And then it was Sunday....or "Pony Spa Day and Tilly Ride Day"

Sorry it's been a while.  :)

Sunday saw me hustling out of bed early again (country living, am I right?  Can I get a high 5?) so I could hitch up the trailer, load Tilly and Zurkh and get them trimmed and then go for a 1 hour ride, assuming the trim didn't make her sore, on Tilly at McKinney Roughs.

Knowing myself as I do, and having Waze'd the length of time to drive from my house to Holly's, I gave myself 2 hours of drive time and 45 minutes to hook up and load horses. 

Hooking up went off without a hitch (HAH!  See what I did there?), but, Tilly KNEW I was up to nefarious goals when she saw the halter.  So, off the herd (except Zurkh, who just wants to hang out with the humans) raced.  Cue annoyed sigh as I go into the barn and grab a bucket of grain and start shaking it.  I know if I can just get Strider, I can get the rest of the herd.

*shake**shake**shake*  I walked the entire front part of the property, rattling the feed.  I walked to their favorite hiding places.  Nothing.  Puzzling. 

I keep walking and shaking.  Still, no horses.

Well, lately they've been interested in hanging out behind the tree line, so maybe they're back there.

To my incredible annoyance, and my concern, my back gate is open.  Into the back pasture that has uncapped TPosts, coils of wire laying willy-nilly and who knows what all else my horses could kill themselves on. 

I mutter under my breath and push through my anger and fear as fast as possible before I approach them.  I cannot and won't chase them ALL the way to the back of the property.

I tried to catch Tilly, but she just ran laps around Socks and Strider, and it was getting me no where, fast.  

So I hope that they won't bolt as I approach Strider, who is happily grazing away.  I dump a little bit of the grain on the ground, and halter him up.  Leading him off, I expect Socks and Tilly to follow him.  Which means they won't and they didn't.  Horses.  They'll fool you EVERY single time.

I get Strider up to the feeding pen, Zurkh following along like the sweet puppy dog he is as my time keeps ticking away.  Internally I'm groaning, but still knowing I have time to make it on time as I turn around and head back out to the pasture to get Socks and Tilly.

Socks is an easy catch, and again, leading him out, and Tilly just refuses to go back through the gate, so I flick the end of the lead rope at her butt, throw my energy her direction and point her through the gate.  FINALLY she goes through, so my little trio heads up front. 

Toss Socks in with Strider, Zurkh goes into his pen, and then it's the Tilly tango.  She and I dance back and forth and back and forth with one another.  If I can physically touch her with a hand, she will stop dancing.  But it's getting a hand on her that is a challenge.  And she KNOWS if I have a halter or if I don't.  I may need to just get a string halter for her.  And really and truly focus on my body language and emotions. 

And now comes the fun part.  Let's see if Tilly will go in my straight load.

At this point, according to the clock, I should be pulling out.

Except I know Holly will understand if I'm late because of loading.  So, time table is tossed, and we set to work.

Doors open, thread the lead rope through the bars of my divider, let's load up.

I put some pressure on her hind and she steps forward.  Sniffs the floor.  Is doing well. 

We have some refusals.  Rearing outside of the trailer.  Typical "NO!  I won't!" reactions.  Nothing I haven't seen before.

Step towards.  Get one foot in, think she's being pressured too much, so she rears, thwacks her head on the roof and squirts out backwards.

Okay then, no go. 


Let's try something else then.

Around the center bar?

No go.

Slide the divider over and run the rope through that?

Another negative.

Okay then...you win mare.

I remove the entire divider, and she hops right in.

Go figure. 

I close the door behind her and bring the divider BACK in, set it back up, slide and lock it and the butt bar into place then go get Zurkh.  Who has only been in this trailer one other time.

He marches right up, sniffs the floor, then hops right in.

GOOD PONY!!!

Leap into the truck, ask Joe to please let Socks and Strider out AFTER I've left so they don't try to chase me out the gate and I hit the road.

I send Holly a text, assuming I'll be closer to 11 than 10:30 getting there.

Go figure, for once, I'd have been RIGHT on time.  Except, having sent that text, I opted to stop, fill up the truck, grab a drink and some breakfast and show up at Holly's closer to 11, as I'd predicted.

We pull in, and immediately Holly starts laughing at the height discrepancy of the butts in my trailer.  And, I should have taken a picture because it really is rather funny.  Tall Tilly on the right, short Zurkh on the left.

I went to unload Zurkh, who just refuses to back out of my trailer.  I suspect because it's a LONG step down for his little self.

Tilly hops out without much fuss or muss.  She gets a little spazzy when Holly sets down her HoofJack behind her, so Holly brings it up, lets her sniff it and, I say again I'm really not sure how she'll do, but I've worked with her consistently the past few days and she was okay at home.

And then, Tilly stood like a rock.  She was fantastic for all 4 feet.

Initial thoughts; Tilly is laminitic.  She is cresty necked, has fat pads, and thin soled and lots of rings on her hooves.  I am currently reading and learning how to care for a laminitic horse as I've never had one before, so want to make sure I'm doing right by her.  In the spring, she'll be in a grazing muzzle, or I'll create her a dry lot, OR she'll stay in my feeding pens, OR I'll set up my hot wire fencing and create her an area all of her own. 

Holly did say that, while I may have eventually gotten Tilly's feet set to rights, I may not have.  They were pretty bad.  She said that what she suspects is that, if Tilly wouldn't stand still for previous farriers, they wouldn't have done an in-depth job on her feet, thus allowing them to slowly degrade and get worse.  No one wants to be under a horse that won't stand still. 

