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American Youth Horse Council Leaders are Tops

Mar 26, 2010

By Maureen Gallatin

It's discouraging to turn on the news these days. All you hear is the bad stuff. And to hear many adults talk, the youth are all wayward.

Wanna hear the alternative? Spend time with a youth leader. I did that last weekend at the American Youth Horse Council Leaders Symposium (www.ayhc.com), and I was impressed. I attend this meeting every other year because I think it's important to learn what's happening in the youth activities and to encourage good leadership.

It was held in Lexington, Ky. and, of course, you can't go wrong with that location if you're a horse lover. Youth leaders (and teens in leadership) came from all over the country. The schedule was good, keeping us hopping from lecture to round table discussions and other activities. We heard from experts as well as everyday leaders in the field, and had lots of time for networking.

The not-so-good news is that fewer youth are participating in horse activities than the baby boomers did. Kids today have less access to agriculture and livestock, and they have far more competition for their time than did the boomer generation. So, many of the discussions centered around how to engage youth and to create opportunities for kids who don't have horses.

Working with horses isn't just about a sport or about love of the animal. It's an opportunity to learn life skills. For instance, in 4-H and FFA Judging, "Oral Reasons" is a competition in which participants learn to evaluate four similar items or animals according to objective criteria, and then to explain their choices. They have to follow a formula, organize their thoughts, know why they made the choices they did, and use appropriate terms in explaining their decisions. No winging it like man-on-the-street TV interviews.

Despite the importance of kids working with horses, funding is being cut on many programs. Leaders are scrambling to make ends meet and to keep programs going.

Here's where you come in. Most youth organizations depend heavily on volunteer leaders or helpers. You don't have to be a horse trainer extraordinaire. You can bring the soda pop, make phone calls, gather up items for the scavenger hunt, help kids learn to tie knots, or any of a zillion other tasks. Of course, good horse experience is a plus. Contact someone in your area and pitch in. You may set out just to help others, but I'll bet you come away having made your own horse life richer.

And if you're already investing in our youth, thank you. What you're doing matters.

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Don't Invite Me to Go Shopping

Feb 17, 2010

By Maureen Gallatin

I just came back from a morning of shopping - an exercise in frustration. The dollar-store "reader" glasses ($9 and up) were either too flimsy or too trendy. I wanted the same ordinary ones I bought a year ago for $5, but none were to be had. The big discount store (W) said they'd need a prescription to make a $49 pair of readers. Nothing in between.

So on I went to the mission of finding a watchband. You have to be kidding! They don't stock more than one or two anymore. But for $10 I could get a whole new watch.

The big-chain feed store was out of the dog food I get, and the few people who were in the store were all in the mile-long line, waiting for the one checker - who was on the phone.

I was successful in finding a toaster. When I paid for it, the checker squeezed it into a bag whose handle loops didn't come above the box. I just looked at him, dumbfounded. He mumbled that was the only bag they had. Without moving, I said, "Surely you have another bag." So he went to another counter where - what do you know? - they had bigger bags.

I was initially discouraged, wondering how our society could have so fallen apart. But then I remembered that this afternoon I was going to see my horse, and life there is real.

I think we horse people have tremendous advantages over the population in general. How many of those people I saw at the big box stores have someone waiting for them at the pasture fence? How many have to be aware enough to get their feet out of the way or they get stepped on? Our horse experience keeps us grounded and not assuming life revolves totally around a cell phone.

As I drove home, I truly counted my blessings - having a horse I can be myself with and horse people who keep it real, too.

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Prayers for Haiti

Jan 14, 2010

By Maureen Gallatin

As I write this, I'm working through a sense of overwhelming sadness about the earthquakes in Haiti.

During the first months of 1983, I was in Haiti with the Christian Veterinary Mission (click here to learn more) . I worked as a vet tech on various animal husbandry endeavors about half my time in the countryside and the other half in Port-au-Prince. Haiti was desperately poor, and life there was difficult no matter how you looked at it."Overwhelmed" is the best word to use when you talk about Haiti - Overwhelming poverty, spiritual activity of the bad kind, hunger, desperate catch-22 problems. No where to start to fix things apart from the grace of God.Yet I was so impressed with the Haitian people, their great sense of humor and ability to not take themselves too seriously despite the dire circumstances of their lives.

