I am trying a new approach with Willig. Instead of treating him like a trained horse, I am treating him like a 3 or 4 year old (my guess as to what a 3 or 4 year old should be treated like, since I have never actually owned nor trained a 3-4 or any-year old), and instead of being annoyed with him at all the things he can't do, we have backed way, way off, and I am trying to work him in smaller increments and on easier things. So on a "typical" day now, he gets lunged (more transitions than I was doing with him so he exercises his hind legs better and it's less repititious) and then I ride him for about half an hour with a lot more breaks, a lot more "routine", and just a few minutes of something new. This doesn't always work, but there has been a real improvement in his attitude. I'm not sure if they're connected, but it works for me.
Sam has had a few problems with Mercury, and it turns out he's just gotten really hot from all the grain. So I'm going to start scaling him back and working him harder on my days, and I went out with her yesterday on the trail to watch and see if I could help her with the problems. She is really treating him well. He has gained some weight on his hindquarters, but he is still a little too skinny, especially for it about to be the start of July.
I also took the trailer in this week to get a new brake box in the truck and a new, lower drop hitch for the trailer. It ended up costing way more than I thought it would, and then, after I parked the trailer at the barn and disconnected the truck, I went to take out a flake of alfalfa, and the front ramp fell off. One of the hinges rusted completely away. Fortunately, the barn manager's husband can weld, so he is going to pick it up when he gets time to work on it and weld a new hinge, as well as whatever else needs welding, back on it. I can't take it anywhere until it gets fixed, so that might mess up some of my plans for July. The timing was incredible. I mean, that DAY it had been at the shop.
Yesterday it was over 90, and Willig was scared of one particular corner, so we worked pretty hard (with lots of walk breaks) but he got totally soaked. Mercury got pretty sweaty just on his trail walk. I've been giving them electrolytes in their night water each time it gets over 80. Today I had to work on a house project, so I'm waiting until later in the evening to go out, when it starts to cool down a little.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Trailer sleep-over
The trailer got to spend the night at the house last night so that I could take it at lunch today to get a new electric brake box and a longer drop hitch so that it will ride level. I also got the piece that zinged loose when the gravel hit it riveted back in. This all lightened my wallet considerably, but it feels easier to drive, and some little moron tested my electric brakes by pulling out immediately in front of me. The electric brakes passed the test and I narrowly avoided a heart attack smashing some little car with my enormous truck.
Here's what the truck & trailer look like from inside the house and the front corner of the front yard. My yard's not THAT small, either.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Important Lesson
If you open the truck's back window and drive on the interstate with hay in the back, hay will blow into the front of the truck through the magic of air flow physics.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Willig's first solo trail ride!
Willig was having a rare lazy day yesterday, so after a little lunge work, we did some of the ground exercises, then some "thinking" riding (swerving through cones, ground poles at extended walk distance), and then I took him on a trail ride.
He balked as soon as he realized where we were going, so I got off, led him over the bridge and across the field to the hill, where I got back on him (amazing thing #1!), and then he was a little skittish about walking again, but once we started going, he did ok. Not great, after a little bit he started doing that antsy trot, but I'd say "and walk" (his lunge command), and he'd do it (amazing thing #2!).
He was a little nervous about going back over the bridge by himself, but he did it, and so then I just brushed him off and put him away.
I read/heard (can't remember) somewhere that it takes a horse about a year to trust you. Of course, that depends on the horse's personality and what you're doing with him (i.e. if you're untrustworthy, it probably isn't going to happen at any point). But I like to tell myself that Willig is young, hasn't been around a huge variety of people or experiences, and he is really showing some effort to do the weird stuff I ask him to. That, more than anything, is our biggest learning opportunity right now.
Last night I watched the first DVD (of 4) in the first set (of 3) of Clinton Anderson. I'll probably watch them all before I try any of it. I'm just not sure I'm coordinated enough to successfully do what he's doing with the horses - it seems like an awful lot going on at once.
He balked as soon as he realized where we were going, so I got off, led him over the bridge and across the field to the hill, where I got back on him (amazing thing #1!), and then he was a little skittish about walking again, but once we started going, he did ok. Not great, after a little bit he started doing that antsy trot, but I'd say "and walk" (his lunge command), and he'd do it (amazing thing #2!).
He was a little nervous about going back over the bridge by himself, but he did it, and so then I just brushed him off and put him away.
I read/heard (can't remember) somewhere that it takes a horse about a year to trust you. Of course, that depends on the horse's personality and what you're doing with him (i.e. if you're untrustworthy, it probably isn't going to happen at any point). But I like to tell myself that Willig is young, hasn't been around a huge variety of people or experiences, and he is really showing some effort to do the weird stuff I ask him to. That, more than anything, is our biggest learning opportunity right now.
Last night I watched the first DVD (of 4) in the first set (of 3) of Clinton Anderson. I'll probably watch them all before I try any of it. I'm just not sure I'm coordinated enough to successfully do what he's doing with the horses - it seems like an awful lot going on at once.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tying Up a Pickle
Saturday turned out to be quite the adventure. Mercury and his partial lessee, Sam, went with me and Willig out to Janis' to ride in her indoor arena and go on a trail ride. I wanted to give the truck and trailer a whirl, and I mostly wanted to see how Willig behaved in a new environment. It turned out to be more of an adventure than I hoped for, but in some ways, better (actually) than I expected.
