Last night I got home and headed straight to the barn. I got Lu up, cleaned up and then saddled up for a ride. As we headed out of the drive the other horses were nickering to us and running the fence line. Lu’s attention was on them so I decided to get it on me by kicking things up a notch.
Normally we walk a little ways before moving into a trot/canter but this time I started out trotting & asking for a nice, soft face. Anytime she’d sit on the bit I’d draw her to a stop and back her up quickly until she softened. She’s pretty smart so it didn’t take long for her to figure out that she needed to get off of my hands.
She was a little lookie Lu but not too bad. Anytime she’d loose focus we’d do serpentines, circles, etc. It was a lot of fun to “look” until we got to the top of the second hill. By then, nothing really bothered her. We saw wild turkeys on the road and lots of deer. We did LOTS of collected trotting and some cantering (not collected). By the end of the ride she was starting to look like a WP pony!
Before heading home we headed down the dirt path for some cantering. We really need to start focusing on this a bit more but then there are lots of things I need to be focusing on too. She got frustrated with me when she wanted to “charge” back towards the house and tossed her head in resentment. I quickly let her know that this wasn’t an option and she needed to do as asked. By the time she relaxed and settled she was covered head to hoof in sweat – but she was listening.
It was dark by the time we pulled back in the drive but it was worth every minute! Lu got her normal rinse to get the salt off of her coat. She LOVES playing in the water so I was just as soaked as she was by the time I got done. I sure hope we can get more rides in like this. We both need the long rides prior to November!
Tuff E Nuff Quarter Horses
Lucy
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Quck update
It seems like things have gone hectic yet again. Sunday I drove to Emporia, KS to pick up some puppies for a fellow NWC mate. Monday she met me to pick them up so we went for a very quick trail ride. I offered Lu but she wanted to ride Abby. I got a good chuckle when she thought Chase’s saddle was the one she’d be riding in. I had to break the news that it was too small (she primarily rides English). When she grabbed DH’s saddle off of the top of the saddle rack you could see the shock on her face as her body adjusted to hold the weight. I was nice and tossed it up on Abby and saddled her up.
As we headed out Abby was being Abby. She didn’t want to go down the road and kept trying to turn back. One good whack would have solved that problem. We headed down the road to the small trail behind the house. Coming back we sped up to a trot for a few strides until Abby decided a lope would be better. I showed off the little that Lu has been doing and then we headed back to the house. It was a nice ride but it would have been nicer if we could have had more time.
Last night I took Lu to the arena while MIL practiced for drill. I really need to start working on her anxiety issues at the arena or I’m going to be in big trouble come November. She was awesome! She’s giving her head very well at the trot and when I sit back I have an absolutely stunning western pleasure jog! I was having fun so we jogged a lot! When practice was over I went in to canter. Her canter was ok but not wonderful (I have a lot of work to do there). I decided to ask for a little bit of collection and to my surprise I did get it.
My main issue on the rail is that she won’t track straight. She likes to go down the rail with her haunches in. I’m going to have to fix this at the arena because it is pretty hard to fix on the trail. For some reason she’s lost her “whoa” too so that is moving up quickly on our list of things to work on. I love getting compliments on how good she looks (moving and body wise). I know w/the right amount of CONSISTENT training she’s going to be an awesome horse. Look wise I can honestly say – if she doesn’t get worked more she’s going to have to go on a diet – she’s gotten FAT! I never thought I'd be able to say that.
As we headed out Abby was being Abby. She didn’t want to go down the road and kept trying to turn back. One good whack would have solved that problem. We headed down the road to the small trail behind the house. Coming back we sped up to a trot for a few strides until Abby decided a lope would be better. I showed off the little that Lu has been doing and then we headed back to the house. It was a nice ride but it would have been nicer if we could have had more time.
Last night I took Lu to the arena while MIL practiced for drill. I really need to start working on her anxiety issues at the arena or I’m going to be in big trouble come November. She was awesome! She’s giving her head very well at the trot and when I sit back I have an absolutely stunning western pleasure jog! I was having fun so we jogged a lot! When practice was over I went in to canter. Her canter was ok but not wonderful (I have a lot of work to do there). I decided to ask for a little bit of collection and to my surprise I did get it.
My main issue on the rail is that she won’t track straight. She likes to go down the rail with her haunches in. I’m going to have to fix this at the arena because it is pretty hard to fix on the trail. For some reason she’s lost her “whoa” too so that is moving up quickly on our list of things to work on. I love getting compliments on how good she looks (moving and body wise). I know w/the right amount of CONSISTENT training she’s going to be an awesome horse. Look wise I can honestly say – if she doesn’t get worked more she’s going to have to go on a diet – she’s gotten FAT! I never thought I'd be able to say that.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
It’s official!
PF now known as Bell or Bella is ours. DH picked her up Friday for a trial trail ride on Sat. When I got off of work we loaded up and headed to MIL’s. I left my girls at home. I figured I would stay back and watch Ty while MIL, Chase and DH rode. Then I didn’t have to see how she did to be part of the decision.
When we unloaded everyone at MIL’s we put Bell in the round pen. She didn’t seem too concerned about being in a new place. Later that evening we got the horses out and rode. Ty rode Nikki, Chase & MIL both rode bb w/a halter and DH on Bell. The worst horse was Abby. She was nervous around Bell. Since Chase was on bb and losing control he decided to get off. I hopped on and had a nice conversation w/Abby and all was fine. After that MIL got on Bell. Poor girl is going to be doing a lot of loping since she is so smooth.
The next morning we got up and everyone got ready to head out. Well what is planned never seems to work. FIL got into town early w/my niece and nephews. They are visiting from out of state for two week so MIL wasn’t able to go. Instead, DH, Chase and I loaded up and headed out to the trails.
When we got there I opted to ride Abby so Chase didn’t get killed and put him on Sis. The first 5 minutes was the worst of the ride. Abby HATES going from one surface to another and she is very aware of what she is stepping on. It took a long time to get her on the pavement and then over the cracks in the pavement and then finally onto the trail head.
Once on the trail Abby and I stayed out front doing some turns around trees, bending, etc. She was actually doing very well. A shy here or there at a pile of poo but nothing too bad, she is just very lookie lo. Of course Bell was being an angel. I can honestly say the way she was going that I would have trusted her to carry Chase. Kind of made me sick to my stomach she was being so good. She only spooked once and I’m not really sure if it was a spook or if she was just getting out of Abby’s way when Abby spooked at a deer and tried to land in Bell’s lap.
We didn’t stay out too long – maybe 4 hours. Bell is about as out of shape as Sis and I managed to sprain my ankle at the farthest point on the long trail so we opted not to ride the last trail. When we got back to MIL’s DH turned Bell loose w/the herd. Amazingly there were no arguments.
She is not perfect in any way. She has some tuning up to do. She has an iron mouth and doesn’t know how to neck rein. She also lacked a bit of confidence on the trail as a leader but seemed to do well by the end of the ride. That all being said – I think she’s a perfect fit for DH.
When we unloaded everyone at MIL’s we put Bell in the round pen. She didn’t seem too concerned about being in a new place. Later that evening we got the horses out and rode. Ty rode Nikki, Chase & MIL both rode bb w/a halter and DH on Bell. The worst horse was Abby. She was nervous around Bell. Since Chase was on bb and losing control he decided to get off. I hopped on and had a nice conversation w/Abby and all was fine. After that MIL got on Bell. Poor girl is going to be doing a lot of loping since she is so smooth.
The next morning we got up and everyone got ready to head out. Well what is planned never seems to work. FIL got into town early w/my niece and nephews. They are visiting from out of state for two week so MIL wasn’t able to go. Instead, DH, Chase and I loaded up and headed out to the trails.
When we got there I opted to ride Abby so Chase didn’t get killed and put him on Sis. The first 5 minutes was the worst of the ride. Abby HATES going from one surface to another and she is very aware of what she is stepping on. It took a long time to get her on the pavement and then over the cracks in the pavement and then finally onto the trail head.
Once on the trail Abby and I stayed out front doing some turns around trees, bending, etc. She was actually doing very well. A shy here or there at a pile of poo but nothing too bad, she is just very lookie lo. Of course Bell was being an angel. I can honestly say the way she was going that I would have trusted her to carry Chase. Kind of made me sick to my stomach she was being so good. She only spooked once and I’m not really sure if it was a spook or if she was just getting out of Abby’s way when Abby spooked at a deer and tried to land in Bell’s lap.
We didn’t stay out too long – maybe 4 hours. Bell is about as out of shape as Sis and I managed to sprain my ankle at the farthest point on the long trail so we opted not to ride the last trail. When we got back to MIL’s DH turned Bell loose w/the herd. Amazingly there were no arguments.
She is not perfect in any way. She has some tuning up to do. She has an iron mouth and doesn’t know how to neck rein. She also lacked a bit of confidence on the trail as a leader but seemed to do well by the end of the ride. That all being said – I think she’s a perfect fit for DH.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
PF - Test Drive
Last night DH and I went out to watch PF go. When we got there she was already saddled up in the round pen. We made out introductions to the owner and then headed over. DH was taken back by her similarities to Sis and we laughed as Chase said “that horse looks just like Sis”. Lol
The gal did a little bit of round pen work with her and explained that she really doesn’t do much ground work with her before riding. Just enough to make sure PF is paying attention to her. It was fun watching someone else RP as all of her turns were made to the outside. When she asked PF to move faster it took quite a bit of encouragement – she doesn’t want to loose anymore weight! Lol When she asked her to come to the center she did and then immediately dropped her head to graze. That is so Sis and it had DH laughing.
She showed how she’ll give her hips nicely when you look at them. I did this with her the other night and she did do very well. Then we headed to the “arena”. She had a bit of a problem taking the bit but the owner explained that her son had bumped her a time or two in the teeth with the bit so it was very understandable. She had her in a D ring w/rollers similar to a bit we use on Sis but she had it very low in her mouth (almost to the point of falling out). You could tell PF wasn’t happy about it being so low but she picked it up and held it anyways.
Through our conversations we learned that it had been since last August since PF had been ridden last and she hasn’t been loped once in the 2 years the owner has owned her. The owner got on and rode off and PF moved off quietly and calmly. At the end of the arena she started to nicker back to her buddies but kept moving. She walked her over a log and then bumped her up into a trot. It was a forward moving trot but not a fast one. We watched her ride for a while and then I got on.
Since the owner was short I decided to ride in her saddle. Those Tuckers are pretty comfy. Anyways – PF did well except she wanted to cut the arena. The problem with this was the tree in the far end where she wanted to cut was a thorn tree. Ouch! When she’d get to that spot she’d nicker and you could feel her want to speed up to get back to the other horses. I turned her in circles and put my inside leg on to see if she knew how to bend. Not really but she did soften after a little bit. She has an iron mouth compared to what I’m used to. I bumped her into a trot and it was pretty cozy. Would be a lot nicer if she’d slow down just a tad but that probably wouldn’t be hard to do.
PF was being good so I decided to push it and ask for a lope. OMG! She has one of the smoothest lopes. Like Black, she covers a bit of ground. She wasn’t upset at all that I’d asked her to lope and continued in a nice, relaxed lope until she had an excuse to stop (me talking).
After that DH got on and rode. She was a bit different for him but by this time she was pretty hot and sweaty. When I say different, it wasn’t really in a bad way. He was trying to neck rein her and she doesn’t and there were a few other times where I felt there was a miscommunication between the two.
Once we were done we watched her owner bath her and clip her. She did well but kept talking to her pasture buddies. She wanted to be back with them and you could tell.
