New York Natural Equestrians

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The lack of a real Winter and the recent rain hatched out tons of ticks as well as an early run of deer flies and face gnats. All horses should have bodies completely sprayed, especially belllies, put repellent on the horse’s muzzle, chin and face and fly masks if you have them. Legs should be SATURATED all the way around and all the way up, especially coronet bands. Clear SWAT can be rubbed on coronet bands. Otherwise there will be stamping and bucking horses. Our neighbor pulled 62 ticks off her horse’s legs the other day, after 1 short ride. Riders should also spritz some OFF on the shoes, socks and lower pant legs and stay out of the grass as much as possible. Mar and Barbara are in for the ride.
Wendy Hodor

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                 Friends of Connetquot 15^th annual Trail Ride/Hike

  The Friends of Connetquot would like to thank all the great folks who came out to support the Friends in their endeavors to help Connetquot State Park Preserve. Over 100 great friends came out on a great day to ride, hike and drive carriages through some of the most beautiful and historic trails on Long Island. Many generous people and businesses donated food, prizes and time to help make the event a huge success. Preliminary numbers look a record breaking event.

   Our sponsors Dawn Electric, Huntington Dog Grooming, Shyacre Farm, Bob and Edith Wilson, East End Livestock Association, Paumanok Driving Club, Country Farms Polo and Arena, Connetquot Chiropractic, Christopher Pratt Landscaping, Acme Radiator, Green Rose Farm Family Insurance – Vincent Daly agency, and Ted Hubbard all stepped up to the plate. We couldn’t have made it through the day without our super volunteers, Ken and Annette Leitch, Karen Connelly, Aimee and Randy Schmitt, Bob and Edith Wilson, Ginny Fields, Fran Levesque, Liz Bloom, Keith Snedecor, Tom and Nina Conway, John Linitz and JeRita Trapani. A special thanks to Gil Bergen and his dedicated staff at Connetquot. Without the support of many organizations to get the word out to the community no one would have known about our great event, LIequine.com. , Horse Directory, Nassau- Suffolk Horseman’s Assn., Islip Horseman’s Assn., Sonny Garguilo- Go Natural, East End Horse and Livestock Assn., NY Natural Equestrians, Talkin’Horses, and the Friends of Connetquot.

     Many generous businesses donated the great food and snacks for us to all enjoy and have one of the best buffet rides on Long Island.  The Snapper Inn, Terrace Garden Deli, Terrace bagels and bakery, Stanley’s and Audrey’s bakeries, Dunkin’ Donuts of East Islip, Quizno’s of East Islip, A & S Pork store of East Islip, Francesco’s Trattoria, Martino’s Pizza, Mary’s Pizza and Pasta, C & L Cafe, Handy Pantry of Bohemia, B & G Deli of Westbury, Karen Connolly and Rita Trapani.

   Raffles, raffles and more thanks to many wonderful folks who donated, created and gave of themselves to have tables of beautiful baskets. Island Orthodontics- The Zak family, Linda Paice, Noelle and Mike Gordon, Dawn Roth equine massage, Agway of Port Jefferson, Neptune Feed, The Hay Loft, Pet Bowl, Andrew Goetz feed, Total Pet Care, Wendy Hodor, Marianne Flanagan, East End Horse and Livestock Assn., Barbara Zimmerly-Aurora Cold Laser equine therapy, Diamante Jewelers, Harvest Pride feed, Barbara Chuvalas, Elaine Cordingly, Billy Pizzoli- horseshoes unlimited, Sonny Garguilo-Go Natural,  Nancy Pierson, Lauren Schnal  Dog and Pony Show, W.E.S Trailer Sales, Mars Auto Parts, Cross Country Trailer Sales, Great River Supply, Barry’s Saddlery, Islandia Farms, Karen Connolly, Rita Trapani, Greenlawn Equestrian Center, The Tack Shoppe, Farriers Formula, Blackhorse and Sunder, Aimee and Randy Schmitt, Riders Choice Saddlery, Studio 69 Tattoos, Hidden Pond Stables, Knoll Farm, Good Shepard Farm, Dream Come True farm, Parkview Equestrian Center, Sweet Hills Stables, and all the super folks who bought raffle and 50-50 tickets.

