Could I Be More Annoyed ?

Could I Be More Annoyed?

I don’t think so.  Last Thursday I took a walk down to the arena to see how things were coming along.  Seems that the arena crew (two kids sent over instead of a professional excavator) were at the farm spreading the footing (sand) with a leveling rake.

Me:

“Why are you taking piles of sand out of the arena”?

Cocky Know–it–all–kid:

“Because there’s too much sand and it’s too deep and if it’s too deep it’s no good for the horses legs”.

“Oh.  Why don’t you let me be the judge of how much footing goes in and I’ll worry about my horses legs.  By the way, the stone dust base is showing through in the middle here.  I don’t think it’s too deep, I think you should put that sand you took out back in.”

“No, we’ll level the sand in the arena and put that sand over by the shed where there’s some gaps by the foundation”.

“That’s not going to work.  The sand won’t hold and it will slide; we need topsoil over there”.

Dumb expression on his face with the ‘I can’t hear you’ look my kids used to give me.  Accompanied by the ‘I’m doing it anyway’ attitude.

“Why are you using my tractor?  You don’t have permission to use my tractor.  It’s not a toy it’s an expensive piece of equipment.”

“I forgot the keys to the bulldozer.”

“Well I don’t want you just taking the tractor without asking first.”

No reply.

I walk away because I’m not getting anywhere with this very cocky kid who thinks he knows everything and doesn’t need to listen to some old broad telling him what to do.

They left after a few more attempts at leveling with the rake.  Went down to check it out again.  This is when I discovered the huge gash in the stirrup rail.  Guess the tractor is not as easy to steer as it looks.  I check the tractor out, the cab is filled with sand.  I’m sure they dumped a whole bucket full over themselves before they figured out how to use the controls properly. Did I mention that by now I’m really annoyed?

Our neighbor Dave is a great guy and he helps us out by mowing and other handyman type of jobs around the farm.  Dave takes very good care of the tractor and so he washed the entire cab out, flushed out the radiator and polished the whole thing.  He was none to happy about the condition they left ‘his’ tractor in.  Thanks for the help, Dave.

Saturday they never showed up to continue the leveling job as promised. What a surprise. The contractor can’t be reached by phone, because when my number comes up he must ignore the call.  I sent him an e-mail Sunday night asking why they didn’t show and why the kids feel free to use my tractor and I told him I wanted the sand put back in the arena and to keep his crew off my tractor, etc…

Monday morning I get a call from neighbor Dave.

“That kid just rolled the tractor... no injuries though.”

“WHAT?”

“They rolled it off the ramp going to the indoor.  The roof is trashed, the three-point hitch and mowing deck are bent and there are lots of scratches on it.  They just pulled it upright with the bulldozer, and it slammed down pretty hard on its wheels.  They shouldn’t have done that, it’s not good for the tractor.”

“Thanks Dave, I’ll get in touch with the contractor and let him know.”

Can’t get in touch with the contractor for a while, then he’s apologetic.  I asked him did he get my e-mails?  No, he never saw them.  Okay, then why were they putting the sand back in the arena? Doesn’t matter now anyway.  The tractor needs to be fixed ASAP; we need it for mowing and other things.  He’ll take care of it. Uh, no, I’ll call the tractor company and have them pick it up and fix it.  By the way did I mention that I just finished making the payments two months ago and now the tractor is ours to do with it whatever we will, like roll it over down hills?  Well isn’t that just dandy.  I knew the minute it was paid off something would happen to it. 

One another note: Mellon injured his left front leg. Had the vet out for a look and an ultrasound.  He did a good job on himself this time. He’s torn all sorts of things and is now on stall rest for months.  This is not the horse that can handle being on stall rest; on a good day he’s neurotic, to say the least.  He needs a horse to stay in with him during the day so Sweetie volunteered. This way she can stay cool under the fans and the bugs aren’t so bad, no one bothers her, and she naps on and off during the day to rest her legs.  She and Sami or Dusty go out with her at night when it’s cooler.

It never ends around here.

