Gunner & Zoe Reunited Again

Sorry about the poor quality picture - all I had was a cell phone for this photo-op!

I'm sure it's of no surprise that Gunner is now at Zoe's new home!  They are going to try him out for 60 days and decide after that if he is going to work or not.  My feelings won't be hurt if he doesn't work out and has to come home because...

Middle daughter and Gunner have been doing GREAT together!!  Honestly, I was going back and forth on whether or not to go through with this possible sale but ultimately decided to do what I said I would do and bring him to Zoe's new family.

Sunday, as we were getting ready to load Gunner, Hubby was checking the fluids in our truck when he noticed he was low on brake fluid.  He had some in the garage so he refilled it only to find it leaking near one of the rear tires.  FANTASTIC.  So he pulled the truck out from under the trailer and got the mini-semi.  Once he had it hooked up, he noticed one of the trailer tires was low so he backed the trailer up to the garage and put more air in the tire.  We had planned on leaving at 2pm but by now it was 3 pm.  May not seem like much or a big deal but I'm the kind of person that HATES being late so this kind of stuff really gets my feathers ruffled....

Middle daughter got Gunner loaded up (he's super easy) and away we went.  We found their house very easily - very nice, clean and safe environment for the horses.  I was very pleased!

Gunner unloaded like a good boy and, surprisingly, was very chill.  T's dad came to take a look at Gunner, I could see the excitement all over his face!  I gave him the lead rope and he took Gunner for a walk. 

While he was gone, T got Zoe out for me to visit with.  She looks GREAT!!  T has been riding Zoe everyday since she brought her home, which is exactly what Zoe needs and wants!  It was funny hearing her tell me stories of their ups and downs - so similar to mine!  We laughed about that.

T's dad turned Gunner out in their back pasture so I led Zoe over to "meet" him again.  They nosed up did a little talking and then got down to the serious business of eating.  It was good seeing them together again and I couldn't be happier with the home that they will have!

T and her family adore Zoe and her antics!  They found out that she's very affectionate and sensitive, fast and powerful, and oh so beautiful!  They said they've already had a few people offer to buy her - we told them we used to get that too.  She's just one of those horses that stands out in a crowd!

Until next time,
Lynell

Riding Gunner

Middle daughter had a great ride on Gunner over the long weekend.  I wish she could've gotten more rides in but our weekend was a blur!

Gunner has been acting kinda "studdy" (Star is in heat) lately so we round penned him before middle daughter got on.  We didn't know how he was mentally but soon found out that he was ready to work so she warmed him up and then they started working.  They were both relaxed and working well together.  Middle daughter's position was perfect!  I didn't have to remind her about her leg or sitting up at all!  So proud of the progress she's made since last year!

I put three orange cones out for her to practice some turns and patterns.  She got frustrated because Gunner didn't understand that he had to go AROUND the cones!  I went out and led them both around all of the cones and just like that, Gunner was bending nicely around each cone on his own.  He just had to have it "explained", I think!

After the work was done, the other children wanted a quick "pony ride".  I walked them around the cones and then called it a night.  Gunner was a good boy and we all told him so!  He really appreciates the treats (like all horses do!) so we gave him a couple and put him away.

It was a good night of riding - hopefully we will string more good rides together this year!

Until next time,
Lynell

A Visit

I got invited to see Zoe in June...CAN'T WAIT!!!

Ok, actually they invited me to their daughter's (not T) graduation open house but still...I can see Zoe!

In other news, the farrier is finally able to get to our house on Friday to trim.  He got sick over the winter (a bad case of pneumonia) and has been playing catch up all spring.  So Friday is our turn!!  I hope he's able to stay healthy and keep us in his schedule!!  Along with playing catch up, he's moving right down the road from us...how convenient!! ;-)  So needless to say, he's been very busy this spring.

Melody has been feeling great!  So great, in fact, that she has decided to try biting people again.  She got my youngest on her little wrist!  My youngest was at her pen and had her hands resting on one of the boards when Melody put her head down to "sniff" and ended up biting her!  I'm thinking that she was looking for treats so we have put a stop to feeding her treats.  Plus, whenever I lead her out of her pen, she stops (with her butt only half way through the gate) and puts her head down to eat.  What a pain!!  I need to break her of that habit ASAP!!!!!

Star has been doing so well!  She's been prancing, playing and kicking out while in turnout with Melody.  Acting like a 2 year old!  But her age caught up with her yesterday because after her little playful bout with Melody, she ended up getting sore on her back leg.  This morning she was fine again...no swelling or heat.  So we will chalk it up to a mystery injury while playing....

Not much to report on Tyson.  He's in turnout with Gunner and the two seem to be happier without Zoe keeping them in line.  They zoom around with each other a lot more than they used to, Zoe must've been a tough lead mare!!

I took the pictures for T's dad of Gunner.  He's one of those horses that I just couldn't find a good angle on...so we had a lot of outtakes.  It didn't help that it was extremely windy so he was feeling frisky and didn't want to cooperate!  Grrr...you be the judge...

Well, that's all the updates for now...

