Naughty Mare makes an appearance

I had a full hour lesson on Sunday (more on that in a separate post) so Bestie and I took Monday off. I just swung by the barn for a fairly quick grooming session and an offering of carrots.

I really wanted to ride tonight, Tuesday, because I have book/wine group on Wednesday and yoga on Thursday, so I don't expect to go to the barn those nights. I hate to miss riding too many days in a row because I feel like we've made such great progress. It seems like we're in a good routine.

When I got to the barn tonight, a horse was already on the crossties in front of Bestie's stall, so I decided to tack her up in her stall while she continued to eat her hay. Normally that's fine. But tonight, she kept circling away from me. Finally, I left the stall to give her some space to see if she needed to poop. She likes her privacy. After a bit she did poop.  Then she let me tack her up, but she kept pinning her ears in a sort of irritated way. But not a totally angry, I-don't-agree-with-this way.

We went on down to the lower, bigger indoor with Katie and Rocky. We rode around at the walk chatting for a bit, and then started doing our own thing. We remarked that both horses seemed a little sluggish. The weather has been so up and down, I can't blame them for feeling a bit blah.

Bestie and I jogged the long sides of the arena and walked the ends. I guess we did about 4 rounds, then I asked her to reverse. We made it about half way around after reversing direction, and she suddenly sped up for no apparent reason. I started to post, which usually slows her right down. But she kept speeding up with her head up high and pulling on the reins, and she broke into a canter  just as I was trying to circle her, which threw me a bit off balance.  I was trying to sit deep and relax my hands, but being off balance kept me from sitting deep and I know that lack of balance led me to have a tight grip on the reins - that reaction of hanging on for dear life. She gets really angry when you grip on the reins, so we were kind of stuck in this no-win escalating situation. I got her back to the trot, still speedy, and rode her right at the end wall, so she stopped and started sidestepping. But at least at this point we were back to a walk. She huffed and puffed around the ring for a lap, clearly still worked up.

I walked her around at least three more laps, and then asked her for a jog at the front end of the arena. She did a loop of about a third of the arena at a nice jog, and then I asked for a walk again. You gotta pick your battles, and I felt ending on that good  note was best. Self preservation.

I haven't seen a tantrum on this level for several years. The last time was when we had been out in the field, and coming back to the barn, we had to pass the hay baler in action and she suddenly freaked out, jigging and bouncing around. I got off - it seemed the best thing to do in the wide open field. After that incident she refused to go down that way for the next couple of summers. It took forever to work through.

I don't know what this was all about tonight. Just a bad night? Maybe. We'll see how the next ride goes on Friday.

What to do with your horse when the temps hit subzero?

That's the question I ask myself when the temperatures drop.

See above - that was the temp heading home from the barn this afternoon.

It has continued to drop. And the wind has picked up.

So the windchill is ... well, I don't even want to think about it.

The horses stayed in today because of the temperatures. No problem with that, they tend to get silly outdoors on days like this when it's super cold. Plus, I certainly sympathize with the barn folks, who I'm sure don't want to do the back-and-forth, back-and-forth of turnout in this weather.

So what DO I do when the temps drop?

1. Have a heckuva grooming session. When it's really cold Bestie tends to get the spa treatment with three rounds of currying (mitt, gelly scrubber, and rubber massager), brushing, and then some argan oil leave-in conditioner in her mane and tail.

2. Hand walk. I find hand walking kind of boring, but necessary to give her some movement and a change of scenery from her stall when there's no turnout. Sometimes we'll do serpentines or smaller and smaller circles just to mix it up a bit. About 15 minutes is my limit. If no one else is in the indoor, I'll let her off the lead to wander around and roll. When it's super cold like today, we hand walk in the barn aisle. Typically not too many people are out in weather like this, so the aisle is free. This afternoon they had just fed hay, and she got a lucky score of some of the 2nd cut "salad" that had fallen in the aisle. Bestie the vacuum.

3. Add warm water to her bucket. Whenever it's chilly, I'll clean out her water bucket and then fill it half way with warm water before filling it the rest of the way with the usual tap water. It ends up somewhat lukewarm, and I have to say that when I do this, she *always* takes a drink as soon as I'm done filling it. So I think she likes it. And it's good to encourage her to drink since they get extra hay when they're stuck indoors. Keeps her system moving.

