Hurricane Irene hit us in Southern Maryland on the evening of Saturday, August 27th into the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, August 28th, my birthday. It was a Category 1 hurricane when it hit our area and dropped over 8 inches of rain. Happily, all of the horses at our boarding stable weathered the storm safely. Both barns remained intact, although there was some minor flooding inside. The indoor riding arena sustained minor damage when the wind blew the big garage-style door and two people-sized doors clean off their hinges. The worst damage on the property was to Patrick’s turnout field. Multiple large trees, uprooted by the combination of rain-saturated soil and heavy wind, fell into the field, destroying the fence (see video). After seeing the hurricane-ravaged paddock, I was extremely grateful that Patrick and his turnout buddy, Scooby, were inside during the storm. The farm also lost electricity for over 48 hours following the hurricane. However, the farm was minimally damaged compared to other homes and properties in our area. There must be thousands of downed trees here. This is a heavily treed area, and many of the downed trees have fallen on homes, cars, outbuildings, and power lines. At this writing on Tuesday afternoon, many homes here are still without power. The kids didn’t go to school today or yesterday. The damage in Saint Mary’s County is substantial. For example, I went outside of my house at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, hoping to go check on Patrick soon after. My house was not damaged, although I had no less than five large downed trees in my yard, several no more than ten feet away from the house. It was just dumb luck that the house didn’t get hit. However, I had a larger problem. The road out of my cul de sac was blocked by not one, but two separate sets of trees that had fallen across the road. The neighbors and I spent the next couple of hours chain sawing our way out. It took my husband and I over an hour to drive to the barn (it normally takes 20 minutes). Once we got there, as I mentioned, Patrick and Scooby were fine. They had been turned out in an alternate paddock and were enjoying the beautiful post-hurricane weather.

This is the first time I’ve had to prepare a horse to weather a natural disaster. Here are a few things I learned:

1.      Inside or Outside-In a hurricane, some people prefer to keep horses in the barn while others prefer to leave horses outside. There are pros and cons to each approach, so owners must decide which approach is best for their horses. In the barn, the horses are protected from flying debris, as well as wind and rain. Outside, horses have the opportunity to dodge debris and will not be threatened in the event that the barn fully or partially collapses. We elected to keep our horses in for this storm. Our barns are newer and structurally sound. This turned out to be a good decision considering the danger posed by falling trees during the storm. Not only could the trees have fallen on the horses, but they also broke the fence, potentially allowing the horses to escape and encounter other hazards like traffic.

2.      Water- Horses can go a couple of days without food and probably suffer no ill effects. However, access to fresh water is absolutely essential. Without it, horses are prone to colic and dehydration, either of which could result in death. Our farm’s water supply comes from a well and is accessed by using an electric pump system. Anticipating that the power would go out, we stockpiled as much water as we could by filling all water troughs on the property. We put one full water trough in each barn in addition to the ones out in the paddocks. We asked all owners to bring extra buckets and jugs which were filled with water and placed outside the horses’ stalls. Even with the power out for over 48 hours, we had more than enough water for the 20+ horses.

3.      Identification-Each horse wore a breakaway-style halter with the owner’s name, phone number, and the name of our farm. Some owners also chose to braid luggage tags with contact information into their horse’s mane or tail. Some owners also chose to write their phone numbers (in large writing) on their horses using a white, water resistant wound spray. I especially like the latter method because, in the event that the horses escaped from or had to be let out of the barn, anyone who spotted the loose horses could contact the owners without having to catch the animals. In addition to these methods, Patrick also has a microchip. Micro chipping is a simple, inexpensive procedure that allows lost horses to be identified. Rescue organizations and veterinary offices frequently have scanners that can detect the chips, which are placed in the crest of the horse’s neck. If a chip is present, the chip number will register on the scanner and can be looked up in a database to identify the animal’s owner. It is easy to prove ownership of a micro chipped horse in the event that the horse is lost during a natural disaster or stolen. Visual forms of identification are important in a disaster, but one advantage of micro chipping is that microchips are more permanent and will not fall off like halters or wash off like spray paint.

