelfire.com/id/horsemania/archives.html Issues usually appear
there within a week.
*CHANGE OF ADDRESS
---------------------
If you have changed your email address and would like to receive the
newsletter at your new one, just fill out the form at
https://www.angelfire.com/id/horsemania/change.html and I will notify you
when I’ve changed your address.
*REFERENCES
-----------
Here is where some of my information has come from and I recommend these
books!
The Encyclopedia of the Horse, 1994, RD Press
The Complete Book of the Horse, 1979 (reprint 1985), New Burlington Books
Horses & Ponies, 1997, Kingfisher Books
The Visual Dictionary of the Horse, 1994, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, London
Horse (Collins Eyewitness Guides, 1992, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, London
Horses, Ponies and Riders, 1984, Reed Books Pty. Ltd.
Horses, 1981, J. Warren Evans, W. H. Freeman and Company
Starting Riding, 1992, Usborne
--------------------------------
End of Horse Mania Newsletter #12
--------------------------------