I wasn’t in a very good mood last night so when DH asked me what my thoughts were I was probably a little rough on him. Told him she was a nice horse but she’s probably going to need some work and I wasn’t doing it. I kindly reminded him that I’ve trained too many horses for him that he’s sold when they weren’t “good enough” and I wasn’t doing it again.
I’m not sure what he’ll do, if he’ll take her out again, make up his mind from here or just forget about it.
The gal did a little bit of round pen work with her and explained that she really doesn’t do much ground work with her before riding. Just enough to make sure PF is paying attention to her. It was fun watching someone else RP as all of her turns were made to the outside. When she asked PF to move faster it took quite a bit of encouragement – she doesn’t want to loose anymore weight! Lol When she asked her to come to the center she did and then immediately dropped her head to graze. That is so Sis and it had DH laughing.
She showed how she’ll give her hips nicely when you look at them. I did this with her the other night and she did do very well. Then we headed to the “arena”. She had a bit of a problem taking the bit but the owner explained that her son had bumped her a time or two in the teeth with the bit so it was very understandable. She had her in a D ring w/rollers similar to a bit we use on Sis but she had it very low in her mouth (almost to the point of falling out). You could tell PF wasn’t happy about it being so low but she picked it up and held it anyways.
Through our conversations we learned that it had been since last August since PF had been ridden last and she hasn’t been loped once in the 2 years the owner has owned her. The owner got on and rode off and PF moved off quietly and calmly. At the end of the arena she started to nicker back to her buddies but kept moving. She walked her over a log and then bumped her up into a trot. It was a forward moving trot but not a fast one. We watched her ride for a while and then I got on.
Since the owner was short I decided to ride in her saddle. Those Tuckers are pretty comfy. Anyways – PF did well except she wanted to cut the arena. The problem with this was the tree in the far end where she wanted to cut was a thorn tree. Ouch! When she’d get to that spot she’d nicker and you could feel her want to speed up to get back to the other horses. I turned her in circles and put my inside leg on to see if she knew how to bend. Not really but she did soften after a little bit. She has an iron mouth compared to what I’m used to. I bumped her into a trot and it was pretty cozy. Would be a lot nicer if she’d slow down just a tad but that probably wouldn’t be hard to do.
PF was being good so I decided to push it and ask for a lope. OMG! She has one of the smoothest lopes. Like Black, she covers a bit of ground. She wasn’t upset at all that I’d asked her to lope and continued in a nice, relaxed lope until she had an excuse to stop (me talking).
After that DH got on and rode. She was a bit different for him but by this time she was pretty hot and sweaty. When I say different, it wasn’t really in a bad way. He was trying to neck rein her and she doesn’t and there were a few other times where I felt there was a miscommunication between the two.
Once we were done we watched her owner bath her and clip her. She did well but kept talking to her pasture buddies. She wanted to be back with them and you could tell.
I wasn’t in a very good mood last night so when DH asked me what my thoughts were I was probably a little rough on him. Told him she was a nice horse but she’s probably going to need some work and I wasn’t doing it. I kindly reminded him that I’ve trained too many horses for him that he’s sold when they weren’t “good enough” and I wasn’t doing it again.
I’m not sure what he’ll do, if he’ll take her out again, make up his mind from here or just forget about it.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Shopping
Who wants to help me?
DH’s back seems to be back to normal so the hunt for a new (younger) horse is on. Black is doing well but I’m not sure we could have expected her to keep up on the trails we hit on Sunday as it even took a toll on our younger horses. On the way home, we discussed what it was that he wanted in a horse. He told me that he just wants a nice dependable horse like Sis to trail ride on. If he could just steal Sis he’d be thrilled but that isn’t going to happen!
A while ago I ran across a horse on CL that really caught my eye. She is almost a mirror image of Sis. I never pursued it because DH hadn’t ridden much because of his back and I figured he was still on the high dollar roping horse kick. After our weekend and our talk I decided to take a look to see if she was still available. Her ad was still there so I sent an e-mail. She was still available & the owner gave me her number to call her later in the day. Here is her current ad:
I did a little bit of google searching and found her previous ad from 2 years ago (previous owner).
I talked to the owner on the phone last night. Sounds like PF (that’s what we’ll call her for now) hasn’t been ridden much in the past 2 years. -1 She purchased her for her husband/son and neither of them have ridden. She said she was a horse you could leave and then jump on and go. +1 She said she wasn’t for beginners. +0 She is still ridden in a snaffle. +1 She prefers to follow on the trail. +0 She doesn’t like to leave the other horses. -1 In a later e-mail the owner said she will not refuse to leave but will just nicker to the other horses. +0 The owner was fine w/me taking her on a trail ride but wasn’t to sure about letting me take her to the arena (flag). The feel I got was that she is semi-confident in PF’s abilities. Since she hasn’t been ridden – she just isn’t sure but she was ok with allowing me to ride her w/o her being there (I’m not ok w/that as I’d like to see her go once first before hopping on).
She is only a few miles from us so I did drive over and see her last night w/o the owner there but w/the owner’s permission. She has a very soft, intelligent eye but she doesn’t look like her pictures. She’s lost weight (which the owner was happy with) but with the weight loss she’s lost muscle as well. She looks more like a thin track horse vs. a fat QH like I expected. The tone of the muscle she does have is very nice though. She's still hanging onto her winter coat and looks wormy depsite being on a regular schdule. Nothing that a little Karbo Combo won't help with. She’s a bit more refined then Sis. It is nice in her face but I’d kind of hoped for that big chest and butt.
The bo got her out and I picked up her feet. She picked them up well. She needs trimmed but her feet weren’t horrible. She did have a noticeable bump on her left front pastern. The owner said this was from an injury as a foal and it was scar tissue. Her vet (a very reputable one) said it was no big deal and wouldn’t affect her. I’m still on the fence about how much I think it might affect re-sale value.
I took her to the RP and sent her off. She left but wasn’t afraid of the whip or me. She wanted to turn away when I stepped in front of the drive line (most do so no big deal). She sure can get her butt underneath herself. She’s athletic but on the lazy side. When she finally did learn to turn into me she figured that out quick but once next to me she thought the grass was more appealing. She did nicker to the other horses but didn’t get too upset. She also didn’t seem to mind Ty running all over the place.
I haven’t told DH about her yet. I want to ride her and have MIL ride her to see how she goes. Then if she passes those tests I will have DH look at her. I don’t want a project horse – I don’t have the time and DH doesn’t have the patience. Any thoughts? Anything strike out at you that I might have missed?
DH’s back seems to be back to normal so the hunt for a new (younger) horse is on. Black is doing well but I’m not sure we could have expected her to keep up on the trails we hit on Sunday as it even took a toll on our younger horses. On the way home, we discussed what it was that he wanted in a horse. He told me that he just wants a nice dependable horse like Sis to trail ride on. If he could just steal Sis he’d be thrilled but that isn’t going to happen!
A while ago I ran across a horse on CL that really caught my eye. She is almost a mirror image of Sis. I never pursued it because DH hadn’t ridden much because of his back and I figured he was still on the high dollar roping horse kick. After our weekend and our talk I decided to take a look to see if she was still available. Her ad was still there so I sent an e-mail. She was still available & the owner gave me her number to call her later in the day. Here is her current ad:
PF is a versatile mare that we have used for trail riding. PF is very athletic
with a sweet and willing disposition. She loves attention and will be the first
one to greet you in the pasture. She clips, loads, stalls and hauls with no
problems. We are selling PF due to lack of time to ride.
I did a little bit of google searching and found her previous ad from 2 years ago (previous owner).
She has been shown in 4-H in halter and showmanship. This is a beautiful
young mare that can go in many different directions. Great trail horse.
Used by family on overnight camping trips, ridden in groups and alone.
Husband safe. Has also been used to move cattle. Her sire, PP, is also on
allbreedpedigree.com. His offspring have points and are winning at AQHA
shows and in many other arenas as well. He is very line bred Poco
Bueno.
Classy and feminine mare
7 years old
15.2
Likes attention and people
Quiet to be around
100% Sound.
No health issues.
Clips / Loads
wellGood for the farrier
I talked to the owner on the phone last night. Sounds like PF (that’s what we’ll call her for now) hasn’t been ridden much in the past 2 years. -1 She purchased her for her husband/son and neither of them have ridden. She said she was a horse you could leave and then jump on and go. +1 She said she wasn’t for beginners. +0 She is still ridden in a snaffle. +1 She prefers to follow on the trail. +0 She doesn’t like to leave the other horses. -1 In a later e-mail the owner said she will not refuse to leave but will just nicker to the other horses. +0 The owner was fine w/me taking her on a trail ride but wasn’t to sure about letting me take her to the arena (flag). The feel I got was that she is semi-confident in PF’s abilities. Since she hasn’t been ridden – she just isn’t sure but she was ok with allowing me to ride her w/o her being there (I’m not ok w/that as I’d like to see her go once first before hopping on).
She is only a few miles from us so I did drive over and see her last night w/o the owner there but w/the owner’s permission. She has a very soft, intelligent eye but she doesn’t look like her pictures. She’s lost weight (which the owner was happy with) but with the weight loss she’s lost muscle as well. She looks more like a thin track horse vs. a fat QH like I expected. The tone of the muscle she does have is very nice though. She's still hanging onto her winter coat and looks wormy depsite being on a regular schdule. Nothing that a little Karbo Combo won't help with. She’s a bit more refined then Sis. It is nice in her face but I’d kind of hoped for that big chest and butt.
The bo got her out and I picked up her feet. She picked them up well. She needs trimmed but her feet weren’t horrible. She did have a noticeable bump on her left front pastern. The owner said this was from an injury as a foal and it was scar tissue. Her vet (a very reputable one) said it was no big deal and wouldn’t affect her. I’m still on the fence about how much I think it might affect re-sale value.
I took her to the RP and sent her off. She left but wasn’t afraid of the whip or me. She wanted to turn away when I stepped in front of the drive line (most do so no big deal). She sure can get her butt underneath herself. She’s athletic but on the lazy side. When she finally did learn to turn into me she figured that out quick but once next to me she thought the grass was more appealing. She did nicker to the other horses but didn’t get too upset. She also didn’t seem to mind Ty running all over the place.
I haven’t told DH about her yet. I want to ride her and have MIL ride her to see how she goes. Then if she passes those tests I will have DH look at her. I don’t want a project horse – I don’t have the time and DH doesn’t have the patience. Any thoughts? Anything strike out at you that I might have missed?
Monday, May 24, 2010
Time for the trails!
This weekend was our first show of the season. I opted not to take a horse and had Chase ride Sis since he really hasn’t worked Abby too much this year. MIL and Chase both did well. Sis wasn’t at her peak performance wise but that is another post.
At the end of the show I had two tired “puppies”.
After the show DH and I headed off to the trails to celebrate our 11th anniversary. We both chuckled as we set up “camp” for the night. It was a bit different compared to how it was 11 years ago when we first set out for our honeymoon. Back then we had a 2 person tent and it was so cold I slept in the truck w/the heater (running with the heater on) while he slept in the tent with the dog. This time we both slept in the well circulated trailer & left the dog at home.
In the morning we got up and fed the ponies their breakfast only to find Lu had decided to unsnap herself and help herself to some grass. The “neighbors” came over to let us know that the one horse (Sis) beat up the other horse all night. This isn’t the first time Sis has done this and she’s going to learn quickly what a set of sideline hobbles are for. I refuse to give her an entire hitching rail just because she’s crabby.
We were on the trail by roughly 9:00. DH rode Sis and I rode Lu. I was a bit surprised at how “energetic” Lu was at the beginning. Usually she’s the calm one. We weren’t 20 feet into the trail head before we hit our first hill. It was a fairly steep one so I was happy when Lu sucked back and went down slowly, step by step.
