What a Day

Well it was quite a day at the barn. If you're a horse person you know how to *not* make plans because they will never work out in the end. If this narrative seems a little random and all over the place, that's just kind of how the day went anyway.

I brought Axel into the barn and put him in a stall with a bucket of some treats, feed, an apple, and some bute. I wanted to see if some bute would make him move a little better and be less cranky about life when I rode. Since I wanted the bute to kick in I thought he could stay in the stall and get used to it for a while and I'd go get Cody. Danny wasn't in the pasture as he was at a parade so it was a good time to get both the boys in the barn at once since leaving Cody alone wouldn't make him very happy. Axel was doing pretty well in the stall, ate his little snack, and knickered loudly as Cody and I came in. Cody was mildly on edge but was doing pretty well. I groomed him in the crossties and took him into the arena to do a little ground work and decide what to do next.

Axel stayed pretty quiet while I worked Cody. That was the end of the calmness. The new boarder arrived and all hell broke loose. I tied Cody in the barn while I chatted with the new people. It was a good lesson for him to stand there. He screamed a bit, I suppose he knew there was another horse in the barn and he wanted to see what the deal was. Axel was doing pretty well with all the commotion, lots of things to look at. The longer we stood there the more he started pawing in the stall. I threw a saddle on Cody and rode around a little and he did pretty well. When the new boarder brought in her very very pretty Arab mare Cody wasn't so interested in anything I had to say. I tied him back up and untacked. I figured he'd be alright in the arena watching the new girl. He ended up working up a pretty good sweat so I put the cooler on him. I decided to swap Cody and Axel and maybe ride Axel. I tied Cody in the stall so he wouldn't lay down in the blanket.

Axel had worked himself into a sweaty mess at this point and rolled several times in the arena while I walked him around. Between bucking in the stall, bucking while tied up to the arena wall, and acting quite worked up about the whole deal I decided riding wasn't in our future for the day. I did get out the real lunge line and lunged him a bit. It was more like Axel just speeding around like a demon and not so much lunging. But he cantered in both directions on the correct leads. As idiotic as he got on the lunge line he's always willing to halt (and walk towards me which I don't like). So now I had two sweaty horses, Axel took care of himself pretty well by rolling but Cody just got sweatier by worrying in the stall. There wasn't much I could do at that point so I turned them both out. Axel just rolled in the snow. It was sunny so I figured they would just find a warm spot and dry off.

No videos from today, just too much going on. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. The new boarders mare is absolutely a dream. Through this whole ordeal she was quiet, well mannered, and just plain nice. They were riding her and she was never out of control or interested in other things, she just plugged along like a good little horse. So jealous!

New Video Camera

Jeff got me one of those tiny Flip Mino HD cameras for my birthday so I had to go try it out. My main goal was to just experiment with placement and to see what the lighting was like and how the video turned out. I only had a little over an hour on Wednesday before I had to go to ballet so I was just going to ride Axel around a bit. Actually upon some discussion at Midwest Horse Talk, I wanted to lunge, walk, and trot Axel to see where he was at as far as "forward."

I should have known he was going to be a tough cookie since he stood in the arena tied to the wall without moving an inch. No pawing or kicking or flinging his head around. When I started lunging him he'd barely move until I got the whip (the contents of the part of the video that I have uploaded so far).

When I got on we walked for quite a while, I was trying to get him to "walk up" as much as I could. We did some serpentines to make sure he was listening to me. Then I asked for a trot and was greeted with some small little cow kicks/bucks. About this time a couple other boarders brought in their horses to wait for their vet. Axel was quite annoyed that he wasn't out there meeting these other horses. The one gal brought her horse into the arena to lunge him until he was ready for his shots. Axel proceed to attempt to kick this horse every time he came around the circle.

