Sep-Dec. 2017 Volume 92

Supporting the needs of equestrians and building

Harmonious horse/rider partnerships.

News

Checking Devon Off My Bucket List! By DHF President Jen Truett

Continued on page 3

Well, I got 1/2 of this article written a week ago while somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean heading east to Hol-land (yes, I know it's actually The Netherlands, but the lo-cals call it Holland, and so will I) to horse shop with friend/client Jeanne Brose. Not surprisingly, no progress was made on this article in Holland, so I've picked up again where I left off since I'm now headed west toward home...again somewhere over the Atlantic. Happily, our trip was successful and a lovely 4-year-old KWPN gelding named, Il Divo, will be vetted tomorrow morning!

Of course, my mom and I try to have this newsletter out at the beginning of every other month. I admit, I've been the holdup this month. The past four weeks have been a blur. It all started in mid-September with the Region 2 champi-onships. Dancing Horse Farm was well represented with multiple riders and horses competing in several different levels.

Jeanne Brose on Razi got 4th place in their Second Level Adult Amateur Championship earning the wild card score required to go to National Finals! Lisette Bennett on eBay and Kara Mastern on Lueka both finished respectfully somewhere in the middle of their huge Adult Amateur Training Level Championship class. My graduated appren-tice, Helen Pianca, showed in both the First Level and Sec-ond Level Open Championship classes. She even rode her First Level test side saddle! Of course, this is the girl who earned her USDF Silver Medal purely on side saddle scores a few years ago. Finally, Taffy got Reserve Champion in his Grand Prix Freestyle class earning a trip to National Finals. He missed winning by a mere decimal place. I was ecstatic with the scores he got from international judge, Anne Gribbons. Darling finished just out of the ribbons in her classes but I was thrilled with the discoveries she made in each warm up and how she handled the atmosphere.

It turns out, Regional Championships were a fabulous warm-up show for Devon two weeks later, mostly because I was able to use the information gathered from the judges' comments to laser-focus the little bit of training we were able to do between the two shows. We had a total of 8 days at home before packing up Taffy and Dar-

ling again to check off one of my bucket list goals. Thanks to a Facebook query I put out to my FB friends asking for recommendations for making that long trip and CDI barn move-in the least stressful on the horses and us, JJ Tate helped me find a perfect overnight place, Blue Waters Farm, and a new friend, Linda Santomenna, only one hour from the show grounds.

In addition to being a fabulous hostess, Linda made sure I had no concerns about the horses having possible acciden-tal exposure to illegal substances at her farm by quarantin-ing and disinfecting our stalls and giving us a paddock for turnout that had not been used in over a year! She also welcomed our dog, Loki Poki, into her home to spend the night since our bed and breakfast didn't allow pets! I can-not imagine a better way to rest and recover from the long drive and prepare for the excitement that lay ahead than what Linda gave us.

Arriving at the show grounds was completely surreal since I had planned for that moment for many years. The feel-ings that I had were fascinating to me; I simultaneously felt awe and complete confidence that we belonged. The entire experience was incredible. It took many days for me to finally remove my CDI stabling wristband (required for entry to the international CDI barns).

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I knew quite a few people there and then got to know a bunch more through-out the show. I am very lucky to have crazy supportive par-ents who are willing to drive 10 hours one way to cheer us on and to chauffeur my famous horse show kitty, Prixie Pants to the show. I am thoroughly convinced that Prixie is more recognizable than me! Especially when people I don't know ask me if I brought my cat to the show!

Prixie certainly had a lot of fans very excited to finally meet her in person and acquired many new friends while she was there. I kept hearing about all the horse show cat pictures people were posting on FB. I have no idea how many pictures/videos Prixie starred in or questions I an-swered about my horse show cat (she even posed at an official Devon sign for a photo shoot by one of the official

Your horse's behavior always seems to depend on the number of people watching you.

www.thesculptedhorse.com Equine Art by Lynda Sappington

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Sep-Dec. 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 2

You will see vehicles with “DHF Sponsor” stickers on them at DHF from time to time. Be sure to thank their owners for what they do to support Dancing Horse

Dr. Amy Gill http://www.equiforce.com/ Silver Sponsor

CONTACT THEM TODAY!

Best Dad Ever, John Sappington Silver Sponsor

www.agedefyingscience.com/tamarashivers www.jusuru.com/dancinghorsefarm

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www.circularwellness.com Angela Cornes

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Julie Fox, Equine Body Work 937-414-0525

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 3

photographers...so watch for her in the program next year).

