Was last year the Year of the Horse? It can't be this
year, unless it's the year of the Seahorse. Something that thrives
underwater, and lots of it. We must have offended some weather deity
somewhere, because the last 12 months have been an exercise in tolerance.
Last summer had blistering heat and parching drought, which was only ended by
October's month of deluge, rain turning the fields, paddocks and trails to mud,
which was ended by Decembers early bitter cold. Single digit temperatures
the first week of December led into a winter of unbelievably deep and persistent
snow, blizzards that regularly dumped inches more on top of the mounds and
drifts already piled high. The saturated ground couldn't absorb any more
of the melting snow, so as February leaked into March the creeks climbed way
over their banks and flooded pastures, bridges,and
road. And then
the rain started - what we had before was just an appetizer. Rain day
after day, weekend after weekend, through all of April and all of May. The
horses are standing up the their knees in mud, covered in rainrot and
scratches, with feet soft and squishy, reduced to training on
roads. You might groan that your driveways a mud pit, that you can't even
get close to your horse trailer to hook it up, that the trails that you want to
condition on are under water, but just be glad you're not a farmer. You
might complain that hay prices will go up, but they can't even get into the
fields to cut the hay to sell to you, they can't plant their crops
to harvest later, they can't build fences or do anything that generates
income. They can only watch weeds grow up in fields too wet to mow.
Be glad that most of your complaints are recreational- so what if a ride you
planned was rained out, or you haven't been able to condition as much as you'd
like. You'll still be able to put food on the table, and won't have
to take out a loan to make it through the year. The first six weeks of the
point to point race season in Virginia were canceled due to rain and snow, and
the remainder of the year never regained its footing, with entries and
spectators a fraction of the normal levels. This might seem
trivial, except the annual race meets are usually the biggest fund-raisers for
the foxhunt clubs for the entire year, and the loss of that income is a mighty
blow.
So if you look out your front yard and see that the squirrels are holding a swim
meet on the lawn, don't complain. If you have to take a boat to your barn
to feed in the morning don't whine. Remember that our horses are luxury
items, and that endurance riding or whatever discipline we're involved in is a
privilege, not a right. Be grateful that you have the opportunity to be
involved in this sport, and any inconveniences that may come up are just that,
inconveniences, not death-defying disasters. Any management team of
any ride you attend this year will have had to do tremendous amounts of extra
trail clearing, trail rerouting, personnel and parking changes, and will
undoubtedly be frazzled and near tears by the time you pull into the ride camp
in your spiffy four horse LQ with the slide out trailer.
Do NOT complain about the parking, do NOT complain about the trail
changes, or the vetting area. If they had to vet you in a parking lot,
it's because the original vetting area is under water. Smile, be gracious,
ask if there's anything you can do to help, and be grateful that someone is
willing to go through the hassle of putting on this ride for you. If
you're going to gripe, no one is making you do this ride, no one is making you
ride this horse, you turn that trailer right around and go home. No one in
ride management is getting rich off of you- and they don't need any of your
stuff. Be a credit to yourself and to the sport, and impress the heck out
of everyone around you with your charm and your
horsemanship. Lani Newcomb
