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.

Kelli and Jamie Watson, whose daughter, Lacy, is an Ohio youth director, filled me in on the details of how the horse industry has swooped in to help the Schwab family.

The Ohio youth kids had already been selling raffle tickets for an All American Quarter Horse Congress package that included a stall at the Congress, a VIP parking pass, tickets to premier events and more. The proceeds were to go into a youth general fund that could be used for pizza parties or other social events. After the Schwabs’ accident, “the kids all got together and said, ‘We would like to donate it to Trey and his family,’ ” Kelli says.

At the Region Four Championship, Lacy sold $750 worth of raffle tickets in one night. She “has been phenomenal,” Kelli says – and she even sells the raffle tickets on her Facebook page.

It’s understandable why Lacy feels that kinship with Trey. The members of the Ohio Quarter Horse Youth Association voted on who should attend the AQHA Youth Excellence Seminar in June in Amarillo. Lacy and Trey – both active directors who were successful in the show ring – were unanimous picks.

Trey, obviously, wasn’t able to attend, but he was on the Ohio representatives’ minds. Kelli bought a photograph of the letters “A,” “Q,” “H” and “A” from Quarter Horse Outfitters, and she let all the kids at YES sign their names to it.

They’ll deliver it as soon as the busy summer schedule allows.

“We’re all going to go down and see him,” Kelli says. “A lot of the kids want to go visit him.”

At the Region Four Championship, besides the raffle sales, proceeds of a live and silent auction also went toward the Schwab family’s benefit fund. More than $9,000 was raised, and items just kept being added to the auction – a month’s worth of training here, more Congress tickets there. Others were just writing checks to make straight donations. The selflessness and generosity was heart-warming, to say the least.

“Once it starts,” Kelli says, “you just can’t stop it.”

But she says it’s easy to care this much about such a great family.

“They’re just a phenomenal family. They’re just as real as you can get. They do it (show horses) as a family.”

Trey was spotlighted in the Ohio affiliate’s newsletter in May, and in his interview, “it just talked about how humble he is, all the way down to ‘we save money by packing our lunches instead of buying food at the shows’ so he can help his parents so they can continue to travel. He’s just a great kid,” Kelli says.

Jamie, who ponied up $2,500 in the live auction to buy a Congress package, says it’s all well worth it.

“In Ohio, we’re pretty tight with our kids. Everybody works together, and it’s like a family.”

The “family” is now brainstorming, wondering how they can make Trey a part of the Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Show, which kicks off Friday in Oklahoma City. Trey and Scooby, registered as Bar Dee Boy 036, won the AQHYA stake race national high-point. He was to accept his trophy on August 5.

“We might even try to Skype,” Kelli says, referring to a service that allows online video conferencing. “We’re trying to think of different ways.”

But no matter how hard Kelli and her Ohio youth members work, they know Trey is working harder.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” Kelli says, “but he’s a strong kid and they’re such a great family. I’m very optimistic.”

And that Ohio Quarter Horse spirit? It’s pretty cool, and yet another reason why joining your state affiliate is such a good idea – it’s like adding to your support system.

“We would do it for any of our youth,” Kelli says of the benefit efforts, “because we’re all one family. But he and his family are extra special.”

To help:

An online benefit auction

A benefit account set up at Chase Bank

Or at the Paul Schwab III Benefit Fund
Park National Bank
50 N Third St
P. O. Box 3500
Newark, OH 43058-3500

Hats off to all the fund-raisers, and best wishes to the Schwab family!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.’ ”

Ranchers tend to labor in the background, with many city folks completely unaware of their hard work and struggles. That’s one reason Bill and his wife, Jill, agreed to have a camera crew live on their ranch for eight months.

“I was hoping that the American public would see what it takes to produce the food they eat and how hard it is to make it work,” Bill says. “I think people are losing touch with food on the hoof. Kids today are raised believing it comes from the store.”

The filming was an education for the camera crews, as well. There were two crew members on each of the three ranches, and Lisa had to give them an introduction to the cowboy way.

“I had to teach them how to work around cattle, how to move around cattle and horses, to be aware of where the animals are,” she says. “When you’re looking through a camera, looking at an LCD screen, you focus on that and not on what’s around you. That can get you into trouble when you’re dealing with 800 thousand-pound animals.”

A few of the cameramen did mount up on horseback to shoot footage in places four-wheelers wouldn’t reach. And they won Bill’s respect.

