Disenchantment

Vegas' third ride went so well that I thought it was time to start introducing her to life outside of the barnyard.  My helper saddled up her mare and I prepared Vegas to lead down the road (gloves, tightened halter).  When she was ready, Vegas and I held the gate for them to come through.

Storm (helper's mare) was a little full of herself, though not un-handleable.  And Vegas did not seem to be feeding off of her so we turned left down to the dead end.  Vegas was walking faster than me so we did some circles but it was nothing unexpected.  We got to the end and turned around and she seemed to be calming down.  I was so happy with her!

Then we walked past the barnyard gate and Vegas got a view of the neighbor's runt pot-bellied pig.  Storm was blowing but Vegas seemed to be handling the situation well...until she wasn't.  She wasn't paying enough attention to me so I went to circle her and she blew right through the lead rope and went trotting back down to the dead end.  Okay...I wasn't prepared and should have been, I have wondered if she will try this when we're out somewhere.  But I was more concerned with showing her that everything was okay and I didn't realize what she was doing (remember, I had asked her to circle) until it was too late. 

Vegas trotted past the barnyard and started grazing outside of the pasture fence by some of the other horses. I approached nonchalantly, blocking her when she thought about going back down the road.  Eventually she approached me so walked her back down to the area in question.  This time, I thought I'd lead her on her right so that I was between her and the pig and try leading her by again (pig's pen is probably 30-40 feet off the road and the pig is not more than 30 pounds).  As I went to get on Vegas' other side, she took advantage and took off AGAIN and went down to graze by the other horses.

At this point, I'm trying not to be aggravated but I'm getting there.  I approach her again and this time I have to wait and walk fully up to her as she was not approaching me - she was too busy stuffing her face full of awesome un-grazed grass by the road.  So, here we go again.

By this point, I'm thinking that we need to go to the round pen and work on the pulling-away-from-me thing, again.  Now, she hasn't done this in a while and I thought we'd made some breakthroughs and she trusted me enough not to do this.  I will admit that I was wrong.  So, I walked back to the barnyard gate, but I was ready in case she tried to pull away sooner (pig is maybe another 50 feet down the road, so the gate is not overly close to the pen).  She did, try to pull away that is, but I was ready and she stopped with a pop on the halter.  So she tried harder, and I corrected harder.  So she reared and I held on and popped her a couple times again.  All the while, I'm trying to get her closer to the barnyard gate.  She seemed to calm down so I opened the gate...and she took the opportunity to blow through the halter AGAIN, this time into the barnyard.  By this point, I was pissed.  I held the gate open for the rider, and turned to find Vegas.  She had trotted up to Ruby, who was grazing in the barnyard, then turned her butt to Ruby and tried to double-barrel kick her.  I heard the thwack as one of her hooves connected with Ruby.  At this point I completely lost it and yelled something at her that rhymed with 'You bucking FITCH!!!'  Not my proudest moment but I was seeing red and shaking by this point.  I walked over to Ruby and checked her over.  I couldn't find any marks on her (then or when I checked again later), so I think she was too close to Ruby to hurt her. 

I calmed myself down enough to relax my body language and went to catch Vegas.  She tried to walk off but I was close enough to step on the lead rope.  I put her in the round pen while I went to sit in the barn and tried to stop shaking.  And to formulate my plan.  All the while I was calling her vile names under my breath, I was also trying to convince my helper/boarder-friend that I'm not really this crazy and I can actually control myself.

I went back to the round pen with a longe/lunge line (with a knot near the middle) and my lunge whip.  I approached Vegas and she decided to leave, so I pushed her and made her trot for 10 or 15 minutes, changing direction often. She stopped when I asked and stood for me to attach the line and I asked her to move off again.  She did fine until I asked her to turn around.  She did get away from me a time or two until I got smart enough to hold the line immediately above the knot (duh...).  The last time she tried to get away, I actually had to sit down to put enough weight on the line to get her to stop blowing through my cues.  By the end of the session, she was very sweaty but was no longer trying to get away, no longer leaning on the halter, and was changing direction nicely.  We will work on this again tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day....).

So, slight change of plans for Miss Vegas.  No more riding for now - we are going to concentrate solely on this issue and desensitizing (to build her confidence in us both) until this problem is hopefully resolved.  And, in the near future I'm going to ask if the neighbors will let me borrow their pig...

Vegas' second ride

Still a little sticky-footed but today she walked around a bit.  I called it when she took a few steps without pausing.

She was trimmed today, yay!  Farrier took off a lot but tried to leave enough that she won't (hopefully) be sore.  Her next trim will be in three weeks (assuming Vegas is still here), when he will take her down to live sole.  She was a little hesitant on her 'new' feet before we left.  If she is sore tomorrow, we will do obstacles instead of riding. 

First ride!

