Conference noted::equitation

    Hello follow horse buffs. I'm Jim Catania and my wife Trish and I have
    been into horses for about the past ten years. I cannot tell you
    how pleased I am to see this notesfile developed for us to share
    ideas,etc.
    We currently have two horses,a 24 year old Anglo-Arab that has done
    just about everything under the sun,which we now just hack and do some
    pleasure rides (15-25 mile variety), and a newly aquired 9yr old
    TB three-day event prospect.
    We have recently (Oct.85) started a cooperative stable in W.Boxford
    at Anvil Farm.There are currently 8 horses in the co-op with room
    for about 5 more pending stall additions. That's about it for me...how
    about the rest of you out there,lets hear from you too.

    Hi I'm a new horse owner.  I bought a warm blood mare last month.
    I'm currently taking lessons in English riding.
    
    Mary Ann

About time!!! I nerver thought I would see a notes conference on horses.
I was realy amaze. Anyway enouhg exclamation. Yes I own a horse to, he is
a 15.3 hands palomino gelding. He is about 15 years old.

 I've been waited 10 years before finaly having one. I own him since almost
 a year an a half. He never refuse to go anyware and he is also very calm
but when it's the time go he's a hell of a runner. 

PS. Sorry for my bad english,Im a french canadian.

RENE

    You're right. Who ever thought there'd be a notes file on 
    horses.  It's about time.  I have three horses right now.
    One T/B mare due to foal in April, a Reg. Quarter horse, and
    a shetland pony.  They're all fat n' happy.  I ride hunt and
    stock seat, mostly for pleasure. I am also in the process
    of obtaining my instructors license.  That's about it for me
    now, let's hear from all the other equine enthusiasts!

    Hi!  I presently own a registered Pinto mare (black/white tobiano).
    She's now 13 years old and I've had her since she was weaned.  She
    is my second horse; my first was a 15 yr. old Buckskin gelding that
    was "pushbutton" broke and gentle as can be.  "Buck" (he died at
    age 20) helped me in the early training of my Pinto baby, "KA-JIM".
    I would often pony her with Buck when I went trail riding and she
    loved going along (and was well behaved for a youngster).  Not all
    horses can be used for ponying others but I was lucky with Buck.
    
    It was only two years ago that KA-JIM was trained for Saddleseat
    riding as I rode her mostly Western and some English just trail
    riding.  She took to the double bridle with no problems and her 
    first year out took many blues and championship ribbons in her classes.
    This past year she was honored by the New Hampshire Horse & Trail
    Assoc. for year end awards in showing.  Two Championships and two Reserve
    Championships.
    
    I cannot take the credit for these wins as she was shown by two
    very good riders - one age 8 and the other age 17.  They are the
    children of the woman I board my horse with in Auburn, NH and they've
    taken a great liking to KA-JIM.  She is well cared for and gets
    lots of love.  
    
    We are looking forward to the start of the show season again this
    year.  Next year, however, we will probably give KA-JIM the summer
    off from showing.  This would be good for her as we don't want to
    cause her stress or sour her on showing and giving her time off
    is the way to prevent these things from happening.
    
    Happy Trails,
    Pat
    

    MY NAME IS ANN IZZO.  I AM A CARDED JUDGE WITH THE NEW ENGLAND
    HORSEMEN'S COUNCIL (HUNTER/JUMPER AND WESTERN).  I ALSO SIT ON THE
    BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CT HORSE SHOW ASSOC., THE CT WESTERN HORSE
    ASSOC., AND AM VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE CT APPALOOSA ASSOC.  JUST SOLD
    MY MARE, NO PLANS OF BUYING ANOTHER BEFORE NEXT YEAR.  ENJOY JUST
    ABOUT EVERY STYLE OF RIDING AND DRIVING.

    After reading this file since its start, I figured it was time to
    introduce myself also. I'm Ham Barnes and my wife Debi (Sue knows
    Debi from her days @TPL) own two Appies, 17 yr. old gelding named
    Jay's Chief and a two year old colt, soon to be a gelding named
    Son 'o Boots. Chief is primarily a pleasure horse but has jumped
    and been used as a gaming horse. Boots we showed last year in halter
    classes on the NHH+T and Granite State Appy circuits. He will be
    shown this year as a gelding on the circuit. Debated for a long
    time whether we should keep him a stallion and show him on the
    Regional level, but $'s and time proved to be too much to handle.
    We are members of NHH+T and the Granite State Appaloosa  clubs
    and as I have time, I will enter their respective schedules.
    
    Ham
    

    GLAD TO FIND ANOTHER HAPPY APPY OWNER!  I JUST SOLD MY APPY MARE
    (HIGH HAND LINE), BUT WILL GO SHOPPING FOR A WEANLING/YEARLING NEXT
    SPRING.  
    
    IF YOU SHOULD MAKE IT DOWN TO THE CONNECTICUT APPALOOSA ASSOCIATION'S
    REGIONAL SHOW AT THE NORTHAMPTON FAIRGROUNDS IN JUNE, PLEASE TAKE
    A MINUTE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF.  I'LL BE WORKING THE SHOW AS A
    RINGMASTER (I'M ASSIGNED TO DOUG SCHEMBRI).
    
    REGARDS.
    
    
    ANN IZZO

    I also have Appaloosa and until last year was showing both on the
    regional and the national Appaloosa circuit.  I have had Appaloosa's
    for about 14 years now but I like all breeds.  I'm glad to hear
    that there are so many Appaloosa owners around!
    
    To Ann Izzo, I hope the weather is nice for the Connecticut show
    this year.  Connecticut puts on a nice show and the judges are
    good.  Hope it's an enjoyable weekend for you!
    
    Congratulations to Dave Klinkhamer on his new baby!
    
      

    Now that my new horse is settled, I can introduce both of us.
    After a frenzied search for trailering arrangements last week,
    I have begun leasing a nice Anglo-arab grey mare, about 15.1,
    10 years old, named Fiddler.  She passed her pre-purchase exam
    with compliments from the clinic, and if all works out, I'll buy her 
    in the next month or so.  I'm boarding at a small barn in Harvard,
    Massach.  
    
    I had been looking for a horse for several months.  Fiddler is
    just what I had in mind.  She's calm and willing; she's done just
    about everything from fox-hunting to endurance riding.  Most important,
    though, is that she's been well schooled in dressage basics, and
    she can certainly take me through first-level.
    
    I have done a little novice-level eventing in the past few years,
    on other leased horses, and I've really enjoyed it.  I'm hoping
    to be ready for an event or two with Fiddler by mid-summer, but
    I'm planning on spending more time on our dressage to begin with.
    Cross-country is Much Great Fun, but dressage is the finer art. 

    I am glad to see this notes file also.  My name is Diana Hewson,
    and I live in Chester, NH.  Presently I have two horses, a 9yr Tbred,
    who I have raised and trained from day 1, and a 19yr Cleveland
    Bay/Tbred cross.  I use the Tbred for dressage and trail riding,
    and the Cleveland Bay is mainly babysitter for the Tbred.
    
    I have owned horses for the last 26 years.  I started out in
    Connecticut where I did a lot of hunter/jumper through the 1960's.
    Then when I got out of college, I picked jobs according to hunt
    country, moved to Wilmington, Del, and kept my horse in Kennett
    Square, PA.  From there, I moved to Daytona Beach, FL, and kept
    a horse in central Florida.  On moving to NH, I kept my horse at
    Pegasus Farm in Westford, MA and then Haverhill, MA, before I moved
    to Chester and built my own barn.  I love having my own barn, but
    sometimes it does seem to tie one down.  I hate feeding and watering
    before work in the winter.
    
    So I guess I could say I am pretty addicted to the beasts and have
    been around the East coast with them.  In all, I think I have owned
    10 horses and have shown many more.

	My name is Tyke Frost. My wife, Sue, and I own and operate the
Point of View Farm in Deerfield NH. We raise Belgian horses, operate a
farm based on horse power and give horse drawn hay rides and sleigh rides.
	We will have some of our horses in Concord, NH on June 8th for a
logging and plowing demonstration. The Concord Coach Society will be
sponsoring horse activities all day in the area of NH VoTec. We will have
at least one Abbot-Downing Coach there as well as other horse drawn
vehicles.
	If any of you would like more information, I have flyers 
describing our hay and sleigh rides. I will also be happy to tell you
more about the June 8th activities in Concord.
	I can be contacted at TYCHO::FROST, DTN 264-5206 or 
(603)463-7974.

    Hi!  make sure to say hi if your at the CAA show!!!  I LOVE meeting
    people!
    
    Good luck with the coming show season...
    
    Ann

    Hi,  my name is Sherree and I was just told about this notes
    conference.  I think that it is great.  I have two thorobreds -
    one eleven year old gelding ex-racehorse turned show horse, and
    one three year old.  I've owned my older horse for over four years
    and we have been through the wars together (lamenesses on every
    leg multiple times, and colic surgery two years ago).  The youngster
    I've owned for two months and was bought as an investment to try
    to sell after I've trained him for showing.  For anyone interested
    in barns/showing/horses in general, I'm always willing to chat.
    I'm at DTN 323 - 4607 or (201)562-4607.
    
    
    
    Sherree Cushner
    

    
    Hi, My name is Sarah, and I own a 6 year old registered Paint mare.
    I have had her since she was 2 and a half and have enjoyed her
    very much, even though she can be quite a handful.  I moved her
    out here to Mass. last year when my husband and I moved from
    Colorado.  I had her bred this past year, but had some bad luck
    with the foal, but plan on trying again.  I am really glad that
    this notesfile was started.  I enjoy reading about other peoples
    experience with horses.  This is my first horse, and I am still
    learning the pros and cons of keeping a horse.  Keep on writing!!!
    

    Hello,
    
    My name is Ed Kelly. I recently acquired a 4 year old Appaloosa
    stallion (now gelding). I don't really know much about horses.
    I'm glad that there are people around who do! 

Hi --

	My name is Paul R. Haust, I just recently found out about this
notesfile (yesterday -- Thanks Ann).  A little history about myself and
my wife.  I got into horses in 1982, I was one of those people who thought
that all there was to riding was getting on the horses back, and saying
"Giddy-up", then I started taking riding lessons.  Boy, was I sadly mistaken!
I found that the more I learned how to ride, the more I realized I had to learn.
Well I have stopped taking formal riding lessons, ( I married my riding
instructor) and am slowly learning how to train horses.  Jo-Ann is also a 
horse trainer.  When I met Jo-Ann, she had two horses Tootsie (her real name
was "Invited Out") who is a Quarter-horse/Clydesdale and Foley who is an
Appy.  We have sold both of those horses.  (Tootsie is still about 3 miles
from where we live, so we see her frequently, but Foley is living in a city
park in Philly)

Jo-Ann (my wife) and I are the proud owners of a Thoroughbred/Percheron
gelding.  We have had him (Ben) since January. Ben will be 3 in a couple of
weeks.  Ben is currently 17.1 and we think that he will grow another couple of
inches before he is finished. 

Our plans for Ben are pleasure riding (english and western), some jumping, and
some driving.  These are our plans now, but like all things, our plans will
probably change. 

    
    Hi,
    
    	I'd like to 'officially' introduce myself. My name is Tom Reilley,
    and my wife Pat and son Sean live in Fitchburg, Mass., and we just
    acquired our first horse last Thursday.  He's a Connemara gelding
    named O'Malley who is 14.3 hands, about 14 years old, and is a
    gorgeous dapple grey - I think that's the official term for
    his color - a silver/grey with black markings.
    	Sean is the horse expert in the family, having taken riding
    lessons for two years.  A sense of horse ownership responsibility
    has already made its mark felt - he no longer sits in front of
    the TV because he would rather be grooming his horse.
    	I have a LOT to learn about horses and horsemanship. I'd like
    to especially thank Linda McCormack and Sue Remillard for their
    invaluable off-line advice & help already, but also to ALL the
    contributors here for the wealth of information already provided
    which means so much to us novices.
    	O'Malley has been ridden, jumped and shown before, so we hope
    to be able to do a lot more with him now that we have him. I would
    eventually like to learn how to train him for driving if he'll
    take to it. I think it would be great to be able to hitch him
    to a buggy or cart and go for a ride.
    	We're progressing pretty well ( I think ) but I am sure I'll
    be back with tons of questions for all you experts out there!  :^}
    
    Regards,
    
    Tom
    

    I have just learned about the Equitation file on "Notes" and
    am happy to contribute and learn.
    
    I have been riding English since I was 8, but have never owned
    a horse.  Tomorrow, I am getting a 12-year old Bay TB gelding
    on lease - you can imagine my excitement.  This will be a trial
    to determine if we can afford the monthly board, shoeing, vets,
    shows, etc.
    
    I ride at The Riding School (that's the name!!) in Weston, Mass.,
    and have been half-leasing school horses there for a couple of
    years.  I show about once a month at local shows, and hope
    to do a couple of rated ones towards the end of the summer.
    
    Looking forward to reading your notes!
    
    Jennie Lemire
    

    
    
    Hello!
          My name is Bonnie Barnes.  I own a seven year old registered
    Paint gelding and I love him very much.  His registered name is
    Kiawah Chief, but everyone calls him K.C.  I ride primarily English
    but also like Western and love to ride bareback.  I am going to
    try to teach K.C. how to drive, so any and everyone who has any
    ideas or helpful hints, PLEASE REPLY!!  I've never even driven a
    horse before.  I've been riding for 4 years and this is my first
    horse (I've had him since October).  In regard to reply .16 -the
    Reilleys - you're Connomara sounds like a gorgous horse.  I love
    Connomaras and I love dapple greys!  Please tell me how you are
    doing with your horse!!  My best regards to everyone!!
    
    P.S.  I beleive that the more people who write in this file, the
    better it will become.  So anyone with thoughts, opinions, ideas,
    topics for controversey, or ANYTHING else, WRITE AWAY!!!!
    
		      Waiting to hear from you,
                                              Bonnie Barnes + K.C.
        					

    
    Hi Mare!!
            It's only me - Bonnie.  I appreciate your;e effort in writing
    this note.  Afterall, the more notes there are in this file, the
    better it will be!!  Congratulations on the delivery of your TB
    colt - Callie.  (Yes, I know, I was there when it hapenned so why
    am I congratulating you now?  Well, just to tell you "congratulations".)
     Excalibor (sp?) is one of the largest and handsomest foals I've
    seen.  Well, see ya' around!
                         		-Bonnie
    

    Hi
    
    My name is Bobbi Richardson and I don't own a horse but I still
    love them.  My parents thought I would outgrow it at an early age
    but alas it never happened.  I have never owned a horse but I have
    taken care of several neighbors horses and also I took hunt seat
    lessons up at Hearthstone Farm in Mason, NH....I love it anyway
    if anyone needs a horse sitter!!!  I still will enjoy this notes
    file....someday I will buy a horse!
    
    Bobbi
    

    I just stumbled across this notes file.  Wish I'd known about it
    sooner, but better now than never.  So here's my introduction:
    
    My name is Steve Frisselle.  I currently live in S. Nashua, NH, and board
    my horse in nearby Dunstable, MA.   Sundance, or "Sunny," is a
    thoroughbred/quarterhorse cross and a "made" polo pony that I bought
    some four years ago to get back into the game.  For various reasons,
    however, I've been doing more trail riding than anything else.  
    
    I got interested in polo back in the 60's, when I was in high school
    in Tucson, Arizona.  I'd been into western riding for about a year
    before I tried swinging a polo mallet just for a lark -- had no
    real interest in the game, but quickly became addicted.  So I
    switched to an English saddle and spent the next two years chasing
    a polo ball around a dirt (or "skin," as they call it) field.
    
    When I returned to Massachusetts, I had to leave my horse behind.
    Couldn't afford to transport it, much less to keep it back here. 
    But my former coach at school happened to be from Mass. and a member
    of Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton.  When he also moved back, he offered
    me the use of his horse for a couple of seasons -- which I gladly
    accepted.  So I played a couple of summers at Myopia as his guest.
    
    Once I started college, however, I was out of horses altogether.
    Didn't get back into it until I bought Sunny.  Although he tends
    to be a bit hyper and difficult at times with his competitive spirit, 
    I really love him.  His sweet disposition and comical personality have
    probably saved his life on a number of occasions!  Maybe I'm a bit
    soft, but I can't stay mad at him.
    
