Advice from a Saddle Club Pro

Dear CFA family,

Ryne and I have been asking for guest bloggers to write up some of their camp experiences to be published here at Hey Hey CFA. Jen is an amazing young woman and a camper of several years, who was my first volunteer to write about her Saddle Club experiences. I gave her a few pretty simple questions to answer, and she ended up writing this wonderful essay describing her summers at YMCA Camp Flaming Arrow. She also has some great advice for campers new and old. Read it and enjoy! I feel so blessed to teach riding students like Jen every summer— I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

— "MA"

        Hey, Hey CFA.....Hay is for Horses! My name Is Jen Alexander. I am fifteen years old and I live in San Antonio, Texas. I am a competitive swimmer and I am a brown Ragger. (Raggers is a special program at CFA.) I have been in Saddle Club for five years, since I started camp at the age of ten. The reason I choose to be part of Saddle Club is because I am one of those kids who love horseback riding, but I don't have the money to own a horse and I live in the suburbs of San Antonio. I am a horse lover so Saddle Club is that one week out of 52 that I get to live my dream as a horseback rider and I get to say that one phrase I love to say: "That's my horse". If you share the same story then Saddle Club will give you that experience. 

         I enjoy every part of Saddle Club. Saddle Club lets you experience being a horseback rider. You get to enjoy the ability to "own" a horse for a week. The games you do will be fun and teach good posture when you are in the saddle. The games help you become better equestrians. You also get to learn good horsemanship, how to brush your horse and put the saddle on your horse. You get to learn how to walk and trot on your horse. Trotting is a faster pace than a walk. Older kids may even learn how to canter. Cantering, or loping, is a faster pace than a trot. There is a special trail ride that the Saddle Club gets to go on. We get to ride our horses up to Mt. Vesper. Mt. Vesper is this cliff mountain that has a cross on it. The older kids get to eat s'mores up there. It's a pretty view. You can see all of the camp from that point. 

        I think all the horses are amazing. So don't worry about getting a crazy horse because they are all sweet and compatible. My favorite horses for beginner riders are Jb and Karat. Jb is a Spanish quarter horse. I rode him for 2 years. He is a pony but prefers to be called a small horse. He is sweet and gentle. He is the handsomest pony in the barn. He is a great listener and doesn't get super crazy. I love to put his long bangs into a ponytail. He makes funny faces when I do that. :) He has a fast yet smooth walk and his trot is fast. Karat is a pretty mare and she is a Arabian/Quarter horse. She is sassy girl but is honestly sweet. When you trot her she makes funny faces that are awesome to catch on camera. Don't worry if she does that because that's just her. She has a smooth trot and walk. She can ride both English and western so if you only know one way don't worry because she knows both. 

        For advanced riders that ride back at home but never have ridden at CFA, Marquee and is a fun horse for you. I rode him for two years. He is a Thoroughbred. He is the biggest horse in the barn. He has a nice slow walk and a really fast trot so he is perfect to do a posting trot on. He has a calm personality and listens well too. He has a fast canter that's rough but he's only eight, so he might become smoother as he gets older.  Last summer I got the privilege to ride one of the new mustangs named Indigo. He is so cute and calm. If you are an advanced rider you might get to ride him. He has a nice slow walk and a slow trot. When I rode him you liked to go anywhere he wanted to go but he listens well. He is a class clown. He likes to make funny faces and knock down things. He is a very curious little fellow. He doesn't bite or buck which was a surprise to me since he is from the wild. 

        Take my advice young Jedi, because it will determine your life or death here at CFA...I am just playing with you but I recommend you take it. I recommend boot cut or jeans that aren't tight because if you don't want to rip your favorite pair of super tight skinny jeans than I would pick up a pair of loose jeans at Target or Old Navy. Also, about jeans, I wouldn't wear jeans with holes in them because than you can get them caught on the fence or on hooks on the saddle. I would keep your riding clothes in a separate bag just in case if you fall into wild grass and you find out that you are allergic to it and get hives. Been there done that, don't want to have Mickey Mouse hands. I recommend you don't wear flats or TOMS because they don't do to well in mud and poop. At least you can clean tennis shoes and boots. You should have your parents come take you as early as possible so that you can get dibs on a bunk near the A/C. 

        Well, I am planning on coming to CFA this summer for my LIT year. I am also planning on being an WIT when I am 17 to become an assistant wrangler for CFA because someone has to fill those boots.  I will be returning for the epic summer of 2012. Don't forget to live, laugh, love, and look up!

 — Jen A., San Antonio TX

Here's Jen riding "Indigo," the mustang she refers to in her blog entry. She was the very first student rider to trot on Indigo, and even played a whole day of games on him!