The size of our cheering section was impressive for out-of-towners, IMO, thanks to friends/clients Janet Riccardella, Kim Dupps and Darling's owner, Anne Sparks, who all made the journey to come support us. It is so fun to look out into the crowd and see friends as excited as I am en-joying the journey along beside me.

Thanks to USEF Network, the rides in the Dixon Oval were live streamed over the Internet, so friends everywhere got to cheer us on through each movement even though they were unable to make the trip. Apparently, the feed was so good, Jeanne Brose heard me tell Taffy, "Good job, Buddy!" at the end of our first ride!

This was only my second experience doing a CDI, and the first time we got a score…. Taffy shook his bridle and sweat-saturated ear bonnet right off after our final halt in the last one in hot, humid Florida, eliminating us from the rest of the competition.

This was my groom, Sarah's, first CDI. Despite my lifetime of showing, preparing and packing for a CDI is a totally different experience. Especially at Devon, where the trailer is 5+ miles away so you must have everything you need with you and on wheels because you can't get the trailer anywhere near the stalls. So, efficiency is the number one priority. Thankfully, Sarah and I wound up forgetting only items that were easily replaced by the many vendors at the show. The only expensive, but oh-so-fun to shop for and replace, forgotten "thing" was a snaffle bridle for the jog. We only brought double bridles (required for CDI com-petition) for efficiency and weight. So, Baby Dreamy got his first new bridle at Devon!

I am still astonished to be able to say that Taffy and I came home with a ribbon...6th place, to be exact...in the Grand Prix Special! Our scores weren't super impressive (low 60's) unless looked at in the right perspective. I paid $1 to save him from being euthanized 8 years ago because he was so unsound from having broken his leg 3 years prior. In case, dear reader, you don't know Taffy's story, read on.

Our first year and a half was spent in rehab. He was terri-fied of everything and bolted to escape said scary thing. We cleared every warmup ring the summer we moved up to 3rd level because his early flying changes could have cleared a 3 foot jump and were always followed by bolting wildly out of control! The fact that he even made it to Grand Prix is miraculous, especially since we got there only 6 years after we found each other...6 years is super-

speed progress for horses with NO setbacks to make it from Training level to Grand Prix!

I always had doubts that Taffy would trust me enough to be able to handle the electricity in the Dixon Oval. Unfor-tunately, his trust was inadvertently tested the first night we schooled in the Dixon Oval. I rode Darling first that night and was thrilled to discover that she (and I) were rock-solid in that European-style madness (way more FEI horses schooling than you would normally ever see in a dressage arena, all going every direction seemingly simul-taneously).

By the time I brought Taffy out, the chaos had settled tre-mendously. We were about 10 minutes from being fin-ished with our ride when the sound guy decided to walk around the grandstands while tapping on and blowing into a live microphone, apparently to test the speakers. Of course, sound sensitive Taffy freaked out. It was especially unfortunate that the horrendous sounds started while we were practicing trotting up centerline toward the scary judges' boxes (three at the end and one on either side) and the huge lighted sign that displayed the various show sponsors. Of course, he was convinced that the sounds came from the judges' boxes and/or the sign. I was finally able to get him to walk to C, but there was no chance of trotting or cantering near the short side before we ran out of time (they closed the ring for schooling at 10 PM).

We decided the best thing to do would be to come back for the open schooling the next morning at 6:30, so we only got about 5 hours of sleep that night. Thankfully, my ride times were in the afternoon so we were able to take a nap later that morning. My goal for the early morning ride was to get him to trust me enough that he would quietly jog on a long rein up centerline and along the short side. It took about 20 minutes, but he finally took a breath and said, "OK, Mommy, we are safe." Wow. That level of trust is what I've strived for the past 8 years. He will always be a highly anxious/reactive horse, all I need is for him to con-tinue to trust me ever deeper so he can conquer his fears as they come. I am his anti-anxiety drug. :-)

He might have needed some human assistance to go up the ramp to get into the Dixon Oval, but once in there, it was just Taffy and me doing our thing. As we headed in for our first ride, Lenny brilliantly suggested I ride Taffy very forward around the arena until the bell rung because in his mind, I'd given Taffy plenty of time to look at every-thing, now it was time for him to focus. I thought hard about that advice heading up the ramp because in the past in scary arenas, I've just walked him so he didn't get

Checking Devon Off . . . continued

about that advice heading up the ramp because in the past in scary arenas, I've just walked him so he didn't get overwhelmed and fried. I decided to give Lenny's sugges-tion a try since we'd had such a positive experience schooling in there that morning. Holy Smokes, it worked!! We were likely the only ones to gallop around the arena while waiting our turn! He did try to suck back approach-ing the judges' boxes/sign, but thankfully we had enough momentum built up that he was unable to slam the brakes on and do his giraffe impression. Once in the ring, I made the bend very clear and turned slightly early at C to hope-fully (and successfully) give him confidence that he didn't have to face the scary judges or sign for long.

