“We don’t break horses, we teach horses and riders to make breakthroughs!”

Topics covered in this issue:

*Bob’s World and Training Tip of the Month
*Nutrena Feed
*Some Thoughts from Suz, and Riding Tip of the Month
*Calendar of Events
*Last Chance-Win a Horse Vacation!
*Bob’s Article of the Month
*New! 2004 Winter Riding/Training Program
*Free-2,000 lbs. of Nutrena feed
*Locks of Love to the winner!
*Northeast Horsemen’s Conference and
*Convenient Holiday Shopping….Really! Trade Show

Bob’s World

As you know, Suzanne and I have been doing quite a bit of traveling lately, but I was fortunate to be able to spend Thanksgiving Day here at the ranch with my family, including my oldest daughter, her husband and my two grandchildren. So, while I’m still in the spirit, let me express my appreciation to all of you for your support throughout the year. It has been a rewarding and very successful year for both Bob Jeffreys Clinics and Jeffcrest Ranch.

Let me also congratulate our 2003 Trainer Education Program graduates, Quinn, Trisha, Crisann and Kathleen. They worked really hard and I am truly proud of their accomplishments.

Our ranch family has grown this year as well. Netti and Jessi continue to work weekends, and Kathleen has now joined us doing barn work and some training. Janine is now the office manager, and has traded in her pitchfork for a computer. You’ll see her photographic and design talents in many of our new ads. Suzanne is now an official partner in Bob Jeffreys Clinics. She did a great job last year both in teaching the clinics and promoting them, and we’re already off to a good start in 2004.

This will be our final newsletter of 2003, so on behalf of us all I’d like to wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Training Tip of the Month

Before bridling your horse this winter hold the bit in your bare hand or warm it up before placing it in your horse’s mouth. It will be more pleasant for him to accept, and you’ll avoid having his tongue stick to the bit!

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Some Thoughts from Suz

Horses provide us with so many opportunities; to challenge ourselves, to meet other people with similar interests, to be active, to spend time outside or maybe to compete… and, most importantly perhaps, to develop a very special relationship with another species. Pretty amazing!

Bob and I have had the opportunity to meet and work with lots of great people (and their horses!) as we’ve traveled this year. It was wonderful to look out in the audience at Equine Affaire and see so many familiar faces, and to hear the shouts of support! I want to thank you all for making 2003 our best year ever. We look forward to seeing many of you again in 2004, and to share more adventures with our horses!

Riding Tip of the Month

Even when things get hectic this season, give yourself the gift of quality time with your horse. Relax and focus on your grooming, arena work, trail ride, or however you choose to spend this time. Distractions (and we all have them- work and family responsibilities, deadlines, etc.) need to be left behind until the ride is done; they will all be there still when you put your horse away. Then you can meet these obligations more effectively with less stress and renewed energy.

**** New! 2004 Winter Riding/Training Program ****

The cold weather brings many challenges to riders. It’s hard to continue riding outside in the wind and cold, to stay motivated and focused, or even just have fun with your horse. Have you made good progress with your horse this year? Do you want to continue riding despite the bitter weather and icy footing? Wish you could continue with lessons?

Bob and Suz will be over at Red Gate Farm in Bloomingburg, New York using the indoor arena from January 1 through March 31 to give lessons, organize a drill team (lots of fun!), train horses, and more. If you’d like to bring your horse over for 3 months of indoor activities, give us a call right away as stalls are limited. We’re offering a special package deal including board, turnout, 4 training rides monthly by Bob or Suz on your horse, and two drill team sessions each month, all for $500 per month. Or, if you’d just like to start or continue lessons with us, give us a call! We’d love to have you!

You Can Still Win a Free Horse Vacation!

It’s not too late- you can still enter our Horsemanship Breakthrough Week Give-Away if you’re over 21 years old. We’ve extended the deadline to March 30, 2004! It’s simple- just email (or snail mail) us a one page essay on how you have fun with horses, include your contact info (name, telephone number, email address, etc.), and you’ll be entered in the drawing to be held March 31, 2004. To submit your entry just go to www.bobjeffreys.com, or send it to:

Bob Jeffreys Clinics Essay Contest

168 Tamms Road

Middletown, New York 10941

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Don’t Miss Your Chance to Win a Free Ton of Nutrena feed!!!