Until next time,
Lynell

A Zoe Update

I remembered that Zoe had a reaction to the Pyranha Fly Spray last year so I thought I would send a quick text to Zoe's new family.  The dad responded and said that they absolutely LOVE Zoe and that he wished his daughter didn't love her so much because he wouldn't mind having her for himself. :)  Always good to hear!

I asked if Zoe was being a good girl and he said yes and that she's getting feisty.  His daughter is "too soft" and is afraid of hurting Zoe's feelings so she hasn't been very firm with Zoe.  At that point I was a little concerned that maybe Zoe was going to be too much horse for her.  She can get full of herself but if you remind her of her manners, she's just fine.  I told him that and he said that Zoe minds him fine - just wishes his daughter would get firm with Zoe.  He thinks that Zoe is testing her boundaries - sounds like my Zoe!

I asked if Zoe was going to be a problem for T and he said that he didn't think so.  Just "typical new horse/person relationships that need to be established and get to know each other."  T has been riding almost everyday (weather permitting) and things have been going pretty good!


Overall, no red flags and they still love her as much as they did when they picked her up.  Yay!

He also asked about Gunner again - I have to measure him and take some conformation pictures for him.  That's on my list of things to do this weekend...

Until next time,
Lynell

Warming Up!

The weather is finally starting to warm up!  Our February was the coldest I can remember ever having!  We basically just went into survival mode that month...so glad that's over with!  The horses took the cold weather as good as can be expected.  Gunner was the only one who got cold, which surprised me.  Before he came to live with us, he was kept outside without a shelter most of the time so I half expected him to winter better than the rest of the horses.  But I ended up taking him in and putting him in a stall every night and during the frigid days.  We all got through it.  I just hope we don't ever have another month like that ever again!!  IT WAS FREEZING!!

Anyways, we are back to ground work with the horses, all of them.  Tyson had to be reminded that even though the other horses were calling he had to stay with me.  He was not thrilled about that.  Zoe is a hot mess any time I take a horse out without her.  I can't decide if it's jealousy or worry...either way, she's been a handful.  Gunner and Star have been fantastic with ground work, not much to report there.  I'm not riding yet because the ground in the round pen isn't good yet for riding (the first ride always happens in there) so I will keep taking them out for leading/ground work.  Melody has been a handful, just like Zoe.  But I believe her issue is that she's buddy sour.  Time for her to be in a separate turn out!  I have to get a pen set up for her so for now she's still with Star...not for long though!  I will be interested to watch her shenanigans when she figures that out!! (insert evil laugh)

Our cows should be calving in the next month or so.  It's always exciting when they come!  I will take picture!

Lola, the puppy, is also doing fantastic.  She's been such a great puppy to train and has a knack for working the chickens.  She wants to work the cows so badly but we don't want her to get her confidence crushed if one of the cows kicks or hooks her.  She will work cows after she's a year old.  Then the real cow dog training will start!  Until then, we work on her basic commands.  She does pretty good!

Well, that's all for now!  More later!


Quote for the day:
"Lost time is never found again."

-Benjamin Franklin

Star & Melody's Shenanigans

We've completed the bute pills regime for Star now.  She's doing much better now but still ouchy in the spot at the end of her ribs.  Might have a cracked rib in there, but there's really nothing we can do for that.  The swelling has gone down to almost nothing now so the vet doesn't think we need to do another blood test, but if the swelling reoccurs definitely need to have him come out again.  She was feeling so good the other day that she was bucking and leaping around in her turn out withe Melody!  I can't even tell you how happy I was to see her acting that way!!

Speaking of Melody...I was bringing Star to her turnout and left Melody in her pen in the barn by herself.  She didn't care for that at all!  She got to bucking and leaping in her pen while Star and I were walking away.  That stuff never phases Star...she had one thing on her mind and that was her turn out!  I went back to get Melody and she met me at the gate.  She tried to be patient while I put her halter on.  I could see it in her eye that she was anxiously waiting to get past the gate.  As I opened the gate she pushed past me and got the end of the lead rope and jerked around.  Naughty, naughty.  I don't tolerate bad gate manners - too many accidents happen at gates (or anywhere with a naughty horse)!  We did a few more passes in and out of the gate until she walked through like a good girl.  Then we were on our way to the turn out.  Star was standing at the gate waiting for us.  Melody was practically dragging me all the way to the turn out, so I decided we would do more leading work.  We would walk away from the gate/turnout, then circle back.  Every time we would turn away she would whip her hips around and face me like she was saying "Umm, you missed the gate lady!" and then pull on the lead all the way back to the gate again.  We did this for a while...I'm not sure how long it took but I know my hands were cold by the time she "calmed down".  I decided we were at a place I was comfortable with ending so we headed back to the gate.  We were almost to the gate when she reared up and started bucking and jumping with all fours off the ground.  She never came at me or tried to strike me so I waited for her to finish.  Then we were off to the round pen for some work.

Once she got her bucks and kicks out, she actually worked really well.  On a side note: Our December weather here has been unseasonably warm with temps in the 40's most days so the footing in the round pen was fine for working.  I was very pleased at how well she listened and had retained what work we had done in the fall.  To be honest, I haven't done much since we had the major snow storm in November.  To end our work session, we worked on her bending.  She still has issues with that so we will keep working on that.  Then she was finally out with Star and happy about that!  They played together for a few minutes and then got the serious business of finding blades of grass that could be eaten.

