# Takes Two to Tango-Shan's Journal



## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I've been floating around HF for a while but hadn't started a journal yet. Better late than never, right? Please excuse my writing style, I can be a rambler. I hope you enjoy anyway.

I own one horse and train/exercise a few on the side. I don't profess to be any great or very refined trainer, but I can install the basic buttons, teach manners, and get them riding out on the trail. Thanks to my own difficult mare, my specialty is problem horses and producing a willing riding partner.

I got my mare from Northeastern AZ. She was green broke, but even that is a tentative term as she didn't have decent ground manners. She wouldn't freak out if you put tack on her and could be handled. That's about the extent of what she knew. The owner didn't have time for her and didn't 'click' with her, so she was selling her. I had taken some lessons for a few years, but in reality was nowhere near ready to train a horse. I thought that since I had ridden a few unbelievably well behaved green horses before, that I could do it. Well, I was able to do it, but it was a long and painful and frustrating process, and I'm still learning. But aren't we all?

Cheyenne (Shan) is a 12 year old mustang cross, sire unknown. She was a surprise baby. Many think that she has quarter horse in her somewhere, and that is probably true. What to say about Shan? Well, first she is strong willed. She's the horse that, if loose and spooking in the yard, would be more likely to run over the person standing in the way trying to stop her than to turn around.
Shan is also incredibly smart, which has worked for but more often against me. She is very playful, and her playfulness also causes her to be a bit more destructive. She has smooth gaits and is very athletic. Being of smaller stature, around 14.3 hands, 900lbs with a lithe sport horse type build, she has pulled off jump evasions that baffled a trainer. She has cleared around three feet and probably higher in some of her evasion tactics (the latest one was a puddle), and I have no doubt that with some training and a rider that could actually ride a jumping horse, she could be very successful at it. Alas, her owner's interests lie in dressage and working equitation, the only jumping being done over a log or a pole set up one foot high in the arena as a fun diversion.

On to my journal title: "Takes Two to Tango"
I love dressage, at least the theory of it anyway. Producing a horse that is so willing and in tune with his rider that the cues are nearly imperceptible is a beautiful idea. In my interpretation, in order for a horse to be a willing partner, he must have some say in how he is ridden. This is a must for Shan. She is too smart and strong willed to be muscled into things-trust me, I've tried. Letting her fall into bad habits is a terrible idea as she makes it twice as hard to break them. She learned how much stronger she is than a person, hence the reason why I must put a stud chain on her if I think she will act up. She seems to have gentled out with fair and firm handling, along with good timed corrections and age. For the most part I can handle her just as I would any other horse, but I always have to be aware of what she is thinking and where her mind is in the moment. Being one step ahead of her makes a big difference.

So, Two to Tango (I warned you about the rambling!), two willing partners dancing in harmony. That is my goal. I let Shan have a say in training methods. She lets me know if something is not working for her, and then I will try something different. Not all training methods will work for all horses, and most horses will have one or two things that they really excel at. Hence the reason I have tried so many different things-trail classes, gymkhana, formal dressage training, formal jumping training, liberty training, trick training, flag carrying, and at one point I had her started driving and she was doing well, but I just didn't trust her enough to be a cart horse. I still don't, lol.
She did really well in the trail classes. She likes having something she must maneuver, something to occupy her brain and make her think. She is not spooky at all and is very confident, doubly so if I am leading her. If she is acting a bit leery of something, I can just dismount and lead her and have no problems, she would literally follow me anywhere. Unfortunately, I found trail classes too slow paced for my taste. Then I found out about working equitation, and have begun gearing my training program towards that. Basically, its like a trail class but you do it at a canter!

I finally may have an 'eye on the ground', as I discussed with another boarder at my barn about arena riding together. I said I could use some critique, and she would like another eye also, so we have plans to ride once a week together. I am looking forward to it, as Shan was being rather resistant to lateral movements. We could definitely use some refining.

Without further ado, here is a picture of my beloved Shan. This was from last spring, I plan to get more recent ones soon! If the picture doesn't show, don't worry I plan on posting more and figuring out this picture thing. :wink:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

SO, I had a good session this evening. Well, good being that I had a couple of people available to give me feedback, not good in that I almost got dumped in a full blown rear that nobody else happened to see, and then managed to sit a few full out bucks a while later that freaked out one of my riding buddies.
Mostly, it was because Shan is stiff bending to the left, and then I also found out that she hates her zilco flower hackamore. I think she tolerated the english mechanical hackamore, liked it better than the bit anyway. Hated the zilco, so I put a western style rope sidepull on her and she seemed to like it much better and went much smoother and more nicely for me.
Her right hind stiffness has been ongoing, and it takes her a good 45 minutes to be comfortable bending to the left. I'm going to call the chiropractor, as I have a feeling that with all that kicking and bickering she's done in her stall she probably put herself out of place. I'm hoping that's all it is anyway, as I really would like not to have an ongoing stiffness problem in a 12 year old mare who's never been ridden hard. Ugh.

Another arena session planned for tomorrow morning, and I'm super excited to have arena buddies for the first time in a very long time. Plenty of trail buddies in my area, not so much arena. And since I prefer to trail ride alone or with just one other rider that doesn't mind trotting and cantering, it doesn't usually work out for me. Here's to better days!

And I will get a camera and pictures and videos one of these days. I'm sure my journal is very boring XD


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Pictures are not showing up. Sounds like a fun mare to ride, will follow along.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Thanks @whisperbaby22! She IS fun, but she is also a bit hard to ride. She's one of those 'ride every step' types, but on the trail she is a star. Last time I spent the whole way back towards the barn on the trail turned around looking at my mom as I talked her through working out her mares issues with walking (she does a super slow walk then jogs to catch up, its annoying and uncomfortable to ride). Shan just walked the whole way back, picking the correct way every time with no help from me!
I will have to look into what the trick is with the pictures now, but I don't really have much to post anyway.

I got to ride again today (I am LOVING all the ride time I'm getting lately) with my arena buddies. 'A' in particular was very helpful, as she watched me for a while then told me that I should try to stop muscling her into a bend and holding her in line with my hands and just go back to basics. Relax! Well she had us doing serpentines at walk and jog, and instead of trying to turn with my outside rein and turning leg as many are told to do, I just asked with legs first and then pulled with the inside rein as if I was riding a green horse just learning to turn. After several minutes, both Shan and I were much more relaxed and she was responding to turning and lateral cues from my legs much better. Her bend greatly improved and it took much less rein by the time we were done. She was also much less stiff today.

'A' really helped me realize that I was taking the approach of muscling her into bending and being too strong with her without realizing it. I suppose it was fairly easy for me to slip back into after studying with a dressage trainer who used this method, as many do. 'A' also helped me by telling me to get my heels down and start using my calves more instead of heels to cue. I did get a better response using my calves. Having an eye on the ground makes a big difference!

I also tried out several bitless bridles today. We tried one that uses poll pressure and one that simply tightens over the nose. She was OK but bulldozed through them when she felt like it, so unfortunately they weren't strong enough for her, and I really would prefer to ride her in something very mild. The rope noseband sidepull is a little more than I want, but Shan seems to go well in it so that is what I will stick with. I have to find out if they have anything like that that looks english. Me and my mismatched tack!

Next ride will be Monday, unless I hit the trails tomorrow with mom.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

There is a thing on my computer that says setup 60%. Some people are putting up photos easily, I will wait and give it a bit more time. But it is always nice to put a picture up of the horses in the journal section.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Whoop whoop! Pictures are working now! Let me know if you guys can see the picture in the first post. I couldn't before, but now I can.

So the reason for my absence all week is because I wasn't riding. "Miss Ride-every-other-day" Had no riding from Sunday all the way into Thursday evening. This is one of those weeks I feel like a failure.
However, my husband came riding with me (not something he does normally). We've only had two (last night was three) rides this year so far, and both times the horses acted up. The first ride Shan was full blown rearing and acting like a nut job (found out later it was because of the saddle fit), the second ride dear husband wanted to tie Belle to a branch on the ground. Belle was grazing, got to the end of her rope, pulled, heard the branch drag after her, and ZOOM. She was gone. Thankfully, none of the tack was ruined and she came home with only a few scrapes.

So this was the first ride this year we've had together where we didn't have any incidents! Well, I spoke a bit too soon, but you'll find out later why. There was one minor incident.
We went trail riding. Shan was very 'on the muscle' from not being worked for four days. She would not stand still, very eager to go, and got me a bit worried from the way she was acting. Surprisingly, she did fine. This was a moonlight and headlamp ride, and the worst thing she did was trot up a couple ditches and put her head down in that back rounding crow hopping thing at the top. All we did was walk, except for those occasional trots up the ditches. I did put some mild spurs on for this ride, as I wanted to get her more responsive to the lateral cues and gentle squeezes. They worked beautifully. By the end of the ride, it only took a touch of my calf with no spur to get her to move over, leg yield, whatever. No signs of stiffness last night either.

I was very happy that we had an uneventful ride, with Shan being as wound up as she was. We got back, I am getting the halter so not looking at Shan at the moment. She takes the opportunity to yank the reins out of my hands and bolt for the barn. Ugh.
This has been her vice for years (dragging lead or reins out of your hands and running off). I have gotten it down to where it hardly ever happens, maybe once every few months. She is led with a stud chain over her nose most of the time. However, she was in her english hackamore that I had just put back together. Realized I hadn't put it together right after I caught her as the leverage action wasn't working right. She needs something stronger than this hackamore-a rope nose sidepull to be specific. She was very obedient and responsive in that, and that is what I plan on getting.

Most of the time, I don't punish her when I catch her, as back when this used to be a daily thing I realized that by smacking her when I caught her in her mind I was punishing her for being caught. Well, last night I really let her have it. Sent the reins into her chest backing all the way down the barn aisle. Then when I took her back to the trailer to untack, she was thinking about acting up again, pulling, and I yelled "QUIT." She gave me the white of her eye but stood stock still after that.

Darn mare! I wasn't even really mad though. I have learned that with horses, these things happen, and getting yourself all worked up over it is pointless and often counter productive. It just means that I will not be buying any nice pairs of reins to use on Shan, as our current pair are even more scuffed up than they were before. Sigh.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Late update, last one for probably at least a week and a half as we are going on vacation, without the horses unfortunately :wink:

Rode Sunday. Good ride, lots of trotting. My poor mom fell off when her horse mimicked mine who was crow hopping from excitement. Mom lost her balance and slow-mo fell off the side. She was fine and took it very well, 'no big deal!' I thought she was pretty cool. The only other really memorable thing from that ride was that we saw a whole family of owls out and about doing their hunting. One flew and landed in a tree right next to us so he could see what we were about.

Next ride was Monday. I had decided to put my spurs on, and got a much better response to arena work. However, Shan was ****ed that she couldn't just fall against my leg whenever she felt like and run around the arena in drunken stagger type circles and lines. So she was pinning her ears when I would ask or correct with leg, she didn't listen and ran into spurs. Wasn't happy about that. BO said she didn't look happy, I told her it was because of the spurs. I ask with calf, then if no response apply spur. I put her in mom's sidepull since she wasn't there that day. She went pretty well, better than the mechanicals.

Then on Wednesday we made a trip to the tack shop for mom to sell her old saddle and buy a new one. While we were there, they happened to have a dually halter, which I had read of people riding in and had a similar action to a side pull, so I bought one. Mom got a dressage saddle (got rid of western), happened to like the one that is the same brand as mine. Really good choice. Old and well worn and used, but most darn comfortable saddle I have ever sat in. More comfortable than mine!
We went riding that evening to try out the new tack. I was pretty impressed with the dually right from the get go. Shan usually attempts some grass diving when I'm not looking. This stopped her when she got a considerable amount of tension on the lead, which is saying something as she has ripped the reins right from my hands even in a snaffle bit and definitely in all other bitless devices. We went out for a short ride, and I really tested my control. I was very pleased. Not only did Shan become unable to grass dive, her leg yields were much better and general response much softer. I also tested my stop by stopping only with reins, which I never actually do but is important to know what I have there in spook situations. I had just as good if not better response than a snaffle bit. I am very pleased but utterly stumped as to why she is better behaved in this sidepull dually halter than the stiffer fixed nose western style. The dually has two ropes over the nose, but they are soft, overall a kinder setup than the regular sidepull. I can't believe I am now riding in a halter on Shan. Another horse, I would believe it. But Shan? I'm shocked.

Riding again tomorrow morning. I am going to try out a double bridle of sorts. Dually halter with reins attached, and then a snaffle bridle with reins over that. We'll see how she goes. I have to go wash her copper french link snaffle since I used it on other horses.

I will update tomorrow after the ride, and then its vacation time! Man am I gonna miss riding though, even for only a week.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Yea, I looked at that halter and am always put off by "new miracle tack" that is simply a update of an old idea, but if it works for your horse it works! Looks like fit may be an issue, that horse I saw the guy had to constantly adjust the halter, even though it looks snug. Let me know if it continues to work.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@whisperbaby22

I thought the same thing, however I don't take the 'miracle' cr*p with it. She was not able to run through it today when we had a stressful move and she was acting up a bit. I would definitely take the dually halter over a stud chain or that 'miracle' halter which has metal inlays on the crown piece that goes behind the ears!

Shan came up lame today, same hind. Evidence of kicking going on-a lot of it- in the wire on the panels. Ugh.
When we arrived to go riding, I had a shocking and disturbing sight. There was a POOL OF BLOOD out by our trailer, and a drip blood trail along the gravel driveway. BO's trailer was gone so I assumed that some horse had a major accident and they had to trailer in to the vet. Well, they arrived back while we were still there. Both my mother and I asked the stable hands what happened, they shook their heads and did not say a word. BO was there too and didn't say anything.

I confronted the one stable hand I know very well and he told me that firstly, they were not allowed to say anything so I didn't hear it from him. Then he said one of the 'rescues' had colicked, and ended up with a twisted gut. 'He wasn't responding to treatment so we had to kill him'. They didn't say shot and I highly suspect a knife was used due to the blood trail. There was NO VET because 'her vet was out of town'. And we live in the middle of the city, it wasn't like it was rural nowhere. They could have called in one of numerous vets to at least euthanize.

And then not saying a word to us about it, even though we had seen a huge pool of blood. Then talking to me later as if it was a normal day, still nothing about it. Needless to say, we were out of there like yesterday. Thankfully, we had already been making other arrangements and the lady we are moving to let us come early so we didn't have to cancel the vacation. I was ready to, no way did I trust them now.

So, I am very tired. Moved a bunch of hay, the heavy slow feed boxes, and the two horses who were being a bit troublesome. I am beyond disgusted with old BO, especially the way she acted with us. I am very sad for the poor horse but glad to be rid of that barn, as there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes there that I didn't catch onto until we had been there a few months.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

It sounds horrific. If there was a vet available within a reasonable time, no reason to let it bleed to death. But we may not have the whole story. Since it looks like you are out of there, so much the better. And I am not totally put off of "miracle" tack. I make my own bridles and am shocked at some of the prices on this stuff. Did not see how much the dually cost, but hey if it works that's what counts.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

How long have you had Shan? I was trying to find that out from your journal, but didn't see the info.

How is it going at your new barn? Keep us posted!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@Gottatrot1

Oops! I've had Shan for seven years. Haven't updated in a while, my bad. Stupid desert heat. It makes me so lethargic, lazy, and sleepy here in the summer. At least half the people and most of the horses are the same way.

I had an AMAZING time on my vacation. Gottatrot offered me a ride with her on the beach, since we happened to be vacationing in the area. She is a very kind and amazing lady, just an awesome person to be around.

The weather wasn't very cold but I knew once we got on the beach moving fast with the sea spray it would be colder, so I decided to put on a light jacket, much to the chagrin of the other local riders.
Gottatrot's horses stood very well mannered and calm at the post. As we arrived, she said she had to go get a horse named Satin. Naturally I followed her. Out of the beautiful green field comes a little swaybacked Arabian mare that is practically breathing fire through her nostrils as she paws the air at the horses who came up to say hello. She shone like a gem, bright bay in beautiful condition. I guessed her around 15 years old. I assumed that another girl would be riding Satin, as I knew that Gottatrot only owned two horses who were already at the hitching rail.

Gottatrot rode Valhalla. Her other horse, Amore, was being leased and the leaser was there to ride. She seemed very attached to Amore, so when Gottatrot asked me who I wanted to ride, Amore or Satin (who was still snorting fire, pawing the air, and chewing the wooden hitching rail), I chose Satin more out of consideration to the leaser than anything else. I didn't care who I rode, I was just so happy to be riding. And I don't regret my choice either.

Gottatrot warned me that Satin was a challenging ride. I figured I could handle her. If not, I would fall off, and since I've done that before plenty of times I'm not afraid of it, so it wasn't a big deal. :lol: I piddled around the yard with Satin as I waited for the others. She was calm and attentive, light on the bit and the aids, and seemed to settle right down after I mounted. I wondered if Gottatrot exaggerated.

So we head out, and as soon as we are out of the yard, Satin is trying to pull my arms out of their sockets and run to the front. We get to the gate that leads to the beach, and Valhalla is giving Gottatrot trouble about opening it. I jump in to help, and between the two of us we manage to get it open. Once we were on the beach, those horses were off like a rocket. I learned pretty quickly that my normal methods were not going to work with Satin, who was chugging and pulling like a freight train. It took me a while, but after watching Nala's rider go up and down the beach doing circles and dressage type work, I thought I would try bending and circling and serpentines instead of just straight. Satin isn't so flexible from side to side, so it was much easier to keep her in control then. I'm sure she was feeling the stretch.

I probably would have done a full out gallop, like Nala, except for the fact that I felt like I just wouldn't be able to stop or avoid hazards (people, holes in the sand, etc.). Towards the end I started riding in the water more, which was the best way to keep Satin slowed down and it was absolutely amazing. I felt like I was riding a water horse with the droplets of water flying up around us, Satin and Nala prancing through the waves together.

About this time a very unfortunate accident happened. Amore and Valhalla were a ways back and cantering to catch up to us. Suddenly, Amore went down, her rider hitting the sand, knocked out cold. Neither Nala's rider nor I saw this happen. I was doing my habitual turn around check on the people behind us and said, "oh, they've stopped." We both turned around, and Nala's rider suddenly took off in a canter back towards them. Her eyes must have been quicker than mine. I would have followed at a canter, but every time I let Satin go out of a trot she charged out of control, and I was rather enjoying trotting through the water. I didn't notice until I got a ways closer that Amore's rider was on the ground. I sped up and started circling Satin as she wouldn't stand still. I didn't see anything I could help with, as Gottatrot was kneeling on the sand next to her, Amore was being held by an onlooker, and Valhalla and Nala were being hand walked by Nala's rider. I found out later that Amore's rider was knocked out for about a minute, which I didn't realize at first.

We waited for the ambulance, which quickly took Amore's rider away. I was worried and almost feeling guilty like I should have been the one riding Amore. I'm pretty sure I'm younger than her, maybe my reflexes would have been faster. Maybe not, maybe I would have been the one in the ambulance. Pointless to speculate though.

Gottatrot let me know that Amore's rider made a full recovery. Her injuries were not life threatening, though I remember she did have a concussion and cracked her helmet. Landing on that wet sand must have hurt. I can relate, being knocked out cold on desert rocks once before.

We had an uneventful ride back to the barn. We hung around for a bit, chatting. I tried to help clean up but the most that Gottatrot would let me do is untack and spray off Satin, "No, no, go! Enjoy your vacation!" she said. See? Very sweet lady, our Gottatrot.

It was definitely an unforgettable ride, in more ways than one. I can't thank Gottatrot enough for giving me such an amazing experience. If she ever makes her way out here, I hope to do the same for her. :grin:

DH finally got pictures out of email. So here they are! You all should feel very privileged that I am showing you these pictures as I think I look terrible. I know I'm not fat, I don't even have any excess really, and I've been working out enough that my abs are showing. *sigh* we can't all be built like Gottatrot though. :wink:

Order in group picture goes: Amore and her leaser, Satin and me, Valhalla and Gottatrot, and Nala and her rider.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

The new barn has been great, but unfortunately expensive. Its double what we were paying before. In addition, Shan has been put on rice bran and a joint supplement, so my supplement cost went up from $15 to $56 per month. Then we had the vet and farrier out, so the end of May to now have been very expensive for us, with the sudden move and all. I am hoping that the financial storm has ceased now.

When I came back, Shan was much improved, as in she wasn't lame at the walk anymore, but is still lame at trot. I've had an acupressure/chiro/raiki therapist work on her. Definitely helped but was not the magic fix I was hoping for. Hence the joint supplement. New, very experienced and certified BO agrees that the injury is up higher, not in the lower leg. I'm thinking it must be muscular or joint related as the epsom salt poultice (which reduces inflammation and soreness) seems to significantly help Shan. She is slowly improving.

Today we rode for about an hour and a half, all the way up to my mother's land at the base of the Superstitions. It wasn't very far, somewhere around a half hour to 40 minutes each way, and that's at a walk. I can ride Shan at a walk, just nothing faster. She's even sound at a power walk. But no trotting or cantering.

Having never had lameness problems before, its extremely frustrating and worrying. I am praying that this clears up quickly and soon. The outlook from the therapist was good. I suppose in time we will know for sure.

Overall, Shan seems happier and calmer at the new barn. This is the first place I have ever been at where someone hasn't said something snide or obnoxious about Shan, and everyone loves her. Its good to be around people who can appreciate the goofball of a horse.

I have a little piece of Gottatrot with me at the new barn. I found this in the tack room, it must have been from a previous horse with the same name.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

^What a great (eventful!) vacation! Glad to hear Amore's rider made a full recovery!
It's so neat to hear about HF'rs (?) meeting one another, riding together, and having a fabulous time. That's what forums should be all about! Making like-minded friends, sharing knowledge, and learning together. 

Glad to hear, too, that Shan has settled in nicely at her new barn.
I want more pics ;D!


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

That is too funny, Valhalla's spirit is in your new barn!

It was interesting and entertaining to hear about our ride on the beach from your perspective and from astride Satin. Thanks for posting the pics! Everyone has a different ride, eh? So funny to me you wondered if I'd exaggerated about Satin's feisty energy. You can see in the far away photos which of us have been riding those particular horses for a long time and which of us were having a "discussion" to figure things out. 

It sounds like your new barn is a good place, even if it does cost more. The right people will enjoy your horses and understand them rather than being afraid or judgmental about them. 
When I moved Amore to my friends' barn down the coast where I first learned how to ride out and have fun, it was stressful because the barn I moved out of emergently to get to their place had terrible management and made me feel like Amore was a problem horse.

When I told the ladies who were to become my fast friends about the previous barn, they said "that person should be boarding cats, not horses and cleaning litter boxes instead of stalls." That was a good sign. The next morning when I showed up at the new barn, there was a sign on Amore's stall. It said, "Amore; likes to fly. Give her a long lead and let her dance." You can see how I knew quickly these were understanding horse people. I wish for that type of understanding and good horse people to surround you and Shan at your new barn. 

