Buckskin and Bay

2012-01-27T09:12:00.000-06:00

I haven't had too much to say about the "bay" of Buckskin and Bay lately. That's cus he's doing really well down in KY at my friend's retiree farm. So, thanks to Kim Weber, here are pics of my wooly mammoth, Joe, greatest horse ever!!!! (I am entitled to my biased opinion, it's my blog! ;-)

Joe winter 2012

Wish I was this relaxed! Joe on the far left.

My husband and I are trying to plan a visit soon. I really miss this horse.

2012-01-24T10:16:00.003-06:00

When is it ok to give up or move on? How much energy and time is enough to put into something, someone or a horse? Why is there guilt and blame attached to putting in a good effort with a horse/human but eventually wanting to give up?
There is a gal at the barn that told me her story a while ago. She got rid of a horse because she was tired and a little scared of it. It was like a bad romance. She felt like she had done all things she was supposed to do, and still she wasn't connecting fully with her horse. There was, as she said, a lack of trust on both ends.
She was putting too much effort into making it something more than it was. Sounds like dating, no? And it was no fun.

It made me wonder....
Do we bring our human relationship dynamics into our horse relationships?
If we are controlling, do we bring that to our horses? If we are laid back and non-confrontational don't we bring that to our horses too? If we are driven don't we push our horses? Does a detailed orientated person drive their horse crazy trying for perfection? So don't we need to find a horse that matches or compliments our own personality? Can a controlling human and dominating horse have a great relationship, or is there always an underlying struggle? Can a non-confrontational human and a apprehensive horse have a great relationship if one doesn't want to exert self assurance and the other is dying for it? Or are some horse/owner relationships doomed based on personalities and the lack of needs being met? Why do we "click" with some people and not others? Wouldn't the same go for our horses? Maybe we are really hard on ourselves when things are just not working. Maybe we don't have control over some of the reasons why it's not working. Maybe we should let ourselves be ok with that, and let it go, so both the horse and the human can have a chance at something better. No blame.

But I digress...
This gal told me her new horse comes when she calls him. Her face lit up when she told me that. She loves that about him. Her previous horse would run away from her when she was tyring to catch her.

Sometimes Scout will come if I call for him, but not usually. It doesn't hurt my feelings. He doesn't run away from me when I approach him. Actually he'll eventually start toward me when I get a certain distance to him. Joe did the same thing.

I know some of you are thinkin...well you can train that out of a horse...but what if this leaving is just another thing that isn't working in your horse relationship? What if it was a physical manifestation of the emotions that were making up their horse/owner relationship. I am leaving, you are not worth my effort. She felt rejected by her horse. I know we aren't supposed to attribute human emotions to animals, but how much more clearly can the horse say, "You're not worth my time"? I mean, ouch!
The gal told me that she would dread coming to the stable. The mare was unpredictable. Some days they were fine and others she'd get dumped. When you're middle aged and have kids, the prospects of regularly getting run off with or dumped can really change your mind about a horse. But it was the word dread that she used that really stood out to me.
That is a strong word, with a strong emotion attached to it.
She had the help of a trainer, she went thru and ticked all the boxes of possible reasons, physical and training wise, as to why the mare acted this way with her.
She very astutely said to me, and I think this is just so right on, "We weren't a good fit on many levels. Why continue to waste my time and money forcing us to be something we weren't? All we were was miserable".
I totally agreed with her.
So, her story ends with her finding the horse a new job as a hunter/jumper with the help of the trainer. At the same time she made the decision to let the horse go, another horse in the barn, that she she knew was a great trail horse, came up for sale. Her mare is doing great with a steady job and with carefree, fearless teens riding her. Which is probably what she needed. The gal has a steady, laid back partner now that suits her personality. Kizmet, no?
This gal also told me that she doesn't tell many people her story for fear of being judged. Judged that she didn't try hard enough, wasn't a good enough horse person to "work thru" the issues, didn't love the mare enough to stick with her....etc.
Bull, I told her. She was smart enough to listen to her gut that she was afraid of her circumstances with the mare. She had a family to think about. What would happen if she was badly hurt by the mare? Who would carry the burden? Why spend all the money and time and never get a payback of just enjoying riding? She wanted to ride.
Most of all, she gave the mare a chance to live a happier life doing something that was more suited to her.
I think she did the right thing.
What good is it if no one is having any fun?

2012-01-22T20:48:00.001-06:00

Scout had a write up on Dr. Ellison's Pathogenes blog.

http://pathogenes.com/blog/2012/01/22/another-riddle/

I am so excited that her work continues to help hundreds of horses and has recently been written about in
the vet journal of med . She continues to not only work on the EPM s.neorona issues, but issues related to other organisms and animals. I am so lucky to have been part of this field study.

Rufus, the barn cat, hanging out in my tack locker. Look at that face ;-)

Scout has been awesome lately. We worked on sit trot/canter transitions today. Smooth, smooth, smooth!!! I recently figured out he responds better to inside leg for canter, so I've adjusted my riding to suit his preference and it's all good. We have been doing a lot of canter work. In the beginning, it was a lot of just cantering around the indoor. Reins in one hand, dressage whip in the other. I had to convince him that "yes you can keep a canter stride for longer than 10 seconds". At first I let him run himself onto his forehand and dive to a halt or walk. But now he's strong enough to keep a canter...it took some urging at the start. I think he was unsure he could canter around the whole arena. Last week I just decided we were done putzing around about it and carried the dressage whip. We got a nice depart and after 5 strides I could feel him starting to get heavy in front so I just touched him with the whip at my leg and whoosh! he strided out again like the Scout of old!
So it hasn't been real pretty, me riding in my jump saddle, reins in one hand, whip in the other, but it's been very effective. We probably look out of control but I am happy right now that he wants to gallop down the long sides. He needs a lot of help around the corners still. I have to hold the outside rein steady and squeeze the inside rein to keep him balanced, but he has so much more impulsion and power again. I can actually sit down and enjoy most of the ride instead of prodding him on. We are up to three canter laps each way without breaking stride. He is also starting to relax about the departs. Today's sit trot was collected and springy so he just effortlessly lifted onto the canter lead.

I have really missed that.

2012-01-10T14:55:00.000-06:00

Bye bye you nasty s.neurona!! A little less than a month on the decoquinate and the results are fantastic. He's baaaaaack! I've got my horse back!
He spooked like a son of a gun while I was leading him thru the gate to get to the trail. 4 times he blasted around me as I held the reins trying to relock the gate and then scrape the mud off the bottom off my boots at the mounting block. He wasn't nuts, just feisty and snorty. He never tugged on the reins, just circled around me.
Heading down the trail he was looking at everything and snorting. The trail is hilly, so he had to walk downhill, but once we hit the bottom he did a head shake and I let him rip! We galloped about 100 yards to the top of the next hill. He didn't drop to a walk, he pranced a bit first, then released a lot of adrenaline with many snorts and blows. It was great to have some energy underneath me again. This horse had been a real slug ( I mean that in a loving way) but now he has that glint back in his eye.
He trotted on the road of his own accord, so his feet must be fine. He also tried to bolt after we crossed the street on the way home. I had to ask him pretty hard to not take off, but I did let him canter. He was just feeling good. I had to laugh!
I took him into the indoor arena to see how he felt about working in there after our excursion. He still had a lot of energy so we did some trot work. Serpentine, shoulder in, 20meter circles and then extended trot. He did great. No hesitation from a sitting trot into canter both directions. Actually his right lead was easier than the left today. I could hold him on a circle with my right leg at the girth and just a bit of outside(left) hand support. He needed more support circling left. But my left leg is weaker, so I may have not helped him enough, I'll have to try it again tomorrow. After a really nice canter circle to the right I jumped off, loosened the girth and hand walked him a while. I want him to noodle over the ease of that last circle.....give him something to think about.
Now that he is feeling better, I will start working on getting him to breathe easy at the canter. He holds his breath and we have to work thru that to get him completely relaxed with canter work. This is something we started a long time ago and then he started not feeling right so I put it on the back burner. But now he seems ready to tackle it. I foresee a lot of cantering in our future......

2012-01-08T19:36:00.001-06:00

A dressage lesson, a trail ride and a right lead canter....it was a good week!
Monday was mild and I took Scout out onto the trail to change his scenery. He was pushing into my hands, asking very politely to move out. He was just a bunch of energy. He was just waiting for the okay, and when I let him go he galloped off very nicely....on his right lead!!! Three separate times he chose the right lead. Hallelujah!! We are moving along finally. I am cautiously optimistic that he will recover 100 percent.

I rode at K's on Tuesday for the first time in two months. I rode his rehabbed jumper who has turned into quite the dressage horse. His body and attitude have totally revamped since being in training with K.
The last time I rode this horse we had our first nice controlled canter after many rides together. This horse has a spooky streak that may be from from a moron whacking him in the head with a baseball hat whenever he refused a jump in his earlier career. Instead of whacking him, wouldn't ya think to try and figure out why he's stopping suddenly? Sore maybe? Over faced? sheesh....
Anyway this horse has flourished with K and it shows in his eye especially. K rode first and showed me his new moves since I last rode him, you can tell K is proud of this little horse. Piaffe, half passing, tempe changes...oh and he taught him how to Spanish walk and bow just to keep the horse interested.
So I rode. This horse likes more contact than most, we had one spook, that was really mild, I rode thru it and took more contact and he was great the rest of the ride. I sat a piaffe (incredible feeling) and learned how to half pass and then we had quite a nice canter. I expect he will sell this horse pretty quickly now.

Friday was beautiful and I met my friend Stuart for a ride. He rode his little Nokotah mare and we rode out for 2 hours, coming back at dusk. I am so glad to have my horse back!

2012-01-03T08:44:00.000-06:00

The horse seems to be on the mend.

He is more interested in whats going on around him, interacting more in turnout, more willing to work on the longe line... just more himself. Gosh, I hadn't realised how much change there had been in his personality until it had started coming back full force! 14 days on the meds and there is a noticeable improvement in his demeanor.

I did my own mini neuro exam and he had much better reflexes on his right back area, he "sunk" in reflex

to me running my finger nail hard along this space, where as previously, there was no reaction. My finger nail is not nearly as hard as the closed ballpoint pen that Dr. Marold had used either. So I believe that whatever was wrong there is healing. He wants his head rubbed alot lately, especially between his eyes by his forelock.

Under saddle, slowly building our lateral work back up. At a walk or standstill. Leg yields, turns on hind and fore. There are sticky spots, but he tries. There is no rush, he'll let me know when he's ready for more. Lots of longe lining, very little riding happening right now. Hopefully he'll continue to recover. He's much happier.

2011-12-23T08:34:00.008-06:00

Happy Christmas and a beautiful New Year to you all.

2011-12-20T19:42:00.002-06:00

I want to clarify something I wrote in the last post. Scout doesn't have EPM. He tested positive for antibodies to a couple parasites that are now known to be linked to cause EPM. The research results are so interesting. Opossums are good hosts for this parasite, but birds and cats and others can be hosts also. Horses usually shed these parasites on their own, but sometimes they don't and an infection or inflammatory response happens.

Now that I have read thru Dr. Ellison's Pathogenes Inc website and blog, I have a much better understanding of what is going on with him. Even though Scout's results were on the low side of positive, he is now showing some clinical signs of infection and inflammation, such as failing parts of his neuor exam last week. Remember I had the ELISA antibody test drawn almost 4 weeks ago, because other horses in the barn had tested positive and this thing with the canter showing up suddenly over the past year. Now he's gotten worse since the neuro exam. He just isn't right.
Sunday we walked down the trail after a lift dusting of snow. He did trot at one point on his own, but quickly came back to a walk after taking an odd step after about 10 feet. On our way back home we retraced our steps on the road. Like I said, there was a fresh dusting of snow and our tracks were plain as could be from when we were heading out the other direction. His left side tracks were solid hoofprints, front and hind, but the right side tracks were different. I could easily see a slight "poof" or "drift" before the actual hoofprint. Scout is now dragging his right front toe. I leaned over in the saddle and watched him walk. Sure enough, he was "plowing" the top of the snow with his toe, definitely in front and slightly with the hind. * Sigh*.
I called Dr. Marold to keep her informed. No worries she said. He'll get better. Just start the medication as soon as I get it. Thankfully it arrived today, Tuesday. So I gave him the first dose this afternoon. Yesterday, Monday, I spent a couple hours reading thru the Pathogenes site. Scout is very typical of what other owners and vets are seeing in the early signs of infection. Scout isn't getting the Oroquin 10, just the top dressing of Decoquinate for 90 days. You can read all about that here if you like.
http://pathogenes.com/blog/2011/12/11/protocidal/
The thought is, if owners and vets catch the signs early and examine and test and treat if necessary, the infection would never develop into EPM. I hope Dr. Ellison is correct!

I am so glad to know and work with a vet who is involved and interested and is open to looking beyond the status quo of treatments. Even if this doesn't work for my horse, I'm glad others around the country helping with this field trial that will hopefully lead to a vaccine.

2011-12-17T10:19:00.000-06:00

Dr. Marold came on Monday to give Scout a proper neurological exam to see if he had anymore possible EPM symptoms for the sake of the study. After thinking back on this, late summer early fall of 2010, Scout and Sugar both came up with runny noses. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it wasn't normal for him. It was a bit after this time that he physically started slowing down a bit. I attributed it to his low thyroid/IR issues, and I'm still sure that some of it was that, as he is doing so much better than he was. But, it was over this same time period that our canter went away and became difficult again. Hmmmmm.

Even during my lessons with K the canter and it's depart were an ongoing issue. I knew he was okay from a hoof, chiro and limb stand point, so what is wrong? He had also started just walking when turned out to pasture in the morning, no more galloping off to the far end. Also not normal for him.

Over this past summer he seemed to perk up again. We even hopped over some crossrails, but come to think of it, in early fall, he seemed less interested in that and was nicking the crossrail often...and these were not high jumps.

The last 3 rides on him, he doesn't really want to even trot. Leg yield to the right is very sticky suddenly and again we are now truly struggling to get a smooth canter depart to the right. There is a huge hesitation between the cue and the actual depart. The action of the depart itself has become a big leap/fall onto the lead, then a pause and then once I urge him to continue, it smooths out. But going around the corners is a big production of me supporting him with outside rein and holding him up with the inside rein while driving him forward through the corners of the arena. If that sounds like a lot of work, it is! And it is not normal. This need of so much support started rearing it's head this past summer in my lessons with K. It is much worse now. I give him the cue, left leg slightly back, and he coils up his body and shifts his weight to his hind for the depart. I can physically feeling this process happening, but there is this huge pause before he strikes out onto the right lead. The left lead is a little sticky, but nothing like the right.

So onto the exam. We already know he's been exposed to EPM from his blood results. He shows slightly elevated antibodies to one strain in particular. At the time of the test, we were having hiccups with canter, but it is a lot worse now 4 weeks later. She performed the leg placement test, which he failed with his right front. This is when the leg is put in an awkward position, in the case of the front leg, off to the outside away from the body. Every other leg Scout quickly corrected back to a normal under the body stance, except the right front. He stood there with that leg camped out with no sign of correcting it. She crossed the hind legs one behind the other and he corrected that immediately. He also passed the tail pull. That's where the tail is pulled to one side to see if the horse holds it's ground or gives or teeters off to that pull. I told Dr. Marold I have very recently saw him resting with his right hind twisted out to the outside. I have never seen him stand that way previously. She then started at his left side high on the neck and jabbed her way down over his neck, back and rear with a closed pen to see his reflexes. He had little reaction on the neck, normal reaction on the back and rear. She then did the same thing on his right side. Neck was normal, back had no reflex, and rear was normal. The horse should flinch with skin, ears, or "sink" the area being poked, just like if the doc taps your knee, there should be an involuntary response. She then stroked the pen from high neck to rear in one fluid motion on each side. Again, there were the spots of no reaction, but he did tuck his butt way under on both sides in reflex...that was kind of funny.

So the diagnosis? Nerve atrophy or damage on the left side neck and right side back areas. These areas would correlate exactly with the difficulty of leg yielding right and canter departs. He may be having trouble controlling his right front. That leg would be the initial weight bearing leg in both those activities at some point. She said if he were her horse, she'd treat him. Even though the blood test wasn't overly high, his symptoms are clear. So I'm waiting for the medication to arrive.

There has been a lot of discussion on various forums regarding this new approach to testing for and treating EPM. I read a thread on Chronicle of the Horse the other day. A lady wrote in to let others know that her horses and her friends horses were all doing well and most back in work after receiving the treatment that Dr. Ellison is using. People responded that many horses couldn't possibly have EPM in one barn, it must be something else, etc. My vet works directly with Dr. Ellison and has treated her own horses with great success with this new treatment. If 4 out of 7 horses at our barn have it, then I think it could well be very possible that there are tons of horses out there that have been exposed, some showing signs, some not. I did also learn from my vet that Dr. Ellison had been in talks with 2 drug companies, but they both want to market this treatment at a higher price than the previous go to drug for EPM called Marquis. I heard that Marquis is very expensive. My vet told me that Dr. Ellison is going to try and keep this treatment affordable.
For more info about Dr. Ellison
http://pathogenes.com/about_us

Anyway we'll see what happens after we start Scout on the meds. Wish us luck......

2011-12-01T21:35:00.000-06:00

Being back at a large boarding barn has been interesting. I kept my horses at home for so long that I forgot how nice, and at the same time, how hard it can be, to be around so many different horse people.

One interesting thing I witnessed one evening was a gal lunging her horse. That in itself is not that interesting, but the reason why is. After watching her take the horse to a corner of the arena to bridle it and then bring it out to the center to lunge it without the bridle on a few times, my friend asked her if everything was alright. The gal stated that the horse didn't want to bridle. If he wouldn't bridle, she took him and ran him around in circles for a while and then went back to the corner to try and see if he was willing to take the bit. I guess her thinking was the horse would eventually put running around in circles and not taking the bridle together and figure out that if he bridled up, he wouldn't have to run circles. I think that's a pretty far stretch. I asked if he was always hard to bridle. "Nope, just started being difficult recently" Why, if this is a sudden, new behavior, that was not issue before, wouldn't you think that something was wrong in the horse's mouth? I think the horse was trying to tell her something. I had to leave the arena, I couldn't watch anymore.

There is a 18 hand sweetie brute of a horse next to Scout now. People always think my 16.2 hand horse is SO big. He's really not. He is a dwarf compared to the guy next door. They are buddies in the pasture. A lady rescued him and is trying to lease or find a home for this ex eventer who started spooking. If he wasn't so dang big, I would seriously think about getting to know more about him and his situation. I'll try and get a pic of him. He's really cute.

And my horse has been getting bullied in turn out. I've been finding all these little damp patches on him in weird places. On the side of his belly, but lower belly. On his flanks, but again very low. I knew that they were from playing or grooming, but why so low? Then I caught Piranha, the miniature horse, or very small shetland, not sure which, in action! I went out to bring Scout in and this little black and white pony/horse creature started herding him away from me. The funniest part is that my big buckskin was complying! I laughed as the little horse drove Scout around by nipping his flanks and belly!

I rescued this poor pony from his ragged, torn up blanket on an extremely windy day. He was very sweet and seemed to know I would help him and stood like a statue as I freed him. His owner told me that it was a brand new blanket, first time on him...bummer. .

I offered to help this gray with it's sheet also, but the horse snaked it's head and pinned it's ears
as I approached. So I left him.

My friend's mare decided to flop in the thickest mud she could find while I was taking care of her over Thanksgiving. Thanks alot, Maggie. Good thing there is a hot shower stall at the barn.
I couldn't let the mud dry on her cus it would have ripped out her coat. The mud was like an inch thick on her belly. I guess she does this fairly often. Hopefully not on my watch next time!

3 horses at home have tested positive for EPM strains. I had Scout tested too. If that many horses were affected at our small barn, I figured I better find out now if Scout was. Well, he tested positive too. More about that another time.

2011-11-19T15:59:00.001-06:00

I went to the Dover Saddlery store opening Thursday with my friend Deb. Dover took over the space where Libertyville Saddle shop used to be. They had a nice reception, food, wine, a champagne toast. Nothing like a little wine and champagne to get you loose with your wallet...;-)

They had gold medalists Peter Wylde and Melanie Smith-Taylor there and vendor reps. The store was nice, but much smaller than the old LSS. They did not renovate the whole space. There was a huge amount of people.

The merchandising was very well done. Notice how the pads are folded so the Dover logo is visible.
Smart!

Deb checked out this cute pink plaid saddle pad. I thought it would look great on her deep, rich, dark bay horse. She contained herself and didn't buy it.

Sorry for the blur, camera phone, sign says "Line forms here". We waited in line for about a half hour to pay for our stuff. The wine helped the time go quick!

Deb and I both bought another pair of all season FITS breeches in mink color. Buy a pair and get a free half zip fleece!
Note: The picture is NOT of me or Deb, in case you were wondering...*lol*

I also got a pair of the Laura style denim breeches. SO cute! Happy Holidays to me. :-}

I think we helped sell breeches for the FITS rep. One woman was at the vignette asking all these questions of the rep. Deb and I practically ran up and begged for breeches in our sizes. The woman looked at us like we were, well, a little strange. We gushed to the rep about FITS and we won't wear anything else and how well they hold up to washing and last so long. And the rep was like "I know they are the greatest, right?" We giggled and bonded over our love of FITS. The hesitant woman bought a pair. Maybe we should have asked for a commission?!

2011-11-12T16:08:00.002-06:00

Sunset at home and at the barn.

Dash the wonder dog and Drew.

Ace.

Drew celebrating his tenth birthday.

