Little Bit by Little Bit

Well, I did end up washing Arabee last week - it went well. It loosened up a lot of her winter coat, which she's missing now as I type this because it turned off chilly again this week - in the 40s-50's at night. But she still has a lot of fuzz around her muzzle and on the tender skin around her legs - she'll slick up very soon when the weather heats back up!

After I bathed her, I worked M-T-G in her dock, and in the crest of her mane, and put sunscreen on that itchy patch where her neck meets her chest where the bugs bite but she can't reach them.

I also went ahead and started on her hooves, rasping a good rollover on the toe of both front hooves.

She stayed in the dry lot overnight, then stayed in the pasture all day Friday, then back to the lot Friday night. Saturday afternoon I haltered her, finished rasping her front hooves, groomed her, then carefully checked her tail and crest for ticks - I found 5! Ick....

It misted rain all day on Sunday, so she stayed in the lot all day, then I pulled her out for a little bit of hand grazing and I did a roll on the toes of her hind feet. I scratched her itchy spots, mane and tail included, but didn't comb her over for tick since she hadn't been in the pasture at all that day. I went ahead and stalled her overnight, because I am wanting to try to keep her legs dry to prevent scratches from coming back this summer.

She wasn't bad about it this morning when I went to let her out of her stall - didn't try to run me over at all when I opened the door. But she was very glad that I opened the gate to the pasture. I hope to be able to finish rasping her hind hooves later this evening, but I may not get a chance until Tuesday.

Is there anyone who makes a product that will keep ticks off of horses? We use Frontline on the dogs, and it works great - what do others do to keep their horses pest-free??

Buggy

Finally had enough! On Tuesday I said to my husband - I AM going to groom my horse. I had to. Even if I never find time to actually ride, I have to at least care for her physical needs. So I groomed her really well all over on Tuesday afternoon, then turned her back out.

Happily, her frogs are in great shape! She does need a trim, and I will find time for that over the weekend. And the scratches on her lower legs are gone! She has become a roly-poly fat thing after getting green grass turnout - and I think what I'll do, both to prevent the scratches from returning, and to keep her from getting even fatter yet, is stall her at night when the grass is wet - that way she can't eat, and her legs and feet will stay dry. Maybe I can teach her to pee on command, too - after she gets out of her stall in the morning? We'll see!

She's still got some bug bite marks where she's been rubbing to scratch itches, and those need some care. Tonight I am going to bathe her, and really give her a thorough cleansing scrub from poll to tailbone. One of the benefits of being married to a farmer is having a big water tank - Matt filled it with water last night, so it won't be as cold as it would have been had it been straight from the hose! It's getting hot, but not hot enough yet that we need ground temperature water! So anyway, after the bath I'll apply some sort of lotion to help those rubbed patches heal.

It may not be riding, but it's a step toward horsey-time.

Still fuzzy.....but on grass, now!

It's been raining here for days and days and days. We've had so many inches of rain I don't even want to wager a guess - but it's soggy.

I haven't ridden since the last time I posted (probably no surprise there, since I'd only just started back to riding since the wet spell) but Arabee has been getting her heart's desire - pasture turnout with tall, green, spring grass!

She's been getting ticks, too.....poor mare - I've never seen her have so many all up and down her mane. I think it's because she's the sole horse - she and Jack always used to groom each other, which probably helped remove ticks from the crest of the mane. I really need to commit to at least getting her out and grooming her daily - if not riding regularly.

It's just...well, May, and I'm married to a farmer who also has a full-time off-farm job, and I have 3.5 year old and 1.5 year old children. Which means spare time for riding = essentially non-existant. But I am a firm believer in that a person MAKES time for what's really important.

So do I make time for the horse right now, or do I find a 'free to a good home' pasture mate who can tooth-scratch Arabee's itchy mane for her? That is the question. However, I don't see either one being a realistic option given the circumstances.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Mare

Rode yesterday afternoon. It was sunny and WARM (high 70's) but very windy. Very.

I tied Arabee with the blocker tie ring, started grooming the mud and loose hairs off - her summer coat wants very much to come out! She was jumpy - the windy gusts making "monsters" bang around. I thought 'this could be interesting' and proceeded to saddle up, pick feet, attach one end of the reins to the lead rope spot of our riding halter.

I'd planned on riding in the winter lot by the barn where she lives right now (until April 15 - our turn-everything-out-on-pasture day) so I led her in and, oops, she rubbed a stirrup on the post by the gate, and rushed past me, accidentally knocking my ankle with the wall of one of her hooves. Ouch, but not too bad, really.

