Growing Up With Horses

My daughter turned sixteen years old today; which is a milestone
for most people. Besides looking at baby photos and childhood
trinkets with her, I took time to reflect on the young woman my
daughter had become and the choices she would face in the future.
As I looked at her I could see the athlete she was, and determined
woman she would soon be.

I started thinking about some the girls we knew in our town who were
already pregnant, pierced in several places, hair every color under
the sun, drop outs, drug addicts and on the fast track to no where,
seeking surface identities because they had no inner self esteem.
The parents of these same girls have asked me why I "waste" the
money on horses so my daughter can ride. I'm told she will grow out
of it, lose interest, discover boys and all kinds of things that try
to pin the current generation's "slacker" label on my child. I don't
think it will happen, I think she will love and have horses all her
life.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has compassion. She
knows that we must take special care of the very young and the very
old. We must make sure those without voices to speak of their pain
are still cared for.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned responsibility
for others than herself. She learned that regardless of the weather
you must still care for those you have the stewardship of. There are
no "days off" just because you don't feel like being a horse owner
that day. She learned that for every hour of fun you have there are
days of hard slogging work you must do first.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned not to be afraid
of getting dirty and that appearances don't matter to most of the
breathing things in the world we live in. Horses do not care about
designer clothes, jewelry, pretty hairdos or anything else we put on
our bodies to try to impress others. What a horse cares about are
your abilities to work within his natural world, he doesn't care if
you're wearing $80.00 jeans while you do it.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned about sex and
how it can both enrich and complicate lives. She learned that it
only takes one time to produce a baby, and the only way to ensure
babies aren't produced is not to breed. She learned how babies are
planned, made, born and, sadly, sometimes die before reaching their
potential. She learned how sleepless nights and trying to outsmart a
crafty old broodmare could result in getting to see, as non-horse
owning people rarely do, the birth of a true miracle.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she understands the value of
money. Every dollar can be translated into bales of hay, bags of
feed or farrier visits. Purchasing non-necessities during lean times
can mean the difference between feed and good care, or neglect and
starvation. She has learned to judge the level of her care against
the care she sees provided by others and to make sure her standards
never lower, and only increase as her knowledge grows.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to learn on
her own. She has had teachers that cannot speak, nor write, nor
communicate beyond body language and reactions. She has had to learn
to "read" her surroundings for both safe and unsafe objects, to look
for hazards where others might only see a pretty meadow. She has
learned to judge people as she judges horses. She looks beyond
appearances and trappings to see what is within.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned
sportsmanship to a high degree. Everyone that competes fairly is a
winner. Trophies and ribbons may prove someone a winner, but they do
not prove someone is a horseman. She has also learned that some
people will do anything to win, regardless of who it hurts. She
knows that those who will cheat in the show ring will also cheat in
every other aspect of their life and are not to be trusted.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has self-esteem and an
engaging personality. She can talk to anyone she meets with
confidence, because she has to express herself to her horse with
more than words. She knows the satisfaction of controlling and
teaching a 1000 pound animal that will yield willingly to her gentle
touch and ignore the more forceful and inept handling of those
stronger than she is. She holds herself with poise and
professionalism in the company of those far older than herself.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to plan
ahead. She knows that choices made today can effect what happens
five years down the road. She knows that you cannot care for and
protect you investments without savings to fall back on. She knows
the value of land and buildings. And that caring for you vehicle can
mean the difference between easy travel or being stranded on the
side of the road with a four horse trailer on a hot day.

When I look at what she has learned and what it will help her
become, I can honestly say that I haven't "wasted" a penny on
providing her with horses. I only wish that all children had the
same opportunities to learn these lessons from horses before
setting out on the road to adulthood.

Piet
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Ans Jondral schreef op dinsdag 12 februari 2008, 1:07:


Het eerste wat ik doe na het opstarten van de pc.. kijken of hoe het met jullie gaat. Nog geen nieuws, hopelijk brengt deze nieuwe dag iets goed voor jullie!!

Sterkte Es.. heb respect voor jou!

Els Kleverlaan schreef op maandag 11 februari 2008, 21:12:


Pfff... gelukkig!

Froukje stapt vanochtend weer dapper rond. Toen ik wilde controleren hoe ze er vanachter uitzag, begon ze meteen te meppen, dus dat moet maar even wachten tot vanavond, dan zijn we met zijn tweeën, kan John haar vasthouden en ik kijken.

Veearts had verder weinig te zeggen. Ze had iets dergelijks nog nooit gezien of meegemaakt. Het was dat ik zelf wist wat de andere veearts altijd doet om de verstopping op te lossen, anders had ze helemaal met haar handen in haar haar gezeten.
Nu heeft Froukje het uiteindelijk zelf opgelost, waarschijnlijk doordat ze zo druk werd. Gistermiddag ging het écht niet goed, ze ging telkens liggen, zweette behoorlijk en had een flink verhoogde hartslag. Ik krijg er altijd de zenuwen van als ze weer eens koliek heeft, ben 4 jaar terug Fjordson aan koliek kwijtgeraakt. De geluiden die Froukje maakte toen uiteindelijk de mest eruit kwam, maakte Fjord ook, toen hij koliek had en met zijn laatste krachten probeerde te poepen. Kreunen, piepen, ontzettend veel pijn hebben. Froukje wilde zich ook weer laten vallen, maar ik heb haar overeind gehouden. Ik kan wel zeggen dat ik later wel de bibbers had.

Frouk krijgt al jaren twee maal per dag slobber. Mét zemelen, met gekookte lijnzaad en de laatste maanden ook met bietenpulp. Het laatste half jaar krijgt ze ook haver en dat leek heel goed te helpen. De hopen die ze draaide waren een stuk groter. Maar toch ging het dus weer mis.
Veearts droeg de bekende oplossingen aan; kuil voeren, geweekt hooi voeren. Maar dat heb ik allemaal al geprobeerd. Kuil helpt niet en geweekt hooi was bijna funest. Wat het beste werkt is helemaal geen hooi voeren, alleen gras en slobber. Maar zelfs dan reageert ze op een bijv. droge periode en kan ze opeens weer verstopt raken. Denk dat dat nu ook het geval was. Land en gras zijn de laatste dagen enorm snel opgedroogd.

Maar goed, met de slobber zijn de koliekaanvallen gereduceerd van zo'n 5 x per jaar, naar 1 á 2 keer per jaar. Maar liever had ik dat ze helemaal nooit meer koliek kreeg.
Ga toch de magnesium maar proberen. Heb gisteren Biomag (epsom salt) bij de paardendrogist besteld. Mijn oude hoefsmid adviseerde jaren terug al om Froukje epsom salt te geven, maar dat was toen nergens te krijgen en ik stond er nogal sceptisch tegenover, had nog niet zoveel met alternatief. Misschien heeft de goede man wel altijd gelijk gehad.

Groetjes, Els.

Nathalie Lagasse schreef op maandag 11 februari 2008, 21:58:



Dat is nu nog eens leuk zie! Afleiding van de zieke paardjes, dat is een goede zaak. Zo zie en hoor ik jullie ook nog
eens Zo mooi, mensen en paarden blij met elkaar en met het
mooie weer, ik voel het helemaal mee.

O, en zo vanachter gezien zijde gij precies niks bijgekomen!

Groetjes,
Nathalie