Cherry Hill Horsekeeping Newsletter, June 2003

Last November Sherlock received his ponying lessons.

Then he had the luxury of spending our mild winter out on pasture. This spring, he has had an extensive review of all grooming, ground training, and a fine tuning of his in-hand manners and maneuvers, which included letting him stand tied at the hitch rail to develop patience.

During May, I began longeing him "formally". By formally, I mean that last year, I did use free longeing to teach him to stop, stand, face me and turn (as I describe in my longeing books).

But now, I've added a longe line and other tack in preparation for riding. I've never been in a hurry to longe or ride young horses. This is partly to prevent excess strain to their developing limbs. But its also due to the fact that I've always have had plenty of mature horses to ride. There is nothing wrong with working and riding horses sooner than I do, as long as the horse is well-developed and you and/or your veterinarian have determined the horse's limbs can withstand the work.

So as Sherlock is just turning three years old, his lessons progress "formally". Take a look at his third longeing lesson in May 2003. There are 16 step-by-step photos from the very beginning to the end of the lesson. My buddy Richard not only stood in the middle of the round pen and twirled around behind me to take these photos for you, but he also put together 3 handsome pages showing the lesson.

Start here and when you get to the bottom of each page, click to the next.

I receive so many really good questions to "Ask Cherry" that I truly wish I had the time to answer each and every one of them. Besides choosing a few to answer each month in detail, every so often, I will post a batch of them that can be answered with "One Liners". Here's the first such installment.

Hi Cherry,
What store carries the Calgon Water Softener you refer to in your body wash recipe? Thanks, Kathy

Kathy,
I've seen it in every major grocery store in the Laundry Detergent section in a small, dense, very heavy little box that says "Calgon" - NOT Calgonite which is automatic dish washer detergent.

Dear Cherry,
My two horses are generally allowed to come into their stalls and go into the paddock as they please, except during feeding time. They spend about 90% of the time outside of course! Last night, we had a terrible storm - the first since I had brought the horses home to live. The horses stood outside under a tree keeping dry. I would let them stand outside in the rain, but the lightning worried me, so I called them in. Is it dangerous for the horses to be outside in a lightning storm? Thank you! Christine

Christine,
Yes, it can be dangerous - the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 80% of accidental livestock deaths are due to lightning strikes to animal herds congregating under isolated trees or along ungrounded wire fences. Read more.

Hi Cherry,
My brothers and I have been having an argument over whether Gelding is pronounced Jelding or Gelding. El

Hi El,
It's pronounced with a hard G as in Gelding.

Dear Cherry,
I am in need of help to stop the horses from chewing on each others manes. I have two 15 year old mares and a 15 year old gelding. All in the same pasture. They get along great. Other then eating each others manes. Bald horses are not very cute. Thank you for your time, Shawnee

Hi Shawnee,
To stop mane chewing or keep foals from chewing their mother's tails, I spray them with non-toxic Grannick's Bitter Apple.

Dear Cherry,
My pony has had a foal. She comes to the fence of her pen and extends her head and nuzzles my face. She will also extend her head and then curl her top lip up and keep it there for a short time without making a sound or giving a threatening gesture. What does this mean? Thanks, Nancy

Hi Nancy,
When a horse smells or tastes something unusual (perhaps perfume, hairspray or hand lotion), he will often exhibit the "flehmen" response which you describe.

Every since I was a very young girl, I have loved books. In fact, I still have some of the very first books I ever owned - and yes, they are about horses. Some of them are classics that you probably know such as Black Beauty and My Friend Flicka but others are lesser known tales by that great cowboy writer, Will James and others. Over the years, I've accumulated extra copies of some of these books and will regularly add them for sale on the Collectible Book page.

That's it for this month. Don't forget, when you ride, keep your mind in the middle and a leg on each side.

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How To Think Like A Horse	Making, Not Breaking	101 Arena Exercises	101 Longeing and Long Lining Exercises	Longeing and Long Lining the English and Western Horse

June 2003

Sherlock Update - Longeing

Ask Cherry: One Liners

Collectible Books