Paxfilly: Notes From My Barn Life

Riding with my mind

2012-02-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Friend Nat, me, and the sleepy Paxfilly herself.

Clearly, blogging has not been my focus nor my strength in the past months. After my fear post in November, I received some amazing feedback through comments, e-mails, and even a phone call or two. Much thanks for that. It would be a lie to say "I'm over it!" but also a lie to say I haven't improved daily. No, I'm not riding Indigo yet. I'm not ready, and obviously he is not, either— I've let him be more or less dormant, minus a few ground lessons, and where his manners were fair before, he's adopted a much less go-with-the-flow attitude. Several people, my husband included, have generously offered to work with me and mount him the first time themselves.. I'm not ruling that out, and it might help, but worse than hurting myself is the thought of getting someone else banged up because of my own insecurities. Though I'm not ready for that step on my own, I'm doing fine on other horses and losing the heart-in-the-throat feeling that mounting a squirrelly horse gave me so strongly after the incident in Utopia. I push myself a little bit every time I ride someone new, and it feels better and better. Not like it used to be, but that's fine. I can be patient.

I have worked with Pax, and see her going off to be properly started next fall. She has taken to —sigh..— jumping things. Like fences, and gates. And barrels. And I think the corner of the plastic round bale holders. She lept out of the arena two weeks ago and only slightly snagged her back feet. Hoping it is all a phase, in part because.. (exciting news to follow:)

Camp is finally getting a new riding arena! Of real pipe! And real footing! And even level ground!

Finally, the stars have aligned and the right people have uttered the word "yes" and it looks like we should have the old arena, tacking area, and corral torn down and a new structure standing by the beginning of March. Sounds like a potential donor has committed to getting us sand footing and railroad ties to line and elevate the arena itself, providing the solid, safe, less rocky ground that will benefit our kids and our horses. Can't express how stoked I am, and likewise how thankful. Temporary fencing has gone up and tomorrow the tear-down process begins. Riding lessons cancelled for the rest of February, though you bet I will still be riding Bandit.

Bandit.. My hero. Through all of this anxiety junk, he's been about as good as I could ask him. He has packed me on trails at weird hours of the day, and put up with my dressage-dreams-fueled weird exercises and experiments that come to me from nowhere. We dealt with some grouchiness and pain issues at our last regular dressage lesson, and swapped some things around (extracted his ground-down wolf teeth; powerfloated; de-beaned; trimmed; restarted SmartFlex Senior.) I was more than a little nervous that he'd turn up lame or not turn up at all, so to speak, at the Joan Bolton clinic we lucked into riding in. Instead, I learned (within minutes) all the ways that I was exacerbating his flaws and giving him all kinds of reasons to protest the gymnastic elements of dressage that are lacking in our normal skill set. By the end of the ride, you couldn't have Windexed the smile off of my face.

Clinic, 1-27-2012. Come so far, and so far yet to go!

Both Cindy, the instructor I've been riding with north of Kerrville, and Joan (and Heather Blitz, rider of the great Paragon) practice riding through biomechanics, as conceptualized and taught by Mary Wanless. From Mrs. Blitz's website, linked to above:

The person who has been the biggest influence in my riding is my biomechanics coach, Mary Wanless. I met Mary in 1993 and have continued to learn from her to the present. Her research into the effect of riders’ bodies on horses is extensive and unique and not found in more “traditional” training. Her theories continue miles beyond teaching the beginner to improve their seat. The more advanced I become in my riding, I find her even more helpful. Like a mechanic tuning my engine as I need more and more technique, power and refinement. As you progress up the levels, it gets harder and harder to find words to describe what we’re trying to achieve but Mary’s style, using analogies and sensory feedback allows for amazing communication and understanding in a world of feel and timing. I have always had a special niche in my own teaching because of my education from Mary and will forever be grateful for the day I was introduced to her.

Bible-like. Kept by my bedside.

Reading Wanless' Ride with Your Mind Masterclass and Ride with Your Mind Essentials is changing my riding every day. I used the Essentials text to focus my attention on one muscle group at a time, and was quite quickly lead to the realization that there are many notions of horsemanship that I absolutely must let go. The balance, seat, and leg that I've received compliments (and good horsemanship scores) on repeatedly leave me vulnerable to a dozen traps that break the energy flow that can suddenly turn an acceptable ride into a connected, lifted, and beautiful one. We are so far from making that the norm, but those fleeting moments of roundness and softness are happening more and more often and I'm slowly developing the muscle memory to know where I need to be in order for the beauty in him to come out. I realize I would be eternally farther along in the process if I could spend some time riding a schoolmaster and being taught how and when to press the buttons to receive the award. Instead, it's a joint process with two personalities and two sets of flaws to contend with, as well as thirty-three years of bad habits between us. Outside of this circle of riders I've become privy to (weather through the barn I've been riding at or through YouTube searches of horse-and-rider teams employing the same principles) I have not seen riding like this. I want it, badly.

My involvement in NATRC currently hovers at sitting on the advisory board of the newsletter and editing things for the Hoof Print. I'm glad I get to be involved there, but I'm completely looking forward to competing in the Wimberly Wayfarer later in the spring. Wimberly is another gorgeous Hill Country town, closer to Austin, and I think the familiar scenery could lend a little calm to my bucket o' crazy pony. He is so prone to absorbing the atmosphere around him.. at the dressage clinic, he was miraculously the quietest, most well-behaved little gelding of the bunch. I got several compliments on his ability to stand tied anywhere I put him; a skill honed strictly from trying to learn the ropes of long distance competitive trail. Yet when we're at CTRs, he's a bucket of nerves who tries to remove his eyeball and instead removes the trailer door, all in one foul swoop because a completely familiar person got a completely unremarkable distance away from him. Oh well. Can't have it all, and I'm lucky to have my old man!

Deconstructing some fear stuff.

2011-11-23T17:46:00.001-08:00

I kid you not, this was my fortune at supper last night.

I have recently discovered being scared.

Like, really scared.

From my understanding, (and Equus, etc. subscriptions) riders of all natures deal with fear at one point or another. Also, the only riders I've met who never deal with any twinge of fear are idiots as a general rule.

But for the multitude of things I am scared of in life— heights being at the top of the list— horsemanship has always been a very controllable subject. Doofy horses might put my senses on higher alert, but I'd ride them.. and often liked to.

I have a good sized list of things I will not do because I don't think they are worth the risk anymore, personally. I haven't ridden without a helmet since I was 22. I haven't ridden double since I was a teenager. I got confident enough to gallop around bareback in college but don't feel the urge to go that fast without a saddle again. Riding on busy roads does not excite me. Moving fast on slick pavement with any kind of grade has made me nervous since a fall I had at the age of 20. I've always known I can sit a few bucks, but no bronc busting. I wish I could say I never ride alone, but I don't have that luxury. Becoming the director of an equestrian program instead of just a hired hand changed a lot of the way I ride, and I started defining my boundaries a bit.. but for the most part, it made me a better rider. I think everyone has their limits. I also knew (know?) what I was (am?) good at, and worked to better what I sucked at.

Yesterday, I went to go ride. I have been advised by my doctor to stay off of horses preferably through November and into December, but I've had to ride several times during that time period and felt fine afterwards. One of my duties and one of the things I really enjoy is trying out and working on new camp horse acquisitions— figuring out what they're good at, what needs tuning up, and which students or campers would benefit from riding them. Our farrier brought us an older, half-blind black mare a few weeks ago who is broke as anything. He used "Jessie" for mounted shooting, apparently, and general ranch work, but she's past the age of being terribly useful at any jobs involving speed.. Exactly the age we want for a good-natured babysitter horse.

I've had a few weeks to get to know Jessie on the ground, so while my husband was trimming ponies down at the barn, I tacked her up and lead her out to the arena to take her for a test drive. She hasn't been used in a year or so, but had given us no reason to doubt her usefulness. I lead her to the mounting block, stood on the top step, and started to put a foot in the stirrup. As many slightly pissy old mares do, she flapped her lips and twitched her tail. I hesitated. And then I started to shake, and, shortly thereafter, cry.

Jessie Girl.. half asleep. As usual.

(It is not fun to write that.)

Richard had been watching me the entire time, and he came over to see what on Earth I was doing. Because he has a huge heart (and probably because he's a camp guy, weekend wrangler, and used to the occasional hysterical little girl) he talked me through swinging over and— again, this pains me to write— lead me around the arena about half a lap. I had composed myself by then and rode her for a half hour or so, sans lead line, and she was fine. Rusty, grouchy, and slow.. but perfectly fine.

A couple of days before Jessie, my former boss (and friend) put me on his three-year-old colt to lead trail rides. I was perfectly fine with that. The colt, "Smiley," was incredibly well-mannered and polite, but he's still just a baby and I didn't hesitate to ride him. He even boogered once, and I probably tensed more than I normally would, but we moved on and had a nice time. I think perhaps I wasn't as afraid because I wasn't the boss in that situation. Sure, in my short relationship with my horse, I was the boss.. But there was my actual boss there, maybe not physically, but I was doing a job he asked me to do and I had no problem with executing it and leaving that young horse hopefully a tiny bit better for his widened experience. Not real fear on my part. But when I'm the top dog at my own place, I burst into tears getting on a geriatric, sleepy ranch horse.

What brought this crap on?

I'm tired of telling the story, but if you recall my last post about taking three-year-old mustang Indigo to his first ACTHA ride.. I took him, but we didn't get to go on the actual trail ride. Instead, he transformed from the quietest, un-phaseable colt I've ever met to a real fun little bronc. He tossed me before I could even get in the saddle the first time and continued to buck for close to 90 seconds. (I checked my watch.)

Smiley.

I ignored my guts, which told me to quit. I also ignored my experience, which (should have) told me to stop and figure out what had made this little horse do such a violent 180 in his behavior.

Instead, I got back on (and was bolted and tossed in very short succession) not once, but twice. I had to be picked off the ground on the last go-around, but besides doing some damage to the normal alignment of my skeletal system and being bed ridden for a day, I came off gloriously unscathed.

He's been to a chiro, who reports (a) saddle fit pain (b) possibly the remnants of a fall, equalling misalignment of his spine and a tilted pelvis (c) tenseness and muscle overcompensation all over his body. He has shown us twice that he is ready and willing to buck again when you try and step a foot in the saddle. I have not done any more than that.

I've been to a chiro, who says my legs are crooked, my pelvis is wonky, and my lower back is toast. Which I knew. Not to snark what she does; it was a huge help!

I took him to a Natural Horsemanship ground clinic. He has been reported to be a "left-brained introvert" on the "Parelli Horsenality" spectrum, "extremely passive-aggressive," and "potentially dangerous or violent." I really liked the folks at the clinic, but I'd also like to believe they are wrong. We had some success with the Seven Games and I don't discount their use. But I didn't walk away feeling terribly encouraged about him. I'm not done trying, and he is still sore. Those are notes for a later date, anyways.

To sum it up and psychoanalyze myself.. I'm primarily scared of getting injured. Potentially much, much worse than I was. (I got off quite good, with a couple of weeks of a really cool limp.) But fueling that is a hypersensitivity to every ear twitch and stomp and snort— I'm terrified I'm going to overlook the warning signs that I'm about to become a lawn dart again. And I have a tough time trusting my mount. I trusted Indigo with a lot last summer, and he never once gave me a reason to doubt him. There is a sense of failure in my first solo experiment in training a horse from square one. There is frustration. And yep, definitely still a hefty dose of fear at the thought of sitting on him again. I've fallen off more times than I can count (like most riders, probably)— but this was definitely different.

Anyway.. what to do about it?

Obviously, seek help. I don't have dozens of horse friends in the area who I would want to take instruction from (doesn't that sound witchy?) But there are others I trust and want to learn from who have offered to help with Indigo. I have (and will) use them, plus the equine chiro and our vet. I am not at all ready to get back on him again, but if pain is any indication, he isn't ready to carry a rider, either.

I loved the woman I was taking dressage lessons from with Bandit, and I will be using her again as soon as she gets back from training in Florida. I have a couple of leads on other trainers and instructors who I may have to drive a bit to utilize, but I think it's worth it.

And I'm just going to keep riding. I dismissed my two months with no riding because I was afraid my nervousness would only get worse. Riding Bandit has helped; even though he is far from a Steady Eddie, I know his moves and I trust our relationship. Unfortunately, he is still recovering so I'm limited in what we do. (That bad eye looks pretty good, though!) I'm going to ride Jessie and Ranger, who are new (they need it before they go into lessons) but who I know are well broke and relatively mindful. I'm going to get back on Annie next week and see if going back to twice weekly rides will help her with her chronic witchiness.

I wish I had more people to ride with. Not experts, just horse folks. I wish I could be at a boarding barn sometimes, and this is one of those times. I miss the horse community— not the great one that exists when I get to be at NATRC rides, or the one I have on Facebook thanks to a short lifetime of riding and acquiring friends along the way. But actual human beings to ride with, so I'm not always the one at the barn by myself. Would that solve everything? No way, but it would make things easier.

"The horse doesn't love you." — Jere Johnson
But I am so glad to have my old man to totter around on!

Possibly the best advice I've received thus far is to stop replaying the bad memory over and over again. I haven't been able to quit completely, but I think about it less frequently. There's something masochisticly pleasing about hitting the "replay" button on that mental tape.. and hitting the ground over, and over, and over again. Gah. Sucks.

But it is getting better!

Have you had a sudden onset of fear while riding? What've you done about it?