One of his assigned crew members had been a cameraman for six seasons on “Deadliest Catch,” which shows the mettle of crab fishermen on the Bering Sea. (Fun sidenote: Andy Hillstrand, captain of the Time Bandit ship and a Quarter Horse owner, was featured in the July 2009 issue of America’s Horse magazine.)

That seafaring cameraman “was tough,” Bill says. “He said, ‘Don’t be afraid to shove us out of the way. We just want to shoot what’s here.’ They were very disciplined and very good.”

Part of “what’s here,” of course, was the ranch horses. For Bill, that means good, stout American Quarter Horses. He’s a third-generation Montana rancher and a third-generation Quarter Horse breeder.

Here’s an excerpt from his Web site: “Bill started his own Quarter Horse breeding program in the 1970s with the purchase of two stallions bred for the specific qualities that ranchers value. The rugged mountains of Montana require a horse to be tough, surefooted and have a good bone structure under him. A good ranch horse must also be cowy, intelligent and athletic to do his job well. Disposition is of the utmost importance, as the Galts believe that the most athletic horse in the world is of no use if he’s too tough to get along with.”

The Galt Ranch stallions are Barons Red Rock, a son of Mr Baron Red; Birch Creek Red Buck, by Two Eyed Red Buck; and GR Medicine Man, by Peptoboonsmal. The ranch breeds about 30 mares a year, and the horses that aren’t kept for ranch use are sold at auction. The Galts were named the Montana Quarter Horse Association’s ranch of the year in 2008.

“They raise really nice all-around good ranch horses,” Lisa says.

But because “Last American Cowboy” is a TV show that has to have a storyline, the Galt Ranch has been cast as the mechanized, modern ranch – even though horses still play a major role on the ranch.

Here’s an excerpt from an Animal Planet press release: “The Galt Ranch is one of the largest cattle ranches in Montana with over 100,000 acres, 5,500 cattle and 100 horses. It is so vast that owner Bill Galt manages it from the sky in his own helicopter. Bill and the rest of the Galt family believe technology is the future of ranching and necessary to efficiently run a ranch of this size and caliber.”

The other two ranches are the Stucky ranch, which is a smaller operation that does all its work horseback, and the Hughes ranch, run solely by a husband-and-wife team, with their two young children.

For all of the ranches’ sake, Lisa tried very hard to keep everything accurate – and not let the storylines run rampant over the facts.

“It’s hard, because there has to be that element of drama that you need for television,” she says. “Certainly, there was drama out there. When the calf doesn’t make it or something terrible happens, that’s part of what television shows.”

But we’ve all seen TV shows or movies that feature random whinnies or moos – at times and places they’d never be appropriate. Lisa says you won’t hear that happening on this show, which she hopes is just as real and authentic as the ranches that are being portrayed.

Visit http://animal.discovery.com/tv/last-american-cowboy/ to learn more about the show.

Happy viewing!

P.S. Speaking of AQHA members on TV, cowboy mounted shooter Denny Chapman is still in the running to be History’s “Top Shot.” He’s in a reality-show competition on the History Channel and has escaped elimination thus far.

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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 …

Breed: American Quarter Horse.
Age: 10.
Name: Uhhhh ….

I laughed as the irony of it hit me. “‘Sooner,’ I responded. “I’m so sorry.”

For readers who aren’t Big 12 Conference fans, I’ll fill you in: The University of Oklahoma Sooners (my alma mater) are arch in-state rivals of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys. And college sports are serious business around here. I can only thank my lucky stars that we aren’t in football season right now.

The receptionist laughed, too. “Maybe we should use her registered name instead,” she said, joking.

As we pulled in to OSU and unloaded, a team of six to eight students greeted us. Many of them asked a smattering of questions that could have been relevant: Does she live in a pasture or stall, had there been any recent travel, how long had the knots been there, what vaccinations has she had, were my other horses OK? As they questioned me, they took turns palpating Sooner’s lumps, as well as the other lymph node locations on her body. She tensed up at first, a little off-put by the strange place and all the people. But by the time the lead vet arrived, Sooner had decided OSU wasn’t a bad place to be; after all, this place had air conditioning and she was getting her share of wither scritches. She had cocked a hip and lowered her head.

Dr. Lyndi Gilliam had to tease us a little bit about bringing Sooner to the home of the OSU Cowboys. “Cowgirl” might have been a better name, she suggested.

