Oh, mare...

I decided that I wanted to touch up Ruby's front feet this morning, and picked up a new rasp for the occasion.  Ruby, however, decided that she wanted nothing to do with this nonsense, and was making it decidedly difficult - Oh, you want to hold my foot up and rasp?  Here, I'll just pivot away from you, lean on you when you pick my foot up, act like I'm going to fall, dance around on my other three feet, then snatch away from you...and then look for cookies!  I got her left front basically done, and went to play the same game on the other side.  And then I lost my temper.  Instead of beating my mare, though, I threw my hat, picked up my tools and threw them, then stormed between Ruby and the barn.  Ruby decided to put her head in my path and when I bumped into her she threw up head up, smacking it on the barn, and proceeded to flail around and pull back like an idiot.  I know what you're supposed to do in these situations.  You're supposed to talk calmly and release the slip-knot.  Instead I watched her for a second or two, then yelled, 'STOP!!!'  Poor Ruby looked confused for a split second, then decided to heed the warning.  I went into the tack room to cool down for a few minutes, then went back to finish up.  She greeted me with a nicker (maybe she was wondering how long she was going to be tied?) and was an amazing pony while I finished up the right front and then touched up the left again. 

There are two morals to this story: first, even great horses have their bad moments.  And two, we as handlers can't all be perfect all the time.  You're never supposed to lose your temper with a horse, and I usually don't.  Luckily Ruby isn't so sensitive that she gets flustered even if I do - as evidenced by her blocking me with her head when I was in the middle of my little rant.  Her head is fine, btw, I couldn't even find a knot on it, and all is forgiven on both sides.  Even when she's a knuckle-head, I love her. 

Sally pics

I had plans for a trail ride on a borrowed horse this morning, but that fell through when my riding buddy called and cancelled.  So, what to do?  I made a last minute trip to Jennie's to play with Sally.

Only, Sally doesn't want to be played with.  Right off, she didn't want to be caught...in her stall, for crying out loud.  I worked with her on that for 45 minutes or so (approach, halter on, scratch, halter off).  She wasn't perfect by the time I got bored, but she was better. 

I tied and groomed her but she was weird about holding up her right front.  Because her left front hurts when it's holding all of the weight?  Her left front does look worse that her right front.  I told Jennie that I'll cover the trimming cost next time the farrier comes out.  Maybe I'll take some nippers out there with me the next time I go...even a rough trim to remove excess length would be better than nothing. 

Then I led her to the arena full of obstacles...and she balked.  She did not want to go in there, thank you very much.  When I asked again, she started scooting backwards so I backed her up for 5-10 seconds.  She then decided it was easier to just be led into the arena. 

In the arena, she did very well.  She walked over the 'bridge', around the noodles, and even on the step, but she didn't want anything to do with the house-of-horrors (I really don't know what else to call it). 

One cute pic, that's all I got.  She was standing partway in the house-of-horrors.

In most of the pics I took, she's doing her best 'bored mule' impression.

She walked through the HOH twice, the second time very quietly, so I put her back in her stall.  Observations about Sally: she seems to have an Eeyore-type personality, in that she doesn't seem happy.  She looks and acts healthy just, well, sad...Ulcer?  Painful feet?  Depressed that her 'sister' left about 2 weeks ago?  I don't know.  She is also very stubborn, but doesn't seem afraid, more as if she doesn't like people, so why should she do what you ask? 

The same girl that adopted Abby is considering Sally.  We will see what happens.

Me and Glory

Pics from yesterday. Photos courtesy of Lori Royalty at Lojo's Photos.

Mustang Madness

I bet you can guess what I've been up to this last week.  Yes, I've been playing with mustangs.

Trigger threw a shoe last weekend, so I was unable to ride him this week.  Instead of riding, I went out to Jennie's a couple times.

Remember this boy?  He is at Jennie's!  His name is Ruger. 

