Pipestone Flyer
By Sara Nelson and Janine Tatlow, Club Reporters
Coal Lake Lighthorse 4H Club
It’s another start to a new year of 4H, and wow has it been great! Coal Lake Lighthorse started the year off with a meeting on October 3, 2014, with a start of seven members. At the meeting we discussed job positions and what will be happening in the next few months in the 4H world.
On October 18th, most of our club went down to the Lakedell Arena and had a Mini Lighthorse Clinic where we learned a lot of new things about horses and 4H events. We had Geneva Rodin, a 4H member, come out to show us some things about her job as an Equine Dentist. She showed us all of the tools she uses and told us exactly how they worked. To end her presentation, she had allowed anyone who wanted to, to feel inside the horses’ mouth and see if they could find where the horse needed her teeth to be done, and may I just say, that was quite the new experience for all of those who tried it out!
After that, we had a judge come out as show us what they look for in a Trail Class. A trail class is a class where there is a lot of obstacles set up everywhere and you have to try and get your horse to go through it in the most efficient and controlled way possible. Some of the obstacles in this course are a bridge, a gate, and a box that you need to turn around in, which I know may sound simple, but sometimes horses can be more unpredictable than you think.
When that clinic finished, we had lunch and they walked us through how to use our new Diaries, which was really helpful. And with that we ended the day and it was a lot of fun!
We had two rides this month, one on October 19th where we learned lead changes and different patterns. Our other ride was on the 26th. Our usual trainer was sick so we had some of the parents lead us. It was a lot of fun and we learned lots about balance and different stretches we can do in the saddle. Overall it has been a fantastic month and I can’t wait to see what else will happen in this 4H year!