    Anyway, I've found that he's adapted real well to general hacking.
    He's a lot of fun on the trails, willing to do anything you ask
    (except STOP, occasionally!), and has proved to be generally talented.
    
    Although I'm not especially interested in such things as show jumping,
    I am learning (somewhat informally) to jump properly.  Sunny balks
    at nothing and will attempt to jump just about anything, but he
    sometimes tends to either charge or pop.  Any jump, no matter how
    small, is an excuse for him to break into a flat-out gallop.  Trot?
    What's that mean??  So I consider it a matter of "preventive
    maintenance" to learn/train correctly.  After all, you never know what 
    you'll have to deal with on the trail.  We're both improving, though, 
    and when he's relaxed he's just a dream to ride.
    
    I've found that pace events are fun, and we managed to take 
    the blue ribbon our second time out.  We entered in the flat category
    (for the uninitiated, that means non-jumping -- you have the choice
    of going over the jumps or not).  We went over all but one of the
    jumps, but probably would have skipped a couple more if I'd really 
    thought faster!  
    
    Although I love getting out to see the countryside on horseback,
    I do want to get back into polo as well.  So I'm looking for other
    people who share the interest, or who are interested in learning the 
    game.  There are not a lot of clubs in this area, and places like Myopia
    are just too expensive for me anyway.  In the past, I've participated 
    in informal "pickup" matches.  These are a lot of fun -- slow-paced
    and geared toward learning/enjoying the sport, rather than all-out
    competition.  You don't need a specially-trained polo pony, either.
    
    All you need to get started (besides a reasonable mount) is a mallet.  
    And a ball, of course, if you want to practice on your own.  When
    you start scrimmaging, it's recommended that you also wear a suitable
    helmet.  Knee pads are optional, but a good idea if you want to
    learn the "riding off" techniques.
    
    Almost everyone who owns a horse already has polo wraps -- if not,
    they're a good idea and a must for playing polo.  They serve the
    double purpose of providing support for the horse's tendons and
    protection against the clutzy swing of his rider's mallet.
    
    For pickup matches, we usually use the indoor (arena) ball, which
    is inflated and somewhat larger than a softball.  The "arena" game
    is a bit different from the "outdoor" game (which uses a small,
    hard ball): It forces you to rely more on short, controlled strokes
    than on long-range power hits.   (Also, the ball doesn't hurt when
    it hits you!)
    
    If you're interested, you can contact me at STAR::FRISSELLE or 
    DTN 381-1480.  You can reach me evenings (often late) at (603) 888-7895.
                                                                            
    
                                         

    I never did get that 12-year-old Bay TB gelding on lease - when
    the owner called the barn to tell them I was picking him up, they
    said "Oh, we found a BUYER for him!"  So, he was sold.  I was 
    depressed, but it all turned out for the best, because now I bought
    a horse!!!!!  Can you tell I'm excited????
    
    I think my husband finally realized the wheels were turning, and
    he couldn't stop them, and finally relented when we located a horse
    at a good price on the Cape.  He is a 9-year old Bay TB gelding,
    named Seven Pass (he has a backwards 7 on his forehead).  He is
    a good lookin' horse, not a great mover, but good for equitation
    and a super jumper.  He has done it all, Children's Hunter, Adult
    Hunter, Medal/Maclay, so I am psyched to learn from him.  He was
    originally bred and owned by Rodney Jenkins down in Virginia, and
    won a lot of ribbons standing as a yearling and two-year old down
    there.  (Wasn't a good enough mover for Rodney, though.)
    
    So, I'm happy to join the ranks of amateur horse owners.  Wish me
    luck!
    
    Jennie
    

    Hi, I was just introduced to this notes file this week.  I think
    it is a super idea and look forward to communicating to other horsey
    people.
    
    My name is Jenny Ciampaglia and I live in Berlin, MA.  I have 1
    horse and 4 ponies.  A thorobred mare that I am in the process to
    breeding to a Trakehner stallion.  I also have a reg. welsh section
    B gelding, a reg. welsh section A mare, a reg welsh section A yearling
    colt (now a gelding) out of the previous mare, and a shetland pony
    that is 24 years old and I have had for 23 years.  (a hint, I am
    also 24 years old).
    
    I am a licensed riding instructor and do some teaching and coaching
    at shows on weekends.  I also trailer horses on weekends when my
    schedule permits.
    
    I look forward to being a part of this notes files - so far the
    topics and replies have been very interesting.
    
    Jenny...

    I am the mother of a horse owner, so i have had to learn a lot.
    believe it or not my daughter was an equine major in college.  She
    has graduated and now owns 5 horses. Two arabian geldings, one of
    which is a registerd yearling, one registered half-arab, one
    quarterhorse/morgan mare (which is for sale), and another mare,the
    mother of the half-arab filly, I don't know what kind of horse she
    is, I just know that that was her first horse. 
    I think this method of communication is really great.  I decided
    to read these notes because since we moved to Sturbrige,Ma. from
    Londonderry,NH. my daughter has had to develope a new circle of
    horse friends.  If any one lives out our way, get in touch, we'd
    love to meet you.

    Just had to reply and find out what college it was that your daughter
    went to and studied Equine Studies.  I went to Centenary College
    in N.J. and majored in Equine Studies too!  When I was first looking
    at schools that offered this as a major there was only about 3 of
    them in the U.S. (this was in 1979-80).  Now there are many more, 
    and colleges are offering this course of study more often.
    
    Centenary sent me to study in England also after I acquired my A.S.
    in Equine Studies.  What an experience it was.  Hope your daughter
    is keeping up with the horses and using her schooling (it sounds
    it with 5 horses!)  I also have 5 horses (actually 1 horse - 4
    ponies).  I live in Berlin, Ma which is about 45 minutes from 
    Sturbridge. 
    
    Glad to hear from you.
    
    Jenny...
     

	I've been reading this notes file since April but have never 
	contributed - mainly because "write" functions make me more nervous 
	than "read."  If this is a repeat, I apologize.  I just tried to 
	reply to the Introduction and it said it didn't add the note to the 
	conference, so I assume I did something wrong.  This is doubly 
	embarassing since I am a programmer/analyst.

	Anyway, I own 5 1/2 equine-types.  I have an Appendix Appy mare
	and her 6 week old Part-Trakehner filly.  I've owned this mare for
	6 years and she was my first horse.  She looks like a Thoroughbred,
	because she is 31/32 TB.  Out West (I'm in Colorado Springs) they
	breed Apps for racing, and they want as much TB as they can get and
	still have spots.  This February I bought a registered TB mare, and
	she is in foal to a Trakehner (the story behind why I bought this
	mare belongs in another note...).  My husband has an Appy gelding
	so he can join me on trail rides.  And, last but not least, we have
	a spotted burro who I originally bought to keep the Appy mare company
	when she was my only horse.

	I enjoy dressage (training/first level) and trail riding...

	This is a great notes file!  Entertaining and informative.

        Sharon
	

I too have been reading this month file for months, and occassionally writing a 
reply, but I've never gotten around to introducing myself.  I have one horse, 
an Arab gelding.  He's 27 years old, but you would never know it to look at him 
or to ride him.  Until he was 22 I rode him everyday, anywhere from one to 
eight hours.  At that time I stopped riding him as often because I went away to 
college.  He still has as much life as any young horse.  Because he is in Maine
and I work in Massachusetts, I seldom see him now, but he is happy in his 
retired life.

I have ridden dressage through 4th level, but haven't had a chance to ride much 
in the last few years.  I worked for Lendon Gray for a while, then for Margret 
Gafford in Virginia, so I got a chance to do some showing then.  I also showed 
Morgans when I was a kid, before I got serious about dressage.  I've been 
looking for a horse to ride, but not much luck... Anyway, I am happy to see 
that there are so many dressage enthusiasts at DEC.

- Joan Ray -

    
    My name is Merrie Aiken.  I'm the Software Librarian for the
    Washington, D.C., District.  My family runs Cedar Ridge Farm in
    West River, MD, where we raise Arabian horses.  Presently, we have
    a yearling colt, ZADAS MAGIC MUSIC (Gai Parzada X Indian Symphony),
    that I hope to promote next year.  Others include two fillies --
    one that I won in a raffle! -- a year old, a weanling filly and
    a broodmare in foal to Gai Parzada.  
    
    Most of the horses are Crabbet-bred.  I hope to lease another Crabbet
    mare next spring to outcross to Egyptian, and an Egyptian mare to
    breed to my colt.  He's very typey, with excellent head, neck and
    legs, and a short back.
    
    I'd love to hear from more Arabian owners, especially those who
    show at halter.
    
    Merrie Aiken dtn 341-2395

    
    Hi all, I was happy to find this conference also. I was a horse
    owner and 4Her as a teenager. Now I am leasing a quarter horse
    gelding. He is a dun and 8 years old. I'm looking for a part
    Arab to start as a novice endurance rider. 
    
    My horse is boarded in Monument Colorado and I'm happy to spend
    weekends riding through fields of wildflowers and pine forests.
    
    I ride western and english and would love to get an Austrailian
    saddle. Liesl Kolbe

Hello, 

I recently joined DEC in Hudson, Mass. I am delighted to see this notes 
conference since I am a horse lover and owner. I live in Harvard, Mass.
We (my husband Jeff and I) moved East two years ago from the Rockies
(Conifer, Colorado). We have two horses, a ~15 year old quarterhorse mare 
and a 6 year old morgan gelding. The mare is my first horse so I consider
myself a novice. We stable our horses at a barn not far from our home. We
take care of them ourselves. I am always interested in talking and learning
about horses. My DTN is 568-5366. I would love to get together with other
horse owners for lunch.

Lynne

P.S. For you Colorado DEC horse lovers, we miss the Rockies!

    I also joined DEC recently (Oct. 86) and work at ZKO2 in Nashua.
    My husband and I have a farm in Peterborough, NH and have been living
    there for the past 9 years.  We currently have three Morgans (2
    mares and 1 gelding) which we use for dressage.  We currently take
    lessons with Dr. H.L.M. Van Schaik (he's 87 and was on the silver
    medal Dutch show jumping team in the 1936 Olympics) and Sheila
    McLevedge.  Dr. Van Schaik only does clinics now and Sheila took
    over his stable in Vt. after working for him for 12 years.
    
    Our two mares (Charity and Ellie) were both purchased from the
    University of Vermont.  Charity was our first horse and we got her
    over 10 years ago.  We bought Ben three years ago because he had
    some dressage background and is 16.1 hands (large for a Morgan).
    Any Morgan people who want to discuss bloodlines, please send me
    mail as I can go on forever on this subject.  My husband and I helped
    the director of UVM Morgan Horse Farm do an inbreeding study on
    their herd a few years ago which involved learning a lot of bloodlines.
    
    Glad to see this notes file, but it's going to take me years of
    lunch hours to get caught up reading everything (we also breed Cairn
    Terriers so I have double the problem trying to read up on doggie
    topics, too!).
    
    						Jan
    

    Hi,I'm George Bourbeau.My wife Sue and I own forty acres East of
    Colorado Springs Colorado. We own four horses and a pony. These
    consist of a twenty year old grade Quarter Horse,a twenty year old
    registered Appaloosa mare,her four year old registered Appaloosa
    gelding,and a six year old Appaloosa mare. The pony is a grede part
    Shetland,he's an old gelding and his job is to keep the old mare
    company,since she's blind or nearly so.
    	I enjoy all types of western riding and activities. I particularly
    enjoy working cattle on my neighbor's ranch whenever I get a chance.
    We also enjoy trail riding,and my wife wants to get into competetive
    trail riding. I'd like to get into roping if I can ever find the
    time. 
    	My wife and I have been riding for over fifteen years,and have
    owned varying numbers of horses for over ten. We both worked part
    time for riding stables and horse dealers for several years,in fact
    that's where we met.
    	In addition to horses,we have five dogs. Four are Australian
    Shepherds and one miniature poodle. We also have a registered buck
    Nubian goat(but no does at this time),an Amazon parrot,two cats,and
    some tropical fish. We have had chickens,ducks,geese and calves
    in the recent past,but have cut back for the winter.
    
    	George
    

    Hello,
    
    My name is  Lori Betz, I live in Upon, MA, I am also a new horse
    owner.  I have a 15.3 Quarterhorse gelding named buddie.  I am
    currently taking lessons at Meadowood Stables.  I too have a lot
    to learn about horses.  I am currently boarding my horse until our
    barn is complete, hopefully he will be able to come home by Xmas.
    
    My husband will be looking for a horse in the Spring, so if anyone
    knows of a horse coming up for sale please let me know.  He would
    like a QH, approx 16 hands, under 10 years.
    
    Thanks.
    
    

    Hi!  I live in Lilburn, GA, which is just NE of Atlanta.  We own
    a saddlebred mare, which we board at Cross Creek Stables in
    Lithonia, GA.  My interest is primarily in showing this delightful
    beast.  Partly because I like being around horse people, but mostly
    because I enjoy working with horses.
    
    We have a running battle in our family, in that my daughter likes
    to show saddleseat, but I am determined to get involved in the
    huntseat world.  She goes off to college next year, so I will win
    out in the end.  Question: does anyone know whether saddlebreds
    can be trained (successfully) to huntseat?
    
    			=paul johnson=

    My name is Angela Bacot, I live in Buford, Ga., which is north of
    Atlanta.  I also own a Saddlebred mare, I received her as a two
    year old in 1970 as a Christmas present from my parents.  I am 
    currently boarding her at Twelve Oaks Stables, my goal is to own
    enough land to keep her at home, and perhaps get a youngster to
    keep her company.  Gypsy (registered as Squirrel's
    Easter Star) is 16+ hands and although she is 'saddlebred lean',
    her frame is much larger than the younger Saddlebreds I have seen
    lately.  I prefer to ride bareback, but we have done almost everything,
    huntseat, english pleasure, trails, even speed events. 
    RE:1.34 (small world)
    
    Regards,   Angela
    
    

    ONE WAY TO STOP A HORSE FROM SOURING IS TO DO ALOT OF TRAIL RIDING
    !!  BREAK UP THE STRESS AND STRAIN OF THE SHOW RING!!  DO DIFFERENT
    THINGS WITH HER - IF SHE KNOWS THE RING WORK WELL - I WOULDN'T RIDE
    HER IN IT MUCH AT ALL !!  LET HER ENJOY BEING RIDDEN AS MUCH A POSSIBLE
    !
    
    

    HI!! HOW DID YOU MAKE OUT ON YOUR INSTRUCTORS LISCENSE???
    I HAVE HAD MINE FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS BUT I GUESS NOW IT IS ALOT TOUGHER
    
    LET ME KNOW YOU YOU MAKE OUT!!!  LINDA
    

    I'm thrilled to see a topic on horses. As any horse buff knows,
    there aren't that many people interested in listening to you talk
    about your horse.
    I have a tennessee walker/thoroughbred gelding named Jasper, who
    I ride hunt seat. He enjoys both jumping and trail riding but most
    of all, as you must know, he loves eating carrots. 

    I have a gorgeous 7yr old Reg. Arab.  He's a bay, 2 rear white 1/2
    socks and a perfect star.  He's exactly 14.2, and without shoes,
    we show him as a pony. (We blow the other little pipsqueaks out
    of the water!).  I generally ride him Huntseat, but he goes very
    well bareback with only a leadrope for reins.  We've tried him Western
    a couple of times (the people at the all-Western QH barn think it's
    "such a waste" to see him go hunt) but he (and I) get a little confused
    with neckreining.  In my experience, Arabs are often kinda flighty,
    but not my guy.  I've had Welshes, a Thoroughbred, and a 1/2 QH
    paint before, and nobody holds a candle to the one I have now.

    glad to hear how much you like ARABS!
    
    Merrie Aiken

    RE: .38 
    Sounds like you must LOVE your Arab like alot of us love ours. Glad
    your happy.
    
                                          Steve_who_loves_his_Arab
    

    My name is Sherry Butler and I've recently transferred to Landover,
    Maryland. 

