When the girls started horse showing, a wise person, a veteran of many horse show scenes, said to me, "Face facts, you're in for hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror." She was kind of right. I'd substitute "routine" for "boredom." And while "sheer terror" seems a bit extreme, I'd definitely agree to "moments of spiking adrenaline." Like when Bestie took off bucking and backing wildly in a huge class with Maddie aboard, or when Dude suddenly decided in a halter class that he really missed his barnmate, and started rearing and dragging Katie around.
Even now that we're not showing anymore, I still find those moments. Like last week, when Katie rode Bestie. The words, "Boy, she's being really good for you" were not 30 seconds out of my mouth when Bestie shimmied away from the wall, did a little crow hop, and Katie popped off. Unhurt, luckily, but definitely emotional, miffed, and determined to get back on. Bestie stopped right away and looked down at Katie. From my perspective, Bestie looked a bit surprised to see Katie looking up at her from the dirt. To Katie's credit, she calmly walked the mare over to the mounting block, remounted and continued trotting Bestie around the arena for another ten minutes or so with no further mishap.
It seemed to me like a classic case of pissed off mare syndrome ("What??! This girl is WORKING me!"), with the tractor mower roaring by the door as a little excuse for misbehavior, followed by good behavior when she realized "Oops, I crossed the line." I think if she had really meant to be bad, she would've taken off bucking and farting as soon as Katie fell. After the ride, Katie took her back to her stall and got her tucked in for the evening. I later sidled into the stall, looked Bestie in the eye, and said firmly, "Don't you EVER do that again." Just wanted to let her know where I stand.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Photos of the kids--two- and four-legged
Finally got around to downloading a few photos...
Bestie back in her jumping days. This was her second show with us and she seemed to think the cross rail was actually a three-foot fence!
Dude always loved horse shows. You could tell he was just so happy with the door open so he could check out all the goings-on. This shot shows preparations for a 4H costume class: Dude as a garden (involving flowers in his hair and a garden complete with "stepping stones" on a cotton sheet) and Katie as a gardener. Fun stuff.
Today she rode and he looked really good. An earlier post mentioned what seemed like a hind end problem, but he looked perfectly sound today at the canter and trot. In fact, I thought his trot today looked amazing, a nice slow Western jog in good form. Maybe he is getting back into shape now that she's been home over a month.
Someone had put lots of poles down in different configurations in the arena, so I got on Bestie and rode around at the walk over the poles for a little bit. Then we went around the field to end the ride... always nice and you can tell the horses like getting out of the arena. We may swap horses tomorrow for a ride.
Bestie back in her jumping days. This was her second show with us and she seemed to think the cross rail was actually a three-foot fence!
Dude always loved horse shows. You could tell he was just so happy with the door open so he could check out all the goings-on. This shot shows preparations for a 4H costume class: Dude as a garden (involving flowers in his hair and a garden complete with "stepping stones" on a cotton sheet) and Katie as a gardener. Fun stuff.
Today she rode and he looked really good. An earlier post mentioned what seemed like a hind end problem, but he looked perfectly sound today at the canter and trot. In fact, I thought his trot today looked amazing, a nice slow Western jog in good form. Maybe he is getting back into shape now that she's been home over a month.
Someone had put lots of poles down in different configurations in the arena, so I got on Bestie and rode around at the walk over the poles for a little bit. Then we went around the field to end the ride... always nice and you can tell the horses like getting out of the arena. We may swap horses tomorrow for a ride.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Mellow Mare loves her new supplement
I've been getting catalogs from Chamisa Ridge for a while; years, probably. I think we ordered a really nice show brush set from them when the girls first hit the show circuit. A few weeks ago I was perusing their most recent catalog and noticed a product called Mellow Mare, full of herbs that are supposed to take the edge off a mare. Who wouldn't love a product description that begins, "The female equine can be a rather complicated animal..."!
I ordered it and Bestie has been on it for two weeks. I vaguely remember that I read the product's effects wouldn't show for a month or so, which I think is pretty much standard procedure for most of the herbal supplements. Plus, I started her on a half dose for a week just to make sure she wouldn't have any adverse effects.
So there's nothing really to report as of yet except that she LOVES the stuff. And I mean loves it like a cat with catnip! The first day I brought it into the barn I opened her door and announced "Here's your new supplement," while holding the container in the doorway. She sniffed it and started pushing it around; I thought she would knock it out of my hands. Then, a few days later, I was sitting in the aisle mixing up her supplement bags, and when I started scooping the Mellow Mare she started nickering and craning her neck out of the stall, almost like it was feeding time. Not sure which ingredient entices her so, but I bet she would eat the mix out of my hand.
I'll give it another few weeks to see how she does. All I'm looking for is a bit less of "the edge" and a little softening and relaxation.