That's all for now!



Quote for the day:
"It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love."

-Moliere

Such a Stinker!

I'm talking about Zoe in the title!  Ever since I put her back in work, she's been playing hard to get.  She's only done this once before and it was after my brother-in-law thought he would "help" me with Zoe.

She first started this last week when I tried to put her fly mask on.  And then after that the chase began!  Hubby was trying to convince me to stop and just to let her be but after 5 minutes of not letting me anywhere near her it became a thing of principle!

I opened the gate to the pen next to the horse pasture and started sorting her friends out one by one.  We got down to Zoe and Gunner.  All of a sudden Zoe likes Gunner - as long as he keeps her from getting caught!  Gunner was happy to comply with all of her requests.  Hubby came out to help and was able to get Gunner out of the way and after two more weak attempts to get away, Zoe stood for me.  I simply haltered her and then put her fly mask on and let her go.

The next few times I went to catch her she would play hard to get but gave in after only a couple attempts.  Thursday, when the farrier was there, she was up first.  She pulled the same game as the first time I tried the fly mask!  I ran her into the pen next to the horse pasture and once in there she gave up.

Since then, she hasn't given me any trouble.  I've made an effort at only haltering her and leading her around without any real work involved and then giving a treat before letting her go.  That seems to have done the trick!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."

-Coco Chanel

Melody Update

We've been thoroughly enjoying Melody!  She's such a sweet heart and takes every lesson in stride.  She's been doing so well with leading and picking up her feet that last night when we (hubby and I) were cleaning out her feet we were surprised when she wouldn't give her back feet.  Like at all.  As soon as she picked a back foot up she would lean all the way back and almost fall over!  She did this with both of her back feet.  Only once did she pick up her back foot nicely out of the multiple times trying.  And we couldn't duplicate it.  I thought maybe she was lacking confidence in her ability to stand with only three feet so we put her next to a fence where a pole was for extra support.  At first it worked but it quickly went back to her putting all of her weight on her back feet. 

Apparently the feet lessons need to be repeated.  This happens with young ones...testing out what they can and can't get away with.  Which, did I mention that she started biting again?  She got be good on my shoulder but I told her that was not acceptable in no uncertain terms.  She hasn't tried biting me since.  Anyways, back to her feet.  Because we weren't making any progress we thought maybe we would get her mind off it and give her a new lesson to think about - round penning.

When I first took her off the lead she immediately was more interested in her friends across the driveway.  There was no interest in moving...lol  I got bigger and more intense with my request for her to move out which she finally obliged while charging after the dog.  Dang dog...I didn't see him come in with me and I don't allow him in the round pen with me while working horses.  The horses usually try to run him down and I don't want him or me to get hurt in the process.  I got the dang dog out and got back to work.  She actually was getting the hang of it rather quickly.  Changing directions was a bit sticky but we got through it and called it a day.  She was perfectly calm and had no issues with me hooking her back up to the lead (Zoe always got nervous in her younger years, but she's quite a bit more high strung than Melody is).

Farrier is coming out tonight so we'll see how she does with her back feet...could be interesting!!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"We didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time."

-Vince Lombardi

Zoe's First "Ride"

Sorry that I've been absent again - been busy so I have a lot to write about....just need to make the time I guess!

Melody and Zoe

Zoe's first "ride" of the year was a couple weeks ago.  I took her out with the intent of just saddling up and lunging to see where we were at.  She was definitely "up" when I took her out!  A little background, I had just taken Star out for middle daughter to ride and while she was riding, Zoe was FREAKING out in the pasture - running back and forth calling frantically for Star.  Star didn't care AT ALL.  Anyways, so middle daughter was in the back yard with Star letting her eat some grass when I went to get Zoe out.  I brought her into the barn and she acted like she had no idea of where we were and didn't respect me or my space at all.  That was unacceptable!  I sent her in some circles with a long lead rope I had used to bring her out of the pasture.  She was very reactive.  I decided to tie her and go get the lunge line when she figured it was time to leave the barn.  She flew backwards and almost ripped the pole right out of the ground!  After that little episode I realized she needed some time at the "patience tree".  I don't know if I wrote about Zoe's bad habit of pulling back while being tied but she's broke plenty of lead ropes and loosened up her fair share of my tying poles.  Now I used a rope halter with an attached lead so there aren't any metal parts that she can break.  We have GOT to get this tying issue under control!!!

When I tied her to the tree she got to pawing and calling for Star.  Again, Star never responded.  So at that point she started swinging herself around to try and get a better view of Star.  I just sat and watched her.  She continued this behavior for 15 - 20 minutes with a couple pulling battles mixed in there.  Finally she relaxed and was standing nice so I took that opportunity get her saddled and ready to go.  She had another mini pulling battle when the saddle went on so I asked hubby for his assistance.  I got her all saddled and we lunged her, going through all of her commands.  She seemed pretty confident so hubby and I decided to have him lunge her with me on her.  It went great!  She was still VERY responsive and seemed to be remembering where we left off.  We had some great trot work in both directions so we called it a day. 

She was happy to be reunited Star at the end of the work out but was more eager to eat than socialize!!  Meanwhile, Melody was content to have the pasture to herself for once.  Our work with her is just beginning- more on that later!