I confess to taking some inspiration to write about all of this from a blog called Drafts with Dots; the writer had a nasty incident involving back hooves and her face, and is still in the process of recovery. She writes much more frequently and poignantly than I do, and the fact that she could do it prompted me to try. I think the simple act of typing out the things I hate to think about banishes some of the squicky gut feelings. I know I'm getting better. And at the end of the day, I still absolutely love to ride.. and almost more so, I love to teach children to love riding like I do.

Catch-up; catching the wild horse; catching a bad attitude before it gets worse.

2011-09-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well!

We survived summer. The start was rocky, for lots of reasons that don't particularly belong here, but thanks to good help we made it through keeping kids safe and reasonably happy. The temperatures were unbelievable— read, crazy-mother-trucking-hot and devoid of any kind of moisture. Having a huge herd of thirty was more work than before but worth it; I don't think anyone got particularly fatigued despite a heavier workload of kids and the NightRyder program adding a little bit of work in the evening. We have pulled some of the old horses up to a great weight, but there are some others in their early or mid twenties who lost condition that we are still trying to recover. The joys of old, worn and wonderful hand-me-down horses.

Leading a ride in July.

Indigo, the first mustang colt, was a great success. He had two rough spots, to include randomly falling off of a three-inch cliff with Tiffany for no apparent reason. (Stood back up before she could even step off, so it was chalked up to being a dummy three-year-old who doesn't know where to place his feet.) And I got ballsy and put an "advanced" camper with a relatively weak seat on his back.. bareback. He had been great for everybody else, but she slumped forward onto his shoulder and he took a step to the left and dropped her less than five seconds after she'd mounted. She was fine and he luckily didn't pick up the hint that it's possible to dump people on purpose. I used him to lead trail rides all day, several days a week, and for a few Blue Bead ceremonies which went reasonably well considering I was jumpy being bareback, helmetless, and in front of a big crowd. He carried about five different campers, all competent riders, during NightRyders and Saddle Club, as well as a couple of novice counselors. Not bad for three.

Here's a post on the camp blog from one of our great Saddle Club girls; she writes a little about her experience using Indy for our pony games day.

Bandit is large and lazy. He didn't get as much work this summer thanks to Inders, but behaved when he did. I am for some reason not panicked about getting him ready for the Pole Canyon CTR; I had intended to ride Open division for the first time to get experience doing the mileage, but for a couple of reasons, have stuck to Novice. I know that, continuing with our conditioning rides for the coming weeks and barring injury, he will be able to do the distance, especially in an area that is challenging because it's rocky— like home! Like Alpine!— instead of deep and sandy. We'll blow some more obstacles, but I'm totally ready to be back. Plus, there's a horsemanship clinic the day before, so we are hauling early and maybe that will take the edge off. I'm excited!

Bandito was featured in a blog / article I wrote for Long Riders' Gear, which will also go in the NATRC HoofPrint. Crazy boy— Competitive Trail Riding: A Newbie's Perspective.

Awkward photo, but see?! Her head is starting to fit!

Pax, who gets little press here considering she is the title feature, is growing into her head. Yikes, that's the best update I can give ya? She is doing exactly what two-year-olds should do, in my opinion— getting a few lessons on ground manners, carrying a saddle around occasionally, and eating and growing and being adorable. Her back has lengthened, which I'm not thrilled about, but she is coming into proportion and I think she moves a little better than before. I'm looking into buying a friend's Collegiate dressage saddle; a good buy on a nice, basic piece of tack that I hope will last me through the next year or so until I can afford something nicer without risking making the car payment, etc. At that point, she'll be closer to full grown and easier to eyeball a good fit for. She is the "lovey-est" horse I've been around in forever— when we left for twelve days for Northern Ireland, she was the first horse to meet me at the fence (not in the feeding location, either) at a dead sprint, looking for pats. She honestly seemed happy to see us.

ApHC Suprise Hayley Annie

I have an offer to take a horse on free lease that's tempting. Granted, we have more than enough projects to go around here, but she's somewhat of a special case in my very skewed handbook— she is Bandit's five-year-old half sister. And she's cute. Compact, like her broseph. Great color, if you like Apps. She's green broke, which is nice in that she's at least rideable. And I am sure she needs some work. I not-so-secretly would love her to be a follow up NATRC horse to replace Bandit in a few years. The guy who owns her claims to love her but is in the process of moving. I don't want to buy her —she isn't worth $1500 in my book, despite better than average bloodlines. $1500 green broke "cute" horse is a joke right now in this part of the world. I mean, I do want to meet her. I would also like to work with her. I just don't know how far I want to go; I'm a little worried about falling in love with her and having her snatched off to California just as I get her going well. And I'm also worried she might be a nightmare. Worth going to look at her next Tuesday? Worth taking a trailer with me? Worth drawing up paperwork? Thoughts?

And finally.. Flint. Flint is our second mustang, a three year old gelding out of the Adoble Wells HMA in southern Wyoming. Tiffany, her boss and America's Favorite Trail Horse* finalist TJ, and I drove up to beautiful Colorado in the middle of a very hot August.

* See the trailer below, if you haven't already. Exciting to have an equestrian reality TV show that isn't about the racing industry, whatever your thoughts on ACTHA and competitive trail riding are!

CFA Flint Rock's "beachy" hairdo.

Flint is more of a challenge than Indigo was. He was older when he came out of the wild, older when he was gelded, older when he came to camp. He and Inders are just now the same age. I am okay with this. I wanted this. We got to haltering and leading in about the same amount of time. I was more confident and I had my own schedule of milestones to hit. We spent the days before my trip to the U.K. leading around camp, learning about grooming and tying and all the basics. He was flighty, but smart and willing and a big "mama's boy." He spazzed, but recovered by standing behind my shoulder and waiting. Then I got cocky yesterday and put the two mustang boys together in the arena. They were perfect— could catch them both, no big quarrels. I worked the two of them at liberty together. Indy joined up right away and stayed at my shoulder until I brought Flint around. I moved the two of them as a unit. Indigo was definitely the leader and he was nearly flawless. I could kick myself for using one green colt to work another green colt, but I assure you that the dynamic worked and our first BLM pony is a treasure. A weird treasure, but a treasure.

Brosephs.

Anyway. I was feeling sorry for Flint being cooped up in his pen for so long after a lifetime of herd dynamics, so I let the two boys stay in the arena overnight with some hay and water. This morning, Richard and I were up early to feed and saddle twelve horses for a retreat. When I went to catch Flint.. He walked straight through our (incredibly shoddy, withering-cedar-post) arena fence, smashing it into splinters, and into the corral filled with all of the spare horses. I was immediately terrified for him getting the snot beat out of him.. Until he single-handedly took on all of the huge bully horses and commandeered the hay ring for himself. Here was this scrappy, girly looking grey pony colt laying the smack down on our duo of ornery, 16.2+ hh Thoroughbreds and everyone else.

Catching him took over twelve hours of on-and-off efforts. Now that he's learned he can push over fences, we couldn't push him hard enough to tire him for fear he'd just peace out and leave the premises— not good considering there's thirty weekenders here for the retreat. I was livid. And the first rule of horsemanship is to never do anything with haste and anger.. Two sentiments thundering through my veins. I managed to clip the lead on him, but was drug a little ways multiple times, which only exacerbated the problem and fueled the pony's desire to run. Long story short, my hero of a husband ended up coaxing him close enough to catch, then stuck out his protesting rears and fits until he had the colt under control. We've switched him to a halter with some more bite (nose knots) and returned him to his little metal panel pen. Back to basics tomorrow, and I have learned my lessons.

If you're that pissed off, stop.
Don't overestimate the flexibility and durability of the trust you've established with a wild animal. It's brittle. Like, really really brittle. Like, baked-cedar-pole-in-the-summertime brittle.
There are a few things your larger, stronger, testosterone-fueled spouse can do better. Like hold on to a lead rope with a bucket of angry crazy at the end.
Seriously, we need a new freaking fence. This year it ceased to be a funny talking point.
Angelic Indigo was a fluke.
The drag rope idea to halter break worked brilliantly on more than one horse I've started or help start in the past. It can, as in this case, backfire. Flint is now adept at walking through a jerk on the lead rope. In fact, he's gotten quite good at it.

I'm so ready to do this better.

I ended this rather crappy day with the first ride on Indigo I've taken in awhile. Bandit got a little work this morning; now it was the colt's turn— I'm taking him to an ACTHA ride in the middle of October. Should be fun. I'm slightly worried about traumatizing him and, consequentially, getting my arse dumped, but optimistic that at least it will be a good experience for him and excited to ride with some friends and maybe make new ones.

Upcoming events:

Retreat next weekend; Tiff's coming to work.

New Hampshire the next weekend for a slighty crunchy sounding camp directors' retreat. I'm excited.

Pole Canyon NATRC ride second weekend of October, plus horsemanship clinic. (Get to use new, tiny LQ trailer! Excited!)

ACTHA ride in Utopia the next weekend.

Possibly taking a horse to the San Antonio Mustang Expo that next Friday.

Added..

2011-05-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Threw a couple more blogs on my "Suggested Reading" list to the right of this page. I'd check them out and follow 'em, had I not already.

Notes on the herd and my rides

2011-05-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

I apologize, to the handful of you who read, for a decidedly long hiatus between posts here. Though I have been no less busy with horse-related things, those horse-related things tended to be work-related things. And I haven't been in a mindset to write, particularly, in part due to personal matters and the loss of my great Dad. That aside, I think it's time to catch up a bit.

Pax

I took the Very Large Filly on a walk the other day. I'm relatively certain that Taking Your Horse For a Walk doesn't make it into a lot of training books, but when I'm not close to being ready to get on her and not in the mood to long line or lunge, it is a nice way to get her mind out of the herd and onto her two-legged "mom." She was nervous, but mindful at the get-go, but I admire the fact that her nerves rarely manifest themselves into action. She is observant, rarely hesitant, and almost never flighty.. Except for when I started making a racket with my dressage whip in the tall pampas grass. That resulted in minor fireworks for a few minutes.

Satan's lair.

Anyhow, after we'd established that the pampas grass could be added to the "rather alarming but not malicious" list, Pax and I headed out the gate and down to the river crossing for our first swimming attempt. She is one of a handful of horses who tend to try and bathe in the elevated water troughs in the pasture, so I had high hopes— and was not disappointed. With just one sniff at the wide expanse of river and a pause to allow me to hike my shorts up and pull my boots on tighter (classy, yes) we stepped graciously in and waded around to both our chests' deep of the drink. She snuffled and played but remained a lady, and I acquired some brilliant blisters walking all the way back to the barn in sodden cowboy boots and swimwear. We stopped at a few spots on the way back to lunge on a shortened line and get back into "work, not rush home" mode, and she wasn't even pulling for the gate when we made it back in site of the equestrian center. Overall, I am proud of her. If I may have a moment to brag, she is growing up gorgeous. Very few PMU-mutts can ever pass the A+ confirmation test, and she certainly does not, but she is maturing into a balanced and graceful mare and I can't wait to see where things go in the next two years. My mom and I have discussed sending her to a proper trainer to get started. I've never done that before, but also only started one horse by myself under saddle.. and as she has been a bit of an investment, and I would like her to be worthy for low-level competition, it would be worth paying for sixty days of professional work. But that's a long way off. No reason to start her before fall 2012, if even then. June 1st will be her second birthday!

The Princess herself. Need to think of a good proper name for her soon.

Indigo

Tiff, a good friend and one of the part-time camp wranglers, started looking into a BLM horse seriously last week and I got to thinking about our little pinto 'stang boy sitting out in the pasture enjoying life and being lazy, and/or trying to hump a mare or two. (He's cut. I promise.) So I rigged up the borrowed surcingle over a western saddle, attached long lines after a little warm-up, figured ourselves out again in the round pen, and took the fellow driving around camp. He was great! A little bit of a gaffufle to get started, when we initially started moving away from our comfort zone of the equestrian center. We polished our "woah" and walk/trotted using voice cues, and I am able to cut back on the noise motivation from the stock whip I carry. I rarely if ever have to touch him with it, but he's lazy enough to wait for the threatening sound before moving off. But putting him in a new position and having to be the physical leader, while directing from behind, put Indy back on his toes and I got a nice little jog out of him through the kickball fields and down by the river. He is taking a while to truly soften to the bit, but he does accept it and bridles like a real boy now. His woah is good with contact, but it wasn't until this lesson that I felt him anticipate the sound a bit. I can't wait to get on him more this summer! And more mustangs for camp, with proper time and training, I think will be an excellent idea, especially in our aging herd. I wouldn't risk the online auction thing, but the drive to Colorado to really evaluate temperament and soundness was worth it. I think our product is shaping up wonderfully.

Tranquil stop by the Guad.

El Bandito

As for my grouchy old man, I was hoping to squeeze in another lesson with Sally in Fredericksburg before the craziness of summer cuts off all possibilities, but it looks like she may be out-of-state for quite some time. Her family is relocating away from the Hill Country, so I knew our time with her would be short, albeit a great blessing and hopefully the right way to shift focus with Bandit. I've gotten to spend time with some of the Waldemar polocrosse ladies on a couple of afternoons (one of our best camp horses was donated through that club, more or less) and caught the name of another woman who teaches dressage just outside of Kerrville. The price is a bit more, unsurprisingly as we were scoring an awesome deal minus the diesel cost, but the facility sounds fantastic. I haven't ridden in an indoor arena since sneaking into my university's rodeo arena to ride a handful of times. I haven't ridden with mirrors since I was about eleven. I am utterly excited.