Here she is at the beginning. Ears perked forward and ready to go.
The weather was beautiful but the bugs were horrendous! As we got closer to the river you could feel the cool breeze coming off of it. Lu is not a fan of water so I chuckled when we had lots of small water crossings. That was until we got to this one.
Lu says: “You want me to cross what?”
Here she is trying to turn around and go back.
DH and Sis taking a break while checking out the best place to cross.
The top crossing was very rocky and it was hard to navigate so we opted to go through the bottom. It got deep enough to have water up to my shins. Man that is the best way to ride!
After the ride and back at camp. This was pre-bath. Lucy got a wet saddle blanket.
After a sponge bath – “Can I haz treats?”
Just chillin
We headed back home in the afternoon but had to swing by a tack store on the way home. I bought another Cashel Feed Rite Bag. Those are wonderful out on the trail or for a messy eater (like Lu). We also purchased a new Stacy Westfall activity ball for the horses.
I’m hoping this will be something fun for the kids to play with and something to help me challenge my training (is the horse listening to me or focusing too much on the object?).
At the end of the show I had two tired “puppies”.
After the show DH and I headed off to the trails to celebrate our 11th anniversary. We both chuckled as we set up “camp” for the night. It was a bit different compared to how it was 11 years ago when we first set out for our honeymoon. Back then we had a 2 person tent and it was so cold I slept in the truck w/the heater (running with the heater on) while he slept in the tent with the dog. This time we both slept in the well circulated trailer & left the dog at home.
In the morning we got up and fed the ponies their breakfast only to find Lu had decided to unsnap herself and help herself to some grass. The “neighbors” came over to let us know that the one horse (Sis) beat up the other horse all night. This isn’t the first time Sis has done this and she’s going to learn quickly what a set of sideline hobbles are for. I refuse to give her an entire hitching rail just because she’s crabby.
We were on the trail by roughly 9:00. DH rode Sis and I rode Lu. I was a bit surprised at how “energetic” Lu was at the beginning. Usually she’s the calm one. We weren’t 20 feet into the trail head before we hit our first hill. It was a fairly steep one so I was happy when Lu sucked back and went down slowly, step by step.
Here she is at the beginning. Ears perked forward and ready to go.
The weather was beautiful but the bugs were horrendous! As we got closer to the river you could feel the cool breeze coming off of it. Lu is not a fan of water so I chuckled when we had lots of small water crossings. That was until we got to this one.
Lu says: “You want me to cross what?”
Here she is trying to turn around and go back.
DH and Sis taking a break while checking out the best place to cross.
The top crossing was very rocky and it was hard to navigate so we opted to go through the bottom. It got deep enough to have water up to my shins. Man that is the best way to ride!
After the ride and back at camp. This was pre-bath. Lucy got a wet saddle blanket.
After a sponge bath – “Can I haz treats?”
Just chillin
We headed back home in the afternoon but had to swing by a tack store on the way home. I bought another Cashel Feed Rite Bag. Those are wonderful out on the trail or for a messy eater (like Lu). We also purchased a new Stacy Westfall activity ball for the horses.
I’m hoping this will be something fun for the kids to play with and something to help me challenge my training (is the horse listening to me or focusing too much on the object?).
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Duck, duck, no goose!
Mom thought I was bad about the chickens as the boys and I have been incubating this spring. I have 13 eggs in the bator as we speak - that was until the ducks came along!
I bought 5 for each of the boys. 5 Indian Runners for Ty and 5 Pudgy Pekins for Chase. The boys just love them and my goodness have they grown.
The lady that does the wildlife rehabilitation asked if I'd take any fowl they got in as it seems most people don't want them. The wood ducks are very hard to rehab and they need other fowl to survive. I told her we would be happy to try. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!
So far we have gotten 22 ducklings in (wood ducks and mallards). To date we've lost 7 (I think). I know that might sound like a lot but I think it is pretty good considering. I'm learning the wood ducks stress very easily. The first batch we got had 9 and we lost 2 right away. Earlier this week one had got trapped behind the log in their pen and by the time we found him it was too late. Wednesday we got 4 more wood ducks but I noticed they were aweful quiet on the way home (not typically for wood ducks). Unfortunatley none of them survived.
Tonight I'm getting 9 more! Not sure if they are wood ducks or mallards yet. The wood ducks sure are pretty but the mallards are so much easier to care for. I'll see if I can get some pictures of the "flock" and post later.
I bought 5 for each of the boys. 5 Indian Runners for Ty and 5 Pudgy Pekins for Chase. The boys just love them and my goodness have they grown.
The lady that does the wildlife rehabilitation asked if I'd take any fowl they got in as it seems most people don't want them. The wood ducks are very hard to rehab and they need other fowl to survive. I told her we would be happy to try. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!
So far we have gotten 22 ducklings in (wood ducks and mallards). To date we've lost 7 (I think). I know that might sound like a lot but I think it is pretty good considering. I'm learning the wood ducks stress very easily. The first batch we got had 9 and we lost 2 right away. Earlier this week one had got trapped behind the log in their pen and by the time we found him it was too late. Wednesday we got 4 more wood ducks but I noticed they were aweful quiet on the way home (not typically for wood ducks). Unfortunatley none of them survived.
Tonight I'm getting 9 more! Not sure if they are wood ducks or mallards yet. The wood ducks sure are pretty but the mallards are so much easier to care for. I'll see if I can get some pictures of the "flock" and post later.
No horse time for me
I haven't had hardly any pony time and I can tell.
Mothers Day weekend DH and I drove to KS and bought a new truck! I'm happy to finally have something that a) I don't have to worry about the motor falling out and b) something that is actually big enough to pully my ponies safely.
I'm hoping this one last me a LONG time!
DH got me two new leather halters for Mothers Day. I've been wanting them and was very happy that he'd actually listed. Later on in the day I started not feeling well.
I felt cruddy most of last week and went to the Dr. to be told I had a rib out??? Ummm how'd that happen? Didn't get much riding done since I wasn't feeling hot. Sat. I tried to ride but learned real fast that it wasn't a good idea. I paid for it later that night.
I still wasn't feeling well at the beginning of this week so went back. Had to see a different Doc & was told that it might be a blot clot vs. a rib. Took x-rays, got script and then was told everything was fine on the x-ray.
Tues. I wanted to test drive the truck so I took MIL to drill practice (only the 2nd one I've been to). I took Lu to stand at the trailer. She managed to get loose while we were there so I let her eat grass on the line next to me. When they were all done I decided to hop on. Again - bad idea!
Went back to Dr. today (this time my normal one). He manipulated my back and then told me he thought it was muscle. I felt worse coming out then I did going in. He gave me more drugs a told me to come back if I didn't feel better.
We have our first show this weekend. Chase is not prepared at all. If I take a horse it will be to stand at the trailer but I won't be riding. I feel like I'm so far behind though!
Here are a few pics from last Sat.
Lu dressed in her english gear. My saddle was at home & I was too lazy to go home & get it so rode english w/halter (yes I know the saddle is too far forward).
Cat pissed off that she got left.
My pretty little girl
Chunky Monkey!
Look at those dapples!
Mothers Day weekend DH and I drove to KS and bought a new truck! I'm happy to finally have something that a) I don't have to worry about the motor falling out and b) something that is actually big enough to pully my ponies safely.
I'm hoping this one last me a LONG time!
DH got me two new leather halters for Mothers Day. I've been wanting them and was very happy that he'd actually listed. Later on in the day I started not feeling well.
I felt cruddy most of last week and went to the Dr. to be told I had a rib out??? Ummm how'd that happen? Didn't get much riding done since I wasn't feeling hot. Sat. I tried to ride but learned real fast that it wasn't a good idea. I paid for it later that night.
I still wasn't feeling well at the beginning of this week so went back. Had to see a different Doc & was told that it might be a blot clot vs. a rib. Took x-rays, got script and then was told everything was fine on the x-ray.
Tues. I wanted to test drive the truck so I took MIL to drill practice (only the 2nd one I've been to). I took Lu to stand at the trailer. She managed to get loose while we were there so I let her eat grass on the line next to me. When they were all done I decided to hop on. Again - bad idea!
Went back to Dr. today (this time my normal one). He manipulated my back and then told me he thought it was muscle. I felt worse coming out then I did going in. He gave me more drugs a told me to come back if I didn't feel better.
We have our first show this weekend. Chase is not prepared at all. If I take a horse it will be to stand at the trailer but I won't be riding. I feel like I'm so far behind though!
Here are a few pics from last Sat.
Lu dressed in her english gear. My saddle was at home & I was too lazy to go home & get it so rode english w/halter (yes I know the saddle is too far forward).
Cat pissed off that she got left.
My pretty little girl
Chunky Monkey!
Look at those dapples!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Lucy's Turn
Now for Lucy! I’ll start off by saying thoughts of selling Lucy crossed my mind! But only temporarily.
Thursday –
Worked on LFR Stage 1. She’s still pretty pissy when she changes directions so I worked on slowing her down, getting her to relax and work through her turns. That seemed to work well.
Hopped on and did some ORS at the walk. Tried to do that at the trot but she was on crack! Tried to ask for a few canter strides before we finished and she decided bucking was a better option. They weren’t big bucks but I wasn’t thrilled. Granted – it has been a LONG time since she’d be worked last.
Friday –
Did C pattern, LFR stage 1 and she was much better. Did ORS at the w/t but she was on crack again so decided to do the passenger lesson at the trot. She didn’t want to trot but instead wanted to canter (insert crazy smiley here). Decided to quit shutting her down and let her canter. She’d get tired eventually. She finally did and went back to a trot but it was very easy to tell she wasn’t happy about that.
Did some follow the fence at the trot and then a few laps at the canter.
Saturday –
MUCH better! Thoughts of selling are slowly diminishing. Didn’t do much gw, instead got after about 2 min of LFR. Had issues at the same gate gawking at the same ponies that Cat did so did do some rollbacks to get her focus on me. Today she decided she could actually trot. Did the follow the fence exercise at the w/t/c. Clockwise at the canter is her bad direction. She has more trouble staying on that lead.
Sunday –
100% better. Her trot had forward movement, her ears were forward, she was happy! Did a great job w/t/c doing ftf (follow the fence). Also worked on yielding the HQ. Worked on vertical flexion. Going counter clockwise was better then clockwise. That kind of threw me for a loop since cantering she’s the better the opposite direction.
I can say I saw HUGE improvements in both horses. I’m also exhausted! Getting up early to chore/clean stalls really kicked my butt (I’m not a morning person) and actually putting in time I’m not used to………………I was in bed by 8 o’clock last night!
I’m hoping to take them back over next Fri., Sat., Sun. and keep this up for as long as Mona, and DH will let me.
Thursday –
Worked on LFR Stage 1. She’s still pretty pissy when she changes directions so I worked on slowing her down, getting her to relax and work through her turns. That seemed to work well.
Hopped on and did some ORS at the walk. Tried to do that at the trot but she was on crack! Tried to ask for a few canter strides before we finished and she decided bucking was a better option. They weren’t big bucks but I wasn’t thrilled. Granted – it has been a LONG time since she’d be worked last.
Friday –
Did C pattern, LFR stage 1 and she was much better. Did ORS at the w/t but she was on crack again so decided to do the passenger lesson at the trot. She didn’t want to trot but instead wanted to canter (insert crazy smiley here). Decided to quit shutting her down and let her canter. She’d get tired eventually. She finally did and went back to a trot but it was very easy to tell she wasn’t happy about that.