Until Next Time!!


Quote for the day:
"If you can dream it, you can do it."

-Walt Disney

First Bath

We've been having some beautiful weather here but I have a strict "no bathing until it reaches 70 degrees" policy.  Some do it when it's cooler than that but I don't have heated water so it has to be warm enough to dry them with the horses getting chilled.  So this past weekend we finally had our chance!  It was a beautiful 75 and sunny so little Miss Melody got to learn how to take a bath like a good girl.

Hubby helped me with the bath.  I held her and he sprayed her.  He started at her front feet and slowly worked his way up her legs.  She stood there, didn't move.  He moved up to her shoulder and onto her neck.  Again she just stood there.  Her eyes were started to get a little big but she didn't budge.  When hubby moved the water to her back she dropped her back so low that I thought she would scoot forward but she didn't.  She only took a small step to the side.  I was expecting a huge fight from her but at that point she wasn't too worried.  Licking her lips and chewing the whole time!

Hubby moved on to spraying her butt and that's when she started dancing.  She wasn't pushy towards me at all - only danced from side to side.  So I would lead her forward and bring her back to the hose.  (On a side note, we don't have a wash stall.  We just bring the hose outside of the barn and spray where ever it's convenient.  Someday I will have a proper wash stall but it's not high on the priority list right now.)  Then it was time for the other side.  I might as well say "see above" for how it went.  I was beginning to think that this was all it was going to be - which wasn't bad at all!  We raised a colt several years ago that tried to kill hubby during his first bath so I always have that in the back of my mind during the "first bath" experience.  I will never forget that colt!  Anyways, just as we were about to call it quits, Melody wasn't amused anymore and decided it was time to leave.  She reared up and started falling backwards, twisting the lead rope around her neck in the process somehow.  Hubby jumped in helped me get her lead rope from around her neck.  At that point he took her and lead her around to get her nerves settled.  This time we switched roles and I was the sprayer.  We started over at her front feet and moved the same was as before, but this time with breaks when she was being a good girl.  We were able to get her sprayed down all over without another freak out so we called it a day with that.  We didn't really "wash" her but got done what we had set out to do, and that was get her used to being sprayed.  We will try again next time we have a 70+ day.

Overall, I think she did amazing!  Her intelligence and trust in us is very evident when we try new things.  She's gonna be a great little mare!

Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"Question everything.  Learn something.  Answer nothing."

-Euripides

Melody's Turn!

Melody's biggest hang up right now is mud puddles so we tried to cross a puddle that was by the barn door leading to the turn out where Star was.  Her first time through she jumped it and bumped into me.  So we turned around and went back into the barn.  She spooked on the way in because one of our rodeo bulls was next to the gate by the barn and he spooked.  At this point she was getting frisky.

We headed back out across the puddle...she RAN through the puddle, right past me and when she got the end of the lead it brought her to a sudden stop.  I turned her to go back inside and she gave me a half rear and tried to go the opposite direction.  I held my ground and was able to keep her feet moving by zig zag walking in the direction of the barn.  We went back into the barn and it was no big deal this time.  Then back out of the barn like she'd never had an issue at all.  The only time we have gate issues is when there is a puddle so I really don't think gates are her issue...just puddles.

I figured that was good for today and let her go out with Star...meanwhile Zoe has been calling and screaming for Star the entire time (I had put her in her stall).  So when I went to get Zoe back out I could see she was seriously stressed about being away from Star.  She was covered in sweat (not from when I worked her because I had her dried out before I put her away) and had paced by the stall door to the point that the shavings had been pushed back.

I put her halter on (which she dove into) and lead her out.  She was a very good girl so I let her be with her friends.  I guess she has become buddy sour over the winter so we will have to work on that.  Might have to pasture her by herself like we did before when we were training.  I do that because if she gets insecure in her training or work, I want her to look to me for security and not rely on her buddies waiting for her.  Make sense to anyone?

Well that's all for now!

Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

-Thomas A. Edison

My Perfect Angel

Star was a dream!  After the disastrous time with Zoe, I thought with all the calling Star was doing for Zoe that she was going to be a pain too but she was amazing!  She moved out at a beautiful flowing trot, head in at shoulder height, stretching her back out.  Her canter was nice so I didn't make her do it too much - she is old ya know!  We did some nice W/T/C transitions up and down, in both directions and called it a day.  Zoe was calling, more like SCREAMING to her the ENTIRE time, my kids were jumping on the trampoline (which is fairly close to the round pen where we were working), Tyson and Gunner were making noises at her (their pasture is across the driveway from the round pen) and she acted like nothing was going on around her at all.

I gave her some big pets and loves and told her what a good girl she was but all she really cared about is the green grass...so I let her eat some of the yard...don't tell Hubby. ;-)

I took her to the turn out after a few minutes of grass (can't over do it!) and let her go.  She absolutely loves to roll so the first thing she did was find a spot to roll.  She rolled in several different spots!

Melody was all done with her breakfast so I took her out.... 


Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"All of our sweetest hours fly fastest."