I had no huge expectations for this show, other than I wanted to be able to ride the tests and exit the arena while still riding so I could get a score this time. ;-) My lofty, pie-in-the-sky wish was for us to break 60%. I know he is not an international caliber horse, so he struggles to get 7's from the international judges who hold horses and riders to much higher standards than our national judges. So, I am ecstatic with our results. In both classes, we beat a handful of people which placed us at the top of the bot-tom 3rd of the class. In the Special, that was good enough for a ribbon!

We all think that Darling found herself at Devon. She was the most relaxed in the stable she's ever been at a show and took everything about the atmosphere perfectly in stride. My primary goal for her was to have a good, posi-tive experience...Achieved! My pie-in-the-sky goal was to score in the mid to upper 60's which is asking a lot at an international show since she tends to score all over the place at national shows depending on her mood. ;-) Her biggest area in need of improvement is her longitudinal balance. She has to carry more weight on her hind legs and lift her sternum to lighten the forehand. Her natural way of moving is neck low/croup high and she came to me with a strong pattern of leaning on the bit with frequently late changes.

Darling has made impressive progress in the 9 months we've been together. Her flying changes are now 99%clean, she carries more weight behind and has gotten much stronger overall, she mostly doesn't grab the bit and take over in extensions anymore, and in schooling, she can be quite light in the hand. The operative phrase here is "in schooling" because while showing, I don't have the oppor-tunity to do big enough balance corrections to be really effective, especially when she has really taken over.

I discovered in the first test that I was having to spend quite a significant amount of time shortening the reins because she was constantly pushing down on the bit and pulling them out of my hands. I realized that if I could keep the reins from being movable, I would be able to stay one step ahead of her which would help to keep her from ever really getting on her forehand to start with. Fortunately, I'd bought Thinline reins to have in case of rain (Devon is famous for its rain) because they are anti-slip. HOLY TOLEDO, BATMAN, changing the reins changed everything! The reins I had been using are very narrow and thin and came with her beautiful PS of Sweden bridle. The Thinline reins are bulky, feel like memory foam, are a totally different shade of brown and are not rolled, so our outfit was no longer as pulled together, but WOW to be able to keep her from diving on the forehand was phe-nomenal! We got to ride two tests with the new reins, and our scores improved dramatically each ride. We ended up in the top of the bottom third of the Intermediare 1 class with a mid-60s score and took the early lead in our free-style that kept us in the ribbons until the last rider in the class. We ended up in 7th place, with a 68.2%. The best part of that score is that Stephen Clarke, one of the most highly respected international judges worldwide, and Sarah Geike, one of our own US judges, both gave us 70%'s!!! We received our highest scores of the season for our freestyle competing in front of international judges at Devon!! WOW! The future is now even brighter thanks to Thinline reins!

It absolutely took a village over a span of many years to make this dream a reality. I am endlessly thankful to many people who have made a difference and helped direct my path along the way. My longtime coach (23 years and counting), Senior USEF judge Sue Mandas, for never downplaying my belief that Taffy could become something despite the insanity of his early years. My biomechanics coach, Mary Wanless, for teaching me how to improve Taffy's unevenness and ride him to be sound, even though he wasn't yet. My amazing vet, Bryan McNabb, who worked tirelessly with me through the years to develop a maintenance program that kept my boy as pain-free as possible despite his injuries. Early on, Bryan assured me that he would happily take Taffy off my hands to be his personal hunt horse if he didn't make it as a dressage horse! I think I can say he's made it as a dressage horse. ;-) My farriers, Skip and Josh Miller have worked diligently throughout the years with Bryan and me to perfect Taffy's angles and shoeing despite his insistence to stall walk

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 4

Checking Devon Off . . .continued

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 5

Checking Devon Off . . . continued

makes keeping shoes on very hard. My longest sponsor, Karen Borne of Borné Saddles, for keeping my butt and my horses' backs happy for 15 years. Lori Aman for keep-ing my farm back at home running. My parents for a life-time of support and cheerleading. Finally, my hubby Lenny, who, for some reason, seems to never tire of our adventures and who can be seen on the sidelines riding along with me stride by stride when I'm showing. He also makes the money so we can have a roof over our heads and food on the table, and does everything in his power to ensure I can keep chasing my wild dreams!

