Plugging along

Nothing much terribly exciting to report on.  School and work are keeping me busy... I'm still waiting on the new level 2 hires that I get to train, can HR get any slower with offer letters? Jeeze. School is a mish-mash as far as how I'm doing, two classes I have As, two I have Cs... I recently got perhaps one of the lowest test scores I've ever gotten in my entire college career, ouch!  This semester is not only my first time doing 300 level classes, but also my first time doing full time credits... and oh yeah, all of them are those 300 level classes!! I totally did not intend to do that, go me!

I'm just finding myself not being able to focus very well this semester.  I'm not sure what's up with that, but it's been frustrating.  It's not that I can't learn the information, it's just that I've been having a hard time getting into the grove so that I can learn.  Having a super active and ridiculously adorable 1 year old running around the house certainly doesn't help any....

Halloween was fun!

I think she's absurdly cute, but that's just me

I left her alone for 30 seconds, came back to this!!

She is becoming quite the climber, eeek!

She loves her kitty!!
(most tolerant cat in the world folks)

OK, baby pic spam over!!

As far as Cash goes, on the days when the stars line up and I'm actually able to get my butt out there and work with him I am actually riding him!  And he's doing quite well.  The farrier was out yesterday and he stood SO WELL!  I was a proud momma.  He's still not so sure of the hot shoeing, but my farrier is amazingly patient with him and I love it.

I've been riding him in just a halter, I made up a special rope halter with rings on the side just for riding and he's really doing quite well in it.  I feel like I have control and steering and breaks... You know, the important stuff!  Just working on bending now, good grief he is a stiff horse.

His SmartPaks came and he started on them today, so we'll see what happens there.  We had another mare starting on a SmartPak as well, so we have some fun last night going through all the new goodies.

Handsome man

And, last but not least in this rather long blog post: I have a new little project ride!  The new gal who moved into the apartment on the farm this past summer has this super cute little Appy mare named Candy and she asked me if I could help with some training issues (mostly canter work), so I said yes.  I'm riding her about once a week, and I really enjoy her.  She's tiny, maybe 14hh on a good day, and feels like such a pushover after riding Cash, ha!  She's got that signature "appy-tude" going on and I've already had a few discussions over who is going to have the final say in matters.  She's a super smart mare and once she figures out I mean business about whatever I'm asking her to do she backs off and does it.  It'll be fun to see how she progresses, I'll keep ya'll up to date!

Miss Candy

Alrighty, I think that's all folks.  I really need to blog more often so that I don't have these massive "update dump" type posts.  If anybody has some magic formula to increase the number of hours in a day I will pay handsomely!

Cheers,
Emily

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Roundpen Revamp and Sewing Project!

So after my last post and a few of the suggestions made in the comments I had come up with an entire post on trainer rides, but decided to trash it as it was entirely too self serving. (and, by the way, I love and appreciate all the comments, suggestions, ideas, and kind words left on my blog! Don't stop!!)  In short, my personal opinion on trainer rides is that doing just one or two really only provides a second opinion on the horse and isn't going to do much to correct any underlying training holes/issues. For a trainer to be effective there needs to be a long term commitment, either in the form of lessons or in training itself. Lessons I can afford--and I really should look into it, I need to find a trainer that I trust. Full on training I unfortunately cannot afford right now. 

Anyway, I do want to say that I am more than capable of handling this horse, I'm not afraid of getting down and dirty with the more "ugly" side of horse training.  I have dealt with some dirty, mean, rotten, and bullheaded horses in the past and while Cash is challenging, he's not mean.  It's not that I don't have the ability and knowledge to train Cash, the question is do I want to?

That said, I've decided to take Cash back to the roundpen for the foreseeable future.  I need a more manageable space to get him listening and respecting me as he is not listening in any shape or manner in the main arena.  So far I've only been doing ground work with him--doing my own variation on the "join up" routine.  And, I'm pleased to say it's been successful!  He's been super relaxed at the end of each session and much more in tune with my body language.  One day he was completely running through me, and was constantly trying to outrace me.  When I would shift my body to ask him to change directions he would kick on the afterburners and rocket past me, continuing in his current trajectory around the roundpen.  I had to get a bit aggressive and things got kinda dusty but we worked until he was listening... as a result the next day he was hypersensitive to my cues and I really had to pay attention to what I was doing!!  While the day before I was having to make extremely exaggerated movements to make him listen, here the slightest shift in my posture would make him brake to a halt and look to me, asking if he was to go the other way.  Good boy!  He really is a smart horse, and I think that's a big part of the "issue."  He's a little too smart...

I'm going to focus on short and sweet with Cash and see where that gets us. With that goal in mind, it should also hopefully give me a decent chance of working with him semi-regularly with school starting.

Ok, now onto non-horsey business....

SEWING PROJECT!!! Haha, I'm only just a little excited about this.  They are doing a 1950s day at work, and I'm going ALL out.  I picked up some gorgeous satin fabric from Joann's (after I got it I realized that the material it's made out of probably isn't entirely 100% period accurate, but oh well, I love the pattern!) and I've been busy sewing all weekend.  I'm making a simple but lovely V-necked sleeveless tea length dress.  I ordered a big, poofy petticoat to go under it and I'm so excited!!!!

Pattern!

Having fun!

It's my last week of freedom before school starts, so I figure I better enjoy it while I can.  I am going to do my hair up in curlers and style it in a late 40s/early 50s do, who knows, maybe I'll pay tribute to WWII and do some victory rolls.  Then, pin-up style makeup complete with cherry red lipstick will finish the look. I better win best dressed!! (my only drawback is lack of a bullet bra, I sat for awhile trying to figure if I could modify one of my bras to get pointy boobs, but decided it was probably not the best idea!)

Which, this reminds me, I never did get finished photos of my last sewing project, the 1860s mourning dress.  My sister is here this weekend and we are planning to do a photo shoot of the 50s dress, maybe I'll break out my corset and hoop crinoline and do a shoot with the 1860s dress as well.  I've probably said it before, but honest to God, I swear I was born in the wrong decade/century.  I love historical attire of any type!  I'll be sure to post finished photos of this baby!

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Feel unmotivated...

Maybe ya'll can talk some sense into me.

I'm feeling very unmotivated with Cash, and the thought of selling him has crossed my mind more than once as of late.

