The Things We Learn Because Of Necessity

My office windows face the inside of our barn. Because I have to spend so much time in the office, it is nice that I can at least look out periodically and catch someone getting on a horse and making a couple of rounds in the barn before heading out to the riding ring. Today, I watched as my Dad (who is 74 years old), get on his horse. I remember the days when "the boys", (since I have three boys who seem to always be into something, they are referred to as "the boys"), would be getting on their horses and they would do this flying mount thing. I would run out of the office and tell them, "if I can't get on that horse that way, then nobody is going to buy it until you teach them to stand still when you get on." My dad would agree, but even though he was better at it....he was never as good as I would like to have seen. They were not being slack in their training, it just came so easy to them, that they didn't even think about it. Much like teaching a horse to back. Such a little thing, that takes about 15 minutes to teach properly, but I have seen many horse show classes lost because the horse didn't back or backed poorly. Foundation is a must and backing and having a horse stand quietly while mounting is a couple of those things that sometimes get overlooked. Back to my story... Dad is having a time with his knees these days. He is going to therapy a couple of times a week and is getting better, and once he gets on his horse he does fine, but getting there has been difficult lately and he has been using a mounting block. As I watched from the window, I saw him bring the mounting block out and place it in front of the horse. He then stood on the block and motioned for Blue On Black to come over to him. Blue moved his butt very easy and quietly over to him and stood while Dad mounted, got his stirrups and ask him to step off. Now, why did he just now start teaching all of his horses (and my mother's personal horse) to move over to a mounting block and stand still while mounting?....because he is just now needing the horse to do this.

If you are interested in teaching your horse some of the fundamental things such as this, come join us on May 28th. Check out the schedule of events we are having here and make plans to attend....give us a call or email us. vera@vanbertfarms.com or 606-663-9070

Flood of 2010

Tennessee and Kentucky got their share of rain this week. We experienced one of the worst floods this area has had in many years. Not quiet what we considered the "100 year flood" , which was a few years ago, but close. However, I am sure Nashville will tell you something different. Such a terrible sight to see with the waters up over houses and cars. We are thankful for the warnings and glad we took heed. We moved all the horses to high ground before the rains came. This is a two day task and something we try not to do because we do not have very much high ground, you never know if the weather man knows what he is talking about, and we have mares that are ready to have babies. Three mares had their foals while in the small lots and of course 2 of them were in with the ones that we thought would wait a few days, but they decided to come early. The good thing is everything went well and moms and babies are fine. Now, all we have to do is get all the trash out of the fields and off the fences, repair them and get everything ready for our Clinic, ACTHA ride and Fun Trail Ride, that we are hosting on the 28th,29th, and 30th of this month. If you would like more info on the things going on here and how you can participate, be sure and check out the menu button we have for our trail rides on the front of the www.vanbertfarms.com web page. Call us today and make plans to attend. The first 15 people to sign up for the ACTHA ride, will be given the chance to win a weekend at the Gorgeous Horse Cottage that overlooks Van Bert Farms. Check out the ACTHA site at www.actha.us It's easy to enter the ride and you will have fun in this competition. If you are interested in the clinic, or the Fun Trail ride that will benefit United Mountain Horse, call or email me. 606-663-9070 or vera@vanbertfarms.com or verapatterson@gmail.com Looking forward to hearing from all of you.

Spring Premier

Great Show! Even though the weather was terrible the show was still a success. There were lots of obstacles to overcome from the tornado warning to one of the judges becoming very ill at the last minute, but we bounced back better than ever. I had a good time showing my weanling and my mare. Didn't place all that well, but we still had fun. Since I am a fair weather rider, I didn't practice very much this winter, I got my just reward so I won't complain. I had turned my mare out for the winter. Last year was the first year I did that and even though she came back looking fat, it was more of a grass gut than being heavy. Her hair was long and course and she took about 6 weeks to come back looking good and healthy again. This year...even though the winter was even more harsh, she came back as good as ever. She has only been up for about 3 weeks and is almost as good as when we turned her out. I think she is happier being able to take a break from the stall. I always feel that way too when we come back from a long trail ride. Anything to give them a break from the routine seems to keep them from souring from the show ring.

On The Road Again

I hope everyone is heading south (a little further south) to the horse show in Fletcher, North Carolina. At the end of show season, I am so looking forward to some time at home and just chillen, (not literally) but come spring I start getting that feeling of wanting to hit the road again. I look forward to seeing everyone, friends that we haven't seen for a few months, seeing all the new faces and horses. We have always followed a show circuit around since I was a small child. Our old family doctor always joked with my mom that we were just a bunch of gypsie, but I love the drives and seeing different places and people. Of course my husband says I miss so much scenery because I read the whole way. He is right on that point, but I love to read and because I stay so busy I do not have time unless I am confined to the point that I can't do anything else. :o)

Anyway, the Al Prewitt Memorial Horse show kicks off the season and this year the dates for the show are April 2nd and 3rd. This is a two day show, at the same place, but it will be treated as two triple A shows for the points. So, if you are interested in accumulating a title for your horse these shows are very important to attend. Make plans to attend, and I hope to see you there!

