Going Back To The Beginning

Since my last post my location, lifestyle, and state of mind has changed dramatically. I crossed through the flat grasslands of Kansas with its unrelenting winds and mind-numbing sparseness and found myself suddenly at the base of the base of the Rockies - Colorado's Front Range. I've spent the last month in Boulder. The approaching winter forced me to make a decision - continue biking through the winter amidst the desolate and treacherous Rockies or embrace a (temporarily) stationary life and begin my westward journey again in the Spring? Each option had it's benefits. Continuing biking would preserve the continuity of my project - I'd see the less-understood side of agriculture - winter production. I'd also avoid having to face issues like "where am I going to live?" and "how am I going to feed myself?". However, money was running low - I had originally planned on finishing my trip by Thanksgiving, yet here I am, a little over half-way done and it's late-December. My last few days of biking as I approached Denver were less than enjoyable, with below-freezing night (and sometimes day) temperatures, high winds, and increasing traffic. If this was a taste of what winter would be like, it was enough to convince me to hide out for the winter. 

Like I've mentioned before, a traveling lifestyle brings amazing hospitality from strangers - however, fewer people are inclined to host someone who is idle for an entire season. So, I'd have to find a job. The first week or so in Boulder was really frustrating for me. I felt stagnant. I was used to always moving, always learning, always meeting new people and feeling like i was doing something with my life. Yet suddenly I was stationary, sleeping on a friend's couch, and glued to my computer all day sending endless emails out in search of a job and an apartment and getting no response. I started to think that maybe I'd be forced to keep moving after all. I was almost getting desperate enough to start applying for architecture jobs (God forbid I do something I'm actually qualified for). However, I was concerned about losing the momentum I've built up along my travels. I don't want to have two separate journeys - NYC to CO and CO to CA. Even if I am stationary for five or six months I still want to be progressing in my goals to learn about agriculture and come to some sort of conclusion about food ethics. Colorado is actually a great place to spend the winter and continue my investigations in a more stationary way. The University of Colorado at Fort Collins is a huge powerhouse in the academic world of agriculture and is less than an hour's drive from Boulder. One thing I've found in my travels is that everyone, no matter if they support conventional, large, small, or organic farming, has their own set of facts and statistics that they lean on to support their perspective. Sometimes I feel like a tennis ball being swatted from one side of the agricultural debate to the other - without any background in ag I can only listen to what these farmers tell me and take what they say at face value. But what am I supposed to think when I get contrasting information? I stay at an organic farm that tells me pesticides used by conventional farms are contributing to global warming and soil degradation and then I stay at a conventional farm that tells me that organic farms actually have far larger carbon footprints. I think it's time for me to do some research of my own and try to poke holes in some of these arguments if I can. Colorado has an interesting dichotomy going on as it has a large population of conventional farmers (for example, there's a huge corn-fed beef industry here) as well as being home to some of the most progressive, eco-savvy people you could find. I think it's the perfect place to stop and get to the bottom of some of these issues. 

So, I'll be spending the winter in Boulder researching and working like a dog to save up money for the remainder of my trip. I'll be working at an Italian restaurant which sources a substantial amount of its ingredients from local, sustainable farms - it will be interesting to see this aspect of the food world and talk with the owner and chefs about their perspective on what we should eat. However, I'm a good Alaskan girl and can't resist these gorgeous powdery slopes that surround me, so I'll also be working as a ski instructor at Eldora Mountain Resort. 

As you've probably noticed, there are quite a few gaps in my journals, so while I'm in Boulder I'll be working to document my experiences thus-far as well as relay any insights I have while working at the restaurant, interviewing local farmers, and doing my own supplementary research. I've been a nomad for the last five months, but come January I will have my own apartment, a job, and a somewhat structured lifestyle. In a way, those things totally freak me out. But, I'm actually looking forward to it, but am also glad that I have the continuation of my journey to look forward to. I'm not settling down yet!

