2017 brought one new baby to Chocolate Horse Farm! A colt!  Healthy and active, we are fortunate that all went well.  If we were breeding all eight mares, we might have something come up that would require medical attention. So, when I say fortunate, that is exactly what I mean.  Having been spoiled by Bill and his staff at Leather Stocking Equine Center in New Berlin, NY....I often think when we move with horses, it is just as important to find good and nearby vet facilities as well as large medical centers in the new location.  This has all been brought home recently as dear friends have a 22 day old colt suffering from possible FPT or failure of passive transfer of antibodies from mare.  His hip is painful to touch and seems swollen.  He will be on his way to Kansas State today and we are praying for a good outcome.

Dear John Henry, reprint

		Dear John Henry
			John Henry, New York's favorite Eventing mule, now not only has his regular column in the BRAYER magazine, but has given ADMS permission to publish to the World Wide Web! He and owner Kathleen Conklin welcome questions - but they cannot quarantee they will be answered in the column form used in the BRAYER and ADMS website.  Please post any questions to ADMS, who will forward them to JH and Kathleen for review for the column. Dear John Henry: My mom is working me on a lunge-line before she rides me. I'm coming 4 years old, and I am getting light daily riding. One thing she has noticed is that I seem to take shorter strides when lunging to the left (counterclockwise, she says). She is having a hard time feeling it under saddle (she says she can kind of tell if she trots me in circles to the left) but she's sure she can see it when she lunges me at the trot. She had the vet look at me, and he says I'm not lame, I just need exercises to make me lengthen out that side. How can we do this? I can go round in circles all day, but it doesn't seem to help. Gone Crackerjax Dear Cracker, Tell your Mom that you are still quite young and it might be better to lunge you just a LITTLE (in VERY LARGE circles) to get any bucks out and then to ride. Your shorter strides on one side could be the result of uneven muscling on that side. If this is so it is a long term process to even out. I would suggest that you ask your Mom to ride in large easy circles in both directions but more to your weaker side. I would also suggest that your Mom always use a mounting block [or a stump, rock or trailer fender] when mounting to ease the pressure on your withers. Work over a larger number of ground poles at the (posting) trot in a straight line and eventually on a large curve will help even out your trot strides. You should make sure you have a good forward trot rhythm before you head to the ground poles. This isn't a fast and easy answer, but a long term goal that needs your Mom's continuing attention. There is a great book you can buy called Cavalletti written by the German Olympic Gold Medalist in dressage named Reiner Klimke that explains all about the use of ground poles and there placement and how they help improve the equine. Another tip is to make sure your Mom posts (rises to the trot) when trotting and that she post more often to the diagonal on your weak side. This will help a little in developing that side. (This means that working in a ring or pen, with the weak shoulder to the rail, she should be sitting when the outside shoulder is on the ground or all the way back). A lot of care should be taken that all training is done in both directions, but not necessarily equally at this time. Practicing carrot stretches to both sides and full front leg stretches should also help in equaling out your muscles. Carrot stretches are fun!  Have Mom hold a carrot behind your elbow, and you stretch your head around low and to the side to get the carrot.  She can stand beside you and keep you from swinging around.  Later, after your ride, you can also do a carrot stretch with her in the saddle.  She should hold it near her toe and watch to see if you shift your weight, step, or just reach with your head and neck. It might also be a good idea to get some professional instruction from an instructor you admire. It is always good to have an experienced "eye"; looking at you and helping you develop good habits. Speaking of an "eye", if you have access to a video camera be sure have someone take a lot of film of you lunging and being ridden right now and at intervals in your training.  It will give your Mom a good reference point when, in the future, she looks back and is able to see your progress. I have a problem lunging myself you know....my Mom (Kathleen) noticed early on in my training that I will cross-canter for a few strides on downward transitions in the lunge pen (in both directions). After much thought, Kathleen decided that I really didn't need to be lunged and that it would only reinforce cross-cantering when going from a canter to a trot. I never cross canter when being ridden under the same circumstances. The vet looked at me and so did a Standardbred race horse vet who's specialty is leg lamenesses. Neither vet could find anything wrong except that I am a little weaker on one side. I guess that this is usual in equines as well as people. Kathleen does everything listed above with me and in addition makes sure that I use both canter leads equally. These little problems are not usually life-threatening but they give you and your Mom something to work on and small goals to achieve. I like it when Kathleen notices something she doesn’t like or wants to improve on,  because then we have a new training goal to work on. It keeps my life interesting. Good luck.! Happy trails and Tally ho, John Henry \ /   & Kathleen

A ROOSTER Day!

It was a ROOSTER kinda day!  Nine roosters ruled the roost for a short time.  Like ISIS, started killing those of their own that should have been family aka flock.  So, the long arm of the law came along and dispatched nine of the wayward souls and once again we have peace.  This photo is called Rooster Bird Bath for the resident head of the family. It is a reminder to the human factor that sometimes we have to clear our inner selves of the demons before peace can be restored. 

Look Up | The Chronicle of the Horse

Look Up | The Chronicle of the Horse

The New Year 2017

Happy New Year!

I hope it is happy and filled with positive upbeat loving people that make you smile and feel good inside.  Having said that, I would like to discuss the choice of words so often in the paper and news feeds today.  Take the word 'feel' for instance, it is important to remember that when we use the word "feel" we are referring to an emotion.  I feel safe, I feel happy, I feel sad, etc.  This word is so misused today that I think English is either being seriously corrupted or all English teachers are out of a job.  The word feel is more often than not to describe an opinion or conclusion about a topic.  An example would be....I feel the current political atmosphere is corrupt and unfair.  How does one feel that?  Perhaps they feel pain, sorrow, or anger due to the atmosphere, but it is impossible to feel corruption and unfairness.  Here is where the word 'think' comes into play!  Or have we forgotten how to think?  We cannot think pain, sorrow, or anger but we can 'think' the current political atmosphere is corrupt, unfair, bizarre, entertaining, etc. When we 'think' about something we are then able to state an opinion about what ever it may be.  We cannot 'feel' it, but we can think it.  We can feel the emotion it may generate, but we cannot think the emotion.  Maybe I should have been an English teacher!!!

So, now that I have expressed my pet peeve of the year, I will return to the purpose of this post.  Happy New Year!  Years ago I was gifted with a program called" The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".  I was captivated, and began to study Stephen R. Covey's program.  That was over 20 years ago.  I am going to share some of his work here with you.  I hope you will find it as I did to be insightful and inspirational.

January 1
   " If we want to change a situation, we first have to change ourselves.  And to change ourselves effectively, we first have to change our perceptions."   I approach people and situations that include horses from this perspective.  It is usually our perceptions that needs to be examined.  If you can,

Ponder that principal and hopefully you are on a path of discovery and will stay tuned for the next entry.  If you have reached this point, thank you for taking precious time.  Cheers!