Tuesday night I was asked to fill in on the drill team so I pulled Black out pasture, booted her up & away we went.
When it was our turn we ran the pattern. She kept up great & almost had energy to spare.
Almost.....
Tuff E Nuff Quarter Horses
Lucy
Thursday, June 30, 2011
She's still got it!
When it was our turn we ran the pattern. She kept up great & almost had energy to spare.
Almost.....
Monday, June 27, 2011
Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids!
No, it isn't a rabbit and no, it isn't a kid!
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Saturday after the rain went away the CIDH hosted a horse and pony ride after the parade in Redfield. One of the team members purchased this bear and it spooked Sis. It wasn't a bad spook but enough that MIL took care of the problem! I'm not sure what it is but that horse turns her into a kid!
Rain, rain, go away!
The rain here has been nonstop lately. Originally the bwp (bad weather peeps) forecasted a beautiful weekend. I knew they lied when I woke up Saturday morning to thunder and lightening. It dried out around 10 but still looked gloomy. Throughout the day the sun would peek out here and there as if to taunt me but it never stayed long. Later that night after threats all day of more rain but no rain I decided to hit the road (ride 29).
Before hitting the road I thought I’d try some bending with Cat in the drive. Have I mentioned how much I hate this exercise? I apparently need to revisit some videos.
There is something on the neighbor’s property that freaks Cat out every time we go on a road ride (cause you know we’ve been on so many). I worked her in circles and finally got her past it. Right off the bat I started off doing ORS at the trot. I honestly think Cat counts because when I do my ORS I will trot 6 – 8 strides and then sit, sit, sit before doing a ORS. It doesn’t take very many repetitions before she’s starting to suck back on stride 8. When she does that then I ask her to keep moving and do a ORS when she’s not sucking back. I don’t think she has the “sit” part down yet.
On down the road I decided to switch from ORS to working on “whoa”. I think a fence line would work much better because Cat wasn’t “gettin it” and I know she’s not that dumb. We made it all the way to rollercoaster road without any issues. Most of the horses get a bit nervous on this road due to the trees lining the road and the cattle. This time it was the laughter of children that got Cat’s attention.
The neighbors must have been throwing a party. Cat could hear the commotion but she couldn’t see it and that made her nervous. What a perfect opportunity to do some bending! Once we made it to the bottom of the hill I kicked Cat into “high gear” and loped her to the top of the hill. Normally I let her stop on the top of the first hill but she was still pretty fast so this time I pushed her up to the top of the second hill. She was happy to stop when I sat an asked. I reached down to grab my phone to find out what time it was and………………..yep…………………I lost my phone………………..again!
I decided to forge on anyways so with a squeeze Cat and I were off again. The rest of the ride we worked on ORS from the trot and a little bit of cantering. She was nervous passing the big barking dog but not as bad as last time. The horses in the field running got her attention but she quickly lowered her head. It is amazing what a 7 mile ride will do! It was 8:45 when I returned to the farm. I quickly tied her up & jumped on the 4 wheeler to go find my phone. Of course it was on vibrate so I had to actually look for it. This is the one time when I think one of those ugly pink cases would come in handy!
I finally found it about 20 feet from where I realized I’d lost it (bangs head). Now if the weather will clear up a bit maybe I can finally get that 30th ride in on her!
Before hitting the road I thought I’d try some bending with Cat in the drive. Have I mentioned how much I hate this exercise? I apparently need to revisit some videos.
There is something on the neighbor’s property that freaks Cat out every time we go on a road ride (cause you know we’ve been on so many). I worked her in circles and finally got her past it. Right off the bat I started off doing ORS at the trot. I honestly think Cat counts because when I do my ORS I will trot 6 – 8 strides and then sit, sit, sit before doing a ORS. It doesn’t take very many repetitions before she’s starting to suck back on stride 8. When she does that then I ask her to keep moving and do a ORS when she’s not sucking back. I don’t think she has the “sit” part down yet.
On down the road I decided to switch from ORS to working on “whoa”. I think a fence line would work much better because Cat wasn’t “gettin it” and I know she’s not that dumb. We made it all the way to rollercoaster road without any issues. Most of the horses get a bit nervous on this road due to the trees lining the road and the cattle. This time it was the laughter of children that got Cat’s attention.
The neighbors must have been throwing a party. Cat could hear the commotion but she couldn’t see it and that made her nervous. What a perfect opportunity to do some bending! Once we made it to the bottom of the hill I kicked Cat into “high gear” and loped her to the top of the hill. Normally I let her stop on the top of the first hill but she was still pretty fast so this time I pushed her up to the top of the second hill. She was happy to stop when I sat an asked. I reached down to grab my phone to find out what time it was and………………..yep…………………I lost my phone………………..again!
