July-Aug 2016 Volume 84

Supporting the needs of equestrians and building

Harmonious horse/rider partnerships.

Dancing Horse News

Musical Freestyles…what goes into creating them…are you ready?

By DHF President Jen Truett

Continued on page 3

This topic has been on my mind for quite some time now since Taffy and I still need to ride the Grand Prix freestyle to earn my USDF Gold Freestyle Bar. Then, I will have all three USDF medals and all three freestyle bars and join a very small group of members who have earned all six! Once we do our Grand Prix free-style, I will have ridden a freestyle my wonderful hubby, Lenny, and I created at every level!

I figured since creating our next freestyle has taken up quite a bit of Lenny’s and my focus recently, it would be a good topic to share with our readership. The process is quite complex and requires a lot of the horse and rider, so knowing what all goes into creat-ing a freestyle and if you’re up for the task is the best way to start.

Lenny, and I have been creating my freestyles from scratch for around 11 years now. We had someone help us with the very first one. She was wonderful about teaching us the process of music editing and ever since then, we’ve done them ourselves.

Lenny would tell you that this Grand Prix freestyle has tried to kill him many times over now! As my music selector (I suggest genres, artists, and have final ap-proval) and editor, he has been listening to music for this freestyle ever since November, 2015!!! He esti-mates that he’s spent hundreds of hours listening to thousands of songs trying to find several different pieces of music that fit together musically, have the correct tempo, rhythm and feel for each gait (walk, trot, canter, passage, piaffe and pirouette - each re-quires its own music), clear musical cues for the movements (half-pass, extensions, transitions, two and one tempi’s, entry, final salute) and drama to keep the audience engaged and entranced.

The need for so many pieces of music for all the addi-tional movements in the GP test (passage, piaffe, one and a half to two rotation pirouettes, and one’s) is what made this music selection so incredibly difficult. The various music selections have to blend together musically with transitions between the pieces sound-ing seamless. So, once the music is selected, the edit-ing commences.

Lenny and I have always done freestyle creation by editing the music together first and then writing chor-ography that matches the music. Many other free-style professionals do it the opposite way, but for us, we like the music to dictate the flow of the dance. We feel that doing it this way makes the ride even more dramatic.

Lenny usually spends a few minutes watching me ride either in person or on video before going very far with the music editing, because he needs to know how many strides it takes to complete the move-ments we want to include. He purchases the individ-ual tracks and uploads them into a freeware app called Audacity to edit the music. He does all the cut-ting, duplicating, blends, volume adjustments, etc. using this app. Based on the natural flow of the mu-sic, he decides what movements fit where and comes up with rough chorography. Once he has a rough-cut version, we start playing with choreography, real-time! This is where we move the process to the arena.

I’m afraid I’ve made it sound like Lenny does all the work until now without my input. That’s not the case at all. I’m very involved with the music selection, lis-tening to the blends, envisioning movements and chorography, and feeling the emotion of the new

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July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 2

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July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 3

piece of music and dance we’ve created. I’m a bit more of a supervisor in the early stages and then be-come intimately involved when we enter phase two.

The days we designate as freestyle work days are days when I drop my expectations of work quality knowing how much brain space is required for me to figure out the choreography and timing. Even after 11 years of designing and riding freestyles, it still re-quires around 80% of my brain space to feel my way through a new freestyle the first several times.

To start, we typically pick one or two sections of cho-reography to figure out and run through, like the trot and walk. We usually know the desired placement of the canter to start, so we make the walk pattern fit between the end of the trot and start of the canter. This freestyle was a little different because I’d come up with a couple “signature moves” before Lenny fin-ished the music editing, so he actually did something he’s never done before, edited the music to accom-modate those particular movements.

Of course, like everything else at the Grand Prix level, this freestyle was very difficult to create from start to finish. Amazingly though, this was the first time in our history of doing this that each choreography work day went incredibly smoothly and easily. We can’t believe how it all flowed together so seamlessly in the end after all the heartache we endured (mostly Lenny) in the beginning. We still need to go through it several more times before it’s ready for prime time, but I feel really good about it and I LOVE the music!

I’m excited to announce that we will unveil this free-style at the August 26-28 show at Lamplight in Wayne, IL and then do it again at the September 16-18 show at Majestic in Batavia, OH. Of course, we hope to qualify for and compete at Regional Champi-onships (we’re headed to Region 3 in Conyers, Geor-gia this year) and National Finals in Lexington, Ken-tucky.

I thought the best way to wrap up my description of what goes into creating a freestyle with a short list of ways to know if you and your dance partner are ready to give it a try. We’ve helped several riders cre-ate freestyles over the years and find that they are

typically overwhelmed by the amount of effort re-quired to get to the initial version and then what it takes to work out all the rough edges to create a final presentation. Knowing where you stand in these ar-eas will help prepare you for what is required to cre-ate and ride a winning freestyle.

You know you’re ready to take on the freestyle chal-lenge if:

1. You can carry on a conversation with a friend while still riding effectively. This demonstrates that a great majority of your body control is handled uncon-sciously leaving you with free brain space.

2. You automatically: ride balanced corners and movements without allowing your horse to take over; prepare for transitions with rebalancing half halts; can reliably remember a dressage test; can think one or more movements ahead and plan how to get there in the middle of a dressage test. This demonstrates that a great majority of your control over your horse’s body is handled unconsciously leaving you with free brain space.