But I have to give ‘em credit. Rivalry or no, they did a great job taking care of the red mare and were very thorough in their workup. Lee Talbott was the lead student who cared for Sooner and took her for twice-daily walks/grazings. Dr. Robert Carmichael called with daily briefings and helpfully answered all the questions I’d thought up since our last conversation.

As of this writing, we’re still not sure if the tentative diagnosis of sporotrichosis will stick. Lab technicians are trying to grow a fungal culture with some of the pus that was aspirated from Sooner’s knots. Those cultures take time to grow, and it is possible that we won’t get a definitive answer. In the meantime, Sooner is taking oral medication mixed in with her feed, and if those fungus-fighting meds begin working, that will also let us know we’re headed in the right direction.

Since this all started, I’ve been trying to learn all I can about sporotrichosis, and it’s an interesting bug. Also referred to as “rose gardener’s disease,” it occurs in people, too, and can be transmitted horse-to-human, although that would be rare. In order to educate America’s Horse readers, Dr. Gilliam has agreed to help us put together a story, so be on the lookout for that in an upcoming issue.

If any readers have had experience with this fungus, I’d love to hear your stories. Please leave a comment below, and you might be included in the America’s Horse article on sporotrichosis.

And stay tuned to my blog to see how Sooner’s case turns out. Whatever this bug is, it’s definitely a powerful one. I think it may even have turned a couple of Sooners into OSU fans.

Postscript: July 1, OSU got the final test results: Sooner is positive for sporotrichosis.

Happy riding!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.

In his audition video, Denny included footage of his mounted shooting runs, as well as a clip of him Roman riding his two Quarter Horses while firing at targets.

“The producers told me that really got their attention. Without my horses, I might not have made it on the show.”

And getting the attention of the producers wasn’t exactly easy. Denny said there were about 5,000 legitimate applicants. Based on the audition tapes, that number was narrowed to 50, and those hopefuls were flown to Los Angeles, where they were sequestered in a hotel, given a full psychological evaluation, IQ test and medical exam and, of course, put through a multi-gun shooting contest.

“They didn’t leave any page unturned,” Denny says.

That audition video is now included in the History Channel’s online bio for Denny. That inclusion “meant a lot to me because without my horses, I wouldn’t be who I am.”

Joses Royal Lynx, nicknamed “Spanky,” and Ama Jac, aka “Dusty,” perform with Denny in his Wild West show, doing tricks and stunts, including the Roman-riding mounted shooting.

Once the contestants were selected, “they shipped us out to California and put us all together in a house. We were out there for 30 days filming this competition,” Denny says.

And privacy was a thing of the past.

Camera crews were constantly roaming around the house, 24 hours a day, and there were also stationary remote cameras all round the living quarters. The bathrooms were exempted from that rule, but there were microphones there, and contestants were warned that if they began having conversations in the bathroom, camera crews would come in.

“Every time you turned around there, was a camera over your shoulder or in your face. I got used to it, but you could see the frustration from some of the other cast members,” Denny says.

And again, his cowboy lifestyle came in handy.

“I was the only person in the house to enjoy any peace and quiet,” he says. “I’m such an early riser with the animals. I’m used to getting up and feeding the horses and cleaning stalls” so it wasn’t much of a stretch for him to rise at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time to exercise on a treadmill (because they weren’t allowed out of the yard) and relax before the other cast members even got out of bed.

And those Wranglers? That also made Denny stand out among his housemates.

“I spent a lot of time in the laundry room ironing and starching my Wranglers,” he says, laughing because people who don’t understand the western lifestyle just don’t get it. “If you don’t have creases in your jeans, you ain’t the real thing. I’m not going to wear any wrinkled Wranglers on the show. … My shirt stays tucked in, and my jeans are creased and squared away. That’s who we are; that’s what we do.”

True to his singing-cowboy heritage, Denny made a concerted effort to keep his language and actions clean on the show.

“I knew I’d have a lot of kids and families, besides my immediate family, watching,” he says. “I just really wanted to set a good example.”

Of course, he can’t say if he wins the competition, thanks to a confidentiality agreement with the History Channel. But for as long as he’s there, he’ll keep representing the cowboy, and he’s grateful for the opportunity.

“It has already changed my life. It has been a life-changing experience, and only one episode has aired. Essentially, it’s all because of my horses.”