  The Friends of Connetquot are proud to be privileged to support this important piece of  Long Island’s history and heritage. Please help us continue our mission. On June 16^th at 7 pm at Country Farms Polo and Arena in Medford we will be hosting an exciting game of arena polo and concert with Big Mike and the Blue Streak. Great Smiley burgers, Vineyard 48 wine and Blue Point Brewery beer will be there to serve you. Tickets are only $ 30.00 pp Kids free Groups of 10 or more only $25.00 pp Gates open at 6 pm for food, music and fun. 50-50 raffle and great merchandise. For more info go to www.friendsofconnetquot.org. or email info@friendsofconnetquot.org Hope to see you all there for another super time.

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I want to send a big thank you out to everyone who participated and helped out with the NYNE demo at Muttontown on Sunday! It was a beautiful day and a wonderful event. Thank you to Mary Jane Donovan and Sierra, Martine Howes and Willoh, Gina Lamb and Chance, Richard Onorato and Zip, Gina D’Amaro and Sonny, and Connie Samson and Jake for particiapating in the demo and for helping to set up, and Holly Kleinman for announcing on such short notice! Thanks also to Barbara Zimmerly for her photography and a special thank you to MJ for coming to pick all the stuff up from my house and dropping it back off again! Kudos to Kathleen Kleinman of the MHA and the all those from the NSHA for organizing and everyone involved in the demos. It was a really great event!!!

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Hi All,

Just wondering who was planning on going?  Randy and I will be helping with the set up and then I’ll be running home to get Otter to either ride or trailer over to ride in it.  It’s not too late to sign up – just send an email to info@friendsofconnetquot.org to reserve a spot.  If you’ve never ridden in Connetquot, this is a great opportunity to hook up with some other riders and explore the park since the $50 annual permit fee has been waived for the day.  Just pay the $8 parking fee if you don’t have an Empire pass.  Check out the details under the Events section of this site for more info.

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If you’re a paid NYNE member, and you’d like to have a chance to share what our club is all about with the community, please join us on Sunday, April 29 at the NSHA/Muttontown Horseman’s Association Open House.  We will be doing a short demo with our horses online, under saddle or bareback, whichever you prefer.  Someone will be announcing and describing what it is we are all doing with our horses to give people a better feel for what natural hosemanship is all about.  Please join us for a fun time this Sunday!  If you are planning to participate, please RSVP so we know who is coming.  If you’re just coming to watch, let us know too!  We need help in setting up and breaking down the obstacles, and I need people to help bring the obstacles to Muttontown, too.  Let me know if you would be able to come pick up from my house, or bring your own for us all to use that day.

Our demo is scheduled for approximately 2:10, but get there early to facilitate parking and for set up, and to cheer on the IHA Spirit of Long Island Mounted Drill Team (approx. 12:50) and to watch the other demos.  The Open House begins at 11:30.  Doors open at 9:00.

Maren

516-509-8537

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May 26 at 10:00am until May 28 at 4:00pm

$400 includes your horsemanship instruction, saddle fit evaluation, yoga classes, amazing meals & LODGING!! It’s a steal of a deal ($200 non-refundable deposit holds your spot in this small clinic of 10 participants!)

Memorial Day weekend this time, so later in the year….maybe we’ll have some warmer weather to ride in?!?!?
Yoga in the mornings, a long trail ride out to lunch on Saturday afternoon, more yoga & riding on Sunday. Learning to ride more comfortably, less effort means your body will be more happy & the more happy & comfortable you are the more happy & comfortable your horse will be too!

This is an ALL inclusive retreat, yoga instruction, awesome meals, endless conversation & pure immersion into all things Women, Wine & Equine! Christina will be on hand the entire weekend for questions whenever the thought crosses your mind. Price is set at an extremely reasonable $400 for 2 nights stay (additional nights can be added on too!)

