How do you make the most out of your time at the barn?

I hear there are people out there who take long, leisurely walks, linger over good books in their neighborhood coffee shop and even complain of occasional boredom. I am not those people.

For me, life is a rapid-fire succession of things that have to be crossed off an ever-growing to-do list. With family, work, cattle and horses all making demands on my time, you can bet that I don’t get many extended periods of time to lollygag around.

But that’s OK. While I don’t exactly get a lot of leisure time, I find a million small moments during the day — mini vacations if you will — that remind me to be appreciative of the blessings around me. It’s not exactly stopping to smell the roses … it’s more like horse sweat and alfalfa hay.

I’ve also learned to milk the most good out of my allotted hours. Like so many busy people, my lunch hour is often spent running errands or catching up on work that’s piling up. But on those rare lucky days when work is caught up and errands are either done or can wait, you’ll often find me at the barn.

It’s a move I’ve copped from a friend of mine who is fortunate enough to board her horse not far from her workplace. And it does have its own set of skills. After all, we’ve all been told not to put time constraints on our training — it takes as long as it takes, and that might or might not be within the limits of a 45-minute block of time. So it’s important to bite off only small chunks. This isn’t where I’d introduce something new or tackle something a horse is having problems with.

Groundwork on the young horses is always a good option — it’s low-stress on them, requires no saddling time and has big payoffs. Stall cleaning, too, is one of those things — like dirty dishes or laundry — that always need to be done. Last winter, a source — a Quarter Horse breeder from Wyoming – called me on my cell phone during my lunch break, and I confessed that she had caught me with a manure fork instead of a computer mouse in hand. She laughed and commiserated about the dwindling hours of daylight. You’ve got to scoop it while you can see it!

So … to all the other busy horse people out there … what are some of your time-saving tips? Leave your comments below and help the rest of us get more good out of our barn time!

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine
For members of the American Quarter Horse Association

It only happens in the movies … but it sure makes for a good story.

We doubt this is Copper Locks (he only appeared in selected racing scenes), but he's supposed to look just like this! Photo credit: John Bramley/Disney Enterprises Inc.

The movie “Secretariat” won’t open until early October, so don’t pop the popcorn quite yet. But from all reports, it’s a movie that horse lovers won’t want to miss.

Now, you might be wondering why, exactly, a blog published by the American Quarter Horse Association is crowing about a Thoroughbred movie. Secretariat, of course, is the 1973 Triple Crown winner who was owned by Penny Chenery, a woman who took over her father’s stable and had to fight for respect in the male-dominated industry of the 1970s.

AQHA member Rusty Hendrickson can help explain. He served as head wrangler on the movie, which means that he provided horses and then managed them on-set.

“A good horse movie can sort of transcend the breeds,” Rusty says in a recent interview with America’s Horse. “I love Quarter Horses; that’s my favorite. But it’s sometimes fun to tell a story when it’s just a horse story.”

And Reason No. 2? There are a number of American Quarter Horses in the movie, including one of the horses who played Secretariat. Rusty was looking for a horse with enough speed to zip around a pack of racehorses – and he knew for that quick burst of speed, he’d better look for a Quarter Horse.

While filming in Louisiana, he was directed to Alvin “Bubba” Brossette, who just happened to have a speedy sorrel gelding with some white on him – similar enough to Secretariat that the horsey hair and makeup artists could easily transform him into a look-alike.

If you’re a racing fan, you’ve probably already recognized Bubba’s name. He’s AQHA’s all-time leading jockey by number of wins, and he has successfully segued into a racehorse trainer. So when he tells you that a horse “showed a little talent,” he knows what he’s talking about.

That’s how he described Copper Locks, a 4-year-old gelding he bred, raised and was racing in Louisiana.

“He looked like he was going to like a little more distance. So (in September), we ran him in an 870(-yard race at Evangeline Downs), and he broke his maiden. Right at the time, they were hunting a horse to play in ‘Secretariat,’ and I sold him.”