It's kinda flirted in the back of my mind for awhile, but what with him bucking me off, then kicking them, then being a royal turd on the lunge every. single. time. I work with him, and just now in my most recent ride on him last week he bolted and ran off with me.

Now, I'm a good rider, I have stickability and can tough it out with the nastiest of horses. I'm not scared of Cash, and nothing he's throwing at me is something I can't work through in time. But, with all that is going on in my life, what I've been through, I want a horse I can enjoy and trust to be the same animal day in and day out... is that too much to ask?

Plus there is the time factor. He needs to be ridden 5 days a week. That's definitely possible right now. But I start the fall semester in two weeks and my days are going to get very, very long. I'll prob still be able to get out there a decent # of times until the days get short, at which point I'll be leaving the house before sun-up and not getting back till after sun-down. And we don't have an indoor or lighted area. That sucks.

Partially it's just me being frustrated. I know he needs time to mature mentally. But it's hard to get past the fact that he tries to be a jerk because he can. When he bolted and ran off with me it was because of a stupid white cooler sitting on the other side of the fence.... YET just beyond that in the adjacent garden were 4 blonde headed boys running and yelling and popping in and out of 6 foot tall sunflower rows shooting nerf guns and waving foam swords, he didn't even blink. But the cooler... that white cooler. UGH

Anyway, what do y'all think? Am I totally off my rocker? Everytime I go horse hunting online I realize that he is far nicer than any other horse out there within my price range... yet then I go work with him and 9 times out of 10 come away feeling "blah". I'm not feeling the connection I had with Pie or with Buddy, my two previous OTTBs.

Well, I'll leave my ramblings at that. On a postscript note, I need a new color sceme/layout for this blog, this one has been around for awhile and I'm ready for a change.

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Listen to Me!

A bit behind on blogging, I'll admit, but oh well.  I spent a week in California on vacation--I got to hang out with my aunt, my cousin and her kids, my grandparents, and just enjoy a week of no work, no errands, no appointments, no running around, no alarm clock in the morning--it was fantastic!!

I am slowly but surely figuring out how to reprimand Cash.  First, is his spooking, I am starting to find that line between yes, he is actually spooking, and no, now he's just being a jerk.  Yesterday was a great example, I was lunging him and he initially was very looky at "that end" of the arena.  I let him stop and look, and then move on again.  But he kept looking each time we'd come around and would get this little pattern going: slow down, duck in, speed up, pull out.... and after about 10 times of this I was like "Ok, enough. Time for you to listen."

So when he slowed down I snapped his butt with the whip, when he ducked in I snapped his shoulder, when he sped up and pulled out I gave him a nice pull back in and by then we were back to his slow down spot and I repeated. He's a smart cookie, once I was onto his game it only took me doing this twice for him to go "Oh, sorry mom, I'll listen." Turd.

I experimented too with a side rein set up and I'm super pleased with the results.  When lunging (and when riding) he really braces in his neck and can pull and fall in super easily as a result.  I'm not a huge side rein fan as I feel that they are very unforgiving and hard on a horse's mouth--there just is no suppling action.  So what I did was attach a side rein to the outside to be that steady outside rein the horse works into.  On the inside I took the lunge line and ran it through the bit and back to the girth and attached it as the same height as the side rein.  This gave me that inside rein suppling factor and a GREAT way to also effectively disengage him when he tries to brace and pull on the lunge line.  I can say that I've been really happy with the results of how he carried himself the last couple of lunging sessions.

My training goals for Cash for the foreseeable future are two very simple things:

1. Rhythm and Relaxation
2. LISTEN

Note the emphasis on #2... this also applies to in hand.  I'm making it a point of taking him out for walks on the road, and he can sometimes loose focus and starts invading my space.  The week before I was in Cali he decided to suddenly take a feel good leap forward during which he then kicked out at me and caught me square in the knee.  I kid you not I thought I didn't have a knee anymore as it instantly went numb.  Thankfully I must have got just the end of the kick because I could still walk just fine and I promptly brought the fear of god down upon him--I was NOT happy!  He's been much, much more respectful now and listens instantly the moment I correct him.  There is a reason I hand walk this horse in a stud chain!

So, I've decided to implement a rule of that he is allowed ONE good look for each scary item, after which he HAS to listen to me.  Also, when he gets his one look, he is looking only, no slowing down, no speeding up, no stopping unless I say, and especially no spinning and trying to go the other way.  Sounds simple enough, right??

On another note, go take a look at this cutie!! If I had the money for another horse I would so snatch him up, just look at that uphill canter! http://denver.craigslist.org/grd/3935382886.html

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Bucked Off

Yep, it was bound to happen.  Sooner or later, Cash would get me off with one of his temper tantrums.

It's probably partly my fault.  I didn't get to the barn until nearly 8pm, and with only an hour at most of ride-able daylight left I thought "I'll just hop on him for a short little walk-only ride, no need to lunge...." Famous last words.

Well, I got on, thinking I'd work on some going right stuff, just keep it nice and easy and relaxing and be done in a jiffy.... except the problem was that he was being a bit of a pill and not wanting to go near the gate for some reason.  Turd.  He would balk, so I'd put leg on, he'd balk more, I'd put more leg on, he'd step backwards, I'd give him a little smack, he'd hop, then begrudgingly go forward.... When we got to our destination I'd stop him, pet and praise him, then walk forward on our circle.  This was great except that when we would go forward he'd try and spin and rush away from the gate... Umm, no.

Then, the ponies out in the dry lot started running around for some reason, just feeling their oats... that was the last straw, and it happened right as we were turning away from the gate.  Cash scooted, bucked, and bolted towards the fence, I had a pretty good grip until he slammed on the brakes as he got to the fence (in other words he ran into the fence...), this launched me onto his neck, I quickly scrambled to get back into the tack but as soon as my butt hit the saddle he turned and leapt away again full tilt, I had no hope of staying off so I bailed while I still had open dirt to land on instead of a fence!  I landed on my feet, for the most part, the forward momentum then landed me ultimately on all fours.  I got a good face-full of dust and a scraped knee, but otherwise I'm none the worse for wear.  Thank God for all those emergency dismount drills in Pony Club.

He ran around at the end of the arena a bit while I went and grabbed my lunge line.  My barn owner, Rosemary, saw the whole thing, and after making sure I was ok, she went to bring the other horses in to give us some peace and quiet.

