# Me + Three



## JoBlueQuarter

Subbing! I can already tell that I'm going to love this journal!!


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## ACinATX

Now, to introduce myself a little. How did I go from just starting trail rides in February to owning two (now three) horses? Obviously, lack of common sense, poor planning ability, willingness to ignore the imperatives of my budget, and listening to my heart rather than my head all played a big part.

In February we were planning a family trip to Europe. One thing I wanted to do was some “trail riding” in Scotland. All of the places I looked at, however, had pretty strict requirements about what level of experience was acceptable for which rides, and all of the rides that matched my level of experience (“I rode horses for a while when I was a kid”) sounded really boring. So I decided to get some riding experience. Going by Yelp ratings, I picked a place that was in a small town about an hour’s drive from us. The plan was to try a ride and if we liked it we (me, my husband, and our daughter) would ride weekly for the next couple of months in order to get our level of experience up.

Most trail riding places bill themselves as “not your average trail ride” and “not just nose to tail trail rides,” and yet … they are. But, this place (PM me if you want more info) really WAS that “not your average trail rides” place. Even in our first ride, we were expected to control our horses ourselves. On the second ride, she had us breaking off and doing 20 meter circles, one after the other. Then doing the same thing trotting. All kinds of work where we really had to actually make the horses do something that they didn’t necessarily want to do.

We soon added a second, weekday, lesson for my daughter and me. I found a pony that I really liked to ride. He was young, green, stubborn, and full of trouble (crow hopping, little rears, head tossing, biting and kicking the other horses while I was riding him, you name it), BUT on some rides the two of us totally meshed, and it seemed like I just had to THINK what I wanted and he would do it. Not to mention he was sweet and snuggly and smelled amazing. My daughter found a mare that she liked to ride. This mare was super on the ground, very respectful, and seemed pretty much bombproof, but she also really liked to go. When ridden, she required a firm hand.

Fast forward to mid-March, and this lady tells us she’s planning on selling both of these horses. At the time, I was completely ignorant about selling horses, and I thought that if she was selling them that must mean someone was willing to buy them. After a lot of thought, I figured that I could buy the pony and board him with her and keep riding him. Then my daughter was like, “But I love this horse, why can you buy one for you and not one for me?” Then the owner told us she’d give me a discount if I bought both. I thought and thought about it, and prayed about it, and my daughter agreed to do extra chores in order to help for the horse’s board, and then in April I told her yes. We finalized the sale in April, and I now owned two horses. So here I was, two months of trail rides separating me from total horse ignorance, the owner of two horses. Now all I had to do was actually LEARN about horses.


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## gottatrot

Hmm...already seems to have some cliffhangers and emotional pull.


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## ACinATX

And… one step back

Because that’s how it is. Or maybe it isn’t, for people who have really well-trained horses or are super awesome horsepeople who can cut out the behavior before it starts. Neither of those applies to me.

Went for my daughter’s lesson today. Lesson pony had to be dragged out of the pasture. I decided to ride my pony out in the pasture again, but even before we got out the gate I could tell he was having a pony day. Lots of “no no no” attitude. Then of course he wouldn’t stand still at the mounting block. After I backed him up a few times he was OK. It probably didn’t help that we passed his buddy (my daughter’s horse) in the pasture and then left her behind. He kept wanting to turn around. There was lots of fighting! And making tiny circles! I was bareback again, and I learned that even with his level-one pony tricks I can stay on no problem. Which is good to know when and if he starts tossing out level-two pony tricks. He really, really, really didn’t want to go back behind the forest again, so I decided to cut my losses and make him go somewhere else he didn’t want to go, but didn’t feel as strongly about (if that makes sense). So we went to the tree that is the outpost of the forest, did a circle around it, and came back. We trotted a little on the way back, and that was pretty good.

At my daughter’s last lesson, her horse had been acting up, which is fairly out of character for her. I was informed today that she had also acted up when they put one of their better team riders on her. I asked the barn owner to check her back, which she did, and there didn’t seem to be any problems. We know the saddle fits, and she’s just had her teeth floated. The barn owner wanted my daughter to hop on her in order to show her what to do when the horse is doing this (throwing her head up and to the side) so she did. The horse was fine except when asked to trot, then the attitude came back. So my daughter worked on that technique and then just rode her a lot at the walk. She rode her bareback with just the halter and lead rope tied like reins, so that was pretty cool.

I brought the new horse in to try saddles on him (I’m planning on riding him for the first time tomorrow). I was surprised that the saddle that actually seemed to fit him best was my pony’s saddle. They aren’t too different size wise (pony is 14.2 hands exactly and this guy is maybe 14.3, and this guy is a broad-built quarter horse) but my pony has a broader back and no withers. But the saddle fit the new guy great with a wither relief pad. So maybe I won’t have to buy yet another new saddle! Also, the barn owner gave me his “bridle.” It’s a decrepit old western-type hackmore thing. Of course he is way overdue for the vet (vet is coming next week) so she didn’t want me riding him in a bit until he gets his teeth floated. He was a free horse, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s overdue for everything. Also, I’m not complaining – he’s a sweetheart and I enjoy spending time with him. 

My pony likes to be in the middle of all the action, quite literally in this case! He was just standing there watching everyone running around him. Eventually they had to shoo him off, but luckily I got this picture first!


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## ACinATX

I had my first ride on Teddy, the new horse. I spent the last month working with him on the ground, building trust and a relationship, and I think that was a really good idea! He has only been ridden once in the last three months, and the last time he was ridden before that he had some kind of breakdown. He seemed pretty nervous about the whole riding thing. I thought about it later, and it felt like he thought he was walking on icy patches, like he was super worried and didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing, didn’t know where to put his feet, didn’t understand what I was asking. Part of that is probably that I was riding him in a weird hackamore-type thing instead of a normal bridle because his teeth need to be floated (the earliest the vet could come out is next week). BUT…. There is definitely a lot of work that needs to be done! The way I wanted to approach riding him was to act like we are restarting him, so I only rode him for 15 minutes, until he seemed like he was doing a good job but maybe just starting to get a little extra worried, then hopped off and gave him a lot of praise.

I need to figure out the logistics of three horses. I’ve got both of my other two trained to come when called (usually LOL), follow me into the “inside” part of the facility, go to the stalls that I’ve indicated, and wait for me to feed them (and groom and tack up if I’m riding). I bring them both in each time, if they both want to come in (they usually do, since it means food), let them eat, and then take out whoever I don’t want. They’ve got the routine down pretty well, especially my daughter’s mare. I’m afraid that adding a third horse to the mix is going to be difficult, and I’m not quite sure how to do it yet. Although … now that I think about it, it will certainly be easier bringing in three horses at a time if they don’t need to be on lead ropes. If I could get just the new guy and my daughter’s mare for a while, I think that would be easier since she is pretty level-headed, whereas my pony is super excitable and always just makes things worse.

For the ride yesterday, I was basically joining my daughter’s private lesson, so we needed her horse and my new guy, but not my pony. So my plan was to hide in the barn and ask her to just go get her horse. If my pony sees me, it’s pretty much over, because he will have to come in, but I wasn’t sure we had time to do that today. She was successful, and then I was really happy to find my new guy at the gate just waiting for me! I don’t know if it’s just coincidence, but I have never seen him over there by himself just waiting – did he somehow know I was here? I didn’t have my halter when I saw him over there, but I decided just to try to bring him in by asking him to follow me. To my surprise, he did great. I asked him to focus on my hand and made the sort of “tch tch” noises you make to cue a horse to walk, and he followed right along. We went to my car, where I got his feed out, and he got a little excitable at that point and we had to slow down a little, but I got him into a grooming stall just fine. I led him out without the halter after my lesson, and he had a little harder time staying focused, but I did have some cookies with me so that helped.

When I got him back out in the pasture, my pony was there waiting. I was happy to see him, of course, but it was a little awkward. The two of them didn’t seem to really know how to behave when they were together with me. They sort of touched noses a couple of times, but then I got worried it might escalate, so I stepped back but they both wanted to follow me. I’ll have to think about how I want to handle this.

Finally, after I had put all of my stuff away, I noticed that my pony was “working” the gate, which is just closed with a looped chain. Sure enough, the gate popped open and he got out into the front area. I rounded him up and put him back and secured the chain more tightly. Then I had some questions to ask the trainer, and while we were finishing up I saw he had gotten the gate open again! She said that from her point of view she doesn’t mind if he’s out in the front, because he gets along fine with everyone, but the problem is he doesn’t close the gate behind him and then all the others get out. They were already eying the gate, too. So we just left him out front but secured the gate with a halter. He only does this when he knows I’m there, which I guess is better than if he always did it. But the trainer thinks we may need to start using a latch on that gate permanently, which is unfortunate since just having it chained is a lot easier for everyone.

That night I emailed the barn owner and asked her to write up the contract – I will take him. He’s not perfect by far, but he’s just so sweet and full of try that I feel like he deserves to be a one-person horse and have someone he can depend on. I can’t believe nobody would pay for this horse.


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## ACinATX

I will admit that I was somewhat trying to impress my husband and daughter when I told them each that I was going to be riding two horses in my lesson today. I mean, that requires some mental gymnastics and the ability to turn off one way of being and turn on another (these horses have very different needs and abilities). But my husband and daughter each said, separately, “You mean, like at the same time? With one foot on each one?” And took all the wind out of my sails.

When I got there, both guys were already out front. I guess naughty pony was still out from when he got out last time, but I’m not sure how the new guy (Teddy) got out. I feel kind of good that he was out there, though. First, it was a lot more convenient than having to go get him, and second before I got him he never wanted to come out front. I’m hoping that it means that he’s starting to associate being up front with good things (like me!).

Last lesson, Teddy had had problems at the mounting block. He would line up fine, but once I got up he would turn his head toward me and thus turn his butt away from me and no longer be square. After a few “nos” it seemed like he wasn’t going to get it so I asked the instructor to hold him for me. I feel like because of his bad experiences, he needs a lot of easy wins and a lot of getting things right, so I didn’t want to keep having him do it wrong. This time I brought cookies, broke it down into small steps, and rewarded him for each correct step. He got it no problem. Even after I got on, he just stood there. That was great. I’ll reinforce next time and then hopefully be done with that issue.

He was SO MUCH more relaxed this time. This was another great thing, for two reasons: (1) obviously we want him to be relaxed and (2) I could FEEL that he was more relaxed. I think I’ve got a good feel for horses on the ground – I can see the subtle shift of weight, the slight change in gaze, what the rest of the face / ears are telling me, etc. But I was just telling my instructor after our last ride that I don’t think I’ve got a feel for these things in the saddle. So it was nice that I could tell. She agreed he was a LOT more relaxed but noted that he kept one eye on her the whole time. Not sure why – was he worried about her, was he waiting for her to cue him? Anyway, we had a great ride. We learned that he isn’t too good at moving his hindquarters over (I had actually noticed this on the ground) so that’s something we’ll be working on for our next ride. I can also work on this on the ground, when I’m grooming him and such. He was super willing and did what I wanted, even when he was obviously a little worried about it. 

Next I rode “no pony” (that turns out to be his nickname for today). He was in fine form, rooting, tossing his head, refusing every single thing. I had to get the dressage whip out, but at least I only had to use it a couple of times. Then someone started welding in the trailer that was maybe 30 feet from the arena, and all of the horses that were out there started running around. Pony didn’t seem to really mind the welding itself, but the other horses got him all worked up. I feel like I’m a decent enough rider now to sit this sort of stuff out, so rather than worrying about calming him I asked him to transfer all of this energy into actually moving forward in a nice way. No go. He decided that maybe he didn’t care if everyone else was running around or not. But we decided to call it a day pretty soon anyway, because it was pretty distracting and we got him to do one thing well.

When I put him back out in the pasture, he didn’t want to stand around and hang out at all, he just walked away. That’s pretty unusual for him. Then Teddy also didn’t want a hug, so boo hoo I didn’t get any horse love today. I called my daughter’s horse in and fed her, did a couple of barn chores, took her back out, and that was my day.

So, riding Teddy was really good, but the rest was just “meh.” I will keep focusing on the positive and thinking about how to fix the negative.

ETA: for anyone who's actually reading this (!) I am open to suggestions or comments about anything I'm posting.


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## ACinATX

Here is a lesson that I have learned from having three horses: the more horses you have and the more you do with them, the less time you have to write about it! Also the more you have, the more you have to work to support them, and that takes the rest of the time.

My daughter’s mare never liked being in the round pen, and for the past month she’s been acting up in the dressage arena (smaller arena) also. We switched her from her hackamore to a bitted bridle but that didn’t really help. We got her to where she’s OK at the walk, but when trotting she throws her shoulder out and pulls her head down because she doesn’t want to stay on the wall. For yesterday’s lesson (with my daughter riding) we went in the big arena and she did much better. The instructor noted how much more relaxed she seemed. So we’ll try to stay in there for now, I think.

I rode my new horse, Teddy, in the same lesson (this was my daughter’s private lesson, but now I’m hogging in on her time LOL). He seemed a lot happier in the big arena also – last time I rode him in the dressage arena and I felt like I was having to kick him along the whole time. This time he stepped out with a nice big swinging step from the get-go. He’s also getting better with the leg yields. For a horse as supposedly well-trained as he was, he’s had a really hard time with leg yields. So I’ve been working with him on the ground by asking him to move over a lot when I’m tacking and grooming him. And, of course, praise praise praise when he does what I want. His leg yields were beautiful yesterday! 

I’ve only been riding him for two weeks now, and we were going to give him a month of just walking, but he was doing so well that we decided to see how he’d do on a very short trot. Keeping in mind that he hadn’t ben trotted in several months. So I got him to a place where I wanted to start, cued him, and … for one long second it was like he was holding his breath, trying to decide what I was asking or what he was supposed to be doing, but then he moved out into an absolutely gorgeous smooth floaty trot. We trotted the long and short side of the arena, and then let him be done for the day. I’m so happy with the progress he’s making, and I feel really good that I spent a month just getting to know him on the ground and building that relationship before really asking anything of him. I feel like he trusts me and is willing to do what I ask, even if he’s a little unsure of the whole thing.

So, that left me feeling all warm and fuzzy, as I slowly went to put the tack and grooming stuff away. Then, as I lazily looked out of the barn, I saw … no, it couldn’t be … my pony, Gallego, had once again escaped from the pasture and was wandering around the front area. It was getting dark by the time and my instructor was OK leaving him out there (they usually have a few horses out there anyway) but of course I had to go and close the gate and make sure no one else had gotten out. I am sure he only does this when I’m here, because I never get there and find him wandering around the front and no one has ever said anything to me. I think he does it because he sees me and thinks about how I pull him out and feed him out there, so he gets excited and works the gate until it opens. Anyway. I rolled down the car window and yelled “you’re a naughty pony” at him as I left. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t seem to care about my opinion whatsoever. Ponies!


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## ACinATX

Teddy and I had a difficult lesson on Friday. I violated one of the principles I had when starting on him: don't change up more than one thing at a time. We rode in the "outside" arena (it's a regular arena that doesn't have a fence) AND tried a couple of low jumps. He actually did great over the jumps (he has jumped low jumps in the past) because he understood what I wanted and he knew he could do it. And I should add, I've only jumped a couple of times ever, and that was on point and shoot lesson horses. I have no idea how to measure distances, count strides, push at the right time, etc. But Teddy took care of it all for me! No hesitation, no thoughts of ducking out or stopping, just straight down the middle and over. But being "outside" made him really edgy, and I had a hard time keeping him under control. 

Next time I ride him, I'll ride him out there again. Got to get him used to it. I'll make some ground pole series to make things nicer for him. (He loves ground poles. He does still have anxiety, and I think every time I ride him he feels like someone with test anxiety --"what are they going to ask me? What if I don't know the answers? Will someone yell at me?"-- but when he sees a series of ground poles he's like "Yes! This is the question that I studied! I absolutely know the answer to this! I go over them!") Hopefully he can stay focused on the ground poles and not worry about the lack of fences ("where do I go???")

Also wanted to add that last week my daughter rode him for the first time in a lesson, and he did so well with her. You could just tell how hard he was trying to do the right thing. You could see the anxiety build up occasionally, but he didn't need me there (OK, I was on the other side of the fence, but I was also off doing things around the barn also) to calm down. The instructor told me later that she remembered how difficult he had been last summer, and she couldn't believe how much better he was doing now.

One reason I finally got around to posting another journal entry is to add a picture the barn owner took of Teddy and me today. This is the horse that, when I started working with him in late fall, I couldn't even approach if I had cookies in my hand. Does he still have that anxiety? Yes, even though it's getting better. Does he trust me, though? I would say Yes!


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## ACinATX

Today was a day of new things.

I took Teddy out to the outside arena to work on his anxiety out there. He was worried at first, but then settled down and even dropped his head quite a bit, but that was all at the walk. Once we started trotting, he got really anxious again. I don’t think it helped that I kept getting off him to re-adjust the trot poles (I thought they were the right distance apart, but he kept entering at a slow trot and exiting at a canter), and eventually he was like, “But you got OFF! We’re DONE!” I ended up taking him in the other big arena and just doing a lot of circles and serpentines to get his mind off the anxiety. But I wasn’t really happy with how the outdoor arena had gone, so I decided to make him do a little more work.

First, I opened a gate off him. This was the first time I’ve successfully opened a gate off any horse, and he was still a little worked up too, so I’m happy that we got it done. It helped that he really wanted to go through that gate, so once I unlatched it, I basically just let him push it open it himself.

Then we went across the creek of doom (which is about 20 feet wide and probably six inches deep at its deepest, but the horses still mostly hate it). He has always been really worried about crossing this stream, and I’ve actually only gotten him across it once, and that was leading him; but the new place has no streams and I really wanted to do this with him so he’d have the experience. So I made him go over. It took some time, but we did it. Then we even rode up the road a bit (which I didn’t think he would do) and came back. So he got “good boy”s for that.

Due to some poor choices on my part, Pony and Moonshine were way out in the front over the creek. I called them and they didn’t come, so I was going to have to go across the creek myself and get them. I went over, but I decided that I would not walk back over it. So I put Moonshine in her halter, then put Pony in his halter, managed to hop on him while not losing her halter, and rode him bareback ponying her, across the creek. This was new to all of us, in one way or another: I’ve never ridden a horse with a halter and lead rope and been able to really make them do what I wanted, I’d never ponied a horse, Pony had never ponied a horse (he has been ponied), and Moonshine has never been ponied (she has been ponied off, though). Really, it would have made more sense to get on Moonshine and do it, since she’s also a lot bigger and stronger than Pony, and they’ve done it that way before, but I was getting on bareback in the pasture, and I don’t think I would have been able to do it on her. Anyway, we did it! It was trickier than I thought it would be, but Pony did a really good job for me. He didn’t kick Moonshine when she was on his butt, didn’t go too fast (mostly), let himself be steered mostly with legs, was really calm about the whole thing, and went over the creek without a second thought. I gave him cookies afterwards.

I had been hoping to really RIDE Pony today, and in fact I had gotten out all of his tack, but it took a while to get them back and I was so happy with how he did that I thought I’d let him be done for the day. I still think he’s more of a *potentially* awesome pony than an *actually* awesome pony, but I feel like more and more now I’m seeing the actual awesomeness and not just glimpses of potential.


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## ACinATX

This first part is really more about me than my horses.

Barn "owner" (I guess she's actually a barn renter) is in the process of moving to a new barn. She was moving the horses in stages. On Thursday I rode Chance out at the new place. I have ridden him twice at the old place. From what she said, he had either not been ridden there or had been ridden only once. The weather was changing and he was "up." He's a OTTB and is a lot hotter than what I have been riding, as well as being a very reactive horse. When I first got on him, he was as nervous as could be and ready to get worked up over anything. He mind was everywhere but on me. So I focused on being very calm (I am typically a calm rider, but him being this "up" had made me a little nervous) and on asking him to do a lot of work that required paying attention to me: little circles, serpentines, surprise changes of direction. This is what I do with Pony when he is not paying attenion, although Pony doesn't have the personality to absolutely take off on me like Chance does. But it worked really well. I asked him for these things, and praised him when he did them, and bit by bit I saw his ear swinging back to me, and I could feel him relax. I even worked up to trotting him, although I hadn't planned on it when I got on, and he did well. Then we went to the covered arena, where he had never been. The covered arena has mirrors on one side. I guess he had never seen mirrors. He did not like them, and started to get nervous again. But I did the same stuff as before, adding that every time we approached the mirror side we had to get a little closer to the mirrors. After 5-10 minutes he had totally settled down. Then one of the horses in a neighboring paddock started panicking over something and he didn't like that too much, but I kept him working and he stayed focused on hm. I felt really good because I was able to take a horse with a very different temperment than what I usually ride, and work to calm him down.

We moved our horses today. Barn owner wanted us to bring them across the creek rather than bringing the trailer over, I think to keep the other few remaining horses from realizing what was going on (it was going to be their turn next). The funny thing is, my daughter could NOT get Moonshine over the creek. And Pony started freaking out as soon as we left him (I wanted to take Teddy because he is the most anxious, and of course my daughter wanted to take Moonshine because she's her horse). It was like when you want to take the cats to the vet -- they KNOW! I got Teddy over to the trailer, but the guy who was hauling us was still banging around on the outside of it, making sure everything was connected. Teddy reared when I asked him to get in, which surprised me since I've walked him on a trailer before with little problem. Maybe it was the banging. Anyway, barn owner said she wanted to load Moonshine first now since Moonshine is the calmest of all of them. So I had to go back, take Teddy back over the creek (I didn't mention he didn't really want to go over it the first time), give him to my daughter, and make Moonshine cross. If Moonshine were a timid horse, if she had never seen this creek before, if she hadn't crossed it dozens of times both ridden and by herself, I might have taken a gentle approach with her, but I think she was just being stubborn. So I gave her halter a good couple of tugs and told her to move it, and she did. 

When it came to the trailer, my daughter just walked her right on, no problem. That's why it was sort of funny that she made such a fuss at the creek. We loaded Teddy next. Now that Moonshine was on (he loves her) he was happy to go on, with just a bit of hesitation. Now it was time for Pony. As far as I know, Pony had only been trailered once before, when I got him a year ago, and the barn owner sedated him at that time (I now understand that sedating a horse for trailering is not really a good idea but I was a brand new owner at the time and she convinced me). BUT in the year I've had him, he's really turned into a confident, brave little guy who loves to try new things. So it was a toss-up whether he'd go in or fight. And... he went in, no problem whatsoever. Just walked right in. Even though it was a big step up into that trailer. Wow he was good.

Unfortunately he did stumble a little bit coming out of the trailer when we got there, but that didn't seem to bother him. We unloaded in reverse order, me taking Pony and Teddy, and my daughter taking Moonshine. So while I was holding the two boys I got to observe how they reacted to the new place. It wasn't really surprising, I guess. Both of them were looking around a lot, but Teddy was looking around in a worried way, whereas Pony was looking around with a lot of interest. Pony actually wanted to go and smell everything. Moonshine, of course, just said "eh" to the whole thing. She was like, "I'm a BTDT horse and I don't mind a new barn." But I can tell you that when we moved her to our most recent barn by herself, she was plenty nervous. I think having the others with her helped a lot.

Anyway, we let them graze a little in the soft grass that's in the public area, then put them in their pasture. The pasture they're going to be in still has two other horses in it, so they got put in the main pasture with some other horses they already knew. Their behavior was typical: Moonshine tried to get away from everyone, Teddy stuck to her like glue to protect her, and Pony went to the fence where the new horses were an introduced himself.

We stayed with them for a while, but unlike when I moved Moonshine and Pony in the past, they all had each other and didn't really need us there for moral support. Which is good, really -- that's how it really should be. My only concern is that Teddy definitely does not like the way the water tastes at the new place. I think he will probably get over it, but I'm going to keep an eye on him.


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## ACinATX

I spent most of May and the first part of June unable to ride. I did enjoy just spending time with my horses, and they enjoyed it as well. I have realized that if I had to choose between only riding and only hanging out / taking care of my horses, I would choose hanging out and taking care of them, absolutely. I love the way they are so happy to see me every time I come. I love the way they follow me around. I love the way they each, in their own way, want to be with me. And I am really happy knowing that they are not happy because they are spoiled – I am firm when I need to be, and they all know the herd hierarchy (me, my daughter, Teddy, Pony, Moonshine) and rarely challenge it. But I am also fair, and patient and kind. The way they all want to connect with me – they all look me in the eyes and try their best to communicate (even if most of what they are trying to communicate is “feed me” LOL). I just love spending time with them.

So, having said that, I couldn’t believe how happy I was to be back in the saddle! I love riding! I rode Pony on Thursday. My daughter rode Moonshine. We had an easy, maybe half-hour lesson, half walking and half trotting. I wasn’t sure how Pony would be – I had someone ride him twice a week while I was unable to ride, and she said that sometimes he was good and sometimes he was terrible. Once he wouldn’t even walk for her. That’s just how he is, though – he needs to really like AND respect someone before he will be consistently good for them. He’s a naughty Pony, no doubt about it. He’s also a nice Pony, a friendly Pony, a happy Pony, a fun Pony, and a lovable Pony. But definitely also naughty. So I wasn’t sure how he was going to be, since I hadn’t ridden him in a month.

I am happy to report that except for a couple of semi-rears, which we dealt with quickly and moved on, he was really really good. Actually I couldn’t believe how good he was. Walking was fine, then he picked up a trot no problem and kept a consistent gait, went where I asked, didn’t duck in, didn’t plant his head, didn’t do anything bad. We went over ground poles and raised poles, and he just went over everything I pointed him at, no questions asked. He had never been ridden in this arena, and the arena had mirrors in it, and he was fine with them. 

Well. Actually, he really wanted to know who that handsome pony over there was. Since he had never seen them before, I walked him over there and let him check it out. I could see him flaring his nostrils, trying to get a smell of that other pony. It was funny. Afterwards, I rode him down the long driveway to the end of the property. Moonshine came too, and the idea was for Moonshine to go first, because she’s the bombproof trail horse, but she was kind of spooky (extremely unusual for her) and unwilling, so Pony and I took the lead. He was great. He had balked last time I rode him there, so I had only ridden him maybe 1/3 of the way and then turned back, but this time he was absolutely perfect. I’m sure Moonshine being there helped, but the fact is that WE took the lead, and he was great.

He’s really become a great riding pony. I mean, for me, at least. It has taken a little over a year, so much work, so much training, so many backwards steps, and so so much patience. And he is really starting to shine. He is brave, confident, fun, sensitive and responsive (sometimes I just THINK what I want and he does it), so athletic (despite being quite, um, pony shaped), and now … consistent and willing! I didn’t know how green he was when I bought him, and I didn’t know how good he could be – he is really starting to live up to his potential. And of course, he is so very good looking!

Today I rode Teddy, briefly. He hadn’t been ridden in almost six weeks, and only once at this new place. Since he does get anxious, I wanted to sort of take it easy with him, just walk and maybe trot. Well, he stood still nicely to be mounted, as he always does, and did OK with the walking. We had some disagreements about where we were going to go, which was a little disappointing since he’s usually very willing, but once we got going and I started praising him for doing the right thing, he settled down and was a lot more willing. He was back to doing his head tossing thing, though. Not a lot, but he kept sort of tossing and then seeming like he was nosing his chest. Well, he had had some rubbing in his girth area before, and although I bought a new (and super expensive, obviously) fancy anatomical girth, I thought maybe it was still bothering him. So I got off and took off the saddle and just rode him bareback. He still did the head thing a little, so maybe it wasn’t the girth; on the other hand, the more we rode the less he did it, so maybe it was. I’m not sure what to do about that. He tosses his head when anxious and when in pain, and I can’t tell the difference. My last instructor (who has, sadly, left, so I currently have no instructor for him) couldn’t either.

All things considered, though, for an anxious horse who had only been ridden in that arena once, and who hadn’t been ridden in six weeks, I think he did pretty well. I made sure we stopped on a good note, then I got off, took off his bridle, and just loved on him a lot. Then I stopped and kind of stood there, and after a while he nudged me a little like, “Hey, I wasn’t done being loved on!” So I loved on him some more. Then I took him out and let him graze on the nice green grass that grows around the arena. Then, finally, we did what we now do when I leave, which is I feed him cookies while I put sunscreen on his nose (he doesn’t like the sunscreen very much, but the cookies have made him realize that it’s not actually that bad after all).

Overall, I am super happy with all of them.

Pictures:
1. Teddy and me.
2. Moonshine and my daughter.
3. Pony.


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## ACinATX

My second ride on Teddy was MUCH better than the first. We even trotted a little, and he stayed pretty calm. I guess it's good to know that he isn't one of those horses you can just toss out in the pasture and then get on and ride months later. I mean, he tried really hard that first ride back, and overall he was very good. He was just anxious the whole time. For our second ride, I also rode him in the covered arena for the first time ever. He was very uninterested in the cute chestnut horse in the mirror. I mean, he couldn't care less (also the plastic bag flapping around didn't bother him). I noticed for the first time that Teddy is really quite cute. He looks good tacked up. I think he would look better in Western gear, and I'm wondering about trying him in it. I don't know about teaching him to neck rein, though. I'm sure it would make him anxious.

Poor Teddy. It was Monday that I rode him for the second time. Then Wednesday he got that cut that had to be treated. I also noticed the crack. Thursday I had the farrier look at him. It was just supposed to be a quick look, so I didn't think it would be a problem. But it was the first time I had had the farrier do anything to him while I wasn't feeding him. At one point he snatched his hoof and tried to rear, but I calmed him down and spent the rest of the time rubbing his head and he was fine. THEN he had to have a bath! He is getting small spots of rain rot again, so I had to do the medicated shampoo. He doesn't like baths very much. I think he hates being clean ("I'm a different color now!"). I will say, when I saw him today, he was still clean, and his mane looked so nice (it really was a different color). He was visibly shiny, too. His coat was dull when I got him and dull in the winter, but his fully shed summer coat has a fair amount of shine, which I think is harder to get in a chestnut for some reason. I hope this means the supplements I'm giving him are doing a good job.

Today I had to soak his hoof. It took a little work to get his hoof in there just right. He was willing to cooperate but had no idea what I wanted. I combined the ingredients, poured them in, and closed the bag. I left him with some alfalfa and soaked for half an hour. He didn't mind at all. Then I had to de-worm him. We haven't been able to figure out why yet, but he's really sensitive about his mouth. He did NOT want to be de-wormed. The way things run around here, I'm willing to bet he has almost never been de-wormed. It took a lot of patience but also firmness and, I'm willing to admit, cookies. I eventually put it straight in the front of his mouth, as opposed to in the side like I do with the others. That seemed sort of OK to him, although I'm pretty sure a fair amount of it did not get swallowed. Then sunscreen and back to the pasture.

Teddy has so many issues. I don't know how many of them relate to him being neglected, or if he would have had them anyway. As of now, we have (1) those divots in his neck that make it hard for him to lift up his front leg for the farrier and hard to bend, (2) mouth sensitivity / tooth loss, (3) poor hoof condition, (4) a tendency to get injured, (5) sensitive skin (girth galls, rubs, rain rot), and of course (6) the anxiety. I wonder which of these we will ever be able to really get past. I have to say, he more than makes up for it with his big, big heart, sweet demeanor, and massive amounts of "try." I still say he's the best free horse ever.

After one good lesson on Pony, I had two bad ones. He was really acting up. We had a couple of fights. I got tossed once when I asked him to canter (it was a really good fall -- I could tell I was going off, so I just jumped off and landed on my feet on the side, and that arena is nice soft sand. I didn't even get a scratch. I like having a good fall). I'm starting to wonder if he's going to progress the way he should at our current barn or if we should move him. Of course, then I'd have to move all of them, and finding a place for three horses is not easy. My current barn has a ton of issues that drive me crazy, and many boarders have left over the last few months, but I also like that it's a laid-back place where we can just do our own things with our horses. I don't want to move them some place where all of the horses have to be fed at the same time, with the same feed, whether you want it or not, or whether they need it or not. He was a lot better today, but it was hot today and I was sweating before I even got into the arena, so we didn't do too much either.

I guess I should note about Moonshine quickly. She REALLY benefitted from her month of training. She has an amazing trot now, and is a lot more controlled at the canter, at least going one way. All of the body work and the neck stretcher really seems to be helping her to use her body better, and she's getting the muscles to prove it. Watching my daughter canter her around the arena, she looked like a horse who was five years younger. They look so good together.


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## horselovinguy

I have to say I am so enjoying reading your journey.... :smile:


:runninghorse2:...


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## ACinATX

Last week Teddy had a hoof crack and there was some concern that it could WLD. I had the farrier look at him, and he said it didn’t look too bad, but he did trim around the crack so it wouldn’t have any additional pressure. He also suggested treating with White Lightning and vinegar, but only if I wanted. So I’ve been doing that. Of course, Teddy is a little worried about the leg bag, but he’s been patient. 

When we went out for our lesson on Friday, I saw that Pony had the same crack (even on the same hoof!). This is really surprising, because Pony is a pony of glowing health, super conformation, and great hooves. We decided not to ride that day, and I treated him AND Teddy with the bag (good thing I got two in the package!). The farrier will come and take a look at all of them on Tuesday. Moonshine has what look like just surface cracks to me, but I still would feel better having her looked at. Barn owner said that she didn’t think any of it was anything to worry about, but she also said that a lot of hers have gone lame lately, and she attributes that to the wet weather. Maybe. I’m going to stress to the farrier that I would like the horses maybe trimmed a little more aggressively to take down their flared hooves.

Anyway, the point of all of that is that I rode Teddy for my lesson today, instead of Pony, since Teddy had had his crack cut back but Pony had not. Teddy started off pretty hesitant, really looky, not wanting to go anywhere, but he settled down pretty quickly. Teddy’s main problem, of course, is his anxiety. When being ridden, it manifests itself as not wanting to slow down, not keeping an even pace, not being able to stand still for very long, and head tossing. Sometimes it rubs off on me, and when it does, I tense up and bring my hands up, which brings his head up, which makes him more anxious, etc.

Today we both did really well. Mostly him. I used the techniques I usually use for slowing down his trot, like half halts and changing the rate of my posting, and they worked really well today. He did a super job of maintaining an even pace. His head stayed mostly down and he seemed pretty relaxed.

This is only the second instructor I’ve had with Teddy, and the second time I’ve ridden him with her. I thought it was really nice when she said the same thing to me that my old instructor did: that Teddy really likes to hear my voice, and that me talking to him makes him feel less anxious. I did feel, when I first started working with him, that he likes to hear that he’s a good boy. It always seemed like one of the biggest rewards I could give him was just to tell him what a good boy he is (and he IS such a good boy, and he tries so hard to be good). But it’s nice to know that it’s not just me imagining it. On the other hand, she was like “keep talking to him!” I LIKE talking to my horses, for sure, and it’s true that Teddy WAS being a good boy and doing a good job, so it wasn’t hard to tell him that, but it was hard to KEEP saying it. LOL. But he was so good the whole time. And she was right, it really kept him calm. I think that may be what made the lesson so good today.

The only little hiccup was the raised poles we did. We did the ones where they were raised on one side and on the ground on the other side (in other words, diagonal). Teddy hit his legs on them a couple of times and didn't like that very much, and of course sweet hard-trying boy that he is, he didn’t try to duck out on them when I asked again, but he decided to just jump them instead (“See Mom, I’m still going over them liked you asked, but isn’t this better?”) After a solid lap of him jumping them, the instructor decided to back off and just ask him to walk instead. We did that and finished. I told him what a good boy he was.

He also seems to like this new bit a lot better, and I think he likes the new girth better also. It’s the second special girth I have bought for him, and they were both so expensive, but when I think about how badly his skin was messed up from the ones I used to use (and I didn’t even realize it -- I feel sick every time I think about that), I kind of don’t care how much it costs, as long as it makes him more comfortable.

I only had enough White Lightning liquid for one more treatment, and since Pony’s hoof looked worse, he got it. Teddy got a squirt of the gel. Poor Pony – I am calling it the naughty bag, because when he's in it he acts like he's being punished (“Why are you doing this to me?”). I did bring him some alfalfa hay and yummy weeds to help him pass the time.

It wasn't too hot today, either. My daughter seemed to have a good lesson on Moonshine (I was treating Pony, scooping poop, and putting stuff away so I didn't really see much of it). So it was a nice day at the barn!

ETA: I hope this doesn't come across as vain, but while I think we got really lucky to get him for free, I also feel like he also got really lucky to get us. His prior situations weren't too good. I appreciate that the barn owner realized he wasn't going to work out as a lesson horse and decided to try to find a good home for him rather than forcing it. I don't know, it was just a week or two into me starting to work with him that I really felt like I understood him, and understood where he was coming from. We've had some stumbles along the way, but he's been amazing for us and we want to be amazing for him. I can't say it enough -- he's such a good boy, and he tries so hard. I am honored that he has put his trust in me and I sincerely hope to always deserve that trust.


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## ACinATX

Backing up.

I never really explained how I got from buying my first two horses in March to, I guess, when I got Teddy. 

After asking some questions online, I learned that Pony was a green pony and I was a green rider (that’s right, folks, us newbies are clueless, and I had no idea of these two facts) and that was not the best combination (I think at one point I said, “If anyone else says to me ‘green on green equals black and blue’ I will scream.”) The lady who sold him to me seemed to feel like we were just fine together, and he was trained well enough, so I decided to send him somewhere else for training. The plan was for him to get trained up while I was also trained up, and then to put us back together, maybe at the end of the summer.

So I rode PLP (Perfect Lesson Pony), or rather she did what she was supposed to do while I succeeded in not falling off, and I slowly learned the basics how to ride a horse. However, my daughter’s horse, Moonshine, stayed where she was (the lady who sold them to us was getting into boarding). That place has over 100 acres with really nice trails It’s really beautiful. But it’s twice as far as the other place, almost an hour drive to get there, and having horses at two different places that far apart wasn’t working. So in August we moved Moonshine to the same place Pony was. 

I remember when we moved her, it was on a weekend, and the new place was hopping with people having lessons, riding, etc. There was all sorts of activity, and horses everywhere. Moonshine got off the trailer easily and looked around. She didn’t seem obviously bothered by anything, but she stuck to us like glue. Eventually we just took off her halter altogether and she still stuck with us. I think it was nice to know that she already considered us her people at that time, even though we had only been going to see her a couple of times a week.

One of the best things the barn owner did was force Moonshine and Pony to stick together in a smaller area. For sure, he annoyed her, always following her around and then eating her hay, but after a few weeks they realized that they were meant to stick together, and they more or less did. I guess I forgot to mention, they hated each other before. But of course we wanted to ride them together, so that wasn’t going to work out. So it was nice that the barn owner did that. To this day, he thinks the world revolves around her, and she thinks he is an annoying pony.

Moonshine had a hard time adjusting to arena work. In other words, she hated it. She never did anything really naughty, exactly, but she would duck out and head toward the middle, avoid ground poles, not turn nicely, and generally just not try at all. She was like, “this is STUPID. If you want me to go from one side of this arena to the other, that’s fine, but what’s the point of going around in circles over and over again??? And look, if you want to go from here to there, you don’t NEED to go over that stupid pole, you can just go AROUND it! Isn’t that easier for everyone?” It was months of work, a lot of it on the part of my daughter, and then finally the body worker, before she started to shine. Barn owner seemed pretty impressed, since Moonshine is middle aged and was not used to doing that sort of work.

At the end of summer, I started riding Pony, and boy was he a handful. He puts the naughty in “naughty pony”, for sure. He would still duck out and crow hop, he didn’t want to move out, I had to ride him with a whip every time. He rubbed my on fence posts, he wouldn’t go straight. He took advantage of every lapse of attention. I had already learned how to not fall off a normal pony, now I learned how to not fall off a naughty pony. And slowly, oh so very slowly, he stopped acting up. Well, not entirely, of course. But not as much.

Then someone at the barn was selling her old dressage saddle. The barn owner suggested I try it on him. I was like, this is an eighteen-inch dressage saddle for skinny me and Pony with his short back, plus I don’t even want to do dressage. It seemed wrong in every way. And then I tried it on him. Wow! He loved it! He went so much better! He was forward and relaxed at the same time. I got rid of the whip. I feel like the saddle does not technically fit him, as it does extend past his last rib, but I posted about that here, and I think everyone agreed that you can’t argue about it if he’s going better in it.

During all of this time, I spent many many hours every day reading everything I could my hands on about horses, talking to people, reading through forums, even watching videos (I really do not like watching videos), and just spending time with my horses trying to get to know them. I learned a few important things. First, people in the horse world have strong opinions and often disagree very strongly with each other. Second, if you take the time to look and listen, your horse can be your best teacher. Third, spend time just watching horses interact in a herd environment. Just watch. Eventually you will understand. Horses don’t vocalize a lot, so if you want to know what a horse is thinking you have to watch their body language.

I didn’t do the “right” thing and take lessons, then lease, then have someone go with me to buy my horses; and I made the decision to buy them (and take Teddy) with my heart rather than with my head (VERY unusual for analytical me). I also had no idea what a PPE was, so needless to say I didn’t get that. Pony was green, I was green; Moonshine took advantage of my daughter; we struggled with how to interact with them; we let them get away with stuff we shouldn’t have and then had to re-train them out of it; etc. But I put in the time, and I worked really hard, and we have, well, we’ve gotten to where we are today. I’m not an expert on horses and I never will be, but I know enough to muddle through with them and not mess up stuff too much. So that’s how I got to where I started being more consistent in my entries, with Teddy. I think future entries here will just be on what’s currently happening with us.


*** Speaking of what is currently happening, I’ve finally made an appointment with an equine dental specialist, a veterinarian who is a semi-retired and only does dental work now. In the six months I’ve had Teddy, he’s had one missing tooth and one broken tooth. He’s sensitive all around his head and especially around his mouth. The body worker thinks he may still have his wolf teeth, even though the last vet couldn’t find them (I specifically asked her). She also didn’t want to operate on the broken tooth. Teddy doesn’t have problems eating, and he seems happy enough with his new bit, but I feel like there is some sort of larger issue going on with his mouth. We’ll see. If this guy doesn’t find anything, I guess I’ll just accept that Teddy’s mouth is what it is.


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## Kalraii

Loving your journal. You have a sensible head that's why it's all worked out  I cannot wait to see where you eventually end up! Did take me a while to adjust to Pony with a capital P haha! Pictures?!?!?


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## ACinATX

*Random stories from my herd*

A few weeks ago, Teddy and Pony (mostly Teddy, since he’s the boss) got into the feed room (in other words, Teddy got into the feed room and Pony stood right outside there looking longingly at Teddy, who pinned his ears at Pony when necessary). Or at least, the place where the feed was being stored temporarily. I found Teddy with his head in the feed bag. Based on how long it had been since I had last seen him, and how full the feed bag still was, I know he hadn’t eaten enough to make him sick, but it still worried me a lot. I yelled at him, but he wouldn’t move, so I yelled, grabbed his neck, pushed him out, and yelled again. Then I put him in a double stall with Moonshine to get him out of the way. When I looked at him a few minutes later, he had this body language that reminded me of a classic Peanuts cartoon: “This is my ‘Depressed Stance.’” It was cute but sad at the same time. He was in there with Moonshine, who is his favorite, and some nice alfalfa hay, but he still had that sadly drooping body language (see cartoon below). I was afraid he was sad because I had yelled at him and pushed him (I’d never done either to him, but at the exact time I pulled him out of there I wasn’t sure how much he had eaten, and I was worried). You might say I’m anthropomorphizing, but I went in there and talked to him very nicely and told him how much I loved him, and I petted him and hugged him, and he perked up again. Also when I put him back out in the pasture he stuck to me more than usual. Interpret it how you like, but to me it was him being sad because his “special hooman mom” had unreasonably gotten mad at him, then perking back up once he realized I wasn’t really mad.

I’m back to riding PLP (Perfect Lesson Pony) again for rides. After my own naughty Pony tossed me at the canter, I felt like both of us needed to be better at cantering, individually, before we got together to work on it again. PLP almost always picks up the correct lead, does not need encouragement, and maintains a generally even pace so that all I need to do is think about how my body parts are working together (or, more accurately, not working together). I rode PLP in the same lesson where my daughter rode Moonshine. Moonshine has come a long way, and only pinned her ears at PLP once (both are grumpy middle-aged boss mares), and PLP being a professional did not pin her ears at all. But after the lesson, we turned them both loose to graze on the thick green grass outside of the arena (my other two were also grazing out there). Well, PLP made the executive decision that since she wasn’t in a lesson any more, she could show that little so-and-so Moonshine who was the boss, so she pinned her ears and ran her off. Moonshine ran right into the two boys. Teddy seemed a little shocked, but Pony, to my surprise, defended Moonshine. This is surprising, because (1) usually when Pony wants to “defend” someone, he does it by “helping” them run away, e.g. he chases them, or chases the chaser into them, and generally makes things worse; and (2) Pony is definitely beneath PLP in the overall hierarchy. Pony bit PLP and ran her off! I mean really ran her off. Then my three settled down to graze together. 

Pony will definitely go after horses that are below him, but I’ve never seen him take on one above him. Usually it’s Teddy who’s defending Moonshine against everyone. Regardless, it’s really sweet to know that they consider themselves a herd now, and that the two boys will defend Moonshine against “outsiders.”

Teddy was a neglect case. He was found starving in a field by himself, and from what I hear when his last owner got him, he had no idea how to behave around other horses. He used to get beat up a lot because of course he had food aggression issues (having been starved) and he didn’t know how to interact with the other horses. Apparently he acted super tough, but all of the other horses called his bluff and beat him up. So it was really sweet when he started sharing food with Moonshine over the winter. Moonshine would sort of sidle up to him with her famous “Please?” face and he would move over and share. Further, he would chase off Pony if necessary, which is great because otherwise Pony would always chase off Moonshine and then take her food. Now Moonshine, of course, given the choice, would take all of the food for herself. And, in fact, when my daughter is there Moonshine would pin her ears at the two boys if they came anywhere near her food, even though she was below both of them in the pecking order, because she knew my daughter would feel sorry for her and chase off the boys if they tried to chase off Moonshine. One time, Moonshine got a little over sure of herself and even snapped at Teddy (this was when they were separated by a fence and my daughter was standing next to her). That time, Teddy snapped her right back, and Moonshine was suitably chastened. We reprimanded him a little, but mostly we told off Moonshine: “You deserved to get snapped at! We’re not going to protect you if you’re mean to him.” 

Speaking of protecting, when Pony first met the mini donkeys he decided that they were going to be part of his own little herd (which would consist, in its entirety, of him and the two donkeys). They were in a big pasture with a herd of cattle as well at that time. I remember one time Pony protected the donkeys from the bull. The bull was like, “This is MY pasture, tiny equines, clear out!” But Pony charged the bull and ran him off. That bull must have weighed 2-3 times what Pony weighs. Again, anthropomorphizing, but he seemed so proud of himself afterwards. He got all prancy, with his ears and tail up, and sort of high-stepped around for a bit. Then he softened his body language, went over to the mini donkeys, and carefully and reassuringly touched each one of them on the back with his muzzle. Pony can be a PITA, to both humans and other equines, but he can also be very sweet.

Less helpful was the time the mini donkeys, Pony, and the barn owner’s dogs were all in the front area on a weekend, with lots of people riding or tacking up, untacking, washing, etc. Barn owner’s dogs aren’t very well-behaved and started chasing the donkeys. Pony decided to “help” by chasing the dogs. So now the donkeys were running from the dogs, who were running from Pony, and they all just ran through everything and every one. I’m not sure the donkeys felt reassured that time.

-------------------------------------------------------------

ETA: yesterday I rode Teddy but not very hard since I wasn't feeling to great. He did pretty well. I still had to talk to him pretty much the whole time ("What a good boy! Who is my favorite Teddy?" etc). I'm hoping we can wean him off that soon. We had brought Pony in to graze up front during my lesson, but he was being a pain so I asked my daughter to put him back in their pasture. Afterwards, during her lesson, she gave me the good advice that I should go out there and hang out with him because, according to her, Teddy knows I love him but I haven't been paying as much attention to Pony lately. So I went out there. Pony actually whinnied when he saw me, and came trotting up. He was in a dozy mood and just wanted to sort of hang out and occasionally get head scratches. He never used to like me messing with his head, so it's nice that he's asking for scratches now, but we're trying to work out how he can POLITELY ask for scratches. As with everything he does, when he does something, he does it full-on, with lots of enthusiasm and gusto. In other words, his default is to push his head into me hard enough to shove me backwards. So, yeah, we're working on that.

Mainly we just stood around being dozy. If I walked off, he would follow me and then want to doze some more. He rested his muzzle on me several times. Because he seemed sleepy, I experimented with letting him mouth me. He's super mouthy, and I've always been afraid it would lead to nipping, but he did pretty well. I rubbed his gums and he lipped me. Then of course he went to far and tried to eat (I mean actually eat) my boot. Whyyyyyyyy? With Pony, sometimes you will just never know.


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## ACinATX

I know horses don’t think the way people do, but I can tell you that PLP really has it in for Pony now. If you’ll recall, Pony is below her in the hierarchy but he bit her and chased her away last week when he was protecting Moonshine from her. PLP has NOT forgotten that. I rode her again today, and when I had her in a stall to groom and tack her up, she kept trying to lunge at him whenever he would walk past (I had to reprimand many times). After our ride, I took her in another part of the front area to graze so that she wouldn’t get in a fight with any of them. Later, I took Pony past her to put him back in his pasture. I wisely chose to put myself between them. She really tried to go after him this time, but I chased her off. My daughter says Pony ought to just let her bite him and get it over with, because she’s not going to forget what he did.

My back was hurting yesterday (I think from lugging around large overly-heavy muck buckets the day before) but I decided to take some turmeric and Midol and power through my lesson. Maybe it should have been a warning when I had to get my daughter to pick out hooves because it hurt too much to bend over like that. The lesson was fine while it lasted, but I’m realizing now that that was maybe not a good idea. Ouch ouch ouch. According to the internet, I have strained my lower back and should be resting for at least a few days. I’m already down to just two lessons a week right now and I don’t really want to miss my Sunday lesson. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll just do an easy walking only lesson. Today I guess I’m going to just sit in bed and work. Fun.

Any suggestions for a faster recovery time? I already tried Moonshine's linament, LOL.


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## ACinATX

*I would rather ride my Pony*

What I really need to work on right now is cantering. I feel like I’m getting a lot better, but I still don’t have too good of a seat, and I still haven’t gotten the hang of the motion. I feel like I’ve done it enough to where I understand what needs to happen – my hips and legs needs to follow the motion of the horse, my waist and above needs to be still relative to that motion and perpendicular to the ground, and the area between my hips and waist needs to flex and bend in order to let my body accomplish those two things at the same time. But actually doing it is somewhat of a challenge.

So I told my instructor that I’d like to go back to riding PLP (Perfect Lesson Pony) because she has a nice canter and is super reliable. I fell off Pony my second ride back after being off for a month because he pulled his head down really low, got my off balance forward, and then juked hard to the right. The trainer said, and I have no doubt that this is true, that if my seat had been better (deeper, with my shoulders back) this wouldn’t have happened. But with Pony I’m in a sort of Catch-22. He’s somewhat unreliable in the canter (still tries stuff like juking, cantering sideways, etc.), most likely related to him being unbalanced and me being unbalanced on him, but it’s hard to improve my seat and balance when I’m constantly having to worry about him acting up. With PLP, I can ask her to canter, trust that she will get the correct lead, and then canter her around and around while I think about what my body is doing.

So I rode PLP for a few lessons, and in once sense that was great. My canter got better, and of course I didn’t have to worry about her acting up. But the thing is… PLP is miserable. On the best of days, she’s resigned to her fate, and on the worst of days she won’t come out of her pen or pasture. She’s girthy. And I don’t mean that she’s learned to try to bite you when you girth her (she will try this, though, to see if she can get away with it), but that it causes her clear pain and anxiety to girth. At the old place, they had tacking stalls that had sides that were basically three-rail wooden fence, and when it was time to get girthed up, she would grab the wood and bite as hard as she could, just hold onto it like a pit bull, until you were done. Like someone in the olden days getting surgery without anesthesia. Just every line of her body says that she hates her job, but she does it because she knows she has to.

Pony, on the other hand, is almost unbearably happy. He is always delighted to come out of his pasture, eyes wide, ears up, nostrils sniffing happily. He greets you, then greets you again, then eats some grass, then greets you again. He would rather be in the front area eating grass than in his stall getting groomed and tacked up, but he goes happily. Maybe with a little fight because he enjoys having a little fight. I don’t think he particularly enjoys being groomed, but he doesn’t mind, and he’s super happy to have me in the stall with him. He pinned his ears at me once while I was girthing him, I think just to test me, and let me tell you we haven’t had THAT issue come up again. You can whap him for acting up, and he settles right down and is like “Hi, it’s me, the Pony! I’m here. What’s up?” He likes to smell everything I use for grooming or tacking, even though it’s always the same stuff, so we have a ritual where I do that. He’s happy about this, too. 

He’s happy to be ridden. He still acts up a lot when cantering and sometimes I think just on general principal (“Well, it’s the Pony’s job to keep you on your toes! And it’s funny when you almost fall off, don’t you think?”). Last time he acted up, he ended up doing a little mini rear before I got him back under control, and then he was happy again. I don’t know how to really express this, but I think he enjoys getting up to little tricks when I ride. He feels like he’s happy about it. I think he thinks of them as practical jokes. After the lesson, if I take his tack of in the arena he will just stick around for a while to make sure nothing fun or interesting is going on, and because he likes me, and to get scritches, and then he will eventually wander back off to the grass. After I put his tack up, I go to see him, and he’s happy to see me. Pony is just a happy, happy guy. He’s like one of those Thelwell ponies, acting up with that happy, naughty look in their eye.
:falloff:

But, Pony is probably not the best guy for learning to canter. Last time, we got a couple of good laps in, then he ducked in in the middle and slowed down to a trot. I thought he was just acting up, but the instructor said he was shying because of a horse over there (he hadn’t shied at him before, though) and to let him walk for a minute. Well, of course, he then acted up again at the exact same spot next time, but more extremely, cantering sideways and then rearing up when I pulled his head around. I got him back under control and we continued to work, so no problem. But it’s hard to think about the mechanics of your motion when you have to be so alert for something like that. 

So, my dilemma seems to be that I am either riding PLP, who hates to be ridden, and I hate to contribute to her misery; or PLP, who is not really helping me learn to canter. I’ve decided to ride Pony and see where that goes. Teddy has a really nice canter, and he’s really willing and has never seriously acted up, and I think we’re about ready to get him started cantering in the arena in my lessons with him. It took about six months to get him to where he can do trot work without getting worked up and anxious about it, and we may well be looking at something similar with his canter, but we’ll see. I have reminded myself that I’m not in a hurry to achieve any particular goal, and I’d rather enjoy the journey than worry about the destination. I talked to my husband, even though he’s not really a horsey person, and he said I should just ride Pony if that’s what makes me happy.

I guess I feel like I need to lay this all out as a justification for not wanting to ride PLP, and maybe as a reminder to myself that by riding Pony and not PLP I’m going to be slowing down my progress, but also that I don’t really care. The barn owner said she’s put one of her teen riders on Pony to work on his canter, which is great because she’s even lighter than I am and she’s a great rider, but I’m starting to fear that that was not a serious offer. Oh well. We will work on it. I will ride Pony and we will both be happy. And if we’re not, then we’ll figure out something else.
:gallop:


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## ACinATX

*Last lesson for a while*

We’re going out of town for a couple of weeks tomorrow, so we had our last lesson for a while today. My daughter woke up tired and said she didn’t want to have a lesson at all. I am afraid this might be partially because Moonshine has been acting up during lessons for the last week or so. So I pulled the mom card and told her that I’m paying for these lessons, and we’re about to have two weeks without lessons, so she needs to ride today. I said she could ride Teddy, and she accepted.

We usually have two back-to-back lessons, but I wanted to try Teddy in a group lesson, so we combined our lessons. Teddy has been in one group lesson with me one time, and that was terrible. That lesson was what made me decide to stop listening to the barn owner. To be fair, she’s the one who gave him to me, but she’s one of those people whose training is mostly about yelling at the horses and running them around if they don’t listen. That doesn’t go so well with Teddy. He doesn’t like her at all. She makes him nervous. And when he gets nervous, he can’t hold still. And when he couldn’t hold still, she yelled at him, and when she yelled at him he got more nervous, etc. So that group lesson didn’t go so well. 

Actually, now that I think about it I’ve had him in a couple of group lessons (not with her) since, but they were with Moonshine who, along with me, is his security blanket, so he was fine with that. Today I had my daughter ride him (only her second time on him) and me on Pony. In addition, we were restricted to half of the covered arena because something else was going on at the other end, with a horse Teddy didn’t know. I like to try to stick to one new thing per time with him, but we gave it a go and he did really well.

The last time she rode him, he did really well in the sense that you could tell the whole thing was making him anxious, but he tried really hard to keep himself together and he succeeded. This time, he demonstrated very little anxiety at all. He walked when asked and trotted when asked, and didn’t feel the need to keep speeding up. When it was my turn to go, he waited patiently in the middle. Not in a worried way, mind you, but with his head down and eyes half closed. I really couldn’t believe how relaxed he was. My daughter, without asking me, also decided to do some yoga-type stuff on him when they were in the middle, like leaning back all the way in the saddle and then sitting on his butt. I told her to knock it off the first time, but then she apparently (?) thought I meant just that one thing, so she tried something else next time. I yelled at her. Teddy was a little nervous but otherwise fine. I’m glad he didn’t think I was yelling at him.

He seemed really relaxed, but at the end my daughter wanted to ride Pony, so I just stood next to Teddy while she rode Pony and he took advantage of her (I guess this makes me feel a little good, since he usually only takes advantage when he thinks he can, and he tried almost nothing when I was riding him). Teddy wanted to, I guess you would call it snuggle. So maybe he had been a little more worried than he let on, but really he just did so well. I just couldn’t believe how relaxed he was the whole time. If you had seen him when I started regularly riding him at the beginning of this year, you would not believe how far he has come. Seeing him standing there with his eyes half closed in the middle of a lesson was amazing. I’m wondering if we’ve turned a corner on his anxiety. When we started, his was just anxious all the time. After a while, he got to where he was anxious but could deal with it. And now it seems like maybe he’s actually becoming less anxious.

I’m hoping to start cantering him in September. I mean, we’ve cantered before, sporadically, but really start working on it. I’m worried that we’re going to start in the same place we started with him trotting, where he got really worked up and just couldn’t calm down afterwards, but hopefully we’ll just take it slowly and he will be OK.


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## ACinATX

I'm on vacation but I have some pictures that I couldn't post last time.

The pictures of Pony. Look how tired he was. He had just spent two hours in the "inside" area (the only one with growing grass right now) and was just so tired. Pooh! All of that grazing is hard work! In the other picture, I like to imagine he's dreaming about cookies. My daughter says he looks like Wise Pony, the old master who knows everything.

I love the picture of me and Teddy. I've never seen a picture of him, or honestly ever really seen him, where I couldn't see the whites of his eyes. He's just one of those horses where you can see the whites all of the time. I think in this picture he was just really relaxed and happy. I hope he's OK when I get back -- between his ability to injure himself and his anxiety, you never know.


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## ACinATX

We got back a few days ago. The horses were happy to see us. It was nice. Teddy, who is usually very quiet, sort of came up to the fence when he first saw me, and then when he realized it really was me he just started whinnying and whinnying, then licking his lips (I guess he figured I was going to feed him?). Moonshine saw us and came running up, and Pony trotted up behind her. He didn’t want to go in his stall, which was fine with me. I left him in the “front” area, grazing. I went over to check on him a few times to make sure he was OK, and he kept putting his nose on me. It was sweet.

We had the equine dental specialist out today, with results that I detailed in another post. Teddy had a tooth or two pulled, and we scheduled a followup to get all of his top molars, which have holes in them, filled. The vet said it’s almost 100% certain to mean that he won’t have any more tooth problems. As I noted in that post, I’m glad that we have a Teddy problem that finally seems like we have a clear cause and solution to, even if the solution is expensive.

We haven’t been able to bring ourselves to ride yet. It’s just so unbearably hot, especially after coming back from Seattle. But there’s no break in sight, so I guess we’re just going to have to deal with it. For sure I need to ride Teddy ASAP. He isn’t one of those horses that does well when they aren’t ridden for a while.


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## ACinATX

I hadn’t ridden, and Teddy hadn’t been ridden, in three weeks, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Last time I didn’t ride him for four weeks, and he had a hard time that first lesson back. But today he was really good! Overall pretty relaxed. We worked on changing the speed of his trot. He’s OK increasing the speed slightly, but it’s harder to get him to decrease slightly – he either decreases only for a few paces then increases again, or slows to a walk.

The heat wasn’t as bad as I expected. We were in the covered arena and it was breezy, and only about 90-95 degrees. Teddy just sweated a little where the saddle pad was, so I just had to sponge him off and squeegee. He doesn’t like getting baths and I don’t like giving them, so sponging is great. I couldn’t find the sponge, though, so I got a washcloth and a flat feed bucket, filled the feed bucket about an inch full of water, and just sat it on his butt so I could keep dipping the washcloth in it and it would just be there.

My daughter rode Moonshine, and Moonshine did very well for her. Moonshine is a strong horse who can be stubborn at times, so it was nice that they had a good lesson. She was like “I always feel happy when I’ve had a good lesson.” I agree, although I also sort of like having a lesson where Pony and I are fighting a lot, because ultimately I will win, and who doesn’t like winning?

Teddy needed some oral Bute for one last day because of his tooth extraction, but I had a hard time getting him to take it today. I guess we’ll work on that. The vet says he will definitely need it after his big oral surgery coming up.


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## gottatrot

Did they give you the orange flavored Bute? My horses appreciate it a lot better than the bitter stuff.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> Did they give you the orange flavored Bute? My horses appreciate it a lot better than the bitter stuff.


Hmm, I will check. It remember thinking that it definitely smelled like something that had some sort of flavoring added. Thanks for the tip!


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## ACinATX

A week ago, when riding Pony, I found a spot where I’ve been holding tension, sort of in my outer hip bones. I worked on relaxing that. I don’t know if I have always held tension there or if it was a new thing, but it felt good to recognize it and be able to focus and relax it.

Riding Teddy on Saturday, during my pre-lesson warmup, I suddenly felt the urge to sort of shift my weight back onto a different part of my rear, and at the same time relax and open my hips. I did this, and I found that I just felt more relaxed all over, and it seemed like I was able to have a better following seat as well. My whole body felt more relaxed. I couldn’t see how it looked, but to my mind it reminded me of a CRK training video I had seen where she showed someone in an apparently really good riding position, but then she showed that person later, when they were really relaxed, and their weight was sort of shifted back and they sort of sank into the saddle. That’s what I felt like. I thought maybe it was because I was in Teddy’s soft and cushy saddle. 

We also started our official cantering work with Teddy. It’s going to be a bit of a challenge, because I have some canter anxiety and he picks up on rider anxiety, but on the other hand he doesn’t try tricks like Pony does. We did several laps each way, and he got a little “up” at first and was hard to bring back to a walk, like when we first started trotting but not as bad. But then he settled down pretty quickly. Overall I think we did a good job. I’m feeling better about cantering already, and I think once I relax a little he will also.

Today’s lesson with Pony, I found that I could still do the same thing I did on Teddy’s saddle, where I sort of relax back into the saddle. It made my sitting trot that much better. He was in a very compliant mood today, so we actually did a little cantering. My instructor noted that my loose fingers are setting me up for failure, because Pony (probably like most horses) likes to pull his head forward when he first starts cantering. Then my reins get loose, then I loose control, and then he starts doing whatever he wants (which is mostly ducking into the middle). So I focused on that, and suddenly he was much better! It’s like one of those “tricks” some people claim to have to fix everything. Well, this won’t fix everything, but it’s going to give him more clarity about what I want, and me more control, so that can only be a good thing. I also got him to pick up his sticky (left) lead once. I’m feeling even better about cantering now.

I had a sort of revelation about Pony, which really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but… he would rather I be nice to him than yell at him all the time. Pony is a stubborn little guy who doesn’t mind fighting about things, and I guess we’ve sort of gotten to a place where I’m just getting on his case a lot. Whereas with Teddy, I always understood that he needed me to help him do the right thing, and then praise him for it. He likes to know he did the right thing. I’ve realized Pony would also prefer to be helped to do the right thing and then praised. He doesn’t mind being yelled at all, but he’d still prefer that I was nice to him. So I’ve been working on that the last couple of weeks, and he seems a lot happier now. I’m also spending more time, when grooming, him, telling him how handsome and nice he is, and what a big fat pony bottom he has (he does have a big fat pony bottom). But I tell him about his big fat pony bottom in a nice voice, and it makes him happy. The thing about Pony is, sometimes it’s easy to take him for granted. Hopefully I’ve stopped doing that, for now at least.

I’m really looking forward to the weather cooling off more. When it does, I’m going to try to add one extra riding day, and ride each of them for half an hour to an hour. I’ll start Teddy back on his muscle builder supplements as well (there was not really much point giving them to him over the summer IMO because I was only riding him once a week if that, and those supplements are expensive).


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## ACinATX

*Teddy surprise. Also, I cannot deal.*

Teddy was more anxious today than usual. Or his girth was bothering him. It's a little hard to tell sometimes. I think it was anxiety. Maybe because we had to use a different arena today. He wasn't too bad, just more antsy than he has been in a while. The surprise was that he seems to like jumping. I know he was trained to jump, but I've only asked him to do it once, and that lesson went poorly for a number of other reasons. I took him over a bounce and a low X jump today. My instructor said he really seemed to like jumping. She said he just had a happy and interested look on his face. And he settled down a lot more after that, too.

I've definitely noticed in other lessons that a lot of times with raised ground poles he just prefers to jump them rather than trot over. I just didn't think any horse actually really LIKED to jump. This is actually fine with me. I'm not really interested in jumping courses or anything, but it would be nice to do a couple of low jumps in lessons, especially if he likes them. We'll see how he does next time.

The heat. By the time we left it was almost 100, and I don't know why, but my body is just done with this. I told my daughter I'd help wash her horse, but standing out there in the sun I started to feel sick. She had to finish it by herself while I took Pony and Teddy back to their pasture. I came home and took a cool shower and I've been sitting in the AC, but I still feel bad. I just cannot deal with any more heat. It's almost the middle of September -- enough with the 100s. My next lesson is early morning Wednesday, which should be fine, but I don't know what I will do if it's still this hot next weekend for my mid-morning lesson. Oh well.


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## ACinATX

*Pony!*

Well, last lesson Teddy gave me a surprise. This lesson Pony gave me a bit of a surprise.
To backtrack a bit. I try to start riding about 15 minutes before my lesson so I don’t waste my precious lesson time just getting my guy warmed up or focused. However, I do need to take care of all three horses myself if I’m the only one out there. Since it’s been dry, this summer it’s mostly just been giving them all a quick curry, brush, fly spray, and once over. It finally rained yesterday, though, so I had to pick everyone’s hooves, which was a pain because of the clay we have here. Then Moonshine unusually was pretty muddy. I don’t see the point in putting fly spray on a dirty horse. So I had to clean her up and then fly spray. Teddy was also a little dirty.

Pony luckily wasn’t too dirty, but I did try to brush him off extra good, and building on what I said before about being nice to him, I talked to him very nicely the whole time. He was also extremely itchy today, to the point where he actually wanted me to stick my fingers inside his ear and scratch him. Normally his ears are no-go areas. I spent a lot of time itching him in various places. But by the time we finished that and got tacked up, we were just barely in time for the lesson.

He did very well. No fighting at all today. And he went over some raised poles with a really gorgeous step. He was doing so well my instructor decided we should canter. BUT. She wanted to canter him from a standstill. I asked her how I was supposed to signal that to him, and she gave me some thoughts. But my canter cues are terrible. I’m still working on that. So, this is what I did, and the surprise was that it worked. It’s not a crazy big surprise, because Pony is quite sensitive and responsive when he wants to be. Anyway, I walked him to a point at one end of the arena and stopped. And then I started just pouring energy into myself, like mentally revving my engine while still in neutral. I poured until I was totally full, then pushed with my seat and thought to him “LET’S GO” and by golly he WENT! It was great! I had never cantered anyone from a standstill. I loved the way it felt. We also tried his sticky side (and when I say sticky, I mean like super sticky) from a standstill, and he picked it the correct lead no problem! So, the surprise was that he understood what I was asking, even though I wasn't too clear, and did it, no questions asked. When this guy wants to be good, he is just amazing.

We did some more trot poles, then trot poles to canter back to trot, and he did great with all of that. We had a short lesson because honestly he just did everything so well we wanted him let him be done.

ETA: my daughter is right. When you have a really good lesson on your own horse, especially when your own horse is known to put up a fight at times, it feels GREAT!


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## knightrider

And now you are ready to race! Yay! See how fun it is? With 3 horses, you can race them and see who is fastest, second fastest, and slowest.

Just kidding. At my age, I haven't raced my 4 and can't tell you who is the fastest . . . though I do feel a little ashamed that I don't know. Not ashamed enough to do it.


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## ACinATX

LOL I was actually thinking something like that. Not to race them against each other (I'm afraid Teddy wouldn't appreciate having a whole bunch of energy poured into him like that), but maybe there are pony races I can enter. At the very least, he might win fattest pony (amazing how that's only one letter off from "fastest" pony), or most likely to eat someone's hat, or something like that. Even if he weren't the fastest.


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## ACinATX

Moonshine’s new bodyworker came yesterday for the first time, during school hours, so I rode Moonshine for her. I hadn’t ridden her in probably six months, and wow I have new respect for my daughter. Moonshine is forward, strong, and opinionated; and she also apparently is in a lot of discomfort, and even getting consistent circles (to the right at least) was hard. I also kept almost losing stirrups because of her bouncy trot. I had already decided that I want to start riding her again, because I know how different she is from the other two (can’t get too used to ponies), and this cemented it. The only thing is, my daughter doesn’t like me to ride her. Anyone else can ride her: the trainer, a random stranger, my husband, some other kid at the barn, but not me. It’s some sort of weird jealousy thing, I think. Or maybe she is afraid I’ll do better with Moonshine than she does. Not likely!

The body worker didn’t even need me to canter her, her problems were so obvious. It was nice that our trainer was also there, so she hopped on Moonshine so the body worker could show me from the ground what she was seeing. Once I knew what to look for, it was just super obvious. She has pain in her right hock that’s causing her to short step to the right, and she’s over-compensating for it by moving her body around in a weird way, which has led to a lot of hip imbalances. The body worker thinks it’s very fixable. So, we’ll work on that.

I have a cold so I had an easy lesson (short, walk-trot only) with Pony. He did so well. Really nice circles, which is something that he does easily, but also very nice straight lines (done diagonally on the arena, so not on the rail), which is something he’s had problems with. Sometimes I forget to appreciate him, but after riding Moonshine yesterday, I re-realized how awesome he is. He’s just so sensitive, smooth, and responsive. You just think what you want him to do and he does it (except when he’s having a pony moment, LOL). Everything you want him to do, he can do. No discomfort, stiffness, and rushing, like Moonshine. 

Pony was started late, and he hasn’t been ridden hard. With an earlier start and more frequent training, he could have been doing anything by now. But while our progress has been slow, it’s been really rewarding; and I hope that by going slowly and riding lightly, maybe he will not end up with all of the physical problems that Moonshine has. Also he’s maintained his sunny, friendly, outgoing nature to this day, and that was always the most important thing to me. 

Trainer / barn owner keeps telling me she’ll take him off my hands if necessary. It was nice at first, because (1) it's good to know that someone more experienced than me sees something in him too; and (2) honestly it’s hard to make ends meet with three horses in a boarding facility, and it’s good to know that if I were unable to keep paying their bills, that at least one of them already has a home. But she just keeps saying it, and now it’s getting weird. I’m like, um, yeah, I’ll let you know if I need to do that…


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## ACinATX

I had a nice lesson on Teddy today. He was feeling really steady and calm so we did a lot of cantering work. It seems like, just with his trot, he gets nervous / excited and likes to speed up at the canter. It only took several months of trot work to get over the trotting issue, LOL. I don't think it will take as long with the cantering. We alternated cantering, trotting, and walking, because he needs to be able to calm down and just walk or trot slowly after cantering.

One thing I love about Teddy is that he's just so nice to ride. His canter, while tending to speed up, is really smooth. He picked up both leads first try, no problem. He counter-cantered (oops, my fault) very smoothly. He gave me a flying lead change when we had a miscommunication about leads. His trot is, I don't know how to describe it, bouncy with impulsion but also really smooth, and fairly easy to post or sit. His walk is a nice working walk. And of course he just tries his heart out with everything.

We went over a "jump" (a very low cross rail) about half a dozen times. We finished on a good note and I gave him some love then turned him out in the front / public area, because it's the only place where there is green grass left. The barn owner is fine with him being out there, as long as I'm around, because he is mild mannered and no trouble to anyone.

Short and sweet today!

ETA: I forgot to mention, someone came up to me afterwards and complimented me. She said that we looked really good and that Teddy seemed just super calm. Yay!


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## ACinATX

I ended up riding all three of them today.

I rode Teddy first. Overall, honestly, the word I can best use to describe the ride was “terrible.” We started off well, worked on leg yields, but … he just wanted to go. I trotted him over a ground pole, I mean literally a pole on the ground, and he cantered out. And there was so much head tossing. It was like we were back to our first week of riding, it was that bad. I changed out girths halfway through, just in case, but that didn’t help. The instructor thought he just wanted to go faster, and that could be the case. That’s how he was when we started. But my instructor at that time thought it was important to get him to where he could go slow, and I agree. I don’t know, maybe it’s because we’ve been cantering more and doing those low jumps. Maybe he thinks that’s what we’re going to be doing now? He just seemed so very anxious. I didn’t even try riding him in two-point, he was tossing his head so much. We cut the lesson short and lowered our expectations again and again, trying to end on a good note. He managed to walk half a lap without tossing his head, and I just got off him at that point.

Unless it’s that he thinks he needs to canter and is anxious that he can’t, I can’t understand what was bothering him today. Afterwards I tied him (he has historically had issues being tied) to bathe him, and that went pretty well. Applying sunscreen was fine (another historical problem) and we made progress on the dewormer. He was actually doing so well on the ground that even though he had done all those things, we worked on loading up in the trailer, and that went pretty well also.

We’re taking several steps back with Moonshine and trying to teach her to give to pressure and learn to round out her back when moving. Our instructor worked with her for about 15 minutes yesterday, and she seems to have already gotten the idea. She wanted me to try, from the ground and also on her back, so I could get a feel for it. We just tossed the bareback pad on her for this. I rode her for maybe 10 minutes, she did great, and we were done. Next weekend my daughter will try the same thing.

My Teddy lesson had been cut short, and my daughter wasn’t there for her lesson, so the instructor offered me a short Pony lesson as well. Luckily, whenever I bring them in I always do basic grooming, hoof picking, and fly spraying on all of them, even if I’m not planning on riding, so I just had to tack him up and go. 

Sometimes I compare Pony negatively to Teddy, but you know what, Pony is CALM and nothing really bothers him. OK, he shies at stuff a lot, but it’s just a couple of quick steps and he’s fine. He has no anxiety that needs to be managed, no emotional problems. It was honestly a relief to ride him after the terrible Teddy ride. I planned on doing a short lesson and then riding him out the long driveway and back. He was doing well enough that we decided to canter. He was fine to the right, which is his good direction. The first time I tried to the left, he got it wrong. But the second time he got it right! Well, apparently he got it half right. The instructor said he had the correct lead on the front and the wrong lead on the back. But after a few steps he fixed it himself (she was like, “Did you feel that?” and I was like “Yeah, I definitely felt that.” So, I said let’s just call it a day with him. It’s been really hard for him on that lead, and he did really well. 

One thing she suggested I do was lean in the opposite direction of the lead I wanted him to pick up, and that may have helped. I will definitely try that at our lesson next time.

I guess the good thing is that with three horses, at least *something* is probably going to go right every day. If one of them has an off day, you can usually make it up with one of the others. Still, the cold front is supposed to be coming in a couple of days and I think I am going to come out and ride Teddy, just keeping it really relaxed, and see if we can work through this. Or maybe it was just a bad day for him. I’m also hoping that once he gets his teeth fixed (one month!) he will calm down a little. We’ll see!


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## ACinATX

My lesson today was, I guess, a wash. Pony was in a pony mood, meaning he wanted to get up to all sorts of pony tricks. But we did a lot of work over raised poles and he did really well. I asked him to canter twice and he picked up the left lead both times, even though I asked for the right lead the first time and his right lead is his preferred lead. My instructor said it may be that he's had a breakthrough with that side, he's finally learned to do it, and now he thinks "left lead" is the correct answer to everything.

On the other hand, cantering + girth too loose + pony tricks + me not sitting back in the saddle led to me eating dirt today. Well, I guess it's not really eating dirt if you land on your back? When I fell, the saddle was like halfway up his neck. I had been trying to hang on when I started falling, but looking at that saddle I think it was pretty inevitable that I was going to come off. Luckily the sand is super deep there. However, my car keys fell out and I didn't realize that for a while, LOL.

Changing topics.

Teddy is just afraid of everything. It's funny because he doesn't shy, spook, or bolt, ever. But everything is just so scary to him. They store trailers next to the barn we use, and today one of them was open. Well, Snorty McSnortnose could barely make it past that scary dark box (to be fair, this is an unusually dark trailer). When he wanted to leave the barn, he couldn't get past it at all. I had to lead him past. Whereas Pony saw that trailer, investigated it, and quickly learned that there was FOOD on the floor. That food is now gone. Sorry trailer owner.

Pony operates on the assumption that everything should be investigated because everything might contain food. And he's often right! Teddy operates on the assumption that everything is a potential trap for poor innocent horses. I love Teddy to pieces, but sometimes it's just too much.


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## ACinATX

We were supposed to go out and see them Thursday after school, but it was just so hot (97 at our place) that I postponed it for Friday, when the cold front was supposed to come through.

It was one heck of a cold front. Temps were 97 on Thursday (99) at the official city weather station near us and 46 on Friday late morning. I had been planning on going out to see them in the afternoon once the wind died down, but then late morning it started raining. So, we went from too hot to visit to going out there and putting on blankets in 24 hours.

My goodness, those horses were UP when we went out there. All of them, even Moonshine, kicking and bucking in the pasture, running around like crazy. Lately I’ve been opening the gate and letting Moonshine and Teddy come in to the front area, one at a time, because they can generally be counted on to walk or maybe trot slowly to the barn where we feed them. I halter Pony and walk him in because he tends to be somewhat, umm, exuberant, which can get the other ones riled up. Today (I mean Friday) Teddy came in and then parked himself right next to the gate so no one else could get out. He needed several butt whappings before he moved. Then I got Pony haltered and let him in and held him while I held the gate for Moonshine. Well of course Moonshine and Teddy took off running, and Pony wanted to go with them. I kept him with me, but it’s times like this where it’s a good thing he’s pony-sized, because he really didn’t appreciate having to stay with me while I closed and latched the gate.

I’m glad we went out there, because the first thing I noticed after bringing them in was that Teddy was shivering. It was only lightly raining out there but the wind was bad. Once he got into a stall and started tucking into his alfalfa hay he stopped shivering pretty quickly. Moonshine was also shivering a little. Pony, of course, was just having a great day with no problems. We dried them all off and blanketed, even though in retrospect I wonder if it would have made more sense to leave Moonshine and Pony unblanketed: Moonshine because she could really stand to lose some weight (so shivering would be exercise for her) and Pony because he didn’t seem to mind the weather. Anyway, they all got blanketed. I guess I remembered how to do it because those three were all acting STOOOPID out there, running around, spooking at nothing, kicking, bucking, etc., and no one’s blankets got messed up. I eventually decided we’d have to put them back in the pasture. The front area has better grass because no horses live there, but it’s also where they store a bunch of random equipment and supplies, and that plus horses acting dumb seemed like a bad combination.

The first horse I grabbed to put back was Teddy. I got him on the lead rope and then all of the sudden Moonshine and another horse came galloping up and zoomed past us. Teddy is the boss horse, but Moonshine is the leader, so he does what she does. However, I gently increased the pressure on his lead rope, talked to him nicely, and petted him, and he didn’t even think about running off with them. That was nice. I mean, to know that he will look to me instead of her, if I ask. We put all the horses back and called it a day.

Saturday was a gorgeous day for riding. Teddy was a lot more settled, but we decided to keep him at a walk and trot today. I do think that all of the cantering and jumping is starting to get him a little worked up. It was just like this with trotting, at first. For months he would get worked up about trotting, not be able to hold a steady pace, toss his head, and generally be anxious. We worked past that with lots of patience and, frankly, by forcing him to slow down, and I think we’ll get past the cantering the same way.

I’ve been working on loading Teddy and he’s made a lot of progress. On Saturday I decided, out of curiosity, to see how Pony would do. I thought he’d be pretty easy and I was right. A split second hesitation and he loaded right up. The problem was getting him back out, LOL. This trailer has been set up so that a lot of people are using it to work on loading their horses, so the manger is just full of treats and feed. Pony decided that he was in pony heaven and was not interested in leaving. Obviously I got him back out, but one thing I did have trouble with was keeping enough pressure on him so that he wouldn’t go back to the feed, but not so much that he went to fast backing out and then hurt himself. Also I had a hard time keeping him straight when backing out, so he ended up halfway down the ramp and then backing off the side of the ramp. OF course, being Pony, he was fine, but this is something we need to work on.

Also on Saturday I had the discussion with the barn owner and our instructor, about Moonshine, that I posted about elsewhere. I’ve gotten lots of good opinions about the situation and now I just need to figure out what to do.


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## ACinATX

I posted about the Parelli clinic elsewhere. I just wanted to note here how happy I was that Pony enjoyed it so much. I had hoped, going into it, that he would, but he just loved it. He really enjoys doing new stuff, and I think I also likes it when people pay a lot of attention to him, so, yeah, he was happy. I guess the best surprise was that except for one cookie the instructor gave him, and a couple of alfalfa pellets, the only rewards he got were lots of praise, and he did just fine with that. The groundwork part of the clinic lasted about three hours, and he stayed focused throughout the whole thing.

There was one moment, though, where I was standing next to him listening to the instructor and he nipped me. I think he was bored or wanted attention. I just turned around and slapped him on the face and turned back to what I was doing. He was like, “Oh, OK” and then just quietly nuzzled.

It is finally sort of cooling off, and my early private lesson was changed to a later group lesson, so I rode Teddy a little this morning. I got there late and didn’t have as much time as I wanted, so we only rode for about 15 minutes, but he was really calm and relaxed the whole time, so that’s good. We just walked and trotted, including trotting over the ground poles that had made him canter before.

I haven’t been in a group lesson with Pony, aside from a lesson with one of my other guys, in a long time. He used to be terrible in groups – he would act like a butt with all the other horses, and then he would just act up in general. Barn owner thought it was his stallion-like tendencies (he didn’t want other horses to see someone dominating him) but whatever it was, it seems to have gone away. We had one mild ear pinning issue (the instructor said “that’s a Moonshine face!”), and then at the end he acted up a little bit after the instructor gave me a whip, but otherwise he was great. Stood still no problem, stood next to all the other horses no problem, tried hard. Like an actual trained pony!

Side note: I got some slow-feed hay nets. Moonshine HATES hers, LOL. She couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t give her all the hay all at once, and it did NOT please her. She eventually settled down and resigned herself to it, but she definitely was not happy. Too bad – it’s there until she loses some weight.


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## ACinATX

Someone sent me a picture from the clinic. The main person you see is my daughter on Moonshine. I think that's me behind her. And of course Teddy, looking in, wondering what the other members of his herd are doing.


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## ACinATX

My guys were really up again today when I went to get them. I wanted them to come in one at a time and they were crowding each other, kicking, snapping, bucking, the works. So I went out there and yelled at them and got big and made them clear out before I let them in. But once they came in, they were just running and kicking and bucking again. I want them to come in nicely. I think the problem today was that I just got them even more riled up by yelling at them and throwing my weight around. Next time I’m going to go out there and just park myself at the gate until they settle down. I always get to my lesson early. So I can wait. We’ll see how it goes.

I was ticked off at Teddy in particular because after I let him out he sort of bucked in my general direction, which is absolutely not OK. I yelled at him, but again, probably not helping. He is usually the gentle and sensitive one. I guess I got it under control, though, because we had a nice short ride with minimal head tossing. He’s super sensitive, and he needs me to be the calm leader or he starts getting worried. He did a really good job maintaining a steady gait, even over poles. One thing I worked on with Teddy (well, really myself) was feeling his footfalls. My instructor said something the other day that implied that I should be able to do this. So I worked on making sure I had the right diagonal at my posting trot by feeling where his feet were, rather than looking down. It worked!

I tried the same thing with Pony in our lesson, but I was much less successful. He just has such a tiny smooth little trot. I guess I will have to get more sensitive. Maybe by practicing more on Teddy I can get better on Pony. I had a good lesson overall. I’m trying to ride him more to get him back into shape and it seems to be paying off. He didn’t seem really tired until the lesson was pretty much over. He did pretty well today. We did a bending over poles exercise, and he actually did better than the lesson horse, even though he had never done that particular exercise before. But he’s a very bendy Pony.

I’ve started putting Pony’s and Moonshine’s hay in slow-feeder bags. Pony seems to think his is some sort of game and he really likes it (“Ooh HOOOH! You think you can keep me from my hay, do you? Is this a CHALLENGE???? I will show you what a PONY can do!”). Moonshine has finally accepted hers, but she still doesn’t like it. She gives up when there is still hay in there, and then starts wandering around trying to get bits of hay off the ground or, bizarrely, from Pony’s bag (my daughter speculated that she sees Pony having a good time with his hay bag and assumes it must be better than hers). She’s supposed to be spending her “in” time grazing, but to be fair with the drought there isn’t a lot of grazing to do, even though none of the horses are let in there. Anyway, I ended up putting her back out in the pasture a little early today because she was making a pest of herself.


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## ACinATX

My daughter wasn’t feeling well again today, in fact she was feeling so crummy she didn’t even want to go and just hang out with Moonshine. So I went by myself. As expected, everyone had nasty muddy hooves that took extra time to pick; but on the other hand they had all been in sheets overnight and I had groomed them before putting the sheets on, so no one really needed any brushing. But I just took forever doing everything. Actually that wasn’t a bad thing, because by the time I was ready for my lesson the weather was really nice: in the 60s, sunny, low humidity, light north wind.

Teddy was a little worried at first. Both of the arenas we usually use were in use, so I mounted him off a random jump that was sitting out next to the road, and then just rode him around the road until we got an arena. That was DIFFERENT and he doesn't like things that are different. 
There was only one horse in that arena, but he was acting up, and that worried Teddy. But we were fine. Those guys left, we rode in there for a bit, then went to the other arena. He had some head tossing today, but he FELT relaxed and easy, and he did a super job keeping up a nice slow/medium trot. We also got him going over the poles and raised poles at a smooth, steady trot, and not breaking out into a canter afterwards.

Teddy’s allergies seem to be bothering him. We must be allergic to the same stuff (ragweed?) because mine have been terrible the last few nights. He’s had runny eyes, and today they were really crusty and gross. It’s nice that we have hot water now, because I got a towel nice and hot and used it to sort of melt away the goop, then I rubbed and picked, and melted some more, and picked some more, and his eyes looked a lot better. Then 10 minutes later, they were running. I think maybe his tear ducts got a little blocked, and once I opened that (with the warm water, too) more stuff was waiting. I rubbed that stuff off too, and that seemed to hold. But after I put him out in the pasture I saw that his nose was running, and the only thing I had to wipe it on was my shirt. It’s funny, I was never one of those mothers who are constantly wiping their kids’ noses, but Teddy just seems to need more than the others. I mean, he needs more than the other two horses, and he needs more than my daughter needed.

I put all my stuff away after riding Teddy, but the weather was just so nice that I got it out again and rode Pony a little. We walked and trotted in both arenas. He was in a nice mood today. I had to get off a couple times to move the ground poles around, and he just followed me around and then waited until I was done. If I had had an instructor there I would have cantered him. Maybe I should have anyways. The problem is that I can’t tell if I’m on the correct lead (I know how to tell, I’m just not good at it) and I don’t want to get anyone in the habit of picking up the wrong lead. He just felt really good today, nice and easy but more forward than usual. We finished off by walking down the long driveway, further than we’ve gone in the past.

An interesting, but not surprising, difference between Teddy and Pony when ridden is that Teddy constantly has his ears on me, unless there is some sort of obstacle or something in front of him. And even then he usually has one ear on the obstacle and one on me. Whereas Pony’s ears are here, there, and everywhere: sometimes ahead, sometimes on me, sometimes to the sides. Teddy really wants to know what I’m doing, for information and for reassurance. Pony doesn’t need reassurance or (he believes) information from me. He’s like “Don’t worry, lady, I got this.” And lately, I have to say that he does.

ETA: when I was getting ready to leave, I was on one side of my car and the barn owner was on the other side. I heard her ask "How was Mr Perfect today?" and kept on doing what I was doing. But it turns out she was talking to me, about Pony. I was like, I'm sorry, "I'm sorry, I assumed you were talking to someone else." Because Pony is far from being Mr Perfect. He is, however, Mr Getting-Better-All-The-Time.


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## ACinATX

Today was Teddy's big day. I have been working with him on loading, but I think he knew something was up. To say he was hard to load would be putting it very mildly. The barn owner was there and ended up getting him on the trailer. After the dentist, we had a super hard time with him. He wasn't really acting up so much, but acting like he couldn't step up into the trailer. Finally I suggested finding a spot where we could back the trailer into a little hill, and we finally got him loaded that way. He tries, but once his anxiety takes over, there's no reasoning with him.

They took out one tooth and filled two more. They were the worst teeth. They want to see him again in a few months to do the rest. They said they will come to us next time, thank God. I obviously really need to work on his trailering a lot more.

Moonshine came too, mostly as a calm buddy for Teddy. But she also got her shots and Coggins (which she was a little overdue for) as did Teddy.

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed they didn't do all of his teeth. I thought they would. They did apparently think his teeth were so obviously bad that they made a little video about them. The vet is trying to spread awareness about this way of dealing with bad teeth.Frankly, I can tell you that the holes were terrifying when we saw them on the camera. I don't know how all of his teeth haven't yet fallen out. 

I am just pooped. I didn't think it would be that much work. Not just trailering him, but a long drive (in pouring rain, on the way there), then standing around in the cold at the vet's office waiting (they had just moved into this place, and it was not yet finished; no climate control, no bathroom, nothing). I was hoping to get some actual work done today, but I'm just going to bed.


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## ACinATX

I went to give Teddy his medicine today. Of course I let in and fed the other two also. They were very happy to see me, and came in more or less nicely and settled in to eat.

But even though I called Teddy, and he saw his friends go in, he just stood in the back of the pasture in the shelter looking at me. I went and got his halter and went to get him. As soon as he saw me in the pasture, he started talking to me. He seemed really happy to see me. He talked all the way until I got to the shelter, then put his head down nicely for the halter and came in with no problems. But I still feel terrible, like he is a little afraid of me now or something.

Also, despite all the practicing we've done with giving him oral meds, and as well as he did with the de-wormer last time, it was back to the beginning with the bute. He was back to rearing. A lot. I eventually just put it in some senior feed and he ate most of it, although you could tell when got a bit of bute because he made a funny face.

I'm feeling a little discouraged with him right now. Loading and unloading him were terrible experiences, for everyone involved. I know that with horses you tend to make some progress and then have some backwards steps, but it seems like lately all we've had is backwards steps. I'm also obviously unhappy with myself, because I feel like his reversions are due to something I have done. I guess I will just keep trying.


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## knightrider

I am feeling sorry for you. I have two horses that, after years of practice, take the applesauce in the tube just fine (but it took years), But wormer or medicine? Na ah, not a chance. I just give up and put it in their food with lots of molasses. When they start rearing and you start fighting them, all they remember (in my opinion) is how they hated it. I have decided that forcing them with twitch and 3 people is counter productive. But that's just my opinion. Owning horses is not easy. (But it sure is fun!)


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## ACinATX

Last Saturday was the show. As I posted elsewhere, Moonshine and my daughter got a surprise result for their dressage test. We were just stunned. We both honestly thought there must have been some mistake. Now, having had time to think about it, all I can think is that the judges somehow judged her and Moonshine not against the other competitors, but against what they were capable of. Like somehow they knew that my daughter has not been riding for very long, that Moonshine is an ex-roping/ranch/trail horse who couldn’t even stay on the rail even two months ago, that Moonshine was so heavy on the forehand and wouldn’t relax and drop her nose that the bodyworker said she was going to get an inverted shape, that Moonshine is a stubborn grumpy old mare who took to arena work like a cat takes to water, that the two of them just worked so hard. It doesn’t make sense logically, but neither does her winning. Every other rider, and every other horse, has been doing this longer than either of them. There were really good riders (and one trainer!) and very expensive horses who had previously competed at high levels of dressage!
















Of course, Moonshine will never let the other horses here the end of it, we’re sure (“Did YOU get a blue ribbon? I didn’t think so…”). But that’s OK.


Yesterday was a horse first-aid clinic at our barn. I learned a lot, and I now feel comfortable dressing a wound or treating an abscess, which is great. Poor Pony, however, got the worst of it.









Actually it seemed even worse at one point. None of us who were working on him could find a pulse, so we were afraid he might be dead, LOL. The instructor was also jokingly concerned, but she eventually found a heartbeat with her stethoscope. It was very very faint, and very hard to hear over the very loud and consistent digestion sounds. That’s a Pony for you! 

My daughter and two other people worked on Moonshine, and my husband and I (yes he agreed to participate!) and one other person worked on Pony. I was a little unsure of how Pony would do, since unlike Teddy he hasn’t had any injuries since I’ve had him, and unlike Moonshine he can be a little unpredictable. He was great, though, except for getting his temperature taken. He didn’t try to kick anyone or anything like that, but he kept trying to scoot forward away from the thermometer. The barn owner happened to be there, and she suggested picking up one his front legs so he couldn’t move, and that worked.

My husband doesn’t like Pony at all. He was holding him at first, but Pony wanted to investigate all of the medical supplies. Husband didn’t think he should, so he kept scolding him. I told him Pony was just curious and liked to investigate stuff, and if he let him do it he’d only do it for a minute. But husband was like, “He needs to control himself.” So I ended up holding Pony. Husband also couldn’t get Pony to pick his feet up. He actually said “Pick up your feet,” and then got upset because Pony wouldn’t do it. Well, not really upset, I guess annoyed would be a better word. The instructor came over and pointed out that Pony could tell that husband doesn’t like him, and that’s part of why he was acting up a little. Husband kept telling Pony to "calm down" (Pony was actually very calm) and asking “Why can’t we work on Teddy? I like Teddy. He’s calm. Just look at him!” (I had put Teddy in the paddock next to where we were working so he could see his buddies and also maybe learn to deal with things like this going on. I also put a pile of alfalfa hay in there, so he spent most of his time just happily eating away, with occasional trips to the fence to check out what we were doing).

Despite that apparent calmness, I think this was one of those times where I think if Teddy were actually having to have the work done on him, he would have just HAD ENOUGH at some point (maybe at the eye donut, maybe sooner) and started freaking out. Husband and Teddy get along pretty well, because Husband wants a horse that will just do what you tell it, and Teddy wants to do whatever someone tells him to do, but Husband has no idea (even though I’ve told him) about how Teddy can just totally lose it sometimes. The two of them are good for each other, though. I wish Teddy were a little bigger – I think he’d be OK with my husband riding him.

Speaking of Teddy, he had a little bit of a perspective shift during the horse show. It was a very small and low-key show, with maybe half a dozen people trailering in from outside the barn. But it was too much for him. I took him out and walked him around twice, to try to sort of get him used to commotion, but while he tolerated it, he didn’t like it. The third time I came to get him out of his stall to walk him around, he didn’t want to come out. And I didn’t make him. It’s like he has gone from seeing the stall as a scary place that traps him, to a safe place that protects him and where he can just eat yummy hay and be left alone in peace. Maybe it helps that there is a little sign there with his name on it now, LOL.

Teddy and I worked on getting into the trailer again today, and he got halfway in before I ran out of cookies and decided to call it a day. He stood there until asked to back out, then backed out very calmly and nice and straight. One thing I learned from out last time trailering was that the pressure on his halter makes him feel trapped and then he reacts. So I worked on being a lot better with my pressure and release, and I think that helped.


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## ACinATX

We had a new instructor come out last week. She had been recommended to me before as someone who prefers to foster a cooperative relationship between horse and rider, as opposed to the barn owner who tends to see things as a zero sum game that the human has to win. This lady also, I learned from our lessons, has a sort of contrarian approach. We had some interesting lessons.

I rode Pony first, so that Teddy could hang out nearby and watch, so he hopefully would be OK when it was his turn for a lesson (he historically doesn't look change too much). Basically with Pony she just had me working on getting him to drop his nose. This is something that the barn owner had worked on with me, but I think at that time I wasn't ready for it so it didn't go too well. It went pretty well this time, though. One thing that I did find sort of interesting: I know that everyone says horses are two-sided, and just because they learn something on one side or one direction doesn't mean they will understand it on the other side or direction. But I had never really seen this in action. I definitely got it with Pony this session. We had a pretty easy time getting him to drop his nose going to the right, and got him really going around nicely. But it took like five minutes for him to do it when going to the left. It really was as though it were a completely new skill for him ("I have no idea what you are asking me to do"), even though he had done well in the other direction.

Moonshine doesn't like staying on the rails. I don't know why she did it so well at the dressage show -- I almost want to imagine that she knew how much it meant to my daughter. But she was back to her old diving in tricks in the lesson. So the instructor, who was the person who had scribed for the judge at the dressage show, and had therefore seen Moonshine, said basically, "That's enough of you trying to keep her on the rail. We're going to make it HER job to stay on the rail. She knows how to do it, and she knows what to do, so you're going to stop fighting her over it." So what they did was ride Moonshine on a loose rein along the rail, and every time Moonshine tried to dive in, just pull her head hard to the rail side. It sounds bad writing it down, maybe, but her point was that Moonshine knew what to do, but didn't want to do it and was just overpowering my daughter and not doing it. That actually worked really well.

Her solution to Teddy's problem of speeding up was to make him speed up. I was like, "Umm, are you sure about that? Because, speeding up is his problem..." But I tried it and it worked! The idea was to make him worker faster and longer than he wanted, so that slowing down became a release, as opposed to now where speeding up is his release. It really worked pretty well. I also cantered him a little and she noticed that I was gripping with my legs and that was speeding him up, so I'm working on that.

I gave her Teddy's whole history, and she had a comment that I think was fairly insightful. She said that based on what I was saying and what she was seeing, he's come a long way with his anxiety and that I needed to stop looking at him with those old eyes and give him a fresh look. In other words, I think she was saying that it's time to stop babying him and to expect him to be able to handle a little more. That's a little hard to hear, because in a way he is like the baby who always needs help, or at least so I thought. He still needs help with some things, but maybe not as much as I thought. She also said she would be interested in riding him. She didn't ask to ride Pony, though. Somehow, no one ever does...


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## knightrider

Sounds like a very good useful interesting lesson! By the way, when are we going to see more of Moonshine's journal? I look for it. I love kids and love seeing what they write.


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> Sounds like a very good useful interesting lesson! By the way, when are we going to see more of Moonshine's journal? I look for it. I love kids and love seeing what they write.


I will pass that along. She will be happy to hear it. She sometimes feels like no one is reading it.

Anyway, Moonshine's hooman was out of town for Thanksgiving and now has finals coming up. She actually asked to skip her lesson yesterday because she had too much homework. We had a discussion about time management and overloading afterschool activities yesterday, actually. I bet she will post a lot over Christmas break!


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## ACinATX

Usually I write more about the horses themselves and how they are doing, rather than my riding, but I feel like I'm making progress with my canter and want to note that for posterity. 

I posted this in another spot, but wanted to note it here as well. I started noticing that on days when I would canter, even a little, then that night as I was falling asleep I would sort of feel the canter rhythm in my body. Not only that, but I could feel the footfalls as well, and when I thought about it I could understand how the horse's body was moving with them. This was a great feeling, because when I was actually cantering them I had no idea about anything except trying to not fall off. So obviously something is creeping into my subconscious! Today when I cantered Teddy I could feel the rhythm! So, barring me falling off (again) this will hopefully really be the winter where I learn how to canter.

Even Pony is making less of a fuss about it, so either I'm getting better or he's getting better, or most likely we're both getting better.


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## Showmanshiplover

Sounds like you are doing a great job with your horses! Trying to train a horse out of anxiety has always been the hardest thing for me. What breeds are your horses? I have so far enjoyed reading your journal (it was a good idea to start also so you can keep track of what you have been doing with your horses).


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## ACinATX

@Showmanshiplover thank you, sometimes (just like my daughter) I wonder if anyone is ever reading it. I guess it's mostly for me, but still nice to know that other people care.

Teddy (the anxious one) is a Welsh/QH cross, Pony is a pony of unknown ancestry, and Moonshine is (I would say) a grade quarterhorse.

I just need to remember to be patient with Teddy. We worked through so many of his issues in just a few months that sometimes I forget that he still needs to take things slowly sometimes. We had another new instructor come yesterday, and she said that in her experience it takes two years to undo one bad year of training. She definitely thought he had been trained harshly. In addition to what I told her about his issues, she noticed that he had a strong indention in his muzzle where it looks like someone repeatedly tightened his noseband to where it actually changed the shape of his face (I took the noseband off his bridle a long time ago because he seemed sensitive about it, so I guess it's interesting to know that I was right to do that). But it just made me sick to think about that. IDK, maybe he is so anxious and eager to please now because he was trained roughly, and maybe he was different when he was young, but I can't imagine someone wanting to treat this sweet guy harshly. He just tries so very hard.

One other thing that she said, and this one made me happy, is that Teddy seems really relaxed and contented when he is around me. Other people have said the same, but it's always nice to have someone new, who knows horses, say it. I am so happy he feels that way!

:mylittlepony:


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## ACinATX

*Goats? GOATS???? GOATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

It was a cold morning, but it should have been a normal lesson morning: get there, pick everyone’s hooves and look everything over, groom the boys, ride Teddy, and then ride Pony in my lesson.

Maybe the cold was making me pokey, but everything took longer than normal. I had put turnout sheets on everyone the day before, so luckily they were overall clean. But Teddy and Pony both seemed to have gone out of their way to get every other part of their body covered with dry mud.

Anyway, I got on Teddy. I thought maybe we’d just walk today, and we did spend most of the time walking. But he seemed pretty relaxed so I added in trotting as well. That’s when I saw … the GOATS! Apparently the property next to my boarding barn brought in a herd (a BIG herd) of brush clearing goats. I saw them before Teddy did, and I wasn’t quite sure what he’d think, so I stopped him and had him look at them. He was a little worried, but overall OK about it. Then MOONSHINE saw them. She is usually the calm one, but she took off in a snorting, heads-up trot. Teddy was like, “Um, Moonshine is really worried. Maybe I should run over there with her?” I told him no, and that was that. Moonshine wouldn’t even graze from that point on, though, just stood there staring at them. I ended up cantering for one lap, and it was a nice easy canter, and neither of us got worried about it! I stopped him after that and just got off.

I put him in his stall to take off his tack and then went to find Moonshine. She had wandered off, and was still looking worried. I wanted to put her back into the pasture before she did anything dumb. I can’t remember ever leading her when her head was that high, LOL, and I had a hard time getting her halter off her once we got into the pasture. She walked away from me, trotted, then cantered to the far end of the field, then back to the gate, then back again. Moonshine is one who does not normally voluntarily canter unless she thinks you’re going to feed her.

Then I got to the gate (about to close it) and saw Teddy standing about 50 feet away, watching Moonshine, with a look on his face that very clearly said “Moonshine is worried about something, I think maybe I should get worried too? Maybe I should start cantering around? I don’t want to get all upset, but Moonshine is worried!” (Teddy is the boss, but Moonshine is the leader, and he pretty much does what she does). “Oh ****,” I thought to myself and quickly closed the gate before Moonshine could run out. Then I called to him. He looked at me. I called to him again, to keep his focus on me. I walked to my car, which was between us, and I asked him if he wanted some “Yummy yummy cookies” in my special “yummy yummy cookies” voice (I keep cookies in the trunk, of course). He seemed to struggle with it for a minute, then he walked over, and I popped the trunk and fed him cookies and told him what a good boy he was. I am not above bribing them! Then we walked very calmly back to the pasture and I let him loose. He just stood there, occasionally looking nervously at where the goats had been.

The goats had disappeared by this point. Which was bad, because they had obviously turned from normal (somewhat worrisome) goats into ultra scary invisible goats, the kind that might sneak up behind you and eat your tail. Moonshine and Teddy stood vigil.

I went back to get Pony for my lesson. He was super spooky. I guess he was also now worried about the invisible goats. He was literally jumping around in his stall. I couldn’t get him tacked up, and I was afraid he was going to run over me. I put him in another stall, where he could see where the goats had been, then tried yet another stall, where he couldn’t see. But he was super nervous. I thought about just leaving him in the stall (a double stall) to sort of pace around, but then I thought, “I need to be able to deal with this.” So I thought about it, then put on his halter and lead rope and took him out. He was really spooky still. I walked him around for a couple of minutes, then let him graze for a minute. Then I asked him to make really easy (walking) circles around me, yielding his hindquarters the whole way. We did this in one direction, he got to graze, then the other direction, he got to graze, then again. I was thinking having to work might help him forget about the goats. He seemed better, so I got his tack and tacked him up while I let him graze. The lesson overall went OK, with only one spook. Once I got on him, I had him doing a lot of let yields and little circles, which really seemed to help him focus. 

Ultimately, I was pretty happy with how things went. Teddy stayed with me when I asked him to, even though Moonshine was visibly worried. Pony calmed down eventually. Moonshine… well, Moonshine got some much-needed exercise. I just really wouldn’t have thought that the goats would have bothered her that much – normally nothing fazes her.

Also, for the sake of posterity, I forgot to mention last time that last week was the first time I had posted the trot with no stirrups. I couldn't even understand how to do it before, but I guess I've finally developed my special horse-riding muscles!


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## ACinATX

*Poor Pony...*

I had a good lesson on Pony and Teddy on Saturday. On Sunday I came out to see them because we were supposed to be travelling on Monday. Teddy and Moonshine came in quickly but Pony sort of hung back, looking unhappy. Once he started to come in, I realized he was lame.

I wasn't sure how bad it was, though, even though I could tell something was wrong just with him walking. I put him in his stall and went to check him over and pick his hooves. I couldn't find any heat, swelling, or tenderness anywhere, but he wouldn't / couldn't pick up his right front. He tried, but almost fell over on me when he did. So I went to groom Teddy then came back and tried again, same result. That's when I called the barn owner. Long story short, the vet couldn't come out until Monday, so we gave him bute and put him in another stall (a bigger one than the one he usually goes in, plus there's another horse on stall rest in there so he'd have company).

Then it turned out my daughter had the flu, so we weren't going to be travelling after all. Which was good, because it meant I could be out there for the vet. And also to clean out his stall, water him, and try to make him feel better. There is someone who works out there and cleans stalls and such, but he doesn't get around to it until mid-afternoon, and I hate to think of Pony in a dirty stall.

Anyway, the vet came out and examined him. His stifles seemed tender. And his back hurt. And maybe he had soreness in his right front hoof. Also maybe he has ulcers. Quite the diagnosis. So, he's on stall rest and bute until she comes back on Saturday. I guess the good thing there is that since I had just seen him the day before, and he was fine then, we know it must have been that something happened out in the pasture. His pasture is muddy but also still full of giant drought cracks, so maybe he slipped and fell.

Pony does not like being on stall rest. He calls out to me the whole time I'm there if I'm not with him. Then when I go and see him he looks all droopy and sad. The barn owner asked me how he was doing today and I said "depressed." I don't think it's pain, or at least I hope it isn't. I think he's just bored and lonely sitting in a stall all day (except for the few hours I come out, put him in a pen that adjoins one of the pastures, clean out his stall, and then hand graze him). He's usually just such a happy guy, I hate seeing him like this.

I thought about it, and I think we're going to do some work in that stall, to hopefully get him interested in doing something. He can be a little hard to bridle, so I think we're going to do some treat training and bridling sessions. Just bridle on, "good boy," bridle off, treat. Repeat. I think he'll enjoy exercising his mind, and of course TREATS! I really hope that she will let him back out in the pasture, or at least let him be in one of the pens, after she sees him on Saturday. If not, I will probably need to figure out something else to teach him.

I remember one of the other horses that had to be on stall rest for a long time. He was a hot horse, and being stalled made it worse. His owner would try to hand walk him and he would buck and rear and try to run around. That was dangerous and not good, of course, but to be seeing my happy-go-lucky Pony dejected and down is also very bad.

One sort of good thing did happen today. I went to pull out Teddy and Moonshine, and then I brought Pony over to his usual stall so I could feed them all and pick hooves and whatnot. I was picking Pony's hooves when there was a really sudden and very loud noise, like a herd of elephants had just been dropped on the ground and taken off running. Pony spooked, badly. Of course, I lost the hoof I was working on, but the good thing is I could sort of see him start to spook into me, and then suddenly change direction and spook the other way, then he ran around and stopped before he ran me over. You might be thinking, well, duh, of course he should do that, but in the past he has spooked into me. Not badly, but still. So it was good that he spooked the other way this time. Also, apparently I scream like a little girl ("EEEEEEEE") when something like that happens. Great to know.

I couldn't figure out what it was. I went out to look afterwards and couldn't see anything. But Moonshine and Teddy were also upset, and that's rare, so it was definitely something big.

Since Pony is out and my daughter is sick, I rode Moonshine in my lesson yesterday. I hadn't ridden her in a LONG time. Boy, that horse is HARD to ride! OMG. She's actually doing a lot better with staying on the rail, at least at a walk, but getting her to do patterns and poles is a total body workout. Ouch. But... I would like to ride her more. Riding her is a challenge, in a good way. I guess I'm too used to riding my easy boys. And she's a good horse, not mean or anxious or any sort of crazy. Just needs to be convinced that you mean it before she will do it.

That's it. I just feel bad thinking about Pony being lonely and droopy in his stall. If only we had a more horse-friendly backyard. And a truck and trailer. I think he would enjoy eating everything in our backyard and walking around the neighborhood examining stuff. Plus I could stake him out in the front yard to keep people from letting their dogs poop in my yard. Just kidding. Sort of.


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## ACinATX

Teddy is having trouble picking up his left lead (no doubt NOT being helped by having me a his rider), so my instructor suggested that I lunge him (left only) to help him work on it without having someone on his back.

OK, I’m going to back up a step. She was interested in riding him, and I was having problems getting him on the bit at anything other than a standstill (he does not like bit pressure, possibly because of his bad teeth or possibly because of bad training) so I suggested that she ride him a little in our lesson. He tried really hard, but it was amazing to me to see how nervous he was. He even scooted away from her at the mounting block, which he hasn’t done with me since the very beginning. All of his nervous ticks were back on clear display. She did get him somewhat settled, and I finally got to see him trot. He has a beautiful trot! It looks as good as Moonshine’s trot, but whereas Moonshine’s trot is like riding a jackhammer, his is like being on a pogo stick with the softest spring in the world. So I was never sure if it would look nice or not, but it does. It’s really too bad he will probably never be able to be a show horse. 

The instructor is obviously a better rider than I am, so it was interesting to see her struggle with him. It shows how much effort he puts into trying for me. Also, as an aside, she just volunteered the information after our previous lesson that he obviously loved me and depended on me. We can argue about anthropomorphizing, but I would say that yes, he loves me (not as much as he loves Moonshine, but that’s OK seeing as how she’s a horse and I’m just a hooman), and there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that he depends on me.

OK, so back to lunging. Things the barn owner says have to be taken with a grain of salt, but she is Teddy’s previous owner so I asked her if he knew how to lunge. She answered that he does, then paused, and added, “But I would make sure the circles are really big, like 20 meters at least.” So, that was interesting.

I got all my stuff together and we went out to the round pen. He’s never been in there, and of course he is Teddy the worrier, so first thing I just let him explore a bit. Then I gave him some alfalfa pellets. Yes, we were going to tackle this just like everything we’ve tackled together – with patience, praise, and lots and lots of treats.

He was really worried about the whip, which did not surprise me at all, so we worked on desensitizing him to it first. Didn’t take too long. Then I hooked up the lunge line to his cavesson. More pellets. Then I backed away, raised the whip, and asked him to move out. Well, of course his eyes got big and his head went super up. So I lowered it and just moved it a little and asked again. He was a little rusty, wanting to come in to me rather than walk out on a circle, but he obviously did know how to do it, and he got into the swing of it pretty quickly. He was still nervous, but I used my “good boy Teddy” voice a lot, plus stopped him a lot and fed him treats, and he quickly settled down. We did his easy side first, then his hard side, but he picked it up even quicker on the hard side, which was great. Just walking both ways.