The moment of truth was as we were trotting the girl took her horse out of the arena and left the gate open. Axel and I rounded the corner and he saw the open gate and took off in one of his canter/bucking fits. Luckily I pulled him up in the direction away from the gate and pointed him at the wall until he stopped (this is not on video since the gate was open, the camera was facing away, so I guess I'll be putting the camera on a different gate in the future). After that we were about done for so we walked around a bit more before dismounting. When I untacked him he was a little damp but not too bad and it was fairly warm out. Axel decided better and rolled three separate times in the arena before I took him outside. I'm going to start putting a command on his rolling so I can get him to roll in the winter instead of having to blanket him before he goes back out.

Axel tries to lunge from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

2 Rides in 1 Day

Made it back out to the barn today with a lot more time on my hands so my intention was to at least ride Axel. It was a lot colder out than they originally predicted for Sunday but Axel was warm standing in the sun. The advantages of being a black horse, I guess.

1. Relax in barn/arena - he managed to stand in the crossties fairly patiently. For some reason as soon as he tries once to move and gets stopped by the lead he gets pissed off and keeps trying and flinging his head around only causing more pulling by the ropes. I haven't quite figured out what he thinks he's going to accomplish but I'm trying to time un-clipping him for when he's standing quiet. He had a couple starts from the snow sliding off the roof but no run-offs.
   
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Move out - we worked a bit on moving out at the walk and for once he didn't take those cues to mean trot, so I think that was a success.
   
6. Use haunches - we made our first attempts to work on the turn on the forehand. I can't tell if he's using his back legs properly so I'm looking forward to getting my new video camera. But at least it was a start trying to get him to understand that I was asking for a turn in place. We worked on bending and serpentines as well, I figured if he can move off my leg and seat in that respect it'll only help our other work.
   
7. Canter both leads

I still mean to stand out near the pasture and work with Cody but the wind was like ice despite the sun so I wimped out and brought him into the barn hoping that he wouldn't be as worked up as he was last time.

1. Relax in barn/arena - he stood in the crossties fairly calmly. After I picked out his feet he must have stepped on a piece of the snow and slipped because he was parked out and afraid to move at that point.
   
2. Relax in stall - when we were done working I brought him into a stall and gave him an apple. He was a little preoccupied with the smells in the stall but didn't seem scared about it.
   
3. Pay attention to handler - we did our usual lunging and backing and a little bit of standing still and paying attention. He wasn't vibrating like he had in the past but he's still not paying me total attention. The snow was sliding off the roof making some loud noises which startled him a few times but he handled it well.
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - he's starting out a walk now which is nice, he used to go right to the trot even when I asked for a walk. He wasn't too happy to canter and threw a minor fit about it but came back down to earth after one lap.
   
5. Gain confidence with rider - we worked with just the rope halter and lead and a saddle. He was very interested in the gate and kept trying to head in that direction. He's fairly responsive to leg cues and my inexperienced neck reining. I wanted him to halt facing the opposite wall of the gate and he wanted to turn around so we played that game for quite a while. When I finally got a decent halt I dismounted. There was some more attempts to turn around as I was un-tacking in that same spot so I put the saddle back on and moved him around until he stopped facing away from the gate and finally removed the saddle then.
   
6. Load and unload

Didn't Ride After All

I ran out to the barn before heading up to the U for a NARHA State Conference. After a little work to get my car stuck in the un-plowed driveway I grabbed Axel to go for a quick ride. Firstly it took me forever to groom him. The rain or snow or whatever it was had formed lots of icicles and snowballs all over. Then by the time I was done grooming he was soaking wet. I walked him with the wool blanket on for a while and thought instead of getting out the saddle I'd just jump on bareback and use the wool blanket to soak up the wet. As I was trying to figure out how I would go about getting on his back Axel got impatient and started acting like an idiot. I finally gave up on that idea and just did a little bit of ground work. On my way back out I stopped and chatted with Jason for a while, he mentioned that all the horses were on edge the night before so apparently Axel was still feeling that.

Cody was also covered in ice but he had been standing out in the sun and was to the point where he was steaming just standing there. I was running behind at this point so I just said hi to him and went on my way.

