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

Zoe Update

Sorry for the poor picture quality...the pictures are cell phone pics sent from Zoe's new family...

Zoe is doing very well - in fact, T plans to show Zoe at the end of the month and again in July.  Yay!  T will be showing Zoe in SMS and hunt seat.  If all goes well, she will also be entering her in Western Pleasure!  Whaaa???  Yes, Western Pleasure!  I know she has a cute jog...but getting her to do it consistently was difficult.  Must be having progress in that department!  Also, her lope was a strong, powerful lope - definintely not a WP lope but maybe she was able to tame it down some...we'll see!  I was also blown away by the fact that she's going into hunt seat!  My little roper/foundation APHA is going to try hunt seat!!  WOW!  I'm so excited to see her show in a few weeks!!!!!!!  I will take lots of pictures...promise!

Not so good news is that T took Zoe out in a large field and tried running her the other day.  Too much stimulation for Zoe because she started bucking and T fell off.  T's dad said that T was ok, just a little sore.  He said her pride was more bruised than anything else and he laughed like crazy! lol

Overall, they still absolutely love her and all fight over her.  They all want her for themselves but T said that she's a keeper!  I am OVERJOYED!  I really feel like I made the best decision for Zoe...even though it was so hard...still kinda is.  Does that ever go away?

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

The Farrier Visit

Just thought I would document how the farrier visit went...

First up was Melody.  She's been doing good with picking up her feet for us most days so I figured we would start with her since she would probably be the worst one of them all.  I needn't worry because she did excellent!  Stood there patiently while the farrier did his work.  The only thing that surprised me was when he first approached her she did a big spook away from him.  I think he must've looked funny to her with his chaps and tools in hand.  She settled down and he was able to get her done.

Star was no issue...never is!

Gunner stood like a good boy.  Sometimes he pulls his feet away but this time he waited until his feet were given back before he put them down.  Good boy!

Tyson also was a good boy.  I was particularly interested in what the farrier thought about his feet.  Ever since Tyson's accident at my brother-in-law's house (which was why he came to live with us), he's never been sound.  He's been getting around pretty good in turnout but I like to hear from a professional what they they think about him.  The farrier said Tyson's feet looked surprisingly good!  He said if he seems comfortable that we should start riding him again!  Seriously?  I haven't given that the all clear yet but I think I will saddle him up and give him a schooling in the round pen to see how he goes.  I'll decide after that if he can be put back to work after that.

All in all, it was a great time with the farrier.  It's been too long since he was last out so it was fun to catch up with him again - he likes to talk a lot so he (and his wife) stayed for 2 hours!  Good people!

Well, that's all 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

Saying Goodbye

Saturday morning I got up early.  I had set my alarm for 7 am but my mind was with Zoe and I got up at 5:30 am instead.  I made my coffee, got dressed and headed out to the barn.  I checked all the calves (we have several right now) and made my way to Zoe.  She gave me a little nicker, God I love this horse!

I decided to feed and water everyone - it was early but I was sure they wouldn't mind!  I also decided to take Zoe out and feed her separately in the round pen.  That way I could get some much needed one-on-one time before she left.

As she was eating, I groomed her.  If it would've been a little warmer I would've given her a bath too (still only 50 degrees in the morning).  She loves to be groomed and stopped eating in order to fully enjoy her brushing!

"Why did you stop brushing?"

I let her finish her breakfast and got my own breakfast.  But I wasn't hungry, my stomach was in knots...but I ate anyways. 

I went back out to see Zoe and decided to go for one last walk together.  We just went down the road for a bit but it was so nice.  She was so good!

My husband took this last picture.  My mom saw it and said it said so many words...

Zoe's new family arrived just after 9am.  They showed up in a nice truck and trailer, and thanked me profusely for the opportunity to buy Zoe.  It was the mom, dad and daughter who came to pick up Zoe.  The daughter is 16 years old and very nice.  We'll call her T.  I really liked talking with all of them - good people!  They asked if T could ride Zoe to see if she had any questions right away.  Of course I agreed!

