Polo Alphabet

Argentina: a country were babies are born with polo mallets in their hands. Barn Sour: Something that happens to grooms near the end of the season. Colic: stomach pains in players resulting from pre-game nerves. Divot: a turf-like object the ball finds the moment you start to swing. El Dorado: a club in California or the car you sell when you start buying horses. Fence: boards nailed to posts for horses to eat. Gallop: a gait your horse willingly performs only on the way back to the barn. Head-Shy: paranoia of porta-potties. Injury: if you haven't had at least 4 broken bones you are not playing hard enough. Jerseys: shirts with numbers that are hard to see from the sidelines. Knee Guards: something to wear for polo or if you owe the mob money. Lame: an accusation directed towards the umpires. Manure Spreader: a low goal player who talks a bigger game than he plays. Near Side: the opposite of "O"(to right). Off Side: the opposite of "N"(to left). Pony: most seem to be named "Whoa Damm It". Quarter Cracks: snide remarks about players who ride Quarter Horses. Reins: liquid which pours from the sky right around game time. Stall: something players seem to do before trophy presentation. Tack Room: a place to store things tht you may never find again. Umpire: a mounted official with perfect vision from 100 yards away.
Vet-Out: the message you get when you call him in an emergency. Withers: the reason men don't like to ride bareback. X: the mark your horse can never stop on. Yell: something you can't do toward the umpire. Zoo: a place for animals. In this case, 8 with four legs and 8 with 2 legs.

Help Wanted

Person to groom and exercise 4 polo horses, 2-4 times a week,for 4-5 months. Will involve Sat. and/or Sun. during the polo season. Must be 18 years old or older, non-smoking and dependable. References required.
This is a first for me. My son is now working full-time (finally) and won't be able to keep the horses in condition, so we are looking to hire help. I've increased our insurance level, and gotten workmans comp. So far we've had one applicant. A student from a nearby equestrian program. Does anyone reading this have any suggestions, or advice? If not, stay tune. I'm sure this will be an interesting journey.

On-Call Farrier Service

My farrier Deb Ballou (978-257-4165)has been shoeing my horses for at least 10 years. For the first 3 years I was working full time so was never here when she came to shoe. Since then, I've worked at home, so get to hold the horses while she shoes. In that time we've seen each others kids grow, shared lots of horse stories and been through many family and personal ups and downs. I like my farrier, not only for the job she does shoeing, but as a person, and always enjoy it when she is here. Lately, shes been here a lot. Usually, the horses are shod and/or trimmed every 7-8 weeks. For some reason, this year the shoes on Trick and Tequila keep getting pulled off. Of course they take turns, so its Trick one week and Tequila the next. Deb was here this past Tuesday, putting a shoe back on Trick, and shoeing Eva. When she was done, we set-up an appointment for the next visit. This morning when I went out to feed, I heard a strange sound coming from Tequila's stall. When I looked inside, I saw that her front shoe was being held on by one nail. I couldn't get the shoe off, so my son came out to the barn and removed it. When he was done, we looked at each other, and obviously thinking the same thing said "Tequila can wait, lets give Deb at least one week off!" Afterall, mud season is just around the corner, and we know how mud loves to pull off shoes!

Chestnut is the color least likely to Sunburn

Deadly Lease

This past summer I had an eye-opening experi ence. During a conversation at a polo game, it was mentioned that another polo family was looking for a horse for the summer. They wanted a horse that their 2 children could use to practice "stick and ball". For anyone that is unfamiliar with the term, its practicing your mallet strokes, from atop a horse. My son usually does this at a walk, trot or easy canter. Nothing too strenuis. I was asked about Alcott and as he wasn't playing polo anymore, and is very gentle, I thought it might be a good idea. The girls tried him out and it was decided to let this family lease Alcott. Now, I want to mention at this point that the parents of the children are both Equine Veterinarians and own other horses. I thought it would be an ideal situation for Alcott and sent him off with this famiy. During the summer I heard that they were having some trouble with his eating, but had figured it out. In September I went to bring Alcott home, and what I saw was so horrible I was speechless. His body condition was about a 1.5, and he could barely walk. I was told that they had tried different feeds,but he had still gotten so thin that they stopped ridng him at the beginning of August. All I could think of was that I had to get him home and prayed that he would survive the hour drive. Once home our vet was notified, he got a complete physical, teeth were checked and lab tests were conducted.
There was nothing wrong with him. I should also mention that they had trimmed his hooves so short that he couldn't walk without pain. Our vet recommended stall rest in deep shavings and 4 meals a day. Shoes were also suggested, but he was so weak that he could not stand on 3 legs to be shod. Gradually he improved, and 4 months later he is at a perfect weight. Needless to say, this was an awful experience, but it taught me a good lesson. You can never be too careful when it involves your horse's well-being. Yes, maybe I should have physically checked-up on Alcott during the summer; but he was in the care of veterinarians, and they had come highly recommended! Why didn't they call me? My horses will never be leased again unless on my property and under my supervision. At this point I don't even think I would sell any of my horses, for fear of what their outcome would be! I would rather have them humanely euthanized! You can never be too careful when it comes to your horses!

Last Weeks Question

The correct answer is Strangles, which is a disease that affects the lymph nodes in the respiratory tract.
Exertional Rhabdomyolysis is the medical term for the syndrome of exercise-related muscle damage. It adequately defines the condition as one of skeletal muscle and cell break down. Other terms used are Monday Morning Disease; Black Water-because many affected horses will have dark urine; Azoturia-describes the excess of nitrogen-containing compunds, such as urea, in the urine of effected horses. Myositis-a general term that implies that the primary disease process is inflammation, which is not the case. Tying-up-probably the most appropriate term as it describes the short, stiff stride and tight muscles seen in affected horses.

Love Affair

My herd consists of 4 horses and a pony. Trick is the boss, followed by Alcott, Eva, Tequila and Sage. Trick and Alcott are geldings, Eva, Tequila and Sage are mares. I would consider their pecking order arrangement textbook. Youngest gelding is boss; old pony mare is at the bottom of the list. None of the group members were ever buddies, until this past Fall.
Alcott was leased-out for the summer. When he arrived home in September, he was at "deaths door". (I'll write about this nightmare at another time) For a month Alcott was kept separate from the other horses. Towards the end of the month, I noticed he was taking some interest in Tequila, by going over to the fence that was separating him from the other horses, and watching her. Now Tequila is 4, very impish and always busy pestering the other horses, trotting around the field, and getting into whatever trouble she can find! Trick and Eva ignore her, or chase her away. Sage usually just trots away. Its always amusing to watch Tequila and her antics, I guess even for a horse.
One day I noticed that Tequila was watching Alcott over the fence. She probably wondered why he got to have a field of grass all to himself!! Both horses gradually starting hanging out closer to each other along the fence line. Eventually, they could be seen nuzzling one another over the top of the fence. I've owned Alcott for almost 5 years. He has always been a loner, and never shown any affection or interest in any of my other horses. The two of them started spending more and more time next to each other.
Finally Alcott was strong enough to join the herd. Tequila and Alcott walked up to each other, and then as they say "the rest is history"!! Now when they are together, they nuzzle, groom each other, eat together, bite, squeal, and run around the field chasing one another. It always make me smile to see the two of them together, especially since Alcott is 26 and Tequila is 4. What a great way for Alcott to retire, having a young chestnut mare chasing him for his affection. Its every mans dream come true!