Saturday, February 28, 2015

A long road

Wednesday, I tacked Ruby with a plan to walk over poles for a few minutes...when she did something funky with that right hind.  And my heart stopped.  I asked Heather to watch her move, as I was trying to feel for an unevenness, but Heather never saw anything.  I got down and started leading her with me walking backwards, trying to see what was going on.  Then she did it - her right hind toe was occasionally catching on the ground.  I untacked her and Heather and I video'd her movement...and we watched those videos repeatedly until our eyes crossed and still couldn't agree that we saw anything consistent.

Walking with boots still on:
 

Walking without boots on.

Trotting

Trotting again

I hoped that I'd just let her toes get a little too long, so have trimmed her and haven't been able to get her to do it again, just leading around.  But, I won't be climbing back up onto her for another three months at least, maybe even until next fall when it starts cooling down again.  In that time, I'm going to have the chiropractor take a look at her (though we may skip the adjustment to keep from re-injury), I'm going to have her re-evaluated by the original vet (who's coming out in a few weeks for floats, etc.), and I'm going to save up for a full-on lameness evaluation from one of the bigger clinics in the area.  The fact that she drug her toe and jammed it in the ground hints that something is going on further up.  It could just be that she's out of riding shape, but that's not my luck.  Happy, healing thoughts and prayers are appreciated. 

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Mostly pictures

"Did you say 'cookie'?"
First day of 'pole work' this morning.  Nine poles, spacing about 10 feet pole-to-pole, in a shifting line, like so.  Walking only, total time about 10 minutes.

I expected a lot of attitude from Ruby, but I only received a little.  One of Ruby's best traits is that while she will tell you what she's thinking, she still defers to her rider when you say 'tough' - though you can bet there will be some sulking and 'you're an idiot' faces involved.

She isn't hard on the eyes, either :) 
And Abby?  Abby thinks that last week's weather was winter's last hurrah.  Yesterday I brushed enough hair off her to keep the neighborhood birds in nesting materials all spring.  As of this morning, she's almost completely shed out.

Sent this pic to her adopter this morning. 
And this is what she thinks about me taking pictures.
There are no plans for me to take on another mustang at this time, if you are curious.  Jennie only has two that need to be adopted out including Rango, the three-year-old gelding mentioned in a previous post.  Jennie has decided that he needs to grow up a bit more, so he'll get a 3-6 month break and then they'll try again.  Then there's Sally, the mustang that Jennie was trying to talk me into taking way back before she even took in Ruby.  Sally apparently 'hates people and hates work'...not that I blame her at this point.

Abby will be leaving on Thursday and her new mom will be out to visit her this weekend.  We've discovered that she was captured Sept. 7, 1996 as a yearling, and is from the White River Nevada, HMA.  No word on how old she was when she was adopted, or anything else unfortunately. 

Monday, February 23, 2015

Three days...

That's how long it took me to shave Abby's brand for her new adopter.  THREE DAYS...working for three hours or so each day with a small, cordless beard shaver thing. So, 9-10 hours total.  I have pressure-released us both nearly to death.  Why would it take so long?  Other than the 'it moves and makes noise' argument, I would assume that the entire branding process is fairly traumatic for a wild animal, and afterwards intelligent people would keep the damn clippers far, far away from the mustang...other than when they need to be able to read that brand.  So, here it is for anyone who's curious.

Birth year '95, serial # 556008
I could have twitched her and got it done so much faster, but I didn't want the process to be any more stressful for her than it had to be.  Now I'll just sit back and wait to hear what the adopter finds out about little Abby. 

It probably was pretty funny to watch if you weren't involved...Abby: I don't wanna. Really. No, I don't wanna. Okay...Do it, do it, DO IT!(bzzz) OMFG, STOOOOP!!!

Rinse, repeat.  I need a nap. 


ETA: Abby was captured as a yearling on Sept. 7, 1996.  She is from the White River Nevada HMA.  

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Pole work

Ruby was as sound as a dollar used to be this morning, so we'll start riding again soon.  And trying to build muscle along her top line. 