Then I decided to see if he could free lunge. I was thinking, I don’t just want to run him around in the round pen, I want him to lunge but just without the lunge line (which, to be honest, kept getting tangled up no matter how many times I refolded it. Also to be honest, I was not very good at using the whip, AND the lunge line, AND trying to remember where my body was supposed to be pointing relative to him and direction I wanted him to go). So I took the lunge line off, told him he was a good boy, stepped back, and asked him to lunge the same way as before. And he did! Just walked nice 10-meter circles around me. Stopped on voice command. We did it both ways.

He seemed like he was starting to get a little distracted, so I decided to end the session. But he didn’t want to leave the round pen, which was a little confusing. I took him out anyway. So that went well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poor Pony is on stall rest for two weeks. He seems to have perked up a little. Not sure if it’s because I’ve been putting him out in a small pen in the daytime (it adjoins a paddock that has some of his buddies in it, so they can hang out together at the fence), or because of the treat training work I’ve done with bridling (I learned that he can basically put the bit in his mouth himself, with those prehensile lips of his), or because I put a treats ball in with him, or because I’ve come every morning so he has someone there. 

He’s on bute for those two weeks, plus gastro guard for the bute, plus muscle relaxers. Luckily he will eat pretty much anything as long as it’s mixed in with senior feed (unlike picky Teddy) and he does sort of OK with oral paste medicine. I gave him the muscle relaxers this morning for the first time, then hung out for a few hours to make sure they didn’t make him too loopy. He seemed fine. I hope he feels better soon.


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## knightrider

Where is your daughter's journal? I thought it was super cute . . . plus I love kids and love reading about them and exploring how they think.

I hope Pony gets well quickly. Sorry you are dealing with that.


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## ACinATX

@knightrider she had finals then she spent the first week of winter break with the flu. She literally came down with it the day school got out. She's just now recovering. Moonshine is actually doing really well. Daughter is trying to teach her a trick where she walks with her legs on either side of a pole, but Moonshine's back legs don't leg to open up very much, so they're getting stuck. I'm actually supposed to help with that today, so we'll see. I think she doesn't like to update the journal unless she has some "progress" to document.


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## ACinATX

*I am proud of Teddy*

We are now lunging both directions, on and off line, trotting and walking (in the roundpen). Yesterday I added in cantering (off the line, because honestly I’m not ready for cantering him on the lunge line, and I also wasn’t sure what to expect after barn owner’s comment of “make sure it’s a really big circle.”) I asked for the left canter first, but he just trotted faster and faster, so I stopped him, calmed him down, then asked for the right canter. He picked it up fairly quickly. The lunge whip I’m using doesn’t actually have the string part, because I didn’t want to create too much pressure for him, so getting him to canter was a bit of work. I let him do a lap, stopped and rewarded, then asked for the left. He picked it up that time. 

He also picked up the left lead no problem. I’m going to ask the instructor about that. I thought, after her comments last time, plus my experience riding him, plus seeing him tip his nose to the right, when lunging to the left, that he would pick up the wrong lead. But he didn’t. When riding him, I had been trying to encourage him to get that left lead by tilting his head in, but now I’m not sure if that’s what he needs. I wonder if the next step would be to ride him at the canter in the roundpen. It’s a pretty big roundpen.

I wasn’t going to ride him, but then I saw that barn owner was going to give a lesson, so I changed my mind. She is his old owner, and she really worries him. Sorry to say, but it’s true. Whenever he hears her yelling, even in the next arena, he starts going through his anxiety behaviors, or he at least starts thinking about it. Last time, he started pawing the ground when we were standing there, and he just couldn’t stop. And he hardly ever paws any more. Obviously it’s something I think we need to work on, hence my decision to ride him in one arena while she was teaching in the next. It went really well. In retrospect, she wasn’t yelling a lot, so maybe that was at least part of it. I even got permission when they were stopped and rode him in and out of that arena while she was there. No problem.

He also seems to have figured out that I want him to drop his head into contact. We had spent several lessons working on that, with no progress. And it really stressed him out, I think because he knew we wanted something but he couldn’t figure out what. After last lesson, when the weather was pleasantly cool, and basically all we did was walk trot, he was sweaty (atypical for him). Anyway, yesterday he seemed to finally “get” it. I don’t know what happened since the last time I rode him, maybe he’s been thinking about it. But he not only did it, he did it with barn owner giving a lesson in the next arena. He also stayed nice and calm, even after trotting. I only rode him 15-20 minutes maybe, because he was just doing so well that I wanted him to end the lesson happy.

Pony is still on stall rest, no obvious change in his condition. We worked more on bitting (he can now target the bit wherever it is, put it in his mouth, and “eat” it up to the point where it’s supposed to sit) and then on taking his oral medication, which he was starting to fight. He enjoys those sessions. Maybe I will try to make two that are spread out over the 2-3 hours I should be out there.


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## knightrider

So sorry that your daughter had a rotten winter break. I hope she feels better. Tell her that I love her journal. I am thrilled you are having such breakthroughs with Teddy and hope Pony heals quickly.


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## ACinATX

Teddy’s lunging continued to go well, so I asked my instructor on Saturday what she thought about riding him in the round pen at the canter. She said sure, let’s do it now. So we went in there, and first I showed her how I lunged him. She approved, which was great, since I pretty much learned through watching videos and messing up, then trying to figure out how I had messed up (and then watching more videos). I told her that we had done everything except cantering with the line attached, because I wasn’t comfortable with that yet. She said she didn’t think he needed to be lunged on the line at all, so that’s good.

Then I got on. We trotted briefly, then cantered. He picked up the correct lead (at the left, mind you) immediately, and went into his signature smooth Teddy canter. Nice and easy, too. Then I decided that I didn’t want to imbalance him to the inside, so I shifted my weight to the outside. About four seconds later, I was on the ground. So… that was not a good idea. I fell to the outside, but luckily (or, who knows, maybe it was on purpose somehow) he swerved in as I fell so I didn’t hit the rail. I got back on and we tried again. But now he was really nervous and worried, and picked up his other signature Teddy canter: the “I’m really worried about something and now I need to speed up and up and up.” Poor Teddy. I hate it when I do something to make him uncomfortable.

So, I’m going to be doing more stirrupless work, and trying to really think about my seat. Honestly, I think part of what happened was that I just thought I should lean out, to counter-balance him. That was obviously not correct.

I rode him today. I was going to ride him with my daughter’s lesson on Moonshine, with the Barn Owner (his former owner, who makes him nervous; I'm trying to work him through that). So we warmed up, no problem. Teddy was happy because his two favorite people (Moonshine and me, in that order) were with him. So even when the Barn Owner came out and started giving instructions, he was fine. I brought him over to her to talk about something, and he was totally fine, no pawing, no head tossing, no general antsiness – just stood there for several minutes.

However, not too long after that, when I was trotting him with no stirrups, it turns out that there were some other kids in the lesson, and the first thing they did when getting into the arena was to start to canter. That sort of got Teddy worked up, so I stopped him and we went into the adjacent arena to work.

That is when I learned something wonderful and amazing about Teddy – he can do this amazing, butter-soft Western-type jog. It’s this smooth, smooth trot that’s about as fast as his fast walk. It was WONDERFUL and so easy to sit! I could really think about my seat bones staying on the saddle, and I could experiment with leaning back, which he seemed to like, and which I think was probably the correct position ( @mslady254 implied that I was probably leaning forward while thinking that I was sitting straight up, and thinking about how “leaning back” in this trot felt, compared to “sitting up straight,” I’m pretty sure she was right).

THEN I rode past the Barn Owner and pointed this out, and she was like, “Oh, yes, he was trained Western before he was trained English.” This absolutely floored me – she gave him to me, as I’ve said before, but it wasn’t just that, she really really pushed me to take him. You think she might have mentioned this as an extra incentive, but she never did. Then a helicopter flew low overhead and she started yelling and it and making Teddy worried, so we went back to practice our nice slow jog / sitting trot. Well, it turned out that he was worried now, so we had to spend some more time doing some easy stuff first. But we got back to it.

Another thing he’s started to get better at is not being on the rail. Teddy likes the rail. He likes rules, and he likes things that are black and white. The rail is a clear rule: you stay on it, and then no one will yell at you. Just like poles: when you see a pole, you go over it, and no one will yell at you. So, trying to ride Teddy in a straight line down the middle of the arena, or even a short diagonal, tends to result in an unhappy Teddy (“I don’t understand where you want me to go, and I’m afraid I will do the wrong thing and you will yell at me”). But he did a decent job today. We also worked, a little more, on lowering his head at the stop (this is actually what we did to calm him back down; I think he likes this because now he understands the question and knows the answer) and he’s getting better about not just dropping his head, but about doing it softly and bending at the poll.

So, Teddy’s doing great. I think all the extra rides I’m putting on him, now that I’m at the barn every day (someone has to clean Pony’s stall), are really helping.

Speaking of Pony, he’s still on stall rest, technically, but Barn Owner and I both agreed that he needed some more space, so we put him in a medium-sized pen that is right in the middle of the property. I think he will also enjoy being right in the middle of everything – he’s a very curious and intelligent Pony and likes to know what’s going on. The vet said we can cut the Bute, and she will come out on Friday to take a look at him. The chiropractor is coming next Monday. I will wait and see what she says, but I may end up having the bodyworker look at him too.

The “trick training” I’ve been doing with him is bitting (but I think we’re done with that now), taking oral medication (about halfway there) and being rubbed all over with a “racket sack,” which we’re in the beginning stages of. The first things we did with that were having him touch the racket sack, then touch it while it was being crinkled, then touch it while it was being crinkled and shaken. He really gets the idea of touching things with his nose. But he’s sensitive to physical pressure, and this thing was still weird, so it took a couple of days before he understood that what I want now is for him to hold still while I rub and shake it on his shoulders and back. He gets it now, but he’s still making that “I don’t know what that thing is and I don’t really trust it” face.

I need to spend more time teaching him tricks. He really enjoys it. I think he likes having something to do.


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## ACinATX

In the past couple of days, Pony has threatened to kick two people who were poking and prodding (henceforth to be referred to as P&P) his back. He's normally a fairly laid-back little guy, so this was unusual for him. It also made me worry that he might actually try to kick the chiropractor when he sees her on Monday. 

I decided to try to train him to not do this, and I figured I could segue the "racket sack" above into P&P-ing him. I started with the racket sack on his back again. He's gotten really good about this. He now understands that the point is to stand absolutely still while this happens, then he gets a reward. He doesn't even make that "this is weird" face any more. We went over both sides. Then I started not only shaking and crunching the racket sack, but also pushing down on his back with it. No problems.

So I got rid of the racket sack and just P&P'd him. At first he was a little confused about this, but he understood pretty quickly. He stood absolutely still, not even flicking an ear back, while I P&P'd him, all over, with increasing pressure. Now, I didn't P&P him like the chiropractor would, but the fact that he just stood stock still while I did it ("Must get treats!!!!") was surprising. Now I'm starting to wonder if his reactions to people P&P-ing him are because he remembers that it hurt before, and he thinks it's going to hurt this time? Or does it still hurt, but now he's so focused on TREATS that he doesn't care?

Regardless, I'm hopeful now that he won't kick the chiropractor. Although I'm now sort of worried about the opposite problem -- what if he refuses to react at all? How will she know what's wrong?

LOL Ponies.


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## knightrider

@ACinATX, do you read @SteadyOn's journal? She posted some really interesting information about horses that get wound up and then I posted on how to unwind them. I never heard about "the rabbits" before and I really liked the analogy. It made my day. You might already know all this stuff, but it was new to me.


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## SteadyOn

knightrider said:


> @ACinATX, do you read @SteadyOn's journal? She posted some really interesting information about horses that get wound up and then I posted on how to unwind them. I never heard about "the rabbits" before and I really liked the analogy. It made my day. You might already know all this stuff, but it was new to me.


I'll post it again here!


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## ACinATX

@knightrider and @SteadyOn thanks for the video. I'm not much of a celebrity trainer person, but Warwick Schiller seems to always have a unique take on things, at least in the videos people have posted on HF. I like the rabbits analogy as well. I guess I have worked Teddy through stuff like this, to where he can handle a lot more now than he could in the past. I never really figured I'd have to work on Pony, though, since he's usually so laid back.

At any rate, his rabbits seem to have gone away, at least for now.

I got the OK to put him back in the pasture. It's funny, Moonshine has been taking advantage of his convalescence to make terrible faces at him, pee in his stall, etc. I thought he'd want revenge. But he doesn't really think like that. I took him out there today. Moonshine was already out there. She came up, IDK maybe she thought I had cookies or something. I took off his halter and he took a couple steps toward her. She got defensive and made a mare face at him. Then he sort of paused, softened himself, and walked up to her and nuzzled her. She nuzzled back! They nuzzled for about 30 seconds. No bad faces, no nipping, no squeals, just nuzzling. You have to understand, she hates him. Or at least she pretends she does. It was really sweet seeing them like that.


Teddy has been coming over to Pony's stall or pen every day to say hi or even play a little nipping game once Pony was feeling better, so they didn't need the nuzzling time, I guess.

Chiropractor comes Monday, I'm really interested in what she has to say.


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## ACinATX

A couple of days ago I went to put Pony's first ride on after being off for a few weeks. I put him in a bareback pad and then went to go get his bridle. He was SO happy and excited to see it! I was a little confused at first, and then I remembered that we had been doing treat training to get him to bridle easier. So of course I went and got a few alfalfa pellets for him, for taking it. My daughter says I now need to ween him off giving him those things just for being bridled, which is true, but he was just so HAPPY to see the thing that I couldn't not do it.



Bonus pictures of Teddy in his last year, with me owning him.


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## ACinATX

My husband doesn't like Pony very much. I'm sure I've mentioned this before. He thinks a horse should just do what you say, but Pony believes that HE should have some say in what he does. Pony also knows that husband doesn't like him, so he's disinclined to try very hard for him anyway.

Pony did score some points with my husband when I was talking about the whole saddle fit problem, and how it seems like the saddle I was riding him in hurt him so much that it made him lame. I pointed out to my husband that it must have been hurting him the whole time, but he didn't act up (at least not more than usual LOL), just kept on going because I told him to. Husband was like, "OK, fine, he has ONE good thing going for him..."

Today was cold and rainy, so the other two people in my group lesson cancelled. So I had a private lesson and was able to ride Pony bareback (I didn't want to ride him bareback in the group, as I was afraid I'd hold the group back). He did so well! He had a really nice step, and he felt almost like he was floating, like he was sort of being propelled forward through the air. The trainer said he was using his hind end much better than usual. I guess that's what that feels like. She also said he was on the bit several times, which I have to admit I did not feel. He was just really good, very relaxed and forward, no antics (well almost no antics), paying attention, doing what I asked, super responsive. 

Instructor asked if I felt like I was bouncing around a lot, and I said yes. She said I wasn't, that my body was actually really still, and next time she wants to video it so I can see. She also said I can join my daughter's lesson on Moonshine lesson tomorrow, and work on posting (which I should be able to do, as I've done it in a saddle but stirrupless) and two-point (!) bareback. I had told her that I'm fine riding him bareback, but I'm concerned about trotting him over poles as it might hurt his back. That's what made her suggest that I work on these. I get the feeling that if she thinks I'm doing OK, I can go back to the group lesson, even though he will be bareback for now.

I'm really glad we got this cushy bareback pad. It's like super plush plush, then foam, then grippy stuff at the bottom. We originalyl got it for my daughter to ride Moonshine, who has a very pokey spine, but I feel better using it on Pony than riding actually bareback. I'm hoping that with the layers, it absorbs my bouncing (even if it's not much bouncing) and makes him more comfortable. He definitely seemed happy today, so that's good.


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## ACinATX

*Yay!*

Today was a red-letter day for Teddy! I rode him in a group lesson, with the barn owner (who, if you have missed all of my earlier posts, is his old owner and who makes him really worried), and he was great! He was a little anxious, yes, but overall he was really good. I feel so good for him. I have to admit to feeling pretty good about myself, too. All of that work I did to slowly get him to this point (walking him around when she was giving a lesson, riding him in the arena next to where she was giving a lesson, riding him in and out of her lesson quickly) paid off!
:Angel:


It was interesting riding him with her, as she had some comments about his history. She said he had been passed around a lot, and no one could ever get a bit in his mouth or get him to canter (she said he would rear, although that sounds strange to me). She eventually got him to canter and got a bit in him (although not for long). She was like, “All that time, and everyone thought he just had a bad attitude, no one thought it could be his teeth.” To be fair, I had two vets float his teeth and say he was more or less OK before I finally took it on myself to find a specialist and figure out what was wrong with him. But still, you think it would have occurred to SOMEONE that it might have been pain related.

Like every other instructor, she also volunteered a few minutes into the lesson that Teddy loves me. I’m not really surprised to hear it now, even though it’s still nice. I asked her later what prompted her to say that, since no one has ever volunteered that Pony loves me. She kind of went around in circles, but it seems like at least to her it’s because she can tell how much Teddy trusts and depends on me. Pony trusts me too, but he has a lot of self-confidence, whereas Teddy pretty much has none. Pony doesn’t need me. Teddy needs a certain kind of person, and he’s found it and is clearly happy with that person, whereas Pony would be pretty much fine wherever he went. Of course Pony likes me a lot too, even I know that, but we don’t have the same relationship that I have with Teddy.

I rode Pony bareback in a private lesson after that. He is still being really good. I’ve had three lessons in a row on him with only the tiniest little misbehaviors. I’m sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I’m also thinking maybe **ALL** of the saddles I ever put on him were so uncomfortable that he’s happier to have me bouncing around on him bareback. Like, this is coming as a relief to him. We’ll see. Today I worked on posting the trot bareback. I had done it stirupless in a saddle, but really bareback was a lot harder. I can’t imagine that felt very good to him. And yet he still felt like he was moving better than in a saddle. The point of trying to post (and do two-point) on him is so that I can ride him bareback in the group lessons (there is a lot of pole work, and I don’t feel like it’s fair to him to try to sit the trot when he’s going over poles). Instructor says that we look good and she’s OK continuing bareback for now.

Afterwards I was putting stuff away and letting them graze out front, and Pony came up to me with a look on his face that suggested that he might be interested in treats. I’m not handing out treats for no reason, but I remembered that I wanted to work on touching his ear (he hates having his ears touched, just HATES it), so we did that. I bridged into it by first doing the one where he has to stand totally still while I pinch his back. Because I want him to stand totally still (not pull away) when I touch his ears. I sort of had to accept less than what I wanted at first, as I was able to give him a treat and touch his ears at the same time. Then I tried to get him to stand still and he sort of did it.

I don’t have a lot of time to spend doing trick training, but Pony is super smart, a fast learner, and very food motivated. We’ve gotten to where using treats as rewards doesn’t turn him into a monster. If I had time to do it, he could learn just about anything.


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## ACinATX

I have been riding just about two years now, and I just realized last week that I don't know what to do with my legs. I mean, all the places my legs can go, all of the signals they can send, how the horse might interpret them. I'm not in a hurry, but sometimes I wonder when I will even get the basics down.

I'm not down about this, it's just amazing to me that I have no idea how to use my legs. OK, yes, I do have some idea, and I'm going to work on it more, but still. Sheesh. At least I haven't fallen off lately, LOL. Good think I don't have any professional aspirations as a horse person.


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## Animalia

ACinATX said:


> My husband doesn't like Pony very much. I'm sure I've mentioned this before. He thinks a horse should just do what you say, but Pony believes that HE should have some say in what he does. Pony also knows that husband doesn't like him, so he's disinclined to try very hard for him anyway.
> 
> Pony did score some points with my husband when I was talking about the whole saddle fit problem, and how it seems like the saddle I was riding him in hurt him so much that it made him lame. I pointed out to my husband that it must have been hurting him the whole time, but he didn't act up (at least not more than usual LOL), just kept on going because I told him to. Husband was like, "OK, fine, he has ONE good thing going for him..."
> 
> Today was cold and rainy, so the other two people in my group lesson cancelled. So I had a private lesson and was able to ride Pony bareback (I didn't want to ride him bareback in the group, as I was afraid I'd hold the group back). He did so well! He had a really nice step, and he felt almost like he was floating, like he was sort of being propelled forward through the air. The trainer said he was using his hind end much better than usual. I guess that's what that feels like. She also said he was on the bit several times, which I have to admit I did not feel. He was just really good, very relaxed and forward, no antics (well almost no antics), paying attention, doing what I asked, super responsive.
> 
> Instructor asked if I felt like I was bouncing around a lot, and I said yes. She said I wasn't, that my body was actually really still, and next time she wants to video it so I can see. She also said I can join my daughter's lesson on Moonshine lesson tomorrow, and work on posting (which I should be able to do, as I've done it in a saddle but stirrupless) and two-point (!) bareback. I had told her that I'm fine riding him bareback, but I'm concerned about trotting him over poles as it might hurt his back. That's what made her suggest that I work on these. I get the feeling that if she thinks I'm doing OK, I can go back to the group lesson, even though he will be bareback for now.
> 
> I'm really glad we got this cushy bareback pad. It's like super plush plush, then foam, then grippy stuff at the bottom. We originalyl got it for my daughter to ride Moonshine, who has a very pokey spine, but I feel better using it on Pony than riding actually bareback. I'm hoping that with the layers, it absorbs my bouncing (even if it's not much bouncing) and makes him more comfortable. He definitely seemed happy today, so that's good.



What brand of bareback pad is it? I'm still considering getting one. Fun journal! I'm working my way through the earlier posts.


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## ACinATX

@Animalia I got it on Amazon, so I looked through my old orders and found this:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008OB451C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm confused because the title says "Western" saddle pad, but the picture shows the English-style pad that I bought.

It is an AWESOME pad, plush on top with padding in the middle and a sticky (but not painfully so) bottom and girth strap. I've had so many problems with Pony's saddles slipping forward or even to the side, but this one has never slipped at all, despite his roundness and lack of withers. Or when I sort of awkwardly clamber on. Also, it made riding on even Moonshine comfortable, and she has a very prominent (and painful) spine. I would highly recommend it.


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## Animalia

ACinATX said:


> @*Animalia* I got it on Amazon, so I looked through my old orders and found this:
> https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008OB451C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> 
> I'm confused because the title says "Western" saddle pad, but the picture shows the English-style pad that I bought.
> 
> It is an AWESOME pad, plush on top with padding in the middle and a sticky (but not painfully so) bottom and girth strap. I've had so many problems with Pony's saddles slipping forward or even to the side, but this one has never slipped at all, despite his roundness and lack of withers. Or when I sort of awkwardly clamber on. Also, it made riding on even Moonshine comfortable, and she has a very prominent (and painful) spine. I would highly recommend it.



Ok, great-thanks! If Pony is round and girthy and it fits, it should fit D, the round Icelandic!  The last one I bought was too big, even on the last hole of the girth strap. I returned it and decided I was not ready for it anyway.


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## ACinATX

I have had a cold or something and I didn't ride for almost two weeks.

I rode Pony on Wednesday and that went really well. I am still riding bareback, but I felt more secure than I had before. I was kind of surprised, since I hadn't ridden in a bit. Pony went really well for me, with an extra nice trot, was very responsive, and tried no tricks. It felt great! Then on Thursday I could barely walk LOL.

I rode Teddy with yet another new instructor today. He actually did really well, considering that plus it HAD been two weeks since I had ridden him, and he's not one of those horses that does well not being ridden. One thing that went particularly well was circles. We got some very good looking circles in, and it actually seemed to help him relax. I'm not surprised he likes doing the same thing over and over again.

The stalls in the barn where we are boarding are pipe framed, and the walls are made of stacked 2 x 6s. Pony didn't like his stall, and Teddy didn't either. The barn is open, but their two stalls face an internal aisle and have very high sides. Apparently this used to be the stallion barn. I talked to the barn owner and she let me take down some of the 2 x 6s so that Pony and Teddy can see out. It also makes a window between Pony's and Moonshine's stalls, so we'll have to see how that goes. But he already seems MUCH happier in his stall. Teddy, of course, didn't like the fact that his stall had changed, but I think he will like it once he gets used to it. Pony now can see far out into the pastures in three directions, and Teddy has a really good open wall on one side, where he can see out into the inner barn area, and he can also see through one of Pony's windows into the other side.

Horses just love windows. The first thing Moonshine did when we made the window was stick her head into it, right into Pony's stall. She hates Pony, and there's nothing in his stall, and she has an open field of vision in two directions already, but she just had to stick her head in there anyway. I wish I had taken a picture of that.

I did get some other pictures that I liked.

1. Daughter doing homework on Moonshine (good ole' dependable Moonshine)
2. Pony like to play tug-o-war (with Teddy's halter).
3. Pony likes to put his head on my shoulder (sub caption: 30 seconds before we had to call the ambulance, LOL)


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## ACinATX

Just a couple of tidbits. I noted in another thread, but here for posterity: I cantered Pony bareback! This is what I wrote:
_
I cantered Pony bareback today! My instructor had been working up to it by having me really focus on my legs, and in fact she had been pushing the last few lessons for me to try. My daughter was having a lesson in one arena, so I was riding him in the arena that has really deep sand (so it sort of slows the horses down, not to mention it's great to fall in, ask me how I know!) and I just decided to go for it. I cantered 5-10 strides then walked. Then I cantered another 10 strides or so and stopped.

I'm going to work up to this slowly, BUT I have to say that it felt great! For once I wasn't worried about what my body was supposed to be doing -- his movement under the bareback pad just sort of pushed me into the right rhythm, and I guess my legs and seat have improved to where they were just holding me in place while my body just naturally followed his movement.

I'm so stoked!
_

Riding Pony bareback is like someone making you do the splits and squats at the same time. It hurts. But I'm starting to adapt. I can't believe cantering him was that easy. If it weren't for feeling like I need to get up off his back to do cavalettis and low jumps, I might just forget about the saddle altogether.

I rode Teddy a little today. Someone else was in the arena, and she was like, "Teddy looks so good! Look at all the muscles he's put on! Look at how his butt has developed!" She just said that out of nowhere. I was so happy to hear it. I've been obsessing about his weight for a year. I think getting his teeth filled really made the difference. I'll have to keep an eye on it, but I'm wondering if he might turn out to be an easy keeper like the other two. He's half Welsh and half QH, so it wouldn't surprise me.


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## ACinATX

I rode Pony bareback in a lesson today. I cantered as much today as I had in any lesson in the past, and not only that but I cantered a figure-eight pattern with trot poles in the middle! The left bending part of the figure eight did not go so well. Pony has always had problems with his left lead, and all of this time off from cantering doesn't seem to have helped.

Plusses: he really acted up, and I stayed on and made him do what I wanted. My legs have gotten STRONG with just one month of riding bareback. He did eventually pick up the left lead, twice. And we ended on a good note by working on getting just one really nice downward transition, to the right.

I don't know what it is, but cantering him bareback honestly seems a lot easier than cantering him in a saddle. I mean, except for the constant fear of falling off, LOL. Actually I feel like I have a better seat cantering than trotting. Cantering him bareback, his body seems to just push my body where it needs to be, and all of that previous bareback work has made my legs and seat so much better. Thinking back on cantering him in the saddle, I could never sit it right. Could the poor saddle fit have had that much of an impact? Like, the saddle interfered with his movement, or with me feeling his movement?

It's so strange, cantering bareback just FEELS right. I can't really explain why.

I have one more saddle to try on him. If it doesn't work, I may just skip the treeless saddle and just stay bareback. It's cheaper and tacking up is a lot faster and easier! I can work on posting and two-point bareback. I've seen other people do it, and I have had enough success so far riding bareback that I believe i could learn to do it as well.

However. I strongly suspect I am going to be SORE tomorrow!


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## ACinATX

I was not wrong. I was so sore I ended up waking up at midnight and having to take some medicine...

We had our travelling instructor out today. She thought it was a little odd that I was so sore, then she saw me riding. Pony was still acting up to the left. He's basically doing little mini rears, lots of sideways scooting, and tiny crow hops. The same sort of evasive behavior he used to do back when he was really green. I guess the reason we haven't seen it lately is because I haven't been asking too much of him. Anyways, I guess my legs just clamp on him when he does that (and bear in mind he is super round), and thus I am sore. We got him settled down after a while by just riding back and forth along one fence, just asking him to stay close to the fence. He even mostly picked up the correct lead. When he's not fighting, I can feel my legs relaxing down, and I'm just balancing using my seat, even at the canter. That feels great! It was a simple exercise that I think I can do on my own. I learned how to tell which lead he's on without looking -- if it feels nice and smooth, it's the right lead; if it's choppy and rough, it's the left lead.

We worked on cantering Teddy today also. He was feeling pretty relaxed, which was great. We did a bunch of warmup at the trot, then moved into the other arena for cantering. The other arena is the one that has the deeper footing, so I figured it would slow him down, plus it's more of a large square (about 40 x 50 meters) as opposed to the dressage arena (20 x 60) so there are fewer sharp turns for him. She wanted me to just canter him a whole lot in a big circle, to see if he could relax, and to show him that cantering is nothing to worry about. So I cantered him maybe 10 laps in his good direction, then I had him stop, and then I had to walk him. Of course he wanted to trot, but we just did the tiny circles until he settled. Eventually I could feel him getting calmer. Then we cantered the other direction. He picked up the correct lead the second try, so that was good. We cantered the same amount that direction, then walked again. He settled down a lot more quickly. I'm not sure if it was because he was learning to settle down, or if he was tired LOL. I was tired! But I feel really good about cantering him that much. She was like, don't worry if he speeds up, he'll just slow back down again eventually, and he did.

Despite Pony's acting up, we ended on a good note, and personally I feel pretty good that I can stay on him bareback when he's like that. Teddy's lesson went really well also. We didn't really ask a lot out of him mentally. He was not sweaty at all afterwards, despite having cantered so much. As opposed to a couple of rides ago when he got super sweaty even though it was all walk and trot, because he was being asked to do something new. I rarely have a day where I ride both of them and feel good about both of them afterwards, but I did today.

Also, I had been feeling like Teddy felt a little off, but I have ridden him with three instructors in the last week, and all of them said he looked fine. So that's good. Tomorrow the vet is coming to hopefully finish his tooth fillings. Then the other vet has to come out in the next couple of months to re-inject Moonshine. And then maybe I can start building my medical emergency account back up...

ETA: After riding a book about cavaletti exercises, I drew out a little pattern of my own that I thought would help Teddy pick up the correct lead. I showed it to the barn owner and she said it looked good, and that I could set it up in the big arena after the show. It was my first time thinking out a pattern, and I feel pretty good about it!


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## ACinATX

The travelling lesson lady came again today. I cantered both Teddy and Pony, on their left (bad) leads only. The both picked up the correct lead the first time! And the second time! Pony did still balk at one spot, and he ended up going over a pole and executing a flying lead change (apparently), but we got that settled.

The nice thing I wanted to talk about was that I was in a bad mood when I went to get them. I should have brought them in through the smaller gate, but it’s muddy over there and it’s farther away, so I let them in through the double gate. By double gate I mean it has two swinging parts, and neither of them has a way to be anchored into the ground. Sometimes you can open just one and the other doesn’t open, but there was a really strong wind blowing today so they both blew open. Then the mini donkeys saw their opportunity and started to make a run for it. I managed to get both gates slammed shut and chained, while keeping Pony inside (he has to come in on a halter and lead rope or else he harasses Moonshine). I was yelling a lot, and sort of yelling at him, even though it wasn’t really his fault.

I got him haltered up, managed to get the gate open without both of them blowing out, brought him through, closed and locked it. Then I sort of sighed. And I apologized for yelling at him. I told him I was sorry, that it wasn’t his fault, and that he was a good Pony. And then he gently reached out and touched me with his nose. It was a very sweet way of accepting my apology. OK, am I anthropomorphizing here? No doubt, but at the same time I’m sure he understood that I was mad when I was yelling, and I’m sure he understood that I wasn’t mad at him anymore, and I think him reaching out was his way of telling me it was OK.
:apple:


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## ACinATX

A followup from last time. I finally translated Pony's gesture this way: "It's OK. You's a mare and mares is grumpy. I understand. We's still friends." (yeah, sorry, that's how he talks). On to today...


The utility company is doing major work, and my guys had to go to a different pasture. This pasture is really long, with a hill in the middle that is just barely high enough so you can’t see one end from the other. When I got there today, my horses were on the far end. I wasn’t sure how they would do if I got to the far end and called them (since they couldn’t see me) so I rolled down the window and yelled at them (the far end of the pasture borders the long driveway) when I got there, hoping they would get the idea. I watched them as I drove off, and I could see them watching me, but not moving.

Luckily, by the time I got changed into my muck boots and got their stalls ready, they were waiting by the gate. So I guess they did get the idea.

I rode Pony in a lesson today. My legs got tired a lot more quickly than usual. To the point of being shaky. She wanted me to canter a little more, but with weak legs I didn’t think it was a good idea. She suggested maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten that morning? I hadn’t, really, but I wonder if that could be it. They also got tired riding Pony in my last lesson. Both lessons had in common that I was riding in my new saddle. I guess it’s possible that it alters my leg position enough from being bareback that I am now using different muscles? Or maybe I’m having to use more leg to get the same result, since I now have two flaps between my leg and Pony? I welcome and thoughts about this. The instructor and I decided to alternate bareback and saddled lessons. 

I had to put Moonshine and Teddy back out before my lesson, as the big trucks were coming in and out to bring the giant construction equipment. Last time, Moonshine caused a bit of delay by deciding that it was HER road, and they could darn well just wait for her to walk down it at her own speed. I didn’t want them getting in the way this time. But that meant that after Pony’s lesson, they weren’t around. Usually they are. So he was whinnying, like “Friends! Friends! Where are you?” I took him out to the pasture, but he was still whinnying. I was like, “Pony, I’m pretty sure they are at the far end of the field parked next to the hay bale,” but he just kept whinnying and sort of walking around in circles looking for them. I got tired of it, so I put the halter back on, made the lead rope into reins, and got on him and rode him out to the hay bale (whinnying the whole way) to his friends. He was happy. I haven’t ridden him in the halter and lead rope for a while; he was noticeably better this time, I think because we’ve both gotten used to me using my legs more. He went wherever I told him to go. I'm thinking maybe next time I "fun" ride him, I'll make some obstacles and ride that way, to see how well he does with really precise requests.

I don’t know what I expected when I got off – some sort of Pony gratitude I guess. Don’t worry, I know that would be anthropomorphizing. He was definitely happier after that, though. I, however, was a little less happy. I had spent some time grooming Teddy this morning, but when I got out there he was head to toe covered in mud. I mean, he was a whole new color. Even the rim of his eyes, completely covered in mud. And Moonshine, who is not known for getting muddy, had several mud balls the size of baseballs (!) in her mane. I took them out. On the plus side, I think the dried mud is going to help Teddy shed, next time I groom him. Mental note: arrive an hour early that day…


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## ACinATX

I almost cancelled our lessons today because I wasn’t feeling too great. I didn’t, though, and luckily this instructor is good at winging it. We worked on using legs more for steering with Teddy, and also me becoming more aware of what his feet were doing. We did this by having him stop in front of a pole, and then me figure out which foot went over it first. Then we stopped with his front feed in front of the pole and his back feet behind, and I tried to feel which back leg was going over first. I wasn’t so good at that. He was good at his part, though, which made him happy.

My daughter had ridden Moonshine down the road for some reason when it was time for her lesson to start, so I got back on Teddy and rode out to get her. The instructor thought he’s be OK trotting on the gravel road, but he let me know he preferred to be on the grass verge. Over the summer, there were bad holes in there, but there weren’t any now, so I let him go there. The nice thing was, he was pretty willing to go. Maybe he saw Moonshine at the end. But I was impressed; he’s usually fairly balky over there.

With Pony, we worked on the same thing ,with my awareness. And I had an easier time. I don’t know why, because surely his movement is less than Teddy’s? We walked over a lot of raised poles like that, then trotted over them. He’s hopefully going to be schooled at the canter tomorrow, so she thought we could leave it out today. I wanted him to get back into practice, and build up his muscles, with the raised poles.

The utility company is replacing some of the big power lives over the property, and they have built a sort of road made out of wooden, hmm, panels? These are maybe 15 x 20 feet, and made of three overlapping layers of 2 x 4s. They drive the semis over it. I asked the instructor, and she said it would be fine to walk our horses over it. This was after it had dried off. In the morning, it was wet and quite slippery. I thought it would be good for them, since it’s maybe a little scary (makes a hollow sound when walked over, there are some gaps between some panels, some planes are layered over others, and some wobble a lot) but I figured it was not too far out of anyone’s comfort zone.

We took Moonshine and Pony over first. Both of them wanted to go slowly, with their head down, and examine every place where something about the road changed (a gap between two panels, a place where they had to step up or down, a big pile of mud). That was fine. Then I took Teddy over. Of course, he was more concerned about the whole thing than the other two had been. BUT he didn’t put his nose down and watch where he was going, no, he just sort of tried to fast walk (I slowed him down) and he refused to look where he was going even when I stopped him and tried to put his head down. So he got a hoof stuck in one of the gaps between the two panels, because he wasn’t looking. Not really stuck, but it wasn’t fun for him. Before he could freak out, I just asked him calmly to lift his foot out and he did. On the way back, he put his foot in a different hole. So he got more worried and tried to rush more. I slowed him down. From then on, when we got to a gap, I stopped him, asked him to look (which didn’t work, not once), and asked him to move one foot at a time, slowly and carefully, over the gap. If it looked like a foot was going to go in, I stopped him and asked him to try again. He didn’t step in any more gaps, and that approach seemed to make him happy.

This was completely unsurprising. Teddy just, I don’t know, he’s not willing to think for himself. This is sort of like what @tinyliny was talking about, I think, with taking some horses out of their comfort zone and asking them to think for themselves. Probably if I had really let him think for himself, he would have just run through the whole thing and hurt himself. So maybe he’s right to not want to think for himself. I love him to death, he’s an absolute sweetheart, and he’s amazing as long as he’s in his comfort zone. I’m glad I made him go over the boardwalk, but I wonder sometimes if I should really be pushing him to grow, or if I should just take him as he is.

Also, EVERYONE had rolled in some serious mud, but we got there early and had plenty of time to take it off, and helped them shed a lot of fur. It’s supposed to hit 86 this coming week, so I hope they keep shedding.


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## ACinATX

*Well, THAT came back and bit me on the butt*

I felt like the exercise where we walked the horses over that wooden road went really well. Everyone was a little hesitant, but they all got through it. Now they won’t be afraid of such things in the future. Yay, right? Wrong. 

When we were out there this weekend, it was kind of drizzly and wet. The boards were super slippery. But the horses weren’t afraid of them, because we had shown them that they were OK! So, they proceeded to walk right up that road. It was OK until they got to the part where it started going uphill. Then they couldn’t get any traction at all. Teddy somehow managed to figure it out and get off, but Pony couldn’t. I couldn’t run to him, of course, because that would have scared him and he probably would have fallen. So I stuffed my worry down and walked calmly over to him. I grabbed his halter and basically hauled him over to the side, where he managed to stay upright while getting off. I took some pictures of all of the skid marks. This was probably my scariest moment as a horse owner so far. He literally could not get any traction whatsoever, and was starting to panic.

To get them back, I had to walk them over the giant compost pile, but that was better than getting on the road of doom again. Once I got them off, I was free to turn into a coiled spring of tenseness. I could just feel how stiff I was as I walked them back. I don’t think I have ever been that stiff. I was mad, too. Mad at them? Mad at myself? Mad at everything? I don’t know. I am not sure what I learned from this experience. Be careful what you desensitize your horses to? Horses are suicidal? At least no one was hurt.

Now for the soap opera. Due to this same construction, my three got put into the mare pasture. Teddy seems to have deserted Moonshine and has fallen in love with another mare. Now Pony has the sole burden of protecting Moonshine. IDK, maybe this will make Moonshine stop making those faces at him. Probably not, though. She’s really a witch. I hope they go back in their normal pasture again soon.

In terms of ridability, all of them are getting better and better. Pony is definitely building muscle! Teddy is relaxing. And Moonshine, well, Moonshine sometimes does what you ask. Can’t ask for that than that!


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## ACinATX

We had another small fun show at our barn yesterday. Actually it ended up being super small, as I think only one group came from outside and even some of the barn riders didn't come. I feel bad for the barn owner, but I think a lot of people probably felt like it was better to be safe than sorry.

We ended up having to rush out of the house because my daughter's pile of poles class started a lot earlier than we realized. Then I decided at literally the last minute (once we got there) that I would ride Pony in that class also. Luckily (1) we had washed Moonshine yesterday and she was still clean, (2) Pony, as usual, was clean and shiny, and (3) the class started late. We ended up having about 15 minutes to warm up before it even started.

I guess it is hard to go by this one event, where there were only a handful of new people and horses, but I thought Pony did really well. He seemed to sense that something was up, but it didn't really change his demeanor at all: he was still a relaxed Pony. I forgot the red ribbon until it was too late, but he didn't so much as flick an ear at any of the other horses (unlike Moonshine, who was working on helping some of the other horses get used to having an adverse spectator watching them). What I really liked was (1) when we were waiting outside in the grassy area for our turn, he tried to eat grass once, failed, and didn't try again, and (2) I made him keep trotting while he pooped. Yes, these are the big achievements that I was excited about, LOL. He also got reserve champion (out of three total). Oh, and we got one really nice 20-meter circle in.

Another nice thing was that we waited for our turn next to Moonshine and my daughter, and Moonshine didn't pin her ears at him at all. Maybe her ears were tired from pinning them at all the other horses. But I also think she was a little stressed and she appreciated having someone she knew there with her. I'm sure she will go back to pinning at him tomorrow.

Anyways, he did really well. I might try him in a bigger show if one comes up.

Moonshine got first place in her dressage test. There were only two entrants, but she keeps her 100% blue ribbon streak alive! Next time they will go for test C, which requires cantering in 20 meter circles. I need to get Moonshine re-injected before then, so it will be comfortable for her. They've already been working on their 20 meter circles, and Moonshine can do it, but I'm sure it will feel better for her after we get her re-injected.

I had wanted Teddy to stay in the pasture for the show, but he snuck in behind Moonshine when my daughter was getting her, so I let him stay. He had to go in a small paddock during the show, though, and he kept whinnying the whole time, even though he could see us. I guess he had figured out something was going on, and he didn't want to be by himself for it. Once I brought Pony back and put him in the stall next to Teddy, he settled down. Teddy does not have a show career in front of him, LOL.


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## ACinATX

The vet was late for Moonshine's appointment and our guys spent a lot of time grazing. They got back behind the dressage arena, where the mirrors are. Both of the boys were very interested in those other guys. Pony demonstrated that he is still a butt, because he tried to get in a squealing match with his "partner" (as opposed to Teddy, who just quietly sniffed). What I thought was really funny was that they kept going behind the mirrors, I guess to try to find those other horses. They were like, "I can see them, but I can't smell them. Where are they?" They would sniff their reflection for a few seconds, stand back, then go around the other side of the mirror. Of course once Pony started getting in a fight with his reflection, I shooed them out of there. But it WAS really funny, seeing them try to figure out what was going on.

Something nice happened. There is a girl out there who has a young horse she is trying to bring up. She doesn't really have any experience, and today this horse was giving her some trouble. She just would not go through gates. She kept backing up. The girl asked for help, so I just sort of provided some mild pressure from the back (waving my hand at the mare's rear) to get her to move. But then later this girl was having the same problem. At that point, I told her I'd just take the mare and see if I could get her to move. So I took the lead rope, looked the mare in the eye, firmly said "OK, we're going to that other pasture," and marched over there with her. No problems whatsoever. The point is, I know something about horses! Me! I can get someone's horse to move when they can't! 

This girl told me later that she was bribing the horse with treats to get her in and out of gates. I told her she shouldn't do that, that she needs to be clear that she is the boss of this horse and the horse is going to go where she tells her to go. I was like, "look, you see me with my horses, I'm loving all over them, giving them treats, etc., but I'm still the boss. There is no question in any of their minds who the boss is. You can be nice to your horse, but you still have to be the boss. This horse is just testing you." But this girl just sort of looked at me funny, so I'm not sure it sank in. But it felt good, knowing that I could help, that I understood the situation, and that I was able to give some good advice (even if it probably won't be taken). Me!


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## ACinATX

I've been posting a lot lately, but I guess there's been a lot to say.

I rode Pony in a lesson yesterday. When I got to the barn he was at the end of the pasture. I decided to go get him and ride him back with the halter and lead rope. I had to line him up next to the fence to get on. The fence is right next to the road, and he shied one time a little, and then he was fine. On the ride back to the actual barn, he did suggest one time that he would like to stop and eat grass. I told him no, and that was it. 

We had a GREAT lesson! He was so responsive! We had some absolutely amazing circles, he did a great job crossing his back legs over and bending nicely. AND he was really trying to lower his head into contact! It was great! I was just going around and around in circles telling him "Good job, Good Pony, what a good boy!" over and over again. I haven't praised him that much in a lesson, ever. So, we had impulsion, bending, and the beginnings of contact! It's the best he's ever done.

Plus the barn owner told me someone was inquiring about him at the show. Given that there was maybe a dozen other people there, that kind of says something to me. She said she told him "He's not for sale, I've already tried to buy him." (not technically true, she jokingly suggested that I give him to her). He's just getting better and better. Spooking a lot less, lining up at the fence like that, can be ridden bareback in a halter and lead rope but getting to where he's got really nice form when asked. Not to mention he's still the same friendly happy pony he's always been -- always happy to see me, always comes right up to me, likes to follow me around to see what's going on (or, more likely, to see if I have any pellets). On the ground he's becoming even more responsive and really tries to understand what I want and do it. If he's in a particularly cooperative mood, I can just look at him and tilt my head and he'll go where I want. It's hard to believe we struggled so much in the beginning. I'm glad I kept working at it.


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## ACinATX

*Wonys**

I realized, looking back at my journal entries, that I only briefly alluded to all of the stuff Pony used to do. Pretty much all of this was my fault. As a new owner, I didn’t know how to deal with it (and I now think some of the under-saddle issues were due to saddle fit) and he was always one for testing. For posterity, a probably non-inclusive list:
-	Snatched feet when I tried to pick them
-	Wouldn’t bridle
-	Wouldn’t hold still
-	Wouldn’t halter
-	Wouldn’t lead
-	Occasionally made threatening faces
-	Spooked into me
-	Threatened other horses when I was near (on the ground or in the saddle)
-	Ate grass on trail rides, progressing from snatching a quick mouthful to just parking and eating
-	Wouldn’t hold still at the mounting block
-	Would duck into the center of the arena
-	Crow hopped
-	Mini rears
-	Severe rooting
-	Really sudden jerking to one side or another
-	Rubbed my leg against the arena wall
-	Refusal to move out
-	Pushy for treats (110% my fault)
There would be days where he’d show a third of these behaviors in a two-hour time span. Honestly looking back on it, you’d think one of us would be dead or permanently injured by now. The nice thing about Pony, though, is that he is forgiving. He taught me how to handle him, and then he forgave me for the mistakes I made. I think we’re working through the last of it now, with his left lead, which is just physically difficult for him, so he resists. 

I think once I was able to establish clearly that I was the boss (but willing to ask rather than demand) our relationship really improved. But he’s a loyal Pony, and now that we have that relationship, I think and hope he will always be there when I need him.


* The word “wony” is a portmanteau of “pony” and “won’t”, and describes an action (or inaction) taken by a pony who does not want to do what you ask.


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## ACinATX

I'm kind of surprised the barn owner is still doing lessons, but at least she's trying to keep her physical distance. I offered to combine my lessons with my daughter's, to save her time. We had a good lesson today. I cantered Pony in both directions, several times. Except for picking up the left lead going right the first time (the left lead is his harder lead, but it's what he had been working on with the trainer) he got it right each time. He didn't feel counterbent to the left, although he still feels a little stiff. Possibly my bad riding, unfortunately.

Moonshine did very well, even cantering circles and doing the canter poles perfectly. She also didn't act us as much as usual. I think she's feeling pretty good after getting her most recent injections.

After I let Poly cool off and graze for a bit, I tried an experiment. I had only successfully lunged him in the round pen. We started "free lunging" (aka just running him around the circle), then progressed to lunging on a line, in the round pen. I wanted to see if he would lunge on a line in the arena. He didn't understand what I wanted at first, but once he did understand, he did it. I only had him do one circle in each direction, to make sure he understood. He did a good job responding to my body language to stop, too, actually better than he had done in the round pen. Maybe he was a little confused by the new surroundings, so more wiling to listen. 

I felt good about this because 
(1) after having the vet out to do lameness checks for Teddy and Moonshine, I really wanted to get Pony lunging in case he needed to do it for the vet, and 
(2) the lady who sold him to me said that the person who sold him to her told her he only lunged in one direction. But actually he didn't lunge at all when I got him. ***I*** taught him to lunge. Of course, he helped, by being a smart and willing Pony. But I did it. I can't believe that I'm in a place where I could teach a horse to lunge!


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## ACinATX

Hoi! Everyone! Pony here! I have managed to sneak into my hooman lady’s account for a few minutes! I am posting an emergency message! If anyone knows the hoomane society or another animal welfare group, can you alert them? My hooman lady doesn’t know a lot about ponies, and she doesn’t understand that ponies NEED to be pony shaped! That means round and smoove! Look at this recent picture of me! I have lumps in my butt and legs! Moonshine said they are “muscles, stupid,” but all I know is ponies should not have lumps and bumps! I am also shrinking in the tummy area! You might not believe it, but I heard my hooman lady saying she was going to have to go to the next smaller girth size! That proves it! I am shrinking away! I might soon shrink to nothing!

I don’t think I need to be “rescued” – my hooman lady just needs to be educated about ponies! We need lots and lots of cookies and feed, and only tiny amounts of work, so we can maintain our beautiful pony shapes! We should be nice and round and smoove, not lumpy and bumpy and skinny!


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## ACinATX

I taught Pony to free lunge today! I set myself up for failure by doing it in the big arena right next to the open gate that led to the nice grassy area, but he picked it up pretty quickly and didn't try to exit even once. I had "free lunged" him in the round pen before, but of course that's a lot easier since you have the wall to keep them in. We were just on one side of the very large arena, with no walls to keep him in.

I first reinforced the on-line lunging we did last time, then I took the lead rope off and gave him the same signals. I was surprised that his main problem was falling in, rather than falling out, of the circle. He didn't fall out once, not even right next to that gate. Oh, and when I say "circle," I am referring to something more like a combination of oval and octagon, but the point is that he kept circling me, even without the lead rope.

I am not really sure how much practical application this has, but after our on-line lunging went so well last time, I thought I'd try. I have to say, it's nice having a smart Pony who tries hard (when his hooman has alfalfa pellets LOL). I am really enjoying training him.


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## ACinATX

It's been a while. I have a couple of things from the last month or so. I'll just put one of them right now.

We didn't ride all month. I was too tired. We did go out and see them a couple of times a week, just to hang out with them. Last week I was feeling a little more energetic, so I decided to do tarp work with Pony and Teddy. My guess was that Pony would be a little hesitant at first, then, once he realized he was getting treats, not have a problem; and that Teddy wouldn't mind at all. I was not really correct.

First I put the tarp on the ground with a safety cone on each corner. Pony didn't even really want to smell it. He just walked over it. I gave him some pellets. We did it several times, and he couldn't have cared less. Actually, I ended up dropping some pellets on the tarp and he willingly explored the whole thing in order to eat them. Teddy was willing but more hesitant.

So then I gathered the tarp up into a crinkly ball and asked Pony to hold still while I rubbed it all over him, then walked around him with it. He was a little hesitant (trying to back up a step) on his right side. But otherwise he couldn't have cared less. Of course, I gave him lots of verbal praise and treats. Teddy was watching the whole time. He had a really interesting look on his face. He was clearly (and surprisingly, to me) really worried about the tarp, but he also clearly wanted to share in the treats and "good boy"s. He was so conflicted. However, his fear won out and after a few minutes he snorted and trotted off. Then all of the sudden Pony was like, "Uh oh, is something scary?" and he ran off as well (I was doing the whole thing at liberty). So I let him have a few minutes then brought him back and worked on it some more. Teddy was now at a "safe" distance, so he had more interest than fear, and Pony didn't worry about it any more.

I did the same thing with Teddy, and I had to go a LOT slower with him. I know that Pony is overall more brave, but he's also a little jumpy and reactive, whereas Teddy seems to be calmer, so I was surprised.


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## ACinATX

Today I had my first lesson in a month. The barn owner has decided to take a step back and focus on "horsemanship," which to her means riding more intentionally and correctly, thinking about what your hands / seat / legs are doing. Specifically, she's been having people do a lot of bareback and no stirrups. I was super excited to hear this. I had gotten Pony's saddle out but quickly replaced it with the bareback pad.

(It does seem that the trainer has been letting him get away with walking off as soon as he's mounted, so we worked on that a couple of times, and will continue to work on it)

I still have a problem with keeping my legs long and heels down when in motion. It may be because he's so round. I did notice that my knees started hurting a little. But riding him was great! He was a very good Pony, very willing and nice. I walked and trotted. I can still post bareback! My legs did get tired, though.

About 3/4 through the lesson, Teddy got into an altercation with another horse. I walked Pony out of the arena and then trotted / cantered him over there, ducking a big branch on the way. Teddy knew he was in trouble and ran away from me after I dismounted, but I got him and put him away in a pen. Then I got back on Pony and continued the lesson. This isn't the first time I've had to run out of a lesson on top of Pony and deal with Teddy. I don't know, maybe most horses could do it, but I am impressed that Pony can be in a lesson, then in a split second go out of the arena and run after another horse, then go back to where he was in the lesson with no problem.

I let them all back out after the lesson, just kept an eye on them. When I went to get Pony to put him back in the pasture, he not only stopped grazing when I came over, but he walked over to me. Yes, the pony picked me over grass! That was really nice, and I wanted to reward him, but I didn't have any treats with me, and I knew that if I waited until after we got back to the treats, he wouldn't understand why he had gotten them. So I decided to do a quick round of desensitization for treats. That way he's be happy he came to me, but he wouldn't get cookies for "nothing."

I got out the umbrella my daughter had brought for Moonshine. I let him know that I had cookies, then let him smell the umbrella, then I stepped away from him and opened it. I know I used this phrase in my last post, but he literally could not have cared less. He was just watching me and waiting for the cookies. So I gave him one. Then I opened it again and had him smell it. It's sort of broken, so when he smelled it, it collapsed. No reaction. I opened it again right in front of his face. No reaction. He got cookies.

Pony has a few minor issues that I wish would go away. One of them has always been his jumpiness. I'm starting to wonder if we have maybe turned a corner on that. I always wondered if part of it wasn't due to his young age. He is ultimately very chill, it's just that he is reactive and startles easily. Once he startles he basically just shakes himself and continues as if nothing had happened.

I'm not happy about Teddy and the altercation, but I had a really nice day with the horses overall. I am pretty sure I'll be sore tomorrow, though.


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## ACinATX

Pony!

The daughter of one of my husband’s co-workers took lessons for a few months, then took some time off, and I guess wants to start riding again. We invited her out today just to hang out with the horses and see our barn. I had planned on her just watching / grooming Teddy while my daughter and I had our lesson. After the lesson, the barn owner was like, “Why don’t you let her ride Gallego?” I asked what she meant, and she said on the lead line, so I got his halter and lead rope and led her around for a bit. Then, to see if he remembered, I lunged him (his lead rope is extra long) with her on him. He did great! I hadn’t brought a whip for pressure and direction, so I wasn’t sure how he’d do, but except for falling in a couple of times he was wonderful. He walked and trotted on cue, went out easily, slowed and stopped when asked.

I guess the barn owner had been talking to her parents during this time, because she decided that this girl had ridden enough to get an impromptu lesson. I was really curious how that would go, since she seemed like an OK rider but not great, and he can be a little difficult.

He, overall, did really well. He did slow down to a walk, or stop, when he wasn’t supposed to. My husband thinks he was just being difficult, but it seemed to me that he was having a hard time cutting through the “noise” this girl was creating. What I mean is, her body was sort of all over the place, her hands doing one thing while her legs did another, etc., so he couldn’t figure out what she wanted. His default, when he’s not sure what you want, is to slow or stop. Of course it may have been a little of both. Overall, even with her not so good hands, he was really relaxed and pretty willing. I was pleasantly surprised by how well he did. I had been wanting to see a beginner kid rider on him for a year now, so it was really nice to see that.

Afterwards the barn owner talked to her parents about lessons on her lesson ponies. I have commented on how the barn lesson horses act up a lot, but her ponies are really well-behaved. I recommended them to her. But she, somehow, in that 30 minutes she spent riding him, fell in love with Pony and only wants to ride him now. While I would love for Pony to get some more exercise, I unfortunately don’t think he’s really a beginner-level pony, because he just isn’t as well trained as the lesson horses and, frankly, he does act up sometimes. We might work out something for her to ride him a little, though. Maybe after she has some more lessons under her.

It was just really nice, seeing him like that with a new person. I really do think that, with time and practice, he could be a good lesson pony. He’s not terribly stubborn, he defaults to standing and slowing, he hardly spooks any more, and he has a really laid-back personality. I was just really happy seeing him do good with a little kid on him. I felt like he was really trying. It was sweet.


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## knightrider

Years ago, I had a situation similar to yours. I had a child here at a party, and she was enthralled with the horses. I let her ride my daughter's pony some, and they did well . . . but I knew the situation was tricky because my daughter's pony is forward and not patient.

I invited to child to come ride with me a few more times and after a couple of rides, I knew it was an accident waiting to happen. The child's balance was not good, and my daughter's pony is quick and lively. It was just a matter of time before something went wrong.

Unfortunately, when I tried to talk with the mom about how things were progressing, she got angry with me, saying her daughter had a natural seat and was a good rider, and I was trying to hold her back. I recommended that the mom find her lessons with a quiet reliable pony; in fact, I begged the mom to let the child continue riding . . . but it wasn't going to work with my pony. Our daughters are the same age, and just because my daughter could ride the pony everywhere and barrel race him, didn't mean that her daughter should. My daughter was riding before she could walk.

Just sharing the story with you. I'm delighted that Pony did so well that one time, but like you said, might not always go that well.


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## ACinATX

@knightrider thank you for the story. The other thing that makes me hesitate with her riding him is that he is still not super trained up. I'm concerned that he might be at a point where he could backslide in his training if he is being ridden by someone who isn't willing to be firm when necessary.

Still, I wonder if I could let her ride him when I'm lunging him. She could do some no-hands work. Or she could ride him in the round pen with me in the middle. Or I could lead-line walk and trot her over low poles and cross-poles. If I'm leading him, he won't refuse, and it might be good for him to go over poles with someone who is as light as a feather on him. She ultimately wants to jump, so it might be good for her, too.

But yeah, I won't push it. I wouldn't want either of them to have a bad experience. He was just so cute with her on him.


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## egrogan

Pony has a name that’s not Pony?
*mind blown*

:wink:


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## knightrider

> Still, I wonder if I could let her ride him when I'm lunging him. She could do some no-hands work. Or she could ride him in the round pen with me in the middle. Or I could lead-line walk and trot her over low poles and cross-poles. If I'm leading him, he won't refuse, and it might be good for him to go over poles with someone who is as light as a feather on him. She ultimately wants to jump, so it might be good for her, too.


I think all those things are great. I love sharing horses with children and have moved a lot of kids along with their riding over the years. It's really fun to see them progress. This one child was pretty much the only one that was worrisome to me because the girl almost fell off every ride when the pony would move too quickly under her. 

The nice ending to my story is, after several years of not letting the girl ride, the mom found a situation similar to mine where the horse owner enjoyed sharing her horses with kids and let the child ride every week for several years. So, the child happily did get the chance to learn to ride and spend lots of time with horses. She felt so comfortable that she began telling people that she had a horse of her own. It was just the one she was allowed to ride every week, but still, I was super glad that she felt it was "her" horse. Every little girl who longs for a horse deserves to have a special one.


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## ACinATX

egrogan said:


> Pony has a name that’s not Pony?
> *mind blown*
> 
> :wink:


LOL. I know. I much prefer "Pony" because he's such a pony! Also it's a lot more fun to yell "You stupid pony!" (followed by, take your pick, "Come back here!" "Get out of the feed room!" "It's just a log!" "Stop eating my book!").

Speaking of him, he was lame on Friday. He seemed fine when I got him from the pasture, but after I got him tacked up he didn't want to leave his stall, and he balked several times on the way to the arena. Where we are in our relationship now, he will usually balk one time just to let me know that he'd rather be eating grass than being ridden, then we get on with it. I turned to look at him after making him walk, and I saw him take a bad step. 

I'm glad I taught him to lunge -- it's a lot easier figuring out if something is wrong if you can just put them on a long lead line and have them go in a circle. He was OK to the left but bad to the right. I also feel good that he lunged for me, even though he was obviously in pain. I didn't even get my whip, I just sort of waved that hand a little and he moved out for me.

So, he got what he wanted and just got to graze all morning.

I had a lesson the next day, so I rode Teddy. I hadn't ridden him in two months, as he has something going on with him. He used to have really nice, open, forward gaits, but he slowly started degenerating, to where the last time I rode him it was like he was just dragging himself along. I don't have the heart to ride him when he's like that. But I thought maybe he'd be feeling better after time off. At the same time, I was also a little concerned about how he'd feel about the whole thing, since he isn't one of those horses that you can just put out in the pasture and pick up again whenever you want. He's a big worrier.

Well, he did OK with the anxiety part of it. He was overall pretty relaxed, and more so as we went on into the lesson. He does seem to have forgotten what leg pressure means, although he was always more dull than Pony in that regard. But... he's still got movement problems. Same thing as before -- OK at the walk, although his walk isn't as open as it was before, OK trotting straight and to the right, but he just crawls along when trotting to the left.

Luckily Pony seems like he's recovered. I think it was just a combination of being trimmed too close (new trimmer) and having a bottle cap in his foot (yikes). He's been in a small paddock the last couple of days. I lunged him today and he seemed almost totally fine. I don't have another lesson until Tuesday, so I think he should be fine by then.

I've also been working on desensitizing Pony (I forget if I mentioned that here). He has no problems with a tarp (doing anything), umbrella (opening and closing, over his head), and now a towel over his head (although he only accepts it if it comes from his neck, not if it comes from in front of his face). I guess he really enjoyed that work (and the treats that go along with it) because he followed me around the whole time I was out there today. So I decided to do some quick work with his ears. As long as he knows he's getting a cookie out of it, you can pretty much do whatever you want with him.


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## ACinATX

Pony felt much better today and was quite happy to be ridden. I rode him bareback. I worked on posting (I'm getting much better at posting bareback) and we did some X-rails and ground poles as well. I cantered him in both directions. Except for having to deal with the occasional wony, I like cantering bareback better. I feel more connected to him and more like we are in synch. With the saddle, I sort of feel like I've just been stuck onto his back, whereas bareback I really feel a physical connection.

Interestingly, I've never fallen off him bareback, although I've come close, whereas I have fallen off cantering him under saddle. It's probably because I've ridden him more under saddle than bareback, but still.

We went to ride in one of the pastures after our lesson. I opened the gate off him, which was a first. It was closed with a chain and a metal clip, so I had to undo the clip and then unlatch the chain. It was down pretty low, so his height really came in handy. I needed him to push the gate open with his head afterwards, so I sort of pointed him at it and gave the tiniest of squeezes. He understood what I wanted (first time!) and happily pushed it open. I wish I had had a cookie to give him for that, but I did praise him a lot.

That pasture borders a busy road, and he's a lot more alert over there. I'm hoping to ride him out there in a lesson on Saturday, just doing a lot of cantering (under saddle) so I can get better at it without having to worry about leads, corners, etc.

He was fine overall under saddle, but he did seem slightly ouchy on the gravel road. I guess it probably was the trimmer trimming him too close. I will tell her not to trim so close next time.

My daughter also rode Moonshine bareback. Her first lesson back after not riding all month was hard for her, and her second wasn't much better, but they seem like they're getting it together again pretty quickly. She cantered bareback and really enjoyed it.


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## ACinATX

We finally had our pasture lesson. It was great. Pony was still a little alert, but no problems. 

I will just skip right to the cantering. So, the first time we cantered, I got a "wony" -- he ducked out, and then when I tried to get him straight he got all wiggly. I felt really insecure in my stirrups as well. I asked the instructor, and I don't remember exactly what she said, but the gist of it was I was being too passive, and I needed to be a more active rider. Also I needed to relax my body more. I also thought to myself that I probably needed more contact. I tend to be a little afraid, at the canter, that I have too much contact and that it's going to keep him from being able to use his head correctly.

But, we cantered a LOT after that, and it was great! Everything really came together. I started being able to feel the motion a lot better, and sit it more comfortably. No more wonies. And I asked the instructor afterwards if I had too much contact, and she said it was perfect: I had a lot of contact, but with very loose arms so that I followed the motion of his head and didn't restrict him. And I didn't have any more problems with my stirrups either.

I did get him to pick up the left lead once, but it was so choppy that I thought I must have gotten it wrong, or he was counter-cantering, or something. I asked the instructor and she said maybe he was just a little off balance.

One thing that both this instructor and the other have said is that I don't give him enough warning that we're about to canter. In the past, one reason for this was that once he suspected I was going to ask for the canter, he'd start getting counter-bent. So I'd try to get him bent to the inside, and the very second I did, I'd ask for the canter. It would get the correct lead, but he didn't like it very much. So this time, I tried to be more gentle, and ASK for the canter rather than demand. I did this by sinking my body into him more, then kissing sound, then squeezing if necessary. He did really well with it. I think this way lets him pick up the canter at a point where it makes the most sense to him. I'm not a good enough rider to be able to think about where his feet are at all times and then ask at the exact right moment.

We did a lot of short sprints, and I tried to make our transitions really nice, particularly the downward ones, where he tends to just put on the brakes. A lot of that is my fault, so I've been trying to really think about riding him forward through the downward transition. We also did a lot of walk to canter, and he did great. TBH, in retrospect, although at the time I felt like we were doing it because it felt really good, I think part of it was that he was getting a little fast at the trot and I didn't want him running into the canter. In other words, it's on me to work with him on keeping his trot even, even when he suspects I'm going to ask for the canter.

My daughter really enjoyed the lesson as well. Moonshine really prefers to be outdoors rather than in an arena. Moonshine is way more forward in the pasture. But my daughter got her into a more collected canter, and they even jumped over a few small obstacles. We will try to do another pasture lesson next week, if it's not too hot.


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## ACinATX

I made a separate thread for this, but I wanted to put it here as well.

We decided to play D&D out at the barn today. We let the horses out to graze in the grassy front area and played. Pony was very interested! He came over like three or four times to investigate. He also tried, many times, to eat the rocks we were using to hold down the papers. I'm glad I hid my dice every time he came over. He is not always the brightest bulb in the room...

As I said in that post, I really consider Pony's personality (friendly, fun, happy, curious) a blessing. Of course, it also makes him a little pushy and in-your-face at times. But where we are now, that's manageable. If I need him to get out of my face, I just push him away.

Moonshine and Teddy weren't interested in our game at all. But Pony...


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## ACinATX

The saddle fitter came out today. The main reason I asked her to come was to look at Teddy's saddle and hopefully re-flock it, since he's so asymmetrical. It turned out, however, that his saddle was foam and not wool, even though I had bought it as wool. But, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. Not only was it too wide, it also had too much rock. She said it definitely could have been the cause of his problems. She said it would never fit him, and I need to sell it and get a new one. She also said that if you reflock a saddle to fit a horse's asymmetry that they will stay asymmetric.

Of course I feel terrible about this -- yet another time I've inadvertently hurt a horse. At least with Teddy I know he's still better off with me than he would be with just about anyone else.

On the bright side, Moonshine's saddle was perfect, except for one little spot of asymmetry that she fixed. I feel good about that one because someone at our barn had been selling it several months ago. I evaluated the fit on Moonshine myself, and determined that it fit. It's nice to have the saddle fitter agree.

And Pony's saddle fit, although it apparently is flocked with cheap, poor-quality wool that tends to pill, and it had lumps in it even though it was fairly new. She said this type of wool will eventually get hard and useless. It will cost $250 to re-flock it with really good-quality wool. She said I can leave it for now, and call her when it starts getting really lumpy and hard. I feel good about his saddle too, since he was so very hard to fit. Now he needs to just never change shape. 

Also, she didn't think he was too fat, which is good. I always ask everyone. :smile:


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## ACinATX

We had another pasture lesson today. I was tired and sore, and I think Pony responded to that a little at first; he had a wony, even at the trot. But our cantering was awesome. I wasn’t sure I wanted to canter, but I’m super glad I did. I got zero wonies, and I felt like I wasn’t having to hold his head up as much as I have been. I also got some really collected canters! Best of all, the last time I asked him to canter to the left, he ended up cross-cantering. I couldn’t see it, but it felt like something was wrong, so I have him a very strong half halt, and he fixed it! I could feel him fix it, and I could feel how much smoother it got afterwards. I’m just super happy that I’m starting to get some “feel” at the canter. In our last lesson before this, we cantered 20-meter circles in both directions (in the arena) which was great. I think both of us are a lot happier at the canter now. The trainer has also been taking him over very low jumps and crossrails, which makes me happy. She says he really seems to enjoy it. Apparently he gets quite proud of himself going over those tiny jumps.

Moonshine was in heat today, and not particularly interested in doing what my daughter wanted, but they worked it out eventually. The compromise they reached was that Moonshine would do more or less what daughter wanted, but she’d make terrible faces the whole time, LOL. Moonshine is also getting her alfalfa hay quantity upped, since she seems to have lost some topline over the last month or two. No complaints from her about that, of course.

We left Teddy in the open grassy area where our barn is while we went to ride in the far pasture. Teddy stayed there and didn’t get worried, but he was really vocally happy when we came back – it was very cute. He really expressed himself very clearly: “THERE you are, where were you, I’m so happy you are back, never leave again!” We let them all graze for a very long time out there today; even though it was hot, it was drier than it’s been, so it wasn’t too bad in the shade.


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## ACinATX

Random occurrences.

When we brought Pony to the new place, the barn owner said he was 14'2 hands. But then later she said 13'2. I always assumed 14'2 was right, but seeing all of @IRideaHippogriff's posts about searching for a pony, and seeing all of the ponies she considered as well as their sizes, I started thinking maybe 13'2 was right after all. The barn owner had never re-measured him, as she said he spooked at the measuring stick. So I took it a little slow. In fact, he was definitely NOT happy with it, LOL. But a few cookies, plus approach-and-retreat changed his mind pretty quickly. He's pretty easy that way. Anyways, it turns out that he is 13'2, not 14'2. We also sticked Moonshine at 14'3. Which means Teddy is actually pony-sized. I always thought he was short horse sized. He had wandered off somewhere and I didn't stick him.

Speaking of Teddy, he got scratches again. I had been staying on top of washing off his fetlocks when it was rainy, but lately it's been dry, they've been clean, and I've slacked off. Luckily I caught it pretty early this time, and it was only one leg, but I will keep treating all four of them until the one clears up. Last spring I had to put him in a special paddock that didn't have access to the pond, while treating him daily and waiting for it to clear up. It was almost two weeks. He didn't like it too much, even though I put Moonshine in there to keep him company. Hopefully it will be enough now to just treat it every few days and leave him where he is. If he gets worse, I will reconsider, but it is already looking a little better.

Moonshine's itchiness is getting excessive -- she's scratching raw spots in her shoulders and flanks. We've tried spray-on calamine lotion and something we got from the vet so far, and neither seems to be working. When we are there, we scratch her, because we can do it without breaking her skin, but if she's by herself she just finds the roughest-barked tree she can find and rubs and rubs and rubs until ... yuck.

My daughter and I both feel like our pasture lessons have benefited us tremendously. She thinks that Moonshine has gotten a lot more willing to work in the arena, and I feel like Pony and I are really getting it together on cantering. I cantered him over polls and around some rather narrow turns in a lesson yesterday, and it went really well. He's still better to the right than to the left, but we'll work on that. I'm not sure we can keep having pasture lessons right now, though, as the field is getting pretty big cracks and Pony has pretty small hooves.

We tried to play D&D out there again. But for reasons too complicated to get into here, Pony was convinced that we were hiding cookies in the D&D stuff, so he kept coming over and getting into everything. He ended up partially eating the storage box. He would have eaten the whole thing, I think, but I chased him away. It's a rather nice thick cardboard box that I would prefer not to be eaten. My daughter, however, was perfectly content to let him eat it. She was wondering if he would ever figure out that there was no food in there and stop. I'm thinking not. Once Pony decides that there might be food somewhere, he is pretty much unstoppable.


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## carshon

Your post made me smile! The love you have for your horses just comes through. Keep writing as I enjoy your adventures!


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## knightrider

> Your post made me smile! The love you have for your horses just comes through. Keep writing as I enjoy your adventures!


Me too!!!!!


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## ACinATX

*He likes to move it move it*

Pony’s attitude toward cantering has done a complete 180. It’s gotten to where he really seems to like to canter. In fact, I’m now having to work on getting him to come back down to a trot afterwards. 

In my lesson today, he cantered when he was supposed to be trotting. I didn’t entirely mind it, but the instructor said he was being a brat and needed disciplining (typical of the kind of things she says). I don’t think that’s the case – I think the trainer has been cantering him a lot through this same set of poles, so he thought that was what he was supposed to do. That plus he likes cantering now. She wanted one of her teen riders to get on him and “teach him a lesson” or some such, but I refused. I ended up having to do some pretty tiny circles (turns out he can canter a ten-meter circle no problem), and get him really focused on what I wanted, but then he calmed back down and by the end he was really relaxed again. I guess the next thing is to work on that.

I’m surprised that not only does cantering seem like it’s turning out to be his best / favorite gait, it might also be turning out to be mine! His canter is just improving dramatically every time I ride him. It’s so smooth! We’re also getting a lot more precision steering as well, as evidenced by my tiny circles. 

I can’t believe I used to think he was a poky pony. I can’t believe this is the guy I had to ride with a crop every time. Having the correct fitting saddle has made just so much difference. I was talking to the trainer about him and she said she liked that he was pretty calm on the ground, but if he’s ever not sure what you want he tends to slow down or stop to try to figure it out, but once he understands that you want him to go, he’s happy to go. I’m sure there will be some setbacks soon, but we’re in one of those stretches where every ride is just better than the one before it.

*************************

The barn owner got some ducks for some reason. When I saw them, I put Pony in the tiny paddock that borders the pond for his feeding. He was alert and gave one snort, but then he was mostly content to watch them while he ate. I guess he figured it was more important to eat than to worry about them. I’m happy that he just keeps getting more relaxed about stuff like this.


*************************
@carshon and @knightrider thank you so much. I didn't respond at first because I was honestly overwhelmed that you would both say that. I try so hard to be a good horse person.


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## knightrider

> In my lesson today, he cantered when he was supposed to be trotting. I didn’t entirely mind it, but the instructor said he was being a brat and needed disciplining (typical of the kind of things she says). I don’t think that’s the case – I think the trainer has been cantering him a lot through this same set of poles, so he thought that was what he was supposed to do. That plus he likes cantering now.


This reminds me of a similar story with a similar ending so I will share it. When I was doing joust shows at Renaissance Festivals, part of the show involved having my horse rear. So, all my horses had to learn to rear. Some learned it quickly, others took a lot of time.

When I got Shadow, she was a dream to break and train. But she had no interest in learning to rear. I worked with her every day, sometimes twice a day, trying to get her to rear. We made very limited slow progress. 

One day I had a friend from PA visiting me, and she was helping me do the evening chores. As usual, I asked Shadow to do her rear . . . and SHE SUDDENLY REARED UP HIGH AND PERFECTLY!!!!! I was so excited. I had been working on this trick every single day for a year and a half, and finally she got it!

And then, she reared and reared and reared and reared, over and over. My PA friend got all upset (she trained all her horses to rear long before I started) and said that I needed to discipline her or she would become a bad rearer.

I said, "No, I think she's just excited that she finally figured out what I was asking her to do." I refused to correct her. I was right. She never reared repeatedly again. But she did rear when I asked her to, just like I needed her to do. Sometimes people don't give horses the credit for intelligence that they deserve. But I think you do!


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## ACinATX

On our lesson this weekend, the instructor wanted to work on getting Pony to drop his nose down, and we got him going pretty well with that. She said I wasn't doing too good of a job with my hands to release the pressure when he did it, though, which would make it hard for him to know that he was doing the right thing. But I've done a lot of groundwork with him where I pair "good boy!" with treats, so he knows that "good boy" means something good. So I used a lot of verbal praise, and he really picked it up very quickly. Of course, I want my hands to be better, but at least I'm able to compensate for not having the best hands by giving him verbal praise.

We rode in Arena #1, which is usually the jumping arena, but it was mostly clear at that time. I had never ridden in there, and I had never wanted to ride in there, because the sand is mixed with rubber (apparently) and it's black and just reflects the heat back up at you. It was terrible. I hated it and Pony hated it. My daughter and Moonshine also rode, but they didn't seem to mind as much. I told her I wouldn't want to ride in there again until the weather cools off.

Today was with a different instructor, and it was a lot of pole work. I wasn't asking Pony to drop his head down this time, but he volunteered it a lot, since that was the right answer from last time. I really appreciated the attempt, though, and I did tell him "good boy" for it.

Unfortunately, although he had had no hesitation about going to work, once he got going he just seemed a little off. I had to get off and go get the dressage whip to ride him, which I rarely have to do now. He was more forward then, but he still didn't feel quite right. And although he was OK to canter, he wasn't as excited about it as he usually is, and he was really happy to stop cantering. He was really balky too, which again is pretty unusual for him. I finally put two and two together that he just got trimmed yesterday afternoon, and this new trimmer I have trims really short. I'm pretty sure he was sore from the trim.

Which is too bad, because I personally felt really good about cantering today. As a matter of fact, we cantered over poles, in patterns, and in circles, in both directions. I felt like he was really close to picking up a flying lead change. But it got to the point where he just felt so unwilling that I had to get off him early. I did some brief walking over poles just to end on a good note, but I wasn't able to do as much as I had hoped.

The trainer is supposed to ride him on Thursday, but I texted her about it and she will skip this Thursday and then just ride him twice next week. I think it's better for him to have a little more time off, so he's hopefully feeling better and happy to be ridden next time (in four days). My instructor today did recommend putting Keratex on his soles, which I did (I haven't used THAT in over a year!).

Moonshine did a great job in the same lesson, cantering over many more poles and doing many more patterns, AND getting the flying lead change. But she also seemed pretty grumpy (although with Moonshine it's a little hard to tell, sometimes, her general mare grumpiness from extra grumpiness).

Next time the trimmer comes, I will ask her to leave them a little longer. I did that last time she trimmed, but I didn't think to ask her this time as well. I really miss my old trimmer, but she got pregnant and moved back to her home country.

After the lesson, I was feeding Pony some mesquite pods and I gave him one that was sort of a strange shape, so when he tried to eat it he just ended up pushing it out of my hand and eating my fingers instead -- he just sort of sucked them right up into his mouth. Fortunately, I think he realized it was fingers because he just lipped me really good (no teeth) and then let go. Moonshine is generally great on the ground, but her take on being fed treats is that if you (hooman) don't do it right, it's your fault if she eats your hand. She just lunges for the hand, and if you don't have your hand perfectly flat with that treat exactly in the middle, you will be sorry. Pony is pretty greedy too, and I have always been afraid that he might eat someone's hand one day, so it was good to know that he seemed to realize something was "off" and not just clamp down. 

Teddy, of course, is extremely polite and careful about treats, and although he loves them he never gets pushy about them. He just drops hints. Like today, he went to his "tying" spot and stood there waiting and giving me significant looks, hoping for something. I'm working on his tying skills, and to make it easier for him I always tie him in the same place. I also give him some treats while he's tied, so he's come to not mind it so much. Basically today he just "self tied" and stood there waiting to see if I would bring him something. I guess maybe I should have (I do sometimes) but I didn't today.


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## ACinATX

Pony has been doing really well, but he’s been sore since his last trim so I haven’t been able to do as much with him.

He was trimmed on Monday and I had a lesson on Tuesday. He felt off – balky, not forward, not really wanting to move. We were doing some good cantering work and I felt like he was almost ready to get a flying lead change, but then I just had to stop riding him. I can’t ride him when he feels like that.

The trainer is supposed to ride him on Thursdays, but I asked her to skip it this week, so he didn’t get ridden until my lesson yesterday (Saturday). He was still sore. Not as much. But still. I couldn’t believe it. Fortunately I had already asked the instructor to have a low-key bareback lesson today, where we’d concentrate on our form and using our bodies correctly, so I didn’t have to ask too much of him. He didn’t really want to walk, but he trotted really nicely. The instructor said she thought he was maybe sore in his back legs, as he was moving them differently (apparently he was really getting them under himself, so that was good I guess).

One thing he did really nicely was to pick up a working walk when I picked up the reins and used minimal body cues. Usually he really has to be pushed up into a working walk, and you have to keep pushing to get him to keep it up. He’s fine trotting and cantering, but he does not want to do that walk. But today he did it really nicely.

Afterwards, the girl who rode him that time a month or two ago came out to ride him. She has been riding one of the lesson ponies twice a week, and she wanted to try on him again. 

She definitely needed to do some work to get adjusted to Pony. For one thing, Pony is not a lesson pony so he doesn’t have the lessons memorized. You could tell that she was used to sort of letting the pony do its thing. Pony is fine with that, mind you, but his “thing” is wobbling from one random spot in the arena to another, ducking out from the rail here and there, changing pace randomly, etc. He isn’t a bad pony, and he doesn’t need to be dominated, but if his rider isn’t clear about what she wants him to do, he’s happy to improvise and come up with his own plan.

Also, apparently the lesson pony she is riding is fairly lazy. So this girl unintentionally got Pony into a canter a couple of times by using too much leg. She actually volunteered that to me afterwards: “He just needs a little bit of leg and he goes, whereas with Leo you have to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze and even then he doesn’t want to go.” I do have to admit to being a little disappointed that he cantered with her. I had sort of hoped he would be one of those ponies who can tell when there is an inexperienced rider on them and refuses to canter.

It turned out this was her first time riding bareback, and she seemed like she really enjoyed it. And watching him with her, he didn’t seem as balky as he had been with me. Maybe her weighing half as much as I do has something to do with it, although the instructor thought it was just that I had gotten him “warmed up” for her. I still didn’t let her ride as long as she probably would have liked, because I didn’t want him getting any more sore. I put Keratex on his soles afterwards. I have another lesson on Tuesday. Surely he will be feeling better by then.

I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t have ridden him. Maybe I shouldn’t have let her ride him. He was OK once he got going. If I had thought he was going to still be sore, maybe I would have ridden Teddy instead. I guess for our Tuesday lesson I will try to get on him before the lesson starts and see how he feels. If he doesn’t feel good, I’ll ride Teddy instead. But surely – I mean, that would be over a week – surely he couldn’t still be sore then. The barn owner says that several horses are having problems now because the ground is so hard, but the ground was hard last year too, and our horses were never sore after a trim. I may have to find a new trimmer.


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## knightrider

> I may have to find a new trimmer.


And that new trimmer is quite possibly YOU. You seem to be a resourceful clever hand working person who doesn't mind getting dirty and a little tired. It was my friend @LoriF, who said, "Why should I pay someone to do a lousy job on my horse's feet when I can do a lousy job myself! " Actually Lori does a fine job trimming her horses' feet and taught me a lot. So did two other people that I asked. I got some lessons, and I went at it. My riding friend showed me that I don't have to work like a farrier. She would go at it for a bit, then set the hoof down, straighten her back, do an odd job or two around the barn, and take it back up. When you are doing it yourself, you can do two feet and come back the next day to do the other two feet. You can trim one day and file the next. I've even been known to do one foot, and do the other foot a few hours later. I got some nice farrier tools now, and I have managed so far one whole year. Also, I do the feet every 2 1/2 weeks so they never get any chips or cracks because I get after them so often. I probably am not very good. But, like you said, are the people who you are paying any good? Not really. I've learned a whole whole lot doing my own horses' feet, and I expect I will continue to learn. Plus, it gets easier, which I didn't realize.


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> And that new trimmer is quite possibly YOU. You seem to be a resourceful clever hand working person who doesn't mind getting dirty and a little tired. It was my friend @LoriF, who said, "Why should I pay someone to do a lousy job on my horse's feet when I can do a lousy job myself! "


LOL

I am definitely heading in that direction. I already do some maintenance in between trims. I think once the weather cools off, even a little, I will get out the rasp and start experimenting with rasping. I'm one or two steps away from looking up online farrier courses. I know that wouldn't teach me everything I need to know, but it would be good for me where I am now. I mean, I understand the basics of trimming, hoof anatomy, and hoof dynamics, but whenever, for instance, @loosie gets out her red marker and marks up hooves with where the breakover should be and 1/3 of the sole goes here, and all of that, I start getting a little muddled.

I'm still afraid to do the big trims. What if I mess up something? What if I really screw up someone's hoof and then they go lame?

But, especially given our upcoming move to a rural area, I'm very much aware that I may need to step up more myself. I think I will go ahead and order a farrier stand so I don't have to break my back working on them. All of my horses are better for me than they are for the farrier anyways, so at least that's a plus.

And I guess if I trimmed a little every week or so, I wouldn't have to do a big trim, so I would be less likely to lame them.

I really appreciate the encouragement, and honestly I do think I am going to end up doing most of their work at some point. I am just a person who really needs to be sure about what I'm doing, and I need to consider everything from multiple angles before I start. Ah, yes, I'm an overthinker. But I do at least usually move from overthinking to underacting, so I will probably get there eventually...


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## knightrider

> I'm still afraid to do the big trims. What if I mess up something? What if I really screw up someone's hoof and then they go lame?


I still think that, and I've been doing my horses for a year now. Luckily, I have 2 competent friends who already know how to trim that check my hoof trim jobs regularly and give me a grade. Recently, I've been getting A's. I used to get C's. I also do my horses every 2 1/2 to 3 weeks just in case I've done something bad, it won't be so bad. It's getting easier and faster too. Even though it doesn't feel like I'm getting more skillful, I think I am.


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## MeditativeRider

ACinATX said:


> LOL
> I really appreciate the encouragement, and honestly I do think I am going to end up doing most of their work at some point. I am just a person who really needs to be sure about what I'm doing, and I need to consider everything from multiple angles before I start. Ah, yes, I'm an overthinker. But I do at least usually move from overthinking to underacting, so I will probably get there eventually...


Lol, this is me, it annoys my husband no end because he is a just jump in and do something and figure out the issues along the way person. 

I like reading your journal, you write really well.

Good luck with your horse's feet. I hope you figure it out. I have no advice to offer as I only lesson and don't own.


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## ACinATX

MeditativeRider said:


> Good luck with your horse's feet. I hope you figure it out. I have no advice to offer as I only lesson and don't own.


Well, I appreciate the moral support LOL!
:smile:


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## carshon

the the ABC hoofcare group on Facebook. So much info. 


And I would try Hoof Armor it is much healthier for the foot than Keratex. I have been trimming my own for a few years now and find it has forced me to be more aware of their feet and to understand each horses needs a little better


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## ACinATX

*Horses do NOT like hammocks*

I’ve been waiting for Pony to take a step back, and today was that day.

The barn owner got a hammock and put it out next to the pond. It’s a great idea, and a very comfortable hammock, but the horses hated it! It was big, it was new, and it moved in unpredictable ways. As soon as Teddy saw it, he took off trotting and snorting. Moonshine, who is not usually bothered by anything, kept a close eye on it (“You’re not going to get the jump on ME!”). Pony didn’t seem that bothered at first, but after the lesson he spooked (mostly in place) at it, then stood there (at a safe distance, obviously) watching intently and trying his best to smell it.

I said Pony took a step back, but Moonshine had a bad day, too. She can be grumpy, but she never acts up. Today she crow-hopped with my daughter on her, several times.

Pony was doing well for most of the lesson, but that fell apart when we cantered. I guess, first of all, I should have started off with his good side, but he’s been so good to the left lately that I didn’t think it mattered. Second… why? Why???? WHY?????? Do I always ask for the canter in that one spot of the arena where he likes to jump sideways? And, no doubt, I asked for it too suddenly again. Usually when he ducks off to the side I can stay on, but this time I fell. I apparently landed on my butt first (per the fifty-cent-sized hole in the seat of my pants) but I really felt it on my back. I fixed his saddle and got back on and then cantered to his good direction. He did really well. But I could already feel my back hurting, so after a lap I stopped and got off.

After I got him into his little paddock, he spooked at the hammock. Then he walked over to the fence and stood there staring at it intently and trying to smell it. So I decided to take him over there and make him deal with it. Usually I just let them get used to new things slowly, but I guess I was feeling a little annoyed at him, so I made him go over there. I brought some alfalfa pellets, though. When we first approached it, he stood there and then jumped back pretty good when it moved. But after that he was mostly OK, especially once he realized I had the pellets. The barn owner was like, “Why are you feeding him when he dumped you?” From the tone of the question, I don’t think there was really any point in responding. But, my answer would have been, because the dumping occurred 20 minutes ago, and if I punished him for it now (or even just declined to offer him pellets) he would have no idea why. There’s no point bearing a grudge against a horse, in my opinion.

My daughter dragged Moonshine over there, too. Benn-There-Done-That Moonshine really did not like that hammock. She jumped back several times. But she got over it pretty quickly.

I don’t know if I can blame the hammock for everything, but from paying a little opinion to the lesson after mine I could see that several of the more reliable lesson ponies were also acting up. Someone even had to get on good ole’ Cherry and school her. So SOMETHING was going on…

I’m OK but my back hurts. I hope I can make my lesson on Saturday.

For posterity, here are some pictures of Pony’s hooves that I took today:
https://www.horseforum.com/hoof-care/critique-trim-817507/

I’ve accepted that I’m going to start doing some of their hoof care, at some point. I’m starting to watch videos about hoof mapping and trimming. I’ll watch all of the reputable videos I can find, then at some point hopefully I will find an in-person training I can take. I do think I’m starting to understand hoof mapping, or at least the ELPO hoof mapping protocol. I still can’t quite envision being confident enough to trim them myself.


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## knightrider

Once you get someone standing over you, "Do this, not that," your confidence will grow by leaps and bounds. I cannot imagine me ever being able to trim without a live person saying, "That was good. That was right. No, don't do that." Watching videos doesn't really connect you in the same way. At least, not for me.

Now that I am on my own, I still have my instructors check my work regularly. "This is good. This is not so good." Every evaluation seems to hone my skill a little bit.

One thing I have learned from having 3 people instruct me: they disagree quite a lot about what I should and shouldn't do. Which kind of tells me that you can mess up quite a bit and still get it right. Or, at least as right as your farrier who also seems to mess up quite a bit.

Oh, and I truly hope you feel better soon! That fall was sad.


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> One thing I have learned from having 3 people instruct me: they disagree quite a lot about what I should and shouldn't do. Which kind of tells me that you can mess up quite a bit and still get it right. Or, at least as right as your farrier who also seems to mess up quite a bit.


You know, I really like that you said that. Because all of those different opinions have been bothering me, but what **I** have gotten out of it is that there are just more ways to mess up, and me being just a new-ish owner, I have no way of sorting out which is the one right way to do it. I'm so afraid of getting it wrong and hurting them. I like the idea that most mainstream opinions are probably valid in most situations.

I guess I'd been looking at it as, this means there are more ways for me to fail. But you're saying there are more ways to possibly succeed. Wow. Optimist I am not!

Having watched only a few videos and read a few things at this point, one thing I'm starting to believe is that sometimes different horses need different trim protocols. I'm thinking that probably 80 - 90% of horses could be trimmed following one protocol, and they'd probably be more or less fine. But some horses need something different. I'm not sure where mine are -- before this lady, I had only had one trimmer who trimmed in such a way that one of them was sore. And I remember that that guy absolutely scalped them.


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## knightrider

One time, both of my "instructors" were riding with me. Both of these people do a fine job on their horses' hooves. Their horses move well and are sound. After the ride, I asked them to critique my latest trim job. "It's OK, but you left too much on the heels, " one said. The other one said, "No, she should leave that on the heels. That is just about right." So, I stopped worrying so much about how much to take off on the heels, as my horses have all been sound, nice smooth gaits, no stumbling--and I've now been trimming myself for a year. Their horses also do fine and look good, so more heel or less heel--not sure it matters all that much.

PS: It's almost the end of the day. Are you feeling better? I have been extremely interested in reading about NOT using ice on an injury. In the past, I found it to be like night and day, the occasions when I could stop what I was doing and ice the injury as opposed to soldiering on. For example, when badly stepped on, if I was teaching at a camp, there was no opportunity to ice the foot, and it would swell, be purple, and hurt quite a lot. If it was my day off, and I got stepped on at the end of the ride, and I immediately iced it, I noticed it hurt much much less, barely swelled, and only a little bruising. Now, I am learning that ice is actually BAD for an injury. Wow! I've always found it to help quite a lot. Could it really be a placebo effect? Or maybe just the rest and elevating are more important than the ice?


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> PS: it's almost the end of the day. Are you feeling better?


My neck is still a little stiff. My back is slightly tweak-y. But it's not too bad. I still need to go stretch, I guess I'll do that right now. This was the first fall I've taken where it hurt within minutes of getting up. I guess that sort of surprised me. But now it pretty much feels like the last time I fell off.

The weather guy changed the forecast for the next few days -- highs are supposed to be 107, 107, and 106. And that's actual temperatures, not heat index. But of course, it will still be humid. So, I'm not going to be pushing myself to ride right now, LOL.


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## ACinATX

I wrote most of the below yesterday but didn’t post it. I’m glad I waited – I have an "exciting milestone" to mention that is topically related. I will put it at the very end.

We went out the other day just to see them, not to ride. I trimmed Pony’s frogs. I was just trying to get the flaps off. They were like rocks! I guess that’s what excessive heat and no rain will do for you. He was overall pretty good about holding still while I took forever, but he did try to reclaim his right front foot a couple of times. Not really snatching so much as telling me he wanted to have it back. But I told him he had to keep it there and he agreed.

It seems like now that it’s getting super hot they are spending a lot of time in the shady part of their pasture, and Teddy’s sunburn has gotten better. I still treat it every time I’m out there, but there was a point last month where it was actually blistering. I felt terrible. I’m still working on his hoof crack, and now he’s starting to get some rain rot. I need to give him a bath with the antibacterial shampoo, but it’s too hot right now to want to do it. Yes, too hot for a bath!

When we bring them into the “inside” area, they come into their stalls to eat a little hay and their small amount of feed, then they graze the grass. Their pasture is pretty much all weeds. They get hay, but I guess the grass tastes better. We usually let them have an hour or two of grazing, then we put them back. Once they get back in their pasture, they head to the shady spot and just hang out. Which tells me that the grass is much better in the inside area, since when they’re in their pasture they’d rather stand around in the shade not eating than graze.

I’ve tried, many times, to scratch Pony’s withers, but he’s never really been into it, or I haven’t done it in a way he likes. This last time, though, I tried a strong, slow scratch, and he seemed to like it. He then suggested that I work my way up his neck, and when I got to his head he wanted me to stick my fingers in his ears and sort of rub them. It’s funny – he doesn’t generally like his ears being touched, but he apparently likes me to itch them. I wonder if it’s because I spent some time trying to desensitize his ears. He also likes it when I scratch his eyeball. I have to cup my hand around it and then rub it really hard – eek.

Moonshine, when you find her itchy spot (and she has many), she will let you know. She drops her lower lip down, turns her head completely sideways, flops her ears, rolls her eyes, and sticks her neck out as far to the side as she can. There have been times when I was afraid she would fall on me or my daughter. Pony is a lot more subtle about being scratched. I don’t know, maybe he liked it when I scratched him before, but I just couldn’t tell.

I tried Teddy’s withers, too. He isn’t one who likes too much petting, or any sort of attention for that matter, and in fact when I started scratching him he turned around to look at me like, “What are you doing? Why are you doing that? I am not sure how to react and it makes me feel worried!” Also, unlike Pony, who put his head down a little and sort of sighed, Teddy’s head went up and his ears went up. Teddy’s preference is for someone to hang out with him, but not look at him or really pay attention to him at all – just to be there. Pony wants all of the attention, and Moonshine wants you to protect her while she makes ugly faces at the others, since she knows they aren’t allowed to physically retaliate when a person is around. She’s like a little kid hiding behind her mother’s legs and sticking her tongue out. She’s the lowest on the pecking order so she takes her victories wherever she can get them.

Oh, and I ordered my trimming supplies! I'm looking into a new trimmer, but even if he is a good trimmer I'm hoping to transition to maintaining them longer between trims, and then to trimming them myself. I ordered the Pete Ramey DVD set, too.

On a completely unrelated-to-horses note, I finally used some of the mint I dried in the early spring. I planted a mint patch and it was just getting super overgrown, so I cut a lot of it and dried it. I had never dried herbs before. I just hung them upside down in small batches. Some of them got moldy, but most of them did well. My husband got a little impatient because I left them hanging for several weeks, but I was going to put them in a jar, so they had to be drier than dry or they would spoil. Anyways, I used some a few days ago and I was really happy with it – very flavorful and completely dry with no spoilage.

EXCITING MILESTONE Today, I found an itchy spot on Teddy, and he really seemed to enjoy having it itched! I almost want to say he had this body language that suggested he had never considered that a person might want to scratch him, or that it might feel so good. He clearly enjoyed it! Of course, then Moonshine tried to edge in to get scratched. I know she is terribly itchy, but you could scratch her all day and it wouldn’t be enough. She has bloody spots where she has itched her skin off (we’re treating her with something the vet prescribed and it does seem to be helping). I gave her a token scratch, but then of course she just wanted more. I had to keep pushing her away. (My daughter is out of town today, so she was not around to do itching duty.) Anyways, yes, that's what passes for an exciting milestone around here.


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## ACinATX

I mentioned in another thread that Moonshine bucked during her last lesson! In the 2.5 years we’ve had heard, she’s never bucked, and the previous owner said the same thing. She had been pinning her ears when asked to trot, which we thought might be because of the new horse in the lesson (she hates all other horses), so we took him and Pony out of the lesson and had Moonshine in there by herself, but that’s when she bucked. Thinking back, she had also slightly crow-hopped the last lesson, and she had seen grumpy then as well. It’s sort of a case of, hmm, “The Horse who Pinned Ears,” because Moonshine is generally pretty grumpy, and her pinning her ears isn’t really out of the ordinary, especially if there are other horses around. So it’s sometimes a little hard to say, Oh she must be in pain since she’s pinning her ears.

But we got the bodyworker to come out. She had my daughter ride Moonshine a little, but there wasn’t as much drama as in the lesson (which was only the day before). She did think Moonshine looked a bit off in the hind end. Once she brought her in to adjust her, she found that she was REALLY off. She thinks something must have happened to her, either out in the pasture or maybe it IS because of her poor trim last time (the new farrier is coming on Monday). I don’t think it was the pasture, even though it is currently full of horse-eating holes (really), because, again, when I thought about it I realized it had started a couple of weeks ago and was slowly getting worse. The bodyworker says it’s possible that a bad trim could change the way Moonshine uses her body, and since she already has a bad stifle it may be more possible to exacerbate it. My daughter will skip our weekend lesson and we won’t ride Moonshine again until after the farrier sees her.

The bodyworker had an opening the day after our lesson, which was great, but in the afternoon, which was not so great (August in Texas in the afternoon). In the summer we typically only go to see them in the morning. So I guess the horses were pretty surprised to see us two days in a row, and in the afternoon at that. When we came over to the gate, Moonshine walked right over since she had been hanging out in the “cool” shady spot near the gate. Teddy popped his head up and sort of had this look like he wasn’t sure it was really us, but I waved at him (I’m trying to get him to respond to that in addition to being called) and he trotted over. Pony was farther away. He looked up when he noticed that other two coming in, then he let out a massive whinny when he saw us (“You guys are HERE???”) and came running over. Actually, he took a few steps, then decided to poop, then took off running from a standstill. His canter looks good!

I’m glad they are my horses and I feel comfortable with them. While I was happy to see Pony so excited to see us, and running over, I also no longer let them run in through the gate. So as he got closer, I stood between him and the open gate with my hand up and body language telling him to slow down. Once he got near me, he slowed to a walk, then stopped, smelled my hand, and walked in nicely. I’m glad I have worked with them and known them long enough that I can use a minimum of body language to direct them, even when they are “up.”

I’ve decided to call it “turn in” when we bring them in. Because right now their pasture is just a dry weedy lot where they stand around waiting for their hay and then munching it. Whereas the “inside” area has some decent patches of grass, some of which (where horses get washed) are still green.

My farrier tools came today! I’m exciting to try some of them, but at the same time we’re two weeks into a string of temperatures over 100 degrees, with no signs of it ending any soon, and with no rain. So their hooves are super tough and I get sweaty just picking them. The new farrier is coming on Monday. He was recommended by the body worker. She warned me when she came out that he has strong opinions. I am sort of wondering about that. I mean, all horse people seem to have strong opinions – is this guy worse than most? Anyways, we’ll see how he does and go from there. I got contact info for one other farrier as well, one who is also an osteopath, so at least I have some choices right now.


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## ACinATX

*I have a farrier!*

The new farrier came today. I was worried the moment I saw him. He’s one of those high-energy good ole’ boy types. I didn’t figure that would go over too well with Teddy. But I watched him work on another horse (shoes in front) and liked his approach, so I had him do my guys as well.

He did a really good job. He took off most of their flares and took their heels back. He took the bars down (he thinks the bars should be a little above the level of the sole, but not much). He found an old abscess on Teddy (I wonder if that could have been part of his problem) and resected his hoof crack really thoroughly, so we were able to see that it didn’t go that far up, and now I can really get in there with the treatment. Teddy wasn’t overly enthusiastic about him, but he (the farrier) really tried to make friends with him, and I think that helped. I was really worried that having a male trimmer might worry him, since his old trimmer (two trimmers ago) was male and that went really poorly. The last two trimmers have been women: one of them really helped him get over his fear of trimmers, and the other was always kind and gentle. Overall Teddy’s trim went better than I expected, and really not too bad.

This guy is also totally happy to help me transition into taking care of them myself. He showed me how to rasp them down in a couple of weeks if they needed it, and told me that next time he came he could do it or I could do it and he would watch. He does have a different approach to trimming – he basically looks entirely at the frog as his guide for where and what to trim, no other landmarks. And he doesn’t trim the frog at all. It seems that his thinking is that the frog position and health is tied directly to the positioning and health of the internal parts of the hoof (coffin bone and ligaments in particular), so if you use the frog as a guide it will tell you how to trim. This makes sense to me, although it’s not something I’ve ever heard anyone else say. I might have been a little skeptical, but I really do think he took off what needed to come off and left the rest. Plus his statement about how to get rid of a long toe meshed with what Pete Ramey said and also makes a ton of sense.

Now I just have to fire my current farrier :hide::frown:


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## ACinATX

Oh, also one thing happened that was scary today. I had them all in their halters for "turn in" time and my daughter was watching them while I was watching the new farrier do the other horse. He took a long time getting the shoes to just the right configuration, so I went to check on my guys. I found Teddy in the little paddock with his halter half off but twisted around so the metal part was on his eye. When I first went to fix it, he jerked away really quickly and I thought he was hurt. But then I talked calmly to him and approached him from where he could see me (his eye was closed) and quickly took it off and fixed it. I looked him over and didn't see any damage. 

It looks like someone had messed with his and Pony's halters and made them fit bigger last week. Whenever someone gets one of them for some reason they always seem to think the halters are too small and end up adjusting them. They fit really well when they are adjusted correctly, but you have to put them on carefully or they seem too small.

I think he's OK but I feel really bad about it. I don't think it will happen again now that I fixed the halters, but... still.... Maybe I will reconsider having them haltered when they are in. It's not like they are hard to catch or anything...


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## ACinATX

*Good pony*

Today was a good pony day. I wasn’t feeling too great, and my daughter wasn’t going to ride today, and then this girl who wants to ride Pony showed up before our lesson. I guess her dad had texted my husband that they were coming, but the message didn’t get to me so I was somewhat surprised. But I had the idea to let her take half of my lesson and I’d take the other half. I could see how he did with her in a lesson, and also how he handled being ridden one person after the other. And I wouldn’t have to ride so much.

He did really really well for her. He didn’t try to canter this time. He had a beautiful trot and a good walk. He did everything she asked, at least when she was clear about it. I keep forgetting how wobbly he can be if you don’t make him go straight. He was calm and relaxed, even when she got a little tight with the reins. 

And when I got on, it was like he was already nice and loose. He was super responsive. I wanted to work on him getting his head down, and he did it really nicely and consistently. I got some nice circles out of him and we did some of the same serpentines he had done with her. I also did a little canter work. For once I didn’t come out of a lesson super tired. He was kind of pooped, though. Even though we were in the covered arena in the morning, it was still really hot. And I think mentally it was a little difficult for him to switch gears in the middle of his lesson.

Apparently her dad’s plan was to just leave her (and her tiny sister) there and take his son to a soccer game. So we were kind of stuck there for a while. I did all of my post-ride stuff and then had nothing to do, so I decided to work on something I had been thinking about with Pony – getting him to pick up his feet when I point at them. I asked this girl if she’d like to see me try to train him, and she definitely did. My thought was to take it in these steps: (1) tap fetlock with whip to get him to lift up, reward, (2) point with whip to get him to lift up, reward, (3) point with hand to get him to lift up, reward. But step one was problematic. I just tapped and tapped and tapped, and you’d think eventually he’d lift up his feet, but no. So I decided to bridge something else he already knew, and I got down like I was going to pick his hooves, asked for his foot, and tapped with the whip. I did that a couple of times (I also made a little noise – “bip bip bip” – ) then went back to just tapping (and bipping) and he lifted up his foot, a little hesitantly, but of course he got the reward. A couple times of that, then I just tried pointing with the whip, and he got that, too. This girl wanted to try, so she did, and it took him a minute but then he did it for her also. I didn’t get to pointing with my finger this time, though. All in all, it took less than ten minutes. I had thought it would take a bit longer than that. But he’s a very smart Pony.

Then the little sister started getting bored. I sort of suspected she was feeling that way, but she soon confirmed it by announcing “I’m bored I’m bored I’m bored.” I suggested that they do what some of the other kids sometimes do and jump over the jumps themselves, but she just gave me a look. So I asked her if she wanted to ride Pony. She was really excited. I thought I’d get his bareback pad and just lead him around a bit. It was going to be his third ride of the day, but it wasn’t like it was going to be physically difficult. So we got her onto him (she’s pretty tiny, I don’t know maybe four or five years old) (with a helmet, don’t worry) and I told her to grab onto his mane. I only remember later that someone had suggested actually looping some of his mane into a handle, since it’s so thick. It was fine, though, she just held onto a good chunk of it.

Anyways, she LOVED it. I was focused on keeping Pony focused, but every time I looked up at her she had this giant grin on her face. And Pony had his Pony look. It was like a Thelwell cartoon, with the tiny kid with a huge grin sitting on the fat pony with her legs splayed apart, and the pony with that sort of blank-innocent-naughty look that Thelwell ponies have. Pony did super well. Even with it being his third ride of the day, and with this other girl walking alongside him and continuously “rewarding” him by getting in his face and patting him enthusiastically, he was calm and quiet. I will say that he walked with his head significantly notched toward me the whole time, like he was waiting for that treat that he knew must be coming. But he paid attention and did a good job. I walked her around for about ten minutes and then asked her to get off. I found some mesquite pods and fed them to him as a reward. I think he likes little kids.



Well, the lameness vet came for Moonshine yesterday. She’s now going to be getting injections in BOTH stifles AND in one fetlock. The vet said he’s surprised how well she moves given her problems, and no he isn’t able to guess how long she will continue to be rideable. He did mention some new therapy they are doing for this sort of thing – they take blood from the horse, then extract and concentrate the blood’s natural anti-inflammatories, and then re-inject it into what part of the horse needs it. The thing that sort of gave me pause is that he said these particles (or whatever, they are some kind of ----globin) are normally too small to get into the joints, which is why they take them and inject them. It seems like one of those things that Nature didn’t really intend. He said it’s been used in humans for quite some time, but only in horses for about a year or so. I am not a fan of being the first person to use some sort of experimental medical treatment. For now we’re going to continue with her normal injections, and if that stops being effective we will consider this other treatment. 

The question I have right now, and that the vet can’t really answer, is, at what point is this too much? I think she’s getting a healthy amount of movement, and she’s only ridden two, sometimes three, times a week. Right now it’s good for her to get some movement in. But at what point do we say that being ridden is too much for her? IDK… maybe, given her bucking episodes last week, I can hope she will let us know pretty clearly when that time comes. My daughter has been pretty clear that she only wants to ride Moonshine, not Teddy or Pony.


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## ACinATX

We went out just to see them today. We had a lesson yesterday morning but skipped it – the low that night was about 81-82, and I don’t want to ride, and the horses don’t want to be ridden, in that kind of weather. Today it was a little cooler with off and on rain, which was great.

One thing I had been wanting to do was open up Pony’s central sulci a little, if anyone recalls the picture where they were just cracks. I looked him over and one hoof didn’t need it, and I was successful on two hooves. On the last hoof, I was doing a good job and then… I learned just how sharp my loop knife is. Wow. It is sharp. And then I realized we didn’t have a first aid kit out there. We have one for the horses but not for us. But I do have alcohol wipes, and there were bandaids in the barn, so that was OK. It was a pretty impressive cut, though, right on my thumb pad. Having said that, three of his central sulci now look great! And there wasn’t any thrush in there, either, which was good.

I decided to do some more trick training with Pony. He was pretty willing once he saw I had the treat bag (fanny pack) and he came right along. I was going to do it in the near part of the arena, but when I stopped there he remembered that that’s where we had done free lunging before, and he wanted to do that. So I took him to a different part. He remembered picking up his feet really well. I got to where I could have just a little bit of the whip sticking out for pointing, and he’d pick up the correct foot. But when I completely got rid of it, and just used my hand, he couldn’t tell which foot I was pointing at. So I’ll need to figure out how to be more clear about that.

Since he had expressed some interest in free lunging, we went over there to do that as well. He remembered it pretty well, although he did at one point get sort of excited with the trotting and he ended up leaving the circle and trotting away. I called him back. I thought about how to keep him in the circle, and I decided to hook him with my eyes. I made eye contact and tried to keep the contact, which meant for him that he had to keep his head turned in and he couldn’t really leave the circle. While making the eye contact, I also thought really hard that I wanted him to stay in the circle. That actually worked really well and we didn’t have any more problems.

So that was great. I decided to work on him coming when I call. So I walked about 10 paces away and called him and used a sort of reeling in body language. He didn’t have a clue what I wanted. So I got some pellets and held them in an outstretched hand and repeated it. I could see him thinking about it this time, like very slightly leaning forward, but he still didn’t come to me. So I used eye contact again. I made eye contact and just thought at him “Please come here, I want you to come here,” and he did! I repeated three times the same way, and he came each time. After that, he decided that he would just follow me when I walked away and thus keep closer to the treat bag, so we didn’t try again.

Don’t worry, I don’t think we have a psychic connection. He just can obviously really read my body language. I don’t know what changed when I thought at him “Please come here” or “Stay in the circle,” but he understood it. He’s such a smart Pony. If he lived with me, I think he’d know about 100 tricks by now. As it is, we only work on things when I’m out there, with extra time, and feel like it, which isn’t often.

My daughter thought she and Moonshine would do some trick training after that. She has gotten Moonshine to where she (daughter) can stand behind her and to one side and have her back up. Moonshine can do this in the trailer, too, so she is self-loading and self-unloading. I was watching her and thought about how practical this is – I think that’s what I should teach Pony next.


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## ACinATX

@knightrider I was wondering, do you have any videos from any of the shows you have done with your horses?


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## knightrider

Oh yes, tons and tons of them. We often had to make videos to audition for a show. And folks would make videos for us so we could evaluate our shows. Actually I've been wondering what I should do with all these videotapes. My kids could care less. I've thought about throwing them out. I imagine my kids will when I'm gone.

I have shelves and shelves of photograph albums which my kids never have looked at and probably never will. I wonder now why I spent so much time making nice albums that nobody cares about. I enjoyed them at the time. Maybe that was enough.

I loved looking through my parents' old photographs and getting them to talk about them. My kids don't. They are adopted. Do you think that makes a difference?


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> I loved looking through my parents' old photographs and getting them to talk about them. My kids don't. They are adopted. Do you think that makes a difference?


I don't know. I wonder how much of it is just personality. I, for instance, love looking at old photos and videos of my parents, possibly because there aren't a lot of them. My dad is a very reserved person and my mom wants to pretend that her past doesn't exist, so they just don't want to share. I can't imagine either of them asking their parents for this information either. I'm also the person who keeps things for sentimental value, whereas again they are not. I'm also super nosy and my undergrad major was dual history, so there's that, too.