That issue with the cut hay nets was awful. I've bought those nibble nets and they are not cheap, but also indestructible. I agree with your assessment that they would have not torn without damaging the surrounding fence or boards. 
I hope you can figure out Shan's unsoundness issue and get her feeling good again.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

:happydance:

Today was a good day. Got to the barn at 7:00am to beat the heat. I checked Shan first by getting a few trot rounds out of her in the turnout. She was still a tiny bit stiff but looking 90% better! I definitely think the joint supplement is helping. Hence we saddled up and rode. I got a bunch of pictures for you guys today, so I hope you will be happy =P

I am really liking my new 'double bridle' setup- a side pull and french link snaffle. The side pull is great for asking lightly, and the snaffle helps give me extra control and 'lift'. I wish I could explain it better but I promise I am not pulling on her mouth or forcing her into a frame. That, the spurs, and the pointers I got from my new BO have helped me immensely.

We did some mild trot work. She felt good and wasn't even breathing hard after about 10 minutes of it-even though I was with the heat! I got about a half hour in today, maybe forty minutes before it was too hot to do anymore. DH came out and took pics just when I was moving her up into the trot. She was being a bit resistant and sluggish about it, so these pics aren't the greatest. My position definitely needs work. My leg is too far forward (I was posting at the time), but I wonder if it is so far forward when I'm not pushing the horse forward? Or if it only happens when I'm posting? I was, according to BO, throwing myself forward a bit, so I was concentrating more on sitting on my seat bones. Apparently, that threw my leg forward. I need more videos and pictures...

The rest of the workout was good, except for when Shan decided to start throwing attitude and kicking at the two horses sticking their heads over the fence. I pushed her through it for a couple more rounds, then quit when heat exhaustion started setting in (on me), which doesn't take very long out here.

Anyway, here are the pics. Shan's halter is the dually halter, it has a sidepull attachment and that is what I ride with, the snaffle goes on over it.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I started a new job, and it has been rather tiring and hectic. Hence the lack of updates.

We rode Sunday, did some trotting and short gallops. Shan was still coming up stiff, not lame, but had a hitch in her step. She would work out of it until I started trying circles, then she would immediately stiffen again.
I finally called the chiropractor out. BO was cringing as she doesn't like or believe in chiropractors, but the gal she recommended I use (one of her boarders, does chiro/raiki/acupressure) I did try and she didn't do much for Shan, IMO. A waste of money, $60 that could have gone to something else.
My own chiropractor spent some time on her, she was out in about three different places. Wither was a big one. I never got her adjusted after getting the Protector pad, so this was probably from saddle issues before the pad. BTW, her shoulder dips have been filling in nicely, and I haven't had any more saddle issues, so the pad is doing its job.

Now as far as the whole 'I don't believe in chiropractors. Horses aren't built to have their legs twisted out that way, etc. etc.", horses also aren't meant to be kicking metal fence panels, pulling back, _being ridden_. The first two are things my horse did where she messed herself up and needed an adjustment. She also needed an adjustment after saddle problems. We are messing with horses and using them differently than the way they use themselves naturally, so they need something extra. I do agree that if you get a bad chiropractor they can seriously mess up your horse, and I believe that several adjustments in a short frame of time on an ongoing basis, such as every few weeks or even monthly, could be very bad for your horse. 

Pretty much what I said to BO is "I've used him several times and he's never hurt one of my horses." I forgot to add 'in fact, he's dramatically helped them'. I use what works. It is certainly better than having a horse stiff, in pain, lame, and can't be used the way they could or should be because they are out of place.

Anyway, we had Belle done too. Both horses were off on the same side in the wither area. I'd bet it is from mounting from the ground, I am definitely doing to make more of an effort to use mounting blocks.

I am hoping Shan will be ready to go this Sunday with no more signs of stiffness. After chiro, she was a teeny bit stiff but looking way better. Like 100% better.

My new job is nuts. I'm dog bathing. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are typically ten hour shifts, non stop with only a half hour lunch break. I'm OK with it for now, we can use the extra income. However, I'm not sticking with it forever, at least not at this place. I just found out that during the holidays they usually do 60 dogs per day with only 6 groomers and 3 bathers. You can imagine the pressure the bathers go through. And yet we still have to be very thorough with everything on the dog, or they will get sent back to be washed again (after we've spent 20 minutes drying them) because they are not clean enough.
I will definitely not be doing their holiday season. Anyway, I am learning a lot and quickly. I got a few compliments today on a couple of dogs so I was happy about that. This will be good experience, and then maybe in the future I can apply to a lower key grooming place and maybe have Saturdays off! For now, with the heat and bad riding weather, the extra income is nice.

So long as I don't collapse from exhaustion. :lol: I've still got horse training on the side and apparently my client recommended me, so I may have more coming in. I hope I will still have time to ride my own horse, geesh.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Dog bathing sounds like hard work! At first I thought it sounded nice, being around dogs all day. But then I remembered that I've always disliked bathing my own dogs. Easier to be a dog walker or dog-treat-giver. 

About chiropractors, it's the same with human chiropractors, lots of people don't believe in them and some people do. I personally have had my back fixed a couple times after accidents, and think they do amazing things. I haven't had one work on my horses yet, but I definitely would. I was planning to if Amore's back hadn't straightened out, but just massage seemed to help her right away, and I believe she primarily had a soft tissue problem that didn't involve the skeleton.

My good friends have had a chiropractor work on their mare and they said he helped her dramatically. She would keep flinging her head back to one side, and rushed down hills. After the chiropractor adjusted her pelvis she was able to go down hills better and stopped throwing her head as much. I think partly it had become a habit, but it lessened once the pain issue was resolved. 
I'm glad the chiropractor is helping Shan. She is very pretty and has a beautiful trot.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@gottatrot a surefire way to a horse person's heart is to compliment their horse :wink: thanks! I think she's gorgeous too (and so does Shan), but we are both biased. I got to go visit her today after getting off at 3:00, earlier than usual but its about the time I would like to get off on a normal basis. I grabbed a lunge whip and played with Shan in her turnout, basically a large roundpen. I'm so glad I spent some time teaching Shan liberty work, because then I can just go out and play with her and she is so in tuned and responsive to my body language. Well, most of the time, depending on her mood.

She was feeling REALLY good today! And she looks fantastic! I couldn't get a lame trotting or walking step out of her. It was cooler since we have just had some rain, the beginning of monsoons. The horses always get a little silly when its actually cool enough to do something more than chew. Shan was cantering around, playing and dancing with me. At one point I knelt to try to convince her to slow down since I didn't want her to slip in the wet ground and hurt herself. She came trotting over, then promptly did a full out rear striking the air with both hooves before wheeling around and running the other way. I love when I can get a rear out in liberty. Its always an amazing feeling, being a part of the 'horse play'. Those moments, they are never planned. Everything in liberty is always new, you never know quite what will happen next. If you want to try liberty, please make sure you have a very good understanding of horse body language and know your own horse very well, as there is a high possibility of injury (you are engaging in horse play!). It is amazing though, I really feel like I connect with Shan on a deeper level. On that corny note, back to the topic...

Her canter was a little odd (I didn't get her to canter on the wet ground, she went and I was trying to slow her down!). She was kind of arab bunny hopping and plowing with her back legs. I think its just from sore muscles after the adjustment and also for traction trying to run in a small space on wet ground. She was the same on both sides though, so that was a good sign. I put some of the espom salt poultice that helps sore muscles all over the areas where she was adjusted, after doing some palpation and getting some threatening faces from her.

I think I will pick up some kind of massage tool as well. I saw that gottatrot was using one on her mare and think its a good idea.

Yes dog washing is hard work, but I think I'm getting used to it. Granted, they have been slow with the holiday weekend. It is nice to work around animals all day, but some parts of the job are gross and some are annoying or frustrating, such as when the dogs are acting up. 

I have plans to have a dressage lesson soon in the next few days or couple weeks, depending. This is with my BO, who is certified in Britain and Canada (yes, the one who hates chiropractors). She gave me a mini lesson a while back and I found her to be a very good teacher and liked everything she said.

Do you think Shan's trot is 'dressage' pretty? :wink:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Had a good day today. Shan is 100% PROBLEM FREE. I should have called the chiropractor ages ago. Now its going to be all about building back the lost muscle. We did quite a bit of trotting, a small amount of cantering. It was fun, not as long as I would have liked, hoping to go out again tomorrow.

I feel like banging my head against the wall for waiting so darn long to call the chiropractor. Stupid!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I had a great first lesson today with BO. She is a dressage instructor and is very good at what she does. She explains why you do certain things when you ride-why you have to hold your hands and arms a certain way, why you do a certain technique, etc.
Shan surprised me by how well she responded to this somewhat different, admittedly quieter way of riding, despite being trained by me and having no prior higher level training. It seems good riding can be a universal horse language.

After this morning, the day went downhill. This evening has SUCKED. My eyes are puffy from crying.
DH and I have been renting half of my mother's house. An odd situation to some, but we liked it here and she liked having us around. When we came back to AZ last winter, she explicitly said that she wanted our help with cleaning and organization. Mom is a packrat, especially with paper. She would get upset whenever I moved or organized things to clean. If I left it alone, the entire downstairs of the house (living room/front room and eat in kitchen) looked like a tornado had swept through an office. Today, I went down and cleaned the entire downstairs, like I have done several times before. She again got very mad at me, even though I kept all of her papers in the same piles and boxes that they were in. The ONLY thing I threw out was old store ads scattered on the floor that were no good anymore.

Not only I but other family members spent a few hours cleaning up that downstairs. It looks great and she didn't lose any of her stuff. I did have to put her papers in her room, but I didn't know where else to put them. Her housekeeping habits literally attract bugs.

Anyway, she threw yet another temper tantrum. I apologized to her, said that I thought I was being helpful and that she wanted the help. We have made the decision to move of course, all things considered. Shan is at a great stable now, in case I have to leave her behind for a while. We are not sure yet whether we will be finding a room or small house to rent or going back to Ohio and picking up work there. I'll know in a day or so whether I need to put in my two week notice at my job or not. It sucks too, I was just getting used to the job and I really like everybody there.

Life can really suck sometimes. I wish that my mother would see that her living habits are unhealthy, but you can't force people to change. I am most upset of how she is upset with me over something trivial like this, and also it is hard when I spend my day off cleaning the house up that nicely only to be yelled at like I just had some wild party and trashed it.

Things will look up, I suppose. They always do.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

horseluvr2524 said:


> I wish that my mother would see that her living habits are unhealthy, but you can't force people to change. I am most upset of how she is upset with me over something trivial like this, and also it is hard when I spend my day off cleaning the house up that nicely only to be yelled at like I just had some wild party and trashed it.


I've been learning in the past several years that there is a wide range to things that when taken past a certain level would be called "mental illness." But many people who are still quite in the normal spectrum of behavior exhibit tendencies that if taken to an extreme would be things like paranoia, mania, or hoarding.

I've been around people who have a tendency to have a low mood, yet are not quite in the range of depression, or who are somewhat paranoid yet rational about it, or somewhat manic but still fairly controlled. 

My husband has the tendency like your mom, to be emotionally attached to piles and boxes of papers, which clutter up the house. I am a neat freak, so this has been difficult for me to adjust to. But he also gets _quite_ upset if things are moved around and thrown away. 
On the other hand, he doesn't like a dog eating over the carpet or me carrying cookies around without a plate. We've been married for 15 years so we joke that I am "neat," and he is "clean." But we've both had to adjust and he has worked down his piles some over the years, and has clean up sessions as long as I am patient and let him schedule them. I try to put my crumbs on plates as long as he is watching. :wink:

Anyway, I am trying to say that I feel for you since I've been in that situation a few times myself. Especially when we first got married I'd just throw out a bunch of stuff and get in trouble! We bought a nice big house so we can put some of the stuff he wants to keep out of the way and I don't feel as cluttered. I'm not sure if it would work for your mom, but my husband doesn't get anxious about me moving stuff or throwing it out if I ask him about it first. He just wants to feel aware of what is getting tossed.

It sounds like your riding lesson was wonderful. It's good to hear Shan is feeling and moving well again.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

At the moment I just feel done with all of it. I am tired of the hurtful things she will say, tired of the way she refuses to clean up after herself (dishes, clutter, everything), just sick of it all. She also has a tendency to constantly ask others to do things for her-things it would take her the same amount of time to just do than to ask someone else. Individually each problem isn't such a big deal, but it has all just added up and spiraled downwards. I honestly thought that she was getting a bit better. It looked like she had been making an effort to clean up after herself in the kitchen. I guess I was wrong.

I've tried helping her go through things. I've tried helping her clean out and organize her closet, and even went through a stack of papers for her once when she asked making two piles, 'important' and 'you may want this', and threw out the trash paper. She said thank you and then never did a thing with it. And I'm honestly not even that neat or organized. I leave piles of stuff around too, especially clothes, but if somebody cleaned and put it away, I wouldn't be upset. In fact, I would probably be grateful.

I don't know what else to say except I give up. I wish that my poor brother could come and live with me and DH, but he is still a teenager so it would not be possible for custody reasons.

Right now I feel that my life is very pathetic. I can't believe how messed up my family is (I have much more serious complications with other family members, except brother). Thanks for listening, anyway.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

horseluvr2524 said:


> She also has a tendency to constantly ask others to do things for her-things it would take her the same amount of time to just do than to ask someone else.


That can be very annoying...I have a co-worker that does this. It's not that I mind helping others, but when I am sitting down and they are standing between me and the object they want...and then they ask me to get it for them, that grates on my nerves a bit. :icon_rolleyes: But over the years I've known several nurses famous for this behavior. Especially if they have a nurse aid, they will run them ragged doing little chores!



horseluvr2524 said:


> And I'm honestly not even that neat or organized. I leave piles of stuff around too, especially clothes, but if somebody cleaned and put it away, I wouldn't be upset. In fact, I would probably be grateful.


Yes, if someone would clean up anything for me I would be very happy to let them. 

But, this is a vital role horses have in our lives. When I go to the barn I can feel any stress leaving my body. It just seeps right out of me. I think the best thing to do if you're annoyed with someone or frustrated or even just in a bad mood is to go to the barn! I just try to avoid teaching my horses something new or starting something difficult to work on if I'm already frustrated. But the saying, "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man" is something I've proved again and again. They are therapeutic and somehow just looking at a beautiful horse transforms stress into peacefulness.

So here's a beautiful horse for you to look at:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Thanks for the counseling gottatrot, I appreciate it :wink:

Yes, horses are always therapeutic. We are looking into getting a small apartment until we have saved enough to get a truck and trailer and then leave AZ for good. So I'll be able to keep my job for a while anyway. I'm getting an average of 35 hours per week, which I'm pretty happy with. It will at least cover our living expenses and Shan's board, and then what DH makes can go into savings.

We have been in a rough spot financially for the past year or so (DH getting rid of a house he owned which he was underwater on, etc. etc.). I am so grateful to DH for being adamant about not selling Shan, no matter how tough things got. He knows how important she is to me. (Thank God she's an easy keeper too).


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

We don't have the apartment yet (went there this afternoon but the office had closed early), but I've already started packing. Apparently, mom was blaming me for the condition of her room, which is absolutely ridiculous. The papers scattered on her bedroom floor are from her. I had put a few boxes of paper in there, the paper that I had gathered from around the downstairs and placed neatly into boxes. Other than that, I put her suitcases and old purses in her room, which were also laying around in the common areas. So blaming me for the outrageous condition of her room, which was outrageous before I put HER stuff in there, is completely ridiculous.

Then, when DH was talking to her and mentioned something about me wanting the table cleared so we could eat dinner together (because it was constantly covered in stuff to where you couldn't even eat there), she had the audacity to say "well, there's never any dinner anyway"!!! THAT comment right there ****es me off more than anything else. DH cooks nearly every night, spending at least an hour and a half doing so, and makes delicious gourmet food for everyone. She has been insulting him often recently by refusing to eat what he makes and making something else, and then saying there is nothing for dinner!

I'm sorry about the vent guys, but I needed to. This is beyond crazy. At this point, I have no wish to have any further contact with her. I am done, beyond done. I dealt with similar cr*p growing up, and as DH said, its enough to make anyone crazy. There is no pleasing her. If I don't clean, she's upset that the house is dirty. If I do clean, she's upset about the way that I did it. If we don't make dinner, she complains that there is no dinner. If we do make dinner, she doesn't want it but then won't tell us what she wants! I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off. All of a sudden, I'd rather be at work than at home, which is no fun feeling that way.

So I am packing, somewhat subtly. Just going around the house and gathering our stuff into our room. After we move, I am also going to bring every piece of my tack home to the apartment. I do not trust her to not mess with my stuff at the barn. I have a $400 pad sitting in there that would absolutely kill me if it was damaged in any way.

I am so beyond upset that things have come to this point with my mother, who I love dearly. But I cannot live this way, and I will not have people who act this way have an influence in my life. It is not healthy, I was suicidal years ago because of constant pressure and others, including my mother, making me feel horrible about myself. I will not go back to that place of mind.

I wish that I could take the animals and my brother with me. Mom's parrot has become neurotic and won't let anyone hold him. The dogs are wonderful childhood friends, and mom's poor cat lives in a room that is unbelievably cluttered. But I have no right to take any of them, nor would they fit into our lifestyle. The only animals we are taking is DH's cat and my lovebird (and Shan, when we hit the road). I am going to leave my brother our phone number, just in case he needs to get out of the house for a while, at least while we are in the area. I feel worse for my brother more than anyone else. Parents divorced, dad has a very cluttered bachelor pad and can be kinda nuts (although he's better than mom's recent track record), and mom has gone off her rocker. I wish there was some way we could take him with us (he is 14). Maybe in a couple years, but who knows what his state of mind will be like by then. His attitude and general demeanor has improved so much being around DH having a good role model, and now we are leaving. I don't know what to do but pray for him.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

horseluvr2524 said:


> I'm sorry about the vent guys, but I needed to.
> 
> I am so beyond upset that things have come to this point with my mother, who I love dearly. But I cannot live this way, and I will not have people who act this way have an influence in my life. It is not healthy, I was suicidal years ago because of constant pressure and others, including my mother, making me feel horrible about myself. I will not go back to that place of mind.


It sounds much healthier to get away from that situation. Also a good vent can help relieve some pressure so vent away.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Hi guys, been a while. I needed to stay away from HF for a while so I could clear my head.

The family situation has much improved. Mom and brother went to Ohio for a week so we stayed at the house to watch the animals. I think it was a needed break for everyone. Anyway, mom did apologize to me and to my amazement, cleaned up her room well enough that it actually looked livable instead of a disorganized chaotic mess. Maybe she needed a push to get her life a bit more orderly. I'm no neat freak or super organized, but I do think its good to have a livable home.
While she was gone, I spent an afternoon and evening scrubbing and cleaning the large macaw cage to move her parrot into. Then I started working with him while she was gone and incredibly got him more social and getting him to come out and let me handle him. She was very happy to come home and find after a year and a half of him acting like a nutcase that she could hold her bird again.

We had one more little fight when she was angry that I didn't call her on her birthday. Well, that happened to be a Monday, which is my busiest day at work. I don't even have time to eat lunch, let alone chat on the phone. I also stayed late because I had DH bring her dogs in so I could wash them and they would be clean for her when she got home (and no more shedding because of high powered dog dryer). They were getting home the next day and I had been planning on celebrating with her then. I explained all of this to her and all the things I had done for her while she was gone. Well, she thanked me and dropped the attitude and I haven't seen it since. In addition, since she came back her clutter has become a minimum and she definitely seems to be getting better about managing it, and cleaning up after herself (especially in kitchen) better too. I'm glad, all I wanted to do was help. Environment is everything and the depression she was having I'm sure was at least in part caused by her living habits.


*The Horse Related Stuff:*

Because the situation had improved, DH and I decided it wouldn't be prudent to dump $1,000 of our savings into a place to stay for a month. DH has roof work in Ohio, so I will be putting in my notice at work on the 1st of August (yay!). The plan is to bring the horse, but I'm not sure yet if that will be possible until we have a truck and trailer. So I haven't told BO yet and won't tell her until then.

In the meantime, I have been figuring out the travel feed plan, just in case. I wanted to make it as easy and compact as possible, and make at least half of her diet consistent since it will not be possible to get the same type of hay from the same place. I could use @gottatrot 's input on my feed plan, if she feels like chiming in.

BO is very particular and weighs her feed, so that makes my job easier. However, I don't have the numbers with me at the moment. Here is Shan's current feed program:
Half of roughage is Bermuda blend pellets
Other half Bermuda hay
Enrich plus (1lb per day)
Empower Rice Bran (1lb per day)
Joint Supplement
Psyllium (clears sand out of gut, horses out here ingest a lot of dirt)
A small portion of sweet feed with supplements

For traveling, it is important that I add probiotics into the diet. I tried to find a supplement that would have almost everything in it and keep my costs down. Horse-manna seems to do the trick, it is an RB/all-in-one with rice bran, yeast (prebiotics) and microbials (since it stated for digestion, I'm guessing probiotics), and Calf-manna included. For only $20 a month too! All I need to add then is a joint supplement (not even sure its really necessary, but can't hurt) and rice bran OR beet pulp OR calf manna if she does not hold weight.

Travel feed plan:
Bermuda blend pellets (this will be her consistent source of roughage)
Bermuda hay (source will obviously change)
6 oz of Horse-manna $20 per month
Dumor Joint $26 per month
_Add in of rice bran or beet pulp or calf manna as weight builder if needed_

This keeps my feed costs down below $200 per month, which I am happy with. Am I covering all my bases here? I am not worried about fluids on the road, I will soak her pellets and get her used to ACV water so she will drink any water, as well as carry water on the trailer. She loves her salt and mineral blocks, so I'm not worried about electrolytes either. 

Thoughts?


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Glad to hear things are going better with your mom. I'm guessing her animals are feeling better too, after all the care you've given them.

I think your feeding plan sounds good, and quite consistent. I've been told if you can't use the same hay you've been using, try to keep the hay similar, meaning don't switch to something that looks a lot greener or finer/coarser. It's handy that you're feeding pellets so you can keep a lot of the roughage the same as what her digestive system is used to.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

On to a riding update.

Shan has been really good for me. She even tolerated DH bouncing around and sending her mixed signals when I attempted to give him a mini lesson one day. She gave him a bit of a rough time, but she always does if she thinks that she can get away with just plodding around the arena. Poor DH was so frustrated since he has been realizing just how much he doesn't know. He is used to riding on Belle and just following my tail!

I trail rode today, and even though Shan was a challenging handful and a half, I had fun. First she tried to spin back towards the barn as we headed out. Well, I let her know what I thought about that and she continued forward. She moved out with a lot of energy, actually seemed eager to get out there. She was very forward in her trot and me being somewhat out of practice I had a bit of a difficult time trying to ride it. Other than throwing a fit about stopping here or there, and then one time nearly backing down a hill as we had it out about what direction we were going to go, she was really good. I had a fantastic gallop on her and she seemed to enjoy it too.