The first day I went up there, I worked with both Ruger and Sally.  Ruger is not allowing touches yet and being near him was nerve-wracking, let me tell you.  He's not aggressive but is still very reactive to having someone in his space.  Mostly I stood in his pen and tried to stay just close enough that he was uncomfortable without him moving away, and stood there calmly while Jennie worked another wild one in the next pen.  I was never able to get closer than 5-6 feet away (from his face, of course). Jennie already has him facing up pretty well, by popping that butt with a crop if he turns it towards her.

After an hour or two, I took Sally out and groomed her.  I'm pretty sure that I've already told Sally's story but if not, here goes.  Sally was first adopted by a lady who went through a nasty divorce before getting Sally's title.  The lady surrendered Sally to Jennie because she could no longer care for her.  Jennie was able to send Sally to another trainer for saddle training (she had too many client horses at the time), and Sally was adopted out with another mustang.  Fast forward to January.  Sally's adopter was going to be deported, so Jennie had to go get her and the other mare.  She has regressed a lot, and with all of the horses that Jennie has in training, neither she nor S have had time evaluate Sally under saddle.  And they had to fight the BLM to keep her - her adopter never requested her title so they still own her!

Jennie is very hopeful that I will take Sally, at least as a foster.  She is a lovely little mare with beautiful, dressage-quality movement.  Jennie told me a couple of weeks ago that Sally 'hates people and hates work' so I was expecting her to act out a bit when it came to grooming but she was a good girl.

Yes, her toes are very long :(

She is adorable.

Cut-off ears but still a cute picture of her.

She was a little antsy but was still a good girl, even allowing me to pick up her feet (a big deal for a mustang, especially when they don't know you).  She was green-broke at one time but from what Jennie has been told, bucks when cantering.  She's not sure if it's the usual 'I don't wanna work' bucking or if it's bronco-type bucking.  I left there that first day with a lot to consider.

On Saturday's Jennie hosts a volunteer work day at her farm.  Generally the folks that show up are just learning to handle horses, but I decided to go at the last minute.  I showed up about 15 minutes late, and someone was already working with Sally, so I settled in to watch Jennie and the volunteers.  The lady that was closest to me was someone that I'd met a couple of times; she was holding the lead rope to a cute little grey mare.  We started talking and she told me that the little mare is her horse and has no problem with the obstacles, except for one.  Jennie has a PVC set-up, shaped like a small house, with tarps, empty jugs, hula hoops, sheets, and aluminum pans hanging from it.  Apparently the little mare is extremely reluctant to walk through this mustang house-of horrors.  Her owner, D, was attempting to get her to go through but the little mare knew the drill and would balk fifteen feet away from it.  After a while, D asked me if I wanted to try and I said I would love to.  First I worked with her on forward movement, walking around the little structure.  This was a chore in the beginning because the little mare assumed that being near it meant that she was expected to go through it.  We walked around the structure for 45 minutes or so, getting closer each time.  As we moved closer, I walked through the tarps and sheets if they blew towards me.  The first few times, she reacted to this fairly violently but I stayed calm and asked for forward movement again.  Eventually, I was able to touch her face with the sheets; finally she decided to go through on her own.  The first time she speed-trotted through but before we stopped for the day, she walked through calmly a few times - but only if the wind was blowing in such a way that she had a clear shot through, lol.  If her mom continues to work with her over the next few days, it should become a non-issue for her.

So, that's what I've been doing.  Nothing has been decided on the second-horse front - I'm keeping my eyes open for the perfect horse, and in the meantime am considering fostering Sally for a while. 

Why do I do this to myself?

Warning: rambling nonsense ahead.

Lately, I've been wanting a second horse in a bad way...It probably wouldn't be such an ever-present thought if Ruby was both younger and sound.  Now, Ruby's not old in any sense of the word but with her injury and her age (15 this year), how likely is it at this point that we'll ever complete a 50-mile ride?  Not very likely, so as an analytical and (usually) practical person, my mind is busy trying to make contingency plans. 