So after that and the stirrup freak-out episode of the last ride, I felt it prudent to go ahead and review the stirrup thing. So I flopped the stirrups all around, and took off the rein and sent her around me in the lot - walking and trotting - but it was such an extreme effort for me to get her out of a walk and she was handling the presence of flopping stirrups so well that it was obviously time to just get on and ride already.

So, I did. All we did was walk around on a loose rein, turning, whoa-ing and practicing on sublety - after a little while she was doing a fabulous job of just walking where I would look - it was great. Eventually, we both got a little bored with the walking/turning thing and started to "herd" the goats - if they were standing outside of the barn, I'd try to turn them (sort of pretending they were calves). It was silly, but fun. Maybe if I get brave this summer I'll try her on actual calves, although they're bigger and much faster.

Anyway, it was fun, I achieved my goal of riding a relaxed ride with no point aside from having fun and getting my legs tired (which I achieved in the short 20 minute ride time...sad)

Adventures on a String!

So maybe the title sets this up as more exciting than it really was...

Did chores, filled up a hay bag for Arabee, then tied with the blocker tie ring II (got that last fall, really like it!) and groomed and saddled her while she ate her hay.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out for my mom to do the longing - so my husband offered (very hesitantly) to do it instead. You see, the man loves me, but he does not love horses, but he recognizes how much happiness I gain from being around them, so he tries to be supportive of it all the while being nervous that I'm going to be injured, which unfortunately makes me (because I love him and don't want him to be nervous) feel bad about riding because it makes him uncomfortable. And anyway, a nervous guy holding a longe line really doesn't impart much confidence to a large prey animal.

So we started out with me longing her, just walking around to get both her and Matt used to the idea of longing quietly but she was high headed and jumpy (see above paragraph). So I go ahead and decide maybe she needs a little workout first, so I urge her into a trot, which is going fine except she's really unsure of the sound of the stirrups flopping against the saddle, which makes her trot cockeyed with short, choppy steps, which made the stirrups flop even more, which made her break gait into a fast canter, which flopped the stirrups louder and harder, which made her bolt around as fast as she could on the longe. Great. Just the little confidence-building exercise I had hoped for! (not)

So Matt walks away to go work on the corn planter while I work on Arabee and getting her accustomed to the sounds and sensations of stirrups (how could we have missed this previously?!? or perhaps she'd forgotten). Which was quite dizzying - her whirling around me while I clung tight to the longe line in one hand and flopped the stirrups with the other. Finally she calmed down and was willing to stand still with her head held high and ears back while I flopped the stirrups, and so we went back out on the longe again, me certain that she would calmly trot about, aware of the stirrup-flopping but not too concerned over it. HaHa...we had more bolting, so we tried more flopping, then she did finally become accepting of it to the point where I considered her "safe".

Keep in mind....all I had wanted to do with her this day was to walk around in slow circles on the longe line while I worked MY butt off (or inner thighs, rather...) working to get those horseback riding muscles back in shape. It was not supposed to be a workout for the horse, at all. Well, I guess you work with what you've got.

She was warm and sort of sweaty at this point - not lathered, though, and I had my helmet and riding clothes on and everything, so I called Matt back over and it all went downhill again (see paragraph on "nervousness") I told him to take like 5 deep breaths, and see, she's doing just fine, exactly what I want her to, and worked on coaching someone, who in all fairness, had never in his life ever pictured himself holding the end of a rope attached to a 900 lb flight animal (who in his estimation is ridiculously flighty) with his dearly loved wife sitting on top. He and she got better, and calmer, and I ended up working on two-point, and keeping good lower-body position in the saddle. I still had to steer, since our circle was more Easter-egg shaped than round, but still it was good for my muscles, which again - that was the whole point of the exercise for me. I didn't get to do the trunk twists, or both arms out, but I did do one arm at a time.

And it was good. I got to do what I wanted to do (pretty much), and I got a good dose of reality when it came down to working with an Arabian mare who'd been out of regular work for almost an entire year. And hopefully, if I keep doing things this way - the slow way is the fast way - the way where you do stupid, beginner-rider things like riding on a longe line, or just doing practice turns in a small, confined area, hopefully, if I do things this slow way, I'll be able to convince both myself and my husband that riding horses isn't as recklessly dangerous of an activity after all.

Out of shape!

I believe I can say now that I have finally shaken off the last of the soreness from my ride on Monday. Early this morning I could still feel a slight ouchiness in my inner leg muscles.

Seriously.

I had only ridden for 15 minutes!! That is sad.

