Feels a little lonely with only 4 in my pasture

It's not what you think.  Some of you may know that I listed Kachina for sale, with one very interested party, that soon after fell through.  Since then, I have not had a single call about her.  So, she is still in my pasture.

It is Griffin who is not in my pasture, but it is only temporary!  He is with a talented young mustang trainer, Jessie of If Wishes Were Horses.  For those of you who don't know, Jessie placed 8th in the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Madison, WI this April!  This was her second time competing.  I've watched her since she trained her first mustang for the EMM a few years ago and I respect her methods and like her results.  So I asked if she'd be interested in taking on a little summer project.  She said she was excited to work with another mustang.  I think she'll have fun with him.  I think he's pretty close to being ready to ride, and I am relieved to have him at a place where I know he'll get consistent work and a good foundation. 

I've been working a little with him since school got out, but primarily walks on the trail and ponying on the trail.  I've also really been getting him used to the trailer.  After his first trailer loading experience back in February, I've not tried since.  He was so uncomfortable with it then, didn't want to load, and was having difficulty listening to me when I was asking him to load.  So I wanted him to have some more time with me working him on the ground.  I think it paid off.  I first lunged him at the opening (something I didn't do in February because the ground was so squishy), and then asked him to send in.  When he was making a good effort sending in and coming out, then I lead him in, and he followed me right in.  He was still a little nervous about it, but I just tried to make it fun and never made him stand in there too long.  I wanted to be able to close the divider on him by the time I drove him to Jessie's but he wasn't comfortable enough for me to feel safe tying him and closing the divider.  He was just a little claustrophobic about it.  So I never tried, and just let him ride loose.  For me, it was a big success because he loaded up with very little insistence from me.  Time will come when I can close the divider too.

He rode in the trailer very well.  I could feel it when he turned around in the trailer twice to change the direction he was facing.  He prefers to face backwards.  This is a picture of Griffin checking out the scenery at a rest stop along the way. 

The drive was about 2.5 hours.  When we got to Jessie's he unloaded easily looked around with interest, then started grazing.  He was so relaxed about being in a new location.  I was really pleased to see that.  And he settled right into his pen.

I'm looking forward to hearing updates on his progress!

Belated post - Labor Day ride

This post is very belated, but I've been busy! I just now decided I needed to take a break from studying and do something "horsey" even though I'm stuck down in Madison right now. So, I found some pictures I haven't posted yet!

These pics are from a ride that my husband and I took with our neighbor's, B and J, over labor day weekend. We trailered to a nearby dirt road where we could ride someplace new and not have to hit pavement at all. My horses stood patiently at the trailer...I love that...a calm sleepy horse tied to the trailer waiting for their ride.

The road meanders through a lot of county land and is primarily wooded with a few logged areas. It is also home to a lot of wildlife. We saw wolf tracks several times along the road (I'm pretty sure they are wolf, as they are known to be in the area).

Todd rode "his" horse again.  He and Cody got along pretty well, except that at one point when we were cantering, he said she planted her front feet and gave a hop...I didn't see it happen.  But I wouldn't put it past her.  Todd isn't the most polished rider, so she could have easily been irritated by something he was doing, especially by over-cueing her to canter (which he admitted he did).  But they got along just fine...that doesn't worry him at all, which I'm pleased about.  He can handle it!

This is my favorite picture from our ride.  B and J rode ahead a bit side by side on their walkers.  They looked so cute together as they crested the hill among the trees.

My baby girl turns 1 year old this Saturday!!!!  I can't believe how fast this last year went!  I've enjoyed every minute of it and am looking forward to her ever changing future!  She is so fun right now...saying some words, super mobile, giggly, good-natured, interactive, loves being outside and her animals (which is one of the hardest things about being in Madison during the week for school - she is just so outdoorsy so she feels cooped up in the apartment pretty quick).  But she is doing super well and adjusted to the change really well too.

We made it!!!

We made it to Wisconsin Sunday afternoon!

