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!

Maybe the last ride at Pinto Creek

This might have been my last ride at Pinto Creek Ranch! Yesterday I picked up Steph and we went out to go for a ride. It was finally positive temperatures after 3-4 days of -30F. 25F felt like spring. Of course as soon as I get there it starts snowing, but we didn't let that stop us. Naturally our first order of business was to turn the horses out in the side pasture and watch them run. There were no foot prints out there so I figured they hadn't been out there in a while. This time I lucked out and everyone went for a spin in the snow, running and playing, and having a grand ole time. I made a few goofy videos of them running which you can check out here:

Don't mind the soundtracks, I was trying to cover up the talking on some of the videos and it's hard to find 18 second music.

When everyone was done with their romp in the snow Axel and Kalani came in the barn to get groomed to go for a ride. I attempted to give Axel some bute, who knows if he ate it all or not. After all that running and then a ride down the road I thought he might just be sore the next day. He was feeling pretty good at the time though. Our ride down the road was fairly uneventful. Kalani was a little speed demon but can you blame them after standing still for a week due to ice and cold? Axel was lagging behind as usual but seemed pretty comfortable with it. The road wasn't too slippery but we did our best to keep it at a walk just in case. Axel and I are going to have to work on lateral movement, right now when I put one leg on to move him out of the ditch he thinks that means speed up, and since he's been a little cranky about "speed up" lately he flings his head and pretends he's going to buck. So the walk down the road was okay. The walk back was quite a bit faster. The sad thing is that we don't get that walk out of Axel very often so when it happens I really want to encourage it, but on the snow and ice and Axel's not so coordination I wasn't really comfortable letting him move out like that. He offered the trot a few times and was difficult to slow down. Luckily those times Kalani was right in front of us so we didn't go for an out of control buck/canter down the slippery road.

After we made it back safely we un tacked, cleaned out hooves, and gathered more of my junk to bring home. I grabbed two of my saddles and left the AP saddle since Steph has been using it for Kalani. I'll get the two synthetic western saddles after Kiko and Kalani sell. I think all that is left to grab when we haul horses is the grooming box and first aid kit. I have to say I am looking forward to having an indoor arena and not having to slow Axel down when he's feeling frisky.

Just a Visit - A New Barn

Went out to the barn today to visit the boys. It was warm-ish and I thought maybe I'd ride. But when I got out there it just wasn't going to happen. So I just groomed both boys and cleaned the ice out of their hooves. Everyone was pretty mellow, standing in the pasture just chillin' out. The wind was coming up and it was starting to rain a bit and there was snow predicted so I didn't stay too long.

Yesterday I went out to see the barn that I found on Craigslist. I've decided to board Cody and Axel there. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't have all the fancy amenities that some of the other barns had but most of the amenities are things I probably wouldn't utilize too often. It's 2 miles from our house and it has an indoor arena. They feed hay and grain twice a day and they'll feed Axel his supplement. They have 5 or so pastures and they have the horses divided into small groups with a total of 8 horses right now. They have enough stalls for all the horses so if it gets really cold they bring in everyone even if they are on pasture board. It's pretty much just a private residence so very similar to what I'm used to right now with some added bonuses. I think it'll be an easier transition than going to a big full fledged boarding barn with 40 horses. And did I mention it's 2 miles from our house? So needless to say I'm excited to get the boys moved and be able to see them more often and ride a lot more. Poor boys, they don't know what they are getting into.

Still on the Search

I missed another gorgeous day that would have been great at the barn.  New Year's day was warm, sunny, and nice.  But laziness got the best of me and I stayed home.  It's harder and harder to motivate myself to drive 30 miles to see the horses when I may or may not be able to do anything when I get there.  This is definitely the time of year when "indoor arena" is creeping higher and higher on my priority list for new barns.

Wednesday I had the day off of work and I went and checked out another barn.  The barn owner for this particular barn wanted to interview me for her open spots.  I'm not sure when I'll hear back from her but I might be leaning away from that barn the longer I think about it.  The location is perfect, 4 miles from work.  And it has the amenities and price that I'm looking for.  Unfortunately they have a waiting list for tack room space and the barn owner has a lot of rules and tends to be quite possessive of the boarded horses (self-proclaimed).

I found a Craigslist ad last night for a barn 2 miles from our house.  For some strange reason the ad was flagged shortly after I found it.  Luckily I had the information and the number so I was able to call and set up a meeting for tonight.  Like I said, it's 2 miles down the road, has a small indoor arena, has some good reviews from some folks, is reportedly clean, and is a smaller barn/less horses.  I really want to like this place (of course I really wanted to like the last place as well) so hopefully it'll work out.  It is a tiny bit more expensive than the last two barns I looked at but depending on if they charge for feeding supplements or not it could be about the same.  I don't think there will be on-site trails but I think it's on a dirt road.  I think with the location it might mean more frequent short trips and just riding in the arena or on the road instead of less frequent long trips and riding on the trails.  Plus if I'm riding alone I'd rather do it in the arena anyway.