When asked, most horse people will recommend these different activities to help with back muscle development: surcingle work, transitions, hill work, walking, and belly lifts, and pole exercises.

Transitions and hill work are currently out for Ruby and I.  Surcingle would be pushing it until we get clearance from the vet, so we're down to walking, belly lifts, and pole exercises.  But arena work is boring, you say.  Yes, it absolutely can be...even Ruby thinks so.  Unless you start to think outside the box a bit, like this.  

Unfortunately, most of John Marti's videos are not posted on his website - his really impressive stuff is loaded to his Facebook page.  He's German but you don't need to know German to watch the videos and get some ideas.  If you don't want to spend lots of money on special (aka from a horse supply store) poles, these are cheap enough to be worth painting on your own time.  And these blocks might be worth looking into in order to create cheap and easy cavaletti. 



Why not PVC poles?  Ruby likes to kick PVC poles around like they're an annoyance - wooden poles would put a stop to that pretty quick.  She'll still be bored to tears for a few months yet, because we'll be doing these at a walk, but it's something and any work we can start doing on her top line now, only walking, can only help down the road. 



Friday, February 20, 2015

She must be feeling good

This morning I elected to turn Ruby out at the same time as the other horses.  I have only done this a few times since her injury, mostly because there can sometimes be a traffic jam at the pasture gate as everyone tries to get through.

As Heather and I were herding everyone towards the gate, Ruby started galloping towards the gate...but not straight in, no she came at it from a 90 degree angle.  There was no reason for her to rush the gate, as there were no other horses around so I fully expected her to slow down and trot carefully through the gate.  And I was wrong.  She came galloping straight down the fence line and somehow managed to pivot on her hinds to make that 90 degree turn and go flying down the fence line into the pasture.  She made the turn so sharp in order to miss the Puddle of Horrors.

The best picture I have of the pasture gate and the puddle.  Ruby came galloping from the right, pivoted in the sandy, low spot in front of the gate, and continued galloping down the fence line straight ahead.
I brought her back into the barnyard to look for swelling or other signs that her right hind had suffered any new damage, but nothing so far.  I'll continue to watch her closely for a few days...if nothing comes about from this little stunt, I'd say she is ready to start riding again regularly.  Nothing strenuous - just enough to keep her brain screwed in until we are cleared again for real work. Oh, Ruby, I see arena 'work' in your near future (cue angry mare face now).

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Details

Okay, so let's rewind a few days...

It has been cold here, and by 'cold' I mean really windy with lows in the 40s.  Now, for all of you folks up north, I know what you've been going through but I am not used to weather like this - so I won't knock you for complaining when your summertime hits 85-90 degrees with 50-60% humidity.  Okay?  Okay.

I happened to be working with Abby when the started the day before yesterday.  She was already being a little jumpier than normal and we were just ready to ride when the wind kicked up and I decided that I valued my life more than making more progress.  It's not that she was bad, she was just getting wound up higher and higher instead of focusing and coming down to earth.  We ended on a good note and called it a day.

It was even colder yesterday...and I was feeling like a crazy (and possibly hormonal) female so I decided it just wasn't going to be a good day.  Might as well not even go there and turn Abby out, right?  Until we got to the arena and I could tell that she was going to snatch away as soon as the halter was halfway off.  I do not appreciate horsey rudeness, so I nip it in the bud as soon as it rears its ugly head.  I started working with her on it when she reared up at me, then bolted....oh honey, did you ever mess up.  See, that's fine because now you're free-lunging around the ENTIRE arena through ALL of the new puddles at whatever speed and direction I tell you to go.  For the next 20 minutes.  I'm not going to lie and say that I stood in the middle without doing any work - in fact, I had to get quite aggressive a few times to make my point, but I did make it. By 2-3 minutes in, Abby had figured out that her freedom wasn't all it was cracked up to be and started asking to stop - too late for that.  When I did let her stop, she stood quietly while I approached, then we practiced leading quietly and accepting and removing the halter politely.

