Warhorse Gazette

German Cavalry Training

2011-09-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

I came across these pictures while cleaning up my computer. These are pictures of German cavalry training probably sometime just prior to 1914. As you can see, jumping was emphasized quite a bit ... :-)

In this picture, it appears that the jump obstacle is somewhere about three feet or so. This is quite a jump to make while both hands are otherwise occupied...like with a lance. I've done this sort of jump once and it wasn't easy. :-)

These two pictures above really illustrate the need to clear a pretty high obstacle- and it's a sure bet that herd dynamics encourages the horses to jump- don't want to get left behind. Still, it would would really be bad if a horse refused...

Note the pre-Caprilli set on the riders- they're leaning back on the jump.

15th Infantry - China c. 1912

2011-09-27T08:56:00.001-07:00

Just to continue the China theme...with the outbreak of the Chinese Revolution in 1911 associated with the overthrow of the Quing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China, forces from the Western powers were sent to China to secure Western interests and avoid a repeat of the Boxer Rebellion. One such unit that the US dispatched to China was the 15th Infantry, which was initially stationed at Chinwangtao (1st Batallion and Machinegun Platoon) and later, joined by the rest of the regiment, at Tientsin. Ultimately, the 15th was to remain stationed in China until 1938.

Distinctive Unit Insignia - 15th Infantry

15th Infantry Route March, somewhere outside of Tientsin, c. 1912

This is something I'd like to research some more for a mounted impression for living history... :-)

Tropical uniform.

China Revolution 1911

2011-09-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here's an upcoming movie that looks pretty interesting:

This is about the Chinese Revolution which saw the overthrow of the Quing Dynasty and the creation of the Republic of China led by Sun Yat Sen. Unfortunately, China very quickly fell into civil war and the rise of war lords which pretty much divided China and facilitated Japan's conquest of parts of China. China wasn't ultimately re-unifired until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Colonial German Army in Sudwest Afrika

2011-09-26T12:45:00.001-07:00

Military history has always been a fascination with me and especially when it comes to campaigning in faraway places. One such place is German Southwest Africa (today known as Namibia) where the German Colonial Army campaigned against the various local tribes during the early 20th Century from about 1893 through 1914.

The climate of Southwest Africa is arid and warm with most of it being composed of desert. To effectively campaign, the German forces were organized mostly as mounted infantry around 1904, consisting of 9 companies of mounted infantry, along with three artillery batteries, and the 7th Company being mounted on camels.

Below are two pictures of the 7th Company:

Hitting the Trail...

2011-09-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Lately, my wife has been taking up riding again so she's been riding Max and I've been riding anything else I can find in the barn... :-) I've been doing a lot of riding with Thor, a 4-year old Fjord Pony and it's been interesting,to say the least. Thor stands about 14-3 hands and it built like a linebacker so he definitely can support me. Thor tends to move at a leisurely pace, which sometimes annoys Max and he's definitely got mountain goat in him, the way he picks his way through rock areas and handles mountain trails. Thor is pretty steady for a 4-year old and there's very little that seems to bother him (he even rides at night with no issue) although he is a bit herd-bound in not wanting to be separated from Max.

This weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, my wife and I rode a leisurely loop up to the sheep pens and back, about a 4-mile ride round trip. My wife got in some good saddle time with Max and I was able to get the "Fjord experience" riding. :-) Overall, they're very sturdy and mild-mannered horses (although Thor can be stubborn pony when he wants to be). I only wish that he was a bit more energetic.

It was definitely excellent riding weather- not too hot and it was a welcome relief to what we've been getting in the past few weeks. More later! :-)

KTLA Promo Spot - Part II

2011-09-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine finally emailed me some still pictures from the KTLA promo shoot that our group did on September 16. Unfortunately, the actual filmed footage really didn't do justice to us but the pictures help tell a better story. I was portraying a Prussian Death's Head Hussar from the Napoleonic Era- this uniform is more about show than anything else. :-) Enjoy!

Max and I as Hussars...

Warming up Max a bit- all the standing around bored him. :-)

Fritz Bronner and his wife Margie, the founders of the group Warhorse.

Another group display.

6th Cavalry - China - 1900

2011-09-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some research in regard to the China Relief Expedition/Boxer Rebellion and in particular, the role of the 6th US Cavalry. Here's a picture from National Archives I came across. This is Company L, 6th US Cavalry at the Ming Tombs, located north of Peking.

Practice Practice Practice...Sometimes

2011-09-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today, Max and I went to do our usual practice with Warhorse. After the PR event we did yesterday, things were relatively low-key and we primarily worked on some more multiple figure eights, only this time with four sets of two riders. If if was tough before, it was tougher with the extra people and it all comes down to everyone has to pay attention and keep in synch- nobody can get ahead of the others.

Moreover, for the two people on each end of the line, they have to make sure that their outer circles are sufficient enough keep time with everyone else- since they do not have a another rider to deal with when moving in circles to the outside, the tendency is to speed up and this in turn will throw the other riders off. I probably should get a diagram because this no doubt, confusing people.

Basically each pair is making figure eights with each other but the thing is that each of the circles needs to integrate with the paid next to them. Each outside pair has it a little easier because they only have to pass one rider on one of their circles but for reasons mentioned above, they need to avoid the tendency to cut in close and fast when making the outside circles. When doing the circles, everyone passes each other left shoulder-to-left shoulder.

We worked at this for about an hour, each pair changing position in the line and each individual in the pair switching sides- the left rider always leads.

Think of the whole thing as an equine version of Busby Berkley swim follies... :-)

Afterwards, I took a leisurely ride home with Max and that was pretty much it. Not a lot of hard riding but it did force everyone to use their heads. :-)

PR Event for Warhorse & Militaria Heritage Foundation

2011-09-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today Max and I participated in a PR event put on by a local TV station for the Warhorse and Militaria Heritage Foundation, the equestrian group that I regularly practice with. This was arrange was to promote the group in general and in particular for the Tournament of Roses Parade, which the group will be participating in on New Year's Day.

The basic format was that they would film a series of live segments that would feed into their ongoing news broadcasts. Basically, I was part of the background and Max and I were part of a formation maneuvering in the background. They wanted to start filming around 4:45 am so that required me to get up at 3 am, quickly dress in my uniform, and then head to the stables to saddle up Max. I arrived at 3:30 am and Max gave me the look of "what the hell are you doing here?" and promptly nickered for food. I threw him a flake of alfalfa to keep him occupied while I got everything together. It was difficult because a lot of this was being done in the dark (I was hoping that nobody would mistake me for a horse thief and call the cops :-).

I managed to get Max groomed and tacked up and by 4:15 am we were heading down the wash- it was going to be filmed in a field not too far away from the stables so the ride wasn't very far and most of it was in the wash so I didn't have to deal with streets. Since I was wearing a black Hussar uniform, it would have been bad to have met up with any half-asleep drivers...

I arrived on time and was soon joined by the rest of the group. Initially, they filmed us using very bright lights and combined with the dust we were kicking up, it made for an interesting situation, especially since we were being asked to work withing a confined area due to the cameras.

Max was completely on his game and once he got used to the situation, he completely got into the game and was doing maneuvers with the rest of the group just like it was a typical Saturday practice. We took turns calling out the commands for the maneuvers and the dust didn't make it easy.

We did a pretty good job and things even got better once it began to get light. The weather was nice and cool and by this time, the horses were working together as a group- they actually know a lot of the maneuvers and it doesn't take much to cue them to do what's required. A couple of the other horses were initially a bit nervous but Max seemed to calm them down by his presence and he just did his job. He's really come a long way in the past year. Now if we could only get him to be that way with a crowd and all the energy from a big event... :-)

We finished up about 8:30am and we headed back to the stables. Max got a nice bucket and the rest of the day off. I went home and took a long nap... :-)

Click here for some television footage.

Cooling Off...

2011-09-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Max and I were actually able to get in some nice riding since the temperatures finally dropped to a more moderate 80-something range. :-)

On Saturday, Max and I put in some time drilling with Warhorse. We spend most of our time learning to do a couple of new manuevers that are actually quite complex, even at the walk (we were definitely NOT ready to do them at a trot). Basically, the figure consists of line, dvidied into three pairs (with about 15 feet of space between each pair). The basic idea was for the rider in each pair to execute figure eights with their partners. In practice, it the middle pair have to choreorgraph their moves with the inside riders of each outside pair.

In the process of working out the spacing, several of us managed to cut too close to each other and we wound up banging knees- THAT hurts!

It was an interesting sesson and we'll probably be doing more work on this in the future. Max was definitely cooperative, even when one of the horses didn't want to cooperate and wound up crashing into his haunches- I thought for a moment he was going to kick out but he didn't. He just gave the other horse a dirty look. :-)

On Sunday, we did our usual lesson and we worked more on our flying lead changes. We're both slowly "getting" them although we have a ways to go- sometimes he understands the cues, sometimes not. We also worked on half-passes and those went pretty good although Max tends to trail his hanuches a bit- feels like a fish-tailing car. We'll need to work on that a bit. :-)

Afterwards, since it was still pretty (a pleasant surprise), Max and I did a quick ride around the Hansen Dam Basin- he wsa definitely energenic (more so as we headed home...). It was nice not frying in the sun for a change.

And Another Budwesier Clydesdales Ad...

2011-09-11T23:16:00.001-07:00

Here's another one that's pretty cool:

9/11 Budweiser Commercial

2011-09-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

My contribution to 9/11 commemoration:

Apparently,this was only aired once on TV. Pretty cool, especially the draft horses.

Chasing Coyotes

2011-09-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last evening I worked Max a bit- it was nice to get out when it's relatively cool and it's almost a full moon so there was plenty of light. As we were doing our usual routine, I spied a big coyote (well, bigger than the usual scrawny specimens that are live around the stables) on the track.

Naturally, I decided it was the perfect opportunity for Max and I to perfect our cavalry technique so I quickly kicked him up into a canter and the chase was on...of course the heaviest weapon I had at the moment was a dressage whip but I figured it would answer well enough for saber purposes.

The coyote took one look at us and took off through some underbrush next to the track. Quickly judging the ground to be safe enough, we lept off the track and plowed through the underbrush for a bit until we'd pinned the coyote in an area with stacks of lumber. We weren't able to close in because of all the lumber on the ground but he was definitely cut off from the wash, which is the coyotes' major access point onto the property.

The coyote then made a break for it and I quickly spurred Max to cut him off- unfortunately, the layout of the lumber required a long detour and Max isn't the fastest horse so the coyote was able to make a beeline for the wash. We still chased him for a bit just to hammer the lesson home to Mr. Coyote that it wasn't healthy to come up to the stables. :-)

Just to clarify, there was no chance that we would have actually come into contact with the coyote but I do like to use these opportunities to work Max and increase the rider/horse bond. In a way I suppose I got a little taste of fox hunting, something I wouldn't mind trying at some point although it makes me a bit nervous. I don't think Max would be an ideal fox hunter candidate but it's fun to dream a little. :-)

That definitely got the blood pumping for both of us and after wards, we walked some laps around the track to cool down. Max definitely earned his bucket. :-)

And Now for Some Art - Part III

2011-09-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

The following portraits were done by the artist Albert Lynch (1851-1912) who was born in Lima, Peru but spend most of his years in France. These pictures definitely evoke the spirit of La Belle Epoch.

Huile - Why does this lady remind me of Etta Place (of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid fame)?

Portrait of Woman

Woman Walking Steps

A Summer Stroll

And Now for Some Art - Part II

2011-09-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here's some more artwork of a more military nature nature. And yes, it combines three of my favorite things: The West, Horses and The Army.

Charles Schreyvogel (January 4, 1861-January 27, 1912) was a Western illustrator, probably not as well known today as Charles Russel and Frederick Remington although he was their contemporary. Ironically, he was born and raised in New York City and did most of his work there. His subject matter tended to be Indian Wars-related of a heroic nature.

While perhaps the subject matter is somewhat dated by today's standards, it still goes along way to depict two cultures in conflict and the fact that the West was a rough place and death ever-present, far removed from many of the policy-makers who set things in motion.

The Duel

My Bunkie

In Safe Hands

Breaking the Line

Saving the Lieutenant

The Slienced War Whoop

And Now for Some Art - Part I

2011-09-07T13:30:00.001-07:00

OK, I've always liked equestrian-themed artwork. Here's one by an illustrator named Edmund Havell who worked during the mid to later 19th Century.

Cold War Memories: The Fulda Gap & Reforger

2011-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

Some 30 years ago, the Fulda Gap (pictured below) was one of the major avenues of advance for any potential Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion of Germany. Today it looks peaceful and it's located in the middle of Germany but back during the Cold War, it had the potential to be one of the most bloody battlefield in modern times. Defending "the Gap" was the 11th US Cavalry.

The 11th Armored Cavalry was considered expendible, its real mission to buy enough time for the rest of NATO and elements of the US V Corps directly to the rear to assemble fro mtheir far-flun garrisons and forma viable defensive line. Less charitably, the 11th Cavalry was condidered a speed bump for any Warsaw Pact advance. Either way, it was expected that the 11th Cavalry wouldn't survive more than 48 hours, at the outside.

Fulda Gap looking east.

Insignia of the 11th Armored Cavalry.

In an effort to provide timely reinforcements, the US created REFORGER (Return of Forces to German) where troops flown in from the US would merge up with pre-positioned equipment stored at various secure sites (aka POMCUS). Naturally the Soviets were well aware of the locations of the POMCUS sites so it's questionable how successful this would have been in a real war. To test things, every year from 1969 through 1993 NATO would put have a REFORGER Exercise. Below is a picture that was taken at one of the REFORGER exercises in the 1980s.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

As is typical for Southern California this time of year, Labor Day weekend tends to be very hot with temperatures going into the high 90s/low 100s. Also, it seems that this year there's been a lot more humidity than usual which makes things even more uncomfortable.

Riding-wise, I really did't accomplish much this weekend. With my truck dead, I have to borrow my wife's car and I'm not always able to make it to the stables as early as I'd like so by the time I arrive, it's warming up and that's no real incentive to do much extensive trail riding.

Friday, I managed to get in a nice evening ride and did my usual circuit around the Hanson Dam Equestrian Center and vicinity. I usually do this at a fast trot/canter in most places (when feasible/safe) and I do this primarily to give Max a moderate work-out. After not having ridden for four days, it's a nice way to get back into things.

Saturday morning found Max and I practicing with the Warhorse & Militaria Heritage Foundation at Gabriellano Park. It's been awhile since Max and I have worked in formation and Max was excellent, although a bit on the low-energy side (which I attributed to the heat). Max was well-behaved and we even got in some cantering in formation. It's nice to get back to that again. :-) Afterwards, we practiced the musical ride some- I'm anticipating that we'll be doing more of this as the Fall progresses; I've been informed that there are several events coming up.

Sunday, Max and I had our lesson. Max was acting pretty pokey so I really had to wake him up- something he doesn't always appreciate. As we've been doing for the past two months, we worked on flying lead changes. Overall, we're progressing pretty good although we both have a lot to learn. For Max, it requires a lot of physical effort so he's slowly learning how to position his body and understand my cues. For myself, I need to be better aware of my cues plus make it easier for max to do his thing. The downside is that now with every turn, Max assumes that a flying lead change is in order, even when it's not so we also had to practice holding the counter-cnater. Unfortunately, Max still kept changing leads and it was frustrating. I can't say I wasn't warned though- my trainer did tell me that like collection, max will use flying lead changes at the most inopportune moments.

Ultimately, the solution is that I need to be VERY clear with my cues and hold Max to them. Well, there's always something that needs doing with Max. :-)

I took Monday off and since I had a day off on Tuesday, Max and I rode up Little Tujunga to the Oaks in early evening. Parts of the trail are really overgrown, which can be a real pain at points because of the low-lying branches, and either the trails aren't being ridden as much or not getting cleaered as much (or a combination of the two). It was meant to be an easy ride (OK, we trotted and cantered at various points) and it was cooler than in canyon than in most other places.

That pretty much was my weekend. Lately, there's been a lot of distractions on the home front (like broken plumbing) so I haven't been to the stable as much as I'd like but I struggle on... :-)

No School This Semester...

2011-08-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Although I've been attending Pierce College for the past two years, I'm going to have to take a break this Fall semester primarily due to transportation difficulties combined with scheduling problems with some of the required classes. I've especially had a lot of fun working as a Teacher's Assistant for the riding classes but it's frustrating that some of the required classes are scheduled at times that make it impossible for me to arrange my work schedule around (and I have to work- no choice there!).