My youngest is now 10, double digits. Wow. Time flies. Today is my mom's birthday and the 17th is the anniversary of her passing. Two years now and it seems like just yesterday. I think about her a lot especially when certain milestones pass with the boys. Matt's first school dance, Drew turning 10. My mom used to make an awesome Thanksgiving meal. From now until after Christmas things will be bittersweet. New traditions are taking hold, but I miss the familiarity of the old.

On the horse front, Mr. Scout continues to do well in the new digs. There is a trainer who teaches jumping at the new place, so I may take a lesson or two with her. I've been watching a few of the lessons over the past few days. One thing I've noticed is that people are jumping with stirrups too long. They have a hard time staying with the motion of the horse over the jump. They compensate by throwing their upper body forward and jumping ahead which can cause their legs to swing behind them due to the lack of support from a too long stirrup. They do all this and don't release with their hands...they move their bodies forward but don't move their hands at all. Really there is no release. Strange to me. Is this the new way? I remember having to be able to post trot without stirrups and canter in two point at least twice around the arena before I was able to even think about learning to jump. And it was sacrilege to not give with a release!

Having an indoor has been really nice. I ride almost everyday, no matter the weather. This regular riding is beginning to show good improvement in our canter departs. Scout is beginning to sit on his hind more in prep for a depart and we've even had a couple of departs from a stand still. He is getting stronger and it's easier for him to hold himself together instead of looking for my support so much as we canter. I think the next thing will be asking for him to continue this for longer and longer periods of time until he justs gets totally relaxed with it, instead of worrying about it and it becomes the natural thing in his muscle memory. We'll see how that idea goes......

I appreciate the comments you all leave, but I can't respond for some reason! but wanted to say thanx!

2011-10-28T17:28:00.002-05:00

He loaded into the trailer like a champ and we headed off to our winter quarters Thursday afternoon.

I had turned him out at home for the morning. By the time I got him to the new place they were starting to bring horses in and feed for the night. Scout has been in this barn before so I hoped it would be familiar. He walked into the stall and immediately pawed down the pile of bedding from the corners and rolled. Sniffed the recently bleached water buckets, took a sip, looked out the window and starting munching hay. So much for worrying about any drama. Settled like a champ. Oh and was he happy to have a girl in the stall next to him! They flirted thru the slat openings in the stall divider until she got tired of him.

This place houses a lot of horses. But they do a good job of breaking them up into 3 herds for turnout. There is plenty of space to keep out of trouble and PLENTY of round bale feeders for everyone and the troughs were sparkling. I told the owner to just put him out in the herd Friday. She was a little surprised, but really he hasn't had a whole lot of company, except for Pie for a half a day at home for a month or so.I knew he'd love the socializing and would be smart enough to stay out of trouble. He is a lover, not a fighter, in herds.
Just wants to groom and play.

When I arrived this afternoon Scout had a bale to himself! He came walking up to me as soon as he lifted his face out of his meal and noticed me. That was really nice...;-) He was calm and not a nick on him.

I rode him in the indoor for a while. Horses were coming in from outside and the arena was being watered, he handled it all well. There were four horses in the approx 60x110 arena including us. It was a good opportunity to get use to working around other horses and not trying to touch noses with every horse that came by! The horse in this picture with Scout is a buckskin paint. Scout is the only solid buckskin in the whole barn of 40ish horses so he won't be confused with another horse. They definitely liked each other.

After riding, I put him in his stall and and there was a lot of this....

and this.........

and then this....!

He seems to really enjoy all the activity in this barn. It has been 4 years since he was here. I have to admit, it was nice to just show up, get my horse and ride. No mucking or other misc chores to eat up my time. I actually cleaned my tack after I rode. So far so good.

2011-10-25T21:22:00.002-05:00

Latest news from Princeton KY is that Joe is well overall, but Kim has noticed a bit of a slow down in him over the past year. Well he's 29 years old. So I looked up horse age to human years here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=horse%20age&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CFAQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhorses.about.com%2Fod%2Funderstandinghorses%2Fa%2FComparing-Horse-To-Human-Age.htm&ei=VG2nTri7DcLj0QGmnqTADg&usg=AFQjCNEOldZCZ0ZtAQZkL_mcsoDvzEvBVA
According to this he is in his 80s.
The pic below is a glimmer of what he was in his younger days. Slight sparkle about him.

They all look so content together at Webers Retired Horses. Kim and Rob have gotten a couple more residents in the past 2 months. One of the geldings, Logan, is a horse that I almost bought for my son. Logan was one of Kim's horses and she gave my son lessons on him. He was a gem. She ended up selling him to someone else, and now he has found his way back to her.

I miss Joe, but look at him.....he's happy. What more could I ask?
http://www.webersretiredhorses.com/

2011-10-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

I've decided not to keep Scout at home this winter.

Dr Marold was just out a few weeks ago and commented on how fit Scout is right now. He needed very little chiro adjustments, just the usual sticky spots due to his large muscle mass. She also thought his feet looked great, even if in need of a trim. I have had him on Platinum Performance and Farriers Formula (scoop each) since February and added Dr. Marold's selenium,magnesium,chromium,vit E powder (3 scoops) in April. Otherwise he's on a small amount of vitamin pellets (which I'm not sure are even necessary at this point) and grass and grass hay.

I have gradually watched new hoof grow in significantly tighter and at a more proper angle since starting this regime. Scout had his thyroid levels tested in March purely on the fact that Dr. Marold felt he had so many abscesses, 4 within 2 years, for such a young horse(just turning 8). She was fairly certain due to the abscesses and slight stocking up in the stall overnight, that he may be susceptible to Insulin Resistance and better to get a thyroid baseline now to have on hand for the future. His level came in at 8. Not totally out of normal, but definitely not normal for a horse of his age. Usually it would be 3-4. So we started him back on the chromium supplement in April.

Last month I thought that Scout was again working on an autumn abscess and called the farrier. After checking him out he agreed with me that Scout's feet are definitely changing for the better in both quality and angle. What was I doing? I told him what Dr. Marold had told me about metabolic horses showing symptoms in their feet long before anywhere else. Thank goodness it must have been a stone bruise or the last of some crappy old hoof growing out, because he didn't develop an abscess. Dr. Marold and I also had a discussion on the book "FEET FIRST" early in the summer and I told the farrier about the book. I had already started the supplements before I had read the book, but it did reinforce to me that Dr. Marold is one in a million vet who really pieces things together from all her vast experiences. Metabolically challenged horses may have a hard time growing quality hoof from the inside.

Joe, my retired horse, who is now definitely IR, always had poor quality hoofs. Ever since he was 7 years of age he would stock up. He had issues with quality of sole, wall, caught thrush easily, and was sore footed. That journey was many years of vets and farriers when all he needed was the right minerals to help his body work properly. He was actually the soundest in his early twenties from being on Dr. Marold's formula.

As a person who grew up being Hypothyroid due to Hoshimotos autoimmune disease(the body attacks the thyroid) I understand how not having enough thyroid in your body affects every single cell!

If I go without my thyroid supplement I get many different symptoms eventually and generally feel unable to concentrate and exhausted. Now I am an extreme case maybe because I no longer have a thyroid gland at all, but I have friends who are only slightly hypothyroid, who get bigger symptoms than me without medicine. What I am saying is, any hormone imbalance triggers some sort of symptoms.

So I feel that I am now, months later, seeing the outward changes from the internal ones. First off his hoofs, but also his demeanor and eagerness to work has come back. He was fairly "dopey" and "lazy" not really wanting to move out last spring, unfocused and seemed body sore alot. This is typical of hypothyroidism or metabolic issues. The past 3-4 months he has been eager to work, using his body and back more than he ever has. He's been more "up" on the trail. Not spooky crazy, just more alert and engaged. He is moving in general with more ease and fluidity like a horse that is 8 and feeling healthy.

So with all this good stuff going on...back in August I had started thinking that I just don't want to stop the momentum we have when the weather changes. I rode very little last winter. We have only an outside arena that doesn't drain well, so it freezes. Last year we had a ton of snow. I really don't like the cold, but try and dress for it and carry on. This year I want an indoor. It's that simple. So come November we will go back to the barn I had him at before he came home 3 years ago.

See his dapples and shine are back. ;-)

This is why I try to never burn bridges when I leave a barn. Ya never know when you might want to cross back over the other way!

Tuesday we had our best dressage lesson ever...Scout was stellar.He loaded like a pro. Rode like a dream. Back up, frame held nicely, tracking up great. We handled serpentines, circles, transitions- he was the best that K has ever seen him he said. K commented that his extended trot looked really good. Our only hitch was the right lead this time. K had me go from a 20 to a 10 meter circle so that Scout's right hind was right underneath me as we circled and then cue for canter. I could feel him tracking under me and cued and off he went on the right lead. We then spiraled out at the canter to 20 meters and then down to trot. K then got on him for a few minutes to reinforce the transition and he was fine. Actually when K hit the saddle Scout got really animated and was like "Oh, the big guy's up....time to really work.." One of the other lady's asked me what breed he was. "Really? ALL quarter horse? Where's his tiny feet?" I laughed. There is nothing tiny about Scout.
Our weather has been divine this week. Deb and I had a super ride Thursday. I gave Scout the day off Wed after Tuesday's intense lesson. We had a good long trot at one point and Scout was just motorin along in a huge trot. Sugar had to canter to keep up...that cracked Deb and I up! Then we had an uphill gallop which both horses seemed to enjoy. I hope you all are having fun with your horses too!!

Random notes and pictures

2011-10-02T20:51:00.003-05:00

Things have been well. (Knock on wood.)

Scout is a bit lonely in his huge pasture by himself. Pie's been ill and Fritz went to a different facility recently. Scout follows the mares up and down the fence line, grazing parallel to them across fences. Pie will be coming home from his hospital stay soon.
Pie resting as Scout grazes here.
Been doing a lot of riding during the weekdays, but my evenings and weekends are taken up with the boys soccer schedules. Still, Scout is the fittest he's ever been. ;-)

The dogs each had to have their own row in the truck. Funny aren't they??

Dash likse the way back third row and Ace is happy in the second. If Dash doesn't have to share with Ace, he won't.

I have several butterfly bushes planted throughout the yard.

We've had many hummingbirds and butterflies this summer visit them regularly.

more randome pictures....

Ah, we ate at the famous Superdawg over the weekend. Well known for such delicacies as the Whoopercheesie, the Whoopskidawg and malts. Yum!!! A Chicago Icon.

Last week rained everyday. But we did get many rainbows too.

Deb took this pic before one of our rides. It was a glorious day.

Fritz left our barn last week. I was grateful Scout got a chance to see him off. I think it's really important that horses that have been together a while, have a right to know when one is leaving or dead.

Have you ever seen the video where elephants mourn their dead? Heartbreaking. They each touch the body one last time.

Safe travels Fritzer.

Scout and I will be changing venues for the winter. More about that another time.

2011-09-03T18:02:00.001-05:00

This is for Funder, Lisa and anyone else who's been trimming. Scout feet pics. All comments welcomed!!

Fronts

Hinds

Right front

Left front

Left hind

Right hind

Hinds

Scout is on pasture a lot of the day. Ridden on limestone trails, paved roads and sometimes gravel. Trots easily on limestone and roads, not thrilled about real gravel (not crushed) he walks fine on it, but will ge touchy if steps on a rock.

Grazing Study Findings: limit grass time or muzzle?

2011-08-30T16:59:00.000-05:00

We have several horses that blimp out on our pastures. One horse is now on permanent drylot with controlled hay due to metabolic issues. Others have had their grazing time allotted depending on time of year/time of day and hoof issues. Our owners are very savvy and gather and read and research all kinds of info trying to do whats best for each individual horse. Then there are some horses, mine included, who are out on pasture as much as possible with no ill affects-so far. Well, except maybe for bugs this year....they are fierce, so finally ordered a fly sheet. Don't know why I waited so long...
While reading a recent equine magazine, I came across an article about a study that was done in Britain on how limiting grazing time was affecting grass intake. From the article:

" British researchers followed grass intake and grazing behavior in eight pony mares over six weeks. Four of the ponies had unlimited round-the-clock access to pasture, and the others had pasture access for just three hours a day. The researchers estimated how much grass the ponies consumed by monitoring changes in their weight, and they used video footage to analyze their grazing behavior.
" The ponies in the restricted access group made the most of their limited time. During the three hours when both groups were at pasture, they ate more grass than the others did. And they adapted to the limited grazing schedule, they actually increased the amount of grass they consumed, from around 25 percent of their daily dry matter intake at the start of the study to about 40 percent during the final week" (I thought that was amazing! Smart ponies!)
"But the ponies weren't able to outsmart grazing muzzles, In a second study, researchers monitored four ponies, measuring how much grass they ate with and without a muzzle over three hour periods. Muzzles cut intake by more than 80 percent"
--research done by Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Wales and presented at Equine Science Society Symposium last spring.

I just thought that it was fascinating that the ponies understood their time limit and actually ate more, a lot more, in a specific time period.

The article goes on to state that grazing has benefits for most equines, but there are those that have a hard time processing the sugar and other carbs and they have to have grass limits. The study suggests that grazing muzzles are a good alternative if it works for a particular horses situation. Everything depends on the individual situation and horse, of course.

a pirouette and giving confidence

2011-08-27T10:39:00.001-05:00

Deb came and watched my lesson a couple weeks ago. The pics are from her cell phone. This horse has been fun to learn about. He will scitter away suddenly if he becomes distracted, which happens fairly easily. When he is "with" me though, it's great. I wouldn't have the opportunity to ride horses like this if it weren't for K.
In a previous lesson on this horse, K talked me into and through a canter pirouette. The need to sit upright became quickly apparent as the horse "sat" his hind down and we spun around it. If I had been sitting forward at all I would have bonked myself into the horses neck and head. I tried to just stay out of his way and enjoy the movement. It was really quite incredible!
During this lesson, the horse scittered and popped his head up and my hands went up with his head. When my hands raised, the whip raised and started a whole other spook for the horse. So the scittering of feet turned into a "I think I want to get out of here fast" sort of try to bolt. I turned the horse to the inside and immediately dropped the whip. Things calmed down in a hurry then. I hate carrying a whip. I am not coordinated enough yet to let it lay on my leg with things like this happen.
K sort of reprimanded me for these turn of events. Sort of. I let the horse down in that moment he said. I could have sat thru the scooting sideways, I have ridden thru it before. I should have kept my hands low and turned inside to redirect the energy. I over compensated and caused a bigger reaction from the horse. (Bad rider, bad, bad rider)
;-) The horse looks to the rider for confidence, and I let him down, he said. Ouch.....
But he's right. I have ridden this particular horse enough to know he "wanders" mentally and it's up to me to keep reminding the horse that I'm still "with" him. I made a mental note to not "wander" myself again and supprt the horse more. We then had the best canter we've ever had! I guess that why I keep taking lessons......

a little jumping dream

2011-08-27T10:36:00.002-05:00

I had a dream about riding Scout the other night. Usually my riding dreams are on or about Joe. Previous dreams of Joe include flying while riding (Pegasus like), riding along and then suddenly finding myself sitting in the saddle on the ground (horse just disappeared!) , riding along and suddenly walking on my own feet, again, suddenly without a horse. Why does the horse disappear suddenly? Weird. Such are dreams I guess....
In the dream, I was riding Scout, western for some reason, I hardly ever ride western anymore....so strange... and we were in rocky/hilly country, out West sort of terrain. I was sitting in the saddle with my legs draped over the pommel rise on either side of the horn. Why? I have no idea! Basically only my rear is in the saddle, my legs are uselessly in front of me. We are on a scrubby hillside with boulders. I distinctly remember thinking to myself in the dream "Let's go and see what happens".
I pick up the reins and give Scout a pretty good giddy-up and he takes off at a gallop down the hill. He heads down on a diagonal and leaps over a fair size boulder. I am totally wrapped up in the feeling of the downhill gallop momentum and the leaping sensation as Scout maneuvers himself over and thru obstacles. Logs, bushes,rocks, it was a riot!!!! A very vivid dream...really cool. At the bottom of the hill was, what else? A suburbann neighborhood of course. We ended up walking down a street looking for something or someones house...I can't recall. Dreams are so odd.
So Thursady I was inspired to try jumping Scout again. I have done it in the past, but not in over a year now. I set up two sets of standards on the grass outside the arena. The arena is like concrete right now, and the grass was perfect. A ground pole three strides to an X. We walked and then trotted it back and forth. He was really forward and didn't hesitate once. Last couple of times we trotted in to the X and cantered out over the pole. Lot's of fun and he seemed to enjoy it too.

Show pics

2011-08-25T15:27:00.001-05:00

Couple Sundays ago I went to cheer on a couple ladies who show their horses with K's barn. Unfortunately I missed the gal who qualified for regionals, as she rode really early. The friesian is ridden by K's wife for the owner. The other horse is such an extraordinary color isn't he? Both did well!

2011-08-21T20:08:00.000-05:00

Encountered some interesting things along the trail today. How about this stuffed orange shag tuffet? Scout is at first, perplexed...."what's this thing for?"

"Well,I'll just take a nibble...." If it's along the trail, it must be part of Scout's grab and go roadside buffet! This horse can grab a bite and never pause or miss a step as he chews his way down the path.

It started with this hot pink settee. Deb and I decided to go thru the underpass today to another trail. This little number was waiting on the other side as we emerged. Scout and Sugar were not very impressed at first. Both stopped and snorted at this padded monstrosity. Deb and I walked up to it and patted it. Sugar got over it quick, but Scout had to touch it before he could move on. This process took awhile as he approached and retreated several times and finally, touched it with his nose.
We walked the horses toward the log for mounting and a young girl and a photographer came up to us to see the horses. Apparently there was some sort of photo shoot going on along the trail and she told us to expect "stuff" scattered about as we rode.

Well, the tent with tutus hangin off of it next to the mounting block was something I thought would cause us some concern. Joe would have had a conniption standing near that...but Scout, eh, not so much. He craned his neck to see all the fuzzy/furry barrettes and sparkly tiaras that were on the table under the tent. (This was obviousily a little girl event) Should I be worried, that he seems to like girly things, I wondered as I got on him and he could haven't been less interested in what I was doing? "Oh you're ready? Can you give me a sec to check out that blue feathered headpiece? No? darn! grumble...grumble.."

We headed down a favorite trotting spot, but no trotting right away. First we to ride past the sprinkling can(?) and then the parasol (closed,thankfully), chair and rug laid carefully out. Finally safe to trot and then Scout stops short. Now what? Two baby deer on the trail. Two very confused baby deer. I think they thought Scout was the doe at first and they took a couple steps toward me. I told Scout and Sugar they were cows. Sugar has seen deer, don't know how many Scout has seen. I told Deb I should start wearing my saddle bell. So we started Saying "ding dong, ding dong" and laughed as the fawns scurried at our calling out. 20 feet later we flushed a partridge or quail! Sheesh!
We did have a nice long trot eventually. It was a great training gig today and the horses were champs!

Webers ready for more...Joe living the good life

2011-08-12T12:17:00.000-05:00

Joe mugging for treats down in Kentucky.

Click on this link to see the sweetest video of Joe and his bud, Sonny, grooming this morning.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1707631348851&oid=148251675218909&comments

Definitely made the right decision sending Joe down to Princeton Kentucky to live on Webers Retired Horse Farm. They have made some huge changes/improvements since I was there last fall. Those Webers are hard working people, that's for sure!

Their farm is set up so that the house is sort of in the middle of the property and the horse pastures circle around it. They recently opened up a path thru the woods to connect the huge back pasture with the front. and they did it themselves! They are now ready to take on a few more retirees, but are planning on keeping the number of horses very low, about 15, on their 60 acres. One of the reasons I like their set up, is that Kim can see horses many times right out the house windows or from the porch. That, and the operation itself is small, so there is a lot of individual care and time to get to know each horse's personality and needs. After running a top notch 40+ stall boarding and training facility for many years, this place must seem like a dream to the Webers.

They removed trees and trunks and bulldozed thru their woods.

I mean, how idyllic is this?

Makes you want to just meander through, doesn't it?

They have also been busy building more loafing sheds. Below is a pic of Joe using one to watch last winters rare snow.

These last pictures say it all. Very content horses living out their years in a place that they feel safe in.

That's Joe on the left. ;-)

Go to www.webersretiredhorses.com or visit their facebook page for more pics and videos.

Thanx Rob and Kim! Love ya Joe!

Clearing out clutter for cash

2011-08-10T07:52:00.000-05:00

I have to date sold a thousand dollars worth of tack on ebay in the past 30 days! 2 saddles, various bits and bridles.
I love this because

I take care of my stuff and it's in good shape,so someone else is happy to get it.
I was able to clear out 2 tack trunks and now have part of my basement and garage back!
The money earned has allowed me to contribute back to the family "pot".
I hate the idea of certain stuff heading for a landfill. I live near one, so I'm extra sensitive about this.
Reduce,reuse,recycle!!

Seriously, I sold some old Myler bits for over $40 a pop!

I now have one tack trunk in the barn full of only the stuff I need and use. And I found homes for a lot of the 20 years worth of tack I had!

On the same note, we had a yard sale over the weekend. It was a huge success! To have a good one it takes loads of prep work. Again, I don't try and sell stuff that I myself wouldn't want to buy. No junk, unless it's free. Like the propane tank that had been sitting in our garage for years. Just too lazy to take it in, but a guy picked that up immediately and was happy to take it! It was a lot of work, but I actually like meeting and talking to folks who come and browse/buy. I price to sell, so people buy, and the stuff is in good shape. I have neighbors who come every time I have one to buy clothes on the cheap for their boys. A win-win for us all.
My Aussie saddle is on it's way back to California to the manufacturer to be sold on consignment. The original rep who sold me mine, was in town last weekend helping with the Libertyville Saddle shop liquidation sale, and saw my ebay listing and called me. Seems they don't have this model in stock and need one in the size I'm selling, so hopefully it will work out!
So I am down to a hunt seat , a dressage and a western saddle and three bridles. Much more manageable.
It's nice to be clutter free!

