NickerNews Horse Blog

Boys in Boots

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:33:00 GMT

"Cowboys of the American East."
In his best-selling book, “The Secret Life of Lobsters,” that’s what Trevor Corson called lobstermen.

I’ve been mulling over that phrase for years, contemplating the parallels of cowboys on the range and lobstermen on the water:

Physical Strength.
Acquired wisdom and patience.
Danger in the form of calculated and unforeseen risks.
Working with the elements.

And that's just a start!
I was born and raised in Maine. I've been clamming and done plenty of fishing. But I've never been lobstering. That is, not until this summer when my friend, Rick Hollingshead, bowed to my nagging and let me join him.

Rick lobsters the waters of Quahog Bay off Harpswell. He’s been hauling since he was four when he first headed out with his father.
So why should you, Dear Reader, read about lobstering on a horse website??

Great summer diversion.

Pleasant distraction for the usual inundation of horse material.

And, oh, those parallels! Cowboys and lobstermen got a lot in common.
Stay tuned for more in a NickerNews article!

Makes No Sense...but I'm not a Horse!

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:17:00 GMT

Some call it a Stud Pile.
Dick Bryzowski, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Agent, calls it the Zone of Repugnance.
Brilliant term, isn't it?
Either way, it is the area where animals decide they are going to poop. And nothing, from my observations, will change their minds.
This spring I planted wonderful grass seed. I took great care in fencing off the area until it was Good Eatin'.
The three mares have decided their Zone will be right in the midst of the finest new grass.
Across the street at the field, they poop in the most wonderful bed of clover.
What's with them?
Heck if I know!
I'm sure there is some Sixth Horse Poop Sense involved.

Gotcha! Equine Payback

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:14:00 GMT

It was the darnedest thing.
Last summer, I was ponying my four horses to the neighbor’s field every day. Trixie, a little 30-year old Shetland was one of them.
On occasion, I would catch Trixie biting at the belly of the horse I was riding.
What?
This bottom-of-the-totem-pole pony seemed to be taking delicious, vengeful nips at the Top Dog! My horse couldn’t check her, being under my control and all. Trixie knew this, of course.
I got a good chuckle out of this natural and personal opportunism. But I thought it was a unique moment.
Not so!
This year, Trixie moved to a fine farm and Peppermint Patty moved to my place and replaced her in the pecking order.
Now, I ride Shea and pony Peppermint and another horse to the field.
I caught this clever pony pulling the same move!
Can’t say as I blame them.
If you could diss your local bully without fear of payback, wouldn’t you?

Eastern Equine Couture!

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 06:09:00 GMT

Oo-la-la!
The epitome of high-brow equine couture, we display here the irresistible summer fashion:
Clogs with shorts!
Yes, ladies, it’s trendy yet classic with its roots in utility and eternal style.
We know sandals and flipflops have no place in the barn.
Sneakers are, well, so childish.

Clogs say, “I’m hot. I’m horsey. And proud of it!”
Worn barefoot is best. Adding socks, if you must, will take a significant chunk out of your fashion statement.
But anyway you spin in, nothing says Barn Bombshell like clogs with shorts!

Bad horse people everywhere

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:44:00 GMT

I guess I always knew that, but I didn't get to digesting that fact until recently.
Word reached NickerNews of a kill broker, Raymond Tucker, in Kansas who has a rotten operation. Horses are in such terrible condition, they can't be transported to Mexico for slaughter.
That's bad.
Read more at this devoted blog, click here.
The good thing is -- folks are working against animal cruelty everywhere, too. The linked blog has posted contact information for state agencies...sound familiar.
And the power of the Internet can help create an international awareness.
Public outrage, baby.

This Horse Can Swim

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:05:00 GMT

We know horses can swim, but it's still a thrill to see it.
And even better to join them!
I finally got a day off and was able to cool off with Shea. Yippee! She seemed to know she'd feel better if she got all the way in. We've done it before and each time she is more willing. I even had to remind her that we weren't headed out to sea and steered her back towards the shore!

She cuts a mean wake, I tell ya.

Doesn't it look like she's saying: "Let's do that again" in the bottom photo? And we did.
Many thanks to my mom, Sally Butcher, for the fine photos!

