Fat From the Neck Up

I read a huge stack of consumer equine magazines each month and enjoy most of them. I'm always amazed at the people who write letters to these magazines who don't bother to become informed on an issue first.

Take Micaela Frudden of Madison, Wis. She wrote a letter published in the June edition of "Practical Horsmanship" that made by blood boil. Back in March, the magazine had featured a line of plus-sized tops for riders from Toklat. The accompanying photo was not that of a big fat blob of a lady, but also not a stripling size 0 that we tend to see in English riding clothes so often.

So along comes "Mindless from Madison" to tell the magazine that it shouldn't be encouraging fat old women to participate in horse sports and the magazine would do better publishing diet tips than giving "free advertising" to a company that's obviously so far off the mark.

"Fat people should not be riding and need not be accommodated," she writes. If they are serious about riding, they should go on a diet, exercise, etc." She claims that allowing these women to ride is animal abuse.

Of course, she makes no allowance whatsoever for women who are proportioned differently -- but not fat -- or who are very tall -- but not fat. Tall women have a heckuva time finding clothing of any kind that covers their arms completely or comes down far enough at the waist to be comfortable and modest. Obviously, the letter writer has never met anyone in either class.

Obviously, she's not heard that the promotion of the "tiny" culture in English riding circles is a serious health issue and getting worse.

Granted, there are some women I occasionally see at horse shows who would be better of in another sport and would make life easier for their horses. But if a rider is fairly well balanced, he or she can be of larger build and still ride successfully. Ms. Frudden seems to think that all larger people are just tubs of lard. A great many of them are simply larger than average and probably have body mass index readings in the normal category.

Kudos to Toklat for stepping up to the plate to fill a need on the products side of our industry. And a large rhubarb pie for the face of this uninformed letter-writer.

If you want to read it in its entirety, it's on Page 18 of June edition. Right below it is the address you can use to send your response to Practical Horseman. I suggest you do so.

WETA Conference a Hit

Just back from the WETA All Industry Conference and trying to get all the Arizona sand out of my nose and rehydrate my skin! We left Minnesota on Wednesday morning when the temperature was 39 degrees. It near 100 each day in Scottsdale; quite an adjustment for us notherners.
The conference is a combination of fun, challenge, inspiration -- and this year, perspiration. Each of the speakers challenged the retailers, manufacturers and others to be the best they can be to improve the equine trade industry. Here's part of the story in images.

Coyote Moon provided music for the opening night gala of the Western-English Trade Association's All Industry Conference in Scottsdale. They also performed before and after the annual AIM Awards banquet.

Marge Colburn of Scott Colburn Boots and Western Wear in Livonia, Mich., was among those who purchased secret gift bags and tickets for a night of fun and frolic during the opening gala. Marge has most likely attended more conferences than anyone in the industry today and always has a smile on her face.

The team Orange Crush raised the most money during Thursday night's fundraiser for the WETA Marketing Initiative. Team members include (l to r) Amy Borgman, "bandito" Rich Richardson, Barbara McFarland, Michael McFarland, Stephanie Huss, Bill Garrels and Scott Hartle.

Horsepower of another type was a big part of the presentation by speaker Diana LaSalle on Saturday. She used the success of Harley Davidson to inspire representatives of the equine trade industry to persue excellence and succeed. Here Jaye Wilson and Bob Wert demonstrate that everyone looks good on a Harley.

Next year's conference is planned in Baltimore, Md.

Trade Association Confusion

If it weren't so sad, it would be funny.

Tom MacGuinness and his group are pushing formation of the American Equestrian Trade Association. Jim Herbert of GlobalStrat, owner of American Equestrian Tack and Apparel Expo, is conducting a survey on his Web site asking the industry whether there is a need for a trade association and what its goals should be. Meanwhile, the Western-English Trade Association (WETA), established five years ago, prepares for its annual conference in May.

So it boils down to this:

We have a trade association.
We need another trade association.
We should be asking if we need another trade association.

Well, at least no opinion was omitted from consideration!

Originally, the idea was to have a trade show, proceeds from which would fund a trade association. That plan went off the rails and both parties are moving forward on separate tracks at this point.

After working with WETA since its inception, I have come to one burning conclusion about trade associations. It's extremely difficult to run a trade association effectively without a steady (and fairly substantial) source of funding.

WETA uses primarily membership dues to run its programs and is just now getting into selling such things as its marketing initiative to make them self-funding or at least somewhat self-funding. It's a tough go.

There's always more demand for services than there is money to go around. If it were not for the generosity of some of the key members, the organization would be in bad shape today. The key to its success thus far has been commitment to the cause by those who believe in what WETA stands for.

Laying that template on the organization that Tom and his group are trying to form, it's clear to any steely-eyed realist that another membership-based trade association is going to be difficult for the industry to support at any significant level.

Should Jim Herbert and his group determine that a trade association would be helpful, it will likely be funded by proceeds from the trade show, undoubtedly the best hope for a trade association to be successful financially. There are other measuring sticks, of course.

Clearly there has to be a way for all the various factions to cooperate to comprise one large and succesful trade association. There's a role for everyone.

Tom and his group have to recognize that unless one of them is willing to fund a trade association out of his or her own pocket, and risk the monicker of it being "their" trade association (not ours), it's going to be a tough go. Using the original formula would mean this group would have to throw in with another trade show organizer, thus scuttling the original goal of one large trade show on the East Coast -- something retailers still desperately would like to see.