Right now, however, I'm on the plane back to New York City to spend the holidays with family at my sister's home. In a few minutes I'll be back where this whole thing started. How crazy to think that in a matter of a few hours I've re-traced the distance that took me four months to travel on my bike. It was a surreal feeling to fly over those patchwork fields of Colorado and Kansas, imagining myself biking through them only a month ago. Already that lifestyle feels so far away. I think about what I've learned since I left New York - am I a different person now? What have I actually learned? There's a temptation here to get overly dramatic, and I think I'll bypass that. I've definitely learned a lot though - about people, about food, about this country - but I'm not sure exactly what my conclusion is yet. Good thing I'm only half-way done and still have at least 2,000 miles left in which to organize my thoughts and make up my mind!

Random Acts of Kindness

 

The last few days I've had some great encounters with strangers. Any touring cyclist will tell you that one of, if not the best thing about touring is experiencing amazing kindness and generosity from complete strangers, many of which become lasting friends. I wrote a bit about this in Pennsylvania already. There are a few reasons why cyclists experience this compassion that many others have come to think no longer exists. Some say it's because cyclists are non-threatening. Carrying all of our gear with only two feet and two wheels to make a getaway, we could hardly take advantage of someone. Another reason is that many people are inspired when they meet us and want to contribute in some way, as they're not in a point in their lives where they could do a trip like this themselves. Conversations about our travels gives them the chance to live vicariously through us. Others take care of cyclists because they've had friends or family bike cross-country and know that somewhere out there someone is worrying just as much about this cyclist as they did for their loved ones. 

I set out from the butcher shop in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri last Thursday morning, headed towards Kansas. After waking up the next morning in Centerville, MO to frost on my tent and biking through the hilly scenic highway 106 that traverses the Ozarks I wound up in a tiny town called Summersville with a population of only about 500 people. While I was stocking up on Little Debbies (my favorite cheap calorie replacement) at the gas station the cashier told me that cyclists usually stay at the city park. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of spending another night in my tent with a freeze advisory in effect, but I didnt have a better option. However, as I was getting on my bike to ride to the park a blue truck pulled up beside me with a family inside. They asked me where I was going and said if I didn't already have a place to stay for the night I was welcome to come home with them, have some dinner, and sleep in a real bed. Well of course I couldn't pass that up and I headed home with the Pace family. Misti and Robbie have four children with one more on the way - all of whose names start with the letter K: Kassi, Koleby, Kyan, and Kensen. Needless to say, I was way too confused to get all their names straight. The kids were super sweet though, and Misti and Robbie were great hosts. 

I knew I had a place to stay in Springfield with Mallory Roth, the niece of the family I stayed with in Ste. Gen. I found a short-cut through back roads that would get me there in 100 miles, so I decided to make the push. I was out of the worst of the Ozarks, and if I got an early start I thought I'd be able to make it. Robbie suggested I take highway 60, but that would add another 15 miles and it seemed to me that 60 was an interstate (no bikes allowed). I left the house at 7:30am. By 7:45 I was already doubting my "short-cut". Ranch Road was a dirt and gravel road that cut through the Gist Ranch Conservation Area - what I would later find out was one of the more remote areas of Missouri. From Ranch Rd. I connected to Rocky Top Rd. Note to self: avoid roads with names like Rocky Top. Between Ranch Road and Rocky Top it was only about a 20 mile stretch. That would normally take about two hours. No, this time it took five hours. At least one hour of that was spent backtracking. I got almost to the end of Rocky Top Rd. before I looked down and realized my handlebar bag was unzipped and my camera was gone. I got that same sinking feeling I'd had when my phone got run over in New Jersey. If only I could rewind time! I really didn't have much hope of finding my camera, but the thought of losing some of my photos from Ste. Gen as well as some of my flipbook pics (I take a picture every 10 miles to hopefully compile a "flipbook" when I'm done) was too much. If there was a chance of regaining those photos I had to backtrack to the last place I remembered taking a photo. I slowly rode the hilly, rocky four miles back to the beginning of Rocky Top Rd, my eyes strained to spot a little black pouch on the road, my wheels fish-tailing in the deep gravel and so often causing me to fall over. I locked my bike and left it, walking the last hill, as I'd nearly crashed on the way down it the first time. By that point I was convinced I was wasting my tie, and began to wonder if maybe the camera had just fallen out where I'd discovered the unzipped bag. Even if I found it, a car was likely to have run over it by now, even though the road was practically deserted. As I reached the top of the hill and recognized the scenery of my last photo I saw a black lump on the road and broke into a run. I found it! And after successfully turning it on I breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Spared by the cars. I was so happy to have my photos back that I didn't even mind the extra ride back down Rocky Top. Making it to Springfield was already out the window, so I'd just enjoy the rest of the day and have an easy short ride the next day. 

