At least we weren't arrested...

As soon Ruby and I got the go-ahead to ride from the vet, I had offers from barn family to go ride - in fact, some of them were just as excited as I was, lol.  After getting together, two of the girls and I decided to go for a short ride Friday evening.

My plan was to lead and ride, the amount of which depended on the length of the ride though I knew I didn't want to do more than 2-3 miles total.  First, I groomed and picked out Ruby's feet, holding that right front for a little longer than normal to make sure she actually had her balance (I can't help but wonder what in the world was going on with her and why it suddenly stopped?), then I tacked Ruby up and put on her reflective gear. Both of the ladies I was riding with are older, so they mounted up using a block at the barn, while I stayed on the ground to shut the barnyard gate and lead Ruby over the roughest part of the road.

I mounted at our usual spot, about a quarter of a mile from the barn.  Ruby felt so good.  She was striding out, easily keeping up with the TWH gelding we were riding with.  Ears perked - she was a happy mare.

The best view in the world

But as the sun sank, Ruby started getting antsy.  We've only ridden at night a few times, and that's always been at the barn.  She was getting looky, not watching where she was putting her feet, and kept trying to break into a trot. 

And then I succumbed to peer pressure...A. had ridden in one of the orange groves that line the street the night before and wanted to get off the road - partially for safety, partially just because.  I normally don't do this kind of thing - I won't even ride on the hiking-only trails, much less trespass on someone's property.  But this night I did.  We turned into the orange grove and continued with our ride.  We were maybe 150 feet into the grove when headlights appeared behind us.  Damn. 

That's when things started to get a little crazy.  As the vehicle got closer, Ruby started acting up - walking sideways and/or backwards, trying to look into her own moving shadow for monsters.  A. started talking to the driver as another vehicle came up behind the first, and I wondered if I would soon be calling my husband to tell him I'd been arrested for trespassing.  I dismounted and attempted to talk to the driver but I had to keep moving Ruby away from the front of the vehicle, which was in serious danger of being crushed by Ruby-ass, ensuring police involvement.  The owners were actually very nice about the whole thing and we apologized (A. was disappointed, I was just embarrassed and relieved) and headed home.

But Ruby would not calm down and I didn't want to have this fight on a road at night, so I had to lead her all the way back home (3/4 of a mile?).  She continued to be a brat and worried as the TWH got further and further ahead of us, even though we had another horse to walk with.  When we arrived at the barnyard, I took her to the arena and we worked for maybe 10 minutes at the walk, rebuilding those rusty connections - what I know we should have done to begin with.  We ended on a good note, and I linimented her right hind before turning her back out.

Saturday I was unable to get out to the barn, but I rode Ruby for about 5 minutes yesterday, just around the barnyard.  She didn't seem sore (yay!) but I linimented her fetlock and put her up for the day.  Slow and steady, slow and steady...

Mustangs update: one of Jennie's proteges and fellow TIP trainers picked up her Extreme Mustang Makeover horse late last week.  I am so excited to see how this boy turns out. He's a beauty, and very bold.  I'll try to get pics next time I'm out there.

Sally has been adopted and seems to love her new person.  I'm so happy for this mare, who has been passed around and passed over so many times.  I hope she's found her forever home and that her adopter continues to share stories and pics with us.  My search for a second horse has been temporarily sidelined as some big changes are in the works for my family later this year. 

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. 

Updates part 2

First, pictures of some of the mustangs.

8 yo sorrel gelding - this boy was a jerk to the other horses in his pen, but my eye was constantly drawn to him.

A very cute and in-your-face filly.  After our first encounter, I stayed away from this pen, knowing that if I wasn't careful I'd get attached.

This mare was another that I was drawn to. 

The same mare again.  Just a lovely girl. 

This gelding had an amazing presence.  He was also huge for a mustang, at least 15.2 and that's probably conservative.  A 5 yo, non-reactive, with a quiet intelligence shining in his eyes.  If I could have taken one home, I would seriously have considered him.

And again.  I wasn't able to get a full body shot - this boy was a master at keeping other horses between himself and the people milling around the pens.

Last but not least, a 3 yo sales authority gelding that ended up at Jennie's farm.  Look at those long legs!