-Virgil

Naughty, Naughty

After feeding the other morning, I went to visit with Zoe in her stall.  I brushed her a lot (she's shedding) and when I was done she was wanting something more.  She stopped eating and just looked at me (not typical).  So I grabbed her halter and thought I would take her to the round pen and do 5 minutes of work.  Maybe she was bored.  On our way out, Star started to call for her.  She got worried.  As we entered the round pen Tyson called to her and she called back.  Ahhh, maybe she was in heat?  Didn't matter to me, she is usually very good despite her heat cycles.  We started round penning and man did she want to run!  I only asked her to trot and she got to running!  I slowed her down (with my voice commands) but I could see she was aching to go faster so I gave her the command.  I didn't ask for it long because we've been out of work for so long and I didn't want her to get sore.  We did a little more work and then I caught her up again.  She seemed relaxed; licking her lips, head dropped.  She wasn't breathing hard or sweaty, obviously in better shape than what I thought after being out of work for a long winter! 

We walked out of the round pen and then she perked up again.  Star was STILL calling and it was very worrisome to Zoe.  She likes to be talked to so I started to talk to her and decided to go for a walk around the property, checking some fences along the way.  She was interested but very distracted by Star calling to her.  At one point she was so distracted that she bumped into me so I sent her out on a lunge circle (I had a long lead rope) and she shaped up.  So I thought we would call it quits at that point and turn her out.  We headed back through the barn, where Star was still calling, and back out to the turn out.  As I unhooked the lead Zoe spun around and ran past me almost knocking me over!  The barn was completely open, nothing to keep her from running out into the driveway, yard or street!  A slight panic attack occurred on my part, and then I realized that she only ran to be by Star.  So I quickly shut the front barn door so she couldn't run out there and possibly get hurt or hurt someone.  When I went to get her she bolted and ran out the back of the barn.  To the arena.  I took that as a hint that she needed to be worked more...

I got the lunge and lunge whip and headed out the arena, shutting gates behind me.  This naughty mare wasn't going to blow by me anymore - except she did but this time she wasn't going anywhere!  I put the whip down and then she decided to see what I was going to do.  I caught her and could see she was "up".  We got right to work on the lunge line, W/T/C transitions up and down.  Star was still calling.  Zoe was focused on me at this point but was still obviously worried about Star.  We changed directions and did the same W/T/C transition work.  She was offering some great trot work, canter was messy.  She kept cross cantering, where her front would be on the right lead but her back legs would be on the opposite lead.  If I urge her to go faster, she will fix herself.  When we got some good transitions and lead work done, I called it a day.  This time she was breathing heavy and had sweat on her neck, but she was licking her lips and her eye was soft again.  I cooled her down and put her away. 

I figured if Zoe was this naughty that Star might need some time in the round pen or on the lunge too...



Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones."

-Jules Verne

Little Updates

Since my last post, Melody casted herself one more time (the next day) but hasn't since.  Hopefully that means she figured that out now...Other than that, Melody has been a good girl.  She's so dang cute!  I can't wait until spring when she sheds out and we can see what color she's going to be.  I mean, we know she's a palomino but how dark/light will she be?  I've found that she enjoys ear scratches - she will stop eating for an ear scratch!

The other day I let the horses out and Tyson was feeling great!  He was running, leaping, bucking, kicking and rearing!  He hasn't done that in over a year because he was lame (injuries).  I was thinking that Tyson was going to be lame for the rest of his life so seeing him acting like he was a yearling was very encouraging, to say the least.  He didn't show an ounce of pain while he was playing and wasn't sore when I brought him in or let him out the next day.  Is it possible he's finally healed???  Time will tell!

Zoe has been such a good girl.  I've been having my children lead her in and out of her stall and her ground manners have been impeccable!  Better than Star's, in fact.  Last year at this time she was pulling and pushing when being handled but not now!  She's been lowering her head for my kids to halter her too - just a peach!  I can't wait to start riding again when the weather finally breaks, I have good feeling about her!  The farrier always makes comments about how nice she is too (great legs, feet and attitude).  I know I've said this before but she's a sensitive and tuned in horse, just a great mare and I love her dearly! 

Star has been a good girl too, like always.  Her only fault is when it comes to food.  When she knows there's food in her stall she will try to pull through you to get her food making it difficult for my kids to lead her into her stall.  That angers me to no end so I have to lead her in myself to keep her in line.  She doesn't try to push past me because she knows I don't put up with that but she does with the kids.  Grrr...

Brother-in-law's horses are being good boys too.  They don't have stalls (we only have 4) so they live outside with a large 3 1/2 sided lean-to for shelter.  We keep bedding in there so they can lay down and stay warm.  I don't think they are used to that but they certainly enjoy it!  They are in need of a trim soon so hopefully we can get that scheduled before they leave on March 13.  The vet came out yesterday to do their health papers for traveling.  They have a long ways to go and will be stopping every 6 - 8 hours to stretch and get a little exercise/food/water (if they aren't eating or drinking in the trailer) so that will make the trip a long one.  The trailer they will be in is a Sundowner 3 horse slant gooseneck with living quarters.  Brother-in-law has a beautiful trailer that is well maintained and the horses are accustomed to trailering so hopefully the trip will go smoothly.  The horses haven't been bad while they were here but I will be glad to have 2 less mouths to feed!  Hay prices aren't cheap these days...

