You know it was a good day when the most stressful thing was trying to fix my Facebook avatar to look less like a hatchet. I think she’s a little better.
Most of the day was spent cleaning and organizing things. There was much heavy lifting, according to my back. I had help from my son some of the time. I’m teaching him ranch stuff.
Are you sure he wants to learn?
He washed a bunch of really grungy horse brushes, which I appreciated, and helped groom Apache. He lucked out and missed grooming Drew. He was encrusted with mud. I also hit a scab, which caused blood to spurt like crazy. Luckily I’d spotted bandages in the new trailer. He’s all fixed up.
My kid got a ground lesson on horse riding while I worked with Apache. I did darned well, if I say so, myself.
Then Sara came by and we looked at all the new stuff. She also says she thinks Peeper is a rooster. Damn. I didn’t see spurs…but that means I get more hens soon!
The only other news is this guy.
I found two of these poor young channel catfish in the middle of the pasture. They must have washed out of the pond at Sara’s. Poor guy or gal!
Let’s hope next week is better for all the residents here, fish, fowl, or fauna!
It’s a glorious day today, with bright sun that cuts through the cool air and makes it a real joy to be outdoors just messing around. All the remaining ice is melting. That’s fun for all.
The chicken coop’s north side had been a sheet of ice. I’m glad I got to see some of the ice sculptures and the chickens are glad the ice melted so they can eat the scratch that got buried under it. Also, Peeper is cute, so here are more photos of her.
ShinyWe’re all thawed out!Ready to layMy BABY
The horses are glad for the sunshine. They feel warm to the touch now. They are also glad their water troughs are thawing.
That’s a big ice cube.
It was sweet when they went to drink out of the trough. Apache figured out that if he nosed the ice, water would come up and he could drink. That was fun, apparently.
Just missed his big ole tongue here
Poor Fiona bopped her end of the trough, but it was thicker and she’s just a wee donkey. She was sad.
Boop, boop, damn.
Apache had her covered, though. He hit the ice extra hard and nudged some water over to Fiona. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it! Those two are such good friends.
He’s nudging here.
Drew wanted to come play with me, so we did some walking exercises (too damp to go fast) and then he got to graze while I went through the stuff in the new trailer. He got a bit annoyed as I kept trying things in him, but was ok until I put a soft, thick rope halter on. He removed it!
Yes this pad is short enough. Now take it off.
Sadly, much of the tack we got was for giant horses. In the photo above, Drew is wearing a cute green rope halter that had well over a foot of extra rope, which I’ll hate to cut off, because it has a decorative end.
I even now have raincoats for saddles. And a LOT of green saddle pads and blankets. Someone must like green as much as me!
I’ll spare you endless photos of bridles, since only three or four of my friends would care and two live within walking distance. I plan to clean a bunch of stuff up this weekend and see if it can work. I sure hope this halter works. It’s so pretty.
I’m tired but happy after a weekend where the only job I had was to drive to a place full of horses. And this morning’s drive had so many hawks and herons to enjoy that the hour flew by.
Waiting for their turn
Today we were back at the Highlander Ranch in Waco for a Working Equitation dressage clinic with Doreen, who is a great clinician. Watching people work on refining their riding skills was really helpful for me. The stuff I’m learning in my lessons was reinforced very well. I guess it makes sense, because Doreen and Tarrin used to do clinics together.
Sara got to touch him. Ooh. What form.
I’m glad I got there in time to see more advanced people in their sessions. That shiny horse from yesterday did leg yields and side passes at a canter like a dream. but he had things to work on, too. It was nice to see Doreen as patient with absolute beginners as with the experienced riders.
Sara learning.
I learned all about dressage patterns, which are exercises designed to showcase a horse and rider’s skill and finesse at whatever level they are at. They look for precise turns, straight lines, perfect stops, and smooth transitions.
Practicing half halts.
Each rider and horse had different challenges, so it was fun to see how they worked in them. Everyone improved! It was especially cool that there was only one experienced dressage person in Sara’s group, so they were all thrilled at their progress. They’re all planning to come back!
Watching and learning.
The most interesting skills they worked on were transitioning between walk and trot and doing “half halts” to signal that something is coming up and keep the horse’s attention. They did an exercise showing how it helped stops be better. Here’s Sara doing it.
I was the only person dedicated enough to just watch this stuff, but my own horses aren’t ready for it, so I may as well learn and support my friend. By the way, Sara got a nice prize for being one of the most improved students. That had to feel GOOD!
