Back in the Saddle!

Yes, I have been gone for a long time. Where have I been, you might ask? Middle school! My twin boys have been in middle school and the school day is bizarre (9:15am - 4:15pm) and the homework load ridiculous. So with work, the kids, the pets and Skye, something had to give. Unfortunately what gave was writing this blog, which I enjoyed so much.

But they only have 6 more weeks of the horror that has been this school, and I have decided to get back to blogging, and in a bigger way. I am going to move the blog from Blogger, where this is appearing, over to a self-hosted Wordpress Site called RidingSkye.com. Blogger is really easy but with so many people with a Google account and me with several Google accounts myself, I am sick of logging in and out all the time. I have actually sat down to blog a couple of times, but couldn't remember which account went with which thing, and then it was too late to blog.

In any case, it has been about a year and a half since I wrote on here, but a lot has happened.

First, and most importantly, Skye is still the most beautiful horse there is.

Still makes you feel bad for other horses,
doesn't it?

Second, I have moved Skye twice in the past year. Although I loved my time at Blue Wave, I opened my own practice which required some money conservation on my part. I tried a place that was deliciously close to my house and where I could work off part of my board, but it was more work than I could realistically handle and even then a little too expensive with my uneven income stream. I was lucky enough to find a perfect place that makes Skye happy, where she gets great care that fits in my budget. And a couple of my Blue Wave buddies are out there too.

Third, I fell off that mare. I knew it was going to happen and it did. I will devote an embarrassing post to that.

Fourth, and very best of all, I got to see a foal born at Blue Wave. It was wholly unexpected but all went beautifully and the baby was so precious.






There are a lot of things I missed blogging about, so as I get back into I will go back in time and write about the stuff I didn't put down. So it will be just like traveling in time.

Yes, you will also get to hear about this guy!

Catching Up!

Okay, so it has been so long since I've written that it is almost like I am starting over. But not really, as I do have over a year's worth of posts on here. So to catch up, I'm going to recap my Fall then do another post on my wonderful trip to Corolla, North Carolina where I saw the wild horses there due to the trip I won in a raffle by the wonderful Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

I actually got to ride Skye a bit in the Fall, getting a  couple of good lessons in and a trail ride or two around the barn. The longest trail I got though was in October, when the Greenway (Anne Springs Close Greenway) had a fund-raising trail ride for past and current Adopt-A-Horse riders to raise some money for some new tack for the program horses. I can't seem to keep away from my horse friends out there, both equine and human, so I was so glad I could go.

It was mid-October and it was a picture perfect autumn afternoon, with that bright golden sun and changing leaves making every slightly orange. And best of all, I got to ride my buddy Whiskey. I had requested him early on, but there was some uncertainty about who I was riding (word was, John the equestrian services manager wanted to ride him, and he certainly trumps me) up until I got there. I actually can't think of any horse out there I wouldn't want to ride as I've never had trouble with any of them, but I really wanted Whiskey since I haven't taken him on a trail before even if in my heart I always pine a little for Goliath. (I love my Billy Bob as well, but he's such a bumpy son of a gun that my old bones want a smoother gait.)  Anyway, when I got there I was told I could ride Whiskey. Happiness.

Whiskey. Please hold your applause.
We need to keep him humble.

Except he wasn't so happy. He seriously balked coming out of the pasture, and if I hadn't known better, it would have hurt my feelings. Horses (and other animals as well) generally like me so much that I have to shoo them away from me, so it is always such a shock to me when a horse is less than delighted to come with me. And I have a problem with not being able to be mean enough to scare them into moving. I know it is mostly a respect thing, but horses have my number - they know damn well I will not hurt them. I will get very stern and will even whack 'em on the rump, but they look at me like I'm a toddler swearing: it's just not real. Finally, I really got stern with him and moved him around and he came with me.

I was a little worried that it was not a great start, but that turned out to be borrowing trouble, as he was fantastic on the trail. The shocking news is that I fell in love with him all over again. I had heard that he can be spooky, but he didn't give me a bit of trouble. The ride was really fun, because we were all advanced riders so we could pick up a little speed in appropriate places, and speed is fun. I confess to wishing for a smooth gaited horse in several places though as I was posting a quick trot while a friend beside me was barely moving. But in several of my alternate dream lives I have not one but several gaited horses, so I didn't even have to add it to my wish list. Of course, owning Goliath has been at the top of my wish list since I first met him anyway. I love that horse.

Goliath. Feel the love. I know I do. 

Here she is objecting to stall rest.

Skye was lame for a while in November due to an abscess that took forever to heal, mainly because it was deep in her hoof and couldn't really be reached by the farrier's knife. I soaked her foot in epsom salts and learned how to make a duct tape and diaper booty, both of which were oddly satisfying. I know that I could easily ride as much or even more, and for less money, if I leased a horse or simply did Adopt A Horse for twice a week, but it is times  when she is lame or needs other care that I learn more. And that we bond more. When I would soak her foot, I'd bring in and tie her outside her stall with a hay bag to munch on while we stood for as long as I could get her to do it. At first she didn't want any part of it, but I trained her to put her foot in the tub for a treat pretty quickly. Then I would just stand there with her while she ate, allowing me some time from my busy life to just breathe and think (and smell her neck). Occasionally she would turn her head to me to say hello. So while it was boring, and a bit of a pain, we liked it.




Finally, she got sound again, and the boys' horrible homework load and schedule kept me from getting out to the barn. Then, just as I was planning to ride a lot over Christmas break, she was limping AGAIN! I was so discouraged. So I gave her a few days off and went back out and she was fine. The next day I went out to get her, and said hello to my farrier who was out there to trim a couple of the barn horses. No sooner had he left than I saw that Skye's left hind shoe was practically falling off. I called him, and God bless him, he turned around and came right back out for me and put that shoe back on.