Well that about sums it up for now.  This weekend is the Michigan State Horse Expo.  I plan on attending on Saturday.  I haven't been able to get there in several years so I'm really looking forward to it!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Our attitude towards others determines their attitudes towards us."

-Earl Nightingale

Melody (Cocoa Lena)

The new filly is settling in nicely.  She had a runny nose and gunky eyes when she arrived but her eyes have cleared up and her runny nose is almost gone.  She is quarantined in a large pen in the barn since she arrived.  She won't be going out with the other horses until that clears up and we can lead her consistently.  Middle daughter has been making a lot of progress with her.  Within the first day of Melody's arrival (that is what her barn name), hubby and middle daughter haltered her.  They cut an old lead rope into a catch rope but we realized that she didn't need it.  This filly is so gentle!  I keep waiting for her to get wild and crazy or not want to be caught but as soon as you walk in the pen, she walks right up to you!  She stands quietly while we clip the lead rope on and leads around her pen really well.  Middle daughter has also picked up her front feet and can brush her entire body!  I cannot believe the progress that she's made with Melody in such a short time!

We took Melody out a couple times this weekend and let her run in the round pen.  She wasn't so sure about leaving the barn at first.  When she finally decided to go through the door she bolted through!  Hubby had a good grip on the lead rope so he was able to stop her right away without anyone getting hurt or run over.  He's so strong!  ;-)  She took some coaxing to go where hubby wanted her to go but in the end, she was doing really well.  She got to see Star and Tyson from across the driveway.  She was very excited to see them and they her!  It got really windy and started to rain so her run outside ended sooner than we had planned.  Going back through the barn door was just like going through the first time.  She stood her ground for 30 seconds and then bolted through only to be stopped by hubby on the other end of the lead.  First outing was a success!

We took her out again the next day.  It was sunny and in the 50's so she was pretty excited about going out.  She called to Star and Tyson as soon as hubby led her out of her pen.  Going through the barn door was another adventure.  It had rained HARD the night before so there was two large puddles in front of the barn door.  She wasn't so sure about them.  She stood her ground for a few seconds and decided to go for it.  As soon as the water splashed up on her she freaked and bolted again.  Hubby had a good hold of her and she was stopped.  She led out to the round pen very nicely.  She's really smart!  Once hubby let her go, she took off!  Leaping, bucking, rearing and running like a crazy horse!  I'm glad she was able to stretch her legs for a bit - must have felt good!  Star and Tyson stood by the fence watching.  Melody saw them and called to them occasionally but found the grass on the other side of the fence and got to munching.  We let her stay out while we did some winter preparations in the barn.  The kids ran out to the trampoline and started to jump.  That threw her for a loop!  She just didn't know what to think about that!  She snorted and trotted around and kept a watchful eye on them.  Before long, she was back to eating again.  I guess the jumping kids weren't so scarey.

On the way back into the barn, she did the same thing she's done the last three times...stood for a quick second and then bolted through.  We will have to work on that with her.  I really think she did it this time because of the puddles.  But we will find out once we have dried out!  Supposed to rain again today...

I'm not sure if ya'll want to hear about Melody and the adventures with her.  I'm going to assume that it's ok since this is a horse blog and she is a horse.  I don't have many readers so I guess if it's not something anyone wants to read I will be able to tell!!

More updates on Zoe coming soon!  I have some possible big news to share!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend is is really a friend."

-Plautus

Boot Camp Update

I had the chance to visit Zoe at the trainer's last week and let me tell you that she's getting a reminder on what is expected of her!  I thought I had her ground manners under control but this trainer has this mare saying "Yes Ma'am!  Right away Ma'am!" instead of "Oh, ok."

Unfortunately, the trainer had a vacation planned during the first 30 days so Zoe didn't have much done yet.  They have been working on lunging and giving to pressure on the bit, breaking at the poll, bending, and overall obedience.  She's coming along nicely, the trainer likes her a lot!

At the end of the lesson, Zoe got a quick hose down...she really worked hard so she was dripping with sweat!  She will be nice and fit when the trainer is done!!!

I'm going to be visiting her again next week and this time she's going to have me ride one of her reiners to see what I can expect Zoe to be like at the end of the 90 days.  I'm really excited!

Anyways, the trainer said that she fully expects all horses that she is working with to be able to be handled safely on the ground by anyone, kid or adult, beginner or experienced so that's why they are working on ground stuff right now instead of jumping on her and riding right away. I appreciate that.  She's a no-nonsense, knows what she wants trainer and I believe I made the right choice bringing Zoe to her.

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"There are no original ideas.  There are only original people."
-Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Boot Camp

Saturday morning I woke up early.  I didn't want to oversleep and I was way too excited to sleep anyway!  My plan was to feed and then give her a bath.  I threw some hay and filled the water and then went inside for my coffee.  I went back out after about 45 minutes thinking she would be done.  Apparently she doesn't eat her breakfast very fast because she had a lot left to eat!  So I changed my plans.  I decided to just do a really good grooming and trim up her bridle path.  That would save me a TON of time!