If you’ve missed the first two episodes, catch up at www.history.com or www.hulu.com . The last episode is August 8.

Happy viewing!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.

I’m laughing envisioning the three Aries in the pasture, trying to talk over one another. And I guess the two equine non-Aries don’t know what they’re talking about today. Too funny!

Diego, born June 28, is a Cancer — a water sign that tends to be sensitive, intuitive and emotional. And Sooner, born March 1, is also a water sign — a Pisces, and according to that, she should be inspirational, charming and mystical. She is a pretty horse … and I do know this, she is quite happy to splash about in water.

So, astrology.com says that Sooner is perfectly camouflaged and lying in wait for an opportunity to come by. (An opportunity, perhaps, to steal a pasture mate’s grain while he’s busy trying to out-talk the others?)

And 2-year-old Diego, the gangly teenager of the bunch, is warned that he has a tendency today to speak before putting much thought into it.  (So see, maybe he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.)

I’m not sure I’ll be consulting these horoscopes before deciding who to ride or work. Unless I start hearing a lot of unexplained nickering and bickering out there today …

Happy riding!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.”

As the Great Depression took its toll on Broadway, Mrs. Travis found her fortune elsewhere – teaching ballroom dance lessons. She eventually opened 18 Arthur Murray franchise studios in Michigan, and it was in Detroit that she met her husband-to-be, Paul Travis, an entrepreneur in the automotive industry.

The Travises were introduced to horses by some friends of theirs, and racing American Quarter Horses became Act 3 in Mrs. Travis’ life. Their first horse was Miss Three Wars, who finished second to the great Easy Jet in the 1969 All American Futurity, the American Quarter Horse Association’s richest race for 2-year-olds.

Mrs. Travis relived that race with me like it had happened yesterday, but with a graciousness borne of another age. The All American that year was a muddy one, and Easy Jet’s larger stature gave him an advantage on the slippery track.

“I don’t mean this to belittle Easy Jet,” she said, “but he was bigger than she, and stride for stride, he would have to win the race.”

Miss Three Wars lost that race by just a nose, but in the Rainbow Futurity, another prestigious race in Ruidoso, New Mexico, the fortunes were reversed, and Miss Three Wars prevailed over Easy Jet.

The Travises were hooked, and they began a breeding program on their Norman, Oklahoma, ranch. Mrs. Travis found a new role as the bookkeeper, immersing herself in the horse world as whole-heartedly as she had any of her previous ventures.

She told me about still other adventures – how she had earned her general equivalency diploma in her 70s and, taking just one or two classes a semester, earned her bachelor’s degree at age 88 with a 3.65 grade point average. When Paul passed away in 2000, Mrs. Travis continued to manage the  horse ranch, opening it up as a retirement facility she called the Travis Ranch Nursing Home for Horses.

A sign out front read: “Happy Horses Live Here.” And, she said in 2005, “It’s delightful to me to look out in the pastures and see the horses running around.”

In 2003, she wrote her memoirs, “The Days We Danced,” which is available on Amazon and is a great read. I had purchased it in advance of our interview, so I’d know as much as possible about Mrs. Travis beforehand. I was thrilled when she offered to inscribe it to me. Her charming note expressed hope that I’d be visited by “the bluebird of happiness.” It wasn’t until later that I realized that was a reference to a production she had been in in 1911. (!)

Mrs. Travis continued to dance throughout her life, appearing in a yearly AIDS benefit on Broadway. In fact, the Times noted, she performed in the 2010 benefit just a little more than two weeks before her death. True to form – at 106 years of age – she performed a few kicks but then apologized that she no longer did cartwheels.

Her zest for life was contagious, and after our interview, I left her ranch stepping a little bit livelier – camera bag or no. Mrs. Travis, you were an inspiration.

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.

Ride-A-Buck – Riders mount up bareback with a dollar bill tucked underneath their thigh, and the last one with the money still in place wins. Younger children or less-experienced riders can play this game in a saddle.

Ribbon Race – A team event involving two riders, each holding the end of a piece of crepe paper or toilet paper. Organizers can have the teams perform a pattern one at a time (such as going around barrels) or simply ride around the arena as a group. The last team still connected by an intact piece of paper wins.

Remember to keep safety first when playing horseback games. Check out these great safety tips from the Certified Horsemanship Association, an AQHA alliance partner.