I decided to forge on anyways so with a squeeze Cat and I were off again. The rest of the ride we worked on ORS from the trot and a little bit of cantering. She was nervous passing the big barking dog but not as bad as last time. The horses in the field running got her attention but she quickly lowered her head. It is amazing what a 7 mile ride will do! It was 8:45 when I returned to the farm. I quickly tied her up & jumped on the 4 wheeler to go find my phone. Of course it was on vibrate so I had to actually look for it. This is the one time when I think one of those ugly pink cases would come in handy!
I finally found it about 20 feet from where I realized I’d lost it (bangs head). Now if the weather will clear up a bit maybe I can finally get that 30th ride in on her!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Duck, duck, duck oh and another duck!
The boys and I have been incubating duck eggs for the last two months. Now it normally only takes 4 weeks to hatch duck eggs but our first batch didn't go so well. Somehow (*cough* Ty) my thermostat got turned up to 104* and fried my eggs.
The second batch went into a new incubator into my closet so the little hands couldn't turn it up/down. This is what the boys and I got to hatch out.
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We got four little adorable ducklings! My hatch rate wasn't very good but I think I know why. We have a few more hatches to go and momma duck has her own eggs under her so we'll see what happens. These cute little fellows go to their new home tomorrow.
The second batch went into a new incubator into my closet so the little hands couldn't turn it up/down. This is what the boys and I got to hatch out.
We got four little adorable ducklings! My hatch rate wasn't very good but I think I know why. We have a few more hatches to go and momma duck has her own eggs under her so we'll see what happens. These cute little fellows go to their new home tomorrow.
Changing colors
Last night I decided to join MIL at drill practice. When we got there I quickly saddled up and headed to the arena to do some groundwork. Cat decided she was going to kick up her heels and protest a little bit so we shifted gears from LFR Stage I to LFR Stage II quickly! I think she got the point rather quickly that it wasn't a good idea.
I hopped on and away we went. I didn't work a whole lot on ORS. Instead I just walked her around a little bit and then did some trotting. I've decided she knows she needs to stay in a trot so now it's time to start learning how to follow the fence. I could see Anna getting the flag out so I asked her if she would please just walk around and let me follow her. Cat was curious but cautious at the same time. I told Anna to go ahead and do what she needed to do. She took off loping and Cat didn't seem to be too worried about the flag.
It was warm and Cat got pretty hot and sweaty. I love the color she turns when she is hot. I wish she was that color all year round. The team met in at the side of the arena for a quick meeting so Cat and I loped around. She's starting to suck back at the arena gate but she didn't break gait. A few times I loped her down the fence line, sat, said WHOA and then tipped her nose into the fence. I really think she's going to be a stopper. She was doing a good job of getting her butt into the ground.
I helped the team out by pretending to be the flag person. It was good for her and she did a good job of playing follow the leader. After that I gave the poor girl break. A couple of the guys were joking with me about how much her color had changed.
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After practice was over I jumped back on. One of the girls is going to be carrying the American flag at a rodeo next month and was having issues getting her horse to stop so she asked me for some advice. I showed her (and a large group watching - you know how much I enjoy that) how *I* would do it. Cat was pretty responsive and got her butt in the ground so I was pretty happy with her.
After that the arena cleared some so Cat and I worked on the clover leaf pattern. I really need to work on the bending exercise. She does the pattern but she's stiff in her rib cage so she pulls on my hands a bit. Not much but enough that I don't like it and don't want it to continue. She couldn't wait for me to say "whoa" in the center of the leaf. I did the pattern once each direction and then once going in the opposite direction of which ever direction she wanted to go. After that I worked on a bit of backing up CC style, let her rest and then dismounted. She was one tired little girl.
I hopped on and away we went. I didn't work a whole lot on ORS. Instead I just walked her around a little bit and then did some trotting. I've decided she knows she needs to stay in a trot so now it's time to start learning how to follow the fence. I could see Anna getting the flag out so I asked her if she would please just walk around and let me follow her. Cat was curious but cautious at the same time. I told Anna to go ahead and do what she needed to do. She took off loping and Cat didn't seem to be too worried about the flag.
It was warm and Cat got pretty hot and sweaty. I love the color she turns when she is hot. I wish she was that color all year round. The team met in at the side of the arena for a quick meeting so Cat and I loped around. She's starting to suck back at the arena gate but she didn't break gait. A few times I loped her down the fence line, sat, said WHOA and then tipped her nose into the fence. I really think she's going to be a stopper. She was doing a good job of getting her butt into the ground.
