Griffin's big day

Every morning that I have arranged to have my mom come and watch Wren, as I'm getting Wren to nap, I am usually daydreaming about what I'm going to do with my horses, which horse I'll bring out....today I daydreamed about working with Griffin and potentially getting Cody out and teaching him to pony in the round pen.  Well, often my daydreams are not what I end up doing, either because something with the horses dictates differently, or I just come up with other ideas as I go.  What I ended up doing was getting Griffin up in the round pen.  On the way there, he was a little leary about things in the yard, but he just looked at them and continued on with me.  I let him sniff around and become familiar with this new place before I did anything with him.

He was pretty calm about the whole thing, slowly exploring.  Then I got my stick out and "round penned" him loose, asking him to stay a constant direction until asked and when asked turn to the inside to change direction.  He was a little snorty at first with me asking him to move, but he was hooked onto me immediately.  I made him keep it up until he wasn't snorty anymore, then I asked him to face up and keep facing me as I walked back and forth in front of him.  He was really good, remembering pretty much everything we'd done with our "mini-roundpenning" in the tiny mustang pen.  We didn't spend much time in the round pen because it is so boggy (I'm deciding I don't like the sand - we may need to find something to add to it to firm it up).  Since he settled down so quickly and became very comfortable with me, and is respecting the leadrope so well, I took him back down to the barn and tied him to the hitching post for the first time.  I don't like to tie horses to this post if I think they may pull back because it is not set in the ground very deep (Cody has already pulled it crooked when she pulled back once and Sassy, the mare we had over the winter, pulled it even more crooked).  So me tying him to the hitching post shows my confidence in him!  I spraying him with fly spray, then decided to take him for a walk in the woods on the trails! 

My dogs came along with me and were crashing around in the brush, but Griffin paid them no mind.  After the round penning, he was very comfortable with me and was not leary hardly at all.  He was interested, but it was a mild interest in the new places we went.  He put complete confidence in me!  I love that feeling.  The only thing that really worked him up was the noise of my dogs splashing into the pond.  The picture below shows him watching them run down to the pond from pretty far away still.

He got over being worried about that noise pretty quick though.  We just went down and stood at the waters edge and watched the dogs go in and out.  I led him back and forth and around and just asked him to check out the water, which he did.  As we watched the dogs, I took a picture of his injured eye.  You can see the cloudiness is receding, but the spot where the lesion was has become very opaque and white.  But it is so low, that even if it doesn't go away, it's not going to be a hindrance to him.

Griffin shows off how over this he is.  By the time we left the pond, the dogs were running into the water right at his feet and it didn't phase him.  He did not volunteer stepping into the pond though, and I didn't want to make him go in right now because that was not the goal of this walk.  Plus I was wearing my boots and didn't want to get them wet!

After the pond, we walked through my parent's yard, past the chickens and the orange tractor (walking through a narrow area with chickens underfoot without a  moment's hesitation), then we came back through the wooded trails and ventured onto my neighbor's trails.  We walked past their barn filled with horses, came out by their house, went down the driveway and past my husband's cattle farm.  Griffin had a bit of difficulty with crossing a narrow washout, but with persistance and picking an easier spot, he crossed.  He watched my husband's herd of 30 heifers running away with a bit of alarm (but who wouldn't be alarmed watching a mass of dark cattle kick up dust as they foolishly stampeded from the sight of a wild horse).  His alarm was just watching them with a high head and side-stepping a bit. Then we walked down along the road and through the yard of my husband's business, complete with large scary machinery and racks of pipe.

Griffin is curious, but not alarmed by any of this.

We even went along the road, and watched 3 cars pass by, including a big silver tanker type-truck.  Griffin was totally unconcerned by any of it (it helps to have your pasture border a road that semi's drive on regularily).  When we got back, we stood tied for another couple minutes for a thorough grooming session before being turned back into the pasture.

Griffin was absolutely awesome on our walk.  I couldn't have daydreamed a better outcome for my horsey-time!  I was so proud of him and so pleased with his temperament.  This horse has so much potential.  I hope I have the time to bring it out in him!  I don't think it is going to take much work.

Taking a young horse for a walk alone in the woods is the best thing for them.  They have to rely on your leadership.  If I were to pony Griffin, he would have assigned that leadership to the horse I was riding and not me.  Now I know he trusts me pretty completely, and my trust in him has been pretty firmly established.

Riding with the hubby

Sunday, I convinced my husband to come for a ride with me.

Afterall, part of the goal with sending Cody to a trainer last year was getting her tuned-up and been-there-done-that enough for me to not worry about her with my husband or anyone else.