Running out of Titles

I'm running out of blog titles when I visit the horses this often! It might not be until Saturday or Sunday that I can get out to the barn again this week so I thought I better use the last warm day to visit. Of course it started raining/sleeting on my way there. But yay for an indoor arena! I wouldn't want to be a horse when it rains in February, that's for sure. It wasn't coming down too horribly though. Axel and I went right into the arena to work on some lunging. Right as we were heading to the barn another border came in. She asked if it was alright if she rode while I was in there. She thought it would take her a little while to get that far. I had planned to stop working as soon as Axel did some good work so it wasn't a problem if she came in to ride. While she was grooming Axel did really well on the lunge. He trotted and cantered both directions, picked up both leads, and only had one tiny "weee" moment. For a while there I thought "who trained this horse to lunge!?" He did so well. The other border came in so I thought we'd keep up a little just to practice working and paying attention while there was other things going on. He was very interested in this pretty paint mare and tried his best to grow a hand or two to impress her. He remained calm but had some attention issues and we couldn't really get any momentum on the lunge so we worked on leading and paying attention that way. Overall I think it was a success. Axel appreciates that the barn owners keep nice green bales of alfalfa right by the arena gate for him to sneak on his way out. Hrm.

I didn't want to bring Cody into the arena with that flashy mare in there. He would have been beside himself trying to get her attention. And on top of that he was covered in mud so it wouldn't have been a great impression in the first place. I did very minor ground work with him just standing in the pasture, just a little backing up and the "stand" cue. I've taken to using "whoa" for stop and "stand" for when the horse is already stopped and I don't want him to move. Cody and Axel have had some exposure to "stand" when they were in Canby so I think it's working out alright. I found it actually worked with both Cody and Axel while I was trying to get back far enough to take their photos without them following me and sticking their nose in the camera. I figure even if I'm not out there doing a whole laundry list of activities they are still going to pick up on cues and things just by me being out there for a few minutes.

Two More Rides

Axel: Went out to ride Axel to see if we could fight through that left lead issue we were having. The best part about Axel is we can fight and fight and fight over whatever, leads or contact or trotting, but as soon as I get off he's friendly and wants to stand next to me. I guess he doesn't hold any grudges.

1. Relax in barn/arena - crosstied for grooming and Axel was very calm until Jason came in and chatted with us for a while. He wasn't close enough for Axel to smell or beg at so he got mad and started yanking on the leads.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits - when I finished riding and couldn't get that left lead I decided to try and lunge a bit. Axel was a little worked up about it and let out a few nice bucks and kicks. Right lead was no problem, left lead he still wasn't getting. Third try or so I was about to back him down to a trot when he switched his lead. Flying lead change! So that was the end of the lesson.
5. Move out - we moved out a bit at the trot but it wasn't with any sort of collection at all.
6. Use haunches - started some work with shoulder fore in prep to try and learn shoulder in, travers, and renvers. I figured that should help us use our haunches and get some more flexibility for cantering on that bad side.
7. Canter both leads - we rode for a while and Axel was trying to run the show. When I wanted to extend the walk he wanted to trot, when I wanted to trot he wanted to canter (or buck). We were still unable to pick up that left lead.

Cody: I'm trying to back up and go a little slower with Cody so instead of bringing him into the barn I just did a really quick attention activity with him in the pasture.

1. Relax in barn/arena
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - started working on the activity where I stand in front of Cody near the end of the lead and he's to only pay attention to me. If his attention wanders, I flip the lead rope to get his attention back. He was calm and comfortable in his pasture so he was pretty willing to stand there and stare at me.
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Gain confidence with rider
6. Load and unload

My second ride came when I drove out to Tricia's farm to ride Oly for her since she's been banned from riding horses. Oly was just about as obnoxious as Axel has been. Constantly yanking the reins out of my hands. I'm surprised my shoulders don't hurt more than they do. It was nice to know that it's not just my horse that acts like a fool. After riding 3 times in the past 2 days walking is a difficult task.