Speaking of winning contests, be sure to get in touch with us if you haven’t yet entered the special free Nutrena feed contest, provided especially for our customers! Just send us an email by December 31 with your contact info, and make as note that you’d like to enter the contest. We’ll be sure to submit your entry to the drawing by our sponsor, Nutrena, and will announce the winner in early 2004! Good luck to all who have entered!

Go West, All Ye Trainers!

That’s right- western Pennsylvania, to be exact, for our first annual Midwest Trainer Education Program! We’re pleased to announce that we’ll be holding an additional session of our Level 1 Trainer Education Program in Cambridge Springs, PA (it really is west- right on the Ohio border!) from May 24-28, and May 31-June 4, 2004. Our Trainer Education program will also continue to be held at Bob’s ranch, Jeffcrest, in Middletown, NY. The dates are: Level 1 July 12-16 & July 19-23; Level 2 August 16-20 & 23-27; and Level 3 October 11-15 & 18-22. We had a great group of students in 2003, and look forward to another sold out TEP in 2004!

Come in out from the cold and join us in Maine!

Northeast Horsemen’s Conference and Trade Show

January 10 & 11, 2004

Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

When it’s cold outside come on in to listen to speakers up close and personal! Bob and I will be there for our first appearance in 2004, presenting on a variety of topics, along with other people from a wide spectrum of horse-related fields. Good shopping, great lectures, and heat!!! Get more info at www.nhcts.com . Be sure to come by and say “Hi!”

Locks of Love- a Great Cause!

As some of you know, Janine, our office manager, is sporting s new look-shorter hair! She looks great, but decided to shed her locks for a special cause- Locks of Love. This non-profit organization provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss. So if you’d like to donate hair or money, visit www.locksoflove.org .

Convenient Holiday Shopping…Really!

If you need to choose a special horsey gift for that special someone, please visit the tack store on our website, www.bobjeffreys.com . We’ve got bridles, rein kits, books, videos and more.

Bridling Your Horse the Easy Way

By Bob Jeffreys

If you’ve ever had to walk backwards the length of the barn aisle on your tiptoes in order to bridle your horse, please know that there is a better way.

I begin to teach a horse to accept the bit and the bridle willingly by putting the bridle away. That’s correct, I’ll do all my “practice” bridling without the bridle in order to eliminate the possibility of bumping his teeth with the bit or pinching his ears or eyes with the bridle. There is less chance of this happening when the horse is comfortable with the “bridling” process.

Start by standing to the left of his neck, place your right hand on top of the horses head palm down between his ears and your left hand just above his nostrils. Ask him to simultaneously move his head downward and towards you, to the left, by using a little pressure from both hands. As soon as he moves his head downward or to the left, release both hands immediately to say “thank you”. Keep practicing this until as soon as you put both hands into position the horse will automatically bring his head down and over to the left so that his nose is by your belt buckle and his ears are no higher than your ears. We’ll call this the bridling position.

Now we can ask for him to accept us petting his nose or mouth gently with our left hand while his head remains in the bridling position. If he attempts to raise his head when you touch his mouth, try to restrain him gently and don’t release until he reassumes the bridling position and allows his mouth to be touched.

When we can achieve this last step consistently, we’ll ask the horse to accept one finger in his mouth, and then graduate to two fingers, then three. Keep adding fingers until the horse will open his mouth. Practice until every time we ask for the bridling position, he’ll quickly open his mouth when your fingers are placed in the corner of his mouth. Then just use your right hand to cup forward first the right, and then the left ear.

To summarize, now we can ask the horse to place his head in the bridling position, open his mouth and let us move his ears forward one at a time. When these steps are achievable every time we ask, it’s time to retrieve the bridle.

Since you’ve already taught all the steps involved in bridling, putting the bit and bridle on the horse should now be a piece of cake.

Hold the bridle at its top with your right hand. Place your right hand between the horse’s ears, letting the bit hang down in front of his face. With your left hand ask the horse to open his mouth; when he does, raise your right hand upward which will bring the bit into his mouth. Now grip the top of the bridle with your left hand which will free up your right hand to cup the horses’ right ear and push it forward while your left hand places the bridle over that ear. Then do the same with the left ear. Buckle your throat latch and you’re ready to ride! By using this step-by-step approach, you will avoid or resolve many bridling problems and be well on your way to a more willing partnership between you and your horse!