Until next time

Quote for Today

Manure Happens

Farm Happenings

Farm Happenings

 Apparently, scary aliens have landed in the neighbor’s hay field behind the house.  The horses are sure these blue pods are definitely horse-eating monsters.  I’m positive they must have seen the field being hayed during the day, but as they were coming in at night for the past few days, a lot of galloping and snorting ensued to evade these fiendish beasts.  It’s amazing how the slightest change of venue can turn this herd into silly sissies.

Above are a few shots of some of the gardens we’ve been working on.   We’ve had new barn doors built; the old ones were rotted and needed to be replaced.  Now we need to get them primed and painted.

 The new run-in shed is finally finished.  It’s like a great new clubhouse for the gang and they all seem to love it.  Two rotating horses get to spend the night out and have it all to themselves each night.  This has been a much-needed addition since we have eight horses and six stalls in the barn. No one has to live in the aisle or the grooming stall anymore.  It’s nice to have the barn returned to normal again.

 Our indoor is coming along, albeit slowly.  The stone dust is down and they have delivered the sand.  Some has been spread but there is still more laser leveling to do. Of course, they were supposed to finish it today but as usual no one showed up to work again. They must be the most frustrating company I’ve ever worked with. Argh!!!

 On a good note, Donnie has been working well with his saddle and le tixerant girth. He seems to not mind this girth even when he tenses up and lowers his neck. My daughter has even sat on him and ridden him around the arena at a walk and he’s doing much better than expected. Today he longed over cavelletti and was a superstar, never putting a foot wrong. We’re so proud of him for growing up.

Dusty and I did more cavelletti work today and did fairly well.  Towards the end of the lesson we turned the single cavelletti over making it a small jump (not even a foot high), and as usual Dusty was enthusiastic.  She mostly trotted the pole until she banged her back feet due to her lack of attention.  It wasn’t that boring, really it wasn’t.  Next time she jumped it and cantered off but came right back to a trot.   We ended with that and will set up a small, simple course for her tomorrow.  At the end of our ride I always drop the reins and let her walk to cool off and she’s allowed to choose her own directions.  Today she chose to go over to the fence and park herself there (it’s where I always dismount) as if to say  “Okay, we’re done and YOU can get off now!” She’s a funny, opinionated mare and I get such a kick out of her personality.

Blue and Grady are back from their three-day stint at the veterinary clinic for diagnostic tests.  Blue had a nuclear scan and lameness evaluation tests. The diagnosis reported that he is overweight (we knew that), and has some sore back muscles, mostly due to his arthritic hocks needing to be injected again.  We usually do some maintenance on him about once a year, but they haven’t been done for a long time now; we’re hoping for his hocks to fuse eventually, but if the injections don’t help, they may have to be fused surgically to get him comfortable again. 

Grady’s ongoing lameness issues are still a mystery to the vets and us. For the past few months he’s been on and off again lame in his left front. We’ve had every diagnostic imaginable except an MRI (which would cost a fortune and needs to be done under general anesthesia) and tried different types of shoeing, different turnout situations and have tried just about everything else we can think of to make him comfortable and sound.  Surgery is an option, but the vets would like to try a few less invasive procedures first, such as injecting his tendon sheath on the lame side.  The last resort would be to nerve him, which we really don’t want to do if there is another way. For now we are going to pull his shoes again, as he seemed to do best without them, and see how he does with that scenario.

On another note, everyone at the clinic is in love with this gentle giant. He even participated in an assistant’s birthday party.  I should mention that this is the second time he’s been there in the last two months, as he colicked last month and had to have the ambulance bring him to the clinic for a short stay until he recovered.  He’s got quite a fan club there. I’m hoping he doesn’t have to see them all again anytime soon.

So it’s been a busy week.  Some good, some bad… but that’s life.

Until next time

Quote for Today

The only constant thing in life is change, and things can change rapidly when your dealing with horses.

"Cavelletti 101"

" Cavelletti 101"

This past weekend we accomplished some good basic training over cavelletti. One single pole on the long side and three in succession down the opposite long side were set up.  We mostly got the distance in correctly, although my eye seems to need some reeducating.   It’s been several years since I actually had to find the correct distance to a jump, but all in all I didn’t do too badly.  Except for this one time when we got in very close, Dusty trotted the first pole and jumped the last two.  I can’t blame her for that one -- it was my fault.  I’m sure she thinks she jumped a huge oxer and so, of course, an unauthorized canter was in order to show how proud she was of herself.  The thing I’m most pleased about though is the fact that, when asked, she came right back to trot and was willing to listen to my cues, making her pace to the cavelletti more easily adjustable.