I helped the team out by pretending to be the flag person. It was good for her and she did a good job of playing follow the leader. After that I gave the poor girl break. A couple of the guys were joking with me about how much her color had changed.
After practice was over I jumped back on. One of the girls is going to be carrying the American flag at a rodeo next month and was having issues getting her horse to stop so she asked me for some advice. I showed her (and a large group watching - you know how much I enjoy that) how *I* would do it. Cat was pretty responsive and got her butt in the ground so I was pretty happy with her.
After that the arena cleared some so Cat and I worked on the clover leaf pattern. I really need to work on the bending exercise. She does the pattern but she's stiff in her rib cage so she pulls on my hands a bit. Not much but enough that I don't like it and don't want it to continue. She couldn't wait for me to say "whoa" in the center of the leaf. I did the pattern once each direction and then once going in the opposite direction of which ever direction she wanted to go. After that I worked on a bit of backing up CC style, let her rest and then dismounted. She was one tired little girl.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Another Ride!
Sunday DH, a friend and I headed back to the trail. Cat was just as good as she was the day before, if not just a tad bit better. We passed a few groups of horses and while she looked at them, she's learning not to talk to them.
It was another hot day so we split our ride in half and gave the horses a break part of the way through.
Cat is learning quickly to conserve her energy when we stop for a break. She took a small drink of water and then took a small "cat nap".
After the trail ride we headed back to MIL's. We gave the horses a small break before loading them back into the trailer to head home. Cat and Black came right up to me but Bell wasn't having anything to do with being caught so I let DH deal with her. Since I had two ponies and only two hands (had to shut/lock the gate) I gave Cat to Ty to hold. I had no idea what I was about to start!
He lead her all over the yard. Everywhere Ty went, Cat followed. He drug the lead rope, she'd step on it and then just stand patiently, waiting. It was too cute. It was nice to see the "kid horse" in her come out just like it did in her mom and like it does in her sister.
After DH finally got Bell caught we loaded up. Ty wanted to load Cat so I helped him. When we returned to the farm he informed me he was going to lead "Kit Cat" down to the pasture. I don't really know if I like where this could be heading. lol
It was another hot day so we split our ride in half and gave the horses a break part of the way through.
Waiting
He lead her all over the yard. Everywhere Ty went, Cat followed. He drug the lead rope, she'd step on it and then just stand patiently, waiting. It was too cute. It was nice to see the "kid horse" in her come out just like it did in her mom and like it does in her sister.
Ty and Cat (see the other horses in the background running from DH)
I finally got him to stand still long enough to take a picture.
Finally!
I finally got to take Cat on a trail ride! Sat. the boys headed up to the farm so I decided to go watch MIL’s first drill performance. I had planned on staying the night at her place that night so I could ride on Sunday and then bring the horses home. On the ride over we decided if she got done early enough we’d go on a ride – and we did!
We ended up getting to Elk Rock around 4:00. I did some LFR with Cat while MIL saddled Sis and then we were off. As we rode through the trees I started to grab some branches overhead. When they moved Cat shot forward like a bolt! She’s not used to having things move overhead. Since this made her nervous I did what any normal person would do………….I continued to grab branches until she quit freaking out. It really didn’t take very long.
She wanted to be close to MIL and Sis so I did lots of circles with her until she learned to just hang back. MIL and I played leap frog and changed places frequently on the trails. Cat was somewhat nervous about being in front but she soon started to gain a bit of confidence. The deer were out in full force so I was able to experience a few “spooks”. I must say – if that is how Cat is going to spook them I’m good to go. After a while when Sis would spook Cat would just look at her like she was an idiot. I took that as an opportunity to give MIL a little bit of flack.
When we hit the point MIL and I stepped off to give the horses a bit of a rest. Both were tired.
We ended up getting to Elk Rock around 4:00. I did some LFR with Cat while MIL saddled Sis and then we were off. As we rode through the trees I started to grab some branches overhead. When they moved Cat shot forward like a bolt! She’s not used to having things move overhead. Since this made her nervous I did what any normal person would do………….I continued to grab branches until she quit freaking out. It really didn’t take very long.
She wanted to be close to MIL and Sis so I did lots of circles with her until she learned to just hang back. MIL and I played leap frog and changed places frequently on the trails. Cat was somewhat nervous about being in front but she soon started to gain a bit of confidence. The deer were out in full force so I was able to experience a few “spooks”. I must say – if that is how Cat is going to spook them I’m good to go. After a while when Sis would spook Cat would just look at her like she was an idiot. I took that as an opportunity to give MIL a little bit of flack.
