Planning for 2010 - Max the Civil War Horse?

While for some time I've considered returning to Civil War reenacting (I did it for over 10 years as an infantryman), it would be as a cavalryman or mounted staff officer (or something else on horseback) and that, as all you horse people know, presents all sorts of issues.

For the past year, I've been slowly working Max up, desensitizing him to gunfire, taking him to events, doing parades, and anything else I can think of. With the exception of parades, it's been pretty successful so far although we're still a ways off from where we want to be (especially in terms of shooting off of him).

I plan on taking Max to an introductory mounted shooting clinic in the Spring that's put on by the California Desperados (I might even take up mounted shooting!)and taking him so some events- ones that weren't too massive and which would provide the right sort of environment (not too crowded, not too many guns, room to ride off if there's an issue, etc.). One of the big issues was my inability to haul Max places- fortunately, this has for the most part been resolved (I still have to borrow a trailer).

With all of that, recently a friend of mine decided that he wanted to do Civil War cavalry and he put me in touch with a unit, the 7th Ohio Cavalry . The offer a number of training weekends with the first one scheduled for January 15-17, 2010. The training program appears to be just what Max would need and they're based out of a ranch located in Acton; it's not too far away from where I board so hauling Max there wouldn't be an issue.

This is a very interesting development and while Civil War isn't my most favorite period, I can get past that if it allows me to work with Max and have a good time. Naturally, we're going to have to work on gettnig Max used to the gunfire and shooting off his back. Also, there's the whole sword combat thing- although judging from how he did at Anza last May, this might not be such an issue. Finally, since a lot of this work is in formation, we'll need to work on this- he's normally pretty good but with strange horses, it could be challenging (especially the backing up- but this isn't a parade).

The other issue is that I'm going to have to acquire some new/different uniforms and equipment and look at getting a new 1859 McClellan since the one I have now doesn't fit. I'll bring the saddle to the training weekend and maybe I can sell it and use the money towards a new one. One can hope! :-)

Anyway, I'm a bit nervious but this is what we've working towards for the past five years and it's time to get going.

The Green Cavalry Horse

People seem to think that all cavalry mounts were perfectly trained and ready to go on campaign and into battle with no issues. The reality, sad to say, is somewhat different and even the smallest things can cause problems unless horses are conditioned for it. Even things as trivial as the noise of a saber being drawn or waving a sword above the horse's head can cause a real rodeo unless the horse has been desensitized.

The following is a brief description of some of these issues from a history of the 7th Indiana Cavalry from the American Civil War (and 1861 in particular) as quoted in The War Horse by Louis A. DiMarco (an excellent book, by the way):

The horses having been but recently drawn, had never been exercised in drill. Some of them had never been backed.... The men were as green as the horses. Some of them never having been on a horse's back, did not know how to mount. Those who had wild steeds, had great difficulty in maintaining their positions in the saddle, and some in attempting to mount suddenly found themselves on the ground. However, after great effort, the horses were sufficiently quieted, so as to stand in reasonable proximity to each other. The hour having arrived for the review, the companies were marched to the parade ground, and the regiment, after long and patient effort, formed in a reasonably straight line. Governor Morton and his Staff, accompanied by Colonel Shanks, took their positions in front of the regiment. Colonel Shanks, in genuine military style, gave the command "Draw Sabres:" The men obeyed the order. The sabres in being drawn made a great rattling and clatter, and waved over the horse's heads, the sight and sound of which greatly frightened them. This was more than they could bear. Some of them reared and plunged, depositing their riders on the ground; others darted over the commons, their riders hatless, holding on with both hands to the horses' manes, or the pommels of their saddles, presenting pictures not in keeping with accomplished equestrianism....So ended the first grand review of the regiment.

I have pretty much experienced all of the above and it's gratifying to know that I'm not alone in some of the trials I've undergone trying to get Max ready for cavalry work. The key here is TRAIN! TRAIN! TRAIN! It just goes to show that some things have never changed. :-)

Surviving Finals

Finals are over!!!!!

Since late August, I've been taking some equine classes over at Pierce College and I'm happy and relieved that finals are done with and I can now get on with the holidays and renew see Max more often (like he's really broken hearted not having to work...yeah, right! :-)).

I think I did pretty good in my classes- either Bs or As and lord knows, I put in a lot of study time. Sure, there's some stuff that got me but I think overall I studied hard and memorized what was necessary. But more importantly, I think a lot of the information will "stick" long after the exams. The point of the whole exercise here is to learn practical information that I can use in my horse dealings later on- it's not really enough to just know it for the final exam.

But more imporatntly, I have to say that these classes were a real eye-opener for me. I thought I knew things but in reality, the classes proved how little I know and the need for more education. One area that stands out is the whole sciece/art of biting the horse. There's a lot to know and it's very easy to mess up a horse's mouth with little effort- there's a wide variety of bits out there with all sorts of mouthpiece and port configurations and it's easy to get lost.