It's not just the horses

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:32:00 GMT

Thanks to an astute reader, NickerNews has learned that Brett Ingraham was arrested for terrorizing last month.
According to the Waldo County Sheriff blotter, as published in the Village Soup, Brett was arrested June 22.
No information was given, except his age (34) and hometown (now, Burnham).
We are led to believe that "terrorizing" is a form of bullying, harassment, and/or threatening of violence, but we'll try to get a more precise definition when the state finally returns from holidays.

Of Writing and Riding

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:48:00 GMT

There is something about good writing and good riding that evokes a physical and emotional response in me. I get all full of jello when I connect with fine work in either field.
A few years ago, I was practically moved to tears whilst watching Stacy Westfall perform bareback and bridleless at the Equine Affaire. (‘Course it didn’t help that it was a musical, heartfelt tribute to her late father). The connection she had developed with her horse was palpable and I felt privileged to watch them.
I got equally moved when reading certain passages from Ian McEwan’s "Atonement." How did he invent this intense world from simple letters and words?
At both moments, my first reaction was: “It’s Magic!”
What I did not see was Stacy getting bucked off or Ian getting rejected. I'm sure it's happened. Ok, maybe a long time ago. But even the pros have their failures. We see the polished product.
Sure, there might be a sprinkling of natural giftedness. But I believe the steady rain is hard work, passion and persistence.
Gotta love it!

Misery loves Company

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:00:00 GMT

This is a Internet post about the power of the Internet.
I got an email from a woman way out in Washington. She is part of a group of Good Samaritans trying to get the state powers-that-be to shut down an abusive horse owner.
She was monitoring the progress reported on NickerNews.
I wrote to her of the double-pronged issues we have here in Maine: a dysfunctional state agency coupled with the abusive, neglectful horse owners.
I don’t know if my comments and suggestions were helpful, but the correspondence verified for me what I should have already known: There are people all over the country fighting the good fight.

ACTHA event brings smiles

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:29:00 GMT

A good time was had by all last week at the American Competitive Trail Horse Association event held at Triple J Farm in Bowdoin. The event was part of ACHTA’s Guinness Book of World Record attempt at most participants in a trail competition.
A few dozen at Triple J joined hundreds more in Colorado, Alabama, Virginia, Connecticut, and elsewhere. And, according to ACTHA, they did indeed break a world record.
Jessie Buchanan (photo at left) soaks up the awards ceremony with a friendly Dutch warmblood gelding.
Triple J, owned by Jim and Jan Marconi, put on a great time, with lots of good food and wonderful hospitality. Check out the events page for additional competitions like this one.

As Big as a Mini Horse

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:29:00 GMT

A visit to my brother’s family brought me face to face with this big fella. He might be a dog, but he stood about as tall as a miniature horse – and certainly MUCH taller than Einstein, the mini colt born this spring in New Hampshire.
Marco, a Newfoundland, weighs 180 pounds and can touch my elbow with his wet nose. He acted like a draft horse, moving slowly and behaving gently. What a love. When I photographed him, he seemed embarrassed. Poor Marco. I’m laughing with you, honey, not at you!

Horses in Tornados - Oh, My!

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:53:00 GMT

What's a horse owner to do with this recent rash of tornado watches and warnings?
I talked with a delightfully dry-humored spokesman for the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. He said: "When it comes to livestock, you have to play the odds."

On one hand, you might not want to put them in a barn that's going to go down. On the other, you might not want them exposed to flying debris - like the roof of the barn that just blew down.
And on the third hand, bringing them into the basement with you is probably not feasible. (I kid you not, he told me this without so much as a chuckle.)

BUT, he said, most tornadoes around here are weak, topping out with windspeeds of 80 to 100 miles per hour.
AND, most barns around here are sound, post-and-beam construction. They can withstand a lot.
Consider your barn, your surroundings, and the comfort levels of you and your equines.
Or, just flip a coin.

I Knew You By Your Cow Handling

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:51:00 GMT

You and I might see a connection between family members or close friends by the way they walk or the way they talk.

But by the way they sort cattle??