    I have a Registered Quarter Horse , his name is Daddys Beau Patrick 
    by Beaus My Daddy.  Patrick was born on St. Patrick's Day as you may
    have guessed!!  He's 4 years old, 15.2 and Bay with a white star.
    He won a Halter Futurity and a 2 year old snaffle bit futurity
    (before I bought him).  Hopefully I can keep winning on him too !

    I'll be showing him at the AQHA shows in Maryland, Virginia, 
    Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and possibly other places -
    like the Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio - depending how
    he does !!

    I'd love to know people at the shows or anyone interested in tagging
    along.. Beware, I'll probably put you to work though!!!
    
    I'm an instructor at Landover, MD Educational Services.  If you're
    ever taking a class here - let me know - I'd love to talk horses!!


			Sherry Butler

Hello my name is Mike Richards and I own a 6 year old Arab x Clydesdale
gelding.  He stands around 16.1 is a liver chesnut with four white stockings
and a thin white blaze and I've had him since he was 5 months old.  My wife
Elizabeth has a 7 year old dunn Conemarra which is over height at 15.1 and
which we have had since he was 9 months old.

We both ride English ( as we live in England ), there is only a small following
over here of western style.  I'm not sure what is meant by hunt and jump
seat, here we are taught one style for general riding and if riding over
jumps or fences then we just shorten our stirrup leathers.

We ride for pleasure and relaxation although I am getting interested in
long distance endurance rides.  We don't do any showing although I am a member
of the Arab Horse Society, at the moment there is a big drive to prove that
the Arab is not just a pretty horse but a performance horse as well and
the AHS has sub groups set up to this end, such as flat racing and each
year we hold a marathon over 26 1/4 miles of rough going, the record for
this is 1hr. 23mins.

As this is an introduction I'll stop here although I could ramble on for
hours.

P.S. Salemah's sire is nearly pure Crabbett.

    Hi, Mike.  Since I raise Crabbet-bred Arabs, I'd love to hear more
    about Salemah's sire.
    
    Merrie Aiken

    re .42 - What a wonderful cross, I'd love to see what he looks like,
    sounds like something I'd be interested in.  Out of all the ads
    I've seen, I've never come across a Clydesdale/Arab.  Could you
    describe his build and what features he seems to have from each
    breed?  Do you jump him at all?  What is him temperment like?
    
    -Julie

This is the second time I've ever entered anything into a NOTES file even 
though I've been following this conference for quite some time.  (I just 
responded to note 306). I currently own a gray Connemara mare, Misty, 
which I board at the Pony Farm in Temple, NH.  Misty's full name is
Shenandoah Mist. She's 14.2 hands, has the most beautiful big black gentle
eyes, and gets super fuzzy in the winter! Misty has given me, my son and 
many children at the Farm years of pleasure.  I bought her from the Farm, 
where she was being used for riding lessons, eight years ago for my son, Ken. 
Since my son stopped riding and since I don't have the time to give her the 
proper exercise, I have continued to let her be used for lessons at the Farm 
and have been taking lessons on her myself. I have received so many letters 
from Misty's riders thanking me for letting them use her. Misty was a fox 
hunter in her earlier years, was shown extensively later and now shows in 
the two Sign of the Dove horse shows held in New Boston each year with her 
'students'.  Just last year she was reserve short stirrup champion at 
the Spring show and also won a mini-puissance class in a lesson show at the 
farm.... I was very proud of her.

Besides taking my lessons in the Fall and Spring, I spend what little 
riding time I have trailing riding in the mountains around the Farm. 
After a week at work, I get much pleasure from these riding times. My 
only regret is that I don't get to do it often enough. 

This summer is a hard one for me, since I may have to put Misty down 
this Fall.  She's 28 now and has begun to feel her years.  I guess
I should be thankful that she's been so well this long - the only time 
she's been lame in the eight years was once when she was kicked badly. 
I'm having the vet check her out just to be sure. This will not be easy, 
but I do not want her to suffer needlessly, since she's been such a wonderful 
friend for so long.


Barbara

    I've never seen anything like this, notes, notes and more notes!
    I just came onboard with DEC and found out about notes. I moved
    from Norco, California where there are just about as many horses
    as people, to Seattle (not so many horse people).  Anyway I'am sure
    glad there is a note file for horse people.
    
    I own an 8 year old running quarter bay mare named Missy short for
    Miscalculation (foaled Dec. 15).  We've been doing mostly trail
    riding but plan to alot of horse camping.  Been building a 4 stall
    barn which seems to take away most of my riding time, but it rains
    alot here and Missy not used to rain (doen't rain much in California).  

    Just purchased a 2-horse trailer from G&F Horse Trailers in Ontario,
    California, But I am now looking for a truck, I'am thinking of a
    Jeep J-20 (alot of logging roads here).
    
    Well I guess I will start brousing through the notes and start meeting
    the DEC equine user group.
                    
    
    
    Larry Backstrom.
           

    HI!  My name is Pat Leech and I am a Field Servie Engineer in Chicago,
   Illinois.  Actually, I work out of the suburban Rolling Meadows office
    but noone knows where that is.  I have a three year old registered
    Thoroughbred filly that I got from the breeder.  When I got her
    all you could do with her is lead her and clean her feet.  I have
    her so that know I can ride her and do just about anything you want
    as long as you let her think about it first and don't get in a hurry.
    It took me two weeks just to get her used to having her halter put
    on without having to fight her to get it over her ears.  Very head
    shy.  I have been around horses all of my life as both my Dad and
    Granddad raised and trained everything.  Ponies, mules, work horses,
    Quarters and Apps.  This is the first TB that I have worked with
    and I am finding that she truly is hotter than the other breeds
    that I have worked with.  All for know.
    
    Pat Leech

    Hi, my name is karen.  Not to change the subject but......I am
    a new commer to notes and was thrilled to find a place to share
    thoughts and ideas on horses.  As most of you know non-horse
    people just don't have the patience to hear our stories or 
    experiences.
    
    I have had horses all of my life.  I presently own three, a Reg.
    Q.H. mare 2 yrs old, a Reg. Appy mare 4 yrs old and a Reg. Standard-
    bred gelding 6 yrs old ....what diversity... i enjoy riding all
    styles english, western, pleasure, show and trail.  I am also a 
    licenced instructor.
          
    looking forwards to future topics and conversations.
    
    karen porter......Winchendon  MA
    
    

    Hi,
    
       My name is Paula Hildebrand and I am from St. Louis, MO where
    I own and show three American Saddlebred horses.  They are shown
    primarily in the American Saddlebred Pleasure division.  I have
    a fifteen year old, chestmare named Penelope Gillen (Penny), who
    has been a National Saddlebred Show Western Pleasure Champion and
    four time Missouri state ASB Three-Gaited Pleasure champion.  This
    mare may be older, but still acts like a two year old.  She is silly
    but has a huge heart and lots of guts.  She has taught me more than
    I'd like to have learned---like colic surgery, numerous stiches,
    misbehavior in horse trailer, etc.  However, like many horse
    owners, I would not trade her for anything.
       I also have a 11 year old bay gelding named Freedom Fox(Fox)
    who has been the MO. state ASB Country Pleasure Champion since
    1984.  He is a dependable guy that we found on a pig-farm in
    Illinois a few years ago.
       My newest addition is a three year old, black Saddlebred by
    Night Prowler.  He was green when I bought him a year ago and he's
    still all baby.  He currently stands 17.2.  Since he's my first
    colt, he has taught me a lot.
       I am a do-it-yourselfer and do not depend on the services of
    a trainer.  I would appreciate hearing from any other Saddlebred
    
    peopel out there.  My DTN is 445-6342.  I've been with Digital
    for a whole five weeks now.

    Now that I am a new horse owner, I feel qualified to respond to this note
    (besides that, I have to brag about the new horse ;^) and couldn't figure
    what note to do it.)

    After (patiently) waiting years, I just bought myself a registered Appy 
    gelding, 6 years old (no spots), grandfather was Prince Plaudit (if anyone
    knows of this horse I'd like to hear about him), his mother was an appendix
    Quarter horse.  He has a light build, loves to jump and knows the basics 
    well (he was shown primarily in jumping and english pleasure).  His 
    registered name is Music Man but his friends call him "Jazz".  My hopes
    are to bring him along, with Melinda Johnson's help, to start with training
    level schooling shows next year, and possibly novice eventing.  

    Overall, he has been a fun horse to own and ride and I'm looking forward to
    years of enjoyment.

    - Janice 

    Re: .58
    
    Congratulations on finding a new horse and best of luck with him!
    
    As for Prince Plaudit, he used to stand at Rimwold Farm in Pa or
    Tn and has many foals on the ground all over the country. He is
    generally known for having halter babies and western pleasure futurity
    prospects. He commands a pretty high stud fee. If I have any old
    ads about him, I'll try to see if there is any more info.
    
    Again, congrats!
    
    Linda
     

    Hi,
    
    My name is Roslyn Reed and I am from Billerica, MA and work in Concord,
    MA.  I have been with DEC for 2 1/2 months now.  A co-worker showed
    me how to get into notes but until today, I no idea HOW to reply.
    YA-HOO, I can *talk* now.
    
    On to more important things.  I am the proud *mother* of a 19 year
    young Pinto/Mustang gelding.  I too, waited years to purchase him
    and we have had 8+ years of trials, tribulations and down right
    FUN!  His registered name is Cheyenne's Black Magic but we call
    him Cheyenne/Chey.  He's 14.1, tobiano (black and white) and a real
    character.  He is known as Mr. Personality.  He originally came
    from Idaho and I have been lucky as I am only his second owner.
    
    I have had a brief career showing but prefer to do distance rides,
    pleasure hacking and camping.  Cheyenne has a lot of heart, soul
    and guts and at times I think will be the death of me. But I wouldn't
    trade a moment with him for anything.  I will enter a note in the camping
    file I saw earlier.  We go to a fabulous place in Rhode Island.
    
    I look forward to hearing about you and your nags.
    
    Roslyn
    DTN: 251-1469 or (617) 264-1469
    
    p.s. I forgot to mention that in October I was able to move to a
    small horse farm and now can look out my window and see the ole
    nag.  I think I died and went to heaven!  YA-HOOOOOO!!!!
    

    Hello, my name is Sue McKeown, and I am thrilled to find this file.
     I own an 8 year old Swedish Warmblood, that I ride 1st and 2nd
    level dressage.  His name is Genghis Gustaf, but is known as Gus.
   I board him in Harvard, and have use of an indoor ring about a five
    minute walk away, so am lucky to be able to ride year round if I
    can get out of my nice warm bed!  
    
    Gus was imported from Sweden as a 4 year old by Linda Zang, and
    I bought him from her.  I was just learning dressage, as he was,
    so it has been a very long time moving up.  But I enjoy every minute
    of it.  Somehow, when you spend all day in the office trying to
    use your mind, and very little of your body, it's nice to get with
    the horse, give your body a little exercise, and yet heaven forbid
    if you leave your mind at the office!  
    
    I'm looking forward to reading all of note 10 on dressage, along
    with all of the other topics...I might have to take a vacation from
    work just to catch up on this notes file!
    
    Sue
      

    RE: .61
    
    Hi Sue and Roslyn, Welcome t othis notes file!
    
    Sue, what barn in Harvard do you have your horse at?
    
    Linda Fox

    Hi Linda.  I board with Lisa Hall, who has a 5 stall barn.  I rent
    time at Emily Coolidge's Deerhorn Farm indoor ring.  During the
    summer and fall it was wonderful to ride in the woods to get to
    and from the ring.  Gus's attitude towards work really seemed to
    improve, and his walk certainly got more energy.  Once there is
    a lot of snow, I'll have to walk on the road, but the cars seem
    to expect horses on the road...they all slow down and pass very
    carefully.
    

Well, I'm finally going to do it.  I've been reading this notesfile
for a long time without introducing myself.  Last winter I read every 
note, then wrote an introduction for myself, but was too "shy" to
enter it.  Here it is: 

__________________________ February 1987 --------------------------------

I've had a great time reading these notes.  I lost track of them when
they moved, and only recently took the time to track them down. 
It's certainly a fun thing to do while waiting for spring!

I live in Medway, Mass. and currently work in Littleton.

I do not own a horse now but did when I was 10-19 and again when I lived in
Austin, Texas.

Since I feel kind of left out when everyone else describes their
horses, I'll briefly describe my last horse:  a 13.2-hand 3/4-Arab
chestnut mare named Lil Bit Kimtina.  I rode her with a snaffle bit
and sometimes a forward seat, sometimes a western saddle.  I can't
really say I was riding either English or Western; I guess I've always
tried to ride a balanced seat. 

It's funny -- I was reading the discussion about how Arab breeders
ought to geld more of their colts and I was agreeing with it.  Then I
started to think about Lil Bit...whoops...Lil Bit would never have
been born by those standards! There wasn't anything fancy about her
sire's bloodlines.  (I paid $350 for her in 1978.)  She was
attractive, sensible, sound and I'm glad she was there for me to
enjoy. 

I am one of those people who can't remember NOT loving horses. I grew
up on a farm in Iowa.  My parents bought me my first horse when I was
ten -- a 3-year-old GREEN-BROKE grade/ Saddlebred mare with a
6-day-old colt. (You're right, that was a TERRIBLE choice on the part 
of my parents.)

My graduation from high school coincided with the opening of a Horse
Husbandry curriculum at the closest community college so I went
straight into that, but just after halfway through, I decided there
was no way I was going to be able to make a decent living with horses
so I stopped and switched to electronics. 

I didn't want to move to Massachusetts in 1980 (my husband got a job
offer with a start-up computer company which, surprisingly enough, was
quite successful), but one of the nice things about Mass. is how many
knowledgeable riding instructors there are here.  So I have been
taking lessons off and on, trying out various instructors.

Someday we plan to move back to Austin. We have bought 10 acres there
with existing fences and outbuildings for horses, but for the time being 
we are renting it out.

-------------- Back to the present, December 1987 -----------------------

Now I'm back in Marlboro working as a technical writer.

I've learned that the wild horse distribution center for the state of 
Texas is only about 15 miles away from my property in Austin!

I just found out how to set up a batch file that once a week will mail 
me all the new horse notes, so I should never get too far behind on 
the discussions here again!

I've really enjoyed many of the discussions, for example, all that
first-hand information comparing dressage saddles.   This notesfile is
somewhat like an equine "Consumer Reports." 

I hope to meet many of you at the get-together being planned for this 
spring.

Michelle

    Hi, I am Terry Lowery and work as Software Specialist in the Dallas,
    TX office.  
    
    I presently own two registered Pintos named Fancy (Diablos Fancy)
    and Buster (Buster Brown).  They are actually half Paint, half Mustang
    and are 20 month old colts.  Previously I owned an appended Quarter
    Horse named Dusty (Dun Gone Kid) for three years.  We traded Dusty
    to East Texas State University to be used in their riding program
    for the two colts last January.  My husband, Pat, enjoys the training
    part of horses and I like riding and training, hence the reason
    for the colts.  
    
    Fancy is a bay and white overo and Buster is a sorrell and white
    overo.  Both are very gentle and quite willing to do whatever is
    asked of them.  So far I have introduced them to a training snaffle
    bit (rubber covered) and put both English and Western saddles on
    them.  Neither one of them bucked or pitched with the saddles, they
    just ignored it and went back to grazing when I turned them loose.
    I have also done some line driving with both Fancy and Buster with
    very little problem.  Fancy took to it like a duck to water.  
    Buster was less than thrilled, however, but he only resisted the bit 
    at first then settled down and did fine.  Luckily, kicking did not 
    occur to him.  
    
    Glad to see this notes file, I am really looking forward to reading
    the rest of the notes.  By the way, are there any other horse
    enthusiasts in Texas?
    
