2000 views!

    When I started this blog in March, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with it. There were some rough patches (August, I'm looking at you. Only one post!! And nothing of substance. What a disappointment). But, somehow, keep up I did (mostly), and it has been a great way to jot down thoughts on a new source or work out how to break down a specialized topic so that people from many fields had a prayer of understanding me.
  With the first (foreshortened) year just about over, we've surpassed two thousand views. Here's to two thousand more!

                           Happy New Year!

Bamboo Harvester, aka Mr. Ed

Signal Boost: Call For Panelists

"Hi All,

I'm looking to assemble a panel for RMCLAS 2016  (March 30-April 2) in Santa Fe, NM. The panel concerns centering animals within History or other disciplines. My paper analyzes the University of Arizona Insect Collections. I seek to complicate the normative definition of archive as a fixed, static space and analyze the technologies and media used to preserve, display, and portray insect specimens for human understanding and entertainment.

Please contact me via email at dblalock@email.arizona.edu if you are interested in participating. This call for panelists is cross posted to H-Net LatAm, Grad, and Animal.

Thank you,

Danielle Blalock
PhD Student - The University of Arizona
Department of History
http://history.arizona.edu/user/danielle-blalock "

I am working on an equestrian paper for this panel, and we are still looking for one or two more panelists.

Cavalrice

Worth a read!
https://nslmblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/markhams-masterpiece1683/
The National Sporting Library is a fantastic resource if you're in the Middleburg, VA area.

???

"Inverse Stirrup"
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2015/0266716.html

Doodle

Check out today's Google Doodle!
http://www.google.com/doodles/austria-national-day-2015

Whew.

    We just got back from a busy weekend at the Andalusian World Cup in Vegas. I'd love to tell you all about it, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, than these are worth millions.

In the interim

A new study was recently published on the effects of the bridle, rather than the bit, on the horse's gait:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080615005535

More soon!

  The horses of the flesh-and-blood sort have been keeping me busy, but there will be more soon.

1000!

One thousand views! Thanks for reading!

Parker says coffee time.

Kitten Nom Nom

Kitten Discovers Cat-tree

   Ok, so once again it isn't horses or history, or even remotely educational. But, lets be real- kitten videos are more entertaining. Parker has finally realized that the cat-tree can be climbed. And has TOYS!

Abdiel is not sure how he feels about this development. He likes playing cat-tree paw slap, but he's used to being the higher kitty. At least he's no longer running from the kitten.

Ab says that's better.

Foster Kitten

    Meet "Parker." 

aka Peter Parker aka Spidey
He leaps, flings, and climbs. A lot.


Parker, meet mirror.

I didn't grab the phone fast enough to catch him full on attacking the mirror. 

I was to busy watching and trying not to laugh.

New Book

    "Who’s Talking Now? Multispecies Relations from Human and Animals’ Point of View" is now available as an e-book from InterDisciplinary Press. It is a fascinating collection, including a chapter I wrote for it on the medieval horse.

Mythbusters: Equine History Edition

      So, there are a million and one myths & origin stories for different breeds, tack, traits, and riding in general. I want to put together a collection and do some mythbusting (or confirming). Send me your favorites!

Kitty!

In lieu of a real post this week, please accept this video of Abdiel.

Conference Intermission

    I will be at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference at CalState Stanislaus this weekend speaking about the Hanoverian Creams.