Harmony Hill Board & Bale, Granville, NY contact Mary Ellen  maryarab@yahoo.com  1 518.424.6030  http://www.facebook.com/HarmonyHillFarmBoardandBale

Don’t forget to ‘like’ Buckaroo Balance & Harmony Hill to hear about more great clinics & retreats, get free horsemanship & body awareness tips & win stuff!
www.Facebook.com/BuckarooBalance

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Dino Fretterd Clinic is a body works clinic based on anatomical facts and not opinions! Here’s a brief background on Dino, he previously worked on people for 17 years, specializing in muscular/skeletal dysfunction.  During this time he worked with Chiropractors and Orthopedic Surgeons aiding in their patient’s recoveries.  He has taken this experience along with knowledge and certification in Equine Massage Therapy from the Optissage in Circleville, Ohio to create what is now know as Balanced Equine Structural Therapy. What does all that me? Well not much if he chooses to keep it to himself and only work on your horses (even then he’d be worth every penny spent), but Dino teaches you, the owner how to do the techniques  so you can continue to effect positive changes in your horses posture and health.
Although most of us would say the clinic started when we all gathered in the front of the barn, but for Dino it started as he walked toward my barn. I watched him as he quietly observed the horses. For a man of his stature it was cool to see him slip off into the background and just intently watch owners handling their horses as well as seeing how the horses hold their bodies. Dino seem to fade into the setting while the hustling and greetings of fellow horse owners took place, I hesitated to break the process but the social graces of not wanting to be a bad host forced me to interrupted him and proceed with introducing him.
At this point we gathered and sat down as Dino went over basic theory of what he does and how he assess your horse. He also made it blatantly clear that if he sees something done incorrectly by another professional whether it’s teeth or hooves he owes it to the horse to tell us. And that he has no real previous knowledge of who’s who here on the island and that it’s nothing personal and that his finding are facts that are found in equine anatomy books. He also promised us that we would see “transformation before our eyes” he followed up this statement with “No I am not David Copperfield and it’s won’t be an illusion!” I could sense some disbelief in the group and that’s ok we need some more healthy questioning in the field of equine health!
Before I go on about each horse I want to touch base on something when I first heard how much it was to audit I was a bit taken back but I thought about my experience with auditing Tony Simonetti and how much I have learned by just observing. Unfortunately I know this is why we only had one person audit. Well after having the clinic I believe we will all agree that a person who audit is just as much in the mix of the learning process as the person participating. An auditor is basically shadowing what’s going on and is encouraged to ask questions as long as your question is pertaining to the horse Dino is working with, he is very clear not to distract attention away from the current horse & owner.
The first horse up was a older Paso Fino, being a hoof person per say I could see right away that he had two different front feet, unevenly developed  shoulders along with a swayback which we all contributed to his old age. Dino started by pointing out these things and began to rub the horse’s temporal bone then he slid his hands down to check if the TMJ was balanced. Dino told us before he even open this horses mouth “I can tell he’s teeth are bad”, sure enough they were! The owner was taken back because the teeth had just been done! He explained how the pain, and clenching from that pain causes changes in proper weight distribution in the front feet. He showed us the indisputable effects it has on the horse’s anatomy. This is why this horse had two different front feet, under/over developed shoulders and a swayback! After showing and explaining stretches as well as exercise needed to change these problems Dino also in a very passionate way expressed the need to have the teeth done correctly and that none of this would be a lasting change or fair to the horse if the teeth are not addressed, after all the body changes we saw where the results of the horse dealing with a painful situation. I can say for myself I will never look at “swayback” the same, it’s NOT a symptom of old age! As Dino and the owner preformed these stretches this horse changed before my eyes, I know I saw it but thought I was crazy then two people verbalized what I was thinking YES his swayback was straight & his shoulders more even and we all could tell in a real way this horse was loving every second of it! wink wink!