The exercises Dusty performed -- and I use the word performed in the most glowing of terms -- seemed so effortless for her now that she is listening more and fighting less.  We did intermittent sitting trot and rising trot on circles and serpentines with a few figure eights thrown in for good measure on our way to tackling her gigantic trot jumps. I can’t call them mere poles or she wouldn’t think it was challenging enough for a horse of her caliber.  In order to mix it up and make the lesson more interesting for her and also to keep her from anticipating the next step, I think this form of training works best for her.  Dusty is definitely one of those horses who believes (knows?) she’s smarter than her rider. In my opinion, cavelletti work in the garden of  ‘arena of good and evil’ made use of her clever mind and helped her natural talent for learning to surface.

Ending on a good note for the weekend: Dusty looked and felt like a superstar as she rounded her back and neck over the last set of cavelletti, came on the bit with a forward pace and placed her feet correctly. The feeling was just right so we ended on a good note. It doesn’t take her long to learn the correct way of doing things, provided you can find a way to make the lesson genuinely appealing to her delicate sensibilities.
As a result, we’re on our way to more motivating lessons, and hopefully Dusty is having as much fun as I am.

Until next time

Quote for Today
It is the difficult horses that have the most to give you

Dusty's Next Training Challenge

Dusty’s Next Training Challenge

Dusty and I have been making some very real progress lately.  She’s learning to adjust her pace when asked.  Her balance is coming along at trot and canter and we think she’s ready to move on to the next level of training.  What’s that, you might ask? Well, I think she’s ready to start some genuine cavelletti work.  There is a wonderful book with guidelines outlining a six-week course of work with cavalletti that I feel would be a good training exercise for her…and me.

The book is:  Cavalletti: Revised Edition: Schooling of Horse and Rider over Ground Poles authored by one of the great masters of riding, Dr. Reiner Klimke and his daughter Ingrid Klimke.  This book addresses how to start a young/green horse over cavelletti and ready them for dressage or hunter/jumper disciplines.  Simply glancing through this book and reading some of the sage advice put forth by a true horseman, I feel it can only help horse and rider achieve their goals and strengthen the bond of mutual trust, which is so important for a successful partnership.

We’ve recently reassessed our goals and what we want to accomplish in the future.  I feel that all horses need dressage to teach them the correct way of using their bodies and their minds.  So I will continue to teach Dusty the basics of dressage. Someday we may even go to a show and compete at the intro or training level classes.  

Since I’ve also realized that I do miss jumping, I’ve decided to see if she is one of those horses who would be keen on jumping, starting slow and building up to nothing more than maybe 2 ft.  Dusty is a smart girl and I’m sure she would be up to the challenge of competing in the adult equitation divisions, and would probably enjoy them as much as I used to.  Those particular classes are fun and require some thought and finesse, and she has the perfect attitude to shine. However, I may not be up to it anymore.  It’s a wait and see sort of thing; even though I may not show again, it’s a goal worth working toward just in case. 

I find that if I don’t have a goal or two to work towards I am likely to become lackadaisical about training on a consistent basis.  It’s fun to think about showing again, this time on my terms.  Meaning I would not compete for a 10 cent ribbon but compete for the fun of it. I believe showing should be a barometer to see how far we’ve come in our training and what still needs work. Those are my conditions for ever setting hoof in the show ring again. I’m too old to worry that some judge, who may or may not even be qualified to judge, might give my horse and me a low score. In my opinion, after all the years I spent observing thoroughly flawed judging, I’m of the opinion some of them may have gotten their permits from the gumball machine for a nickel.  I could also care less what anonymous spectators might think about my performance. I thought with age I had gained patience - turns out I just don’t care anymore. It’s good to be mature, isn’t it?

So all that said, let’s see if we actually do it.  There is a still lot of teaching and learning to be done, on both sides of the saddle.  None of this will happen overnight, if we do decide to enter some small schooling shows it won’t be until next Spring. That should give us lots of quality time before we assess our situation again.