After lunging a bit I got back on and he was very very very good.  Only went against my right leg once, did a lovely shoulder-fore along the side of the arena leading to the gate, didn't look at the gate once, didn't rush away... was soft and on the bit.  Go figure.

Well, I must say I learned my lesson, I shall always lunge this horse before riding!

Either that or he just didn't like the saddle pad of the day....

Real men wear pink... and rubber duckies.

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Lengthy catchup post!

Wow has it been a busy week!  My professor in my Farm Animal Anatomy and Physiology class just flew through the information this week, I have the whole of the cardiovasular system, respiratory system, and digestive system to review for an exam tomorrow morning, and then the final will be Friday. Oy. I'll be glad to be done with it!  Though, as intensive and demanding this 4 week summer class is, I love the fact that I am knocking out a solid 3 credit class in one month's time.  This is really going to help my class planning for the next several semesters.

So, that said, trying to find time to work Cash is precious, when I do get out there it's often not until 7 in the evening, or later.  I have a love-hate relationship with riding at that time of day, while it's beautiful and cool and the sun is behind the shade trees so I don't get burnt.... the mosquitoes are out in force, and I hate mosquitoes.  Yuck.

Last Sunday the farm hosted a potluck and music night, a lot of the farm school families showed up so there were a bunch of kids running around, and we went and just hung out for a bit, naturally I didn't get to hold my baby much so I made good use of my free hands and went and got Cash out.... and my oh my, poor guy was beside himself.  All those people, the music, the steel guitar, the kids, the blowing sheet that had been errected as a backdrop for the band.... So we went and hung out in the far end of the arena, all he wanted was to try and hide all of 1300lbs behind all of 130lbs of me.  Ha!  I finally went and sat on the fence and held him, he would dance and jump around a bit, then settle and watch, then jump around, and then watch.  Eventually he just would stand and watch and so I'd get down and move about 10 feet closer to the commotion.  We ended on a really good note and he was listening to me well, we did a little ground work and I put him away. 

However, this memory of music and people did not translate well to our next few rides later on in the week.  He was just being a dip-wad!! On thursday he was especially bad, I lunged him in that end, then got on, he was ok to start with while walking, but it came apart when I asked for the trot.  He balked big-time when we came around to that side of the circle, so I put my leg on, when that didn't work I gave him a small pop with the crop, and he threw a full out temper tantrum!! Spinning, flying sideways, hopping, head tossing... the works. So I made him go to work, he was ok for a little bit, but then was rushing through me and not slowing, so I asked him to halt from the trot, that got his attention but the next circuit around, at the exact same spot, he slammed on the brakes again "you want me to halt again here, right??" he then objected again when I asked him to go forward.  I decided to try taking him through a set of three trot poles as ground poles often really help him focus, but that was a no-go as he decided he wanted to canter them... after sending one of the poles flying (or so it seemed) that rendered the trot poles un-usable least I get off and re-set I decided to just get him moving off my leg and some-what listening to me.... at that point he decided he had had enough of my leg and kicked out when I give him a little push.... SERIOUSLY?  At which point he then flew sideways knowing that he was being naughty and I was sure he was going to slam my leg against the fence.  I was finally like "Ok, horse, lets just WALK a nice quiet circle and we can be done." we managed to accomplish that and I called it quits. 

Thinking back on the ride, I was surprised at how calm I stayed throughout the entire thing, I didn't loose my temper with him once... something that six months ago I can honestly say I would not have been able to do. I had a lot of anger and unhappiness in my life before that I've been able to let go of since my husband passed away... I am honestly a happier person now.  Which is an unfortunate testament to where our relationship had gone.

Anyway, following his dip-wadded nonesense I called up the barn owner and asked her if I could let him spend the night in the arena.  She agreed so I set out a nice big pile of hay for him right smack dab next to the scarriest part of the arena and let him loose.  He walked over and warrily started eating.  I watched him for a bit and he would eat, then nervously trot away to the gate, which upon finding closed he would wander back over to his food, eat some more and then trot back to the gate.  It's such a rough life, haha.

I didn't do anything with him on Friday, but yesterday when I worked him he was SUPER.  The night spent in the arena must have really helped!  He didn't spook hardly once! He had a few looks going right on the lunge line, and going left he didn't blink at all.  Good boy!!  He was also great to ride, quite heavy on his inside shoulders, but he was focused and listening to me otherwise.  I kept the ride short and sweet and was very pleased with him otherwise.  So, he will be spending at least 1 night a week in the arena, it will be good for him.

Such a handsome boy!

He going to be getting a 1 week purge of Psyillium, a couple weeks ago he had a mild colic... well, I wouldn't even call it colic, he never was acting collicy in that he was showing signs of discomfort, he was just being super lethargic and not eating or drinking, and the poops coming out where pretty hard.  So we tubed him with water and mineral oil as a precautionary measure and that perked him back up.  But just because of how sandy it is around here, and the fact that another horse on the property had a major sand colic episode not too long ago I'm going to start doing this with him about every other month or so.  Better safe than sorry. 

Whew, well that's all for now! This next week is going to be nuts, an exam on monday, the final on friday, then FREEDOM!!! Until August anyway when fall classes start back up.  It'll be weird to only have a 6-7 hour day, instead of an 11 hour day.  So much free time!

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Weekend update

First on the docket...

I jumped Cash!!!

Granted it was only a 12" cavaletti, but he jumped it so therefore it counts.  Turning is still a bit iffy, especially when asking him to do an inside turn at the canter on the quarter line, haha yeah that reeaaaally felt like trying to turn a boat!

Our jump!

He's such a natural jumper, he felt awesome, just smooth and fluid with his body in the air.  I can't wait to feel what he's like over a solid 3' oxer.  He's going to be a beast. 

Though, it was so funny, on the other side of the arena I had three trot poles out, which I then moved all together to make one big trot/canter pole.  The first time around Cash took a big look at it, sat back on his haunches and leaped over it like it was an advanced sized ditch... Oh horse!!

the "ditch"

As we were cooling out I was walking him over the cavaletti for more practice picking up his feet, well he wasn't paying attention (hence the practice) and caught his back feet on it and stumbled over it, in the process knicking himself pretty good on one fetlock, it was a teeny cut but he then stood there like a big baby holding his back leg way up in the air.  He eventually walked out of it ok, after I convinced him that his leg was really still functional.