3. You can regulate and maintain your horse’s tempo and stride length; riding with a metronome helps tremendously with this. This demonstrates you and your horse has developed rhythm, which is re-quired to match music.

It is very fun and rewarding to design your own free-style, but can seem quite daunting in the beginning. It is worth the effort in the end when you get to dance with your partner to your favorite music and show off your strongest attributes through the choreography. Enjoy the journey to creating your best dance!

~Jen

Congratulations to Ashley Holden on earning her USDF Bronze Medal!!!!

Musical Freestyles, continued

“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 2016 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. Al-ways check the website to get the most up-to-date information.

NEW: Aug. 12-13: Kelly Vallandingham in St. Paul, MN: U of MN Equine Center NEW: Sep. 2-4 Gail Lundberg in Custer, WI: Heartland Equestrian Center NOTE CHANGE: Sep 9-11:Tammy Shivers in Colum-bus MI: Fox Gate Farms Sep 17-18: Jen Glass in South Lyon, MI: Thistle Hill Farm NEW: Sep. 23-25: Kelly Vallandingham in St. Paul MN: U of MN Equine Center NOTE CHANGE: Oct. 21-23: Kelly Vallandingham in St. Paul MN: U of MN Equine Center

NOTE CHANGE: Oct 29-30 Rosanna Braida in Centerburg OH: Otter Creek Stable NEW: Nov. 19-20: Kelly Vallandingham in St. Paul, MN: U of MN Equine Center NEW: Dec. 16-18: Kelly Vallandingham in St. Paul, MN: U of MN Equine Center

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 4

Jen teaching Margaret Bass in Minnesota

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 5

Deluxe AA Imported Danish Warmblood for Sale by Jen Truett Sunset N is my 10 year old, 16.3 hh Danish Warmblood (Show Star [Sandro Hit]/Fitness N/Florestar I). I imported him as a 3 year old from Denmark and he has been ranked in the USDF HOY and All Breeds awards ever since. He competed at 3rd level in 2014. I'd planned to clean up his flying changes last summer and have him ready for 4th and maybe PSG by the time we left for Florida, but he had other plans.

Here's a link to his very successful show re-cord: http://centerlinescores.com/ Horse/Details/1084940#filterBy=scores

Unfortunately, he was off and on again lame in the front last summer, despite me throwing thousands of dollars in therapies at him. I finally got both front feet MRI'd and found out that at some point in his past, he injured a ligament in his right front hoof. It is healed, but still caused him occasional pain, which is most likely what we were dealing with last summer. He also has some mild bone absorption and a small bone chip off the navicular bone in both front feet. Shockingly to me, neither issue really concern the vets. Ac-cording to the vets and the research we've done, more and more horses are getting findings of bone chips in feet MRI's because the image qual-ity is so much better now than before. Studies show a bone chip finding has no relationship to determination of current or future soundness—what a relief to me!

So, my options were to surgically nerve him, which is invasive, not a guaranteed fix, lasts only 4-5 years, and is expensive, or to freeze his

nerves which accomplishes the same end goal of stopping the pain cycle, lasts 1 year, costs around $300. So, I chose the later and now have a sound and happy horse again!

Since I've recently purchased a new Hanoverian project horse, and of course devote much needed time, at-tention and love to my amazing Taffy, I really don't have time for Sunset. So, I've made the decision to sell him for a whole lot less money than I would have liked to have gotten for him before all this happened.

He is sound, happy and looks and feels better than he has in quite a while. He is definitely a push ride, not a pull ride. He doesn't have the drive to do the hard work required to be competitive for a pro in the FEI. I'm not interested in pushing horses to the point of making them unhappy or sour. He has tons of show experi-ence. He's typically not spooky or hot. Of course, he's absolutely stunningly dreamy to look at and has the goofiest personality. He has piaffe and passage already installed, lateral work is easy and he's really ready to

Sunset and Jen as seen in Jen’s “Dressage Today” article

Sunset N

Continued next page

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 6

Sunset N for sale, continued

not interested in pushing horses to the point of making them unhappy or sour. He has tons of show experience. He's typically not spooky or hot. Of course, he's absolutely stunningly dreamy to look at and has the goofiest person-ality. He has piaffe and passage already installed, lateral work is easy and he's really ready to teach someone. He requires no other maintenance (I've had his hocks injected a couple of times and he does have a couple of splints that occasionally get sore and need to be iced or injected with steroid to quiet them back down). I spent this past winter in Florida with him focused on long and low, getting him to swing through the back and jump-ing because he LOVES it. He's ready to show, but with building our house, my funds are very limited, and I need to focus my competition dollars on Taffy. I am not negotiable at 25k. He's a steal at this price. With-out the front feet history, he's worth twice that. Cheers, -Jen

Recent video of Sunset: https://youtu.be/yBk0Ln7_Eq0 Link to my entire online playlist of videos of Sun-set: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCCAD5BC3DF686735 Link to his photo album on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/… For more information, contact Jen Truett at Jen@myDHF.com or 937-532-3108

Medium Trot

Medium Canter

Sunset loves to smile.