Once he was gone, I took her to the round pen to see her move and damn if she didn't have an exaggerated limp, almost like an abscess. AAAGH! So the next day I called the vet, as it seemed like she had been on and off constantly and I figured she really needed an examination of some kind. As it happened, the farrier was doing her horses that day and they both agreed to come out and take a look. So late in the afternoon, both of them meet me out at the barn. Stephanie, the vet, who is wonderful, took Skye and her lunge line and got her moving, while Brian, the farrier, and I watched. Naturally Skye has never been more sound in her life. She trotted around like a yearling, and no sooner had I said, "she's been stiff . . ." than she bucked and twisted and cantered around, clearly with joy for making a liar of me.  Brian looked at me, deadpan serious, and said "Jayne, that ain't stiff." Then he told me that it was worth driving all the way out there since he got to see the prettiest horse in the world. Then Stephanie said the same thing. At least they got some pleasure in making fun of me. They were really nice about it, and the good news is that Skye is sound now.

Soundness in motion. Flying Skye.
Who's prettier than that? Nobody, that's who.

She has been a butt-head under saddle though. She has been resistant to the bit, then obstinate in general, but she gets better as I ride. Last Sunday she was a real mess, but they were feeding her pasture mates and she let me know she was rather unhappy about that. Still, I had fun on her and feel like we are making progress, albeit slowly.

Our relationship is great though. We're to the point where we really know each other. I don't take her moods personally, and she knows my boundaries.  Recently she even ran up to me in the pasture, and I even had a witness! We were out in the dark and called her, and she and the other mares came running up. I'd say they were just running up hoping to be fed again, but she came right up to me like it was all planned. So I'm calling it her plan.

Curled up like a kitty-horse. I sat down with her and loved on her,
and it was bliss. She was fine; she had just been napping.

Isn't it amazing how something so big can be so adorable?

Horse Heaven

Unlike me, who falls utterly in love with every horse I encounter, my trainer Sara is a tougher customer.  She prefers to think of herself as more of a connoisseur, but still, her standards are very high.  (She will even say, out loud, that Skye is not perfect. So you see, she is tough.) So I was interested to hear what she considered her favorite horses. I expected her to say a Warmblood of some kind, as we will often admire Nigel together as Carey goes cantering past on him. Instead she said she likes Spanish horses, such as PRE's, Andalusians and Lusitanos. As it happens, I have also been reading various books on balancing your horse and improving your relationship through liberty work and several of the authors mention how much they love the Spanish type horses.

This is Rayo. He has the
classic Lusitano head. He has
tipped me over into loving
grey horses. He's stunning.

So I did a little searching to see where I might get to see some, and lo and behold there is a renowned breeder of Lusitanos in Siler City, North  Carolina. Even better, Siler City is between Charlotte and Raleigh, so I could stop in on my way home from taking the dastardly test in Raleigh last week.  So I e-mailed Victoria Morris of Don E Mor Farms, and she  said she would be happy to let me visit. I got there a little late because of a traffic tie up in Raleigh, but it was totally worth the drive.


To learn more about Lusitanos and see Don E Mor's  jaw-droppingly gorgeous website, go to:

www.donemor.com

While the farm and the horses are so impressive, Victoria could not have been more down to earth and welcoming. My Quarter Horse Appendix-owning self felt perfectly at home.


The farm itself was so beautiful, with post and rail fencing, rolling hill pastures and tall trees everywhere, and that's before you even get to the horses. If I were to run away from home, this is probably where you could find me.

It was cloudy, so the color isn't as vibrant, but it's just lovely.

Lusitanos are famous not only for being beautiful, but for their docile and friendly personalities, and I have to say, that was definitely evident in these horses. Victoria mentioned that temperament was one of her most important, if not the most important, consideration in her breeding program, and you could really tell. We visited pasture after pasture and each small herd would meet us at the fence, ready for affection. Kind eyes and sweet expressions on every one.

Look at those sweet eyes.
Not that I can be won over by that kind of thing.

I got to see a couple of her stallions, and I fell hard for her buckskin stallion Lavrador. Absolutely gorgeous color, beautiful conformation, and the same kind eye and affectionate personality. Granted, I'm such a horse lover that I'm easy to impress, but even the toughest customer would see he is something special. And his offspring carry his qualities forward, as the babies at Don E Mor are just  beautiful and sweet.

The welcoming committee!
Every herd was this friendly. I just love their personalities.

 I don't often wish for things I don't have (other than more free time) but I was wishing I had a horse farm and plenty of money to spend when I was there, as there wasn't just one but several horses I would have loved to bring home with me.

I'd be happy to take these two off her hands.
Because I'm generous that way.

Of course, who won my heart the most? Shocking news: a bay mare! After perusing the website before I went there, I thought I would come away dying for a buckskin gelding, as I have such a weakness for buckskins and I have this image of a Lusitano buckskin gelding in my mind . . . . But instead, I met this girl . . . .

This is Isabel. She loved me too; I just
know it. Look at that face.

Which of course reminded me that I am so lucky to have the horse that still makes me feel like I am rich, as I still haven't seen the horse that I like the look of better than that red mare of mine. Not that my head can't be turned by a buckskin baby or two.

His color is like burnished gold.

So the good news is, I know exactly where to go when I come into money and it's burning holes in my pocket!  Whenever I have visited a breeding farm and seen the breed, I've been impressed and able to see why the people fell in love with the breed they raise (such as Icelandic horses or Rocky Mountain Horses) but with these, I definitely became a believer. I just loved them.

Not as much as this girl though. There's no point in being silly.

She had me at "let me eat this grass."

Go Go Girl

Ahhhh, now that I have my stupid specialty exam behind me (I took it Friday. All day Friday. Ugh), I can now get back to avoiding cleaning my house by writing my blog instead of worrying about my exam. Not that my minor worrying about the exam made me study for the exam, but it did distract me.

But I am back, and I am back in the saddle on my girl. Something Buck Brannaman said at his clinic struck a chord with me.  He said groundwork is important, and we should not neglect it, if we need it, but we shouldn't hide behind it either. We can only get so far on the ground before we have to get on. So I made a vow now that she is sound again that I need to ride her more and get back to the progress we had made before I went to camp.