A Fairly Good Ride

The weather website said it was 19F and felt like 13F today but it seemed warmer than that to me. Maybe because the sun was out. I went out to the barn to see if Axel wanted to go for a ride.

1. Relax in barn/arena - crossed tied and groomed/tacked and was calm about the ordeal until I un-clipped him to put his bridle on, then I had a horse on the loose.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer - did some backing up on the leadline and undersaddle, nothing major at this point
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Move out - trotted fairly fast but wasn't extending at all, just trying to get him comfortable moving in the arena footing, he was a little cranky but I'm chalking that up to not having to do work for about a year now. Walk was okay but still close to his old slow self.
6. Use haunches - wasn't really happening right now, we'll get there.
7. Canter both leads - we got the right lead but just couldn't pick up that left lead. Tried some canter, trot, canter which didn't help. Tried picking up the canter in the corner, counter bending, etc, still no left lead. I couldn't push him any further since he was getting sweaty and I didn't want to spend all day trying to cool him out.

I was going to start working with Cody in/around the pasture but it was too darn icy to do any work outside. Another boarder had Danny inside the arena so I figured Cody would feel okay being inside since he wouldn't be alone. I think the first thing he and I need to work on is getting his confidence up with me as the handler and we'll have to start where he's comfortable. We'll work on some tasks I've picked up from a friend and her trainer, Kirsten Nelson.

1. Relax in barn/arena - I brushed him quickly while tied in the aisle, he could see Danny in the arena and was fairly calm about it.
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - he was much calmer about everything since he wasn't alone, we did some groundwork and seemed to be listening okay but he was pretty interested in other things going on.
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Gain confidence with rider
6. Load and unload

Quick Visit/Warm Weather

40+ degrees and rainy in February, the horses have so far managed to stay out of the mud but it's a little preview of how spring will be. I'll be sporting the muck boots and borrowing a cordless clippers to trim up Axel's legs, that's for sure. I just hope the melting disperses enough so that when it gets cold again it doesn't make a big ice rink. But yay for indoor arena!

Axel's progress: Axel was a super star tonight which I was not expecting. He was calm and even listening to me when he wasn't on the lead-line. We worked on standing still for a little while both on the lead-line and near the "mounting block" (bucket).

1. Relax in barn/arena - even without Jeff around tonight he was finally calm despite the wind making some evil noises
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - lunged walk and trot in both directions, free lunged trot and canter in one direction (surprised me that he was listening and actually got into that canter)
   
5. Move out - seems to be moving out really well on the lead and at liberty
6. Use haunches
   
7. Canter both leads - right lead only lunging at liberty
   

Cody's progress: Cody was so nervous, maybe it was the wind but he was just shaking. He was still obedient but beside himself with nerves. He either stepped on his tail in the pasture or he really sat down when I asked him to back up and stepped on his tail. So now I have a huge chunk of tail to add to my horse hair braiding supplies. I might have to braid his tail up if he keeps yanking chunks out.

1. Relax in barn/arena - fairly relaxed in the aisle while I brushed but still a little nervous
2. Relax in Stall
   
3. Pay attention to handler - extremely nervous in the arena, not paying attention at the halt
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - lunged walk and trot
   
5. Gain confidence with rider - super nervous even with me on the ground
6. Load and Unload
   

Standing Still

Back out to the barn again today to try and get one of the horses to cooperate. Jeff came with this time. Axel was either feeling cooperative since our last argument or he felt more secure with more people around. Either way he stood fairly nice and I rewarded him with an apple. We did some work standing still. If he moved a hoof, I made him put it back. I turned him loose after awhile and his running around was quite a bit less exciting than usual. So maybe he's finally starting to get the idea.

We turned him out and grabbed Cody to do similar work. I did a little lunging with him and then worked on standing still. About this time Cody's pasture mate and owner came in which pretty much removed any attention span Cody might have had. We spent a lot of time facing away from the barn aisle and Cody spent that time vibrating because he was so worried he couldn't look at what was happening. We tried for quite a while to get him to just relax for a second and look at me. I didn't completely win that battle but he had a few moments of licking and chewing so instead of giving him a heart attack we ended the lesson there. It's going to be a long road but it would be worse I'm sure if I couldn't get out there as often as I can. I'm interested to see if Axel is still as calm next time I go out alone.

