Lucky me. I spent the weekend at the Badminton Horse Trials in the UK.
It was a work trip (at least Saturday and Sunday were classed as work) as I was on the In the Saddle stand talking about our riding holidays. I met loads of really nice people, and as always - it was great fun working with the ITS staff, who are a really friendly bunch.
There was a Botswana safari guide on the stand too, and apparantly I just missed a visit by Mark Todd on the Saturday morning. Rats.
The weather was glorious, I got sunburnt on both Sunday and Monday when out watching the jumping and cross country. On Sunday night the beer tents hummed with live bands and flowing drinks and we had a great BBQ at the Badminton estate camping ground with my friends that live in Bristol, and two kiwi pals that came down from London. There was a great vibe around, and I completely reccommend the event to anyone that loves eventing, or even just horses!
The ground was soft and springy, and reminded me a lot of NZ. Maybe Jock Paget's kiwi bred horse thought the same thing, and it was a real treat for me to watch the pair soar to victory in a very dramatic finale (Michael Jung completed a spectacular show jumping phase, and was literally cheered over the last fence... only for the top rail to fall almost in slow motion). I was there with a kiwi mate, and we leapt up with our little NZ flags super ecstatic as it meant the NZ riders came in both first and third. What a result!
I read about Jock when back in NZ last year, and was really impressed with how far the guy has come in such a short amount of time. I mean, this guy trained as a bricklayer and started riding eventers by chance when he was like 18 (hes only 29 now). Unlike so many of guys I saw at Badminton happy to be wandering around in equestrian getup, he grew up in Sydney and initially didnt feel all that comfortable in his english getup.
"There were times when I did stop and think and wonder 'what am I doing here?'. I was a bit embarrassed at the start. I used to go out of my way to not wear the traditional clothing, I'd ride in jeans all the time but it's quite hard doing this stuff in jeans, the seams rub your legs and knees and everything.
"But now, if I go into a shop in my kit, it doesn't bother me any more." http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/6750893/Jock-Paget-from-bricklayer-to-Olympic-rider
An article I read back in NZ (maybe in Horse and Pony?) said that he originally rode stock horses, and his relaxed approach to jumping (loose reins) assisted as he didnt interfere with them; he just let the horses get on with it. Look at him now. A bronze medal at the Olympics, and a Badminton title within two years. Crazy, and super impressive!
The Italian riders were also in fine form, and both riders that made it to the showjumping phase had clear rounds with good time. Def. both names to watch in the future.
On Monday night (which was a bank Holiday in the UK) we treated ourselves to an amazing Indian feast, as I knew too well it would be the last for a long time. The Tuscan countryside sadly lacks in good asian takeaway food, so my trips away are always based on the most ethnic kai possible!
I flew in late Yesterday afternoon, and checked my horses on the way home. All of them were standing near the road, with Dali and Navarro playfighting while the others grazed calmly.
The Tuscan sunset with 15 pretty horses relaxing in a 20 acre field of long grass... well, it made my homecoming just a little bit easier. Now we have two days of calm before two months of non stop rides. Heres hoping the good weather is here to stay, and Im already planning 2014 Badminton!
2013-02-25
Galloping Neapolitan ghosts
The term Renaissance, literally means "rebirth".
In the sun scorched south of Italy, a rebirth is occurring.
The jewel of the Neapolitan kingdom; one of the greatest baroque horses of the renaissance period: the Neapolitan horse.
A horse sadly lost during the last century when industrialism, war and erroneous breeding led to a slow but steady decline in the Italian bloodlines and eventual dispersal of the kingdoms studs.
The high stepping Neapolitan horse was one of the most elegant breeds ever developed in Italy.
In the 17th Century these baroque horses were the height of fashion throughout Europe.
Frederico Grisone, an Italian nobleman founded the first riding academy in Naples around 1560. His training concepts were based on the writings of Xenophon, a Greek commander whose works were rediscovered in the Renaissance during the 16th century.
Before the 1560’s there existed no formal equitation education but soon, an education in haute ecole and horsemanship became a sign of status amongst young nobles.
To perform the movements of the haute ecole, or high school a special type of horse was required. Compact,short in the back, agile and spirited – these horses needed to exhibit a flashy yet natural grace in each of the highly controlled movements.
The popularity of an academy education pushed the Neapolitan horse into the spotlight throughout Europe. Highly sought after, Gervaise Markham head of the royal stables of James 1 of England (Mary Queen of Scot’s son) described the Neapolitan horse as: "A horse of a strong and comely fashion, loving disposition, and infinite courageousness. His limbs and general features are so strong and well-knit together that he has ever been reputed the only beast for the wars, being naturally free from fear or cowardice. His head is long, lean and very slender; and does from eye to nose bend like a hawk's beak. He has a great, full eye, a sharp ear, and a straight leg, which, to an over curious eye might appear too slender -- which is all the fault curiosity itself and find. They are naturally of a lofty pace, loving to their rider, most strong in their exercise, and to conclude, as good in all points that no foreign race has ever borne a tithe so much excellence."( Cavalarice of the English Horseman)
The Lipizzaner breed, a horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School was founded on Neapolitan bloodlines. Today one can watch the well trained stallions demonstrate the haute ecole movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known collectively as the airs above the ground – movements that were initially taught in Grisone’s first academy on Neapolitan horses.