We are tired, but everyone is settled in and doing okay. It took 4 days of driving and I really don't think it would have been good for the horses to push it and do it in 3 days. As it was, hours per day were 1st day: 10 hours, 2nd day: 8 hours, 3rd day: 11 hours, and 4th day: 7 hours. Normally, that trip takes me about 27 hours of total driving my myself (done over 2 days), but I've never done it with horses!

Day 1 (Thursday): Thankfully it was not raining this morning. The weather was much improved from the previous few days. The night before, we were packing everything in the truck and trailer in the rain! All three horses loaded very well. They each stopped to look in the trailer and pause before they would step up in, but they all did it well. Chico first, then Catlow, and Cody in the back. As soon as Chico was loaded and the divider shut, he started pawing nervously, but Catlow and Cody loaded okay through his racket. He quit as soon as we were moving, but it had been almost a year since he'd been anywhere in a trailer.

We stopped in Moscow on the way out for coffee. All three stood quietly while we were parked. Then we headed up 95 and then East on I-90.


Halfway through the day, we stopped and gave them hay in their bags at one gas station, then offered them water at the next. Cody was the only one that drank...it might have been the city water effect that turned the mustangs off, or nerves.



That evening, we stayed at a place in Belgrade, MT (very interesting place). When we pulled in, the wind was blowing hard and it was snowing sideways. The heavy winds made it seem much colder than it really was. We hurriedly unloaded the spooky, jelly-legged horses and left them to their pen with food and water. They didn't spend much time eating that evening, and instead stuck tight in their little threesome and ran back and forth around the pen. The woman that owned the place raises mules and owns a mammoth jack donkey.


Her house is incredible...very solid, well built, and like an old west museum inside.

The horse facilities were good. Our three were in a large round pen (much bigger than a roundpen), with a feeder and water tank. The ground was a little mucky (but better than where they were living previously). I can see, however, that it would be difficult to keep it sanitary with many horses moving through.


Day 2 (Friday): The horses were still flighty the next morning, but Cody approached me immediately, followed by Chico (Catlow was off by herself). I haltered Cody easily, but Chico left me, then came right back to be haltered. I had to follow Catlow as she left me across the whole pen, then cut her off, as she was going to try to duck around me. Then she stood for haltering. At home, she's normally really good, but she's also relaxed. They all loaded up fine, just a moment's hesitation at the door, as usual. We did the same routine today, with hay in the middle of the day, with water offered at the following stop. None of the three drank today, and I was getting a bit worried because I wasn't positive they had drank over the night (I think the tank was self-filling, so we couldn't monitor the water level).

This evening, our destination was a friend of mine whose husband's family owns a large ranch in the very SE corner of MT (4 miles from WY border, and also close to SD). We cut across Hwy 212, then down and onto the 18 miles gravel/mud road that led to their house. The truck/trailer had no problems and the country was beautiful.


We arrived at my friend's place in the daylight so were able to easily navigate their very muddy driveway. They call the red mud "gumbo". The truck and trailer blended into the landscape!


Here, our friends had set up a stall for each horse with water in a 5-gal bucket, so we were able to see that they had indeed drank water before we went to bed. I was relieved. However, I noticed that Chico had a quarter sized hairless patch on the front of his stifle joint, almost exactly where he'd been poked by a stick about 6 weeks ago. He wasn't lame on it, and I figured that he must have bumped his leg at the previous night's place when they were spooky and running around.


That evening, we visited with old friends, and sipped homemade huckleberry beer (mine).

Day 3 (Saturday): We woke up, tended to the horses, then shared coffee with my friend, her husband, and his father. After coffee, we accompanied them out to feed the weanling calves. They believe in letting the cattle make their own living off the land, and never feed the cows unless there is a really heavy snow that prevents them from getting adequate feed from the place. They've bred their cattle to have these qualities. However, they do supplement the weanling calves with a higher protein pelleted feed at about a lb per calf per day to give them a head start, but they are also expected to forage on their own.