Axel Follows Jeff Around from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

Try Try Again and Probably Again

I might have to rewrite my goals for these horses. Sheesh nothing like thinking you know your horses only to have them act completely different. I started with Axel again today and we went right into the arena to work on standing still. I started by grooming him in the arena tied to the wall because he was a mess, he must have rolled in something after getting sweaty last night. He might have been an ounce better than the day before but he was still pretty obnoxious. After working a lot on standing and not moving I let him have a break and run around (maybe that was a mistake). I figured if anything he's getting exercise and he was doing quite a bit of cantering in both leads (always the correct one to boot). So after some running around we worked just a bit more on standing and then he was ready to go back out. I had the wool blanket on him for a bit but he wasn't as sweaty as the night before and the sun was out so he was good to go.

Cody seems to be settling in as far as letting me take Axel away and not having a heart attack over it. I crosstied him and groomed him. He's starting with the pawing again so I snapped him with the buckle a few times while he was doing it to let him know I didn't approve. We worked a bit in the arena with some circling and then some standing still. He seemed pretty responsive so I grabbed the saddle to go for a ride and see what he thought. He too didn't want to stand to be tacked up but he was better than Axel. And the mounting process took a lot less time than with Axel but still something to work on. He was a little fast but he was pretty good about walking when I asked. He really wanted to stop at the gate but was willing to listen to my leg after he knew I wasn't giving in. He got pretty sweaty fast so we only rode around for a while. After riding I went through two blankets to try and cool him out. We spent quite a bit of time in the arena waiting. Someone that is moving her horse here at the end of the month came in so I chatted with her for a while while Cody was impatient to go out. He wasn't drying but he was cool so I let him back out in the sun.

I plan to work more on the attention issue but I thought first I should work on whoa and stand commands so they at least know what I'm trying to get at. Every time one would move a foot, he'd get put back in his spot and told to stand. No one perfected that yet so we'll keep working. So maybe it's back at it tomorrow. I'd like to ride but if Axel won't stand still he's gotta work on that. What little I did ride yesterday and today has made my inner thighs sore, so I guess it's been a while.

Frustration

Wow was tonight a frustrating evening. It was nice out, I left work early, and I was going to take my calm, slow, plod-along horse, Axel, and ride in the arena. Led him into the barn and he was calm and willing. Crosstied him to groom and I think that's where things went down hill. After standing in the crossties for a while he started jerking his head around, getting really mad at the ropes. He would paw at the cement ground and just fling his head all the while putting pressure on himself since he had the rope halter on.

I tacked him up and took him into the arena to put on his bridle. I was going to tie him to the tie ring in there but he was kicking at the wall and trying to walk away and just not standing still. I let him do a couple circles in the arena on his own and then I attempted the bridle again. He took the bit but kept flinging his head not letting me buckle everything up. Standing still was not happening. Finally got him ready to go and lead him over to my make shift mounting block. The mounting process took probably 20 minutes. He would not stand still. Head flinging, gnawing on the bit, and being generally rude. We haven't really worked on ground manners too much because he's never really had any issues with it but it was evident now that he had zero concern for manners.

I finally was able to get on in a split second that he stood still. He wasn't nearly as awful under saddle, or I was able to handle it better. He had quite the walk, which is not something he ever has. He threw a few minor attempts at a buck or whatever. We worked on some figure eights and serpentines, I thought that would get him listening. He spent the whole time fighting with the bit. His body was cooperating but his head was not in the game in the least bit. When I finally got a good halt with no yanking at the reins I dismounted. My intention was to lunge him and somehow try and win the battle he started but there wasn't a lunge line around. I chased him a few times at liberty and he bolted around like an idiot.