She praised the work I did with Tilly for her feet, and said once again that I am a miracle worker with getting horses to give up their feet for trims.  Made me feel wonderful.  As I've said, I'm no trainer.  I don't really know what I'm doing, and I cannot finesse a horse, but I CAN install some very basic things on a horse.  And apparently, giving the feet is something I can do.  Go me.

Then it was Zurkh's turn.  Apparently, I should have worked with him some as well.  Holly said he wasn't BAD, just impatient about standing still.  He also said he had a negative palmar angle.  That is next for me to learn about.  Again, not something I could have corrected on my own, so, good that I brought them to her.  She said she also thinks he MAY have a slight touch of ringbone, but without X-rays we'll never know, and, even if he does, he's not carrying a heavy rider, so he should be just fine.

We stood around and chatted for a little bit, then it was time to load them up again.  Tilly took a little bit of time.  And, I wasn't thinking and had clipped her in the trailer, and then she had a freak out.  So, I was trapped in the trailer with a thrashing horse trying wildly to get out.  Once she stood still I unclipped her and she rocketed out backwards.  I was SURE she wouldn't get back in, and yet, brave mare did. 

Holly was like "You were so calm to just stand in there while she was in a panic.  Most people wouldn't have been so calm."

Honestly, the ONLY thought I had during that whole thing was "Please don't crush my toes Tilly."  She kind of pinched one of my toes, but nothing bad.  And I hadn't even thought of ducking behind the divider until after it was over and Holly mentioned it.  I was more focused on getting her unclipped to let her out.  Sometimes I'm not so smart.

I had asked Holly if she thought it would be okay to take Tilly across the road to McKinney Roughs on the Pope Bend side for a brief trail ride.  She she thought a walk only ride with a little bit of gait, as long as we were careful on the few rocks we encountered would be just fine, and probably good for her.

So, away we went.

Offload them again, put Zurkh in one of the permanent pens with a bucket of water and a big flake of hay, saddled Tilly up, and away we went.

Brand new set of ears!  Tilly girl!

When we first set off, she didn't really want to go.  She cried for Zurkh.  Was a little sticky until she realized I meant it.  Then away she went.  Down the trail we marched, her walk is HUGE and forward.  I haven't ridden such a big horse in....well...I can't remember how long.  Eyes on my Garmin, and already her walk sets her ahead of Strider.  *sigh*  Not fair.

Then we set into a gait.  And again, eyes on my Garmin.  Oh my gosh.  At a slow gait, we're down to 7 or 8 minutes a mile with minimal effort. 

I briefly ask for a canter, but she doesn't seem willing, and I'm not going to fight AND, knowing she's fresh trimmed (so everything must feel WEIRD to her), I don't ask more than twice, and just insist she gait a little longer.  Then back down to a walk. 

She was a champ about the Mule/Gator that came up behind us on trail.  Once we turned to face it, it was no big deal.  The horses and hiker who passed us going back to the trailers were a minor hiccup.  She wanted to turn around and follow them.  We got to a point on the trail where she did NOT want to go forward.  So she backed up.  And backed.  And backed.  Fine then, let's keep backing up.  I stopped, asked for forward, and got more back up.  Okay mare, gentle pop on the shoulder and it was a "Yes Ma'am" response as she moved forward.  And past whatever thing she didn't want to pass before.

Tilly ears on the Pecan Bottom trail.

After about 31 minutes, I turn us back around and start our way back to the trailer.  I had promised Joe I would only ride for an hour, and I was determined to stick to it.  I could tell she was sweaty, but not panting or super sweaty.  Nothing dangerous.  She was great for the whole ride.  Deer leaping through the brush and hopping across our path, no big deal.  In fact, I think she thought she WAS a deer and wanted to go bounding off after them.  The ONLY spook we had was when a leaf fell off a tree.  And her spook was a simple startle in place with a small drop.  I can handle that.

She could tell once we got close to the trailer.  She started to cry for Zurkh again.  And wanted to speed up.  And attempted to cut trail.  Naughty girl.  Can't do that!!!

Hey.  Aren't we done?  Why am I still dressed?!

We got back and I hopped off, really very pleased with her.  My hips hurt a little bit.  She's MUCH broader than everything else I ride.  But, I do believe she'll make a GREAT horse for Joe, and I think I'll enjoy riding her some myself.

No, seriously.  I'm DONE!  Get this off me. (Photobomb of the Red Draggin!)

Stripped tack, hosed her off and for the 3rd time of the day, popped her back into the trailer.  She was a little easier.  Not great, but better.  I didn't have to remove the divider, just slide it over again.

And Zurkh, just hopped right on in.  Sweet pony.

Overall, I was quite pleased with them.  And with my ride!!

4.08 miles in 1:07

Did I really have a weekend?....or "Horses consume a LOT of time, even if you're not WITH them!"

I knew moving to the country would mean early mornings and lots of things to get done.  Weekends are still fairly scattered and just as hectic as weekdays.

Saturday morning I was up early to take my 14 year old cat to the vet for a follow up appointment.  He's just getting older, but that doesn't mean I like it.  He's got some kidney issues, so he now gets B-12 shots every 6 weeks.  He's lost weight, and isn't all THAT into the special diet he's on.  But, this was just a follow up to see where he's at weight wise. 

So, I got that done then stopped at our local donut shop for breakfast.  We are nothing if not healthy.  HAH!! 