A good Boy
I was very impressed with Aragorn. He was solid as a rock. He was great when they practiced the obstacles all by themselves and just super in the clinic. He paid attention and did everything he was asked. Now Sara knows he was worth his cost, and she sees the wisdom of waiting until they were good partners before doing stuff like this. Yes!
Now I can look forward to working with my guys as much as possible this week, even if it’s cold. I want to keep doing better!
Not much time to write, because I was busy working and having fun. I got to check out Anita’s house renovation in progress, and I was surprised to see how pink the bricks are that haven’t been exposed to the elements since the 50s.
Same brick! The ones on the ground were removed to add the window, which is original to the house, but was removed to add a patio door.
Her house is going so great, and I’m proud of the work so far. Heck, the whole town is looking better. Some ugly stucco was taken off a building in downtown and this was revealed.
Old ads.
After I finished teaching, Lee and I went over to a lesson for Apache (because I’m busy this weekend). He seemed in a bad mood, but quickly perked up once we got there. It WAS a bit late.
We had another great lesson in which we both learned a lot. He’s still confused at cantering but was willing to do it for Tarrin. I ran around a lot, but he wouldn’t.
I’ve decided I really like the Western saddle on him. I can feel what I’m doing with my feet better. He started to try to be squirrelly with Tarrin, but she worked with him to get used to being under her lights.
Then I got to try some tight turns and circles, using more “refined aids.” That means not yanking the reins. I figured it out, and was just barely tugging the reins and moving my legs to get him to follow instructions.
I felt so good after improving! I could trot and look correct, even. I think I may become an okay rider after all. I just needed Apache to learn what to expect, then learn to do it. We both are getting a clue.
I even was able to handle him outside the training arena in the dark. Some parts he just did well on, and other parts I coped with. So proud!
Drew and I have a competition number!
I smiled all the way home. I’m so grateful for my great teacher and the chance to keep learning. Heck, Drew and I may even compete later in the year! And Tarrin said trail rides may be sooner than I think. I miss them!
Whew, I have trained a lot of people and been in a lot of meetings and written a lot of job aids. I feel like Super Traininggirl. I am so glad I have a job I like and feel good at.
After work, I got in my usual two hours of chores/exercise, but the good news is that I have a little help now for some of the harder things, like lifting bales of hay. The horses had finished yet another round bale of hay, and it occurred to me that I could enlist my resident offspring to help me get some square bales, and I wouldn’t have to ask anyone else for help.
Have I mentioned that my kid always poses for photos? He looks good in those work gloves.
We had a good time fetching hay, and I taught him all the hay manipulation tricks and how to handle baling wire. I also gave him a pair of gloves as a welcome to ranch-handing.
What’s up, burro butt?
The horses had all been hanging around the pens hoping for dinner, but when they figured out what we were doing, a parade of hungry equines arrived. We really enjoyed watching them chow down.
This buffet only has one option but we LOVE it.
Of course, T ran around trying to chase everyone away. We just had to laugh.
Get our of here, Fiona.
I’m sure glad to have my new community members.
And hey, we finally found a simple, inexpensive trailer to get for the horses, one that maybe I can hook up and tow myself, so I don’t have to rely on others to drive me around. It’s aluminum and not at all fancy, but it does everything I need: tows horses and their stuff, without the need for a giant pickup truck.
We tried to get a used one, but it was snapped up before we even got a chance to call. So we are looking for new ones.
I’m becoming a grownup. One with a family, a life, and fun. I guess it’s about time.
Gosh, folks, I’m too tired to write. It was a busy and fun day, though, and since I’m trying to write every day in January, I need to say something.
I love to try things.
I had a fun lesson with Drew today, after he violently rejected a blanket and pooped all over it. I learned lots of new skills to practice, and we both had a blast.
This is complicated but I can do it.
I now know what we can do “in hand” in the Working Horse Central competitions. We did a bunch of things that were fun to try to work on perfecting.
Showing me how to do the “gate.”
I am pleased to get to progress. I came back off cloud 9 when I got home and spent an hour cleaning poop out of the trailer so we can use it to move my son. Mmm. Fun. Then I re-set the playground and made it look good.
I’ll mess that up
I rode Apache again today and dealt with him pretty well. We were able to do quite a few of the playground activities, but he knocked over my little jumps. He was not into stepping over the PVC pipe I set out.
Look. I had a baby.
Next I walked over to see my kids setting up their household and saw a cow who’d just given birth. Aww.
There’s an exclamation point above Aragorn.
I then wandered over to Sara’s to watch her filming herself and Aragorn. Wow. He has really progressed, as has she. Cantering is happening. Balanced, good cantering. I was as happy for her today as she was for me yesterday! Quite a good couple of days, horse wise.