A Good Tired

2011-07-26T17:07:00.002-05:00

This horse kicked my butt today. He's quite a guy. Gorgeous trot. Lovely canter. But he really makes you think as you ride. Can not take anything for granted. He's trotting along consistently and then suddenly "wha the %&!*?" He's popped his head up and skittering along at something that caught his eye outside the arena. So like my Joe used to do. ;-) Then with a some tactful assurance, aka, bringing around in a circle and then urging him to continue on, he settles again and is lovely. Here's a pic of K riding him before I got on.

I am starting to work on leg yielding in my lessons. Also keeping my hands low, which, with this horse, was difficult at times because he has a twitching thing he does. When he pops his nose out like that he takes my hand with him. So I tried to keep my hands steady even when he "popped" and eventually it was more of a twitch less and less often and he quieted down.

I admit I am more than pooped. I was drenched with sweat after about 40 mins and called out for mercy to K. I think I'm fairly fit, but not fit enough I guess. When I ride one of K's steady Eddy horses, I can ride for an hour and be ok. But today's horse required a lot of mental and physical effort. I got a bit of piaffe today, on accident, but it happened!!

Scout had another training ride this morning too. Watching K ride him has really helped me be more objective about Scout's abilities. Just to see how K helps Scout use his body correctly and that pushing thru something may be what's needed. Maybe I'm the one holding back, not the horse, since I'm the only one who rides him, all this stuff is from me. Scout seems to enjoy the work.

After K rode him, I rode Scout down the road to the forest preserve bridle path to cool out. I had boarded Joe many, many years ago on the same road and ridden the paths. It was a nice way to cool down and keep his muscles moving. Hopefully he won't be too sore tomorrow. I also gave him a bit extra of his mmagnesium,selenium, chromium powder to help his muscles recover tonite. He loved the grassy paths and the north breeze was awesome today.
Scout was loathe to leave when I went to load for home. He only went half way in a couple times and stood. We were both tired. The inside of the trailer was nice and cool, so I just stood there with him, instead of fighting. He has been loading well recently, so this was just a hiccup. I stood in one stall and he in the other. As long as he stayed IN the trailer I let him be. Even if it was just his head. His thought had to remain on the inside of the trailer. Pretty soon he stepped up, but I needed that last little step to be able to close the butt bar. I finally just gave him a little pop with the end of the lead rope as I stood opposite his shoulder in the other stall and he gave me that last step. Lots of rubs. I walked toward the back of the trailer and he started following me, backing out. I quickly ducked back into the other stall and gave him another pop and he sent himself all the way back in and stood like a statue. I rubbed his rump and near his tail. He didn't move. ;-) I got out of the trailer to attach his butt bar and he still didn't move. This small hurdle of being able to load him totally by myself was now accomplished! Whew.

As I was driving home, I was so glad I was alone. I STANK. That drenched and dried sweat, horse, dirt stink. I know you all know what I am talking about.....I couldn't wait to shower. But the horse comes first. So unloaded, put my gear away, parked the trailer and finally headed home. After my shower, plopped on the couch. I am so tired, a really good tired.

Here's a good read I found thru another blog. Manolo Mendez clinic.
http://www.ultimatedressage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=158692

Flight of Fireflies

2011-07-21T22:18:00.002-05:00

The sky was melting into pinkish, purplish blue as I reached the pasture gate. I looked past the rusting metal bars into the fading light of the evening searching for the horses.  I undid the gate clip and swung it open. The clanging of the chain against the gate as I walked through, was an unwelcome intrusion of the quiet stillness I was entering. I grabbed a cool, rough bar and gently helped the gate swing back to the wooden fence rail. Quiet again.

The sky continued to darken behind me.    I scanned the landscape and discovered the outlines of horses. There were three, but in the dimming light, the red and tan colors were muddled as in an abstract painting.
I stood on the.crest of the hill and gazed into the sky. The air was perfectly still. No breeze. Warm summer night air. A few stars peeking out. The wonderful quiet. I stood for a while.

I gazed out across the open pasture again. Horses rustling as they  grazed and gently swished their tails. I realized it was indeed, now dark. I turned to head back to the gate. It was then I noticed the fireflies. Suddenly, as if on cue, hundreds of silent fireflies blinking everywhere! Hovering around the horses, dancing over the grass, floating over and around me. A silent, magical flight of fireflies!

I soaked in the beautiful performance. They stealthily surrounded me while I meandered back to the gate.
I stopped and turned and took in the glorious sporadic illuminations one more time. Twirling little beads of light shone in every corner of the dark.
Reluctantly I walked back through the gate, closed the clip and winced as the chain clanged against it.

Seller beware....

2011-07-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

A police Sargent came to my house Wednesday afternoon. Why? Because some scammer had Fedex'd me a fraudulent check. My Aussie saddle is listed on a couple of reputable sites like ebay, equine.com, horseclicks and the dreamhorse.com tack site called tacktrader. This guy responded thru tacktrader.

The first couple of emails, were ok, the usual questions and info exchanged. When he wanted to make payment with cashiers check or money order, well, let's just say the warning bell in my head went off. I told him no way on MO, but I might accept a certified cashier's check, but wouldn't ship the saddle until after the funds cleared(which could take a week or so). Told him I preferred Paypal, simple, easy, safe for both parties.
Didn't expect to hear anything more, but I then got an email from him wanting to overpay the amount and I could take my payment for the saddle and then western union the rest to his "shipper" in Tulsa OK and she would pick up the saddle. LOL!!!! I mean, I am not always the sharpest nail, but come on....scammer!

I of course told him no way, and left it at that. In the mean time he's emailing me, telling me, no wait, ORDERING me to go along with his gig. And the email grammar and spelling errors are getting worse and more comical.

From the supposed buyer:
Adhere to this immediately!!!

I was just to notify by my financial accountant that you will be receiving the payment any moment from now here is the tracking number:( 797--------Fedex), you therefore require to send the excess fund via Western Union to the Shipping company within 24hrs of receiving the check as agreed earlier in my first and second mail to you, so i want you be a person of your word and also a person of integrity.

As matter of fact, you can deduct the money for your own item and the remaining balance from your cashing account , that is, after you might deposited to your bank or better still, quickly have it cash at any Gas Station, Cashing Stores near you cos this transaction must work out in a very timely manner.

So , without any wasting of time proceed to western union and have the excess fund send to this Payment info:
I ignored him, and then poof! viola! Wednesday am, a check at my door for $2500! So for yucks I google the sending address and it's from a russian guy in southern Illinois, supposedly. The "shipper" has a store in Tulsa OK, but it's just a listing, no info, no website, no other info. Fishy eh? Oh and the check? It looked pretty good and legit, but of course it wasn't. The account the check was from? MBHS Alumni Assc. As in, Methodist Boys High School Alumni PNC bank out of somewhere in MD. So I google the bank, the address seems legit. But MBHS? Why it's a high school in Sierra Leone West Africa of course. No pics, just info....oh and the website is a donation site. Cus, ya know, they need money for various things......scam,scam ,scam.

So, to be on the safe side, I called the police and Mr. Sargent came over. He was glad I called and no, I wasn't being over the top. He took copies of the email threads and the Fedex envelope and check. He said "they may have a little fun" with this before they nab the guy. Fine I said, I just want it out of my hands. I deleted the ad off of tacktrader and notified them of the fraud.
And guess what? as of late thursday afternoon....he's still waitinig for me to go to western union to send him his money. You think he'd have a clue by now.
Here's another post from him:

Why did you keep silent?, you already have the payment at hand and
refuse to notify me.
I want you to proceed to have check cash and deduct the money for your
own item and send the remaining balance to the payment information of
my shipper i gave you in previous mail.
I believe you a man of your word and honest.
Awaiting the western union details....
Yeah, you'll be waiting a looong time buddy.....a very long time.

On the bright side, I did sell my Wintec Wide and Cliff Barnsby saddles within hours on ebay last week!
The Myler bits are next to be listed. I have a lot of bits laying around......

Watching another ride your horse

2011-07-09T10:27:00.000-05:00

I trailered Scout to K's place Friday morning. I am at a cross roads with horse ownership right now. To help me figure things out, I decided to get an unbiased opinion from a professional about how my horse really rides. Talk about setting myself up for, well,....the possibility of learning that I have not done as okay of a job with this horse as I hope I have. But, I have to have all facts and realities before going further with anything.

Scout loaded well, only half heartedly backed a few steps in the trailer, but came right back to the front and stood as my hubby did the butt bar and off we went. He was a little nervous as we walked into the barn, but quickly touched noses with a paint horse he saw the last time we were there and settled right into being groomed and tacked. He has such a good personality around other horses.

K mounted up and got used to my horse's way of going. Lots of walking at first and figuring each other out.
K was waiting for some relaxing and stretching and after a while Scout was going well. I have always thought that Scout has a great trot, both slow and working, and K confirmed this. K was really rather surprised at how well Scout moved for "such big bodied horse".
The canter needs some work, needs to learn to use himself better so he's not working so hard to carry himself. Scout likes to decide when he's done cantering, however with K aboard, with help of knubby little spurs, Scout figured out to keep going with just a slight prod of K's leg.
For the first time ever, Scout had a full sweat going on. And the better thing was, also for the first time, Scout was breathing rhythmically to his canter strides. He was working with his tail nicely held slightly up like when a horse is relaxed and using himself. There were a couple of nice moments. He will never be an upper level horse, but how many horses really are? And that's not what I'm striving for anyway.

K's opinion was that he was a willing, good looking horse that could easily do lower level stuff nicely. And maybe I should let him take him to a show to see how he does? I'll think about it I said. How much would I sell him for? I'd have to think bout that too I said.
Here's the thing, Scout really seemed to enjoy the work. He was really listening and trying to figure out what K wanted. He was relaxed, especially with trot work. Yes there were hiccups and questions asked, but overall he did great.

Watching K ride him, I got to see what and where maybe I'm too lax and not clear in my intent. To watch someone who rides many different horses, and who knows exactly how something should feel, be patient and let the horse figure out the answer, was great. So I guess I've done an ok job, but maybe it's time to get more help on a regular basis.

I hosed Scout down and put him under a fan in a stall with hay and then rode a lesson. I rode the horse that had backed out of the cross ties that I had blogged about. He's actually very nice. I had also ridden him two weeks ago. He's not girthy anymore since K took the time to find a girth that fit him properly!!
I had a nice lesson and worked on circling more with my leg than rein. Did a few accidental movements the horse thought I asked for...that was cool!!! So riding a horse that knows some upper level skills is a blast and a good learning experience for being subtle and CLEAR. :-)

On the jumping side, I did have another lesson last week. The flat work was good and D was pleased with my seat and position. She gave a few tips to be quieter and relax the "easy to get revved up" horse I was on. We worked on a 3 bounce gymnastic. So much fun! Trot in to an x, to small vertical, to vertical. As we worked, the fences raised and the last jump became an oxer. The horse was building energy as we worked, but was always very adjustable trotting into the gymnastic. It was the open space after the gymnastic where he would get fast. I just tried to sit up after the last jump, and used a half halt and then quickly one rein at a time and he came back to me well and halted. He got better each time and D was happy how I didn't let him take off, but didn't haul on him to stop. It was hard work, but the jumping made up for it. We were going to try cantering to a single vertical, but horse was very revved up and we could trot and canter quietly, but he would speed up too much on the approach for it to be a nice, successful quiet jump. We changed plans and went back to the gymnastic, trotting in very quietly and he did great and halted nicely, so that was a good place to end. Don't know when I'll get to jump again as they are off to Tennessee for another big show.

Australian Stock Saddle SOLD!

2011-06-29T20:03:00.004-05:00

I've decided to sell this beautiful saddle. I have four saddles, and one horse to ride. That's not including the cheap cordura western I have for the kids to use.

Here's the skinny on it. 2009 Australian Stock Saddle Company Muster Master 15 1/2inch seat.(fits inseam 30-32 inches according to manufacturer) Upgraded stirrups (so comfortable! I bought a pair for my western saddle) 39inch neoprene girth and breast collar.Tackberry girth buckle. I rode it 3 times.

Aluminum tree, so any saddle maker can adjust it. Here it is on my horse.

Asking $1200 for saddle, breast collar, stirrups and girth. To learn more about the quality of these saddles, go to http://www..aussiesaddle.com/.

Julie Goodnight-- Helmets and Reins

2011-06-25T08:25:00.000-05:00

This excerpt from Julie Goodnight's blog is the same reason I always wear my helmet while mounted.
Story about a young mom whose steady horse spooks and bolts during a clinic because an air pressure hose
got disconnected in the barn area next to the arena! Talk about weird and unlikely! You never know what can happen, be as prepared as you can. I always have at the back of my mind, the burden that my husband would have with our household and two boys if I got hurt riding. I try and minimize my risk, but I love to ride. So I wear my helmet.

From Julie's blog:

Earlier that day it just so happened that I sat next to this rider at lunch and we had the chance to chat a little. I had discovered that she had two young children, I think she said 5 and 7— a girl and a boy. She was feeling guilty that she had left her husband at home to deal with the children alone on Father’s Day. I remember saying, “Hey, that is what Father’s Day is all about!” I could tell she felt a little guilty for taking some time for herself and following her own dreams, but I was proud of her for doing so. I was much older than her before I realized that I could do things for myself and still be a good person.

What she shared with me after the clinic and after her trip to the emergency room was both surprising and incredibly meaningful to me. She shared that she normally did not wear a helmet when she rode but that she had on this particular weekend because she knew how I felt about it and so she did so out of respect for me. She also shared that she would never ride without a helmet again because she had figured out that no matter how good her horse was (and he was very nice), stuff happens. And she has two beautiful children and a kind and generous husband that she needs to be around for. Why take the chance?

Truth be told, it was hot and humid and wearing a helmet was perhaps not the most comfortable thing. But on the off-chance that something goes wrong—something totally outside your control and influence, isn’t it a nice insurance policy to protect you from preventable head injury? My heartfelt thanks goes out to this rider for sharing her thoughts with me; I’ll never forget it. I don’t really know the impact I have had on someone unless they share it with me.

You can read the whole post here http://juliegoodnightontheroad.blogspot.com/

She has another good blog entry on one rein versus two. Here's a bit of that:

From Julie's blog:

The theme of the weekend was definitely working on not pulling BACK on the reins and not pulling on TWO reins at the same time when you want to turn. This is one of the most common problems I see at the clinics I do and it is highly detrimental to the horse. Some horses will take it, day in and day out, but many horses will shut down and become non responsive when the rider pulls on two reins. Allow me to explain.

First of all, most riders are stuck pulling BACKWARD on the reins any time they ask the horse to do anything (and sometimes even when they aren’t doing anything). ANY backward pull on the reins is known as a “rein of opposition” and interferes with the horse’s forward motion. If what you are trying to do is stop, then it’s not so bad, but if what you are trying to do is turn while you keep the horse going, it doesn’t work too well. For instance, we were doing a lot of canter work at the CLU clinic but most riders could not keep their horses going all the way around because as soon as they’d get to the corner, they’d pull back on the reins to turn and it would automatically slow the horse down to a trot. It’s asking him to do something he can’t—go forward around a tight turn while you are pulling back. It’s very unfair to the horse, although it’s the horse that usually gets blamed.

Another bad problem is to pull on both reins when you want the horse to turn, crossing your outside hand over the midline of the neck. So basically you are pulling his nose in two directions at the same time—what’s he supposed to do? Often people think they are neck reining when they do this, or they just have trouble separating their hands, or sometimes it looks like they are trying to turn their horse like their hands were on a steering wheel, but the horse is definitely the loser in this game. Many horses, when you pull on two reins at the same time, will just completely shut down, become nonresponsive and either head to the middle of the arena, head for another horse or just stop in frustration.

I know these are difficult concepts to understand and hard habits to break (especially when you don’t even know you are doing it) but when you consider it from the horse’s POV, it makes no sense at all. Pulling on two reins at the same time is rarely a good idea. The good news is that I think it sunk in for everyone at the clinic! As we worked through the different ways to use the reins—for instance using the leading rein (which has no opposition) to turn instead of the direct rein—and the one rein stop, I think everyone could see the difference in the way their horse’s responded. Although everyone would have loved to be able to bring their own horse to the retreat, in a way it’s good to ride different horses and work through specific challenges—it broadens your horizons and teaches you a lot. Would you agree that you learn more from riding different horses than you do from riding the same horse all the time?

Scout and I have fallen into this trap a bit on the trail. I realized how much this bothers me after riding other horses that don't barge thru the bit. Scout is a big horse, his head alone is probably 50lbs. I let the snatching grass as we ride go, and then I had a barging thru the bridle problem. Trying to pull his head up with two reins doesn't work. Instead I've asked for forward when he dives for grass. And sometimes this is a little nudge with my heel, sometimes a big kick, depending on his lack of response. A horse has to raise it's head at least a little to move forward. Once I get that forward motion I pick up one rein and bump it with my hand, not a steady pull, a bump and viola! He lifts heads and we continue on. As I feel the slight hesitation before he's about to dive, again one rein bump and erase that thought from his big head....so far this is working on the trail. Well, actually, we've pretty much remedied it in our last two rides. Two days ago I worked him in the arena. We did figure eights. I was looking for him to begin to bend nicely thru the curves and relax his back and neck and not barge thru the corners. After about 20 mins and mindfully not using both reins at once he was lovely! Soon I was shifted my weight and opening my hip to give a space to move his body into around the curves of the figure eight. The dressage lessons are working! He was really happy with my "new" technique and his trot was much steadier throughout the session. We ended with a beautiful collected curve around one end so I jumped down and loosened his girth immediately and took him back to the barn for a job well done!

I think I concentrate so much during my lessons, that when I ride out on my own horse, I just relax. But relaxing doesn't mean I shouldn't still expect my horse to "be with me". I have failed Scout in that regard lately. So I'll continue to work on being "present" for him, and will expect the same in return from him.

Ross Jacobs Blog and Buck movie

2011-06-23T10:40:00.004-05:00

I came across this gem of a website recently. I first wrote about Ross Jacobs, author of "Old Men and Horses" back in July 2009. A must read book!! So http://www.goodhorsemanship.com.au/blog/blog.html is where you can communicate with and learn a thing or two on how he trains. However, like any good horseman, there is no specific directions on how to fix something with your horse. He won't tell you do A to fix B. Every horse is different in any given situation and so is every rider. He likes to get a horse to follow his thought. You'll find pearls of wisdom there from Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance.
Take a look. He recently wrote about collection and helping a horse get off the forehand. He also commented on a Parelli trainer's video posted on youtube. Whether you agree or not, and I happen to agree with his sentiment about the video, it is an interesting site to peruse.This link http://www.goodhorsemanship.com.au/Articles/Articles.html will take you to my favorite page of his site, Myths and Misconceptions of horsemanship. I have been slowly reading thru the list of topics he offers his opinion on. I may not agree with everything, but I rarely do with any trainer, that's my prerogative, but something can be learned by reading and listening to different opinions and experiences. The Story tab shows how even experienced trainers have to really think about the horse they are working with. Trial and error.

Buck Brannaman movie trailer. I will be seeing this!! I love the part where he says to a woman, "This horse tells me a lot about you." Our horses are reflections of us...good and bad....how humbling!

Via Kentucky....Joe's birthday party

2011-06-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

So Kim called while I was riding Scout to tell me they were having a "party" for Joe's bday today. June 16th 1982 is his bday, but I told Kim it was the 18th. I always get it mixed up. Sorry Joe!

Anyway I found some totally sugar free horse cookies from a lady in Virginia, who owns a retirement farm too. She bakes them to order and before I could email her that I wanted them sent to Joe in KY, she sent them to me.(lucky for Scout!) Then she recd my email and responded back to me that she would send another batch to KY at her expense. How nice was that?! Her name is Lori at http://www.naturalhorsetreats.com/ I wanted to get Joe something sugarfree because of his cushings/IR. Well these treats were a hit, both according to Scout and Joe.

Below is the link to the Webers facebook page chronicling the party from Joe's perspective. Kim, you're so clever, I loved it. And thank you for taking such excellent care of my horse...he looks wonderful!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.207788075931935.56310.148251675218909

Potter and pulling

2011-06-16T18:22:00.001-05:00

We were in Orlando over Memorial Day Weekend. This was our second visit to Disney, first to Universal Studios. The boys wanted to go to Harry Potter. It was amazing. Really. Like walking into another time, really cool. The park had all the shops from the movie. The wand shop, the candy store, etc. ya know all the places Harry goes for school supplies in the first movie. So we waited inline for about an hour to ride the Hogwarts castle ride. It was the best ride I have ever been on. You walk thru the castle as you wait to get on the ride. That in itself is very fun. All the little details are there as you walk thru the corridors and there are some visuals to keep you interested and less impatient about the long line. We finally got to our "car". Seats you four across, facing the same way, and a harness comes down from overhead to secure you in your seat. What? I thought. A harness like that means there is gonna be some good action...and there was!!!
A halogram of Hermoine(?) sets a spell and your car suspends above the ground and we're off. The car must have been attached at the upper back portion to the track. You feel like your in the air immediately and start your "training". We are bombarded with the motion of the moving car, seeing a film backdrop and real props all coming at you. It was wild!! The car could tilt/swivel/rotate forward and backwards. I laughed the whole time! If the dang line wasn't so long, we'd have gone right back on. What a blast!