It was great to see their ranch, then we got the horses out of their stalls and took them for a brisk walk down the road and back to loosen up their legs before loading them. They had one of the ranch geldings running loose the yard area where we were walking our horses, and he came flying up behind up. I shoo'ed him away, but he followed us with a bit of distance for a bit. When we stopped to turn around, he advanced a few steps forward, and Chico stopped and backed a few steps, and before I could even utter a reprimand, he kicked the gelding right in the chest with both hind feet! The gelding (a nicely put together bright red chestnut), wheeled, ran, bucked and shook his head as he retreated. He was fine, and Chico felt really proud that he protected his mares. I got after him and backed him a ways up, but then we loaded the horses in the trailer. Same thing, they all loaded with just a moment's hesitation at the door. Cody, though, just walked right in, no hesitation this day.

We got on the road later this day, but had a great time. Looking back at the ranch.


We saw some amazing sights. We snapped some photos when we took a quick rest with the horses.


We stopped to get pictures of a mule deer buck and does in the midst of rut that didn't have time to even notice us.


We got on I-90 in WY, and continued east, through western SD, where there had been 4 ft of snow (with drifts three times that), just a week earlier (thankfully it had melted down quite a bit by this time). It got dark before we even hit the Missouri River in central SD, so we left this day with the image of the West imprinted on our brains yet. This day, when we offered the horses water, Cody drank well, but Chico and Catlow had only a few small sips…I think the city water effect again.

We arrived at Aunt Reba's Bed and Breakfast in Larchwood, IA, very late that evening. Rich and Reba were very good hosts and we highly recommend this place. The horse accomodations were very clean. They offer pasture (if you horse is used to is) or larger indoor runs, or individual stalls. We put our three in an indoor run together, and retired for the evening.

Day 4 (Sunday): We awoke very early the next day (didn't get enough sleep). After tending to the horses, Reba cooked us a very good breakfast and sent us on our way. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of this cute farm, but they do have pics on their website.

It was now readily apparent that we were in the very flat plains of the midwest's bread basket region. There is so much agriculture there. As far as you can see, it is flat tilled fields, with islands of deciduous trees planted around the individual farm houses to give them relief from the constant prairie wind. This is not my country, and seeing this first thing this morning, made me feels a bit apprehensive about this big move back to this area.



But then we came down the bluffs to the Mississippi River to LaCrosse, WI, and I remembered why I loved this place.


As soon as we crossed the river, the trees became more abundant and the landscape had more topography. I felt like I was home, but I wasn't yet able to really let down my guard and feel relief. I don't think I will be able to feel that until I actually move home more permanently next spring (or maybe it will hit me after a few days).

Home!


We arrived to a welcome committee of my mom, neice and nephew.


Then we unloaded the horses into the small round pen set up around the barn area. The horses were nervous, but we didn't feed them while on the road this day knowing it'd be their shortest and last ride, which meant that they got busy eating the green grass in the pen. They were alert and looking around, herding up and moving back and forth in the pen, but they were settling in good.



Watching us approach with the kids to check on them...


We let them graze for a few hours, then locked them up in the barn with some hay. They aren't used to this fall green grass, which is actually the highest danger for causing founder. We had a horse founder extremely badly out here when I was a kid, so I'm paranoid about it.

I can see that before I leave, I need to really introduce Chico to the kids, and work with them on safety. Chico sees them as something different (Cody and Catlow see them as smaller people, and basically sniff, then ignore), and he is so reactive and defensive right now being in new territory, that I can see accidents happening (which I'd like to try to prevent right now). He's so reactive and defensive that when I was unloading the others, he was last and as I approached his divider, he couldn't see me, but was worried, and so kicked out sideway with one hind leg. He hasn't done that to me in a LONG time, so I see that we need to settle in and be worked with. My sister and grandparents know that they CANNOT let the kids in the horse pen with out immediate supervision (holding hands) for their own safety.

Also, Catlow is being really standoffish. She doesn't want to be caught at all. I think she fears that I'll put her back in the trailer. She's also just too unsure of everything to let down her guard and allow me to approach her. I hope this doesn't last because I feel very sad about it. I'm sure she'll get over it after she settles in.