4. Make a bran mash. I haven't done this yet this winter. One winter I made Dude and Bestie bran mashes every Sunday. I bought her a special bran mix for Christmas, but Christmas Day was so warm I never made it. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow (which is supposed to be even colder than today).

5. Hang out in her stall. Our barn is an old dairy barn with a low ceiling, and when the doors are shut it tends to stay pretty warm inside - typically around 40 degrees. It's plenty warm to just sit in the stall and watch her eat hay. I love being in the barn when it's quiet and you can hear all the horses munching. It's very peaceful.

6. Cancel my lesson. Regretfully, because I missed last week being out of town. But my personal comfort zone for riding is about 20 degrees and warmer. Plus, it doesn't seem very kind to her to ride when it's colder than that.

The good news is that we've only got one more day of this, and then Monday is in the 20s, and Tuesday is in the 40s. Those will be riding days, for sure.

Thinking about Dude

Dude would have been 23 today. I knew I wasn't going to be at the barn today due to another commitment, so last night, after I groomed Bestie, I sat on the shavings in her stall and watched her eat her hay and I thought about Dude.

Each year I did a little sign  for his stall; this one was for his 21st birthday in 2014. Going through all the photos looking for the one above made me smile as I remembered what a funny guy he was, but also made me sad because I never thought he'd leave us so soon. It's still unbelievable to me that he's not around.  My daughter told me today about a friend of hers whose dog was diagnosed with cancer and died within the week after diagnosis. She said it was tough on the family. I thought, "I know." A sudden death leaves you reeling. The month after he died was a lost month for me. I felt like I just went through the motions.

I still miss him. I'm glad I have so many photos to keep the wonderful memories fresh in my mind.

. 

Let a horse whisper in your ear and breathe on your heart. You will never regret it. -Author unknown

Lesson day

I always give Bestie Monday off after our Sunday lesson, then ride Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It was difficult to follow my usual riding pattern this week.

Last Tuesday we had a snowstorm, and there was just enough snowfall that by the time I got home, and our driveway got plowed, I decided not to drive to the barn. The horses had gone out, so I knew she had been able to stretch her legs.

Then on Wednesday, I had book club. Again, the horses had gone out, so I figured she wouldn't miss me.

On Thursday, I had yoga. But I decided to drive over to the barn after class and say hello and at least give her a good grooming.

I knew I had to ride on Friday and Saturday or it would kind of be a waste to pay for a lesson. When I got to the barn Friday night after work, it was cold, in the teens, and I do not enjoy riding when it's that cold. I felt like the Stay Puff marshmallow woman with a hat under my helmet, two shirts, vest, down jacket, long johns and jeans. And neck warmer.

We ended up riding in the lower arena with Katie and Rocky. No one else was at the barn by then. The lower arena is definitely a bit warmer than the upper one; it has the plastic walls which seem to create a slight greenhouse effect when it's a sunny day. The temperature was just below 20 degrees while we rode. I stayed pretty warm except for my hands. Bestie was kind of distracted and speedy, probably a combination of the cold, lack of riding, and the not as familiar arena. Finally, after about 25 minutes, I rode into the center of the ring and Bestie and I hung out there and watched Katie and Rocky while I kept my hands in my pockets. My fingers were aching.

Saturday was a better day. We rode in the upper arena and got a few long side 1/4 lane serpentines in. She was much more focused.

Our lesson today was awesome. Generally we have to negotiate through some sort of tantrum, but she was perfectly fine. Even when the horses in one of the adjacent paddocks started running and snorting, she kept jogging along. We did long side 1/4 lane serpentines, full arena serpentines, lots of jogging, some posting, At one point she spooked - it sounded like something slid off the roof - but she came right back to what we were doing.

Paula videotaped us because we were doing a lot of work on straightening Bestie out and strengthening her in a balanced way. Unfortunately the lighting is kind of tough for filming in the arena, so the video was a bit too hard to see and learn from. I think I need to straighten up a bit - that much I could see. :)

I feel like we've made so much progress and that we're both more confident. Because of hockey, I can't do a lesson this coming Sunday, so we rescheduled to Friday. Then the following weekend I'm in Massachusetts, so I'll have to see if we can work out another day change. I hate to have a long stretch without a lesson since we're doing so well.

A hardworking girl needs hock boots

When Bestie got checked over by holistic vet Kim Henneman back in the fall, one of the the things Kim mentioned was that Bestie's right hip was lower than her left and there seemed to be some imbalance there. She definitely favors a side and we've been working in lessons to balance her.