Hopefully, the situation will improve in the future.

WWI Party at 94th Aero Squadron

2011-08-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

Recently, my WWI living history group met for a dinner at the 94th Aero Squadron, a WWI Aviation-themed restaurant. This was a relatively informal event and while there were only a few members present, we still had an excellent time and the restaurant provided a wonderful setting. It also gave people the opportunity to wear their better uniforms, free from mud and dust of the trenches. :-)

Unfortunately, Max had to stay home... :-)

Group shot of the Great War Historical Society.

Me and my compadre Robert.

A couple shots of me in my officer's uniform. Don't get to wear it too often... :-)

Morro Bay 2011

2011-08-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, Max and I are back from our yearly pilgrimage to Morro Bay...four days of riding pleasure while camping at Montana de Oro State Park which, so far, has been spared from the threat of being closed like a lot of other California State Parks due to budgetary shortfalls.

This year was especially good and the weather even cooperated. Although it was overcast and foggy for the first two days, it was much better afterwards and the skies would clear out by the mid to late afternoon. Nothing like sun and surf!

Max and I arrived relatively late last Thursday and by the time I'd set up camp and fed Max, it was too late to do any riding. However, a friend and I got an early start the next day. We decided to ride in the mountains so we selected a trail- this time the Bloody Nose Trail (because of the height but don't let it scare you! :-)).

We picked up the trail outside of camp and after descending into a small valley, we rapidly began to climb, the trail turning into a series of long steps at several points. Max was a bit excited to get out and he definitely wanted to keep up with my fiend's horse- my friend and I ride a lot of trails together and his horse tends to be the Alpha and Max is content to follow along.

After about an hour or so, the trail had progressed to a ridgeline and it gave us some wonderful views of Morro Bay and the surrounding contrydie. The trail finally ended by a cove and we followed another trail that roughly parallels the one major road leading through the area and has a panoramic view of the ocean. Unfortunately, my crummy cell phone camera wasn't working so I wasn't able to get any pictures here.

Basically, we followed a loop and after about three and a half hours, we made our way back into camp. Overall, Max did very well and while he'd gotten a workout, his physical conditioning was excellent and had prepared him well for this challenge.

The next day, we headed to the estuary located behind the beach and then followed one of the access trails onto the beach. The sand on the access trails is pretty deep and we tried to select the one trail that was the easiest on the horses (but they're all pretty deep- horses are gonig to get a workout no matter what.

U expected Max to be a bit antsy about the beach, especially since we did very little beach riding last year but I needn't have worried- Max was pretty jaded about the whole thing and his only reaction was to try and sniff the water more closely. My friend's horse was a lot more hesitant about the water so I rode Max closest to the water. What was funny was my friend's horse kept trying to get close to Max, which meant that he was getting closer to the water. Go figure. :-)

After walking about a mile or so on the beach, we headed inland again and gradually made our way back towards our camp, taking the long way through the estuary. While people may think that the estuary is boring, I find it relaxing and peaceful and the dunes provide a sound barrier so you can't even hear the surf.

The nex day found ourselves, along with most of the group I was camping with, down on the beach again. Everyone took the opportunity to acclimate their horses to the surf and I have to say that Max performed flawlessly, I even trotted and galloped through the surg and got in deep enough to cover the toes of my boots. The galloping part was especially exiciting and although the waves were breaking close to shore (it was high tide), Max wasn't fazed one bit. Go Max!

Overall, this was one of the best trips I've ever had and it seems that Max is finally settling down- although sometimes he'd want to not stay in one place, I forced him to stand in place on the beach and he ultimately complied (it's all in the seat!). Also, absent was any jigging, even in a large group of horses and even when some were getting upset over the surf- and I was gratelful for that!

As an aside, it was interesting to watch Thor get his first introduction to the surf- he wasn't a happy pony but he made some progress.

I look forward to returning next year. :-)

Looking down on Morro Bay on Max.

The group heading to the beach- Max and I rode drag going down to the beach.

Max and I on the beach- it had started to cloud over when this pisture was taken.

More on the beach with Max...

A better look at Morro Bay.

On the Cable Trail heading towards the beach...

Start of the Bloody Nose Trail- we came accross a couple of deer here.

Max eating after a long day on the trail.

Thor the Fjord Pony

2011-06-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been awhile...so what have I been up to? Well, my riding schedule has been a bit compromised thanks to my truck developing major problems with the cooling and oil pressure system which means major $$$ to fix since it's a diesel...

But, in more pleasant news, I've been working a little bit with Thor, a 3-4 year old Fjord Pony that bleongs to the people who own the stable where I board Max. He's an interesting little guy and relatively green but he's mostly sweet and cooperative. He's had some training, mostly driving, and he understands the concept of yielding to pressure (sort of). :-)

So why the sudden interest? Well. I've always been interested in Fjord Ponies and well, he just looks so cool and "prehistoric". :-) And yes, he's got a sturdy frame, standing at about 14.3 hands and he's perfectly capable of carrying my large-size carcass with no problems. :-)

Another reason is that my wife had decided to get back into horseback riding, at least enough to get confidence to trail ride with me, so I've been having her ride Max- I know his moves and know that for the most part, he's a steady trail horse and will be good for my wife. Unfortunately, unlike in the past, there's a shortage of suitable horses for me to ride so I'm working with whatever I can find and Thor is it for now.

Riding Thor is interesting...he really doesn't like to trot much and he tends to want to break into a canter- I'm working on making him maintain the trot. Also, the trot and canter are shorter-strided than what I'm used to with Max and it feels a lot like being in a rocking horse (like one of those I had as a kid). Also, Thos is SLOW...I thought Max can be slow but Thor is positively snail-like. Unfortunately, he tends to be lazy and you have to remind him constantly to pick up the pace. I use a combination of spur and crop, in a measured manner. Unfortunately, some of the previous riders weren't so patient and one went as far as to smack him with the whip while holding him back with the bit- end result was she was bucked off. So, like any horse, you also have to give him a "way out" and that means being light on the bit. Of course, he's also not so educated on reining so it can be a trial. Not a bad boy but one who needs schooling.

Overall, Thor is an interesting horse to work with. More later! :-)

Here's a picture of us together:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2011-03-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

We in the US tend to take this more seriously but Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! :-)

Back from the Front...

2011-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures from a recent WWI-themed party. This was the first time I've put on my complete officer's uniform and everything seemed to come together right. :-)

Stunt Horses at Work

2011-02-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

I picked this up off YouTube. This was posted as what can only interpreted as a display "reel" by a AlphaStunt, Bulgarian stunt group. Most of it is concerned with horses although towards the end they abruptly shift to a number of vehicle stunts (hint to AlphaStunt- if you are doing a "reel", it's probably a good idea to focus on one theme).

The training and use as Medieval warhorses is especially interesting and a bit hazardous (as it probably was then). The scene of the man catching a rear hoof in the face from a capriole kick is pretty amazing- hard to tell if that's a stunt or accident. In any event, I wouldn't want it to be me- no thanks!

Some of the stunts could be considered questionable from a "humane" standpoint- they look a bit rough on the horses but I'm no expert. Then again, standards tend to be a bit "relaxed" in that part of the world...the fire on the back of the horse really gives me cause for pause. At any rate, enjoy!

Let's Try This Again...

2011-02-24T21:56:00.000-08:00

Early today, the shoer came by and worked on Max so I decided that we would get in the saddle time we missed last night ;-).

Max was a bit stiff on the front legs at the start and I was beginning to wonder if he wasn't' suffering a flare-up of arthritis but as we warmed up (or maybe it was just the new shoes?), his gait improved. We focused on canter/walk transitions and some lateral work to include leg yields and shoulder-ins. On the canter/walk transitions, I was able to hit the right level and Max picked up pretty quickly on what I was trying to do and we got in some pretty good transitions. I find that in the warm-up process for Max that it's best to do a lot of walking, some short trotting, go into the canter and then return to the trot- his trotting tends to improve after cantering for awhile.

Because he started out stiff, I didn't do any one gait for a long time and I also did some lateral work to give him some flexibility- mostly side passes and some leg yields, then moving on to shoulder-ins. I find that Max does the best shoulder-ins at the sitting trot and I even tried a few at the posting trot.

After about 45 minutes, I walked Max around to cool down and to give him a break. Finally, as part of his post-work bucket, I gave him a dose of Bute. With weather threatening to rain this weekend and possibly snow, I'll have to keep an eye on Max because of the arthritis situation- I don't need a repeat of what happened in December.

Well see how the weather goes in the next few days... :-)

The Unshod

2011-02-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

With rain predicted for the weekend, I decided to get out to the stables tonight and get some saddle time in with Max. As I'm cleaning his hooves, I noticed that he'd thrown a show...no riding tonight! The good thing is that he's due for shoes anyway so I can get it all taken care of in one shot.

Sometimes I think Max does things to get out of work...I had the last laugh though- I turned him out and lunged him for about 20 minutes. :-)

Maybe tommorow...

USS Connecticut

2011-02-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

To commemorate the Great White Fleet's completion of circumnavigating the world in 1909, here's a couple of pictures of the USS Connecticut, the flagship.

USS Connecticut undergoing speed trials.

USS Connecticut leading the fleet.

Roman House

2011-02-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

Here's something you don't see everyday. This is a full-scale recreation of a Roman house (perhaps more accurately villa) located in Wroxter in Great Britain. Wroxeter, or Viroconium Cornoviorum as it was known then, was a center of Roman settlement and now there's a reconstructed house to give a sense of what might have existed there.

Click HERE for more about the reconstruction. It's part of Wroxeter Roman City, an open-air museum.

The house itself...

The house as part of the site...

Long shot of the site.

In Training

2011-02-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

In contrast to yesterday, today we took our lesson and it was work!

Today's lesson primarily focused on the canter/walk transition and while that may sound pretty easy and fairly routine, it's not! In doing transitions, it's a lot easier to perform them when moving from gait to the next (eg. trot/walk) as opposed to going from one extreme to the other (eg. canter to walk). And strangely enough, it's very easy going from a canter to a complete halt on Max.

However, going from the canter to the walk is a much more difficult proposition because it's all too easy to come to apply too much pressure in the seat and come to a complete halt (i.e. jam on the brakes). I suppose this would be chalked up to my early training with Max which emphasized training him to halt immediately on command, which eventually transitioned to using mostly my body reinforced with a little rein.

Now the key is to apply just enough "brake" and not too much and that's going to require practice...a LOT of practice. Most of this is my issue rather than Max's since, after all, he's following my direction. We practiced this many times over and basically it requires the following:

1) Collection- You need to collect up the horse and get most of the weight shifted to the haunches. This will minimize the chance of the horse becoming heavy on the front end and having the horse "dive" into the walk (or stop- this also applies to the canter/halt).

2) Pressure- Apply enough pressure from the seat but not too much. This is mainly breath control combined with keeping good leg contact. Rein is also used but with a curb bit, very little is needed- you don't want to throw up a "wall" for the horse to crash into (i.e. rip his head off).

3) Momentum- Once you begin to feel the horse slow down, you need to almost squeeze him forward a bit (at least on a horse like Max that's used to doing complete stops when I apply a high degree of pressure).

4) Release the Reins- While you give a slight squeeze, you also need to be sure to give the horse his head. It's a weird effect but the horse's head will lower going into the walk and you need to not be so tight on the reins that he's prevented from doing so.

All of the above need to be combined and that's a pretty tall order. I managed to get a few of them "right" but most of my transitions ended up either in an abrupt halt or he would jig a few steps before settling into a walk or he'd trot out.

I'm sure each horse has a different degree of sensitivity to the aids and braking power, as much the same as braking with a small sports car is different from braking with a large truck. They both stop but have different requirements. For Max, we need to train him to understand that he's expected to relax and continue forward at a walk and that it needs to be done at an unhurried pace. This is also going to require me to be more subtle in my the use of the aids. Also, I need to be ready to quickly kick him up to keep him moving if it looks like he's just going to stop.

To a great degree, this is all a matter of timing...

We'll, looks like we have some work to do here. :-)

On the Trail Again...

2011-02-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

Today I got lazy and decided to forgo my lesson and head out on the trail. I decided to go on an easy jaunt, up to the sheep pens and back which is about a two-hour ride. This is a favorite of mine and since this is the first time Max has been out on some serious trail since November, this would be the perfect trail course- not too long and offers a mix of up and down hills.

The rains have really rearranged things to the point where a lot of rock has been washed down from the mountains and there was some erosion. The weather was beautiful- full sun and it seemed that the vegetation and plants were in technicolor. Also, since it has been very cold the night before, there was snow on the surrounding mountains and it almost looked like we were in Montana rather than Southern California. It's a scene that rarely comes along so I intended to use it to the max. :-)

I went out with a friend of mine so Max definitely had company but my friend's horse is a mare and she was extremely lazy about moving out, so Max got the honors of being in the lead. Normally, Max is a follower rather than a leader so I had to constantly urge him forward. The green grass along the trail also didn't help- he wanted to stop and snack at every opportunity so I had to keep on him about that too.

We decided to vary our route a bit so we followed the creek along Little Tujunga Canyon farther than I normally would but it was pretty nice. I haven't been this way in at least six months and the vegetation seemed to show it- at several points I had to flatten myself against Max's neck to pass under low branches. We had to cross over some steep creek banks that had been created by erosion but Max was up to the job although at one point I didn't give him enough slack on the reins and he slammed into the bit and stopped short- I had to quickly release and kick hard to get him momentum up again. Lesson learned there- sorry Max!

We finally picked up the trail going up towards the sheep pens and we were soon there after a short, steep climb. We then made our way towards one of the canyon rims- this is an area that used to be covered in heavy brush up until the Station Fire in 2009 but had been burnt over. Now, the vegetation is just staring to come back but now the trail was much wider and the footing improved (looks like someone went over everything with a bulldozer recently, making for more of a road effect).

We the followed the path of what used to be a cross-country eventing course- that was pretty fun and Max really wanted to move out although I held him back a bit. We finally made a complete loop and proceeded to make our way downhill and finally picking up the trail home.

Overall, it was an excellent experience and Max seemed to experience no issues, especially with the legs and hooves. Hopefully I'll be able to get him up the Doc Larsen Trail in the near future. :-)

Looking north towards the sheep pens.

Looking south from the sheep pens towards the San Fernando Valley. The cell camera doesn't do justice to the scene.

Waiting for the Weekend...

2011-02-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

With crappy weather and other commitments, I have been unable to get out to the stables since Sunday so Max has caught a bit of a break. I find that the older I get, the less willing I am to brave crappy weather to ride Max- it's misirable and nothing is accomplished. Hopefully things will improve towards the weekend.

Call me lazy... :-)

Post Valentine's Day...

2011-02-15T15:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I managed to survive Valentine's Day with sanity and wallet somewhat intact. Max had to content himself with an Alfalfa smoothie...:-)

It's funny how a holiday has developed into an industry although the origins of the "hoiliday" are dubious at best- although there were at lest three cited martyrs with the name "Valentine" (or Valentinus), there's no connection to romantic love.

Well, in any event I just regard it as an excuse to express love/affection towards the significant ones around you. As for the roses/candy thing...well, I leave that to others. :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

Just to greet the day:

Max & I at Griffith Park

2011-02-12T23:34:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful, sunny day so a friend and I decided to go riding in Griffith Park. The last time I rode there, I was only able to ride on the bridle paths next to the freeway and golf course because of the threat of heavy rain. Today was much better so we decided to head up into the hills.

For those who may not know, Griffith Park is a Park located in Los Angeles on the borders of Glendale and Burbank and a large part of it is still relatively underveloped with a network of trails. It's not the most ideal riding environment due to the joggers and bike riders but it's not bad, especially as you go further into the park. A good part of the park is in mountainous terrain and it makes for some spectacular views (it's technically part of the Santa Monica Mountains).

We parked our rig in a dirt parking lot located on Zoo Drive, just accross the street from the trail leading up into the mountains. The trail is actually a fire road and the grade is pretty steep, probably one of the steepest road/trail I've ever climbed with Max but he was up to the task and we proceeded at a walk. Although there were the usual hikers and such, it was nice to see some other riders (probably out of the LA Equestrian Center or one of the other barns close by). At sveral points we transitioned into a good forward trot, which is actually easier on horses going uphill than just a plain walk).