Both Cody and Chico will approach me in the pen, and Cody is being very cuddly. Chico checks me out, then goes off to be flighty. Chico and Cody are inseparable, and Catlow is on the outside, looking in and out to be sure nothing will eat her.

My Dad is in Idaho!

This afternoon, my Dad arrived in Idaho! This was the first time I got to see the new horse trailer he found and we took Catlow to a riding lesson.

Taking Catlow to a riding lesson accomplished many things. I was able to take her to see the trainer/friend who I've been watching train horses and get some help with my own riding form. Catlow had a good first trailering experience. She went to a completely new place for the first time, and found out that it wasn't that scary. It was a really good experience for both of us.

When I loaded Catlow at Todd's mom's place, she calmly walked right into the strange trailer without a bit of hesitation. Then I turned her around and led her back out. Then turned around and took her right back in. It was raining, so we didn't mess around with in and out anymore, we just tied her, closed the divider and took off. Three miles down the road, we stopped to open her window and see how she was doing. Her eyes were wide, and she had her legs spread to keep her balance and she was definitely nervous, but she was okay, so we just continued to the lesson. She rode very well. There was no pounding coming from the trailer and she did not paw when we stopped. She was much calmer by the time we got to the lesson. When I opened her divider, I just stood next to her and scratched her for a few minutes to make sure she was calm and didn't learn to expect to get right out of the trailer whenever the doors open. She was alert, and high headed, but okay. Then I lead her to the door so she could stand and look out. She nickered at the white arabian stallion who had ambled over to check out the new trailer occupants.

Then we exited the trailer and I continued to walk her around the trailer until she calmed down completely, which she did! She was high headed and alert for about 2 complete circles around the truck, but then I let her graze and we continued to walk and she really calmed down. She was alert and not completely relaxed, but really really good. If at home she is relaxed enough to be a 0, and when she sees cows on a trial ride she becomes a nervous 10, at my lesson, she was about a 2-3 which is how she normally is when I take her on a ride by herself.

We got there really early (partly because she loaded so well and it was raining so we left right away, but part was on purpose to give Catlow a chance to check out the place). So I was able to walk her around a lot, and take my time with saddling her up.

This picture is before the lesson, right after I saddled her up (it was actually a bit lighter outside than that, but the flash made it look like it was midnight).



I'm just really happy that my dad is here and so is my horse! By the way, I can't believe how much like my mom I look in these pictures. It's uncanny.



Then Katie got home from work, so we went to the arena. There are lots of objects (tractor parts covered in a tarp, an arena grader, just lots of stuff) near the door, so she needed time to absorb that (very uncertain and wanted to get out of there if given the choice). Katie opened the arena door and that scared her a bit, but she just jumped then watched as the door rose up.

I did some ground work with her first, and explained to Katie how she seemed to shut down if I pushed her to much, especially at the canter so I didn't canter her much when lunging, mostly just trotting and changing directions. Katie suggested that I need to continue to up the degree of stress that I place on her so that she learns to accept more and won't retreat within herself and shut down. I guess that I have done this with her with other things, but not with the ground work stuff. I'm happy with how she works, so I sometimes don't even do ground work. I did work with asking her to canter while lunging, but I could hardly get 3 good stride out of her before she'd fall back to the trot, and she broke into a canter very spurty-like, with a tucked tail. I think that Katie is right that I just need to do it with her more and be sure to reward her lots when she maintains a canter.

Then I mounted and we warmed up at the walk and then the trot. The guineas were in the arena roosting on the beams, and at one point they went into a screeching fit, and that freaked Catlow out quite a bit for about two seconds (she jumped and froze), but she got over it really fast and ignored them after that, even when they flew down from their perch to walk across the arena and move to a different perch.