We both survived.  After round-penning her in my saddle, I asked a friend to come over and hold Vegas for me.  I did the usual: jumping up and down, petting and patting and scratching her and the saddle, leaning far over, etc.  Then threw my leg over.  She was not sure of my (full) weight but wasn't extremely nervous.  Then I got down and repeated the process on the other side.  After sitting and praising her for a few minutes, my helper asked if I wanted her to lead Vegas a few steps.  Vegas did not want to move, and when she did move, she wanted to stretch forward without moving her hind feet.  With some encouragement, we got her to take a few steps then I got down and called it a day. 

Then I went to rinse her off because she was sweating (it was HOT and she is very fluffy).  It was an ordeal but eventually I was able to rinse her chest, shoulders, and most of her neck.  This is definitely something we need to work on.

Eye candy follows.

You may (or may not) notice that she's wearing my new saddle pad, an Ecogold made specially for the Sensation saddles.  I was able to pick it up brand new for a little over half of what it costs to purchase from Nickers.

 

Initial impression: it is well-made and is made of a breathable material which I hope will help keep Ruby comfortable. I like that the straps across the spine ensure there is no spinal pressure. I don't like that it's black, instead of blue, but that's the way it goes sometimes.  It is very thin compared to my Equipedic but I have been wanting a thinner pad, hence why I would like to try one of the Toklat Matrix pads.  Still, the thinness makes me a little nervous because I also want to protect the horses' backs.  For now, I will trust that Nickers wouldn't have these specially made if they weren't up to snuff but I will be watching closely for any signs of soreness. 

What could have been a disaster...

Actually turned into a good thing.  Here goes.

Vegas is doing so well with training that I have considered throwing my leg over her a couple of times already.  But before getting back into horses I promised my husband that I would take every possible precaution against getting hurt.  In Vegas' case, that means getting her used to carrying a dummy before I ask her to carry me.  So, this morning I made a riding dummy. 

And old pair of jeans stuffed with empty feed bags, and old boots

With the saddle, you can see how I secured it to the saddle horn

Things started off very well. The dummy smelled good due to being stuffed with feed bags, and Vegas accepted it without a problem.  Then I asked her to move off.  She went well to the left, so I asked her to turn and go to the right.  I was so impressed that I pulled out my camera and started recording.

Yeah, so you know all those hay strings I had to hold that damn dummy on?  They (and I) totally failed.  This video shows only the beginning of the freak-out that went on for 10 or 15 minutes.  I was trying not to have a heart attack - was she going to fall, or try to go through or over the panels, or over me???  Eventually the dummy's legs were both hanging off her left side and she started a reining spin to the right that would have been very impressive if I wasn't worried about her hurting herself.  She kept wanting to stop but then the dummy would come around near her shoulder and she would do a few more spins.  She finally got to the point that she was tired of spinning and it was sinking in that she was still alive, which is when she stopped.  She was still pretty freaked out so I had to wait until she settled a bit.  I kept talking to her and after a few minutes of encouragement, she approached me.  I removed the dummy and kicked myself repeatedly while we just hung out together for a while.  I was so pissed at myself - so sure that I'd just given Vegas a complex that I was not going to be able to fix.  Instead of helping this mare, I may have just created a huge problem that requires a professional.  Ugh, I hated myself for a while.

While we hung out and I told her what a great horse she was (she didn't slip, she didn't run into me or the other crap I had in the middle of the pen, and holy crap, she actually listened and approached me a few minutes after the incident) I thought about ways to secure that dummy.  I went and got a few double-ended snaps and two more hay strings.  I looped the hay strings around each leg and attached a snap, with the idea that I would attach the snap to a ring on the saddle on each side.  I started sacking her out with the dummy again and although she was a little tense, she allowed it.  Then she let me put the dummy on the saddle.  I fastened the dummy to the saddle and we just hung out for a few minutes again.

She was relaxed and I was almost certain that the whole two-legs-on-one-side thing wasn't going to happen again, so I asked her to move off at a walk.  The dummy started flopping around but she kept her cool for half a round, then started trotting.  Then it shifted (far) to the outside and she stopped.  Hmm.  I turned her around and the same scenario played out again - whenever it felt to her like the dummy was going to fall, she stopped and looked to me for direction.  I praised her and called it a day. 

So, Vegas took my failure and turned it into her success.  Instead of panicking when the dummy started slipping, she stopped.  I would like to think that that will translate over with a rider, but I may just be fooling myself. Either way, this mare is really a special horse and I hope that when the time comes, she gets a truly great home.

