Book on Pilates for Dressage Riders/ Fjords in Atlanta
This message is from: Gail Russell [EMAIL PROTECTED] What is the name of the Pilates book. I saw one at our tack store, and have never seen one again. I cannot tell you how much better my riding is since I have been working with a Pilates trainer! It is so much better to develop the posture you need OFF the horse, and then take it to the horse. Are there Fjords in Atlanta? My daughter is just about to move there, and I would love to see her get involved with Fjords there. She is leaving Hollywoodhopefully to work less, start a family, and have a bit more fun. Gail
Re: Tessa's 30th Birthday Party Grand Opening of Arthur's Art Gallery -
This message is from: Arthur Rivoire [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello Everybody from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia -- Sunday, July 11th is the date of the Big Bash! -- The roses will be blooming, and we'll be celebrating on the lawn. Big-Time celebrating with dear friends from everywhere. -- Tessa turned 30 in March, but who can have a garden party in Nova Scotia in March? What a silly thought! So, it'll be July 11th, and this is just to let you know that everybody in the area for the Driving Vacations are cordially invited to the party. We'll have food and music, and a very good time. -- We still have openings for the Beginner Driving Vacations during the two weeks just before and after the party - July 5 - 8, and July 12 - 15. We're all kind of frantic right now with less than two months until opening day. So much to do. -- Right now we're lining up staff, and it will be an exceptionally good one this year with Kelly coming back for her third year with us, and talented interns from England, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Holland. This year, we're offering two new courses, along with the Beginner Driving Vacations - #1 - Overcoming A Fear of Horses, and #2 - Learn to Train Your Own Horse to Drive. -- Both of these courses will be integrated into the driving vacations with the gourmet lunches, and Wine Cheese Beach Party with Horses. We hope to be able to share our glorious Nova Scotia summer with you, Regards, Carol Rivoire http://www.beaverdamfarm.com Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II R.R. 7 Pomquet, Nova Scotia B2G 2L4 Tel:(902) 386-2304 Fax:(902) 386-2149 Carole Rivoire, author of THE FJORDHORSE HANDBOOK, only book in English on the Fjord breed, available from Beaver Dam Farm, $36.95 US includes PH http://www.beaverdamfarm.com/book.htm
Re: Just back from great driving holiday down south
This message is from: Arthur Rivoire [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - I've just returned from two wonderful weeks down south enjoying sunshine, flowers, and driving Fjordhorses. This trip has become something of an annual treat for me. I get to visit with customers who've become dear friends, and drive their lovely Fjords. What could be nicer than renewing friendships, both human and equine. Claudia Gallup from NC met me at the airport with news that we'd been invited by Barbie Black to a cocktail party given by her vet in his barn. - A great start for the vacation. We met nice people, many of them dedicated drivers, ate some super food, and were entertained by a bluegrass band. -- After an hour or so, the three of us went back to the Pinecrest Inn for a dinner celebrating Barbie's 60th birthday. Claudia posts to the Digest now and then. She's the owner of the exquisite mare, Rosan, a mare we imported as a yearling from Holland. Rosan suits Claudia to a T as both of them are petite and very pretty. Claudia and Rosan are training now, and will be competing in a few weeks at the elegant Pinehurst Classic in NC. Barbara Black is the owner of three Fjords, including another of the yearlings we imported from Holland, the great Ohlsen-Junior daughter, Trientje. Barbie calls her Trinket, and Trinket is now 6 years old. -- Barbara is a complete horsewoman down to the marrow of her bone. She's been steeped in horses all her life -- Everything from Pony Club as a child, to fox hunting, and now driving. - This lady has all the credentials. She's a past president of the American Driving Society, and has been twice Chef d'Equipe for the U.S. 4-In-Hand World Championship teams. -- Today, she runs almost single-handedly a very busy training and lesson barn. She continues to compete, and to host clinics at her farm. -- Along with her horses, all of which are well-behaved, Barbie has about 20 dogs of various breeds --- also beautifully behaved. Hard to believe, but true! Arriving on Saturday, Claudia and I had lessons with Barbie on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, the three of us headed south to Atlanta to visit Mike and Cindy Bickman, the owners of three super Fjords from Beaver Dam Farm. -- The imported mares, Tanja and Silaika, and the gelding Kastar, one of our consignment horses. The Bickmans are a wonderful story. --- Cindy was a dressage rider married to a non-horsey husband; that is, until they took a trip to Norway and Mike saw Fjords. He decided that if he were ever to have a relationship with any horses, this was the breed. -- The next step was a trip to Beaver Dam Farm for our Nova Scotia Beginner Driving Vacations. -- Arthur took Mike in hand and taught him to drive using Arthur's old mare, Tessa. Mike did as well as could be expected, but he really was starting from zero. However, on that trip, Cindy and Mike purchased two-year-old Tanja, a Gjest granddaughter, and 3 yr. old Silaika, one of our imported mares. -- Kastar came a few months later. - The Bickmans were