Okay, so back to Vegas.  When I pulled onto the drive and got out to open the gate, I could see Vegas behind another fence, pacing and trotting and obviously agitated.  We drove through the pasture and pulled through the next gate, which is their yard.  I parked and got all of my horse stuff out, working stick, longe line, rope halter and lead, etc., and stuffed my pockets with hay cube pieces.  By this point, Vegas had stopped her pacing and was watching me.  I started to approach her with the rope halter and my working stick - as soon as I took a step in her direction, she walked happily towards me.  She waited patiently while I replaced the nylon halter with the rope halter, then I gave her a scratch and turned to her new owner.  I'm not going to lie - I was completely flattered by Vegas' behavior.  Here I thought I was going to have to really work to catch her; instead she showed me that she has bonded with me.  Her adopter was floored, and said something along the lines of 'No f-ing way...I can't believe it' and put his hands behind his head.  I told him that this was a very good thing.  She wasn't reverting like I'd feared - she was just reacting to a new place, new people, and new sounds.

We stood there and talked for a few minutes while I got the whole story.  Vegas had busted out of their pen (they were warned that she would probably try).  She'd broken the latch (that hasn't been fixed yet) but they tried to return her to the pen to eat her breakfast that morning.  Vegas was having none of it.  The first time they tried to put her in the pen, she'd shouldered them out of the way and taken off.   They tried again and again, and it had gotten to the point that she wouldn't let them take her within 50 feet of it before she pulled away from them again.  Okay.  It took us an hour to make it to the pen so she could eat.  We approached and I asked her to whoa before we completely left her comfort zone.  Stop for scratches and maybe a hay cube, stand for a second, turn around and go back to the safe zone and start all over again.  By the time it was too dark to see, Vegas was eating relatively calmly in her pen, by herself with no halter on.  That's when I heard a weird noise.  It sounded like a pig.  I turned and asked if they had pigs in the shed (that Vegas' pen butts up against) - they have two potbellies in there.  Aha!  So, not only is her pen away from the minis - who scream for her when they can't see her - but she's stabled next to pigs, which she finds terrifying.

It took me only a few minutes after arriving to realize that Vegas was in total sensory overload - their place was pretty overwhelming for a horse like Vegas.  They had very loud neighbors, re: screaming kids and babies.  At one point, somebody pulled into the neighbor's yard and laid on the horn for a solid minute and a half - according to the adopters, he does that every day when he arrives home.  Then there were the screaming minis.  And the barking dog that Vegas had to pass to get to her pen, the constantly crowing rooster, the calves crying to be fed, and the pigs.

By the time I left, Vegas was calm.  I told them that it was going to take a while for her to settle in and get used to everything that goes on there.  I explained that the fact that she approached me on her own showed that she was willing to take direction from a person even when she felt like things were out of control.  I suggested that for the next few days they go outside and hang out with her several times a day.  Practice putting on and removing the halter, give scratches, stand with her while she grazes - just be the calm in the eye of the storm as she comes to realize that everything is okay. 

I'm hopeful that even with the rough start, her adopters will be able to stick it out, for Vegas' sake.  

Miss Fuzzy-Face, the last day on Heather's farm. 

A few small updates

Fairly quickly before I head to the barn in the cold (it is a bone-chilling 46 degrees outside...).

Vegas -  Yesterday morning about 8 am, I received a text from Vegas' adopter.  She was saying that Vegas had broken out of her pen that morning before they had a chance to let her out.  She had a scrape on her right hind and would not allow them to lead her back to her pen (where she gets fed and has water).  She was also being difficult about being caught, was calling frantically when she couldn't see their minis, and was being dangerously pushy every time they tried to lead her to the pen.  I told her that it sounded like Vegas was reverting and the behavior needed to be nipped in the bud - I was willing to come out that evening.  We made plans to meet at her place around 5:30 in the evening.

Abby - an 18-year-old pony mustang mare.  Jennie brought her to me for an under-saddle refresher the same day that she picked up Vegas.  She might be 13.2.  She's been with the rescue for over a year now, but without a lot of interest due to her size and age.  In case you're wondering, pony+mare+mustang = stubborness to rival any mule or donkey.  We had our first round-penning session yesterday and I was honestly beginning to wonder if she would rather collapse than yield/submit/join-up/whatever you want to call it.  This was after she threatened to run me over when I went to retrieve her from her stall in the morning.  It took me 15-20 minutes of work to lead her out of the stall safely *sigh*.  Apparently, though broke, Abby has some fear issues under saddle.  I will be attempting to work through those issues in the next 30 days.

Notice that although she is dripping sweat, she still has an attitude. I let her rest for a few minutes anyway because I was worried about her.

After barn chores, Heather and I headed over to Brandon to see the mustangs at the mustang adoption.  They were scraggly, dirty, wild, and scared but there were some beautiful horses there. 

Will finish updating in a bit!