In Maine, last February, a man stopped along a road and fed carrots to a stallion (not his) on the other side of a fence. The stallion bit the guy in the face and even took off part of his ear. Then the genius sued the horse's owners!
I've looked on-line, but haven't been able to find the outcome of the lawsuit. I certainly hope that the judge had some sense and not only threw the case out of court, but also heavily fined the moron for something -- frivolous lawsuit... trespassing onto private property... animal abuse -- something.
The fact remains, however, that a biting horse can be a serious problem, if not an outright liability. A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a friend wondering if anything could be done about her 4-year old gelding with a confirmed biting problem.
When you walk past his stall, the horse will stand there, pin his ears back, glare at you, show you his teeth and generally act disagreeable.
I think he has three issues, to be honest, she said. He was low man where he was and got by with that agression towards humans. Plus he gets jealous when you give other horses attention. Plus he's establishing dominance in his stall.
Now when you put a halter on him that "almost" goes away. (Not quite, but a lot of that goes away.) It's a broken record. You get on him and ride him and he pretty much does what you ask of him. When you round pen him he does good until you ask for the canter and he pins the ears flat but does what's asked without any tail swiching or kicking out. It's an everyday thing. That's the only bad habit he has that I can tell.
This person knows all about Clinton's theories on groundwork and respect. She says that the gelding does the exercises just fine.
He may do them, but he's only phoning it in.
I believe that you can absolutely cure biting. Some thoughts on the problem:
Obviously biting is aggressive behavior. When you say "Oh, he's a biter," you generally mean that the problem is with biting humans, and not necessarily other horses. However, that may enter into the scenario as well. In any case, a horse that bites is not a horse that feels comfortable with you in charge. He wants to be in control -- at least of what he considers "his space."
Thought horses are not naturally aggressive towards people, they do thrive in a herd. And every herd needs a leader. If a horse is your horse herd's natural "leader," or if he is a herd of one (and, therefore, at the top of the pecking order) he may be loathe to relinquish his control when humans get involved.
If the biter is not the natural leader, he may be biting as a means of finding out where he fits in the pecking order. It may be his way of trying to establish that, while he may not be at the top of the horse herd, he can certainly try to be above the humans...
(I have to say that a bad attitude towards humans is one reason I am ABSOLUTELY AGAINST breaking horses too young. I don't believe in riding a horse until it is at least three. That's just me. I think they need time to grow, to be babies, to mature, and to be horses. Starting them in school too early, in my opinion, is like sending a bright 3 or 4 year old kid to all-day kindergarden. It hardens them too quickly. But I digress...)
One way to cure biting is with a remote controlled electronic collar. The horse wears the collar constantly for two or three days before anyone ever "zaps" him with it. Then, someone nearby holds the zapper, while someone else starts to work around the horse. When the horse goes to bite, the person working around him does nothing. He just continues doing whatever he was doing. But the person holding the zapper zings the horse.
This way, the horse doesn't associate the zap with the person who is working around him. He associates it more with the attempt to bite. Clinton is a big fan of these electronic collars. They can do the job, but it takes some timing, and an investment of time.
If you have a horse that bites, however, I would suggest you first try something much less extreme. The horse probably bites partly out of habit, and partly out of insolence. He's done it for so long, that he has very little respect for anyone on the ground.
Think of the battleaxe broodmare that no one in the pasture dares pin their ears back at. She doesn't put up with bad manners. She runs those upstarts away from their food. Then she leaves them alone. If someone gets snakey or displays bad manners, she runs him off again. Then she leave them alone again. In other words -- don't go near a biting horse looking for a fight. But be willing, ready, and able to use a dressage whip or lead rope to vigorously get them moving if they get snippy.
The "fix" for habitual insolence is, of course, groundwork. Lots of it. Get the horse moving in a direction that you indicate. Get him listening to you. Show him that you are worth paying attention to, and worthy of following. DO NOT respond to his biting by whacking on him. Respond to it by making him work.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
In Praise of Small Opportunities
"Small opportunities are often the beginnings of great enterprises."
--Demosthenes
On Monday night, during the teleseminar course I'm taking, Alex Mandossian used Oprah Winfrey's early career arc to illustrate how grand things can come from inauspicious beginnings. Perhaps I'm the only person on the planet who didn't know the story of Oprah's entry into the talk show world. But if you don't know it either, here, in a nutshell, is what happened:
As I understand it, when Oprah was 19, she was the first African-American hired as a news anchor for a small network. The ratings were good, and she moved up to a larger network in a larger market. There, the suits complained that her delivery was "too emotional." So to get her out of the anchor's chair, they moved her and had her host a local talk show. Oprah took what was essentially a demotion and ran with it. The numbers of talk show viewers skyrocketed.