Vegas milestone

This morning I took a leap of faith and let Vegas graze in the barnyard with Ruby while my husband and I cleaned their stalls.  When we were done, I fetched Ruby and turned her out.  My husband approached a few minutes later saying that he'd attempted to catch Vegas but she wasn't having it.  I nonchalantly grabbed the halter and walked over to where Vegas was grazing, and just stood there for a five minutes.  Not looking at her, just letting her think about why I was there and giving her the opportunity to leave if that's what she wanted to do.  After a few minutes I spoke to her and walked a few steps closer then stopped.  She stopped grazing, walked over and stuck her head in the halter.  I was ecstatic - this was huge for her.  Sure, she lets me catch her in the round pen and the arena, but really, where is there to go?  She knows that I'm persistent and there is really no way for her to get away in those areas.  Besides that, the grass in the arena and round pen is pathetic right now, while the barnyard grass is nearly ungrazed and (in Ruby's opinion) preferable even over the grass in the pasture.  I'm so very proud of this little red mustang.

Merry Christmas everyone!

So many firsts...

Mostly for Vegas, but one for me and Ruby also.

I knew when I got to the barn this morning what I wanted to accomplish: Vegas calming carrying a heavy Western saddle.  If she did really well, the plan was to pony her around the arena and through an obstacle (pom-poms tied to two jump standards, making a gate) from Ruby.

I am so thankful that my husband went along today.  He's lukewarm about the horses, so it was a treat to have him (and an extra set of hands) at the barn today. 

First we pulled Ruby from her stall, got her groomed, put her boots on and set her up with a hay net.  Then we went to get Vegas.  She is still not the best at tying so I put her on one of the slipping rings with a hay net (an attempt to set her up for success), then got to grooming her.  She was a bit of a brat about picking up the first hoof, again.  She is used to telling people 'no' for no other reason than she doesn't want to do what they're asking.  Every once in a while, she'll tell me no and expect me to quit -it bugs her to no end that it doesn't work.

After grooming Vegas, I had my husband wait with the horses while I went and got my saddle.  He removed Vegas' hay bag so she would watch me tack Ruby up.  When I was done with Ruby, I took the Western saddle, etc. out to the round pen then returned to fetched Vegas.  My husband held Ruby outside of the round pen as moral support for Vegas.

I sacked her out with the saddle pad, of which my husband got a few pics before his phone died.

My pockets were bulging with hay cubes - don't judge me :)

Pathetic tail - you can see the mat I've been working on for weeks now.  Slowly but surely, it's coming out. 

You can see that while she wasn't thrilled, she wasn't concerned either.

She did as well with the saddle, not minding the weight or the flapping stirrups.  The thing we are really going to have to work on is the girth - whenever I went to tighten it a bit more, she would take a step back.  When she stopped and stood for me to tighten it a little more, she got praise and a hay cube.  Eventually I got it tight enough that I was sure it wouldn't flip under her belly, so I asked her to move off around the round pen. She didn't offer to buck, so we went to the arena.

First I led Ruby and Vegas around together - if Ruby needed to assert herself, I wanted her to have the opportunity to do it before I climbed on.  She did threaten to kick when Vegas refused to remove her nose from Ruby's butt, but she didn't try to connect and Vegas got the hint.  Chris held Vegas while I mounted Ruby.  I was expecting to need to school her on not trying to go back to the gate, etc. but she just pouted a bit that we were in the arena.  I walked back to Chris and Vegas and grabbed her lead rope.  Things went smoothly, especially considering that none of us have ever ponied or been ponied from.  I'm not dumb enough to think it would have been easy to do out on trail though - Vegas was hanging back a bit and couldn't decide which side to stay on, while Ruby is not the best at neck reining and was irritated that I kept having to twist in the saddle (see aforementioned problems with Vegas).  I decided to take them through the jump standards - Ruby did it like a pro, but Vegas rushed through at the last second so we did it two more times.  After that I hopped down and took Vegas to the mounting steps.  I leaned over the saddle, jumped up on and down, rocked the saddle back and forth all without a reaction.  She did take a step the first time I weighted the stirrup a bit but she wasn't being nasty and stopped when I said 'whoa.'  Again, I considered just throwing my leg over already but the time will come soon enough.  We took the girls back to the barn and fussed over them while untacking.

So, it was a very good day.  The girls were great and my heart swelled up with pride at how Ruby handled ponying Vegas for me - she's been ridden, what, twice in the last six or eight weeks?  And generally she likes to go-go-go, but she walked slowly for me and Vegas and was on her best behavior after she let Vegas know to mind her manners.  I could not ask for a better partner. 

Christmas-time Chaos

We are all still alive down here, but things are crazy with Christmas this week and finals last week. And the kids being out of school, and the car breaking down, and the truck making a funky noise, argh!

So, I haven't made as much progress with Vegas up to this point as I probably should have.  I plan to put a real saddle on her for the first time tomorrow.  Hopefully a dummy in the saddle the day after Christmas and the first ride beginning of next week.  This is all assuming, of course, that everything goes perfectly.

It's hard to tell but she is supporting most of my weight in this picture.

