The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions

I was lucky enough to spend my Halloween at a performance by the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions in Wildwood, NJ. They basically set up a dressage ring inside of the convention center. It was really a great show and very educational (so says my non-horsey boyfriend).  I could watch these horses do their thing all day. We had second row seats which weren’t bad at all except for picture taking purposes. I had to crop heads out of every one of my pictures. In the future, I will definitely spring for the front row to get a better view. I also need a camera with a faster shutter. Their Andalusian is magnificent and his solo performance was probably my favorite part. It wasn’t quite the Spanish Riding School but I’ll take what I can get. If there is a performance in your area I highly recommend it, even more kids and non-horse crazed people. Of course now I’ve been melancholy for most of the day because it reminded me of how much I miss riding. I have a raise headed my way and hopefully along with it extra funds to help me squeeze some saddle time in. Perhaps then I might actually have enough horse things going on in my life to post more regularly :)

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Mylestone Equine Rescue Open House

It’s been a while since  my last post. This is my first post using Windows Live Writer so we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited about not having to log in to blogger all the time :)

This past Sunday is was time again for Mylestone Equine Rescue’s open house. This event is always enjoyable and give me some much needed horse time. There were a lot of familiar faces, which is always a little sad because that means that they didn’t find homes since the open house last year. I picked up a t-shirt to add to the collection and made a few donations here and there. I’ve included some pictures that I took while I was there.

Mylestone really is a fantastic rescue and if you are able to, please make a donation to help them out. They do a lot for horses in New Jersey, especially retired lesson horses. These horses have given so much to people and have suffered so much, they deserve a good home where they can live out the rest of their years.

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Hambletonian 2009

My wonderful boyfriend agreed to take me to the Hambletonian since I have been going through equine withdrawals. Muscle Hill won it as predicted. The track was fast considering how warm it was. We saw the all age record matched twice. I took a ton of pictures so I put them in a Webshots slideshow. It's a bit wonky so click on the link to see the album.



Hambletonian 2009

HorsUs

I've been incredibly busy with work and incredibly low on funds so no equine adventures for me. In the meantime, I just found a really great site called HorsUs. It's like MySpace for the horsey set. If you'd like to be my friend on HorsUs, just click on the badge I've added to the sidebar. They have forums, groups and all kinds of fun stuff. I need another internet addiction like I need a hole in the head but I think this site is great.

Epona Center may loose it's home

I was extremely saddened to learn that the Epona Center, headquarters and home to Linda Kohanov's workshops may be in danger of being lost. It has been one of my dreams to attend a workshop there for some time. Unfortunately, I have yet to achieved that goal. Every little bit helps so please make a donation if you are able. The program she recently started in memory of Merlin is doing amazing work for veterans and needs to be continued.

The last four years at the Epona Center have been the most beautiful, profound and stressful years of my life. I'm so inspired by all of the amazing people from around the world who journeyed up that rustic road to the secret oasis at Apache Springs. However, our time here may be up at the end of June. Over the last six months, the Epona Center has experienced a drop in workshop enrollment, due to the economic difficulties many people have experienced. This has led to the inescapable conclusion that the Epona Center will have to shut its doors in the next 30 days unless we can rally significant public support.

I have a little over three weeks to come up with a solution before we must close our doors and move out. If you know of anyone who may be interested in being part of the center's future, please let me know. There are other ways to help as well, including those who would be interested in making a tax deductible contribution to the Merlin's Spirit fund at http://www.headlandsfoundation.org/merlin.htm . (Read a description of the program at this link: http://www.taoofequus.com/military-programs.html .) A contribution to this fund would support workshops for returning soldiers that would in turn support the continued operation of the Epona Center.

I've been a bad blogger...

Once again, I have to apologize for falling off in my posting. My work schedule has been 9:30 am to 9:00 pm (gotta love retail) which leaves me with barely enough time to sleep. Sadly I still haven't gotten any time in the saddle. I miss riding so much it has actually become an ache. Money is tight as of late but hopefully I can work something out.

I did manage to squeeze in a family trip to the Staten Island Zoo though. The pic in this post is my two year old cousin on his first pony ride. How cute is he? Growing up around me he already has a love of horses and neighs whenever he sees one. When he dismounted he hugged the pony and said "Thank you neigh". The zoo also has some very cute mini donkeys and a pair of clydesdales so I included the pics below. It was a really warm day so all I got was a big 'ol clyde butt. I'm excited for the Preakness this weekend, even though I won't be able to watch it due to scheduling conflicts with Girl Scouts.

Animals Make Us More Human

I have been a huge fan of Dr. Temple Grandin ever since I read her book Animals in Translation. As a person with autism, she often sees the world the way animals do. Her work on farms and in slaughterhouses has dramatically changed animal welfare for the better. No other author that I have found actually explains the world from the animal's perspective. As a lifelong horse lover, I appreciate the fresh point of view on why horses do what they do. She further explores her research on this topic in her latest book, Animals Make Us More Human. Animal welfare has a patron saint in Grandin.

She dedicates a chapter to each of the common domestic animals and relates her theories through research by other scientists, her own doctorate level laboratory research and real world applications. The dog chapter is nothing short of groundbreaking in its upheaval of dominance theory training.The livestock chapters give a new found respect for these surprisingly intelligent creatures, especially pigs. Her horse chapter is more of a reiteration of what she wrote in Animals in Translation since they aren't really meat producing animals here in the states. The only issue I could find with what she writes is that if a reader were to take the cat and dog chapters literally, they might be inclined to let their pets wander freely rather than providing the mental and physical stimulation that they really need. All told, this is a fantastic book and a must read for anyone who considers themselves an animal lover.