4.      Contingency Planning-Our barn management had plans and back-up plans in place for Hurricane Irene. For example, our barn manager lives off-site, so plans were made for getting hay and water to the horses in the event that the roads were not passable for her to get to the barn. We planned to keep the horses inside during the storm, but a back-up plan was made to turn them out in the nearest paddock in the event that the barns became structurally compromised.

We’ve been out to several shows since the Merry Mount show I posted about in May. Things went well at Merry Mount. Patrick was relaxed and well behaved. I was successful in my first 2’9” hunter division with him although we did have some less than perfect take-off spots. I guess I though from that point on, we were going to progress in a linear fashion until I was riding him in the 3’ adult amateur hunter division. I have been riding and working with horses for a long time and I should have known better than that!

The next show we had was at the Prince George Equestrian Center where we had showed once earlier in the season. It wasn’t a good show, in fact, it was a slight disaster. There was a storm rolling in and many of the horses were acting, well…crazy. Riders were being dumped left and right. Patrick warmed up okay and we went into our first class with me feeling confident and ready to gallop him down the lines. He had other plans. He stared down many of the jumps, compressing his stride in the process so that we had to add a step in down two of the lines. He never stopped at anything, but he is normally very brave, so even the fact that he was “looky” was out of character. Then, in my exiting hunter circle, he pulled down on the reins with his head. He had done this to me before, so I kicked him on and wasn’t too fazed by it. I’m sure it was a low scoring first round, but we still had our second round to go, and he had now seen all of the jumps, so I figured we could improve on our first performance. Well, we cantered up to the first fence, a single oxer, he jumped it with style and then abruptly thrust his head downward and cantered away with me still firmly seated but with his nose at the level of his ankles pushing the dirt. I saw a video of the incident later, and it looked like a comical, non-malicious, but still very dirty, pony trick. Most riders would have kicked him on and ridden right through it, but I’m a chicken and that frayed my last nerve. I got his head back up, made him canter a courtesy circle, which he did fine, and then exited the ring. I didn’t feel comfortable finishing my course, although I wish in hindsight that I would have just cowboyed it up and gotten him around. Instead, I gave him to Holly to school, but his shenanigans continued with her in the schooling ring and we ended up scratching the 2’9” division I have signed up for. I’m not sure what caused my amiable horse’s temper tantrum. Maybe it was the storm. I’ve heard that some horses are very sensitive to changes in barometric pressure and it can affect the way they feel and act. Patrick was also was having severe diarrhea that day, perhaps also the result of the weather change. In any case, he was an unhappy camper and did not want to play horse show. When I vented my frustrations to my parents on the phone that night they were more sympathetic to Patrick that they were to me. My mom said, “The poor baby, he was feeling sick, no wonder he didn’t want to perform.”

My dad listened to me rant for about fifteen minutes. Then after a brief silence said, “you know he’s half PONY, right?”

“YES, Dad.” As if I needed a reminder.

As an aside, my dad is not a horseperson, but he knows that ponies have horns. His only working knowledge of ponies comes from his sister’s evil pony Corky, who was a foundered Shetland purchased for $50 to live on the family hog farm in Iowa. Corky allegedly wore a barb wire bit (no saddle, mind you) and still had no brakes. When he tired of being ridden, he scraped the kids off on the barb wire fences.

So my dad’s point was, while Patrick was proving to be generally a fantastic, wonderful horse, I should not be surprised to occasionally find a set of small devil horns poking through that fluffy, Connemara-like forelock. Nobody’s perfect. Point taken.

By the time the next PGEC show rolled around, I had generally forgiven Patrick for being a jerk at the previous show.  We had done lots of outings, which was helpful. Due to scheduling conflicts, we were entered in a 2’3” hunter division this time. I figured the height wasn’t important for this show anyway and that we just needed some miles. Holly took Patrick in a ticketed warm up prior to the division. He did try to put his head down after the first line, but Holly swiftly corrected him. He was very sorry and never tried it again. It was very good for me to see her correct the behavior, because the correction worked and I saw that his only response to her correction was to stop the behavior and do a better job. I am sure he will eventually pull down again, but I think I will be much more confident handling the behavior next time. Patrick went beautifully for me in my classes and was a total saint for the rest of the day. We were 1st and 2nd over fences and 3rd on the flat, good enough for division reserve champion. It was an excellent confidence-building show for me.

