This weekend we had unseasonably warm weather (45*). Saturday we started our day off shopping for horse items and ended up about an hour away at a tack store where we spent way too much money. When we returned I asked my mom if she would mind watching the boys while DH and I went for a ride.
I asked DH who he was going to ride. He wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to ride Black because he thought he was too big for her. Poppycock I said. He doesn’t weight that much more then me. He finally decided to ride her and I decided to ride Max. I figured if he had problems we could just switch.
I showed him how to saddle her up (she is very, very cinchy), we booted her front feet and we were off. As we were going down the road I asked him how she felt. He said “she feels weak”. I asked him what he meant & he replied by telling me she didn’t feel like she had much energy and like she was having a hard time walking. I told him to look backwards. When he did he could see that she had been sinking in and really sliding since the roads were so mucky. When he moved her to the middle of the road he felt the difference.
I turned Max around and headed back towards home and she just kept trucking along. We passed cattle, cars, truck, etc. - no problem. She was wonderful. When we got to the one road I told DH I was going to trot Max and he could trot Black to see how she felt. I told him he might have to nag her a little bit to keep her in it but I thought she’d try to stay up with Max. I told him we’d have to work on loping as she got stronger. I have never loped her under saddle. The last time we had her, her feet still weren’t good enough.
I started trotting Max off and when I turned to look DH and black were trotting. I asked him how it felt and he said not too bad. The next time I turned around to look they were loping. I giggled and asked him how that felt. He said like a rocking horse. He was very hesitant about Black when we got her but he was glowing as he rode her. He said she just “felt good”. He said he felt like they fit very well which made me happy.
We rode about one country block and she seemed to be in good spirits when we returned so hopefully we can keep getting her out and get her in shape. She lost a lot of muscle when she went to Michelle’s so we have some work to do getting it back on her.
Max was pretty good on the ride out. We rode on the buckle the entire way. On the way back we had words. He wanted to “rush” home and started pushing through my hands. We worked on it though and finally we came to an agreement.
It is supposed to be nice this coming weekend so I am hoping to get the horses out for another road ride.
Tuff E Nuff Quarter Horses
Lucy
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Well Trained vs. Kid Safe
Wednesday night a friend of mine and I took the horses to the indoor. I took Black & Max and left Lu at home. I’m not sure how Mona would react to Lu’s bald spots (from the skin scraping) so I figured I wouldn’t go down that road right now.
Terry was going to ride Max and I was going to see how Black would do on the Nike footing. When we arrived we put the horses in stalls so they were out of the alley since the trainer was in the indoor riding. Terry asked me what I wanted her to do with Max and I told her to just treat him like she would any other horse. I wanted to see what he was going to do with her.
I brushed and saddled up Black and worked on her cinch problems (I think her heart point is out like Lu’s was because I could touch it with my hand and she’d pin her ears and swish her tail). Once the horses were saddled we headed into the arena for a little ground work. By now the trainer was out and it was all ours.
I didn’t really get to see Terry work with Max as I was focusing on Black. She really didn’t do too bad. She needs some work on yielding the HQ but she lounged fairly well. When I looked over next Terry was bridling Max and his head was way up in the air. I walked over and bridled Black.
Terry got on, flexed Max a bit (I did tell her to flex him but she didn’t release when his nose hit her toe) and started riding. She likes to ride with a bit tighter rein then what I ride with and Max wasn’t too happy about it. I hopped up on Black and we did some flexing (left side she could get to stirrup, right side she sat on my hand).
I tried not to say anything and just wanted to see how the two of them did together. I wanted to see how Max would react with a different rider. I’m not sure if she was tense but he wanted to go into a lope. When she got over by the manure tub he did a “mini spook” & that is when I said enough. I told him that he was testing her. She kept trying to take him directly up to the manure tub which seemed to make things worse.
I explained to her how to take him in a circle and then turn him into the tub and keep going. She tried but was doing it at a walk vs. a trot so it meant nothing to him. When she would turn him into the tub she would give him the opportunity to look at it vs. making him move his feet and keep going so it really wasn’t doing anything. He finally got tired of it and put his nose on the tub saying “there, now leave me alone”.
After that I had her put her hand on the buckle and put her hand and the rein on the horn and told her to keep her other hand off of the reins. I explained to her that if she felt he was going too fast she needed to do a ORS. She was also leaning forward a lot so I asked her to lean back. Once she got him moving he moved into a trot without being asked so she did a ORS. She wanted to pull back on both reins out of habit but didn’t. After about 5 minutes of walking around on a loose rein Max had relaxed and I think Terry had relaxed a bit too.
Then I had her move into a trot on a loose rein. He looked relaxed but she kept tipping forward and every time she would he would stop so we had to work on that. Then I showed her how to stop him off of her voice/seat. She thought that was pretty cool and I think once she knew she could do it she felt more comfortable.
She wanted to neck rein him which is fine but she kept dragging the reins over his neck and he was confused. I showed her how to move them over just slightly and when she did he would turn. After that I had her pick up the reins as soft as she could until she felt contact. He was very soft and very giving and it didn’t take her long to figure that out.
She said she felt dumb riding him. She’s ridden for a long time and said she felt like she had a hard time riding him. We both agreed that maybe this is why DH gets so upset with Max. He knows Max can do it but doesn’t understand how to ask him to do it.
I have a gal who is looking for a well broke horse who is trained JL style (similar but not exact to CA). She wants a horse her husband can trail ride on and that she can ride. The more I think about it the more I wonder. Can a truly broke CA or JL trained horse ever be husband/kid proof? A novice rider when they get on tends to squeeze or hold on with their legs. To a CA horse that means go. If the horse sped up the rider would more then likely squeeze more which to the horse would mean go faster!
I was really surprised to see Terry have as many problems with Max as she did so it really does make one wonder.
As for Black, she was a bit lazier. She spooked herself when she saw her reflection in the mirror but after that I kind of forgot I was even riding her around since I was instructing Terry. She did seem a bit sore but I think part of that is from her back feet (they are nasty) but she did trot out freely when she was following Max.
Terry was going to ride Max and I was going to see how Black would do on the Nike footing. When we arrived we put the horses in stalls so they were out of the alley since the trainer was in the indoor riding. Terry asked me what I wanted her to do with Max and I told her to just treat him like she would any other horse. I wanted to see what he was going to do with her.
I brushed and saddled up Black and worked on her cinch problems (I think her heart point is out like Lu’s was because I could touch it with my hand and she’d pin her ears and swish her tail). Once the horses were saddled we headed into the arena for a little ground work. By now the trainer was out and it was all ours.
I didn’t really get to see Terry work with Max as I was focusing on Black. She really didn’t do too bad. She needs some work on yielding the HQ but she lounged fairly well. When I looked over next Terry was bridling Max and his head was way up in the air. I walked over and bridled Black.
Terry got on, flexed Max a bit (I did tell her to flex him but she didn’t release when his nose hit her toe) and started riding. She likes to ride with a bit tighter rein then what I ride with and Max wasn’t too happy about it. I hopped up on Black and we did some flexing (left side she could get to stirrup, right side she sat on my hand).
I tried not to say anything and just wanted to see how the two of them did together. I wanted to see how Max would react with a different rider. I’m not sure if she was tense but he wanted to go into a lope. When she got over by the manure tub he did a “mini spook” & that is when I said enough. I told him that he was testing her. She kept trying to take him directly up to the manure tub which seemed to make things worse.
I explained to her how to take him in a circle and then turn him into the tub and keep going. She tried but was doing it at a walk vs. a trot so it meant nothing to him. When she would turn him into the tub she would give him the opportunity to look at it vs. making him move his feet and keep going so it really wasn’t doing anything. He finally got tired of it and put his nose on the tub saying “there, now leave me alone”.
After that I had her put her hand on the buckle and put her hand and the rein on the horn and told her to keep her other hand off of the reins. I explained to her that if she felt he was going too fast she needed to do a ORS. She was also leaning forward a lot so I asked her to lean back. Once she got him moving he moved into a trot without being asked so she did a ORS. She wanted to pull back on both reins out of habit but didn’t. After about 5 minutes of walking around on a loose rein Max had relaxed and I think Terry had relaxed a bit too.
Then I had her move into a trot on a loose rein. He looked relaxed but she kept tipping forward and every time she would he would stop so we had to work on that. Then I showed her how to stop him off of her voice/seat. She thought that was pretty cool and I think once she knew she could do it she felt more comfortable.
She wanted to neck rein him which is fine but she kept dragging the reins over his neck and he was confused. I showed her how to move them over just slightly and when she did he would turn. After that I had her pick up the reins as soft as she could until she felt contact. He was very soft and very giving and it didn’t take her long to figure that out.
She said she felt dumb riding him. She’s ridden for a long time and said she felt like she had a hard time riding him. We both agreed that maybe this is why DH gets so upset with Max. He knows Max can do it but doesn’t understand how to ask him to do it.
I have a gal who is looking for a well broke horse who is trained JL style (similar but not exact to CA). She wants a horse her husband can trail ride on and that she can ride. The more I think about it the more I wonder. Can a truly broke CA or JL trained horse ever be husband/kid proof? A novice rider when they get on tends to squeeze or hold on with their legs. To a CA horse that means go. If the horse sped up the rider would more then likely squeeze more which to the horse would mean go faster!
I was really surprised to see Terry have as many problems with Max as she did so it really does make one wonder.
As for Black, she was a bit lazier. She spooked herself when she saw her reflection in the mirror but after that I kind of forgot I was even riding her around since I was instructing Terry. She did seem a bit sore but I think part of that is from her back feet (they are nasty) but she did trot out freely when she was following Max.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Far from dead
Everyone seems to get a bit nervous about the black mare when I mention her age (24). They get even more nervous when I tell them our plans for her. I keep saying that 24 is far from dead. I had a Chickasaw (look that one up, the breed no longer exist) gelding that died at the ripe old age of 32. We would run him in the pasture because we didn’t know how old he was until after he died and we found his papers.
Well last night was a beautiful night (for Iowa). We had a light dusting of snow and it was around 12* out with no wind so I decided to let Chase try to go sledding in the pasture. When we got there we got the horses in and then the kids headed off to the small hill.
I decided while the kids were playing to throw the bareback pad on Black and go for a ride. I remembered her saddling issues and was prepared but she seems to have gotten a bit worse. She was biting at the radio on the wall and turned to nail me a few times but my elbow was ready and waiting.
I grabbed my bridle and she took it very well and then we headed outside to mount up. I remembered she didn’t like things jumping on her and when I tried to do it she reminded me that she still didn’t like it so I pulled her over to the fence so I could slide on. As I was climbing the fence I let go of the reins for a split second thinking she’d stand still. NOPE! She took the opportunity and ran (literally).
She went into the barn where the other horses were at so I was hopeful she would stop. NOPE! She saw the open door on the back and was off again. She was all over the pasture and you could tell she felt good. Finally she landed herself at the big bale and I was able to catch her. I walked her back up to the lot and finally got on.