When we hit the point MIL and I stepped off to give the horses a bit of a rest. Both were tired.
She is not looking for food.
I think she's begging MIL to take her home.
This is the "I'm gonna die" look.
I finally got one photo with her head up. She was watching the boats on the lake as they went by.
Back on the trail.
I was VERY pleased with Cat! She did a great job on her first trail ride.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Animal Count
We've acquired a few more animals since my last post so I thought I'd do a quick update.
Dad now has two fawns. They are so little and so cute but I'm so glad I'm not the one taking care of them!
We now have two Canadian Geese, Goosezilla and Peaches. I took some pictures last night but haven't downloaded them yet. We also have to two domestic geese Thanksgiving and Christmas.
For ducks we have one American Black Duck and three Wood Duck ducklings.
Monday when we returned home we heard a noise and thought one of the wood ducks had escaped (they are good at that if you don't have the right pens). Chase followed the noise and ran across a little chicken. We walked it down to the neighbors to see if it belonged to them only to find out it was a guinea keet. She grabbed 4 more that were newly hatched and gave them to the boys so now we have 5 guinea keets as well.
Dad now has two fawns. They are so little and so cute but I'm so glad I'm not the one taking care of them!
We now have two Canadian Geese, Goosezilla and Peaches. I took some pictures last night but haven't downloaded them yet. We also have to two domestic geese Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Thanksgiving & Christmas on the Left - Peaches on the Right
Wood Duck Ducklings
Monday when we returned home we heard a noise and thought one of the wood ducks had escaped (they are good at that if you don't have the right pens). Chase followed the noise and ran across a little chicken. We walked it down to the neighbors to see if it belonged to them only to find out it was a guinea keet. She grabbed 4 more that were newly hatched and gave them to the boys so now we have 5 guinea keets as well.
Guinea Keets
We still have our two Indian Runner ducks (one black one fawn/white), 4 pekins, 8 Silver Laced Wyandotte chickens and 1 Red Bantam Cochin Rooster.
Right now I'm experimenting w/hatching duck eggs in the incubator at home. My first hatch didn't go well due to spikes in temperatures in the incubator so I'm hoping this next one goes better.
Memorial Weekend
Friday night Chase, MIL and I loaded up and headed to Elk Rock State Park for the weekend. The weather Friday wasn't the best but we had high hopes for the weekend. It was pretty late by the time we got there so we set up camp and went to bed.
Saturday morning while cooking breakfast we were greeted with rain and forced to move things inside of the trailer. I was glad we ended up bringing along the portable DVD player and MIL's laptop! The weather just couldn't make up it's mind. The sun would come out and then it would sprinkler. We finally decided to buck it up and go for a ride. I decided before hitting the trail I'd better hit the arena with Cat just to make sure she was going to listen. As we approached the arena I noticed a small "bridge" and decided to ask her to go across it. She was hesitant and then decided it would be easier to jump it. I worked on sending her over it several times. When she finally walked across it semi relaxed I stopped and headed into the arena.
She is really starting to anticipate my turns during LFR stage II so I've been trying to work on that. She was being good and listening to me so I decided to end our gw session (the huffing and puffing from her helped make the decision as well). As I left the arena a group of riders rode up and said "oh no, we missed it!" I replied "huh? missed what?". They knew I had been to a CA clinic so they wanted to see my gw. I chuckled and said maybe next time.
Mounted up we headed down the all purpose trail. It really was just a gravel road w/trees on both sides but it worked. Cat did really well! I was on a loose rein the majority of the ride. We rode down by the lake where we saw two bald eagles sitting on the bank. I'll bet they were less then a football field away. Chase thought that was pretty cool! I asked Cat to go into the lake and w/o hesitation she walked in.
Later that day a few of us decided to go for another ride. MIL stayed at camp with Cat as I was riding Sis w/a friends daughter on behind me. During the ride another friend's horse tried to kick Sis and afterwards Sis became very prancy and jiggy. Since I had a child on behind me I couldn't really do much for corrections. I had planned on taking her out when I got back to fix the problem until we returned..............that is when the plans changed.
When we got back to camp I found MIL holding Cat. Apparently she went into one of her major meltdowns when we left and started rearing on the hitching rail. She somehow managed to get her leg over the lead rope and got hung up. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how she did this. We always hook the tie rings to the wire above the hitching rail so they horses are tied up and have no extra rope to get caught on. I have to stand on a mounting block and reach to get the tie ring hooked!
MIL was too afraid to tie her back up and was worried her leg would swell so she held onto her the entire time we were out. When I returned to camp I gave MIL Sis and told her to take care of her while I took care of Cat! Black and Bell were tied up across camp at a friends hitching rail, Lucy was at the arena and Sis was gone. The only horse left at the hitching rail was a friend's horse Star.