From the earlier posts, you can see how high the truck is - it's still up in the air (pun intended) whether all F-250's of that year and model came like that or if it was done by the prior owner. Regardless, we thought that by dropping the hitch to the bottom, it would be level enough for the trailer. Well, no foreshadowing here, we (the royal we) thought wrong. Even though it looked level at the barn, it turns out it was just enough not level to cause trouble. (That, however, is foreshadowing.)
Despite the fact that I've been to Janis' a few times, and always gotten there without a hitch, somehow I made two wrong turns hauling the big ass trailer. And I think part of the later excitement came from the fact that when I backed the truck up to hitch it up, I backed it within one inch of being exactly in the right place. I used up all my truck/trailer karma backing up. In the future, I'd rather spend 20 minutes inching back and forth to get the ball and hitch lined up. And then Willig and Mercury loaded right in (once we were all set up) like it was no big deal and we trailer every weekend.
As we got to Janis' - about 30 minutes away - she has a gravel driveway, and we pulled off the highway, started up the driveway, and got stuck. Every time I took my foot off the gas, the trailer would pull us back down the driveway - back towards the highway. And it wasn't that steep of a hill.
I tried putting it in 4x4 high, 4x4 low, 2nd gear, 1st gear, overdrive on, overdrive off, getting out and looking and kicking rocks around, and finally, my old stand-by, I called my dad. He suggested the same thing, didn't think that backing onto the highway and gunning it would help, and after about the third time I smelled rubber, I started backing, very slowly and carefully, back down to try to back onto the shoulder so I could get back on the Highway (it is two lane with shoulders, but the other side is what I would call a cliff, but might be a "drop" into some salt water). In the meantime, my dad was looking up Janis' number because despite the fact that I had a map with her home and cell numbers, I somehow didn't put it in the truck or trailer (even though I totally remember putting it with the trailer registration in the envelope that went in the trailer).
So my dad got Janis' number, I called her, and while she and Michael came down, I managed to wedge the truck and trailer blocking the entire driveway/road, with the trailer tires about a foot from going in a ditch.
Michael, who is a trailer driving pro, got in the truck, drove it up the driveway, and drove it up to their house.
We spent some time up there trying to figure out what went wrong. He thinks that I got too dug in on the hill, and that it needed the acceleration on the flat, but that you also needed to keep going, slowly but gently, and it did spin for him too. The best he could guess is that the hitch was too high, so the front of the trailer was lifted a little, which kept the back tires from gripping. So I need to get a new drop hitch that drops it about 4 more inches. (Patti, fortunately, has one (and a wagon for Ode!), so when I drop him off next week, we'll see if it's longer than mine. She said they're about $300 new!)
Also, the things I was calling sway bars aren't. They're some sort of special hitch thing.
Willig came off the trailer pouring wet. I lunged him (he got drier while being lunged!) tacked him up, lunged him again, and then rode him in Janis' super awesome, spacious, wonderful and delightful indoor arena. Sam rode Mercury, who wasn't sweaty, and was just as calm and sweet and reliable as he always is. Janis got one of her mares, who she lunged and then rode.
Then we decided to go on a short trail ride (because Mercury's feet are still sensitive after the shoes coming off two weeks ago). Well, Janis has great trails, we saw a bald eagle nest with a bird in it, and it was fun and Willig was well behaved, but at the turn around point, Mercury started gimping really badly.
Sam eventually had to get off because Mercury was picking up his left hind foot and then swinging it WAY up (almost touching his belly) before stomping it down on the ground again. She walked him back, and towards the end, Janis' mare and Willig decided they hated each other's guts, so Janis went on ahead, and then Willig realized he was with ol' lion bait Mercury, and he started acting up (trotting sideways - little rears and leaps in the air), because apparently he'd rather be with an arch-enemy than with a gimpy-brother.
We hosed off Mercury, gave him a Vitrolin bath, and put him in the stall (he was, by the end, really sweaty on his belly and butt, and when I gently stretched that leg, the muscle would quiver). We went down and had some cool drinks, but when we went back up to the barn, Mercury was still lame. He was also dehydrated, so we tried to get him to drink (he refused - but he did train Janis to keep molasses in her hand so he could lick it out), and we decided to go ahead and trailer home.
I was trying to adjust the trailer brakes for the descent down that gravelly hill, and the adjuster broke off in my hand, and then the brakes locked on. So Michael had to climb under the dash and unplug it, and then I had to drive the trailer home, and down the hill of doom, with no trailer brakes. Sam and I both got very, very quiet on that section, and we went down it at approximately 2 mph, because had the trailer started to push us - not only would we have gone across the two lane highway, but as you recall above, down a drop into the ocean. And I figured if I drove my lessee into the ocean, Mercury's lease would probably end.
We made it. We cheered and pumped our fists.
We got back to the barn without any more excitement, and Mercury walked off the trailer like he's never been lame a day in his life. Willig came off pouring sweat, so he either hates my driving or is not used to being trailered. He was good though. (By the way - at Janis', they both loaded right back up - despite the harrowing adventure on the hill.)
And aside from the rearing and jumping and trotting sideways, he did much, much better than I expected him to. (The high point of the day.)