She later went to Chicago and hosted another local talk show that soon decimated the national shows (like "Donahue" and others) in the area ratings. After 7 years of consistent, hard work, the Powers That Be decided to rename her show "The Oprah Winfrey Show." And the rest is history.
Oprah is credited with saying, "Sometimes you don't choose your career. Sometimes your career chooses you."
Alex pointed out that there are little possibilities all around us. Too often people focus on getting one big score that they are blinded to the many smaller opportunities that present themselves -- and lose out.
It was like listening to someone else read my words back to me.
My friend Terri Gordon (who is also a writer) and I have had many conversations about this very thing. Terri is a self-described "slow builder." She has steadily been building a name for herself as a writer for local publications. She's a dedicated, committed, professional, and talented writer. I keep telling her to start querying and writing for national magazines. She's had some success with the national periodicals she contacts. But her bread and butter is in her writing for the local market.
It's not that she doesn't ever want to "go national." For now, however, she has more work than she can handle right here in her own little corner of the world. And she's happy honing her craft while slowly increasing her sphere of influence.
Just yesterday, Terri and I were talking about this very topic as we discussed doing some teleseminars together. In the near future, I'm going to be interviewing her about "Writing Close to Home" and "Finding the Paycheck in Your Own Hometown." It's a topic that I enjoy speaking about at writer's conferences and live seminars. It's something I did for years. But it's something that Terri's doing right now. And she's willing to share what she knows to help others find their own opportunities.
Small opportunities. A single teleseminar. A local writing gig. A little talk show on local television. With a little vision and a solid work ethic, great enterprises will soon result.
--Demosthenes
On Monday night, during the teleseminar course I'm taking, Alex Mandossian used Oprah Winfrey's early career arc to illustrate how grand things can come from inauspicious beginnings. Perhaps I'm the only person on the planet who didn't know the story of Oprah's entry into the talk show world. But if you don't know it either, here, in a nutshell, is what happened:
As I understand it, when Oprah was 19, she was the first African-American hired as a news anchor for a small network. The ratings were good, and she moved up to a larger network in a larger market. There, the suits complained that her delivery was "too emotional." So to get her out of the anchor's chair, they moved her and had her host a local talk show. Oprah took what was essentially a demotion and ran with it. The numbers of talk show viewers skyrocketed.
She later went to Chicago and hosted another local talk show that soon decimated the national shows (like "Donahue" and others) in the area ratings. After 7 years of consistent, hard work, the Powers That Be decided to rename her show "The Oprah Winfrey Show." And the rest is history.
Oprah is credited with saying, "Sometimes you don't choose your career. Sometimes your career chooses you."
Alex pointed out that there are little possibilities all around us. Too often people focus on getting one big score that they are blinded to the many smaller opportunities that present themselves -- and lose out.
It was like listening to someone else read my words back to me.
My friend Terri Gordon (who is also a writer) and I have had many conversations about this very thing. Terri is a self-described "slow builder." She has steadily been building a name for herself as a writer for local publications. She's a dedicated, committed, professional, and talented writer. I keep telling her to start querying and writing for national magazines. She's had some success with the national periodicals she contacts. But her bread and butter is in her writing for the local market.
It's not that she doesn't ever want to "go national." For now, however, she has more work than she can handle right here in her own little corner of the world. And she's happy honing her craft while slowly increasing her sphere of influence.
Just yesterday, Terri and I were talking about this very topic as we discussed doing some teleseminars together. In the near future, I'm going to be interviewing her about "Writing Close to Home" and "Finding the Paycheck in Your Own Hometown." It's a topic that I enjoy speaking about at writer's conferences and live seminars. It's something I did for years. But it's something that Terri's doing right now. And she's willing to share what she knows to help others find their own opportunities.
Small opportunities. A single teleseminar. A local writing gig. A little talk show on local television. With a little vision and a solid work ethic, great enterprises will soon result.
Monday, January 09, 2006
The Continuing Cat Quest
We went to some friends' house for dinner tonight, and the conversation took an interesting turn...
It seems that several people in the area (one an immediate neighbor, as far as property lines go) have recently seen what they call "a big, black cat." Big. As in "bigger than a dog," "big as a cougar," big.