I rode Scout for the first time in 5 days. I have let him and myself get into some habits. Not his fault. I haven't been riding with full concentration and letting things get sloppy on the trail. I'm usually busy talking with Deb and not concerned with little things....which are now creeping into big things. I mean if one bite of grass is ok, why not a bite every 10 steps? LOL. ;-0

Tuesday I had a dressage lesson and rode the training level 3? test. It's the one you do to qualify for regionals? I found it easier than the previous ones. Less transistions. So I'll keep working on it and we talked about maybe going to a schooling show with one of the trainer's horses. We'll see. The most exciting thing that morning was watching an 18 hand warmblood sit down in the crossties and free himself by slipping out of the halter. No injuries thank goodness for horse or humans! My trainer had picked the horse up over the weekend and they told him he was "a little girthy"?!
That was an understatement....poor horse. After he was loose, he immediately walked into an open stall and sighed and snorted. I told K about Dr Marold. Girthy horses almost always have out of whack rib cages, something that can be fixed. I hope he gets a chiro visit in his future.

Rider Down

2011-06-11T14:49:00.000-05:00

Kate from A Year With Horses had a fall from one of her horses this morning. I came on the scene as the paramedics were assesing/prepping her for the stretcher. Thank goodness someone saw the accident and called 911.
I do not know a lot of detail and will respect Kate's privacy. She did sustain a concussion, broken ribs
and collarbone. She will be in the hospital at least overnight. The horse is fine.
I am only posting this because I know she has a lot of blogger friends out there. If I find out more I will try and keep ya all informed.
Please keep her and her family in your thoughts!!!

Another year for Joe and Blackjack remembered

2011-06-07T18:36:00.006-05:00

It is flipping hot here!!!
Joe continues to do well at Weber's Retired Horses in Princeton, KY. His birthday is coming up, his 29th. 29 and on seems a very precarious age for horses. I know that he may not live much longer, but am grateful that he is happy in his retirement. I am just so thankful that I moved him last fall so he did not have to endure our last, extremely snowy winter!!
This pic from 2009, reminds me of how attached Scout and Joe were. Joe followed Scout everywhere. I came across pics of Blackjack as I searched for this photo. It reminded me that Amy had told me she had written a memorial for Blackjack on the Weber website. So I went to it and cried. Now you can too. Here's the link. http://www.webersretiredhorses.com/the-final-sunset--memorials.html Scroll down to the bottom. He was such a little scrappy horse. Everyone loved him.
I am starting to think that Scout is a bit lonely. His latest buddy, Pie, is on dry lot, so not out with the herd on pasture. That leaves Scout with Drifter, Kate's new horse, who isn't very social with the geldings. He still strikes out at Scout, so there's an alpha thing there. Fritz is only concerned with keeping Fred for himself, and Fred is just trying to stay out of trouble. Fred has become pretty unsteady on his feet and doesn't move around too much lately. So Scout grazes near Fred and Fritz, but not usually with them and Drifter is mostly by himself.
So the thought has crossed my mind about another horse, my husband wants Scout as his, and in all respects, Scout could very much be a husband horse. He's become very steady. I am thinking of saving for a more performance orientated horse for myself. I'm still taking dressage and jumping and a horse more suited for that appeals to me.
So I have to think of a gift to send Joe for his bday on the 18th. Is there such a thing as Carrot-grams? Or 1-800-peppermints?

Mark Rashid clinic

2011-05-20T11:08:00.001-05:00

To view photos from the clinic go here http://s624.photobucket.com/albums/tt328/jillmkos/Rashid%20clinic%202011/?albumview=slideshow
I was only able to make a day of auditing, instead of three days of riding, but as usual, Mark's clinics never disappoint. Many nuggets of knowledge were learned. Here are a few.
Tilting your pelvis forward throws the energy down into the forehand thus into the ground. Not a good way to get an upwards transition, or any transistion for that matter. There was a dressage instructor learning this. It was said that the mare was "reactive". It was figured out that the mare was protesting that the rider was making it difficult to canter because she leaned back and tilted her pelvis forward during the transition. The cool part to watch was I could see the horse feeling the rider's energy change for a canter depart, but the rider wasn't feeling that the horse was already sensing the want of a canter depart, so she ended up doing more than necessary, ie; too much leg and driving her pelvis, which of course upset the horse as it sent her on her forehand for the depart! It also made the rider very behind the motion for the first stride or two. So the mare had to compensate for all this extra hoopla and still make a nice depart. The rider was making everything too difficult. (don't we usually? ;-) ) Less is more. Give the horse a chance to respond. Get in touch with your own body and energy so you can feel how your affecting the horse with your intent. The rider learned more than the horse that day, for sure.

Every gait is a two beat rhythm in the hind end. Don't over think the canter. It's still just two beats behind. The motion of it moves your hips in a figure eight. This was a light bulb moment for one rider and her paint. She was uncomfortable cantering and felt disconnected from her horse, because she was. The tighter you are, the more you are likely to get bounced out of the saddle because you are blocking the energy flow of the movement. Mark drew a diagram in the sand for her of how her hips should follow. She was tight in her lower back. This rider was all smiles by the end of her second canter!! Her horse was much softer too.

This tightness, or energy blocking theme was continued with the next rider. She looked "perched" and tense. This gal too, was very stiff in her lower back and protecting it. No excuses Mark said, if you can walk (and don't have a major injury or condition)you can loosen your lower back area so it doesn't block up the horse's gait. Her horse's stride became more open as they worked. He also talked about how physically it is harder for most women to ride than men. When men are mounted, their legs drape straight from their hips and their feet naturally face front. Women's femurs are connected differently, so our legs drape with more of an angle to the foot. A man's foot in the stirrup will have wto balance points the knuckle of the big toe and the outside of the little knuckle. The third point of balance for a human is the heel, but we lose that when using stirrups. Because of the way a woman's leg drapes, she loses two balance points. The heel and the big knuckle, leaving us with the little(outside) knuckle only. No wonder we have a harder time!! This is why your core muscles are so important. They center you and keep you in the saddle. Your stirrups are not keeping you in the saddle, gravity and your core do. He then demonstrated an exercise where a person stands and depending on how or where they are looking or thinking determines whether they can be pushed off balance. Always an eye opener the first time you see it. You can look down and think "up" and not be pushed off balance.

Another lady was fearful. She'd taken up riding late in life, had had a fall, a bad one, rod in her back now. She was riding a nice gaited palomino. Steering and stopping were problems, adding to her fear. Mark had her do cone work patterns. This was to get her mind off of her worries and concentrate on a task. By the middle of her time she was gaiting around cones and smiling. She wasn't grabbing and snatching the reins and the horse was stopping/steering much better.
The horse needs three things from the rider - speed, direction and destination.
This gaited horse also had a a bad habit of craning it's head around to touch the riders boot. He asked if the horse had been laterally flexed alot in it's training. The lady didn't know. This started a whole discussion on the problems with some training methods. I have never heard Mark say anything about another training method. He mentioned that he spends a lot of time "undoing" some of these things, but sometimes they get so ingrained you can't undo it. There is a small time frame for a person to make an impression on a young horse. Within the first rides a horse will grasp and hold that knowledge as gospel, whether it was taught right or wrong. I guess this is why some horses get started well, end up in not great situations, and are able to overcome with good training again. Those that had bad or indifferent starts can be forever stuck no matter what sometimes cus they don't know any different. Anyway, his answer to disengaging the hind quarters and lateral flexing was "why would you ever want to teach a horse to disengage from it's body? You're taking the horse out of him." On a personal note, I have to say at one point I was at my wits end with Scout and a steering issue we were having. I tried laterally flexing him once or twice during one ride, thinking it would soften his neck up...maybe. Well he learned that trick quick, and one of first responses for weeks after that was, "how about if I flop my head around to your boot? Is that what you're looking for?" Yikes! talk about losing connection. So just be careful.
Have to say, once again, Mark's patience and humor make every clinic a great experience.

riding videos and no clinic for me

2011-05-17T18:54:00.000-05:00

I am continuing with the dressage lessons and finally edited a couple videos to post. These are from my second ride back into the fray after about a year off. The horse I'm riding has also been on a bit of a break, so we are both a bit weak in the vids. You can see me willing him along at times with my seat. My instructor keeps reminding me that I have a whip to tickle the horse with, but I either forget about it, or fumble around with it clumsily. I have never been graceful with a crop. Between the double reins and the whip, there is a lot to keep track of!

I rode the same horse again today and both of us are in much better shape now. Had my best ride on him so far in this morning's lesson. I was able to ride the training level 2 test straight thru with no accidental breaks of gaits. K, the instructor, has me riding the training level 1 and 2 tests as part of my lesson. He calls out and I ride, it's been a lot of fun. I started in February and as of today, I'm feeling like I might really enjoy continuing this sport.

I love the technical aspect blended with the "feel" part of dressage. The 20 meter circle is no longer a mystery to me. I realized that if I angle my body around the curve, the horse will naturally follow. Sit up, open the hip and shoulder. This automatically places your legs correctly on either side of the horse and also naturally brings the inside hand back a bit to guide the rein around the circle. Hence a nice big, even, round circle. Sounds logical of course, but until last week , I hadn't gotten to the "feel" of that particular technical aspect. Now I've got it and the circles are easier, not always perfect, but easier. I'm not thinking so much about them. More of that "conscious competence" stuff!

K reminds of Mark Rashid. He is so calm and patient. If there is a glitch, no drama, just take a step back and continue on. I appreciate his choice of words as I ride..."a little more connection", "a bit more feel", "ask the horse to bend, bend a bit more,", "ask for more forward" etc. there is no harsh language or words. And K's tone never escalates. Calm, soothing, even at times rhythmic to the horse's gait. You can hear him on the canter video as he says "good" in beat to the horse's stride. I do that in my head all the time!

Speaking of Mark Rashid, one of all time favorite horseman and authors, will be around here on Wednesday thru Monday in Cedarburg Wisconsin. I am signed up to ride, but, the best laid plans do not always happen. Scout is working on an abscess the vet thinks. There are other factors too. My great hubby is very horse sympathetic, but I cannot expect him to take off/be interrupted at work to be on call for kids and such while I take off for three days while things are going on with the family. Besides his job is most important as it pays for my horse fun! The universe has a way of steering us, and there have been just too many hurdles when it comes to riding in the clinic. I was still thinking I could make it when the vet told me yesterday Scout still has a pulse and some swelling...so I will not be riding. The gal whose hosting the clinic has very graciously offered me a horse of hers to ride. I've known her for years, and was very flattered that she would trust me like that, but I really want to ride my own horse. I hope to get up there for a least one day to audit and take pictures!

2011-05-10T20:55:00.001-05:00

Joe had a hard time shedding his coat this year in Kentucky.
Here he is half way thru his body clip.

And looking sleek and cooler after....

The vet was there for spring work recently and he's doing as well as expected for almost 29! Love and miss ya handsome!

1.Dressage 2.Jump 3.Trails 4.Repeat

2011-04-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong to have a great time riding if it isn't on your own horse?

Well, I did ride my own horse on the trails and I did trailer him to a dressage

lesson. But otherwise I've been riding others and really enjoying it. Not sure what it means....

One week it was a nice day, so I trailered Scout over for dressage. Our first load up and go

session to a lesson. He was a trooper. I will say that what we actually did, was not even close

to real dressage! LOL. To be fair, he is not exactly built for dressage, but there are many aspects of the basic training that I feel he and I need to work on together. There is more arena work in our future. The trainer I go to is local, very calm, patient man. I just found out that he is a USDF gold, silver and bronze medalist and he coached a young rider to top level and she is now turned pro herself. He also worked with the Lipizzans and spent time in Germany. But his riding and training is soft. I watched him teach a horse lead changes and it was very methodical. Within 30ins the horse was understanding and completing a change every two strides. No chomping, no tail swishing, ears pricked forward or lazily bobbing sideways in a relaxed way. He was using draw reins?(the kind that attach to the bit and travel between the front legs down to the girth).

I asked about that and he told me he hardly ever uses extra stuff, but that this particular horse was a jumper that had decided not to be a jumper anymore. So he was his project horse now. The horse's first inclination was to throw his head up into the rider when nervous. He tried the draw reins so the horse would not have that spot to go to for release, but would learn that carrying his head in a more normal place was where the release and comfort was. I only saw the horse try to throw his head once or twice as I watched.

I've watched this trainer ride a few times now on different horses. The horses are free and happy as they go. Last time I rode with him I rode his 17hand horse, and had a great time. What a kind horse! Those are the pics above. My husband took video, but I'd have to cut and edit to make it fit into the blogger time constraints....too much work.

And as far as the jumping lessons...I tried another barn, a bit more upscale than where I had been going. My dressage instructor recommended it. I had told him that I was frustrated that I was having so much trouble getting a horse over a cross rail. I dropped in at this beautiful stable and met the hunter/jumper instructor. I told her my dilemma and she agreed to give me a lesson. I figured it would be a good experiment to find out if my riding was indeed so bad that I couldn't get over a cross rail on a different horse. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to jump anymore. I mean, why waste the money?

I really had thought the first place wasn't a bad barn to lesson at. But the last couple times I rode there I couldn't get over the fact that the horse I took lessons on was probably being jumped 2-3 times a day. I personally don't want to wear spurs or carry a crop to push a horse over fences. I know that the horse's saddle didn't fit, so I felt guilty about that, and I would massage him after I rode cus I felt he was sore.

Anyway, the lesson at the new place was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s. It took a while to get back into hunt seat mode after riding a dressage saddle so much. Thought my stirrup length was good when we started but, as I rode, I felt like I was getting caught behind the motion. Even at a posting trot. She kept reminding me to keep my leg back and I was beginning to think I was really embarrassing myself. "Dang it! I've ridden hunt seat most of my life and it feels weird now and I'm making a donkey's behind of myself" She called me to her and raised the stirrup a hole. "It looks correct, but let's try it up one hole" she said. I set off at a trot and viola! everything just came into place and it was easy!!!! I trotted cavelletti, I held a two point, cantered no problem, sat trot no stirrups. "Whew" I thought, "I'm not that bad".

There was a young girl having a lesson and she was starting her jumping down a five stride line of 2'6 or 2'9 fences.

"You're strong enough to jump", the instructor said. "Just follow her. He may get strong in between fences, just support him a bit if he does." Uh, ok....heck yeah!
That sweet horse picked up a nice medium trot. We came around the corner, I looked down the line and he just flowed over the first fence. I barely moved. He cantered down and I just left him alone...I wasn't about to start telling him how to do his job...cus I was over the darn fence and heading for the next one!! He took the second one in a perfect five strides and we were halting at the end of the arena. I was ecstatic. I can still do it. And it was fun! He didn't refuse. I didn't get left behind. I didn't feel like an idiot! It was just how I remembered it. Easy. But not easy, as in easy to do, I mean easy, as in the feeling. Easy, just flowing, fun. The horse did it effortlessly. I believe I actually laughed out loud.

We did the line a few more times and then she added another jump and it was all good. What a nice horse he was. I'm going again on Friday.....;-)

Father and son eight years later

2011-04-08T08:40:00.000-05:00

This blue roan stud is Bar Glo Three.

Scout turned eight on March 26th. I finally got out his papers to look for the exact date.

I called his breeder to get pics of his sire Bar Glo Three. Well she sold him to a lady in Amsterdam. No not Amsterdam NY....THE Amsterdam in the Netherlands. How cool is that?

Here's the link http://www.aabaksgaard.dk/kontakt_us.htm

I also realized that he has halter bloodlines, cow horse, and thoroughbred in him. Mixed bag he is. Poco as in Poco Bueno http://www.waggonerranch.com/pokieinfo.htm and Bar as in Three Bars, thoroughbred http://www.cnrquarterhorses.com/three-bars.htm. Anyway here's a couple pics the breeder had of Bar Glo Three from when she owned him. The resemblance between him and my Scout is apparent. Thanks to her for the pics!!!

Life is Good

2011-04-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

ZZZZzzzzzzz*****SSSnnnore*****ZZZZzzzzz****SSssnore*****Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz........ ZZZZzzzzz.....grunt.....Huh?.....Wha happened? What's goin' on?

Oh just you. Can't really keep my eyes open right now........sigh......

Seriously. Very hard to just lift my head. Whadda want?

Yes I'm fine....if ya don't have treats, please go away and let me sleep....yawn.....

Now where was I before that rude interuption? ....ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz........

Getting inspired

2011-03-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

Beautiful weather this week and my horse is lame.

I have been taking some jumping lessons these past weeks at a nearby barn with a nice indoor, so I'm still riding.

I used to jump Joe once a week in a Saturday morning "ladies" class 15 years ago. 4 of us would meet at the barn before it officially opened so that we could have the whole arena to ourselves for our class. It was a lot of fun as we were all about the same level (jumping 2'9 courses) and we would cheer each other on alot to push ourselves. Joe would always TRY. Very rarely did he refuse. He made some amazing attempts from bad spots, but never dangerous.

The horse I'm taking lessons on does not always try. If I make the slightest adjustment or movement going to the cross rail, he stops. I know it's my riding and not the horse. The horse is a big chestnut gelding who has showed on the A circuit. I am a forty something woman with big dreams of being able to jump around a course like I did 10 years ago, but I don't have the same body I had 10 years ago. I am not talking about weight, I am talking about fitness. It is very humbling. Every once in a while there is a glimmer of the old rider I was, but then I start sucking wind and ask for a walk break! I am dealing with conscience incompetence. I blogged about this previously...http://buckskinandbay.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-scary-things-and-conscience.html

I started the lessons this past winter to get into riding shape for spring. I visited a barn close to home and watched a couple lessons. I admit, what I really like is that my instructor is probably in her 60s. I have taken so many lessons from what I consider "kids" over the years where I basically felt like I knew more about what they were trying to teach me than they did. It was very frustrating. About 7 years ago I found a barn and had a lesson with a 20 something instructor. I rode with her a few times, but I was just not making progress over fences. I knew what it was supposed to feel like, cus I had done it for years prior, but my rhythm or something was not coming back. I was about to give it up when the owner/instructor of the barn ,who was my own age, with much more jumping experience than I, called and told me that the 20year old had gone on to another barn.

Those of you familiar with the hunter/jumper world are aware that there is a weird etiquette about what to do when a instructor changes barns. I did not like the barn the young gal had moved to and had no desire to ride there, but I went for one lesson out of courtesy. Hated it for numerous reasons.

So I called back the owner of the previous barn and asked to ride with her for a lesson. She told me she had watched me in my lessons with the 20yr old and immediately brought my awareness onto subtle things in my position. I jumped a rail, and she called me over and asked if she could raise my stirrups a hole for jumping. I jumped the rail again with my adjusted stirrup length and it was like everything came flooding back and I starting feeling the flow of the jump! This is where experience just counts for everything. I'm not saying the 20 year old wasn't a talented rider/instructor, but experience is priceless. and that's what I want to pay for.

So now 7 years later again, I choose to ride with my current 60ish instructor because of several things. She's got experience, she communicates well, I like the horse I ride there, I feel safe. I took maybe 4 or 5 lessons before she even let me try a cross rail. We both knew I needed to get strong before I could expect the horse to plunk me over a jump. (example: riding all gaits in two point until I can't stand it?!! Yikes) There is no rush. Two weeks ago I had a great lesson and felt the flow coming back, but yesterday was not as good. I kept anticipating the jump and the horse would stop. We did end on a good note though. I had to just "do nothing" and it was the best jump we had.

I stuck around after my lesson for a while and watched some others ride. The big chestnut I ride jumped a course for a 50-something lady and never refused once! She was a beautiful rider, but now I'm sure it's me and not the horse!!!

Hopefully my "unconscious competence" for jumping will come back eventually. In the meantime I'm having a blast learning to ride a different horse and doing something different.

Hmmmm...I wonder if the big buckskin would jump.....;-)

Good-bye Blackjack :-(

2011-03-03T10:43:00.001-06:00

Just got the news that Blackjack had to be euthanized this morning. I was told he was doing great yesterday, enjoying sun and pasture at Weber's Retired Horse Farm in KY. This morning he just didn't want to get up. Not for Kim, her husband or the vet. They sedated him and the vet was able to feel a mass. Surgery was talked about, but he was around 33years old and had trouble with sedation for routine vet work, so surgery would have been very difficult at best. His owner was able to talk to Blackjack via the phone as Kim sat with him while he was down. I think that is so thoughtful. Even though the owner couldn't be there, at least the horse could hear them and know he wasn't forgotten. And I think it helps the owner....

He was a sweet soul. I am glad that his last days were spent in KY at Kim and Rob's and that he will be buried there. My heart goes out to his owner who had him over 20 years!

Lame, Lice and Love

2011-02-27T16:24:00.000-06:00

Lots going on here lately. Scout's eye is finally at the very end of healing. The lids have come together nicely and he looks bright eyed on both sides now. As opposed to him looking like he
was hung over, one eye open, one half closed. ;-)
I got a call a few nights ago that he came in from turnout 3 legged lame. They said he wasn't bleeding thank goodness...I headed over and he was very uncomfortable on his right front. Luckily Dr. Marold, the vet/chiro was coming in the morning for Charisma. I called her and she told me not to give him anything to mask the symptoms and she would see him in the am. Since he was quite content to stand in the stall and eat, I was fine with that. Her examine revealed no hurt joints or tendons. She did find a sore spot on the bottom of the hoof. Possible bruise or brewing abscess....time will tell. I soaked his hoof in warm water. The farrier came out the next day for his trim and Scout was already much better. We're thinking it is a bruise, as by today, he was back out with the boys and just slightly ouchy when turning. Hopefully it won't abscess.

