Meadowsweet Ranch

01/15/2025

What does the MSR Wednesday Morning Riding Club do when it's too cold to ride? They take a field trip to West 20 in East Troy, WI and then go out to lunch in Elkhorn :) Trailering in allowed if you want some riding buddies. You don't have to ride. Some of us do ground work. Some of us do some ground work and then ride :)

01/13/2025

It's about time.

SENSORY HAIRS

The FEI has determined that any measures to trim or shave off a horse's sensory hairs, including whiskers, eyelashes and the hairs of the inner ear, is not permitted and shall lead to an elimination of the combination for the competition's duration.

Sensory hairs are of extreme importance for proprioception for the horse. They aid the horse's ability to judge distance and navigate in the dark. It has been shown that trimming or shaving these hairs leads to increased susceptibility to injury.

01/08/2025

This is very interesting and I'll be looking into a temperature monitoring system for our trailer.

This Is A Reprint Of A Very Good Post From A Very Good Horse Woman: Really Worth The Read
Jo Christensen AERC: American Endurance Ride Conference
Hey everyone,
Temperatures inside horse trailers are a concern to most endurance riders I know. We tend to haul very long distances, both in the heat and in the cold. I had to do some winter hauling today and before I left, I installed a temperature monitor inside my horse trailer. What I discovered was surprising and fascinating and changed my mind about what I thought was going on back there… so I decided to share what I learned in case of value to anyone else.
I hauled two horses about 6 hours today through the mountains here in western Montana, to a veterinary facility in another town. I was concerned about temperatures for the horses before I left. Forecast temps along some of the route were in the low single digits. My horses have very good winter coats but I was trying to decide whether to blanket or not. I recently switched to an enclosed gooseneck trailer and realized that I had no idea what hauling conditions in the winter were like back there.
I bought an inexpensive temperature monitor with a base station- the kind folks hang out on the porch so they can see what outdoor conditions are like without going outside. Before I put it into use in the trailer, I verified its accuracy by comparing its readings to some equipment I know is very accurate.
I hung the sensor in a mesh bag (good air flow) about halfway up the side of the wall in the trailer that encloses the rear tack room. I didn’t put it on the roof (heat rises) or near the floor (cold air sinks). My trailer is a 3 horse slant load, and I put it in the stall that did not have a horse in it. It was not hanging on an exterior wall. My trailer is not insulated- no living quarters, just a standard small dressing area in the front.
The trailer did have about 3 inches of hard encrusted snow insulating the roof-this snow stayed the entire journey.
The side windows could not be opened- they were encrusted with ice- however we opened all three roof vents to their maximum extent and turned the so that airflow would be maximized.
When we left our house in the Bitterroot, the temp inside and outside the trailer both read 20 degrees. BTW I was using my truck temperature monitor to determine the outside temperature (I had previously verified its accuracy and that it read the same as my newly purchased gear).
We loaded the horses and took off this morning about 0345 hrs. By the time we got to Missoula (30 minutes later), temps in the trailer had risen from 20 degrees to 32 degrees. In contrast, outside temp was still 20 degrees. By the time we had been on the road for an hour, the temperature in the trailer was (are you ready for this?): FORTY FOUR DEGREES.
Along our route, outside temps dropped as low as 14 degrees. At the same time, temps in the trailer NEVER dropped below 39 degrees. For the vast majority of the journey, the trailer was holding at 44 degrees. Temps inside the trailer were ALWAYS OVER TWENTY DEGREES WARMER than the outside.
We stopped for a half hour pitstop did not unload the horses. However I opened the back door and let cold wind flow into the trailer. Temps in the trailer quickly dropped to the high 20s. But they were back up to the low 40s in about half an hour.
We left both horses at the vet in Three Forks and returned with an empty trailer. All the way home, temps inside the trailer were identical to temps outside.
So here are my take-aways from all this. First of all, it’s very easy to monitor temps in your trailer and I would highly encourage everyone to do it! I think I spent about 20 bucks on my monitoring stuff and it was easy to use and very accurate. Secondly, I cannot believe how fast two horses could heat up a 3 horse trailer in very cold weather and keep it warm. I never dreamed that horses radiate that much heat. And to think I had been considering blanketing them.
Of course the need to blanket and other things might be different if your horses are body clipped or your trailer is different. And of course this is an enclosed gooseneck, not a stockside trailer. But rather than just guess what might be going on back there and whether it is appropriate for your clipped horse (or sick horse or…?) just go get a temperature monitor and find out!
And believe me, my eyes are going to be GLUED to this thing come summer and I’m hauling in hot temperatures…

01/07/2025

01/05/2025

Wow, here's a challenging obstacle course.

01/03/2025

If the dates are accurate, Sampson was 60 years old when this picture was taken.

Meet "sampson," the world's strongest and biggest horse, born in 1799 on a farm in Alberta, Canada. sampson is a Shire horse, a breed known for their impressive size and strength. From a young age, sampson stood out from the rest, with a voracious appetite and an insatiable desire to grow.
As he matured, sampson's incredible strength became apparent. He could pull loads of over 5,000 pounds and run at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. His massive size - he stood at an astonishing 20.3 hands (68 inches or 173 cm) tall and weighed over 2,000 pounds - made him a gentle giant, with a heart to match.
sampson's fame spread far and wide, with appearances at horse shows, parades, and even film and television productions. He became a beloved celebrity, known for his intelligence, kindness, and unwavering strength.