So I have been riding her, and having a hell of a good time. I rode her on a Sunday afternoon, and though she was really ready to go, and wanted to trot and not walk, we reached an agreement early on in the ride that I was going to let her trot, but if she wanted to work, we would work. So we did figure eights, we did big circles, we did small circles, we did serpentines and went over ground poles. We did a clover leaf around barrels and we stopped and backed up and started trotting again. After all that, I asked for, and got a nice walk around the arena. And when I got off, she followed me just like a puppy out of the arena and into the barn.

The following Tuesday however, was a whole 'nother story. There was a nip in the air and a slight wind, and all the horses seemed riled up. I did a little lunging but not much because the arena had two lessons with beginners going on, and these two new sweeties were in the round pen:

Meet Copper and Winston, new additions to the
barn membership program. Yes, as a matter of fact they are
awesome.

Even though that girlfriend was a little touchy, I didn't want to hide behind my groundwork, and frankly it was just a beautiful night to ride, so I got on. Well, that red mare was READY TO GO. She wanted to trot almost immediately, but I kept her from trotting for at least a little while, then I just let her go. And she was going fast, and unlike recently, she hollowed her back again and had her head up and had none of the nice rhythm we'd had. Okay, though, I posted slower and put her in circles and figure eights, but finally went down the straightaway on the rail, and she just burst into a fast canter, and leaned in around the curve. She was on the correct lead and actually on her weak side, so I had to admire her spirit (and let's face it, fast is fun!), but I couldn't have her cantering around like a mad thing, thinking she could ignore me. So I brought her back down to a trot and worked in smaller and smaller circles moving her feet around, then finally getting a nice relaxed walk before calling it a night. I was a little discouraged, but all the horses were in a weird mood. I remembered the first days of fall at the barn where I grew up riding and how all the horses would run around in the pasture, so I decided not to let it bother me. And though she was feisty, then, as always, I never felt like she was trying to get rid of me. She just wanted her own way. Which is something I can understand even if I can't let her get away with it.

Here she is after being a wild thing.
Don't be fooled by that sweet expression.
She is not actually an angel in a horse suit.
Or so Sara tells me.

As it turns out, I was right not to overreact. (Sadly, overreacting is rarely the right thing to do, even though it is so nice and easy to do.) When I rode Skye again over that next weekend, she wanted to go, but not so badly that she didn't want to listen. Then on Tuesday I rode again, and I had one of the best rides I've ever had on her. She relaxed her head and neck much more, contained her trot to a nice easy rhythm and was very responsive to my leg and did not avoid nor lean into my light contact. Bravo, I thought, then quit while I was ahead.

Scarface. Who else could have scars front and center
like that and still be so beautiful?

And, as it happened that night, Craig was riding the beautiful Symphony that night. Symphony is a gorgeous and very well-trained American Warmblood who Erin bought to save for a girl to buy back one day. She is a great horse, and only advanced folks can ride her. I remarked that I'd like to ride her trot some time, since it is legendary for being so smooth. Craig said "do it now!"  So I said yes! And I hopped up on that pretty girl and walked a little and trotted a little. And her trot is amazingly smooth, and much easier to sit than to post to. This cannot be sad about my girl's trot. Yet, I did have to keep Symphony going. It didn't take much, but still, it made me miss the willingness to go forward that Skye has.  Symphony was great, but I still like my girl better. Shocking news.

Time of TLC

I was so ready to get back to my schedule with Skye of getting her in shape with my new riding legs from camp, when - cue scary music from Jaws - ABSCESS! Because the wet summer this year, a lot of the horses at the barn have been getting abscesses in their hooves, but I thought Skye had escaped. Then, just as it finally started to dry out, it struck.

Suspicious

At first, she was favoring one hind leg, but not in a dramatic way.  We put her on a couple of days of bute in case it was muscle soreness, but when I checked her a couple of days later, she limped dramatically when I put her out. Erin said that sounded like an abscess, which the farrier confirmed a couple of days later. He tried to dig it out, but it was too deep. Then followed days of soaking her foot in Epsom salts, then wrapping it up in a poultice of  ichthammol, which looks like meconium (a baby's first very sticky poop but smells like real poop). The abscess would not emerge. Then the vet took a look at her and recommended a sugardine poultice, which was fun to mix. Though it didn't smell good, it smelled more like medicine which was a little better. A couple of days of that did work, and though we never saw a dramatic drainage, she returned to soundness.

All this time, she was kept in the stall at night, which she doesn't particularly like, or in the round pen with the twins, who are adorable together and almost as pretty as my Skye. The good thing that came out of her being with the twins is that it is apparent that there are few things Skye likes better than bossing younger horses around, which she did with relish. Yet they love her for it. There's a lesson in that, I think.

See, they're pretty! Tahoe is the larger one, Reno
is the smaller one that looks like a young Skye.
Not that I'm in love with her or anything. I'm
too much of a tough customer for that.
(But when I win the lottery, I'm totally buying her.)

I was a little frustrated that after I had developed my riding muscles at camp then couldn't ride my own horse, but once again, her injury was a good learning opportunity. I learned about a stubborn abscess and sugardine and soaking her foot. But I also learned again what a good horse I have. She was very patient with all the soaking and the wrapping and the staying in the stall that was required. I would let her out to graze and groom her, and I know she understood that I was taking care of her, even if she didn't like being confined for so long for me to do it. And of course, the whole time, she was very pretty.

Night Skye.

So she finally recovers from the abscess, then she looks like she has a hitch in her gait on the other hind leg on Tuesday evening. AAAGH! However, both the vet and the farrier have suggested shoeing all four feet (she was barefoot and ouchy when I got her, then I moved to front shoes) to make sure she is even once and for all. I have to just face the face that some horses need four shoes on rocky uneven ground. So she is now shod on all four feet, and finally, finally, she looked sound last night.