I then needed to go run my phone to get the screen fixed, which, once we found the place, was simple.  I dropped my phone and then called and had my old S5 activated so I wasn't without a phone for the few days it's going to take.

THEN a run to Fry's for Joe to look at long range digital antennas.  We're serious about seeing how long we can live without internet access.  So far, almost 2 months. 

THEN we ran to H's house to look at the carports.  Joe believes it will be a job that takes a full day, so we just let H's dogs out and visited with Dakini.

It was actually charming.  Kaylee gets out of the truck and screams out "DAKINI!!!!"  And, that sweet gray mare lifted her head and started walking towards us.  She left the herd to come and see Kaylee.  It was charming and lovely.  We all made sure to give her lots of love for a few moments, and then put the dogs back up and hit the road again.

Haircuts for Joe and myself.

We ran to pick up Josh, then home for a little while to work on projects and such.  I went ahead and fed the horses early, so Kaylee and I went out and did that together.  She's a good little helper.  Sometimes.  I mean, for a 3 year old, she's not bad.

Joe and Josh worked some on the back pasture, and after a while, we all went out to go grab dinner.  By that point, I was so exhausted, I was practically falling asleep over my dinner plate.  But then, once we left, I was awake again.  Not exactly sure what that was all about.  Potential sugar crash or something.  Who knows.

I just knew I needed to get to bed early so that I could get up early again on Sunday, hook up to the trailer and load Tilly and Zurkh to go get their feet trimmed!

Unexpected illnesses....or "How I got a day and a half at home"

So, on Tuesday evening, the minute Joe got home, I dropped Kaylee on him and I went outside to feed.  Figured that since Strider's feet were done, and Tilly's looked SO very bad, I'd snatch her and trim her.

Well, what a mixed bag that was.

She let me pick up her feet.  That's not a problem.  I can pick them out, again, not a problem.  But nipping?  Forget about it.  She'd stand for a bit, then start squirming and such.  Reared up a few times in a panic. 

I got frustrated.  Not AT her, but how she was acting.  I'm very careful when I'm around them to direct my energy at the ground, and never project it AT them.  Or, if I am projecting something at them, there is a specific reason I do so.  I know, how hippie dippie of me. 

Honestly, she was just flat dangerous to keep trimming.  I got one of her feet kinda-sorta done.  Didn't look great, but looked SIGNIFICANTLY better.  But I wasn't going to continue on like this with her.

So, I grabbed a spare lead rope and then ran the tail through the clip to make a loop, then put her foot through it.  And, voila!  A safe way to hold up a foot without me getting clobbered by accident!!

So, I would *kiss**kiss* at her, then tug the rope.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Oh, she lost her mind a few times.  Freaked out.  Tried to jerk her foot back from me.  Anything and everything she could think of to NOT give me control of her foot. 

Nope, sorry.  This is a skirmish (not a battle, not a war) I cannot afford to lose.  So, we kept at it.  Over and over.  My time holding it up slowly increasing.  She finally dropped her head.  Big sighs.  Licks and chews.  Good. 

Other foot.  Same thing.  Over and over and over.  I have time.  I don't need the sunlight to hold up a foot. 

We worked until after sunset, the big mare and I.  Front feet are easy. 

I knew Wednesday night we would need to do the back feet.

I contacted Holly, asked if I could haul Tilly and Zurkh to her on Sunday after her horsemanship lesson to get them both trimmed.  She said that was fine.  I told her what was going on and that I was working with Tilly.  She expressed, as did H, that she knew that I would be able to get Tilly straightened out, the same as I had Dakini.  Rather flattering considering she's a trainer herself. 

But, it has to be done.  For my own safety if I'm to trim my horses, right?

So, I had just started getting into my work groove on Wednesday morning when the inevitable happened.  We knew once we transitioned Kaylee to a daycare with other children instead of the one-on-one scenario she's had for 3 years, she'd get sick at SOME point.

Took 2.5 weeks, but, she got "sick".  And by sick, I mean she puked once at daycare and had a low grade fever.  "Sick".  *sigh*

Whatever, I left work and took the the slow ride home on the bus.  Yeah.  Got her picked up, home, where we pretty much spent the afternoon playing.  Watching Frozen.  Now, she DID take a very long nap, so she was feeling a little bit "off", but I stayed inside (despite the GORGEOUS weather outside) simply because...well....things happen.

Okay, okay...I also binge watched "Reign".  Fretted over the work I dropped on co-workers when I fled the office.  And got some things tidied up around the house.

Which meant that when Joe got home, I was a little tired of being inside.  So I bolted out the door and raced to go feed the horses, looking forward to another foot session with Tilly.

She was easily caught and put up so we could work.

I had mentally considered how I wanted to teach her about her feet and realized that just going *kiss**kiss* wasn't really useful.  So, I added a touch to the leg, THEN *kiss**kiss*, and I'd give her a moment to either shift weight, or pick up her foot.  SOMETHING to tell me she was putting it together, if not, I'd gently tug the rope.

Mare is smart.  She started putting it together quickly.  There are times she's so fast to pick her foot up, she thumps herself in the belly.  Impressive.

Now, time to start wiggle-waggling her feet.  So I did.  Banged on them with my hands.  Gently wriggled them around.  Made strange noises.  Banged on them some more.  Really, just acted and sounded silly while holding up her foot and wiggling it around.  Calm and relaxed.

I stood back and laughed at the whole thing.  I honestly think she was acting so 'scared' to see if she SHOULD be scared.  And I was so anxious about being hurt by her because I don't know her well enough yet that I was probably feeding into her "Yes, be scared" anxiety. 