She still had plenty of energy and kept trying to trot with me to the big bale. It wasn’t anything serious (she wasn’t dragging me that way or anything) but it was funny. I told DH I hoped he didn’t expect an old dead horse because if this is what she feels like after one trim wait to see how she feels in the spring after she’s been under routine care.
I did check out her “whoa” and it still seems to be working and she also seems to be neck reining well too so I am hopeful that she will work out.
The trimmer was out on Monday and said that her heels were high and uneven and that could have been causing some of her pain. He also told me to treat her back frogs. I didn’t get out Tues. night because Ty was sick so when I checked her back frogs last night “blah” they were nasty. I decided to go ahead and put thrush buster in all of her frogs just to be on the safe side.
I was hoping to take her and Lu to Mona’s tonight but I don’t think that is going to happen. Ty still isn’t feeling well and DH will be home with him all day so I guess it will be my turn when I get home. The temps are supposed to be in the high 30’s low 40’s on Saturday so hopefully I can get them out then.
Well last night was a beautiful night (for Iowa). We had a light dusting of snow and it was around 12* out with no wind so I decided to let Chase try to go sledding in the pasture. When we got there we got the horses in and then the kids headed off to the small hill.
I decided while the kids were playing to throw the bareback pad on Black and go for a ride. I remembered her saddling issues and was prepared but she seems to have gotten a bit worse. She was biting at the radio on the wall and turned to nail me a few times but my elbow was ready and waiting.
I grabbed my bridle and she took it very well and then we headed outside to mount up. I remembered she didn’t like things jumping on her and when I tried to do it she reminded me that she still didn’t like it so I pulled her over to the fence so I could slide on. As I was climbing the fence I let go of the reins for a split second thinking she’d stand still. NOPE! She took the opportunity and ran (literally).
She went into the barn where the other horses were at so I was hopeful she would stop. NOPE! She saw the open door on the back and was off again. She was all over the pasture and you could tell she felt good. Finally she landed herself at the big bale and I was able to catch her. I walked her back up to the lot and finally got on.
She still had plenty of energy and kept trying to trot with me to the big bale. It wasn’t anything serious (she wasn’t dragging me that way or anything) but it was funny. I told DH I hoped he didn’t expect an old dead horse because if this is what she feels like after one trim wait to see how she feels in the spring after she’s been under routine care.
I did check out her “whoa” and it still seems to be working and she also seems to be neck reining well too so I am hopeful that she will work out.
The trimmer was out on Monday and said that her heels were high and uneven and that could have been causing some of her pain. He also told me to treat her back frogs. I didn’t get out Tues. night because Ty was sick so when I checked her back frogs last night “blah” they were nasty. I decided to go ahead and put thrush buster in all of her frogs just to be on the safe side.
I was hoping to take her and Lu to Mona’s tonight but I don’t think that is going to happen. Ty still isn’t feeling well and DH will be home with him all day so I guess it will be my turn when I get home. The temps are supposed to be in the high 30’s low 40’s on Saturday so hopefully I can get them out then.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Can you believe it?
Thursday it was around 40* here so DH decided to take Max on a ride (can you believe it?). He took him down the road a few miles and when I asked how he did DH's reply was "he was an angel".
He said he stopped for a minute at the gate south of my parents and then stopped to check out the cows but other then that he was great.
Today we went and picked Black up. She could stand to gain a few pounds and her feet need some work but she's not nearly in as bad of shape (hoof wise) as she was when we got her.
When we got her (Sept. '07):
He said he stopped for a minute at the gate south of my parents and then stopped to check out the cows but other then that he was great.
Today we went and picked Black up. She could stand to gain a few pounds and her feet need some work but she's not nearly in as bad of shape (hoof wise) as she was when we got her.
When we got her (Sept. '07):
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Video Update
Last night we headed to the indoor. It was 32* out so we were having a warm snap compared to what temps had been. I loaded up Lu and Max and Terry was going to meet me and ride Max while I rode Lu. I was pretty excited about that because I think it is always fun to see how the horses act with someone else on the.
When we got to the barn we did our normal brush and tack up routine. By the time Lucy was ready to go my phone was ringing. It was Terry and she wasn’t going to be able to make it. I was bummed but I understood.
I had taken my camera to get some new video for you but with her not being there I didn’t think I was going to be able to get any footage. That’s when it hit me. I could try to set the camera on the mounting block and just let it roll. Well it kind of worked. I forget my camera shuts off after about 2 minutes so I didn’t get as much as I thought I did and I wasn’t going to make Lu do it again.
So here is what we did get. This is LFR Stage I w/a twist. I want her to leave with a yes ma’am attitude but I don’t want her flying around like she normally does. I also want her coming into me after we yield the HQ instead of backing (you can see she isn’t backing anymore but she still is a bit resistant/hesitant to come in). I think she’s looking better but I’m always up for listening to constructive criticism.
Once we did the LRF it was time to get on. Lucy had a cob up her butt tonight and didn’t want to move. I asked for a lope and it was squeeze, cluck, tap, TAP, WHACK and then her heels would come up in protest and she’d finally go into a lope for a few strides and then we would repeat the above. It took about 20 minutes for her to figure out I wasn’t going to give up and she finally loped a few strides freely so I shut her down (I didn’t want to get her any hotter then she already was). We trotted a bit and then did some of the bending exercise (she getting better at this finally) and then I dismounted.
I moved her to an empty stall and untacked her. Mona’s barn (minus the arena) is heated so I had hoped it would help cool her out quicker. By this time Max was getting a bit fussy in the arena that his buddy was no longer there. Nothing big but it was annoying.
I did the LFR with Max and he did very well. Then we did some backing. He backs but crooked as a jay bird so we worked on straightening him up. After that I threw the bareback pad on and jumped on. I decided with him that I was going to work on ME. He is very soft and light so I wanted to see how soft I could ask for vertical flexion and get it.
We would trot a few strides with no contact and then I would slowly add contact until I could feel him give to the pressure and then I would immediately release and we’d go a few more strides and repeat. He is very soft if you allow him to be.
What I noticed is that yet again *I* am a lefty. I am constantly taking my horses counter clockwise so when it is time to go clockwise they aren’t nearly as soft. Is this their fault? Nope. 100% my fault. Going clockwise wasn’t as soft with Max (body wise not in his face). He wanted to drop his shoulder & cut corners so we worked on lifting him up and keeping him bent in the corners.
I was feeling very good about where our ride was at so we decided to do some loping. Not much, just enough to say we did it. I think he still needs to build his muscles back up before we push things too much. We loped one lap in each direction. He was cracking me up because when I would say good boy he would take that as “you can stop now” so we had to work through that a bit but I think that is a good problem to have with a half Arabian don’t you?
I’m not sure when I’ll get out next. Hopefully Saturday we’ll be going to look at Black and Sunday we are having Ty’s 2nd birthday party so I have a lot of stuff to get done before then.
When we got to the barn we did our normal brush and tack up routine. By the time Lucy was ready to go my phone was ringing. It was Terry and she wasn’t going to be able to make it. I was bummed but I understood.
I had taken my camera to get some new video for you but with her not being there I didn’t think I was going to be able to get any footage. That’s when it hit me. I could try to set the camera on the mounting block and just let it roll. Well it kind of worked. I forget my camera shuts off after about 2 minutes so I didn’t get as much as I thought I did and I wasn’t going to make Lu do it again.
So here is what we did get. This is LFR Stage I w/a twist. I want her to leave with a yes ma’am attitude but I don’t want her flying around like she normally does. I also want her coming into me after we yield the HQ instead of backing (you can see she isn’t backing anymore but she still is a bit resistant/hesitant to come in). I think she’s looking better but I’m always up for listening to constructive criticism.
Once we did the LRF it was time to get on. Lucy had a cob up her butt tonight and didn’t want to move. I asked for a lope and it was squeeze, cluck, tap, TAP, WHACK and then her heels would come up in protest and she’d finally go into a lope for a few strides and then we would repeat the above. It took about 20 minutes for her to figure out I wasn’t going to give up and she finally loped a few strides freely so I shut her down (I didn’t want to get her any hotter then she already was). We trotted a bit and then did some of the bending exercise (she getting better at this finally) and then I dismounted.
I moved her to an empty stall and untacked her. Mona’s barn (minus the arena) is heated so I had hoped it would help cool her out quicker. By this time Max was getting a bit fussy in the arena that his buddy was no longer there. Nothing big but it was annoying.
I did the LFR with Max and he did very well. Then we did some backing. He backs but crooked as a jay bird so we worked on straightening him up. After that I threw the bareback pad on and jumped on. I decided with him that I was going to work on ME. He is very soft and light so I wanted to see how soft I could ask for vertical flexion and get it.
We would trot a few strides with no contact and then I would slowly add contact until I could feel him give to the pressure and then I would immediately release and we’d go a few more strides and repeat. He is very soft if you allow him to be.
What I noticed is that yet again *I* am a lefty. I am constantly taking my horses counter clockwise so when it is time to go clockwise they aren’t nearly as soft. Is this their fault? Nope. 100% my fault. Going clockwise wasn’t as soft with Max (body wise not in his face). He wanted to drop his shoulder & cut corners so we worked on lifting him up and keeping him bent in the corners.
I was feeling very good about where our ride was at so we decided to do some loping. Not much, just enough to say we did it. I think he still needs to build his muscles back up before we push things too much. We loped one lap in each direction. He was cracking me up because when I would say good boy he would take that as “you can stop now” so we had to work through that a bit but I think that is a good problem to have with a half Arabian don’t you?
I’m not sure when I’ll get out next. Hopefully Saturday we’ll be going to look at Black and Sunday we are having Ty’s 2nd birthday party so I have a lot of stuff to get done before then.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Back in Black
This weekend I got an e-mail from the gal who purchased Black. She is going to be selling her and wanted to know if we were interested in having her back. It sounds like she’s fallen on some hard times and I don’t think she was prepared for the upkeep Black’s feet require.
I wasn’t quite sure how to approach DH about the offer to buy her back but I knew I had to at least ask. I was surprised at how open to the idea he was depending on how bad her feet have gotten.
According to the gal we sold her to she rode her last summer and some friends and their 5 & 7 yr. old kids rode her in an indoor in the fall. She said she is a bit sore on the hard ice but that she hasn’t abscessed since she had her. Needless to say we are going to go look at her on Sat.
My father will probably kill me if I bring home another horse but it won’t be the first time I’ve done it and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I’ll just have to pray we don’t have to move them anytime soon.
Our “hope” for Black is that she becomes DH’s roping horse (yeah I know). She is 24 but when she was here and her feet were on the mend she acted like she was 10 again. I’ve had horses live to be 34 so IMO 24 is far from dead. I know in her day they worked cattle off of her and ranch roped.