Until next time

Quote for Today

Every time you ride, your either teaching or un-teaching your horse.
    - Gordon Wright

" Self Preservation "

“Self Preservation”

 

' Lifeguard '

 

It occurred to me recently that my horses have absolutely no natural instinct for self-preservation.  I’m wondering what everyone else thinks about their horse’s personalities and whether or not their horses could survive if turned out in the wild.

The reason why this particular subject came to mind: I was about to drag the arena in the back field a few days ago, when I got out of the Kubota to open the gate, in the blink of an eye Nate had walked onto our chain harrow (luckily the tines were pointed down) and had to have all four hooves extricated; While extricating Nate and shooing him away, Grady thought the whole thing looked like a good idea and wedged both his front feet in the drag as well; Blue was standing in front of the hood staring me down and wouldn’t move even though I blew the horn at him; Donnie was checking out the bed in the back and had found an old halter and a rusty horseshoe with nails we had just picked up in the paddock to play with.  I swear it’s like living with a bunch of five year olds.

As I thought back over the years, many more instances of recklessness or downright stupidity came to mind, these are by no means all of their antics just a few of my favorites:

• There was the time when Blue and Erik took a run across the half frozen pond on the way in from turnout. Hence, the fencing around the pond.

• When Lifeguard picked the lock on the gate and led the entire herd on a merry gallop across the road through the neighbor’s sod farm, and tore it up. Although he's no longer with us he still has the ability to conjure up fond memories.

• When we live on Long Island, my daughter used to take the horses on a short walk to Long Island Sound.  Her friend one day came along and ponied her young OTTB Squiggy to the beach for the first time.  Although he had never seen so much as a big puddle, he got loose and ran off, making a bee-line straight into the oncoming waves of the Sound and kept on going until he fell off a ledge some distance out and disappeared under the water entirely, only to emerge a while later, shaken and disoriented.  But that didn’t stop him - he kept swimming out for a while until they rode further up the beach to lure him back.  He eventually turned around and got himself out of the water, only to gallop past the other horses up the beach and off into the distance.

• Down by the Sound again, Erik spooked and dove into a swamp - presumably for cover? - got stuck and dumped my daughter in the reeds and mud.  Luckily she didn’t let go of the reins and he dragged her for quite a ways, running next to him before she could stop him.  Where did he think he was going?  Or was he trying to outrun the horrifying “Swamp Thing” running beside him?

• Blue one day got loose and, of all the places he could have wandered, we found him standing happily in the dumpster atop a mountain of manure surveying his kingdom.

• Nate’s done so many off-the-wall things it’s hard to list them all , but my favorite would definitely have to be the time in Scotland when my daughter was taking a hotel group trail ride out.  Nate saw giant red cows with horns and, fleeing for his life, forgot to look behind him and backed up so quickly he ran into a bank and fell over backwards. 

 Nate is the main reason why any improvement we do on the farm starts with the question, “how could Nate hurt himself with this and how can it be prevented”?  Although, despite our best efforts, we’re convinced he could even hurt himself in a padded stall....  So I guess that our domesticated horses probably couldn’t take care of themselves if released into the wild and left to their own devices. How about yours?

Until next time

Quote for Today

 Leave a horse's gate unfastened and he'll be knocking on your window in the night.

This & That

This & That

Over the weekend Dusty and I took a spin around the ring and had a wonderful lesson.  It would have been even better had the thermometer not hovered close to 90 with at least 85% humidity.  We didn’t ride for very long but we did have a major breakthrough: Dusty has now settled down and stepped off on the correct lead for her canter transition in both directions.  She did quite a nice balanced flowing canter and came up through her back and was actually taking the bit softly.  It sort of felt like we were gliding along, bending perfectly on the circle.  Good girl, Dusty!  Thank you for being such a smart and willing student.

Of course, even though we didn’t ride for very long, we still had the pleasure of ringing out every article of clothing we wore that day.  In case Mother Nature is listening, I was under the impression it is not supposed to be this hot and miserable until the dog days of August. Please get your act together soon or I’ll have to consider moving to a colder climate.

Below are some pictures of Dusty after her bath modeling her new Shimmer Weave Farnam Fly Mask with the faux cheetah trim.  Sami is glad it’s not ‘cougar’ trim or he might be in trouble from an older lady like Dusty, since he considers himself the young stud around here.