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 7

The Importance of a Horse by Barn Manager Lori Aman

I don’t know why some of us are born horse lovers but we are. My mother tells me that, as a baby, the first time I saw a picture of a horse I went “bonkers.” I love animals, my pets are my family and I have very close relationships with them all, but it is different with my horse. As children we obsess over any sighting of our beloved equines and any item related to them. We collect plastic horses, glass horses, stuffed horses, pictures of horses, we draw pictures of horses, write stories about horses, and read every single horse related book we can find. We dream of having horses and what we could do with each one that we dream up. Some of us are fortunate enough to realize the dream of owning at least one horse and then we find out why we love them. Riding is awesome but there is so much more to the relationship. Horses are giving; they are big enough to refuse our requests and our requirements, but they don’t. Horses have been our partners throughout history: in wars, in hunting for food, in farming, in settling the West, in sport and many other en-deavors. There is a very special relationship between horses and humans. We communicate through touch and through thought and through language with our horses. We need to come to them with positive thoughts and love in our hearts because they will react to our mood. They are our friends and our confidants. The horse gets a horse lover through their tough times because when we ride, there is not room for any other thought but the relationship we have with our horse. So, if you have a friend or a relative that is a horse lover, please be patient with them. They can’t help the

way they feel and even if you don’t understand it, they need horses to be able to live.

DHF/DLSC Dressage Show August 14! Come join us at DHF for a great schooling show and wonderful food on the grounds! Entry forms are here: http://www.mydhf.com/dlsc-show-schedule.html

DLSC Dressage Showbill 1. Intro Test A Senior 2. Intro Test A Junior 3. Intro Test B Senior 4. Intro Test B Junior 5. Intro Test C Senior 6. Intro Test C Junior 7. Training Level Test 1 8. Training Level Test 2 9. Training Level Test 3 10. Western Dressage Percentage 11. First Level Test of Choice 12. Percentage Class Second-Fourth Level USDF Closing Date: Postmarked 15 days prior to show Awards: Ribbons first through sixth. High percentage awarded to Intro and Training and above. Fees: $20.00 per class/ must pre-enter Office Fee: $15.00

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 8

Handling Show Nerves

by Dressage and Jumping Trainer Sheila Wilson Competing your horse should be fun; it’s not cheap and it’s hard work… So, why do we do it? As an equine professional, there are many reasons: getting a show record on a horse makes it easier to sell and raises its value; being successful in the show ring helps build your lesson program; being seen in the show ring can get you horses in training…. But the main reason I show is to check how my schooling at home is going. A dres-sage judge offers an unbiased opinion of how you and your horse are handling a particular test at a particular time. Training challenges will surface in a different (from home) environment. Showing horses is like camping with a purpose; you meet new people and see old friends. You spend the whole weekend eating bad-for-you food, walking too far, often when it is too hot or raining… But, you get to do all this with your horse! Then you dress in a suit and ride your horse for 30 minutes in the warm up arena and 3- 5 minutes in the dressage ring for a stranger’s opinion of your riding and your horse’s training. For some reason this process can make the rider a little crazy, making them lose all rational thought and lose the ability to steer or ride any resemblance of a straight line. Here are some tips to get the most out of your next show experience and to handle your anxiety: Be pre-pared, keep it simple, set reasonable goals. Be prepared: practice every part of your test. You don’t have to ride the entire test over and over, but you should drill individual movements; bending in the corner may become several 5 meter voltes until the bend is easy. Practice trot-halt on a straight line. It doesn’t have to be the centerline, you can use quarter line or across the diagonal. Keep it simple, don’t show at a level that is a challenge to ride at home. You will have enough distractions with riding in a different environment. You should ride at a level that is easy for your horse (it won’t be as easy away from home). Set reasonable goals: goals should not be about how you place or who you beat. Focus on more specific goals like: keeping a steady rhythm, getting that bend that is difficult for your horse, getting that square halt, etc. I recently rode my mare, Lone Star, for the first time in 3rd level test 3. Third level might not seem like a big deal to many people, but for me (coming from many years of showing saddleseat) adding lead changes and canter half passes to a dressage test while trying to be at the right letter at the right time was a bit intimidat-ing. So, my goal was to ride the test as accurately as I could. For anyone watching this first attempt at this test, I might have looked like a western dressage rider…our collected trot was more like a jog. The judge’s remarks were, “accurately ridden, needs to be bolder.” Goal achieved, adding boldness is the next goal. Having specific goals helps you stay more focused, the more focus you have the less time you have to be nervous. Remember that judges are only assessing the ride they see in front of them. Judges are not judging your worth as a human… A judge’s comments are not personal, they are intended to give the rider useful informa-tion. So go show, have fun, be prepared, keep it simple, achieve your goals. If you are still nervous about showing you can always get a therapy guinea pig (insert smiley face here).

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 9

Breathe, Prepare, and Don’t get Desperate!

By Dressage Trainer Sophie Bayer

A couple weeks ago, Rohan and I competed for the first time the 2015 USDF Fourth Level Test 3 test. I have to admit that we were both a little nervous since we hadn’t competed at a show in over a year and a half. This test is quite difficult, but Rohan stayed with me mentally the whole time. We completed a steady/consistent test and scored a 64.11 percent. A score that I was happy with.

The three words/phrases in my title above are the things I concentrated on during my test! Remember to keep breathing even if I’m a little nervous. Ride every stride – always be preparing for the next movement even if it is the very next stride after a movement. Finally, don’t get desperate and physically try to do the movement for my horse. I must sit quietly and give the aids and my horse should do the movement. I espe-cially need to keep this in mind in the canter pirouettes.