Last week I made an attempt at doing some more "dressage homework," as Sally put it, but ended up getting distracted and going over the tiny jumps Dick and I put together for the kiddos. I have not asked Bandit to jump a thing, minus trail obstacles, since I was about fifteen and into our brief Parelli phase.. which involved alot of the at-liberty lunging over barrels. He was pretty good at that, I think mainly because he is scared of the color white (which encompasses a wide gamut of objects, let me tell you.) But after a couple of shady go-arounds and blasting our way through trot poles trying to snatch at the bit, we did some successful little bounces and, if I dare say so, I think the old man enjoyed the change-up. That said, tomorrow I plan on getting down to business and aiming for a degree of respectability at next week's lesson. It's at, like.. a fancy place. As in, I may wear a clean shirt. With a collar. Gasp.

Putting Little Sister Pax in her place. Height is no object.

A note on his bridle— having not been terribly impressed with the Dr. Cook's on a trail ride where I (stupidly) decided to go for a gallop with a friend on a similarly hot horse, and not having particularly measurable success getting Bandit on the "bit" (in the bridle?) without an actual bit.. We had a random breakthrough last weekend. I switched to Bandito after riding a super-solid but slightly slow lease horse for a group trail ride. I always ride him in the Dr. Cook's for those easy rides, as he is cucumber cool for the most part and I see advantages in switching things up with him between his various mild headgear. I don't ask for much, but usually try to get a little practice in every ride.. and from somewhere, things clicked, and I had a lovely, soft, round horse taking contact from my reins and going on about as nicely as Bandit will go. I won't be switching to the Cook's bitless for lessons, but maybe for more of our homework.

Rue

Why is The Fattest Pony In The West on this list? Well.. I have been cajoled? Convinced? By a friend or two to give polocrosse a try next fall when practices kick up again. As I see a temporary but extremely disappointing moratorium happening on my NATRC rides, thanks to an already packed schedule of weekend camp events through 2012, attending the polocrosse practices and kicking about at a new sport would keep me in a mix of horsey people and give me something new to learn. Let me assure you that at this point, I would much rather be charging along at a competitive trail ride.. But have to made allowances somewhere. Job is important and I am lucky to have it. Waldemar donated three used but quality Australian saddles to my riding program here at CFA, and I plunked down some cash to rig them out and see what I can learn. I don't think Bandit will ever be steady enough with flying balls and sticks, Indigo isn't old enough, and obese Rue needs a job. She is young, bombproof, capable of moving her fat little arse when she needs to, and plucky.. And very low to the ground, so my lanky, uncoordinated self can have a better shot at getting the darn ball off the dirt. I just.. y'know.. Look a little ridiculous on her. And she is a little ridiculous looking on top of that.

This angle does her too much justice. You can't see the hay gut.

Anyway, I don't even have a proper stick to use yet, so have mainly been conditioning her. Which turns out to be more of a commitment than I had anticipated— we trotted halfway up Mt. Vesper on the rocky hillside road, and literally had to stop. She wasn't being witchy or balky. She physically was worn out. Took it much easier the rest of the day, but I realize that she won't be in any fair condition until summer is on its way and I can alternate riding her and a couple of other horses. She has developed a rather hard mouth and opinionated way of going, but I think some consistency and a nice change to an o-ring snaffle will clean that up.

"Really, woman. I'm done now."

I leave you with this charming buttshot of The Cool Kids in the herd. Mind you, there are five round bales for our thirty horses, which averages out to six or less horses per bale if you account for those resting or watering themselves. There are twelve below, all the top dogs of the pasture, all determined to sit at the cool table in the cafeteria.

From far left to right: Peppy, Sunny, Hannah, Rue, Pax, Pumbaa, Indigo, Whiskers, Tango, Bonnie (hidden,) Marquee, and JB (also hidden.)

There are only two emotions that belong in the saddle.

One is a sense of humor, and the other is patience.

— John Lyons

If wishes were saddles, and general horse-hearted updates

2011-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

First off, in reference to my prior post about Padre+, I am pleased and excit
ed to announce that my next proper, non-random-update post here will be a short and sweet interview from Padre+'s owner and rider, Patti Gruber. We have exchanged some e-mails and I have a couple more questions for her, but it's been exciting to pick her brain.

Next.. as you may have surmised from that intro paragraph, this is just a blabby little update on the flock of ponies. I've gotten a lot of riding and groundwork in since my last post, but feel a bit burned out on the arena as of last weekend and a million Girl Scout riders, so am satiated to be in San Antonio for a night. I don't feel obligated to do some work with the horses when I can be focusing on the family. (And clearly, Facebook and Blogger.)

Indigo got his mane roached for the first time two weeks ago. Which was nearly as anticlimactic as his first backing experience. He eyeballed the clippers once or twice, figured out there were treats up for grabs, and just let it happen. I confess he looks a bit like a convict, with the tattoo and the crazy eye and buzz cut and all, but he must be wildly cooler. His mane was a kind of thick I cannot describe.

At play with Rocky, who visited this weekend.

Pax has been carrying both saddles well and our lunging on the line has improved. Lunging over cavaletti was.. uninspiring, at least initially. She seemed to have no impetus whatsoever to pick her feet up and instead plowed blindly through whatever was in her path. A few rounds of set-up, walk over, a little whip, and coaxing finally produced an oversized but passable bounce and some degree of rate in her trot. I don't think she's brilliant, but she has a burning desire to be rewarded for something and will figure out (eventually) a roundabout path to that attention.

Our big pet spent a good portion of this weekend pressing herself against the fence, bright-eyed and starved for pets from the passing Scouts and troop moms. She got what she wanted and has stayed polite, if a little bit.. looming.

I feel like it's too early to be introducing a bit, but I also feel like Indigo could've benefited from earlier work carrying the bare bit, unconnected, underneath a halter. Thoughts?

Bandit had a very full week of work under saddle, and my thighs had two full days of bareback trotting. He is showing much more thorough acceptance of the bit and it takes a lot less warm-up to start seeing a little bit more frame without quite so much sweat at the start of a ride. Our 10 m circles still end up as.. err.. 10 m circles with a bite taken out of one corner when his shoulder drops. But I hope, pray, and think we will have something to show of ourselves next Tuesday at our lesson.

Desperate want.

Hopefully will purchase a Wintec Isabell on the rough anniversary of my treeless endurance purchase. I am also considering another treeless, but they are harder to come by and I don't want to spend quite so much as on my past two saddles. I know there are more than a handful of local and reasonable places I could get my hands on an Isabell Werth and the gullet system gives me confidence it could at least be passable on several horses while I'm still in the early learning stages.

Also would love to try the Fhoenix Vogue (treeless.)

Possibly most ideally.. A Sensation Formal Dressage.

Almost scared to try that one. For one.. It was a miracle I found my Sensation English Trail as cheaply and perfectly as I did, and snapped up the deal. (Thanks for your generous cash, Sweet Spouse Man.) And pure fortuitous luck that it has so perfectly fit Bandito, who, admittedly, is an incredibly easy horse to fit. Would it be worth the cash and the hunt to do it again? Maybe? Where are you lacking in going treeless for a discipline that requires more precision than perseverance?

No matter what.. We are enjoying ourselves in our questionable tack choices and dime store schooling clothes!

"If you don't have a deep passion for patience, stay away from training horses. "Hurry" is the enemy of progress." — Otto Von Monteton

Crushing on this stud.

2011-03-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure I've shared this on my Facebook wall before, but I have been following Padre' and Patti's progress for a few months now through their Page and follow their developments. As someone just learning the very basics of dressage who also has a developing soft spot for the mighty BLM horse, he is probably my ideal. This video was taken after this horse had been under saddle for eighteen months. Here I am, contradicting myself from a few blog posts ago when I scorned the Road to the Colt kind of movement. Yet watching this mature horse school at such a level is a world apart from that kind of rushed start, in my opinion. I think it's beautiful, and a testament to some good training and stallion management.

Dressage has only really appealed to me for the past two or three years. I think I've come to a point in my riding where I realize there is only so much more "survival" style riding I can learn. ("Survival riding" is a description right out of the mouth of our current instructor, Sally.) In just a handful of lessons, my perception of true harmony between horse and rider has changed entirely— which, certainly, doesn't mean I'm anywhere close to "there" yet. But when we catch glimpses, I get excited.

I realize that the ideal dressage horse doesn't normally look like this, and I respect the reasons and differences. But that bay horse serves as an inspiration that the high-dollar horse is not the only athlete— my little Frito Bandito proves it to me, too, in his old age and tireless ways. Totillas is a true champion and a star, in every sense of those words. But I admit I see Padre' when I fantasize about my dream dressage horse, someday far into the future.

Maybe with a tiny splash of color, just because. ;)

Dressage lesson on Friday! I cannot wait!

Short horses

2011-03-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Why is it, that as a woman of substantial bone structure (what I mean is, I'm not skinny) who stands five foot ten (optimistically), I so dig short horses? I yearn to own a Halflinger or an Icelandic the way most horsewomen I know fantasize about a Friesian or a gorgeous warmblood of some high-dollar variety. I am not particularly worried about riding big horses. Yeah, there's a bit more airspace between your tail and the trail, but it isn't the gravity so much as the ground that gets you. I definitely look better on big horses.

I think I've just had good luck with most of the ponies and shorties I've ridden. I am possibly more likely to stick the dumb stuff because I'm not as worried about the aforementioned gravity— I'm sure that's a heavy piece of subconscious lurking around in my brain. I like their pluck and I like the ones that don't give a hoot about their height and will smash up a much bulkier full-sized horse without so much as a blink. Bandit is really quite tiny when you scrutinize him. Most of his papers say he's 15 hands, but I would guess 14.3 is a little more on track. He is not heavy boned but fairly stout and quite fit at the minute, so I don't think I look utterly ridiculous.

One of my favorite mounts at my old camp was named Mao Mao. Mao Mao was an Icelandic / pony / somethin-somethin'. I looked ridiculous on Mao Mao. I would have probably made an attempt to buy Mao Mao if I thought I was going to continue riding, because Mao Mao could carry any old sunofabuck on his back and was an absolute champ. Mao Mao was an asshole, frankly, as the cherry on top. And I loved him. Still do. See him in a pasture not too far away.

All that said, Pax is towering and I'm concerned I forgot that.. Whoops, I prefer short horses. I finally took some scissors and luck to her mane and said goodbye to the chunks that were still long and beautiful. Our new fence is supposed to be in before summer, and we have replaced all of our roundbale feeders— some with this great, high-density plastic kind. So hopefully once her mane grows back again, she can be Belgian Repunzel for longer and won't snag it all out.

Anyway, the seed behind this entire post is the first picture up top there. My dear friend Tiff drove up from San Antonio today to ride horses and shoot the breeze, and after a fairly successful arena adventure on little Indigo (only our second ride in there, actually) we decided to see how things went out in the open. I've ponied and packed him around some of our trails without any fireworks at all, and today was no different. He rolled with the punches and followed in a relatively well-mannered way. Occasionally he leans into the bit and tries to plow horse through a request, but he is quick to remember who the boss lady is. I have brought along some kind of whip on our last few rides (the dressage whip has worked the best) and he sometimes requires a cluck-squeeze-tap-TAP! reminder to, y'know, actually move forward. But really, he is doing great. As of April or May, he will be three. And yeah, you can watch YouTube clips of futurity horses doing ridiculously advanced things at his age.. But this is my first horse started all on my own, and he wasn't exactly imprinted at birth. So I think we're doing pretty well. It's mostly by his good graces!

In less positive news, Bandit and I are staying home this weekend. He appears to be recovering from a soft tissue injury of the minor variety. Vet took x-rays and, while he looks 100% sound, it isn't worth the cost or the risk to haul him to Oklahoma. The good news is, for being an old fart with bad breeding, Bandit's joints are in excellent shape. Will do my very best to get to the Wimberly Wayfarer in May.

Scampering, planning, training

2011-03-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

Some of the photos from the Girl Scout Scamper popped up on the interwebs today. I am feeling rather conflicted.

1. I shouldn't try to cheeseball smile when the camera man pops up. Turns out a focused face is better than a fake, head-back-in-the-wind, squinty-eyed-smile. Sidenote.

2. Bandit looks great on the trail. Away from Scary People. And despite getting a sore on one corner of his mouth from the rubber snaffle I use (I can pretty much tell you the minute he got it on Saturday, grr) he looks much more composed and engaged in his dressage bridle than when I switched back to the Little S hack on Sunday. I think I will shuck the flash noseband. While it keeps him from lolling his tongue out the side of his face, I believe it played a part in the sore mouth— there was so much grit and sand in it, despite me trying to clean out the parts of his bridle that rubbed on his face at every stop.

3. We were definitely more relaxed, more composed, and more likely to be walking on this ride than in our previous two competitions. There were several stretches were he dropped his nose, I dropped the reins, and we just booked it at a lovely, 4.5 mph hauling-tail walk. That was perfect. There were some fun stretches after P&R checks were I hopped up in a two point and we hand galloped for a half mile or so in the easier sandy bits and let him blow off some happy steam. But yet we were terrible (TERRIBLE) at some of our obstacles. I mean, terrible as in, a horse I was not enjoying riding. And despite not being a picture-perfect horse by any means thanks mostly to my meager training skills, I always enjoy riding Bandit. After ten years, even his darker moments make sense to me and can be treated with a quiet, practiced hand. But at one point, during a water crossing from a sandy ridge down to a boggy pond and back up an embankment, I had a tiny, angry horse on my hands who swung his hip out at a judge, grabbed the bit, and very dangerously barreled down a hill. On two of the next obstacles, we executed a brilliant trotting, loping, anxious sidepass up and down another ravine, and later nearly dumped me in a shallow culvert. All things we encountered elsewhere on the trail with no problems, but put us in front of a judge and under the pressure of time and people, and things fell apart. I am more than happy to take some of the blame for tensing up in the presence of judges, but it's a mutual thing we need to work on. Bandit is still high-strung and flighty for probably 2/3s of the 40 mile rides. But that in itself is an improvement. I am going to give it the rest of this season— which for me may only be three or four rides— to see if he keeps improving. I hate being awful at something, but will keep trying to improve. Everybody in the NATRC community (that I've talked to— there are a handful or so I shy away from!) has been very supportive and helpful. So not giving up yet!