I looked in all my vet books, and unfortunately, I'm totally at a loss what is going on with Mercury. I'm going to have the farrier put shoes back on next week when he's there to do Willig, and I think Willig is going to need a special shoe too.
Willig has a sandcrack in his right front hoof, and I've been ignoring it, but I asked Janis and Michael, and they said it could be a serious thing, so I looked it up in the vet books. You just put on a shoe with toe clips and hope it doesn't get worse and wait for it to grow out. It's caused my concussion, which is kind of weird since he doesn't work on anything hard. Maybe it is from his pawing?
Mercury is more of a mystery. The more I read, the more horrible things I thought it could be, so I had to quit reading. I think the most likely is either a bruised sole or a pulled muscle. However, we thought he might be tying up, and there's also like 5 other terrible problems, most of them rare, that it could be. So I tried the solutions for the sole and muscle - I put that purple spray on all four feet (but my sprayer broke after the first two, so I ended up putting the end of the scissors in it and spraying more my hands, which will probably also be purple for the next week) for the sole solution. Then I gave him some table salt, liniment, a massage, bute for two days, and a day in the stall for the pulled muscle. I turned him out for about an hour, and he walked fine out and in, but I thought to be safe he should stay in. He's going to get salt all week with his other supplements.
I also went and bought electrolytes for both of them if we have more hot days, or for Willig in the trailer and the sweat he lost.
I'm also going to get apple juice for the trailer so that Mercury will drink strange water.
I'm not planning on hauling again until the end of June (to Janis' again) which gives me time to spend the money I already wanted to spend but didn't have for the truck cap on a new brake box in the truck, and if Patti's hitch doesn't work, a new hitch.
I heard Sam saying she had a "good time." I wish I was still 15 so that the adventure could be called a "good time." It was nice to have her along with sweet, reliable Mercury, who I wish we could get functioning. I was hoping that with just a beginner lessee and not competing he would start being a consistent horse.
From the earlier posts, you can see how high the truck is - it's still up in the air (pun intended) whether all F-250's of that year and model came like that or if it was done by the prior owner. Regardless, we thought that by dropping the hitch to the bottom, it would be level enough for the trailer. Well, no foreshadowing here, we (the royal we) thought wrong. Even though it looked level at the barn, it turns out it was just enough not level to cause trouble. (That, however, is foreshadowing.)
Despite the fact that I've been to Janis' a few times, and always gotten there without a hitch, somehow I made two wrong turns hauling the big ass trailer. And I think part of the later excitement came from the fact that when I backed the truck up to hitch it up, I backed it within one inch of being exactly in the right place. I used up all my truck/trailer karma backing up. In the future, I'd rather spend 20 minutes inching back and forth to get the ball and hitch lined up. And then Willig and Mercury loaded right in (once we were all set up) like it was no big deal and we trailer every weekend.
As we got to Janis' - about 30 minutes away - she has a gravel driveway, and we pulled off the highway, started up the driveway, and got stuck. Every time I took my foot off the gas, the trailer would pull us back down the driveway - back towards the highway. And it wasn't that steep of a hill.
I tried putting it in 4x4 high, 4x4 low, 2nd gear, 1st gear, overdrive on, overdrive off, getting out and looking and kicking rocks around, and finally, my old stand-by, I called my dad. He suggested the same thing, didn't think that backing onto the highway and gunning it would help, and after about the third time I smelled rubber, I started backing, very slowly and carefully, back down to try to back onto the shoulder so I could get back on the Highway (it is two lane with shoulders, but the other side is what I would call a cliff, but might be a "drop" into some salt water). In the meantime, my dad was looking up Janis' number because despite the fact that I had a map with her home and cell numbers, I somehow didn't put it in the truck or trailer (even though I totally remember putting it with the trailer registration in the envelope that went in the trailer).
So my dad got Janis' number, I called her, and while she and Michael came down, I managed to wedge the truck and trailer blocking the entire driveway/road, with the trailer tires about a foot from going in a ditch.
Michael, who is a trailer driving pro, got in the truck, drove it up the driveway, and drove it up to their house.
We spent some time up there trying to figure out what went wrong. He thinks that I got too dug in on the hill, and that it needed the acceleration on the flat, but that you also needed to keep going, slowly but gently, and it did spin for him too. The best he could guess is that the hitch was too high, so the front of the trailer was lifted a little, which kept the back tires from gripping. So I need to get a new drop hitch that drops it about 4 more inches. (Patti, fortunately, has one (and a wagon for Ode!), so when I drop him off next week, we'll see if it's longer than mine. She said they're about $300 new!)
Also, the things I was calling sway bars aren't. They're some sort of special hitch thing.
Willig came off the trailer pouring wet. I lunged him (he got drier while being lunged!) tacked him up, lunged him again, and then rode him in Janis' super awesome, spacious, wonderful and delightful indoor arena. Sam rode Mercury, who wasn't sweaty, and was just as calm and sweet and reliable as he always is. Janis got one of her mares, who she lunged and then rode.
Then we decided to go on a short trail ride (because Mercury's feet are still sensitive after the shoes coming off two weeks ago). Well, Janis has great trails, we saw a bald eagle nest with a bird in it, and it was fun and Willig was well behaved, but at the turn around point, Mercury started gimping really badly.