The bottom line is that there's two basic types: direct pressure and leverage. But with that, there's a lot to consider between teh horse's disposition, your sport, you hands, etc. A lot to think about. So why the preoccupation with bits? Well, it's one of the most basic parts of riding the horse (unless you plan on going bitless or bridle-less) and anyone who is serious about riding needs to know this stuff , or at least be aware and especially what the various bits DO to a horse's mouth.

Now this doesn't mean that I'm now an "instant expert"- far from it. But it does tell me that I need to know more. One thing I can highly recommend, even though it wasn't required for the class or anything, is get a hold of the Myler's "A Whole Bit Better"- it's very instructive and the various demonstrations of how bits act on the horse is excellent.

I'll continue to press on with the education program although one of the most frustrating aspects is that some of the classes are held during the day at hours that I simply can't take off time from work for. Perhaps I can eventually work something out but that's been one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole education process.

More soon but I'm relived that school's done for now! :-)

Out & About On Max

Last night I was finally able to get out to the stables to check up on Max. I needn't have worried... :-) Max was covered in mud and greeted me with a nicker that seemed to indicate "about time you showed up- where's my treat?!"

Since the ground had dried out (somewhat) and things weren't too swampy, I decided to saddle up and ride. What was interesting was that although nights have been running pretty cold where I am, it wasn't that cold although there was plenty of cloud cover.

We didnt' do anything remarkable, mostly walking and trotting around the track with a friend of mine. We basically did the sitting trot with some intermittant walking. It was good exercise- not too much where Max was going to be sweaty (and taken more time to cool down) and just enough to engage all the leg muscles. Also, mentally Max needs to be more attuned to working at the sustained trot in avariety of speeds so this is good training- life isn't all about cantering everywhere we go (plus the footing was probably a bit too muddy).

It's funny but when riding with someone else, it seems that the time flies by. By the time we were done, an hour and a half had passed by. INteresting...:-) We ended with the usual and customary special mix bucket and I made sure that Max had his rain blanket on- more rains was on the way.

Hopefully the rains won't mess up the weekend riding schedule too bad. Oh well, it could be worse- we could have snow! :-)

Bits! Bits! And...More Bits!

For the past several months I have been taking a number of equine classes at Pierce College and one of them has been Beginning Horse Training. Now, I have no intention of becoming a trainer nor do I have the experience (no Pat Pirelli here!) but it's been a real eye-opener in terms of all the equipment, methods et al. In fact, it's a bit overwhelming (pardon the pun :-)).

Last week we went into bits in great detail and the instructor showed us a variety of bits of varous types and configurations. I really havn't given much thought to bits except to know that I have been using a snaffle bit on Max.

Well, I've really have had to do a re-think on this. Basically, it seems that bits break down into two basic categories: direct rpessure and leverage. Within each, there are a variety of mouthpiece configuations and work with varying degrees of severity.

So how does this all tie into Max?

Well, with the sorts of riding I've been doing lately, it's become apparent that a curb bit would be more useful in helping Max collect up better and hold a better frame. Also. I'd like to eventually train up to using the double bridal.

Naturally, I'm going to have to approach this in a systematic manner. Early on, I attempted to used a curb bit on Max (because I didn't know any better) but my hands were too rough and Max made it very clear that he wasn't happy about it. I think that this time, it will be different but it's going to be a gradual process.

Perhaps I'll start with a Kimberwicke bit, which is sort of a hybrid where I can use direct pressure or leverage, depending on where the reins are set.

I'm going to have to do some more study on this but I think it's time to move forward in this area.

Ugh! There's a lot to consider.

HMS Prince of Wales

68 years ago today, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales met its deimse when it was attacked and sunk by Japanese aircraft off the coat of Malaya, along with the HMS Repulse. RIP.

Angeles National Forest - Closed Areas

Since the Station Fire in late August, much of the Angeles National Forest has been closed to include riding. For a map of the closed areas, click HERE.

68 Years Ago Today

Today is the 68th Anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. While to many, this may seem like ancient history, it will always remain etched in this nation's history and served as a wake-up call that things in the world that needed dealing with.

Although there are those conspiracy theorists who will argue that President Roosevelt purposely ochestrated events so as to provoke a Japanese attack and cause America's entry into the way, I really don't think so. We were on a collision course iwth the Japanese Empire for some time and if the attack on Pearl Harbor hadn't occurred, then it would have happened somewhere else.

At any rate, below is the usual picture I post on December 7, the USS Arizona in better days because that's the way she should be remembered.

Max & I Hit the Trail into the Mountains

You might think that I haven't done much riding of late but that's not the case...actually, with a pretty full schedule (and some unexpected plumbing issues around the house), I've been struggling to keep up my training with Max.