So, we worked at walk, trot and canter and did circles for bending in the corners, and also worked on canter-walk transitions. It took me a couple circles to get the hang of just the right amount of leg pressure for her, but then she did really good with bending and circling at the walk and trot (she's just really sensitive to leg pressure so will move off it well). She was also very cadenced at the trot (well, good for being her first time with arena work - most of the time we work on the trail - her trotting was mostly very cadenced, but occasionally she lost focus and became a bit confused about what she was to do, so would lose momentum). She especially would lose momentum in the circles because she wasn't sure how to circle properly at first - she would sort of drop her shoulder and almost seem to pivot on it such that she was swinging her hind end out and around to help her complete her circle. She did quit doing that after a few circles.

Once she was going well at trot-circles, then we moved up to cantering. First we just cantered around the outside of the arena until Catlow was maintaining a rhythm and slowing down. When I first asked her to canter, she shot forward with a strong leap into the canter, and then cantered strongly around, cutting corners and really leaning into her circle. I had to slow her down, help her straighten up, and move her to the rail with leg pressure. She responded well. Once she was cadenced, then Katie said to try a smaller circle in the corner of the arena. The first two times we tried it, she dropped to a trot and I could not get her to pick the canter back up until she was on the rail again, but by the third circle she had balanced herself enough to keep cantering through the circle. Katie said I need to pull up on the inside rein (with my palm upward) to keep her from dropping her shoulder and to also keep urging her through the circle with my outside leg. After the first couple rough circles, she at least maintained a canter through all the circles and many of them felt really nice. Then Katie asked me to bring her to a walk, and Catlow responded by halting them jumping into the walk. Katie alerted me to the fact that Catlow's response was due to my sloppy riding - she stopped fast because I overcued her, and when I lost my balance, my heels dug into her and so she shot forward again. So we worked on canter-walk transitions in between canter-circle exercises. By the end, with a simple deeper sit into the saddle (with my feet forward to keep my balance and not touching reins at all), Catlow was coming smoothly down to a walk.

Catlow was pretty tired at the end, and really had calmed down a lot and was understanding what I was asking of her and how she was expected to respond. I walked her to cool her down and I could tell when she had caught her breath. As she aired up more, she became more and more aware of the scary things in the arena (not bad, but she because uncertain of how she should respond - but this also could have been due to the next lesson horse entering the arena and walking around the center).

After the lesson, she did hesitate just slightly before loading back into the trailer - slight hesitation, but with a calm insistent pull on the halter, she put one leg in the trailer, then scratched her sweaty head on her knee for 30 seconds. Then I asked her to come all the way in and she did without hesitating. Once home, I stood with her for a while before unloading her. She was very calm by the end of this trailer ride.

I think Catlow had a very good first away from home experience. Tomorrow, I have to work, but then my dad and I will be loading up all my horse stuff and readying our intinerary for Thursday morning when we leave!

Countdown

This morning, I said the final goodbye to my very good friend. It was tearful and very hard, but I know we will stay in touch and I will see her again!

My dad arrives here in Moscow tomorrow! Right now he is sleeping in Missoula. He'll arrive at 2pm, I'll meet him, then we'll pick up Catlow and go take my lesson on her.

Wednesday will be last minute packing...

Then we leave on Thursday morning! Countdown: 3 days!

I don't think I'll be able to post pictures during our trip, but I'll definitely get them up as soon as I get back.

Please cross your fingers that our trip goes well! I have never hauled horses this far before! I have a first aid kit, we shouldn't be on the road for longer than 8 hours in any one day, and my horses accept trailering pretty well (except for Catlow - has never trailered, but she loads well!). The weather should be good, but my dad's truck is very loaded down (even with an empty horse trailer), so we'll be going quite slow and easy.

And cross your fingers for my friend, who leaves tomorrow morning to drive her horses to Colorado. I love you Windy!!!

rain and confrontations

Our long fun trail ride was canceled today, but I went for a ride in the rain anyway. I rode Chico and saddled him up simply to keep my butt dry (he was wet). He was funny today. We don't ride in the rain much and he was quite leary of the wet areas on the paved road. I couldn't convince him it was okay to walk on those wet areas (which were no where near as deep as puddles) unless I dismounted and crossed it myself. He did good otherwise, and it was definitely raining most of the time...not enough to get me wet, but enough to make Chico wet.