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't take a little time to thank the people in my life who've joined our village more recently. My groom, Sarah Hurst, plays a vital role in my day-to-day life and did a super job taking care of all of us at this high-pressure show. Also, thanks to my sponsors who make our lives easier in such wonderful ways. Enviro-

Equine supplies almost all of the supplements that Taffy and Darling get as well as the best fly spray on the market. Tribute Feeds keep them both powered up and healthy. Angela Cornes provides them, and me, with therapeutic MagnaWave treatments and Julie Fox treats them to mayo-fascial bodywork to ensure their bodies are up to the challenge of being elite athletes.

Even though I was likely one of, if not the only competitor there without a coach, I felt the presence of my village, my family, supporting us throughout the years. As I looked around the warmup ring at the Who's Who lineup of coaches talking into headsets to their riders, I thought about how amazing it was to be there and I simply en-joyed the ride and my horses. Thank you for your interest and the role you play in our never-ending journey. I hope everyone finds their own village they can call family.

~Jen

Devon’s Dixon Oval: Jen and Taffy, Left, Jen and Darling, Right

Sep–Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 6

Jen and the Truly Freestyle Freestyle!

Jen and Taffy qualified for the Nationals! They won Reserve Champion in Grand Prix Freestyle!

Photos below are from the Regional Championships at Majestic Farm . Photos by John Sappington

Jen forgot to include this story, but it’s so amazing, it has to be here! When she was showing at Waterloo in August, Taffy was entered in the GP Freestyle as well as GP. She rode around the arena, threw her hand up in the air to sig-nal to the sound booth to start the music, then entered the arena. What happened next is truly incredible... It all began earlier in the day when Jen suffered from heat exhaustion. She said her brain felt like Jello which made it impossible to think clearly, so she had to ask to be excused in an afternoon ride. When the music came on during the GP Freestyle, she didn't immediately recognize the prob-lem because it was familiar to her. But as she started trying to ride her planned choreography, a look of confusion spread across her face because the movements weren't quite fitting the music the way they should. She couldn't figure out what was going on other than more Jello-brain issues from the heat exhaustion, so she did the only thing that seemed logical...make up choreography that matched the music she was hearing! The biggest challenge to free-form ad-libbing a freestyle is remembering all of the required movements. This music, while lovely, wasn’t designed for Grand Prix movements (there weren't musical sections specifically for piaffe and passage, for example). So at times, it was a little obvious to those of us who know her freestyle that something wasn’t quite right (of course, some of us recognized the music was actually Taffy's old Intermediare freestyle which is why it was somewhat familiar to Jen). Somehow, she was able to remember all the required movements, and make them flow to match the music. The only hiccup happened toward the end after she'd com-pleted all but one of the required movements but the mu-sic was still playing! She wasn't sure when the music would end, so she cantered seemingly aimlessly around the arena until she heard a crescendo and used it to do the final re-quirement: a canter extension. After that, she was able to anticipate the end of the music coming and turned just in time to head up centerline for the final halt/salute. When Jen left the arena, she said she thought for sure she’d be on the way to the hospital that evening since she felt so lost in the music. She really believed that the prob-lem was an after-effect from her earlier heat exhaustion. This completely "winged" freestyle earned an impressive score of 67.8% and respect from riders around the country who could not imagine being in that situation at any level, much less Grand Prix. Good thing that girl is musical!

end, so she cantered seemingly aimlessly around the who could not imagine being in that situation at any level, much less Grand Prix. Good thing that girl is musical! Why the wrong music, you ask? That question was never definitively answered. Could be they turned in the wrong music, or an old music file might have been selected in the sound booth. Either way, this is quite a story!

Jen on Golden Darling HU

Jen on Lafayette HQ

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 7

Some of Jen’s Favorite Pictures from Devon of Taffy

All photos by John Sappington, used with permission

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 8

Some of Jen’s Favorite Pictures from Devon of Darling

And a laugh from Taffy!