For the first time, the weather here has started to really cool down and today, I awoke to find it cloudy with occasional sunny patches and a brisk wind. Not that THAT was going to stop Max and I from getting out! :-)

I was supposed to have a lesson (the first after a three week hiatus) but my trainer was a bit under the weather with the flu bug so the lesson was canceled. I'd been working Max for about a hour and a half with various transitions, flexion exercises, side passing, leg yields and just plain galloping down the track at Warp speed (with Max, that's about Warp 1...) so we were both pretty limbered up.

Just about that time, a couple of friends rode by to let me know that they were planning on riding the Audry Trail. Cool!

Now, in the wake of the fires last August, the National Forest Service had pretty much closed all the National Forest area, which contains the majority of trails that I ride on. That pretty much left the Hansen Dam Basin and to be honest, that gets real OLD after awhile, espcially since it's all flat and Max has not gotten any serious hill work since early August.

I was a bit concerned since there's a stiff fine for riding in the closed area ($1500 or so) but it turns out that most of the Audry Trail is on private land so it wouldn't be an issue (it also turned out that our subsequent ride to the Sheep Pens was also on private land).

So anyway, I jumped at the opportunity- jeeze, it's been forwever since I've been on some real trails up in the hills and since my friends were going, well screw the National Forest Service. By this time, the wind was definately getting cooler and the sun had disappeared- I was dressed pretty warm but then decided to also put on my Army rain jacket (it's one of those new Gortex EWACS thingies) and that turned out to be a good decision- kept me warm all afternoon.

We soon headed out and made our way towards the trailhead with no issues. It threatened to rain but unless it actually started raining, we pretty much didn't care. One of my friends had been out on the trail the week before and indicated that there shouldn't be any issues (I haven't been on the Audry Trail since June or so).

We gardually made our way up the trail- it's amazing how much has grown back since the Marek Fire last year. This trail doesn't get a lot of equestrian use so we had to clear branches here and there.

Finally ,we got to the one tough part of the trail where you ascend on about 500 feet on a number of narrow switchbacks and then when you get to the top, you have to make a sharp right turn (the drop-off is something fierce!), go about 20 feet and make a sharp left turn. You a literally balancing on the spine of a steep, narrow peak. After that, the trail improves and there's no more mountain goat tracks, although the trail was faint in a few places and we had to adjust our course every now and then.

After about an hour or so, we wound up at the end of the trail, which borders Little Tujunga Canyon Road. We crossed the and then decided to make our way up the old cross country course, which borders the sheep pens (unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures).

After some time, we made our way up to the old cross country course (it's a course of eventing-style jumps that haven't been used in 20 years and have fallen into disrepair) and checked it out. Where we were was basically on the Western edge of the Station Fire and it was interesting to see the landscape with almost no vegetation (you can also see where hills have begun to slide and erode). Pretty interesting.

We then followed one of the trails that we had followed on a previous ride in July but we'd had to turn around because of trail erosion and thick vegetation. However, that wasn't an issue this time with all the vegetation burned off and we were easily able to pass but in retrospect, it was a wise decision- it was impossible to see the footing and it would have been easy to take a wrong step and fall off the trail (it's about a 100 foot drop). Very instructive.

We finally made our way home and throughout the entire ride, Max was well behaved and had no physical issues. I think the cool weather made him a bit more energenic (but not to the point of stupidity). Moreover, I think he actually liked getting out on a real trail for a change. Max knew my friends' horses well and they all seem to get along well and have no issues- that always makes for a pleasant trial ride.

For me, it was good to get out and spend some hours in the saddle. I can't being to tell how much it improves my mental outlook of being able to roam- I think Max and I, in our own ways, hate to be tied down. Anyway, it was an excellent ride and I promptly followed it up with a couple shots of Port and some cheese. :-)

and we were able to see where we'd turned around the last time we rode this trail (there was extreme erosion and thick vegetation which had forced us to turn back

Join the Cavalry!

Came accross this today- I thought it was pretty neat so here it is!

Veteran's Day

Although the above doesn't directly apply to the First World War, I think it applies anyway. This verse is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875 -1958), and is thought to have been inspired by the epitaph written by Simonides to honour the Greek who fell at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

This epitaph is part of the 2nd Division Memorial commemorating those who fell in the Battle of Kohima in 1944. Here's some more detail:

The Kohima 2nd Division Memorial is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on behalf of the 2nd Infantry Division. The memorial remembers the Allied dead who repulsed the Japanese 15th Army, a force of 100,000 men, who had invaded India in March 1944 in Operation U-Go. Kohima, the capital of Nagaland was a vital to control of the area and in fierce fighting the Japanese finally withdrew from the area in June of that year.