Turning onto a paved road was blissful, and going more than five miles an hour felt like flying. Finally, my brain wasn't rattling around my skull with all those bumps! Only some days you're just in for it. After just ten miles back on the pavement I got my first flat tire of the trip. Great. I wasn't even sure I could fix it. I only theoretically knew how to fix a flat. Also, how is it that I made it all the way through those horrible dirt roads and only got a flat once I was back on nice paved roads? The good news was that I was only two miles from the town of Cabool, so if I couldn't fix my tire I could at least walk into town and get help. I did fix the tire, however, and managed to cover myself in grease in the process. Meanwhile, about six cars stopped to ask if I needed help. I was happy to be able to send them on their way saying I had it covered. Hooray for self-sufficiency! Right when I was putting my back wheel back on another car pulled over. The driver was an older woman who told me that her son had just biked from Florida to Oregon with his family. She said she'd like to take me to dinner with some of her friends and have me stay at her house for the night. There was still enough time for me to make it another 20 miles or so, but the guarantee of a meal and a bed was too good to pass up. So we exchanged numbers and she gave me directions to her house. When I rode up her driveway to the top of a hill and saw the grand tudor style house that was Elaine's home I knew I was in for a treat. She had built the house with her husband after they were married and it was beautifully furnished with intricately carved wooden furniture, heavy curtains, and wood paneling. Photos of her family tastefully lined the walls of the hallway and a red carpet cushioned my feet as I walked up the staircase to what would be my room. Eileen lived with her son who was in his late thirties. I only met him briefly. Her husband had passed away and she laughed when I told her I studied architecture, since her other two children lived in Springfield and were practicing architects. We went out to dinner at a Mennonite buffet with her friends Judy and Earl. Earl was impressed at how much I could eat. Buffets are my best friend.

Elaine lives with MS, so she has a hard time with walking and balancing. It was really interesting talking to her about her disease and how she's adapted her lifestyle and maintained a positive attitude. Some of you know that I myself live with a lifestyle altering disease called Stargardt's. Because of it my vision has diminished and I'm no longer able to drive a car. It's nothing near as serious or debilitating as MS, but it was really nice to talk to someone else with a similar situation. Like me, she said that she's just grateful that she doesn't have something worse. Everyone has issues with their health at one point or another, and if this is the worst we get, we'll consider ourselves lucky. 

The next morning I snuck out with the dawn and headed towards Springfield. Still trying to avoid highway 60, I was again taking back roads and winding in all directions it seemed but towards Springfield. When I hit Mansfield I stopped for a few minutes to figure out my route. I was worried if I took too circuitous of a route I once again might not make it to Springfield. As I was standing there on the shoulder an old man pulled over and asked me what I was doing and where I was headed. He seemed a little confused when I told him I was going all the way to California. He asked if I'd had anything to eat today and I told him I'd eaten and had some food with me as well. Our conversation was a bit awkward, with pauses between sentences. He wasn't sure what I was doing riding my bike with all those bags and I wasn't sure why he was still parked there. He said he'd like to give me some money to buy some lunch with and cautiously stretched out his hand with a bill in it, wary of the passing drivers. I politely took it, and looked down and saw that it was a hundred dollar bill! I was shocked and told him it was too much, and that I really was just find and he didn't have to give me money. But, he insisted, saying that he had more money than he knew what to do with, and he'd like me to have it. Alrighty then! I felt like I should give him something in return, so I gave him a card with my website on it and wrote my name, email and phone number as well. He said he doesn't use the internet, but I thought maybe he'll have his children or a neighbor read a bit of my blog to him. He said his name was John and he gave me his address so I could let him know when I get to California. Not only was he amazingly generous, but he also gave me a huge help by telling me that he sees cyclists all the time on highway 60. I called up the police station, and turns out it's only an interstate once it gets to Springfield. So, with sunshine on my back, money in my pocket, and a smile on my face I rode the rest of the day on the giant shoulder of the luxuriously flat highway 60 and made it to Springfield in no time! 