4. Boy, I was SORE on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. My core was killing me, which is cool. At least I'm using that and not my hands all the time, right?

In other news, not going to dressage tomorrow. Bandit was stiff and tenderfoot on Monday in his back left, and I'd rather not push him. If diesel weren't as expensive as it is, I would go just to watch and talk with Sally and Jadyn, but I think we'll just have to wait for April. Bummed because it has been so good for us, but I haven't spent a solid moment in the office all week. Besides some lessons, I have lots of paperwork to catch up on. Unexciting but necessary.

Not particularly news for this blog here, but there is some family illness, so Richard and I have been shuttling back and forth between San Antonio and Hunt as often as possible. I'm going back to visit again on Saturday night. Providing things don't deteriorate further, I'll be loading Bandit up for Oklahoma next Thursday to squeeze in what will probably be the last of our spring 2011 NATRC. He is going to the vet Tuesday for a powerfloat and a soundness check, so fingers crossed for us.

Indigo is doing well. Lots of groundwork. Our past few rides have been easy and quiet. Pax is fat and useless. I kid; she's sweet. Pulled her up and played with her a little this morning. More worried about getting Indigo safe enough to fall in line this summer a couple of times.

We have a new horse as of today, named "Scout." He belongs to miss Lindy over at Saddlestrings and Other Horse Things and will be joining us at camp for at least a year. I feel for her as Scout is her first "real" horse (which is how I see Bandito.. After many a lease horse in my younger years and a family cow pony) and I am honored she trusts us to take care of him! He's going to be a great addition —smart and light and willing and sweet— and is already settling in nicely. I am excited to put him to work with some of our intermediate to advanced students, depending on how things go.

March is in like a lamb, and I'm on my ponies like white on rice.

2011-03-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

Having to Blog for work has completely zapped my ambition to blog for fun. (Note the change in Capital Letter Usage there.)

Let me just say that everyone is doing well. Got more rides in on little Indigo and lots of long lining. He is carrying a bit (with the aid of a little molasses and lots of time) and being very positive with every small step we take. We need a little tweaking on our steering— he likes to double over to pressure and loses a little balance in the process. Still, I am very pleased with each day.

Dressage lessons are progressing well. Last week was our first time incorporating the canter into the session, and I was so pleased with Bandit's listening ear as I tuned up my cues. Sally is teaching us to rely more on knowing our mount's footfalls and setting them up for success in everything we ask of them. Waiting for the right foot to ask him to pop into my hands for a nice, collected, forward canter has given me a new perspective on what he is capable of, if I can wrap my dense little tight-fisted hand around it. I realize I asked a lot of him over the past week; in one day, he started with an early morning training session, moved to a trail ride to Vesper with a student and I, grabbed some lunch and hopped in the trailer for a 1.5 hour lesson with Sally in Fredericksburg. That in addition to several other days of trail rides. I'm giving him this week off and we pack up for east Texas for the Girl Scout Scamper. 30 miles I am ready for! Just need to pack smart. :)

Pax is huge, sweet, and in it for the good stuff— attention, chin scratches, and cookies. I am blown away by the size of horse I saddled (harhar) myself with. She has been a Percheron lately, not a Belgian. All hot, snorty, and leggy. Crossing our fingers that it's a phase.

Things I Will Never Agree With:

“The reason you do not see our people wearing helmets is because we try to teach people that rather than be brave because they are wearing a a helmet to protect them, they would be better off not riding until their horse is behaving safely.” –P.P.

Uh huh. Sweet job on not rushing that Road to the Horse colt. That said, don't agree with that process whatsoever. Clinton Anderson can sit on a horse a bit more to my standard, but I think he is in the same schemey game and hated how lathered his pony looked through the process. What's the point in starting a horse in a few hours? Why? Who does that benefit? All of the backyard riders (myself included) who now reference half a day as proper training time to put a colt under saddle? How is this helping the animal? I am not posting this to hammer on my helmet fetish (bang bang bang..) but to simply point to a pretty glaring fallacy in this kind of logic. Especially paired with high-speed, high-stress types of training.

And What I Must Try To Take To Heart

"When we listen to our horses, we get an education. When we don't, we get experience." —Mark Rashid, author of Life Lessons Learned from a Ranch Horse

I need to find more ways to physically and emotionally shut up and wait for a clue from the horses I'm on.

Winter Updates

2011-01-20T18:48:00.001-08:00

True story— I helped start a blog for my workplace (shameless plug: heyheycfa.blogspot.com) and am supposed to be writing there once a week. That kind of scheduled pressure tends to make my head dance and I've failed not only at maintaining a weekly status quo for CFA, but any sort of commentary at all on my personal blogs. I don't feel like I have a tremendous amount of stuff to say over at the more personal blog (blah blah, very happy, very busy, love Richard, blah blah, dog did cute thing) so I find myself back here, talking Barn Stuff, and feeling more at home because most of my time is luckily spent at the barn anyhow.

First off, Bandit. We completed our second NATRC ride, minus tornadic interference, at the Six-O Ranch near Cleburne, Texas, about five hours north. I received a fourth place in Lightweight Novice (it still tickles me that I'm considered a lightweight; all hefty 5'10" of me; YAY for treeless tack!) Horsemanship again, but The Band-Aid moved up to claim a sixth place ribbon in his class! I feel especially good knowing that he completely blew his second pulse & respiration check by blowing a gasket over nothing. His other two, where he behaved as a normal animal might, were excellent— which is even more impressive considering he was jigging, head-tossing, and egged on to bolt for 29.5 out of the 30 miles. I truly enjoyed meeting the other CTR competitors again; they are a very open-armed bunch and I felt more at ease putting Bandit at the very head of his class, paced with a handsome TWH and his friendly, chatty owner. We rode both days together, and while I eked out one placing above her in horsemanship skills, she swept our division for overall combined placing. Reactions to seeing my flashy little bastard ranged from people exclaiming over his good looks (nobody, I repeat, NOBODY thinks he's handsome in West Texas.. or South Central Texas for that matter) and his color and his behavior akin to that of a four-year-old. Once I explain he is seventeen, I get one of two reactions. One, "I never would have guessed! Don't worry, he will settle down soon." And two, "Do you think you should try the Open Division? What about endurance racing?" I take the second as a compliment not in that we are fantastic at NATRC, (we aren't at all, and we run through half of the obstacles) but in that my old horse maintains enough energy to be a ball of crazy from Mile 1 to Mile 30, two days in a row. He isn't a bit tired at the end of it, despite taking half of the ride at an interesting side-steppy parade lope.

So, I stick to my belief that Bandito is A Special Case and that he is truly the only horse of his kind in my lifetime, through the faults of my own, his owners before him, and his own nature. Whether that proves to be a good or bad thing, I may only be able to answer as a (hopefully) old lady.

Our dressage riding has been going pretty well. After the Mike Vermaas classical clinic last fall, I finally pushed forward to begin lessons with somebody more local and more affordable. Sally takes an approach a la Centered Riding, and while I have not seen the dramatic and elegant change Mike showed me through an hour or two of work with Bandy, she is a warm and truthful instructor and gives straightforward but challenging homework to take back with us. Right now, I am working on identifying footfalls through feel and subsequently knowing where my core needs to be with each stride my horse takes. (What a drastic change from "Lock your heels down, eyes up, shoulders back, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BOUNCE!" that I have been taught and was guilty of teaching.) For our rides, I've been combining Sally's Centered Riding techniques to develop myself while asking Bandit for the give that Mike was able to bring out in us. And I've been reading the pants off of every dressage book I can, most of which sail over my head. But proof is in the pudding— I am really looking forward to seeing Sally in a week and showing her that yes, in fact, we are capable of 20 meter circles and being in the neighborhood of being on the bit! It has been a lot of bareback work and digging a hole in our crappy arena from hoofprints in the damp.

Still feeling out the Dr. Cook's bridle. We have had some excellent progress with it in the arena and roundpen, and I've found he has settled in to the different pressure well and is able to collect himself almost as consistently as with the snaffle. But.. Julie came over last week and brought Artex, and we went on a nice after-work ride around camp. Bandit walks, trots, canters peacefully and happily on a loose rein with the bitless as long as he is in the lead. However, when we switched into a higher gear and let Artex take the lead (because Artex, too, sort of sucks at being a follower) it was like Bandit was wearing a soft, cottony halter. Little to no response, nose braced against the pressure, not listening a lick.. I had to pull out the one-rein e-brake, and I RARELY have had to do that in my life. Granted, putting a zippy little horse into a race situation is not the smartest way to push the limits of a piece of equipment we have only been using for a couple of months, but it has deterred me from choosing the Dr. Cook's for high-speed trail work with friends. If we are on our own, it's still an excellent tool that we are learning to explore more and more. Going to keep our hands on the Little "S" hack for CTRs, however.

Pax is truly the benevolent barn princess. I've said that before and will again a thousand times in her life, but you have to watch the herd in action for a bit to understand. The Potomac Fever clearly did not stunt her growth noticeably; she is a beheamoth of a long yearling with hunks of thick gold mane that rivals my hair in length. She floats around the pasture with a big, lazy trot with surprisingly few dirty looks, even from the Evil Mare Society we house in our pasture. She has maintained petite Quarab Karat as a lady-in-waiting, but fellow giant Marquee (our LOPE OTTB) is now her queen's consort and I can't help but worry what can happen when those two monsters get moving.

I get nervous that she may get a mind to clear a fence at some point, so we have switched to gentle lunging on a line instead of work in the round pen. She's in a flightier mindset than a few months ago, but I think you can chalk that up to hormones and cold weather. We've been working on moving hind- and fore-quarters independently and I know I need to rig up some long lines so we may begin a little ground driving in the proper spring. Vet was surprised and pleased at how full her recovery has been (also said I could stop worrying about her round belly) and the vet exclaimed "that's the best behaved yearling I know!" which is pretty good praise, considering they spent 10 days with her at the clinic in August.

Great personality, through and through. She graciously visits every person who comes to call on her, no matter what. She is a lover and she knows her source of comfort. Love that big girl. Sometimes I stare at her and have to convince myself again she is mine. Then I get to thinking, What the hell am I going to do with a horse like this? And then I go pick up where I left off in an issue of Dressage Today and start hoping a lot.

And as for Indigo, he is out being a horse. Our elementary, under-saddle sessions sort of stalled after early December for no other reason that other things took precedence and time got short. I am not comfortable starting real work under saddle until late 3 / 4, so he has plenty of time. We have enjoyed several good groundwork sessions, working on manners and leading and following the push of applied pressure. And not trying to eat hands. The line between hands and food sometimes seems fuzzy, though he is sharp as a tack on most everything else. In the past couple of months, he has started the transition from being Interested Observer of New Humans in the pasture to being bold enough and confident enough in himself to step up and get friendly. Crazy to think that exactly a year ago, he was a scruffy, untouched two-year-old in a Nevada valley. He is a horse that will do well with the right kind of confidence boost and providing I stay structured. From what I understand of BLM horses going wrong in their training, I know I have to nip issues in the bud quickly. For me, that means going very slowly, despite a clever pupil.

— — —

I read some really interesting advice at the back of Equus this month. A novice woman bought a green horse for the first time, and an experienced horseman told her to simply talk to her horse through every minute of her progress with him. She said it worked, clearly not because the horse picked up on fluent English, but because (1) it calmed her down and lowered the tension between them and (2) her cadence and tone deeply affected the horse's response and action. Maybe not constantly, but I should get more comfortable with carrying on a conversation with my horses while we work. Despite a nagging feeling I might look insane.

— — —

In final bits and pieces, I spent last Saturday afternoon in Center Point watching a handful of ladies do some groundwork with their respective horses using Pat Parelli's Natural Horsemanship methods. It was very interesting; I've been around one Parelli trainer and watched a handful of his videos and saw some different approaches to making communication between horse and handler more fluid. Still not convinced it is The Only Way, but I don't think there is any One Way. I was offered some one-on-one instruction on his methods and the games (only a few of which I really remember well) from the ranch owner and I plan on taking her up on it if our schedules ever align. Always good to learn more.

Looked at a very cute gelding who I wish were about two inches taller. Richard doesn't exactly need a horse at the minute, but he caught my attention in part because he reminded me of a bolder version of Bandit, and in part because he was a handsome little guy. We will see where Blackjack ends up..

I spoke for the Equestrian Track of the 2011 Southwest Camping Conference last week along with two other professionals and our vet. Talked about our Adopt-a-Horse lesson program and our extended private lease agreements. It went quite well, actually. Met some other camp horse people, loved touring Camp Waldemar.

I've been roped into hauling a horse for a good friend to a polocrosse clinic on Saturday. I am not bringing a horse and can only stay to "audit" a couple of hours, but it should be interesting. The fellows name is Guy Roberts, apparently a big deal among polocrosse players in England. Always love getting a chance to watch a true professional, even if I can't envision my horse being slightly okay with flying balls and sticks during a fast-paced game. It would be kind of fun to do with friends, but my optimism isn't overwhelming. Bandit and I already broadened our horizons enough last year to last awhile.