The Memorial itself consists of a large monolith of Naga stone such as is used to mark the graves of dead Nagas. The stone is set upright on a dressed stone pedestal, the overall height being 15 feet. A small cross is carved at the top of the monolith and below this a bronze panel is inset. The panel bears the inscription:

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,

For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"

The words are attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875 -1958), an English Classicist, who had put them together among a collection of 12 epitaphs for World War One, in 1916.

According to the Burma Star Association the words were used for the Kohima Memorial as a suggestion by Major John Etty-Leal, the GSO II of the 2nd Division, another classical scholar.

The verse is thought to have been inspired by the Greek lyric poet Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BC) who wrote after the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC:

"Go tell the Spartans, thou that passest by,
That faithful to their precepts here we lie."

Veterans' Day Parade 2009

This last Saturday, I participated in a Veterans' Day parade in Long Beach as part of the Great War Historical Society. Every year for the past five years or so, we have participated in the Long Beach Veterans' Day Parade (usually on the Saturday closest to November 11). This year, we provided the color guard for the parade and were placed towards the front of the parade.

This year, it seemed that there were far fewer parade participants than there's been in former years and even our group attendance was down- we have a VERY tiny color guard. We usually have people representing all of the combatants and this year we featured some three Americans, one early war Frenchman, two Germans, one Austro-Hungarian sailor, and one Austro-Hungarian soldier. It was a pretty polyglot group. :-)

The parade actually went pretty quick (the parade route isn't that long) and we were done by about 11:30 am.

Overall, it was a nice salute to those who came before and put their lives on the line for this nation.

On the march- not the best picture but still pretty good. We were just reaching the end of the parade (thank god!).


Group shot of the Great War Historical Society


Another group shot...

Working with Max

With having classes three days a week (more about that later), my time with Max has been somewhat limited so my riding days are usually Saturday, Sunday, Thursday and occassinally Monday (depending on how the furlough day falls).

Of late, I've been working a lot on making Max more sensitive to my leg in general and working on my transitions and collection. It hasn't been easy but it seems that Max is coming along although he does have his days. Usually it takes a few minutes to get Max sufficiently "woken up" so he's paying attention and not just going through the motions (he's good at BSing his way through work if you let him).

Also, I've been working hard on collecting up Max and making him work on his haunches more. Sometimes it's really tough and he doesn't seem to readily get the message- this is especially noticeable in collected canters. No doubt, it's more about where I'm positioning my body than anything else but sometimes it feels like I'm holding him in with tight reins against the bit. When things are going well, he seems to pick up on the idea so I don't have to maintain constant pressure or use as much pressure. The key is to not use any at all except for a light contact.

I guess the best analogy is that when transitionin into a collected canter or trot, it's almost like reeling in a fish and you're progressively shortening the reins and using half halts to collect him up. When everything works right, you can feel the back shorten up and it feels like more "energy" is coming up through you rather than forward. It's a weird feeling and very hard to describe. Sometimes I hit it and sometimes he simply isn't slowing down that easy (hence the use of more pressure). I have to remember to release on the half-halts!

Last night we had a pretty good workout and I focused heavily on transitions, especially between the walk and the trot. I also worked a bit on forcing Max into the extended trot for long periods (typically along the straightaways on the quarter-mile track here at the stables). Max doesn't like the extended trot but I've been having increasing success in making him do it for sustained periods of time and it's pretty awesome when he gets into the groove- we'll make a Standardbred out of him yet! :-)

I also worked on the slow sitting trot and then transitioning between that and the extended trot and the canter. I also made sure that I did this going both ways on the track. Overall, it seemed to have worked out fine. It also helped that the wind has died down considerably and it was cool last night so it put Max in a good frame of mind to work.

I may not be putting in the long hours as I was in the summer but I'm doing what I can to work better with the time I have.

Morro Bay 2009

At last!

Somewhat belated but here's a picture of Max adn I at Morro Bay this year. Unfortunately, I don't have a good camera so I'm dependent on the kindness of others and sometimes it takes a bit...but here it is! The day this was taken was a beautiful day and we even managed to gallop down the beach to Morro Rock. Max was quite the horse that day!

Max and I on the beach!

Getting ready to ride out...

On the beach....

The China Relief Expedition

Here's an interesting painting commissioned by the US Army as part of a series depicting the Army throughout its history. This one is from the China relief Expeidtion (aka The Boxer Rebellion). According to the Army:

By early August most of the allied relief force was committed from Tientsin to relieve the Peking legations, leaving behind, among others, the 6th Cavalry and also some men of the British 1st Bengal Lancers. The troops remaining in Tientsin were to secure the lines of communication and obtain information on Boxer or Chinese Imperial troops in the vicinity. Troop A, 6th Cavalry, under 1st Lt. E. R. Heiberg, "armed with carbines and pistols" was ordered to join a detachment of the 1st Bengal Lancers under Lt. J. R. Gaussen on 15 August for a reconnaissance. The allies were to locate, but not engage, a force of Chinese Imperial troops reported west of Tientsin.