I got Zoe saddled up - which, if you can remember doesn't always go well for Zoe.  She stood like a good girl while being saddled up.  I'm not sure if it's because I didn't "hard tie" her this time or what but it went really good.  She didn't want to put the bit in her mouth, which is unlike her.  I know she's due for her teeth so that's probably what she was telling me.

I showed T how I round pen her first before getting on so I can see where her mind is.  Zoe did really good again and didn't need much of a warm up.  I told T that Zoe will mirror whatever emotions she's having so if she's nervous, Zoe will be nervous. If she's calm and confident Zoe will be too. T got on carefully, asking if Zoe gets upset about mounting because she'd been thrown off many times by a horse she was testing out (before Zoe).  I told her no, Zoe was fine about mounting. 

She started walking and they were getting the feel of each other.  She made the comment on how Zoe really seemed to tune into her right away - which I've always noticed too!  She asked how I got her to drop her head into a headset and what the command for back was.  I told her and also told T that Zoe needs verbal confirmation that she's doing good.  Zoe responds when she's told she's good, rather than just a release of some kind.  After those quick instructions, T rode Zoe walk-trot (the round pen had a slick spot,so no cantering) and really got a good feel for her.  T is a great rider!  They did so well together!

T thanked me again for Zoe.  While I was talking with T in the round pen, hubby was talking to T's parents about their own horses.  The dad was trying to sell his horse because his gelding acted like a stallion and he couldn't take him trail riding - which is what he loved to do.  He asked about Gunner and so we took Gunner out for him to look at.  Brother-in-law hasn't been in contact with us about Gunner, so parents-in-law said to sell him (they are half owners) if we could.  I'm still on the fence about that...  Anyways, the dad rode Gunner for a bit.  Gunner did good for him but the dad said he had to sell his own horse before he could bring another one home because he was only set up for 4 horses.  He said he would give me a call once his gelding sold. 

T loaded Zoe up in the trailer and we all shook hands.  I said goodbye to Zoe, one last time, and they were off.  I admit...I cried a good amount as they were driving away.  I feel good about Zoe's new home but it still hurts to say goodbye. 

We found each other on facebook so I can stay in touch with T and Zoe's progress.  She invited me to come see Zoe any time and that she would let me know when they have their shows so I can watch.  She's on her school's equestrian team and 4H so she's going to be busy with Zoe - which is great!!

I texted them a few hours later to see how the trip home went and how Zoe was once they got home.  The dad said the trip home and unloading went great!  All three of his daughters thoroughly groomed Zoe and that Zoe was taking a nap in the sun in the round pen (her transitional pen).  Looks like she settled in nicely!

 Another chapter in my life closes as a new one starts for Zoe!

Until next time,
Lynell

A Fork in the Road

I don't even know how to start this...

Tomorrow Zoe will be moving to her new home with her new family.  It KILLS me to sell her, she was supposed to be my forever horse! But the direction my life is going right now will prevent me from continuing her training like she needs, like she wants!  This decision has been weighing in my mind for a while now.  I need to do what's right for Zoe and stop wasting her by not having the time to ride and work with her consistently.  The guilt is overwhelming!! Even as I type this I'm having a hard time accepting it.  Zoe was supposed to be with me forever - until the end. My heart is broken.

The family I have chosen for Zoe has 4 other horses.  Their lives revolve around their horses and they are so excited to have Zoe join their family...their family are the key words here.  She will have a forever home with them!  They plan to use her for all kinds of events in western and possibly dabble in english, depending on how Zoe does. 

The father of the family found out about Zoe through my trainer.  He explained to me that they were putting their daughter's horse down because they were no longer able to manage the pain for their horse (severe arthritis) so they have been looking for a new horse for quite some time.  When my trainer told him Zoe was for sale he called me and begged me to let him buy her.  They knew Zoe from when she was in training and absolutely loved her!  I told him I had someone else coming that night to ride her and from the sounds of things would probably buy her so I was sorry.  He was persistent and even offered to buy her for more than what I was asking! 

I called my trainer to get an idea of what this family was all about.  To me, the right fit was more important than the money - or even who had first "dibs" on her, so I had to at least think about it.  My trainer had nothing but great things to say about this family and so I did it. 