But what's very exciting is that my parents are coming down to visit tonight, and I have asked my mom if she'd be willing to hold a longe line for me so I can work on balance and strength building exercises without having to worry about steering. She said yes, and since I was sore so long after a short 15 minute ride, I think we'll keep this one to about 30 minutes, tops, so I think we'll have time to squeeze it in. I bet if I ask her she'll tell me when I'm leaning forward too much, or if my legs are in the wrong position, too.

I think I'll go ahead and ride with stirrups. Haven't decided for sure if I'll use reins or not, since she'll be on the longe line. I've been volunteering for a therapeutic riding center, and I'll do some of the warm up exercises used there: airplane wings (arms straight out to the sides), arms straight up, and trunk twists (hands on your hips, twist and twist!). Maybe I'll practice riding in two-point, maybe I'll swing my arms in circles, maybe I'll ride with one arm pointing forward and one arm pointing backward, then switch. I know these things are going to be helpful in getting my core strength and balance in the saddle closer to where they should be.

I just hope it doesn't rain!

Anyone else have any favorite exercises that they like to use?

I Rode Today

So, I rode today! First time since last April.

It was fun, it was short (only about 15 minutes saddle time) we walked and trotted and turned and whoa-ed and it was all rusty and awkward but right at the same time.

My little mare has really calmed down a lot. Today is Monday, and I'd only just groomed her a few times in the last week - no longing or handwalking yet we still had a nice quiet first ride back. Felt good.

The Horse who Shares with Goats

Even if reluctantly.

Actually, the little doe kid that's turned away from Arabee in the bottom picture, or the one farthest left in the top picture, has formed a special bond with Arabee - she's nearly always sharing her hay. I'm not 100% sure there's more to their relationship than the food value Arabee's sharing, but still, it's sweet to see her having a pal.

Notice her stand-out mane? Over the summer she'd rubbed the middle section of it down to nothing, and I'd decided to clip the whole thing off so it would grow back in evenly. I kept putting it off, and finally did it a few days after Jack died. I have his tail hair and her mane hair, I'm thinking I will have it braided together into a belt perhaps. I think the white/gray tail hair and the bronze/chestnut mane hair will complement each other, not only in color, but as a remembrance of the 10 years the horses spent as companions. I'd love to find a horsehair artist somewhat locally if I can, but if not I have found someone online, I believe located in Michigan.

Fitness and Carriage Rides

(I've been meaning to write this post for quite some time now, but just never forced myself to sit down and type. It's about time I found something to write so I have a more cheery post at the top of my blog. )

I stopped taking time to ride Arabee in April because it's something I can't do with my children. I expect to get more time this winter to ride, but after a few weeks of not much physical activity I found a second-hand (but in great condition) double jogging stroller and started training to run a 5k race (3.1 miles).

My goal before the end of 2010 is to be able to run from my driveway, to the stop sign North of our house, then turn around and continue South to that stop sign, then back home, which is a hilly distance of about 3.5 miles. I don't push myself very much, really, but right now I can run for about 2 minutes at a time, then take a walking break to catch my breath, and so on. Eventually I'll get there.

But I'd entered a 5k Fun Run that supported the Ronald McDonald House back in June, held at the Indianapolis Canal - a beautiful paved course that follows the canal, pretty much completely flat. Which was a lot of fun, I probably ran about half the time, walked half the time, alternately, and learned that I had a lot of training to do before I could keep up a running pace the whole time. But I'll get there. It's good for me, I think, as someone who is aspiring to compete "someday" in endurance - if I'm asking my horse to compete, maybe I ought to have a clue what it's like to be physically in shape! And besides all that, I'm losing baby weight, too :-)

Well, the whole family made a mini-vacation out of this fun run. We traveled up to Indianapolis and checked into a hotel just across the street from the NCAA Hall of Champions (where the race was to begin and end) with a pool, had dinner in town, and walked around the Circle Center Mall a bit. My daughter was amazed by many of the sights of the big city, including but not limited to: man hole covers, newspaper stands, and elevators......we need to get her out more. haha!

Before we checked into the hotel we stopped by Yellow Rose Carriage's downtown stable. I had worked there for several summers as a carriage driver and it was such a great place to work. It was such a great feeling to stop in unannounced at their barn and see how everything was still in perfect condition. The horses' stalls were spotless, fans were running to keep them cool (it was unusually hot for June when we were there) the harness was all hung up neatly and clean, the carriages parked nicely, ready for their next shift. It just felt really good to stop by and see how very very well everything was being taken care of for the horses.