So it was with some trepidation that I met with a potential adopter this morning.  For the last two days, Abby's been a bit full of herself.  I'm not sure if it's the weather, if she's in heat, if she's feeling better due to the MSM and B-L, or if she's just seeing what she can get away with.  All I could hope was that this morning, a normal, slightly-shy Abby would greet me when I opened her stall.

And she did.  She wasn't perfect but she was trying again and made a great impression on the girl who came to see her.  Abby's adopter is not worried about the fact that she may not be totally sound, as her plans are for Abby to participate in an informal mustang education program.  V (Abby's adopter) has adopted another mustang to be her future riding horse.  This other mustang is currently at Jennie's being gentled and learning the in's and out's of working with people.  When he is ready to go home to Georgia, Abby will go with him.  In the meantime, the plan is to have Abby stay with me until the first, at which time she'll go back to Jennie's so that when her adopter visits, she isn't having to drive between two barns.





Woohooo!!!

So it is not official yet, but it looks like Abby is going to be adopted!  I'm so excited for this little mare!!!

More details later, but for now a couple of pictures from early this morning.

First the pretty picture.
And a goofy picture - I couldn't resist :D

Monday, February 16, 2015

A Day in the Life

So, I don't know how to do the fancy-shmancy linking-of-the-blog-hops thing, so I'll do this the traditional way.  I first learned of this blog hop from Saiph, but the post that started it all belongs to Fly on Over.

No, my life is not that interesting but I do wonder where the heck all of my time goes!  In days gone by, I could get amazing things done in very little time...a product of deadlines, I suppose. If you give me a deadline, I will nearly kill myself to get that XYZ project done 30 minutes before it's due.  So I guess you could say that this post will be more of a time management exercise for myself.

What do I 'do' currently?  Technically, I'm a stay-at-home mom and full-time college student.  Here goes.

M-F

0530 - Alarm goes off for the first time. I usually hit snooze at least once.

0545 - Force my lazy arse out of bed, stumble bleary-eyed to the coffee maker and turn it on.  Bathroom stop then boot up computer.

0600 - Coffee is (mercifully) ready for consumption.  Start waking up while catching up on blogs, checking the weather, etc.

0615 - Start to wake munchkins up, fix their breakfast, finish second cup of coffee, get dressed, brush teeth and hair, etc.

0700 - Doggie potty-break time.

0715 - Start yelling at children for 'forgetting' to brush their teeth, put their shoes on, brush their teeth or hair, etc.  Help them find missing shoes/book bags/homework/belts.

0725 - Warm up the truck.  Find out that there is a permission slip to sign that was supposed to be turned in yesterday.  Scrounge for pen, sign form, tell them to make sure they don't forget to turn it in.

0740 - Drop kids off at school with 5 minutes to spare, phew!

0815 - Pull into barn, thanking the Lord above that the crazy Florida drivers haven't yet managed to take me out.  I remember being shocked when our car insurance jumped by nearly 75% when we moved from CA...I understand completely now.

0830 - Help Heather feed all 17 horses.  Manage to get them all into their respective pastures.  Reset Ruby and Abby's feed.

0915 - 1130 - Groom both mares, work with Abby, clean both stalls, throw hay, run to feed store if needed, sometimes take Ruby for a walk on the road in an effort to create more concavity in those front feet (horses here are surprisingly flat-footed due to the soft ground - unfortunately, I haven't been able to get on a schedule with these road walks so they just end up being a time for us to hang out and not actually beneficial to her tootsies). 

1200 - On Mondays, I make sure to stop by my grandmother's house to check up on her and see if she has any appointments scheduled for the week - if so, I enter reminders in my phone because I drive her to all appointments.  All other days: grocery shop if needed, head home, do dishes, take dogs outside, start laundry, quick-clean the house, figure out what to cook for dinner, take shower, take out trash, take dogs to neighborhood dog park, do other random stuff.

1430 - Pick kids up from school.  Talk about their day on the drive home.