* Our neighbor's wife was walking her dog when she saw it. She came back and told her husband, who didn't take her seriously.
* However, a few days later, some friends of his who didn't know about the wife's experience, told him about seeing a big black cat run across the road in front of their car.
* Another neighbor -- a hunter who knows the area, and who is familiar with the sounds around here -- was walking his dog on the "back 40" when he heard a strange snarling. Whatever it was ran away from him as well, and made quite a bit of noise when it did so.
All of these instances happened within a mile of where the horse was attacked at the end of November. They may have actually occurred, with more than one witness, but none have been officially documented. No photographs. No prints or casts of prints. No scat. Interesting.
Just for grins and giggles, type in "big, black, cat, cougar" into your favorite search engine and spend some time on the sites that pop up.
It appears that this type of story isn't all that unusual. Lots of people, with nothing to gain by making up a story, will swear that they've seen a large, black, cougar-sized cat. Lots more will respond by pointing out that there is absolutely no hard evidence to support the stories.
Then, every so often, someone will mention an exotic species like a Jaguar or a Jaguarundi, and suggest that the sightings might be an escaped exotic that someone was keeping on the shady side of the law. If you're keeping something that's illegal to own in the first place, chances are you're not going to be in a hurry to sound an official alert if the thing gets away from you (or if it gets to be too much to handle and you set it free).
The "escaped exotic" angle is an interesting, and increasingly plausible, possibility in the Berrien County Cat Caper. It is widely known that several illicit and illegal dog fighting rings operate in the area. Last year, a badly mauled Pit Bull that was used to bait the fighting dogs made the local news when she was rescued by some good Samaritans. Several years ago, a large exotic animal fight club was in existence just across state lines. It, too, featured dog fights. The losers were literally thrown to the lions -- exotic big cats kept onsite to discourage visitors and dispose of the evidence.
According to what I read online, illegally, privately owned lions, tigers, and other big cats are a particular problem in Michigan, where they are used by drug dealers to protect their merchandise. In November, 2002, a dead tiger that had been clubbed to death (there is a special circle in hell for some people...) was found in a field in Detroit. Closer to home, late in October, 1995, a "pet lion" attacked and killed a woman in nearby Allegan, while her 9-year-old daughter watched.
Also interesting is a news story from Feb., 2005, from Winfield, IN (about 90 miles southwest of here). Video and still photography captured images of an extremely large (between 25 and 35 pounds) black cat that raised more questions than it answered. They don't know what it is, but strongly suspect an escaped exotic. Big cats can cover a lot of territory...
Regardless of what attacked the horse in late November, it's quite clear that big cats are in the area. I'm certain that the story is far from over. At the very least, it makes for fascinating dinner conversation.
It seems that several people in the area (one an immediate neighbor, as far as property lines go) have recently seen what they call "a big, black cat." Big. As in "bigger than a dog," "big as a cougar," big.
* Our neighbor's wife was walking her dog when she saw it. She came back and told her husband, who didn't take her seriously.
* However, a few days later, some friends of his who didn't know about the wife's experience, told him about seeing a big black cat run across the road in front of their car.
* Another neighbor -- a hunter who knows the area, and who is familiar with the sounds around here -- was walking his dog on the "back 40" when he heard a strange snarling. Whatever it was ran away from him as well, and made quite a bit of noise when it did so.
All of these instances happened within a mile of where the horse was attacked at the end of November. They may have actually occurred, with more than one witness, but none have been officially documented. No photographs. No prints or casts of prints. No scat. Interesting.
Just for grins and giggles, type in "big, black, cat, cougar" into your favorite search engine and spend some time on the sites that pop up.
It appears that this type of story isn't all that unusual. Lots of people, with nothing to gain by making up a story, will swear that they've seen a large, black, cougar-sized cat. Lots more will respond by pointing out that there is absolutely no hard evidence to support the stories.
Then, every so often, someone will mention an exotic species like a Jaguar or a Jaguarundi, and suggest that the sightings might be an escaped exotic that someone was keeping on the shady side of the law. If you're keeping something that's illegal to own in the first place, chances are you're not going to be in a hurry to sound an official alert if the thing gets away from you (or if it gets to be too much to handle and you set it free).
The "escaped exotic" angle is an interesting, and increasingly plausible, possibility in the Berrien County Cat Caper. It is widely known that several illicit and illegal dog fighting rings operate in the area. Last year, a badly mauled Pit Bull that was used to bait the fighting dogs made the local news when she was rescued by some good Samaritans. Several years ago, a large exotic animal fight club was in existence just across state lines. It, too, featured dog fights. The losers were literally thrown to the lions -- exotic big cats kept onsite to discourage visitors and dispose of the evidence.
