Bringing home the blue ribbon!

My horses and I have put in hundreds of miles over the years, mostly riding in the high country and mountain valleys. It never occurred to me that there was anything else to do with my horse until on a ride one day, my friend and I began discussing the various possibilities. She asked me what I knew about showmanship.

My response was, “Huh? What is showmanship?”

As she knew even less than I did, I turned to Alpine Publications, 30 years in the business of dog and horse books. There I found Laurie Truskauskas, www.silvercreekhorses.com, well-known trainer of show horses, breeder, teacher of showmanship at the college level and accomplished author. Her book, Understanding Showmanship, Everything you need to know to win at Showmanship Class, available through Alpine Publications, www.alpinepub.com, is true to its title. I learned so much I’m thinking of hitting the ‘show’ trail with my own horse.

I discovered that in showmanship competition, the handler is judged, not the horse. Showmanship originated as a way to teach a handler how to best show a horse in halter. Often the first class that a new competitor can do well in, (and we all know that doing well leads to wanting to keep on doing well), provides more incentive for wanting to try other classes. What better way for the younger horse person, just learning to be around and take care of a horse, to have fun while earning ribbons?

The object of showmanship is for the handler to learn to move in such a manner that the judge always has a clear, unobstructed view of your horse. It’s called the quarter method of showing and has become the accepted standard. When he (the judge) is at the left front of the horse, you stand on the right front. When the judge progresses to the hindquarters, you move to the same side of the horse as the judge, but not blocking his view. All of this graceful maneuvering has the added advantage of teaching a horse to be respectful, on the ground and under saddle. Good training and proper manners equals a safe horse.

One’s attire, I read, is a BIG deal (as in, clothing and accessories can make or break your presentation) but it’s more about neatness, suitability of the attire, and matching oneself to the horse than spending lots of money. Hair is a biggie too – that is the horse’s locks. Learning to braid and band a mane and tail to perfection is discussed in detail, complete with how-to photos and instructions. A fun plus for us girls – clothes, appearance and hair styling!  All that though, is just one aspect of the overall judging process.

Your horse has to know basic maneuvers. You must teach him to lead, to back up, to set up, to perform a 360, pivoting his hind foot in one spot and crossing over with his left front leg, and to hold his square position as you move back and forth in front of him. As Laurie aptly says, “you cannot pull a horse out of the pasture on a Saturday night and expect him to do well at showmanship on Sunday.”

You and the horse must also be able to do patterns, which have become increasingly more complex. Patterns vary from show to show and from judge to judge. Laurie advises training a horse to obey a command, rather than teaching a horse to perform a set pattern. Teaching him to obey your cues for each individual exercise will have him ready for any pattern the judge requests at a show. She does include patterns for you and your horse to practice at home.

She also has some very specific advice to the handler on the importance of ‘attitude’. The first minute or two of your entrance into the ring tells a judge more than you can imagine and makes for a very lasting impression. Alert, cheerful, bright and smiling without being fake or overdoing it tells the judge that you are prepared to show your horse to his best ability and that you know you can win!  Showmanship is, after all, PRESENTATION!

I’m convinced that I too would soon be winning at this class simply by following Laurie Truskauskas’ advice and instruction in Understanding Showmanship. I’m not quite as sure my trail horse would pass the muster of her ‘picking out the best showmanship prospect’ but he’d definitely give it his all.

Is anyone competing in showmanship and have a pointer or two for my horse and me? We are – all ears!

Norman enjoying the scenery in the Colorado mountains.

Photograph is protected by copyright. @Marilyn Watson

THE ADVENTURES OF NORMAN

From Unwanted to King of the Hills!

I guess Norman was a rescue dog. No one wanted him, that’s for sure. Funny looking, the runt of the litter, hiding behind everything, he was hard-pressed to find a home. That is, until my daughter (a freshman in high school at the time) got a glimpse.

Honestly, I didn’t want another dog. Not after such total heartbreak when Rita the Rottweiler passed. I hadn’t picked her for a pet either. Rita was my son’s dog. If you can imagine, she fell madly in love with him from the day his roommate brought her home as a puppy. Rita literally attached herself to my son, sitting as close to him as she could while looking adoringly at him with her big brown eyes. He had no choice! They became inseparable. Best friends.

When he moved to an apartment that wouldn’t allow dogs, you guessed it, Rita came to live with me. She also became my best friend when my son wasn’t around. We hiked, walked, sat by the river, stood on the mountaintops, cried, and laughed together. The day she passed away, my heart completely broke, my world destroyed.

I wasn’t feeling up to opening that heart any time soon when my daughter brought something to show me. From behind her back came two eyes peeking out of a tiny wild ball of fur…..Hello, Norman!