So with all of this extra time now, I got the truck hooked up to the trailer, made sure the current Coggins was in the truck and went inside to start getting my family ready.  My youngest son is very hard to wake up in the morning, we call him the bear, so it takes some time to get him up and ready to go.  He growled and moaned until I threatened to throw water in his face (works every time!).  Ok, so let me tell you that by this time it was 8:30 am and I put all the kids to bed the night before at 9 pm.  Plenty of sleep.  Hubby said he wanted to leave at 9:30 am to give us enough time (we had to be there at 10 am) so these kids needed to get breakfast and dressed.  On a school day it we give them an hour or so to get ready so I figured we had better plan on the same time frame.

At 9:00 am I got Zoe from her breakfast.  She was still eating.  Seriously.  Still eating.  I tied her to the trailer and did a thorough grooming.  She was as shiny as a horse without a bath can get.  Her mane was nice (except for the spot where she rubbed her mane out and is starting to come back in so it stands straight up!) and her tail was gorgeous.  I trimmed up her bridle path but left her whiskers and her fuzzy ears alone.  No point in taking the fuzz off with all of the flies - we're not going to a show so I never trim up those areas.  I sprayed her good with fly spray and cleaned her feet.  Then it was time to go!  Hubby was impatiently waiting for me to load Zoe.  While I was grooming, he had loaded the kiddos in the truck so he was ready.

I led Zoe into the trailer but she only put her front feet in and stopped.  WTH?  She always loads so I didn't know what was different this time.  Oh wait!  The smell is probably different than the last time.  We own a stock/horse combo gooseneck trailer and a neighbor (our feed guy) borrowed the trailer to haul some steers.  When we got it back, it was disgusting.  We cleaned it the best we could but I'm sure that's what she was smelling and wasn't so sure about.  I just gave her a little time and coaxed her a little and she jumped the rest of the way in.  I shut the door, climbed into the truck and we were off!

The drive was uneventful and we got the the trainer's barn in plenty of time.  Zoe was calling excessively when we arrived.  There is a beautiful, palomino stud there and he wasn't even interested in her, although a big bay gelding was VERY interested.  He answered her every call.  It didn't take long and the trainer was out at the trailer.  We talked some business talk about what she was going to do, what I expected, money, etc.  Then it was time to unload.  Zoe was a hot mess in that trailer.  She had pooped and it was on the runny side so her backside was messy and of course she stomped in it so now her feet were messy and she was all sweaty.  I guess all that grooming and extra TLC that morning was for nothing.  Dang mare.  Zoe unloaded fine but was very alert.  She was good but had to be reminded a couple times that she can't push me around just to see what was around her.

We put her in her turnout behind the barn.  She was being penned next to two geldings on one side and a big gelding on the other.  She immediately set out to sniff the perimeter - not caring about the horses in the pen next to her.  At this point the stud actually acknowledged that she was there only by looking her direction.  He never called to her the entire time we were there - amazing!

We did some more small talk and it was time to go.  As a side note, I really like her.  I think she has the right methods for training.  She's not a bully but has expectations of the horse.  She expects them to behave and lets them know when they aren't (Zoe needs to be reminded of that).  She knows what she wants and how to ask the horse for it, which is also very important.  She said she will work with Zoe everyday and if she misses a day during the week she will make up for it on the weekend.  She was going to let Zoe settle in for a couple days and start working on Monday.  We've been having extreme heat (in the mid to upper 90's with high humidity) this week so I wonder what all she did.  She was going to start on ground work and see what holes are there.  She will move on to saddle work once she feels Zoe is ready for it.  The pace is going to be set by Zoe so if Zoe decides she wants to learn it could go very quickly.  If she decides to be difficult, it will take longer.  That's another reason I like her.  So I've been dying to text her to see how things are going but it's only been a few days so I don't want to seem over anxious...ya know?  I will wait until next week...I guess.

Sorry about not taking any pictures.  I was way too nervous excited to even think about taking pictures!  Maybe when I go for a visit I will remember to take pictures!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Smile, it's free therapy."

-Douglas Horton

Check

Get the Coggins pulled on Zoe...check!
Give Zoe her 5-way...check!
Worm Zoe...check!
Zoe's feet trimmed...check!
First ride this year on Zoe...check!
I think we are ready for the trainer!  Just need to wait until the first of the month before bringing her!

By the way, did you catch that the first ride was completed?  She did a lot of bucking once the saddle was on and I made her move out - I wish she would stop that.  Doesn't reassure me that I will be able to ride without round penning her first. 

Ok, let me start over...I pulled her away from her buddies - very upsetting for her.  I round penned her (about 20 minutes) until she was working/listening to me consistently.  I put the saddle pad on, her eyes were bugging out of her head.  I took the saddle pad off, she shied away.  Great...it's like dealing with a yearling who's never experienced being saddled before.  I decided I wouldn't take any part of the saddling process for granted and to treat her like she's never been saddled.  Pad on, pad off.  Pad on, pad off.  Repeated that several times until she was relaxed and bored with it.  Next was the saddle.  I repeated the same procedure with the saddle that I did with the pad.  Saddle on, saddle off.  Once the saddle was on and she was bored, I jostled it around, flapped the stirrups around, basically made it move and make sounds as much as possible.  She didn't care.  I tightened the cinch - again didn't care.  Then we did some round pen work.  She got to bucking several times but eventually settled down.  As soon as she started bucking, I would make her move out.  I don't want her to think that it's allowed to buck when the saddle is on, whether I'm in the saddle or not.  I want to be able to ride without round penning first to "get the buck" out of her.  I'm sure people out there will disagree with that...but I don't care.  My horse, my training methods.