One thing is for sure, Jeff will be happy when I pick a barn because perhaps then he will get to stop hearing about all of this constantly.  At least that's what he thinks!

Nice Day and Nowhere to Ride

I finally get around to getting out to the barn after what seems like ages. It was super sunny, warm, and just a really nice day. Unfortunately everything was an ice skating rink. The road was icy, the yard to get to the road was icy, the pasture was icy, the side pasture was icy frozen snow as well as the round pen. Cody was walking very tender again but I'm pretty sure it's just the ice and not laminitis. He's always been very wobbly on the ice. Axel seemed to be walking fine but I guess he's been on bute again for the past few days. I foresee a lot of trips to the barn when I move them closer, when I have to do the bute myself.

Since I couldn't ride I just groomed. I tried to give some Christmas treats but all Cody and Axel wanted out of my mixture was the apples. They weren't fond of the peppermints, just spit them out. And the trail mix I added they just didn't eat at all. I did start ground driving Cody again. I've only tried once with him and didn't get very far. The plan is to start working on ground driving to build his confidence when he can't see me. He was a bit confused by what I was doing but seemed to get the hang of it after a while. I spent a lot of time a little off to his side instead of directly behind him. But since he was confused he needed me in that spot to push him forward. We'll work up to me being directly behind him. I'm not sure if I should work in verbal "gee" and "haw" type commands or just stick with the reins on that.

Axel just got a good grooming and some apples when he came inside. I thought maybe he'd have a nice roll in the dirt but he just wanted to explore and see if he could find more hay. Free choice hay is going to leave me with some fat fat horses I think. At least I will have a chance to ride more with an indoor arena. Though it's a shame to ride inside on such a nice day, I couldn't ride at all where they live now.

Southwind Stables

Saturday I went out to check out a barn called Southwind Stables. It's about 10 miles from our house towards Cannon Falls in a town called Hampton. Here's the jist of the visit:

Indoor Arena
Smallish Tack Room
Numerous Pastures
45 Head
Indoor Bathroom
Free Choice Hay
Grain 2x Day
Outdoor Arena
Round Pen
Choose your own vet
Choose your own farrier
Mostly adult trail riders, western, hunt seat

I want to check out a few more barns but for the price/amenities/locale Southwind might be the forerunner.

Boarding Woes

So there's a boarding barn maybe 6 miles from my house. I'm very interested in boarding there. I haven't visited the facility yet so I'm not totally decided but 6 miles away is hard to pass up. The pasture board is $100 more a month (total) than I'm paying right now. But I'd save gas. But it doesn't look like they feed grain to the pasture horses which makes it difficult for Axel to get his supplement.

I emailed them to find out about boarding my horses there but their pasture board isn't ready yet and won't be until spring. They can put me on a waiting list or set up a paddock for me. The paddock board is $200/month more than I pay now (total) but includes grain twice a day.

Oh but they have a multiple horse discount (which I'm finding most places do) but it's only $10 (which I'm finding is normal).

So I'm really going to have to figure this out and start touring some barns. Do I pay $200 extra per month for the super convenience and nice amenities? Or do I keep driving a ways to see the horses, not have quite as good amenities and pay what I'm paying now?

Figuring this out is going to suck and I only have about a month since I have to find a place and arrange for them to be moved on Feb. 1. Eep!

Updates from the Barn

I haven't been out to the barn in a week, it's been too snowy or cold or whatever to drive out there (can't wait until the horses are closer). Of course Saturday when it's gorgeous and nearly 40F I'm out in South Dakota. I did get an update from Patti:

"Must be a really nice afternoon - there have been pairs of horses playing with the ball or the tire, rearing, biting - and just now, Axel moving his way around and around the fenceline, in a beautiful, slow right lead canter."

Of course shortly after that email I got a phone call that said Axel was lame again and she had to give him some Bute. I guess he over did it on the playing. Way to go Axel.

In sadder news Koko has passed on. He had disappeared in the middle of November mysteriously. Tiggr found a new home this past weekend and shortly after he left Patti got a call from the neighbors saying they found Koko. He had fallen in their egress window and couldn't get out. So they brought him home but he seemed a bit under the weather and spent all day sleeping in the tack room. The plan was to bring him to the vet on Monday to get him checked out. Unfortunately he passed on that very night.

"Well, our happiness that Koko was found has turned to sadness, as he didn't live through the night. At least he didn't die out there, somewhere, alone and cold, but rather, back home where he was supposed to be, feeling warm and loved."

I am raising saddle broncs

Sorry another post without photos. It's really hard to take pictures this time of year when it's dark almost immediately. Also I'm spamming my own blog in my attempts to catch up on missed posts. Oh well.

