PonyPros

05/23/2024

Join us for our second R+ Virtual Show! A space for R+ enthusiasts to enjoy some friendly competition, show what they are working on, and WIN BUCKLES & RIBBONS!!

June show patterns released: June 2nd and entries due June 15th!

2 divisions, 2 buckles, 6 ribbons and a special fan favorite prize will be given out.

Enter at https://positive.horse/virtual-show

01/30/2024

Love this

Still one of my favourite illustration. I will often use a plastic banana to demonstrate those movements and talk about the "banana bend" 🍌 😄

Do you find them helpful...?!

01/17/2024

🤣

😂🐴💕

11/24/2023

That is one sad saddle owner! This is why we don’t store horse cookies or any food in the tack room. 😳

How’s your Friday going 🧐🙄 !! Gotta love a CWD seat 💺 😂

11/14/2023

I had no idea off road inline skates were a thing!

11/05/2023

Love this - “Only one horse took real and actual notice of the prints on the wall and that one was this really incredible 3-year-old…He ignored the other prints & stared long and hard at the portrait of his sire… you really can’t make these things up 🤯”

Zangersheide 2023. There are full circle moments that you never expect and I take them as they come but this, made me step back and truly appreciate the meaning.

It was a fun surprise to see my prints from previous years’ sessions printed life size in Zangersheide’s incredible viewing arena, & while we were busy there all day photographing this year’s roster of stallions, only one took real & actual notice of the prints on the wall & that one was this really incredible 3-year-old son of Aganix du Seigneur Z. His name is Ambassador Z; he ignored the other prints & stared long & hard at the portrait of his sire… you really can’t make these things up 🤯

Never doubt a horse, they are always taking notes.

05/13/2023

For HOW DO HORSES FEEL ABOUT HAVING THEIR MANES PULLED?

A brilliant recent study by MSc student Louise Nicholls found that horses are unsurprisingly pretty stressed by the process. Louise compared the heart rates and behaviour of 20 horses having their manes pulled or touched.

The results showed that the horses mean heart rates were significantly higher when they had their manes pulled than when their manes were touched. The horses also had higher mean heart rates when the mane pulling was started at the poll working down, than at the withers working up.

The horses also moved far more when their manes were pulled compared to mane touching e.g. ears back, standing alert, licking and chewing, a high neck position, head tossing, mouth tight and tail swishing and clamping - indicating they experienced discomfort or pain at the process being performed.

While the horse's stress and discomfort may seem obvious to many horse owners, this appears to be the first time the effects of mane pulling has been studied - so a huge well done to Louise for raising awareness on this subject. I wouldn't like to have my hair pulled out forcibly either! Time to find another way to keep manes tidy - or just leave them as nature intended.

In light of the recent findings on horses having more pain receptors in their skin than humans, this topic is well worth revisiting. Huge thanks to Louise for sharing her study findings.

Pic courtesy: BK Images — with Louise Nicholls.

01/05/2023

Am I wrong for blanketing my horse?

Blanketing is one of those topics that will forever be controversial in the horse industry. And for those of you who are familiar with my posts, you know that while I am impressed with horses' natural ability to thermoregulate, I am not opposed to blanketing. So if you have been made to feel guilty about blanketing your horse, I want to share some research that demonstrates, when given a choice, there are many scenarios in which horses will choose blankets as well as how I use these findings to make my own decisions.

A lot of these decisions are based on a study by Mejdell et al. (2019). This study evaluated horses (stabled at night and turned out during the day) that were taught to indicate preference to either (a) remove their blanket if they were already wearing one or (b) put on their blanket if they did not have one. The following was observed:
- About 80 – 90% of horses chose blankets when temperatures fell below 14°F
- When it was moderately cold (18 mph) and rain increased the likelihood horses would wear blankets
- Most horses did not want to wear blankets above 50°F

This research is supported by a study performed by Jørgensen et al. (2016) in which shelter seeking behavior increased due to wind and rain.

While every horse is different and has their own individual needs when it comes to blanket use, I use this information to guide my blanketing decisions. It is important to understand many studies are completed on localized horse herds under specific management practices and more research is valuable to understand the breadth of the findings. Additionally, many healthy horses do fine without blankets when provided shelter and access to hay. If you cannot manage blanket use properly (fitting, removing based on weather, etc.), it is often better to go without.

