February 2023 Issue

Page 24 February 2023 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Calendar of Events Submit events by the 10th of the month preceding publication to steph@eastcoastequestrian.net or P.O. Box 8412, Lancaster, PA 17604-8412 FEBRUARY 3 Horse Auction. RSD Horse Auctions Inc., Kearneys- ville, WV. (304) 876-8326 or rsdhorseauctions.com. 3-5 Partridge Run Winter Classic. Swan Lake Stables, Littlestown, PA. (717) 359-5357 or swanlakestables.com . 4 CJL Horse Show. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Horseparkofnewjersey.com. 4-5 USEA/USEF Horse Tri- als. Sporting Days Farm, Aiken, SC. Sportingdaysfarm.com. 5 Show Series. Heaven’s Gate Farm, Pipersville, PA. (267) 709-0234 or heavensgatefarmpa. com. 5 Fall Winter Schooling Series. Country Hill Farm, West- minster, MD. Countryhillhorse farm.com . 5 Snowflake Hunter/Jumper & Jumper Series. Coexist Farm, Mount Airy, MD. Coexiststables. com. 6 Cross Country Schooling Day. Sporting Days Farm, Aiken, SC. Sportingdaysfarm.com. 9 Clear Round Schooling. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allen- town, NJ. Horseparkofnewjersey. com. 11 Barrel Racing. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Horseparkofnewjersey.com. 11 MD Horse Show Asso- ciation Show. Autumn Grove Stables, Berlin, MD. Mdhsa.org. 11 Lauren Annett Winter Dressage Clinic Series. Second Century, West Chester, PA. ovcta. org. 11-12 February Local Show. Swan Lake Stables, Littlestown, PA. (717) 359-5357 or swanlake stables.com. 17 Horse & Tack Auction. The Auction House at the Eyler Stables, Thurmont, MD. (240) 549-9900 or theauctionhouse.bid. 17-19 February National (A) Show. Swan Lake Stables, Littlestown, PA. (717) 359-5357 or swanlakestables.com. 18 Schooling Dressage Show. Dunmovin Farm, West Chester, PA. (610) 416-3839 or dunmovin.net . 18 New Jersey Horse Association Banquet. Gloucester County Dream Park, Logan Twp., NJ. Dreamparknj.com. 18-19 Winter Show Series. Lotus Show Stables, Long Valley, NJ. (973) 975-9472 or lotusshow stable.com . 19 Barrel Racing. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Horseparkofnewjersey.com. 19 MD Horse Show Associ- ation Show. McDonough School, MD. Mdhsa.org. 20 IEARegion 8 Finals. Gloucester County Dream Park, Logan Twp., NJ. Dreamparknj.com. 21 Gloucester County 4-H. Gloucester County Dream Park, Logan Twp., NJ. Dreamparknj. com. 23-26 McDonough Win- ter Classic III. McDonough School, Owings Mills, MD. Cpjhsa.org. 25 Winter Dressage School- ing Series. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Horsepark ofnewjersey.com. 26 Barrel Racing. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Horseparkofnewjersey.com. 26 Heritage Acres Winter IV. Heritage Acres, Dillsburg, PA. Cpjhsa.org. MARCH 2-5 Horse World Expo. PA Farm Show Complex, Har- risburg, PA. horseworldexpo. com. 3 Horse Auction. RSD Horse Auctions Inc., Kearneys- ville, WV. (304) 876-8326 or rsdhorseauctions.com. 4 4-H Educational Clinic. Gloucester County Dream Park, Logan Twp., NJ. Dreamparknj. com. 4-5 March Local Series Finale. Swan Lake Stables, Lit- tlestown, PA. (717) 359-5357 or swanlakestables.com . 4-5 MD Horse Show As- sociation Show. Autumn Grove Stables, Berlin, MD. Mdhsa.org. 5 Show Series. Heaven’s Gate Farm, Pipersville, PA. (267) 709-0234 or heavensgatefarmpa. com. 5 CJL Horse Show. Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Horseparkofnewjersey.com. Go ahead...Ask da Mare The Question of Riding Horses on the Road By Malorie de la Mare Dear Mal… I am worried about my friend. The other day we were in her car, driving down a road near my house. She had to slam on the brakes because there were two people on horses in the road. I was horrified that we could have hit the horses, but said something to her like, “wow, such a neat thing to see horses this morning!” But my friend was furious. Seriously! The riders were just casually crossing the road! This road is a two-lane country road and there are several farms around. My friend said these people should keep their horses off the roads. She started ranting about how it’s downright dangerous! The speed limit on the road is 30 (she may have been going a little faster than that), and there are a couple of signs alerting drivers that there are horse crossings. My friend said that the riders were going to cause a serious accident. She said that she’s tired of having to watch out for bike riders and equestri- ans who don’t belong on public roads like this. My friend is a nice person, and her temper tan- trum upset me, and worried me. Do you have any ideas about how I can defuse my friend’s anger? -Worried Dear Worried… Your friend needs to take a deep breath and think about what it means to live in a com- munity, where people all pay their taxes and share important things like roads. The roads don’t belong exclusively to people driving cars. I know that it’s sometimes frustrating to have to slow down for people on bikes or horses crossing the roads, or for construction. But these things are part of life. I think you should talk to your friend about what else might be going on in her life. It seems she’s on edge and anxious. Does she have health issues? Job problems? Family problems? Maybe she won’t let you in to her sadness or the source of her anxiety. But, as a friend, you should try to support her as well as encourage her to seek pro- fessional help. Anger, when it erupts as your friend’s did, is a symptom of pain—emotional or physical. You should keep that in mind, and recognize that she needs a good friend, even if she seems to be pushing you away. Good luck. Dear Mal… My friend has a beautiful horse, and even though I don’t know much about horses, I enjoy going to the barn with my friend and watching him with his horse. He mostly does Dressage with his horse—a really big horse! Some- times before he rides, he puts these wrappings on the horse’s legs; other times, he doesn’t. I asked him what the wrappings are for and he said “protection,” but didn’t elaborate. Of course, he was in the midst of getting his horse ready for a show and was probably a little distracted. I don’t want to pester him about all this, but maybe you can tell me what these things are for? -Curious Dear Curious… Well, protection is a very cursory explanation. The wraps are meant to protect a horse from a number of potential problems. They’re stretchy and help protect a horse’s tendons. They also help protect a horse from what is called over-reach- ing, in which a horse’s back foot strikes the heel of his front foot. As you can imagine, that could sting! So, the polo wraps provide a cushion that protects the horse’s heels from getting dinged by his back feet. Dres- sage riders often wrap their horses’ legs to protect them from injuries to their tendons. Also, they can look pretty cool; so, sometimes the wraps are meant to add a bit of panache to the routine. When your friend is riding his horse just to exercise him, he probably would not use the wraps. As with anything meant to provide protection, wraps must be applied properly to ensure that they don’t actual- ly cause problems for the horse. Wraps applied incorrectly can actually injure a horse. Have a question for Mal? Email her at PAEquest@aol. com.