    
    Terry
    DTN 451-2935
    (214) 888-2935
    

             <<< DELNI::WORK$01:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EQUITATION.NOTE;1 >>>
                      -< - Equitation Notes Conference - >-
================================================================================
Note 474.0                      ONE MORE NEW ONE!                      2 replies
EXPRES::RLANDRY                                      25 lines  30-DEC-1987 16:55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    HI! I've been reading this file for a while now and never formally
    introduced myself. My name is Robin Landry. I live in Epping NH.
    I'm fairly new to the area up there and was wondering if anyone
    else out there lives around there. I have been told that there are
    some great trails around my area but i haven't found them yet!
    
    anyhow I have 3 reg. quarter horses, Starry Showdown (starry),
    Mighty Eyed Dusty (dusty), and Marble Shadow (bubba). Starry is
    an ex brrel racer that in mainly use for trails. He is sorrel with
    4 white sox and a blaze (real handsome). Dusty is an ex school horse
    I picked up for my hubby who is just getting into horses. He is
    a Buckskin (fat & furry right now) I plan to start showing him 
    this spring on the Q.H. circut around NE. And Bubba well...
    he's a grandson of Majestic Dell and has alot of potential for a
    real nice western pleasure horse,but, he is only 4 yrs old and 
    he is extremly herdy. He falls in love with every horse he sees.
    I'm 24 and have been riding and showing for the past 13 years and
    have never come across a horse as bad as him. Maybe some else out
    there has had this problem and can give me some help. I'm always
    open for suggestions and a better way.
    
    well gotta go now hope to here from someone!
    
    thanx
    Robin

    Hi folks!  My name is Cathie Eggan Mayr.  I've loved horses since
    I was old enough to say the word "pony", and have owned American
    Saddlebreds for over 10 years.
    
    In fact, several years ago I had the opportunity to combine my
    profession (Data Processing) with my hobby, and served as the
    Executive Vice President of the American Saddlebred Horse Association
    (the breed registry) in Louisville, Kentucky.
    
    I have since married & moved back to Wisconsin, and am (obviously)
    back to DP full time, as a Principal Software Specialist (CIM) in
    the MWO office.
    
    I've set up a new note just for American Saddlebreds.  Let me know
    if you have any questions or comments about the breed; I can also
    help with suggestions on dealing with the ASHA administration and
    with scrupulous/unscrupulous ASB trainers & breeders.
    
    Nice to meet all of you!
    

    Hi,
        My name is Wendy Schofield.  I have been reading this notes
    file for quite a while, but have not found the time to respond.
    So here goes!  I currently have a Four year old 16.3 hand Appendix  
    Quarter Horse gelding.  He was only green broke when I bought him
    in December 1986.  All considering I am more than happy with my
    purchase. (It took me six months to find him, and I was definitely
    getting discouraged.)
    I am fortunate enough to board at a barn with an indoor
    arena close to my house.  It is rough board but I feel better caring for
    him myself.  I showed him locally last season to get the bugs out.
    Maybe I will see some of you this year at the shows.  I have been
    training with Wendy Bartoni for 3 yrs. now and I am thankful for
    her dedication and help, and hope to continue as long as she coaches.
    Currently I am training with Sue Fisher and I will be showing at
    some of the local Dressage shows.  I am mainly a Hunter person,
    but I also enjoy Dressage. I hope to see some of you at the shows,
    clinics, pace events, ect..  It is always nice to meet new Horse
    People.  Success to all !!!!
    
                                Wendy
    

    Hi,
    
    My name is Susan Goldman.  I also have been reading this notes file
    for quite sometime.  I thought it was about time to get the nerve
    up and tell you about myself.  
    
    First of all, I will tell you about my past experience with horses
    as I was much more involved when I was younger and I had some horses
    that I am very proud of. 
    
    I had always been a horse lover and I lived in Maine at the time.
    One day I went to the Maine State Humane Society and came across
    an abused pinto pony that was totally blind.  They said the past
    owners had caused the blindness.  Well, obviously my heart went
    out to him and I took him home.  He was a great little pony.  I
    was in 4-H at the time and brought him to a 4-H show and he won
    the "Pet Pony Class"!  I was so proud.  A magazine called "Northeast
    Horseman" which I think is now called "Horse Show Magazine"  did
    a story on him.  What a star!  
    
    Then one day I came across a pasture loaded with horses and an old man
    standing outside the pasture with a big sign "Take a horse for the
    Winter"  This man sent these horses to camps in the summer and just
    let anybody take them for the winter.  He admitted to me that he
    doesn't even feed them when he has them, that they only eat grass
    and water and occasionally he brought them day old bread.  Well,
    I saw this one horse that could barely stand he was so thin.  You
    could see all his ribs and he had a huge open wound on his hip bone.
    Infact, you could see the bone itself.  When I inquired about it
    he said he most of fallen and he really didn't seem too concerned.
    Well, the next day I had my self a sickly looking horse.  After
    a lot of TLC, McDuff turned into a beautiful chestnut, gelding with a 
    blaze.  He looked half Morgan and Half Arabian. I started
    to show him in 4-H also.  We made the Maine State 4-H riding team and
    competed at Eastern States and did very well.  He was very versatile
    and easy going.  I could bomb around on the trails with him one day
    and bring him to a show the next and he would win every class he was
    in!  After that we went for points in S.A.R.C. which is a class "B"
    type of club.  At the awards banquet we had won 8 year end championships!   
    
    I then purchased a 5 month old American Saddlebred filly.  Although
    I did have her with professional trainers, I never had a chance
    to show her because when she became a 2 yr old I had to move to
    Massachusetts.  I left the pony with a friend as I didn't want to
    change his surroundings and I leased out the other 2 horses.  Well,
    unfortunately, I realized there was no way I could afford to board
    them down here as the board was twice as much as it was in Maine
    so reluctantly I had to sell them one by one.
    
    Now, three years later and 6 months of working 3 jobs, I can finally
    afford to buy a horse again!  Infact,  I am picking up my new Morgan
    gelding next week!  I also found a great place to board him which
    is very close to my home.  His name is Snowy.  He's 15 and goes,
    Saddleseat, Hunt Seat, Western and he drives too. (I am buying him
    from my friend who has my pony). 
    
    My husband just started taking Western riding lessons (he had never
    ridden before) and loves it and he loves Snowy!  My dreams are finally
    coming true again! 
    
    Now that I have rambled on and on, I have a quick question. I want to
    join some horse clubs in the area.  I plan on joining the Mass. Morgan 
    Association, but I was also considering the N.E.H.C. and the Tri-State 
    Association but I don't know what they are geared to. I want an
    all-breed club that may have shows and/or trail rides.  I ride
    Saddleseat and Western.  I also read about a horse club for adults
    called "Pine Valley Riders Association"  Does anybody know anything
    about that?
    
    I Thank you for any help you may give me on clubs in the area.
    
    Susan
    

    
    
    Hi Susan - glad that you got the nerve and took the time to tell
    us about yourself!  Congratulations on Snowy - and your new situation
    that all sounds like things are falling into place..  I was wondering
    if we know each other??  My maiden name is Holly Hodgkins, and I
    use to show all the MHA rated shows, (15 years ago) and remember
    attending some SARC/mha rated summer shows...  I have morgans now
    but back in those days I always showed someone elses horse - some
    of them were Mister Gay Lad (A little black morgan gelding)
    Knickerbocker 

    
    Sandy (a big morgan gelding), Knollands Autumn Delight (a nice chestnut
    saddlebred mare) and American Maid (another saddlebred mare)...
    
    Those were 'the good ole days' when we use to cart all over the
    state of Maine to attend open shows where almost everyone knew every
    one else, and we always had lots of fun. .....Maine is still a fun
    place to show but there are fewer and fewer open shows - and we
    tend to end up at the all morgan shows around new england...
    
    Anyway - welcome to the notes file

    Hi Holly,
    
    I showed S.A.R.C/MHA about 10 years ago.  My maiden name was
    "McGuinness" and my horses full name was Master McDuff.  So I doubt
    we showed together but you may know my instructor that I had for
    years and years.  Her name is Jane Haskell, I took lessons under her 5 
    days a week in exchange for cleaning her stalls. But you know, you
    are right "those were the good ole' days", I had a blast at those shows.  
    
    Sue
    

    
    
    I do remember you and your horses name tho I don't think that we
    did show together.  I know Jane very well, and most of her students
    both past and present...  She has been a very important person in
    the lives of many young riders, and staunch supporter of the Maine
    Morgan Horse CLub.
    
    h

	My name is Dave Mac Eachern.  I've been reading this note file for
 a long time and now I think it is time to start asking questions and hope-
 fully help answering some questions.
	I am a new to riding.  My step daughter has been riding for about
 four years.  Last April, I finally started to take lessons.  I am riding
 Hunt seat and doing very well, according to my instructor and my wife.
	In May, we bought  our first horse.  Bright Bar Skip is a palomino
 paint.  He is 10 years old and goes both English and Western.  We couldn't
 have asked for a better animal.  Our next purchase was Sunday Morning.  She
 has a thoroubred (SP) for a father and a quarter horse for a mother.  She is a
 dark bay and this April we will be breeding her.
	My nick name at the stable is the Electric Horseman.  This is because
 of a ride I took on Skip when he connected with an electric fence.  He didn't
 throw me, but I don't want to try that ride again.
	The reason I am starting to participate now is that I am buying a
 new house with 13 acres and a four stall barn.  I live in New York and the
 back of the property is the Erie Canal with a trail beside it that goes from
 Syracuse to Rome, New York.
	I want to thank all of you for the help you have already been and for
 all your help it the future.

			Dave.

    Hi, My name is Denise Gregg - I live in Grafton Ma. I have 2 horses
    and one is a 4 year old Registered Morgan Gelding (Robindale's Patriot)
    the other I just bought last Sunday is a 2 year old QH Morgan Mare
    (Holly). The Morgan is Registered as a Brown and my Vet says that
    the QH Morgan is a Red Dun. 
    I have hopes in breeding Holly whenshe is 5 to another horse with 
    the same color. 
    Both horses are at my home. I enjoy watching them. I wish all horse 
    owner were able to have there horses at their home. I find them 
    enjoyable and relaxing.
    I have owned horses most of my life. I started out with a 15 year
    pony when I was 7 years old. He was my best friend at that time
    sense I lived far from town and most of our neighbors were older.
    I have been reading and asking questions in this file for months
    now and I would like to THANK ALL OF YOU for your help and advice.
    I have found that this file has in many ways answered a lot of my
    questions before I had to ask and has given me helpful idea's on
    what to watch for and the ways to avoid some problems.
    
    If anyone knows of a Stallion that is QH size and Red Dun in color
    please let me know where he is located. I have never noticed a horse
    with this color. My Vet says there are few around Mass. 
    

    
    
    hi denise and congratulations on your new horse (I can't help but
    like her name since we share the same - smile - )  And I'd be inter
    ested in hearing more about your morgan.  Did you buy him from mrs
    robinson?  Is he by Triumph?  He is a very nice morgan, and she
    has nice horses.  !!  
    
    holly

    We have just been given a pony (Shetland) and my wife is in the
    process of finding a horse for herself....our daughter rides the
    pony. Because of the blossoming interest in horses, I find myself
    clearing land for a paddock, learning about barns (so we can build
    one), searching for a trailer (and maybe a truck)....Last night
    I came home to find  a saddle on our livingroom couch and several
    haybales on the porch.
    
    I love it.

    Hello Carl, sounds like you're wife and daughter are training your
    properly :^) !
    
    Welcome to the wonderful world of horses!
    

    I am co-leasing an older throughbred mare who was 2nd or 3rd level
    dressage horse.  Unfortunately I have not had a whole lot time to
    ride her as much I wanted or thought I could.  Although NIKE is
    relatively old, she still has a lot of spirit and is fun to ride.
    
    I used to ride a lot when I was young, and took riding lessons in
    France, Germany, Switzerland and finally in the States.  {My father
    was in the Army}.  I quit riding for about 10 years and it has been
    fun trying to relearn things that the mind may remember how to do
    but the muscles have long since forgotten.
    
    Have fun!
    
    Bruce

	I' ve just moved to the GREAT WHITE NORTH from the "Tropics".

	I have had horses/ponies off and on for the last 20 years, and
	lived in the UK for several years.
	
	Presently I am an owner of a 3/4 1/4 mare (the rest is suspiciously
	arab). Until my move I evented (Training Level) and Dessage (Medium).
	Now we are in a "Hunter/Jumper" barn, nothing like variety being the
	spice of live etc.... 

	I also am a recorded Steward in the CEF and teach ankle biters
	in the Pony Club.

    I've been reading this notes file (been addicted to this notes file?)
    for a long time and decided to finally introduce myself.
    
    I have owned my Morgan (Craig Ashmore) for 13 years.  When we were
    both younger we showed in the large pony hunter division. Now we
    ride for fun mostly, although I have been to one show a year in
    the past three years.
    
    I stable him in Stow, MA, before that I kept him in Grafton, where
    I grew up. 
    
    By the way, there's a nice town forest in Stow with lots of trails
    for riding. As so much of our riding land gets developed these areas
    become more and more precious.
    
    -Andrea Harris-

    I have been reading this notes file for awhile and wanted to
introduce myself. 

    I am very new to the world of horses. I have been taking 
English riding lessons for a only a year. I am presently looking to 
lease a horse to further my skills (the little that I have) and to
learn more about taking care of a horse. Next year I hope to purchase 
a horse.

    I am just finishing the building of a barn with two stalls at 
my home in Stow, MA. I have about 1/2 acre of my land fenced.

    I read this conference to learn more about horses and the 
horse community both in my area and throughout Digital. My understanding
of what is being discussed in this notes file has increasd dramatically
over the last year. I am sure with more experience with horses I will
learn how little I really know now.

    Rick 	

    My name is Tina Douglas and I own a 9yr old AQHA Palomino gelding.
    
    "Hansum" (alias Jam Juju Jam) and I are currently learning novice 
    dressage. (We both were Western, so the transition has been interesting!)
    
    Although I've been riding for the past 5 years, he is my very first 
    horse. I've had him for a year, boarded him in Rowley Ma. with 
    Bill and Susan Woods. Now he's at home with me and it's great to have 
    him on my own land!
    
               I also just recently obtained a 25yr old Morgan X pony
    gelding. Chucky is the barn buddy and is used for trail riding.
    
    I LOVE THIS NOTESFILE !!!
                 

    Name is John Perkins horses are Americam Saddlebreds. I own a breeding
    farm in New Hampshire. The stallion - The New Decision - will probably
    stand to the public for a 1989 season, right now he is only covering
    our own 9 mares.
    About 10 years ago my daughter started riding lessions, talked me
    into doing the horse show father routine, I had a great time.
    We purchased an American Saddlebred mare about 8 years ago, I ,
    like a damn fool made the comment "If I were to buy a horse of my
    own I would get a stallion so he could support himself with breeding
    fees" well... a couple of months later I was working with a Conn
    breeder on my newly purchased weanling colt getting him ready for
    the show. I certainly don't regret that comment now, my #1 son (as
    he is refered to) is a 17 hand bay stallion, a beautiful colt with
    a great way of going, everyone stops to watch when he is out.
    
    You will probably hear more of Dancing Horse Farm in the upcoming
    years.
    
    We have had a lot of good times and a few bad. Our horses (12) are
    by in large very healthy but we had a mare, the first one come down
    with Purpura Hemorigica (not sure how it is spelled) she recovered
    but foundered near the end of it. We had the hoof resection done
    and she is sound now. I also had the opportunity to work weekends
    with the farrier who did the procedure then (1982) and learned a
    lot. So the past couple of years I have become a weekend farrier
    only because I have had poor luck with some of the local ones.
    
    I enjoy working around the horses, I ride saddleseat, shoe the beasts,
    muck the stalls, manage the stud, deliver the young, train the young,
    pay the bills, etc.
    
    I can be reached at CSS::PERKINS DTN 264-7159 or 603-644-6200 (ans
    service).

    I myself ride a half cob cross something else.  He doesn't actually
    belong to me, but it has been left up to me to teach him some manners.
    his name is Mr Punch and has an amazing personality, basically he
    loves humans and plays all the time, which makes it difficult to
    teach him any manners as I spend half me time laughing at him. 
    
    

    Hi, my name is Ann, and I LOVE HORSES !! I was wondering if you
    could tell me how you begin going for your instructors license...I
    am VERY interested in ALL the different aspects of horse care and
    training...I am also wondering how would I go about learning the
    farrier trade ?  ANY and ALL information would be greatly appreciated.
    
