Getting Her Groove Back

As you may recall, I dropped Windy off with her trainer, Brenda Messick, on Monday to begin her spring tune-up. There were a few things specifically that I wanted Brenda to work on with her. First, being her lope. Simply put: she can be quite lazy and strung out. Now with all due respect to my horse, it’s kind of like disciplining a kid: once I let her get away with it, she gets a little attitude when I ask her to comply. So boot camp helps me to help her.

I also asked Brenda to work on her sidepass. I don’t know if it is my ask or her give, but we have a hard time keeping the back end moving with the front end. She also hasn’t had the best manners at the mounting block lately, so Brenda should keep that in mind while working with her as well.

As riders, we have all heard the saying “you are always training whenever you are riding.” I consider it more that I am applying what I know when riding my horse. I don’t know what I don’t know; and some of the stuff I do know, I have difficulty applying – so let’s just say some of us still need trainers. While I can say I ride a lot, my “training” is limited to what I know AND what I feel comfortable doing. There are some thresholds I am nervous about pushing her through and that is where Brenda fills the gaps.

I thought it would be fun to show you the pictures from her session yesterday. They speak for themselves about her progress under Brenda's program.

I love how collected she is in all of these pictures. And in the close-ups, you can tell that Windy is really concentrating on doing what is asked of her. You could see her ears flicking to Brenda's voice; listening for her cues.

And the best for last....

The video: By keeping her collected, you can see her really working her hindquarters. I just loved watching her movements. She looks like more than "just a trail horse" here! This, after just 5 days! Imagine if I put her in training for 90 days! Ah, but I'd miss her too much. When I rode her later that day, the feel of her under me was incredible. I hope I am able to do her justice when she comes home. She'll stay with Brenda for another week. I'm looking forward to my next session with her as well.

Life on the Farm

Having missed the arctic blast, I arrived home to a chilly, but fair, 22 degrees. The only casualty from this last weather assault was the death of our rooster. Since he made it through the winter of hell (2010), I can only surmise that he meet his demise by hoof, not climate – most likely that of Butter, who I saw go after him on more than one occasion. I can’t say I blame Butter, if she was truly the perp, as he was a mean rooster. He had become a somewhat infamous barnyard icon around here making his mark on more than one of my kids’, their friends’ or cousins’ legs. He will be missed, for no other reason than we were so used to walking softly around him to avoid an unprovoked attack.

And for those who wonder if perhaps Bo finally got his rooster? He’s got an alibi. It happened overnight when Bo was tucked warmly in the house.

Ritz has become such a pest when I am grooming or saddling the horses, his impatience showing by circling my work area, trying to herd me along. So yesterday, when I tied Windy up to saddle, I also put a lead rope on Ritz and tied him to a post. I ignored his crying while I took no more than 5 minutes to quickly brush the grime off Windy and toss on her saddle. When I turned my attention back to Ritz, I noticed him wrapped in the lead rope with it in his mouth. “Cute,” I thought, as I pulled out my Blackberry to snap a picture of him. Before I could put the camera away, Ritz had gnawed through that lead rope and was free. I guess he showed me. Ah-ha! We’ll see how well he works a chain next time! Brat dog!

It was nearing 45 degrees and the big thaw was on. I picked out some dry spots in the pasture, driveway and arena to ride, but quickly bored of the mud and the muck and a somewhat feisty mare. When I came in to grab a bite to eat, I had an email from a friend, Mary, who was riding at her place not far from me and asked if I wanted to join her. She didn’t have to ask twice. I hooked up my trailer, loaded my horse and drove the short 20 miles to meet her at her home.

Mary’s rides and drives Morgan horses and has a good eye for horse flesh. She had her gelding, Duke, tied to the hitching post when we arrived. He is coming off an injury from last season and she is slowly trying to get more time on him now that he is sound. I saddled and we headed over the the CRP land across the road, blasting through some pretty deep snow drifts. When we got back onto the road, I noticed Duke had a cut on his foot, so we took him back and she quickly saddled her mare, Sarah, and we rode off once again.

This time we rode through the cornfields, the dirt (muddy) roads and up an old railroad bed. The wind was getting stronger, but the sun felt good on both our backs and for our disposition. My mare had settled down and I got the good ride I was looking for. We looped our way back through her nearly unincorporated home town, riding down its main street. We rode just shy of two hours, beating the sunset by only a half an hour or so.