Of the six classical foundation stallions, three were of Neapolitan blood.
Neapolitano: a bay Neapolitan stallion from Polesina, foaled in 1790
Maestoso: a gray Neapolitan x Spanish Kladruber stud stallion, foaled in 1773
Conversano: a black Neapolitan stallion, foaled in 1767
Also the Tulipan line (one of two stallion lines recognized in Eastern Europe) is also considered to be of Neapolitan descent.
7 of the 10 biggest cities in Europe during the renaissance were in Italy, with the Kingdom of Naples extending all the way down to Sicily.
Wealthy noble families took great pride in breeding horses throughout this renaissance period. The importance of horses to Neapolitans as a status symbol is represented in William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. When Nerissa speaks of the Neapolitan prince, Portia replies
“Ay, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse”.
In the 1833 publication by M Gales 'Sketches of Naples and Rome’ the author speaks of the now dispersed Neapolitan horse studs:
"... and many of the great families had numerous and excellent studs and bred horses of great spirit and beauty. Though these establishments of horses of pure blood are now entirely broken up, the common breed of the kingdom is generally far from bad; while many parts of Calabria and some parts of Apulia and Abruzzi still furnish excellent animals. “
Many of these majestic horses were immortalized through art.
Wonderful paintings, fresco's and sculptures emerged during the Renaissance period; paying homage to the horses used throughout the kingdom; the pride of Naples.
M- Gales goes on to describe how Neapolitan horses still in existence in 1833 were still of excellent quality;“The Neapolitan horse is small but very compact and strong; his neck is short and bull shaped, and his head rather large; he is in short the prototype of the ancient bassi rilievi and other Roman sculptures found in the country. He can live on hard fare, and is capable of an immense deal of hard work;- he is frequently headstrong and vicious, but these defects are mainly attributable to harsh treatment, as with proper gentle usage, though always spirited he is generally found to be docile and good natured."
Though still in the early stages, there are two current back-breeding programs using selected lines of Murgese, Lipizzaner and other Italian breeds that are descendants of the Neapolitan studs to recreate the Neapolitan horse.
"Back-breeding is possible because much of the genetic material of the extinct wild ancestors and subspecies survived in the domestic progeny or in surviving related subspecies. This can result in animals that resemble the original extinct ancestor or an extinct subspecies. Back-breeding has an advantage over cloning in that it creates a whole population, rather than just an individual animal." (Maas PHJ)
"Last year, Spanish scientists used cloning to successfully recreate an ibex that disappeared in 2000, and in Poland another group is trying to clone the aurochs using DNA from bone and teeth samples. But for a species to survive once it's brought back to life, it must have enough genetic variability to reproduce. "A population needs to be adaptive," says Johan van Arendonk, a professor of animal-breeding and genetics at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, adding that the Dutch project probably needs to produce at least 100 animals to succeed in the long term." (Faris Stefan)
The two revival programs for the Neapolitan Horse are:
Maresca: The Cavallo Napolitano:
Searching throughout Europe for remaining Neapolitan horses during the 70’s and 80’s, Maresca finally found a surviving stallion already well advanced in age working as a farm horse in war torn Serbia that he claims was the last Neopolitan horse.
The stallion, known as Il Vecchio was brought back to Italy at great expense (he was blocked at the border for two days) and put to stud. It took many years to produce a foal, but eventually a colt was born. Sadly the old stallion died in a paddock accident when his groom left the door to his box open, and he escaped.
Luckily old vecchio left a heir, Neapolitano I, and now there is his prodigy Neapolitano III who is now 10 years old. The 'Neapolitan horse' has had its stud book re-opened as the Napolitano horse and Marescas breeding program is based near the Amalfi coast, not far from Naples - where the horses are often present at regional shows and events.
Recently, Maresca sold a young Neapolitan colt to America. The horse will soon begin training with classical trainer Linda Bertschinger.
The other revival program is with Giuseppe Maria Fraddosio (Corsiero Napolitano)
Mr Fraddosio has written what is no doubt the best essay about the Neapolitano horse available on the internet (in Italian sadly, though it would be great to translate this text into English as it is extremely well researched and interesting). www.cavallodellemurge.it
In Fraddosio's program, the lines used in the recreation of the Neapolitan horse are well documented. His program includes mainly Murgese and Lipizzaner horses. The Murgese line is Nerone-Conte di Conversano. A line that extends back to the Conversano stud (thats the same stud as the Conversano stallion of Lipizzaner fame).