I was working her a little in the round pen just to see how she was moving, and she is a whole different horse at liberty than she is on the lunge line.  She is so much more high strung, prone to turning around a lot and cantering without being asked, but as soon as I bow a little, she comes right in to me. I love working her at liberty (she's so pretty running!), but I need her to chill out a little. I'll start on the line and move to free work so she can see the consistency. Of course I will have to remember to provide consistency.

So now she is sound, and I may actually get to ride my horse today.

A week or two ago in the last days before the boys started back to school, I went out to the Greenway to see my horse buddies out there. The boys and I made our usual trek to the farm stand to get peach slushies and fresh vegetables, then I shanghai'ed them into going to the Greenway. They really don't give a blue toot about horses, even those at the Greenway which they have ridden, so I had to put up with a lot of moaning and groaning about visiting horses. I know, weirdos, right?

Anyway, while we were there, we saw one of my  favorite boys, Whiskey! Enjoy him with me:

I had to shoot into the sun, but you can kind of see
the tornado marking on his face. Surely you
can feel the sweetness of this boy through the
screen.

We also found the yearlings (who may be closer to two or three) that I have seen as two and three old foals. They would not stay still enough to get a decent picture of, but they were very cute. I was especially happy to see that Wrangler, who'd been so tiny at first, looking healthy though he is a little horse.

Of course, I went and visited my main men Goliath and Billy Bob, but by that time the boys' whining about being there on one of their last days of freedom had reached a fever pitch, so I didn't even take a photo of them. Truth be told, I have approximately 10,000 pictures of them already anyway.

One of the 10,000 pictures of Goliath. Not a great picture again, but
I love that face anyway.

So now Skye and I are back in business. A couple of rides over the weekend, a lesson on Tuesday than straight on to getting ready for the Greenway show in November. Hopefully.

And she ran, she ran so far away

So after my wonderful weeks with Skye where she was following me around the pasture, then the week where she was questioning me a little after she was top of the heap o' mares in her pasture, I was ready for the other shoe to drop.  It did.

Lovely, huh? Not so fast . . . .

Yes, she looks beautiful there, doesn't she? So peaceful and happy with her new servant Caroline there beside her. This is how I found her when I went to get her on Tuesday evening. I walked up to her, and as I started to put the halter on her, she wheeled away and trotted off. So I then chased after her, and kept her feet moving for a good bit, figuring if she wanted to go, I should make her go. I'd also heard from several different sources that if they run from you, you need to take charge and chase them until they want to stop. The obvious problem with that scenario is 1) horses can run faster and further than people and 2) pastures are big.

So she and her minions, i.e. every horse in the pasture, cantered down to the gate, with me huffing and puffing behind.  When I got close to Skye, I just looked her and gave her my "are you kidding me?" look, which I swear she understands. We stood looking at each other for what felt like several long moments. Then she moved her left front leg almost imperceptibly in my direction. Good enough. I stepped forward and put the halter on her.

Leading her out of the pasture, I was diligent in my leading, not giving her any room for anything disrespectful but not in an angry way. At first I was amazed at my patience, but then I realized something - I thought it was funny. I had seen that this kind of something was coming, but I also knew that in reality it had very little to do with me, and everything with her new boss mare attitude. Yes, I am going to have to be more authoritative with her, as her respect is a little harder to come by, but I probably needed to do that anyway. Now it's not an option.

I took her directly to the round pen for what I call "listening lessons," ground work to get her remembering I'm the brains of the operation. She was a little resistant at first, but she came around pretty quickly, and was relaxed and rhythmic enough at the trot for me to have her canter a little as well.  In the past, she would get nervous at the canter, but as she gets in better shape, I need for her to canter to get used to doing it again. And she sure as hell had felt like cantering when she was running away from me.

While we were out there, Erin started spraying an insect fogger in the arena. Skye did not like this at all. She stopped stock still and stared at it, then glanced at me, then stared again. I put myself between her and evil fogger, grabbing at the opportunity to position myself as her protector.

"What the hell is that? I better get behind this woman that chased me around earlier."

She was funny because she was both interested and nervous. When Erin came around the other side of the round pen with the fogger, I crossed over to talk her.  A moment later, I felt breath on my neck. Skye had come up behind me to get a better look at the sprayer, trying to hide behind me as she did it. Now, I could certainly stand to lose weight, but I'm pretty sure a horse cannot truly hide behind me.

I lunged her a little in the arena over the cavalettis to work her back, then picked her feet, sprayed her for flies and put her back. As we approached the pasture gate, her attitude began to deteriorate again, so I backed her a couple of steps, then led her in and moved her around a little once inside the pasture. When I let her go, she let me pat her good-bye then she walked off. She moved up into a trot and headed back to her beloved herd.

This might seem like a small thing, but the fact that I just accepted it and dealt with it instead of taking it so personally is a huge step for me, and therefore for my Skye.

I'm heading out to the barn in a few minutes for a lesson with Sara. We'll see if I'm so content about it if she does it again.

Relationship Status

So I started this blog with the intention of tracking my progress with taking Skye from a borderline neglected horse to realizing her potential as a great trail partner and arena horse, then when things really get rolling and improve, I get too busy to write! Aagh. Because quite a bit has been happening, I'm doing three posts in a row.

Anyway, although it has been a while since I wrote on here, partially from vacation, spending time at the barn and the pool and lolling about on my back deck with a beer in hand, I really do want to relate my progress so I can see the continuum of her training and my evolution as hopefully a better horsewoman.

Hard to believe this gorgeous girl would need to progress into being a
better horse, but we are working on it anyway.

I have been continuing to work with Sara on getting Skye in better shape. My girl seemed to have two problems under saddle. First, she didn't seem to want to give to the bit. We suspect she was just jerked around a bit before she came to me but had not really gotten the concept of the bit as a means of communication instead of "the thing that must be avoided because it jerks me around." I totally understood this, as that theory matched her behavior to a t. My reaction to that had been to give her a completely loose rein, assuming she would learn over time that I am never going to jerk her in the mouth. My soft hands are one aspect of my riding that I am particularly proud of. I was taught to ride without stirrups or reins, so leaning on them or against them has never been my problem.