The next morning the combined group left early and, after an uneventful ride of about eight miles, seeing nothing but "undestroyed villages, cornfields, and plowed fields," they came across a village flying red flags, usually a sign of enemy troops. Led by Heiberg and Gaussen, the group moved at a trot in a line of skirmishers with a reserve towards the village. Heiberg then saw what seemed to be two rows of trenches, dismounted carefully to scan them, but again nothing unusual could be seen. The force then advanced to within two hundred yards of the trenches when it came under fire from the front and the right and left flanks. In the confusion the skirmishers retired on the reserve and one of them, Cpl. Rasmus Rasmussen, was thrown from his horse at the point of farthest advance. Heiberg and Gaussen saw Rasmussen lying on the ground near the Chinese trenches. Heiberg's horse became unmanageable, so Gaussen rode on. The Chinese, who had also seen Rasmussen, emerged from their trenches to take him prisoner. The race was on. Lieutenant Gaussen reached Rasmussen first. In Heiberg's words, "Lieutenant Gaussen succeeded in mounting Corporal Rasmussen behind him and rode to the rear. But for the gallant lieutenant, I am quite sure that Rasmussen would have been captured, as he was perhaps less than 250 yards from the trenches, and the enemy had left their trenches after him."

The allied contingent fired dismounted for a short time and then withdrew. They returned home at about 1:00 p.m. "without the loss of a single man or horse." For his bravery during the operations in China, Lieutenant, later Brigadier General, J. R. Gaussen was awarded the China medal with clasp and named Companion of the distinguished Service Order.

The painting shows the moment of Corporal Rasmussen's rescue by Lieutenant Gaussen. Both men are in the khaki uniforms preferred for the relief expedition.

More Marching Through History

Here's some more pictures from the recent Marching Through History Event that I took Max to a few weeks ago. This was really a major achievement for me and it was five years in the making and required the putting together of a lot of pieces: successful trailering, getting a truck and access to a trailer, getting the necessary saddle and tack for a pre-WWI/WWI US Cavalry impression, getting the necessary personal uniforms and equipment, et al.

The day started off at about 5 am when I left the house. Because I had a social engagement the night before, I was unable to pre-load the tack room in the trailer that I was going to borrow so this would all have to be taken care of in the morning. I managed to load up my personal equipment in the truck the night before (with certain exceptions) so it didn't take too long to get out of the house.

I arrived at the stables at about 5:30 am and then spent the next 20 minutes or so hitching up the trailer, a process made more difficult than usual because of the dark. After several attempts, I managed to hitch the trailer up and make sure that everything was working right. I then had to load up saddles, tack, water, food, and other sundry stuff. It's quite a lot to get ready to transport horses, whether it's one or several.

Finally, after I checked and double-checked that I had everything I'd need (the LAST thing I needed was to leave a bridle or saddle blanket behind!), I proceeded to load Max. That went without a hitch- all the practice and places I've taken Max to since the beginning of the year really paid off!

Finally, after one more check of everything, I departed the stables- 7 am. I then had to stop at a friend's house to pick up a horse for another friend of mine who was already out at the event (he's the guy dressed as a German Uhlan in the pictures). I loaded up the second horse with no issues and finally made my way to the 210 Freeway.

In driving on the freeway, I travelled mostly at the 55 mph speed limit and took everything VERY carefully. Driving while pulling a horse trailer is very different than just driving the truck alone and even other sorts of trailers- for one thing, the center of gravity is much higher because of the horses.

I tested the trailer brakes and everything seemed to be functioning correctly and as I ascended the first set of hills towards La Crescenta, everything seemed fine. When I begain the descent into La Crescenta, the trailer brakes and transmission (the Ford F-250 has a special transmission setting for towing) did their job perfectly.

I slowly made my way down the 210 Freeway and transitioned onto the 134, which ends and Pasadena and becomes the 210- basically it means having to slowly drive through a tunnel and then be prepared to move over three lanes because of disappearing lanes. This can be tricky when the freeway is crowded but it wasn't a problem due to the freeway being empty at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and the trailer brakes and transmission worked excellently as we descended into Pomona. I finally arrived at Prado Regional Park at about 9 am and quickly found a place to park the rig (hopefully no idiots would block me in when the time came to leave at about 5 pm).

I quickly unloaded both horses, tied them up and got hay and water for both of them. Now we were ready for the day...

To be continued...

Max doing what he does best...grazing!

Max and I with our German compadres

Max and I...We're really here at last!!!!

HMS Royal Oak - RIP

On this day in 1939, the battleship HMS Royal Oak sunk by torpedo attack while at anchor in Scapa Flow. RIP.