According to what I read online, illegally, privately owned lions, tigers, and other big cats are a particular problem in Michigan, where they are used by drug dealers to protect their merchandise. In November, 2002, a dead tiger that had been clubbed to death (there is a special circle in hell for some people...) was found in a field in Detroit. Closer to home, late in October, 1995, a "pet lion" attacked and killed a woman in nearby Allegan, while her 9-year-old daughter watched.
Also interesting is a news story from Feb., 2005, from Winfield, IN (about 90 miles southwest of here). Video and still photography captured images of an extremely large (between 25 and 35 pounds) black cat that raised more questions than it answered. They don't know what it is, but strongly suspect an escaped exotic. Big cats can cover a lot of territory...
Regardless of what attacked the horse in late November, it's quite clear that big cats are in the area. I'm certain that the story is far from over. At the very least, it makes for fascinating dinner conversation.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Underpromise. Overdeliver.
Lately, as I've been talking with Geoff, Dr. Warson, and a few others who I hope to do teleseminars with in the near future, I've been stressing the concept of overdelivering on our content. Fortunately, I don't have to do a hard sell of the concept. All the experts I'm working with understand the importance of going "above and beyond" what's expected.
Alex Mandossian, who is teaching the teleseminar course I'm taking, talks about "overdelivering" a lot. And I have to say, he certainly practices what he preaches. I've easily gotten 10 times the material that I've paid for in bonus e-books, audio files, .pdf files, and bonus teleseminars. It will keep me busy learning for years.
Though giving away more than you promised may seem counter-productive to a culture that believes in putting a price tag on everything, I think it's an important part of any well-run, above-board business with a desire for longevity. It's simple: satisfied customers return. Unsatisfied ones don't.
So, to my esteemed experts, my advice for our first foray into the audio information age is to keep our audience in mind and give away as much information as possible in our allotted time. Each teleseminar is only 60 minutes. You can't possibly tell people everything you know in 60 minutes. But you can get people to love hearing your voice as they realize that you deliver lots of content, rather than teasing them with bits and pieces.
In my opinion, offering a little bit extra is one of the fastest and easiest ways for writers and othe professionals to build a dependable, loyal client base. (Incidentally, this does not mean that if an editor requests a 1500 word article, you turn in 2500 words. It could, however, mean turning in a tightly edited, well-crafted 1500 word piece, with a relevant 1000 word sidebar included just in case there might be a use for it.)
Case in point: I contacted one of the vendors recommended during the course of the teleseminar -- a very nice guy named Gary who provides phone bridge lines and call recording services, among other things. I requested his rates for recording three simple calls.
What I need him to do for me is on a very small scale, compared to some of the complex multi-line teleseminars he handles. He hasn't seen one dime of my money yet. Yet he immediately got back to me, answered my questions, and directed me to a FREE bridge service -- even though he operates fee-based bridge lines.
Furthermore, as we started talking about times and dates, it became clear that the times that would work best for me and my clients just happen to be very slow times for him. So he offered to make matters easier by adding an extra service that he normally charges for at no extra cost.
I haven't even conducted a single teleseminar yet, and already I know I'll use Gary's services again. I know he comes highly recommended. I know he'll give me the time of day. And I don't feel like he's out to take my last penny.
Underpromise. Overdeliver. That's all it takes to have more work than you can handle!
Alex Mandossian, who is teaching the teleseminar course I'm taking, talks about "overdelivering" a lot. And I have to say, he certainly practices what he preaches. I've easily gotten 10 times the material that I've paid for in bonus e-books, audio files, .pdf files, and bonus teleseminars. It will keep me busy learning for years.
Though giving away more than you promised may seem counter-productive to a culture that believes in putting a price tag on everything, I think it's an important part of any well-run, above-board business with a desire for longevity. It's simple: satisfied customers return. Unsatisfied ones don't.
So, to my esteemed experts, my advice for our first foray into the audio information age is to keep our audience in mind and give away as much information as possible in our allotted time. Each teleseminar is only 60 minutes. You can't possibly tell people everything you know in 60 minutes. But you can get people to love hearing your voice as they realize that you deliver lots of content, rather than teasing them with bits and pieces.