However, Sara has pointed out to me that since I don't jerk on her mouth, I can teach her to trust me by making soft contact and using it as communication more than for steering. This has been excellent advice, as Skye's reaction to the bit has improved by leaps and bounds.

Skye's second problem is the hollowing of her back. Part of that is the reaction to the bit, but it is also somewhat related to lack of strength in her back. So Sara has helped me work her with side reins, over trot poles and getting her to go forward at a nice marching walk with contact, which is helping her round up at least for short periods. I also do some exercises with her to engage her hind quarters, and have taken her on a couple of trail rides, particularly on hilly terrain to help her. This is helping slowly, but we have had so damn much rain that the trail rides have been less frequent than anyone at the barn would like.

All this is to say that I am finally enjoying riding my horse. Ever since I moved to my present barn, I have been enjoying her presence and working with her, and having pride in how beautiful she is, and how well behaved on the ground. But riding her was stressful.  But now I am back to remembering why I wanted to buy her in the first place. Because she has great spirit, great potential and she's intelligent and kind. And pretty. Pretty counts for horses.

Peaceful. And pretty.

When I worked with a different trainer last summer, Skye's attitude toward me worsened. The trainer told me that was to be expected since we were making her work. Not so now. Although she has her off days, not a one has been as bad as a typical day last summer when I couldn't get her out of the pasture without a struggle with her balking every ten feet and planting, or pulling back like a mad thing, or just generally giving off an "I hate you" vibe. There were several days I cried driving away from her pasture last summer, as it was the opposite of the experience I wanted.

Now, she knows I am her person, and she likes it that way. I recently went roaming around her pasture hunting for her fly mask, and she followed along beside me every step of the way. It just filled me up. She walks up to me in the pasture, and now that she is in a different pasture, she tends to graze right across from my van. Yes, I know it's probably a coincidence, or at best a recognition of where the treat machine comes from, but I like it anyway. And Skye loves Sara. Skye watches every move she makes with a soft alert expression, never the annoyance or fear I saw with the other trainer. Sara has her own barn and website. Here it is:

http://partnershipequestriancenter.com

Best of all, I have really begun to enjoy riding her. We're still working it out, but she is getting in better shape, and is trusting me that I'm not punishing her, I'm teaching her what we can do.

Just for the record though, I still miss Reebok and the dinkies.

Wild Wild Horses

While on our annual beach trip to our own version of paradise, Emerald Isle, NC, Laeti (our former au pair whom I call my French daughter but who now lives in London and works like a dog but gets to meet famous British people with some regularity) and I decided to embark on a trip to Shackleford Banks. Shackleford  Banks is an uninhabited island just off the mainland across from Beaufort, North Carolina, which is one the oldest towns in the state. Descendants of Spanish horses brought over during the initial European arrivals to North Carolina live wild on the island, so it's even more worth the trip for me. The horses are pony-sized because the conditions and nutrition on the island, so they are often called Banker ponies, as Shackleford Banks, as well as other islands along the NC coast line, are all part of the Outer Banks. (For folks outside of NC, or for folks not from the coast, the area called "the Outer Banks"  by tourists is further north, and the area we visit is considered the southern Outer Banks.)
 

Skye and Laeti. Laeti knows a good thing when
she see it!

Laeti, my other French daughter Morgane (I'm so lucky; I have two!) and I took this trip several years ago, and trekked for what seemed like forever in 98 degree (F) heat and finally found a herd in the center of the island. This time Morgane was not with us (we missed her!), but my son George came with us since his twin brother Sam went fishing with his dad.

We took a ferry over from Beaufort, and ride was beautiful. When we last went across the sound there, Laeti, the boys and I had gone over to Cape Lookout, and we saw dolphins playing in the water beside the boat, sea turtle tracks from a nest on Shackleford and the ponies taking a dip off the beach. This time nothing of note happened, but it was just lovely all the same.

They let us off at the end of the island, and remembering our last trip, we headed around the sound side (side facing the mainland) which we now knew the ponies preferred. We started looking casually for shells as we walked and before we knew it, we had handfuls of our favorites. My favorite shell is Sinum perspectivum, whose common name is Baby's Ear. Take a look and you can see why.

My favorite shell.

For years I rarely found one, but this year I found over 50. George and Laeti found a lot for me and a lot of others as well.

Just as we started to put a little life in our step to go on a pony safari, Laeti spotted a dark horse about 500 yards away. Excitement! Yes, I see horses all the time, but seeing a wild one in nature is still a thrill. We headed in that direction and even after we lost sight of him or her, we knew we were on right track because . ..

Hoofprints in the sand! Thrilling.
My unpedicued foot, not so thrilling.

We're just like Aragorn in Lord of the Rings with our tracking skills, aren't we? We don't miss a thing! You would think having seen this, we would not be surprised to look up and see, literally right in front of us . . .

 A wild pony. Her name is Ariel, which is just another way that she is perfect.

Yet, somehow we were surprised, perhaps because we thought that the ponies would somehow give a toot that we were standing there and move away. Happily, they did not. We backed off a little to make sure they didn't feel threatened just in case they were just pretending that they couldn't care less.

Almost immediately two young women dressed in what looked like Steve Irwin outfits walked up. They were students from Princeton studying the horses for the summer, and needed to gather some of the ponies' poop for analysis. We asked them a couple of questions, but they weren't very forthcoming. Not so much because they had a secret mission, but it felt a little like "you wouldn't understand." This could have been Princeton attitude or perhaps just Yankee attitude. I was tempted to say "I've been coming here since before you were born, young lady!" But that sounded old and crotchety, so instead I mentioned how I had seen a sea turtle lay her eggs on Shackleford when I was my son's age. The one I told just nodded. I'd rather be my age and thrilled to see a wild pony than be her age and not thrilled by anything. Her job beats the Hell out of mine though. (I would in fact rather roam the beach searching for pony poop than be stuck in an office, but that's a long story for another day.)

