Flying a Kite

Made it out to the barn on a day when it was warm enough I didn't have to wear 10 layers of clothes, and boy was it nice. N was getting Cody ready and I had Axel in the aisle with him. Of course that didn't stop Cody from sweating just standing there. A showed up and got Danny ready while Cody was warmed up and Axel was long lined for a while. We decided we should all head out on the road for a while and enjoy the weather. I decided it was probably going to be easier to just lead Axel on the road rather than ground drive him but I left his tack on, figured maybe he'd stay in "work" mode that way.

Things started off a bit rocky. Stitch was alone in his paddock and subsequently running the fence line and calling. We were barely out of the driveway when Axel took flight. He went straight up in the air with all four feet, bounced a couple times, and then came down calm as can be. So we walked on. A little while later he did the same thing. When cars would pass we'd stop and wait just to be on the safe side. Cody was very well behaved and even led the pack for most of the ride. Axel repeatedly flew up in the air for no reason. Our goal was to make it the full mile but as we were getting about a 1/4 mile away from our destination Danny decided there was some horse-eating corn stalks in the far ditch and had some moments of trepidation. It eventually led to him backing up til he hit the near side of the ditch. I think he spun around at the change of footing and lept into the ditch. Well most of the snow is melted around here but the ditch has a good 3-4 feet still in it. Basically the top of the snow in the ditch is level with the road. Danny was unable to float on top of this snow and ended up sunk to his belly. A was able to get off and re-situate her reins to use as a lead while Danny laid in the snow patiently waiting the "ok" to work himself out of his predicament. And there I stood not taking photos with my phone. Duh.

In the end he made it out to the field side of the ditch and they walked back toward the nearest driveway so they could get back on the road. Unfortunately the field was very muddy so it wasn't a clean walk for either horse nor leader. We decided that was a good time to head back. Cody was a little wound up on the walk back, when Danny thrashed in the snow, Axel freaked out a bit and Cody tried to head for home. Nice to know when his buddies are in trouble he'll just be getting the heck out of there ;) We did make it back in one piece, Cody using his best Rollkur impression the whole way. Halfway down the driveway Axel decided to rear and jump around like an idiot so he sealed his fate for some lunging.

I haven't been lunging him much because of his knee but in my mind if you are sound enough to leap in the air or rear then you are sound enough to sweat some energy off on the lunge line. So he trotted and cantered a bit and it didn't take long before he came back to earth. Apparently a little adrenaline makes for a nice painkiller for arthritis.

All three horses rolled on their lead lines and we stood around and chatted for quite some time. It's been a while since there's been more than one or two people at the barn at one time and the weather was nice so we didn't freeze standing out there talking. Now if only I could have been working on my favorite part of horse riding: practicing the halt under saddle while chatting with people ;) I should get plenty of practice with that later this summer when I can get back on a horse again, hopefully after wearing Axel out first!

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.

Ouch

I thought for sure my inner thighs would be sore today after riding on Saturday but instead my abs/ribs are killing me. I feel like I did a million sit ups or something.

It was finally 50F on Saturday so a trip to the barn was required. Apparently everyone else felt the same way. Two other boarders were out getting ready to ride as well. The owner of the little Arab and the owner of Steele, who I later found out is a TWH/Andalusian (gorgeous trot - so jealous). Cody was first since Axel likes to kick at other horses, I thought life would be easier with a crowded arena and Cody. It was evident that it is finally spring, Cody found the mud and was shedding on top of it.

1. Relax in barn/arena - I groomed Cody in the cross ties, he was facing the little Arab mare for a while and the TWH/Andy for a while so he was pretty calm and just interested in the other horse. When they went into the arena he was more concerned luckily I was just about done so he didn't have to figit for too long.
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - he did pretty well undersaddle. I didn't want to use just the rope halter with two other horses in the arena so I just used Axel's snaffle. Cody doesn't like the snaffle so he was a little worked up about that but he settled down and did his best to listen to me on his back. If I keep it up I think he'll come around, hopefully I can find a bit that he's happy with so he can pay attention to me instead of the thing in his mouth.
4. Lunge 3 gaits - when I untacked the other horses had left the arena and Cody was beside himself so I lunged him a few times around each direction to get his attention back. It was mostly trot and a bit of canter just on the 12' lead.
5. Gain confidence with rider - we're making some baby steps under saddle which I will hopefully supplement with ground driving when I get some long lines, but he had his moments of listening to me and moments of not listening to me. He's not bending right now because he's too concerned what's going on around him but he listens to commands like "easy" and he's getting better at walking when I ask. I am hoping some of this arena work with other horses will translate to the trail.
6. Load and unload

The other two boarders were grooming up their horses after riding when I brought Axel in. There's only two cross ties and since Axel isn't particularly hospitable to other horses I put him in the arena tied to the hitch they have in there.

1. Relax in barn/arena - believe it or not he stood there tied like a statue even with other horses in the barn that he couldn't see. There was even some calling being done by the mare to her pasture mate and he still stood nicely. I suppose I should have just groomed him and turned him out as a reward but I didn't.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits - I tacked up the big black, shedding, muddy horse and decided to lunge him for some warm up time with the regular lunge line. He's getting pretty good at the lunging bit, a little confused when we first start out but I'm surprised how quickly he picked it up. Walk, trot, and canter with a few bucks at the canter but nothing major.
5. Move out - we worked a bit on moving out at the walk and he started out pretty good, then we did some trotting but when I post on the left diagonal he does not appreciate it. The left diagonal is the one that I'd be sitting when he puts down that sore back foot so I suppose it makes sense. I haven't figured out if it'd be better to use the wrong diagonal with him so he's not sore or if that will just encourage him to be off balance.
6. Use haunches
7. Canter both leads - We tried some cantering as well, he did okay to the right a few minor bucks but I was able to push him through. The left was a bit of a different story. First time it was the wrong lead. Second time it was disunited and I could hardly sit it (probably the biggest factor in my sore abs), the last few times I think he had the right lead but there was some bucking so I pushed him through that and tried to keep him going.

So when I was done working with Axel he had his usual roll in the arena and I brought him back out to the paddock. I tried to give both horses some apples, banana, and oatmeal cookies. Amazingly enough they weren't too thrilled with the oatmeal cookies which surprised me. Of course as soon as I moved some of the banana and cookies for Danny to eat then Axel and Cody were jealous and wanted to eat the stuff. So I guess the key to getting horses to eat something they don't want to eat is to give it to their pasture mate. Go figure. So far the mud isn't too bad but it'll be here sooner than later. Axel's back legs seem okay so far but I think I'll see if I can borrow Steph's cordless clippers to clean up his legs to help prevent the mud fever that is bound to happen. I also have to remember to groom them in the aisle or outside for a while when they are shedding, it's too hard to pick up the hair from the arena.

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.