I have decided I am going to send Windy over to my trainer, Brenda Messick, for a few weeks this spring. There are some things I would like fine tuned with her that I know Brenda can help with. It’s always fun to have someone else work with your horse, especially when they come back better as a result of such training.

Missing

It's been a week of back to back events that leave little time at home. Go to work, go to a basketball game. Go work work, go to a school concert. Go to work, go to a basketball game. I swear the schools try to kill the parents the last week before Christmas. And for good measure, the Big Fat Lying Weatherman throws in an ice storm just to keep things interesting.

We came home last night, after the last basketball game of the season, and I noticed tracks on the icy/snowy driveway. I commented to Case that I hoped those were dog tracks, but stopped and opened the door to the Durango and looked closer. Granted, the ground is hard ice, but I was pretty sure I was looking at horse tracks. Damn!

I ran into the house and changed shoes and headed to the barn. The gate to the corral was closed, which was a good sign, but there wasn't a horse to meet me, which was unusual. I walked toward the barn, praying they were huddled inside, but it was quiet. I turned on the light to find the barn empty.

Case and I jumped back in the Durango. After the last escape, I keep a couple halters and leads in the back. We followed the tracks out of the drive and across the gravel road. They appeared to have gone into the cornfield or the alfalfa field – it was hard to see in the dark and with the corn stubble and alfalfa, it was anyone's guess. John started driving the perimeter of the corn field and me, the alfalfa field. John called and had picked up their tracks in the cornfield, so I headed that direction, too. In the meantime, I called the sheriff to see if anyone reported seeing any horses. "No," he said. And told me he would make note of it in case anyone called.

It was so dark. John went north; I went west until I came to a fence line. As I followed it around, I saw what appeared to be a figure in the middle of the field. Yes, there they were. I didn't want to spook them and have them run toward the road & ultimately toward the highway, so I tried to stay in front of them. I stopped a distance away and started to talk to them through the window, calling them by name. Initially, they trotted away and we followed, keeping a safe distance. I then got out and walked toward them, continuing to talk to them. I reached Blue first and attempted to slip on the halter.

When I put halter and leads in the trunk of the Durango, I grabbed older ones that I didn't use much. Crap. I must not have checked for size because no way, no how was this one going on Blue's big head. Ginger had worked her way up and she can be skittish about being caught, but I had to get one of the herd bosses, Blue or Ginger, to get the rest to follow. Luckily, Ginger waited while I put my arm over her neck and slipped the halter on.

We started to make our way back across the field; I was leading Ginger, the herd following and Case behind the herd in the Durango, the headlights helping me to see a little better. The snow and ice on the ground helped, too, but the field was rough. It wasn't easy going. Then, something spooked the herd. They started to rush past me. It took a moment for me to realize what I was hearing with the sound of the ice and the cornstalks and I didn't have time to react. Ginger pulled from my grasp. When I tried to pull her in, I slipped on the ice and went down hard on my back. I heard horse hooves near me and then they were gone.

I slowly got up and looked for my shoe – somehow it had slipped off in the struggle. Man, did I hurt. I heard every vertebra in my neck pop upwards and felt the familiar tinge of pain in the tailbone, an old injury that had finally stopped hurting last spring. I slowly got up, caught my breath and Case pulled up next to me in the Durango and I got in. The horses had run into the night toward the road. I called John and gave him the new destination and prayed they went to the next field and not toward the highway. I was relieved to find them in the cornfield across the road.

I told John that Ginger still had a halter and lead on; I grabbed the other one and started walking toward them. I had Butter's attention and she met me halfway. I easily slipped the halter on her and John caught up with Ginger. The other horses fell in behind and we started the slow procession back to the corral.

I never worry too much when they are in the corral. It is pretty secure with the high panels interlocked and then each wrapped with wire. But, evidently not secure enough for a panicked draft horse. We surmise she was scratching her hind end on the panels and her tail became tangled in the wire. She must have freaked and in her struggle to free herself, brought down the panel. We found a big strand of her tail hair hanging on the panel.

As much as I damn the snow and ice, in this case, it was in my favor. Had I not seen the tracks, I wouldn't have realized the horses were out until daylight today. They probably would have stayed in that cornfield but you never know. I'm glad I didn't have to find out.