There were six or seven horses used to portray Secretariat, and Copper Locks isn’t one of the primary stars … he was used only in some of the racing scenes where his speed was called upon. But Bubba says he’s anxious to see the movie, to see if he can pick out his horse.

Copper Locks was joined on the set by several other American Quarter Horses that Rusty owns. Plumb Twisted, a bay son of the nice reining horse Dun It With A Twist, and Drifts Wood, a black Driftwood- and Joe Hancock-bred gelding, are two of the pony horses used in the film.

If you can’t quite wait until October to get into the “Secretariat” spirit, you’ve got some options. Disney has a “Secretariat” website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

P.S. If you’re not already there, you can also follow AQHA on Facebook! Plus, we have a couple of Twitter accounts — for AQHA and America’s Horse. Don’t miss out on the fun!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Cowboys vs. the Sooners, Part 2

"Sooner" sports an orange -- orange! -- OSU Cowboys cap, entertaining the veterinary students who helped in her treatment.

On the way home, she looked much more appropriate riding in her Sooner trailer! (Yes, it's pulled by a Ford truck. And no, I don't get a commission from those AQHA Corporate Partners ... I just appreciate their good-quality stuff!)

... The only problem was, the Sooner trailer (with Sooner on board) was parked in front of this gas station: an OSU/Cowboy mecca! You just can't escape it!

If you’ve been following The Gallop Report, you know about the irony involved when I had to take my mare “Sooner” to Oklahoma State University for treatment of a rare fungal infection in her lymph system. The good folks at the OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital got a laugh about treating the namesake of their arch in-state rival — the University of Oklahoma Sooners.

Well, she had a recent followup visit. And the laughs keep coming!

Happy riding! (And happy rooting for your favorite college team … football season’s just around the corner!)

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

This is definitely a glass-half-full sort of issue!

In the August issue of America’s Horse magazine, mounted shooter Denny Chapman remarks that he’s a lucky cowboy. He loves his job as a Wild West entertainer. He has a great hobby competing in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Assocation. And he got some fantastic publicity as a contestant on The History Channel’s “Top Shot” reality show.

Unfortunately, he was eliminated from the competition on Sunday’s night episode, after making it through eight of the 10 weeks. But never fear; he’s also a glass-half-full sort of cowboy. On Denny’s Facebook page, he wrote: “Just a note to thank everyone for their support during my participation in ‘Top Shot!’ I have been a mounted shooter for more than a decade, and I am very grateful for the sport that plays such an important role in my life. It helped me get on the show, and I hope the publicity I gained will help the sport grow even further. Thanks again for all the encouragement!”

Even though his time on the show is over, you’ll still enjoy reading about his behind-the-scenes experiences. And the August America’s Horse also gets more in-depth with another mounted shooter: AQHA Professional Horsewoman Stacy Westfall, who is a phenom in the reining pen but is now broadening her horizons to take in mounted shooting.

It’s fun for her and good training for her horses. And it’s great timing for us, because AQHA and the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association are now finalizing the details on an agreement that will let competitors earn AQHA points at select CMSA competitions. In the second of a three-part series, Stacy takes us through some frequently asked questions and describes how she began getting herself comfortable with guns.

It’s very gratifying to let horse experts like Stacy speak to our readers – after all, all of us want to get better with our horses. But it’s also really nice to introduce regular horse people – horse lovers just like you who have interesting stories to tell. In the August issue, our “Horse People” section features three generations of team penners in Mississippi. There’s the grandmother, who introduced the sport to her family, a mom and a daughter who’s a recent college graduate and says “it just runs in the genes in our family.”

And are you “just” a trail rider? No way! America’s Horse *loves* recreational riding, and so does our final featured horse person. In fact, she’s responsible for managing the trails in the southern United States and Puerto Rico for the USDA Forest Service. We’ll also tell you about AQHA’s program – Stewardship for Trails, Education & Partnerships – that promotes trail conservation and awards grants to deserving organizations.