Mares. 

Last night, she was a little harder to catch.  I think if she sees the halter, she knows.  So, I tucked the halter into the back of my jeans, and did a lot of approach, pet, retreat.  More lather, rinse, repeat.  Until finally I haltered her gently and led her back for another foot session.

Went MUCH faster this time.  And we even got around to her back legs, which was a token "fight" and minimal resistance.  I grabbed my rasp and banged it around some on her feet.  Rasped some.  I just wanted to do all sorts of weird things to her before Holly gets under her on Sunday.  Mare was just fine.  The back feet she is perhaps going to be a little squirelly about, but Holly has a cradle on her stand, and I don't. 

I had also grabbed my Michael Gascon halter and my long line in case I had time.

I had time.

So, I switched halters, and took her out to the open area.  Grabbed a tarp and then I went through all the steps.

I checked to make sure she was focused on me.  Check.

I checked to see if she'd back up from me.  Check.  It isn't pretty, but she does.

I had her walk in a CALM circle around me.  She's fine at a walk when going to the left, but to the right, it took her some time to calm down and settle to a walk.  I kept repeatedly mentally checking myself to see if I was conveying it to her.  I will say, tucking your thumbs in your pockets and letting your shoulders relax forward ever so slightly REALLY makes a HUGE difference to this mare.  She almost instantly relaxed herself and downshifted to a walk.  Very nice.  Check.

We worked on flexing.  This is something she is NOT good at.  Like, at all.  She's stiff, and her response to asking for a flex is to rapidly back up.  We spent quite a bit of time on this.  I finally got her to stand and give her face to me SOME on each side, and called that a minor success for the evening and made a mental note to continue to work on it some more.  She has SOME steering, but it's loose.  Check Minus.

I then swung the rope all over her.  Over her back.  Around the legs.  I'm actually great at pitching the rope around as I've done it extensively with each and every horse I've ever had.  Not even an ear flick.  Check.

Okay then mare, let's see what you're made of.  I grabbed the still folded up tarp and just willy-nilly shook it to unfold it, expecting an explosion at the end of my lead rope.  HAH!!  Nope!  Tilly just stood there like it was no big deal. 

I expected shivering when I touched her with it.  Nope.  Like a rock.  I rubbed her all over with it, then tied it up high around her neck.  Still nothing.

Okay then SURELY at a walk on the lunge she'll spaz?

NOPE!  The most reaction I got out of her was when it slid over her side, she stepped on it, it ripped and made a noise.  She kind of tucked tail and squirted forward, but didn't totally freak. 

It was just no big deal to her at all.

Check!

I had forgotten to swing the rope around her sides, so I remembered and did it late.  Again, no big deal.

I shrugged.  Laughed.  Said "Okay then mare, let's call it a night!"

Walked her over to the barn and got her undressed from her tarp and halter. 

It's interesting that I uncovered such a minor hole in her training.  Flexing.  Everything else, she's actually fairly decent at, but will need consistent work with. 

I don't think I'll love her as much as Dakini.  But she's quite impressive.  And already is showing me she knows how to properly yield the hindquarters (she crosses over when I point and cluck at her hip). 

So, on Sunday she and Zurkh will get loaded up and hauled to Holly's for a trim.  Post-trim, if she isn't tender, I'm going to run over to McKinney Roughs, saddle just her up, put Zurkh in one of the pens, and go for a ride for about an hour and see what I've got with her.  The plan is to ride her in just the MG rope halter. 

Joe and I go around and around on this.  He thinks she needs a bit.  If she NEEDS a bit, no one should be riding her.  As I mentioned to him, "You don't see me riding Strider or Socks in a bit, do you?"

"Well, they don't need it."

"Exactly."

Do I have a bit for Strider?  Yes, yes I do.  And I will use it to finesse a move.  But I know it isn't how I control him.  On this Michael Gascon and I agree.  If I cannot control a horse from the ground, I have ZERO business being on it's back trying to control it from up there. 

So, I'll continue to work on Tilly's steering tonight.  Her brakes work just fine.  And we'll see how Sunday goes!!

I need just one more hour a day....or "Work takes up too much of my horse time!"

Last night saw Kaylee and I back in our weeknight routine. 

Get home, change clothes, go out and feed the horses. 

Although, last night was a fun twist; Strider knew what was happening so he just walked into his pen on his own and waited.  Thanks dude for making my job easier!

I gave Kaylee Zurkh's halter and lead rope and told her to carry them for him.  So she managed to juggle her water cup, his halter and his lead rope.

Smug face.  She LOVES being outside.

"I'm going to get my Zurkh!"

Not at all surprising, he came over to us, so I quickly slid his halter on him, coiled up the lead rope and gave it to Kaylee and told her to take him over to his pen so he could eat his dinner.

Kaylee leading Zurkh over to his feeding pen.

We got him safely tucked away in his pen, and she promptly started dropping handfuls of hay in on him and Strider (she's helping!!  Gotta feed our ponies!).  She knows to give them from my good bale, not the "ewwww nasty" bales that the previous owner has left in the barn, and who knows WHAT all is in them (she's been told to stay away from them...I worry about snakes and mice, nevermind mold and mildew for the horses). 

I'm starting to get into a smoother routine for prepping their pans.

Strider gets one handful of grain, a 6oz scoop of hoof supplement and he's on Precision Joint Solution for 3 weeks (seeing if it helps with his leg issue).  And, tonight I'm going to start tossing in the Probiotic.  All of his gets watered down, which he slurps up.