Horse Weekend - Part 2

The Trail Challenge Clinic

Part 2 of my All Horse Weekend was the Trail Rider Challenge Clinic hosted by Kelli Paulson of Authentic Horsemanship. I had heard of Kelli’s Trail Rider Challenges and her obstacle course, but was never quite ready to “take the challenge.” The clinic provided a venue for experiencing the event in a clinic like setting rather than a competition. This is much more in my comfort zone. And I was thrilled that many of my friends had also signed up. I knew we would be tired just coming off of the Friday Before Mother’s Day Ride, but heck, why not make it a riding weekend!

Saturday morning, I took the ATV to the pasture to fetch Windy. I could almost hear her saying “not again!” as she turned away from me as I started to approach her. But she’s a good partner. She stopped and put her head down as I haltered her and trotted back up to the house next to the ATV.

Sheila & Cooper

There were 29 riders at the clinic. Many of whom I recognized as being the FBMDR the day before and other Horsetalers. We all had to introduce ourselves at the start & say a little about ourselves or our horse. Of course I introduced Windy as the "prettiest bay horse here", so Polly had to introduce Eve as the "second prettiest bay horse here". The 3rd & 4th prettiest bays came in shortly after and had they introduced themselves first, I am sure I would have had to give up my #1 pretty horse spot to theirs!

Kathy & Zuni

We worked on the ground some. Windy understood the disengage stuff from the ground albeit she was a bit tired and seemed bored with the whole exercise. When Kelli brought out pool noodles and hoola hoops, among other things, that brought her back to life!

Once saddled, half the group went one direction and the other half the other direction as our horses weaved in and out each other. I truly think it was more of a challenge for the rider to figure out which way they were suppose to go (right or left) than a challenge for the horses! It was a fun exercise.

Sandy & Whiskey

We went over to the obstacle course. What a great playground! A huge rubber tarp, different planks, bridges, platforms, and teeter totters were the first thing we encountered. There was also a large gate and big tree trunks for jumping. A canopy made of pool noodles. There was a natural water crossing and a bridge over the water. She also had torn tarps hanging from the trees and more timber to cross in a small pasture and a natural hill to slide down or climb. I am pretty sure we tried everything. Didn't succeed on it all, but didn't expect to. Windy didn't refuse any of the natural obstacles -- the creek crossing, the steep embankment or the real bridge. We had more challenges with the contrived obstacles.

The most challenging for me as a rider was a big hill with two large steps made of rail road ties going up and down both sides. Going up was easy, but when I got to the edge to step down, my knees turned to jelly and my heart started pounding. I couldn’t get myself to ask her to go down. My friend, Sandy, came to the rescue and took Windy over it a couple times. After I could see she could do it without killing Sandy, I attempted and succeeded at it. It was really no steeper than the solid rock we had to drop down at Harney Peak. I guess I have a little fear of contrived obstacles, too!

Windy & I on the scary steps!

As I watched the other riders, I saw all different skill levels. I was so impressed with those who handled the course effortlessly. And even some of those who I know are novice riders, showed grace when manuevering the obstacles. I compare my riding skills to Elaine on Seinfeld's dancing skills! And I’m sure it showed yesterday! But I had the best time and literally laughed out loud, as it was such fun! One big weekend down and I’m looking forward to next week's Competitive Trail Ride adventure on the prettiest bay horse around!

Sam & Apache

On the Ground

Yesterday I did something out of the ordinary. Instead of trailering to the nearest trail, my friend Sheila came out and we just spent some time with my horses. On the ground! The one thing I have always admired about Sheila and her geldings is how nice they are in hand. She has spent a lot of time with them on the ground and it translates so nice into the saddle. Instead of working with Windy, who has had more time than any of my horses, we decided to do a little with those that get the least amount of attention; Blue, Butter and Baby.

Blue is Mr. Big Stiff Neck. Our inexperience when we bought him, combined with years of being a kid’s horse has hardened him, I’m sure. The only time I can get him to turn his neck from the saddle is if I offer him a piece of licorice or the raisins from my trail mix! Otherwise, he sees no reason to bend, flex or whatnot! But with pressure and release, Sheila finally got him to give somewhat!

Butter caught on quicker, but it was more like her saying, “Yeah, yeah, I know this stuff… here, I’ll bend. Are you happy now? Move on!” (All in one breathe). Baby, who has had little work at all, seemed to catch on the quickest. It was fun watching them watch Sheila and respond to her.

Sheila commented later on Horsetales.