Scores on the test ranged from a 5.5 where he jigged in the collected walk (Remember I said we were both a little nervous) to an 8 on the medium trot. There are many flying changes in this test. All of our changes were clean and scores ranged from 6.5 -7.5.

I have been told in the past to always check the scoring of my dressage tests when I get them back from the show office. Mistakes happen! I forgot to do this after this past show and when I was reviewing my test a couple days later, I realized that it had not been added up correctly. If my test had been scored correctly, my score would have been a 66 percent! DR 123 in the USEF rule book states that “If a mathematical error on the scoresheet is discovered, it must be brought to the attention of competition management within 1 hour of the official posting of the scores from the last class of that competition day.” It’s obviously too late to do anything about it!

I had my ride videoed that day by my friend, Jean. I have reviewed my ride a couple times and compared it with the scores and comments on my score sheet. We as judges are taught in our classes that we should give a comment to any score of 7 or below given on a test. Rule 122.7 of the USEF rule book states that a judge must give a reason (comment) for any score 6 or below.

Here is what I learned that we need to focus on from the judge’s scores and comments in order to achieve higher scores.

Our flying changes are clean, but now we have to make them more uphill and expressive for higher scores. Rohan must stay more supple through his topline with his hind legs reaching under his body especially in the trot work. When his back and neck are tight (lacking suppleness and engagement) his trot is very difficult to sit. When his trot is difficult to sit, I have trouble sitting his trot, making his back even more tight and more difficult to sit! We have already improved a lot in the last year or so, but we still need more improvement! My halt/salute on centerline were scoring in the range of 6.5 - 7. After watching the video, I now see I have need crisper/cleaner transitions from canter to halt, halt to trot, and trot to halt. This improvement should potentially change scores to higher than a 7.

Finally, I need to get more activity and engagement in my collected walk.

I have a plan for my ongoing training of my horse. We plan to compete at another show in August. I will keep you updated on our progress. In the mean time, I will remember to keep breathing, preparing, and try not to get desperate!

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The McClellan Saddle by Working Student Steph Hepler In the mid 1850’s, returning from a tour as an observer during the Crimean War, Capt George B. McClellan was assigned to the 1st US Cavalry Regiment to help design an improved saddle for the military. At the time, the McClellan saddle was not the only saddle being tested. Other well-known saddles were The Campbell (a flex tree design), The Grimsley, The Jones, which some speculate was never manufactured, but an 1856 re-port from the Secretary of War states they were in the process of making these saddles. The most popular saddle next to the McClellan was the Hope, AKA the Texican. This was modeled after Under Secretary of War Jefferson Davis’ saddle from his time as commander of the Mississippi Rifles regiment.

For his design, McClellan used features from Hungarian, European and existing western saddles. From the western saddles he used the low and oval cantle and heavy wooden components. From the Hungarian, he used metal rein-forcement pieces which were not used in the American frontier designs. One feature that was not used was the horn of the Hope saddle. Horns were thought to be undesirables for a military saddle. The deciding factors for picking the McClellan over its competition were dura-bility, cost and the amount of materials needed to make it. The 1857 proto-type featured a wooden tree with a black, thin, varnished leather cover. The stirrups were also made of wood, and were covered with varnished leather and hoodless. The hardware on the saddles was a polished brass metal. The saddles were lightweight and inexpensive to produce, perfect for the Army. The 1859 was the model finally selected for use. It also featured a wooden tree, but this one was covered in rawhide to improve the durability. The stir-rups were constructed of bare wood

and a leather hood was added, unlike the prototype. The brass was later replaced with blued iron, which was usually covered with a black, durable varnish. Accessories with the saddle included saddle bags, nose bag (for grain, since carrying around buckets would be impractical), picket pin, a “thimble” or “boot” on the right side (off side) for the cavalryman’s carbine’s (rifle’s) muzzle. Along the can-tle were three slots with brass fittings. The cantle had slots as well, but had iron fittings which were used to secure straps for bed rolls and a overcoat. Iron rings were added for canteens and accoutre-ments (cartridge box etc.) Cavalrymen would attach their sabers to the left side though at the time it was not regulation. A blue blanket with an orange stripe bordering the edge was placed beneath the saddle. The Confederates constructed saddles like the McClellan, but theirs were a russet color instead of black. Not much info is found for the Confederate saddle, so nothing can be said about their quality and durability. After the Civil War, the McClellan was modified several times over the years. Due to budget concerns and the stockpile of saddles, the army had ensured the continued use of the McClellan. During WW1, the 1904 and 1914 models were mass produced just like the 1859 model. These were in use up until the beginning of WW2 when the mounted units were disbanded.

Off (right) side of a McClellan sad-dle., with fender, boots and sad-dlebags.

Seat of McClellan saddle as seen from the near (left) side.

Continued next page

The McClellan Saddle continued The hole in the middle of the seat is there for ventilation for both the rider and the horse. This ventilation made it easier for the horse and rider to manage a 6– to 8-hour day in the saddle. The design of the tree also meant that it only took three sizes of tree to accommodate every cavalry horse. Cavalrymen in the mid– to late-1800s were usually about 5’6” and 150 lbs. The horses they used were little more than ponies and usually narrow-bodied. The trees on the antiques are nearly guaranteed to give a modern horse back pain. McClellan saddles have been modernized for the size of people and horses today and are still popular with mounted police, trail and endurance riders in the United States today. ************** Sources: Hoofbeats and Cold Steel Civil War Blog http://www.militaryhorse.org/mcclellan-saddle

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 11

Testimonials About Apprentice Trainer Alissa Frye and Lynda Sappington:

“I just wanted to thank the staff of DHF for taking the time to make my granddaughter and I feel very wel-come and very special on our first visit to DHF. Lynda Sappington took time to show us around and put us in contact with our very special, very patient instructor, Alissa. I look forward to fulfilling a lifelong dream at DHF!!