01/03/2025

Great illustration :)

01/03/2025

There are probably quite a few riders who consistently have great posture every ride, every time, but if so, I have never been one of them.

I have to actively think about staying upright, chin up, shoulders back and down. Now, for sure, I could drag out a litany of excuses, that I spend long hours hacking, that I’ve had various injuries, lots of wear and tear over many decades, you know the drill.

But nobody cares about the Excuse Train, because that’s a train to Nowhere Land.

If you/I/we/they want good posture, the Sit-Up-Tall fairy doesn’t generally come floating down from the sky with her magic wand, one tap on our slouched shoulders and we are transformed.

Being tall and open and looking up is a habit, just as having rounded shoulders and looking down is a habit. So maybe try to make THIS effort---When you are actually schooling, and where your balance counts more, make a special effort that for those minutes you’ll temporarily hop off the Excuse Train.

It can’t do any harm to try----.

01/02/2025

In loving memory - Hank
We lost Hank on December 21st. He passed on his own quietly in his stall. He was one of our best lesson horses. He came to us at the age of 12 and passed at the age of 27. He is a horse that I've told many people convinced me there was something to long distance communication. I was looking for another lesson horse on the internet. I usually by pass Arabs feeling, as much as I love the breed, that I'd be taking my chances with one as a lesson horse. But, I stopped and read the description. "Right. That's too good to be true." But, I called the person selling him. Kept her on the phone for an hour, at least, and ended the call saying "If I drive all that way and it turns out to be for nothing, I will be VERY angry." She lived about 3-1/2 hours away. Well, he seemed to be everything she said he was and he was loaded up and brought back. He ended up being a horse that students loved to ride. He would try anything he was asked to do. He went on numerous barn trips from going north to Minnesota, west to Colorado, south as far as Tennessee and east as far as the southeast corner of Ohio. He did play days, trail mountain courses, worked cows, did some team penning, swam in a swimming pond; went on a fox hunt. You name it, he was willing to do it. He will definitely be missed for a long time to come.

12/31/2024

Last Sunday (Dec. 29th) we had a lot of fun with a nice size group from Meadowsweet coming together to compete in the 2024 Holiday Virtual Trail Rider Challenge. Here are some pictures for that day, thanks to Veronica. Unfortunately, she arrived after Mackenzie and Hadley had their time in the arena.

12/29/2024

Doing a clinic with Ray Hunt had been on my bucket list. I didn't make it in time. I have enjoyed working with some clinicians that worked with Mr. Hunt for many years. Those clinics have been well worth the money spent.

He was a man who spoke softly but carried wisdom forged in the saddle. A man whose words were measured and deliberate, as if he knew each one carried the weight of a lifetime’s understanding. Ray Hunt didn’t just train horses—he transformed the way people thought about them.

Born in 1929 in Paul, Idaho, Hunt grew up in a world where horses were a necessity, not a novelty. They plowed fields, moved cattle, and hauled wagons. They weren’t companions—they were tools. But even as a young man, Ray saw something deeper in the horse’s eye. There was a question there, an unspoken dialogue waiting to be understood.

Ray’s journey into the world of horse training wasn’t immediate or linear. Like many of his generation, he worked hard and learned by doing. In his early years, he followed the traditional methods: force, dominance, and brute strength. If the horse didn’t obey, you made it obey. That’s just how it was done.

But Ray Hunt wasn’t satisfied with “how it was done.” The harder he pushed, the more resistance he felt—until a man named Tom Dorrance crossed his path.

Dorrance didn’t see horses the way most men did. He didn’t see them as animals to be broken, but as partners waiting to be understood. It wasn’t about forcing the horse to submit; it was about giving the horse a reason to trust. “Feel,” Dorrance called it, and Ray Hunt listened. He listened to the horses, too.

Hunt became a student of this new philosophy, but more than that, he became its most vocal advocate. His mantra was simple yet profound: “Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult.” To Hunt, training wasn’t about punishment; it was about creating a space where the horse could make its own decisions—and choose to follow the human.

Ray’s clinics became legendary. He didn’t sugarcoat his words or offer quick fixes. “You need to think like the horse,” he’d say, “because the horse is already thinking about you.” He taught patience, presence, and respect—for both horse and rider.

But perhaps the most revolutionary idea Ray Hunt championed was this: the horse is never wrong. If the horse didn’t understand, it wasn’t the horse’s fault. It was the human’s. “It’s amazing what the horse will do for us,” he said, “if we treat him like he’s one of us.”

And that’s the part most people miss. Ray Hunt wasn’t just teaching horsemanship—he was teaching humanity. He was showing people how to listen, how to be present, and how to respect another being’s point of view.

Over the decades, Hunt’s influence grew. He traveled the world, spreading his philosophy to cowboys, ranchers, and hobbyists alike. His clinics weren’t about creating perfect horses—they were about creating better people.

Ray Hunt passed away in 2009, but his legacy endures in the hearts of those who understand the quiet magic of a horse’s trust. His teachings live on in the clinics of trainers who follow in his footsteps, in the soft eyes of a horse willing to try, and in the patience of a rider willing to listen.

Ray Hunt didn’t just change the way we train horses. He changed the way we see them.



🎨 The Art of JOHN RALPH SCHNURRENBERGER

https://www.jrsfineart.com