Sam eventually had to get off because Mercury was picking up his left hind foot and then swinging it WAY up (almost touching his belly) before stomping it down on the ground again. She walked him back, and towards the end, Janis' mare and Willig decided they hated each other's guts, so Janis went on ahead, and then Willig realized he was with ol' lion bait Mercury, and he started acting up (trotting sideways - little rears and leaps in the air), because apparently he'd rather be with an arch-enemy than with a gimpy-brother.
We hosed off Mercury, gave him a Vitrolin bath, and put him in the stall (he was, by the end, really sweaty on his belly and butt, and when I gently stretched that leg, the muscle would quiver). We went down and had some cool drinks, but when we went back up to the barn, Mercury was still lame. He was also dehydrated, so we tried to get him to drink (he refused - but he did train Janis to keep molasses in her hand so he could lick it out), and we decided to go ahead and trailer home.
I was trying to adjust the trailer brakes for the descent down that gravelly hill, and the adjuster broke off in my hand, and then the brakes locked on. So Michael had to climb under the dash and unplug it, and then I had to drive the trailer home, and down the hill of doom, with no trailer brakes. Sam and I both got very, very quiet on that section, and we went down it at approximately 2 mph, because had the trailer started to push us - not only would we have gone across the two lane highway, but as you recall above, down a drop into the ocean. And I figured if I drove my lessee into the ocean, Mercury's lease would probably end.
We made it. We cheered and pumped our fists.
We got back to the barn without any more excitement, and Mercury walked off the trailer like he's never been lame a day in his life. Willig came off pouring sweat, so he either hates my driving or is not used to being trailered. He was good though. (By the way - at Janis', they both loaded right back up - despite the harrowing adventure on the hill.)
And aside from the rearing and jumping and trotting sideways, he did much, much better than I expected him to. (The high point of the day.)
I looked in all my vet books, and unfortunately, I'm totally at a loss what is going on with Mercury. I'm going to have the farrier put shoes back on next week when he's there to do Willig, and I think Willig is going to need a special shoe too.
Willig has a sandcrack in his right front hoof, and I've been ignoring it, but I asked Janis and Michael, and they said it could be a serious thing, so I looked it up in the vet books. You just put on a shoe with toe clips and hope it doesn't get worse and wait for it to grow out. It's caused my concussion, which is kind of weird since he doesn't work on anything hard. Maybe it is from his pawing?
Mercury is more of a mystery. The more I read, the more horrible things I thought it could be, so I had to quit reading. I think the most likely is either a bruised sole or a pulled muscle. However, we thought he might be tying up, and there's also like 5 other terrible problems, most of them rare, that it could be. So I tried the solutions for the sole and muscle - I put that purple spray on all four feet (but my sprayer broke after the first two, so I ended up putting the end of the scissors in it and spraying more my hands, which will probably also be purple for the next week) for the sole solution. Then I gave him some table salt, liniment, a massage, bute for two days, and a day in the stall for the pulled muscle. I turned him out for about an hour, and he walked fine out and in, but I thought to be safe he should stay in. He's going to get salt all week with his other supplements.
I also went and bought electrolytes for both of them if we have more hot days, or for Willig in the trailer and the sweat he lost.
I'm also going to get apple juice for the trailer so that Mercury will drink strange water.
I'm not planning on hauling again until the end of June (to Janis' again) which gives me time to spend the money I already wanted to spend but didn't have for the truck cap on a new brake box in the truck, and if Patti's hitch doesn't work, a new hitch.
I heard Sam saying she had a "good time." I wish I was still 15 so that the adventure could be called a "good time." It was nice to have her along with sweet, reliable Mercury, who I wish we could get functioning. I was hoping that with just a beginner lessee and not competing he would start being a consistent horse.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Two in a Row!
Another great day with Willig. We had the absolute perfect environment: warm but not hot, cool breeze, sunny, empty barn ... and so I finally jumped him. I had taken him over a couple of cavelleti on their highest rotation, but never jump jumped him.
It was great! We did a cross rail, a teeny little vertical, and finally a cross rail with two strides to a teeny vertical. That one kind of freaked him out, so we cut in and did the vertical first, then came back and did the combo, and then did it again to make sure it was ok.
He is a great jumper! He is so smooth to ride. We just floated over the top of them.
So then he got an hour out in the pasture on grass as a reward.
I am giving the dogs a break from the heat inside, then I'm going to go ride my bike for a couple hours and enjoy the great weather.
It was great! We did a cross rail, a teeny little vertical, and finally a cross rail with two strides to a teeny vertical. That one kind of freaked him out, so we cut in and did the vertical first, then came back and did the combo, and then did it again to make sure it was ok.
He is a great jumper! He is so smooth to ride. We just floated over the top of them.
So then he got an hour out in the pasture on grass as a reward.
I am giving the dogs a break from the heat inside, then I'm going to go ride my bike for a couple hours and enjoy the great weather.
Finally! A Willig Success Story!
Mr. Willig has had it pretty easy (too easy) the past couple weeks. First he had the abscess and his shoe off, then I had the back thing going on (still going, by the way), so I am supposed to "go easy" on my back. That means Willig has been getting a lot of lunging, and there have been a few incidents at work. My cut-off is 6 pm - if I can't get out the door to the barn at 6, I go home instead, even if it's a barn night, because otherwise I am getting home near 10 pm, and I feel too guilty leaving the dogs alone for 14 hours.
