We Can Ride Trail Ride

Despite the gorgeous weather the turn out for the WCR trail ride was dismal. But those of us that did make it made the best of it. Steph and I and Jeff went to the barn early to pack up the trailer and get the horses ready to go. A was going to meet us and follow us over. I successfully backed the truck up to the trailer and then pulled the trailer out of it's parking spot so we could load. Axel got in first as usual with no issues. Cody got in with only a minor amount of reassuring and *NO* backing out. We then had to help Vinnie load in A's trailer so the boys stood in the trailer waiting and they were exceptionally patient. I was just surprised Cody got in so willingly and that Axel didn't put up a fuss while standing there waiting.

When everyone was loaded up and ready to go we pulled out and hit the road, me driving! Only one issue that could have been a big deal, stopped at a light I probably should have just ran, on the way. We missed a turn and got a little lost but it only took a trip around the block to get corrected. And parking at the park was pretty easy since we were fairly early. It was warm out so the boys were pretty sweaty when they unloaded, then they stood in the sun eating hay while we situated the trail ride. So by the time everything was set I had two sweaty messes. We tried to put them in the shade and cool them off before they got their massages but they were still pretty nasty and the poor massage gal had some really dirty hands after my boys. Cody was kind of fussy between wanting to keep an eye on everything around him and the flies I'm not sure he took time to enjoy his massage. Axel had some issues with the flies as well and he had the hiccups. Seriously, hiccups. So weird. But since he's an itchy horse this year he did show us which spots he was happy to have massaged by curling his lip and making everyone laugh.

When it was evident no one else was going to show up, A, Steph, another gal, and I set out to the wooded portion of the trail to avoid the heat. It was pretty rocky and just about all of the horses in our group were unhappy about that. Even Cody with his boots on wanted to wander into the woods instead of staying on the trail. We made a stop in the lake for a sip of water. Cody stayed on shore, it was so muddy I was afraid he'd loose a boot. Axel tried to go for a swim and ended up covered in mud. We decided to stop back at the picnic area and take a break before heading out on one more loop of the trail. The horses appreciated the break and a sip of water and more fly spray while we packed up some of our stuff so we were ready at the end of the day.

A ended up bringing in the second most money so she picked out the western saddle and Steph as usual brought in the most money and was taking home the english saddle. When everyone was set to go we went out on the dog/horse trail that goes around one of the lakes. We had been on that trail the first time we visited Murphy. So now there's just one loop or so that we haven't seen. By the end of the day the horses were tired as well as the people. My hips were killing me, my stirrups were too long but since we were taking it easy I didn't bother fixing them. I think it's what made my hips hurt though. So up a couple holes on that saddle next time.

After we untacked and everyone had their share of water we dumped a few buckets on them to wash off some of the sweat and mud. Everyone loaded like an expert and they were starting to figure out how they need to squish a little for us to close the dividers in the trailer. It was a fairly uneventful drive home in the trailer and everyone survived. Cody unloaded so carefully and quietly he got extra praise as I was so impressed. Sadly I think it's because he's afraid now, but a quiet unloading horse is a quiet unloading horse.

Cows!

We got the trailer all packed up and ready to go, groomed the horses, hand grazed them for a while, chatted with J about where to park the trailer when we returned, and off we went. Axel got in like a champ but he was pretty squished in his slant. Cody took a small amount of coaxing but not bad at all, he's at about 2-3 tries now, which sure beats hours. Cody was also a bit squished in his slant so we're back to the drawing board on how to modify the trailer so they fit better.

Axel was pretty worked up when he got off the trailer (turned around and walked out just to make life easier), and he was worked up in the arena while Jeff tried to adjust the saddle and/or mount. So while we were supposed to be warming up and visiting cows over the fence, I suggested that I warm Axel up for Jeff. Cody was feeling calm and collected so he pretty much stood there while Axel kind of bounced around the arena. At that point I thought it was best that I just stick with Axel and Jeff stay with Cody. Axel doesn't quite have my number as much as he has Jeff's and I didn't think it'd be fun for Jeff if Axel was a pill the whole time.

Since Cody and Axel didn't seem fazed by the cows at all when we split up in two groups we started with the cows. Both horses could really care less about the cows. If we got close enough without moving the cows Axel would stand there nose to nose with a cow. If the cows didn't move he wasn't too excited to walk right into the middle of the group. And if the cows ran behind him he'd kick at them and pin his ears. But other than that he seemed pretty interested and locked on a few times. Cody did pretty well, he was feeling a little slow but he followed the cows without an issue. Jeff said he thought he locked on a few times as well.

