Adorable Horse-Rescue Girl

By Kitson

I love getting to me all kinds of horse people in my travels... check out this cute horse rescue girl I wrote about in Rescue Me magazine.

Barn Drama article in the Wall Street Journal

We have all been there. . .barn drama. Someone leaves in a huff, someone badmouths someone else's horse/trainer/barn manager. . .

Well, now this phenomenon is receiving national attention. Barn drama, reports Lauren Lipton in the Wall Street Journal, is an occupational hazard for barn managers. "There are overprotective owners who insist their animals be treated like porcelain figurines, and neglectful owners who never show up. There are "back seat riders," as some call them, who love to criticize other people's technique. Some freak out over a stray wisp of hay in the barn aisle. . ."

Another quote: "Give them a consuming hobby centered on a delicate, expensive living creature. Put them in close quarters, often with children and dogs that run amok, spooking the horses, and let the backbiting begin."

Sound familiar?

Park Police Paint

By Kitson

I snapped this shot of a Park Police horse (a paint!) while sitting at a red light on the way to the get my car inspected on Friday. I loved the horse's on-the-job expression in contrast with the grim Cherry trees (still on winter mode) and the sad, empty paddle boats bobbing in the Tidal Basin (no hoards of tourists or sunny days yet). That's the Jefferson Memorial across the water (it's man-made body of water that protects the National Mall from potential flooding of the Potomac River). Is it April yet?

Over the Fence

My editor at Young Rider and Horse Illustrated magazines recently asked me to blog a bit on HorseChannel.com, which is shortly to become HorseIllustrated.com. (I just noticed the nice promo which features my horse, Taff and my dog, Rex!).

As for the name, "Over the Fence," it refers to one of the things I like doing most at the barn: leaning on the fence and admiring the horses on the other side of it. This weekend, I wrote a bit about a new pony my boys have started riding. A few more pics here.

Eliza's horse, Sugar, gives us the busy signal.
Would love to come over and say hi but I've got grass to eat!

Max shares his carrot with Paddles.

Shares some of his carrot, I meant.

The boys asked about the marks on Paddles' rear. I told them ponies are like little boys, they get scrapes and cuts but it's usually no big deal.

Live Foal Cam at New Bolton makes ABC news

I'd also like to applaud ABC news here for using the term "mare," which is a bit inside baseball, but definitely makes the most sense here, rather than "horse." This delivery is particularly special because it involves in vitro fertilization. "My Special Girl's foal was conceived with a donor egg and the frozen sperm of a dead stallion, both from New Bolton Center. Her foal will be the first at Penn Vet," says the story on the ABC news website.

Foal cam is here.

Skijoring! What is it, and what does it have to do with horses?

Fortunately, the answers to both questions are in this New York Times article. (Sometimes I wonder if I should have another blog that is just Every New York Times Article That Mentions Horses.)

There's a great slide show and information about this sport--think waterskiing, but with horses--as well as discussion of its dangers and history.

Give a girl the right shoes. . .

An equestrian twist on an old saying: http://tr.pinterest.com/pin/366339750910287737/