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 9

Introducing Myself by Working Student Emily Markham Hello all! My name is Emily Markham and I am beyond excited to start as a working student at DHF. I have loved horses for as long as I can remember (my parents say they do not know where I came from!) and I got my first horse at the age of eleven. My two siblings and I are very lucky to have grown up on a small farm in Forestville, NY with an array of goats, rabbits, cats, dogs, horses, and even a potbelly pig. I participated in Chautauqua County 4-H for twelve years, starting small with rabbits and then quickly gradu-ating to horses where I showed dressage and hunt seat. About six years ago, I decided to concentrate mainly on dressage after falling in love with the philosophy and techniques of classical dressage and the focus on the connection between horse and rider. The distinctive bond that I have shared with horses is something that I deeply missed while attending college in Columbus. So, after two years on the NCAA Varsity Rowing team at OSU, I decided to switch my focus and time to my studies and getting back to riding. I trained with Edgewood Equestrian during the school year and held my first working student position last summer at Fox Run Dres-sage in East Aurora, NY. During my senior year, I also rode IEA with the OSU Hunt Seat Equestrian team. I graduated from The Ohio State University in May with my BS in psychology and a minor in disability studies. My main passion has always been working with horses, so it is a dream position for me to join the DHF fam-ily. I recently made my first “adult” horse purchase, and I am looking forward to learning as much as I can about success in the equine industry while improving my riding and training skills.

Emily with her new horse, Amadeus

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 10

Martha (Yates, clinic organizer) & Lindsey (Culver) Thanks so much for this weekend -- I think it was my best clinic experience ever.

At first I agreed to participate out of loyalty -- to support Martha! -- but I got more excited when I went to Jenni-fer's website and read up on her credentials. Still, I was worried that the sessions would be packed full of special Mary Wanless jargon that I wouldn't understand. I do think those of us not in the know were introduced to many of Mary's key ideas. But Jennifer did a wonderful job of not delivering a one-size-fits-all version, tailoring her advice to each rider and each horse. Her knowledge of human anatomy and function was impressive, her di-agnosis of my deficits seemed spot on, and of course she won me over when she kissed Linden on the snout a cou-ple of times on day one while trying to assess the flexibil-ity of his poll. Overall, I came away energized and hopeful about the progress Linden and I might make, especially for improv-ing his left lead canter. The workshops were also great. Jennifer encouraged questions and answered them wonderfully, and the hands-on stuff was really fun. Of course being back at Catlin was also lovely. Being sur-rounded by understated elegance is always lovely, and

being literally surrounded by Brommelsiekis (Park) is beyond compare. I was stoked to be able to do cool-down rides across the street. We did the full circuit today; I'm so proud that Linden and I can ride out like that. We even trotted some of the uphill and curvy sections of the path. Lindsey -- don't ever take the Park for granted, it's beyond special. And of course it was neat that Linden and Moon Pie became night-time bffs. I hope you consider inviting Jennifer back sometime this Fall before she heads off to Wellington. Cheers, Taffy (Ross)

Testimonial from Jen’s First St. Louis Clinic

Barn Banter by Barn Manager Lori Aman

Taffy’s pony, Linden

Welcome to new boarder Elissa Martin and Kirby! Welcome to new working student Dulcie Rockwell! Welcome to new staff member Deona Bethart! Farewell to staff member Alexis Pitney! Welcome to new boarder Corinne Hemesath and her horses, Luna and Addy!

I hope everyone enjoyed my last article on bridle cleaning. This month, I will share my secrets for keeping your saddle and boots in top condition.

So, those of you who read my previous article, you already know to throw away the glycerine soap. For those that feel it may useful in the future, and are clinging onto their glycerine because it's all they know...please, do your expensive tack a favor, and just let it go! It's not going to be useful for your saddle or your boots, either!

Ok, so the same principles used for bridle cleaning also apply to to cleaning boots and saddles. I always start with a bucket of fresh water, a sponge, and a clean, dry rag. One key component that I failed to stress in the previous article is to never let the tack cleaner dry on the leather before using your rag to wipe away the dirt and sweat. For example, I clean pieces of leather in stages, so that the cleaner never has a chance to dry on the leather. Skipping this step actually defeats the purpose of tack cleaning, because once the cleaning prod-uct has dried onto the leather, it's also holding onto all the sweat and dirt you think you’ve just wiped off.

My absolute favorite product for cleaning saddles is SUPPLE Leather Cleaner and Conditioner from Dover. I’ve never seen a product clean and condition the way this jasmine-scented bar cleaner does! It's a very low mois-ture product, which is very important when cleaning saddles and boots. It gives the leather a lovely protective polish that’s just grippy enough for riding, but not icky and sticky like glycerine-based cleaners. It easy to use, just apply a generous layer with a damp sponge, and wipe dry with a rag (before it dries, of course!).

*GROOM TIP: Use a clean soft brush to remove dust and loose dirt from your saddle after you ride to cut tack cleaning time in half. Pay close attention to the stirrups, rear panels, back of the cantle, front/knee blocks, and stirrup-bar area, where most dust accumulates.