I sold her to them. 

His daughter asked if she could call me about Zoe if she has any questions or maybe come out and help her!  I told her I would absolutely love that!  I'm excited for Zoe - for her future with this family.  It feels right, it hurts but I'm at peace.

I don't usually get comments on here so I don't know if anyone really reads this or not but I will leave this blog up for a while but then probably shut it down.  Maybe I will start one for Melody or a general one for the farm.  We'll see.

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

News

The vet called Friday afternoon with the news.  Her white blood cell count was good but her red blood cell count was low signaling that she is anemic.  The vet said that he wasn't too worried about it.  He would come back in a month or so and take another blood sample to make sure the red blood cell count didn't drop anymore.  In the meantime, we were to "worm her real good" to make sure it wasn't because of worms.  I have the horses on a regular worming schedule but I re-wormed them all again on Saturday, just to be on the safe side.

Star has been feeling great since we started her on the Bute pills.  We were worried she wouldn't eat her grain with the bitter tasting Bute pills in it, but she cleans up her grain dish - every last bit!  The swelling is still there but has gone down and she's been trotting around in her turn out.  I have her with Melody in her turnout and I think I'm gonna leave it that way this winter.  We seem to have peace within each grouping, so why mess with it?

Gunner's swelling has gone down a little.  The vet said he should be back to normal within a week so I'm keeping an eye on it to make sure it does.

I've been doing more groundwork exercises with Melody whenever I lead her in or out of the turnout.  She's been introduced to the tarp.  I first had her walk on it - no big deal.  She sniffed it a little and then walked on and stood with no problem.  The next time she walked right onto it, no questions asked.  The next time, instead of walking on it, I rubbed her with it.  She was alert at first and then got bored.  I repeated all the tarp stuff with her for about a week and then moved onto laying it across her, over her head, neck, back and butt.  She did some dancing but nothing major.  Those lessons were repeated over the following week until she was bored with that too.  It doesn't take much for her to be ok with what we work on.  She's very trusting and has a good head on her.  She came in from turnout the other day with a mystery cut on her face.  I have NO IDEA where that could've come from.  It's healed up nicely now, though.  Being a light colored palomino Melody is absolutely filthy, and you can see every spec of dirt on her!  I can't stand it!!  Zoe is a buckskin and her cream color gets really light in the winter too but she keeps herself clean, but not Melody!  I think she finds the smelliest, muddiest spots in her turnout and rolls, and naps there!!  I'm looking forward to the warmer weather already so I can get her clean again!  Yuck!  I should try to snap a picture just so you can see how nasty her creamy coat is!  Oh well, nothing I can do about it.  We brush her the best we can but it doesn't get the deep down stuff...

With all that's been going on, not much progress with Zoe lately.  She's been itching for work so I did lunge her the other day.  She was happy about that!  We are going back to working on leadership exercises to help build a better working relationship before the riding happens again.  Not that it's a bad relationship but more that we haven't been working together for a while now and I want to start off with a trusting relationship.  Make sense?

Well, that's all for now!




Quote for the day:
"He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything."

-Thomas Carlyle

Moving Foward

My last post talked about saddle fitting on Zoe.  I can honestly say that I haven't ridden Zoe even once since that post.  I feel ashamed and guilty for letting her 'sit' in the pasture.  My life has been so full (imagine that!!) that my progress with Zoe has come to a complete stop.  My work with Melody hasn't been consistent and yet she still amazes me with how well she retains her lessons.  I rode Star a handful of times and middle daughter rode Gunner a handful of times (his back was sore).  I'm so let down with how the end of summer and fall have gone as I had BIG plans.  Have the horses been well cared for?  Yes, but I haven't spent the time with them that I feel I should.  The guilt is overwhelming...but I can't dwell on that, right?  I'm moving forward with a new plan...