One of my sons picked up lice!! Ugh! They have been roller skating for gym class and the helmets,skates and pads are shared. I guess they disinfect them, but obviously some get missed.
So today we are all walking around with our hair smothered in a mayonnaise/apple cider vinegar mix under plastic shower caps!!!! Oh, I should have gotten a picture!!! We look hilarious!*giggle*
After 2 hours we had showers and blow dried our hair on the hottest setting we could tolerate. Meanwhile I've had to tear down all the beds/couches/clothes and pillows and wash and dry them on high heat in the dryer and vacuum everything. This will continue for at least 10 more days....sigh....

On a happy note, my father called me yesterday to tell me he is engaged! I think one is lucky to find love once in a lifetime. To be able to find it twice is a real blessing. He is starting to live life again at 73. After all he has been thru with my mom's illness, we are all very happy for him. They are planning a small spring wedding. Isn't that so sweet?

third times a charm.... i hope

2011-02-09T19:07:00.000-06:00

Scout managed to slice his left eye...yet again! This is the third time in a year that he has had to have that eye looked at by the vet. Luckily it was a very neat, straight slice back from where the two lids come together at the back of his eye. No damage to the cornea, thank goodness! He did get two stitches.
The vet thought it would heal nicely with just antibiotic ointment. Well, 2 days later and she had to come back, due to pus and more seeping. Pie accidentally whacked Scout during a game of face tag and we are basically back to square one. He's very sore this afternoon and didn't want his face touched. Yesterday he was doing okay it seemed. Solo turnout for Scout until this thing heals more. The vet added an oral antibiotic in addition to the topical. Luckily he eats anything! I made him a "get well" mash of pulp, Ultimate Finish and the antibiotic and he slurped it all up.

I myself, have a bad sinus infection in all my sinus cavities,.I have been experiencing ear pain off and on, drainage, and lately vertigo. Your sinuses are supposed to be black on the CT scan I had and mine were a quarter air and the rest is gunk! Yuk! So antibiotics for the infection I'm hosting and prednisone for the swelling so the gunk can drain...again, yuk!!!!

On a brighter note....it's going to be positively balmy tomorrow at 28degrees!!

20 inches

2011-02-03T09:47:00.000-06:00

Woke up Wednesday am to this All of our doors were blocked with drifts. This is out to our backyard.

My sons thought it was great.

Chris and I slowly dug ourselves out partly. Drifts were half way up the house.

My son and his friend had to climb them of course!

After diggin ourselves out, hubby and I headed up to the stable to dig horses out. Scout was pounding on his stall door when I arrived. Not happy at all to be in. We got a pathway dug to the arena and drylot and turned them loose!

The drift was on the interior of the lot, so I dug a path thru it so horses could walk in.

This drift is at least 6 feet. It is covering 3 troughs that we use everyday!!GRRR! Very frustrating.

We have not dug these out yet.

Back home, forts were done and plowing continued.

Our town did a great job keeping streets and alleys clear. Some others did not I guess. It was nice that all our neighbors were out helping each other and the weather was beautiful in the evening.

Unintentional mingling of the sexes

2011-02-01T14:42:00.000-06:00

In order to be prepared for the blizzard that is now upon us here in the midwest, I have unloaded 56 square bales yesterday and 2 round bales today. That, combined with trudging thru snow and drifts in heavy winter clothes and boots to open gates for the hay guy and taking horses in and out today, it's really an upper and lower body workout. Oh and I forgot mucking the stall too. I'm pooped.

Hayman and I got the first round bale set with no problems. The geldings were very happy to see the truck, as they had eaten pretty much everything in the holder. After setting them up, I opened the gate between the two paddocks that separate the boys and girls so that the hay truck could drive thru. Now, I have done this duty many times. Never has a horse crossed paddocks on my watch as the truck went thru the gate...until today.

Let me set the scene. Snow falling and blowing in gusts up to 12mph on the top of the hill. 3 very agitated mares because the gelds are eating fresh hay and they are are not. Never mind the fact that the mares still had lots of good hay in their holder. They were "up". Wind blowing blankets up their behinds and snow swirling in little tornadoes around them. Dawn was beside herself.

When I first started to open the gate, I took inventory of the scene and all three mares were standing by the fence line, about 100 yards from me, butts to the wind.
Hayman starts coming thru the opening I've created with the gate, everything is fine. Truck pulls thru and I am simultaneously closing the gate after him when I hear a squeal. Dawn, in all of her "stallion" glory is bearing down on the small space that is ever closing between the truck and the gate I am holding. She came out of nowhere. She knew exactly what she was doing...cunning gal. ;-). Her timing was perfect. She squished thru the 4-5 foot opening, bringing Sugar with her!

Let the party begin. Scout and Fritz couldn't believe their luck, the girls had come to visit, and Dawn and Sugar can be very popular girls...if you know what I mean. Pie was the big surprise. Dawn thought she was gonna take over the territory and dive in at the geldings round bale and Pie drove her off with a bite to her back! He then chased her a bit down the fencline. She kicked at him but he deftly avoided it and kept after her. Scout and Fritz cantered along a respectable distance and Sugar threw a couple kicks, but Pie was undettered. Dawn turned around and came back towards me at the gate. I was waiting there quietly, knowing eventually Dawn and Sugar would be back my way. I couldn't physically intervene in the melee, but I could offer an escape. I kept the gate open about two feet, ready to open it further when the time came. After about 30 seconds Dawn realized she was overmatched and outnumbered and headed back from whence she came. I swung the gate a bit and she slipped thru back to Misty who was trying to run me down to get to her pals. Dawn raged at Misty...biting her, kicking at her and driving her around the paddock. I think she was taking out her frustration on her. I called to Sugar who had also had enough and came barreling thru the gate to safety.

The whole drama lasted about 2 minutes. Geldings went immediately back to their bale. Only Fred stood and looked over the fence wondering where he went wrong...and why did everybody leave?

As the hayman and I unloaded the mares bale, Dawn continued to kick and do her stallion antics. Jumping up on all four feet, pawing, swinging her head around side to side. Sugar and Misty just wanted to eat, but Dawn kept them moving around for a while.
We got the girls bale set and thankfully as we left, all were eating peacefully, heads buried in bale. Snow blowing all around them.
It's never boring with horses is it?

A Day at the Trainer's

2011-01-07T21:44:00.000-06:00

Last week Deb, Stuart and I finally had a clear enough, warm enough day to trailer out to the trainer's nice, big, warm indoor arena.

Stuart trailered all four horses, his two and Sugar and Scout. Scout wouldn't stay in his big slant load without letting the window hang open. I know he feels a little cramped in there, but once we opened the window he was ok. Then we closed it back up and headed out. Me following Stuart, pulling my empty two horse Brenderup.

When we arrived we did some groundwork/lateral work. We then went outside to work on trailer loading Scout and Sugar.

I have been waiting patiently to finish the work I had started with Scout on trailer loading this past fall. Well, he actually loads ok...I needed to show him how to stand and wait in the trailer so I could walk out and hook the butt bar without him following me out. Eventually the goal is to teach him to be sent in and load himself. That's why the trainer begins moving farther back as she's asking him to step in in the video clip.

Deb needed help just convincing Sugar that my Brenderup wasn't gonna eat her. We accomplished both! Better yet, the trainer was able to help both horses with their situations in just a few minutes for Scout...and about 20 minutes for Sugar.

Neither horse had fear issues, Scout just needed to understand the task at hand and Sugar needed more "confidence" in the handler that she could trust that what was being asked of her was not just a request, but more of a directive. Please load into the trailer...yes, right now.

I was pleased to see that the trainer used pretty much the same techniques I'd seen Mark Rashid use to help Stuart teach one of his horses to load at a clinic some years ago. Keep the head pointed toward the open door and keep their thought on that.

Now when Deb and I tried to help Sugar load in the fall, I had an idea of what to do, but...Sugar is not my horse and I wasn't comfortable with amount of pressure needed to help Sugar see that the trailer was the correct choice. Deb wasn't either, so Deb wanted to wait until we could get professional help. Sugar definitely has an opinion about things and if she can take charge she will. So going to the trainer's was the key. I have some video snippets posted.

We then had some lunch and mounted up. Our weather has been, well, pretty darn frigid. The arena was heated to about 45-50 degrees, no frozen noses or toes from "riding windchill" when trotting and cantering! It was great. I was actually peeling layers OFF! The trainer gave me some tips for helping Scout use his hind end more while cantering. Yes we got to focus on cantering..in a warm indoor...with a skillful trainer watching...wonderful. I was cantering on the left lead and when I felt Scout "string out" a little, I was instructed to take and release fully with the inside rein. I could feel him scoop his left hind underneath his body and his whole motion and carriage changed for a few stride. Very cool. He felt"airy", I don't know how else to describe it. Deb and Stuart had successes too and we were all tired but smiling when we loaded back up to head home. Scout climbed right into my trailer and started eating hay, Sugar followed a little less inspired, but she was good. Stuart took his horses home and I got to take our horses home.

Deb and I were thrilled, but we have to practice, practice, as the trainer reminded us. Load 'em on, take them around the block, and unload them a few times. Yeah, as soon as it gets above 35, maybe we'll start thinking about it...brrrrrr.
Only two of the clips work. I can't delete the unplayable third without reposting everything..

In the video clips, notice how the trainer meets the horse's energy level with her own for each evasion. Sugar yanks her head around and the trainer meets that energy with the same intensity to redirect Sugar's head back toward the trailer and then immediately relaxes. There is no continuing tension. Everything happens in the present and the trainer is fair but firm in her intention and expectation. The trainer owns her space from Scout without getting upset or run over by him. You can clearly see that neither horse is afraid or upset about what is going on just trying to figure out what's expected and the trainer lets them do that without rushing. It helps me so much to watch others in action.

Joyous Christmas!

2010-12-25T18:19:00.000-06:00

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! May the new year bring you health and happiness!

Blogging Off......

2010-12-04T11:22:00.000-06:00

Something happened yesterday that let me know that Scout and I are really in a good place.

I went out to the pasture and led him to the trough for a drink before we headed out the gate to ride.

I always wait a couple minutes to let him drink if he wants, and he usually does. I stood with the lead rope draped over my arm and was watching the mares in the next pasture as I waited for him to decide if he was gonna drink. It was really cold and quiet. He stepped up behind me and lifted his muzzle to my cheek from over my left shoulder. I stayed still and he breathed into my face softly. I turned my face slightly so that I was breathing back into his muzzle. We did this for a while, I don't know long, just taking in each other's breath. Not blowing, just regular shallow, slow breaths.

He then raised his head, stepped back, and then lowered his head and sighed and chewed a little bit. And we stood together. He then turned toward the gate and we left together.

So I thought this was a cool little interaction we had and I was going to blog about it yesterday.

But I started reading thru my blog posts from the very beginning. I read about all the little trials and triumphs I've had with Scout and Joe these past two years. I've realised that this blog has served it's purpose and now I'm done with it.

Joe is happy, as healthy as a 28 year old horse can be, and is in good hands in Kentucky. I have done right by him and he will be well cared for the rest of his life by my friend, Kim.

Scout has come so far in his training. I really couldn't have asked for a better experience at starting a green broke horse. We are partners now. Everything from here is bonus stuff.

So I'm blogging off. I just don't feel the need to keep chronicling anymore.

I have met some great people from blogging and have made some friends along the way. I will continue to follow certain blogs and maybe I'll post every once in a while here...I don't know. Thank you to everyone who has followed, commented, given advice and supported me in this endeavor. You're a great group of horse people!

Remember to have fun!

Best to all of you,

Jill

Swans, Rats and Bye Bye Odor

2010-12-01T09:41:00.000-06:00

Every fall and spring the swans grace us with their presence on our little lake. This year I was lucky to have my camera with me one morning. Wonderful aren't they?

Java's Barn is having rat troubles at her cute little spread. She's been posting about her rat catching strategies and techniques. I can relate.

Long time ago Joe was boarded at a barn that had rats. Yes plural, as in multiple. How do I know this? I saw them. Many times....ugh. Rats are really intelligent. I know people who have them as pets, and I'm okay with that. But have a nest of them living wildly in the barn, well , that just freaks me out a little bit.

When I was younger and Joe was at this particular barn, I rode in the evenings cus I worked full time during the day. I was almost always the last one out at night. This was ok in the warmer, longer daylight times, but the winter....too many rat experiences in the dark!

One particularly creepy time remains etched in my head. I was alone and I had just put Joe into his stall. I went into the tack room and cleaned up and heard...yep, rats under the floor!!!!!! Locked my stuff in my trunk very quickly scooted out of the tack room fast. One was racing down the aisle toward the lounge area. I went into Joe's stall looking for comfort...OMG...a rat as big as a squirrel was in his feed bin eating the treats I had recently put in for him!!! Gross!

It was the biggest rodent I had ever seen. Poor Joe! I never left treats in his bin again.

Found out much later, after our trainer's gang had left that barn, that there was a huge colony of rats living under the lounge and tack room. Took them years to get rid of them.

On another note....I have been using this stuff called Bye Bye Odor by Spaulding, the same folks who have the Fly Predators. Love this stuff!!

http://www.spalding-labs.com/ByeByeOdor/Default.aspx

I bought the RTU spray just to give it a try. It instantly removes the odor and ammonia of urine and poop decomposition making the air much healthier for horses and humans. It doesn't cover it up, it removes it. I'm going to buy the concentrate next time and use a hand sprayer to apply it, instead of pumping the bottle so much.

So this is how I use it. Scout lays down every night, so I have his stall about 4 inches thick with pelleted wood bedding. I remove his feed pan. I go in and pick out the surface poop and leftover hay strands. I scoop and turn over the urine spot, removing the big, soaked clumps that don't go thru the fork tines. I sweep away all bedding from the wet area on the stall mat until I have dry edges all the way around the wet area. I apply the Bye Bye Odor directly to the mat. The odor starts disappearing immediately...I'm not kidding. I then spray more Bye Bye Odor over the rest of the bedding, paying special attention to an area that is more damp from pee. It is impossible to remove all urine from bedding, that's why I over spray the bedding at this point. Just a little extra measure. I'm a little clean crazy! ;-) I then put a layer of PDZ over the exposed mat. A good layer, not just a sprinkle. I used to just sprinkle some down. I went to the website and read the proper way and it helps much more to have a layer. Then I add a layer of pelleted bedding on top of the PDZ. Lately I have only been adding new pellets to cover the wet treated area. This has left the top layer nice and soft with already broken down pellets. I then sift back in the the remaining bedding, picking out any poop that shows up when the bedding gets moved and overturned. I level the bedding with the fork and then give the whole stall one last misting with the Bye Bye Odor. I like the smell of this stuff. It's just fresh smelling, not "fragranced".

After 3 weeks of using this stuff consistently, I have noticed that Scout's stall doesn't have that "musty" stall smell. So it works for me. I have also used it in my truck that had a nasty odor from milk, I think, and this stuff is the only thing that got rid of that smell.

Just thought I'd share my success with this stuff. Even if the whole barn doesn't use it, it still seems to help with the odor concentration of my individual stall. And with a horse that lies down, I like the idea of having the air as fresh as possible when his nose is at ground level.

The other good thing about this stuff is that it doesn't hinder composting, actually it helps. This is important for our barn because our manure goes directly to the organic farm for composting.

Thumbs up from me all around.

Buckskin, Dun or Dunskin?

2010-11-28T12:15:00.000-06:00

He's been called a buckskin, a buckskin dun, a dunskin and a dun. I finally decided to try and figure out if his registration, as a buckskin, is indeed correct. There are a lot mis-registered horses. So, I googled dun vs buckskin and came up with a couple interesting links, see way below. I also own a book called "Horse Color Explained" by Jeanette Gower and looked in there.
Buckskin used to be called yellow dun.

I believe Scout is a buckskin, but does have some dun factor. Dad was a blue roan and his mom a palomino. He has mostly buckskin traits. A horse can have aspects of both genes. But it is 2 seperate genes that create dun and buckskin.
Scout has more buckskin factor IMO.
He has a clear colored coat, not mixed colored hairs, each hair is golden. No "smuttiness" on body.
He is dappled, which supposedly duns don't do? Something to do with highlights and not low lights in the hair.
No frosting in his tail and mane.
Scout does not have a pronounced dorsal strip.

Scout in summer coat, dapples abound, no hock stripes, or frosting of tail.

Scout in winter coat. Slight striping on front legs, but not pronounced.

He has black tipping on the ears, buckskin trait, and slight shadowing around the eyes, dun, but he doesn't get a "mask" of cobwebbing, which is a dun factor. This disappears in summer.

Here's a couple of links on the subject.

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/dun-vs-buckskin-90344.html

http://www.mustangs4us.com/Horse%20Colors/dun_or_buckskin.htm

What do you guys think? Dun, buckskin, or dunskin?

Hope I don't have to change the name of my blog! ;-)

The hay man cometh and trails

2010-11-26T21:45:00.001-06:00

My hubby bought me a new phone so I've been playing around with the camera. I finally learned how to retrieve the pics off of it. So here they are:

These are from a recent hay delivery. Sugar watches as the truck is positioned to unload a round bale.
The mares put on quite a celebratory display for the hayman. Cavorting and snorting!

The geldings, on the other hand, just follow the truck up to the holder.

Scout and Fred help direct the truck to the perfect spot. "A little further back..yes, good.."

The hay tastes best while still on the flatbed.

Fred snatches a few wisps too.

Pie offers some help as the holder is connected back together.

Four happy guys.

This next batch is from a a group ride we all took together and one that Kate and I did.

Here's Pie.

Deb was walking on the trail and took a pic of Kate and I with my phone. This was one of Pie's very first rides and he did really well.

Scout has something to say to Pie. "Don't worry, these folks are harmless. You'll probably get
a treat when we get back. Hang in there."

I actually saw Pie and Scout playing this morning. So Pie seems to have settled in well.
Below, Kate smiling on Pie!

All of us out on a great fall day.

Hope everyone had a good holiday.

A year ago today...

2010-11-16T22:43:00.000-06:00

4 generations-my great grandmother, grandmother, mom and baby is me, 1967. Mom and I.
My wedding day 1995.
Her favorite thing, all grandchildren at once! 2002.

My parents last picture together, xmas 2008.

I haven't been myself lately. Things that usually roll off my shoulders are making me bristle. I haven't got my usual energy. Got a bunch of projects started and a lot of piles laying around. I hate piles and unfinished projects. So unlike me.....

I lost my mom a year ago. We were close and I'm just really down. There have been so many times I've thought about her. In little everyday ways. You know, like you're at the store and see something and think, "oh, she would love that". Or something happens and I think about what her reaction would have been. What would mom say or do? The shoebox of jewelry that we sorted thru together still sits, untouched, atop my dresser. I dust it and leave it there. I strung a necklace on a gold chain of her wedding, engagement and anniversary rings and wore it for the wake and funeral. It promptly went back into the box. I remember her telling me that day, that we must go thru her jewelry so that she'd be sure that I got what she wanted me to have. I didn't want to, but did. She was losing her eyesight by then and needed help sorting.

My father asks me if I want any of her clothes, shoes, purses, jackets....except for a few pictures, I'm content with the shoebox.

And my poor dad. He is living in a house where every closet, every nook and cranny has her touch. "What decorations do I put out?" he asked me a couple days ago. "Your mom always had certain things for certain holidays." Ugh, I told him, don't worry about it, but he does. Don't send xmas cards if you don't feel like it. It's okay, people will understand and really, who cares if they don't?

I have a great aunt, my mom's aunt actually, that I've got power of attorney over, now that my mom has passed. I feel like I'm living thru last year all over again sometimes. She is failing and is in and out of the hospital and I am just feeling overwhelmed. I really am not doing that much for her, feel I should be doing more. What, I don't know, I'm not that close to her, but she's pretty much alone. I fear having to plan and attend another funeral soon.

November and December are tough for our family. Mom's bday was Nov 12th, she died on the 17th and my parents anniversary is the 18th. Chris and I lost a baby on Xmas eve 1998. Our daughter would have been 12 going on 13. I often wonder if she would have been a rider.......

Here's a weird thing... I had never been to the cemetery after our daughter died, until my mom was buried next to her. I guess I believe that they are together somewhere, anywhere, taking care of each other.

I am so grateful that we had time to say the things we needed to say. Yet it was so hard watching her suffer and whither away. My last memory of her is one I don't want. The night she passed, the hospice nurses were adjusting her position in the bed. She had slipped down some and they wanted to "scooch" her back up a bit. She was so frail that they could lift her on her blanket, hammock-like. She opened her eyes for a second and groaned as they gently laid her back onto the bed. I just cried. I was alone in the room, after the nurses left, my family was in the community area, and I just cried for her.

So I will try and look thru the shoebox that sits on my dresser today. I will try and remember her firey spirit, her fierce loyalty, her compassion, her honesty and her laugh. And I will cry.

Balance and Time

2010-11-08T10:59:00.000-06:00

Pic is from our gal who does the evening chores. Scout dines with an egret! Thanx Amy!

Yesterday my good friend Stuart trailered over his little Nokotah mare, Flaxie. Stuart got her wild off the pasture in North Dakotah several years ago and has been painstakingly working with her for years. I mean years. Got her when she was 2 or 3, and she's 7 or 8 now. He has just started cantering her on his own in the arena. He is very proud of this, as Flaxie has proven to be a VERY reactive horse. She's 14 hands, but sturdy and extremely quick. I have seen her do her her thing with some very experienced rider/trainers on her. She was a horse not to be pushed and Stuart has been rewarded for his patience. She was well behaved and pretty darn calm on our ride.
Kate came along with Pie, who is a really great horse for 4. He led the way past some things that made Flaxie stop, which made Scout stop, but Pie was fine. For being here 10 days, and having to take in all the new horses, trails and scenery, he's a great guy.
The weather has been beautiful 50s and 60s with sun. We rode for about 2 hours mostly walking.
This morning I rode over to a grass field I like to school on. I finally felt like I could do some real riding work( my cold's almost gone) and have been wanting to continue on balancing at the canter. Before I tacked up, I massaged Scout's gaskin/stifle area where he has some scar tissue, to loosen it up. Worked on his neck and shoulders and did carrot stretches for his neck. He was very relaxed as we rode off. I started with serpentines at the trot to get him using his hind end and paying attention to the bit thru the direction changes. He was quick to remember this from our last session and was moving nicely balanced underneath me even thru the change of directions. No hanging in front or trying to grab at the bit and dive. We were connected.