Half Shih-Tzu and half Jack Russell Terrier, he ended up on the short end of the stick when it comes to his ‘do’…..his hair is always in his eyes, flying haphazardly all over his head and neck but rather sparse everywhere else. But when it comes to his ‘doing’…..Norman is the hiking/backpacking king of the world! While I’m huffing and puffing, dragging one heavy foot after the other, slowly making my way up and over a 13,000 ft. pass, Norman scampers by, already having been to the top and back down several times.  “Just checking”, he seems to be saying, while I’m convinced that dogs must not breathe nor need oxygen like the rest of us ‘normal’ creatures!

In the fading light on any given day of a backpack trip, Norman will find a warm rock to sit upon, watching the sunset as if gaining some peculiar insight from all the nature that surrounds him. His nickname,  “The Dali Norman” fits him perfectly.

Yet Norman started life as no one in particular, nothing spectacular. No fancy breeding, no parents of any stature, no lengthy titles after their names. Just one of who knows how many unwanted puppies headed to rescue, if they are lucky that is. Now, Norman has a thousand tales to tell, a thousand miles he’s hiked, and some very lucky hearts belonging to people who love him.

Hats off to rescue and service organizations, providing a new chance at life for those particular animals and the special love they give their human friends. A really knowledgeable book that’s just come out, offering concrete advice to everyone interested in rescue is: “Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster and Rehome Companion Animals”  by Sheila Boneham, PhD. It’s available at bookstores and at Alpine Publications. (www.alpinepub.com)

Have any stories of your own rescued friends to share with us?  Norman would love to hear more about his ‘own kind’!

And as for Norman, more of his adventures to come!

Author Sian Hall offers her own insights through her extensive study on Africa, the history, the people, the land and the African dogs in her book, “The Dogs of Africa”.

Dogs fit in extremely well with ancient nomadic lifestyles, where great distances were covered in search of game. The dog was involved in the family group and regarded as a permanent member of the camp, vital in driving the herds, guarding the camp and an aid in the hunt. This effect is very evident in some of the African dogs. The Rhodesian Ridgeback, a descendent of the nomadic Khoi dog, regards people as much more important than property. Unlike working breeds, the Ridgeback guards territory because it belongs to his family, not simply because he is territorial.

In contrast, the Canaan Dog of Israel, also from nomadic ancestry, behaves with very different standards. This breed is under the impression that the territory belongs to him together with all the moveable property and humans that come with it. He guards the humans simply because they come with the property. The Canaan Dog also has the ability to turn from domesticated to wild, or vice versa, as the situation dictates, offering him the greater opportunity of returning to the wilds if his home situation in the Bedouin camps became too miserable.

The indigenous Southern Dogs of Africa, with their loyal disposition, will not leave their domestic setting and owner no matter how horribly treated. In between, are the dogs of the Bantu-speakers.  For these dogs, their home ground and property is defended, no matter who inhabits the settlement.

Further south, in the arid searing sands of the Kalahari regions, the egalitarian Bushmen of Africa included their dogs in the Zhavo relationship of gift-sharing. Dogs were warmly welcomed to share the food with their owners around the campfire. Whatever was available in camp was shared equally among members – if the dog’s owners were well fed, so was the dog. The reverse held true as well. When the Bushmen came upon hard times, the dog would suffer just as a member of the band.

The lifestyle of the Bushmen included myths and legends that read like fairy-tales, many featuring animals thought to be people and vice versa. An ideology that helps explain why the dogs of the Bushmen were so well kept and highly integrated into their society. The Bushmen saw a world in which animals lived side by side with humans and other creatures, a world in which there were no class distinctions and all creatures were important in the eye of the maker.

The Dogs of Africa provides a detailed examination of dog breeds that have historic connections to the African continent: the Southern African Dogs, Basenji, Canaan Dog, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Saluki, Azawakh, Sloughi, Podenco Canario, Cirneco Dell’Etna, Pharaoh Hound, Ibizan Hound, Presa Canario, Boerboel, Bichon family, Maltese, Bichon Frise, Coton De Tulear, and the Maltese Poodle. Hall paints vivid word pictures of the physical, cultural and historical environments in which these dogs of Africa evolved. She weaves a breathtaking journey through the vast Serengeti, the searing arid deserts, the towering pyramids of Egypt, the granite boulders of the Zimbabwe and the dense, impenetrable jungles. Find the book at Alpine Publications (www.alpinepub.com).

In the Gran Sasso mountains of central Italy, the Maremma is still an important member of the flock. Photo by Ray Coppinger @ 2004.