Miss you already, summer. (With videos galore!)

What a brilliant summer we had at CFA. Most staff have moved on; a few remain to throw their hearts into retreats for the next two weeks. The Magical Back Room in Strong Hall has been tidied and organized and the millions of fun things in there all await Summer 2012, to emerge for theme nights and dances and fairs. The horses are enjoying a brief respite for the month of September. Our staff shirts are washed and folded, to be worn on days other than those which they were intended for— the red "Caring" shirt on a Tuesday!? Sacrilegious!

As we gather our thoughts and lives together from the bustle of summer, enjoy the eight session videos, produced almost entirely by our wonderful "Video Guy," Stephen Salas. Even as the voices of summer fade from the kickball fields and the triangle, we can relive some of the fun thanks to YouTube.

















See you soon, friends & family!

A Mustang at Camp: Indigo's Story

In the northernmost corner of Nevada, close to California, are the Calico Mountains. Named for the colorful rock formations that resembled the piebald coat of a calico cat to some pioneer eons ago, and relatively lush in grazing and water supply, these particular hills are home to a distinct subgroup of the American Mustang. The mustangs still roaming western North America are all mutts of the horse world, pieced together from old Spanish influence, Native American's unique breeding stock, and ranch horses turned lose or wandered away from settlers. Calico Mountains Mustangs are unique in that they closely resemble (and are descendants of) the ideal ranch horse of American settlers. Possessing good confirmation and hardy, because of their bountiful homeland, "Calico Complex" horses are often as colorful and varied in their patterns as the mountains that surround their home.

The Calico Mountains, north of Gerlach, NV.

In the early spring of 2008, a shaggy red-and-white colt was born in these mountains. He had a white face, one blue eye, and (one would guess, from knowing him now) a slightly quirky expression on his face. We can't know for sure if this colt's first year was lived in peace and stability along side a healthy mother and a strong family unit, or if he was plagued from the start by the drought in Western America. What we do know is that on January 29th, 2010, his life changed both dramatically and traumatically— a helicopter rounded up the colt's family and drove them to a holding pen, where agents from the Bureau of Land Management loaded them into huge stock trailers and eventually they were shipped all the way to central Colorado, to a gigantic prison complex housing over 2,000 other formerly wild mustangs and burros from all over the American West.

One of the prison facilities at Canon City, Colorado, where 2,000 wild equines are housed, in addition to inmates.

There the horses are broken into pens which often hold 30 or more horses of the same gender, age range, and capture date. This little colt didn't catch anybody's eye for eight months, at least not enough to get him a $125 ticket to a new home; the cost of an adoption fee through the BLM. He waited. And, apparently, got a little beat up in the process from his pasture-mates.

I spotted him on a trip to Canon City while searching for a new camp horse, milling around in a pen of much more boisterous 2 year old geldings. He was the object of a lot of flying hooves and bared teeth, but despite being clearly bullied, he showed a great deal of interest in me, my best friend, and my sister-in-law. We were instructed by our guide to hang at the edge of the pen in case they herd got moving quickly, and as we stood discussing the merits of various horses, a white face and blue eye kept peeking out from behind other rumps and tails. We wrote down his tag number but passed him up. I do believe we nicknamed him "Ugly," which probably wasn't the sweetest thing to do, but he was sort of a ragamuffin, covered in scratches and bites and general wear and tear.

But after a few more hours of searching among the thousands of horses, my mind kept drifting back to "Ugly." No other horse had shown so much interest us the rest of that morning. His funny face kept egging me on. And so, with a signed check and a few pieces of paperwork, Ugly belonged to camp and we were a few short weeks and a long drive back to Colorado with a trailer from picking him up. He made it to his new home at YMCA Camp Flaming Arrow in late August of 2010, just before midnight.

Within a few short days, "Ugly" had a name and was wearing a halter. Called "Indigo" for the deep, purpley-blue depths of his right eye, he proved himself to be just as calm, willing, and interested in people (and the tasty food they bring around) as he appeared on that first day back in Colorado.

Indy's first halter. Yes, it's pink!

Turns out, with a little bit of grain and a fair amount of brushing, "Ugly" really.. wasn't. He has balanced confirmation; a little on the short side, but with powerful shoulders and hindquarters and strong legs and feet that are a throwback to his great-great-great-grandparents' lives working early cattle ranches out West. Within short order, he was leading happily on adventures around camp, checking out new places and allowing new people to stroke his shoulder or offer him a bit of hay. He learned that the saddle and blanket weren't going to eat him alive, and so carried those well without much coaxing.

Indy and another young camp horse learn how to trailer and tie safely.