And Ruby...good God is she getting chunky.  I have cut her feed and hay, so hopefully she'll start slimming down soon.  She is not sure what to think about my spending time with Vegas: she LOVES making ugly mare faces at her and watches us when I'm working with Vegas.  Quick story: the other day I figured it was time to introduce Vegas to a tarp.  I spread it on the ground outside of the round pen with enough room for both me and Vegas to easily pass between tarp and round pen.  I led her out of the round pen, heading to the patience pole.  She spooked at the tarp, even though we weren't close to it, ran into the round pen gate on her left side, then she shot forward a few steps.  As a +1 for Vegas, she didn't step on me, bump me, etc. Ruby saw this whole episode, because she grazes in the barn yard while I'm working with Vegas.  A few minutes later, I put Vegas back into the round pen and Ruby sauntered over and walked across the tarp two or three times, then started grazing with her back feet still on the tarp.  It was almost like Ruby was showing off.  I didn't get to the tarp that day, so I packed it up afterwards.  Today when Vegas and I finally got around to working with the tarp, she sniffed and walked over it like she'd done it hundreds of times before. So, if needed in the future for a really tough-for-Vegas exercise, I will use Ruby to show Vegas that everything really is okay.

And a quick PS.  Does anything make you appreciate your own horse more than handling someone else's?  When I'm done with Vegas, it's always nice to spend some time with Ruby afterwards - she's like a breath of fresh air.  Vegas will get there.

More tying practice

She really is a stinker about it.  I was able to get a mini-rear on video today.  The rumbling in the background is the tractor. 

I was finally able to get a somewhat decent, if still rough, trim on those front feet.  There is still more to do but between trims and being tied, Vegas was having a tough day...and my hands and nippers nearly aren't up to the challenge.  I'll keep working on them and when the farrier comes out she'll get a proper trim.  Maybe she'll know proper pony etiquette when it comes to trimming by then *sigh*

Standing tied

I have been told that Vegas is a talented breaker of halters.  After verifying that she was not pulling due to fear (first tied her to a slipping tie ring and observed her), I put two rope halters on her, grabbed my gloves and pocket knife, and tied her to the patience pole. 

It didn't take long for the show to start.  She was good for a few minutes then she just decided to leave, which is exactly what she does when she decides she doesn't like something that I'm doing.  I expected real craziness: sitting way back on her haunches, grunting, feet sliding everywhere, etc.  Instead I watched as she lined her shoulder up next to the pole, put her head down and start marching.  When the rope halters engaged she would spin around, pull back a bit then rear.  Then stand and think about things before trying again.  By the time I decided to record her, she was pretty much done.

She was tied for maybe 15 minutes.  Tomorrow we do it again.

The potential adopter was a no-go due to her desire to resell Vegas at a slightly later date.  I'm sure the right person will come along and I'm enjoying my time with her until then. 

Mostly pictures

She was licking and chewing, but still hating the bag being near her ears.

Almost ready for a rider!  I was being completely obnoxious, leaning on her, patting her and waving around - she was very good.

Such a cute face.

Bareback pad = NBD (P.S. Can't wait for those ribs to get covered and that tail to grow out!)

So, it looks like with all the pictures I've been taking and plastering all over FB, Vegas has someone interested in adopting her.  I'm meeting the lady tomorrow evening.  Fingers crossed for Vegas!  If she leaves, Jennie has another mare she'd like me to work with.  We'll see what happens. 

Short session

I only added two extra things for Vegas today.  The first was adding the saddle pad before sacking out.  She was a smidge flinchy about the girth tightening under her belly again, but she thought things through and then allowed me to tighten it one more hole.  I went a little faster today when sacking her out, and she thought about kicking the bag but then thought better of it and put her foot back down.  After a few more minutes, I started rubbing the bag on the saddle pad - uh oh, a new noise!  She was very tense for a few minutes but didn't offer to move her feet so I kept at it.  When she was accepting of that, I threw my arms over her back and starting rubbing and patting all over and being annoying, making sure that she could see my hands with her outside eye, etc.  I did this on both sides and she actually did very well. 

Her scabs are starting to flake off and in some areas, I can see nice, new skin growing.  I think that mentally she will be ready for a saddle later this week, but will have to really check her belly thoroughly before attempting it - I don't want to injure any new skin or pull on the scabs.

Things she is good at:
1. Letting me approach and put on the halter.
2. Being respectful even though we haven't focused on this specifically.