After about 15 minutes or so, we arrived at the top and we proceeded to take a break- there was a tub with water and plenty of nice green grass so Max definitely was a happy guy. It also helped that he was with his usual travelling companion (Max gets along very well with my friend's horse) and he was very relaxed and attentive.

We had a choice of directions so we opted to take a ridge route that travels along the back of the LA Zoo and eventually drops down to the flats by the Zoo parking lot. We then linked up with the main bridal path that follows the freeway. We had a choice of either making a right and going towards the Autry Mueseum and golf course or making a left and following the freeway towards Forest Lawn Cemetary. Since we'd previously been to the golf course (one of the hazards of riding past the golf course is dodging the occassional flying golf ball- no joke), we opted to go the other way.

Click HERE for a map. Our ride was at teh north end with the start point not too far away from the LA Live Steamers.

During our ride, we trotted for several long stretches and once we got down on the flats by Zoo Drive, we cantered out. The horses were definitely in heaven and Max was defnitely motivated to move out. :-). We decided to head towards the LA Equestrian Center so we followed the bridal path through several tunnels (kind of scary happing other horses in a tunnel). We thencrossed the LA River over a wire suspension bridge that would bob up and down...it didn't seem to bug the horses any but it made me abit nervious- no Indiana Jones situations here please!

We then followed a wide trail leading around the LA Equestian Center and even cantered for much of the way- that was sweet. We finally wound up by Viva's Fresh Mexican Restaurant where we tied up the horses and went to lunch. We were able to eat in a backroom that overlooks the tie railso we could keep an eye on the horses. Margaritas and Mexian food were a definite good end to a nice three-hour ride. :-)

After lunch, we ambled back and the horses were defintely moving out- must have been the fact that we were headed back to the trailer... :-) I was amazed to see the large number of riders out on the trail to include a LOT of rental riders.

Overall, it was an excellent ride and while you are never really away from people, it's still a nice ride and there are some physically challenging trails. However, you do have to be constantly vigilant, especially for joggers who are plugged into the I-Pod thingies and are completely oblivious to their surroundings- Max sometimes reacts to people running up on him from behind (duh, he's a horse) and I have to be ready.

I'll definitely be back again. :-)

View of breautiful Downtown Burbank...

My compadre looking down upon Burbank...

Max and I take in the view...

Lunch break at Viva's Fresh Mexican Restaurant. Margaritas for me, water for Max (yeah, beer for Max sounds better but I didn't have any :-))

Off Time...

2011-02-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

I gave Max the night off last night and wound up working on some sewing projects (have the bleeding fingers to prove it!) that I'm doing in preparation for some living history events I have lined up on April and May. As usual, Max will be accompanying me but he won't be getting any new clothes. :-)

One of bad things about living history is having to procure the necessary clothes (I refuse to use the term "costume" because I work and function in period clothing.) and sundry accessories and gear. In some cases, this also requires various firearms. And all this stuff adds up fast, cost-wise...

Worse, if you are portraying anyone mounted, you then have to consider proper saddles and tack and then it gets REALLY expensive. And unlike clothes and gear for myself (at least for most time periods), often times nobody makes the proper reproduction horse-tack or if they do, it's wildly expen$ive. So, you often have to improvise either by re-dressing a modern saddle that's sort of close or just completely fudging things. So far, I've been lucky in this but that's not always going to be the case...and I'm not up for learning the art of saddlemaking.

Lately I have been involved in recreating the American Revolution and Napoelonic Wars eras and what uniforms and such that can be found are either not right or wildly expensive. Hence my developing interest in sewing. Lucky for me, my wife is a long-time wardrobe designer so she can help me through some of the technical challenges (and much as I love my wife, trying to get her to sew for me is a real pain in the rear)

The struggle continues and I'll try and post some updates here from time to time. :-)

Where the Thoroughbred Began...

2011-02-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

The foundation of the Thoroughbred, and Thoroughbred racing in general, began in the late 17th Century/early 18th Century with three foundation stallions: The Goldolphin Arabian (aka Goldolphin Barb), Byerly Turk and the Darley Arabian.

For a little more information:

The Thoroughbred as it is known today was first developed in 17th and 18th century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Arabian stallions. All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three stallions originally imported into England in the 17th century and 18th century, and to 74 foundation mares of English and Oriental (Arabian, Turkoman or Barb) blood. During the 18th century and 19th century, the Thoroughbred breed spread throughout the world; they were imported into North America starting in 1730 and into Australia, Europe, Japan and South America during the 19th century. Millions of Thoroughbreds exist worldwide today, with over 118,000 foals registered each year worldwide.

What's really interesting is that the Throughbred in turn gave rise to such breeds as the Standardbred and Quarterhorse.

While I don't profess any great knowledge of Thoroughbreds, I have ridden a couple of them and while some swear by them, the two that I rode were pretty hot and pretty flighty. One of them especially seemed just a moment away from wanting to bolt- she belonged to a guy I used to trail ride with and every so often, she would want to take off abruptly and my friend couldn't prevent her from doing so. This really made for an uncomfortable experience since Max would then get upset.

From what I've read, one of the biggest problems with Throughbreds these days is that they're being raced at a young age- 2 years old- before the body has completely developed and that they're subjected to great stress and strain before the body is ready for it. Also, it seems that while the anatomy of the Throughbred has been optimized for racing, it's not durable and thus not able to withstand stress, strain and shock like some other breeds of horses. The end result can be a situation like Barbaro.

The Bylerly Turk

The Darley Arabian

The Goldolphin Arabian (aka Goldolphin Barb)

Nighttime at the Stables

2011-02-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Went out to the stables tonight and worked Max a bit. Didn't do anything spectacular but we did work on canter/walk transitions and some side-passing. Canter/walk transitions are tough for me because I tend to put on too much "brake" when I use my seat- Max has gotten increasingly senstive to my use of "breath control" when half-halting to the point where it doesn't take much to actually stop him...and this is without any use (or very minimal) of the reins.

Anyway, it's really a matter of timing because while you need to rapidly decelerate, you also have to back off at the last moment and almost "squeeze" the horse into a walk (while maintaing a good seat and balance). It's hard to describe and I don't always time it well... :-).

What I also have to work on is the walk/canter depart- you have to collect up the horse's energy (i.e. rev up) while walking and then release it as you ask for the canter. Ideally, the horse should almost explode and take off like a rocket (controlled, off course). As part of this, Max compresses himself like a spring (it feels like he's bowing) and it helpd to try and take weight off his back at the moment he does this. Once again, it's all timing and sometimes I hit it right and sometimes (most times) I don't. Oh, and while you're "revving up" the horse, you have to do it so they don't become so locked up that they come to a halt and get frustrated. I'm sure most of this is rider error but at the same time, Max isn't exactly the most ideal horse for this sort of work.

I basically did these while wprking my way around a quarter-mile track, going a lap in each direction. Definitely something I'll need to work on more...

Side-passing was a bit easier (relatively speaking, although I have to keep remembering to use my leg to block the shoulder (left leg if moving with the left shoulder leading, right leg if moving iwth the right shoulder leading). It's also easier to do this at a slow sitting trot than the walk but either way, there's a tendency for us to drift while doing it. Right now, this is something best handled in small increments.

Overall, it wasn't bad but we defintely need more work and we need to stretch more before doing it. Also, it would help to supple Max more.

I don't thing we'll be hitting any shows soon but I want to get a better handle on this stuff. The struggle continues... :-)

Back to School...

2011-02-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

Gave Max the off since the Spring semester has started and I have class on Monday nights. The class is "Principles of Animal Science" and it provides an overview of animals in terms of how we use them. It's pretty broad and should be interesting.

Stretch Those Muscles....

2011-02-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

Or so it felt today... :-)

Today was our usual Sunday lesson and today we focused on getting more centered in our seat and working solely with the curb bit.

One issue I've always had with my set is that thanks to an injury to the right shoulder when I was in the Army, my right side is lower than my left, especially if I'm tired and not thinking about it. This in turn tends to result in my right shoulder collapsing and my right pelvis dropping, this putting more weight on the right side of the saddle.

We worked on a number of exercises that basically designed to stretch and open my body to the left while also elevating my right pelvis. These exercises mostly consisted of turning, bending and stretching to the left, either so my right rand touches the horse's back or the left rear corner of the saddle pad. While bending I also have to elevate my right shoulder and this tends to elevate the pelvis. It feels like muscles are being pulled in a line from my right scapula all the way down to the right rear thigh muscles. And it definitely was sore making these muscles stretch.

Also, while doing these excersises I was riding in large circles to the left, first at the walk and then progressing to the canter. It's kind of disconerting riding at a center while bent and reacing to the rear for the bottom left corner of the saddle blanket...ouch! I'll have to work on these a lot on my own... :-)

After some of these, it seemed to have an effect on Max in that I ddin't need to make as much effort to stop or move Max around- I was using my seat to drive him with a minimum of rein work. It was exhausting but it's something I need to strive to make more a part of my seat- i.e., make it "automatice" rather than my having to think about it. This is going to take some work and it's probably good for my shoulder in the long run also.

I suppose this was as much therapeutic riding as anything elese. :-)

Practice Practice Practice...

2011-02-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

Today Max and I did our customary drill team practice with the Warhorse. Max was in fine form and it appears that the Pelham bit is working out very well.

We did our "usual" program of group formation drills, both at extended distances between the horses and side-by-side. One of the more interesting formations we do is the diamond which is created by traveling at the oblique (either right or left). The one think though, is that you have to pay attention to the other riders and constantly adjust your position in order to keep proper alignment (of all the horses were exactly the same size and had the same stride, this would be easier).

We ended by cantering in line and for Max, I think this his most favorite part of the whole program. His best position in line is usually towards the inside because he's a slower horse and he does the best here so this is where I rode him. Today, Max was a lot more attentive than ususal and the canter departures were smotth with no excited bucks- nice for a change! :-) What's really neat is that it's easy to slow him down on the corners by collecting him, thus maintaining the energy level so he can then speed up very quickly going into the straitaways.

Couldn't ask for better weather and after about three hours, both of us were definitely ready for a long break. :-)

Equine Affaire 2011

2011-02-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Today I made my annual pilgrimage to Equine Affaire out at the Fairplex in Pomona. Equine Affaire is an annual convention featuring vendors of various equine-related products, equine organizations, various clinics et al. In short, one big horse convention. :-)

In years past, I've been able to find some good deals on horse supplies and tack and it provided an opportunity to socialize with some of my scattered horse-friends. Also, there's the Breed Barn where the various breed associations bring out some of their horses to display- it provides a nice opportunity to see up close and live some breeds of horses that you would otherwise only see in pictures (although I've been lucky in that regard because of where I board.

Unfortunately, the poor economy has also taken it's toll in the equine industry and for the past few years, there's been less vendors coming out and seemingly a lot less for sale (which is probably a good thing for my bank account).

This year, unfortunately, was a big disappointment. I took today off from work and went out with a friend to see what was going on. I'm not a big clinic fan (just doesn't hold my attention to be honest- too far away from the clinician and the stands are not conducive towards learning- give me CDs or something) so we pretty much worked our way through the exhibit halls.

One of the things I always buy at Equine Affaire is Hylasport jount supplement for Max. Hylasport is made by Horsetech and it's a pretty decent product- it's really helped out Max. The vendor didn't have the Hylaport with teh Devil's Claw that I've been giving to Max but he did give me a special rate and said they'd mail it out to me (this was the president of the company so it doesn't get any better!).

Beyond this, all I bought was a T-shirt from Broken Horn Saddlery and naturally we had to have lunch and that blew a big hole in the wallet as expected (on top of the $16 admission and $9 parking). Well, at least it wasn't pouring down rain like last year! :-)

The Breed Barn was a bit of a disappointment- there wasn't anything compelling to see and for some reason it was heavy on Tennessee Walkers (not that I don't like Walkers) and not much else. The Friesan people only broght a 1 year old so there wasn't even a full-grown one to look at. Oh well, maybe next year...

Probably the most intersting thing was looking at horse trailers (not that I can afford one right now) but my friend pointed out a lot of stuff to look for and I was really able to see things in a different light. Unfortunately, cheaper is not necessarily better and while there were some relatively inexpensive models, they had various issues. It seems like some of the best are the ones made by Logan Coach. Oh well, I can dream...

Overall, probably the nicest thing was running in to various horse-friends, some who I hadn't seen for awhile. Otherwise it was a big disappointment. Maybe next year...

P.S. Looks like it wasn't much better when I went to Equine Affaire in 2009.

Przewalski's Horse

2011-02-02T11:17:00.001-08:00

Most horses that people think of as "wild" are actually horses that have become feral (most "wild" horses today are actually feral horses, animals that escaped or were turned loose from domestic herds and the descendants of those animals). Of the various wild horse breeds, only one has survived to this day: Przewalski's Horse.

A little background from Wikipedia:

The only true wild horse alive today is the Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus Przewalskii), named after the Russian explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky. It is a rare Asian animal, also known as the Mongolian Wild Horse; Mongolian people know it as the taki, and the Kyrgyz people call it a kirtag. The species was presumed extinct in the wild between 1969 and 1992, while a small breeding population survived in zoos around the world. In 1992, it was reestablished in the wild due to the conservation efforts of numerous zoos. Today, a small wild breeding population exists in Mongolia. There are additional animals still maintained at zoos throughout the world.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Stepping Out with Max

2011-02-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

During the winter, I really have to convince myself to change my clothes and leave my warm house to go work Max. Much as I love him, the older I get, the more I also like my creature comforts...however, duty prevailed and off I went to the stables. Unfortuatnely, except for the weekends, if I want to keep max tuned up, that means I have to work him at night after work. :-)

Lately, when I ride Max, I engage in a somewhat new "preflight prep" sequence because of his prior problems with his front legs. What I do is to first turn him out into the arena while I gather my saddle and tack. the basic idea is to have him move around prior to the start of our ride. Although some horses tend to stand and stare out from the arena, this isn't Max's problem and usually he'll shamble about, checking things out and grazing on whatever grass he can reach through the rails.

Once I've got my gear together, I'll then saddle Max. Once mounted, I walk him for about 10 minutes on the track, splitting the time between going in each direction. As part of the program, I'll also beging to wowrk in some leg-yields to keep him thinking and to loosen him up- nothing extreme.

Next, I'll kick him up into a posting trot, usually switching between walking and trotting every so often. At the trot, I'll also start doing some limgering up exercises for myself- usually swinging hips from side-to-side, doing 2-beat down/1-beat up posts and finally 1-beat down/2-beats up posts (these really give the calves a workout. If I'm in a real masochistic mood, I also post without stirrups.

Eventually I'll push Max into a forward trot and alternate this with a working trot and/or a sitting trot. Finally, I'll put him into a canter. Throughout out this process, I also try and do some transitions- typically walk/trot or trot/canter. Lately, I've also been working on some walk/canter transitions but I don't do a lot of these at one time.

Now I might not do all of the above all the time but I like to vary the movements and not simply do all one thing or the other- the big idea is to keep Max thinking a bit by demanding that he be alert to whatever I might call for. I also like transitions for this reason. Also, sometimes I'll also do a lot of leg-yielding (although I usually employe this as part of the warming up. To me, a lot of this is a much a mental thing as simply exercise. Finally, I also like to use collection with the trot and canter- I work to instill the idea in Max that there are multiple speed settings for all gaits and it's not just a matter of "go".

Also, there are nights where will do some cavalry work, either with or without the sword. This mostly consists of a lot of cantering and trotting while changing directions abruptly and incorporating turning on the haunches and the forehand. If things are really going well, I might even do some half-passes at the canter combined with spins. Finally, if I feel like a more sedate work-out, I'll do a lot of this at the walk/trot. Sometimes I also do shoulder-ins at the walk and trot. In short, I like to vary the program depending on Max's mood and my inclinations. :-)

My average workout time is for about an hour although when the days are longer, I tend to ride longer. The key here is quality more than quantity. Sure, racing around is fun but the more I do this, the more I like to have a goal in mind and direct things towards that.

I definitely look forward to longer days because sometimes it's difficult to tell if you're doing a manuever correctly. :-)

Napoleonic Elvis?

2011-02-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm kind of reaching on this one but for some reason the French General Joachim Murat has always reminded me of a Napoleonic Era version of Elvis Presley...maybe it's the flamboyant lifestyle, the loss of excess or who knows what (or perhaps the glitzy outfits and high collars)...and like Elvis, he died in the prime of life...