Then as we were walking away, we spotted something else interesting.

In case you can't read it, it says "Edward Daniel Brown, Beloved Son." Obviously a gravestone or memorial of some type. Very curious. This was just a matter of feet from the water's edge, so it wasn't the wisest choice of gravesite, what with the constantly shifting sands and all. In any case, this is a testament to the fact that someone very much loved Edward Daniel Brown, and I saw the evidence of it. And now so have you. Mission accomplished.

From there, we trekked through the hot and sandy interior of the island hoping to catch sight of another herd. After a far amount of stoicism from Laeti and me and a far amount of complaining from George, we were rewarded.

Another herd. That's Beaufort in the distance.

George got tired of looking at horses pretty quickly. And yet he is related to me. Weird, huh? We continued on through the dunes separating us from the ocean, then arrived on the unspoiled beach to eat our lunch.

George on this unspoiled beach. He magically transformed into his ebullient self after
some Oreos and water. Amazing!

We then played around on the beach and looked for, and found, a bunch of shells. We then left too late to catch our ferry, requiring us to race in an undignified manner to get our trip back to the mainland. It would take more than that to spoil a day like that though.

To learn more about the ponies at Shackleford Banks, go to:

http://www.shacklefordhorses.org

We also have wild horses in the northern Outer Banks. To learn more about them, go to:

http://www.corollawildhorses.com

Progress Progress

Girlfriend engaged in her favorite
type of bonding activity.

So now on Friday nights I am working with Sara, who teaches our regular lessons at the barn, and Skye is really making progress.  My big concern with her ring behavior, i.e. throwing her head up and ears back and hollowing out her back when we trot, then not wanting to walk after she has trotted at all, has been that she is in some kind of pain. We have checked her back and saddle fit, and her behavior without tack, with tack and under saddle. And while I am still going to get her looked at by a chiropractor for my own comfort (a barn friend recommended one who is very good and very honest about whether your horse needs treatment or not), it appears that Skye's behavior is behavior based and not based in pain. That being said, I plan to continue doing exercises that supple and strengthen her back.



Anyway, that girlfriend was in heat on Thursday and was in her usual discombobulated mood over it. Plus, someone was shooting a gun somewhere off in the distance which didn't help. But we tacked her up and took her into the arena, where she made me look bad at first by being pretty trotty at the end of the lunge line. She is fine with my longer lead line, but gets tense in the presence of the lunge line and the lunge whip, (though you can run it all over her body and she doesn't flinch).

Sara took over, and worked her at the walk and the trot and helped calm her down. I take it so personally when Skye is unhappy at all, but Sara is encouraging me to trust my horse enough to let her work it out for herself that she is being foolish. Some horses won't get it, some will take a long time to get it, and some, like mine, will get it pretty quickly that the tension is coming from them, not from us. So we got her in her thinking and attention-paying frame of mind, and she calmed down considerably. Then we put the side reins on.

We had put side reins on before, and Skye had been, surprisingly to me, pretty chill about it. Last night, however, was another story. She tried to throw her head a little and kept backing up, but Sara just nudged her forward with the lunge whip until she got that forward with her head in a reasonable position would release the very light pressure. (Sara adjusted them so she had plenty of room to move but still couldn't reach the sky with her nose.) After a little work at the walk, Sara moved her into her trot, and after a couple of circuits of her moving her nose around, Skye settled into what looked like a comfortable rhythmic trot. Just what we were looking for.

Then Sara asked if I wanted to get on her, or have her do it. I've been curious to see if it's me that is causing or contributing to this behavior, and I'm not  going to turn down the opportunity to have a horse professional I trust (I love how she treats Skye, and Skye trusts and likes her, which means so much to me) ride my horse for me! At first, Skye did a nice relaxed walk, then a nice forward walk, and I started feeling pretty crappy, like it was me all along. But no, true to form, about five minutes in, she started breaking gait into a short-strided trot, nose in the air, ears back, back hollow. Sara worked with her teaching her to get comfortable with some contact, and working on her getting the idea to move her body away from real leg pressure, and adjust to normal leg contact. It took a few minutes of stress on Skye's part, but after a while she settled into a more rhythmic trot, like she had on the lunge line, and was getting used to contact. Despite her discombobulated mood, she ended up really doing well. And, shocking news alert: she looked just beautiful. I know I spend more time mooning over her and less time riding her, but I can't help it. I just love that mare.

Today was absolutely beautiful, so I headed out assuming someone would want to take a trail ride. Amazingly, only a couple of people were there riding in the ring. Crazy. So I got that girl and gave her a long intensive grooming, trimming her mane and giving her a little massage based on some techniques I found in an old Equine Massage book I ordered from an online used book seller. She usually acts like she tolerates grooming, but she really relaxed today and seemed to enjoy it.  Then we worked a little in the round pen on stretches and spent some time talking and letting her graze on the clover in the shade. Nothing exciting, but we had a nice time together.

Sweet boy in his stall. Enhance your viewing pleasure by
noting the cross on his back and his tiny hooves.

And, I said a final good-bye to that sweet dinky. He has been caught and put in a stall and will be delivered to his new home, where his sons have been for weeks, probably tomorrow. He looked tiny and alone in the stall, but he recognized me. I wished him good luck with the rest of his donkey life.  I will miss him. He charmed me so with his big eyes and long ears and stripey legs and tiny hooves. If his new owner is half as enchanted with him as I am, he will be fine.

"And I --ee-I will always love you!"
I don't sound a thing like Whitney Houston,
but the sentiment is the same. I love him so.

Fresh Horses

I can't believe it has been a while since I was on here, but I have been out at the barn a lot, spending quality time with my girl and falling in love.

Yes, there is shocking news. I'm in love again; he's an older male, large and distinguished, with a mysterious and somewhat tragic background. This, even when I had vowed to myself not to get attached to another animal whose destiny was not in my control.  I vow to do better in the future.