He was pretty sweaty by the end of all this. Mostly I think he was sweaty from working himself up, not from anything physical that we did. I put the cooler on him and walked him around the arena for quite a while. He cooled off but was still wet. I thought he might roll so I took the cooler off but he just took off running again, so it was back on with the cooler and more walking. I finally decided to take the cooler off and put him in a stall to dry.

I grabbed Cody to bring him in and groom and give me something to do while Axel dried. He hadn't even been calling as far as I could tell. He was standing back from the gate and just hanging out. Cody was really good in the crossties. Concerned about what was going on around him, he still kept trying to turn around but he was just trying to see. The barn owner's brought in Amigo, so the two were facing each other in two sets of cross ties. Cody got pretty tall looking at the new horse but they both stood there and didn't squeal or anything. I turned him back out and went back to deal with Axel.

Still a wet mess and steaming I put the cooler back on yet again and tried to tie him again so I could try and scrub him dry. I scrubbed for a while but I think at this point the fleece was wet. He wasn't going to stand there any longer and I was tired of getting head butted. He was so angry, flinging his head around, he smacked his head into the part of the stall that sticks out for latching. I finally just took him outside and walked him for a while, he wasn't steaming any more but still wet. He wasn't going to dry if he had to stay inside and get himself worked up so I just took him back to the pasture. It was still 37F out so there wasn't much more I could do. I checked on him before I left and he wasn't shivering at all and dinner would be served sooner than later.

Ug. So frustrating dealing with rude ground manners. I'll go back and try again in the morning. I'll bring more blankets this time. This video is from Wednesday, just playing around with different websites to upload these to.

Axel running around a bit from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

Getting Closer

Cody: brought him in the barn and actually backed him through the tack room. I was able to cross tie him finally. He was concerned that something was going on outside the far barn door so he would have stood a lot better had he been facing that way but overall it went well. Turned him out in the arena for a few minutes, he mostly just hung out at the gate. Worked at liberty for a few minutes and then on the lead. He was a lot more attentive but we still need some big lessons in attention. I almost got on bareback but since he doesn't stand by the fence while I climb up it just wasn't happening.

Axel: he called a few times while I was in the barn with Cody but he wasn't too horrible. I put him in the stall while I shut the doors. He figured out the little hole for his head in the door right away. I groomed him a little in the stall and he had a piece of apple. I turned him out in the arena and he ran around for quite a while. He hangs out by the gate a lot so I figured I'd give him an apple when we were in the middle of the arena. Before he got to the middle he spontaneously did some spectacular moves I've never seen him do before (check out the low quality video). We did some real simple work on the lead line before I brought him back outside. Cody had been calling quite a bit and I think that's what send him running most of the times. I think we'll definitely be ready to ride on Friday and this weekend assuming I can actually get on the horses with no mounting block.

Still Trying

Okay so didn't I say these would be shorter? I'll do my best.

Cody and Axel's pasture mate, Danny, was in the barn with the vet and then working in the arena. Both boys were standing at the far end of the pasture while their pasture neighbor, Vinny, was freaking out because no one was near the fence to visit with him. Word has it that in a matter of a single day both Cody and Axel have climbed the ladder and Danny is now the bottom of the herd (previously Danny was boss man).

Axel: brought him into the barn and he was calm enough that I cross tied him and was able to groom him finally. We had a snack and visited the stall for a moment. Then we joined Danny in the arena for a little while. Did some walking around, walked over and backed off of the practice bridge, and just kind of hung out. Axel was calmer than the previous day but still had some spunk in him. He likes to headbutt when he doesn't get his way.

Cody: expecting Cody to be a sweaty mess after being in the pasture alone, I was ready with the cooler but when I brought Axel back he was just standing at the gate. He had called a few times but apparently didn't pace at all. He was looking for us over the vehicles and looked a bit like a giraffe. He and I went in the barn, visited the stall, and then into the arena, he wasn't quite calm enough for the cross ties. He was a bit distracted in the arena and wasn't completely with me but he wasn't calling out so it's progress.