Zurkh gets 2 to 2.5 handfuls of grain, 2 scoops of Cool Calories, and a liberal pour of CocoSoya.  And tonight I'm also going to start tossing some Probiotic in his as well.

Honestly, I need to also start adding some salt to everyone's feed, and start tossing Tilly and Socks a tiny handful of grain and salt to keep encouraging everyone to drink as the temps dip. 

Then, in a surprising twist, I realized I still had sunlight, I should get back to working on feet.  I need to fit the EasyBoot shells I have sitting in my house and return them soon so I can order Strider his own boots.  But, last night he was almost a week and a half post trim.  Time to work on maintaining what Holly had done.

I just planned to do his fronts.  Except, I had to keep taking breaks to watch Kaylee walk to the house and go inside.....then she'd come back outside...and want to go back inside...

So, she built in little work breaks for me as I dripped sweat everywhere (sexy, right?) and took a breather between feet.

And, I managed to get all 4 done!!  So they look like a pro did them?  HECK NO!!  But, I pushed the toes back, rasped and cleaned them up.  And, since they had a little stink, I put Durasole on all 4, which I should have been doing anyway to build up toughness.

So, I'm actually now a little ahead of my personal trimming calendar.  I got Socks' front feet done.  Tonight I'll do his back feet and we'll see how Zurkh does for front feet trimming.  And I'll pop those shells on Strider's feet and see what size(s) I need to get him some Gloves. 

I would go with the Scoot Boots, but I don't feel his heel is low enough yet.  I should take pictures and send them to my local Scoot Boot rep though and find out.  Because if so, I'll get him a set of his own Scoot Boots.

Another busy evening tonight. 

And at SOME point, I need to hop on Tilly and do some ground work with her as well. 

Somehow I'll get this all figured out!!

Monday morning musings....or "Same ol' same ol'..."

Ever follow a blog, and then it just abruptly stops?  I always wonder where those bloggers went.  What happened to them? 

Some I know transitioned to Facebook.  But more often than not, they just seem to disappear for no reason I can discern.  I always wish they'd come back just once more to say goodbye.  As I've mentioned, I go back to the start of every single blog I read and work my way through.  I don't care how many years of blogging you've done, I'm going start to current.  So, if I've invested ANY time at all into your blog, understand, I'm interested in you and your life.  Don't vanish on me, ok?

Why do mushrooms grow so well out of horse poop?  I have mushrooms growing willy nilly at the house.  They're fascinating, and they amuse me, but they sure do seem to love growing in shit.  And why do horse poop mushrooms look so different from the other types?  I'm sure there's a reason for all of these things, but, I'm not feeling inspired enough to go hit up Google and ask why.

Why do passwords have to expire?  No, seriously...why?  And why don't you get reminders about how the password should be structured?  Some websites will remind you that your password will have required both letters AND symbols.  But, more often than not, they don't remind you of that, so I'm there banging out my password (I have just a few variations on the same theme), over and over again, whirling through my combinations, to be locked out.  So I reset it, and when I'm resetting my password, it reminds me I need both letters and symbols, and when I go to do it...well, guess what?  That was my previous password, so sorry, you can't use that one!  So. Frustrating.  And incites a level of rage on a Monday morning that I probably shouldn't have. 

I don't like Gala apples.  Not sure why.  Maybe because the fruit is so soft?  But I love a Granny Smith apple.  The tart and the 'crunch'.  My favorite. 

So sorry I'm so tired.  I think that right now life is a little stale for me.  I'm not really riding.  I did trim up Socks' feet on Friday evening because he was cracking and chipping.  And I did learn something fascinating.  I am LESS concerned about screwing up his feet than I am about Strider's feet.  And I suspect there's a lot of factors at play there.

With Strider, if I take off too much heel or I don't push that toe back far enough, it stresses his tendons.  And he's already prone to tenderness with his tendons.  So I don't want my poor trim job to be the root cause of that. 

With Socks, well, everything about him is so "go with the flow" that it's ridiculous.  He stands still like a statue when I'm trimming his feet (Strider isn't BAD, but he will wiggle and squirm).  I did remember a few things Holly had gone over with me when doing Strider's feet.  Socks remains fairly well in balance, but he does flare to the outside some.  But, I was able to easily clean up his feet and get them rasped up, and they looked WORLDS better. 

But, here's the magic.  I know that, for the horse's health, their feet really DO need to be trimmed properly.  But, Socks has a higher tolerance for my mistakes, if that makes sense?  So, while I can butcher the job, as long as I haven't LAMED him, he'll be okay ultimately.  So I was able to just nip, nip, nip around, level things out, rasp and round the toes....and when I set his feet down, while I know that a professional would look at them and point out issues, I felt good. 

Tonight I need to rasp Strider's toes back again on all 4.  Check his feet.  And then fit on the shells for the Easy Boots I've got sitting in the house. 

I'm fairly certain that he will be sitting out Armadillo Run at the moment.  I will re-evaluate him this weekend and see where he's at though.  I keep hoping he'll bounce back so I can take him. 

Otherwise, I'll go and take Socks again.  Which I both look forward to...and dread.  Socks ADORES the rides.  LOVES them.  Just, my body doesn't.  But, we'll take it nice and slow.  I believe I'll be potentially sponsoring a junior through this ride (unless it's hot and humid, then her mother will drop and do the LD with her).  And...oh PLEASE let me get it done.  Because I am 5 miles away from my 250 LD patch.  I ONLY NEED 5 MILES!!!!