I know I may have to do lessons with Zoe that we have already done but I'm ok with that.  I've found an indoor arena that I can haul to this winter that's really close to home (and SUPER nice) so I can continue our work together through the winter. We will be doing a lot of leadership exercises, trust and body work before I throw a leg over her.  She's gonna stand in cross ties (she's never been cross tied before) and stand like a rock when I put the saddle pad and saddle on her among other things.  We are going to have all this stuff DOWN!  I've put up with her dancing around the saddle and her tying issues long enough!  It's time for her to behave and act her age!! ;-)

Melody will be coming along as well, along with Gunner, if middle daughter can make it out to ride with us.  Melody will learn to be lunged (already knows how to round pen) and get better with her verbal commands.  We will keep working on shoulder and hip yields, giving at the poll, and flexing to both sides (she's not very good at her right side).  Her back feet still seem to be a problem with letting us hold them for any length of time so we will continue to work on that as well.

Gunner will need some time in the saddle as well.  The last time middle daughter rode him, he bucked her off when she asked him to canter.  I have no idea what that was all about!  I was so proud of her for picking herself up and getting back on!  She landed hard and it really shook her up.  No serious injuries, just a little stab at her pride I think.  Afterwards, I checked to see if his back was sore again but his back was fine.  I checked other spots that might be sore but he seemed fine in those places too.  The saddle fit is good so maybe middle daughter did something that triggered the bucking fit or else he learned before that if he bucked he got out of doing it.  Either way, I'm gonna have to get on and figure it out.

In other farm news, we replanted the front horse pasture.  It was getting full of weeds and the ground was so compacted from years of horses walking on it that the grass couldn't get a good root system going again, hence the weeds.  We had the soil tested to see what the ground was lacking and was able to pick up a fertilizer to help the ground produce the best horse pasture grass mix it could.  We have to keep the horses off it for one full growing season (all of 2015) so the root system can really take hold.  We were told to hay it so it will help the grasses to come in nice and thick.  We are really excited to see the fruits of our labor!  Oh, and while we were at it, we tore down all the old cow fencing that was up around this pasture.  We are putting up electric instead - always hated that fencing!

Not only did we replant the horse pasture, but we built a new horse catch pen.  While all of this replanting was going on, we had them in a cow pen.  It was fine but it was a reminder that without the horse pasture in the front, we were going to be short on turn outs this winter!  So we took another weekend and built a safe catch/turnout pen for the horses with a shelter.  This is where Star and her buddy (undecided on who) will spend the winter nights while the others are in their stalls.  Speaking of stalls, we built insulated water bucket holders for the stalls.  I'm excited to put these things to use this winter!  Last winter was awful with trying to keep the water fresh and unfrozen.  (Hubby doesn't like to use the heated water buckets because he had a bad experience with them once and now refuses to use them....)  We also built two extras for outside in the shelter for Star and her buddy.  I'll try to take a picture of them so you can see what we built...I will let you know how they work too!

Another farm project completed is my new tack room/office in the barn.  It's wonderful - and much bigger than my old tack room!  In order to complete the new tack room, we also built new saddle racks.  This time I have enough saddle racks for ALL of my saddles.  I used to always be 1 rack short so it was kept in the house, which is fine except it's a pain to haul a big western saddle out of the house whenever you want to ride.  So my brand new Billy Cook saddle still has very little use...  The new feed room is going right next to the new tack room but we haven't finished it yet.  Just have to put the floor in and then it will be complete.

In addition to all of that, we also built a new lean-to for the cows (it's HUGE) and are working on another one.  We added beef cows to our regime of animals this summer so more and larger shelters were needed.  I guess you could say we've been busy!

One more announcement...we added a new member to our family!

Meet Lola!  She's a red tri Australian Shepherd and we love her to pieces!  Couldn't be happier with our choice!  She and Riggin (black tri Australian Shepherd) have become good friends!  She will follow him anywhere and learns from him all the time, which is why we bought her now instead of waiting.  Riggin is probably the BEST dog we've ever had the privilege of owning and is getting up there in age.  We wanted him to pass along his knowledge to the next pup so now was the best time.

So that's a snapshot of what's been going on with me lately.  Not to mention the fact that I have 5 children, two of which are on student council this year, one is in high school and just had her first homecoming...My life is full, but that's exactly how I like it!

That's all for now!



Quote for the day:
"Never mistake activity for achievement."