Did some follow the fence at the trot and then a few laps at the canter.
Saturday –
MUCH better! Thoughts of selling are slowly diminishing. Didn’t do much gw, instead got after about 2 min of LFR. Had issues at the same gate gawking at the same ponies that Cat did so did do some rollbacks to get her focus on me. Today she decided she could actually trot. Did the follow the fence exercise at the w/t/c. Clockwise at the canter is her bad direction. She has more trouble staying on that lead.
Sunday –
100% better. Her trot had forward movement, her ears were forward, she was happy! Did a great job w/t/c doing ftf (follow the fence). Also worked on yielding the HQ. Worked on vertical flexion. Going counter clockwise was better then clockwise. That kind of threw me for a loop since cantering she’s the better the opposite direction.
I can say I saw HUGE improvements in both horses. I’m also exhausted! Getting up early to chore/clean stalls really kicked my butt (I’m not a morning person) and actually putting in time I’m not used to………………I was in bed by 8 o’clock last night!
I’m hoping to take them back over next Fri., Sat., Sun. and keep this up for as long as Mona, and DH will let me.
Suicide Ride!
Thurs. –
Tied Cat to trailer while working Lucy. She wasn’t happy so reared the majority of the time and then went to pawing once she got tired of rearing.
Did LFR Stage II but didn’t ride (too dark). She began to anticipate the change of direction from me turning my hand over to put the stick in it. Turns were nice! Deep hock action into the ground and then she rolled out of there w/energy.
Put in stall – not happy she couldn’t see Lu but could see Salute so she was ok.
Fri. – (ride 8)
Did some liberty work in the indoor. She’d run away from me to visit the other horses but when I’d call and comb my finger she’d come running back to me. Did some figure 8’s at liberty and then jumped on bb. Did some flexing and trotting (not much) and called it a night. Did ask her to back and she did take a few steps w/o resistance.
Sat. – (ride 9)
Did minimal LFR (stage 1), some C pattern and sending and then got on. Did ORS at the w/t/c. She picks up quickly! Would trot 4 beats, sit two and then shut her down. Did the counting in my head (not outloud). When I decided to trot 6 strides instead she shut herself down at 4 and put her head to my foot. Decided it was time to do passenger lesson instead!
ORS at the canter – need work. She is still sticky at the canter and would pop her butt up in protest. She also quickly began to anticipate the shutdown but I ran out of time to do a passenger lesson. Did do YHQ for the first time and she did that like we’d done it since she was born (have done from the ground but not under saddle).
Sun. – my suicide ride! (ride 10)
Did LFR stage 3. That really confused her but like everything else, it didn’t take long for her to pick it up. Got on and she wanted to “visit” with the other horses out of the back gate so we did some rollbacks at the gate to get her focused on me and not them. Started my ORS at the w/t/c but after much anticipation (again) decided to move straight to the passenger lesson. Trot passenger lesson was great so we kicked it up to the lope. This time she didn’t protest.
I can honestly say for the first time in a LONG time I rode w/the death grip on the horn AND the cantle! She does not want to lope so she tries anything and everything to get out of it! I kept telling myself “don’t guess which way she’s going to go” and I finally got to where I’d just look at her shoulder to avoid looking at where she was going.
Unlike Lucy, she makes her mind up at the last minute and I mean the LAST minute. The first time I tried the PL at the canter at the saddle club arena I would have put money on it that she would have gone over the gate had I not turned her. Sunday she’d be loping a straight line down the rail and then slam on the breaks, roll into the rail (full blown rollback) and haul off the opposite direction. That one really threw me for a loop!
Then she’d run down the center and just slam on the breaks. We’d run straight for a wall and then right as I though she was going to slam into it she’d break left or right. She is VERY athletic and I have a very poor seat! When she finally loped around a full circle a few times I let her stop. She was huffing and puffing and the sweat was just pouring off of her! My arms were killing me from giving the saddle the death grip so I was happy to be done.
I walked her out a bit doing the stick to the fence exercise to cool her down. Got a chuckle when she didn’t want to stick to the fence next to the gate (where we did the rollbacks earlier). What I’m learning with Cat is that she is VERY quick to catch on. This should keep me on my toes!
She was not happy when I’d tie her up and take Lucy out but I’m hoping as time goes by she’ll get over that.
Tied Cat to trailer while working Lucy. She wasn’t happy so reared the majority of the time and then went to pawing once she got tired of rearing.
Did LFR Stage II but didn’t ride (too dark). She began to anticipate the change of direction from me turning my hand over to put the stick in it. Turns were nice! Deep hock action into the ground and then she rolled out of there w/energy.
Put in stall – not happy she couldn’t see Lu but could see Salute so she was ok.
Fri. – (ride 8)
Did some liberty work in the indoor. She’d run away from me to visit the other horses but when I’d call and comb my finger she’d come running back to me. Did some figure 8’s at liberty and then jumped on bb. Did some flexing and trotting (not much) and called it a night. Did ask her to back and she did take a few steps w/o resistance.
Sat. – (ride 9)
Did minimal LFR (stage 1), some C pattern and sending and then got on. Did ORS at the w/t/c. She picks up quickly! Would trot 4 beats, sit two and then shut her down. Did the counting in my head (not outloud). When I decided to trot 6 strides instead she shut herself down at 4 and put her head to my foot. Decided it was time to do passenger lesson instead!
ORS at the canter – need work. She is still sticky at the canter and would pop her butt up in protest. She also quickly began to anticipate the shutdown but I ran out of time to do a passenger lesson. Did do YHQ for the first time and she did that like we’d done it since she was born (have done from the ground but not under saddle).
Sun. – my suicide ride! (ride 10)
Did LFR stage 3. That really confused her but like everything else, it didn’t take long for her to pick it up. Got on and she wanted to “visit” with the other horses out of the back gate so we did some rollbacks at the gate to get her focused on me and not them. Started my ORS at the w/t/c but after much anticipation (again) decided to move straight to the passenger lesson. Trot passenger lesson was great so we kicked it up to the lope. This time she didn’t protest.
I can honestly say for the first time in a LONG time I rode w/the death grip on the horn AND the cantle! She does not want to lope so she tries anything and everything to get out of it! I kept telling myself “don’t guess which way she’s going to go” and I finally got to where I’d just look at her shoulder to avoid looking at where she was going.
Unlike Lucy, she makes her mind up at the last minute and I mean the LAST minute. The first time I tried the PL at the canter at the saddle club arena I would have put money on it that she would have gone over the gate had I not turned her. Sunday she’d be loping a straight line down the rail and then slam on the breaks, roll into the rail (full blown rollback) and haul off the opposite direction. That one really threw me for a loop!
Then she’d run down the center and just slam on the breaks. We’d run straight for a wall and then right as I though she was going to slam into it she’d break left or right. She is VERY athletic and I have a very poor seat! When she finally loped around a full circle a few times I let her stop. She was huffing and puffing and the sweat was just pouring off of her! My arms were killing me from giving the saddle the death grip so I was happy to be done.
I walked her out a bit doing the stick to the fence exercise to cool her down. Got a chuckle when she didn’t want to stick to the fence next to the gate (where we did the rollbacks earlier). What I’m learning with Cat is that she is VERY quick to catch on. This should keep me on my toes!
She was not happy when I’d tie her up and take Lucy out but I’m hoping as time goes by she’ll get over that.
Taking Time for Me!
I’m going to post a general post here about my weekend and then I’ll post two more detailed ones for those who want a novel.
I decided earlier this year that I was going to put myself first this year.
I would be able to say “no” when someone asked for help.
I would make DH, Chase, and MIL responsible for their own horses.
I would ride my own horses.
So far I’ve done a good job at the first two. I’ve said no a lot this year! I must admit, it feels really weird! I’ve also kept myself from riding Black and told DH that he was responsible for her “entire” care from pasture management to deciding what and how much to feed her and her hoofcare. Even after doing all of this, I was still finding it difficult to get the third one accomplished in a consistent manner.
I HATE asking for things, but I finally broke down and asked Mona if I could keep my horses at her barn for the weekend so I could use her arena. Of course she said yes so Thursday I hauled them over. The plan was to take them Fri., Sat., Sun. so I could get 3 consistent days in on them. It was Thurs. and DH was in a good mood so I jumped at the extra day.
The next two post will detail how things went with each horse.
I decided earlier this year that I was going to put myself first this year.
I would be able to say “no” when someone asked for help.
I would make DH, Chase, and MIL responsible for their own horses.
I would ride my own horses.
So far I’ve done a good job at the first two. I’ve said no a lot this year! I must admit, it feels really weird! I’ve also kept myself from riding Black and told DH that he was responsible for her “entire” care from pasture management to deciding what and how much to feed her and her hoofcare. Even after doing all of this, I was still finding it difficult to get the third one accomplished in a consistent manner.
I HATE asking for things, but I finally broke down and asked Mona if I could keep my horses at her barn for the weekend so I could use her arena. Of course she said yes so Thursday I hauled them over. The plan was to take them Fri., Sat., Sun. so I could get 3 consistent days in on them. It was Thurs. and DH was in a good mood so I jumped at the extra day.
The next two post will detail how things went with each horse.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Foaling
Last night I crawled in bed around 10:30 and couldn’t wait to drift off to sleep. I was doing a good job until my cell phone rang. A friend of mine was expecting a foal and I had given her specific instructions to call me when she foaled. It was her and I was exhausted so I sent her to my VM and figured I’d get the “exciting news” in the morning when I wasn’t so exhausted. That was until my home phone rang. She NEVER calls me on my home phone so I new something was up.
When I answered the phone you could hear the panic in her voice. Her mare had foaled and had also prolapsed. She asked me to come over to help her get her to the vet for emergency surgery. She lives about 20-30 miles away but I managed to get dressed and to her house within 20 minutes. When I arrived she told me the vet was on her way there because they couldn’t get the mare up.
I walked out to the barn to find the mare down on the ground on her side thrashing with colic. As I walked behind her I noticed she hadn’t prolapsed the way I had imagined but instead had prolapsed her intestines. There was blood everywhere and I was pretty sure the outcome wouldn’t be a good one. The foal (a beautiful grulla colt) was nervous so I attended to him while TJ attended to her mare.
Every once in a while the mare would get up, circle frantically and then finally go back down and thrash. I felt so bad for her and I know TJ did too. My objective was to try to keep the colt (nicknamed shit stains) out of the way of danger. Minutes seemed like hours but finally the vet arrived. She confirmed that the outcome wasn’t very positive. She tried to find a vein to give the mare a sedative to calm her down and ease her pain but she was having a lot of difficulties finding one. Finally, after a lot of thrashing, the mare going up and down and circling frantically she injected her into the muscle.
She made a call to ISU to find out about surgery. TJ looked at me while the vet was on the phone and said “I can’t do that to her”. I agreed but when it isn’t your horse all you can do is be there to support your friend – even if you don’t support the decision (which I did). When the vet got off of the phone she said best case scenario – get mare on trailer (wasn’t going to happen), get to ISU, clean up exposed bowel, put back inside, sew up where she was torn and pray for no internal infection.
TJ let the vet know that wasn’t an option and the vet agreed with her choice. She felt like there was probably a lot of internal damage and bleeding. I have to say without a doubt had this been my horse I would have probably lost it. I don’t know how TJ kept her cool (even though I know it was tearing her up inside).
SS hadn’t been able to get any milk/colostrums before mom went down so mom had to be milked before they could give her the euthanasia drugs. This was not as easy as it sounds. Since she was in so much pain and the vet wasn’t able to get a vein mom didn’t want anybody down there! Poor TJ got kicked hard twice, once in the back of the leg and once in the arm at the elbow joint.