When I brought him in yesterday, he threw his typical fit in his stall "Oh no! I'm alone! I'm going to die! Someone come rescue me!" And I did my typical ignore him until he's quiet (I plan other things to meddle around doing), and then take him out.
The girl partially leasing Mercury was there, and I asked her if she could go on a trail ride. I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, I did expect some hyperness out of Willig. But he was really good on the lunge line, not as good being ridden, but he got tired pretty quick because most of the day was over 80, which is really high for us.
Then Mercury started off on the trail (wincing delicately with his bare feet whenever they even thought about touching a rock), and Willig followed him. And when I say followed, I mean Willig's nose was touching the top of Mercury's back. Bless Mercury's patient soul, he didn't kick or anything, but the only struggle, and I am so grateful for this, was keeping Willig off Mercury. He would be a tailgater for sure if he could drive. (The image of Willig driving a car makes me laugh out loud. What a maniac. Wait. I know a human driver who fits that image to a T.)
So we did the loop I hoped to do, and since Willig was being so cool about it, we added a second loop, but I had Willig lead this one. And poor Mercury had to struggle to keep up! Willig started getting a little anxious, but I did a slightly longer loop home, and then we were back!
We stopped to talk to the owner, and Willig proceeded to do some yoga in front of everyone (which is what he does when he's had to "think" during that day's ride - he crosses his front legs and stretches down - like a horsey downward dog).
I am really, really pleased with how he handled the novelty. And, one of the newer boarders had her horse outside the arena rearing and stuff while I was riding him, so all in all, he was a pretty cool cucumber.
When I brought him in yesterday, he threw his typical fit in his stall "Oh no! I'm alone! I'm going to die! Someone come rescue me!" And I did my typical ignore him until he's quiet (I plan other things to meddle around doing), and then take him out.
The girl partially leasing Mercury was there, and I asked her if she could go on a trail ride. I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, I did expect some hyperness out of Willig. But he was really good on the lunge line, not as good being ridden, but he got tired pretty quick because most of the day was over 80, which is really high for us.
Then Mercury started off on the trail (wincing delicately with his bare feet whenever they even thought about touching a rock), and Willig followed him. And when I say followed, I mean Willig's nose was touching the top of Mercury's back. Bless Mercury's patient soul, he didn't kick or anything, but the only struggle, and I am so grateful for this, was keeping Willig off Mercury. He would be a tailgater for sure if he could drive. (The image of Willig driving a car makes me laugh out loud. What a maniac. Wait. I know a human driver who fits that image to a T.)
So we did the loop I hoped to do, and since Willig was being so cool about it, we added a second loop, but I had Willig lead this one. And poor Mercury had to struggle to keep up! Willig started getting a little anxious, but I did a slightly longer loop home, and then we were back!
We stopped to talk to the owner, and Willig proceeded to do some yoga in front of everyone (which is what he does when he's had to "think" during that day's ride - he crosses his front legs and stretches down - like a horsey downward dog).
I am really, really pleased with how he handled the novelty. And, one of the newer boarders had her horse outside the arena rearing and stuff while I was riding him, so all in all, he was a pretty cool cucumber.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The week in review
Twice I saw rainbows. The first time was the drive home, and the end of the rainbow actually touched the road. I saw the end of a rainbow! The other time was lunging Willig over a fence. Someone had set up a couple jumps, so I turned it into one to change his routine, and he did really well. I was all impressed, thinking he was jumping 3' easily, but it was just 2'6". He still had no problem with it.
After two weeks off (for the want of a shoe ...), his first and second days on the lunge line were kind of an adventure. If any of you read "Little Black Samba" where the tiger melts himself running around and around the tree - that's basically what I thought was going to happen. It didn't seem to be so much hyper energy as a challenge to who was the boss. The second day, I couldn't even see him on the end of the lunge line because the arena got so dusty. However, I appear to have come out on top, because on the lunge line he is now a model of respect. When I say "trot", he trots that second. Excellent, crisp transitions. He has, not, however, been doing so well in the cross-ties, and his whole "I'm afraid to be alone" thing has gotten worse.
Mercury, last week, did some fine, fine dressage moves. Turn on the haunches and forehand, half pass, and the half pass but going forward move (which I totally know the name of and am just blanking on). Then this week, he got an odd lameness that has no heat, no sensitivity, no swelling. I think it's because he's a little overdue for his shoeing (which will happen Thursday morning), and one shoe is getting loose and he's been kicking his own ankles. We'll see.
After two weeks off (for the want of a shoe ...), his first and second days on the lunge line were kind of an adventure. If any of you read "Little Black Samba" where the tiger melts himself running around and around the tree - that's basically what I thought was going to happen. It didn't seem to be so much hyper energy as a challenge to who was the boss. The second day, I couldn't even see him on the end of the lunge line because the arena got so dusty. However, I appear to have come out on top, because on the lunge line he is now a model of respect. When I say "trot", he trots that second. Excellent, crisp transitions. He has, not, however, been doing so well in the cross-ties, and his whole "I'm afraid to be alone" thing has gotten worse.
Mercury, last week, did some fine, fine dressage moves. Turn on the haunches and forehand, half pass, and the half pass but going forward move (which I totally know the name of and am just blanking on). Then this week, he got an odd lameness that has no heat, no sensitivity, no swelling. I think it's because he's a little overdue for his shoeing (which will happen Thursday morning), and one shoe is getting loose and he's been kicking his own ankles. We'll see.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Trailer photos
This was the view on the way to pick up the trailer. Nice.