Have you ever thought about digitizing them and putting them online?

The whole reason I asked was because of some of the tricks I was teaching Pony. I got curious about what circus ponies do, so I looked up some videos and couldn't believe what I found. Most of their "tricks" are basically just round penning. One lady just had a mini on a lunge rope and was basically lunging it. At one point the mini got up on a stand. And that was it. That was the circus performance. I found a couple that were slightly more impressive (one lady had four horses trotting around the circle in one direction while four trotted around the other direction) but I was still like, "Seriously! I could teach Pony to do this stuff in an hour." So I wanted to see some, I guess, better quality performances. I don't suppose you have any digitized? I'm wondering what sort of shows people do with their horses. There must be better stuff out there than just round penning them.


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## knightrider

Here are some good trick horse acts






I was fortunate enough to see Sylvia Zerbini's show in person. Her winter quarters are not far from where I live. Her show was amazing, with 12 Arabs doing liberty. Here is a show with 3, still fun to watch.





















This guy is surely impressive too.






I love watching horses do tricks!


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## ACinATX

@knightrider thank you so much for the videos, my daughter and I are enjoying watching them.

A very nice day today. The weather has been a little cooler and is now tolerable. We had a lesson. Moonshine did really well -- no grumpy faces, and she was back to her nice flowy trot. She did think about bucking one time when asked to canter, and she did run into the canter again (pretty typical for her), but there were no grumpy faces and no bad behavior. I'm glad that all of the injections seem to be helping her.

Pony was great, too. He's getting his nose down and keeping it down, more and more. He's building those muscles, slowly but surely. His canter, therefore, has also been getting more collected. He has moments of really nicely balanced, collected canter. I'm still working on asking him in a way that he likes. What I was doing before was only saying "OK" when I wanted him to canter, or at least that's what I thought I was doing. But my instructor said was that I must be doing something with my body at the same time, because he was jumping into the canter, which throws him off balance and makes his canter poor. So today what I did was just THINK that I wanted him to canter, and then let him move up into it when it felt right to him. It only took two or three strides, and it was an absolutely gorgeous canter transition, and the whole canter was amazingly smooth and floaty. Of course this was his good direction. I was kind of tired and didn't really want to try the bad direction today, although I did talk to the instructor about how we could try to use this technique on his off side as well. We'll see.

Because the weather was nice we stayed for a while. So I did more trick training. I showed Pony the treats bag and he was ready to go and followed me right over to an arena (he is a pony, after all, so I don't push my luck by asking him to do training in an area where there is grass; we always train in an arena).

First, like I said before, I wanted to get him to back up on command. I wanted to do that with me standing behind his hip, so that I can ask him to back off a trailer at liberty. It turns out the first thing I needed to do was to remind him that "Hooooo" and certain body language means to stand still. So we worked on him standing still while I walked around him, or stopped in places. Then we did some backing up when I said "baaaaaack." Then I walked around him (stand still) and stopped near his middle and asked him to back up. I had to reinforce it with my fingers in his chest a few times, then he got it. I also introduced a signal (curling up my hand) with the "baaaaack" command. Then I got him to where he would hold still while I walked around him, then I'd stop and wait, then I'd ask him to back up. I did figure out from this that he needed to see me, and the signal, and it wasn't just enough to use the verbal cue.

One thing I really liked about this exercise was that it really made him pay attention to me. He had to really focus on me and what I was doing, to know whether he was supposed to be standing still or backing up. When I was standing back there next to his hip, I could see that 100% of his attention was on me, waiting for the moment when I would ask him to back up. Honestly this is a lot more focus than I usually get when riding him, unfortunately (if I get 85% focus on me when riding him I'm happy). It was just really rewarding to have him there focusing and waiting for what I would ask him to do. And so very interested and engaged. He's very smart and interested, and working with him is extremely rewarding.

He really, really did not want to stop today. So then we worked on picking up his feet some more. I got him to do it with just my finger pointing (without the whip) by really emphasizing the body language and pointing. I also got him to hold his feet up for longer periods of time. 

He still wanted to keep going, so we did some free lunging. He only wanted to go in one direction today. Rather than tell him "NO" and try to get him going the other way, I decided to just not reward him. Which didn't entirely work out, although it got a sort of funny result -- me standing there in the middle with an exaggerated expression of resignation, while he happily trotted around and around me, hoping that at some point it would be enough to be a correct answer. I guess that's not going to be the way to go with him.

After that, I had no ideas what to do with him, even though he wanted to keep going, so we stopped the training. I guess I need to find something new to teach him. Maybe I'll try to teach him to bow.

My daughter thought I should try trick training with Teddy too, so I did. Teddy wasn't really wanting to do it, though. I thought we'd start really simple, with something he really already knows, which is backing up when pointed at, but it seemed like maybe me turning it into a lesson sort of stressed him out. We did it a few times and then he walked off. Which was fine, I'm not going to force anyone into this sort of thing -- it's supposed to be fun for everyone. Teddy just doesn't have that love of learning that Pony does, and honestly new things tend to stress him out. And it's hard for him to try different things to figure out what I want -- he has a real fear of making the wrong decision. If I do any more trick training with him, I'll have to do it in such a way that he has no choice but to do the right thing, and then really reward him for it.


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## ACinATX

My daughter wanted “One last happy day” before school started today, so yesterday she played D&D with her friends (online), got pizza, watched a move (Parasite – it was weird), and of course went out to see the horses.

Pony is now super happy to see the “treats bag” (fanny pack) and follows me over to the arena to work with no hesitation. We did more trick training, but I ended up confusing him a lot. He backs up on command with me near his hip, but I wanted him to be able to back up while turning. And I want to be able to do this based on a visual signal only (not touching or tapping him). So I taught him to move his haunches away from me when I stood next them and made a pushing gesture with my hand. But then he didn’t seem to be able to differentiate between this and the curling fingers / hand gesture that I use to back up. I didn’t try to combine them at all. But now he couldn’t figure out what I was doing back there – asking him to back up or asking him to move his haunches away? So he just kept randomly guessing. I tried maybe half a dozen times and he just didn’t seem to be getting it. So I put that one back on the shelf to think about (how can I make myself more clear?) and spent the rest of the session just improving on things he already knew (e.g. hold your hoof up, but hold it up for a longer period of time).

In my lesson today he spooked four times! He hasn’t spooked in quite a while, so this was pretty impressive. He spooked twice in one arena and twice in the other. So when the instructor didn’t want to do any canter work, I was totally OK with that. We did work on getting his nose down into contact and getting him on the bit, and he did really well. He’s doing it more and more, and for longer periods of time. The instructor uses neck stretchers with a lot of her horses, to try to get them into the frame she wants, but I’ve watched those horses being ridden and it seems like as soon as you take the neck stretcher off they go right back to being strung out again. So I feel good that I’m doing this slow and easy, and by asking for it rather than demanding. I feel like we’re really building him up the right way.

I was really happy with the quality of his trot and his bending today. We did a lot of groundpoles and grids, and I wasn’t too happy with how he did on one pattern. But I like it that I was able to tell (before the instructor pointed it out to me) that he was losing impulsion. Another thing is that I had to ride him back and forth between these two arenas twice while carrying my water bottle in one hand and the whip and reins in the other hand, and steering him mostly with just my legs and, I guess, a little neck reining, and I was able to get him where I wanted.

More trick training afterwards. I decided to leave the whole moving his haunches away on the shelf for now. I thought maybe we need to get the cue for backing up really solid first. So we worked on that at first. Then I re-introduced the traffic safety cone. I want to get him to target something, then eventually pick it up, then eventually bring it to me. When I got the traffic cones a while ago, I paid more to get the kind that were really soft and rubbery, so they’d be easier for him to pick up.

I think I jumped too quickly from tapping the cone with the whip to pointing with my finger, since about a third of the time he investigated my hand rather than the cone. But eventually he got it, and then surprisingly of his own accord (I can assure you I didn’t signal this) he mouthed the cone. So I gave him a big reward. He mouthed it some more, etc., etc., and we got to where he will pick it up and toss it aside. That was super easy. I’m not sure why he volunteered that behavior, but I’m glad he did. Now I’m wondering, would it be cute, or would it be annoying, to teach him to pick up his food bowl and bring it to me to put a treat in? I’m guessing cute the first 10 times and annoying forever after.

After that I went back to standing still and backing up, to reinforce it again. Then we worked on him standing still while I walk off, then waiting and not coming until I call him. That went just OK. I thought my body language and signals were pretty clear, but I guess it’s hard to a pony to stand still when there is a treats back just a few feet away. So while I don’t have a problem getting him to come, getting him to stay is iffy.

The last thing we did was have him follow me while keeping my same pace (at liberty, obviously, as all of this is). I see my daughter doing this with Moonshine a lot, and it looks really cute. Moonshine tends to be a little grumpy about it, and a little hesitant to move up to a trot, but once Pony realized he’d have to trot to keep up with me, he was fine with it. The funny thing is, I kept starting him on my right side, and he kept crossing over to my left side. Coincidentally, the treats bag is on my left side. Yes, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. 

He wasn’t ready to be done, but I was, so we stopped.

All of our horses know not to be aggressive to other horses when we’re around, but I think they might sneak stuff in when we’re not looking. After I put them back in the pasture today, Pony came back over to me, probably to see if there were any more cookies. Some of the other ponies came over also. I halfhearted shooed them away – I actually like them, but I’m there to see my guys, not them. They could tell it was halfhearted, because they only halfhearted shooed – they slouched away a couple of feet and then just sort of lingered. I turned back toward Pony, then turned to look at them again for a minute. Suddenly they both said “yikes!” and trotted away a few steps, in a very chastised way. I strongly suspect Pony made a face when my back was turned. When I turned back to him, he had his innocent face on, but I still suspect.


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## ACinATX

(This is a long post; you can skip to the "good part" by scrolling down...

I took a few days off work, the first I’ve had in over a year. I probably wouldn’t have done it except I was starting to make mistakes at work, and it seemed like I was just mentally exhausted. Of course I’m not taking a real vacation, unfortunately, but rather getting to spend some extra time at the barn.

We had a nice lesson on Saturday. We rode in the pasture. I just rode left almost the whole time, since that’s Pony’s bad direction. He picked up the correct lead every time we cantered except one. And that was the time I had him in a tighter circle. The thought had been that he needs help picking up the left lead, and he counterbends, so I’ve been trying to tip his head to the inside when asking him to canter left, but now I’m sort of wondering if maybe it isn’t counter-productive. Also, the only time he tried to duck in was on a tight turn. I’m trying to figure out what I can learn from that. He was really good, which was great because I was tired and crampy and not feeling like doing too much.

I got to watch the trainer ride him on Sunday. He looks good for her. I took a video.  I’m trying to figure out if maybe he’s landing toe first, and if that could account for him wearing his toes more quickly. Ultimately, I’m trying to understand why he was always perfectly sound when the old trimmer saw him, and now he’s ouchy off and on. Some people had suggested that he might have thrush in his central sulci. The problem with the theory is that he shows no pain when a hoof pick is inserted in there, although he did have a very narrow central sulcus, just a crack really. I decided a few weeks ago to open them up a little, and when I did I found some powdery white stuff, which some people said might be thrush. So I opened them up some more and am treating him with thrush buster. My understanding is that thrush can be painful enough to make them land toe first. It’s kind of hard to square that with him not being bothered by the hoof pick, but I figured that treating it can’t hurt. The trainer really likes him.

Today the trimmer was supposed to come. I sent a reminder email over the weekend, but he still didn’t come. The other lady who he was going to see sent him a text and he was like, “Oh, I thought that was next week, well it’s only been four weeks so probably not a problem!” So that’s great. So I worked on Moonshine’s and Teddy’s fronts. I’m worried I may have taken too much off one of Moonshine’s hooves; it’s the one that had a long toe before that I trimmed off. The quarter flares apparently self-trimmed, and I just wanted to neaten them up but her hoof walls seemed pretty short to begin with, so I’m afraid I may have taken too much. However, I did walk her over a gravel road on the way back to the pasture and she seemed fine. 

I started just wanting to cut back Teddy’s frogs a bit, but he was pretty good about it so I just trimmed him too. Not a lot, just enough to hopefully get us to where the trimmer hopefully comes next week. Teddy is the one I had worried about trimming most, since he gets worried when confined. I gave him some alfalfa pellets and he was OK, though. I did the work in his stall. I did notice that the one time I closed the stall door he got worried, so I left it open.

*GOOD PART STARTS HERE*

I let them graze inside for a while, and then put them back in the pasture. Teddy went to the shelter (it was raining) but Pony and Moonshine went to the hay. The hay is about forty feet from the shelter. I went into the shelter with Teddy. After about a minute, Pony started looking at me. Then he looked at his hay. Then he looked at me, then his hay. He seemed confused. Then he walked over to the shelter to see me. I was so happy! I hadn’t called him or anything, he just decided that he’d rather be in the shelter with me than eating hay (and he’s a PONY!). Then Moonshine was like, “Fine, whatever, I’ll come too” (she’s generally the leader, so that was kind of interesting). 

I decided to try again to find itchy spots on Pony. He seemed OK with me scratching his withers, but not super excited about it. Then he decided to let me know that he wanted me to scratch his head. Which is great, except that of course his method of doing that is to act like I’m a tree and push into me super hard. When he does that, I make a fist with my middle knuckle sticking out the most, and let him run into it. It doesn’t seem to feel too good. So then he tried to just stand there and mentally beam “scratch me!” at me, or at least that was my guess. It was hard to tell. Moonshine is pretty good about communicating when and where she wants to be itched, but Pony apparently only has overwhelming force or nothing. I figured he wanted to be itched, so I did, and he did, and that was nice.

After a while, he turned his butt to me. He’s never done this before. It was obviously not a threatening gesture, but I wasn’t sure what it meant. Remembering what someone else on HF once mentioned, I thought maybe he wanted his butt scratched, so I did that. He seemed to like it, but he also seemed a little surprised that I did it. So I’m not sure that’s what he was going for. Maybe he was doing that thing where horses turn their butts to their friends because it makes them feel secure? I don’t know. He brought his face back over to me pretty soon after that. We all just stood around being dozy for a bit. After a while, he sort of gently moved into me, which was really nice. 

I also spent some time standing next to Teddy. He also sort of leaned into me a bit. It was nice. It was a drizzly and rainy day, and a nice day to just stand around in the shelter. When I left, I walked out slowly, trying to avoid the muddiest parts, and looked back, and Pony wanted to follow me. I went back and gave him a hug and told him not to. Then I left quickly. When I got to the fence and looked back, Teddy was at the hay eating. It was nice to just be out there being part of the herd with them.


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## ACinATX

Today was my last day off, so I spent a lot of it with the horses.

I had a bonus lesson in the morning. I cantered / jumped Pony over a cross-rail! That was the “yay”. The “boo” was that, once again, I popped him in the mouth when he came down. I had trotted him over this rail several times, and I had made sure to grab mane so that wouldn’t happen, but at the canter he felt kind of wiggly, like he might be thinking about ducking out or just going over it weird, so I wanted to keep the close contact. So then I punished him on the other side. We did let him have his lesson be over with that, and the trainer is jumping him over this same rail, so hopefully it won’t stick in his mind too much. Also I will hopefully learn how to ride him better so it doesn’t keep happening.

I mostly finished cleaning out “my” stall. Since we have the back barn that no one else uses, I got to have one stall just for all of my stuff. That stuff keeps increasing. I had the idea of using some of the boards we took down from the high stall walls, plus cinder blocks, to make shelves. I cleaned out all the old hay, cleaned out the pallet, and cleaned out all of the gunk on the floor. It turns out that some of the hay on the floor had gotten damp slightly moldy. I moved the hay storage over to the drier side. I ordered some more diatomaceous earth to dry out the ground a bit, then I will put some bedding back on top of it. Even if it does get a little moldy in the course of the year, I prefer that to the bare dirt. Check out some guys I found in the board pile! I was curious which one of them might "win", so I watched them for a while and eventually the scorpion chased the spider away. 

I did some trick training with Pony after that. I didn’t really have a plan, I just wanted to have fun. The only newish thing we did was that I got him to canter after me rather than just trot. I have to really sprint to get him to do it. But … it could be good exercise for both of us!

After about 10 minutes, I was surprised when Teddy wandered in. He was like, “Um. Hi. Um. What are you guys doing? I heard you say ‘Good Boy.’ Can I be a good boy?” So I asked Pony to move back a bit and let me work with Teddy. I tried to get him to pick up his foot when I pointed at it. First I showed him how Pony picks up his foot. Then I tried various ways to get Teddy to do it. Unfortunately, we ended up at him thinking that I wanted him to back up. Then Pony was like, “But look at ME hooman lady, I can do that, give me treats!” as he picked his foot up and kept it up. I was like, “Yes, Pony, that’s very good, but right now I’m asking Teddy to do it, not you.” I tried to take turns doing things with each of them. It was hard since I hadn’t had a lesson plan to begin with, and I’ve never tried to do two of them in one session, but I really wanted Teddy to be able to stay and participate, since he’s been pretty hesitant to do trick training in the past. Teddy stuck around for a while and then wandered off. 

Finally, I just spent about an hour hanging out with them in their pasture. It was a nice cool day, too. I’m glad I took some time off work; I just wish I had been able to take more.


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## knightrider

> “But look at ME hooman lady, I can do that, give me treats!” as he picked his foot up and kept it up. I was like, “Yes, Pony, that’s very good, but right now I’m asking Teddy to do it, not you.”


Ha ha! I had that happen a lot when I was trick training. I kept my horses in separate pens in the winter. When I'd be trying to teach the trick to Shadow, Magic would be in her pen DOING the trick over and over and eyeing me hopefully.

Later, when Magic was retired in Florida and Shadow was my main trick horse, when I'd teach tricks to new horses, Shadow would not do them because she only responded to my body language and I wasn't working with her.


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## ACinATX

Moonshine bucked several times in our lesson today when asked to canter right. I'm starting to get worried about it. She gets regular body work and the body worker thinks she looks pretty good. She just a few weeks ago got injections to both hocks and one fetlock. She was fine to the left. I guess we'll see how she is at the Monday lesson. I know her saddle fits. She's a little overdue on her trim, but I looked at her feet today and they aren't THAT bad. I'm going to be out of ideas for what to do about her pretty soon.

Pony was great, though. Because of a scheduling kerfuffle we ended up having a true beginner in our lesson, so it was a sort of disjointed lesson. Pony and I were able to help her with one thing, though, which was nice. She was on a not-entirely-beginner-friendly horse, and the horse decided she needed to canter, and this lady got really worried because it was her first canter. Her horse just didn't want to trot, and kept breaking into a canter. So (I actually had this idea myself but before I could say anything the instructor suggested it) Pony and I trotted the same pattern she was supposed to be doing, very very slowly, and had her follow. She was supposed to follow right behind us. I couldn't tell how close she was exactly, but Pony's ears told me she was pretty darn close. It worked, however, to keep her horse from cantering; AND, Pony used to kick when another horse was being ridden behind him, and he didn't, so that was great. I did talk to him a lot the whole time.

After this lady and my daughter left, I wanted to talk to the instructor some more. She is the same lady who puts training rides on Pony. I explained how last time I cantered a little jump and popped Pony in the mouth, and how bad I felt about it. I was asking whether I should just not do this with him right now, because I don't want to make him sour over jumps. We talked about it for a while, then we decided I'd try him over another little jump. She pointed out that I should be steering more with my legs than my hands, so I shouldn't need super close contact, and she talked me through what my crest release should look like. When I cantered this little jump, Pony was thinking pretty hard about ducking out to the right, but I kept him centered with my legs, and I crest released really nicely and didn't pop him in the mouth at all. At that point, I was like, "Yay, we're done."

That's pretty much all for today. My daughter was really tired and didn't want to stick around afterwards, so no trick training, hoof trimming, or hanging out. I did take some seasonally appropriate "spooky" pictures with some spider webs that were covered in water droplets from the morning fog.


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## ACinATX

That smile. It's the smile you have coming out of a lesson where your horse did GREAT. My daughter had it after her lesson yesterday, and I had it after my lesson today. Moonshine was amazing yesterday, no sign of bucking or anything bad, picked up her leads correctly, and cantered circles over ground poles. 

I wasn't in that lesson, although I watched the end of it. I was mostly trimming Teddy's back feet. The trimmer is supposed to come tomorrow, but he was supposed to come last week and didn't. Teddy's back feet were terrible, flares in every direction, yuck. He did pretty well with it, too. I gave him some alfalfa pellets to eat, so I'm sure that helped, but he was really patient, whereas with trimmers he usually gets kind of antsy. I suppose it helps that I only had to do his back feet. I thought, coming out of that session, that I had done my first trim without accidentally rasping myself, but it turns out that I was wrong about that. I'm still working on not being a clutz with the trimming tools.

Pony did the same course today, but he only trotted the poles. But, we did canter a lot, and he did really well, picking up both leads really nicely, staying on the rail, and having a nice collected canter in both directions. I realize that when he picks up the lead nicely, I can feel the canter start in his back legs, and then I know it's going to be a nice canter. Apparently before, I was throwing him on his forehand when I asked him to canter, which led to an unbalanced overly-fast canter. I just love the feel of him pushing off into a nice canter.

I also was thinking that one thing that's great about a green pony is that they just keep making progress and it's wonderful. It's wonderful to think that I'm helping him (me!?!?!!) get better at his canter! And I am getting better as well. I know that if I had started with a BTDT lesson horse or other trained horse, that I would be much further along now; but the feeling that I'm helping him get better, the feeling of watching his progress (even though it's in fits and starts), it's just awesome. Coming out of a lesson thinking about how much better we both are than this time last year -- wow!


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## ACinATX

*Snapshots from the last week or so*

Another pony in our guys’ pasture has become increasingly sure that he is part of our heard. He comes when I call and tries to sneak in with my guys. I have to shoo him away every time. When I’m out in their pasture, I say hi to him and let him sniff my hand, but besides that my only interactions with him were manhandling him back into the pasture one time when one of the kids accidentally let him out, and giving him half of a cookie that same day because I felt bad about the manhandling. Now he’s apparently my pony.

I did a private lesson where we worked on jumping Pony more. I learned that one jump is fun, but two in a row is HARD! Particularly because Pony is not super awesome at jumping, so I have to be super focused about my own body and what I’m telling him to do. He seems to like it, though, and he does a good job. The series of jumps we did had no standards and were not x-rails, and Pony didn’t exhibit any bad behaviors. I was worried he might think about ducking out, but he didn’t. I did have a “semi fall” on one of them, though. What happened was he stumbled badly on the jump (I wasn’t setting him up with proper impulsion) and then I fell on his neck. I didn’t fall off him, but I couldn’t get off his neck either. I was just lying there on his neck for about 30 seconds. I honestly couldn’t figure out what to do. Finally my instructor was like, “You can either slide off or try to get back in the saddle.” I didn’t know how to get back in the saddle (if I did, I would have before) so I went with sliding off. I was grateful to him for holding his head up so I didn’t just fall off, while I was clinging to him. Maybe that thick stallion neck of his is useful for something!

I asked the instructor, who is also the person who puts training rides on him, if she thought it was fair to him for me to be doing little jumps with him. Since we’re both totally green with this. I mean, I jumped the lesson pony once, I think, but that’s it. She said she thought it was fine, because I wasn’t making any major mistakes. She also felt like it’s good for him to have to be able to deal with a rider who isn’t 100% solid, because it forces him to learn to think for himself rather than just lean on his rider to tell him what to do. I guess as long as he’s getting better, and not getting any bad habits, and she thinks it’s OK, we’ll keep working on it.

I trimmed Teddy’s back feet. I guess I didn’t do too good of a job, because they got flares again within a couple of weeks. I re-trimmed them today, but it was hard because he didn’t have any hoof wall length to spare. So I guess basically I was just trying to put a mustang roll on him. He did well for the trimming, and I am getting more comfortable with the tools. I’m not confident about the job that I did, however.

Moonshine still has something going on with her, and we can’t figure out what. She was terrible in one lesson, then amazing in the next lesson, then terrible in the next lesson, then OK in the most recent lesson. The bodyworker came today and said that her left hip is really out of balance again. We talked through it a lot but couldn’t really figure out what was going on, except that maybe she’s being asked to do somewhat advanced work (cantering those circles over poles) without having the proper groundwork to do it (having consistent canter transitions, for instance, to set her up with a good canter). Moonshine is doing more advanced work than Pony, but it’s true that she still doesn’t really use her body correctly. Whereas I’ve taken things super slow with Pony to be sure that he’s got a really solid foundation before asking him to move to the next level. It’s made our progress slower, but now I’m thinking that it was the better way to do things. I guess maybe just because Moonshine CAN do something, doesn’t mean that she SHOULD. I talked about this to my daughter a little today, and she wasn’t super excited to hear it (“I have to go back to thinking about my posture? But it’s fine! And Moonshine sometimes has great canter transitions”), but I framed it in terms of Moonshine’s overall health so she’s OK with my talking to the instructor and them maybe taking a few steps back if needed.

Here is a random fact completely unrelated to horses: the house next to us just sold, and the new neighbor’s name is Pierre. Not that weird, except that out neighbor on the other side is also named Pierre. And neither are French. And we’re in Central Texas.


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## MeditativeRider

Oh I understand the awkwardness of how do I get myself out of this position when you end up on their neck. I had that once when a horse I was on unseated me when it bucked in the trot to canter transition. I had to do the ungainly slide off the side as I could not figure out how to get back in the saddle either.


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## knightrider

> Oh I understand the awkwardness of how do I get myself out of this position when you end up on their neck.


Me too! I never let the kids ride our horses through a gate. I make them dismount when we get home and lead the horse through the gate.

One time . . . just ONE time, the child happened to be first and rode through the gate, so I rode through also. My boot caught on the gatepost hook and dragged me right out of the saddle so that I was hanging upside down on the gatepost hook. No matter what I did, I could not get my boot off the hook, so there I hung, upside down, as my horse happily grazed the paddock. The young person had to come and push my boot up off the hook so I could drop to the ground.


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## ACinATX

I had a good lesson today. We did some hard stuff, and we didn’t always get it right, but I understood the point of the lesson, and I understand what we were doing wrong (and sometimes right) and it’s something I could work on by myself if I wanted.

The part of the exercise that we did better on was cantering. I tried something new with steering, and it went great. I have started to feel like, at the canter, I am holding Pony’s head too tightly, but of course there is always the issue of steering, and he can be wobbly at the canter (plus my legs aren’t strong enough to really steer him well). So today we were doing a tight turn at the canter. So what I did was just look, very exaggeratedly, in the direction where I wanted him to go, and I used the rein as a secondary aid. He did super! I think this should be something he likes, because it’s more me asking him to do it than demanding. I hope this is something that continues to work, because I think it’s nicer for both of us.

Afterwards, I worked on training Pony to do something. It’s sort of an inside joke. There’s another pony called Scout that lives in their pasture. Scout looks a lot like Pony except that he has a white star and three white socks. So I told my daughter I was going to “dress up” Pony like Scout, for the barn Halloween party, by painting the appropriate parts of him white. She thought that was super lame, but I then I added this trick. Scout has this thing where he round pens himself around the OUTSIDE of the round pen. The round pen is in the pony pasture, and half the time when someone goes in there to round pen their horse, Scout comes over and runs along the outside of the round pen (“See! I can do it, too!”). It’s really funny to watch. So I taught Pony to round pen himself around the outside of the round pen, so he will not only look like Scout, but he’ll act like him, too. I’m no good at making stuff, and pre-made horse costumes are too expensive, so I went with what I COULD do, which is to teach Pony to do something kind of funny.


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## ACinATX

Yesterday I spent some time cutting horse cookies into smaller pieces. I’ve heard people say, and it has seemed to be true to me, that horses like food rewards, but that they can’t really distinguish between amounts of food, so that giving them a small bite of food is the same amount of reward as giving them a handful. Our cookies are about quarter sized, but it’s not like any of my guys are starving and need the extra food. So I decided to give them in smaller sizes.

I put them in a paper bag in the trunk of my car. The vet was coming to do Moonshine’s and Teddy’s teeth, and Teddy still has some (decreasing!!!) anxiety about that, so I’ve been giving him cookies while he’s being sedated, to sort of take his mind off it. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up leaving the car trunk open while I was doing something else. Next thing you know, there is a Pony in the trunk. Of course not actually IN the trunk, not entirely, but he had eaten the whole thing, probably 15 cookies total and part of the bag as well. These are relatively low sugar cookies, so I don’t know if it was the cookies or because I yelled at him, but he started just trotting around in that prancy way and running away from me. I let them come into the “inside” area because they are all mellow, relaxed, and easily catchable. So, since he was being “up,” I had to put him back out in the pasture.

He didn’t like that. Moonshine, Teddy, and me (the other members of his herd) were all “in” and he was “out.” There are other ponies in that pasture, but still. He was standing at the fence and wanting to come back in. So I went over to him. He got excited when he saw me and started whinnying happily. I have to say, I love it when he is happy to see me. I mean, he always seems happy to see me, but when he whinnies it’s especially nice. So I stood out in the pasture with him for a while. It was really nice. He could have been out there eating hay with the other ponies, but he preferred to stay with me. I left at one point to check on the dental work, and he had wandered off when I got back, but when he saw me he came back to hang out some more. He didn’t want anything, he just wanted to hang out. I really enjoy just hanging out with my horses. I guess I still makes e feel privileged, that they would WANT to spend time with me.

Teddy did well with the sedation. He’s definitely getting better about the vet. He also gets cuddly when he’s sedated, LOL. I had him and Moonshine next to each other in stalls to recover, but Moonshine was ready to go first, so he was in there by himself for a while. I stayed with him so he wouldn’t feel bad. Once he woke up a bit, he was happy to lean on me a little with his head, and to have me lean on him and pet him. Normally he loves being talked to in a nice voice and he likes small amounts of physical attention, but if you pet him too much he starts getting a little anxious. When he was coming out of sedation (I don’t mean immediately after the dental work, I mean when he was almost ready to be allowed to eat again) he seemed really happy with it.

I enjoy riding, and I like feeling like I am getting better and Pony is getting better (still no riding Teddy until I can get a saddle that fits him), but honestly it’s those quiet moments where me and my guys stand together, not doing anything, just BEING and being part of a herd, that I like the best. It just makes me feel so peaceful, calm, and content.
:loveshower:


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## ACinATX

When I got there for my lesson today, I found out that the lessons are now starting half an hour later because of the sun coming up later. They always post things like this on the FB group, which is private, and then forget to tell the people who aren't on FB. I had really had a battle with myself getting out of bed, too, so I was like, "I could have slept in!" However, getting there early gave me time to work on everyone's hooves (before the lesson; I tend to be tired after lessons), which was great. Basically I just rasped heels and, for Pony and Teddy, their quarters a little, and only their front feet. I also tried, again, for a mustang roll. Sigh. I think it's getting better, but it's more of a mustang slash right now.

In the lesson, we had some trouble with him the left lead (his worse lead), but the instructor thought part of it was because I was holding the outside rein too tightly, which was keeping his head from being able to turn in, so I worked on that. I worked on counting out the canter as well, so I can slow him down (he still does tend to rush). I told the instructor afterwards that it's nice to be able to start thinking about things like this, now that I'm not so worried about falling off all the time. Part of that is Pony's decreasing "wonies" and part is due to me being better at the canter. And of course we are now in a virtuous cycle where he doesn't feel like he has to wony, because I'm not such a bad rider any more, and me knowing he's not going to wony lets me relax and ride better.

I couldn't stick around too long afterwards. I'm getting allergy testing tomorrow, finally, so I can start allergy drops. But you have to be off antihistamines for a week before the test, so I've had to super limit my outdoor time. Ragweed is brutal here right now. I hate sneezing and coughing and having a runny nose and not being able to sleep, but I also hate the drowsy feeling I get from being on antihistamines. My husband does shots, and my daughter does drops, and they've both seen dramatic improvement in their allergies. So hopefully once I get started, my allergies will get better and then I can go back to spending more time outdoors, without feeling crummy the next day.


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## MeditativeRider

Oh annoying about the FB posting. I am not on FB either and it really annoys me when people have private FB pages for things (lots of my kids activities do). At least you go something beneficial out of your extra time.


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## ACinATX

*Meditations on relationships*

I like to tell myself that when we get on our property, I will get a fourth horse, a rescue horse. I hope that I will. But I was thinking the other day about how much work it is to build a relationship. I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like everyone goes through this; maybe it’s just me. Learning about your horse, what he thinks, what he worries about, what he likes, what is easy for him, what is hard for him, what he wants from you, what he _needs _from you. Establishing a common language between the two of you. It’s a lot of work. A lot of time. A lot of patience. A lot of standing around in the pasture with them, doing "nothing", but for a horse that's everything. In my case, a lot of mis-steps. And like you can’t understand light without darkness, I couldn’t really understand Pony until I got Teddy. I’m not saying that they are opposite, or that one is good and one is bad, it’s just that I couldn’t see who one of them was without understanding, I guess, who he wasn’t. Moonshine, too, but to a lesser extent – my daughter wanted her to be her horse, and Moonshine keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself. She has them, but she doesn’t want to show them to you. Pony and Teddy are the same on the surface as they are inside. They don’t have anything to hide or protect. I think maybe Teddy did once, but he trusted me and opened himself to me, and now he’s mine.

I thought about how easy it is with my horses now. The vet came out for Moonshine the other day. I needed to reposition her, so I just asked her to back up a step. I think what I actually did, besides saying “Can you back up a step?” was to lean at her a little and raise my finger just a bit. She knew what I wanted and took a step back. Pony would do the same. Teddy would _want _to do it, but he also worries about doing the wrong thing, and he sometimes requires more clarity on my part. But then I went to get another horse for the vet, one of the lesson horses. She’s a great horse. She’s really big, but very well-behaved. I showed her the halter and asked her to put her head down, and she did. She had no problems with whatever I asked her. But I had to ask very clearly. I don’t think I could have leaned and pointed and she would have backed up, although now that I think about it I wish I had tried. I think that ease I have with my guys comes because we’ve found that shared language.

That same day, I stood out with them in the pasture for a while. Moonshine is getting close with one of the ponies, and Teddy doesn’t really approve. Pony, however, is my friend. Moonshine stood with her head down next to this other pony’s head, and Pony stood with his head down next to my waist. Every now and then he softly put his nose on me, as friends do. Pony wanted a friend, and I wanted to be his friend, but I had to be his leader first. I realized not too long after I got him that he needed a leader, but I didn’t realize that friendship would follow that. I’m glad it did. I guess it didn’t have to. Frankly, Pony is kind of a butt to the horses who are below him (which is everyone in that pasture except for Teddy). I feel like he kind of harasses them more than he has to, and then he doesn’t understand why they don’t want to be his friend. I guess he can’t really be friends with someone he is capable of dominating.

Anyways, I guess what I was wondering is, do I really want to put the effort into this again, with a new horse? Do I want to spend all of the time getting to know it and developing that shared understanding? If it’s a horse that doesn’t like to display its emotion, will I be able to look deep below the surface, like I did with Moonshine, and see what was there? Will I want to? Would I work on understanding it? What if I put all of that effort into it, and even then the horse was too closed up?

It was a lot of work, with all three of my horses. And now things are so easy. I hope I have it in me to do it again some day.


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## ACinATX

Wow, the weather changed. It was cold, windy, and drizzly today. My guys were the only ones out in the pasture. Their hooves were full of bad clay mud that's hard to pick out. And none of them wanted to stand still to be picked out. IDK, maybe it was the weather. I got a little frustrated with Pony and ended up actually tying him to finish (I haven't tied him in ages, although he does well with being tied). I think I mentioned, my goal is to pick everyone's hooves every time I bring them in, whether I ride them or not. Their pasture is really nasty, and they don't need to have all sorts of bacteria, fungi, and germs in there for days at a time.

We had to ride in the covered (dressage) arena because of the drizzle, which meant no pole work and no interesting patterns, but we worked on simple lead changes instead. I was so impressed -- Pony got it right every single time. We had done some other work before, including cantering circles in each direction, and he hadn't consistently gotten the correct lead, but with the simple lead changes he did. We ran him through four cycles, and after the last one, both the instructor and I thought he had done so well that he should just be finished. So I was super, super happy with him.

The other pony was working on flying lead changes. He kept super speeding up when asked for one. The instructor said it was because when they were teaching him to do it at first, he always wanted to break to a trot for the lead change, so they always smacked him to keep him going, so now when he's asked for the lead change he takes off. :eek_color:

On a different note, I have to get some boots for Moonshine. We all (me, daughter, Pony, Moonshine) enjoy having lessons out in the pasture, but after looking at her XRays, I have decided that she's only going to be ridden in the soft arena until she gets boots. The pasture has gnarly stubble in places. I'm putting Keratex on her, too. That's what I'm doing to make her comfortable. Now I need to figure out how to actually build some sole. I'm hoping that keeping up on her trimming will help. I'm reading that booting can help as well. I'll keep researching. It seems like everyone who knows what they are talking about stresses the importance of sole depth, but not a lot of people have concrete steps to take to achieve it.

Also. When I got there this morning, the other person in my lesson, who is also the barn manager, was asking me about signs of colic. So I told her all of the signs I knew and asked her why. She was like, "Well, I should just know, if I'm going to be barn manager" (she was a regular boarder before). But then she said she was worried about her lease horse. He was down and didn't really want to get up. She said he had been nosing at his flanks and tossing his head as well. But she thought, even though he was sitting down, that he looked calm and not in pain. I took a look at him and thought otherwise, but I didn't want to worry her, and the barn owner was about to be out there anyways. Eventually the barn owner thought he was having a mild colic and gave him banamine and had this lady walk him around for a bit. I'm sorry that he colicked, but I feel good that I was right about his expression. It's good to know that I can maybe tell. The odd thing to me was that after the banamine and short walk, they just put him back in his stall and left. I would have thought they'd want him in a paddock where he could walk around, but maybe I'm wrong.


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## ACinATX

*Bareback!*

I finally got on Teddy yesterday. It was March, last time I rode him. I stopped because he was having physical problems that I couldn’t figure out, to the point where it was interfering with his movement, and I didn't want to keep riding him in those circumstances. I have since learned that he has uneven body development, and also his saddle was a terrible fit. So I didn’t want to ride him until I got a saddle that fit. Also, it was a hot summer, and even riding Pony twice a week was really more than I wanted to do. Anyways, yesterday was the first time I’d gotten on him in about half a year. I put a bareback pad on him. I was kind of worried. He’s not one of those “throw ‘em out in the pasture for a month and they’ll come back just the same” types, plus he’s just naturally anxious, with that fun explosive anxiety. So we took it slowly. Step one: he remember how to put the bit in his mouth. Step two: he actually seemed pretty interested in going over to the arena, yay! Step three: he lined up nicely at the mounting block. Step four: he stood nicely. Step five: he stayed in place after I got on. Step six: he sort of went where I asked him in the arena. This was kind of hard because there were some other horses sticking their heads into the arena so I couldn’t just ride him around the rail like I had hoped (he likes rails; they are a safe place for him, because he understands the rules about them). We had to do a fair amount of circles. Overall I think he did pretty well. I only rode him for 10-15 minutes, and only at a walk.

One thing that I noticed was that riding him bareback felt WEIRD. Really weird. I hadn’t ridden anyone bareback in months, so I wasn’t sure if it was him or me. So I got Pony and rode him bareback, too. I decided to ride him in just a halter and lead rope, bareback, because, well, we can. He was actually not too excited about working, but he did what I wanted really nicely. And he didn’t feel weird, although I personally felt a little awkward. So it was definitely Teddy, and not me. I’m not sure what, if anything, this tells me. I’ve only ridden Pony for the last six months, so of course any other horse is going to feel different.

Moonshine had a lesson that afternoon, which was why we were out there in the first place. After I put Pony away and finished a couple of things, I went to check on her. Moonshine did AMAZING. They were cantering in the jumping arena. The other two girls were cantering and doing a series of jumps, but my daughter was just cantering (we will not jump Moonshine; she will need to ride Teddy if she wants to jump). They were cantering circles around all of the jumps. Some of the circles were 10-meter circles. Except at the end on her bad lead, Moonshine picked up the correct lead each time, stayed in gait, and stayed fairly collected. I was really impressed.

Anyways, all of this together added up to me suggesting to our instructor that we have a bareback lesson today and kind of take it easy. Moonshine worked really hard last night, and I didn’t want to just put her back into another hard lesson. As for me, I felt like it’s been a while since I’ve ridden bareback and I probably should do more of it. Also, that true beginner seems to be stuck in our lesson, so it evens things out a bit more if we’re bareback.

I learned that I remembered how to post bareback, which is good, but it was also tiring. I also remembered sitting trot (pretty easy on Pony with his small step). I was pretty sure we wouldn’t canter, since I hadn’t ridden bareback in so long, but by the end of the lesson I was ready to give it a shot. I only cantered him on his good lead, but OMG I had forgotten how amazing it is to canter him bareback. I swear, it is easier than cantering with a saddle. His motion kind of sucks me up right behind his withers, which is his center of rotation , I guess, so it’s just super super smooth. I forget how the saddle puts me in sort of a weird position with him. I wonder if it’s because his back is so short? I can never find the motion and relax in the saddle, but I did great today. Or maybe it’s because bareback I can more easily sort of slip back and forth and thus stay with the motion? I don’t know what it is, but it was amazing.

My daughter was really happy with Moonshine, too. It seems that she remembered that she should have a slower trot when ridden bareback. They tried to canter a couple of times. The first time was OK, and the second time Moonshine just wasn’t having it. I felt like it was good enough, since she had had a hard lesson the night before. My daughter and I were both really stoked with our bareback lesson, and we want more!

There was a lady and her daughter there today, I guess maybe to look into lessons? Teddy was loose out there and the daughter was obviously trying to interact with him, so I called the mother over during a lull in the lesson and told her I had cookies in my car and they were welcome to feed him. Teddy is super respectful about taking treats. So they did that, and then the daughter loved on him a lot. He’s not overly fond of being loved on, but he was good. It was nice to share some horse love with someone.

After all of this bareback stuff, I realized that I hadn’t thought about using the lesson saddles for Teddy, at least temporarily. I picked out one that seems to fit him OK, so I’ll ask the barn owner if that would be OK and then post pictures here. He tends to change shape a lot when he’s in work, so if I could ride him now in a saddle that fits him now, and then buy him a saddle when he’s bulked up a bit, that would be great. Finally, I reinforced him taking the bit a few times. His bridle has gotten stiff from not being used, so I brought it home to oil. 

Oh, and…. Today of all days, I forgot to do my stretches in the morning. I was already sore when I got off Pony (he’s so round) and I’m sure it’s going to be bad tomorrow. Oh well, I don’t mind. We had a great time. It was a wonderful horse day.


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## ACinATX

I'm sorry that I was proud of myself for calling that horse's colic. I mean, it wouldn't have made any difference, but he was PTS a few days ago. Unfortunately, they apparently weren't able to find anyone to come get the body, so they left it under a tarp near the back of the main part of the property. That spot is about halfway down the most direct path from our horses' pasture and our barn. They were NOT happy. It was two days after the fact that I went out there and let them in, and even to my sub-par hooman nose, there was a smell. I almost wonder if they wouldn't have been happier if the body had been uncovered, because at least then it would be clear what it was. As far as they were concerned, this was a tarp that had finally done what they always expected a tarp to do, to namely eat a horse. Even BTDT Moonshine was unsettled -- she deliberately chose to stay close to Pony, I suppose for protection (he DOES protect her) even though it's usually him following her around.

When we went out today, the body had finally been removed. But surprisingly they had left the tarp. I think the horses liked that even less than the body being there. Because the smell was still there, and now the tarp had MOVED. They made the same detour around the spot as they had before. I was pretty impressed to see that after a while Pony went over there and sniffed everything really carefully. He is a brave Pony.

The bodyworker came out yesterday. Somehow I hadn't thought, when I made the appointment, about how we're not supposed to ride them the day after. We had a lesson today. What we ended up doing was my daughter riding Moonshine bareback at a really slow walk, here and there, just working on teaching her to neck rein. I rode Teddy. We got there early so my instructor was able to work with me and Teddy for a while before the regular lesson. He did really well. I was really happy with how calm he was. Except for after the first good trot, he felt really relaxed. I also rode him past the mirror a few times and looked at his face, and I couldn't see any whites in his eyes. He's one of those horses where you can always see the whites of his eyes, or at least I always thought he was, but the longer I've had him the less whites you can see. I think it's because his anxiety keeps dropping.

He did really well with serpentines and broken lines. We did a little trotting, and although he wanted to shuffle trot at first, I got a good bouncy "Teddy trot" out of him as well. I had forgotten how nice it is to ride a more naturally forward horse. We only trotted for maybe a minute. The instructor said if I want to get him back into shape, then I should plan out what I'm going to do every ride, and increase the total time and also the total trotting time each time. So I will do that. She was impressed at how well he did, given how long he's been sitting. I honestly believe it's because we have a relationship and he trusts me. I'm not sure he would have done so well with someone else.

I will say that the barn owner (his old owner) still makes him nervous. She was near the arena fence, and every time he passed her he tried to speed up.

Afterwards, Pony indicated that he's like to do some trick training, so we did. After a while, Teddy also wanted to get involved, so I tried to work on them both at the same time. I was a little afraid there might be some bickering, but there wasn't.


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## ACinATX

I thought this would be a brief post since I just posted yesterday, but it's not. Sorry. I've been out there a lot this week. I don't know why, but it's been especially nice spending time with them lately.

I rode Teddy bareback again. I used the nice thick bareback pad we have, and a thick wool wither release pad, and then a regular saddle pad under that, just like you would if the bareback pad had been a saddle. It reduced the pressure of his spine on my nether regions, and hopefully reduced the pressure of my butt on his back. It did feel bulky, though. I think I will probably keep doing it that way, since he's under-muscled back there right now and I think he needs the protection.

He did really well again. His trot seems like it's maybe the same in both directions right now, but we didn't do a ton of trotting. It was 25 minutes of mostly walking and some trotting.

I wasn't going to ride Pony at all, but he was totally full of beans today. I think it's because I didn't ride him yesterday. Since there was a lesson going on out in the pasture I decided to ride him out there and watch. I rode him in the bareback pad and just with a halter and lead rope. He did really well, too. He had no problems walking out there by himself, for once. Once we got stopped where I wanted to be, I held him for a minute then dropped the "reins" really dramatically on his back, as a signal that he could graze. He was pretty happy. I didn't tie them together well enough, though, and I lost one of them. But I got his head up with the other one and then was able to lean forward and take the dropped one from the halter. His short neck came in handy!

I cantered him back. It was great. Cantering in a saddle, I keep thinking about everything I'm doing or supposed to be doing, and it's a lot of work. Cantering bareback, I feel free. I just felt like we were flying along together. Then when I asked for him to slow back to a trot, he had no problem (he had also had no problem picking up the canter). Then back to a walk. It was sort of a test, to see how he'd do with the halter and lead rope, and he did great. Particularly since it was on the way back "home;" but he had no problems slowing back down. Then I had to stop and get some jumper cables, while I was still on him, and I just sort of draped them over his back and held them with one hand and the reins with the other. He had no problems at all. He's a great Pony -- I feel like I won the pony lottery.

We did some trick training afterwards. I'm trying to teach him to line himself up with objects so I can easily mount from anywhere, and it's been surprisingly slow going. Right now we are only up to him moving his butt to one side if I tap the side with the whip, and generally only if I'm on that side. If I'm on one side and tap the other side to scoot his butt toward me, he doesn't really understand. I may need to enlist the help of my daughter on this one. But we ended the session on a good note.

I just want to repeat what I said in the last post about Teddy's eye whites. I don't know how I hadn't really noticed this before -- I really only see the whites now when he's turning to look at something that's close by and he's trying to focus on it. I'm really happy that I've been able to help him.

It was another "yay day."


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## gottatrot

I think you would probably really like a treeless saddle since you like riding bareback and have good bareback horses.

It is great hearing how well your horses are doing. They're lucky you have them now.


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## ACinATX

I galloped today! But not on purpose. We had a field lesson, and all those beans Pony had been full of were still there. He was ready to go! We did a lot of cantering, but it was at this one point where there was a Scary Object, that the wind suddenly gusted and my visor blew off. Wow! I know horses gallop, but I've never seen Pony do it. It was like he had a whole other gear, which I guess is what galloping is really. I gave him a few strong half halts and got him back down to a canter, and then a trot. He did calm down pretty quickly. I also opened and closed the gate from him, which is kind of hard because of the way the chain and lock are set up. It's the first time I've opened AND closed it from him. That was good.

So... less good. I really strongly disagree with many of the things the barn owner (who is also one of the instructors) does. I understand that people can have differences of opinions, and there are some things she does where I'm like, "I don't think that's a good idea" (to myself, obviously) but ultimately it's her call and not my horses, so it isn't any of my business. But there are things she does that are, IMO, downright bad. Harmful. Physically and mentally. I'm not the only one who thinks so -- I've talked to several people who have left and they all volunteered similar things. I mean, there's a reason she still makes Teddy nervous to this day. However, I stand up for my horses and when she wants me to do something with / to them that I strongly disagree with, I tell her no; and so this doesn't affect me directly. But even watching it makes me feel bad. Sometimes I wonder how long I can stay at this barn. It's great in many ways: my horses are on pasture 24/7 and also have stalls, and the set-up is pretty nice, and it's only a 20-minute drive from my house. And THEY aren't being harmed. And, the trainer who puts rides on Pony is great -- she and I are 100% on the same page about developing him. If I just never had to listen to the barn owner tell people what to do to their horses, I'd be fine. I guess I need to work on not being around her as much.


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## ACinATX

People say that horses have good memories, and I am getting a sense of this with Teddy. Before this week, I hadn’t ridden him since at least March, or maybe the end of February. But one of the first things he wanted to do when I got on him again was to drop his head into contact. He had never done that before we spent months working on it with him last winter/spring, and praising him for it. Then he learned that dropping his head was a “Good boy Teddy” thing, and a Good Thing, and the Right Thing to do, so he just always wanted to do it. And that’s exactly where he started off when I started riding him again this week. He just kept wanting to drop his head down. You wouldn’t have thought he’s been sitting in the pasture for seven months. It was pretty cool!

We had “Fall Fest” today at my barn. It’s basically a Halloween party, but they couldn’t get everything together in time, so they had it today. We also had our lesson in the morning.

Every horse was grumpy: Pony, Moonshine, and Perfect Lesson Pony (PLP). In fact later in the day, I saw PLP appear to try to kick the rider who was getting on her, although surely I must have misunderstood. Maybe she was just kicking at a fly the exact moment the kid got on her. Anyways, Pony was terrible. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to do anything I asked. When I cantered him, he was super counter-bent like he used to be several months ago. He also seemed super tired even before we started the lesson. I got on him early to see how he’d do with a rope being swung around/over him. He could not have cared one bit. He barely flicked an ear at the rope. He just put his head down near the ground like he was pooped and stayed there. It was kind of weird, when you think of how overly-energetic he had been earlier in the week. Luckily we had a pretty easy lesson, so he didn’t really have to do any work. He won’t be ridden again until Tuesday; hopefully he will be feeling better by then.

Then we hung out for a while until it was time for Fall Fest. My daughter got Moonshine’s costume in good working order, and I worked on Pony’s stuff. I had some zinc oxide to put around his feet for “socks” and for his snip and star, as I was dressing him up as the other black pony in their pasture. But it turns out that zinc oxide doesn’t turn a black horse white, it just turns them sort of blue. His face was more white, but his legs were definitely bluish. Oh well, it was still funny to me.

So, maybe this was not too smart of me, but I decided to do the costume contest bareback and with him just in the halter and lead rope (actually the way I do it is to clip one lead rope to each side of his halter for “reins.” I say maybe it was wrong because there were a lot more people there than I had expected, and dogs, and activity. I wanted to do it so he could graze while I was still on him. He was OK, though. He particularly didn’t like this one little kid who kept zooming his baby sibling around in a stroller. I guess Pony had never seen a stroller before. He didn’t freak out or anything, but he definitely kept a close eye on it. 

However, really, he was great. Here is something I did that I realized later was stupid. Last time I rode him like this, I lost a “rein” because they weren’t tied together, and it just slipped out of my hand and dropped on the ground. I didn’t want that to happen this time so I tied them together. I thought this was smart until he somehow got his foot through one of them. Luckily I quickly untied them so he wouldn’t get caught up. Then with the one “rein” that was still in the right place, I pulled his head up and asked him to back up. I was hoping he’d step back over the other rein. He did back up, which was great, given that I was only asking with one side of the halter (plus my body and voice) but he couldn’t get out of the other rein. Luckily my husband was there so I called him over and he fixed it for me. But I won’t tie the reins again. Better for me to lose a rein than for him to get caught up in them and hurt himself.

So, he was pretty good with the crowd. It was also a really windy day. Everyone in the costume class got a big ribbon, and my daughter wanted me to hold Moonshine’s for her. So I just clipped them to his bareback saddle, and even though they were flapping around like crazy and the wind was blowing and that kid was still racing around with the stroller, he was fine. Not perfectly fine, but definitely good enough.

My daughter was also really happy with Moonshine. Once she got over the indignity of wearing a hat that made her look super cute (see picture), she was fine with it. Even though the wind was blowing and she was trotting and the hat was flapping all over her. Not to mention, the worst part, she could not effectively pin her ears at the other horses.

After all of that, they were going to do carriage rides. I offered to help the lady who was doing them, since she didn’t have anyone else there, and I was hanging out watching her harness her horse. I ended up holding the horse for her while she attached her to the carriage. This is a Clydesdale. She was overall pretty good, but a little more antsy being attached to the carriage than I would have expected. I guess I expected a draft horse to just stand there, but she wanted to scooch around. That’s when I realized – she is a REALLY big horse, LOL. With ginormous feet, too. But she was pretty good.

What I was really waiting for was for Pony to see the carriage in motion. He has never seen anything like that before, so I wasn’t sure how he’d react. Ultimately, it was a little disappointing. At first, before the carriage started moving, he stood there with me, watching, but obviously bored. But when it started going, he was definitely interested: “Ooh, I didn’t expect DAT to happen!” Very interested, but not at all worried. Later I saw the carriage going down the long gravel driveway, and the horses in that pasture were just going nuts. So I’m pretty please with his reaction. I had hoped to walk him along it while it was moving, but we ended up having to leave a little early so I didn’t.

Teddy also did well, considering everything that was going on. He just basically stayed in the area around our barn. He never seemed worried, but he wasn’t interested in getting any closer to the activities.


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## ACinATX

The "pony pasture" contains most of the ponies at my barn, plus Moonshine (poor Moonshine, she hates being lumped in with common ponies when she is most definitely a HORSE), and the two mini donkeys. The mini donkeys are very clever and have developed the ability to teleport. What I mean is, they love to escape and cause havoc. Let's say you are going to put your pony (or horse, Moonshine) back in the pasture. You scan the pasture and determine that the donkeys are on the other side. So you lead your horse through and take a minute to give him/her a hug (yes, sorry, horses, you have to deal with getting hugged). In the minute, I mean really just maybe 30 seconds, that it takes to do that, the donkeys teleport over to the gate and then run out.

The donkeys are not halter broke. They don't have any sort of training, so wrangling them back into the pasture takes lots of people, lots of feed, and lots of time. After the last time (which was not our fault, just sayin') I just got sick of it. I thought, "I could halter break those guys and then this wouldn't happen." But I don't really have time. I mean, I go out there to do stuff with my guys, not to train other people's animals. On the other hand, I've never halter trained anyone and I thought it would be interesting to do. But back to the time thing. So I had a great idea -- I told the barn owner I'd halter train them in exchange for some extra lessons. She agreed. She was like, "Name your price -- I am so tired of having to wrangle them back in!"

The donkeys aren't trained to do anything, but they are smart and relatively friendly, and they know a good thing when they see it. So I thought I'd go out there today and see how they felt about the whole halter thing. I took everything in really small steps, with rewards, and within maybe 15 minutes I could get the halter on one of them, and halfway on the other. I probably could have gotten it on the other one too, but this one pony in the pasture decided that he wanted in on the action, so I cut off the training. Next time I want to get them in the round pen so we can not have any interruptions. I was really pleased with how well that went. I did just use Moonshine's halter, so I didn't actually clip it up because it didn't fit. I will need to get them their own halters. Next time I work with them, I hope to be able to halter them both. I was actually really surprised how quickly everything went. I don't _think_ they have been haltered before, since they acted kind of confused about it at first.

The part that I think will be challenging for me will be to time my release just right when I'm starting to apply pressure to lead. I need to think through my steps, too. But if they pick it up as quickly as they picked up having the halter put on, then I will have come out ahead with my deal, which I didn't really expect. But we'll see.

ETA: regardless, I'm not going to rush anything. I don't believe in rushing horses (or, I guess, donkeys). I will just take it at whatever speed they are comfortable with.


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## gottatrot

Good luck with the donkeys. I've done a little training with a donkey. I'd say the hard part will be convincing the donkeys to go where you ask once they are haltered. 😄


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> Good luck with the donkeys. I've done a little training with a donkey. I'd say the hard part will be convincing the donkeys to go where you ask once they are haltered. 😄


That's what I'm thinking, too. They are smart. They'll understand what is being asked, but they'll be like, "Why should I?" However, even if someone still has to bribe them with grain, I think it will be better if they are haltered and understand what's being asked of them. Right now, they get out, and half the people get upset and start chasing them around and half of the people try to bribe them with grain. It gets them all worked up and makes it take that much longer to get them back in the pasture. I figure if someone has some grain and someone has them on a halter, they will probably go. We'll see!


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## Danneq

That's a really nice picture. Moonshine is SUPER CUTE in her hat. How do you get it to stay on? It looks like it's attached to the halter maybe?

Good luck with the donkeys!


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## ACinATX

Danneq said:


> That's a really nice picture. Moonshine is SUPER CUTE in her hat. How do you get it to stay on? It looks like it's attached to the halter maybe?
> 
> Good luck with the donkeys!


Thank you! Yes, we tied it to the halter on one side, then ran the string under her throatlatch, and tied it on the other side. When it was time for the riding part, we did the same thing with her bridle. It stayed on really well.

The things horses put up with from us!


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## ACinATX

I haven’t had time to work with the donkeys. I will update with any progress (or lack thereof) once I do.

For our weekend lesson, my husband’s sister came. She just wanted to do something horsey. We will let her ride on Thanksgiving. She rode Moonshine once before and it didn’t go too well, but I think this time will be better because we’re going to be really clear about everything.

My husband came out as well. I’ve mentioned before, I think, that he doesn’t like Pony very much. Pony is too much of an independent thinker for him, you know? But I had a change to show off Pony’s willingness. Pony likes to get into the hay barn (it has no door, so it’s not like it’s that hard) and eat the hay there. I don’t like him to do it, because they store the hay on pallets but there are usually a couple of empty pallets in the front, and I’m afraid he will step through one of them and hurt himself. Anyways, I was standing with my husband and SIL about 30 feet from the hay barn and he started to go in. So I said “Po-NEE!” in my Pony mom voice, and he looked at me and said, “Well geez,” and backed out again. I told my husband, “See, he’s a good pony.”

Now, about half an hour after that I was riding Teddy in the arena. I had left Pony in a sort of back corner of the property where there is some green grass (we’ve had two months of no rain so most of the grass and even the weeds is long dead) and I figured he’d stay there. But about 10 minutes into my Teddy ride, the barn owner told me, “He’s getting into the stalls again.” So I had to send my husband over there to get him and put him in his little paddock. My husband was like, “Hah, he’s going into time out.” So much for showing him how good Pony can be.

I am working on a theory. My theory is that ponies think of themselves are predators, and their food is their prey. And they LIKE to hunt. Evidence 1: As I said, I don’t like Pony to go into that barn because I’m afraid he might get hurt. So I took some hay from there – THE EXACT HAY HE WANTED TO EAT – and put it outside the barn so he wouldn’t have to go in. He gave it a couple of nibbles and then looked at me as if to say, “Why would I eat this?” and walked away. Evidence 2: His “rounds.” Now that there isn’t much green grass, he goes on “rounds” when he’s in. He goes in and out of all of the outdoor stalls to find whatever feed the horses in there have left. Basically he just ends up licking their buckets, which is also not great, so I have to go and get him out of there. But my point is, I think he likes to hunt for his food. Evidence 3: even given a nice stall with good hay in it, he will often get bored and go out in search of something more interesting. More challenging prey, I think.

I hurt my ankle hiking yesterday. It was a long, fairly difficult hike, but I turned my ankle while walking on the part of it that’s just a nice gravel road.  So, anyways, I rode in the bareback pad today because my ankle is still a little tender and I didn’t want to use stirrups. At the canter, the saddle pad scooched way forward. I was having to hold my hands on his neck while cantering, to push myself back. Both the saddle pad and I ended up in front of his withers. Coincidentally, this girl was there who is one of the barn owner’s long-time riders and has put training riders on horses and taught lessons as well. So the barn owner asked her to get on to see if the same thing happened to her (usually I don’t let the barn owner put someone else on Pony during one of my lessons, although she’s tried; if he’s acting up I feel like I need to be the one to sort it out. But in this case the issue wasn’t him acting up, it was me ending up so forward on him). It did.

But what I got out of it was, this girl does NOT know how to treat ponies (or, at least, Pony). And she used to put training rides on him! Basically she just went in there with all guns blazing, demanding instant and total obedience, and Pony wasn’t having it. She couldn’t even get him up to the mounting block at first because she just tried to pull him along. He KNOWS he can out-pull a hooman. And she just demanded his canter, and then he bucked. I only have the one Pony, but I can tell you – you need to ASK him, not DEMAND. If you ask him, he will do it. If you demand, he will refuse. It’s that simple. 

ETA I was just thinking about how her approach wouldn't even be good for Teddy. Teddy just wants to please so much. But if you went in there with guns blazing just demanding obedience with everything you have, he'd probably shut down. Then of course, the person would respond by getting even louder, and he'd shut down even more. Eventually he'd have all he could take and start rearing. And he'd be labeled as "bad" when all it was was someone not taking the time to make their request in a nice way.

Speaking of Teddy, he did well in his ride last time. His trot was much more easy than it had been – more relaxed and swinging. I wonder if he’s starting to realize that since he’s not in a saddle, he doesn’t have to feel so restricted. It’s possible that the first few trots we had done, last week, he still had the muscle memory from an ill-fitting saddle. Maybe he’s loosening up a bit. I didn’t ride him today. Hopefully I will on Thanksgiving when we're out there.


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## ACinATX

My husband took the plan for my SIL to come out and ride today and turned it into a Thanksgiving picnic. He ordered a whole turkey from somewhere. It was kind of funny – it was an Indian restaurant I guess, and he chose the “tandoori turkey” which was basically turkey with a tikka masala rub. It smelled really good, and apparently it tasted pretty good, too. I don’t really eat meat, so I don’t know. It was just kind of funny. I am including a picture of us. Teddy is there because I had given him a little dessert and he was hoping for more. My daughter took it so she wasn’t in it. I do have to say, Thanksgiving with horses is nice! Better than being crowded in the in-laws houses and hearing my in-laws talking bad about everyone.

I was going to put SIL on Pony, since he is more resilient than Moonshine, but he was acting kind of jumpy again today so I didn’t. I had my daughter ride him, SIL on Moonshine, and me on Teddy (still bareback). SIL wanted to do a trail ride first and then maybe ride in the arena, so we did. I rode Teddy in the lead for the first part. Teddy does NOT like being ridden out in the pasture, at all. It is way out of his comfort zone. But I thought it wouldn’t be too bad since he was in his own pasture with his friends. Once we were about to cross to the back of the pasture, though, he was really not liking it so I sent my daughter and Pony in front. That was fine. Pony was having a great time and didn’t care if he was leading or in the back or whatever. He was just like “Hoi!” (that’s how he says “hi”). But we went around the same way a second time and I had Teddy be in the lead the whole time. He wasn’t happy about it, but he did it. He did a lot better with the second lap, but he was still worked up. After we went into the arena he needed some cool down time.

My daughter and I watched SIL ride Moonshine. I asked daughter how she thought they did, and she said “About as well as could be expected.” I thought the same. Moonshine was great out in the pasture (it’s her happy place) but hauled SIL around all over the arena. She even cantered on her (SIL did NOT ask for the canter), which was surprising given that she doesn’t really like to canter in the arena. It later happened that SIL sat on Pony bareback while I led him around. She said that riding him bareback was more comfortable than riding Moonshine in a saddle. It’s true. Riding Pony bareback, it’s like you’ve got a gel cushion under your butt.

After that, my husband hadn’t come out with the turkey yet, so I offered to show SIL some tricks that Pony could do. She was like, “He’s just like a dog!” and was very impressed. I offered her to try to signal him to do some of the tricks, but that didn’t go too well. She was really jerky in her movements and it made him jump. I thought I’d remind him of the trick we were trying, so I signaled him, and he nipped me! I’m sure he was kind of worked up and confused by what she had done, but still. Luckily I had my whip, so I thwacked him on the butt real good then ran him around for about 10 seconds, hard. I didn’t know he could gallop in the dressage arena LOL!

But, the point of all of this was, after that 10 seconds I released the pressure and just let him go, and he downshifted into what I honestly believe was the most beautiful canter I have ever seen in my life, from any horse. You would have thought he was floating, his feet didn’t seem to touch the ground at all. It was slow, collected, and floaty. Wow. It was just amazingly gorgeous. If he could canter with me on his back like that, we would win every award everywhere.
Anyways, not surprisingly, after that he decided he was done with trick training, which was fine. I put him in the back of the open area where he could graze without getting into mischief. And of course, we are still friends. That’s one thing that makes him so easy – you can punish him and he just bounces right back.

Oh, the donkeys. Their halters came. The website I bought them from sells nothing but mink donkey stuff and is called minidonks.com I think; but the actual business name, apparently (from my Paypal receipt) is half-*** farms, LOL. Anyways, the halters were a little on the small side, but they did fit. I got one all the way on the one donkey (wow, it’s really different getting those donkey ears tucked down into the halter than horse ears). He was not entirely happy about it, and that’s when I thought, “What if he genuinely freaks out?” I mean, if he started really freaking out, then I wouldn’t be able to get the halter back off again, and it’s not a breakaway either. So I quickly took it off. I did put it on him one more time and he was more OK with it. The other donkey, the one I couldn’t even get the halter over his nose before, I now got the halter halfway onto his face. So I think that was pretty good. This was all in less than 10 minutes.


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## ACinATX

We got there early today and I worked with the donkeys some more. I got them separated (they are co-dependent) so I could work with one at a time. I put the halter on the more confident one again. He seemed not so crazy about it this time, but he wasn't TOO bothered so I left it on. That went well enough that I got the lead rope out and worked on leading him. I had zero problems. He followed me everywhere, and the couple of times he hesitated I got him going again with gentle pressure. Now, do I think I am an awesome trainer? No. He was clearly following me around for treats. But I was OK with that -- I'm just trying to create the basic association that the halter and lead rope means he needs to follow. And like I said, the couple of times he hesitated, I got him going again with slight pressure.

The other one is still pretty leery of the halter. I did better with him by unbuckling it and putting it over his ears, rather than using the clip and pushing his ears down and into it, like I did with the other guy. I didn't even end up buckling it -- we just worked on getting the bottom part of the halter halfway up his face, and them him accepting the feel of the strap behind his ears.

We had a surprisingly good lesson today. It was raining so we had to ride in the dressage arena, which is the only covered arena. There are no poles and nothing else interesting in there, so I thought it would be a boring lesson. But the instructor had some cones, and she made a 20-meter circle in the middle of the arena. Two of the points of the circle had two cones that were only a few feet apart, and we had to ride between them. We walked, then trotted, then cantered them. Pony did so well. He stepped on one of the inside cones the first time we went to his right, but after that he got them. And he was PERFECT to his left! He picked up the lead first time, then cantered through those narrow spaces no problem. And the left is his hard lead. 

I did have an ah-ha moment on getting his left lead. My instructors have always wanted me to make sure his nose is tipped to the inside before asking for the canter, and I agree that's important, but I realize now that his whole body needs to be bent on that circle, really soft and supple, for him to pick it up easily.

Moonshine did OK. She cantered the circle nicely on her good side. But she didn't want to pick up the canter on her bad side, and when she did she didn't do a very good job with the circles at all. My daughter actually ended up staying in there after the other two riders left and working on it until Moonshine got it right. So that was probably good.

It was in the 50s and rainy and supposed to be like that all day long. I really dithered about putting on their sheets or not. Ultimately I did. I feel like the weather has been very warm the last few weeks so they probably aren't used to this cool weather, and then of course it's raining. I expect I'll have to go out tomorrow to take them off, but that's OK.

I've decided to finally pull the trigger on a trailer. I'm pretty sure. The one I want is pretty expensive, but it's really nice. I've been sitting on the idea for a while, and I've come to terms with the cost. And having it now will give Teddy a long time to practice loading and unloading (he doesn't trailer well). This trailer will have a side ramp in addition to the back ramp, so I'm hoping it will be easier for him. I'm thinking that in the beginning we'll just walk in and then walk right out again. I'm hoping that seeing that open ramp will make it seem less confining. The trailer also has a human door on the other side, so it should be really light and airy in there. The last few months, I've really wanted to take Pony and Moonshine out to trails. I think they will be fine mentally, and they have no problem with trailers. I also thought it would be fun to bring them to our house and ride them up and down the street and let them get used to that. The place we are moving has a horse-friendly trail about a mile away, but we'd have to ride down the road to get there. Anyways, I'm looking forward to being able to take them places!


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## AbbySmith

Yay! I just finished reading your whole journal! It is amazing! I had so much fun reading it, you have made a lot of progress with all three horses!
I am so jealous of your progress with the mini donkeys. I have three of my own little guys, and ughh. I have been trying to work with them, and it is not going over very well. I can get a halter on two of them, and kind of lead one of them. But the second the third one even sees a hater, she's out of there. I have been trying to get her to get used to it, by feeding her treats out of the same hand I have the halter in, but she still isn't accepting it. 
Anyways, you have a very interesting journal, and I had a lot of fun reading about your story!


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## ACinATX

Thanks! I can't believe you made it all the way through this monster of a journal, LOL.

I actually read about your work with your donkeys in your journal. 

So when you try to feed her while holding the halter, she runs away? This is a situation where it would be easier if she were alone. You could then go out there with the halter and treat and just wait. I bet eventually she would just come to you.

Or, what about making it a little easier for her, mentally? What about going out there with the halter over one shoulder, and feeding her with the other hand? And then trying to slowly move it closer? I'm not a fan of hiding halters, but you COULD go out there with the halter behind your back, and feed her treats, and then sort of slowly bring it around so all she has to do is look at it, not even get too close with her mouth. Or even, what if you stayed near the fence, and called them over to you, and just hung it on the fence? Or took it out there but then dropped it on the ground? Or what if you took the halter apart and only went out there with part of it? In my very limited experience, you just have to back things up more and more until you find that one place where the animal is mentally comfortable. Once you find that place, you can slowly work them up to where you want them to be.

I know for me, personally, it's easier for me to work with them if I can separate them. The one who's OK with being haltered is, not surprisingly, the more dominant one, so when I try to work with the other one, the dominant one wants to butt in and get all the treats for himself. My daughter has offered to help, but so far she hasn't been available. I think it would be great if we could work with them one-on-one.

These donkeys were rescues, but they are pretty friendly and very food motivated, and I think that helps a LOT!


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## AbbySmith

LOL!
No, I can get close to her. And she will eat the treat from my hand with the halter, but the minute I move it, she gets scared.
I dunno whats going on. She has seen me put the halter on the other two, and I have never hurt her, or scared her with it. 

I should probably separate them. The other two try to eat the treats, and then I shoo them away, and she follows them. Hmm


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## knightrider

When I was trying to teach Isabeau to accept paste wormers, I did a lot of your techniques. I would feed her a treat with the tube of applesauce in the other hand, then move the tube closer and closer as she ate the treats. Finally I got her to eat the applesauce from my hand with the tube near her mouth. I did that for a couple of days. Then I actually put the tube in her mouth and squeezed out a little applesauce. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. She wouldn't get near the tube. She wouldn't eat applesauce . . . she wouldn't even eat treats, she was so mad at me. She wouldn't eat apples for several years after that.

I finally gave up and wormed her in her food. I finally did get her to take applesauce from a tube . . . but she knows the minute it is wormer and not applesauce and won't let it near her face. I just worm her in her food with some molasses. I give up. Some equids are VERY opinionated.

I also enjoy your journal, your adventures, and your pictures. I think your daughter is a very talented and funny writer and I wish she would post more from Moonshine's journal. I am always excited when I see Moonshine has written something.


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## ACinATX

@knightrider I asked her why she stopped, and she said "I stopped." She's a teenager, LOL.

We do still, at night, make up stories about them where we anthropomorphize them to no end. I do think we do a pretty good job. If Moonshine were a person, she would definitely consider herself the queen and everyone else mere servants. And she would be a major grump. In these stories, Pony is annoyingly friendly and also something of a butt: "Oooooh, sorry Moonshine, that's my hay. Now THAT is my hay. Now THAT is my hay." And Teddy is always saying "Um...." and telling people that they would be happier if they follow the rules. To which Pony responds, "Ponies ALWAYS follow the rules. Because ponies MAKE the rules! If ponies don't like a rule, they just change the rule! So they are always following them!"

Teddy: "I like to be in the arena. Because the rail is always there to tell you where to go, and there are poles to go over. So you always know what the rules are and it's easy to follow them! Yay!"

Moonshine: "You're an idiot. I hate the arena. I hate all of those stupid rules and I especially hate the rail. If someone can't MAKE me stay on the rail, you better believe I won't do it. And going over poles is stupid."

Pony: "I has a special zone in the arena that I call the 'wone zone' and it's where I do my best wonies. Heh heh heh. But see, I just do wonies to add more fun to the ride! I don't want my hooman lady getting bored! Heh heh heh. Or me either."


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## ACinATX

I’ve gone out to see them twice since I last wrote.


The first time was just terrible. Definitely one of those “one step back” kind of days. I only went out there because I had put them in sheets the day before, and according to the weather it was going to be warm enough to need to take them off. But when I got out there, at the supposed peak of heat, it was cloudy, cold, and windy, and there was no need to take them off.


So I thought, well I’ll do something with them. I did trick training with Pony. He was really excitable and started kind of mouthing for the treats before I had said “good boy!” (which is the signal I use to let him know he did the right thing and a treat is coming). My usual corrections for this behavior weren’t working, so I decided to just stop. He hadn’t had enough, though. He pranced behind me all the way back to the barn. Well, not all the way. About ¾ of the way there, he nipped my elbow. So, of course, I thwacked him with the whip, and he went off into that perfect canter of his. But I was ticked off. And, it’s just not OK. Fine, I had the whip and I punished him, but I don’t want him to think this is some kind of game where he can nip me, get thwacked with a whip, and then run away.


I decided to ride Teddy. Teddy was not having a good day. Yes it was cold and windy, and the hammock kept spinning and spinning around, but he isn’t usually that edgy. He was just snorting and snorting. I rode him over by the mirrors, and for the first time in a while I could see the whites of his eyes on a ride. So basically all we did was walk around for a while, and do a couple of laps of trotting, and then I let him be done.


I guess it doesn’t sound that bad now, but it was really cold and windy, and I was like, “Why did I even come out here at all?” I mentioned to my daughter about Pony and said I was going to stop giving him treats, but she suggested that instead I should do a session just to reinforce taking treats politely.


So, today. It was still cold, but not windy, so that was OK. I decided to try Pony one more time with the treats. I usually give him treats when I clean out his eye gunk. He was extremely polite about it today. He was also amazing in the lesson. He had a really nice step at the trot. When it was canter time, we were the only ones left, so we had plenty of time to canter. First we cantered right, which is his good direction. A little unusually, I had to give him a little squeeze to get him cantering (usually I just think “canter”), but he picked it up really nicely. His right canter has become absolutely silken. I mean, it’s just so smooth. Much more collected, totally off his front end, and quite steady. We cantered around the arena several times, and he went exactly where I wanted and at the speed I wanted.


He also picked up the left lead correctly the first time. I did the same thing I described earlier, where I made sure his whole body was on a left circle and I could feel him yielding nicely to leg pressure. Then I thought “canter” and he did. When he picks up the canter on his own terms, his canter is really beautiful. Now, his left is still not as good as his right, but it’s now better than his right was when I started with him. Really the only problems we had were with tempo modulation – in other words, I had to regulate his speed because he would want to speed up here, or break to a trot there. And I guess it’s not quite as smooth as to the right, but it’s really nice now.


I forgot if I mentioned this earlier – his saddle only scoots forward if he’s acting up at the canter. If he has a nice canter, it stays where it’s supposed to be. I’m not sure what that tells me. Except I hope he stops acting up altogether. Certainly he’s much better than he was a year ago.


I worked with the donkeys again. I managed to get the less-confident one into the roundpen by himself. After last time, I had thought that the treats might not be enough and I might need to use some pressure and release. And it did seem to be necessary. I could get the halter halfway up his face, but when I put the strap behind his ears he would start backing up. So what I did was, I put it behind his ears and let him back up and just kept it there gently with my hand and followed him back, so the pressure would stay the same. My idea was to release the pressure once he stopped. But he didn’t want to stop. So I changed the plan and decided to release pressure once he slowed down even a tiny bit. I have to say, I don’t think I’m the best with pressure and release (I always worry about my timing), but after we did this about four times he understood what I wanted and had stopped backing up. So I must be doing something right. I rewarded him a lot and then started working up to actually buckling the halter. And we got there, too. I put the halter all the way on and buckled it, then messed with a bunch to try to make it sit on him better, and he just stood there. Actually he didn’t want to stop (“Keep the treats coming, lady!”) so I went ahead and clipped the lead rope on and walked him around a bit. He was a little more hesitant than the confident one had been, not surprisingly, but he did OK. After that, I decided it was time to quit, regardless of what he thought (actually, honestly, I had run out of treats).

I'm still sort of mulling this over. I don't know how much you can compare donkeys to horses. This less-confident donkey, he doesn't seem like a worrier, like Teddy is. I'm not sure how to describe him except as "less confident." I've used pressure and release with Teddy at times, when I had to, but generally applying pressure to him just makes him anxious, which starts him down his downward spiral that ends, if not headed off, at explosion. Like this donkey, Teddy is "less confident," but he's also WORRIED. He is worried and anxious and worried some more. So I guess what I've realized today is that being less confident doesn't necessarily mean that you are worried about things. I'm still trying to figure out this less confident donkey's personality, I guess.


Anyways, today was much better than the last time. Yay!


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## ACinATX

I did forget to mention one good thing from that bad day. Pony was on his “rounds” to see if any of the outside-facing stalls were open (he goes in to see if there is any leftover food, and yes I do pull him out as soon as I see him doing it). However all of the stalls were all closed and occupied because of the weather. Something in one of the stalls seemed to really bother him. He started looking quite nervous. Now, right on the other side of where he was, there’s a sort of ledge with a one-foot drop, and I was afraid he might spook over the ledge and hurt himself. But he knew the ledge was there. What he did was, he looked for the ledge and then carefully stepped down. He then turned to look at the scary thing again, I guess to decide if it really was scary. Apparently it WAS scary, because his head went up, he snorted, and then he took off trotting. 

I don’t know, maybe all equines would have had the common sense to not spook off a ledge with a drop-off, but it’s really nice to know that he thinks before he acts. Of course, I would have thought that if the scary thing was non-scary enough that he could slowly turn his back to it to step carefully over the ledge, it wouldn’t be scary enough to spook at at all, but then again I’m not a pony.


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## AbbySmith

ACinATX said:


> I'm still sort of mulling this over. I don't know how much you can compare donkeys to horses. This less-confident donkey, he doesn't seem like a worrier, like Teddy is. I'm not sure how to describe him except as "less confident." I've used pressure and release with Teddy at times, when I had to, but generally applying pressure to him just makes him anxious, which starts him down his downward spiral that ends, if not headed off, at explosion. Like this donkey, Teddy is "less confident," but he's also WORRIED. He is worried and anxious and worried some more. So I guess what I've realized today is that being less confident doesn't necessarily mean that you are worried about things. I'm still trying to figure out this less confident donkey's personality, I guess.


I have had this same problem with my donkeys. They are not like a horse! I was very disappointed when I got mine. I still love them, but I was hoping that by getting them, I would be learning more about how a horse works and thinks. This was not the case. A horse will do whatever you ask of them, so long as they trust you. A donkey will stand there and analyze every little detail, and they have to feel like it was also _their_ choice to move forward. They do not like to feel like they are being told what to do. You have to be willing to work with them, and sometimes do what they want to do. This does get annoying, and I still don't completely understand the 'way' of a donkey lol. Keep working at it! You sound to be getting a lot of progress!!


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## JoBlueQuarter

AbbySmith said:


> I have had this same problem with my donkeys. They are not like a horse! I was very disappointed when I got mine. I still love them, but I was hoping that by getting them, I would be learning more about how a horse works and thinks. This was not the case. A horse will do whatever you ask of them, so long as they trust you. A donkey will stand there and analyze every little detail, and they have to feel like it was also _their_ choice to move forward. They do not like to feel like they are being told what to do. You have to be willing to work with them, and sometimes do what they want to do. This does get annoying, and I still don't completely understand the 'way' of a donkey lol. Keep working at it! You sound to be getting a lot of progress!!


Going off of that, it sounds to me like donkeys would be brilliant experience for horses! I'd say (though I don't have much experience with this) a donkey is still similar enough to a horse, just not as easy to force into things. I think most horses are more easily manipulated into things (and they can "break" easily) but I'd always rather a trainer acts more in this respectful manner with a horse than too quick and demanding and forceful. So who knows, you might be really happy that you got this experience later on!


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## ACinATX

JoBlueQuarter said:


> Going off of that, it sounds to me like donkeys would be brilliant experience for horses! I'd say (though I don't have much experience with this) a donkey is still similar enough to a horse, just not as easy to force into things. I think most horses are more easily manipulated into things (and they can "break" easily) but I'd always rather a trainer acts more in this respectful manner with a horse than too quick and demanding and forceful. So who knows, you might be really happy that you got this experience later on!


Yes, I wanted to say something similar. What @AbbySmith said above pretty much describes my Pony. Maybe that's why I'm doing well with the donkeys.

Of course every horse is different. Teddy, of course, is more horse-like.

I was trying to find more info about horses vs donkeys, and I found one site that said donkeys are harder to "read" (I mean, understand what they are thinking) than horses. So far, I have found this to be true, although it may be that I just haven't spent enough time with them. But if it is true, then donkeys would be a great lead up to horses. If you can understand what your donkeys are thinking, then horses should be easy!

@AbbySmith I think that any experience you can get working with the donkeys will probably help you, at least a little, with horses. I will say that I personally find mini donkeys a lot less physically intimidating than horses, so it's easier for me to maybe try things that might have made me nervous trying on horses, for instance holding the halter strap on his head and walking backwards with him, even though he was a little head tossy. So get whatever experience you can now! You'll be glad you did!


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## AbbySmith

@ACinATX and @JoBlueQuarter what you guys said makes a lot of sense, and I am sure that the donkeys will help me later on but as @ACinATX said, donkeys are definitely harder to read than a horse. I guess it might just be cause I'm not really used to working with horses cause I'm only around them once a week. 

I am going to continue working with them, but they are definitely making it very difficult because they are so much older and it is a lot harder to train an older less friendly animal. I am getting through to them though, and I am pretty sure they are bred, so I will get to work with their foals and hopefully I will be able to train them well.

You both made a lot of sense, and I am definitely going to keep working with them, I do still love them even if they aren't a horse. ❤☺


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## ACinATX

Moonshine came in a little lame today, so my daughter wasn't able to ride her. She chose to ride Pony, and I rode Teddy.

First, I have to say that, a few rides ago, I had asked Teddy to back up. It really really bothered him. I got the back up and given how much it bothered him I released the contact after just one step, but ever since then he's gone back to being worried when I ride him. Not freaking out worried, not out of control worried, but to the point that he can't calm down even after a few minutes of trotting. So we did part of the lesson and spent most of the rest of the time just walking and making little circles, leg yields, stopping on top of ground poles, etc. To get him calmed down again. So that wasn't great, but it was good to ride him, and good to ride him in a lesson, too.

Pony did really well for my daughter. He did do his "wony" backing up bit once, but I guess she just urged him forward out of it and he was OK. She did a fair amount of cantering on him. He picked up the correct lead every time except one, and his left lead pickup was really smooth. She cantered him over a lot of ground poles and he did great. She also trotted him over a little jump a couple of times and he did well with that, too.

I had always thought that if Moonshine became unrideable, she'd want to ride Teddy, since he is sweet, but she doesn't like all of his emotional baggage. She said, "I like it that if Pony acts up, I know he's just being naughty, and I can punish him quickly and get it over with and it doesn't bother him." Whereas Teddy acts up because he's worried, and you can't punish that. You just have to take time out and work on it, slowly, slowly, and with infinite patience. And she likes it that Pony's silly and fun (fun in terms of personality and also to ride). Also, Pony is really coming along now and he can now do anything Teddy can do, in terms of cantering, lead changes, jumps, etc. And he no longer acts up (much). So, yeah, I guess why would you ride the horse that has emotional baggage that keeps coming up, when you can ride one that's happy and fun?

We didn't hang around much after the lesson -- it was cold, windy, and rainy. Maybe I'll go back out tomorrow, if the weather is nicer.


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## ACinATX

I’m going to hopefully have three lessons per week starting this week, for a month or so. I’m going to take two of my daughter’s spots, and then the barn owner gave me four for my husband making her a nice new mounting block.

Riding a fat Pony makes you sore, and riding a fat Pony two days in a row makes you twice as sore! But I had two really good lessons on him. I’m cantering him over ground poles now. The thing is, my main instructor doesn’t want me to “just” let him canter over the poles, because then he just sort of slouches over them – she wants me to hold him in a collected canter, then release at just the right moment so he springs over the poles. The problem is, I’m having a hard time finding that moment. She isn’t helping, because she says “NOW” at the exact moment she wants me to release, but I need a split-second to process that, so it’s coming too late. However, when I get it right he does great. You can really feel him just springing right over it. It must look really nice.

I asked the trainer if I could watch her ride him over the same things, to see how she would do it. First of all, she didn’t like the whole release idea at all. But, while I usually trust her judgment about Pony more than the other instructor, because she is the one who actually rides him, I watched her ride over the same poles and it was pretty bad. He just shlumpfed over them, when he wasn’t hitting them with his feet. So she thought about it and did it a different way, and he did a lot better. I asked her what she had done differently the second time, and she said she had really tried to sit upright and hold his head more – I guess get him more collected, which was pretty much what my main instructor had been saying, except the trainer didn’t like the whole release-over-groundpoles thing, still. I talked to her about the whole thing in general, and for our next lesson (tomorrow) she will try to help me by counting strides to the poles for me (like, she will count out loud “3-2-1” as I approach it). It looks like she’s really working hard on lead changes with him, too, which is great. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but she really enjoys working with him, and says that it’s often the highpoint of her day.

I met another potential new trimmer out there today. I don’t know why I can’t find one that I like – that German lady we had, I loved her. She did a good job, the horses liked her, and they were never sore. But she left. Anyways, this new guy wanted to work in the main barn (he’s new to me but not to the property, so that’s where he’s used to working) and I decided to try Pony in the crossties. I’ve never crosstied him before, and I doubt anyone else has either. But he’s overall a pretty calm and level-headed guy, so I figured he’d probably do fine. In fact, he did. He spent about five minutes being kind of annoyed that he couldn’t move his head around much, and then he was like, “Fine, whatever.” Actually he did better than the pony that got trimmed before him, as the barn owner’s dogs were running around everywhere and they seemed to make that pony really skittish. With respect to dogs, my Pony’s attitude is, “You come here and I will bite you,” so they typically don’t bother him. The new guy also did a little bodywork with him. I’m going to try him on Moonshine next week. We talked about her feet a lot and I think his proposal for how to treat them sounds reasonable.

Nothing new with the mini donkeys, except that my husband offered to put an extra hole in their halters so they will hopefully fit correctly now. We have a really small department at work and one of our team members just quit, so everyone has more work right now. So I haven’t had a lot of extra time to do much with anybody. And the donkeys will always be last priority.

The barn manager told me that when I don't come, my horses hang out at the gate all morning long, hoping someone will come and let them in I guess. They have round bales in their pasture and aren't hurting for food, but they know that when I let them in they get alfalfa hay. Today when I went out there, I wasn't sure if this trimmer was going to have time to look at any of them, so I didn't really want them to know I was there, because they'd stand at the gate and nicker at me and make me feel guilty for not letting them in. So I put my jacket over my head, like people who are defendants in high-profile criminal cases do when they are getting out of their car to go into court. But they still figured it out, LOL. I did end up letting them in since the trimmer had time to work on Pony.


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## ACinATX

Well, we had a crummy day today. The horses were grumpy in the lesson. Moonshine was diving in at the canter, and at one point my daughter fell off. Luckily we were in the soft-sanded arena, so she just got back on again. Pony was also diving in, and really throwing in all of his old wonies to boot. I came >>THIS<< close to falling off. And in one corner, we actually got into a smackdown fight. So I got grumpy and then he got grumpier, and things just got worse and worse. Eventually, the instructor was like, "Let's just get him to pick up his left lead one time, and then he can be done." And he did, so we were. But I was still feeling frustrated with him. I know it's not fair to ride like this either, so I kind of felt bad about that. And then I found Teddy in the hay barn standing on the old rickety wooden pallets to get hay. Teddy is super accident-prone, and those pallets are just looking for an excuse to injure someone's foot, possibly quite badly. So I had a quick mini freakout where he couldn't see, then took a deep breath and told myself I was calm, and went in to see him. It seemed like the best way to get him out of the spot he was in was to back him up, so I did. He was, at least, very careful about where his feet were going when he backed up. He usually isn't that thoughtful about where his feet go, so I guess he realized he was in a tight spot. I got him out OK.

On the bright side, I decided to work with the donkeys a little. They were at the round bale, but once I got within about 30 feet of them I called them and showed them the halter and shook it around so it would jingle, and they came over. But I couldn't get them sorted out to work with one or the other. I was going to just stop, but then I thought, if I can get the less-confident one into the roundpen alone, then I could work on him again. The roundpen was pretty far from where they were, so I figured if they would follow me all the way over there I'd do it, and if not, not. They did. I had a hard time getting just him in there, but I did. Everything went really well after that. He followed me around willingly in the roundpen. I decided to try again to take him out of the pasture (last time they refused). My daughter was there to keep the other donkey and the interfering pony away, so we did it little by little. I did have to use some pressure and release this time because he was somewhat hesitant about wanting to follow me. This guy didn't want to leave his friend. So we walked away a little, rewarded, then came back, then walked away, then came back. Then I asked him to leave the pasture. He hesitated, but again pressure and release, and then he came out! I rewarded him and then put him back in, rewarded, and was done. So at least something was going right.

When it was time to put Pony back out in the pasture, he had wandered off pretty far down the inside area. Instead of going to get him, I went to get a few cookies, then called him. He came trotting over! So that was nice. I was watching someone else try to teach their horse to come when called today, and I felt like I could have offered her some tips (e.g. don't bring the whole cookie jar with you and don't leave the jar right next to your horse, then walk off 30 feet, and try to get him to come to you), but she had an instructor with her so I just left them to it. 

By the time we got the horses out to the pasture I was finally feeling somewhat better, so I gave them each their traditional hug and let them go.


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## ACinATX

Yet another carnivorous tarp


The horses were upset about something when they came in today. I couldn’t figure out what it was. It wasn’t until I went to go get Pony and drag him into the barn (he usually waits a minute or two and then comes in, but today he went to the far end of the “inside” area and seemed happy to stay there). He alerted at it and then I saw – another carnivorous tarp. This one was a different color than the one that ate Sully (in hooman terms, the one that was used to cover up Sully’s body after he was PTS), and in a different place but somehow it was similar in the way it presented. 

I brought Pony in with just some baling twine around his neck. He didn’t try to run, but he really snorty and alert and prancy and worried. He circled a little and just kept popping his head up. I thought it was possible he might try to break, so I took the twine off his neck and then he did trot away. So I guess the good thing is, he does recognize the baling twine around his neck as being “caught” and he knows that that means he should be on good behavior. He spent a good five minutes circling around the tarp, spooking at another object, snorting, blowing, etc. He calmed down a little but not a lot, and since I had to ride him I wanted to go ahead and bring him in. So I haltered him and brought him in with my hand on the halter, and he was fine.

Then I went to get Teddy. I thought I’d go ahead and bring him in and give Pony a few minutes to get settled before I started grooming him. Wow, Teddy was really upset. I haltered him and brought him in with my hand on the halter (no lead rope), which is how I usually lead him around, but he just got more and more worried until he reared and then trotted away. I could have held hm, I think, but it didn’t seem like a good idea. So that wasn’t good, but I felt like it was an opportunity for a relationship building exercise. So I got the lead rope and got him again. I placed myself between him and the tarp and talked to him calmly and walked him past it, slowly but without stopping. We then circled it a little at a distance and walked into the barn. He was still pretty upset, just like Pony had been, but he didn’t rear and try to run again. He was stiff walking into the barn, though, to the point that even calm Moonshine started pacing in her stall when he came in, and of course it set off Pony again. Teddy also couldn’t handle going in his stall, so I gave him some pellets in the aisle. After he ate most of them, I put them in his stall and took him in there, and he was fine.

So that was a good thing (getting Teddy past it). Another good thing: I didn’t need my morning coffee after all, LOL (a horse that you are holding rearing and running away tends to wake you up). And third: I was still feeling a little resentful about how badly Pony had done in our last lesson, even though I know it’s not fair to bring these feelings into a new lesson. Having to work everyone through the carnivorous tarp sort of made me forget about that.

The lesson itself was OK. Pony wasn’t bad, but it was a complicated lesson and I couldn’t get him to do what I wanted. I could tell that it was at least 90% my fault. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing, mostly, I just wasn’t able to keep him collected over poles, in really good circles, etc.

Afterwards I trimmed Teddy’s feet. I felt pretty good about the fronts, but not so good about the backs. I had gotten tired by that time and didn’t feel like I did a complete job. And in fact when I saw him standing on an even surface later, I could tell that I had left his heel to high on one of them. I can fix it tomorrow hopefully. Pony got trimmed on Friday by yet another new farrier, so at least he’s done. Moonshine hasn’t grown much at all in the last month and there’s very little to do on her.

It was cold today and it’s going to be cold all week, so I let them stay in extra long and eat alfalfa hay (they only get coastal in their pasture). At some point Teddy wandered out of his stall and into the dangerous hay barn again. I went in there calmly to get him. As soon as he saw me, he stepped carefully off the pallet (yes he was on it again) and came to me. I told him that if he keeps doing that, I’m going to have to lock him in his stall when he comes in. He WILL get hurt one of these times otherwise.

I put them out in the pasture and then went to hang out with them in their shelter. Well, mostly Pony. I, with some trepidation, let him put his muzzle on my face and head and shoulder. I usually let him do it for a couple of seconds and then gently push him off. I wouldn’t push him off, but he tends to nibble on things, and I don’t want my face nibbled on. Particularly not by a Pony. Today I thought, well, maybe he knows the difference between my face and my hands, so I let him do what he wanted and didn’t stop him. He just put his muzzle everywhere on my face and head and shoulders. Eventually, on my shoulders, he gave a very tiny nibble (just a lip, really) and I gently pushed him off. So that was nice. We hung out for a bit and then I left.


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## ACinATX

I guess today was a day that shows you that things happen, and we’re the ones who put a spin on them, deciding if they were “good” or “bad.”

It was super foggy today. Actually it was clear where we live, but about halfway to the barn we ran into a solid wall of thick fog that followed us to the barn. The horses weren’t too crazy about it. And, the barn got a new horse in and she was in the paddock that abuts one of the arenas, pretty much freaking out. And the barn owner’s dogs were running around again. So Pony was super jumpy again. We moved to another arena for our lesson, but this one also abuts a paddock, and the horses in THAT one started going nuts, too. Pros: another day with lots of impulsion from Pony, and no need to even carry the whip. Cons: He was barely holding it together for a big chunk of the lesson. But then after we cantered a few laps, he was just gasping for breath. I don’t know what that was. He’s cantering more and more now, and I thought he was getting into shape. Was it partially because of the other horses freaking out? We did eventually do what the instructor wanted, which was simple lead changes on a straight line. I have a hard time with these because I don’t really have my act together on how I’m supposed to cue it. I mean, I know how I am supposed to do it I ntheory, but when it’s time to actually ask, my body seems to forget.

Moonshine did really well with the exercise. The instructor thought she was moving really well, which made me happy because I’ve been doing her feet for the last month. I’ve been trying to figure out where her heels want to be (the new trimmer suggested leaving them a little high), and I guess I’m doing a decent job. I’ve also been trying to keep her toes as short as I am comfortable keeping them. I want this new guy to do her feet, but they haven’t been growing very quickly so it’s just been simpler for me to rasp them down when needed. Her feet are refusing to grow in sole, though, and thin soles are one of her problems. I guess part of it is that her hoof wall doesn’t really want to grow. I’ve added a magnesium supplement for her. I’ve heard some people say that magnesium can help with hooves.

I decided to try Pony with long-lining, since my long lines came in earlier than I had expected. Pros: he is generally calm and willing, likes to try, and doesn’t get upset about stuff. Cons: I have allowed some holes in his training. Particularly, I have let things slip to where “hooooo” apparently now means “stop and then turn your head toward me if you want,” whereas what I WANT it to me is just “stop.” Also, my bodyworker was right that he would be really confused by me trying to drive him from behind. I thought that if I got him in that mindset by roundpenning him a bit (we did the whole thing in the roundpen) that he would already be in a “forward and around” mindset, and that would carry over to the long-lining. I’ve taught him things like that before. But it didn’t work this time. Whenever I asked him for movement when I was behind him, he would just do a turn on the forehand and then stand there looking at me, with the long lines getting draped all over his body and legs. 

I will go back and look at my books on harness-training and see what they say. It also might be good to have a helper (like my daughter) have him on a leadrope to reinforce what I’m asking. Anyways, where we eventually ended up today was him walking next to me, with me next to his body, and then stopping and FREEZING when I said “hooooo” rather than turning around to me. Also, after a couple minutes of this I opened the gate to the roundpen so he’d have a choice of whether he wanted to keep going or not (I thought he was looking a little bit irked), and he definitely didn’t want to stop. He didn’t leave until I decided that we were done and asked him to leave.

We went to put them in after that. The donkeys were all the way across the pasture when we did, so my daughter left the gate open, and then they did their teleportation thing and one of them got out. I managed to shut the gate before the other one got out. At first (Cons), I was ticked off (“Why didn’t you close the gate???”) but then I was like (Pros), OK, you know what, this is when I find out if I really did halter break them or not. So I went to get his halter and my treats bag.

The other donkey was running around inside the pasture along the fenceline, and one of the ponies was in there just making things 100 times worse, running around, and thinking that the other donkey wanted to play tag, almost jumping on him and fake kicking at him, and just running him around. So the donkey that got out was getting kind of worked up. I approached him when he was in a corner. I approached him the same way I approach them to work them in the field: holding the halter out and jingling it so they know what’s going on. This is what happened. First, his mind was obviously on his buddy and the pony that was running him around, and he was thinking about running too. He was watching me, but his mind wasn’t on me. And then, suddenly, it was. I can’t believe it, I thought I couldn’t read the donkeys, but I saw the split second that his mind changed from “run run run“ to “Oh that lady is here to put the halter on me and give me cookies.” I took one step toward him, and then he walked nicely over to me. I gave him a cookie. I put the halter on him. It’s still a little small, so I gave him a cookie, took it off, and put it on and worked on it until it was on nicely. Then I led him over to the gate. He followed pretty willingly. When we got to the gate, I opened the gate, and then the pony started running the other donkey around, right there. So my donkey worriedly backed out. I let him, just keeping the pressure steady. I had my daughter shoo the other donkey and pony, and asked again. He was a little hesitant, but he came. I brought him all the way in, closed the gate, gave him a cookie, took off the halter, and gave him another cookie. No problem! The only thing was, the other donkey was clearly wishing he had gotten out too – you could see him thinking, “Where’s MY cookies???” I guess my only question now is, whether this would translate to someone else catching and leading them.

I have to say, I like these guys a lot more now that I’ve trained them. One, because them getting out is apparently not going to be a big deal moving forward, and two, to be honest, because they were so easy to train. You know? It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.


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## gottatrot

Great job with the donkey!

Are you using a lunge whip when ground driving? I usually start a ground driving session with the horse going around me in a circle like lunging. Then I gradually get more to the side until they are doing a circle with me almost behind. Finally I cross behind and start driving them off the circle. If they get confused, I try cueing with the whip first, then go back on the circle if they get really stuck.


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## ACinATX

I was using my normal (dressage) whip. But I actually backed it down to just using my hand, as he kept breaking into a trot when I had the whip.

I like your method. That's the kind of way he learns. I'll give it a try!

And thanks about the donkeys. I have to say, they are really smart and they made it easy. I basically just told them, "This is what I want you to do and then I will give you a cookie," and they were like "We can do that!"


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## ACinATX

I had a better lesson today. It was in the usual arena. Pony was relaxed but with good impulsion and really willing to get on the bit today, which was great. The more advanced student did a more difficult canter exercise, but he and I cantered around the outside of the arena, over ground poles, both ways. It’s been hard for me to find the right balance of leg and contact to keep him from sort of dying out over the poles, but today we did a really good job. This instructor likes to change things up, but I like to feel like I’ve mastered the basics before going on to more advanced stuff, like she had me doing a couple of lessons ago, so I’m happy with what we did. He was pretty good about picking up both leads, too.



My daughter wanted to work on getting Moonshine to stay on the rail, her way. This is actually the way of one our instructors that we had. After this lady determined that Moonshine understood what was being asked, was not in pain, was not afraid, and was capable of doing it, she said “It’s going to be Moonshine’s job to keep herself on the rail.” Rather than constantly nagging her with her legs, my daughter was to ask her to go on the rail, and if she went off, give her a strong correction. It worked pretty well (not perfectly, but well enough) and my daughter really liked the idea that it was Moonshine’s job to stay on the rail, not her job to keep pushing her over. But none of her other instructors have been very receptive to this. So she wanted to work on it on her own. Actually, what she wanted was for someone to put some training rides on Moonshine, but I was like, “You know what you want her to do, and you know how to do it, so how about YOU put those training rides on her?” And she liked the idea, so that’s what she’s doing.



She gave Moonshine a bath afterwards (it was quite warm today) and the wanted to take her to the arena to roll. She did, but she rolled on a pole (I don’t know why she picked that spot to roll) and then got up pretty quickly. Daughter tried to lure her back down, unsuccessfully (see picture).



I worked with Pony some more. I brought the long lines out but didn’t even end up using them. We just worked on him moving off, straight, from pressure on his side. In other words, I’d stand at his front legs or barrel and signal him to go forward, and rather than moving forward just enough to turn and face me, or away from me sideways, he would move more or less straight forward. I took what @gottatrot suggested and just changed it up a bit. I stared by walking next to him in the circle, at his head, then moved down to his shoulder, then finally to his barrel. I made a click sound with my mouth to be the signal to move forward, and that also worked pretty well. We also worked on “hooooo” meaning “freeze”, not “stop and turn to look at me.” Oh, and we also worked on not being greedy about treats, LOL. I got bored after about 15 minutes and opened the roundpen gate so he could leave, but he was not interested in leaving. So we worked for another 10 minutes and then called it quits.



My daughter was bored and wanted to leave, but I suggested that she grab the donkeys’ halter and see if she could get one of them haltered up. Unfortunately, she was “too tired,” so I still have no idea. I may just end up asking someone else to try.


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## AbbySmith

ACinATX said:


> And thanks about the donkeys. I have to say, they are really smart and they made it easy. I basically just told them, "This is what I want you to do and then I will give you a cookie," and they were like "We can do that!"


Great job with the donkeys!! Sounds like they're super friendly, right? 
They sound exactly like my Tim! Super friendly and willing to do anything! Have you had any problems with them biting and looking through you guys treats?
Pony seems to be getting better and better! Good for you! Your goal is to get him to pull a cart?
Love the photo if your daughter!


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## ACinATX

Yes they were always pretty friendly. Honestly I only have problems with them getting grabby when I can't separate them -- when I have to work with the two of them together, they get a little ... enthusiastic ... about the treats.

My short-term goal for Pony is for him to be able to pull things on the mini-farm that we'll be moving to in a few years. Like logs or other heavy objects. But eventually, hopefully, a cart. The thing is, I haven't been able to find anyone in the area to teach me how to teach him, so we're keeping our goals very low for right now. I would also need someone to help me get him a harness that fits, as he's sort of, well, pony-shaped.

I just look at him and think, he is built to pull stuff, he's so sturdy. And he'd look so cute pulling a little cart.


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## AbbySmith

ACinATX said:


> I just look at him and think, he is built to pull stuff, he's so sturdy. And he'd look so cute pulling a little cart.


so true. He is truly adorable! Are there any online videos you could watch? Like on YouTube or something? About pulling the carts.


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## ACinATX

Not too much to write about. I went out by myself yesterday. Christmas Eve is my birthday and I wanted to go see them then, but it was cold, windy, and, most importantly, very pollen-y. So I went yesterday instead. Just to hang out with them. I did end up working on Moonshine’s front feet. She was pretty good about it. I find that my guys tend to get even more wiggly when I tie them, so I did the underneath part while she was eating, then brought her into the aisle and stood her there and asked for her feet for the top part, and she did it without threatening to walk away, which she sometimes does when no one is there to hold her. Her feet definitely looked better after I was done, but I think I can pull her toes back a little more. I kind of want the new trimmer to work on her, but right now I feel like I’m doing a decent job, so I’ll probably keep doing it.

I worked Pony in the roundpen and got him to where he’d walk straight with me as far back as his back legs. He got better at stopping, too. Although today I realized he doesn’t differentiate between “stop” and “slow down,” so that’s something else I have to figure out. Again, holes in his training, and really no one to blame except for myself.

After I put them out, I decided to hang out with them in the pasture. I watched Teddy take a nap. He has laid down with me around before, but never actually flat-out gone to sleep. It was nice to see him so relaxed. I hung out with Pony and Moonshine. They were in front of their shelter but it was kind of warm, so I sort of suggested that we go around to the back (shady part), and they did. We just dozed for a while. I don’t know why, but when Moonshine dozes she likes to stand with her nose almost right against something. Then whenever she gets REALLY dozy, her head drops down, she hits the thing, and then she wakes up. Who knows, maybe she doesn’t want to get too relaxed. By the way, I have never seen her lie down, in the almost three years I have had her.

Pony and I did well in the lesson. It was another lesson of not having to carry the whip, which was great. Also we cantered circles over ground poles, and except for one pole I kept him going nicely over all of them, both ways. We rested a while after that while someone else went, and then the instructor said we could be done, but I wanted him to be done after having done something well, not after having just sat around in the middle for a while. So we had one more canter and I got him really nicely positioned over the pole I wanted. I mean, I kept him going really well, then released at just the right moment to have him sort of jump over it. So I praised him and we were done.

I discovered more holes in his groundwork today. So I kind of feel like while we are making progress in one area (toward pulling objects), we are taking steps back in other areas. This isn’t true of course – we aren’t going backwards, just filling in stuff that was missed.


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## gottatrot

Happy birthday!


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## ACinATX

Thank you! It was really nice to spend the day with them with no pressure to do anything (even though it was technically the day after my birthday; what I actually spent my birthday doing was rotating all the compost bins by hand LOL). But yeah, my birthday present to me was going to see them and hang out with them.


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## AbbySmith

Best birthday present ever. The later one. Not sorting compost lol!


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## ACinATX

I forgot to mention in my last post that I finally got to test the donkeys. We got lucky that they were slightly apart when we went out there. I gave my daughter the halter and treat bag, told her what to do, and hid. She approached the more cautious one and was able, with some difficulty, to get the halter on. It wasn’t him having a problem, she just personally had some trouble with the halter (you will recall they are a little too small).

Pretty soon after she got it on, the other donkey came over to investigate, so I haltered him. We led them around a bit, then decided to take them out of the pasture. The cautious one didn’t really want to go, but she used pretty good pressure and release to get him out. Me and the other one followed.

At first I had thought we would go show the instructor, but after maybe a minute they started getting a little antsy. The cautious one just sort of stood there, but mine started pulling. I think he wanted to get closer to my daughter and the treat bag. I gave him lead rope in such a way that he could run some circles around me, and after he realized that wasn’t getting him anywhere he stopped. I thought I’d reward him by not focusing on him for a few seconds, and that seemed to work OK. We took them back into the pasture and gave them cookies and let them go.

I guess I learned that I need to work with the more confident one a bit more. I forgot until that happened that I had really thought I wanted one more session with him. But on the bright side, the other one had no problem being haltered and led around by a “stranger” so I doubt he would other.

Also, completely unrelated, a couple of days a phrase popped into my head: “We put the ‘can’t’ in canter.” If only I had come up with this a year ago, back when Pony and I were really struggling. I would have used it until I wore it out.


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## ACinATX

The weather was really cold and wet, so I had to put them in stalls for three days. I’ve never put them in stalls for more than one day, except when they were on stall rest. I opened up Pony’s stall to the small paddock and tried Pony and Teddy in there together. Neither one of them particularly likes to be in stalls, so I thought they might feel better together. I figured that the realistic worst case scenario was that Teddy would claim the stall for himself and force Pony into the paddock.

In fact, that’s what happened, unfortunately. Even worse, while I figured that Pony would mostly be out of the wind and rain due to where the barn wall was, I was apparently wrong. When we got there Thursday morning he was soaking wet and shivering, and giving me very pathetic looks. So I shooed Teddy into his normal stall and brought Pony into the stall part of the paddock and rubbed him thoroughly with a towel. And gave him some alfalfa hay, of course. He stopped shivering in a few minutes. fortunately. 

I ended up putting Teddy in a new stall. It’s an outside stall, but it faces south and east, so it’s protected from the wind and rain when there’s a cold front. Plus it did have a sort of “window” into Pony’s stall, so Teddy could stick his head in there and see him, and touch him (if Pony wanted). He could also kind of see Moonshine from there.

When we got there Friday morning, Teddy was not happy with his stall and let me know it with an indigent whinny once he saw me. I had my daughter let him out and he trotted right around to his normal stall and went in. We cleaned out stalls and then turned them out into the grassy inside area (their “pasture” was overstocked and not maintained and then the drought hit, so after the three inches of rain we got it was pretty much just a big mud pit). They were OK for a while but then Pony started instigating things. He wanted to play rough with Teddy, and they got to running around, and then he ran Moonshine around. The barn owner was like “They’re tearing up my grass!” Which, to be fair, was true, but if she hadn’t treated her pasture like that I think they could have gone out that day. So we put them in an arena. They needed some time out of their stall. But then someone wanted to use the next arena to lunge her hot, sensitive horse, so she was like, “Can you keep your horses quiet?” I was thinking, why not just turn her out in that arena and let her run around on her own, but I didn’t say anything. My daughter kept our horses quiet, but then this other lady left after less than ten minutes but by that time our guys were just in standing around mode, so they didn’t really get the movement I was hoping for.

I went by myself this morning. Teddy seemed a lot more accepting of his outside stall, but he was still happy to come into the inside part of the barn into his normal stall. I assessed Pony’s paddock. Overall it looked OK, if quite poopy. I had planted rye and oats in there over the last month or two, because it was just bare dirt before. I was thinking that if he used it in the rain, it would hold together better with some grass than if it was just mud. He had eaten the grass down to the ground in most places, but I think it will come back, although it might never be super lush and healthy.

He was pretty decent in his lesson (my daughter wasn’t feeling great so she didn’t come, plus honestly I think she was tired of mucking stalls). At one point something happened when we were cantering and he spooked pretty good, but his previous antics have improved my seat and I was fine. However, when I looked up, the other lady in the lesson was on the ground. I don’t know what it was, but it must have been something. She was riding the lesson pony, who hardly ever spooks. Luckily she was fine.

We worked on counting down strides to poles. I could do it at the trot, but I wasn’t able to do it at the canter. The reason was that I was really concentrating on holding him together and keeping him going over the poles, and counting down was confusing. She had me count up instead, with the idea that my goal would be to hit the pole after “three,” and that actually worked. And I could then see the point of the exercise, which was to think about where the horse was in relation to the pole, and to be able to lengthen or shorten the strides to get there when you wanted, as opposed to letting the horse make the decision (she’s the person who puts training rides on him and she says he isn’t at the point yet where he’s good at making decisions about how to canter over poles). Overall we did pretty well.

