Stretch the Horse

09/21/2025

Love this horse’s bravery! His reaction to the water is priceless! ❤️❤️

08/18/2025

I usually turn out Stretch and Shasta to graze without Magic. Today, I let Magic join. Pretty sure I have a lot of divots to replace 🤦‍♀️

05/30/2025

Cool!

04/09/2025

04/07/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AAZTB8wJC/?mibextid=wwXIfr

When I Am An Old Horsewoman
I shall wear turquoise and diamonds,
And a straw hat that doesn’t suit me
And I shall spend my social security on
white wine and carrots,
And sit in my alleyway of my barn
And listen to my horses breathe.
will sneak out in the middle of a summer night
And ride the old bay gelding,
Across the moonstruck meadow
If my old bones will allow
And when people come to call, I will smile and nod
As I walk past the gardens to the barn
and show instead the flowers growing
inside stalls fresh-lined with straw.
I will shovel and sweat and wear hay in my hair
as if it were a jewel
And I will be an embarrassment to ALL
Who will not yet have found the peace in being free
to have a horse as a best friend
A friend who waits at midnight hour
With muzzle and nicker and patient eyes
For the kind of woman I will be
When I am old.
-Author Patty Barnhart

😍🐴😍

03/31/2025

Jim Wofford said, "Good riders sit." The two left photos, a HJer and an eventer, are riding in the same position that some call a 2-point. The two right photos are MacLain Ward top and Bruce Davidson below. The obvious difference is that the riders on the left ride up out of the saddle with straighter knees and they depend on the horse's neck for their balance. This makes these riders "top heavy" and their movements are more apt to interfere with their horse's balance.

Ward and Davidson ride closer to the saddle, lowering the center of gravity of the horse and rider pair, thus creating greater stability. Yes, I know Davidson is in a jump, but I picked this image to make the point that he demonstrates a light or half seat over a jump, which requires great strength in the lower body that the two left riders seem to lack. Davidson rode in a light or half seat, not perched like the riders on the left, except when he needed to sit deeply for increased engagement.

The bottom image by Susan Harris shows the difference between the current "2-point position" and the original 2-point. The left 2-point is actually a 3-point position because it has the two points of balance in the rider's feet, plus a 3rd point of balance with the hands on the neck. The original 2-point is shown on the right with only the two points of balance in the feet.

The authentic 2-point is a dynamic or moving balance independent of the horse's balance and motion. An independent balanced seat is safer because if the horse stumbles, the rider can maintain their balance and not automatically be affected by a horse's sudden imbalance.

The new "2-point", that is actually a 3-point, is a static balance tied to the horse's balance. This position makes the rider a passenger dependent on the horse's balance. In this static dependent balance, if the horse stumbles the rider, riders lacking their own independent balance can more easily be pitched forward even to the point of being launched forward onto the ground.

The 3-point is rewarded by judges even though it is a static unbalanced position forward of the horse's center of balance and thus dangerous if the horse loses their balance. This is one of the primary examples of how several disciplines have invented their own isolated discipline "horsemanships" with elements that are impractical, ineffective and sometimes dangerous. The worst part is that these discipline idiosyncrasies make the horses' job more difficult.

I have a video on my YouTube channel that discusses this in greater detail www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IEpQmApva0&t=28s

02/28/2025