*GROOM TIP 2: Keep your nice leather girth clean and hair free by using a medium-stiff brush before using your daily tack cleaner. The medium-stiff brush work miracles when there’s a bunch of hair, dust, and dirt on the girth after your finish riding. Simply brush both sides of the girth until all excess dirt/hair are gone! When used regularly, your girth won't build up layers of hair and dirt in every seam and crevice.

SUPPLE also works great for boots, paddock boots, half chaps, and girths. For these items, SUPPLE has just enough cleaning power for the common build up of dirt and grime on girths and boots, but also provides a conditioning polish that protects the leather during your next ride.

In the next newsletter, I will talk about the art of conditioning your saddle, girth, and boots including the vari-ous types of products that work and don't work.

Saddle and Boot Cleaning by Jen’s Groom, Sarah Hurst

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 11

Another Note on Founder by Lynda Sappington

I hope you never have to deal with a foundered horse, but in case you do, here’s something to watch for. The first time Jack foundered (a couple of years ago), he shed his frog, a huge slice of it, way more than a normal shed frog. It scared me, but our vet told me it was normal. Fast forward to a few days ago. I’d noticed Jack’s foot that foundered in late June had some separation around his frog and expected it to shed soon. A few days ago, I noticed it was detached from the front and on the sides. I was cleaning his hoof, so I moved it a bit to see if sawdust had gotten under it. When I moved it, I saw it was nearly completely loose!!! I lifted it (very gently). The ENTIRE FROG opened up, exposing a white membrane below. The frog was still attached at the heel. I carefully put it back in place, put hoof oil on most of the hoof and Venice turpentine on his sole to toughen it faster, and put his Soft-Ride boot back on. Dr. Bryan McNabb told me later that that’s normal for a foundered horse. WHEW! He said most horses don’t go lame even if the entire frog is gone. What a relief! A few days later, our farrier, Skip Miller, trimmed Jack’s feet and there’s a normal-looking frog in that foot again! The part that fell off was dead. Jack is still “Jack sound” which is good enough for both of us, and I know it will grow back, because it did before. Whew!!

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 12

This is Me by Working Student Dulcie Rockwell Hi, my name is Dulcie Rockwell. This past May I graduated with my associates in mental health. I’ve been riding for ten years and have mainly done English. First, I started with basic dressage when I first started then I discovered jumping. I leased a chestnut Quarter Horse mare for a year and took her to fair. That was the horse that set a love for chestnut mares in my heart. A few years later, I leased a chestnut Sad-dlebred mare that loved to jump and I took her to fair as well.

For the past three years, I’ve been working at Christian equestrian summer camp. I learned a little western there, but often requested to ride English when possible. While there, I rode everything from a draft horse to a small pony. Even a mule or two. Between the summers, I worked at a hunter-jumper barn, where I also rode and took lessons.

I have been helping with therapeutic riding for seven years. It has been fun and rewarding, but also had its rough times, until I didn’t want to do it anymore. However, the good outweighed the bad, which is why in the fall of 2018 I will be going back to college to minor in therapeutic riding and major in psychology.

I love to learn and be around horses. So while I’m at Dancing Horse Farm, I hope to learn as much as possible about barn management and health care about the horses, as well as how to become a good riding teacher.

My Mare by Working Student Steph Hepler

It all begins in central Nevada in 2007. A little Grulla filly is born into a mustang herd where she grows and learns for the first two years of her life. On Janu-ary 5, 2009, she is gathered from the Callaghan/Bald Mountain herd manage-ment area. From there she is sent to Palomino Valley Corrals in Reno, Ne-vada to be prepped for adoption. She spends three months there until April. People come to adopt her and she be-gins her journey to Pennsylvania. She is then named Arabella and spends

two years with her original adopters. Bella then comes into my life on March 18th, 2011. She comes to me dirty, wild, scared and just very untrusting of people. Of course, I had no idea what I was do-ing or getting. I got tossed to the ground many times, knocked in the head, bitten, kicked and dragged across a field, all in the first year I had her. I made so many mistakes, but that little mare has more forgiveness in her heart than some people have in their whole body. Things only got better as we both grew, learned and devel-oped a closer bond.

Bella holds many firsts for me. The list is endless and my heart swells with pride every time I look at her. This year has been the best! Bella turned ten, we have competed successfully and have one more show to go for the year. If you are ever at the farm feel free to stop and say hi, she loves visitors.