Then I was finally able to let them out into the pasture! I let out Moonshine first, then Teddy and then Pony. I let out the boys one after the other and I was like, “Go, be free, play, have fun, run around!” And, would you believe, they all just walked off about 50 feet and then just stood there. They had all been really ready to come out of their stalls, but then all they wanted to do was stand around!

I decided to go and stand with them. For some reason, although Pony didn’t want to play with Teddy, he seemed interested in playing with me. I had his halter and lead rope, since he was the last one I let out, and he chomped the halter and started sort of tossing it around. So then, with it still in his mouth, I sort of tossed it around. Then I would stop, and he would toss it, and so on. He could have gone on like that forever, but I got bored first (this seems to be a trend in our relationship, LOL; you would think the hooman would have a longer attention span than the pony). Moonshine and Teddy had already walked off to a nearby round bale, so I walked off to another one. He followed me. But he was more interested in scratching himself on it than eating, so I scratched him a bit, then we stood there. Then he walked off a ways but stopped and turned to look at me with a look that I interpreted as “Are you coming?” So I did. Eventually I went to sit at another hay bale (all that mucking plus my lesson plus playing with him was getting to me). He saw me sitting and came over in a nice way to investigate. He nuzzled me and then started eating. For some reason, Teddy saw that and wanted to come over also.

I know I’ve said it before, but I really like the hanging out part of horse ownership better than the riding part, although I do like the riding part. It was a really nice hour or so that I spent in the pasture with them, feeling like they genuinely like me and would choose to be with me. Well, not Moonshine so much LOL. She’s plenty friendly when she has itchy spots, but otherwise she’s like “If you’re not serving me, then why are you here?” Anyways, I left there feeling really peaceful and content, much like a Pony in a pasture!


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## ACinATX

I did everyone's hooves yesterday. I thought I did an OK job. But not at first. Moonshine was good, and I think Pony too, but after I did Teddy I stood him there in the aisle and I could see his front feet sort of tipping in because I had left the outside hoof walls too long, LOL. So I fixed it and I think he's OK now.

I thought I did pretty well. I only drew a little bit of my own blood, and not even enough to run out; I just rasped the top of my skin off enough to see blood. Last time I rasped my thumb knuckle badly enough to where so much blood was running down it was getting in the way of me rasping. Bleah.

But today when I went to pick their hooves, I learned that my back was sore from yesterday. Ow! It really hurt! And I thought I had some ibuprofren in my car, but I guess I was wrong. 

In the lesson, Pony was poky. Moonshine was grumpy. And T, the horse ridden by the student rider, was super grumpy. He's been bucking a lot lately, and he was especially bad today. He's the lazy horse I asked about in another post, but now I'm starting to wonder if it isn't something else. He used to buck with just his rider, but now he bucks with the student rider as well, and SHE doesn't get intimidated by his bucks. For my own selfish purposes, it's kind of nice to be in a lesson with a horse that's acting up, because it makes Pony look better. Actually he did really well, though. The worst thing he did was pick up the wrong lead one time, and then also mis-step on a raised pole at the canter, which was really mostly my fault for not being a more active rider. I could tell, coming into the pole, that we were off stride, but I couldn't get him to where he hit it right.

I had a really impressive not-fall right after that, too. I guess he kind of hit the pole while he was turning, and I fell to one side, almost fell off, overcorrected to the other side, almost fell off, overcorrected back to the first side and almost fell off, then finally didn't fall off. I do think I jammed my finger in the process, somehow. Because it feels weird now.

I'm having a little bit of a pity party because it's cedar season here again, and this one is really bad already. Yesterday we hit the second highest pollen count EVER, although the record that we didn't quite break is very old and somewhat vague (no one has a clear date or exact number), so maybe this really was the worst ever. But the whole week before that, except for the one day it rained, it's been really bad. And today it was really bad. It just saps your energy and makes you unbelievably tired and grumpy. Plus the sneezing, coughing, nose running, etc. I haven't been on a walk in two weeks, and I didn't feel like spending any time out at the barn after the lesson, either. The thing is, I want to stay and hang out with them, but I don't want the suffering that will inevitably come with it. I feel bad, just showing up, riding, and tossing them back in the pasture, but I don't want to get sick. And it's probably going to be a whole month of this. So, yeah, boo hoo.


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## ACinATX

I had them stalled for another 24 hours. There was the possibility of wintry precipitation, and around here that usually means sleet. If it were just snowing, I think I’d put sheets on them and leave them out, but sleet is just miserable.

I also couldn’t get out there as early this morning as I would have liked, as the roads were still pretty icy. It actually snowed here! 1.5 inches, which probably doesn’t sound like a lot to most of you, but it’s the most snow we’ve seen since 2004!

They were pretty happy to see me when I got there. They usually are, I mean, since they know it means they’re going to get fed. I let Teddy out of the outside stall where I had put him and put some hay in his normal stall. But I think he’s done being stalled for a while. He didn’t want to go in there to eat it, and instead he kept trying to steal little bits of Moonshine’s hay that were falling through her stall wall. I eventually relented and put half a flake in the aisle for him, but when it came to his feed I made him go in his stall, and when had eaten all of that hay I put more in his stall and just told him, “Hey you have a choice, go in your stall and eat, or don’t.” He decided to go in the stall.

I was happy that Pony seems to have done all of his pooping in the paddock, rather than his stall. It’s much easier to clean up out there.

I fed them all, picked hooves, put Keratex on Moonshine since it’s wet out, and then let them out into the pasture. Pony – I don’t know if it’s because of being stalled or because of the weather, but he’s been pretty frisky lately. Once I put them out, he wanted to roughhouse with Teddy. Teddy seemed like he wasn’t really interested. I was out there in the field, at some distance, trying to figure out if they had enough hay but also watching the two of them. After a while, Pony sort of gave up getting Teddy to play, and then he saw me and apparently thought “Hmmm!” So he happy walked over to me and then asked me to play nipping game with him. I know some people would go ballistic if their horse did this, but he was fairly respectful about it. He didn’t nip me, he lipped me. I told him I wasn’t interested. He tried again. I told him no again. He tried one more time, then I shooed him away.

He went to the person least likely to want to play (Moonshine) and tried to get her to play with him. She ran away from him. He thought, “Oh boy, we’re playing now” and sort of happily followed along, giving her the occasional nip. She pinned her ears and ran faster. It actually didn’t take him more than a minute to realize she was annoyed rather than playing, so he gave that up. You could just see him thinking, “Who will play with me?”

However, after a while he was apparently able to convince Teddy to play. I didn’t get everything, but I did get a short video of them having fun (if you watch it, you might want to mute it, unless you want to hear a lot of hooman sniffling and wind blowing):






And some pictures, although the video is better.

Also a bonus picture of Pony looking cute, peeking around his stall wall. I know it's not the best picture, but this happened several times while I was out there. He'd peak around, I'd get the phone out and take a picture, then I'd try to get closer for a better picture, and he'd come over and try to eat my phone.

It was nice to see them having fun. Well, at least the two boys. Poor Moonshine. At least Pony has Teddy, who will usually play with him. Moonshine is 100% not interested in playing with anyone.


ETA one last picture


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## AbbySmith

That video....too cute! 
They look adorable with their blankets on!! So cute!


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## gottatrot

I love how frisky and bouncy they are.


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## knightrider

The video is terrific! But that wind! I remember how much I hated the wind when I lived in Texas. That wind sounded fierce . . . and it looked so cold!


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## Danneq

Aw, they're cute!


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## ACinATX

@knightrider yes it was pretty cold, but I do think they prefer the cold to the heat. When it's hot, they just stand around looking pathetic all the time. But thanks everyone for your comments -- I was so happy to finally have a video of them being frisky. They look so happy, it just makes me feel good. I think I've watched it like 30 times already.

I went out again today, although it ended up being cold enough that the instructor offered a makeup lesson rather than having the morning lesson. So I decided to do something on Pony that I think is fun. I rode him bareback with just his halter and lead rope, to see how responsive he was. We only rode at a walk because I didn't want him to feel like he was really working. Wow, he is responsive! I clip the lead rope to one side of the halter and tie it to the other. With just the tiniest twitch of my hand, he will turn his head. We can do tiny circles and big circles, and walk over the center of poles with precision. He stops with a verbal command or with me shifting leg position or the tiniest pull of the "reins". He's also really responsive to leg pressure. Which on the one hand is good. But it makes me realize how bad my legs are at the trot. They wobble so much when I'm posting that I think it sends conflicting signals to him and makes it hard for him to tell what I'm asking him to do. One of my instructors said it's partially due to me using my legs to keep him going at the trot, and wants me to carry a crop. I think I will try that. Anyways, we rode for about 10 minutes and then I got off.

He made friends with the barn cat. I tried to take pictures, but the lighting wasn't so great. He was grooming her! Actually licking her really gently. It's funny because he really likes to roughhouse with the barn owner's dog, but it was like he realized that the cat needed to be treated differently. She obviously really likes him.

Speaking of roughhousing, I had a thought yesterday. The time a couple of months ago when we were in the arena running around and getting all worked up and then he nipped me afterwards, I think he just thought we had been playing in the arena (in my mind, I was teaching him to follow me at all gaits, but to him we were just running around having fun). And then he wanted to play some more afterwards, and him nipping me was his way of asking to play.

Part of the reason I was thinking about this was I was thinking about the order of people he tried to play with yesterday. First was Teddy, obviously, since Teddy is the most likely to want to play. But he picked me next, before Moonshine. I think it's because he felt like we were playing before, and that I'd play with him again. As I said in the last post, Moonshine never wants to play. She thinks it is beneath her dignity as queen of the pasture.

I rasped Pony's hooves and Moonshine's hooves. Her hooves were getting a little long in the toe and I feel like I did a pretty good job trimming them last time to pull the toes back.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I hung out with them for a bit in the pasture afterwards. I let Pony put his head on my head and my shoulder again, and again he didn't try to nibble me. I am slowly starting to think about trusting him with that.


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## ACinATX

I did more hooves today. I can't believe how quickly Pony's hooves grow, and the hoof walls are so thick, too. I guess I didn't rasp enough last time, because this time I ended up having to use the nippers on them to get some of it off before I rasped. There was still a lot of rasping to do, partially because my nippering job was terrible. He also needed his back feet done. And Moonshine, again. I have been rasping her fronts down pretty much every week now, and dubbing her toes. I guess I'm not doing very much at a time, because it seems like they always need to get done. I also had to do her back feet. I guess they had gotten a little overdue, since there was flaring, fairly significant on one foot, even though the hoof wall isn't really long. I hate doing her back feet because she wants you to hold her feet up really high, and then she wants to put all of her weight on you. It's back breaking. I tried to get her to use the foot cradle in hoof stand, but she'd rest on it for just a few moments and then shift up again. Overall her feet look really good, though. And today I watched her walk over some really sharp gravel and she didn't even flinch. So I am feeling good about the job I'm doing.

I wanted to do Teddy, too, but I was knackered after those two, so I put him off, again. Luckily his feet don't grow too fast in the winter. 

Pony is fat. He is starting to develop fat pads on his butt. It's bad. The barn owner doesn't really want to stop feeding round bales, because it's easier for her, but then they just park themselves around the round bales and eat all day. I started a thread about it, thinking that maybe if I could give him more exercise he'd lose some weight. Most people seem to think not. But since I can't really control his pasture, it seems like more exercise is all I can do. Unfortunately the pollen is pretty bad right now, so it's hard to get out there a lot. 

But since I was already out there today, I rode him. Just bareback with the halter and lead rope. I've decided to try to teach him to neck rein, which will be more fun (IMO) then just riding him around trying to burn calories. So far he seems pretty good at it, but I think he's mostly moving off my body position, like where my head is looking, rather than the neck rein. Still, if I look to the left and neck rein him that way, and he goes that way, I think eventually he will put it together. He's very smart. If he doesn't respond to looking and the neck rein, I add leg pressure. If none of that works (it usually does) I direct rein.

I rode him out of the arena and over to the main barn to talk to the barn manager about their pasture, and he spooked at a tarp. He didn't actually spook, he just spooked in place and wanted to run but didn't. I was concerned since I was really bareback (not in the pad; and he's very slippery) and thought it was possible that if he dumped me and ran off, the lead rope that I was using for reins might get caught in his legs. So I stood him there for a minute, then did a circle back to where we had come from, then walked him back a little closer. He stood still. So I just got off. I would have pushed him more if I had been in the saddle, or even the bareback pad, but I didn't this time.

I've also been working on ground driving him. I worked on that last week during my daughter's lesson. To try to get away from using a rail as a crutch for him knowing where to go, I put out two safety cones fairly far apart. He already knows that safety cones are a "goal" and to walk toward them. So we walked back and forth, spreading the distance out each time. I will say, I am working my way back toward his butt but have not gotten to where I'm 100% behind him yet. Also, he doesn't do too well with me on his "off" side -- he starts turning around and facing me again. And that's with the safety cones being there. So that's something to work on next time she has a lesson.


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## ACinATX

Well, yesterday this happened, which I posted about. The general response I got was, I should do what I need to do to be safe, and I probably did the best thing in this case. I still wonder if I should have stayed on, but oh well. This is what I wrote:

I had an incident with Pony today. For our lesson, there was a really anxious horse in the paddock next to the arena, and Pony was super jumpy for the first half of the lesson. Also a cold front was coming in. After the lesson I decided to walk him down the long driveway (I'm trying to work in a little more exercise). He was increasingly alert but fine. Then, as we turned to come home, a horse in one of the adjacent pastures started running around, and ran right up to the fence next to us. Pony got quite “up” but was still manageable. Then a horse in the other adjacent pasture started running around. Then more horses in the first pasture started running around. Pony kind of lost it, wanting to run as well. I held him to a sideways canter, then got him circling and slowed down. But I could see that one of the running horses in the pasture was circling around to come back. So after I got him stopped I got off and just walked him back down the road. Even then, I had to circle him once. When I got back to the “barn” area I got back on and walked him just a little bit back down the driveway. Again, he was alert but fine. So I pointed him back home, walked him a bit more, and then got off.

I guess I’m feeling like a bit of a failure for not wanting to stay on him? He wasn’t bucking or rearing or anything, he was just getting really “up.” I probably could have held him. It may have been better for building his trust in me as a leader. And maybe I've now taught him that if he gets worked up I'll get off. But, in that moment, I just felt safer on the ground.

***

Today I finally got Pony to ground drive, kind of for real, with me all the way behind him! And, we even used the long lines a little.

I started out with the cones again. It turns out, the cones were the way to go. He remembers our trick training where he was supposed to go and get the cone, so when he sees the cones he’s already thinking “forward to my goal.” So he didn’t do much turning to face me. I started with me being back by his quarters, and I actually got to where he’d go from the “off” side, too, although not as consistently. Then we started with me just being behind his butt, and after a couple of tries he got that. Then I attached the “long lines” (I actually got two sets, and I cut one of them short because I just kept getting lost in all the line with the other set, so I used the short set). He’s surprisingly good standing still when I’m getting the lines all set up, which I had to do after each time. 

So, I stood behind him and signaled him to move forward, and he did! Well, correction, he did it after I had moved the cones a lot closer together. We did that a couple of times and then I decided to try to steer him, since he had moved well off that pressure the one time I had used them before. I just have him in his halter and I clipped them to the sides of the halter. I’m a little afraid of using a bridle and somehow hurting his mouth, and he doesn’t need a bit, plus I am not sure about feeding him treats when he wears a bit. Anyways, that didn’t go too well this time. He just kind of spun around to face me each time. But, this is where the shorter lines were good, because we didn’t get all tangled up like before (I am grateful that he is a generally calm Pony so when he did get tangled up I just got him to stop and got him untangled). So we went back to just going straight with him in the long lines, and then ended it. I felt pretty good about it!


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## ACinATX

I was the only one in the "group" lesson yesterday, but all we did was trot. We did trot a low jump, and then a series of low jumps, but I wish I had asked to canter. The instructor took a video of my foot position. I knew it was bad, but at one point it looked like I was trying to stand on my tiptoes. It was terrible. So apparently I have to re-learn that. I can keep my heel down, as long as I don't have to do anything else, but when I apply leg pressure it just goes right up. 

I finished Moonshine's feet, but looking at the pictures now I don't think I did a very good job (ref this thread: My Moonshine trim). At least I think I know what the problem is -- leaving her heels too high. At least they don't seem to be bothering her.

I worked on ground driving Pony today, but we had to do it in a new place so we had to start with me at his butt, not behind his butt (which is what we ended on last time). I didn't even end up putting the long lines in today. But, here is a picture of him from today. People say horses don't have a sense of humor, and maybe they don't, and certainly I have actively trained him to do this, but watching him do it, it sure looks like he thinks it's funny.


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## AbbySmith

Pony is just the cutest little thing ever!


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## ACinATX

I taught Pony to ground drive!

Yesterday I got him moving off consistently from me being behind him. Then I added the "long" lines.* He was a little confused at first, and we had several incidents of him sort of spinning around, but luckily he is an overall chill guy who doesn't get worried if he's covered in lines, and eventually he figured it out: if he's moving forward with me behind him and I ask him to turn right, that means to turn right but keep moving forward-- not stop, then spin right to face me. I said we had been doing this by making safety cones the target so I tested him. I put him about 2/3 between the cones, facing one of them. Then I asked him to move off, but had him turn around completely and go to the other cone instead. After he got this right several times in a row, we stopped. He would have liked to keep going, but I thought it was a really good place to stop.

Obviously we now need to spend a lot of time refining this and doing it in different places, and I also noticed that he got confused about "hoooooooo" again, so we'll reinforce that, but this time with the reins.

To be honest, *I* probably need more time working on this now than he does. I understand why it took him a while -- it's just similar enough to riding to be kind of weird. I'm still personally having problems even using my hands, let alone getting to where I can hold both reins in one hand.


* Quotation marks because they started off as long lines but I cut them off so they’d be shorter because they were just getting too long and I couldn’t handle all of that stuff in my hands. I’m now walking just a couple of steps behind him, which yes is kicking distance but I don’t think he would kick me. The only problem with this set-up is that I can't really see where we're going because his big butt is in the way.


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## ACinATX

He's got it! Today we had to do the ground driving in a different arena, and I decided to just start with the lines on, for the first time. I also put out three cones, spaced in a triangle pretty far apart. At first we went from one to another, but then we started skipping some, and changing directions. Then we made circles around jumps and obstacles, went on and off the rail, and went over ground poles. We had a few moments of confusion, but overall he did great. Oh, and sort of funny, there were times where I wanted him to step to the right, say, without turning to the right, and my left leg would tense up like it wanted to push him over LOL. I'm also getting a little better with the lines, although I still made a loop and got my hand caught in it today. I'm glad he's a very calm Pony. Anyways, I'm starting to look for harness equipment.

I had a thought the other day that made me happy. I feel like all of our horses have gotten better since we've had them. We've had lots of ups and downs with all of them, but: Pony is turning into a great riding horse and is learning to drive as well as a bunch of tricks, Teddy has gotten over his extreme anxiety and learned to trust again, and Moonshine has learned to canter over ground poles (on the right lead, too).

PS Moonshine says that she was perfect already and didn't need any improving, thank you very much.


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## ACinATX

The farrier that I had been using before happened to come today, so I had him look at / do Pony and Teddy (he's the guy who trimmed Moonshine's sole after I told him it was super thin, and I've been working really closely on her anyways, so I didn't have him look at her. I've been the only one trimming Teddy for three months now, and I last trimmed Pony on Sunday, so I told him to please look at the work I've been doing and tell me what he thinks.

He thought overall I'm doing pretty well. However (1) I'm leaving the heels too high, which I knew but it's good to have someone else say it, and also come out and show me how much more he'd take off, and (2) I really do need to top-dress their mild flares. He was also better at identifying hoof wall that needed to come off. Having been trimming them myself for a while now, having him come out and comment, then walk me through what he'd change, was super super helpful. Watching him work was really informative.

I rode Pony in the lesson today and he was perfect. The instructor basically wants me to do all of my trotting in two-point or sitting (no stirrups) to work on my bad foot position. So that hurts. I mean, physically LOL. But I also felt some things I was doing wrong at the canter, and I am thinking about how to improve them. I also rode him down the slightly scary road afterwards. He was all looky at the beginning, again, but this time I decided to work on that by asking him to listen to me, so we did a ton of leg yields. My instructor also wants me to work on leg yields since she says my legs are weak and I'm using the reins too much. So that was good. He did actually settle down quite a bit once we started doing that. Our ride out there was uneventful.

The trainer who rides him rides him in the evenings. She says now that it's light later, she will start jumping him more. Here is a video of her riding him -- doesn't he look good with a professional rider? 





Here, also, for posterity, is the video of me and my bad feet.





ETA: I forgot to mention that they were both super good for the farrier. I didn't even tie them, and even when I was back there with him looking at their feet they didn't try to walk off or anything. I'm proud of them.


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## gottatrot

It's really good you have some hands-on hoof advice to help. Pony looks pretty adorable, especially in contrast with the other leggy horse going around. I'm jealous of your big arena with the good footing.


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## ACinATX

Yeah, the contrast between the two is really striking. You can see either one of them separately and they look kind of normal, but put them together and it's really stark. That horse is an OTTB and has beautiful long legs and a gorgeous elegant canter, but he also has a lot of issues and acts up all the time. He started bucking not too long after I took that video. Whenever I see his beautiful elegant canter, I think of my sturdy hard-working friendly happy healthy Pony, and I know who I'd choose every time!


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## ACinATX

I'm in the process of ordering a harness and neck collar for Pony. I figured out what I need, but I have to get measurements to send to the place. Which, I should have done today while we were out there but I didn't. Maybe tomorrow.

We're still working on ground driving. We worked in the grassy "inside" part of the barn a few days ago. He was more distractable there but still OK. I did let him stop to eat grass a couple of times, which I'm sure was a mistake; but I will say that after a couple of bites he would stop eating and look at me as if to say, "Come on, let's get back to work," so we did. We're STILL working on "hooo". He'll be good for a couple of days and then forget and try to stop and then turn to look at me for his "reward." He got better as we worked, though. Every time he'd try to turn around or spin around, I'd just stand there. He figured it out. I love seeing him think. I might have said this before, but we got to where I'd say "hooooo" and he'd stop, start turning toward me, clearly think about it, then turn his head back toward the front and freeze.

I worked on Moonshine's feet some more today. I tried to think about what the farrier had told me about Pony and Teddy's feet and apply it to her. I feel pretty good about the job I did. I could see when I started that last time I had left the inside hoof wall of her back feet higher, as her hairline was not parallel to the ground, so I fixed that as well as working on the fronts.

She did great in her lesson that day. My daughter cantered her over a series of ground and raised poles. I couldn't believe it. They've both come a long way. In our lesson today, she acted up a little at first, but then did a good job. It was another difficult pattern. Pony actually did super on the same pattern. He also picked up the correct lead every time except one. He's still bent a little weird going left, but he's so so much better than he was a year ago.

ETA: I wanted to add, I've been spending a lot of time in two-point to try to work on my foot position. I'm getting sore, but it's not too bad. The instructor said my feet were much better today.


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## ACinATX

I rode Pony today, but not in a lesson. I guess we've started the "attempted weight loss" regime. I rode him in the same arena where the barn manager was riding a difficult horse. I've seen this horse ridden before several times, and I know she's really anxious, hot, and sensitive. So after she was done, I complimented her on how well the horse had done for her. She said that this horse seems to be worse in group lessons, and that riding her with others can get her really worked up. I guess she's very sensitive to the other horses in a lesson. I've also ridden in lessons with this same person and her very green mare, who is also super anxious and somewhat hot. She did really well in our lessons. I'm starting to wonder if it isn't Pony. Actually the instructor had really wanted them to ride with us in some lessons, I think for that reason. He can be a little jumpy at times, but he's overall really calm and very sane. He does not believe in getting worked up about stuff, because that might lead to more action, which would lead to calories being burned, which might lead to him losing weight. At least that's my theory. He's definitely an energy conserving kind of guy.

When I first started riding him, he was very green and he absolutely could not be ridden in group lessons. He would spend the whole time trying to establish dominance over the other horses, worrying about where they were relative to him, and generally being a butt. It's kind of amazing to think that he's now the opposite, and that other horses might actually LIKE to be in a lesson with him!

Afterwards I rode him on the same road where he had been jumpy a few times ago, and except for a teeny bit of lookiness at the beginning he was fine (I did start leg yielding and doing lots of turns when he got looky, to get his focus back on me). We had also ridden out there with Moonshine and my daughter on Saturday, and I'm sure that's a lot of what made him decide there was nothing to get worked up over this time.

*A mother's lament:* I mentioned that in the last lesson Moonshine started off not doing so well but then got much better. My daughter told me afterwards that this made her mad and she wanted to yell ... at me. I was like, but you were mad at Moonshine, not me, why would you want to yell at me? She said, I couldn't yell at Moonshine. I can only hug her and love her. And I guess she couldn't yell at the instructor. So that just left me.  

I was a horrible teenager, I mean, the worst. Except I never went to jail. Otherwise I was really really bad. So I guess if, every now and then, she wanted to yell at me because her horse was acting up, I can deal with it?


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## ACinATX

We finally got to go see them yesterday after the big freeze. They seemed to be doing OK, although their water trough was really low and mostly ice. The barn owner told me most of the pipes and hoses weren't working, and she apparently felt that rather than having to haul water to that trough with buckets, the horses could just drink out of the pond. The pond is super nasty, with all the runoff from an overstocked, never-cleaned pasture going into it. So I got the one working hose as close to the trough as I could and then filled and hauled buckets until it was full. One of the ponies really appreciate it -- you could tell she didn't want to drink out of the deep hole in the ice. She drank one of my buckets completely, just from the bucket. 

I also took some out in the pasture to Pony since he was acting kind of odd. He just seemed really dozy. I mean, it was the first warm sunny day after a week of freezing temps, and maybe he had been running around a lot freaking out in the snow, and he just wanted to doze in the sun. I guess I got a preview of "old man Pony" to come. He didn't drink the water I brought him. I listened to his stomach and heard gut sounds, so I guess he's OK. Moonshine was also acting a little strange -- unusually needy. Usually she likes to pretend that she doesn't care about anyone, but she definitely wanted my daughter's attention yesterday. Teddy seemed normal.

We took off their blankets in the pasture (no rubs, yay!). Last time we brought them in with the weather like this, they all acted really spooky and jumpy, and this time the entire path from the gate to their barn was covered in snow and ice, and I just didn't want to chance it. Hopefully we will go out tomorrow and then let them in and really take care of them.

One thing I thought was kind of interesting was that even though it was only about 40, it felt warm to both my daughter and me. I guess we had gotten used to the cold (I woke up one morning and my bedroom was 43 degrees!) and a very sunny 40 just felt really warm to us.

My husband likes to be warm and cozy, but this whole experience with the power outage and cold weather taught me that I LIKE sleeping in a cold room. I just layered on the wool blankets and loved it! Maybe 43 was a little cold, but I think anywhere from 45 to 55 would be great. Of course, getting out of bed is then pretty much impossible.

I really don't like having my horses boarded. I wish we could move them in with us now, somehow. Ultimately I've realized that I just don't trust anyone else to take care of them. It was great before we knew how to take care of them, but now I trust my own knowledge more than that of the barn owner. Oh well. Three more years...


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## ACinATX

Things are looking better out there today. They got the water restored in the back barn (my barn) but I heard the toilet (in the main barn) still doesn't work. I'd much rather have a flushing toilet than running water in my barn, for now at least, since we filled everyone's water before the freeze. 

I worked on everyone's feet today. I can't believe how much Moonshine's grew out in, I guess, the maybe 10 days since I did them last. Also, I don't want to sound too hopeful, but they seemed to be growing more down now than out. I think I could have nippered them there was so much, but since it's her I just rasped (I'm afraid to make a mistake with the nippers). A ton. Her feet were noticeably smaller when I was done!

I worked on Pony's frogs. Maybe it's because he's been standing around in a wet pasture for a week, or maybe it's because I finally understand how to use my tools, but I did a really good job opening up his central sulcus with my hoof knives. Probably it's because they got soft. Still, if I can get the hang of doing them when they are soft it should make it easier for me when they are hard, I hope.

I rasped Teddy too. He had also grown out a lot.

Pony seemed much more bright-eyed today, and he had some normal poops (in fact they all did), so I think he's fine.


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## ACinATX

They were bad today!

On the way to the arena for our lesson, Pony nipped me. Then he ran away. Which I get (I mean the running away), since I turned around and slapped him and then tried to kick him, but then I calmed down and walked after him and caught him. I looped the reins / bridle around his neck (this is how I always lead him; I don’t bridle him until we get to the arena), then he ducked out and ran away again. So I caught him, put on his halter and lead rope, and took him over to the roundpen for a discussion. And by discussion, I mean I talk and he listens. In three years of ownership I have never put him in the roundpen before a lesson, but I did not think his attitude boded well. So we spent maybe 5-10 minutes in there and he seemed to be acting in a respectful manner (I know people hate this word, but it makes sense to me), so we went back to the lesson.

He wouldn’t take the bit. I mean, he wasn’t nasty about it or anything, and no evasions; he was just like, “Eh, no, I’ll just stand here instead.” I had to tickle his lip to get him to open his mouth.

He was OK in the lesson, though, I mean not any worse than usual (in other words he was poky until I got the whip out). Moonshine, however! She was being her usual self, meaning trying to duck in and not yielding, but then we were doing a warmup exercise where we were supposed to trot around the arena, making circles at A and C. Pony and I were going first. We made our circle and continued on. Moonshine just didn’t make the circle. She just started trotting faster and faster, diagonally, to where me and Pony were. I looked back and could see my daughter hauling on the reins with all her might, but Moonshine literally, and I mean literally, ran right into us. Yes, with actual contact. I couldn’t believe it. Nor could Pony. Thank goodness he didn’t react physically (he is the boss of her and he’s a bossy boss and has no problems being assertive when we wants, e.g. kicking or biting her). I don’t blame him for pinning his ears at her the rest of the lesson. Normally I reprimand them for pinning their ears in a lesson, but she had it coming.

Teddy was good, but then again we weren’t really asking anything of him. I did have to switch his and Moonshine’s food out to get them to eat it. Moonshine doesn’t like the taste of the flaxseed, and Teddy doesn’t like the taste of the supplements. But if you can convince them that they are being sneaky by eating the other’s food, they’ll do it, even though it’s essentially the same thing. Pony, of course, being Pony, will eat anything you put in a bowl. 

I worked on Moonshine’s feet a little more. I hadn’t done either of her back feet last time because she was acting like both of her stifles were bothering her and picking them up was hurting (she’s due for her injections). I wanted to try after the lesson today because I thought she might do better if she were warmed up. I was right, so that was good. I worked on her backs and a little more on the fronts. I feel really good about her feet right now. I even rasped a little bit of a breakover into the fronts. I also used my hoof knife to bring down her bars some more, since I was bringing down her heels. It was a lot harder than a few days ago, so I guess it was the pastures being wet that had made it easier for me to use the hoof knife.


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## ACinATX

I did Pony's feet on Wednesday. Just his fronts. I used the nippers since he had so much hoof wall (almost half an inch, and he grew that in three weeks). For the first time ever, I made a straight, even, and continuous cut with the nippers. The last time I used them, you would have thought I had used pinking sheers -- they were just that jaggedy. I also put the cut exactly where I wanted it, which was a first. And, finally, I used the nippers on his heel buttress, which was also a first. His feet grow so fast and he's so healthy that I feel like I can experiment and practice on him. His back feet need to be done, too, so maybe I will do that next time.

It's been really muddy and Teddy's fetlocks were a solid layer of hardened mud. I washed them off with the antibacterial shampoo (he gets scratches) and they seem OK. He doesn't like getting washed off, there, though.

Everyone seems to be getting back to normal. They were good in their lesson. We cantered for the first time since the snow. Pony got the wrong lead a couple of times, but (1) I'm starting to be able to feel it when it happens and (2) I was able to bring him down to a trot for a step or two, then I just felt like it was the right time to ask again, and I did and he got the correct lead. So I feel like my "feel" for the canter is getting better.

I ordered clippers today. After reading everyone's thoughts, I still bought cordless, since the electricity situation out there isn't great. All I'm going to clip right now is the underside of his neck and maybe his chest. TBH I was tired of over-thinking the clippers situation, and I just wanted to get something ordered so I can clip him. He was hot again in his lesson today, so I think the timing is good.

The trailer might be coming next month! I'm really happy with the lady who is training Pony and it's great that he's learning to jump, and my daughter and I both enjoy our lessons; but we're also both starting to feel like we'd really like to get out on trails with them. I'm hoping to sort of re-introduce them to it gently, by starting off doing a trail ride or two at the ranch we bought them from. The lady who runs the place is happy to do it and says she'd like to see them again.


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## gottatrot

Sounds like you did a great job with the nippers! It does take some practice.


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## ACinATX

I did his back feet today and didn't do as good of a job with the nippers, but it ended up being OK. I also started back working him on the "long" lines. He had forgotten a little, plus the grass is really coming in right now where we were working, so he got a little distracted at first, but we got back into the swing of it. To add a little mental difficulty, I got one of my daughter's noisemakers (rocks inside a plastic bottle) and tied it to the end of one of the lines and let it drag out behind us. It made intermittent loud noise. It would be kind of quiet and then we'd hit a bump and it would rattle pretty loud, then settle down, then rattle, etc. I did let him smell it first. Beyond smelling it he didn't much care about it. Every now and then an ear would turn back. I think he was in the mindset of, "we're doing work and I'm going to get alfalfa pellets, so who cares what noise is coming up behind me." I still need to get him measured for his harness.

He was really good in his lesson yesterday, too. He picked up the correct lead each time, and we cantered over some poles that were raised on one side and on the ground on the other side. I could tell that he was on the right step to make it over each pole, which was good. In the lesson on the weekend, I could tell we were on the wrong step a couple of times, but I can never really decide in time what to do about that, so I just released the reins a bit and let him make his own decision. That worked out fine. He is generally good about going over raised poles like that, and rarely tried to duck out (cough cough Moonshine). Still, I need to get better about figuring out if we're going to make it correctly or not, and changing his stride if not.


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## ACinATX

I did Moonshine's feet, all of them. Her back feet are hard -- she lifts them and then wants to put all of her weight on you. The lameness vet is supposed to be coming tomorrow so she'll get her injections and hopefully it will help. When I had my daughter line her up straight I realized that she had significant quarter flares on her backs, so I had to fix that. I don't tend to rasp the bottom of the hooves from the top, but I'm thinking maybe I need to start doing it. Teddy has flares too.

I had lessons today and yesterday; today's was a makeup from when we were snowed out. Yesterday I had a really nice canter. The instructor was trying to get me to look down to see what lead I'm on, so she had this exercise where I'd pick up the canter in the middle of the arena, then look down to check my lead, then turn that way. We did the right lead, and I don't know what happened but it was just perfect. It was the second best, if not the best, canter I've ever had on him. She was like, "You can trot now," and I was like, "No, we're going to keep doing this for a few laps." It was just so smooth, and I was following the motion nicely, and it felt like the best thing ever.

More canter work today. He got all of his leads. But I have a problem. We were gong to go over a tiny jump, but I was scared or worried. Going over these tiny jumps, he has ducked out once, and we've had some awkward landings, but he's a good guy ("honest" the instructor says) and will try, as long as he feels like you are sure that you want to go over it. The problem is I'm NOT sure. We had one really good jump that felt just perfect, and like my canter yesterday it was really wonderful. But then he kept screeching to a halt right afterwards. I knew why -- I told the instructor, "I'm just trying to survive that jump and once I'm over I just stop riding." I've had this problem for a while. We ended up trotting the jump twice, and then making sure to keep going for half a lap afterwards, and then we cantered it and it worked out pretty well. But I'm still scared of jumping. I'm a thinker and a worrier, and as we're turning that corner to head to the jump, I'm thinking "he ducks out, screeches to a halt, wait grab mane, when do I grab mane, how's my contact, what if he takes a bad step, wrong step, hits jump, I hit Pony in mouth, fall." So it's really hard to make him believe that I want to do the jump. He was great -- he took it perfectly each time although as I noted he screeched to a halt the first two times. He really was good. It's just me. I need to figure out how to get past that.

About him. I have been thinking about the green horse / green rider thing. That was us. And we had an uphill battle. But now that we are where we are, I can see why people want to get an inexperienced horse and train it themselves. When Pony was first in training, he wasn't very happy. I don't think he liked that trainer. It got to where he wouldn't come in from the pasture. So I had her stop riding him and just rode him myself for about a year, but we never progressed past trotting. Then I found a trainer that he likes and I like, and now he's super happy and progressing nicely. He is not progressing quickly, not at all, but he's happy. He has no bad habits. He's stopped wonying when cantering to the left (almost entirely), and really the only thing is his walk and trot are pokey. But all of the things I see "experienced" horses doing -- bucking, rearing, ducking out, dirty stops, refusing to move out, not letting themselves be caught -- he doesn't do. Basically, I didn't let him get into any of these habits. He has mostly been ridden in a sympathetic (but competent) way by people he likes. So he has no problem with working and really sees no reason to engage in those behaviors. At least so I think.

Haha, I'm probably jinxing myself by saying all of that. But the point is, as ignorant as I was, I listened to him when he told me he wasn't happy, and I tried to make it so work wouldn't be unpleasant for him. And he's rewarded me by being a really good Pony. I don't know, maybe I could have bought an experienced horse that had no bad habits. But it seems that lately on HF there have been a lot of users who bought experienced horses that turned out to have all sorts of bad behaviors. And I think about Teddy, too, who tries so hard but has such bad anxiety around being ridden, I believe because of the way he was trained. So, I can see why people would go for the clean slate. Three years in, I'm glad I did, even though I was too ignorant when I got him to even know that that was what I was doing.


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## gottatrot

In my opinion, an inexperienced horse and rider combination is just fine if the person has critical thinking skills, is willing to adapt, ask questions, be open to new ideas, and just keep trying. Like yourself. Those things also work for people with more experienced horses with bad behaviors, but a clean slate is always easier than trying to remove bad habits. Still, a clean slate with a difficult (nervous, reactive) temperament can be a very bad match for someone who does not have experience with shaping a horse. Some of the easiest horses to work with are young, inexperienced, mellow stock type horses that believe the best about people and are very trusting. Pretty much anyone can turn them into a reliable riding horse. 

I'm sure you probably know this about jumping, but perhaps a reminder. It is very helpful if you have a tendency to be nervous if you don't look at the jump at all, almost pretend it isn't there, and look far beyond it as if you're simply going to be riding around the arena. "Look where you are going," my instructor would say. I too have stopped horses dead in their tracks by looking at the jump, and then directly on the other side, and riding my horse to that exact point.


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## ACinATX

@gottatrot that's a good point about the nervous or reactive horse. I think I got pretty lucky in the personality department with Pony. I mean, part of the reason I wanted to buy him was because of his personality, but I didn't realize then what a gift it was. And obviously having people there to help me with him. I'm sure it would have gone very poorly if I had been trying to do it all on my own.

The instructor was saying that about looking past the jump, but my problem is that I'm trying to make sure I'm in the right position for the jump, and my contact is good but elastic, and I'm about to grab mane, so that's all I can focus on at the moment. I guess, maybe, just continuing to do it while he has a trainer riding him correctly will hopefully help.


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## MeditativeRider

I don't do much jumping, but am a similar mindset rider to you. When I am doing jumping, in addition to looking beyond the jump, my coach has my main focus on what I need to do beyond the jump. For example, what way I am going to turn after and when I am going to turn; if I am cantering, where I am going to come down to a trot; where I am going to turn to come back to the jump; or where I will pick up canter again if I am cantering into it. So the things I need to do to prepare for the jump are very secondary and it helps to have them quite automatic. Could you practice doing the things you need to do for the jump just trotting over a pole or something first so that they get more set in your mind and then you can focus on the after the jump things?

I know how hard it is though. I have a neurodiverse personality and am very much a perfectionist and visual spatial. I also learn by doing and watching, so having something explained to me does not translate until I have actual seen it or felt it by doing it myself. Even with things I 100% know how to do (like filling the car with gas), I will give myself an anxiety attack thinking that I don't know how to do them in a "different" situation (can be pretty much the same situation just on a different day and there are minor differences in the environment). It manifests itself in that I seem to have very non-transferrable skills, until I practice them repeatedly every day (it took me ages to feel happy tacking up different horses, in terms of remembering the actual tacking tasks, and not just the one I was used to riding; all because the horse had changed). I get very anxious internally and convince myself I don't know how to do things in a different situation. The way my coach has done jumping with me though, with it always presented with the major focus on this list of things I need to do after the jump, it seems to work.


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## ACinATX

MeditativeRider said:


> Could you practice doing the things you need to do for the jump just trotting over a pole or something first so that they get more set in your mind and then you can focus on the after the jump things?


Actually I suggested that we do that, and we did, and it helped. I'll try to remember that for the future, too.


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## MeditativeRider

I actually just did some jumping for the first time in ages yesterday, one other thing I remember was do you use a neck strap and would it help? Like do you have any hesitancy locating the mane to grab, because it if it is not super easy, it can occupy more of your thoughts than it should. Where I ride, we use a neck strap for jumping, but we just use a martial arts belt (of a bright color) tied around the neck rather than an official horse riding neck strap. Because its bright and relatively thick, it is really easy to find to grab.


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## ACinATX

That's interesting! Actually Pony has such a thick mane that you can actually make a handle out of it. I was going to try that, but the idea of using a bright belt (and I do have a martial arts belt around here somewhere) makes a lot of sense.


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## GoBlue

I've been reading a lot longer than I've been posting and I just can't help myself: @ACinATX your journal and your questions on this board are so helpful to me. Thanks for putting your experiences down here.


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## ACinATX

@GoBlue wow thank you so much. I'm beyond happy that someone else is benefitting from this. Lately I feel like all I've been saying is "I rasped Teddy's feet" and "I rasped Moonshine's feet" LOL. Not terribly exciting.

Today I clipped Pony's chest. I did a terrible job! See pictures. He was mostly OK with it, but not as completely OK as I had expected. I did clip his chest a couple of years ago, and in my memory it went pretty well. But he needed some encouragement to touch the clippers when they were on, and then to let me touch him with them, at first. I had been hoping to do this session without treats, but honestly I was going for easy, and he was a little concerned, so I got out the alfalfa pellets. After that it went pretty smoothly, mostly. I did him loose in his paddock and there were two times where he seemed like he had had enough, even with pellets, and he wanted to walk off and eat some hay that was on the ground. I let him. I let him eat for a minute each time and then I brought him back and clipped some more.

Teddy's WLD is getting worse, so I've been treating it more. Today I opened it up a bit at the bottom, like the farrier did one time, to help get various products in there.

Moonshine hates water. Any amount of water. Therefore we try to make her go over it whenever reasonably possible. They've been doing some work on the underground pipes near our barn, and now there is a shallow puddle in the caliche road. So I made her go over it. I just had her with the baling twine around her neck (can we call this the *******'s leadrope?) so she was a bit wiggly. But, what I like about her is that eventually, if forced, she will do it. I also like using my elbows. So I walked very close to her and when she tried to veer in toward me to avoid the puddle, I just elbowed her in that hollow where her neck meets her chest. I probably sound like a terrible person, but I found this very rewarding. I did give her cookies when she did a good job. After the fourth time, she walked right through it.

****

Unless something changes hugely, I'll be moving to FT at my work. I'm going to have to cut out a riding lesson. I talked to the trainer who has been riding Pony once a week and she's fine moving to twice a week, so that will take the place of the lesson, and it will be good for him. I hope to otherwise see them the same amount of time, and our trailer should be coming soon, so we will hopefully start taking them out for trail rides. I really hope I don't lose any more horse time than the one lesson, but the new job is supposed to pay double what I'm making now, for working 1/4 more hours. Now I will be able to actually afford my horses, hopefully (cue another terrible injury or issue with Teddy).


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## knightrider

Ha ha, when I was doing endurance, I did a horrible job on Acicate's clip job. I was so embarrassed. @phantomhorse13 said it is a badge of honor in endurance circles to do a terrible job clipping your horse. That made me feel a little bit better.


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## gottatrot

GoBlue said:


> I've been reading a lot longer than I've been posting and I just can't help myself: @ACinATX your journal and your questions on this board are so helpful to me. Thanks for putting your experiences down here.


I've been wanting to mention this too, that you bring up great topics that are food for thought and helpful to many people.
I really like how your mind works and the questions you ask. 

Don't mind me because I've been accused of being very prissy when it comes to clipping horses. In the past my friends have said, "What do you think?" and I've said, "Well, do you mind if I just run over this spot for you, and this spot and this spot..." and an hour later...
I'll just say that you can always run over it again the next day, and the it will only make things better if you wish. But if you wait several days it will be too late. But it always looks better after a week or two, no matter what kind of job you do.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> In the past my friends have said, "What do you think?" and I've said, "Well, do you mind if I just run over this spot for you, and this spot and this spot..." and an hour later...
> I'll just say that you can always run over it again the next day, and the it will only make things better if you wish. But if you wait several days it will be too late.


Ha, I should invite you over to look at it in person. I have no problems with someone fixing it.

But speaking of fixing it, I will now admit that this was after my second pass through. It looked even worse the first time LOL.

Also thank you!


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## ACinATX

So... I am just going to come out and say this. I've been eating the horse supplements. OK, not exactly, entirely, quite like that. Let me explain.

I bought MagRestore originally on, I think, @walkinthewalk 's advice, to help with Teddy's anxiety. And then I got some more because I had heard magnesium might help with hoof problems, which Moonshine has. They are supposed to get a tiny scoop, I think it's one tablespoon, per day. It smells really sweet. But Teddy kept trying to pick it out and not eat it, even though he loves sweet things. So I was wondering, what does this stuff taste like? So I put a pellet (they are the size of BBs) in my mouth. I can tell you that MagRestore tastes like sweettarts, only quite a bit less sweet and much more tart. It starts off with a very sweet taste, which I guess is the coating, and then gets very tart. Like a lemon. Like a sugar-coated lemon candy.

So, you see, I'd already been taking magnesium myself for muscle soreness, human magnesium, although I'm not sure it has really helped. Supposedly THIS form of magnesium is really healthy (yes, yes, I know, for horses, but still). I'm almost out of my magnesium. The horse magnesium tastes great! That tartness really wakes me up. I have been eating one pellet every time I go out there.

I did just email them to see if the ingredients are human safe. I'm pretty sure they won't answer the question, but we'll see. In the meantime, if I suddenly stop writing, I suppose you will know what did it.

MagRestore.


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## walkinthewalk

Lollol. As long as it was produced in a human sterile environment, it should be ok.

You might want to call Performance Equine Nutrition to ask your question that way.

I take half ounce daily of Joker’s Camelina oil because I’m not paying the price for it in a human container.

I asked the Camelina rep over the phone, if she knew of any people who take this particular product and she replied yes, she had had several people tell her they share their horses Camelina oil with themselves.

^^^^^That is how you ask the question without asking the question to put them on the spot

Since it seems to help you, I hope it is safely produced and you can continue to take it.

For Teddy, try mixing a little apple juice in his feed pan. Or, if he does not get a big amount of stuff, buy some anise in the grocery store baking section, and mix in one or two drops


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## ACinATX

**Extra long post alert*

Well, they kindly responded and said it's all human-safe, so I will continue my barn treat of one magnesium pellet per visit. I put it in my mouth and let it slowly dissolve.

I am happy to report that my instructor is apparently a lot like @gottatrot . After our lesson yesterday she was like, Do you want me to help you clean up that clipping job a little? And was like, score! I really appreciate her help. She did one side and then had me do the other. She kept assuring me, over and over again, that as long as I held the clippers correctly there was really no way to nick him. She showed me how hard you can push them into his body and it doesn't hurt. And she showed me that you can just push down and over those wrinkles, too. After watching her do the one side without drawing blood, I did the other side and it now looks a lot better AND I feel more confident about it. I appreciate her understanding that I was worried about hurting him. He also stood just fine for us, not tied, and without the pellets as a reward this time.

I went out again today. My FT job starts the 22nd and I'm trying to get in a lot of horse time before then. Today was a great day. First of all, I didn't do anything to anyone's feet except pick them, LOL. I will say that it has been dry for a few weeks and now it's been wet for a few days, and everyone's frogs are trying to fall off. But I'll deal with anything that's left over this coming week.

First of all, Pony was acting weird about me picking his back feet. He usually picks them up and holds them, but today he couldn't seem to find a spot that was comfortable, then he put all of his weight on me, then he almost fell over. I moved him around a little and started again and he was OK, but still not quite usual.

We walked up and down the long driveway. It was a cool and windy day and there were no other horses in the pastures alongside, but he did really well. I felt him starting to get looky, so I asked for leg yields and for him to drop his head, and he did both of these very well, and I think that got him more focused on me. Toward the end of the driveway he stopped wanting to move forward, but after a brief discussion he agreed to it. Then another 20 feet and another discussion. But we got there. No other issues.

I wanted to ride him in the arena, but he was really balky. You know how a horse wants to stop when they want to poop? That's how he kept being, only he didn't want to poop. I thought back on how picking his feet had gone, so I got off and lunged him a little both ways. He was fine. Then luckily one of the instructors had just finished her lesson so I asked if she could watch me ride him just for a minute. She thought he was fine. So I just got the whip out and rode him that way. We cantered a lot, but I kept losing my stirrup. I just can't figure out how to keep my foot in there while my body stays in the saddle. I suppose I should really try cantering in two-point, but I feel a little insecure in two-point.

Oh, and also he did pick up the wrong lead a couple of times, but I could FEEL that it was wrong! And then I looked down and confirmed it, so I brought him back to a trot and asked again. I'm super happy that I seem to finally be getting a feel for it, and I am confident enough to look down to check.

And another good thing. I had hopped off him to adjust some poles, and I just left him in the middle of the arena. Usually he stays put, but today he decided to wander off. I walked after him, and he started walking faster, so I started walking faster... you know how it goes. Then I decided to try "hoooo." I did, he kept walking, then a little lightbulb went off in his head and he stopped. This wouldn't be that impressive except that up until now he's been really unable to understand that "hooooo" spoken outside of a structured training session also means stop. This may be one of the first times he's stopped in some other situation. Sadly I had no pellets for him, but I praised him in the "you're about to get pellets voice" (I use this phrase and voice instead of a clicker) so hopefully he understood that he was good.

Afterwards I decided to do something he would like, so I long-lined him. I haven't gotten his harness ordered yet (haven't had time; hope to next week) so there isn't a lot that we can do to progress right now. What I've been doing is trying to drag scarier and scarier objects. Today we dragged a metal trash can lid (it made a truly terrible noise going over the caliche road) and a tarp.

He was pretty cool about it. However, there's this horse, T, who's in the middle paddock now for some reason, and boy he didn't like it. Once we hit the road, his head popped up. Then he started worry-prancing. Then he started cantering in circles. Pony was like, "Oh, maybe I should be worried too, then!" But I asked him to stop and then rewarded the stop. Which was good because he stopped, obviously, but then it reminded him that the whole point of this exercise (for him) is to do what I ask and get pellets. We were fine after that, but I had to go back onto the grass because T was really stressing out.

Then, when we started dragging the tarp, you should have seen T's face. He was like, "NO! PONY! THERE IS A TARP BEHIND YOU! IT'S GOING TO EAT YOU! IT'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!! TURN AROUND! TURN AROUND!" It was the face horses would make when they were watching horror movies and someone is about to walk into the room where you know bad stuff is going to happen. Even Teddy, 100 feet away, watched us with some trepidation. At first, then he calmed back down. So that was good. Basically, as long as Pony can see the thing, or understands that it's there, and I give him the chance to give it a good sniffing first, he doesn't seem to mind. I did try some tight turns, and he was a little concerned about it when it was sort of right there at the diagonal to him, but he got over it.

Afterwards, some of the people who had been having a lesson in the next arena (I did ask the instructor before dragging the tarp in the arena next to them) came over to talk. I had left Pony sort of in the corner while I was preparing new scary things, but he decided to come over and join the conversation. I like it that he's so personable. He was just standing there like, "Yes, I am a very handsome Pony and I assume you are all talking about me, well here I am, ready to be everyone's friend." I think Teddy would have come over and then left pretty quickly, and Moonshine would have sensed some sort of trap and stayed far away.

After that, I let them all graze in the inside area for a while, like an hour maybe, then put them out. It was a really nice horse day.

ETA: there was one bad thing. When long-lining, I get right behind Pony because (1) I know he won't kick me and (2) I feel like I have more control that way. Well, today he was super gassy. So that was a nice little present for me every so often.


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## gottatrot

Oh, yay, the clipping looks beautiful! Very nice. It's really just about taking more hair off, right? Then it's like anyone can do a good job. That was quite funny about spooking the other horses while training Pony. I'm guessing T would not make a good driving horse, but Pony sounds like a great candidate.


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## ACinATX

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I talked to the trainer and confirmed she can ride Pony twice a week. After we talked about it a bit, she's going to do one session working on his trot (more impulsion, more collection) and one session working on his canter and jumping. I think it's going to be really good for him. Then if I can get him back on trails, and pulling stuff, he'll be an all-rounder! Oh, and maybe sorting cattle too. He's healthy and smart with an overall good attitude. I don't think he will ever be a high-level anything (unless there are competitions for being a cute fat pony), but he could be quite competent at most things.


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## ACinATX

Today I had that unpleasant lesson I wrote about: Venting about instructor

The good thing for me was that I cantered Pony both directions with no stirrups, and he did great. At one point, too, I felt him get heavy on his forehand, and I was able to find the correct combination of half halt and rein to get him back where I wanted.

I did Moonshine's feet. Her frogs were atrocious. My daughter joked, "Maybe they will get so bad they'll turn into toads," which I felt was worth repeating. They were sloughing off in a truly nasty manner. It was like carving the turkey, just taking hunks off. I usually try to stay out of their frogs, but these could not be ignored. When I was finished, they were back to looking like her normal frogs, so that was good. I do think there's a little more shedding they want to do.

I didn't take pictures, but I was VERY happy with the trimming job I did. I did top-dress the quarter flares. I don't know if it's a cosmetic thing or not, but honestly I just couldn't look at them any more. I brought her toes back and she looks much less underrun / long toed now. Oh! And her front feet seem like they might be trying to concave!!!

I think my work is going to move temporary desks when people are back, as everyone had to bring all of their stuff home. I had a giant yoga ball to bring home. I had one of those yoga ball chairs at home and the ball it came with, but this one is quite a bit bigger. It's very round and my feet barely touch the ground, so it feels like I'm on Pony. I'm going to try to use it to work on my leg strength.

I kept thinking back on a few days ago when Pony came to join our conversation. With his height and neck and head set, his head normally is between four-and-a-half and six feet off the ground, so he is sort of naturally at conversation height. He just came on over and hung out like, "Yeah, this is what we do, just hang out and talk," just standing there like one of the guys.

We're going to go out again tomorrow hopefully. Gotta get that horse time in while I can.


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## MeditativeRider

The ball for exercise sounds like a great idea. I do inner thigh squeezes sitting on mine (in a kind of wide straddle position). My instructor once said I should do 100 of them a day (it was good when I did; I have not kept up with it recently). I also have these videos (Youtube) that I do occasionally that use a large ball:
















There are plenty of others on there too if you search for something like horse riding + exercise ball (or stability ball).


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## ACinATX

@MeditativeRider Thank you!!!


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## knightrider

Oh wow! More fun things to try with my exercise ball! I did a workout on mine this morning. I am going to try these! Thank you, @MeditativeRider !


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## GoBlue

Okay so I'm an HIIT (high intensity interval training) person when it comes to fitness. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it's HUGE bang for your buck when it comes to the time put in and the results you get. I mean, you'll want to die during those 20 minutes 3x/week, but it really works and the boxing classes I was taking before lockdown got my core in the best shape its ever been in. Even though we hear it all the time, I was surprised how much it helped riding. And not just physically. Psychologically it's a huge boost because I trusted my body more (middle age has really undermined that). Like: if something goes awry I can probably handle it better now that I'm not quite so..._marbled_, if you know what I mean.

I will also admit that at some point, I bought a legit, certified Suzanne Sommers THIGH MASTER, thinking it would help with the inner leg strength that I desperately lack. When I ran that by a trainer, she said, "It might work. Then again, I'd worry you'll train your thighs to squeeze and you really don't want that." That made a lot of sense to me, so I used it with my calves while standing in a slight squat position. (Which is tricky, I'm not going to lie. It's not called a CALF MASTER after all. The thing is spring loaded and wants to BOING right out. But I persisted.)

In lieu of a genuine TM, I think using the big exercise ball between your calves/ankles is really good. So something like this hits both your abs and adductors (to do: lower your legs almost to the floor but don't touch, then raise them again. repeat until you want to cry. kidding.)








The stuff Daniel Stewart does is right up my alley (it's pretty fun, I think) and he does stuff with the ball held in the lower legs, too, so I think there's something to it. Here's a couple of links:




On the next one, go to minute 22 to get to the exercises (it'll play on vimeo)





And my last bit to share: when I when to a physical therapist for some upper back pinched something or other, she had me sit on the big exercise ball, tie a rubber exercise band/tube to a door handle and simulate a seated cable row, all while wearing a headlamp that had a laser pointer instead of a flashlight. The trick is to do the cable rows while keeping your upper body steady so the laser dot stays in a small area. It's pretty tough, but like a game, so it's motivating. You'll be hitting the muscles that counter all the computer hunching (if you have a job like that) and it feels similar to sitting on a horse holding reins and that laser pointer will let you know how wobbly you are.


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## ACinATX

GoBlue said:


> and that laser pointer will let you know how wobbly you are.


I'm not sure I want to know how wobbly I am LOL.


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## MeditativeRider

I thought you might be wanting some easier workouts to start with, but if you are after a harder one and a workout that uses the ball between the lower legs, try this one, though I warn you, it is super intense. Barlates has a heap more with the ball too of a similar type of workout (just search Barlates + Stability Ball on Youtube), but this is my favorite one.


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## ACinATX

I am definitely someone who prefers to start easy and then, well, maybe stay easy LOL. But definitely start easy. Thanks for posting all of these!


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## MeditativeRider

knightrider said:


> Oh wow! More fun things to try with my exercise ball! I did a workout on mine this morning. I am going to try these! Thank you, @MeditativeRider !


That's ok. They are just simple, easy ones that I have found help with riding specific balance and movement. If you want some more intense strengthening type ones, I really like the channel Barlates Body Blitz on Youtube. She has a heap of routines from a few years back with a ball.


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## GoBlue

ACinATX said:


> I'm not sure I want to know how wobbly I am LOL.


Yes. I was startled by my wobbliness. I can't be that wobbly! But then I rationalized my way out -- How do they even calibrate this setup? I have long arms, so my distance from the wall is probably messing up the whole thing. Surely if I were scooched a little closer that would reduce the apparent jumpiness of that cursed red dot. Somehow though it still works to motivate me. I love little tasks where I can see improvement.


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## ACinATX

I guess I'll be posting a lot in the next few days since I'll be hopefully getting a lot of horse time.

Yesterday we went out very early for my daughter's afternoon lesson. It was super windy. The sky was blue when we got there, but by the time we left it was tan from all the dust blowing in; that's how windy it was. It probably wasn't the best day to ride Pony down the long driveway bareback with just the halter and lead rope, but I did. I wanted to show him that the end of the driveway was a good thing, by riding down there and then dismounting and letting him graze.

He did really well. We did pass a yellow plastic bag that was caught on the fence and flapping like crazy, and he did keep one ear on it until we were about 10 feet past it, but otherwise no issues at all. I let him graze at the end. Then we walked out through where the gate is (it was open) onto the driveway that's right next to the street. He didn't like that too much. It really wasn't the right day to introduce him to it. I really do believe in trying to make a horse's first experience of something positive, but I was being stupidly stubborn, and that had been my plan going out there and by golly we were going to do it.

He was OK. He was on super high alert the first time. We just walked out and walked back. The second time I stopped him for a minute and he gave a very small spook in place. Third time, head was somewhat alert. Fourth time, head was down. Then we stopped. I gave him a fair amount of grazing time between each try. So it was OK. I really probably shouldn't have done it, though. 

I had left Teddy alone in the little paddock behind the barn with plenty of hay. He gets lonely by himself, though. So when we came back I talked to him to let him know that we were back, because I figured that would make him happy. I don't think he heard me, because I then popped my head around the wall and when he saw me his face lit up and he gave the loudest whinny! It was really sweet. Then when I went to do his feet he kept sort of snuggling up against me, which is pretty unlike him (he's very sweet but snuggling = pressure for him and he doesn't like pressure). I did a crappy job with the nippers again but I fixed it with the rasp.

We'll go out again tomorrow. My daughter is trying to teach Moonshine to walk over a plank and they will keep working on that. We're in for a stretch of really nice weather (highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s, low humidity and no rain) so I'm pretty happy I decided to take tomorrow off and have a long weekend.


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## ACinATX

I did Teddy and Pony's feet again today, even though I had done Teddy's yesterday. I had only done his fronts, and even then when I looked today I was dissatisfied with the job I did. Pony's feet grown so fast that if he were seeing a farrier he'd really want to be on a three-week schedule. His hoof walls are strong and thick and grow straight down with almost no flare, but they get really long and then lift his frogs off the ground, and I'm wondering if that's why they have been so contracted. I'm wondering if, now that I'm working FT, I will have the barn farrier do his feet every other time or something. Me doing it myself, I think that they grow enough in two weeks to warrant a trim, and that's time I could be spending doing something fun with them. It's hard (not impossible) to mess up his feet and he's pretty good for the farrier.

I asked my daughter to hold him while I did them from the top, but instead she made that cross-tie setup like I had been asking about before and told me I could use that. Fair enough. You put him in crossties, and he's like, OK, fine, you got me, and just goes to sleep. But he was unusually uncooperative about picking his feet up once I got him there. I think he was grumpy about it.

Daughter also put my sunhat on Moonshine (pictures). 

I did the board walking exercise with Pony and Teddy that she had done with Moonshine. I was just doing the boards like she had laid them out, but it turned out that both of them needed to take a step back before they understood the point of the exercise. I had to make the boards shorter for Pony and wider for Teddy, but then they both did fine.

We rode them on the long driveway. Since Moonshine was with us, Pony had zero problems. It was a nice day, too. We went all the way out the driveway and onto the verge that lines the street. We walked down to one end of the property and then the other. I was happy to see no broken glass; this particular road seems to be abused over the weekends and there always seem to be glass bottles in the median or gutter. Pony had zero problems with this as well, although I had dismounted him for it. I let him eat some grass (I was in the halter and lead rope set up again so he could eat). Cars zoomed by. We went back in after maybe five minutes. Moonshine of course was fine with it.

I was happy to be able to get Pony lined up with the fence so I could mount him that way. I was riding bareback again. We rode back to the barn and let them graze for a while, then left. 

Oh. I got all the stuff set up to measure Pony for his harness, and then it turned out the measuring tape I had out there was way too short. I guess we'll do it tomorrow.


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## ACinATX

I had a terrible lesson yesterday. Pony and I got into a fight. Not a disagreement, and certainly not a discussion -- it was a knock-down, drag-out fight. A true physical altercation. We were both grumpy, I think, and neither was willing to let the other one "have it their way." For some reason (I say "for some reason" but I think I might have an explanation) he was back to doing that thing where he throws his head down and ducks in when asked to canter left. I had asked the instructor, who does his training rides, how he had been on Thursday, and she said he had been the same.

We did the stupid left cantering exercise over and over. The instructor ended up getting pulled out for an emergency in another pasture. We kept doing it. Finally we got to where I thought I could accept his effort, and then we stopped. But I feel like we took a big step back. I'm thinking about calling the body worker. She hasn't seen Moonshine in a while, and he's still doing a weird thing with his back left foot when I pick it.

Today was a lot better, though. I rode him out down the long scary driveway bareback and halter/lead rope again. Only, apparently, despite the sort of rough start we had out there, it is no longer a scary driveway. It is a HAPPY driveway of GOODNESS where there is MUCH GREEN GRASS at the end. I say this, because we set out at a working walk (his choice, not mine) and had zero balkiness on the way out. Whereas (skipping ahead) on the way back to the barn he kept wanting to slow down and stop. Pretty much the opposite of what you'd expect.

ETA: I forgot if I've mentioned it, but Pony has a super poky walk. "Working walk" is pretty much not in his vocabulary. So he was obviously looking forward to going out there.

We were by ourselves today, but it was fine. We went out along the verge outside the gate again. I rode Pony out there and then dismounted. Pony had very few problems. When a loud motorcycle passed on the other side of the road, his head popped up. Then, when two loud motorcycles came by on our side, he spooked. I gave him some lead rope and turned so he could circle. He trotted a few steps and then decided there wasn't anything to be worried about after all, and that was that. Unfortunately, that's when the horses in the pasture that border the road started getting a little excited, so we went back in. Then I thought, well, wait, we ended that on a bad note, and you're not supposed to do that. So we went out and grazed a little more. Fortunately there were no motorcycles that time.

ETA there is a lot of traffic on that road, and the speed limit is 50, meaning you get people going anywhere from 40 to 60, and we were within 10-20 feet of the road at all times. I feel pretty good about his relative nonchalance.

I have a hard time getting him close enough to the fence to where I can use it to get back on him. I hurt myself today. Basically I wanted to jump on him quickly before he moved away, and he was already a little bit farther than ideal, and looking like he was about to scoot more. So I guess I did the mega splits trying to get a leg over him and then clamping on, and my hips protested severely. Ouch. They are still kind of sore. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, trying to mount him like that. I lead him over to the fence, with me between him and the fence, so realistically it's not like he could get much closer. I wonder if I need to go on the OTHER side of the fence, bring him really close, then climb over it onto him.

Afterwards I let them all free graze for about an hour, then hung out with them in their pasture for a bit.

I start FT tomorrow. I'm glad my horse time today went better than yesterday.


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## GoBlue

How about some input from someone who's only ever "trained" her horse to gently and politely swing his butt away from the mounting block? Four minutes and 540 degrees of turning later...Anyway, have you seen/read about "mounting from a fence"? Basically, you train the horse to move closer to you after you've positioned him as best you can and are up on that fence. That lesson I just had, the trainer had done that. It's pretty cool.


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## ACinATX

Well, yesterday I learned that you CAN take a call on horseback, if your saddle fits and you’re just walking. Or maybe it’s just our setup. Or maybe really it’s because Pony has no withers. But my smallish phone fits very nicely in the space between his “withers” and the place where the saddle is raised for the withers. Pretty secure.

I think this was my last Tuesday morning lesson. I did say something to the instructor about what she was doing with the other rider and horse. She had hit the horse again some time after the misbehavior, and I asked “But how does she understand why she’s being punished?” And the instructor got pretty mad about the question. But the other woman heard the question, and I feel like I’ve tried. But my new team has meetings on Tuesday mornings and I don’t really want any more lessons with them. So even though I have one more lesson coming, I’m going to skip it.

I cantered Pony and he was much better this time, although still not great. We were in a smaller arena with more and tighter turns, so I guess I’m overall happy. I two-pointed on the long sides and sat on the short side / turns. I did feel like his trot was pretty good today.

I turned them out pretty quickly afterwards. I had two more meetings that I was able to take from out there, so that was nice. I stood in the shelter and they came and stood with me. Even Teddy wanted to hang out, which is kind of unusual for him. Actually even Moonshine stayed kind of close, which makes you wonder whether she was feeling OK.

Today, during my daughter’s lesson I … wait for it … worked on feet some more. TMI I have PMS and didn’t feel like riding Pony up the long driveway again, nor did I feel like long-lining him. I also didn’t want to watch my daughter’s lesson, since she was with that same horse that had all the problems with the poles and I didn’t want to watch that. She said he did better this time, though, although still not great. Anyways, doing feet was something I could do that was useful.

I would like to know how people take horse selfies. I took some of me and Pony yesterday. Two of them were decent, but I still couldn’t get our faces all the way in it. And he has a short face. How do people do it with a horse with a normal long face?

I must be in a funny mood, because I’m including one terrible and one bad one, as well as two that were OK. I am not too crazy about them, but oh well.


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## GoBlue

Oh, I love a horse selfie. Mine are all ridiculous but fun and both our heads are in there for the most part. 

First of all, I have monkey arms, so that helps get some distance. My horse is also taller and liked to play giraffe. I see Pony's eye is below your cheek. My horse's eye is about 5 inches higher than my head. Crouching seems like a hassle, though. It also looks like you're shoulder to shoulder with Pony maybe? I was standing a little more forward; like my temple would be near his jaw at least and in some a little more forward than that. Finally, my horse was not inclined to investigate the camera. At all. Pony looks like he's getting close, hoping treats might be hiding in there. Or maybe he likes seeing himself? 

In selfie 2, if you rotated slightly to your right, would Pony's head follow over your shoulder? I have one kind of like that where I'm wearing a sun hat too and my horse is kind of nosing under the hat to investigate what's going on under it.


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## ACinATX

Yes we're about shoulder to shoulder. 

He wants to eat the phone. He wants to eat everything. He is a Pony. LOL.

Ridiculous but fun is about the best I can hope for, I think.


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## ACinATX

I've been having bad dreams about them all week. A fence comes down, they escape, a wall falls down, they escape, Teddy gets hurt, Moonshine gets hurt, they're out in the road, Pony runs away, someone is on the edge of a wall and can't turn around. All week long. It's getting a little better -- last night I only dreamed that they were horses from a story I was reading, and I had to pick their feet. My daughter says they are mothering dreams. I wonder whether I have some subconscious anxiety about changing my work to FT, like I'm not going to be able to take care of them. Because I just started FT on Monday. I hope the dreams will keep getting better or go away.

We had our lesson today. We did it in the pasture. As usual, Pony was much more forward. And I finally realized that yes, one reason my legs are swinging is that I'm trying to keep him going. It's so strange -- I know I'm not trying to do it. And I denied I was doing it when people told me that, because I could FEEL that I wasn't doing it. But I was. Because today he was forward and it was super easy to keep my legs still. 

Something is still off about him. The trainer said he was a little bad when she rode him on Thursday. He's still not picking up his back feet the way he usually does. And halfway through the pasture lesson he started having to be kept going again, sometimes. I got in contact with the bodyworker and she'll come out when she can. I didn't canter him today. 

Speaking of people coming, I think I'm going to ask the barn owner to have her farrier see him next time he's out. He's done Pony's feet before and while it's not the job I would have done, it's a perfectly good job. His feet grow so quickly, it's just nuts. I think they grow over half an inch a month. His hooves grow thick and straight down, so he ends up growing his own horseshoes. But he doesn't need shoes. And I think the hoof height is contributing to his frogs being a little contracted. I feel like I'm rasping or nippering his feet every other time I'm out there, and I'm still not keeping up with it. And now with me having less time, well, if someone else can trim him every now and then, that would be great. Teddy's feet grow much more slowly and don't need as much maintenance. I'm doing Moonshine's feet once a week too, but that's because I have a specific plan with her. Her feet were sort of OK for a while and now they seem to suddenly be doing much better. And every time after I do them, they're better still. After the pasture lesson today, I watched my daughter ride her over the gravel road, and there wasn't the slightest bit of ouchiness.


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## ACinATX

Pond pony!

Well, as predicted, I haven't had as much time to write, or for Horse Forum in general (  ) since I started working full time. Some highlights (and lowlights).

When we went out there last week and called them, I saw Pony splashing through the pond. I thought he was just taking a shortcut, but when he came in most of him was wet (see picture). I've never known him to go in ponds before, so I was kind of worried (did he somehow fall in, was he trying to compensate for something?) but I think maybe he was just hot. I think he's figured out that being in the pond will cool him off. When we went out there a few days ago, he had that look to his fur like he had been all wet and then dried funny. And I just heard from the bodyworker, who saw him today, that he was soaking wet when they brought him in. I think it's great that he likes being in the pond. Maybe I can ride him in there one day! Actually the pond is pretty nasty so maybe not. But it's good that he likes water. Moonshine hate hate hates water, as I've noted above. I don't know why, but I really get a kick out of him liking the pond.
Speaking of Pony, he started having some problems. Starting maybe five weeks ago, when I'd go to pick out his back left, a lot of times he'd want to stretch it out behind him. I didn't think anything of it, and I just helped hold his leg up until he was done. Then starting maybe three weeks ago he became less willing to pick up that foot for picking. He'd pick it up more slowly and not as high, and then want to put all of his weight on it. At the same time, he got a little balky under saddle and starting acting up a little when cantering left again. I lunged him and didn't see any lameness, and the barn owner watched me ride him at all gaits in both directions and didn't see anything, and I didn't feel anything when riding him either except some hesitation. The bodyworker came to see him today and said he was definitely out. He said when watching him walk from the back, you could see his right hip moving up and down and his left hip hardly moving at all. She thinks he probably slipped out in the pasture one day. She worked on him and feels good about where he is now. She'll come back in another two weeks to check. I feel like I've advanced a level in horsemanship -- I didn't have to wait until he was obviously lame or even visibly "off" to feel like something was wrong and get someone out. I hope he feels better now.
Moonshine's running into other horses behavior escalated and she was "forcibly ejected" from a group lesson. Those are my daughter's words. Apparently it was politely suggested that she leave the lesson. She ran into a group of the other horses. Just yesterday my daughter rode her in another group lesson and Moonshine tried it again, but my daughter yank yank yanked the rein super hard and eventually won that battle. She doesn't want to ride her with a crop (to use in whacking her shoulder, as she throws it out and then runs sideways into people) because she gets too fast. She's going to really have to be on top of that, though, to keep it from getting worse.
Teddy is going through his last big spurt of shedding. Has anyone else every de-shed their horses while the horse was grazing? See picture. There was actually a lot more but I couldn't get it in the picture. It was like a trail of Teddy.
I took Pony out to graze by the road again, this time during rush hour. He still spooked at a loud motorcycle. He's fine with normal motorcycles, and with semis going past at 50-60 miles an hour, but not the loud motorcycles. I may talk to the barn owner and see if I can put him in the pasture that borders the road for a week or so.
I like to ride. I had a bad lesson three Saturdays ago, then two Saturdays ago we were out in the pasture and Moonshine tried to run us over (see above), and then last Saturday it rained so our lesson was combined with another lesson. I was already feeling grumpy, and I don't like that instructor, and there were going to be eight people in the lesson, so I just opted out. I was questioning myself at the time, wondering if I just don't want to ride any more. But I rode him bareback with the halter and lead rope yesterday during my daughter's lesson, and I do like it. We mostly walked, but we trotted a little and did a little canter. He also had a little spook that didn't make me even have to clamp my legs around him, I just balanced on my seat. Woot! It was a really nice ride. He is overall a very good Pony. I will try to keep riding him during her lessons until his harness comes in, then we'll be working on that.
If he's already getting hot and it's only in the 80s, I don't know if I should maybe just go ahead and have him body clipped.
The other picture: group naptime!


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## knightrider

I loved the trail of shed hair!!!!!


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## MeditativeRider

Hope you are enjoying the new job even if it uses up a lot of your time.

Cute that Pony loves the pond.

Hope you can have some more fun rides.


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## GoBlue

Congrats to your daughter on keeping Moonshine from misbehaving!


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> I loved the trail of shed hair!!!!!


There's a Teddy at the end of it! 😊



MeditativeRider said:


> Cute that Pony loves the pond.


It is, and I have to admit that when I used to watch that other horse that would go in the pond, I'd think that I wished I had one who would like it. And now I do! I'm glad he is always eager to come when called, though. Someone who used to be at our barn had a horse who didn't like to be caught. If she was really in a mood about it, she'd just go in the pond. And nobody could get her out of there.



GoBlue said:


> Congrats to your daughter on keeping Moonshine from misbehaving!


Thank you. We'll see how she is in our lesson today. I may talk to the instructor about it first, to see what she wants her to do if it happens again.


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## ACinATX

We had a good horse day today. Pony was so much better! Just from the beginning, when I asked him to pick up that leg, I could tell (1) he's not feeling 100% but (2) he's feeling much better. He had been having issues with his left lead canter, but today all he wanted to do was the left lead. Ask for the right lead, get the left lead; ask for the right lead, get the left lead; ask for the left lead, get the left lead. I could definitely feel within the first few strides that we were on the wrong lead, and we fixed it quickly. He's actually sort of starting to auto fix it. What I'm supposed to do is bring him back to the trot, then ask for the canter again. But I brought him down to the trot, then he just picked it up again himself. I'm not sure this is ideal, since later we were trotting and he thought I wanted the canter, and when I brought him back he assumed he should then canter again. On the other hand, it seems like we're getting closer to flying lead changes.

Moonshine did not try to run anyone over today. We talked to the instructor about it at the beginning of the lesson and got some thoughts, but like she said, Moonshine isn't bad every lesson, so you can practice this stuff and then not need it for a while. Moonshine was also seen by the bodyworker. My daughter thinks it made her a little more willing to pick up her back feet (we'll see how it goes when I do them tomorrow), and she didn't seem as grumpy in the lesson. She'll come back and see them again in two weeks.

I bribed my daughter to do Pony's and Teddy's tails. She's always working on Moonshine's tail, which looks so good. I hate extra grooming stuff and I haven't touched anyone's tail in probably a year. Teddy's tail now looks better, but Pony's tail seems somewhat more sparse, as he apparently lost quite a few hairs to the process. He was really good about it, though. He pretty much resigned himself to his fate and just stood there and let her do it (see picture).

I also took some pictures of Pony in the yellow flowers. The closeup one, I wish I had taken another picture two seconds later. He was coming to investigate my phone for eating purposes. Of course.

My daughter wanted to stay late after the lesson and let them graze, which is a little unusual. Usually she's ready to leave pretty soon afterwards. So we stayed and just sat around for another hour. It was nice!


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## MeditativeRider

Glad you had a good horse day. 

That's hilarious about the other horse putting itself in the pond when it did not want to be caught.

It is nice to watch animals play in water. I have been trying to convince our puppy that water is fun but she is very tentative about it. Will stick her nose in and paw at it and bark at it, but not yet a full immersion (or anything near it).


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## ACinATX

The bodywork definitely helped Moonshine, too. She isn't standing so crooked now, and she was happier to pick up and hold her back feet, even the left one. The sort of bad thing is that now that I was able to really get a good look at it, I realized how shoddy my trimming had been -- her foot was ragged. It's hard to trim someone who can't hold their foot still and wants to put all the weight on you.

I had another realization about trimming, too, which was that I really need to bring Moonshine's fronts well forward when I do her toes from the top. I happened to do that the other day and it was a much better job. I am having the trimmer come see them next time he comes (six weeks) because I think they've gotten away from me a little.

I had another bareback halter/lead rope ride on Pony when my daughter was having her lesson today. It was really nice. We mostly walked, but we trotted and cantered, too. I thought we both did really well with the trot, and I was happy with the canter and I think I am getting better with it. I'm still having some problems that I might post about.

I feel like Teddy is getting worse mentally. And I'm thinking it's my fault for not spending time with him. I bring him in, let him graze, put him in his stall, feed him, pick his feet, groom and fly spray if needed, and trim his feet if needed. But I haven't been doing anything else with him. He was still having physical issues under saddle, and Pony is much more fun to do ground work with, so I've been sort of ignoring him aside from the above. And he seems to be getting worse. The other day when I moved him from his stall to the tiny paddock he tried to break out on me (I don't lead him in, I just open both doors and ask him to move from one to the other). And he's not been quite as, I guess well-behaved when I'm leading him. He's not bad, not at all, but he seems more willing to ignore what I'm asking.

So while I did ride Pony today, I also spent about 20 minutes with Teddy in the round pen. Nothing hard, just a little walking and trotting, and lots of rewards. Then I worked on having him come when called, and that went pretty well. He seemed to be interested and engaged in the work (or perhaps the possibility of reward LOL), and I think he had a good time. He seemed happier afterwards, too. Which, on the one hand, is good, but on the other hand where am I going to find the time to do this on a regular basis? Pony's harness just came, and I'm a lot more excited getting him started really pulling stuff. I will try to carve out time for Teddy, though. He is very sweet and deserves it.

This is a super short video I took of Pony eating my phone. I recommend you mute it to avoid my dumb comments. But it made me and my daughter laugh. It's pretty typical Pony behavior.


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## ACinATX

I forgot to mention that at the end of our round pen work, I wanted to give Teddy the option of staying longer or leaving, so I opened the round pen door and stood there to see what he would do. He stepped out enough to where his two feet were out and his back feet were in, and then gave me sort of pathetic looks through the panels. We just stayed there for a while. I had forgotten that he doesn't like having to make decisions. So I walked out past him, then he very happily walked out after me. I guess he sort of wanted to be done, but maybe he thought he was supposed to stay with me. Who knows. I do think he was better behaved today.

We had a good lesson. We mostly trotted and worked on bending, but at the end I asked the instructor if I could canter Pony over a cross rail. So we did. I thought we both did really well. He had a mostly good stride and I got off his back at just the right time, grabbed a little mane, and really followed his movement (and didn't pop him in the mouth or land on his back). I told the instructor afterwards that I was lucky he was on a good step, and she said that he wasn't. She basically said that he was on a bad step, and she was thinking it was going to go badly, but then she could see that I pushed him forward and got him to exactly where he needed to be to get the rail perfectly. I was like, Really? I thought back on it, and I remembered that he had been slowing down a little, so I gave him some leg, and I was thinking at one point that he needed more impulsion so I tried to push him, but I hadn't consciously been thinking about how many steps he had or whatever. I wonder if I've somehow gotten to where I can just do that rather than having to think about it. When I think about it, I mess up. Every single time I think about it, if he's on a bad step I just sit there and think "Should I push him forward or slow him down," and I keep thinking it over and over again until it's too late to do either and we mess it up. We haven't cantered a rail or raised pole or anything in at least a month. I wonder if it's possible that something has seeped into my subconscious during that time. Regardless, I was super happy. It felt AMAZING!

I ended up working on Pony's front feet. I'm not sure the farrier who came out last week actually did them. It didn't look like it. To be fair, Pony's front feet didn't super need to be done, and the guy definitely did his back feet, but I was annoyed at having to do the fronts again. It also looks like there's a lot of retained sole in there, which is probably going to shed out pretty soon and then I'll have to do them yet again. I did Moonshine's feet as well and felt pretty good about them. Poor Teddy fell by the wayside again, although I did just do him a couple of weeks ago. I had also wanted to wash his fetlocks again (he got them muddy again and he does get scratches) but I ran out of time and, I guess, energy.

I'm wondering if I can work a few hours this weekend and then carve out some time to go see them on Monday morning.

Pony's harness is still sitting in a box in the hall, too. Too much stuff to do, and not enough time...


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## ACinATX

I did go see them Monday. It was nice, even if it was just a couple of hours. I did get Teddy's feet done, which was good, but otherwise I just hung out and let them graze inside. He did try to walk away at one point (I didn't have him tied) but I got him back and then he was OK. I gave him some cookies as a reward.

I started working on getting the harness on Pony. I had a setback when I tried on Monday, as I thought the back strap was too short, but when I went back out yesterday it was fine. He was OK, but not enthusiastic, about the crupper, but he did buck a lot at the canter when he was wearing it. You wouldn't think a fat pony could buck that much LOL. It was hard to get him to canter in the round pen as I couldn't find a lunge whip so I had to use the lead rope. I'm sure on a more forward or nervous horse it would have worked fine, but he's not overly interested in exerting himself. We got in a few laps of cantering, and I was more tired and sweaty at the end of it than he was LOL. I did make him keep cantering each time until he stopped bucking, then I let him stop. But he's still bucking, so we'll have to keep working on it. My book says to wait until they're OK with the crupper at the canter before moving on, but I think I could work on getting the head collar on him at the same time.

I was really tired and thirsty from the round pen and I didn't have any water since I was fasting, so I told the instructor I'd like to take it easy. She was like, "we'll just walk and trot then," but then she wanted a working walk and a forward trot, and especially that working walk takes so much energy on the part of the rider. Honestly it would be easier for me to just get down and walk myself. But his trot was better, and he was better about putting his head down and getting collected, too. It's amazing what having two training rides a week is doing for him.

Speaking of which, she's been jumping him over low jumps. I asked during the lesson if I could schedule a time to watch her jump him, but apparently her schedule has been really inconsistent lately and although she can tell me the day she'll be riding him she can't tell me the time. But, she volunteered for the second half of the lesson to take him over some jumps while I watched.

He did really nicely! They weren't really high -- I measured later and one was 18 inches and one was 24 inches, but you'd think they were four feet tall from the way he was acting afterwards. He was so proud of himself LOL. And also tired. The instructor said he is needing less and less leg to jump, too, which is good. After my daughter saw it, she wanted to jump him. So I suggested that for our next lesson we switch horses. I've been wanting to ride Moonshine again, as I haven't ridden her in at least a year, and she's doing so well for my daughter that I'm wondering how she would do for me. My daughter really liked the idea. I'll have to talk to the instructor and we'll have to see how the lesson goes -- I'm thinking they would canter over ground poles and if that went well they'd canter over raised poles and if that went well they'd maybe do a tiny jump. She doesn't have any jumping experience and he's pretty green, so we'll see what the instructor says.

I'm so happy that she's getting this much progress without using the tie-downs and butt bands and all the other physical restraints that the other instructor uses. I don't know, maybe those get faster results (although I'm not seeing it) but I feel like they make the horses really unhappy. Pony still has no problems with working (unless it's a working walk LOL) and is the same happy friendly guy he's been for most of his life. His happiness and health are much more important than him being able to do certain tasks quickly.

And, speaking of happiness and health, Moonshine actually did really well in her lesson yesterday. I'm thinking that having the body worker out regularly is helping already. Now that I'm working full time, I can afford for her to come out and see Moonshine and Pony on a regular (every four weeks) basis. The trainer / instructor didn't think Pony really needed it, but she did want me to ask the body worker about how he's doing so she knows that she isn't pushing him too hard. It's nice to have her on board with that and to know that she's really concerned about not pushing him. Teddy needs so much work, and I'm not riding him and I don't know when I will, so he's not going to get done. Also the process made him nervous.

And finally, my trailer is finished and schedule for delivery May 11. Woo hoo!


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## ACinATX

I took the day off yesterday, and I spent several hours just hanging out with them. It was nice! I did get Moonshine's hooves done, and Teddy's muddy fetlocks cleaned off, which was great. I didn't expect to have the energy to do either. Teddy gets scratches, particularly when he gets muddy down there, so I was trying to head that off.

Pony's gotten really good with getting his neck collar on. In three sessions of about five minutes each, over a week, we went from my daughter having to hold him with a lead rope around his neck, while he tried to step backwards out of the collar, to him closing his eyes and putting his nose down into the collar and his head through. Obviously there were some cookies involved LOL, but it's really nice how quickly he picks stuff up. Makes me feel like I know what I'm doing, LOL. He also cantered OK with the crupper in this time. Although it turns out I was wrong, and apparently it's the breeching that makes them buck, not the breeching, so ... we'll see how he does when I get that on him.

We had a nice lesson today. I am still fasting, but it was a cloudy day and not unusually hot, so we did OK. The last two years I didn't ride at all while I was fasting, so being good enough now at riding that I can fast (which makes me tired and brain dead) and ride feels really good, like I've really progressed. I even cantered a little, on purpose, and it felt great! Pony's canter is just so much better than it was a year ago, so smooth and easy. I had a smile on my face the whole time. He does now need some encouragement to keep going (he used to just keep it up on his own), but really just having the conscious intention that you want him to keep going, and using a little bit of seat and voice, is enough to keep him from breaking. I also got him into a working walk without quite as much effort on my part.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> Someone who used to be at our barn had a horse who didn't like to be caught. If she was really in a mood about it, she'd just go in the pond. And nobody could get her out of there.


 When we lived on the cattle farm in Melbourne, my mare used to go into the deep pond when I wanted to ride her. I used to chuck pine cones at her to try to get her to come out. After a couple of months of that, she didn't care when the pine cones hit her. I'd have to ride my son's horse instead. Clever mare!


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## Kalraii

knightrider said:


> When we lived on the cattle farm in Melbourne, my mare used to go into the deep pond when I wanted to ride her. I used to chuck pine cones at her to try to get her to come out. After a couple of months of that, she didn't care when the pine cones hit her. I'd have to ride my son's horse instead. Clever mare!





ACinATX said:


> It is, and I have to admit that when I used to watch that other horse that would go in the pond, I'd think that I wished I had one who would like it. And now I do! I'm glad he is always eager to come when called, though. Someone who used to be at our barn had a horse who didn't like to be caught. If she was really in a mood about it, she'd just go in the pond. And nobody could get her out of there.


I love stuff like this so much  Glad you're comfortable enough to still keep those riding muscles active. Ahh I googled what breeching was and it makes sense. I remember watching a driving vid (maybe you've seen) and it was a mare that when in heat would constantly buck because of it. He looks very fancy in his gear. So trailer news today? I expect it xD


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## ACinATX

The trailer came! It is so nice. It was still dark when he brought it, and I could see it well in the distance as he sat there in the driveway waiting for me (he had said 6:30 in the morning and I was aiming to be out there at 6:20, but he got there around 6:15), since it has multiple running lights all over it. I'm now needing to go look at trucks and also to figure out when I want to rent a truck and try to learn to drive it. The truck rental place has 3/4 ton trucks, but their hitches are all rated for a max weight of 7500lb, which is OK because my trailer fully loaded should never really weigh more than 6500lb, but I had thought they had 10k lb hitches so that was a little disappointing.

I had planned on getting there before the delivery guy so I could let my guys out before he got there, but I didn't. So once they realized I was there, they were pacing the fence, pawing the gate, nickering, calling to me, and wondering why I wasn't letting them in. Poor horses. I did let them in as soon as he left.

My daughter was out of town today and due to the instructor's schedule I had to join a group lesson, but we did pretty well. There was one walk-trot person in the lesson and two other w-t-c people, both of whom had better-trained horses and had been riding longer, so I was slightly worried that I might hold people back, especially since I haven't done much cantering the last month or so, but we actually did OK. No one did perfectly -- each horse/rider combo had their own problems -- but aside from him juking hard once, and me almost falling off, then losing a stirrup and almost falling off again, we did the same exercises as everyone else, pretty much as competently. I cannot but doubt that a huge chunk of this is due to the trainer riding him twice a week -- it's amazing how much he's really blossomed since she's been riding him. Even his walk is better. I asked her if she had been working on it, and she said a little. But it's much less poky now. He did the last exercise OK, but then I wanted to canter him one more time because I wanted to end on a really positive note, so I did part of the course of poles that we had been working on. This time he stumbled on one of the poles, I lost the rein, but still kept him on course for the rest of it. So I felt pretty good about that. 

He got some alfalfa hay after that, and the other two got let out to graze in the inside area. Then I had to do Teddy's back feet -- I don't know what happened to them. I mean, I honestly look at them and I can't explain what it is I am seeing, but I nippered and then rasped a lot of hoof off and they look MUCH better now. I mean, they could hardly have looked worse. I don't know, I did them a month ago and I was pretty happy with the way they looked then, so I can't understand why they look so bad again. Probably, to be honest, my original trim wasn't that good. I did have a scare, though -- I nippered a whole bunch off his toe at one time, and I saw this red stuff and almost fainted. But I think it was just some ingrained mud or something. I had to give it a really thorough look, but it wasn't blood so that's OK.

Then I got Pony's harness on. Today it was time to introduce the breeching. I couldn't get it adjusted properly, but I think I finally got it. He seemed mildly annoyed by it, so I just turned him out to graze wearing the whole set-up for a while and watched him. I really wanted to round pen him to see how he'd do cantering, but I didn't want to overwhelm him. I did eventually decide to do it, though. He was fine. He bucked a couple of times at the canter, but I think now that that was a reaction to the amount of force I had to use to get him to canter (strike the lunge whip on the ground behind him). I took some videos of him walking and trotting. He looks relaxed enough that I think we can move on to the next step of putting on the whole set-up (not the bridle) and round penning. I picked up an old tire that's sitting around the barn and didn't think it was even that heavy, so him pulling that while in the full regalia would be the next step.


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## gottatrot

Congrats on your new trailer!! Pony looks great in his harness.


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## ACinATX

I went out for the vet today. He was doing Pony and Teddy’s teeth. I got out there early. I was trying to decide between riding Pony bareback and working on driving, but my legs were still sore from my Saturday lesson plus a hike on Sunday, so I opted for driving.

I had left all of his harness attached together, except for the collar and hames, so it was super quick now to put it on, which was great. I was by myself without someone to hold him, and I needed him to stand still, not tied, and without his halter on, to get the collar and hames on, so I took that gear, plus the reins (I already had him in his halter), a lead rope to attach the tire to, safety cones for a target, my sun hat, oh and the tire itself. I had to make like three trips LOL. Anyways, I first showed him the hames, and jingled them, and rubbed him with them – no problem. Then I showed him the collar and he got excited because collar means cookies (for now). He kept trying to push his head through it before I was even ready.

I got it on and attached the hames. The collar is adjustable and I had it as big as it could go. I see I need to take it in a notch. I’m also not 100% sure I got the hames tight enough. They weren’t going anywhere but it just didn’t seem right. Then I put his halter back on (I had taken it off for the collar) and attached the reins. Then I showed him the tire. He didn’t really have a problem with it. We started with just ground driving. I need to make sure I had the reins through all of the right places, because it felt different to me than when I had them just strung through the surcingle, and it seemed to feel different to him as well, because he wasn’t as responsive as he had been.

Nonetheless we did a few rounds of that and then I got out the tire. I had to remind him that I wanted him to hold still while I hooked it up to him. A couple of times he wanted to swing around to look at it. But we got it hooked up. My book said it would be best to have a helper at this point, to take some of the weight of the tire, and also to have a sort of failsafe to where if your horse totally freaked out they could release it the tire would be dropped. I didn’t have a helper. The tire wasn’t really that heavy, IMO, and we’ve already dragged a metal trash can across bad gravel roads, so I didn’t figure the tire would be that much worse.

I do think… I don’t know if it was the reins of the tire, since this was the first time he’d been expected to pull something from the neck collar, but he did seem a little less calm than usual. He put his head down and pulled very nicely (from what I could see – his big butt was blocking a lot of him), but his walk was quite a bit faster than usual. But we did a few rounds of that. I decided to call it quits at that point since he was doing OK but not great, and I didn’t want to push my luck. I think next time I may spend one session just on ground driving again, because the reins feel so different now. But! He is now officially pulling stuff! He is ready to be a farm pony!

The vet unfortunately timed his visit to coincide with a line of storms moving through. I had been eyeing that wall of eerier blue clouds on the horizon for half an hour when he showed up. Apparently he had been eyeing them as well. He was like, “Before we start, let’s just check that there isn’t a tornado coming.” There wasn’t. I brought them into the other barn, which was strange and dark and empty, and then the wind started blowing and the rain started pounding on the metal roof. But! Teddy did so well with his sedation! For the first one (the intra-muscular one) he only took one step back when getting the shot. Then when he got the other shot he didn’t even react. Last time I think he had scooted back quite a bit with the first one, and also with the second one.

Bad things, though. The vet said, after carefully looking at his front and back teeth, that he’s more like in his early 20s than in his teens. I guess this doesn’t really surprise me – he’s always felt like an old soul, and he’s a somewhat hard keeper. But now I wonder whether he’ll even make it the three years before we move to Seattle. The vet did think that, given his age and tooth condition, he looked great (He actually said “You must be babying him for him to look this good”). Oh, and the vet pulled out part of another tooth, again

Pony was fine for the vet. He usually is.

I wonder if the vet used extra sedation this time. It seemed like it took forever for them to wake up. Maybe it was just because I was wanting to get home.

Anyways, it was overall a good day.


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## ACinATX

I got a bonus lesson in today. My daughter is super busy with finals, so I took a lesson in her place. It was really good. Pony is getting so much better. He's much more responsive to leg pressure now for instance. He was pretty responsive when I first got him, but I think my overactive leg dulled him a lot. I've gotten much better with keeping my leg still, and obviously having the trainer ride him in a consistent manner has also helped.

I also got my heels down at the canter. We did a cantering exercise that Pony did decently well at. I was particularly happy with how he picked up the correct lead each time. We were doing simple lead changes but it seems like he might be ready for flying lead changes. I will ask the trainer what she thinks. He definitely doesn't need more than a step at the trot to pick up the correct lead.

This lesson was with the other instructor (the barn owner) and she agreed that my leg and foot is much better. My toe was still creeping down at the canter. We talked about it, and she wanted me to really think about relaxing the weight down into it. So I asked if instead of doing the canter exercise if we could just do some laps around the arena, so the only thing I'd have to think about was my body, not about what he was doing. And I did it! I could really feel the heel relaxing down, and in fact my whole body felt much more relaxed and not braced as much. So it's good to know that I CAN keep my heels down at a canter.

She asked if she could use him in her kids camp over the summer. So I guess she must be impressed with his progress too. The trainer is so great -- he's coming along so well but he's still really happy to come in and work, no attitude at all, and she's very conscientious about meeting him at his level and not pushing him. His improvement since she's been riding him twice a week is astronomical.

I'm not sure what to do about the camp. On the one hand, maybe he'd finally lose some weight and it would probably be good for him mentally, but on the other hand what if he regresses or develops bad habits? I think I'm going to talk to the trainer and see what she thinks, since she really has a pulse on where he's at. I think ideally we'd have someone ride him once a week in lessons and see how he did with that. If he didn't do well, then we'd know to say no to the camp.

And the barn owner said she'd give Teddy a couple of pounds of alfalfa pellets, moistened, every day. She said feed is included in the cost of board, but I've asked her not to feed my guys, so she will not charge extra for the pellets. Probably also because she understands that he's the boss of the pasture, so they don't have to pull him out to feed him. All they have to do is stick a bucket of wet pellets through the fence once a day.

Also, I knocked down a wasp nest that had a wasp in it and I'm pretty proud of myself.


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## ACinATX

Bad and good today.

The bad. Dragging. I mentioned before that Pony seemed a little uncomfortable dragging the tire with the neck collar, so today we first did just some long-lining with the neck collar. He seemed OK with that so I added the tire. We made a few rounds and it was fine. Then I wanted to make a video of him pulling, but I didn't have anyone else with me, so I thought I'd try to get him going and then take it from the side. This is the video. So... I didn't have the reins at all. I am not sure what exactly caused the incident. The colt in the next paddock had started cantering, and maybe something touched Pony weird, but he spooked and then took off, cantering and bucking, dragging the tire behind him, across ground poles, bucking some more, worse and worse. And that's when I realized one of the gates in the arena was open. So I tried to calmly walk very quickly toward the gate to head him off. Luckily I was successful. Then he paused for a second and I showed him the cookies. He seemed like he might be interested. So I cautiously gave him some. He was blowing and snorting. I gave him some more and then quickly started to unclip the tire. Then more cookies. I had used a chain and it was all twisted up and getting tight, but I got one clip undone. More cookies. The other clip undone. More cookies. Evaluated the harness. The hames had come out of the neck collar but everything else was OK. More cookies. Took off the reins. Took off the halter. Took the hames off. Took off the neck collar. More cookies. He was calming down quickly. I took off the rest of the harness and gave him some more cookies.

He went up and smelled the tire right afterwards, a little snorty but not much. He followed me out of the arena and back to the barn, I guess wanting more cookies. I looked him over and didn't see any injuries.

It was bad but I suppose it could have been much much worse.

I am going to have to take a couple of steps back and figure out what's going on. He was fine pulling other stuff. Is it the weight on the neck collar? The weight in general? The sound of the tire? The way the reins feel a little different when run through the neck collar and saddle? I don't know, maybe I will give him a week off just to cool off a bit. I don't think he is permanently scarred on pulling things, at least I hope he's not. He's pretty resilient.

So I had a lesson after that. I thought, either he's going to be super tired after those antics, or he's going to be really jumpy and spooky. But actually he was neither. He was really nice. His gaits continue to get better. I didn't carry the whip at all, and there were times at the trot where I could feel him moving from behind. I suddenly understood what the phrase "in front of your leg" means. I can't explain it, but he was in front of my leg. The instructor confirmed.

My canter foot position stayed pretty good. I guess my mental picture needed to be to relax my heel down, not force it down. Now my whole body feels more relaxed, and I feel like I'm following his motion so much better. He had a great canter today. We cantered over a cross rail several times, and he did wonderfully. I feel much better about tiny jumps now. The first time, I was ahead of his movement and pushed him too much, but she told me to just let him take care of it, and just focus on me, and the other three times went really well. My butt did hit his back once on the top of the curve, but it wasn't hard. 

It felt to me that he was a lot more confident about the cross rail, I guess now that he's doing actual jumps this no longer looks scary to him. I felt like he was more confident, and then I got more confident, and now hopefully we are in a virtuous circle. I told the instructor again how happy I am with the work she's doing with him.

Oh, and he's not losing any weight but he's muscling up, which is the next best thing. His haunches in particular are getting quite defined.

I told him afterwards that I was sorry I had overfaced him with the tire, but of course he was like "Whatever, I'm eating hay. Just keep putting it in front of me, lady."






It was a nice cool rainy day (unusual for us this time of year) so I stayed for a couple of hours and just gave them hay in their stalls. It was nice.


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## knightrider

I have been told by a number of people (quite happily, did not experience it myself, whew!) that when training a horse to drive, they can suddenly flip out and panic. I was told when I was training mine to drive to take it slow slow slow. I did, and never had that flip out. I have known of at least 3 people whose horses panicked and wrecked stuff. I don't know if this helps you or makes you feel frustrated. I guess I just wanted you to know that many others have walked in your shoes.


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## ACinATX

@knightrider no, it does make me feel better. I did some dumb stuff and I need to learn from my mistakes, but at least I'm not the only one. For one thing, letting go of the reins and standing beside him was dumb. And chaining the tire to him with no breaking points was dumb. Not having a helper there was dumb. And leaving the gate open was super dumb, even though I had no reason to think he would do anything. It could have been so much worse. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn't get back to sleep for thinking about it. All the ways it could have gone so much worse.

It's funny, though, once again I'm pretty sure I am way more traumatized about something than he was. I mean, obviously at the flip out stage he was traumatized, but he calmed down quickly and then he just happily followed me back to the barn, and half an hour after that I had a great lesson on him. I'm pretty sure he has let it go. I need to do the same. Not to where I don't learn from my mistakes, but I need to just calm down and get past it.


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## gottatrot

It actually will probably help him since nothing bad happened, now he knows that even if he gets scared it will turn out OK.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> It actually will probably help him since nothing bad happened, now he knows that even if he gets scared it will turn out OK.


I had a similar thought. I guess, maybe, this has all worked out OK in the end. I mean, except for me being traumatized LOL. Although maybe that's not even bad, since it will hopefully lead me to being more careful in the future. But it was very bad of me to allow it to happen in the first place. I mean, wow. All of the things that could have gone wrong.


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## gottatrot

ACinATX said:


> I had a similar thought. I guess, maybe, this has all worked out OK in the end. I mean, except for me being traumatized LOL. Although maybe that's not even bad, since it will hopefully lead me to being more careful in the future. But it was very bad of me to allow it to happen in the first place. I mean, wow. All of the things that could have gone wrong.


We all do stupid things with horses sometimes. I've tied to a fence rail that was nailed to the inside, and had the horse pull it off, I've gotten in a cart without having the reins and had the horse start running off, I've tied to a feeder that was not secured to the wall and had the horse pull it off. Plus many other things. We need to avoid dangerous things and learn from our mistakes, but realize that everyone has "moments" where they don't think things through completely or think nothing will happen, and choose wrong. If no one gets seriously injured, these are just things to learn from. Horses are also very forgiving of our mistakes.


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## ACinATX

Yes he's very forgiving, for sure. No doubt this whole thing is bothering me way more than it is him.

I did work with him some today. I confirmed that the tire now concerns him. I tried everything new that we had done, separately, and it was just the tire he's worried about. So what we did was, I first had him just approach it and smell it. Then I wrapped the chain around and rattled it, same thing. Then I got the chain and pulled the tire around myself, asking him to follow it. When I stopped he was supposed to touch it with his nose. Then I got to where he would walk along next to me while I was dragging it, and that was fine. Then we got to where I could drag it to him and he was OK with that. Then I got him to walk away calmly while I dragged the tire after him. That last one, he was definitely very focused on what the tire was doing, but he was mostly OK. We also did me running with the tire and him trotting along with me. I'm sure overall he loved it -- I was dragging the tire around and giving him treats. I can just imagine him thinking, "Now all I have to do is teach her to pull a little cart, wouldn't that be cute!"


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## ACinATX

I had started feeling like Teddy's hooves were getting away from me, so I got on the schedule of the farrier that I dislike the least, LOL. He changed days at the last minute and I had to totally reschedule my work to be out there, and then he didn't come. According to the text exchange between him and the other woman whose horse he was going to see, he got there, saw the barn owner and her dogs, and left. He had brought his dog with him and one of the barn owner's dogs has a bad reputation. I was so ticked off. He didn't even call or text when he got there. I had texted him after he was about half an hour late asking where he was, and then he responded saying he got there, then turned around and left. If he had taken a minute to call or text, we could have put his dog in a stall, or had the barn owner put hers in the office, or something. But he didn't even bother. His last text was "Maybe you should find a new farrier."

So I did Pony's feet myself that day, and Moonshine and Teddy two days later. I have realized I don't really like doing their feet. They all have some issues. Pony's hoof walls are super thick and they grow super fast, so you really have to get them every two weeks. And they are TOUGH! Moonshine has arthritis in her back stifles and has a hard time holding her feet up, and sometimes sort of kicks a little (not trying to kick me, just like she's trying to get a kink out). She wants to put all of her weight on me, and even with the hoofjack it's usually hard to find a place where she's comfortable. And Teddy has anxiety around the whole process and has to be done in little pieces because I'm slow. I am glad that I learned how to do it, and I feel good every time I realize something that I've done wrong and learn from it, and I really do think Moonshine's feet are much better since I started, but especially now that I'm working FT I really just don't want to do them any more.

Changing topics: I got my truck! I had an ordeal getting it back: https://www.horseforum.com/threads/truck-ordeal.824212/#post-1970963395. But I've been working on driving and parking it since then and it's gotten a lot better. I went to the hitch place over the weekend and figured out what hitch I need. They're going to have to special order it, but hopefully I can get it put in on Friday. Then I can start learning to drive the truck and trailer together.

Changing topics again. I went out today to just do something fun with them since I had the day off. I ended up working on Pony neck reining. He's actually quite good at it. We progressed to a trot today. It's interesting -- you can really tell how much his head goes up when he trots by how much more slack I suddenly have in the reins. I have to make a little loop so they're not too loose. The covered arena was full of water but we worked in there. Overall he doesn't really have a problem with water and this was a good way to reinforce that.

At the end, we went to the other arena and cantered a bit. This was all bareback. His canter has gotten so smooth! It was like we were just floating along. He did keep wanting to break, which was not really like him. Also I did get the reins with both hands for that part, LOL -- not ready to just neck rein with one hand at the canter.


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## ACinATX

Pony and I worked on neck reining again. It seems that I control the tightness of the turn by how close to his head the rein is. He seemed a little slow getting it today, but we spent a long time at the walk reinforcing it, and when he trotted he was perfect. I am still making sure I really look where I want to go first, then neck rein, then leg as a reinforcer if needed. We did a lot of circles, figure eights, some ground poles, etc. No problems.

We tried the neck rope today, too. The book that I really like about riding bridleless said that it needs to be fairly stiff or it will be confusing for the horse. I thought I'd compromise by using that leather neck strap I have sitting around somewhere, but I couldn't find it. So I went back to my old standby, baling twine. I made a loose-ish loop around his lower neck and tied it with a bow. I do lead him around with baling twine around his neck sometimes, so I thought he might make the connection.

It took him a bit, but he did! I would say he now has a very basic and somewhat vague understanding of using the neck rope to turn. Only at the walk. But still. I guess another thing would be to now teach it for "whoa". Generally, stopping is his strong suit, and I seem to have been reinforcing that by stopping him and giving him treats when he does a good job with the neck reining / neck rope. Usually he stops just by me leaning back, and if I add a verbal cue he understands that to mean "you will get some alfalfa pellets now" and stops.

He's still trying to break at the canter. I'm wondering now if maybe it's because I've been trying to lean back at the canter, to stay off his forehand and keep from slipping forward, and he's interpreting that to mean I want him to slow down. We had several not too great canters but then one really nice one. I'll see how he is in the lesson on Saturday, when I'll be riding in a saddle.

My daughter was there working with Moonshine as well. She's still trying to keep that mare on the rail. I suggested something I had read about, rather than telling her what you DON'T want her to do (get off the rail), you tell her what you DO want to do by using really clear body language and looking where you're going. Pony will usually turn in the direction you're looking if you do it clearly enough. She said that Moonshine is great about that when you're looking where she wants to go. If you're riding along the rail and so much as shift your eyes inside, then inside she goes. But she won't move TOWARD the rail based on the way you're looking. She's hoping to spend some time this summer of "remedial work." We'll see!


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## ACinATX

Moonshine ran into Pony again. This one could have been a disaster. She was cantering around. I was waiting on the side on Pony, standing up against the fence where there is some shade, and the instructor and her small dog were right in front of us. The only place for Pony to go was forward over the instructor. When it became obvious that Moonshine wasn't going to stop, the instructor put her hand on Pony's head and he just stood there and let Moonshine run into him. She actually did pull back a little right before the end, as she realized he wasn't going anywhere but it was still bad. But he was very good. He didn't budge, and he didn't retaliate even though he's the boss of her and can be quite a butt. This is really bad behavior on her part and I don't know what to do about it.

During that same lesson, I had let Teddy out to graze. He's not really supposed to be out unless I'm right there, but no one else was out there so I thought it would be OK. Since the vet said he can still benefit from eating grass, I am hoping to let him graze as much as possible on the lush green grass we have right now. But he kept trying to wander off into an area where he wasn't supposed to be. The first time, I rode Pony over there and tried to herd him back. This is kind of tough because Teddy is the boss of Pony. It kind of didn't matter, because I wasn't really able to create enough movement to get Teddy going. Waving at him and kicking near his head wasn't doing anything. They both seemed kind of confused about what was supposed to be happening. So the instructor kindly came over and put him back where he was supposed to be.

But after about 15 minutes or so, he wandered out again. This time I got the dressage whip. I rode Pony over there and tried to create some movement with the whip but that didn't work. So I flicked Teddy on the butt with it. He jumped, and then Pony jumped, and honestly I knew I shouldn't have tried that right next the low branch, but it was fine. Pony just jumped in place. Teddy trotted back over to where he was supposed to be. So I guess that was sort of a success.

Speaking of Teddy, now that I have the trailer and truck, I need to start working on loading him. He's a terrible loader. I thought I'd start at the basics, making sure he understood about following me, so we just worked on that, slow, fast, stop, and then obstacles. The dressage arena, which is currently flooded with a couple of inches of water, mud, concrete, the dark barn, a tarp that had puddles on it and was being held in place by a weird log, in a really narrow spot, etc. He didn't hesitate at anything. Then we went over to the trailer (I'm not going to load him until I have the hitch) and walked around it, including in a really narrow part where he had to walk between the ramp and a bad hole, and all of that was fine. Last time I took him to the trailer, he just couldn't handle it. He wouldn't even eat a cookie while we were standing next to it. So I guess this went better.

I have a hard time understanding what his problem with the trailer is, given that nothing else seems to bother him. Last time when the vet came, a bad storm was just breaking and it was dark, and I took him into the dark barn and into a stall that has a stupid 2x8 over the bottom of the entrance, so it's hard to get into, and he only hesitated a bit. So what is it about the trailer? I really hope that having the side ramp is going to help -- I'm hoping to just walk him in and out of it a whole bunch of times.

It's rained almost every day for the last month, and everything is just mud. The barn owner was talking about how many of her horses are tender footed right now because of the rain, which I find a bit surprising since she has kept them all stalled most of the time. She was asking about my guys, who have been out the whole time. But they're fine. Moonshine is the one who has traditionally had problems, but I think rasping her feet once a week has really thickened her sole and frog (need to get X-Rays to confirm), and my daughter was actually riding her on the gravel road the other day with no signs of distress.

I've been working on parking and driving the truck, see here: https://www.horseforum.com/threads/parking-the-big-truck.824216/. I'm pretty comfortable driving it now. I also finally got around to getting the trailer actually registered. Well. I had thought I was just going to go in and pay my $50 registration fee, but since it was a new trailer I was also paying sales tax, and since it was a $$$$$ trailer, I ended up paying $$$$ sales tax. Yikes. Hopefully once I spend the $$$ on the hitch set-up, I'll be done with major vehicle expenses for a while.

I took this picture of Pony to send to someone for a conformation opinion. I thought he looked pretty good, so here it is. I don't know if it's just me being used to him, but he doesn't look as fat, in this picture, to me, as he did. The white truck in the background on the left (behind his butt) is my new truck. It's much bigger up close LOL.


