Guest Column: High-Tech Horse

This continues the series of guest columns about how technology is reshaping people's hobbies and passions – fishing, basket weaving, community service – whatever.

This time it is Dave Morrison, CFO of shop.com who writes about horses. Unlike Mark Galloway who wrote about how his horse gets him away from technology, Dave describes how tech has got him closer to horses.

“Even though I began riding in earnest just 15 years ago, horses hold a very special place in my life and in my heart. I met my wife because of horses, and we spent much of our honeymoon in Italy on horseback, learning to jump cross country.

My relationship with horses began in September 1994 on Catalina Island. For those who are unfamiliar with Catalina Island, it is located off the coast of Southern California, 26 miles from Los Angeles.  Avalon, the only developed part of the island, and its ballroom were a popular destination for cruises and private yachts in the early 1900’s, particularly during Prohibition. The island was purchased in 1919 by William Wrigley, Jr., who decided that the island should be protected and its natural beauty preserved. Today, approximately 90% of the island is uninhabited and undeveloped.

During that first trip to Catalina I participated in a five day riding and camping “trek” on the island which is held annually by Los Caballeros. Los Caballeros was founded in 1943 by a group of Los Angeles horsemen who shared an interest in horses and in preserving some of the traditions of the early California horsemen. During the better part of a week, I got to play cowboy with a group of guys, many of whom are now among my best friends. (If you think the movie “City Slickers” you wouldn’t be too far off.) During the five days on the island we travelled everywhere, slept under the stars at “Black Jack,” swam with our horses in the ocean, and rode at night with a roof of stars and a floor of sparks from the horses’ shoes as they struck the rocks on the ground beneath us. It was a transforming experience.

I returned to Catalina every September for twelve years, got married and went to Italy to ride all before I finally “ponied-up” and bought my first horse three years ago. Now, my wife and I own three horses and without digital technology it is quite likely that we wouldn’t own any of them.

The “digital revolution” is the best thing that ever happened to equestrians. We regularly use the internet to search for horses for sale, research characteristics of different breeds, trace bloodlines, find breeders and trainers and even share medical records.

We actually found the first horse we purchased together somewhat by accident. My wife had been researching Irish sport horses online and came across a promising gelding in Napa Valley. After several phone conversations with the owner of the horse and its vet, we decided to have him trailered down to Carmel Valley near our home in Carmel to try him out in person. Although we ultimately decided not to buy that horse, we did end up buying an appendix breed (half thoroughbred, half quarter horse) named Grace from the same woman.

Back then, it was typical for owners and trainers to make a video tape to send to prospective buyers. Nowadays, videos are digitally uploaded onto trainers own websites or put up on YouTube and linked back to the trainer’s website (see below for a link to a video we viewed before buying our newest horse). One of the trainers we know here in Monterey County records every competition and most of the lessons that her students take and later uses the videos to evaluate the progress or performance of both the rider and horse. With inexpensive digital video devices like The Flip, it is very easy to record, upload and share these digital video files, and YouTube provides unlimited storage for free.

By the time we bought our newest horse Winnie (a four year-old Hanoverian, Thoroughbred, Clydesdale mix) 4 months ago, we had learned how to use the web and all the related digital technology to its full advantage. We not only searched across the US and Canada for several months and viewed countless videos online, we had digital X-rays taken of the horse legs. These digital images were sent over the web to our own vet and then to the veterinary school at UC Davis. Mobile, truck mounted X-ray equipment is now used all over the country to examine horses where they live, and these images can be shared over the web alleviating the need to put a horse in a trailer and haul it long distances for specialized medical care.

Equine medicine has seen phenomenal progress in recent years. With the advent of new medical technologies there are many options in treating an injured or sick horse. At the Steinbeck Clinic, a leading specialist care facility in our county, there are all kinds of ultrasound and laser equipment for routine care and for advanced surgeries – which as the photo on right indicates takes some special handling! 

We also use the internet to buy all of our tack, feed supplements, riding clothes, etc. online. Which brings me to saddles. Talk about technology enhancing tradition – the Tucker saddle that I own is equipped with all kinds of innovative features . As you can see from the photo on left, gels and chemical carbonization and ergonomic design principles have enhanced the old leather and wood western saddle quite a bit over the years.

We even have researched and booked equestrian oriented vacations online. So, the wide spread development of technology really has transformed the way people interact with horses… in a very positive way.”

Comments

[Julie]

This article about technology and horses has opened my eyes to the amount of technology that I also use in my own equestrian adventures. I previously that that my horses were the only non-technology related interest in my life. As Dave points out, however, the video'ing, digital photos, purchase of supplements, and information available on the web have made technology an integral part of my "non-technology" avocation.