We got enough colostrum out and got SS to drink it via a bucket. This was great because the entire time TJ and the vet were working on the mare SS was trying to nurse off of my butt, my thigh, the back of my knee, etc. I was just happy the little shit didn’t have teeth!
TJ went in to get some ice for her elbow and when she came back I heard the vet tell her she was sorry. She’d be able to finally find a vein and gave mom the euthanasia drugs. This is the first time (and hopefully the last) that I have witnessed this. All I can say is that it was a bit unnerving of an experience and not what I had expected.
By now it was 3:00 in the am. SS had drank almost all of the milk we’d gotten from mom and of course there was no place to buy foal replacer at 3 am (no the vet didn’t have any). The vet recommended an igg (not sure if that is right) test the next day to see how much colostrum SS had gotten. She was done so she packed up and left.
SS was pretty tired so he laid down. TJ sat down next to the mare who was still in the middle of the pen. It was a pretty sad moment. That was until SS got up and decided to “play” with TJ. That was when those “sad” moments become “giggly” moments. SS was running around after us, turning his butt to kick, nibbling, etc (hence the nickname). I told TJ she was going to have her hands FULL with that one! I also informed her that if they ever got too full I’d take him off of her hands for her. :D
I finally got home around 4 am. I was exhausted but knew if I went to sleep I’d never get up for work this am so instead I downed a 5 hr. energy drink, grabbed a pop and caught up on the NWC board.
DH and I had talked earlier in the day about breeding Lu. The one thing we both agreed upon was that we’d hate it if something happened to her. She’s “one of a kind” in a weird, goofy sort of way. Having what happened makes you think twice about how “cute” it would be to have a foal. I realize only 1% of mares have difficulty during foaling but you won’t know if you are that 1% until it is too late.
I know *IF* we were to breed any horse again that I would probably prepare myself way more then I have before. I think I’d have a small bucket of milk replacer on hand “just in case”. I’m also not sure I could have waited for the vet to find the vein. DH and I said we would have probably ended her suffering the “old fashioned” way and then milked her after the fact. Then again that is easier said then done.
I’m sure I’m rambling. If you can’t tell I’m spent! As soon as I can I’ll get some pictures of SS and get them posted. He’s an absolutely gorgeous foal!
When I answered the phone you could hear the panic in her voice. Her mare had foaled and had also prolapsed. She asked me to come over to help her get her to the vet for emergency surgery. She lives about 20-30 miles away but I managed to get dressed and to her house within 20 minutes. When I arrived she told me the vet was on her way there because they couldn’t get the mare up.
I walked out to the barn to find the mare down on the ground on her side thrashing with colic. As I walked behind her I noticed she hadn’t prolapsed the way I had imagined but instead had prolapsed her intestines. There was blood everywhere and I was pretty sure the outcome wouldn’t be a good one. The foal (a beautiful grulla colt) was nervous so I attended to him while TJ attended to her mare.
Every once in a while the mare would get up, circle frantically and then finally go back down and thrash. I felt so bad for her and I know TJ did too. My objective was to try to keep the colt (nicknamed shit stains) out of the way of danger. Minutes seemed like hours but finally the vet arrived. She confirmed that the outcome wasn’t very positive. She tried to find a vein to give the mare a sedative to calm her down and ease her pain but she was having a lot of difficulties finding one. Finally, after a lot of thrashing, the mare going up and down and circling frantically she injected her into the muscle.
She made a call to ISU to find out about surgery. TJ looked at me while the vet was on the phone and said “I can’t do that to her”. I agreed but when it isn’t your horse all you can do is be there to support your friend – even if you don’t support the decision (which I did). When the vet got off of the phone she said best case scenario – get mare on trailer (wasn’t going to happen), get to ISU, clean up exposed bowel, put back inside, sew up where she was torn and pray for no internal infection.
TJ let the vet know that wasn’t an option and the vet agreed with her choice. She felt like there was probably a lot of internal damage and bleeding. I have to say without a doubt had this been my horse I would have probably lost it. I don’t know how TJ kept her cool (even though I know it was tearing her up inside).
SS hadn’t been able to get any milk/colostrums before mom went down so mom had to be milked before they could give her the euthanasia drugs. This was not as easy as it sounds. Since she was in so much pain and the vet wasn’t able to get a vein mom didn’t want anybody down there! Poor TJ got kicked hard twice, once in the back of the leg and once in the arm at the elbow joint.
We got enough colostrum out and got SS to drink it via a bucket. This was great because the entire time TJ and the vet were working on the mare SS was trying to nurse off of my butt, my thigh, the back of my knee, etc. I was just happy the little shit didn’t have teeth!
TJ went in to get some ice for her elbow and when she came back I heard the vet tell her she was sorry. She’d be able to finally find a vein and gave mom the euthanasia drugs. This is the first time (and hopefully the last) that I have witnessed this. All I can say is that it was a bit unnerving of an experience and not what I had expected.
By now it was 3:00 in the am. SS had drank almost all of the milk we’d gotten from mom and of course there was no place to buy foal replacer at 3 am (no the vet didn’t have any). The vet recommended an igg (not sure if that is right) test the next day to see how much colostrum SS had gotten. She was done so she packed up and left.
SS was pretty tired so he laid down. TJ sat down next to the mare who was still in the middle of the pen. It was a pretty sad moment. That was until SS got up and decided to “play” with TJ. That was when those “sad” moments become “giggly” moments. SS was running around after us, turning his butt to kick, nibbling, etc (hence the nickname). I told TJ she was going to have her hands FULL with that one! I also informed her that if they ever got too full I’d take him off of her hands for her. :D
I finally got home around 4 am. I was exhausted but knew if I went to sleep I’d never get up for work this am so instead I downed a 5 hr. energy drink, grabbed a pop and caught up on the NWC board.
DH and I had talked earlier in the day about breeding Lu. The one thing we both agreed upon was that we’d hate it if something happened to her. She’s “one of a kind” in a weird, goofy sort of way. Having what happened makes you think twice about how “cute” it would be to have a foal. I realize only 1% of mares have difficulty during foaling but you won’t know if you are that 1% until it is too late.
I know *IF* we were to breed any horse again that I would probably prepare myself way more then I have before. I think I’d have a small bucket of milk replacer on hand “just in case”. I’m also not sure I could have waited for the vet to find the vein. DH and I said we would have probably ended her suffering the “old fashioned” way and then milked her after the fact. Then again that is easier said then done.
I’m sure I’m rambling. If you can’t tell I’m spent! As soon as I can I’ll get some pictures of SS and get them posted. He’s an absolutely gorgeous foal!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Not much going on
I know I’ve been quiet but not much in the world of horses has been going on. Right now we are more in the “fowl” world. We have 40 eggs in an incubator set to hatch around May 4th and 8 eggs each under two different hens set to hatch the same time (good timing huh?). The boys both got 5 ducklings each. Ty got some Indian Runners that I think will be fawn/white and Chase got his “pudgy” Pekins. He doesn’t like it when I tell him they are meat ducks.
Cat barreled through the barn the other day to get breakfast and smashed my big toe. BIG mistake! HUGE! I can’t and won’t put the blame on her though. She bangs on the door and people open it and get out of the way. Now she gets to come in last, with a halter on and backwards.
I hauled MIL to drill practice last night so took Cat along for the ride. I decided to saddle her and do some LFR while they practiced. She took the saddle well but got a little humpy going downhill during the LFR. I think she was feeling the saddle in a way she’d never felt it before. Guess I need to go find some ditches and work her in those. Nothing bad but I got a chuckle out of her “attempt” to crow hop.
I did get on and we walked up and down the grass alley and did some ORS. She was a bit more excited compared to what she has been but then there were 10 other horses there too. We did some ORS and then just sat and relaxed while the horses did their run. She’s learning to enjoy stopping. I did pick up the popper once and she remembered that one! Guess I’m going to have to desensitize her to that a bit unless it is needed again.
At the end of practice MIL decided to run Abby around and of course Abby started up w/her humping up in protest. I told MIL to make her go one more time and when she did well to get off. She started her out and Abby turned and off came MIL. She was ticked too! MIL just lost her seat (the first time in 9 years) but thankfully didn’t get hurt. I told her to take the emotion out of it but she was too mad so I got back on Abby and moved those feet! Poor girl was dripping w/sweat by the time I was done but she didn’t once think about bucking either. I honestly think she knew right off the bat that she wasn’t going to be able to pull anything w/me. When I finally sat and said “whoa” she was more then happy to stop.
I had to remind MIL that nothing has been done with her all year. Chase has ridden her 3 or 4 times and she’s ridden her twice at drill. She needs to be worked with more then that. This is an ongoing issue w/Abby that has never been resolved and it won’t be by me unless I miraculously come up with more time this year.
Cat barreled through the barn the other day to get breakfast and smashed my big toe. BIG mistake! HUGE! I can’t and won’t put the blame on her though. She bangs on the door and people open it and get out of the way. Now she gets to come in last, with a halter on and backwards.
I hauled MIL to drill practice last night so took Cat along for the ride. I decided to saddle her and do some LFR while they practiced. She took the saddle well but got a little humpy going downhill during the LFR. I think she was feeling the saddle in a way she’d never felt it before. Guess I need to go find some ditches and work her in those. Nothing bad but I got a chuckle out of her “attempt” to crow hop.
I did get on and we walked up and down the grass alley and did some ORS. She was a bit more excited compared to what she has been but then there were 10 other horses there too. We did some ORS and then just sat and relaxed while the horses did their run. She’s learning to enjoy stopping. I did pick up the popper once and she remembered that one! Guess I’m going to have to desensitize her to that a bit unless it is needed again.
At the end of practice MIL decided to run Abby around and of course Abby started up w/her humping up in protest. I told MIL to make her go one more time and when she did well to get off. She started her out and Abby turned and off came MIL. She was ticked too! MIL just lost her seat (the first time in 9 years) but thankfully didn’t get hurt. I told her to take the emotion out of it but she was too mad so I got back on Abby and moved those feet! Poor girl was dripping w/sweat by the time I was done but she didn’t once think about bucking either. I honestly think she knew right off the bat that she wasn’t going to be able to pull anything w/me. When I finally sat and said “whoa” she was more then happy to stop.
I had to remind MIL that nothing has been done with her all year. Chase has ridden her 3 or 4 times and she’s ridden her twice at drill. She needs to be worked with more then that. This is an ongoing issue w/Abby that has never been resolved and it won’t be by me unless I miraculously come up with more time this year.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Passenger Lesson!
Last night was beautiful! A bit windy but the temps were just lovely so we headed over to the arena. Cat is getting a bit more patient about standing at the trailer now (I think she knows what is coming).
After saddling her up I did a bit of LFR Stage 2 and then jumped on. Did my bending and then my ORS at the walk and trot. Trying to do a ORS at the canter wasn’t as easy because that meant I had to get her into a canter first. I wanted to quit her before she did me on that one so we moved on to the passenger lesson at the trot. Man is she lazy! We only trotted for 5 minutes (although my thighs would have sworn we’d gone for 5 hours) but she did fairly well. She broke a few times and didn’t give any extra effort but she did stay in it too.
Now it was time for the PL at the canter! Oh my was that a different story! Squeeze, cluck, whack Whack, WHack, WHAck, WHACk, WHACK, WHACK! It took a LOT of effort to get her to canter and I could see the protest in her ear placement and her tail swish. Once she got into the canter she didn’t stay in it very long and then we got to repeat. She took me towards the gate a few times. No big deal right? They all do that. Just keep it up and they’ll leave the area. Well I wasn’t so sure. About the third pass to the gate I would have put money on it she was going to try to jump so I went ahead and intervened and steered her a little bit. Next time I think I’ll have someone w/a stick down there just in case!