On the way back, what a brat! I had to be much heavier on the rein than I wanted to be, and had to deal with some prancing, and I thought I was certainly going to be thrown off by myself in the desert when she heard a barn buddy whinnying from a mile off and upped the ante. If she hears another horse, sometimes she flips the crazy/reactive switch and I have to prepare for difficult behavior and maybe an unscheduled flight! Somehow we made it back, with me getting her to listen while still not pushing her to the point of a rear, which she will do in defiance if she doesn't get her way. It was unusual for her to act this way. She is usually the type to have energy when you want it and a flat footed walk when you don't. It was like riding TL, one of my client's horses, who is a TB and covers ground, except without the sane calm mind! The gallop was a bit nerve racking as I never knew if she was about to dart off to one side or not.

I do feel nervous riding out alone. But there is not a lot I can do about it. Many times it is either ride alone or don't ride. If I have somebody riding with me, I typically have to babysit and keep it slow, where I would sometimes rather go at the pace I want to go. At least I wear a helmet, I suppose.

Physically Shan is fantastic. No more lameness or stiffness. Not quite as toned as she was, but that's OK. Its to be expected with the small amount of riding I get in now. BO likes her where she is weight wise. I personally think she is a tad too fat, as she has a slight distended hay belly. However, that could simply be from eating dry pellets. I have witnessed the distended belly in many horses that eat dry hay pellets. While I really like my BO, to be honest I just can't wait until Shan is fully under my care again. Hopefully that is fairly soon. Poor DH has to listen to me gripe sometimes about certain things (usually the dry pellet feed program). He asks "what can we do?" Nothing really. I informed him I will never be happy until we are caring for Shan ourselves. Its what I've come to find out after many many boarding barns. I always have an issue with something. I'm not trying to be ungrateful, its just the way it is. Shan looks better at this barn than she has at any previous barn, so I do my best to be content.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

You know you've fallen in love with your horse when you look at a $26k dollar Andalusian stallion and think your horse is nicer looking :lol: On a side note, I love Andalusians and have looked at plenty. I didn't think the horse was worth what they were asking.

Had a great lesson this morning. Not great in that I had good riding, but great in that I feel like I learned a lot. Shan was ALL over the place, constantly trying to stop and pee by the gelding (she's in heat, as she graciously let us know). Trainer even had me cut the arena in half so I wouldn't go near him!
Ultimately, my hands are a huge problem. I have a real issue trying to keep them steady, especially at trot. They tend to go up when I push Shan forward, which is often. Trainer finally went to get a grab strap type thing and attached it to the saddle. It helped a lot in keeping my hands steady but then my whole upper body tensed up as I was bracing against it while trying to push horse forward and stay still in the hands, upper body, and seat.

Legs are good, seat is good when I'm not 'disco dancing' as my trainer put it, in other words wiggling in the saddle literally trying to push her forward. Its subconscious at this point. So is 'throwing my hands away' when I ask for a transition, because I have conditioned myself not to pull against her mouth when I ask for forward.

Shan was being kind of a pill, and finally Trainer said "you are not getting after her hard enough when she acts up. You have spurs, use them!"
Shan is great and willing and forward once I tell her I've had enough. Usually that means getting after her hard one time and not having to do it again.

On the up side, I really feel like we are making progress and Trainer said so too (at least for Shan anyway, lol!). She was moving much more 'rounded' as they say, giving to the bit, much more responsive. I think that is why the frame and 'roundness' is desired, because you get more effective communication and a quick orderly response, vs. a horse who is strung out and responses are slow and/or sloppy. That's the difference I noticed, anyway. I know a lot of it is about strengthening the back too. Trail/endurance riding is also good for that so I like the training program I have going on. I know some say its not natural for a horse to carry itself in the 'rounded' manner/frame. While that is true, its also not natural for a horse to carry a rider. I think about it like this:

At my job, if I forget to lift a dog with my knees and lift with my back instead, I end up extremely sore and hurting. Usually, I can feel it immediately. However, if I lift with my knees, while lifting that way is not my normal/natural reaction, it is much easier on my body and my back. Using this comparison I can see why the 'rounded' frame and having a horse transfer a good amount of weight to the hindquarters instead of forehand is actually very good for them.

Dressage leaves so much to think about. Strangely I don't mind. I was discussing my job with Trainer and one of the comments she made was 'its because you are a perfectionist.' I don't know how true that is. Maybe a little, since I do like dressage. Can you be a perfectionist while not minding some mess and disorganization here and there?

I'm going to see if I can drag myself and poor DH out of bed early enough, maybe I (or hopefully 'we' for once!) can go for a ride.

From the non-horse side of my life:
Monday I worked a ten hour shift, no lunch and no breaks other than about 2 minutes every couple hours. I think I washed and dried 22 dogs, then cleaned up, all by myself. It was seriously brutal and I came home and just collapsed and slept until dinner. A couple groomer's mentioned that I need to take my lunch, but I explained that when I take lunch I fall behind on dogs so I can't. I get sick of hearing at the end of the day 'you fell behind on the dogs and weren't fast enough' so I'm doing what I have to to not hear that. My notice is going in on this Friday or Saturday so I will be out of there in exactly two weeks. I was going to put it in on Monday but then realized that two weeks would end on Monday and I didn't want to work more Mondays than I have to. They are the only day I am the only bather and can't take lunch.
Trainer/BO gave me her groomer's number, and told me to call her to see if she had any openings. I think its a good idea. I'm not set on forever doing dog bathing but if I can pick up a less stressful job I'll be happy (this is a single mobile groomer vs. a salon of 6 groomers).


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Had a nice, easy ride this morning. Have to get the farrier out (he rescheduled and has been difficult to get a hold of) as Shan is at the point of needing a trim to where her hooves don't fit in her boots anymore. Hence, we did a walk ride, with only about 150 yards of trot/canter in one spot where there is no rock (hard to find out here). It was better for mom and Belle as neither of them had been riding in a while so it was good to keep things slow. Shan was kind of a butt about opening and closing the gate from horseback, and getting impatient and pushy on the ground. I got after her pretty hard as I was grumpy (morning, I'm tired, stayed up too late). She got the message. Then I had to love on her because I felt bad.

I also worked on some dressage stuff on the trail since it was a slow ride. I focused on my hands, sitting right, and asking more with my legs. The grab strap that I have to hold to keep my hands still forces me to use my legs more instead of reins to ask for directional changes, sidepass, etc. I'm finding it to be very good for me but am also trying to be careful not to use it as a balancing aid, as I don't want it to become a crutch.

It looks like the verdict is that Shan will be staying in AZ while we are gone :sad: We will get back after Thanksgiving. Then the plan is to leave again in February and hopefully be set up for our new life on the road with Shan in tow. For now, I talked to BO/Trainer about Shan. I offered her to be used as a dressage lesson horse, as I explained that while I don't want just anyone riding her, I also would rather her not sit while I'm gone. Anyone riding under the instruction of my Trainer would be fine though lol. Trainer even offered to hop on her once in a while and do ring work, which I am all for! Free training? Yes!

Hopefully I will get to take my little feathered dragon (aka Baby, my peach faced lovebird) when we leave in August/September. I've got him here with me now, he's such a little joy and will be very good company for me especially in the absence of Shan. Of course Shadow, DH's cat, will be coming.

I suppose its adventure on the horizon. :wink:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Finally got the farrier out last Friday. After a discussion with my mother, she decided to take my advice and try pulling the shoes on Belle and letting her be barefoot for a while. I just was not happy with the way her hoof was growing, and my gut told me to try letting her rehab barefoot. She will be ordering some hoof boots for her. I am excited and hopeful to see some positive change in Belle's hooves.

Before the farrier came out, Shan's hooves were too long to fit into her boots. Hence, I decided to take a break from riding and do some liberty/trick training. Her Spanish Walk has really come along, and we made a bit more progress in the bow. I am really happy with the way her hooves are looking, very strong and tough. The outer side of her hoof is slightly rounded, as seen in desert wild mustangs. I'm sure its environment caused.

Anyway, I noticed while working with her that she was still coming out a bit stiff, especially at trot. I decided to bump up her glucosamine and switch her from Enrich to For-A-Flex complete vitamin and joint, which is an RB plus joint and hoof & coat. I did quite a bit of research ensuring that I could give her the recommended amounts of glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM. I was very happy to find this supplement well within my budget at $20 per month.

BO already started bumping her glucosamine as I requested. I already see a difference, no more coming out stiff. She is moving great.

We are farm-sitting for BO while they take a three day vacation. I am so excited to have Shan right out the door for a few days. I am going to miss her terribly while we are in Georgia, so I want to spend as much time as possible with her. My last day on the job was this past Saturday, so I am looking forward to spending the next two weeks getting ready for the trip and riding/training Shan.

We got some rain the other day, and Shan looked so pretty with the rain marks on her coat. I got some pictures for you all to enjoy!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

This has been a bitter sweet week. Excited to go on our trip and see people and family, etc. etc. SAD to leave my Shan! I think some people find it offensive how I get more attached to animals than I do to people. But I also think some people are just like that. Its not that I won't miss my mother and brother who live here in AZ, I just tend to miss my horse more.

So last week we took care of the horses and house while BO took a mini-vacation. Their system is a lot of work, but I enjoyed being with the horses. So what is a lot of work? Well, BO feeds five times a day. Yes, FIVE. DH and mine solution to making sure the horse is eating throughout the day was to build a slow feeder for hay. BO's is to feed five times a day. To each his/her own I suppose. The worst thing was the bedded stalls, cleaning those in this hot weather is a pain in the butt.

But I did love going out and seeing Shan all day. My last ride on her was this past Wednesday. I was so pleased with her, she did great! We started out with a trail ride and were both feeling kind of lazy, so kept it sloppy and slow. She gave me no issues, even though she was by herself and she hadn't been off the property in two weeks. I couldn't have been happier and it was a great last ride until December when I return. We finished the trail ride with a short canter (and several strides of crow hopping), a small amount of trotting, small spook at a bicyclist who was talking to himself about horsepower (still don't get that one, and then when we returned I had finally woken up enough to do some dressage (this was early morning). Shan was warmed up from the trail ride and ready for the hard work. 

We mostly worked on pushing her 'up into the bridle' as they say, basically getting the horse on the bit and moving towards collection work. Our issue is that she does not like giving to the bit, so I would give to her and just 'throw my hands away' as trainer says. This time I focused on driving her forward and holding one position, not pulling back or pushing forward. My shoulders were feeling the strain as she braced against me for a few laps. Then she gave me several strides with being soft to the bit (not ducking away from it, I know what that feels like as I've made that mistake before) and moving forward with impulsion. I quit right then and hopped off when she halted, walking her out by hand. Overall a very good day.

For my last day with her (today), I decided not to ride or do any work. Instead, as a way to spend time with her, I gave her her first full shampoo and condition in well over a year and a half. She loved all the attention, the little diva lol. She looked absolutely beautiful by the time we were done. Her tail is down to her fetlocks when brushed out!

I got some pictures today and will post those in a follow up post.

So we are all packed and ready to leave in the morning. We will pack up the kids (lovebird and cat), go see Shan one last time  and then hit the road. Our destination is Georgia. Maybe I can find an HF buddy that would let me ride out there, lol!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Shan is standing so spread out because she had just been pawing, and just been told to quit lol. She's so much more photogenic than I am *jealous*
BO also said she looks like she has saddlebred in her. Now that is a new one. She said morgan previously, which I have heard before. And of course QH, mustang (well, I know her mom was BLM so), etc. etc. What do you think?


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

You sell yourself short and I have to say, great barn attire. And Shan is gorgeous. It's tricky to pin down what breed she looks most like, but it's a good cross for sure. Hope you have some great horse experiences on your travels while sadly missing your horse. I miss my pets too, when I travel. Otherwise we might travel more.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@gottatrot

LOL those are my mud romping/pajamas/horse washing/barn/cartrip clothes. Super comfortable.

I'm really happy with how she matured. Got her as an underfed five year old so she has really filled out over the years. I think she has the right conformation to be good at dressage. I think with the right training and fitness it shouldn't be too hard for her to collect.

Made it to Georgia safely. Trainer will be working with Shan while I'm gone and sending me email updates, so I will post those in the journal when I get them.

My poor bird and cat have been driven nuts by my brother-in-law's kids (3 & 5). The 3 year old started shaking the cage! I had to keep a close eye until we got a table high enough to put the cage on. The cat has just been hiding. She's smart. lol.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

We got back in town on Wednesday and went to see Shan on Thursday. Gosh how I missed her! I almost did not even recognize her after just a little over three months.

First of all, she is overweight. She is fatter than I have ever seen her before. She actually has a mild trench down her back, resembles a barrel, and actually looks like she might be comfortable to ride bareback, which has never happened before. Its way better than coming back to her too thin though! She has her fluffy winter coat and feathers, and with all the weight she almost looks like a mini draft.

I was a bit freaked when I first saw her, honestly. Normally she would have come over to the fence like a rocket to see me. She just kind of stood and stared for a minute. Then when she did come over, I noticed that she was kinda dragging her hind legs. I got her to start moving around, and she was SO stiff! This slight lameness she'd been having this past year I had hoped would go away with some time off and the joint supplement. Obviously standing around did not help her as she seemed worse than when I left!

I got her to move out for me a bit, and the more she moved the better she was. Circles were hard for her. Despite obviously having an issue somewhere, she was still exuberant and wanting to run around and such. She was so impatient to be taken out (picking up her halter and swinging it, pushing on the gate, etc.) that I decided to ride in the arena a bit. She did really well overall. Since I have decided to go for a no rein contact riding style to help us both develop independent balance, we worked on loose rein and responding to body cues without a rein cue.

I did do a bit of trot work. I felt very guilty about it later, as though it wasn't bad enough that I could feel it in the saddle, she was definitely still off in the trot on a circle which I observed on the lunge after riding. I've done a bit of reading since yesterday, and I've got a plan worked out.

I'm betting that she injured herself somehow when she was kicking at other horses over the fence at the old barn. Though that was over six months ago, it clearly has still not completely healed, and 3.5 months of no work made it worse! I read several different possibilities as to what it could be. Thankfully I can rule out navicular and hoof problems pretty safely as the current farrier could spot problems a mile away (he already successfully manages a navicular horse just at out barn, he has many other 'problem child' clients). Quite honestly, it almost sounds like arthritis (stiffer/worse in colder weather and not moving around). However, she's only 13 and hasn't seen a day of truly hard work her entire life!

I know that I should call the vet. I feel horrible, but just don't have the money for a lameness workup at this time. If it was life threatening I would call the vet in a second.

The plan is to do only light riding (walk trails) until the end of march, and then I will dare an in hand trot to see how she is doing. Walk only rides bore me, but its what is best for her right now. I would just leave her to rest but clearly that did not help.

I really thought time off and the joint supplement would clear this up. I'm so disappointed. But also really happy to finally be back with my sweet Shan.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Have you tried MSM?


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@whisperbaby22

A few months back I did a ton of research on joint supplements. I don't remember all the ingredients for joints off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure MSM is in the stuff she's eating.
Her ration balancer includes a joint supplement. Its called For-a-flex 4 in 1 joint or something like that. Then I added extra glucosamine because there wasn't enough in the RB.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

It's tough to figure out all the conflicting information from companies that are trying to sell you something. One thing I do know is that sometimes you just have to try a different supplement. I like starting with plain MSM because it is cheap. You can spend a lot of money on this stuff.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@whisperbaby22

True! I'm going to stick with my current plan for the moment since I still have a couple months worth of the supplements.
The RB+joint was the most economical option for me, since it was only $5 more than my regular RB. And she has to have an RB.
I could try adding more MSM to the regime.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Yea, joint supplements can drive you nuts. Sounds like what you are doing is the best way to handle it right now.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Finally feeling in the mood to journal. Its been a crazy week with the holidays and trying to get settled in.

After my first visit with Shan, I did some research as to the possibilities. Her symptoms sounded similar to osteoarthritis, so I watched some videos on what that looks like and what is normal, and then went out to the barn. I had DH walk her for me, straight out of her stall, no warmup. She was walking normally and tracking up beautifully, which left me with a mixture of relief and 'what the heck?'. The only thing she had in common with osteoarthritis was an unwillingness to completely cross over when doing a turn on the forehand. Her hind leg would step just slightly beyond the other.

That same day I did a full groom and braided her ridiculously long mane. Then we walked around the arena for less than a half hour. After the ride, she was more easily able to make a smooth turn on the forehand with greater flexibility. I got to chat with another boarder there about it. I felt pretty relieved that she didn't cream me over not getting the vet out. She went on to talk about her own horse's arthritis, then saying that they all usually have one issue or another. That did make me feel better, but I am still determined to solve this. If I have to save for a lameness exam for a while, if nothing else works in the meantime, so be it.

I am a person of faith. As such I was berating myself for not praying over Shan in the first place. I have started a practice of praying over her while I curry and brush her up for a ride. I noticed that her hamstrings, specifically the semitendinosus, were tight especially on the right side. I discussed with the boarder I mentioned previously the possibility of a tendon/ligament injury, and she was absolutely sure that Shan did not have a tendon injury. This lady is also an equine chiropractor, so I think that I can take her judgement in good standing.

I've just had a thought, perhaps I should try hamstring stretches? I am going to research and ponder this more. Maybe it will help. She definitely is worse after time off, although if she DID have any kind of muscle injury, it should have healed up after 3.5 months. Maybe its just like going into rehab after such an injury for people? You're always a little (or a lot) stiff at first, and sometimes there is a lot or a little pain.

Anyway, day 2, Sunday, I got to trail ride with my mom. Since Shan's hooves were so outgrown they wouldn't fit her boots anyway, I decided to try Shan's boots on Belle. (By the way, Belle's hooves are a million times better with the new farrier). They actually fit now! So she wore them and we went out. Shan was really impatient to get out and get going. She could not wait to get away from the barn and go do something! Standing around and eating every day, all day, apparently does not suit her. She's smart and she likes work.

Shan walked out great. I could not feel or see a hint of lameness in her. She shortened her stride over really rocky areas, but that's nothing new, most horses do that and she always has, as it lets her pick her way through them. I had to coach mom through some barnsourness Belle was having (Belle nearly bolted with her at one point!). Shan got extremely impatient and began trying to bite Belle in the hindquarters. I had to keep catching her with the reins. Once we got moving she was fine, but trying to keep her standing still for any length of time was a trial! We picked a spot to turn around as it was getting dark. Shan stopped, standing over some brush, stared out to the mountains (opposite direction of the barn) and started pawing like she was ready to take off to them. I'm sure she would have kept riding all night with no complaint.

I have not been out to see her since then (and I do feel horribly guilty about it). There has been just so much to do. I will see her on Friday for the farrier, and possibly tomorrow as well.

I realized when I started this journal I was dealing with atrophied wither muscles. I ended up getting the Protector pad, and despite what I read about atrophied muscles (specifically saddle areas) and the good chance the muscle will never grow back fully, Shan now has full wither pockets. There is not a hint of depression in the muscle, only healthy and full withers that are still kinda high, lol. I'm sure this current problem will go away in time as well.

*sigh* horses! Its always something isn't it?


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Oh, and I forgot to add, my current boarding barn is very festive. BO put up a Christmas tree and a horse wreath in the barn, and some of the boarders put together stockings for every horse with their name in glitter on them. Very cute and very nice of them! I was just feeling bad because I had not brought any peppermints (Shan's favorite), and they gave the stocking to me the same day, which had peppermints in them. I got Shan to do her little trick of nodding yes to questions, "were you good this year?" "do you deserve a peppermint?". Everybody was cracking up laughing.

God is so good. He always provides. Even for Shan's peppermints. :apple:


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I bet Shan looks pretty cute chubby. :grin:

That's really tricky with the on again off again lameness. I hope you can figure it out, or else maybe it will just not come back.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I'm wondering if she possibly injured one of the hamstrings kicking the fence repeatedly, and maybe it healed up but due to not using it all that time she's now feeling stiff.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I learned a lot today.

The farrier came so I was out there holding my horse for him. He said that Shan's heels were a bit high for her conformation. We had quite a long discussion about various things.
One thing he pointed out is that really the only type of lameness that gets better with work is arthritis. Since she is worse on the one side, and he was pointing out some flares she had and explaining how they happen because the horse is overcompensating on one foot, and since Shan has always flared out some when she grows out on her left hind, I have reached the conclusion that this is something that has been going on and developing for quite some time.

I think the kicking the fence thing was just the 'straw that broke the camel's back'. It just highlighted some issues she had already had growing for quite some time. From what the farrier said, the problems she has are fixable. I am sure now that these problems have stemmed from her hoof trims, mere minor degrees in centimeters, simply a heel left just slightly too high.

I did some hamstring stretches with her. She was significantly stiffer on the left, even though the problem side has been her right. I think the stiffness must come from so much overcompensation on the left.

She was FULL of it today. Before doing the stretches, I walked her around for a while so we wouldn't be stretching cold muscles. She was good about all of it, even started doing her Spanish Walk when I accidentally cued her to. When I went to loop her lead around the fence and started trying the stretches, she quickly figured out she wasn't actually tied and took off. This happened twice. The third time, I corrected her by snapping her over the nose and making her move her hindquarters around. She let me know what she thought of all that by rearing up. Ornery mare, lol. She's obviously feeling good!

With some work, we got her attitude adjusted and then I tied her up to the hitching rail (I can't hard tie her to the fence, which was why she was able to run off). That's when I did some grooming (those maintenance braids fell out), felt for stiff muscles (surprisingly limber!), and did the stretches.

The farrier thought that my idea of walking and stretches should help, so that's what I'll do. He thinks it will take quite a bit of time to improve the arthritis. I am of the same thinking. I am also going to focus my supplementing specifically on arthritis.

So, all in all, its not really what I wanted to hear. I am relieved to have pretty much figured out what is going on, and knowing that the problem is manageable and not the end of her working life.

*~*

On a side note: Shan apparently pulled her stocking down off the hook, emptied it out, and ate everything inside. At least she was smarter than the other two horses that did this: those two ate half of the actual stocking!

I'll get some chubby fuzzy winter pics of Shan for you guys soon. She already looks a bit thinner (not a near trench down her back anymore). Compared to our typical climate, it has been very cold here. I think she's been burning all that fat up.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Curious which hamstring stretches you do. My mare has some recent hamstring tightness so I'm trying to do a little stretch and massage after our rides.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I use a slight variation of the following version. Instead of placing my fingers on the hoof where they could get crushed, I provide support at the hock and fetlock and gently encourage her to stretch down and forward. I do not push, pull, or tug though, I let her do it at her own pace.







~*~


We were gone this past Sunday til' early afternoon today. We were doing the annual Christmas condo thing that my mother likes to do, which is always fun.
(for those of you that were kind enough to listen/read through that one really rough patch I had with my mother... I'm sure that you will be happy to hear she is doing much better now.)

Mom and I headed out to see our babies about a half hour after we got home. Since mom does not yet have her hoof boots (she has decided on trek cavallos) we just adjusted tack, groomed, and piddled around in the arena.

I immediately noticed that Shan seemed to be moving better after the trim when I went to take her out.