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss 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!

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.

Meanwhile, Zen was hanging over my shoulder, wondering what was going on and why the attention wasn’t going to her. She seemed satisfied when I began running my hands over her rose-gray body, from neck to hooves to tail. All clear so far. And then she turned to look at me, and I saw It. A small dot of blood on her nose — on just exactly the spot you’d expect her to nudge a strange object with. A strange, not-wanting-to-move, furry object. That word, RABIES, that had been flashing in my mind earlier was now accompanied by lights, sirens and adrenaline.

The vet’s office was closed for lunch, so I busied myself cleaning the small wound with some diluted iodine. It really was small, and judging from the amount of blood, not very deep. Could it have been a tooth or claw? Maybe. Maybe not. I called our local game warden, a friend of ours, to get his thoughts. He said he didn’t necessarily need to get involved, and since no humans had been exposed, testing of the raccoon would not be required. We were just to dispose of the carcass so that no other animals could eat it (being careful to avoid contact with it ourselves) and get on the phone with our vet to talk about the horse.

Thankfully, the vet didn’t take his full lunch hour that day, and he answered the phone when I called. Even more thankfully, we had just given all of our horses their spring shots — including a rabies vaccine. The vet verified that Zen had previously been vaccinated for rabies (yes, every year!), and he assured me that she should be fine. “You’ve done all you can do,” he said.

Of course, as is my custom, once everything was squared away at the barn, I came inside and started Googling. Much of the information about equine rabies, I already knew, thanks to stories we’ve run in America’s Horse. But this little nugget from the American Association of Equine Practitioners jumped out at me: If an unvaccinated horse is exposed to a confirmed rabid animal … the recommendation is euthanasia. (Enter more lights and sirens here.)

We didn’t have a known exposure, nor did we have confirmation that the raccoon was rabid, but wow … it hit home to think that a chance encounter in Zen’s pasture could potentially end in euthanasia of this strong, brilliant, healthy horse. I’ve always been a believer in vaccinations, rabies in particular because I know the disease is invariably fatal. But I’ve never been more grateful to have a good immunization program in place.

Happy riding … and vaccinating!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Duchess was a queen around our place.

Duchess in October 2009

I stroked her supine burgundy-bay neck, gently running my hand over the haircoat that lay the wrong way, running from withers to poll. No one had ever told her it was supposed to go the other way.

Just like no one had ever told her that horses weren’t supposed to live to be 40. Or that they weren’t supposed to die the day after Valentine’s Day, with three children peering out the window and preemptively mourning the loss of their “grandma horse.”

She had been my mom’s horse, having outlived her owner by almost 14 years. Taking care of her — with three meals a day of senior feed gruel, a pink blanket to stave off the cold, a fan in the summertime and plenty of wither scritches in between — had been a way to honor my mom, to say thanks for all she had done for me. After all, it was she who bequeathed to me my love of horses, the thing that has become my therapy and my life.

Duchess was one of our first horses, the one we bought nearly 30 years ago from a low-end auction before we knew you weren’t really supposed to do that. If I remember correctly, we paid $650 for her, at a time when “good” horses were going for much more than that. She turned out to be golden. She was a gaited horse of unknown origin, and when our 4-H horse club went trail riding, Duchess and my mom were right there, gliding over the ground beside me and my Quarter Horse.

She was sound right up to the end, although her eyesight had begun to fail, and she could no longer eat hay or solid grain. The first time she went down was also her last; she was unable to get up, and our vet came over quickly and confirmed what I already knew: It was time.

Examining her gum color, he marveled at her teeth. The lower incisors, which slant forward as a horse ages, were laying straight ahead, almost parallel with her jaw bone. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horse that old,” he said, stroking her on her cheek.

Today, it’s noontime as I write this – time for Duchess’ lunch — and I almost got up to go soak her food. But she doesn’t need it today. Last night, I talked to the kids about how heaven has wonderful, lush green pastures where she can eat all she wants. She can run again, maybe even buck if she wants to. And if she misses her senior feed, I know my mom will take care of that.

Vaya con dios,

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss 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!

It’s the end of The Great Horse Hunt but the beginning of a new adventure.

We’ve been horse hunting for a while, checking out some horses through word of mouth but mostly shopping online. I’ve met some horses who didn’t quite fill our bill for one reason or another, but I also got to visit with some really nice horse people, making the whole thing a positive experience.