I think by Friday I should be able to ride Axel, we'll see how he does tomorrow as far as being calm in the barn (if there's no one else there that is, not sure if that affected his calmness or not tonight).

Impatient

Ran out to the barn later than I had planned. But I was greeted by both Cody and Axel at the gate. They actually called out when one of the barn owners drove up. Guess it doesn't take long to learn who carries the feed buckets, eh? I had a heck of a time getting Cody out of the pasture, Axel kept wanting to sneak out. He was nearly charging for the gate. I walked Cody up to the barn, through the tack room, and into the barn aisle. He was actually fairly calm about it, still takes a little coaxing to get him through the tack room but his reaction is similar to his trailer loading issues. So getting him comfortable with the tack room will only help the trailer loading, right?

I tied him for a minute in the aisle, I didn't cross tie him yet as I had a rope halter on him and we haven't worked on the cross ties yet. He was calmer than the day prior but still a little agitated. I turned him out in the arena where he trotted around a bit. No calling or anything. I lunged him a few times, he was a little more defiant than Sunday but still pretty good, he was willing to walk today. When I was done with that I walked him into a stall and tried to give him a treat but he was more concerned with sniffing everything.

After shooing Axel out of the way to get Cody back in the pasture I grabbed Axel and went back to the barn. Cody started calling a bit but I couldn't hear any running. Axel even needed some coaxing to go into the tack room. I guess even he needs some time to adjust. He was quite a bit more worked up that Cody for once. I put him in the arena right away and he trotted around for a while, then he cantered around (both leads weee), then he galloped around a bit. After that he wandered around snorting at everything. He wasn't going to stand still for grooming so I lunged him around just a few times (he's not very good at it yet).

Both horses have lost a bit of their ground manners when they are worked up about whatever it is they are worked up about. There was minor improvements so we'll keep working on it by just going into the barn and not doing anything terribly difficult. I, for one, am getting impatient, I want to ride and and have a good time! Hehe. Or at the very least work with a horse for more than 2 minutes at a time.

Day 2

Another entry so soon? You know it. 2 miles away is going to mean more posts more often. Maybe shorter posts but more of them.

I actually spent nearly 4 hours out there today. I was greeted by the 3 great danes barreling down the driveway as I drove up. They were just out for their bathroom break. No one else was around. I decided to start with Axel so I haltered him and brought him into the barn. He was slightly hesitant to go in the door and then hesitant to go into the stall. I left him in the stall and went to check to make sure Cody wasn't going to have a coronary. He was calling a lot but seemed to be standing in one place so I figured he'd be better off in his paddock than if I tried to put him in a stall as well.

I let Axel loose in the arena and he trotted around for a while checking the place out but he wasn't terribly calm about it. He slammed himself against the gate a few times in protest. He also kept calling to Cody or anyone that would answer. I tried to groom him for a while but he was pretty unhappy about being separated. I decided to take him back to Cody and groom in the paddock since it was still really nice out.

When I was done with Axel I brought Cody into the barn to see what he thought. I didn't try a stall with him, maybe sometime in the future. I put him in the arena and he ran around frantic and calling. I didn't attempt to groom him he wasn't going to stand still. I did, however, lunge him a few times in each direction and I got some good whoas and some licking and chewing so that's where we stopped and went back outside. I groomed him out there and put him back in with Axel.

By this time another boarder arrived so I stayed and chatted with her for quite a while. She has the black TWH that is next to Cody and Axel's paddock. I watched her ride for a while and she offered for me to try him out since I hadn't ridden a Walker before. He was kind of fun to ride but since I don't really know what I'm doing with a gaited horse I still like my boys best. When she was done she turned her horse out and we chatted for a while when the barn owner's came in with their horse who had been out for training. We decided to put Cody and Axel in with the TWH and move the young Grulla into the paddock by himself.