That’s the way my friend, Elijah Moore, connected the dots with Martin Black last month.
Moore was watching Black at the Gelinas Farm clinic in early May. Something about the way he worked the cows reminded Moore of his old friend, Newt Wright.
Wright was born in Montana in 1935 and lived in Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona (where he and Moore became close). He was admired by many as an intellectual horseman. He was a man who spent a lot of time thinking about how horses think, how cows think, how dogs think.
Wright taught farriers, taught riders, taught bullriders. And he was a constant student, always wanting to learn more, according to memorials left on his website.
He died suddenly last year in Bozeman, Montana.
Moore asked Black about his cattle work. And did he know a fellow by the name of Newt Wright?
“Martin laughed and said Newt could handle a herd of cattle better than anyone I’ve ever seen,” recalled Moore.
Black credited Newt Wright for teaching him some excellent and essential cow handling skills back when he was younger.
Incredible, isn't it, how subtle yet signature technique, handed down from one cowboy to another can connect dots and paint a picture? Such a picture many of us would never see.
Photos from top to bottom: Martin Black, Newt Wright, Elijah Moore

Valuing Life, from Horses to Owls

Tue, 25 May 2010 12:02:00 GMT

This week, I had the distinct honor of helping with an animal rescue.
My son was driving home and there, on the side of a very busy road, was a baby Barred Owl.
He gathered it in a shirt and we quickly transported it to my mom, Sally Butcher, who used to be a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Now, she transports birds for Avian Haven, the non-profit wild bird rehabilitation center in Freedom, Maine.
The right thing to do - after finding that it was uninjured and after much consultation with Avian Haven - was to return it to the nest, or to place it as close to the nest as possible. The parents would tend to it, we were assured.
So, through a big team effort, we rigged a ladder, scaled the tree 30 feet, and screwed a wooden basket onto a tree limb. Then I climbed back up the ladder and placed the baby in the basket.
Mother Owl came right away. I was lucky I didn't get pecked by those fantastic talons and beak!
What does this have to do with NickerNews??
I was just considering the broad spectrum of how humans value life.

Human, domestic animal, wild animal.

At one end, the terrorists, the killing of innocents, Holocaust, ethnic cleansing, animal cruelty...
At the other end, entire organizations and lives devoted to saving critters who say "Thank You" only by munching hay, or, in this case, flying away.

Global Warming and Horse Owners

Sun, 23 May 2010 11:33:00 GMT

Folks hesitate to believe in the whole Global Warming deal because they don't see enough tangible proof of it. We need to get hit on the head with a hammer to buy into what those crazy scientists are saying, right?
Well, I'm one who heartily believes we need to change our carbon-emitting habits or face a frightening environmental scenario soon.
And my sentiment was reinforced this week when I heard a new report on global warming and infectious diseases.
This report stated Lyme Disease and Eastern Equine Encephalitis will INCREASE with the effect of global warming.
I can Frontline the dogs, but I can't squirt the stuff between my shoulder blades and I've heard that the equivalent for horses is not effective and has its own hazardous issues (eg, carcinogens).
I vaccinate the girls against EEE, but feel terrible when I hear of unvaccinated horses dying (last summer)
So, now, when I use compact fluorescent bulbs and drive my little 43 mpg tin can of a car, I'm not just thinking of saving the planet, I'm thinking of saving dogs, people, horses, from rotten diseases.

Sable Island Plans and a bit of Trepidation

Wed, 19 May 2010 07:13:00 GMT

This winter, an acquaintance mentioned Sable Island, a crescent-shaped sandbar with a herd of wild horses. I’d never heard of it and I set to work researching this unique place.
Sable Island is a 25-mile spit of Canadian land, sitting 100 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. Hundreds of years ago, humans brought horses to the island. Historians say some survived shipwrecks by swimming ashore.
There are other wild horses in the world. But Sable Island horses are left unmanaged and free of interference by people.
The BLM rounds up the mustangs.
The Chincoteague and Assateague ponies are culled, too.
No one messes with the Sable Island horses.
I want to see them.
My friend, Sonia, did, too.
And so started our challenge.
Visiting the island is difficult on many levels.
The Canadian government restricts visits through an arduous application process because so many want to visit, because accommodations are minimal, and because logistics are challenging.