Jim holds a lot of cards. If his survey reveals the need for a trade association and his group decides to move forward, it would have the one key ingredient for success: money. The only other option would be for Tom and Jim to patch up their differences and put Humpty-Dumpty back together again.

Another possibility is that both those entities recognize the value of WETA and throw their support in that direction. That's not as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance.

WETA already has an organization in place (no start-up expenses), an office, a mail-box, etc. and has a long history of service to the equine industry. There would be challenges, no doubt. WETA has long been perceived as a "Western" controlled organization and for good reason. The movers and shakers have traditionally come out of the Western side of the industry. No one in that organization has ever said the English sector was not welcome or somehow inferior.

Similarly, neither Tom MacGuinness nor Jim Herbert nor anyone in their group that I've ever heard speak has said WETA is a bad organization or doesn't deserve to exist. Most in the English camp say they don't understand what WETA is all about, despite years of educational efforts on the part of the organization. Perhaps there's a better way to tell the story.

Like Martin Luther King, I have a dream. I have a dream that everyone involved in the equine trade industry see the value of being unified under one banner and move in that direction. A good starting point would be for all of the factions to come to the WETA All Industry Conference in Scottsdale later this month, sit down around a big table and do what everyone knows is best for the industry as a whole. You don't have to be a member of WETA to be part of the conference.

The conversation has to start somewhere, why not in a perfect setting like beautiful Scottsdale? This equine industry Yalta-like event could go a long way toward each party understanding what the other has to say. There has to be dialogue and it has to start somewhere.

Get Ready for National Day of the Cowboy

July is sneaking up on us more quickly than you might think. For the third year in 2007, America will celebrate the National Day of the American Cowboy. Mark July 28 on your calendar.

Western retailers have a built-in opportunity to capitalize on Day of the Cowboy. It's a natural way to draw people into your store. If your community isn't planning a celebration, plan one yourself.

If you want to know if your community is planning a celebration or if you want more details on how to celebrate National Day of the Cowboy, visit www.cowboyday.com.

I recently spent some time on this Web site looking at who was planning what. It made me want to be part of the celebrations.

Take the celebration planned at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in Medora, N.D. A full day of cowboy art, music, eating, dancing and demonstration si planned, along with wagon rides. If you've never visited Medora, make plans today to take the trip.

Having grown up in North Dakota, I have spent time in Medora and the Badlands. Not only is it filled with significant beauty (I know, I know ... you don't think of beauty when you think of North Dakota but trust me!) and a laid-back approach to life and its many facets. If you go, plan to take in the Medora Musical, a salute in word and song to Western traditions that were part of the founding of the town.

I was also impressed with the celebration being planned in Carrizozo, N.M., population about 1,000. On National Cowboy Day, the entire town and everyone they can recruit will celebrate with a genuine cattle round-up, parade, cattle exhibition, chuck wagon cooking and a stage show with Western music, story telling, poetry, rope twirling, a mustache contest and awards for oustanding local cowboys and cowgirls.

If I lived anywhere within driving distance of Carrizozo, I would make every effort to be part of this event. Come New Mexico-area readers, put it on your calendar.

Not too far away in Artesia, N.M., Bennie's Western Store will be celebrating its 60th Anniversary on National Day of the Cowboy. Waddie Mitchell, cowboy poet extraordinaire, will be on hand, along with local talent. Free food. Free entertainment and lots of great bargains in the store. You can't beat that combination.

You can visit the Web site yourself to see what's going on near you. If you can't find something, perhaps that's your cue to sponsor an event yourself. Let us know here at Tack 'n Togs if we can assist you in any way.

Now it's Obese Horses

For years now we've been hearing about the fat of the land here in the United States. People of all ages are getting heavier and more unhealthy as time goes by. We've also been told as many as a third of all dogs are obese.

So I guess it shouldn't have come as any surprise to anyone that horses have an obesity problem, as well.

The problems are similar. Too much rich food. Too little exercise. For horses that means laminitis, insulin resistence and a host of other ailments.

While most of us can look at a human (usually ourselves!) and know instantly that person is just too doggone fat, it's not the same with horses. Most horse owners think that well-food look means their horses are healthy and certainly no one will report them to the ASPCA for neglect.

They probably should be reported, however.

How many of you watch the Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan on the National Geographic Channel? I love him. He could train my horses any day of the week.

He says repeatedly that the biggest problem with dogs today is that they are overindulged and underexercised. I would add the same is true for the majority of horses in our society.

I used to board at a barn that had roughly 50 horses, both stalled and pastured. On average, I would guess that six of those horses were ridden more than twice a week and another dozen or so four times a month. The rest were hardly ever ridden.

Horses go to seed with inactivity. They forget their training. They get fat and grumpy. How many horse owners give up on their steeds entirely because they get sick and tired of dealing with a rebellious equine they try to ride once every week or once ever month?

Oddly, you don't hear any of the mega-trainers who give clinics every day talk much about this aspect of horse ownership. I guess it's kind of like a medical doctor telling a patient he or she is fat and needs to lose weight. Touchy. Very touchy.

But the truth, in any regard, whether it's a person who needs to hear it about himself or a horse owner who needs to hear it about her plump mount.

For the good of everyone involved -- but especially your four-legged friends -- get out there and get some exercise. Your body will thank you for it.