More than anything, I got verrry familiar with the advanced search function for classified ads on AQHA’s Web site, because we had a lot of variables to plug in. We were looking for a easygoing horse for my husband, Chad, to learn to ride on, and which could double as a kid horse for our nieces and nephew when they come to visit. We wanted a stocky horse shorter than 15 hands for ease of mounting, and we preferred a gelding to fit in our herd situation. Bonus points if he’s low in the pecking order and won’t fight with our other horses. Color didn’t matter so much, but he obviously had to have a heart of gold and be comfortable trail riding and checking cattle. We wanted a horse that was somewhat older and experienced, but with no soundness or other health issues. Oh, and we didn’t exactly have an unlimited budget, either, and we couldn’t travel cross-country to try out horses.  Like I said … a lot of variables.

We e-mailed one seller on the site to ask about a black gelding she had listed. She responded with her Web site address, which had more information and also listed a few other horses. Among them was a cute flaxen-maned sorrel gelding who was doing light ranch work and trail riding. “Val” sounded promising enough to merit a two-hour drive, so I went to try him out, taking a spin in the arena and then heading out on the trails of the northwest Oklahoma ranch.

In the arena, well, let’s just say he won’t be winning any world championships any time soon. But on the trails, the little gelding’s ears went forward, and I’m pretty sure he started smiling. We went “off road,” going up hills and through brush, scaring up some birds from their groundcover. He enjoyed all of it, and I did, too. He was safe, responsive and happy to do his job.

His bloodlines intrigued me. On the top (sire side), he’s a grandson of Easy Jet (a racing world champion and member of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame). His bottom (dam) line traces to Me Quick To, a gray stallion who earned a Register of Merit on the racetrack, then scored AQHA Superiors in halter and western pleasure. He also had some National Cutting Horse Association earnings. Most importantly, my last “kid horse with a heart of gold” was one of his descendants. “Blue” had to be put down in fall 2008, and I miss her dearly.

But despite the racing blood, this gelding — like Blue — prefers to keep it in a lower gear.

It got more interesting when the seller’s trainer gave me the phone number for Val’s breeder. (Sidenote: this wouldn’t have been possible without the AQHA transfer reports … a definite benefit to buying registered horses.)

The breeder had had “Val” from birth to 5 years old, and as it turns out, she called him “Everest” because he was strong, solid and as stable as the mountain. She had given him special nutritional supplements and didn’t actually start him under saddle until he was 5, so that his joints were all fully closed. “He’ll last you longer than 10 horses,” she said.

We had a pre-purchase exam done just to make sure.

And interestingly, Everest/Val is featured in a book the breeder wrote called “Promises Lost and Found” about Native American philosophies and their relationship with animals. I haven’t read it yet, but she offered to send me one if I ended up buying him.

And you know I wouldn’t be writing this much about him if he weren’t standing outside in my pasture right now. Except that the poor horse has undergone yet another name change. Chad wanted to give him a fresh start … so his nickname is now “Ochocinco.” (Cincinnati Bengals fans will understand my husband’s attempt at humor … it’s a reference to the football player who changed his name to Chad Ochocinco to match his jersey number, 85.) I’ve made the executive decision to shorten that to “Ocho.”

Already, it has been an interesting journey just getting him here. As the weather turns into trail-riding temps, I can’t wait to see how his story continues to unfold. Hope to see some of you guys out on the trails!

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss 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!

Some horsey groups keep the spirit of giving alive all year long.

Holly Clanahan

In these last few days before Christmas, it’s easy to get caught up in the hubbub of the season. Did I leave anybody off my list? (In my case … yes, I forgot our wonderful rural mailman and the feed-store owner to whom I usually send a tin of homemade goodies!) Do I have all the fixings for a big family dinner? Are all the presents wrapped? (Again, in my case, that’s a “no!”)

The spirit of giving and generosity sometimes gets lost in the midst of the “ACK!!!!” But then, sometimes, you meet someone who helps you get it back in perspective.

For me this year, that someone was Bill Shackelford, a longtime AQHA member from Sheridan, Wyoming, and president of Westrust, a charitable organization that originated from the Western and English Sales Association (WESA), which is a market group at the Denver Merchandise Market. Their target audience, obviously, is horse people, and they never seem to lose that magical spirit of Christmas.

