Not exactly an equine observation, but we can call it "horse related" ...

I grew up in a small town in the middle of small town farm country in the northeast.  Our local feed store was "local" and you could bet that the person working the counter knew you by how many bags of which livestock feed you came in to pick up each week.  I'm sure that's not much different, no matter what part of the country you grew up in.  You could always count on a couple of farmers buying baling twine or rake teeth, the older ladies picking up garden seeds and the retirees standing off to the side sharing stories of the good old days. 

Enter the Big Box Store.  In this case, Tractor Supply Company, who built success on selling, what else?  Tractor parts, farm supplies, and livestock needs.  Then, sometime in the past few years, their ad campaigns have proudly boasted "We don't sell tractors."  Managers near retirement - managers who, by the way, knew customers by their names and needs, who didn't mind the corner of the store becoming the meeting place for retirees in the middle of the week - replaced.  Somewhere along the way, becoming successful and growing meant losing sight of what brought them success in the first place.  Now, in place of "Made in America" and International Harvester parts, we see racks of cheap tools and dog toys.   

I suppose the story is much the same across "corporate America." 

It's just a shame that, as part of "success," that these Big Box stores also drive the small-town feeds-and-anything-you-need stores out of business.  It's not just the stores we're losing.  We're losing that connection to our neighbors.  We're losing that connection to the store that not only knows but cares what we need on Saturday morning.  We're losing that free advice that the small store worker would gladly share on feeding the rejected calf or giving the new puppy his first vaccines or which gate hardware would work best for that particular project.  We're losing that place to stop in and get the chainsaw fixed while browsing the bulletin board of community announcements and livestock for sale. 

How we spend our money can affect whether this trend continues.  Will it? 

 

Some thoughts on why horseback riding is good for kids

I was reading a news article the other day about yet another bullied child who felt her only way to deal with her life was to end it.  It seems like there is one of these stories in the news at least once a month.  The comments to the story were quite insightful; if you spend any time on news websites, you tend to see the fringe "trolls" of society, those who have free time to spout off hate, conspiracy theory, and the like.  But, on this particular story, they were on-point.  School bullying has been around since the beginning of schoolrooms.  Ever watch "Little House on the Prairie" or old episodes of "Seseme Street"? 

It's the world around the children that has changed.

Smartphones allow for kids to document bullying, to circulate videos and photos of the victims, to do more than dropping an anonymous note into a locker or picking an actual fight in the hallway.  Furthermore, our kids aren't taught to lose.  We've somehow become a culture where every child grows up thinking they are a winner.  Peewee sports teams all get trophies at the end of the year, whether they finish first in their division - or last.  Visit a Wal-Mart and watch the "discipline" meted out by young moms who seem to think they have to be the best friend and cave to every whim of their screaming, pouting five-year-olds.

I don't know about you, but on the rare occasion I chose to have a temper tantrum in a public place as a child, I got a firm spank on the butt, was picked up and sat in the seat of the cart, and don't-you-ask-to-get-down-until-we-leave.  Which is why the tantrums were rare.  No positive attention = no reward.  These young kids, 17-and-under, think life shouldn't be hard and everyone should love them all the time.  They don't know how to deal with it when someone points out a flaw - or worse, shares a mean comment on Facebook.  (I'm not defending the bullies, by the way.  Some kids are inherently mean.  So are some adults.) 

Anyway, back to the point.  I've been involved with horses for 25 years.  I have seen a lot of little girls grow up into confident young women on the backs of their horses.  I can't speak to those who "grow out of" the sport.  But, those who grew up riding learned how to win and how to lose. 

They always had a friend they could count on in their horse, but they knew every ride wouldn't be perfect.  If they had the chance to show, they knew every class would not result in a blue ribbon - or a ribbon at all.  They learned that running a clean pattern or having a clear round was a victory to be proud of in and of itself.  They learned responsibility and a sense of accomplishment by working to improve their riding - and working cleaning stalls and tack.  Maybe some of these girls were still picked on. But chances are, they didn't care so much, because they had a real, living, breathing animal who looked out for them - and that they could not only control, but be a partner and friend.     

So, help your kids.  Put down the iPhone and go to the barn.  It will be money and time well spent. 

It's the little things

1.  Remembering how to pick up all 4 feet.

2.  Remembering how to lunge both ways, including voice "trot", "canter" and whoa facing center.

3.  Remembering how to steer and ground driving without freaking out or breaking gait.

Weaning time is coming.  First ride in 8 years is right around the corner.  Stay tuned...

Busted!

Trucking company owners indicted

Does anyone still think Terri - of Terri's Lookout Meadow Farm AKA Terri Vincent - isn't shipping horses to Mexico to be slaughtered?  Considering she's continued to do business with Dorian Ayache, a known kill buyer who has been in trouble for over a year for shipping horses in vehicles that violate DOT standards, I'd say her denials look pretty thin.  Not only that, but she's listed in the indictment as a TRANSPORT COMPANY.

I wonder how many horses she's promised to find good homes for that ended up dying in a Mexican slaughterhouse?  I wonder how many of her home-bred crappy quality appaloosa babies, out of skinny, fugly, unbroke mares and a fugly, untrained stallion she wants 4 grand for, have had short, hopeless lives bred only to be shipped on a 24 hour last ride once they grow big and fat enough to make a buck?

She could be the poster child for dishonest pseudo-rescuers AND irresponsible backyard breeders.

Catch-up/background:
Kill buyer
Sad day after follow up
Crappaloosa sandwich, anyone?

I'm off to visit the USDA website.  Call it morbid curiosity.