You would've thought he cut his leg off the way he
reacted to this!

I tell you what, I really can't wait till he advances further his training! He's going to be so much fun.

Anyway, well then yesterday my roommate, the baby and I (the older kids were off with family for the day) headed down to Parker, CO to the Colorado Horse Park to hang out and check out the horse shows.  There were three shows going: a dressage show, a hunter/jumper show, and the CHP CCI*/T3DE/Horse trials.  J, my friend was riding her horse in the dressage show, it was her first time riding Intermediare-1. But we got out of the house a tad late and literally got there as she was walking out of the arena, bummer!  It was still fun to hang out with her a bit, I even braided her other horse for her. 

Mid-morning we then headed out to the Cross Country course so that I could jump judge for the Intermediate, CCI* and Preliminary divisions. 

It was a beautiful day! A bit cool and breezy,
but beautiful none-the-less

The dogs thought so too!

I didn't get to watch any of the T3DE just because of the timing and overlap with my friend's dressage ride time, but I'm so excited that it is being offered out here now!! It is definitely on my goals list for the shows around here.  Until last fall the closest T3DE was Rebecca Farms up in Montana (aka a ridiculously long drive away).  So I'm pretty stoked about this addition.

Overall, my weekend was just fantastic! Now I get to sit and study today for an exam tomorrow in my Animal Anatomy and Physiology class, fun stuff y'all.

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Cash meets water obstacle

No thanks to all the rain (and hail!) we've gotten in the past few days the arena is quite muddy and unrideable.  So, me, being brave (or just plain crazy), decided to tack up my hasn't-been-worked-in-three-days OTTB and without lunging, go for a ride down the road. Should be fine, right???

Being ambitious I thought "it would be cool to ride all the way to the lake" and so we set off.... we made it almost a half-mile when Cash stopped dead in his tracks and went "I'm NOT at home anymore..."

He then decided he was headed home, and headed home now.  Hello racehorse mode. Yeah, I had no control. On a fresh horse, out on a dirt road that strangely resembes the backside of a track.....

FUN!!

We managed to stay at sub-warp speed and not mow down any mail boxes!! *is proud*

Once safe and sound in the driveway of the barn we did a bunch of walk circles, and then walked out onto the road, and then back in... and back out.  Until he chilled.  We only had one other racehorse moment.

The peanut gallery,
watchin your every move!

Then, thanks to the rain we had lots of puddles, so again, I had the brilliant idea of "any good event horse goes through water, right?" Ha, yeah! Cash was not having it.... and when I finally DID get him in the puddle he has the balls to stop dead right in the middle of it and start pawing and splashing around like a baby in a bathtub.  Seriously? You put up all that fuss just to stop and play? Horses, I tell ya what....

The puddle of doom...

I called it a very productive day after the puddle and he ambled back home on a loose rein, very satisfied with himself apparently.  Good boy!  He got lots of treats and some grazing for his efforts.

 

Handsome man... despite the mud

Overall it was a good evening at the barn, and I'm very thankful that I used the running martingale which provided me with a very convenient grab strap--fancy that!

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Mud, Showoff, Forward, Rolex, Shopping!

How's that for a title? So now that all the snow has finally melted and it's not a muddy mess everywhere, I can actually work with my horse! Fancy that. Though... I did have to deal with this first:

Lovely, ain't it?

Yesterday I lunged and rode, we were sharing the arena initially with another rider who was on this super sweet little QH mare named Ladybug.  Well, everytime Cash would pass Lady while on the lunge he would puff himself up, arch his neck, and start prancing about.  He was being such a goof!! What a ham.

It did help in that it got him going a bit more forward.  Under saddle he was just very very stuck.  I think part of it is that he needs shoes for the summer, when the ground gets hard you can tell he is just a bit uncomfortable. But man, he just needs to learn to go forward!! I've started riding him in spurs which has helped, but wow he takes a lot of leg and core strength to ride. I also tried a new noseband/bit combo, I pulled out my figure 8 and tried a Herm Sprenger Klaus Balkenhol brigdoon that used to be Pie's bit (a bit I've always been fond of, I like the shape of it, nice n simple and most horses seem to really like it). He seemed to do a little better in, he wasn't biting at the bit so much, we'll keep on it for a bit and see how it goes.

Mom, taking pictures is boring!

Otherwise, I spent several hours yesterday glued to my computer watching the live feed from Rolex.  Buck's ride on Reggie just gave me goosebumps, and it was just a thrill to see him so excited, fist pumping, after crossing the finish line!

The baby helped me watch too, though she was
more interested in banging on the keyboard!

A new farrier is coming out a week from tomorrow to put shoes on Cash, nothing against my old farrier at all, I really liked him, but I didn't feel he was quite clicking with my horse.  I'm also hoping to secure some regular riding lessons this summer and get to some shows!  Then, I've got a decent bit of extra $$ burning a hole in my pocket so I think I'm going to go on a spending spree and pick up some things from my Wish List, such as the helmet, XC vest, and maybe a dressage bridle (if I can decide on one I like).

In short, my horsie life is looking up right now :)

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Dental Visit

Mr Cash got his teeth floated yesterday.  There wasn't anything horrible, just some minor points, so we got that all taken care of and he's good to go for the next year.  He also got his mane pulled while he was off in la-la land dreaming of psychedelic rainbows and fluffy bunnies.

You are getting very sleepy...

Say ah!

Starting to perk back up, note the short hair?

 Notice the stud chain? The other day he was royally blowing off the rope halter, so I decided today I didn't want to fight it with him and put the stud chain on.  I haven't ever used it before.  He got a little ancy a few times when the vet was getting ready to poke him with needles, but wow did he ever listen to it.  Figures, it's probably the only way he was ever led on the track.  I have a gift card to a local tack store, I think I'm going to invest in a sturdy nylon halter and a good stud chain with a nice soft cotton lead.