The truck back seat folds down and makes a flat area that is perfect for two big dogs and their dog beds!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The human has a sore back
My back has been aching for a while. It started way back when I first got Willig and rode him a couple times before his hives got so bad I basically didn't ride him again for two months. And then when I started riding him again, the back pain came back. At the time, Bob said it was because he's such a big mover, and I hold myself pretty rigid, so it was jarring my back.
It actually doesn't hurt so much when I ride him now, but sometimes it does, and sometimes it hurts when I ride Mercury. Willig's little tantrum on Saturday, combined with that first day of holding his leg for 20 minutes bent over the bucket, has made my back hurt pretty bad the last week.
So today I went to the chiropractor. He said that the muscles are like rebar - they're totally inflamed and knotted up, and he can't do anything until they relax some. I have to stop jogging (the jarring), and I'm supposed to take it easy on other activities. He said he wasn't going to ban riding yet, but it will depend on if I can get the muscles to relax. Worst of all, I have to wear this dorky back brace, which granted, feels pretty nice, but makes me look like a little old lady.
I haven't decided if I'm going to ride the rest of this week or just take it off. Since Willig isn't rideable and Mercury does ok with breaks, maybe I should give my back a break and hope I can ride again next week once Willig gets his shoe back on.
And great news! Sam is going to do a partial lease on Mercury. I am so happy. She loves him, he loves her, and I love that I can relax a little about the amount of attention I'm giving him.
It actually doesn't hurt so much when I ride him now, but sometimes it does, and sometimes it hurts when I ride Mercury. Willig's little tantrum on Saturday, combined with that first day of holding his leg for 20 minutes bent over the bucket, has made my back hurt pretty bad the last week.
So today I went to the chiropractor. He said that the muscles are like rebar - they're totally inflamed and knotted up, and he can't do anything until they relax some. I have to stop jogging (the jarring), and I'm supposed to take it easy on other activities. He said he wasn't going to ban riding yet, but it will depend on if I can get the muscles to relax. Worst of all, I have to wear this dorky back brace, which granted, feels pretty nice, but makes me look like a little old lady.
I haven't decided if I'm going to ride the rest of this week or just take it off. Since Willig isn't rideable and Mercury does ok with breaks, maybe I should give my back a break and hope I can ride again next week once Willig gets his shoe back on.
And great news! Sam is going to do a partial lease on Mercury. I am so happy. She loves him, he loves her, and I love that I can relax a little about the amount of attention I'm giving him.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Next saddle sizes
I need a 17" dressage. The 17" xc is pretty comfortable, but Bob told me to get jumping a 1/2" bigger, so I guess I need a 17 1/2" xc.
I took my old saddles to be sold at Tack Room Too, and the xc was 18" (whoa!) and the dressage was 17 1/2". That's quite possibly why my new jumping is so comfortable - it's the only one that actually fits me.
I got a 16 1/2" dressage as my new saddle, and when I do my hand behind my butt, it's just a little bit too small.
Both Willig and Mercury were very good today. Maybe I just need to do Willig on even (or odd) days.
I took my old saddles to be sold at Tack Room Too, and the xc was 18" (whoa!) and the dressage was 17 1/2". That's quite possibly why my new jumping is so comfortable - it's the only one that actually fits me.
I got a 16 1/2" dressage as my new saddle, and when I do my hand behind my butt, it's just a little bit too small.
Both Willig and Mercury were very good today. Maybe I just need to do Willig on even (or odd) days.
Willig's lameness was (is) an abscess
That makes two for Mercury this year and one for Willig, while my prior almost 20 years of horse history includes 0.
It was under his shoe, sort of on his toe, and fairly deep. And it was the left leg, which he was pointing with (but also pawing with), and it was not easy to detect.
He was terrible though, the day the vet was out. He had been in the stall almost a week by then, and wanted one thing and one thing only: to be out with his friends. We had to use a stud chain on him, which he respected immediately, which was weird because I've never used a stud chain before. So it was either his old home or Bob that taught him.
That day, his first day soaking, was a bit of an adventure. Mostly, I hung onto his leg with my left arm and the bucket with my right arm, and bent over for 20 minutes, mostly with his foot in the water. It wasn't until the very end (when his other three legs got tired) that he finally set it down in the bucket.
The next day he didn't get soaked because I spent my entire barn time hanging up one of those "pas-i-fiers" (the rolling thing that mounts in the corner) and this treat ball that hangs up high. He loves the treat ball, and sportingly licked the pas-i-fier before going back to the treat ball.
Day three (but really like day 10), I took him out to the grass turn out, and let him eat grass and walk around until the other horses started to go in, at which point he finally started running around. The soaking that day was not easy (like Mercury), but not so bad.
Day 4 - yesterday - bad, bad day. We had divine weather, so I went out around lunch, put him out in the grass turn out again, and then rode Mercury. Then I switched him and Mercury, and about half way back, he realized he was going back into the barn and did not want to go. Honestly, I don't blame him, but the vet said stall rest. So we inched our way back to the barn, he'd walk a few steps, stop and put his head in the air, I'd make him step sideways, he'd walk a few steps. When we got to the barn, I took him into the grassy area and had him walk over the "bridge" a couple times, then let him eat grass again for a few more minutes. My thinking was it was at least a small reward for actually making it to the barn. Because ... the barn staff told me on Day 2 that he had "broken out" of his stall each time they put the hay in. He does stand there with his head at the door (because there are bars so he can't hang it out), but I was like "oh dear" ... I've been thinking some about barn staff - who might mean well - but the effects it can have on a younger, willful, opinionated horse and that horse's owner when she gets out at night.