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## knightrider

Pony is very very cute! Not really fat, just a bit chunky.


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## ACinATX

I like to think of him as "pony shaped" LOL.


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## gottatrot

Pony is so cute. How tall is he?


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## ACinATX

Thank you! He's 13'2hh.


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## ACinATX

I'm re-posting this one, because it may be my favorite picture of him. I think it really captures who he is -- he knows he's making me laugh and he's really hamming it up (he has learned that when he does this particular trick and makes me laugh, he invariably gets a treat). But just look at his face!


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## ACinATX

This week I went to U-Haul and rented a trailer so I could learn how to drive it and, more importantly, how to back it up. Linking to what I wrote here: Parking the trailer!!!!!!

The good news is, I got the hang of it. The bad news is, I had to go to U-Haul on three different days, plus there was all the time it took me to actually work on driving, so I didn't get to see the horses on any weekday this week.

We went out there today and I got it all hitched up. I was super stoked -- I lined up the hitch and coupler perfectly the first time. I have a backup camera, and the hitch sticks out super far, so I can easily see it in the camera. I just lined it up with the coupler and backed up. 

I actually backed up to where I thought I was still an inch or two apart and then got out to look, and it turns out it was perfect. So I've made a mental note to stop backing up a little sooner than I think I need to. The barn owner was there and she sort of helped me hook everything up. I'd say from the time I started backing up to the time everything was connected was less than five minutes. I was thinking that at least at first it would be more like half an hour.

The problem is that the drop on the hitch is really low, because the truck is so high, but it's actually too low. The trailer is tilting forward, but more importantly the foot of the jack is only four or five inches off the ground, so it looks like I'm going to have to get the drop replaced before I can even take the rig back to the hitch place for levelling. Sheesh.

We had a good lesson today. It's getting hot. I "pre sweated" myself by hosing myself pretty thoroughly. That felt good. We also warmed up in the covered arena. The footing in there is pretty bad, so we had to move out to the other arena for the actual lesson.

Pony was nicely forward today, no need for a crop. He cantered really nicely, too. I worked on getting my heels down and was apparently semi successful. When it was time to do pole exercises at the trot / canter, I took Pony over to the covered arena (it's right next to the other one) when it was my daughter's turn. First of all, because it was shaded, but second because I didn't want Moonshine to run into us again.

Moonshine is one of those horses who, if she's cantering over a ground pole and not on a good step, will drop to a trot. I wish my daughter wouldn't warm her up at the canter over those poles -- it seems like it just sets up the rest of the lesson to go badly, because my daughter gets annoyed at her and keeps running her around until she gets it, which makes Moonshine grumpy. But the instructor didn't say anything so I didn't feel like it was my place to say anything either.

Pony did very well. We did one cross pole, but the instructor said afterwards that he wasn't on the best step, so he took off really early. All I know is, he jumped HIGH LOL. I mean, by high it was probably two or three feet, but still. The great thing is, he didn't hesitate at all, and I didn't have to worry about micromanaging him -- he saw where he was and did what he needed to do. The instructor said I ended up a little behind the motion, but I felt fine and I had grabbed mane so I didn't pop him in the mouth at all, which is good.

She asked me afterwards if I had thought about showing him. I said I had started to think about it. One of the other barns in town has regular schooling shows. She said I could do a cross-rail course at the trot, and she could show him over low jumps. Now that I have the rig almost ready to go, I'm really thinking, why not? If I do, I will need a show name. When I rode him in our barn show, I gave him the show name "Little Black," like the children's book, as one of the other riders in a group lesson had once commented that he looked like the pony in the book (he does). It's a cute name that makes people go "awwww" which, who knows, might get me an extra couple of points LOL. The problem is that while he is Little Black from late September through May, during the summer he turns into "little funky brown with weird dapples", so I don't know if calling him Little Black when he's not black would be weird.

I was going to take the truck out for a lesson on Monday morning then bring the trailer back for levelling, but with the jack foot being so low off the ground, I'm having second thoughts. I guess we'll see. The rig looks good, though! LOL if you want to get a lot of compliments from men, get a big truck. I've gotten at least five compliments this week about the truck.


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## gottatrot

I loved Little Black when I was a kid. That's a great name in my opinion. 

My friends have had a few mini horses, but everyone knew my favorite was Star. She was a little black mini (passed away now), and I loved her best for two reasons. One was because all the other minis were geldings, and she was a feisty mare who once bolted away with me in the middle of a parade. The other was because she made me think of the Little Black stories. She was a rescue and came with the name Star, but we always thought the name was funny because she didn't have any markings.


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## ACinATX

The rig set up is taking so long. I finally got the WD hitch put on and supposedly leveled, but when I went out to drive the thing, it started making terrible metallic groaning noises on the turns; one of the pins that holds up the WD bar got wedged behind the chain and bent so badly that it couldn't be taken out (see picture -- my husband got after it with pliers and we were able to eventually get it out). I also think the guy had the bars up too high. I called them back today and they will take a look at it on Wednesday, hopefully. 

I have a hard time riding and doing feet on the same day. If I do feet first, I'm tired by the time it's lesson time, and if I have my lesson first I'm too tired to do feet. Having said that, I got Teddy's feet entirely done today (after a lesson!), without too much fuss. I did Pony's backs on Friday, and I was hoping to do his fronts today but I was pretty pooped after Teddy's feet plus my lesson, and there was some excitement today.

Moonshine was weird. My daughter was giving her a bath and at one point she wanted to shake herself off, but I guess it's a little muddy there and she slipped. She caught herself, though. Then, about ten minutes later, something happened that I didn't see, she pulled back hard and snapped her lead rope off, breaking part of the barn in the process. In other three years, she's never done anything like this.

Then, there was the incident of Lochness Pondster. This horse, Stone, was in the back pasture by himself and not too happy about it. He kept whinnying but I guess no one noticed or cared. Then apparently he jumped in the pond and swam over to where our guys were, and got them all worked up. I say apparently jumped in the pond because while I didn't see what happened, I heard an enormous splash and then he was in the pond, then he was cantering to where Moonshine and Pony were. Based on what happened later, I think he was just really lonely and desperately wanted company, but the splash startled them, and then when he cantered over they were like "What? What?" and started cantering around in circles also. The barn owner started yelling, understandably. 

Pony decided that he needed to protect Moonshine and got between her and Stone and started pointing his butt at Stone, who didn't like that ("I just want to be friends!"). I trust my horses, so I got in there and shooed Pony out and my daughter pulled out Moonshine. We put them in stalls. When we were done with that, I found Stone over with Teddy, who I guess hadn't seen the whole monster thing, nibbling withers very enthusiastically. Which is why I think he was just lonely.

Stone was caught and put into a stall. I don't think he would have swum the pond if he weren't out there by himself. But he has a reputation for being difficult around other horses, and the barn owner is having a hard time finding someone to go with him.

Everyone was still a little jumpy after that, and I thought, no, I don't want to trim Pony right now.

The lesson went really well. The instructor did say that I was letting Pony cut in too much, especially cantering left. She wanted me to indirect rein him over. But what I actually did was just think harder about where I wanted him to go, and that surprisingly completely solved the problem. I cantered him over a series of raised poles. They were set at horse distance, which was hard for him, but he did it. Going left (his sticky side), he swapped leads over the first pole but then re-swapped over the second, I guess once he realized we'd be going left some more, and that was really good that he did. He's got auto leads now, which is wonderful.

We switched horses for fun on Saturday, and I got a full dose of Moonshine. Wow. Trying to use leg pressure on her is like trying to leg pressure a wooden board -- there is NO give whatsoever. She just fights everything. And I had forgotten how jarring her trot is.

My daughter got to jump Pony, which I think she really liked. She had a hard time getting used to him, just like I had a hard time getting used to Moonshine. Pony needs constant contact and he needs you to be clear about what you want him to do. If you aren't clear, he will happily make the decision for himself. But if you ARE clear, he will do it. She also had to learn that you unfortunately can't tell him "good job" in the middle of doing something, because he interprets that as "You can stop now," LOL, and she had also forgotten about his excellent braking system and almost came off one because of that.

Also, she had some terrible jumps. She jumped him diagonally a couple of times and I swear almost sideways once, but the last one she did really well, and she had a big surprised smile on her face afterwards. And, no matter what she asked, no matter how bad she set him up, he did it. No hesitation, no dirty stops, no ducking out, he just did his best and got her over those jumps. As a "reward", he got a full bath, with shampoo and everything, afterwards, which he wasn't too crazy about, but he put up with it. He's a good Pony.


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## ACinATX

I have a long list of fun things to do with Pony. My newest is horseball; I've ordered a ball and a couple of books from a place in Italy; I hope they do eventually come.

Other fun stuff we're still intermittently working on is neck reining, progressing to riding in a neck rope, and pulling stuff. But when we went out there today, I had to do his hooves. He's got his summer hooves (hard as rocks and as thick as my little finger) though. I couldn't get the nippers started anywhere, so I had to rasp everything, but he had about 1/3 of an inch of growth (it's been a few weeks but not many), and rasping that much was a pain. Literally. And the rasp barely takes off anything, his hooves are so hard.

Yes, this is just a post to gripe. 

I eventually got his feet down to where they are OK but not really great, but it was super hot outside and by the time I was done all I could do was just sit there and watch him graze. 

The barn farrier comes every six weeks I think. I'm thinking I will just get Pony on the rotation, at least for the summer, and try to maintain it myself between trims. I am not super fond of the way this guy trims, but it's not too bad. If I am solely responsible for Pony's feet, I'll never have time to do anything fun with him.

My daughter rode Moonshine into the pond today, which was great. Moonshine pretty much hates water. She wanted to do it in the pond that's in their pasture, but I was afraid of what might be at the bottom of it (barbed wire, regular wire, broken glass), so I asked her to do it in the close-in pond. That's the one that Stone swam this weekend, and another horse used to also swim. I figured if horses regularly swim in there (and I made sure she went in the exact same place) then hopefully Moonshine would be OK. And she was. My daughter really enjoyed it; Moonshine somewhat less.


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## ACinATX

Alright I had my gripe. Today I didn't do any feet. But it was worming day, so that was fun. Moonshine seemed a little off and my daughter was tired so she opted not to ride. Instead, she offered to worm Teddy. He's terrible about it, so I said yes. I told her if she gets half of it into him I consider that a victory. Looking at them afterwards, I'm sure she must have gotten some of it in, but probably less than half -- there was definitely a lot of it on various non-mouth parts of Teddy, and many different parts of my daughter as well.

So I had the lesson to myself. First of all, the instructor is familiar with horseball and was super excited that I had ordered one. I sold her on all the benefits (so as to convince her to let us work it into our lesson) and told her my secret plan, too. Well, more of a silly fantasy. Horseball rules require a lot of passing before you can try for a goal, which allows for interceptions, and my idea was to train Pony to reach out and catch the ball himself. It has lots of handles and I don't think it would be too hard for him, once he understood -- horses' reflexes are so much better than ours. Of course, realistically, we'll never get a team together because Moonshine would just run over all the other horses even if we could find another person to be on the team; and there would never be a competition because we can't afford to cost of the structural set up; and there probably aren't another three people in Texas who would want to be on a team to play us. But it's fun to imagine Pony intercepting someone's pass and then handing the ball off to me. Slightly more realistically, just thinking about practicing moves, I am not sure about picking up the ball from the ground while in the saddle. He's so very round and wither-less, I'm not sure that even with a breastplate his saddle wouldn't just slide over. I'm thinking about attaching a hook to a lead rope and keeping it on me to pick up the ball.

We had a good lesson. Lots of cantering. I think I've found the cause of my long-term riding back pain, too -- reins too short and me leaning forward and using only my back for leverage. So I guess that's the next thing to work on now that my heels are sometimes staying down. When I tried riding as she suggested, it felt really good, too.

She had another interesting insight, too. We were talking about how Pony will do what you ask as long as you are clear, and I confessed that I am not always entirely clear. She pointed out that both of us (me and Pony) are sort of go-with-the-flow, "eh, good enough" sort of goers, which makes us a really relaxed pair but also sloppy and imprecise. For instance. Pony's left lead is so much better now, but he still wants to sort of turn his body out to the right when cantering left. Honestly as long as he's going generally where I point him, and not "wonying," I don't care. But of course it's better for him to have better form -- and when she rides him, she insists on it.

Also lots of transitions and getting him on the bit. The lesson left me with a lot to think about, which is great.

I wormed Pony afterwards. He didn't like it at all, of course. At first he wanted to throw his head up and back away, but I hung on and eventually he gave up and put his head down, but he clamped his jaws together so I really had to jam it in there But we got it done, with only a small amount of wormer on non-mouth parts of him and on various parts of myself. Also this wormer was a weird bright yellow color, so you could really see where it had landed, LOL. All five members of our "herd' ended the morning with yellow smears on various parts of our bodies. After that I washed off his face, let it dry, and then put on the Equiderm lotion that just came. He usually doesn't mind his face being touched, but I guess the worming battle had left him feeling a little defensive. But he came around once he realized I wasn't trying to de-worm him again. I'll try it for a few more days, but it definitely didn't immediately stop the itching, as he was still rubbing his face on his shelter a lot.

The weather is supposed to cool off a bit next week, with highs maybe only in the upper 80s, which is almost unheard of for this time of year. Maybe we can get out there a little more. My work is pretty flexible about my time, so I'm thinking about trying to get some good hours in tomorrow and then using the extra time to go see them a couple of times next week. I hope.


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## gottatrot

Oh, I looked up horseball because what you were saying didn't make sense to me. I thought you were talking about horse soccer. That looks like a pretty fun sport. Almost like polo in a way. I've played horse soccer, and that one might work out for Moonshine since she likes running into things. I only used friends' horses to play because my Arabs didn't like running into balls. Their horses loved attacking the ball and kicking it forward. They used smaller balls and larger ones. 









Anyway, it's another fun thing to play with horses and you just need an arena and a ball. We used to run the ball through two barrels set up as the goal.


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## ACinATX

Wow, I will never run out of fun things to do with Pony. That's so cool!

I have a couple of yoga balls that I've tried out with Pony. He wasn't too excited about them. Maybe we should try Moonshine, LOL. She does love running into things.


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## ACinATX

Pony auditioned for being a lesson pony yesterday. I watched. OK maybe I'm a stage mom, but I thought he tried very hard, and was very well-behaved and patient. Personally I thought he did very well. It was for the barn's horse camp, and this was a huge group, with eight kids, six of whom were rank beginners. When people almost ran their horses into Pony, he just stood there. When his rider let him creep right on top of one of the other pony's butts, I mean literally right on top, he just slowed down. This was a pony he's very dominant over. I remember how he used to always bite the butt of the horse in front of him on trail rides.

I guess where he did not succeed was in his willingness to do what his rider asked. His problem was, he was too willing. When his rider (a small child with no riding experience) was walking him around with no one to help and without giving him clear directions, Pony tended to drift into the middle, as horses do. The instructor told the rider to use his outside rein to steer Pony back to the rail, which he did, but then the rider kept pulling on the outside rein, so Pony ended up just turning in very small circles. The instructor said he doesn't have enough experience to understand what the rider SHOULD be asking, as opposed to what the rider APPEARS to be asking.

She wants to try to use Moonshine in a lesson again, though, with an advanced adult rider. Moonshine is only getting ridden once a week right now, if that, and I don't think that situation is very good for her. I would love for her to get more rides, but I reminded the instructor about her habit of running into people, and also how hard-sided and unresponsive she is. She's just not a fun horse to ride. The instructor is kind of desperate right now because so many of her horses are lame. I suggested that we should try one or two lessons and then see what we think. I just can't imagine anyone really wanting to ride Moonshine. Not in the arena. On trails she is the best. But she hates being in the arena and she's not afraid to let everyone know it.

*****

I am thinking about intention and communication. And, I suppose, communication of intention. On Saturday, when we were trying to figure out if Moonshine was actually lame, I wanted to lunge her. I wanted her to trot in both directions. My daughter brought the whip even though I told her not to. Lunging is the one area where Moonshine loses it. She tends to buck and rear. She needs someone to use very minimal pressure to avoid that. And even holding the whip tends to freak her out. So I took the whip away from my daughter and told her to get Moonshine to trot with just body language. But she couldn't, so she wanted the whip back. Then I tried and got her to trot without the whip. Then my daughter was able to do it. What I was thinking was, watching my daughter's body language, she was thinking, "I need to get Moonshine to trot" rather than "Moonshine needs to trot." It seems really subtle, but the way she was thinking about it, her body language seemed kind of inwardly focused and not outwardly focused. Where, at least in my mind, mine was.

I rode her two weekends ago and I couldn't get her to do much of anything. I wonder if that's the same kind of thinking. I was thinking, "I need to make her go right," rather than "she needs to go right," for instance. I do think that most horses respond when we are clear about what we want. At least that's been the case in my limited experience.

****

Last random thought -- the barn cat rubbed all over Pony's muzzle the other day. She came up to him and he started sniffing her, then she rubbed all over his muzzle. He seemed a little surprised but he didn't pull back. It was really cute. It really makes me wonder why it is that cats rub people, though. Does she feel affectionate toward him? Was she hoping he would feed her? Was she marking him as her territory?

Those are my random thoughts for today.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> It really makes me wonder why it is that cats rub people, though. Does she feel affectionate toward him? Was she hoping he would feed her? Was she marking him as her territory?


I wondered that too, so I googled it, and this was a good response.

Cat Behavior: Why Do Cats Rub Against You? | PetMD


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## ACinATX

I had a really good lesson today. My daughter and husband are out of town so it was just me. I asked if the instructor could set up some cones to give me a visual aid to keeping him on the rail at the canter. She did, and except for one time, it worked great. The one time, I had sort of relaxed and wasn't focusing, and he ducked in. Otherwise he was really amazing. Even a month ago I feel like I couldn't really keep him on the rail at the canter. We also did a lot of X rails and raised poles at the trot, and then one at the canter. I'm feeling much better about that, too. We had to make a really tight turn for it, which he wasn't expecting, so he dropped to a trot, but I pushed him forward again, he picked up the canter, and he jumped the rail. I also felt really good about my two point and really staying with his motion.

One thing that was kind of funny, she asked how I ask for his left lead canter. I thought about it for a minute, then answered, "make sure he knows what direction he's going in, say 'canter' and kiss, and pray." She asked because he's apparently better for me about his left lead than he is for her, but after talking about it we worked out that the issue is that she's trying to ask correctly, and make sure he's bent perfectly, because that's what you should do. And she's asking him to stay bent correctly. Whereas I just ask him to canter and as long as he doesn't wony me off or duck in, I don't really care. So it seems that he doesn't appreciate being told how to use his body. She says they usually have to have a "discussion" about it the first time, and then he's fine. I'm glad she is trying to get him to do it correctly. 

I watched her jump him over a course on Thursday, and it was great. They were mostly two-foot jumps, I think, maybe 2.5 feet. He did duck out on one, but she kind of blamed herself. You could tell he was thinking about doing it, and then he did it. She thinks if she had held him together better he would have taken it just fine. Overall he looks great. She rode him in the late afternoon, and in the golden slanting afternoon sun, you could really see the muscles that he's built up over the past several months. It's all along his butt and upper back legs, which I hope means he's starting to use himself correctly and come off his hind end more. I do think he's starting to get a hint of shoulder muscles, too.

I did ask her today if she's going to be going out of town at all, and she said sometime in August. I think I am going to give him a week off then, maybe even two weeks. He's been working really hard and I think it would be good for him, plus who wants to get ridden in August in Texas anyways.

I did Moonshine's feet again. When I pick her feet, they look like they desperately need to get rasped, but when I finally get in there with the rasp I can't see what seemed so obvious when I was just picking. Her front toes are getting long and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Her feet tend to be long anyways, but I don't think I'm helping. I just keep trying different things, and eventually hopefully one of them will work.

I haven't heard anything back from the horseball place. If I don't hear anything back by the middle of next week, I guess I will file a claim through Paypal or my credit card company. I really hope it comes, though. There were some beachballs out at the barn for some reason today, so I decided to desensitize him to them since I don't have a horseball yet. Of course he was fine with the ball itself, but when I started throwing it up and down he wasn't so sure about that. Then I got out the cookies, and suddenly he was quite sure that it was absolutely OK, actually. I got closer and closer and threw it higher and higher and he was fine. Then I threw it at him a couple of times. It's just an inflatable beach ball, so I figured it would help him to know that a ball can get thrown at him and it won't hurt. He stood there and let me throw it at his shoulder a few times, then I figured that was enough. I don't think he was terribly fond of having the ball hit him, but then again who would be?

The woman with the carriage horse came out today to drive her horse around a little. I had all of my guys loose in the front, but I put halters on them when I saw what she was doing, and got some cookies in my pocket. Sure enough, once they got going Pony came trotting up quickly with his head up and nostrils flaring, like "What is that thing?" I called to him, got his attention on me, and gave him a cookie. Same with Teddy. Then another one for Pony, at which point he decided that the cart wasn't a big deal after all. They were driving away, but I thought to be on the safe side I'd put the three of them back before they came back. Just to be on the safe side. I think my "worse case scenario" mind is very well suited to horse ownership. Worst case scenario: the cart comes back and my horses start getting worked up about it, trotting and even cantering around. The cart is also out in the open area, so there's no fence between them and it. What if the horse pulling the cart sees them getting worked up and then she gets worked up? What if she takes off and the whole thing crashes? Better safe than sorry.

When I saw that they were coming back around, I brought Pony to the gate (he was in his pasture now; they park the cart right next to his gate) because I wanted him to see it coming and not get worked up. Then I realized I was out of cookies. So I told him to stay there while I went and got some. And he did. I have a certain voice and body language that I use to ask him to stay. I think he knows what it means, although he does disregard it often enough. Anyways, I brought the cookies back and fed them to him while we watched the cart pull up, and he was fine.

The other ponies were not, however. I was surprised how worked up the old lesson pony got; then, since she's the lead mare of that little herd, the other ponies in the herd got worked up, and one of them even started cantering around. Moonshine and Teddy were eying the cart very suspiciously and Pony, getting cookies, was fine. I told him he'd be pulling one of those one day, and his response seemed to be, "As long as you keep giving me cookies, it's fine with me."


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## ACinATX

I will try to be brief today (after-note: apparently I failed LOL). I cantered Pony both directions in two-point in my lesson. Previously my two-point had been very unstable, and his wonying didn't help, but we were both great today. I've been spending a LOT of time in two-point and I guess it's paid off.

There was a turtle laying eggs in his paddock this morning! I didn't see it (sorry, her) at first, but I could see that Pony saw something terribly worrying in that corner. So I went to investigate and found her. I took some pictures but they aren't very good. She seems to have buried herself in hay and bedding before starting the laying process. She's barely recognizable as a turtle. The kittens were harassing her so I chased them away about a billion times until they finally left. I've read that the babies will most likely hatch at night, so hopefully we won't be there to bother them.

I think Moonshine misses my daughter, or at least she misses having someone pay attention to her, which is kind of funny because of course she always pretends she doesn't care. Today I was working more on desensitizing Pony to the ball being thrown all around him, and she came over and wanted to do it too. She's actually never done that to me. She can make a very pretty/cute/hopeful face when she wants something LOL. Sadly for her, I didn't want to work with her. I shoo'd her away but I did give her a handful of pellets. I took a nice picture of Moonshine and Teddy sharing hay.

Pony is not fat enough, of course, for his own standards. So during his free grazing time, while he did spend some time eating grass, he also sought out all of the seeding plants and ate the seedheads off them. I caught him eating the sunflowers, too. He just ate the whole flower off the stem. I took a picture -- he has a very funny face in it IMO. Kind of suspicious looking LOL.

Everyone was right about Pony's feet and the rain. It rained a lot yesterday afternoon, and today they were trimmable. There were a couple of places where I had to grip super hard and put one hand on each handle, and grunt in a most unbecoming manner, but his front feet are now done. It was way, way easier than before. I'm going to try to start thinking about rain when I trim him, and I also liked @gottatrot 's suggestion to hose the feet. It really makes you realize that the hoof walls are, well, I guess they are not exactly alive, they're keratin, but ... sort of? It's amazing how quickly they can change with changing conditions.

The barn owner is going to try Pony in camp again next week, with a girl who is, I don't know, I guess an intermediate beginner. She's the one who rode him a few times before and she really likes him, so hopefully that will go better than with the true beginner last week.

Trailer driving is going much better. Now I just need to get the hitch set up. Just.


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## IRideaHippogriff

I just have to say I laughed out loud at the image of you tossing a beach ball at Pony's shoulder. I just have this mental image of his expression.


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## ACinATX

IRideaHippogriff said:


> I just have to say I laughed out loud at the image of you tossing a beach ball at Pony's shoulder. I just have this mental image of his expression.


I should have taken a picture. He definitely had an expression on his face. Like, "Hooman Lady, we are friends, and I know there are cookies involved so I'm going to stand here like a Good Pony, but is this REALLY necessary?"


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## ACinATX

On Thursday Pony was ridden by a more advanced beginner. They struggled a little at first, but they seemed to do pretty well at the end. She's going to ride him in camp this coming week; I'm interested to see how that goes.

Also on Thursday my daughter and I played with the ball around Pony and Moonshine. You may recall that Moonshine had wanted to be involved when I was doing it with just me and Pony. But this time, after maybe five minutes, she walked off. Maybe... honestly, I don't know. It's hard to know what she is thinking.

I also did her feet and I think, fingers crossed, I figured out what part of the problem was with the way I was trimming her -- why she was getting flares and long toes. Her feet look a lot better now.

Today we had to share the small arena (the other two arenas were completely soaked), so we took half of it and played ball. I still don't have a horseball, and I'm starting to get worried that it's just not going to come. So we got two little nerf balls as well as the beach ball. It was a lot of fun. But throwing and catching and the trot was really hard. The instructor had us do an exercise where one of us stood in a certain spot and the other trotted around the rail, and when she got to the horse that was standing there, threw the ball. But my daughter kept almost hitting Pony in the head and he got a bit flinchy. I think the problem was that she wasn't figuring in her forward motion when she tossed it to me-- at the walk it was fine, but trotting the ball kept ending up a lot more in front than she had intended. We eventually sort of got it figured out, and we had a lot of fun with it.

Moonshine actually really seemed to be enjoying herself. She had an unusually happy face for having to work in the arena. My daughter and I speculated that she enjoyed my daughter almost hitting Pony in the head over and over again, LOL. But it was really nice for a change to be doing something with her and have her clearly like it.

Pony was not as enthusiastic. He was OK, and I think he did pretty well considering that there were balls flying around, sometimes at his face, and then rolling on the ground where he was supposed to be trotting. But unlike Moonshine he didn't seem to be particularly enjoying himself.

I'm thinking of getting some straps and glue-gunning them to one of the nerf balls. We're not going to do this every lesson, but we could do it on our own, a little (until we drop the ball, which reminds me to make my picker-upper).


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## ACinATX

NOTE TO SELF: you trimmed Pony's feet, front and back, this week, and they look good. See if you can ignore them for the next two weeks.


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## ACinATX

.... Annnnnddd I looked at his front feet and brought the heels back again. Literally the same day I wrote that...


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## ACinATX

I took the day off and went out there for a third day in a row. I had my lesson on Pony and he did very well. We didn't do anything terribly challenging, and it was a somewhat short lesson, but that was fine because he's being ridden for horse camp this week. 

He did well for his child rider, too. Even though he had JUST trotted the same course with me and cantered, he still gamely did it all with her, cantering too. The barn owner likes him for her -- she says this girl has gotten a little sloppy from riding only the well-trained lesson pony, and that riding Pony will force her to think more about what she's doing. The other instructor was thinking to have this girl ride Pony weekly, which I guess we'll see about after this week. I'm thinking I would rather him be ridden once a week by someone else than five days a week. It's great for me to know that he CAN do it, but I'm worried that that much riding might make him sour.

I was watching her ride him, standing under the tree for shade, when I heard a sort of exhale behind me. I turned around and there was Teddy! Maybe a foot away! He had totally snuck up on me. It was funny but also kind of sweet, because he had come all the way from the barn to say hi. He will come up to me if I'm right there, but he doesn't usually make a special trip to see me. Luckily I had some alfalfa pellets in my pocket so I was able to give him a treat for it. It's amazing to think that a 1000 pound animal can sneak up on you like that.

I let Pony have Moonshine's feed that she didn't eat after his lesson with that girl, and then I let them all graze out front for a couple of hours. A bit of excitement -- since all of the ponies were out of the pony pasture except S, they turned out the new horse with S to see how they would do. I was actually thinking they might make a good pair. So they ran and they ran and they played and they ran and they played. It was kind of funny because all of my guys were out, and then they were like, "What is that guy doing in our pasture?" They all know who he is, I guess him running around in their pasture was weird to them. After a while they all went up to the fenceline to see. Teddy made some bad faces at the new guy, trying to "protect" Moonshine (there was a fence separating them, so it was kind of silly), and he turned his butt as if he were going to kick him, but I made him stop since it's a wire fence. Not barbed wire, but still. 

Yesterday someone came out while I was out there asking about boarding. I was the only person out there so after giving her the barn owner's contact info I showed her around a bit. It was kind of funny, she thought Pony was very well behaved. Apparently she is a pony owner herself. She was like, "My pony bites my pockets trying to get treats, and yours only pokes his head all over you -- he's so polite!" LOL. I should hang out with pony owners more.


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## ACinATX

My daughter and I went out there this afternoon. I didn't rasp anyone's feet! Although Pony has shed sole and now looks like he could stand it again. I swear, the guy grows out a quarter inch a week.

My daughter made our own horseball out of a cheapo plastic inflatable ball and some cotton webbing long lines. She super glued the lines to the ball and it looked pretty good. My husband said that she should use epoxy, but he also said it would need a while to dry, so she just used the super glue.

Well, I can tell you that super glue is not as super as I thought it was. Over a period of maybe half an hour, every strap came off on one end, one by one. At the end, it looked more like an octopus than a horseball. But we did practice, and we did use the straps for catching, and Pony did not have any balls flying near his head, which was good. He is still a bit excited by everything. I didn't want to ask him to do much, since he had his child rider this morning, so we mostly just walked, but when my daughter would throw the ball to us at the walk, he'd want to take off into a trot. I was trying to ride with no hands so as to be able to catch the ball better, and one of the times I ended up grabbing mane to steady myself as he jumped into a trot. His mane is actually a lot more convenient than reins for that purpose. And obviously nicer for him, too.

I think we can use him to pick up the ball, too, rather than us having to dismount for it. I did work with him a little on it, and he's already lipping it pretty thoroughly for treats. I think once we get the straps really attached he should progress quickly to biting it, then picking it up, then (maybe a bit slower) handing it over.

It was so nice today. There were some sea breeze storms moving past to our east, south to north. They were close enough that we got a cool breeze but not much rain. It was 82 and sunny at 6:00 in the evening, which is just crazy for this time of the year.


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## ACinATX

So, in my defense, look at his hooves. His heels grew out a ton again. I'm glad this time I put an exact time on it. One week -- that's how long I can stand to go between touching them up. Like I wrote in another thread, I think when you do your own hooves you sort of get addicted to that "fresh trim" look, where everything is nicely balanced, and neat, and tidy. I can't stand for them to look grown out. And I know it's not good for him to be sitting on high heels, so... I don't know. I should be able to go longer than a week without touching them though, I really should.

I just did the fronts. I'm pretty sure, from looking at his backs, that he has sole that needs to shed out and his heels are actually too high there too, just like in the front. The fronts just shed out more. But I mostly left the backs alone.

The farrier happened to be there today so I had him do Teddy's fronts. He still has that hoof crack from two years ago. I understand now that I'm letting his toe get too long and it's creating leverage that perpetuates the crack, but I'm having a hard time seeing how to trim it. The farrier told me that I need to think more about trimming the outside of his fronts, as he tends to wear the insides more due to the way he walks, and it's the outside heel being too high that's creating the bad growth. So I will definitely do that. I really appreciated the advice.

So, enough about feet, how about fun stuff? Yes, I did get to do some fun stuff today. I worked with Pony and our "pony ball", which you can see in all of its remade glory below. It is attached with super glue, stitching, and masking tape. What I wanted to do was to teach him to pick it up and hand it to me. We had a really interesting fail. The thing is, he understood very quickly that I wanted him to pick it up. Picking stuff up is one of his things. So he tried. But, he would only try to pick it up via the straps that ran around the ball and were attached to it or the ball itself. He would try to grip those attached straps, and then he would bite at the ball itself, which was obviously concerning from a scaring himself perspective, LOL, as it's just an inflated ball. He seemed to have a mental block about the handles. I kept turning the ball so they'd be up, but he'd just nose them out of the way. It seems to me, and I could be wrong, that he's made a mental image of "ball" as something that I want him to pick up, and the straps are just things that are getting in the way. Straps are not ball. Ball is not straps. 

So we worked a little on me just holding the ball and him grabbing onto the straps, and that worked a little better, but it still wasn't great. He just doesn't seem to get that he can pick up the ball by picking up the straps. Something interesting to work on.

I also worked on sending him and recalling him at liberty. I built a square out of two raised poles and a ground pole (one side empty) and sent him into it and out various sides, then called him back. I also sent him out of the arena gate and called him back. That was really easy. He understands being sent, and as long as he can tell where you're trying to send him, he'll go (I mean, you know, assuming he wants to. Sometimes I try to send him back out into the pasture and he isn't usually too willing about that, as being put out in the pasture means that fun/eating time is over).

I was somewhat distressed by someone trying to train her yearling. I know I am not a trainer, and I know that I don't have a lot of horse experience, but all she was doing was yelling yelling yelling at the poor guy. She must think he should understand English, and she gets mad when she yells "WALK" and he doesn't walk. Then when he does walk, she yells "GOOD" in the exact same voice and thinks he will understand that. I don't know, maybe it will work out eventually. I wish she'd just send him to a trainer. He's a little flighty, but he's a sweet and curious guy and I'd hate to see her ruin his good nature.

We had a lesson on Saturday and it went really well. I cantered Pony over multiple ground poles, with tight turns and everything. The problem is that while I can now relax my heels down at the canter if I'm just doing big circles around the arena, once I start thinking about doing patterns and poles I stop thinking about my feet and my heels pop up again. I suppose I really just need to go out there and canter outside of my lesson times to get the habit cemented; I think both of my instructors are tired of seeing me just going around in circles and they are encouraging me to do more interesting stuff, but then I lose my form. OTOH I do want to have at least one day a week where I go out there and don't ride at all, so I don't know when I'd do that.

I got the truck and trailer up to 50mph yesterday!


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## ACinATX

We had success with our ponyball Pony-hooman handoff! As usual for our ponyball sessions, I rode Pony in his halter and clip-on reins, so as to be able to reinforce him with treats when appropriate (I don't like to feed him in his bit) and also, TBH, because I prefer to ride him with less tack. He does start anticipating treats sometimes, but that worked in our favor today.

Anyways, my daughter was tired of trying to get the ponyball with the clothes hanger she brought, so she wanted me to have Pony pick it up and give it to me. I thought it was worth a try. So I showed him the ball and let him do his thing. He just mouthed it, then he picked it up and dropped it, then he picked it up and started turning his head toward the left (to get his treat) and dropped it. But then! He brought it all the way over to me and I took it from him. He got two cookies for that plus lots of verbal praise. And later he picked it up and handed it to me again. That second time took a lot of attempts, but he got it! So that was great. I'm still afraid he'd pop it -- he wants to pick up the ball itself and not the straps -- but he didn't.

My daughter and I worked on a lot of passing, and we're getting much better. I also worked on what I wanted to work on, which is steering with no reins. I feel like that's necessary if you're going to be catching the ball with both hands, although I will say that from the videos I saw people seem to take their hands off just quickly enough to catch or throw it. Anyways, Pony is decent at it at the walk. Once we start trotting we lose it. Which is fine. We can work on it.

Our actual horse ball came today! The straps are weird and sort of rough at the bottom. Plus the ball is a soccer ball so I'm not sure how easy it will be for him to pick up. Maybe if he does the other ball enough times he can figure out how to pick up this one. Or maybe he can finally accept using the straps. It would be so much easier for him if he'd just pick it up that way!

Moonshine seemed to be having a good time too. She was very alert and willing. Maybe because Pony actually did get hit in the face today. It was kind of his fault. My daughter made a not-too-good pass to me while we were stopped, just as he turned his head back toward me to see if I was going to give him a treat. He would have just gotten hit in the neck if he hadn't been doing that. But he didn't seem to mind.

Yet another storm was passing by near us while we were out there, and it dropped the temperatures from low 90s and sunny to mid 80s and cloudy and breezy, so that was really nice. It looks like after tomorrow our temps are going to start returning to normal summer temps (close to 100). It was really nice while it lasted. I've gotten spoiled by the relatively cool weather and now I'm wondering if I will still want to go out there extra days of the week once it gets hotter. I guess we'll see.


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## ACinATX

Just some random bits and pieces.

I wanted to get a video of Pony picking up the ponyball and handing it to me while I was on his back ,because I thought that would be neat; so I got him all set up, got the ponyball out, had my daughter get her phone and record, and ... you can probably guess. He stood there looking at it like he had never seen it before and had no idea what to do with it. After a minute he made a halfhearted attempt to pick it up, but he just dropped it again and that was it. He was more interested in trying to eat my daughter's phone.

I brought the trailer back out there and worked on loading Pony. It wasn't really any work. He hesitated for a split second, like "Are you SURE we want to do this hooman lady?" and then walked right now ("OK I guess you are sure"). I walked him on and off (I have the side exit ramp) several times. Then I wanted to show him the feed bag so I filled it with alfalfa hay and pellets, a couple of cookies, and even some senior feed. I loaded him up and then stood in the open front part of the trailer, expecting him to stay and eat the food. But he didn't. He backed himself out (carefully, not rushed) and didn't come back. I loaded him up a couple more times after that and he had no problem loading, staying, and leaving; but if I gave him the choice he preferred to not be in there. I will say, he discovered that the open doorway makes a great place to scratch his head. I don't mind at all, since otherwise he's itching on trees and then he gets scratches all over his face. 

Teddy didn't do so well. I really thought, if we had the side ramp open and he could see that there was an exit, that he'd be OK. But he wasn't. He reared again. And again and again. My daughter also tried, with my providing some movement by waving the whip around his butt, but he still reared. He's always loaded well for the barn owner, and she offered to help me, so I will take her up on that next time I'm out there with it and she has time. I think once he loads and unloads a few times he will realize that it's not that scary and he will go in without problems.

I am going to teach Pony to self load and unload. Well, he already self-unloaded LOL. But, you know, on command. We'll also make sure I have the use of the breast bars, butt bars, and tie hooks down.

It was hot today so we stayed in the shaded arena and mostly did horseball stuff. I did canter a bit, and after the lesson was over I took Pony in the other arena and cantered a little more.

I haven't touched Pony's feet in two weeks now and they still look OK. It's supposed to rain this week, and when it does I expect he'll shed a bunch of sole and his hoof wall will suddenly be half an inch higher than the sole. I quickly rasped Teddy's fronts today. I don't know what it is about the barn farrier -- he always seems to do a nice job, but then a week or two later the feet will look absolutely horrible and unbalanced. 

Finally, now that I know what ragweed looks like, I brought my loppers and cut all of it down that I could find. It grows all around Pony's paddock -- he actually likes eating it -- and the pond as well. I also cut down a small branch on a tree that overhands one of the arenas. Every time we go went there he'd try to snatch a bite, and I was tired of it.


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## ACinATX

Pony is a very fast learner. I was out there yesterday with them. He was in an out of the barn aisle. Someone was not too far away building a fence, and the guy kept making all kinds of noises, not just fence-building noises but also a lot of personal noises (coughing; sneezing). He had a weird sort of sneeze and cough, and Pony was hanging out in the aisle where he couldn't see the guy. Generally Pony is fine with weird, loud, or sudden noises as long as he can see what's causing them. But he couldn't here, so he got a bit worked up. He was slightly spooking in place and one time he sort of trotted quickly out. For some reason this was annoying me (maybe because I was working in the aisle and didn't want him to spook into me). I told him he was being silly, and that did help a bit, but he was still popping his head up every time the guy made a sound.

So I thought, I will give him a cookie when that guy makes a sound, to teach him that it's OK. So, the first sound, I gave him a cookie, and he appreciated it. The second sound, he didn't seem as bothered but I have him a cookie anyways. The third sound, he wasn't bothered at all -- just came up to me and asked for his cookie. So, I've now taught him that scary sounds mean he will get a cookie, I guess. It's better than him spooking, but not exactly the result I wanted. Of course, I know I can just wean him off or stop altogether, I'm just rolling my eyes at the lesson I inadvertently taught him.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> So, I've now taught him that scary sounds mean he will get a cookie, I guess.


This is so funny! I love it.


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## Txshecat0423

knightrider said:


> This is so funny! I love it.


When I rode Mounted Patrol, Skip was exposed to a multitude of scary things and was so non-spooky he was generally the go-to to direct traffic at accident scenes, etc. He walked along busy highways on tiny shoulders, crossed on overpass bridges, was exposed to helicopters, you name it.
The one thing I could not get him past was a UPS truck. He was fine with FedEx, furniture delivery vans, ambulance, fire truck, but apparently the UPS truck had an equine soul sucking mechanism I knew nothing about. I trained him the same way, a treat every time one came near. Instead of him getting over it though, he learned to turn his butt to the road when one passed…apparently if he couldn’t see it, it didn’t exist! That’s been ten years ago and if I’m riding near the road, he STILL turns his butt to the truck. Even better if there’s woods, he can stick his head in the trees…LOL! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

That's so weird. WRT traffic, Pony is fine with big traffic, including big loud trucks zooming past at 60mph while he grazes right off the sidewalk. He's OK with motorcycles. But big loud motorcyles, he just can't handle. I need to find someone who has one and have them drive it up and down the barn driveway for an hour until he learns to deal with it.

Or maybe he could just put his butt to it. Maybe your horse wasn't looking away, maybe he was getting ready to kick that UPS truck to show it who was boss, if it dared come any closer, LOL.


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## Txshecat0423

ACinATX said:


> That's so weird. WRT traffic, Pony is fine with big traffic, including big loud trucks zooming past at 60mph while he grazes right off the sidewalk. He's OK with motorcycles. But big loud motorcyles, he just can't handle. I need to find someone who has one and have them drive it up and down the barn driveway for an hour until he learns to deal with it.
> 
> Or maybe he could just put his butt to it. Maybe your horse wasn't looking away, maybe he was getting ready to kick that UPS truck to show it who was boss, if it dared come any closer, LOL.


LOL! Long after I was done with MP,
someone asked me why I didn’t just ask one of the UPS drivers to offer treats…I was like “Oh, duh! That probably would have worked!!!” He was soooo treat oriented at that time, he might have faced off with the truck if he thought it was a treat dispenser! 

Who I wanted him to kick was the drunks who wanted to hang off of him at concerts held in one of the park venues. We actually had a class at training academy on how to get a drunk patron away from your horse! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

Txshecat0423 said:


> Who I wanted him to kick was the drunks who wanted to hang off of him at concerts held in one of the park venues. We actually had a class at training academy on how to get a drunk patron away from your horse!


Yet another use for a riding crop...


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## ACinATX

Not much going on lately. I got a new girth for Pony, an anatomical shaped girth. I've only used it once, but it seems like it might be helping the saddle stay in place better. I got a fleece cover for it, too, and that just didn't work at all. If riding Pony normally is like riding a barrel, riding him in the fleece girth was like trying to ride, I don't know, a trapezoid where the bottom is much bigger than the top. My legs just stuck out. I couldn't even get into proper two-point at the canter and somehow it also messed with my heel position. The instructor took it off about halfway through the lesson and it was much better after that.

I did decide to give Pony his week off. I don't think he has any complaints, but I am thinking that he might be very energetic when I ride him on Monday. He has seemed a little more zippy than usual when I've observed him this week.

The vet came on Monday for Moonshine's injections. I had him take XRays of her feet, to see if her sole depth had improved, which I thought it had since her frogs seem a lot better, the collateral grooves seem deeper, and she's been totally sound since I've been doing her. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I will say that her coffin bone position had gotten better, which was good, but her soles as a whole were actually thinner. I expressed disappointment to the vet, but he made the point that it doesn't really matter how thick her soles are, if she's been sound and happy then that's what you need to judge by. Which made total sense when he said it. He also said her feet in general looked fine, and when I asked him for trimming advice he said just keep pulling her toes back every couple of weeks. I had been doing her feet about every week to 10 days and I'm currently transitioning to every two weeks to see how she does.

I did Pony's feet again, and it's official -- I cannot be trusted to do a mustang roll / bevel with nippers. From now on I'm just going to nipper flat and use the rasp for the bevel. He's fine, of course, it was just a super ugly trim. That was a couple of weeks ago. I did his hinds today because he had a big flare on one of them. I couldn't really figure it out since his hoof wall isn't much higher than the soles of his feet, but I think that once again he has a lot of dead sole in there. Maybe the hoof wall doesn't stay attached to dead sole? I rasped him down almost to the sole of his feet and it seems better now.

My back was hurting working on his back feet, so I tried just kneeling next to him rather than bending over, and man that is SO much better! I'm not sure if it would be better for a normal sized horse (I'll have to try on Moonshine) but it was wonderful with him.

My daughter has given him a full bath, with anti-bacterial shampoo, in an attempt to de-scurfinate him and stop what looks like minor rain rot from getting worse. I also took everyone's suggestion and have added extra A and E supplements, but I haven't seen any difference yet.

Last time we went out there, I was feeling pretty anxious and depressed for unknown reasons. We went out there and when I came back I realized I felt really happy. I didn't do hardly anything with them -- just pick their feet and fly-spray, then stand around while they grazed. Some general chores like moving bedding and picking up poop. I don't know how it is that I can feel better just by being in their company, but I'm glad it's the case!


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## gottatrot

I always feel better if I go see the horses too. No matter what is going on.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> I always feel better if I go see the horses too. No matter what is going on.


I wonder sometimes if it's fair to them, though. I mean, I try to go out there without any expectation, but there are times when I go out there and one of them does something that irritates me, and then I almost get doubly mad at them: once because of whatever it was, and once because they are supposed to be making me feel better, not worse. You know what I mean? And it's not really fair to them. I mean, not fair to get mad at them just because they are supposed to be making me feel better. They're just animals. They can't understand that.

Well, luckily they don't hold grudges. I'm the bringer of cookies and even if I yell at them every now and then they are still happy to see me the next time.


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## ACinATX

I took another Monday off (no true vacation this summer, so I'm parcelling out every other Monday off) today. I saw a little bit of a difference, I think, in Pony, due to his week off. He was a lot more distractable than usual to start the lesson, which is saying a lot for him because he's usually pretty looky for the first 5-10 minutes until he settles down. But he was also really willing to canter, and we cantered a lot. I worked on keeping my heels down. I was also working on really trying to relax my body from the waist down, as a couple of people on HF suggested that I might be gripping with my legs, and I think that's probably true. It's a little frustrating because I don't FEEL like I am, but I'm sure I must be. When I really tried to concentrate on having floppy-spaghetti legs, I do think I finally relaxed them a bit. 

I did feet, of course, but I also brushed out Pony's tail. My daughter insists that if I would pay more attention to his tail then it wouldn't be as scraggly as it is. I think it's just the case that Moonshine has an amazing tail, and my daughter likes to brush it, not that her brushing it caused the tail to be amazing, but nonetheless I tried.

We're in the middle of mesquite pod season, and they just want to wander around sucking up all the free "candy" on the ground. Luckily after a while they seemed to get tired of it and started eating the grass. It rained again yesterday, amazingly. It's too bad the barn owner never mows their pasture, so all they have are tall weeds. But in the inside area, the grass has been soft and green all summer long, and they're really happy to come in and "mow" it.

An anecdote about Moonshine that really just is perfectly true to her personality. I turned her back out first today. She had a drink of water then headed over to the run-in. Their run-in is divided into two open areas. The three of them are the bosses of the pasture, so they take it when they want. Teddy has the left hand side and Moonshine and Pony share the right hand side. So today when I turned her out, the other mare in the pasture was on Teddy's side, and the two small ponies were on "her" side. She and this other mare can't seem to decide who is the boss of whom, but I guess today Moonshine was the boss because when she went out to the shelter the other mare pinned her ears but moved over to the right hand side with the two small ponies. Moonshine took Teddy's side.

Then I turned Pony out. He also had his drink of water then headed back to the shelter. Moonshine watched him the whole way. When he was just about there, she jumped in front of him and pinned her ears at the other mare and the two small ponies as they left. He's the boss of all of them, and I'm sure he was just going to clear out his side, but Moonshine saw him coming and couldn't let the chance pass to assert herself over the other three. Of course she wouldn't have done it on her own, but once she knew he was going to do it she jumped in front of him and acted like she was the one clearing them out.

An anecdote about me. I am kind of obsessed with Pony's butt. I mean, he just has a really nice Pony butt. It's big and round and soft and nice. Because he's pony-sized, I can rest my head on it, and I do, a lot. Plus then I'm sort of in a position to rest my arms on his back, which is also nice. Did I mention how soft it is? It's like a nice soft butt pillow. It's another thing (like hugs) that I think he tolerates rather than enjoys, but until he starts running away from me I will keep doing it. Since I had the day off, I had a lot of time to put my head on his butt.


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## ACinATX

Just a lesson today. We rode in the field. I cantered a lot, and I think my legs were more relaxed and less grippy, and my heels stayed down mostly. Pony also spooked at something while we were cantering and sort of took off sideways, but I guess my seat has gotten better because I was just like, "Nah, let's go back to the fenceline," you know, all casual like, LOL.

I ground mounted him, too. It had been a while. I mean, quite a while apparently. I put my toe in the stirrup and then I was like, um, now what? He stood still to be mounted, but then walked off as soon as I swung a leg over. I'm not sure how that ended up with me almost falling on his neck, but we got it all worked out. 

I also opened the gate off him coming back and he was great. The gate has a low latch, but it's reachable on a Pony. You have to lean well down, unclip the clip, then take the chain out of its little hook. You then point Pony at the gate and give him a little squeeze and he pushes it open with his nose. 

The trainer liked the contour girth, too. She felt like the saddle was a lot more secure. It definitely didn't move around today, despite all the cantering, and I also didn't feel like my foot was interfering with his front legs either.

It's near the end of August, which means they will start shedding out soon. Pony's turned his usual August bronzy-brown dappled dark dun something color. I'm looking forward to him being black again. I know, so superficial.

Hopefully next week I can get out for a lesson on Monday and also go out some afternoon.


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## ACinATX

I guess I was more clear today, about what I wanted. I got Pony self-loading into the trailer with really no problem at all. I would have him walk into the back, then he'd pause and take a bite or two of the feed bag (with alfalfa hay, alfalfa pellets, and even some senior feed), then walk down the side ramp and get his cookie. Next up is to get him to self load with the chest bar there, and then back out I guess. I really feel like he needs to be able to self load, in case I ever need to take him somewhere by myself. My thinking about the process is that I'd load him, then I'd stay at the back and do up the butt bar, then I'd go back to the front and tie his trailer tie. I remember asking about this before, and people saying you shouldn't tie them before putting up the butt bar, in case they pull back. But you can't do it this way with just one person unless the horse will self load.

Speaking of the trailer, I parked it next to a tree and didn't look at it for a couple of weeks, and now half of it is covered with tree sap. I need to start a thread asking what to do about that. I don't think you can run trailers through one of those auto car washes. 

The barn owner said one of the boarders wants to do a group trail ride off site. I think that would be really nice for everyone. However, I will believe it's happening once I get actual details.

I had a nice lesson today. We ended up riding for almost an hour and a half, although some of that was people doing some things individually. One thing Pony did really well was part of two of the dressage tests. The other two riders in the lesson are beginners but are maybe interested in going to a show next month, and the instructor was showing them the test but I guess they didn't understand it. So she asked me to demonstrate part of it. I don't know why it was, but Pony did really nicely. He was so supple and bendy and willing! I could feel it and the instructor commented on it as well.

We also did the cantering part, but that was not as successful. Pony was very willing, and he got the correct lead each time, but I have a hard time applying leg when cantering so his circles weren't very good. However, one of the other horses in the lesson really acted up, bucking each time he was asked to canter. The instructor was like, "I have no idea what's going on, he's never done this before," but geez this guy has a reputation for bucking! He hates to canter, and unless you can really make him behave, he bucks. I'm starting to think that she just honestly does not want to remember some things, and that she honestly believes he's never had a bucking issue.

While they were getting that sorted out, and while the other rider was doing her test at the trot, Pony and went into the other arena and had some really nice canters. Just cantering around the arena a few times each way, then the other way, then rest, then it was our turn in the first arena, and then we cantered some more in the other arena. I'm starting to canter in two point more. I am sure Pony likes that better than me bouncing around on his back. The thing is, there are parts of the arena where he wants to die out, and then I have to sit on him and, as the instructor says, "Perrrrressssss!" (press). I know he's had his issues in the past, but he was never nasty about anything, and while he wonied he never bucked. This other horse is really difficult to ride, even though they put advanced beginners on him. He has to be ridden with spurs and a whip, and even then people struggle to get him moving. He's a draft cross and he's just like, "Nope, not interested, try and make me." I am very appreciate of my Pony. Pony definitely sees a lot of value in not exerting himself, but he'll go when you ask and he has a very nice attitude as long as you're nice to him.

The girl who was riding him is going to move on to a different horse. Both instructors thought he did really well with her, but the barn owner said "She's ready for a horse." My daughter saw that and laughed. She quipped that really you should have to ride horses for a certain amount of time and maybe then you'll be ready to ride ponies. It's too bad the schedule doesn't work out differently -- she has all of her ponies in back-to-back lessons on Saturdays, but that's when I ride. If she had kids lessons on Sundays she could use him to take the strain off her others horses. He has no problem with different people riding him in different ways.

He does have a hoof crack, though! I just noticed it last week. It's pretty small, but it does go all the way back to the whiteline. I cut a little half moon out of his hoof wall where the crack meets the ground and rasped a pretty strong bevel into that toe. I also dug out my soaking bag and soaked him with white lightning and vinegar. With me only being out there two or three days a week, I'm concerned. His hooves grow really quickly, and he can outgrow the crack if I help enough. I hope soaking it two or three days a week is enough. I also bought some more white lightning. Wow. I had forgotten how insanely expensive it is. Ugh, which just reminds me I forgot to treat Teddy's crack. At least Moonshine is OK.

Oh, one more thing I almost forgot. Usually Moonshine can be trusted to be loose when I'm having a lesson, so I let her out to graze. Today about halfway through the lesson I was taking a water break when I saw a horse's tail disappear into the hay barn. At first I was like, heh heh someone's horse is getting into the hay barn. And then a split second later I realized that that tail could only belong to one person (horse), so I was like dangit! LOL. Anyways I didn't want to get off so I rode Pony over there to right outside the barn and said "Moonshine!" in my mom voice, pointing for her to go out. She was like, hmm, I don't think I have any idea what you mean. Which I suppose is possible, but she knows she's not supposed to be in there. So I pointed Pony's head at her butt, let him take a couple of steps, and said "Moonshine!" and pointed again. This time she got the picture and left. I was happy that I didn't have to get off to do that.

Wow, that was a lot for just one day!


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## gottatrot

Very funny about Moonshine. Your daughter is right, ponies are much harder to ride than horses. 

When I'm loading alone, I don't rely on the horse to self load, but will lead the horse in and just put the lead rope through a loop, so it's not tied but just threaded through something. Ideally there is a hay net and the horse starts to eat. Then I go back around, do the butt bar/strap, and then go back to actually attach the horse to a quick release tie and remove the lead rope. Seems like a fairly easy process for me. Unloading, I do the opposite. Attach a lead rope and undo the quick release, but loop the lead around something to "fake tie." Then undo the butt bar, go up to take the lead and bring the horse out. If they start to come out early it's not a big deal, but I'd rather have them think they are tied so they are in the habit of waiting for me to come and lead them out in a controlled way.


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## knightrider

@ACinATX , now I have started obsessing over feet like you did. My teacher checked my latest hoof trims and pronounced them "not very good." She pointed out some of my errors, and this morning I began correcting them. I saw more and more errors as I started correcting the original errors.

When trimming mine and other people's hair, I tend to keep taking off a bit more from each side trying to get it even until I've made it too short. I surely do not want to do that to my horses' feet!

I got hot and tired and thought that tomorrow I would try to correct more errors. That sounds like you, doesn't it? Every time I check the feet, I see things I should have done. Maybe better left alone?


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## ACinATX

Well, since you mentioned it, I skipped posting it because it was boring, but I went out on Wednesday. I took the truck because I was going to hitch up the trailer and work on loading some more. But no. All I did was stupid feet. I did a couple of other things, like neaten stuff a bit and find Pony's saddle, which had wandered off to the other barn, but mostly it was feet. I was out there for two hours, and just feet. Actually it was just Pony's fronts and a little bit of Teddy. Part of it was that they've all gotten hard again with the weather drying off. So I have to keep working at it. And part of that WAS the hoof soaking. But still.

I think the problem is, once you get used to that "just trimmed" look, it's hard to go back. Back when I had my good farrier coming every four weeks, usually by the third week Pony's feet would be looking pretty grim (his feet grow so quickly), but I was like, she'll fix it when she comes, and she did. But now that I'm the one doing it, I can't stand for them to look raggedy. And of course if I see an obvious mistake, then I have to fix it.

I wish I had someone to come look at my work. The last guy I had, I respected his opinion, but then there was the mysterious issue of him and the barn owner's dogs, so he's out. Actually the guy they have now is pretty good, and he's out a lot. Maybe next time he comes I will offer to pay him to just critique. I've asked him specific questions a couple of times, and he's always had a really good, clear, simple answer, e.g. you're leaving the inside wall too high, or you're not accounting for the way he moves, so be sure and trim more here. I know my trimming jobs are not that good.

Yeah, I think I'll talk to him next time I see him. 

And yes about the hair. I have had that thought more than once when doing their feet.


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## ACinATX

We wanted to do some horseball exercises today, but the instructor said we'd wait until the end and then of course there wasn't time. We did a lot of cantering and tight turns, and I rode Pony over multiple ground poles. I forgot it I mentioned this, but the trainer said (and I agree) that Pony tends to want to take jumps and poles (including ground poles) too soon, and then he takes them really big. What that told me is that I don't have to worry about whether I need to adjust his step up or down as we approach something -- all I need to ask is if we're on the right step, and if we're not then I slow him down a bit. I said this to her and she agreed that that made sense. So now instead of having to decide very quickly if I need to speed him up or slow him down (which results in me doing neither, and him not always being on a good step), all I do is decide if he needs to slow down a bit. THIS I can do!

I did get her to give me a lunge line lesson, I mean just a couple of minutes. Playing with the horseball made me realize that I balance on my hands, even though it doesn't feel like that when I'm riding. So the goal was to trot (posting or two point) with no hands. Wow, it was hard! I almost fell off once! I think it was extra hard because she had him on a small circle, but wow I was bad at it. I told her I'd like to do this once per lesson, since it only takes a minute or two, until I get better at it. I'm glad I'm aware of this (I'll add it to my list of problems), but it's pretty appalling to think that I depend on the reins so much.

Feet. I said I wouldn't, but @knightrider I neatened up Pony's feet some more. I felt good about it afterwards, but then I always feel good about it when I do it, then next time I see them I'm like "This is terrible!" At least for Pony, kneeling on the ground is a lot easier for me, and I don't get tired as quickly. I also did Teddy's back feet and a little with his fronts, but when I saw his hoof crack foot afterwards, it looked just awful. I guess I'll try again next time. Moonshine got the full trim.

I was able to do the trailer loading this time. Pony's halter had walked off. Actually the whole thing is, this girl who rides him never puts his stuff away. It's making me nuts. But it looks like she's going to have to stop riding him, so hopefully it won't be an issue any more. What happened with the halter was (I deduced) she had used it to get him, then left it in the other barn. Then someone else, seeing it there ("Oh, a free halter") had used it. Because my daughter found it on the gate of the mare pasture and all of the straps had been changed.

So I first had him load without the halter, which was harder than with the halter. With the halter, I take the little dangly strap, then walk with him, then sort of fling his head into the trailer and the rest of him follows. Without the halter, I had to use my other method of leading him, which is putting my arm gently under his throatlatch and asking him to walk with me. You can't really fling in that position. So that took a couple of tries. Then I wanted to make sure he'd be OK with the butt and chest bars closed, so we did that too. I do think he was a bit leery of me clanging that butt bar into place (it's a little loud) but he was OK. I was going to learn how to attach his trailer tie today, but then I realized that without a halter you can't really do that. Duh.

I ordered another soaking boot, and I'm going to go back to soaking Teddy as well as Pony. Teddy's crack has gotten a lot worse, even with me dumping two kinds of white lightning on it every time I see him. Coppertox didn't work either. Soaking sort of helped when I did it before, but I'm not sure how much it will really help now since I'm only out there a few days a week.

A gem from the barn owner. I was watching another lesson before mine, and I was looking at one of the horses, and asking myself, "Is he lame?" I have a hard time telling. It seemed like he might be. The barn owner I guess saw me looking and guessed why, and this is what she said: "Yes he's lame. He's permanently lame. That's why he's a lesson horse." That one is a real head scratcher for me...


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## ACinATX

I was going to get the harness back out today and do more ground driving, but Pony was lame. Which I guess means I'll be riding Moonshine for my lesson tomorrow. I guess the good thing about that is it will give my legs a real workout, since she hates listening to leg pressure.

Another bad thing: it seems like the trainer who has been working with Pony may not be able to continue. I'm going to keep pushing to have her do it as long as it's reasonable and fair to her. He's made so much progress with her.

Teddy had a bad flare related to his hoof crack, and I worked on that from the bottom and the top. He doesn't like having his feet done from the top, but I did a short session, then stopped, then another short session. I got a lot of the flare out. I don't tie them when I do their feet, so I guess in a way it's not too bad that he was willing to stand there and let me do it. I mean, considering how much he dislikes it. I suppose he could have just snatched his hoof and run away (I did it in the aisle, not in a stall).

I soaked him, too, but even though I thought I got his crack nice and clean, I found a bunch of mud and gunk in there after I soaked, so who knows how much good it did. I guess next time I'll try to hose out his foot first.

So, on the whole, today was a not so great day. Hopefully next time will be better.


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## ACinATX

Pony was worse than before this morning, so I've confined him to his stall and tiny paddock. One of the grooms looked at him and got a reaction by pressing near the apex of his frog. Which is weird because Pony has great thick frogs that I never touch, except to get flaps out of the central sulcus and back. The farrier is hopefully going to take a look today and confirm. Pony is definitely limping now, but I guess I feel better that it's a confirmed foot issue. I mean, as opposed to something in his leg or higher in his body. And unlike when he hurt his back (well, I hurt his back) a couple of years ago, he doesn't look all sad and droopy. I couldn't stand seeing him like that.

The kind of sad thing is, him being back there by himself is making him kind of desperate. This paddock actually borders on another one, and is right next to the main horse hang-out spot for that one, so it's not like he can't see anyone. But I put him back there this morning and then every time I came back into the barn he'd whinny because he was so excited to see me. Which makes me feel guilty. Like, I'm depriving him of social interaction.

So I went back there and hung out with him for a bit, including "nibbling his withers" (kind of scratching them slow and hard) and offering to scratch any other place he might want. The I brought him a flake of alfalfa hay in a slow feed net (I already made him one of coastal hay) and he was like, "OK, great, thanks, I can occupy myself now." LOL. So maybe he just wanted better food.

I made sure at least one of the grooms knew he was back there. The barn owner knows too, and said she'd tell them, but she might forget. His stall and tiny paddock are behind the back barn, and no one would know he was there if they didn't go back and check. I'll probably come and see him tomorrow -- I have a meeting and I could take it out there, hopefully. I can check at that time whether anyone fed him or gave him water or cleaned his stall. His has enough hay and water, plus there's some grass and tasty weeds, and it's big enough that he won't just be standing in poop, so he would be fine for a day anyways. Historically when he's been back there no one has really checked on him, though. If I can tell that someone has been taking care of him, then maybe I could skip going out there on Wednesday. On the other hand, I do think he's lonely so maybe he'd appreciate it if I came out.

Moonshine was much better in the lesson than I expected. Well, she was once I got the crop out. My daughter said she really hates the lunge whip but kind of accepts the crop, so I got one once it appeared that she wasn't too interested in what I wanted her to do. She tried that thing where she throws her shoulder out and goes sideways a couple of times, and I whacked her appropriately on the shoulder, then she stopped doing it. She had no problems cantering (my daughter struggles to get her into the canter) and only pinned her ears once. To my surprise, she was much more responsive to leg pressure when cantering than when trotting.

She did seem kind of antsy, though, even when I eventually dropped the crop (she took off on me on one canter so I got rid of it). Whenever we'd be stopped waiting for someone else to do something, she'd want to walk off. She doesn't do that to my daughter at all. I guess she was still unhappy about the crop. Kind of to my surprise, I found that talking to her softly helped. I say to my surprise, because generally she could care less what you have to say. Certainly when I explained to her that she wouldn't stumble if her canter was more balanced and not so much on the forehand, that just didn't register at all LOL.

This was actually the first time I've cantered her on purpose. It was weird riding a different horse. I hope Pony gets better soon.

Oh, and Teddy surprised me by eating all his worming pellets. I mixed them with a little cheap feed and some duck egg laying ration. The horses love duck egg laying ration. It's obviously not really good for them, but they've eaten it before with no discernable effect (the barn owner used to scatter it on the ground for the ducks, who mostly ignored it) and it was just a little, so hopefully it's OK. Usually he won't eat ANYTHING that tastes even remotely like medicine.


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## ACinATX

FYI Pony was much better today. Better than he had been on Sunday even. I decided to leave him in his little paddock one more day. I asked the barn owner to evaluate him tomorrow morning and put him back out if he seems OK.


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## ACinATX

After all of the terrible posts lately about people's horses passing away, I almost had a heart attack yesterday when I got a call from the barn. It turns out it was just the barn manager -- she's going to be doing half of Pony's rides now and wanted to know if he was OK to ride, given his lameness (the trainer who was riding him twice a week will be riding him once a week). I was so relieved. I told her not to ride him, though, since I was going to be riding him in a lesson today.

The trainer told me today that she rode him on Thursday and he was really forward for once. But, I hadn't been on him long today when I felt like something was off. I asked her (she's also the instructor for this lesson) but she didn't see anything. Then I noticed that after trotting for maybe five minutes that he was panting. Like he had been before summer, when he had been out of shape. I thought that was weird. Then, about five minutes later, I was sure of it. I asked her to look carefully, and she said "maybe." Then she called over the barn owner who said definitely, so I hopped off him. To be honest, I was feeling pretty PMS-y before and during the lesson, so this wasn't really the end of the world for me.

It was just at the trot and just with a rider, and obviously pretty subtle. He was fine once I got off. 

Moonshine did great -- she cantered over an oval of seven ground poles! My daughter said she was a lot more responsive and willing today, which was super.

I spent almost an hour manually chopping down ragweed. Even though most of it only has tiny buds, I've been pretty sneezy the last few times I went out there. I guess some of them did have pollen, because I got a rash on my arms. But it was a good thing to do when feeling PMS-y -- I was out there with my choppers yelling "I will kill you!" and "die die die!" and whacking them all down. Yeah, that felt good.

I didn't do anything with feet today except soak Teddy's hoof. I guess I'll go back to soaking Pony's -- it's not the foot I soaked that was giving him problems, it's the opposite foot. I got a new hoof soaking bag that seems sturdier and easier to use than the one I had been using, so that might be nice.

Speaking of Teddy, he ate my daughter's cloth face mask, which was a surprise. That's more of a Pony move. What happened is that my daughter had left some bread out. Teddy really likes bread. He could smell it, but once he got close enough to eat it I guess he couldn't see it. Her mask was right there, so he ate that instead. To be fair, he didn't swallow it, but he did put the whole thing in his mouth and I had to go in there after it. My daughter didn't bother rinsing it off before using it, either. "It smells like alfalfa!" she said, but did she rinse it off? No she did not. 

I spent some time scratching Pony's neck. Like above his withers. I think he likes it, because he seems like he wants to reciprocally groom me. He knows he's not supposed to do that, so he will start chewing on anything else that's around. At least, that's how I read it. Moonshine, when you get her itchy spot, you will KNOW it. She will make THE FACE and lean over on you to get you to scratch harder. She hasn't fallen over yet, but the way she leans it's only a matter of time. Pony is much, much more subtle. So it's kind of hard for me to be sure he likes it.

I hope I don't have to ride Moonshine again for my Monday lesson. It was better than I had thought it would be, but I want my own Pony back!


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## ACinATX

I had a lesson on Monday but I hadn't slept much the night before, and I felt so bad when I showed up that I didn't think it would be safe to ride, so I didn't. I did, though, eventually. After I had done all of the work I had to do, I rode Pony bareback (true bareback, no pad) just at the walk, for fun, and for treats for him. He seemed fine.

Someone rode him during the week, and he did great for her. When I came out to see them on Wednesday he was fine. Today he was off again. Very subtly. More so on rocks. So it's got to be his foot. One of the grooms got a reaction from near the apex of his frog, but the farrier tested him and found nothing. I told everyone (barn owner, riders) to give him the week off and then we'll see how he is. I'm sure it's his foot, although the farrier found nothing, but I'm not sure what to do about it if it is. Maybe bring him in and make him stay in the paddock for a few days?

I thought about riding Teddy, but he had lost a big chip off one of his back feet, so it didn't seem fair to him. Moonshine's feet are fine. Most of the ponies in that pasture have terrible chips and giant flakes of hooves coming off. It can't be the farrier since it's happening to mine also. I'm wondering if it's all the poop out there. Plus, and this is terrible, one of the grooms dumps bedding out there, and some of the bedding has hay in it, so they stand in the old dirty bedding trying to eat the hay. Also when they do feed them hay, they feed them where the runoff from that pile is. So I'm really starting to wonder if that's what it is. I don't know how to know, though. If it really were the problem, then that might be the thing that makes me leave this place. If it's causing them to be unhealthy, then it's not worth it.

I did soak Teddy's other foot again, then I manhandled him and trimmed his feet a little. I rasped my thumb knuckle again. Really good this time, lots of blood. But the thing is, I didn't hardly feel it. Maybe I've rasped all of the nerves off my thumb knuckle. I don't think that would necessarily be a bad thing. Although when I got the alcohol wipe for it, wow I felt that. I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't just put a bandaid on BEFORE I trim them next time.

Last time I worked with Pony on loading, it didn't go too well. He didn't want to self-load at all, so I had to walk him on each time. And I had wanted to work on closing the butt bar behind him, but every time I went back there he'd back out of the trailer. Today went a bit better, I guess. I got some junk food (the barn's "feed") and dumped it in the feed bag. He really liked that. Then I had the idea of, instead of walking out the front of the trailer and then reappearing in the back to close him in, I'd walk out the empty side. I did it slowly, and talked to him and poked him so he'd know it was me. Then when I got to his back he stayed put. I put the butt bar on and off a couple of times. Then one time he tried to back out, and didn't like that too much, I mean finding out he couldn't. I also worked on putting the trailer tie on. I just left it in the trailer and attached it after I had gotten the butt bar on. That went OK.

He's trailered before, and he's been fine with it, but a long-term goal is taking him out to trails and parks, just the two of us, so I really want him to be happy with the trailer. I mean, really happy, not just OK. I want it to be a safe happy place for him. Maybe I'm taking things too slowly, but I don't want to have an incident and then have to spend months getting him back on. Also, to be completely honest, we're working on my confidence as well as his. Possibly even more so.


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't just put a bandaid on BEFORE I trim them next time.


What about the thin gloves you can buy from harbor freight stores? I use them for work handling small items, picking up nuts,bolts and screws and they protect while still allowing you to feel what you are handling. Even the blue nitrile gloves may work


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## ACinATX

I rode Moonshine again today. She's actually much better than I remembered. I got her to bend really nicely, and she went over many groundpoles without even thinking about ducking out. And, she's responsive to quite subtle signals, like me turning my head. I mean, when she wants to be. But still. I don't know if she's better, or if I am better, or if it's both. But it's really nice.

I didn't canter her, though. She was doing this thing where her back right leg (her bad leg) kept taking weird steps. More so when going right (her bad direction) and more so when I wasn't keeping her straight (I mean perpendicular to the ground), but it was concerning enough that I didn't want to canter her. The instructor said she had no sign of pain, and I have to agree. Further, she didn't seem anxious like she had the last time I rode her. Whatever it was, I don't think it was hurting her, I just didn't think it was good for her either, and I didn't want to push it.

I'm going to get one training ride on her this week and one next week, in lieu of Pony's rides, since he's off this week. He seemed fine today, but the barn owner told me he was limping so badly in the pasture yesterday that she almost called me. So that's still an unpleasant mystery.

Teddy was better about getting his foot soaked today, and it seems like that crack might, just might, be getting better. But now he has a big chip out of another hoof, and another good size crack as well. Pony's crack is not getting any smaller.

Speaking of Teddy, he got an unsolicited (and, I'm sure, unwanted) hug today. He just has such a sweet face, and sometimes he just gives you this look of trust and sadness and sweetness. It was only a small hug, and I told him, "You need to stop making such irresistable faces at me," so he's been warned now.

I finally took a picture of someone today. I had Teddy in his stall during my lesson, with his feed, but he hardly touched it. In order to get him to eat it (it has his supplements in it, so he needs to eat it), I brought it out when he and Moonshine were out near each other, and gave it to her. So of course then he had to eat it. He still wasn't too into it, as he shared with her (most of the time). But he did eat it. It's a strategy that works pretty consistently with him.


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## ACinATX

I had some work to do that didn't require internet, so I went out there this morning. Teddy was there waiting and very happy to see me, and Moonshine showed up not long after, but I didn't see Pony. Given his off and on lameness, I was worried. I went out there and didn't see him, but the weeds are still not mowed and they're really tall. So I called him. Nothing. I called him again, and then I heard him whinny (they all three have distinctive whinnies). I still couldn't see him, but then a second later I did -- he came cantering up and even threw in a buck. He did slow down to a trot once he got to the sharp gravel, but it also might have been because I wanted him to slow down. Anyways, isn't it nice when your horse whinnies to you? They're usually so quiet. When they whinny, you KNOW they are happy! Well, or upset, sometimes. But he was happy. Very happy to see me.

I did minimal work today -- picked hooves, fly sprayed. Soaked Teddy's foot, poured stuff on Pony's foot. I gave them some hay and feed and just let them graze in the front area. It hasn't rained in a while and the grass is mostly dried out, but they find some stuff to eat. Really I just like the thought of them having their feet cleaned out and walking on nice clean ground, even if it's just for a few hours.

One of the barn kittens came over to sit on my lap and sleep while I was working. It is very small, so after some negotiation we found a way for it to share my lap with my computer. The barn ducks came over too, and then went to sleep next to me. Moonshine and Pony were grazing in a spot where the grass is still green, and Teddy was happy eating his stall (door open, but he was happy to stay in there for once). It was 80 degrees and cloudy. It was just really nice and peaceful and happy. I wish I could just hold on to that peaceful and content feeling for ever.


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## ACinATX

We didn't have a lesson on Saturday. My parents were moving to a retirement home and they sent some of their stuff to us. The movers called the night before and the time conflicted, so we didn't go.

We went on Sunday, though. Just to give them some exercise and also to do some horseball stuff. I unfortunately hit Moonshine on the butt with the ball a couple of times (not hard, but still...), and after that she decided she didn't like this game as much as she had when Pony was the one being hit. At one point my daughter dismounted and left her for a minute to do something, and she walked off back toward the barn. Well, first she walked. Then my daughter ran to catch her, so of course she ran away. It's kind of interesting to me that she runs back to the barn rather than the pasture gate, since the pasture is really where they live. Maybe it's because the barn is where we go when the lesson is over? Maybe Moonshine imagines that if she runs back to the barn someone will be there to tack her tack off and give her a cookie? After my daughter got her back, we worked on riding with no hands for a bit. Moonshine and my daughter did pretty well; Pony and I did kind of OK, but we got better by the end of it.

Pony bit me! It's not as bad as it sounds. I was feeding him and for some reason instead of using his lips he used his teeth, and even though my hands were flat he still got me a little. I yelled "OWWW" very loudly and angrily and poor Pony jumped about two feet back and fixed me with a very reproachful look: "If you are giving someone treats you should not yell at them. It is not very nice." I've hand fed him since then and there weren't any problems.

And speaking of Pony, he had a little sulk yesterday. It was kind of funny. It started with one of the barn owner's dogs sniffing at his hay. This is the good dog, not the naughty dog, so there was no reason for Pony to pin his ears at her and then whip around and threaten to kick her. I told him to stop it and he did. But he stood there for a minute, then pinned his ears and trotted grumpily down the barn aisle out to his little paddock.

We had a nice lesson today. Yes, I'm riding him again. My plan is still for the farrier to see him on Friday, and the lameness vet when I can get him out, but I'm going to keep riding him unless he gets worse again. If he gets worse again, then I'm done riding him until the vet can see him Absolutely. 

It was kind of weird cantering him. I'd been riding Moonshine, and while I didn't seem that much closer to the ground on Pony when walking or trotting, when we were cantering I almost felt like I was just running, like my head wasn't that far off the ground. I hate it that I did, but... I felt a little silly for a few minutes. I guess every adult who rides a pony has that thought every now and then, that you're silly for riding a pony. 

We also took one little jump. It was really nice. I had been cantering him around the outside of the arena, so that's what he expected this time, but instead I gently brought his head to the right so he'd see that we were going over the jump. I could see his ears moving over and his gait change ever so slightly as he realized we were going to be doing the jump. But I also felt his confidence, that "don't worry hooman lady, I got this," which was great (I don't know how it's possible to feel a horse's confidence when you're riding it; I just know that I did). He was a weensy bit wiggly going into it, but he straightened out right beforehand, I grabbed mane, and we did really well. He didn't jump too soon either. So maybe he's getting out of that habit. It's really nice that he's good at jumping and willing to do it. Because I have no idea what I'm doing LOL. It's nice to just be able to point him at the jump and he'll do it.

After I put them back, I hung out with them a bit in their pasture. For some reason, one of the grooms was running a horse around in the round pen, about 60 feet away. He was really running him hard. He was using a lunge whip and not whipping the horse but whipping the ground hard. Every time he did it, Moonshine flinched. It was terrible. I tried to console her by talking to her nicely and rubbing her a little, but of course it didn't help. After maybe the ninth of tenth time, she pushed past Pony (which she would normally never do, him being the boss of her) and he let her, without so much as the slightest pinning of his ears (see previous) and ran away. Moonshine being the leader, he followed soon after, as did Teddy. Kind of weirdly, she ran off to where the mini donkeys were and chased them around for a few minutes before settling down. I didn't go after them; I was about to leave, and I figured, best to let her deal with it how she wants. But it still made me feel bad.


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## ACinATX

We got a "mental health" day off this week at work, so I got an extra day to see the horses!

I put Pony's harness back on him, and he's still fine with it. Although, taking off the crupper, I had to pull really hard, and he didn't like that too much, poor guy. He remembered how I want him to put his neck collar on, too ("I put my head in the collar and hooman lady gives me cookie!"). I'm happy that he remembers that it's OK to walk forward when I'm behind him, but between the two of us our communication about which way he's supposed to go is not working too great right now. I think I need to get the cones back out to give him something to look for. He was fine going straight along the rail, and he more or less went where I wanted him to go in general, but there were a couple of bloopers moments, too.

I rode him bareback after that, just for fun. A little trotting today but mostly walking. 

I got them to go into the hidden valley, where there is tall green grass even though everything else is dead. I call it hidden valley because it's hidden on three sides by tall mounds of compost. Which probably explains why the grass is so green and tall also, LOL. This is the only place out there right now where there is really any grass for them.

I put them out after that. I put Pony out first, then went to do something before I put the other two out. He was lonely out there in that few minutes; he gave his rarely-heard "I'm by myself, where is everyone?" whinny. It's very distinct from his "I'm so happy to see you!" whinny that I got the other other day.

After I put them all out, I hung out with them for a bit. I was standing next to Pony and I noticed Moonshine making what I call "pretty face" at me. I don't know how she does it, but when she wants something from you, she makes her face very pretty, friendly, and nice (normally her face is either neutral or grumpy). I walked to her and showed her that I didn't have any treats; I assumed that was what she wanted. But it wasn't. She wanted to be itched. She let me know this in her usual way, scootching sideways toward me while presenting the itchy spot in my direction in a very pointed manner. That's a hint I can take. So I itched her, a lot. She was super happy. The funny thing is, Pony was right there, and while he doesn't normally mind if I give someone else attention, today he did. He was very nice about it, but he was putting his nose on Moonshine's butt and sidling closer to me. I had to shoo him. Then he came back and started gently pulling at the halter I had around my shoulder. This is a game I taught him to play -- tug of war with the halter. So I was like, "Good boy! What a good boy! But I'm still itching Moonshine now."

Eventually I stopped itching her, and I decided to give Pony a sort of scratch/rub on his withers like he likes. He doesn't always like it, but today he did. He dozed off while I was doing it. Then I just rested my hand on his withers and he dozed off even more. Teddy just stood nearby watching, as he often does. He isn't one who really wants to have a lot of attention paid to him. Anyways, it was super nice just standing out there with them. This was a really nice horse day.


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## ACinATX

Yesterday the new trimmer came. Pony and Moonshine got boots! I don't think Pony really needs them, but this lady is a professional fitter of boots, and it seemed like a good idea to have her do it while she was out. I don't know if it's just with horses, but I have found that at least in the horse world you should jump on a chance when you have it, because it might not come back around. Moonshine hasn't been lame or sore in a while, but she does have thin soles and I really wanted to get boots for her before we attempt any trails, as most of the trails around here are pretty rocky. Moonshine was fine with the boots but Pony was goose-stepping in his. He did not like them at all. I'm sure he was like, "I have perfect hoofies, you do not need to put things on top of them."

She thought Pony's lameness had been caused by an abscess. She said this has been one of the worst years for hooves in her experience, with even horses who have never had a problem blowing abscesses, cracking, and chipping. She said Pony and Moonshine had some of the best hooves she has seen in months. Teddy, not so much. She said he had good hooves overall, but when I told her that his hooves really puzzled me she understood -- his growth is strange she thinks he has body issues that are contributing as well.

She gave me a couple of tips for trimming Pony. Also, we had one incident while trimming Teddy, but overall he was pretty relaxed. He even looked relaxed when she was finished, and when I took the lead rope off of him he just stood there for maybe half a minute before turning and calmly leaving. His feet look SO much better now. After what she took off (she took a lot) his front crack is almost gone!

Pony was willing to self-load yesterday. I put some "junk food" (it's what I call the barn's feed) in the feed bag in there, and he was happy to much away. No backing out at all, even when I popped out and in at his back. I learned, to my surprise, that he's happier having the back door shut on him than he is having the butt bar up and the door open. I think the reason is, he can't see the butt bar, so he doesn't know if he can back up or not, and it makes him nervous. Anyways, I opened and closed the door several times. Eventually I took down the chest bar and moved the bag to the side, and he chose to stay in there for a while, so I was happy with that.

Lesson today: my daughter put the boots on Moonshine for her lesson, and she did well at first, even at the canter, but after a while she started bucking fairly seriously, so the trainer took them off; then she was fine. So that's interesting. Pony did OK. He was a little fresh and not too interested in listening to me today. I mean, we got done what we had to do, but it wasn't pretty. Honestly, I was also distracted because yet another advanced rider was taking a shot at the bucking pony (he's not supposed to be a bucking pony, but boy he does not want to canter with a person on him). She did pretty well.

At the end, we did some more lunge line, me trotting with no hands. It went better than before. Much better. Well, for me. Pony was like, "I am DONE with this lesson!" He was putting his head down and shaking it. Once he kind of veered in toward the instructor, but I was comfortable enough with my no hands to smack him on the inside shoulder, and he moved back out. We ended on that, but I think I should have cantered him around one more time or something. I realized later we had ended on what was, to me, not a very good note.

That trimmer took forever yesterday, but it was so nice to not have to worry about anyone's feet today. She took a lot off of them, I think I mentioned, but they seemed fine today, so that's good. I think I will keep going with her for now.


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## knightrider

I was thinking of you today, @ACinATX . I trimmed everybody's feet last week, then got evaluated by my teachers a day or two later. On the whole, they gave me a good report, but pointed out a few errors. I corrected some of those errors this morning after my ride. It seems that about 3 days after a trim, if you examine the hooves, you can see some of your mistakes that you miss when the trimmed places are all white and freshly trimmed. Maybe it's just because my mentors point it out to me, but I think, "Why didn't I see that?" I am thinking that your going back and re-doing your trims every couple of days might be a useful and smart thing to do. I think I'm going to do it more. I wonder . . . have you put me on the right road? Or encouraged me to obsess?


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## gottatrot

What kind of boots did you get?


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> I wonder . . . have you put me on the right road? Or encouraged me to obsess?


Maybe both? LOL


gottatrot said:


> What kind of boots did you get?


Equine Fusion Active Jogging Shoe. After she measured them and looked at their hooves, she said she had two boots that would work for them, and the two were comparable in terms of quality, durability, and comfort. So I asked her which were easier to put on and she told me these. They do seem pretty easy to put on, so that's good. And when Moonshine threw her little bucking fit, they stayed on just fine.

Oh and one thing I learned from this is that boots, at least this brand, come in right and left. It makes sense if you are familiar with hooves, how they tend to flare out more on the outside, but I hadn't thought about it before I got them.


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## gottatrot

Those look interesting. I'll be interested to hear how they work for you and hold up.


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## ACinATX

When the new trimmer was out last week, I remember mentioning to her that Teddy doesn't do well with pressure, and that even looking at him could be considered pressure. At least, he considers it pressure. I notice that I don't look him in the eye very often, and when I do, I make sure it's when I have a very soft eye myself and soft body language (like, I tell him, "What a good boy" in a nice voice, relax my body, soften my eye) and even then I only hold it for a few seconds. Usually when I talk to him I look at his shoulder or withers. It's not even something I consciously do, I just find myself not looking him in the eye much. If you make too much eye contact, he will look away, or turn around, or just tense up. But he'll stand there and generally take it.

Pony, however, LOVES it when people pay attention to him. And he loves eye contact. He just eats it up (literally -- he assumes, often correctly, that some sort of treat is going to follow). I also like to imagine that he assumes people are looking at him because of how amazing he is ("Yes, I does have a very big pony butt, you is right;" "Yes, these are top quality pony hoofies you is looking at," etc.). The thing is, if I glare at him, or if I'm mad, and I make eye contact, he'll back off or even run away. But as a general thing, he really likes to be looked at.

Moonshine doesn't really care either way, unless she somehow thinks there's food involved, in which case she will look you right back in the eye with the prettiest expression you can imagine. 

I don't know why that popped into my head today. It's interesting that they are all so different.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> It's interesting that they are all so different.


Aren't horses wonderful?! I've had them all my life, and they are all so different with so much personality. I just love it.


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## ACinATX

An advantage and disadvantage of a pony. Disadvantages: their pony senses will lead them to the yummiest food, even if it's some place where they are not supposed to go. Advantages: they are smart enough to get themselves out of jams caused by the above disadvantage. The picture below is of "my" stall. Pony knows he's not supposed to go in there, but he also knows that his pony senses tell him that there is something amazing in there. Usually I close the door, but I forgot the other day. He was all the way in there, trying to get the cookies out of the plastic container that's in the metal garbage can. The sharp-of-eye reader might notice a pair of "pony impalers" (hedge clippers) behind that trashcan. There is also a box of glass-bottled water in the shelves that you can't see.

I found him in there and told him to get out. I didn't want to rush him -- it is truly a Pony death trap -- but I wanted him to leave. So I used a medium "bad pony" voice, the idea being he needs to get out, and now, but he doesn't need to rush. He understood perfectly. He looked around for a couple of seconds, then turned around completely (yes, in that tiny bit of open space) and walked back out. I appreciate that he understands what I want -- I don't think I could have safely squeezed in there with him and gotten him out of there. But ugh. Bad owner.

The other picture -- I guess this was inevitable, the way the ducks are always super excited about my water bucket. But this is just ridiculous IMO. The second duck chased him out after a while, but didn't seem to want to get in himself, so the first duck got back in. He was in there for a while. I had to dump the water out afterwards, LOL. It was very duck-ified.

Lessons are going well. I decided to give one of Pony's training rides to Moonshine, so she will be ridden twice a week now and he'll get three rides (two with me and one from the trainer). Hopefully someone will be able to use him in a lesson eventually and then maybe that will keep him from getting fat again. We're hoping to go to a show at the end of October (cross-rails for me and the trainer will jump him 2'; cross-rails for Moonshine; in-hand obstacle course for both of us). We're also hopefully going to go on our first real outing with the trailer on October 11. It's for a trail ride at this park that I've hiked in several times. I'm going to go back out there and hike it again this week to make sure I know exactly where I want to go and that the trails aren't too bad. Moonshine now has boots for all four feet (we had the front ones already, and the lady brought the back ones today) so she should be OK. I'm thinking to leave Pony's feet bare. He should be fine as long as we don't do too many of the rocky trails. Hopefully. I hope we all have a good time. I really want Pony to enjoy trails.


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## ACinATX

I got them both loaded by myself today. It didn't go quite as I expected, though. 

My daughter said Moonshine loaded fine, and I guess that's true, but she also quickly unloaded just fine, which was not good. She's greedy, so I figured once I showed her the hay bag full of hay, alfalfa pellets, and junk food, that she'd just park herself, but she didn't. By the time I got around to the back to do up the butt bar she had unloaded. The second time, she was more willing, but then Pony saw her loading and he wanted to get on the trailer, too. Well, I had swung the divider over to make it bigger for her, so his only choice was to go on her side. So, obviously, I had to nip that in the bud. So I took her out, put her to the side and loaded him first, closed him up, including his door, then loaded her. I stayed with her, holding her lead rope, for a minute. By then, she was really into the feed, and IDK maybe having him in there helped her (I would have thought it would have worked the other way around), so when I went behind her again, she did THINK about backing up, but I tapped her on the butt a couple of times and told her to hold still, and she did.

My plan was to just let them eat for a while, and get used to being on there together. But I hadn't had them both in there before, and one problem presented itself -- Pony kept shoving his head under the divider to get her food. So even though I hadn't been sure I was going to tie them, I ended up tying him. I fiddled with the tie until it was long enough where he could put his head down, and eat, but not so long that he could reach under the divider. Which isn't to say that he didn't try, many times, but the tie held him there. The feed bags also have adjustable straps holding them, so I adjusted hers as far to the side as I could get it, which also helped.

We stayed in there for half an hour. At first I just watched them, but then I went in and out to do trailer chores. One thing that surprised me, even though I had been told about it, was the that trailer got kind of warm and damp, even with all the windows open, the human door, and the side ramp. I ended up opening two of the four vents (the others are in the back, above their butts, so I couldn't get to them), which helped. 

Oh, and Moonshine "christened" the trailer in her own special way. So it is definitely now a "used" trailer.

I drove the rig through a tight narrow turn today, which made me feel good. The trailer tracks significantly to the inside, so it was a hard turn to make. But I made it, with about a foot to spare on the inside. I had to drive the truck over the compost piles a bit.

That's all I did today. Well, one other thing is I drove the trailer all along the short practice route I want to take with them, to make sure there are no surprises. Oh, and I put a pyrex measuring cup of water in the back of the trailer. THAT was an eye-opener. It was a two-cup glass container, which I filled to the two cup mark. When I got the the barn, it was at the 1/2 cup mark. I filled it up again when I left. Just driving out the barn's gravel road, and carefully, I was already down 1/4 of a cup. But it was at one cup when I got home. I was really trying to think about driving super softly, as if they were in there. So I guess I got better, but it was still not good.


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## ACinATX

Woo woo woo! I found someone to ride Moonshine! And not just ANY someone -- someone I personally know and trust as an excellent rider, who has already ridden Moonshine and likes her! This is someone I would have paid to ride her, and she'll do it for free!

The only problem is that there is some bad blood between her and the barn owner, so we're trying to arrange some time where she can come and ride without worrying about running into her. I think we've got it sorted out, though, and she should be starting on Sunday!

Woo!


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## Txshecat0423

ACinATX said:


> I got them both loaded by myself today. It didn't go quite as I expected, though.
> 
> My daughter said Moonshine loaded fine, and I guess that's true, but she also quickly unloaded just fine, which was not good. She's greedy, so I figured once I showed her the hay bag full of hay, alfalfa pellets, and junk food, that she'd just park herself, but she didn't. By the time I got around to the back to do up the butt bar she had unloaded. The second time, she was more willing, but then Pony saw her loading and he wanted to get on the trailer, too. Well, I had swung the divider over to make it bigger for her, so his only choice was to go on her side. So, obviously, I had to nip that in the bud. So I took her out, put her to the side and loaded him first, closed him up, including his door, then loaded her. I stayed with her, holding her lead rope, for a minute. By then, she was really into the feed, and IDK maybe having him in there helped her (I would have thought it would have worked the other way around), so when I went behind her again, she did THINK about backing up, but I tapped her on the butt a couple of times and told her to hold still, and she did.
> 
> My plan was to just let them eat for a while, and get used to being on there together. But I hadn't had them both in there before, and one problem presented itself -- Pony kept shoving his head under the divider to get her food. So even though I hadn't been sure I was going to tie them, I ended up tying him. I fiddled with the tie until it was long enough where he could put his head down, and eat, but not so long that he could reach under the divider. Which isn't to say that he didn't try, many times, but the tie held him there. The feed bags also have adjustable straps holding them, so I adjusted hers as far to the side as I could get it, which also helped.
> 
> We stayed in there for half an hour. At first I just watched them, but then I went in and out to do trailer chores. One thing that surprised me, even though I had been told about it, was the that trailer got kind of warm and damp, even with all the windows open, the human door, and the side ramp. I ended up opening two of the four vents (the others are in the back, above their butts, so I couldn't get to them), which helped.
> 
> Oh, and Moonshine "christened" the trailer in her own special way. So it is definitely now a "used" trailer.
> 
> I drove the rig through a tight narrow turn today, which made me feel good. The trailer tracks significantly to the inside, so it was a hard turn to make. But I made it, with about a foot to spare on the inside. I had to drive the truck over the compost piles a bit.
> 
> That's all I did today. Well, one other thing is I drove the trailer all along the short practice route I want to take with them, to make sure there are no surprises. Oh, and I put a pyrex measuring cup of water in the back of the trailer. THAT was an eye-opener. It was a two-cup glass container, which I filled to the two cup mark. When I got the the barn, it was at the 1/2 cup mark. I filled it up again when I left. Just driving out the barn's gravel road, and carefully, I was already down 1/4 of a cup. But it was at one cup when I got home. I was really trying to think about driving super softly, as if they were in there. So I guess I got better, but it was still not good.


That barn/turnaround etc looks oddly familiar. I think I have been there before…. Is it actually in Austin? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

Txshecat0423 said:


> That barn/turnaround etc looks oddly familiar. I think I have been there before…. Is it actually in Austin?
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It is! Apparently they used to do quite a lot of shows here, so you might have been out for one of them? They also occasionally do clinics...


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## ACinATX

Darn darn darn! 

The first thing I noticed when I got there today was the big "for sale" sign out front. The "barn owner" just leases the facilities, and honestly I'm surprised what with the real estate market right now that the actual owner waited this long to put the place up for sale. From what I understand, the barn owner's lease expires in the summer. The barn owner told me not to worry about it and basically that everything will be OK, but this is just typical head-in-the-sand behavior on her part. Finding boarding for three horses at one time is HARD (I've tried), and I can't afford to wait until the last minute when she finally realizes that no, it's not OK.

So, I'm looking for boarding again. For real this time. We'll be ready to move to Seattle in about two years, so I need some sort of interim place. Ugh. Anyone know any place near Austin Texas that has pasture board available?

So I was already unhappy when I got there, then after I got the horses in I noticed that Pony's tail looked weird. I finally realized that it had been cut. You might be thinking, no, AC, tails don't just get cut, he just got it stuck in something and pulled it, but I found the clump of hair that had been removed, and it was obviously cut. It's only about 5-6 inches and honestly I had been thinking about cutting it there already because it becomes very scraggly after that point, but still. Someone cut it! After a lot of calling and texting, it turns out that the girl who rode him on Thursday cut it. Apparently she was really upset about something, and for some reason it led to her cutting his tail. It was weird, I watched her ride in that lesson and Pony did really well for her and she seemed really happy. I left before she put him back, though. Anyways, apparently now this girl's parents want to call me and apologize and offer restitution, and I'm just like, it's OK just tell her not to cut any more of his parts off.

My lesson didn't go too well. Moonshine did amazing though! She cantered and jumped all of the crossrails! It was really impressive. This is the best she's ever been. And she obviously WANTED to canter and WANTED to jump, and was having a great time. But me, I am just to the point where doing the occasional crossrail or two is fine with me, but this lesson was cantering bending lines and courses of half a dozen rails, and I can't even remember the order I'm supposed to go in. So I took one and then got confused and stopped, and when I started again Pony was really grumpy about it -- wiggly and wanting to refuse, even though we were only trotting. Eventually he got settled and we just trotted them. I cantered one at the end and it was fine.

But, today we did take them out in the trailer! It was just a 15-minute drive. I think I did OK. I was trying to drive as softly and gently as possible. When we got them back, we made them stay in the trailer for a few minutes (don't want them to think that they can rush out of the trailer as soon as it stops) and they were totally fine. I also had to back the trailer up around a curve because the barn was super crowded today and people were just parked everywhere. And I did that really well.

So, overall, eh. Trailering was almost anti-climactic, but barn is for sale and it's going to be hard finding a new place.

Two days until our trail outing!


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## Knave

Wow, that’s a lot to process. I’m sorry that they are selling! I hope you find somewhere amazing. I’m also sorry she cut the tail! That is crazy to me. Just, wow. I think you were very kind and understanding.


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## MeditativeRider

That is the weirdest thing to be upset about something and then cut the tail of a horse you do not even own. What was he like flicking her with his tail and it annoyed her, or was it a not-even-related-to-the-tail upset?

Hope you find somewhere nice to board that makes it all worth while to have to change. If it was me, I would just move to Seattle earlier than planned. However, I love moving. I think I read somewhere that you wanted to wait for your daughter to finish school. I went to three different high schools as a teenager when my mum moved for her job, and loved it and never had issues academically or socially with changing schools.


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## tinyliny

I can empathize. Everything around here is in flux due to high land prices causing purchases, tear down, rebuilds, etc. It makes it hard for a person who is happy with the status quo to , well, continue being happy.

There is always the possibility that the new place will end up being actuallly BETTER than the current one. I know that sounds unlikely, but it can happen. Ask me how I know . .


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## ACinATX

MeditativeRider said:


> Hope you find somewhere nice to board that makes it all worth while to have to change. If it was me, I would just move to Seattle earlier than planned. However, I love moving. I think I read somewhere that you wanted to wait for your daughter to finish school. I went to three different high schools as a teenager when my mum moved for her job, and loved it and never had issues academically or socially with changing schools.


Believe me, I have thought about this. Like, I feel like I need to get there somewhat early anyways, to oversee fencing work and house renovations. I was kind of thinking of going out maybe six months or even a year early, and leaving my husband and daughter here. Or like being out there off and on. I don't know. I'm definitely thinking about it. I don't see how I'd take her up there early, though. The problem is she's in a somewhat specialized school. She's a sophomore right now and is in calculus, and the high school has enough advanced math options after that to keep going until she graduates. I think most high schools only go through calculus, so what would she do if we transferred? I know she'd love to move up there now, if she could work her school out somehow. We'd all like to move up there now.



tinyliny said:


> There is always the possibility that the new place will end up being actuallly BETTER than the current one. I know that sounds unlikely, but it can happen. Ask me how I know . .


Yes, I've thought that also. Maybe the new place will be better. In some ways it would have to be. But in other ways maybe not. I've started putting out some feelers, too. At least I have, or think I have, a fair amount of notice on this. Definitely time to think through whatever my options might be.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> I know she'd love to move up there now, if she could work her school out somehow.


My daughter did some college classes on-line while she was still in high school. Then she had a bit of a head start when she started college--she had some classes already completed. In Florida, while the child is still in high school, the college classes and books are free. That was certainly nice! The credits counted for both college and high school.

So your daughter and you could move up there earlier and she could do the math classes she wanted to do for college credit on-line.


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## MeditativeRider

I am have very minimal knowledge of the US school system, but I home school my kids in NZ and am on some US home school forums. Lots of people on those forums enroll their kids in some college classes when they hit the later high school years. Like @knightrider mentioned. I think dual enrollment is the term? So maybe she could do some high school in person and some either in person or online with a college to do advanced math?


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## Knave

Our school also pays for the college classes high schoolers take. So, my oldest is doing a couple, one doubles as English 4 and 101. A business 101 will just give her an elective credit, but she will have those if she so desires going to college.


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## ACinATX

We hauled them to our first trail ride! It was a bit hairy at times, but no one died! I ... think ... I had a good time. Yes, now that I think about it, I did. I wasn't quite so sure in the middle of it, but now I would say that it was nice. My daughter and husband definitely had a good time! Everything went pretty well until literally the very last minute (you can skip to near the bottom to find out what happened). Pony got a NICE working walk pretty much the whole time, LOL. Overall I was quite pleased with how he did. Moonshine generally did as expected except (see below).

I'm setting out all the details for posterity.

They loaded fine. Pony self-loaded as usual. The drive was OK at first. The trailer definitely felt heavier (BTW I got 11.5 MPG for the trip, and most of it was on the highway going 60-65 mph; surely that's just abysmal?) but not unsteady. I had one moment where I thought I felt sway, and I used the trailer brakes, and it was fine.

The bad thing is, at the highway juncture I took the wrong way. At this interchange, whether you want to go to 71 E or 71 W, it's a left exit. I guess I was pretty stressed from driving them, and I just saw "71" and took it. So, I was going in the wrong direction. I needed to exit and make a u-turn, but as soon as I got on 71, two more lanes merged in. There was a LOT of traffic, really heavy, lots of big trucks, moving fast, and I couldn't get over to make an exit for a couple of miles. But once I did, everything was OK.

What I anticipated as the worst part of the trip was the left turn lane into the park. When I drove out there last week, it seemed like it was really short and I wasn't sure the trailer was going to fit into it. And the speed limit on that highway is 70 mph so you wouldn't want someone to not see your butt sticking out into the left lane until the last minute. But it turned out that it was fine.

So, we get there. Pony is super up. I know people said don't use the pens, but I wouldn't have trusted him tied to the trailer. We put them in the pens and got some hay for them. Pony settled down a bit at that. Moonshine was like, "Who cares that we're in a new place, gimme food!" She couldn't have cared less.

We didn't forget any tack! Well, except the saddle bag I got. So no water for the ride. And I left the hoofpick in the truck. But we didn't end up needing them.

What I thought was, Moonshine will be in front, because she likes trails and she has a faster walk. But she was balking at lots of stuff, so we went in front. Pony was snorting and blowing and snorting and blowing, but I got his mind back on me by reverting to our training thing we do where I ask him to stop on voice command and then give him a treat. Pony is generally poky, but I'm glad we spent time rewarding stopping. Every time when he seemed like he was about to lose it, I'd ask him to stop and give him a treat. 

Moonshine wasn't wiling to go into the lightly forested area that I had picked for the start, so we made our way through some buildings to the wide gravel trail. There was tall grass on either side, and I decided to let Pony take a bite every now and then. I generally don't think this is a good idea, and honestly we'll probably have to deal with the repercussions next time, but it really helped him settle. By about 20 minutes into it, he was still very alert and still had a very working walk, but he had stopped snorting and blowing at everything.

We walked down to where my husband took a picture of us at an overlook, then headed back. All the sudden, Moonshine stopped dragging her feet and started feeling very peppy. That's when I took the pictures of us in the open area. I really wanted one of those "horse ears on a trail ride" picture, and I got several, but when you ride a Pony with a short neck and low head carriage, it's not actually easy to get such a picture. I basically was holding the camera in front of my chest to take them. He was still a bit "up" so his head was up for once.

It had rained a good bit the night before so I decided to skip the part of the trail that is in the river bottom. The path down is full of large smooth rolly rocks, and I was afraid with them being wet that someone might slip. Plus I figured it was probably muddy at the bottom. So we turned around after the overlook and headed back. But my daughter didn't want to be done, so we crossed the grassy area onto another trail. This one was going to be a bit challenging because it was partially to fully forested, but like I said Pony had settled down so I thought it would be OK. Actually, I thought Moonshine would go in front but she wouldn't have it. She didn't want to get off the first trail, balked after about 10 steps into the grass, wouldn't walk next to a bench (to be fair Pony didn't like them either) and just generally refused, so we went first. Here's the thing -- Pony was "up" to one degree or another the whole ride, but he went where I asked without asking questions. I expected Moonshine to be a lot calmer, and she was, but I also expected that we'd have to follow her the whole time, because she would be more confident going into unknown places or next to unknown objects, but she was't.

Here's something I learned about being first in a forested area -- you get all the cobwebs. Bleah. Anyways, we walked down until the trail started heading down, then turned around. Once again, at that point Moonshine was happy to be in front. That's where I took the foresty pictures. 

Pony got a little snorty when we got back to the built up area of the park and were walking back through the buildings. Also he had gotten into the mindset that he was just following the trail, so when we left the clearly marked trail to walk over the grass, he was confused. But again, he went.

Ah. So this was when he started swishing his tail, a lot. I looked to see if I could see anything that was bothering him (and we had fly sprayed them before) and there wasn't. He just kept swishing. I assumed he was ready to be done. Then he stopped and... shook himself all over, as if he had just gotten a bath. I almost fell off LOL. I've never had to sit out one of those. It was a FULL shake off. But after that he was fine. So I guess it was something bothering him.

---SKIP TO HERE--- OK, so now we are back in the parking lot. We can see our trailer up ahead. Familiar territory! And that's when the giant horse-eating rock attacked. It was a small boulder that was lying hidden in a clump of tall grass, and as we walked past it jumped out at Pony, so he spooked (I say spooked but I really just mean shied; just that sort of sideways jump / run they do). I turned him back toward it and he spooked again! 

Moonshine came up behind us and --this is something she hasn't done in the 3.5 years we've had her and I never would have thought she would do it-- also spooked at the rock. I don't know if she spooked hard or if my daughter was just caught off guard, but she fell off. She ripped her pants, but that was the worst of it. It was a gravel parking lot, not pavement. I get why she'd fall off -- she's never had to deal with a horse that spooked, or jumped, or wonied, or all of the antics Pony used to get up to. He spooks, and I'm like, OK, back to work. Nothing to see here.

I did get off after that. We walked back to the pens and gave them some alfalfa pellets and hay, which they appreciated. 

Pony didn't want to self-load back into the trailer. Well, he half loaded and then unloaded. So I walked him in and he was fine. Definitely something to keep working on. I don't know if it was my driving (I really hope not -- I tried so hard!) or that he hadn't entirely enjoyed himself, but it was fine. No problems with Moonshine, of course.

I have four air vents in the trailer, and it was hotter on the way back, so I flipped the front ones to bring in air, and neither one of the horses was sweaty when we got back, so that was good. I let them graze in the front area after we got back. Teddy was very glad to see us! There are a couple of other ponies in that pasture but they aren't "his" group; he notices when his friends leave.

In short, I think it overall went as well as I could have hoped. Pony was very willing, which was a pleasant surprise, even if he was also on high alert for the first third of the ride. He settled in after a while and I suspect he enjoyed it after that. Moonshine, of course, hates everything and every one. For her, it's just another place where annoying hoomans make her work.

Pony and I are definitely a ways away from being able to go out alone into the forest. I hope we can get some more trail rides in with Moonshine. Even if she was just in the back, he knew she was there, and her calmness helped him a lot. But, I am really happy with him. The lady I got him saddle broke him and used him on trails rides at her place for maybe six months, and then I took him. He hasn't been on a decent trail in a long time, and he didn't have that much experience on them to begin with. And this was his first time being on a trail away from home. I know some people scoff at the whole "bond" thing, but we have a relationship that has been forged through a lot of difficult times, and that has developed through compromise to mutual trust. I don't know, maybe he would have been fine out there for anyone but I felt like he was really trying for me, and I really appreciate it. He's a great Pony!


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## Knave

It looks like it was very pretty! I’m sorry your daughter fell off.


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## gottatrot

You two look great! Too bad your daughter fell off, but it's good she is OK. 

Unfortunately, that's the kind of gas mileage I've ended up with when hauling two horses as well.

We used to joke, "My horse needs to go second," in order to make the other person go in front to clear the cobwebs. My friends would complain when I was on my Arabs, because the front person is supposed to have to eat the cobwebs, but my horses were short so they'd still run into the higher webs. I'm sure your daughter hit some on Moonshine that you didn't clear out, LOL. 

I'm sure it was stressful driving and dealing with nervous horses, but it will get easier from here on, and you'll enjoy it even more. How nice to be able to trailer out on your own!


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## knightrider

Nice pictures, nice trails. I like to read about people doing stuff for the first time. It sort of brings back the thrills of when I was doing it for the first time many years ago.


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## MeditativeRider

It looks like a really nice ride. Sorry your daughter fell off, hope she is not too sore. Rocks are scary (on the group trail rides I have been on, it always seems to be rocks that cause spooking).


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## Woodhaven

Hey that's great you had a successful ride. I do get it about the cob webs and the horse shaking, had those things happen often.
I have found over the years that a horse loads pretty well at home and then loading to come home they are not so willing but Pony did well with you going in first. I don't think it has anything to do with your driving as you were most considerate.
I'm glad you posted about this ride as I was wanting to know how it went, We all feel part of this ride as we have been following your post.
My gelding hates rocks as well, there are a couple on the rides around and he know where every one is but after three years has finally accepted that they are there and nothing to do about it.
Another horse I had hated blackened tree stumps, this horse never shied or spooked at anything else but would skitter around a stump.
Another horse also one that rarely ever shied at anything hate piles of cut wood beside a trail, don't know why but she sure didn't like them.
The more rides you do you will get to know Pony and how he feels about different things.


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## Knave

Rocks get my horses all of the time. Lol. Big rocks in the middle of no where are very scary. They might be monsters you know.


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> Rocks get my horses all of the time. Lol. Big rocks in the middle of no where are very scary. They might be monsters you know.


Yes, I figured the scariest thing about lone rocks it that they may be desperate. You know, maybe they were exiled from the pack, or injured, and possibly starving. They might attack anything with four legs, even if it's bigger than them.

I didn't see this, but after I wrote the original post my daughter said that my husband saw her fall, and she told him that Moonshine had spooked at the rock. So my husband went and got on it and jumped up and down on it to show her it was no big deal. Apparently she was really snorting and blowing when he did that. I can't imagine WHAT she was thinking at that point...


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## carshon

I am so glad you went, and so sorry your daughter fell off. For my horse Tillie, its not rocks its fallen trees or stumps! Your rides will get better and better the more you take them out. For inspiration I would read @egrogan journal and see how very far she has come in her riding and trail riding. It is truly inspiring. The one thing I tried to teach my daughter when she started riding "out" was to keep your eyes open for things that may look like something your horse may not like. Not to avoid them but to ride more confidently toward them to give the horse comfort and support. She was 10 when we started taking her on real trail rides (steep ravines, muddy trails, technical trails) She started her own horse 2 years ago (age 19) and she said she uses that advice a lot when her green horse gets unconfident.


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## ACinATX

Thanks I will check out her journal!

I forgot to mention one thing, which is actually quite important. We took them barefoot, and it was quite rocky in places (e.g. see the trail in that group picture), and they seemed to be fine. The trimmer told me that Moonshine's boots were a tight fit and they might not fit a few weeks after a trim, but I rasped her pretty well (I thought) the day before and thought they would fit. But they didn't. So we had to take her barefoot. The wide trail was rock-free in places, and in others my daughter was able to ride her in the grass, mostly. But she did have to ride on rocks at some point. No one acted sore afterwards. I mean, I expected Pony to be fine, but I'm glad Moonshine was as well. My daughter asked, "Next time can we go some place with fewer rocks?" but I told her, this is as good as you're going to get in this area.

Changing subjects, the more I think about it the happier I am that Pony was fine being in front on the way out, especially since Moonshine was being so balky. I really didn't expect that. He really has the makings of a fine trail horse: brave, confident, obedient, great feet, great mind, calms down quickly. And short LOL.


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## tinyliny

that sounds like a successful day. That kind of a fall is usually not a big deal, although certainly no fun to land on gravel. I remember the spiderweb issues, in the Fall. I used to have a stick in hand that I moved around and around out in front of me to break the webs before my face did. the webs would be round around the stick like spaghetti!