Be warned, though, that Indigo is probably not an average mustang. Remember, we chose him for his personality— friendly, not very scared of people, and extremely calm. Most of his brethren were wild-eyed and terrified of humans, and would probably require a great deal more patience and time before being half as gentle as little Indigo. Even as docile as he is, Indigo has never been forced, beaten, or truly threatened— there is no sense in rushing or pushing any horse, especially one that was once wild.

Right before his first ride in the roundpen.

Flash forward to seven months later, and Indy is coming along right about at the rate a normal, hand-raised domestic horse would be in their training. He has carried a rider for short periods since early October and has just begun short, easy trail rides with me on his back. Nobody else has been on him yet, but that will come in due time— possibly this summer, once he is used to the camp wrangler and trusts her, too. Letting a horse mature a bit (age four or five) is a good idea before asking it for too much difficult or fast-paced work, but at the age of three, Indy will hopefully carry a wrangler on a few trail rides with a group this summer and should be ready for more work by spring of 2012.

Turning three and still a shrimp! Tall MA (5'10") rides little Indigo last Tuesday.

Our hope is that Indigo will learn to serve children and adults at camp as he grows and matures and continues his training. The hardiness, health, intelligence, and sound build of the American Mustang make them good candidates for learning almost any equine discipline. Indigo's gentle nature and friendliness make him a great candidate for a life filled with teaching children about horsemanship and the wild, wonderful horses of the American West.

Happy trails!

A view from between Indy's ears on a pleasant spring trail ride at CFA.

For more information on mustangs, visit Wild Horses of the Calico Mountains or The Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse & Burro Adoption. I could not have written this blog without the above two sites. The first two photos are from Wild Horses of Calico Mt. and a government website, respectively. Also, please note: This blog post is not intended in any way to serve as horse training advice. Leave that to the professionals, guys!

What makes a great camp horse. [The CFA Definitive Guide]

In my office, I have a piece of paper that's been photocopied a few times. At the top it reads "New Horse Evaluation" and the Times New Roman print carries on with phrases like reaction to injection simulation and ground manners and demeanor while saddling and hoof condition, and so forth. It is a solid document I cannot take credit for, full of equestrian jargon that means a lot to us weird horse people and probably not a whole lot to the average kid who just wants a chance to ride. I take a copy of that paper with me and make sparse notes whenever somebody calls me out to see if their horse would be a good fit for CFA.

The truth is, really, that there is no black-and-white criteria by which a true Camp Horse can be judged. They are each unique and their own "person," if I can borrow that particular species' term. A few common threads appear when you take a look at those in our herd who have given some of the greatest years of service to children in camping— for one, rarely is the truly Great Camp Horse beautiful by the textbook standards of equine confirmation. There is often a long back, sagging with age (see "Charlie) or particularly creaky hocks long tired from years as a competitor in a more taxing equestrian sport (like "Dixie" in her roping days.) We possess a short little fellow who looks more like a grouchy, stubby-legged white rhinoceros than a glittering grey Welsh pony. His name is "Salty," or "Salty Dog," and the grizzly personality matches the name. Luckily, his signature whitish coloration makes him an immediate favorite of almost every little girl who sets her eyes on him, assuaging their dismay when, upon mounting, they realize he's a hard mouthed, cranky pony with a strong desire to eat instead of walk. He would still never dump a child or leave them stranded; he just takes the long way around on his own accord.

That said, onto Common Trait #2.. and I have to contradict myself here. Should you wander through our pasture and take a look at our 27-horse-strong herd, you would see quite a few handsome stock horses, stately Thoroughbreds, flashy paints, and even an Arabian or draft or two. But no great camp horse goes without some personality quirk or flaw that relinquishes them to a life best spent allowing children to climb over their backs and play cowgirl or cowboy. "Hannah," for example, hasn't spent many months with us here at CFA, and you wouldn't peg her as a camp pony very quickly. She has the lovely, stout, functional confirmation of a foundation Quarter Horse and an overwhelming desire to "crib" or "windsuck," meaning she takes about any straight, hard surface in her mouth (think fencing, mainly) and bites down on it and sucks air in through her lungs. The action releases endorphins in her head, which ease some of her lingering social anxiety— Hannah tends to prefer the company of people, especially girls, to most other horses. Yet despite her good looks and being young by camp standards, she carries her charges with grace and care and almost a delicateness in knowing that she has been given something important to watch over. Tall, thoroughbred, elegant "Marquee" was purchased off of the racetrack to join the ranks of competitive eventing horses— the kind most often associated with Olympic horsemanship. An injury in his joint and consequent issues thereafter meant he had to find work elsewhere. Normally, an enormous beast of a very young Thoroughbred horse would be a terrible addition to any traditional camp setting, but Marquee's overwhelming curiosity and desire to be a part of activity and adventure means he excels in the camp environment, normally carrying more advanced riders but nearly always behaving gently for the greenhorns as well.