In the meantime, here he is:

Meet Bo. Short for Beaujolais. Feel free to love him.
Resistance is futile.

Isn't he adorable? Erin has been getting new horses for the program, and she had specifically been looking for a draft horse, since they are calm and can carry larger riders that come out for trail rides. This beautiful boy belonged to a neighbor of one of the regular farriers who comes to the barn. The family that owned him had recently suffered several tragedies in a row, and had to sell their property and needed to place this sweetie pie in a hurry.  It was freakily fortuitous that Erin had a space and a need at the same time this family needed to deal with things other than a horse. He so exactly fits the bill of what Erin needed that she has said she feels guilty that she got him this way.

Erin said he is about 20, and when I mentioned to someone else that he looked liked a Clydesdale that person said she had been told that. Not that it matters. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. (Yes, Shakespeare! Could you not tell this is an upscale blog?)

Anyway, he is just as sweet as he can be, and pretty much everybody at the barn has fallen for him. He is special friends with Munchkin, which is so adorable it's almost too much to take.  (Good thing those dinkies had built up my immunity so I am not overwhelmed.)

Look at his feathered feet! Enchanting!

We are just walking him at this point to build up his muscles while Erin works on putting a little weight on him. I got to ride him bareback on Thursday, and any scrap of resistance to his charms that I had left was shredded. He was just as good as gold.

Another new guy is Ratchett. He is a registered Paint, but he is completely black, and just as handsome as can be. He is even rather dashing as he has a mustache. I tried to get a picture of it, but he kept kissing on me so I couldn't get one yet. Apparently he is fun to ride, but still tests people and has a hard time picking up on one of his leads. I don't have to care, as I love him anyway.

Just for the record, I still miss Reebok something awful. Only Ginger understands.  She has taken over leadership of Skye's pasture, which is surprising. She has been pushing my girl around a little, but I don't think Skye will take it for long. The dynamics of that pasture changed when Leo was in there, and once he was moved to a different place, Ginger remained her somewhat bullying leadership. The other girls in the pasture, Symphony and Digits (this is one good-looking set of mares, lemme tell ya), don't put up with much from her, but it's not for Ginger's lack of trying. We'll see how long it lasts, but overall the pastures are all well-balanced now.

The Three Bay Mares, Skye, Symphony and Digits.
Skye with her fly mask is still beautiful.
My objectivity is stunning, isn't it?

As for my girl, we are working on getting her problems under saddle finally addressed. I had my first lesson with Sarah, the barn teacher, last Tuesday. Sarah's approach is to get her comfortable giving to pressure in tack (which immediately changes Skye's attitude a little) but not being ridden in the arena,  as much as possible, and riding very casually on trails so she gets a combination of learning to give to pressure, relax with tack, and relax with being ridden. Sarah worked with me and my girl privately two Fridays in a row, and we are seeing real progress. I also am doing some exercises to work her back and using the fancy-pants saddle pad I bought for her (with memory foam!). So while I am actually doing a lot with her, it is different every time and I think she likes that. The best part - Skye loves and trusts Sarah, so I can feel great handing Skye over to her. Unlike when I worked with a trainer before, I no longer have to wince when I watch someone else with my horse.

Yesterday, Dani (who owns the adorable TWH rescue Mosey) and I took our horses for a walk through the woods.  Mosey needs some more weight and conditioning before he can be ridden, and I wanted to work Skye's back on the hills. It was really fun, and a great way to connect with that girl.

In other news, Erin's twin young horses, Tahoe and Reno, are up in the mare pasture, and have taken up with a new boarder's horse, Tomi. Tomi is a really sweet older mare, and the three have instantly bonded. Ginger had been bullying Tomi something terrible when they were in the other pasture, so Erin moved Tomi into the big mare pasture, and it has worked out beautifully.

This is Tomi. Isn't she elegant?

Dinky in the distance.

And the lone dinky remains in the gelding pasture. I've touched him a couple of times, but he is still so suspicious that he wheels away the minute I get too friendly. I feel bad for him, as he must miss his dinky little sons. I'll catch him soon though, even though I will miss his little self.

Another Hard Good-bye

Well, Saturday and Sunday have been tough for me this week. I headed out on Saturday, determined to get on that girl, work on loosening and strengthening her back and maybe helping to catch the lonely dinky (who remains elusive despite hours of chasing and attempts to catch him by others). As soon I got there, Erin told me, so I would know, that some people were coming out to see Reebok and that they sounded like they wanted to take him. Since he trusts me, I volunteered to get him out and show off  his best behavior. She thanked me, as apparently that is exactly what she was hoping I would say, as she had a bunch of trail riders coming in and her usual busy Saturday.

The people arrived, and I was so relieved because they honestly couldn't have been nicer. A mom-age (45 years old maybe?) woman, her 12 year old daughter and another daughter who seemed around 10. They were really nice, and loved the way that boy looked. And boy, he was extra nice. I called to him to get him in, even though we couldn't see him from the gate, and wouldn't you know he came boogying up with his cute little gait and met us at the gate. The family was charmed, as the lady said she had always had to chase their horses to get them. I could happily tell her that catching Reebok is about as difficult as catching a potato. He sighed and nuzzled me (in a sweet, not disrespectful way) and they fell in love with him.

Who would not be charmed?

I worked him around in the round pen for a little bit, and he backed and came back to me beautifully, then went to the end of the line at a nice walk. I could not get him to go any faster than a walk though, and he kept coming in to me. So I loved on him, and told the folks that his doing this was entirely my fault, as I am not firm enough with him because I don't have the backbone to be anything but sweet to him. They could tell this was true. They came in and loved on him, and he just loved it.

