Phoenix Farm

Hi there! Anyone want a body clipping job tomorrow?

So very important

Have a nice Monday everyone!

Age is just a number if you keep them fit!

How an 18-year-old veteran horse blitzed to third place on showjumping’s world stage Peder Fredricson’s horse Catch Me Not S finished third at the World Cup Final aged 18. He explains how he keeps the veteran at his physical and mental peak

Over the years, one of the bad horsemanship traps that I found myself falling into was letting the horse that I was getting on walk off before I had asked for that.

And part of that, I think, was because when you are younger and agile, it just doesn’t seem like any sort of big deal to catch up on the fly.

But it is also true that the moment of mounting, and, to a slightly lesser extent, dismounting, makes the rider vulnerable to all sorts of problems, including some particularly bad falls. Which is why it is so important to teach the horse to stand quietly like a rock until the rider is on, has both feet in the stirrups, has gathered up the reins and has asked the horse to step off.

Just as horses learn the habit of walking away too soon, so they can be taught not to, but it can’t be one way on Saturday, another way on Monday. Consistency is what creates habits, so if you want your horse to acquire the habit of being still while you are getting on, teach that daily.

Try not to make such a big deal about it that it makes the horse nervous or feel trapped, but take the time to readjust if he steps away or sideways from the mounting block before you are ready.

Like so much about horse training, we are creating conditioned response. But not nervous response, which is what we get when we are in a hurry or when we get intense.

Trainer Tuesday: How do you teach riders to properly ask for a lead change on course? - The Plaid Horse Magazine Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! Each week we ask trainers a question and gather their answers for you. These trainers have a range of experience, backgrounds, and focus points of their programs, so the answers have as much variation as you would expect and also probably much more similarity.  This week...

"The Old Man", or as some call him, "Original Trigger" was foaled, July 4, 1934 on a small ranch in the San Diego area co-owned by Bing Crosby and named for its breeder manager Golden Cloud.
(Owner at time of birth: Mr. Roy F. Cloud Jr., San Diego, CA)

At around 3 years of age, the horse was sold to Hudkins Stables, a Hollywood provider of animals appearing in the movies.

(On March 25, 1937, 'Golden Cloud' was registered with the Palomino Horse Association and Stud Book Registry.)

Registry # was 214
Gender: Stallion
Bloodlines: half Thoroughbred and half Warm Blood
SIRE: Tarzan; Throughbred racing horse at Caliente Race Track
Breeder: Captain Larry Good
Dam: Apac; a light chestnut mare of aTB bloodlines
Golden Cloud stood 15 1/2 hands high.

Trigger (Golden Cloud) was the very horse that the Maid Marion (Olivia de Havilland) rode side saddle in the movie "The Adventures of Robin Hood" filmed in 1938. That's one of Golden Cloud (Trigger)'s roles on his way to superstardom.

Before filming began on "Under Western Stars", several of the stables that provided horses to Republic Studios brought their best lead horses to the studio so Roy could select a mount. As Roy recalled it, the third horse he got on was a handsome golden palomino who handled so well and reacted swiftly to whatever was asked of him. Reportedly after riding the horse just 100 yards, Roy never looked at another horse."He would turn on a dime and he'd give you 9 cents change," Roy said many times. Roy liked the horse so much, he purchased him for the amazing sum of $2,500.

'Trigger' a handle affixed to the animal was a name credited to Roy's sidekick Smiley Burnette, who upon seeing the horse running, commented how quick on the trigger this horse was. Roy agreed and decided that 'Trigger' was the perfect name.

Roy never used his reins, never a whip; and never used his spurs. Trigger had been trained to respond to touch and hand movements (like in the movie, "Horse Whisperer"), so with just a gentle pat on his neck, Roy would let him know just what he wanted him to do. And it seemed as if Trigger instinctively knew just how to respond. Roy Rogers once said that "he felt that Trigger seemed to know when people were watching him and that he recognized applause and just ate it up like a ham!"

As Trigger's career progressed in show business, he became known as "The Smartest Horse in the Movies," performing some 60 recognizable tricks: Counting, doing the hula, untying ropes, shooting a gun, knocking on doors and walking on his hind quarters. The horse was outfitted with a $5,000 gold and silver saddle. He was the focus of the movie "My Pal Trigger" where Rogers' in the story gives the name to a new born c**t. Trigger also appeared in the Republic Films sequel Trigger, Jr. He appeared in all of Roy Rogers movies (188 movie and television shows) and was later joined by Buttermilk with Dale Evans astride.

Trigger was such an important part of Roy's life that he was sitting on top of Trigger when he proposed to Dale Evans during a show in Chicago, Illinois.