From Wikipedia:

Torpedoed at anchor by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October 1939. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw action at the Battle of Jutland. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, ...Home and Mediterranean fleets, coming under accidental attack on more than one occasion. During a twenty-five year career, attempts to modernise Royal Oak could not address her fundamental lack of speed, and by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suited to front-line duty.Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she became the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers sunk in the Second World War. The loss of life was heavy: of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds.

For more, go HERE.

Trail Closed

With the Angeles National Forest closed due to the Station Fire, most of the trails that I ride in the mountains, to include the Doc larsen Trail, are closed off to riders. From what I've been told, the fires were pretty rought on the trails and especially the Bathtub. For some time, people have questioned whether the trails were closed or not. Well, Sunday I saw a sign posted so I thought I'd take a look. Yep, it's official.

With the threat of heavy rains, it's going to be awhile before anyone really gets up there to take a good look around (at least legally, anyway).

Columbus Day

Often marginalized and minimized in today's politically correct world, Columbus Day is still significant in that it initiated the era of interaction between the Old and New World on a mass scale (as compared to the sporadic encounters prior to this). While in many respects events did not resolve in favor of the Native Americans, the event still occurred and it should be acknolwledged.

Celebrated? Why not? We celebrate a lot more dubious historical events. The key is that it led to the development of the modern world and for the most part, I believe it's been positive. As with all historical processes, there's going to be winners and losers and that's just the way it is. Deal with it.

Columbus' voyages represent a departure into the unknown and the opening of a new world- The New World. Columbus was an excellent sailor and the success of his voyages for the most part reflect this. As an administrator, Columbus was not so great and he was definately out of his element here and it shows.

Anyway, I will always acknowledge Columbus' achievements.

More Max on the Road...

Here's a couple more pictures from Marching Through History 2009. Nothing dramatic but it shows Max relaxing at the trailer (before the flies came out):

Max's Big Adventure I

This last Saturday, Max and I went to our first event under our own power. The event was a living history timeline event called Marching Through History and it's held every year at Prado Regional Park in Chino, California. Max and I had gone the year before but we had to hitch a ride with all it's attendant frustrations so this year it was nice to actually be able to go when WE wanted to go.

I'll have more details and pictures in a bit but overall it was a great success (and five years in the making!).

Pass in review- it was here that Max decided to graze...right in front of the review stand. What a boy!




Meeting with the local "gentry".

Color Guard Duty With Max

Yesterday, as part of a equestrian program for the disabled, some friends and I acted as a color guard for the opening ceremonies. This was an interesting operations for several reasons. First, this is the first public event Max has been to since the somewhat disastrous experiences at teh Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara Parades so I was a bit nervious about bringing him out. Also, while the event was held at the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center and I could have ridden over, I decided to use the opportunity to practice my trailering.

It was an early day, especially since I had to arrive at the stables early enough to hitch up the trailer and load Max. I'd loaded my saddle and tack onto the trailer the night before so that was all ready. The hitching up process took less time than I expected so I wound up arriving at the Equestrian Center a bit early. I proceeded to unload Max (that's interesting doing that alone and a bit nerve-racking), tie him to the trailer and begin to groom him.

I groomed and tacked up Max and then dressed myself- the theme was the usual American Revolutionary theme. It seems to work. Just as I started to mount, my compadres showed up (they rode directly from home). The weather in the morning was perfect- cool with some mist (believe it or not!).

We proceeded to work the horses in a vacant arena and I have to say that was a pleasure to ride on an well-groomed surface. We cantered and and trotted and performed a number of manuevers. Not that any of this would be used for the opening ceremonies but we felt it would be good to get the horses loosened up and relieve all the tensions from waiting. Wow! Max certainly loved that and he was definately ready to work.

Although the opening ceremony was supposed to occur at 8 am, it was delayed and didn't get going until about 8:30. Max patiently waited with the other horses and we posed for many pictures. When we finally did go on, Max seemed to handle it well and the ceremony went off perfectly. It also helped that there was plenty of space around us and not a lot of people or noise. The audience was definately well-behaved.

Afterwards, we hung around for some more pictures and ate some breakfast. Max was mostly patient and stood with the other horses with no issues although towards the end, he was getting a bit impatient to go. Finally, I walked Max to the trailer and proceeded to get ready to leave. Loading Max up to go went with no problems and we then travelled home- a 10 minute drive. The only part I have to be cautious about is when unloading him when we get home- he tends to get impatient and there's the possibility of him pulling back. Fortunately, nothing happened.

Overall, it was good experience and it combined a lot of different, and somewhat new, things and while I didn't drive a long distance, it was still good practice.

The three of us ready to go...

Here I am...not too bad for a period I don't normally recreate.

Waiting...

Getting Out Again...

With a busy class schedule that keeps me occupied three nights a week, I'm only able to ride Max on Thursday nights and weekends (and occassionally on Friday). I hadn't ridden in three days so it was great to get back on Max. Also, while I think Max doesn't mind the time off (I KNOW he doesn't mind the time off!), I think he was glad to see me.

