Time to hit the trails!

Saturday morning the boys left to spend a week at Great Grandma’s & Grandpa’s so DH and I loaded up the ponies and headed to Brushy Creek. We decided to try to take a new route to the park to shave some time/miles off only to find out my cell phone includes narrow, curvy gravel roads in its “fastest route possible” directions. I'm not sure how much quicker it was but we made it safely, unloaded the horses and set up camp.

Out on the trail, Black seemed pretty happy to be out and about. Her ears were perked forward and she was moving out pretty well. I was a bit worried when we first started because she took the long, steep hill really slow. I mean REALLY slow!



Even with her new shoes she was still a bit “ouchy” on the trails so I let her pick her pace. We headed to the West river trail. These trails were closed for quite some time due to the flooding and you could tell. They were overgrown and there were tons of wild grapes growing in the trees. Bell got her tail caught in one while we were stopped for a break.



The one thing we encounter I had not anticipated was the mosquitoes! They were horrible. They thought Bell and I were tasty but they left Black and DH alone. At times DH would stop Bell as her entire jowl and neck were covered with masses of mosquitoes. The horses were getting tired and the mosquitoes were making it miserable so we headed back to camp.

Back at camp we started up the grill and sat down to relax with a cold one. As we were relaxing a gentleman pulled up to back into the site two sites down from us. He was having a difficult time backing (I think I could have done better) so I told DH to go help him. Right about then he finally got his rig backed into the camp spot.

Once he was backed in he opened the back doors of his truck and unloaded a little boy. He couldn’t have been more then 3 or 4 and he was in his pj’s with his Jack Russell Terrier following right behind him. Brandon and I got a chuckle out of the little boy and his dog. The poor kid’s pj’s were hanging off of his butt so his cartoon character undies were showing. That didn’t stop him though!

The gentleman walked around to the other side and unloaded another young boy. This boy couldn’t have been more then 1 ½ or 2 (he was walking but didn’t seem to talk much). No one else was with him so DH and I speculated someone else would be meeting up with him later. He unloaded his horses (2), unhooked his truck and they headed off.

We enjoyed our dinner, took care of the ponies and then headed off to bed. The next morning we took out time getting around. The gentleman next door came out of his trailer with the two boys to feed the horses and eat their breakfast. He was still alone so our speculations changed to him being a single father. He looked like the rodeo type so it wouldn’t be that uncommon. Either way we both gave him kudos for taking two children anywhere with no help let alone camping with two horses.

Again DH and I got a huge chuckle out of the eldest boy as he couldn’t keep his wranglers up over his butt. His red/blue undies were showing as the back of his pants were down under his butt. He had that JR on a lead and was dragging it everywhere. After our morning entertainment we decided to hit the trails. The weather was lovely and we didn’t want to miss out.

As I led Black from the hitching rail to the trailer I noticed she was pretty sore. I was very disappointed. I decided to try to boot her backs to see if that would help. She moved a bit better but still not great so DH and I agreed if she didn’t do well after we got out on the trail we would turn around and head back.

The first part of the trail didn’t go so well.  She was moving slow and was taking quite a few bad steps.  As we started to head up a hill I stopped Black to tell DH I didn’t think she could go any further. Right about then Black spazzed since Bell was at the top of the hill and she hauled butt up the hill. I decided if she could do that she could walk some more. The more she walked out the better she seemed to move so we continued on our way.



We decided this time we’d go down the East River trail hoping it would be less rocky. It was and it was beautiful. There was a small stream crossing (I love water crossings) so DH and I let the ponies take a short break to play in the water.





The trails on this side were equally as overgrown as the ones on the West side but it was still beautiful riding.



DH grabbed a tree branch to help keep the mosquitoes off of Bell but it ended up turning into a “persuasion” stick.



When the mosquitoes got bad we headed back to camp. A large group was coming up behind us and it was making Black a bit uneasy so she moved into a trot. I didn’t think she’d stay in it because of her feet so I just let her go. To my surprise she went quite a ways before I shut her down. We stopped and let them pass us but then she wanted to keep up with them. She might be old but she's a long ways from dead and I had my hands full!