These little baby turkeys and their mama showed up yesterday, luckily I was able to snap a few pictures before she herded them back into the woods.  I counted nine and will be keeping an eye out for them every day.  I’m hoping the foxes and coyotes around here are well fed.

Until next time

Quote for Today

There are many wonderful places in the world, but one of my favorite places is on the back of my horse.     - Rolf Kopfle

Dusty Rides Again

' Dusty Rides Again '

This past weekend, Dusty and I got a few rides in and I’m happy to report that we accomplished some good behavior.  I hadn’t been able to ride for two weeks because of other commitments so it was a treat for me.  For Dusty, in reality, she couldn’t care less.

Our first ride was in the outdoor ring and she did really well controlling her enthusiasm.  On her last few rides she’s been really tracking up well!  Color me surprised; with her conformation, I didn’t think she had it in her, physically.  I’m sure it’s due to all her wonderful training.

Next day we had quite a long and interesting ride.  We started out by walking around the outside of the indoor arena; there was lots of snorting going on, but if that’s the worst spook she’s got in her I’ll take it. As we rounded the arena heading to the front doors, she had to cross a round grate that’s part of the drainage system. She stopped, snorted, backed up and turned herself around a total of  4 times.  I didn’t push the issue and went up the hill a ways and around the drain, into the indoor.  After walking around on the stone dust and a few snorts about the plastic fabric base that’s still showing in places, we left.  Mind you, the bulldozer sitting in the middle didn’t bother her at all, just the scary plastic.

After our foray into the arena we headed to the back field.  I planned to mosey around for a while as the day was heating up quickly.  Unfortunately, Dusty had something else in mind. Mainly she wanted to turn around and go back to the barn.  As she turned around I softly led her into a circle to get her mind on the fact that we weren’t heading back just yet.  She accepted this with no problem. Then we worked in the outdoor arena for a short while and she seemed to have a fine time and ended up proud of herself for getting everything right.

I know there are a lot of riders and trainers who would disagree with my particular method of dealing with Dusty - or many of our horses, for that matter.  I’m sure there are some who are right now shaking their heads and saying to themselves that I should have forced her over that drain and not gone around it. Or instead of doing large quiet circles to get her mind on moving and away from her thoughts of turning home, perhaps I should have forced her to listen to me,  made her do my bidding and shown her that I was herd leader and all that comes with that sort of training.

Here’s my basic philosophy concerning most of my training techniques:  I find no reason to pick a fight with a horse that is genuinely afraid of something and refuses to comply. If there is a simpler, less dramatic way to get through a ride with the same result, why bother forcing the issue?  As we continue to practice each task, she will eventually accept it more willingly than if I did force her. As for her turning towards home, I think I got my point across that she could turn that way but when we came out of the circle we were heading in my preferred direction.  It seemed a better solution than if I were to have pulled her around and forced her, just to show her who’s the leader.

Being the leader... hmm.  Now that’s another question that sort of baffles me. Dusty knows she is the alpha mare in her small herd of mares.  I know who I am in the human herd I interact with.  It seems to me that Dusty has figured out by now that I’m not a horse, so she doesn’t have to “alpha” it over me, as it were.  I’m not her herd leader but her rider and teacher.  When I ride, I try to teach her the right way of doing things.  But I don’t expect her to learn all of it on the spot.  And I don’t demand that she blindly trust me when she’s afraid; trust has to be earned.  It’s a gradual process, and learning the right way will make it easier for her to relax and understand what I’m asking.  If what I ask is appropriate and fair at her stage of training, and takes into account the immediate circumstances, she’s more likely to respond willingly now and in the future.  That’s what makes the kind of rides we will both enjoy.

So the point I am getting at here is simply that, if we respect each other, neither one of us should force the other into doing something we don’t want to do.  We can have a civil conversation and arrive at the same conclusion without any shouting, kicking or pulling.  As we learn from each other how to relate, I’m sure in the end we will form a respectful, lasting partnership.  And really, isn’t that what it’s all about…?

Until next time

Quote for Today

At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other..... Each is the selfless guardian of the others very well being.