Little Red Horse video is cute, but what about racetrack safety?

Have you heard about “Little Red” the racehorse?

Nope, this isn’t Secretariat. But it could be a cartoonish facsimile of the late great Big Red. 

This animated music video by Patty Shukla features a children’s song about a racehorse that walks, trots, runs, and gallops.

Gee, we gotta wonder what happened to cantering. OK, that may be splitting hairs.

Shukla’s video has racked up nearly 19 million views since it was uploaded on May 19, 2010. The YouTube video even boasts a button for a Spanish-language version, titled "Rojito.".

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Once you listen to the song, you’ll begin hearing its refrain in your sleep. (Sorry about that.)

But that’s not my beef with this little horse cartoon.

Little Red runs on the racetrack, right under the twin spires (which greatly resemble Louisville’s Churchill Downs). The horse races along with several variations. Little Red runs under tack with a rider. He also runs at liberty, with and without tack.

What? There’s a runaway horse on the track?

And does anybody else have an issue with a horse running counterclockwise on the track, as well in the traditional direction?

Whoa! Someone call Churchill Downs Security – stat!

OK, “Little Red” is simply childlike fun. It’s animated, so the safety of Kentucky horse racing fans is still intact. Still, the equestrian accuracy may be just one mint short of a julep.

Then again, how accurate was Robert the Rose Horse? And he made it to the Winner’s Circle.

 

Image/s:

Video Screenshot - fair use

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It's Best Friends Day on June 8?

Today is Best Friends Day. (I think I'll go ride my horse.)

Oh, wait. It's also Upsy-Daisy Day. That may be an issue ...

Update: I rode two today, and they were both sweet. 

First, I rode the younger, greener horse. She and I enjoyed a peaceful and quiet jaunt all by ourselves in the indoor arena. We even tried a few leg yields at the walk, which she willingly performed. 

She's a whole lot smarter and nimbler than I tend to expect her to be.

This little gem is doing all she can to bring me back from a rough spell, even though she is naturally quite springy and still a bit unpolished. This sweet half-Arabian mare fairly seems to read my mind and my moods. It's a little daunting, to be frank.

Then I took the older guy outdoors for some trot work. He gave me some nice serpentines, a few laterals, and even a couple of lazy canters.

All in all, it was not a bad day at the barn. Is it ever?

A to Z horses – Delightful Dolly

Registered as “Graceland,” Dolly is a nine-year-old Rheinland Pfalz-saar International mare. The sorrel chestnut cutie belongs to artist, equine nutrition professional, and graphic designer Shaina Feldman.

Feldman and Dolly share a special bond at work and play.

The California-schooled equestrian is currently practicing flying lead changes with her 16.25-hand RPSI Warmblood companion. 

Based in Wadsworth, Illinois, Dolly and Feldman enjoy going to shows and clinics, fox hunting, trail riding, dressage and jumping.

Of course, the pair is happiest in mid-air, flying over fences at full tilt.

 

Take a look. 

I’ve ridden with Feldman and Dolly several times, and their shared enthusiasm is downright contagious. I would nearly swear I’ve heard Dolly even chuckle once or twice … if horses could laugh. 

(Maybe they can.)

Related Items:

• Celebrity Chef and Horse Eater Gordon Ramsay Jumps on Horses for Swollen Face
• Jumpin' Jehosaphat
• Royalty - Spoilty
• Unbroken - Rhyming Courses on Wild Young Horses

 
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Dolly photos provided by Shaina Feldman

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Holey Moley - What Horsemanship

Holey Moley - What Horsemanship

Watch this equestrian! This video shows champion horseman Pedro Valentes Torres and Oxidado, his grey Lusitano stallion (from the Xaqueiro bloodline), performing a working equitation speed test in Beja, Portugal in April of 2008.

This exercise includes all of the working gaits, as well as elements of jumping, trail classes, dressage, reining and more - with gates, flowers, fences, bridges, poles, barrels and plenty of other obstacles.

Pedro Valentes Torres has been Portuguese National, European and World champion in working equitation.



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"G" Is For . . . Gearing Up

Posted for a variety of prompts:
ABC Wednesday (“G Is For . . . “)
Camera Critters (photo/s)
Heads or Tails (“List 3 Things in Any Category”)
Matinee Muse (“undying optimism” or “voyeuristic tendencies”)
Meme Express (“campaign”)
Wordless Wednesday (photo/s)

What could carry more undying optimism than a true horse-lover and a favorite young equine? First, the groundwork is mastered. Then horse and rider practice the three gaits (walk, trot and canter) under saddle.