After talking to a couple people at the barn, I decided to invest in some hock boots for her. I bought the same kind a friend at the barn has - Back on Track - and the friend gave me a coupon ... nice! Bestie really just needed one - for her right hock - but they're sold in a pair. Seems like wearing two can't hurt.

So, almost every day, before I start grooming her, I put them on. She's fine with them. No drama. She probably wears them about 20 minutes. The hock boots are one of those things that I guess could be called an investment. She doesn't have problems that I know of, seems it's fairly minor age-related wear and tear. Hopefully a little TLC in the form of the boots will help keep it that way.

The hock boot material is similar to splint boots, but the material is ceramic infused. After she wears them for the 20 minutes, her hocks feel slightly warmer to the touch.

Here's what the Back On Track website says: Designed to reflect the horse's own body-warmth, Back on Track horse boots create a soothing far infrared thermal heat, which can help alleviate pain associated with inflamed muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints. Used for both injury prevention as well as injury recovery. Back on Track products are not to be compared with magnetic therapy. Our form of therapy works with your horses own body heat.

They are easy to  put on and seem to be holding up well. Bestie's stall neighbor Jack, who is in his 20s, also wears them. When the horses are indoors due to the weather, he wears his hock boots for long stretches at a time.

When I put the link into this entry, I noticed that Back on Track has people products, too. I may have to check them out. 

Never a dull moment with Vermont weather

The key thing to notice in this photo is the big fat 0. As in Zero Degrees. I feel like I completely dodged a bullet having my lesson yesterday when the temperature was a balmy 33 degrees. It always blows my mind when the temperatures drops so precipitously. 28 degrees last night when I went to bed at 10 pm. 3 degrees when I woke up this morning. Wow.

The barn folk wisely decided not to turn the horses out today. The wind chill was sub zero, and most likely they would have gotten the horses all out, only to start bringing them in again. The prince and princess ponies don't last too long in this kind of weather, especially with any wind. They were probably plenty happy in the warm barn.

Bestie certainly seemed content. When I got to the barn a bit after 6 pm, she barely looked up from her hay when I said hello. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, I took her out to the indoor so she could at least stretch her legs. She rolled and then wandered around the front of the indoor checking out the lunge lines and crops hanging from the front hooks, the wheelbarrow with manure (frozen) in it, and the always fascinating corner full of jump poles, standards, and jump box with the artificial flowers in the top, 

While she was doing her tour, I occupied myself by raking the footing away from one side wall. Doing that was enough to warm me up pretty well. Then I clipped her lead back on her and we took a few laps around the indoor at a leisurely pace. 15 minutes out there was plenty, as my fingers were starting to get really cold. With its metal walls, the indoor can feel like a freezer on really cold days.

I cleaned out her stall, fluffed in some extra shavings, picked out her feet, tucked her back in her stall with another flake of hay, filled her bucket full of half warm and half cold water, and wished her good night. Not much else to do when it's this cold. I'm liking the looks of the weather as the week progresses.

Another "he's gone" moment

I've been going to the barn most every day, riding Bestie, cleaning tack, mucking out her stall, doing the usual. I still have Dude's halter hanging in my tack cubby, along with a couple of happy birthday signs I'd made for him in the last few years. I definitely still think of him often, but that terrible heavy ache is for the most part gone. So I was pretty surprised by my reaction last weekend when I got to the barn and saw that a new wooden sign for the horse that's now in Dude's old stall had gone up over the door.

For the last month and a half that the horse, Rio, has been in there, he's had a paper sign with his name written on it tacked over Dude's old stall sign. That bothered me for a bit, but I got used to it. I kind of liked seeing Dude's name peeking out when the paper would flap in the breeze. It seemed very Dude-ish, in keeping with his unretiring, "hello what about me" personality.

But when I saw Rio's new sign, it really hit me again that Dude's gone. Hit me like tears welled up. Gone gone gone. No sign. No tangible, visible evidence of his presence. I think having Rio's paper sign over Dude's wooden sign made me feel that there was still a little bit of Dude hanging about the barn. Maybe it's crazy, but I think that's what it meant to me. That Rio was the temporary one. That Dude couldn't be replaced.

Rio's new sign is lovely - the colors evoke carnival in Brazil and the design is really fun. Boarder Bev painted it. When I ran into her a couple days later, I complimented her on it and mentioned my reaction. She was sort of matter of fact, saying something like "part of moving on." Seems that moving on has an awful lot of parts.