The first thing I did with Shan is walk her a couple of minutes to warm her up a bit. Then I picked out her hooves, afterwards asking for a hamstring stretch. Just like last time, she had a difficult time stretching her left side. Then I gave her a break and helped mom with her new tack. Put the snaffle on Shan (I decided to ride bareback) and headed off to the arena. I was pleasantly surprised at how willing and responsive Shan was, I'm (sometimes) finally getting what I cue for without using the reins. I've got a no rein stop now on her, which is awesome! (big milestone in a horse you have done all the training on lol.)

I had her do a few turns on the forehand, ridden and in hand. Then I trotted her in a straight line back and forth in hand. Couldn't see anything wrong. Couldn't feel anything wrong even riding bareback, only at walk though. I decided to dare a few trotting laps in the round pen (from the ground). THERE WAS BARELY A HITCH IN HER STEP! She was moving fantastically, really seemed to be like her old self again. She flirted with the geldings, did a lovely floaty trot, and did not seem to be in pain at all. To the unexperienced eye (aka my dear mother), there wasn't anything wrong with her. Partially because I knew what to look for I could still see the very slight lameness, but it is a drastic difference from even just a week ago.

Then, I took her back, untacked both horses, stretched her a bit more, ran around doing other things... when I came back to her, I found her standing in what is known as the 'mountain goat stance', according to some old school circus books I have read before. Supposedly it is good for strengthening the hindquarters and the back if I remember correctly. Shan was looking at me like "aren't I smart mom? This is what you wanted right?" She was standing square and even on all four hooves, just with her hind legs tucked further underneath than she normally stands.

Curioser and curioser right?

I hope it was a sign of her feeling better, and possibly anticipating what I was previously asking for, rather than what this blog suggests, which is back pain.

Now for the other mare in my life. I asked mom if I could hop on Belle just to see how she was going, and also because at the moment I can't do any real riding on Shan. I found that (after a little discussion with her about her attitude lol) Belle was like a different horse compared to earlier this year. She's always had an issue bending to the right, and would crane her head and neck to the left while cantering on the right lead. Today, she gave me a LOVELY bend through the right at the canter, walk, and trot (after a bit of work). Her whole demeanor was happier and she felt much more fluid. She's still got the kind of movement to throw you around in the saddle. I felt like I was riding a big dressage warmblood.

I give the credit for the change in her to the proper trimming and the well fitting dressage saddle. Belle always had this lump about midback, around the area where the end of a western saddle would sit. All of the inflammation from that is completely gone now. She has healed up great and unless you knew what you were looking for, you would never know she ever had an issue. I don't think she should be ridden western anymore though, as most of them are long enough to irritate that area.

Anyway, isn't that great news on Shan? I was thinking the last couple days of changing around the supplement plan, but now I'm afraid to mess with it since she seems to be getting better.

ETA: I think its worth mentioning that Shan does not normally do the goat stance. In fact, I have never seen her do it. This was a first. And she only did it for about half a minute while standing tied. When I set her loose and she went off to eat her dinner, she was standing normally.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Good news on Shan @horseluvr2524!

Thanks for the video of the stretches- we have done those a few times since a massage clinic we attended last winter. My old farrier used to joke that Isabel was the only horse he ever met who loved using the hoof stand as her own personal stretching equipment. When he'd bring her hoof up on the stand, she'd sit back ever so gently to stretch herself out.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@egrogan

nice! Silly girl. Shan also seems to enjoy getting a trim. When the farrier starts rasping, she drops her head low, half closing her eyes, and wiggles her lips. I think she likes the vibrations it makes.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Yesterday was a horse day. I got to spend about 5 hours with the girls and loved it.

I started out with Shan just walking her in hand to warm her up. Then headed over to the hitching post and did her stretches. The left side was much harder for her, so I think she was feeling Tuesday's trotting a bit. It took me about a half hour to tack up, which is my average with Shan and drives me a bit nuts. I hate when it takes so long, mostly because I am used to my riding time being so limited.
I found out her hoof boots don't really fit her anymore. Ugh. Her front hooves have widened more with the new farrier, which is fine and a good thing, just sucks with the hoof boots. They fit well on the back though, so I will move her current ones to the back and get a new pair for the front. I'm going to go with Cavallos this time around.
Anyway, I forced them onto her front hooves and we headed out on the trail. She was really good for her first time out alone in months! She had a few balky episodes, which in the past has sometimes led to freak outs and rearing. I just gently coaxed her forward, if she didn't listen I became more insistent. I was being careful not to reach that blow up point though. The thing is, if she stops too long, she freaks out. If you push her too hard, she freaks out. I wonder if she's got arab blood somewhere? :lol:

She got a bit overexcited when we saw another horse about a mile off. I just kept her moving, and thankfully we had no incidents. She was moving well, and after about 25 minutes I even dared a 30 second trot. When we looped around to the trail that leads home, I turned her the opposite direction just to make sure she wasn't barn sour. When she didn't give me any trouble about it, I turned her around and headed home.

I rode Belle next. Tacking her up took about ten minutes, since I didn't have a bazillion things to put on her. We did some dressage exercises in the arena, worked on bending, and by the end of it, we were both pretty exhausted. Her biggest thing is not wanting to give a smooth transition. You ask for a trot and she tosses her head and wants to launch into a canter.

After I cooled her out and put her away, I went back to hang out with Shan. She came right up to say hi, as she always does. I noticed she was feeling stiff on the right, so I took her back out to put some of the epsom salt poultice on her. The barn does not have heated water, but since it was about 75F I decided to go ahead and splash some water on the areas I was going to put the poultice to help it go on easier. After doing it I realized what a terrible idea that was, as the cold water did not feel good to her, poor thing! I felt really bad about it. But I got the poultice on her.

Then I had to worm her, as she wouldn't let BO do it. I of course ended up with it on my hands, my shirt, the rubber mat, Shan's halter, etc. because of her head tossing (She HATES wormer). Finally I just grabbed a carrot, squirted the wormer on it, then turned it upside down so when she went to smell it she smelled the carrot and not the wormer. It worked! She ate it, did not spit it back out, and even continued eating carrots after that.
I never tried this before because I saw someone do it with another horse, and that horse would not eat carrots for a whole year after that. It worked for Shan though, strangely enough!

Of course because of the cold water, now she was a bit stiffer than before. I turned her back out and just spent time walking around with her. She really needs free choice hay. While the other horses stand around waiting for the next meal, she constantly browses through the dirt. I even caught her eating her dried up manure (there isn't much out there, a little here and there. The pen does get picked up and cleaned). I don't think this is from lack of nutrition. She's got an RB, is fed plenty, and doesn't show any signs of lack. I think she is eating it out of boredom, or possibly from not enough long stem fiber. Most of the diet is alfalfa/bermuda pellets, with very little actual hay.

Every time I walked away to see if DH had come, she followed me to the fence and stared after me. She makes me feel so guilty! She always wants my attention. Definitely not suited to being a pasture puff. She wants a job and she wants attention.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I apologize for the lack of updates. I have gotten six visits/rides in since the last post. At first I was just being lazy about journaling. Then I started last Wednesday to chronicle each ride and every important detail I remembered... until my computer decided to update without warning me and I lost everything.

Overall, its been good and bad. Shan IS improving. At the beginning of January, she could not stand square without relaxing her right hind. Now with stretches, dressage ring work, and climbing hills out on the trail, she is getting stronger with each ride. After a strenuous ride, the next time I go out she tends to come out very stiff, then walk right out of it and be fine.

Two funny things I want to remember:
One day I while I was helping mom with Belle, I had Shan turned out in the round pen. I looked over from the arena and noticed that she had taken the bucket that was laying in the pen, and after checking it thoroughly for food, she turned around and rolled it back and forth with her right hind (the stiff one), like someone on a yoga ball! Perhaps her way of trying to stretch herself? :lol:

Then one day when I went out with DH, I had taken mom's new Cavallos out to try on Belle for her. Naturally, since it would be quick, I tried the boots on Belle before going to see Shan. During the fifteen minutes I was busy with Belle, Shan saw DH, but didn't see me, and began frantically running around her pen, snorting, bucking, then going to the gate and pushing on it, looking for me. (All related to me by DH). Interpret her behavior however you like. In my opinion, I think it proves how much she enjoys the time we spend together, and how much she enjoys going out and doing something.
When I walked back to see her, I could finally say that I recognized her since the first time I got back. Muscles rippling under a slightly sweaty, gleaming coat. Snorting and blowing, ears alert to her surroundings, reactive. And not stiff at all. This is the horse I know. Not the one I had come back to, who was sad and stiff and forlorn.

Another time, I was trail riding with mom. We came to a cliff somehow with a 20ft drop into a wash. Shan wanted to jump the chasm that was 5ft wide, but went the other way when I asked her to. I was amazed at her bravery.

We trailered out with mom and Belle yesterday. I dearly wish I could say that I had fun, but this is one of those rides I just label under 'experience'. Shan was an angel in the trailer as always. Then completely difficult once out of it. The trail was very difficult and had more rock than I think I have ever ridden on. I used the spurs more than I wanted to or like to. Shan was acting a bit too 'arabesque' for me, on a trail meant for steady minded mules. She was very sure footed though, I'll give her that.

The Cavallos. I have to mention them because I am super jealous. They are so easy to put on. They stay on well, up hills, over loose rock, and in deep sinking mud, and at all gaits. I want a pair! XD I am so tired of struggling with Easyboots.

I briefly saw the thread labeled "Why are horse people Jerks?". Now, I don't believe all or even most horse people are jerks. But to be honest, I find myself spending less and less time with the majority of them. I find them to be overbearing, unwilling to listen to other ideas/methods/thoughts. Many of them are extremely bossy and act as if they know you or your horse better, even if you have owned that horse for many many years. They treat people who don't know as much poorly or as if they are too stupid to understand. And if not this, I find that our riding interests don't match up. I enjoy a canter out on the trail when the terrain allows for it. Most of the riders I know don't even trot occasionally. 

Thus the reason for my horse-person phobic hermit like behavior. Shan used to have 'strange-horse-phobia'. I think that I have 'horse-person-phobia'. Or maybe I just don't like people? :wink:

But I love you guys.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

As a trail rider, I mostly don't like how noisy and talkative they are. And what problem are you having with the easy boots?


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@whisperbaby22

My main issue with the easyboots is the amount of time it takes to get them on and off. It makes it very difficult with a horse who won't stand still. Granted, Easyboots will stay on over pretty much anything.
However, so do Cavallos! And the Cavallos slip right on easily. Instead of an exact fit like Easyboot, the Cavallos sizes have about a 2 inch range for each size, if that makes sense. Basically, they allow for the growth of the hoof between trim cycles. Of course, they fit slightly looser than Easyboots, which is why they are much easier to put on. However Belle climbed up and down steep inclines over loose rock, trotted and cantered, and even rode through sinking mud, and they stayed on and didn't give her any trouble. They don't really hang off the hoof, they just give a little more wiggle room.

I hate spending a minimum of three minutes per boot. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but you get my point. And having a boot that I can still fit onto my horse after 8 weeks since the last trim would be awesome.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

OK, I see. Yes it would be nice to have a boot that fits through the cycle.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I had an awesome ride today.

First of all, there is a new boarder at the barn. A super sweet older lady with a gorgeous Lipizzaner gelding. They are both very nice. She asked about riding out with us, which I said would be great, and also explained that my mom is looking for another riding partner as there is a good chance that I will be gone traveling most of the year with Shan. (I'll let you guys in on those details later... if the business proposition works out). The owner is only comfortable walking on the trail at the moment because she says her horse is very spooky. He seemed a little alert and a little silly, but I guess that since I am used to high strung unpredictable horses, he seemed plenty sensible to me. She struck me as the not as commanding type of horse owner, letting him jerk on the lead a bit and not necessarily drag her around, but almost that. Its a good thing her horse isn't like Shan, as allowing that kind of behavior with my Shan ends up with you dirt skiing.

Overall, she's a really nice lady, she knows a lot about dressage, her horse is gorgeous, and its just nice having somebody around not as snarky as the other boarders can be. Maybe aside from trail riding together, we could arena ride together and I could get some pointers (yes... I do try to get free instruction from knowledgeable people. I got in a few lessons last year, but they get expensive and just are not in the budget right now).
The new horse is also a perfect example of why you don't just go around feeding other people's horses without permission. Why? He colics if he has carrots. Yet how many boarders/horse owners run around doing just that without asking first or thinking twice? A lot of people at this barn consider my mother novice and look down on her for it. Yet she knows better than to feed someone's horses. Meanwhile one of the boarders who's owned horses for at least twenty years admitted that she fed my horse carrots without my permission. I said it was OK, because it is with me, but how come she didn't ask in the first place? What if my horse couldn't have carrots? I shake my head at some knowledgeable horse people, mainly those who act as if they know everything, then do something silly like that.

I watched a documentary about Harry and Snowman yesterday. Apparently, he was taught to ride by his father, and then had no further instruction after that. He self-taught and also trained Snowman, the ex-plow horse who became a show jumping champion. I find it interesting how many very talented, famous horse people are self-taught, yet generally it is a big no no in the horse world to try to learn anything without the guidance of someone who already knows how.

Anyway, on to my ride.
Shan was awesome. She was chill right off the bat. Only tried pawing once. Didn't give me any trouble over the hoof boots. Stood very quietly. Didn't try untying herself.
She was not stiff at all, which I was surprised at. I really thought we overdid it last Friday when we trailered out to that ridiculous trail that was so rocky and hilly and difficult. Yet she was better than she was before. Its been following a pattern like that. Almost seems like the harder she works, the less stiff she is.
There is one thing that gets better with work, other than arthritis. And that is horses who 'tie up', which is caused mainly by eating grain or other high energy feed while in work. I mention it because the BO does feed a handful of sweet feed with the supplements. And I noticed that Shan does sometimes cow kick and stretch her leg out when I have her tied for grooming/tacking, in a far less severe but similar fashion to another horse I know that ties up. I didn't think a handful of grain could cause it... but who knows? Maybe that is the problem.
I hope that she won't have issues with oats, as I am planning on switching her from rice bran to oats when I have her under my care again. The oats are far cheaper. I'm a bit tired of paying for all these extras that were quite literally pushed on me by the BO. My go to would have been beet pulp, but BO doesn't want to deal with that as then she would have to soak it. Maybe I can talk to her about switching to oats.

I'm sorry for my ranting. I am just so darn tired of boarding stables and people telling me what to do with my horse. I will always put my horse's health first but I like to try to keep my finances in mind too! If there's a cheaper option that has a similar result, why not?

So, back to the ride. We went out on the trail. Shan was kind of sluggish at first. When I was able to, I asked for a trot, which ended up being very choppy and uncoordinated. I followed my usual triangular route from and back to the barn. Once we were going parallel to home, she picked up a nice trot with good impulsion. I got a few excellent canters in, and she picked up both leads comfortably. What more can I say? She slowed down when asked, sped up when asked, minimal spooks that are basically just little jolts/jumps/spooking in place. She seemed to feel great and I felt great.
I tried riding more by feel than conscious thought, which also means using my reins less. I just thought 'I want to go here' and there we went, weaving through the trail and rocks at all speeds easily. It was a beautiful feeling.
The weather was perfect. Low 70s, high 60s. I kept on a jacket, unzipped, and rather enjoyed watching it flap behind me in the shadow while we cantered along. There was somebody who I think took some pictures of us out by the road. The only wildlife we saw was jackrabbits and a few horse eating bushes. And did I mention what a good girl Shan was? She got a peppermint and a few horse treats after we were done for sure!

I can't wait for my next ride. Thursday here I come!


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

horseluvr2524 said:


> I watched a documentary about Harry and Snowman yesterday. Apparently, he was taught to ride by his father, and then had no further instruction after that. He self-taught and also trained Snowman, the ex-plow horse who became a show jumping champion. I find it interesting how many very talented, famous horse people are self-taught, yet generally it is a big no no in the horse world to try to learn anything without the guidance of someone who already knows how.


I agree. I haven't seen the video yet but read the book, it was great. 



horseluvr2524 said:


> I tried riding more by feel than conscious thought, which also means using my reins less. I just thought 'I want to go here' and there we went, weaving through the trail and rocks at all speeds easily. It was a beautiful feeling.


Sounds like it was a great ride!!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Wow a lipizzan. I have never seen one in person. And I too had problems when I had to board. When you have your horse in the back yard everything is so much easier. And I'm glad the boots were OK. Boot problems can interfere with your riding fun.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

@horsluvr2524 - I do not mean to steal your thread but I wanted to comment on Cavallos V Easyboots. We do have both and ride in both. One thing to take note of is that the Cavallo stays on a hoof because it straps around the ankle. Regardless of how well it fits the hoof. These boots will stay on no matter what but they do twist and turn and the horses foot will act like a plunger if these are not fitted correctly.

Unfortunately, we found this out the hard way at a trail ride last year. My daughter riders her MFT in Cavallos - she is small and the Easy boots are hard for her to get on her horse. We rode 12 miles up and down hills, all over rocks etc. We did hear her foot making noise in the boot and did have to straighten them out twice. Back at the trailer when the boots were removed the mares heel bulbs were rubbed raw and the hair on her fetlocks pretty much wore off. These boots were fit by a farrier after a trim, however after riding most of the summer barefoot her hooves had changed shape and size (minimally) and the boots had become large enough to do that.

I ride in Easyboots and I agree they can be a pain, and I have had them come off occasionally - but to me it is pretty obvious when a boot is too large for the hoof as there is no large piece of leather hiding the hoof from view.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I use the easy boot trails because I ride slow and don't want to deal with hard to put on boots. I did have some problems with them at first that I was able to fix. I ride in a lot of sand, and had to keep them on. I just bought a new one and they went ahead and put in the fix I was able to come up with on my own. That, and taping the boots on keeps them where I want them. And I like that you can buy one at a time.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@carshon

Thanks for the info. The Cavallos seem to fit very well, and as it states on their website of what a proper fit should be, they have a bit of wiggle room, but cannot turn completely around. That is even true without the straps fastened, as when I first tried the boots on Belle I put a plastic bag over them to keep them clean and was unable to fasten the straps with it on, only check the boot fit on the hoof.
I'm sure there is a fix for the rubbing, if I see it happen to Belle. A wrap of some sorts would work I'm sure.
@whisperbaby22

I also have Easyboot trails. I think why I thought they didn't fit when I put them on her for the first time after a few months, it must have been because the rubber stiffened from not being used. They seemed to have flexed/stretched since then and are easier to put on now. But they are still a total pain in the rear. Not sure how they are easy for you to put them on, but glad you like them and work for you anyway.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

On their website they have a video of how to put the velcro in front of the boot and then just slip it on. That's how I do it.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

This may be the answer to our prayers about the boarding situation. There is a barn less than 5 minutes from the house, large stalls (32x32), a community arena, and trails right down the street. It is a do-it-how-you-want barn. The guy is super laid back and is looking for no drama boarders. It can be full or self care, he takes care of them how you want, feeds them how you want. The prices are very reasonable and even after feed cost would not be more than we are paying for boarding now. I COULD WALK TO THIS BARN! That would be a dream come true.

As you can tell, I already got my hopes up. I really try not to do that, but I am so desperate to get out of this control freak barn that I can't help it. Mom and I will be going to see the barn prospect this evening. If it means shelling out extra money for a deposit to hold our spots and paying for an additional month (because of 30 day notice) at the current barn, so be it. I just want to be out of there like yesterday. I have been trying to console myself and say its not so bad for so long now that now that I have the chance to go somewhere else, I just can't contain my excitement.

Hoping and praying this place is everything I think it will be!

Just so you all understand (and for myself too) I decided to list all the cons to the current barn:

*We have custom built slow feeders so our horses can graze all day like they are on pasture. We are NOT allowed to use them at this barn. BO feeds them one way, her way, and there is no reasoning with her about it.
*Both mom and I have been pressured into expensive supplements that we don't feel are justified or necessary. This is on top of an already expensive board.
*The BO is controlling, and can be condescending. She and the other boarders (half of the boarders, not all) are especially condescending to my mother and treat her like an idiot novice. While she is still a beginner in some aspects, that is not a healthy environment to feel confident and empowered to learn. Part of the reason she got a horse was to gain some confidence!
*We feel that the dehydrated pellets are detrimental to our horses health when not fed soaked. This has been shown in Belle who has colicked twice since being at this barn when she had no history of colic.
ETA: Vet ALSO agreed that pellets should be soaked. BO did not listen!
*The BO repeats often that 'this is a private home, not a boarding stable'. There is a controlling atmosphere on what we are and are not allowed to do with our horses. We are made to feel as if we are a HUGE inconvenience to BO, yet also pressured that she doesn't want us to leave because nobody will care for our horses like she does. BO is unwilling/very begrudging about performing some of the aspects of full care, such as holding a horse for the farrier when the owner works full time and can't be there (my mother's case).
*This barn is over ten minutes away and it is difficult to find time to go out.

Pros to current barn:

*Trails are very close and pretty nice.
*The horses aren't standing in tiny stalls all day.
*The horses are fed very well as far as adequate amount goes, not type of feed.
*The arena is very nice.
*I like the BO as a person... but not as a barn owner.

Wow. I really hate this place. I wasn't sure how much until I did a pro-con. Here's hoping that this new barn will be amazing.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Good luck and please let us know what you decide. It's a big decision.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

It is, but at the same time, as I stated in another thread, I have been playing the boarding stable shuffle for a long time. I am sick and tired of it, and have always preferred self-care, just difficult finding a facility with a doable self care price that does not have the horses standing in stalls all day. This barn is closer than any of the previous ones. When I feel up to it, I will chronicle my boarding stable experiences and the reason for leaving each one. It is a rather interesting story.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

That barn would drive me crazy. 
Especially because I have very good reasons for what supplements I choose to feed, and I don't want to feed a supplement just because someone else believes in it.

I hope you can get into the new barn that is closer and sounds much better for you!


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

i feel you on boarding shuffle. i have had my horse for 6 years and i think i have moved 8 times, soon to be 9 0.0'. i am finaly moveing to a nice barn. i LOVE my self care barn but there are some arena hogs and my horses are still standing in mud no matter what i do. you are lucky for finding a good place


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Figured I should give you all an update, as things happened rather quickly (as they always do in my life... nothing, then everything at once).

We went out to see the place last night. It reminded me of how my other self-care barn looked when I first showed up. The actual structure of the place is very nice. You go through the gate to the property, then a little further back to another gate that enters the horse area.
The stalls, roof, and everything in the barn is structured well. The place itself does need a good cleaning up, but it wasn't horrible (not even as bad as my first self-care barn). The owner admitted it wasn't really ready to show, and also seemed very willing to do upkeep and even reasonable add-ons to the place (previous self-care owner I boarded with would not maintain his property). There is not quite an arena, but a large area that can be turned into one. He said after we had been there a little while (probably wants to make sure we won't turn around and run off and him do the work for nothing... not really uncommon in this area) that he would rent a tractor and drag it and turn it into a riding area. Good enough for me, as I only need decent footing for dressage work at walk and trot.