“Each one is such a different personality. They didn't know what to make of me, I don't think. Blue was a little worried, so needed a lot of reassurance."

"Butter flipped me off a couple times, but found out it isn't safe to turn her butt toward me when I have a carrot stick in hand. She would be an interesting one to try to figure out how to communicate with without getting a reaction from."

"And Baby was unsure what it was that we were doing, but was a surprisingly fast learner. She was trying to avoid cantering, so got into that really nice extended trot and in pretty nice form, too. She did canter eventually for a little bit, but she really didn't like doing it.”

The dogs were fascinated. Every now and then, Bodett would come up to the round pen and check things out. Ritz wanted to help really, really bad, but his idea of helping is running around the round pen WITH the horse! So he learned today about choke chain collars and being restrained. Madeline just enjoyed the sunshine.

Getting My Groove Back

So maybe I jumped the gun...

After work last night, I worked out at Curves. While there, the sun came out and the day turned pleasant. Any other day I would be looking forward to coming home and riding Windy. What was wrong with me? How could I let a couple of challenging spring rides undo the last four years of success?

To hell with it. I hurried home and changed clothes. Decided I can be just as belligerent as she can as I slipped on my spurs. Haven’t worn them in a while; had to search for them! Saddled her up, jumped on and headed out the driveway. At her first act of defiance, I gently touched my spur to her side. She got the message real quick. Spent the next hour riding the cornfield and beanfield. Would occasionally give her a break in the pasture and let her graze. By the time we got back home, we had come to a quiet understanding.

Tonight I rode her almost 4 miles. Lots of long trotting and some loping. Mostly on a loose rein. We definitely got our groove back. Tomorrow we’ll ride with the Platte River Riders again. I expect she’ll be a little higher in a group, but now that I got my confidence back somewhat, we can work through it together.

Thanks everyone for your comments and private emails of support. I’m not saying I am out of the woods yet, but no longer on the dark side.

Spring Training

I'll get the yucky stuff out of the way first. Looking out the window I see a few of my least favorite things: snow, mud and wind. And don’t think you can’t see wind! I see it all right when it is blowing the snow across the yard and the tree branches are swaying with their early spring buds. I see it in the manes and tails of the horses as they dash from the barn, jockeying for the best spot at the round bale against those 40 mph gusts. It’s been over 24 hours of constant blowing. It’s revelry against the window panes is enough to drive anyone mad. End of rant.

On Tuesday, I stopped by Brenda Messick's to see how she was doing with Windy. This is the second spring I have taken Windy to Messick Quarter Horses for 30 days riding. Ideally, I would continue to take lessons after her refresher course, but we soon find ourselves in the heart of trail riding season and not enough hours in the day or days in the week.


Nonetheless, I enjoy watching someone else ride my horse; especially someone who rides so well! Windy was definitely in work mode and Brenda was taking her through the paces. Of course when it was my turn to ride her, I felt like I hadn’t been on a horse in my life! “Bend your arms”, “Collect her”, “Lift the inside rein”, “Move off the outside leg”, “Squeeze with your calves”, “Bump, bump, bump!”

Have you ever driven a skid loader? When you drive a skid loader, you use both your arms and feet simultaneously to make the skid loader go forward and backwards and your timing needs to be impeccable as far as lifting and dumping the bucket. After you do it for awhile, you get the hang of it, even though in the learning curve, it may cost you a few chunks out of the side of the barn or manure blown in your face! But as you progress, you no longer think about what your hands or feet are doing; you just do it. That’s how Brenda rides Windy. She knows when to press what buttons and how to press them to get the results she is looking for. It’s amazing to watch such precision and timing and seriously, I doubt I will ever have that much finesse.



Windy comes home next week and I am sure once she leaves the arena and we start hitting the trails, some of my old habits will prevail. But just the same, after she has spent time with Brenda, I have more horse than I had when she left and I mean that in a good way. And I have to try a little harder to live up to my horse’s expectations!

Friday Night Follies

Last Friday, my friend Sheila and I went to Chance Ridge to ride. Our goal was to video tape each other so we could critique ourselves and our riding styles. I must mention that I use the word "style" loosely as I am really not sure I have much of a style! My hope is simply not to embarrass myself too much, is all.