Cody has been doing very well with her new bit. She is quite responsive and she really is a good girl. She does, however, test her new riders...and because of that she probably will never be a complete beginners horse. She's not naughty, she just tries stuff (always does, even with me) and if she gets away with it, she'll keep doing it. Just little things, like walking really slow, turning back toward home, pretending she doesn't really know what you mean when you ask her to turn and it is away from home, eating grass, trotting when she wasn't asked. She always tries these little things with me too, but simple quick corrections discourage her and she won't try them further. Part of the pretending she doesn't really know what you mean when you are turning her, could also be conflicting cues given by a rider that she's not accustomed to. But she does try it a bit with me when we are still at home in the yard and heading out.

Other than that, she is great. She's responsive...a simple squeeze will send her up into the next gait and another little squeeze will up it again. Todd had her cantering at one point when he squeezed too hard, but she's not naughty and they enjoyed a nice canter before he asked her to walk again. She was walking a bit slow for him though, and that's because he is not accustomed to "riding" his horse. He hasn't really ridden in over 20 years, he said. He grew up riding horses a lot, but they didn't ride with seat and legs...they rode with a lot of whoa and go using reins and kicking. In fact, they used to put bucking straps on their horses just to get them to buck! Crazy kids. Anyway, when I told him how to get Cody to walk faster by riding her faster, it took some practice for him, but he was pleased when he could get her to walk faster by using his seat and legs to push her a bit more. But she'd drop back to her slow pace when he quit. He's used to just sitting on a horse like it's a lounge chair. Most people like a nice slow horse, but Todd is a bit hyperactive himself...he likes that all business, quick pace.

I think it was good for him to just relax with Cody and let go of that. He said he had a lot of fun riding with me and he wouldn't mind doing it once a week...but I know that won't happen! I'll be lucky if I get him out once a month! He's got a lot to do and riding does take a lot of time out of that! But I'm glad he finally did it with me and saw what it was like so that next time I ask, he'll have that fun previous experience to draw on.

And we keep calling Cody 'his' horse, and he uses 'his' saddle on her, so that will probably help him too. He did tell me that he'd be more willing to ride with me if he doesn't have to do all the messing around with them before and after (which is the part I like to do anyway). I can tack up (which I want to do because I'm kind of particular about it when it's my horses) and call him when they are all ready to go and then he'll ride with me! Sounds like a good deal to me!

And the horses got to enjoy a nice roll in the sand when we got back! Cody accidently kicked Chico in the jaw in her exuberence with getting sand in all her cracks.

Trail ride success

Last Tuesday I rode Chico and met up with my neighbor, B, riding one of his Tennessee walker mares, named Belle. We went on a pretty long ride (about 2.5 hours) on the trails around our area. I have permission to ride on a couple different properties, so we were able to stay on trails most of the time. Our horses were pretty well behaved. Chico was pretty interested in the mare, but he wasn't aggressive and he listened to my cues whenever I asked him to back away or turn away from her. The mare was pretty nervous, but she settled down alright. My neighbor trains his own horses and he has 7, so they haven't been able to get them all out on a lot of trail rides. They've been out, just not with other horses, and very seldomly on the road. We did ride on the road for a bit and the mare was pretty leary of vehicles. I've been riding Chico most of the time when I go out because my dad expressed interest in riding him along with me. I wanted to make sure Chico was behaving himself alright before I let anyone else ride him. No one else has EVER ridden Chico besides me. I'm not sure why...I guess because he's always been very sensitive (responding really easily to cues) and sometimes he's got a mind of his own. He's also really quick, and he rarely spooks, but when he does, he can spin and take a few strides before you have a chance to react and pull him up. And I guess he is my baby, so I always rode him. But really, Chico is very steady. He listens well. Usually I just have to talk to him to get him to change gaits when we ride. He remembers his voice cues really well from when I started him. But he also knows what squeezing legs mean. And he's not a naughty horse. I also knew my dad really likes him. When I moved the horses to WI back in fall 2008, I went back to ID to finish work before I moved in the spring. My dad took care of my horses for me and he took Chico out a couple times to mess with him. He got him to climb on top of a round bale, and he rode him bareback with just a halter. He also led him inside our rustic cabin in the woods. And Chico did everything he asked. So, I've been riding him just to make sure he's ready for another rider.

Today, we went on our trail ride. It would have been nice for just my dad and I to ride together with just my horses first so that him and Chico could get along without distractions, but I had already mentioned to my neighbors, B and his wife, J, that I wanted to ride, so there were four of us! I was so nervous. I actually had butterflies in my stomach and my hands were shaky. I just was so worried that something might go wrong and I really did not want my dad to get hurt. He grew up riding, but hasn't ridden much at all in the last 20 years. My dad and I used to ride together when I was a kid, but it was so different then. This was my horse, that I trained...my horse that came from the wild. Did I mention that I trained him? Does it seem like maybe I lack confidence in the job I did? Well, only a little! When I ride him, I am perfectly comfortable. I was just so worried that my dad and him wouldn't speak the same language. My dad knows how Chico works, steers and all that...I just couldn't let go of my apprehension...for no reason really. Chico was wonderful. Look how good he stood for my dad while I was mounting up and getting ready to go. I rode bareback because I only have one saddle that fits both Chico and Cody.