I'm going to a wedding this weekend.  I'm really excited about it.  It will be good.  I went back to work today, I wasn't there long but I pretty much just hid in my corner and got caught up on things... didn't feel like facing the entire call floor, not yet. I like having a desk in the corner.  It's quiet. I am glad to be getting back into the routine of work and school... but doesn't erase the fact my husband isn't there.  Things are going well on the home front, we are making progress and moving forward (though these bank accounts are turning into a nightmare, the hoops they try and get you to jump through, and the fact that there isn't a will makes it ten times more complicated, I'm his wife for pete's sake, just sign over the account already! ugh.... I'm just not going to think about it for awhile, it's not like the money is going anywhere).  But, man I miss him.... I've gone through such a range of emotions, to the point of even questioning our love, but it's all fizzled down into an aching desire to see him again.  I miss him.  It's still so hard to grasp that he's not coming back.  I have those moments where you feel like he's so close, if you turn fast enough you'll see him--it's strange how overpowering that feeling can be at times.  Thankfully I have this little face to keep me grounded and focused and moving on. 

My little Angel and her spoon!

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Pony Therapy

I'm starting to get back into a routine, first week of school back is done and under my belt, I presented a speech and got an A on it, I'm satisfied.  Started a short course, Equine Industry Seminar, that I think it going to be neat.

Right now, as it was before, the happiest times, when I'm able to let it all go and not think about stresses, obligations, to-do lists... is when I'm at the barn.  Last Wednesday my cousin stopped by with her two kiddos (she has a 2.5 year old boy who is TOO cute!) and we moseyed out to the barn after lunch.  I took Shadow out for a beautiful jog down the road, he was so good.  Which on another note, I'm acquiring a 2-wheeled cart for him soon, so excited! I'll tell you more when I get it!

I got Cash out, I hadn't done anything with him in a week, and he was full of it, spent the first 10 minutes on the lunge tearing around, spooking, bucking, farting, kicking.  I made the comment to my cousin "And this is why I'm not riding him today!" Once he wore himself out he trotted and cantered around like an old pro.  He's looking super sound right now, I'm so happy, I think I've finally figured out his front feet and where they need to be at to keep him sound.

I didn't get to do anything more with Cash until yesterday, but by the time I got there it was starting to rain, so I managed 5 minutes on the lunge line before we got rained out.  I'll try and ride him today.

In non-horse world... meh. It's going? I've majorly re-arranged my room, have just about flipped the rest of the house upside down with cleaning.  The garage is next... that's going to be a chore.  I picked out a lot of my husband's t-shirts to wear myself, they are a little loose but fit alright still.  They are comfy, it makes me feel like he's hugging me or something. 

We did set up the crib for the baby! She finally outgrew
the cradle.  She is 5.5 months now, and looks so small in here!

Well, off to go run errands, hoping I'll be able to get to the barn today and actually ride Cash. Maybe he'll be sane!

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Cookie Therapy

Yes, Cookie Therapy, otherwise known a bribery.... haha!!

So far, it's working.  Whenever I go to catch Cash, or do anything with him now, I go armed with a pocket stuffed full of treats.  Thank God for the 50lb bag of horse cookies that only costs $10... otherwise I'd go broke doing this.  He still won't let me step up to his shoulder to put the rope over his neck to catch him.  So bizare.  He is getting turned out with a turnout halter and I can walk up to him, give him cookies, and grab the halter without much fuss--then I move to his shoulder and put the rope over his neck and then clip it to the halter.  I still don't know that I could catch him without the halter on.  It's just so bizare.  I need to get the vet out to check his teeth, I have a sneaking suspision that might be causing some issues.

That said, I actually rode Cash TWO DAYS IN A ROW.  [basks in heavenly glow from above]

The first ride, on Friday, lasted a whole of 5 minutes before the baby started crying and I had to cut my ride short to go attend to her.  We didn't really get anywhere except walking a bit and trotting about 3 circles. Ha! Oh well, at least I got in the saddle.

Yesterday the ride was only about 10, 15 minutes at the most as we spent most of the day doing Church activities and by the time I got to the barn it was almost 5 so I didn't have much daylight left.  I worked with Shadow and then by the time I got to Cash the sun was setting, a quick lunge (and more cookie therapy in the scary end of the arena--which, works really well by the way!), I hopped on him.  By now it was quite dark so all we did was walk, we focused on going forward, bending, turning off the outside aids, moving laterally off the inside leg (his baby leg yeild is definitely lacking in the hind end department, but the idea is there!), going on the contact and then doing a stretchy free walk.

And boy, can this horse stretch!!!

Is there such a thing as too much stretch? He practically plants his nose in the dirt.  I don't want to tell him no because I don't ever want to hinder a horse's desire to stretch, but my word, I worry that he is going to trip over his own nose.

Otherwise, he felt great.  He's regained his soundness after pulling his shoes and he just feels so fluid and smooth under saddle.  Now, I can't wait for Daylight Savings Time to get here so that I can have more daylight and hopefully be able to spend more time at the barn, horray!

Then, with Shadow, as I mentioned above, I worked with him yesterday.  We got all the boards removed from the cart as they were insecure and would bounce around making the most horrid rattling noise which was quite unnerving to the pony.  Today we had him pull the cart around without the boards and what a difference, he was much more relaxed and what clanging there was, he walked through it with only minimal tension. Good pony!! The cart is still a work in progress, I can't wait till all the little things get fixed on it so that we can actually get in it.  In the mean time, just leading him around in it is going to be the best for him, he needs to be 100% relaxed with it before I even think of getting into the driver's seat. Can't wait!

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Building trust

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about this issue with Cash and being hard to catch, and how it's all of a sudden, out of nowhere, reared it's ugly head, refusing to go away.  I've been thinking about not only his behavior, but about mine.  I can be a bit of a hard-hitter, a "you are going to do what I want or else" kind of mentallity when I work with my horses... I kinda had to with some of the bratty ponies I used to work with.  But that approach most definitely is not for all horses.  And I definitely don't think it's ever going to work for Cash.  I've been following Andrea and her blogs for awhile, with the most recent Project Runaway: The Uncatchable Number 257 being about her abused recip mare.  She has put such an emphasis on time, patience, and doing only what the horse is willing to do.  Such a great example!!

Then, this blog post popped up on "Horses: The Process of Learning" where the author writes about not ruling with an iron fist.  It kinda hit home to me, and made me realize, rather abruptly, that that is what I do.  And, it is NOT the person I want to be.  So, not only when it comes to my horse, but in my home, with my children, I am going to strive to a softer, more compasionate leader.  It's not going to be easy, I'm such an older sibling, wanting to control everything!

So here's to being a kinder, nicer, friendly, and more forgiving human to my horses!!