Old School Jumping - Cavalry Style

2011-02-01T14:01:00.001-08:00

Can't recall where I got these from but here's a couple of pictures of a US Cavalryman jumping. The seat is definitely NOT Caprilli-influenced...

Cheeseboro Canyon

2011-02-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Last May, a friend and I went for a long trail ride at Cheeseboro Canyon, an area just to the North of Ahmanson Ranch. Here's what few pictures I just found:

Heading up the trail.

My compadre and his horse Tike (short for Ticonderoga).

The trailhead.

On the Trail - Ahmanson Ranch II

2011-02-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

I just found some pictures from when a ride a took at Ahmanson Ranch in July 2010:

Looking Northeast towards the North San Fernando Valley- we're almost back to the trailhead.

Another view of the North San Fernando Valley.

Out in the middle somewhere. Compared to last weekend, the grass was bone dry.

Heading down the main trail. At this point, it hadn't rained for awhile.

Another view travelling down the central main trail. It was overcast and relatively cool (and not too humid) the day we rode.

Max on a Roll...

2011-02-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

And for something different...Max relaxing after a long trail ride...

The Eagle - Synopsis

2011-02-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

This is a brief description from an upcoming movie entitled "The Eagle":

The Eagle A Focus Features Film Synopsis

The movie is supposed to be based on the book "Eagle of the Ninth" by Rosemary Sutcliff, a book that I originally read in 7th grade and immediately fell in love with. Hopefully, they won't pile on the PC crap...

And here's a trailer from the movie:

Roman Cavalry I

2011-01-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

OK, now that you've seen the Sassanid Cataphract in the last post, here's what the Romans had to initially go up against it:

Needless to say, it didn't take long before the Romans created their own to match it. The above image is a typical auxiliary cavalryman circa 1st Century AD. Here's another view:

Now admittedly, these are reenactor/living history recreations and thus, there's potential for error but I think it gives a pretty good idea (But I'm not wild about the tie-down in the second picture). More later! :-)

Cavalry in History - The Cataphract

2011-01-31T13:55:00.001-08:00

Because you asked... :-)

Pictured above is a recreation of a Sassanian Cataphract from roughly the mid-2nd Century AD. The Sassanians were the successors to the Parthians and were located on the Eastern border of the Roman Empire in what is today Jordan/Iraq/Iran and as such were a formidible foe and a constant threat to the Roman position in the East.

The term "Cataphract" in English is derived from the Greek: κατάφρακτος Kataphraktos (plural: κατάφρακτοι Kataphraktoi), literally meaning "armored" or "completely enclosed". Historically the cataphract was a very heavily armored horseman, with both the rider and horse covered from head-to-toe in scale armor, while typically wielding a kontos or lance as their weapon.

In response to the Sassanid threat, the Romans eventually created cataphract units of their own and later also armed them with a short bow to deal with the light horse archers which were typically used in conjunction with the Cataphracts. By using the Cataphracts in conjunction with lightly-armored horse archers, the Sassanids were able to create a fast-moving cavalry force that combined firepower with mobility. The only real weak spots were that the Sassanids lacked any infantry capable of holding fixed positions (at least outside of fortified towns.

One slang term of the period that was used for Cataphracts was the Latin word "clibinari" or metal oven which referred to the effect of the armor in the desert heat...I don't think I up for giving this a try with Max! :-)

On the Trail - Ahmanson Ranch

2011-01-30T22:54:00.000-08:00

Today, a friend and I trailered our horses over th Ahmanson Ranch for a trail ride. I've been here before last Fall but I really haven't been out on the trail for extended periods since Max's leg and knee problems so I was looking forward to this with anticipation (and a little trepidation).

Ahmanson Ranch is relatively close to my friend's house and it's about a 45-minute drive from my stable but it's another world apart. Located at the edge of the West San Fernando Valley, it's a refreshing contrast to the urban sprawal and over-development and thanks to a hard-fought battle by various public interest groups and the public in general, it was saved from development (multi-million dollar homes and the usual BS). Click Here for some background information.

For a nice map of the trails, click Here for a map of the area.

One of the reasons I really like this area is that the trails are optimal for horses- no rocks, good footing, fairly wide trails, and long open stretches for trotting and cantering. And lots of grass for your horse to snack on. In short, horse paradise. Also, it really gives you a good idea of what a lot of California USED to look like, once upon a time.

There are two ways to access the area, one from the East off of Victory Blvd. (at the extreme West end) or from Las Virgenes Road on the West side. The East side is more accessible for horse trailers and closer to where we're located so we used that one.

After arriving and paying a nominal $3 parking fee, we tacked up and were soon on the trail. There's a large number of hikers and joggers on the main central trail and some mountain bikes but everyone was polite and there were no issues. Also, Max is getting much better around bikes so it's not as bad an issue that it once was.

Footing on the trail was good although a bit hard from having dried out from the recent rains we've had here. We made our way Northwest and after warming up for about 20 minutes at the walk, we trotted for some stretches. Max is slower than my friend's horse and tends to be more of a follower so my friend took the lead for most of this. On the trot and canter, Max exerts himself trying to keep up and sometimes gets a tad excited so I have to check him once in awhile to get his attention.

We followed the central main trail all the way to Las Virgenes Road and then took a trail that wung around to the East in a large loop. Overall, we estimated that the total trails we rode was about 6 miles or so.

We finally cantered for some long stretches and Max was defnitely game although he'd tend to give a little buck-out when I'd send him into a canter (Max tends to do this when he's exuberant) but it's easy to settle him down. This is the first long trail ride that I've ridden using the Pelham bit and I found it useful for getting Max's attention when needed- the curb effect acts as sort of a "HEY BUDDY, PAY ATTENTION!" when needed (not too hard though).

By the end I had Max in a full fun and he was defintely moving out trying to keep up with his trail buddy (my friend's horse and Max are very attached and I've found that he trailers better when he's with the other horse). After cooling down Max at the walk, we finally made our way back to the trailer. Max was completely coveed in sweat and he'd definitely gotten a good workout. :-)

This is probably one of the best trail rides I've ever taken and while it was only about three hours, it was a good workout for both Max and I and there appeared to be no leg issues. The Pelham bit seemed to have served it's purpose well and although we we need to work on the canter departs a bit with Max's "whoop-de-whoop" buckiing-out, it was still fine. Finally, when we got back to the stables, I made sure to give Max a dose of Bute along with his usual bucket of A&M, Omolene 200 and gloucosamine supplement.

I'll defintely be back soon! :-)

Heading back in a loop towards the start point.

Looking Northwest towards Las Virgenes Road. If you go far enough North, you will hit Chesebrough Canyon. If you go more West, you can eventually link up with trails that will take you towards Malibu Creek State Park (but it will be a LONG ride and you'll have to pass over some seriously paved streets to get over the 101 Freeway.

Looking Southeast towards the West San Fernando Valley. Once upon a time, before the developers screwed everything up, a lot of the Valley was like the foreground- I remember the last of it growing up in the West Valley. Jeeze, I was born 30 years too late!

Tent Pegging and Other Fun Stuff

2011-01-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting YouTube video that a friend passed along to me. Tent-pegging is a traditional equestrian game invented by bored cavalry troopers in the British Army during the 19th Century (at least that's my take on it) and it requires a high degree of skill. Although the target appear to be more like pieces of wood rather than normal tent pegs (which are smaller), they're still a challenge to hit. I've done some of this with old dishtowels (I know, pretty sad but that's all we could improvise at the time)/ I'd like to get into it more someday. I think Max would be pretty game for it. :-)

...and beer for my horses...

2011-01-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

This one has always been a favorite with me...especially the "beer for my horses" part!

Before there Were "Horses" - The Hyracotherium

2011-01-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

OK, a little history and science on the origins of the horse. Pictured below is a picture of the Hyracotherium, one of the precursors of the horse. Here's some information, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Hyracotherium averaged two feet (60-cm) in length and eight to 14-inches (20-cm) high at the shoulder and weighed about 50 pounds. It had four hoofed toes on each front foot and three hoofed toes on each hind foot. Each toe had a pad on its underside, similar to those of a dog. It had a primitive, short face with eye sockets in the middle and a short diastema (the space between the front teeth and the cheek teeth). The skull was long, having 44 low-crowned teeth. Although it had low-crowned teeth, the beginnings of the characteristic horse-like ridges on the molars can be seen. Hyracotherium is believed to have been a browsing herbivore that ate primarily soft leaves as well as some fruits and nuts and plant shoots.

Book Recommendation - The Warhorse

2011-01-25T15:49:00.000-08:00

Just to put in a plug for War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider by Louis A. Dimarco.

This book is essentially a history of cavalry from the perspective of the horse and rider and as such is a nuts-and-bolts survey of how cavalry as a military force developed and what it meant for the individual rider. Dimarco's survey is a bit "broad brush" in that it provides a broad overview (it covers cavalry from the beginning of time until its final demise in the mid-2oth Century). Overall, it's a pretty fast read and there's a lot of information. The best past is that it ties the horse in a historical context. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the role of the horse in military history.

Here's a more detailed description, courtesy of Amazon.com:

For more than four thousand years, the horse and rider have been an integral part of warfare. Armed with weapons and accessories ranging from a simple javelin to the hand-held laser designator, the horse and rider have fought from the steppes of central Asia to the plains of North America. Understanding the employment of the military horse is key to understanding the successes and the limitations of military operations and campaigns throughout history.

Over the centuries, horses have been used to pull chariots, support armor-laden knights, move scouts rapidly over harsh terrain, and carry waves of tightly formed cavalry. In War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider, Louis A. DiMarco discusses all of the uses of horses in battle, including the Greek, Persian, and Roman cavalry, the medieval knight and his mount, the horse warriors—Huns, Mongols, Arabs, and Cossacks—the mounted formations of Frederick the Great and Napoleon, and mounted unconventional fighters, such as American Indians, the Boers, and partisans during World War II. The book also covers the weapons and forces which were developed to oppose horsemen, including longbowmen, pike armies, cannon, muskets, and machine guns.
The development of organizations and tactics are addressed beginning with those
of the chariot armies and traced through the evolution of cavalry formations
from Alexander the Great to the Red Army of World War II.

In addition, the author examines the training and equipping of the rider and details the types of horses used as military mounts at different points in history, the breeding systems that produced those horses, and the techniques used to train and control them. Finally, the book reviews the importance of the horse and rider to battle and military operations throughout history, and concludes with a survey of the current military use of horses. War Horse is a comprehensive look at this oldest and most important aspect of military history, the relationship between human and animal, a weapons system that has been central to warfare longer than any other.

Drivers- Watch out for Horses!

2011-01-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

Wish we had this here in California:

After a Long Hot Ride...

2011-01-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here's Max relaxing after a long, hot ride:

I always let him roll when we're done- sometimes you have to let a horse be a horse! :-)

Sunday...

2011-01-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

Part of the rehab process for Max has been getting myself back into condition. Granted, I did ride other horses for the roughly two-month period that Max was off, but the muscle memory needs to be tuned up. In fact, it's just as important to get me back into condition as it is for Max. However, while things will go relatively easy for Max, there will be more work for me. :-)

We did our usual lesson this morning, preceeded by about an hour-long warm-up session. The warm-up primarily consisted of a lot of walking in the beginning, gradually moving up to trotting alternated with walking and finally, cantering alternating with trotting and walking. As part of this, I've also been doing a lot of transitions in order to get Max more attuned to my aids.

For myself, I did a number of sretching exercises (but as the lesson later proved, not enough!) to inlcude moving my hips from side-to-side, posting without stirrups (ouch!) and some other exercises.

Another area I've been working on with Max is to strenghthen him laterally by doing some shoulder-in work. For this, I will work him along the long side of an open area about 200-300 feet long (it's actually a driven dressage area) in each direction, first at the walk and then at the trot. It's really not a lot and I don't want to work him hard in this area.

OK, now to the lesson. Lots of leg yields and transitions! One of the key thinkgs here, at least for me, is leg yielding while at the same time maintining a good working trot. Max has a tendency to speed up in these in order to "get 'er done". Probelm is, it's not a matter of rushing but of precision, especially since he also likes to fishtail with his haunches out. It's a constant issue that I have to keep on top of Max about (helped along with a dressage whip to push his haunched into position. After about 20 minutes of this, Max finally settled down and we managed to get some nice leg-yields with minimal fishtailing at a working trot.

Some other things we worked on was alternating colecting and extensions at the trot and then the canter. The goals here were to keep quiet with the hands and use the seat and legs to do most fo the work. It requires some concentration but paid off in the end. The curb bit has really improved Max's collection because I can give him a bigger "hint" to start collecting up- there's no mistaking what I want (although sometimes I have to remind a little harder than I'd like).

In the end, we did some seriously collected canters, progressively slowing him down and focusing the enegy upwards- it should feel like the legs are working like pistons underneath you and while it may at first seem like the horse is crow-hopping, he really isn't- it's the shifting of weigt to the hanches. The other thing that will happen is that the haunches will drop slightly and it feels like you're going uphill- here you have to resist the tendency to start leaning forward (which totally destroys your seat). One of the major benefits to collection is that it will helpMax's arhritis in that more weight is being shifted to the rear, away from the front end where he seems to be affected the most.

After all of this, both of us were pretty tired out and I was sore, to say the least. We made our way home and Max definitely got a nice bucket of A&M and the rest of the day off (by this point we'd been three hours in the saddle).

We're getting there and so far, Max doesn't appear to be having any issues. :-)

Really Back in the Saddle _ Saturday

2011-01-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a good riding weekend. With the weather warming up considerably in the past few weeks (got to love California!), Max's leg problems appear to have mostly resolved and I've been gradually working him (as well as myself) up to his previous fitness levels. I didn't ride Max for part of November and most of December due to some leg issues (mostly arthritis, a crappy shoeing job and a stone bruise) so now we're getting back into the swing of things.

Saturday saw us participating in drill team practice with the Warhorse Militaria Heritage Foundation. This is the first time since switching to the Pelham bit that I have ridden him so I wanted to see how things would go- the curb bit is a whole new thing for both Max and I, so it was going to be interesting how it would work while having to deal with formations and other horses. I need not have worried...:-)

Max quickly fell back into his old routine and he renewed his acquataince with the other horses. They all get along for the most part so there were few issues in that department. The one thing that struck me is that Max was a lot more crisp on the turns, even with two-handed reining (actually I'm using double reins which makes things even more "busy"). Sometimes I was bit too crisp so I have to think more about moderating my rein effects so that I get more gradual turning action rather than abrupt cornering.

We worked first at the walk and then eventually trainsitioned into the trot. As a finale, we also cantered in line. Max, as usual, was eager to canter and would get so excited that he would move leap around some (sort of a ya hoo thing)- I'm used to this and quickly kicked him forward. When we repeated the exerciese, he settled down so the departure was more smooth. I had Max positioned more towards the inside because of his relative slowness and he did just fine, keeping up with the horses around him and overall having a good time. The nice thing is that when we would reach the ends of the arena, I was able to smoothly and quickly put Max into a collected canter with just a squeeze or two on the reins- so basically we were cantering at a slower pace wile the outside horses were moving at a full canter/gallop. Max seems to do better on a more inside position so hey, go with what works!

Afterwards, we all went on a long trail ride, crossing Wentworth and winding up at a small market where we stopped to buy drinks and take a break. There was a lot of green grass so Max munched contentedly while we drank gatorade. You couldn't ask for better weather.

Coming back, Max was a little full of himself so I have to work him a little bit and we had a "discussion" as to why I make the decisions. Since he raelly hasn't been out on the trail a lot, I wasn't too worried about it. Overall, it was a productive day and Max was rewarded with his usual bucket. :-)

On the Trail - Last Fall

2011-01-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

OK, some more catching up... :-)

Last Fall, I hit the local trails with some friends of mine. Here's a few of the regular places that I ride:

I call this the "Jungle Trail"- this actually runs from the Haul Road by the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center to another major trail that leads towards Shadow Hills. The significant thing is that it crosses one of the major watercourses leading away from Big Tujunga. It can get really deep and fast during the rains.

Taking a break on the trail...Max and some of his friends enjoy some fresh green grass.

The river crossing. The water level was relatively low and easy to cross when this picture was taken.

Another view.