I didn't take any pics on our ride because I didn't bring the camera along. I should have. We met B and J down at the pond on my dad's property. J rode Belle, and B rode Honey Doll. Cody was a little nervous about the new horses at first, but Chico could have cared less. Our ride was very nice. My dad kept scaring me by trotting Chico. He cantered him a couple times. Then he wanted to canter him through an open field....Ahhhhh! I was so nervous! I almost didn't want to watch, but they did fine! Honestly, I should have been more worried about the horse I was riding. I rode Cody and I used her old snaffle bit (I figured I felt more comfortable maneuvering her in it if she was funny about the new horses we rode with). She was so heavy with the snaffle! She's not usually that bad. I think she was a little worried about the other horses, even though she had relaxed quite a bit, that she was more concerned with where Chico was going than with my cues. She just lugged on the bit when I asked her to stop or slow down when Chico was in front of her and the new horses were behind her.

When we got back from our ride, we all rode through the pond and the horses thoroughly soaked themselves. Cody tried to lay down and roll with me on her, but I kept her up. She did manage to fill my boots with water though!

All in all, it really was a great ride, and I really gained a lot of confidence in my dad's ability to handle Chico. Even though I really didn't want him to go fast on him...I just wanted everyone to be safe! It's amazing how much more I worry now than I did when I was a kid, and it is all because of how much more experience I have now. I've seen wrecks with horses, I've been in a few, and I've learned to be very careful and always take things in steps. So my ideal first step would have been a successful ride of everyone just WALKING the whole way. But, we skipped a bunch of steps and went straight to the cantering and everything was fine! I should have more faith in my horse and my dad.

My dad had a good time, and he couldn't stop saying good things about Chico. He is familiar with mustangs - his aunt and uncle adopted and trained a few. But this is the first horse his daughter trained! I think maybe he's a little impressed with both Chico and I. I think I need to have a little more confidence in my abilities...or maybe the problem is just that I think too much when I'm at home and not around my horses. Since I've taken my break from riding while pregnant, I have a lot more apprehension...but only when I'm at home thinking about riding. I can't help thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Once I actually get out and get my horse out, all that goes away. I just need to quiet my mind about it at home.


Wren was glad to have her mama back. My mom watched her while my dad and I rode.


The horses were quite tired when we got back. It was warm out and they are out of shape. I decided to set Wren up in Chico's saddle and see what she thought.


This picture pretty much sums up what she thought. She was very very unsure about it. It was so high up, and mama was below her, and even though mama was holding onto her, she felt uncertain.


I tried to get her to slap the saddle horn or at least grab it. She did relax a little bit and look at it, but she was frozen up there, so I took her off.


But she readily reached out and touched their noses when she got back in my arms. I love this picture of Chico's one ear watching her.




I've thought a bit about Wren liking horses or not...and I really wouldn't be upset or offended if she has no interest in horses. At least I won't have to worry about her with them then! Probably she will like them though. She likes all our animals...dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens, turkeys....

Horse back rides for the nephew

So, I've decided that we need to just pronounce the mare's name Ka"ch"ina. I like the sound better and it's easier for me to say than Katsina...especially since I've already been saying it that way.

On Sunday I gave my nephew a horseback ride. He's only showed occasional interest riding a horse, so when he said he wanted to ride after I rode up on Chico, I said "Sure!". I think that Chico is a good pick for giving a ride because he's basically well behaved and he doesn't spook. When he's naughty, he's trying to eat grass. So he probably won't be a good horse for a beginner (or child who lacks strength and timing to prevent him from eating), but I think that if I ride him a bunch, I might be able to take my nephew out riding double. Chico is pretty unflappable about things on his body. But for now, I just helped him on and explained about sitting on a horse and how horses can be unpredictable so he better hold on...

Then off we went! We went uphill, downhill and finally ended up at the pond where my mom met us with my neice. My nephew had a little trouble with downhill (was sliding all over), so I told him he needs to lean back and put his feet forward (even though he had no stirrups). He did better then.


My nephew even wanted to ride Chico into the water, so we did and Chico pawed and splashed us both. At that point, my nephew wanted to swim, so he got off, and I got on.

Here I'm backing Chico because he wanted to just eat grass and wouldn't stand still at all. He was so well behaved when I was leading him with my nephew on top.

Chico is 5 this year and he's really filled out into a sturdy little horse, eventhough he doesn't have a wide chest at all. I love his flowing tail. I think he's very handsome.