So, bring it on home Socks.  Or Strider.  PLEASE let it be Strider.  But, if not, then bring it on home Socks!!!!

Routines...or "Is this the new normal? Doesn't feel quite right..."

Since we've moved, Joe and I established a routine when it was just he and I at home on weeknights.

Now that Kaylee is back home with us all the time, that routine was shifted and altered.

Now that we have Zurkh, I am making sure Kaylee is more engaged with her pony.  I both need and WANT her to learn the daily ins and outs of taking care of her pony.  To understand that ownership is more than brushing and riding our horses.  That they need to eat.  To be cared for.  Work AND play, that's something horses seem to be excellent at teaching.

The pony is a saint, the child is a goof!

Fixed her helmet.  Zurkh just wanted to eat.

This is how she "smiles".  And grass is Zurkh's favorite thing.

However, while trying to get her engaged with the horses, I have had the slowly dawning realization that my own riding time is badly curtailed.  It's making me 'itch' internally.  I need and want to do groundwork with all 4 of them.  I looked at Socks' feet last night and saw they very badly need to be trimmed.  I am sure I need to work some on Strider's.  Tilly's needed done before she stepped on the trailer.  And Zurkh is a little more upright than I like to see.

So, let's add trimming to my list of things that I need to be doing.

And we haven't yet added the cow or chickens to our property yet.

I relish the time outside in the evenings.  This morning I realized that once I get off the bus and go to get Kaylee, I don't watch anything.  It's all about being outside with her.  That's a blessing.

Kaylee and Chantilly at ease

My daughter is so silly!  Caught her mid-blink and smiling.

"Come here Tilly!" She says. 

Except that the time change will be coming too soon.  A month from today.  So, my personal riding time will have to happen on weekends. 

And somehow I will have to start squeezing in ground work on week nights.  Joe and I discussed getting power so I can have a light on a pole we have in the front yard.  It's near where I desire to put a round pen (ground is fairly level there), so that would work well for me.  Granted, I could set up a round pen right now and just buy some lights I can run off a cord to the house as a temporary fix, but I need to do something, because I'm fixing to lose a LOT of time with the darkness falling before I even get home.  I can't afford to lose that time.  And I don't want Kaylee to lose that time to practice her riding either. 

Let me circle back though.  Because I badly want my daughter to be interested in horses, my own interests and time is being sacrificed for her.  I do not begrudge it of her.  I am investing in her now in the hopes it pays off in the long run.  But it is hard for me to give up my horse time.  So I am struggling some. 

Except this, this right here...a book in one hand, the other on the horse...what a blessing.

Sacrifices are worth it for moments like this.

At this point, if he wasn't hurt, Strider should be ready for a 50.  Knowing he already has the foundation, I have about 6 weeks to leg him back up for the 50. 

I am currently kicking around going to Armadillo Run.  I am undecided what distance to do.  It is a flat ride, and if the weather is nice, I may attempt a very slow 50.  If it's too hot and humid, we'll drop to a 30.

Closest they've been together since Zurkh arrived. Here's hoping for more peaceful evenings!

It may be that 50's are off the plate for the next 2 years except for our Decade Team attempts.  But I love them so.  And, once a horse is legged up for them, it's just a matter of keeping them there.  We'll see how life balances out. 

No matter what happens though, I will try and remember that I am raising the next generation of riders.  She is a part of that.  And I don't want to screw that up.

Another shake up at HGR...or "How we acquired and are keeping a Heart"

So many changes at Heavenly Gaits Ranch. 

Let's see, last Sunday we added Chantilly (Tilly). 

And then THIS Sunday we added Zurkh.

In a round about way, if you do endurance, you may have heard of the Limitless crew.

But, if you're NOT into endurance, or you have NO IDEA what Limitless is, you can check out their Facebook page here:
Limitless Treks (Facebook)

OR you can go to their webpage here: Limitless Treks (web page)

Anyway, having done that, if you look under the "Team" and "Horses" option, you'll see Zurkh.

(From the Limitless page)
Zurkh is a 13.2hh Arabian Pony cross who was spotted at a feed lot by Heather Russel in March of 2017. Underweight, suffering from a gelding infection, and not halter broken, he had a lot of strike against him. Luckily, Heather recognized him as a diamond in the rough and contacted Devan. Together, they sprung him from the feed lot, gave him the health care he needed, and began an intensive training and TLC program. Today, Zurkh (Mongolian for “Heart”) is an overly-friendly, healthy, keen partner, who will be Devan’s companion for the Colorado Trail.

Now, how did -we- end up with Zurkh?

Pure chance.

I'm friends with Devan on Facebook, and we know each other from endurance.  Granted, she's always a front of the pack rider because she's that skilled and has more of a competitive drive than I do.  But, I have nothing but respect for her, and her adventures are completely worth following.  I'd go into them, but, well, suffice to say, when I grow up, I want to be half as bold as she is. 

SO, I posted on Facebook that Joe and I were CASUALLY looking for a pony for Kaylee.  Our budget was tiny.  Just wanted something safe.  Was considering that we'd be bringing home a pony for Christmas.

And then Devan sent me a message; "Zurkh has always wanted a little girl of his own."

Internally I started to laugh.  No WAY could we afford this adorable, plucky little pony who had just finished the 500 mile Colorado Trail.  I told her "Oh man, don't I wish!  But, I'm sure we can't afford him."

Turns out, we could. 

Devan wanted him to have a job, and to stay with someone she knew so he'd be well cared for.  And, when Kaylee outgrows him, or we no longer need him, we return him to Devan.

