[jen judkins]

OK, Bivol, i finally found time to add those link spaces….let me know what you (or anyone else) think…Happy Thanksgiving all.

[jen judkins]

Looks like I will be able to come down with Reno Saturday morning….looking forward to it!

[jen judkins]

4. We should make scheduling our next board meeting a standing agenda item.

[jen judkins]

@Ethan Tapper 30407 wrote:

I think the 18th might be the best option.

That’s fine with me…anyone have trouble with that night? lets get agenda items together for Mark.

I have a couple:

1. MOFGA LIF course report -5minutes
2. Discussion about an separate member category for teamsters -5 minutes
3. BOD section of forum feedback -5minutes

[jen judkins]

Hey all, great discussion! I have really enjoyed catching up on this thread. Been at the LIF course for the past week. My experiences there with Reno, teaching, illustrates some of the challenges of working with sensitive, living creatures. Someone mentioned the limitations of the horse’s way of communicating. Its truly an art to read a horse….an art I will study the rest of my life.

For me, one of the challenges with using a horse (or team) in a teaching situation, is that my attention is divided between the horse and the students. This includes the ‘on stage’ sensation, George mentioned. It puts me in a different state of being. I like to blame the students inexperience for any unacceptable behavior in my horse, and it is true that inexperienced hands on the lines can confuse the horse and lead to some anxiety….but its really my attention and leadership that is lacking in those situations. All I can do is point this out to the students. I don’t know how many times I said, ‘look at the horse..does he look ready to do what you want to do?’ There were many ‘no’ answers, appropriately and this gave us a chance to explore how we might get his attention, or focus him or settle him in some way. One point I think I made clear to every student is that you never hook a nervous horse to a log. Forget the log. Figure out what it takes to get him confident enough to stand still. In the end it was a positive experience for everyone, I think.

George, I respect your horsemanship a great deal. I think you have a good handle on this situation. As the old saying goes, ‘shit happens’. Being prepared is the only thing we can do.

[jen judkins]

Ellen, That is awesome. I will put you in touch with Erika Marczak, the Newsletter committee chair about conttributing to the Newsletter…she will be thrilled!

Where do you live in MA? Are you close enough to come to the logging workshop in Athol. I would bet we can find someone local for you to get help from. jennifer.

[jen judkins]

Thank you, Jean….you’re the best!

[jen judkins]

@reva seybolt 30338 wrote:

I thought we had already planned a meeting for Nov 30th 7pm Reva

I have the 30th at 7pm on my calendar as well. J

[jen judkins]

Here are the minutes from the Nov. 13th meeting.

[jen judkins]

The Maine Farmers Club should be a show in with Bob Crieghton as their president (or recent president).

I’m at MOFGA this week and will speak with those here. I had an interesting conversation with John Plowden who feels that teamsters who regularly bring their teams to events should be exempt from paying dues. Intriguing thought and not a bad idea, as it would develop a core of teamsters who we can call on to work these events. If they want to support DAPNet they can do that above the work they do or donate back any fees DAPNet pays them for travel.

[jen judkins]

A couple of years ago, I was tasked to contact all the organizations in the Northeast to drum up interest in the NEAPFDs. I made little progress with email and snail mail. I think we have to work at this, but it would be better to start with the organizations we know. Jean and I are members of the Green Mountain Draft Horse Association and they have some interest in an association (though I think there are some in that club that see no benefit to the relationship and that needs some attention). I know at least Ed is a member of the Granite State Draft Horse Association. I’m sure with such a diverse group of Board members, we could reach out to several organizations on a personal level. Having a few club associations could then allow us to work on more and have working examples of how they benefit from the relationship would then be in place. Just my two cents.

[jen judkins]

Sorry, guys…I have not fixed the BOD email notifications yet. Tomorrow.

Ed, I’m here with John Plowden at the LIF workshop and he has expressed some interest in the Events Committee. I will add him to the group when I fix the BOD section, but you might want to email him at jsplowden@gmail.com.

[jen judkins]

I’ll see if I can update that. I might have to have Chris Hill do it. I’ll get back to you. J

[jen judkins]

Any day now, Brad.

[jen judkins]

Thanks for the reminder, Erika. I will be working on both websites this week on Wed and Thurs. So this is a good time to pass on any website copy, events or other items on to be updated. Pam, maybe we can conference call one of those days for an hour? Jen.

[Author]

Posts