She did do really well though. We finished off by standing quietly in the center for a few minutes and then doing some follow the fence at a walk. We are expecting rain today and tomorrow so I probably won’t be able to do anything until later next week.
After saddling her up I did a bit of LFR Stage 2 and then jumped on. Did my bending and then my ORS at the walk and trot. Trying to do a ORS at the canter wasn’t as easy because that meant I had to get her into a canter first. I wanted to quit her before she did me on that one so we moved on to the passenger lesson at the trot. Man is she lazy! We only trotted for 5 minutes (although my thighs would have sworn we’d gone for 5 hours) but she did fairly well. She broke a few times and didn’t give any extra effort but she did stay in it too.
Now it was time for the PL at the canter! Oh my was that a different story! Squeeze, cluck, whack Whack, WHack, WHAck, WHACk, WHACK, WHACK! It took a LOT of effort to get her to canter and I could see the protest in her ear placement and her tail swish. Once she got into the canter she didn’t stay in it very long and then we got to repeat. She took me towards the gate a few times. No big deal right? They all do that. Just keep it up and they’ll leave the area. Well I wasn’t so sure. About the third pass to the gate I would have put money on it she was going to try to jump so I went ahead and intervened and steered her a little bit. Next time I think I’ll have someone w/a stick down there just in case!
She did do really well though. We finished off by standing quietly in the center for a few minutes and then doing some follow the fence at a walk. We are expecting rain today and tomorrow so I probably won’t be able to do anything until later next week.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Bath time!
Last night I didn't get to ride but it was nice enough out to burn old bales and to give Cat a little spring cleaning!
My horses shampoo was at home (to keep from freezing) so I had to make do w/the Pantene ProV that I found in the horse trailer.
Look at that tail! I'm not sure if I should blunt cut it or leave it be.
Here is George and his adoptive mom Crooked Beak. She's sitting on her own eggs so he might be a big brother soon!
My horses shampoo was at home (to keep from freezing) so I had to make do w/the Pantene ProV that I found in the horse trailer.
Look at that tail! I'm not sure if I should blunt cut it or leave it be.
Here is George and his adoptive mom Crooked Beak. She's sitting on her own eggs so he might be a big brother soon!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Ride 5
I’m going to try to start summing up my blog post a bit more vs. the long drawn out stories.
MIL, DH, Chase, Ty, two friends and I went to the arena last night. It was VERY windy but it was beautiful! Unloaded and Cat was not happy! It was the first time she’d seen Sis and Abby and she wanted to be next to them.
Lounged Abby to get her ready for Chase and then got him, MIL and DH riding while I watched Ty and saddled Cat. Had to remind her a few times I was next to her as she was very worried that her buddies were going to leave her. Ty was playing w/his tractor in the dirt so I decided to make Cat move her feet and quit worrying about Sis and Abby.
Backed her into the arena and then did LFR2 (haven’t done this much). She did very well and turns over her hocks well). Headed back to the trailer, bridled her up and got on. Flexed. She’s still a little stiff to the right but overall did very well.
Walked into the arena and I’m not sure what happened but she jumped sideways and up as if she was trying to get away from Abby (I don’t think she realizes she can’t play under saddle and that is what it felt like). I immediately pulled her head around and proceeded to let her know that behavior was not acceptable!
She was in high gear so I worked on ORS at the walk. Once she was listening we picked it up to a trot. I was able to do some ORS at the canter but I had to be moving towards the other horses (left spanker in the trailer). She did well for the most part.
Next was the passenger lesson at the trot. I really need to do this w/less horses in the arena (6 horses all going different speeds). She did well but she wasn’t moving out as much as I’d like (she’d already downshifted herself into a nice jog).
After that I moved her to the center of the ring and just sat and flexed her and then let her relax for about 5 minutes before dismounting. She’d worked up a little sweat but nothing too bad.
As for the other horses – Black looked really good! MIL hopped on her for a minute and said her trot was so soft and smooth! Abby was having issues but then I don’t think Chase was helping matters much there. I’m to the point w/him that I think I’m going to hand him the reins and say “figure it out” (just like w/DH). He doesn’t seem to listen to what I say and it just frustrates me so I guess he can learn the same way I did – trial, error and hitting the dirt!
MIL, DH, Chase, Ty, two friends and I went to the arena last night. It was VERY windy but it was beautiful! Unloaded and Cat was not happy! It was the first time she’d seen Sis and Abby and she wanted to be next to them.
Lounged Abby to get her ready for Chase and then got him, MIL and DH riding while I watched Ty and saddled Cat. Had to remind her a few times I was next to her as she was very worried that her buddies were going to leave her. Ty was playing w/his tractor in the dirt so I decided to make Cat move her feet and quit worrying about Sis and Abby.
Backed her into the arena and then did LFR2 (haven’t done this much). She did very well and turns over her hocks well). Headed back to the trailer, bridled her up and got on. Flexed. She’s still a little stiff to the right but overall did very well.
Walked into the arena and I’m not sure what happened but she jumped sideways and up as if she was trying to get away from Abby (I don’t think she realizes she can’t play under saddle and that is what it felt like). I immediately pulled her head around and proceeded to let her know that behavior was not acceptable!
She was in high gear so I worked on ORS at the walk. Once she was listening we picked it up to a trot. I was able to do some ORS at the canter but I had to be moving towards the other horses (left spanker in the trailer). She did well for the most part.
Next was the passenger lesson at the trot. I really need to do this w/less horses in the arena (6 horses all going different speeds). She did well but she wasn’t moving out as much as I’d like (she’d already downshifted herself into a nice jog).
After that I moved her to the center of the ring and just sat and flexed her and then let her relax for about 5 minutes before dismounting. She’d worked up a little sweat but nothing too bad.
As for the other horses – Black looked really good! MIL hopped on her for a minute and said her trot was so soft and smooth! Abby was having issues but then I don’t think Chase was helping matters much there. I’m to the point w/him that I think I’m going to hand him the reins and say “figure it out” (just like w/DH). He doesn’t seem to listen to what I say and it just frustrates me so I guess he can learn the same way I did – trial, error and hitting the dirt!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Bit, Saddle and all!
I’m sure ya’ll are going to get tired of reading this, but this is my way of tracking what I have/haven’t done w/the horses. With the clinic coming up I really want to be able to look back and go “oh yeah, I did have that problem” or “guess I never really worked on that”.
Last night was nice out (65*) but tonight is supposed to be a lot nicer (78*) so I asked DH if he’d be willing to switch nights. He agreed to it so I planned on just taking the headstall off of Cat and calling it a night (I left it on her all day yesterday so she could get used to the bit). We all went out to the farm and I got the horses up while DH and Chase shot their bows in the backyard. Ty was busy trying to find George. Feeding turned into brushing and the next thing I knew DH was down in the barn with me brushing his horse.
I can’t eve begin to tell you how much hair came off of that little pony! She is a shedding fiend! After brushing Nikki I decided to take Lu out to do a little LFR and to see how her back end coordination was this year compared to last. I was VERY please with what I saw and how she acted. She is moving so much better! The only “issue” we had was that she got stuck in reverse at one point in time. The biggest problem with that is that she can go just as fast in reverse as most horses can go in drive! I did some more LFR and draw to me exercises and then did some good old lunging on a hill just to start building muscle.
Molly was out in the field and thought she could come to me while I was working Lu. BIG MISTAKE! Lu was not about to let her in her hula hoop space! She gauged her speed on the circle to speed up/slow down in order to try to get to Molly at just the right time. Good thing Molly isn’t completely stupid or I’d be down a dog.
DH was in a good mood so I asked if I could saddle up Cat and do a few min w/the bridle on. He agreed so off I went to get her. She saddled well (ground tied). I did a bit of RP w/her to get her feet moving and brought her in on several occasions to tighten up her cinch. After finally getting it snug I sent her back out. She “rolled” her back a bit so I made her hustle her feet. I really have to laugh at her rolling her back because it is the most half assed attempt to crow hop I’ve ever seen.
She RP’d wonderfully (couldn’t tell you when I did it last). Watching her move and listen to me reminded me of why I bred Tuff. I mounted up and flexed w/the bridle. She tossed her head at first but it only took a minute before she was soft as butter! I have to hand this one to CA – she is the SOFTEST horse I have ever started! Still a bit stiffer to the right vs. the left but was doing a lot better with that by the end of the session as well. I stayed at a walk and did ORS and flexing. She was a good girl so we ended on a good note.
We are heading over to the arena again tonight so hopefully I can do some ORS at the w/t/c w/the bit.
Last night was nice out (65*) but tonight is supposed to be a lot nicer (78*) so I asked DH if he’d be willing to switch nights. He agreed to it so I planned on just taking the headstall off of Cat and calling it a night (I left it on her all day yesterday so she could get used to the bit). We all went out to the farm and I got the horses up while DH and Chase shot their bows in the backyard. Ty was busy trying to find George. Feeding turned into brushing and the next thing I knew DH was down in the barn with me brushing his horse.
I can’t eve begin to tell you how much hair came off of that little pony! She is a shedding fiend! After brushing Nikki I decided to take Lu out to do a little LFR and to see how her back end coordination was this year compared to last. I was VERY please with what I saw and how she acted. She is moving so much better! The only “issue” we had was that she got stuck in reverse at one point in time. The biggest problem with that is that she can go just as fast in reverse as most horses can go in drive! I did some more LFR and draw to me exercises and then did some good old lunging on a hill just to start building muscle.
Molly was out in the field and thought she could come to me while I was working Lu. BIG MISTAKE! Lu was not about to let her in her hula hoop space! She gauged her speed on the circle to speed up/slow down in order to try to get to Molly at just the right time. Good thing Molly isn’t completely stupid or I’d be down a dog.
DH was in a good mood so I asked if I could saddle up Cat and do a few min w/the bridle on. He agreed so off I went to get her. She saddled well (ground tied). I did a bit of RP w/her to get her feet moving and brought her in on several occasions to tighten up her cinch. After finally getting it snug I sent her back out. She “rolled” her back a bit so I made her hustle her feet. I really have to laugh at her rolling her back because it is the most half assed attempt to crow hop I’ve ever seen.
She RP’d wonderfully (couldn’t tell you when I did it last). Watching her move and listen to me reminded me of why I bred Tuff. I mounted up and flexed w/the bridle. She tossed her head at first but it only took a minute before she was soft as butter! I have to hand this one to CA – she is the SOFTEST horse I have ever started! Still a bit stiffer to the right vs. the left but was doing a lot better with that by the end of the session as well. I stayed at a walk and did ORS and flexing. She was a good girl so we ended on a good note.
We are heading over to the arena again tonight so hopefully I can do some ORS at the w/t/c w/the bit.
Monday, March 29, 2010
A day at the arena
Saturday I decided to meet some friends at the arena. Since I was only hauling one horse I decided not to take the big trailer but instead hooked up the 2 horse. Cat had never been in the two horse trailer before but she loaded right up like she’d been in one 100 times.
When we arrived she waited patiently until I asked her to back out. She was a bit excited to see the other horses but really wasn’t too bad all things considering. They had been there a bit before me so they were already tacked up and ready to ride. It took me about 15 minutes just to get the mud coat off of Cat so I could saddle her (yes you read right – saddle her). I threw her saddle on and slowly cinched up. She was fine with the front cinch but she wasn’t too happy about the back one. I was already anticipating a rodeo! Like most things though, she got over it quickly.