 What? That’s not enough for you?

Heck, why should it be? After all, versatility’s the name of the game for our great horse — as well as for our diversified bunch of members! Here’s more you’ll find in the pages of the August America’s Horse:

• Get a sneak peek at the America’s Horse in Art show and sale that opens August 14 at the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum.
• Learn why dressage can help strengthen your American Quarter Horse — and make him better at any discipline – with Part 6 of our year-long series.
• Supporters of the American Quarter Horse Foundation went back to our breed’s roots with a trail ride on a New Mexico ranch.  
• And meet a key player at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games: chef d’equipe Jeff Petska (and find out what, exactly, is a “chef d’equipe,” anyway!)

Don’t miss all of the fun, educational and heart-warming stories in the print version of America’s Horse! It goes to all members of the American Quarter Horse Association, and it’ll also keep you in the loop on Association news. We want you to belong!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

The Ohio Quarter Horse Association pulls together to help one of its own.

Trey and his roping/speed-event horse, Bar Dee Boy 036, aka "Scooby." Photo courtesy of Tow Pal Inc., which sponsors Trey.

By all accounts, 14-year-old Trey Schwab has a wonderful, supportive family. But outside of his biological family, he also has an amazing network of unrelated kinfolk – connected by a common love of horses – who have rallied around him in the wake of a terrible accident. At the AQHA Region Four Championship in Columbus, July 15-18, this family was kicking it in high gear.

May 22, Trey and his family had been driving to a horse show on Ohio’s Interstate 71 when their left front tire blew out. As Paul, Trey’s father, slowed down to pull over, the truck shot abruptly across the median and into some trees. The trailer disconnected from the truck, and one horse ended up dying. Cindy, Paul’s mother, bled profusely from a severed carotid artery, and Paul sustained head injuries. Cindy also suffered several broken bones and is now in a wheelchair, although a full recovery is expected. Trey remains hospitalized, and the extent of his brain injury is not yet known. He blinks to answer “yes” or “no” questions, and he knows that his best horse, “Scooby,” survived.

At the accident scene,  “there were angels everywhere,” says Ohio Quarter Horse Association youth director Kelli Diaz – from a passerby who stopped and helped stanch Cindy’s bleeding, to another one who happened to be driving by with an empty horse trailer; she transported the horses to a nearby vet clinic.

Today, it’s Kelli and others at OQHA and neighboring affiliates who are filling that role. Read the rest of this entry »

American public, meet the ranchers!

Bill Galt. Photo courtesy of Animal Planet/Audrey Hall

It’s pretty cool when legitimate ranchers and their western lifestyle are spotlighted on the Animal Planet channel, giving the American public an insight into what it takes to put that hamburger or steak on the table. And it’s even better when two AQHA life members are involved, so they can give us a look behind the scenes.

Here, Lisa Tanzer, a co-executive producer, and Bill Galt, one of the featured ranchers, talk about what it was like to make “Last American Cowboy,” which airs Monday nights (8 p.m. Eastern) on Animal Planet.

Lisa, who has ridden since she was 5 and has shown reining horses for the past several years, says she loved being able to visit the three Montana ranches, and she even got to do some camera work from horseback. She also spent time in the edit bay in Los Angeles, going through the 5,000 hours of film that were recorded from calving season in March through October, when the calves were sold.

“I thought it was an amazing glimpse into ranching,” she says. “I’ve had so many people say, ‘I can’t believe that even happens.’ ”

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How does a college rivalry relate to a fungal infection? Read on:

Note the knots running under her left front leg. They're more visible since her coat was shaved off for vets to pull fluid out of the nodules for testing.

