THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | JUNE 6, 2013
FARMLIVING
19
KIDS HAVE FEW FREE HOURS ON THE FARM Peacocks, Silkie chickens, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits and other animals provide income and lots of chores for the Muhr children. | Page 23
FARM LIVING EDITOR: KAREN MORRISON | Ph: 306-665-3585 F: 306-934-2401 | E-MAIL: KAREN.MORRISON@PRODUCER.COM
MAIL | RURAL SERVICES
Canada Post prepares for ‘fundamental changes’ to service plans Postmasters urge customers to speak up BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU
ABOVE: Bailey, shown by Christopher Wiens, took first place in the showmanship and grooming event for miniature horses at the Senlac 4-H Multiple Club’s Achievement Day May 26. RIGHT: Joshua Sikkema, left, and Wiens vie for top spot in the pleasure driving class. | KAREN MORRISON PHOTOS
4-H | MINIATURE HORSE DRIVING
Mini horses, mega fun Kids learn the ropes | Miniature horses small but mighty and a good way to learn control BY KAREN MORRISON SASKATOON NEWSROOM
SENLAC, Sask. — Smiles turned to alarm as a miniature horse bolted from the Senlac 4-H Achievement Day’s driving event on the sports grounds, squeezing between a ball diamond backstop and a parked car. A handful of adults and 11-yearold driver Christopher Wiens got the runaway stopped in a ditch behind the spectators’ stand filled with family and friends. Five minutes and a few tears later, Wiens and his horse, Bailey, returned to the field with his mother, Miranda, in the cart. “Learn to do by doing,” sometimes the hard way, is the motto for the 4-H program, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Canada this year. Interviewed earlier this breezy May day while attaching the bridle,
PL
product launch
reins and child-sized cart, Wiens had conceded Bailey was a little finicky with the harness lately. “He usually doesn’t mind,” he said. Wiens, who grew up around horses of all sizes, also participates in a light horse project as a member of the Senlac 4-H Multiple Club. He expects to tackle the driving project again next year and encouraged others to give it a try. “I’d say to do it ’cause it’s a lot of fun,” he said. Despite the breakaway, Wiens held onto second place behind William Ganser, 12. That result was reversed in the showmanship and grooming event. Miranda Wiens said judges have a lot to look for in the driving event. “You’re judged on how nice you are harnessed, how you sit in the cart, how you hold yourself and
how it’s rigged,” she said. Ganser said a win in the light horse walk-trot event moments earlier probably helped boost his confidence going into the driving event with his horse, Chip. “I wouldn’t let the horse take off, used my voice and had a steady rein,” he said. Ganser called miniatures small but mighty. “They’re built strong. A 200 pound man in a cart can be pulled,” he said. “They’ll go through 10 foot snow drifts if they have to. If they have their hearts to it, they’ll do it.” He said each one also has its own personality. “My horse has attitude. His older brother is completely calm.” Members get together each week to learn how to train, groom and control their horses and attend clinics. Ganser said training includes
talking, petting, resting and rewarding. “Mainly you have to trust the horse and it has to trust you,” he said. Project leaders Debbie Ganser and Gordon Krupka guide the horse and cart at first while members hold the reins and the horse learns voice commands. “If your ground work and manners are learned first, it makes it a lot easier later on. You eliminate a lot of problems,” said Krupka. “They have to respect the handler’s space or they can step on your toes.” Miniatures are a good fit with younger 4-Hers. “It’s easier to learn on these little guys. It’s a good entry,” he said. SEE PAGE 21 FOR SENLAC ACHIEVEMENT DAY PHOTOS
»
The president of the rural Canada Post employees association says rural Canadians must speak up if they want to retain their service. Canada Post has launched a public consultation in the wake of a Conference Board of Canada report last month that predicted billion dollar deficits at the crown corporation by 2020 without service reductions and cost cutting. Canada Post said it needs to make fundamental changes to avoid the financial crisis. Leslie Schous, president of the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants’ Association representing rural postal workers, said last week rural service could be in line for cost cutting. She said rural service could be an easy target, even though it is one of the least expensive parts of the system. The former Saskatchewan rural postal employee said it is important for rural residents, who already have seen service levels cut, to speak up. “They are considering reducing the number of days of service, fewer post offices and no home deliver y,” Schous said. “They are looking at all of those things.” Canada Post is asking for customer feedback at www.canadapost.ca. Schous said scores of rural post offices have been closed despite a closure moratorium that has been in effect for almost two decades. “I think it is really important that rural people speak up because if our customers don’t come forward and say it is important to them to keep their postal service, Canada Post will say, ‘if they don’t care, why should we?’ ” she said.
Product Launches If it’s new in the agriculture market, it’s here. SEE IT ... June 19 - 21, 2013 Evraz Place, Regina, SK, Canada
www.myfarmshow.com