Global Horse Culture

Virtual horse shows: no travel, low cost, but with real judges and prizes!

Rod Miller was raised with horses. He's worked with Reiners for nearly 20 years, including spending 6 years as a judge at competitions all over the US.

Judging opened his eyes to something he hadn't really noticed before. "I found that each year when I went back somewhere to judge many of the beginners from the years before were not there. I started to think about why and didn't like the answers I was getting, for example: 'It was to expensive,' 'I can't compete against people who can pay the best trainers, and buy the best horses,' and 'my horse isn't good enough for the new level I have to show at and I can't afford a new horse.'"  When he talked to people who were successful in the sport about the problem, they shrugged. "It's an expensive game," they said. "Not everyone can afford it."

Rod started thinking about a way to solve that problem, and came up with the idea of a Performance Horse Development program. The program would focus on the process of training that leads to a  competitive Reining horse, but would award the process along the way. As a standard, he defined what it means for a horse to be really "broke." A "broke" horse, by PHD definition, will "wait for its rider's cue, then willingly accept and follow that cue." Simple, no?

Trotting (and pacing) races under saddle

In the US we usually think of Standardbreds as harness racing horses. But here and in other parts of the world the Standardbred and similar breeds are also raced under saddle. The US Trotting Association has an interesting article about the hows and whys of under saddle racing here.

Here's a video of such a race in France:

Prix du Cornulier 2006
Uploaded by lucskyturf. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

One interesting feature of under saddle racing is that many of the riders are women. This has been true historically, too. The famous Standardbred Greyhound broke a record back in 1940 with a woman riding.

And more recently the speedy mare Moni Maker broke that record, with jockey Julie Krone riding.

A nice little 10 minute documentary tells the story of Moni Maker's achievement, with footage of historic races, an interview with Julie Krone, and Moni Makers record breaking trot.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Circuses in American History

The Circus Historical Society is a great organization for those interested in the details of circus history. Their website has excellent research resources, and the organization holds an annual convention. Many members specialize in particular areas of circus history, and some are active in modern circuses. 

There are some interesting articles on the site (about all aspects of circus history, not just horses). One discusses earlier styles of horse act, including dramas acted out by people on horseback, or "scenic" riders who posed in costume to depict famous characters or well-known scenes from myth and legend while standing on horseback. Later, fast-paced action became more appealing to audiences than these earlier forms.

This Wiki page has a small collection of photos of circus horse acts, both modern and historic. Many of the photos are old ones from the German federal archive.

The poster shown above is from the New York Public library digital archives. Click on it to visit the original page and see a larger version.

Back in time

This website has a section about the horse show at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. It's interesting to see what breeds of horses were popular then, and how they were presented. This comment about the Morgan horse class caught my eye: "There were all different shapes, sizes, and colors of Morgans present at the fair. Some fair exhibitors preferred the neat and trappy step.  Others preferred Morgans having the trot more straddled out like an old fashioned Wilkes trotter. Short legs and long legs were jumbled together and it created confusion in the show ring."  I like seeing the photos of the breeds in times past - often they change quite a bit over the decades, sometimes they change very little. Other breeds featured included Roadsters and German Coach Horses. Take a look!

Massive teams of draft horses

The Pony Expression has a recent post about draft animals that includes an impressive picture of an enormous team of horses, plus info about draft horses and oxen. Go take a look!

The Twenty Mule Team

Flickr user Caveman 92223 posted this interesting old photo of the historic twenty mule teams used to haul borax from the mines to the railway back in the late 1800s, in Death Valley. The history of the  mule teams can be found on Wikipedia. They were famous in their day due to the enormous size of the wagons and weight of the loads; both the drivers and mules worked in extreme conditions.

That'll Cure Ya!

I was recently listening to an audiobook entitled "The Arabian Art of Taming and Training Wild and Vicious Horses" by P.R. Kincaid (originally printed in 1856). There is a very brief bit about Arabian horses at the beginning, and then it moves on to general horse training (of the old fashioned sort!). But what caught my ear was this bit about colic:

Take 1 gill of turpentine, 1 gill of opium dissolved in whisky; 1 quart of water, milk warm. Drench the horse and move him about slowly. If there is no relief in fifteen minutes, take a piece of chalk, about the size of an egg, powder it, and put it into a pint of cider vinegar, which should be blood warm, give that, and then move him as before.

ANOTHER.—Take 1 ounce laudanum, 1 ounce of ether, 1 ounce of tincture of assafoetida, 2 ounces tincture of peppermint, half pint of whisky; put all in a quart bottle, shake it well and drench the horse. (from the e-book, available via Project Gutenberg).

In case you wonder, like I did, about the details of the recipes, I have linked some of the ingredients and methods with sites that have more information.

I find this recipe both wacky and thought-provoking. Some of the ingredients have strong relaxing or stimulating effects. Heck, if I have a sore belly, I often turn to peppermint tea for relief. Turpentine? Not so much.  Asafoetida is a common ingredient in Indian food, and is said to be good for the digestion. It is, however, possibly the worst smelling spice in the world. In cooking, it is used in very tiny quantities.

(And of course, as with anything you see on the internet, don't try this at home!)

History of Racing

An interesting blog, Colin's Ghost, features articles on Thoroughbred racing, with many about historic races, interesting or influential people and horses, and the culture of the racetrack. Take a look at this one, for example, about how illegal betting was done in the early 1900s. The blog is very well researched and well written - a must-read for anyone who likes horse racing and history.

All About Cowgirls

I was reading a nifty book called Cowgirl Legends the other day, which has short biographies of dozens of women who performed in rodeos in the early 1900s. Back then there were touring rodeo companies featuring trick riding, bronc riding, steer wrestling and so forth that toured the big cities in the US, drawing huge crowds. Some of them even toured overseas, putting on shows across Europe and Asia. There were  a lot of well known female trick riders, but also a fair number of cowgirls who rode broncs and competed in more typically male sports like steer wrestling.

The traveling rodeo seemed to be the kind of thing one ran off to join, like the circus, although a few of the women grew up in rodeo or show families, and carried on the tradition from there. The most fascinating story for me was that of Gene Krieg, who grew up with the call of the rodeo in her heart, scaring her neighbors by standing on her horse and galloping down the street. When she was sixteen she was sent off to take care of her sister. A newspaper announcement about the Cheyenne Frontier Days caught her eye, and she switched trains to join the rodeo show. She was a hit in bronc riding and trick riding. She traveled around the world. Her career ended tragically with an accident at Madison Square Garden. She lived another 50 years, but never performed again.

The stories of the women in "Cowgirl Legends" are collected from  The Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. The museum website has an overview of the exhibits, past and present, and some photos of items from the collections. There's a small online gift shop, too. It looks like a great place to visit!

Another fun read is Cowgirls of the Rodeo, free excerpts from which are available on Google Books. 

And my favorite is Cowgirls: Women of the Wild West, which is chock full of photos of the clothing, saddles, boots, guns, and other gear used by cowgirls. It doesn't focus just on cowgirls in the rodeo shows, but looks at the daily life of women on ranches, on the frontier, outlaw cowgirls, and depictions of cowgirls in Hollywood movies and novels, too.

Photo: vintage postcard from Moffat on flickr.

A Song for the Horse Nation

This beautiful book is published by the National Museum of the American Indian. It is a picture-laden feast for the eyes, with photographs of Native American saddles, bridles, and other horse accoutrements, including spectacular masks worn by horses. There are also many items such as robes, jackets, bags and combs decorated with horse motifs, and historic photos of Native American riders and their horses.

I highly recommend this book - I look at it often, and am always entranced by it.