We were just back at PGEC this past Saturday for the final show of our local series. Long story short, it was a totally great show. First of all, it was fun because several friends from our barn, Woodbury Equestrian Center, came up to cheer us on. My friend, Diane, who I trailered up with was riding her horse, Lincoln, in the 3’6” jumpers, which is always exciting. Patrick and I were totally relaxed and had a good warm up. We entered the Maryland Horse Show Association-rated Pre-Adult Hunter division (2’6”). I felt calm and collected riding in my first class. I was actually able to think about what I was doing on course, just like I do at home. What resulted was one of the best hunter rounds I’ve ever ridden. It was pretty darned consistent and Holly and I were both very pleased. The second over fences round was also good, but I had a couple of chips. The flat went well too. I ended up placing 1st and 2nd over fences and 1st on the flat, winning division champion. Even better, Patrick was just about perfect. It was extremely humid but he still made it down all the lines except one (one of the chips) and he jumped very well. I kept my head together and actually RODE him…hooray! Looking at the videos, there were a couple things I didn’t like about my equitation. I injured my left leg in the past, and as a result, my left stirrup sometimes slips toward home, affecting my lower leg position. I must continue working on getting that leg to stay in place better. It looks like I’m doing a better job of keeping my upper body down and back over fences compared to the Merry Mount show, although I popped up early a couple of times. With this sport, there are always things to improve upon, but I was so happy about how things went. It was such a fun show day!

Photo Credit: Julie Devine

One of my favorite readers (and also a fellow blogger) made me realize that I should add a function to the HJC blog that let’s readers subscribe to the blog if they want to. This way, since I am sometimes inconsistent about how frequently I post, when there is a new post, you’ll be notified. Since my blog platform doesn’t currently offer a “subscribe” function, I added a Facebook “Like” button to the sidebar on the right. If you press the button, it will link your Facebook profile up with the Hunter Jumper Connection Facebook page. I’ll post a link to the HJC blog on the Facebook page when I update the blog, and it should show up on your Facebook wall. I am slightly technologically impaired, but I think this should work for now. If my blog platform does start offering a more sophisticated subscribe function, I’ll set that up too.

“Ask HJC” has also been recently updated. Holly and I have gotten some excellent reader questions. We’ve also gotten a couple of potential blog post topic ideas from readers recently. We love your ideas! Keep them coming.

I had to add a photo of the day here. Patrick destroyed the plain black bell boots he had been wearing for turnout. I replaced them with a pair of glittery purple ones. My conservative hunter heart skipped a beat when I bought the tacky things. Scandalous! But I figure, everybody deserves a little sparkle, even Patrick. If I show up to my Holly lesson in these, I know I’ll get in trouble, but they’re great for turnout. If he ever takes one off, I can drive the Gator around the field looking for a purple, twinkly object.

 Since this blog is about horseback riding, I don’t usually venture into other topics, like giving love advice. However, I’m going to break the rules today at the request of some single horsey girlfriends. They seem to think I’m qualified to do this because I somehow managed to “bag” my wonderful and highly horse-supportive husband of almost four years. I’ll do my best, ladies! I’m going to try to relate my love advice back to horses and riding, which we all understand. Here goes!

What does it mean to “bag a man”, you ask? Well, the dictionary states that the word “bagging” can be used informally as a verb to describing catching something, as in hunting. Yes, bagging is the art of catching a man, but not just catching him. Bagging a man is about looking inward and understanding what you are looking for in a quality mate. For those of us living the equestrian lifestyle, that means a man who is supportive of our lifestyle and all it entails. Man bagging is about putting yourself in a position to meet the man of your dreams, and knowing him when you do meet him. It’s about taking the right steps to charm him, interest him and find out if he is truly compatible with you. It’s about understanding how to progress your relationship with the right man and to move on from the wrong man.

Step 1. Make the decision: Are you are ready and willing to bag a man?