Long Beach Civil War Event - 2010

2011-01-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

Last August, Max and I went on the road for a day down to El Dorado Regional Park in Long Beach for a Civil War event. It wasn't a bad event although there were plenty of gopher holes to avoid although Max had a few excitable moments out there. Once he settled down, things went pretty good.

Moving out. As usual, Max is slower than everyone else and is struggling to keep up.

At the charge...the reason some of these pictures are off-kilter (sort of artistic...) is because they were taken by a guy lying on the ground who was acting as a casualty

Christmas Party 2010

2011-01-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

OK, I have to admit that while I'm not the biggest social butterfly, the Christmas party at my friend's house was pretty cool. Here I am looking dapper in my Southerestern-themed outfit- pretty much what I used to wear in my SASS days. :-)

Happy New Years!

2011-01-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

2010 wasn't bad but it wasn't the greatest either. I'm hoping for a better 2011 and I realize that I haven't posted anything since September. Let's just say life got in the way...I'll be better in 2011. Really. I promise! :-)

Doc Larsen Trail 2010

2010-09-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's been over a year since I have been on the Doc Larsen Trail and a lot has happened since then. The reason it's been so long is because of the Station Fire that occured around this time last year and the subsequent closing of the entire area. Although the area has not been formally re-opened, people have been going up there anyway so I decided why not me? It also helps that a number of my trial-riding friends had alreay been there so I was able to get good intelligence before going.

I figured that this would also be a good time to really put my new/sed Tucker Trail saddle to use and so I got Max prepared. Since I haven't really used this saddle for a lot of extended trail riding, I also had to figure out a way to pack along the usual sorts of things like a first aid kit. Fortuantely, after some rummaging around the tack shed, I managed to rig up a set of pommel bags and a set of saddle bags so I didn't have to spend any money on new bags.

I started out about 9:30 am, heading north towards the Oaks and then turning right and heading up the start of the trail that leads to the Doc Larsen. I ride this area quite often so there weren't any surprises and best of all, nobody else out on the trail.

After about a mile, the trail ended at a fire road and then followed the road, heading north. After about 1/4 mile, the Doc Larsen Trail starts and I procceded to follow it, heading east (in a general sort of way). I noticed immediately that the canyon that the Doc follows had seen a lot of waterflow during last winter and a lot of rocks and sand had been washed down, obliterating what trail there had been. After following deep sand for awhile, the trail thebegain to climb, alternating between sandy creekbed and harder higher trails. There had been a number of wash-outs bout there had been a lot of trail repair work (no doubt by ETI Corral 20 among others) so, trails had been re-routed and marked with rocks. Also, it helped that the trail was graded so the transitions betwen old and few trail wasn't steep or abrupt.

After about 1/2 mile, the trail began to climb steeply and here it was pretty much unchanged from the last time I'd ridden though. However, after another 1/4 or so, you could then see where the fire had burned down and the trail then entered the burnt-out zone. Here, things were bit rough in terms of footing and not as much work had been done. At several points, there were small drop-offs in the trail where it would cross the canyon bottom and I had to spur Max pretty hard to get him up the grade.

At the final stretch leading into the bathtub, the trail was fairly steep and eroded and the best thing to do here was to trot/canter- the horse definitely needs to keep momentum because parts are pretty slippery. Sure, you can walk it but it's both hard on horse and rider. This is one area that's going to have problems when it rains again, unless further trail repair efforts are made.

We finally reached the bathtub and was it a contrast to the last time I'd been there. It used to be completely covered in shade from the brush but now it was almost completely open around it. This, of course, didn't deter Max fro drking his fill and we paused for about 10 minutes or so to rest up.

The rest of the trail leading up to Doc Larsen flats was a but anti-climactic but there were definately some steep grades here and once again, trotting/cantering is recommended to get up it (yes, this probably doesn't do the trail surface any favors but it's better than the horse laboring to scramble up it at a walk).

From Doc Larsen Flats, I followed the fire roads in a loop, heading in a generally westerly direction. Finally I reached the intersection where I can either go towards Foothill Blvd or back to the fire road where the Doc begins. I opted to go down the fire road towards Foothill Blvd. It's kind of a pain going down the fire road- it seems to take forever but eventually we made it down. From there, I crossed Foothill and made our way home around the Equestrian Center and then up the wash.

Overall, it was about a 3 hour ride at a somewhat leisurely pace and it was good to get out on a long trail ride on our home range. For too long, we've been away. :-)

Huh? Did anyone say "Alfalfa Smoothe?"

The pause that refreshes- Max takes a well-derserved water break.

The bathtub- it managed to survive the Station Fire intact.

Doc Larsen Flats- Looking Eastward.

Looking east towards the Fascination Springs Trail.

The tie rail- this whole area used to be full of brush to the point where you could not see beyond the rail.

Coming up on the Bathtub. This whole area used to be a forest of brush...

Upper Doc Larsen Trail heading east. The fire definitely got down here- the area is pretty bare, even with susequent new growth.

Middle Doc Larsen Trail heading east. The fire didn't make it this far.

Lower Doc Larsen Trail- the Winter rains eroded parts of the trail that cross the dry creekbed in the canyon.

Little Tujunga Canyon, heading north towards the Oaks.

In Training & The Independent Rein

2010-09-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Today I did my usual Sunday morning lesson with Max. Recently, we've been working on our usual activities such as collection and working on the beginnings of flying lead changes (and I mean VERY beginning and basic flying lead changes) but now using mostly just one hand on the reins.

OK, the dressage purest will probably sniff and laugh but I'm approaching this from a cavalry perspective (and at root, isn't that what dressage is descended from- getting the horse from Point A to Point B so you can kill the opposition?). One of the most basic things about cavalry is that most cavalries throughout history have used the sword as their basic arm (OK, you have knights with lances, mounted spearmen, or more recently pistol-armed cavalry like many found in the American Civil War). Even if you're using a pistol or other weapon, you still have one hand on the reins (I don't think anyone is up to trying reinless riding in a battle situation, at least voluntarily).

For me, my trainer introduced me to a new way of holding my reins and she explained that there are several ways to do so but the bottom line is that each allows you to acheive an independent rein for each side. This is easily done when riding two-handed and with finesse and skill, you can effectively communicate with you horse. One-hand reining is a bit more difficult and for me, the conversation goes like this:

"Hey Max, wake up!"

"Huh?"

"Move to the right so I can swing my sword at my opponent!"

"Huh? Why can't I go left? I ALWAYS go left!"

"Dammit Max, just do it!"

"Ouch! You're being mean! I don't want to play anymore!"

"MAX!"

"SCREW YOU!"

And it then descends into a fight and I have to back off and regroup.

Hopefully, most of this can be reduced/eliminated by being able to more effectively communicate with Max and so that's been the recent focus in training.

Basically, the goal is to be able to send a more direct message rather than a muddied one to the horse and I've noticed that when I have the reins arranged properly (rein maangement is sometimes tricky and it's slowly coming to me) to that they're even and not dragging on one side of the face or the other, it does halp to sharpen the message you're giving the horse. One good example of this is when leg yielding. Normally, you use the leg opposite of the side you're moving towards and then slowly flex it (kind of a pulsating effect). When combined wiht a gentle twistin movement that puts pressure on the side of bit (we're talking snaffle bit here) towards the direction of movement, it seems to sharpen the horses response. In actuality, I find that simply squeezng gently on the rein leading to the desired side often works as well. This is a subtle movement and when combined with the leg aids, seems to get good results- assuming thave eventhing is lined up correctly, my seat is correct, and Max is in the right frame of mind.

This is hard to describe without pictures but it does appear to be having a positive effect. The basic idea is to get be able to effectively communicate while having to deal with manipluating a sword or pistol. Also, in my case, Max has a bad habit of refusing to follow the opponent to the right when I'm mock sword-fighting. Sometimes he'll do it but often he'll refuse. Part of the problem is my seat- it's actually pushing him away from the opponent's horse but at the same time, he's able to take advantage of my only having one hand on the reins to refuse and I don't have much leverage like I would if I were riding with two hands on the reins. Also, the indpendent rein should help hammer a more precise and sharp command to "MOVE RIGHT!"

So, for now, in all my movements I'm using one hand to rein but at the same time using direct reining to move the horse rather than relying on neck-reining (which works when the horse is compliant but if he doesn't want to move in the direction you want, you're only recourse is to intensify the use of the leg aids (even with spurs, this only works sometimes). In Max's case, this simply doesn't work so we need to be able to engage ALL of Max. Or at least that's theory but it seems to be working some although I have yet to try this in a battle re-creation situation.

Now to PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! :-)

On The Trail and Through the Woods...

2010-09-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

Today found Max and I doing our usual Saturday morning drill with the Warhorse and Militaria Heritage Foundation. Due to various issues (probably the threat of heat), most of the members didn't show so we have only four riders. After working out for about 30 minutes, we decided to go for a trail ride, mostly around the Ponds and through the forested area in the Eastern Hansen Dam Basin.

While I have ridden this trail before, even at dusk, that's usually been at a walk. However, today we rode a good part of it at the trot and was that a challenge! The biggest issue is watching out for low-lying branches and you have to be ready to duck and flatten yourself onto your hrose's neck at an instant. Being tall at 6'1" also doesn't help and in some places it can really be rough. :-)

Naturally the other horses were all Arabs so Max really had to move out to be able to keep up. Amazingly, we had no issues and Max was very confident and handled the various twists and turns with no problem. Me, the rider, also had no issues but I was feeling like a pretzel by the end of the ride from all the ducking and weaving. :-)

It certainly was a good test for horse and rider and the best part was that we beat most of the heat. It wasn't until I headed home riding up the wash that I began to feel the heat (the wash can sometimes feel like a blast furnace on hot days). When I arrived back at the stables, I calculated that we'd been riding for a good 2 1/2 hours- a pretty respectable workout.

Swordwork, Seat, Independent Reins & Max

2010-09-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided that it was time to get some swordwork with Max. For some time, I've been working with Max and we've been to a few reenactment events where we've had mock battles. Unfortunately, both Max and I need work in this area. For Max, one big problem is that he doesn't always like to follow the opponent, rather he'll attempt to veer off in the opposite direction- normally, when you do a mock swordfight (since you're not intentionally trying to injure/kill your opponent), you basically clash blades and push back and forth (some call this the "Dance of the Saber Fairies"). You can also spin in place while clashing blades, typically spinning to the right, following your sword arm.

As I mentioned above, Max has issues with this. Also, when doing the initial approach, sometimes Max attempts to refuse contact and will abruptly swerve (typically to the left). Needless to say, this is a real pain and so far I've been able to keep my seat but it really puts a strain on the legs.

To address the situation, I've been working on a combination of mock battles with a friend, constant manuever drills on my own, and rethinking how I keep my seat. After some analysis in conjunction with my trainer, we concluded that part of the problem may be that in attempting to wield my sword, I'm leaning out (it's a natural thing that we don't really think about too much) and this in turn is putting hip pressure to the right side, thus actually driving the horse AWAY from the opponent.

To correct this, we've been doing a series of drills where I approach a target (typically a bush, tree, or some other object) while dropping my hips to the left and putting pressure to drive me towards the right (following the sword arm). At the same time, I'm extending the trunk of my body to the right. It basically feels like I'm bending into a "V" of sorts and it's counter-intuitive but it serves to force the horse towards the opponent while at the same time you're able to maintain your sword swing. You can also do this in the opposite direction (i.e. holding you sword arm over the withers and attacking to the left). I usually do this using a dressage whip.

Another new development is holding the reins in one hand and maintaining independent reins where you can manipulate just one rein at a time rather than both. This is typically employed in two-handed reining but it's a bit more tricky when using one hand (and especially when combined with a snaffle bit but that's another story). I've practicing moving my fingers and manipulating both sides independently and it's not easy. The idea though, is to be able to direct rein the horse and communicate with him in a more sure manner (kind of like a loud "HEY BUDDY!").

I've noticed that this is especially useful in leg yields and half-passes. Now granted, I'm just learning this and I've made mistakes with this, combined with an improved seat should (and I say SHOULD) help in sword work in that it can be used to head off Max's refusals and keep him moving in the right direction when clashing swords. At a minimum, it should remove the incentive/opportunity for Max to take the "easy way" out of close contact situations. Don't get me wrong, Max doesn't appear to have a problem with close-manuevering and sword fighting, it seems to be more a matter of differing interpretations on how it should be done.

So, getting back to last night- we did a number of drills in an attempt to put all the pieces together. It's a lot of work when using a real sword, especially with the weight and that the sword I have is an unbalanced reproduction (trust me, the originals work a lot better but I'm a bit short on cash at this time). This is something that I'll have to put some more time into but hopefully the payoff will be good. Certainly Max didn't seem to mind and he was especially good in the tight manuevering and spinning. Now to put all the pieces together and make it all work. :-)

Morro Bay 2010, Part I

2010-09-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

This year's trip to Morro Bay was interesting, and for the most part, one of the better trips I've had. In contrast to previous years, this year Max and I rode very little on the beach and tended to stay in the mountains. The reason for this? I failed to allow for Max's arthritis acting up due to the cooler temperatures- we went from nearly 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley to the low 70s during the day/high 50s at night at Montana de Oro. This in turn made Max a bit stiff and I was concerned that a lot of walking/trotting/cantering on the sand would have an adverse effect (not to mention the ever-present possibilty of bowed tendons or any number of hoof and leg issues.

I arrived with Max about 2 PM on Thursday, August 19 and in contrast to the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara, it was foggy and overcast. I quickly settled Max in and got myself situation in the back of the horse trailer as I usually do, after spending time cleaning it up.

One thing I've noticed from all the times going up to Montana de Oro is that often, Max doesn't like to be alone or to go out alone and this time was no exception. When I went to saddle him up to go on a small ride, he was shaking in the hindquarters and nervious to the point whe it was difficult, if not impossible to saddle him. Fortunately, I had brought both my English saddle and Tucker Trail saddle (I bought it earlier in July- more on that later) and with all the rigging, it's nearly impossible to saddle Max with the Tucker when he's moving around. So I managed to get the English saddle on and soon we went for a small ride.

While it wasn't the most fun ride, I managed to get some work out of him and he started to relax a little. After following a coastal trail for about 30 minutes, I turned back and naturally his step picked up a bit. After I was done riding, I made sure max was blanketed and I mixed him up his usual A&M and Omolene bucket.

More to follow....:-)

Group shot- Morro Rock is in the background.

Max and I at the end of the canyon at the end of the east Boundary Trail. The view was fantastic that day. :-)

Catching Up

2010-09-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

OK, it's really been a LONG time since I've blogged. The reasons? Life in general and simply a lack of motivation...I go through those phases sometimes...

It also didn't help that I lost the month of June and was unable to ride due to a cracked rib that I sustained when Max shied out from underneath me while I was doing a school program. It was pretty embarassing in that he was being so good and then out of the blue...actually it was because my haversack was too long and it got caught between the saddle and my leg when I mounted him. I stoop up in the stirrups, leaned over to the right to free the haversack when he swept out from underneath me and launched me to the ground. Needless to say, I didn't have any balance whatsoever and I wasn't expecting him to do that. The kids thought it was an act so I had to immediately remount and gallop (yes, GALLOP) the horse around the athletic field a few times. It's amazing what adreniline will do for you. Did I also mention that I then rode home, unsaddled Max, fed Max and then went out to Pierce College to take a final for a class. It was only afterwards that I decided to have it checked out at the hospital.

The end result was that I had a cracked rib and that I wasn't supposed to ride for 6 to 8 weeks. Right, try telling that to a horse person! Anyway, I was riding by early July but it really depressed me. Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom.

So now to catch up...I'm going to be filling in some stuff and part of it is probably going to be backdated a bit just to even things out a bit.

Some Horse Humor

2010-06-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't been too motivated to blog lately but here's some horse humor to amuse :-):

Back to School With Max

2010-06-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today, Max and I went back to school...in a manner of speaking! :-) Actually, I was helping a friend of mine put on a program at a local private school on horses and the American Revolution. The audience was made up of 4-6 graders so the presentation was fairly simplified. The school was close enough to the stables and my friend's house so we wound up riding over.

My friend did most of the talking and then occassionally I would discuss various things such as the role cavalry in the American Revolution and what sorts of weapons were used. What was pretty neat was that we were actually able to fire a couple of blanks from one of friend's flintlock pistols (this was a private school- no way you could have done this in a public school). The horses, and especially Max were very good and for the most part very patient. Better yet, the shooting barely affected Max.