Richard leaves for the Oklahoma Horseshoeing School this Saturday for a shorter term than we originally thought. His work with my farrier has gone well and he is eager to get back here and learn more while working. I'm proud of him for finding something that clearly drives him passionately more than his degree did, nervous about the entrepreneurial aspect of the job (this coming from a woman who loves the relative stability of working for the YMCA or the park service) and secretly quite pleased with myself for marrying a farrier and not even knowing it. He's been working hard, and it shows. He has a lot to learn but is one of those people with a damnable natural ability to pick things up, and a good mind when dealing with people and animals. His mum and sister are accomplished horsewomen and he learned his horsemanship early in the U.K. I'll miss him— and his help around the barn!

Ride on,
M.A.

Feeding breakthrough.

2010-12-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Something I struggle with professionally is (believe it or not) feeding our herd of 27.

Mostly, about two-thirds of them, are very easy keepers. We feed a very high-quality coastal hay and one of two pelleted grains produced in Lockhart— a complete senior or a pellet for most of the rest of the horses. I also do my best to keep a good loose mineral at ready access, in addition to cheap white salt licks.

Working for a non-profit, and being the only horse employee in the city-wide organization, means (obviously) funds are not always easy to come by. My supervisors really do put a lot of faith and funding into the horses, but it sure isn't like running a high-dollar breeding operation or fancy HJ stable. There are simply some choices that have to be made, and a few of our residents (four, specifically) are very old and have lead very full, possibly very stressful lives, and their bodies show it.

What is hard to explain to any non-equestrian is that those aging, creaky-boned "nags" are actually some of our most important assets. I cannot completely trust 25 out of 27 horses to deal with a terrified, screaming 5 year-old on a pony ride, but I can sure trust Charlie Brown or Dixie. Puzzle and Dolly are not far behind them in being bombproof and gentle while still having enough energy to tote kids around for half a day— we have other horses about the same age and with slightly better body condition scores that don't have the energy and vigor of the Old Guys. I certainly do a lot of reading about horse rescues, equine nutrition, and other lesson barns (among other things) and constantly I come up against the opinion from private horse owners that there is no excuse in the world for even the oldest horse to not be as fat and fleshy as a healthy 6 year old. I'm not sure exactly how things would change if we had unlimited funds— I know I could afford even better feeds from farther-away dealers, and alfalfa bales year-round— but even then, I am pretty damn sure these guys wouldn't suddenly revert back to their prime condition. The way a horse is kept from their earliest days, just as with people, certainly affects how they age, and I know for a fact that at least a couple of these guys have had relatively stressful lives.

So, I do as many things as I can to keep weight on them— multiple (normally two) feedings a day of fully soaked senior feed with several pounds of alfalfa and beet pulp mixed in. Supplements. Very light but directed exercise so they don't just waste away. Yearly dental care. (For what teeth some of them have left!) They are still in turn out and still share hay bales with the youngsters. I had put in for electrical fencing materials for spring of 2011, so I could put up an "Old Folks Pen" in the middle of the pasture and put them on One N' Only free-choice pelleted feed. The cost of the feed was going to be at least as high as what they eat now (which is a LOT) and probably higher, but I have witnessed the good that feed can do for skinnies and thought I'd be able to find it at a local dealer.

Couple things went wrong with that plan. The electric fencing got cut from the final budget (more important things took priority; I was the one who made the final decision and I know it was the right one) and the feed was jacked up in price over two bucks a bag within a month. I don't even know what it is now or what it would've cost in January, when I was planning to start making the switch.

So.. As the days get colder, I start putting blankets on three of the four Old Folks. (Puzzle seems to detest blankets, can't see terribly well, and is already extremely fluffy. She gets a pass.) I decided to keep them in the corral where we grain the rest of the herd for a night so I could more easily unblanket them in the morning. I gave them an extra evening soaked mash, and then it occurred to me that we have the facilities right there to separate out the horses. Yes, it would (and does) take some fanangling to feed the entire herd, and yes, there is a LOT more manure for me to scoop, but.. a week later, and I really think it's working. Normal feed, plus a little bit extra alfalfa pellet, soaked and split into three or four meals. A round bale just for them in the arena, no competing with the whippersnappers.

I swear I see more flesh on Charlie than there was a week ago. And he is a STRANGE looking horse.. Huge QH butt, big shoulders, decent neck.. and a long, very swayed back with sprung ribs and spinous processes showing a bit. But he looks deeper in the chest and showing a bit more cover over the ribs. The other three aren't as noticeable but I am sure there's a difference— I can see it, if it isn't obvious.

Is 2 years old mature?

2010-11-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

I hesitate to say where I found this link, but it is worth the read, in my opinion. I have a 2 year old under saddle who is going to do nothing more than sit and walk a couple of laps around the round pen with me on his back until he is at least three. And a 1.5 year old that probably won't see ANY real under saddle work with a rider on her back until she is at least three. Both horses are well adjusted to carrying a saddle and have started work with hackamores / o-ring snaffles. There are tons of things to do with them until proper conditioning with a rider begins in a couple of years.

I realize people have differing opinions, but for me, this is a touchy subject.

http://www.webertrainingstables.com/ridingyoung.cfm

Group lunging, horse aging.

2010-11-19T21:48:00.001-08:00

Indigo and some of the other easy-keeping horses eat in the arena. I went to pull him in today after their supper; he took off like a shot. Tried again; he let me stroke his neck, then the second I lifted the lead rope, he was gone again. I cleaned out the arena of feed pans and started driving all six horses around with a long lead. Toss and release, toss and release, cutting Indy out when I wanted and only giving him permission to group back up if I allowed. Eventually, I joined up with each other horse, haltered them, and let them into the corral. Finally it was just the youngster and me, and I spent another ten minutes with just the two of us Took a couple of false starts, but we finished alright and I rewarded him with chin scratches, water, a break, and a cookie. He was on edge the rest of the afternoon, which I'm not particularly happy about, but did settle enough for Richard to rasp his hooves. I don't like his demeanor today; depending on how he does, might put him in his old pen for a few days and do some more groundwork. Our lessons under saddle last week went passably, but I don't push him much as a two year old.

Pax was excellent yesterday, both free lunging and on the lunge line. It was her first time in a Western saddle (due to my oversight, really) and despite an initial snort and sidle at first, she handled it well. Measured her at fifteen solid hands yesterday. Maybe a half inch more.

As for Bandit, I enjoy him more every day. That old man is so much more capable than I knew. Dug up an old English bridle and a rubber o-ring and we have been working walk-trot bareback on coming onto the bit and engaging the hind end. I find my leg contact is much better received bareback and I feel the subtle changes in his spine. It's something fun to work at; hoping to take lessons in Fredericksburg soon. Next NATRC ride is first weekend in December. I read in Horse&Rider about what's considered "old age"-- apparently even in moderately fit horses, the cardiovascular system begins to lose efficiency noticeably starting at age 18. Does that mean I have one solid year of hard use in him left? Hope so, at least. So much is clicking now. I feel rather sad about the situation; wish I had something coming up sooner than Pax. Wish he were six again instead of sixteen.

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Location:Flaming Arrow Rd S,Hunt,United States

NATRC, first time out

2010-10-25T20:57:00.001-07:00

I'm hooked. Already signed up for a ride in December. Bandit was a ball of crazy for a good tw-thirds of it.. But when it was good, it was amazing.

I keep refreshing the photo guy's webpage, hoping for shots to be up, but none yet.

Better post to come eventually. But I believe I've found my horse sport niche.

First ride.

2010-10-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

Both Indy and Pax have been enjoying horse-dom and lots of eating. I tie and brush them often, do a little halter work, throw some curveballs (i.e. flags, plastic bags, etc.) their way and go on to my lesson kids (of which I suddenly have scads, thanks not to advertising but word-of-mouth.. yay!) or Bandit, who I fear is not in as good of shape as I would've liked just a week and a half prior to our CTR. (But improving.)

But today, after taking a student and her mother on a big trail ride and finding some daylight left at the end of the evening, I decided it was time for Indy's first saddling. The saddle blanket was a bit of a touchy subject for a day or two and honestly, I had dropped the subject for several weeks, focusing on other groundwork.

First we free lunged in the newly re-assembled round pen. Richard and I just put it back together from the two pens it created during Pax and Indy's isolation days. The grass had all grown back, so Indigo was unfocused and determined to eat and we weren't going to achieve any sort of join up, so I stepped out and grabbed the saddle blanket.. and then a junky camp saddle on a whim.

He was a little nervous about the blanket, and I tend to throw it around like a spaz. We walked through that, let him sniff at the saddle, and for some reason, he was not remotely afraid of it. A little worried that I was reaching over to bounce the stirrups on his off side, but decidedly alright with the big leather object. Obviously I cinched him in stages, but that didn't bother him at all, either, even when I started to get brave and consider the possibility of backing him. Sent him around the pen again with the stirrups down and flopping at his sides, no issues.. Picked up his hind end a little when I came after him with the stock whip. He is rather difficult to motivate to move.

Brought him back into me, bopped the stirrups around a bit, threw my helmet on and bounced in the left and right stirrup.. Started to get ballsy, stood all the way up, down, up down, up down. I tied the long lead into a set of reins and makeshift mecate. My heart was pounding when I started to swing my foot over his hindquarters; scratched his bum with my boot heel, guided it over, and then we were sitting. He flicked an ear back and then stood stock still. I swung off, back on, off again, back on.. Started crying, realized I was being stupid to get on him for the first time (this is also the first time I've been the first person on board a horse; I've been the second many a time, but a newbie to virgin backs.) Texted Richard, told him to get to the barn quick, mounted back up, turned his head to either foot, and then Richard showed up and I was still crying stupidly and happily.

After scolding me for not having anybody present and snapping a crappy phone photo, Richard lead him around a bit with me on board and we called it a day.

A good day.

As for Pax.. 17 months is an awkward stage, but she is still sweet as punch. Last week appeared to be her first heat cycle, which would be on the early side of things if we have guessed her age correctly, but not totally unusual. Her mood didn't seem to change much at all.. We've only seen her mean ears once in almost a year of ownership. Her mane and tail are both disasters at the minute; she rubs her mane and rubbed almost an entire braid out of it while I had it plaited up from the heat, and her tail is.. Gross. Alas. Someday her sweet face will be matched with passable confirmation. ;)

I don't think I ever posted about my bad trailering experience two weeks ago, and I don't think this is the time to get into it. But, namely: Teach your horses to load without your assistance climbing in. Take the time to reteach others' horses who do not understand that concept. And always, especially with young horses, open the #)*#$# emergency hatch at the front of your trailer. At one point of the afternoon I became pinned beneath Indigo striking furiously to get out of the front of the trailer, his rope around my chest, and Snickers violently shaking her head in full set-back mode from her tied position at the back of the trailer. I was stuck for several long minutes, screaming "help," and eventually chose to crawl behind Snickers' back hooves to reach safety. It was entirely my fault and entirely stupid.

But, all's well that ends well. Here's one shot of Indy and Pax during some trailer work we did a week or so ago. Cute pon-pons!

Pony lessons, of all varieties.

2010-09-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

I have a fair-weather side that can be hard to fix sometimes, but I dodged enough rain clouds this week to make a little progress at El Barn-o.

I taught a lesson today to two of my favorite little girls, H and M. The elder, at 9, just moved up to riding Molly today from Missy and the transition did make her a little nervous at first. Missy is a bit of a tug-thwack-kick, hard-mouthed old lesson mare with a notable sweet side but a cranky streak a mile wide. I'm getting nervous about her rear fetlocks; she tends to stock up a lot and I'm sure she has arthritis setting in. Molly is relatively hot; she's the closest lesson horse we have to a Bandit and she can get antsy if you keep her back without reason for too long. But, H is a strong rider with a natural seat I find myself envying (who doesn't miss being 10 years old and bulletproof?) and I was worried she was picking up too many rough cues from riding Missy and her other school mounts from her summer camp, Camp Mystic. (As a sidenote, that is no job at Mystic! I am sure their instructors do a wonderful job. But young riders at CFA tend to get the plugs, and I know that goes for many other riding programs as well. Plugs can teach you plenty, but they can also impede your fluidity.) Really, she did great with Molly and Molly settled her silly butt down pretty quickly. I'd like to ride her more beforehand next time and see if I can get her in the mindset— she isn't a horse that adjusts quickly from one job to another; if you get her going, she's likely to keep the momentum. But, when all was said and done, the ride went really well. Lots and lots of giggling, only one show of tears (the 6 year old isn't terribly adjusted to losing games yet.) I sort of broke a cardinal rule of teaching young kids to ride by whipping out two new games in one session, but we were practicing our woah's and go's and stops and they were side by side, so I pulled out some crepe paper for a Ribbon Ride. And then later we learned the barrel pattern.. I can't help but think they could kick a little youth rodeo tail at Crider's some summer night if they wanted to. (Parents probably aren't the type, but that's okay!) They thought running it on the ground first (slapping our bums like we had quirts) was great fun, and both did well on their first go-around. I'm trying to be a better instructor instead of just a fun one by teaching them at least two new horsey vocabulary words a week— this week was "Sorrel" and "Stirrup." Sorrel moreso for the 9 year old, but the 6 year old would do well to figure out why her feet are always stuck in those plastic "thingies." ;)

My old boss / mentor took me out to lunch as a little early birthday surprise. Bruce's Trout at Elaine's, yum. He asked to come back and take a look at Indigo and it turned out he really likes him! No, he's no halter horse but he's sound and solid and was incredibly gentlemanly. He caught easily, as he has been —he's out in the pasture now, more on that below— and stood very politely for inspection, and even buried his face in Dave's for a little bit and took a nice, polite sniff. He still is a teensy bit mouthy, but he never actually bites anymore. He is certainly at the bottom of the totem pole but seems resigned and happy with that fate, with big fat Hannah Banana mare as his body guard. David wants to go and check out the winter BLM sales in Texas with me and had nothing but good things to say about Indy; he might want something of the like. There's one mustang at La Junta who has been around for years and years, Dave said without any problems. Steady as the day is long. Hugely fat, easy keeper, can be barefoot, and well into his twenties without ever having a summer day off.

