Is it just me?

Is it just me or is it tough to find a positive attitude lately? I have to include myself in this diatribe. Its not that I am negative, I just feel incredibly drained and so very tired.
I wonder if we put so much collective energy into pre-election chats, blogs, discussions and personal thoughts that we've created some sort of vacuum. You know what they say about nature and a vacuum.
What are your thoughts focused on lately? Mine have been tuned into the economy and how to successfully work around its worrisome condition.
The news machine is always such a cornucopia of creativity stalling sludge but seems more so lately.
As a former member of the mainstream media and a current member of niche media ... I have to wonder does this much bad news really sell day after day?
All this time I have worked to write uplifting stories and entertaining pieces ... I didn't know that I could have made a million being a harbinger of doom ... dang, I missed my boat.
I don't care, I akin being a newspaper publisher today to being an oncologist. They pass out mostly horrible information and only rarely brighten someone's day. I have never looked at turning someone else's misfortune into a profit machine for myself. I think a lot of people that will ultimately grow rich during this time will be those that don't have a problem with this concept. I like to help people, I have always liked to help people.
That being said new ideas and new dynamic content will grace the HorseSouth website very soon.

Abundant Blessings (and yes, I really mean that)
Tess

The winds of change ... or not?

Wow, what an impressive, historic few days we have had. Sadly, what a bunch of whiners and snobs the collective citizenship has turned into too.
I can't say that I am happy totally about our new direction in this Nation. I don't know how much different I would have felt if McCain, Huckabee or Barr stood in Barack Obama's place Tuesday night.
See, I don't believe who is President will make or break me. I, for sure, believe the office can help or challenge. It remains to be seen what will happen. So until then, lets just roll up our sleeves and get back to work. I mean no disrespect to those that might be out of work with that remark. Until today, my husband, who works for himself was sitting around twitting his thumbs. His work grinded to a halt in anticipation of who would win the election. Fortunately today the phone started ringing and he'll be back out fixing and building things tomorrow. It's a scary time for all of us but what we have to do, in any climate ... be it political or environmental is just figure out how to make the best of it. Because, it doesn't matter how much we worry or rejoice tomorrow will come. Night will fall, the sun will rise and time marches on, we are better off to march with it.
President-elect Obama wrote a book called the Audacity of Hope ... so lets be audacious and HOPE that this man can affect positive change and stand up under the enormous pressure of the burdens this country faces. Let's face it ... both Barack, John and Bob were running for an office that thou prestigious, is a house of cards.

So on to much happier thoughts!

The Equine Extravaganza in VA last weekend was so successful! We were surprised at the great attendance. We expected a good turnout with lower gas prices in the area but we had a steady stream of attendees all three days and had the best Sunday in the history of the event! YAY!
Brock Griffith of NC won the trainer challenge! YAY Brock!
He drew a nice roan colt ... funny to call a 17H sport horse a colt! All of these horses from VA Sport Horses seemed to have a LOT more life in them than the ones in the NC challenge. Brock made consistant steady progress with his colt ... he bucked the saddle on day one and was still rounded in the back on day two. Some saw the "want to" in the horse on day three, but he never bucked and Brock finished the obstacle course with time to spare and threw in some extras at the end. Scott Purdum's horse was full of bucks! Scott really had a challenge and thou he did not win the competition he proved his ability to the crowd beyond the shadow of a doubt and endeared himself to all there. After an extremely frustrating start, in which his horse ... aptly named "Arrive Alive" was very weary of seeing him out of both eyes. On one side or the other, this cute bay colt was a happy camper. But when Scott positioned himself where he could be seen on either side ... the bucking began! It took more time for this colt to come around but on day three - Scott executed a beautiful ride and was so pleased with the horse's trust and acceptance during the obstacle course he became emotional!
Charles Pelham drew a spotted colt that liked to kick! Sort of disrespectful and pushy from the get go - Charles got his colt rode but he never seemed to like it much. Charles, is a great guy and very funny and knowledgeable. Mule Thornbrugh looked to be in the lead after day one. On day two his colt bucked like a rank bronc and put Mule on the ground. Undeterred, Mule climbed back on rode through a good minute or more of bucking and we thought his colt was over it. Day three came and Mule was looking a good. Time for the obstacle course and be it the freedom of having the whole arena, or the crowds near the gate ... or has Mule put it "the good Lord saving him a whole lot of healing". His horse bucked and bawled and was not going to be ridden in the short 10 minutes Mule had to complete the course. In the end, he walked him thru graciously and showed the crowd he was a class act!
Mule was great - all that bucking brought the folks back on Sunday. It's like Nascar - everybody likes a wreck!
Trainer Challenge Judges were HorseSouth's own Ed Dabney. RTTH competitor Tommy Garland and local trainer and longtime horsewoman, former judge and coach Betty Fryer.
I got to spend a little time with Tommy who will be on the cover of our Spring 09 issue just in time for RTTH. I'll be talking to him more in the coming weeks. It was interesting to hear him talk about showing at Richmond Raceway when it was more of a horse facility than a racetrack ...
Ed was there with his daughter Maddie and his junior trainer Daniel. Along with judging he gave several demos and clinics with his mare Sunny. Ed and Maddie were fresh back from Europe teaching cavalry units and teaching French horses the Six Keys to Harmony. You can join Ed on a riding Holiday this coming summer check out his website www.eddabney.com to learn more.
Expos are always exhausting for me, but they are great fun!
til next time
Tess