To cap things off, we had a competition where the kids would run in competition with my friend on his horse- the kids are convinced that they can run as fast as a horse and this is a popular feature ever year (my friend has been putting on presentations at this school for some time). Naturally all safety precautions were observed. It was pretty cool to watch- some of those kids are pretty fast and for a few moments, I wasn't too sure...and my friend's horse is an Arabian! :-)

Naturally, to end things, we let the kids feed carrots to the horses. Talk about hitting the lottery! Max was in heaven with a long line of kids handing hin carrots. Talk about a "Carrot ATM machine"! :-)

Overall, it was pretty neat and the kids asked some pretty intelligent questions. Perhaps there's still hope for America's youth. :-)

Video of Station Fire

2010-05-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting video of the Station Fire taken from the perspective of one camera located in a canyon that was in the path of the fire. I definitely would not have wanted to actually been there...

Angeles Requiem from Tocho on Vimeo.

And Yet More Anza Pictures...

2010-05-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

As the pictures have trickled in from the last Napoleonic event Max adn I attended at Anza, I've been posting them to my blog. Here are a couple of nice portrait shots although the background isn't the greatest:

Working My Way Through The Barn

2010-05-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to give Max the day off and to work with some of the other horses in my life. :-)

I first worked Max for about two hours, doing various dressage moves for the first hour and then doing sword work (talk about having a sore arm and shoulder after I was done!). I also practiced various dressage moves while working the sword- the goal is to be able side-pass, leg yield, transition, half-pass, etc. while not really having to think too much about it. Overall, it worked out well although I need to work on keeping my hand more quiet on the reins. Max's back was also fine after having been ridden for two hours and it appears that some of the hair coming back.

Next there was Lenny...talk about a horse with a "spring in his step"! It's been strange riding him- he's got such a springy step that I find it hard to maintain a decent seat while at the trot. The walk is no problem (it should be!) and the canter isn't so bad too but the with the trot, it feels like I'm going to get launched out of the saddle. I've taken measures to reinforce proper placement of the legs and ensure that my body remains in the vertical. At this point, I think the key is to also use my calves to keep a firm, constant contact- bascially a light grip.

I worked Lenny at the walk, trot, and canter and did a lot of transitions (the transitions were more for me than for Lenny). I found that as time went on, he became more responsive to my aids and especially my half-halts. I even tried some collection. At the canter, he fell into it once I figured out how to ask him and it took very little to get him to frame up. At the trot was another matter...it seems that the slow trot is not his strong point and with the springy step, it's more difficult to set him up and maintain it. Perhaps this will improve with time. :-)

After about an hour or so, I simply walked Lenny around on a loose rein. What's very interesting is that outside of the arena, he tends to fix on various things and stare at them until I remind him to pay attention to me- no doubt this is due to his being a show horse and I seriously doubt that he ever got out much except to work or show and this belief was confirmed when I decided to walk him down to the wash and have him check out the stream.

WIth a little urging, I managed to walk Lenny down into the wash but he was definately on high alert and uneasy. I decided not to rush things and simply walked him up to the stream as close as I could. Lenny was definately not up for this so I wound up circling him many times, driving him closer to the water's edge. I didnt' really push him too hard and while we didn't make into the water, we ended on a good note and I figured that there was no rush- we can work up to it gradually.

After unsaddling Lenny and putting him back in his stall, I then rode Kisses. Talk about a contrast! Kisses is a Standardbred Pacer who started life as a harness racing horse. In more recent years, she's been primarily used for trail riding and some driving and she hasn't really been ridden or worked in about six months. She's got a nice trot but her pacing is simply horrible (talk about being thrown from side to side). I mostly worked her at the trot with an emphasis on her keeping the trot- Kisses' tendency is to speed up (no doubt from her racing days) into the pace (while occassionally you can get her to canter, it's never for very long). At the trot, she actually has a nice carriage. I mostly worked her at the walk/trot.

I finished by walking Kisses in the wash. She's normally OK on the trail but sometimes she can get excited by other horses (but not all the time) and starts spinning. Hopefully I can take the edge off of this over time.

By the time I was through riding, I was pretty beat and it was definately time for a beer. :-)

Back to Work...A Little Bit At A Time

2010-05-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

Because Max is recovering from some sort of a raw spot on his back. The skin has now healed and it appears that there's a little hair coming in. I've severely limited my riding time and so far, it doesn't appear that the saddle and/or saddle pad have been rubbing the area (which leads me to believe that something else was the cause, especially since I hadn't ridden in a week when I first discovered the area). At any rate, it's been close to three weeks but I'm still keeping things light.

Saturday morning found me at drill practice with the Warhorse Foundation and throughout the practice, Max acted perfectly and gave no indication of being in pain or uncortable. We did the usual variety of drills at both the walk and the trot and even tried some new manuevers. What's unnerving is that Max knows a lot of the manuevers and he'll usually do a lot of them without much urging on my part. The only things I have to really control are the speed and position- my theory is taht what seems "right" to Max is not necessarily what I want. What's amazing is that Max even knows when to turn on some manuevers and he gets a little annoyed when the other horses don't execute things at the right time- most of this was while Max was on the outside of the line.

We concluded the drill session by cantering the horses in line, in two groups of three riders each. Max was on the inside (not by design) and he was pretty good on the canter departs- often he gets excited and then loses all thoughts of cantering or listening to my aids- he just dances around. However, I've begun to counter this by applying the aids a lot more quickly and keeping my seat more behind the vertical- I don't fall out of position as easily plus I can drive Max forward a lot easier. Today, though, I didn't have to worry and he was pretty good.

While we only spent about two hours, it was a good work out for Max and he definately earned his bucket today. :-)

One More from Anza 2010

2010-05-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the few pictures of me from the recent Anza event. Not too inspirational but he it is...Viva Espania!

Lenny the Ex-Show Horse

2010-05-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

With the raw spot on Max's back, I've been riding a lot of other horses at the barn. One of these horses is Lenny who is a warmblood. He used to be a show horse in hunter/jumpers and his show career ended when he developed problems with his stifle joints. Nevertheless, he's still a great horse with a lot of good moves.

The one interesting thing about Lenny is that he has an incredibly springy step (than I'm used to anyway) and I really have to work hard to keep a good seat (as opposed to simply staying on the horse). He's very well trained but I'm still learning where all his "buttons" are. We worked for about an hour today, mostly working at a combination of walk/trot/canter and all the transitions. I also did some leg-yields and side passes. Most of the time he's getting it although sometimes it can be a bit choppy transitioning from the canter to the trot.

Also, I even took him into the wash to check things out. He's mostly been an arena horse all his life so the wide open spaces made him a bit nervous. He was also very unsure about the stream running down the wash- I didn't push him to cross it but I did a number of circles to try and make him more comfortable with it. It will take some time but I think we can get there.

A very interesting and challenging horse. :-)

Volcanos and Horses

2010-05-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

With the recent volcanic activity in Iceland, here's a chance to combine horses and volcanos...the ash has been playing havic with the respiratory systems for both animal and man. I know the feeling...

Horses graze in a field near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow dark smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Ingi Sveinbjoernsso leads his horses on a road covered volcanic ash back to his barn in Yzta-baeli, Iceland on April 18, 2010. They come galloping out of the volcanic storm, hooves muffled in the ash, manes flying. 24 hours earlier he had lost the shaggy Icelandic horses in an ash cloud that turned day into night, blanketing the landscape in sticky gray mud. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Bye Phil!

2010-05-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

With the semester winding down, the Pierce College herd will be going back to the pack station in the Eastern Sierras. Last night was the last night in my Intermediate Riding Class that we would be riding so I made the best of it and even managed to get Phil into an extended trot. :-)

I have been either riding Phil for my riding classes or using him for my training classes and I've gotten to know him over the course of school year. Phil may not seem to be the most impressive horse but he taught me some valuable lessons. Basically, Phil is like a lot of school horses and has been ridden by a variety of people with varying degrees of riding skill. When I first was assigned Phil, I discovered that his mouth is very hard to the bit, he's a bit forward in his gaits and he really doesn't like to listen to the rider. He tolerates them but that's it. To add to it, Phil has also picked up a lot of weight since over the year and his feet are not in the best condition.

With all of that, I had to adapt my riding style to a horse that's considerably larger than Max and who is very dull to the aids. Worse, when you do press with your legs or kick, he immediately interprets that as a cue to speed up and/or go into the trot. When I first got him, side-passing and leg-yielding were an impossibility.

While I was only riding him once a week, I tried to do what I could to put some feeling back in his mouth and I found myself maintaining a loose rein while trying to combine it with half-halts, the idea being to keep off his mouth as much as possible while trying to communicate with him. This was especially important in that he does not have a good stop and often he takes his time- you have to tighten and release the bit. While at first he didn't seem to respond to this, by the Spring semester he was actually beginning to respond and I found that a half-halt combined with a quick tightening/release on the bit usually got results. The key is to RELEASE the pressure once Phil begins to comply but not to do it too soon (i.e. make sure he comes to a complete halt). It's really a matter of timing and sometimes I got it and sometimes not.

I also believe that the training class also helped because I was also doing ground work with him- primarily Pat Parelli's seven games and for the most part these have helped, especially in getting him to yield to pressure without speeding up. I believe that gradually he's developed the distinction between pressure to speed up his gait and pressure for him to yeld off of.

I'm no expert or anything but it definately taught me the value of patience and made me realize that Max lies for me quite a bit- I can get away with things that Phil would just look at me and go "what?". In short, I found that I really had to figure out how to communicate with Phil and sometimes it wasn't easy. By the end of the training class, I even managed to get Phil to jump over a barrel using the squeeze game (albiet, in a somewhat clumsy manner)- the instructor was amazed.

Anyway, I completely believe in the adage that all horses have something to teach you and that's certainly been the case with Phil.

Below is a somewhat poor cell phone picture of Phil and I at the end of our ride last night. I'll miss that boy! :-)

And Yet More Anza...

2010-05-07T10:57:00.001-07:00

Although I’ve been reenacting various periods, this one was a new one for Max and I and unlike the others; this involved the use of the sword and lance rather than pistols. Basically, the setting is during Napoleonic Wars in Spain and the landscape is very similar to many parts of Southern California. The event itself was help on a friend of mine’s place located close to the town of Anza, east of Temecula.

This was the second time Max and I have attended this event so I had a pretty good idea of what we would encounter but I still opted to trailer Max out the day before so I could work him before the event actually started. Set up for this event was pretty easy and we had a separate horse camp where we parked and tied the horses off the trailers. The weather was warm and sunny during the day but at night the temperature dropped into the 20s so horse blankets were definitely in order, especially since Max had already shed his winter coat.
Working Max was pretty straight-forward and I spent most of my time simply walking around the property and checking out the footing. The one thing that definitely struck me was that the winter storms had washed down a high volume of sand and footing in most of the low areas and the creek beds was very soft, almost on the order of a beach and this in turn meant that I was going to have to avoid fast trotting and cantering in these areas so as to reduce the possibility of bowed tendons. Most of the battle area was open with some scrub brush, trees, and some dug fortifications and presented few issues except the deep footing mentioned earlier.

After a cold night, the next day, dawned sunny and clear with temperatures in the mid-70s. Since the battles wouldn’t start until about 11 am, I took my time grooming and tacking up Max. By the time I finishing tacking, some of the infantry units were falling in for drill and firing practice volleys. Soon the cannon joined in, and soon the air was filled with black powder smoke.

Our group formed up next to the infantry to watch them practice their shooting and strangely enough, Max was somewhat upset by the shooting even though he’s been exposed to it before at exactly the same distances. At this point I was forced take Max off by himself and do a quick desensitization session and after about 15 minutes, Max seemed OK again.

We then began the battle. Unlike the prior Civil War reenactment that I went to, the battle was mostly unstructured and it continued for about two hours with the two sides constantly shooting at one another, advancing, and retreating. For the cavalry, we divided up into two sides and although I was playing a Spanish Guerilla, I became “French” in order to even out the numbers (in practice, it made little difference). The cavalry would either clash with the other cavalry or we’d harass the infantry by riding up close and retreating. The weapons consisted of rubber swords and bamboo lances and the combatants would attempt to tap each other on the arm or the shoulder, which counts as a “hit”. Anyone taking a hit would retreat from the immediate battle, wait a minute or two and then recycle back in. For me, I spent the time giving Max water (we had stock tanks filled with water scattered about the property).

The battle proceeded pretty smoothly for Max and I although on occasion Max wouldn’t turn into the opposing horse while I was in clashing with my opponent- I found myself having to use a lot of spur and pull hard on the reins. Not sure if it’s fright, excitement or something else- it’s a real pain while holding a lance in one hand and neck reining with the other. We’re going to have to put in some more practice and get him to focus more on me than what’s around him.

And as with all group equestrian activities, the one factor that always needs to be considered is the power of the “herd mentality”- Max was eager to join the other horses in battle (he knew most of the horses and some live with him at the same stable). This can be good when trying to close with the opposition or chase someone but it can also work against you if you’re trying to separate or stand still in position. It wasn’t a major issue but I constantly had to remind Max to pay attention to what I want versus everything else. I think this will reduce itself as we do more battles on a frequent basis, supplemented by more practice (to include some one-on-one sword fights with a friend).

After about two hours, we paused for a long lunch break. Naturally, I made sure that Max was drinking water and eating; there were no worries on that point and in fact his appetite was pretty fierce (I was amazed by the amount of alfalfa he put away).
The rest of the afternoon battle went pretty well and the only real issue was Max shying away from a cannon (it wasn’t in use at the time) while I galloped past it. I managed to stay on but my left leg muscles were cramped severely from the strain of pressing against him to keep on. It certainly demonstrated the value of having a good seat and my companions were amazed that I stayed on and even kept my lance. It also goes to show that sometimes, objects that you don’t think will cause an issue can and it happens suddenly. Naturally, afterwards I had Max sniff the cannon and soon we were running past it many times over with no issues.

Overall, it was a good weekend but it also pointed out some gaps in our training and we’re going to have to take some time to do further work on our seat, moving off the haunches and generally focusing Max’s attention on me so he’ll be more responsive to my aids. Also, I noticed that his appetite was greatly increased, most likely due to the cold nights and the exertion during the day; he ate far more alfalfa than normal (I always bring extra anyway so food supply wasn’t an issue) and his water intake was increased. Both of us arrived back at the stables exhausted and we’re both taking the week off.

More Anza...

2010-05-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here's another picture from Anza, taken during a battle. It was pretty neat charging through the gaps in the fortification walls- Max actually leaped through those. :-)

Phil- My Training Horse at Pierce College

2010-05-05T15:08:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Phil, the school horse I'm using for both my Advanced Training and Intermediate Riding classes. Phil, along with the rest of the school herd, will be heading up to a pack station in the Sierras in May to begin their summer jobs as riding horses for pack trips. Phil gained a lot of weight over the Winter and no doubt he'll be losing a lot of it during the Summer.

Phil can be a pretty stubborn horse and his mough is pretty hard due to all the various students and others pulling on his mouth. In the year that I've been riding him, I've managed to get a little bit of his mouth back and he now knows that when I apply leg pressure for a leg yield or sidepass, it doesn't mean speed up...most of the time. :-) Compared to Max, Phil is HUGE and his training is not as extensive but he does have a good personality and he tries- he could easily be Max's bigger brother.

Max & I Return to Anza!

2010-05-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Max and I returned to Anza for another Napoleonic battle reenactment. Although I had plans to have a more proper Napoleonic uniform by this years' event, it didn't happen (life got in the way) so once again I donned my generic Spanish Guerilla outfit, which in reality is a modified Southwestern outfit that could pass for anywhere between 1840-1900 (depending on the guns and other equipments).

I trailered Max out early Friday morning so I would have time to set up my camp and be able to saddle up and work Max some. The trip out wasn't too bad except for the usual traffic around the 71/91 Freeways around Corona and we made it down in about three hours. Unlike last year, the weather was clear and sunny with a cool breeze. Apparently, it had snowed the previous week and the weather was unseasonably cold- at night it got down into the 20s and the water in the horses' water buckets actually froze. During the day, it was heavenly!

Here's a couple of pictures from the event:

Here I am guarding the flank of my compadres. We were a mis-mash of uniforms and because of the imbalance between the British and French forces, I acted as one of the French (Spanish Contra-Guerillas).