I personally choose to blanket when the horse will become cold and wet (rain, sleet, wet snow), when it is cold and very windy, and sometimes when temperatures drop significantly (depending on the horse and other conditions). During these scenarios, heat loss will increase which requires additional energy for the horse to stay warm (which may be accompanied by increased hay intake). Additionally, processes like piloerection may be impaired. I found it interesting that the effect of snow was less pronounced in both studies, but authors suggest this is because snow is less likely to get the skin wet. Once the weather improves, I try to find a relatively warm and calm day to remove blankets and monitor my horses to make sure they adjust back. There is obviously some wiggle room here and I make the decision for the individual horse based on a combination of these specific conditions and horse behavior. I am also fortunate enough to live with my horses and can change or remove blankets and monitor them throughout the day as needed.

Bottom Line: I am not telling you every horse needs a blanket, many do fine without it! But this study showed that horses often choose to wear a blanket when it is rainy, windy, or very very cold and I use these findings, as well as my horses’ behavior and individuality, to guide my decisions. If you are uncertain what the best choice is for your horses, I suggest communicating with your veterinarian and they can help you make an informed decision for your situation!

Mejdell, Cecilie M., Grete HM Jørgensen, Turid Buvik, Torfinn Torp, and Knut E. Bøe. "The effect of weather conditions on the preference in horses for wearing blankets." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 212 (2019): 52-57.

Jørgensen, G. H. M., L. Aanensen, C. M. Mejdell, and K. E. Bøe. "Preference for shelter and additional heat in horses exposed to Nordic winter conditions." Equine veterinary journal 48, no. 6 (2016): 720-726.

01/04/2023

12/20/2022

Fun!

12/16/2022

Our kind of fun

I am SOooooo ready for some more snow!! 😂 🦄

10/16/2022

06/23/2022

Does anyone have an auction or raffle that you need a gift certificate donated for? PonyPros would love to help! We recently hired some additional teachers and we would love to fill their lesson roster with smiling faces! Feel free to PM me if you need a gift certificate donated for your event! We would be happy to contribute!

06/16/2022

Walk!

06/15/2022

6/14/2022 - Check out the screenshot of this cute post between me and Les. So much love there.

I’m struggling to get this post out before June 14 is over. Traditionally I wake up in the middle of the night and make my post around 4-5am on 6/14. This year, I didn’t wake up. It’s a sign of the times. It seems like everyone on planet Earth is overwhelmed.

I have been wanting to write about Les for a couple months. I had so much energy to write in April, so much on my mind. I should have written then but didn’t want to break with tradition. Maybe I’ll have to write more than one post in the future if that happens again. One thing I have noticed is that it’s getting a little safer every year to grieve the loss of Les because Quinlyn is older. I think I’m letting it out little by little because I had to be my best for her when she was young.

Although Les was effectively my angel, and we had a perfect relationship, I remember having years that felt tough like this when we were early in our relationship. Years could feel energetically hollow and dreary. We started dating not long after the Twin Towers fell. Terrorism definitely put a damper on senior year of high school. We did a study abroad in Italy while the US was invading Afghanistan and there were frequent protests all around us. We got engaged during the recession. My mom lost her house at that time and my dad got in with a bad crowd. I remember having years while we were together where everything felt like the world was ending. 2022 feels a lot like those times - there is the same fear and frustration in the air everywhere I look.

When I look around at the type of suffering that is happening in this Covid era, what I want to say to everyone is, ‘It isn’t going to feel this way forever, but probably not for the reasons that you think’.

When Les died, everything retrospectively made sense. The reason certain doors had closed so relentlessly, so mercilessly, the reason that the chips landed the way they did… It all ultimately made sense in the context of him dying. The world didn’t change or become more merciful. Rather, I learned what it feels like when it all stops.

It might not be the reset that you are looking for, but at some point, life as you know it will just stop. Cancer will make it stop. Loss of a job will make it stop. Divorce. Death of a loved one. Whatever it is, at some point, life will wind around and around in a circle around you and eventually end up doubling up on itself. When that double-up happens, life will screech to a halt.

Part of the reason that life can feel so hard is that it is unclear for how long we are going to have to be tough, resilient, gracious, merciful, cunning, scrappy, willing, and hopeful for, all the while with little or no mercy from life in return. That day when life finally doesn’t *just* close a door, but rolls the end credits and prints ‘Game Over’ on the screen, can be cathartic. At least for me. I gained so much perspective by having my whole world end. Going on and on in life with no breaks, no resets, is really hard. Sometimes big, painful resets create some objectivity in life where it is really needed.