After 3 stops to adjust boots I was at my wits end. The last stop came after we almost tumbled down a hill. She tripped, the boot came off and the gator ripped but didn’t tear completely off. How she regained her balance I have no idea! I’m just glad she did. She twists her back feet as she walks so no matter what I do I can't keep boots on for too long (hence why I wanted shoes on them). 

Both ponies were exhausted and ready to be back at the trailer.



Once we were back at camp we took the horses down to the wash rack for a nice hose down. We weren’t in any hurry to pack up and leave so DH and I relaxed a bit. The little boy next door & his jeans were making for some good comical relief. I noticed the dad put the youngest one up on his horse and then he mounted up behind the boy. He started to ride off and I was worried he was going to leave the oldest. I was a bit surprised because he had been so good with the boys the entire time I’d seen him with them. Then, I noticed him side pass his horse over to the picnic table so the oldest could get on behind him.

It was quite the site to see 1 adult, two children AND a dog on a small horse.



They really did help make the weekend that much more entertaining.

Update on Cat –

The vet called last night and said Cat came out of surgery and was doing well. He said the tendon sheath was not involved. He said they were all very surprised. Of course I'm confused as to what the vet here saw when she tapped it but what's new? Instead she has a fetlock joint injury. He said the joint looked good minus the irritation. Our prognosis is the same had it been a tendon sheath issue.

He said they will do another regional limb perfusion today & the next 72 hrs. are critical. He said splint bone was ok, they were able to check it internally while she was down so they didn’t need to take x-rays. He said a bunch of other stuff too but between his accent (a Canadian that just moved here from Texas), the cell phone reception and everything else I didn't catch all of it. I’m going to try to go up and visit on Saturday but told him he didn’t need to call as long as all was going well.

I’ve had quite a few people ask me if I know how this happened. While I can’t be 100% sure I do have my own theory.

Wed. since it was so hot DH went out to top off water tanks mid day. He let Bell in the front pasture w/the others (she'd been in w/Sis but MIL took Sis home Tues. night) and then opened up the dry lot gate so they could get into the 3 sided and out of the sun.

Our 3 sided has 2 gates - one small 3 ft walkthrough gate and one bigger 12 ft? one to get the tractor in (see picture below). The only time *I* open the big gate is if I'm in there w/the bobcat or if I've opened it up to the "herd" so no one gets trapped.



DH didn't open the large gate and I think Bell got Cat trapped in there and then went to town on her (hence why Bell was in the back pasture and not with Cat in the first place). I noticed last night my hay feeder was partially pulled out of the wall and one bar was dented with little white hairs on it (would explain the scrapes on her side/back). I'm guessing she either got her leg on the concrete wall or Bell got it with her hoof.

But of course this is only a theory. DH is bound and determined to find a place in the pasture where there is a pile of blood to prove Bell didn't do it. I’m not blaming him but I think he feels bad. I noticed last night both of Bell's back legs were swollen (the left worse then the right) and she had a few minor scrapes on her legs. I've seen her try to kick Cat in the pasture and she double barrel kicks. I wonder if she missed and got the wall, serves her right. I was nice and gave her some bute since DH was at work but that's about as much as I'm gonna do.

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. 

Waiting

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.

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.

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

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.

ACHTA Ride Results

Saturday morning we got up and headed over to Jester Park for the ACTHA ride. We arrived shortly after 9:00 so we had plenty of time to check-in and get warmed up before the ride started. We had access to use the indoor so that was nice. Lucy was a bit suspicious about the garbage cans and the buggies next to the arena but she got over it. Sis was psycho. I’m not sure what her deal was but she was full of it. She was spooking at the overhead door going up and down and just being goofy. Yes, I realize she’s had some time off too but she’s normally better then that.

At 10:30 we got the obstacle list and a brief orientation on how things worked. I was placed in the last group with DH (the safety rider) so we weren’t schedule to go out until 12:15. MIL was the trail boss and left with the first group at 11:30. When we got to the first obstacles (uphill) it was backed up. Apparently there was an accident in the indoor arena so the judges weren’t at the obstacle. We waited for a bit and then turned and rode the trail back to camp just to keep the horses moving (a few in our group were not very happy about standing still).