This is important. Bagging a man is not about finding a really cool guy to casually date, then breaking up with, then finding another cool guy to date, then breaking up with him, ad nauseum.  Bagging is about finding a person who you are so committed to and who is so committed to you, that you can stay together forever. That doesn’t mean that you have to get engaged or married right away and it doesn’t mean you won’t kiss a few frogs before you find a prince worth bagging. However, you must be in an appropriate mindset to find your prince. Ask yourself, if you met a guy today who was compatible with you and excellent husband material, would you be ready to work toward a committed relationship ending in marriage? If the answer is yes, you are ready to start bagging. If it’s no, you’re not ready and it’s okay. You will enjoy much more man bagging success if you wait for the time when you are ready for the process. Like bringing along a young prospect horse, man bagging and nurturing the resulting relationship is a lot work, but almost nothing in life is more rewarding.

Step 2. Confidence is the sexiest body part

Horses know the difference between a confident rider and an un-confident rider. The same horse under a confident rider often acts differently than when he is under an un-confident rider. For example, he may jump everything for a confident rider but refuse or run out on the un-confident one. The horse isn’t stupid or ill trained. He’s just getting away with the bad behavior because he knows he can. This is the same with human interaction. Your level of self-confidence can affect the way other people, including men, treat you. If you are confident, people with any social sense will treat you well and respect you. If you are perceived as un-confident and weak, some people will tread upon you. You must focus on your strengths, learn to be secure, comfortable and happy with who you are and then learn to project these positive feelings about yourself outwardly. When men can sense that you actually like yourself, it makes it much easier for them to love you. It’s great when men compliment us and build us up, but they can also knock us down. It is our responsibility to like ourselves regardless of what others say or think. In the same regard, it is always our job to pick ourselves up and get back on the horse, no matter why or how we parted company with him.

Step 3.  Understand when a man is worth bagging (or not)

Okay, so if you are ready to look for a man who is the keeper, and you are going to be self-confident no matter what happens, now it’s time to start thinking about the men. Some men are worth bagging and other men aren’t. I mentioned earlier that you will have to kiss some frogs in order to find your prince. In other words, there will be some dating involved as you get to know your man-prospects and figure out if they are right for you. The dating process isn’t dis-similar to trying sale horses. You should have some must-have traits you are looking for, such as “nice temperament, at least 16 hands, doesn’t buck.” At the same time, you don’t want to tighten up your criteria so much that you exclude many good prospects. For example, “must be grey, 17 hands, Hanoverian, 3’6” hunter derby winner.” Guess what? Unless you have $300 grand or so to drop on a horse, that horse does not exist and neither does his man-equivalent. On the flip side, you do not want to search aimlessly, buying any old horse that comes your way. You need some criteria when searching for both horses and men. One of the worst things you can do is fall in love with an unsuitable horse. For example, a horse who is 17h, black with four white socks and a blaze, and a laminitic bolter/rearer. Yes, he’s handsome and you’re attracted to him, but the lameness and terrible behavior will soon end your relationship, leaving you heartbroken. If you ever meet the man equivalent of this horse, cinch up your empty bag and get out as fast as you can.

What your man-criteria will be is somewhat personal and different for everyone. However, some of the top issues you may encounter are related to religion, personal finances, family, and in the case of equestrians, if the equestrian lifestyle (i.e. time/money commitment) is acceptable. These aren’t issues that you tackle on a first date, but you should know your own position on each of these issues; where you can be flexible and where you can’t. This way, when you meet a great guy and talk about these issues over a period of time, you will get a better picture of what life together would be like.

Step 4. Look for love in all the right places

If you ONLY spend time at the barn with a bunch of gal pals, or sitting at home eating macaroni and ice cream and watching TV, then you are not setting yourself up for man bagging success. Doing this is like training for Rolex by only riding your horse once a week and then expecting to win. You do not win Rolex by not riding and you do not bag men by sitting at home. Crap in, crap out.  You must put yourself in a geographic and social position for success. By geographic, I mean, go out. Go where the men are. Go to parties and picnics and happy hours and club outings. Strike a better balance between going to the barn and doing other activities where you will meet different groups of people. Socially, keep building your network of friends. Talk to people you don’t know well or wouldn’t ordinarily talk to. The more people you meet, the more likely a wonderful man who has a lot in common with you will enter into your extended social network. Meeting guys through mutual friends is one of the best ways to go, so give yourself every opportunity to succeed.

