RE: Rose Parade hoopla
This message is from: "Beth & Sandy - Starfire Farm" This message is from: Karen McCarthy .."as Teressa said, nothing can prepare you for that kind of experience, except being in it!" This is so true Beth, and it really is one of the biggest 'stress tests' you can ever have with horses. Parades are not to be trifled with." So true! We have an annual parade in Parker, south of Denver, that was started by the Colorado Carriage Society. It used be called the Parker Christmas Carriage Parade. As parades go, it is the most horse friendly parade anyone can be in. And they still have problems. In the past, a team of Belgians ran before the parade even got started, running through a fence and over the top of a spectator who had a broken arm, or something like that. These days, the parade includes horses and carriages, ridden or in hand horses and marching bands. No gas powered vehicles allowed. And they have knowledgeable safety spotters there to make sure carriages/harness, etc. were all safe. "(Luckily our horses had borium on their shoes as we had heard about this dangerous footing, but we still gave it a lot of respect when we crossed it)" The Rose Parade allows for barefoot horses, but you have to sign a release waiver saying you recognize the risk. We opted for shoes and borium tipped nails after seeing the hilly route and hearing about hydraulic fluid leaking from the floats, etc. I was grateful for the extra grip when my horses were holding the carriage. I think they appreciated it too. No need to take chances! And the nail heads allowed for just enough slip that our horses weren't sore from the shoes being too "sticky." We had been told that there would be people out there who would do things to try to frighten our horses. I did not see that during the Rose Parade, in fact everyone seemed happy and welcoming, however prior to the start of the parade, while we were getting the horses ready in "the Pit," (which was the closed-down 710 freeway) a guy flew by on a chopper, arms hanging from "monkey bars" and revved his engine as loud as he could at our horses and at the group down the road from us. Clearly trying to get a response from the horses. I hope he was disappointed, because he didn't get one! "And I couldn't agree more with Phil when he said that a parade is " the most unnerving and potentially dangerous horse activity I can think of." Amen to that ;-) Hats off again to all of you Rose Parade peeps + ponies, a great job all around showing our Fjord breed off at what they do best, impressing the world with their unique beauty and kind attitude at whatever they are asked to do! Karen" Thanks Karen, and everyone else who gave us compliments. We did not enter this frivolously! All having parade and exhibition experience, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect regarding serious, hectic parades. What we didn't expect was the amount of work that it would take just satisfying the needs of the RP committee. Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork! Deadlines to meetsheesh. It was quite the team effort! Beth Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
Re: Rose Parade hoopla
This message is from: Me Kint "Parades are not to be trifled with." I agree. Having talked with a few parade participants years ago, I found out that just as some people ride trails, others dressage, jumping, driving, etc. that some people have parade riding as their equestrian " discipline/pursuit". You all deserve a feather in your cap, a medal for bravery, etc. >From Mary's iPad PLEASE REMOVE ALL E-MAIL ADDRESSES BEFORE SENDING OR FORWARDING THIS EMAIL. > On Jan 10, 2014, at 11:25, Karen McCarthy wrote: > > Parades are not to be trifled > with. Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
RE: Rose Parade hoopla
This message is from: Karen McCarthy From: "Beth & Sandy - Starfire Farm" starfiref...@usa.net ..."as Teressa said, nothing can prepare you for that kind of experience, except being in it!" This is so true Beth, and it really is one of the biggest 'stress tests' you can ever have with horses. Parades are not to be trifled with. In some of the groups I have ridden in, in large parades, (Nevada Day Parade, Reno Rodeo Parade, Mule Days Parade) once or twice we've had to excuse a horse & rider before the parade when they could not "maintain" & grew progressively more out of control. Safety is everything IMO ..."However, our horses were amazing. They trusted us, they trusted each other and banded together as a herd. They tolerated more noise than anyone could imagine." So true Beth, it all breaks down to trust - and for Fjords, well as horses go, they have to be one of the most "socially conscious" breed I have ever been around. They really are defined by their herd, so glad that Teressa was able to overcome the Parade Marshalls at the end! ..."I am still blown away by that. Even little poppers started going off towards the end of the parade, kind of like fireworks poppers. Not one horse paid attention to that." Ages ago I had an incident at the Reno Rodeo parade that was one of the scariest things that ever happened in my "parade history". Just as we started the parade, with a turn down Virginia Street in downtown Reno, (which is like riding down a narrow trail in a deep canyon of casinos with the sidewalks absolutely packed with humans - very claustrophobic) some little twerps tossed live firecrackers under our horses feet! We were 6 abreast, I was in the middle on the "baby", a 5 year old mare, and I told the other riders to bunch in the middle around me, which of course being Fjords, they were happy to do, and I told everyone to breathe, look up & smile and the horses would simmer down and then we re-formed and finished the parade intact and better off than we had started. All of that lasted about 25 seconds, but it was a looong time! After that, we became the 'lucky ones' that had to stand still at a RR crossing as a freight train blasted by about 10' in front of us, then a little later on a big Belgian team we were behind slipped and went down on some slippery exposed aggregate pavement in front of one of the casinos. (Luckily our horses had borium on their shoes as we had heard about this dangerous footing, but we still gave it a lot of respect when we crossed it).After that parade I was so glad we had planned a nice brunch at the trailers, complete with folding chairs near a bar (!) for the humans, and full hay nets for the ponies, as we sure needed it after that experience! And I couldn't agree more with Phil when he said that a parade is " the most unnerving and potentially dangerous horse activity I can think of." Amen to that ;-) Hats off again to all of you Rose Parade peeps + ponies, a great job all around showing our Fjord breed off at what they do best, impressing the world with their unique beauty and kind attitude at whatever they are asked to do! Karen in Oregon where the rains have arrived (finally!) Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