I've been in Springfield now for two nights staying with Mallory, who I mentioned earlier. It's been really nice spending some time with her and her friends. Her roommates are great too. Mallory took me to visit and tour Askinosie Chocolate Factory, which I really recommend you look up. It's an amazing business model. The owner is an ex-defense attorney. He buys directly from the farmers, uses a small amount of high quality, natural ingredients, and pays intense attention to every detail of the process, from the communities it supports both internationally and locally, to the ingredients, to the packaging. There's also a unique tracking system where you can trace online where your chocolate came from, when it was processed, etc. 

While in Springfield I was also able to meet up with Stewart, Elaine's son who biked cross-country with his wife and his 3 and 5 year old children. He has amazing stories from the road and it was great to compare our experiences. He's also pretty connected with the local agriculture scene in Springfield, so he introduced me to some of the board members of the Springfield Urban Agriculture Coalition as well as the owner of Millsap Farm, an organic farm that I'd actually contacted previously about possibly spending some time working there. Mallory and I later went out for a tour. Stewart also hooked me up with a local bike shop, Sunshine Bike Shop, who totally took care of me. They changed my brake pads, took apart and cleaned the drive train, and replaced the tires which were prematurely disintegrating - all for free! Surly paid for the tires, since that was a flaw with the bike. 

Anyway, now I'm happily headed on my way to Kansas. Not sure where I'm headed exactly - there are a few farms I'm in contact with about possibly working with them. So, we'll see what happens! 

PS - I saw my first armadillo (roadkill). Now I'm OFFICIALLY in the West!

Answering a Few Questions...

I just sent off an email to a girl who wrote me with some questions about my trip. I thought I'd post the questions and my responses here too, since some of you followers might be interested as well! I love hearing feedback, so if you have any questions or comments I'd like to hear from you! Either click on "Share Your Thoughts" or on "Contact Me" to email. 

"Tell me more about the World Equestrian Games" 

The volunteering itself was actually pretty boring. Mostly just standing around making sure everyone who went into the barns had the proper credentials. But what was great about it was being able to wander around after my shifts. I loved watching the clinics being given on horse training. Most of them focused on "natural horsemanship". That just means that they're working with the horse's natural behavioral characteristics to get them to do what you want. Sort of like horse psychology. The point is that you don't have to be forceful with a horse and that through these techniques you can train them to do pretty much anything. Some people think its gimmicky, and it can come off like that because they do a lot of tricks with these horses to demonstrate the effectiveness of the training. For example, one guy taught his horse to sit and roll over and another guy taught his horses to follow him around without a lead rope. If you 're curious, some of the trainers who were there were Pat Parelli, Clinton Anderson, and John Lyons. 

My volunteer status didn't get me a whole lot of perks besides access to the clinicians' barns and free entry to the grounds. Oh, and I got a sweet t-shirt. But I did get to go see some of the events anyway. Since tickets weren't required for the cross-country jumping I got to see that. It was really awesome. It was part of something called "Eventing" which is a competition comprised of 3 events - dressage, cross-country jumping, and stadium jumping. Dressage is done in a ring and is evaluated based on how well the horse moves and how precisely he responds to the rider's cues (which should be invisible). It's compared to ballet sometimes. Cross-country jumping goes over something like 30 jumps along a 4 mile course. They have to go as fast as possible and make it over as many jumps as they can. Then stadium jumping is in an arena and the jumps are placed a lot closer together and in difficult arrangements. The rider has to make it under the time allotment and is penalized for knocking down posts on the jumps. I think if I were to get into horseback riding I would do that. It's sort of like a triathlon for horses. 