When it was finally our turn for the hill it was a bit greasy since we’d had a warm up and all of the other groups had already been up it. We were required to take it at a walk. Lucy did well. I had a bit of a tighter rein on her then normal and after thinking about it I wish I would have just left her on a loose rein and corrected her when I needed to. She did take a few trot steps but I’m honestly not sure if it was avoidable.

In the meantime, DH was at the bottom of the hill with Bell. She got a bit antsy that her buddies were leaving her but he just kept turning her in circles and she eventually calmed down.

Obstacle #2 was going downhill at a walk. Lucy did fine for the judges but she got a bit rushy for me so I got after her. I don’t think the judge could see it from where she was standing. We waited for the other riders in our group and then headed on down the trail.

To my surprise Bell was walking right out in the lead. Lucy was slowly bringing up the rear. A pile of snow fell from a tree and spooked Bell and the two horses behind her but both her and Brandon handled it well. It was cold down by the lake. My toes were starting to take the brunt of the winds.

Obstacle #3 was to pick up a set of sleigh bells and jingle them 3 times. I thought Lucy did well at that but when I read the scores there was a comment that she took two steps to the side. That was because they had a barrel on the ground and she wasn’t sure about it. I didn’t realize it counted towards the bell score.

Obstacle #4 was to pick up a hat off of the ground with a stick. They had a driving whip and a Santa hat so it wasn’t very easy for me. I couldn’t get the stick in the hat far enough to get it off of the ground w/o the hat falling off. I finally did manage to get it in my allotted time frame but I will have to keep practicing that one and/or teach Lucy how to pick it up for me.

Obstacle #5 was a sled drag (so glad I practiced that the other weekend). Lucy was perfect! The judge almost got ran over by one of the contestants.

The final obstacle was an emergency dismount. I don’t practice these and I wasn’t moving very well in my thermals, jeans and chinks so it wasn’t very pretty.

Finally we were done so I could warm up! Since we were the last group we didn’t have to wait very long for the awards.

Below are my scores and the placing.

There were 22 riders total. 3 in Junior, 3 in Open and 16 in my division.



Here are my individual scores & comments:



And Lucy got a pretty halter plate and ribbon!

Full of beans!

What a beautiful holiday weekend we had! The weather was just perfect and grandma was in a good mood so DH and I slipped off for a ride down the road Saturday evening. As we pasted the neighbor’s house their white (wolf looking) dog jumped out behind the trees barking at the horses. Lucy jumped and so did Bell but I think I did too. As we continued down the road Lucy found lots of items shy at so we did lots and lots of circles. When she wasn’t shying, I was working on getting her to rate my seat at the trot. It was a fun ride but I don’t think she’s been that full of beans since I first got her! Hopefully she was just feeling her oats and she’ll be back to her normal lazy self next ride out.

Cat’s leg is healing well. It is still pretty swollen but it is going down slowly. She’s self medicating (cleaning her leg) so I’m letting her do all of the work. Here she is resting her leg on the fence so she can lick the inside of her leg (she just got done licking as the camera snapped).

It is starting to get cooler here (54* this am) and the ponies are starting to fluff up. Black went over to MIL's to give my pasture a rest and Bell will be joining her in a few weeks when DH leaves to farm.

Down for the count

I’m pretty sure I posted on NWC about Sis being down and out for approx. 2 weeks. But will do a quick refresher here in case. Last Wednesday night, for whatever reason, Sis decided to go from my back pasture to my dry lot. This normally wouldn’t be a problem but to get from the front to the back she had to go over a 4’ cattle panel that was placed ½ way over my stock tank. When DH found her he also found she’d punctured her front left leg. She had quite a few scratches on the other legs and was significantly stocked up but other then the puncture wound she was fine. She’s now off for approx. 2 weeks until she heals.

Since Sis is off MIL is w/o a horse so she decided to use Bella in the parade on Saturday. Bella had some loading issues but once at the parade MIL said she was great. That made me happy. I was a bit nervous about MIL riding a horse she isn’t comfortable with in a parade when we didn’t know how she’d do.