committed. Last Spring we made our first trip to the beautiful Bickman farm, and this time, Mike took Arthur in hand driving him all around the farm in perfect confidence with Silaika in a snaffle bit. This Spring there were even bigger, more impressive changes in Mike which all of us noticed. I had the pleasure of driving Tanja and despite the fact that she hadn't been driven in a year (Cindy's riding her), she was incredibly good and fun to drive -- Super forward with a lot of power, but well-behaved. Mike had several lessons with Silaika, and we were all impressed at his new skill and confidence. At the Bickman Farm, all of us had lessons from Barbie with Tanja and Silaika. The only downside was the weather which was cold, something this Nova Scotian didn't expect in Georgia. We piled on all the clothes we brought and were still shivering. Cindy's dressage interest has resulted in their farm hosting clinics with all the big dressage names, including Betsy Steiner. -- Cindy gave me a beautiful book on Pilates for dressage riders, autographed by Betsy. Something I'll proudly cherish. - Cindy's main occupation is the owner of a renowned gym which teaches able-bodied and handicapped people. This gym has produced many winning gymnastic teams, and each year Cindy travels around the world with her teams - China, South America, Europe, Scandinavia, etc. -- One night, before dinner, Mike took us to the gym for a special presentation by the handicapped gymnasts. It was heart-wrenchingly wonderful. Our faces were wet with tears of joy. -- One of the gymnasts, a woman of 51, took a liking to Barbie, and before she did her routine, she cried . . . This one's for you, Barbie! That brought down the house! After 3 days in Atlanta, we headed back to SC. Claudia stayed one more day so the two of us could have another lesson with Barbie,
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2004 #86
This message is from: jgayle [EMAIL PROTECTED] Betsy, I agree with you on standards for horses and riders in the therapeutic programs. We started up a program here with all volunteers and no experts to guide us. Lots of mistakes. One big one was not addressing the problem horses of volunteers. One lady brought her barrel racing horses in and they appeared quiet. However, one day a father insisted on riding behind the saddle where his very disabled son was sagging, so he could support him. The minute he clamped his legs around the horse, it took off like a shot toward a non existent barrel. Father and son landed in a heap. The son was alright but the father was bruised and shaken. Yet the leaders still did not think they could upset the owner of the donated horse. Lots of pitfalls but a well meaning project. Jean G. Author The Colonel's Daughter Occupied Germany 46-49 Send $20 to: PO Box 104 Montesano, WA 98563
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2004 #86
This message is from: Betsy Moore [EMAIL PROTECTED] Regarding constant pummeling of therapy horses... I'm sure it occurs occasionally, but in our program, if we see a rider abusing a horse, the abuse is stopped immediately. Part of therapeutic riding is learning to respect animals and people, and learning how to interact appropriately. If a rider is too jerky or unsteady with his hands, the reins are attached to the halter, and the sidewalkers work on quiet hands. If riders get so excited that they bounce on the horse's back, we explain to them that they can hurt their horse with all that bouncing. Most riders do not want to hurt their horse, and are unaware that they are doing so. It means a lot to them to do things that their horse likes. It does no one any good if there is abuse of therapy horses occurring. The horse will certainly not remain happy in his work if he is constantly suffering some kind of abuse. Many riding centers belong to the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. NARHA sets standards for the industry which all member centers must follow including removing unsound horses from the program, the maximum hours a horse may work each day, health care, availability of feed water, etc. Not all programs are members of NARHA. If you are considering a donation to any program, it is a good idea to check the program out, meet the people, watch the classes, etc. At our center, riders are only accepted that can safely be managed on the horse. All program participants including riders, volunteers, and instructors should be kept safe at all times. Safety is not only for riders. If a large rider cannot assist in maintaining his balance, for example, he could hurt a short sidewalker by falling on him. Unfortunately, abusive or inappropriate situations do occur, but hopefully, they are the exception rather than the rule, and, hopefully, they are corrected when they occur. We looked at a horse this morning that was said to be ideal for the program. (It wasn't.) There were about 30 horses at this place. Stalls hadn't been cleaned in forever. Some of the horses were poor. Most looked wormy. I hate these situations because things aren't bad enough for a humane organization to do anything, but the horses weren't receiving top care either. But they had food and water. Didn't mean to go on so long. There are standards for every aspect of therapeutic riding, and if standards aren't followed, maybe the program operators don't know what they are doing. Betsy Moore
Therapeutic Riding