The other event I got to see was the reining freestyle. It wasn't really a competition, just for fun. Reining is a western event (the only one in the games) and I got to see it because I went along with my hosts who own a quarter horse farm and train them for a discipline called "western pleasure". Anyway, reining is a competition where each horse and rider does a series of "moves" that are judged on precision - spins, sliding stops, rollbacks, flying lead changes, and backing. If you want to see what I'm talking about just look up reining on YouTube or Shawn Florida, who I think took the gold. 

The freestyle reining was just for fun though, and different performers came out and did reining moves but it was to music and many of them had costumes or special things they'd throw in like riding bareback without a bridle or jumping on and off of the horse while it was running. Stacey Westfall performed and she's famous for riding without a bridle or saddle (although when I saw her she used both). Google her too. 

"Where are you headed to/staying at now?"  

I just finished up a week in Ste. Genevieve, MO at a butcher shop there. I was really interested in it because they do their own slaughtering there. Cattle and hogs and some deer processing as well. I posted some pictures already, but not all of them yet. It was something that I think a lot of people wouldn't want to see, but that I found fascinating. I figure that if I can't handle seeing a pig or a cow slaughtered and butchered then I probably shouldn't be eating meat. But I was totally fine with all the blood and guts. The only thing that might have bothered me would have been if I'd seen any mistreatment or abuse of the animals while they were alive or being killed. But the people at the shop were very good people and made sure that everything was done as humanely and sanitarily as possible. It was a great opportunity also because it's getting rarer and rarer to find small-scale family-owned slaughterhouses these days. Most of them are huge factory-style operations (which I'm also hoping to see at some point). What's forcing a lot of these smaller operations out of business are the government regulations that they have to meet. It gets really expensive to have all the inspections and facility upgrades required. The reason this place is able to do what they do is that they don't sell to the public, so they don't need to be inspected more than once a year. All they do is slaughter animals that are brought in by a farmer, process the meat, and then give it back to that same farmer. 

I could go on a lot longer about the butcher shop, so just let me know if you have more specific questions about it. 

Right now I'm in Summerville, MO staying with a really nice family who saw me at the gas station in town and offered me a place to stay for the night. A lot better than camping, especially now that it's getting so cold! Last night I camped and woke up to frost on my tent and bicycle seat! 

I'm on my way towards Kansas where things are still a little up in the air. I'm still waiting to hear from the farm I want to work at, which is a turkey farm called Good Shepherd Poultry Farm. The owner is super famous in the organic world and is named Frank Reese. His big thing is heritage breed turkeys - sort of like heirloom tomatoes. It just means that it's a breed that's been preserved to have more "original" qualities. So his turkeys are supposed to be the same as turkeys that were being eaten 200 years ago, whereas if you buy a turkey at the grocery store it's been bred and cross-bred to produce a bird that grows a lot bigger in a lot less time. Some people think this is wrong and detrimental both to the turkey's health and to those who eat it. Frank Reese is a good one to google too. 

I'm also hoping to see and/or work on a cattle feedlot near Garden City, Kansas. Those were talked about in the movie Food,, Inc., which I would recommend you see if you haven't already - it's a good intro to a lot of the questions that inspired me to do this trip and see for myself what's going on with the agriculture industry. 

"How did you come to the idea of biking across the US and working at organic farms?" 

