Horse 'Mulan' Can Beatbox

       Horse 'Mulan' have this habit of playing beatbox. It's funny because she does it effortlessly and the other horses seem to want to do the same, but can't quite yet.
     Mulan is a school horse where Yana rides. She's a nice horsey for advance riders.

The Horse Doodles Remains and Gets Better

One of  Yana's Horse Sketches; "Just got to love them with love that never tires."
http://horseridingphilippines.blogspot.com/

          Yana's been sketching horses since she fell in love with them at 5-years old. Those who've known her from her first video have seen her doodles. It's interesting 'because they often tell stories.

     

     School works get more demanding at Grade 8. And for a while, her drawing shifted from horses and princesses to Japanese anime characters.

     

     It's a pleasant surprise to discover she still has horse tales doodles. Just like this newest one above.

    

     Here are some of her other horse drawings:

Yana's sketch of her favourite horse Miller
http://horseridingphilippines.blogspot.com/

Yana's different take on a "Miller" horse
http://horseridingphilippines.blogspot.com/

Yana's Horse Sketch. I wonder who's the inspiration behind this?
http://horseridingphilippines.blogspot.com/

     Here's our first video where you can see Yana's early horse sketches. It's been a journey just like her doodles.

     Have a great week everyone :-)  

     (And hopefully a sunny day on the 29th.)

    Feel free to comment below. Thank you.

That Connection with A Horse

"It's about that connection with the horse that makes it special." - Yana
(facebook/Horse Riding Philippines)

      It's July and Yana gets restless with the rains. Just a few more days and it'll be Yana's 14th birthday. For the past 4 years since she started riding at 10 years old, all she ever ask on her birthday is to spend the day riding. 

     Unfortunately, she's born on July and lives in the Philippines!

     When I was a child, July is a rainy season. But in this generation, July is typhoon season! Needless to say, the past recent birthdays were under typhoon days. Meaning, it was either she didn't get to ride or went on riding in the rain (only when there's no thunder and lightning).

     "Sana walang ulan or bagyo sa birthday ko Mommy." she said. (Mom, I hope there's no rain or typhoon on my birthday.) 

     What's with girls and horses anyway?  

     Yana would rather skip shopping for new clothes to save up for a horse. And I'm sure anyone else with horse fever is the same.

     An article tries to explain this "horse addiction". It is a good read. The full article is here Why Women Love Horses. 

     Simply put. It's a special connection. A level of deep communication. Sort of romantic in a way :)  (wink,wink)

"Friendship between a girl and a horse is built on trust." - Horse Riding Philippines
(facebook/Horse Riding Philippines)

 
     Do you have the same addiction? Feel free to share your horse addition story in the comments :)

Do You Have a Spooky Horse?

     This is interesting. The horse's spook got resolved in a day's training. The training part is segmented into three or four sections. You can easily skip to the promotional parts by moving the play lever forward. It's worth the time. Especially if your horse spooks easily. Horse training is fascinating.
     "If you want your horse's behavior to change, you have to change the way you interact with him. And when you change the way you interact with him, he changes his behavior. No point in doing the same thing, if the same thing's not working." - Clinton Anderson

Bridle Bending Forward and Around (Horse Ground Exercise)

     Stumbled upon this video of Clinton Anderson (Horse Illustrated) about bridle bending forward and around. Find it really cool when the horse continued even when he let go.
     It is an exercise to teach your horse to walk forward and bend his whole body around you in small circles and yield his hindquarters. It is said that if you can regularly do this exercise on the ground, it will then be much easier to do when you're mounted.

"Let your idea become the horse's idea"- Ray Hunt (Horse Riding Philippines) - image via pixabay-horse-444023

Oh Wow! Talk About a Girl on a Horse!

Chayni Chamberlain on Dat Flowin Bunny from 3-2-1 ACTION!