-John Wooden

A Few Random Things

I just thought I would quick share what's been going on with the horses lately:

Melody has been getting round penned three days a week.  She picked up on it pretty quick.  I think she enjoys the work and I enjoy watching her move - what a beauty!

Zoe gave me a great ride last weekend but that's not without a little drama beforehand.  The last few times I've thrown the saddle up on her she's acted like she's never seen the saddle before and FREAKS out.  I did the slow, let her sniff the saddle approach.  I tried the deliberate, don't make it a big deal approach.  Freaks out the same both ways and didn't improve at all.  This has got me thinking about why?  She's muscled up quite a bit now (and gained weight) so I'm wondering if this is her way of telling me that the saddle is too small.  Hopefully tonight I will be able to get the saddle I've been using on her and take a close look.  If that saddle appears to be too small, I will try my other saddle.  I hope I can figure this out soon.  I don't want to ride her in a saddle that's too small...

Star has been doing great!  She hasn't coughed since the medication regime was finished.  She's been staying sound as well so I hope to take her out more often but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day since I work a full time job, have other horses, and have 5 children.  It's a balancing act for sure!

Gunner has had time off.  He's been bucking lately and actually bucked middle daughter off.  She's fine but I would like to get his back checked to make sure it's not bothering him.  I guess it also wouldn't hurt to check the fit of the saddle as well...

Tyson, well Tyson is lame.  He's just not getting any better.  He's another one that the vet is going to come out and take a look at.  I think there's scar tissue in his foot from when he got caught in some wire that's causing his continued lameness.  We'll see what the vet has to say...  But he's in great shape despite his lameness - he plays out in the pasture all the time so he actually has good muscling.  He's such a goof!  He looks great though!!!

I never think to have a camera with me to take some updated pictures - I will try to get better about that!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

A Quick Ride

I took Star out this past weekend.  It was our first ride since her diagnosis.  I had been putting it off for a couple weeks because I didn't want to instigate another big coughing incident. 

It was Friday night.  Middle daughter had already ridden Gunner, who bucked when asked for canter.  His back didn't show any signs of being sore so I'm thinking he's just being a stinker.  I will probably have to get on and see if he tries it with me.  Might also be something middle daughter is doing...  Anyways, back to the story...I had put dinner in the oven so I had an hour until it was done.  I thought to hell with it and got Star out.  She seemed happy that I had chosen her. 

Got her all saddled up and off we went.  She was SLOW as we were leaving the farm but soon she picked up her walk a bit.  My plan was to go visit one of our hay fields that was close by to see if it was ready to be cut.  Like I said, it wasn't far so if she had another coughing fit it wouldn't take long to get home. 

We walked on a loose rein and really enjoyed our quick ride (about 20 minutes).  I never asked her to go faster than the walk and she was fine with that.  Usually she is aching to go faster but not that day - very content to stay at a walk.

We made it to the hay field took a look around and then turned back for home.  Not a single cough the entire ride !  To say I was happy would be an understatement!  The smile on my face didn't come off until my head hit the pillow that night!

In talking with my mother-in-law, she told me that her aunt had a horse with heaves and he came in the barn every night, which I was instructed not to do for Star, and wet down his hay for every feeding.  He would have a coughing incident about once a year and she would treat him with the same medication that I gave Star.  She rode him on trails long after his diagnosis when he was 15ish and he lived to be close to 30 years old!  The key is early detection so I'm feeling very optimistic about Star's diagnosis.

Well, that's all for now!  Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."

-William Penn

Sore Gunner

Gunner got the day off on Thursday because the farrier came out.  So Friday we decided to get a ride in during the afternoon because we didn't want to try to ride while people would be starting to shoot off fireworks.

Going back, Wednesday we tried Gunner in the hackmore and he did AWESOME!  So quiet and relaxed!  I have a phone call in for brother-in-law about Gunner's teeth, though.  I would like to know when the last time he had them done just so I can or cannot rule out his teeth as the culprit with the bit.  Don't get me wrong, I will still be scheduling an appointment for his teeth and we will probably continue to ride in the hackmore but I would like to keep him on a better schedule.

