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Editor: Suzanne Anderson 301-829-3881 301-829-3880 FAX	NEWS	TROT Information 301-588-TROT
May 2000	Electronic Edition	Number 123

Needed: Membership ChairCoalition for Equine

Because I am taking a new job, I'm afraid I must give up being the TROT Membership Chairperson duties as of July 1, 2000. I will be around in July and August to help out a little bit and answer questions.

I hope that one of you will step up to the plate and become the new TROT Membership Chairperson. This job does require working with a computer. The current membership database is in Microsoft Access, and I use and Microsoft Word in conjunction with Access to create mailing labels, letters, and postcards.

Duties of the TROT Membership Chairperson include the following:

• Adding new and updating renewal membership applications
• Handling the yearly membership renewal mailing
• Printing mailing labels for the newsletter every 2nd month
• Printing select groups of mailing labels for specific county mailings
• Printing (or sending to a printshop) membership applications and brochures, postcards for the annual potluck, letterhead stationary, and a few other letterhead items for use by board members and county coordinators

Feel free to call me at 703-866-3176 or e-mail me at tsantmire@gvpt.umd.edu if you have questions about the job.

Tara E. Santmire

Emergency Response

As is often the case, it takes something dramatic to jump start a movement. The tragic fall off a mountain side of a horse last summer was the catalyst for the organizing of an equine emergency response plan among various state agencies and associations, including (but not limited to):

Maryland Emergency Management Agency
Maryland Veterinary Medical Association
Maryland Dept. of Agriculture
Virginia-Maryland Reg. Coll. of Veterinary Med.
Maryland Horse Council
Maryland State Fair Board

Trail Riders of Today (TROT), Days End Farm Horse Rescue, and Frederick Animal Control have been instrumental in getting these organizations coordinated.

The long term goal of this coalition is to be able to respond to dramatic rescue situations and to have in place access to the necessary heavy equipment (e.g. helicopters, slings, winches) to respond to such situation.

To get things rolling, the Coalition will hold the Trailer Emergency Rescue Clinic on June 10. This seminar will primarily teach emergency responders how to cope with a traffic incident involving a horse trailer. Please see page 11 for more information on how you can participate in this groundbreaking seminar.

Wanted: We need 12 very calm horses for this Rescue Clinic, to serve as models for demonstrating how to tie ropes to tails. No lifting of horses involved. Please call Gale Monahan 301-854-3852.

Frederick County Comments

Pat Merson and Angela Klinger

Harriet West has turned over the reins to Angela and Pat after many many years of hard work at being the Frederick Co. Coordinator. We hope to be able to ride as hard as Harriet did! All the Fred. Co. TROT members thank her very much. Maybe now she will have a little spare time to ride.

Our goal is to attend all meetings in Fred. Co. "to keep on top of trail issues." We meet monthly with DNR and Frederick Co. Trails Inc. (FCTI). Pat & I are hoping that the Fred. Co. TROT members will really get involved when we call on you to attend important hearings. A couple of times a year, we want to plan some trail clearing days on horseback with a pot luck afterwards. All that's involved would be bringing pruning shears and as you ride, just prune. You'd be surprised how nice the trails will look. Cap it off with the comradery of friends and a delicious pot luck afterwards. We are counting on our Fred. Co. TROT members.

We would like to invite you now to the first such Post Luck, Prune, & Trail Ride. Mark your calendar for July 15, ready to ride at 10:00 AM at the Manor Area, next to the creek. There's plenty of parking. Call Angela 301-898-9133 to sign up. I also have extra pruning shears!

On February 22, we attended a meeting with FCTI. We discussed ways to raise money in order to print 10,000 color 2˝'x3' area maps of Frederick County showing roads, towns, and parks. The back side of the map will be filled with local business advertisements. Any TROT member that would like to advertise in it or make a donation, please call us. The maps will be distributed free throughout Frederick County in bike shops, Inns, Parks, and Visitor Centers.

Great News—we just found out the commissioners approved the Bike & Trail Plan for Frederick County!

On February 26 we hiked with DNR Rangers, a member of the DNR Resource Planning Dept. from Cumberland, and several members of hiker and biker groups. We all walked several miles through Gambrill State Park. We discussed where repairs are needed, such as new water bars installed and old ones replaced, and trails rerouted and new trails constructed. DNR Headquarters will have to approve the plans, and it looks very promising.

Happy Trails!