I told DH he’s going to have to take his roping dream down a notch. He wants a NFR roping horse but we can’t afford one (heck I’d like a trained reiner). He has been asked to do some ranch roping competitions with a few friends this year.
I’m not 100% on how the competitions work as I’ve seen a few different styles. Neither are very high impact on the horses like normal team roping is and I think it would be a good “starting point” for DH.
Here is one example of Ranch Roping. I think they are DQ’d if the horse gets out of a trot.
In the other example there are 12 or so cows that are grouped and numbered in groups of 3. As you cross the line your number is called and those are the cattle that have to be roped. A breakaway rope is used and your time ends after the last cow is roped and the rope breaks away.
We both figured if she doesn’t work then we can either try to rehome her or send her to live with MIL so I can have my horse back. LOL This would give MIL two riding horses so if we came over we could go for a ride without having to haul a horse over.
Here are some pictures of her from when we had her in case you don’t remember her.
I wasn’t quite sure how to approach DH about the offer to buy her back but I knew I had to at least ask. I was surprised at how open to the idea he was depending on how bad her feet have gotten.
According to the gal we sold her to she rode her last summer and some friends and their 5 & 7 yr. old kids rode her in an indoor in the fall. She said she is a bit sore on the hard ice but that she hasn’t abscessed since she had her. Needless to say we are going to go look at her on Sat.
My father will probably kill me if I bring home another horse but it won’t be the first time I’ve done it and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I’ll just have to pray we don’t have to move them anytime soon.
Our “hope” for Black is that she becomes DH’s roping horse (yeah I know). She is 24 but when she was here and her feet were on the mend she acted like she was 10 again. I’ve had horses live to be 34 so IMO 24 is far from dead. I know in her day they worked cattle off of her and ranch roped.
I told DH he’s going to have to take his roping dream down a notch. He wants a NFR roping horse but we can’t afford one (heck I’d like a trained reiner). He has been asked to do some ranch roping competitions with a few friends this year.
I’m not 100% on how the competitions work as I’ve seen a few different styles. Neither are very high impact on the horses like normal team roping is and I think it would be a good “starting point” for DH.
Here is one example of Ranch Roping. I think they are DQ’d if the horse gets out of a trot.
In the other example there are 12 or so cows that are grouped and numbered in groups of 3. As you cross the line your number is called and those are the cattle that have to be roped. A breakaway rope is used and your time ends after the last cow is roped and the rope breaks away.
We both figured if she doesn’t work then we can either try to rehome her or send her to live with MIL so I can have my horse back. LOL This would give MIL two riding horses so if we came over we could go for a ride without having to haul a horse over.
Here are some pictures of her from when we had her in case you don’t remember her.
Back from the Vet
I took Lucy to the vet last night to have some skin scrapings done to see what her “crud” was. I wanted to makes sure it wasn’t anything that would spread to the other horses or that would cause new problems this spring.
The vet took several samples of the “crud” but they were hard to find since I have been grooming her with the furminator. She also shaved off some hair and took some skin scrapings. She spent about 45 minutes under the microscope to tell me she didn’t see anything. She agreed with the other vet that rain rot was a possibility. She said the “crud” could be the puss from the rain rot lesions but that it was hard to tell since we were at the “end” of the cycle. She said that really Lucy’s hair follicles and hair shafts looked very healthy.
So for now I’m going to just ride her until her hair falls off (hopefully that doesn’t happen). If she has another skin issue we’ll try to retest while we are having the issues.
The vet took several samples of the “crud” but they were hard to find since I have been grooming her with the furminator. She also shaved off some hair and took some skin scrapings. She spent about 45 minutes under the microscope to tell me she didn’t see anything. She agreed with the other vet that rain rot was a possibility. She said the “crud” could be the puss from the rain rot lesions but that it was hard to tell since we were at the “end” of the cycle. She said that really Lucy’s hair follicles and hair shafts looked very healthy.
So for now I’m going to just ride her until her hair falls off (hopefully that doesn’t happen). If she has another skin issue we’ll try to retest while we are having the issues.
Update on the girls
I’m not sure if I posted this or not so I’ll just say it again in case. A few weeks ago MIL called me asking me to come over and help her with the girls. Apparently they have gotten pushy to the point of dangerous & one of them knocked her over and then the other ran over the top of her. Luckily I don’t think any hooves hit her body but it was enough to scare the shit out of her. I told her I’d come over but the weather didn’t cooperate.
This weekend we finally had “decent” weather (28 with wind gust) so I went over to help. With the horses in their stalls I showed her how to back them into the corner without leaving them an opening to bolt out of the stalls (and potentially over the top of her again).
We started with Sis. Once she was backed into the far back corner I had her change what side of the stall she was on by pointing. Basically I wanted her to keep her butt as a pivot point and just move her shoulder from one wall to the other. If she walked forward I backed her back into the corner and we repeated. She was a bit nervous (I think MIL has gotten a bit carried away with the stick) so we worked on it until she calmed down.
Once that was going well I put the halter on her and backed her in and out of the barn and her stall. After that I asked her to walk out of her stall with my hand on her jaw. If she went too fast or got in a hurry I put my hand on her nose and backed her back into the corner. She did very well so I let her go outside and we cleaned her stall while Cat threw a fit.
Once we were done with Sis’s stall we moved on to Cat. I back her into the corner just like I did Sis and then asked her to move her shoulder from wall to wall. We’ve worked on this at home before so she knew what to do and did it very well. When she moved back to the left side (my left side her right side) of the stall she was over shooting her left hip and was tipping it towards me so I asked her to yield her HQ back into the wall. This is where the fun began!
When I put pressure on Cat’s hip she immediately pushed forward into me so I asked her to back up. Her front feet immediately left the ground and she went into a full & very high rear trying to get away from the pressure. Needless to say she not only went up but came forward towards me since I didn’t remove the pressure. Needless to say that stick can make a nice impact on the jaw.
Once she came back down I kept the pressure on until she was back in the corner where she was supposed to be. Once there I released the pressure and let her soak in what happened. This happened several time. What I noticed was when I went for the left hip she pushed into me and this was where the “rear” started so I took her outside and did some LFR stage I and really got after that hip (didn’t need to get after the right hip).
Then we moved into the barn and did the sending exercise in the alley (showing MIL she didn’t have to go outside). We had fun playing “tag” with her left hip. My stick was able to tag her quiet a few times. EVERY time she came forward into my space and every time I backed her back out of it. Finally lefty started getting the point so we moved back to the stall. Things went a lot smother then.
I showed MIL how *I* would let her out of the stall if she was in a hurry and told her to make sure she does what she can to make coming out of the stall not so fun on the days she has time.
She did call me to tell me that she’s let the girls out several times and they have been good as gold since Sat. Hopefully they continue to be good and MIL continues to stay on top of their pushy behavior. MIL has learned that she relies on the stick too much and she also clucks too much! I need to duck tape her mouth and wean her off of the stick.
This weekend we finally had “decent” weather (28 with wind gust) so I went over to help. With the horses in their stalls I showed her how to back them into the corner without leaving them an opening to bolt out of the stalls (and potentially over the top of her again).
We started with Sis. Once she was backed into the far back corner I had her change what side of the stall she was on by pointing. Basically I wanted her to keep her butt as a pivot point and just move her shoulder from one wall to the other. If she walked forward I backed her back into the corner and we repeated. She was a bit nervous (I think MIL has gotten a bit carried away with the stick) so we worked on it until she calmed down.
Once that was going well I put the halter on her and backed her in and out of the barn and her stall. After that I asked her to walk out of her stall with my hand on her jaw. If she went too fast or got in a hurry I put my hand on her nose and backed her back into the corner. She did very well so I let her go outside and we cleaned her stall while Cat threw a fit.
Once we were done with Sis’s stall we moved on to Cat. I back her into the corner just like I did Sis and then asked her to move her shoulder from wall to wall. We’ve worked on this at home before so she knew what to do and did it very well. When she moved back to the left side (my left side her right side) of the stall she was over shooting her left hip and was tipping it towards me so I asked her to yield her HQ back into the wall. This is where the fun began!
When I put pressure on Cat’s hip she immediately pushed forward into me so I asked her to back up. Her front feet immediately left the ground and she went into a full & very high rear trying to get away from the pressure. Needless to say she not only went up but came forward towards me since I didn’t remove the pressure. Needless to say that stick can make a nice impact on the jaw.
Once she came back down I kept the pressure on until she was back in the corner where she was supposed to be. Once there I released the pressure and let her soak in what happened. This happened several time. What I noticed was when I went for the left hip she pushed into me and this was where the “rear” started so I took her outside and did some LFR stage I and really got after that hip (didn’t need to get after the right hip).
Then we moved into the barn and did the sending exercise in the alley (showing MIL she didn’t have to go outside). We had fun playing “tag” with her left hip. My stick was able to tag her quiet a few times. EVERY time she came forward into my space and every time I backed her back out of it. Finally lefty started getting the point so we moved back to the stall. Things went a lot smother then.
I showed MIL how *I* would let her out of the stall if she was in a hurry and told her to make sure she does what she can to make coming out of the stall not so fun on the days she has time.
She did call me to tell me that she’s let the girls out several times and they have been good as gold since Sat. Hopefully they continue to be good and MIL continues to stay on top of their pushy behavior. MIL has learned that she relies on the stick too much and she also clucks too much! I need to duck tape her mouth and wean her off of the stick.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
"Crud" update
I consulted two vets (mine & a friend’s) who both feel Lucy has rain rot. I was told to spray her with Lysol, groom her and get her in the sun. The first nice day we had I was told to give her a Pine-sol bath.
**excuse me**
I’m not giving my horse a bath in Pine-sol. I think the label suggest we use gloves.
It seems to be coming out well with the Furminator and doesn’t seem to be affecting her so I’m sending hair samples to two friends to see if they can figure out what it is. I’ll update as soon as I know anything. My luck it will come back that it was just rain rot but we’ve had rain rot before and it has never been like this.
**excuse me**
I’m not giving my horse a bath in Pine-sol. I think the label suggest we use gloves.
It seems to be coming out well with the Furminator and doesn’t seem to be affecting her so I’m sending hair samples to two friends to see if they can figure out what it is. I’ll update as soon as I know anything. My luck it will come back that it was just rain rot but we’ve had rain rot before and it has never been like this.
Soft as Butter
DH has to work both days this weekend and I have to go help MIL with her horse (and Cat) this weekend so I knew if I wanted to ride I was going to have to do it after work so I decided to go last night. I took Lu and Max but told DH that I was only going to work with Max after I got done with Lu and only if I still had time.
By the time I scarfed down supper, headed out to the farm, hooked up the trailer and got the horses loaded it was 5:45. We got to the arena around 6:00 and it was pitch black. Mona wasn’t kidding when she said it was dead at night. I unloaded the ponies and started grooming.