Step 5. Bag your man

By now, hopefully you are feeling confident, know what you are looking for in a guy, and you are out and about so you actually might meet someone. Now this is the exciting part! When you meet a man who, at first impression seems to be just what you’re looking for, it’s time to bag him. Bagging is much like training a horse. You must be clear with the horse and make your signals to him black and white so that he knows exactly what you want. You can be firm and direct if needed, but you should never get over-aggressive. If you do, the horse will shut down. In the same way, when you are flirting, being clear about the fact that you like the guy will be appreciated, but over-aggressiveness will frequently be a turn off. The important thing, even if you do so gently, is to follow through. If you really like him, make sure he knows it and get his contact information so that you have the opportunity to continue getting to know him better. Some women don’t like asking for a guy’s number, but if you really like him and he seems to really like you too but doesn’t offer his number, ask for it. The worst he can say is no and we are strong, self-confident women who can take no for an answer. Don’t be afraid of failure. How many times have you fallen off of your horse? Do you still ride? Okay, then. If you get rejected, you will live to bag men another day.

Step 6. Good job, you bagged him! Now what?

Bagging is about establishing mutual interest and attraction. Once you bag a man, the relationship process begins. For the first few dates, you can stay on warm and fuzzy getting-to-know-you subjects. You don’t want to dive into the heavy subjects right away and scaring him off. However, don’t wait too long to start discussing more substantial topics. If you still like each other after the first few dates, start to discuss the big four issues: religion, personal finances, family views/wants/needs, and acceptance of the equestrian lifestyle. At this stage, you think he seems like a great guy and you’re attracted to him, but that’s not enough. Use clear, effective communication to figure out how you match up on these key issues. Men who are turning out to be potential marriage material deserve full disclosure of what it means to live the equestrian lifestyle. They should have the opportunity to understand the temporal, emotional, and monetary commitment that you make (and will continue to make) to horses and riding. They have the right to make a conscientious decision about whether or not they can cope with and be supportive of your lifestyle. They should never be able to say they were not warned before making a further commitment to the relationship!

I want to remind you that your significant other can be very supportive of your horse habit without being a rider or coming to the barn all the time to hug and brush on your beloved Snookybuns. Thinking that your guy needs to be “into it” is a mistake and expecting too much. If he wants to ride or learn about horses, great, but if he doesn’t don’t pressure him. My husband has only seen the horse I bought over six months ago a handful of times, but he is very supportive of my riding. He never complains about the giant horse-related bills I make (ex. “Honey can I have $700, please?”), or when he comes home to an empty house and a frozen dinner because I have gone riding on a beautiful night. He is always willing to talk about it when I hit a wall in my riding and get frustrated. He will come to shows on weekends, sleep in between my classes, hold my horse while I get dressed and not complain. The only reason he cares about my horse is because he knows it is important to me and that living with horses gives me a lot of joy. When you find a man who respects you so much that your horsing around is important to him just because it is important to you and not because it really makes any sense, that’s a good guy. Hang on to that one.

If you find after having these important discussions that you both have similar views or you can find reasonable compromises when there are issues, then the relationship has a good chance of succeeding. If you can’t see eye to eye, then you might need to let this man out of your bag and set him free. It’s kind of like if you are an advanced level eventer and you buy a horse that is fabulous at dressage but afraid of ditches, water and his own shadow on cross-country. There is nothing wrong with you or the horse, but you need a braver horse and he needs a dressage queen. Similarly, breaking up with an unsuitable boyfriend is a drag, but it is part of the process. Don’t stay with someone once you realize he’s not right for you. Un-bag him! Let him go. Learn from the relationship what you liked and didn’t like, then move forward.