Dave also said Bandit was better looking than he's ever seen him before (and it's been almost four years now he's known him, going on five, three of those years Bandit at least spent some time in his care) and that, too, made me happy. Bandit's a big, nearing-17-year-old ball of fat and muscle and attitude but he's wound up and feeling go-y all the time now. I haven't ridden him since Monday and probably won't get anything in 'til Saturday, so he's been full of piss and vinegar whenever we do get out.

Marquee got ridden by Kara early this week. Just on the trail. He was a little goofy at first, 'til Kara discovered the gates on his headstall and reins had gotten stuck together.. Uhh, ?!?!?! It was odd. But he seemed relatively behaved on the trail, a little forward and on Bandit's butt, but then Bandit fell into complete disorder when Marquee took the lead so really, the 7 year old was on better behavior than the 17 year old. He has really been exceptional this summer, learning only a few bad Lesson Horse habits and being a very gentle giant.

I eventually caved into letting Indigo into our large pasture with the rest of the herd. Everyone at camp seemed convinced I was being a little cruel in keeping him contained, but I was extremely nervous letting him out in a pasture that still uses barbed wire for some of its fencing. We're due to replace it all by November, and most of the new t-posts are already driven for the pony wire, and I was going to try and wait it out 'til then, thinking I'd have more one-on-one time with the little 'Stanger.. But he is such a chill horse, I don't think I'm gaining anything by being his only companion except he's going to be even more person-bonded than he already is. Plus, we walked the fenceline and he certainly seemed to "get" it, and it's pretty hard to actually get him running. Moral of the story, I didn't stick to my guns and put him out yesterday morning. I watched him like a hawk for over an hour, then checked the rest of the day, and he's been overjoyed at slurping from the round bales and has a very constant protector in Hannah Mare, who stays plastered to his side at all given times. Molly and Puzzle hang out as well. They're all the lowest rungs on the ladder of life but at least get a hay bale to themselves. (Pax, Marquee, JB, and the other Cool Kids occupy the back of the pasture. Much like the cool kids always get the back of the bus.)

He's wearing his blanket without fuss and simulated "girth." October will be saddle time.

Sundry pony update

2010-09-18T18:38:00.001-07:00

Indigo had an afternoon of being a camp pony. I tied him up in the tacking area while R and I lead the last four rides of the day, and he hung around for the unsaddling bit where all the horses milled around and sniffed his bum and sides and face. Only Marquee and Missy made valiant attempts to kick him. He didn't offer to kick anyone back and seemed rather polite and taken with Hannah. Cutie.

He was the most unnerved I've seen him today when I first brought out the blanket. But after he sniffed it and chewed it and I started tossing it to his shoulder rhythmically, he settled down and I was able to get it over his sides and pull it over belly, hip, tail, neck, and head within a few minutes. It never seems to take much time to teach him anything. I even "girthed" him with a spare rope around his belly.. Loose at first, then I tightened it 'til it was about cinch tight. For some reason, that didn't bug him at all. He wore the blanket and fake-cinch around for a little bit, tied with it, chewed on it some more, and then we were done. After I walked him through the tack room a few times.

Thursday, we went for a walk about camp. Nothing was scary, except for the big Y-Man poster cutout when whapped with a stick and the lids on the big trash cans slamming. Besides that, he was generally just bemused with everything going on and quite calm in hand. Only once or twice have I had to reprimand him for walking through a "woah" cue; he listens well. The new halter with a few more knots over the nosepiece gives enough bite that he minds easily.

He's met a few campers and done well. I do worry about his mouthiness, but he's learned what I mean when I growl at him and he has his lips wrapped around something/someone.

Richard taught him to pick up his back feet today. I'm proud of both of them— R can be a little quick to discipline, but we talked about trust and he absolutely got it and the different learning curve Indy's on. But without any kicking, any fright, he asked him to give his back left and then his back right. The only struggle is just a balance issue, but I think they are both figuring it out. It's cool to watch. :)

Pax looks awesome. Her belly is back. Her shoulders are filling out again, and her hips are rounding. Hopefully her tail grows out quickly. (It was bandaged so long and not taken out for 10 days; some of the weaker hairs at the dock wore out and so she looks a little.. Skunky.) Her mane has gone totally wild again and I decided not to tame it out of its double-maned-ness. I sort of like it. Even though I haven't done much with her outside of feed her and watch her closely, it absolutely brightens my day when she sets her big head into my chest and sighs and looks for pats. She is a very good girl.

And Bandit? Sassy as ever, but great to ride. He is a little lazy in the back end still if we're just lollygagging, but I think he looks fit and ready.

Progress

2010-09-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Indy-Pants spent some of the afternoon on Monday handled and tied and in and out of the arena / tacking area. He was well-behaved, save for a little pawing at the start of his tying. (I tend to dismiss this the first times by just giving him no attention; this was enough discipline for him to quit within a few minutes and fall asleep. If he'd been at it for longer or if we were farther along in his schooling, I get a little more aggressive about it. He did pretty much the same thing in the trailer and quit in short order.) Richard was down at the barn again, picking up feet and working on his farrier's stance —did I mention he was planning to go to school for it? He asked to work with Indy's feet again, while I watched. He had handled all four feet the day prior, without asking for anything but Indigo to stand reasonably for the process. But this time around, without a lot of fuss, he had both of Indy's front feet picked up and held for several long seconds, a couple of times, until the process was relatively smooth. He started to work on the back feet, but I asked him to wait until the pony is totally convinced we aren't going to rip off a hoof or anything. I like to think I'm pretty good at getting a horse to be quiet about their feet, and Pax wasn't too hard to teach, though she regressed a little, but I was fully expecting feet manners to be really, really difficult with a wild horse. Thank goodness sometimes that Richard is braver and ready to take steps faster than I am. (Note I said, sometimes.)

Today, we worked on feet again and he was very willing for me to pick them up, pull into a normal stance underneath him, and even stretch out in front of him like I do to warm up my riding mounts. Haven't started the backs yet, but we've started walking and working behind Indigo without any threat from him. I'll give it a little time.

I also worked on moving his hindquarters and forehand independently on the ground. I started just asking him to move his hindquarters away by swinging the slack end of the lead, which went pretty well, and then swapped to using my hands above his stifle to push his butt around and on his shoulder to move his front. The hind end was easier, as I think it often is, but after a couple of minutes we could move all four quadrants with a decent amount of pressure. He is certainly very bright and catches on to exercises and requests easily, but he isn't dramatically reactive unless you totally catch him off guard— which is hard to do. The other day I threw his hay over the fence and while he was scooting to eat it, I reached through the paneling and touched his rear. He flew sideways, gave me his crazy wide-eyed-why-the-heck look, and stayed pointedly out of hand's reach. But I find if you give him just a second to prepare for a request, he's very compliant.

New halter came in today, finally! I ordered it from The Stick Lady weeks and weeks ago, but she does make everything by hand. Very impressed with the quality— if I could afford to have every camp horse in a well-knotted halter and a yacht rope lead, I would. Lindsay, Bonnie's "mom," suggested her. I am very conflicted over what is considered the Natural Horsemanship industry, partially because I think in many cases, merchandise is stressed over relationships and patience. I think a horse should respond in a crusty old Hamilton nylon turnout halter just as well as they do in a fancy-dancy Clinton Anderson Endorsed $90 ensamble, but I do see the value in a great halter and the benefit good balance, particular knots, and better materials. That said, my NH-entrepreneur of choice is Monty Roberts, and his crap is hella expensive too, up there with Parelli and Clinton and Brannaman. ANYWAY, I don't want to get into a diatribe; I'm slowly making my way through the first couple sets of Parelli tapes, and I don't think there's a single person out there who has re-written the humane horsemanship bible. I like to read everything I can get my hands on and take what I like and leave what I don't. And this Stick Lady makes a mean rope halter at a better price. I recommend!

Clever, clever boy

2010-09-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Bandit and I (and most of the rest of the herd) spent the weekend shuttling lovely Girl Scouts around on trail rides that never ended in complete disaster, but occasionally came close. I kid, somewhat, but the most stressful part of my job is inevitably when the horses go "public" and parents are thrown into the mix. Having Tiff there absolutely helps control the chaos, and this weekend we also had one of the high ropes instructors from the summer, Justin, who did a great job for his first real go-around. He got to partake in the Bee Hive Fiasco of 2010 back in July, and works hard and keeps a very level head (much like Tiff) so really couldn't have asked for a better team.. But that said, it was still 120+ Scouts and moms, Daisies to Cadettes, and that, my friends, can be a crazy crazy time. I'm looking forward to my lesson kids coming back this week and enjoying real one-on-one teaching time.

This was also Indigo's "debut" as an educational piece / object of adoration by dozens of adorable little girls. I posted a little sign, talking about his origins and his color and please-don't-stick-your-fingers-in-here-because-I-innocently-like-to-munch-on-them, but really we can't see him very well from our vantage point at the barn. (His pen is behind the craft shed, using the back shade structure as a shelter.) Richard, however, did spend a good part of his weekend in the craft shed making bird houses with the Juniors, and he said Indy was on good behavior the whole time. The girls were thoroughly excited to meet him and thought he was the most beautiful thing in the universe. He didn't nibble on anyone and I'm sure got a few pets in there somewhere.

Pax also enjoyed some attention today. I think Richard grew weary of his last birdhouse-building group finishing their projects early and took them over to visit her. She was appropriately gracious about eating grass from everyone's little hands and enjoying lots of pats and ooh's and ahh's. If I'm not very diligent about getting my horses out to new places to see things, they are subjected to an enormous amount of handling from lay people and squealy kids. The rest of the time, she looked longingly at her best friends Karat and Dolly through the corral fence, or slept in the sun, sprawled out like a snoring, farting, oversized cat. I have never been around a horse that slept quite so thoroughly or voraciously all the time. I can't help but worry that there's something off about her, but it may also just be part of being so damn calm that firecrackers under the tail wouldn't set her off so much. I love that horse. I have no idea what made me buy that horse, but I love her.

Anyway, after an epic nap tonight post-Scout weekend, before it got completely dark, Richard and I headed to the barn to work on our respective crafts. While he picked hooves and trained his back, I caught Indigo and lead him out of his pen for the very first time since arriving a couple of weeks ago. He balked a little bit at the gate and stared at me rather wide-eyed, finally took a hesitant step out, then a few more, and then buried his nose in grass and grazed backwards until he was firmly back on the other side of his pen threshold. We tried again, and things were obviously easier, and it wasn't five minutes until we were easily leading around the round pen clearing, past the tacking area, and around the arena. He balked a bit at gates but doesn't act silly; he just wants a good sniff at everything before he takes it on.

After we lead around the arena, I let him loose and popped the lead at him until he was sent into a quick trot about half the length of the arena.. Promptly stopping to graze over visiting the rest of the herd, who were gathering at the far fence to check out the new kid. I grabbed a stock whip and drove him around a little bit— saw his lope for the first time, and some pretty silly crowhops (like, two of them) and the most trot since we first laid eyes on him. He's cute! Covers some ground. He came pretty easily, and ate his first horse cookie. Probably not the best idea on my behalf as he is certainly mouthy, but it's nice to have a quick food reward that he'll accept now instead of trying to feed him handfuls of alfalfa. (That said, I don't really believe in training based heavily on food reward, but I do use treats as a way to reward patience or a good ride or training session.)

After some grazing and more leading, I put him in the tacking area and tied him up again and gave him another good grooming. He was a little squirrely, but considering the circumstances, I was very impressed. Richard even handled his back legs a little bit. He tested the confines of his lead rope, but did not offer to set back or try to untie it again. I am thankful he is starting to look towards me for assurance whenever he's concerned about something.

Indigo's success hasn't made me overconfident in my gentling abilities, but he has made me feel like I don't entirely suck at choosing horses. Picking him out of that facility was one of the hardest non-life-endangering or family-related things I've ever had to do, and I felt like a lot rested on him. After we saw him and Eve dubbed him "Fugly," my mind immediately kept going back to him after every horse we pondered over certainly not because of his looks, but because of his temperament. I think he's a good match for us, and I'm entirely taken with him. There's so much left to teach him, but every day he shows an honesty and an openness to learn and to trust that is impossible to not get excited about. I do have to make a conscious effort to keep in mind his wildness and deeper-set instincts, but I think that also helps to keep me thinking on his level and at his speed.

I'm excited. He's a neat horse.

Smarty pants

2010-09-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today was Indy's first proper tying and brushing.

Neither one phased him a bit.

In fact, three seconds after I tied him up for the first time (with a very safe quick-release knot, of course) he had snatched the end of the rope and elegantly untied himself. When I glanced around, he looked rather pleased. Sucker is smart.