After Lu was saddled and ready to go we headed to the arena and did some desensitizing and LFR Stage I. Her take offs are quick but soft and she looked very relaxed moving in her circle. Counter clockwise is still her preferred direction. Clockwise she has a harder time bending her body in the “C” shape around me.
Every time I’d yield her HQ I’d draw her into me, scratch her head (which she’s starting to enjoy) and then I’d back her back out and send her back on the circle. Instead of switching up directions I’d have her go counter clockwise 2 or three times in a row and then clockwise one time so she moved in her bad direction more.
When it was time for the lope I lifted my hand and she softly went into a lope. Woo hoo, no bucking! Oops I spoke too soon. About the second or third time I asked her to lope her heels came up. I immediately sat on the rope (yanking her eyes towards me) and when she was facing me headed in her direction quickly and sternly making her back quickly. As soon as she was focused back on me I sent her off again. She tried it twice tonight and even acted like she wanted to kick up going counter clockwise.
Once I got a nice, smooth lope out of her in both directions we quit. I backed her over to the wall, bridled her and hopped on. We worked on the following:
Follow the fence
Yeilding HQ
Bending
Post to post
Giving vertically
She’s doing much better at follow the fence. Yeilding the HQ I’ve never really had a problem with. We are still working on bending (bending to the left is her bad side to the right is ok). Post to post was actually better then I expected (she usually moves like she’s drank a 12 pk. when we try to go in a straight line) and giving vertically we aren’t ready for. She did it but I need to back up and slow down.
By this time she was hot. Since her winter coat is long she sweats easily so I decided to tie her up and play with Max. I haven’t touched him since “that night” (September) so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m not sure why I always expect the worst out of him. He’s never really given me a reason to. When we hit the middle of the arena and I started twirling the rope his eyes got big and my first thought was “here we go” but he settled quite well.
We did some LFR Stage I and he was very soft and fluid on the end of the line always keeping an eye on me. I barely had to look at his hip and he was yielding. We went both directions for about 10 minutes and I decided to ask for a lope. I didn’t want to keep him in it long; I just wanted to see if he could/would do it. To my surprise he did and he was almost just as slow as he was when we stopped working last fall.
After the LFR we did some backing. He fought me a little bit (wanted to lounge) but finally got with the program. We backed up and down the arena two times doing the tap the air method and then the marching method. The last thing to do before getting on was flex. I flexed him with the halter and he was as soft as butter. He came back to me before I could even get my hand all of the way around.
I bridled him up and jumped on (bareback). I just wanted to see how he felt and maybe trot some. I don’t want to over do his hock but I want to build it up as well. He was just as soft with the bit as he was with the halter. We walked off and did a few ORS until I felt comfortable and then I let him trot. He felt so good! He moved nice and soft and really felt like he never had any time off. If/when we sell him I really am going to miss him (and I think DH will too). I trotted him all over the arena doing X and leg yield and even asking him to move out at the trot. I think even he was having fun.
I couldn’t help myself and asked him to lope. He felt a bit “fresh” and shook his head a bit but he did lope and it wasn’t his “out of control” spring lope we usually have when he’s out of shape but it was closer to the nice controlled lope we had this fall. We went both directions and then trotted a bit more. By this time I felt like can icicles and I still had to pick up after myself and my ponies so I decided I’d better quit. It was almost 9:00 and I still had to feed.
I’m not sure when I’ll get out next but hopefully soon!
Oh and before I forget. I have one problem with Lucy that I can foresee being a HUGE problem this summer if we don’t get it managed soon (but hard to do in winter). She HATES getting hot & sweaty and she tries to lay down when she’s hot (not when I’m on her, she’s tried that only one time). She was pawing last night while I was riding Max and I told her to get over it. She somehow managed to actually get down on the ground while she was tied up (guess I need to tie her up higher huh).
By the time I scarfed down supper, headed out to the farm, hooked up the trailer and got the horses loaded it was 5:45. We got to the arena around 6:00 and it was pitch black. Mona wasn’t kidding when she said it was dead at night. I unloaded the ponies and started grooming.
After Lu was saddled and ready to go we headed to the arena and did some desensitizing and LFR Stage I. Her take offs are quick but soft and she looked very relaxed moving in her circle. Counter clockwise is still her preferred direction. Clockwise she has a harder time bending her body in the “C” shape around me.
Every time I’d yield her HQ I’d draw her into me, scratch her head (which she’s starting to enjoy) and then I’d back her back out and send her back on the circle. Instead of switching up directions I’d have her go counter clockwise 2 or three times in a row and then clockwise one time so she moved in her bad direction more.
When it was time for the lope I lifted my hand and she softly went into a lope. Woo hoo, no bucking! Oops I spoke too soon. About the second or third time I asked her to lope her heels came up. I immediately sat on the rope (yanking her eyes towards me) and when she was facing me headed in her direction quickly and sternly making her back quickly. As soon as she was focused back on me I sent her off again. She tried it twice tonight and even acted like she wanted to kick up going counter clockwise.
Once I got a nice, smooth lope out of her in both directions we quit. I backed her over to the wall, bridled her and hopped on. We worked on the following:
Follow the fence
Yeilding HQ
Bending
Post to post
Giving vertically
She’s doing much better at follow the fence. Yeilding the HQ I’ve never really had a problem with. We are still working on bending (bending to the left is her bad side to the right is ok). Post to post was actually better then I expected (she usually moves like she’s drank a 12 pk. when we try to go in a straight line) and giving vertically we aren’t ready for. She did it but I need to back up and slow down.
By this time she was hot. Since her winter coat is long she sweats easily so I decided to tie her up and play with Max. I haven’t touched him since “that night” (September) so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m not sure why I always expect the worst out of him. He’s never really given me a reason to. When we hit the middle of the arena and I started twirling the rope his eyes got big and my first thought was “here we go” but he settled quite well.
We did some LFR Stage I and he was very soft and fluid on the end of the line always keeping an eye on me. I barely had to look at his hip and he was yielding. We went both directions for about 10 minutes and I decided to ask for a lope. I didn’t want to keep him in it long; I just wanted to see if he could/would do it. To my surprise he did and he was almost just as slow as he was when we stopped working last fall.
After the LFR we did some backing. He fought me a little bit (wanted to lounge) but finally got with the program. We backed up and down the arena two times doing the tap the air method and then the marching method. The last thing to do before getting on was flex. I flexed him with the halter and he was as soft as butter. He came back to me before I could even get my hand all of the way around.
I bridled him up and jumped on (bareback). I just wanted to see how he felt and maybe trot some. I don’t want to over do his hock but I want to build it up as well. He was just as soft with the bit as he was with the halter. We walked off and did a few ORS until I felt comfortable and then I let him trot. He felt so good! He moved nice and soft and really felt like he never had any time off. If/when we sell him I really am going to miss him (and I think DH will too). I trotted him all over the arena doing X and leg yield and even asking him to move out at the trot. I think even he was having fun.
I couldn’t help myself and asked him to lope. He felt a bit “fresh” and shook his head a bit but he did lope and it wasn’t his “out of control” spring lope we usually have when he’s out of shape but it was closer to the nice controlled lope we had this fall. We went both directions and then trotted a bit more. By this time I felt like can icicles and I still had to pick up after myself and my ponies so I decided I’d better quit. It was almost 9:00 and I still had to feed.
I’m not sure when I’ll get out next but hopefully soon!
Oh and before I forget. I have one problem with Lucy that I can foresee being a HUGE problem this summer if we don’t get it managed soon (but hard to do in winter). She HATES getting hot & sweaty and she tries to lay down when she’s hot (not when I’m on her, she’s tried that only one time). She was pawing last night while I was riding Max and I told her to get over it. She somehow managed to actually get down on the ground while she was tied up (guess I need to tie her up higher huh).
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
What is this?
Do you remember this summer when I talked about Lucy’s bumps? I’ll re-cap just in case.
This summer I made the mistake of putting Cat & Lu on Vitality Ultra (a sweet feed) because I was at my wits end trying to get Lu to gain some weight and I was trying to beef up Cat. Well they both started getting bug bite. No big deal right? Wrong! What ever these little things were they don’t seem to come off easily. I had to dig at them and pull them off (they were like little scabs on the skin but they were attached to the hair).
I figured the sweet feed was the culprit since ONLY Lu and Cat had them so I took them off of it. I had hoped with time they’d go away but I wasn’t that lucky. I ended up blanketing Lu with a fly sheet just to keep them from getting worse.
Well we are at least 5 months later and they are still on her only they are growing out with her hair now (but still attached to the hair).
I know it is hard to see but can you see it in the picture?
See my hand? See all of the bigger white specks? Those are the little beggers.
My Furminator after a few swipes over her coat.
Another view
Any clue what these little pest are?
It is not rain rot and I’ve tried to muckitch on her, I’ve tried bathing her (iodine, ezall, anti fungal/bacterial stuff from the vet, etc.), I’ve tried baby oil/Listerine mixture, etc. Basically anything and everything I could think of and it seems the only way to remove them is to pick them off one by one.
Luckily Cat didn’t get his nearly as bad as Lu (of course not) so hers are almost all picked out.
Here are some pics of the little horse that needs to live in a padded bubble. Lol
Look! She’s almost getting fat! And look at that hair coat compared to last year. lol
Horrible pictures I know. My camera doesn’t like the lighting of the barn so it puts the spots in the pics for some reason.
Who me?
Can you see her three dimensional mane?
By the way - if you are wondering I am back to feeding Progressive only they've come out with a new "supplement". It is called ProAdd Ultimate Supplement (guranteed less then 10% NSC and has been tested around 7% for those who care). I'm top dressing Empower for Cat and Lu. Lu gets 1/2 lb. of the Pro Add and 1/2 lb. of Empower a day and has never looked better (although I think part of that is due to her maturing a bit as well).
Progressive Nutrition has a product similar to the Empower but it's almost double the price per bag so that I why I'm using the Nutrena product for now.
This summer I made the mistake of putting Cat & Lu on Vitality Ultra (a sweet feed) because I was at my wits end trying to get Lu to gain some weight and I was trying to beef up Cat. Well they both started getting bug bite. No big deal right? Wrong! What ever these little things were they don’t seem to come off easily. I had to dig at them and pull them off (they were like little scabs on the skin but they were attached to the hair).
I figured the sweet feed was the culprit since ONLY Lu and Cat had them so I took them off of it. I had hoped with time they’d go away but I wasn’t that lucky. I ended up blanketing Lu with a fly sheet just to keep them from getting worse.
Well we are at least 5 months later and they are still on her only they are growing out with her hair now (but still attached to the hair).
I know it is hard to see but can you see it in the picture?
See my hand? See all of the bigger white specks? Those are the little beggers.
My Furminator after a few swipes over her coat.
Another view
Any clue what these little pest are?
It is not rain rot and I’ve tried to muckitch on her, I’ve tried bathing her (iodine, ezall, anti fungal/bacterial stuff from the vet, etc.), I’ve tried baby oil/Listerine mixture, etc. Basically anything and everything I could think of and it seems the only way to remove them is to pick them off one by one.