The Lipizzaners used in this back breeding program are those of the family lines Maestoso, Conversano and Neapolitano.
He also accepts into the program other Italian breeds that were based on Neapolitan blood such as the Esperia, Pento and Persano horses.
I recommend looking at Fraddosio's website even if you dont speak Italian. The photos and old pictures of original Neapolitan horses are wonderful, as are the saddles used in renaissance times.
Revival of extinct species is a controversial topic, and one that has made headlines for many of the wrong reasons due to the fact two of the most famous zoological scientists worked for the Nazi regime during World War II.
Lutz and Heinz Hecks were responsible for recreating the extinct Tarpan wild horse; an animal that held a special fascination to Nazi German nationalists.
The last wild Tarpan died after being chased by humans over a cliff in the Ukraine in 1876. There is of course some doubt whether she was 100% Tarpan too, as most horses by this late stage had mixed with feral domestic horses, including those in Poland that are now known as Konik horses.
The Hecks in their quest to revive the ancient Tarpan used Konik horses, Gotland horses, Icelandic ponies and the Przewalski horse. They aimed to bring out the primitive genes by back breeding these horses together to reproduce the Tarpan. (Bunzel-Drüke 2001; Heck & Heck 1934; Heck s.a.; Slob 1966).
Today these horses are known as Heck horses, and have been re-released to many of the wetlands of Europe, since their grazing habits have been recognized as essential to the keeping these areas habitable to other species.
A similar selective breeding program has been quietly plugging away in South Africa, in an attempt to recreate the extinct Quagga by using specially marked examples of a subspecies of the plains zebra.
Dog breeds that have been brought back from extinction include the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and the Irish Wolfhound. There is an interesting current revival attempt on the medieval "Alaunt" going on in the US, this would be a replica of the medieval hunting dog/mastiff type. There was also an attempt to recreate the Hawaiian Poi dog in Honolulu, which after 12 years was considered a failure.
The Neapolitan was reinstated as a national breed of Italy in 2004, but really the adventure to return the baroque horse of the kingdom to its former glory is only just getting started…
References
Maas, P.H.J. (2011). Recreating extinct animals by selective Breeding. In: TSEW (2013). The Sixth Extinction Website.. Downloaded on 21 February 2013.
Stephan Faris (2010) Breeding ancient cattle back from extinction
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1961918,00.ht
http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/tarpan.htm
Heck, H. & L. Heck (1934): Die Rückzüchtung des altdeutschen Waldpferdes. - Das Tier und wir 1934 (7): 10 - 14.
http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2010/03/barks-from-the-past-10-extinct-dog-breeds/
M Gales book 'Sketches of Naples and Rome" THE PENNY MAGAZINE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE( 1833) Oxford University Press
Il Corsiero Napolitano by Giuseppe Maria Fraddosio
http://www.surrentum.com/2011/10/meeting-sul-cavallo-napoletano-a-villa-fondi/
http://93.63.239.228/archivio/2011/Ottobre/01/Roma/01-10-pag.pdf
In the sun scorched south of Italy, a rebirth is occurring.
The jewel of the Neapolitan kingdom; one of the greatest baroque horses of the renaissance period: the Neapolitan horse.
A horse sadly lost during the last century when industrialism, war and erroneous breeding led to a slow but steady decline in the Italian bloodlines and eventual dispersal of the kingdoms studs.
The high stepping Neapolitan horse was one of the most elegant breeds ever developed in Italy.
In the 17th Century these baroque horses were the height of fashion throughout Europe.
Frederico Grisone, an Italian nobleman founded the first riding academy in Naples around 1560. His training concepts were based on the writings of Xenophon, a Greek commander whose works were rediscovered in the Renaissance during the 16th century.
Before the 1560’s there existed no formal equitation education but soon, an education in haute ecole and horsemanship became a sign of status amongst young nobles.
To perform the movements of the haute ecole, or high school a special type of horse was required. Compact,short in the back, agile and spirited – these horses needed to exhibit a flashy yet natural grace in each of the highly controlled movements.
The popularity of an academy education pushed the Neapolitan horse into the spotlight throughout Europe. Highly sought after, Gervaise Markham head of the royal stables of James 1 of England (Mary Queen of Scot’s son) described the Neapolitan horse as: "A horse of a strong and comely fashion, loving disposition, and infinite courageousness. His limbs and general features are so strong and well-knit together that he has ever been reputed the only beast for the wars, being naturally free from fear or cowardice. His head is long, lean and very slender; and does from eye to nose bend like a hawk's beak. He has a great, full eye, a sharp ear, and a straight leg, which, to an over curious eye might appear too slender -- which is all the fault curiosity itself and find. They are naturally of a lofty pace, loving to their rider, most strong in their exercise, and to conclude, as good in all points that no foreign race has ever borne a tithe so much excellence."( Cavalarice of the English Horseman)
The Lipizzaner breed, a horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School was founded on Neapolitan bloodlines. Today one can watch the well trained stallions demonstrate the haute ecole movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known collectively as the airs above the ground – movements that were initially taught in Grisone’s first academy on Neapolitan horses.