There were no fireworks at all. All three of the horses took off running for the back end of the pasture, circled around a bit and then ran back. There was a bit of sniffing and more running around but no squealing or kicking so I think they will get along just fine. And hopefully sooner than later I can take one horse out and not have the other pacing himself silly in the pasture alone.

Good news, I saw Cody drink from the automatic waterer so he's got that all figured out. I'm sure Axel has it figured out as well. I was concerned that Cody would be frightened of it or just not want to drink the "yucky" different tasting water but my fears were put at ease. I still have to figure out what to do about Axel's supplement. Right now I'm out so it's not a big deal. I might just feed it myself when I'm out there since I think I can get out there most days of the week. Then they don't have to separate him and muck with that whole deal.

A New Chapter

Yesterday afternoon was the first page in a new chapter for Cody and Axel. Jeff and I met Stephanie out at the barn. She had just got done showing Kalani to a potential buyer (Kalani decided to do everything opposite from what Steph told the buyer, so we don't think he's sold just yet). Patti et al was packing up some trailers to start moving to their new farm. And Tricia was on her way with her trailer. It was a packed house. We carried the remaining odds and ends to the truck. Patti and her crew were ready to pull out just as Tricia arrived with the trailer. We were pretty happy to not have an audience for loading.

Since Cody doesn't always load very quickly the last thing we need is "help." When everything was in the truck and all that was left was horses, Steph grabbed Cody and I grabbed Axel and we walked down the yard to the sounds of Kalani and other horses calling. Cody only balked at the trailer a few times before he got on. Even the times that he balked were minimal, just backing up, none of his usual flinging his head up in the air and flying backwards. Axel jumped right on as usual. I rode with Jeff in his truck and we led the way, Steph jumped in with Tricia and the trailer.

When we got to the new barn, Steph unloaded Cody, who unloaded easier than he loaded. No flying backwards, just calm walking out even while Axel and the other horses called out. I unloaded Axel by turning him around, I didn't feel like fighting at this point. Axel was a little warm and Cody was a sweaty mess from the ride, at least they didn't freeze. Luckily it was 44F and sunny, couldn't ask for better weather in January.

We didn't waste time wandering around, we put Cody and Axel in an empty paddock between two pastures each with two other horses. The north pasture had a little colored Arab (I think, sure moved like an Arab) that kept running back and forth looking very pretty. That horse's pasture mate was in the arena riding around with her owner. The south pasture had two geldings, a Grulla named Vinny and a black TWH named Danny. The boys started by meeting the geldings, it was pretty calm but they kept getting too close to the fence and getting zapped. When they went to meet the Arab they got smarter and sniffed from under the fence. They went back and forth several times, everything was pretty calm with the Arab but Axel was squealing and kicking at the geldings. I'm not sure if it was because they were geldings or because the fence kept zapping but Axel wasn't terribly happy with the other boys. I just hope he doesn't get caught up in the fence and take it down or anything.

We watched them run around for a little while, put out some hay to keep them busy and then took a little tour of the barn. Another boarder was riding in the arena, it was nice to see she was riding english so I won't be the odd man out. I think the boarders are pretty varied in disciplines so that's nice. The footing in the arena is nice, it's sand and rubber and it doesn't freeze. They've got a radio in there as well. They showed me which stalls weren't getting used so I could put the boys in a stall when I need or to get them used to it. I could have hung out all day watching the boys goof around or whatever but we were getting hungry and Tricia probably needed to get the trailer back sooner than later. We parked the trailer at our house, piled into Jeff's truck, and got some lunch at Gossips.

I'm doing my best to refrain from going out there at the crack of dawn. I think I'll head out around noon. The barn owners have to go pick up another horse and will be gone for a while, I kind of just want to hang out and check things out on my own for a bit. Another boarder that I've been talking to online might swing out as well, I have to give her a call a bit later. I'm hoping to bring them both in the arena and a stall too see what they think. Whether or not I can do this one horse at a time will remain to be seen. Once they settle in they'll be with Danny and Vinny so taking one horse away won't be too much of an issue. Right now it might be quite the event. Stay tuned!