Stanton Show

The Stanton show was this weekend, and since we did not have far to travel and the show started and was over early, I had a little time to take pictures. This is a picture of one of my mother's students. Triston Curtis, loves horses and does a wonderful job showing them. I have sent some of you pictures from the show that I took from the rail. Sometimes I get some shots, but don't have an email address to send them to, so if you think I have taken your picture, let me know your address and I will be glad to send them to you.

This show was more of a fun show for us. It is literally in our back door, if we could go the way the crow flies. Since it was a one night show, there were only 24 classes. Some of you were not able to make it out, but I wish we could get everyone to support all the sanctioned shows. This is one of the resources that keep our breed strong, so support all the shows you can.

S.T. carried the flag at the show on Blue On Black. I thought they turned out real nice, so I have added one for you here. Please continue to check out our website www.vanbertfarms.com Since the sun has been shinning, I am not straying too far from the camera, so I will have lots of new photos up soon.

Trail Rides

I hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful weather and are out on your horses. After a long and frightfully awful winter, I know everyone is ready for some me time with your horse. Even if you are like me and only get to grab a few minutes sometime during the day, it gives a little reprieve from the stress of the day. My mother and father are spending lots of days on the trails. It has always been a life long dream to spend lots of time on the trails and to see as many different trails as possible. They are spending a lot of time close to home and have decided there are no prettier trails anywhere (there's no place like home). I am enclosing a couple of really neat pictures a friend of theirs took on one of their last rides.

I hope everyone is checking our web site frequently as I have spent a lot of time posting many horses on there. I just finished yesterday adding 6 more so check them out. I know you know someone who has been looking for that special horse. www.vanbertfarms.com

Is everyone ready for the next show? It is here in Stanton on Saturday night. I look forward to seeing our friends and their horses, so come on out.

Total Horse Makeover Part 2

It is hard to show you the big difference in a well groomed horse and a horse that has been left in the unkept state through photos. Just know that in the show ring, parades, photo shoots, or having the prettiest horse on the trails, following these small tips will make you so much prouder of your horse. I have been in the show ring with horses that still have sawdust in their tails, whiskers and ear hairs, with manure stains on their hips, and tack that has not been cleaned. Then I hear them saying as we exit the ring that the judge did not even look at their horse. If you expect a judge to take a second look at your horse you must make them want to. It is not hard to give the over all appearance that is appeling to anyone looking at your horse. While it does take a little time, that is what horse showing is all about. Take the time to add that little bit of edge that will send you to the winner's circle. Don't forget yourself. In the show ring you do not want to distract from your horse by presenting a sloppy, unkept self. Your apperal must be clean and pressed, your boots shined, hat clean, tie properly tied, hair neatly groomed. Stand or set correctly, with shoulders back and head up, telling the judge (through your body language) you have something you are proud to be presenting. My husband tells me to take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. This is another horse Vickie worked with, we wanted you to see the difference in her also.

Total Horse Makeover

Whether for show or fun, spring is a great time to jump start your grooming program with a Total Horse Makeover. The basics are the same but, for show, you can get noticed with extra attention to details or, for fun, zip things up with new hair style or accessories. As you can see from the before and after photos, even the best of horses can be helped by some simple grooming steps:
1. Start with a good rub down with a rubber curry comb, avoiding the horse’s face and legs. Working in a circular motion to loosen old winter hair and dirt. If the coat is thick, you may want to try a shedding blade, being careful to not pull hair too hard.
2. Use a brush to remove the excess hair and dirt uncovered by the curry comb. Starting at the top of the neck and working toward the rear of the horse and down.
3. While the horse is dry is a good time to use the clippers to trim muzzle whiskers, ears, bridle path and fetlocks.
4. Pick/Clean your horse’s feet – noting any issues that may need attention by a farrier.
5. Next wet the horse all over (except face) with the spray from a hose using comfortably warm water. If you do not have warm water available from the hose, you can use warm water from a bucket. Start with the front feet and then back so that the horse becomes comfortable with the water. Avoiding the head, work from the neck down and then to the back and down and the rear down. Lastly spray/wash under the body and then the tail.
6. Add shampoo suited for your horse’s coat type and/or color to a bucket and add comfortably warm water to make suds. Using a sponge or brush, dip into the suds and make circular motions with and against the grain of body hair ensuring that you get down to the skin. Again working from the neck to the rear – avoiding the face.
7. You may want to use a different shampoo specifically formulated for mane and tail when you have completed the body shampoo. There are products which can enrich a horse’s tail and mane true color. You can squeeze shampoo directly into mane and tail, working through with your fingers to the roots. If you find dandruff or fungus, be sure to apply a product specifically suited to dealing with the condition before you rinse your horse.
8. Rinse the shampoo off with a hose or sponge from bucket. Again starting with the top of neck and working down and back toward rear, be sure to rinse well around the base of the tail and under the tail/between the legs.
9. Wash face with a sponge or towel that is wrung out – being careful to not get water in eyes. You do not need a lot of shampoo on the face a small amount on the rag will be sufficient. Wipe out the nostril area, lips and ears with water and soft rag.
10. To start drying, use a scraper starting with the neck to rear and scraping down with the grain of the hair.
11. Before your horse is completely dry, spray or wipe on conditioner. Do not apply to saddle area if you are going to ride because it can be slippery.
12. As a finishing touch, wipe a towel over the horse's coat to make it shine.

Extra touches:
1. For relaxation, your horse may appreciate a massage. With your fingers together, start with making small circles along the spine. Start out with light pressure - watching your horse's reaction to ensure that it is not too much. Work from the neck to the rear on each side of the spine and, if you and your horse want to continue, move down the body and to the legs - continuing with the same small circles. To learn more there are a number of good equine massage books available.

2. For show, paint hooves with a hoof blacking product and add a little extra shine product to the muzzle and above eyes.

3. For fun, braid or curl your horse’s mane and tail and add accessories to complete your total horse make over.

Extreme Makeover

My good friend Vicki Smith and her husband Mark, (you will know them as the owners of Sudden Impact) came in from Washington state this past week. She is very good (because she really likes to do it) with grooming horses. She thought since she was here and they love to hang out at the barn during the time they are here anyway, that she would take a couple of our horses and do an extreme makeover and over tips on good grooming of your horses. We had fun doing the before and after shots and thought you would enjoy seeing the difference too. I will be posting them here this afternoon, so keep in touch.

Birth Of A Rocky Mountain Horse Foal

I have just put a new video on our website, it is of one of our mares foaling. We allow our mares to breed and foal in the pasture, and since they are usually born at night, I have never been able to get video of them before. You will love this video! Go to our front page www.vanbertfarms.com and see it from there.

Enjoy

Still excited about the show

I finally got the video on that I told you about yesterday, you will see it to the left here. I have also worked on another one today. It is the entire class of the trail championship. We didn't win, (but I thought my mare should have) :o) Oh well, that is why we have another show coming up. Anyway, check it out you will see all the horses that were in that class. This class was the only one I really had enough time to video, but now that I know how to edit these things I will try to have more in the future.

It is time to go trail riding, so if any of you are interested give Dad a call. He and Mom go about 2 -3 times a week and they are always looking for buddies. Speaking of trail rides, do you have a good horse this year? If you need one go to our site and check out our horses under saddle, we have a really good group right now, ready to hit the show ring or the trails.