In my opinion, offering a little bit extra is one of the fastest and easiest ways for writers and othe professionals to build a dependable, loyal client base. (Incidentally, this does not mean that if an editor requests a 1500 word article, you turn in 2500 words. It could, however, mean turning in a tightly edited, well-crafted 1500 word piece, with a relevant 1000 word sidebar included just in case there might be a use for it.)
Case in point: I contacted one of the vendors recommended during the course of the teleseminar -- a very nice guy named Gary who provides phone bridge lines and call recording services, among other things. I requested his rates for recording three simple calls.
What I need him to do for me is on a very small scale, compared to some of the complex multi-line teleseminars he handles. He hasn't seen one dime of my money yet. Yet he immediately got back to me, answered my questions, and directed me to a FREE bridge service -- even though he operates fee-based bridge lines.
Furthermore, as we started talking about times and dates, it became clear that the times that would work best for me and my clients just happen to be very slow times for him. So he offered to make matters easier by adding an extra service that he normally charges for at no extra cost.
I haven't even conducted a single teleseminar yet, and already I know I'll use Gary's services again. I know he comes highly recommended. I know he'll give me the time of day. And I don't feel like he's out to take my last penny.
Underpromise. Overdeliver. That's all it takes to have more work than you can handle!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Defining Moments
Geoff and I have been talking about our first (test) teleseminar. I want to get some experience with the medium and the format. And there's no sense in waiting the months it will take for the book to be released to start making Geoff's expertise available to the people who can use it.
Our first teleseminar will be as much practice for us as anything else. But that doesn't mean it won't contain useful information. We intend to record it and make the audio file of the teleseminar freely available as a downloadable MP3 file, while we play with the presentation and start building awareness of what Geoff has to say.
Since Geoff is an "R" Hunt Seat Equitation judge, he thought that a seminar explaining what judges look for in the showring would be useful. I agree.
Too often, people approach an event from a limited perspective without realizing what things the person or persons evaluating them are looking for. I almost always find this to be true when speaking to writers who are just beginning their writing career. Instead of asking what editors or publishers need, they think only of getting their words into print. More often than not, such a limited view actually keeps them from achieving their goals.
The same sort of problem is common in the horse show world. Many riders (and too many instructors) set their sights on riding in a particular class or division without ever considering how the judge will see their performance.
Settling on the topic was relatively easy. Now what we must do is narrowly define our presentation. I've suggested coming up with a list of either 7 or 10 things to illustrate whatever topic we decide upon. Timewise, those numbers lend themselves well to an hour of discussion. From a marketing point of view, they also work well ("7 Deadly Sins..." "7 Secrets of..." "Top 10...").
Some of the narrowly defined topic ideas that I've come up with for a 1 hour teleseminar on Judging Hunt Seat Equitation are:
* Common Hunt Seat Equitation problems. How to identify them and eliminate them from your riding. Possible titles:
"Seven Deadly Sins of Hunt Seat Equitation (and how to avoid them)"
"Top 10 Hunt Seat Equitation Faults (and how to correct them)"
* Demystifying the judging process. How to know what the judge is looking for and evaluating. Possible titles:
"You Be the Judge: Seven Simple Steps to Evaluating Your Own Hunt Seat Equitation Skills"
"The Judge's Card: Top 10 Secrets to a Winning Round"
"The Unbeatable Ride: What the Hunt Seat Equitation Judge is Dying to See"
* Tips for improving Equitation over fences. Improve accuracy, consistency or presentation. Possible titles:
"Seven Secrets of Fault-Free Fences"
"On Course: Top Ten Tips for Hunt Seat Equitation Success"
What I find fascinating is that though they're all really just variations on a theme, each would yield a very different hour of conversation. We haven't decided on a particular approach yet. Any preferences?
Our first teleseminar will be as much practice for us as anything else. But that doesn't mean it won't contain useful information. We intend to record it and make the audio file of the teleseminar freely available as a downloadable MP3 file, while we play with the presentation and start building awareness of what Geoff has to say.
Since Geoff is an "R" Hunt Seat Equitation judge, he thought that a seminar explaining what judges look for in the showring would be useful. I agree.
Too often, people approach an event from a limited perspective without realizing what things the person or persons evaluating them are looking for. I almost always find this to be true when speaking to writers who are just beginning their writing career. Instead of asking what editors or publishers need, they think only of getting their words into print. More often than not, such a limited view actually keeps them from achieving their goals.
The same sort of problem is common in the horse show world. Many riders (and too many instructors) set their sights on riding in a particular class or division without ever considering how the judge will see their performance.