So anyway - that foot soaking was a disaster. We got in a huge fight - while he was more willing to plant his foot (so he could paw with the other foot) - he was also leaping around, and eventually spilled the bucket. I had his foot only partially wrapped (I don't like for him to put it down half way, because then it just gets gross and dirty under a layer of duct tape), and I got so mad at him that I put him in his stall and left. At the time, I was just pissed, but later, I realized it was an awful lot like a time-out for a kid.
I totally understand why he's acting up - he's not getting enough exercise, he's away from his herd (and is clearly a horse that has problems with that), I'm doing weird things with him, and he doesn't feel bad anymore, so he just wants to go out and run around. But this raises the old beast - is he too much horse for me or will I learn as I go along? The vet said that a 6 year old warmblood is the mental equivalent of a 3 year old quarter horse, and that he'll improve with age and training, but that his personality will always be a bit like this. And this is probably my absolute weakest area - I don't know how to train a baby. I don't know how to train ground manners.
He gets his shoe back on May 5th, but I'm turning him out again starting tomorrow. I'll just clean his foot and reapply his little bootie each night and hope it doesn't create another abscess.
I've noticed, even without riding him the past two weeks and only riding Mercury, my lower back is still killing me. And bending over with that bucket is not helping at all. My supervisor's wife just had to have neck surgery and has fused vertebrae in her lower back (she rides), and my trainer back in college had a fall and landed on a jump and broke her back and had fused vertebrae. I'm wondering if my back is just weak from the time off, and keeps getting sore instead of stronger, or if something could be going "wrong" with the way I ride that's messing up the vertebrae. I know I'm a bit of a hyopchondriac but I'm thinking of visiting the chiropractor just to make sure it's not something serious. Each week I tell myself I'm going to start doing pilates at home to strengthen it, then each week there's too much else to do.
It was under his shoe, sort of on his toe, and fairly deep. And it was the left leg, which he was pointing with (but also pawing with), and it was not easy to detect.
He was terrible though, the day the vet was out. He had been in the stall almost a week by then, and wanted one thing and one thing only: to be out with his friends. We had to use a stud chain on him, which he respected immediately, which was weird because I've never used a stud chain before. So it was either his old home or Bob that taught him.
That day, his first day soaking, was a bit of an adventure. Mostly, I hung onto his leg with my left arm and the bucket with my right arm, and bent over for 20 minutes, mostly with his foot in the water. It wasn't until the very end (when his other three legs got tired) that he finally set it down in the bucket.
The next day he didn't get soaked because I spent my entire barn time hanging up one of those "pas-i-fiers" (the rolling thing that mounts in the corner) and this treat ball that hangs up high. He loves the treat ball, and sportingly licked the pas-i-fier before going back to the treat ball.
Day three (but really like day 10), I took him out to the grass turn out, and let him eat grass and walk around until the other horses started to go in, at which point he finally started running around. The soaking that day was not easy (like Mercury), but not so bad.
Day 4 - yesterday - bad, bad day. We had divine weather, so I went out around lunch, put him out in the grass turn out again, and then rode Mercury. Then I switched him and Mercury, and about half way back, he realized he was going back into the barn and did not want to go. Honestly, I don't blame him, but the vet said stall rest. So we inched our way back to the barn, he'd walk a few steps, stop and put his head in the air, I'd make him step sideways, he'd walk a few steps. When we got to the barn, I took him into the grassy area and had him walk over the "bridge" a couple times, then let him eat grass again for a few more minutes. My thinking was it was at least a small reward for actually making it to the barn. Because ... the barn staff told me on Day 2 that he had "broken out" of his stall each time they put the hay in. He does stand there with his head at the door (because there are bars so he can't hang it out), but I was like "oh dear" ... I've been thinking some about barn staff - who might mean well - but the effects it can have on a younger, willful, opinionated horse and that horse's owner when she gets out at night.
So anyway - that foot soaking was a disaster. We got in a huge fight - while he was more willing to plant his foot (so he could paw with the other foot) - he was also leaping around, and eventually spilled the bucket. I had his foot only partially wrapped (I don't like for him to put it down half way, because then it just gets gross and dirty under a layer of duct tape), and I got so mad at him that I put him in his stall and left. At the time, I was just pissed, but later, I realized it was an awful lot like a time-out for a kid.
I totally understand why he's acting up - he's not getting enough exercise, he's away from his herd (and is clearly a horse that has problems with that), I'm doing weird things with him, and he doesn't feel bad anymore, so he just wants to go out and run around. But this raises the old beast - is he too much horse for me or will I learn as I go along? The vet said that a 6 year old warmblood is the mental equivalent of a 3 year old quarter horse, and that he'll improve with age and training, but that his personality will always be a bit like this. And this is probably my absolute weakest area - I don't know how to train a baby. I don't know how to train ground manners.