I ended up taking both Ginger and Windy and wasn't surprised to find that Sheila brought both her geldings, Jake & Cooper. I saddled my mares; started by riding Ginger and ponying Windy and after a bit, tied Windy off and continued to ride the rail with Sheila. Before we knew it, an hour had passed. We switched horses then and I warmed up Windy for the big filming debut.

We each took our turn while the other shot the video clip. Sheila is a very good rider -- self-taught at a lot of things and someone whom I consider a true "student of the horse." I welcomed her feedback and was eager to try some of her suggestions. When I got home and viewed the video clip.... Oh My Gosh! Sheila was so kind! Let's just say I'm glad I have a pretty horse! And I'll say right now, you won't see that video clip here!

After our "demonstration", we turned the horses loose in the arena. A friend, who recently had surgery on her broken leg, entered the building in a wheelchair and she caught the horses' attention and off they went! They were putting on such a show, that we kept them going for awhile. Now this is a video clip worth watching!

Cast of Characters:
Bay Mare: Windy
Sorrel Mare: Ginger
Gray Gelding: Cooper
Gold: Jake

Ginger is Windy's dam. Watch the likeness as they run. Sometimes it appears they are synchronized! And what do you think about Jake's color -- the one I indicated as "gold"? He is registered "sorrel with flaxen" but others have said he appears smutty palomino. I believe Sheila said one parent was sorrel and the other palomino. He has no dorsal stripe, so is not dun. His color has always fascinated us so would be curious to see what you think.

It would be remiss of me not to mention how lucky we are to be invited to ride at Chance Ridge, just west of Omaha. Dr. Burton and Cindy Smith have truly the best equestrian set-up that I have had the pleasure and privilege to ride. And some of the most awesome quarter horses I have ever seen! I thank them for sharing it with us!

Observations

On Sunday, we moved the horses down to a different pasture. I ponied each of them down on Blue. I was very happy that Black ponied easily; stayed behind me, slack line & didn't even try to steal corn from the field as we passed it. On Monday, I went down and lunged him for about 15 minutes but didn't ride.

Last night we were invited to ride at a friend's over by Blair who has some awesome trails behind his home that he and his neighbors graciously allow guests to ride. Its an annual outing for a few of us; many whom are involved with the Trails Committee or Horse Council in some capacity. I took Windy and trailer pooled with Sharron and Dianna. As usual, the ride was beautiful but did have an incident when Windy got into some nettles and pretty much freaked out. She is so sensitive to nettles and was real close to being out of control. All I could do was tie her to a tree and get her to relax and then try to clean her legs with my hand.

Nettles aside, I noticed when I unloaded her at Sharron's and reloaded her in Dianna's trailer and again when I was saddling her that she has become a bit disrespectful toward me. I'm sure working with Black has made me more attuned to Windy's behavior and I have to say, I was kind of disappointed in myself. Oh, its not horrible, but she has been getting a little pushy, walking out before I mount, walking through me when loading. I correct her... but when did I start letting this happen. With Black under close scrutiny right now, I wouldn't allow that with him -- why do I allow it with her? Because she is the Princess???

Tonight I worked Black in the round pen. Walk, trot and whoa on the lunge line. Practiced moving hindquarters from the ground. Sidled him over to the fence and rode him bareback for awhile. Practiced more "whoa" and "back". Could NOT get a sidepass from him while mounted. I've got some ideas to try for that tomorrow.

After I put him away, I slipped the halter on "Princess". We went directly to the round pen. I think she was surprised that we were going to work for a while. Once I got her attention, she went to work. Got some nice trots & then long trotting. When ready, I moved her into a lope on the lunge line. She got a bit lazy with it, but I persisted. Whoa'd her and did some moving of her hindquarters and stepping over. Sidled her up to the fence & rode for a bit. I did get some nice sidepasses, worked on a half pass and finally did some forehand turns. Although I mentioned being disappointed in how pushy she has gotten, it was nice to see the things she hadn't forgotten and I realize how much further I need to go with Black to get him to this level. And I wonder if I have the gumption to keep it up or the know how.

I am pretty sure I mentioned somewhere in the blog that I do not like to do groundwork. I find it boring and tedious and would so much rather ride. But I also understand the importance of it and I'm starting to see the fruits of my labor with Black. I wonder, though, how far I can get before I don't know what to do next? I've decided I will take him to lessons -- as much as I want that time for Windy, I need help if I'm going to continue working with the Black. I worry that winter will come too soon before I'm ready; before he is.