The power within

I owe Clinton Anderson a debt of gratitude. Sue Vetsch and I met Clinton and his lovely girlfriend Amy for dinner last friday night.
I'd met him before, but not at any length. But my friend Tootie Bland loves him and they are close - so I sort of figured if Tootie loves him ... then so would I.
You'll laugh but we met at the Outback. Yes, I was told that Clinton "loves" Outback. Ironic, I think. But he seemed happy enough to eat there.
What I didn't expect from my meeting was the mental kick in the ass I got. Clinton is 33, I am 37. No one will argue that he is successful. He's still working on a sort of ultimate goal.
He told me that he'd built his life, his career around a book called Psycho-Cybernetics. I had a vague recollection of someone else mentioning that book and only realized later that it was both a man named Dale Calvert and another man you may have heard of named Zig Ziggler.
Clinton didn't gush about the book. He's not a gusher. He is incredibly smart, articulate beyond speaking about horse behavior. He's a smartass "in real life" too, and he's funny. Clinton is charismatic without trying to be.
So anyway he says a few things that resonate with me ... about positive thinking and reacing goals etc. I say some things ... and begin to realize that I am learning from this "interview". We sat at the Outback for a few hours at least, no one bothered us. One couple behind us figured out who he was and very politely introduced themselves.
Clinton explained that he doesn't like to show off and he really enjoys being alone. So much so, that he will go to the movies by himself.
You'll learn more in the winter issue that features him. So subscribe if you want to get that!
So, I bought that book. It's fascinating. A lot of the principles in the book are things that I do already. I found I was good at a lot of the goal setting and even visualization ... but turns out I have a much shittier self-image than I thought I did. Who knew? The premise of this book is that you "if you can concieve, and believe you can achieve BUT you have to be convinced that YOU can get there. See it's easy to set a lofty goal and it's easy to say "one day this or that" but it's HARD to KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that you'll cross the finishline.
I stated to think about myself. Something that as a mom of three, I seldom do. I wondered when my self image slipped into such disrepair. Was it when I gained weight? Is it because I don't earn a lot of money? Is it because I am lousy housekeeper and the kids are constantly running out of clean underwear? Is is because I fell off my horse over a year ago and have only ridden her twice bareback for like 2 minutes each time since ... so now I am a big ol weenie?
Hmmm these things certainly would merit some loss of esteem ...
I used to be uber confident! I always seemed to get what I wanted. Somewhere along the way that stopped happening. In the movie "Hope Floats" Harry Connick Jr.s character tells Bertie (Sandra Bullock) "What happened to you? You used to be ... audacious!" Everytime I watch that movie and hear that line I cringe ... because it's like a slap in the face.
Did everybody used to be audacious and they just quit a little more each year they grow older ... or am I the only one?
I don't know and I don't care ... cuz I ain't sittin here gettin worse NO MORE.
The funny thing is that I knew this stuff all along. I know that your attitude determines your altitude. I know that "whether you think you can or you think you can't ... you are right." I was raised by parents that told me everyday "you can do anything you set your mind to do." There was a very special boy I loved then who helped me to reinforce my worth and capabilities.
I don't know how and when I forgot this stuff.
I listened to my friend Templeton Thompson's song "I remember you" - which says "Oh yeah, I remember you - little girl - big dreams - nothing to loose - pocket full of possibilities - and wings on your shoes. You might not even recognize me now ... but I remember you -

And I thought what would my 16 year old self think of me now? She'd love my horsey career, she'd be appalled that I had three kids (she'd get over it), she'd be thrilled that she had her dream horse and pissed as hell that we don't ride her. She'd march my fat butt to the gym and yell at me until the fat rolled off and then she'd start on my wardrobe. She'd think our husband was cool. And she'd wonder why the world I wasn't wealthy by now. She'd think I was a cop out on many levels. She'd hold my feet to the fire. She was a ball of fire.
She'd be right about a lot of that stuff. But I have learned a thing or five since then and I'd be quick to share it. I'd tell her she's wrong about having kids. Making sure you raise compassionate, generous, goal oriented people to help further the world for the better is the best thing you can do besides further it personally. I'd tell her she was stupid for not listening to our parents. And I'd tell her that horses will always be her friends, and far more loyal than some of the people she tries so hard to please. And I'd tell her to never loose sight of the things that are important to her. To always run that mental movie of her goals and dreams through her head - so she has a clear target for success. I'd insist she not let fear make her decisions. I'd tell her to ask Clinton more about that book and how it helped him and I'd tell her to interview him in 2000 when she started the magazine NOT 8 years later.
What dreams did you give up on - where did you settle. What would your young self think of you now?