Another lovely cabin sunset.
The things that needed doing at the cabin got done today, so we’re ready for tomorrow. I’ve doubled my usual exercise but I feel good.
Blog readers know that I’ve been struggling with my goofy and issue-filled Paint horse. He gets better, he gets worse, I do better, I do worse. He goes lame, he feels better, he gets adhesions, Trixie works on him…
…and by gosh, he gets better. Last weekend was a big step. I’ve been doing what I can with him with it so cold. Today, though, it was so chilly Sara and I decided not to go to our lessons.
Still we wanted to do something, so she came over with Aragorn to work on things. I got all our horses put away, and even managed to move Drew and Apache at the same time.
But the best happened after I mounted. Who is this horse? We walked, we trotted, he tried to misbehave, I corrected him. He settled down and started doing everything I asked him to like a normal horse. It was so nice.
So we went out of the round pen and lo and behold, he acted like a normal horse. Round and round behind or in front, walk or trot! Comfortable trot!
Ta-da – this may look boring but that’s what we want!
I asked Sara if she could lead us to the barrels! In the direction where he used to get squirrelly. Aragorn didn’t want to, so WE led! Straight to the barrel and around. We went all over my messed up playground, including over the little jump.
When I figured we’d had enough success, we stopped and grinned and got emotional at each other (the humans). This was such a great point on our journey. Sara knows how hard I’ve been trying, so she was happy with me. It was great to have a friend and witness to our progress.
Aragorn says he’d have been a leader if Suna’s pieces of metal by the gate hadn’t unnerved him.
Like she said, the horse is feeling much better thanks to Trixie, he’s understanding what we are asking thanks to Tarrin, and I’m doing so much better with the support and wisdom of Tarrin. It takes a village. I’m so thankful for this. It’s really helped me through the other challenges.
Now on to new skills, or a setback. I’m ready for whatever. I’m in horse heaven with both my guys. It sure makes up for working so hard.
It was a horsey day yesterday, which is good, because we are now quarantined other than outdoor stuff. I’m so glad the horse work is outdoors!
And donkey work. Don’t forget me!
Right. As I was saying the horse day started early. I’d asked Lee to put the bale of hay that was on the tractor out, since the horses need it and he’s the only healthy person who can drive the tractor. Well, he went in through Drew’s paddock but didn’t realize Drew was there (because no one knows my horse schedule but me).
Mmm. Forbidden grass.
Drew made his escape, but didn’t go far, since he found green grass. All I had to do is put his pretty new halter on him and lead him back. He was curious about the “this is an equine facility and you might get hurt” sign. But then he said bye and headed to the hay, where T chased him around.
I think they’re talking about T
Back to work I went until late afternoon when Trixie was due to work on Apache and his body issues. I spent quite a while grooming the filthy Apache, which took longer due to Fiona also wanting grooming.
She also had lots of those giant burs on her front legs and was trying to get them out with her teeth. I found the hoof pick was a great tool for getting those out. She now has nice, smooth, hairy legs.
Focus on me now!
Apache did great with his body work. He seemed really happy with his head and neck treatment, and made such cute faces!
Look! My neck works!
He was less thrilled with the work on his adhesions near his hips, but wow, it made a difference. I’m hoping this will make our training easier on him and help him develop good posture. Enjoy some fun faces now!
These are my happy faces!
This morning I went out to let Drew back into the big pasture. It’s cool but sunny out, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to find him napping in the sun. But of course, I thought he was dead.
I’m breathing, Suna.
Of course, he’s fine and in a playful mood.
Howdy, Mama!
He happily walked with me to the gate, but not without stopping to play with Vlassic. He wanted the squeaky toy, but not enough to fight the dog over it! That just made my morning.
Let’s play!
It’s good to have these sweet animal friends to bond with while you’re confined. And writing about them gives you something to do in an endless line to get a COVID test.
My little gray friend.
Try to stay safe, friends. It’s hard, but we can get through this!
It was beautiful this morning, with spectacular fog over the creek.
Foggy morning.
The fog had cleared by the time I got out to feed the chickens. Of course, I checked the horses. Wait, one was missing. Drew was not in his pen. The gate was open! Someone busted him out. My guess is that their name both started and ended with T.
It was so bright outside I couldn’t see which horse was which.
Yep. Drew was out and interacting. I watched the horses interacting, and it was quite interesting. T chased Drew all over the place, pinning her ears back in classic mare mode. My guess is she is responsible for this.
It’s like he got shaved.