We headed for the arena to do a little LFR while the others rode around. I’m not completely crazy……….I wanted to make sure she was tired before I even thought about getting on her in a big open arena w/other horses! She did really well (almost better then expected) and kept her focus on me instead of the other horses. I put a bridle on over her halter and went to mount up. She was mouthing the bit too much and it was distracting her so I took it out and figured I’d cross that bridge another day. I hopped on and started my flexing. To the left she was great – to the right she wanted to circle vs. give. She finally did give but it took longer. I now know which side needs more work.
To sum things up I was able to w/t/c in the arena with the other horses. It did take quite a bit of whacking to get the canter but once she was in it she didn’t take off. I’m really going to have to push her to keep her moving but I don’t think that is going to be a bad problem to have. She did pin her ears at the other horses when they got too close so I just redirected her feet.
Today she is wearing the bit all day so hopefully by tonight she’ll be ready for me to ride in it!
When we arrived she waited patiently until I asked her to back out. She was a bit excited to see the other horses but really wasn’t too bad all things considering. They had been there a bit before me so they were already tacked up and ready to ride. It took me about 15 minutes just to get the mud coat off of Cat so I could saddle her (yes you read right – saddle her). I threw her saddle on and slowly cinched up. She was fine with the front cinch but she wasn’t too happy about the back one. I was already anticipating a rodeo! Like most things though, she got over it quickly.
We headed for the arena to do a little LFR while the others rode around. I’m not completely crazy……….I wanted to make sure she was tired before I even thought about getting on her in a big open arena w/other horses! She did really well (almost better then expected) and kept her focus on me instead of the other horses. I put a bridle on over her halter and went to mount up. She was mouthing the bit too much and it was distracting her so I took it out and figured I’d cross that bridge another day. I hopped on and started my flexing. To the left she was great – to the right she wanted to circle vs. give. She finally did give but it took longer. I now know which side needs more work.
To sum things up I was able to w/t/c in the arena with the other horses. It did take quite a bit of whacking to get the canter but once she was in it she didn’t take off. I’m really going to have to push her to keep her moving but I don’t think that is going to be a bad problem to have. She did pin her ears at the other horses when they got too close so I just redirected her feet.
Today she is wearing the bit all day so hopefully by tonight she’ll be ready for me to ride in it!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Out and About
Tuesday night was just beautiful! I had planned to head out to the farm to work with Cat after worked. I was so pumped that I even left work a little early so that I could have more time to play. Before I could even get in the door at home I learned that what I’d been thinking about all day was not going to happen. DH had a meeting that he’d forgotten about so I was home with the boys.
I tried to stay positive telling myself “I’ll just ride tomorrow, no big deal”, and it wasn’t. That was until Wednesday rolled around. Along with it came the rains and the cooler weather. So much for riding. Not so fast! I called up Mona to see if I could use the indoor. Just because it was raining didn’t mean I couldn’t still spend some time with Cat. I didn’t figure I’d ride as Cat has only been off property by herself and to Mona’s once before. I didn’t recall her being bad – just not as relaxed as she was at home.
DH had the trucked hooked up for me so when I got there we were ready to go. As I was putting brushes in the tack compartment Cat decided to load herself (I love having that problem). When we got to the barn I stayed outside as the trainer had use of the arena until 7. She came out to inform me she wasn’t using it and to come on in. I brushed the mud off of Cat as we talked and then headed to the arena.
I worked on LFR, the C pattern and the sending exercise to get her used to the arena. The back doors were open (like big double dutch doors) so she could see the horses in the back pasture. She was talking to Carmella and Stargate and was loosing focus on me so I kicked it up a notch. Once she was listening to me we headed back to the other end to do some desensitizing.
I felt she was listening so I decided to hop on. I rode for a bit w/just the lead and then had MIL turn it into a set of reins for me. Each ride she gets just a bit better (what I want right). She doesn’t have sticky feet! She moved right out – not to fast, not to slow. I’ll slow her down in the future but right now she’s moving at a good pace. I decided to ask her to trot. Again, not to fast, not too slow. She was moving out and willingly took my offer when I squeezed with my legs. I didn’t let her go too far before turning her into the wall and shutting her down.
A few times she did get distracted by babies. At one point she decided she’d give me a mini rear instead of going forward (away from the babies). I quickly let her know that was unacceptable and we moved on. She feels really good. Her gates are smooth and so is her back. I need to work on getting the saddle and bridle on her but the ground outside is too slick and Mona has mirrors in the indoor that I’d be afraid to break if she did go bonkers (doubt it will happen but just as soon not risk it).
It was a wonderful night. I’m so glad I didn’t let the rain get me down.
I tried to stay positive telling myself “I’ll just ride tomorrow, no big deal”, and it wasn’t. That was until Wednesday rolled around. Along with it came the rains and the cooler weather. So much for riding. Not so fast! I called up Mona to see if I could use the indoor. Just because it was raining didn’t mean I couldn’t still spend some time with Cat. I didn’t figure I’d ride as Cat has only been off property by herself and to Mona’s once before. I didn’t recall her being bad – just not as relaxed as she was at home.
DH had the trucked hooked up for me so when I got there we were ready to go. As I was putting brushes in the tack compartment Cat decided to load herself (I love having that problem). When we got to the barn I stayed outside as the trainer had use of the arena until 7. She came out to inform me she wasn’t using it and to come on in. I brushed the mud off of Cat as we talked and then headed to the arena.
I worked on LFR, the C pattern and the sending exercise to get her used to the arena. The back doors were open (like big double dutch doors) so she could see the horses in the back pasture. She was talking to Carmella and Stargate and was loosing focus on me so I kicked it up a notch. Once she was listening to me we headed back to the other end to do some desensitizing.
I felt she was listening so I decided to hop on. I rode for a bit w/just the lead and then had MIL turn it into a set of reins for me. Each ride she gets just a bit better (what I want right). She doesn’t have sticky feet! She moved right out – not to fast, not to slow. I’ll slow her down in the future but right now she’s moving at a good pace. I decided to ask her to trot. Again, not to fast, not too slow. She was moving out and willingly took my offer when I squeezed with my legs. I didn’t let her go too far before turning her into the wall and shutting her down.
A few times she did get distracted by babies. At one point she decided she’d give me a mini rear instead of going forward (away from the babies). I quickly let her know that was unacceptable and we moved on. She feels really good. Her gates are smooth and so is her back. I need to work on getting the saddle and bridle on her but the ground outside is too slick and Mona has mirrors in the indoor that I’d be afraid to break if she did go bonkers (doubt it will happen but just as soon not risk it).
It was a wonderful night. I’m so glad I didn’t let the rain get me down.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Wind, snow, sunshine and mud!
Friday night we were greated with another blast of snow. I had dinner plans with some friends but opted not to go. I'm glad I decided to stay home as there were qutie a few cars in the ditch the next day.
Saturday we had a soup supper for the saddle club. There weren't a ton of members there but it was a good night with good friends.
The snow finally started melting today. It wasn't overly warm but it wasn't cold either. DH, the boys and I headed out to the farm to move a bale into the drylot for Black and Nikki. The green grass is starting to sprout and I don't want to take any chances this year so they will be on drylot until the "fresh" grass is gone.
After moving the bale I decided to brush ponies. Cat is going to be absolutely stunning this year! She is so dark around her eyes and on her knees. I popped her halter on, walked her through the muddy mess and headed to the drive to do a little bit of LFR. She was a bit tender on the gravel but w/as much mud as we've had it doesn't really surprise me. After that we headed for the muddy round pen and did some Jefferies. Of course Jefferies turn into riding. I rode her around for a bit before I had DH come turn my leadrope into a set of reins. That made things a lot easier! We walked over a pole, I brushed my leg on the fence (that made her a bit nervous but she just stopped instead of spooking), and did a bit of turning into the fence. She was very good.
I didn't stay on very long (maybe 15-20 minutes) but it was a good ride. Considering I haven't touched since my last blog post I thought she did wonderful. I think she's going to be a very nice horse and exactly what I was hoping for when I bred Tuff.
Saturday we had a soup supper for the saddle club. There weren't a ton of members there but it was a good night with good friends.
The snow finally started melting today. It wasn't overly warm but it wasn't cold either. DH, the boys and I headed out to the farm to move a bale into the drylot for Black and Nikki. The green grass is starting to sprout and I don't want to take any chances this year so they will be on drylot until the "fresh" grass is gone.
After moving the bale I decided to brush ponies. Cat is going to be absolutely stunning this year! She is so dark around her eyes and on her knees. I popped her halter on, walked her through the muddy mess and headed to the drive to do a little bit of LFR. She was a bit tender on the gravel but w/as much mud as we've had it doesn't really surprise me. After that we headed for the muddy round pen and did some Jefferies. Of course Jefferies turn into riding. I rode her around for a bit before I had DH come turn my leadrope into a set of reins. That made things a lot easier! We walked over a pole, I brushed my leg on the fence (that made her a bit nervous but she just stopped instead of spooking), and did a bit of turning into the fence. She was very good.
I didn't stay on very long (maybe 15-20 minutes) but it was a good ride. Considering I haven't touched since my last blog post I thought she did wonderful. I think she's going to be a very nice horse and exactly what I was hoping for when I bred Tuff.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Picture Post
I tried taking a few pictures last night to show how much Black has filled out. Unfortunately they didn't come out very well. When I tried to download them, I found a few pictures from this winter so I thought I'd share them.
Black walking through the snow
I love this picture
Cat
Lucy said “no treats – no picture”
Poor Molly didn’t want to feel left out
The Rooster adopted George
All of my ponies are shedding. They are going to be stunning this summer. Their winter coats shine so their spring/summer coats should just gleam.
Black walking through the snow
I love this picture
Cat
Lucy said “no treats – no picture”
Poor Molly didn’t want to feel left out
The Rooster adopted George
All of my ponies are shedding. They are going to be stunning this summer. Their winter coats shine so their spring/summer coats should just gleam.
Monday, February 15, 2010
What a beautiful morning!
Yeah right! I’m so sick of this snow. What is worse is that once this snow is gone all we will have is mud and lots of it!
Sunday I went out to the farm so Molly could play and to file my taxes (more fun). We have several bales out in the pasture and when I pulled up Nikki was butted up against one, Cat was butted up against another, Lu was butted up against the other one and Black was standing nice and cozy all by herself in the 3-sided. The wind was blowing and it was cold. There was no way I was going to the barn for anything more then to chore.
I’d been in the house for about an hour when I looked out the window to see where the horses were. Lu and Cat were on a rampage! They were flying all over the pasture. At first I thought Lu was chasing Cat but then Lu got in the lead (umm that’s a very rare site) and off they went. I didn’t expect it to last long but it was fun to see them run and play. Needless to say – it last a LOT longer then I expected. They were flying through the snow (which is quite deep I might add) and freaking me out. I saw vet bill after vet bill as they’d round a corner or run straight for the high tensile fence.
At one point Lu got Cat in a corner and she was “cutting” her. Cat is no dummy and finally just blasted through Lucy’s shoulder and flew across the pasture. We have pretty high “banks” of snow where we have pushed the snow to get the bales out. As Lu and Cat would run they would jump the banks. I didn’t know Lucy could get that high off of the ground! I’ll be those two ran and played for a solid 30 minutes! Nikki even through a few head tosses and kicks in but she left the running to the young ones. I’m not even sure that Black looked at them while they were being goofy.
Right now I’m just dreaming. Dreaming of a day when there is no snow, no rain and no mud and it is above 50*! I’m hoping that day comes soon!