    Thanks in advance,
    Keep up the great HORSE TALK
    
    Ann
    
    

    My name is Ann.  I live in N. Reading, Mass.  I don't own my own
    horse as yet, but hope to be taking care of a horse down the street
    from where I live.  I have taken care of numerous horses and ponys
    since I was a little girl, and have ALWAYS been "Horse Crazy" !
     I just can't get enough.  I just wanted to say that I think this
    conference is terrific.  I've been reading it everyday since I found
    it a couple of weeks ago...and I've already learned so much from
    all the different input you all have to share.
    Well, Ithink ...if all goes well, I will be taking care of the gelding
    down the street, who, sad to say, hasn't been taken care of for
    quite some time.  He's very skinny, and he looks very uncomfortable
    walking around on his poor feet which are a mess.  I think the first
    thing I should do is call a good farrier and have him taken care
    of...PRONTO.  I'll let you all know how I make out.
    
    Keep up the great conversation !
    
    Ann

    
    Hi Ann, to apply for your beginner level Instructors license,
    just call the Department of Agriculture (Boston) Pat Rules old
    office and ask for an application. You need three references,
    and must have apprenticed under a licensed instructor for at least
    three months. Once you send in your application they'll send you
    a date for you to go in and take the written test.
    
    -Marianne-
    

    I have been reading this notes file for about 6 months so I decided
    to introduce myself. My name is Sandy Peth and I have 3 horses just
    outside of Pittsburgh,PA. My kids include a 21 yr. old grade pony
    a 15 yr old AQHA mare and a 14 month old TB,QH cross filly. I have
    ridden western most of my life but reasently started taking lessons
    for Dressage(thanks to note 10 it got me interested!)
    
                                       
    

             <<< DELNI::WORK$01:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EQUITATION.NOTE;1 >>>
                      -< - Equitation Notes Conference - >-
================================================================================
Note 765.0                  about time for the intro.                 No replies
LABC::ALLEN "Equestrian Lady"                        39 lines  31-OCT-1988 18:49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,
I have been meaning to do this introduction since I got Cocoa but time has just 
gotten away from me.   

I suppose you would all like the explanation why the nickname "Equestrian 
Lady".  Well, living in the city got me this name.  There aren't to many 
places in Los Angeles to have a horse. 

Now, you might ask, how did a city girl get involved with horses and acquire a 
horse (especially in the city).  I have a girlfriend who has a horse stabled 
approximately 12 miles from me.   I was able to go and ride this horse when ever
I wanted, but she knew I really did want a horse.  Never having owned a horse 
she was going to make sure that I got a calm animal (not one that would take 
bit advantge of me either).  

Anyway, The stall next to her horse came open and some people moved a buckskin
in.  He looked like he hadn't been taken care of for awhile.  We guessed his age
to be approximately 15-20 years.  His feet looked awful.  My girlfriend saw the
kids riding the heck out of this horse and then putting him in his stall and not
cooling him off.  Being the good horse person she is, she confronted Daddy and
said the horse could get sick by doing this, he response was "Oh well, the horse
is for sale anyway.  We are moving out of state."  There were selling Cocoa for
$250.00. 

Within three weeks these people had removed their chain from the stall and 
never returned.  This gentle buckskin had been abandoned.  I was told and 
immediately came down to the stables.  With the owner of the stables present, 
my girlfried and my boyfriend, I rode him.  He is legged trained and beheaved
beautifully.  I decided immediately that I would take him.  Procedure is 
for the stables to notify the owner of stall payment being late, then three 
months later the horse is sold for past stall fee or in the case of this 
buckskin they were going to call the factory in.  

On September 15th, he was officially mine.  Cocoa cleaned up real well. He has 
been such a sweetheart.  As a first time horse owner I fully recommend a older,
calmer, experienced horse for that first horse.

Linda - Hope to be telling you more about my new friend.

    Debra Woodrow
    ODIXIE::WOODROW or @MTO
    
    Hello fellow horse fans - I've been raising Arabians now for 7 years,
    and have recently gone back into showing after selling most of my
    breeding stock. I currently have an Arab gelding in Stock Horse
    training here in Montgomery, a 2-year-old filly (his half sister)
    a 3-year-old gelding and their dam. I am looking forward to
    participating in this conference for some time! Good riding to you
    all!

    Hi, just dropping a note.  I love horses and have never had the
    opportunity to own one, I have been riding since I was 12-13yrs.
    both english and western.  I pick up odd jobs working with friends
    and others with their horses and at stables, I currently work at
    a Farm in Holliston that raises Arabians currently they own 54.
    I work 3 nights and Saturdays and love them all!  I hope to someday
    meet someone with the same interest and own some of my own.
    I rode while in college in Sommers CT at Shallowbrook equest stable
    and had a wonderful time!  They have polo there! The horses are
    so athletic.   Well gotta run, be back later I'm sure!
    
    Nancy

    
    Hi-
    
    My name is Zina Slade and have been with horses since I was age
    six, so I guess it's been 16 years.  Would have been 19 but I was
    without for four years due to various jobs and a trip to Germany.
    I started 4-H when I was 8 and had ten great years with the club.  I
    started out with a shetland pony (Choo-Choo) and then after I out
    grew her I moved on to my moms horse (Gypsy) Qh/Morgan cross.  We had 
    a somewhat large farm (30 arcer's) with one sheep and lots of cats and
    two dogs.  We started boarding horses when I was eight and ended up
    with 12 including our six.  It was a lot of work but also alot of
    fun!   
        
    After driving poor Gypsy crazy with me learning and taking lessons
    every week I started riding a Arab/QH cross for an elder man.  Friar
    Tuck was the horses name, he was about 14.1 or so, with a chestnut
    color and a white blaze.  He was very smart and taught me a lot...
    After a year with him and due to the owner moving and all my Parents
    decided to buy me a Reg. Half Arabian gelding (Little Joe Asben).  He
    was just wonderful...  He was 14.2 and a dapple grey with *lots* of
    spirit in him.  We showed quite a bit and he won me four great
    trips to the NH state horse show and many more ribbons and champion
    and reserve champion ships that I will treasure for ever.  He was
    trulely my buddie.  I had to regretfully sell him after six wonderful
    years with him due to moving and all.   
                                                        
    Now after being with out for four years I have had the great pleasure
    of meeting two wonderful people them selfs (Kathie & Bob) and I am
    going to start leasing a beautiful Arabian gelding from them.
    Hopefully someday in the near future he will be mine to keep.  He
    is a young little guy which will give me a chance to teach him all
    I know and hopefully gain his trust and friendship.  He has that
    little something special in his eyes that I have been looking for a long
    time.  He is three years old and stands about 14.2 maybe a hair
    bigger but still growing!  he is a dark dapple with a touch of brown
    and a dark mane and tail.  He's such a cutie!  Hopefully next year
    after carefully working with him all this year I may start showing
    in pleasure/halter and then I would like to start moving him into jumping
    and possibly eventing.  He should from the looks of him now grow
    to be 15+ hands, and with the looks of those bigs eye's and strong
    built he won't have any trouble poping over jumps. ( Hopefully )
    But if not there's always other things we can learn.  Well good luck
    to you all with your critters and to those too with out ( Your day
    will come!!! ).
    
    I'm Back!!!!!
    
    Zina
                                                          

Glad to tell you about my boys.
               Foxy's Gold Dust is a four year old stallion.
               He is regestered as a quater horse and also
               is regestered as a palamino.
He thinks he is the next mr. ED. After being told to go into his stall
he sticks his head out the door and shakes his head. Like get on with it.
If that doesn't work he will voice his opinion.

               Second Morgage George is a three year old stallion.
               Regestered Arabain.
               He tries to play the big man in town and Foxy will
put up with his bull to a point. But when he gets sick of it he
tricks George into his stall then he closes the door and george
just doesn't know enough to push the door open and come back out.
These guys are worst than kids.

I got them both green Both I ride western but are being leg trained
Foxy has driven. George has been ground driven only. I can't wait
till spring to get back to that training.

I was refered to this notes file this morning as you can see I have't
wasted any time. And I'm sure to be back in this file often.

                        Linda

    Hi, My name is Lynne Sigel and I am a fellow horse buff.  I loved
    the animals since I can remember.  I have been riding since I was
    twelve, and someday I am planning to own a horse.  I work over at
    MRO1 and would love to hear from fellow horse fans like me.
    
    p.s. I also love carrousel horses :-)
    
    Lynne

    hi,
    I'm new to Digital, new to the state of Washington but an old hand
    at horses.  While investigating notes, I was thrilled to see this
    subject.  I have a 17 yr. young TB named Jonathan that I love to
    ride dressage and trail.  I would love to hear from other's in the
    Seattle area since I'm lost about where to go for things, who the
    instructors are, etc.  
    
    Linda Witt

    
    							MAY 12,1989
    HI EVERYBODY...
    	I HAVE RECENTLY MOVED TO MASSACHUSSETTS FROM NEW YORK.  I HAVE
    AN APPALOOSA WITH BLUE EYES NAMED "FRANKIE".  HE LIVES AT TWIN OAKS
    QUARTER HORSE STABLE IN CHESTER, NH.  I LIVE IN CHELMSFORD, MA.
    AND WORK AT PKO3 IN MAYNARD, MA.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME
    ABOUT ANY HORSE STUFF.
    					LATER,
    					DAWNE CHARTERS
    

    hello, my name is Marian Libby, I'm temping at MRO1 indef. I've been a
    horse lover since I can remember, I've ridden since I was 9, but I have
    not been around horses for about 11 years, (since the birth of my first
    child). One of these days I'll start riding again, and hopefully aquire
    my own horse. 
    

    Hi everybody, my name is Virpi Uimonen and I work at Digital Helsinki
    office in Finland.  I just joined this notes conference today and thought
    it would be a good idea to start with the introduction.  Better
    late than never, I have been working at Digital for about 8 months
    already.  I work with US Export Compliance.
    
    What comes to my horse "career", I have been riding (English, of
    course in Europe) for about twenty years now and never even dreamt
    on stopping.  I guess this is like an illness, once you fall into
    it, it is hard to stop doing it.
    
    I have had several horses myself ever since I was a little girl
    but the dearest of all was my throughbread gelding called Happy
    Fellow.  With that horse I competed a lot in Dressage events, once
    I even won the Finnish Championships for Juniors.  I have even been
    to European Championships (once) and although the success was not
    too good, the experience was great!  After high school I spent a
    year in the Dressage rider's Mecca, Hamburg in West-Germany, working
    at the stables and learning riding. I even thought of becoming a
    professional rider but then I changed my mind and I went to study
    Business Administration instead.  So, here I am, working at an office
    just like so many others...
    
    I still have a horse, a three year old mare, that I have had ever
    since she was born.  Now I am trying to train her by myself and
    see how long I will succeed.  It is very intresting in working with
    a young horse.  I also give some lessons once in awhile.
    
    So, I try to join your conversations but it might take some time
    before I get into it, I have quite a few topics here to catch up...
    
    meanwhile, have fun in riding.
    
    Virpi
    

 Welcome Virpi!

 Your dressage background is extremely impressive!  We have a 
 dressage note #10 where I hope you'll help to liven it up a bit.
 We're fortunate to have a person with your expertise to help
 give us training tips, etc.  

 Tell us more about your youngster.  What breed is she?  Was your
 thoroughbred horse 'Happy Fellow' an American thoroughbred?

 Melinda 

    I have decided to introduce myself since I have enjoyed this note
    for so long.  I work for Digital in Baltimore Maryland and prior
    to that I was with DEC in NYC.  I am happy to be out of NY because
    it was impossible to afford a horse there, although I tried (my
    board was $800 a month..Crazy!)  I own a grey 16.2 hands TB.  We
    do a little showing in Adult hunters and I hope to move to Amateur
    Owners this year.  I have been riding since my first horse at age
    11 and I am addicted for life.  (must be some kind of addiction
    to pay $800. a month)   I would be interested in meeting other noters
    in the Maryland area.
    
    Molly

    
    	Like the rest of you, I love horses.  I sold the last of my horses
    4 years ago and have been missing them ever since, but as of the day
    before yesterday I have two of them again.  I joined this notesfile as
    a reader some time back, but now that I am a horse owner again, I
    decided that I'll be more active in the conference!
    
    	Some friends of mine are having some financial problems which
    necessitated that they get rid of some of their 13 horses.  They gave
    me one horse, Charger, in return for taking care of another one,
    Ashley.  I am some kind of tickled about it!!
    
    	Charger is five.  He's a flashy bay Thoroughbred about 15 1/2
    hands, with 3 white socks and a white blaze.  He was trained a little
    bit when he was 2 or 3, but for the most part he has been out on
    pasture for the last couple of years.  He's going to go English, with
    an eye to getting into dressage someday, and I'd also like to drive
    him.  I have people lined up to work with me in training him.  He has a
    super disposition, and I can't wait to get started!
    
    	Ashley is a liver chestnut Quarter Horse.  She's 12 and a delight
    to ride.  She's always gone western - in fact she'd been on a working
    cattle ranch when my friends bought her three years ago.  She's been
    used for hunting and is very steady on tough trails.  My son's so
    thankful that she'll go western.  He can't wait for me to get a saddle
    so he can start to ride again, too! 
    
    	Hope to meet some of you other Colorado Horse Noters someday - on a
    ride or in a show - and intoduce you in person to Charger and Ashley!
    
    						Marci

             <<< DELNI::WORK$01:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EQUITATION.NOTE;2 >>>
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Note 166.0                        INTRODUCTION                           1 reply
SNICKR::BAGGS                                        36 lines  19-NOV-1986 13:16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hi!!  This file is GREAT !!!!  Now we can have alittle of our horse
    business right in work!!! 
    
    My name is Linda Roy Baggs - we raise Appaloosa's - I am a Youth
    Advisor for the Rhode Island Appaloosa Youth Team  and an AHSA 
    approved Judge!!
    
    We now have 7 appaloosa's in our barn: 2 - 2yr yr olds out of 
    Jr's Royal Wedding (a filly and a stud colt), 1 Brood Mare & youth
    horse, her son SUNDRE'S LA COLT 44 (the winner of the Challenge
    of the Breeds!!!), and her daughter (SUNDRE'S RED CHER) a grandaughter
    of the famous Quarter Horse JET DECK and we also have a mare Old
    Miss Question - a super mare - just alittle too much for a Youth
    Rider - we may sell her or breed her to our stallion in the spring.
    I really hate to let her go because she is a fantastic mover and
    gives an incredible ride!!!
    
    My step-son BILLY DALEY-BAGGS was N.E.H.C. high point youth in Stock
    Seat Equitation this year (point wise) but lost out because he did
    not have enough shows under his belt - you see we normally show
    the Appaloosa Regional Circuit and with me judging and all there
    aren't too many weekends to hit shows.  I do like to mix up his
    shows as much as possible though - it gives him a chance to gain
    confidence and to see what to work towards!!!  He has been high
    point Walk -Trot rider at the N.E. Youth Olympics for 3 years now
    - this year the High Point riders received TROPHY SADDLES - quite
    a thrill!!!  
    
    We have been thinking of bringing Terry Thompson out for a clinic
    in New England this spring - anyone out there interested???
    
    Linda 
    
    
    
    
================================================================================
Note 166.1                        INTRODUCTION                            1 of 1
DELNI::L_MCCORMACK                                   10 lines  20-NOV-1986 15:03
                                  -< Welcome >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Hi Linda.  Welcome to the notes file.  I saw you at the Sterling
    4-H show when I showed my colt.  I didn't realize you worked at
    DEC as well.
    
    I'll probably see you when show season starts next spring.
    
    Linda McCormack
    
    

             <<< DELNI::WORK$01:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EQUITATION.NOTE;2 >>>
                      -< - Equitation Notes Conference - >-
================================================================================
Note 353.0                        INTRODUCTION                         2 replies
AKOV02::LESAGE                                         1 line  31-JUL-1987 14:45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
================================================================================
Note 353.1                        INTRODUCTION                            1 of 2
AKOV02::LESAGE                                       20 lines  13-AUG-1987 10:11
                               -< introduction >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I just found this note file and I am trying to learn how to use
    it.  Si I will try my introduction now.  I have been in horses for
    about 20 years.  I am a past president of the Mass. Quarter Horse
    Assoc. as is my wife.  We both served as B.O.D for approx.  12 years.
    We own 1 appendix reg. mare 9 years old.  We have not shown in a
    few years because we started raising kids. we have 2.  but we plan
    on buying a new horse this year and start showing some again.  We
    plan to sell our mare.  She is by a TB sire out of a dam named Helen
    McKenna who is a superior halter horse, youth champion and a ROM
    in western pleasure, trail and horsemanship.  WE are asking $1000.00
    for her.  She is a nice trail horse and goes well on the flat. 
    She has never jumped.  She is 15h bay mare. She has never had a
    foal but I think she would be a good broadmare.
    