Roy and Trigger toured the country during World War II raising millions in the sale of bonds to aid the war effort. Trigger appeared regularly with Roy and Dale in the TV western series, "The Roy Rogers Show" on NBC from 1951 to 1957. By this time, Trigger did well over 100 tricks, and pulled off many of the stunts that the so-called stunt horses couldn't even do.

Due to his age and bein' infirmed, Trigger Jr. became his replacement.

On July 3, 1965 at the Rogers ranch in Hidden Valley, California, Trigger left this earth at the age of 30 (one day before he would turn 31); succumbed by old age. Reluctant to "put him in the ground," Roy was inspired by the animals on display in the Smithsonian. He decided to have Trigger mounted with his hide stretched over a plaster likeness in a reared position on two legs and put on display at the Roy Rogers- Dale Evans Museum located then in Victorville, California. The excellent mounted work was done by Bishoff's Taxidermy of California.

In 1953, Trigger won the P.A.T.S.Y. award (animal equivalent for the Oscar) and was also the 1958 Craven award winner. For a time, he had his own fan club with members from all over the world.
Trigger shared the spotlight with his pal, Roy Rogers at Grauhmann's Chinese Theater (it's now called Mann Theatre), Hollywood, California, April 21, 1949. Trigger and Roy share the same space together in cement with Trigger's hoof prints and Roy's footprints.

Photo and comments from Cowboy Dressage page…
https://www.facebook.com/eitanbethhalachmy
http://www.cowboydressage.com/

The late Bill Steinkraus’ message was dead simple really – good style is effective style. Back in 1983 he said: “I hear people saying that a rider is ‘crude but effective’ but that is a contradiction. If someone is effective, then they are subtle. They don’t make their aids obvious because they don’t have to. The highest praise is to have someone say, ‘It looks as if the horse was doing it all by himself.’ All that means is that you have reached the stage where you can put every foot exactly where you want it, right around the course, you have arrived at the jump with exactly the right amount of impulsion, at exactly the angle you wanted, in the frame you wanted, and on exactly the right spot – the jump is inevitable.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/08/four-showjumping-masters-part-2-william-steinkraus/

Competitive Success with Kissing Spines With the right management, this disorder doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your horse’s performance career.

The Power of Horse-Human Connections Anyone who has spent enough time around horses knows there’s a strong, uncommon bond between our species. Through a millennia-long partnership that dates to 3500 B.C., we’ve developed a unique, unspoken language that offers a profound level of understanding between one another. And now, research...

Hello, Mares! Preventing Misbehavior Uh-oh! Our boy True has discovered mares. Most of his buddies so far have been geldings. When the occasional mare walked past, he was curious and attentive. But only recently has he been housed near a mare. Not next to her, mind you—that would be risky right now. But near enough. Many people are s...

Fancy!
9 year old hannovarian mare with all the chrome. Auto changes and takes a good piece of the hack. Prefers to jump 2’3 and below, 2’6 with the right rider and system. Jumps them with the most beautiful bascule you’ve seen. Has always been sound but has limited show record due to finances. Goes in a happy mouth. Lower end of mid-5s.

Kent Farrington: Train What's Difficult Olympian Kent Farrington’s five gymnastic exercises from the USEF Horsemastership Training Series.

The basis of good riding can be said to be the absence of bad riding---

The Roots Of Bad Riding---Here’s a list, not necessarily in order of magnitude, because it will vary rider to rider.

1.Poor balance. Horses move. If the rider moves in harmony with the movements of the horse, that is the start of good riding. But if the rider is unbalanced and moves counter to the way the horse moves, it will be bad until or unless the rider can fix that.

2. Tension. Where? Hands, arms, fingers, hips, pelvis, torso, neck, jaw, legs, knees, toes, ankles, feet.

3.Fear/apprehension. Fear creates tension/rigidity, and tension leads to lack of balance.

4. Anger, need for dominance. An angry rider is a bad rider.

5. A rider lack of fitness and overall general athleticism. Lithe supple riders who are strong and fit can more easily be harmonious riders.

6. A disregard/disdain for the precepts of correct equitation. The rider just doesn't care.

SO---To avoid bad riding, be calm and friendly to horses, be fit and agile, ride horses that don’t scare you, learn how to find balance by lots of practice, learn how to give basic rein and leg and body aids.

This process might take as little as a year, or it might take a lifetime. It depends on so many variables.

In search of groom. Mostly weekdays with occasional weekend days. Feeding, turnout, grooming, barn isle , tack room, arena and paddock care. Some riding and/or teaching opportunity for the right individual. Portland area.

Will Simpson Jumped 7’5″ On A 15.3-hand Thoroughbred, The Roofer

Thank you all for the birthday good wishes. You light up my life every day

Happy 80th birthday Christina (mom, grandmother, teacher). Thank you for the many gifts you have shared with us all! 🥳