Of the six classical foundation stallions, three were of Neapolitan blood.
Neapolitano: a bay Neapolitan stallion from Polesina, foaled in 1790
Maestoso: a gray Neapolitan x Spanish Kladruber stud stallion, foaled in 1773
Conversano: a black Neapolitan stallion, foaled in 1767
Also the Tulipan line (one of two stallion lines recognized in Eastern Europe) is also considered to be of Neapolitan descent.
7 of the 10 biggest cities in Europe during the renaissance were in Italy, with the Kingdom of Naples extending all the way down to Sicily.
Wealthy noble families took great pride in breeding horses throughout this renaissance period. The importance of horses to Neapolitans as a status symbol is represented in William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. When Nerissa speaks of the Neapolitan prince, Portia replies
“Ay, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse”.
In the 1833 publication by M Gales 'Sketches of Naples and Rome’ the author speaks of the now dispersed Neapolitan horse studs:
"... and many of the great families had numerous and excellent studs and bred horses of great spirit and beauty. Though these establishments of horses of pure blood are now entirely broken up, the common breed of the kingdom is generally far from bad; while many parts of Calabria and some parts of Apulia and Abruzzi still furnish excellent animals. “
Many of these majestic horses were immortalized through art.
Wonderful paintings, fresco's and sculptures emerged during the Renaissance period; paying homage to the horses used throughout the kingdom; the pride of Naples.
M- Gales goes on to describe how Neapolitan horses still in existence in 1833 were still of excellent quality;“The Neapolitan horse is small but very compact and strong; his neck is short and bull shaped, and his head rather large; he is in short the prototype of the ancient bassi rilievi and other Roman sculptures found in the country. He can live on hard fare, and is capable of an immense deal of hard work;- he is frequently headstrong and vicious, but these defects are mainly attributable to harsh treatment, as with proper gentle usage, though always spirited he is generally found to be docile and good natured."
Though still in the early stages, there are two current back-breeding programs using selected lines of Murgese, Lipizzaner and other Italian breeds that are descendants of the Neapolitan studs to recreate the Neapolitan horse.
"Back-breeding is possible because much of the genetic material of the extinct wild ancestors and subspecies survived in the domestic progeny or in surviving related subspecies. This can result in animals that resemble the original extinct ancestor or an extinct subspecies. Back-breeding has an advantage over cloning in that it creates a whole population, rather than just an individual animal." (Maas PHJ)
"Last year, Spanish scientists used cloning to successfully recreate an ibex that disappeared in 2000, and in Poland another group is trying to clone the aurochs using DNA from bone and teeth samples. But for a species to survive once it's brought back to life, it must have enough genetic variability to reproduce. "A population needs to be adaptive," says Johan van Arendonk, a professor of animal-breeding and genetics at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, adding that the Dutch project probably needs to produce at least 100 animals to succeed in the long term." (Faris Stefan)
The two revival programs for the Neapolitan Horse are:
- Giuseppe Maria Fraddosio and the revival of the Cavallo Napoletano
- Giuseppe Maresca,a coffee merchant from Naples, has dedicated his life chasing the Neapolitan horse.
Maresca: The Cavallo Napolitano:
Searching throughout Europe for remaining Neapolitan horses during the 70’s and 80’s, Maresca finally found a surviving stallion already well advanced in age working as a farm horse in war torn Serbia that he claims was the last Neopolitan horse.
The stallion, known as Il Vecchio was brought back to Italy at great expense (he was blocked at the border for two days) and put to stud. It took many years to produce a foal, but eventually a colt was born. Sadly the old stallion died in a paddock accident when his groom left the door to his box open, and he escaped.
Luckily old vecchio left a heir, Neapolitano I, and now there is his prodigy Neapolitano III who is now 10 years old. The 'Neapolitan horse' has had its stud book re-opened as the Napolitano horse and Marescas breeding program is based near the Amalfi coast, not far from Naples - where the horses are often present at regional shows and events.
Recently, Maresca sold a young Neapolitan colt to America. The horse will soon begin training with classical trainer Linda Bertschinger.
The other revival program is with Giuseppe Maria Fraddosio (Corsiero Napolitano)
Mr Fraddosio has written what is no doubt the best essay about the Neapolitano horse available on the internet (in Italian sadly, though it would be great to translate this text into English as it is extremely well researched and interesting). www.cavallodellemurge.it
In Fraddosio's program, the lines used in the recreation of the Neapolitan horse are well documented. His program includes mainly Murgese and Lipizzaner horses. The Murgese line is Nerone-Conte di Conversano. A line that extends back to the Conversano stud (thats the same stud as the Conversano stallion of Lipizzaner fame).