With the days now growing shorter again, I'm going to find myself riding more and more in the dark around the track and less and less going out on the trail. Yes, I've ridden the trails at night but it's not my favorite thing to do unless I'm with people- too much weirdness out there. I usually do laps around the track and work on various things in the arena, which has lighting.

Last night, we worked on increasing responsiveness to the leg (squeezing the legs as opposed to jamming spurs or kicking) and maintaining whatever pace/gait I want. Max has always been a bit of a lazy horse and I have often have to kick him hard or tap him whith the crop to get him to go with any sort of forward motion (hustle as I call it). Now we're focusing on training Max to be more sensitive to the leg rather than simply nagging him.

The key, at first, is to squeeze with the legs and see he responds. If not, they you have to either kick him three or so times or smack him with the crop hard and then back off. For example, if you're walking and you want him to transition into a forward walk, you squeeze you legs. If he responds with a faster walk, great. If not or he responds slowly, then you have to back off and either kick or smack with the crop sharply- not a lot but you're impressing into him that you mean business. It sounds brutal but it's not (Note: in none of this is the horse in any danger of injury!). Basically it's like a drillp sergeant.

Once you've disciplined him, then try again. After two or three times, he should get the idea. In Max's case, he picked up pretty fast that I would seriously get on his case if he didn't pick up the pace and by the end of our riding session, he was a lot more sensitive with the leg aid and pretty much was doing what he was supposed to be doing. The trick is to impress him that he's to maintain a desired pace rather than slow down again.

Of course, if Max was a hot horse, then you'd have to adopt another tack. The basic idea is not to be "peddling your horse" where you are literally having to kick him every step (I've had to do that and it's no fun, trust me!). Basically, you don't want to reserve your kicking/spurring and using the crop for when you really need it and basically you're telling the horse "you better get going or things are going to get worse!".

We have a long way to go but essentially I'm making Max responsible for maintaining the pace rather than me having to constantly nag him. One more thing on the road to good riding.

RE: Lock-n-Load Film Shoot

Back in August, I helped a friend out with a shoot for the series "Lock-n-Load" hosted by R. Lee Ermey (aka the Gunny) (for those of you who may remember, he played the drill sergeant in the movie "Full Metal Jacket"). Working with the Gunny was a trip and he's easy to work with. The premise for this episode is the use of the lance on horseback and my compadre supplied the horse and the lance. The plan was for my friend to demonstrate and if everything went OK, then the Gunny would do it.

We filmed out at Lake Piru and it was HOT and we were lucky to have shade for ourselves and the horses so it was bit more bearable. My job was to basically take care of the horses and make sure they had enough food and water. When we weren't actually shooting, I would tie the horses under the tree and keep an eye on them.

We brought two horses out to the shoot, one as the actual horse to be used and the second as a back-up. Also the second horse was meant to be there as comfort for the first, since they live together and they would steady each other. Finally, if something went wrong, the second horse would act as a homing beacon for the first- when horses are upset, they tend to seek company with their own kind and especially they're herdmates.

I'll have more later.

Hanging out on set...

My compadres and the Gunny...

Running at the quintain at full speed.


Setting up the shot- like most shoots, there's more waiting than anything else.







Out in the sun...waiting...



Rest break...

We Have Achieved Trailer (Finally)!

A lot's been going on lately but the best thing is that I was able to purchase a used 2004 Ford F-250 Diesel Pickup Truck for about $17,000 and while the fuel consumption is not the best, I can now tow trailers (and one day larger stock trailers with a gooseneck hitch) and that means Max and I can go on the road anytime we want. For now, I'll have to borrow the trailer but that's OK. After buying the truck, I had to drop an additional $680 having a new heavy duty trailer hitch installed along with the ball, slider et al. and a trailer brake controller. So while it was a lot of money, I'm now pretty much good to go for anything up to about 10000 pounds or so. Basically I bought more than what I'll immediately need but I don't want to have to deal with this in the future.

Yesterday, I was able to start practicing on my trailer driving and especially backing up- it's not easy as it looks! Here's some pictures of the experience:

Truck hooked up to the trailer. Not the prettiest trailer but it will do for now.

Max tied up to the trailer. He's also learning to wear his shipping boots.

Yeah, and now I can do it for myself! It's been a long time coming! :-)

It's Been Awhile...

Due to real life issues, I haven't been as active here as I'd like to be. Hopefully that will change soon. Stay tuned...

Max the Performing Horse

This weekend was a busy one for both Max and I to include Max and I performing with the Warhorse Foundation at a fund-raising event for charity at Moonshadow Ranch in Shadow Hills. This was a "debut" of sorts for Max and I in that while we'd practiced off and on the musical ride program that the group uses, it had been quite awhile since we'd done so and I was COMPLETELY rusty at it.