As for the brush.. He tried to eat the bristles, but besides that, enjoyed a full-body groom. I still haven't waltzed directly behind him and poked him in the butt, but I can reach all the way around to brush his rear and slide around to the other side without issue. Legs are good too, though I've worked more with the front than the back.

He's the first horse I've seriously considered buying a Jolly Ball for. He wants to chew and play and sniff and lick things constantly.

I think he was someone's pet. Hah. Half-kidding.

1 month 'til Quitaque

2010-09-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

Oye.

Bandit was utterly full of loco beans today.

"Standing" respiration rate was 16 breaths a minute, though actually that was after walking him in from the hillside and having him get a little wound up, anticipating being tacked up and going. At the minute, that's one of my biggest concerns about the CTR— his standing respiration rate is high high high anyway, and his heart rate is on the high end as well.

On the subject of heart rates, I absolutely and completely suck at taking them. I can find a pulse, digitally or in front of the throat latch, and I immediately lose it. For today's ride, I mainly concentrated on respiration because I was getting so frustrated taking his pulse while he was squirrely and decided to hit the internet to see if there's a better method, short of carrying a stethoscope with me.. Which I suppose isn't out of the question. But I feel stupid. Plus, an equine heart rate monitor ain't cheap.

Anywho, we were out and about for 52 minutes this morning, in the wet, puddle-y, slick-rock morning air. 10 minutes of that were a standing break in the middle, trying to see how his recovery rate was. Pretty terrible. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30.

As I said in my Facebook status, I didn't feel so much like I was horseback riding today than being strapped to some sort of rocket ship. We've gone on a couple of leisurely rides and some swims in the river, but nothing at a good clip since summer.. And I decided to just swing on, warm up a bit in front of the barn, and go. Yikes. We were also back in his Little S Hackamore, which admittedly loses its bite if I don't move it up or down his nose a bit and, recently, switch him between that and a loose-ring snaffle. He IS responsive enough, but sometimes I have to use a big verbal woah and a heavy seat, which isn't too conducive to being up in my stirrups and over his back most of the time. I'm definitely bringing a bit or two to the competition.

He was absolutely zooming, and got fairly ahead of himself over the first hill. His back end was very very strong, with only a couple of slips the whole hour, which I think could both be attributed to riding in slick mud and over wet limestone. We never settled terribly well into one pace, even our trot went from big to small to leaping depending on the terrain, but there really isn't any stretch of level ground on that whole ride except through the cedars, and that was SOAKING wet. After our 10 minute rest before Fort Clarke, I intended to let him out in a hand gallop for the little windy bit before the Vesper fork, but it was just too wet and he was just too wound up. Wasn't a good choice. We had one great firecracker moment approaching a downhill when we went to woah, he almost walked, and a deer shot behind us and we ricocheted forward— I nearly tumbled off the back end!

As for my seat.. Eh. The workouts I've been doing every other day are mainly glutes and thighs, which I KNOW is helping, but I felt a little lost in the saddle in riding tights and the slickness of the leather. I'm considering getting a sheepskin cover for a little more tackiness, or maybe full-seat tights? I just need to stop sitting, ever, and two point 12 hours a day for the next month. BAhhelkjraf.

I have "met" (re: phone and internet) a couple of very nice people through the NATRC website and Yahoo groups (and Facebook, go figure) who are fielding my daily questions about Crap I'm Going To Forget. Richard is getting roped into helping do P&R checks and other menial tasks about the ride.

I'm so excited.

As a footnote, finally got to work Indigo again yesterday. It was only 20 minutes or so, and without very much pressure, as his pen is still half slop.. But I had him haltered in short order and leading better than before, even though he was a bit spazzy to start out with. Please, God, let things dry out over the weekend!

And as for Pax.. She has been back out to pasture for four or five days and looking much, much better and much happier for it.

Leading

2010-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Indigo had a nice break yesterday during the day, but around dusk I went down and we went back to work. Pushed him around the pen a little bit and then started our leading work. He is definitely getting it down and it's less convincing, more easy steps.

He took his first eager steps towards me yesterday; that was a pretty good feeling! (No food required, just to clear the record. ;)

Summer recovery, blog expansion

2010-08-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

After 10 days at the vet clinic, Pax is home and recovering from her Potomac Horse Fever. It was a scary deal, though thanks to a wonderful team of vets and staff, she avoided foundering and didn't entirely break the bank.

We were complimented on her behavior, especially considering age and size. While occasionally she gets overenthusiastic and walks ahead of you, with consistency, she's gotten much more mindful over the summer. She spent a lot of time tied and underwent The Camp Treatment, meaning (under close eye) being pawed over by dozens and dozens of helmet-wearing kids and being in the midst of the craziness that comes with running a full summer program. I can happily report she passed tremendously, even in a few situations I did NOT want her placed in so soon— namely, rambunctious non-horsey-kids running up directly behind her and pretty much face-planting into her stifle; getting a tied rope underneath and around her front legs; and almost getting saddled by some overzealous Saddle Club kids. That said, she wears a cinched English saddle without any fuss and almost politely opens her mouth when given the standard cue for bitting. I realize there could be some fireworks come first backing, but my suspicions are low. She's very much a thinker rather than a reactor— the polar opposite of my darling Bandit.

I can't promise to be a more faithful blogger, but I am expanding this blog to encompass all of the work and play that circles the barn. Namely, preparing El Bandito for our first Competitive Trail Ride in October, and starting my first BLM Mustang project —named Indigo— who we just brought back from Colorado this weekend.

Saturday and Sunday were spent settling "Indy" and Pax into their temporary residences, 30x30' pens located behind the craft shed in sight of the old round pen and the front of the barn. Despite Indy technically being a red dun paint and Pax being a true Belgian sorrel complete with flaxen mane and mealy points, they look terribly alike, which is repeatedly pointed out and kind of funny. Pax is at least a year Indy's junior and already a couple of inches taller, and I'm pretty sure the resemblance is fleeting, but apparently I do have a new pension for red horses with chromed up heads.

Yesterday, Monday, was going to be a day spent just bathing Pax and getting her out and about (she's going a bit bonkers in a pen, social butterfly that she is) but I felt the urge to start work with Indy. We've already started the association between people - food - petting, but feeling the time was right to go further, I brought in a length of yacht rope and a short stock whip and started gently driving him around his enclosure, upping the pressure as his reactions transitioned from "yelp, she decided to eat me after all" to "just kidding, this is boring.. can I take a nap?" Pony's inside ear was locked on me the whole time, which I realize is more characteristic of a wild horse than a domestic one and I didn't take it as an automatic free pass to join-up, but a good sign. It was probably five minutes of a good trot and several quick directional changes before Indy's head dropped and the licking/chewing routine began, and at that point, I'd give him the option to stop, turn his head towards me, and allow for me to walk up and start to stroke him. He would handle that for ten or twenty seconds at first— when he started to wander away, then repeat the driving and the signs— then 30, 45, 60 seconds of petting and fussing and scratching everything from muzzle to ear to neck to belly. We worked in intervals of 15 or 20 minutes, a few hours left to think over things, and then more work, but by 4, I had his first halter over his head and can now walk freely around his front end, stroking by hand everything from girth forward. I can reach my hand down his back to his hip, but will wait to use a carrot stick to go below and within hooves' reach.

I will say that despite resorting to some pretty aggressive driving (whooping, whip snapping, slapping my thighs, etc.) this little guy has yet to strike out towards me once. He is an Omega horse all over and I picked him with that purpose in mind— I think I'm pretty handy at the early stages of training ungentled horses, but I definitely do not overestimate my experience level. He has a strong desire to be partnered up with somebody and doesn't like being left alone, by me or by Pax, who (because of proximity) has turned into his closest companion. As I was told mustangs would be, he's very sharp and picks up on cues quickly, though he isn't the reactionary animal in the slightest. He conserves his energy, but responds very well to body language providing I stay consistent.. Which, like every horseperson knows, can be tough! I want to keep trying new ways to do things, and have to fight the urge in order to see if asking over and over again will eventually produce a "click" moment. So far, so good. Leading in a straight line has been our biggest challenge so far; he balks, if I touch with a stock whip, he just swings his hind end away. The best solution to that so far I've found is just to keep moving in circles, back and forth, which he understands and responds fairly well to. Eventually, after a couple of said circles, when asked for some steps directly forward, Indy obliges before rethinking that he'd rather not get coaxed any closer, thankyouverymuch. I find I can get him to stand pretty well as I approach just by stepping in front of and behind his shoulder in tiny increments— he tries to walk forward, I catch him by taking just a half step towards his head, he pauses, repeat, step towards his hip if need be, etc. Once you get there, he is especially fond of chin scratches. He is a sweet little dude, and I am terribly optimistic about him.

And Bandit? Throughout most of the summer, I was letting him carry me like I envision the typical Arabian endurance horse to do so— neck out, face up, covering ground at speed and keeping his eyes always far ahead. He was worked a lot, and he's sixteen, and is not 100% sound in his right hind end ever. (Small, probably old injury detected by flexion tests at his pre-purchase over 10 years ago.) Towards the end of camp, I felt him tripping over his back feet more and more often, seeming to dip his hocks low and showing weakness almost evenly in his pasterns. Lance (our farrier) didn't find any real cause of lameness other than the long feet Bandit acquired when he first went out to the vicious volcanic rock of West Texas and wore his heels down due to my own negligence. He has started boxing Bandit's back toes a bit, causing him to break over faster and build up heel once more, and told me to "ride the hell out of him." That caused pretty immediate improvement, but this past week, I swapped back to a plain loose-ring snaffle and slowly began asking for collection and flexion again as part of every ride, both in the arena, and on easy bits of the trail. I think that's helping; I think several factors (age, me gaining +/- 25 lbs, work work work with a high headset in his Little S hackamore) have lead to some deterioration of his back muscles and some of the refinement of his ability to use his hind end.. Yeah, you get a big butt from trotting lots of hills, but I was never asking him to think about where he carried himself on the flat. He's a surefooted horse on rough terrain and at speed, but kind of a klutz if I don't ask him to pay attention to himself. So, combining that with more and more rides as the weather cools.. I think we may just be ready for Palo Duro Canyon and our 30+ miles of CTR in October! Can't believe it's almost here.

Am I ready? This belly says NO! Bettering my body before the CTR has become a primary concern. I'm physically strong in that I can work all darn day in the searing heat, but have I been running? No. Are my abs quietly drifting in a puddle of their own hungry and unmotivated doing? Yes. Will I be better before mid-October?

Absolutely.

Love the barn life. Ride on.

Feeling vibrant

2010-03-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

First ride on El Bandito in the old endurance tack I've scratched together. Oiled up the leathers on the borrowed Wintec from Dave's barn, knocked out the rotted pads out of the irons, checked the rest to make sure I wasn't going to die. Mounted up. First off, tried the natural Parelli bridle— once we were in the ball field, I knew that was a mistake, and doubled back for his normal hackamore. Once I convinced him it was okay to stop collecting, and he figured out it was the first time I was truly asking him for a flat-out trot— we covered some ground! Giddy with the feeling. We were both feeling a little sore, so I practiced hopping off, checking respiration, hacking a little bit on foot with him. I just felt happy. It feels fantastic to have a goal, even if it is far-off and I have a lot of crap to collect before then. I do want to take dressage lessons (desperately) but I don't have the time and probably not even the funds for that now. I haven't had a goal with the Bandit in forever and now I do and it's something he seems to relish and ahhhh, just feeling good about it. :) Can't wait for yahoo yellow tack in the mail.

We climb on two by two, to be sure these days continue things we cannot change.

9 month pic

2010-03-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

Pax at 9 months, just beginning her winter shed.

She's still alive

2010-03-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

Oye. I thought about going to take some pony pictures today specifically for a photo update.. But then it began to rain. And I had more pressing issues to tend to— specifically, the fact that the tractor slipped while I was driving through the arena gate and I took out a sizable and important chunk of cedar posts fence. Growl. ANYWAY.

Crossing my fingers the next warm front sticks around long enough to get Pax on track to finally shed out! I've never seen my little girl all slicked up and frankly, she's looking mighty fine at the moment. Definitely gaining some height (she's very obviously over 14 hands now, standing well above Karat— a good marker) but more noticeably, her neck is lengthening and becoming more lovely, her baby belly is slowly disappearing, and her back and coupling seems to be lengthening out as well. Watching her play with the big folks and cause all sorts of a wild rumpus seems to accidentally occupy chunks of my day when I should be doing other things. But I'm content that she seems happy, and happy to see me. I can't believe I own something so lovely. I am no confirmation whiz, but I really think she's going to materialize into a respectable, if clunky, mare. I'm well aware drafts and draft-Xes aren't a goldmine of perfect form anymore, and decades away from truly being bred for functionality— and Pax was just bred to have babies; LARGE ones. But out of the pages of PMUs I peruse and the handfuls I've met in person, I will say I'm happiest with her confirmation. It will grow and change, surely, but I think she's going to be quite usable. And quite full of herself, too.

"Deal With This, Pony."

2010-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

In an effort to get our little Ambien-laced wild child back on track last week, I spent a couple of afternoons again walk/jogging her in hand all over camp. Literally. In and out of buildings, up some small steps, banging and slamming trash cans, adorning her with hula hoops, chunking balls around— I just wanted to make her THINK through it all! Even though I wouldn't peg her as an equine prodigy, Pax still gets bored rather quickly and isn't particularly curious about things that don't involve food. If it isn't changing or increasing in edibility levels, she shows her distaste now by kicking things repeatedly out of (I perceive) spite.. SMACK, SMACK, SMACK on a pole or hanging bucket. Obviously she's getting reprimanded for this, and in her defense, she is standing VERY well for extended periods of (supervised) time.. But I'd rather be able to encourage some energy outlets than have to constantly discourage her boredom.