    Well that enough now. I like the notes file.
    
    Also I am a certified farrier.  I have been shoeing for five years
    now.
                                 Paul LeSage
    
================================================================================
Note 353.2                        INTRODUCTION                            2 of 2
SQM::MURPHY "Is it Friday yet?"                       4 lines  13-AUG-1987 16:30
                                   -< Yeah >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hey, Paul, ya did it!
    
    PM
    

             <<< DELNI::WORK$01:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EQUITATION.NOTE;2 >>>
                      -< - Equitation Notes Conference - >-
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Note 838.0             Greatings form the Great Northwest                1 reply
NWD002::DAVISSON_RO                                  17 lines  30-JAN-1989 17:05
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Greatings from the Great Northwest !!
    
    My wife and I will soon (I hope) be getting first hand experence on
    being (first time) horse owners !! We both love horses and have
    been riding off and on for several years, but to my question. Is
    there any horse owners on this side of the US ! ,  I live in Spokane
    Washinton and we are looking at buying land soon.
    	So if anybody is around here, I would like to chat about the
    things we should be aware of and what to look out for this part
    of the state.
    	This note file has been VERY good and a lot of the info is generic
    for any place !!!! I will keep an open line to this file.
    
    Thanks for all that has been and will be written !!!
    
    Bob 
                
================================================================================
Note 838.1             Greatings form the Great Northwest                 1 of 1
NOWIMP::DADDAMIO "Hopelessly optimistic"              7 lines  31-JAN-1989 15:55
                       -< Lots of horses in western WA >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We just moved to Washington state in September, but we're on the
    other side of the Cascades in Snohomish County.  There are lots
    of horses here in the western part of the state.  I don't know too
    much about the eastern part though, but will be more than willing
    to talk to you via mail (send to DECWET::DADDAMIO).
    
    						Jan

    MY DAUGHTER, AGE 12 IS OUR HORSE PERSON. SHE HAS AN 11 YEAR OLD QUARTER
    HORSE, STABLED AT FRIENDSHIP STABLES, AUGUSTA, MAINE. SHE RIDES ENGLISH
    AND BAREBACK.  SHE HAS BEEN TAKING LESSON ABOUT 2 YEARS. HER FIRST SHOW
    WAS LAST SATURDAY IN FARMINGTON. SHE ENTERED 5 CLASSES AND TOOK 4TH
    PLACE RIBBONS IN THREE CLASSES.  HER NAME IS JESSIE SLADE AND HER HORSE
    IS BLACK HAWK. SHE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF 4 H. HAWK IS A REGISTERED QTR
    HORSE.  WE LIVE IN AUGUSTA, MAINE, AND WILL BE GOING TO SHOWS IN THE
    SURROUNDING AREA.
    

    Hi everyone!
    
    	It's about time for me to introduce myself.  I have been
    working in the DAS facility for seven months as a temp, and 
    I have enjoyed reading this notes file for most of those months.
    
    	I bought the horse I had been leasing for a year.  I bought
    him after two weeks at DEC (must be something in the air here 
    that makes us all take that leap into horses!).  He is a Half
    Arab, half Quarter Horse.  He looks more like a QH than Arab.
    He is seventeen years old, but still has many, many years in him.
    
    	We went to our first show together in May with Linda Coburn
    from AP upstairs.  We had a GREAT time.  Neither my horse nor I
    had been in a show for over nine years, which made this one all
    the more special.  I hope to attend a few more shows this summer.
    It would be great to meet more of you folks at these shows, hey,
    maybe you could all wear signs with DEC on them!  Just kidding.
    It's just that I was standing right next to Zina Brown at the 
    show we went to and didn't know it was her until after I got the
    photos back and determined the the one on the cute gray Arab was
    Zina.
    
    	It's great having the access to these notes and all the info
    contained within them.  Hope to hear from more of you.  Gotta go.
    
      *	MAY THE TRAILS BE LONG, THE BUGS FEW AND THE HORSES SMOOTH *	
       

    Well, it's finally my turn.  I'm Pauline Clark and I moved here to
    Franktown Colorado a year ago (from Marlboro, MA).  One of my first
    goals for my new life in Colorado was to learn to ride.  I've been
    taking lessons since October and am happy to report that two
    weeks ago my husband and I bought two horses.  Mine is Tara Stardust,
    a five year old registered quarter horse - mare.  She's a bit
    tempermental but I love her.  She's a bay with black mane and tail.
    My husband's horse was resqued from an auction.  She was out to pasture
    for the last couple of years and the owner was about to send her and
    5 other horses to auction.  We named her Candy.  We're not sure of
    her breed, but she's approximately 8 years old and a beautiful chestnut
    color.  Oh - both of them have white blazes, so when their both in
    the barn looking out we only see the two white faces.  Candy is just as
    calm and placid as can be.  Even though she's not well trained, she's
    so calm I don't anticipate any problems.  No we've entered the world
    of "nervous nellies" worrying about whether we're doing everything
    right or not.  This file has been wonderful in educating me on various
    aspects of caring for a horse and I know I'll be relying on it heavily
    in the next few months of settling in as new owners.  Oh - our intended
    use for our "girls" is for pleasure/trail riding only.  We're sure
    looking forward to it all.
    Pauline

Hi! 

My name is Karen and I just found out about the horse notes file, in fact,
I'm not very familiar with the notes file at all. I have alot of catching up
to do. I thought a good place to start in this horsey file is the intro.
Bear with me; it's longer than most.

I'm not presently a horse owner and haven't even ridden in ages, but I miss
it and I am looking to get back into it again. I started riding when I was
five with a Shetland pony and then moved on to short stirrup and then pony
and children's hunters. I showed in central NJ. Was anyone around there
showing from '75 to '81? My show ponies were a 13.2 hand dapple grey named
Whispering Wind and a 14.1 hand beautiful bay Welsh/TB named Avoca
Vale(Valley). They both did well in pony and children's hunter, winning
NJHSA and NJPHA year end awards. I also had a 16.1 hand bay TB named Grand
Tour, better known as Pokey, and finally, a 15.2 hand chestnut QH, Sure
Shot(Shorty). Shorty wouldn't go over a fence when we first got him and by
the end of our first year together he won an NJHSA reserve champ in Non-TB.
I used him for 4-H also. He was great for the Gymkahna events and English go
Western classes.  

I stopped riding in high school for personal reasons then rode in a division
called Preliminary Adult Eq (for those adults who were still limit riders
when they reached 18) for one summer when I came home from college. That was
on Pokey, who eventually became my sister's horse - my sister had been my
trainer throughout all these years (Brenda Leinbach, married name Brenda
French. She's since gotten into side saddle and rode Pokey in the side
saddle division in the National Horse Show in 1986)

We don't have any of those horses anymore and after all these years I'm
getting curious as to their exact whereabouts. If anyone knows of them, I'd
really like to know how their doing. I know where Valley is and I'm pretty
sure that Whisper (now probably totally white) and Shorty are in NJ
somewhere. Pokey is in Florida somewhere being shared by two sisters but I
don't know if they are showing him. I miss them all so much. As others have
said in this topic, those really were the good ole days.

I've lived in MA (Framingham) for about a year, but am not familiar with the
various stables, barns, instructors, shows, and showgrounds in the area. I
need lots of help from anyone out there who could perhaps steer me in the
right direction. I'm looking for a horse to ride and/or lease or partially
lease. I would also like to show some, but this could be difficult without a
horse. I also would like to get some extra money by freelance braiding. I do
manes and tails. Anyone need any braiding assistance before shows? I plan to
add this query to the note on braiding. In fact, I'm going to spend some
time really looking through this notes file for better places to write all
this stuff, but until then, anyone with any help/info can reach me at
(508)877-4919 or BINKLY::KUMPF.

Thanks!  Hope to hear from you!


Karen

    Hi!  My name is Dan Muller.  I just started working at DEC in February
    as a senior software engineer in Littleton, MA (LKG2).  I've been
    following this notesfile for a while now, and am really impressed with
    how responsive and helpful people are.  (I'm also impressed by the
    volume of traffic!)
     
    My fiancee's name is Liz Lindell.  She works at ChipCom Corporation in
    Southborough, MA as a software enginner.  We are currently living in
    Millbury (near Worcester), where we rent an apartment in an old
    farmhouse.  We also rent the barn behind the house and about 1.5 acres
    of pasture - well turnout, I guess, there's not much grass left now. 
    That's where we keep our two horses.  (We're currently looking for a
    new home - I'll post more about that in another topic, though.)
     
    Broadway Joe is a beautiful 20 year old Appaloosa gelding that Liz has
    had for many years.  He was a Halter Champion in Connecticut two
    years running, and New England Halter Champion the year after.
     
    Doc Connor is a 5 year old ex-racing thoroughbred (gelding).  He's
    huge - over 18 hands - but pretty mellow as thoroughbreds go. We just
    got him last year from someone at the Suffolk Downs racetrack for $1
    after Doc suffered a fractured sesamoid bone.  He healed well, and is
    fine for pleasure riding.
     
    We don't get to ride too often, but when we do, it's just basic
    schooling in the ring or trail riding.  Actually, Doc hasn't been out
    trail riding yet, since I don't feel that confident in handling his
    thoroughbred spookiness outside the ring yet.  But we're working on
    it.
     
     
                                                                   
    

    My name is Jeff Kinghorn and I've been working as a software consultant
    for Digital in Reading UK for about 2 years now.
    My wife and I started riding about 5 years ago and she also owns a
    BIG horse, Gregory by name, mainly Clydesdale by breeding, he's also over
    18 hands and he's about 8 years old.
    We currently ride about once a week for a couple of hours but the horse
    is at half livery so he gets plenty of exercise when we're not there.
    I usually hire a horse when we go out so I've ridden most types from
    14 hand ponies to ex-racing Thoroughbred mares.
     

	My name is Thomas Montowski and I have just purchased an Appy for
	my daughter Debbie.

	I am originally from Pennsylvania and my daughter started taking
	lessons when she was nine years old. She entered her first show
	about 5 months after she started taking lessons and placed in
	the top three of each class (6) she entered. Needless to say
	both she and I where bitten by the bug. Debbie is now 15 and
	has competed ever since that show. As with any rider we spent
	a fair amount of time looking for the 'Perfect' horse, learning
	the fundamentals of equitation and spending our weekends
	getting ready for shows. In August we decided to make the
	investment in a horse and have bought a 11 year old Appy which
	is registered. Now that my daughter has her own horse she is
	even more smitten with the sport as am I.

	I should add that before we bought the horse we leased it for
	a month and took it to several small shows and then to the
	big show in Keene, N.H. During this time period we a lot of
	fun and had a good oppurtunity to really study the horse,
	see her perform and identify her strengths and weeknesses.
	After about two weeks we decided to enter the horse in
	several classes at the Keene, N.H. show. Actually we decided
	not to do any jumping because the horse needs to work on
	balance and would be better if we just showed her in some
	flat work classes. Of the three classes we entered my
	daughter placed first and reserve champion.

	I'm glad to see this conference and have already gotten some
	valuable information.

	thanks

    Hi.
    
    My names Howard Page (*Cuddliness to my friends). 
    I work in the customer support center at Warrington, UK.
    
    I like horses but I can't go too near since I'm allergic to them!
    I've never riden on one but I have riden a camel and an elephant.
    Many of my friends regularly ride.
    
    
    Lottsa notes to read now.........

Hi, I am Tina Whitney, and it is all my dad's fault that I have this
disease.  (He was always being nice to me, letting me have puppies and
kittens, dogs and cats.)  Well, one day, he was real nice to me - he took me for
a pony ride.  (It changed my whole life.)  I was 2.  All I can remember is
telling the man leading the pony, "As soon as I get old enough, I am going
to get a horse." (how many times do you suppose he heard that a day?).

As I got older, I went on trail rides.  By the time I was 17, I was leasing
a horse, Jay-Jay.  At 18, I still didn't have a car, but I did have a
horse, a big strawberry-roan appaloosa named Ramasandra.  Unfortunately,
only a week after I had "Ramsey", a motorcycle came up behind us, rev'd his
engines, and beeped his horn.  Ramsey went up and I went down -- onto a
pile of rocks.  (You know how cats always land on their feet?  I always
land on my -- backend.).  I was disabled for a long time.  The doctors told me
that I wouldn't ride again, and since walking was so hard I believed them
so I got rid of Ramsey.

It took a while but my body healed (almost completely), and after a while I
bought myself another horse -- a standard-bred mare named Crystal.  I had her
for over five years. You know what though, something funny happens to a person 
as they get older and after they've had several bad accidents -- they get
smart.  They realize they CAN get hurt.  They get scared.  Horses can sense
it.  Over the five years that I owned Crystal, she went from being
wonderfully docile and smart to insane and hot.  It happened because I got
scared over little things.  They compounded, and I got worse and so did she. 
Of course I blamed her at the time, not realizing that I was the real problem,
but this past summer showed me different.

I got rid of her 3 1/2 years ago, and got another horse, a quarter-horse
gelding named GENTLEMAN (alias, POOKIE, POOKER, POKEY, or WOOBA).  The same
thing began to happen to him as it did with Crystal, and last winter when I
realized it was me and not them, I decided that if I couldn't get a handle
on my fears this summer -- I would give up on riding and horses probably
forever.

But that is when two people I knew became instrumental in helping me
towards my "recovery" -- Ingrid and Sue.  I worked with Sue at DLB5.  She
was looking for a "good" blacksmith.  (We all know how hard it is to come
by one of them -- I am sure.)  Ingrid is a therapeutic blacksmith (my
quarter horse has the beginnings of navicular and has bone spavins and
requires special shoeing in order to keep him sound). 

Ingrid trains horses and people in the art of equitation.  She ran a 
therapeutic riding program (with donated horses that were "saved" because 
of her therapeutic shoeing abilities) at a state school -- that is, until 
Dukakis and the state cut her program. (Now she doesn't have a job, and 
where is she going to find one in this economy training horses?)  

I introduced Sue to Ingrid.  As a result of this introduction, I became 
friends with Sue too, and as two temporary stalls became available in 
her barn, which was near Ingrid's barn, over the summer, I moved my horse 
and my pregnant girlfriend's, Beth's, horse, Lady, to her barn.  Another 
friend Dave began to ride with us.  

We usually rode at five times a week sometimes more for several hours each ride
(usually over two -- sometimes four or five).  It wasn't easy for me but as 
a result of all this work (is work really the right word?), a wonderful thing
happened because of teamwork and friendship -- I lost my fear of horses
and riding.  Now I ride uninhibited, enjoying life, enjoying friends,
enjoying riding.  -- thanks Sue, thanks Ingrid, thanks Dave!  t

...I guess the saga got long (sorry).  I just wanted to share a few 
experiences that I feel were turning points in my riding life.  After reading 
the notes file for a couple of years now, I see that I am not the only one to 
experience the "joy of victory and the pains of defeat".  -- thanks everyone

t

    HI my name is ray desrosiers i work out of the huntsville alabama
    office i just transfered to huntsville in may of 1989 i come from new
    hampshire and worked in the salem mfg. for tpl. since i moved to
    alabama i got into horses for my daughter sake becuase she was home
    sick i did not realize that i would get into it also. i have had 5
    horses since we moved here. it took me awhile to find the right horse
    but i finaly settled on a apt. my daughter and myself got involve in
    the area horse showes and had a great time doing it. we can't wait for
    next year. i'm trying to locate some information on handicapped riding
    for barrels and poles for next year. i have a prosthetic on the right
    leg and i can't keep my foot in the stirup so i want to try it without
    my leg on. any help on this would be grateful.