Montgomery County Comments

Naomi Manders 301-495-2543 or nmanders@mncppc.state.md.us

Saturday, June 3, Little Bennett Regional Park

TROT Volunteer Day & National Trails Day

Sign up soon! It's time for equestrians to step up to the plate. Montgomery County is planning so many trails in parkland and bridle easements on subdivisions that we need to demonstrate our willingness to help monitor and maintain them. Hiking and biking organizations are pressing for admittance and sometimes exclusive use of all of our Parks, and they offer to BUILD new trails too. TROT needs to join the effort; most other trail users are willing to work with the special requirements of horse trails. Trail Preservation goes hand in hand with Trail Maintenance.

For this purpose I have set up a workday with Manager Art Nelligan of Little Bennett to identify some projects. Angela Klinger, Susan Hanson, and Jim Fieser, etc., are recruiting troops. We are interested in any suggestions you riders have, so speak up!

The event will be sanctioned, M-NCPPC will provide liability coverage for the day and some much needed publicity. TROT will be credited volunteer hours. We will probably have an informal picnic after the work is done.

Sorry, horses and dogs are not invited (horses would have to stand unattended in the trailers in the sun for too long).

COMING SOON . . .

An equestrian Eventing Facility—On Route 28 (Darnestown Road) between Beallsville and Dickerson, this facility will be built on land donated by Hermen Greenberg for this purpose. The County's purpose in building an equestrian facility is to support the equestrian community, and therefore aid the economic base of the Agricultural Preserve Lands. It is finally recognized that horses are the basis for that economy.

If you, like me, are thrilled to hear this, remember that your support of the project will be needed (written and oral testimony). In order to build this facility, monies must be appropriated from the State, which cannot happen without your support. We will let you know when and to whom to address your letters, Meanwhile, spread the good news! Tell everyone you know that NO, the County is NOT planning to develop more of the Ag Lands—this parcel is a special, once in a lifetime gift. And YES, there will be trails for you. We are planning an east-west trail connector from Seneca State Park to the Canal towpath at Martinsburg Road, through the Greenberg facility.

The Two Edged Sword

Carol Petree Iglehart

To teach a horse to be gentle and kind
We must understand his mind.
A horse not by logic thinks.
Instead, he pairs and links
two events. We call this horsey notion
learning by association.
Keep your language simple and clear
when you're teaching him how to go and steer.
To teach a "go," when the command leaves your lips,
follow it closely by a tap of the whip.
And when you want to teach those "whoas,"
follow the command by a tug on the nose.
But be careful not to make
a horse who has no brake.
Don't say "whoa" when you mean "easy," or at best
your signal will be meaningless.
After mounting, the trainer's next choice
is to associate leg and hand with the whip and voice.
Each new understanding is made
in association with the previous aid.
When a pattern has been repeated,
the beginning of a habit has been seeded.
Association can be rewards, which come in several shades.
Food, a pat, kind words, and the timing of the aids.
The best reward, it's a fact,
is the rider who has tact.
A good rider is on whose give and take
is correctly timed.
He listens to the horse's rhyme,
easing the signal for his partner's sake.
But bad habits sometimes will arise
and seem to take us by surprise.
Any bad habit the horse may flaunt
may just be a "signal" we don't want.
When entering an open field,
if you always run, your fate is sealed.
So when he tries to run away,
maybe he's trying to obey,
because he's associated the sight
of the field to the signal of the starting gate!
If you always canter in a certain corner,
because the horse is a good learner,
you may now have trouble in that spot
keeping the horse in a trot.
Signals should be inner sent,
not coming from the environment.
The opposite of the first rule is this:
To prevent a bad habit you should dis-
associate. This means you plan never to pair
two events, or take great care
to make the pairing irregular.
You may not fix it with a stick.
Instead try to disassociate it.
To break a pattern the method is to never match
the "signal" with the act.
Another kind of association is punishment.
Sometimes it works, sometimes is doesn't.
For punishment to succeed,
it must be simultaneous with the evil deed.
Hitting several seconds later doesn't rectify the matter.
Every second that was spent
makes a different association than we meant.
Let's make this idea very clear:
To get obedience, don't teach fear.
Association and disassociation is what we use.
These two principles do not confuse
and your horse will know his "Ps and Cues."

News from the Potomac Heritage
National Scenic Trail Corridor

February 2000, Volume 1, Number 4

The Potomac Heritage Partnership ("Partnership") has launched yet another Council within its arsenal of ventures designed to build a better sense of community throughout the Potomac River watershed tied to the economic drive of heritage tourism and its impact upon commerce, culture and conservation. The newest Council is the Potomac Sojourners ("Sojourners") program, conceived as the Partnership's outreach to the education community. The Sojourners' Council will explore how best to help all ages to better connect with the Potomac and the bountiful legacy of history and storytelling that this "Nation's River" has to share with those who live within or come to visit our watershed.