At least, down by the bottom line, she is still very happy to be caught and come play with her human mom. I still have moments of, "Wow, I can't believe she is mine."

Little triumphs.

2010-02-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

I am the epitome of fair-weather rider.

Yes, occasionally my job puts me in the position to ride in sleet, wet, and snowy stuff (see Christmas Eve 2009 and numerous summer thunderstorm occasions) but if I can get out of riding in it and being grouchy and just care for everybody and get back inside, I will. I mainly just don't like cold + wet.

This is all a preface to me not being a stellar horse mom in an on-and-off fashion this winter, as it has been both chilly and soggy. But, obviously, I am out for a spell at least twice a day (and pass through much more often, when I get bored with whatever inside thing I've found to do) and try to do what I can, training-wise, in the time I'm doing more menial horsekeeping.

With Pax it's been a small and steady stream of desensitizing. The same halter that used to threaten to eat her face now equates pats and cookies, and she dives her head into it. Saddle blankets are down for the most part— her expression is still pretty plaintive when I whip them out, but she doesn't try to escape. Richard "helped" with the category of "Hugely Loud Hammering on the Stall Walls While Horses Are Still Latched Inside and Feeding." (Catastrophe avoided, though I was in the arena doing work on a lead and somehow managed to get tripped and trampled by, out of 22 horses, MY specific two. I think they were aiming.) So she can now stand reasonably quietly in a stall while someone bangs the crap out of the adjacent boards. Whips are in there also, as we are learning to differentiate between Lunge Whip: Utensil For Equine Decapitation and Leg Amputation to Lunge Whip: The Annoying Thing That Cues Me to Trot in Circles. And tonight we flapped some huge, scary, jangly, and multicolored turnout blankets around our head and back. Even though she's quick to give you the apprehensive white-eyed stare, it never seems to take long before she'll let you throw whatever scary thing you have onto her bag so she can drag it around a bit.

Pretty proud. :) Good filly.

In a debacle over choosing a feed brand to switch to. I wish I had taken a Feeds and Feeding course at university, but also think I'd be even more torn between schools of thought. I visited with two feed representatives from a regional distributor, Livengood Feeds, last week and then had a long discussion and thought session with the Purina nutritionist today. Definitely got some good information from the Purina guy, and gave me lots of mental goals for our string— but on the flip side, I did have to talk myself down a little bit and remember that, at the end of the day, that guy is there to sell me more horse feed. While I'm really willing to make some adjustments to get a quality senior product to our older guys, I don't feel that I should also pour more money into Salty the Overweight 24 Y/O Grade Pony in order to improve his coat texture and maybe see a few millimeters more cover over his topline. I don't doubt the benefits of feeding more expensive full-dose concentrates, but weighing that out on a cost-benefit analysis of Camp Horses versus Performance Horses and even Backyard Pleasure Riders.. doesn't make sense. I want to put more resources into the oldest horses who really need the nutrition, but I don't want to pay extra to have Super Shiny Camp Ponies. I know it's nice, but there's a limit. Also, though he was happy to talk benefits of good hay (and we feed good hay— each horse eats around $85 of Coastal a month, bought in bulk) he tried very hard to debunk that Coastal has enough protein to provide maintenance to a handful of easy-keepers. I'm sorry, but I take one look at some of the round grade and Mexican-bred horses we have who spend 23.5 hours a day eating hay and trace minerals, and 30 minutes tearing around at a rocket-fuel gallop, and I can't get behind sacrificing more of our budget because a feed-pushing nutritionist says they need more protein. I'm really not worried about them. I feel like they could eat wood chips and still end up with a high-scoring body condition. But on the flip side— I do trust Purina and I love buying a product with that much R&D that goes into it. But asking me to put my easy keepers on a 32% pellet.. Err...

Catching up from the winter mud

2010-02-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Contrary to what you might believe from my dearth of posting, the horses are all alive and well. Dr. Quattro was out last month and clean bills of health were issued all around, even to the oldies and the fatties.

Before this evening, I haven't done too much with Pax minus messing with her at nightly feedings. Up until a couple of weeks ago, she was excelling at having all of her feet handled and held, but (almost literally) overnight, she developed a killer one-two punch with her hind foot. We reprimanded her shortly the night her new habit was discovered but didn't have time to do much else that night besides run our hands down her hindquarters to see where the sensitive spot was. Since then, I've used a carrot stick and flag and a 4' lunge whip to re-desensitize her to the sensation of having something around her back hocks. She's done okay, on a relatively inconsistent basis, but I can't help but wonder what caused the new danger zone. I think a lot of it has to do with her changing social status— in the past month, she's gone from hanging with the oldest, most apathetic fogies (i.e. Missy and Dixie) to eating at the Cool Kids Table with Marquee, Alabama, and Bonnie, who are all pretty aggressive. She seems to hold her own pretty well, and they don't mess with her anymore, so I'm guessing she's used her eight-month-old-but-still-drafty butt to kick them around a time or two.

Tonight, though, I felt the urge to teach her something. We've gotten good at walking in and out of the tack room.. which perhaps you will judge me for, but I learned to love the habit after working with my old boss, who would often ride his 16-hand gelding in and out of the CLJ tack room to retrieve some item he wanted. True, he's a short little cowboy and true, he's considerably more adept at just about anything in the saddle as I am, but once I taught Bandit how to walk in one door and out the other, my capability for sloth multiplied.

Anywho, we worked on lunging on the line for the first time. I started with the bare carrot stick sans string but switched to a medium lunge whip with a short line and taught Pax to be pushed from behind as I walked to one side. That took all of two minutes to get down for the most part, and we moved on to gradually expanding circles, finally getting to the end of a 10' lead without pulling or fussing. She does tend to gravitate back inward, but that's an easier fix than the opposite. As for cue lightness, she does know what clicking and kissing are supposed to represent, but I still find myself having to take my pressure a step further (snapping the whip, in this case, and a couple of times letting it nick the back of her legs very softly) to get her to move. But when she does.. I LOVE her high step and tail flag! I hope that doesn't go away with age. Maybe some of the awkward baby-ness, yes, but the prance is my very favorite.

She does seem to be filling out, and she's caught up to the shorter horses and ponies now, at about 13 and a half hands; maybe 13.3 now. Her growth seems relatively stable at the minute, without her fore- or hind- end being six inches above the other half, as babies do tend to grow. Can't seem to get rid of her excessive pot belly, but she is a chronic hay muncher. I need to re-band her mane for awhile and get it all back on one side. She's sort of a muddy mop at the minute. Can't get her out of the puddles and muck while everyone else is huddled under the trees after this week of yucky rain.

As personality goes, I've created a bit of a princess monster, but I have begun backtracking on that progression. After experiencing watching that fat draft baby jump over a stall chain to get at me when someone else was getting the attention, grooming, and handouts, I backed off on the amount of physical reward she gets for coming up politely. (She still gets verbal rewards, and the occasional pocket treat or rub session, but on a less generous basis.) And she always, always comes up to visit. It's just a wonderful change from crotchety old Bandit, who has his days of affection but mostly prefers to watch with vague wariness.

Sporadic updates; constant progress

2009-11-29T20:50:00.001-08:00

She's pretty ridiculous.

Thursday, Thanksgiving, marked a week since Pax came home from Joshua. December 1st will be her first half-birthday.

Today marks ten days with her. We did all of the following this afternoon:

Caught without any fuss. She comes at a whistle much of the time, but not 100% yet. (Have yet to meet a horse who was 100% at that game, but perhaps its just me.)
Lead in-hand at a walk and trot. Relatively clean halts; no running through my hands.
Stood tied to the hitching rail, both alone and up against my gelding. No setting back, no tugging, no pawing.
Curried and brushed all over.
Mane and forelock brushed out thoroughly.
Pushed her hindquarters from side to side while tied. Walked behind her, stood behind her.
Picked up all four feet, held them for a time (little wobbly on the back and one mild attempt to kick out; quietly reprimanded) and cleaned each with hoofpick and brush.
Ponied in-hand behind my gelding in the arena. Drug a little bit, but he's been sort of an ass to her since she arrived —steadily improving, though he doesn't make very nice faces— and we ended on a high note.
Ponied while dallied to my gelding in the arena. Lagged behind and tried to run up on him once. Pulled pretty sharply after trotting off but settled back in to his side.
Lead in-hand for a nice walk around the camp.

Couldn't really be more impressed. Her personality is coming out and the aloof-factor is dwindling. I need to write Deb about her progress for her site. I think Richard is pretty taken with her, too, and that makes it all the more wonderful to spend time with her, and him, and the rest of the horses. It's been a pretty wonderful fall.

E-mail excerpt.

2009-11-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

Been busy enough past few days, but such good progress has been made. We entertained my parents and one of my dear friends over the weekend and spent lots of time taking photos and giving treats and pats and all the like. Progress really came to a head today, and I'm simply going to copy and paste chunks of the e-mail I just sent to Deb from Passion Horse. After shamelessly plugging some photos my mother took this past Saturday, of course, of Pax and MollyMare.

Hi, Debra and Co.,

Although I haven't yet constructed a "success story" or adoption tale yet, I did want to send you a couple of pictures and let you know how well Pax is doing.

After watching her figure out how to break into the feed and tack rooms (we were present and she didn't eat anything or get in trouble, don't worry!) and getting her to eat out of our hands, in our laps, out of our pockets, etc., with lots of pats and mane-braiding and removing most of the cockleburrs out of her forelock, we decided to make the step to get her in a halter today. It went incredibly smoothly. I haven't worked with hundreds of colts but enough to realize what a great head she has on her shoulders.

Richard taught her in about twenty minutes how to lower her head through the nose piece to get to her grain bucket. After repeating that a dozen or more times, he began flipping the final rope over her ears.. Lots of repetition, and lots of doling out her mash a tiny bit at a time. Once she was alright with that, he tied it and we allowed her to back up from the pressure and feel the weight of the halter and rope. She dragged the stiff lead for a few minutes while we watched, releasing to the pressure every time. I picked the rope up again and allowed her to move against it to a point, slowly asking her for to at least lean her weight towards me, then take one step, then two, etc. etc. Within the hour, she was walking behind me without stopping more than every twenty or thirty steps. We swapped and Richard did the same. She's a bit more resistant to him, but he was definitely quicker to teach her to drop her head into the halter, so surprisingly we seem to be an okay team!

I know it's luck that we work where we ride, so we have hours a day to spend with this little girl. I know without a doubt most horse owners are simply not so lucky to have that kind of freedom, but it's been wonderful to be able to achieve so much trust in a matter of days. Having her walk up to the fence to greet us with a whinny is pretty incredible, and watching the gears turn as she learns minute by minute is so very exciting. Obviously she had a good experience before we got our hands on her and she is proving to be as smart as you'd suggested!

Day One: The Drive, the Visit, the Haul, and Welcome Home

2009-11-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome!

Today was the big adoption day for the new girl. Truck and trailer left our house at 5:16 A.M. and after a remarkably easy journey north without any turnarounds (isn't the GPS age novel?) we made it to Passion Horse Ranch at 10:12 A.M.

Touring the site was wonderful.* Debra was incredibly inviting and both Richard —my husband— and I were completely taken back by the beauty and size of some of her PMU rescues. Gorgeous horses. Part of me can't wait for Pax to be grown and flashy and massive like the rest of them, but when we first got a good look at her, backed into a corner of the covered stalls, I decided it's quite all right that our bonding is going to take years and her body needs to grow. She was huge and lovely. I'm so pleased with her confirmation— the one (ONE!) image I saw before adopting her, despite being a month or so old, was fairly accurate. My only complaint is that her front end is a bit splayed, but part of that may be baby, part of it may be fixed with good trims, and goodness knows Bandit (my other horse) is not a photograph of perfectly balanced legs and feet, and his soundness issues have been all but zero except for a bad bout of "natural barefoot trimming" which didn't work so hot in volcanic West Texas rock.

*Backing the trailer in between a couple of goosenecks, a roundpen, and a garage with an audience of six was not, however.

It didn't take too long for us to coax her out of the stock trailer into the arena, what with a very faint dusting of grass still growing in it and a pile of Coastal. The other 19 CFA horses were beside themselves trying to get a peek at Pax, but she remained fairly aloof and visited them only briefly. At first, Bandit was the only horse with his rear end turned to her, head down, about fifteen feet away acting disinterested, but as the others drifted apart he came in for a good sniff and a loud, appraising whinny, which she answered. My tiny proud-cut gelding has the gutteral yell of an old stallion, and this gigantic filly sings like a four-year-old kid! I put Molly, my favorite pet of the herd— a 12 or 13 year old APHA mare; in-your-pockets kind of sweet— in with her and they seemed to get along immediately.

I mixed up some soaked beet pulp and alfalfa pellets (just about a scoop and a half total, more of just a starter for the girls) and left the pan in the arena, sitting about 10 feet away. Molly, of course, came over to rifle through my hands and hair before eating, and Pax was right behind her. I stayed out for thirty mintues or so, not trying to touch anyone or move, just watching them eat and entertaining Molly as she saw fit. Pax never really spooked, but she would catch an eye at me every few mintues and saunter off, appearing to be terribly interested in nibbling at the dirt before returning to nose Molly out of the pan. Will feed them separately and properly tomorrow but it's good to see them getting along so well.

From Blogger Pictures