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## Woodhaven

Good idea about the stick to catch the spider webs. I sometimes hold my arm up vertically in front of my face to catch them. Helps me but does nothing for the horse and they will snort and shake their heads some.
If you can convince someone else to go first that's a good idea, unless it's Sis riding the pony, leaves the high ones for me.
I remember some early mornings in the fall when if was a bit frosty and the sun was just coming up, I would go for an early ride and in some trails the spider webs would have moisture on them and the sun shining through make them look like diamonds, I loved that and one place I have named Spider Alley for that reason.


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## ACinATX

Woodhaven said:


> unless it's Sis riding the pony, leaves the high ones for me.


Yes, I was in front on Pony, and I turned around to complain to my daughter about the spider webs, and she was like "I'm still getting some back here!" You wouldn't think a few inches of height would make that much difference...


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## SteadyOn

carshon said:


> The one thing I tried to teach my daughter when she started riding "out" was to keep your eyes open for things that may look like something your horse may not like. Not to avoid them but to ride more confidently toward them to give the horse comfort and support.


I started with this approach recently, and it was a revelation! Instead of looking for things for my horse to spook at, and then feeling scared and shut down and defensive, I instead looked at them as things for us to "Attack!!" like we were going to do battle with it. But like... very quiet walking battle, haha. Still, the change in attitude and focus made a huge difference for both of us! It started with some sandpipers who had decided to take over the arena. I decided we could either avoid them and worry about them, or we could "attack" them by chasing them down (with no real possibility of hurting them, I should clarify). And then I started applying that attitude to everything, within reason. Horses like the calm, assertive guidance _forward_, rather than hesitation, quite a lot!


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## MeditativeRider

I agree with the riding confidently forward. My method with scary objects is to act like they are the most amazing interesting thing I have ever seen. It helps my confidence as well as I am going "wow, look at that rock, isn't it beautiful" so I don't have time to feel worried about anything. I found it worked with my puppy when she was going through fear periods too. Like "oh look at this amazing [insert scary object name]" and then start oohing and aahing over it, and the puppy would be going from being scared to like "hang on, I want a bit of this amazing thing too" and would run over and start sniffing and interacting with the scary object.


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## Txshecat0423

I’m glad y’all had a successful ride…it will get better and better and the hauling will too. 

The last ride I went on alongside the road I live on, Skip and I encountered a big green tractor with front end loader,
a four wheeler, four mini donkeys who rushed their fence, Longhorn cattle, a truck and trailer hauling round bales, and the wind was blowing 20 mph per my weather app! I was second guessing choosing to ride that day [emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

The cobwebs are awful here too [emoji887] 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

What we did on that trail ride was whenever he got super looky at something, I just told him, "We're not going to worry about it" and moved him along. Usually I _do_ let him stop and consider things when he's concerned about them, but (1) there were too many things he was concerned about and (2) he probably would have actually spooked at them, and I didn't really want that. 

****

Yesterday Teddy got put into the wrong pasture. What happened was, one of the gates to the back pasture was open, and he was in the "front" area in front of it when apparently all the horses from that pasture found the open gate and got out. The barn owner just shooed everyone back into the pasture, Teddy included, and then let me know. He knows all of those guys from over the fence, and he's a pretty level-headed guy who is near the top of any pecking order but not a bully, so I figured I'd leave him in there until I had time to get him out.

It's funny, just glancing over there every now and then, he seemed fine. His body language seemed calm, and he was alternately grazing or just hanging out with one of the other horses. But when I came to the gate to let him out and saw his face, it was almost comically worried ("Help! I am in the wrong pasture! Things are DIFFERENT!"). I called him over and he came RUNNING. I made him stop at the gate, then opened it to let him out, and he cantered away. 

Pony and Moonshine definitely have no lingering sore feet from the trail ride, so that's great. I want to take them out again this weekend (the weather is supposed to be perfect), but my daughter doesn't seem like she wants to go. I was thinking about asking someone else if she wants to ride her. I don't know. I guess I need to make up my mind pretty soon. We'll see...


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## carshon

Give your daughter time. She fell off and she is maybe a little scared to go now. She went from having the calm horse to the one that was not calm and that can be scary. BUT I think you should continue to go or ask your daughter if she wants to just walk the horses on the trails until they seem calmer. Baby steps - riding outside of the safe arena can be scary


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## ACinATX

Well, Pony has definitely regressed on the loading. He didn't want to self load today. He let me lead him in, and in fact he'd follow me in at liberty, but he didn't want to self load. And once I got him in, he'd stay in just fine, even without the lead rope, until I left or tried to move back, at which point he'd back out. He did have alfalfa hay in the feed bag, but after our recent rains there's a lot of green grass around and I think he made the calculation that he'd rather have the green grass and be free then be sitting in the trailer with hay.

It was also a fairly windy day, but I don't think that's really an excuse.

What I ended up doing was standing there with him for a minute, then leading him out the side ramp. I thought maybe we could get "forward" in his mind, so he'd stop thinking about backing up, but it didn't work. Again, he'd lead on just fine, and he'd come off just fine, he just wouldn't self load. So we just did that like 10 times, at least to reinforce the idea that he DOES need to go on the trailer. I'm not sure if I want to bring the truck out again tomorrow to work on it or not. I am hoping to get him back to self-loading before I take them out again. Even if I don't need him to self-load every time, the fact that he's willing to do it, to me, shows a high level of comfort with the trailer. And one thing I DON'T want to happen is to have loading problems on the other end.

He did really well in the lesson today, and in our lesson Wednesday also. I realized, after what happened with me taking the wrong exit on our trail ride, that I freeze up when I'm (worried, anxious, scared, stressed, etc.). Mentally as well as physically. I'm realizing that that's what's happening with me with working more on cross-rails. My instructors want to be like, "OK first we will canter over these two rails, then we'll add another half dozen in, no problem." But all I can think about is that I'm going over rails and hoping to not fall off, and I can't remember more than two things at a time. I can TROT a course just fine, but ask me to then canter the same course and I have no idea what I'm doing. So today while my daughter and Moonshine cantered all kinds of stuff, I just cantered big circles with cross-rails in the middle. I'm also still working on judging distance -- Pony wants to speed up and then take the long spot, which, especially as he is a Pony, involves him launching himself up and over much more than he needs to. On the bright side, I'm no longer wanting to fall of (so much) when he does this. This instructor, who also puts training rides on him, says he's "attacking" the jumps. I'm getting a little better at judging when he needs to slow down and get in an extra step, but I'm still not at all GOOD at it. Also, he needs to know that his rider is committed to the jump -- if you are, he will happily go over it; if not, he will himself start having second thoughts. I'm trying to go with "fake it till you make it" here and it's going OK.

My daughter fell off Moonshine again today. The instructor was having us canter with no stirrups, and Moonshine has a vicious downward transition. Daughter was fine, but she put a hole in her shirt. The vet said that Moonshine shouldn't do jumps, but she really seems to be enjoying these low cross-rails, much to my surprise. I mean, as much as she enjoys anything. 

I did everyone's feet again, at least a little. This new trimmer is supposed to come out on a four-week schedule, but she's got something going on the week she's supposed to come, so she told me it will be five weeks this time. So I trimmed Teddy's fronts, trying to stay ahead of his flares and general wonkiness, and I trimmed Moonshine all around. She had an imbalance on one of her fronts, which I'm not sure is due to the farrier or the way she wears her feet. I always did her feet every week or two so I never let anything grow out to that point. It's been three weeks since the trimmer came. I rasped Pony's just enough to get the imbalances off his fronts where he toes in, but left him otherwise. I may do him tomorrow.

The weather was gorgeous today but the ragweed is vicious. I'm so ready for that to be over. I'm either sneezing and blowing my nose every five minutes or I'm zonked out on antihistamines. Or both. It's just a couple more weeks, most likely. And then we'll have both nice weather and low allergens, at least for a couple of months.


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## ACinATX

I paid close attention to Teddy's bad foot (the one with the crack) and I rasped it down a bit more today, and it looks good, but when I turned him out today I realized that his other front is also getting overly-long in the toe. His feet are weird to me -- when I do them from the bottom, they seem fine, but then when I look at then on the ground later I can always see that I'm leaving too much, here, there, maybe everywhere. His feet... I feel like the hoof wall grows down on part of his feet and out on part of his feet, and just weird all over. I guess I'll do the other one again next time. I probably need to just do them from the top. He doesn't really like that very much, but he'll usually hold still long enough that I can make a decent stab at it. I looked at the calendar, and there's still two weeks before the trimmer is going to come. So I need to do everyone's feet, again, really. Bleah.

I jumped Pony over an actual vertical jump today. It was just 19 inches, or 20 maybe, but still, it was an actual jump, not a crossrail. I did two in a row, a crossrail and then this jump. I was not 100% committed to the jump (working on that), and Pony could tell, so he started getting wiggly in front of it. Plus it was a narrow jump, maybe only 5-6 feet wide, so he would have had an easy time ducking out. BUT I realized ... if I let him duck out, I'm almost certainly going to fall off, whereas if we just do the jump I may or may not fall off. So I committed, and communicated that to him, and he did a really good job. We went over it a couple of times more, also. It's just possible that I might be starting to understand why people like to jump horses. It's also just possible that I might not be as scared of the jumps as I was. Maybe.

Nothing much else going on. I bought a bag of rye grass seed and have been tossing it out here and there before it rains. The stuff in Pony's tiny paddock is growing like crazy -- I try to be conscienscous about scooping his poop out of there, but I guess I must be leaving some of it, because that ground is obviously very fertil(ized). In contrast, the stuff I've planed in other areas is growing, but much more slowly. The stuff in the "front" area (Bermudagrass plus other grasses / weeds) is doing really well now, after the rain, so they have a lot of stuff they can graze. It's nice to see them grazing, since they don't really get any grazing in their pasture. I gave them all about an hour after my lesson ended.


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## gottatrot

Congrats on the brave jumping!


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## TrainedByMares

Trailering,trail riding, jumping ... you and Pony rock, AC!!


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## ACinATX

TrainedByMares said:


> Trailering,trail riding, jumping ... you and Pony rock, AC!!


Honestly, I think it's like 80% him being an awesome Pony, or maybe even more, and 20% me doing my best to get in his way LOL.

We only did cross-rails yesterday. They were fairly low, but the good news is that they aren't intimidating me any more. To the point where I was able to concentrate on Pony's step and really setting him up nicely for the jump. The instructor gave me some really helpful advice, and for the first time I really felt what I needed to do with him. I needed to read the jump and then half-halt him a bunch of times in front of it, in order to get him on his hind end. And I actually FELT the difference, and FELT how much better he did over the jumps.

I worked on loading some more. I loaded Moonshine first this time, then Pony. This time he didn't back out, and I had lots of time to mess with the annoying butt bar until I finally got it closed, then I closed the door and let them eat for a while. The funny thing is, I had tied Pony so he wouldn't annoy Moonshine by trying to steal her food, but I didn't tie her. And she, to my immense surprise, kept trying to steal his food. She knows he is very much dominant over her, but she's also amazingly good at recognizing when a situation is to her advantage. So she was stealing bites every few seconds. Finally I had to put my fingers through the bars to keep her from coming over. Pony did paw after a while. So once he stopped, I took him out, then loaded and unloaded him about half a dozen more times, then I let them out.

The trimmer came on Friday, which was great. She had told me she wasn't going to be out until November 5, so I was getting ready to have to trim everyone over the weekend. And it was very hot and muggy and nasty, and I really didn't want to do it. The bad news is, the trimmer didn't do a very good job this time. She left Pony's heels too high, left flares on Teddy, and left Moonshine sore. I fixed Teddy's flares yesterday, and I will fix Pony's heels maybe this weekend, but Moonshine unfortunately just needs some time. Apparently the trimmer trimmed two other barns horses on Friday and the barn owner said both of them were tender afterwards. This trimmer did a good job the first time, so I'll give her another chance. Part of the problem with Moonshine may have been that I haven't been trimming her as regularly as I should have. I'll be sure and keep on top of it this time.

I think we're going to try for another trail ride next weekend. We may well put Moonshine in her boots this time.


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## ACinATX

I fell off Pony today! It was funny and stupid and 100% not his fault. But to back up a bit...

When I got out there, it turned out that one of the instructors wasn't teaching because she had just had to drive someone to the ER (she got kicked), so the other instructor was going to have one big class. I decided to just do "fun" riding. "Fun" riding for me is something that Pony will enjoy because it's mostly easy and he will get rewards, and it's not too hard, but is a little different, so I enjoy it.

First we just walked around bareback / halter-lead rope. Then I rode him out along the long driveway and out into the verge next to the busy road. We did that four times, and he got half a cookie each time. We also practiced eating grass only when allowed. I rode him mostly in the grassy areas along the driveway, and I'd stop him and he'd have to wait until I gave the signal (drop reins and say "OK") to eat. He did very well with that, although he did pretty much attack the grass when he was "finally" allowed to eat it. You'd think I had starved him rather than ridden him for one minute then made him stand still for 10 seconds without eating.

Going back, I rode him in between some parked cars, which I thought might make him hesitate, but he had no problems. I rode him through some other weird areas, and although he did hesitate he also did go through once I asked. Then we went back to the arena and did some trotting. Then I decided to work on mounting bareback from random spots -- jumps, fences, walls, etc. He's great about being mounted when he has a saddle on, but something about being bareback, even in the bareback pad, makes him want to swing his butt away or step off when I try to mount. But he did really well today. We even got to where I'd let him stand a bit farther away from the object I was trying to mount from, and then I'd sort of scramble and climb onto him. This requires trust on both our parts -- I have to trust that he won't scoot away when I'm trying to transfer myself from a fence to his body when his body is over a foot away, and he has to trust that I won't do anything worse than that.

Finally, I took the bareback pad off because it was annoying me, and I really worked on my form at the trot. I think it's getting better. Then I thought, one last thing, I'll try standing on his back. Because why wouldn't I? I took off my boots because I didn't think boots on his bare back would be very nice for him. I gave him some alfalfa pellets so he'd know we were doing treat work, and I sort of tried a bunch of different ways to stand up. He was totally fine -- didn't move a muscle. But I couldn't figure out how to stand up from squatting on his back, as his fur is quite slick and my socks weren't helping, and his, umm, "Pony muscle" on his back is very jiggly and squishy when you try to stand on it. Basically, I was squatting on him when my balance just stopped balancing, and I very slowly slid off. Again, he just stood there, I guess waiting for a cookie or something. I thought it was pretty funny, falling off at a standstill.

I think Pony has the potential to be one of those horses who can do it all -- jump nicely, go on trails, do tricks, pull a cart, be a kids' horse, do parades, be ridden tackless, etc. It's why I'm always messing with him and doing stuff with him when I can. Plus he enjoys doing new things. And so do I! Until I fall off LOL.

I took ALL of Teddy's flares off! Even when I was looking at his feet afterwards in the pasture, I couldn't find any more flares. I may, finally, understand how his feet need to be trimmed. Also I think the flares may have been contributing to his hoof crack. It had gotten a lot better with repeated soaking, but then it got to where it just stopped getting better. I think the flares were creating leverage that was pulling it open again, and I'm hoping that now it can go back to getting better. And Moonshine's feet seem to be better. So all is good on the foot front, for once.

We're still aiming for next Sunday for trail ride # 2.


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## Danneq

Oof! I assume you're all right, since you said it was funny. Maybe try no socks? Socks are very slippery.

Have fun on the trail ride!


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## ACinATX

Maybe I will try barefoot next time. And yes, I'm fine. I fell on my feet and then plopped on my butt, in very soft sand.


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## ACinATX

We rode out in the pasture bareback yesterday, my daughter and I, both of us just in halter/lead rope. Moonshine wore her boots. It was kind of funny, watching her walk over the poky-rocked driveway. She was cautious at first, and then didn’t seem to understand what was happening (“This is supposed to hurt!”). Then she started walking kind of funny, like maybe she was trying to figure out what was going on.

We agreed that I would open the gate from the ground, and go in with Pony, with daughter having mounted on the mounting block in the arena and walked over. Daughter didn’t think Moonshine would stand for being mounted from something weird in the pasture. Pony, however, was PERFECT! I lined him up with the fence, did a couple of “hooo”s with treats, then got on, while he stood as still as can be.

We didn’t do much, but we did want to go down the banks of the creek, across the creek (it’s mostly just a trickle and some mud), up the other side, and back. They were both great about it, even Moonshine, who hates water. There wasn’t much to do in the back part of the pasture, and also I realized it was all ragweed, so we cleared out of there pretty quickly. Back over the creek. I let Pony know that I wanted to cross the creek and then let him choose how to do it, and that worked out really well. We then walked around the front part of the pasture, but it was pretty boring, so we walked out the gravel driveway. They were both very good. The interesting thing I noticed is that when Moonshine is there, Pony pays less attention to me and more attention to Moonshine (She is, after all, the leader, although definitely not the boss, and of course she’s another horse plus she’s on the ground and he can see her). Not to the point that he wouldn’t listen to me, but I have to say I preferred going out there just the two of us. So I’m filing that away for further cogitation.

We also cleaned off their turnout sheets, since we’re expecting some wet and cold weather later in the week. Oh, and crossing muddy creek plus horse boots = big mess to clean up afterwards.

Today, Pony’s foot was warm. It was the same foot he had been lame on before. I took him out and lunged him both ways, and he seemed fine, but the instructor noticed that he was a little tender in the lesson. I hadn’t actually noticed. So I told her I would get off, and she was like, he’s just a LITTLE tender, you should keep riding him and see. But I don’t want him to think that I’m a person who makes him work when he’s in pain, so we went to the middle of the arena and he stood there while I practiced all sorts of balancing in two point. Then the other person in the lesson had a bad fall after a jump, so after it was determined that she was more or less OK, I left.

I wanted to do something with him, though, so I got out his harness to work on ground driving. He was fine with that. Actually, once we got to the arena and I started setting out the cones (I wanted something for him to aim for, since last time we did this his steering had gotten a lot worse) he was super excited. I left him in the middle, but he followed me around, picking up every cone after I put it down and looking at me for a treat. The third-to-last one I just left him there, because the point was ground driving, not picking up cones (even though I just love it when he picks up cones; it still cracks me up every time). I hoped that if he saw I wasn’t watching, he would stop thinking he was going to get a treat. I had walked halfway toward the other end of the arena before he realized he was being left behind, so he trotted to catch up. It’s just cute. I like when he follows me around.

Interestingly, he had a spook while we were working. He’s never spooked while in the harness, except for the terrible incident earlier in the year. It was something dumb, too – a horse in the paddock that bordered the arena just started cantering, and Pony spooked. I think there must have been something underlying, because that’s pretty atypical for him. I mean, yes, he can be spooky, but usually when other horses are acting up, he will look to me for guidance, not just spook. Anyways, he just jumped / cantered sideways a few steps, then turned to face me. I didn’t even lose the long lines. I was not hurt in any way, BUT it does remind me why people say to wear gloves when working with horses. If he had REALLY spooked, hard, and I had been trying to hold him, those ropes would have burned lines in my hands.

One thing he did that I liked. I took him out to the grassy area afterwards to take off his harness. He stood very still while I messed with the appropriate buckles and took it off, then as soon as it was off, he started grazing. I could have taken it off with him grazing, but it was awesome that he seemed to realize he was supposed to stand still for it.

He’s definitely regressed a little with ground driving. His steering isn’t as good, and he’s gone back to turning to face me if he gets really confused. So I think we have several sessions of just ground driving in front of us, before I try to introduce pulling again.

I sort of put off calling the lameness vet out last time because he got better. I mean, it was on my list of things to do, but not at the top. I’m going to get him out, though. I think it must be some sort of abscess that’s internal and just not healing. But we’ll see.

Final thought: I wrote a bunch here, then deleted. Basically, what I was trying to say is that I feel like Pony does what I ask because he WANTS to. He understands that he has a choice, and he chooses to do it. He's WILLING. He wasn't always. It took us a long time to get where we are. I think making him feel heard was really important to him. This sounds super cheesy, but when I was a kid dreaming about horses, and only knowing what I had read from children's books, I thought a horse could be spirited and willing at the same time. Now I know that that often is not the case (for instance, I cherish the lesson horses here, but they are all broken in spirit). But it is with Pony. I am blessed to have a Pony like him! Honestly I'm blessed to have all of them, because each of them has taught me so much.


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## ACinATX

*I am not smart*

Going back over my old journal entries, I see I used to put a little title like the above, so I will try to go back to that. Plus "I am not smart" really needs to be bolded here LOL.

So, we washed their turnout sheets very thoroughly on Sunday, then hung them up to dry. It looked like there was some nasty cold / wet weather coming, so we would need them. I went out on Monday and they were all dry and ready to go. Yay, right? Wrong. I forgot to MOVE them from where I had hung them up to dry. I went out yesterday to put their sheets on, and I was just pulling into the long driveway when I realized that. And yes, they were totally soaking wet. Teddy's would dry out quickly, and I had a new one in the car that I hadn't yet used, but that was only two. 

So I had to stall them. Poor Pony was shivering. I don't get it -- he has the thickest winter coat of all of them, he has, um, extra insulation, and he's a pony, which should mean that he can handle cold and wet. But he was the only one who was shivering. Luckily he stopped once I got him in a dry spot and started feeding him.

They all got an alfalfa hay party. Like, three big flakes each. And then I realized that even if I hadn't forgotten to bring in the sheets, the horses were so wet that it wouldn't have mattered. I stayed out there two hours and they all got drier, but none of them dried completely.

I went to turn them back out today. They seemed happy but calm, but I put on halters anyways because I was going to let them graze a bit while I cleaned their stalls. Everything was going fine, when I suddenly had the feeling that it was time to put them out into the pasture. So I get my baling twine and walk out there, and I see Teddy trotting up from where he had been grazing. So I start going up to him to get him, and then Pony sees that Teddy is gone (they had been grazing together) and canters over to where we are. I get him to stop and decide to get Moonshine, who's right there, but then Pony canters off and gets Teddy and Moonshine worked up. He's now cantering and bucking. So, I get him to stop, again, and put him into this little paddock that borders one of the arenas. It's sort of horseshoe-shaped, as it goes around three sides of the arena. 

He starts zooming around in there like nuts, but Teddy calms down because there is now a fence between them. So I go to get Moonshine and walk her over to the pasture gate. I can see Pony zooming around like a crazy Pony. I see him zooming back and forth down one side, and then down the other side. I start messing with the lock. And then I see him zooming, except he's not in the paddock any more. THE GATE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PADDOCK HAD BEEN LEFT OPEN and now he was out again. Oh boy, is he happy zoomy Pony. He zooms up to Teddy and gathers him up, and the both come running over to where I now have the gate partially unlocked. Then I see that the two other ponies in that pasture had been left out, and they are now zooming over toward the gate. Even the old lesson mare is bucking and kicking. Pony and Teddy stop at the gate, very snorty. I get the gate unlocked, through it open, block the two in the pasture and sort of try to usher my guys all into the open gate.

Somehow, that works. Moonshine, to her credit, realizes that she's still connected to me (I was using the baling twine as a lead rope, attached to her halter) and doesn't just run away, but I pull out the baling twine and shoo her then she runs off. I slam the gate shut. They are all zooming around, bucking and kicking and having a great time.

(I guess I should have just put them out in the pasture to begin with, but I guess I was also thinking that they'd like to have some grazing time.)

I stayed out there for a bit because it was nice watching them. Pony played with one of the other ponies and I watched them. Teddy came up to me and stood there, occasionally putting his nose on me. That's pretty unusual for him, so I stayed there. I had my back to him. Pony wanted to come up too, but I get the feeling Teddy was sending out "stay away" vibes, because Pony kept looking at me, and sort of leaning forward, then Teddy and sort of leaning back. I turned around to look at Teddy but I couldn't see him making any faces.

I guess that's way more words than needs to be written on zooming, but ugh if I had gotten to Teddy one minute sooner, the whole thing wouldn't have happened. I hate it when they get zoomy in the inside area, especially when it's wet -- it tears up the grass and is not safe for them. Next time I'll just put them straight out into the pasture.

Also, note to self about "next time" -- next time it's super rainy and wet, take the darn truck, not the stupid Civic.


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## ACinATX

Mostly I'm posting today because I finally took some pictures. I was curious what Pony would think if I were lying down. I laid down near him and told him, "I'm dead now, what do you think?" He looked a little surprised and then came over and sniffed me cautiously. I'd like to think he was worried and would have tried to help somehow (except that his "help" probably wouldn't be that helpful) but honestly I think he was just wondering, now that I'm lying down, where are the cookies?

I took some pictures of Moonshine's face when I itched her. She was super itchy today. Honestly, it's almost indecent how much she enjoys being itched. I don't think you can quite tell from the pictures -- she sticks her head out as far as she can, and her lips get super twitchy and her nostrils flare and flare. 

Pony was great in his lesson today. We did a lot of crossrails and some of the ones that are just diagonal. I also did a bending line of cross-rails. I don't know why, but I've always had problems with bending lines. But today it was super easy. He's a very willing and hard-working Pony, and he got lots of alfalfa pellets afterwards.

The vet is supposed to come for him on Monday.

I rasped Moonshine's heels down (the trimmer REALLY did not do a good job last time), rasped Pony's fronts again (I appreciate her helpful advice about his fronts though), and rasped one of Teddy's feet that is growing weird. I've learned that if I kneel down on one knee and put their foot on my leg, it's a lot less tiring.


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## ACinATX

We went on another trail ride today but it didn't go so well. On the bright side, I wasn't QUITE as nervous driving them, and I didn't miss my exit (possibly because once we got within a mile of it I kept repeating out loud "don't take the first exit, don't take the first exit).

But Pony seemed more nervous than before. Moonshine was better than before, though. But... after about 10 minutes Pony started feeling "off" to me, and in another five minutes I was sure of it. So I got off him and we all turned around and walked back. 

My daughter was still riding Moonshine, and eventually they got far enough ahead of us and around a bend that Pony couldn't see her any more. You could see his head slowing creeping up and up and up, until finally he let out an enormous whinny ("Where are you????") which of course Moonshine did not deign to respond to ("I am the queen, I don't answer calls"). But I called my daughter back and then we all stayed together.

Something kind of ... funny? I mentioned on my last trail ride that at a certain point near the end it seemed like something was really bugging him, and all the sudden he did an enormous shake, like a wet horse. Well, he did the same thing in the same spot this time. I wonder if it's coincidence or if we're somehow going through some sort of tiny bugs or something over there.

No one spooked at the scary rock this time, BUT Moonshine did spook at a feed bag we had left propped up against the picnic table next to the little pens. It was pretty silly -- it's a bag for beet pulp, which the barn uses, and I take empties for my personal use, like holding manure in, and she's see these bags hundreds if not thousands of times, in every possible position and place. The good news is my daughter didn't fall off this time.

Oh, and when we got to the place, I realized I hadn't attached the emergency brake cord (I mean geez), and then I realized on top of that that the clip to attach it to the truck was gone. Baling twine to the rescue!


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## MeditativeRider

Well done with taking the right exit, and for your daughter sitting the spook.


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## gottatrot

It's strange, but having sat on many horses that did the dog shake, there are two types. The first type seems to somehow contract their muscles before they shake, and so you sort of hover there while they shake and it doesn't affect you much. The second type makes everything on their body move along with them, and so you get thrashed back and forth while holding for dear life onto the saddle until they're done. I much prefer the first type of shaker!

I hope you can figure out what is going on with Pony.


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## ACinATX

The vet came out today. He did a lot of tests. No signs of laminitis (phew) and no signs of navicular. It is definitely his feet though. I was shocked to learn that his soles are fairly thin. Vet said he was a little tender in the toe area of both fronts. He said I can use the hoof boots when I need to. He thinks it will clear up on its own, once the weather is a little more settled.

I'm thinking I will also look at his feet again and see if I need to bring his heels down more. I already brought them down a bit, because the trimmer left them too high IMO.

Also, the vet said Pony is not fat, he is just pony sized. LOL. He actually used the phrase pony sized. OK maybe he had a sort of smile on his face when he said it, but still...


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## MeditativeRider

Glad to hear pony has been cleared of big troubles for his feet.

That is so funny about pony sized. We had funny size comment about our dog recently where someone was like "oh they are so..." and then obviously paused because you could see them thinking well, she is not small or big, and then they said "...so medium sized".


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## Knave

When Queen shook yesterday and today I thought of you. She is in @gottatrot’s second category. When she is big I imagine she will shake the daylights out of me. She surprises me still, because she has never rolled. So, shaking the saddle and brushing and a good scratch are the only ways the mare itches, and so she itches something crazy. I’ve never seen a horse love a brushing as much as she.


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## ACinATX

After the millionth time of someone telling me the same thing in different ways, @gottatrot 's comment about making sure to address Pony's breakover, along with his tall heels, finally made me realize that yes I need to think about breakover. Different people explain breakover in different ways, and some farriers just put the breakover in but either don't recognize that it's breakover or don't really talk about it. I think that's been part of my confusion. But I pulled his toe back and rasped in a breakover. Then I rode him and looked at him again and you couldn't even tell I had done it, so I did the same thing again. I think you can tell now. I've been applying thrushbuster as well. He seems to be OK now. We'll see.

I jumped him over a vertical on Saturday that didn't have any standards. He wanted to duck out, but I kept him in, so I was happy with that. But today I cantered a whole course of cross-rails on him -- our first time! We did it twice, and then I was like, we can be done. I am not sure, because I don't have any video, but I think I'm getting a lot better with knowing when to get into two-point. I haven't fallen off yet. I mean, on jumps.

I might have another person to ride Moonshine. She just started taking lessons here, but she's an ex-horse owner who has kids now and can't afford more than one lesson per week. She was in my lesson today, on a lesson horse, and I thought she did a really good job. She did the crossrails but told me she'd really rather just do flat work. Which is perfect for Moonshine. I told her we can talk to the barn owner when she gets back, but I was thinking she could ride Moonshine in a couple of lessons, and if they did well then she could ride her once a week on her own.

I did her front toes today and I felt pretty good about it afterwards.

Oh, I walked Pony past something new -- an ambulance with lights flashing, and a couple of stretchers laid out next to it. He was a little leery but otherwise fine. It was unfortunate, though, as you can probably imagine. They had a fall fest at my barn and they were jumping out in the field and someone fell off. It was a bad fall, obviously, although I'm told she only had a mild concussion. We were out there watching, on Pony and Moonshine, but I didn't see what happened. It was like, she was doing fine, then I blinked, and she was on the ground. 

The four of us had done a "pair pace" trotting over the crossrails in the arena, then we walked the horses over to watch the event. Our barn was right on the way so my daughter had to fight with Moonshine ("We're at the barn! We're done!") to get her to keep going. I just gave Pony a little squeeze and he accepted moving past. We also walked them through a bunch of festivities during the event and they were fine. I'm always happy to be able to expose them to new things, especially Pony.


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## ACinATX

Not much actual horse stuff going on the past few days. We drove to Dallas for Thanksgiving. I have been getting in contact with other horse boarding places in the area, and it does seem like I'd have at least a couple of options, even with three horses, but I will need to go a little farther out of town.

I went for a walk today. Dallas and surrounding cities have a very clever way of dealing with large creeks and small rivers IMO. They seem to delineate a flood plain and then close that area for development (they get a lot of flooding). Then they run utilities through the corridor, and often they put parks there. I went for a walk on one of them today. This place doesn't officially allow horses, but if I lived here I'd ride my horses out there. Because, they don't forbid them either. There are nice wooded trails and also mile-long straightaways. Look at this picture! Those poles are the giant power lines, so imagine how far the line of sight is here -- and it keeps going past where you can see it, too. I can just imagine cantering down that whole way.

Actually I can't, because no one is in that kind of shape right now, but in my little fantasy I'd come out here all the time and canter Pony up and down and really get him into shape. I mean, you could canter for minutes at a time in a straight line out there, and it's all just grass...


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## ACinATX

Ooh, here's an example of what I can do when I have time off from work!

It's a totally life-like rendition of what this would look like if I were riding it and taking a picture over Pony's ears! Now, you can see how awesome it would be!


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## TrainedByMares

Go,Pony,go!! You know you are a horse person when...you see a property and you think about riding on it


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## gottatrot

TrainedByMares said:


> Go,Pony,go!! You know you are a horse person when...you see a property and you think about riding on it


Especially golf courses.


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## knightrider

gottatrot said:


> Especially golf courses.


Ha Ha When I lived in Bowie, MD, there was a golf course within an easy ride from my house. Whenever we'd have snow, us horse riders would head over there and ride on the golf course. It was the only time we could sneak on there! (It was a lot of fun, too!)


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## ACinATX

Not much riding has been going on lately. I was hoping to go for a trail ride the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but then we found out my nephew was having a BD party that day. So we drove down to Houston and back on that day. Then on Tuesday we drove to Dallas and didn't get back until late Saturday.

We went out there on Sunday just to hang out. I was supposed to have a lesson on Monday, but I didn't find out until I got there that Monday lessons have been cancelled due to lack of interest, so I rode Pony a bit bareback and pretended that this toddler-sized superhero cape from my nephew's party was a flag and waved it around a bunch while riding to see if it bothered him. It didn't really, although if I held it high and waved it fast on one side, he did want to trot. I also took a picture of him wearing it (yay baling twine).

Wednesday was a "meh" lesson. The best part was really after the lesson I took him into the other arena and cantered a lot. I started feeling how me leaning back gets him into a more collected canter (but, unfortunately, I have to them keep at him with my legs or he drops to a trot).

This lady who was going to ride Moonshine was supposed to do it in the Wednesday morning lesson, but she had to reschedule for today. So I went out there to show her Moonshine's stuff, but then her car wouldn't start so she didn't come again. I was OK with that -- my one real goal was to clip the underside of Pony's neck. It's still in the upper 70s and close to 80 every day right now, and muggy. I don't want him to get too hot. 

That went super well. I tied him first, but it was kind of a dark day and the light wasn't good where I had tied him, plus the better he gets at standing still the more I find I dislike ropes (they are starting to feel unsafe to me). So I took him out to the turnaround on the driveway and clipped him there. I just had him stand still. I gave him some pellets to every few clips to encourage him. I think I did a much better first pass this time than last time.

When I trimmed them, I always did the undersides of their feet while they were eating, and left them loose. The last few times I've done them from the top, I've also left them loose. I mean, I have the halter on, so I walk them to where I want them to be, then put their foot on the stand. Really, unless they pull back suddenly or something, it's not like they are going anywhere, seeing as how their foot is caught; and I'm really starting to feel like if they pull back suddenly while my head is down there, I'd prefer there aren't any ropes to get caught on me when it happens. I've found that as long as I keep it short, even Teddy will stand there. Just lately, every time I am around a horse that is tied, I find myself thinking a lot about that rope and what would happen if I get caught up in it if there is an incident.

Does anyone else feel like that? I mean, I get that obviously with a lot of horses in a lot of situations you HAVE to tie them, but with my laid-back guys, on our home turf, I am really getting away from doing it.



ETA: here's a link to how his neck looked on my first pass last time I did it! Yikes!








Me + Three


I rode Pony today, but not in a lesson. I guess we've started the "attempted weight loss" regime. I rode him in the same arena where the barn manager was riding a difficult horse. I've seen this horse ridden before several times, and I know she's really anxious, hot, and sensitive. So after...




www.horseforum.com


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## Knave

No, I guess I don’t worry about that. I am aware of the rope, and try to not have it quite long enough they can step over it, and it’s extremely rare I walk under a tied horse’s neck (that’s always a bad decision). Other than that, I don’t consciously think about it.

You know the length of the rope, you watch the horse. The horse cannot make that rope longer than it is, and you don’t get yourself in a bad predicament. You can always step aside when something goes wrong, and worst case you know you may have to cut the rope if the horse ends up in a wreck. I have not had to cut a rope in my memory.

I do follow the idea of knowing the rope in my hand, and make certain it never is wrapped around me in any way. I have scolded my girls for draping it over their shoulders or around their waste (kids and their ideas), or carrying it with coils.


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## ACinATX

I think Pony has the standing still to be mounted, even at random places and times, thing totally down. I went out there on Saturday and I was out in the pasture with him. I lined him up with the fence and got on him. He didn't even have a halter on, so I wasn't sure how he'd do. And it's the first time I ever got on him, on purpose, without a helmet. I think I mentioned before, this requires trust on both our parts. He has to trust that I will get on nicely, and I have to trust that he will hold still. I can't ever get him right next to the fence -- it's a good, IDK, maybe foot that he's out. So I really have to stretch out to get on him. I think the signal we've worked out for this is that I put my hand on his withers (such as it is) and put some of my weight onto it. He doesn't move away. I keep the pressure on, then stretch out my leg over him. He doesn't move away. I transfer my weight from the fence to him as I sort of scooch onto his back. And, thank God, he doesn't move away. Then he gets a tiny handful of treats or something. I got on him from both sides this way. The only thing I could ask for now is if he'd just line himself up to the fence, not make me line him up. I think we can get there.

OK, I cued him to move off after the first time I got on him (yes, with no tack at all, out in the pasture, with no helmet -- not the smartest thing) and he took a few steps, then turned around and just stopped. IDK, maybe he could sense that I probably didn't really want him to take off in the pasture with no tack, or maybe he knew that that's what I SHOULD want, or most likely he's like "don't wanna go anywhere."

We were out in the pasture because I wanted to have a discussion around treats and personal space. You know how it is with horses, or maybe it's just me, but things sort of creep in when you're not paying attention. It seems that Pony has become a little demanding with regards to treats. Not demanding, but here's what he's thinking: "You has treats in you's pocket. The treats is for a very good Pony. I is a very good Pony. You is going to give me the treats anyway. So I will save you's the hassle and nibble you's pocket and get the treats." He doesn't actually even get to nibbling them, but he does put his mouth very close to my pocket, I guess to let me know that he needs treats now, and I don't think that's appropriate. Like I said, I think this has been creeping up on me, because I don't remember noticing it a few months ago.

Anyways. I chose the pasture for the discussion because there's no grass out there and the hay isn't really good, so of course he wants to follow me around for whatever is in my pocket. I'm not sure we actually got anywhere, besides me realizing that just flicking him on the nose is quite enough to get him out of my space. I guess, TBH, I wouldn't like being flicked on the nose either.

I guess he sort of got the point that if he stood nicely he would get a few pellets, whereas if he got in my space he'd get yelled at and/or flicked, because as we proceeded he did stand nicely more and more and get in my space less. But... it wasn't a lot less, and we were out there for, IDK, half an hour or an hour? I guess it's going to be an ongoing discussion.

If I have to stop hand-feeding him treats for rewards I will. I've done it before. But I'd rather not. It makes us both happy, at least most of the time.


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## Knave

I am glad he stood nice for you! When I was a small girl, no horse on the place was safe from me conning him over to a fence or a trough to sneak on. I rode everything just like that, free in the corral. From the hottest two-year-olds to the best show horses.

The funny thing is, none of the babies ever bucked me off or had any sort of problem with my riding. The only horse I remember really taking me was a show horse just back from the world. He was exhausted and probably a little overwhelmed and ready to just be home. I slipped onto him and he bucked my little butt off. Lol

No one had any empathy for me of course, because I wasn’t necessarily supposed to be riding everything I figured I needed to.


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## TrainedByMares

Lol, I love the way Super Pony talks!


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## ACinATX

TrainedByMares said:


> Lol, I love the way Super Pony talks!


Yes, he has a funny way of talking. That's just him, of course, not me at all LOL.


Today I rode him with just a neck rope! I clipped my clip-on reins to make a circle and then made knots until it was a good-sized loop for him. OK, so mostly we only walked, but he was perfect! If you've read a lot of my journal entries or posts, you know that I'm a fairly cautious person. I like to take things slowly. But I think the fact that I didn't even put the halter on him FORCED me to really work with my legs, seat, and to a certain extent the neck rope. Because he has never been this good with even neck reining before. Wow. We did big circles, tiny circles, loops, figure eights around obstacles, a circle over ground poles making sure to get right in the middle of the pole, straight lines, walking between very narrow gaps, anything I could think of. And his feet went exactly where I wanted every time. Well, OK, 98% of the time. Also, it seems that he bends MUCH better this way than when I ride him in traditional tack. So that's kind of interesting.

We even did a little work at the trot. We didn't attain the same degree of perfection as at the walk, but he mostly went more or less where I wanted. I did get one nice circle over the middle of the ground poles, and after that we stopped. I need to figure out why it was such much better at a walk. It's possible that at the trot I am gripping with my legs a little, which makes it harder to use my legs independently. It also may be that he is not 100% solid on the cues, especially the neck reining cues, translated to pressure on the neck rope.

I was thinking about it today, and I'm not sure whether I do certain things with him because I want to or because he wants to, or because it plays to his strengths. I feel like riding him completely without tack (my ultimate goal) is kind of a, I mean, I don't want to say this in an insulting way because lots of adults do it, but it sort of resonates in the childish part of my brain, the part that still thinks that everything she read in kids books about horses is true, and me and Pony will be BFFs, and he will always do whatever I ask because he loves me, etc. I mean, logically, I understand that this is just a different degree of signals -- rather than steering with my hands I am steering more with my body, and rather than influencing his nose I'm influencing his neck and his body. I mean, ultimately, you can ride with a severe bit, spurs, a whip, and all, but you're still not FORCING the horse to do anything, you're just asking with increasing severity.

But emotionally, I'm like, "We are friends, he loves me and does what I ask because I'm asking and he loves me" LOL. The same with trick training -- surely that's the kind of thing a nine-year-old girl would do with her pony. But Pony and I both enjoy it, so we do it. Pony is smart, and likes people, and likes treats, and is pretty calm. So riding him tackless is reasonable, doing tricks leans on his strengths, and trail riding is also something he should be good at. And the pulling stuff, once I get back to work on that, is another thing I think he'll be good at. If I had ended up with a fiery Arabian, maybe I'd have decided that I wanted to do a lot of horse shows, or endurance riding, I don't know.

******

In our lesson on Wednesday, the barn owner had a giant (beach ball sized) glittery ornament dangling in the wind from the arena rail. I had him examine it from both sides and he had no problems. Also one of the other horses got a collar of bells put on her. Eventually her rider took it off, because you could tell it was annoying her, but the barn owner tried to put it on the other horse in the lesson and the horse just scooted back as fast as she could, over and over again, and wouldn't let her anywhere near. I put it on Pony no problems. He's getting better and better about strange objects, and like I told my husband (and have probably said before) generally, as long as you explain it to him he's fine with whatever it is.

Note for posterity: Teddy's white line isn't getting any better. It got better for a while and then stopped. I think I probably need to give the new trimming scheme some more time. But it's getting old soaking his foot every single time I'm out there. Oh well. Horse ownership!


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## Knave

I think there is something to a lot of what you are saying. Bones is a very good bridleless horse. I don’t know why I played at it so much with him, I guess showing off if I’m honest and seeing where he was at. My motives were not as pure as yours sadly.

However, when my oldest was learning to slide stop, she kept pulling on his head. It was driving me crazy. So, I finally took the bridle off of him and made her practice some. I could see where she was going wrong with her cues, and she could see how little pulling on him was benefiting her. It wasn’t a magic cure all, because she was still working on improving herself in his stops before she was injured.

I do think you learn a lot about your own cues and where your horse is by taking away the reins. Of course, you have to have him pretty good to begin with and be trusting to do so! So, even trying says your relationship with Pony is good.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> Teddy's white line isn't getting any better. It got better for a while and then stopped. I think I probably need to give the new trimming scheme some more time. But it's getting old soaking his foot every single time I'm out there.


I don't promise success, but I've been fighting Isabeau's white line for 10 years. I paid for special shoes for 2 years and done many things, including White Lightning soaks and other commercial things. (Many tedious soaks). My horse chiropractor suggested mixing copper sulfate (get it at Home Depot or Lowes in the plumbing section), blue crystals, with vinegar and spray it in the open section every other day. Since I do my own farrier work, I open up that area a little bit so the copper sulfate solution can get in there. It's been about 2 years, but I think I am SO CLOSE to being done with white line after 10 years. Chorro got a touch of it, and I immediately opened it up a bit and began spraying him too. I think with the next trim around Dec. 20, he won't have any at all. I cut away a bit of hoof every 2 weeks so the solution can get in there. It's worth a try. Nothing else worked for me and I _think _this has. Hope so, anyway.

A riding friend said that she pours some of the copper sulfate crystals into the "hole" and then tamps in a tiny piece of cotton soaked with vinegar. I was doing that some until the hole got too small to hold a piece of cotton. Don't take the cotton out. It should last until you want to take it out or until your next trim.


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> I don’t know why I played at it so much with him, I guess showing off if I’m honest and seeing where he was at. My motives were not as pure as yours sadly.


Well, I guess I also have the motivation of pride, to be honest. I mean, with everything I've taught him, and with me halter breaking the donkeys, who are similar in personality, it was mostly them being smart. My part was to explain that they would get rewards, and then explain what I wanted. They picked up everything pretty quickly. I mean, anyone could have taught them the things I taught them. BUT. I've also only been involved in horses for maybe three years now, I was a "green on green" ignorant new horse owner, and it makes me happy to see how far I've come. So there is still that element of pride as well. So not entirely pure motives here either.


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## ACinATX

I jumped Pony over a vertical today. I started it out as a diagonal, then made it a vertical, then made it a higher vertical. I really got a sense for how important his take-off spot is: with the right spot, I barely felt the jump, but with a bad spot, it felt huge. I noticed I didn't feel as in control of his body over the vertical, as opposed to the cross-rails. Something to think about. 

I was in a lesson with a couple of other horses, and to be fair they were being asked to jump higher than he was, but there were a lot of refusals, dirty stops, and last minute ducking out. I'm so happy my Pony doesn't do any of that. I would just fall off. I think he likes jumping, so we will keep doing it, but I don't think I will ever jump another horse. I'm just too aware of all the stuff that can go wrong.

I overseeded a big bag of rye grass out in the front area. I tossed the seed out and then had a go at working it down through the existing grass by dragging two manure rakes, upside down, over it. I don't think that was super efficient, but I am sure it helped a little. The interesting thing was, Pony was quite worried about this, even though he's seen the manure rakes before and never been worried about them. They were moving in a funny, sort of bouncing way, and making weird sounds. So I called him over and had him approach them. He was definitely hesitant, but once I got out the alfalfa pellets he was sort of OK. There was a LOT of snorting! It was almost funny, how worried he was about them. So we took it in steps, and after 5-10 minutes I had him standing still by himself (not tied) while I dragged them around him. He was still slightly tense about it, but OK. So that was good.

I rode him in a lesson on Sunday. I had told the barn owner she could use him in a lesson on Saturday if she wanted, as our regular instructor was out that day; I was doing the make up on Sunday. So she apparently ended up putting that girl who used to ride him, but who got her own horse, on him for the lesson. I thought that was really interesting. The barn owner was like, "It was cold and windy and her horse is just too much horse in those situations." Interesting that she trusts Pony to be safe for this girl. She also told me that the girl's brother came. He is apparently very disabled and in one of those electric wheelchairs that has the head support, and apparently Pony spooked pretty hard at it. I asked the barn owner if he eventually calmed down about it, and she said that he did, but he never was really settled. I don't know if it was the windy cold day or what. I hope, for my own selfish purposes, that the brother comes back. I think Pony would be OK with the situation if he were allowed to approach at his own speed.

This whole entry was about Pony, but here is a bonus picture of "Santa Moonshine" LOL (my daughter dressed her up and took the picture). Doesn't she look thrilled to be dressed up? Again LOL. I think I should put this stuff on Pony -- I think HE would enjoy looking cute.


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## MeditativeRider

At the therapy place I volunteer, wheelchairs are something that they have to expose the horses to a lot before they get used to them. I think they find them especially scary if the wheelchair is outside the arena and the horse is inside the area. Then because the wheelchair is low and they can't see it properly, but it is high enough that they can just see it and the person in it. They seem to get really freaked out because it is not at a human height they are used to or moving in a way they are used to.

I don't think they ever get the horse to approach the wheelchair because they probably don't want to encourage them to be that comfortable with it. Mainly they just have the wheelchair sitting around in various places (empty) and push people round in it (not an electric one) where it is visible to the horses.


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## ACinATX

MeditativeRider said:


> I don't think they ever get the horse to approach the wheelchair because they probably don't want to encourage them to be that comfortable with it.


That is a really good point. Pony is, for better or worse, one of those pocket ponies, and I can see him being overly-friendly and maybe the wheelchair person not being able to get away from him.


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## ACinATX

I rode Pony totally naked for a few minutes yesterday (him, not me, obviously). He did OK-ish, but we're going to stick with the neck rope for now. 

It was super stormy today and where there are usually a dozen or more riders in various lessons today there was me and one other person. A third person showed up and then left. By lesson time, it had mostly cleared out.

My daughter came but wasn't feeling well and was making excuses (her: "Moonshine is wet and it's not fair to ride her" / me: "I asked this question on horse forum three days ago and everyone said it's fine" // her: "She might get rubs from the tack" / me: "then ride her bareback" // her: "But the arena is wet, too" / me: "it's not THAT wet, just a couple of puddles here and there [this was the covered arena] etc).

So what I wanted to do since I'd be the only one in the lesson is ride bareback and have the instructor critique me and tell me what she thought. First I wanted to show off riding Pony with just the neck rope. She was surprised and impressed. Then I put the halter and reins on and proceeded to trot. Well, my trot was fine. No bouncing, no gripping, turning was fine. I could feel it, and she agreed. So I was pretty puzzled about that. We tried several different exercises and he did speed up a bit one time and I got bouncy, but other than that we were fine. So then we started talking about jumping with no reins, and I told her that while it used to sound scary to me, I now think it's something that I will be able to do.

After discussing a couple of other things, we decided that I'd put on Pony's saddle and ride him with the neck rope to see how it went. It went SUPER! We're still having a couple of problems, but I trotted him over some crossrails and a couple of ground poles, including a tight turn in one, and he did great. We ended up doing a slalom exercise, where she lined up cones in the middle of the arena and I had to slalom him around them. First at the walk, but we did it at the trot too! Again, no reins. I am definitely more secure in the saddle, AND I can post the trot (I can post bareback, but it's a lot of work) rather than having to sit it, which feels a lot more natural to me. I will say I felt the lack of physical connection when in the saddle, and I had to work harder to use my legs, but that was balanced out, maybe more than balanced out, by the increased security and the fact that I could post. She ended the lesson even more surprised and impressed than she had been. That was nice!

Stepping back a bit, I took the truck today. I figured it would be wet out at the barn, and it gets pretty muddy -- I figured I'd rather have the 4x4 option. Plus I had thought to take it next time it rained, to see how I felt about it.

It wasn't raining that hard when we left, but after a couple of minutes it started storming. I mean, really storming. It was around sunrise but quite dark, with lightning strikes all around. It reminded me a lot of the time I brought the truck home. But that time, I was totally freaked out driving this huge thing through the storm, and THIS time, I was like, this is great! The truck sits up high so that mist / road water that other cars kick up don't bother me. It's heavy, so it doesn't feel drift-y. The windshield defogger is 10x better than the one in my Civic, which no matter what setting I use still gets somewhat fogged in a cold rain. The truck is GREAT in a storm! AND! When we got to the barn, the gate was closed. I asked my daughter to get out and open it. It was really rainy and windy. There were some huge gusts and the gate blew back toward the street, almost pushing her with it. I don't think the gate is supposed to go in that direction. She tried to push it back, but she couldn't, so she came back into the car saying "Maybe we should just go home." Go home! Our horses were out in that storm! So, I thought for a minute, then I slowly drove forward until I made contact with the gate, and then slowly pushed it open the right way with the truck. The Civic wouldn't do that!

So I am pretty happy with the truck. I feel like the guys in those "Like a Rock" commercials, remember those, where the cowboy guy was out I don't know rescuing calves or something in the rain, splashing through giant rocky wet fields in his truck? OK so that wasn't quite us, but it could have been. 

The horses were wisely in the shelter (although they were also quite wet) but they came running as soon as they saw us. It was still somewhat rainy and very windy and lots of lightning, so I had wanted to bring them in one at a time with halters, but I decided just to let them all in at once to keep them from getting even more wet. Moonshine and Teddy were fine, but Pony got distracted I closed the gate and got him the way we get them now -- by putting the crook of our arm under their jowl and walking forward with them (I didn't even have any baling twine on me) and walked him in, and he was quite looky but stayed with me and didn't give me any problems. So I was glad that worked.

All in all, lots of good things today. Oh, and one other good thing, the trainer said if I wanted to take her and her pony along for a trail ride, she'd love to go. So that might be something if I can't bring Moonshine. The bad thing is, my daughter keeps having all of these reasons to not ride. I get that we were gone on Thanksgiving, then I had a funeral, and the trainer had a wedding, and my daughter had finals, but she was out there today with me and she still wouldn't ride (see excuses above). I think she may be mentally done with lessons. She still seems interested in going on trail rides. I am not sure what do, except go on more trail rides.


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## Knave

I’m excited for you that you had a good ride. I do think we ride better if not depending on reins.

As far as your daughter goes, maybe she just needs a week or two off. Like Christmas break, and how the kids always seem ready for the breather. I know myself, sometimes I come back better if I give myself a minute and stop looking at it like a job, then it seems I can remember the fun of it.

I am feeling a bit the same way in the cold with Queen. I have that feeling of “have to” instead of “want to.” Maybe a little break will have her back to herself.


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> "Maybe we should just go home." Go home! Our horses were out in that storm! So, I thought for a minute, then I slowly drove forward until I made contact with the gate, and then slowly pushed it open the right way with the truck.


Sounds like Super Pony has a Super Owner! 

If your daughter wants to go on trail rides instead of lessons, I say go on the trail. Enjoy as much time with her and horses as you can.

Riding bareback with no reins would be something! Not sure I could do that with my horse!


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## gottatrot

I'm sure your bareback riding will improve your saddle riding. When you get back in a saddle after bareback, you feel super secure.

Gotta love a truck! I only feel "right" in a truck. Cars are not my thing. 
As a teen I had a chevy S10 with no radio, no a/c, a vent stuck open and manual brakes/steering. I loved that little truck. Had to put firewood in the back to make it up hills if it got icy.


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## Animalia

ACinATX said:


> Not much riding has been going on lately. I was hoping to go for a trail ride the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but then we found out my nephew was having a BD party that day. So we drove down to Houston and back on that day. Then on Tuesday we drove to Dallas and didn't get back until late Saturday.
> 
> We went out there on Sunday just to hang out. I was supposed to have a lesson on Monday, but I didn't find out until I got there that Monday lessons have been cancelled due to lack of interest, so I rode Pony a bit bareback and pretended that this toddler-sized superhero cape from my nephew's party was a flag and waved it around a bunch while riding to see if it bothered him. It didn't really, although if I held it high and waved it fast on one side, he did want to trot. I also took a picture of him wearing it (yay baling twine).
> 
> Wednesday was a "meh" lesson. The best part was really after the lesson I took him into the other arena and cantered a lot. I started feeling how me leaning back gets him into a more collected canter (but, unfortunately, I have to them keep at him with my legs or he drops to a trot).
> 
> This lady who was going to ride Moonshine was supposed to do it in the Wednesday morning lesson, but she had to reschedule for today. So I went out there to show her Moonshine's stuff, but then her car wouldn't start so she didn't come again. I was OK with that -- my one real goal was to clip the underside of Pony's neck. It's still in the upper 70s and close to 80 every day right now, and muggy. I don't want him to get too hot.
> 
> That went super well. I tied him first, but it was kind of a dark day and the light wasn't good where I had tied him, plus the better he gets at standing still the more I find I dislike ropes (they are starting to feel unsafe to me). So I took him out to the turnaround on the driveway and clipped him there. I just had him stand still. I gave him some pellets to every few clips to encourage him. I think I did a much better first pass this time than last time.
> 
> When I trimmed them, I always did the undersides of their feet while they were eating, and left them loose. The last few times I've done them from the top, I've also left them loose. I mean, I have the halter on, so I walk them to where I want them to be, then put their foot on the stand. Really, unless they pull back suddenly or something, it's not like they are going anywhere, seeing as how their foot is caught; and I'm really starting to feel like if they pull back suddenly while my head is down there, I'd prefer there aren't any ropes to get caught on me when it happens. I've found that as long as I keep it short, even Teddy will stand there. Just lately, every time I am around a horse that is tied, I find myself thinking a lot about that rope and what would happen if I get caught up in it if there is an incident.
> 
> Does anyone else feel like that? I mean, I get that obviously with a lot of horses in a lot of situations you HAVE to tie them, but with my laid-back guys, on our home turf, I am really getting away from doing it.
> 
> 
> 
> ETA: here's a link to how his neck looked on my first pass last time I did it! Yikes!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Me + Three
> 
> 
> I rode Pony today, but not in a lesson. I guess we've started the "attempted weight loss" regime. I rode him in the same arena where the barn manager was riding a difficult horse. I've seen this horse ridden before several times, and I know she's really anxious, hot, and sensitive. So after...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.horseforum.com


I have also been thinking a lot about ropes lately! Strider is sometimes a "dancer" for grooming and tacking. I had thought cross ties would be wonderful at the new barn, but i find myself getting worried about getting tangled up in them if i moves around too much, or HIM getting himself tangled up in them. And when I feed him his grain, I have to tie him cause he takes forever and then the lead rope is always falling into the grain and he's chewing on it. And when I'm using the lunge line, I'm forever tripping on it and trying to make sure he doesn't trip on it while we are switching directions. I want to work on getting him to switch direction with coming back to me. He will do it just fine in a round pen, but not sure on a lunge line. So yea, I love being able to leave a horse loose whenever possible.


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## ACinATX

Today is a red letter day! I loaded Teddy by myself!

Previous loadings have always been with someone else's help, and/or Teddy sedated (after the dentist last time), and they have always involved rearing, usually multiple times.

The barn owner can load him, with just three or four rears. She helped me a couple of times, and the last time she really tried to explain what she was doing. She was using pressure and release. I watched her and understood what she was doing, but I couldn't replicate it. I don't have a fast enough release. 

So I thought, what do I have? I can't do pressure and release. Of course I can't FORCE him on. They tried that at the dentist's office and that was a terrible moment. And when he really feels pressured, he rears. And while I don't believe in bribing a horse on to a trailer, I do believe in rewarding desired steps, BUT once he gets two feet onto the trailer he basically is so anxious that he no longer wants cookies. So that doesn't help.

So what I decided I did have was (1) patience and time and (2) control of his nose. So, he was fine getting his two feet onto the ramp, but then he would stall out. I said, OK, I will accept that. But we're going to wait here until you do what I want. AND, you don't get to turn your head to the side. You have to be looking at me / the inside of the trailer the whole time. I'm not sure why I decided that, but I did.

So, we stood there, to make it short, half an hour. He did a lot of pawing. A LOT. He backed up a couple of times, but I brought him back. I did NOT let him look to either side -- I pulled his nose back toward me and told him NO. I rewarded him for his tiny tries, and I told him good boy when he made the effort to smell around inside the trailer. And finally, I could feel it. He decided, I don't know, he was bored enough or whatever that he would go on. He just came on like that. A little hesitantly, but he got all four feet in. I offered him a cookie, but he didn't want it. So we just walked out the side ramp, I gave him his cookie there, praised him, and we were done. There was one tiny min-rear, no white eyes, and no sense of stress from him, apart from the pawing.

I took a couple of pictures while we were there because I didn't really have anything else to do. The one where he was looking away, that was not allowed, and I corrected him as soon as I was done taking the picture. The one where he's looking at me shows a horse that, to my eyes, is not stressed out at all.

It's great that I have all this time off right now, because I can come back and do this next time. Maybe we can shave it down to 29 minutes next time!


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## ACinATX

I loaded Teddy again today. I was hoping for 29 minutes or less, but of course you never know, horses regress, too.

First of all, there was this lady there who I had talked to before about her horse being a bad loader. Last time they loaded her, it took five people an hour to get her loaded (she told me). I looked at this lady's trailer and thought, "I wouldn't want to load in that either," but I didn't say anything. She was out there today and I told her if she wanted to practice in my trailer she could. I thought her horse might load better in there. So... I went somewhere else and kept an eye on her. It took her five minutes by herself and her horse loaded. She backed her out and the loaded again -- less than two minutes. 

So then it was Teddy's turn. We had an early mis-step -- I put too much pressure on him right at the beginning and he planted his feet, but then I relaxed and asked in a no-pressure way. Or I guess low pressure. So we arranged ourselves like before (see picture), with him with two feet on the ramp and smelling the trailer and pawing the ramp. And me not letting him turn his head away. And after just five minutes, I felt it him get ready, and then he walked on. We walked right off and he got a cookie. I loaded him again right away. One small hesitation and then he walked right on. I was going to give him a break, but he wanted more cookies LOL so I loaded him again, with no hesitation. Then I took off his lead rope and asked him to follow me onto the trailer at liberty, and he did. I didn't think we could really top that, but he wanted more cookies, so this time I led him in and then asked him to stop inside the trailer. I then offered him a cookie, which he ate. I mentioned it yesterday, but he won't eat in the trailer, he's too worried about what's going to happen. But he took one! We loaded one more time after that, but then I was done.

I don't want to go so far as to say that his loading problems are over, but I understand now better what he needs (patience; no pressure) and he understands that the trailer isn't actually that bad. I think I need to write a testimonial to my trailer manufacturer. This other lady was looking the trailer all up and down and asking me where I got it, how much I paid, etc. Now she's thinking of getting one. I wonder if I will get a commission?


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## ACinATX

I went to see them briefly on Friday. It was decided, sort of last minute, that since my parents were already in Houston with my brother and his family (my dad had two weeks of rehab to do), everyone would go to Galveston for Christmas. The thing is, last Christmas Eve (which is my B-Day) we didn't have to go anywhere due to Covid, so I got to spend all day with the horses. I would have liked to do that this time, too, but I realize that I need to take advantage of what time I have left with my parents. So as a compromise I went out there early and hung out with them for a couple of hours, and then my husband and daughter came over, moved stuff to my car, and we left from there, leaving his car at the barn. The barn is more or less on the way to Galveston.

Anyways, I didn't want to let them in because I didn't have a lot of hay for them and I didn't have a lot of time, either, so I brought a stool and went and sat out in their pasture with them. They were pretty confused by that LOL. But they all came over to hang out with me. Pony came first, but then Teddy came and gently wedged himself between Pony and me, so Teddy got to hang out. I am OK with them moving each other around when I'm there as long as it's very gentle and everything stays at a walk.

Teddy stood over me for a while like he was guarding me, which was sweet. Eventually Moonshine wandered off to where the hay was and after a while he followed her. Then Pony was like, "Ah HAH! Now it's me and hooman lady time!" Rather than standing in front of me like he was guarding me, like Teddy did, he stood behind me and put his head on my head. Which was pretty cute until he started nibbling a little. I think just with his lips, but still. So I head-butted him. He didn't like that, but you know what, neither did I LOL. Of course he came back. I tried to take some pictures, but once the camera comes out he stopped putting his head on my head and wanted to check out the camera. Here's a bunch of selfies I took. I forgot I had my mask on for the first ones (it's pollen season again and the mask helps a bit), but they are still cute. Here they are.

Eventually Teddy came back and re-claimed his place, then he wandered off again. Pony stuck around the whole time, even though I didn't have any treats for him. Now THAT is loyalty!


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## ACinATX

Went out again today and picked up the trailer (I need to practice driving it more). I worked on loading Teddy again. There was maybe the tiniest hesitation ever the first time, but otherwise he walked right on with me. I kept him on a loose lead rope. Then I decided to try what I thought would be the next hard thing, which is actually STAYING in the trailer. I was right -- he didn't like that too much. He, I wouldn't say he tried to walk out past me, but he definitely indicated with his head that he was ready to go. That was after like five seconds LOL. So I pushed him back a bit, had him wait, and gave him a cookie. We did this a few times, then unloaded, then did it again. Also I changed the configuration of the trailer from having the divider swung over to having it fixed in the center. To my surprise, that didn't bother him at all.

So I feel good because he's loading OK and now I know what we need to work on. Maybe next time I'll load Moonshine first and let her eat on her side, and then load him and see if he's more willing to stay.

I loaded Pony a couple of times, too. I think his opinion about the trailer sort of swings back and forth, but today he was happy with it. He finally realized that the hay bag has feed in it too, and that all of the hay that's left is the soft leaf bits that fell out from last time (we have solid hay bags, not netted). The last time I loaded Teddy, Pony was already up the side ramp trying to eat the food, and I had to shoo him out. Then after I put Teddy back in his stall, Pony went up the back and just sat in the trailer eating.

We went and got some hay afterwards -- the barn owner was supposed to get some alfalfa in but didn't, and both she and we are completely out. I "only" got eight bales, as I don't have any place to store more than that at the barn, and even that may be hard to find room for. But look how little space it took up in the trailer! I figure I could get 24 bales in there easy without even getting up to the level of the padding. That's really good to know. I put two bales against the bulkhead, and I think with the extra space I ordered in the trailer, I can keep them in there permanently (the horses will still fit, no problem). I might do that. Good to have some food in there just in case.


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## ACinATX

We had a disappointing trail ride today. Pony didn't pull up lame, but he was anxious the whole time. I ended up getting off near the end because he was so tense.

We have never seen any other riders out at this park the other times we've gone out (and I include the times I've gone out just for hiking), so I was shocked when there were maybe eight horse trailers in the parking lot today. I was able to get parked, which was good. We had our two in their pens for a few minutes when some riders came back. I asked if they were all together and she said no. So I guess everyone somehow had the same idea today.

I think it's the other horses that got Pony worked up, although I don't really know why. He called to them several times, although they didn't answer that I could hear. But it seemed like the whole ride, he was trying to detect the other horses that were out there. He was super looky, then sniffing the ground, then listening, then looking. There were a lot of hikers out foo, and dogs as well. So who knows if it was just the horses. By the time we got back from a maybe thirty minute ride entirely at the walk, he was soaked with sweat. I hosed him off and sweat scrubbed him, but he wasn't really hot, so I think it must have been mostly, what, anxiety? excitement? I am not sure. But I didn't like it and he didn't either.

Then he wouldn't drink from the water we brought. We brought barn water in their normal big bucket, but he wouldn't drink any of it. He didn't drink anything when we got back either. So I am also hot happy about that. Usually he's good about drinking.

I guess the one slightly bright note is that I felt somewhat more confident on the drive back, hauling them. But then, LOL, I started worrying that I was becoming TOO confident. Having that edge or worry seems like it makes my senses sharper and reflexes better.

I don't know. We're both tired. My daughter pointed out that we spent most of the day on a trail ride that lasted half an hour. She said she had a good time, though. Me, I still feel like I'm just surviving. Hopefully if we keep doing this enough, it will get to be something that Pony and I actually enjoy.


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## ACinATX

We had a better day today. To get my daughter more interested in the lesson, I brought stuff for some working equitation obstacles and let her set up a course. We got the jousting ring thing set up, which of course was the coolest part. But actually all of it was a lot of fun. The idea was, somewhat, to force her to ride Moonshine from her legs rather than her hands, as we had them both in halter and clip-on reins. If she had to use her hands, she was supposed to neck rein. So we had the jousting ring thing, a switch cup thing where we had the horses go out and do a turn on the forehand and come back in, and a slalom thing with cones. She had set up a thing where you'd take the pole out of one barrel and put it in another, but we sort of forgot about the putting it in the other part. We did combine picking up the pole and the ring. It was very challenging but doable. We started at the walk and moved up to the trot. I don't think I would have enough control to be able to canter that.

I do think I personally got a decent amount out of it. I definitely had to ride from my legs, and that was super good for me. Also I cantered while neck reining for the first time ever. It was actually pretty easy. I think the reason I had been concerned before was that when I was neck reining I was also always bareback, and today we rode in saddles, so I didn't have the issue of being bareback in front of me. Actually I wish I had done it a bit more. But the instructor, who was willing to work with us, had me canter and then stop as short as possible to get the cup to transfer, and then stop, and then canter out from a standstill, and Pony did it. Which was cool. He did everything I asked. I think he was having a really good time. He seemed super interested and engaged. It wasn't very hard work, really, which was good because it was warm and muggy today and no one felt like working hard.

Moonshine, I think overall liked it. She wasn't having any of that riding from the legs business, or at least not much. But I don't know if it was having a clear goal, or doing something different, or not having the bit, but she seemed a lot more relaxed overall. 

The instructor seemed like she thought it was really cool, so I offered her to get on Pony and ride the "course" that we had made: slalom cones, ground pole + crossrail, canter to cup, stop, pick up cup, turn on forehand, replace cup, trot out, pick up pole, pick up ring with pole. She seemed to really like it.

The only sort of bad thing is that really I feel like I should be taking advantage of these smaller lessons to work on jumping; but my daughter and Moonshine aren't going to jump, and my daughter is getting bored with riding otherwise I think, and I'm trying to find something we can both do. IDK, it may be time to start thinking that we need separate lessons. That would stink though.



It was time to de-worm them afterwards. I got the deworming paste last week and was sort of putting off doing it because Teddy is not good a being dewormed. I spent some time trying to think how I could use a similar patience-based approach like I used to get him into the trailer, but I couldn't really think of anything. So my daughter did Moonshine and I did Pony, and they were both slightly better than last time. Both of them get a little better each time.

For Teddy, he was out grazing so I went out and put the halter and lead rope on and gave him a cookie and then showed him the dewormer. I guess he could smell it, because he was like "Oh no, not that!" Long story short, I ended up getting my treats fanny pack, which has cookies and alfalfa pellets, and taking him over to one of the arenas. I sat on the mounting block and just waited. If he put his nose or mouth on the dewormer, he got a treat or praise. I didn't force anything, but he didn't get to walk off either. He tried a couple of times, and I just made him circle and come back. He got closer and closer, even putting in his lips. So I decided, that's it, he's going to do it. I took the lead rope off (but didn't tell him I did LOL or I'm sure he would have left) just in case he reared (he rears for deworming just like for trailering, although not as bad). And next time, I just unloaded the tube into his mouth.

Of course he didn't like it. But the kind of funny thing is, he opened and closed his mouth a lot like they do when they are trying to spit something out, and the alfalfa pellets came out but none of the dewormer did. Ha! So I successfully dewormed him with no rearing. It only took 5-10 minutes. 

There is a pellet-based dewormer that he actually loves, but it doesn't have Ivermectin in it, and based on what came out of Pony's butt (plus I hadn't used the Ivermectin-based one last time), I had to use the Ivermectin one.

This was the first time I'd say I had been successful deworming Teddy. I have done it before, but it was always really ugly (I mentioned the rearing) and I usually ended up with more paste on me than in him. So that was good. The kind of bad thing about deworming is, it's not like trailering where they are just afraid of the situation but once you show them it's OK they will probably relax and not have any more problems. I mean, once Teddy loaded, he realized loading wasn't bad, and now he is starting to learn that being in the trailer isn't bad. Because he goes in there and nothing bad happens. But with the dewormer, you can't convince them that nothing bad will happen, because something bad WILL happen -- they will get a mouth full of nasty paste. I know some people put yummy stuff in the tube and get their horses used to it that way, but I have tried it with Teddy and it never worked. So, next time I have to deworm him with the paste, we will probably be back to square one. But, at least I have an approach that works now.

Deworming was the last thing I had failed to do with Teddy. First was the vet and the farrier, which I think we've gotten over, then trailering, where we are on the way to getting over it, and now deworming. He was getting a lot better about being ridden, too, before his physical problems led me to stop riding him. So, I don't want to jinx myself, but finally I feel like I am not a failure as a horse owner. I mean, I don't think of it as harshly as all that, but I did feel like there wasn't any reason I shouldn't be able to get him to do these things --I just wasn't able to do it. So I had failed to get him to do what I should have been able to get him to do. But now we've worked through it all. So I feel better. Now I just have to get Pony used to going on trail rides.

One last thing, about Teddy. Randomly the other day some little girl told me that she loved him, and her little sister thought he was the sweetest horse in the world. I have no idea why these two think that, or how much they have interacted with him, since they have no reason to interact with him aside from maybe going in their pasture (?), but it's nice. I told them I also think he's the sweetest horse. Maybe it's his face that got them. I wish I could capture that look on his face -- hopeful, worried, timid, shy, wanting to trust but not sure if he can -- with those big brown eyes. It is a heart-melting look. At any rate, I remember when I got him how he'd run away from everyone, and he's obviously not doing that any more, so that's good.


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## MeditativeRider

That sounds fun doing the working equitation. Could you add a jump to your course next time that you do but your daughter does not, so then you can do some jumping?


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## ACinATX

That's a great idea!


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## MeditativeRider

The horse riding camp I went to recently, the lady who took it previously had a working student position for a NZ dressage rider. They went to Portugal for a while and did some workshops with working equitation people there. Anyway, she showed us some Youtube videos of working equitation in Portugal and they do have jumps in the higher up levels. I can't find the specific videos she showed us, but like this one has a little jump at the end:


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## MeditativeRider

This one also has some jumping in it.


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## ACinATX

(Thanks for the videos @MeditativeRider. I particularly liked the first one. I was pretty amused by how the horses jumped in both videos -- these are definitely not jumpers LOL.)

I had a nice moment with Moonshine yesterday. It was my last day off work, so after I went to see them and put them back in the pasture, I decided to spend more time just hanging out with them out there, since I won't have time now. Moonshine, of all of them, came up to me and asked to be scratched. I gave her some good scratches but she didn't go into the paroxysms of ecstasy like she normally does, so I thought maybe I wasn't doing it where she wanted. But she kept asking, and moving around to show me where she wanted scratching. It was just a low-key scratching she wanted, I guess. What she did do was get a very droopy lower lid and keep closing her eyes lightly. So I just kept scratching her gently, moving around as she wanted. I sort of leaned on her while doing it and it sort of turned into hugging her with one arm and scratching with the other. It was surprisingly nice, given how aloof she usually is, and the fact that the two of us don't really usually connect, and we did that for maybe 15 minutes or so?

After that I moved on to Pony. He was just half-dozing in place, so I went next to him and just squatted on the ground and we stayed like that for 15-20 minutes. I probably would have stayed longer, but it's the middle of cedar (pollen) season here, so I have to limit my time outdoors. (Note that I started taking allergy drops this summer and I do think they are helping with the cedar).

Teddy just got a hug. He was eating hay with Moonshine, who walked over to the bale once she realized the scratching was over, and one of the ponies. I could have sat on the round bale, which I've done before, but I was still worried about the pollen, so he just got the hug and I left.

It was a very low-key day. The only thing is Moonshine stomped one of the barn cats. Not on purpose (probably). This cat is really needy (I want to just take him home honestly, but my husband doesn't want to have a cat again) and rubs all around me and also the horses hooves when I'm picking them. I have to shoo him out of the way and make sure he stays shooed before I let them put their hooves down. Yesterday I guess I mis-calculated where Moonshine's hoof and the cat were going, and she put it down (hard) on the end of his toe. He ran away but wasn't limping afterwards, so I guess he's OK. He didn't learn though -- he was back to it when I was trying to rasp Pony's hooves. If he comes near Pony's head, Pony makes stink face at him and makes him leave, but otherwise he's very tolerant. I don't know if I mentioned this, but this is the same cat who eats their feed. And their feed is just hay pellets, oats, peas, and sunflower seeds, so why does this cat eat it? I think that's why Pony makes the stink face at him. I imagine that Pony feels, reasonably, that he doesn't eat cat food so cats shouldn't try to eat his food. Pony's feed is sacred and even a cute kitty doesn't get to eat it.

ETA: I forgot to mention it's been cold the last few days, and they were all fuzzed up yesterday! I love it when they are fuzzed up! Nothing better than leaning into a nice soft warm fuzzy Pony butt!


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## gottatrot

I've done the exact same thing to a cat, dropping a hoof right on the cat's foot. It made me feel so bad, but that cat also was just fine.


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## ACinATX

The guilty party, now stealing Moonshine's feed bucket...


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## ACinATX

I had two good lessons. On Wednesday, something finally clicked and I finally was able to do a sitting canter without bonking poor Pony's back every stride. The instructor had me two-point for three strides and sit for three strides. She's had me do this before, but it never helped anything. On Wednesday, however, I don't know, something happened and now I understand how it's supposed to feel.

I had a bit of a panicky moment today. After reading through @ClearDonkey 's post about her horse colicking. I brought all of my horses in like usual before my lesson and put them in stalls to feed them because it was very cold and drizzling. I did some work, then went to the main barn to go to the bathroom. When I came back, Pony was sitting quietly in his stall. You know, not lying down flat out, just sitting. His eyes were wide open and his ears were pointed back. Not hard, just like he was thinking about something back there. He didn't seem stressed out otherwise, and his breathing was normal. He had just had a really nice poop. But I sat with him for almost 15 minutes and he didn't get up. I should note that in the almost four years I've had him, he's sometimes sat down after being ridden but never before. So I went to find the instructor. She came over and listened and heard gut sounds and didn't see anything obviously wrong with him. So she made him stand up and I got him ready for the lesson.

First of all, he was super responsive to my leg yields. I was imagining that it was somehow because his stomach hurt and he was trying to get away from the pressure, but the instructor promised that he didn't look like he was in pain. She had just shown me, for the millionth time, how to PROPERLY use my leg for pressure, and just like on Wednesday, I think it suddenly clicked. Because it felt uncomfortable to me, but he really moved off nicely. I know he CAN move off nicely to leg pressure, but I haven't been able to get consistent results. Today he was awesome.

My daughter skipped the lesson again, so I set up a course of cross rails for myself. Well, four. Low cross-rails and one very low vertical. The instructor was like, no no no and changed them all to verticals, and not low ones either. She was like, he can jump that no problems. To which I responded, yes HE can, but I'm not sure I can.

But it went great! We jumped all of them! A whole course of verticals, multiple times, in both directions. We had some jumps that weren't too pretty, but I also started feeling how to manage his step over them. It was easier with the cross-rails because I wasn't also worried that he'd duck out on those, but you know what, he didn't even think about ducking out on the jumps either. I pointed him at the jump and he jumped it. Whatever it was. I was super happy. We had a short lesson because we started late due to him being down and we ended early because I wanted to end on a good note for both of us, but I was really happy with what we did.

We also talked about how she likes to put riders on him because he takes things so very literally, so if they are over-cuing, or their hips are off balance, or they are leaning over, he reacts exactly to what they are doing so it's easy to figure out where their problems are and then fix them. She also said that she wasn't sure he'd ever be a good Pony for true beginners because he has "too much personality" LOL. I for one appreciate his personality and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Seems like almost every lesson or every other lesson right now, I am struck by how good he is. I am sure I've said it before, and I will probably say it again, but I'm glad I stuck with him through all the trials and tribulations. He is a wonderful Pony now, and surely a rebuttal against the argument that ponies are evil. Sure, you have to be willing to listen to him and consider his point of view --he won't just mindlessly do whatever you say-- but shouldn't riding be a partnership anyways?


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## ACinATX

Yesterday my daughter and I went out for a fun day. We had been scheduled to haul the horses to a new barn for a trial lesson (combine seeing a potential new boarding barn with giving the horses and easy and short haul) but that fell through, so we set up some of our WE obstacles.

We both got the jousting ring at the canter. Moonshine and my daughter stared with their pole and then picked up a canter and did it. Pony and I picked up the pole at the stop, and then cantered off from a stop. I don't know why, but I find cantering from a stop to be super fun.

We also made up an exercise where we passed the wooden circle from one pole to another at a walk, as we came in on opposite directions. We did a surprisingly good job. Maybe we should have tried it at a trot also. We did some leg yields as well. My daughter is right -- Moonshine can do a perfectly good leg yield off reasonable leg pressure, but she just doesn't want to do it to stay on the rail. So leg yielding her around the inside of the arena is fine, but on the outside not so much.

Another thing we made up was mounted sword fight -- we very carefully and slowly whacked at each other with our sticks. I started thinking that Pony might make a good war Pony, but the thing is every time we stopped, and a couple of times when we were actually doing it, he tried to eat the stick. Which would probably not be the best thing if it were an actual weapon.  

Oh, and we also got a water obstacle -- a pipe had burst and part of that arena was flooded. Pony didn't mind --he doesn't typically have a problem with water -- but Moonshine was surprisingly good about it.

After that we went to the other arena that has deeper footing and cantered them while neck reining (we had once again done the exercise in a halter and lead rope or clip on reins) and they both did pretty well. Moonshine actually seemed happy for once, which is great. 

So that was nice. Everyone had a good time.

We rescheduled the haul out lesson for this coming Sunday.


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## Knave

That sounds like a fun day!


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## Txshecat0423

Deleted


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

I am ticked off. It's been really dry here lately. Today was fairly windy, and tomorrow it's supposed to be sustained winds 25-30 mph with gusts possibly up to 50 mph. I was out there today, riding Pony with the neck rope, when I saw -- FIRE! A lot of it! A lot of smoke, too. Coming from the property next door, less than 100 feet from my barn's property line.

I yelled for the barn owner, who was teaching a lesson. We both called 911. I walked over to the property line and I could see that these IDIOTS were DELIBERATELY trying to burn a pile of brush! And it looked like it had gotten away from them, too.

When I called the fire dept they said it had already been reported and they were on their way, but it still took about 10 minutes for them to actually get there. It made me realize why distance to the fire dept is so important! Anyways, they got there and spent a lot of time hosing down the blaze. I really, really hope they turned it over, too, and hosed it again, so there are no hot embers. Not only could the winds be up to 50 mph tomorrow, they will also be blowing toward my barn.

I will say, I had taken the truck out there today to bring the trailer home, and it was already connected when I saw the fire. I was was like, you know what, I'm ready to go. I can load them and be out of here in five minutes. THAT felt good. But, I can tell you I was calling those people every name in the book.


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## ACinATX

*In which I join the dark side. And almost kill a man. *

We finally got around to hauling out for a lesson at this potential new boarding barn. I wonder if we will ever be able to get ready in less than an hour. It didn't seem like we were wasting any time, and the trailer was already hooked up, but it still took us that long to get loaded and ready.

Pony was being a butt. I'm thinking about taking away their hay bags that are in there. He kept snapping at Moonshine through the head divider. I think it was food-motivated. It's a normal tubular steel divider so he can't even reach her, but he tries anyways and then she sort of flinches back and the whole trailer rocks. It really ticked me off, and it's just not helping anything, you know? So when he started doing it before we left I left the side ramp window open and kept popping my head in there and yelling at him. It settled him down a bit, and once we started moving he was OK. Then we left the place and my daughter realized we (meaning I) had forgotten to lock the gate. So I pulled into the storage place next door and asked her to run back and close it. Waiting there, Pony started being a butt again so I got out and went back and banged the side of the trailer and yelled at him. It quieted him down. Then we got going, but got stuck at a stoplight, and he started doing it again. This time I could only roll down the driver's side window and yell at him, but it worked. I'm sure people were like "crazy person."

But here's how I moved over to the dark side. Me being really ticked off at him made me forget about my anxiety driving them. I was SO annoyed at him, it just blocked out everything. That lasted half the drive, until the road quality got really bad and I was driving like 30 mph in a 50 with cars stacked up behind me and nowhere for them to pass. Then I started getting anxious again.

We took them out at the new place and used our new tying system to tie them to the trailer. Pony was very looky but good. I took everyone's recommendations and tied them to the high ties and the hay to the lower ties. And kept the ramp doors closed so they wouldn't hurt themselves.

This lady apparently has a hundred dogs, and they started circling over and barking at us. I had to assume that they were well-behaved or surely she would have told us, right? One of them, that looked like a husky, was the boldest. I stood between him and Pony. But Pony was like "let me at 'im" and tossing his head up and down meaningfully at the dog. The dog eventually came over and smelled me and smelled our tack, but kept a respectful distance to Pony, who was still letting the dog know that he'd be happy to take a chunk out of him. The dog obviously understands horse. None of the others approached. We go them tacked up.

They were really good in the lesson. Mind you this is the fourth time we've hauled them anywhere. The lady thought they seemed very relaxed. Although Pony was still a bit looky. Also, at first he wanted to follow Moonshine rather than pay attention to me. Like, we'd be stopped, and then Moonshine would start trotting around the arena, and he decided he'd follow her. That was obviously not OK so we had a brief discussion about it and then he was fine. Anyways, we even cantered! And both of them were quite calm.

Afterwards she let us put them in her round pen while she showed us around. The place is OK. It's farther out than where we are now, the three of them would be sharing a paddock that is at most two acres (the owner described them as "huge") that is never cleaned, and there are currently no stalls available. She made us feel like letting us have two trunks for tack (for three horses) was generous. She's one of those people who talks a lot and doesn't listen. The shelter in the paddock, I'm not sure all three of them will share it if the weather is bad. We'll have to find out. But at least she was willing to accommodate my request to keep them all together.

Oh, and she told me the property where I board has already been sold. My barn owner did not tell me that. So I'm going to have to have a talk with the barn owner this week, and try to get her to be up front about what's going on. I don't think that's going to be easy. This lady at the new place needs me to move in as soon as possible to reserve the spot, but I'm hoping to stay where I am until the end of February. Maybe I can pay her some kind of reserve fee.

Walking to the round pen, Pony had a tiny spook. A literal spook-in-place kind of spook. And, when we were taking them back to the trailer, which I had to park pretty far away, I had his saddle on him (didn't want to carry it) but not the girth, and of course it fell off, but he didn't even seem to notice. So that was good. We're planning on hauling out to a show on Saturday, and this was a bit of a trial run for that. I think they might be OK!

I had to cut the tour short because the sun was going down. I do NOT like driving in the dark. So we hurried them back and loaded them back on, tossed all of the stuff in the trailer, and left. My plan was to drive into their pasture at home, just unload them directly, turn around and go back. I thought it would be the fastest way. Well, my daughter let one of the ponies out when she opened the gate for me. It was the most excitable and also potentially the most expensive of them (if he ever stops trying to buck his rider). By this time it was quite dark. So he was just running around, jumping over sharp barn utensils and tractor attachments, and generally being impossible. I don't know how long it took until one of the grooms, who was fortunately there, managed to lure him into a pasture (not his normal pasture) with food. Maybe a couple of hours? Not really, but it felt like it. Then one of those horses got out, but that horse is a gentle quiet sort, and I got him back into the pasture myself.

So I was, once again, ticked off, this time at my daughter. And I drove the trailer home in the dark. And it was fine.

So what about almost killing someone? So, I was driving in the dark. I was taking a route I usually take. I know all of the places where it's difficult, and we were past those and less than 10 minutes away from home, so I relaxed a bit, when some person just walked out in front of me while I was driving the trailer at 40 mph down a road. This person had dark skin and was wearing dark clothes, and I didn't see them until the last minute. So, on the plus side, the trailer and truck stop great! I had reduced the trailer brake gain, too, but it still stopped just fine. But I'd guess I stopped a few feet from this person. I was too shocked to even honk at them. But that fueled my dark side anger for the rest of the trip home.

So, the dark side. Use my anger. But I don't usually get mad unless it's justified. My daughter was like, "I can make you mad at me before we leave if you want." I didn't really like that idea.

So it was a mixed bag yesterday. On the bright side, they did well, overall.

Finally, I got in touch with someone who does medieval mounted combat training, who is only a half hour drive from us! He's happy for us to haul in for a two-hour introductory lesson. I'm going to try to schedule it for Feb 6. My daughter thought it would be nice for the horses, if they had two weekend "outings" in a row, to have one stress-free weekend. I don't really disagree.


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## Knave

With all the things you are doing and showing them, I think these must be on the way to being the most amazing and well rounded horses ever!

I’m sorry about the escapees and the suicidal man, and the pressure about getting moved somewhere different.


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## Kalraii

Sorry about the fire my gosh I'd be so paranoid as well I probably couldn't sleep  You did AMAZING taking the ponies out. I wont lie it sounds stressful and I don't blame you at all for being annoyed. But you DID IT and I'm so happy for you. Deserves a celebration so do something nice for yourself! I definitely missed about your yard move somewhere. I know you're moving to a new house eventually but I had no idea you'd have to relocate before then. What a pain. What are your thoughts so far or is this a situation of limited options?

About that man crossing the road - did he even stop to acknowledge the fact he just did something stupid? I hate to think of someone doing that on purpose but its not uncommon on the 6 lane road next to my house :<


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## TrainedByMares

Reading this stuff is awesome! 😆 I wish you were my neighbor, AC !


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> With all the things you are doing and showing them, I think these must be on the way to being the most amazing and well rounded horses ever!
> 
> I’m sorry about the escapees and the suicidal man, and the pressure about getting moved somewhere different.


I am hoping for very well-rounded horses, at least with these two. Teddy is a bit more special, and he will never like doing new things (I think I could get him to be better about it than he is now, but he is happy the way he is and I don't need him to do new things), but Moonshine takes everything in stride and Pony is, ultimately, a thinker, so they are both capable, at least mentally, of doing just about anything. Maybe one day we'll see if we can find one of those "fun" police training classes, where you shoot guns and walk through fire and whatnot. Pony is young, and it is my intention to be able to take him out anywhere, just the two of us, in a couple of years. We are getting there!



Kalraii said:


> About that man crossing the road - did he even stop to acknowledge the fact he just did something stupid? I hate to think of someone doing that on purpose but its not uncommon on the 6 lane road next to my house :<


From what I recall, I came to a stop, and he stopped. Then he just stood there looking at me, like "Oh, it's a ginormous truck with a big trailer that is entirely lit up inside and out; didn't see that before I walked out into the street."



TrainedByMares said:


> Reading this stuff is awesome! 😆 I wish you were my neighbor, AC !


I wish you guys were all my neighbors and we could all go do fun horse stuff together. The only person at my current barns who is interested in hauling out to things like this is my trainer, and she doesn't have a trailer. So either I could take her or I could take my daughter.


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## ACinATX

*Hay!*

I got hay yesterday. I got too much hay. I was thinking, I'll get 20 bales of alfalfa, which should weigh about 1000 pounds, and put it in the trailer. I was thinking to try to put it over the axles, where the horses would stand, and then take my measurements for trailer tongue weight and truck squat and see how / if it changes. I was NOT thinking that I don't have room to store 20 bales of hay.

Another thing I didn't think about with the hay. Does anyone remember this old truck commercial where the guy with the gravelly voice says something like "Truckers say, if you can haul 20 tons, you better be able to stop 20 tons..."? So here's my horsewoman saying: "If you are going to buy 20 bales, you better be able to unload 20 bales." I unloaded and stacked eight bales, carrying them a decent distance each time, and I was DONE. I had also loaded that many (the guy who works in the warehouse at the feed store is old and I feel bad with him loading bales). Interestingly, the biggest problem seemed to be my hands -- my fingers were just not able to grip the bales after that (I carry them by basically picking them up in a big hug, rather than picking them up from the strings). I was pretty happy that I got a pile two wide and four high. Last year I needed my daughter's help to get the fourth one. I don't think I will ever get to five, not with alfalfa bales, which are heavier than the coastal bales, as the top of the stack now is just a few inches lower than the top of my head. I can't lift 50 pounds over my head.

Also good was, my back isn't sore today. My right biceps are a little sore, and my left quads are a tad sore (I guess I was lifting the bales by bringing them onto my bent left knee, grabbing with my right arm, and then pulling them up, if that makes sense). So it was good exercise (building muscle), not bad exercise (straining back) LOL.

I had gone on an eight or nine-mile hike right before, so I feel like I got some good exercise yesterday. It was 400 pounds of hay I was moving around!

And check out how my trailer looks with 22 bales of hay in it (two were already in there). I could have fit 30 easy, and maybe even 40! Good to know!

All good, but back to the problem of storing the hay. I can't keep it in the trailer right now since we're going to a show on Saturday. I'm going to see if I can maybe make a small stack in the garage, but my husband has claimed the garage as a workshop and guards it jealously. Then maybe I could put some in the barn aisle, although I'm afraid that's going to lead to the horses fighting there, so that's probably not a good idea.


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## carshon

As someone who handles a LOT of hay every year let me suggest you get some good leather gloves and handle your bales by the string. You can cause rotator cuff issues if you "hug" the bales and something happens. For making stacks of hay ( we stack our hay into the rafters of our shed about 15 ft high) Lift up with your arms then use your knee to help momentum upward. When I stack above my head I usually have to put the bale onto my chest and then push up with my arms. It is a workout! 

Congrats on beating your old record. We usually do 300-400 bales 3 times per year. I have to feed my 4 horses hay year round and we have a few steers so we handle a lot of hay.


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## ACinATX

Yes I forgot to mention I have tiny scratches all over my hands, arms, and even abdomen and legs (and I was wearing thick pants). Maybe that would help with handling by the string, too. It was definitely not comfortable carrying them around by the string barehanded.

Although I also felt like carrying them around by the string felt bad on my back. I don't know if this is true for everyone, but for me it seems better to carry weight higher. Like when I have a 50-pound feed bag, I'd rather fling it over my shoulder, even though it makes me lopsided, than carry it in my arms. 

This reminds me I really need to go check the garage.


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## MeditativeRider

If you have to transport the bales a long way from the horse trailer to storage, you could put a couple in a clean wheelbarrow and push them there rather than carrying them. Then you only have to do lifting for unstacking and stacking. That is what we did when we had to transport bales from one storage shed to another (until someone kindly came along with a car with a trailer that we could use to do it faster).


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## ACinATX

@MeditativeRider I was literally just thinking about that. The barn has a big cart that can easily handle a three-strand hay bale. I don't know why I didn't just get it and use it to carry the hay between my trailer and the barn. Then all I'd have to do is plop the hay into the storage area, then stack it. Probably when I go to unload the rest of it, that's what I will do.


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## Knave

Our hay ranges from 100-110 per bale (the small bales of course, not the big ones). Strings are the only way to go, and gloves too. If I have to move one particularly far I throw it on the four wheeler. More requires a pickup of course. One trick when you have just a small ways to go is to roll it.

ETA- moving lots of hay we use hay hooks. You could invest in a set!


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## Kalraii

I have a wheelbarrow like this:










I stack 6 bales on it. It's got nice big wheels so even in our slippery mud I manage ok. I can use one hand and my thighs to push and my other arm is free to stabilise/protect my head if needed. I dont put it in the bucket. I lay it crisscross style. You could probably secure it with some elastic rope with hooks but I am too lazy for that. If it topples get out the way  I started off with 4 so probably do that first 😅 Defo pick up by twine I'd be dying if I did it your way so well done! Looks like lovely stuff you got. I'm gona try get up to 8 bales as a sad little game now. Or make use of Katie hehehe.


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## ACinATX

@Kalraii where do you store it? I forget, do you have a tiny shed where you board? I'm actually imagining you pushing it back and forth between your house and the pasture...

Oh, yes, it looks nice, but it was very dry and dusty and when I got back to the barn I pulled out one bale that had mold. Also, I helped load it into the trailer like I said, and even with the windows and doors all open it was very dusty. Then I started sneezing on the way back, and when I blew my nose it was all green. I had multiple nose blows to clear that out. Sorry, I guess that's kind of gross.


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## Knave

@Kalraii one of my favorite memories, who knows why, is of the feed truck getting stuck in the mountains. We had a lot of hay on needing fed, where it was stuck, and we had to lighten it up and do whatever it was they did.

I just remember that I was tiny. I was riding Darcel, a fat little bay mare, which means I was less than six. My dad and grandpa put my mother and I’s ropes around bales, and we drug them out where they would be fed. I felt so proud! I guess I remember it mostly because it was different than normal, but it was very happy to me. I don’t think I had roped at a branding before, so it was all new.


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## Kalraii

Knave said:


> @Kalraii one of my favorite memories, who knows why, is of the feed truck getting stuck in the mountains. We had a lot of hay on needing fed, where it was stuck, and we had to lighten it up and do whatever it was they did.
> 
> I just remember that I was tiny. I was riding Darcel, a fat little bay mare, which means I was less than six. My dad and grandpa put my mother and I’s ropes around bales, and we drug them out where they would be fed. I felt so proud! I guess I remember it mostly because it was different than normal, but it was very happy to me. I don’t think I had roped at a branding before, so it was all new.


That is actually too cute! Darcel sounds amazing guess she was a work horse as well so used to dragging stuff? Katie might die I reckon, after she's taken the bale on a journey. I was more thinking of packing two bales on her sides. Hm. Man, yours stories really give some perspective. Our horses are far too spoiled here. If only I could give them a PROPER job! Like what would we rope? A pigeon? "lets check the fence lines... all 1 meter of them"  Can't wait to read about Police Pony if you manage to get to it @ACinATX and start your patrols. Need some motivation over here XD


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## Kalraii

ACinATX said:


> @Kalraii where do you store it? I forget, do you have a tiny shed where you board? I'm actually imagining you pushing it back and forth between your house and the pasture...
> 
> Oh, yes, it looks nice, but it was very dry and dusty and when I got back to the barn I pulled out one bale that had mold. Also, I helped load it into the trailer like I said, and even with the windows and doors all open it was very dusty. Then I started sneezing on the way back, and when I blew my nose it was all green. I had multiple nose blows to clear that out. Sorry, I guess that's kind of gross.


I seriously did consider keeping hay at my house. And I did think about haylage. But I wouldn't want to be responsible for setting my whole street on fire. We have a little storage box we'll say its 3 bales big and a pallet next to it I stack and cover my bales on the pallet. I learned the hard way that when keeping them outside I need to cover them underneath as well. They sucked up all the moisture once and all of them were mouldy. Tarps no good I got heavy duty pvc/vinyl(?)the stuff that goes on lorries which has worked a treat. I am just grateful that we have easy access to hay. Just the farmer doesn't want to churn the mud. So he drops it from the concrete lane and we have to walk to fetch it. Not far, but y'know how mud makes you work harder. Constant moonwalking. I've been thinking about getting spikes or something. A welly with a high heel maybe?


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## Knave

@Kalraii Darcell was amazing! It took me until years later to understand she was my uncle’s mare, because you can believe how livid I was when one day I came home and she was sold!

I was too young to know what was wrong with Darcell, she had some sort of lameness, but it didn’t show with a kid on her back. She was a ten-year-old mare when she went lame. She was an outstanding team roping horse, and I’m sure he used her for work too. I remember all the cowboying I did on her though! She also was bred sometime while I was riding her, and I remember the little colt she had.

I wanted to name him Diamond, and my uncle thought that was dumb and called him Bart. Bart is still around, but 30 now! Later, when I was grown, he named a colt Diamond and I had to laugh.


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## Txshecat0423

If I have to move hay by myself, I use a hand truck (or dolly). The alfalfa is in three string bales and they’re so heavy my husband can barely manage them! I have zero upper arm strength. I also have a pair of work gloves I just love and they definitely help if I have to drag the bales at all. 

If I have to unload a round bale, I open the tailgate and put the truck in reverse, back up really fast and slam on the brakes. The momentum bounces the round bale right out. That’s about as ******* as you can get LOL! 


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## gottatrot

Our bales are around 110 lbs. I used to always move them myself, and the best way was to put them on a wheelbarrow from the truck or trailer, and then wheel them to where I wanted to stack them. Nowadays I have convinced DH it's good exercise for him, and so he moves the hay while I do other things. He can just carry the bales but I have to really maneuver them instead. It's harder when they weigh almost as much as you. If the wheelbarrow fell over, it was tough to get them back onto it. Does your husband need exercise? LOL.


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## ACinATX

Txshecat0423 said:


> If I have to unload a round bale, I open the tailgate and put the truck in reverse, back up really fast and slam on the brakes. The momentum bounces the round bale right out. That’s about as ***** as you can get LOL!


LOL I'm putting that one aside for future use!



gottatrot said:


> Does your husband need exercise? LOL.


Actually I convinced my daughter to do it. She's always trying to get stronger. He's interested in theory but not in practice LOL.


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## ACinATX

@Knave thank you for mentioning hay hooks! I had never heard of them before. I had to watch a video to understand how they worked, LOL, but I think I will order some!


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## Knave

Good! I think you’ll like them a lot!


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## gottatrot

Yes, hay hooks make a huge difference in handling hay. I don't have any right now, but when I used to move tons of hay at a time with friends we would each use two hooks. You can grab a bale with one hook on top and drag it, you can hook on either side and pick up the end to roll it. At my last barn we had to take a bale from on top of a stack about five feet high and then slide it on the wood floor for about thirty feet to a chute. Then we'd feed from that bale after it went down the chute. It was very easy with hay hooks.


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## ACinATX

I haven't posted in a bit because nothing much has been going on. We had a show scheduled for last Saturday, but it was cancelled due to weather. Honestly, I don't think we were _quite_ prepared, so maybe it's for the best. OTOH I realize I am the kind of person who never really fully feels prepared. So hmm.

I've been doing a lot more jumping. I can tell when I'm not focused, because I don't keep Pony on an appropriate step and he takes the jump in a willy-nilly manner. So I'm working on being more focused. Today I took some cross-rails with no hands! Pony kept swapping leads over them, so the instructor wanted to know if it was something with my hands. She asked, "Can you take them with no hands?" I thought about it and said "Sure!" It's something I've been wanting to try anyways, and I know and trust him. Also I have terribly loose hands and I've lost the reins over jumps many times in the past, so that's pretty much the same thing, right?

Well, I am here to tell you that IMO it was actually EASIER to do them with no hands! I put my arms out and so I felt like I had better balance. And I felt my weight much more in my feet. Plus I didn't have to worry about getting pulled forward if Pony overjumped or something and I had held on to the reins. I'm feeling like I just want to jump with no hands from here on out LOL. I guess the only thing is I couldn't modify his step as much with no hands, although he is pretty responsive to seat. 

ETA: I also did the cross-rail with only one stirrup, although not on purpose. I lost my stirrup on the way to it somehow, and I thought about steering out of it, then I thought, no I think I can do it. And I did. No problem at all. Downward transition to a trot also no problem. So, taken all together, I can do jumps with only one foot!

Anyways, he kept swapping despite that, so she thinks maybe it's my legs. IDK, I think it may just be he was having a day. Sometimes he does.

Moonshine got her injections today. She was a couple of weeks overdue. She was acting up in her last few lessons, and then I sort of had the thought, "When did she get her injections last?" So I called the vet yesterday and they were like, you really need to haul her in if you want her seen anytime soon. Then she added, unless you are maybe on a barn where he's already on the schedule. And it turns out he was coming today! That was great that she could get them that quickly. I hope she's feeling better soon. BTW I made a spreadsheet for their health info, like vet and farrier visits. I have been losing track of what's been done, to whom, when. It's just a simple google sheet but I think it will be very helpful. I just thought, Oh, I can make a new column with cost! Then I thought, no, I don't want to see that LOL.

I went out to see the new place again today. The barn owner there wanted to show me a different paddock. It has a larger shelter, which is good. It's still not that much space -- maybe two acres at most but a lot of thorn trees in there so I'm not sure if they could get up a good gallop if they wanted. I may ask her if I can cut down the little trees. We will also need to fix up a small part of the shelter to be a little storage area. This will be practice for our place out west, so that will be good. Overall the place is OK, but the lady doesn't seem to have any sanitary standards. When we came out for our lesson she didn't ask for any health info or Coggins. And today she told me she rides all horses in the same bridle, so she would use her bridle for Pony if she put training rides on him. The same one she rides every other horse in. That makes no sense to me. But I expressed unhappiness about it and she said she could use mine.

The good news about the new places is that it is a little cheaper, and it has a very short trail area. So we could work on going on a trail. And I guess since they will have the pasture to themselves, we could put scary objects out there to desensitize them. And the place has a lot of little roads and paths that we can go out on. I guess it will be good for them to have to get used to being in a new place. 

Honestly I think I'd rather stay where we are now, but the property has been sold and I don't think the barn owner (leassor, really) is being entirely honest about what the plans are for it, and when,


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## Knave

Hmm… although I understand having your own saddle to train in, I don’t understand using the same bridle on everyone. I don’t use the same bridle on a single one of my horses! They all have their own, and for good reason. I am not concerned about the sanitary aspect of it, although it is a logic concern, but the practical aspect!

Yes, I get using your own set up starting colts for someone. I would do that, but even then I wouldn’t transfer unless I had a ton of horses I was riding and not enough set ups. It would be a serious pain to reset even a snaffle for each horse.

I like the use of no hands for teaching things. I pull the bridle off my kids’ horses occasionally, just to see where their hands are getting in the way of something.


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## TrainedByMares

Yeah AC, using the same bridle seems very odd . Like @Knave said, I do not understand that and would question the ability of the person making that decision. What other odd mistakes would they be capable of making? Do you want someone like that riding your horse and making mistakes along the way? That should set up a red flag for you.


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## ACinATX

TrainedByMares said:


> Do you want someone like that riding your horse and making mistakes along the way? That should set up a red flag for you.


Believe me, it is. It is very much making me question whether I want her riding him. But I've got to move them soon, and this is the only place I've found so far. Well, it's the only place I've found that does pasture board nearby for three horses.

Did I mention we're going to the jousting lesson next weekend (not this weekend)? I think I will ask that guy if he boards horses. Then we could spend all of our time learning to joust!


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## Txshecat0423

Like others have stated, I ride each of my horses in a different headstall as I ride each in a different bit and I don’t want to have to switch out and reset the headstall each time. I’m so lazy I bought a second bit for each to leave on their performance headstalls so I don’t have to reset those either! 


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## ACinATX

Txshecat0423 said:


> I don’t want to have to switch out and reset the headstall each time.


I know. Wouldn't it be easier to ride each horse in their own bridle that you don't have to mess with each time? I just don't get it...


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## ACinATX

*My truck!*

I've been thinking about posting about my truck for a week or two, and reading @TrainedByMares 's post about his car-loving past made me decide to go ahead and do it.

I loved my Miata back in the day, but since I had a child I've had practical cars and I have liked them just fine. I mean, they are just there, they do what they are supposed to do and that's it.

That's what I was expecting from the truck, too. I bought what I wanted (3/4-ton truck with a gas engine and a towing package). It had a few upgrades also. But it was a BIG truck and took a lot of getting used to (my normal car is a Civic). I remember when I drove it home from the dealership, I was scared to drive it it was so big. And I hated not being able to see right in front of me. I realize now that I can't see right in front of me in the Civic either, but the blind spot in the Civic is way less. Another thing I found awful was the gas mileage, but since I wasn't going to be driving it much I figured I could live with it.

Fast forward, and I LOVE my truck! You know what, when you put your pedal to the metal, that thing takes off like it was Stung! I mean, it just flings you back into your seat. And I have gone from hating how loud it is to loving the way it sounds! This truck means business! Particularly after learning that the truck hits max torque at 3800 RPMs. I hadn't realized it is SUPPOSED to sound that way when pulling a trailer up a hill, and that is a GOOD thing! That is the truck's happy song! It is not struggling, it is getting to max torque. It knows what it is doing!

Everything about the truck is better than everything about the Civic, except of course the mpgs and visibility. That is probably at least in part because I bought the base model Civic and the truck is definitely not base model. The radio! The other day I had an inexplicable craving for classic punk, so I made a Pandora station and cranked it up. Then I had to merge onto the highway and I just floored it, and we were FLYING!

I still have no desire to go mudding, but I am kind of interested in maybe doing some off-road driving. The truck has a long wheelbase, better for hauling, so it's not going to be terribly nimble, but I'm wondering how it would feel to drive it out around the pastures. It IS a 4x4 and it har a pretty decent factory lift on it. Some of the truck videos I watched were of guys going out and having fun in their trucks, and I kind of thought, yeah, I might want to do that. The suspension is super stiff for hauling, though, so I better be sure I'm strapped in or I will hit the roof LOL. 

Speaking of hitting the roof, I am not a large person. I'm 5'5 and maybe 115 pounds. My daughter says the truck makes me look small. I'm OK with that. I like feeling like I don't look like someone you expect to see driving a truck like that.

And finally I'm actually enjoying getting to know more about what the truck can do, particularly with towing. I've re-set the trailer gain and looked into another trailer setting the truck has (low-medium-high) which was somewhat mysterious but I think I've got an answer for that. I bought a trailer tongue weight scale and got some surprising information out of that. Overall I'm learning a lot more about my truck and my trailer and my rig and towing in general. And it's all making me feel like I made the right choice with my rig, and that I can handle pretty much whatever gets thrown at me. I'm going to keep learning about trucks for a while, just because it's new and interesting.

All that said, horses are still way more fun than trucks! And while you COULD hug a truck, would you want to? And while you could also yell at your truck, it wouldn't make that "who me?" innocent face that only a Pony could make when you catch him getting into the feed room. No, I will never love my truck the way I love my horses, but I do like it a heck of a lot more than I ever thought I would!


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## Txshecat0423

@ACinATX, when I got the truck I have now (2008 3/4-ton F250, XCab, LWB), I upgraded from a Chevy 1500 that could barely pull the bumper pull trailer I had. 

I had to go tow my husband…he had broken down on 290 in Houston, in his little 1988 Toyota pickup. Got there, hooked up to tow and started home. I was just cruising along and my husband called and said, “Can you slow that thing down? You are slinging me everywhere!” I had forgotten he was back there, it felt like I was pulling nothing!

Regarding speed, I was making numerous trips between Houston and Central Texas and there are long stretches on Hwy 36 that are open road  In an effort to keep me from tearing up the roads, my husband told me the truck had a governor on (regulates speed and has a limit of the speed that can be driven). I got on a long stretch of road, I looked down and I was flying down the road about 95!!! It drove so smooth I never realized the speed I was driving! I called my husband (after I stopped) and said “Hey this truck doesn’t have a governor on it!” I swear I could HEAR his eyes rolling over the phone! LOL! 


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## knightrider

Ah, jousting! I can hardly wait to read about your jousting adventures. I also jumped with my hands out since I was a teenager. But I found it sort of difficult. You couldn't get me to do it now. My hat is off to you!


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## gottatrot

Love the post about the truck. I've been a truck person since I was a teen and had a little mini pickup. I just liked how I could throw a dog, saddle, or dirty boots in the back and go. My truck is big now but I love sitting up where I can see, and having power to tow.


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## ACinATX

I was working on Pony's feet today when he had a big spook. BUT! It was completely in place. I felt like several strong, I don't know, I want to say jumps, but I didn't lose his hoof so it couldn't have been jump... twitches? Several of them, all in a row, but he stayed completely still, so much so that like I said I didn't even lose the hoof. I wasn't sure if I should praise him or not. I'm never sure about what to do about the spooking in place. He used to jump all over the place when he spooked, so this is definitely an improvement. Plus he would have wanted to spook away from the scary thing, which would have been into me, so that is also good what he did. But if I praised him, would he think I'm praising the spook? I did talk to him very nicely afterwards.

Continuing my list of daredevil stunts, I cantered with my eyes closed today. I mentioned last time, all the sudden Pony has been swapping leads almost every time over jumps. But I can't feel it. And if we're taking a jump and then turning, I don't get a good look at his feet to know which lead I'm on. The trainer said I should work on feeling which lead I'm on rather than having to look down, so she had me canter down the long sides with my eyes closed.

I didn't quite get it at first, but I took him out to the other arena after our lesson and tried again, and now I do! It's my hips! On the right lead, my right hip is more forward, and on the left lead my left hip is more forward. I was pretty happy with that. And also, to keep beating my happy drum, happy that I can trust him enough to canter with my eyes closed.

Moonshine got her injections on Wednesday and was a lot happier today in the lesson, so that was good.

Teddy is pretty fuzzy right now so I spent some extra time hugging him and sinking into the fuzz. That was nice. So, a good day!


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## ACinATX

I did some horse training today! Not the kind I usually do, which is usually inadvertent and not good ("Sure, Pony, you can come into my personal space, I'll just take a step back to accommodate you"  ). Or intentional but of no immediate or practical use (e.g. teaching him to pick up his feet when I point at them).

I have scheduled my work so I have Monday and Wednesday mornings off. Usually on Mondays I go for a walk, but it was pretty rainy today. I did the elliptical instead and decided to just work after that, but I couldn't focus, so I decided to go out and see the horses instead, since I did technically have the morning off. My mind felt kind of fuzzy, and I thought it might be a good day to ride Pony and work on the neck rope thing.

It didn't go terribly well. If I wanted him to turn right, for instance, I would move the neck strap to the right so it puts pressure on the left part of his neck, and use my left foot at his shoulder to push him over. But he just kept ignoring my cues. He seemed like he was in a good mood, and otherwise willing to comply, so I figured the problem had to be lack of understanding. 

I decided to get off and work on it from the ground. So, first we worked with the neck rope. Pulling the neck rope to one side means you go in that direction. That was pretty easy to do. He didn't get it at first, but if I pulled the neck rope and then stepped to that side, he did naturally follow me, so we did that a few times and then did it just with the rope pressure.

Moving off pressure from the shoulder, he was terrible. I mean, he moves off just fine, but he would move his haunches, or move back, or kind of step forward and away, or even start doing circles leaning into me. What I wanted was basically a turn on the haunches. It's actually something we worked on in our lesson on Saturday and he did a terrible job at it. I forgot in that lesson, and had forgotten today as well, that he can actually do a really good turn on the haunches, but he needs a particular signal, which is neck reining and laying the rein over his neck. Maybe it would have been better to have put the reins back on his bridle and then have asked for the turn on the haunches with that cue and added the leg cue, as a bridge. But I didn't think about it while I was out there.