When we swapped groups Jeff and I worked in the arena and they taught us a few things. We worked on getting a whoa as well as some rollbacks to get the horse on the haunches. Nothing ground breaking but it was good for Jeff to have a little instruction on some basic riding skills. Axel threw out a couple bucks to show his disapproval of having to work, or something. The trainer asked if she could try Axel for a bit, so I thought it was only fair to share the pain. I sat on her horse but didn't really end up riding because I was busy watching her work Axel. Mostly she was trying to get him to give his head and back up when asked. After a lot of fighting she got him working pretty good and also doing some right turns which I guess he was being ornry about. Surprisingly later when I was back on him and asked for a backup he did really well. At the end of the night we split up groups again and did some kind of team penning work which was a good time. Axel managed to kick a cow but I don't think he got her too hard, naughty horse.

Overall it went well and it was a good time. I think the horses enjoyed themselves and were happy for something different. Danny got a little less afraid of cows but I don't think he's going to run out and work on a ranch any time soon. Things only went south when we got back to the barn. We had put Cody in the last stall and he stepped out of the trailer before he was untied. He freaked out and smashed his head into mine and in turn into the wall of the trailer. He must have stepped on me as well, I've got a huge bruise on the back of my left leg and my right foot is swollen a bit, thank goodness for the steel toed boots. Despite his freak out, we calmed him down and stepped him out of the trailer. When he had his back feet out we stood there calm and I petted him for a while before getting all the way out. So we'll see how he does next time, but he won't be in that last stall that's for sure. But I was surprised how he calmed down pretty easily. He's really mellowed out lately.

So that was our little cow adventure.

Training Ride

We're just going to call this one a "training" ride. I zipped on over to the barn where B and A were waiting to go on a trail ride. I decided it was Axel's turn and he hopped into the last spot in the slant load trailer. Last spot = not as far to back out + we've been working on backing off the bridge and out the barn door = easy unloading. WRONG. He refused to get out. The problem appears to be that with the corner tack room in a slant load, he can't see where he's going. He turns his head to the left and presses his body up against the opposite wall. He can't turn around and in that position if he started to back up he'd hit that opposite wall. He won't turn his head straight and move his butt to the left and back out. After a lot of swearing and pushing and pulling and tapping and hitting and just about everything we could think of, he finally pretty much fell out of the trailer. We had unbalanced him enough by pulling on his tail a bit that he stepped back and sideways and we kept him moving with the momentum and he was finally out. New lesson: backing up with blinders on.

So after we got him out of the trailer we went on our happy way. Nothing like having to hitch a ride in the first place only to have your horse do something as stupid as not wanting to get out of the trailer. When we got to the little pond/lake thing B decided Diva should go in the water. She hates water and we were ready for a bit of a battle. Axel and Danny jumped right in, and out, and in, and out ad nauseum. Diva did not want to get in. After a lot of fighting (similar to the trailer unloading event) she finally got some feet in the water. She was still not terribly happy about the situation but she stood there, walked around a bit, and didn't completely loose her mind. So we called it a success and headed back to the trailers. All in all it was a short ride but after two big battles we were spent.

Instead of the fight we put Danny in the slant load with Diva and Axel spent the ride home in the stock trailer by himself crying the whole way. Since I'm a glutton for punishment I chose to back him out of the stock trailer. Which he did. Perfectly. So I think that just reinforces the reason he won't get out of the slant is because he can't see.

Farrier Day

Just got back from the barn. The farrier was out to trim everyone up. The flies make for trimming feet a little more tricky but everyone managed to stand pretty well. When that was all said and done I went to ride Axel in the arena while A worked with Vinnie. It's always a good lesson for Axel to be in the arena when someone else is working since he tends to not like other horses much. He managed to shake his bridle off, luckily I didn't have to reward him by dismounting, A put the bridle back on for me and we trotted off. Of course that just made him mad and he threw out a few bucks in response. When I got a few nice things out of him I dismounted and lunged him for a bit. I'm hoping if I can get him increasingly comfortable on the lunge he'll start feeling better under saddle. He threw a few good bucks and fancy moves on the lunge but leveled out and worked well so we called it a night.

On the Road Again

One of the other boarders, henceforth known as A, has decided to buy Vinny from the barn owner, henceforth known as J. So she wanted to go for a ride last night. Unfortunately the hunter girls were having their lesson so A couldn't lunge Vinny before riding so she saddled up Danny instead. J got Jessie ready and I got Axel and we took off down the road. Axel (and Cody) need to put on some serious moves here pretty quick or we won't be able to ride with all these TWHs. They are a fast bunch and even with Axel feeling pretty good lately, we still lag behind. We ended up trotting most of the ride. While that's probably good for Axel's weight, it's probably not good for his foot. In any case he was trotting very nicely. He had a few minor moments of crankiness towards the other horses but didn't do anything about it. It probably helps that they are never behind us. When we got back A and Vinny's new co-owner played around a bit in the arena. He looks a lot like Axel as far as preferring the halt to any other gait. But he's only 3 so it might not be too hard to train him to move out once in a while.