Jayte Howard and Gracey Baughman *********** About Jen Truett and the DHF staff:

“I wanted to thank you for all that you and your staff did for Noah. I could not be more pleased. He is do-ing very well and I am enjoying him. I have been riding him almost every day. I am here by myself so I don’t have anyone to take pictures to share…maybe next week when Helen (Pianca) comes over. The first 2 rides, he was very brave. After that I started seeing the same things that he did at DHF. I feel that you all prepared me on how to help him through those little spooks. It is getting much better. I have been able to open the large gate in my indoor that leads to outside from his back (a routine that Bindert and I did every time we rode so as to end our ride with a trail ride). Noah and I have not made it to the woods yet, but we get a little farther each time. I want to thank you for giving me such access to you, Jen. You made me feel very comfortable and open to any questions or concerns that I might have had. I appreciated being able to sit beside the arena while you rode and taught lessons, I learned so much. Alissa and Val were fabulous and very helpful. DHF has a great feel to it and I look forward to bringing Noah down for some intensive lessons during upcoming vacations from work. You are truly gifted, in my opinion, not only with the whole realm of horses and horsemanship, but also in the realm of teaching. I am ½way to my doctorate in Education; riding and teaching are two totally different skill sets. Kudos to you. I had a super time at the Majestic Farms Show. I hope that Noah and I can tag along in the future when we are actually showing and be part of the happy, fun, positive showing climate that seems to surround you and your students. Such fun! Thanks so much!” Roseanna Braida

Jen Truett’s 2016 Proposed USDF Recognized Show Calendar: NOTE: days listed are when Jen plans to show , always arriving the day before unless it’s a local show.

2016: Aug 25-28 Lamplight in Wayne IL

Sep. 16-19 OKIM State Championships, Majestic Farm, Batavia OH

Oct 14-16 Region 3 Championships in Conyers, GA at the Georgia

Horse Park

Nov 10-13 USDF National Finals in Lexington, KY at KHP (hopefully)

July-Aug 2016 Dancing Horse News Page 12

Jen and Taffy in their second GP test, where they earned their Gold Medal. Photo by www.bobtarr.com Used with permission.

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!

Upcoming Events

DLSC Dressage Show at DHF: Aug. 14 David de Wispeleare Clinic: Sep. 27-28 DLSC Dressage Show at DHF (Halloween on Horseback—COSTUMES!!): Oct. 9 Dr. Gerd Heuschmann (possible dates): Oct. 25-26 Mary Wanless Clinic: Nov. 5-7 David de Wispeleare: Dec. 10-11 Check our Clinics page for clinic info, and our Showing with DHF page for show information.

Barn Banter by Barn Manager Lori Aman June: Welcome to Sheila’s new client Kyran Goodison! Welcome to Lydia Schade and Roscoe, here to work and for lessons! Welcome to new boarder Molly Hall and Finn! Welcome to new boarder Ken Sailors and Ike!

July: Welcome to new boarder Kim Dupps and Dide! Welcome to new boarder Ellie Fidler and Duke! Congratulations to Christina on the sale of Val Norvell’s pony, Crackers! Congratulations to Ken Sailors on the sale of Ike! Farewell to Apprentice Trainer and Jen’s groom, Val Griggs and her horse Genna. She has young horses to train at home. Farewell to staff member Gabrielle Bissell; she is returning to college! Farewell to staff member Jenny Sedlatschek; she is starting college!

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Thanks and Goodbye by Working Student Val Griggs I would like to use this month's article to say goodbye to everyone. I will be returning home in a few weeks to find my path in life and start new journeys but I would first like to thank everyone I've met at Dancing Horse Farm. All of the clients and boarders at DHF have always been so incredibly nice to me. You've all entrusted me to care for your horses and groom for some of them and it has been a pleasure to do that for everyone. You're always boosting me with confidence with all the thank-you's and compliments. I definitely have to thank the girls that I've gotten to work with! We've all formed such tight friendships in our own strange ways. Everyone works hard together and devotes themselves to helping each other out. No one is ever left hanging and the level of teamwork is absolutely amazing. You girls also take such good care of my baby Genna when I'm not around, and she's not necessarily the most cooperative girl but she's my most special possession. Even after spending every day together doing chores, we still enjoy each other's company enough to hang out at night time! Love you, guys! To our bosses. Lori is definitely my favorite barn manager ever, as she's always telling us how much she ap-preciates us and always feeding us with encouragement. She works very hard to keep the farm in balance and it shows. Jen and Lenny, you've made me feel like an important member of the family since day one. I've gotten to experience so many amazing opportunities, thanks to you, that I would have never gotten to do anywhere else. The education I have gotten, the amazing horses I've been able to ride, and the fun times we have had are unforgettable! Also, I really love driving your semi...just wanted to throw that in there. Working at this farm has been the most life changing experience. I've learned so much about myself, which a lot of people in the world never get to do sometimes. I won't forget a minute of time that I've spent here as I begin my new journeys. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

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Congrats to Jen Truett—Again!