The trails are farther away and involves more riding on the street. The streets are pretty quiet though, and our mares are super good in traffic. I'm OK with that trade-off, as you can't have everything. Its worth it to have the horses two minutes away.

Also, this barn doesn't have hours. We can come in the middle of the night if we want. Its a 4 stall barn, and we will basically have the place to ourselves, unless he finds a prospective boarder he really likes or friend needs a place or something like that. Apparently he's dealt with between boarder drama before and has no desire to do so again (I can't blame him, I'm the same way.)

I told current BO today the news. She was expecting it, as she knew we weren't really happy there and I had been dropping hints that we might leave for a while. She was sad and disappointed, but did not make a fuss of it. I think its a good thing for them too... though BO won't admit it, they are an older couple and taking care of and feeding TEN horses five times a day every day is a lot!

My next two posts will be about my ride today, and then my feed and supplement plan.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Nothing else to do right now so I'll catch you all up.

It was VERY cold today (those of you in colder climates will laugh at us desert dwellers)... 50*F is very cold for us (I got to use my new gloves I got for Christmas for the first time). As a result, Shan was stiff. I got very frustrated trying to get the boots on and off because of this, as she has a very hard time holding up her right front because of the pressure it puts on her right hind.
Stiff, stiff, stiff. She seemed to work out of it, trotted fine, got a couple nice canters. I noticed that even if I mount from the off side, I always feel as if I am sliding to the left. @gottatrot probably has an idea of some exercises I can do to build her left shoulder?
She was really good about the traffic (large white box truck came flying by at a high speed, apparently that person had no clue about horses), and her worst spook was a tiny jump when a jackrabbit jumped out of a bush and startled her.
Anyway, after we were done, because of the fiasco getting the hoof boots off, she was pretty lame walking back to her stall. Walked out of it again when I set her loose, although she was still a bit off. I feel bad, and am hoping I didn't overdo the riding. But then, every time I think that, after such a ride, she gets better and stronger. 
Other than that, not much to say. I still feel super bad about it. I've got some different (unusual) supplements I want to try that may help with it. More about that in the next post...


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Alright so... Supplements.

By now I have tried a few of the commercial supplements, and I have seen little to no results with them. I've had both mares on RBs and they still are, but I never noticed a physical change in them. It made me feel good to know that they weren't missing anything in their diet, but they looked and acted the same as before.
The joint supplements I've tried are... OK. It seems to me that without paying an arm and a leg for a very high end joint supplement, I feel like I'm throwing money away on something that is making a minimal difference at most.

So I've decided to go back to feeding certain foods to address a problem. I have done this with myself (I've never taken vitamins/supplements for myself, just ate the foods that had the nutrients I was looking for) and have had excellent results. Why not do the same with the horses?

One thing I have wanted to feed for several years now is carob. Carob comes from a tree, which produces highly nutritious seed pods. It is a traditional livestock food in countries such as Spain, and there are cases of people sustaining themselves on Carob alone when there was nothing else. These trees were planted all over Mexico by missionaries to provide a source of nutrition for poor children.
When I first heard about carob, I was told a story of Spaniards and their horses. Apparently these men had gotten trapped or lost in a place where the only source of food was the seeds from the Carob trees. They ate these and fed them to their horses also, and the story goes when they finally escaped, their horses looked better than they ever had before. Now I don't know if this story is true, it is likely a folk tale. But it has made me curious about it ever since.
Something called 'carob kibble' has become popular in recent years in the UK as horse feed. These people say to be having great results with it.
I also read claims made by people who say to have cured their arthritis with carob.

The above sentence somehow lead me on some google search that I don't remember what it was exactly, but I found this page:
http://tendler5.wixsite.com/highlysinediet
The writer makes the claim that a high arginine diet leads to excess Nitric Oxide, which is a large player in osteoarthritis, which I'm sure is Shan's form of arthritis. According to them, lysine is the way to combat this. Arginine and lysine appear to have a teeter totter effect: one is always higher or lower, depending on the food.
Rather than go through the whole thing, I'll just quote the relevant information.



> NO, which is a highly reactive free radical, is also induced in large amounts by the inflammatory immune system, where it is a major player in the inflammatory immune response. This is critical to fight infections. However, in excess, NO combines with free radicals, generated from the inflammatory immune response or from toxins, to make peroxynitrite. NO also inactivates the vital CP450 enzymes, thus inhibiting the metabolism of toxins and drugs.71 In addition, NO slows down enzymes that convert cholesterol to sex hormones, cortisol, and activated vitamin D, plus it inhibits release of dopamine and norepinephrine, which reduces alertness and activity.74 Thus, in excess, or with inflammatory conditions, nitric oxide can be "the tiger" instead, and cause much damage.
> 
> Peroxynitrite is a major free radical that damages tissues, plus it constricts blood vessels, which raises blood pressure.54 Lysine lowers inflammatory NO, preventing the formation of peroxynitrite.73 It does this by breaking down its source: arginine. Lysine also increases natural killer cells, which efficiently destroy viruses, bacteria and parasites. Then, once these pathogens are destroyed, the inflammatory immune system is turned off, thus limiting the damage from NO and peroxynitrite.
> 
> ...


Huh! Isn't that interesting? Lysine helped with IBS, a digestive problem.
Here is where it got mind blowing for me...



> Yeast spreads from brewer's yeast and nutritional yeast are popular in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Most yeast products are very high in lysine, and are conveniently sprinkled on high vitamin C vegetables or made into a cheese-like sauce. Yeast is also high in B2, B3, B5, and B6, for lysine absorption.


Brewer's yeast is another wonder supplement I have read about. Owners claim it helps their horse get more out of their feed and reducing or solving digestive upset.
Anyway, after skimming this article, I looked up foods high in lysine. Second on the list? Carob!
Foods highest in Lysine, and lowest in Arginine in Legumes and Legume Products

Then this morning I found a fantastic price on carob powder, with free shipping. If I buy ten pounds, I get it for less than $5 a pound. I will be starting with 1tbsp per day and work our way up to 3 tbsp. That's only $15 a month, and if she needs more, I could comfortable go all the way to $25 a month, which is the equivalent of her current joint/rb.
https://www.myspicesage.com/carob-powder-p-526.html

So there is the info on carob. Cookies for you if you read all of that!
The next strange item on the list is butter. What? I want to feed butter to my horse?! ...Yes. As it stands, despite two hours of endless research, I cannot find any evidence why it would be dangerous to feed a small amount (1tbsp per day) to my horse. If you have evidence, please tell me!
The reason for the butter is because of the one joint supplement (very expensive) that everyone uses at the barn called Cetyl-M. I was perplexed as to why this one was so different, so I had a look. It contains an ingredient called Cetyl Myristoleate, and other than that its the same as any other joint supplement. I started looking into what foods contain it, only to find out that Cetyl Myristoleate is produced in a lab from Myristoleic Acid. This Myristolic Acid is only present in very few foods, those being certain meats and dairy. One of the highest sources? Butter!

(ETA: Actually, I'm not sure how Cetyl Myristoleate is made. It could be lab formed, I found out at one point. I'll have to come back and post about it when I find it again
ETA: Yup! lab produced. You can find that here, scroll down to the section on Cetyl-Myristoleate
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1779427/)

From my document I keep to record my findings:


> 1 tbsp of butter daily/2 cups or 4 sticks per month. This is for myristoleic acid, which is the derivative ingredient for cetyl myristoleate. 1 tbsp of butter would provide nearly three times as much myristoleic acid than Cetyl-M.
> Myristoleic acid: structure, properties, food sources


The third thing on the list to try is 'Source', a seaweed supplement for horses. It will come out to $5 a month and I have read all over the place how fantastic it is for hooves and coat especially.

So there it is. And now you see why I didn't want to bother old BO with all this! Its too much on her, and I can't imagine what she would say if I suggested feeding butter... :lol:


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I think you have come across something that is very important, and that is that research can be very good, or very bad. The companies selling the expensive supplements will always be able to find research that backs up their claims. Some of this stuff has been circulating for years under other names. The bottom line is that some things will work for some horses for some period of time, other horses will not get better with this stuff. The best thing, I think, is to start with the best fodder you can find. From there on, you are just experimenting. The stuff you are planning to try sounds fine, as long as your vet OK's it. 

For myself, I will use MSM, but that's it. I have researched this stuff, too, talked to my vet, and am satisfied that this is the best I can do for my horse.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Exercises for the weak shoulder:
Mainly what I did was focus on stretching the stronger shoulder, because I felt that larger muscle mass kept the horse tight on that side and not able to use the other shoulder well. So I did circles with the weaker shoulder on the inside, mainly on the lunge. If the horse fell in, I decided it was too small of a circle and made it larger. 

When riding I also tried to do more circles that stretched the larger shoulder, turning away from the stronger side toward the weaker side. Then I focused a lot on making sure to trot on both diagonals and canter on both leads equally.

I agree with you very much about the vitamins and minerals coming from food sources rather than pills and supplements. I've read a lot about human vitamins and concluded it is mostly a waste of money. I told this to my doctor and she convinced me that in our area everyone is deficient in Vitamin D because we don't have sunshine, and she says she will test bloodwork and then retest after people have taken pills for awhile, and their D levels come up to normal. OK, maybe that one works. But ideally we get things from natural sources.

I've suspected I waste a lot of money on supplements for the horses. Yet I'm not sure how I could possibly balance what they need from natural sources! I use FeedXL and enter everything, and it tells where we are deficient (we analyze the hay). But the grass they graze on during the day is an unknown, and I suspect a lot of the "deficiencies" that come up are probably covered in the grazing.

For instance, Halla eats a lot of oats, and those are high in phosphorus, so I buy powdered calcium and give it to her to balance out what she gets from the oats. Would my horses be healthy without the supplements? I don't know. I give Amore Biotin and a hoof supplement because I worry about her hoof health with the Cushing's. 
I think you are on the right track and my way is probably helping me feel better more than helping the horses. Oh well, if we ever get into a financial bind I can always cut back on the horse vitamins. Meanwhile, I sleep well. :wink:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I haven't any Shan related news but I couldn't resist giving you all an update.

I have not been out to see Shan or Belle since the 19th (YIKES!). It was a combination of being busy, not wanting to bug DH for a ride or spend gas money, and not wanting to be out there in case of any conversations sparked with BO. I just don't want to get into any drama, as BO is extremely controlling and nosy. Over the phone/in text, she's been really nice about it and low key, even when I told her that I would NOT be feeding rice bran after the move.

I've spent around 15 hours over a course of days at the new barn getting it ready. There was a LOT to do, and there is still a lot to do. But its usable as of now and is ready for our horses to come. The barn move is tomorrow, so that's a good thing! The only thing that has got to be done is putting more fill dirt in Belle's stall.

I really love the fill dirt for the stalls. It is very sandy, and even when wet does not turn to mud, which is a really good thing for out here as it is not uncommon for the horses to be standing in bogs when rain comes. Each stall is about 15x30ft. The inner half stays very dry, only the uncovered back half gets muddy with a lot of rain.

There is enough composted horse manure out there to fill a very large garden. Previous boarders apparently just threw the manure right outside the stalls (all the way around) instead of hauling to the manure pile in the back of the property. This put the stalls in a valley causing the water to run into the stalls. It also makes a great home for all kinds of critters, including rattlesnakes. So for these reasons, and also because I hate the aesthetics of old horse manure, I had to dig all of it out. Now I am slowly, bit by bit, hauling it to the back of the property.

The feed room needs cleaned out, but I can't do much to it as it is filled with new BO's stuff. He told me that he would clean it out, so no problem. We definitely do need it though, as buying hay locally was $15 per bermuda bale vs. $12 from our grower who's an hour away. Local hay will get too expensive very quickly, so we are going to need hay storage for a large amount very soon.

I'll get pictures of the girls at their new home tomorrow


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I will follow up this post with the 'barn warming' pictures.

Ended up going out the same day I last posted. Got some of our things, thanked old BO for everything, listened to old BO talk about her 50 years of experience and display nervousness about me taking back over the care of our mares, smiled and nodded through that, and then felt very appreciative at her offer of 'call me anytime for anything'. The horse world has taught me so much, such as 'take what you like and what works and leave the rest' (in regards to trainers, for example), which comes in so very helpful when dealing with people.

I was VERY happy to find Shan without a hint of lameness that day, even when trotting on a circle. So I am absolutely positive now that her problem is arthritis, more specifically osteoarthritis which can be injury related like, for example, kicking a darned fence at a gelding repeatedly (darn mare!).

I was also a bit angry at BO when I found out that what I was told is 'a handful of sweet feed to make supplements taste better' is actually an entire cup. I was asking how much was being fed so I knew where I could start cutting back, and that is how I found out. However, I didn't say a word about it, just nodded. Its all water under the bridge now. 

The next day DH and I drove out, borrowed mom's rig, to move the mares. As per usual, they were the same as always. Shan a devil on the ground, Belle an angel. Shan an angel in the trailer, Belle a slightly nervous arab wannabe.

They settled right in to the new place. Especially with the 1/2 flake alfalfa I threw them while we got their slow feed boxes ready. Neither of them forgot how to work those! They were happily munching away in minutes.

I went home for lunch, then walked there that evening about 5-ish to feed supplements. No signs of colic, everybody was happy and peaceful, and then excited when they saw me show up with buckets.

Went out the next morning (this morning). I immediately noticed that while they both still have a considerable hay belly, they already looked less bloated (I am sure it was the dehydrated hay pellets causing this bloated look, as every horse at previous barn shared it). Shan was very happy to see me, which always makes me happy lol. She even leaves her feeder to come see me.
On that note, I noticed that they both will take breaks from their slow feed boxes instead of constantly attacking it. So there is not as much of an adjustment as I thought there would be, going back to the slow feed bermuda.

I spent four hours there today. I am tempted to buy one of those t-shirts that say "I fed, watered, mucked stalls, groomed horses, cleaned tack, etc.... and then realized it took all day". I put some tack away, fed supplements at about 9:30am (I am switching them to a morning supplement feed instead of evening), then groomed both and took time to put coconut oil in manes and tails. Then I walked them each individually around the block. Typically buddy sour behavior, although they were both good about not acting dangerous or stupid. Just lots of fast walking and some incessant whinnying that got a lot of the horses in the surrounding area going (lol, horses in the city for you). I finished the day off by cleaning stalls and walked home, got there around 2pm.

I'll admit without guilt that I did spend a few minutes standing around, watching the horses and appreciating the fact that they are within walking distance now!

I started them on a 1/4 pound of soaked whole oats. I've read some about it and decided to try it. I don't trust large quantities of grain, but a very small amount may have some benefit. That said, I am watching them VERY carefully.

Don't worry, pictures are on their way!


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

horseluvr2524 said:


> Got some of our things, thanked old BO for everything, listened to old BO talk about her 50 years of experience and display nervousness about me taking back over the care of our mares, smiled and nodded through that, and then felt very appreciative at her offer of 'call me anytime for anything'. The horse world has taught me so much, such as 'take what you like and what works and leave the rest' (in regards to trainers, for example), which comes in so very helpful when dealing with people.


You must be so relieved to be in control of your own horses' care. That is one of the most frustrating things, when the person taking care of your horses believes they know best and doesn't listen to your advice. Something very good about my current barn is that whatever eccentricities we have about our horses, everyone follows our wishes. If I said I wanted Amore to be led always on the right side of Halla or something silly like that, the caretakers would still do it.  

When I've covered for people I've done some things I think are a little unnecessary, but it is super important that people feel comfortable with how their horses are cared for, so I've done it. For instance, one horse had his next hay bag put out exactly at noon, even though he still had hay left so didn't run out, it was very important that the new one was placed at noon. 

I find it kind of funny that your barn owner worried about someone as experienced as you having the ability to care for your own horses. But there can be a lot of unspoken pressure and tension if you are in a barn where your philosophies don't match those of the people in charge, and even when they don't speak up it can feel awkward. I've been there, with people giving disapproving glances to each other because I did something that they thought was not correct. It sounds like you are already enjoying the new situation very much. Nice to have hay instead of pellets and the slow feeders again.

I do agree with you that a small amount of oats will cause no harm. I even give Amore a little handful because she likes them, and she has Cushing's.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@gottatrot

You are absolutely right, I am beyond relieved. It is such a nice feeling to not only be able to care for the horses however I like, but to be free from the constant judgement of others. Of course that is not to say that I will do something ignorantly. I always research and do my very best to make sure I am helping, not hurting.

I think one thing people forget is that sometimes you've just got to make mistakes. It's part of the learning process. The wise people will listen to others and avoid making big detrimental mistakes, but making small mistakes is just a part of every day life and human nature.

As for feeding, I try not to say much anymore to anyone about their feed management. I recently saw someone on the forum post that they feed their horses exclusively alfalfa now. I would never do that, due to the imbalance it would cause, but if it works for them... :shrug:

I'm glad to hear that you think the small amount of oats is OK. I wanted to ask you but didn't really know how to go about that with everything you have going on right now.
If you've got some extra time at some point, try researching about the concept of feeding soaked whole oats. I'm curious to hear what your thoughts will be on what you find.

Hugs sent your way


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

OH! I also wanted to mention about the imbalance I was feeling while riding...

I am pretty sure it is mostly me, and not the horse. I feel like I am sliding to the left even when riding Belle. I also noticed that when I walk I tend to land heavier on my left side, and my right side is not as flexible.

This has been improving with stretches, hanging from the monkey bars at the park down the street (to stretch my back out. It really helped actually), and the massive amount of walking I've been doing. I haven't ridden yet, but while walking today I noticed that I felt very balanced and even.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Pictures! 

If you don't know, Shan has the flaxen/gold mane. Belle is darker colored.

You can't really see the bloated hay belly as much in pictures, especially at angles taken. Oh well. Not like I'm trying to prove anything lol.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

The place looks nice! Congrats!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Nice pictures & place!


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

Great pictures, love chestnut horses


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Sorry that I have been MIA guys! I'll tell you a little story about why. My dear feline child Shadow knocked over the glass of water I had idiotically left next to my laptop on my nightstand. I couldn't possibly be mad at her though, as she brought me her favorite toy mouse as an apology. Even thinking about it now makes me grin and chuckle. You couldn't possibly meet a sweeter cat.

So I set my computer in the window in full sun for a few days, just tried it this evening, so far so good! I've done similar to my phones. I dropped one in the ocean and after it dried out, it was fine. (OK, a little quirky, but still worked! lol) My computer is just kind of creaky now.

I am going to have to get new pictures, as the horses are looking fantastic. They don't look like pot bellied pigs anymore, and could now be described as athletic or normal. They are only going through one 110lb bermuda bale per week in their slow feeders, which I am very happy about as it greatly reduces our hay cost. The bit of alfalfa they get each day seems to help keep them fuller.
I started Shan on the 1tbsp of butter per day this past Monday. I am already seeing improvement, and no ill effects observed thus far. I've had a bit of a time trying to get her to eat it, but now she does, with a teeny bit of powdered sugar mixed in. However she will only eat her buttered supplements if I stand there and hold the bucket for her. What a baby, lol.
Her walk is already much more fluid, and the hitch in her step disappears in a couple strides rather than after a five or ten minute warm up. That's on blacktop, concrete, hard dirt, and soft dirt.

Thursday, February 2nd, I decided to ride Belle and pony Shan. Well, I was super nervous about it, I prayed before I did it, and I just give all the credit to God that nothing happened. They were both so edgy about leaving each other that I thought they would be easier to handle together. NOT. I probably should have rode Shan and ponied Belle, as Belle doesn't have a habit of trying to tear off at the end of the rope. But I didn't feel right riding Shan as she was showing up stiff, and I still wanted her to get exercise as it always helps her. Well, we all made it out alive, thank God. 

Next time I rode was Saturday. Mom and I enjoyed a trail ride. Oh I forgot to mention that the new barn requires 2 miles of road riding to get to the trails. I've picked the quietest route, and its good exposure for the horses. The trails have hardly any rock, so I haven't worried as much about wrapping their legs. Shan's near the end of her trim cycle and so doesn't fit in her boots, but the terrain hasn't hurt her bare hoof any. Like I said, FAR less rock. The only reason I booted in the first place was because of their hooves chipping on rock. Doesn't really happen now. Anyway, not a whole lot to say about that ride. We did some trotting and cantering on nice sandy paths, and I got horribly sun burned. Its that time of year again where I have to cover my skin!

I rode Shan out by myself on Monday. I started out hand walking her the two miles to the trail. She came out stiff, and walked out of it. She was warmed up by the time we got on the trail, so I followed my little racetrack that I found and did some trot work, an attempt at some dressage exercises, a bit of cantering, and a nice gallop when Shan felt up to it.

I haven't ridden since then, but have plans to ride Belle tomorrow and Shan Friday.

Oh, we got a new horse at the barn. She seems very sweet, but she's got a HUGE belly that looks like she either has a very heavy worm load or could be pregnant. Or it could be caused by diet as the owner feeds her solely alfalfa. I have no idea. Anyway, BO is doing full care for that horse. He doesn't really clean the stall, so I took to doing it mainly because I don't want all the flies around my bug sensitive Shan, and also because I hate seeing any animal have to stand around in filth. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for it.
She has a very pretty coat, some kind of dappled palomino or dunskin, its really hard to describe. She also has a very nice temperament. As for conformation... she's pretty much a train wreck to put it mildly lol. But what does that matter if she's a good kids horse for the owner.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. I'm still loving going out and seeing them every day. Something about taking care of horses brings me so much joy. I don't even want to ride every day, I just love being around them and taking care of them.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Today was an... interesting day. Went for a ride together with mom. Not much to say about it, it was uneventful. Mom is just starting to learn how to ride a canter and gallop.

Also noticed with each day that passes since Monday, Shan is progressively getting less stiffer when she comes out of her stall. Butter's working! (how weird is that?)

So when we came back from our ride, Shan was good about being tied while I went around and finished up barn chores. Then I tried to lead her into the wash rack to wash her. Well...
Last week she broke her lead rope when she pulled back in the wash rack. Since I had already washed her, I just ignored it, didn't make her go back in, and put her away. BIG MISTAKE.
Today when I tried to put her in, she walked in the first time, then immediately pulled back nearly giving me a rope burn.

The first thing I tried was just grabbing the lunge whip, putting pressure on the lead, and just encouraging her to walk in. That's all she needs is a little encouragement, right? ....Wrong. I fought with her for twenty minutes before I gave up and changed tactics.
I tried bribing her in. It wasn't really working. I put a flake of alfalfa halfway inside the wash rack and made it my goal to get her to walk the quarter way inside and eat it.
I had a problem with her pulling back, then coming to the side of the wash rack and walking forward to take the pressure off. So I put a wheel barrow on one side and the feed cart on the other to blockade the sides off. It helped some.
The next problem I had was when she would pull back, I of course couldn't hold her and ran out of line very quickly. So then I went and got my 30ft lunge line and my work gloves. I wrapped the line around the front of the wash rack pole to get leverage, applied constant pressure to her dually halter, and waited.

It turned into an hour and a half battle of wills. I wasn't going to quit until she walked halfway in. She was determined not to set foot in it. She pulled back and had rearing fits four times before it was over.

