I got a horse for Christmas one time in my life, when I was about 13, and ever since then, my brain seems to think that it should happen again. The advent of Facebook “horse for sale” groups has really only ruined my life more, because I’m pretty sure I’ve found at least five horses in the past week that I would like for Christmas. I found a lovely cousin of my 3* horse, only three years old, for a very reasonable price, but definitely not in the states. Then, I found a ridiculously adorable Haflinger cross mare who had the best advertising scheme yet. She was dressed in a Christmas wreath and her ad read: “Cindy Lou Who, now just over two, wants a home for Christmas… maybe it’s with you?”. Um, yes please??
News From Around the Globe:
Congratulations to Victoria Lachelle Henderson, the winner of yesterday’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaway! Victoria will take home a Shoulder Relief Girth from Total Saddle Fit and will definitely be the stylin’ one at her barn! [12 Days of Christmas: Total Saddle Fit]
Horses are now helping youths with PTSD to great success. Young people suffering from post-traumatic stress symptoms experienced a significant reduction in symptoms after undertaking equine facilitated psychotherapy in a new study in the US. The two groups, of young people from 8-18, were divided into horse therapy and regular therapy, and at the end of the study horses were shown to be much more effective at reducing stress. [Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy]
Are you also dream horse christmas shopping? You should definitely get into the art of demystifying horse advertisements, because some of the phrases are just straight hilarious. What about “broodmare prospect”? Or, “completely bombproof”? Check out H&H’s great guide. [Horse Adverts: What They Really Mean]
Mike the donkey survived a harrowing episode of almost drowning in a flood in Ireland this past week. Thanks to Animal Heaven Animal Rescue (AHAR), Mike was pulled to safety despite the dangerous situation, using a boat and a lifebuoy, and the help of a lot of wonderful people. The best part of the whole thing was Mike’s smile after he was saved, and his happy fluffy little expression as he ate hay in a warm stall. [Mike Gets Saved]
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KER ClockIt Session of the Week: This week’s session looks at the whole process of running XC. Of this 78-minute session, about 4 minutes is competing on an Area BN Championship course. You can see the horse was working hard on course, spending almost the entire time above an 80% heart rate. The warmup, located on a side hill, also illustrates the effect of incline on heart rate.
Shopping for an eventer who has everything? Give the gift of insight into their conditioning regimen! This month only, KER is offering $15 off any purchase of $100 or more on Shop.kerx.com, including KER ClockIt heart-rate monitors and other accessories. Just use code MERRY15 at checkout.
Because why not, Nibbit?