Who knows? Someday soon, as his training progresses, the growing colt may be ready for campaigning on the show circuit.

Gearing Up
(A Limericked Ride on a Colt with Pride)

Sweet transmission; never fear,
As they switch from gear to gear.
Each transition, smooth and soft,
While he holds his tail aloft.
Wonder where they’ll go from here.

First, they walk with measured pace,
Till they trot with simple grace.
Then the canter, whirling gait,
Galloping before too late.
One day, they may pirouette.

As they pass the judge’s booth,
Rider and her handsome youth,
Qualifying scores they’ll seek:
Halt at “X”; salute, and peek,
Trying not to be uncouth.

Sweet admission, just the two –
Saddled up – look how they grew!
Dreaming of the gate and ring,
As they run and fly and fling.
Let’s wait, and enjoy the view.

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

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Far Afield

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Café Writing – Pick Three “destiny,” “plain” and “rules” and “strong”).
Camera Critters (photo)
Mad Kane (“vacation”)
One Single Impression (“rest”)
Photo Scavenger Hunt (“view”)
Simply Snickers (“sacred,” “secrets,” “self” and “scorn”)
Slice of Life Sunday ( “writer’s choice”)
Smiley Saturday (“smile”)
Sunday Scribblings (“solace”)
Wordless Wednesday’s Saturday edition

Photo c2008 by Nickers and Ink

Far Afield
A Limericked Ride ‘Cross the Countryside

Let’s go for a ride in the green,
Where destiny beckons unseen.
We’ll gallop the plain,
No rules to explain,
Vacation from daily routine.

The most sacred wonders, we share,
No scorn or remorse to beware.
Ourselves, all alone,
No deadlines or phone,
We gallop the gulch with a prayer.

The rest of the herd worries not,
We smile at the wind at a trot.
The solace we hold,
Far greater than gold,
Resides in our own secret spot.

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Providence

Ah! Memorial Day weekend is here at last. What a wonderful reminder that spring has come.

Every year, on Memorial Day weekend, even as we ponder the sacrifices of those who purchased freedom with their lives, we also enjoy a few consecutive days of rest and relaxation. This seems like a paradoxical juxtaposition somehow.

The school year always draws to a close shortly after Memorial Day weekend too, so we spend a fair amount of time preparing teacher gifts and thank-yous.

Still, the long weekend offers a super opportunity for extended time at the stables - the first trail rides of the season, soapy horse baths (and water fights), and long-overdue tack cleaning and conditioning.

What a wonderful time to count our many blessings.

"The LORD upholds
all those who fall
and lifts up
all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You,
and You give them
their food
at the proper time.
You open Your hand
and satisfy the desires
of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous
in all His ways
and loving
toward all He has made."
(Psalm 145:14-16)


A Natural Born Jumper?

Today, for the first time, we took our young Paint (coming four) outside in the big arena. We have been riding him Western Pleasure in a Circle Y Western trail saddle. He walks, jogs and lopes like a trooper, and his favorite word is "Whoa." (That's MY kind of horse.)

He was so well-behaved that my daughter even popped him over a flat pole, set between the jump standards. First, he trotted over it a few times with an unexpected spring in his step. Next, he trotted in and cantered out. Finally, he cantered in and out, swapping leads almost automatically. What a good boy.

Summer fun has begun!

Related Items:

The Cost So Dear
Dress Blues
Equestrian Jumping: Avoiding Evasions
Mounting Up Safely
Selecting a Saddle
A Spirited Pair
A Yearling's Reminder

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Or click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Zero to Fifty-Five

(Written upon request of Mr. Knowitall’s “Flash-55” prompt. The guidelines call for stories with exactly 55 words.)


Zero to Fifty-Five

Behind the barn,
five pairs
of horses and riders
set off
at a brisk canter.

Left behind,
I cued my mare,
and she exploded,
terrified.

A whirlwind of dust
followed us,
as we thundered past
on the mile track.

Once I knew
that we would live,
I loved it.

When can we ride together again?



Love poetry? Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Click this link for “Zero to Fifty-Five.” Or click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!