Anyways, we just kept working on it until he got it, then he got rewarded. We did it a few times to try to reinforce it, then a few times from the other side. Then we took a break and just walked around a bit. Then I got back on him and asked again, and he was great! We did several circles in each direction, and he got rewarded each time. Then, after a really good circle, I rewarded him and got off and we were done.

So, we'll see if it sticks or not. 

I had taken the truck, and on the way back I "had to" gun it at some point to get onto the highway. HAHAHAHAHA! I LOVE how that truck takes off. I actually yelled "WHEEEEEEEEE"!


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## ACinATX

*Jousting pt I*

We went to our jousting lesson today! It was super fun, and everyone had a good time. I'll post more tomorrow, as it's kind of late for me now. My husband took some videos but I don't know if he took pictures or not. I'll have to get the videos somehow so I can post them.


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## ACinATX

*Jousting pt II*

So! I'm not sure where to start. I guess near the beginning. The trailering went fine. I think I am still a little anxious about it, because my mouth was a little dry and I forgot the name of one of the streets I was supposed to turn on, but I felt pretty good about the driving. There was actually a bit of ice still on the roads, but only on the shoulders. I didn't need to use 4x4 to get the trailer out of the muddy field. I've noticed that it seems to tear up the ground more than 2wd so I decided to try first with the 2wd and see. It did shimmy a bit, and the light for stability control went on for a second, but it was fine. One thing I was happy about was the horses seemed really comfortable temperature-wise both there and back, although the outside temps were quite different. I have a lot of configurations for ventilation on the trailer and I sometimes get overwhelmed with the options, but it seemed good today. And another thing I was happy about was there was no hesitation with loading either way. Sometimes after we've gone somewhere they don't seem to want to load again, but we had no problems today.

It was highway to small road to terrible road to terrible road, but luckily the terrible roads were pretty short. I'm glad he warned me about the right turn onto his street, because it was a tight turn and there was a terrible ditch on one side. Getting out of his place was also a bit tight. And he had a circular driveway that I realized after parking I had cut in too much, so I had to back up before I could make the circle to get out, but that was also fine.

He let us put the horses in the arena before he went over some background info. This guy loves to talk and he loves to talk about what he loves to talk about, LOL. So there was a lot of talking. I'm glad the horses had a chance to sort of relax into things. We brought their hay nets over so they could eat. There was a slight kerfuffle at the beginning with this guy's horses that live in the paddock that borders the arena. But then the other horses decided that their hay bale was more interesting than new horses, so that was over.

One thing, Moonshine was more alert than I expected. She was acting like there was something off to the west of us that was concerning her. And, after a while, she had a couple of very wet poops. Plus she spooked twice, which is totally unlike her. I don't know what she saw, although I trust that she saw something. She's overall a very level-headed horse.

Oh, the goats. So we had been there for about 15 minutes, and luckily had the horses settled in the arena, when some goats showed up. This guy lives out in what used to be the country, on a 10-acre plot surrounded by two and five-acre plots. I heard him saying something like "I've never seen goats here," and didn't understand what he meant. But then I saw the two goats, who were obviously someone's pampered pets. They were extremely goaty, getting into everything and running amok. The male seemed to have an itchy head because he wanted everyone to scratch it. Like I told this guy (and he repeated to others) it was funny for about five minutes, and then it was just annoying. At one point I looked over and saw them trying to secure the gate fence against the goats. Someone kept kicking the male goat in the chest to back it up, and it kept just standing there not reacting. At another point they started hopping around, which again was cute but got old fast. It was just such a weird thing for the goats to just show up.

So eventually the goats wandered off and we got the liability forms signed, and we started with getting familiar with the weapons on the ground. Actually all we did was the lance. Wow, you would be amazed how heavy they are. They aren't actually THAT heavy, but because they are so long they end up putting about 50 pounds of force on you when you carry them. So he got us some lighter lances. They were a lot lighter and comfortable, but, to jump ahead, even a lighter and more comfortable lance gets heavy when you're carrying it around on a horse for a while!

We practiced our moves with the lances, then he asked if we were ready to get on our horses and we were "OMG yes!" We had been out there for over two hours already. So we did walk and trot circles while he asked us some basic questions like do we understand diagonals and leads and how to ask for a lead and using leg pressure, impulsion, rounding, etc. Riding from the seat and leg as opposed to the hand. Are we familiar with natural horsemanship, do we do groundwork. He said a lot of people come out there having ridden for a while but only knowing how to make the horse move and turn. Actually, it was kind of nice to feel like we have the basics down, we've been taking lessons for so long. Like, yes, we are speaking the same language and ready to go!

This guy seemed to have somewhat of a dressage background. It's good that he wanted to do classical stuff. But then I told my barn owner about it, and she was like, dressage came from military riding. And of course there's using your leg and seat since you only have one hand (or none, if you're shooting arrows). So the cool thing is, it was a great way to reinforce lessons that we've already had many times, but in a fun new way.

Then he wanted to desensitize the horses to the lances. I asked to do it myself with Pony, because I feel like I've done enough work with him. So I got off and showed him the lance and he was like "Can I eat it?" It turns out that it apparently wasn't that tasty because he only took a few bites. Otherwise he couldn't have cared less about it. Moonshine had one tiny flinch but was otherwise fine. I'm glad that all of the work I've done desensitizing him has made him so blase about new things.

I got back on and we did serpentines at the trot while holding our lances! Those things got heavier and heavier. I'm including a video of Moonshine doing serpentines because it was amazing. She generally hates to bend and doesn't listen that well, and my daughter was riding her one-handed. I did it too but it wasn't as impressive. He only had one of the lightweight lances (he couldn't find the other) so we had to share, but that was totally fine with both of us. I can't imagine carrying that thing the whole lesson!

Then we finally got to the fence. At first, we were just supposed to canter down each side. Then do it one handed, then with the lance, and finally try to hit the quintain on the way back. The quintain is that spinny thing, and the piece I'm supposed to hit is four inches square! But we did it! The video is OK, but not nearly as good as how it felt! I couldn't believe it! First try! My husband was like, are you going to do it again? And I said no, I'll retire undefeated. LOL. Moonshine was not so good. It was a fence, and she hates fences just as much as she hates rails, apparently. My daughter had to use a ton of leg pressure to keep her anywhere near it. They did do pretty well on their attempt to hit the quintain, though, only missing it by a few inches, but my husband unfortunately didn't get that on video. My daughter doesn't want me to post any of the videos he took of her next to the fence because they all look like blooper reels, with Moonshine turning every part of her body away from it LOL.

So, this post mirrors the structure of the lesson, which was lots of not horse riding followed by a little horse riding. We were scheduled for 1-3, and I told him at 4 that we had to stop, and at 4:10 we got off. He wanted to keep going. 

So I think we all had fun. Kind of a neat thing for the instructor is that he's trained horses, and he's taught lessons on his own trained jousting horse, but we were the first people to bring our own horses to a lesson. I think he must have felt pretty successful, just like we did.

We scheduled for another lesson in a couple of weeks, on a Monday that we all have off. We scheduled it for noon this time, so if we go for three hours we can keep going if we want.

So, it was super fun! Anyone in Central Texas who's interested, let me know! I'll put you in touch! I'm so glad I found this guy. We both liked him and his method of instruction.

Videos:

Me and quintain





Moonshine's wonderful serpentines


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## gottatrot

Very, very cool! You and your horses did amazing!


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## tinyliny

wish you had longer videos! super cool! it shows that when you have a 'goal' you do so much better than random circling in an arena.


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## Knave

Very cool! He sounds super nice and you did great!


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## Txshecat0423

What an exciting day! I love that you always want to try new and different things with your horses…I’ll bet your horses are the most well-rounded horses ever! 


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## ACinATX

Txshecat0423 said:


> What an exciting day! I love that you always want to try new and different things with your horses…I’ll bet your horses are the most well-rounded horses ever!


You know, it's not too far from you! You could come try it out also!


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## knightrider

I was really excited to see it. What wood was the lance made of? It seems really long. I was not able to be accurate with anything slightly heavy and I jousted with bamboo. I found it much easier to manage. If you continue the lessons, you might want to make your own bamboo lances. Anything that makes it less tiring makes it more fun. You probably know someone who has bamboo or seen it growing wild somewhere. It is almost impossible to get rid of once you are foolish enough to plant it. They will be happy to let you take some.

If you are going to joust one another, please please wear a face covering helmet. I know someone who got a lance splinter in their eye which pierced the brain and the man now has the ability of a 4 year old. He will never drive a car, have a family, or do any things adults do. A terrible price to pay for being a jouster. The proprietor of the joust team and show now keeps him permanently on his farm to help with the farm work for the rest of his life. We all feel absolutely terrible about this tragic accident.

I am so delighted and excited about what you are doing!!!! I can't wait for your next lesson. Here is a picture of our bamboo lances. Notice how tiny my eyeslits are. Safe, but very hard to see when cantering. With every stride you see/not see, see/not see where you are going. But I still have my brain. Yay!


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## knightrider

Also, always wear gloves. In that picture, I have my glove off for some reason, but if you joust against an opponent, it is important to have extremely sturdy gloves. I bought fire gloves at a hardware store that worked great.


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## ACinATX

The lances are poplar but when / if we ever get around to actually going after each other we will use lance tips that are fir. They are spiral cut. He said fir breaks into small pieces and the spiral cuts encourage, that, so that there are no long shards. We would definitely wear face protection, though. I am sure that has got to be quite a ways down the road.

I asked him about strengthening the appropriate muscles, and he suggested going to Lowes or Home Depot and getting a length of wooden closet rod and carrying it around. Also while we ride. So I think we will try that.


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> Also, always wear gloves. In that picture, I have my glove off for some reason, but if you joust against an opponent, it is important to have extremely sturdy gloves. I bought fire gloves at a hardware store that worked great.


Is that also because of slivers?


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> Is that also because of slivers?


No, that is for missed hits. You are aiming for the shield to hopefully either splinter the lance or knock the rider off. If the lance slides off the shield or misses the shield, it can get your hand, and boy! does that smart! But you don't get a broken hand.

The professional jousters that I worked with used closet poles and balsa tips for their lances. The accident occurred from a balsa tip. I would not be able to hold a closet pole steady enough to do a decent job in a show. If you watch shows, you will see the jousters hold them as short a time as possible. It is very tiring to hold them horizontal. They lower them as they are riding towards one another.

Here is an example of jousters lowering the lances as they ride towards their opponents. Notice they put their lances vertical as soon as they complete the pass and give them to their squires as soon as they hit the end of the list. The helmets do a fine job of protecting the face (most of the time), but they do not allow you to get much oxygen. You are re-breathing carbon dioxide as you ride, and by the end of your passes, you are puffing pretty hard for lack of oxygen. So most jousters want to make things as easy as possible.

Full metal joust at Bolsover Castle - English Heritage - YouTube


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## ACinATX

Adding one more link. This is mostly for myself, as I have very few videos of me riding. It's our dry run.





I feel like I am still bouncy at the canter, when I see it from the back, but it doesn't look so bad when I see it at the front. And surely I can't be TOO bouncy or I wouldn't have hit that thing, right?


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## ACinATX

A friend of mine at work broke her toe and is in a foot cast. She is going nuts because she likes to be outdoors, but she can't walk or ride her bike. So I invited her to come out and ride one of my horses. Well, that turned into both of her daughters coming also. That was the reason behind my post of looking for fun things for beginners to do.

I think it went reasonably well. I talked to my friend about her daughters' personalities before they came, and I decided to put friend on Moonshine and the two kids taking turns on Pony. With my friend being in a cast, falling off a horse would probably be a bad idea, and Moonshine is less likely to spook. 

Moonshine was good for about 15 minutes, and then she realized that my friend didn't really care if she listened to her or not, so then she was like "I do what I want". The friend was just laughing about it. Moonshine did that thing where you want to go left, say, and you turn her head to the left, but she just throws out her right shoulder and ducks out that way. Usually she doesn't do it at a walk, but she did today. She is old enough and settled enough that I don't think having one poor rider on her one day is going to make her start acting up with everyone. Actually the lady who has been riding her on a regular basis has been getting a lot out of her, and that has been nice to see.

I put the older daughter on Pony first. Then I explained to them both how to steer, how to go, and how to stop. And that they should keep the horses away from each other. At this point, I don't think Moonshine or Pony would actually go after each other when being ridden, but better safe than sorry.

What I learned is, trying to teach two complete beginners how to ride on two non-beginner horses at the same time is really hard! I managed to throw in some useful advice here and there ("Pull hard on the right rein, NOW") but not much. I did have them go over the pole, which was successful. It turns out that the barrels I had for them to pick up and object off were probably too low for their comfort. so I flipped them over and put those long pipes in there, so they could pick one up and then put it inside the other barrel. 

The older daughter was ready to be done after about 20 minutes. So I got the younger daughter. I could tell she wasn't as sure of everything (also she told me she had never ridden a horse), so although I had planned on having her ride by herself, I instead took Pony's reins and led her around while having her do things. First, get comfortable riding (holding onto the saddle). Then, pick up one hand, then the other hand, then both hands. Then hands off while we went over the ground pole. Then hands back on but eyes closed. Then eyes closed over the pole and I had her tell me when Pony stepped over it. He helped her out by bonking it with his hoof, LOL. Then I had her close her eyes and I was going to walk straight and then turn. She had to tell me when I turned and which direction. It was interesting -- she had no idea. So I had her do the same exercise with her eyes open, and then when she closed her eyes she got it perfectly.

We turned the ground pole into a diagonal and did that as well. Then I thought she was ready to steer herself, sort of. I lined Pony up along the rail, then walked next to him (but not holding on to him) and had her keep him straight. Then we came to the corner and she had to turn him. Again, I was walking alongside so it wasn't like he was going to do anything else. But she seemed like she needed things broken down into really small pieces, and to be successful at each one before moving on. Like Teddy. I did walk a ways away from him after a while and she mainly kept him straight. Then we walked along the rail and turned in at A and came up the middle to go over the ground pole. That was kind of interesting -- Pony wasn't going to duck out or anything, he knew what it was for, but he wanted to speed up before he got there. I wonder if that tells me he enjoys jumping, or that it just wakes him up, or maybe nothing. He did stay pretty straight for her, I think it helped that he had a clear goal.

Unfortunately, my friend had gotten off by that time and she was sitting next to the ground pole taking a video. Well, Pony saw her camera and of course he had to eat it. I mean, he was doing fine coming into it, but once he saw the camera he knew that that was what he wanted to do. But, the good thing was, I told this girl "Pull his left rein, HARD, and give him a kick," and she did, and he went over the pole instead. We did the same thing in the other direction, with no one taking videos this time, and he was great. 

We also "posted" at the walk. I don't think she rode more than 20 minutes either, but she was tired and sore.

Basically I think this little kid loved it -- she had that shining face that little kids get when they ride a horse. The mom also loved it, she had that peaceful happy face that adults often get after riding a horse. The teenager, I wasn't sure. I think she was more interested in following the barn cats around.

But in general, it made me really happy to see my horses making someone else happy. It was also good to get a reminder that no, they are still not true beginner horses and Moonshine at least never will be. Pony was pretty decent. I mean, considering that both girls wanted to hold the reins up really high and loose. He does better with more contact. Although... I wonder if maybe he might be OK for a true beginner if the instructor just stayed close to him. Like maybe if he did the lesson in the round pen.

***

I got some good news from our new boarding place -- someone moved out and two stall spaces opened up. The stalls are in the barn that is closest to what will be their paddock, so if someone has to be in a stall they will at least be able to see and hear their friends. I believe as before that we will just use the stalls for tacking up and feeding. I'm hoping that I can teach Moonshine and Pony that the stalls are theirs, and Teddy can hang out in the overhang area. If I'm riding, I can put Teddy in Pony's stall while I ride. I think that should work.


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## ACinATX

Oh, and also I did Moonshine and Teddy's feet. Moonshine's are completely done, and Teddy's I just need to do the fronts from the top, which I can hopefully fit in before my lesson later this week.

The trimmer came out last week, but she only told me the night before, and I had meetings all that morning. The next time she's coming, we will be out at a jousting lesson (at least she gave me a data in advance this time). So the feet will be all me for the next couple of months at least.

I did Pony's fronts last week and I need to do his backs and then all of them from the top. I think his deep central sulcus situation is improving. I think partially because I've been trimming overgrowth a little more aggressively; it may be that is what he needs (he also naturally shed a bunch last week). However, suddenly Moonshine looks like hers might be getting worse, so they both got thrushbuster where appropriate today. My pants now have purple spots on them.


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## TrainedByMares

I think that it's really positive that you are sharing your horses with other people and are so encouraging. That is probably something that little girl will never forget.


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## ACinATX

Wow, I am sore. One thing I was sort of selfishly grumbling about yesterday was that given the time they were coming, and the fact that two of them were riding Pony, I wasn't going to be able to ride. And I wasn't going to be able to go on a hike either. However, I did trim them pretty aggressively. I don't mean aggressive toward their feet, I mean that I was contorting myself into all sorts of positions. e.g. to nipper Teddy's back left, rather than use my hoof jack (which he doesn't really like) I squatted with his hoof in a position that was comfortable for him, between my legs, so holding it in place by keeping my muscles tight. I did something similar for both of Moonshine's back feet. Knowing that the trimmer won't be seeing them for at least another two months, I really wanted to set them up well. Also, I had had a lot of coffee and that sort of makes me feel invincible LOL.

So, my hamstrings this morning were SORE! Arms and hands, too! I did go on a hike today, and when I got to the place where I stop and stretch my legs... ouch! It felt better eventually.

Ultimately I'm just happy that I did in fact get some exercise, even if it was just minor muscle exercises.


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## Knave

I am always sore after trimming hooves! I also don’t use stands. I’m afraid of them to be quite honest. My husband uses one to pull a horse’s foot forward. The first time I saw one used, the filly I was riding spooked and put it through her leg. It has always been a no for me since that day.


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## ACinATX

This is a sort of a funny story that I can't remember if I told already. I mentioned a couple of months ago that I clipped Pony out in his pasture. He shares the pasture with his friends, of course, but also a couple of other ponies. One of them is S_____. S has a super pathetic face and is the most annoyingly clingy pony you can imagine. I feel like I need pony spray to keep him away from me, he's so clingy. So I was finishing Pony off with the clippers, and S came over and wanted to know what I was doing. I veer between being nice to him because I feel sorry for him and ignoring him because I don't want to encourage him thinking that we are friends. This time I thought, I will show him clippers and see what he thinks.

So I showed S the clippers. I turned them on. At first, he seemed OK with them, but then he got this scared look in his face and kept backing away. I followed him a few steps but he kept backing up, so I figured, Oh, I guess he's scared of the clippers after all. Then I turned around behind me and saw Pony standing right there pinning his ears at S______. Personally I don't think this is really desirable behavior, when I am right there; but it WAS kind of funny, and it made me laugh in the moment.


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> I am always sore after trimming hooves! I also don’t use stands. I’m afraid of them to be quite honest. My husband uses one to pull a horse’s foot forward. The first time I saw one used, the filly I was riding spooked and put it through her leg. It has always been a no for me since that day.


Yeah we have this one farrier that always leaves his stand wherever, and his mobile tool rack thing also. I've seen horses back into them and spook themselves in the cross-ties. He's always like, "They will learn eventually," but I don't really see the point in putting them through all of that, giving them a bad experience, and possibly letting them hurt themselves. I mostly just use the hoof jack now for pulling their feet forward. It does have a big rubber tip, so hopefully that thing you mentioned wouldn't happen, but I can see them pulling their foot back, knocking it over, and spooking.

This same guy also saw me trimming one day with the hoof jack, and he said I should learn how to do it squatting and holding the hoof with my legs, that it would be more comfortable for the horse. In that, I think he was correct.


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## Knave

The one we have is just welded pipe with a base. So, a pulled off foot combined with a spook stuck the pipe into that soft spot between the tendon and bone, and slit down a ways. She did heal up just fine from it, but it frightened me. I was already scared of the idea because I’d never seen one used, and that cemented my problem.


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## MeditativeRider

You could also be a little sore from walking around in the arena a lot with the riders. I always feel wiped out after helping at therapy sessions (4 lots of 30 min rides with a 15 min break from walking where you are helping with dismounting, taking tack off, cleaning, and then starting with the next person). Walking on soft arena surface for a decent amount of time can be tiring.

It was very generous of you to have the friend and her children out. I hope they had fun.


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## ACinATX

MeditativeRider said:


> You could also be a little sore from walking around in the arena a lot with the riders. I always feel wiped out after helping at therapy sessions (4 lots of 30 min rides with a 15 min break from walking where you are helping with dismounting, taking tack off, cleaning, and then starting with the next person). Walking on soft arena surface for a decent amount of time can be tiring.
> 
> It was very generous of you to have the friend and her children out. I hope they had fun.


Huh, I hadn't thought of that. I haven't spent a lot of time walking around on arena sand LOL. So maybe that contributed.

I think they had a good time. I am generally a grumpy old lady, and I sort of hate everyone on principle, but ... I always wanted horses, and I feel like I am so lucky to be able to live that dream. It makes me happy to be able to bring it to others, and to see the joy it brings to them. I know most people will not be able to afford having horses in their lives on a regular basis. And my horses are just sitting around in the pasture all day and I don't think they mind coming in and being ridden by beginners at a walk.

Honestly the little one seemed so happy, I wonder if they will pursue lessons. But I'm not sure if they could afford it. And I'm not able or qualified to teach someone beyond what I did yesterday.

I will say, this little girl, I did praise her a lot, and I feel like she did quite well. But I caught myself praising Pony an awful lot, too. I wonder if that felt weird to her. I was just very happy with how he did.


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## MeditativeRider

ACinATX said:


> But I caught myself praising Pony an awful lot, too. I wonder if that felt weird to her. I was just very happy with how he did.


Funny. I talk to the horses as much as I talk to the riders during therapy sessions. Some of the kids totally think that is normal and others are like "why are you talking to the horse?".


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## ACinATX

Pony was spooky today! Spookier than he has been in a long, long time. It was very windy and occasionally drizzly, and also this other pony in the middle paddock was completely freaking out for a full hour because someone took his buddy away. He spooked twice while I was doing his feet. He considerately spooked in place. And he spooked twice while I was riding him, in different places, at nothing I could see. They were two big spooks, too. Thank goodness for stirrups, I say.

That was right at the beginning of the lesson, too, so I was kind of hesitant to canter, but he settled down after that and was fine. It was, honestly, a boring lesson. WTC, and a couple of canter poles. I also trotted and walked him for about ten minutes afterwards, trying to work on my riding posture. One thing I noticed was if I didn't have to worry about the reins (e.g. I tied them up and rode him only on legs) my back felt a lot more upright. The instructor also had me canter the canter poles with no stirrups, and I also felt a lot more upright doing that. I don't know what my problem is with tack, but I definitely have some sort of problem. I can't get it on right half the time either. 

Actually even Teddy sort of spooked, which is very unusual for him. I was doing his front feet from the top, and he sort of pulled back a little and then a lot. He took like three or four quick steps backwards and then stopped, looking sort of confused and, of course, worried. I brought him back and he was fine. To me, this reaffirms my feelings about not tying. I know a lot of people feel differently, and I know I am in the minority, but what if he had pulled back like that while tied? Maybe the tie would have stopped him. Maybe he would have pulled it out. Maybe he would have pulled the rope against my neck while he was at it. Add lead ropes and ties to things I can't properly handle.

I also rasped my thumb knuckle again. It hurt, then I waited to see if it would bleed. It did, but not much, so I kept going. Then I rasped it again and it started bleeding more. I kept going, and almost rasped it a third time, and then I was like, OK I will put on a bandaid. If nothing else, to protect my knuckle. I mean, there IS a limit to how much knuckle I can reasonably lose in a day.

I'm looking for some sort of thing I can wear to help my posture. I'm starting to think that my slouching forward could be the root of some of my riding problems. I mean, the ones that aren't caused by tack issues.


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## Knave

If I don’t rasp my hand it is a good day. Lol. The worst is how infected that crap can get… there’s something about hooves that way. I will say though, husband wears gloves to solve that problem. I like to feel things, but I used a set of his gloves and they really were nice. They have a great grip! They have a rough rubber surface to the hand, and they are tight so you can feel. Yet, they make your hands sweat and they stink to high heavens!


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## ACinATX

Yes, I'm definitely worried about the infections. I keep alcohol wipes in a little first-aid kit so I wipe it first really good (ouch!) and then bandaid it. I mean, hooves are dirty. And their pasture is disgusting. And Pony has borderline thrush and Teddy has WLD, and they have those problems without having an open cut on their skin for junk to get in. So yeah, their hooves are nasty.

One of my old farriers said "the trimming gods demand blood sacrifice" LOL.

I have gloves which are a nice soft leather and are very grippy, but a lot of times I end up taking them off halfway. I think I feel like you do -- it sort of decreases the sensitivity of my hands, and I guess I feel like I need them to be sensitive when trimming? I'm not sure why that is.

Oh and I forgot to mention that I did one of his backs with the nippers and one with a rasp, and they took an equally long amount of time. His hooves are so thick they are hard to nipper through, and I did such a bad job (at least I didn't cut them too short) that I had to spend a lot of time rasping out all the uneven bits.

I take forever to do them. I imagine all of the horses sitting around complaining when I'm not around. And, when I am around, Moonshine rolling her eyes and making snide remarks like, "Oh boy, here come the gloves, she thinks she's a farrier again." And Pony saying something like "Oh no, not the trimming bucket. Oh. I is going to be stuck here forever. Dis is so boring." And Teddy saying "Guys, hooman mom tries really hard. You shouldn't say bad things about her. But... I wish she could be just a little bit faster."


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## ACinATX

*Three day weekend!*

On Saturday we jumped the green rolltop! The green rolltop is not very high, but every horse hates it. Even the good ones. They duck out, duck in, slam to a halt, slam to a halt and then jump over it like a deer, etc. I know Pony can jump it because the trainer who teaches this lesson has jumped him over it. But when she told me to jump it in our lesson I was like... um.... So I asked her to jump him over it first. She did. He did beautifully. So I got on. And he did it! And then, even more amazing, Moonshine did it! She stopped the first time, but not hard. But she did it the second time. And that was the end of the lesson. Because they did so well!

Also on Saturday I watched the lesson after mine. It was really cute -- a little girl was riding the lesson pony. I guess the instructor had told her to sort of chirrup to the pony when she wanted her to speed up, so this girl was riding and saying "chir-RUP! Chir-RUP!" to get the pony to speed up. 

On Sunday we had another jousting lesson. This one didn't go quite so well. It didn't go too badly, I guess. This time Pony was "up" and Moonshine was calm. So he was easy to move up into a trot or canter, which was nice. On the other hand, I think he started getting grumpy about being held back.

We had an incident. What happened was, we were going to do that ring thing (see video). I was at the end of the run, waiting for my daughter to do hers. I let go of the reins to try to get the lance into a better position (it was getting heavy). Pony put his head down to eat a weed and the reins dropped to his head. Then it was our turn. I thought if I chirruped at him he would put his head up, but instead he thought it was time for us to run. He did put his head up, but he started cantering immediately. However, his reins fell back down when he did, so I grabbed them. I sort of juggled the heavy lance into position one-handed and I did my run. We didn't get any rings, but there was no disaster either! My daughter said I should have just dropped the lance, which in retrospect was true, but I didn't, and we were OK.

So then it was time for the melee. Which is where we bonk each other with styrofoam clubs while mounted. This did not go well. I don't know if it was because Pony was already grumpy, or if they picked up on the fact that we were attacking each other, but he kicked at Moonshine. So basically we spent the next 15 minutes just getting them to walk nicely next to each other. Which, they have done many times. We have passed water bottles off to each other, trotted next to each other, cantered next to each other. Tons of stuff. But they were not very good in the lesson.

Actually, I take that back. Moonshine was pretty good. She didn't give my daughter any attitude, didn't act like she was ticked off the whole time, cantered when asked, and was responsive to leg and seat. I even have a video of her to post. I guess it was Pony who was not so good this time.

After the lesson, driving home was very very windy. But the trailer was good. It got pushed a little but there was no sway. You could feel the truck holding it. Still, it was a 45-minute drive that was pretty much all high winds at highway speeds, and I had got the sweaty palms. At least it's more experience, though. And I realize now that really as long as I keep the truck in the middle of the lane, the trailer will stay there as well. Also I got it out of a really tight spot at the lesson place. OK. So, then when we got back to the barn the gate was locked and I had forgotten the new combination. It took a while to find someone who would answer their phone, but we got them in and unloaded. Of course Teddy was there waiting for us. We let them graze for a bit and then left. I have to admit, it was nice not puling the trailer.

Today we went out to the new place to figure out a plan for the run-in shed / storage area, and I think we got that worked out. My husband and daughter went home after that but I went back to the barn and did some groundwork with Pony. I wanted to work on his lunging since I haven't done it in a while and he's always preferred one way over the other. The lady at the new place says she'll use him for little kids but she wants him to lunge. It didn't go too well at first -- I was in the dressage arena because it was covered (it was HOT today) and he just wouldn't go in his off direction. So I took him to the round pen and had him do a few laps loose, then got the lead rope out and he did much better. I also want to teach him voice commands, or at least clarify the ones he has. Right now he thinks "waaaaaaaaallllllk" means stop, which is totally my fault. So we worked on that.

I did more feet, too. Moonshine's feet keep getting worse and worse (long toe / low heel) no matter how much I bring her heel back. I brought it back a LOT today and rolled her toes pretty good. Maybe it will help.

Arctic front is scheduled for Wednesday morning, so I'm thinking probably no lesson. We'll see. I had an eventful horse week this week anyways.

Videos or it didn't happen:

Pony rings 1





Pony rings 2





Moonshine rings 1





Melee of doom


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## knightrider

Well, I am sorry it wasn't as interesting and fun as last time. I think the lances you are using to spear the rings are longer and heavier than the "real" ring jousters use. Ring jousting is Maryland's state sport, so I've seen it and done it some. The lances are pretty short and light. When I was doing ring jousting for the Renaissance Festivals, of course the lances were big like yours . . . and that was pretty hard.

I was so looking forward to reading about your next lesson. I hoped you would love it.



















But, wow, look how SMALL those rings are ! Those guys are good. They are timed for speed too.
Are you going to do any more jousting lessons? I hope the misfortunes don't put you off.


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## MeditativeRider

Funny, my daughter's coach says chi-rup to the horses to get them to speed up just like the little girl in lesson was (with an emphasis on the rup part). I more making a kissing/clicking sound and had never heard anyone say chirrup before so assumed it was a British thing (where this coach is from).


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## Knave

I never heard that phrase either. I click or kiss.


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## gottatrot

Loved the videos! Pony has the cutest canter.
I laughed hard at the pony kick. It was full of pony-tude.


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## ACinATX

@knightrider no we will definitely go back. We have another one scheduled for March 4. We tried to schedule a couple over spring break but he's out of town then. I shouldn't make it sound like we didn't have a good time -- we did. And we learned something about our horses (well, I guess I should say I learned some things about Pony) that are good to know. And we have something to work on.

He's out of town then until the end of March, and I'll try to schedule one more lesson then. After that, a number of things are going to come together that make it unlikely that we will have another lesson for a while. But we'll see.

@MeditativeRider and @Knave I thought that "chirrup" was the name of the kissing or clicking sound you make to make your horse go. Not that you were supposed to say "chirrup." I didn't hear what exactly the instructor said to this little girl -- did she say "chirrup to your pony" or "say chirrup to your pony." Also another kind of cute thing was this little girl had her first canter. It was just a few steps on a lunge line. You could see like four inches of air between her butt and the saddle at each stride. I was sure she was going to fall off. But she just laughed and wanted to do it again. Kids!

So none of you guys are worried that Pony kicked out at Moonshine like that? As the instructor said, if he had wanted to connect, he would have. But they know they aren't supposed to go after each other when we are around. If this had happened at my regular lesson barn, the instructors would have been freaking out.


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## TrainedByMares

AC, your intent was 'attack' and I think Pony felt that and followed through. You will have to teach him to moderate it. Pony-tude is a great word!!


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## TrainedByMares

A bit of a shameful admission but I can get Nicki to attack (pushing, biting or bulldozing,never kicking) my wife or dog or cat by using that intent. On the flipside, whose spouse doesn't need a tune-up once in a while? I have learned that I need to moderate it or I will create a monster!


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## Knave

I could Queen easily too I think @TrainedByMares .

So, I probably would have spanked him for it, but did it bother me? No. I think I’d have spanked him because you want to continue on playing this game, and so he can’t behave like that. It made me laugh.

When I was young on Runt, the wild boy and I would joust. This was only until we got caught and threatened a decent beating mind you. Anyways, our horses would get to fighting crazy, and we had enough control to keep from getting seriously hurt but allow the fighting. Hence the beating… lol. Pony reminded me of that.

The girls and I played tag a couple times on our horses, and I was on Bones at the time, and he immediately got aggressive. So, no more tag.

I didn’t let it bother me. Aggressive behavior is something I kind of need in a horse. I just think that sometimes it gets a bit excessive, but I don’t really blame the horse. He thought you were fighting! He did good! Lol. I’d hate wacking him for it, but you have to, and keep him more controlled so that he doesn’t get away from you.

My Runt, I could make her attack anyone or anything. I could stop her seconds from their body. I loved it! I made people cry, but they had it coming, and I was young. Lol. I think Queen is a similar beast, but I don’t think I have the control to stop it yet, so we keep it on a tight leash.


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## Knave

I should explain our jousting wasn’t real like yours or @knightrider ‘s. Ours was with the pole bending poles, and we just were riding athletic enough horses to be able to jump out of the way of the pole last minute, while trying to knock the other off. To think of it now, running at someone with a pole: probably not a great idea. Hahahaha. I guess he wasn’t alone in his “wild.”


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## knightrider

When I was a 4-H leader, we played a game with balloons. Each rider would have a balloon attached to their back. And each rider had a stick with a pin on it. The object of the game was to be the last rider in the arena with their balloon intact. The fun of the game was that some horses reacted to the popping balloons and others didn't care. Of course, when your horse reacted, it veered away from the melee, so you had a better chance of winning. Even the spooky horses seemed to adjust fairly quickly to the popping balloons. Of course, these were kid horses, so they were not very reactive anyway. The horses often got into the game, realizing they needed to go after the other horses


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## ACinATX

We had two lessons cancelled because of miserable weather (temps in 30s, drizzly, windy). I went out to see them and put their sheets on the first day, but I didn't stay too long because I hadn't dressed appropriately. I was really annoyed with myself -- I had checked the hourly forecast before I left but for some reason I hadn't layered on as much as I should have. At one point I lost feeling in my toes, so I went and sat in the truck for a few minutes to warm up. Then I came back out and not too longer after that I lost feeling in my fingers. So I put a bunch of alfalfa hay in their pasture and left.

I cam back out on Saturday, just to hang out and do a little groundwork with Pony, as lessons were cancelled again. We did our groundwork and it went OK. I forgot if I mentioned it before, but the jousting instructor had suggested how to bridge Pony picking up his feet on command with him doing Spanish Walk, so we worked on that.

For the first time ever here, they put themselves back out afterwards. I had let them out of their stalls and they were grazing on the little grass that's still out front. I was getting ready to put them back anyways, so I got three flakes of the really nice alfalfa hay and took them out. Pony saw me and just trotted over and into the pasture. Then Teddy was like, "Why is he -- Oh!" And he came trotting over. Finally Moonshine was like, "What!?? What??? Why are they going in there? Is that alfalfa hay? Me me me!" I just had to open the gates and let them in.

Sunday we had a makeup lesson. I explained to the instructor that we wanted to work on the Pony and Moonshine being ridden next to each other nicely, so she had us do a bunch of drill team exercises. He did turn his butt at her once during the trot, but I got after him. The instructor said what I should do, instead of reacting and getting after him, is to push him forward into contact and make him get really collected. She said that would keep him from kicking out, and it would be good for him anyways.

Speaking of being really collected, one of the exercises she had us do is a circle, with the two of us riding in different directions, one on the inside and one on the outside. I don't know why, but I was really focused on Pony's bending, and I got some gorgeous bending and some collection as well! The really interesting thing I noticed is that he didn't seem as focused on her as he had been, and I think the reason is that I was really focused on him, and getting him to do exactly what I wanted, then I was on her. And me focusing on him made him focus on me, so he was less concerned about her. This is something I really need to think on. In general, I'm a fairly indifferent rider and I don't like to micro-manage him, and as long as he generally does what I want I don't ask for anything more. This instructor and the other one are always telling me to get his attention back on me, make him focus, etc. It's just hard. But it's really interesting to see what that yielded.

So, afterwards I finally told the barn owner I was leaving. She took it more or less OK. I guess I am going on good terms. I told her the truth, or at least a large part of it, which is that there's too much uncertainty right now, and with three horses I can't just wait around to see what happens with the property. She then told me that they had gotten a six-month lease extension from the new buyer. And that the old lease was going to end in April. I wish she had been honest with me before about her lease situation, and I wish she had thought to tell me about the lease extension. But like my husband said, even if this is true, it just postpones the problem.

My other instructor, the one who did all the training on Pony, was surprisingly harder. We both got emotional. I told her how much I appreciate everything she's done for him, and how she was the single biggest factor in him progressing, how she was the first trainer to listen to him and take his opinion into consideration, and how that ultimately helped him get where he is now. I told her if she ever wanted a reference, or a good review, or anything, to let me know. I think I will also mention that I'm still free to take her and her pony on trail rides. I forgot to tell her that. Anyways, I can tell you that I am NOT a hugger, but we both wanted a hug, so we did. I am SO not a hugger. You guys have no idea.

The date is set -- most likely March 17 or 18, as that's the end of spring break so my daughter will be around to help. I will take the two days off, so we can all just hang out together in their new pasture. We can take them on some walks around the new place, too. Pony and Moonshine have already been there, so they will hopefully be OK.

I loaded Teddy and had him stay on, and got the bars closed for the first time, so that was good. He's going to have to be pretty ready pretty soon. Although as my daughter pointed out, I really only need him to load once. And he already does load. So if he goes back to being traumatized by the trailer afterwards, well, we can go back to working on that.


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## ACinATX

I've realized something about myself and riding. I have started to understand the amount of work and focus that is required to be a really good rider, and I've realized I don't care enough to do it. For instance, Pony can go super nicely, get collected, jump perfectly, etc., when the trainer rides him. I can get that out of him too, but geez is it SO MUCH WORK. Focus focus focus. More than I think I want to do.

I've also realized that when I am intensely focused on him, he in turn will be intensely focused on me and what I am asking. So if there are a lot of outside distractions, and I really focus on what I want him to do, he can easily tune them out. But if I don't focus, he gets all looky and distracted.

So, we could be a really awesome pair, but I've decided to be honest with myself and realize that that's not what I want. Now that I understand how much work I'd have to put into it to get there, I don't want to do it. I do want to keep learning and growing, but I'm not going to be committed to reaching our highest level of performance. It goes back to where I started with him -- I want to ride him, and for us both to be happy and have fun. Full stop.

So maybe going to this new place and getting a fresh start might be good for us. Maybe I can do fewer lessons and more hacking out in her fields. And maybe we can do more trail rides. The new barn owner can put rides on him to keep him growing, but I'm not going to try to keep up.

Speaking of the new place, I talked to Moonshine's rider today and told her we are leaving, and that she could come with us. She seems open to the idea, but not super committed. So we'll see. I told her I didn't want to put any pressure on her, but that I would be super happy for her to keep riding Moonshine. The barn owner at the new place is fine giving her lessons once a week, even though she generally only does lessons with horse owners. I hope she comes with us.

I think I must have messaged my departure well with the current barn owner. She seems like she's still happy with me, and today she pointed out that she thinks Teddy is getting a bit ribby. I had just noticed it today myself. So we talked about it and she'll have him fed alfalfa pellets twice a day and see how he does. She... can be pretty sensitive and touchy, especially when people leave, so I think I must have done OK.

Finally, we have another jousting lesson on Friday. It will be our last one for a while, as the guy is going out of town for a few weeks after that. I've gone from being terribly anxious thinking about trailering them, to just thinking about how annoying it is that I had to do all the work, load everything, hook up the trailer, then drive 45 minutes to get out there. So that is a definite improvement in my feelings about trailering.


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## Knave

I think that is a really good mindset! Sometimes, when I really improve a horse, it is actually when I decide that I am done trying to improve him. Lol. When I decide that the horse is about as good as he’s going to be, and I just decide to ride and enjoy him, things kind of naturally improve, and it becomes more fun for both of us.

I think wanting to just trail ride and enjoy yourselves will make both of you happier. Plus, there is the added benefit of someone putting training rides on him!


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## gottatrot

I agree with @Knave. Plus, I've ended up improving my riding a lot when I thought I was just having fun.


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## ACinATX

Our jousting lesson was kind of ho-hum. We spent most of our time doing what we had done in our lesson on Sunday, namely getting the horses so they could be close to each other without being nasty. Moonshine made some really impressive nasty faces, and Pony pinned his ears, but no one did anything. We also whacked each other with our clubs, but in a controlled manner. That was mostly OK.

Speaking of Moonshine's faces, the guy said he had a mare that made those faces too. Apparently she did all of the jousting things beautifully, but they could never take pictures of her because she was always making faces. They called it "war mare face." Looking at some of her faces today, and thinking back on her previous faces, I almost wonder if mares have more muscles in their faces. I have never seen a gelding pull the kind of faces she does. Every part of her face gets into the spirit.

My trailering attitude was even better than I had expected. It was windy today again, and traffic was bad on the way back, and there were a ton of big trucks. But I was like, this is boring, it's such a long drive, when will we be back. No anxiety at all!


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## TrainedByMares

You are doing well,AC! I do believe that when you are trailering you do need a keen sense of awareness. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Not anxious or nervous but always watching,always looking for a place to land your rig should you experience a tire failure etc. It should never be boring until you are safely parked.


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## ACinATX

Yes! Believe me, I was. I was looking out three cars ahead of me in front, all lanes, and aware of cars to the side and behind. And maintaining a safe following distance, which was hard in heavy traffic because everyone just wants to cut you off all the time.

My goal is to not have to brake. To be aware enough of what's going on in front of me, not just right in front of me, but even a quarter of a mile ahead, so if everyone is braking, I can just take my foot off the gas and slow down. I figure that must be better for the horses. I mean, obviously, if I have to brake I have to brake, but I'd like to be aware enough of what's going on that I shouldn't have to. It helps that the truck sits so high.

Did I tell you guys? I have named the truck. It's name is "Moby Truck" as it is very large and white. But I can call it "Mo" or "truck" or "truckie." It turns out that it doesn't have a gender, it's just "it."


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## ACinATX

I had a great lesson today. My daughter is out of town so it was just me.

I wanted to work on jumping, but Pony seemed a little go-y-er than usual. So I thought, let's work on collection first. So we did, and he was great! I got him collected and it felt SO different! I even got him collected at the canter and, at the end of the lesson, he offered a collected canter that I wasn't even asking for! It was great!

I was complaining before about having to focus, and it did take a lot of focus, but we also took breaks so that made it easier. And of course what made it easiest was his energy level, which was unusually high, meaning I didn't have to keep nagging him to go. So: energy --> impulsion --> collection!

He did great on the jumps, too. My goal for the lesson had been to ride him more actively and try to rate his step into the jump to get what I wanted, but that didn't work out, even though I was counting. I just couldn't visualize it correctly, so of course him being him he always took a long spot. I did get to where I understood what spot he was taking and just went with it, rather than hitting him in the mouth, which I guess was an improvement.

The instructor ended up putting a ground pole in front of the jump, and that changed things dramatically. I laughed so hard the first time we took it -- I wasn't expecting up, but he paused for a split second between the pole and the jump and took the jump in a very nice, very rounded position, which the instructor said was what she was looking for. But what made me laugh was, my butt felt like it was a foot off the saddle at the top of the jump, he was so round. I am not used to him rounding out like that. She said he normally takes jumps long and flat, which throws him onto his forehand afterwards, and that's also why he loses leads. He only lost a lead once today, AND I felt it!

It was maybe the best lesson of one of the best lessons I have ever done -- collection and quality jumping! And a new pony was delivered to the barn, right next to the arena, in the middle of the lesson, and he looked at her once and then got focused back on me!

***

Something funny happened yesterday that I forgot to mention. I was currying and brushing Pony, and I found this lump on his back leg. Sort of on the front of that part where it goes from being haunches to being leg (I don't know what that is called). I palpated it and it didn't seem tender, and it wasn't warm, and there was no sign of injury, so I just sort of left it. Then I went to curry his other side and saw the same lump over there. My brain creaked along for a few seconds. Oh.... it was MUSCLE! LOL. He's actually getting quite muscly, although not to worry he still has plenty of "pony muscle" (AKA fat), too, so his pony shape is not in any danger.


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## ACinATX

Pony and I worked on turn on the haunches yesterday and today. Yesterday before my lesson. 

I was second-guessing myself this morning after watching some videos about teaching turn on the haunches, and thinking my release wasn't good enough. You know, like I wasn't giving the release at the exact right moment. This is why I use treats a lot of the time. I know in theory treats and release should work the same, but it seems to me that Pony tries harder to understand what I'm asking when I give him treats, so the timing doesn't have to be quite so agonizingly precise.

I guess I was second-guessing myself for nothing, because today he was a lot better. We went from just one step over to two (I will say that the videos I watched both suggested that learning this is pretty hard for a horse, so I don't feel bad that I had to back things down so far yesterday, to where just one step was good enough).

Also, Pony LOVES to turn on the forehand. He loves to scoot his back legs over. So of course that's what I kept getting yesterday. After a while, I moved him over to the fence so he couldn't turn his butt, but then he wanted to just back. We did get it eventually, just one step. He would take one step and then sort of step a little with his back feet, too, which was part of the reason I was concerned about my timing.

But like I said, it seems like he had been thinking about it overnight because he really picked up on it quickly today. It wasn't perfect every time, but like I said we got two steps in several times. I also worked on moving the pressure spot from his actual shoulder to a little farther back, so it translates better to a cue from the saddle. 

Then I got on him and tried it, and he was really good! At the halt and the walk. Actually I think doing it from the halt is harder for him. We worked on that briefly and also just ambled along. It was super windy today, I mean it felt like being in a hurricane a couple of times. One time I honestly felt like the wind was going to blow me off him.

I'm not sure how far I want to go with the turn on the haunches. The reason I really started was, you might recall, I wanted to ride Pony with no tack, and I needed a way to move his shoulders over for a turn. I thought that using leg pressure near his shoulder would work, but he didn't seem to get it. So, if he gets it now, just enough to take a step or two over, will I just stop? Or should I keep going and try to teach an actual turn on the haunches? I'm not sure if I know enough to correctly visualize what exactly that should look like. I guess I could watch some more videos, though.

We could have kept working on it, or on something new, but I heard the barn owner trying to figure out who to put on which horse for her lesson, as she had several that were lame. I offered Pony (I'm always trying to get him exercised). The thing that made me a little sad was she asked this girl who had ridden him several times if she wanted to ride him or the lesson horse, and the girl chose the lesson horse. But then there was another little girl for Pony, which was fine. AND I watched the lesson, and Pony did much better than the lesson horse, so HA! He was very good. And I'm sure he was happy to have a tiny person on his back, in a saddle, as opposed to my pokey butt riding him bareback. Also she gave him carrots afterwards and (LOL) told him "good boy" for eating them. I really do think he likes little kids, and it's not hard to see why. They all love him.


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## ACinATX

Oh, I forgot to mention, I guess I'm just putting this here to remind me. I also figured out that I could set him up for success better with the turn on the haunches by having him NOT stand square. Then, whichever front foot was in front, that would be his outside leg and I'd ask him to cross it over. It was easier for him when he already had the leg out.


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## ACinATX

Well, this is a surprise. We're not moving boarding barns after all. The barn owner told me last night the sale of the property fell through and she got a new lease with the current owner for a year. So I'm going to stay here. I know it's not perfect, and I've had my issues with the property and owner in the past, but on the whole I think it's a better place than the other place. Now I just have to tell the other place. Eek.


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## ACinATX

Today I worked on teaching Pony the words "right" and "left." I wanted to teach him by sitting on his back and giving him a treat (2-3 alfalfa pellets) when I said the word. So "right" and my hand will be out on his ride side, and "left" and my hand will be on his left side. After just two rounds, I found myself saying "riiiiiiiiiggghhhht" rather than "right," maybe because subconsciously I felt like they needed to sound more distinct.

We did that for a while with no visible learning on his part, then I decided to ride him without tack. So I got on and he started walking -- right to the arena gate (which was open), like he was ready to go out and eat that yummy grass out there. So I stopped him (had to use both "hooooo" and body language) and got off and closed the gates. I have only closed the gates a handful of times working with him, but he didn't feel overly compliant to me today. So I clipped the reins onto his halter.

But, I still tried to use only my legs, and mostly he did really really well! I've been working on turns on the haunches on the ground, and now he just sees my hand moving toward his shoulder and he steps over. He still will take one or two steps and then need to move his back feet. I may start a thread about it. He's good enough for my purposes now, though. We did a lot of work with ground poles, and particularly with very tight turns, even tight 180s, and he was great almost every time. Actually most of the time he was following where I was looking and not even needing the leg. He got lots of rewards (I kept going with the "riiiiiiiighhhht" and "left" while alternating sides for his rewards, and it seems like maybe he was starting to get it). That was maybe 20 minutes, all at the walk.

Then I got off and worked on reinforcing the difference between "waaaaaaaalllllk" (to slow down from a trot) and "hoooooooo" (to stop). He reads body language beautifully, but I'm hoping to teach him verbal language too. We just did that walking straight with the lead rope. So I would walk, then say "TROT TROT TROT!" to trot, trot a few steps, then "waaaaaaaalllllk" and start walking. Of course he also then starts walking. Reward him while walking, then "hooooooo." I should have lunged him to check, but I had only brought his clip-on reins as a leadrope, and they aren't long enough to lunge with, and I was feeling lazy, so we didn't.

I did his feet this weekend. I felt like I trimmed them too short. The fronts, I rasped his heel down to the level of the sole, and then rasped a little sole and heel together. But, the thing is, it's been really dry for a while, and he hasn't shed any sole for months, so I'm hoping it was OK. It was like that "bad haircut" scenario, where you mess up one side and then have to make the other side shorter in order to fix it, then you have to fix THAT mistake, and before you know if you've given them a buzz cut.  I did his fronts yesterday, so I kept a close eye on him today as I walked him over rocks and rode him, and he seemed to have no problems. I did his backs pretty short too, but not as short. I eyeballed all of them when I put him out, and they look OK to me. I'm still finding it physically difficult to nipper his hooves -- they are so thick! I even got some brand new nippers out, but I was still not doing a very good job.

I also think I scalded off Teddy's forelock (see What happened to Teddy's fetlock?). I used a different vinegar this time to mix the solution, and I think it must have done it. Per some suggestions, I slathered aloe vera gel all over it today. I hope it gets better soon.

I did everyone's feet from the top yesterday. Then I went back today and re-rasped the roll into Moonshine's front toes today. I haven't seen any more bruised whiteline on her feet since I've been rolling them -- thank you @Knave for telling me to do that.

The weather has been really nice, and I don't have spring allergens (yet) so I'm going to take a little time off this week and try to get outdoors a bit.

Oh, I have some pictures. They aren't horse related at all, but I was going back through some of the pictures on my phone and saw them and felt like sharing. They are pictures I took of spooky trees.


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## gottatrot

Cool pictures of the trees. 

My cousin trains her horses to only voice commands. She doesn't like to use legs or the bit, so you ride them on a loose rein and just say words. They know walk, trot, canter and whoa. If you want to go back to a trot from canter, you say trot. She doesn't gallop, so they don't know that word. Don't say whoa unless you want to stop, at any speed. If you say easy, they will slow down within a gait. I don't think she has a word to make a trot faster, for example. Gee is right, left is haw, you move slightly off the straight track by shifting your seat in that direction, with no word cue. So gee or haw mean a 90 degree directional change rather than a veer in one direction. I'm trying to remember how you do a 180. I think you sit back on your seat bones, and say a word, but I can't remember if it is "turn," or "reverse," or what. 

To me it is interesting that you can be having a conversation, and then pause for a second and say a word and the horse will do it. So you can say, "Then we went over to the store and got some oranges...Trot," and the horse will pick out that word.
When I rode a lot with a certain group of friends, the front rider would check to see if everyone was ready before we galloped. The front rider would say "Ready?" with a question in the voice, and all the horses would tense up. Then if the the other riders said, "Ready!" the horses would all bolt into a gallop. If the other riders said "Hold up, wait, not yet," or something else, the horses would not gallop. I think horses are very good at learning verbal cues.


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## Knave

I wouldn’t like that @gottatrot. I like too much finesse. Sure, my horses all know whoa, and I make a sound that will transition them down a gate, but beyond that, I wouldn’t like it. I couldn’t pick up their shoulder, counter ark, or just the tiny details I would like to have happen.

Funny side note- when I was trick riding in public, my horse could not respond to whoa. People they say will holler “whoa,” at a horse someone is trick riding on. Since that horse stops to a sound, rather than any movement, because you are not usually very connected to him, “whoa” is a very bad idea.


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## gottatrot

Knave said:


> I wouldn’t like that @gottatrot. I like too much finesse. Sure, my horses all know whoa, and I make a sound that will transition them down a gate, but beyond that, I wouldn’t like it. I couldn’t pick up their shoulder, counter ark, or just the tiny details I would like to have happen.
> 
> Funny side note- when I was trick riding in public, my horse could not respond to whoa. People they say will holler “whoa,” at a horse someone is trick riding on. Since that horse stops to a sound, rather than any movement, because you are not usually very connected to him, “whoa” is a very bad idea.


Me either, @Knave. It's one thing to try for alternative cues for tackless riding, and another to have horses that can't tolerate leg pressure because you don't want to be "mean." I don't train horses like my cousin. 

Funny about the whoa in trick riding. I had to teach Amore not to respond to some cues, because we rode with people who kissed to walk, trot or just keep going, and when they did it she kept breaking into a canter. If they clucked she trotted. 

I guess keep it in mind, @ACinATX, if you are out with other riders?


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## ACinATX

@gottatrot Pony used to respond to cues from the instructor, or at least try to. It was super annoying. She'd tell me to canter, and if I didn't pick it up immediately she'd start kissing at him. Every time it happened he'd perk his ears and his body would get all coiled up ready to go. And I'd make him come to a complete halt. And then ask her not to do it. Eventually he stopped listening to her, and she stopped doing it. He listens a lot more to my body language now. When she says something like "waaaaaalllk" you can see his ears twitch, but he waits for me to confirm. So I am OK with that.

I also would not like to have just that bare minimum of control over the horse. I feel kind of funny saying it, after I wrote that whole post about how riding really properly is too hard and I don't care enough to do it, but really I do enough precision work that I need to have control over my horse's body, and all parts of it, when we are riding. Even if we're out in the pasture or on a trail, there are times I want him to scoot over with his body, not his head. I guess "gee" and "haw" just means turn their head that direction, and their body will follow? That is just not enough control for me. I can't imagine only being able to control his head and speed.


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> I was feeling lazy


Reading your journal, I just don't get that impression! lol


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## gottatrot

I think there's a big difference between riding properly based on rules, versus being a team with your horse. It's great feeling like you are in balance and really communicating. Versus being a passenger.

My other friends taught their driving horses "gee" and "haw" also. In harness it means to really push against the shafts, cross the legs over (like your turn on the haunches while walking), and get cart around a sharp turn. So in harness it is more body than head.


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## Txshecat0423

Vocal commands on drill team won’t work for sure…you don’t want the whole line of horses responding to a vocal command. However, I have taught Skip to sidepass by saying “left” or right”. I can ask for it and get it by leg pressure but I just wanted to see if I could get it to happen by giving a vocal
command and sure enough, he does it! I usually use “easy” to slow down, and “Ho” to stop. He knows “trot” and “get up” (to lope) but I only use those when I’m riding on my own. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

I went out today for a lesson, but Pony had a significant cut on his leg when I pulled him in. It was still dripping. But I hosed it off and it seemed shallow, if kind of long. The barn owner thought it was fine to just hose it off and leave it, and I agreed. But I didn't want to have a lesson with him being like that. I wasn't sure if it might cause him pain, and I also thought that getting sand kicked up into it wouldn't be too good.

So I decided to work on tackless riding some more. Overall, again, he did very well. We actually did a course a couple of times. The course was: walk between two obstacles, straight to ground pole, sharp right turn, over two low half rails, sharp right turn, walk over two ground poles (spaced well apart), sharp right turn, cross rail, sharp right turn, ground pole. The only thing is, both times we did it, he was great until the cross-rail, then he just wouldn't go right. (I also just realized, writing this out, that we went to the right twice and to the left zero times, so that's bad). He would just spin in place. I'm not sure what that's about. I mean, I don't know why he did it in that one spot. We also did a little tackles trotting and that went really well. I was particularly happy with him responding to a verbal "waaaaaallllk" to go from trot to walk, and that he didn't just stop. So maybe he's learning "waaaaaalllllk." However, we worked on "left" and "right" some more, and although he now realizes that both words mean "treat," he has no idea what each word itself means.

After the ride, I could see that his wound had dried off and it just looked mostly pink with one little scab. So I feel good about that.

Also I trimmed Teddy's hooves a bit. My new nippers trimmed him so easily! So I realize it's not just that I'm weak or that my nippers aren't sharp or strong enough, it's that Pony's hooves are super tough. The way it feels is this. Trimming Pony's feet is like trying to cut a piece of thin wood with dull scissors. Trimming Teddy's feet is like cutting a piece of thick cardboard with sharp scissors. SUCH a difference!

I came back home, ate something, and went straight to work (I am working from home). I had a meeting, and then I was just looking down at my pants for some reason and saw Pony hairs all over them from my ride. "Awwww", I thought. Pony fur! It's a nice reminder that we had a nice time.


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## ACinATX

A tiny child rode him for spring break camp. When I got out his saddle today, his stirrups were at the highest hole, AND they were tied as well, to make them even shorter. I talked to her on Thursday. She really likes riding him. I don't know why. She fell off him once, but apparently it wasn't his fault -- he picked up the wrong lead and apparently had a rough transition to the correct lead. That was kind of weird to me because as many problems as he's had with me, he never had that one.

Anyways, she was talking about how much she enjoys riding him. At the end of it, I was like, "Wow, so you really like riding him." And she said, "No, I don't like riding him, I LOVE riding him!" I still couldn't figure out exactly why, LOL. It may be because he's a very happy guy. I mean, I know why I like riding him, I just wonder sometimes why other people do.

We had an exciting lesson today. We rode out in the pasture. Not our horses' pasture, but the one right next to it. Which they can see very clearly from their own pasture. OK, it was the first time they had ever been out there, but still you wouldn't think they would have acted like we were asking them to be ridden on the moon. But no. Pony was super looky and go-y, and then he had one small spook, which I guess wasn't bad. Moonshine was her usual level-headed self, I mean she wasn't worried. But she got super strong on my daughter. She almost ran off with her. Daughter was riding in just the halter and clip on reins, so I asked the instructor if I should get Moonshine's bridle and she kind of laughed and said yes. They had to do increasingly tiny circles before Moonshine finally slowed down.

She was fine once she got the bridle on. She didn't like it, though, LOL. You could see her try to run away again, and my daughter hauled on her face, and she made all sorts of bad faced but then she slowed down.

This pasture has lots of randomly sloping areas, and a lot of areas that are flat but have deep hoof prints in them, so I had to trust Pony to take care of me out there. Which he did. I think I need to relax about that and just let him worry about where his feet go. But I still worry about the hoofprint areas. He also got kind of fast a couple of times at the canter, but I worked that into a nice collected canter, so that was good. We went over some ground poles and some x-rails and a log. It was definitely nice not to have to use any energy getting him going, but this time I had to use energy to get him to slow down LOL. But overall it was good and I would like to ride out there again.

Moonshine has been getting pretty sticky and somewhat ripe smelling, so I got my daughter to give her a bath. She does very thorough baths. So the other two got to spend a lot of time eating the fresh green grass that's in the front area. I hope it rains soon, though; I planted a lot of that grass but it's not doing too well, except in the spots where the water tends to collect and drain.

My daughter took Moonshine into the arena to roll (to keep her from rolling somewhere yucky) and we got a whole new horse out of it! A sand roan, I would say. I took some pictures for once.

After that I just hung out a bit with them, and then we left.


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## ACinATX

We had another pasture lesson. I actually found out someone rode him out there last Sunday as well (I knew she was riding him, just didn't know she was riding him in the pasture). I was shown some videos, and he did a really good job. Apparently all the other horses were acting up, but he was totally fine. The woman they put on him, it was her first time riding him and her first time riding in the pasture, and apparently she was nervous. But she rode him over all the cross-rails and jumps and he was perfect.

Our lesson was great, too. He was a tiny bit looky still, but not jumpy like last time. I actually had to encourage him to stay in the canter a couple of times, as opposed to last time where I had to work to keep him from taking off. We did a lot of jumping, including over a solid jump. The trainer asked whether I was comfortable jumping it, so maybe it was even a bit of a stretch for me. The object is maybe a little less than two feet high, and it's made up of two arches, with no standards. She cautioned me that he would think about not going over it, and he did. But bless him, he really does telegraph his intentions a good ten strides out. So we have a conversation:
Pony: let's go around it to the left; going over it is too much work
Me: no, we're going over it
Pony: I wants to go around it; I is still thinking left
Me: no, we're going over it
Pony: OK, hooman lady, you'se the boss, we goes over it

Along similar lines, I talked to a couple of the instructors about them using him for little kids, and it seems like the problem is, you do have to be clear about what you're asking and you have to be willing to back it up. Basically I guess he's turning into one of those horses where you have to prove you can make them do it, then they're fine. But really he doesn't take much to be convinced. And he's never nasty about it. He will just not go. The other lady who gives lessons with him was like, "I don't know what the problem is, he's perfect when I ride him." But yeah, I think he is starting to realize that little kids can't make him do things. I feel like they just need to carry a crop, and smack him good once or twice, and then the whole thing would be over. Also, whenever I see a little kid riding him, he's very good. So who knows.

Moonshine was much better today, much more under control. And she didn't duck out as much. 

The instructor took some videos; if she sends them to me, I will post them. I don't think she got videos of the times where we did really well, but I'd still love to see them. I don't think I have any videos of me jumping on Pony. I hardly have any of me riding him at all.


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## ACinATX

Videos! Just look at him with that terrible rider on top. He is a saint to put up with it! What a good Pony!


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## gottatrot

You both look great! That is some good riding! For a brief second in the first video I thought you were heading toward that big wall. I'm convinced that ponies are too smart for kids and are really meant for adults. I don't think hamsters are kid's pets either. LOL.


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## ACinATX

Usually on Mondays I go for a hike, but I couldn't yesterday so I went to see the horses instead. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I ended up re-trimming Pony first, all of his feet. I was right about him having a lot of retained sole, a lot of which he shed over the last week or so. It was enough that, even though I had trimmed the hoof walls down to the plane of the sole last time (two weeks ago), I had to get the nippers out to do his feet again (too much to rasp). The bar I had taken down below the level of the sole was now somewhat above the level of the sole, and the one that I had left a little above was now sticking way out. But it still looks like he has more to shed, as he still has cracks in his sole.

It's amazing how different all of their feet are. I would never in a million years trim Moonshine's sole, and Teddy doesn't need it either, but I'm thinking that Pony might need it. The problem is, I have no idea how to do that. I mean, I'm familiar with chalky vs waxy sole, but just getting things level, ugh. I think what I'm going to do is has the barn farrier trim him next time. The barn farrier has no problem trimming sole or frog as needed. 

Oh, and frog is another thing. I took off a lot of frog on his fronts yesterday. I hope not too much. Whereas with Teddy and Moonshine, all they ever need is maybe stuff peeled off every now and then when it's trying to shed. Pony just makes a lot of hoof. My trimmer said small feet can be like this, growing a lot of hoof and then retaining it also.

I thought the barn owner had permanently cancelled Monday lessons, but she was having a lesson out in the field yesterday. She offered for me to join, but I really needed to trim Pony's feet, so I said no. But I was watching them out there and it looked like a lot of fun and the weather was nice, so as they finished I went out there.

My goal was to canter and work on my seat. Specifically not bouncing on poor Pony's back. I'm not sure how much, if any, I improved. I tried "leaning back," which made me feel like I had more weight in my heels, which was good, but it also left me feeling behind the motion. I'm not sure if I really was or not. I also tried "sit for three, two-point for three," which has helped in the past. It helped yesterday, too, but only while I was doing it and for a few strides afterwards. After that, I'd go back to bouncing. One thing I also really need to try to think about is bending from my hips, not my waist. I tend to slump or slouch forward.

We ended up cantering for about 20 minutes, with a few walk breaks here and there. At the end, Pony started stumbling a bit (stumbling probably = tired, right?) which made me think he was getting tired, so we stopped. Per that discussion, maybe I was the one getting tired. The discussion on that one was really interesting, with some people thinking it was too much work, and some thinking it was not enough work. 

I think now that it comes down to whether he's conditioned for it. Maybe he isn't, and maybe I should take it a bit slower. Especially since he's not used to working on that surface. He's out on in all day, but not with someone on top of him. It was strange, though -- he didn't seem tired, really. He was more than willing to keep going, whereas normally he just wants to stop. And he wasn't breathing hard. I mean, a little, but not much. He was sweaty afterwards, but not too much. 

One thing that I noticed as we cantered around was that hoof divots would come flying off his feet every now and then. So while I hope that just getting trimmed and then working on a hard surface didn't hurt him, I'm also hoping that maybe he'll have exfoliated some more sole when I see him tomorrow. Maybe all that movement on a harder surface will have helped. I want him to shed all of his excess sole so I can see what his feet really want to look like.


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## ACinATX

Well, we cantered a little bit in my lesson today. And even though I didn't notice any improvements in my seat after all of that cantering on Monday, I felt MUCH better today. I was able to sit better and follow his movement; I was able to think about what I was doing with my body; I was able to lean back when I wanted, and it felt more natural. So I guess all of that work paid off, even though it didn't feel like it at the time.

Also he seemed fine today, no stiffness or soreness or grumpiness. So if I did overwork him on Monday, he got over it quickly.


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## ACinATX

My cantering continues to improve. On Wednesday, every other person in my lesson called in sick, so I got a private. I told the instructor I'd like to work on my form, and we did. I learned a lot of interesting things. I got my shoulders a lot more relaxed. I cantered a fair bit, too, and I could feel my shoulders continue to be relaxed, heels down, not hunching over.

Today, for the first time, I really felt the sitting canter. I learned what @tinyliny said about moving your pelvis a little proactively. I got so I was really sitting tight on him, pelvis moving correctly, no bouncing! Then the instructor said that the next problem was, when you first start learning to stick your pelvis, your legs tend to tighten up and then come back and you heel goes back up. She said you have to learn to relax your legs, like just let them go. So I tried again, really thinking about relaxing my legs, and it worked! Sort of. My legs were super relaxed and not grippy at all -- I could feel it -- and my heels were down without feeling forced. But I was a little more bouncy. But not super bouncy like I have been. I think I'm really turning a page with my cantering, finally!

I was tired today (eighth day of Ramadan, when I can't have anything to eat or drink, not even water) so I wanted to do something I thought Pony would be happy to do and that wouldn't require a lot of energy expenditure. So I asked to do cross-rails. He did great! I felt a lot more in tune with him than I have a lot of other times. I started to feel like I was losing focus at the end, but ... I wonder if that sort of helped. I mean, I was tired enough to not be thinking super clearly, and I know that overthinking is one of the things that gets in my way as a rider. That's another thing I have to put away to think about. 

Also, in one exercise we did (cross-rail, tight 180 turn to a series of ground poles) I lost a stirrup. For five or six strides I really thought I'd get it back, but then I realized I wasn't, and we completed the exercise (just the ground poles) with me having just one stirrup. It was no problem.

Moonshine was grumpy and not cooperative, though. It's funny, I went into the lesson not wanting to have to push Pony to do much because I was grumpy and didn't want to fight him, and I came out of the lesson feeling great. My daughter went into the lesson feeling neutral and was mad at Moonshine by the end of it. 

I don't know if it's related, but we both noticed that Teddy is being very, um, "protective" of her right now. In the sense of "I will protect you from those geldings by herding you away from them" kind of thing. He was stuck on her like glue the whole time we had them out grazing in the front. Moonshine is super ticked off at him about it and just wants him to leave her alone. But he's the boss of her, so she can make as many faces as she wants but he isn't going to stop. Not until he's ready. I'm not sure what prompted it -- she's not in heat right now, and when she was last week he didn't seem to concerned about her, ahem, flirting with the geldings. 

But something that made me unhappy -- my daughter was leading Moonshine and Teddy came right up on her butt and put his nose next to her and she kicked at him. She wouldn't have kicked at him if my daughter hadn't been there -- she knows he is the boss, but also knows that my daughter is the boss of him. So she figures that she can act out against horses that are above her in the hierarchy if my daughter is around, because they can't fight back (this is a repeated pattern of behavior; she used to do it with other horses, like pick a fight with a horse that was above her, then run back to Teddy or Pony and make them protect her). But I told my daughter, this is absolutely not acceptable. This is Moonshine not respecting her, and her not enforcing good behavior on Moonshine. It's more of the same kind of problems we were having in our jousting lesson. I am not sure what she could do, though. General groundwork isn't going to help. Or maybe it would. I'm not sure.

I do feel good about the cantering, though. And overall I do feel like my position is getting better. And I am happy that it's the eighth day of Ramadan and I can still do pretty normal lessons. I don't think I will all month, but it's nice to not have to stop like I did before.


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## ACinATX

I had a nice horse day today.

I feel like the older I get, the more I experience anxiety as a form of PMS. When I got there today, I was just full of what I would call "chemical" anxiety, by which I mean just a generalized feeling of anxiety that is attached to nothing. In other words, it has no actual cause. I don't know if it's the horses themselves, or just the physical work of taking care of them, but by the time I had fed and groomed them, looked them over, picked feet, and worked on Teddy's and Pony's feet, the anxiety was just gone.

I had a good lesson, too. We did a lot of leg yields, and he got better and better with them. He was even perfect at the trot, even in two-point, and I've always struggled with both. Our canter felt really good. We did some cross-rails with no hands. Then I wanted to take one low vertical (but with hands LOL). The instructor said my body position was much better -- she said that's what jumping with no hands is supposed to help. The kind of cool thing is, after that one vertical, Pony did not want to stop. For once, he just wanted to keep going! I was already mentally like, that's going to be the last thing we do, so I did stop him and get off. But in retrospect I think we should have done a little more jumping after that -- he really seemed to be into it! I'm glad he enjoys it.

I let them graze afterwards. Teddy is still guarding Moonshine, although she didn't seem so ticked off about it today. Maybe she's gotten used to it.


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## ACinATX

Not much has been going on. I've still been going to my lessons. I've still been jumping and doing crossrails, although I'm just holding steady where I am rather than advancing right now. That's OK. 

For our lesson yesterday we both kind of wanted to take it easy, so the first thing we did was try to ride Moonshine and Pony together. They are definitely regressing in that area. I forget if I said it already, but I'm done doing melee, at least with the four of us. The jousting guy offered to do melee with my daughter on Moonshine and him on his own horse. Maybe we'll take him up on that. Anyways, in our lesson we had them trotting next to each other about somewhere around 8-10 feet apart, and that was all they could handle. Even Pony was making faces, which is not like him.

On the plus side for that lesson, I got him into a working walk, or at least his version of a working walk. Also we did a lot of jumping in that lesson, including some challenging jumps like an in-and-out (it's always challenging to ride jumps that are close to each other and set up for horse strides, as he has short legs and short strides) and some solid obstacles, and he did them all perfectly. 

Yesterday when we came to get them, he was standing kind of funny. A little parked out in the back. His back feet are a little long, and the heels in particular are too high. I was hoping it would rain yesterday and soften them up so I could trim them today, but no such luck. He was still standing like that today, though, and I really didn't like it, so I went ahead and trimmed him.

I may have hit on the way to do it for him. He wears his toes and his heels grow, so I started at the toes where there wasn't so much to cut. The first cut was still pretty hard, but then I just went really slowly up both sides, doing what one of my trimmers told me and only moving about half the width of the nippers each time. In other words, I'm not nippering a whole new cut each time, just half a cut. I am not really sure why that works, but it does. It was really humid and nasty, though, and I got a headache every time I leaned over. But I finished both back feet. Hopefully he'll be standing normally next time.

I put the other two in stalls and took Pony out. I took him out to the front of the property, by the road. Then we walked over to the next property. It's mostly a weedly lot right now. Pony really enjoyed that -- it's obvious no one has done anything to this lot since last fall, if then. It is extremely overgrown with all sorts of weeds and grasses: a Pony buffet. He was like, "and a little of THIS and a little of THAT and a little of this OTHER THING." So that was pretty good. It's as far as I've ever taken him off that property.

But then the horses in the pasture that border that property realized he was over there and of course they started freaking out: "There is a HORSE over THERE where there have NEVER BEEN HORSES! Let's run around and kick each other and snort at him!" And then they came cantering over. And Pony was like "WHAT? WHAT? Something is scary? Why is everyone scared? Should I be scared also? I think I will start running around!" 

I have something I say in this situation, which is probably more for me than for him. It's "You're with me." The implication being, you are not part of that herd that is running around, you're over here with me doing what I'm doing." I try to say it as calmly as possible. I also gave him some pellets. Then he agreed he was with me and not with them. The other horses ran around for a while then went back to their gate (where they hang out waiting for the next feeding time). I kind of wanted to go back then, but I also didn't want to go back when I (to be honest) was feeling anxious. So we hung out some more and he ate. Then the only horse who hadn't seen him the first time saw him, and got worked up, and they all started running around again. But this time Pony was too busy eating to really care what they were doing.

So after a while we went back. The long driveway runs between the pasture of the horses that had been running around, and a pasture full of generally calm mares. I chose to walk on the mare side. But then this one mare started getting worked up and snorting and doing little canters, and Pony really thought he should start cantering, too. But I reminded him, again, that he was with me. And he remembered.

So that's all we did today. Teddy's feet shed a lot of sole and now his fronts need to get done. Same with Moonshine's backs. I'm not sure when I will be able to do them.

I'm happy I got Pony's done, though, and I'm happy we went all the way over to where we did.


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## ACinATX

I have been pretty tired and also busy at work so I haven't had time to write, but I've been going to see them.

I had the day off on Friday so I went and spend the whole morning and part of the afternoon out there. A little light bareback riding for Pony and watching Moonshine's rider ride her in a lesson. Then I just let them graze out front for a couple of hours. Then I turned them out but went out to the shelter with them for dozing time. I wasn't surprised they chose to doze -- after eating some nice hay and a bit of feed when they came in, and then grazing for a few hours, they were probably pretty full, plus early afternoon does seem to be when they like to doze.

I don't know if it's because I went on Teddy's side, but he didn't seem to know where to go. He stood outside the shelter right next to the middle divider for a long time. So I went to Pony and Moonshine's side, but Teddy still stayed where he was. They dozed for a while, then one of them would get the idea to move around, and they would want to push and shove. So, I smacked Teddy good once for lunging at Moonshine, and I smacked Pony good once for being about to lunge at her while I was between them. That was a bad infraction. He didn't even give me that look afterwards (the look of "Who me? I have been unjustly accused. I am an innocent Pony.") It was more a look of "Yeah, OK." They need to remember that even if their halters are off, they don't get to push and shove while I'm around. 

I smacked them both in the shoulder. I like to smack horses in the shoulder. That or the butt are my ideal smacking places -- places where there's plenty of muscle (or, ahem, "Pony muscle") so it isn't going to physically hurt them, and I can smack them hard enough for them to know they've been smacked. Of course, once they've been smacked, unless it was a terrible offense, it's all over and we're friends again.

I've also learned that I like to be the boss. I like to dole out reprimands when needed. Luckily they are not needed very often. It's satisfying to be the boss of an animal that's so much bigger than I am. Of course, generally I want to be their friend, but being the boss is also pretty good.

The last couple of weeks, as I've gotten more and more tired, Pony and I have been working on simple bareback riding, and really reinforcing my control of his shoulder, and thus his front feet, with my legs. Along with that, his turn on the haunches is getting a little better. 

So, hesitantly I upload a video of me riding him with no hands! Everything he did here is exactly what I asked for. I was SO happy with him! I hesitate because of the look on my face the whole time. My husband asked "Did you actually enjoy this?" and my daughter said "you look depressed." Yes, I did enjoy it and no I was not depressed. I was super tired and also concentrating really hard. I wish I could just put a happy face emoji over my face for the whole thing. I was SUPER happy with how he did. I am really proud of him! (to be fair, the other video my daughter took ended abruptly when I let him get too close to her and he tried to eat her phone, but you, know, ponies)






I'm also going to post a couple very short videos of me trotting bareback (but WITH hands, although I'm sure he would have been fine without). I felt like I'm getting a much better riding position bareback, and it's making me bounce less, and I wanted to see if that was actually the case. So, kind of interestingly, what I see is when I was trotting, my legs are nice and long, which looks good, but my hands were still forward. I was really working on my arm position that day, but when he trots I tend to gather up more reins. So I will watch out for that in the future. OTOH, when I was riding with no hands, my arms were obviously well back but my legs were up, because that's what happens when I try to use them to signal him.


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## Txshecat0423

I’m glad you posted, @ACinATX, I was worried about you! 


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## gottatrot

Your body looks very relaxed in the first video, so to me it looks like you are enjoying it. Hard to be relaxed and following if you are unhappy.

It also looks like you're really following and feeling the lateral movement of the trot in the bareback trotting videos. Especially in the second one I can see that your hip and shoulder on each side is moving forward with the strides, so you're not just going "up and down" but are moving with the side that is dropping down i.e. the front leg that is on the ground. That is very helpful to be able to do.

If you watch in slow motion, you can see that your hip and shoulder move forward and down with the front leg that is on the ground. That shows flexibility and following in the hips and seat. When you feel that and post or two point with that same lateral following, it helps tremendously to stay with the horse's movement. Some people say it feels like pedaling a bike, when you push down with your leg that is on the side of the front leg that is landing. I used to exaggerate it at the sitting trot to practice getting the feeling of it.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> Especially in the second one I can see that your hip and shoulder on each side is moving forward with the strides, so you're not just going "up and down" but are moving with the side that is dropping down i.e. the front leg that is on the ground. That is very helpful to be able to do.


Yes, this is one of the few things that ever came naturally to me on a horse. At the sitting trot, I always felt like I was moving more side to side than up and down. I think I feel it more bareback, too.


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## Knave

I honestly didn’t dislike your hands. I don’t really know what you’re seeing there.


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> I have been pretty tired and also busy at work so I haven't had time to write, but I've been going to see them.
> 
> I had the day off on Friday so I went and spend the whole morning and part of the afternoon out there. A little light bareback riding for Pony and watching Moonshine's rider ride her in a lesson. Then I just let them graze out front for a couple of hours. Then I turned them out but went out to the shelter with them for dozing time. I wasn't surprised they chose to doze -- after eating some nice hay and a bit of feed when they came in, and then grazing for a few hours, they were probably pretty full, plus early afternoon does seem to be when they like to doze.
> 
> I don't know if it's because I went on Teddy's side, but he didn't seem to know where to go. He stood outside the shelter right next to the middle divider for a long time. So I went to Pony and Moonshine's side, but Teddy still stayed where he was. They dozed for a while, then one of them would get the idea to move around, and they would want to push and shove. So, I smacked Teddy good once for lunging at Moonshine, and I smacked Pony good once for being about to lunge at her while I was between them. That was a bad infraction. He didn't even give me that look afterwards (the look of "Who me? I have been unjustly accused. I am an innocent Pony.") It was more a look of "Yeah, OK." They need to remember that even if their halters are off, they don't get to push and shove while I'm around.
> 
> I smacked them both in the shoulder. I like to smack horses in the shoulder. That or the butt are my ideal smacking places -- places where there's plenty of muscle (or, ahem, "Pony muscle") so it isn't going to physically hurt them, and I can smack them hard enough for them to know they've been smacked. Of course, once they've been smacked, unless it was a terrible offense, it's all over and we're friends again.
> 
> I've also learned that I like to be the boss. I like to dole out reprimands when needed. Luckily they are not needed very often. It's satisfying to be the boss of an animal that's so much bigger than I am. Of course, generally I want to be their friend, but being the boss is also pretty good.
> 
> The last couple of weeks, as I've gotten more and more tired, Pony and I have been working on simple bareback riding, and really reinforcing my control of his shoulder, and thus his front feet, with my legs. Along with that, his turn on the haunches is getting a little better.
> 
> So, hesitantly I upload a video of me riding him with no hands! Everything he did here is exactly what I asked for. I was SO happy with him! I hesitate because of the look on my face the whole time. My husband asked "Did you actually enjoy this?" and my daughter said "you look depressed." Yes, I did enjoy it and no I was not depressed. I was super tired and also concentrating really hard. I wish I could just put a happy face emoji over my face for the whole thing. I was SUPER happy with how he did. I am really proud of him! (to be fair, the other video my daughter took ended abruptly when I let him get too close to her and he tried to eat her phone, but you, know, ponies)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm also going to post a couple very short videos of me trotting bareback (but WITH hands, although I'm sure he would have been fine without). I felt like I'm getting a much better riding position bareback, and it's making me bounce less, and I wanted to see if that was actually the case. So, kind of interestingly, what I see is when I was trotting, my legs are nice and long, which looks good, but my hands were still forward. I was really working on my arm position that day, but when he trots I tend to gather up more reins. So I will watch out for that in the future. OTOH, when I was riding with no hands, my arms were obviously well back but my legs were up, because that's what happens when I try to use them to signal him.


I look pretty serious in horseback riding pictures,too,even though I am happy, it doesn't show.


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## Knave

Me too! I always have the crankiest ugliest look on my face! Then, when I try because I see someone is taking my picture, I tend to look weird. I like suck my chin down, like I want to make myself look heavy, and I get so annoyed when I see them. Why do I do that?! Lol


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## TrainedByMares

Lol! Maybe the aches and pains are showing up in the pictures!


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## ACinATX

I had a couple of "meh" lessons. On Friday we had to use the dressage arena because the others were wet, so that just meant a lot of circles. I don't like circles and Pony doesn't either.

Yesterday I didn't start out grumpy, but then my daughter asked me something about Moonshine's back feet, and when I looked at them I realized they were really overgrown and flared out, so I had to trim them. Her backs are really hard to do because she has a hard time keeping them up, and she wants to put all of her weight on them. So you have to hold them up, and hold up half of the weight of her big back end, when you're trimming. Which I guess was why they were so overgrown -- I just hate to do them and I guess I've been avoiding it. So I had to do them, and it was already hot. I had already done Teddy's fronts. I didn't really have time to do her before the lesson, but they were so bad I couldn't in good conscience let my daughter ride her like that. So I did them, but it made me tired and grumpy for the lesson.

I took it out on Pony. I guess he was tired too, or maybe it was the heat, but he kept wanting to break out of the canter. I kept yelling at him and making him go, and every time he broke I made him do another lap, yelling and cursing at him as well. I guess he could tell I wasn't too happy, because when I finally let him stop, he didn't even ask for treats. I forgot if I mentioned, but I keep alfalfa pellets in my pocket now and if he does a good job, or after a good canter, I will give him a few. Most of the time after we canter he just turns around and asks for some. He didn't even think of doing that yesterday. In retrospect I felt guilty. He knew I was mad at him. I don't think we really accomplished anything in the lesson either, except to make my legs sore.

I went out there today to just hang out with them. That was nicer. I did Moonshine's fronts and Teddy's backs, so I think they are both done for a while. Pony will be seen by the barn farrier this coming week hopefully, as his hooves grew out a ton again and I just don't want to deal with them. Anyways after that I just sat and read my book and let them graze out front. I think the rye grass I planted is just about done: it was 95 out there today. At home, all of the lettuce my husband planted is bolting, along with the kale. Last spring we had a nice long pleasant spring, but this year it's summer already. I lose so much motivation to ride when it's hot outside.

I did see the lady who rides Western out there, and I asked her if she is ever going to bring a gun to desensitize her horse to gunshots (she spends a lot of time desensitizing him). Because if so I was wondering if I could bring Pony to the session. She said if I can bring .22 blanks, she'll bring a gun. She made it sound like she has had a hard time finding them. She also suggested starting with, I think she said a kids' cap gun, myself. Something about a kind of toy gun where you have to wrap some paper around something and light it. Do you guys know what she was talking about? I was embarrassed to tell her I had no idea what that was.

Honestly probably I need to learn to shoot a gun first, LOL. My daughter and I were working out with a co-worker to go to a shooting range with her and her husband and an instructor she knows, right when Covid hit. We were all like, when this goes away in a few weeks we'll reschedule, but then we never did. Maybe we can do that this summer -- take some lessons.

Well, that was a rambling post. I'm halfway thinking to just delete it, but eh, I already typed it. Hopefully something better and more interesting will happen to post about soon.


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## Txshecat0423

She may mean something like below. It’s a toy gun, and the caps are on a roll of paper that you load into the ammo section. As you pull the trigger, the hammer hits the cap and then advances to the next one on the roll.









I’m not aware of one you set on fire. 


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## knightrider

I think she's talking about "poppers." You can get them around 4th of July. Little paper wrapped balls that you throw onto a hard surface and they make a noise--not very loud and a great way to start a horse off getting used to a sudden noise.


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## gottatrot

Yes, we had cap guns as kids, the hammer just makes the gunpowder go "pop" like those poppers @knightrider said. Neither one is very loud though. I would think popping a balloon would be a lot more startling. 

I think it's normal to be crabby on a hot day. It's one reason why I like living in a temperate climate. When we have traveled to hot climates, I have been very irritable in the heat. Hopefully it is something a person gets acclimated to.


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## knightrider

Speaking of popping balloons, when I was a 4-H leader, we used to have a game where each rider had a balloon pinned to their backs. And each rider was armed with a stick with a pin on it. The object of the game was to pop other people's balloons without getting your balloon popped. If your balloon got popped, you had to go into the center and wait. The last unpopped balloon was the winner. It was pretty exciting, with some horses really reacting and other horses completely calm. It was pretty nice because some kids had those unattractive old farm horses that tolerated everything but were no stars in the show ring. They got to shine in that game.


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## ACinATX

knightrider said:


> The object of the game was to pop other people's balloons without getting your balloon popped. If your balloon got popped, you had to go into the center and wait. The last unpopped balloon was the winner.


When you said that, I couldn't help but imagine our own horses doing that. So this would be a combination of jousting's melee (where our horses try to attack each other) and scary noises. That would be a winner.

Although... actually... I wonder if the scary noises might somehow train the horses that they DON'T want to attack each other. Like: kick Moonshine and there's a loud bang. Hmm...


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## gottatrot

ACinATX said:


> ...Although... actually... I wonder if the scary noises might somehow train the horses that they DON'T want to attack each other. Like: kick Moonshine and there's a loud bang. Hmm...


Or maybe that would be more satisfying...


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## ACinATX

Some of the people from my work flew in from Lithuania so I offered them to come see the horses. Two of them took me up on it, and they both rode. They had no horse experience. I always like to see how Pony does with different riders. The woman, he pretty much ignored her and did whatever he wanted. I had to do a lot of intervening. The man was more willing to be firm, so after a bit of dithering Pony did as he was asked. All this guy really needed to do was just be clear about what he wanted, and if Pony tried to turn the wrong way, then just get him turned around the right way. To be fair, I did forget to tell the woman rider to look where she wanted to go -- that's always pretty effective with him. But seeing how he does with different people is always really interesting to me, and it tells me as much about him as it does about them. They seemed to really enjoy their horse time, too.

Today we had a nice lesson. Taking a step back, I think I have a cold. This is big news because ever since Covid, I have pretty much not left the house, and if I did leave the house and go inside anywhere else, I wore a mask. As far as I know, I never got Covid, and I didn't get any other kind of sickness either. For more than two years. Now I have this minor cold (congestion and sneezing and a runny nose) and I'm like, OMG this is the worst. It's pretty pathetic. I guess to be fair to me, I've had a hard time sleeping the last couple of nights due to congestion, but still, it's not THAT bad. I'm just not used to being sick.

And of course it's already hot. Pony was not feeling motivated. And I didn't have the energy to motivate him. But I rode with the whip at the walk and trot, and he was fine. I got rid of it at the canter, and he was fine. We ended up having to do some sudden and tight turns at the canter because Moonshine was being somewhat unpredictable, but he did great. I even got him to move off my left leg at the canter (I really felt it, too), which doesn't happen often.

There was a course of low jumps and some cross-rails and we did that. They were low enough that Moonshine had no problem with them either. Actually she was really good -- no bad attitude, picked up the correct lead each time, etc. She did go into some of them with a bad step and then sort of half-trotted half-cantered over, but she still tried. Pony was wonderful. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I got some good feedback about how I need to get into more of a jumping position, even though these are low jumps, because he does take a long spot sometimes and then I catch him in the mouth a bit. So I spent most of the lesson working on that. We did a variety of courses with the jumps. My daughter and I both agreed that we had fun, so that's probably what we will do next time.

He did get pretty sweaty, and a little out of breath, too. Now I know, from riding him pretty intensely for the last year, that he's not out of breath because he's out of shape, but because it's hot. I asked the trainer if she would recommend clipping him, and she said no, but maybe I should braid his mane because his neck was really hot. At least he WAS sweating -- there's been times off and on in the last few years where I thought he should be sweating but he wasn't. He has a lot of the risk factors for anhydrosis, and I'm hoping that if he can just not get it these last couple of years we're in Texas, then he should be in the clear. 

Oh, this was fun. They covered one of the stalls in my barn with a loose tarp, and no one liked that. That's the breeziest corner of the barn, so it was just flapping and snapping the whole time. Even Moonshine had a couple of spooks at it, and Teddy wouldn't go into his stall until my daughter physically put him in there. The trainer said that they had tried to ride horses past it this morning, and they ended up having to go way around it. But my horses being my horses, they figured out quickly enough that it wasn't going to eat them (at least not immediately) and relaxed. That was good. I wish I could figure out some way to ride them under that tarp, though. But they blocked out that whole stall for some ducklings they just got, so no one is going in or out.


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## ACinATX

I went back out today, just to hang out. Well, and to touch up feet, of course. I should just stop mentioning it because I think at this point it's safe to assume that if I go out there then I'm touching up feet. 

I did get Pony and Moonshine to the point where I can do their feet from the top without anyone holding them. In fact, I even got Pony when he was out grazing on nice fresh grass and got him to stop grazing and let me do his fronts from the top. My secret to this is: (1) cookies, and (2) going fast. I explained to him that I will give him half a cookie after each foot, and then I go as fast as I reasonably can. And I guess (3) I also explain to him that he WILL be doing this, whether he wants to or not. He responds well when I make myself clear. Teddy was pretty much already at that point.

There was a little girl out there while her older sister was in a lesson. Pony was grazing and she went up to him and put her hands on his flank and leaned her head against his stomach (her head barely reached to his stomach) and he was like "OK". Then she was walking right behind him and poking his butt, and she was kind of under his tummy. Her mom was like, "That's not safe," and really it wasn't, but he was so good about it. I wish I had taken a picture where she was leaning her head against him with her hands on him, just this little girl in a dress and a pony. It was so sweet. I love it that he's trustworthy around little kids.

I really was just going to hang out and watch them graze, but then I thought I'd ride a little. So we did a little bareback no hands work, this time at the trot. Pony was great! He was a little slow responding once or twice, but overall he was very willing and did what I wanted. We did a lot of turns, unexpected turns, and circles, and he was super! But we didn't do it for very long, since it was hot and we both got sweaty, even in the covered arena with a breeze. I'm not a fan of summer. Geez, and it's not really even summer yet. 

But it was a nice day! Everyone was happy at the end.


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## ACinATX

I forgot to mention, there was another little girl petting Pony, later. She volunteered to me that he was her "second best friend." I asked who the best friend was, and she told me one of the lesson horses, a guy who is a true saint. That was sweet. Now that I think about it, I think this little girl's first ride ever might have been on Pony. I think she was one I put on him bareback. I don't think she's ridden him since then -- she's not a confident rider and I doubt the barn owner would have put her on him.

I also offered the other little girl that she could ride him if she wanted, as a lead-line kind of lesson. She said maybe. Oh, and I also forgot to mention that this same girl was also petting Teddy, once I took him out of his stall, and saying how soft he was and how much she loved him.

I just love having my horses and I love being able to share them with people and bringing that joy to them. Especially little kids. I remember how much I always wished I could have horses, and how even just being around them was wonderful. I mean, it still is, of course. I don't know, I know I've said it before, but I love being able to share my love of horses with other people.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> I just love having my horses and I love being able to share them with people and bringing that joy to them. Especially little kids. I remember how much I always wished I could have horses, and how even just being around them was wonderful. I mean, it still is, of course. I don't know, I know I've said it before, but I love being able to share my love of horses with other people.


Oh, yes, this is me also. I started letting kids ride and teaching them to ride when I was 18 and have been doing it ever since. Currently I have a family of 4 kids who are in foster care and a Chinese refugee and her 5 year old son who come out to ride and mess with the horses. It gives me so much joy and pleasure to pass on something I longed for so desperately.


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## gottatrot

That is so sweet about sharing your horses. I have only been able to share mine a little, due to their temperaments. But Aria seems like she will be a shareable horse in a couple of years.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> That is so sweet about sharing your horses. I have only been able to share mine a little, due to their temperaments. But Aria seems like she will be a shareable horse in a couple of years.


I'm not at all a people person, and I have said before I like where our barn is on the property because it means no one goes out there unless they have a reason to be there, so I don't have to deal with anyone.

But for some reason, sharing my love of horses just really makes me happy. I'm so grateful to have horses I can share!

------------------------------------

I was talking to some of the people yesterday who ride my horses from time to time. I think it's cute that my horses really consider themselves a herd, and if one of them is going to come in then they ALL have to come in.

The lady who is putting training rides on Pony right now tells me that it's easier for her to just let them all in, and then sort them out after they come in and put back whoever needs to be put back.

The bodyworker sees Pony and Moonshine but not Teddy, but she gave up on keeping Teddy out. She lets him come in and stay in his stall while she's working on the others (she works on them right there, so they can all see each other, stalled or not).

The lady who rides Moonshins is apparently the only one who has any success in getting just one of them in, but she says that it's really hard. She can't just get Moonshine in a halter any more and bring her alone. She has to go to the gate (where they will all be waiting most likely) and then sort of chase them around until Moonshine is closest to the gate, then try to keep the others out while she opens the gate enough for Moonshine to run in, then hopefully close it quickly enough that the others don't also get in. She says that by the time she gets the gate closed, Moonshine is all the way into the front area and past our barn. Which tells me that it takes her a long time, even sorting them out afterwards.

This was all very interesting to me because I never try to get just one of them in. I guess that's one reason they feel like if one comes in, they all come in. I had never really thought about how they were for other people. The only thing I do is require them to come in in a certain order: Moonshine, Teddy, Pony. Teddy wants to come in first, and he's the boss so he gets what he wants unless I intervene, but he also has no leadership skills. So if he comes in first, he takes two steps and then stands there like "What do I do now?" and no one else can get past him to get in. Every. Single. Time. So I open the gate and then stand in front of Teddy so he lets Moonshine in first. Honestly, that's really what he wants, it's just not what he thinks that he wants. Pony comes last because he's below Teddy in the hierarchy but also because if he came in right after Moonshine he'd threaten to bite her butt as they came in. If Pony is the boss of someone, he has to remind them of it all the time.


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## Knave

This sounds similar to my house. Everyone wants to go. Now, they do know who catches them, so my girls are not bothered so much by Cash and Queen, or each other’s horses too terribly bad. So, if they slap someone with a rope, for the most part they will just step back.

Husband and I each catch Cash first. Lucy is in another pen currently, so she doesn’t factor in. Husband has been riding Cash with Lucy out, so now he expects him to catch him. He used to back of of him like he would the girls.

Now though, Cash must go first if he expects to be caught. He is dangerous actually, and I have gotten after him for it, but it is one of those things easier to avoid than die over. Catch him, tie him up, go catch Queen. I usually use both anyways.

Queen expects to go second. Cash is highest in the herd, and she has been cornered by him for not following that rule. She finds it upsetting, and makes mean faces, but she stays out of his way. No one else is above her though, but they aren’t as scared of her as Cash, so sometimes you have to wack them back. She will run them back when she sees you coming, but behaves on the halter.

Once I left Queen in the corral and rode Bones. Apparently when you go out of order with Queen she gets mad enough to jump out of the picket fence corral!


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## knightrider

Chorro is the undisputed leader in my herd of 4. The others back off and let him go in first if I just open the gate. If I just want one horse, Chorro is a pain because he sees the bridle and rushes up: "Take me! You want me! Me! Me! Me!" If I don't want him that day, but another horse, Chorro barges in and pushes them away as I try to halter or bridle them. Also, they are afraid of him so while I am trying to halter whomever I want, Chorro is sticking his nose in and causing them to back away. I swing the end of the leadrope or the reins at him and mostly get him to back off, but it is a pain. It happens in the pasture too, but not so bad.

With humans, Chorro is as sweet as pie, never the slightest bit aggressive. 

Aci is the opposite. He lets the other horses boss him around, but when working around Aci, I have to be a bit cautious because he can bite from time to time and feign a kick. He lays his ears all back, mean and angry when humans come up to him (except when getting him from the pen or pasture, then he is fine. Do you think he feels claustrophobic in a stall? He came from a horse "rescue", but I never believed he was ever in trouble as he was sleek and fat and not afraid of people, whips, or anything else. I think the "rescue" lady got him cheap and hoped to turn a profit on him.)


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## Knave

Maybe it’s just his personality @knightrider. I look at Cash and Queen, and their overly jealous personalities, and I know I should take some blame, but it wasn’t something I taught them or rewarded them for. They are just bossy and mean. I could see a horse just being a little worried and stressed. I am a worrier myself.

Beamer never liked being caught. He seemed worried about it, and would occasionally spin away. He never was like that with small children, but everyone else. He was scared of all the other horses too. So, I figure it was just his personality. Obviously I tend to make them a bit to the other extreme…


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## ACinATX

@Knave ugh, yes sometimes I too wonder how much my horses' personality quirks are due to me. I know I've changed Teddy for the better, but I sometimes feel like Moonshine has gotten more sneaky with antagonizing Pony when I'm around. She loves it when she gets him to react physically and then I punish him. And, well, Pony at least knows what he can get away with, with whom. I let him get away with being in my personal space, because I don't really mind, but he's more respectful with other people, which is great given that a lot of kids ride him. At least I'm not creating bad habits in him that affect other people. But he likes to know right where that line is and walk as close up to it as he can. Except in the case of Moonshine, where he crosses over it and then I have to whap him. He's always like "But she started it!"


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## ACinATX

My daughter got out of our group lesson today by claiming she was too tired from this past week and also needed to study for finals. She has agreed she will go tomorrow and ride, though. She'd better.

Which meant I got a private lesson, so we could work on jumping! Except about 15 minutes into the lesson, another pony in another arena started acting up. This is a pony I think I've talked about before, who always wanted to buck. His poor girl owner only rode him in one of those protective vests for a while, even in the deep sandy arena. But I had observed him being a lot better lately. I don't know, maybe he was holding it all in.

Apparently he had bucked her off at the beginning, then the barn owner put an advanced rider on him and he was fine, so the girl got back on and started jumping him and he bucked her off again. Then, I missed what happened, but next thing I saw was him running to the back corner of the arena, where the pony mare he thinks is his girlfriend lives. Maybe he had run away from the barn owner already, but she was stalking toward him with a whip in her hand, so of course he ran away. Luckily some people closed the arena gate, because he just took off. He was running and running and running, even going over the jumps, then he'd get back to his supposed girlfriend and calm down, then the barn owner would stalk up to him with the whip, then he'd run away. She got madder and madder because he was running away from her, but I mean what do you expect him to do? Eventually someone caught him by bringing some food, but then the barn owner got mad about that, saying it would encourage him to run away in the future. But she took him from them. Then he broke out of her grip and ran away again.

So the reason this affected my lesson was my instructor had to go over there and catch him. Because they had caught him with food again, then the barn owner tried to lunge him, then he broke away from her with the lunge line and started running (and taking jumps again) with it trailing out behind him (and strung into his bridle). I was about to have a heart attack. Eventually my instructor caught him and lunged him for a while, but he never settled down. She had her helmet on -- I don't know if it was because he was bucking so much or because she thought she'd get him on, but after the lunging they just put him away. She told me they are going to try a stronger bit, but I am not sure how a stronger bit will make him not buck off his rider, and also if he's going to freak out and be running around taking jumps with the reins dangling down, you wouldn't think you'd want a strong bit in there.

Anyways, I was glad of my own mellow Pony. He's had problem, but running around and not being catchable was never one of them. I think I've mentioned that now even me making eye contact with him is something he takes as an invitation to come over and invade my personal space. If anything, he is TOO catchable.

So we finally got over the jumps. I have regressed and feel like I am no longer able to tell where Pony is going to take off from, and thus I can't influence it. If he's not on a good step, he will take a long spot and jump huge rather than take an extra step. Actually I almost fell off him in our lesson on Wednesday, on a GROUND POLE! I don't know what he was thinking, but he jumped it like it was two feet tall and four feet wide. I was not expecting it at all and fell forward onto his neck. 

I've started to think that horses that are not on a good step for a jump do one of two things: break to a trot and sort of half trot half canter over it, or take a long spot. Pony takes the long spot. I think ultimately this will be easier to work with, because the horses that break to a trot, you then have to get them back to the canter. Which is a pain.

So, anyways, we took a bunch of jumps, and I do think we got a little better towards the end. But I'm doing this weird thing where, when we jump, I stand up in the stirrups. I should be leaning forward with my butt out of the seat, but I just stand straight up. It feels ridiculous when I catch myself doing it, and I can't imagine how it must look. So we're working on me being in two-point. At the end, she was like "you are overthinking everything now. I want you to just grab mane and go with his motion." And that worked really well. I don't know why, but I don't like grabbing mane. But it ended up with me following his motion much better.

We took a jump that was 22 inches tall. This is my highest yet. The first time we went over it, I chickened out and sort of half halted him right and front and then threw myself forward too far to make up for it, and that was when she told me to grab mane. The second time was easy. The kind of funny thing was, it didn't feel any worse than any other jump, and in fact it felt easier than some of them. I think it's because him taking that long spot makes even small jumps (or ground poles  ) seem like big(ger) jumps. So maybe I won't be afraid of big jumps now.

Also today for some reason, every time he got the wrong lead coming off a jump, he fixed it himself! He would drop to a trot for two steps and then pick up the correct lead! The instructor was like "Good job, A!" I didn't get around to telling her that was all him.

Because @TrainedByMares always has good pictures, I tried to take a couple of pictures today. I managed to get some of Pony where he wasn't looking right at me and trying to eat my phone. They are just OK pictures, but at least they are pictures! Plus Pony is cute. I don't know what that crud on his lower face was, of course I didn't notice it until I took the pictures.


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## knightrider

Those are amazing pictures! Don't sell yourself short!


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> Because @TrainedByMares always has good pictures, I tried to take a couple of pictures today.


Aww, that's nice of you to say that. I'm glad you took some pics. Take some more! Really, there are lots of people on HoFo that have great pictures, like @Knave and @egrogan for example. We are visual people and love looking at pictures! Pony says: 'take picture, give treat'


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## ACinATX

We finally got some rain last night. They got half an inch our by the barn. When we turned into the place today, all of the gray horses were truly gray, or at least they were a sort of gray-brown color. I was like, "Wow I'm glad I don't have a gray horse," but I should have kept my mouth shut because Pony was worse than any of those grays. I took pictures. It was terrible.

On the bright side, it was all dried, and it came off pretty easily with the metal curry comb. On the not-so-bright side, it all came off as a cloud of dust that followed me around no matter which side of him I was one, and then stuck to the sunscreen on my face and arms. I got him "clean enough" in his body. If it wasn't supposed to keep raining, I would have given him a true bath, though. I've hosed him off when sweaty but I haven't given him a real bath, with shampoo and all, since the early fall I think. He's gotten more and more layers of crud in his coat, and now he seems to be getting small patches of rain rot. Not from the rain, but I think it's from sweating when ridden. Plus all the yuck in his coat.

My daughter rode Moonshine at just a walk and trot, only working on keeping her on the rails. So Moonshine was warmed up but not overly exerted, and it was a lot easier to do her back feet after that -- she had an easier time holding them up. I tried out the method of working on her hooves that I use on the other two -- kneeling on one leg and having the other bent at a right angle to the ground and her hoof resting on my thigh -- and that went really well. She still got kind of uncomfortable, but I was able to change my body position to let her leg move around, and that seemed a lot better to her than me either bending over and holding her hoof or using the hoof stand. I'm kind of surprised that that position worked with her, as she's taller than the other two, but she seemed to like it.

I ended up ground-driving Pony. We hadn't done that in a while. I had forgotten that it's easier to do if I keep contact with his mouth, just like I would when riding, so I can just use small twitches of my hands to turn him. We picked it up again, although he seemed kind of irritated. I think it was all the flies. I didn't fly spray him where he was muddy, which meant he only got sprayed on his body. I will say, I mean I guess we haven't spent all THAT much time on this, but it boggles my mind that farmers can plow a straight row with a horse. He's so wiggly.

I AM fly spraying his face, though. He doesn't like it too much, of course. I cover up his eye with my hand and then make him stand still while I put one burst of spray on each side. Then he gets a cookie. Well, half a cookie. This is another one of those things I expect him to be OK with, but I still give him a treat at the end because it's not pleasant for him. 

Moonshine is getting swat below her eyes. I guess I will do that with Teddy, too. I really don't think Teddy would like having his face sprayed. We tried a fly mask on him last year but it came off within a day. Flies are bad enough, but flies in their eyes are just terrible.

Something kind of interesting happened yesterday. The barn owner got some "ducklings," which aren't tiny ducks but rather the duck equivalent of pullets (they are just finishing growing in their feathers). She was doing something with them yesterday that really terrified them -- you could hear them, I don't know, I want to call it shrieking. They were obviously in terror. Teddy was near them. He popped his head up and came trotting over to us as fast as he could. Pony also popped his head up and looked over there worriedly. I guess it's dumb of me, but I wouldn't have thought they would recognize and react to the sound of a different species in distress like that.

Here's some pictures of my "black" pony. Oh, the horror...


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## TrainedByMares

I know what it's like... I can be upwind but that mud dust just poofs off in a rolling cloud right back at me. Did he go roll in the mud again after he was clean? Lol


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## ACinATX

When we got there for our lesson today, it turned out that our instructor was out of town. The other one offered to give us a lesson when her other lessons were done, but that would be noon, and I felt like it would be too hot by then. So my daughter decided she would work with Moonshine on staying on the rails and also on bending. I decided to do some jumping. 

I followed my instructor's advice about grabbing mane to keep from getting left behind and thus hitting his mouth, and that seemed to help. I only rode for maybe 40 minutes. A couple minutes of walking, maybe 10 minutes of trotting, a few minutes of flat cantering, and then the jumping. We did low jumps and cross-rails, but we also did a jump we hadn't done before, which is this child's sandbox that has a bunch of fake plants in it and poles on top. 

One kind of weird thing about the two cross-rails (they were in a line) is that he kept wanting to drift off the rail and away from the second cross-rail. I was concerned about that. I don't know who, if anyone, has been jumping him lately, and I didn't like the thought that he's thinking about getting away from jumps. Having said that, he responded well to leg pressure both times and we were fine. I'm also getting more confident in my jump recover to look down and check which lead he's on after the jump. He kept it going right but lost it both times going left.

Then we did one of the solid jumps. I wasn't feeling 100% sure about it after the veering at the cross-rails, but I figured he could do it. So I just pointed him at it and made my body language emphatic that we WERE going over it. And he didn't even seem to think about not doing it. I was really happy about that. Same with the sand box -- we ARE going over it. And we did!

I forget it I mentioned this -- I had told my instructor that I feel like he's getting hot in his lessons and, as a result, getting kind of pant-y and tired. This happened last year too, but last year I thought it was because he was out of shape. He's not at all out of shape this year. He's in great shape. So I think it's the heat. Anyways, she suggested braiding his mane, to keep his neck cooler. I did that today and in my lesson yesterday, and it really seemed to help. I will keep doing it.

After the ride I rode him around the grounds a bit. I made him ride next to the scary kiddy pool that is used for one of the ducks, and I didn't let him scoot away. I guess, to be fair, he did curve his body like a macaroni noodle to try to get away from it, but I used leg pressure and he straightened out. He wasn't too happy about it. I'm a tad annoyed by this, because usually he's OK with things once he's seen them and smelled them, and we've gone over there to smell it multiple times. AND Teddy and Moonshine are actually drinking from it. But he still thinks it might be a monster.

After that we went back around and I made him go between the scary pool and the scary stall where the baby ducks are kept, along with the flapping tarp on top of it. He was OK, but it didn't help that the duck was there and didn't really want to move. I was like, "Pony, you are the boss of ducks -- just pin your ears at him and he'll go," but he wasn't so sure. However, we did successfully navigate it, scooting the duck in front of us.

One of his little girl friends came over to see him today. I gave her another cookie to give to him. She asked if she could hug him and I said sure. So she hugged his face. He was kind of like, "Umm. OK. Can you stop now please?" But he stood there and took it. I suggested that she try hugging his neck instead. She had a hard time reaching it, but she did. She also asked, "Is he a boy or a girl?" You gotta love little kids.

I brought the trailer home. I am hoping to take them somewhere on Monday, since I have the day off. I haven't driven it since March and I felt like maybe I'm forgetting how to. I will tell you something I learned, which is something you all probably know already -- hitching up a trailer when it's hot outside is NOT fun! It's work enough doing it when the weather is cool, but in the heat was awful. I'm going to leave it hooked up until I do their stuff on Monday at least. Hmm. I didn't think I needed the electric jack, but now I really wish I had gotten it. I wonder if I could get it retrofitted with one. Or maybe I just need to toughen up.


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## ACinATX

*I dream of horses...*

It looks like I'm not going to go see them today. We'll see, but I have a lot of work I need to do at home.

I had horse dreams last night. Here's the ones I could remember:

My horses and the bad pony I think I mentioned last week were loose and stampeding around. I threw myself in front of the bad pony but he just pushed me over as he ran past. This dream is at least somewhat based on things that actually happened. I debated putting in the pasture gossip yesterday, but this pony has really had a sudden and extremely bad shift in attitude. To get out of the dream and back into real life, when I got there on Friday he was in the small pen wearing a rope halter with a lot of knots. I was like, man, he must have been REALLY bad. I've never seen the barn owner leave a halter on a horse, but this was deliberate. Apparently, among many other bad things he did, they were trying to lunge him in one of the arenas and he broke out, damaging the gate. Then, while running away, he kicked at another horse that someone was hand grazing. And the two of them proceeded to run around everywhere, being very uncatchable. Thus my dream, I suppose.
I parked the truck and trailer in a really dumb place and then couldn't back out of it.
I trimmed Teddy's frogs aggressively. In real life, I never used to never trim frogs unless there were major flaps, until a couple of months ago I realized Pony really needs regular frog trimming. So I trimmed his frogs yesterday (in real life). In the dream, I trimmed Teddy's very aggressively, and I was happy with it, but part of me realized it was way too much and he didn't need it. I also vaguely remember using the nippers on a carrot. I was trying to trim off a narrow piece of it, lengthwise. 
So, yeah. As usual, my dreams are not that hard to interpret, LOL.


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## Txshecat0423

I have a used gooseneck trailer, but within the first week of getting it, we had the hydraulic jack installed. The same week I got it, I broke my wrist (horse-related ) and I was not going to be able to wind that thing down onto the hitch! It was expensive but worth every penny. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> *I dream of horses...*
> 
> It looks like I'm not going to go see them today. We'll see, but I have a lot of work I need to do at home.
> 
> I had horse dreams last night. Here's the ones I could remember:
> 
> My horses and the bad pony I think I mentioned last week were loose and stampeding around. I threw myself in front of the bad pony but he just pushed me over as he ran past. This dream is at least somewhat based on things that actually happened. I debated putting in the pasture gossip yesterday, but this pony has really had a sudden and extremely bad shift in attitude. To get out of the dream and back into real life, when I got there on Friday he was in the small pen wearing a rope halter with a lot of knots. I was like, man, he must have been REALLY bad. I've never seen the barn owner leave a halter on a horse, but this was deliberate. Apparently, among many other bad things he did, they were trying to lunge him in one of the arenas and he broke out, damaging the gate. Then, while running away, he kicked at another horse that someone was hand grazing. And the two of them proceeded to run around everywhere, being very uncatchable. Thus my dream, I suppose.
> I parked the truck and trailer in a really dumb place and then couldn't back out of it.
> I trimmed Teddy's frogs aggressively. In real life, I never used to never trim frogs unless there were major flaps, until a couple of months ago I realized Pony really needs regular frog trimming. So I trimmed his frogs yesterday (in real life). In the dream, I trimmed Teddy's very aggressively, and I was happy with it, but part of me realized it was way too much and he didn't need it. I also vaguely remember using the nippers on a carrot. I was trying to trim off a narrow piece of it, lengthwise.
> So, yeah. As usual, my dreams are not that hard to interpret, LOL.


