Dog Hair & Mule Sweat
with Natalie Riehl
editor@rockymountainrider.com
Lightweight, it doesn’t block much sound.
Oh, boy, have we had some muddy
corrals. The five-degree weather warmed up to forty-five degrees and all the snow — and then ice — melted. Then it rained. This weird weather makes me feel an uneasiness, kind of out of balance. I’ve got my various layers of barn clothes on hooks by the back door, so I can choose which gloves or hat or vest to wear depending on the outdoor temp. (Yes, there is quite an assortment… okay, a pile.) Already twice this winter, I’ve hung my zero-and-below coat and rabbit-fur-lined hat back in the closet. I’m getting pickier as I get older…
I don’t want to get overly warm and I don’t want to feel cold. Readers are sure to recall that this al-
ways brings to mind the same question I ask often myself: “Remember when you were a kid and you put on something warm and went out and rode your fuzzy horse all winter long? What’s wrong with you now? Why don’t you still do that?”
My answer to that riddle is: “God bless kids’ horses.” I have no idea how my old mare put up with me. Any win- ter riding I do now puts me in mind of easing onto a cold saddle, zipping up around my neck, and that I have cotton to stick in my ears, even under my hat. That use of cotton is one of those practical things that I didn’t figure out till I was, at least, in my forties. It’s almost impossible to find a hat that will adequately keep the wind out of my ears. And cotton is so simple.
Cotton was my friend last weekend when I cleaned out the horse stall — an impossible chore when the stall’s contents are frozen rock solid and the horses keep upping the ante. But, as I mentioned above, the weather turned warm and there was no excuse not to employ the rake and shovel. A brisk breeze was blowing outside, and that cotton felt wonderful every time I drove the little tractor out of the barn door toward the manure pile. The wind was in my face until I could ma- neuver around to dump the bucket. However, we in western Montana cannot whine about cold wind. When I study the National Weather Service website, I realize that you folks who live east and south of us have real winters and that we almost have pretend winters.
In the world of old dogs learning
new tricks, here at the Rocky Mountain Rider offices, we are always streamlin- ing operations a little. Veronica (not such an old dog as I) and I have a sys- tem for laying out the magazine, and ev- ery two to three months, she or I come up with some little idea that makes the job easier. Which makes us always say, in uni-
son: “I can’t believe we didn’t think of this ages ago!” Our time-saving tricks frequently
employ the use of a bright color and/or Post-It Notes, which we affectionately call “stickies.” These little flags brightly decorate the production room.
As always, we are interested in your
opinions. If you have a comment about the current horse market, please go to our Horsepersons Forum at
rockymountainrider.com and tell us your opinion of today’s horse market. How is the national economy affect- ing the sale and use of equines? And, please, feel free to get out your crystal ball and tell us what the future of the horse market will be over the next five or ten years.
Idaho–Montana–Nevada–Oregon–Utah–Washington–Wyoming Regional All-Breed
____Horse Magazine____
P.O. Box 995, Hamilton, MT 59840 406-363-4085 888-747-1000 Fax: 406-363-1056
www.rockymountainrider.com March 2011
_____Publisher & Editor_____ Natalie Riehl
editor@rockymountainrider.com
_____Production Department_____ Dorinda Troutman
ads@rockymountainrider.com Veronica Grainger
proofs@rockymountainrider.com
_____Display Advertising Sales_____ Natalie Riehl
editor@rockymountainrider.com Sam Walsh
sam@rockymountainrider.com
_____Classified Advertising Sales_____
classifieds@rockymountainrider.com
Bookkeeping Department
office@rockymountainrider.com
Editorial Department Dorinda Troutman
Associate Photographer Rick Landry
Office Dogs Arrow & Florie & Maya
All Around Great Guy Al Brown
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER MAGAZINE is a Montana Owned & Operated Company
ABOUT THE PUBLICATION: (ISSN 1536-3007) Rocky Mountain Rider Magazine is published monthly, with 14,000 copies distributed free of charge in 375+ horse- related businesses throughout the Greater Rockies. © 2011 Rocky Mountain Rider, P.O. Box 995, Hamilton, MT 59840. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of any editorial material, artwork or photos is strictly forbidden without express written permission of the publisher.
ADVERTISERS: Advertising is available in print and online. Please contact us for rate and circulation information at 888- 747-1000;
info@rockymountainrider.com.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Are available for $20 per year in U.S. (mailed Bulk Rate); $30 First Class; $35 US Funds per year for Canada. Please see coupon inside the back cover. If you move, USPS returns your copy to RMR with address correction, and we will send you our next issue. If you don't receive your issue, and you haven't moved, please let us know.
FREELANCE WRITERS: We're looking for interesting stories! Please submit query letters, articles (typed, double- spaced) and/or photographs to P.O. Box 995, Hamilton, MT 59840, accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Submissions received without a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope will not be returned.
8 ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER • MARCH 2011
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