Are You Ready To Hit The Trails

Have you got Spring Fever yet? Just a couple of warm days will usually start me thinking that I need to get my horse up from the field, so that she looks like something besides a muddy, woolly mammoth, (well a very small, woolly mammoth:o). Once the trees start to bud, I know the flowers and grass will be here soon. The trails are so nice during that time, because they have not had the chance to get overgrown with brush yet.

Due to the bad winter and not being able to get everything together as far as the trails, our ACTHA ride will be postponed until a later date, (which I will announce well in advance). However, there will be one held on April 17th at the Kentucky Equestrian Center, Winchester, KY. There will also be a big event at FairWinds Farm in Lexington, KY on the same date of April 17th, that is referred to as The Annual Spring Fling. This is a kick off to the show season, and will be lots of fun. There will be a big Corn Hole Tournament, a preview of stallions and 2-3 year old debut. They will host a small trail ride, and a children craft and game time, a big auction of horse related items and many other things, with concessions throughout the day. You can make it to both events, so if you want to spend a fun filled day with lots of horse enthusiast come on out. Check out our new calendar of events on the front page of our website. I hope everyone will be able to keep up with us and all the things we are doing at Van Bert Farms.

Keep your chin up, I am sure we have not seen the last of the bad weather, but it is looking brighter!

God Loves Stupid People Too

I have a friend who has a coozy for her cans of diet coke that says, "God must love stupid people because he sure made a bunch of them". She lives in Cincinnati and is constantly encountering what she refers to as "stupid people" on her commute to and from work. Knowing what little I do about the traffic and drivers in that area, I used to sympathize with her until my recent trip to Mexico.

In my last post you heard me complaining about the cold weather and how I hated enduring the long days of winter. Well, my sweet husband got tired of hearing about it and took me to our little place on the Baja. Ahhh, sunshine and warm weather. No one to pull me this way and that. I don't care if it is a small trailer, with no electric, I love it! But getting back into the country is another story. By the time I got home, I felt so stupid. Morris, who works in my office, hates for me to use the word stupid, but insist I am ignorant. Well, I suppose I am...ignorant to being able to keep up with all the changing security measures of getting back into the USA after going out of it.

Back to my stupid people story. Going through customs has to be one of the less dignified things I have had to endure, next to the gynecologist.. and he rates second because he is nicer. I know that customs has to deal with a lot of "stupid people" asking 100's of stupid questions all day long, but I hate feeling like I fall into that category. Endless mazes that are suppose to be lines, taking your shoes off, your jacket or sweater, your belt, change, hat, phone, any meds you have in carry-on, your computer out of the bag, walking through the metal detector and hoping it doesn't ring for fear of a pat-down. Then you pick your dignity and your belongings up, put everything back on, all the while someone is saying..."people if you do not push your belongings into the machine, I will not do it for you and you will just miss your flight" or the lady that is standing in the corner of the line saying" I am not standing here to see that you make it to your connecting flight...I can not answer your questions...I am only standing her to keep you in line, so don't ask me anything". Humm, how much does that job pay? Then you are told to hurry to a different point, pick up your checked bags, and recheck them, then hurry to your next connecting flight on the other side of the airport via bus. It gave me a whole new perspective on herding our horses up. I totally felt like I had been on a merry-go-round by the time, I sank into the little seat on the little plane headed for Kentucky. Whew! we made it, but our luggage did not! Does anyone care that my whole daily routine is in those bags?? No! Remember .."I am not here to answer your questions". Do they have to be so rude to get this job done?... Well, there was the guy that checked my pass port that mumbled "welcome back"...yeah right!

Get Me Through This Winter!

I may have said it before, but I will say it again. "I hate cold weather" I used to say I hate winter, but that is not a fair statement. It is the weather I can't stand. I feel so bad for the horses, but they seem to fair better than I do. We seem to spend our days, just trying to make the horses more comfortable and it turn we make ourselves more miserable. Right now the wind will cut you into and the water from the last flood is just going down.

OK, we have planned a ACTHA ride for March 27, 2010. Please go to their website and take a look at the rules and get your horse ready. This will be a simple trail ride, so don't be intimidated by it. Then we will be hosting, here at Van Bert Farms a more extreme competitive ride. This date is June 18, 19, 2010. This should give you plenty of time to have your horses ready. We will also offer a trail ride that is not judged, so everyone put this on your calendars and I will keep you updated with more info. as everything gets nailed down.

I took this picture this morning. Most of the water has drained from the fields, but you can see with a strong wind and temps in the low 30's we are coooollllda