Group shot after one of the battles. Here we're moving back towards our camp area so we can water the horses. As you can see from the sand, the footing in the wash and many other areas was a lot softer than last year and we had to exercise some caution in riding- bowed tendons are not good! More to follow!

Chilean Cavalry

2010-04-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Check out this interesting video of the present-day Chilean cavalry on YouTube:

Except for the modern planes and cars and some smaller details, this could easily pass for Germany c. 1918. The cavalry march itself is German, along with the styling of the uniforms, equipment and horse furniture/tack. Way cool!

I especially love the collected canter- yeah!!!

Max & I Doing Civil War at Prado

2010-04-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I participated in a Civil War reenactment with my horse Max. I’ve been involved in Civil War reenacting for some 20 years but this was the first time as mounted cavalry. I arrived at Prado with Max late Friday afternoon and we had ample time to get Max situated with ample supplies of water and alfalfa. The group I belong to had already set up a picket line (aka high line) and I picked a place to tie him up that wasn’t too close to another horse so as to avoid injuries from fighting or play. It’s essential when taking a horse away from their normal environment to make sure that they have enough water and forage to eat, preferably the forage that they normally eat at home. Some horses also don’t like to drink the water in a strange location so I brought water from home but ultimately didn’t need it.

Early the next morning, I assisted in mucking along the picket line and feeding and watering the horses. When in a group situation, it’s always advisable to feed and water all the horses at the same time so as to avoid fighting or disruptive behavior. Afterwards, I saddled and tacked up Max. While the first battle wasn’t until 1 PM, I wanted to work Max first and see how his attitude was. Because we portray Union cavalry (Company A, 10th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry), the standard issue saddle was the Model 1859 McClellan saddle and that is what we use but in reproduction form.

After saddling and tacking, I found an empty area and proceeded to work Max. I started, as I normally do, at the walk and using a number of exercises aimed at increasing Max’s flexion and stretching his muscles. In a typical reenactment, a horse is often called upon to bend, twist, move on the hind end and fore-end and be ready to trot or canter at a moment’s notice. It is highly recommended that any horse used in battle reenactments be in excellent physical condition and possess a high degree of flexion. After loosening up at the walk, I then proceeded to work at the trot and finally at the canter.

While working at all three gaits, I also combined various movements such as leg-yields, side-passes, spins on the haunches and fore-ends, and transitions between gaits (you can never have enough transitions). My horse was a bit on the lively side, no doubt due to the new venue and being around the other horses and while I managed to get Max calmed down a bit, I also knew that I was going to have to stay alert to Max’s actions. Finally, I worked Max along with the rest of the unit in various formations and for the most part he was good (although keeping him in line required some quick corrections).

Finally, it was time for the first battle and we proceeded to the battlefield site, along with the rest of the unit, in proper military formation. Two of the most commonly used formations are line and columns of twos or fours and these are the basic formations used in battle. Soon, the battle began and we found ourselves opposed by an equal amount of opposition (we were playing the part of Confederates for this battle). The horses in my formation soon picked up on the presence of other horses and you could feel their excitement. As we proceeded to maneuver, I found myself having to constantly tap Max with a spur to focus his attention on what I wanted- it was clear that his attention was not on me.

There are two basic forms of combat that we use: Pistol shooting and saber fighting. For pistols, we use reproduction single-shot cap and ball revolvers that fire black powder charges. Typically, we will ride forward single file and the formation will then circle away while each person fires in the direction of the enemy (we maintain a safety zone of about 50 feet) and we’ll repeat this until our pistols are emptied. Afterwards, we would regroup in formation and await the next command. Often, we’ll then be given the order to draw saber and charge the enemy.

For saber fighting, each person will pair themselves up with an opponent and proceed to clash the saber blades. Making slashing movements against either the opposing horse or man is prohibited so typically a fight will consist of each person pushing their saber blade against their opponent’s saber blade. At the same time, each man will be moving their horse in a circular fashion and attempt to gain an advantage by getting around their opponent’s blade. Once this is done, the disadvantaged opponent is considered to be wounded or killed and they will withdraw from the engagement. Often, opponents will pass each other at either walk or trot, and strike their blades before moving off and finding another opponent. There are no hard and fast rules for “victory” and the end result is often determined by the scenario.

Most of the fighting is usually between opposing cavalry, although occasionally the cavalry will ride up and shoot at infantry. With any shooting, care is taken to ensure that the minimum safety distance is maintained and nobody directly fires at another person. Also, when cavalry fights, combats are to involve only one type of weapon (either pistol-on-pistol or saber-on-saber). The preceding description is just a basic overview and there can be all manner of variations on how the forces fight. However, the one thing that’s constant is that safety always comes first; especially since people can get unhorsed quite easily (it happened twice during the weekend). The battles themselves lasted about 30 minutes each and we did two per day. After each battle, the horses were rested and watered. Also, they were provided with a constant supply of forage.

Although doing mock battles on horseback can be fun (and exhausting), there are some things that the rider has to be prepared for. First, the rider needs to train extensively prior to attending their first event- the event itself is not the time to introduce a horse to reenacting and it’s a recipe for disaster, both for yourself and others around you. Ideally, the rider should have been working with a group for at least three or four months prior on a regular basis and getting their horse used to working in close proximity with other horses. When working as cavalry, horses will frequently bump and crash into each other and you don’t want your horse to react by striking out (the temperament of the individual horses also needs to be considered and some never make suitable cavalry mounts). Also, horses need to be desensitized to gunfire, cannon fire and being in close proximity to large numbers of people moving around them on foot in close proximity with weapons. Each horse to going to react differently and you have to be aware of your horse’s personality.

Some other essential things to remember in preparing for reenactments is that the rider needs to constantly train so as to develop a good seat- battles happen so quickly that the rider doesn’t have time to worry about where their body is positioned and they need to constantly remain in balance. Also, the rider’s seat needs to be independent of what the rest of their body is doing because there’s a lot of things that are going on at one time: handling weapons, looking out for other riders, listening for orders, looking out for ground hazards such as gopher holes, etc. Bottom line is that the rider doesn’t have time to think about your riding too much and it has to come naturally.

Finally, the rider has to be aware of the herd mentality and know how to deal with it: sometimes it can work to the rider’s advantage and at other times at a disadvantage. For moments like charging into battle or rallying, it can be helpful because the horse naturally wants to be with his buddies. At other times such as moving off alone from the unit or having the unit move away, the horse still wants to follow and you have to fight the horse’s instinct. Naturally, training can help reduce a lot of this problem but it’s always going to be there.

Overall, this was an excellent event and I learned a lot about working my horse in stressful situations. Also, my horse and I learned a lot about working together as a team and by the end of the weekend, I felt that Max was actually having fun (especially chasing the other horses) and that he was paying attention to my aids. I’d definitely recommend this for someone looking to do something different with their horse.

ETI Trail Trial Playday

2010-03-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures from an event that my ETI Corral (Corral 10) put on last Sunday. Max learned to chase a giant rubber ball and I taught him to stand on a tree stump with his front feet.

On the Trail (And No Rain!)

2010-03-07T23:12:00.000-08:00

In contrast to yesterday, today was relatively clear, sunny and a bit breezy.

Today, a bunch of us decided to hit the trails (the ones we're still allowed on) and head up to the Sheep Pens (about the only area we'e legally able to ride in, thanks to the Station Fire last year). Lately, Max has been acting a bit full of himself on the trail, especially coming back to the stables (no surprise) so this gave me an opportunity to work on this some.

Today, all the horses (and one Mule) were pretty "goey" so Max was constantly being left towards the rear so I'd have to continually trot him out to catch up. Some of the people I ride with have horses with a pretty long stride and most of the time Max doesn't have an issue with it but today was somewhat different. Also, the Mule is pretty long-strided and this didn't help (plus the Mule has a bad habit of pushing himself forward past other horses if he feels he's going too slow- definitely a rider issue there that needs to be addressed).

The only way I can really manage it and have a somewhat pleasant ride (not a great ride) is to let Max trot forward periodically and use half-halts while walking and try to maintain as light contact on the mouth as possible. Also, sometimes when he gets to a gully or hill, he gets excited and likes to run so I have to check him sharply in these areas.

Everything went pretty well although I think Max was having trouble with the pace- he has problems with an extended walk ("power walk", as I term it) and we weren't trotting so he's kind of stuck. Every so often, he'd get himself bound up where he's almost self-collecting so I'd have to bump him into a trot to get him to extend his body and loosen him muscles. I'd then pull him back.

Of course the moment we started to head for home, Max then picked up his pace and wanted to move as quickly as possible- which I prevented. Just to work him a bit, I blocked every effort he'd make to trot with a half-halt. He didn't like it but he complied.

When we got back to the gate leading towards the stables, I purposely made Max stand and wait until the riders had gone up the ramp and disappeared from view. Max definitely didn't like that but I made him stand. After about 5 minutes, I then made him walk up the ramp.

Pretty mundane stuff here, I'll admit, but the issues I have with Max fit a lot of horses when they go out on the trail. One of the biggest problems on the trail is when the gaits of the horses are mismatched- the most extreme example being a Tennessee Walker with a group of ungaited horses. While you're going to have issues such as in the case of gaited vs nongaited hores, in many cases it's a matter of the horse not being trained and/or the rider either not paying attention or allowing the horse to act up. I've been guilty of this in the past and as a courtesy to my fellow trail riders, I try to keep Max in check and if it's really bad, I'll opt out of the ride.

Anyway, I strive to constantly work with Max to make him a good trail horse and while it doesn't always work out, most of the time it does. Happy trails!

I Hate The Rain!!

2010-03-06T22:54:00.000-08:00

It seems that I just can't gauge it right these days when it comes to rain...

Naturally, it had been clear for the entire week until Friday when the clouds started moving in. Saturday morning rolled around and while it looked a bit dark and cloudy from my house, there were also some clear spots...

So off to the stables!

I dressed for rain but as I tacked up Max, I decided that maybe it won't really rain, just maybe drizzle a little talk about being overly optimistic) so I decided to not bother tying my rain parka on my cantle pack (it's a pain to secure and tends to get in the way). So off I rode to Warhorse practice...

I was the first one there and managed to work Max for about 45 minutes before anyone else showed up and soon Max was warmed up pretty well. There was only six of us so we focused on some basic formations and drills; Max quickly fell into the synch with the rest of herd.

While it was getting pretty dark and overcast, still no rain so I thought we'd dodged the bullet...until about an hour into the practice when it began to drizzle a bit. I pretty much shrugged it off until the drizzle turned into a light rain. At that point we decided to stop practice.

So you would have thought we would have headed home? Naw! We decided to check out the river crossing. We rode through a low-lying set of woods which were pretty much now a swamp due to the recent rains but the footing was still pretty sound. By the time we started to cross the river, the rain was pouring down and I was beginning to get soaked, to say the least. But I sucked it up...

After another 15 minutes of riding we all pretty much conceeded that we'd had enough so it was time to head home. I then split off from the party and headed back to the stables by way of the Equestrian Center. Along the way, I stopped to take a break underneath the 210 freeway where I tried to dry off a little bit. Max proceeded to graze on some conveniently located grass and didn't seem to mind being completely soaked.

Finally I decided that the rain wasn't going to stop so gritting my teeth, I rode on for home.

Upon return to the stables, I managed to scrounge up a couple of beach towels and made a half-assed attempt to dry him off. When I took the saddle off, you would see the steam coming off his back- amazing! Max was very happy to stand underneath the shelter in his stall and eat alfalfa.

After making sure he was allright, I fed Max his bucket and then focused on getting myself dry- I'd left my gortex rain parka in the tack sheed along with a vest so after putting them on, I managed to warm up a bit and not feel quite so soggy.

While I've had my share of dealing with wet weather, the older I get, the less fun it gets and the longer it takes for me to warm up. When I got home, I immediately got some dry clothes, downed two shots of Port and curled up in front of the TV.

And that was my Saturday...

And Now Something Silly...

2010-02-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Non-horse related but I thought these were funny:

And I don't even drink Kahlua...:-)

Road to Nowhere (or I Hate Rain)

2010-02-22T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well...this last weekend was almost a complete bust, thanks to the weather (or lack thereof). Max and I were scheduled to go off to Acton again for another Civil War cavalry weekend but there was the threat of a major rainstorm. I hoped that we'd dodge the bullet but by Friday night it was pouring down buckets so I figured that things were off.

So I slept in a bit and when I awoke, lo and behold it's clear and sunny outside!! So I quickly thought about quickly getting over to the stables, and stuffing Max in the trailer and heading out anyway- I might be late but I'd be there. But after checking the weather on the internet (big mistake), it appeared that there was still a storm system over the area so I nixed that idea (due to crappy cell phone reception, there was no way to call someone at the event to find out what the weather was like up there).

Just then, I get a call from my friend telling me that the Warhorse was practicing and to get my butt over there. OK...so I'm flying down the road in my truck, get to the stables, tack Max up and ride over to Gabriellano Park- about a hour's worth of work.

Max and I finally make it to Gabriellano Park and we managed to get in a good hour of Warhorse practice so it wasn't a complete loss- Max was pretty energenic once he saw his herd buddies. The weather was breautiful and afterwards I worked Max out some more back at the stables- nothing fancy, the usual transitions, side-passing and leg yields. Overall, it was about two hours of practice so Max and I got an OK workout.

Sunday found the day to be overcast and Max got the day off. I wound up helping a friend of mine on a movie shoot (for the same movie I did work previously with Max). It was a pretty long day and my job was taking still photos and actually shooting footage with a very complex (i.e. expensive) Cannon digital camera- I was literally handed the camera, given a quickie "how-to-work-the camera" course and left to my own devices.

My job was to take as many pictures as possible from various angles so that there's an extra supply of footage if the director needs it for various shots. Also, I was filming the crew as they worked on the production, the idea being that this would be the basis for a separate "the making of..." video. The location was over in Chatsworth Park (I haven't been there in some 20 years- it sure was a LOT smaller than what I remembered it to be).

The day went pretty uneventfully and as with almost every movie shoot I've ever worked on, the production was running WAY behind and there were all sorts of glitches along the way. We didn't get out until about 6 PM. Now, if I could only get PAID for some of this time...that would be nice! :-)

Such was my weekend!

Now I'm a Teacher's Assistant

2010-02-17T23:25:00.000-08:00

For the past year, I've been taking equine classes at Pierce College and volunteering my time for some of their programs, all in an attempt to soak up as much "horse knowledge" as possible. As part of this ongoing effort, I decided to become a Teacher's Assistant (TA) for a basic riding class taught by the instructor whose basic riding class I took last semester.

I decided to do this not because I plan on becoming a riding instructor (although I wouldn't necessarily rule it out) but in order to observe the instructional process of teaching riding. It's one thing to be participating, it's another to be acting as an observer and helping out where need be.

Tonight was our first meeting so we pretty much just went over policies, proceedures, basic admin stuff, etc. The Pierce horse herd consists of about 18 horses although as a general rule, the instructors prefer no more than 15 students because of safety issues and span of control. Also, the horses actually belong to a packing outfit and they work in the Sierras from May through September taking riders on pack trips. What this means for the class is that we'll lose the horses in May so hopefully the weather or holidays won't cause us to lose too many instructional days, especially since we only meet weekly.

What's also interesting is that the Basic Riding Class is required of all students, no matter what their riding ability/experience is (although this isn't explicitly stated in the catalog). While some my disagree with this policy, it's more intended as a means of teaching students the protocol for how horses are handled at Pierce (it's a bit different than what I was taught to do so I a hard time keeping it straight sometimes).

Anyway, it should be interesting and I actually earn 1 unit of credit (yay!).

Collection Continues...

2010-01-24T22:27:00.000-08:00

Lately it seems that I've been on this strange desire to delve into dressage in a big way (for me anyway) and especially collection.

Today Max and I took our customary weekly lesson and naturally the focus of the training was on various aspects of collection at the walk, trot and canter. Also, attention was paid to transitions between all three gaits with the focus on SMOOTHLY making those transitions and maintaining a seat on the vertical- I sometimes have a tendency to shift forward.

While working on collection at the trot and especially at the canter, for the first time I REALLY felt/experienced what it means to have a horse shift their weight onto the haunches. It's a weird feeling and if you didn't know what was going on, you would think something weird/bad is going on- in some instances it almost feels like the horse is literally falling apart.

The think that never fails to blow my mind here is that Max and I are getting to the point where in many instances Max VOLUNTARILY begins to collect up with little urging on my part. I can guarantee that NO amount of muscling on the reins or other force on my part is going to force Max to do what he's doing- it's all coming from him.