Finally, she did more than I even asked for or wanted and walked all the way in of her own accord. I praised her, and while I was in the middle of doing so, she pulled back and went zooming backwards. Ugh, so I had to make her go back in. Well, it only took a couple minutes the second time. As soon as she was in I patted her and said good girl and immediately started backing her out, slowly. She listened, and only the last couple steps flung her head up and danced to the side once she was out of it. I told her good girl and quit there anyway.

So now she gets to be tied in the wash rack every day for grooming, tacking, washing, eating alfalfa, and waiting for me to do barn chores. Yay! such fun. lol.

Oh, BTW, one time I did have access to a wash stall. She was as adamant about not entering the wash stall as she was the wash rack.

Here's a wash rack for those of you who don't know what it is. The one at my new barn is nicer than that though. It has two poles in front instead of one, and has tie rings on the sides so it can double as a hitching rail.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Sorry, but I did laugh about the cat messing up your computer. 

Ugh, those wash racks. The last barn I was at had a claustrophobic wash rack. It was similar to yours but made of wood and with a big, black rubber mat in the middle that looked like a black hole to horses apparently. I discussed going into the wash rack with about six different horses, and some got over it and some thought the thing was a trap every time. Finally I just started tying the horses outside the wash rack instead of inside it, and they all thought that was just fine and dandy.

It reminds me of a friend who took a little foal with Wobblers to the big state vet hospital. The whole room was painted one color, except for the floor scale which was painted another dark color. They had a whole bunch of people helping but it took all of them to get the little foal on the scale. He thought they were trying to drop him down a hole. My friend was asking, "Who designed this place?!?"


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@gottatrot

lol! its OK, I laughed about it later too. She always brings her mouse to me "I'm sorry mom!"

Yes, scary wash racks! I am just scratching my head though trying to figure out why wash racks are so scary, yet literally ANY trailer is fine for Shan, she will load in anything, dark or not! She's always been a quirky thing though.

I read your latest journal entry, where you mentioned pastern angles. Now I'm paranoid XD mind taking a closer look at the pictures I have? There should be several on her profile in my barn. I've always thought she's pleasing to the eye, nothing stuck out at me, but I don't have the most experienced eye around...


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I don't really notice anything crooked in those photos of Shan.

What I like to do is take the leg and bend it up like you're cleaning the hoof. Then with the leg relaxed (so it feels loose at the joint), I bend it at the joints. The pastern should ideally line up with the cannon bone or point in the same direction. The cannon bone should line up with the radius also. You can do this with the hind legs too, but you can only check the lower leg bones. 

Some gaited horses paddle when they move but the motion comes from in the shoulder or a flexible pastern joint and when their leg hits the ground it lands straight. 




And some perfectly straight horses stand and land crooked because they have a crooked hoof set onto a straight leg from trimming errors.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@gottatrot

Thanks for the info. I'm going to take a closer look at this tomorrow, too tired to comprehend it at the moment. Definitely something to think about!

Enjoy your riding project and Halla's improving health. Prayers still going your way


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Today I went out and rode Belle. She was good for the most part. She balked a few times on the 2 miles of road going to the trail, but I just spun her in a circle (aka disengaging I guess) and she'd start walking again. Once we got to my little 'racetrack' on the trails, she got very hot and I had a hard time getting her to respond to her rope nose sidepull. I attempted some trot work, did a couple 'Satin-esque' gallops (referring to the Arab mare I rode last summer with gottatrot who pulled on the reins like a freight train), and headed home.

When we got to the trail head that leads to the road, before leaving I asked Belle to do a few turns on the hindquarter. She used to throw her head when asked to do this, but now goes quietly and willingly. I think she has reached the point of being ready to go back to a bit after 8 or 10 months in the sidepull. I am sure she has been cowboyed around in her life, and the head tossing when asked to do certain things was just a reaction of hers to doing something she is used to causing pain. Anyway, if I'm going to accomplish anything at any speed faster than a walk, I'm going to need some more control in my reins. 

She really did make me appreciate Shan more, as I never feel unnerved or out of control galloping Shan. I just do it.

Then when we got back, I put Belle in the wash rack to see if she had an issue with it. Nope. Sprayed her off and put her away after cleaning her stall.

Then I went and got Shan. Though I started in a good mood, I very quickly lost my temper. I was very quiet in leading her and calm and sweet, once we stood at the entrance to the wash rack, she took off, and somehow the lunge line got looped around my foot in the bedlam which scared me quite badly. I'm always super careful about holding my lines/leads in a way that they won't wrap around me. She ended up stopping so I was able to get my foot out quickly and pull her back around. I gave her a shank over the nose (really started losing my temper), then when she tried taking off again, I caught her with the line and sent her lunging around me at the trot. Then I stopped her and walked her back, approaching the wash rack, she tried the same thing.

I finally tied her and walked away for a minute, because me absolutely losing it I knew was not going to help anything. I ended up rigging up a chain and tying her to it with baling twine in the center of the wash rack entrance, so that she could not edge around to the side of the wash rack away from the entrance. Despite my anger telling me not to give her anything to eat and make her stand there all day, I ignored it and followed my rational side which said to get her to associate the wash rack with good things. So she ate her alfalfa there.
(I have an irish temper. It takes a long time/a lot for me to get mad, but when I do finally get mad, it can be difficult for me to calm down. Just saying here that I don't agree with depriving a horse of food as a training method. But I was so angry that's just what I felt like doing, even though I didn't follow it of course).

I later managed to rig up (because the chain was not movable from its spot) one of my old western girths with some baling twine to the tie rings a quarter way inside the wash rack. She was secured to the D ring on the girth in the center, because if tied more over to the side she could get outside the wash rack. So she had to stand a tiny bit inside the wash rack. She pulled back one time with this contraption, then gave up when she couldn't get around the sides of the wash rack and couldn't break it. I like to use baling twine because if they really really freak out, it will break (or it should anyway).

After she stood there for a good while and was standing quietly, I put her away and gave what was left of her alfalfa to Belle. Yeah, I was being a tiny bit spiteful, but it wasn't much alfalfa left and I want Shan to only get alfalfa at the wash rack.

On the walk home, I tried to figure out why I was so adamant about her not throwing a fit around/in the wash rack. It came down to two things: one, I do not like my horse being the one who won't do this or that. I want to be able to do what needs done without it being made a huge big deal. Second, the bigger reason, it was Shan's way of reacting to the wash rack that makes me so determined to get her to accept it. She reacts very dangerously, and is not one to think twice about hurting anyone to get her way.

See, at this one barn, we had cross ties. Belle, when left alone for a minute in the cross ties, would pull back. Belle never pulls back when tied normally. But in the cross ties she would if left alone. The difference was, she would still listen to you and walk up and allow herself to be restrained by them. She didn't rear up or act out aggressively, she just acted out of fear, but was still conscious and respectful around people. For some reason, the cross ties made her nervous. So I just stopped using them with her, since she was willing and accepting, but still fearful of them, I tied her differently.

If Shan had the same kind of attitude, I would let the wash rack thing go. But since her reaction to it is so dangerous... I just can't. She has always been the typ 'give and inch and she'll take a mile'. I have to micro-manage her on the ground, or she'll take one lapse of my attention and be tearing off somewhere. This behavior is significantly and far worse than it used to be, because I had not been able to handle her previously every day, and she was being handled by people that either were incapable or did not know how to correct her. Experienced, old BO admitted that she attempted one training session with Shan and the horse was just too much for her.

I've heard it said by many trainers that they would rather deal with a fearful horse than a spoiled one. A horse that is stubborn and determined to do what they want no matter what is far more dangerous than a fearful horse (from what I was told by these trainers). I have experienced this myself. No matter how much of a drill sergeant I am with Shan, she will still act like a spoiled brat at times given half a chance. Like I've said before, she is a horse that needs ridden and worked every day. Thank God I can do that now.

I apologize for the rant, I am just feeling the frustration of the day.

On a side note, Shan knew how mad I was. I could see it in her face and behavior, and I had a twinge of guilt as I walked off and saw her staring after me sadly. DH stopped by the barn later after work to see if I was still there, and said Shan was being real sweet to him. She's usually a brat to him and throws attitude. Hopefully I'll make up with her tomorrow.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Have not updated for a while.

I ended up giving up on the wash rack. None of the methods I used convinced her. I tried backing her in, tying and feeding her halfway or a quarter way inside it, using continual gentle pressure and praising her for each step forward, etc. At one point I even removed the rubber mats, but she still was not convinced.
She broke the clip on my lunge line, broke the stud chain (did not have it on as a stud chain but used just as a replacement clip for the broken one on the lunge line). She sored herself up for a few days with all the pulling back and rearing, and I'm pretty sure that she pulled herself out of place and now needs a visit from the chiropractor.

I just decided that the wash rack was not worth her injuring herself, me, or breaking even more of my equipment. And though I felt like crap the day I gave up, like I'd failed, I still think it was the right move.

I tried taking her for a ride two weeks ago, but she had more of a hitch in her step, so I ended up hand walking her for a good bit of it and having her hang out with me while I picked up rocks off my desert 'racetrack'. On the bright side, she no longer shows arthritic symptoms. She has a mild hitch in her step from being out of place. The butter seems to have cleared up her arthritis, or is at least being immensely helpful! (again, how weird is that?)

I had an awesome ride on Belle last week. Went out around 6am, put her bit back on her. She really threw a fit during the first part of the ride, but once she settled she gave me lovely bends and circles, and some very nice transitions, good controlled canters, etc. Did all this out on my racetrack. I love working dressage out on the trail, the horses are so much more forward and responsive.

We got some insanely cold rain over the weekend. It was so cold I actually put blankets on the horses, so cold that it frosted overnight! The backs of the stalls flooded but the fronts are dry.

I stopped cleaning the other boarder's stall as I felt I was being taken advantage of. It was let go for a week and a half, became a really huge mess with all the rain. Aside from all the manure, and despite it being an open air stall, the stink of ammonia just about knocks you down when you stand in front of the stall! So I finally started bugging BO and called the boarder, with the main excuse that the stall will draw flies and my horse gets covered in hives from fly bites so can't have manure laying around. BO said boarder was supposed to be cleaning. Boarder thought BO was cleaning it. Boarder said they would come out and clean it, but she leaves the stall dirty because their horse has ringbone and has to stand on soft ground. I was baffled by this and politely mentioned the truckloads of clean, soft dirt available in the back of the property to be put in the stall.

I told DH all this and how I was worried about the flies (we haven't hit fly season yet but it is coming). He mentioned putting up bug netting around the stalls. I really like that idea. I'm also going to try out Fly Predators since we finally have a stationary manure pile.

Finally got to get hay from our grower. I love that stuff. The quality is always so nice! And I know exactly what is getting put in the fields too, there are no surprises.

So that's about it. Haven't done much riding the past couple weeks, can't get the chiropractor out until we get paid again. But I'm still turning them out every day, spending time with them, and enjoying it!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

So I rode Belle on Thursday, as per normal. I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it, as she was really up and difficult to ride. To her credit though, she did really well when we kept getting passed by over six garbage trucks at different times. As far as dressage work that day, it was just no bueno. She really threw a fit about the lightest bit contact, bending to the right, and seemed to completely forget how to side pass and leg yield to the left. We worked on this, and I got a bit of bending and a nice, light, on the bit contact at the walk. A couple of things that have been ongoing and seen improvement is a decent, forward walk, and not crow hopping when asked to canter on the trail.

On the bright side, my mother seemed very happy to find Belle to be walking out much better. We did a group ride yesterday. Shan was not stiff, she was very looky at everything and it did make the ride drag out a bit longer. She walked right through a mud puddle of her own accord though, so I was very happy about that. Maybe it's because her stall was muddy for so long? I'm not sure.

As far as Shan and her lameness problems... they are gone. Even the hitch in her step is disappearing. I'll wait another week or so, and see how she is, but I may not need to call the chiropractor at all. I'm very excited about the disappearance of her arthritic symptoms, her cold lameness. It truly is a miracle.

Other than some very cloudy and cold weather, nothing else to report. Hope the rest of you are doing well


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Do you think Shan's lameness is gone because of better feed and better management?

I'm sure I would have given up on the wash rack too.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

gottatrot said:


> Do you think Shan's lameness is gone because of better feed and better management?
> 
> I'm sure I would have given up on the wash rack too.


Hmm... Well, the only big changes as far as feed goes is stopping the sweet feed, starting the whole oats (very small amount. Belle gets literally the amount of a small handful, Shan gets two of those), and the butter. The sweet feed stopped and oats started a couple weeks before the butter, and I never saw any improvement. Within days of starting the butter, there was great improvement.

It's weird, I know. Butter made her arthritis disappear. There must be something to that myristoleic acid. I also remember reading about something called Activator X, found in butter, which is supposed to be great for arthritis.
It worked, and that's all I care about really.

As far as the wash rack, I find it interesting to see myself picking less battles now. I used to believe in making the horse do anything it didn't want to do. Now, I follow more of an 'is it worth it' philosophy. For example, mud puddles on the trail. They only appear a few times a year here in the desert. Just about every time, the horses' think that if they step in it it will swallow them whole. I've now come to the point where I just don't think it's worth the fight to get them to step through a puddle we could just walk around. And then sometimes they walk through it of their own accord, like Shan on the last ride. In fact, mom threw more of a fit about going through the mud than Belle did. Her exact words: "no! ew! I don't want to get all dirty!" and yes, she was on horseback at the time. :rofl:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I just have to put this here.

I love my new barn. I really do. It's not perfect though. The owner lives with/takes care of his parents, who are older, mom's not all there and dad's an amputee-so the point is that the place looks a little ******* in areas with stuff lying about (his mom is in his words 'a serious garage sale packrat'). And I did have one incident with the mother trying to be helpful and dumping my horse's large water trough turning her stall into a mud pit, and then feeding my horses. But I spoke with her about it and there has not been an issue since.

The other boarder and I are actually getting on pretty well. I'm not super happy about the way she chooses to keep her stall, but she did come out and clean it this past weekend, so at least I can be pretty sure the horse won't be standing in layers of muck. She seems fairly knowledgeable and very nice overall, and isn't out all the time so it's still like I have the place to myself.

I like the barn owner a lot. He's extremely easy going, just an overall nice person. I love the fact that there are no barn hours, come as you please and clean up after yourself. I love that there are no more picky, dinky little rules. I love that there is no more condescension from barn owner or other boarders, like the old barn. I love the trails, even though I have to ride two miles on streets to get to them.

I just am so happy to finally be somewhere I really enjoy. Thank God for that!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Good, glad to hear. No place will be %100 until you get your own place, but this sounds great!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Rode Belle on Thursday, as usual. I'm thinking about switching days, maybe Wednesday mornings instead of Thursday, as Thursday is garbage pickup day. And over a two mile stretch and a half hour, I had about six garbage trucks pass me (this area has private garbage companies, the city doesn't do garbage).

It was so windy that my gut was screaming at me not to go out on the trail, and I decided to listen. Every time I've ignored it, I land myself in some pretty deep water. The horses have roughed out the back area enough during turnout that we can do some walk/trot dressage work, navigating around a dirt hill and a few huge bushes. It makes me laugh to think how a conversation with a very serious dressage rider would go... "Yes, I practice back here. No, the area isn't totally open, and the ground isn't perfectly level. No... my horses haven't broken a leg."

Belle made some progress with her R bend and, sidepass to left, leg yield to left, etc. She's better about it when moving forward, but really throws a fit for a sideways movement to left from a standstill. Belle is also very touchy, very responsive, very quick. I think she would probably make a very nice dressage horse given enough time. I don't really have showing goals though. I like schooling dressage, but trying to remember the patterns/tests and such, boy! I think I'd be a disaster.

I rode Shan next. I am SO HAPPY to say I can finally bring her back into dressage. No more stiffness, not even a hitch in her step. She takes both canter leads. I can tell from a very very slight dip in her back that she could benefit from a chiropractor visit, but it's not a pressing issue. It obviously is not causing her pain. I just won't be able to get any truly correct dressage work until she is adjusted.

Anyway, I climbed on Shan, and fell in love with her all over again. After riding Ms. "Rocket Fuel" Belle, it was so nice to be on an even-tempered horse. She had just the right amount of go, just the right amount of stop, responded to my signals very quietly, and towards the end at the trot she was even on the bit, but carrying herself. I noticed that she seemed to be more attentive to where she was placing her feet, more responsive to my signals of when to slow down. She also didn't seem to get as bored, as there were things to navigate around, small ditches to climb up and down, etc. I wonder what the quality of work would be like if more riders practiced dressage out of the traditional arena setting. I can understand Shan giving me attitude in the arena. "You want me to leg yield to the left... why? What's the point to it?" I was the same way in school as a kid. I hated doing things that did not seem to have a purpose to them. But if you gave me a good solid reason as to why it would be useful to learn it, I was golden. Shan is like that. "Slow down now Shan." "why?" "So we can get down this ditch safely" "Oh, ok sure"

I've heard of and read many dressage riders who gave up on a horse because they were too intelligent. It was too hard to ride them and get them to cooperate. It is far easier to train a horse who likes being told what to do and looks for guidance, than one who enjoys being a part of the thinking process and has their own mind.

I gave mom a lesson yesterday. She did pretty well, mostly worked on her hands and then posting trot. Then I rode Shan for a while. She threw me attitude that time, had several half rears to dish out. But eventually she got over it and gave me some pretty decent work.

Then I ended up getting sick. Have had massive headaches and a fever, sweated all night despite a cool room and the fan on. So no trail ride today, unfortunately. Too bad because the weather is perfect.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Good observations about dressage outside a groomed arena. Dressage took a weird turn, sometimes it's not pretty.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Hope you feel better soon.
I also liked your thoughts about dressage and how horses do much better when they know the reason for doing what they do. Turn a circle...why? Because we're going around this tree.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Exactly. It's not called horse sense for no reason.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

gottatrot said:


> Hope you feel better soon.
> I also liked your thoughts about dressage and how horses do much better when they know the reason for doing what they do. Turn a circle...why? Because we're going around this tree.


I got over it quick, thank goodness. I'm not one who gets sick even once a year usually!

Remembering the reason why I picked the title for the journal "Takes Two to Tango", it was because I was recognizing the way that I want to ride all horses, but especially Shan: a real partnership. Where both sides have thoughts and a say. Now that sounds silly to some people-it's a horse, it just needs to do what it's told, right? But Shan can't and won't be ridden that way. She HAS to be a part of everything. She even puppy dogs me everywhere while I'm mucking stalls. She has to be in the middle of everything going on.

It doesn't mean that I put up with her attitude fits. It just means that I recognize that she has her own mind, her own thoughts, her own decisions, her own way of perceiving life and situations. She just really doesn't like doing things for no reason, she wants a good reason as to why she should. And the longer I know her, the more I appreciate that about her.

I think that is why mustangs are slowly but surely taking their place as my favorite breed ever. Bred by nature, they are strong, hardy, athletic, and so gosh darned smart! It's a completely different ride when you ride a horse that is constantly thinking, than when you ride the selectively bred type that is more inclined to do what it's told.

There is a horse breed for every rider. For a serious trail rider/mountain climber though, I don't think you could ever do better than a mustang.

I love flying down a trail on a Thoroughbred. I love the 'poetry in motion' look of an arabian. I love the steady all-rounder temperament of a quarter horse. But there is something about a mustang.

Well, that went on way longer than I had originally planned. Oops! :wink:


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

So... DH admitted to me that he would be interested in doing a cross country trip by horseback. I said that would take months! He said that he knows. LOL. So then I said, "well great, there's my excuse for adding another mustang to the band!" Geesh, all I suggested was a one or two night pack trip, I think that would be fun. I'm definitely curious to see what adventures me and DH will get up to in the future, we both love just going out in nature, survival style. 

I rode Shan today. She did really well. NO STIFFNESS NO LAMENESS! Not before, after, or during the ride! :happydance:

We are working on carrying a consistent contact. I have been so afraid of the contact part of dressage (really, an integral part) as I was afraid of overflexing her, forcing a headset, etc. I've finally got confidence now, as I feel I have a better understanding of it all. Impulsion is your best friend here. Horse dives behind contact, make them move forward. Horse 'sky gazes', hold contact (don't pull) and forward. It's a lot simpler than I ever thought. I thought there was some big horse whispering secret to contact, collection, impulsion, etc. that I wasn't let in on. When really, it's just about getting the horse forward in a steady, rhythmic gait and holding a steady, light contact. At least for my non-showing purposes anyway.

Her gaits are becoming more precise, it's much easier to shorten and extend. Her left bend is definitely harder, so we worked some on flexing. And we have an almost completely reinless stop now.
I'm very happy, because one thing I'm always afraid of is losing time, going backwards in training, and it seems that fear is unfounded. Shan is improving on what she's already learned, we both are.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I rode Shan again the following day after my last post. She did very well, carried contact, just in general seeing vast improvement.

Belle I rode on Thursday, as usual. I was ecstatic as she did really well as compared to our last two rides. The arena drilling at home seems to have done her some good. She was much more accepting of contact, much better about her turns on the hindquarter going left. In fact she did so well that I let her have a gallop and then rode home (we were out on the trail practicing dressage that day). I wanted to try it again, of course, because when they make improvement it's always so tempting to just ask for a little more. But I knew it was a bad idea and wanted to end on a good note where she actually did it right, so I quit there.

Saturday mom and I saddled up and rode the neighborhood streets for a half hour. I went back that afternoon as the lady farrier was coming. She drove three hours to get there, so I was very grateful. She seemed to do an excellent job, to my eyes. She did the 'mustang roll', listened to my thoughts and questions, and observed Belle's duck paddles (she grows little to no heel and a lot of toe) and trimmed accordingly. Her husband was also there, and their (very cute) three aussie shepherds.

After they left, I noted that Shan was seriously, very off. The opposite leg from which she used to have problems, she could not bend it all the way down at the fetlock and walked on her toe. I could not find any heat or swelling or cuts, but it was terrifying all the same. I decided that I would see how she is in the morning and call the vet then if necessary. In the morning she had drastically improved, keeping full weight on both legs, and moved pretty fluidly when turned out. So I figured that she was just sore from holding up her leg for the farrier and decided not to worry about it. Today she has improved even more, and was trotting and cantering about normally. She only seemed a tad off when turning in small quarters, and that disappeared after she moved around while turned out.

I'm on the fence about the chiropractor again, wondering if I should call. It was very odd that she was fine that morning, and then all of a sudden sore that afternoon, and much much worse after the farrier. The neighborhood ride was the farthest thing from strenuous. I'll be keeping a close eye. It was extremely terrifying the sudden lameness, as it seemed worse than I'd ever seen it. Then suddenly it's gone? She did seem slightly off before the farrier worked on her, much worse after, and on the NOT problem side. I'm wondering if she rolled in her stall and hit the fence or something.

That's all I've got on the horses for now.

I've been reading some other journals. When I read and hear stories of what others (often much older than me) did in their youth, I admit that I feel shortchanged. I didn't get to experience as much as some. I certainly didn't have many crazy wild adventures. I grew up in a world much more urbanized and modern than they did. Frankly, I'm a bit jealous of them.