How it all came together is kind of muddled in my head now. The original idea was to bike from coast to coast as a fun thing to do after graduating from college. But I decided I'd like to have more of an objective than simply getting from point A to point B. Plus I thought I might get bored or lonely traveling so many miles by myself. So I decided to have the goal of staying/working for a week at a farm in every state I cross. I've been getting more and more interested in agriculture in the last few years, mostly because of all the media that's been coming out against factory farming and encouraging an awareness of where our food comes from. The movie Food Inc. and the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer were catalysts for me. I don't agree with everything that's said in them, but I like how they're concerned enough to ask these important questions. But in the end I wasn't satisfied with just reading someone else's account of the food situation. Both those sources have big biases and are slanted towards the organic/locavore movement. I think blindly following that ideology is just as bad as blindly following the industrial food system. So I decided to see for myself. With that in mind, I'm really trying to balance what kinds of farms I'm seeing - both large and small scale, conventional and organic. So far, admittedly, I have seen more small-scale, organic operations than larger-scale conventional ones. The reason for this is that smaller, organic farms are simply more accessible. Not only are they more independent and therefore less concerned with the potential risks of having a new, inexperienced person come on board, they require a ton of hands-on work and that usually means they appreciate any extra help they can get. They also really want to get their message out there, so they typically love to talk to whoever wants to listen. I've found that a lot of the larger, conventional operations, however, are hesitant to let me in. Some of them have the potential spreading of disease to be concerned with, and some are just too busy to bother. And then there's also the suspicion that I'm sure many of them have, that I might be an under-cover PETA spy. One other thing that I've noticed is that many of these operations have become so specific and efficient that they've eliminated a lot of the human work and there really isn't anything for me to do. Ultimately the key in finding a farm to work on, whether it's from either side of this ag "battle" is to find people who are interested in my endeavor and are enthusiastic about showing me their part of the story. 

On the road again

Left Gollehon Quarter Horses today. It was very sad saying goodbye to Roger & Robin. I feel very close with them after these three weeks and would ahve loved to stay longer. They joked about having me stay for the winter. Maybe they were serious, maybe not, but it was very tempting! I could learn so much more there - they are at the top of their game. I said goodbye and rode away with Robin snapping photos behind me. We joked about how I was going to call from the end of the road and ask them to come pick me up. I only ran once during the whole 3 weeks I spent there, so I expected to be fairly out of shape. However, the joke turned into reality at about mile 15, just outside of Lawrenceburg. My chain broke. I've never fixed a chain before, but I was familiar with the basics and was up for the challenge - only when I pulled over and leaned my bike against a bus stop sigh there was no chain - nothing! I looked all over for over 30 minutes but still no luck. So, I begrudgingly called Robin, very embarrassed and asked if they could come pick me up and take me to the bike shop. 

It turned out to be good though, because I discovered my brake pads were extremely worn and needed to be replaced. The man at the shop was very friendly and helpful and pretty much gave me a free tune-up and lesson on bike maintenance. Roger was very patient and I joked with him about how they had thought they were rid of me. When he dropped me off again I told him, "see you in another fifteen miles!" Luckily everything went smoothly after that.  

The ride was beautiful. It's great to be out on the road again. I was starting to feel a bit lethargic, so my muscles are grateful for the challenge. Horse country faded quickly as I headed away from Lexington. There are far more cattle farms around here and not as many huge grand homes. There are some pretty, historic farmhouses though. Fall is threatening to put an end to the summer. The wind has a bite to it and it doesn't warm up until late in the afternoon. But there are still af ew hours of sunny warm weather everyday, and I plan on relishing what little bit of summer that's left. Due to my four hour delay I wasn't able to make the 80 miles to Howardstown that I had planned. I did make it 50 miles though, and am spending the night just outside of Bloomfield, KY on a horse farm. I get to sleep in the barn, but at least I don't have to set up my tent - it's supposed to be in the 30's tonight too, so I'm happy to be indoors. Hopefully the spiders will keep their distance!

Horse Psychology

Yesterday was my first day working at Gollehon Quarter Horses. Seeing how I don't have a lot of serious experience with horses I pretty much expected to be spending the next seven days shoveling horse crap. I had made up my mind before-hand that just being around the horses and getting to talk with Roger and Robin about their business and the industry would be enough to make my time here worth-while. But on Day One I got to do something I never would have expected - halter break a foal.