Luckily Cat didn’t get his nearly as bad as Lu (of course not) so hers are almost all picked out.
Here are some pics of the little horse that needs to live in a padded bubble. Lol
Look! She’s almost getting fat! And look at that hair coat compared to last year. lol
Horrible pictures I know. My camera doesn’t like the lighting of the barn so it puts the spots in the pics for some reason.
Who me?
Can you see her three dimensional mane?
By the way - if you are wondering I am back to feeding Progressive only they've come out with a new "supplement". It is called ProAdd Ultimate Supplement (guranteed less then 10% NSC and has been tested around 7% for those who care). I'm top dressing Empower for Cat and Lu. Lu gets 1/2 lb. of the Pro Add and 1/2 lb. of Empower a day and has never looked better (although I think part of that is due to her maturing a bit as well).
Progressive Nutrition has a product similar to the Empower but it's almost double the price per bag so that I why I'm using the Nutrena product for now.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Just say it now……………….
I know, I know, I know. I said I was done with Max and I really did mean it but………….
There is a gal on the JL board that is interested in him. I really like her. She’s had a heck of a time with the horse she has now due to the way they started off and she’s looking for another horse. I had casually mentioned Max to her a while ago and she e-mailed me to see if he was still available. I asked DH and he said yes (apparently he still thinks he’s going to find himself a better horse) so I let her know he was.
She pretty much wants a nice, quiet trail horse. Once she can ride out alone on or down the road on. We’ve wanted to get together to ride so we are planning on meeting in the spring for a trail ride. She’s going to try out Max then.
That being said Max hasn’t been ridden since his injury. I told DH I’d ride him to get him in shape (I’m not sure the gal at the indoor would let DH ride there) and soften him back up but that if he “screwed me over” it would be the last time. I think he knows I’m serious too.
If we meet up and she likes Max I told DH I wanted her to take him on a trial period (2 wks - a month) to make sure they mesh. She’s had a rough go with horses so I don’t want her taking my word on him only to find out he won’t work for her. I told DH it’s not like he’d probably be riding anyways (he of course disagreed with me on that).
So I’m going to take him to Mona’s and just try to get him in shape. Nothing too strenuous just some long trotting and maybe some leg yields and bending.
On a side note – do you remember the spots I told you that Lucy had? Well she still has them. I’ve been picking them out one by one as I groom her but she’s just covered. Well I had a “duh” moment and took my furminator out to the barn the other night. It got a lot out! I only did ½ of her but I could actually rub my hands over her without feeling the little buggers. When I do the other side I’m going to try to save the stuff to show you what it looks like. Maybe someone will know what it is.
There is a gal on the JL board that is interested in him. I really like her. She’s had a heck of a time with the horse she has now due to the way they started off and she’s looking for another horse. I had casually mentioned Max to her a while ago and she e-mailed me to see if he was still available. I asked DH and he said yes (apparently he still thinks he’s going to find himself a better horse) so I let her know he was.
She pretty much wants a nice, quiet trail horse. Once she can ride out alone on or down the road on. We’ve wanted to get together to ride so we are planning on meeting in the spring for a trail ride. She’s going to try out Max then.
That being said Max hasn’t been ridden since his injury. I told DH I’d ride him to get him in shape (I’m not sure the gal at the indoor would let DH ride there) and soften him back up but that if he “screwed me over” it would be the last time. I think he knows I’m serious too.
If we meet up and she likes Max I told DH I wanted her to take him on a trial period (2 wks - a month) to make sure they mesh. She’s had a rough go with horses so I don’t want her taking my word on him only to find out he won’t work for her. I told DH it’s not like he’d probably be riding anyways (he of course disagreed with me on that).
So I’m going to take him to Mona’s and just try to get him in shape. Nothing too strenuous just some long trotting and maybe some leg yields and bending.
On a side note – do you remember the spots I told you that Lucy had? Well she still has them. I’ve been picking them out one by one as I groom her but she’s just covered. Well I had a “duh” moment and took my furminator out to the barn the other night. It got a lot out! I only did ½ of her but I could actually rub my hands over her without feeling the little buggers. When I do the other side I’m going to try to save the stuff to show you what it looks like. Maybe someone will know what it is.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Cat update
Well it sounds like I’m going to have my hands full with Cat when she comes home. MIL called the other day to tell me how ornery she’s been. Apparently she likes to run up to her and rear and then do a 180 and buck as she hauls ass out of the barn. She also told me about how she tried to bite her to get a treat and how she’s been doing this and doing that.
DH was even shocked (that should say a lot). His response was “but she was so good here”. I told him I’m not sure what it is MIL does to horses to cause them to be so disrespectful so quickly but I’ve decided maybe it isn’t what she does but what she doesn’t do.
MIL told me she doesn’t envy me at all when it comes to breaking out Cat. Before she went over there I figured it would be a walk in the park but now I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of work to do when she gets back.
DH was even shocked (that should say a lot). His response was “but she was so good here”. I told him I’m not sure what it is MIL does to horses to cause them to be so disrespectful so quickly but I’ve decided maybe it isn’t what she does but what she doesn’t do.
MIL told me she doesn’t envy me at all when it comes to breaking out Cat. Before she went over there I figured it would be a walk in the park but now I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of work to do when she gets back.
Ringing in the New Year
I rang in the New Year the best way possible. Terry and I hauled over to Mona’s for a ride. I need to get updated pictures. Lucy is really changing a lot for the better. She’s filled out substantially (she’s almost fat) and her mane is growing in nicely. She’s also changed quite a bit mentally for the better. Those who met her when I first got her comment all of the time about how much she’s changing and how she doesn’t seem as crabby which is a good thing I think.
We got to the arena around 2:30 and started off with some GW. Lucy retains so much and she was so much quieter during LFR Stage 1 and smoother in her transitions on LFR Stage 2 which makes me very happy. Clockwise is her bad side. I usually get at least one “up yours” and like clockwork I got it this time. Only this time she got a surprise. As she kicked her heels up I sat on the end of the rope and threw her off balance. When she turned to face me in shock I immediately started to back her up quickly. There was no attitude the rest of the time we did groundwork.
She’s stopped her backing up after I yield her HQ from LFR which is good but she’s still not drawn to me. One step at a time right?
When it came to riding I decided we’d done enough passenger lesson so we needed to start with something else. I really don’t like loping her as I don’t think she’s ready (physically) and with her winter coat I don’t want her getting too hot since we do have to haul home so we worked on the stay on the fence exercise at the trot. I focused on my riding and just keeping her on the rail. I really do like the mirrors on the arena wall because I can see what I look like riding and make changes.
Terry was riding Bishop and we were going in opposite directions which was nice because we would pass on the inside on one wall and on the outside on the other. Neither horse cared for it much but they got over it quickly.
For the first time Lucy was unsure of an object. Mona got new carts for her muck tubs and Lucy didn’t like them so we rested next to them. It didn’t take her too long to fall in love with them. LOL
I rode with spurs for the first time (CA’s blunt spurs not rowels) and we worked on the bending exercise. LLL was not a happy camper about that. I’m not sure how many times she tried to bite my left foot but the left side was not her preferred side. We did however finally establish a starting point. Not a large one but I did finally get some bend.
After that we worked on yielding the HQ which she does almost before my foot hits her flank and then we worked on the clover pattern. Mona’s arena is long and narrow so that was harder but we still tried.
When we were done we watched Mona’s trainer ride her Friesian and while “B” rode I just rubbed Lucy’s head. She had it hanging pretty low and looked very happy to be done. DH is home this weekend so I’m hoping to get over there again sometime so I can work with her some more.
We got to the arena around 2:30 and started off with some GW. Lucy retains so much and she was so much quieter during LFR Stage 1 and smoother in her transitions on LFR Stage 2 which makes me very happy. Clockwise is her bad side. I usually get at least one “up yours” and like clockwork I got it this time. Only this time she got a surprise. As she kicked her heels up I sat on the end of the rope and threw her off balance. When she turned to face me in shock I immediately started to back her up quickly. There was no attitude the rest of the time we did groundwork.
She’s stopped her backing up after I yield her HQ from LFR which is good but she’s still not drawn to me. One step at a time right?
When it came to riding I decided we’d done enough passenger lesson so we needed to start with something else. I really don’t like loping her as I don’t think she’s ready (physically) and with her winter coat I don’t want her getting too hot since we do have to haul home so we worked on the stay on the fence exercise at the trot. I focused on my riding and just keeping her on the rail. I really do like the mirrors on the arena wall because I can see what I look like riding and make changes.
Terry was riding Bishop and we were going in opposite directions which was nice because we would pass on the inside on one wall and on the outside on the other. Neither horse cared for it much but they got over it quickly.
For the first time Lucy was unsure of an object. Mona got new carts for her muck tubs and Lucy didn’t like them so we rested next to them. It didn’t take her too long to fall in love with them. LOL
I rode with spurs for the first time (CA’s blunt spurs not rowels) and we worked on the bending exercise. LLL was not a happy camper about that. I’m not sure how many times she tried to bite my left foot but the left side was not her preferred side. We did however finally establish a starting point. Not a large one but I did finally get some bend.
After that we worked on yielding the HQ which she does almost before my foot hits her flank and then we worked on the clover pattern. Mona’s arena is long and narrow so that was harder but we still tried.
When we were done we watched Mona’s trainer ride her Friesian and while “B” rode I just rubbed Lucy’s head. She had it hanging pretty low and looked very happy to be done. DH is home this weekend so I’m hoping to get over there again sometime so I can work with her some more.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Slow Down Hay Feeders
I mentioned this in an e-mail and was asked to post about it here so here goes.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard me mention the slow down hay feeders but they are made here locally and I found out that the barn I ride at has them.
I really like the concept of the feeders so I asked Mona how she liked them and she took me to an empty stall and said “I don’t, do you want to try one?” I told her that MIL had talked about buying one this spring but they were too rich for my blood (they run around $400 each). She told me to take one to MIL to try for the winter and said if she liked it she’d sell her one for ¼ of the cost.
I took one to MIL a few weeks ago and her horse (and my horse) seem to have figured out how to get the top off just like Mona’s horses did. I’m glad we got the opportunity to try it and learn we didn’t like it before buying one.
I’d really like to try to make one. Check out the one on Swedish Hoof School website. While some of them aren't exactly ideal IMO, I do like this one.
The gravity works the same as it does in the other feeder only this one has a lip so they can't get the top of. Plus if I can just find some grid (I think they said 2 x 2 is preferred) then I can easily make one.
Until the I think I will place an order and try a few of these at least in the stalls.
So do you have any thoughts on "restricted" feeding?
On a side note: Between the holidays and the weather I've hardly seen my ponies. I'm hoping after the new year I can get back on track.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard me mention the slow down hay feeders but they are made here locally and I found out that the barn I ride at has them.