Things to work on this week: 
1.  Pulling things over her ears - she lets me touch them but does not like 'things' near her ears; she is getting better but is still pretty resistant. 
2.  More picking up of feet - she was very good about picking them up when politely asked this morning except for her right hind, so needs more work.
3.  Standing tied - I am really dreading this, since she is a known halter-breaker.  Watching a horse flail and struggle is extremely difficult for me.  I have not tied her once since she arrived.  I purchased a rope halter with the lead tied to it so there's not much chance of her breaking it, and we have basically a telephone pole that will be used as a patience pole.  I'll have my knife handy when I finally work up the nerve to get it done.  First though, I'm going to tie her to one of those slipping tie rings to see if her pulling is panic-related or just throwing her weight around. 
4.  Backing out of a person's space.  Most of the work I've done with her up to now is allowing me to approach or encouraging her to approach.  She's been very respectful and is no longer scared (most of the time), so it's time for me to start asking her to move away. 
5.  More scary stuff: tarps, balloons, fly spray, etc.

Green Bean Team Competition

Today on the AERC FB page, there is a discussion about a new idea regarding teams of endurance newbies competing for miles and AERC awards.  I love this idea!  They will consider anyone with under 1,000 AERC miles a Green Bean.  Teams of up to five riders will compete for mileage during the year, LD miles included.  Apparently they will have a limited number of spots available for teams.  Sigh, wish Ruby was better already!

According to the post I saw, Endurance Granny was in on the planning of this new competition.  I would imagine she'll have a post up about it soon. 

Progress, slowly but surely

Yesterday I had a lot of stuff going on, so Vegas and I didn't do anything substantial.  Today was another story.

This face greeted me as I climbed over the round pen fence with all my crap. 

Now that she allows herself to be caught and is decent about picking up her feet, we are starting a new routine.  First, a good grooming.  I had to take this slow because she was iffy about being touched, especially on her right flank (flinching and tucking her butt).  I went over her with the rubber curry and brush, then picked out her feet - only occasionally do I need to use a rope to encourage her to pick them up.  I checked all of her nasty spots.  They are healing but will need more time, especially the crusty spots on her belly.  I'm excited to see how she'll look next spring, after she sheds out and her skin has cleared up.  She's going to look like a different beast!

After grooming, I started sacking her out with the whip which we have done a few times before.  She's doing really well with that so I figured it was time to up the ante with a plastic bag tied to the end of my stick.  At some point, she was doing well and I was getting warm so instead of removing my jacket, I removed my gloves.  Stupid.  I've been wearing these gloves specifically to protect myself from rope burns, not to keep myself warm.  A few minutes later when I started touching one of her legs with the bag she decided she was going to leave.  She has only done this a few times after being haltered.  She will turn slightly away and MARCH.  Normally I just tighten my grip and pop the lead rope a few times...that didn't work so well without gloves on.  I have a really nice rope burn across the palm of my left hand now. 

Lesson learned.  I walked up to her, walked her back to the middle of the round pen, took her halter off and went to run my hand under some water for a few minutes.  Then I came back with the bag again.  By the time I was done she was calmly tolerating the bag, though definitely not enjoying herself.  Then I started sacking her out with my jacket.  Again, tolerant but I could almost hear her asking what is the point???

I left for a little while to let her think and clean stalls but first I took a few selfies.  Most of them looked something like this:

But this one was sort of okay, minus my crazy hair.

"I can eat it, right?"

When I went back to the round pen, I had two goals.  First, get some Furazone on her scabs, and second to see if she would tolerate a bareback pad.

The Furazone became more of a problem than it should have been.  I will have to have someone watch me do this next time because I may be giving her mixed signals.  She was fine when I was putting it on her belly and chest but as I started moving up to her face we had problems. She did NOT want me to touch her face with my hands, even though I've been touching her face and ears for days now.  Eventually, I was able to get a satisfactory amount on her icky spots, so we moved on.

To the dreaded bareback pad.  With jangling buckles.  She stood relatively still but was unhappy with this process. First I let her sniff, then I shook it out away from her, then started slowly rubbing her with it.  Eventually she let me set it on her back, then she let me toss it onto her back (from both sides).  She even let me fasten the girth though it was nowhere near tight.  She considered blowing up for a half a second, then calmed down to reassess.  I gave her a hay cube, took it off, and left. 

Proof.  And her OMG-are-you-done-yet face. 

Goals for this coming week include starting some real training, including actual round-penning and longeing, giving to pressure, standing tied (apparently she is queen of the broken halter), and maybe even some driving.

A few more pics.  This one shows her leg stripes and the thick one across her withers.

I can't wait to get those ribs covered!

Pathetic, rubbed-out tail :(

Ruby:  I know you are all dying to hear about Ruby.  She is doing very well and is wondering who is this newcomer who's getting a lot of attention.  I plan to start taking her for walks down the road later this week.  I may even use her when I introduce Vegas to scary thing likes clippers and fly spray.

Also, I'm rethinking this whole ultrasound thing.  I think I need to get it done for my own peace of mind.  I'll start calling the local vets on Monday to price it out. 

Details as promised

As stated in my previous post, Vegas is pretty good about approaching me so that I can put the halter on.  Sometimes she chooses not to approach but let's me approach her, a few times she decided that she didn't want to be caught and left, resulting in more movement for her.  In case you're wondering, I'm not round-penning her to the point of exhaustion or even real submission, only to the point where she decides that it's just easier to stand. 