There are four foals (baby horses) here. Since the spring when they were born they've been just doing their thing in the pasture with their mothers. They've never worn a halter and haven't had a whole lot of interaction with people. Some are friendlier than others and will let you pet them, but for the most part they're pretty skittish. So the goal yesterday was to get to the point where you could approach the foal, put a halter on it, and lead it around the round pen as well as be able to pick up all four of its feet. That might seem really easy, since we're use to seeing horses lead around quietly along-side people like it comes naturally to them, but it doesn't.

Horses are herd animals. Their first reaction to anything outside the herd is to be afraid and retreat or defend themselves if cornered. At first, this includes humans. So first Roger and I had to teach the foal not to be afraid and to trust us. We brought in two foals and their mothers (really we just brought in the two mothers and the babies followed - remember, no halters yet) and tied the mothers to the side of the round pen. The pen is probably about 30 feet in diameter.

At first the foals would run away if we approached them. If we kept going after them they would keep running away. So, we had to use their natural tendencies to our advantage. If we went up to the mother and started scratching and rubbing her the baby would see that and become curious. She'd think, "oh, well if my mom likes what she's doing maybe I will too" and come investigate. We worked with her natural instinct to be curious and to take cues from her mother. Then when she approached us we would reward her with pets. One of the biggest things I learned yesterday was that petting a horse isn't just for fun - it's a reward. Positive reinforcement. Horses will scratch and nuzzle each other in the pasture as a sign of acceptance and camaraderie. Good trainers will use these natural horse cues to communicate with the horse what is expected of them, reward them when they do something right and correct them when they do something wrong. The goal is to make them comfortable when they do what you want and uncomfortable when they don't. This way they think cooperating is their idea!

So after over an hour of just hanging out with the foals and rubbing their heads, necks, bodies, and legs, we brought out a short rope and practiced draping it around the foal's neck and over her face. Once she got use to that it was pretty easy to slip the halter on. However, using the halter to lead her around the ring was still a ways away. At first the restraint of the harness and lead rope was unnerving for her. Imagine being tied up - it would be scary if you didn't understand what was happening. Her first reaction was to pick up her head and back up. At first we let her have her moment and get a little use to the idea. Then we started pulling on the rope from one side and then from the other until she would take a step or two in the direction we were pulling. Its a little easier to pull her to the side than straight ahead because it's harder for her to brace against it. The idea here is that we put pressure on the rope and then release it when she moves towards us. As long as she's fighting we don't let up (unless she really goes crazy and the situation gets dangerous). This goes back to that basic idea that she should feel uncomfortable when she's going against us and comfortable and rewarded when she does what we ask.After she would do the right thing a few times in a row we'd stop and give her a few pets. It was a very calm process.

Things got just a little more exciting when we started pulling more insistently from less and less of an angle to get her use to forward motion and ultimately following us around the ring. At this point we had some small battles of wills and I had to really pull on the halter to get her to come towards me. It was like a game of tug-o-war at first, but the same idea applied - give a little slack when she moved toward us and occasional pats. If you just pull on a horse and never let up it will keep fighting and eventually be ruined. The same goes for pulling on the bridle or kicking it. You give small cues as gently as possible, repeating with stronger cues and reinforcement if you're not getting a response.

At horse shows the goal is to get the horse to respond to your cues without those cues being visible to the judges. When you watch events at the highest levels (like at the World Equestrian Games happening here in Lexington next week) you can hardly tell the rider is doing anything at all. It looks like the horse is just performing on its own with someone sitting on it's back! Being around horses you learn to be more aware of yourself because everything about you is being constantly observed by the horse. A shirt in weight, a swinging arm, a soft cluck - the horse will respond to all of it in one way or another so the more you're aware of yourself and the horse's reaction to you the more you can start to anticipate his behavior and get him to respond to your cues . If you unintentionally are rewarding him for something you don't want him to do a problem will arise. Ninety percent of the problems with misbehaving horses are actually caused by their rider or handler. 

Anyway, back to the foal. By the time I was done working with her she was totally tame. She would follow me around the pen, let me pet her whole body, and pick up all four feet - a brand new horse! It was so exciting to watch that transformation and know that I had made it happen! I had learned to speak her language. What an amazing feeling. Now it's one down, three to go!