I really like the concept of the feeders so I asked Mona how she liked them and she took me to an empty stall and said “I don’t, do you want to try one?” I told her that MIL had talked about buying one this spring but they were too rich for my blood (they run around $400 each). She told me to take one to MIL to try for the winter and said if she liked it she’d sell her one for ¼ of the cost.
I took one to MIL a few weeks ago and her horse (and my horse) seem to have figured out how to get the top off just like Mona’s horses did. I’m glad we got the opportunity to try it and learn we didn’t like it before buying one.
I’d really like to try to make one. Check out the one on Swedish Hoof School website. While some of them aren't exactly ideal IMO, I do like this one.
The gravity works the same as it does in the other feeder only this one has a lip so they can't get the top of. Plus if I can just find some grid (I think they said 2 x 2 is preferred) then I can easily make one.
Until the I think I will place an order and try a few of these at least in the stalls.
So do you have any thoughts on "restricted" feeding?
On a side note: Between the holidays and the weather I've hardly seen my ponies. I'm hoping after the new year I can get back on track.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Snow, Snow, Go Away
Don’t come back another day. We’ve been getting snow and freezing rain is in the forecast for later today and into tomorrow. I was however able to take LLL to WWF last Saturday to ride. I went with the friend who owns Mr. Bishop (remember the OTTB).
We started off with some desensitizing and then some yielding the FQ and HQ. Then we moved on to LFR Stage 1. I really can’t believe how much information LLL retains. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing but she was calmer in the beginning like she was at the ending of our last session. When I bumped up to stage II she wasn’t as reactive and didn’t trip on her feet but moved with a little bit more finesse.
I’m starting to get a bit picker on her backing. She backs fast but she doesn’t back straight so we are starting to work on straightness vs. speed. She’s not thrilled with that.
Once up and on we worked on flexing. She’s soft but she’s not very fast to bring her head around. Then we refreshed our ORS at the walk and trot. Since it has been so long and since it was cooler out I refrained from loping her. I think we need to build those muscles up at the trot first.
We also worked on yielding the HQ. Yielding off of my right leg was not so good but yielding off of my left leg was great. After that we moved on to the passenger lesson at the trot (her least favorite exercise). She was very vain and wanted to constantly check herself out in the mirrors. LOL
She decided that trotting was no fun and bumped herself up into a canter hoping I’d do a ORS and shut her down (which I did). We moved back to the passenger lesson at the trot and sure enough she popped back into the lope. I remembered CA telling a gal at the NE clinic to let her horse lope as she’d get tired soon enough so instead of shutting LLL down I let her lope. She kept picking up speed hoping I’d shut her down but I didn’t and sure enough she quickly dropped back down into a trot.
I tried working on the bending exercise with her but a) I didn’t have any spurs on and b) I think I’m confusing her. I think she thinks I’m giving her a cue that I’m not. I’ve found working with her is harder then working with a normal horse since she does retain so much and since I have no clue how she was ridden before. She has so many buttons that I have no clue how to push.
She was hot so I jumped off of her and jumped on Bishop (he looked stiff and gimpy) so Terry could see how he was moving. I ground tied LLL in the corner while I rode. Bishop moves slowly but man was he rough! Terry could see what I was talking about and while I was trying to get him to move out and stretch his legs LLL decided she needed to get down and dirty. Terry headed towards her and LLL looked upset that her spa treatment of sand and grit was cut short.
In the meantime I put Bishop into a lope. He wants to kick up at the lope on the lounge line but Terry said he hasn’t tried it under saddle. Well he did! If he is asked to move out at all he bucks. I wonder if his knee bothers him or if he’s just being a shit but I didn’t feel comfortable pushing the envelope so I put him in a lope one more time and then dismounted. I’m just now healing up after Max and the last thing I’d need to do is push him and mess up his knee or get myself hurt.
We decided to finish and loaded the horses up to head home. WWF entrance/exit is not a fun one and we were in Terry’s truck with her trailer (she picked me up). It is a small lane that goes out to the highway and it is pretty flat for the most part but you have a slight incline before the highway. To the right are trees and a small hill that people “pop” over and to the left are trees and a blind spot so getting out is tricky even when the lane is nice and dry.
As we approached the highway we saw cars and had to stop. When we tried to accelerate to get on the highway the truck tires just turned. We were going to have to make a running start again. Terry tried backing the 22’ trailer down the hill but she doesn’t back well so in her frustration she stopped the truck, put the emergency brake on, got out and told me to do it. I got out and as I went around to the driver’s side the truck started to slide with no one behind the wheel. I got in and started slowly backing down but my front tire got off in the small ditch which was enough to put us at a halt. I was NOT about to call a man for help so after putting some hay under the tires and rocking the truck/trailer a lot we finally got it unstuck and got our run up the hill.
Terry stood in the road and gave me the OK and out we went. It was pretty uneventful from there. We are getting more snow and we are expecting freezing rain tonight so between that and the holidays I doubt you’ll hear too much from me in the form of blog updates.
I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We started off with some desensitizing and then some yielding the FQ and HQ. Then we moved on to LFR Stage 1. I really can’t believe how much information LLL retains. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing but she was calmer in the beginning like she was at the ending of our last session. When I bumped up to stage II she wasn’t as reactive and didn’t trip on her feet but moved with a little bit more finesse.
I’m starting to get a bit picker on her backing. She backs fast but she doesn’t back straight so we are starting to work on straightness vs. speed. She’s not thrilled with that.
Once up and on we worked on flexing. She’s soft but she’s not very fast to bring her head around. Then we refreshed our ORS at the walk and trot. Since it has been so long and since it was cooler out I refrained from loping her. I think we need to build those muscles up at the trot first.
We also worked on yielding the HQ. Yielding off of my right leg was not so good but yielding off of my left leg was great. After that we moved on to the passenger lesson at the trot (her least favorite exercise). She was very vain and wanted to constantly check herself out in the mirrors. LOL
She decided that trotting was no fun and bumped herself up into a canter hoping I’d do a ORS and shut her down (which I did). We moved back to the passenger lesson at the trot and sure enough she popped back into the lope. I remembered CA telling a gal at the NE clinic to let her horse lope as she’d get tired soon enough so instead of shutting LLL down I let her lope. She kept picking up speed hoping I’d shut her down but I didn’t and sure enough she quickly dropped back down into a trot.
I tried working on the bending exercise with her but a) I didn’t have any spurs on and b) I think I’m confusing her. I think she thinks I’m giving her a cue that I’m not. I’ve found working with her is harder then working with a normal horse since she does retain so much and since I have no clue how she was ridden before. She has so many buttons that I have no clue how to push.
She was hot so I jumped off of her and jumped on Bishop (he looked stiff and gimpy) so Terry could see how he was moving. I ground tied LLL in the corner while I rode. Bishop moves slowly but man was he rough! Terry could see what I was talking about and while I was trying to get him to move out and stretch his legs LLL decided she needed to get down and dirty. Terry headed towards her and LLL looked upset that her spa treatment of sand and grit was cut short.
In the meantime I put Bishop into a lope. He wants to kick up at the lope on the lounge line but Terry said he hasn’t tried it under saddle. Well he did! If he is asked to move out at all he bucks. I wonder if his knee bothers him or if he’s just being a shit but I didn’t feel comfortable pushing the envelope so I put him in a lope one more time and then dismounted. I’m just now healing up after Max and the last thing I’d need to do is push him and mess up his knee or get myself hurt.
We decided to finish and loaded the horses up to head home. WWF entrance/exit is not a fun one and we were in Terry’s truck with her trailer (she picked me up). It is a small lane that goes out to the highway and it is pretty flat for the most part but you have a slight incline before the highway. To the right are trees and a small hill that people “pop” over and to the left are trees and a blind spot so getting out is tricky even when the lane is nice and dry.
As we approached the highway we saw cars and had to stop. When we tried to accelerate to get on the highway the truck tires just turned. We were going to have to make a running start again. Terry tried backing the 22’ trailer down the hill but she doesn’t back well so in her frustration she stopped the truck, put the emergency brake on, got out and told me to do it. I got out and as I went around to the driver’s side the truck started to slide with no one behind the wheel. I got in and started slowly backing down but my front tire got off in the small ditch which was enough to put us at a halt. I was NOT about to call a man for help so after putting some hay under the tires and rocking the truck/trailer a lot we finally got it unstuck and got our run up the hill.
Terry stood in the road and gave me the OK and out we went. It was pretty uneventful from there. We are getting more snow and we are expecting freezing rain tonight so between that and the holidays I doubt you’ll hear too much from me in the form of blog updates.
I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Monday, December 8, 2008
It's about time!
Sunday I was finally able to play with the ponies! I loaded up Lu and Abby and we headed over to the indoor to play.
I had no intentions of riding since it had been so long since I’d done anything with them. It was a good thing too! First rule of winter in Iowa – make sure you have a padlock that won’t freeze on your tack compartment of your trailer! Luckily my stick & string and a hoof pick was in the truck so I was at least able to pick out their feet.
Abby unloaded a lot faster then I would have liked but unfortunately the drive was icey and LFR just didn’t seem like a good idea so I reloaded her and unloaded her one more time but didn’t push it. She was nervous but not in the cracked out type of way. When I opened the garage door (to get into the barn) she drew herself back and her eyes got big but she kept her feet still. I walked her into the barn and tied her up and headed out to get Lucy.
Lucy was a bit impatient as she wanted to get to Abby. She had no fear of the barn but she’s been there before too. After I picked their feet we headed into the arena. I tied up Lu and started with Abby. I walked her around first so she could check things out and then headed to the middle of the arena to do some desensitizing. The cats kept trying to get the end of my rope and she wasn’t sure what to think of that but she did keep her feet still.
We did the following exercises –
Desensitizing to string
She did just fine
Desensitizing to stick & string
No problems
Flexing
She is very soft. I had to bump a few times to get her to give but once she decides to give she gives all of the way.
Yielding HQ
She tried. I’m having issues here and need to find out what I’m doing. I always do better w/o the halter/lead.
Yielding FQ
She bends her head around to her belly (like flexing) to avoid the stick but eventually does yield her FQ
LFR Stage 1
Much better then before. I did get some attitude when I asked for a lope but not nearly as much as normal. She kept an nice arch on the line and moved when asked.
Backing Stage 1
Good. She picked up on the concept fairly quickly and really hustled when asked
Desensitizing w/the stick & string (slapping the ground)
Good. I had low to medium energy but this normally sends her over the edge so we found a starting point.
After that she was pretty warm so I tied her up and moved on to Lu. She fell asleep during the desensitizing exercises. She anticipated the yielding the HQ exercise and she moves faster then I can on the yielding the FQ exercise. Flexing we need to work on. She comes around and she’s soft but she’s in no hurry at all.