The Lipizzaners used in this back breeding program are those of the family lines Maestoso, Conversano and Neapolitano.
He also accepts into the program other Italian breeds that were based on Neapolitan blood such as the Esperia, Pento and Persano horses.
I recommend looking at Fraddosio's website even if you dont speak Italian. The photos and old pictures of original Neapolitan horses are wonderful, as are the saddles used in renaissance times.
Revival of extinct species is a controversial topic, and one that has made headlines for many of the wrong reasons due to the fact two of the most famous zoological scientists worked for the Nazi regime during World War II.
Lutz and Heinz Hecks were responsible for recreating the extinct Tarpan wild horse; an animal that held a special fascination to Nazi German nationalists.
The last wild Tarpan died after being chased by humans over a cliff in the Ukraine in 1876. There is of course some doubt whether she was 100% Tarpan too, as most horses by this late stage had mixed with feral domestic horses, including those in Poland that are now known as Konik horses.
The Hecks in their quest to revive the ancient Tarpan used Konik horses, Gotland horses, Icelandic ponies and the Przewalski horse. They aimed to bring out the primitive genes by back breeding these horses together to reproduce the Tarpan. (Bunzel-Drüke 2001; Heck & Heck 1934; Heck s.a.; Slob 1966).
Today these horses are known as Heck horses, and have been re-released to many of the wetlands of Europe, since their grazing habits have been recognized as essential to the keeping these areas habitable to other species.
A similar selective breeding program has been quietly plugging away in South Africa, in an attempt to recreate the extinct Quagga by using specially marked examples of a subspecies of the plains zebra.
Dog breeds that have been brought back from extinction include the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and the Irish Wolfhound. There is an interesting current revival attempt on the medieval "Alaunt" going on in the US, this would be a replica of the medieval hunting dog/mastiff type. There was also an attempt to recreate the Hawaiian Poi dog in Honolulu, which after 12 years was considered a failure.
The Neapolitan was reinstated as a national breed of Italy in 2004, but really the adventure to return the baroque horse of the kingdom to its former glory is only just getting started…
References
Maas, P.H.J. (2011). Recreating extinct animals by selective Breeding. In: TSEW (2013). The Sixth Extinction Website.
Stephan Faris (2010) Breeding ancient cattle back from extinction
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1961918,00.ht
http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/tarpan.htm
Heck, H. & L. Heck (1934): Die Rückzüchtung des altdeutschen Waldpferdes. - Das Tier und wir 1934 (7): 10 - 14.
http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2010/03/barks-from-the-past-10-extinct-dog-breeds/
M Gales book 'Sketches of Naples and Rome" THE PENNY MAGAZINE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE( 1833) Oxford University Press
Il Corsiero Napolitano by Giuseppe Maria Fraddosio
http://www.surrentum.com/2011/10/meeting-sul-cavallo-napoletano-a-villa-fondi/
http://93.63.239.228/archivio/2011/Ottobre/01/Roma/01-10-pag.pdf
2013-02-15
Valentines day with horses
Everyone loves a cheesy valentines day photo, and this wonderful image I was actually present the moment it was taken. None of us knew what Blanco would do when faced with the dark eyed female donkey jenny - but Christiane Slawik took the picture instantly. The light, the horses expressions. The sweet, honest face of Blanco - a horse we trust with children as well as nervous riders.
Everything about this picture makes me smile.
On Monday I return to the stables to start getting the horses fit for next month. The weather has started to improve, and the guys at work are going to take out the farm machinary to clear the trails of any holes, washouts, fallen trees etc. The bridge to Castelfalfi will be rebuilt in the next few weeks - and whalaa. Our riding season kicks off again.
This weekend I am off to Milan. One night away, a change of scenery and a bit of fun. On Monday I return with tales of horses, riding and chianti trails...
Happy Friday all!
2013-02-07
Storms and Snow in Montaione
I was surprised to drive to work today and find snow at San Vivaldo through to Tonda. Tonda itself was much the same as Iano, totally snow-less- but the area between was quite distinctly 'white'. One of the guys I work with said that when he was in town today there were cars driving around loaded with snow... so some places must have been hit harder still.
Last night we had some cracking electrical storms. My dogs were already feeling the energy in the air when I got home after work, and as soon as the first thunder started to boom; they were already huddling at the doorstep begging me to let them in.
Usually both dogs sleep outside. They have a nice cantina to shelter in, with a full size dog bed - and it means they can go outside whenever they like (rather than wake me to let them out). Last night I allowed Jack to stay in though, since at 12am he started howling in fear as another storm rolled in. Jack may now be nine, but he acts like a scared puppy with the first hint of a storm. Its very sad to watch as he trembles, and hides under the table/bed etc.