When Les got sick, it was so methodical how thoroughly and completely life shut every door in our faces. Oh you like to eat organic and live a really healthy lifestyle? A lot of alternative therapies don’t work on blood cancers. You like to run or walk in nature for exercise? You won’t be able to walk for a number of reasons. You are a programmer and need to use your hands? You will have peripheral neuropathy. You want more kids? You will be sterile after treatment. You want to use a s***m bank? Well, only if you are ok with the genetic risks and being collected post the initial emergency-level treatments. You love the sun? You’ll need to avoid sunshine for the rest of your life if you get a bone marrow transplant. You want to hold hands with your spouse and sleep in the same bed? The chemo is strong enough that it will affect your wife any time you touch her. You can wear gloves to hold hands? Well only if you’re ok with the amount of chemo exposure that then transfers to your breast-fed baby.

If you feel like this is happening in your life, like every question you ask gets answered with a ‘no’, then it’s time to pay attention. Instead of getting mad when doors are closing, start to look around and take notice of where you are. What is ending? Where is the perimeter of your life right now? Instead of being upset when a door closes, if it is a pattern, start to expect it. Tell yourself that everything is closing, and everything is going to keep closing, until you get to the end of an era. Figure out what the parameters are for your current life and work within those, taking notice of the bounds of your territory. Start to think about the stories you will tell, the framing you would use if this was the end. If your life just stopped, with this being the sum total of what you had accomplished for that era of your life, how would you tell the story? Now here is the advice - start telling the story that way *now*.

Why? Why should you tell the story now in the way you would tell it if the end credits had just rolled? Because it will empower you to understand what the heck is going on amidst chaos. If you keep trying to tell the story a certain way while all these doors are closing, you might be missing the point.

Of course, there are exceptions. If you’re an inventor or a movie star maybe you have to try something a gazillion times and only at a gazillion and 1 will it work out. For most folks, though, I would like to reference the “Eff yes or no” article that went around a few years back. If you aren’t getting an “eff yes” from life, it’s a no. I know life isn’t the same as a relationship, but there are some similarities. https://markmanson.net/f**k-yes

I feel like it has become so popular to stop working on yourself. Les took every moment in the hospital to improve upon himself. He wrote something like 140 thank you cards while he was in the hospital - cards for absolutely everyone under the sun. The cards weren’t so much for the folks at the hospital, they were for him - for his own mental wellbeing. He drew a self-portrait, wrote his name on it, and had the nurse tape it to his door so “everyone would know” his name and recognize his room. He did that for him, but of course the staff all felt like it was for them and it really endeared them to him. Everyone smiled in Les’s room. Les recorded yoga classes from the sun deck of the hospital. He did arm balances on concrete planters. He did a dozen dances from his hospital room and got friends and strangers alike to send him videos back. Goodness only knows what he could have done with TikTok at his disposal. He also came out of the ICU and was like, “Well, I can’t walk without a walker, so let’s see how dang far I can walk with a walker” then charted 1.5 miles around the hospital floor for a proud new personal record, even though he hadn’t had to use a walker a few days prior. Les accepted the circumstances he was in and then slayed them.

“Give me coffee for the things I can change and wine for the things I can’t” has been the theme of 2020-2022. Or maybe, “whine for the things I can’t” would be even more accurate. I feel everyone is so burned out that it’s hard to have a conversation with anyone anymore. One thing I think that Les would probably remind everyone of in this situation, though, is that there is always room to change yourself.

Les was someone who was always changing. Every day he learned something new. He was so engaged in cultivating who he was. Les believed in lifestyle artisanship. He believed in crafting the life you want through your attitude.

Eckhart Tolle talks about acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm as ways to approach situations in life. He writes, “The modalities of awakened doing are acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. Each one represents a certain vibrational frequency of consciousness. You need to be vigilant to make sure that one of them operates whenever you are engaged in doing anything at all – from the most simple task to the most complex.” Les was fully engaged in the vigilance that Eckhart calls for. He was downright enthusiastic. Eckhart says, “Enthusiasm means there is a deep enjoyment in what you do plus the added element of a goal or vision that you work toward…When you want to arrive at your goal more than you want to be doing what you are doing, you become stressed…Stress always diminishes both the quality and effectiveness of what you do under its influence…Unlike stress, enthusiasm has a high energy frequency and so resonates with the creative power of the universe.”