The saddle club was giving horse and pony rides to try to make money for the club and my trailer was used as the “office”. MIL rode back to tie Bell to the trailer and Bell did get very nervous about leaving the other horses but once she was tied up she was fine.

Loading up to go home we got to deal with the trailer issues again. I was so thrilled (sarcasms) because it had been a long day. I was burned (even though I used sunscreen) and I think bordering on heat exhaustion.

Berry busy weekend!

I’m going to break each night into a separate post – just because I want to. :D

Friday night the saddle club had an all games show. They needed help at the gate so I said I’d come over to help. DH decided to go and take Bell along to play. We got there plenty early so he rode Bell around in the arena. I tried not to look but when I did she didn’t look like she was doing too badly. He had signed up to run some runs but then scratched himself. He said she was a bit goosey when they talked over the PA system.

He tied her up to the trailer and helped out a bit. She stood very well. Every now and then he’d go jump on her and just ride her around and then he’d tie her back up. When it came time to load up the plan was for him to load up, take her to a friends house (just down the road), drop the trailer in town and come back to get me. That was the plan anyways.

As I opened the gate I glanced over to notice Bell refusing to go in the trailer. By this time he had a “crowd” around him offering up their assistance. He yelled at me to come help him so I found a gate person and headed over. He had decided that the trailer was too high for her and he would pull forward to lower the end of the trailer and then she’d go in. Ok. He tried to load her after that and it didn’t seem to help.

I finally got out my handy stick and tapped her on the butt until she went in. It took some time since I was releasing when she went forward. It was VERY difficult for me to sit by and listen to the suggestions made by others on how to load her. Finally she stepped on. I put my stick up and headed back to the gate.

It was a bit frustrating for me since trailer loading is one of my pet peeves. I work very diligently to get mine to load so I don’t look like an idiot when they don’t go in after a show.

Next post to come in a few!

It’s official!

PF now known as Bell or Bella is ours. DH picked her up Friday for a trial trail ride on Sat. When I got off of work we loaded up and headed to MIL’s. I left my girls at home. I figured I would stay back and watch Ty while MIL, Chase and DH rode. Then I didn’t have to see how she did to be part of the decision.

When we unloaded everyone at MIL’s we put Bell in the round pen. She didn’t seem too concerned about being in a new place. Later that evening we got the horses out and rode. Ty rode Nikki, Chase & MIL both rode bb w/a halter and DH on Bell. The worst horse was Abby. She was nervous around Bell. Since Chase was on bb and losing control he decided to get off. I hopped on and had a nice conversation w/Abby and all was fine. After that MIL got on Bell. Poor girl is going to be doing a lot of loping since she is so smooth.

The next morning we got up and everyone got ready to head out. Well what is planned never seems to work. FIL got into town early w/my niece and nephews. They are visiting from out of state for two week so MIL wasn’t able to go. Instead, DH, Chase and I loaded up and headed out to the trails.

When we got there I opted to ride Abby so Chase didn’t get killed and put him on Sis. The first 5 minutes was the worst of the ride. Abby HATES going from one surface to another and she is very aware of what she is stepping on. It took a long time to get her on the pavement and then over the cracks in the pavement and then finally onto the trail head.

Once on the trail Abby and I stayed out front doing some turns around trees, bending, etc. She was actually doing very well. A shy here or there at a pile of poo but nothing too bad, she is just very lookie lo. Of course Bell was being an angel. I can honestly say the way she was going that I would have trusted her to carry Chase. Kind of made me sick to my stomach she was being so good. She only spooked once and I’m not really sure if it was a spook or if she was just getting out of Abby’s way when Abby spooked at a deer and tried to land in Bell’s lap.

We didn’t stay out too long – maybe 4 hours. Bell is about as out of shape as Sis and I managed to sprain my ankle at the farthest point on the long trail so we opted not to ride the last trail. When we got back to MIL’s DH turned Bell loose w/the herd. Amazingly there were no arguments.

She is not perfect in any way. She has some tuning up to do. She has an iron mouth and doesn’t know how to neck rein. She also lacked a bit of confidence on the trail as a leader but seemed to do well by the end of the ride. That all being said – I think she’s a perfect fit for DH.