1515 - Get home, make snacks for munchkins, help them with their homework, hound them to get their chores done, more laundry if needed, more cleaning, start dinner.

1615 (Wednesdays) - Head back to school to pick up daughter after chorus practice.

1730 - Greet hubby as he walks through the door after work.

1800 - Serve dinner. Listen to kids grumble if it's not pizza, hotdogs, etc. 

1830 - Tell kids to pick up dinner dishes.  Make sure they are done with their homework.

1900 - Start running shower for kids (one at a time, of course).

1945 - Tell kids to pick out clothes for tomorrow, ask if they've put their homework into their book bags, remind them again to pick up their dinner dishes, ask them if their shoes are where they're supposed to be, listen to grumbling as they brush their teeth about how they aren't tired.  Quick note here: my kids are 11 and 9 years old and know that they wouldn't have such an early bedtime if they'd get themselves up on time.  Some mornings it takes a good 20-30 minutes to get them moving. 

2000 - Kids tucked in, log back into school in an attempt to at least start on homework.

2005 - First kid gets up and asks for glass of water.

2010 - Second kid gets up and asks for glass of water.

2020 - Child comes into the living room to tell us that they are still hungry...Remind them that they should have eaten more dinner now go to bed.

2030 - Begin threatening children with bodily harm if they get out of bed ONE MORE TIME.

2035 - Realize that I'm too dog-tired to get any homework done.  Give up and watch Netflix with the hubs while knitting/crocheting/reading horse stuff on the computer.  Pick up the kids' dinner dishes *ahem!* pile dinner dishes into sink, fill with hot water and dish soap.  Plan to do dishes before I go to bed, but tell myself they need to soak first.  Riiiiiiight....

2100 - Bleary-eyed but still watching shows...damn you Netflix!

2215 - Finally go to bed.


Saturday and Sunday generally consist of getting out to the barn at 9 am, getting home at 11 am, and frantically trying to finish all of my homework before midnight on Sunday.

Things get a little crazier if my daughter has a choir performance, my grandmother has appointments, or I have to run errands, but this a usual week.  On days that the kids get out early (a surprising number) or have the day off, we try to do something special like go fishing or bake a special treat together.

So, why stay home?  When I worked, my kids really got the short end of the stick.  I worked long hours, in rotating shifts, was constantly on-call and had to go back to work; my husband's job was similar.  This left very little time for helping with homework (my husband is a great dad, but does not have the patience for this), cooking healthy meals, keeping the house clean, etc.  On work days, we got to see our kids for around two hours total.  So now, I go to school, take care of the home and kids, and my husband is cool enough to not give me any grief for having an expensive manure-machine of my very own.  And as much as I joke about the grief my kids give me, which is ALL true lol, they are the best part of my life.  I will never have a job more important than being their mom. 






Sunday, February 15, 2015

Bobbing for apples

Just a quickie here, a story that I want to be able to look back at and chuckle.

We had a barn party yesterday.  Nearly everyone that boards at Heather's showed up for good food and good times.  We had a ride through the pastures (I led Abby - she was such a good girl!), an obstacle challenge (again I led Abby through, and even though there were obstacles she'd never seen, she was a rock star), a BBQ, lots and lots of alcohol, and finally, horses bobbing for apples.

Ruby was second in line for the apples.  She'd already seen Storm trying to get an apple, so she seemed to know what was up.  Honestly, I figured that Ruby would give it a shot for a few minutes, then get disgusted with the whole situation.  She walked up, very keen on all of those apples and went for it.  So funny - she seemed to be trying to grab the tiny apple stems, very ladylike, with her lips.  I think she would have had more success if she'd just focused on ONE apple, but she'd try one for 10 seconds, then move on to a more appealing apple for a few seconds, then another.  I couldn't help but laugh at her, and luckily that didn't seem to disrupt her focus.  For 10 or 15 minutes, she tried and tried but just couldn't figure it out.  She did try to bite them a few times but never opened her mouth wide enough to grab them.  Then Ruby stopped, put her face inches in front of mine and stared me in the eye for 20 seconds or so.  I could almost hear what she was saying to me - "Human, what good are you if you can't reach down and grab me an apple?? I compel you to get me an apple!"  I reached into the water and supported an apple for her - Ruby grabbed it and munched on it happily all the way back to her stall.

