Image from Shagya France

Before moving to Brooksville, FL and starting E.N.V.I., I taught and trained in Pinellas Park. Still new to the area, Mrs. Susan, now a beloved friend and client, decided to give me a try and hired me to find her “dream horse.”

Susan is an aspiring dressage rider who loves Arabians. She had very clear specifications. She wanted a calm, bay Arabian, who would be successful at dressage.

She also had personality specifications, as this would be her lifelong pet. What a challenge!

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Spending the day at the TAB may be fun but now you can watch horse races online as well. Here are three sites you might like to take a look at.

No Tracks Nearby?

Can’t get to the track or the telly for a big race? If you can get to a computer or have a mobile phone with Internet capability, you can still see the races.
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The following poem, one which I crafted just in time for Halloween, is based on Washington Irving’s fictional story, “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow”. This short story that gained great fame and popularity is set in late 1700’s New York in a Dutch settlement named Sleepy Hollow.
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Here is the second book review for a book written by Mark Rashid. I found that once I finish one book, I get a craving for another one that he wrote! Fortunately, he has written several…

Title: Life Lessons From A Ranch Horse
Publisher and Year Published: Johnson Books, 2003

Book Summary

Rashid’s fourth book is about his relationship with a special horse named Buck. Rashid gleans a lot of information about handling horses and life from the relationship and experiences with this particular equine partner. His horse calmly, patiently, and persistently challenges him to become a better trainer and ultimately, a better person.

He reminds us that great teachers are not just of the human kind.

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Image from Arrowmaker Ranch

In the last 20 years, DNA testing technology has become both equally complicated and commonplace.

Pair this ease of genetic testing with a rage for horses of exotic and unusual colors and the result has been previously unknown locations of the equine genome. One of these genes has been labeled the champagne gene due to its very unique phenotype (what the horse actually looks like).

Defining The Unknown

Champagne colored horses have no doubt existed prior to genetic testing, but were often registered as a more common color such as palomino simply because that was the closest known match. After seeing a champagne horse it is easy to understand the confusion. In an effort to more accurately trace the champagne gene, The International Champagne Horse Registry was created. This registry has mapped the likely history of the equine champagne gene in addition to documenting known champagne horses.
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