But all I have is the present. That's all any of us have (I read or heard that somewhere. My brain likes bringing up quotes with no authors). I have to consider that I am very blessed. I have a wonderful marriage, a great family, an awesome horse, a lifestyle and job that allows more freedom than most people have. I've seen a good bit of the USA, including both coasts. I've been able to learn and grow and accomplish my main passion-horses. I've ridden and galloped two different racehorses in training. I completed a lifelong goal of riding on the beach (thanks gottatrot!). I trained my own horse from scratch. I drove a mini. I've climbed mountains from horseback and on foot. I suppose I shouldn't feel shortchanged at all.

Now I have a tough question for my readers. I am not very good at self examination. I don't have any peers who can critique my riding. I also don't have any videos of my riding (hopefully that will soon change as the only thing I am asking for as a gift for my birthday is a camera/videocamera. I don't usually ever ask for anything). From what you have read, those of you that have read quite a bit of my journal, what would you say my horsemanship strengths are?


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I also enjoy living vicariously through others' experiences. And I agree that we live the live we are given, and there's a lot to be thankful for vs. being envious of others.

Now I am going to cheat since I have met you and seen you ride. I only had a few hours to observe, but I can mention some obvious strengths that I saw. First, you present to horses the calm, quiet, confident demeanor that they do best with. Your body language is non-threatening, yet non-shrinking, a solid presence that tells the horse you are there and neutral but ready to act as needed. I think many people unconsciously portray either excessive aggression or excessive passivity to horses. They come across either as a predator in waiting or a tense prey animal ready to flee or protect themselves rather than as a neutral, confident "horse-like" creature.

Good horsemen like yourself walk in a measured way when around horses, appear alert to the environment but not worried, and move fluidly. 
When riding I saw you had good hands, solid seat, relaxed upper body and good feel for the horse's mood and how much to ask and how much to give. 

Just want to also say I sympathize with Shan's on again off again lameness, it seems like it could have different causes even. Hope you can figure it out.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I'd hold off on the chiropractor for now. My reasoning for getting one is - it the vet and farrier are stumped, chiro may (and has, in the past) help. But after I had a session with a horsey massage therapist, that would be my go to person. Unfortunately, both chiro and massage must know what they are doing, and it's hard to figure that out. 

As for feeling short changed, we all live in different worlds, and how we cope with that is what is most important. I am old, and most of my contemporaries here on this forum have owned and ridden dozens, sometimes hundreds of horses. I have not. I grew up poor and have never had money to keep a lot of horses. But I have had long term relationships with a few. So is it better to have ridden a lot of horses, or just a few for many many years and many many miles. I am happy with what I have, as you are.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

gottatrot said:


> I also enjoy living vicariously through others' experiences. And I agree that we live the live we are given, and there's a lot to be thankful for vs. being envious of others.
> 
> Now I am going to cheat since I have met you and seen you ride. I only had a few hours to observe, but I can mention some obvious strengths that I saw. First, you present to horses the calm, quiet, confident demeanor that they do best with. Your body language is non-threatening, yet non-shrinking, a solid presence that tells the horse you are there and neutral but ready to act as needed. I think many people unconsciously portray either excessive aggression or excessive passivity to horses. They come across either as a predator in waiting or a tense prey animal ready to flee or protect themselves rather than as a neutral, confident "horse-like" creature.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your thoughts and evaluation! I have always been quiet, and some animals tend to take to me well because of this. The horses gave me the confidence I now have. I've had many people tell me they thought that I was much older than I am, a few said it was because of the way I walk and carry myself.

I am going to be working on getting that videocamera, one way or another. Then I can post on here for critique.

As for Shan's lameness... my current theory is that she spent so long (~8 months) compensating for her arthritic right side by using her left, that now the left is feeling the repercussions of that. I honestly can't say I was totally sure that she was off before the farrier worked on her. I didn't have time to get a good look. She was definitely much worse afterward. I'm hoping she was just sore from flexing that left leg for so long for the farrier. It's the only explanation I can come up with as to why it was suddenly there, and suddenly gone.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I didn't ride Shan all week, until yesterday. I wanted to be sure she was feeling well again before we sprung back into work. I am curious if perhaps it was just a tender area (stone bruise?) that the farrier cut out or messed with, which might have made her so sore afterwards.

Mostly I've been dealing with Shan's summer bug allergies. There is more info about that in the thread "Itching Mystery" in the horse health section. It's a constant battle, and I'm just hoping to find a better way to handle it than fly spray and sheets.

On that note, I am trying to keep the bugs away from Shan. She likes to poop in the front part of her stall, where the shade is, water, feed, and where she stands all day. The past few days, I have been trying to get her to poop in the back part of the stall, in the sun. I put a pile of Belle's back there, and some of her own. It does seem to be working, slowly. Every day I come out there is one more pile in the back of the stall. Obviously I pick out the stalls every day, but she still attracts flies by pooping 5-7 times in 24 hours. Hence trying to get her to change her potty spot.

I rode Belle on Thursday. It was hot by the time I got out there, so I just rode in the back area for an hour, instead of the two hours it takes to do anything on the trail. She did well. Nice, lovely, on contact at the walk. Trot work is coming along. Sidepasses and other laterals improving.

One thing I have worked on with her is her tendency to get excited and crow hop when you ask for a canter, especially on the trail. It seems I have made some progress! (read below)

We rode this past Saturday out on the trail. Shan was sound, I checked her on the lunge first, and she rode pretty well, aside from her usual "I haven't been worked in a week" antics. This included a bucking fit when I smacked her with the crop for ignoring my leg (she always has to have the last word, lol). I asked mom if she would like a gallop before we headed home, she said she'd try it. So we headed down to my little racetrack. My plan was to have her follow Shan, and that way she'd be able to stop Belle when I slowed. Well, Shan was just being ornery about the whole thing. Didn't want to canter, stopping suddenly, leg yielding out into bushes, etc. We tried it twice with no success. Finally, the third time, I said we would try one more time then go home. Belle rode on the side of us this time. Well, now I had finally convinced Shan that a gallop might be fun.

Belle rode REALLY well for mom! I was a bit proud of myself, but I don't think I did anything special. Any good rider could do what I did. Mom was able to work on her seat, hold mane, gallop Belle on a loose rein. Belle was nice and steady for her. They made a lovely picture, really! At least what I saw out of the corner of my eye while I tried to keep control of Shan. She had a bronc fit in the middle of the gallop, and then she would NOT slow down. I took her up a slight incline, and she lost her footing and fell (not my intention!). It wasn't a bad or big fall though. She seemed no worse for the wear, no cuts or bruises. Still sound today after the fall. I really only think she slid and fell because of the hoof boots.

It was so nice to see the exhilaration on my mother's face after the gallop. She had been in a bad mood, and was instantly happier afterwards. And Belle was SO GOOD for her! As compared to the previous times where mom couldn't focus on her seat because Belle was crow hopping and acting like a nut.

At least I can see the fruits of my labor with one horse.

I don't know if I will have a lot of time to ride this upcoming week. DH and I have some pretty big projects for our work. I can't wait to get back to schooling dressage though.

Oh, and that's the last time I try a regular old crop on Shan. Dressage whip, split reins, or spurs only. She thinks that a crop means that it's time to bronc out.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I finally got to school dressage with Shan for the first time in two weeks. Now read that sentence again, and you'll get a sense for how it went. lol.

A lot of it was my fault honestly. I was so tired and sluggish, skipped coffee, etc. I had to force myself to ride, and then I had to force myself to get something done other than piddle around at the walk!

Shan was having a hard time with the whole 'on the bit' thing today. She would either hold contact and then short stride (so not truly coming through over the back), or dive behind the bit and rush forwards uncontrollably. Each time, I asked for more forward (the latter situation was accompanied with half halts), and after much work we got some decent riding out of both of us. I don't think mine was any better than hers today! lol.

She did let me know what she thought of me letting her know what I thought of her ignoring my leg. Translation: I asked many times nicely with leg, she completely ignored me. So I gave her a swat with the dressage whip, and she attempted a bucking/rearing fit, I had to swat her again, and after a few times she finally went forward.

I hate being... proactive with whip or spurs or whatever. But often, the situation calls for it. Hopefully I don't have to go back to riding preschool with Shan again and teach her what forward means. She often gets a little testy from not being ridden, and I'm sure that's all it is.

Shan is a very interesting ride. She has a lot to give, but she will only put in as much effort as you. That's why me being sluggish today made things very difficult. She really does reflect my mood, even more so than other horses.

P.S.
Started Shan on Animed Immuaid to see if it will help any with her reactions to the flies.
Also, her lameness has not returned.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Apologies for the lack of updates.

We've had some incredible weather the past week. Nice and cool, rain and storms. Very unusual for us!

I rode Shan again on Wednesday. It was 'tuneup' day, which meant ditching the spurs, crops, dressage whips, etc. and going back to a split rein. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but Shan had begun to ignore me so she needed a little fine tuning. Similar to how you have to do some 'calm down pay attention' type work with the hotter horses to keep them rideable. Anyway, Shan was not thrilled about the whole thing.
I'll give you a quick run through on the method. You ask nice for a trot (gentle squeeze of calves). Horse ignores you. Ask again, a little more insistent. Horse ignores you. Then you hold them back with the reins while simultaneously using a split rein to give a barrel racer style 'over-and-under'. The reason that you hold them back is that you don't want them launching into a trot from the smack. You want a nice transition. So after you discipline, you go back to asking nice. Usually you get a very prompt response. When I first read about this method, I tried it without holding back. It did not work, just made the horse more resentful. As soon as I held her back, it was like an instant wake up call and she stopped throwing attitude.

Anyway, Shan did throw me some attitude that day. She attempted a few rears, just in general being ornery. I had to do the over-under several times. By the end of it, she was nice and soft to the leg and cue. We did lots of circles, especially counter clockwise to build her left shoulder (the saddle always slides a bit to the left while riding, but it has improved with working her left more), and transitions as well. I think I'm going to stick with the split rein instead of a different aid, and see how she goes. I also have switched her completely over to the snaffle, and am not using the sidepull anymore. I will go back to the double bridle (snaffle & sidepull) when she is ready for finer tuning within the gaits and is quick to respond to cues.

I had to ride Belle that Friday, and DH finally came riding with me! Anyway, so since I had to ride Belle, I put DH on Shan. Right out of the gate Belle started spooking at stuff and giving me trouble (it was a windy day). Shan was so nice and steady for him. The only bad thing she did was occasionally snatching the reins out of his hands as she went and grabbed weeds and grass. He figured out how to deal with it though, and I couldn't help but smile at him when he got so excited about getting her to move around with just a touch of the rein and leg.

The really funny thing that happened was when he was in the lead and went to turn for home. Once they were facing home, Shan balked and refused to move until Belle and I went in front. I've never had a horse balk towards home! She must have been saying "mom, are we supposed to be going this way? I think this guy has it wrong". We had to cut the ride short as there was a very good chance of rain, and when it rains here it pours thunder and lightning usually!

I rode again today with mom, and we had a good time. Shan was really responsive and only needed an occasional reminder. She also walked out for me really well. Shan cracks me up-she's the type of horse who can tell what kind of rider she has. She doesn't even attempt snatching grass and is quick to speed up and respond to my cues. With DH, she just trucked him right along and enjoyed the views! She must think she is babysitting.

The Immuaid seems to be working well. She still has an occasional bite, but I have not seen her itching, and she is not breaking out everywhere.
We are nearly out of the ration balancer so will be ordering the carob soon. I'm excited to see what kind of effect that will have. If nothing, then no big deal just back to the ration balancer.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Sounds like some nice rides! I'm familiar with that "over under" method too. My friend's old horse Beau also had to get tune-ups like that. He was one that would know if you had spurs on or were carrying a crop, and he'd often go out smartly if you did but would not go at all if you didn't. :grin: The over under tune-ups helped him remember that he could go out at a nice pace.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I lunged Shan yesterday. We seem to be getting rhythm (not constant slowing down or random stopping) and contact, so now I want to focus more on impulsion. I'm not quite sure what the words are for it, but I am trying to get her to slow her speed, and lengthen her stride. Similar to what happens when a horse goes over cavaletti.

She was pretty good for me. She struggled a bit with understanding what I was asking, but gentle wiggles on the line accompanied by rhythmic chicken clucking (lol) and gentle taps/flicks on the buttock seemed to get through after a bit. We were about five minutes into it when she decided she had enough and tried to take me and the line for a run around the bush. I had the dually halter on, as always, so I gave her a sharp jerk and a perfectly timed whack on the rear, which spun her back towards facing me. She stood and stared at me, licking her lips. I calmly asked her to move towards me and back to our lunging area, and we went back to it. I was ecstatic that I caught her that time perfectly, as my ongoing goal with this horse is to break that vice of dragging her handler away. Not that she really gets to do that anymore, but I haven't yet been able to stop her from occasionally trying.

Anyway, I think the amount of time lunged was 15-20 minutes. I got her moving nearly perfect on the left, then switched her around to the right. The right side seemed harder for some reason, and she kept attempting to go into a slow canter rather than extend at the trot. After several minutes, she dropped her nose right on the vertical into light contact, took big strides and swung her hind legs well underneath her. She only had about three strides of doing this, because I immediately stopped her, praised her, and set her loose. I didn't want to overdo it, but it was only after the fact that I wished I had kept her going just a minute longer.

I'm going to try again today and see if I can get a few minutes of that out of her.

Then we all celebrated DH's birthday, and I got stuffed on a medium rare steak. Mmm... yum!

My birthday is coming up soon. I can be so scatterbrained about picking out an extra that I would like to have. That's what I call anything that is not a necessity, an extra. And I really never buy any extras.

I decided to make a list of the most important. I'm putting it here so I don't forget. I've been looking at some lovely halter bridles, and I don't want to end up getting one of those and then remembering I was supposed to get a videocamera!

So these are extras that I have been interested in:

1) Videocamera that can record around 45 minutes, so I can record my schooling sessions for observation and critique.
2) New bell boots, preferably no turn.
3) A breastcollar, I would like to have this one with green gems
4) Matching halter bridle. I was thinking I could clip my reins to the halter rings and make it double as a sidepull, instead of using the bulky dually halter underneath my bridle.
5) Saddle pad with matching polos in some kind of blue-green. Those SMB's I got talked into by old BO are getting torn up by the way Shan overreaches. I want to go back to polos, and I need some new ones as mine have holes. The matching saddle pad is just for glamour :grin:
6) new half chaps
7) new riding tights/breeches
8) Cavallo hoof boots. These are at the bottom because the easyboots are fitting again and haven't been horrible for on/off. So I would just like to get some cavallos at some point in the future.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I took a look at your choices for breastcollar and bridle because I make my own bridles out of biothane. You can take my opinion with a grain of salt. First, the breastplate. If you want it mostly for show it's fine. I have a (I think - neoprene) breastplate that I got off a endurance tack site that is wider and is more useful. If you are interested I will take some photos of it. 

As for the halter bridle, a lot of people love them. I don't. I'm in the camp that prefers a leather halter, and never tie my horse with biothane. I certainly looks nice, and seems like a decent price, but then it has been years since I have scouted around at all these biothane makers inventories.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Thanks for the input!

I became interested in a breastcollar mainly because I by accident found out that it helps prevent a saddle from going underneath a horse, in the case of it slipping. If the one I picked out won't stop that from happening, I'm not interested. Other than a very small amount of sliding to the left due to an underdeveloped shoulder, Shan's saddle doesn't have any issues. But I'd rather prepare for that worse case scenario than wait for it to happen.

The halter/bridle I picked out for two reasons: one, that one looks cool lol. And two, I'm hoping to use the noseband as a sidepull of sorts, instead of using my bulky dually halter underneath the snaffle bridle.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Me personally, I've always used a breastcollar. I know everybody says the saddle should not slip if it is fitted correctly, but I have always kind of gone my own way with tack. You are correct that it will help if the saddle slips. The one you are considering will do that, it's just that it is a little thin and a wider one may be more comfortable for the horse. As a trail rider, I take a look at what the endurance people are using, because they really need to have stuff that works.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I like your tack picks. My list is always too long when it comes time for my birthday, so I have to narrow it down.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Apologies (again) for the long time between updates.

Shan has been really good for me. I just am so happy and pleased with the kind of horse she has turned into. She is an absolute gem.
I have been riding her a few times a week, but of course don't remember enough details of those rides to record here, and my mind is on other things at the moment.

I rode Shan yesterday out by herself, and she did really _really_ well. She was nice and forward for me. We spent the whole time at the walk, going quickly, as I was trying to see if I could get her to gait. Why? Well, the past week I was looking at Tennessee Walking Horses and realized she shares many similarities physically. You can find the thread on that here.

While I'm not so sure that she can gait, it doesn't change the fact that she is smooth and looks just like one.

Belle did really good for me last week. She's coming along so nicely in her dressage training. One thing I do remember that I wanted to mention: Shan has the ability to make any rider look terrible, and Belle has the ability to make any rider look great. Things that I work so hard at to get Shan to do just come so easily and naturally on Belle. Shan makes me feel like an absolutely horrible rider at times. Belle, on her, everything is easy. That's why riding Shan can be so rewarding. Because she can be so difficult, if you get her to do something even mediocre, you feel amazing because you really just did something great. She's getting easier as she gets older, but she will probably always be a challenging ride in dressage.

DH has really taken a shine to Shan, ever since he rode her out on the trail. He said that he will go riding with me this Friday, so we'll see what happens.
We may have work out of state again, this time in Ohio. Since I promised DH we would go to his relatives for the holidays since we have spent the last two with mine, if we go to Ohio we will probably stay there the rest of the year. This makes me absolutely _desperate _to take Shan with me this time. I can't imagine leaving her for so long, especially with how depressed she was when I came back from only being gone four months.
So my plan is to get DH extremely attached to Shan. It will make things easier on my end, lol. We have a bit saved up so I'm hoping we can finally make that jump for a truck and trailer that we have been talking about for two years. The truck is the part I'm worried about. Finding an old, but safe, straight load for a reasonable price is fairly easy around here. The trailer at least would pay for itself over 8 months of not having to pay full care board. We have two different places in OH to board Shan, so cost of living once we get there is not what I'm worried about. It's just getting there!

We shall see what happens. Please keep us in your prayers. Bringing Shan is the big step I have been wanting to take for a long time. If I had an amazing leaser, though it would break my heart, I would be OK leaving Shan behind for 8 months if I knew she was happy. But God has not brought anyone along like that yet, and I found out last time that she wasn't happy when she didn't have someone to give her attention and a job.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

How about trying this. Since getting the trailer will be the easy part, how about renting a truck for the long haul. I don't know if this is legal in your parts, but maybe purchasing something nice on payments and then selling it after the move. That might take some of the pressure off, and you can look around for something cheap but reliable when you get there.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

whisperbaby22 said:


> How about trying this. Since getting the trailer will be the easy part, how about renting a truck for the long haul. I don't know if this is legal in your parts, but maybe purchasing something nice on payments and then selling it after the move. That might take some of the pressure off, and you can look around for something cheap but reliable when you get there.


That is a really fantastic suggestion! I will definitely be looking into this. Guess I didn't think of it because I'd never heard of hauling with a rental before.

Trucks in AZ are in high demand, so picking one up that's reliable for a fair price is a bit like buying an Andalusian in the US as compared to Spain, or a Gypsy Cob in the US as compared to Britain. Very expensive!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

DH and I did ride yesterday. I put him on Shan, and I rode Belle. It's not super fun dealing with DH in his grouchy mood he has in the morning, so I found it really funny when Shan gave him her '****y mare' face. I said 'look, she's grouchy in the morning just like you!'. I can also be a grouch in the morning, but I just tend towards not talking much until I wake up and walking around with an annoyed look.

I finally got to take DH up a little mountain nearby called Cat's Claw. I've been wanting to take him there for ages, and I was happy he was riding Shan because she is a blast to take up that mountain. Like a mountain goat, she just goes effortlessly and never takes a misstep on mountainous terrain.

We did run into a rattlesnake. Believe it or not, after ten years of riding out in the desert on a regular basis, it was only my fourth time seeing a rattlesnake! It was around 10am, and I was leading. I walked Belle down into the wash, and suddenly heard a loud rattle. I screamed about the same time as I saw it (very unlike me lol), and Belle scrambled sideways down the wash. Then we both just stood there about 12ft away from it catching our breath. DH brought Shan down to get a picture of it, but she was not interested in standing still in that wash!

For the rest of the ride, Belle and I were kinda jumpy about every single bush (there were bushes everywhere), especially since we met up with hikers who had also seen rattlesnakes. We passed by a very large family hiking, and Shan stopped next to one of the little girls to try to say hello. I didn't quite catch it, but DH said she had her lips out towards the girl, but her ears forward. I don't think she was trying to bite, just say hi. Friendly describes Shan pretty well.

The view from the top of Cat's Claw was beautiful. We got some good pictures, so I'll follow up this post with those.

We got to the end of the ration balancers this past Thursday, so we are ordering the carob. I hate that I have to have it shipped to us, but I checked every health food store in the area and could not find carob powder or flour anywhere. Source (the horse seaweed supplement) was available at one of the local feed stores so we picked that up. Tried giving it to Belle today and she just knocked the whole bucket over in disgust. Shan never noticed a difference. So I'm going to have to add a little bit of coconut oil and a small spoonful of sugar to Belle's oats to make the supplements stick, then pour it on top of wet alfalfa like I did for Shan.

Oh, I so far have not noticed any arthritic symptoms in Shan despite the RB with joint in it not being fed anymore. She is still getting the glucosamine, but only at about 1/4 of the original dose.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Here are the pictures. I thought DH got one of the whole valley and Superstitions from the top of Cat's Claw, but he just took a picture of the other peak. There is a picture in here of the wash, and the rattlesnake is in the shade beneath one of the bushes.

These are all DH's pictures as he had the phone. The one of us on the road is the end of the street where the stable is at, so the beginning of our ride. In front of us is the school.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Had a nice ride with mom this past Sunday. Horses went beautifully, we had a fun gallop and practiced two point at the walk, sticking our butts out in the air like a couple of crazy people (I was trying to help mom with her riding seat. She struggles because she doesn't get enough saddle time, IMO).

Today I finally got to school Shan. Didn't ride her for three days (mon-wed). I didn't think it was that long but apparently to her that's like being left for a couple months, from the temper tantrums she threw.

I had been pretty happy with the progress we had gotten so far. Rhythm, impulsion, and no more random stopping either. I decided now I wanted to focus more on getting her to stop being so heavy on the forehand and stop leaning on the bit. This meant halt-trot transitions and halt-canter/walk-canter transitions to lighten up her front end.

She started doing her same old same old-ignoring my leg. So I asked again nice, got ignored, got after her with the dressage whip. She starts to buck (her way of protesting), I pull her head to my knee and swat her one (she needs to grow out of that habit). Then she tried to bite my leg a few times, and I had to get after her for that. We continued this way for a good while, and I almost came off at one point when my stirrup leather nearly got twisted around to the outside of my leg. If you are wondering why I did the 'emergency stop' and pulled her head to my knee, well, sometimes she gets it in her head to rear and last time she did it she was practically vertical and on the verge of going over backwards, and I've had quite enough of that manure. With her head at my knee, she can't bronc out or rear.