Anyways, I decided to put the bridle on and then round pen her one more time but this time she went around like 2 times each direction and I figured we were ready for riding.  I mounted, dismounted.  Mounted, dismounted until she was bored again and then just sat in the saddle.  At first she was very alert then bored.  Her boredom turned into "alright, let's do something already" so I asked for a walk.  She complied willingly but she felt like a ticking time bomb.  We worked on steering, stopping, backing, moving off leg pressure and all the while I couldn't shake the feeling of riding a ball of energy just waiting to explode!

Needless to say, we only did walking exercises.  Her steering needs some major improvement before we start trotting.  We have to have the basics down at the walk before going faster.  Plus I want her to relax and realize that me riding isn't so bad.  She was on edge the entire ride.  My hubby commented that she looked scared and that's exactly how she felt under saddle.  I know she really picks up on the emotion of her rider but I honestly can say I wasn't scared or nervous so it makes me wonder WTF did her previous owners do to her?  Or maybe it's what they didn't do???  There have been other instances here and there that I've thought that too.  I know how she acts when she's never experienced things before (curious, lots of blowing through her nose but mostly curiosity) and then there's when she's panicked about something - like she's deathly afraid of what I'm going to do to her or what an object is going to do - her whole body shakes, her eyes are rolling and her head is as high up as she can get it.  Poor thing!  So many skeletons in her closet...

So back to the riding.  I think I rode her for 30 minutes.  We got to a good place and called it a night.  I think we were both relieved it was done.  It's like she was so defensive when I was riding...  She let out a huge sigh and then started chewing once I had her bridle off and halter back on.  Untacking was a breeze and I returned her to her friends.  I was curious how she would act when it was time to come back in so about an hour later I went to catch her.  The only thing different was this time I had to walk about halfway to get her, normally she runs to the gate when she sees me coming.  No biggie.

Well, tonight we will go at it again.  I hope tonight's ride will be more relaxing for her!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

-Alan Watts

It's Happening - For Realz!!

Yup!  The reining trainer said she's got an opening for my Zoe!!!  I have to pull a new Coggins on her and vaccinate her and then she'll be ready to go!  So she might be gone by early next week!  I can hardly contain my excitement!!!

First things first, Zoe has been having some 'tude on the ground again.  Last night hubby was helping me bring the horses in.  I had Tyson and he grabbed Zoe.  We walked through the gate calmly and next thing I know, Zoe is almost plowing me over!  She blew past hubby and when she got to the end of the lead rope she got yanked back around.  That was a first!  She ALWAYS goes through the gate with AWESOME manners.  She never rushes through and immediately swings herself around so I can latch the gate.  Every time in a calm manner.  I have no idea what made her do it differently this time but that is unacceptable behavior!

Hubby got her back under control (he's very good with horses - my horse whisperer, is what I call him) and brought her into the barn.  On the way, my brother-in-law's dog (we're pet sitting) was trotting along behind them.  She always does so this isn't something new - and Zoe "double barrel" kicked at the dog.  Both feet in the air at the same time aimed directly for the unsuspecting dog. Thankfully she missed.  Again, that is unacceptable behavior!

Unfortunately we have rain in our forecast (that's why we brought the horses in otherwise they stay out in the summer) so the round pen work has to wait.  But our barn is big enough that I can do some leading work in there with her.  Apparently she needs to go back in the rope halter and start respecting the rules.  I'm pretty sure she's in heat right now, but I don't care.  There is no excuse for misbehaving putting me and anyone else around her in danger.

Back to school she goes!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old."

-Franz Kafka

The Horse Eating Pitch Fork

Not much going on here.  Too much rain to do anything of any significance.  I did have one issue show its nasty head one day, that required some attention:  Zoe met a pitch fork.  OMG!  A horse-eating monster!  Or so she thought!  My little guy was in the barn with me and the hubby playing with the hay.  He picked up the pitch fork to move it and it was at that exact moment I was walking with Zoe out to the pasture.  She lost it!  She flew sideways and backwards with her eyes about popping out of her head.  She wanted nothing to do with that awful pitch fork.  Zoe is usually pretty good about coming back to me when she gets frightened and will investigate the object once she's calmed down.  This was not one of those times.  Every time I tried to get her close to the immobile pitch fork (little guy put it down on the ground) she about plowed me over trying to get away from it.  She DID NOT want to investigate it.  Hubby came over to see what was going on and helped me with the next step.  If she wasn't going near it, we were bringing it to her.  She's going to have to get used to seeing it without losing her mind. I held her and talked to her while hubby slowly brought it to her.  She tried to get away but I didn't budge.  Eventually she let it touch her legs, then up to her shoulder.  She was still very upset about it but tolerated it so we ended it there.  When I bring her hay to her on the fork, she doesn't mind it one bit but seeing it all by itself was apparently terrifying!  We will have to work on more desensitizing...might be more work there than I thought!!!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible."

-Arthur C. Clarke