Settling on the topic was relatively easy. Now what we must do is narrowly define our presentation. I've suggested coming up with a list of either 7 or 10 things to illustrate whatever topic we decide upon. Timewise, those numbers lend themselves well to an hour of discussion. From a marketing point of view, they also work well ("7 Deadly Sins..." "7 Secrets of..." "Top 10...").
Some of the narrowly defined topic ideas that I've come up with for a 1 hour teleseminar on Judging Hunt Seat Equitation are:
* Common Hunt Seat Equitation problems. How to identify them and eliminate them from your riding. Possible titles:
"Seven Deadly Sins of Hunt Seat Equitation (and how to avoid them)"
"Top 10 Hunt Seat Equitation Faults (and how to correct them)"
* Demystifying the judging process. How to know what the judge is looking for and evaluating. Possible titles:
"You Be the Judge: Seven Simple Steps to Evaluating Your Own Hunt Seat Equitation Skills"
"The Judge's Card: Top 10 Secrets to a Winning Round"
"The Unbeatable Ride: What the Hunt Seat Equitation Judge is Dying to See"
* Tips for improving Equitation over fences. Improve accuracy, consistency or presentation. Possible titles:
"Seven Secrets of Fault-Free Fences"
"On Course: Top Ten Tips for Hunt Seat Equitation Success"
What I find fascinating is that though they're all really just variations on a theme, each would yield a very different hour of conversation. We haven't decided on a particular approach yet. Any preferences?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Rider's Wednesday -- Emergency Planning
Our New Year's Eve -- a quiet evening spent at home with a few friends -- was put on hold when a mildly inebriated gentleman knocked on our door and informed us that "there was a really big horse" running all over the road.
From his description, I knew it wasn't one of my boys.
"It's big! And white! With spots. Kind of like those."
With the last comment, he indicated my Dalmatians, which got me wondering who in the area had a leopard Appaloosa. But then the man reconsidered my dogs... "Only bigger." (A Paint Horse, perhaps?) "And... the other way."
"Could it be a darker horse with big white spots?" I asked him.
He thought it could. Whatever it was, he assured us, it was a horse. And it was BIG.
It turned out that our neighbor's Percheron gelding had gotten loose, along with their pony, so we put our visit on hold and set out to look for them. After some fruitless driving around, we finally found them at the corner of our field, more than ready to go home.
And so all's well -- no one got hit on the road or otherwise irreparably injured. Happy New Year indeed!
Having a horse get loose and cause havoc on the road, however, is one of my greatest fears. I have been known to wake up in the dead of night, certain that I have A.) heard hooves on the asphalt, B.) heard the screech of brakes, and C.) become the new defendant in a liability lawsuit.
As we sat in my living room waiting for 2006 to arrive, we discussed the need for proper emergency measures should something similar ever happen again (God forbid!). Some results of our brainstorming session:
* Have a list of nearby people who know horses, who you can call on to help recapture the lost. The list should include cell phones and home phones.
* Decide how you are going to stay in touch while searching. If by cell phone, make sure everyone has everyone else's number. If by walkie talkie (our choice), be sure to specify a channel. Ideally, do a sound check before disaster strikes.
* Have a "designated caller" who gets on the phone, tells people of the situation, and coordinates calls from a central location. Ideally, the location is the missing horse's home. If that's not possible, it should be in a place where the missing horse can be temporarily stabled if and when he is caught.
* Have the "designated caller" contact the local sheriff or police department and alert them that a large animal is loose. Give a contact number for if the animal is sighted or involved in an accident. (Unfortunately, many officials don't take this seriously. "If we find him, can we ride him home," local emergency personnel joked. Ha, ha. Ever see what happens to a car that hits a 200 pound deer? Imagine what could happen if it hit a 2000 pound horse.)
* Have the emergency contact numbers of several large animal vets. If the situation turns grim, you may not be able to get through to your vet of choice. Sometimes any vet will do.
* Have a portable horse first aid kit packed in a backpack or duffel bag. At the very least it should include the afore-mentioned list of vet numbers, bandages, polo wraps, disposable diapers (especially good for covering large leg wounds), an extra halter and leadrope, a small can of pellets or grain for rattling, a twitch, and a flashlight with reliable batteries.
* Wear reflective clothing if you will be anywhere near a road. Vests with reflective tape on them are invaluable. The small blinking lights used by trick-or-treaters are also great aids to staying visible.
* Have access to several powerful (at least 1 million candle power) spotlights. Have them charged and ready to go. If driving, have a passenger in the car use a spotlight to sweep the roadsides and fields.