Next horse up was an older QT horse who also had bad teeth(hooks) Dino showed the spacing difference in the TMJ and how this caused an over development of his muscles along with a ”u” effect in his neck and how if you follow this down you can see the atrophying of the top line. The owner expressed how she thought “he was just not keeping weight on” sound familiar? I’m sure we have all thought this about an older horse at one point or another! Although this horse’s back was not as dramatic as the first you could see that this was the beginning and if the teeth are not addressed he would end up with similar postural changes as well as hoof changes. It was great to see that his feet were trimmed well and Dino gave kudos to the trimmer who turned out to be the owners husband! Great Job Jim! But Dino pointed out the subtle changes that were happening due to all the other balance issues like when you flip the hoof up, the Central Sulcus(groove) of the frog should line up with the fetlock hair line and it didn’t. Now here’s where we need to be careful and not blame our trimmers for things they can’t change or when they hit a road block, because it maybe your horses teeth, of course on the other side of that coin we need to make sure the trim “does no harm” either and is balanced. Dino again went over stretches and exercises with the owner, Dino pointed out that stretches are not enough we need to exercise (wake up) the muscles that have been sleeping on the job, while stretching(relax) the ones that have been over worked. Dino complemented his owner on how she was catching on quickly to the techniques, of course this was no surprise since the owner has been working on people for years. Once again we saw dramatic changes in this horses posture right before our eyes, so much so his owner was over taken by emotions and started to cry. I don’t blame her one bit!
Third horse was a Haflinger thank God we finally got a horse with good teeth! His owner’s main concern was a previous neck injury. This horse’s left shoulder is larger than the right and he uses the left side if his body more. It was great to see not only his owner with him but a professional who has been treating him, nice to see how much Barbra Zimmerly cares for her clients! Unfortunately his feet had issues and Dino pointed out some common mistakes and how the chips of the outer wall was the horse trying to “self trim” but most importantly he expressed that the imbalance hoof was causing a crushed frog which in turn caused the frog tissue to flap over and completely cover one of the Collateral Sulcus this at best was setting the hoof up for thrush and abscess, at worse if not address we are now looking at anatomical imbalances in the fetlock Joint and this imbalance would just migrate all the way up the horses leg and so on! Dino went over a stretch he calls “opening the jar” he has a bunch of different catchy names for exercise and stretches to help you remember them!
Forth horse was an older TB who was thought to have an old hip fracture and a recent mishap with a drainage system. The owner explained how she was told she could never move this horse sideways again. Just looking at this horse I could see his chest was weak and his leg set was base narrow. Dino started his assessment and was happy to find this horse’s teeth were great! He spoke about the chest needing to be opened and how the narrow chest was crushing his feet. He also pointed out some trimming that needed fixing the hoof walls were low on the inside and high on the outside. The owner was given instruction on how to correct the chest and once again we learned about the “opening of the jar” with the hoof. The assessment reviled that this horse’s back and left stifle was weak. Dino applied pressure points and we could all see how the muscles were being activated. At some point Dino felt it was better for the horse for him to “work” on the horse, in other words he took his teaching hat off and went straight into practitioner mode. I for one am so glad he did it was just plain cool to watch him go threw all the techniques will out stopping. It reminded me of karate Sensei his movements strung together like a dance. And as cool as it was to see him the expression and response of the horse was even better.  The owner walked the horse around assessing some changes in how the horse carried it’s hind legs, there was remarkable change. I am happy to share that I got a text message from the owner who was riding and said her horse “feels so amazing” and I am positive it will get even better!
Fifth horse was a QT horse who was known to be a biter, I wondered what caused this unnatural behavior. It took Dino only a moment to figure it out, this poor horse’s teeth were horrendous with two major hooks that made his mouth look more like a vampire than a horse. The owner was shocked as her horse’s teeth were just done a few weeks ago. Dino was so upset at how anyone could leave a horse like that and on top of it take this woman’s money! He told her she should go “demand her money back”. Dino at one point said “I am sorry I’m not mad at you guys it’s just so upsetting to me because this poor horse is suffering and is labeled a “bad/mean horse” mean while he’s trying to tell you he’s in pain! And gals your only fault is you love your horses so much you got your pocketbooks wide open and these bastards are stealing from you. At least if their going to take your money let them do the job correctly.”  Each one of use felt sorry for this horse and the owner,the owner looked as if someone punched her in the stomach. Dino stressed that if this horse bit her with those fangs they would gash her open, no doubt she would get shredded they were razor sharp. It was quickly understood that it was not in the best interest of the horse to be worked on and the money would be better spent on getting the teeth done by someone who know’s how and care enough to do it correctly. Dino once again reminded us that he doesn’t know who the person is that did the teeth and that this is not personal opinion it’s is anatomical fact that can be found in any equine anatomy book which he suggest we all take a look at.