I've been watching my FB feed with a little too much fervor, watching for a likely prospect in my price range (which is quite pathetic if I do say so myself).  I'm not set on a breed, though I would prefer: Arabian, Morgan, Appy, Standardbred, mustang or some cross of these breeds.  Other preferences include age (2-8 yo), short (14.2 hands or so), intelligent, sensible, cooperative, forward with great feet, legs and back.  The horse doesn't need to be broke and if it was under four, I'd prefer it not to be backed at all yet.  Mare/gelding doesn't matter too much, and neither does color though I would prefer that the horse not be grey or have a bald face because of the likelihood of sunburn and skin cancer.  A black horse would also be a bad idea, for the horse itself, due to the heat we have in the summer.  If Ruby gets and stays sound, the other horse would need to be steady enough (eventually) to pack my hubby and kids around safely.

Now for the problems: do I really need another horse?  The answer is probably not.  Endurance is my ultimate goal, but I would still be reasonably happy if Ruby was only sound enough for easy trail riding.  Could we afford a second horse?  Yes, though it would definitely cut into our relatively meager 'extra' funds.  Time.  I don't have that much of it, but I seemed to do okay when I was fostering the mustangs...though I can say that I was more tired than usual during that time too.  Money: would I have enough extra cash to actually compete if I got a second horse?  That remains to be seen, but it's unlikely that I'd get out much even if we did - while I LOVE spending money on horse stuff, I also have to deal with a measurable amount of guilt when I do (of my own doing, my hubby never gives me grief about the horses).   

I'm trying to be reasonable and responsible here; looking at all sides, weighing pros and cons.  And Jennie is making it tough, lol.  I mentioned that I was possibly interested in a filly I saw on FB, which may have been a mistake.  She's so excited that I'm considering another horse, and is such an enabler, but I know she will be disappointed if I decide on a horse that isn't a mustang. 

We'll see what happens.   I'm trying hard to stay strong against temptation; I'd like to wait at least a few months, when I have more of an idea what Ruby will be capable of in the future.  In the meantime, I'm watching, planning, and dreaming. 

Finally riding again

But not Ruby.  I've been riding Trigger.

Trigger is a 10-year-old ex-Amish horse.  He's trained to ride and drive.  He's a good boy but also extremely lazy...or maybe it just feels that way compared to the very forward Ruby.  He hasn't been ridden for a while, though he is well-broke...definitely a nice change from unbroke mustangs!

Our first ride was Wednesday, and it was ugly.  He was leaning so hard on my hands that he was pulling me forward out of the saddle, falling into turns (when I could finally get him to turn!), and was blowing slightly after 10 minutes under saddle, mostly walking.  The next day was slightly better, though this time instead of him pulling me forward, I felt like I was falling forward in the saddle.  We did 15 minutes or so, then I untacked him, turned him out, and moved the stirrups forward on my saddle.  Yesterday was so much better.  No leaning on my hands, nice figure-eights at the trot, and no pony-tude when I'd get after him for walking without being told.  He started responding to my seat whereas on the first rides he was completely immune to those cues.  He's definitely worse to the right than the left (exacerbated because this is also my bad side?) and has a tendency to fall into those turns, making them much sharper than I was intending but this was much better yesterday.  We haven't cantered yet, and won't until he's in better shape (and has better balance). 

It is so nice to finally be riding again, especially at a faster pace than a walk.  Trigger's owner is happy to have me riding right now, as she is unable to.  I'm hopeful that I'll get to ride him regularly until Ruby is cleared for real riding.

Speaking of Ruby, I have been working with her regularly.  We hand-walk over poles every other day and have been practicing belly-lifts.  Her topline is already looking a bit better, though it seems a little early to be seeing improvement - it may be more due to the fact that the grass is starting to grow again than our new routine.