Getting those walk-canter and halt-canter transitions out of her was like pulling teeth! When I did get them, she would rush into it and be completely out of control. Wasn't all her fault as I kept habitually throwing my hands away, and then berating myself for it. By the end of the whole thing, she finally did give me a beautiful halt-canter transition (though she wasn't standing perfectly still, but that's ok), holding the contact instead of ducking behind or below it, and then gave me a lovely controlled canter-halt right after too! I praised her and immediately stopped, after our battle of wills. I think maybe the neighboring stable thinks I abuse my horse, if any of them saw that ordeal! (exaggeration, I wasn't beating her senseless, but it wasn't pretty either!)

I thought later that maybe I pushed her into something she wasn't ready for. But I really don't think that's the case. Sure, those transitions are difficult to do. But she does them all the time at liberty, and she is more than muscled and ready for that type of work as we have been doing hill work at all gaits for close to three months now, and they never get winded or even hardly sweat after trotting that rough terrain and galloping on the trail. So I don't think it was that I was pushing her too hard. I think I was pushing her beyond what she was used to being asked to do, so she was throwing a temper tantrum.

It can be nerve wracking though, as there is a fine balance. There are far too many dressage riders out there who force their horse into certain things, and it is evidenced by the tension and anxiety the horse exemplifies. We should be able to work through the tantrums, and within a few sessions have harmony like we are supposed to. If not, I will know that it is definitely rider error here.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

So true, in fact it is a constant balancing act with everything we do with horses. But that is the fun part. There is always something to learn.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

DH came riding with me again this past Friday, but we mostly just piddled around the 'arena', aka the back area. I had to train/school Belle, so I put him on Shan. This was the day after my last post, so she was more than happy to nonchalantly walk around and do nothing.

Belle has improved a lot in many areas. Her turns on the haunches and other lateral work is very good now. She no longer flips her head, freaks out, etc. when asked for a lateral movement going left. She is not quite ready to do things like walk-canter transitions as her canter is still being developed. It can be rather difficult to ride-legs everywhere, feels very heavy on forehand and in the bridle, etc. She's not quite as nimble/agile as Shan, so it might just be harder for her to school a canter in such a small area.

Mom and I rode over the weekend as usual. I worked with Shan on those walk-canter transitions while out on the trail, and was delighted to get a couple very nice ones out of her. We had our usual gallop, and I think mom finally 'got it' as she said she felt at one with Belle, and it felt very smooth to her. I spoke with her about trying to find time during the week where I could give her a short lesson. She decided to come out Monday night and take one.

So that was last night. We only had about an hour of light before it would be too dark to ride. I did barn chores and picked up rocks out of the 'arena' while she tacked up and warmed up. It was a very good lesson, I was able to help her a lot with her seat. Her walk work was really nice, and by the end we had gotten a few strides of very good trot work. Her main problem is that she throws her center forward, causing her leg to go back, instead of keeping her leg underneath her and her body centered over them.

The horses are looking AMAZING. Better than I have ever seen before. I think that I forgot to mention that we started the seaweed a little over a week ago, and also added Vit E as they aren't getting the RB anymore. Belle's hindquarters have filled out nicely @gottatrot ; and Shan's look perfect. (gottatrot, you wanted to hear my results from Vit E). Additionally, they are both just ridiculously shiny and healthy looking. I will definitely be getting pictures for you all.

I did not order the carob yet. I kept forgetting, and then I figured it would be better to wait and see the effects of what I just added before adding another new thing. They seem to be doing just fine without the RB. In fact, they are doing way better than fine, which I think is because of the seaweed.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Your horses look really good in your last photos. Interesting to hear that the Vitamin E is working out for you. I'd think that horses in desert areas with no access to lush pasture might tend to be deficient. 
I'm interested in your seaweed supplement. It makes me want to try feeding seaweed to my horses, to see if that might be a good way to get electrolytes in after a lot of sweat loss.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Worth a shot I think.

Belle hated it and refused to eat it at first. I had to mix it in with the handful of oats, a little bit of coconut oil to make it stick, and a small spoonful of powdered sugar to sweeten it. Then I spread it on top of wet alfalfa cubes. She eats it just fine now, I'm not finding any leftovers anywhere.
Shan never noticed a difference, but I was already doing something similar for her since she hated the taste of the RB I was feeding her.

So just a heads up that they might/probably will refuse it at first, until you figure out a way to get them to eat it. If Halla has a favorite feed (wet beet pulp would work, or wet cubes/pellets) it's best to put it on top of that. I say wet because it makes the powder stick to it better. I used to try to put it on top of dry alfalfa, but it would just drop everywhere and they wouldn't get much of it in them at all.

I think that there is a pellet form of Source, but it was not available at my local feed store. I know it is available on smartpaks, if you already use those. Something like $10 a month.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

The dry heat is slowly creeping in. Currently, my window is teasing me with a view of wind and a dissipating haze that was probably at one time rain clouds. This time of year, I get desperate for even the slightest drop of rain.

The one way to really make some of us Arizonans angry is to say "oh, but dry heat's not as bad." My husband is from northern Ohio and said that very thing, saying I was crazy for liking humidity better. Now he says "sure, dry heat doesn't seem as bad at first. Just wait until it sucks every bit of life and moisture from your body and you can't think clearly anymore." We call that 'desert brain fog'.

DH and I have been insanely busy with our growing business, so I didn't have time to ride Shan at all this past week. I did ride Belle on Friday, as I have an obligation to do so.
Belle was amazing. She just gets better with every ride. She is also very nice to ride; most of the time I just have to think what I want and it happens. Vs. Shan, who makes you work for everything. You feel really good when you finally do get Shan to do what you want though, you really feel like you've accomplished something.

Didn't trail ride today (plans to do that tomorrow) but did give mom a few pointers while she was riding today. She learned how to cue for a stop and backup with minimal rein use, and was very excited about being able to do so. I always really enjoy that moment of 'oh my gosh, I actually just did that!' that people have with horses. It's a good feeling, even when it didn't happen to me.

I lunged Shan today so she wouldn't be so hot tomorrow after not being ridden. She did really well, I was really happy with her. She acted like a bit of a goofball, but settled down fairly quickly into what I was asking. After working through a section that is basically like deep sand, she really started to stretch out and get a long, deep stride. She looked so beautiful.

That's about it for us. They look amazing on the seaweed. Shan's coat is exceptionally shiny, and Belle's coat is brighter and shinier than I've ever seen it.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Funny how the day after I wrote about the heat and terrible weather, we got amazing cloudy weather with temps in the 70s and it continued for several days. We even got one night of rain!

We rode out on Sunday in those awesome temps. Had an amazing time. I did ask Shan for one walk-canter transition, she picked it up perfectly.

Since noticing that Shan was going perfectly when worked in the deep dirt, I've decided that on future schooling sessions I am going to ride her through that area and try to capture the feeling of that movement. That will help me to feel when she is going correctly and when she is not.
She looked just like one of those fancy dancy warmbloods, except the effect was happening because of her working correctly, not because she was bred to move that way.

I mentioned before that I think that dressage is much more rewarding when done on a horse who is not naturally such a 'pretty mover'. It's a cool feeling when you see them start to produce that. It's at that point that dressage becomes more like a dance, like ballet, than just training.
Of course, if you want to compete FEI, you have to buy that pretty moving bred horse. Competitive dressage is a stupid sport, IMO. I would love to see what those world level dressage riders can do on your average riding horse/cob, and I mean that seriously. I want to see what they can produce out of the average horse vs. what the average rider can produce out of the average horse.

Going to get out and ride Belle and hopefully Shan too, probably tomorrow. I might be able to get some pictures today so you all can see the difference in condition over the last few weeks. Boy do they look good!


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

It's been a long, and somewhat eventful, summer. I haven't ridden much due to the extreme heat (averages of 115F). Shortly after my last post, we went on this ridiculous mountain trail. It said it was OK for horses, so I wasn't expecting it to turn into a near cliff you have to climb up. At one point, Shan stumbled (cliff edge 2" away!) and was very tired. There was no possible way for me to dismount, and I had a split second worry of us both tumbling over the edge. It was a really close call. I just sat as still as possible and vocally encouraged her, and this incredible MUSTANG (God I love these horses! What try! What heart! What endurance!) picked herself up off her knees and climbed the rest of the bare, slick rock to the top. She had cut herself on her back leg in the stumble, but it was just a graze so not serious, which I was glad for because I can't imagine trying to get a lame horse off that mountain! If I hadn't been so overwhelmed with relief, I might have cried.

The back half wasn't nearly as bad, but I was so worried about Shan that I walked her down off that mountain. It turned out to be a 6 hour ride, and both riders and horses (despite being in good condition) were exhausted and stumbling home afterwards. I will NEVER do the front half of that trail ever again, whether by foot, bike, or horse! One of the scariest things I have ever done. I had to force myself not to look down the cliff at all the rocky ground and cacti about 15ft down, maybe more. Mom and I both agreed though that we would do the back half again, as it was really nice and the view on that mountain top was incredible. The trail is a loop so you can access either half from the starting point. We found out later that this was a black diamond trail. Not kidding you, what I was on looked like a Tevis cup picture!

4th of July weekend we went on a horse camping trip (my first ever!). Unfortunately, despite checking tires, we had THREE blowouts. Two on the way there, one on the way back. Apparently (forewarning for the rest of you) the desert heat will cook your tires inside out and you won't even know. The horses did great in the trailer though, and took all the extra stops and the noise at the tire shop in stride (or in stand, as it were).

The horse campground, located in NE Arizona, was incredible. Absolutely beautiful landscape, and a lake in riding distance! Shan and I waded around in the water, not quite swimming but we did go in up to her belly. She didn't seem comfortable with doing more than that, so I didn't push her. That means 'horse swimming' remains on my bucket list. DH had a short, spontaneous canter on Belle that he seemed to enjoy. He would always gripe about any kind of cantering or trotting before, so that was a step forward! I found one log that had safe enough footing around to jump. It was the equivalent of a little ground pole, but it was still fun to pop over it and for once, ride it perfectly rather than getting left behind! Had a couple great rides with mom too. I think all of us, animals included, were just enjoying the cooler weather. It was so cold at night (40s) that I actually brought the horse blankets for the mares, and used them every night! Tried keeping the dogs locked up in the trailer at night but all they did was whine, and were much happier tied up outside our tent.

Both mares really handled the whole experience well, especially Shan. I am so pleased with the horse she has turned out to be.

I finally got some riding in today (first time since the beginning of July). Gave both horses a half hour workout. It was about 30-40% humidity and high 80s, so for what we are used to it was very nice! Shan was amazing and is really showing a ton of progress in her dressage training. Belle I rode in a hackamore and she was difficult. I felt like she had regressed from not being ridden, but it probably had more to do with me trying to do dressage with her in a hackamore and not a bit. She did settle down by the end though and started giving me some decent work. I think she has a harder time with dressage exercises than Shan does. Shan seems to be built more for that gymnastic type work.

Nothing else to report, other than we got a new boarder at the barn. He's a very pretty gelding, with some lameness and health issues. Shan thinks he is Tom Cruise though, and every time she gets turned out she spends at least five minutes squealing and grooming with him.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

So, an update and some thoughts as well.

First of all, had a couple nice rides recently. Today, I rode Shan out and ponied Belle. Other than a minor meltdown over this one construction site, Shan played the part of the old nag and really did great for me. Belle was nice and steady as well, aside from occasionally trying to grab grass, and insisting on dragging at the end of the lead. Didn't matter how much lead I gave her, or how much I slowed Shan down, she was insistent on pulling on my arm.

The desert was absolutely beautiful with the rains we've had. For the first time, I saw running water in a wash! (Yes, first time, and I've lived here over ten years). Both horses did great playing in the stream, and Shan even walked in the water, following it down as I asked her to. Since I don't push the 'puddle meltdowns' where they throw fits over walking through something they could step around, I was happy to see they would still cross/enter water when necessary. Just goes to show that all those little nitpicky fights aren't necessary. While I do test and enforce rules on my horses at times, I just find it silly to ride past the driveway ten times every ride to make sure your horse isn't barn sour, and to force them to walk through puddles they could go around, etc. I find horses to be rather good at reasoning, and if you don't give them a reason for the action, they are likely to call you out as a fool!

I also had another lightbulb/gut moment the other day. Shan was getting bit up and I was looking around for options. Then I noticed over the course of a couple days that despite more bugs than normal (due to rains), she wasn't getting new bites. Well, the only thing that changed is I wasn't feeding her the alfalfa pellets. So I decided to stop feeding them and alfalfa in general, and see what happens. So far, so good! My theory is that the sweat of a horse that has been eating alfalfa is very attractive to bugs for some reason. FWIW, the flies were swarming Belle today (who is still eating alfalfa) and there were almost none on Shan.

Here is my little rant.

There has been on HF a lot of over-analyzing of old horse terms. I will admit, it drives me a bit bonkers so I just try to ignore it and move on. Horse people have their own language, they really do! Just because the way a horse person uses a word doesn't line up with the dictionary definition, that does not make it incorrect in its application to horse terms.

One that seems to really get a bug up people's nethers is "Respect". Part of the problem, I suppose, is that it means different things to different people, even within the horse world.

Here is what it means to me:
Having a horse's respect means that you have their trust, and most of the time their obedience. They listen when you say the scary thing is nothing to worry about. They trust you to keep them safe. Most of the time they listen when you ask, or even demand, something from them. They don't 'try things on' with you, and typically behave better for you than they would for a complete stranger.

Respect for some people has become a dirty word. I don't understand why, really. The dictionary definition of respect is "a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements." For my horses, they show through obedience, behavior, and actions that they trust me to be a good leader, because I have proven myself to be one over time and action. And yes, half the time with a horse like Shan, that means calling her out on her crap lol. But how is having a horse's respect a bad thing? Perhaps because you hear it often said by lesser wannabe 'horsemen' that you must gain a horse's respect through beatings. Well, don't blame the term that has been around for ages, blame the people! As is often said, it is not the tool (bit, whip, spurs, etc.) that is evil, but the hands that wield it. In this case, the tongue.

I am going to take my horses trusting me and being obedient to what I say, aka respecting me, as a good sign. It is a good thing. Yes, they respect me. No, it's not the end of the world, don't call PETA, it's just good horsemanship!

People that gripe about how others, with perfectly healthy and happy horses, handle their horses have way too much time on their hands! Go help the ones that REALLY need you, not try to steal homes from the ones who already have them. Because that is what you are doing. When you are that argumentative, and you make horses that complicated, you are taking the joy and the love out of it for that person, which causes that person to distance further from the horse world, and that horse may eventually be out of a home! Being around horses is supposed to be fun and relaxing, and all this arguing crap just ruins it. Use what works, and if the horse is happy and the owner happy, then keep your comments and unsolicited opinions to yourself!

I'll admit, I hate barrel racing. I hate what I see at most gymkhanas and barrel races. But I'm not going to go raining on their parade! I let them have their fun (even if I have to fix up one of their poor washouts later). And I'll also say that not all barrel racers are bad. Most of them are, but not all. I attended a wonderful kids gymkhana in Georgia and was impressed with every rider there. They were all leagues ahead of the people I see here, where just watching them ride makes me cringe in agony. But I keep it to myself, as it's none of my business and the horses are otherwise happy and healthy.

You can't fix everybody's problems. You can't make everyone do things the way you do. Live, and let live.

End Rant.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

One way to deal with those types is to say, Well you have given me a lot to think about - and leave as soon as possible.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

I am currently eating my heart out (lol).

I picked up a job running a shop on the weekends. It gets to be SO slow at times. My thoughts had returned yet again to TL, for who knows how many times in the past year. TL is a thoroughbred that I trained for a client. I fell in love with this horse. He has boundless energy and feels like a ferrari he is so powerful, but he is also so easily controlled. I could gallop him out alone and he would keep a cool head, all I needed was a snaffle. He is gentle, you could put almost anyone on him. He covers ground, boy does he cover ground! The exhilaration I felt on this horse was incredible, and it was so much more enjoyable because I felt safe on him because he can be easily controlled. The short of it, I think he is darn near perfect and the only other horse I've loved this much is my Shan (she might get jealous).

I have been thinking about him for a year. I have tried in vain to forget this horse, telling myself that what did I need a second horse for (I don't), and upkeep on horses is too expensive, yadda yadda. It's all in vain.

So today I was so bored that I texted my old client, and after a short conversation, asked if she would ever consider selling him to me (while letting her know that I would not be able to buy him anytime soon, if at all). There was a definite maybe there (they get very attached to their horses, though they let them sit in 20x20ft pens and don't do anything with them), and she said I would be a great home. In the meantime, I can go ride him whenever I want (for her its free training/exercise). Just have to make time. Maybe this winter when it cools off.

If you felt so inclined, pray for me. Pray that if it be in God's will and His design, that He might make a way for me to have this horse; and if not, that He would take the desire for this horse out of me.

Here's to TL. Who knows what the future holds?
(BTW, that's me walking, and a 7 year old riding TL. He is such a good boy-with the presence and power of any truly powerful creature!)


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Well at least you get the chance to ride this horse. I think we all have horses we wish we could have owned, that is just part of the picture. There are a lot of horses over the years that I wish I had been able to get, but eventually I just realized that the horse I ended up with was the one I needed. Or maybe I just was able to make that horse the one I needed. When you keep an open mind, there will always be nice horses out there.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

TL is beautiful. I'm glad you get to ride him! I'll pray you can have him...


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

@whisperbaby22

True! Part of the problem is that... well, I don't really 'need' this horse by any means. Shan is my baby and I wouldn't give her up for anything. Sometimes, I just feel like a gal in a jewelry shop looking at a diamond necklace. Of course I don't need it! But want it...? yes. lol. (I'd take TL over a diamond necklace any day).
@gottatrot

And those aren't even good pictures of him. I will admit, it wasn't his looks that impressed me, because at least in that horse keeping circumstance he really wasn't much to look at. I was very impressed with the thick, good bone on his legs though, compared to most thoroughbreds. Anyway, it was the way he rode out and handled things, and the sheer power you could feel underneath you. Oh, and yeah, I take it back, he IS something to look at moving out! I remember doing some really amazing liberty exercises with him. He just picked it up so fast!

I can only imagine what he would be like on a good feeding program with regular work.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

An update has been a long time in coming.

Life with my mom as a part of it kind of fell apart. I don't feel like reliving the whole thing right now as it has pained me greatly, but I will just say that we are no longer on speaking terms.

DH and I bought a little house trailer and moved in. It's pretty nice, already has new floors and ceiling. We are just going to update the interior and walls and such, and probably rent it out later. We've talked about getting a few of these, fixing them up, and renting them out. I think it's a good idea, definitely something we are going to look into in the future.

Shan is doing great, other than being due for a hoof trim which I am hopefully going to take care of soon. Belle is not doing so great but we won't go there, and she is no longer under my care as of a month ago.

I was very frustrated the past month since my feed bill was doubled. Somebody was going in and stealing our hay and vandalizing our feeder. I know who it was too, just didn't have any evidence. No way it was Shan, since it's not even possible for her to eat 33 pounds of hay in one day. We put up a camera this past weekend and have not had any more problems. I hope that I did not irritate the barn owner by telling him that someone was stealing our feed a few different times, but when your feed bill rises to an astronomical amount and your slow feeder that's been working for two years suddenly breaks every other day, your nerves start grating a bit. The only real problem with a super laid back hands off barn owner is when things like this happen. He doesn't mind if other people go in and fill others' horses' waters, but it's a big deal at least to me since I monitor my horse's water intake. And little things lead to big things, in my experience boarding.

This past week I got to start bringing Shan back into work as it has cooled down. I've gotten a couple of good lunging sessions in and trimmed her mane back to a reasonable length. She seems to be happy to have a job again. She got away from me a few times on the lunge and went galloping around the property, but she was so exuberant I couldn't help but laugh, rather than get annoyed. On the bug allergy front, though she still itches on occasion, bugs no longer bite her. It seems alfalfa had something to do with the bugs being drawn to her, as I took her off it and she stopped getting bit.

If anyone has any suggestions for a makeshift tack locker (I'm thinking something along the lines of a plastic locking storage closet, not interested in spending hundreds of dollars) please let me know. It needs to be able to fit a dressage saddle. I took all my tack home as I was concerned that it may be stolen or vandalized by the person that was pilfering our hay and destroying our feeder. I'm keeping my eyes open on craigslist and such.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Sorry for your problems, but it's just part of life. Keeping an eye on CL is a good idea, something should come along. Just make sure it will be able to be properly locked and not easy to cart off.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

whisperbaby22 said:


> Sorry for your problems, but it's just part of life. Keeping an eye on CL is a good idea, something should come along. Just make sure it will be able to be properly locked and not easy to cart off.


True! Family stuff is the worst, lots of heartache. But I am slowly getting over it and honestly, doing a lot better than before it all happened. We are in a better situation now, and I feel like I'm coming out of this stronger.

I was thinking about getting a shed to lock up and store our hay separately. Putting some kind of container inside the shed to store tack certainly wouldn't be a problem then. Would keep it all safely locked and my tack would probably stay cleaner.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Too bad about the hay and such. Good thing it's stopped. Nice to hear you have bought a little house and have your own place. 

I'm not sure about what you see on Craigslist in your area, but those old fashioned trunks come up a lot around here. A lot of times people just want to get rid of them and they'll be like $20. They often have a lockable latch and are pretty heavy so hard to steal. The big ones can hold a saddle. I have two, and one I use to store my horse blankets.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Well, the past few weeks have been a near constant battle. I have caught my mother on camera on three different occasions vandalizing my feeder and overfeeding my horse. This past weekend was the worst because she fed my horse alfalfa, which she is allergic to (it causes her to itch very badly).

I finally got BO to talk to her after that. Supposedly, that should have been enough to stop the nonsense. Well, went out tonight and found the strings that we use to attach the net to the wood frame quite obviously cleanly cut by a knife. Definitely not done by a horse. Didn't have the camera up so didn't get the footage because we took equipment home to work on it and free up hard drive space.

I already spoke to BO about what would happen if they continued after he spoke to them: us or them. If he won't kick them out, I'm leaving. They have been told time and time again to leave my things alone and not feed my horse. They don't listen and appear to think they can do as they like. 

Supposedly BO prefers to have us as boarders over them. Well, that will be tested because I'm sure that I will get more footage of them messing about this weekend. I am going to be walking around the neighborhood over the next week and knocking on doors to ask about boarding. I would prefer to stay in the same area and no one is advertising around there, so I'll just have to ask. Never hurts to ask right? I want to have something lined up should he choose to not deal with this constant recurring problem.

In other news, Shan has been great for me. Even after months of sitting she heads down the street by herself, no fuss about leaving her barn buddies behind. She makes me happy 

I hope my boarding crisis is over soon.


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