That said, yesterday I had one of the BEST days ever at the barn.  It's was a beautiful day, didn't feel much like winter at all.  When I last worked with Shadow on Tuesday we had a bit of a major freakout moment.  Long story short, he spooked, the cart bounced, he bolted and I hung on just enough to steer him into the corner where he got himself wedged at right angles to the shafts of the cart up against the fence.... !!!! Scared the bejebers out of me.  But I got him unstuck (what a good boy he was too! once he figured out he couldn't move he just stood there very patiently until I got him free), got everything sorted out and hooked him back up to the cart and we took one more (uneventful) spin around the arena and called it a night.  Yesterday I wanted to just do a confidence builder, so I hooked him to the drag and as an impromptu decision took him out for a jog down the road.  I didn't hook the tire on it and I was definitely regretting it halfway out as Mr. Full-of-energy was bouncing down the road like a hyperactive ping-pong ball.  But, beyond the extra energy he was SO good, he only majorly spooked once, but otherwise he just motored right along, and even stood (for the most part) still while we waited for a big Semi to drive past so we could cross the road.  And no, no pictures as I had my hands full keeping him in check. You'll just have to take my word for it that we had a great time!

Then I got Cash out, Rosemary was bringing the horses in early for the evening so he was fairly amiable to be caught (having a hoodie pocket stuffed full of cookies didn't hurt either).  I tied him up and spent some time grooming him and he was totally relaxed, alert, happy and content looking so I though, well lets put the saddle on him and see what he does.  So I tacked him up, set my helmet on the fence in case he was being good and popped him on the lunge line.  He proceeded to lazily trot around without any fuss, granted his feet are still a bit ouchy so he wasn't totally on board with the idea of trotting out but I was ok with that.  With him being so good I grabbed my helmet and hopped on board for just a walk ride.  And he was AWESOME.  A blog recently reminded of the "Ask. Tell. Demand." training principle (sorry I don't remember where I saw it otherwise I'd link the blog!!) and I really made a concious effort to utilize that, and it really helped.  I'm the queen of nagging, nag, nag, nag.  So I think we both found it refreshing to ask once and be done.  He remembered everything I had been working on prior to pulling his shoes, bending, moving off my leg (he actually was doing this very well much to my delight!), and turns on the haunches moving off the outside aids.  I asked him for contact and he obliged, it wasn't consistent at all, but it was contact.  Then at the end of the ride I offered him the chance to stretch and boy, he took it! About dragging his nose in the ground... yay peanut pushing! It's so nice to have a horse who wants to stretch.

He got lots of scratches and cookies afterwards.  Not bad at all for not having done much with him in the past month and a half.  I think I just need to re-prove to him that I'm his friend and not out to eat him and think we shall be golden.  Besides, he really really needs to work off some pounds...

Hard to see in the poor evening light, but... that belly!!

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What the...

Cash continues to be difficult to catch.  I had to follow him around for 15 minutes the other day before he let me lay a hand on his halter.  I did have the baby monitor on me and it initially was on but when he gave it a wayward glance I turned it off and stuffed it in my pocket. 

When I turned him out yesterday after catching him and messing with him I practiced putting the rope over his neck, the first time I casually did it he jumped and about bolted--a reaction I was totally unprepared for!! So, I worked with that a bit until he calmed down, then I let him loose with praise and lots of cookies.

Today, the wind picked up and with temps only hovering around 30*F today my barn owner went out to blanket the horses to keep them cozy with the dropping wind chill.  However, she called me and said that when she went to put the blanket on him he spooked and pulled the halter out of her hand and took off and would not let her catch him again.

So, I'm stumped.

A month ago I could walk out there and put his blanket on with no halter, no lead, nothing.  He would see me and come walking up to be caught.  Now he's back to square 1.  I don't get it.

Guess I see lots of de-sensitization in the future... and lots of loves n hugs n goodies to make him want to be caught again.

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Playing hard to catch

Yesterday Cash got it into his head that he didn't want to be caught.  Apparently, I've been spending too much time with the pony and not enough time with him, so he wanted to teach me a lesson!! I spent a flippin hour trying to catch the damn horse (pardon my french).  Even got him into the alley way, no luck... Rosemary, the barn owner tried... no luck.  It was starting to get dark, we tried bringing the horses in for dinner, no luck!! He was NOT going to be caught.  I finally left feeling very unhappy about letting him win.  Rosemary was able to catch him later in the evening and bring him in, and she put his turnout halter on to aid in catching for a bit.

Today went much better, he turned and walked away from me initially, but when I started to cuddle on the pony he got curious and came over and I was able to grab his halter before he decided to move off again.

We then headed to the round pen for some "join up" type work to get him listening and thinking about submitting and respecting me as Alpha Mare like the good boy that he is.  And... he was, surprisingly very good.  

Very relaxed, only had one minute or two where he had to get the ants outta his pants, but otherwise he was great really.  Listened to me, and every time I relaxed and asked him to come in to me via body language he instantly slowed, relaxed, showed a "release" (in this case licking and chewing and dropping the head), and came in to me and stood patiently for my next move.

He'd then follow me around as if on a lead, forwards, stopping, and even backing without me touching him.  It's rather cool really :)  Overall, I gotta say I'm pretty pleased with how well Cash has picked up on the ground work in the year that I've had him.

I can be a good boy, really, I can!

He was also surprisingly quite sound.  I'm really quite pleased with how quickly he's regaining his soundness after getting the shoes off.  Especially considering that the day after getting the shoes off it warmed up and within a few days all the snow was gone and the ground was back to being very dry, and very hard, and very rocky.  Murphy's law right?  Ah well, he's like 98% sound right now, the right front is the culprit, just gotta give it time!  Maybe that Keratex Hoof Hardener is actually doing it's job, it's gotta be helping!

All in all, today was a great day at the barn.  Cash was good, and I had a great time working with the pony, he is doing just awesome, and I promise I will have a post about him soon!! Maybe tomorrow, or monday, whenever I get done with homework :)  Lets just say I'm having waaaaay too much fun working with him than I should be allowed.

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The Shoes are Off!

Cash got his shoes off today! I got a call this morning from my farrier saying that he was in town and able to come by and take them off.  The timing worked out perfect and I was able to zip off to the barn to meet him after work. He was originally going to come last week but he came down with the flu and wasn't able to work for a couple weeks, yikes!