Bella in 2011

Bella in 2017

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 13

Training a Horse by Dressage Trainer Sophie Bayer I came across this post on Facebook and laughed out loud! This comic exemplifies the experience I have had with my horse for the past few months. What started with an injury that we think resulted from shoeing angles, has taken a few months to re-solve. I would like to thank the people that have helped me and are still helping me along the way, especially Jen. I’ve come to more fully appreciate the team of people necessary to keep our horses sound and happy athletes. These include the veterinarians, farri-ers, chiropractors, massage therapists, myofacial body specialists – whew!. I hope I did not forget anyone!

Cooling Out Horses in Winter by Lynda Sappington

It may not be winter yet, but in some parts of the country, it will be cold soon! Cooling out a horse in the

winter is harder than you think, especially if he still has his winter coat. If you work your horse hard and he

gets that long coat wet, you should consider clipping the areas where he sweats the most. Your clipping job

may range from a strip clip to a full-body clip, depending on the horse, his coat, your local weather and how

much he sweats.

You should always start out your ride by warming him up with a quarter sheet on his rump. The warmup

should be 10 to 15 minutes of walk and trot work, more walk than trot in colder weather. Remember, if the

temperature is 190F or less, the cold air is hard on his lungs (and yours), so keep his workout light on those

days. It is truly amazing how much good work you can do at the walk or with groundwork.

Once you’ve done your warm-up, you can remove the quarter sheet and do your work routine, remembering

to keep it to light work if it’s close to 19 degrees. When you’ve finished the ride, put the quarter sheet back

on and give him at least 10-15 minutes of cool-down time.

When you get back to the barn, untack your horse and throw a cooler over him, leaving it on until he’s dry.

Since so many coolers fit loosely, it may be best to leave your horse in cross-ties or to walk him while he’s

wearing it. Some horses have a real talent for winding up with their entire cooler hanging off their heads.

A wonderful product by one of our former sponsors is the Wik-Smart Cooler (www.wiksmart.com). Jen

Truett and some of the other folks at DHF use these coolers with great success. Horses dry much more

quickly with the wicking qualities of these coolers, which include a belly band to help the horse dry evenly all

over.

Be sure your horse is completely cooled out and dry before you blanket him and put him in his stall or turn

him out. If he’s still wet, the inside of the blanket will get wet and he’ll get a chill. Some people put a couple

of coolers on and think that will do the trick as they’re tossing a blanket over the coolers. No. The coolers

will retain water and keep him damp and chilly. You don’t hang around in damp underwear if you can help it,

do you? Never leave a damp cooler or sheet on your horse if you want him to be comfortable and stay

healthy.

In case you hadn’t noticed . . . This newsletter is dated “September

to December” rather than “Sep-Oct”

as it normally would be . Since we

had so many delays in getting this

one out (it was supposed to be out

Oct. 1, but Jen wanted to include the

Devon news and pictures, so it had to

be delayed. John and I went on vaca-

tion, pushing it back another week,

my big computer crashed, etc., etc. It’s fine now, John’s good

at fixing it!)

As Jen told me, the farm is really quiet in

December, and then she and others are

leaving for Florida in January (they’ll be

gone through March), so it makes sense to

give the staff and me a break and not rush

another newsletter out Dec. 1. So Happy

Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukah, Merry

Christmas and Happy New Year from all of

us at Dancing Horse Farm!

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 14

Do you need help with some aspect of your riding or training? Come to DHF for a couple of days or a month, whatever works, with your horse(s) or ride one of ours. You’ll be amazed at your progress!

DHF clients can advertise in our Newsletter and on our website for free. Send your ad to Lynda@myDHF.com. 1. Wintec Isabelle, wool panels, adjustable tree and also Adjusta-fit panels with foam inserts. Comes with foam inserts and the black gullet. Size 18” seat, asking $900 2. Wintec 500 dressage, Cair panels, black gullet included, 17”seat, asking $ 250 3. Stubben Roxane event style saddle, dark brown, 17” seat, 31 cm tree, asking $1000 4. Stubben Seigfried all purpose, 17” seat, 32 cm tree, asking $500

Classifieds

“Dancing Horse News” is a production of Dancing Horse Farm, 4080 Weisenberger Rd., Lebanon OH 45036, www.myDHF.com and is copyrighted by DHF. To reprint our articles in your publication, first contact us for permission, then if permission is given, please add this wording, “Reprinted from Dancing Horse News, www.myDHF.com. Used with Permission.”