In order to showcase and promote this new program, a non-stop, self-contained Potomac Sojourn trip is being planned by a group called the "Potomac Sojourners," which will follow one of the proposed Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trails (PHT) routes, beginning in Pittsburgh, PA on 15 May 2000 and ending on National Trails Day, 3 June at the mouth of the Potomac. There will be media events scheduled throughout the trip at key historic sites and a grand finale held both at Smith Point, VA in the morning and Point Lookout, MD in the afternoon on Trails Day.

Traveling the trail will be non-motorized and will include hiking, biking, in-line skating, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and rowing* (See * in Susan Brehm's article below). The preliminary itinerary is:

Anyone who would like to participate in this adventure promotionally, physically or otherwise is encouraged to contact our Event Coordinator, Kip MacArthur by phone at 202.333.4478; by fax at 202.333.6733; or by e-mail at <php1623@aol.com>.

The Potomac Heritage Partnership is a group working to preserve and promote land and water trails in the Potomac Watershed. Their most notable project in the works is the upcoming Potomac Sojourn, a non-stop trail trip following one of the proposed Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Routes beginning in Pittsburgh, PA on May 15, and ending at the mouth of the Potomac on June 3 (National Trails Day).

*You'll notice in the information given in the previous article that there is no mention of horses. I wrote asking why, and could they possibly be included. The Potomac Sojourners are very excited to include horses not only in this event, but in their planning commission for long term development of an extensive trail system in the Potomac Watershed area.

I am putting together a committee that will be represented on the Potomac Heritage Trail Coordinating Council (one of 5 Councils of the Potomac Heritage Partnership). Our primary task will be coordinating a trail ride along the W&OD Trail on May 23, in conjunction with the Potomac Sojourn. There will be a media event in Leesburg, VA that morning, hopefully featuring the equestrian participation. The long term work of the committee will be to work with PHP in developing the trails to be equestrian friendly. I would like to have someone from TROT on this committee.

I need you to help me with this committee and promote equestrian trail use with the Potomac Heritage Partnership. Please drop me an e-mail at RockingB@worldnet.att.net Susan Brehm

Let Me Teach You

When you are tense, let me teach you to relax.
When you are short tempered, let me teach you to be patient.
When you are short sighted, let me teach you to see.
When you are quick to react, let me teach you to be thoughtful.
When you are angry, let me teach you to be serene.
When you feel superior, let me teach you to be respectful.
When you are self absorbed, let me teach you to think of greater things.
When you are arrogant, let me teach you humility.
When you are lonely, let me be your companion.
When you are tired, let me carry the load.
When you need to learn, let me teach you.
After all, I am your horse.

© 1997 Lamm's Kickin' Back Ranch. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

And now, the REAL Story...

I'll Larn Ya

When you are tense, let me teach you that there are lions in the woods, and we need to leave NOW.
When you are short tempered, let me teach you how to slog around the pasture for an hour before you can catch me.
When you are short sighted, let me teach you to figure out where, exactly, in the 40 acres I am hiding.
When you are quick to react let me teach you that herbivore's kick MUCH faster than omnivores.
When you are angry, let me teach you how well I can stand on my hind feet, because I don't FEEL like cantering on my right lead today, that's why.
When you are worried, let me entertain you with my mystery lameness, flatulence, and skin disease.
When you feel superior, let me teach you that, mostly, you are the maid service.
When you are self-absorbed let me teach you to PAY ATTENTION. I TOLD you about those lions in the woods.
When you are arrogant, let me teach you what 1200lbs of YAHOO-let's-go event horse can do when suitably inspired.
When you are lonely, let me be your companion. Let's do lunch. Also, breakfast and dinner.
When you are tired, don't forget the 600lbs of grain that needs to be unloaded.
When you are feeling financially secure, let me teach you the meaning of "Veterinary Services, additional".
When you need to learn, hang around, bud. I'll learn ya.

Mary Green

CLASSIFIED ADS

FOR SALE—4 yr old Pony of Americas gelding. Sorrel with white blanket. 12.2hh, $3200. Good 4-H prospect. Also, 14 yr old Morgan gelding, sorrel, 15hh. Good jumper. Needs experienced rider. $1600 or best offer. Call Kitty Harvey, 410-752-2040.

FOR SALE—Horses for Sale. Trail or Show. All very reasonably priced. Call 410-364-5014.