Blessings
Tess

Talkin to folks

This has been a week of talkin' to folks.
I've set up my interview with Clinton Anderson later this month so we can finally bring you a cover and feature on the Aussie cowboy. I'll blog a little about it but will save the best for the mag.

I talked to Erik Martonovich from Big Horse Productions www.bighorseproductions.com
yesterday. Erik is a vaulter, roman rider, body builder, fire artist and all around great guy. When not toolin' around on his custom motorcycle, Erik is training with his 9 Belgian draft horses that he and his partners use in the acts they do all around the country. It'll be a great article and Erik is sorta eye candy for the ladies so for once what I write might not be the most important thing!

Also on the agenda for HorseSouth coverage is the Equine Extremist himself ... Tommie Turvey! Tommie loves adventure - whether he is performing to a crowd of thousands, skydiving, or snow skiing he's an active participant in his own life!
Learn about this versitile man and how made a life with horses.

My blogging was interupted by my youngest child Wyatt - which reminds me to tell you that we are back to homeschooling so I may be harder to reach by phone.
It's Romper Room or Captian Kangaroo at my house ... I just keep waitin' for Mr. Green Jeans to come relieve me!

It's fun, it's wild and life is not what I dreamed it would be. BUT I ain't complainin' - I am grateful this day for my blessings.

Hopin' you are too!

Tess

The NC Equine Extravaganza

We are back! Actually we've been back since Monday evening!
The Extravaganza, despite the economy was successful. I would like to know from you readers what compells you to attend an expo and what keeps you from it.
It's so hard to read the minds of America's horse owners.

So Brock Griffith won the trainer challenge. He easily had the most outwardly difficult horse. Very herd bound and initially very untrusting. Brock was admittedly nervous but still got the colt on his side and made friends. One heck of a nice guy ... we will look forward to seeing him compete in the finals in VA.

Gilbert Gonzoles from our home state of GA was very impressive. I would encourage anyone near him in Dearing,GA to send horses or take lessons from him. This is the first trainer challenge I've ever seen a clinician use long reins. Smart man, that Gilbert! Love that Texas twang too.

Phil Rogers was extremely successful at getting his horse to hook on to him. He explained the concept of getting the horse to let go ... something that Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance promoted. Phil's demonstration of this was very inspiring to watch. His respect of masters like Tom and Ray was apparent and appreciated.

Julie Goodnight moderated the challenge and I judged along with Scott Purdum, Lynn Palm and Sylvia Scott. It was an honor to sit with such a great panel of judges. To discuss the in's and out's of training with pros like them and to see what we agreed and disagreed on was really interesting.