There is one quote from Les that it took me years to understand and it applies to the Eckhart quote above. Les used to write, “To live wild and free is the gift of a joyful life.” I always thought he had it backwards - shouldn’t you live wild and free so you get to have a joyful life?” What he meant was that if you live joyfully, if you approach any goals you have with enthusiasm versus stress, then you get to live wild and free. Being joyful isn’t the product of living freely. Living freely, having release from stress, is the product of living joyfully.

Depending on how long you live, you might have to wait a heinously long time to experience the sort of closure that I am talking about. With 2 out of 3 men and 1 out of 2 women getting cancer in their lifetime, though, you probably will have a chance sooner than you think. Les’s goal was to live a wild and free life and he succeeded. He was a great snowboarder, great artist, fantastic horse trainer, amazing dad, amazing partner. I would encourage everyone (myself included) to think about the energy you are bringing to the world, notice the parameters you are working within (particularly if you’re getting a lot of closed doors), and make sure, when you have a goal, you’re working on it with acceptance or enthusiasm. Take note of how you would tell the story of this era of your life if it ended right now. Doing so will help you take stock of where you have been successful, even if you have hit a lot of road blocks along the way. Less whine and less wine. More Les.

06/06/2022

If we kept hay in our hayloft I bet this could happen

06/01/2022

I remember when I knew only 3 people who could ride bridleless

(1st polish championships riding without bridle)

05/18/2022

According to the Oregon State Veterinarian's office, equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) has been confirmed in two Deschutes County horses. EHM is the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). Both horses have been euthanized.

We know the horse-owning population in Deschutes County will have questions and concerns.

(EDITED: We will be hosting a live Q&A webinar at 7 p.m., PDT, on Wednesday, May 18. Seats are limited to 250 registrants and 100 live attendees. If you are unable to make it, we will be posting a recording. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7824326377007044879)

The deceased horses were not under the care of Bend Equine Medical Center; however, we'd like to share the following statement from the Oregon State Veterinarian, Dr. Ryan Scholz:

"A horse from Deschutes County tested positive for Equine Herpesvirus (EHV-1) on May 4, 2022. Confirmation came from an out-of-state laboratory. The horse had recently attended the Oregon Horse Center at the Prairie Arena in Eugene from April 22-25. The horse has not attended any other events since that time. EHV-1 can cause upper-respiratory disease, neurological disease, abortions, and/or neonatal death. This horse showed neurological symptoms but did not show signs of nasal discharge or an elevated temperature. Unfortunately, due to delayed reporting, this case was only recently shared with the department.

A second horse from Deschutes County became symptomatic on May 13. The infected horse attended a show on May 6-7, also at the Oregon Horse Center in Eugene. Confirmation of EHV-1 came from the Oregon State University Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory on May 16.

Both horses were humanely euthanized and both ranches are currently under quarantine. The required quarantine will last a minimum of 28 days.

Equine herpesvirus information

The EHV-1 virus is highly contagious and is spread via aerosolized secretions from infected coughing horses, by direct and indirect contact with nasal secretions, and fetal fluids. EHV-1 typically has an incubation period of 2-10 days. Respiratory shedding of the virus generally occurs for 7-10 days but may persist longer in infected horses.

Following basic biosecurity practices is an important factor in reducing risk of exposure to all contagious equine diseases. Basic biosecurity measures to follow to decrease potential disease spread at equine events include:
• Limit horse-to-horse contact.
• Limit horse-to-human-to-horse contact.
• Avoid use of communal water sources.
• Avoid sharing of equipment unless thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between uses.
• Monitor your horse for clinical signs of disease and report any temperature over 102°F to a veterinarian."

05/03/2022

IEA is such an equalizer. You can pay for more lessons to become a better rider, but you can’t just buy a better horse to win on, even if you’re a celebrity! All the kids have the same luck of the draw when it comes to horses. A regular old riding school in Washington was the National Champion high school team this year, right next to children of Hollywood movie stars also winning :)

This little lady is now a nationally ranked equestrian! I love that our kids understand the value of hard work, humility and gratitude. Seeing it pay off for them is just a bonus. 🐎🏆🎉❤️

04/11/2022

✅ MEME MONDAY

They forgot doing dressage in hand with my horse!

_________________________________
👉 Follow Dressage in Hand by Josepha Guillaume for our weekly updates
✅ Meme Monday
✅ Did you know Tuesday
✅ What Horses want you to know Wednesday
✅ Throwback Thursday
✅ Finally Friday

02/10/2022

Emma Massingale rocks