The electricity went out three or four times, and the alarm at one of the neighbors properties was set off for hours.
I hope it was the storms that set the alarms off, as the robberies that plagued the area have started again, and all the farms in the area seem to have had someone breaking in, stealing especially anything steel or copper. We have an armed guard at work doing the rounds at night...but it still doesn't feel especially safe after dark. Ive stopped working my horses in the lower arena, as alone I just don't feel 100% secure. This is a pain,since its really the only time I get to spend with them now that I am in the office during the day.
Ive just popped both horses back in their boxes after a day spent eating grass in the outdoor arena/abandoned paddock. Its always a lovely feeling to see them all rugged up, with clean, fresh bedding and a pile of hay at the end of the day, and though I haven't ridden them since Ive been back, they have at least been turned out every day together for some social 'horse interaction' which puts my mind at least partially at ease.
I need to shoe Navarro before doing anything anyhow, as his feet get very sore when he is barefoot. I am tempted to finally try and keep Dali unshod this year. In the past I have always caved and shod him when I need to do long rides, but he has great feet. Big, black and well formed - so the transition should be easier than with poor old pansy Navarro. Fingers crossed this time I succeed!
Usually both dogs sleep outside. They have a nice cantina to shelter in, with a full size dog bed - and it means they can go outside whenever they like (rather than wake me to let them out). Last night I allowed Jack to stay in though, since at 12am he started howling in fear as another storm rolled in. Jack may now be nine, but he acts like a scared puppy with the first hint of a storm. Its very sad to watch as he trembles, and hides under the table/bed etc.
The electricity went out three or four times, and the alarm at one of the neighbors properties was set off for hours.
I hope it was the storms that set the alarms off, as the robberies that plagued the area have started again, and all the farms in the area seem to have had someone breaking in, stealing especially anything steel or copper. We have an armed guard at work doing the rounds at night...but it still doesn't feel especially safe after dark. Ive stopped working my horses in the lower arena, as alone I just don't feel 100% secure. This is a pain,since its really the only time I get to spend with them now that I am in the office during the day.
Ive just popped both horses back in their boxes after a day spent eating grass in the outdoor arena/abandoned paddock. Its always a lovely feeling to see them all rugged up, with clean, fresh bedding and a pile of hay at the end of the day, and though I haven't ridden them since Ive been back, they have at least been turned out every day together for some social 'horse interaction' which puts my mind at least partially at ease.
I need to shoe Navarro before doing anything anyhow, as his feet get very sore when he is barefoot. I am tempted to finally try and keep Dali unshod this year. In the past I have always caved and shod him when I need to do long rides, but he has great feet. Big, black and well formed - so the transition should be easier than with poor old pansy Navarro. Fingers crossed this time I succeed!
2013-02-03
Blow out the cobwebs. Trail riding after a break.
One could say that taking a horse out on the trail is one big test of the riders leadership and skill. Once outside the arena anything can go wrong, the unknown 'X' factors lurk everywhere. Is your horse ready for them? In the worst case, what will he do?
I worked sole charge with most of these horses, as I often do these days with the young trail prospects. I remember clearly that the most important thing when taking a young horse out alone was trust and respect, which was gauged by my reaction when he got scared. An anxious rider makes an anxious horse. If you think hes going to be a problem, he most probably will be. If you go out thinking 'this is going to be a good day' he will too.
Watch a horse in its natural state, and you will see that he is a big copycat. He mirrors his mates. They run. He runs. When horses are tense, they show it, just like we do.That's a warning sign for a horse. He sees his paddock mate tense, he gets ready to go. Horses pick up on energy, but more than that -they pick up on our bodies tensing on their backs, our hands tensing the reins... they know somethings up, and with a young horse this can make or break the ride. This can turn a silly spook into a tantrum like no other... or, it can just stay a spook.
In the case of these young thoroughbreds that I once rode, as long as everything was normal (the truck, the donkey, the tractor loading hay) they were fine. They would be going on to far scarier pastures, and at this early stage in their lives, a brisk trot down the road every morning was just a bit of routine fun. I don't ever recall having any big issues with those horses, we never went faster than a trot due to their age - and frankly, they were so curious and used to living on a busy farm, on full turnout - that this was just a nice daily routine that they enjoyed. I'm sure things changed when they went on to race, but to this day I think the reason so many NZ thoroughbreds go on to make good eventers and hacks is simply the fact that they are brought up with no one fussing about anything.
The European lack of suitable land, means horses are boxed even as foals. Its no wonder that hacking out a horse here for the first time (when they have only ever seen the inside of an arena or stable) is a different kettle of fish.