I ordered it and Bestie has been on it for two weeks. I vaguely remember that I read the product's effects wouldn't show for a month or so, which I think is pretty much standard procedure for most of the herbal supplements. Plus, I started her on a half dose for a week just to make sure she wouldn't have any adverse effects.
So there's nothing really to report as of yet except that she LOVES the stuff. And I mean loves it like a cat with catnip! The first day I brought it into the barn I opened her door and announced "Here's your new supplement," while holding the container in the doorway. She sniffed it and started pushing it around; I thought she would knock it out of my hands. Then, a few days later, I was sitting in the aisle mixing up her supplement bags, and when I started scooping the Mellow Mare she started nickering and craning her neck out of the stall, almost like it was feeding time. Not sure which ingredient entices her so, but I bet she would eat the mix out of my hand.
I'll give it another few weeks to see how she does. All I'm looking for is a bit less of "the edge" and a little softening and relaxation.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Rode again!
I had good intentions to get on Bestie again this weekend, but on Saturday I filled in for an absent stall mucker, and by the time I got done, I was tired. It was a really hot day, and it just seemed like a good decision to get the horses comfortable in their stalls after turning them in, with fans going and a flake of hay each, and head for home. Pretty much the same story for Sunday ... Katie and I went to the barn intending to ride, but it was just so HOT! I lunged Bestie and Katie hand-grazed and hosed Dude, who was sweaty from the heat.
Last night a storm went through and the temperature dropped nicely. Seems like that has been the weather story the past few weeks: hot, storm, cool. So Katie and I both rode today. I decided to live on the edge and not lunge Bestie beforehand. She was good, but still just so speedy walking around the field. If I try to half halt her she pulls an attitude and starts tossing her head around. I really try to keep my hands quiet and only pull when I feel I need to. I also try to sit deep in the saddle, so as to say to her with my body language, "We're NOT in a hurry here!"
When we got back to the barn she was sweaty under the saddle pad. I think it was just because she gets herself all worked up, because all we did was walk around the field for 15 minutes. She had a few opportunities to really be bad, like when one of the Arabians started racing around on the lunge line in the arena just as we were heading out the arena door, or when another horse tried to bolt out the arena door with his rider right as we were heading in. Amazingly (to me), she didn't use either of those opportunities to misbehave. She is a study in contradictions!
Last night a storm went through and the temperature dropped nicely. Seems like that has been the weather story the past few weeks: hot, storm, cool. So Katie and I both rode today. I decided to live on the edge and not lunge Bestie beforehand. She was good, but still just so speedy walking around the field. If I try to half halt her she pulls an attitude and starts tossing her head around. I really try to keep my hands quiet and only pull when I feel I need to. I also try to sit deep in the saddle, so as to say to her with my body language, "We're NOT in a hurry here!"
When we got back to the barn she was sweaty under the saddle pad. I think it was just because she gets herself all worked up, because all we did was walk around the field for 15 minutes. She had a few opportunities to really be bad, like when one of the Arabians started racing around on the lunge line in the arena just as we were heading out the arena door, or when another horse tried to bolt out the arena door with his rider right as we were heading in. Amazingly (to me), she didn't use either of those opportunities to misbehave. She is a study in contradictions!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I rode!
Yesterday I got on Bestie for the first time since late February. It has been a l-o-n-g time! I lunged her first (better safe than sorry) and she got a little racing around out of her system that way. I only rode a couple of times around the indoor and then went out with Katie into the field next to the outdoor ring and did a lap around that. All told, maybe 15 minutes on her at most.
She was good. She broke into a trot as we turned around and headed back toward the barn, but settled right back down into a walk when I pulled back on the reins. She walks so much faster than Dude that I'm always twisting around in the saddle to talk to Katie when we're out on the horses. I'd love it if Bestie would just amble along like Dude does. Her whole way of going is very "up" and I'm just not used to it or comfortable with it. I think I've seen her going full tilt with Maddie one too many times to feel very secure.
The funny thing is that considering how high strung she is, she does have a nice little Western jog. It's just that she won't do it for long before she starts speeding up. If I could get her to jog along as a regular practice, I'd be so happy. I guess it will take a lot more work on my part to achieve that. In any case, it was fun to be back in the saddle again!
She was good. She broke into a trot as we turned around and headed back toward the barn, but settled right back down into a walk when I pulled back on the reins. She walks so much faster than Dude that I'm always twisting around in the saddle to talk to Katie when we're out on the horses. I'd love it if Bestie would just amble along like Dude does. Her whole way of going is very "up" and I'm just not used to it or comfortable with it. I think I've seen her going full tilt with Maddie one too many times to feel very secure.