more later!
T

The slaughter debate

People keep asking me ... Tess what do you think about horse slaughter? Recently a man said he wouldn't subscribe to my magazine unless I revealed my mystery opinion on the issue of slaughter.
My opinion is no mystery ... I hate the idea of killing a horse, any horse, in any way. Sometimes we have to "put down" our horses. I've lost two personally in the last 5 years. One we were able to have a vet give a shot and the other ... we couldn't get the vet out in time to ease suffering so we took care of it ourselves. Not me, my husband ended the life of our sweet Tosca with a single bullet to her head then he prompty threw up his lunch. It's not pretty, its not neat and you can't tie it with a bow ... EVER! Slaughter is an easy way out for some, not only will they get a little money for their horse but they can wash their hands of the situation. I guess some people can erase it from their minds too. I can't. I couldn't, I wouldn't.
So, is there a humane way to slaughter horses? ... probably. Are there other solutions? ... sure, why not.
Whether or not we have a slaughter house in the US won't matter to my horses. But it'll matter to a lot other horses that aren't just no-count old swaybacked nags. I don't take the position that any horse that doesn't have a good quality of life health wise should linger on year after year. In fact, we waited too long to have Rhett our TN Walker that came from Cheryl Flanagan's rescue Savethehorses.org put down. He was so arthritic he could barely walk and supplements were no longer helping him. Right before winter he laid down and wouldn't get up ... as if to say, I am done. I held his head in my lap, I sang to him and fed him sweet feed and sugar water in an effort to change his mind but he wouldn't get up. It was time for him to go.
Is slaughter a neccessary evil? I think it only seems like that now. I think when times are hard in the horse industry there are those that miss the easy money of the killer buyer. Granted, a lot of times that money went to buy feed for the other horses still at the barn. I think it's hard for folks to absorb the cost of disposing of a horse that they would have sold for slaughter - especially when they may need to spend that money on hay. Economically, it's easy to see why folks are upset! Ah, but people like me - we aren't being reasonable, right.
Generally I am pretty reasonable, ask anyone who knows me.
I don't picket for the feelings of fish and if someone wears fur, sorry it doesn't offend me. It doesn't make me jealous either. I just don't see a horse any different from a dog. I wouldn't take my dog to the slaughter house and sell her for a buck a pound (granted she only weighs 50lbs). I guess there are horses that I didn't bond with ... one that bit me a long time ago ... I try hard to be objective and think about a horse that I had no emotional attachment to. But my mind wont work that way ... I know that horse that bit me was sold to a lady and her little boy and he was loved and cared for.
So my opinion, I wouldn't slaughter my horse or sell it for slaughter. But I wouldn't take any of my horses to a sale either. But that's just me! Not everyone has the same resources and not everyone is so emotionally attached. I can live with that. But I can't condone the way horses where slaughtered in this country or any other. I honestly don't know if I can condone it at all.
That's my truth ...
I also think that a real solution has to be found if slaughter is resended it will not empty out the rescues. FOlks will go back to saving horses from slaughter ... those numbers will not change. A large part of this industry is based on profit and that's fine. We just have to get it all out on the table and figure out solutions for all the problems that plague this industry. We are so scattered and niched off we can't even agree on what type of saddle to use or what method of training works best ... perhaps it is wishful thinking to even state that we need to work together to solve this obvious problem.
But I don't think so. Maybe this is the issue that will finally unite horse owners - because I think the vast majority of us have a genuine love for the horse.

That's my 2 cents - no solution - just my scattered opinion (sorry for the rambling, I am taking some pain medication!)

Tess

Going green ... one step at a time

At the end of this month I am attending a conference in North Carolina, hosted by one of the only certified "green" printers in America.

As a magazine publisher, I have always been conscious of the amount of paper and waste I create by printing HorseSouth. This is why it is extremely important to me that HorseSouth always has excellent, original and quality content. If I reprinted articles or syndicated articles ... I am wasting valueable paper and killing even more trees. I have turned down distribution house's offers to mass distribute HorseSouth to Barnes & Noble and grocery chains across America. Why? Because the resale rate on the magazine stands of America is less - actually WAY less than 10%. I've never been able to live with the thought of that much waste. Yes, those extra zines are recycled. BUT you should smell my house when the new magazines come in. A part of me loves the smell of fresh printing but I know it's harmful to the environment and even my own body.

Don't get me wrong. I am not fanatical about too much (except visible ear wax in my children's ears!!) I won't be fanatical about going green, I will not likely become a vegan, I'll probably still use dryer sheets. But I am growing a garden, I am recycling, reusing and rethinking the way I do things. One of the things I am rethinking is how I care for my own horses. I have been researching for a new article called My Big Green Barn ... which compounds on the wild horse model and introduces green living principles to the barnyard. Here's small example. On Friday I have "Patch", our paint horse (who is 80% white) a bath. I used Baking Soda, Glycerin and Lemon juice and warm water to wash him. It was going to rain in about an hour ... so i didn't waste water to rinse him off. Before he rolled ... MAN he was white! Even his tail and mane! I dumped the bucket and for once didn't feel bad about it. No detergents, no grass killing! Why hasn't that been a clue for us in the past ... where ever we dump the wash water ... the freakin grass dies!! DUH

Another one of those things I am changing is the way HorseSouth is printed. Right now, we print about 56,000 copies of the magazine. All but about 800 copies are "consumed". Meaning 24,000+ are mailed to someone on request or subscription order. The rest go to nicer tack and feed stores all over the country. Of those, my reports tell me that there is almost NEVER a single copy left.

But, I have to look at it this way. Giving 28,000+ copies away doesn't help me pay the considerable printing bills that go with having the magazine. Yes, people do subscribe because of it but not in the appropriate ratios. I love for people to enjoy it. I hope when they are finished they recycle it ... but I can't gaurantee that. SO - I am looking at moving to printing on recycled paper, and printing less copies to give away.

Recently, I've registered a new domain name that will center around taking care of our horses and our barnyard environment in a green and natural way. I'll be working on this site, with the help of a few key people and I hope we can make an impact together.