Hay Solutions
With
TNT Chops

Every year the Northeast weather seems to present us with different challenges in obtaining high quality hay. In 2001 and 2002 we were in the midst of a severe drought, which left not much hay to be found. This year was extremely wet which resulted in hay that was cut too late and therefore contains decreased nutritive value or is moldy. Moldy hay can exacerbate or initiate allergic reactions such as heaves or cause digestive upset such as colic or diarrhea.

Fiber is an essential part of your horse’s daily ration. Fiber helps maintain a healthy digestive tract and can provide a good source of protein and energy. A horse’s ration should consist of more fiber than concentrate grain. An inverted ration can cause problems such as colic, laminitis or founder, tying-up, wood chewing and more.

How does one deal with a situation where good quality hay is scarce and what is in the barn is of poor quality or is moldy? Each circumstance requires fiber supplementation. If you just don’t have enough hay but the hay you do have is of good quality you can use a fiber supplement to prevent inverting your fiber to grain ratio. If you have plenty of poor quality hay you can use a high quality fiber supplement to increase the nutritive value of this portion of your horse’s total diet. Nutrena’s TNT Chops is a high quality chopped timothy/alfalfa mix which is an excellent fiber supplement for both situations.

In a case of moldy hay, avoid feeding parts that are blatantly moldy. In many cases hay may seem clean but still contain a significant mold spore count. If you see that your horse has developed heaves, any allergies seem to have worsened or has otherwise unexplained diarrhea it may be because your hay has an elevated mold spore count and those mold spores are producing mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are byproducts of molds, which can trigger respiratory problems, digestive upset and even reproductive or neurological problems in rather small quantities. TNT Chops is produced in South Dakota where the climate is very dry. Hay fields are irrigated when needed and there are always enough sunny days to in a row to make hay. This environment produces a mold free product. If your horse is heavy or has other respiratory issues TNT chops can be used as a complete hay replacement.

Remember, providing high quality long stem fiber is essential to maintaining a healthy horse.

Shana Weiler-Bloomfield

Nutrena

Office (845) 756-3143 Cell (845) 417-8119 Fax(845) 756-3329

2003-2004 Schedule
November 6-9 – Equine Affaire- Icelandic Breed Versatility Team, W. Springfield, MA

November 14-16 - Exclusively Icelandic Foundation Level 2 Clinic – Bloomingburg, NY

November 19-25 – Private Horse Training – Lakeville, CT

2004 Events

January 10 & 11, 2004 – Northeast Horsemen’s Conference & Trade Show – Maine

January 24 & 25 – Ground Manners Clinic – Pine Bush, NY

February 14 & 15, 2004 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Customized Partnership Clinic- Basking Ridge, NJ

March 5-8, 2004 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics- Sky’s the Limit Clinic – SUNY Morrisville, NY

Hosted by Stride of Central NY

April 3-6, 2003 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Extended Foundation Clinic – Bloomingburg, NY

April 24-26 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Foundation Clinic – Level 1 – Clarksburg, Maryland

May 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11, 2004 – Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne Sheppard host

Susan Harris for a Open Centered Riding® Clinic and a Centered Jumping® Clinic

Bloomingburg, NY

May 24-28 & May 31-June 4 – Bob Jeffreys Midwest Trainer Education Program – Level 1

Cambridge Springs, PA

May 29 & 30 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - The Kids Clinic – Cambridge Springs, PA

June 11, 12 & 13 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Foundation Clinic – Level 1 – Guilford, VT

June 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Horsemanship Breakthrough Week – Middletown, NY

June 25, 26 & 27 – Tai Chi for Horsepeople with Suzanne Sheppard – Guilford, VT

July 12-16 & July 19-23 – Bob Jeffreys Trainer Education Program – Level 1-Jeffcrest Ranch, Middletown, NY

July 17 & 18 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Foundation Clinic – Level 1 – Bloomingburg, NY

August 14 & 15 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Kids Clinic – Bloomingburg, NY

August 16-20 & August 23-27 – Bob Jeffreys Trainer Education Program – Level 2 – Jeffcrest Ranch, Middletown, NY

August 21 & 22 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Foundation Clinic – Level 2 – Bloomingburg, NY

October 11-15 & October 18-22 – Bob Jeffreys Trainer Education Program – Level 3 – Jeffcrest Ranch, Middletown, NY

October 16 & 17 – Bob Jeffreys Clinics - Advanced Clinic – Bloomingburg, NY

www.bobjeffreys.com (845)692-7478 bob@bobjeffreys.com

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