In my horse Dali's case, nerves have always been his problem. As a school horse he is brilliant, but outside even after years of trail work he is still essentially a bit of a baby. I worked a lot on the ground with him after I returned to Italy (with my still healing broken knee) teaching him to lunge at liberty and listen to voice cues (especially in downward transitions). Now when I am out on a ride and I feel either horse tense (Dali will start to prance, whereas Navarro will try and break into a faster gait) I whistle a slow downward tone with long reins and a relaxed position, and both will usually drop straight back to a relaxed walk. If I am lunging them they will instantly go from a canter to walk with this cue, which is also invaluable if they ever escape their paddock.
Ground works nice, and definitely helpful - but sometimes the horse just needs a leader to take his mind off things, a leader that will make him work. Good old 'Replacement training' which basically replaces what it is hes thinking about. With constant instructions and something to focus on you become the boss again, and he stops sweating over 'the small stuff'. You don't need to get mean, but you do need to be assertive. Have him trot where you want, stop you want, back where you want... and get his head back on the job.
I find with Dali I need to push his boundaries out on a ride to get him really thinking. Boundaries for us might be going through a stream instead of jumping it, or leg yielding to the side of a path he doesn't like the look of; but it really makes a difference if hes in one of his spooky moods.
Today we had a windy day, not at all ideal for riding a horse that hasn't been out for months - but hopefully this has helped the ground dry out and this week I will find a moment to get out and blow out the cobwebs.
addios...
2013-01-22
An Australian interlude
Apologies for the blatant blog abandoning, I was lucky enough to escape the cold Italian winter for 6 weeks of wonderful hot Australian summer, and even a week in New Zealand (where the weather was also lovely).
Aside from an NZ daytrip to the harness trials in Motukurara, I didnt see a horse the whole trip.
My mother lives right on Sydneys wonderful Balmoral beach,so basically my stay was all about relaxing, swimming and having some fun time with my mum, my little brother, and of course Maya.
I caught up with girlfriends in NZ, had a few nights out in Sydney and ate as much Thai, Indian and Japanese as my stomach could handle (since its all so hard to get hold of here in rural Tuscany).
Australia was quite honestly amazing. I put on weight, got a good tan, chopped off all my hair and have some amazing memories to look back on. I do love my life in Italy, but the laid back Aussie lifestyle definitely holds a lot of appeal too.
Our flights home were long and delayed. The first leg coming out of Sydney was 15 hours, and I was very lucky that Maya at 5 years old, is a real seasoned traveler. She took everything in her stride, slept a bit, watched some films, drew some pictures and basically just chilled out. Other mothers were battling with bored toddlers up and down the aisles, with fed up kids screaming up the front... and I felt pretty damn lucky. The flight attendant came over as we were about to land and said to me "Boy, you are lucky with that wee one" as Maya snored away.
From Abu Dhabi we flew the easy leg of 7 hours back to Milan, where the first snowflakes were falling. Quickly we changed when our bags arrived, and faced the cold outside where my brother and law met us.
We stayed with him and his lovely Romanian partner, who battled the snowy roads the next day to get us to the center of Milan for the eurostar back to Florence where we met Paolo.
Yesterday after a work meeting I spent some time with my horses who have been boxed up for the last week or so due to Tuscany's torrential rainfall. I let them free in the arena with the new Arabian gelding (who was also suffering a bit of cabin fever), and the three had a ball play fighting, and running about in the sand.
This morning I had my 8 weekly battle with Navarro to get worming paste into him... but was successful in getting a whole tube into his gob without too much muscling and grizzling. Dali just opens his mouth, no fuss, no problem.. but Navarro likes to act as if his life is threatened by the awful white goop I am apparently trying to poison him with.
The season with the horses starts in March for us, so until then I will be working in the office doing a bit of marketing, booking and website stuff. We have a big group of 12 riders out in the first part of March, so next month will also be busy getting horses back in action, shod and ready for the season, as is always the case in winter, half the job seems to be cleaning the horses up to get them ready to be ridden.. the mud this year is bad, and even though the horses have a shelter, it seems they all prefer to be out in the muck most of the time.
Today the rains stopped though, and the forecast this weekend looks pretty good...so I might manage a ride out after all. So now, after just stoking the fire up the third time.. here are some pics of our summer in December/January !!
Aside from an NZ daytrip to the harness trials in Motukurara, I didnt see a horse the whole trip.
My mother lives right on Sydneys wonderful Balmoral beach,so basically my stay was all about relaxing, swimming and having some fun time with my mum, my little brother, and of course Maya.
I caught up with girlfriends in NZ, had a few nights out in Sydney and ate as much Thai, Indian and Japanese as my stomach could handle (since its all so hard to get hold of here in rural Tuscany).
Australia was quite honestly amazing. I put on weight, got a good tan, chopped off all my hair and have some amazing memories to look back on. I do love my life in Italy, but the laid back Aussie lifestyle definitely holds a lot of appeal too.