LFR stage 1 went well. She trotted out nicely and when asked to lope she only kicked up her heels once. She’s still having problems staying on the same lead (she cross fires) but her balance is getting better.
When I’d yield her HQ to stop she wanted to anticipate going the other direction so I would take a long pause before going the other direction. So then when I’d stop her she’d back up (I don’t like that either) so I started sending her, yielding her HQ and then drawing her to me. Backing her back out to the circle and then going the other direction. She was starting looking forward to coming to me which I like because she’s a very antisocial horse.
Then we did LFR Stage 2. When we started Lu turned so fast that she darn near tripper herself up with her front feet. I remembered what CA told one of the gals in the NE clinic & I slowed myself down and thought more about the steps instead of what Lu was doing and her turns were much better. She was smoother and not in as much of a hurry nor was she as pissy. LFR stage 2 seems to ramp her up and LFR stage 1 seems to make her dull. She needs a happy medium so I played between LFR stage 1/drawing her to me and LFR stage 2.
After that I did some backing and focused on getting her to back straight since she’ll back fast. She wasn’t a happy camper about that but did it. It probably was not to CA’s satisfaction but it was a good start for us.
I then tied her up and hopped on Abby bareback while LLL cooled down. Abby was very soft in the halter but a bit nervous so we did some ORS until she relaxed and then we loaded up and headed home.
The weather is going to turn bad this week but hopefully the roads will be cleared off by Sat. or Sun. so I can go again.
I had no intentions of riding since it had been so long since I’d done anything with them. It was a good thing too! First rule of winter in Iowa – make sure you have a padlock that won’t freeze on your tack compartment of your trailer! Luckily my stick & string and a hoof pick was in the truck so I was at least able to pick out their feet.
Abby unloaded a lot faster then I would have liked but unfortunately the drive was icey and LFR just didn’t seem like a good idea so I reloaded her and unloaded her one more time but didn’t push it. She was nervous but not in the cracked out type of way. When I opened the garage door (to get into the barn) she drew herself back and her eyes got big but she kept her feet still. I walked her into the barn and tied her up and headed out to get Lucy.
Lucy was a bit impatient as she wanted to get to Abby. She had no fear of the barn but she’s been there before too. After I picked their feet we headed into the arena. I tied up Lu and started with Abby. I walked her around first so she could check things out and then headed to the middle of the arena to do some desensitizing. The cats kept trying to get the end of my rope and she wasn’t sure what to think of that but she did keep her feet still.
We did the following exercises –
Desensitizing to string
She did just fine
Desensitizing to stick & string
No problems
Flexing
She is very soft. I had to bump a few times to get her to give but once she decides to give she gives all of the way.
Yielding HQ
She tried. I’m having issues here and need to find out what I’m doing. I always do better w/o the halter/lead.
Yielding FQ
She bends her head around to her belly (like flexing) to avoid the stick but eventually does yield her FQ
LFR Stage 1
Much better then before. I did get some attitude when I asked for a lope but not nearly as much as normal. She kept an nice arch on the line and moved when asked.
Backing Stage 1
Good. She picked up on the concept fairly quickly and really hustled when asked
Desensitizing w/the stick & string (slapping the ground)
Good. I had low to medium energy but this normally sends her over the edge so we found a starting point.
After that she was pretty warm so I tied her up and moved on to Lu. She fell asleep during the desensitizing exercises. She anticipated the yielding the HQ exercise and she moves faster then I can on the yielding the FQ exercise. Flexing we need to work on. She comes around and she’s soft but she’s in no hurry at all.
LFR stage 1 went well. She trotted out nicely and when asked to lope she only kicked up her heels once. She’s still having problems staying on the same lead (she cross fires) but her balance is getting better.
When I’d yield her HQ to stop she wanted to anticipate going the other direction so I would take a long pause before going the other direction. So then when I’d stop her she’d back up (I don’t like that either) so I started sending her, yielding her HQ and then drawing her to me. Backing her back out to the circle and then going the other direction. She was starting looking forward to coming to me which I like because she’s a very antisocial horse.
Then we did LFR Stage 2. When we started Lu turned so fast that she darn near tripper herself up with her front feet. I remembered what CA told one of the gals in the NE clinic & I slowed myself down and thought more about the steps instead of what Lu was doing and her turns were much better. She was smoother and not in as much of a hurry nor was she as pissy. LFR stage 2 seems to ramp her up and LFR stage 1 seems to make her dull. She needs a happy medium so I played between LFR stage 1/drawing her to me and LFR stage 2.
After that I did some backing and focused on getting her to back straight since she’ll back fast. She wasn’t a happy camper about that but did it. It probably was not to CA’s satisfaction but it was a good start for us.
I then tied her up and hopped on Abby bareback while LLL cooled down. Abby was very soft in the halter but a bit nervous so we did some ORS until she relaxed and then we loaded up and headed home.
The weather is going to turn bad this week but hopefully the roads will be cleared off by Sat. or Sun. so I can go again.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
This and That
Thursday we went over to MIL’s for Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law, new brother-in-law and the kids were there and Pieper (my niece) had been our riding Sissy since they arrived on Wednesday. It was cold out but any chance she got she was out petting Sis or riding her.
A couple of times when I looked out the window I could see MIL going after Sissy and just giggled to myself wondering what Sis had done wrong. Sis was doing what MIL asked just not with a lot of energy.
We had our family Christmas (yes Christmas) and the kids all opened their gifts and started to play. MIL went out to feed Sis and when she returned she informed me that something was wrong that Sis wouldn’t eat.
Sissy always eats so I went out to check her. By the time I had gotten out to the barn I Sis had laid down. She wasn’t rolling or anything so I grabbed some Nicker Mickers (her favorite treat) and offered her one. She accepted it but just held it in her mouth, she didn’t chew it up.
I went in and got MIL and we took the grain out of her stall, filled up her water bucket, offered her hay and I walked her for a bit. When we returned her to the stall she would look at her belly and kick a bit but not bad so we decided to hold off on the Banamine to start.
We checked her a few times and she finally drank a little bit and defecated but she still wasn’t feeling well so we decided to go ahead with the Banamine. After a few hours she was finally munching away happily on hay.
MIL gets pretty freaked out when Sis gets sick. She couldn’t figure out why she’d coliced after all of these years being colic free. I asked her why she got a belly ache? Shit happens.
Saturday MIL called me to tell me Sis still wasn’t acting right. She said when she thought about it she started acting strange Monday or Tuesday of last week. That turned the light bulbs on.
I’m beginning to wonder if Sis is depressed. She has been with our herd since January. We brought Max home Sunday and by Tuesday she wasn’t eating. So in order to “test” the theory Cat is going over today to visit Sis. If that doesn’t work MIL will take her to the vet but I have a feeling when there is competition for food Sis will perk up quickly.
I hate giving Cat up but it’s not like I’m doing anything with them at the moment. I was supposed to take Lu and Abby over to the indoor Friday but DH forgot he did a time trade and has to work so this entire week and most of next is shot.
The lack of pony time is starting to take its toll on me.
A couple of times when I looked out the window I could see MIL going after Sissy and just giggled to myself wondering what Sis had done wrong. Sis was doing what MIL asked just not with a lot of energy.
We had our family Christmas (yes Christmas) and the kids all opened their gifts and started to play. MIL went out to feed Sis and when she returned she informed me that something was wrong that Sis wouldn’t eat.
Sissy always eats so I went out to check her. By the time I had gotten out to the barn I Sis had laid down. She wasn’t rolling or anything so I grabbed some Nicker Mickers (her favorite treat) and offered her one. She accepted it but just held it in her mouth, she didn’t chew it up.
I went in and got MIL and we took the grain out of her stall, filled up her water bucket, offered her hay and I walked her for a bit. When we returned her to the stall she would look at her belly and kick a bit but not bad so we decided to hold off on the Banamine to start.
We checked her a few times and she finally drank a little bit and defecated but she still wasn’t feeling well so we decided to go ahead with the Banamine. After a few hours she was finally munching away happily on hay.
MIL gets pretty freaked out when Sis gets sick. She couldn’t figure out why she’d coliced after all of these years being colic free. I asked her why she got a belly ache? Shit happens.
Saturday MIL called me to tell me Sis still wasn’t acting right. She said when she thought about it she started acting strange Monday or Tuesday of last week. That turned the light bulbs on.
I’m beginning to wonder if Sis is depressed. She has been with our herd since January. We brought Max home Sunday and by Tuesday she wasn’t eating. So in order to “test” the theory Cat is going over today to visit Sis. If that doesn’t work MIL will take her to the vet but I have a feeling when there is competition for food Sis will perk up quickly.
I hate giving Cat up but it’s not like I’m doing anything with them at the moment. I was supposed to take Lu and Abby over to the indoor Friday but DH forgot he did a time trade and has to work so this entire week and most of next is shot.
The lack of pony time is starting to take its toll on me.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Max is Back!
Sunday I took MIL back her RP and picked Max back up. He’s had quite the vacation and I could tell as soon as I walked into his stall. I immediately whacked him on the chest to back him into the corner and remind him who I was. I don’t think he was thrilled.
I had to have a short discussion with him when it came to loading but he quickly saw things my way. When we got home the girls were going nuts. I had kicked them off of the big bale earlier so they were already full of it but it only got worse once I turned Max loose. They ran and played and then quickly settled in.
My big bales are going fast! I sure hope I have enough to make it through the winter. I might have to start rationing it if they don’t slow down soon.
Nothing else is new. I *think* DH is back home so hopefully after the holiday I can start working with Lucy and Abby.
I had to have a short discussion with him when it came to loading but he quickly saw things my way. When we got home the girls were going nuts. I had kicked them off of the big bale earlier so they were already full of it but it only got worse once I turned Max loose. They ran and played and then quickly settled in.
My big bales are going fast! I sure hope I have enough to make it through the winter. I might have to start rationing it if they don’t slow down soon.
Nothing else is new. I *think* DH is back home so hopefully after the holiday I can start working with Lucy and Abby.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Another bale
Well in less then 18 days the horses have managed to plow through a 1200 lb. bale. I had to put my 2nd bale out yesterday. I know this isn't really an exciting post but I want to blog is so that next year I can compare.
Max will be coming home next weekend so I'm sure this next bale won't last as long. :(
I also found out that I have 3 black horses living in my pasture and my 3 have gone missing. They are COVERED with mud from head to toe!
Max will be coming home next weekend so I'm sure this next bale won't last as long. :(
I also found out that I have 3 black horses living in my pasture and my 3 have gone missing. They are COVERED with mud from head to toe!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Glad I made the Switch
I'm sure glad I moved my blog from NWC (No Worries Club) to here. NWC recently changed to a new format and when they did all of the past blog information was lost.
The new format is nice. It is more like Horse Grooming Supplies or the John Lyons borad although I'm not thrilled with their new "Chat Room".
I'm still here. I'm still not doing anything with my horses although I think DH will be home Friday night (works Saturday) so hopefully Sunday I can spend some time with them. I really need to winterize my barn.