I recall walking up a long mountain with several Haitians (Haiti is mountains and more mountains). The interpreter had gone ahead into the village. Someone asked me a question like, What's your last name?" or "Who's your best friend?" Whatever the question, I answered mistakenly with the word for "donkey." They laughed good-heartedly and brayed for hours.When we got to the village, they asked the interpreter where I came from. They didn't believe I was American, because Americans don't smile as much as I did. What they didn't know was that my non-stop smile was me gasping for breath.

I learned a lot from the Haitian people. I was offered a job in Haiti, and if I had been more heat-tolerant, I would have seriously considered it. Despite all Haiti's problems, you "couldn't not" love the people. Now this series of earthquakes leaves those same people in overwhelming distress.

Please keep Haiti in your prayers, and give to an appropriate agency that can get relief supplies where they are needed. Don't forget a special hug for your family and your horses.

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Y2K+10

Jan 07, 2010

By Maureen Gallatin

I don't know about you, but at our house we were breathing a sigh of relief 10 years ago that Y2K was a non-event. We took the threat seriously, not because we assumed anything dire would happen, but because we wanted to be in a position to take care of ourselves and help others if something did.

So we put aside food and flashlights. We started quite a ways in advance, adding a box of this or bag of rice each week to our grocery shopping. Eventually we had enough supplies to last a few weeks. And I learned lots of ways to cook rice and beans (a skill that I've used plenty in the years since).

When this winter hit, we were glad that we had made contingency planning a part of our routine. Here in North Carolina, it's been unusually cold, but not like what the midwest has experienced. Nonetheless, we woke up one morning to no water. We had power, but the water line had frozen. We didn't have to think twice about where water for our morning coffee would come from. We went downstairs and grabbed a gallon, had coffee and oatmeal, and were back in business and ready to go deal with the frozen water line.

"Contingency thinking" is kind of a way of life for me, as it is for many horse people. In the same way a pilot makes a pre-flight check, I consider:
* What if we don't have power? Can't pump water from the well. Heat pump won't work. Cordless phone won't work, and so forth.
* What if there's a gas shortage or other supply disruption? No food in grocery stores. Can't run out to buy hay.

Still, however well you think through the what ifs, there's only so much you can control. You can make preparations, but then you have to be flexible in order to determine what's an inconvenience and what's a crisis.

Fortunately, good horse folks (and parents) have lots of practice when it comes to inconvenience. We prepare the best we can, then roll with the punches. I am excited to see what 2010 will hold.

P.S. Thank you for the holiday greetings and nice comments you've sent regarding "An Extra Flake." I am thrilled that it has been an encouragement to so many people. Thank you for spreading the word about it. If there's anything I can do to help you, don't hesitate to write me. (In 2009, I began a free daily inspirational email for horse people called, "An Extra Flake." To subscribe, go to http://www.inspiredbyhorses.com/subscribe)

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Steady, Don't Rush

Dec 23, 2009

By Maureen Gallatin

It's hard to believe that Friday is Christmas already. But it happens this way every year, with the calendar seeming to speed up as we approach the holidays.

It seems people move faster, too. Tight deadlines, deliveries, decorating, shopping, cooking, social gatherings - a whole lot more activity packed into every 24 hours. The tension level increases at the same pace.

One lesson I've learned in working with horses comes in handy at this time of year. You can't control high energy with excitement. The faster the horse is moving, the steadier a hand he needs on the rein or lead rope.

If you try jerking the lead on the horse jigging beside you, the horse isn't going to say, "Thanks. I needed that." He'll get more excited, carrying his head even higher.

Instead, you need smooth moves. Frantic won't get the job done. It's not just a physical thing. Anxiety is catching. Fortunately, so is calmness.

This is a good week to practice the skill of moving quickly without hurrying. Whether you're hustling on the job, jockeying for parking places, worried about slippery roads, or madly ferrying kids to events, realize you can be calm despite the day's storm. Simply slow your mind, slow your hands, and maybe even crack a smile.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

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