Our flights home were long and delayed. The first leg coming out of Sydney was 15 hours, and I was very lucky that Maya at 5 years old, is a real seasoned traveler. She took everything in her stride, slept a bit, watched some films, drew some pictures and basically just chilled out. Other mothers were battling with bored toddlers up and down the aisles, with fed up kids screaming up the front... and I felt pretty damn lucky. The flight attendant came over as we were about to land and said to me "Boy, you are lucky with that wee one" as Maya snored away.
From Abu Dhabi we flew the easy leg of 7 hours back to Milan, where the first snowflakes were falling. Quickly we changed when our bags arrived, and faced the cold outside where my brother and law met us.
We stayed with him and his lovely Romanian partner, who battled the snowy roads the next day to get us to the center of Milan for the eurostar back to Florence where we met Paolo.
Yesterday after a work meeting I spent some time with my horses who have been boxed up for the last week or so due to Tuscany's torrential rainfall. I let them free in the arena with the new Arabian gelding (who was also suffering a bit of cabin fever), and the three had a ball play fighting, and running about in the sand.
This morning I had my 8 weekly battle with Navarro to get worming paste into him... but was successful in getting a whole tube into his gob without too much muscling and grizzling. Dali just opens his mouth, no fuss, no problem.. but Navarro likes to act as if his life is threatened by the awful white goop I am apparently trying to poison him with.
The season with the horses starts in March for us, so until then I will be working in the office doing a bit of marketing, booking and website stuff. We have a big group of 12 riders out in the first part of March, so next month will also be busy getting horses back in action, shod and ready for the season, as is always the case in winter, half the job seems to be cleaning the horses up to get them ready to be ridden.. the mud this year is bad, and even though the horses have a shelter, it seems they all prefer to be out in the muck most of the time.
Today the rains stopped though, and the forecast this weekend looks pretty good...so I might manage a ride out after all. So now, after just stoking the fire up the third time.. here are some pics of our summer in December/January !!
2012-11-20
A little ghost story
The forest surrounding Toiano, not far from Montaione – holds a dark secret. That of the murder of Elvira Orlandini. Known locally as the Corpus Domini murder.
The 5th of June 1947, on the day of the Corpus Domini holiday Elvira Orlandini walked alone to fetch water from the Botro della Lupa well after lunch ... and never returned home to her family.
The 22 year old girl was apparantly the most beautiful 'ragazza' in the area. Everyone wanted her - even the noble men (according to local gossip)... but alas, she was just a peasant girl, and therefore off-limits.
Elvira was found lying in a puddle of her own blood. She was half naked, and her assassin had tried to cut off her head. Her underwear had been taken by the killer.
The murder weapon (a large knife) was never found, and the murderer took with him as a keepsake the girls underwear. Originally the boyfriend was blamed. Farmer Ugo Ancillotti served two years (continously professing his innocence) and was then let free due to lack of evidence. He returned to hundreds of applauding 'fans' that had supported him through his trial and retrial... but the problem that remained, was who killed Elvira?
The story received coverage all over Italy, and the police were sent letters from all over Europe proclaiming who was the true assassin.
My neighbours were out talking about Elvira last summer. Local lore has it that a count that lived around Castelfalfi was responsible - and that he also went missing not long after. Suspicious hmmm
Anyhow. To remember the poor girls horrific end, there is a statue of ‘Bella Elvira’ on the road up to the village. The locals claim that her ghost haunts the deserted town at night... and it is due to her spiritual 'presence' that the town was abandoned in the first place.
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The 5th of June 1947, on the day of the Corpus Domini holiday Elvira Orlandini walked alone to fetch water from the Botro della Lupa well after lunch ... and never returned home to her family.
The 22 year old girl was apparantly the most beautiful 'ragazza' in the area. Everyone wanted her - even the noble men (according to local gossip)... but alas, she was just a peasant girl, and therefore off-limits.
Elvira was found lying in a puddle of her own blood. She was half naked, and her assassin had tried to cut off her head. Her underwear had been taken by the killer.
The murder weapon (a large knife) was never found, and the murderer took with him as a keepsake the girls underwear. Originally the boyfriend was blamed. Farmer Ugo Ancillotti served two years (continously professing his innocence) and was then let free due to lack of evidence. He returned to hundreds of applauding 'fans' that had supported him through his trial and retrial... but the problem that remained, was who killed Elvira?
The story received coverage all over Italy, and the police were sent letters from all over Europe proclaiming who was the true assassin.
My neighbours were out talking about Elvira last summer. Local lore has it that a count that lived around Castelfalfi was responsible - and that he also went missing not long after. Suspicious hmmm
Anyhow. To remember the poor girls horrific end, there is a statue of ‘Bella Elvira’ on the road up to the village. The locals claim that her ghost haunts the deserted town at night... and it is due to her spiritual 'presence' that the town was abandoned in the first place.
.jpg)
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