LIVESTOCK GUARDING DOGS ARE STILL THE BEST PROTECTION AGAINST PREADATORS

Dogs Under-utilized for Livestock Protection

Wiley E. Coyote continues to be an inscrutable creature in both the rural and the city landscapes of North America, as well as other parts of the world. Natural predators like the coyote are considered part of the ecosystem and complete extermination is no longer a policy any government supports. However, coyotes are still the number one predator of sheep and cattle, having killed about 97,000 in 2005, with an estimated loss of $44 million in the US. Each year government agents trap, shoot and poison about 90,000 of the rascals suspected of killing livestock, and being nuisances in urban centers. Researchers are trying to understand how that wily brain works, and have tested a variety of lethal and non-lethal deterrents, such as flashing lights and noises that blast out the sounds of bowling alleys, car crashes and yelling people, electrified strips of flagging, and taste aversion.

However, coyotes are both highly adaptable and unpredictable. They learn to avoid or ignore most devices used to scare them off. What may work for one coyote, may not work for another. In that way, they are very much like dogs. Which is why livestock protection dogs are still a relevant and viable non-lethal method of controlling problem coyotes. Guard dogs are not the answer to all situations, but they are not utilized nearly as much as they could be. Like the coyote, guard dogs can learn to respond to new situations, such as different predators, or the changing behavior of established predators.

Sarplaninac with sheep in Oregon, Hampshire College Dog Project. Photo by Jay Lorenz @ 2004.

The latest threat in rural and suburban areas alike is the mountain lion or cougar. The habitat of these large and generally reclusive cats has been disturbed over and over again with the growth of human communities and spread of agricultural activities. The big cats have invaded territories where they have not been seen in over a hundred years. There have even been sightings on the small island where I live, which also had no coyotes before 1986 when they crossed over from the mainland on the frozen strait. Livestock protection dogs are now being used to protect homes and families where dangerous cats roam. It’s unlikely that technology will ever replace the use of these specialized dogs in any significant way, as long as large predators exist on this earth.

Orysia Dawdiak, co-author

Livestock Protection Dogs: Selection, Care and Training by Dawdiak and Sims

Published by Alpine Publications (www.alpinepub.com)

MUSINGS ON STARTING THE YOUNG HORSE

With the warmer temperatures and longer days, thoughts of training my young horse is foremost in my mind. As it has been awhile since the last time I trained a horse, I picked up a copy of Laurie Truskauskas’ book, Training the Two-Year-Old Colt, published by Alpine Publications. Vague memories resurface as I thumb through the various chapters, as it’s been roughly 20 years since I trained my mare. As I read, I am impressed with Laurie’s knowledge as well as her ability to write in a clear manner that easily conveys her training techniques.

This book will be very handy while I train my gelding. I am going to take a marker and highlight the more important points, such as “Give Consistent Aids,” “Time Your Corrections,” “Signal Lightly,” and “Treat Him Fairly.”

Reading through the chapters on longeing, saddling and bridling is an excellent refresher. Although I remember the basics, it will be handy to have this book to refer to as I am beginning to work my horse, and to establish a step-by-step plan. Hopefully, my youngster won’t be real spooky, but it’s nice to be able to read her advice on how to handle spooky horses.

There is excellent advice on training the different commands that he should know well before being ridden. I will definitely be training the “stand” command, as well as putting much more emphasis on the “whoa” command. The “whoa” command is discussed several times, from leading as a foal, longing, ground driving and, finally, riding. There is a whole chapter on mounting and dismounting which makes me feel more confident, as I am a little apprehensive of the first few mounts and dismounts. I also recognize the value of consistently kissing and clucking for the trot and lope commands, as the horse will more easily understand what you are asking when you are on his back.

I never realized that when I was working with flexing at the poll, I should have also been using my legs to drive the horse into the bit. As I skim through the first few paragraphs under the section “Riding the Colt,” I learn that while you are asking him to give to the bit, you also need to push him into the bridle with your legs so he can round his back and travel in a frame. This in turn helps him to collect, carry himself well, and be physically prepared for any move that you ask of him.

There are a lot of tidbits of excellent, useful information, as well as straight-forward training techniques that I enjoyed reading and will refer to as I begin another journey to prepare my colt to be a trusted trail mount. With Training the Two-Year-Old Colt open to whatever training step I am on, I will have a better, more confidant and enjoyable mount. As Laurie says at the end of her book, “A horse that moves willingly to wherever you want with no resentment is a pleasure to ride. Start your colts right, talk to them in a language that they can understand, and enjoy the time that you spend together.”

If you would like to read more about this wonderful book, go to Training the Two Year Old Colt.