The ABC retreat made for a long but very informative weekend. A group of about 15 Pony Clubbers, varying in age and rating but tending towards older and higher-rated, gathered for a full weekend of lectures and demonstrations geared towards a deeper understanding of horse management concepts.
I had a wonderful time. We covered a wide range of topics - the systems of the horse, conditioning for eventing, starting young horses, vaccinations and diseases, longeing and long lining, determining suitability of a horse for rider and career, designing an ideal facility....the list went on. We spent one evening and two full days just soaking up as much information as possible.
Now, you guys know me and how much I love learning new things about horses. This was a great chance to learn in a way that goes above and beyond what I normally get a chance to hear, and with other like-minded girls. In fact, that was the best part. It's not often that I'm able to hang out with girls my own age who are as horse-crazy as I am!
We even got an in-depth lesson on the bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments of the horse's lower leg (or "equine distal limb" in science-speak). That was the last session and we got to play with cadaver horse legs and actually see some of the tendons and ligaments and how they work. A bit smelly and slimy but very cool. I'll spare you the pictures I took...
I will write a full report on the experience, of course, but for now I only have one day off to catch up on all that homework I didn't do while I was gone. And I have to go ride my horse while thinking about all the new information I have!
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A Wee Update
4 weeks ago
5 comments:
I really wish I would have had the opportunity to do what you're doing. I would have joined pony club in a heartbeat. It's excellent how much they stress the care and keeping of horses, not just riding.
That's part of why I love Pony Club so much. One of the other reasons is the ratings - I'm very goal-oriented and I love having a standardized pathway that tells me where I can go next, one that helps me develop my riding and my horse knowledge.
I wish I would have joined when I first got horses instead of just last year, but oh well.
I wish I had the time for Pony Club. It sounds like exactly what I've always wanted to do, and I still have some time to join...you're really inspiring me to look into it. If you don't mind my asking, how much time and money does it take? And I am just drooling at all the learning you did. I always procrastinate on homework to learn about horsey stuff instead. Haha I'm a huge horse geek and I love it! My farrier has a cadaver leg, so I understand how cool and interesting they are to look at. Can't wait for the full report!
baileyslewbambicrash.blogspot.com
What a great opportunity. Looking forward to the report.
I absolutely recommend Pony Club, even if you're not sure you have the time for it. It is DEFINITELY a good place for learning horse stuff!
If you'd like to shoot me an email - my address is on my profile page - I'd be happy to discuss my experience of the specifics of time and money involved.
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