We have our people on the ground at the site of the Inaugural GCT Horse Show in Vienna… Okay, not really, but a dear friend of mine lives there and snapped this shot of the venue for me!
Pretty cool huh!
and a big congrats is in order to Jessica Springsteen how captured a huge win over the weekend! Way to represent, Jessica!
Many of my barn friends spend a HUGE amount of the green stuff on Adequan each year. While I’m obviously in full support of giving your horses’ joints every chance to be happy and last for as long as possible, I can’t help but notice that so many people are pretty uneducated about the most effective, most efficient way to use Adequan. I was certainly fell into this category until I did some exploring, recently.
According the USEF August e-blast, Adequan is intended to be used in in this way to get the maximum benefit of the treatment.
So, the USEF has blown the myth of using Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan (Adequan) once, every month out of the water. If used properly, we will not only maximize the benefits of the product but eliminate using the drug in a way that does not yield results, thus saving us… some moo-lah! I wish I had known this sooner! I administered Adequan monthly, for years. Oh the wasted money!
As I was strolling into work this morning, no actually, more like sprinting in 15 minutes late, I stepped on my first crunchy leaf of the year. As I heard it crunch, I was immediately taken back at least ten years. Suddenly, I remembered spending cool, crisp afternoons in the barn. I remembered all the fall horse shows, the Halloween costume classes. I thought about pulling blankets out of dusty old trunks in the loft and putting them on the horses for the first time. I thought about the first time the water buckets freeze over and chipping madly away at them with hoof picks. I thought about being an awkward teenager, and dashing off to the barn after high school to escape the pressures of my peers. I thought about the anticipation of new leases and new horses in late fall for the upcoming show season.
Maybe all of us share this love for autumn. Maybe it’s because fall colors go so nicely with an equestrian wardrobe. Or maybe it’s more than that…
There’s something about the fall that makes the sport seem even more alive, even more important to me. I hope this fall you will all spend a few extra hours in the barn. I hope that you will enjoy the beautiful fall days and thank mother nature for providing. And spend a moment considering the values and the gifts given to you by the sport. We’re lucky to be able to do it, thank someone who has helped you along the way.
We are super, super pumped to have a new home on the world wide web. We’ve upgraded from a tiny studio apartment to a pent house suite. Check it out guys! Let us know what you think. Feedback is much appreciated. In the mean time, we will be enjoying all the new space.
We can now be found at: http://www.aidingandabettingamateur.com
We’re still getting our footing on this new website, but we will be up and running soon!
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Happy blogging!
Oh you know, just thrifting today. Good finds!
Solving the Mystery:
The Aiding Amateur has set out to discover the origin of some not so obvious barn-lingo. The first stop on this grand quest is to explore the small leather strap that keeps your (and my) horses from going around the ring like inverted giraffes. Whether of the standing or running variety, we know that this piece of tack is a must have in the barn. You’ve probably said the word a ba-jillion times, and never stopped to consider where it got its goofy name, but we’re here to explain!
For you entertainment, we have asked non-horsey friends to define this term. Our responses are full of creativity and hilarity:
Although we appreciate their efforts, our friends aren’t on the right track. While the etymological history of the word martingale is not entirely clear or obvious, there are some pretty good attempts to explain where this word came from, and how it got into our barns.
This word is used in several other circles. Gamblers have been known to use this term when describing a certain type of game theory in which the gambler would double his bet after every loss. Sounds like a good way to blow a lot of cash in Vegas, huh? Another context in which this word has been used historically is in probability theory. Essentially, this word has been used to describe a process in that the knowledge of past events will in no way indicate the potential happenings of future events.
There is also a distinct possibility that this word was created to describe the residents of the Martigues (France) region, who were known for their banter and festivals. Another interesting related meaning comes from the term “martingale pants” which were pants with drop seats to make do your duty as a soldier easier, as Rebalais stated, “A drawbridge for the ass that makes excretion easier.” … Interesting.
And still more historical meanings for this word…
Martingale was historically used in France as a term for prostitution or women of low virtue. And finally, to describe a folk-dance, danced by shipmen and sailors in which one slaps the heel against the wooden boards of a ship to produce a loud tapping sound.
It’s hard to draw an etymology bridge for this word from origin to modern usage. It is fairly certain that the first time this word showed up in a dictionary accompanied by a definition explaining horse tack was as early as the Assyrian Empire. Needless to say, it’s been around for a minute. And as long as there are high-headed ponies and polo players, it’ll be around for a while longer.
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