And, she mentioned he has some natural ability to do endurance.  Meaning that if Kaylee shows the desire, she can come do it, so Devan will be seeing him at rides, in about 2 years (my projected goal for Kaylee). 

I was floored.  Incredibly floored.  The number of people who love that little pony...well, those of us who are in the know...we all think he's adorable.

I will certainly say that, as of right now, he has endeared himself to me, simply by being so sweet and docile.

I picked him up early Sunday morning after the clinic so I could drop off Dakini and pick up Strider from H's, and then get the horses home so Kaylee could see him.

Poor little guy gets unloaded at a strange place after his first time in a straight load trailer (I couldn't get him to back off, so we'll work on that in the future) with not just ONE strange horses beside him but TWO strange horses.  He gets led off, saddled up and gives pony rides.  Without a single complaint.

Kaylee and her Zurkh

Poor guy is like "What is going ON?!"

When she gets older, we'll work on that "holding the horn" thing.  And, appropriate attire.  She just wanted to ride him SO BAD!!!

He's now been with us a whole 3 days.  And he is unfailingly sweet.  He doesn't run away when you approach him in the field.  I can lead him to the barn simply by draping my arm around his neck.  He is a little confused by Kaylee, but stands there while she pets his nose, gives him hugs and tells him he's a "good boy".

However, he's SO docile that all the horses abuse him.  Strider, which I expected.  But, on the first night I was feeding, he was done with his grain, so I opened the gate to his pen so he could leave when he wanted, but he wanted to munch some of the hay I had tossed a week ago that the horses hadn't finished.  Tilly crept in, and I was like "Well, MAYBE she'll play nice?"

No.  Not at all.  She crept up on him, very carefully, and finally lunged, bit him on the side, whirled and blasted him as he scrambled out of the pen.  Damn mare drew a little bit of blood.  And the poor little man has war wounds from his time in the pens I'm sure.  Scars, that is. 

And on Monday night, after feeding, I had let everyone out, and was doing my final checks on the herd.  Well, he was off, grazing by himself (he's always by himself because my horses are JACKASSES), about 50 yards away from the rest of the herd.  I had patted him, loved on him some, then went to go touch the other 3.  As I was patting Strider, who was grazing, Strider's head came up and he CHARGED at Zurkh, ears flat against his head and bit him on the butt.

NO idea what triggered it, but I was so mad at Strider.  I can't make them accept him, but it makes me a little more amenable to the idea of a donkey.  Zurkh doesn't appear to be lonely.  He seems quite content to be lonely, but it makes it an interesting conundrum about what I'm going to do and who to use as a pony horse when Kaylee is ready to go ride.  Probably Socks.  Because Socks is okay with everyone.

On Monday night, I had Zurkh penned up to eat, and needed to go find Strider.  I had Kaylee in the barn as we had been watching him eat.  I'm a little hesitant to leave her alone by herself as the barn has some things she could get hurt on.  But, I want her to be independent too.  So I asked her if she wanted to come with me to find the horses, or stay in the barn with Zurkh.

"I want to stay with my Zurkh."

I checked with her, but she was insistent.  She wanted to stay with Zurkh.

So, after getting Strider, and because Pancho kept stealing Zurkh's food (I did mention he lets ANYONE push him around, right?), Kaylee and I went into Zurkh's pen.  She wanted to hold his feeding pan.  Except, she finally told me it was too heavy, so we put it on the ground for him.  So she just patted him and told him he was a "Good boy!" and gave him kisses on his side.  Told the dogs to leave him alone.

And then she helped me again last night to catch and feed him.  She wasn't happy getting rained on, until I told her it was just water, like her bath.  Then it made it tolerable.  But, after getting his food to him, she was ready to go inside since Daddy got home.  I told her that was okay (she's only 3 for goodness sake...I'll teach her eventually she'll need to come back out to let him out when he's done eating).

Strider is a jerk in his own feeding pen.  Right now just Zurkh and Strider get grain.  Zurkh is getting 2 handfuls of grain, CocoSoya and a scoop of Cool Calories (he's lean, but, I want to give him a little bit of weight before winter comes) and Strider is on a hoof supplement and Precision Joint Solution right now.  I'm trying out the PJS, and think I may put him and Socks on it.  But, Strider will charge the fence, ears pinned and Zurkh scoots away from his food.  Last night I flipped their pens and Strider didn't charge him.  I also put Zurkh's pan in the far corner and Strider's well away from him.  Eventually I'll get the feeding situation worked out.

It also has me wondering what to do if I ever need to pen up all 4 horses at once, how do I arrange them?

Can't put Zurkh with Tilly.
Can't put Zurkh with Strider.

Not sure how Strider will be with Tilly.

So, one of these days I need to try Socks and Zurkh together and see how they do. 

Now, if it would just stop raining so Kaylee could ride her pony again, that would be great!!!

Michael Gascon Clinic....or "Hot blooded or cold blooded horse, he's talented"

I'm physically at work, but mentally, I'm at home, dreaming of doing ground work with my horses.

I just spent the most amazing weekend at a clinic with Michael Gascon.

I know, I know, NO ONE knows his name....yet.  But I will almost guarantee you, even if you're NOT "into" horses, you've seen him.

The dude in the dinosaur suit riding a horse.

Maybe still not ringing any bells?

Yes, THAT guy. 

Look, I've been to a few clinics.  I've audited a Buck Brannaman clinic.  Seen Chris Cox once.  Attended 2 Clinton Anderson clinics.  And, of course, watched countless videos online of clinicians for ideas.