This is just great. Had to share it :) :D (Y)

Grooming Basics

This is a nice video on horse basic grooming from Horse Illustrated. Sometimes, we don't have as much or all the items in the grooming kit but I usually see the items from 1 to 10.

Overview of Longeing Technique

Outline of Longeing Technique, Horse Riding Philippines (image via pixabay-horseback-riding-364241)
(cf  US Pony Club Manual of Horssemanship)

Longeing Your Horse

  "Don't bribe 'em with carrots, don't hit 'em with a stick. Find the middle of the road."  (image via pixabay-tournament-horse379032)

     Yana tried her hands at longeing last summer at MEC (Marikina Equestrian Center). She rides here. Needless to say, it was not as easy as it seems. Though she has her horsemanship manuals to refer to, “Longeing” is a skill. It takes time and passion to master correct longeing. The manual devotes a whole chapter into it! That means it’s important and covers a lot of Do's and Don'ts. Carlos, the center's head groom, coached Yana in her interest.

     Next time you ask someone to longe your horse, make sure he knows what he’s doing. Really.

Yana with Miller of MEC - Learning to longe a horse.  (Horse Riding Philippines)

 Longeing is part of ground training. Good ground training teaches obedience, respect, trust, and cooperation. It helps to establish a good working relationship between the trainer and horse. It can improve the horse’s movement. It can help develop his muscles correctly. It can also affect his attitude and behavior under saddle as well as in the stable.Before a horse can be trained to longe, he must first be properly trained to: (1) to lead, (2) to stand still when asked to and, (3) respond to simple signals and voice commands

Longeing a horse requires training. (Horse Riding Philippines)

Foals should not be longed. They are especially vulnerable to neck injuries if pulled violently sideways.
Yearlings can be longed at slow gaits for short periods. But must not be over-stressed. Two-year-olds (and some yearlings) have nearly reached an adult weight. But their bones and joints are still immature.
They are also more easily over-stressed mentally by too long or demanding sessions. They can be longed lightly, but it is better to vary the training program. Work with hand, free longeing, and ground driving, instead of daily longeing.

Longeing. Yana tries to put into practice what she reads for the first time. (Horse Riding Philippines)

Longeing puts lateral stress on a horse’s legs and joints. And this increases with speed and smaller circles. Young horses’ immature bones and joints are especially vulnerable to injury. This may be from too much or incorrect longeing, or from accidents if the horse acts up. Always use protective boots on all four legs when longeing young horses. Keep training sessions short.
Good horsemanship and successful training need correct and consistent handling at all times. (cf: US Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship 3) 

"If you do what you love, 

it is the best way to relax." - Chistian Louboutin

     Will share the Do's and Don'ts of Longeing in the next posts. 

Yana Gets To Be In "Matanglawin" January 12, 2014 Episode

"Passion surprises. One doesn't search it. It can happen to you tomorrow." - Isabelle Ahjahi
Like and Share Horse Riding Philippines (photo credit to Gezz)

     This is sort of a throwback post since it was a year ago. It's in the draft folder that time, work, chores, and errands simply tucked away. It's worth remembering.
     Yana gets to be among the kids featured in "Matanglawin" January 12, 2014 Episode. This is so because year 2014 is the year of the Wooden Horse. It's a great and memorable experience for her. Being typically shy and quiet most of the time, it took her more than a couple of rehearsal to deliver her very short take. Both Marikina Equestrian Center and El Kabayo Horseback Riding were featured in the show’s episode.

Short video of Yana and MEC feature in "Matanglawin"

Yana with crew of  ABS-CBN "Matanglawin" for the January 2014 Year of the Wooden Horse Episode

Yana with Miller for the ABS-CBN "Matanglawin" January 2014 Year of the Wooden Horse Episode

Silkies Ahead

“Yes!” exclaimed my hubby as he read the text on his cell phone and announced, “Seven fertile eggs out of ten!”

A surge of excitement splashed my face and felt like I just got the most wonderful surprise gift. “True? Wow!”

“That’s what the hatchery said,” He replied, beaming a smile.