* When the horse is finally caught, remember to contact the local law enforcement and let them know that things are under control.
Here's hoping that you never need to put your emergency measures into action. But if you DO, having a plan could save you valuable time. It could literally save your horse's life.
Happy Birthday, Little One!
Today my little girl turns three. Where does the time go? You blink... It's over, and they're babies no more.
From his description, I knew it wasn't one of my boys.
"It's big! And white! With spots. Kind of like those."
With the last comment, he indicated my Dalmatians, which got me wondering who in the area had a leopard Appaloosa. But then the man reconsidered my dogs... "Only bigger." (A Paint Horse, perhaps?) "And... the other way."
"Could it be a darker horse with big white spots?" I asked him.
He thought it could. Whatever it was, he assured us, it was a horse. And it was BIG.
It turned out that our neighbor's Percheron gelding had gotten loose, along with their pony, so we put our visit on hold and set out to look for them. After some fruitless driving around, we finally found them at the corner of our field, more than ready to go home.
And so all's well -- no one got hit on the road or otherwise irreparably injured. Happy New Year indeed!
Having a horse get loose and cause havoc on the road, however, is one of my greatest fears. I have been known to wake up in the dead of night, certain that I have A.) heard hooves on the asphalt, B.) heard the screech of brakes, and C.) become the new defendant in a liability lawsuit.
As we sat in my living room waiting for 2006 to arrive, we discussed the need for proper emergency measures should something similar ever happen again (God forbid!). Some results of our brainstorming session:
* Have a list of nearby people who know horses, who you can call on to help recapture the lost. The list should include cell phones and home phones.
* Decide how you are going to stay in touch while searching. If by cell phone, make sure everyone has everyone else's number. If by walkie talkie (our choice), be sure to specify a channel. Ideally, do a sound check before disaster strikes.
* Have a "designated caller" who gets on the phone, tells people of the situation, and coordinates calls from a central location. Ideally, the location is the missing horse's home. If that's not possible, it should be in a place where the missing horse can be temporarily stabled if and when he is caught.
* Have the "designated caller" contact the local sheriff or police department and alert them that a large animal is loose. Give a contact number for if the animal is sighted or involved in an accident. (Unfortunately, many officials don't take this seriously. "If we find him, can we ride him home," local emergency personnel joked. Ha, ha. Ever see what happens to a car that hits a 200 pound deer? Imagine what could happen if it hit a 2000 pound horse.)
* Have the emergency contact numbers of several large animal vets. If the situation turns grim, you may not be able to get through to your vet of choice. Sometimes any vet will do.
* Have a portable horse first aid kit packed in a backpack or duffel bag. At the very least it should include the afore-mentioned list of vet numbers, bandages, polo wraps, disposable diapers (especially good for covering large leg wounds), an extra halter and leadrope, a small can of pellets or grain for rattling, a twitch, and a flashlight with reliable batteries.
* Wear reflective clothing if you will be anywhere near a road. Vests with reflective tape on them are invaluable. The small blinking lights used by trick-or-treaters are also great aids to staying visible.
* Have access to several powerful (at least 1 million candle power) spotlights. Have them charged and ready to go. If driving, have a passenger in the car use a spotlight to sweep the roadsides and fields.
* When the horse is finally caught, remember to contact the local law enforcement and let them know that things are under control.
Here's hoping that you never need to put your emergency measures into action. But if you DO, having a plan could save you valuable time. It could literally save your horse's life.
Happy Birthday, Little One!
Today my little girl turns three. Where does the time go? You blink... It's over, and they're babies no more.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The Next "Goal" Post
For many, coming up with the Grand Plan -- a big, over-arching goal -- isn't a problem. In fact, a lot of people (myself included) can easily come up with a plethora of solidly good, important, and necessary goals. For us, stating what we want to do isn't difficult at all. What can rob us of achieving our dreams is deciding how we're going to do it.
In other words, the end is in sight. We just don't know what road we're going to take to get there.
In his book, Geoff dedicates an entire chapter to goal-setting. While at first, such a thing may seem esoteric or out of place in a book about improving one's riding, the reader very quickly realizes how important the chapter is. Because without knowing what you want to achieve -- and having a plan -- you are literally just riding your horse around in circles.
One of the things that Geoff suggests you do is take your Ultimate Goal and determine the first milestone you need to reach on your way. If you want to ride in a major invitational horse show, for instance, figure out which shows you'll need to qualify in. Then work only on doing well at the first one. That becomes your new focus. When you have passed that milestone, then you can set your sights on the next thing that has to happen on the way toward your Ultimate Goal.