I wish I'd thought to have someone capture it on camera, but I tend to lack foresight like that.  It's moments like these, when she clearly expresses herself and expects me to understand (she is dumbing it down for me after all), that show me what a special horse I have.  I don't think it's possible for me to ever get this lucky again...which leads me to occasionally consider breeding her.  But it seems irresponsible to breed a rescue horse, and there is no guarantee that a foal of Ruby's would be as amazing as she is - in fact, I would probably do that foal a disservice, expecting awesomeness that he/she may not be able to give.  So, I'll just enjoy our time together, thanking my lucky stars that we found each other. 

And PS - do I even need to mention how great my hubby is, to forgo usual V-day festivities to hang out at the barn.  He's the best :)

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Abby - soundness issues?

I've been wondering about this for a while, but it became truly apparent today.  Abby may have something going on with her stifles or hips.  I would think it is mostly likely arthritis, considering her age.  This is what has been going on.

Our first round-penning session, I noticed Abby's short, choppy movement.  She seems to move okay at the walk and canter, but her trot looked awful even though she moves evenly.  It just doesn't flow, but I thought it was perhaps just her way of going with those short, little legs.

I have been doing a lot of mounting practice with her (from a mounting block to give her back a break).  A few times, I've had a fellow boarder come out to watch and say, "She's so relaxed she has a hind foot cocked" when I've settled into the saddle.  This seemed odd to me (horse is so scared she is trembling, but has a foot cocked???) and definitely didn't jive with the giraffe head we had going on until very recently...I didn't say anything but I suspected then that she was trying to take pressure off of one of her hinds.

Today, we round-penned again.  It was a very cool morning and geez, was she full of it.  Again, I watched her moving and could see something odd but couldn't pin-point what it was or where it was coming from.  No head-bobbing or limping, it was just that her stride seemed to be shortened even when she was really moving out. 

When she calmed down, I walked her out until she stopped blowing and she seemed to be moving fine.  Heather came over in case I needed help while I mounted up.  I wasn't able to get any forward movement on my own so she came and grabbed the halter to lead Abby around for a few steps.  As soon as Abby moved forward, I knew something was wrong.  It was like she was snatching both of her hind feet forward when it was time to move them.  I climbed down and we both watched her walk.  It is not obvious, but there is something going on here. 

I hope it's only a little arthritis.  I let Jennie know what's going on and I've started Abby on both MSM and B-L.  There is no heat or swelling anywhere that Heather and I can find.  Her feet seem solid.  She's going to get the next two days off, hopefully she'll be moving better by Friday. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Pics from the obstacle challenge - Nov 2014

Photos courtesy of Bobbi Zagrocki of Painted Pony Images.

Very Araby in this picture.  This was at the kiddie pool of doom.
Why yes, that is Candy in the background :)

I was so focused on the obstacles that I didn't notice Bobbi running around taking pics, otherwise I would have looked at her and smiled.  I bought them all in 8x10 too - I'm looking forward to having some framed Ruby pics around the house!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Ponying Abby

It went well so I took a very short video. 

 


I have to run errands tomorrow.  If she's good on Wednesday, we'll see how she does by herself.


Sunday, February 8, 2015

Lots of Abby pics

Earlier this week, while updating FB with Abby's progress, her initial rescuer contacted me and sent me the following photos.  These pics were taken the day she took Abby in.

I have no idea why her eye looks weird in this pic. 
So sad, and it happens all the time...
Abby before our session today.
Abby was great today - she rocked the obstacle course like she's done it a hundred times.  We walked over and stood on the tarp, stood in the kiddie pool, drug the empty (and very loud) jugs around, rubbed her with the terrifying pom poms, walked over poles, etc.  She did better than one of the domestic horses that were doing the course with us. 