He gets his shoe back on May 5th, but I'm turning him out again starting tomorrow. I'll just clean his foot and reapply his little bootie each night and hope it doesn't create another abscess.
I've noticed, even without riding him the past two weeks and only riding Mercury, my lower back is still killing me. And bending over with that bucket is not helping at all. My supervisor's wife just had to have neck surgery and has fused vertebrae in her lower back (she rides), and my trainer back in college had a fall and landed on a jump and broke her back and had fused vertebrae. I'm wondering if my back is just weak from the time off, and keeps getting sore instead of stronger, or if something could be going "wrong" with the way I ride that's messing up the vertebrae. I know I'm a bit of a hyopchondriac but I'm thinking of visiting the chiropractor just to make sure it's not something serious. Each week I tell myself I'm going to start doing pilates at home to strengthen it, then each week there's too much else to do.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Lame Willig; Leased (?) Mercury
Willig went lame over the weekend. When I went out Saturday, he was a little off, but when I went back out Sunday he was a cripple. His right shoulder is knotted up pretty badly, but I can't find any warmth, swelling, or tender spots. And I've poked all around his feet and it doesn't seem to be coming from his feet. The lameness isn't the big problem though; it's the stall rest. Willig HATES being separated from the other horses when they get turned out. Even with all the activity Saturday with lessons all day, he was a total brat - in pain and pissed off makes for a hard to handle Willig. He did, after about an hour, settle down and be a sweet boy.
In the meantime, Mercury is on his way to a partial lease. The girl who is interested in him has had a couple lessons and is more comfortable with him being a good choice. She was out Saturday and asked if she could do anything and I said if she wanted, she could groom Mercury, and she groomed him for like an hour, and then took him out to eat grass. He was so shiny and clean. That's exactly what I was looking for - someone to dote on and love Mercury. So hopefully that will all work out.
But for today - another call to the vet, who is probably wondering if I fell off the face of the earth after my December-February earth shattering vet bills, and then nothing (thankfully) for March.
In the meantime, Mercury is on his way to a partial lease. The girl who is interested in him has had a couple lessons and is more comfortable with him being a good choice. She was out Saturday and asked if she could do anything and I said if she wanted, she could groom Mercury, and she groomed him for like an hour, and then took him out to eat grass. He was so shiny and clean. That's exactly what I was looking for - someone to dote on and love Mercury. So hopefully that will all work out.
But for today - another call to the vet, who is probably wondering if I fell off the face of the earth after my December-February earth shattering vet bills, and then nothing (thankfully) for March.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Willig has a funny quirk
I saw him doing this for the second time tonight (the first time I thought it was an accident). He likes to put hay in his mouth, dunk his mouth (and the hay) in his water bucket, then eat it. He does it with every single bite of hay. It's why his stall is always all wet when I get there at night. It's weird and kind of cute.
Good book on horse thinking
I've been reading "Think Like Your Horse" by Michael Peace and Lesley Bayley. I was looking for a book with tips on how to build a young horse's confidence, and came across this one at the library. So far it seems like common sense, which is why I like it - something so simple it seems like you should have known it all along. For example, Willig and I have had two battles about trail riding. The first was to go away from all the other horses across the bridge into the woods. He did it fine from the ground, so I didn't think it would be that big a deal riding him, but it was huge. And I refused to get off and we had this long stubborn battle of the wills that I eventually won. The next week I thought I'd make it easier, and we'd go across the huge pasture where he could still see the "herd". That was easier, until we came to this tiny drainage ditch. Then another huge stubborn battle ensued, which I also won, but it was ridiculous. Finally, they moved the jumps in the outdoor arena last week, and he was totally freaked out about it (not about the show on the grounds, which by the way, he treated as if it were no big thing). I made him go past them on the lunge line over and over.
All of those are the same example, which this book says the horse needs to trust you (the leader) and if you make a big deal out of it, he'll make a big deal out of it. So I went back into the woods on a walk. Easy. We walked back and forth past the scary jump standards. Easy. I just need to be more patient with young, inexperienced Willig. What stops me is when I think he's doing it on purpose - he's big, he doesn't want to do it. That's what I think first, not that he's inexperienced and needs a crutch for now.
My new goal for this year, since it looks like we'll be postponing the truck and trailer purchase, is to work on confidence and trust, so that next summer we can start with him trusting me, being in new scary places, and by the end of the summer, he'll have learned that he can trust me no matter where we are and do whatever I ask because I've never let him down.
What helped me get that was that Mercury was just as scared of those jumps being moved. It was just easier for me to see with Mercury because I've known him longer.
All of those are the same example, which this book says the horse needs to trust you (the leader) and if you make a big deal out of it, he'll make a big deal out of it. So I went back into the woods on a walk. Easy. We walked back and forth past the scary jump standards. Easy. I just need to be more patient with young, inexperienced Willig. What stops me is when I think he's doing it on purpose - he's big, he doesn't want to do it. That's what I think first, not that he's inexperienced and needs a crutch for now.
My new goal for this year, since it looks like we'll be postponing the truck and trailer purchase, is to work on confidence and trust, so that next summer we can start with him trusting me, being in new scary places, and by the end of the summer, he'll have learned that he can trust me no matter where we are and do whatever I ask because I've never let him down.
What helped me get that was that Mercury was just as scared of those jumps being moved. It was just easier for me to see with Mercury because I've known him longer.
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