Sunday I went out to the farm so Molly could play and to file my taxes (more fun). We have several bales out in the pasture and when I pulled up Nikki was butted up against one, Cat was butted up against another, Lu was butted up against the other one and Black was standing nice and cozy all by herself in the 3-sided. The wind was blowing and it was cold. There was no way I was going to the barn for anything more then to chore.
I’d been in the house for about an hour when I looked out the window to see where the horses were. Lu and Cat were on a rampage! They were flying all over the pasture. At first I thought Lu was chasing Cat but then Lu got in the lead (umm that’s a very rare site) and off they went. I didn’t expect it to last long but it was fun to see them run and play. Needless to say – it last a LOT longer then I expected. They were flying through the snow (which is quite deep I might add) and freaking me out. I saw vet bill after vet bill as they’d round a corner or run straight for the high tensile fence.
At one point Lu got Cat in a corner and she was “cutting” her. Cat is no dummy and finally just blasted through Lucy’s shoulder and flew across the pasture. We have pretty high “banks” of snow where we have pushed the snow to get the bales out. As Lu and Cat would run they would jump the banks. I didn’t know Lucy could get that high off of the ground! I’ll be those two ran and played for a solid 30 minutes! Nikki even through a few head tosses and kicks in but she left the running to the young ones. I’m not even sure that Black looked at them while they were being goofy.
Right now I’m just dreaming. Dreaming of a day when there is no snow, no rain and no mud and it is above 50*! I’m hoping that day comes soon!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Is it spring yet?
The weather this year has been very strange. One minute we are having blizzard conditions, the next minute it is 40* and beautiful followed up by a day or two of nonstop rain only to turn around and have blizzard conditions again and starting the cycle back over! Needless to say I haven’t managed to do a thing with my horses all winter and it isn’t looking like I will be able to anytime soon. So far none of them seem to mind.
So what do you do when it is cold outside and you can’t do anything? You get a puppy of course! (jk I don’t recommend getting a puppy based on the weather conditions) That is what we did and after standing out in the blowing snow for 5 minutes this am waiting for her to “tinkle” I’m wondering wth we were thinking!
Well this is what we were thinking – isn’t she cute!
Meet Molly
She is a tri colored miniature aussie & so far she seems to be very smart (although she’s going to get her butt kicked by the cat here shortly). Cy is taking things a lot better then I expected he would. He is growling at her but I think he’s more bark then bite. He just wants to let her know this is his house. I don’t think it will take long before she has him acting like a puppy again too.
So far the biggest problem we’ve run into with her is that she seems to get overheated in the house. I had to turn a fan on her last night to get her comfortable. She loves the snow!
So what do you do when it is cold outside and you can’t do anything? You get a puppy of course! (jk I don’t recommend getting a puppy based on the weather conditions) That is what we did and after standing out in the blowing snow for 5 minutes this am waiting for her to “tinkle” I’m wondering wth we were thinking!
Well this is what we were thinking – isn’t she cute!
Meet Molly
She is a tri colored miniature aussie & so far she seems to be very smart (although she’s going to get her butt kicked by the cat here shortly). Cy is taking things a lot better then I expected he would. He is growling at her but I think he’s more bark then bite. He just wants to let her know this is his house. I don’t think it will take long before she has him acting like a puppy again too.
So far the biggest problem we’ve run into with her is that she seems to get overheated in the house. I had to turn a fan on her last night to get her comfortable. She loves the snow!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Maiden Voyage
We had beautiful weather on Saturday (30* with no wind) so I headed out to the barn. I spent half of the day cleaning stalls, digging my back doors out of the snow drift so I could open them and doing a few other things in the barn that needed to be done.
I knew the lovely weather wasn’t going to last all day so I decided to stop what I was doing and play with ponies. I got Cat out and cleaned her up. She’d managed to find some mud and looked more like a buckskin vs. a palomino. Once she was cleaned up I grabbed my stick and my whirly gig (a spinning/flapping flag thing that I bought at the dollar store) and we headed out to find some decent footing.
She was a bit full of herself when I started LFR but it was slick so she wasn’t moving too fast. A few changes of direction and her mind was back on me. The one thing I’ve always loved about Cat is that no matter how much she gets distracted when you put her to work it only takes about 2 laps before she’s back on track and listening to me. I didn’t want to get her too hot and sweaty so I decided now was the perfect time to grab my whirly gig and desensitize her. It really flaps and cracks and tends to send most horses over the edge. It didn’t take long before she relaxed, cocked a leg and dropped her head.
I walked her back up to the barn and grabbed my mounting block and did a bit of Jefferies with her. She was staring at the neighbors place. Their grandson had gotten his 4-wheeler stuck in the snow/mud and couldn’t get it out. I just laid up on her back rubbing her barrel. She was very relaxed and soft. I’ve heard CA say he can tell if they will buck on not by how their ribs feel. I spent about 10 minutes or so just getting on and off and rubbing her when I decided to just sit on up. She wasn’t worried about it at all.
This is probably where most people would have stopped and said “I really shouldn’t push it”. But then I’m not most people. :D I flexed her to the left and then flipped the lead rope over her head and flexed her to the right. I asked her to walk off but she wasn’t sure what I wanted. My squeeze when to a cluck and finally to a spank. Once she moved I stopped. She is very smart so it didn’t take long before she was walking off by just a squeeze/cluck. I walked her over to the barn and then flipped the rein over her head and turned her around. She decided to go out to the pasture so I let her go out for a little bit and then turned her around again. I wanted to make the decision on where I stopped and where I got off so I flipped my lead over her head and turned her away from the barn and back towards the mounting block. I flexed her a bit more and then hopped off. Next time I’ll have to use reins!
Next it was Lucy’s turn. She was pretty full of it too but did well. She kept calling back to Cat in the barn, (I think they’ve become too good of buddies) but she did listen to what I wanted. She wasn’t thrilled with the whirly gig which surprised me. Normally she could care less. She finally got over it and stood so I could flap it on all 4 sides.
Sunday wasn’t quite as nice as expected so I didn’t get to ride Cat again like I had planned. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can get some more time in on her. I really do need to get her saddled again. It has probably been 6 months or so since I’ve saddled her up. Oh well – we’ll get there one day.
I knew the lovely weather wasn’t going to last all day so I decided to stop what I was doing and play with ponies. I got Cat out and cleaned her up. She’d managed to find some mud and looked more like a buckskin vs. a palomino. Once she was cleaned up I grabbed my stick and my whirly gig (a spinning/flapping flag thing that I bought at the dollar store) and we headed out to find some decent footing.
She was a bit full of herself when I started LFR but it was slick so she wasn’t moving too fast. A few changes of direction and her mind was back on me. The one thing I’ve always loved about Cat is that no matter how much she gets distracted when you put her to work it only takes about 2 laps before she’s back on track and listening to me. I didn’t want to get her too hot and sweaty so I decided now was the perfect time to grab my whirly gig and desensitize her. It really flaps and cracks and tends to send most horses over the edge. It didn’t take long before she relaxed, cocked a leg and dropped her head.
I walked her back up to the barn and grabbed my mounting block and did a bit of Jefferies with her. She was staring at the neighbors place. Their grandson had gotten his 4-wheeler stuck in the snow/mud and couldn’t get it out. I just laid up on her back rubbing her barrel. She was very relaxed and soft. I’ve heard CA say he can tell if they will buck on not by how their ribs feel. I spent about 10 minutes or so just getting on and off and rubbing her when I decided to just sit on up. She wasn’t worried about it at all.
This is probably where most people would have stopped and said “I really shouldn’t push it”. But then I’m not most people. :D I flexed her to the left and then flipped the lead rope over her head and flexed her to the right. I asked her to walk off but she wasn’t sure what I wanted. My squeeze when to a cluck and finally to a spank. Once she moved I stopped. She is very smart so it didn’t take long before she was walking off by just a squeeze/cluck. I walked her over to the barn and then flipped the rein over her head and turned her around. She decided to go out to the pasture so I let her go out for a little bit and then turned her around again. I wanted to make the decision on where I stopped and where I got off so I flipped my lead over her head and turned her away from the barn and back towards the mounting block. I flexed her a bit more and then hopped off. Next time I’ll have to use reins!
Next it was Lucy’s turn. She was pretty full of it too but did well. She kept calling back to Cat in the barn, (I think they’ve become too good of buddies) but she did listen to what I wanted. She wasn’t thrilled with the whirly gig which surprised me. Normally she could care less. She finally got over it and stood so I could flap it on all 4 sides.
Sunday wasn’t quite as nice as expected so I didn’t get to ride Cat again like I had planned. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can get some more time in on her. I really do need to get her saddled again. It has probably been 6 months or so since I’ve saddled her up. Oh well – we’ll get there one day.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Snow, snow and more snow!
We’ve had more snow in Dec. and the first part of January then we typically have in an entire winter. It is beautiful but it is also starting to reach havoc. Saturday the horses ran out of hay and were unable to get to the bale that I had put in the back pasture as an “emergency” bale due to the drifts. I tried to ride Lucy down there to show the others they could make it but they weren’t having any part of it and neither was Lucy.
Since the Bobcat wouldn’t start I was forced to use the tractor. I guess I didn’t realize how spoiled I’d gotten because the tractor and I don’t seem to get along! It didn’t take long and sure enough I was stuck! Dad wasn’t too happy with me but I rolled my bottom lip and pouted and he eventually came out to save the day. I’ll bet he spent a good 2 hours on the tractor trying to push snow out of the way to make room for a bale (and so we could get to the bales). We finally got one out when dad asked “what now”. I asked him if he thought we could move one to the dry lot and he just looked at me. I knew my answer was no.
Later on in the day after pushing him a bit I got him talked into trying to start the Bobcat one more time. My cousin just happened to show up about the time we were trying to start it and he got it fired up for me. Woo hoo! Or so I thought. I spent another 2 hours out moving snow. I had to make a path down to where the old bale was so I could get the bale ring so this bale would last more then a week. When all was said and done I had a bale in each pasture. They still couldn’t access the back pasture but I did have an extra one in the dry lot.
When I turned the horses out it was like Christmas! They didn’t really care about the hay – they were just happy they had a place to run (the path I’d made to get to the bale ring). Lucy and Cat raced back and forth playing. It was a nice sight to see.
Last night it was so cold that Cat looked like she had a frozen troll doll on her head (forelock). I’ll have to see if I can get pics of all of the snow this weekend. Of course we are getting more today.
Since the Bobcat wouldn’t start I was forced to use the tractor. I guess I didn’t realize how spoiled I’d gotten because the tractor and I don’t seem to get along! It didn’t take long and sure enough I was stuck! Dad wasn’t too happy with me but I rolled my bottom lip and pouted and he eventually came out to save the day. I’ll bet he spent a good 2 hours on the tractor trying to push snow out of the way to make room for a bale (and so we could get to the bales). We finally got one out when dad asked “what now”. I asked him if he thought we could move one to the dry lot and he just looked at me. I knew my answer was no.
Later on in the day after pushing him a bit I got him talked into trying to start the Bobcat one more time. My cousin just happened to show up about the time we were trying to start it and he got it fired up for me. Woo hoo! Or so I thought. I spent another 2 hours out moving snow. I had to make a path down to where the old bale was so I could get the bale ring so this bale would last more then a week. When all was said and done I had a bale in each pasture. They still couldn’t access the back pasture but I did have an extra one in the dry lot.
When I turned the horses out it was like Christmas! They didn’t really care about the hay – they were just happy they had a place to run (the path I’d made to get to the bale ring). Lucy and Cat raced back and forth playing. It was a nice sight to see.
Last night it was so cold that Cat looked like she had a frozen troll doll on her head (forelock). I’ll have to see if I can get pics of all of the snow this weekend. Of course we are getting more today.
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