Step 7. Give and take

Riders, what happens if you choke up the reins on an off-the-track-thoroughbred? He’s gonna run like hell. Men are no different. If you’ve found a man who is a real keeper and you are compatible (or can compromise) on all the major life issues, now it’s time to work toward a committed relationship at a pace that is appropriate for you and your significant other. Ideally, this will end in a happy marriage when you both are ready. In this step, you learn how to give and take, just as you would with the reins of a sensitive horse. Men are the same. You pick your battles. Sometimes you let things go. Sometimes you come out spurs and whip blazing, and you dig your heels in. To be an educated rider and a good wife/fiancé/girlfriend, you have to have a good sense of timing and learn to understand when each approach is appropriate. Never close down the lines of clear communication you have established. Most of all, once you find a great guy, the keeper, you have to be committed. There will be hard times. You will argue and disagree about things, but once you make the commitment to your significant other you should both adopt the mentality that giving up is not an option. When you look at it like that, it becomes easier to resolve your problems.

Horse people understand loyalty and commitment. I know riders who have kept beloved retired mounts for years until death-do-us-part. They refused to discard the horses that spent so many years taking care of them even though the horses no longer benefitted them. That’s loyalty and commitment. Horses are not disposable and neither are committed relationships.

Just Go With It

Now, I have had plenty of really great, uneventful lessons, but those aren’t the ones it’s fun to write about! I wanted to share something that happened in my lesson a few weeks ago. Here’s the set up: a three-stride line with a straight 3’ jump in and a wide, ramped 3’3” oxer out. Note that 3’3” is pretty much the max height I am jumping at this point and still looks relatively big and scary to me. We had a bad distance over the straight single jump in. Patrick got so close that he basically had to jump straight up to get over it. I must’ve gotten ahead, because I lost my stirrups and ended up lying on his neck. It was not a huge problem though. Feeling me get unbalanced he broke to a walk and I thought, “No big deal. I’ll just get re-situated and we’ll try it again.”

That’s when the unexpected happened. As I sat up, Patrick pricked his ears and picked up a trot. To my great horror, I realized that I was half balanced, had no stirrups and loopy reins and he was head STRAIGHT for the big oxer. His internal monologue must’ve gone something like, “Hey Rider Lady, you missed the second element of your line... I’ll jump it for you!”

I had literally one second to decide what to do. I opened one rein to try to run him out, but it was too late and he was already committed to the jump. I considered bailing out, but figured I’d probably land on the jump. I decided the safest thing to do was to try and ride it. I would probably fall off, but at least if I made it to the other side, I would fall in the sand instead of on hard wooden planks. I don’t remember it, but I was heard to mutter, “oh dear” prior to take off. I leaned my upper body forward against his neck and hoped for the best. He took one big canter stride and jumped. We landed on the other side and to my amazement, I was still sitting square in the saddle in balance with him. Patrick lazily broke to a walk as I shortened my reins and picked up my stirrups. “Well, at least you can’t say this horse isn’t honest.” I joked to my still white-faced trainer.

The rest of the ride went fine. We (more successfully) cleared the line several more times. I’m pretty sure there’s a life lesson in here somewhere in addition to a lesson about how to ride horses. You may not always get the perfect spot to a fence, in fact, I can guarantee you won’t. Heck, you might not even be prepared for the jump. Even so, sometimes there is nothing to be gained from holding back. You might want to quit or bail out before the going gets too tough, but the best thing to do is to just go with it. That’s right, just go with it! Yes, you might fail. You might end up with a face full of sand, but you might just surprise yourself and succeed when you thought you couldn’t.

Now I’m not saying that I want to experience this kind of riding debacle every day. I’m not sure my chicken adult ammy heart can take that! However, I aim to ride the way I rode that day when faced with that situation. For better or for worse, I made a decision to go with him and I stuck to it. Maybe that’s a little something I learned from Patrick. Sure, deciding to jump that fence without any direction from me other than being pointed in its general direction wasn’t the smartest thing he ever did, but he didn’t know that. What was interesting about it was the feeling I got from him once he had decided to jump that oxer. He was totally committed. There was no question in his mind that he would make it to the other side. I think if I had that sort of confidence in riding and in life, it would be difficult not to succeed.