    I've never been on a horse but my wife has been riding for about
    3 years.  She'd like to get a pair of high (over the calf boots).
    Where'sthe best place in the Worcester MA area to buy riding clothes?
    Also, does anyone sell this stuff used?
    
    Thanks - Mike Noeth 

    Chip Bach here!  
    
    Born: Yes (Chicago)
    
    Razed: Woodford County (Versailles) Kentucky (outside of Lex.)
    
    College: EKU - Richmond, Kentucky
    
    Owned (During hidh school) Shadow, the meanest Quarter Horse that ever
    lived.  (definitely had to add the red ribbon to her tail!)
    
    Worked for the Red Mile (High School), my mom used to coordinate
    special functions from the 'Mile, I used to coordinate cars in the
    parking lot ;-).
    
    Started w/DEC in Nashua, now (as of 8 months) in Cincinnati.  Visit
    my Sister and family in Lexington (Keeneland) every weekend, love this
    part of the country!!! 
    
    I almost forgot that Central Kentucky is the best horse country in the
    world!  
    
    Well back to work.
    
    Chip

    
    For those who don't know - the Red Mile (the 'Mile!) is a trotting track
    located in Lexington Kentucky.
    
    Hi Chris! Welcome aboard
    

                     < May I join your conversation?? >

							Aug. 14 1991     

		Hello, everyone.  Let me introduce myself.
	My name is Naoko.  I have been working at DEC(Osaka,Japan) for 
	about one year as a temp.  I'm very happy to read this notes 
	files.  I don't have much experiences of horse back riding and
	don't really know much about horses.  I've just started to learn
	horse back riding from last September.  I'm really a beginner!!
	So, I'm a little ashamed of joining this notes.  Everyone is all
	exparts for me!!  
		I usually ride horses twice a week.  I'm very jealous 
	you have many your own horses and wide farm.  I don't have own a 
	horse.  As you know, it is very very expencive to have a horse
	and to take a horse back riding lesson in Japan.  
		By the way, I'm going to go New Zealand(Rotorua) to ride 
	horses by our horse back riding club's tour this August.  
	I'm very excited!! 
		If somebody has some advices about riding or horses, 
	would you give me the advices?  You(Everyone) are my teachers!
	Thank you for your reading.  
	
	NAOKO

	P.S. I'm sorry for my poor English.


	

    Welcome Naoko,
    
    The best advice I can offer is ENJOY EVERY MINUTE WITH YOUR HORSES!!!
    I am glad that ex-racehorses have a second life with your club. Our
    horses(my wife's and mine) are Ben, Charity and Ellie.
    
    John
    P.S. Your English is excellent! 

    Hello all,
    
    I have been reading this notesfile for a while now and decided to
    finally say hello.  My name is Kathy Jette and I work at MKO1 in the
    Corporate User Information Products Group.  
    My folks say I've loved horses since I was 2 - I do know I've been
    crazy about them as long as I can remember.  I've owned a Quarter Horse
    gelding 15.1 hands and a Connemara Pony mare 14.1 hands.  Both were
    used for pleasure/trail riding and I showed the mare English on
    occassion.  I have not had horses for the past eight years and I get up
    every morning wishing I still did and wanting to ride.  The time will
    come when I will be able to do this again however, for now my kids are
    taking up all my spare time and I did not feel it would be fair to my
    horses to only ride them occassionally.  I hope to be able to share
    some of my experiences/past knowledge even though I do not own a horse
    at the moment.  My quarter horse had been abused so I have a quite a
    bit of knowledge about how to deal with those situations.
    As for my Connemara - I can't reccomend them enough!  They are darling!
    I'll own more of them in my lifetime - and maybe some "old style"
    morgans too!
    
    Well,  talk to you in other notes...
    
    Kathy Jette
    CUPMK::JETTE
    264-5082
    

    HI YA!
    
    	I hope I've done this right.  I guess I'll know in the end.
    
    		I have been reading the horse notes for about a month.  I
    have just today gotten my own account so I guess it's time for my 2
    cents worth.
    	I have been riding since I was 9.  I had my first horse turned over
    to me for training when I was 13.  At 15, I was under the guidance of
    Judith Pett and Anett Cart training and showing Peruvian Pasos.  I did
    this for 5 years and started training "outside" horses on my own.  
    	I had taken on a spoild Anglo-Arab who, after 4 years of loyalty,
    injured my knee against a fence.  I haven't been able to stay on a
    jumper since.  That was when I was forced to take up western riding.
    	I fell in with a good croud and had moderate success.  I showed
    with Dianne Gatlin of D Gatlin Quarter Horses and Jimmy Flores of Skunk
    Face Farms for a year.  I then turned to breeding.
    	That is where I am now.  I am still open to offers for managment
    position.  Never hurts to keep your options open.
    	So that's me in a nut shell.  I could go on as most horse people do
    but I am not even sure this will go into the system and I would hate to
    have to re-write the whole thing.
    
    			ya all take care,
    
    				vlm  cwo
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    "Forced" to take up Western Riding?   Bite your tongue!! (;
    
    Welcome to ::Equitation!!!!!
    
    Lynne (who_prefers_Western_style)

    ooooow Lynne,
    
    	Don't get me wrong, I enjoy western riding.  Ever since I have
    started this type of riding I have met so many people.  I know I'll get
    shot for this.  I found the people in the western riding group to be a
    little more "open".  Not that the English set isn't friendly.  We
    westerners don't mind cow poo on our boots.  I'll go hide now.
    
    
    

    re .-1
    
    Flame on!
    
    You better go hide.  To imply that all people who ride English are
    effete and would not stand "cow poo" on their boots is absolutely
    ridiculous.  In case you have not noticed, no one in this notes
    conference has ever mentioned having grooms to do their horses for
    them!  People ride English because they are interested in the types of
    things done in that style.  They do not ride English to be snobby, they 
    do not ride English because of their social class, they do not ride
    English to annoy you.  They do it because they like it.
    
    As someone who has bred horses, I've come in "close bodily contact"
    with every kind of slime and gore you can imagine.  Ever spent the night 
    sitting on the stall floor trying, unsuccessfully, to keep a premature 
    foal alive? Ever treated a week old foal with scours?  More than your
    boots gets dirty.
    
    Your comment is incredibly shallow and immature.  Wise up.
    
    Flame off.
    
    The point of this notes file, I think, is to help each other out, not
    to ridicule each other.
              
    -ellie

    
    	Oh, geez, what is she going to say when she finds out I
    	ride side saddle??  :)
    
    	sherry

    Oh, puleeeez....  Don't start flaming at each other.  I think
    Viriginia's comment was meant as a gentle tease.  Can't we all 
    smile at the parodies of ourselves?  Maybe I don't want to be
    teased, but I know she didn't mean to do anything more than 
    evoke a chuckle.
    -Kate

	Re last few

	I ride English cos I *am* English...

	;-)

    re .154
    
    No excuse!  I'm 2/3 English myself.....(;
    
    Lynne

    Re .155

    I must try western one day, there are two places near me in Suffolk
    that do it. Those saddles look extremely heavy for the horses though.

    Re that comment about cow poo - if I get anything unsavoury on my
    boots, I just have one of the grooms clean them...

    JJ.

    Re .156 "Those saddles look extremely heavy for the horses though."
    
    They're also heavy for the humans who have to saddle the horses! Why
    do you think the cowboys ride cow PONIES! They don't have to lift the
    saddles as high! ;-) :-)
    
    re .155 "2/3 English" ???????????? How'd ya manage that? 1/2 or 3/4 or
    even 7/8 would be obvious but 2/3??? Or maybe it's like what a Swiss
    friend visiting the US said to me last year..."I think maybe Americans
    do things differently than we Swiss do." when I asked what he meant, he
    showed me a newspaper article which he couldn't understand. It said
    something like "Jane Brown will graduate Magna Cum Laude. Jane is the
    daughter of James and Susan Brown and Mr Jack Smith." ;-) ;-)
    
    

    re .157
    
    I didn't manage to do it....my parents take all the blame! (:

    Well after 3 years of reading, and wanting a horse I have finely
    bought one.
    His name is Beau Britches,sire Beau Bonana. A 13 year gelding,
    sorell quarter horse. (sorell is a red color)
    
    The previous owner (a fellow decee) used him for trail rides for the
    last 5 years.
    
    After about the first 5 minutes on him he woke up. started side
    passing, backing up, going thru the gates, no problems.
    
    He has a wonderful slow lope , that he can do for miles.
    His trot is ok but you have to remind him to stay in it.
    
    Decided to try to see if he can jump. first a small 18 inch.
    
    No problem.
    
    Went up to 3 feet.
    
    No problem.
    
    He does mind dogs , Really seems to like my goats. And is a great 
    baby sitter for my 10 year daughter. 
    
    Enough gloating,
    			Carl

    congratulations... Beau Britches sounds like a great find... enjoy
    yourself!

    Hi again,
    
    	I'm the one who made the comment about the cow-poo.  I did mean it
    as a "gentle tease".  I did most of my riding between the ages of 13
    and 20.  Any one who has ridden as a kid knows that other kids are
    mercifuless to each other.  I just meant it as an adult joke.  (I hope
    that one doesn't set the "flame on" again.
    
    virginia

    Hi Virginia --
    
    Yeah, you hit a hot button with me, since I spent my teenage years
    being the brunt of the merciless teasing you mention.  I was surrounded
    by cowboy wannabes, and they all thought I was weird because, not only
    did I ride English, but I rode hunt seat, not saddleseat.  This was all
    but unheard of!  
    
    Also, I saw your comment at seven in the morning -- never my best time
    8^}.  So I apologise too.
    
    There, we can be friends now.  Whew!
    
    -ellie
    

    Name: Bruce Lawrie
        
    Horse: TIBU  16hand 1inch TB gelding.
        
    I have benn riding off and on for many years (30-all english) but
    decided to stop borrowing rides from all the rich people who had
    horses and no time.
    
    Now I am broke and have not much time, but it is fun.  TIBU aka
    Killer has had a bad rebutation of unloading riders (with some in the
    hospital).  But so far (knock on wood), he and I have been getting
    along, and have had fun.
    
    He was bred as eventer, and loves too jump.  So to I am taking
    jumping lessons to round out my Dressage training.
    
    This weekend I am going to Midland, TX and picking up the horse
    trailer.  
    
    Bruce

    I'm Jennifer Gilmore.  I just started riding again about 6 months
    ago for the first time in 11 years!
    
    I don't own my own horse, and probably won't for at least another
    5 years or so (unless, of course, I win Megabucks or MassMillions!).
    I have a friend who works at Bobby's Ranch in Acton, MA and that's
    where I ride every weekend.
    
    I'm still learning about this and that, but I do know that I absolutely
    love to ride.  My friend, who's been riding since she was 8, says I
    belong on a horse.  It's like nothing else I've found to reduce stress!
    
    :)  Jen 
    
    

    Hello my name is Dan Bouray Iam in field service living in Montana. We
    raise and train Single-Footing horses. In this country its all western
    riding unless your into showing. Western saddles can be very heavy like
    40 lbs, but they dont have to be, my western saddle weighs 21 lbs. That
    still may be heavy if you are use to english, but if you go riding in
    the mountains all day or overnight you need places to tie on your gear
    like a slikker,hobbles and of course your lunch. Also english saddles
    were not intended to used for long rides up and down mountain trailes.
    There is not enought support for horse or rider. The Australians
    modified the english saddle and came up with a good trail saddle that
    is now very popular with trail riders because it is not as heavy as
    a western saddle. I have tryed one and found that it slipped to much
    on the horses back, but alot of people love them.
     Well I guess that is all for now.
    If anyone out there is interested in a maginize on pleasure riding with
    lots of articles. Let me know with your name and adress and I will se
    that they send you a free copy. 

Hi folks, my name is Martin Kilgariff and I live in Oxford, England, UK.

I can't ride, and currently own no horses. 

I had a 1/4 share in a thoroughbred filly called Chelsea Princess. She was
trained professionally near Oxford but only ever ran in two races.

Her first venture into the competitive arena was during May 1989. She ran
in a National Hunt Flat race (races confined to horses which have not run 
on the flat). She was given an easy introduction, finishing in the middle of
the field. She was then rested for the summer. Her next race was in October
in another National Hunt Flat race, but this time with only four opponents.
The winner won by over 30 lengths, and she finished last over 30 lengths 
behind the 4th placed horse. We put her away for a year to give her a chance
to fill her frame. 

She was now a 5 year old. The following September (1990) after her first 
canter she dropped dead in the field. I've resisted the temptation to
bestow such luck on another horse!

    Hello again......I'm Baaacccckkkk!
    
    After 8 months of no horses I have returned!  It seems my former
    partner needs some help again so I have agreed to help him.  
    
    We now have only 3 mares and all are being bred at this time.
    Stealthy - 22yr old TB brood mare
    Berry    - 9yr old TB/QT grey.  Great racing blood from what he tells
   					 me.
    Tiny     - I don't know her age but she is a fire ball and of good
    		Blood.
    
    They are all being bred to Joe College Cool.
    
    We are now looking into leasing 15 acres in Chino.
    
    I feel so complete now.  I was getting so lost without my horseies!!
    Virginia

Hi, I'm new to this notes file.  I just figured out how to use them, so please excuse
any errors.

I currently live just outside of Frankfurt, Germany.  My husband works for the
Department of Defense (he's not in the military) and we've been here for almost
a year.  I work for a small group of American Digital employees posted over here
to work with the military customers in Europe.

Since we had to relocate, I left my 25 year old Thoroughbred gelding at home.  
He was my first horse, and I had him for 8 years.  He taught me lots and we 
were competing at 1st level when we came over.  He's now in the capable hands
of a friend for the three years that we will be here in Germany.  He lives at
at Essex Equestrian Cooperative in Danvers (we're from Marblehead, MA).

I was very lucky to find a good riding instructor here (who speaks English).
The barn is a five minutes walk from my house, and I have a lesson with him
every week.  I've learned lots just from riding the school horses here, and
have made great progress.  I'm hoping to participate in the dressage discussion
on topic 10.  

I didn't grow up with horses, but always loved them.  As soon as I graduated
from college, I started to ride.  My parents had always told me that when I could
afford it, I could have a horse.  I was lucky to have been given my horse as a
gift - the girl who owned him was moving and didn't want to take him with her,
so she transferred ownership to me for $1.00.  Well, they do say it's not the 
cost of a horse, but the upkeep, but I love every minute of it.

I'm hoping to be able to lease a horse while I'm here.  I've dragged my husband
to many shows since we've been here (he's not a horse person). Riding in Germany
is lots more serious than in the States.

Thanks for letting me ramble on about my horse life!

Janet

    I've been adding entries to this notes file so I guess I'd better tell
    you who I am.  I live in Springfield, Missouri and am a Kelly temporary
    at a remote office.  I've been working at Digital for about 2 years. 
    Hopefully I'll get hired...
    
    About my horse, Susie:  She's my first horse.  I bought her in July of
    this year.  I bought her because she was cheap and I was told that she
    was pregnant.  After I got her home and had her preg-checked I found
    out that she wasn't.  She's not what I expected to buy for my first
    riding horse.  I wanted a gelding, she's a mare.  I wanted something
    pretty, she's not.  I wanted something young, she's 12.  Also, she's
    blind in one eye.  I was getting ready to sell her and then I realized
    that despite her shortcomings, I love her too much to ever let her go. 
    Now, I even think she's beautiful.  Picture this:  A Paint in the front
    end (to her shoulders) and an Appaloosa in the back end.
    
    I board her in Mansfield, MO where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the
    Little House books.  This is some of the most beautiful country in the
    world.  Susie likes the Dairy Farm where she lives and works cattle
    with me like a pro.  She's worth every penny I paid for her!!!

    Welcome, Paula! Your mare sounds like a real sweetie. I found your note
    particularly interesting because when I was about 10, I had an older
    gelding who was blind in his left eye. I used to do very well at
    gymhkana's with him, he was my first 'horse' after a childhood of
    riding Shetland ponies, and he was a blast! I didn't really know until
    I was much older that his one-sided blindness was considered a
    handicap.
    