Well I'm off for now. Headed out to the Dr. to see if my leg is broken from 9/27 fall (no I'm not kiddin). :)
ETA: Back from Doc and no breaks or fractures but he does think I've torn some ligaments. Can't remember how he explained the bump on my leg but sounded like dried blood under the skin??? Anywho lots of Advil (was hoping for an Rx) and cold therapy.
The new format is nice. It is more like Horse Grooming Supplies or the John Lyons borad although I'm not thrilled with their new "Chat Room".
I'm still here. I'm still not doing anything with my horses although I think DH will be home Friday night (works Saturday) so hopefully Sunday I can spend some time with them. I really need to winterize my barn.
Well I'm off for now. Headed out to the Dr. to see if my leg is broken from 9/27 fall (no I'm not kiddin). :)
ETA: Back from Doc and no breaks or fractures but he does think I've torn some ligaments. Can't remember how he explained the bump on my leg but sounded like dried blood under the skin??? Anywho lots of Advil (was hoping for an Rx) and cold therapy.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Proof they are still alive
No, I still haven't had time to do anything with the ponies but I did snap a few pics last night as I was shoving them out the door.
Size comparison
I like big butts!
Baby’s got back
Healthy pony (notice the dapples still)
Very healthy pony (she also has dapples)
The goober. I have no clue what she’s doing but she can put herself in some of the most awkward positions. Her legs really aren’t that crooked.
Does this remind you of the picture in my signature line on NWC?
Size comparison
I like big butts!
Baby’s got back
Healthy pony (notice the dapples still)
Very healthy pony (she also has dapples)
The goober. I have no clue what she’s doing but she can put herself in some of the most awkward positions. Her legs really aren’t that crooked.
Does this remind you of the picture in my signature line on NWC?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
My First Big Bale
Yikes! I had to put my first big bale out yesterday. The horses were trying to kill me when they'd see a bale of hay (even though the pasture is still green). I was hoping I'd make it until Nov. but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
I did put it in the RP so that I could shut them off from it if I thought they were just being lazy and not even trying to graze. I have 12 bales so hopefully we have a mild winter and I have leftovers come spring.
An update on Max – MIL said he is doing fine and looks to be healing well however he is getting very pushy. He blew past her the other day when she let him out of his stall and scared the snot out of her. She went to back him up and then figured it probably wasn’t a good idea with his hock injury (I’d agree).
I gave her some ideas on things that *I* would try but told her she needed to call DH to see what he wanted her to do sine he’s his horse.
I’m hoping this weekend that I can get out and work my poines. I know I can’t work them 3 days a week but would like to try 3 times a weekend. Maybe work them once in the am on Saturday and then again in the afternoon and then once or twice on Sunday. I know it’s probably not ideal but I don’t have too many choices at the moment.
I did put it in the RP so that I could shut them off from it if I thought they were just being lazy and not even trying to graze. I have 12 bales so hopefully we have a mild winter and I have leftovers come spring.
An update on Max – MIL said he is doing fine and looks to be healing well however he is getting very pushy. He blew past her the other day when she let him out of his stall and scared the snot out of her. She went to back him up and then figured it probably wasn’t a good idea with his hock injury (I’d agree).
I gave her some ideas on things that *I* would try but told her she needed to call DH to see what he wanted her to do sine he’s his horse.
I’m hoping this weekend that I can get out and work my poines. I know I can’t work them 3 days a week but would like to try 3 times a weekend. Maybe work them once in the am on Saturday and then again in the afternoon and then once or twice on Sunday. I know it’s probably not ideal but I don’t have too many choices at the moment.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Elkhorn, NE Clinic
Well I still haven’t done anything with my horses. DH is still gone and the daylight must have followed him. The colder temps are starting to come more often as well. I’m just not ready for winter yet.
This past weekend MIL and I went to watch a CA clinic in Elkhorn, NE. It was nice to watch compared to a tour. There were 18 horses there Sat. when we showed up but by the end of the clinic only 16 were there to receive certificates.
I would really like to do a CA clinic so it was nice to see the format and what to expect. My goal is to do a CA clinic on Cat in 2010. Hopefully by then I have the $$ and she’s had a little bit of riding (she’ll be a 3 yr. old then).
I was amazed at how many participants had no clue and how pushy/disrespectful some of the horses were. One horse constantly charged and tried to attack the other horses so CA put Krista on her and every time she’d pin and try to charge another horse Krista would whack the horse between the ears hard with a crop. At one point CA got another horse and “tempted” the grumpy horse but the horse just pinned her ears instead of attacking so CA said they had found their starting point.
This horse also refused to go in a straight line. During the passenger lesson she zigged and zagged all over the place trying to lose Krista. By day two the rider was riding her all over the place in a straight line. It was cool to watch the transformation.
There was a beautiful OTTB that was spooking at a corner so Krista got on him and did some rollbacks and circles. This TB was very athletic and turned before Krista and Krista fell off. CA of course informed Krista what she did wrong and she re-mounted and continued. I felt bad for Krista but it did make me feel a little bit better about my past incidents. We are all humans and shit happens to the best of us.
There were two girls there who you could tell had practiced the methods. One I was told was on the waiting list to be an apprentice but wasn’t old enough yet. She had a nice cow bred filly that reminded me of Lu. Ears back when she backed her and when she’d change directions. The other gal had a nice grey horse. It was great listening to CA explain to them how to refine things.
MIL had a few epiphanies and she’s pumped to work with Sis now. I learned a few things in regards to refinement that will be nice to put into practice if I ever get the chance to work ponies again.
I would highly recommend auditing a clinic if one is near you.
P.S. – if you are a club member I was told by an “inside” source that 2009 would be an awesome year for members and that the discounts would be even better.
This past weekend MIL and I went to watch a CA clinic in Elkhorn, NE. It was nice to watch compared to a tour. There were 18 horses there Sat. when we showed up but by the end of the clinic only 16 were there to receive certificates.
I would really like to do a CA clinic so it was nice to see the format and what to expect. My goal is to do a CA clinic on Cat in 2010. Hopefully by then I have the $$ and she’s had a little bit of riding (she’ll be a 3 yr. old then).
I was amazed at how many participants had no clue and how pushy/disrespectful some of the horses were. One horse constantly charged and tried to attack the other horses so CA put Krista on her and every time she’d pin and try to charge another horse Krista would whack the horse between the ears hard with a crop. At one point CA got another horse and “tempted” the grumpy horse but the horse just pinned her ears instead of attacking so CA said they had found their starting point.
This horse also refused to go in a straight line. During the passenger lesson she zigged and zagged all over the place trying to lose Krista. By day two the rider was riding her all over the place in a straight line. It was cool to watch the transformation.
There was a beautiful OTTB that was spooking at a corner so Krista got on him and did some rollbacks and circles. This TB was very athletic and turned before Krista and Krista fell off. CA of course informed Krista what she did wrong and she re-mounted and continued. I felt bad for Krista but it did make me feel a little bit better about my past incidents. We are all humans and shit happens to the best of us.
There were two girls there who you could tell had practiced the methods. One I was told was on the waiting list to be an apprentice but wasn’t old enough yet. She had a nice cow bred filly that reminded me of Lu. Ears back when she backed her and when she’d change directions. The other gal had a nice grey horse. It was great listening to CA explain to them how to refine things.
MIL had a few epiphanies and she’s pumped to work with Sis now. I learned a few things in regards to refinement that will be nice to put into practice if I ever get the chance to work ponies again.
I would highly recommend auditing a clinic if one is near you.
P.S. – if you are a club member I was told by an “inside” source that 2009 would be an awesome year for members and that the discounts would be even better.
Monday, October 6, 2008
I’m sore!
No, I didn’t get bucked off again. I helped build fence all weekend so my arms are killing me from driving post.
Just a quick update since nothing much has happened since my last post. Max went over to spend some time at MIL’s. We re-did her fence this weekend since the original post that were put in were dry rotting and weren’t put in correctly so they didn’t keep the fence tight. We also split her pasture in half. She has a nice, huge pasture and Sis doesn’t need it all. She’s going to try to bale the other half next year & if that doesn’t work she will have two nice sized pastures she can rotate the horses on.
You all should be proud of me. Max’s hock is swollen again (not bad but it’s still swollen) so I told DH I’d call the vet today to find out if he wanted us to do anything about it. Then I realized “DUH” this is the shit that gets me into trouble and told DH if he was worried about his horse he could call the vet. I know, it’s not much but it’s a step.
I’m going to take a shot at building a restricted choice hay feeder. I think the concept is pretty neat & with hay prices as high as they are I think it’s worth a shot.
http://www.swedishhoofschool.com/hayfeeders.htm
The inventor of this one lives about 15 minutes from me
www.slowdownhayfeeder.com
I’m putting Lucy and Cat back on the Progressive feed. While Lu did gain weight on the other stuff I do think that part of her new skin problems (major bug bites) are from the feed. Cat is the only other horse with the bites (although not as sever) and she was the only other horse on the feed.
I am however putting all of the horses on Daily 72 to see if that makes a difference. Sis was here this year and her mane and tail got very dry and brittle and her coat looked coarse. Nothing else in her diet changed except for out pasture which I believe is lacking in minerals.
DH leaves Wednesday morning so the boys and I are on our own. I’m kind of looking forward to the peace and quiet.
Just a quick update since nothing much has happened since my last post. Max went over to spend some time at MIL’s. We re-did her fence this weekend since the original post that were put in were dry rotting and weren’t put in correctly so they didn’t keep the fence tight. We also split her pasture in half. She has a nice, huge pasture and Sis doesn’t need it all. She’s going to try to bale the other half next year & if that doesn’t work she will have two nice sized pastures she can rotate the horses on.
You all should be proud of me. Max’s hock is swollen again (not bad but it’s still swollen) so I told DH I’d call the vet today to find out if he wanted us to do anything about it. Then I realized “DUH” this is the shit that gets me into trouble and told DH if he was worried about his horse he could call the vet. I know, it’s not much but it’s a step.
I’m going to take a shot at building a restricted choice hay feeder. I think the concept is pretty neat & with hay prices as high as they are I think it’s worth a shot.
http://www.swedishhoofschool.com/hayfeeders.htm
The inventor of this one lives about 15 minutes from me
www.slowdownhayfeeder.com
I’m putting Lucy and Cat back on the Progressive feed. While Lu did gain weight on the other stuff I do think that part of her new skin problems (major bug bites) are from the feed. Cat is the only other horse with the bites (although not as sever) and she was the only other horse on the feed.
I am however putting all of the horses on Daily 72 to see if that makes a difference. Sis was here this year and her mane and tail got very dry and brittle and her coat looked coarse. Nothing else in her diet changed except for out pasture which I believe is lacking in minerals.
DH leaves Wednesday morning so the boys and I are on our own. I’m kind of looking forward to the peace and quiet.
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