I tied Cat to the trailer and she immediately started to rear so we backed over to Star and did some LFR then backed back over to the trailer for the opportunity to tie quietly. Th is took a few good repetitions for it to sink in and by this time I could see eyes watching me from behind trailers probably wondering what in the world I was doing. Finally she took a deep breath, exhaled and dropped her head. I don't have opportunities to mimic this at home so although I would love for her to be prefect, I'm glad I was able to work on the issue.
Sunday a huge storm came through so we decided to pack up and head for MIL's. When we unloaded the horses Abby was so excited to see them she RAN figure 8's around them trying to get them to run and play with her. She was hauling some serious arse! She would buck and then jump straight up in the air. It was nice to see her feeling so well. Monday it was wash ponies day! Lucy's mane was full of ticks so I gave her a flea/tick shampoo and then pulled them out. Yuck! Cat got clipped completely! I need to work on that more but neither one of us were seriously injured during the process so all was good.
The weather here is supposed to be hot all week so we left all of the horses except Sis at MIL's for the week to eat down her pasture and give ours a break.
Saturday morning while cooking breakfast we were greeted with rain and forced to move things inside of the trailer. I was glad we ended up bringing along the portable DVD player and MIL's laptop! The weather just couldn't make up it's mind. The sun would come out and then it would sprinkler. We finally decided to buck it up and go for a ride. I decided before hitting the trail I'd better hit the arena with Cat just to make sure she was going to listen. As we approached the arena I noticed a small "bridge" and decided to ask her to go across it. She was hesitant and then decided it would be easier to jump it. I worked on sending her over it several times. When she finally walked across it semi relaxed I stopped and headed into the arena.
She is really starting to anticipate my turns during LFR stage II so I've been trying to work on that. She was being good and listening to me so I decided to end our gw session (the huffing and puffing from her helped make the decision as well). As I left the arena a group of riders rode up and said "oh no, we missed it!" I replied "huh? missed what?". They knew I had been to a CA clinic so they wanted to see my gw. I chuckled and said maybe next time.
Mounted up we headed down the all purpose trail. It really was just a gravel road w/trees on both sides but it worked. Cat did really well! I was on a loose rein the majority of the ride. We rode down by the lake where we saw two bald eagles sitting on the bank. I'll bet they were less then a football field away. Chase thought that was pretty cool! I asked Cat to go into the lake and w/o hesitation she walked in.
Later that day a few of us decided to go for another ride. MIL stayed at camp with Cat as I was riding Sis w/a friends daughter on behind me. During the ride another friend's horse tried to kick Sis and afterwards Sis became very prancy and jiggy. Since I had a child on behind me I couldn't really do much for corrections. I had planned on taking her out when I got back to fix the problem until we returned..............that is when the plans changed.
When we got back to camp I found MIL holding Cat. Apparently she went into one of her major meltdowns when we left and started rearing on the hitching rail. She somehow managed to get her leg over the lead rope and got hung up. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how she did this. We always hook the tie rings to the wire above the hitching rail so they horses are tied up and have no extra rope to get caught on. I have to stand on a mounting block and reach to get the tie ring hooked!
MIL was too afraid to tie her back up and was worried her leg would swell so she held onto her the entire time we were out. When I returned to camp I gave MIL Sis and told her to take care of her while I took care of Cat! Black and Bell were tied up across camp at a friends hitching rail, Lucy was at the arena and Sis was gone. The only horse left at the hitching rail was a friend's horse Star.
I tied Cat to the trailer and she immediately started to rear so we backed over to Star and did some LFR then backed back over to the trailer for the opportunity to tie quietly. Th is took a few good repetitions for it to sink in and by this time I could see eyes watching me from behind trailers probably wondering what in the world I was doing. Finally she took a deep breath, exhaled and dropped her head. I don't have opportunities to mimic this at home so although I would love for her to be prefect, I'm glad I was able to work on the issue.
Sunday a huge storm came through so we decided to pack up and head for MIL's. When we unloaded the horses Abby was so excited to see them she RAN figure 8's around them trying to get them to run and play with her. She was hauling some serious arse! She would buck and then jump straight up in the air. It was nice to see her feeling so well. Monday it was wash ponies day! Lucy's mane was full of ticks so I gave her a flea/tick shampoo and then pulled them out. Yuck! Cat got clipped completely! I need to work on that more but neither one of us were seriously injured during the process so all was good.
The weather here is supposed to be hot all week so we left all of the horses except Sis at MIL's for the week to eat down her pasture and give ours a break.
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