Last night I met Steph at the barn as usual. Patti and Scott had just finished up feeding so when I went to get Axel he was more concerned with the hay feeders and did not want to be caught. Cody was standing still so unfortunately for him I brought him into the barn. I haven't ridden Cody in a while and Axel was kind of a jerk on Sunday so I thought maybe I was going to get off easy with Cody. Steph had given Kalani some bute at breakfast and was trying my AP saddle on him to see if that made any difference in his sudden girthiness. The trip down to the bridge was uneventful. Kalani does no better in an AP saddle when it comes to keeping the saddle on while mounting, he's just too darn round. Cody stood well and actually lead the ride down to the bridge. We made it up the hill and around the meadow and into the woods easily. Then it all went wrong. Kalani got a little fast going down the little dip in the woods, Cody spazzed, jumped straight in the air and bucked the whole way down and up the hill. Tiny little jackhammer speed bucks. He's never bucked for me before. Apparently I'm on a roll with horses and bucking these days. On the way back through that section I let Cody lead thinking at least he wouldn't have motivation to run to catch up. He walked down really well and then sped up and cantered up the hill followed by bucking around the next two turns. At least he didn't run me into a tree. When he gets going like that, he is not going to stop no matter what is on his face or in his mouth. So I don't think having the rope hack made him more misbehaved but we might still go back to a bit anyway. He pranced his way out of the woods back into the meadow. There, as usual, we did some circles and he was an angel again.

Not wanting to tempt fate and get a nice bronc ride down the big hill on the way home, we walked into the woods again (much to Cody's dismay). When he halted calmly I dismounted and led him the rest of the way home. As soon as I was leading and not riding he was calm and didn't care if Kalani got too far ahead of him. It was a good workout for me to walk up the last hill on the way home. And good practice for Cody to walk up that hill slowly. But I think we're going to be working on ground driving this winter so he can get used to not seeing me (ie on his back or behind him). I'm hoping that will transfer better to the saddle than plain ground work did.

Horses don't like electric water

Here's the story as it was relayed to me: over the weekend Patti and Scott were in the house and all of a sudden they'd hear all sorts of noise and banging. They'd go out and check on the horses and they had been kicking the wood around the water trough. Someone had even ripped a piece of wood off. They figured maybe someone had relieved themselves in the water and the other horses were mad. So they cleaned out the trough and put it back and fixed up the wood surrounding it. The next day, more banging and noise. Gunner was drinking the water but making horrible faces and acting really weird. They come to find out, the tank heater had been electrocuting all of the horses when they went to drink! Though it hadn't been enough to trip the GFI. They replaced the heater only to find out the new one sparked like mad as well. So now they are thinking maybe it's the cord or something. In the meantime they unplugged the heater. Some of the horses would then drink the water and drank the tank down to nothing in the first half day. Kiko will only drink from the exact spot that Gunner drinks and Cody is just pissed off about the whole deal.

Sunday I had noticed his one leg was a bit swollen, turns out it was probably from him kicking the water tank in anger. Now Cody is not one to trust anyone or anything without a lot of convincing. On top of that he is super afraid of the electric fence and won't go anywhere near it. Put those two things together with electric water and he's had enough. Patti got a few of the horses to drink from buckets and then moved the bucket to the water tank. But Cody will have none of it. He'll drink from the bucket but only if it's not any where near the tank. So now she's left to giving the horses buckets of water until they figure out the tank isn't electrified any more. I'm not sure how long that will take Cody. Poor ponies.

That goes along with the email I got a week or so ago. Apparently Axel shows his disgust with no food by going to each hay feeder, checking if there's hay and when there's none, he kicks the hay feeder and moves on to the next one. My horses are so picky!

Riding a Fresian

Monday I had a vacation day to recoop after Thanksgiving and get ready for a Pampered Chef party at my house. I also ran out to We Can Ride to ride Noah, the Fresian. He's going to retire this year and find a new home and I wanted to get a chance to ride him before he left. It's not often you are given a chance to ride a horse like that. He has some ringbone (like Axel) in his front leg and has been less than sound since he came to WCR. He works well at the walk and that's all he was usually asked to do for Therapy classes. But in this economy it's hard to justify keeping a horse that isn't quite sound for a therapy program that needs good strong sound horses. With the ringbone Noah will be sound one day and he's actually been getting quite good lately. When I first rode him the winter he arrived he was okay at the trot but mostly lazy. During his therapy career I had ridden him and he was sooooo sooo lazy and sore on top of that. Now that the ringbone is starting to fuse, he's been on good joint supplements, and is now barefoot he's been feeling better and been trotting and even cantering. Because he spent most of his life before WCR as a cart horse he's not quite the big scopey Fresian you expect. But when he engaged his hind end in the canter you could tell there was something there. Unfortunately we were inside where there isn't much space or I would have really felt the power behind that canter.

He's going to make a fabulous horse for someone, he's still fairly young, he super friendly and curious. He really likes to check out what's going on around him. How impressive would it be to show up to a trail ride with a big black Fresian! And he paints! I think he has a potential job offer as a companion for a blind horse. His interview for that is later this week. If I wasn't boarding horses right now Jeff would have taken him home in an instant. He would be a great husband horse that's for sure.