On to canter. I asked for right lead first, his better side. We worked on a big circle. He has a tendency to get fast and drop his front end. I tried to keep the same connection we had had in the trot, and for a half a circle had about 5 really nice strides. I must remember to stay sitting deep and up. This really helps him keep his hips underneath him and free up his shoulders. It is hard work for me, I confess! He really follows his hips with mine, very sensitive to that.
The other direction is much harder for him cus he is pushing off with the hind leg that has the scar tissue. If it is tight, it inhibits his ability to push off with the leg fully. Hence a shorter stride up front, and he's off balance and gets worried and speeds up.
Today was better that direction. I decided I would just ride thru whatever he gave me. The departure was a dive, but I just lifted the inside rein and he came back to me. I sat up and thought "outside" with my hip to help him carry his. He wants to dive in and make the circle smaller and faster until we slam to a very bumpy stop. But, I've got this worked put now. I think "out" with my shoulders and hips and he travels better without diving in. Does that make sense?! He did get upset when his regular "getting out of circling routine" wasn't working and crow hopped and spun. I just immediately set him off in the other direction at a canter, let him settle there and then did a simple change back to the way we were originally traveling. He got fast and I picked up the inside rein and then released a couple times as I thought "out" with my body to let him know that ,yes, we are still going to circle this way. After 5 terrible oddly shaped circles I got one really nice one. He finally relaxed, kept his balance and started breathing! Good connection with the bit and following the circle thru my legs! I gave him a loose rein and he blew and blew and hung his head and licked as he walked along. Well done!
I remember when, not so long ago, I was having trouble just getting him to canter. Now we are working on refining it. This past year and a half he has really learned how to balance himself with a rider. He would probably be alot further along if I was more committed to actual schooling. But, most of the time I just want to pop on and ride! I guess it really doesn't matter, cus he's my horse. There really is no hurry. I've got time.

My Joe Man

2010-11-06T20:05:00.000-05:00

Latest pictues of Joe posted on my friend Kim's facebook page. He looks good doesn't he?
Thanks Kim for posting. If anyone is interested there are more pics on the Webers Retired Horses facebook page.

Sick

2010-11-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have been sick for 2 days now. I do not like being sick, with a cold in particular. I haven't had a cold in years. Thought I was immune to all the cold viruses from working with 3-6 year old germ mongers at school. The flu is well, the flu, you feel too bad to do anything but just "be". A cold, on the other hand, is really just such an inconvenience. You feel really bad at night and morning and then in the middle of the day, not so bad, so I clean the house, or muck a stall, and then Wham! Too tired to move again. Colds are energy suckers, blah! I am not a good sick person according to my husband. I'm always thinking about what I could or should be doing instead sitting on the couch blowing my nose! Enough said.

Kate's new horse Pie has arrived. We have been out twice already on the trail together in less than a week! He is going to be a great steady minded horse for her. It is good to see her out riding and having fun.

I thought Scout would dig having a younger horse around, but so far, there is no big attraction between the two. Scout could be by himself and not care. I realized this after Joe left. I thought Scout would miss having Joe attached at his hip, seems not to be so. I guess Joe was the clingy one. Scout is content to graze by himself. He does play with Fritz, but Pie isn't playing much yet. We'll see how it all shakes out.

Dragging myself to the grocery store and then back to the couch.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

Night the barn cat doesn't usually venture into the middle of the pastures with the horses so close. I have no idea what he needed, but he was definately trying to tell me something. I was heading back out the gate when he came trotting towards me.

He sought the safety of the top of the fence post and posed for me. Maybe he knew I had my camera?!

Happy Halloween from me and Night!

You know it's really windy when......

2010-10-28T06:46:00.001-05:00

This happens!
Poor Misty! Yes, she was fine, good girl. But oh my! What a predicament!

Crazy windy and Dawn moons me

2010-10-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Crazy windy around here today. Horizontal rain when I arrived for morning feeding this morning. Finally the rain cleared out, but it's just cloudy and blustery. Sheeted up the horses and sent them out into the elements so the stalls could get mucked. I turned Scout out first and he was quite calm about the wind blowing up his rear end. I put him in the big pasture. I thought he would take off cus he's had a lot of energy lately.
When I rode him Sunday it was all I could do to keep him from bolting into a gallop several times. So to help direct that energy, we trotted serpentines in the grass field until his breathing regulated and he wasn't just gasping in intervals. Only then did we continue down the trail. He was much better, happier after the work.
Monday morning I turned the geldings back out into their normal big pasture. I let Fritz and Scout out together first. They were insane! They ran pell mell all the way to the far end of the pasture, turn and bolted back up to the gate. The pasture is maybe 5-6 acres and they bucked, reared, and ran the whole way. They needed to explode. Once they calmed a bit I turned Fred out with them. Fred's legs are not in great shape, so I didn't want him to get caught up in the frenzy.
Back to this morning, Scout just walked off to graze, Fritz and Fred were a little anxious but relaxed around Scout. The mares went out in the lot and did fine too. As I was getting ready to leave I did one last look at everyone to make sure sheets were still secure. I adjusted Scout's, I have to get him another, bigger sheet...again. As I glanced at the mares I laughed out loud. They had their butt's to the gate and there were three rear ends facing me. Two covered by sheets and one bare butt to the wind! Dawn's sheet had flipped up over her back exposing her rear..the wind whipped her tail aside so it looked like she was mooning me! I went out to investigate and she turned her head to nip at me. I don't think she thought it was funny, and she wasn't gonna let me fix it out there. I got her halter and took her back into the barn. One of the leg strap snaps hadn't closed all the way, so it had released when the wind blew up her back end and flipped the sheet up over her rear. I fixed it and sent her back out much more dignified.

I only left the horses out half a day. By noon they were all tired from being blown around so much and were waiting at the gates.
Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. Wind gusts up to 50mph. Hello Autumn.
Summer is definitely over

A Coyote Comes Calling

2010-10-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

This morning I switched the horses around the pastures. We have a drylot that I put the geldings in to eat down the grass. I want it to get as sparse as the mare's current drylot. That way both lots will need round bales at the same time. Our hayman can deliver two small bales at once, so it's just easier to try and have both lots on the same schedule. Since the mares have mowed their pasture down pretty well and the nights are getting quite cold, I pulled them off their normal pasture and put them in the geldings pasture today. The geldings have a hardier back pasture that still has some good, although getting drier, grass.

I led Misty and Sugar out first and they had a good look around, but were calm about the new digs. I took Charisma out to her paddock and as I did, I noticed Sugar very intent and alert about something.

I wish I'd had my camera, darn it. There was a handsome brown coyote in the pasture. He stood looking at the mares and they at him. Sugar started towards him. When she got about 20 feet from him, he turned and trotted away a bit, but quickly turned around again to look at her. Sugar lowered her head and shook it at him. He was not impressed at her display. She deliberately trotted to him again with her head low and he skulked down farther the hill to the far pasture thru the open gate. Misty was not at all interested, but followed Sugar down.

Seeing as the coyote was conceding, I went to the barn to get Dawn. She was very alert about the new pasture, but stood politely as I removed her halter. She spotted Sugar and Misty down the hill in the far pasture and galloped out to meet them.

I went to turn Scout out into the grassier drylot. I was walking back to the barn to get Fritz and Fred when I heard the thundering of hooves from the mare's pasture. I reached the gate in time to see the coyote jogging across the aisle dividing the pastures heading for the mare's usual drylot. Dawn and Sugar were so full of themselves!! Dawn was pawing and rearing up at the gate, not afraid, but proudly. I swear she was retelling the story of how she had saved Misty and Sugar from that huge beast. There were a lot of gymnastics being performed by Sugar too.
They finally settled and I was able to turn Fred and Fritz out.

Since I pulled the mares out of one drylot, I decided to clean the trough that is in it. I also closed the gate from the drylot leading to the pasture. The coyote watched me from about 100 feet. I walked up to the main gate, cleaned the trough and turned it over until we use it again. I then scrubbed the trough in the pasture for the mares. The coyote came into the mare's drylot looking for mice I think. He was crouched low and pounced a couple times at something. When I finished and filled the trough and walked down the main aisle towards the barn. I noticed Fritz had finally spotted the coyote in the adjacent drylot. Fritz is a bit of a worrier. Scout noticed Fritz's intensity and looked in the same direction and saw the brown furball. Fritz walked to the fence. Scout also started walking up to the fence that divides the two lots to get a closer look. The two of them stood looking over the fence boards at the coyote. What I noticed was the stance each had. Fritz's head was very high, tight muscles, tail a bit up and rocked back a touch on his hind end, like he was ready to bolt should something happen. Scout, standing right next to him, was alert, but head a bit lower, standing squarely on all four feet with his tail normal. After about 30 seconds of this, Scout took a slow nip at Fritz's hip as if to say, "Come on, get over yourself, it's just a dog." Scout went get a drink and back to graze. Fritz waited a bit more then also moved off to graze. I saw the coyote lay down in the other lot, so I headed home.

There has been a lot of construction around our neighborhood this year. I suspect that coyote has become displaced and has found a semi quiet refuge in out pastures. This coyote was not afraid of me or the horses, he was easily within 30 feet of me a few times, so he's obviously been around here a awhile. He's a large one, easily 40-50lbs, the size of a husky. I hope he's not the one stealing the barn cats' food off the counter during the night, that's a raccoon more likely. We have a lot of critters 'round here....

Autumn

2010-10-13T11:23:00.000-05:00

We are having a gorgeous fall here in northern Illinois. The weather has been dry and 70-80 degrees. The sky has been unbelievable at dusk.

These pics are overlooking the lake from our front yard.

All these color changes happened in one evening...

On the horse side of things...grazing is on all minds. Soon they will be in drylots with round bales. Here's Scout enjoying the last of the green grass.

Sugar and Misty and Dawn in front.

Mares in back, Fritz in foreground.

Fred and Fritz. Girls on the hill.

Joe continues to well down in Kentucky. I have been getting many pics and videos of him. He is now out 24/7 with the others and well settled. Scout and I are having good success with trailer loading and standing quietly inside of it. The riding is good right now, scenery is very colorful.

And so we just continue along...

A chat in the trailer and dressage

2010-10-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

Monday I drove an hour to a local trainers place to audit an Ellen Eckstein clinic. http://www.ellenecksteindressage.com/ Loved this woman and her demeanor and techniques. What is unique about her is that she worked with Tom Dorrance, yet she is dressage all the way.
For me personally, integrating what I know and like about some aspects of "natural" horsemanship, or working with the horse in his way, not coercing, with the disciplines that attract me, dressage and jumping, has been difficult. The traditional training methods tend to be harsher than I like, but the natural way isn't necessarily accepted.
This clinic once again proved to me that the horse knowledge of folks like Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Mark Rashid etc....can be integrated into traditional disciplines with amazing results.
When I first arrived, the trainer and her assistant were both riding with Ellen in the arena.
Trainer was on a gorgeous, expressive, hot, 4 year old thoroughbred and her assistant on a big, kind looking warmblood.
The assistant was working on "unsticking" her horses feet so that he was on all four and ready for transitions. Ellen had a great technique for helping a horse get the feel of "sitting" slightly so that the forehand could be up and light. The riders were not allowed to pull and the contact was always light. Horse were encouraged to find their individual "sweet spot" for self carriage. A horse was not supposed to be too low in the chin or above the bit. The rider would bridge the reins in one hand and hold the slack in the other. The bridged hand remained steady on the horse's neck and when the horse was carrying well there was slack in the reins. If the horse came above or below his individual spot for collection, he would correct himself due to the bridge of the reins. The horse never pulled against the hands, just against himself. The quickness with which the horse understood this was cool. Then as the gaits changed a slight take up of slack by the rider would help the horse be where he should. You could see the horse having an easier time balancing himself and moving easier overall when he was in his "spot". She also pointed out that the horse's neck should be relaxed. Any tension in the neck/jaw would, of course, cause tension all the down the back.
I wish I had brought my camera. The thoroughbred was, I am not kidding, as good as any horse I have seen in dressage competitions on TV. Seriously. His trot and his expressions, his freedom to go forward was beautiful. He was not held into a frame, actually there was a loose rein most of the time, yet he carried himself gleefully in a gorgeous, balanced, forward frame. Any corrections or directions given to him were soft and never blocked his forward. He looked like he could go any direction at any given moment, that balanced. Of course they were not doing anymore than trot/canter with him, and very little canter, as he is only four. Ellen stated many times that he was a special horse that was lucky to have trainer as a rider. Most people would immediately have shut him down and taken away all that made him awesome, they would fear his movement. There were a few moments when everyone just watched, mesmerized, as this horse worked. Ellen said "wow" a few times quietly as he went along... and I'm pretty sure she's seen some nice horses in her travels. Trainer is indeed a wonderful rider and has a real feel for horses. I've worked with her in the past and she is the one I will go to for Scout's pulling back.
So I'm kind of new to dressage and what to work towards and look for. Everything the clinician said made sense to me and she always gave the reason behind the action or direction. One of her things was that the hind feet must be moving as much as the front. I guess a lot of horses drag themselves along with the front. She had everyone work on getting the all the legs doing equal work. Very interesting. I walked away from that inspired.
At one point she told one rider that it was the rider that was blocking the horses forward with her posture and gripping legs. She had her flap her legs on the horses sides instead of gripping and the horse immediately walked out. But this intimidated the rider, so Ellen suggested she get a strap to hold onto, so that she could concentrate on her sitting up and back and keeping her legs loose without blocking the horses forward go. Still the rider was having trouble, so Ellen suggested she find a western saddle that fit her horse. That way the rider could learn to relax her leg, have some posture support with the bigger saddle and have a horn to grab instead of the reins. Brilliant I thought. She also told the rider to ride her horse western outside in the field or on the trail in a relaxed way, with another calm horse. I got the felling this was a timid rider with previous issues to work out. But I love that she suggested these things for the good of the horse. The horse did look very shut down in the arena.

So, after that, the next day I knew what I needed to do with Scout and the trailer. I got out the tarp. Yep, the tarp. To do groundwork. Yep, I said groundwork, and I'm not a fan of groundwork, as most of you know. But, it has it's place and I knew that if I could direct Scout with some longeing and tarp work, not his favorite, that I could get build on that with the trailer.
So I spread out the tarp in the arena and he blew at it the moment he walked in. I walked him over it, well he sputtered over it, lifting his feet very high. Then I started circling him at the trot first one way then the other, waiting until he was breathing steadily and blowing/snorting off his adrenaline. Then we circled at the trot gradually moving closer to the tarp. The tarp was laid along the fencelineto help keep him from busting around the other side of it, making his options backwards or over it. He leaped a few times, then settled and was trottig nicely over it. I stopped him and let him think about it a bit. He sighed, he blew, he cocked a hind leg. Good.
I picked up a corner of the tarp and started walking away from him. Got his attention real fast! I made sure the tarp was dragging behind me and in front of him, this is where his curiousity is such a great thing. He followed it. All over the arena. I stopped and he sniffed and pawed it. I dragged, he followed. He nuzzled it with his lips, he stepped on it and I stopped. He just stood looking at me. I raised my end so it billowed a bit and crumbled up. I asked him to walk over it like that. It took a few seconds, but he did. Good, he's confident now. I headed out the arena to the awaiting open trailer. I walked in and asked him to follow me and he did. I ducked under the chest bar and stood at the front. He took a couple steps back. So front feet in, hind feet on the ramp. We stand like that. I give him a carrot. He chews and looks around. Starts backing off. "stay with me" I ask him with a slight tug on the lead. He comes back up. All four feet in. 2 seconds, steps back. Front in, hind out. I stay where I am and offer him an apple. He sniffs around the divider and the floor. He steps all the way in. Praise and treat and pat. He chews and looks around. Steps back, stay here with me, he comes back up, all four feet in. Carrot and pat. Now he's in good but I want him to have his chest against the bar and relax. So I stand there with him for about 30 minutes having a non-verbal chat. Eventually he's looking out the window, sniffing the ledge in front of him, then sigh and cocks a leg. We stay there. I put a carrot on the ledge that he has to really stretch his neck to reach and therefore, has to step way inside the trailer. He gets it and chews and looks around. Now he's really checking out the front of the trailer. Good.
He cranes his head around and looks outside behind him. I see a man from the community garden area, who has been watching me for a long time, standing about 30 feet behind the trailer. Scout wants out due to this. Okay, I ask him to back out. I have a 20 foot lead still attached so he backs out and comes around to the side of the trailer looking for me inside the escape door. I come out and pat him and let him look at the man. I ask him to load back up. Now the divider is in place, so he's loading into one of the stalls, instead of having the divider swung open. He goes right in and looks to the ledge. I stand in the other stall and rub on him and then go to the front to put a carrot on the ledge for him. He gets it and chews and we stand together. The man outside walks up closer and speaks. He has a thick accent and I can't understand him, so try and ignore him. He persists and then gestures to ask if I want him to close up the ramp! No, no thank you! He looks at me as if I've lost all my marbles. I just stand rubbing on Scout. He finally walks away. Why is it when you're loading a horse, everyone wants to help? I laughed to myself at how I must have looked to him. He was there the whole time. He watched me work in the arena and then the trailer. After 2 hours I didn't want him to close the trailer?! Whacko!! Scout is very relaxed in the trailer so I ask him to back out. I take him to the hill and let him graze off the long lead while I lay back in the grass soaking up the sunshine. Extremely satisfying turn of events. Hopefully this will stick with him the next time we practice. I must remember to break things down and have low expectations. Take the time it takes.

What were we thinkin?!

2010-10-03T18:23:00.001-05:00

See this nice picture of a clean trailer ready for some action? Never happened.
Deb and I thought we would load up Sugar and Scout and head over to a local forest preserve for
a ride. Never happened. Cus we weren't thinkin.

I hitch up and bring the trailer to the front of the barn, we pack in our tack and stuff, we go out to the pastures and get our horses. I walk Scout up to the trailer. He steps in. Good boy I tell him, he lowers his head and gets treat. Deb starts to move the divider over to secure Scout's butt bar. He gets nervous and starts backing out. Deb clears out of his way. He backs off okay. I ask him to come back in to me. He does. I need him to scooch up one last step to get his rear totally in. He starts munching on the hay bag. Deb starts to try and move the divider to secure the butt bar. Scout starts backing up. I ask him to wait. He stops, comes forward, Deb tries again. Scout goes full throttle backing off. Deb scoots out of the way so as not to get flattened by 1200lbs of horseflesh.
Deb and I look at each other. How about Sugar? If Sugar will load up, surely Scout will stay in with her. We glance over at Sugar in the paddock behind the trailer. She is crazy/nuts running around looking at the trailer, looking for Scout, calling to Dawn who is calling to her. What were we thinkin?!
Deb tells me very matter of fact, she's not taking that crazy mare of hers to a forest preserve trail today. Agreed. We look at each other and laugh. What the h*ll were we thinkin? That we would just load up and go and have a nice little ride and come home? Never mind that Scout has only been on my trailer once before, just practicing loading. Or that Deb has no idea if Sugar has ever seen or been on a straight load ramp trailer. Oh just load them and go, we thought! Poor horses.
So we spent an hour practicing loading. Taking turns with the horses. Both of us have issues with our horses and trailers.
Scout would follow in willing, stand calmly while I was with him, but if I ducked out the side door he wanted to back out. And he pulled back hard. One time, so hard he broke the snap on the lead and got loose. Oh yeah, remember Jill, he has an issue with that. So, I've gotten around it for a a couple ears now, but when I first bought Scout, he would pull back...a lot. In the crossties, on a single tie, in Stuart's trailer! Yes, I must admit I've been lax dealing with it. He's fine in the crossties, has been for a long time now, but even the last time he was in the slant load, he would start backing out as soon as he was in. But if I timed it just right, I could get the divider closing before he backed up too much to prevent it. Shame on me. He deserves better. This hole has been around for a long time, now it's glaring at me, forcing me to mend it. Darn it.
Sugar was all about evading the trailer. "If I don't look at it, it doesn't exist" and then she got "stuck", wouldn't move.
After much patience and redirecting, Deb finally got her on the ramp and then halfway in. Lots of praise. Towards the end she was licking and blinking alot...thinking it through.
Deb and I just laughed and laughed at ourselves! For two intelligent women...not so smart today! We were just happy to get them in the trailer, stand for a few seconds quietly and have them back off when asked to, not when they wanted to. Hopefully that is what stuck in their minds about the whole deal.
I will be talking to one of our local trainers who has helped us both before. We need a day of help from her. And yes, I know about a lot of the techniques for helping a horse that pulls back and maybe I could work on it myself. But, I'm not game for that with Scout. He's big and not afraid. This habit is coming from a a place of, I can, so I will...not I'm afraid. It's something I need help with from a pro. Not too proud or ashamed to admit it.

Pics from Kentucky

2010-09-29T15:29:00.000-05:00

Joe sharing his snack with Kinsey. Kim has buddied Joe up with her husband's mare Kinsey. If Kinsey thinks Joe's alright the other horses will follow suit. So these two will be together for a while and then go out on the pasture with the others.

Blackjack hanging with Sammy. All is good.