I got yelled at by one of the neighbors today. The guy that lives by the big red barn has this australian shepherd type dog that barks and barks and barks whenever I ride past. She barks the whole time until I'm out of sight. Since hunting season started, I've been riding on the road more often so most weekends I pass by this house on horseback at least once. And there is a scary pile of logs and an old gate at the foot of their driveway that all of my horses always eye warily (combined with the barking dog, they tend to get a bit uptight through there). So I tend to stop and let them relax and look at the gate before they move on.

Well, today it was the barking dog, log pile, and wet road all combined into one, so I tried to convince Chico that the road wasn't going to swallow him up, then we stared at the gate, then we continued on (dog barking meanwhile). My dogs kind of ignore the barking dog, although I have to be vigilant to call them to stay with me, otherwise they'd like to run up and greet her.

So on the way back past the house and the red barn, I came across a very large puddle, and Chico really wouldn't cross it, so I dismounted and led him through it. Meanwhile the dog is barking (I can tune her out though), and then I notice the guy walking across his lawn toward me. He says "Why do you have to come by here!". I respond "I'm just riding on the road" (Which I'm thinking is public property, therefore within my rights), and He says "But then you go stopping here and drive our dog crazy!" At this point, I respond with "There is a puddle here, my horse is afraid of it, and I'm trying to train him not to be". Then I realize my cinch is too loose to get back on, so I have to tighten it, then I lead Chico out of the puddle, then mount and continue down the road. I never looked back at the guy...I felt awful, and sick to my stomach from the confrontation. I really wasn't intentionally stopping there to drive his dog crazy. Every time I've stopped there was because my horse was uptight and I wanted to give him a chance to think about the situation and relax (it usually works). Was I completely wrong for doing that? I guess a barking-barking-barking dog drives the guy that lives there crazy, but I would have thought he was used to it...the dog barks constantly when I ride past there, and don't I have the right to ride on the road?

Anyway, I felt awful, but then I got back and tore down the old turkey pen and fixed her up a smaller pen and gave her clean hay in her house...then I felt better.

Check out Chico's wet pattern. How often do you see it this way on a horse? His back dried out under the saddle pad and everything else stayed very wet.





And here are Chico's hooves 2 weeks post trim. He's grown a little heel (pasture is all mud so there is nothing to wear them at all). I like to closely scrutinize how much they grow and maintain the trim.




So, tomorrow morning, my dad leaves Wisconsin to drive out here. He expects to get here by noon on Tuesday. Tuesday night, we will trailer Catlow to my trainer/friend's for a lesson to give her a good first trailer experience (one that returns her home when it is finished), so that she doesn't always think that trailers will uproot her and take her somewhere new.

Then we leave Thursday! So countdown is now 5 days! I'm excited but nervous about this major change that is about to occur. And I have lots of stuff to get ready before my dad gets here, so I better get to it.

Preparing to move - Oct 2008

Chico comes to visit with me when he sees me enter the pasture (last weekend).

Tomorrow morning, the vet is coming out to do the health checks and coggins tests on my three horses. I am getting them ready to move from Idaho to Wisconsin in mid-November. Chico and Cody have been trailered several times, but Catlow has not. I've only loaded her, given her a bit of grain, tied her, closed the dividers, walked around, then went back and unloaded her. I've done that several times this year and a couple times last year. It's not my trailer, otherwise I would have taken her somewhere by now. I think she'll do okay. She's completely relaxed about loading, but the floor has never started moving under feet yet!

I am moving to Wisconsin in March, but wanted to get my horses there before the depths of winter, simply for cost effectiveness. My parents have hay fields and lots of pasture in Wisconsin and neither are being used right now. They cut hay this summer and put it up. It will be so much cheaper than paying to feed them out here!

My Dad will come out and together we will drive them to Wisconsin. I think it will be a fun trip. Does anyone have any good "horse hotels" to recommend between Idaho and Wisconsin? We'll be taking I-90 all the way there.