And right now, Michael Gascon is, hands down, my favorite clinician.

He is ALL about doing what works for THE HORSE.  If X doesn't work, then let's try Y.  Y isn't getting through, that's okay, let's try Z.  Still not working?  Okay, let's try A.

Let me back up.

I had PLANNED to take Strider.  However, a few days prior, while I was lunging him in the front yard, he took a MASSIVE stumble and hit his front knees, and literally slid over the ground (much like a runner into home plate).  He finally managed to scramble to his feet while I screamed and hollared and lost my mind. When he was upright, he wasn't weight bearing on his left hind.  I started crying.  I managed to convince him to follow me (slowly) to the barn where I cold hosed him. 

I went into the house, messaged my Bishes, and B suggested giving him just a little bute for the night.  Which I did.  Next day he seemed just fine.  Was putting weight on that foot.  When Tilly got dropped off, he was running around like a fool, and appeared just fine.

So, I set up an appointment with Holly to trim his feet prior to the clinic and the endurance ride.  I wanted her to check my work and correct any mistakes I was making.

I unloaded him, and, like always, she asks me to walk him out and back.  I told her what had happened, so she said she'd pay a little extra attention.  And, the second I pivoted him to the left, she said "Oh yeah, he's off." 

I was shocked.  He seemed fine to me.  But, it's because when you're leading, you can't exactly focus on what the rear is doing, even at a pivot.  But the second she lead him off and turned him and he had to pivot on the LH, I saw it too.  My heart dropped. 

Remember in the past where I said I bury my head in the sand, and will ask the question, HOPING that I haven't hurt my horse?  Yeah, I asked Holly, knowing and being okay with her saying no, but I wanted to know about the clinic.  She said MAYBE to the clinic, but not knowing what we were doing, it was a gamble.  I pulled the plug on him going to the clinic, and decided then and there to pull the plug on Quitaque Climb as well.  Figured I would re-evaluate him to attend Be Nice or Leave the first weekend of November (it has since been cancelled), but would skip that ride too so that I could take him for our 3rd year towards our Decade Team attempt.

So, knowing he was lame on the LH, I contacted H and asked if I could drop Strider at her house and borrow Dakini.  Sure, not a problem.  Joe suggested I take Tilly, but...I didn't want to drive ALL the way home.  Plus, in a slightly selfish move, I wanted Michael to see Dakini and to know what he thought of her.  AND, bonus, anything to make her a better horse for H, then it's a win.

So, drove to H's, dropped Strider, grabbed Dakini and made my way to Houston.

Stopped at a small nursery to buy a Mexican Sycamore for H to plant for Maggie's grave (her horse she put down), and then swung into South Texas Tack while I waited for L after she picked her horses up from the farm to follow her to her house. 

Got the horses settled in Thursday night, and after B arrived, L, her and I went on a brief, twilight ride around the neighborhood.  It was nice.

But, early to bed to get up early to get to the clinic on time!!!

On day 1, each horse and rider duo came into the arena, gave a brief story on the horse, and our equine goal for the animal.

Michael would then take over, and go through the basic steps of what he does with a horse.  He was calm and patient and explained each step in the process, would stop and answer any question anyone had (owner, auditor...didn't matter, he would answer). 

We watched him work horses in a small circle at a WALK around him.  We watched him tie tarps to horses.  Bounce horse-sized soccer balls on them.  Sometimes he would ride a horse in a tarp, sometimes not.  He had EVERY horse touch the ball and push it around while mounted. 

Michael is slightly different from MOST clinicians out there in that he specializes in working with "hot" blooded horses (such as Arabians, gaited horses, etc [he actually raises and trains Paso Finos...we're talking National Level winning Paso Finos]), but he can, does and DID work with "cold" blooded horses (QHs, Paints, your basic stock horse).  As such, the method is slightly different than the other big name clinicians, but the results speak for themselves.

One of the MANY amazing things he said; "You do NOT need a bit to get a horse to gait."

THANK YOU HALLELUJAH AMEN!!!!

But, as an example of the results he gets, we had a gentleman bring in an unbroken 2 year old QH gelding.  This video shows just snippets, but LITERALLY in less than 45 minutes (and that's the long side), Michael was riding him softly.

Michael Gascon rides an unbroken quarter horse.

I was there.  I watched it start to finish.  Yes, this really happened.

I mean, here's Dakini pushing a ball on day 1, and me speaking to Michael about how I worry about people judging the change in my seat.

Dakini with the ball

Day 2, Michael had every horse and rider pair come in to the arena, and the rider did all of the foundation work that Michael had taught on day 1 while he offered guidance if you hit a wall, or weren't quite doing it right.

Now, when B and I arrived at the clinic on day 2, as we go to unload the horses, Dakini had her front left foot hung up in the hay feeder (not net) in B's trailer.  Not sure how long she was like that.  Then she stood tied all day long at the hitching post.  Suffice to say, she was SORE, but we didn't really see it until she was asked to gait off.  So, I hopped off and said no more riding for her that day.

I had the worst luck with horses this week.  *sigh*

But, I walked in to the clinic with an open mind, wondering if I'd learn anything new, and I walked away an enthusiastic Michael Gascon fan. 

I'm currently working to see if I can put together a clinic here in the Austin area.  He's still a reasonably priced clinician to get, and, if I can coordinate arena availability AND his availability, I think I can fill a clinic quickly.

Suffice to say, I'm now eager to get to work on all of mine.

And, yes, I now have some swag.  I own a Michael Gascon hat.  Yes, I believe in him THAT much.