Joe and Blackjack's Excellent Adventure

2010-09-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

Well, we did it. We got Joe and Blackjack down to Kentucky safely and without incident. Whew!
My husband took pictures of our trek. We went thru about 120 gallons of gas total! Yikes! Thankfully Blackjack's owner, Tom, paid for all our gas. Amy, who has taken care of BJ for 7 years at our barn, packed a cooler full of food and drinks, and we slept only 4 hours at a rest stop, so we really didn't spend any money to speak of, which was amazing. It was 9 hours down and about 8 hours back the next morning. I'll let the pics tell the story.

Amy and I Friday morning before our excursion. She was a great person to spend 24 hours straight with. Don't think that can be said about many people.

Kate came down in the morning to help and say goodbye. We wrapped both horses just in polos. We debated over shipping boots, standing wraps or polos. The vet told us that polos were good if they weren't used to being all wrapped up. It worked out well.

Amy leading Blackjack out to the trailer. We had wonderful cool temperatures although the wind was whipping pretty hard out of the west. BJ stepped right on like a trooper. Joe hesitated just for a second on the ramp and then walked up and took the carrot I had for him. I did end up giving Joe a haynet for the ride. I wasn't going to cus BJ isn't supposed to have hay, but I was able to secure the net out of BJ's reach and the hay turned out to be a good distraction during the ride for both of them.

Thankfully the butt bars are adjustable on my trailer. You can see that BJ is only about 14.2 and Joe is 16 hands. This way they could both comfortably rest themselves on the bar during the trip. The chest bar isn't adjustable and I worried that BJ would be up against it too high, but he seemed just fine. Another thing that I like about this trailer is the head/neck room. We tied the horses so they could hang their heads to balance, rest and clear their sinuses, but not totally bother each other. Below, BJ is checking out the view thru the escape door.

Amy, Chris and I ready to hit the road.

One more supply check and we were off about 9:30am. We drove the whole way with the top part of the back of the trailer down and the windows vented open at the bottom. There is a front window on the trailer that we could see the horses through from the truck. That was terrific. Anytime there was a bump or tight turn, we could look and see if there were two sets of ears still upright.

Joe played with his hay, pulling out tiny wisps at a time and then turning toward BJ who would try and grab them. Joe would put his head high and dangle the hay, just playing around, but it kept them busy. After 2 hours we stopped to gas up and we offered them some watery beet pulp we had made up prior to starting out. They both drank a bit of the water, but didn't eat any mash. At the next stop, I climbed into the trailer to check them over. Joe instantly started peeing (yea!) when I got in and then BJ joined him. I had bedded the trailer with shavings and had sprinkled bedding from their stalls on top of it, to make it more homey. Guess it worked. Offered more water, but they weren't interested. Let them look out the open escape doors and opened the windows all the way, as the temperature was rising to mid 70s and was only going to get warmer the farther south we traveled. The interior of the trailer was completely comfortable and light. If we had secured up the back they would have been really warm. I noticed that even with the windows and the back open, the shavings and hay were not flying around the trailer. Any hay that was dropped was on the floor in front of the horses and not blown back. I guess the aerodynamics of the trailer are correct. Also as we drove, the trailer tracked perfectly, even with the gusting wind and passing semi's. No swaying or weaving. And we saw some swaying trailers as we traveled! This trip was a great test of my trailer, and it passed with flying colors.

The maneuverability of it came in handy too. There were a few times we had to u turn or cruise thru a parking lot and, no troubles!

Many times as we drove, Amy and I noticed how calm the horses were, even at 6o miles per hour.

We could see their manes gently moving but nothing else flying around as we drove. They stayed nice and cool.

At the third stop Joe tried to stretch his hind legs as I climbed in. He raised each leg up and lowered his head all the way down and yawned. BJ was a little less perky, but we had been driving 8 hours, so that was expected. Only 1 hour to go! We called Kim when we crossed the border into KY and got specific directions to her farm. We ended up coming up the back way and again, I was so glad I had that handy trailer of mine. We ended up on a very winding, hilly, very narrow back road and the trailer just followed behind perfectly. The inertia braking system kept the trailer from pushing us into a couple of tricky spots too.

Finally we arrived!!!

Below, my husband had to get a pic of the truck and trailer, a guy thing I guess.

We pulled in and unloaded. Kim and Rob greeted us and helped get the boys off the trailer. They both slowly backed off. Joe first, and then we swung the divider over so that the older BJ with bad vision, could use the whole ramp to back off.
Below, Joe taking it all in.

Here's the whole group. Rob holding Joe, Kim with Blackjack, Amy is behind BJ removing his wraps and me at right.
Kim told me they've been in a drought, so it's not quite as green as it should be, but it looked pretty good to us.

We got the horses situated in stalls and both drank, peed, pooped and started eating right away. All systems go!

Rob and Kim took us on a tour of their house and farm. It was beautiful. They have built the house and barns themselves. I mean themselves, by hand! They also cleared the land and installed the fences. They are still clearing and seeding pastures as it is all a work in progress. We walked thru the woods behind the house on trails that they cleared for themselves to ride and walk on. We walked up to the back open area they have that will become yet another huge pasture for the horses. The acreage total is 65. As we came back to the house there was a gorgeous sunset happening. This is their view every evening from their front porch... pastures, horses and sunset.

After a pizza dinner and good conversation we headed back out to the barn to say goodbyes.

Blackjack seemed to like being able to see Joe next door to him. His other neighbor is a horse I know from previous boarding with the Weber's. His name is Sammy and he is blind and tooth challenged just like BJ. They should be well matched as friends.

Blackjack eating his pulp dinner in his new digs.

Joe and I. He seems pretty content already. Love ya bud!

appreciation

2010-09-21T10:06:00.000-05:00

I have really come to appreciate this buckskin horse of mine. Our partnership continues to
deepen. When I think things are good, something happens and I realize we're still journeying and things will continue to get even better. And am I'm already happy where we're at! So when I think that's there is yet farther to go...well...it's just amazing.
Now I am not talking about technical stuff. We don't school in the arena much. I am not trying to work on anything in particular anymore. Anything that happens to come up, I deal with on the trail. Maybe I will again take lessons over the winter, but right now I am so happy to have a horse that I can pull out of the pasture, tack up and just ride. He's so uncomplicated and seems to enjoy just riding out. No pre-ride warm up, no ground work, we just go. This works for us. I realize that many people wouldn't dream of doing this, just getting on and going without prep. But then again, I have never been one of those riders that has a routine. Maybe at some point this will change, but I'm enjoying this stage right now, the horse I have right now.

My friend Stuart called me on his way home from Iowa. He was returning from a Buck Brannhan(? I know I spelled that wrong,sorry) clinic. He was bursting with news and confidence. He was supposed to attend with a trainer and take two of his horses. The trainer had to back out and Stuart ended up going alone with his two mares. He was nervous. Turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. He had to deal with the clinic, his horses, the weather and the surroundings, by himself essentially. He learned to appreciate what great horses he has, that coped so well, and gained a ton of confidence in himself thru it all. Sometimes you just have to get thrown out there. I am so glad that he found a clinician that clicked for him.
Buck may be in Illinois next year...so Stuart will try and go see him and asked me to join him.
I truly appreciate having Stuart as a friend to share these things with.

Our road trip to take Joe and Blackjack to Kentucky is Friday. I have been letting Joe know how much I appreciate him these last few days. He seems to know somethings up. He's been very mellow. I have mixed emotions of course, but I know that he will be well cared for by Kim and will enjoy his life on her farm. Wish us luck!

Catch up

2010-09-13T08:39:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Dr Marold came to give Joe some relief from his injury. He was a little nervous at first. He has seen the vet too much lately for his liking, but once Dr. Marold started he remembered that she was the "adjustment lady" and settled right down. She found a huge area of tightness and cramping over his lumbar area. When she put any pressure he just leaned into into it and we could watch those muscles spasm with cramping. Joe felt much better after all the cramps were released. Dr. Marold thought he came out of it well considering his age, the injury could have been much worse to his body overall.
I have pieced together now what likely happened the day his foot blew up. He was probably rolling next to the tree that is enclosed with four board fence(to keep the horses from eating it). I imagine he got cast in the fence and then wrenched his back trying to free himself. So the joint injury was probably the less extensive of the two. His back was in so much pain that it made it difficult for him to move. Like throwing a human spine out of whack I suppose. I'll have to call the regular vet and let her know what Dr Marold found so she can look for that in her future cases.
Scout had walked with me in from the pasture so even though I didn't have an appt for him, Dr Marold gave him some love too. And he really needed it. His neck was tight and crampy. She also checked on his scar tissue in his right stifle. It has become attached and hard again, so I have to massage that everyday to loosen it up again. Scout had bee started to get a tiny bit short strided at the trot, but only on one side. The scarring is keeping him from stretching that hind leg fully, thus he gets less movement. Both horses went back out to the pasture very relaxed!
Joe and Blackjack have both been practicing loading into my Bup(Brenderup) trailer. BJ walked right on like a champ. I'm waiting for the chest bar pads to arrive and then we will start driving the two of them around for short trips to gear up for our road trip to Kentucky on the 24th.
Since BJ can't have hay, he's only got 3 teeth left and lives on beet pulp, I have started Joe on beet pulp at dinner time. He is not hating it! This way they can both eat and get water from the mash during the trip. Joe is not a great drinker, he likes a trough, not a bucket. So the mash will hopefully help keep him hydrated.
My friend Kim has informed me that they have been having a drought in her part of KY. She wanted to warn me so that if it's still dry when we arrive, we're not disappointed. Maybe they'll get some rain before we get there.
On a non horse note, busy with soccer season for both boys. Matt is playing on his school team and a rec league and Drew scored his first game goal ever this past Saturday.
Hope everyone is well. I've been reading blogs, just not writing much!

Horseshow and Hobbling

2010-09-02T10:05:00.000-05:00

Drew rode in a horse show last Sunday. He's in the red shirt. The show was put on by Partners for Progress, the hippo therapy program he's in. It was held at our local fairgrounds. He rode in the drill team class. There were about 10 kids riding assisted and unassisted with Drew doing vaulting.
The kids did several patterns and towards the end Drew appeared in the center of them and cantered without hands. My chest puffed up so much I could have floated away. For him to be able to use his core and balance his center without holding on is just so far from where he started.

After they finished their drill patterns they were judged individually, according to their capabilities, on things such as, best stop, best two point, best turn, best reins, etc. Every child came away with a medal and a certificate. Smiles all around! Oh and the horses were beautifully turned out... braided and shiny. These riders are so inspiring.

Joe hurt himself in the pasture last Thursday. I went to get him for his travel exam and coggins for his trip to Kentucky. He was standing alone in the pasture sweating and shaking and three legged lame. His left hind pastern was the size of a softball. It took almost an hour for him to hobble from where he was in the pasture to the barn. Luckily the vet showed up as we were halfway there and gave him some banamine immediately to help with the pain. At first we thought he broke or tore something, but xrays showed no fractures so we assumed it was tendon,ligament trouble. He was on pretty heavy pain killer the first day and stall rest of course. The second day was better, third day swollen, so off and on swelling since then. I wanted to be sure it wasn't a tear she the vet came yesterday to ultrasound it. Well he's like a million times better! So no ultrasound for us. The vet is convinced it's joint and we'll just take it easy and give bute as needed and keep him in wraps at night. He's sound at the walk and almost at the trot too. Weird.

My trailer came back from inspection with a good grade. I'm buying three new tires, as there is a slight suspicion of dry rot in a couple of them and I want a new spare, no sense in having an "iffy" spare tire! But we can start practicing loading and short drives for our trip to KY when Joe heals up more. Now I have to buy some stuff for the trailer and trip.

Before U Buy...A Trailer

2010-08-23T16:03:00.000-05:00

Okay so now I have my trailer. My husband spent the weekend futzing with it. He drove it around empty. He scrubbed it. He fixed things on it. I think he's just as enamored with it as I am. I called the local dealer to give her the news that I wouldn't be buying a new one from her.
She was not thrilled. I did ask her to give my trailer the same once over that any of her new ones get before being handed over to the new owner. She agreed. All that matters is that the trailer is safe. She will still be getting my business, just in repairs and accessories, not for buying new. I will not load any horse into it until the dealer checks the floor and tires and everything else. So since I'm not ready to use it just yet, I decided to get myself a book and read all about trailers and maintenance and stuff. I am sooo glad I did.
I was browsing Amazon, I love Amazon, and found two books. One by Cherry Hill, whose books I find informative and one by Neva Kittrell Scheve, The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing a Horse Trailer. After reading the Amazon reviews, I bought the Complete Guide.
If you own a trailer, you should own this book, IMHO.
The author had warmbloods in the 1980s, couldn't find a trailer big enough for them and custom ordered one. This led to she and her husband becoming dealers for Trailet trailers. Over the years they repped many different brands, designed models, took in a lot of trades and heard a lot of feedback and trailer tales. This book is very objective. No brands are mentioned.
She goes through features and first and foremost should be horse safety and comfort. No matter what your budget, get the safest trailer for your needs that you can afford.
After hauling in different trailers over the years I thought I had an idea about what was good and safe. I was wrong in some areas.
Now I know why Scout is not happy about loading in the slant. I was suspicious that he felt too confined. Well, after looking at specs in the book, and how different brands measure their slant stalls, either corner to opposite corner, giving a longer length than it really is, or front middle of the stall to back middle of the stall, a more accurate measure of the true floor space available to the horse, a long horse like Scout is cramped! He wears an 84 blanket. He needs at minimum 7 feet length for his body alone! He needs another 36 inches in front of the chest bar to hang his head to balance and keep his sinuses free by coughing or snorting. Stuart's trailer is 8ft wide,(custom) plenty of room for the average 16hd or less horse. But, he has mangers, which eat up the head space and available floor space.
Stepup up slants came into fashion due to mainly wanting the same amount of space to hold more horses and their gear, hence the mangers where the tack was stored under them with outside access. Fine for smaller horses, but it doesn't always translate well to bigger, longer horses. Slants also became popular the same time that rubber torsion suspension came into play. Making for a much smoother ride for horses, thank goodness. But she feels that the demand of the slant for horses comfort, may have had more to due with the new smoother suspension system.
I thought slants were better, everyone saying horses preferred to travel sideways. Again she feels that the suspension system and the ability for the horse to brace it's legs any direction it needs to, sideways or forward or back is more important to the horses comfort. A horse with a solid wall in front of it's feet can't put a foot forward to balance, or hang it's head and use it's jaw and neck either. Slant, stock or straight, it doesn't matter as long as the horse has room enough to use it's head and feet properly.
Anyway, the author offers benefits of all different styles of trailers and makes. Steel, aluminum, slant, straight, stock all are discussed, as is the maintenance of each.
After I read this book, I still would have picked the trailer that I did for myself, which was a relief to me. I would have hated to have found this great book, to only realize I'd made a mistake in the type of trailer I bought. Whew.
For me and my horses in our situation and what I could afford, I would still buy the same trailer.
But if you're in the market, and you think only a certain trailer is right for you, read the book. You may change your mind about what's important to you and may find another style might totally suit what you and your horses need.
She also discusses towing vehicles and what you should carry in your trailer at all times. All of that was really important to me to learn about.
Some of the trailing tales she tells are impressive. Horses can do a lot of things in and to a trailer.
Highly recommend the book!

Some New Stuff

2010-08-19T20:01:00.000-05:00

Drew's first day at his new school. Look at our old Dash dog...he is so sweet.

As I was about to turn into my alley on my way home from the dog groomers, I see a big red pickup pulling a trailer towards me. I did a double take and then started honking my horn and waving my hand out the window. It was Jerry, the man I hired from Uship.com to haul my new(used) Brenderup trailer from Virginia to me. I was surprised because I wasn't expecting him until the evening and it was only a little after 2pm. What a great surprise. Last nite he called me from Georgetown KY. Obviously he made great time and showed up early. He followed me to our barn and parked my new toy next to Kate's big gooseneck.

What a sweetheart he is. I would definitely recommend him to haul for anyone. He is a retired truck driver, so he was able to check out the mechanics of the trailer at the sellers for me. Just the tires needed air, which he promptly filled at the first service station after leaving the seller. He told me the trailer pulled nice and straight and that he kept checking his mirror to make sure he was actually pulling something! :-) So the trailer is in good shape, needs to be cleaned and has some minor things to fix, adjust, but overall I'm happy with it. I got it for a good price and it cost me $800 for Jerry to haul it to me in just a day and a half!! With a smile on his face and phone calls to keep me informed of his journey! The commercial haulers I called wanted no less than $1300 and up to $2000. Go Uship.com! Go Jerry! And your cute dog riding shotgun too! Oh I just want to say that the sellers were nice folks too. They got 60 hits on the ad they placed in one day for this trailer. The seller told me he couldn't get it listed as "sold" fast enough. The seller also sent me title, original warranty, brochure and receipt. They also kept their plates on so the hauler didn't have to get a temp plate. I will ship their plates back tomorrow. There are some nice people in the world.

Scout got a new flymask. I have never used a flymask before, ever. the flies must like his coloring or something. Joe never had the intense fly attacks that Scout gets. Since it has been affecting his eyes, I bought the last mask at the feed store. Thank goodness it just fits his big cheeks! I used it when I rode this morning, and it really helped with his normal head rubbing on his front legs. The deer flies stay off his ears too.

Boys started school Monday. Not new for Matt, but a new school for Drew. Drew got into the charter school in our neighborhood this summer. I got the call in July that he got in.
They have a wait list, but when a sibling gets in, the other siblings get moved to the top of the wait list. So the boys walk to school together. Another new thing....I'm not working at the Montessori this school year, but they've asked me to substitute if they need it. I'm cool with that.

Did I say that I'm excited about the trailer?!

So close....

2010-08-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't go cowing with Stuart yesterday. Scout has some inflammation in his left eye and I didn't want to risk him bumping it in the trailer. Because Lord knows, he loves to bang himself up in the trailer. Speaking of trailers.............I bought one last night....sight unseen online! This will either be great or horrible, but I'm hoping for great.

Those of you that follow the blog know I've been looking for a while. I have been to our local Brenderup dealer. Test towed one and loved it. But, ouch, the price of a new one, is well, a little beyond my meager trailer savings account. So I have been searching for a used one. which is like finding a needle in a haystack. Brenderups, you either know all about them and love them...or... you have no idea what the heck it is. A big towable port-a potty maybe? Anyway, I'm a lover of them and here's why.

They are light and I can maneuver it myself.

I don't have to back up perfectly to hitch up.

It doesn't lug on the towing vehicle, it has a special braking system in the tongue.

I don't have to buy a special truck, my Durango is plenty of power, and the Durango is paid for!

The interior is high, bright and well ventilated.

The windows are placed so that the air isn't blowing directly into the horses face, but moving air

all around the trailer. So hay and road dust aren't traveling up the horses nose.

There is a lot of room in front of the chest so the horse can lower it's head for balance and sinus drainage.

The ramp is large enough so that a horse can stand with all four feet on the same surface instead of two on the ground and two on the ramp or stepping up into the trailer. This will be easier on my older horse.

Scout will have plenty of room lengthwise. Butt and chest bars are individually adjustable.

Saturday I came really close to buying one from a Danish woman in PA. Brenderups are Danish design. She said to me over the phone, "I know they're kind of new here in America, but I've used them since I was a little girl in Europe. They last for well over 20 years." She used it to haul her horses to Florida for the winter show circuit. She ended up selling it someone who had called her first. I was bummed, but my husband kept scouring the internet. Found the one in VA last night and bought it this morning.

So now I'm getting quotes on Uship.com to have it hauled to Illinois. Even after doing all this, the trailer is still way cheaper than buying a new one. And the husband of the woman selling it is a pastor, so I'm hoping they are legit. ;-) The wife used it like 10 times in 6 years she said.

So keep your fingers crossed for me.

Anyone out there ever use a transport company to haul a trailer? I could use some advice in tackling this.

Ah, the freedom of my own rig!!!!!

1 tired cow horse....

2010-08-08T20:13:00.000-05:00

Today was fun. Scout and I traveled with Stuart to go learn us some "cow".
Admittedly I was a bit nervous. I have "cowed" with Joe, who didn't much care for it. He tolerated it a couple times to humor me. So I had no idea how Scout would handle it. Yeah, well
I needn't have worried. The hardest part for Scout was not being able to sidle up to every new horse in the joint to introduce himself. The cows were sort of an after thought to him.

As we pulled into the farm it started raining, so we were stuck in the small indoor for about an hour. There were seven riders and it was a bit crowded. The horses had been in the trailer for an hour, so they were anxious to move around and meet each other, or at least mine was. Scout was pretty up. Until he went down...tried to roll with me on his back in the really nice indoor footing! One moment we're standing, the next second, whump! All four legs down, belly on the ground. I kicked off the right stirrup and hopped aside. He lay there a second, grunted and stood back up. "D#!* saddle" was the look he gave me. Thank goodness he didn't actually finish the roll.

To pass the time we chased a flag on the wall. Yup. Let me explain as this was actually a great idea. The owner rigged up a piece of plastic on a pulley system that ran along one side of the arena wall just above stirrup height. One poor guy had the unenviable task of running the motor to move the plastic across the wall so that we riders could try and get our horses to follow it, or "push" it. Some horses wanted nothing to do with it, but Scout and a couple others, got the hang of it. I was actually glad we were able to do this first because Scout calmed way down after he figured that exercise out.

The rain slowed up and we all moved outside to move the cattle out of the pasture and into the holding pen. Scout was right up in front and happy to go. The creek was swollen from the rain and was 6-8ft across and maybe 2ft deep. We crossed no trouble and were given direction on how to approach and move the cattle towards the gate and then out to the holding pen.