The funny thing is that considering how high strung she is, she does have a nice little Western jog. It's just that she won't do it for long before she starts speeding up. If I could get her to jog along as a regular practice, I'd be so happy. I guess it will take a lot more work on my part to achieve that. In any case, it was fun to be back in the saddle again!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
First hot weather of the season
This weekend summer hit with a vengeance. Friday was nice; in fact, I remember debating whether to add a sweatshirt to the long sleeved shirt I wore to the barn. Then on Saturday the heat and humidity arrived. It was kind of nice, since spring was so cool, to actually feel summer heat. But as that heat continued into Tuesday with temps in the high 80s and low 90s and horrible humidity, humans and equines both seemed to get a little sick of it. We're just not used to it here in northern VT.
On Sunday, the people who brought in the horses told us that Dude was at the gate after about an hour of turnout time. He is terrible with the heat, I guess due to his bulk. He gets really sweaty. We had hooked up fans to their stall doors, so those ran all weekend, which definitely helped them while they were in their stalls. Pretty much all the horses at our barn have their own fans (just another thing my South Dakota part time rancher grandfather would've snorted about).
Same story weather-wise on Monday. The girl doing turn-in ended up hosing Dude and about four of his afternoon compatriots because they were so sweaty. On Tuesday, barn workers decided to do shortened turnout so that all the horses got back into the barn by early afternoon. That turned out to be a good thing because some rip-roaring storms came through later in the day, complete with hail, high winds and driving rain. It was a mess last night during the storms, but all that crazy weather action did break the humidity and high temps.
We woke up this morning to temps in the high 50s. I can just picture all the horses rejoicing and doing a happy tear-around the fields at turn-out time today.
On Sunday, the people who brought in the horses told us that Dude was at the gate after about an hour of turnout time. He is terrible with the heat, I guess due to his bulk. He gets really sweaty. We had hooked up fans to their stall doors, so those ran all weekend, which definitely helped them while they were in their stalls. Pretty much all the horses at our barn have their own fans (just another thing my South Dakota part time rancher grandfather would've snorted about).
Same story weather-wise on Monday. The girl doing turn-in ended up hosing Dude and about four of his afternoon compatriots because they were so sweaty. On Tuesday, barn workers decided to do shortened turnout so that all the horses got back into the barn by early afternoon. That turned out to be a good thing because some rip-roaring storms came through later in the day, complete with hail, high winds and driving rain. It was a mess last night during the storms, but all that crazy weather action did break the humidity and high temps.
We woke up this morning to temps in the high 50s. I can just picture all the horses rejoicing and doing a happy tear-around the fields at turn-out time today.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Back to blogging
Geez, I feel guilty for not posting in so long, but the roadblocks have either been a) kids on the computer or b) out of town for college reunion (very fun!). The girls took care of the ponies while I was out of town.
Katie and I went to the barn on Monday and I lunged Bestie and she decided to just handgraze Dude because he seemed a little tired and sweaty. It was humid, and he takes a while to adjust to that because he's so hefty.
He was so cute. Katie was standing in front of him braiding his forelock, just for something to do, and he was dozing, doing the sleepy eyed thing. Then she switched to braiding his mane and he kept nuzzling her and resting his head on her shoulder. It was so funny because he seemed like he was about to nod off and hardly realized what he was doing.
Tuesday I had to go to the barn to meet the farrier because Katie had her internship. He was really pleased with Dude's feet. They do seem better, harder and not as squishy/thrushy as they frequently are. We've been consistent about treating them. Love The Sauce from Equilite!
The only worrisome thing was that Dude didn't seem to want to get his left hind up to be trimmed. It seemed something was bothering him. I couldn't decide if the lifting was uncomfortable or he didn't want to put weight on his right hind. Katie hasn't noticed him being "off." We had this problem before when he had that hip injury three (?) years ago. Will have to investigate further. Aaaaargh. There's always something to worry about.
Katie and I went to the barn on Monday and I lunged Bestie and she decided to just handgraze Dude because he seemed a little tired and sweaty. It was humid, and he takes a while to adjust to that because he's so hefty.
He was so cute. Katie was standing in front of him braiding his forelock, just for something to do, and he was dozing, doing the sleepy eyed thing. Then she switched to braiding his mane and he kept nuzzling her and resting his head on her shoulder. It was so funny because he seemed like he was about to nod off and hardly realized what he was doing.
Tuesday I had to go to the barn to meet the farrier because Katie had her internship. He was really pleased with Dude's feet. They do seem better, harder and not as squishy/thrushy as they frequently are. We've been consistent about treating them. Love The Sauce from Equilite!
The only worrisome thing was that Dude didn't seem to want to get his left hind up to be trimmed. It seemed something was bothering him. I couldn't decide if the lifting was uncomfortable or he didn't want to put weight on his right hind. Katie hasn't noticed him being "off." We had this problem before when he had that hip injury three (?) years ago. Will have to investigate further. Aaaaargh. There's always something to worry about.
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