Anyways, middle daughter was grooming Gunner before the ride and when she ran the brush over his back he dropped his back out under the pressure.  He's been doing something similar to this ever since we turned him out with Zoe but this time he seemed more tense.  My gut says that Zoe got a hold of him...  Anyways, we decided to try him out and all was going well until middle daughter asked him to canter.  He jumped up in the front end more exaggerated than usual but picked up the correct lead and went around the pen once before she asked him to trot.

She changed directions and when she asked for the canter he gave out a small buck.  Middle daughter stayed in the saddle and didn't really know what happened.  I told her riding was done and to cool him down.  I'm guessing he was too sore.  Poor guy!

Since the ride was cut short, we decided to pamper the little guy and gave him a good shampoo bath.  He has one white sock on his back foot and when we were done it was glowing!  He looked like a million bucks!  Middle daughter took him out to the yard to let him eat while he dried off and he behaved so nicely for her.  What a great little horse he's turned out to be!  I'm hoping that we will be able to keep him for her to ride for 4H...

Anyways, he's gonna get some time off for his back to heal.  If I don't see much progress in a week or so, I'll have to call the chiro and see about getting his back adjusted.  I've never used an equine chiro before...it will be a learning experience for both of us!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion."

-Arnold H. Glasow

Teeth?

Middle daughter has been riding Gunner everyday now and things have been getting gradually worse.  The first few times middle daughter rode him it was in a halter and lead rope inside the round pen.  It was going very well but he figured out that he could get away with more because she wasn't very strong.  So we decided to put the bridle on.  We used a snaffle because I wasn't sure what he was ridden in so that was a safe place to start.  The first time the bit was in his mouth he was rolling it around with his tongue and shaking his head.  That behavior started to decrease with each ride but then on this past Sunday night he began to bend his head around and touch her toe every time she asked him to go forward, he would constantly pull the reins down, and play with the bit in his mouth again.  Middle daughter was frustrated to tears.  I thought maybe it was something she was/wasn't doing so I hopped on.  Side note: Don't ride in a saddle that's too small for you...it's not comfortable at all!  I'm not a miracle worker by any means but I wanted to see if he would do the same thing with me...he tried and I was able to get him to move out straight but he continued to try to either do tight circles or just bend his head around.  Anyways, while moving around at a walk he continued to try to pull the reins out of my hands (I was riding on a loose rein, by the way) and still played with the bit basically the entire time.

While I was riding, hubby called his brother to find out what Gunner's deal was with bits.  Brother in law said he used a tom thumb when he would ride him.  I'm not convinced that is what the problem is. 

I rode Gunner for a short time with barely any progress.  Middle daughter got back on and the ride wasn't any better for her.  We called it quits because no progress was being made.

I have a hackmore that I might try on him but my hunch is his teeth need to be done.  Hubby forgot to ask his brother about Gunner's teeth but it definitely won't hurt to have them checked.  Zoe and Melody are due for their teeth to be done so I think I will have Gunner's done at the same time.  I'm thinking we'll use the hackmore until I can get them all in.

If not his teeth and the hackmore doesn't seem to do the trick, we'll be back to the drawing board...


Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.'

-David Frost

Ups and Downs

Star completed her medication regime and now I'm waiting for the weather to cooperate to ride her again.  I'm guessing our trail riding days are over and we will have to stay in the front yard for riding - we need to avoid dust as much as possible to avoid an episode.

I rode Zoe everyday this past weekend.  We had one of the best rides we've ever had on Saturday - so relaxed, responsive and willing!  On Sunday when I took her out again I half expected to pick up where we left off on Saturday but I was wrong!!  She was feeling sassy for sure!  She's no longer in heat so I'm not sure what her deal was, it's a mare thing I guess.  She started off by shying away from both the saddle pad and the saddle when I was tacking her up.  She acted like a young horse who has never seen a saddle before, crazy mare!  Then when I took her halter off to put the bridle on, she tried to walk away...seriously.  What was her deal??  I decided to round pen her first and I'm glad I did!  She jumped into the air and did a big buck and then settled down to work.  She must have been feeling pretty good that day!  As I was mounting up she started to walk away so I immediately halted her but at the same time my foot was slipping into the stirrup on the other side and she let out a half buck.  Thankfully, I already had a hold on her and that was all she was able to do.  I have a feeling she did that out of protest of being stopped but feeling my foot on the other side possibly bumping her.  She's the type of horse that lets you know if she thinks you are being unfair or too harsh.