Sonia bravely set to the task. After multiple applications, phone calls, and faxes, she succeeded! We will head there in September!
Yahoo!
But I must admit, when describing the trip to friends and family, I sometimes get the “what are you thinking??” look.
It’s a voyage only a horse lover with a twisted sense of adventure would make:
At great expense, we will travel from Maine to Nova Scotia. Once there, we will wait for good weather and climb aboard a helicopter or small plane (yikes!) for the 100-mile transatlantic flight.
I suppose we could go by boat, but it would take much longer and did I mention the shipwrecks? Some 400 ships have gone down near Sable Island.
And did I mention that Sonia and I are exceedingly afraid of flying?
I’m mixing Bloody Marys and stashing tranquilizers already.
Once there, we will stay at the government’s barrack-style accommodations for two days. Not sure about meals, but I’m thinking packages of peanut butter crackers, cheese, and apples…maybe Cup o Noodles?
Then, pending good weather, we will return to Nova Scotia via the dreaded flight back to the mainland.
Our Canadian contact said, “Be prepared to stay in Nova Scotia or on the island for extra days if the weather is bad.”
I think I’ll be bringing an extra memory card and extra candy bars!

Martin Black Knows

Thu, 13 May 2010 17:11:00 GMT

No secret.

No secret. I was nervous.
Martin Black’s clinic at Gelinas Farm was my first overnight clinic.
My first ranch versatility instruction.
Heck, it was the longest time I’d spent away from my kids in eight years!
But all those reasons for anxiety faded away as I stepped into the saddle and joined 15 other riders at one of Black’s few forays into New England.
One-on-one instruction was balanced by watching these pros and watching other more accomplished riders.
Did I learn a lot?
Absolutely.
Can I spell it all out and show you how I improved?
Um, not really. Not yet.
Stay tuned for a more detailed review. (I’m digesting!)
In the meantime, check out these photos of Shea and me moving a cow and then getting Martin’s two cents.
I rode Brooke, too. She’s photographed below, with Terry McClare riding in the background.
I thoroughly enjoyed the clinic and the other participants. Everyone was very supportive. And everyone was a stronger rider than me, so I learned not only from the Blacks, but from other riders. I especially appreciated tips from Nora Brewster and Catina Reed. Thanks!
Kim Stone took these photos and organized the clinic. Thanks!
Joanne and Art hosted the clinic at their fantastic facility. Thanks!

Ride Every Day - Dumped in Mud

Mon, 03 May 2010 18:43:00 GMT

Indeed, I have been riding, not writing.
But if Riding is Not Falling Off - I failed one day last week!
I got a little cocky when ponying and thought I'd put Shea in a rope halter instead of a bridle.
My second mistake was discounting how much they really hate going through mud. (It had just rained, making it REAL muddy.)
So we crossed the trench and the girls started trotting, not walking through the muck. I wasn't able to slow Shea with the rope halter and still hold onto the other two. The gang moved to a lope, then a gallop.
I bailed and dropped into deep mud.
How humiliating!
To top it, I now had to trudge after them whilst completely in grime. Even down to the wrists.

Tiny Horse? Who cares!

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:01:00 GMT

I'm sorry to rain on the miniature horse parade.
But on the same day little Einstein got all kinds of attention in the media, the very same television stations were ignoring calls for coverage right here in Minot.
That's where Cheryl Ryan and her daughter stumbled across this starving and severely neglected horse and his suffering pasture mate.
Ryan called the state police, the Minot animal control officer, and, of course, the state animal welfare.
Of course, they paid a visit but did not seize the miserable horses. Animal Welfare's Dr. Christine Fraser told me they were monitoring the situation.
Monitoring? Yes, let's watch as the horse owner toes the line for this week of monitoring. Let's watch as the horses inch closer to death.
Let's monitor while TWO rescue agencies (Rockin' T Equine Rescue and the MSSPA) stand at the ready to accept these horses, no questions asked.
Time after time, Animal Welfare seems determined to keep horses IN harm's way.
No one with a conscience is working there, I guess.

What Day Are We?

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:26:00 GMT

I've been riding, not writing. Guess that's the idea, right?

Saturday, I took all three girls to Kim Stone's clinic at Triple J Farm in Bowdoin.
What a great group of participants.
Triple J was fabulous, too. Many thanks to Jim and Jan Marconi.
I rode Shea in the morning. We're here practicing backing uphill. It was very challenging for us.
In the afternoon, I rode Brooke. She was downright serene compared to her last clinic appearance (when she bucked me off).
I learned a lot, too. Kim has so much to offer.
Sunny day. Friendly folks. Great time.