After I returned from my ride, I cantered up to my nephew. My nephew's eye's got big and he looked excited as he said "I wanna do that!". I told him he needs to ride with me a whole lot more before he's ready for that. But, he does have the cowboy boots already. He got those to wear with his halloween costume last year. He was Woody from Toy Story.

More pond fun - Catlow this time

My sister got a new camera - a Canon digital SLR. She's been going crazy taking pictures. I don't mind, especially since she captured some really cool shots of Catlow this weekend.

On Sunday, the kids came out and we all went down to the pond (3 neice and nephews, my sister, her husband, and our 5 combined dogs). I rode Catlow down, since I'd not gotten a chance yet to ride her through the pond. She really liked it, but did not offer to roll in it at all. I think she'd have to have Cody along to feel comfortable enough to do that.

Aren't these great shots that my sister took?






Update on Todd's mom - it sounds like she'll be coming home from the hospital tomorrow. So, she is not supposed to have any contact with the horses for 6 months, since she can't risk getting a bump to the head. Todd says she will not be allowed to step foot inside the barn. It does sound now like that no riding ever again rule is not so hard and fast. I think she can risk something like riding after a year of letting her brain heal. But, even then, she is going to have to be very careful. So, in a few weeks, she'll be heading to the doc to get her knee fixed up too. I think it's an opportune time, since she will have no choice but to sit around and let her knee and her brain heal. The knee is an ongoing problem that she's had and actually had fixed before, but she didn't give it enough time to heal properly, so the ligament tore again (kinda like my dad with his shoulder - you just can't keep active determined people inactive enough to heal up tendons and ligaments). Also, the language/speech problems she was having seem to have cleared up. She's pretty much back to normal and giving everyone hell again. They are still selling off many of their horses (was happening anyway). They had around 30 head through the winter, but it sounds like for sure, 20 of those are going (some have already been sold, and some others are being send to major sales in May).

And Ms. Turkey is laying eggs again. I actually got to watch her lay one. She had her tail up and was straining, so I stopped to see what she was doing. She kept straining and chirruping quietly and I start to see this whitish thing poke out, and then, plop, a wet shiny new turkey egg! It was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen. So, I think Ms. Turkey's zest for life will give her a pardon for a while longer yet anyway.

Cody's ride and the pond

Today was in the 80's! It was so warm that I decided it'd be mean to ride in the arena so I saddled Cody up and we went on a trail ride.

Cody pre-ride.


Because of the construction (they had a flagger and the highway closed to 1 lane under the interstate bridge), I chose to go a different direction. We road alongside the interstate on a side road for quite a ways, and then we still ended up going under the interstate bridge but on a much less busy road, so it was nice because Cody could walk right down the middle of the road and blow at all the stuff around. She actually did really well going under the bridge. It really is a scary thing when those huge loud semi's suddenly appear in view right over the top of them. I just told her what a good girl she was for being so brave and she went through fine. Cautiously, but fine. And there were porta-potties, and other construction things at this bridge too, but no one was working on it today. We also had to cross railroad tracks (she needed a lot of time to look at them and had to test the footing several times before she believed me that it was okay to cross over).

Then we took a little dirt road that used to be called Starlight Ave. but is now called Arm Road after the county renamed all their roads (so not romantic!). Starlight used to be where a lot of underage kids would find a pull off spot and have big parties in the woods because it's rather secluded. We rode for quite a ways down Starlight (it will always be Starlight to me). Starlight is mostly dirt, some parts of it are gravelly, but mostly it's sandy dirt surrounded by a mature forest of oaks and jack pine. I had Cody's hoof boots on because she is still rather flatfooted and I don't want to bruise her feet on random rocks, but perhaps next time I'll take them off. She walked out well and even though it was quite warm, we did a lot of trotting and cantering. The dogs were not along (because I had to ride along the road), so there Cody was a little uncomfortable when she heard squirrels rustling in the woods (usually the dogs are crashing around and I think that makes her feel more safe). Once, she jumped sideways so fast at a tiny rustle, that if I hadn't grabbed the saddle horn, I would have come off! And she can walk under an interstate bridge, but a tiny squirrel...horses. She got better as we went.

By the time we got back home, she was sweaty but relaxed. I took her down to the pond where the kids were playing in their new paddle-boat (they are spoiled rotten by their grandma and grandpa, but then again, so am I so how can I complain!). I rode her out into it and before I could react, she had laid down and soaked my boot! I hollered and kicked and she got back up so I took her saddle off and then let her roll around in it without me on. She laid back down three more times, but didn't quite know how to roll without getting her head wet, so I stood her back up and dumped water over to to rinse all her sweat off.

Then my mom came by with the camera and video'd while I rode her back through the pond.



Then she was wet and my boots were soaked, so I rode in the trailer in the back of our rhino and lead Cody trotting along behind through the wooded trails to get back to the barn. She stayed right behind and kept up well, but then she's been a pack horse before she she understands the concept.