Horse Care

Kirstie is back in the action with another wild stallion in Rodeo Rockey, the second in the Horses of Half Moon Ranch series.

Attending a rodeo with her mother, best friend Lisa and the guests of Half Moon Ranch, Kirstie disagrees with the treatment on the horses and one in particular but isn’t allowed to leave with her mother. The rodeo was a highlight for the guests and consequently to keep them happy, the Scott family stays put.

This results in a rash decision to purchase one of the horses – Rocky – to stop him from a potential future as a rodeo horse where he was being treated as a piece of meat rather than a living, breathing animal.

The second book in this series looks into the environment in which animals are treated in such situations and the potential end result for them. For those who aren’t familiar with rodeos, it opens their eyes to what can happen to such animals that are used in events such as bronc riding.

Upon the purchase of the horse by her mother, Kirstie takes it upon herself to work with the stallion in a non threatening way. She slowly gains his trust and is able to introduce him to the items that he was resisting so strongly at the rodeo – a saddle and bridle.

The young girl’s approach to the horse and how she gains his trust is well written. It’s also lovely to read the encouragement to act in such a way towards horses to receive the best result in the long run.

The only query I had with the story was the stallion being put out with all the other horses at the ranch. I could understand if it was a stallion with only geldings or only mares but to have a mixed group, I believe a wild stallion would have conflicted with the other males in the group to show his dominance over them and own the mares.

The connection Rocky developed with Kirstie’s favourite gelding was well written though and showed how quickly a horse can develop such a strong bond with another horse.

The book built up to the point that I couldn’t foresee a happy ending with regard to the stallion and it was great to read of Kirstie’s completely selfless decision; her plan to do what was best for Rocky.

Another really entertaining read by Jenny Oldfield, Rodeo Rocky kept me interested until the end, finding it hard to put the book down.

Author: Jenny Oldfield
http://www.jennyoldfield.com/
Fiction
In my library? Absolutely! I look forward to purchasing the next few in the series that have been written by Jenny Oldfield and will be keeping an eye on others that come out. A great book for teens passionate about their horses.

“If you have it, it is for life. It is a disease for which there is no cure. You will go on riding even after they have to haul you on a comfortable wise old cob, with feet like inverted buckets and a back like a fireside chair… when I can’t ride anymore, I shall still keep horses as long as I can hobble about with a bucket and a wheelbarrow. When I can’t hobble, I shall roll my wheelchair out to the fence of the field where my horses graze, and watch them.” - Monica Dickens

Tag: horse story, equine book review, jenny oldfield, equine author, horse library, horse writing

Nickelback is a lot of things, but dark horse is no longer one of them.

I’ve been working a lot with my TB, Freedom, to help him get over the death of his best friend. Every morning I spend some extra time with him. I’ve been giving him massages and I’ve also been using acupressure points known for their calming effect.
So far, I’ve found several acupressure points that help. One [...]

Not exactly what you’d consider a full time career, perhaps being a Barrier Attendant is something for the person keen to continue hands on work with horses while being in amongst the racing scene.

OH&S has really stepped up in the racing industry in Victoria with Barrier Attendants now being highly visible on televised race days in their uniform including personal protective equipment.

“The protective equipment will include a helmet, steel-capped boots and sunglasses and is the most suitable equipment for barrier attendants’ safety. There are summer and winter uniforms and all equipment is weatherproof.”

According to a Barrier Attendant at East Gippsland racetracks in Australia, if someone were interested in such a part time job, they would “have to get accreditation as well to be able to work, which means you need to apply for the job and work a day, and then be accepted.”

On race days barrier attendants are in use for the loading of racehorses into the barriers before each race. To be qualified for the job, you’d need to have confidence around horses as well as a decent amount of handling experience. Barrier Attendants are employed by Racing Clubs and are only really needed on race days.

Consequently those that are employed for such a position tend to have another job, often something else with racehorses or another horse related position.

Take a look at a Barrier Attendant position description (.pdf file) as described on the Racing and Wagering site, Western Australia.

“…his hoofbeats fall like rain, over and over again.” - Rachel Field

Tag: barrier attendant, horseracing industry, OH&S, starting gates, starting stalls

Here is a closeup of Riley’s braids for the last horse show we attended — did’em myself at 3am, and he was not very cooperative to boot! Riley’s usual offensive tactic against braiders is extreme mouthiness. On a whim, I pulled a brand new, never-used cribbing muzzle out of my tack box, and vecro-ed it to his halter. Once Riley realized his teeth and lips were useless, he fell into a trance, waking every five minutes or so to attempt the nip/nudge game again. I had him done in under an hour, about an hour ahead of schedule. God love the inventor of the cribbing muzzle.

God love the inventors
God love the inventors of all equine gadgets! While I was at work the other evening (evening desk shift), I helped a client search for U.S. patents. Afterward, tried a few keyword searches for horse braiding-related patents. Ruthann Smith’s braiding tool is patented — to me it hardly seems worth patenting, but hey, she can really braid, and she’s making a good living.

Here are a few interesting ones…

Pre-braided horse tail (patented by Lisa Penge, Gloversville NY)
Here’s an interesting one that I think has lurked in the subconscious of every hunter rider (except George Morris)…

Horse mane unbraider (patented by Karin Flint, Bloomfield Hills, MI)

And here’s one that seems like it’d be pretty handy. I’ve never seen one for sale but it looks like the D-braider…

Now someone just needs to invent the “press-apply hunter braids”!