One thing I learned today was there is a calm, correct, get it done smoothly way to move cattle and then there is the yipee!- takes a lot longer than it should way. We had both kinds of folks there today.

I was told to take "the buckskin" into the holding pen and start sorting out 2-3 cattle at a time.
I was many times referred to as "the buckskin" today. :-) I didn't mind. So we tried our best and after a few tries, I was starting to see how cows think and getting them to go where I wanted. I really enjoyed the subtlety of this. Scout was a trooper. What we lacked was the finesse in our lateral movements. He wasn't really into stopping the cow no matter what. So a few slipped back into the herd.
We moved them from the pen into the arena and started learning to sort out one cow and then did some ranch sorting. I was paired up with a couple of "yippee" guys, so my slow and steady pushing was sometimes thwarted by their over zealous gestures and whistles. We would be so close to having three cows almost in the pen and one of the guys would start trotting or cantering up and all would be lost.
It was great fun overall and the ranch owner and the one cowboy said Scout did real well for his first time out. Next time I will try and remember to take more pics.

Joe's going south...literally

2010-08-02T19:09:00.000-05:00

After much discussion, my husband and I have decided that Joe will go live with my friend Kim in Kentucky. Hard thing to discuss. My husband wasn't keen on the idea of sending a family member away. But after going over the pros and cons for Joe, not us, it will be better for him.

The northern Illinois winters have been getting rougher and rougher on him. Standing in a cold stall over night makes him so stiff he can barely move in the morning. The coat he grows is troublesome too, as he never truly sheds out. I body clipped him this year, but it didn't help as much as I hoped. I also discussed this with our vet/chiro who has been treating him for about 7 years. She thought it would be a good idea as long as Kim is willing to feed him his supplements to keep him comfortable. So to save him from the constant huge season swings here, he's gonna vacation down in Princeton Kentucky.

My friend Kim and her husband ran a 40 stall training/boarding facility near me. It was the best run place I've ever boarded at. Unfortunately, over about 20 years, I've boarded or visited many stables. At Webers, horses were out all day, pastures had auto waters, well bedded stalls, well ventilated barn. For people it had a nice indoor arena, lounge with washroom and a good atmosphere. I was sad when she told me they were moving to KY to be near family. Running an operation that big gets tiresome I'm sure, and they had been doing it a while. I stayed for a bit when the new owner took over, but it became apparent that there was gonna be a big learning curve, and I wasn't willing to be part of that experience. The new owner was nice enough, but had never boarded horses as a business. So I moved Joe, again.

This past winter Kim called me to talk about the possibilty of her taking care of a few retired horses on their acreage in KY. She was ready to have fun with horses again, a few horses. I told her I thought it was a great idea for her. I told her about websites and she did a lot of research on retirement places. She called me a few months ago and said they are ready to go!

I am completely comfortable with the decision. She knows Joe, and Joe knows her, and he will probably also remember Kim's horses that he was turned out with years ago. At least I hope so.
After what happened with Noble last week, this has been weighing heavily on my mind.
I just want Joe to have the best for the rest of his days. I believe that the mild climate, 24/7 turnout, and the watchful eye of Kim is just the thing.
Here's the link for the curious out there....
http://www.webersretiredhorses.com/

Noble tells me something

2010-07-28T08:21:00.000-05:00

Noble. Monday morning I was feeding. Some horses have stall guards and I will hook up their chains and open their stall doors so they can get a breeze and air out somewhat stinky overnight bedding while they eat. When they have finished, most will always hang their heads out into the aisle to let me know they're ready to go out. Noble is one of these. He usually hangs his head out with interest at the goings on. Not Monday.
I had turned out all the other geldings and went to Noble's stall. He had his behind to the door opening and was gazing out his window. His feed was only 2/3 eaten and hay untouched. Noble
usually cleans up his feed. He nickers for it every morning, fairly loudly.
I stood at his door and spoke to him. He turned his head, nothing else, blinked at me, and then again looked out his window. Something was not right. I walked in to see what he might be gazing at out the window. As I approached I laid my left hand on his neck.
Okay, this part is gonna sound kind of kooky to some of you...but I was overcome with a feeling of sadness and just, I don't know how to describe it, just "not rightness". Noble looked at me and swished his tail towards his left side, hard. Colic? I listened to his sides and heard sounds, better one side than the other. There were three small manure piles, not really formed, but not runny.
I haltered him and led him slowly in to the aisle. He was slow. He looked like he had dropped about 10 pounds. His hip was very concave, muscles were tight in his abdomen. He perked up a bit as I took him to the side of the barn to see if he was interested in grass. He nibbled, but spit some out. He looked toward the geldings and started walking that way. I took him over and let him go in with them.
Noble trotted immediately to the trough and drank. He tried to graze, but paced around and then went back to the trough. I went to the office to call Kate. She didin't answer but was at the garden and I saw her a moment later. We went out to check him together. He was really dehydrated. That's why he looked so emaciated to me. Last Friday he was also very slow to get going in the morning too, I remembered. But not like today. Noble has been dropping weight suddenly. Kate suspects he's had something going on for a while. She's calling the vet.
I can't get over the feeling I had in the stall Monday morning.
Visit Kate at A Year With Horses and give her some kind words for Noble.

A Few Clinic Snippets...

2010-07-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

"Horses are so smart, but we train them like they are dumb."
My other favorite thing said today is that everyone should have a mule before they get a horse. Then there would be a lot less horsemen, but they would be really good horsemen.

I guess mules are really smart and sensitive and would quickly weed out those that couldn't handle them.
I was only able to audit half of the Mark Rashid clinic today, but came away with some gems, as always.
There are aways recurring themes at the clinics presented by new circumstances and horse/rider pairs. Dialing down cues, keeping things calm, not going ahead until the horse is calm, patience, patience, patience, have the correct expectations, give the horse a chance to figure it out, start soft, end soft, breathe.

The first pair I saw was a lovely trahkener and his rider working on softening thru their transitions. It was so nice to see a horse trained for dressage who was not behind the vertical and so willing. There were really some moments of real brilliance with them. Mark commented that her trainer was doing a great job of not taking the try out of the horse. He was happy. And he was in a snaffle, with no flash! Lovely, lovely,lovely!

The next pair was a young girl with a wound up, buddy bound mare. The first day was all ground work I was told. This day she started with lunging to get her breathing deeply and rhythmically so she would start out in a calmer state of mind. As soon as the girl went to mount, the mares energy shot up, as evidenced by the mare stepping off as the girl mounted. Mark pointed out all these little signs to her. The horse is 17 yrs old. This girl handled it well, but she has a lot of work ahead of her. She will have to dial everything way down, and only move on when the mare is calm in whatever she's asking her to do. Patience, lots of it.

A man and his young reiner worked on being softer. His handy horse was super sensitive and the guy was over cueing. This young horse tried very hard and was working thru "the mechanics" as Mark said, of the physical movements he was teaching her. He cautioned the rider to not expect perfection of the mare the first time she tries something new. By the end of his ride they were looking like a team. Mark was really impressed with this horse's attitude and abilities for her age.

Lastly I saw a woman and her cutting horse. There were issues discussed that I didn't see the first day, but today she told Mark she was willing to work on "giving the horse a better deal". She meant she was open to trying something new that might benefit the partnership, which was a great thing. Well, after a few minor adjustments to her riding and her understanding that "her trainer's way" wasn't the only way, the pair really improved. Her horse was much happier that's for sure. I didn't see much of what everyone else told me had been their issues the previous day.

So the really fun thing for me about these clinics, is the way people open themselves up to a new way of thinking. And when they do that, Mark helps them give the horse a better deal, and then the horse is happier, which makes riding easier, which makes the rider happy and it's all just a lot more fun.

I'm sure Kate at A Year with Horses will have a detailed account of the three days. At least I hope so, so that I know how everything turned out.

Trouble free trailer ride....finally!

2010-07-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I bit the bullet and said yes to another go at trailering out for a ride in Stuart's four horse goose neck slant trailer. After thinking it over for a long time, I decided these things.

Scout needs to be in the front stall. It is the longest in length and gives him some, not a lot, of wiggle room. It also has a stud divider. This will keep my highly inquisitive, overly friendly boy from getting his face into spaces it does not belong during a trailer ride. Thus he won't cut up his handsome face trying to peer over or under the divider!

I will use the rope halter. Scout has learned to pull on the leather halter and has slipped it off more than once during a ride. Sometimes you just need a little reminder not to pull so hard, so cotton rope halter it was.

The windows must be open and the screen unzipped so he can poke his nose through once first on.

Human must be waiting at said open window with a carrot for him. Sort of like a mint on your pillow,

a nice welcome gesture.

Lastly, it needs to be a short trip. Short and sweet. Get on, ride a little, get off. Hopefully with no incident.

I don't care if anyone thinks I'm nuts or being to "nicey" to him. I want him to feel good about that trailer. He will be riding it hopefully for years to come, or anytime Stuart invites us. I am in the process of getting a trailer of my own, but still want Scout to get on any trailer. You never know when ya might need a horse to load on a less than ideal trailer. And Stuart's trailer is pretty posh.

So, I'm telling Stuart my plan as we walk towards the open back end of the trailer. "Now Stuart, can you please stand at the window...." Scout was looking in the trailer. "Looks like he's ready", Stuart stated. Not wanting to lose the thought, I stepped up and Scout came right after! No hesitation! He went straight for the manger holding the carrot pieces I had put there, and then I noticed that Stuart, being the softy he is, had also put a bunch of treats in the manger too!! Great minds think alike. Scout was snarfing down the goodies. I stepped back and closed the divider, and that was that. Maddie and Sugar loaded great too and off we went!

Upon arrival, all horses were fine. We tacked up and had a two hour ride on a local trail system.

Crossed a long wooden bridge, got caught in a little rain, crossed a major road, had great conversation. It was nice. We could ride three abreast with no trouble. Horses were happy to be out somewhere.

Even though we had parked under a tree, the trailer was a little hot when we returned. We opened it up and let the horses cool and graze while the trailer ventilated. Stuart has roof vents as well as windows so that helps with the temperature too. I've read that there is a coating that can be applied to the tops of aluminum and steel trailers that insulates. They use it on the space shuttle and stuff to keep the interior temp level. There is a guy who blogs about truck and trailers and reviews them and accessories and technologies for them. If anyone is interested. It supposedly keeps the interior of the trailer cool. http://www.mrtrailer.com/

Loading back up, Scout wasn't sure he wanted to leave. It took a few times of him loading and then backing off. After the third time, he stayed on and we headed home. If he wants to back off, I always let him. I don't want him to feel trapped. But if he does step off, he must keep facing the open trailer. I don't let him walk around or even look around. I want his thought on the trailer door opening. It never takes more than a few times and he loads well. We arrived home without any scrapes. Thank goodness!

Willing horses and BJ breaks out

2010-07-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

Fred, Joe and Scout posing for the camera.

This morning was hot and humid and just thick. Hotlanta hot. I spent a summer interning in Atlanta and the air was just t-h-i-c-k. I was in a bit of a stupor as I fed. Hot and a bit sleepy still. So were the horses. I have a routine for leading out to pastures that has worked well for me the past two months. I have gotten reacquainted with the different horsenalitites in the barn again.
I mixed up Blackjack's pulp and start feeding. Scout knocks on his door, Sugar nickers, Maisie doesn't move her butt away from the door until there is actual food coming in, Charisma shakes her head at me as I put her hay in, Fred paws, they all have their thing.

I lead out certain pairs together usually. Calm Scout goes with frantic Fritz,and they are usually the first ones out. Scout just wants to eat, which keeps Fritz from stirring things up too much. Since we've been going to the same pasture gate everyday though, Fritz has seemed to be mellowing with the routine. Feeble Fred with the bad pasterns seems to appreciate Joe's slower pace, so I take them together next. Lastly, Noble jogs politely beside me alone. Sometimes I let Noble out first so he doesn't get a complex.

Then the mares. Sugar waits while I halter Misty and they travel together to the pasture. Then come Dawn and Maisie. Maisie is easy to mask and halter and is patiently waiting as I open Dawn's door and just stand and wait forDawn to approach me. It takes her a couple seconds to put her muzzle on me. This lets me know she has assessed my presence and deemed me fit to put on her flymask and halter. I lead Dawn out, always first, and Maisie follows after Dawn at a distance that Dawn is comfortable with. I let Dawn thru the gate and ask her to travel down the fence a bit so that Maisie has enough room to enter and turn without having to be worried about Dawn. I release Maisie and then ask Dawn to step up to me so I can let her go. Sugar and Misty have been waiting for them and they all move down to the far pasture together.

I was thinking about this process today. What makes a horse compliant? At any moment any one of the horses could have refused to be with me. They could have easily broken free and done what they wanted. Horse are just so amazing. These horses don't feel pressured to go with me. They wanted to go with me. They are smart, they know what's going on. But in reality, they all know where the gates and pastures are. They don't really NEED me to get them there.

But they allow it. Politely and willingly they do it.

Except for Blackjack. This morning he decided that I was taking too long to get him. He slipped under his chain guard and walked himself up to his paddock. No craziness, no running, just ambled up to his gate and waited for me to open it. Smart guy.

The Stuart Story and Thoughtfulness

2010-07-07T18:44:00.000-05:00

Pics are of Scout and I working on regulating his gait at a clinic last summer.

I have an opportunity, or actually, two opportunities, to audit and ride with Mark Rashid again this year. He'll be about an hours drive away in a couple weeks, and then maybe 2 and a half hours the following week. I found Mark thru my friend Stuart.

I met Stuart about 10 years ago when we moved into our house and I moved Joe into the barn. Stuart and I hit it off right away as far as horses go. He had ridden as a boy and come back to horses because he moved into our development. He went out and bought two horses, Toby and Maggie and started reading extensively about horses, training, riding and care. Stuart reads extensively about any subject that interests him. I came with my semi-lame hunter horse, Joe to just trail ride at home and, well, distance myself from the H/J world I had been spending time in.

Stuart asked me to ride with him one morning . Now I hadn't been on the trail with Joe at that point in years. Literally. Joe had been out to pasture to remedy himself of the chronic on/off lameness that had pestered him in his late teens. Having tried all conventional methods, vet tests, special shoes, meds, I gave up and pulled his shoes and stuck him with a herd of horses for two years. During that time I was pregnant and building our house. Before that Joe was leased to a young girl who had been showing him, until the lameness ended that. Out to pasture he went at 17. Gosh, that is sooo young for a horse to be done. Knowing what I know now, it pains me that I didn't help Joe sooner with his issues. But, you only know what you know. When you know better, you have to do better, as Oprah would say.

Stuart and I headed out with Toby and Joe. I didn't need to worry. Joe was solid and happy to be out. He and Toby founded a friendship that is still intact to this day. Stuart loved the fact that I could gallop my horse on the trail safely and we had a blast. We have ridden many, many trails together since then.

Back then, Staurt was using a popular training method on his horses. As a beginner rider and new horse owner, he found the method easy to use and it gave him a place to start his horsemanship. I watched him as he played the games. I listened as he explained the horse psychology he was learning. I watched him circle his horses endlessly and poke at them and wiggle the metal clips under their chins. He tried to get me to join in. It was kind of sweet and comical at the same time. He explained how important it was to be able to disengage the hind quarters. He stepped up and pointed his finger at Toby's side asking him to step over from behind. After some doing and upping the pressure some, Toby finally moved over. I stood looking at Joe. "You try it," he encouraged.

I walked up to Joe's left side gently laid my hand on his under ribs towards his hip and Joe stepped over, quietly and softly as you please.

Now I had done this gesture a million times over the years I had owned Joe. It was a request to move over please. In the stall or in the aisle. It wasn't as magical to me as it was to Stuart. I was way ahead of him at that time in my relationship with Joe. But I understood the need Stuart had to have a reference for his horsemanship at that time. This method continued to work for him for years. But the time came when he recognized that things could get subtler and softer. He fell away from that bandwagon and started searching for others that could teach him new ideas.

Note: I'm not against methods. But I believe if you get stuck in one way, that is not good, cus there is no "one fit for all" method. You have to be pliable within the method. And any training techniques are only someones interpretation of the original person's work, unless you're learning directly from that original trainer. But, even then, how you practice the method or technique, is your interpretation of what you learned. So things can get pretty watered down by the time someone gets to doing the work themselves. At that point in time,(late 90s) this method, taught by certified instructors in our area, was very rigid and goal/level orientated. The horse was just a vehicle to prove the method. No one was asking the horse how it felt, at least not at the clinics I saw.(which I'm pretty sure, is not how the original trainer's method started out) They just thought it was cool they could get a horse to lay down on it's side so the trainer could stand on top of it. This became the main goal of a lot of owners I met. The heart of the work had been lost on a lot of people. I found this spectacle sad and disrespectful to the horse. If you need a horse to lay down so you can mount due to special circumstances, then by all means, teach the horse this, and let him be your partner in the moment. Don't do it just because you can. Stuart recognized this and started questioning some of these trainers, and well, that never goes over well. *End of digression ;-)

Stuart read one of Mark's books. This was very enlightening to him. Things could be so much more subtle, and he was ready for it. We attended a clinic. It was eye opening for us. And I felt like I had found someone who felt like I did about my horse. He is my partner, not my worker, although he may have to work.

So Stuart found Mark and I have benefited from it. Thank you, Stuart. Mark's work inspired me to find others, Peggy Cummings, Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Harry Whitney, Alios Podhajsky, Klaus Hempfling, Dr. Deb Bennet, etc. (If I misspelled any names I apologize, it's very late as I write) I found that my thinking and way of being around my horses is not weird, just maybe not the most prevalent.

Some traditional trainers are opening up to new more horse friendly methods too now. Although, more trainers are linking into this "natural" label, I wonder what "natural" will mean in another ten years? Will it finally just become "thoughtful" training? And will the traditional trainers who use some of the "natural" techniques be able to keep the original heart of the work in mind? That is, what's going on with the horse as they use this technique? Or will these methods just become rote to them, thus ineffective in what they trying to accomplish with the horse, because they won't keep the "thoughtful" aspect of it alive.

Or hopefully, will the thoughtfulness for the horse come full circle? If you read the really old good training techniques, the horse was always considered first, and it was the trainer's responsibility not to lose the horse's spirit during the training. Mutual respect and understanding were highly sought.

What I like about trainers like Mark is that they keep learning themselves. They watch and work with other trainers and bring that new info to their clinics. He and others like him are not afraid to say that they've learned something new, and maybe it will work for a particular horse they are helping. They keep the thoughtfulness for the horse in their work.

That is why I am willing to pay money to go see him and watch him work. Isn't that why any of us go see the trainers we believe in? To learn?

Stuart has moved on to cow working lately. I'll be going with him later in the month to see how "cowy" Scout is. He says the trainer he's been working cows with is very horse orientated and problems are usually from the rider.

Sounds right up my alley......

2010 Mustang Vs 1976 Thunderbird

2010-06-29T20:19:00.000-05:00

I know horses aren't cars, but yesterday that was the comparison came to mind as I finished riding my two.
Kate, from A Year with Horses, had some poles and cones set up in the arena. I wanted to work on checking in with Scout on our cantering cues and lateral work. Haven't worked on either regularly, and the last cavaletti session was less than stellar. Time for a tune up. There was a pole dissecting the arena that became my focal point. We walked and trotted it a few times. Scout was less than inspired. He was just heavy, draggy.
Now I may have an opportunity to ride with Mark Rashid again this month. I'm thinking I need to see if we can at least do what we were working on last year when I saw him. I don't want to waste my time or his redoing what I did last time. More about that some other time.
So trail riding with Scout has been great. He's very happy to transition most of the time and I don't really "do" anything about changing gaits. It just sort of happens most of the time.
In the arena however, it's sometimes hard to find a flow. Plus, I don't think Scout thinks much
of the arena. I'm trying to change his mind.
So, back to yesterday. We walk and trot the pole and he's heavy. Nicking it with his hooves, not giving any real effort. So I ask him to canter and he falls apart. Hanging on my hands and
falling on his front end. I ask him to halt and back up a few steps. He lightens up considerably.
Then turn on the haunch to the left. Pretty good. Ask for energetic walk, good, ask for canter. Blah!
Ask for halt and back to turn on haunch to right. OK. Sit trot, he skips a little. Now I know he's ready to canter and I ask with one leg. Wrong lead. Let him go anyway. Halt and now he's totally with me. Very soft in the bridle. Turn on the haunch, back up, turn on the forehand, back and right into sit trot to a canter. We circle over the pole. His ears prick forward and we canter over it. He's asking "where now? Left or right?" Squeeze of left rein and we circle round again. He's breathing now and we're over the pole again. Halt and turn on the haunch and off in a canter the other direction. We quit that work and work on side passing. First alone and then straddling over a pole. He seemed quite pleased with this work. By now he is really waiting and listening for direction. He can go anyway at a touch, like a sports car. Poised, controlled, ready to move.
I jump off and untack him and walk away. He follows a step or two then squeals and crow hops.

I then decide to just hop on Joe for a trail jaunt around the pasture. He bridles quickly, stands quietly at the block and I get on. I am immediately feeling like I'm driving a big old 70s Buick or thunderbird. You know the huge cars with the long hoods. When you turn the wheel there is like a moment of hesitation before the front of the car actually moves that direction cus the front end is long? Joe is sooo much longer than Scout! Went from compact, powerful sports car to a long, smooth sedan. Ha! Joe took me about 300 yards total before turning back to the barn. Guess he wasn't in the mood for a ride. That's all right I told him. He promptly walked up to the barn door and stopped to drop me off. He would have walked in with me if I hadn't asked him to please let me off first. ;-) At 28 he's earned the right to decide how long he'll tote me around.