“Does that mean all seven will hatch into chicks?”

“No, but they most likely will.”

Two months ago, we received a young pair of silky chicken from a friend. And this pair traveled all the way from Pangasinan to Laguna. My friend and I haven’t seen each other for four years. So it was thoughtful of him to remember and come through with his promise of giving me some. He would have brought the chicks but was sure they wouldn’t survive the long journey. So he brought a paired couple for me. My friend has a farm of all sorts of animals in Pangasinan.

Why silky chickens? Well, they’re pretty and cute. They fascinate me. They have silky white feathers with a pom-pom ball crown. Their shanks covered with feathers too. (Just like the legs of a shire horse) Their skin and meat is black. Folks say they’re medicinal with the proper cooking method. Others call them Chinese chicken.

My friend said, “Better that I give you the pair so you can have plenty of them soon.”

And true enough, after a couple of weeks of letting them loose at a friend’s stables, the hen has started laying! But she won’t sit on them. She lays her eggs scattered all over the stables' ground. So the eggs were collected and turned over to us.

I called my friend and asked what’s wrong with the hen?

“Oh, they don’t sit on their eggs… I bring it to hatchery.” He said.

Ohhh, now he tells me…

We took the first cluster of eggs (eleven eggs) to a small hatchery.

“Just come back for it on Dec 31.” They said.

We waited with anticipation all eager for the sight of mini fluffy silkies in a box.

Comes December 31, hubby came home with a small box -- filled with eggs still. All excitement rumbled like the fortress of Erebor.

“All eggs were infertile.” He informed.

So it was New Year’s Eve, and the littlest penoys nestled beside the basket of round fruits set on the festive night.

Now, this news about the second clutch is the exact opposite of last week. We were already expecting to receive the same news.

Hmm… But some fluffy chicks would be nice…

Then it hits me.

Literally.

And I can’t help but give a soundless chuckle.

“DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH.” 

As the proverb sank deeper, I'm reminded again of the following lessons from this experience. And reminders are good.

First, yes, don’t make baseless assumptions. Optimism is good, but baseless assumptions may result to disappointments. It's a young pair and it was the hen’s first clutch. We should have considered that fact before assuming those eggs would hatch 100%.  That would have saved us the let-down. Assumptions must be made on sound basis.

Second, be realistic. Understand that there are several possible outcomes of any instances. Give it a thought and consider all them. Have corresponding action plans for each one.

I am a person who strongly believes in the power of attraction. I prefer to focus my energy on thinking the positive outcome. Still, it is wise to be realistic. 

With the first clutch, we should have been prepared that the eggs may not hatch. It was foolish to think that it would all hatch just because it was what we wanted. 

For the second clutch, we should have not completely given up on it ever hatching. We thought that way because, we opted to avoid another disappointment.

Eggs taken to the hatchery may either hatch or not. May hatch, but weak. May hatch, but with a deformity. We should know what to do for each possible outcome.

Third, know what you’re getting into. Give due diligence in getting necessary information about what you want. Ask questions from those who already have what you want to have. In that way, you’ll be better guided and avoid mistakes they’ve already done.

I want the silkies because they are fluffy, cute, and unique. If I only did some queries about having them from my friend, I would have been more prepared. Of course, there was no way for him to know I don’t know much about silky (other than they’re cute).

I should have asked; How old the given pair was? What’s the natural behavior of these chickens? What to do when the eggs start coming? How to store the eggs before taking it to the hatchery? Where or how to hatch? How to get the hen hatch her own eggs? And so forth… My friend has all the answers because he’s been through it all. All I needed to do was ask.

Tomorrow is the hatch day of the second clutch with seven fertile eggs. For sure there are three penoys because there were ten eggs. Would there be fluffy chicks? Or would there be balut?

Whatever happens, the improvement from 0% to 70% fertile eggs is promising.  And with all the lessons learned, the plentiful silky may not be so far ahead.  :)