I wasn't able to talk to the manager/owner - she had taken a couple of the horses to the equine chiropractor. I know there's a good amount of controversy over horse-drawn carriages in some cities, but the horses at Yellow Rose have the good life. If you find yourself in downtown Indianapolis, take a ride with a Yellow Rose Carriage - it's a great company who treats their horses very very well.

We had a really nice ride through the city - it is so relaxing to sit back and take in the city surroundings at the relaxed speed of the draft horse's walk, and comforting to know that the horse pulling the vehicle has received the best of care. Keep up the good work, YRC!

In Memory of MW Jack Daniels, 3/29/1980-8/4/2010

Above: A photo of Jack in his retirement years.

Jack was my first horse, a 15 year old gelding. He’d won many halter championships as a young horse and then showed Western Pleasure for many years before my family found him. My dad built a very nice 4 stall barn and a nice 3 rail wooden oak board paddock and the previous owner delivered him after school on Friday, the day before St. Patrick’s Day. I was ecstatic. I was eleven years old and had my first horse. I’d paid half with my own money; both my name and my mom’s name are on his registration papers.

So Jack got the privilege (burden?) of teaching me how to own a horse. He was so patient when he needed to be, and ornery enough to keep me on my toes when I learned enough that he didn’t have to babysit me anymore. He did nearly all the classes offered at the county 4-H fair, and did me proud when I took him to the Arabian shows. If I asked him to do it, he gave me his all.



Left: showing at the county fair.
Center: the day he arrived, he would’ve walked right in had I let him.
Right: Mom holding Jack after my sister and I helped him play “dress-up” – what a patient horse he was.

He had a beautiful rocking horse canter, and he loved to be ridden. He was willing to go any way you asked him to. Jack and I got to the point in our partnership where if I simply looked, he would go – no need for rein or leg to guide him.

Eventually, at 14.2 hands high, I outgrew my little Jack and began riding Arabee, and we tried to loan him out as a lesson horse. The little stinker wouldn’t do it, I had reports of him bucking all the way around the arena whenever they tried to ride him. This I couldn’t believe so I had to see for myself, and when I got there they had me ride him. My horse was as good as pie for me, not a single buck or even a tail shake. Looks like as much as I had claimed Jack, he had claimed me, and so we gladly brought him back home.

I rode him occasionally on pleasure rides, and he was always so eager to go, but a perfect gentleman, ears pricked forward happily but after only a short time he would start short-stepping and show discomfort, even at the walk, so I kept his rides short and infrequent since he clearly enjoyed going. Eventually when he was stiff from the very beginning of the ride it was clear that he needed to be retired as a riding horse. So Jack became a pasture pal for my mare Arabee and we maintained his health and hoof care, and decided that as long as he was still comfortable, he would live out his days with me.

Above: one of my senior pictures taken with Jack.


So both Jack and Arabee moved to my new life as a married woman in 2005, and he never was ridden once in the last 5 years. He loved having acres of pasture to roam and graze on the farm, and his existence was about as good as it could be if you were a horse, I think. He didn’t have much left in the way of teeth, and was on senior horse feed as much as he would eat. He always was a hard-keeper and a thin horse, and every winter in the last few years, I’d think he would look awful once his thick winter hair shedded out, but he’d put on weight again in the spring and keep on going. My husband and I were somewhat surprised he’d made it through this last winter; it had been very cold this year. But, he did, and a part of me was almost beginning to believe he was going to live on forever.

But, as he was checking the animals on the afternoon of August 4th my husband called my cell phone to tell me that I needed to come out and check on Jack, he just wasn’t right. So I turned off the burners on the stove (supper could wait) and jogged up to the paddock, and what I saw was not good. My sweet gelding was in obvious pain laying flat on his side, looking back at his belly and drenched in sweat. He had rubbed his sides raw from rolling, and right away I called the vet. I had just never seen Jack be so distressed, in pain, and miserable, and as a retired 30 year old horse I owed it to Jack to as best I could make his last hours as comfortable as possible.

The vet arrived within 30 minutes, and gave him Banamine and said that if we could get him back up to keep him walking. He said if the Banamine helped then he’d have a strong chance of pulling through the colic. Unfortunately, the Banamine never seemed to make a difference in Jack’s comfort level. We felt that the humane thing to do was to have the vet put him down so he wouldn’t have to suffer any longer. I don’t want to describe too clearly what the poor horse was going through, but I’ll just say it was clear that we made the right decision.

It was a hard night, and a hard morning as I explained to my nearly three year old daughter what had happened. I kept his forelock and tail hair as a memento, but I’ll always have many happy memories of my 15 years spent with a very special horse. I will miss him very much :'(

Above: Jack pausing from his frolic around his new surroundings the first day we moved him to where we live now.