In the world of writing, if your Ultimate Goal is to have your novel become a bestseller, you must first find a publisher for it. (Actually, you must first have a novel. Really. First things first.) Once you have a publisher, the next milestone is to plan a marketing campaign specifically targeted at increasing sales at a particular place for a particular time frame. When a solid plan has been made, the next milestone is to implement it.
The smaller goals along the way prepare the foundation that you will need to climb upon to reach your dreams.
Teleseminar guru Alex Mandossian (Whose class is changing my life. Literally.) also believes in breaking larger goals down into smaller, more manageable bite-sized pieces. He advocates articulating your Ultimate Goal for a 12 month period. Then he suggests that you divide the goal into 12 parts. Get out a calendar and actually come up with a plan for how you will achieve one part each month. If you follow your plan, at the end of the year, you will have met your goal.
Now, the whole "break the goal into small pieces and then plan how you will master each piece" philosophy that both Geoff and Alex espouse is pure common sense. It also sounds deceptively easy. But it's taken me the better part of the last 4 days to actually do just that for all the things I want to accomplish this next year.
Stating the things I want to do is easy. Looking at a calendar and coming up with an actual, honest-to-God plan of what I will do was much more difficult than I imagined. But it's done now. And I can comfortably say that going through the exercise has cleared away a lot of the haze that hung between where I am and where I want to be. "Oohh! So THAT'S how to get there from here!"
I challenge you, while the year is still young, to think about what you want to have accomplished by next year this time. Analyze it. Determine what you'll have to do in order to achieve it. Get a calendar out and make a plan -- a do-able plan. Then commit yourself to doing only what's on your plate for January. It's much more plausible and possible (not to mention a whole lot less intimidating) than looking the Ultimate Goal in the eye and aiming for it.
Good luck! And here's to a success-filled year!
In other words, the end is in sight. We just don't know what road we're going to take to get there.
In his book, Geoff dedicates an entire chapter to goal-setting. While at first, such a thing may seem esoteric or out of place in a book about improving one's riding, the reader very quickly realizes how important the chapter is. Because without knowing what you want to achieve -- and having a plan -- you are literally just riding your horse around in circles.
One of the things that Geoff suggests you do is take your Ultimate Goal and determine the first milestone you need to reach on your way. If you want to ride in a major invitational horse show, for instance, figure out which shows you'll need to qualify in. Then work only on doing well at the first one. That becomes your new focus. When you have passed that milestone, then you can set your sights on the next thing that has to happen on the way toward your Ultimate Goal.
In the world of writing, if your Ultimate Goal is to have your novel become a bestseller, you must first find a publisher for it. (Actually, you must first have a novel. Really. First things first.) Once you have a publisher, the next milestone is to plan a marketing campaign specifically targeted at increasing sales at a particular place for a particular time frame. When a solid plan has been made, the next milestone is to implement it.
The smaller goals along the way prepare the foundation that you will need to climb upon to reach your dreams.
Teleseminar guru Alex Mandossian (Whose class is changing my life. Literally.) also believes in breaking larger goals down into smaller, more manageable bite-sized pieces. He advocates articulating your Ultimate Goal for a 12 month period. Then he suggests that you divide the goal into 12 parts. Get out a calendar and actually come up with a plan for how you will achieve one part each month. If you follow your plan, at the end of the year, you will have met your goal.
Now, the whole "break the goal into small pieces and then plan how you will master each piece" philosophy that both Geoff and Alex espouse is pure common sense. It also sounds deceptively easy. But it's taken me the better part of the last 4 days to actually do just that for all the things I want to accomplish this next year.
Stating the things I want to do is easy. Looking at a calendar and coming up with an actual, honest-to-God plan of what I will do was much more difficult than I imagined. But it's done now. And I can comfortably say that going through the exercise has cleared away a lot of the haze that hung between where I am and where I want to be. "Oohh! So THAT'S how to get there from here!"
I challenge you, while the year is still young, to think about what you want to have accomplished by next year this time. Analyze it. Determine what you'll have to do in order to achieve it. Get a calendar out and make a plan -- a do-able plan. Then commit yourself to doing only what's on your plate for January. It's much more plausible and possible (not to mention a whole lot less intimidating) than looking the Ultimate Goal in the eye and aiming for it.
Good luck! And here's to a success-filled year!
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