Since I'm running rather short on funds until my next paycheck, I said that I'd trim Cash myself, which is something I actually enjoy.  I'm no expert, but I know enough about the balance and function of a foot to be dangerous.

After the past two months waiting (im)paitently for Cash's feet to grow, I've definitely decided that we need to try keeping his feet (namely his toes) a bit longer than we had.  He just wasn't comfortable with them that short.  He tends to have very short toes, which means a tendency to be sore in the toes.  All I did was round the toes (took off length from the top essentially), trim off some shedding frog, and called it good.  He really didn't have any length that needed to be taken off.

His front left grows a bit clubby, so finding the right angle is tricky.  You want to go by the textbook and match the pastern angle, but, a club foot is often that way because of how the horse naturally is or at one point there could have been an injury that caused a lack of weight bearing for a prolonged period.  I don't know what the reason is with Cash, but I do know that one can only alter a club foot so much--you can't force a body to conform to a shape it's not built to be.  Anywho, this is what the left front looked like after I did the toe, I rasped the heels a fraction, but they were level with the frog so didn't go further.  It'll be interesting to see if the frog starts shedding now that it'll be more load bearing.  Looking at this picture you see that it would appear he needs some toe taken off. 

 But putting the foot down you see that, really, he's not that long in the toe after all.  I may try to take a smidge more heel off.  But again, I want to try leaving his feet a touch longer as I think he needs extra padding to stay sound.

  The right front is much rounder with a lot of width to it.  It's not what I would call a flat foot, but it's borderline.  Again, same deal with the toe.  Looks long underneath...

... but perfectly fine when set on the ground.  I have no want or desire to make his toes any less.

 Overall, for a thoroughbred he's got pretty decent feet.  Nice shape, open heels, healthy frog.  I'm going to be avidly using the Keratex Hoof Hardener this week and see how it helps.

Aside from that? My day was rather crappy :(  One of our chickens died, she was one of the older hens we had (prob about 3-4 years, old for a chicken), and I think the subzero temps did her in.  I found her very lethargic in the run, brought her inside to warm up hoping that might help, but after about 2 hours she convulsed and died. By the way she was acting, I wouldn't be surprised if she had a stroke.

Then, the really cruddy part of the day was that my husband said enough's enough with the little 6 month old kitten we have, well had.  She's been peeing on a lot of things lately, I'm 110% positive it was hormones as when we got her spayed last week she was in heat.... Today she popped a squat and peed on a backpack right in front of him.  He took her over to a friend's house this evening to be their cat....  Yeah, I'm rather upset....... she was my little buddy, even if she was kitty terror.  To say my husband is impulsive is an understatement.  It's epically frustrating since I am anything but.

Gonna miss that little face :(

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That Coveted Yellow Watch

I think that there needs to be an official term for the hangover like syndrome that happens after Christmas... All that hype and anticipation, planning and gift wrapping, baking, entertaining of family members (both wanted and not), which climaxes in a dramatic tearing open of presents which lasts maybe half an hour. And then, it's all done... or is it?  My house has been in a post-Christmas state of chaos ever since, with mounds of new clothes, toys, gadgets, and should I mention the now empty wrapping supplies??? Two days out post-dewrapping and I've only managed to half tame the beast.

The view Christmas evening after it was all said and done

This year things were a tad tight for us, so we focused on getting gifts for the kiddos above all.  And, I would say, they came out pretty good... lucky kids, I never got stuff like that as a kid... Anyway, of the two (or was it three?) gifts I got, the prize jewel was something I've been coveting for years, that iconic eventing symbol: the big, yellow faced, Optimum Time Event Watch!!

Thank you Mom! She had asked me for some things I wanted for Christmas, I poked around, came up with a list... and then, on eBay I spied an auction for a barely used Optimum Time Watch at half the price they sell for new.  I promptly emailed her the link and said, "This! Want!"  And, well, I was very very happy to open up that lovely watch on Christmas morning! 

Previously I've been using a cheap, $10 digital watch from Wallyworld, not very stylish but it worked fine--although it would only count up, not down.  So, I certainly can NOT wait to get out there and use this bad boy!

But first, Cash is getting his shoes pulled.  We had a beautiful white Christmas, and more snow is on the way, so that means the ground will be soft-ish and I feel comfortable taking those shoes off to let his feet get a rest.  Plus, I can't ride in the snow with shoes on, but I can with them off (read: ice balls).  I will be taking them off myself this afternoon, so we will see how he does soundness wise. I fully expect him to be a bit off for awhile, but who knows, maybe he'll surprise me.  I discussed it with my farrier a few weeks ago, and we are going to try and keep his feet just a smidge longer than we were--he just wasn't comfortable, especially in the toes. Maybe even go to 9 or 10 weeks inbetween trims/shoes, especially in the winter. 

In the mean time, I've having a little too much fun working with one of the ponies at the barn, I'm getting him back in harness so that he can pull this adorable little farm wagon they have.  A post about him will be forthcoming.

I'll leave you today with a Christmas Baby picture, because I think she's too adorable not to share :)

My little snuggle bug

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Issues with Selenium

In the last 4 months or so Cash has really started to have a notable problem in one of his front feet with the hoof wall just deteriorating around the nails whenever the farrier tries to set a shoe.  This was surprising and concerning to me as when I first got him I instantly put him on a ration balancer to provide a balanced mineral supply to his diet.  The product I choose was Ranch-Way's Defiance Vital Edge Pelleted Mineral.  I'd used this product before with good results (or so I thought) and it was a better price than the other option in my area (Enrich 32) plus I liked that it had Biotin in it (yay! no extra hoof supplement needed).  In general, I expected it to help him out overall, with visible improvements in his coat, hair, physical appearance, and hoof growth.

Well, I did see a difference in his coat and (for the most part) his hair.  When Cash shed out in the spring I was very pleased with how his coat looked, it quite literally would blind you:

Physically he was gaining weight and muscle.  His feet were looking good, and we were making progress with correcting some poor angles he had.  But the new horn growth coming in didn't look any better than it had before.  I brushed it off as a result of the incredibly hot and dry summer we were having.