Video Lessons with Jen! by Lynda Sappington Have you ever wished you could take lessons with Jen Truett, but you live so far away, it just isn’t feasible? Now it is! Here’s how it works: Upload a video of you riding your horse, contact Jen and send her the link. She will set up a time to talk with you on the phone and the two of you will watch it together, with her giving you tips and pointers along the way, exercises and homework, as well. Then you send her another video showing how your homework has worked out for you and you do another video lesson, getting more home-work. She will work on your biomechanics and that of your horse, and whatever other issues she believes need to be addressed.

The lessons cost $85 each, payable to Dancing Horse Farm. We take credit cards as well as checks (and cash!). If you ride with her in clinics, or have wished you could, this is your lucky day!

Jen is a member of http://clinicinthecloudsolutions.com/ which means you can take live lessons with her “in the cloud” if you have their setup. The price per lesson with Jen will be the same, $85. Check their website for details.

Contact Jen Truett at Jen@myDHF.com for more information.

Jen Truett’s 2017 Confirmed Clinic Calendar

Please see Jen’s Clinics Page for information on these locations and how to sign up for the clinics. Please note, there are some changes to the list. Always check the website to get the most up-

to-date information. Minnesota—November 17—19 St. Louis—December 2-3 Minnesota—December 15-17

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 15

Jen teaching in Minnesota

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 16

DHF Logo Wear With the Fall nip in the air, it’s time to start thinking about warm clothing. We have Moxie jackets, some fleece items, beanies, scarves, etc. We also have DHF patches you can sew on your saddle pad—or you can bring in your thin, quilted pad to be embroidered.

Questions? E-mail me: Lynda@myDHF.com

You can see these things and more in the DHF Observation Room. If you need ac-cess to the logowear cabinet, ask Lori Aman, or give Lynda a call at 513-933-0343 and she’ll come to the farm and open it for you (Lynda only lives a few driveways away—it isn’t a big deal to come over).

Jewelry from left: Pendant, zipper pull, French hook earrings, ball earrings. We also sell the charms individually.

At right: Front and back of ball cap. You can have your name embroidered on the side, as well.

Sep-Dec 2017 Dancing Horse News Page 17

Mom’s Helpful Hints by Lynda Sappington Something we all should understand is the need to protect our horse’s legs, both at home and when we take them to shows. Horses can go lame from standing on hard surfaces for long periods. That’s why horse stalls should never be on concrete unless there are rubber mats on top of the concrete as well as deep bedding. Horses can also become lame from working on hard surfaces, but that’s an article for another time.

Here at DHF, all of our stalls have gravel as the base (for drainage) and are matted wall-to-wall with heavy rubber mats to be easy on the horses’ legs as they stand, lie down and move around in their stalls. Lying down on hard ground is uncomfortable and can cause capped elbows and hocks. In addi-tion, the horse won’t rest as well as he would in a comfortable situation (on grass in the pasture or on rubber mats). Of course, their stalls are also well bedded.

When Jen Truett takes her horses to shows, she en-sures their comfort and the soundness of their legs by bringing along light-weight (about 5 lbs. each) interlocking rubber mats to line their stalls. Before the horses are unloaded, these mats are taken to the stalls and installed, locked together for the

horses’ comfort and safety. If she’s showing several horses and doesn’t have enough mats to fully cover all of the stalls, she’ll use at least three in each, putting them un-der the water buckets, in the corner where she’ll throw the hay and in the doorway, all places where horses stand the most. If she has enough mats to do so, she’ll add a row through the middle of the stall. All of the horses are well bed-ded in bagged shavings, which adds to their comfort and means they can rest well.

At the end of the show, Jen moves the bedding aside while the horses are in the stalls and pulls up the mats, as shown in the pictures. They are light enough that most people can carry them two at a time, but Jen told me she and Lenny can carry four at a time.

Jen is shown removing the mats from the stall of Anne R. Sparks’ Golden Darling HU, who showed in Intermediate Freestyle for the first time during this show at the beautiful Waterloo Hunt showgrounds in Michigan. Darling, as well as Taffy (Lafayette HQ) and eBay all lay down to sleep and were well-rested and sound when it was time to work.

You can do a search online for “interlocking rubber floor mats” and find a lot of suppliers in a wide variety of price ranges. Make sure the mats are at least 3/4” thick so they will be comfortable and sturdy enough for horses. Here’s a listing for the right kind of mat: http://therubberman.com/equine-products/light-weight-portable-mats.html. My husband and I got similar mats from this supplier to cover the concrete aisle floors in our barn on our last farm so the horses wouldn’t slip, and so they’d be more comfortable. We and our horses were very happy with them.