The buckskin buddies ignore Drew, as does Mabel. They tend to cluster away from him, like the cool clique in high school, while T is the bully.
Hey, friend. We will stick together.
Now, Apache and Fiona have been taking good care of Drew. This morning I enjoyed watching Fiona and Drew really playing. She created up and flailed her legs, but I quickly realized they were having fun. A minute later this was them.
Morning friends.
In the afternoon, I came out to check on them, I found Drew alone and forlorn and everyone else together. I went out to him and he came up for love, poor guy. But then, up came Apache and Fiona.
I’ll be your friend.
Each of them said hello nicely. Apache and Drew exchanged friendly nose touches and neck nips. Then came Fiona. There was a whole lot of mutual head flinging.
Love love love ❤️
Then my heart melted. Drew proceeded to groom Fiona from head to tail, gently nibbling her, inch by inch, as Fiona patiently waited.
You have some burs in here.
It was so dang sweet. Indulge my large collection of pictures.
Nom nom nom
Eventually the love fest ended, because Drew is still a kid. Vlassic distracted him and those two started playing! I got two pictures, though Vlassic is invisible in one. I’m glad Drew is used to dogs.
After work, I was able to work with both Apache and Drew, and all was well. These guys truly make my life better. No foreboding joy here, just happiness. I’ll keep focusing on what is good in my life, not endless contagious diseases and such.
Some of you may remember that I had a pretty dismal experience with my little horse, Drew, last week, and I’ve been feeling like a crappy horse person with my paint, Apache, as well. I mean, I used to be able to ride him on long trail rides and take him places. Now I am confined to the round pen.
No round pen here, my pretty horsie backing up in the afternoon sun.
But, it’s not so bad. Yesterday I talked about doing much better with Apache. Today was another lesson on Drew, so Sara and I drove out to the trainer’s place…only to find we were an hour early. Oops. As hard as we all try, we keep getting our times and days confused. None of us is to blame, because each of us has been confused in different ways. You just have to laugh, which is what we all did.
The horse part went really well, though. Aragorn has made huge progress, and it was interesting to watch him today. I am getting better at understanding when he’s doing well and when he’s messing up on his complicated work. It sure was fun seeing him try to deal with a new and more complex pattern that was intended to keep him from anticipating what he was going to do next. Plus, it’s enlightening to realize that some of his issues are much like what I deal with on my horses, just at a higher speed. I was so fascinated that I didn’t take pictures, but my brain learned a lot, which is important.
Nope, not Aragorn. It’s Drew going sideways down a pole.
Next, we went and got Drew. I got to groom him and do his feet. Three out of four feet went well; one was a challenge, but I got there. We then marched right out and did the longe work that I was so bad at last time. Thankfully, I was not in such a difficult mental place today, so I did just fine!
Drew looking out of control in his canter, but he’s okay.
I really think I was so upset from the various things that were going on that I couldn’t focus. Today, I had focus, and got that little guy going around in his circles going both ways just fine. And if there was an issue, I just coped. Hooray for me. After that, I backed him up and down his little “hill.”
He backed up for me! Cinder the dog is proud.
We moved on to jumping! Yes, I got him running in circles over jumps. Sara was so fascinated that she didn’t take pictures. One direction went better than the other, but I eventually got him jumping over the right thing. Wow, that little guy can jump (over the wrong things). I never got scared, which was key, I think. I had a much better attitude, which of course passed on to Drew.
Backing up.
Finally, we did some walking with his shoulders in and haunches in, and I did fine with that…then the trainer got on Drew and showed us what he has learned under saddle. He is cantering amazingly well, which impressed both me and Sara. He’s young, though, and isn’t having to unlearn old patterns like Aragorn is. But wait, there’s more!
That lump is me, on Drew!
I got on Drew and rode him solo. Well, mostly we stood still a lot. He was not interested in having a different person on him telling him what to do. I persevered, though, and things got better. I’ll try again next time I go see him, which is on Monday, when I bring him home! I look forward to that. We have a lot of “homework” to do for the next few months as he grows and matures, including all these things we have practiced today.
At least my posture is good. This is a still from a video Sara took of me flailing away trying to get him to move.
I look forward to hanging out with my little bundle of muscle and working on our partnership. And I now feel like I can learn and improve…which is really all I want.
I’ll dream of the day when Drew and I can do this.
By the way, I know a lot of us are dealing with illness these days. You’re in my thoughts. It seems like COVID and the flu (and bad allergies) are everywhere right now. I know it’s hard. I know I’m tired of feeling trapped at home (even with a pool!). I canceled my next trip, too. Flights seem scary right now.
The Hermits' Rest 