In September I took Cash off the Vital Edge, not really because I wanted to but because I was starting to pinch pennies for my upcoming maternity leave and unfortunately extra fancy grain for the horse was not a luxury I could afford--after all, horses have survived thousands of years without special supplements.  His weight was good and he was on a really nice, rich hay so I wasn't worried.  In hind sight, I am really really glad I did this, as if I hadn't taken him off it I might not have made the important connection that I will now explain.

Right about this time the horn growth that started way back in February when I started Cash on the Vital Edge was reaching the ground and being actively engaged by the farrier and thus shoes. This is when the issues with the flaky and shelly feet started.  My farrier noticed the difference right away and made an offhand comment wondering if he had a mineral deficiency.  I said I didn't think so and we left it at that.  However it got the wheels to turning in my head.

Fast forward to December.  Looking at his feet you can see that the lower 3/4 of the foot is this weak, cracking mess, the upper 1/4 (post Vital Edge) that is growing in is stronger looking, less cracks, and in general, healthier.  I pondered this, why would horn growth look better without a mineral supplement than with.  So, I sat down yesterday with the feed tag from the Vital Edge and did some research into mineral requirements for each ingredient listed.  As I went down the list and did my research one article pointed out that Selenium is a mineral that is often over dosed and that very little can create toxicity in horses.  I found a couple great articles from Kentucky Equine Research.  The first, Selenium - How Important Is It? told me that the minimum requirement is 0.1 mg/kg of diet per day, which for a horse consuming 10kg (2% of body weight) equals 1 mg per day.  Toxicity can start around 2mg/kg.  Another article, The Many Phases of Selenium stated that toxicity levels start at 5 to 40 ppm in horses (ppm is equal to mg/kg).  This wide range is dependent on the amount of exercise the horse is getting along with other minerals in their diet that can off-set the Selenium such as vitamin E, sulfer, and copper.  Well, the Selenium amount in the Vital Edge is 2.2 ppm.  Based on the first article, this is right at that threshold where toxicity can start.  A little more digging yielded that it is common for hay in Colorado to be naturally high in selenium (Merek Veterinary Handbook, Selenium in the Equine Diet), and hay alone can cause toxicity without additional supplementation.  Uh oh.  I learned too that the first signs of selenium toxicity is loss of hair in the mane and tail along with weak, cracking hooves.  Essentially what happens in the horn wall is that the excess Selenium replaces the sulfer in the keratin bonds, this weakens the hoof wall and will result in weak, flakey, and soft feet.  If the Selenium toxicity is high enough it can even cause the entire hoof to slough off... YIKES.  On the flip side, selenium deficiency can cause white muscle disease, myositis, and Exertional Rhabdomyolisis or "tying-up".

Based upon that research, and what I was seeing (which included a mysterious loss of hair around the dock of his tail--which at the time I had assumed was again, due to the dry conditions and I guessed he was rubbing his tail to relieve the itchiness) I have determined that Cash was suffering from a mild Selenium toxicity.  It is safe to say that I will never feed the Vital Edge again, bummer, because aside from the Selenium it really provided a wonderful balanced mineral supplement. 

So, now I'm on damage control until the compromised portion of Cash's feet grow out.  I've ordered some Keratex Hoof Hardener which is a product that chemically alters the molecular bonds of the hoof structure, resulting in a physically stronger hoof wall.  This is fantastic for helping a horse that has currently weak feet and needs help now and can't wait the 6-12 months for a new foot to grow out.  The reviews on it are great, plus it is a Horse Journal editor's choice.  I'm excited to try it!

Secondly, as soon as I start getting paychecks again I will be getting Cash on a hoof supplement so that he can get that Biotin back in his diet, which, without the excess Selenium, should be able to actually do it's job.  Research has shown that while a horse really only needs 1-2mg/day of Biotin, when supplemented between 15 and 20 mg/day it will therapeutically help to improve the quality of horn growth.  So, while you do see those hoof supplements that boast 30, even 40 mg/serving of Biotin, it's really a waste of money, you just don't need that much, it's excessive.  I compared ingredients and selected Grand Hoof Pellets.  It has great levels of Biotin, Methionine, Lysine, and Zinc--all of which are vital to hoof growth (though the methionine is kinda a moot point, it's an amino acid that is created when protein is broken down, so really if the horse is getting an adequate amount of protein already this isn't truly needed... but I digress).  The other thing I like about it is that it contains 5,000mg of MSM which helps with joint issues.  I was wanting to get Cash on a supportive joint supplement anyway so this works until I can actually add in a real joint supplement. 

Well, so I guess that is that.  I feel better now that I've located the issue and can actively proceed with fixing it.  I've gained a whole new respect for carefully analyzing the feed tags that come with your grain.  I obviously cannot feed a grain high in Selenium, and will thus be very picky about what goes into my horse's diet from now on.

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Confronting the Spook

At what point do you determine that a horse is genuinely scared of something versus just being naughty?

Do you soothe the horse, letting him know that it's OK? Or do you discipline him in hopes that he learns he will be corrected should he act up again.

But the thing about giving discipline for naughty spooking is this: some horses are looking for that confrontation. They want you to get against them, they want to fight back, they want to get into that battle with you. So, giving them discipline is in fact just adding fuel to their fire, they will continue to spook (and spook harder) over and over again knowing that they can egg you into a fight.

As the rider it is so important to just ignore the horse and not do anything. At all. To just ride out the spook and shrug your shoulders and go "no big deal" and continue riding and doing what you were doing. To the naughty spooker this just bursts his bubble. He doesn't get the reaction he wanted from you and instead has to continue on with whatever it was that you were working on. Eventually he looses interest in spooking and becomes rideable.

But the problem with the rider is emotional attachment.  This is your horse, your friend, and you have great expectations for your horsey partner and want them to succeed so badly, so every little miss-step is a huge deal to you. You get upset that your horse is not performing and become flustered and frustrated. The horse picks up on this and it just snowballs.  I think the single hardest thing when working with a spooky or naughty horse is remaining emotionally detached. Especially with a horse you know and love. It's not easy, it's hard.

So, my plan for Cash is this: essentially stay away from that "stupid corner", work in areas of the arena that I know he'll behave in, and really focus on the core elements of his training, of staying in front of the leg and moving off the aids. Once I feel that he is more solid in listening to my cues we will readdress the issue of the spooky corner. As much as I want to push him through his spooking and try and correct it, I know I need to fix the underlying issue before I can even think about correcting the spook.

Wish me luck!

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