Sixth horse up was my draft cross which only in a paddock full of horse people would I ever hear “boy he’s a little small for a ….” LOL. I have to say I was pushing him off all day, my anxieties of not being able to do the stretches needed do to the limitations of my heart were turning my stomach. I had already explained my medical issue and Dino assured me he would take over for me ( I also had my eye on Liz for a stand by even though she didn’t know it). Well no need for worry surprisingly he’s body is pretty darn balanced! He’s teeth were great and his only issue was he had major amounts of adhesions around his hocks making it impossible for him to bend them! Dino complemented me saying I correctly imitated my horses lameness issue but I was off as to what was causing it, I thought weak stifles. Dino and I both worked on the hocks rubbing our fingers back and forth looking for any sign of movement in his skin. I couldn’t believe his skin was like cement stuck over his hock, we continued cross fiber friction which Dino was keen on explaining was “like rubbing wool fiber when you clean it”. To me that’s the mark of a great teacher, someone who can get the student to understand by using things relevant to the student. Then I heard it, a loud pop sound like when you open a jar of pickles, it was the adhesions finally giving way on Dino’s side. Dino came to my side and continued for a few moments but my horse had enough, and like Dino stressed the whole afternoon “you have to listen to the horse they will tell you when it’s time to stop!” well he told Dino in a big way that it was enough. Dino felt bad like as if I didn’t get enough time and I guess it would be human nature to think that way, but as we paused for a moment we both came to the same thought “it was better for Watson that this was his only problem” I didn’t feel cheated or slighted in the least in fact I couldn’t believe how much teaching was done in a day.
The last horse of the day was a mini, oh and a very small one at that, Dino had been sitting down some what apprehensive about working on the mini. Not that he has anything against mini, you have to understand Dino is a very tall man, so we all were chuckling and teasing about how cute this will be. Honestly the irony is I being the smallest of the group just worked on the largest horse so  it seemed only fair that the tables were turned a bit. Dino took it in stride and starting assessing the mini, boy another horse with terrible teeth and of course they were just done! Are we sensing a pattern and a true problem here? Poor thing nine years old still had baby teeth and wolf teeth. ugh! Well by now we could all predict that the teeth was the reason for his weak hind end! Though it was funny to see Dino towering over this mini while kneeling, there was nothing funny about the horrendous condition that mouth was in. To me it looked more like an alligator’s mouth than a horse. In the end I was so glad Dino took this mini on, after all, mini’s deserve the B.E.S.T. too!
So inclosing we all walked away with a wealth of knowledge and exercise plans geared toward our individual horses needs. We learned so much more than just stretches and exercises, we learned how to properly place our hands and body to insure not only the safety of ourselves but our horses as well. We learned things like the jaws of life, boat pull, open the jar, peace, wither rock, thread the needle etc. But most importantly we learned to look at our horses differently “conformational issues” could very well be postural changes due to injury, poor teeth or bad feet, and the best part is “we” can correct them!

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Spring Kick Off April 22nd 10am to 2pm

Well it’s finally here! SPRING! and what better way to celebrate it than with our kick off!

Like with most of our events the club will provide some of the food while asking the members to bring some of the filler items, this is our way of keeping the cost down but still having a great event!

The club with be providing the following items:

Coffee
Hot chocolate
water
bagels/ rolls
cream cheese
Tuna salad
Chicken salad
potato salad
along with all the paper goods and plastic utensils

We are asking the members to bring the following items:

Chips and dip
fruit salad/tray (fyi sam’s club has it for around $10)
vegetable tray
Muffins
cookies or donuts
regular soda
Diet soda

If you are planning on bringing something please reply to this post.

Also I would like to remind everyone that this event is free to members. There is a $5 charge for all nonmembers. We do encourage you to bring anyone who maybe thinking of joining our group as this is one those event where you can really get a feel for what we are all about. So come on out and don’t forget to bring your horses. We’ll be spending the day playing and mingling with great people!

Be safe,
have fun
and advance your savvy!
Senta Kelly

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