4-H has been a big part of my horse life. We have always had horses at home but 4-H introduced me to other kids that rode horses.
I still remember one of my first 4-H meetings, the topic was trail riding. The club member presenting had a very nice power point presentation – one of the slides showed a rocky trail and she said you must shoe your horse to protect the hooves. I remember looking over to my mom in confusion, our horses were barefoot so this made no sense to me. Attitudes about shoeing have changed a lot since then. People have become more educated on the subject and are more open to barefoot horses and hoof boots. Today, almost all of the members in my 4-H group keep their horses barefoot – some members stopped shoeing and transitioned to barefoot and there are new members whose horses were already barefoot. It’s been fun talking about hoof care and hoof boots (seeing who wears what kind and arguing about which one the favorite is). The best part of 4-H is getting to ride with the other kids.
Ashlee and me riding Nanny and Maggie, Spring Break 2012.
4-H does not just focus on riding or showing, it teaches all aspects of keeping horses healthy. Last year at summer camp our club learned “All About Balance”. During this camp, we learned about the whole horse – how the teeth, body and hooves interact with one another to help or hurt a horse’s balance. We also learned how we, as riders, affect our horse’s balance. You can read more about our camp in Volume 15 Issue 1 of Natural Horse Magazine.
Inez Donmoyer, CEMT, CCMT, CSAMT, IARP, Unicorn Dream
Wholistic Touch, teaching us about anatomy and massage.
This coming summer, our camp will focus on healthy horses and healthy riders. We are very excited that Dr. Juliet Getty, PhD, author of Feed Your Horse Like a Horse, has agreed to join us for an afternoon to talk about equine nutrition (Getty Equine Nutrition). In addition, we will be learning about first aid, anatomy, stretching and more, for both horses and riders. We have two riding instructors lined up and will learn more about saddle fitting and bridle/bit fit. We even have a chef coming. Chef Megan will be donating her time to teach about human nutrition and cook for us. It is going to be another good time!
Chef Megan, Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Edible Garden Chef.
In my previous blog, you met some of my fellow 4-Hers who are learning to trim. We hope to show you how we are doing in a few months with a little more practice.
High Riders learn to trim their own horses.
Thanks EasyCare, for supporting the High Riders 4-H Club on our learning journey and for selecting me as a member of Team Easyboot 2012!
Nonee High