“So far, we’ve helped over 15 individuals and spent over $30,000,” Bill says. And it’s been just as much of a gift to the Westrust managers when they see the effect they have on people.

“We give some financial and psychological help to the recipients. They feel like nobody’s there to help them, and when we do help them, it’s amazing how much their attitudes change. It’s not only the financial help, but the fact that there are people out there that are concerned about them,” Bill says.

He mentions one person who thought he was going to lose his house and was despondent. After receiving help from Westrust and getting that “shot in the arm,” his life seemed to turn around. A job offer soon followed, bringing with it a return to financial stability.

“It makes us feel really good about what we’re doing,” Bill says.

To learn more about Westrust — either as a donor or recipient — call (800) 513-4005.

Fortunately, Westrust isn’t the only group out there helping horse people in need. What follows isn’t a comprehensive list, by any means, but it’s a good sampling. If you know of other charitable groups targeting horse people, please list them in the comments section.

AQHA Professional Horsemen’s Crisis Fund — Provides assistance to members of the Professional Horsemen’s Association, based on proven financial need arising from sudden and demonstrable hardship or disaster of a severe and unexpected nature or from serious physical illness. To donate or learn more, contact the American Quarter Horse Foundation at (806) 378-5029.

Working Ranch Cowboys Foundation Crisis Fund — Provides assistance to working ranch cowboys or their families after a serious injury or illness. Contact the Working Ranch Cowboys Association to learn more.

Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund — With each ride, rodeo athletes can lose the ability to meet the mortgage payments or the ability to feed and care for his or her family. Recognizing that serious injuries can be traumatic enough in themselves, without the additional burden of financial worries, the Justin Boot Company formed a partnership with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association in 1989 to establish the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund.

Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund — Riding racehorses is one of the most dangerous jobs in sports, and this non-profit provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. The Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund was established in 2006.

And as a fun addendum … some horsey help coming from a place you wouldn’t necessarily expect: Rock star Kid Rock has offered to pay a year’s worth of board for two Michigan women. “I’ve always tried to help out where I can locally; I do a lot of things nationally and worldwide, too, but if I can’t start out by helping in my hometown, then why bother?” he told the Chicago Tribune.

Thanks to all those out there who are keeping the spirit of Christmas alive year round.

Happy riding, and happy holidays!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss 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!

Christmas shopping can wait; we’ve got horses to ride!

Amount of house-cleaning done this weekend: Zilch.

Number of holiday errands crossed off my list this weekend: Zero.

Amount of training put in on the young horse (in beautiful riding weather, I might add): Zip.

Regrets: Nada.

Our place was bombarded this weekend by three small children – my nieces and nephew, ages 4, 6 and 7. The middle child, in particular, is a horse kid.

If the weather’s not cooperative when she comes to visit, we usually hole up in the house and watch horse movies. Anybody out there need to know a line from “Flicka” or “Virgina’s Run” (the two current favorites)? Just ask; I’ve got most of them memorized.

“Flicka” is such a fave, in fact, that one of my horses has been tagged with that nickname. Never mind that Junior is a tall gray gelding, rather than a wild black mustang mare. Mere details.

So, this weekend – when the cold weather decided to leave us be for a while – we saddled up Flicka. Thankfully, there were no mountain lions to contend with, nor was there a wild-horse-breaking contest. (If that doesn’t make sense, then you obviously haven’t watched the movie enough times.) There was a little Oklahoma wind, and two siblings who were probably more enthralled by the barn cats. But for the Horse Kid, it was heaven.

She sympathizes with Junior, er, Flicka, when he’s startled by a darting barn kitty. (I’m pretty sure his heart melted when he got a few pats on his withers and was told, “It’s OK, Flicka,” in that tiny voice. I know mine did.) She knows what supplements he gets to help his joints and how much grain he eats. She always throws a horse treat in with his grain, just so he feels special. And she knows how to brush out his red-dirt-stained tail the correct way, gently, from the bottom up – although there’s only so far up she can reach.

She’s definitely a horse kid, in that semi-obsessive way that only a fellow (grownup) horse kid would understand.

I don’t know if she’ll outgrow her passion (although I doubt it). And I don’t know where it’ll lead her. But I know that for right now, she has found a place where all her daily struggles melt away, where everything is calm and right.

Flicka’s saddle is a pretty good place to be. All the other stuff on my to-do list, well, it’ll just have to wait.

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss 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!