    Hi Paula and welcome! Actually, it sounds like you have a great first
    horse! Most people who buy young, pretty first horses live to regret it
    but some don't....live that is...they just regret it! ;-) Seriously, an
    older, well-trained *sensible* horse is just what everybody should have
    as their first horse. Sounds liek you've got a winner in Susie!
    
    John

    Hi..
    
    	I am fairly new to this nots file..  I have been reading it for a
    few months now..  I have always thought that horses were beautiful and
    friendly animals.  I can never remember not wanting one.  Through my 
    childhood my parents didn't have enough room,but we did have a friend
    who would come to the house every weekend (through woods) and let all
    the young people ride his mare (Bahli was her name).
    
       Anyhow...  I finally have the room and barn to have a horse..  I
    had been looking all over for one reasonably priced,which wasn't too
    green.  Most of the ones I came across that met this were out of my
    price range...  Until three weeks ago, I found a woman who had recently
    had a baby and had (previously) sold her horse.   He is a registered
    appendix Quarter horse.(23yrs),Chestnut in color with two white socks
    and a blaze.  The people who had purchased N.P. (Nearly Perfect) had
    not been properly feeding him and he had lost upwards of 200lbs.  So
    she got him back and refunded the monies..  She then began looking for
    a better home for him as she could not give him the time/attentions he
    likes.  Fortunatly she chose my home and GAVE him and his tac to me...
    I so excited.....  Finally I really have my own horse in my own
    backyard..  He is truly wonderful..  He loves to roll in the pasture
    after a nice ride...  He enjoys being groomed.  He even enjoys swimming
    in the pond in our back yard (I have to admit I didn't enjoy that very
    much as I was on his back last weekend when he decided to just lay down
    in the water and it is rather cool for that this time of the year). 
    But he is a sweetheart..  In the spring I am hopeing to get another
    horse..  The kids seem to enjoy riding as well and 1 horse won't be 
    enough as soon as they get a little better in the saddle.....
    
    Wendy
    
    
    

    Hi,
    
    I too have been adding to this conference recently and thought I'd
    better introduce myself.  Like most people in this conference I am
    hooked on horses - I have ridden for years and only managed to get my
    own approximately a year ago.  She's a 15.2 Palomino mare and is about
    12 years old - she's absolutely adorable.  I used to look after her
    when she was at a riding school where I learnt to ride, she was there
    for 5 years before I managed to buy her - it was like a dream come
    true, I don't think I will ever want for anything as much as I wanted
    this horse.  Even now it's winter (again) I still love going up there
    in the freezing cold to feed her and see her run up to the gate when I
    arrive.  I don't think it's sunk in yet that she's actually mine now,
    all mine!
    
    So far I've found this conference really interesting, it's a shame that
    few people from the UK add their comments as we tend to do things
    slightly different than from you folks over the water.
    
    One thing I would like to find out, is there and topic for palominos? 
    I can't seem to find one in here (or maybe my find key dowesn't
    work!!!).  Also, is there a topic for discussing the pros and cons of
    mares vs. geldings.  I know this can be a very passionate subject for
    some people and I would like to know if we have one in here.  If not -
    then could someone please start one, I would myself but am still
    ignorant on how to start a topic, I only know how to add to one (It's
    easier!).
    
    Anyway, that's about all from me, a bit of a long introduction but I
    thought I'd better do the official bits if I'm going to be contributing
    into this conference.
    
    Happy riding!!!
    
    Liz
    
    

I suppose as I've been writing in here recently instead of read-only,
I ought to introduce myself.

I'm Ellen Walther and I'm a contract technical writer working at the
moment in Basingstoke (England). My whole contracting career has been
with Digital, so I've been fortunate enough to be able to follow this
notes conference regularly!

I've been riding since I was 7 and, apart from a couple of years in my
late teens, have never stopped. Most of that time I've spent a good
portion of my waking hours finding horses to ride...I'm not sure how many 
stables I've mucked out and tack I've cleaned for the privilege of a few 
hours' riding!

I was told by my parents that if I wanted a horse I had to manage completely 
on my own, and only in the last couple of months have I finally achieved this 
(and it does feel very gratifying to have finally achieved a lifelong dream!!). 

For the past 3 years, I've had a friend's horse on an on-farm loan, and 
recently she offered to sell him to me. I'm now keeping him at a farm near 
my home on a trial basis, and if I am happy with the situation in a few month's 
time I'll probably take the plunge and buy him. After only a short while I 
can't imagine life without Rocky!!

Rocky is a 5-year-old Connemara/Hunter cross gelding with very strong ideas of
his likes and dislikes. He's got some phobias left to iron out (donkeys
and sheep in particular!!) but he's a good listener (unless there are 
donkeys about) and he is eager to please, so we're getting somewhere,
a little bit at a time.  He is dapple grey, and is finally filling out into 
a nice shape after an "awkwardly shaped youth", and has the most handsome 
face in the stables! Unfortunately his angelic facial expressions are 
difficult to resist when he is being naughty :)

This notesfile is a superb source of information and the diverse
range of knowledge across all the horsey disciplines found in here is one 
that we could never find at any one horse establishment!

Ellen

    
    
    Well, I've been a read only for a few months now, and I best enter
    my introduction now.
    
    I am a "Stable Mom", that is, my daughter who is six has been riding
    for over a year and a half.  She is taking huntseat lessons at M.E.C.
    in Marlboro, which I couldn't be happier with.
    
    We both have been learning at ultra-sonic speed, since we also live on
    a "trotter" farm and with her taking the riding lessons.
    
    Candy Alexander

    Let me introduce myself.
    
    My name is Ed Dvorsky.  I am currently working as a consultant at the
    Hudson facility.  My home is Mondovi, Wisconsin, which is 20 miles SW
    of Eau Claire and 95 ESE of St. Paul, Minnesota.  My wife, Peggy, and I
    have a 45 acre ranch.  We are currently owned by eight quarterhorses.
    Allow me to introduce the cast by order of appearance:
    
          Sinn, 12 yr old sorrel mare, a do it all.
          April, 19 yr old black mare, an old pole and barrel performer
          Gunner, 3 yr old black filly, April's first foal and herd Houdini
          Millie, 19 yr old sorrel mare, barrel horse and my big baby
          Sly, 5 yr old sorrel gelding, past racehorse and future do it all
          Leroy, yearling sorrel gelding, Millie's first foal and my future 
                                           big baby
          Rickie, yearling chestnut filly, Sinn's second foal, a fussbudget
          Bear, 6 yr old black gelding, my present project until Leroy is 
                                         old enough to use
    
    Peggy,(I believe her first word as a baby was "horse") and I have been
    married for almost eight years.  She was horseless at the time.  That
    lasted for two and a half years.  Since then she has gotten me hooked
    on horses, even to the point that I occasionally look like I can ride.
    We have had a wonderful time with all of our characters, though the
    babies always steal the show.  We enjoy trail riding, gymkhana, team
    penning, and swapping stories.  I have had some fun reading this
    notebook for the past few days, but I want to do more than read about
    horses for the few months I will be at Hudson.  (Of course, I brought
    my saddle!  Peggy wanted me to bring Bear, too!)  
    
    I look forward to hearing from all of you.  Thanks for the opportunity
    to get together with all the other equine addicts.
    
     

            
	I have been taking lessons for over a year and am HOOKED.
	My daughter just starting riding also.
	No horse yet, but taking time to look at what is out there.

    	Would be interested in knowing who else is out there in the
	Maryland/Virginia  area of the country.
	
	Linda
	
	

    Hi !
    
    I have been riding since I was about 8 yrs. old.  My first horse
    was a 3 yr. old Registered Thoroughbred from the track, I didn't
    buy him until I was 23.  I trained him and showed him in Hunter and
    Dressage...he did exceptionally well for a 4 yr. old.
    He did Medium III movements !!  The newspapers came and did some
    stories on him and I.  When he was 6 (3 yrs. ago), unfortunately
    I had to sell him due to finances.  I have been looking for a horse
    to fill my life ever since my finances improved (2 yrs.).  I tried
    to buy my horse back, but his selling price is now $30,000 since
    he has excelled in all his Shows.  So, I couldn't really afford
    that !!
    
    I saw a beautiful 17.2 hh Registered Thoroughbred Stallion at a
    Stallion show, then I saw one of the mares that he was bred to (a
    16.2 Thoroughbred - 1/4 Hanavarian), the owner was going to sell
    the foal for $2,500.00. When I saw the Dame and Sire and heard their
    background and saw the Stallion's movement and the Dame's beautiful
    head and neck and her big deer-like eyes (she's 5 yrs. old), I told
    the owner of the mare that I would buy the foal "sight-unseen" if
    it was a COLT..I wanted a colt...this way I would let fate decide
    whether or not this foal was meant to be for me or not.  
    
    Well, on Thursday, April 14th, I received a phone call at work saying,
    "IT'S A BOY !!!!"  I couldn't believe it, after all this time, all
    the horses and yearlings that I had seen, too bigt, too small, too
    expensive etc. etc., well, this one was for me..fate decided and
    when fate decides its usually always right ! 
    
    The FOAL has **VERY UNUSUAL MARKINGS** he is a Chestnut with two white
    diagnal socks, he then has two white pasterns, BUT THE FRONT LEFT
    PASTERN (RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE) HAS A WHITE UPSIDE DOWN "V" MARK--LIKE
    A LITTLE LIGHTNING BOLT) GOING ALMOST UP TO HIS KNEE !! It looks
    incredible.
    
    I am going to try and show him "on-the-line" (my first time).  I
    have a lot to learn, but I can't waite.  I wonder how tall he will
    be since his Sire is 17.2 ?
    
    The white on his legs is PURE WHITE, not off white or milky white,
    it is pur white !!  I am so happy with him !  I am so proud and
    excited, I finally have another horse, one that I can some day take
    to the Olympics in dressage (my goal).  If not, well, as close as
    possible anyway..I have a lot of determination.
    
    He is 6 days old today (Apr. 21, 1994).  I go and see him every
    day, I watch him and I am starting to teach him and myself the basics
    !!
    
    I still need a name though !
    
    I have a topic in the conference, it is called "Foal-beginner-size".
    Please respond with any ideas.  Thank you.
    
    
    Ayn - Foal  (DTN # 591-5818)
    

    Just became a riding enthusiast last summer.  A bunch of us stumbled
    across a resort in Upstate NY that offered riding and thought getting
    on a horse first would be a good idea *-)  Have been riding about once
    a week since.
    
    No horse, yet, although the farm where we ride has been trying to sell 
    me one.  I just missed out on a beautiful chestnut 1/4 with dorsal eel
    stripe.  He was sold the first weekend he came in to the Ocean City,
    MD, police.  The folks at the farm have been rubbing my face in it ever
    since.
    
    Looking forward to some interesting reading.
    
    Craig
    Upper Marlboro, MD

    	I've moved again [and we wonder why this company isn't rolling 
    	in cash]. I can be found at MRO3-2/G1, dtn 297-7237, until
    	further notice. Since this bldg is closing at the end of April,
    	I will be moving again then... to MRO1. 
    
    	Sherry

    Sherry,
    
    I had to snicker at your note...I'm in the process of moving this week
    myself.  From TWO (Tewksbury - which has been sold) to WOO (Woburn)
    *and* DOO (Contoocook).  WOO because that's where my group is going and
    DOO to keep me in the company since WOO is 1.5 - 2 hours one way from
    home and DOO is under 10 minutes.  I'll be part-timing it in each site,
    preferable DOO a LOT more often!  In 90 days we are destined to be
    moved OUT of WOO to DAS!  
    
    I don't bother unpacking things anymore.  :-)
    
    - Linda
     

Since I've been read only for about a month or so here, and posted my first and
I'm sure somewhat confusing reply, I might as well introduce myself.

Roger Oakey (PEAKS::OAKEY), storage engineering in Colorado Springs.

Just call me equine rank amateur for short.

Interest in draft horses when I was young that never went anywhere.  My wife
(Kathy BOUVS::OAKEY just to make our replies confusing) just bought a horse, one
of her lifelong dreams, and to not be left in the dust (literally) I've started
taking riding lessons (English).

I've had a gathering interest in drafts over the last few years that even I was
unaware of; Kathy and I have been going to a day of the draft horse events at
the National Western Stock Show for the last couple of years, but this year we
ended going up for every day of the draft events.  That, combined with getting
to meet "up close and personal" the Belgian Stallion that took Grand Champion at
the NWSS (19 hands!  Now THAT'S a correctly sized horse!) successfully re
kindled a long dormant interest, and now I'd call it quite active!

So at the moment put me in the "going for breadth of knowledge" phase of
learning about horses and riding, with an eventual goal of draft driving
(cart/wagon/sled/sleigh).  Though I'm also interested in plowing and skidding, a
quick reality check reveals that I don't have any fields to tend or forests to
clear, so I doubt I'll get much exposure to those applications :-)

Hope to see some of you in note 109!

                              Roak

Ps.  Based on my wealth of inexperience, the Belgium (European) Belgians (which
are actually touched on in note 109!), the Dutch Heavy Drought and the
Percherons are kinda tied for first in terms of my interest, followed closely by
the American Belgians.

    
    since i've been reading this note for some time now, and finally
    entered my 1st note, i best tell you who i am.
    
    gail tobin,  customer qualification desk, colorado springs
    g_tobin::csc32
    
    i bought my 1st horse in oct of 93, a 5 month old belgium draft horse.  
    he was so much fun i got him a team mate in oct of 94.  so i am know
    the proud and novice owner of two very young, very large, and very
    untrained draft horses.   and it's lots and lots of fun !!!
    
    i hope to train them to  pull, and to ride.  at the moment they are
    both halter broke and are very, very gentle. and are beautiful to look
    at.  we call the 2 year old nabraska and the yearly is dakota.
    
    thanks for all the helpful hints is the training notes.
    
    gail  
                                    

Hi, I'm Rob Murtha, my wife Kim and son Austin have three horses
between us. We have Trigger a Palamino Quarter Horse, Pecan a
Morgan/Quarter Horse, and April a Morgan cross. We ride Western and
trails, I have Endurance tack.

I'm happy to say that Trigger and Pecan are in semi retirement from
their 24 years of service and were adopted from a Harvard, Ma
couple. We are currently looking for a Western Reigning horse.

We live in Northborough, Ma. and are members of the Horse
Association there. We would love to meet some trail riders in the
area, I just got a truck and 4 horse stock trailer this year.

Rob

    Bobbi, I own a double registered Palomino Quarter Horse.  He is 9 years
    old and stands 16.3 hands.  He has been out to pasture for 3 years so I
    am re-gentling him.  He was shown in hunter/jumper classes and was
    evented.  No-one has ridden him for 3 years so I am going to start slow
    I thought I was getting a Western Pleasure Horse.  Oh well.  When he
    got off the trailer, I knew I could never send him back to endure the
    neglect he suffered.  His hoofs were curled up.  After one months, he
    cross ties, loves being groomed and he feet are nearly normal.  I am
    looking for someone who is a confident and excellent English rider who
    would like to work with him.  There are three other horses at the barn
    and I ride the little appy.
    
    I would love to hear from anyone who has trained or re-trained very
    excitable horses.  I rode Saddlebreds but that was 20 years ago.
    My DTN is 226-5608.  Max

    Hi, I'm Diana from downunder, Aussi person that can't type, who by
    error chanced upon equitation notes file, now being typed by Fiona
    (Aussie person who can type) who are both horse owners.
    
    Fiona owning, recently purchasing a 5 year t/bred gelding 15.3hh off
    the track, racehorse, no education but plenty of class. He loves her.
    Who is currently giving her lots of pleasure in re-educating/training
    with view to dressage/shows.
    
    Diana owning, 3 horses, 1- first x qtr horse mare, 15.2hh who was her
    first horse and is now 20yrs old and in retirement, 2- Anglo arab mare,
    16.2hh, 5yr old, who is currently in training to be competed and shown
    as dressage and hacking.  Hopefully in pairs with Fiona as both are
    bays.  Show season starting in September in Australia.
    (Spring)
    
    Last but not least 3- Part Arab, gelding, 14.3 hh, who is my sons
    horse, who has given up riding due to study committments, so he is
    currently for sale.
    
    Which is sad, as he is beautiful.  That's it from us, We will keep an
    eye on any current information on equitation,  Bye for now
    
    Diana and Fiona.