We got to work at a walk, a VERY fast walk.  She was itching to go faster but I wanted it to be when I asked her not when she decided.  This night she was even more connected to me than usual because we were at the point where I would think trot and she would pick it right up.  But whenever I began to think about slowing down she would SLAM on her breaks.  Gotta love the rope horse instinct!

We both got a good workout going before we got back to the point we were the night before; collected, relaxed, willing and listening.  Once there, I called it quits and I think she was ready to quite also.  Overall it was a good weekend of riding but had a rough patch or two!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains."

-Josephine Baker

Saddle Time

With the weather cooperating, we've had a lot of time for riding.  And when I say we, I mean middle daughter and I.  What horse is middle daughter riding?  Betcha couldn't guess...ok maybe you can.  Gunner!  My brother-in-law's horse that he left here is turning out to be a great kids horse!  Who knew?!  He's been so relaxed and listens so good for middle daughter.  I'm thrilled!!

I've been having mostly good rides on Zoe.  She's in heat right now so she's VERY distracted.  When she tunes into me rather than the boys in the pasture across the driveway, she does great but when she's wanting to talk to them, she's awful.  She just needs more time in the saddle! 

Last night I took her out for a ride and she was raring to go!!  Go talk to the boys that is!  I tied her to the patience tree while I got all of her tack out and when I returned she was all sweaty...from standing there...it as only 75 degrees and she was in the shade...and there was a nice breeze!  Talk about being juiced!!!  I decided it would be a good idea to do some lunging before getting on and I'm glad I did because she was itching to run and buck.  Once I sent her out, she got frisky!  I let her get it out of her system before asking her to focus and start warming up/working.  It really didn't take too long before she was paying attention again and once she was relaxed we switched directions.  It took even less time going the other direction.

I mounted and immediately she wanted to trot.  But I slowed her down and kept her at a walk (a very fast walk, but a walk nonetheless).  Every little thing was a distraction on this particular night - every. single. thing.  We had to do lots of figure eights and weaving to keep focused.  I guess you could say we worked on steering almost the entire ride!

We had a small group of bikers (on their bicycles, not motorcycles!) stop and watch me ride.  A little background...I ride in our large front yard and we live on a rural road with lots of hills - people love to ride their bikes on our road.  Of course Zoe thought that every time we went by she had to stop and look at them. Ugh.  That got old!  Finally they realized they were being a distraction so they slowly walked their bikes past.  Zoe kept a close eye on them the entire time.  Once they were out of site, we did some nice circles in both directions and I thought we should call it quits.  So we started the cool down walk but she thought that meant we were going to visit the boys.  We had a short discussion about how she needed to still listen to me even though we were cooling down (and on a loose rein).  She decided to listen to me.  Good girl.

I sprayed her down and turned her loose.  She ran and played with Star and Melody for a little bit and then settled down to eating.

Tonight there will be no riding - we are off to the fair for some elephant ears and fresh squeezed lemonade!  Should be fun (and never cheap)!!

I will have an update on Star after the weekend - until next time!!!




Quote for the day:
"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way."

-Booker T. Washington

Heaves

Look at that wild mane!  It was windy...

Last Sunday I took Star out for a trail ride.  We didn't get too far along when the coughing started.  At first I didn't think too much of it.  A cough here and there isn't that big of a deal, right?  We started trotting and then the coughing was constant...WTH??  We turned around and headed home.  Staying at a walk seemed to keep the coughing at bay, even though a cough here and there would come out.  We were maybe 15 minutes out when the coughing started so we only had about 15 minutes to get back.  My mind was going 100 mph about what was going on with her the whole way home.  We had been out on the same trail the weekend before and she was FINE!!  Allergies??  Respiratory infection??

