On Monday we had a group of folks out to interact with the horses. Pam Lindley from Alberta Mental Health, organized the outing and she and her volunteer, Ginny, brought 9 participants. When they first contacted me, I really had no idea what to expect and nor did they. We couldn't even verify the number of folks who would come. So, as I often do, we just went with the flow and let things happen. Basically, I gave them an extremely condensed version of our program, with some hands-on interaction with the horse. We used Outback Jack (aka) Applejack because he is just so easy and really inspires confidence. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I was delighted to get the following feedback from Pam yesterday.
Hi Tovie:
Thank you so much for the wonderful experience with Jack. He was such a great horse. Everyone enjoyed the evening. I am going to tell all the groups I work with of the awsome opportunity for the clients. We will definetly be back for more. Thanks also for the pictures they are great and we can start a photo album for the clients.
Thanks
Pam Lindley
Thank you Pam and Ginny for organizing this. And of course a big thank you to Jack for his calm patience. It was also a wonderful experience for me.
I love to see folks smiling after their interaction with the horses and I love sharing our horses. I feel very fortunate to have horses that allow me to have these type of experiences.
With much gratitude,
Tovie
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The "Boys" see the Dentist
Hello all,
Every year we have our "boys" teeth floated during their annual check-up from our vet. This year we decided to try out a Certified Equine Dentist, Grant MacKinnon. I had seen Grant at various conferences and was interested in what he had to say about overall balance of the mouth. We found Grant to be exceptionally knowlegeable and he had a talent for effectively explaining, in layman's terms, every aspect of what he was doing. We learned so much that day and were very impressed with what we saw. However, what impressed us more were the amazing results we felt when we test drove our "boys" over the next few days. They went straighter, held a frame better, and their lateral flexion was more even on both sides. Now, I realize some of you folks may not understand what some of that means, but trust me - if you have a horse and have an opportunity to use an equine dental specialist, the results are definitely worth it.
Aside from the tremendous job he did on the "boys" teeth, Grant is an avid barefooter and gave me a couple of tips about my own barefoot trimming that will undoubtedly improve my results.
Needless to say it was one of my more memorable horse days. Interestingly, memorable horse days typically occur when I am learning something extraordinary that I think will improve lifefor the "boys", or improve my interaction with them.
If you want to learn more about Grant's work, simply click on the title of this blogspot and you will be linked to Grant's web-site.
Thanks to Grant and Tamara MacKinnon for the fabulous work they do.
Tovie, Gord and the "Boys"
Every year we have our "boys" teeth floated during their annual check-up from our vet. This year we decided to try out a Certified Equine Dentist, Grant MacKinnon. I had seen Grant at various conferences and was interested in what he had to say about overall balance of the mouth. We found Grant to be exceptionally knowlegeable and he had a talent for effectively explaining, in layman's terms, every aspect of what he was doing. We learned so much that day and were very impressed with what we saw. However, what impressed us more were the amazing results we felt when we test drove our "boys" over the next few days. They went straighter, held a frame better, and their lateral flexion was more even on both sides. Now, I realize some of you folks may not understand what some of that means, but trust me - if you have a horse and have an opportunity to use an equine dental specialist, the results are definitely worth it.
Aside from the tremendous job he did on the "boys" teeth, Grant is an avid barefooter and gave me a couple of tips about my own barefoot trimming that will undoubtedly improve my results.
Needless to say it was one of my more memorable horse days. Interestingly, memorable horse days typically occur when I am learning something extraordinary that I think will improve lifefor the "boys", or improve my interaction with them.
If you want to learn more about Grant's work, simply click on the title of this blogspot and you will be linked to Grant's web-site.
Thanks to Grant and Tamara MacKinnon for the fabulous work they do.
Tovie, Gord and the "Boys"
Saturday, July 18, 2009
What Happened to June?
Hey folks,
My apologies for missing June - we were just having way too much fun Horsing Around. However, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell you about a wonderful ranch we visit on occassion - Sundance Guest Ranch. We had the pleasure again this June of joining some of our friends up there for some great riding, great food and lots of laughs. If you are considering a horsey vacation, I highly recommend a visit to the Ranch. They have horses to accommodate all riding levels from little-to-no experience to experienced riders. The trails are wonderful and the horses like to go fast - lots of galloping. Even though most of the friends we meet up there have their own horses and we are only an hour away from some of the best riding country in the world, we ladies like to go to the Ranch because we don't have to do any of the work. The horses are groomed and saddled and the meals are prepared. While I personally enjoy looking after my own horse, I sure don't mind being served my meals.
Chris Johnson is one of the wranglers, along with his lovely wife Uli who works in the office and we are lucky to call them our friends. You folks who have been out to our place and have met Magic, my hubby's horse - well he bought him from Chris during one of our visits to the Ranch. Magic was Chris' personal horse and we will be forever grateful that we were able to purchase Magic. So any of you who may be thinking of a wonderful horsey getaway - just click on the title of this blog and it will take you to the Sundance Guest Ranch website. You better plan ahead though because it is a popular vacation destination.
p.s. Say hello to Chris and Uli for us.
Stay cool and happy trails,
Tovie & Gord
My apologies for missing June - we were just having way too much fun Horsing Around. However, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell you about a wonderful ranch we visit on occassion - Sundance Guest Ranch. We had the pleasure again this June of joining some of our friends up there for some great riding, great food and lots of laughs. If you are considering a horsey vacation, I highly recommend a visit to the Ranch. They have horses to accommodate all riding levels from little-to-no experience to experienced riders. The trails are wonderful and the horses like to go fast - lots of galloping. Even though most of the friends we meet up there have their own horses and we are only an hour away from some of the best riding country in the world, we ladies like to go to the Ranch because we don't have to do any of the work. The horses are groomed and saddled and the meals are prepared. While I personally enjoy looking after my own horse, I sure don't mind being served my meals.
Chris Johnson is one of the wranglers, along with his lovely wife Uli who works in the office and we are lucky to call them our friends. You folks who have been out to our place and have met Magic, my hubby's horse - well he bought him from Chris during one of our visits to the Ranch. Magic was Chris' personal horse and we will be forever grateful that we were able to purchase Magic. So any of you who may be thinking of a wonderful horsey getaway - just click on the title of this blog and it will take you to the Sundance Guest Ranch website. You better plan ahead though because it is a popular vacation destination.
p.s. Say hello to Chris and Uli for us.
Stay cool and happy trails,
Tovie & Gord
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