So, since she was doing so well with catching, we worked on those feet.  She is so damn stubborn.  Eventually I was able to get both front feet up and picked out, with a very rough trim on her worse front left foot.  She was very good for it, but my hands were not really up to the task - her hoof wall is so thick that I wasn't able to get the nippers to go all the way through at the toe.  I actually pulled a muscle in my hand (ow!) trying to get them through. The plan now is to work on them a little every day until my fave farrier is scheduled to be back in town, which is unfortunately two Sundays from now. 

Finally, I decided it was time to treat all of those marks on her face, chest, neck and belly. I waited for a few reasons, the main one being that I wasn't sure she'd accept my touch on these sensitive areas.  But yesterday afternoon, I was feeling pretty confident so I threw her some hay and then got out the MTG and a rag.  I started shaking the bottle before I got to the round pen, and you would have thought that I was shooting off Roman candles.  She nearly flipped out, snorting and blowing, about that damn bottle.  I had not anticipated this.  So I spent a good 30-40 minutes desensitizing her to a bottle being shaken.  Then to a rag...It didn't help that every time she sniffed, she got a noseful of that awful MTG smell.  Eventually she let me put on the halter, then she reluctantly allowed me to treat all of her yucky spots. It was obviously very tough for her though, geez.

So, I've come to the conclusion that Vegas at this point has pretty much reverted into a wild thing again.  At one point she was fine living in a stall, being handled, having her feet trimmed, being doctored, etc.  But being turned out for months with no one laying a hand on her has obviously had an effect.  Although we are making progress, it is obvious that her heart lies with the other horses and that she tolerates me because she has to.  This is not what I expected but is an interesting challenge nonetheless. 

Short video

And an even shorter update.  Things are progressing.  From nigh-uncatchable (halter with catch-rope and sneaking) to approaching me in the round pen to be haltered in two days.  She did decide to leave a time or two but that was not the norm.  I'm sure that we will have some setbacks but today was a good day.  Details tomorrow. 

And so it begins

Vegas happened...

I was driving out to the barn this morning when I received the above picture and a long text from Heather on my phone.  Luckily I'd just stopped for a train, so I opened the phone to see what the heck had happened.  Heather had to feed and turn out early this morning, and Vegas apparently didn't like being left behind in her stall.  This is what Heather found when she walked around the barn to see what all the commotion was.  She told me that she was unable to catch her but Vegas seemed to be moving fine and wasn't bleeding that she could see, so she drove her into the arena and closed the gate.  What a way to start the day...

I'm not going to lie.  For the rest of the drive, I was wondering what the heck I'd gotten myself into.  Could I do this?  Was it a mistake to take her halter off yesterday?  What if she broke more stuff (or me)?  What have I done???

Heather was gone by the time I arrived, with a promise to put up a new door this afternoon.  With trepidation, I unlocked the tack room, grabbed some hay cubes, and walked around the barn to evaluate the damage.  All of the bolts meant to hold the door onto the door jambs were still secure.  She hit it hard enough (jumping?) to bend it and cause it to come loose from the bolts.   

To calm my nerves, I went to say good morning to Miss Ruby who was still in her stall, where she was supposed to be.  I loved on her, put her boots on and let her out to graze while I grabbed Vegas' halter and lead, and my whip.  Then I walked out to meet the beast.

We did a lot of approach/retreat.  When she moved off on her own, she got to trot around the arena until she started asking to stop, at which time we would start again.  I approached her and left several times before I even started fiddling with the halter.  Then I started rubbing her with the halter and leaving, then placing it over her nose, taking it off again and leaving.  This is such an ingrained issue with her, the last thing I want to do is go too fast.  After an hour and a half (with a lot of breaks when she was really good), I finally led her over to the round pen where we started all over again. 

Afterwards, I did some sacking out with the rope, which she is not fond of.  Again today she did not want to pick up her feet, so I worked on that issue with the rope (loop under fetlock, give command 'pick it up', use rope to encourage lifting of the foot).  I groomed her with a rubber curry, which she wasn't sure she enjoyed.  I also placed a rope around her heart girth and tightened it to judge her reaction.  She reacted a little the first time but was perfect every time afterwards.  She's more reactive on her right side, and will tuck her butt when you stroke her rump on that side.  As for her run-in with the door, I couldn't find any marks on her, lucky mare!

I hope this post doesn't come across as negative.  Vegas never made an aggressive move towards me.  She never tried to be non-compliant except with her feet - hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to make some progress in this area.  She was giving me soft eyes most of the time that I was working with her today, but she's not yet sure that she enjoys all of the attention. 