Every time I feed my horses, I give them all a quick check to make sure no red fluids are leaking out, all four legs are functioning properly, etc. Last weekend, as “Sooner” got one of these routine once-overs, I noticed some knots on her chest. As she wolfed down her Nutrena SafeChoice pellets, I palpated what felt like an enormous string of pearls – hard lumps of about an inch in diameter connected by a thick, hard cord. She continued eating; they weren’t painful. The knots started in the middle of her chest and ran downward, into what would be considered her armpit. My guess was that they were swollen lymph nodes, and a phone call to our veterinarian confirmed that likelihood.

Sporotrichosis – a rare fungal infection of the lymph system – was what he suspected. A phone call to the veterinary teaching hospital at Oklahoma State University, his alma mater, strengthened that suspicion, and he recommended that we go there, since this is a difficult bug to fight, and the OSU vets are trying some novel techniques.

So, driving the three hours toward Stillwater, Oklahoma, I called ahead to give the receptionist all our information. The questions she asked weren’t hard …

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This Quarter Horse-riding cowboy is among the contestants on a History Channel reality show.

Denny Chapman. Photo by Jim Cook.

If you’re one of the 5 million viewers watching “Top Shot” on the History Channel on Sunday nights, then there’s no doubt you’ve noticed the cowboy.

“Top Shot” is the History Channel’s first-ever reality competition series, and it features 16 of the nation’s most skilled marksmen competing to win a $100,000 prize package and the title of “Top Shot.” Among them is Denny Chapman, a Wild West entertainer and top competitor in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, an AQHA alliance partner.

Denny laughs when asked about his trademark attire.

“It’s me, and it’s everyday. I’m wearing it right now,” he said last week when filming had concluded and the 10-week series had just begun airing. “I’m wearing the same hat I wear on the show. The Wranglers, a trophy buckle and my boots … those things kind of made me recognizable and identifiable.”

Indeed, after just one episode had aired, Denny, who lives in Ocala, Florida, was busy fielding interview requests and making publicity appearances.

“It has been such a whirlwind. It has been nuts, but in a good way of course. I had no idea that I was going to get the exposure I’ve gotten, and only one episode has aired. And I really didn’t get a lot of face time in it. I’m almost speechless. It has got to get even bigger and better as the series goes on and more people see me.”

And according to Denny, it’s all thanks to his American Quarter Horses.

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How zodiac signs explain (sort of) our herd dynamics.

Yack, yack yack ... don't interrupt me today! I've got things to say!

There are tons of guides to horse personalities. Linda Tellington-Jones has her interpretations of facial swirls. Pat Parelli talks about “horse-analities,” based on the equine’s innate characteristics, learned behavior and spirit. Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling (“What Horses Reveal”) has 26 character groups, such as “the pilgrim,” “pegasus” and “the friend.” I’m sure the list of horse personality decoders could go on and on, as well as the debates about how much water any of these methods hold.

These things came to mind over the weekend, during a discussion of zodiac signs and the zodiac elements (fire, water, earth and air). Humans have long been trying to decode our own personalities, as well as those of the animals around us. So just for fun … I decided to see how my horses stacked up against their zodiac signs.

Junior, born April 19, is an Aries — a fire sign known for volatility and passion. Temperamental? Oh yeah … although he is mellowing as he ages. But with this sign covering March 21 – April 20, I’ve got a feeling there will be a lot of equine Aries. I’ve actually got two others — Zen and Ocho, both born on April 6 of different years, and they’re as mellow as the day is long.

Their horoscope for the day (from www.astrology.com): Be the first to speak up today, otherwise the conversation will be dominated by those who don’t know what they’re talking about.

Read the rest of this entry »

The curtain closes on a life lived well – with dancing, racing American Quarter Horses and, above all, vim and vigor.

I was lugging a big camera bag, all right? And it was very heavy.

That was how I rationalized it in my mind, at least, when I found myself struggling to keep up with the 101-year-old Doris Eaton Travis when I visited her in 2005 to do a story for America’s Horse. She was an absolute gem – warm, gracious and extremely energetic. She was waiting for me on the front porch as I drove in to her Norman, Oklahoma, ranch. And from there – as though she couldn’t wait to talk about the horses that had been her passion for the past 30 years or so – she sped inside toward the study, where shelves of trophies and winners circle photos awaited. It was, ahem, a little hard to match her pace.