Now this by no means absolves me of my responsibilities as a rider and in fact, it demands even greater attention and physical effort- the rider cannot just sit and ride their way through- they have to actively ride this. What's also key is that I have to constantly ensure that my seat is correct- most of the time this means being on the vertical (i.e., I'm sitting perpendicular to the horse's back)and allowing my body or legs to swing forward (it's so easy to do), especially when collecting at the canter.

While collecting at the canter, as the horse collects up, the front of the horse seems to grow a little taller and the haunches drop down (duh!) and my tendency is to follow the horse's front with my body so that I'm leaning forward of the vertical. Naturally, this may seem to be the right thing but it's not and I have to constantly remind myself. Moreover, because the half-halts require "tucking" your pelvis underneath you (the best analogy, and it's a bit crude, is imaging having a hard bowel movement- yeah gross, but it's it the only analogy that works, at least for me). By allowing yourself to move forward, your actually lifting your rear off the saddle and thus you can't engage in complete half-halts.

As a final note, I've also begun to be more aware of just what my body is supposed to be doing in half-halt- it's almost like coiling oneself a like spring in the shape of a "c" with the pelvis being one end and the diaphragm being the other. You really learn to use those muscles!

Although I don't pretend to be any sort of an expert and I'm sure that I've missed a lot of technical points, I do find it amazing, especially since most of the people who do this started at a very young age and I started WAY later.

Finally, I also think Max is getting better at this and there's been times where he's now collecting spontaneously while trotting and cantering (at times when I don't necessarily want it)- very interesting! :-)

Back on the Trail

2010-01-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

After a week of rain, things finally cleared out and slowly the ground has begun to dry. The downside is that it's been very cold at night and even during the day it was a bit crisp...the end result was something that's not normally seen here in this part of Southern California: SNOW!

Needless to say, I had to get Max out on the trail again and so I decided to scout out some of the storm damage. I avoided low-lying areas since there's still a lot of water and the attendant risk of quicksand. Also, any of the usual stream crossings in the Hansen Dam Basin are going to be higher than usual with a fast current (all the run-off from the mountains). My area to ride in was going to be somewhat limited.

I rode down the wash and except for fast moving water in the stream, it wasn't too much of a problem. When I rode under the Foothill Blvd. and 210 bridges, I noticed that the stream was only running on one side and it was fairly easy to cross so I could have accessed a fairly large area of the basin in either direction.

I decided to go towards the Equestrian Center and Gabriellano Park, working my way around the Equestrian Center and then heading east on the Haul Road. I then took a loop home that took me past the Park (where I decided to work Max some). Finally, I made my way up Orcas Ave. towards the stables.

Overall, there was the usual sort of earth movement and the run-off had deposited a large amount of ash from last August's Station Fire. There streams running through the basin had definitely expanded so it's going to be awhile before I get down there. I took a few pictures with my cell phone- not the best camera, it was more beautiful in person.

Max did pretty well and he was eager to get out after a week in his stall but he wasn't crazy. Working him out in the Gabriellano Park was definitely a good idea and we even reviewed some basic dressage moves and collection. Hopefully the weather will stay relatively clear for awhile (although another storm is supposed to be coming on Monday- we'll see) so I can get back to working Max.

Little Tujunga Canyon

Haul Road looking east

Looking east from Gabriellano Park

Big Tujunga Canyon, looking northeast

Another view of Big Tujunga Canyon, looking northeast

Infantry vs Cavalry

2010-01-22T09:17:00.001-08:00

Some thoughts on the old "Infantry vs Cavalry" debate:

1) Horsemanship- The state of horsemanship was abysmal. For the most part, there was no formal instruction and it was up to the individual companies to train. With motivated/competant officers and NCOs, results could be achieved in time but to a great degree, training was of the character of "on the job", especially if the company was going on campaign (before departing, companies were reinforced with new recruits, some who had just barely enlisted).

2) Logistics- A good part of the horse's normal garrison ration was grain. Out in the field, supplies were spotty and for the most part the horses depended on grazing the local grass. After three or four weeks of campaigning, horses frequently broke down and if nothing else, lost a lot of weight. The horse breeds used by the Indians were far more hardy and capable of subsisting on a lot less. In fact, it could be argued that the march rates after three or four weeks were actually more favorable for infantry.

The reality was that for the most part, the cavalry was incapable of catching up with Indian war parties, who operated mostly in the Spring and Summer. The key strategy that Miles employed was the winter campaign when forage for the horses was hard to find and limited food supplies. Snow and severe rain limited mobility and especially with the women and children. Basically the Indian villages were "fixed" during the winter, making them a target. Miles basically gutted the Sioux with the 5th Infantry in the Fall of 1876/Winter of 1877.

IMHO, much of what we see and hear of the infantry vs cavalry debate is tainted by a combination of officers attempting to save their careers and justify their actions after-the-fact and later with Hollywood movies and just plain BS. The record is fairly mixed and I believe that both cavalry and infantry were essential, cavalry to provided a wide-ranging "presence" and the infantry to act as the proverbial "rock" to anchor a campaign.

The 1870s Walk-A-Heap

2010-01-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

One of my interests has always been the military side of things in the Old West and especially things that people don't usually associate with the West such as infantry. When it comes to living history, people often only think about Custer and the 7th Cavalry and that unfortunate encounter at the Little Big Horn. This ignores 99% of what else was out there and contrary to Hollywood movies, bad novels and other media, infantry played a key role in the Army's campaigns during the Indian Wars.

I originally posted this on another living history board but I thought that it might be of interest here...and yes, believe it not, there actually WAS infantry in the West and they were often more useful than cavalry for heavy campaigning. :-)

The following is some general information for those who would like to put together an 1870s infantry impression so here's a brief overview:

First, you have to ask yourself what year are you portraying? Uniforms and equipment were in a state of flux during this era and often times key items were different from year to year. Contrary to popular belief, soldiers were not simply issued with leftovers from the Civil War (in fact, it was due to poor storage that a lot of these items were rendered unuseable which prompted the Army to seek replacements).

With that said, I'll start with the necessary kit for an 1876 impression:

1874 Sack Coat w/ branch of service trim on the sleeves. This was a four-button sack coat, unlike its Civil War cousin.

1872 Trousers or Civil War era trousers (preferably Schuykil pattern). There is very little difference between them and both were used.

1851 or 1872 Shoe (aka brogans). Both appear to have been used throughout the 1870s and the 1872 model was made with copper screws which in turn made them especially unforfortable in the winter.

1872 Forage Cap with appropriate branch of service, company and regiment brass. These are arranged a bit differently before and after 1875.

Campaign Hat- At this point there was no official issue model (in 1877 there would be) and the soldiers bought these from the post trader or other civilian source. These would be non-descript slouch hats in a variety of colors, mostly black, brown and grey. One note: DO NOT PUT HAT BRASS OR HAT CORDS ON THESE!!! The actual soldiers rarely did so (and it wasn't authorized) and it will mark you as a farb.

1873 Greatcoat- This was a pretty warm garment and was blanket-lined and had a double-cape.

1874 Canteen- This would be a converted Civil War era canteen and there were at least two different models.

1874 Haversack- This came in two basic models, the earlier in cotton duck with a tarred cover and a later one with a thick canvas cover.

1874 Meat Can- The Army's first attempt at an issue piece of mess wear. Descendents of this basic model were used by the Army up until the late 1980s.

1874 Knife, Spoon, and Fork- Once again, the Army's first official issue eating wear. Before this, soldiers bought whatever they could at the post trader.

1874 Cup. Similar to it's Civil War cousin in size and configuration. Unlike those in the Civil War soldiers did not install wire bales and efforts were made to keep these clean (from what I can tell from the research I've done).

1874 Clothing Bag- Rarely carried on campaign, this was intended as a means carrying clothing and along with the haversack, made up the Palmer Brace System.

Blanket- Can be either the Grey pattern found in the Civil War or the later 1873 model with purple stripes (yeah, purple! ).

Gum Blanket- Same as it's Civil War predecessor (it was the same item).

Shelter Half- Identical to the Civil War model, mostly the 1864 model. Wooden stakes simliar to those found in WWI/WWII were also issued along with two-piece poles.

Prairie Belt- This was the ammo belt consisting of loops. At this time there was no official issue item like this so soldiers would purchase their own from either civilian sources or from one of the Post saddlers. Old 1851 waist belts and NOC belt buckles were popular for conversions. By 1877/78, the Army finally developed it's own issue belt.

1874 belt and McKeever Pouch. These were garrison items and along with the haversack and clothing bag made up the Palmer Brace System.

Bayonet and Scabbard. The Bayonet scabbard was developed in 1872 and the bayonet was usually a converted Civil War era bayonet (althogh there some bayonets specially made for the 1873 Springfield Rifle. The bayonet was also a garrison item and was left behind on campaign.

The above is only a rough sketch and I'm partially going off memory here so I might have gotten a few things wrong so please bear with me. Also, while it can be successfully argued that it took time for items to be put into the Army supply system and distributed to the troops out West, the process still occurred in a reasonable amount of time so using this as an excuse to use Civil War stuff really doesn't cut it.

Also, and this is a gripe of mine, all too often the "it took time to issue new items" is used as a cop-out by people to weasel out of having to expend the money and time to procure the right stuff- in some cases, it simply doesn't work and makes you look like a farb. Also, while in some instances you can justify the Civil War item, in order to really set the Indian Wars impression apart from Civil War, you really have to use the stuff that's unique to the 1870s to really stand out. Just my opinion there.

Unfortuantely, there are way too many half-assed Indian Wars infantry impressions out there (and don't get me started on cavalry) and they're not even good Civil War impressions. LEAVE THE CIVIL WAR BEHIND! OK, that's my dos centavos on that matter.

Also, just an observation: While it's easier to put together a c. 1867 impression using mostly Civil War items, procuring the 1866 Springfield (aka Second Allen) is a killer- apparently the prices have gone through the ceiling.

On the other hand, doing a more latter impression such as the later 1870s or 1880s is easier from a weapons standpoint (though not much with the prices), getting the proper unifroms and equipment is a bit more of a challenge.

Finally, the one thing really holding back things is the lack of a good uniform vendor. The only game in town is the Quartermaster Shop and the authenticity of some of their items is pretty questionable (although the workmanship is pretty decent). Perhaps things have changed but at least that's what I encountered about four or five years ago.

Just my dos centavos but I hope people find it helpful.

Uniforms, Arms, and Equipment: The U.S. Army on the Western Frontier 1880-1892

2010-01-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

Here's something people here might be interested in. I previously posted elsewhere in regard to Douglas McChristian's new book, Uniforms, Arms, and Equipment: The U.S. Army on the Western Frontier 1880-1892.

Although this two-volume set has been out for awhile, the price tag has been a bit of a deterrent to me until now (it was a birthday gift)...I just bought and I have to say the volume of information is overwhelming!

This set is a follow-on to McChristian's earlier book which focused on the Army from 1870-1880 and it surpasses his earler work both for scope and depth. There's a lot of stuff I never knew about or was confused about and this book has gone a long way to filling in the gaps. I especially found his explaination of the marksmanship badges and how they were earned to be especially interesting.

I've just begun to examine it but I think I can safely say that if you're serious about recreating/reenacting the US Army of the 1880-1892 timeframe, you NEED to get this book. What's also interesting is reading about how some of the items were designed and the personalities of the personnel involved- sometimes, resistance to introducing a new item was simply a matter of "I don't like it, so there!".

McChristian also provides interesting details as to how equipment was marked and he contrasts what the "official" policy was versus what troops did out in the field. The pictures are also an excellent resource.

Max and I Join The Cavalry

2010-01-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Max and I participated in our first Civil War cavalry training event and it was interesting, to say the least. The unit putting on the event is a newly-forming unit, the 7th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and it was held on a ranch up in Soledad Canyon, not too far away from Vasquez Rocks. The unit itself is a bit of a "work in progress" so this was more of a "meet and greet" than a full-blown training event but it was still a good introduction. After hitching up, Max and I arrived early Saturday morning ready to go. Max trailered with no issues and he soon settled down into his new environment- it was a bit exciting for him but nothing bad.

The unit is a mixed bag of men and horses and many of the people had defected from other units for one reason or another. Apparently, there has not been a real Federal cavalry presence in a long time and the organizer/leader of the 7th Ohio is attempting to change that. For me, I've been away from the Civil War reenactment scene for a good five to six years and it's clear that things have changed quite a bit (I used to go Federal infantry but fell away from it for a variety of reasons to include getting into horses). The level of equitation was a bit mixed with a combination of green and experienced riders and some of the horses were pretty obnoxious- nevertheless, it wasn't a deal-breaker. I view it as a work-in-progress and it kind of reminds me of what I've read about our historical forbearers first forming up in 1861.

We worked on a variety of formations and movements and it was not anything too different from what I do with the Warhorse Foundation practices on Saturdays. I was able to work through the commands and formations fairly easily although Max could sometimes be bit obnoxious. Fortunately, Max is used to bumping butts so he wasn't too concerned about being pushed around in formation; at one point I was stuck next a green rider who couldn't control her horse so I had to keep an eye out for a horse that fish tailed all over the place- Max didn't mind the bumping butts though. No horses fired or tried did anything.

We also worked on weapons handling and this went a little better and people seemed to be very much in control and always conscious about safety (in fact the guy who organized the unit left a Confederate cav unit because of repeated safety violations/issues).For pistol shooting, I approached things a bit cautiously with Max and while I didn't fire off of Max (I suppose I could have but I've learned from bitter experience that rushing things leads to disaster). By the end I was able to place Max between two horses (maybe 2 or 3 feet on each side) with each person firing a half-load pistol charges. Max didn't flinch a bit.

Sword work was pretty decent and by the end I was working with steel- the sword fights are not too different from what Max and I did at Anza. Everything is controlled with safety in mind. The one big rule is that the sword point is to be kept up at all times and don't extend your arm out (i.e. lean out). I was also informed that some of the Rebs can be knuckleheads (nop surprise there) about the swordplay but usually things are fine- if necessary, break off.

One interesting thing about the site where we practiced is that it's in close proximity to train tracks (this is east of the 14 by Vasquez Rocks)so you're constantly hearing the roar of trains passing by. Good thing for de-sensitization. The other thing is that there's a wildlife center (sort of a Wildlife Waystation kind of operation) up the road that houses lions and other wild animals. With the wind blowing from there, the horses could smell (I imagine) the lions this seemed to make some the horses a bit more excited at times. You could also hear roaring throughout the night (at first I thought it was mules braying until I put it all together).

Overall, it was a good start and we'll need to work some more but I think it's got great potential. Moreover, for the first time, I can really get Max out to events and in the long run, this will make him a better horse. We just have to approach the whole thing intelligently and not rush things, especially in the mounted shooting area. More soon.

Below are a few pictures from the event. The ones of me are not the best but oh well...:-)

Max in the Movies Again

2010-01-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

As a follow-on to the the film work we did back last May, some friends and I were called upon to do perform in the some pick-up shots for a trailer that an aspiring director is filming so he can get financing for the larger picture. I can't really give more specifics than that due to a non-disclosure agreement.

Unlike the last time which involved a large group involved in various fights et al., this involved three riders and we were supposed to be highwaymen/baddies/no-goodnicks racing down a trail. We filmed this close to Gabriellano Park along a trail that I've ridden many times- it's covered by trees. The perfect setting for a chase. It's kind of reminiscent of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and I was half-expecting Christopher Walken to pop out from behind a tree and pursue us on horseback.

I was dressed up in pseudo-18th Century clothes complete with a wig that gave me stringy long hair (I sort of looked like either a roadie in a rock band or pirate, take your pick). It was pretty amusing.

Max and I basically performed in a number of scenes where we're cantering down the forest trail. Max was with horses he's very familiar with and naturally he was a bit excited. Overall, Max was manageable although on several occassions we had to have a discussion on what's acceptable. We were out filming for about three hours and has time passed, Max was definately buzzed up to the point where I'd have to circle him several times before springing into the canter- basically a moving start. After the take, I'd walk Max around to calm him down.

Max was a lot better than when we last filmed in May and hopefully he'll be even better in the future. Although the film shoot wasn't that long, Max definately got a workout so a rest was in order. Naturally, Max got a nice bucket of Omolene and A&M after we got back to the stables. :-)