Vegas pics

Me meeting Vegas - yikes at the mark on her chest

Vegas this evening - the handsome guy is the hubs

Yuckiness on the left side of her face

More on the right

A close-up of the scab behind her jaw, left side

I had my hands full of in-a-hurry hubby and reluctant mustang this evening, so I didn't get many of the pics I promised, oops.  She has a lot of scabby spots (mane, chest, a spot across her withers, down the mid-line of her belly, tail, etc.).  I think with another dose of wormer and some rice bran, she should start to get better quickly. 

I was able to pick out her front feet this evening with hubby's help. She has a bad case of thrush and lots of flaky, white sole.  She did NOT want to pick those feet up so I may not be able to get her trimmed tomorrow after all.  More tomorrow. 

Vegas is here!

She arrived early this afternoon.  She's either got a bad case of rain rot or possibly (most likely) neck threadworms.  I will have pictures later, all the ones I've taken so far have been horrible due to lighting.

First thing, I took off her old halter and practiced approach/retreat.  Before I left she was allowing me to approach and put a different (rope) halter on her.  First impression is that she is calm and sweet, though that may change as she gets settled in and starts feeling comfortable.  Her front feet are really long (previous foster was unable to catch her) but she picks them up so I should be able to get at least a rough trim on them tomorrow.  

And Saiph, you were right - Vegas has some really nice striping where her neck meets her shoulders!

Moonlit Ride

Early yesterday afternoon, some of the girls at the barn started texting about a group night ride.  According to the vet I can ride Ruby now at a walk and I was really jonesing for some saddle time, so I said if they could wait until 8 or so, I would be willing. 

I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous.  The only time I've ridden at night was in a lit arena with Karma - and every unlit area was one to be feared according to Karma.  I couldn't blame her for that, considering I couldn't see into the unlit corners of the arena either.  I also think I might have slight night blindness, but that could just be my own paranoia.  Compounding on this are the facts that Ruby is recuperating and hadn't been ridden in nearly three weeks.  But the plan was to ride in one of the pastures and it felt right, so I went with it.

On the way to the barn, I drove through a downpour and figured the ride was done, but it was totally dry at the barn and the sky was nearly clear when I pulled up. 

That's right, grainy iPhone pics.  You know you like it.

Due to the rain in other places, only one other person made it out for the ride but that was okay.  It made things less complicated and I haven't seen Lee in months now so it was good to catch up. 

More grainy goodness - do NOT embiggen, unless you like headaches.

Ruby was feeling pretty special, I must say.  Getting groomed and tacked up in front of everyone, then getting hay while we waited for Lee to arrive.  She was giving every horse that dared look over their stall door the stink eye - don't get your hopes up fellas, she's not interested in sharing even a scrap of hay unless you are Candy and then only when we're out somewhere :)

Lee arrived and we started discussing our deep womanly thoughts and feelings and experiences while riding around.  Ruby was really great for the first loop around the pasture...then we dared to ride right by the gate back to the barn.  She did her little stutter - slight pause with a bending of her body back the way she thinks we're supposed to go.  When I said no, we started having some issues.  She was mad...at Copa (Lee's horse).  Twice now, Ruby has done this.  Always with a gelding that she suddenly decides (because she's pissed at me) is no longer allowed in her pasture.  She snaked her head at him a few times and even lunged at him twice, crazy mare.  She doesn't try hard to connect, she just blusters at them - maybe because she's mad and feels like she can't take it out on me?  Don't worry, she does get fussed at and it will be fixed. 

She realized that we weren't going back to the barn, and she wasn't being allowed to intimidate Copa, so the 'I wanna trot NOW' started *sigh*.  This was the worst part of the ride.  She'd listen to half-halts...until I stopped giving them, then it was TROT a step until I half-halted her again.   Every stride.  Then I started one-rein stops but without much gusto (didn't want her to get hurt) so she would stop and give her head, and then try again as soon as she was released.  Then we did some backing and she decided she could stand quietly so Lee and I just let the horses graze for a bit while we talked about life.  It was short and nice, and it was great to be on my own pony!  She didn't stumble once, there were no spooks, etc.  Today, she had no swelling or heat and was moving well, so the ride seemed to be good for her too.

Random Ramblings

Miss Ruby is enjoying her new-found status re: pampered (brat) pony from working pony.  Our normal morning routine starts out something like this: I arrive at barn, unlock tack room, walk over to wheel barrows, push wheel barrow over to Ruby's stall, open her stall door to allow her to graze in the barnyard while I clean her stall.  Heather usually arrives as I'm taking the wheel barrow over to the manure pile.  She loads up the hay cart with horsey breakfasts and starts pulling it around the barn.  Ruby starts walking to her stall by the time we get to her side of the barn.  Not this morning.  This morning, Ruby was grazing past the manure pile.  I called her, she didn't come (I didn't really expect her to - she knew breakfast was being served and she'd obviously decided that whatever she was already munching was too good to leave).  I grabbed her lead rope and started walking over to her, with the intent that I would lead her to her stall.  I approached her and when I was maybe 10 feet away, she turned her butt towards me to leave.  I couldn't believe it (though I chuckle now).  I swatted her on the butt with the lead rope, since she turned her butt to me.  Brat!  I took it personally, though I know I shouldn't have.   Horses will be horses, but hurt or not she will be punished when she's being disrespectful. 