We laughed about it at the time, and she told me her secret: always staying busy, both mentally and physically.

Sadly, I read today in The New York Times, that time had finally caught up with her. On Tuesday, at 106, she died of an aneurysm. The venerable Times thought her death noteworthy because she was the last remaining Ziegfield Girl, an icon of the Jazz Age.

“Beneath towering, glittering, feathered headdresses, the Ziegfeld Girls floated across grand Broadway stages in lavish pageants known as the Ziegfeld Follies, often to the wistful tune that Irving Berlin wrote just for them: ‘A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody,’ ” the Times wrote.

“It was beauty, elegance, loveliness,” Mrs. Travis told the newspaper in 2005, “beauty and elegance like a French painting of a woman’s body.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Check out some of the games that may be on tap for QuarterFest.

Holly Clanahan

What’s a party without party games? That’s why AQHA staffers had so much fun recently brainstorming about the games that will be part of the playday at the second annual QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse, April 30 – May 2 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Our Facebook fans even got in on the game, suggesting some of their favorites. There’s a lot of people out there having fun with their horses, and that’s what it’s all about!

Although our playday agenda isn’t firmed up, here are a few of the games we’re talking about. If you’ve got other fun-day favorites, please leave us a comment!

Egg and Spoon Horsemanship – This is a spin on the traditional egg and spoon race, which has participants zooming from a starting point to a finish line, balancing an egg on a spoon. In horsemanship, riders are asked to perform a pattern. The one who completes the greatest portion of the pattern before dropping the egg wins. It’s a good test of horsemanship, because if you don’t have a steady seat and good balance, your egg will soon wobble off the spoon.

Cowboy Jousting – This requires a little engineering, but it’s well worth it. We use tall L-shaped frames made of PVC pipe with a string hanging from the top. Rings of various sizes (starting at about 6 inches) are attached to the string. These frames line the perimeter of the arena, and a rider carrying a jousting pole circles the arena, spearing the rings, which then release from the frame. This is a timed event, but skill obviously plays a big role, as well.

Boot Scramble – Riders start the game horseback in their stocking feet. Boots are piled at the other end of the arena. The riders race to the pile, then helpers hold the riders’ horses while the riders find their boots, put them on, then re-mount and ride back to the starting point.

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When curiosity could kill the horse.

Image from Wikipedia Commons, posted by user Korall.

Zen, my 4-year-old mare that I’m bringing along, has the most amazing sense of curiosity. She’s inquisitive and eager to learn — qualities you love to find in a horse. Except for yesterday, when it could have proved disastrous.

It unfolded around lunch time, when I went to check on the barking dogs (who are penned), expecting to find a barn-cat tussle. Instead, I found a raccoon, nestled up by the water tank in the horse pasture. He didn’t run away, but just hunkered down to watch me. Human voices didn’t send him skittering away, either.  When he finally did walk off, he was slow and unsure in his movements. Of course, anything could have been wrong with him, but my mind was flashing one word: RABIES.

I called Chad, asking him to come bearing arms. As I’ve talked about here before, we hate killing anything, but a potentially rabid animal? That’s an automatic trip to raccoon heaven. I shut the two mares, Zen and Sooner, out of that section of pasture and began going over them, making sure they hadn’t tussled with the varmit. When I found the raccoon, the horses were nowhere near it — but I didn’t know how long it had been there, either.

Sooner got the first inspection. She’s such a beautiful mare, I could stare at her for hours. So I admired her feminine-but-muscular form as I walked around her, grumbled briefly about all the sorrel hair that’s shedding off in insane quantities, and then pronounced her OK. No scratches or any other signs that she might have had any contact with the ‘coon.

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