In mid-July, Jen received an email that included this information: “Congratulations! You have officially been elected by the USDF Participating Members in Region 2 to repre-sent them at the USDF Board of Governors meeting. Your term shall last one year, or until the Participating Member Delegates are elected in 2017. “ Whoo-hoo! Jen has been representing us since 2010! Thanks for being willing to serve!

Jen’s Tough Working Conditions by Lynda Sappington

When Jen’s teaching at home (DHF), she has such tough conditions to work under! To the left above is puppy Loki’s play pen and if you look just above the rail close to the left, you can see him! He was excited to see me, so he jumped up from his nap and stood staring at me until I snapped the picture, then went to pet him. To the right in the picture above and the one on the right, is Miss Prixie Pants, the Dressage Cat. Jen gets lots of help from both of them while she’s working, until Prixie decides she needs to get moving and goes off to catch bugs. This is the life, right? And Jen and her furry assistants love it!

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The past two and a half years that I have owned my off-the-track-Thoroughbred mare, Luna, have not been easy by any means. However, through our trials and tribulations I have learned an incredible amount about body language in our equine friends that has allowed me to become a much better partner to my horse. I'm not just talking about knowing when your horse is scared and about to run off or over you, but really acknowledging deeper aspects of your relation-ship and paying more attention to what your horse is trying to communicate to you so you can build trust and a stronger bond between you and your horse. Shortly after I purchased Luna, the sweet little mare that I met down in Kentucky started to change in the new environment she was in. The first change I no-ticed was her behavior when I would take her out for grooming before a ride. She was very fidgety in the cross ties and as the months went on it got so bad that I could barely tack her up. I was constantly wor-ried that something was going to spook her and she would unintentionally hurt me. Things escalated from her ground manners to under saddle and soon she was bolting pretty severely and I had come off a number of times. My trainer thought that Luna was being naughty, just taking off for no reason or be-cause she had too much energy. When I came off, the grooms would take Luna and lunge her until she was exhausted. Then I would get back on and finish my lesson on a dead tired horse. This happened for a few weeks but nothing changed in her behavior. Pun-ishing her for bolting with me was clearly not work-ing. She was still bolting, even worse now and my trainer and I were stumped. What had caused my sweet girl to become such a dangerous animal? Though it wasn't a specific action that immediately changed Luna's personality, there were many signs she had given me I was oblivious to, that if I had the knowledge to see and tools to fix, could have pre-vented her downward spiral. After a few more months of trying to “fix” her using

common hunter training techniques, we were getting absolutely no where. That's when we decided to try to fix and sell her and she made the journey down to Columbus Michigan to Tammy Shivers’ Farm, Foxgate. There began my natural horsemanship training and I started to learn the skills to help Luna come out of constant flight mode when she was around humans. Many things changed for her when she moved to Fox-gate. Starting with a few more hours of turn out which I believe made a huge difference for her. I am a firm believer that each horse is different just like peo-ple and each have different needs. Some horses like to be in their stall instead of being outside being bit-ten by bugs, and some prefer to be outside 24/7. As soon as the extra hours of turn out were added to Luna's schedule I believe it made her a lot less antsy in her stall. She is definitely one of those horses that needs to be out as much as possible, and that just wasn't an option at the first facility she was boarded at. Sometimes you have to sacrifice being at a barn with the best trainer if the facility isn't the best one for your horse. Most trainers nowadays will come to you for a small fee to pay which I think is worth it for the sake of your horses health if that is the type of care they need to be happy. Another sign Luna was giving me that I was unaware of was her inability to be present with me whenever I was handling her. She couldn't even look me in the eye, her brain was constantly somewhere else be-cause that's what she thought she had to do to sur-vive. Gaining her attention in a positive manner was very difficult at this point for me because I was very frustrated that I couldn't just get on and ride my horse like I had done for most of my life with the horses I lessoned on and leased. I thought I was do-ing everything I could for her, boarded her at a great facility with a great trainer, bought her beautiful tack, paid for electro-magnetic therapy for her back, treated her ulcers, and loved her to the moon and back but it still just wasn't enough. What I didn't real-

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Are You Listening to What Your Horse is Telling You?

By Working Student Paige Soberger

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ize was that this horse wasn't like the other horses I had ridden, she was hyper-sensitive, too smart and too athletic for her own good and I simply wasn't equipped to train her with the help of my Hunter coach. She had gone down the wrong road for too long and only a completely different approach to training like the natural horsemanship techniques Tammy was teaching me would do any good for the mare.

After two and a half months of ground driving, some lunge work and just spending time with Luna every chance she got, Tammy finally thought it was safe to get on her. It was a foreign concept to me that a horse might not really be safe to mount after all I'd done since I was seven was groom, tack-up, and ride. I'd delt with horses with bad ground manners like Luna's before but it was just passed off as 'oh, he doesn't like to be groomed' or 'he's just sensitive'. This whole time my horse was telling me 'I'm not okay', 'I'm scared', and I just was not and could not listen! So after those months of ground work that Tammy was doing while I was in school payed off, and on that first ride that Tammy had on her, I knew we were getting somewhere.