Additonally, because of scheduling issues, the group hadn't practiced the standard musical ride routine so early Saturday morning found us practicing over at Gabriellano Park in the arena (I almost live there, it seems). While Max and I did all the basic moves pretty decently, we were completely messing up on the actually routine (turning the wrong way, mis-judging distances, etc). It also didn't help that Saturday was the real first "hot" day of summer and it was getting miserable by the time we ended practice (after two hours).

Then, there was the issue of logistics. It seems that for every hour actually performing or "doing something", there's three hours preparation. We were scheduled to perform at about 7:30 and were supposed to be at Moonshadow Ranch by 4:30 and we were going to ride over...well, that was the plan anyway.

Due to a number of snafus, it turned out that we were going to trailer the horses over and we didn't actually get on the road until 5 PM. Then there was the task of finding a place to park. There's not a lot of room at Moonshadow Ranch so we wound up parking on a side street behind the ranch and tying up the horses and prepping them on the street (which for a dead-end street was like a major freeway! Go figure...). After having to constantly stop and move the horses to allow cars and trucks to pass, we finally were ready and we rode about two blocks to the entrance. We then had to wait additional time until we were "on".

This was an interesting exercise for Max because our assembly area was basically in the main driveway leading into the ranch and that driveway was pretty narrow so there were people walking past us on both sides and naturally, many wanted to pet Max. Max pretty much tolerated the people (it was a good crowd and many are horse people) and Max seemed to do his best to act charming, hoping to score a carrot or two (what a pimp!). The ladies seemed to especially like him...go figure!

Finally it was our time to go on and we had to make our way down the narrow driveway and then through a crowd to the arena entrance.

We managed to form up properly, just as we'd rehearsed. Unfortunately, the one horse next to Max decided to act up and was completely disagreeable- guess he was excited by the whole thing. This kicked in just as we were starting so while the other rider did her best to keep things under control, I now had to to keep an eye on that situation, while at the same time looking for all my cues and to hit my mark on time.

For the most part, I was able to execute the routine with little problem and while I did make some mistakes, they were not major. It also didn't help having to deal with the disagreeable horse who wouldn't keep his place in line and one other rider who was dragging along at a slow pace, thereby messing up my spacing. Oh well- just goes to show the need for PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

At several points we had to canter and Max especially liked this part- he was completely "on" and it he seemed to almost be projecting himself, saying "I'm so cool!" to the crowd. The crowd didn't seem to affect him any and he didn't mind riding up close to them at the rail.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post soon but overall it was an excellent experience and hopefully will lead to more and better things.

Now to collect up all my tack that seemed to have gotten scattered about. :-)

Anyone Know a Billionaire Arab Sheik?

Here's an amazing news item:

Billionaire To Fly Cavalry To Abu Dhabi
by Deidre Woollard May 14th 2009 at 7:01PM
England's Household Cavalry Musical Ride display impressed a billionaire Arab sheik that he will be flying 30 horses and riders to Abu Dhabi. The Daily Mail reports that Sheik Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, part of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, has arranged for a specially adapted Boeing 747 jet for the horses to travel in. The riders will travel on business class flights and stay in top hotels and grooms and a vet will also be along for the ride. The trip is estimated to cost £250,000. This will be the first time the unit has traveled outside Europe.

Here's some incredible pictures of the Household Cavalry Performing:

Wow! I wish I could teach Max to do some of this...well at least the lying down. I'm not quite ready to Roman ride yet! :-)

Standing Tall

Way cool!
Standing Tall

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King Ludwig II of Bavaria - RIP

Memorial Cross at the site where the body of Ludwig II was found in the Starnberger Lake

On this day in 1886, King Ludwig II of Bavaria was found dead in Lake Starnberg near Munich under mysterious circumstances. Ludwig II is somewhat of a tragic figure, overtaken by the events of history and largely forgotten today. Here's some more from Wikipedia:

Ludwig II (Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm (August 25, 1845 – June 13, 1886) was king of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes referred to as the Swan King in English and der Märchenkönig (the Fairy tale King) in German.

Ludwig is sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, though the accuracy of that label has been disputed. Because Ludwig was deposed on grounds of mental illness without any medical examination, and died a day later under mysterious circumstances, questions about the medical "diagnosis" remain controversial.

Ludwig is best known as an eccentric whose legacy is intertwined with the history of art and architecture, as he commissioned the construction of several extravagant fantasy castles (the most famous being Neuschwanstein) and was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner.

Although Ludwig II was criticized for the financial extravagance of building Neuschwanstein, the money brought in from tourism has more than paid for intial construction costs and today it's a major tourist attaction in Bavaria.

Portrait by Gabriel Schachinger, 1887




An 1890s photochrom print of Schloss Neuschwanstein

Army Life c. 1914

Here's a few interesting pictures of Army life that I thought were interesting, especially with the wide variety of uniforms and other detail: