Not Quite Spring

Well it's still not quite Spring. I think it was near 40 degrees last night but windy so it was a chilly ride after all. We're still faithfully scraping hair off the horses. Axel looks pretty horrible, dirty and hairy. Cody usually avoids the mud so he isn't quite as bad. Axel's feet are still scabby but I don't think there's any new scabs so hopefully we'll avoid some of the major mud fever this year. Apparently the Farrier was out this morning as well. I had to tell the caretakers to make sure the farrier trimmed both my horses frogs. Not sure why he doesn't do that regularly anyways. So now I'm ready to measure one more time and order some boots for Cody. I did measure last night just to see the growth and he only changes 1/4 of an inch in length from the last time I measured, and that measurement isn't quite as accurate. I might not have measured from the exact same spot each time. Once again we fed from in the barn. I was able to hook Cody's bucket up to a fence insulator that was on the post in the barn but I think we should pick up a few clips to use for feeding inside. Maybe just some cheap carabiners would work, I might actually have some in my saddle bag.

So we groomed and tacked and made sure all the doors and locks and fences and everything was latched appropriately before setting off on the road. Cody was very manageable on the road but wasn't really paying attention to me so we worked on some serpentines. Once again on the way back a car came up behind us. Cody caught the sight of the car in the corner of his eye and decided he wasn't sticking around to find out what it was. It didn't help that it was super windy so we didn't even hear the car ourselves. So that minor spook gave Cody a reason to act like an idiot and try to get back to the barn. Once again Tricia got off Axel to try and hold Cody since he wouldn't move out of the road. Actually right as I was about to just get off myself he started to calm down, but then she dismounted and led him away. The remainder of the trip had no traffic so that was good. He was still a bit uptight but calmed down a lot. I wonder had no cars passed if he would have been better the whole ride.

Axel is still uneven but I'm wondering if he's never been really straight anyway. He tripped numerous times one of which almost landed him on his knee. He must have bent his sore knee too far, after that trip he had several tentative steps. I'm going to have to add some lineament to my shopping list and see if that helps any. When we returned from our ride we tried again to back Axel out of the barn, this time through the big door. Boy was he not interested in backing up. After much fighting he finally started catching on to the whole backing thing so we'll just have to keep it up. I don't think he's going to get it quite as fast as Cody. I also lunged him a tiny bit but he's not quite into the change of direction yet. And I had the swinging end of the rope too long and clocked myself in the head with it - after Cody peed on it of course.

I think this Saturday after barn cleanup for We Can Ride I will stop out at the barn and do more ground work with both horses. I think I want to start lateral work with Cody and basic ground work with Axel. And I might take Cody out on the road to do the ground work so we have more room and less dust.

Escape Artists Strike Again

So last week I really wanted to take a little video of Axel trotting along in his new goofy lopsided trot but Cody was acting the fool so it didn't happen. Steph wasn't feeling well so she stayed home and I met Tricia at the barn. I borrowed Steph's cordless clippers to take care of Axel's ankles before it got too muddy. I really should get the vet to take a look at his legs one of these days and probably add some oil to his diet. He's got these super dry flakey scabs all over his coronary band and whatever that part is above the coronary band (don't mind me, I can never remember horse parts). It's probably just chronic mud fever but it's kind of gross. Luckily for me Axel is a good boy and lets us pick all his scabs off without a fight, if only the Betadine wasn't still frozen. We had both Cody and Axel in the barn for some much needed grooming when it was time to feed. Everyone else was fed in their usual spots at the fence and we just fed the boys in the barn where they were. We might need to get some clips to hang the buckets inside if feeding time is always when we're out there to ride. Anyway, Cody was almost calm with the exception of digging himself a big hole to stand in. Someone on the other side of the barn door didn't help by kicking at it.

When everyone was done eating and were saddled up we went out the big barn door for our ride. The little door was closed so we left the big door open as we mounted in the barn aisle for lack of a better place. It's a major mud pit in the pasture and there's still snow on the back hill so it's a lot of road riding for us for a while. Cody was a little reluctant but not too bad. Axel decided on a new gait: left hind lifted up much higher than other feet with each step he took. I don't know if his boots were bothering him or what, but it was pretty funny looking. He even kept it up at the trot. I think by the time we got to the end of the road and turned around he had finally started to walk normal. Of course as soon as we turned around Cody went bezerk. Back to his old self, cantering sideways and all that drama. Of course he chose the day that everyone and their brother decided to drive down our road. At one point he wouldn't move out of the middle of the road as a truck and trailer were coming, Tricia had to dismount and lead him to the side of the road. He was beside himself and pissed off. Because we're gluttens for punishment we decided to not go back to the barn just yet and made them turn on the side road. Surprisingly enough it only took a minor amount of leg to get Cody to turn and he was pretty calm (compareatively) for the rest of the ride. He wasn't too happy about the dog on the other side of the street that kept yelping at him. But nothing major. We manged to keep most of our feet on the ground for the rest of the ride.

As we were coming back to the barn we couldn't see any other horses. They should have been out eating hay at that point and they were no where to be seen. We did, however, seed the neighbor in the driveway talking to the caretaker. Then we saw the horses, running through the nieghbor's yard. Cody flipped out. He was sure he should be running like an idiot with the rest of the escaped horses. I dismounted at the first safe moment I could find and Tricia took Cody and Axel back to the paddock where they proceeded to pace and call to the rest of the herd. I unhooked the fence and opened the gate by the driveway thinking that was the only way we'd be able to herd them in. It really didn't take a whole lot to get them back where they belonged. A little calling on our part, Cody and Axel's calling, and a bucket of grain and everyone was back in the paddock sweaty as ever.

It was a bit of excitement I don't think the caretakers were too happy about. But overall everyone was fine and within eyesight the whole time. The best we can figure is that the little barn door didn't get latched all the way so since we left the big door open they found their way out. Usually we had the stretchy gate across that door but with the 4 wheeler parked in that spot we haven't been putting the gate up. Perhaps I'll restart that habit. The caretakers can move the 4 wheeler.

We're going to go out to ride again tonight and I'll be interested to see if Cody's antics were because he knew the herd got out or if he was just an idiot to be an idiot. I think the farrier is due out tomorrow so I'll take a final measurement of Cody's feet tonight and then after the farrier and order some boots. If the de-wormer is thawed we'll probably have to de-worm as well.

Almost Spring

I was a bit afraid it'd be too cold to run out to the barn but at 32F it was pretty nice so I was glad I went for it. Cody, escorted by Kiko and followed by Papillon, came up to the paddock to see what kind of nonsense I was up to when I arrived. Since it had been so warm the past weekend and then froze up again, everything had a nice crust of ice on it, so riding was out for the evening. But no worries because we're far from not needing more ground work. Cody wasn't terribly pleased that I brought him into the barn without his buddies but he was very manageable. He's shedding pretty good already so the shedding blade will be my choice of grooming tool for a while. He still fidgets while tied in the barn but it was pretty mellow fidgeting at least. I set up 3 barrels in the corner of the barn with the plan to lunge him into the tight space (squeeze game if you will). Cody has really picked up the lunging and will turn when I ask and mostly stop when I ask. He's not quite as good as going from trot to walk, he'd rather trot most of the time but he knows what I'm asking. He's still not too great at just standing. I ask for a halt and he creeps. So I back him up. Then he creeps forward. Rinse and repeat. This time I backed him into the space between the barrels and barn wall and then continued to get him to turn 90 degrees while going backward. He was a little unsure of my request and bumped his butt on the wall but remained calm and figured out what I was asking. This is a really great lesson for him, that even if he bumps something I'm not leading him into a den of lions or anything. He is looking pretty good with his weight as well. Hard to completely tell with the fuzzy winter coat still but it looks like he's been packing on a few pounds. It will be nice to see him all rounded out when he sheds this spring. As usual he backed out of the barn door like a champ and was rewarded with dinner.

I waited for everyone to be fed before I worked Axel. He was not happy with me when I removed his nylon halter to put on the rope halter instead of letting him go eat hay with his herd mates. But once we got over that fight he followed me into the barn happily. The goal for Axel last night was to teach him to lunge. He's been ground driven and long lined but we've never really just lunged him like we do with Cody. He doesn't quite pick up on things as fast as Cody and he's never going to be the obedient "yes man" that Cody is turning out to be. But he did start to catch on to the lunging after a few minutes. I used a whip with him to keep him moving as I didn't think swinging the rope end would really faze him, a tap was a bit more effective. He was very unhappy to trot on the lunge and started off pretty lame and flung his head and tried to buck. I think his pain is manageable with more exercise and slower warm up periods. Unfortunately as I was lunging him I noticed he had a massive lump on his belly on the left side. My initial reaction was that was the reason he was so cranky at the trot. But in reality I think he just got kicked in the pasture and it was just a big bruise. I pressed on it a bit and he didn't really react, I didn't feel like getting kicked myself so I didn't press my luck (no pun intended). I probably shouldn't have stopped working him but he had done better than I expected up to that point so it probably wasn't a bad place to stop anyway. I did end with backing him up just in the barn on the flat ground. He backed pretty quickly even. We're going to move up to backing between the barrels, then the big barn door with decreasing width, then finally through the little barn door. Axel doesn't back out of the trailer so this is a good lesson for him but after last week when he would not back out of the little door we had to rethink our strategy.

Since daylight saving time ends earlier this year (or starts, I always forget), next week it'll be lighter even later so now we'll be able to get back to more riding and schooling type stuff as long as the ice melts! You can't even open the round pen gate right now, the snow drifted over it and then froze so it's hard as a rock. I'm looking forward to some trail rides this spring.

Second day in a row!

Sunday Steph and I made the trek back out to the barn to ride. This time I thought we'd go with Cody and Kiko and see if Cody was happier with that situation. He was pretty good about it, no groundwork ahead of time either. Kiko was having some usual issues about not really wanting to be out riding. Cody was actually really good in retrospect. We only had a few really minor Rolkur impressions. He likes to drop his jaw and chin and open his mouth in an attempt to evade the bit. It makes him look like he's doing rolkur. Ironically we ride him with a really loose rein, he just does it on his own. The new horses were quite concerned that we took Kiko away. Apparently she has made a few extra boyfriends.

It was such a nice day and our ride was pretty short since we only really have the road to ride on right now, we decided to get Kalani and Axel out for a second trip around. Axel was a bit slow as usual but nothing terrible. Well behaved for the most part as well. When we went for a bit of a trot he decided to kick out and start cantering. He wasn't trying too hard to get me off and we broke down to a trot just fine. Steph wanted a canter so she went ahead of me and gave it a try. I decided since I didn't know if Axel's protesting was from pain or attitude I'd just let him trot if he wanted. We were pretty far behind and I very lightly squeezed, I mean really lightly, just to see if he had any interest in catching up. Boy did he! Off he went, kicking, bucking, cantering. I pushed him forward to which his response was to drop back into a trot and then walk. I decided since his bucking is fairly straight and predictable I'd ask for another canter. I got more bucking, I tried to push him through, he cantered a few strides and then back down to the trot.

I'm not certain why he's been protesting so much. He isn't visibly lame nor is he visibly in pain. When he is trotting he's even. So either there's some pain somewhere I don't know about, he's got spring fever or just an attitude, or he's still not balanced enough to know how to canter properly. Of course it's probably a combination of all of that. My vote is on the majority of it being attitude. I'll get Tricia or Steph to ride him and see what they think. He did walkout much nicer when I rode on the buckle. Maybe we'll have to have a peek in his mouth. It'll be about a year now since he's had his teeth done (let's hope he doesn't need that done again, so expensive).

Since we've been backing Cody out of the barn door, he's been doing so well, we decided to try and back Axel. Cody's issue is flying backwards out of the trailer. Axel's issue is not backing out at all, insisting on turning around and going out forward. So I can get Axel to back on a flat surface in the barn or wherever, but as soon as he got about a foot from the barn door he wouldn't budge. And being the stoic bombproof horse he is, no amount of flailing, tapping, pushing, anything would get him moving. So after some rewards for taking a step or even just shifting his weight we ended that lesson. I'll have to start him through the other barn door that I can adjust the width and also there's no step. Then we'll move on to the small barn door that Cody has conquered. Goofy horses, if it's not one thing, it's another.

I remeasured Cody's feet for boots and I come up with 5" wide and 5.25" long. Not exactly the 3.5" long that the farrier reported. Of course I will triple measure in March after their next farrier visit to be sure before I order any boots. Hopefully by then my tax refund will be on it's way. Axel's feet ended up being 5" long and 6" wide. Though the farrier did square them off in front for more break over to help his sore knee. I don't think I'll be getting him any boots anyway though.

It's finally warm!

After getting up early to go into work, having to work later than I planned, getting stuck behind a train, and waiting in a long check out line at the store I finally made it out to the barn. Later than I had hoped but it was still light out and warm. I brought Axel in to groom him. He's already starting to shed and he's gotten himself some really nice scabs on the inside of his one back foot. My guess is he kicked himself, as usual, and since his skin is so horribly dry it doesn't heal the best and ends up being a nasty gross scab. I couldn't find the TriCare and the betadine was frozen so he had to go sans first aid. He didn't seem to care.

I left Axel tied and brought Cody in to groom. He wasn't thrilled with the idea but wasn't totally belligerent either. I groomed him, also starting to shed, and waited for Tricia to arrive. I was ready before she got there so I did some groundwork with Cody. He was a little concerned with what was happening outside but still minded my requests. I tried a bit of lunging outside in the yard as well. He was still a bit worked up about being away from his herd but we managed. Tricia still hadn't arrived so I gave her a call to find out where she was at. She decided she would ride Cody but in a saddle just in case he was crazy horse. So I tacked up both horses before she got there. From Tricia's report, Cody was a little stubborn, required a lot of leg to get moving away from the barn. But he wasn't terrible. Axel wasn't terribly fast himself. He kicked out a few times when asked to trot but nothing major. They both ended up a little sweaty but they're still in nearly full winter coats and it was 40F.

Cody proved himself to be quite the obedient horse when he backed out of the barn perfectly. I keep crossing my fingers that he'll load and unload in the trailer now.

New Farrier

Here's the update from Patti since I wasn't able to be at the barn when the new farrier came. She had him measure Cody so I can buy some hoof boots for him so he's more comfortable on the trails this year:

"Farrier (farriers - he brought his long-time assistant, Jesse) have come and gone. It's snowing out here now and it's so pretty. Anyway, everyone behaved well."

Here's the report:

Cody
- trim, not too short. He was very well mannered.
- for boots: angle 50; length 3-1/2; width 4-7/8
Axel
- trim, toes squared a bit in the front to ease his arthritic knees. The farrier was very careful with his left front - that was the only time Axel leaned a bit, when that leg was out front for filing.

I might have to remeasure his hooves as the hoof boots I am looking at don't have a 3.5" length boot and I don't think Cody has tiny little pony feet, he's a 15.2hh Paint. Maybe the length and width measures got swapped.

Axel Tries Skijoring Again

First visit out to the barn since the new horses moved in and it was a busy one. We went out on Friday a little earlier than normal. Tricia worked Cody a bit in the barn and then out in the pasture while we got Axel and Kiko ready. I guess he was a little worked up about it all. We took Kiko and Axel on the road and mounted there past all of the ice. Tricia joined us with a plastic sled for Axel to pull. He did really well on the stretch heading away from the barn. Kiko was a little concerned with the sound the sled was making but nothing too major. She was too busy fussy as she hadn't been ridden in quite a while. When we turned to head back and took the side road Axel decided he was done with our games and started a little hissy fit. Just a bit of bucking with a bit more energy than he usually is willing to give up. We got up to the bean field we stopped pulling the sled and I rode him around a bit to see if he was just pissed about pulling or if it was general barn sour crankiness. It appeared to be mostly barn sour crankiness. At this point we met up with Patti, Scott, and Andrea who came out for a ride as well. Tricia was horseless and didn't want to walk back so Scott and Gunner pulled her home. Axel actually led the pack on the way home. So much for my slow lazy horse! We'll see how long this'll last.

By the time we got back Cody had paced himself into a full sweat. It was only about 20F so we threw a wool blanket and a fleece cooler on him while we fed. Patti has a new system set up with clips and straps for each horse and they feed in the small buckets so no buckets stay outside now and you don't have to tie, you just clip them in. Since Cody was still wet we left the blanket and went to the bar for a while and came back on the way home and pulled them off since I don't have a waterproof sheet to leave on over night. Here's hoping for Cody to regain his sanity soon.

Axel has been ridden 5 times since his chiropractic adjustment, the last of which was his first attempt at Skijoring.

Updates from the barn

I haven't had a chance to get out and visit the horses since the big move on Saturday. It might have something to do with the -45F wind chill, you never know! But I have gotten a couple of updates on how things are going from the new caretakers.

From Tuesday, January 29
"They're good! They are staying in their herds of four and five. Red is more of a loner, and he hasn't been any trouble, at all. Kalani will stand with Red at times, but if Kiko comes over, Red will leave. Cody's gotten over his need to protect Kiko. Kalani, and sometimes Axel, feel the need to chase Gunner, but that thrill seems to be waning."

"Tom's/Elise's are in charge, so ours will move out of the way as they swarm over, but even so, there hasn't been any biting or serious kicking. They pretty much kept ours in the space behind the round pen on the first day! But now they are all quiet when tied up and waiting for dinner; however, we do have to tie "them" up before we tie "ours"; and we have to let ours go before we let theirs go. We've replaced all the lead ropes and hanging buckets with ties and bucket clips, so it's much cleaner looking. Not to mention, so much easier to feed."

"There was a possum, about the size of Koko [the cat], on the table with him last night! Koko was *so not* disturbed by that fact, that I'm expecting it's not an uncommon occurrence. The possum is no more, but Scott will be buying a gun tomorrow because - yuck, otherwise!"

"So, maybe more than you wanted to know, but every thing's good. We did harrow out there and it looks MUCH better. It's created safer traction, little clumps instead of frozen giant mounds."

And from today
"I can't believe how well this is going. The herds are starting to mingle - primarily it's Kalani, hanging out with Gunner and Poppy. Papillon and Kiko have been keeping company, too. But there's no more real chasing - and yesterday, when Axel pinned his ears back and shook his head at Daley, Daley didn't even pick up his head from the hay! (However, I did notice a bite on Daley's side - that's the only one of those I've seen on anybody so far.) They are settling down nicely."

"Yesterday, Poppy smelled like evergreen and right now, I can see Gunner scratching his behind on a tree - must feel good. Having prepped feed buckets yesterday, feeding this morning only took 20 minutes. I was surprised to find Poppy, Red, and Gunner under the overhang, waiting; Axel is always waiting at his tie. The horses are doing well and everyone's just fine."

"We should also mention that the horses are drinking a LOT more water. We put a second power strip in the tack room so we could hook up a better tank heater. It was freezing over pretty hard with the old one. They almost emptied the tank yesterday."

So that's the latest and greatest from the ever increasing herd at Pinto Creek Ranch. I plan to make a trip out there on Saturday to see how things are going, maybe do a little riding down the road, and some more ground work with Cody to see what his attitude is like.

New Horses

We lucked out with the weather today and had temperatures above zero for once. I got to the barn before everyone else arrived so I did some chores while I waited. Trailers pulled up pretty quickly after I started cleaning out the barn. They actually ended having to take 2 trips to get all 5 horses moved over. We kept the two herds separate for a while at first to see how things would go. Everything was fairly calm at first. There was the usual squealing but lots of happy and interested ears. Unfortunately Kiko decided she liked the new boys and went into season instantly. This did not make Cody happy and that's when he started getting really possessive about Kiko. He started to charge at Red through the fence and Cody is one to stay yards away from a fence whether it's hot or not, so he meant business.

When things calmed down a bit we turned out Kalani with the new herd. He was really calm about everything so we thought he'd be a good one to start with. He went straight for red and they stood and ate hay together nose to nose. We turned Axel out next and he just found a hay pile to eat by himself. Not much was happening and Cody finally stopped getting himself worked up into a sweat so we opened the gate so they could all meet if they wanted. It took a while for Cody and Kiko to figure out the gate was open. Things were a little hairy at first but everyone was able to keep their distance appropriately.

Cody made it his job to place himself between Kiko and any other horse at all costs. Kiko was very fond of Red and kept trying to hang out with him but Cody would come running and chase Red off. Red never made any attempts to get to Kiko so it was all her trying to visit the new horses. Cody doesn't seem really interested in randomly beating up new horses, he just wanted to make sure Kiko didn't leave him so we figured they would be fine all together right away. We waited around a while to see if anything would happen. The two herds kept themselves pretty separated and occasionally would switch positions in the pastures. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the next few weeks. Patti is going to have her hands full feeding 9 horses twice a day. I think I am going to have my hands full working with Cody. We might have taken several steps back in our manners. I predict Cody being quite unhappy when I try to work him in the barn away from his herd and especially his woman. Stay tuned.

New Tack Room

Sunday despite the negative temperatures, Jeff and I ventured out to the barn to work on the tack room. With 5 new horses arriving this next weekend, and at least 3 people's worth of tack we thought it might be nice to beef up the saddle racks so they stay on the walls. In the process we decided to totally remodel the room, much to Jeff's delight (not). But since he's such a nice husband he went along with it. We moved all the saddle racks to one wall and all the bridle hooks to the other wall so everything is easier to get at. I'm not convinced I liked the arrangement of the shelves for the grooming boxes but with a tiny room there is only so much you can do.

I emptied almost everything out of the room and Jeff put up some big 12x12x2s to anchor the racks to. I ended up parsing down a lot of our tack and putting a bunch of it up on top of the tack room in storage. Jeff put a few saddle racks up there for me as well. Cody and Axel's old saddles went up there until I find out what Ardy wants me to do with them. I'd like to consign them and buy a new western saddle for Axel and some nice saddle pads for both of them. But I'm not sure if he wants them back or not. There were 4 other saddles in the tack room that no one used so those went up above as well as some random tack, extra saddle blankets, and extra buckets. I swept the whole room and the only thing I didn't go through was the first aid cabinet. That will have to wait for a warmer day I think.

It wasn't too bad in the barn as far as cold, there wasn't any wind at least, but I don't think there was any wind outside either. It was actually really sunny out. But my soda froze just from sitting out and by 5pm I was frozen to the core and sick of breathing dust. In addition to all the tack we moved up above the tack room, we also hauled lawn chairs, lattice boxes, and other extra random stuff that was in the barn. And we stacked all the hay so there would be room for the next load. It was quite the undertaking.

I'm skipping on going out there during the week this week. Patti had mentioned that she thought Cody was a little gimpy out on the ice so I brought him in to see if anything was up. He lunged at the walk alright so I think he was just walking funny because of the hard ground and ice everywhere. He does have some arthritis in his one shoulder so that probably doesn't help. With Patti feeding twice a day we might start to see some changes in Cody and Axel as she'll be putting some senior flex in with their meals, hopefully that helps their joints a bit. When the senior flex is gone I want to switch to a 4-in-1 pelleted supplement that's supposed to be really good. I just have to save up the money for it first.

Watch out for a post this weekend after the new horses arrive. I'm going to drag my nice camera out there and try and take some shots of all the horses looking tall and impressive when the new kids arrive.

Barn Cleanup

Steph met me out at the barn this week. I brought Cody into the barn to do some ground work with him while Steph ended up raking the manure up that was inside the barn. Cody kept tripping over the frozen horse apples so she thought we better get them out of the way. We worked on the usual lunging and did some trotting over a pole. I also added a second pole but I'm having a hard time getting the spacing right so he can trot over both of them. After some of that ground work Steph showed me how to use her rope bitting rig. She wants some of the therapy horses to be lunged in it so she wanted to show me how to use it properly and what to look for if a horse is planning on flipping himself backward. We started just by walking Cody around so he could get used to it. It didn't seem to faze him so we went onto lunging at the walk and then the trot. We had to open the barn door to help get rid of some of the dust so Cody decided he'd rather pay attention to the open door. After I removed the bitting rig we did some more quick direction changes to get him to start paying attention before backing out of the barn twice. He's getting pretty calm at the backing but we'll keep at it until he's an expert. Next I want to hang a tarp from the rafters to create a narrow space to back him into and out of to simulate a trailer. That should be an interesting undertaking.

Axel Learns Skijorring!

So I've waited too long to remember what it was we ended up doing but I will do my best. I got to the barn pretty early for once and started grooming Axel. I ended tacking him up and still no Tricia. So I grabbed Cody and started some ground work with him in the barn. When Tricia showed up she took Axel out in the pasture and rode him a while to warm him up. Cody and I worked on our backing skills and actually got to a point that he'd back next to me as I backed up mid "lead." So that was pretty cool. We ended by backing out of the barn a few times which also went pretty well, even with "help" from Kiko. So Tricia went to get her skis and I jumped up on Axel and got the rope ready. We ended up tying the rope to the saddle horn so I could actually steer. Tricia just held her end of the rope so she was able to let go if she ever needed to. Axel pulled like a champ. It wasn't actually much work because the snow was really icy and slick. He had one minor issue with the rope must have bumped him in the butt but Axel's minor issues are pretty unnoticeable. We went around the pasture several times in both directions at the walk and the trot. All of this was in the dark of course. So now we're looking forward to some more snow so we can skijor down the road and really get moving.

Warm January Day

It was beyond warm today. Everything was melting and it was 40F. I met Tricia out at the barn for some spring like riding. We donned our light weigh jackets and sunglasses for the ride. I kept up with my plan to keep Cody doing work to build our relationship and some respect. So I tried to drive him into the barn but he needed a little reminder and we had to circle once. He was a little concerned with Kiko being outside and him inside but he was pretty calm about it. Tricia groomed Axel and I worked on Cody. After I tacked him up we did a couple circles to get on the right page. I opted for a saddle since I had no idea what Cody's mood was going to be. He hasn't been ridden in a few months so you never know. Now believe it or not but Axel was really walking out (for Axel) and Cody was lagging behind. Once we finally go out of sight of the barn he was a little better but still lagging behind Axel. Axel was even stepping under himself and carrying his head nice for once. We ended up crossing the bean field through some pretty deep snow. Axel's head was really flying up and down. Cody ended up getting a little sweated up working through that snow. Even in deep snow though, he manages to keep that butter smooth trot. The road back was pretty calm. Only a few times where Cody wanted to trot and I wanted to walk. Nothing like he used to be. When we got back we passed the driveway and I dismounted in the cul-de-sac and walked him up to the barn. We groomed them up a bit and let Axel out. Cody had a few more things to work on. He did a few more circles, at first he was a total spaz but worked back into it. Then we worked on backing out of the barn and up and over the step. After a few tries he really go it. Tricia said he has really started to listen to me. So I'll definitely have to keep up the ground work.

Rocket the wonder pony!

Jeff and I swung by the barn to do a few minutes of ground work with Cody on our way to Tricia's. She got a harness, cart, and sleigh for Rocket and we wanted to check it out. We hooked him up to the cart and went out on the road. The sleigh runners are too narrow and dig into the snow too much and make it hard for Rocket to pull so they've been using the cart instead.

Rocket took the cart like a champ. A one point he got a little confused, reared up (in slow motion) and came back down with one of the shafts under his front leg. He just stood there waiting for someone to fix his predicament. When we got him all situated we were on our way. He pulled Tricia and I around and did some trotting. We even had him do some one wheel turns. He's a real trooper that's for sure.

We did hook him up to the sleigh to see if we could figure out what was wrong with it. He pulled it alright when it was empty but with people in it really scraped the gravel. Back to the drawing board on that one. Our next plan is to hook Axel up and have Tricia skijor behind him since she always has her skis with her. We just have to wait for some more snow on the road or a nice freezing rain.

Work in the barn

I haven't been in the mood to get the horses all tacked up and work in the snow so I've been using Cody as my excuse to not ride. It's a good excuse though, he needs the ground work. I actually got to the barn really early for once so I groomed Axel for while before bringing in Cody. My first step from now on is going to be driving him into the barn. Going in the first time isn't usually a big deal, he walks right in when I put the rope over his back and send him on his way. After that, I figured I'd start with seeing how his attitude about being in the barn without his herd. He was surprisingly calm. Still a bit anxious but manageable. We did a little basic lunging and some grooming as a reward. If we only trot once or twice around in a row it doesn't get too dusty in there but I think I'll shovel some snow in there next time it's not so crunchy. We spent a little time working on standing still which is another one of our issues. Tricia and Steph had arrived by that point. Tricia ended up jumping on Cody bareback and I lunged him. He was a little concerned with the change at first but figured it out pretty quick. So we set up a board on the ground to practice backing over. And I set up some chairs in the corner of the barn to practice lunging (and eventually driving) into small spaces. He got the lunging into the corner pretty well after a while. The backing up still needs a lot of work. He will back out of the trailer but it's usually pretty fast and frantic. He'll back on the ground but it's pretty hard to keep him in a straight line. But we'll keep working on that. I think the more confident he gets with backing on command the easier it will be to keep him straight. At the end of the lesson we backed him out of the barn door. There's a pretty decent step down so I thought it'd be a good practice spot for trailering. He was much more concerned with what was behind him while I was aiming him towards the door than he was just in the barn. He finally made it out of the barn but Tricia insisted he go back in and do it again. This time driving him into the door was much more difficult. It required some more circles so he would remember we weren't done work yet. Finally he did go in. Backing out the second time wasn't quite as difficult but still not perfect. I'll have to add a whoa in this game when he gets the back feet out so he learns not to fly backwards. After that it was the usual dinner time and off to the bar!

Skijorring!

So it was in the 20s yesterday and didn't seem too windy so it was off to the barn. I couldn't decide what I wanted to accomplish but I thought at the very least I wanted to see how the herd was doing since Corey left the week prior. Now we're down to a 4 horse herd. I wonder if the remaining horses worry about why their herd mates have disappeared and if they're next or if they just don't think that way. I'm hoping they just don't think that way.

Things were pretty mellow when I pulled up, but that's not unusual for a mid winter day. I decided I was just going to do a tiny bit of ground work with Cody to see where he was at and then turn them out into the side pasture for some play time before I left. Cody lunged as well as usual. Drat though I do keep forgetting to pay attention to where his ears are. But he followed directions well so he must have been paying me a little attention at least. I don't have a surcingle yet and I was too lazy to get out a saddle to long line with so I just stood behind him with the lead rope to see if he'd "walk on" with me behind him. He was a bit confused but moved forward. So I think that's our next step, ground driving. I think if I can get him ground driving in and out of the barn the trailer loading should be a snap.

The snow was really crispy so playtime was a little more subdued than usual but there was a fair share of silliness going around. At one point Kiko kicked out at Cody like she tends to do in this situation. Usually Cody reacts much like the photo there. But this time he just went after her. Bit at her and chased her around the trees. My initial reaction is that Cody is competing to win the place of herd boss like I thought he would. Maybe Kiko is giving him a run for his money. She doesn't seem to care about that though, since she's the only mare she's more or less in charge of the herd in her own mind anyway. It will be interesting to see the changes in the coming weeks.

After all the fun at Tom's I ran over to Tricia's in-laws farm to help her with the pony. She has a mini/Shetland who's about 5 years old that the kids have been riding. She taught him to ground drive a few years back to start his training and she decided to teach him to pull. So we drove him around with big PVC pipes wacking at his sides with pretty much no reaction on his part. So we hooked up a kid's sled to his saddle (no harness yet to fit him) and we were going to have him pull that with a bit of weight in it to see how he did. He really didn't care about the sled and at the trot we lost our weight so as we approached a snowy field Tricia got in the sled and handed the reins over to me. Rocket pulled away like he'd been doing it for years. He trotted and cantered and only looked at us like we were insane a few times. I got way more exercise running next to him with the reins than I had planned. We swapped and I rode in the sled. Then we swapped back and Tricia took the reins while sitting in the sled. So Rocket passed his tests with flying colors. Children around the neighborhood will rejoice as they get pulled around by Rocket the pony. Believe it or not, that little pony didn't even break a sweat.

So after that we grabbed Oly and Cinder and jumped on (not very gracefully) bareback for a quick ride. Cinder has quite the vertical trot being the Arab he is so I was a little on edge, but we made it out okay. And despite the wind and cold that picked up on our way back both my ears are still attached to my head. So at least I got a little riding in and believe me, I was working on some of that visualization techniques from the Centered Riding book in order to remain on Cinder's back.

I think we should teach Axel to pull a sleigh. He'd look so cute with some jingle bells.

Sunday in the Snow

December 9, 2007
Sunday we put on all of our long undies and went out to the barn so Jeff could play with his new camera. We let the horses out in the side pasture for the first time which is always entertaining. They run around like fools, kicking up their heels. Then they went on to digging in the snow looking for grass to graze.

I tacked up Axel and took him for a spin in the snow. He was less than enthused about that idea. He just wanted to hang out with the "guys." We had a few minor words about moving but being as I stayed on his back I think I won. We did end up our kind of helter-skelter ride by doing some serpentines at the walk. He's pretty good at those and I need the practice using my seat aids for bending and turning.

I turned out Axel and grabbed Cody for some quick ground work. I'm trying to keep that up every time I visit, just for a few minutes at least. Cody did pretty well, he's definitely retaining the lunging lessons. I've got some notes jotted down for things to do with him to make things a little different and keep it interesting. I'm excited to work with him every day for a month when I'm out there house/horse/cat sitting. Ooo cat time, I totally forgot about that, what fun! Plus I think I'm going to start riding Cody more than Axel. Axel's knee is sore and he's just so slow that it's really difficult for me to improve my riding or see improvement in him. I might do a few lessons on Tricia's horse and then start riding Cody weekly. I'm hoping by spring Cody will be ready to jump in that trailer and head for the trails every time we go. I'm aiming for the Gary cattle drive as well. I still do want to do a dressage schooling show. I wanted to do it with Axel but we'll see.

November 28, 2007
Last week the girls gave me a hard time for wanting to go out to the barn. I say I wasn't forcing either of them, they are big girls! Anyway, Tricia trailered Oly over to ride. My black stirrup leathers finally arrived so I put those on my saddle. And I decided to try out my new bridle. Unfortunately it is a bit small so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. By the time we had the horses tacked up it was already mostly dark. And the wind picked up, a lot. We figured it would be less windy if we went down the back hill and rode down there. It was slightly less windy and a lot more dark by the time we got down there. Axel and I stumbled around for a while. He kept flipping his head since the bridle was too small, the brow band was the worst followed by the nose band. His head is just a bit too big for a regular bridle but probably too small for a draft size. He needs horse and a half or something. So Tricia and Oly and Steph and Kalani wandered around a bit as well before we decided we were cold and it was time to go back up. Sadly I couldn't tell if there were any changes in Axel since it was dark, the ground was full of holes so he kept tripping, and it was too cold to really do much. We fed as usual and when Cody was done eating I did a tiny bit of lunging with him just to remind him of the whole respect thing.

December 5, 2007
This week Tricia ran into some possum issues at her place so she wasn't able to make it out. Steph didn't sound terribly interested but she came out anyway. I wanted to get a hair sample of Cody's mane for a gal I ran across online that's doing a research project on lethal white overo. I groomed him and pulled some hair off him and then lunged him in the round pen for a while. He did pretty good so I tried free lunging him for a while. He did really well in one direction but wouldn't turn into the circle in the other direction without the lead rope. He turned fine to the inside in the one direction so I assume it was just a side favoring issue and not really a respect issue.

After that I groomed up Axel and Steph brought in Corey. We jumped on bareback with just halters and lead ropes and cruised around the round pen for a while. Axel felt pretty good but once again it's hard to tell without having the space to really move out. Maybe we'll get a chance this weekend. We pulled up all the ground poles from the round pen so they won't get frozen to the ground in our way, fed everyone, and went on our way .. to the bar.

Corey is going to WCR this weekend so things are going to be interesting next week. I'll have to make sure to keep up the ground work with Cody because he's the likely horse to step up to herd boss and that could have some adverse affects on his attitude. I guess we'll see.

When I left work it was 14F. When I got to the barn it was 4F. When we left after riding it was -4F and when I got home it was -10F. But that -4F felt more like 10F because it was not windy at all. Hopefully Sunday will be nice enough, Jeff wants to come with and try out his new camera.

Chiropractor Visit

Well since I sold my old car I was able to afford to have the chiropractor out to adjust both Cody and Axel this time. Cody needed a follow up visit from his spring adjustment. I of course got to the barn 5 minutes after 3. Dr. Westman said he'd be up to the ranch sometime around 3 or 4. Well I guess he was there at 3. So I was late. It was kind of a bummer because I had wanted a bit of time to groom everyone so they didn't look like total neglect cases. Oh well, it's that time of year I guess. I grabbed Cody and brought him into the barn. I was really surprised, he was pretty calm about the whole thing. He usually gets pretty worked up when he has to stand alone without his buddies. He stood really well for his adjustment and might have even enjoyed it. There was a lot of licking and chewing going on. In the end he had one rib on each side out (an improvement from the 4 that were out in the spring), his croup was out, and his withers were pretty bad still (his adjustments are on the left there if you can read them).

Axel hadn't been adjusted before and he's so stoic it's really hard to tell when he's in pain. But he's been so slow lately that I thought maybe he is in pain and at least this can't hurt. He in fact was out: a couple ribs, his withers were pretty out, and his poll. He didn't show much pain upon palpitation but he was out enough that I might see some changes in him the next time I ride him. The Dr. did find out that Axel has an issue with his left front knee. He's got a lump and it's really stiff, possibly the beginning of arthritis. So I put some senior flex in his dinner for the night and we'll see about getting him on that supplement for a while. I had asked to put him on that a while ago but I don't think that had happened. I'm hoping he maybe just tripped and smacked his knee but I think it's been an ongoing issue. Poor Axel. He enjoyed the adjustment well enough, he didn't really appreciate having his poll adjusted but the rest he was fine with (Axel's adjustments are on the right).

Tricia was able to make it over with Oly for his adjustment. I had sort of wondered if he'd even need anything done since he's been pretty good lately. Hasn't tried to kill Tricia in a long time. But he was out in a quite a few places on his back and ribs, enough that the Chiropractor suggested she give him a few extra days before he goes back to work.

So we'll probably do a bit more ground driving and such for Axel while he's still putting on a bit more weight and hopefully building back some muscle before I start riding him again. And lots more ground work for Cody is in our future, especially after how well he got in the trailer the other night after their little adventure. Gotta keep up that good work.