'Hey nice lady, see my feet?  I think you owe me something now.'  Notice the white scars on her nose.  She has some on her cheeks as well - looks like she had an embedded halter at one point.

She has astoundingly gorgeous eyes. 
The point of all of the obstacles in the last few days was to build her trust and confidence in us both. We'll find out tomorrow if any of it transfers to our time under saddle. 

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Progress

Abby is doing well.  I've been on her twice now.  Each time, I kept short and sweet because the poor thing is terrified to the point that she starts shaking.  The first time, we just practiced mounting and dismounting until she was nearly falling asleep.  The next day, I had Heather come out and lead her around with me riding.  At first, she would stop every few steps, then nearly jump out of her skin when I gave a little squeeze.  She also jumps each time I pet her from the saddle (though we have practiced this ad nauseam with me standing on the mounting block).  I had Heather let go of the lead rope a few times while leading us around but Abby would stop a few steps later, not sure how to proceed.  We'll practice this, then I'll have Heather move to the middle of the pen in the future.  In the meantime, we are also adding obstacles (from the ground) in order to increase her confidence in both her handler and herself.  I ponied her through a few obstacles this morning, then walked her through an empty kiddie pool all by herself.  This was a big deal for her, so we called it day immediately after.

Which brings me to Pony #2.  Miss Ruby.

All dressed up.  I haven't bitten the bullet and added Velcro to the new saddle pad yet, hence the pad underneath to protect her from rubbing.
Ruby started off this morning by ponying Abby through some obstacles and finished off by taking me for a short ride down the road.  Love my girl! And I can't tell you how amazing it was to climb up on a horse without feeling the need to take a deep, calming breath first.  She was a little bit of a butthead coming home (after something rustled in the bushes behind us as the mail truck drove by), and tried to start trotting so I opted to walk her the rest of the way back to the barn.  She is rusty let me tell ya, but that is only to be expected.  I can't wait to start hitting the trails with her regularly again. 

Monday, February 2, 2015

Abby - first real session

Today was Abby's first real working session.  She did well.  She's stubborn but still sensitive - odd, I know.  She's been allowed to take control of round-penning sessions in the past - she will randomly slam on the brakes, stop, and face me without being asked.  She's terrible at picking up her feet and has been asked to yield her hindquarters way too many times (ever worked with a horse who moved their butt away from you every single time you walked past their withers?  Yeah...)  She also likes to do the leading, instead of allowing herself to be led, and doesn't like to be caught.  But, it's all good. That's easy stuff.

She has muscle atrophy along her topline.  I'm not sure if this is from being completely out of shape, due to a poorly-fitting saddle in the past, or just a side-effect of her being starved before rescue. 
She's small (seems to get smaller every time I see her, actually), out-of-shape, and has no topline...all of which makes me nervous to ride her for any amount of time, even if that is the whole reason she is here.  But I only have a month with her so our first ride will be tomorrow, assuming any of my bridles can be taken up enough to fit her.  Today we worked on ground-manners: standing still for grooming, tacking, and mounting and giving to pressure (dropping head, turning head with nose pressure, backing up, picking up feet).

So little and cute - her name should be Button. 

To shim or not to shim

So, I've been watching Ruby's back since I brought her home, hoping that her topline and shoulders will fill in.  They have - to a point.  Her spine no longer protrudes, though her back is not well-muscled by any means.  Her shoulders no longer have deep hollows though they could be better.

At what point is it decided that shims are needed?  Pictures follow - off to research!





Sunday, February 1, 2015

Vegas, a good update

For the curious, Vegas seems to have finally settled in. There was no pacing, destroying of fences and other property, no threatening to jump the fence onto neighboring property, or running over humans at her new home today.  Things were really crazy yesterday, and I was worried that someone was going to get hurt.  What changed?  They brought home another horse, which seems to have given Vegas that extra boost of confidence that she needed - I guess the minis just weren't cutting it for her.  Anyway, hopefully any future Vegas updates will be about how she continues to gain confidence and do well with her new owners.