As soon as I had more time in my schedule the next quarter in school, I made time to make the hour and fifteen minute drive to see Luna and take lessons with Tammy as often as I could. For three or four weeks we focused on ground work and she taught me many of the tools I still use to this day with Luna and other horses I work with to help them focus on and trust me more. Those first weeks on the end of the rope with Luna were downright embarrassing. Any chance she got, Luna would fly out of the circle I was making, stop, fling around to the opposite direction and gallop off. I could now clearly see my problem. If I couldn't connect to this horse on the ground, how was I sup-posed to get on and ride it with success? I was deter-mined to break through to the mare and fix our rela-tionship. A great technique Tammy taught me to check the horses mental state is just to put the horse on the end of a rope and test if it's listening to you. Can you stop your horse on the end of the line? Does it have one ear on you listening or is it out in the pas-

ture with its buddies? Can you get an extended trot back to a jog? Do you have to nag your horse to keep the pace you set for it? Asking all of these questions while on the lunge is a fantastic way to check in with your horse and see what kind of a ride you might have that day.

Another technique I learned that is great for getting your horse’s attention in a positive way is asking them to match your pace while you are beside them just barely in front of their shoulder. If you trot will they trot? If you stop will they stop? If you back up will they back up? If you move sideways will they move sideways? This can turn into a fun game that the horse really enjoys because it is not something us riders do everyday. Even going out into a round pen and trying this at liberty (no halter/no rope) can be more challenging and awesome. By doing these exer-cises with your horse you can test your relationship and ultimately find holes in your training and your horse’ desire to stay with you while you are working.

Once I brought Luna and I back to the basics on the ground for a few months it finally felt like I got my horse back. She was interested in what I was doing and actually wanted to participate with me because I wasn't just standing around afraid and waiting for her to go off. I was being proactive and making myself a fun person to be around instead of an afraid leader that she didn't feel safe around.

So if you’re having some difficulties with your horse under saddle with spooking, bolting, or just keeping your horse’s attention, have the patience to take a step back to basics in your training and take the time to build your horse’s trust in you on the ground be-fore you try to tackle it in the saddle. I believe it is way more effective and safer for you and the horse that way! Naughty behavior is often your horse trying to tell you something that they are not comfortable with. Addressing this behavior instead of ignoring it or shrugging it off as if it's no big deal can get you into trouble down the road, take it from someone who knows! Going back to basics on the ground may bruise your rider’s ego just a bit but it will be worth it in the end when you see and feel the results, and the stronger bond you will form with your partner!

Are You Listening continued

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Exciting Learning Adventures at Dancing Horse Farm’s Summer

Camps by Apprentice Trainer Alissa Frye

A few weeks ago, I had an absolute blast organizing, planning, and directing Dancing Horse Farm’s Beginner Summer Camp! This week, we have just finished our Intermediate Summer Camp at Dancing Horse Farm. I am so thankful for my two group leaders, Paige Soberger and Allie Morua. They were a huge help and wonderful encouragers during both our summer camps! Paige, Allie and I sat down after one of

the days of camp as I explained what we had planned for the next day and asked them how they thought our day had run. Paige pointed out that she enjoyed the enthusiasm from all our campers – and boy were they enthusiastic! It was so much fun to see young riders with such passion about horses. They constantly asked questions and acted like little sponges soaking up every piece of knowledge they could gain from their time working with horses.

Wow, we learned a lot! Most of our beginner campers had sat on a horse for a “pony ride” maybe once before attend-ing camp and knew very little about the care that goes into these incredible animals. By the end of the week they knew about all their tack, parts of the horse, how to groom them, lead them, commu-nicate with them

and be safe while being around them. Quite a few of our interme-diate campers needed to gain more confidence in the saddle. I am so proud of them for overcoming different anxieties and cheering each other on – what a fantastic summer camp environment where everyone is encouraged to do their best! By the end of their week everyone was able to ride boldly around and even complete a ground pole/caveletti course on their own! I am constantly amazed at how truly incredible these kind crea-tures are towards us. I have had many privileges of witnessing horses give confidence to those who have none, be a quiet ear to those who need someone to talk to, be the legs for those whose legs are too weak and try their hardest to understand what we ask of them. Our lesson horses here at Dancing Horse Farm are no ex-ception to these incredible feats. I was overjoyed when watching each of our three horses, Grand, Buddy, and Bear, all patiently stand while the girls learned how to brush and tack them up. In the arena, each of the three horses consciously took care of their young rider. One of my favorite mo-ments (which happened often) was when we were teaching the girls how to trot on horseback. Trotting can be somewhat bouncy at times and it take practice to learn how to balance and feel secure. I was work-ing with one of our campers on a lunge line (long rope that I have attached to the horse in case the rider needs assistance with a cue) who was learning to trot on Bear. Each time she lost her balance and would start to become nervous Bear would decide to walk again, on his own, without my asking him to slow back down. This is the type of kindness and compassion horses often show and it makes me feel so incredibly

Beginner Summer Camp trail ride!