Several people at the barn have offered to let me ride their horses while Ruby is injured.  This morning I thought I'd take Trigger for a spin.  Trigger is a 10 yo or so former Amish buggy horse.  He's basically a big pony with a bit of a pony-tude. 

Trigger before grooming, wondering why he isn't out in the pasture with his buddies.

It seemed like we were going to have problems from the start.  A few times while grooming, I looked over at a head turned towards me with mouth open...I reacted *ahem* appropriately to the threat and he stopped after making sure that I was, indeed, serious.  I saddled him up and took him to the round pen to see where his head was at.   He is either very rusty on round-pen commands or his owner and I do things very differently - I had to get really 'loud' with my body language and he wasn't responding to voice commands at all.  After 10 or 15 minutes, he began keeping an ear on me and I started thinking it was a good time to get his bridle when it started raining, dammit.  Not wanting to get his new saddle wet, I asked him to stop and took him back to the barn.  He didn't understand this turn of events.  He was very respectful when I let him out, waiting until he was 5 or 6 strides away before starting his freedom gallop out to join his buddies.  Maybe another day.

I picked up hay for Vegas today and will be on the hunt for her usual feed early next week.  The time is drawing near. 

And a funny that I saw the other day and enjoyed.  My husband gets this look from me quite often, though it's in reference to horse stuff instead of a new horse. 

First Vegas Pics

Jennie went out yesterday to catch the beast and pull blood for her Coggins.  At this point, it looks like it will be the beginning of next week before she's here. Jennie sent me these pictures from yesterday.

Sweet face!

A little thin but not for long.

Apparently she likes to voice her displeasure by stomping her front feet repeatedly - I can deal with that as long as there's no striking/kicking.  And she isn't just difficult to catch but nearly impossible, so she's turned out with a halter on 24-7.  For her safety, one of the first things I'm going to do is take it off when she gets here.  Until she's relatively reliable in regards to being 'caught', she'll be spending her daytime hours in the small arena or round pen.  That's all for now!

I rode today

But not my pony, I rode Heather's pony in her new saddle.

Heather's been looking for a new saddle for quite a while now, and piggy-backing off the saddles that Bobbi was trying out when she was also saddle shopping.  There was one which Heather absolutely loved (ended up being too big for Bobbie).  She found a similar saddle listed on eBay last week for a reasonable price so she bought it.  She has ridden in it once, and liked it, but to be sure plans to have our local saddle fitter have tomorrow to see about Candy.  I've been eye-balling her saddle for a week now so we made plans yesterday to ride this morning.

We adjusted the stirrups, I mounted up and off we went.  The saddle was unfortunately way too big so I couldn't get a good feel for it at all.  I also felt like Candy was having some issue with it, but that could have been any number of things: me being off balance because I was swimming in the saddle, her not being worked for over a week, new rider (and seeing what she could get away with), etc.  I dismounted and Heather mounted up.  She's not too sure about this saddle - unfortunately, it was not love at first ride.  But she might be able to make it work, she'll find out tomorrow evening.

When she was done, I threw my saddle on Candy and rode around a  bit, then Heather tried it out.  It was too small but she still liked it a lot.  If her new saddle doesn't work out, she's going to look into a used Sensation :D

It was good to ride, and I appreciate the opportunity, but it was definitely a change from riding Ruby.  Ruby is so responsive that, even though Candy was a good girl, it felt like I had no power-steering when riding today.  Ruby will be 15 sometime next year so it's been in the back of my mind what kind of horse I'm going to get 5 years down the road or so.  Ruby has set a high bar.  I want an athletic horse with a brain, one that has an opinion but follows my lead (even when she thinks I'm making a mistake - she bugs her eyes when I'm 'wrong'), one that isn't herd-bound and loves going down the trail, one that has bonded with me so thoroughly that she hasn't dumped me on the ground, even when I've deserved it (remember the welt caused by the pinching girth?).    A high bar indeed.

This morning's walk

Went well, if you discount the fact that she spooked at my unmoving car that was parked in the exact same spot it's always parked in.  And for the life of her, she could not stay at my shoulder for more than 3-4 strides - partially because she was excited to be out, partially because I haven't really needed to lead her anywhere so she's a tad rusty.  She was good when the horses down the road started galloping and bucking, and good when we walked by the geldings who whinnied and trotted up to us.  My girl was glad to get out and so was I - May cannot get here fast enough!