Erin got back and tacked him up and rode him a little, and he did great. I then felt very foolish that I had not pressed harder for her to do it sometime I was there so I could have ridden him. I've never ridden an "unbroken" horse before; I guess I was just reluctant. Then the lady rode him and after a false start or two (he could tell she wasn't confident, as it had been years since she had ridden), he did great for her too. They were such nice people, but I have to say I have reservations just because he will be alone where they are. Erin says he will be better off because he will bond with them better, but it breaks my heart to think of him all alone.

He couldn't bear to see me cry.

Before I left yesterday, I went out to say good-bye to him, and it just tore me up. He was just as sweet as a puppy to me, so much more affectionate than Skye has ever been.  Rip, Lisa and Craig were all there admiring the awesomeness of Cowboy, and I thought their presence would keep my tears at bay. It did not, and I've been crying in secret off and on all weekend.

In any case, they decided to take him and were to pick him up today. It was pouring down rain all day, and in a way I'm glad I wasn't there. The bottom line is that he was not my horse, and since I couldn't afford a second board, he had to go and make room for a horse Erin could use on trails and in the membership program. I just wish I hadn't let myself get so attached. My attachment to him did him some good though, because he is much easier to handle now.

Before I said good-bye though, I did get to mess around a little with my girl. She came up to me in the pasture again, which is a relief (I don't know if it was Leo or spring grass she was hesitant to leave last week). And she was a good girl. I groomed her quickly, which is a lot easier now that she is shed out and sleek again. Then I tacked her up and led her over the ground poles in the ring several times. Amy, who is the mother of twin girls who own Chloe and a good rider in her own right, asked what I was doing and I told her I was working on loosening and strengthening Skye's back.

Lo and behold if she didn't come over and check Skye for soreness and tightness. Amy is a physical therapist and proceeded to point out different muscle groups that tighten and cause soreness. She stretched out that girl's legs and massaged her  in several places and Skye just loosened right up on the spot. We found a sore spot, and Amy told me stretches I could do with her head to help it. Skye was so cute as she relaxed. Then I got on and went over the poles on her a couple of times. Then she stepped on herself and ripped her left front shoe right off. Durn. Thankfully, it came off cleanly and didn't seem to harm her foot in any way.

I am dreading the Reebok-shaped hole I will see in the pasture from now on out there, but I feel like Skye and I are getting somewhere at last.

As the Pasture Turns

I drove up today and saw the beautiful Symphony standing in Skye's pasture and I knew that the pasture changeover had taken place. The gates were closed so I parked next to the pasture. As soon as I got out of the van, Skye was nickering me and pacing in front of the gate. Girlfriend was unhappy, and wanted me to do something about it. I took some carrots and headed over there.

She was so busy nickering that at first she didn't even eat the carrots (which is saying something because that woman likes her food). She gave me a meaningful look then trotted over to the corner closest to the far pastures (which is still at least an acre away, as her pasture is across the dirt road from the barn). From the way she was looking, I could guess about where he was, and sure enough, I heard him call to her. My heart broke for them, even while I was pleased that she seemed to want to connect with me about her distress. I'm sure I'm anthropomorphizing (which I frankly don't have too much of a problem with, since we are continually learning how much more animals are like us), but she really seemed to think I would help her.

And I feel guilty because I do really want this pasture change, as her happiness with that boy was causing some problems. Saturday I rode that girl, and while she was okay, she was very distracted. Sunday was worse. I had very little time but I want to get her in better shape, so I lunged her a little at liberty. She was distracted and nervous, and basically acting like a nutty mare. She whinnied for Leo a couple of times, and it was all I could do to keep her attention on me. She cantered around of her own accord. So I then kept her at it as I want her to know that if she breaks gait, she has committed herself to a good bit of going at that gait. I didn't stress her out though, and she was relieved to come in but basically seemed discombobulated. Finally, I checked under her tail, and sure enough, she was in heat. That explains a lot, but the bond with Leo made her behavior even worse. When I put her back in with him, she backed her butt up to him, lifted her tail, then spread her back legs and peed, making sure he'd get a good whiff of whatever hormonal action she had going on. He sniffed her all over. Love, love, love.

Feel the love. More precious because they were soon to be separated.

But as I said, he doesn't pay her board, and I need a horse I can work with. In light of the change of pasture, I didn't do much with her tonight other than check her out and fly spray her. By Saturday, she should be in better shape.

In similar news, Reebok and Ginger have been split up as well, and they are both fit to be tied.  Ginger was all over me, anxious and wanting attention bad enough to risk the head swings and ear pins that Skye was throwing her way.  When I went to the new gelding pasture to visit Leo and Reebok and see the new horse Cowboy, Reebok practically mobbed me. He walked right up with I swear what could only be an imploring look on his face. He associates me with that pasture where he was so happy with his woman. The feeders told me he got loose twice and sprinted over to her pasture. So very sad, but he is not allowed such behavior. It's dangerous. Nevertheless, all the geldings in that pasture seem to get along, so the choice of herd dynamics (which Erin is very conscious of and good at predicting) is a good one.

Pining for his Ginger.

Behold the magnificence of Cowboy.

Blade and Gray, the Switzerland of pasture wars were fine. I gave them both a carrot just for being so excellent.

Speaking of excellence. Rip, a great guy out at the barn (his wonderful wife Lisa owns Dakota), just got his own horse. He is a 16.2 hand tri-color paint, and he is fabulous as you can see.

And sweet. I was telling him what a looker he is and he came right over.

Well, hello there Handsome!

And speaking of coming over, we need Echo to give it up and allow himself to be caught. I called him over, and he came to see me, but I couldn't touch him. I didn't have carrots so I didn't expect to, but from what I understand everyone has given up until I can catch him. I'm betting if I feed him some carrots on Friday and again on Saturday morning. I'll be able to make a grab for him Saturday afternoon. I won't feel bad now, as I will be helping him get back to his sons, who I know he must be missing.

Yes, I'm being swished off by the last
dinky standing.

On a final note, my good friends Munchkin and Mistletoe are back up at the main barn. How I love them. I have instructed them they are to take the dinkies' place in my heart. They are no doubt up to the task.

Riled and ready for my undaunted affection.