This message is from: Sofia Jagbrant [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello, I have became more and more intrested of Therapeutic Riding, maybe becouse I think I have a horse who would be a superb Therapeutic Riding/driving pony, and even for I think everyone will have a possibly to feel the same wonderful feeling like I, when I am with the horses. Next year when I am finish with the school for a while and hopefully work outside Sweden, I hope my calm and really sweet 4-years old fjord, who loves children could be a nice and useful Therapeutic riding/driving pony. Last week when I visited Gothenburg Horseshow, a disabled girl was riding a fjord when their club got a price for best Ridingclub for disabled. I became very happy, becouse I thought I didn't see any fjord at all. Sunny Regards Sofia - Original Message - From: Betsy Moore [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 4:47 AM Subject: Re: fjordhorse-digest V2004 #85 This message is from: Betsy Moore [EMAIL PROTECTED] Re: horses in therapeutic programs We, at Rafter M Therapeutic Riding Center (southern Illinois), are still looking for a Fjord for our program. The horse should be between 8-12 yrs old, and be able to walk, trot, canter on both leads in an arena quietly and nicely enough for a beginner. I have enjoyed the discussion about therapy horses. Many people think that therapy horses don't do much besides plod around. Some people even think that lame horses can be used in a therapeutic program. We currently have 5 quarter horses in our program, and value and cherish each one of them. We count ourselves lucky to have such wonderful animals. They are so tolerant of all we ask of them from having people walking on both sides of them, having a leader, having a rider giving cues, playing games with all kinds of props including balls, rings, clip boards, stickers being put on them to identify parts, etc. The list is as long as your imagination. Our horses also work in an able bodied riding lesson program. It helps keep them fit, and gives them something else to do and look at. They all live in a pasture so they have plenty of down time. Good, suitable horses are so hard to find that we protect and take very good care of the ones we have. Our horses are now all over 20 (20 is the youngest) so we are looking for a younger horse that will carry us through the next years of our program. If anyone knows of a Fjord that would be suitable, please let us know. Thanks! Betsy Moore
FW: Fjordies in therapeutic programs
This message is from: kathy johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: kathy johnson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 11:29 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fjordies in therapeutic programs Hello there-- I did a bit of raking this am and found the daffodils and crocus in blossom under the leaves. It's great that spring is finally here!! I chose to do the raking close to the pony pasture so I could keep an eye on the comings and goings of two new additions (saddlebred gelding and morgan mare) to our herd of horses for the therapeutic program called We Can Ride in the Minneapolis, MN area. Both are here on a 60 day trial...to make sure they can do the job...both mentally and physically. The horses are our BEST partners..so they have to be happy with their job also!! I am an riding driving instructor for this program and host two nights of carriage driving plus one day of hippotherapy using my fjords at our farm, Woodpecker Woods. Currently, we are using three full time (Ada Karin (from Linda Hickham), Ranka (from Carol Rivoire) and Rorik's Gunner. Two more...Fjona I(from Linda Hickham) and BDF Kapprell (from Carol Rivoire) are in training. The saddlebred and morgan are here to find a horse with a narrower base than the fjordies have. The therapists have been very excited using the fjordies because all of them have unique strides and motion as well as their kind spirits and heart. This means they can pick the right horse for what the student needs in regard to vestibular input. Our hippo kids range from 2 years to 14 hears old. Our driving students range in age from teenagers...to a gentleman in his sixties. I agree with alot of the previous posts about the care and concern each horse has for its student. During class, they pick their steps carefully being very intuitive that they have special cargo aboard. Two of our carriages are equipped with hydraulic lifts to accommodate wheelchairs. The thrill for a student confined to a chair being able to trot outside...have the wind in their face and navigate a cones course is my greatest joy! And the horses make sure they do it well and also enjoy the fun times! All of the ponies are ridden/driven before classes with an abled-bodied rider/driver...as well as after class. I want them to be able to cut loose and have some fun. Between the hippo classes, the tack is removed and they are allowed a 15-20 minute break in their stall with fresh water hay. The stall area is quiet with classical music...so they can relax and unwind. They are always willing to start again when a volunteer comes to get them tacked up!! Our three mainstays have been in the program for 3 years...taking part in demonstrations as well as lessons. Privately, all of the horses have been used in pleasure driving, a driving trial and a distance drive...just to give them some variety in their life! I would not trade any one of them for the world! GO FJORDS!!! Kathy Johnson
Fattening feed
This message is from: Vicki and Tony Johnston [EMAIL PROTECTED] Given that my little Fjord gains weight looking over the fence at grass, I can't imagine him ever needing a fattening diet. But, when I first got my Bashkir Curly, he needed some pounds. I fed him a plain oat and barley mix (which isn't available in the south) and he did wonderfully on it. Vicki Johnston Mims, Florida