When I got home hubby was surprised to see me back so soon.  I told him what was going on while I untacked her in the yard.  He was holding Star when he pointed out that Star had a small stream of blood coming out of her nose! 

I got my phone out and started googling nosebleeds in horses.  That didn't help calm my nerves! 

I brought her to the water and she took a few big drinks and then I put her in her stall with a fan blowing.  I was hoping that she was coughing because she was thirsty and hot...  I put her back out with the other horses after only an hour in her stall.  She was happy to be back out with her friends!

Over the next day or so we kept a close eye on her.  She would still cough here and there so we decided to call the vet.  The vet told us it could be one of the following three things:  1. Allergies; 2. Heaves; 3. Upper respiratory infection.  Honestly, I was hoping for the infection so we could give her some antibiotics and move on.  But since I wasn't 100% sure on that I made an appointment for the vet to come out and take a look at her.  That was today.

The results?  Heaves (as you probably guess by the title of this blog post!).  The vet said that because we caught it so early that she will probably live a happy horsey life for several more years.  We have her on some medication for a few days and then I'm supposed to take her out for a ride to see how she does. Oh, and she isn't allowed in the barn at all for any reason whatsoever.  I guess I better buy a nice heavy blanket for those cold winter nights!  She's now on 24/7 turn out and thankfully has a nice lean-to for protection from the elements.  We also need to wet her hay down before every feeding to be sure there isn't any dust in it so she doesn't get another flare up.  The fewer the flare ups the better!

This is my first experience with heaves and will be a learning process for me.  If anyone reading this has any knowledge or experience they would be willing to share I sure would appreciate it!!

That's all for now...until next time!



Quote for the day:
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

-Benjamin Franklin

Hello!

Just a quick picture of Zoe and me!  We are doing great and loving the beautiful weather we are finally getting!  It was official bath day for ALL horses last weekend and they all were very well behaved.  Melody didn't have any freak outs and enjoyed the scrubbing - she's so dang cute!

I have more updates but have to get outside and get some riding done before our friends come over...they brought our bull, Bo, home from Oklahoma...

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."

-Helen Keller

Another Great Ride

Zoe and I had another great ride!  We started off on the patience tree but she was good to go almost immediately so I tacked her up and lunged her.  She was tuned in and ready to rock!  I mounted up with some assistance from Hubby and he led us around for a few steps and then we were on our own.  Side note:  Zoe has never been ridden in wide open spaces before and our arena was being used as a holding pen for some cows and calves so we were in our HUGE front yard.  I wasn't sure how she would handle it so that's why hubby came in to help for a minute, I guess for our my piece of mind!  Anyways, we worked on steering and her neck reining, which was awesome!  Last fall we left off working on neck reining and she was starting to get it, but this ride she was almost right on every time!  I didn't have to correct her much while walking so I asked for a trot.  At first her head flew up and she almost jumped out of her skin!  So I asked her again and this time she trotted right away.  She tried to rush and wasn't listening to me for direction and would suddenly stop.  I just kept on going, keeping her trotting  until she settled into a nice working trot.  We did some direction changes, figure eights, circles and such.  Her neck reining wasn't as good at the trot as it was at the walk but we will work on that.  We didn't work on canter because if her steering isn't good at the trot then it won't be any better at a faster gait!  We ended the ride once I had a good figure eight without breaking the trot.  She was a good girl!

I also had a good ride on Star the other day.  It was my first ride on her and she was feeling pretty good!  I was having a bad day and needed a break from it all so I got Star out and we went for a short trail ride.  She was very alert and pulled on me just about the whole time.  We had to do some stopping and backing, and circling before she calmed down and I could ride with a relaxed rein.  She has a tendency to lift her head to avoid contact when she wants to go faster and I hadn't seen that in a while but it resurfaced on this ride!!  Anyways, by the time we got home she had her head where it should be and I had a loose rein.  It was a beautiful day out and we both enjoyed ourselves very much!  Star loves going on trail rides - just hates crossing ditches and going through water (she will, just takes a few tries)!!

Well, that's all for now!  More updates soon!

Until next time!




Quote for the day:
"When one teaches, two learn."

-Robert Half

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