There are other tests a camp horse must pass beyond having good hooves and a generally quiet disposition. A great camp horse doesn't flinch when a learning challenged child attempts to scuttle from their back in a great wave of panic on a mountainous trail ride. A great camp horse may never have seen a barrel in their life, but performs admirably around three of them while carrying a little girl with the hopes of someday being a champion barrel racer in the National Finals Rodeo. A great camp horse not only stops for particularly tasty grass, but for the stray barn cat who finds themselves a hair's breadth away from getting stepped on. A great camp horse doesn't kick when presented with an errant seven-year-old who attempts to hug their "horsey" via their back legs. A great camp horse protests only very modestly when a Saddle Club student attempts to put a bit in their mouth and misses altogether, clashing with the poor horse's forehead. A great camp horse puts 25 years of hard work and tired bones behind them, and canters home on the last leg of a speed event for a kid who just wants to win something, "for once." A great camp horse enjoys the long hug at the end of a lesson, tolerates kisses on their sensitive velvet nose, and accepts a treat as politely as they can muster.

Lucky for us, we have many great camp horses. They are far from faultless but good-natured creatures. We could learn from their honesty and the faith they put into their often unskilled riders.

What goes on at the barn when ya'll aren't here?

Whenever I have a chance to talk to folks about my job —I'm the Equestrian Director here, by the way, I usually hear one of two responses. Sometimes both.

One, "That sounds like the greatest job ever."

And two, "So what do you actually do when you don't have summer camp / a retreat / trail rides?"

Well, let me tell you!

CFA currently has twenty-four horses. To my knowledge, that's more than we've had in quite awhile and besides feeding them, there comes a lot of maintenance with our herd who varies in age from 15 months old to 30 years old.

Obviously, the horses have to eat each day. Every horse has access to hay 24/7. Total, the herd goes through almost 4,000 pounds of high-quality Coastal hay each week— which is a lot, but it makes up most of their diet. We put out hay at least once a week and each horse spends 8 - 16 hours a day eating.. Which explains why we need 4,000 pounds of the stuff! Besides hay, each horse receives a ration of grain. In some cases, for some of the fittest and fattest horses (like Pumbaa and JB and Rue) that means only a couple of handfuls of horse feed. The oldest and skinniest guys (like Charlie and Dixie and Puzzle) get pounds and pounds of feed generally twice a day, soaked in water, so it's easier to digest.

Whenever the horses come in for grain, they also get checked for any wounds they may have picked up playing in the pasture, or any signs of sickness. Part of my work is using basic veterinary skills to patch up scrapes and bites and scratches, and making sure everyone is healthy. We keep a big cabinet full of first aid supplies and medicine, but anything truly major is addressed by our wonderful veterinarians in nearby Kerrville.

The younger and more excitable horses also need exercise in the form of arena work, trail rides, and "groundwork"— working with a horse while not being mounted in a saddle. That falls to me, too, though everyone at CFA enjoys a horseback ride on occasion! We also have two very young horses who have, at this point, never been ridden yet. They are in training to become saddle horses too, and that takes plenty of groundwork several days a week.

For most of the fall and spring, CFA welcomes retreat groups in the form of Girl or Boy Scouts, YMCA Adventure Guides, church or youth groups, and other groups of people. Many groups choose to ride horses, so a Wrangler and I saddle up ten or twelve horses on Saturday and Sunday and lead trail rides on Santa Fe Trail, the Enchanted Forest Trail, the BB Trail, and the Fiesta Trail.

Also during the off season, when there isn't a retreat group here, I teach riding lessons for the Adopt-a-Horse Program. Currently, Hannah, Missy, Dolly, and Karat are all in the program, and we're expecting more sign ups in October. Lessons are a lot like Saddle Club rides on a smaller scale— horsemanship is taught in the arena through exercises and practice, and we break it up often with games and trail rides.

Besides the barn stuff, there's always plenty to do in the office and often with the San Antonio Y.. And now, apparently, writing blog posts once a week for CFA! (I love the idea, Ryne.) A lot goes into taking care of a herd of camp horses, but the reasoning behind it is easy. I think camp is incredibly important and, working here at CFA, I have the very lucky opportunity to give lots of people a chance to ride for the first or thousandth time. Being around horses can teach a person many things about themselves, and it is certainly one of my favorite things to do in this beautiful Hill Country setting!