Intermediate camp-ers with Bear

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blessed to be able to work alongside these amazing creatures! During our intermediate summer camp, I had the privilege to watch how the relationship between horse and rider develop. This entire group of campers were so kind to their horses and worked very diligently to continue to understand their quiet language. It was so fulfilling to watch our group of tweens and teens communicate with their horses and work toward bettering themselves as all around horsewomen

and horseman! Watching all the praises given to their horses while riding was so much fun to witness. I was very happy when I saw this next level of care we asked of our campers, kindness towards their horse, con-nection to them, and diligence when finished riding. It was a super-hot week at Intermediate Camp so we had to make sure our horses did not get too warm. I talked about the importance of giving walking rest breaks when we ride as well as sponging or rinsing off their bodies when we were finished. To-ward the end of the week, our campers worked hard to make sure their four-legged riding buddies were cooled out and happy without any reminders from me – I am so proud! I enjoyed watching the development of horse and rider through-out both our summer camps. Paige, Allie and I had an absolute blast getting to know all our campers and teaching them tons about horses, care, riding, and being safe, and becoming thoughtful horsewomen and horsemen. I would like to shout out a couple big thank you’s. First, to Jen and Lenny Truett for providing us with a great facility for camp as well as all our wonderful lesson horses, Grand, Bear, and Buddy – I know everyone adored them! Another thank you to Lynda Sappington for allowing us to use Ricos in our intermediate sum-

mer camp (he has quite a few fans!) as well as donating the beautiful horse heads you made for the campers to paint! Thank you to Lori Aman for helping organize all the camper’s applications and fees – we would not be able to stay this on top of everything without you! Many thanks to Paige Soberger and Allie Morua for helping me run our Dancing Horse Farm Sum-mer Camps – I would not have been able to keep up with all the energy on my own! Finally, thanks to everyone else at our farm for dealing with all the excitement and being so welcoming to our campers! Next year’s summer camps at Dancing Horse Farm will also be a blast; we hope to see you there!

DHF’s Summer Camps continued

Beginner Campers finger-paint Bear

Beginner campers with Bear.

Advanced Camp doing caveletti on Grand and Ricos

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Mom’s Helpful Hints by Lynda Sappington A friend of mine recently had trouble getting her horse to take some medications, which led me to write this article.

If your horse is reluctant to take oral medication, you can do several things.

1. Crush the pills. Only do what you need for that dose. Break large pills into smaller chunks by putting them inside a couple of plastic sandwich bags and smashing the pills with a hammer. Pour the chunks either into a mortar and crush with a pestle, or crush them in a small coffee grinder. The mortar and pestle or coffee grinder should be used for horse medications only. Clean them with hot soapy water between uses.

2. Mix the pill powder with applesauce or fruit-flavored yogurt or peanut butter and stir it into his feed well, or try to feed it to him by hand. If you mix it with cake frosting, put it on a flat surface so he’ll lick it off and won’t accidentally bite your hand. You can also mix dry Kool-Aid powder or crushed pepper-mints with the powdered pills and stir that into his feed. If he hasn’t eaten the pills in half an hour, clean out his feeder and try either mixing the treat part and pill part into a ball of his feed held together with molasses, Karo syrup or peanut butter, or feed him in a nose bag.

3. You can make his pills into a drench. Get a large dosing syringe and mix the pills with either applesauce, corn oil, Karo syrup, maple syrup or pureed baby food like carrots. Don’t mix more than 2 oz. at a time. Use a dosing syringe (get it from your vet or a tack store) or clean out a paste wormer tube with very hot, soapy water (and rinse well!) and use that. Put the mixture in the syringe, put the end of it at the back of the horse’s tongue and push the plunger to give him the mixture. IMMEDIATELY put your hand under his head and lift his head up, holding it there until he swallows.

4. If he has to have medication for a long time, you can try making “cookies” for him as I did for Ricos for a while. You can hand-feed the cookies or break them up into his feed. Ricos ate these well for a while, but then as often happens, he changed his mind. I published my recipe for his cookies in a previous is-sue of the newsletter, but here it is in case you need it:

Ricos’ Horse Cookies 1 packed cup light brown sugar 3 cups of Minute Oatmeal 1 super overfilled big cooking spoon of margarine or butter 2 overfilled soup spoons (eating spoons, not ladles) of honey or maple syrup 1 big cooking spoon water

Melt margarine at a medium temperature in a saucepan. Add brown sugar, honey or syrup and water and heat until it simmers, stirring frequently. Pour oats in a medium bowl and add the syrup. Stir until com-pletely blended (or use dough hooks on a stand mixer – this is a lot easier for my bad shoulder!)

Dip out about 2/3 of a serving spoon of mixture into a medium bowl, pour the powdered meds over the mixture and blend completely. If you don’t have enough oatmeal mix in with the medications, add a bit more. Add any solid pills after the mixture has been blended. Lay the mixture out on waxed paper to cool. When it’s cool, break it into small clumps and put it in a Ziplock bag with half of a small apple cut into chunks. Breaking the cookie into chunks will make it stay more edible (not get too hard in a few days) and the apples will help keep it moist.

Ricos was getting two powders plus a Previcox pill in the morning and one in the evening when I made these cookies for him. This mixture makes four morning cookies and five evening cookies.

Toddler T’s Too!

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DHF Logo Wear It’s SPRING and you need some new t-shirts! Come and get your imprinted t-shirts and embroi-dered polos today!! Most t-shirts are $10, high quality polos are $15—50% off!! We have T’s in sizes from Toddler to Adult, although the quantities are limited in some styles.

You can also order DHF logos on your saddle pads for show season (you provide a pad like the one shown and we can get it embroidered for you. Thick, heavy pads won’t work, sorry)! 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, give Lynda a call at 513-933-0343 and she’ll come to the farm and open it for you (I only live a few driveways away—it isn’t a big deal for me to come over if I’m not already there). Or you can ask Lori Aman.

Don’t miss our DHF custom jewelry featuring the DHF Logo! We have pendants, zipper pulls, ball earrings (shown), French wire earrings and bracelets.