Wow, that was a busy night,dream-wise! I have had a couple dreams with Nicki in them. No riding, just hanging out.
My driving dreams usually involve going down a hill and I can't push the brake...then I wake up lol


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## ACinATX

TrainedByMares said:


> My driving dreams usually involve going down a hill and I can't push the brake...then I wake up lol


Mine used to always involve me backing up and not being able to brake.

I just realized, when you wrote that, that I had one where I was pulling the trailer, and somehow didn't see that the light ahead was red. I slammed on the brakes, and the whole thing was stopping, but getting closer and closer to the intersection. Then I felt the trailer brake really kick in and we stopped, just in time. That was also last night.


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## gottatrot

When I was first learning to trim hooves, I used to have horrible dreams where I cut the hooves all jagged and short and lamed the horses.


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## Knave

I go through stages. Sometimes I have dreams where I have to fight bad guys, and when I try and shoot them the bullet comes out of the gun super slow and then just bounces off them to the ground. I hate those dreams! Also the ones where your teeth all fall out… not okay! Lol


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> When I was first learning to trim hooves, I used to have horrible dreams where I cut the hooves all jagged and short and lamed the horses.


Maybe a month ago, in a dream, I cut Moonshine's hooves so short that somehow the sole of her foot was convex rather than concave, and the hoof walls ended up well above where her sole was.

I have had so many bad dreams about messing up their feet. I have them less frequently now. I have realized that as long as I keep them fairly consistently short, don't mess with the sole, and just trim based off the plain of the sole, I can't actually mess them up THAT badly. A few weeks ago I somehow nipped Teddy's hoof wall a bit ABOVE the sole of his foot, and it didn't cause him any problems. 

Any problems I cause are going to be gradual and due to consistently poor, but not terrible trimming. e.g. consistently leaving Moonshine's heels too forward, even though I always rasp them down as much as I can. Not to say that a gradual problem wouldn't be bad, but it's not going to be something like my dreams, where I do one bad trimming and the horses are instantly and permanently lamed.


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## ACinATX

We brought them home today! This is something I've wanted to do for so long. Once we actually got them there, it felt completely surreal. I halfway thought I was dreaming. Because our horses were at our house!

I had originally planned on taking them to a park nearby, but I wasn't able to get in touch with whoever manages the park about what, if anything, they treat the grass with. I didn't want to let them graze on something that might be toxic to them. Taking them to our house had some drawbacks, especially as I decided to do that instead at the last minute, so I didn't get to ask the neighbors if it was OK if we wandered over into their front yards.

I was nervous. I don't know if Pony picked up on that or if he was a little nervous, but he definitely was. He had two spooks, one small and one tiny, at something on the other side of the yard when we went over there. Moonshine, however, was fine. Also, Moonshine likes St Augustine grass but Pony apparently does not. He did eat some of the bermudagrass that lives in the corner of the lawn that never gets watered, plus some of the stuff growing out of the cracks in the sidewalk. And he liked the grass of the people across the street. I didn't get a chance to ask them if they had fertilized or pesticided it recently, so I didn't let him have too much.

Many of the neighbors came over to see. It was quite exciting. One of the neighbors brought apples!

It got boring after everyone left. Moonshine was really relaxed, at least externally. My daughter said that every time I took Pony over somewhere else she turned to watch him, like she didn't want him leaving her sight. But she looked and otherwise acted very chill. My daughter ended up tying her to the little pecan tree in the front yard and going inside and making some lunch. Moonshine just stayed there, no problem (see pic).

I was disappointed that Pony didn't find much to eat. I offered him pecan leaves, kale from the garden, St Augustine, and some of the old alfalfa hay we had in the trailer. Also several different types of grasses. I don't know if it was because he was nervous or if that stuff just didn't appeal to him.

Anyways, that's what we did. I don't know if I actually progressed in my goal to desensitize Pony, as I don't think that either one of us ever reached 100% calmness. I do think we were both bored, for what that's worth.

The ride back was really windy and I felt like I was getting pushed around a lot. But I'm very happy that I now know the difference between "windpush" and trailer sway. So I wasn't thinking it was trailer sway and then reaching for the trailer brake every 30 seconds. I just tried to drive slowly and calmly and right in the middle of the lane. And we were fine.

Ooh! I parallel parked the trailer when I got home! I decided to leave it hooked up and bring it back since I want to get it inspected soon. But there were kids running around the street when I got back and I couldn't get a good angle to smoothly park in front of my house. So I had to pull forward, figure out where I wanted the trailer to go, and then push it back so it angled in the right direction. I remembered how to steer backing up, and after just two tries (LOL) I got it parked!


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## ACinATX

It wasn't supposed to rain at all today, but when I got up there were these irregular flashes of light from outside. I was like... derrrr? Because I had just woken up. And it wasn't supposed to rain. But sure enough, I looked at the radar and there was a big thunderstorm aiming right at us.

We already didn't have a lesson today because the instructor was out, but they cancelled all lessons anyways. The barn got almost an inch of rain, which they really needed. It fell really quickly, though, so I'm not sure how much will stick. Our barn flooded again, worse than usual. The whole middle aisle was ankle deep muddy water.

The great thing about this is, it seems like it's desensitizing them to water. Moonshine always hated water, at least when someone else was asking her to go over it. But she doesn't even look twice at this small pond that forms. Unfortunately, it meant that Teddy's stall also flooded, and even Moonshine's stall was pretty wet. Oh well. 

We had plans to haul out for a lesson and obstacle course fun, and I didn't hear anything about it being cancelled, so we went. Oh. Sheesh. Loading up, as soon as we got Moonshine loaded, of course she pooped. I decided to be proactive and go ahead and clean it up before we left. And then, between the time I cleaned that out and two minutes later when Pony was fully loaded, she pooped again... TWICE!!! TWICE!!!!! I think that deserves all of the exclamation marks.

I really do think Pony takes cues from me, because when I'm anxious he gets anxious. For some reason, hauling out there for a lesson didn't make me anxious at all. We got them out and tied them and gave them some hay and then hung out for a while. I had gotten there very early because I wasn't sure how long everything would take. Pony was a bit looky, as was Moonshine, but neither of them seemed particularly worried. I wasn't worried either. We were in a fully fenced environment, and we had a plan of action (hang out; tack up; lesson). Actually, I think we kind of feed off each other which is even worse. When I first got Pony, he was pretty spooky, and so it's always at the back of my mind now that he might spook at something. But he rarely does anymore.

We used their Blokker tie ring things, but they kept failing. But even when their lead ropes came off, the horses were fine. Moonshine didn't like her hay and wanted to eat the grass out there, and Pony just wanted to eat the stuff that had fallen out of the hay bag onto the ground. So, great that they weren't going crazy and didn't run away, but bad that those things kept failing. Last time we hauled out for a lesson where we had to tie them to the trailer, those things did really well. So I need to figure out what's going on with them. I brought them home and I'll work with them and see.

The purpose of hauling out here was that this place is having a show in about a month. It's a fun show that will have a whole bunch of obstacles and also patterns that you have to do. Kind of like working equitation. But as this will be the first show we will have hauled them out for, I thought it would be nice for them to get to see the place in a low-stress way first. Also I was really confused about how the whole show was going to work and I was hoping to talk to the lady about which classes we should register for.

Anyways, it went really well. Our lesson wasn't until noon, but the rain had kept things cool and it wasn't that bad in the covered arena. Pony was a bit looky but aside from one small trip he didn't do anything physical. I did keep twitching my inside hand to keep his head on the inside of the arena rather than looking out. We walked trotted and cantered. My daughter and I both got some really helpful feedback.

After that we went out to the obstacles field. There were so many! And so many different kinds! The only ones we had any problems with really was one of the "bridges" that was basically just a pallet. Moonshine didn't like it, but she did it. I walked Pony over, and he just scooted out to the side and walked over there.  We tried again and he did it again. So the third time, I stopped in front of it and let him eat some of the grass that was growing right in front of it, then I asked, and he went over it just fine. I guess he just needed a minute to think about it.

Moonshine was a little hesitant about the water obstacle (see picture) but she didn't need much encouragement to go through it. Again, our barn flooding comes in handy!

I've been concerned about hauling them in the heat. When we left that place, it was about 90 degrees. They were both sweating from being ridden. I turned on the fans in the trailer for the first time, at my daughter's suggestion. Anyways, when we got them back, it seemed hotter in the trailer than out (I also hadn't opened up the windows all the way, which I should have) BUT they were both totally dry. So not only did they not sweat in there, or not much, but the sweat they already had dried off. So I don't feel too bad about that.

We're going back out next Saturday, as our instructor will still be out. Unfortunately next Saturday is probably going to be a LOT hotter, but we'll also be out there two hours earlier so maybe it will be OK.

I am so happy about the trailer. I got it hoping to take them places, but then I was so intimidated by driving it for so long! I no longer feel any worry about it, except for them fighting in there, which they still are. I still need to contact the trailer company and get a solid divider. But I feel way more comfortable towing! I don't have bad dreams about it the night before any more! I just need to be careful I don't get too complacent. But I'm loving having it and being able to take them places. I hope the more different places we take them, the better they'll be about new stuff. Yay!


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## ACinATX

I did everyone's front feet today. I did Teddy's in his stall, but it was really stuffy in there. Our barn aisle was still mucky, and Moonshine's stall was wet. Every time I put her foot down and picked it up again it would have wet shavings all stuck to it. So I took her to the covered arena and trimmed her there.

I had never done this and wasn't sure what she'd do. I was hoping that she'd be happy to be in the arena without being asked to do anything, and she'd then just stand there and let me work on her, but I was wrong. As soon as I let her go, she started to walk off. I should note that once again I didn't want to tie her, and I didn't want to hold her, and I had no one else to hold her. So I wanted her to just stand there. This is my goal with all of them now -- I want them to just stand there, not tied, when I do their feet.

It was fine. I just had to be a little more clear about my expectations. She WOULD stand there, even though it was boring, and wait while I took forever to do each foot. After I was clear about it she was fine. I also gave her a few alfalfa pellets every now and then.

The covered arena is much cooler feeling than our barn, even though our barn is open on two sides. The breeze was great. I might keep doing them there, maybe all of them, in the summer. I don't know. I did Pony in his paddock and it was breezy enough that I was fine, so hmm. I guess we'll see.

The handle of my sharpest rasp came off, again. I guess I'll re-glue it, again. It came loose at a bad time and I skinned my thumb knuckle, again. I don't know, maybe gluing them with a glue gun isn't enough. Should I try super glue? I have a real fear of super glue. I'm pretty sure one of these days I'm going to glue my finger to something and it will be stuck there for a week until my skin finally sloughs it off. LOL.


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## Knave

I’ve superglued my fingers to things, and you just end up ripping the skin off. Lol. I don’t understand why you are gluing them in. Our handles twist off and on. Maybe you need a handle like that.


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> I’ve superglued my fingers to things, and you just end up ripping the skin off. Lol. I don’t understand why you are gluing them in. Our handles twist off and on. Maybe you need a handle like that.


No, these don't twist on and off. The handle has a rectangular slot, and the end of the rasp narrows to a point and is supposed to fit into it. I mean, it does fit. But it tends to come out.


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## Knave

Ours have the rectangular slot too, but the screw down.


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> Ours have the rectangular slot too, but the screw down.


Hmm. I'll check to see if mine does that. Maybe that's my problem. OTOH they are fairly cheap rasps. But I'll check that. Thank you!


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## Knave

I would think it should. I can’t imagine them expecting it to work without that. You just slip the rasp in the slot and screw the handle like it is a bolt.


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## TrainedByMares

Glue it with 2-part epoxy and it wont come off. Work with disposable lightweight nitrile gloves so you dont get the glue on your skin,although you should be using a piece of wood to mix and apply,not your hands. 

When rasping,why don't you wear some lightweight work gloves to protect your hands from the rasp and other hoof hazards??


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## carshon

The handle may be coming off because you are exerting too much pressure on the upward stroke and pulling the rasp too aggressively. Like @Knave my rasp handles have slots for allen wrenches to tighten them onto the end of the rasp


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## Knave

Mine aren’t made for wrenches to tighten them, it’s just a strong turn of the handle and they tighten internally.


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## ACinATX

I'm going to be so sore tomorrow. We did a bareback lesson today and it was all spiral in spiral out, LEG LEG LEG! Pony did well eventually (he did better at the trot than the walk, which surprised me), but getting there was painful. I think it's possible that when I wake up tomorrow my legs may have fallen off.

Lately when I've ridden him bareback I've ridden him true bareback, but since it was a lesson and I thought we might do a lot of trotting I got out the bareback pad. I figured it would be nice for him to have some padding between my bony butt and his poor back. I had forgotten how thick that thing is but also how STICKY! Man, you put your butt in that thing and it DOES NOT MOVE! Riding in that thing is super easy.

Well, I'm off to figure out where to put my legs after they fall off...


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## Knave

Last night I rode Cash bareback. Usually it’s Queen I grab when we are having a play evening, but I decided the broke horses never get any fun and grabbed him.

It was wonderful until the bugs came out. Then I made him work to try and distract him. Then, when I stopped to just hang out with everyone, he lost his danged mind about the bugs. He just can’t think through them. He had been kicking at his stomach and kind of jumping around, but he decided about then he had lost it and was going to buck me off.

Of course I wasn’t happy, but husband was right there and as the horse was running backwards to set up to really buck, I slipped off and he took and made him lunge and back and everything else, and the sucker still could barely think through the bugs! We couldn’t even see what bugs were bothering him. My oldest said she figured he was like her, and got the crawlies after he saw a bug. Lol

So, in the end I wished I had just grabbed Queen anyways.


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## Txshecat0423

ACinATX said:


> I'm going to be so sore tomorrow. We did a bareback lesson today and it was all spiral in spiral out, LEG LEG LEG! Pony did well eventually (he did better at the trot than the walk, which surprised me), but getting there was painful. I think it's possible that when I wake up tomorrow my legs may have fallen off.
> 
> Lately when I've ridden him bareback I've ridden him true bareback, but since it was a lesson and I thought we might do a lot of trotting I got out the bareback pad. I figured it would be nice for him to have some padding between my bony butt and his poor back. I had forgotten how thick that thing is but also how STICKY! Man, you put your butt in that thing and it DOES NOT MOVE! Riding in that thing is super easy.
> 
> Well, I'm off to figure out where to put my legs after they fall off...


You made me laugh out loud and picture the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz: “They took my legs and they threw them over there!” LOL…my mind goes weird places [emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

Well my legs didn't fall off, but I think they are still thinking about it. I had a normal lesson yesterday and I was super sore afterwards. I don't know why, it's not like we were doing anything unusual.

We hauled back out to the obstacle course place today for another lesson. It was hot! But luckily I didn't forget our water bucket this time.

They both did pretty well on most of the obstacles (we were riding them this time). Nobody liked the pool noodle thing. It was a line strung between two trees and then dangling down with a bunch of pool noodles and old garden hose (she said that's what she does when she has garden hose that becomes useless). We eventually got them through it by sort of opening a little hole with our hands and then guiding them through. We didn't try the teeter totter but she showed it to us. I think we're going to go back out next weekend, not for a lesson but just to do the obstacles (and they have some trails).

There was one bridge that Pony wouldn't stay straight on, no matter what. I could get him to take a couple of steps on it, then his back end would sort of slide off and the rest of him would follow. The instructor said that Moonshine could consider the advanced division, but she'd recommend that Pony and I stick with novice. Hmph.

The one really good thing, I guess, is that when we drove back, the temps were between 97 and 99. I tried to drive so that we didn't hit a lot of red lights, but we did get a couple. It's a half hour drive or maybe a bit more. I had all of the windows open in the trailer and the vents also. And when we got back to the barn, they weren't sweating at all and didn't seem uncomfortable. The trailer didn't seem too warm, either. So I guess I am feeling a LOT better about hauling them in the heat now. I still don't think it's ideal, but it looks like I won't have to feel like I can't take them anywhere all summer. It looks like it's going to be a really hot summer, too.

I actually thought, hey, we could haul them out to some more jousting lessons, then. But then I remember he doesn't have a covered arena. I don't want to be jousting in the middle of the day in the heat. Although then I started thinking about those guys wearing armor doing that. Yikes!

I wish I had taken pictures, but I was riding so I didn't have my phone with me. Maybe I'll take pictures next time.

ETA: I also stopped to get gas at a regular-sized gas station, and it was fine! I didn't hit any gas tanks, or other cars, or anything. I was pretty stoked about that. But OTOH the pump I pulled up to wasn't accepting credit cards so I had to go in to pay, and I didn't know how much to get, so I asked for $40 worth. That took me from 1/4 a tank to just about half a tank. So much money!


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## gottatrot

It sounds like you picked a good trailer for staying cool in the heat! 
I filled my truck a couple days ago (and it's just a 3/4 ton gas pickup) with regular for $140.


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## Knave

That sounds like a good day! When I get sore doing something normal I know I’m getting sick. I hope you’re not getting sick!


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> That sounds like a good day! When I get sore doing something normal I know I’m getting sick. I hope you’re not getting sick!


I seem fine now. For some reason, your response made me think of the phrase "healthy as a horse," which just made me snort in derision. Surely that phrase was invented by someone who had no experience with horses. Or is it just the ones I know of that always seem to have something wrong with them? 

@TrainedByMares my husband re-attached one of my rasp handles with epoxy (I think you were the one who suggested it) and so far so good. Man, epoxy STINKS though! It smells like burning hair.


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## ACinATX

I had another bareback lesson today. It went really well. We cantered. I hadn't cantered bareback in a while and honestly I wasn't expecting to canter in this lesson. The reason being that (I guess this was several months ago) when I would ask, Pony wouldn't canter. He'd just trot faster, or maybe not even faster. After three or four times, I realized I couldn't get him to do it and so I stopped asking. I don't know if it was him, or me being bouncy, or me being off balance, or maybe I secretly didn't want to canter and he picked up on that. But whatever it was, I didn't want to make a habit of asking for something I couldn't get.

I am kind of surprised that all of that truly bareback work I did has paid off. Surprised because it was like 95% walk and 5% trot. I guess it must have improved my seat a lot without me realizing. Trying to balance on a slippery Pony while he is in motion -- maybe it's harder than it seems? Anyways, with the bareback pad, cantering was an absolute breeze. Not only that, but I was able to really be an active rider, using my legs more or less correctly, and I really made him go where I wanted, including into the corners of the arena. We did an exercise where we had to leg yield on and off the rail at the canter, and that went pretty well, too! It was also super easy to stay balanced -- one time he made a move I wasn't expecting, but it was no problem. That sticky bareback pad is the best.

I wish I had gotten a video. I felt REALLY good at the canter. Very stuck to Pony, like my seat wasn't bouncing at all, and I was really moving with him. It felt like a really nice canter, too. Also I don't yet feel sore. I'm optimistic that my legs won't try to fall off overnight.


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> I seem fine now. For some reason, your response made me think of the phrase "healthy as a horse," which just made me snort in derision. Surely that phrase was invented by someone who had no experience with horses. Or is it just the ones I know of that always seem to have something wrong with them?
> 
> @TrainedByMares my husband re-attached one of my rasp handles with epoxy (I think you were the one who suggested it) and so far so good. Man, epoxy STINKS though! It smells like burning hair.


Good man! Hopefully it holds. My handle slides off my rasp too so I just leave it off. The gloves seem to protect my hands. I haven't rasped for a while. Farrier is coming next week so we're good. One less thing on my plate.

Don't snort in derision! Horses ARE healthy! They can take tremendous swings in temperature,humidity and other conditions. Covered in flies,eating off the dirty ground and so on... saddle them up and they carry us where we want to go. What's not to love?

I have been riding bareback at the end of long workdays and lately I've been sliding around and unbalanced. I even fell off the other evening and I felt so embarassed because I make it my job not to fall off horses. I know that feeling when everything is in synch and you are riding bareback. It is absolutely pure! Every little movement is felt! Im glad you had that when you were cantering!


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## ACinATX

In completely non-horse-related news, we may have a kitten. This kitten apparently ran into our garage yesterday morning, being chased by a dog. It's super afraid of people, but my husband and daughter managed to get it into a box and it has been moved into a bathroom. It's also really good at hiding. It must be crawling to the bottom of the laundry hamper, because we looked in all other places in the bathroom and couldn't find it. I was really doubting my husband about them even catching it, but I was woken up by a crash at 2:30 in the morning, coming from the bathroom. So I guess it's there and alive.

I haven't seen it, and no one can get a picture of it. It ate some wet food and drank some water. I guess overnight. Otherwise it won't come out. We think we should take it to the vet (my daughter said it seemed skinny) but don't want to traumatize it any further right now. So we're thinking to take it on Thursday, unless it stops eating or drinking, in which case we'll take it sooner.

We posted on multiple neighbor groups and no one claimed it. I don't think it can be someone's pet if it's this scared of people.

I've had a lot of feral cats in my life, but I've never had one that just wouldn't come out, ever, if people were there. I guess it's just been a day, but I'm wondering if this guy is going to make a suitable pet. Of course my daughter wants to keep him. I mean, we're not going to take him to the shelter, so it looks like he's probably ours, so I guess I just need to start figuring out what to do about him (I am calling it a him). It's too bad we aren't already at our new place, as this guy may be prime barn cat material. I'm wondering if he will come around to being a pet.


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## gottatrot

ACinATX said:


> I've had a lot of feral cats in my life, but I've never had one that just wouldn't come out, ever, if people were there. I guess it's just been a day, but I'm wondering if this guy is going to make a suitable pet. Of course my daughter wants to keep him. I mean, we're not going to take him to the shelter, so it looks like he's probably ours, so I guess I just need to start figuring out what to do about him (I am calling it a him). It's too bad we aren't already at our new place, as this guy may be prime barn cat material. I'm wondering if he will come around to being a pet.


I suspect if he's a kitten still, he'll become tame with handling.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> I suspect if he's a kitten still, he'll become tame with handling.


I really hope so. Our last cat was nuts, and he was nuts for 20 years. He was tame, but he still had occasional incidents, at least in the first half of his life, where he would just totally lose his mind and attack us. I don't want 10 years of insane cat again.

If he doesn't become tame, then hopefully we can keep him here for the next two years, somehow, and then he can be a barn cat at the new place.


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## ACinATX

Well this kitten does exist. I also learned that our toilet has a fair amount of hollow space underneath it, that's only open to the back.


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## ACinATX

Update: we now think it's stuck down there. My husband is going to try to disconnect the pipes to see if he can get him out. My husband is NOT a plumber. I did ask him to turn off the water at the street before he starts...


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## TrainedByMares

Why do people think kittens are stuck? My wife sees one up a tree...oh it must be stuck. No! It got there and it can get out the same way. Now ,granted , that one is in your house and he could possibly go potty so you want to catch him asap but I will guarantee that he's not stuck.


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## ACinATX

Ugh @TrainedByMares you are so right. OK but here is why we thought it was stuck. It was back there and mewing pathetically. It had been completely silent before this. My daughter reached in (with her hand protected; he's already scratched her) to try to gently shove him out, and he hissed at her. She tried from the other side, and apparently he actually growled. He didn't budge. In her other interactions, if she approached him and gave him an out, he'd just run away.

So I went to go get some food and when I came back she told me she had gone in there again and the kitten was just waltzing out of that spot. Just walked right out of there. We've now blocked it up with towels. He's sitting in the hamper again at the very back, but we've taken out most of the clothes. He can still feel like he's hiding, but now he has to see us. I'm hoping that will get him used to us.


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## Knave

That’s funny. I actually have a funny story. One of the hay buyers dislikes my husband and I. It is because this cat climbed the power pole. He said it couldn’t get down, and called my parents to explain the direness of the situation.

Well, it costs like 10k for the power department to send someone with the big truck, so my husband was mad. He said the cat got up there and could get down. There was this big argument about the possibility of that, so he and I went out and threw rocks. Now, we didn’t get to the cat, because a power pole is stinking high!

It did however make the cat uncomfortable, and she climbed down the pole. Lol. Both our arms hurt for like a week, and the hay buyer refuses to acknowledge our existence.


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## ACinATX

@Knave but why was it your fault that the cat climbed the power pole?


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## Knave

Don’t ask me! It wasn’t even a pet cat. It was a barn cat we called Skarples. She was a good cat, and we did feed her, but we didn’t bring her there or anything. I don’t know why they felt it our responsibility. The neighbor was the original owner I think… I’m not sure though.


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## Knave

She was mean! She would heel you when you walked by.


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## ACinATX

So I was sitting in the bathroom with him this morning, and I realized, this guy is not food motivated. He is comfort motivated. He wants comfort and safety. But he wouldn't let us near him. He was just hiding behind the toilet and crying. I told him, "Your mother isn't coming back. If you want comfort you're going to have to get it from us. We can be like a mother cat to you." I didn't think he was listening but after maybe half an hour he very cautiously crept out and smelled my feet. Very thoroughly. Then he smelled my legs all over. Then he left and came back and smelled my elbow. He also gave it a small nip, as though he was thinking maybe he could play with me like that. But I gave him a gentle but clear response that no, that was not OK.

My husband and daughter managed to catch him for the vet. Apparently he was really good for the vet. I heard he climbed up her sleeve and sat on her shoulder. And he purred at the nurse. 

When they got him home, he sat on my daughter's lap and purred. Then he went behind the toilet again and when she tried to let him smell her finger, he hissed at her.

When I got home, they had gone somewhere and the kitten was crying. I went in there and he stopped! I don't think it's because he's afraid of us any more. He sat on the windowsill and watched me and gradually went to sleep. At least, I thought he was asleep. When I got up to leave, he started crying agian.

When they came home, my husband picked him up and he climbed onto his shoulders.

After a while, he had to go to a meeting so I went in. The kitten was behind the toilet meowing sadly again, but eventually he came out. He climbed on me, then onto my shoulders! This guy, it's like some sort of switch was flipped. Now he wants to be all over everyone's shoulders. He wants to put his head under your chin and push his way up, then walk around your neck, shoulder, and back. Around and around and around. And purring like crazy! And he LIKES having all of his kitty places scratched, and he likes being petted. He loves being petted!

Also he was smelling me like crazy. Like he was trying to memorize the way I smell. I think he has decided that we are (all) his mother.

My daughter said, "Just wait till he discovers laps!" LOL he's going to plop on a lap and never get up again.


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## ACinATX

I had a great lesson today. My instructor was still out, so I joined the kids 9:00 lesson. They do low jumps, which is just about right for me. We warmed up with a trot, but not too much. Some canter. Then on to the jumps! We started with a single jump, then we moved to two jumps that I think were maybe an in 'n out distance apart. Then some more jumps. At the end, we jumped a whole course! Outside line (two jumps), diagonal in 'n out, change lead, diagonal cross-rail, change lead, outside line (two jumps). Pony definitely let me know, multiple times, that he'd just as soon go around the jump than over, but we had our usual discussion and he went over just fine. We've jumped a course of cross-rails and very low poles before, but never a course of actual jumps! So I felt really good about that. I think the jumps were in the 1.5-2 foot range, so quite low, but then again he's a Pony.

Every other pony in that lesson ducked out of at least one jump, but he didn't. So yay!

I posted in a separate post that he's been getting rain rot again. It started with a couple of very small patches, then they doubled in size almost overnight, and then kept doubling. He has several large patches now. I've been treating it by curry combing to get out the scabs and then rubbing betadine over it, but it doesn't seem to be helping. So yesterday I put some microtek on all the spots, and today I finally gave him a real bath, with the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal shampoo. I had been kind of dreading it, but it wasn't too bad, especially since I didn't do his mane or tail. I did find a bunch of crusty stuff in his inner thighs right below his butt, and I spent a fair amount of time scrubbing that off. Just in general, he got a very thorough bath. After he had mostly dried out, I got the rest of his scabs off (easier now that they were wet) and once again applied betadine. Maybe I should have done the microtek again. I guess I can put that on tomorrow. After his bath, he was nice and smooth, not sticky feeling. I guess maybe I should start giving him regular baths.

I also have some tea-tree spray that I keep forgetting I have, so maybe I'll put that on.

My daughter didn't come out today (we're going back to the obstacle course tomorrow, so she went to her volunteering thing today instead) and some little girl rode Moonshine in a lesson. I didn't think she did too well, but this little girl and her mom were both really happy with her. The little girl said Moonshine is her new favorite horse. I told them they are welcome to ride her again in another lesson if there's another day my daughter doesn't come out.


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## ACinATX

My husband bought a large table saw so yesterday we disassembled the interior of the trailer to go and load it up. He was impressed with how easily it came apart, and how handy and logical everything was. I was surprised by how light the center divider was. Also it is so well balanced that you can completely unpin it and it doesn't fall off. So I think I could take it out by myself if I had to. I don't know if I could put it back, though.

The table saw had a sort of pedestal bottom, then a single column, then a heavy top. They tied it up with lead ropes to the tying spots and the hooks in the back. And I drove very carefully. But when we got home, it was leaning over and only the lead ropes were holding it up. It made me think about the poor horses back there. Also it makes me never want to haul them loose. I know people do that, but it seems like it would be a lot harder on them.

Also the guy he bought the table saw from was really impressed with the trailer. Everyone is always really impressed with it, which makes me happy. I spent so long researching before I bought, and I put so much thought into every little detail, that it makes me happy to get compliments on it.

When we put it back together, we replaced the bar head divider with the solid one I had ordered. When I made a post about them fighting in the trailer, many people suggested that if they couldn't see each other they wouldn't fight. Well, one trailer ride since, it seems to be working! It seems that Moonshine is still making terrible faces at Pony, but he can't see her so he doesn't care. He just stands there like "Dum dee dum de dum, happy Pony here." I hope it continues to work. They didn't have any scuffles during our trip today.

We went back to the obstacle course and also did some of their "trails," which I know I'm being pedantic but they are really more "rides" than trails. They are not all as wide as the one I took a picture of -- some were maybe only five feet wide. But they were all mowed through brush, and grassy. It looks like these guys use their manure spreader to spread used bedding on them, which seems like a great idea. If we ever manage to buy that forested parcel next to our place near Seattle, maybe I can do that out there.

Unfortunately Moonshine had a spook near the end and my daughter fell off. Her first words, spoken within half a second of landing on her hip was, "I'm fine." And she was. We were both riding bareback, but I was in the sticky bareback pad. Pony spooked a little, too, but not enough to take me out of that pad. We did overall enjoy riding out there and will likely do it again, but not until the fall. Maybe then we will take some of the little jumps. It was REALLY hot. Thermometer said only 90, but there wasn't any shade at all. We weren't out there for long, but we were ready to go home. I realized I don't have a sponge in the trailer, but I kind of washed Pony off with a cloth that I got soaking wet. He was pretty hot. I don't mean overheated, but he was noticeably warm. 

Oh, and we all did the teeter totter! It's actually a very subtle teeter-totter. I walked Pony over it the first time, and he didn't like it too much but he went over it. The second time I rode him over it, and it moved a lot more (the first time, I had stepped on one side before leading him on, so it didn't move when he stepped onto it). He didn't like that very much, but he got hold of himself and continued over it.

Overall we had a lot of fun today, but I left the trailer at the barn. I had been leaving it hitched up because we were hauling out a lot, but it's just too hot now. I don't think we'll take it again until the trail show on July 9.

All the pictures are of my daughter since I was the only one taking pictures LOL.


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## ACinATX

Yes we are definitely the kitten's mother, all of us. He seemed really sad in the bathroom by himself, so we let him into a new room. It was a little overwhelming for him. He mostly wanted to hide. BUT the thing is, when he came out, he'd come over to us, rub on us a bit, get a scratching, feel reassured, and then brave the room again. It's like we are his safe place! It's really amazing, how quickly his perspective has shifted.

Here's some new pictures of him. This is my husband who is petting him. You can see how much he likes it from his body language.


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## ACinATX

This journal has gotten much more interesting since the kitten came!

It took him a day to get comfortable with the new room, but now he's all about play play play. We got him some toys and he just spends hours playing with them. Every now and then he'll come over us for pets and scratches, then go back to playing. Since he's been playing more, his appetite has also gone up, which is great.

Right now we're working on setting him up on our wake/sleep cycle. Rather than letting him sleep all day, we're waking him up in the morning, then noon-ish, then evening, to eat, play, and hang out. He does all of this until he's pooped out and then he goes to sleep. I've also had to make sure my daughter is clear that she can no longer wake up at 4:30 and then get him up, too. I mean, who wants a cat that is primed to get up at 4:30 in the morning?

And finally we're working on getting him to come when called.

Future work will be getting him to understand that when it's sleep time, he doesn't have to go into one of his many lairs; he can stay with us and sleep on someone's lap. Also we're about ready to introduce him to another new room in the house.


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## gottatrot

Kitten training really pays off. My husband spent a lot of time training our cat when she was little, and she has always been very well behaved. Things like showing them they can't jump on you randomly from across the room, teaching them where they should go to scratch, having them not bite you or dig their claws in, those are all tenants of good cat behavior.


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## Knave

We are doing this right now in our house too! I didn’t want a house cat, but a couple of the kittens have died, leaving only two left. My daughter was having a rough patch for a second, and she asked if she could have one of them. I told her okay, but she’d better train it and take care of it, and when she moves out next year she has to take it with her. So, we have the kitten she calls Babes now.


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## ACinATX

@Knave my husband was the same -- after our last cat died, he said no more animals in the house. But he realized pretty much immediately that we couldn't leave this guy out, with no mom around.

It's kind of funny, with our last cat I didn't really care about what he did, except that he should come when called. With this guy, I'm thinking about any number of things that he needs to be able to do, and I'm working out a plan for achieving them. I think it must be that having worked with the horses for a few years now, I just expect more out of my animals? Plus it seems like people are now saying that cats are fairly trainable. We'll see. This guy is quite young so that should help.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had a great lesson today. We did more low jumps. We jumped our highest jump yet (just under 22 inches). We jumped it multiple times and as part of a course of many such jumps! Once again, Pony was great. If I couldn't trust him like I did, I'd never get the confidence to go over those jumps. The other horse in the lesson ducked out on one jump a couple of times. Actually I've seen a lot of horses duck out on that particular jump for some reason, even though it's quite low and there's nothing scary around it as far as I can tell. If Pony ducked out, I would just fall off. I'm sure of it.

I found out after the lesson that they had put a kid on him and jumped him yesterday, so I was kind of bummed. I don't think horses are supposed to jump two days in a row. I'm happy they are putting kids on him, because it's good for him mentally and physically; we just need to make sure it's not going to be too much. I did tell them if they put a kid on him tomorrow, to only do flat work.

The kind of good thing about this is that this instructor said Pony can tell immediately if the kid can get him to do what they want or not. And if they can't, then he won't even do what they are asking at the walk. Which is great, because (1) it lets them find another horse for the kid and (2) this is a very safe time to find this out (you wouldn't want to find out once you're jumping).

I gave him another medicated bath afterwards and then applied microtek to his rain rot. At least it's not getting any worse. I'm not sure if it's getting better, though. I did other chores, like dousing Teddy's one foot with coppertox and putting swat on everyone's faces. No hooves today. Moonshine could use a little work, and probably Pony also, but I didn't have time.


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## ACinATX

Lap cat: ACTIVATED!

He was actually really trying to sleep, but every time my daughter tried to take a picture he opened his eyes.


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## ACinATX

We had a bareback lesson today. Moonshine has what looks like a girth sore, so my daughter rode her true bareback, and I rode Pony in the bareback pad.

I feel like my daughter doesn't have enough control over Moonshine bareback to ride her in a lesson. Moonshine doesn't like staying on the rail, but bareback it didn't seem like my daughter had enough independent body control to really keep her there. Also when they cantered, Moonshine wouldn't slow back down to a trot. They were riding in the halter and clip-on reins, which probably had something to do with it as well. However, they did canter and she didn't fall off, even when she was asking Moonshine to slow down and she wouldn't.

I fell off, though. We were cantering a circle, which Pony has never really been too keen on, and he did his thing where he throws out his outside shoulder and wants to fall out. The correct correction for that, at least for us, is to apply the outside leg at or a little in front of the girth, to push his shoulder back over. However, I don't know if I wasn't being clear enough on account of I was trying to use my legs to grip, or whether it was just weird to him, or whether he figured he could get away with it; but anyways he started turning back into the circle, but then he decided at the last minute to cut out hard the other way, and I fell off. 

I fell on my hip, which is now sore (advice? the instructor suggested ice. I do feel like it's the muscle that's sore. Maybe I'll put some arnica on it). But it was fine, and I got back on him, and then we did what I had really wanted to do from the start, which was canter a ground pole. Actually he jumped it! And it was fine! I actually felt really secure. We ended with that.

Oh, and we did work on two-point some, bareback. Ouch. We are going to be SORE tomorrow. Actually my daughter was super sore when she got off Moonshine. They finished first, and after she got off I asked her, why don't you guys go back to the barn? And she told me, because I can't walk right now. LOL.

------------------------------------------

Kitten news. He's learned that you can pounce on the wand toy, or the wand itself, but not on the hand that is holding the wand. He responded to pretty gentle correction on that one -- usually just "no" in a slightly loud warning voice. Now when he plays with a wand toy, sometimes you see his attention veer from the toy at the end, to the wand itself, and then up to our hand... and then you can see him think "I am not supposed to pounce on that" and he looks away. Speaking of wands toys, I brought my old broken dressage whip home for him. It has a dangly bit at the end. It's not his favorite toy, but he likes it well enough. The only thing is, he sometimes thinks maybe he is supposed to pounce on the duct tape that is holding it together rather than the dangly bit at the end. 

I understand why people like to get young animals now. Our last cat, we had him for 20 years, and he was literally crazy every single one of those years. He was 6-8 months old and feral when we adopted him, and I don't know if something happened to him when he was little or if he never quite adapted to living with hoomans, but yeah he was one kind of crazy or another the whole time we had him. Whereas this guy, I'm training him how I want him to be. If he ends up being crazy, it will be my own fault at least.


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## ACinATX

I had a really good lesson today. I have moved to taking 8:00 lessons instead of 9:00. It really does make a noticeable difference with the heat. But today it was in the low 70s when we started and high 70s when we finished, so even cooler than usual! This is compared to what it has been lately: high 70s when starting, low-mid-80s when finishing. We had a "cold" front come through; it brought some much-needed rain and cooled things down to where the highs are now only in the upper 90s through the end of the week.

I had, unfortunately, forgotten that I need to leave home by 7:00 latest to make this lesson time, and we left around 7:10. Luckily my daughter was with me and she was very helpful. She picked Pony's feet and I got all the dried mud off him (because, rain), and together we got him tacked up and me ready to go by about 8:02, which wasn't bad.

I had a jumping lesson but I rode him in the halter and clip-on reins because his bit was in terrible shape. I knew it was needing to be replaced, but I looked at this morning and thought "I just can't put that in his mouth." But since we were running late I didn't have time to replace it before the lesson (I had a replacement already in our stall as these are rubber bits and we go through about two of them a year).

I didn't expect any problems, and I didn't get any. If anything, he was a little better today. It might have been coincidence. But in our last jump, he looked like he was eyeing the long spot, as usual, but I thought "no, get one more step in before you jump it" and I kind of sat back a smidge, and he did just that! Someone afterwards was impressed that I had jumped him like that, but I mean, I know the guy. He's not the guy who's going to take off with you, in an arena at home of all places. He'd much rather slow down than speed up, and he'd even rather slow down than maintain a gait. He responds well to seat and leg pressure. So I wasn't really surprised. I guess I'll go back to the bridle next lesson, though. I imagine the other people in the lesson, as well as the instructor, would be more comfortable that way. Plus if we are having one of those lessons where we're working on impulsion, I can't get that without a bit.

The best thing was he wasn't a bit sweaty afterwards, even though we had cantered a lot and jumped, too. Actually I wasn't much sweaty, either. THAT is what I call a nice summer morning!

I ordered a horse box (random box of goodies) online and brought out one of the bags of treats. They were lemon-flavored horse cookies. Let me tell you, I have never had all three horses completely refuse a treat before, but no one would even put their lips on this one. Pony went so far as to spit out something that was already in his mouth when he smelled this cookie. This is the same guy who is happy to eat medicine, supplements, astroturf, you name it. However, I tried them and thought they were pretty good so I guess I'll be eating the rest of them. I like lemon-flavored things.

They all got to eat a lot of mesquite pods that had fallen today. They don't usually fall this early -- in my mind it's usually early August. To me, this bodes poorly for the rest of the summer. I figure the trees know something I don't, and it's going to be hot and dry from here on out. But today was nice!


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## ACinATX

I've decided to separate out kitten posts from the horse posts. At least for now.

The kitten's name is Wysocki, after Charles Wysocki the painter. He's turning into a true kitten now -- he just wants to play ALL THE TIME. He will pounce on anything. But he especially loves the toy I made for him out of baling twine (use #509 for baling twine). He's pretty good about not pouncing on us, though. Just like with our hands and the toy, he kind of stalks our feet, then thinks about pouncing, then thinks better of it.

I typically wake up at 6:00, and the last few days he's been up waiting for me at that time. He doesn't meow or whine while waiting, he just waits. In general, he likes to be around when we are up. If we're hanging out with him, he will stay out with us. If we leave the room and he's feeling kind of tired, he will go to to my closet to sleep. But if we come right back, he will come back out. So, like a baby, we can lengthen his awake if we work on it.

He met the nemesis of indoor cats this week -- the vacuum cleaner. And he didn't like it. Nope. Not at all. I guess life isn't all fun and rainbows when you're an indoor cat LOL.

Also he is growing very fast! I think we got him two weeks ago? I feel like he's half again as big as he was then. He seems healthier, sleeker, and cleaner. He stopped eating his wet food, though. I know cats are supposed to be picky eaters, but I've never had one that was really picky. He isn't crazy for any of his treats, either, although he likes one of them OK.


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## TrainedByMares

Looks like you've got a good little buddy!


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## ACinATX

I've been mentally comparing my thoughts about Wysocki with my thoughts about my horses. Really about Pony. I was wondering if there's any useful generalizations (cat vs equine) that can be made or if it's just animal specific.

Wysocki is very cute and small and needy. He loves to be around his people, and has done a great job adapting to us, our giant size, our different ways of communication, our twitchy toes that are not supposed to be pounced on, etc., in a very short amount of time. He's not really food-motivated. He's comfort and safety motivated. 

The thing that's missing, I realized, is that with Pony, I feel like the two of us are partners. We are two people ("people" obviously including non-human people here) who are trying to communicate with each other, to figure out what the other wants, to come to some sort of agreement about how to complete shared tasks. We, I think, respect and like each other. Of course, Pony particularly likes the treats I give him, but aside from that I'd say the two of us are friends, also. We've known each other and worked together for over four years.

Wysocki, I think he should be trainable. He's young and seems pretty smart. But I can't imagine ever feeling like we're partners or friends. He wants to be around me and he wants to do what I say, or at least he doesn't want me to yell at him (did I mention not pouncing on twitchy toes?). I just can't imagine having that relationship like Pony and I have. Or Teddy and I. Or even Moonshine and I. If Moonshine were a human, she'd roll her eyes at me and stick her tongue out when she thought I wasn't looking, but mentally I think she's still wired for a partnership with a human. 

I don't agree with the stereotype that cats are aloof and don't like people. True ferals, sure. And cats can be shy. But I've never had a cat that didn't want to be around me most of the time. I guess the relationship that a cat wants is different than what a horse wants. Or could it be that I want different things from each species, and so I treat them differently, and that's what makes them behave in certain ways? But still, I can't imagine a cat that would want to be a partner with a human, you know, to work together to achieve something.

OTOH, these "shared goals" Pony and I have, really it's mostly me making the goals and him going along with it. But we're still working together, and I think that creates a different feeling. Wysocki is a pet, but Pony is a partner.

Those are my random musings for today.


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## ACinATX

I'm wondering, for those reading this blog, do you feel like your various animal species differ like this? Do you feel like your horses are partners, or want to be? And where do dogs fit in? Are they like, half pets and half partners? (I've never had a dog).

Or is really more individual-specific rather than species specific for you?


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## gottatrot

I'd say one of our cats is a partner with my husband. They play these games where they go hunting, and she rides on his shoulder and he shows her things she is interested in but can't see as well from the floor. Such as the top of bookshelves. He throws balls of paper and she brings them back to him. 
She'll walk with him and they'll do things together, like to go and sit in a chair. They definitely work together on things. 

Our other cat likes to have attention and hang out with us. But he was a barn cat for ten years and he doesn't do things as a partner. He just likes to be with us, but we don't have things we do together like games or activities. 

Dogs are probably the ultimate partner. Most of them want to do everything with you, and help you with whatever you want to do. My dog used to think we lunged the horses together. If I said "trot," and the horse didn't, he'd bark as loud as he could, trying to get the horses to listen to us. 

To me it's a different feeling from a horse partner. Halla was my best partner, and it felt like we conquered things together. Still, she often had an idea and I had a different one. We'd negotiate. 
A dog that is truly your partner will pretty much think 99.9% of everything you want to do is a great idea. Want to go out in a blizzard? Awesome! Want to sleep in a cold tent outside? Yes! Want to go up and down the stairs 20 times for no apparent reason? Super!
Horses in my experience aren't quite as sold on the idea that everything you think of is going to be wonderful.

The birds I've had were into their bird partners, and that was fine with me. I've heard some birds make great partners with humans though. Rats too, since they have personalities like dogs. I've only had wild rats, and they didn't bond like that with me.


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## TrainedByMares

To me,horses are like people,deeper and more thoughtful than other animals like cats or dogs. I think they are all alot of fun to be around and of course, they are all individuals so you have differences between them. 

Maya is a good example. She is smart,responsive and sticks close to me but yet in a way, she is like Odie, the dog in the Garfield comic strip. Tongue hanging out and looking the wrong way,she races off in the wrong direction when I tell her there is a cat by the barn. Lol! Other dogs we had were good in their own way but deadheads or just selfish.

Nicki and I can have a discussion about things. She also does what she is asked but as horse and rider, there is a physical connection and we must operate as one so there is a deeper bond. I think there can be a psychic connection too. I can't explain that, but just like some people can think and act in unison with other people, some horses and people have that ability too. I'm sure other animals and people can have that connection but for some reason I have more of it with horses and it sounds like you do as well.


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## Knave

I have a different connection with my horses than with any other animal I think. Some horses I haven’t had that connection with, and some it has been particularly strong. They are my teammate. They are my friend. We work together and accomplish things.

Now, my current dog and I have a working relationship as well. She is crankier and touchier than any dog I’ve had before her, and maybe that makes me feel closer to her than to the always in your pocket happy dog. We have our moments. Yesterday was the first time I have ever been mad at her, because she’s just naturally the right dog for me. She’s also really good at her job, albeit still pretty young.

I guess my relationship with her is different than my relationship with Queen, but it is strong just the same. We are partners just the same. Queen and I feel like parts of a whole though, because we are literally connected while we do things, while Junie is off from me. Yet, Junie is with me all of the time, while Queen obviously does not come into the house with me.

I have been close to two cats, and I adored them. They were not my partners though, but my friends. I am close to the milk cow, which is surprising to anyone with a milk cow they personally milk. Maybe it is the forced time together twice a day, maybe it is the intimacy of milking and of drinking that milk, but the relationship is a different one.

Cows, once broke, think slower than a horse does. They are more “one person” animals than any I’ve seen, excepting maybe mean dogs. They can make you madder than you can imagine and more loving than you can expect.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> Dogs are probably the ultimate partner. Most of them want to do everything with you, and help you with whatever you want to do. My dog used to think we lunged the horses together. If I said "trot," and the horse didn't, he'd bark as loud as he could, trying to get the horses to listen to us.


I wonder if this depends on the breed, or the individual dog, or the owner?

The two dogs I have the most contact with are my barn owner's dogs. The one dog is old and just wants to sit around, unless a new dog shows up, in which case she'll attack it (she's a pit bull). The other dog is always running around chasing everything, including horses, no matter how much the barn owner yells at him. I don't see either of them as being partners.

My brother's dog, I spent some time with her over Christmas, and she's an emotional wreck. I don't know what happened to her, but she can't deal with life at all. I'm afraid she's going to fear attack someone one of these days.

The neighborhood dogs, I see them off leash sometimes. Their owners will call them and the dogs come if they want and don't if they don't. 

Now, the guy who lives down the street from me, he has an Australian shephard I think, and he is out walking that dog four times a day. Plus he has an agility course in his front yard and they are always working on it. That dog, I think is a partner.

So I don't know. My personal observation of dogs as partners is kind of "meh." But I may be looking at the wrong dogs in the wrong situations. This is relevant to me because I keep toying with the idea of getting a livestock dog when we get our property (as I've mentioned before, there are coyotes, bears, and the occasional mountain lion), but as a non-dog-person, I don't know that I could get the dog to do what I wanted, and to avoid what I didn't want. Even if the dog came trained, I would worry about un-training it. And the absolute last thing I want is an untrained dog.


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## newtrailriders

My dog, Rollie, is nicknamed "The Enforcer." If our other dog is getting ready to do something and I say "no," and the other dog continues to try to do it, Rollie runs over and prevents her from doing whatever we told her not to! Once I yelled "no" at a dog (not mine) that was getting to ready to jump on a little kid and Rollie ran over and got between them! He's a good partner - although a little neurotic. A dinging cell phone scares him and he runs and hides under a table every time I get a text.


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## ACinATX

Today wasn't so good. We rode out in the pasture. Pony apparently does not like to listen to me out in the pasture. He was fine at the walk and trot, but when everyone else started cantering, he just assumed he'd canter too, and it was hard to bring him back to a trot. In fact, I wanted him t o canter, but I wanted him to do it because I was asking, not because everyone else was. And then once I was OK with him cantering, he was super zoomy. I felt like I was just pulling back on the reins a lot. I used my seat, too, and that also helped, but overall he was not listening that well. He did listen well to my voice. We did some jumps, and he did OK. We started them all going downhill, which was a little harder for him, I guess in the sense that again he just wanted to speed up. There was a series of three crossrails, and he was just going way too fast, then he almost ducked out on the last one. That's as close as he's come to ducking out since I've been jumping him consistently.

So that was maybe 20 minutes into the lesson. I told the instructor I wanted to spend some time just getting him to listen to me, and she was fine with that. Plus it was a very mixed group and some of the people wanted to jump big jumps that we weren't going to jump anyways. So what I did was, if they were doing small courses one at a time, I'd have him follow people who were cantering, but I'd make him only trot. It probably took about 10 minutes, but we got there. Then I cantered him a bit and he was a lot more responsive. We tried the same three cross-rails going uphill rather than downhill, and he almost ran out of steam. And it's not THAT much of a hill. 

After everyone else finished, I stayed out a bit and trotted, then we did one low jump at the canter. He almost ducked out again, but I kept him in. So I guess we ended on a good note, but my big takeaway was I need to ride him in the pasture with others more, because he needs to remember who he's supposed to be paying attention to.

Moonshine's rider was here for the following lesson, but she came back not too far into the lesson and said Moonshine was lame. I guess she isn't lame exactly, but a little stiff in her back end at the trot. So I have the bodyworker coming out to look at her on Friday. The vet came and did her injections (stifles) last week, and no one rode her for a week, and since then she's been having issues picking up her back feet, or so it's seemed to me. Her rider said she didn't notice anything like that. We're planning on going to a show on Saturday, unless it's cancelled due to excessive heat, but now I'm not sure if Moonshine can compete. There is an unmounted division, which they should be able to do, I guess, if they have no other choice (Moonshine shows no lameness when not being ridden).

So, not the best day. I also mangled (trimmed) Pony's feet. I fixed one of Teddy's feet and did both of his fronts from the top, and this time he was fine with it. Moonshine needs her backs done but because of the trouble she was having holding them up, I didn't do them. I'll have to do them before the show, regardless.


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## ACinATX

We went to the show! It went well! I just want to say, the best thing, IMO, is that one of the judges came by later and told us how much she liked all of us together (me and Pony; daughter and Moonshine). She said we clearly had a great relationship with our horses, and that we were examples to all riders about riding kindly and in partnership with your horse! The best thing she said was, Pony was looking around and interested and alert to what was going on around him, but also clearly listening to me. That is EAXACTLY what I want our relationship to me! I don't want a robot Pony, I want a Pony who thinks for himself but listens to me.

We got overnight stalls, so yesterday afternoon was spent getting them ready and then taking them over. I was aiming for early evening, which I thought would be cooler, but it was still 104-106 when we hauled them. But they weren't sweaty at all! I'm definitely going to stop worrying about them getting hot in the trailer. We had a ton of stuff to unload but it went pretty well. We tied them to the trailer while we put bedding in their stalls, then put them in their stalls while doing everything else. They had no problems with the stalls or the big barn. There was a lot of equipment moving in and out of there, too, and it didn't seem to bother them.

They were fine when we got there this morning, too. Happy to see us, but not worried about anything. They still had water and hay left over, but had obviously been eating and drinking. This was our first away show and first time to stall them someplace overnight, so I was worried, particularly that they wouldn't drink. But they were fine. We mucked stalls, got them ready, and did our tests! I hadn't seen the patterns until the night before, but I called it for my daughter and she called it for me, and we did fine.

I was worried when I saw what they wanted to for the obstacle course -- they wanted us to ride through that curtain of pool noodles and hoses the Pony had been really hesitant about before, and that was with me on the ground in front of him. I hadn't expected it in our division. But Pony, after just a bit of hesitation, went through just fine! The thing about the water obstacle is that this time we had to cross it, ring a bell, and then go back. Both of them were fine crossing it, but they both considered themselves done with once they had crossed, and were quite shocked and unhappy to be asked to go back through it a second time. That was kind of funny.

They had this great "obstacle" they called temptation aisle. It was a path between a bunch of hay bales, each of which were topped with feed buckets, and there were carrots strewn about as well. You had to get your horse through it without them taking a bite of anything. Knowing Pony, I knew we had to really focus to get through it. And we did! One thing I didn't expect, but should have, was in the obstacle where we had to drop bean bags into buckets, he wanted to inspect all of the buckets to be sure there wasn't any feed in there for him.

Ultimately we did all the obstacles without any major problems. We found out that my daughter and Moonshine got first place! (in the children's division, which had only two people in it, in fact I didn't even know there was a children's division, but still). She got a prize bucket with stuff in it, and one of the things was a bag of mini carrots. I don't know if that's common at shows, to put treats in there, but I thought it was a really nice idea. Of course Moonshine got handfuls of carrots (Pony got a few also) but my daughter was hungry and ate a bunch of them also. As for me and Pony, we got third place in our division, which had 10 people in it, so I felt pretty good about that, it being our first show.

It was all over by 11:00, which was great, since it was going to be so hot. We left around noon, and it was only about 98 degrees! Whee!



We thought Teddy would be freaking out since they were gone all night, but he was just very happy to see us, not terribly worried. That was good.

So this was a great first away show for us. There were about 25 people in the show total, at a place where we'd already been, and it was very low key and friendly. People went out of their way to come talk to us. It was very well organized also. 

And Moonshine was fine. The bodyworker did come yesterday morning, and she said Moonshine was super out of whack, like she hadn't seen her that out of whack in a long time. But she spent some time with her and thought she was better. Which I guess she was. We were prepared to scratch Moonshine today if she was stiff or uncomfortable in the warmup, but she wasn't. I'm glad the bodyworker was able to squeeze her in. She's going to see her again next week also. It's more often than usual, but did I mention I got a raise at work? So it's OK, we can afford extra sessions where needed, even at the rates this lady charges.


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## ACinATX

I asked my husband not to take videos of me and I guess he forgot here. But this one is nice, at first, because you see Pony hesitating at the curtain thing and then going through. I feel like our horses must really trust us to do this for us!

Immediately after is me going to the wrong next obstacle. They had NUMBERS on them. And I had looked at the course before we started, too. Sheesh.


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## ACinATX

Both of us doing the pole pattern. The judge also complemented us on how forward the horses were, and they really were! I am really happy with Pony's working walk -- he hates doing a working walk!


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## Knave

My YouTube isn’t working, but I’m so happy for you just the same!


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## gottatrot

You all did great! It looked like a fun show to ride in. It seemed like you and Pony were a great team. Love the pics and videos!


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## ACinATX

Moonshine was lame again today. She was OK walking but didn't want to put any weight on her back left when she was standing. The lameness vet was already coming out for someone else so we waited for him.

It's not too good. Even though he drained a lot of fluid out of that stifle two weeks ago, there was a lot more in there. Plus there seems like some new damage. Best guess is she was feeling good after the injections and did something silly out in the pasture and hurt herself. That doesn't sound like her, but who knows.

There's a couple more options we have at this point. He's going to come back out tomorrow and do a PRP treatment. This is to treat the new injury to the joint She's going to be on stall rest for two weeks (luckily we can use Pony's stall which has the attached small paddock). He will come out and reevaluate her in two weeks and we will probably start her on Equioxx at that time. This is to treat the ongoing arthritis. He said he sees some other horses with bad stifles and Equioxx has really helped them, so maybe it will help her.

He wanted us to know, though, that this may be the end of her riding career. Which we are OK with. If we can get her even back to pasture sound through these procedures, we will do it. She's not yet 20. If we could get her back to where she could even be ridden walk-trot, then so much the better. But I don't know if she will ever do anything more than that. My daughter is OK with this -- I think she's sort of been not that into riding for the last year or so. She says she will just come out and spend time with her and teach her tricks.

I just hope we can get her back to at least pasture sound. She seems OK right now, not in obvious pain or distress, but just doesn't want to put a lot of weight on that foot. But I don't think she'd be OK to go back out there if she stays like this. And I don't think she'd want to live in a stall either. Even this nice one with the attached paddock -- she was nickering at us and giving us sad looks and staring at the stall gate as we left today. We felt really bad for her.


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## ACinATX

She's no better today and maybe a bit worse. I just have to remind myself that there have been other horses hurt worse than this and they've recovered just fine, it just took time. The barn owner is saying she thinks it might be months before the PRP treatment really sets.

Moonshine was happy to see us when we came today and not in obvious distress. I was surprised that Teddy didn't come over to see her after we let them in. Pony did. They touched noses nicely for about 30 seconds until she squealed slightly and pulled back. I like Pony. He's very loyal. Even if he's also a butt to other horses. He still wants to go and say hi to his friends.

The barn owner said Moonshine is spending a lot of time in the day sitting down in her stall. She framed it like, "Oh, Moonshine is happy and content and feeling peaceful." But to me, sitting down a lot isn't good. We added another double load of bedding to her stall -- hopefully it might mitigate some of the potential harm from her sitting down a lot. She's getting up with no obvious difficulty, though.

The grooms don't seem to have cleaned the paddock part of her stall, so my daughter cleaned that today. Then she just sat in there and read while I had my lesson. Moonshine seemed a lot happier when she was in there with her.

My lesson went well. I told the instructor that it's just going to be me and Pony for the foreseeable future, and asked her to think about some things that we need to work on. Today it was making Pony stand up by himself and get off my leg when circling at the canter. That's an ongoing issue, but maybe we can spend more time on it now. This is super hard for me, and not too easy for him either, but the instructor believes that it is within our abilities to do.

Afterwards I saw her on her pony bareback working one of the gates. I thought that looked like fun so after I had done some housekeeping stuff we tried it. First of all, I mounted him from the truck. By stepping on top of the tire. I had tried this when we were out once and it didn't go too well, so I wanted to try it again. It worked this time. I realized that I need to mount from the BACK wheels, so I can pull myself up with the edge of the truck bed (duh). Then we walked over to the gate. I have to admit, once we got there I really had to think about how I wanted to do it. The issue with this gate is that it's very uneven so it will swing open at us as soon as it's unchained. I wasn't sure how well that would go over with him. In general he's fine with stuff bumping into him, but still. So I dismounted and opened the gate and decided that all we would do is close it.

That was challenging enough, but we finally did it. There was a lot of backing up, some moving over of the hindquarters, and a bit of side-passing. The hardest part was actually getting it clipped back in. The gate is closed by a chain and a metal clip like this









And you know what, you just can't close that one-handed. So I had to lean over (even though he's a Pony, the chain was still low compared to him) and get the chain with one hand and then clip the clip in with the other. Also Pony was very slippery today. More so than usual (we were just bareback because why get tacked up again for that). But I did not slide off.

One other obstacle was that he (understandably) had the idea that the whole point of opening the gate and manuevering around it was to go through the gate, so we really had to communicate really well to get him to understand that he was supposed to make some very small and precise movements around the gate, while not actually going through it. Overall it was an appropriate challenge for us.

My daughter spent some time scratching Moonshine, which Moonshine really enjoyed. But then we had to leave, and Moonshine was pawing and nickering and making sad faces at us. But we're going to go back out again tomorrow at least. This week it was hard to get out there, but next week should be better.


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## ACinATX

Moonshine may be just a little bit better today. She seemed to be putting a smidge more weight on that foot, and my daughter felt like emotionally she was feeling a little better.

I am going to mostly post about Wysocki, the kitten. We took him to the vet this week. I figured he had about doubled in size since we last took him, three weeks ago. And he had! He's gone from tiny ball of fluff to cute kitten.

All he wants to do now is play. I feel like he went through the whole Maslow's hierarchy of needs with us -- first he felt like he was taken care of physically, then he felt like he was being taken care of emotionally (this was a period of him spending a LOT of time in our laps) and now he's ready for "actualization," which for him means playing all the time. He will still stop and sit in your lap for 10-15 minutes, but it's just a quick recharge for more zooming around, pouncing on toys, and trying to get us to play with him. 

When he gets really tired, he still retreats to his "lair" (a sort of bin in my closet that has shirts in it) and sleeps for a few hours. But when he hears our voices after a few hours, he is down and ready to play again. He is spending less and less time in there, and more and more out with us. He wakes up some time before we do in the morning, because whoever gets out of bed first, he is waiting by their bedroom. I think he hears the alarm and knows what it means. He doesn't meow for attention, though, he just waits, which is great.

I am afraid I'm going to have to pull some of those shirts out of his lair and wash them. We put a flea treatment on him a month ago, but we found more fleas last week. Then there's the parasites (tape worms?). We de-wormed him and gave him another flea treatment, but I guess I need to break the cycle by cleaning out his "bedding" (meaning my shirts). At least it's machine washable.


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## ACinATX

OK. So, the bodyworker was out today and she felt like Moonshine was, if anything, worse. She thought Moonshine now has an abscess in that foot. So I called the vet's office but our vet was out and they didn't have anyone who could come out until next Tuesday, and our vet is already coming out on Wednesday so that didn't make any sense. The vet's office suggested we trailer her in but I didn't really want to put her in the trailer when she was so lame.

So eventually what happened was, I had the bodyworker send them a video. I guess that got their attention because apparently the vet called the barn owner and they all had a confab (the bodyworker was still there). The barn owner also thinks it's an abscess and based on what the vet saw and they told him (she seems tender on the foot and there is a pulse) that's what he thinks now, too. Obviously if that is really the issue, it's kind of good, because it means that it's not the case that her stifle is getting worse, but just that there is something else going on there now also. OTOH I kind of think that's quite the coincidence that she'd have an abscess and a stifle injury on the same leg at the same time.

Anyways, we went by Dover and picked up all of their animalintex pads, which for those who don't know are pads that you soak in water and then attach to the foot to try to draw out the abscess. The barn owner actually had a really good idea, which was to put the pad inside Moonshine's boot (we already have boots for her) to keep it on. Because I don't really trust myself to attach it with the duct tape and wrappers and everything. So, anyways, I had to rasp her hoof down a little but it fit really nicely. And the really good thing was, she seemed a tiny bit more comfortable with it on and willing to put weight on it. So maybe it is an abscess. Those boots have nice thick padding, so maybe they are softer for her and it doesn't hurt her to put her foot down. That would suggest that it IS a foot issue, not a sign of her stifle being unfixable.

So I showed the grooms the pads and kind of explained what to do, then my daughter was like "I think there are instructions in Spanish," which there were, so that's all clear to everyone now. The vet is still planning on coming up next week. Obviously I will call again if she gets worse.

Also they brought her a REALLY big pile of hay. I took a picture, but you can't tell how big it is -- up to her stomach and as long as she is. I wonder how long that's supposed to last her. They brought it over with the tractor, which was kind of funny. I think she was happy to have it. Also she came up to me after eating a bit and wanted something, which I eventually realized was to be scratched. So I scratched her a bit and then had my daughter come over and scratched her. Moonshine really enjoyed it! She didn't want my daughter to stop LOL. So, her spirits are OK and she's still eating. We'll just have to hope she gets better.

A kind of funny thing. I've mentioned that she's the leader. So when we got there today, Teddy and Pony were out in their shelter and didn't realize we had come. Which was kind of good in that we did what we needed to do with her first, but then I wanted to let them in. So I went to the gate and called them. They both turned to look at me. Pony started nickering and licking his lips and nickering again, but he just stood there. I called them again and opened the gate. He just stood there looking at me and licking his lips. I yelled at them a bit ("Don't you want to come eat"?) and eventually they did come in. To me, I feel like without Moonshine there to tell them what to do, they are kind of clueless. Pony: "Hooman lady is here! I like her! I hope she will let me in and give me yummy food! But what do I do to make that happen?" I mean, I know he can't be that dumb (I actually think he's pretty smart) but sometimes you wonder.


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## ACinATX

I didn't have a lesson this morning because the trainer was away at a show. The other instructor said I could join her 8:00 lesson, but I didn't want to have to be out there on a weekend that early. I just decided to do my own thing instead. This other instructor came over when we got there and offered for me to join the 9:00 lesson, but honestly I was glad to have an excuse not to ride. It's just so hot.

After I did a whole bunch of barn chores, I rode Pony for a bit. I decided to work on bareback no-hands, as that's pretty laid back. I was really happy that Pony remembered everything. Usually the way he is, is he learns things really quickly and then he forgets them very quickly. Or he doesn't really learn at all but just reacts instinctively, and the two of us have been together long enough that his instinct is usually in line with what I want. I wonder if he remembered all of this stuff so well because it took so long for him to learn. Especially moving over his shoulder / front legs from leg pressure. Aside from ground-driving, that's the thing I taught him that took the longest amount of time for him to learn. Like, maybe it's a thing with any horse that the longer it takes them to learn something, the longer it takes them to forget it.

We even did some turning and steering with no hands at the trot. That didn't go _as_ well, but it went pretty well. We didn't work for very long. I didn't have a lot of energy and it's not like he was raring to go either. 

Moonshine is no better. At the barn owner's suggestion, when we took of her poultice we soaked her hoof in epsom salt and water for half an hour. Then we put on a new poultice. We gave her one gram of Bute. Or at least, we tried to give her one gram of Bute. I'm not sure how much actually got into her. It's such a tiny amount, you wouldn't think she'd fight it so hard. I'm giving her marshmallow root to hopefully help her stomach since she's on Bute. She still has a very good appetite and her poops are normal. No sign of an abscess bursting. We'll just keep doing what we are doing.


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## knightrider

I have dealt with abscesses over the years and tried lots of things. I didn't have much success with animalintex. My farrier recommended putting sugar, plain old sugar with some water and bandaging it up. I use old white athletic socks and duct tape. I've had decent success with sugar. Also slicing an onion fairly thickly and bandaging that up. I've done lots and LOTS of Epsom salt soaks. Don't know how much they helped. All I can say is that every abscess finally blew out, some sooner, some later than I liked, but they are all memories now. I hope yours is soon a memory as well.


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## ACinATX

Moonshine seemed maybe a tad better today. We soaked her in the epsom salts for about an hour. After that, she indicated that she wanted to go lie down so we took the soaking boot off and put on her regular hoof boot with the animalintex in it.

ETA: we've been staying with her when she wants to lie down. She's in that barn by herself and I'm not sure she's one of those horses who can sleep when they are alone. In case she isn't, I figured that us being there would help her sleep. Thus my question about REM sleep with her eyes open! (REM sleep with eyes open?)

Per several suggestions, I ordered the epsom salt gel and that should get here today. We'll apply it on top of the animalintex pads.


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## ACinATX

It's not an abscess. He hoof tested her today and found no pain spots. I am a little skeptical of results from a hoof test, so I asked for an XRay. He offered to block her foot instead, which was a good suggestion.

It didn't help at all. So it's not the foot.

He did another ultrasound and her stifle is pretty much shot. He couldn't even find the ligament. He has one other thing to try, which he didn't hold out a lot of hope for but it might help. It's called noltrex and it provides a cushion around the joint. So it doesn't help the joint but it reduces the motion-related pain.

We will also give her daily bute and gastro gard for possible ulcers related to the bute.

We're going to give her a month and see. I sent my daughter away and then asked him about end-of-life decisions. He said if she is still in as much pain as she is now in a month, that he would recommend euthanizing her. I talked to my daughter afterwards and she is OK with this. 

So I guess we are just in wait and see mode. At this point our main goal is to see if we can get her pasture sound, but the vet wasn't too optimistic about that. Would she like living in her little paddock if she were not in so much pain? She seems OK with it now. She hates other horses anyways. I guess we'll just have to see.


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## Knave

I’m sorry!


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## knightrider

Not good news at all. I am so sorry.


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## Txshecat0423

I’m so sorry  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## gottatrot

Oh no, such bad news. I'm very sorry. It will be a hard decision if she does not get better, but it's good you are considering it. What a great horse owner you are.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

That's just horrible. I'm sorry. But now you know and you know what your limitations are. I'll cross fingers and hope for significant relief and that she can be at least pasture sound. If not, that's where being a good steward comes in, even when it hurts us.


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## ACinATX

A little interlude. Moonshine is itchy. And loving the attention. I am probably just deluding myself, but I just ... how could someone who is enjoying being itched this much be in as much pain as the vet says she is?

I mean, I'll make the decision when I need to, but she was so happy being itched. So happy.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

AWWWW! She's loving all that attention!  I have found horses to be great compartmentalizers. "It feels good when you scritch me, so I'm going to focus on that and so my leg will cease to exist.". Until she has to move. And maybe with all the bute or banamine on board, the inflammation is down so maybe it's not hurting as bad. Either way, let her enjoy what she can, while she can. Tomorrow may never come or even when it gets here, it may not be as bad as you think.


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## ACinATX

This might seem like too much too soon, but I am in the process of being vetted as a foster home for a horse. Not a particular horse, just with our local rescue. 

I was thinking, I could go ahead and start the process now, because I have a lot of questions for them, and just see what happens. They say that once you've filled out an application it stays in their system forever. I'm not going to foster right this minute but I could be ready to if they have an appropriate horse and I'm feeling OK about it.

Plus having that work to do and thinking forward to maybe being able to help another horse is helping me with my grieving about Moonshine. I know maybe I shouldn't be grieving yet, and I will try that red-light therapy, but the vet from A&M was just so negative about her prognosis that I am having a hard time seeing anything in her future except being PTS.

I will have a hole in my heart for a while after she's gone, but if I'm being entirely honest, not as much as if it were one of the geldings. When one of them passes, I will have to wait a while before even thinking about a new horse. But Moonshine is my daughter's horse and she isn't as demonstrative as the other two, and we don't have a close relationship like I have with them. So I was trying to think of something good that could come out of this, and what I thought is I'd be able to afford to foster a horse if I had to have Moonshine euthanized.

Plus a nice thing about fostering a horse is that I'd go into it knowing I wasn't keeping the horse, so I could hopefully not get as attached to it as I would with one of my own. It wouldn't be a replacement for Moonshine, just a temporary situation where I could help another animal.


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## gottatrot

Thinking about fostering seems like a very helpful way to cope. It seems healthy and natural to me to have thoughts like you posted.


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## ACinATX

It's just an emotional rollercoaster over here. Yesterday Moonshine was in so much pain she had a hard time positioning herself so she could lie down. She finally did, thankfully. It was when I got home from that visit that I started looking for body disposal services.

Today, she seems like she is a lot better (see here: 



 ).

(For comparison, this is her about 10 days ago: Moonshine 7-21-22 ).

She was feeling better enough that she's wanting to come out of her stall. And, there was a horse in the pasture that borders on her stall and she was acting super nasty toward him. My daughter and I feel like she's re-directing her unhappiness at him. But she was just marching around, and even trotting a little, striking with her front feet, pinning her ears, and threatening to kick him with her back legs (at least she didn't actually kick at him). I was yelling at her, calling her a stupid stupid mare. But she just kept on doing it. So probably tomorrow we'll go back out and she'll be super lame again.

Horses.


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## IRideaHippogriff

I just got caught up on your journal after being away for so long (you might have noticed me liking your posts from months ago along the way) and you have had so many amazing adventures. You and Pony especially have come such a long way!

I am so saddened to hear about Moonshine. I can imagine the back and forth of her condition and currently unknown outcome is particularly challenging. I wish you both all the best and peace to come.


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## ACinATX

She's the same or a little better today. And she wasn't feeling too grumpy. She actually chose to stand in the inside part of the stall while Pony was in the next stall over. After pinning her ears at him a few times just to remind him that she hates him, she settled down and was nice and relaxed and just hanging out. If you ask me, she was happy to have him there. If you ask her, she hates him.

Moonshine's old owner came today. I had told her what was going on, and she decided to come and see her. This was before she improved. The visit went more or less as I expected. She was like, "Let's get her out and walk her around and see how she looks." And I was like, "No." Her: "What do you mean, no?" Me: "She's not coming out of this paddock until the vet gives the OK." I think this lady was thinking (1) that I was the same person who bought Moonshine 4.5 years ago, and (2) that she has some insight to give me that two vets, the bodyworker, and the barn owner couldn't. My thinking is, she does not. So I'm not going to pull Moonshine out just so she can play doctor with her.

Her other thought was that if I was going to have Moonshine PTS anyway, then she'd offer to take her back and just put her in a pasture and see how she does. Her thinking was, "I've seen a lot of horses that were hurt put back in the pasture for a few months and then they were fine!" I explained to her, again, that this isn't the kind of injury you can just recover from. But I also told her that if she stays like she is now, we will probably put her back out in the pasture here. So she was OK with that and said forget it about taking her back, she trusts that we will do the best for her.

My daughter and I talked about this in two parts. Yesterday, we agreed that we would choose quality of life of quantity of life for Moonshine. So, we understand that if we put her back out in the pasture, she might re-injure herself, and if she hurts this stifle again, that's just it, there's absolutely no recourse. But we think Moonshine would rather be out in the pasture with her herdmates than in a stall and tiny paddock. If she hurts herself and has to be put down, that's just how it goes.

Second, we would not give Moonshine back to her old owner if she was as lame as she has been (as the old owner had suggested we could do). That is such an easy way out, just pass off the problem to someone else and forget about it. But putting her out in a random pasture with horses she doesn't know, when she's three-legged lame? She would hate that. Better to put her to sleep. We agreed on that.

So, the question right now, assuming (I don't like to assume it, but...) Moonshine stays like she is now is (kind of OK), is it because of the pain meds or because something is actually better? Maybe the Noltrex did actually help. So we'll skip her bute on Wednesday morning when the vet comes, and see how she is. Regardless, I'll talk to this vet, then send the XRays to the vet at A&M, and we will figure out what to do with her.

FYI Moonshine prefers the term "pasture ornament" to "pasture pet" to define her hopeful future status.

Oh, and ETA, this lady and the barn owner got to talking, as I figured they would, and the barn owner was asking if this lady had any more ponies for sale. And then she added, for clarification, "I mean, Gallego level ponies." (Gallego being Pony's real name for those who have forgotten). Pony and I both puffed up a bit at that. Yes, Gallego-level ponies. Top quality ponies!


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## ACinATX

Today there was a horse that someone had let out in the front area. I've been in lessons with her, so Pony knows her. But Teddy doesn't. He's usually pretty good with strange horses, but I wanted to keep an eye on him anyways just to be on the safe side.

This horse is like 17hh, so she is way bigger than Teddy. She kind of looked at him and then decided she was probably the boss of him. So she pinned her ears at him and walked at him like she was going to just walk right over him unless he moved. I wondered what he was going to do.

What he did was... nothing. He just stood there and looked at her. Didn't flinch, didn't make a nasty face, didn't react at all except to look at her. And do you know what, she unpinned her ears and just started grazing nicely next to him. That's the great thing about Teddy, he is the boss but he's a quiet boss. He rarely has to do anything to anyone, but people (I mean horses) recognize that he's the boss. I feel like I would like to be like him. No faces, no drama, nothing. Just... I'm the boss.

Moonshine continues to very slightly improve. We DC'd her bute this morning (so yesterday was the last time she got any). The vet was supposed to come out this morning to get the XRays that the vet at A&M asked for, but then she rescheduled to this afternoon (after we had already been out there for a couple of hours). And now I'm getting the impression that she's just a vet tech, not the vet. So I am not sure she will be able to give us any useful comments about Moonshine's condition.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

ACinATX said:


> Today there was a horse that someone had let out in the front area. I've been in lessons with her, so Pony knows her. But Teddy doesn't. He's usually pretty good with strange horses, but I wanted to keep an eye on him anyways just to be on the safe side.
> 
> This horse is like 17hh, so she is way bigger than Teddy. She kind of looked at him and then decided she was probably the boss of him. So she pinned her ears at him and walked at him like she was going to just walk right over him unless he moved. I wondered what he was going to do.
> 
> What he did was... nothing. He just stood there and looked at her. Didn't flinch, didn't make a nasty face, didn't react at all except to look at her. And do you know what, she unpinned her ears and just started grazing nicely next to him. That's the great thing about Teddy, he is the boss but he's a quiet boss. He rarely has to do anything to anyone, but people (I mean horses) recognize that he's the boss. I feel like I would like to be like him. No faces, no drama, nothing. Just... I'm the boss.
> 
> Moonshine continues to very slightly improve. We DC'd her bute this morning (so yesterday was the last time she got any). The vet was supposed to come out this morning to get the XRays that the vet at A&M asked for, but then she rescheduled to this afternoon (after we had already been out there for a couple of hours). And now I'm getting the impression that she's just a vet tech, not the vet. So I am not sure she will be able to give us any useful comments about Moonshine's condition.


I love those quiet boss horses. Very rarely will they do the nasty face, pinned ears, turned butt, up to and included flying heels, but will when they have to. That's how I try to be. I'll stand my ground and just hold a look. See how it goes. You can always escalate, it's harder to de-escalate. 

I hope when the bute wears off Moonshine doesn't flare, crossing my fingers for her. Let us know what you find out.


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## ACinATX

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I hope when the bute wears off Moonshine doesn't flare, crossing my fingers for her. Let us know what you find out.


She seemed no different when we went out to meet the vet this afternoon. They were also able to get her weight-bearing on that foot for the XRays, so that was great. They then had her walk, and the vet said that Moonshine is still definitely in pain, if not as much pain, so we should continue the bute. She said you could tell when Moonshine turned, that putting weight on that leg wasn't feeling good. But she said it's good that that is how she looks WITHOUT the bute, and she would probably be better with it. So we got another tube from them and gave her some more when they left.

My gastro gard is supposed to come on Friday. Our main vet was thinking we could do a one-quarter dose daily as a preventative, but since Moonshine has already been on the bute for almost a week, I think maybe I'll do one-half doses for a week and then one-fourth doses. I was giving her marshmallow root powder with her feed and she's getting alfalfa hay, so hopefully those two things will have helped her with ulcer prevention.

The vet said we can be cautiously optimistic about her returning to being pasture sound, I think emphasis on cautiously. She wants her to stay in the stall / paddock for now and continue resting and continue with the bute. I asked her what about hand walking and she said no, not even hand walking. She can walk around in the tiny paddock if she wants. We'll schedule the regular vet to see her when he gets back. Oh and we started the infrared light treatment today.


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## gottatrot

Oops, should have read about the Gastrogard here before posting on the other thread. That's good. I wonder why they think Bute instead of Equioxx though?


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> Oops, should have read about the Gastrogard here before posting on the other thread. That's good. I wonder why they think Bute instead of Equioxx though?


I think we're doing bute now because it's somewhat more effective? I intend to ask main the vet about Equioxx when he comes back out to see her in a couple of weeks. Because we were talking about putting her on that long-term after the PRP. The idea then being that PRP would help her heal and Equioxx would help with any pain. But then the PRP didn't work so we went down a different path. But I do think we need to talk about starting her on that long term.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

It sounds like you have a good treatment plan. I hate that she's hurting so. I think you'll be surprised at how much the IR light therapy works. I had a foal break a shoulder and it was night and day the difference it made for him.


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## ACinATX

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I think you'll be surprised at how much the IR light therapy works. I had a foal break a shoulder and it was night and day the difference it made for him.


Yay!!! That's really encouraging! The vet was kind of skeptical about treating her stifle this way but she added that it can't hurt so why not try it.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

ACinATX said:


> Yay!!! That's really encouraging! The vet was kind of skeptical about treating her stifle this way but she added that it can't hurt so why not try it.


I find it hilarious that vets still aren't accepting the red light therapy. It is kind of hit or miss, it either works or it doesn't but it does no harm. Back when I got mine the tool was almost $1000 and I think they're down to a couple hundred now. I know my little guy sure got a lot of inflammation down in his shoulder and he wasn't responding to any other forms of treatment. I hope it's as effective for your mare.


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## ACinATX

Lately when I've gone out to the barn I've just had this sort of dread-y feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't actually think we're going to go out there and Moonshine is going to be flat out on her side, in agony, unable to move, but I know it has something to do with her not being well. Maybe I'm afraid I'll just spot subtle and slow signs of decline? Maybe it's because I know every time I glance at her I'm trying to see, in her expression, in how she's holding her leg, in her feet, just looking for that sign that will tell me I need to give up? I don't know. I just know it's there.

She's still looking better. The bodyworker commented on it when she saw her today. She said she's shocked by how much better she is. Yesterday my daughter was starting to advocate for putting her back in the pasture now, but I said I'm not ready for that. I want the vet to re-evaluate her, then we take her off the bute (and start her on Equioxx?), then if she still looks good then we could put her out.

I had another thought, which is to put her out half days. That's what all of the horses at the barn except for mine do -- in stalls for half the day and out for half the day. In addition to the possibility of her hurting herself by fighting with the other horses, the pasture also once again has terrible holes in it, from it being heavy clay and a bad bad drought. I saw one of the ponies stumble into one of those holes. He was fine, but if SHE put her bad leg down into one while she was moving faster than a walk, or maybe even if it was a good leg but she had to use the bad leg to compensate, that could be bad. So maybe I would put her out in the day when she could see the holes and bring her in at night. I think we are going to have to give her equioxx daily and it would be easier on the grooms, too, to have her in half the days so they could do that.

Looking at it from the other side, I heard back from the cremation people and they said to call them to talk about it, so I will. I've been meaning to do it this week but I've just been super busy at work. Now that she's a little better it seems less pressing, but I have my doubts about how long she's going to last once we put her back out in the pasture. I need to be prepared. I hope she proves me wrong and lives to be 100 LOL.

I did an evening lesson with Pony yesterday. I haven't done an evening lesson with him in a long time. Two years at least. At that time, it was like every third or fourth lesson would be terrible, and if I had a bad lesson in the evening then I couldn't sleep at night because I was mad at him or second guessing myself or whatever. However, I think we are past that point. Plus this lesson turned out to just be a walk-trot lesson. One of my instructors had suggested I join it (it's her lesson). She said it was a lot of transitions work, and riding correctly, and low crossrails or jumps. So basically it's equitation. But I have to say, this may have been the first time I've been in a lesson and thought, "This is too beginner level for me." Don't get me wrong, I actually got a lot out of it, and it was nice to have time to spend trying to focus on really riding nicely instead of just kind of surviving over jumps, but I kept waiting for cantering even on the flat and that never came. But I cantered a bit by myself at the end and that was nice.

It was about 98 at the start of the lesson and maybe 95 at the end and the sun had just set, but it was cloudy and breezy and it really wasn't that bad. I sweated a fair amount -- I had sweat beading down my face. But unlike morning lessons when it's cooler but more muggy I didn't have that allover body dampness. It was just some sweat in my face and armpits, and the dry breeze blew it off. It was still hot, obviously, but it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. I might try to join that lesson regularly. If I did, that would put me up to three lessons a week but I could still keep my twice a week hill hikes. 

It was a nice lesson and Pony did well, and I had no problems going to sleep at night.


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## Knave

I’m sorry you have that feeling.


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## gottatrot

When my mare Halla had laminitis, my jaw got really sore and I discovered I was clenching my teeth in my sleep. It's very stressful to have a sick horse, I can relate.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

Only you can know what is right for Moonshine. I couldn't/wouldn't put my horse out on pasture with a bad stifle if putting her foot in a hole would end it and knew the pasture was full of holes. If she goes kickboxing with other horses, it's one thing, that's what they do, though I'd probably not let her out with a bunch of horses either. I'm over protective that way. Would keeping her in a turn out where she can be by herself but still see/talk to the others make it easier for you and less likely for her to injur herself more?

I'm glad you had a good lesson on Pony! That helps with stress so much. I miss taking equitation lessons. I miss lessons period. Some day again, I hope.


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## carshon

You needed something good, the stress of a chronically sick horse is no joke! I have been thinking of you and your situation with Moonshine. It is one I am familiar with and I will face again soon with my 24 yr old Navicular mare. It is not a place any of us want to be in. You have shown your usual diligence in looking for all of the answers or help that is available. So many horses do not have owners who do that. I commend you for being a wonderful and compassionate owner.


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## ACinATX

I had another good lesson today. At least it was mostly good. It was more just flatwork. I think Pony and I actually need to start doing more flatwork. One thing I liked was a series of trot poles, some raised and some not. I guess we haven't trotted raised poles in a while because he saw that line and thought he needed to canter / jump them. So we figured that out on the first pass through. Then, the thing is they were set as two-stride poles for a horse, which he can get if he really tries, or he can do them in three strides. We went through trying to get two strides first, and he did it, but he was super strung out and very much on his forehand at the end of them. So we tried them as three stride poles and that went really well. The best thing was, I could feel his rhythm and tell whether it was going to be three strides, and I was able to make some really subtle adjustments so we got them every time, maintaining a steady rhythm and not bonking the raised poles. We were really communicating well.

Then the instructor took out some of them and wanted us to canter them. That didn't go AS well. It was the same thing -- he needed to have a shorter gait and take an extra stride. But I had a hard time holding him to it. The first time we got the first two poles, then the second time we got the last two poles, and the third time we got all but the second pole. So that was not too bad.

We also worked on flying lead changes and that just didn't go very well at all. He was in a good mood, listening, cooperating, and trying to figure out what I wanted, but we just couldn't get it. Well, we got it once, at the end, after trying like 10 times. It was pretty ugly. But we stopped the lesson then, rewarded him, and let him be done. It wasn't any hotter today than it has been, but there was no breeze and that really made a difference. We had been thinking about doing a little jumping at the end of the lesson, but bleah, no, too muggy.

Anyways, what I learned in this lesson and the last one is that I really need to spend some time doing quality flatwork. I wonder if I can keep that Tuesday evening lesson, then do this Friday morning one, both flat, and just jump in my semi-private lesson on Saturday. I used to feel like flatwork was kind of boring, but we both seem to be at a place now where we can really get a lot out of it.


The vet came for Moonshine yesterday. He said he is very pleasantly surprised, and that she's definitely getting better. He approved us to hand walk / graze her. And we're going to stop the bute once it's out (tomorrow?) and start with Equioxx. The plan is to leave her where she is now (stall+tiny paddock) and check back up on her in three weeks. I specifically asked, and he said no we are no longer thinking about euthanasia right now.

I think the dread-y feeling I have is some sort of other side of the coin to hope. Every time I think she's feeling a little better, I start getting that dread-y feeling. So I think what it is, is my subconscious mind trying to protect me in case she starts going downhill again. Like, it's trying to keep me from feeling better, so I won't be so bad if she takes a turn for the worse. Now that I understand where it's coming from, I think I will have an easier time ignoring it. I still doubt whether Moonshine has more than a year left in her, but who knows maybe she will surprise us again.

Speaking of that, I got approved to foster! I'll let them know that I want them to keep my application open but I'm not going to be able to foster right now. But... then I was also thinking... maybe I could. I have some extra money that goes into a special bank account, maybe I could use that for the boarding fees. With the weather getting cooler, I could go out there in the evenings to work with the horse. I don't know... I'll keep thinking about it...


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## ACinATX

We started Moonshine on the Equioxx today. We went to TSC and got the Triple Crown senior that people recommended and put the pill in it. She just ate it right up. So hopefully her eating it won't be a problem. The only thing that really bothers me is the grooms tend to leave the can of feed open and I'm afraid we're going to get mice or, worse, a possum. I was thinking to maybe just leave half the bag there and take the rest home, but that doesn't really solve the problem.


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## ACinATX

I went out for a lesson today and then got there are realized I couldn't ride. Pony had bodywork yesterday and the bodyworker wants them to have the day off afterwards. It was just as well -- we got rain for the first time in two months yesterday and Pony was MUDDY!

I had asked for some recommendations for books about horse behavior, mostly in anticipation of hopefully getting a foster horse, and I started on Horses in Translation. I am about halfway through the book, and it is interesting. Some of it I don't really like, but I think some of it might be really useful for a foster. What was kind of interesting to me was I picked out a few things where she had specific instructions (e.g. when you are leading a horse, hold you hand this way, not that way) and decided to try them to see if Pony would react any differently, but it turned out I was already doing them the way she had suggested. A lot of what she was ultimately talking about, I think, although she didn't put it this way, was controlling your energy and your intention. And a lot of that involved specific things to soften your body language. I guess my body language is already pretty soft. 

We also worked on touching his ears! We made a lot of progress.

I did Moonshine's fronts. They had gotten super super bad because she wasn't able to hold them up due to how much her stifle was hurting her and she couldn't put weight on that back leg. I had started having bad dreams about how bad they were. It was also really hard for me to trim them because they were so very bad that the hoof wall relative to my usual reference points was just totally out of place. I made a first pass last weekend, as much as I dared, and when I did them today it was a lot easier since that first pass had gotten them to where they at least resembled hooves, not squashed up bags. I still can't get to her backs, though. She can hold up the injured leg OK but the other one not at all. Hopefully the barn owner is getting a farrier out for her horses on Monday and he can see her.

I still had a lot of time, so I put them out in the pasture and just sat on the round bale with them while they ate. I had forgotten how nice that is. It's been hot, so I haven't wanted to do it, and we've been so busy doing things for Moonshine that there hasn't been a lot of spare time. It was just so relaxing just to sit out there and "be" with them. They seemed to like me being there also. A couple of the other ponies also came over to eat. They were sniffing me like crazy. My best guess is, they were thinking "Are you a hooman or are you hay? If you are hay, why do you smell like hooman? If you are hooman, why are you in the hay?"


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## ACinATX

I had a good lesson today. We had some rescheduling because of rain (RAIN!!!!!) so I ended up in a flat lesson with someone else. But it was pretty useful. We did some things well, and I found some things we need to work on. Then I popped him over a few jumps, and my form stinks again after not having jumped for maybe two weeks. But I worked on it a bit. Ultimately, the instructor was like, "Just stay in two point the whole time." Which is doable on him, so I did that and it went really well and then we ended.

However, more importantly, two good things happened today.

I saw Moonshine standing resting with her right back leg cocked! I haven't seen her do this since she hurt herself over a month ago. So that was really awesome.

Second, Pony let me scratch his butt! And he liked it! He's never been one for being scritched, but his butt was itchy and I offered and he accepted. Of course now I feel like I need to boil my hands. It wasn't like his butt cheeks that he wanted scratched, no it was his actual anus. He made that clear by, once I had gotten close to the itchy spot, moving his tale helpfully over to the side  . I didn't quite go there, but I hovered around and then I had the idea to rub the underside of his dock and he really liked that, so that was a great compromise. I couldn't see his face to see if he was making a happy itching face, but he did move his butt back and forth very slowly and I think that meant he liked it. I mean, he would have left if he didn't, anyways; he's usually pretty clear about what he likes and doesn't like.

Also I talked to the lady at the barn who rides Western and she has some saddles for sale that might fit him, so she's going to bring them so I can try them. So yay!

(UPDATE: she's coming out tomorrow and we'll try them!)


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

ACinATX said:


> Second, Pony let me scratch his butt! And he liked it! He's never been one for being scritched, but his butt was itchy and I offered and he accepted. Of course now I feel like I need to boil my hands. It wasn't like his butt cheeks that he wanted scratched, no it was his actual anus. He made that clear by, once I had gotten close to the itchy spot, moving his tale helpfully over to the side  . I didn't quite go there, but I hovered around and then I had the idea to rub the underside of his dock and he really liked that, so that was a great compromise. I couldn't see his face to see if he was making a happy itching face, but he did move his butt back and forth very slowly and I think that meant he liked it. I mean, he would have left if he didn't, anyways; he's usually pretty clear about what he likes and doesn't like.


When Cloney has a itchy bum, he's either needing his sheath cleaned or he's wormy. Especially if he's rubbing his tail and wanting his dock scratched. If his anus is itchy, I'd be suspicious of pinworms, so scrub your hands and under your nails real well. I'd also be deworming him with something that will kill pinworms. 

I'm glad Moonshine is doing well! That sounds great!


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## ACinATX

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I'm glad Moonshine is doing well! That sounds great!


Yes, who would have thought I'd be so happy to see a horse just standing there. The vet's coming out the week after this coming week, and I'm hopeful he'll approve her to go back out to the pasture at that time. She's getting bored where she is now. And now that we're getting some rain hopefully the holes will close up enough to where they aren't actively dangerous.

That's good to know about the pinworms. It looks like I need something with pyrantel in it, and looking with what I dewormed them with last time, it didn't have that. So I'll get some dewormers with that in it now.

I washed my hands afterwards, then washed them when I got home, then took a shower and scrubbed under my fingernails. I hope that was enough. I was thinking to put some rubbing alcohol in there too, but I don't know if that would do anything to eggs.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

Just thorough washing and scrubbing under your nails should be plenty good.


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## ACinATX

I'm back on a horse book reading kick. Where I'm at now, a horse book is like a clinic -- I will get something out of it for sure, but I'm not lapping up everything the author says. I take what works for me and leave the rest. Anyways, one thing that I really got out of one of these books was the importance of the half halt and not having terrible downward transitions. Pony and I do have terrible downward transitions. Basically he always just wants to stop, so if I want a downward transition all I do is stop actively riding and he will just collapse into the next lowest gait. Especially at the canter, I have gotten used to being thrown forward. I guess I have just gotten to where I accept this, or more likely there are so many other things we need to work on that I've been putting it aside.

But this evening I went out there to work on transitions. And actually although I tried with the half halt, I think a real nice half halt is something I will need help with. BUT! It turns out that Pony actually CAN have a really nice downward transition. At first I tried to emphasize it with my legs. I mean, you know, try to half halt and then immediately give a little squeeze to keep him at a good pace in the lower gait. But pretty soon I found that honestly as long as I just keep riding him, he can have a really nice downward transition! Really nice! I just have to keep thinking "forward", I don't really have to do anything else. We had some especially nice downward transitions from the canter -- I got an amazing trot out of it (for a few steps at least LOL).

When I got there, the instructor asked if she could use him in her kids' walk-trot lesson and I was kind of torn because I wanted to ride him, but I had other stuff to do also so I said yes. The kid who rode him loved him and asked to ride him again. Of course. He's generally very good for kids. I rode him for about 20 minutes after she had her lesson on him.

While he was being ridden, I unloaded hay and hay pellets and did all of Teddy's feet! His soles shed out a LOT with all the rain. So I trimmed back to the soles on all of them (that's where I like to keep them). I guess it's because he's been standing in mud for a few days, but his hoof walls were fairly soft and really easy to trim with the nippers. I put thrushbuster in all of his frogs and I really need to trim them, but I'll do that next time.

Also @Knave thank you again for the recommendation of hay hooks. I stacked all four alfalfa bales on top of each other -- my record height for alfalfa bales! I couldn't have done it without them.

I can fit four bales of hay, two bags of alfalfa pellets, and one adult-sized kid on the INSIDE of my truck! It's awesome! I had to put it all inside because I desparately needed alfalfa hay but it's finally raining and I didn't want it getting wet. And then after I got hay all over the inside back of the truck, I just took out the rubber mat that fits the floor and dumped it out, and everything was more or less clean!

So it was a good day!


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## Knave

I’m glad they worked for you!!!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

Tip on the half halt/downward transition. When showing on the Arab Western Pleasure circuit, especially at the National Champion level, it's GOT to be smooth as silk. And since you're either riding with bicycle hands on mecate reins and bosal (so no hands) or using romal reins (again, no hands) just seat and legs, one thing I found worked really well was to sit down slightly, so kind of suck back with my belly and barely lean back with my hips and whisper "Whoa" and as the horse is dropping out of whatever gait but just before they break, then cluck once for walk, twice for jog or kiss for lope and brush with my calves. The trick to it was, you could NOT be heard by the judges and you could NOT be seen to move in the seat or legs. The goal was to make a silk smooth transition while appearing (and sounding like) you're doing nothing. The trick is, never drop your eyes, don't move your upper body, keep your shoulders and arms and upper torso still while appearing like nothing below the belly button moves. I know it's not quite as sticky in other breeds/disciplines, but if you practice that and can get it, you'll have great transitions.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

Scottsdale Western Pleasure Jr. Horse
Check out their downward transitions. Some will be really good, some not so much. Remember that these are Junior horses, so under 5 years old and very green.


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## ACinATX

I forgot to mention, when I was riding Pony yesterday I had a "this is what it must feel like to be a horse" moment. We were in the covered arena. The sun was setting. The arena had just been dragged, so there were straight parallel lines everywhere, with some hoof prints here and there. And as I looked down at the ground while I was riding (another bad habit I know) suddenly it was just lines. Bright orange (sunny side) and dark blue lines, with weird dark blue shadows wherever the hoofprints were. And then in my mind the ground was just this terrifying, confusing weird pattern of high-contrast colors. It wasn't sand, it wasn't a normal ground, all I could comprehend was this overwhelming high-contrast pattern of lines and random spots. It was really overwhelming. It really made me appreciate all our horses do to adjust to living in our world.


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## ACinATX

I think things are lining up for the foster horse! The org has a horse for me. This horse is a gelding, maybe around 15hh, maybe bay, and supposedly handleable. That's all they know. Oh and it's "a little skinny." I already had to pass on one that was skinny because I told them I couldn't handle the feeding for a horse that's in danger of refeeding syndrome due to my boarding situation, so hopefully this guy isn't quite emaciated. The horse is currently about 40 minutes away from me but someone (me?) will move it to a temporary home while it gets its Coggins test and vaccinations. Then someone (almost certainly me) will move it to my barn.

I got the paddock I really wanted. It's only about half an acre, but it has a nice shelter and lots of trees. It has an attached run that goes around two sides of the big arena, so if the horse wants to get up a good gallop it can. This paddock actually has some grass in it! It borders the pasture that has the nicer, more mild-mannered geldings in it, so maybe he can get to know some of them over the fence. That's probably the pasture he will end up being put out in assuming he gets along with them. 

I'm going to pay extra for the barn owner to put a round bale in there. They throw hay twice a day at my barn, but not always at the same time and not always enough (IMO). So having a round bale will be good for him, I think. I'll take pictures of him (and maybe get a weight measuring tape?) weekly to see if it's enough to help him put the weight back on. I expect I'll be tossing him a flake or two of alfalfa whenever I'm out there, too.

Also I will get to name him. I am, childishly, super excited about that part. I'll probably post pictures here once I get him and see if anyone has any ideas. I'm really happy that I named Teddy "Teddy" -- it's turned out to be a super appropriate name for him. I hope I'll do as well with the new guy.


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## IRideaHippogriff

Oh how wonderful! Will you have to change the name of your journal to something like "Me + Three and Sometimes Four"?

I jest, of course, but can't wait to meet the new foster if he ends up being a good fit for your situation.


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## ACinATX

"One more makes four" LOL.

But probably not. Since he isn't actually my horse. I hope he's a good fit also! It's really weird just getting a random horse you know nothing about. I just have to remind myself that most horses are, most of the time, very nice.


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## ACinATX

I got a little more information about the foster horse. She sent me a picture. He looks like a light bay color and he's skinny but not terribly so. It was not a very good picture for weight, but he doesn't look like he's too much skinnier than Teddy. We'll see when I actually get him. She also told me they think he's 4-5 years old, which is great. So he might very well turn out to be rideable, which of course would make him much more adoptable. I'm hoping maybe someone at my barn will adopt him. Maybe one of the people who is currently leasing or just taking lessons. They told me not to share the picture as he's not officially theirs yet. I hope he's officially theirs pretty soon LOL since I'm planning on picking him up in two days.

I got my round bale today. I was super happy with it. It's actually the same round bales the barn owner got last time, but I guess they were too expensive for her to keep getting them. They are lovely hay that the horses all just adored. Half the time they preferred it over the crappy alfalfa I've been getting lately. I'm going to see if I can get more hay from this guy (I got it straight from the farmer, which was cool) but get it delivered. After I got it to the barn I couldn't unload it because my tailgate wouldn't open. So the grooms had to come over and they tried to flip it off the side of the truck. They couldn't quite do it, so I got there and put my back under it and really pushed with my legs. It was so close to tipping off! And then I got my legs really under me and the thing finally went over the side. Even after it was out, the tailgate won't open. So that's bad. But they then put the hay in his paddock where I wanted it, so the paddock is all ready except that I need to get a chain and clip for the gate. I actually have a chain and a clip, I just need to get them out there. 

This guy had a big property and there was this amazing old house on it. Like an 1880s era east-Texas plantation-style mansion. It was in poor repair but it was just stunning. I asked him about it and he said that the gravel company bought it and is going to tear it down (I was kind of confused about this -- maybe he is just leasing the land?) He said he had tried to get historical societies interested in saving it, but he hadn't had any luck. I wish I had taken pictures. It was really something. 

Also, I told my daughter as we were driving the hay back, "I feel like a real horse person now, bringing in a round bale in my truck." She told me, "Mama, I think you've been a real horse person for a while" LOL.

We stripped Moonshine's stall. It actually wasn't as much work as I had expected. Aside from being obsessive about some of the wet spots, we could have done all the work in not much more time than it takes to do a good job of mucking it out. I took a picture of the new bedding vs some of the old bedding that we left in there. You could really see the difference between them. 

We dewormed them with the dewormer for pinworms. And then I trimmed Teddy's fronts again. And I hooked up the trailer so I can get out to pick up the new guy sooner on Tuesday (I brought the trailer home and will leave it and the truck in front of the house). Oh, and we let Moonshine out while we did her stall, and she walked around and ate grass and neither Pony nor Teddy chased her around. So that was good. The vet's coming on Wednesday and hopefully he's going to clear her to go back out in the pasture.

All in all we did a lot today, but we got out by 1:30.


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## ACinATX

Kitten interlude: "Stop reading about stupid horses and pay attention to MEEEEE!"


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## ACinATX

I picked up my foster horse! This is going to be a LONG post!

First of all, after all of that worrying, I only saw a tiny bit of rain, and that was on the way back. I checked the radar in the morning and it looked like we were about an hour away from being hit by a big storm, but IDK it must have moved in some other direction because thankfully I never ran into it.

I was happy at the vet's office because I misunderstood their instructions and ended up driving to the wrong place and I had to make a three-point turnaround with the trailer to get out, and I did it really well. I guess I hadn't forgotten how to back it up. 

I had been under the impression that this was an owner surrender, but they told me that the horses had been seized by the sheriff. I guess my guy was in the best shape out of all of them. Once of them died after getting to the vet's. 

I watched the lady halter him and she had a really good technique. I may well use it in the future if I ever meet a horse that needs to be haltered that I'm unsure of. What she did was put one of her hands on his withers and then move it up to his head so he knew what was coming and wasn't worried about the halter. Like, it didn't just suddenly appear, he had some idea that something was coming toward his head. He seems maybe a bit headshy, so that's another good reason for doing it. I have filed this away for future use.

He loaded up pretty well. The drive back was mostly uneventful for me. It was actually kind of nice not worrying about two horses getting into a fight every time I hit a red light. This guy was quiet. Although after I got him out I looked down and it looked like he had pawed a lot.

I took him out of the trailer to his paddock myself. He didn't like the side ramp or didn't understand it, because he took one step and then jumped off the side. That was OK. He was looky on the walk to the paddock but overall listened to me so that was good. I think he's a nice horse, which is good, because I am not sure what I would have done if he had freaked out or tried to run into to me or not led or whatever.

Now, here is where my overthinking paid off. They got the paddock all ready for him, even mowed. They put a new gate on because the old gate was pretty messed up. But you know what the old gate had that the new gate lacks? A CHAIN and clip! So there was no way to keep the gate closed. But I brought my own chain and clip because I had thought about it and anticipated this problem. I mean, I could have always just used an old halter or lead rope if I had to, but that seems like an ugly solution.

So my initial impressions of him are that he's lacking in confidence and will need someone who can be a clear and strong (but obviously fair) leader. So I'm going to have to step up my game a bit. He also shows signs of wanting to be herd bound, which isn't good. Overall he just lacks confidence right now. Is that because he's half starved or because that's who he is? We'll find out, hopefully, as he gains weight.

Speaking of gaining weight, after all of that back and forth with the rescue and me telling them about the paddock and round bale and them not caring, they then sent me an email and said he still needs to be on a refeeding schedule and not free fed yet. So I called them because I had no way to do this, and what we worked out is he will be in Pony's new stall (Moonshine's old stall) which is a double stall (It borders on Pony's old paddock (Moonshine's paddock now) so I hope she likes him). He will be in there at night with rationed hay and a little senior feed, then he'll get a little senior feed in the morning and be put out in the paddock with the round bale. That's for two weeks and then hopefully he can be out in the paddock full time.

He met Pony and Teddy, and the mini donkeys and the geldings in the pasture that border his. I don't know if he's very submissive or just very nice, but there was NO squealing and kicking on anyone's part. Pony let him know fairly nicely that Pony is the boss and this guy was fine with that. He doesn't like it when the other horses go away, though. He did seem potentially open to accepting me as a better-than-nothing substitute for the other horses. Which, if it holds up, is great.

Actually while he is maybe a little headshy, he was surprisingly friendly. I mean for a rescue horse that just got here. He likes to smell my hands and neck. He's actually a bit mouthy, which I don't mind so much in a horse I know, but I don't like in this situation. Plus I'm trying to set him up for a successful adoption, so the mouthiness needs to end. I let him know gently a few times that it wasn't OK and he seemed to pick up on that. No doubt it's something we'll have to keep working on. No hand feeding treats for now.

He comes up to me when he's loose in his paddock and is already following me around a bit. I think this guy is definitely a follower, although of course it's hard to know what his personality will look like once he gets the weight back on. He is OK being touched on his neck, withers, back, and flanks. I was touching him on his back and he gently tried to push into me, so I fairly gently just pushed him out again.

I was hoping for a friendly horse because, at least in theory, I can create boundaries for what I will accept (I say in theory because I admit my boundaries with Pony are flexible). And I can push him away if needed. That's just training. But I think it takes more than training to make a horse want to be with you. Join up notwithstanding.

I know that a horse that is underfed can seem like it's meek and compliant and then totally change personality once it's fed, so I'm planning on using this time to do a lot of groundwork to reinforce that I'm the boss and that he needs to listen to me. Of course, obviously taking things at whatever speed we need.

I took a picture of him and Pony together. Look at their shape next to each other. I wish I could take 50 pounds off Pony and put it on this new guy,

I'm including a picture of the tack room of my trailer. It turns out I can get six bales of hay in there easy! In just that one part of the trailer!

Anyways, summary is this all went surprisingly well. This guy could end up being really good looking, and he's already friendly, so he's already got some things going for him to get adopted when it's time. At the very least, my goal is to get him super solid on the ground. But if things go well then maybe I will help start him under saddle!


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## gottatrot

I've read in many places that alfalfa is really the best diet for starved horses and preventing refeeding. Studies from UC Davis, etc. 
I'm so glad you've taken on this guy, and am looking forward to hearing about how he does with you!!

https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/site...ocal_resources/pdfs/pubs-July2012-bkm-sec.pdf
"Our research has shown that starved
horses had very different responses
to several diets. We found that the
best approach for initial refeeding of
the starved horse consists of frequent
small amounts of high-quality alfalfa.
High-quality alfalfa has characteristics
of leafiness, fine stems, no dust or
mold, with a crude protein content
of 16 to >20%. This amount should
be increased slowly at each meal and
the number of feedings decreased
gradually over 10 days. After 10
days to 2 weeks, horses can be fed as
much as they will eat."


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## ACinATX

@gottatrot I saw those studies but then I saw other studies that said there wasn't any difference. It's all very annoying. I did give him a couple flakes of alfalfa hay but he wasn't too interested in them. The alfalfa hay we've been getting (from multiple sources, too) has been pretty bad, which may be part of it. I forgot if I mentioned it already, but lately half the time my horses would rather have this good coastal hay than the alfalfa hay I've been getting for them, which really says something because they all love alfalfa hay. The rescue lady suggested mixing some alfalfa pellets in with his (half scoops of) senior feed so I'll be doing that.


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## gottatrot

ACinATX said:


> @gottatrot I saw those studies but then I saw other studies that said there wasn't any difference. It's all very annoying. I did give him a couple flakes of alfalfa hay but he wasn't too interested in them. The alfalfa hay we've been getting (from multiple sources, too) has been pretty bad, which may be part of it. I forgot if I mentioned it already, but lately half the time my horses would rather have this good coastal hay than the alfalfa hay I've been getting for them, which really says something because they all love alfalfa hay. The rescue lady suggested mixing some alfalfa pellets in with his (half scoops of) senior feed so I'll be doing that.


That sounds like a good plan. Yes, if the alfalfa you can get is not good quality, then it would be better to feed a high quality grass hay. Green, leafy hay will have higher protein, which is important for rebuilding the muscles. Stemmy alfalfa won't be very helpful. When I got my pony last year I also gave her Tri-Amino just to make sure she had the building blocks to repair her muscles.


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## ACinATX

gottatrot said:


> When I got my pony last year I also gave her Tri-Amino just to make sure she had the building blocks to repair her muscles.


Oh, that's a REALLY good idea! Was it pricy? I got something similar from Smartpak for Teddy back when I was still riding him, and it was really expensive.


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## gottatrot

If I do the calculations, a month and a half is $35, so $0.78 a day. That's $35 for two pounds, and a serving is 20 grams a day. I used a different amino acid supplement, but someone on the forum pointed out that Tri-Amino actually had a bigger dose and was cheaper than the one that had all the advertising. I think it was called Equinety.
https://www.amazon.com/Uckele-Tri-Amino-Supplement-lb/dp/B07DFLT57W?th=1

This is a powder, and I put it with hay and vitamin pellets and a sprinkle of water to mix it in.


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## Knave

He doesn’t look as bad as he could have for sure. That is good! Halter broke is good, and friendly is good!

I’m sorry that quality alfalfa is hard for you to find. That’s so crazy to me, but I guess everything we put up is usually bought the day it is put up. We just keep what we need. I’m so glad we have good horse alfalfa again for Lucy, because she was getting underweight. I’m not super happy Cash now gets access to it. He was looking good on ranch hay. The other three look good on the ranch hay, and as Queen is growing a lot of that overweight look is leaving. She’s still big, don’t get me wrong, but not as big. Lol


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## Knave

Oh shoot, I just looked at the other thread and he is skinnier than I thought!


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> Oh shoot, I just looked at the other thread and he is skinnier than I thought!


Yeah he's skinnier than I thought at first, too.  I mean, based on the one picture they sent. His ribs don't look too terrible but his pelvis is so bony.


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## Knave

He’ll do good now!


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## newtrailriders

Aww he's so pretty! You're going to have fun fattening him up and seeing him happy. Please post frequent progress photos!


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## ACinATX

Wow this guy is a sweetheart. He's still following me around. He pushed his shoulder a little too close today and I pushed him back and he was fine with that. I let him stand there for a few seconds and then offered to scratch his withers, which he was neutral about. He is lipping less already and just sort of putting his nose on me and smelling. I've let him know that he can't do this to my head. But I'm letting him smell my hands over and over again and all over my torso. I'm feeling like it is making him feel safe.

I touched him all over today. He was fine. He had a bunch of flies, so I put some fly spray on him by spraying a towel and then rubbing it on him. He didn't mind. He didn't want to be sprayed, though, which is too bad but not really surprising. 

Since he seemed fine with me touching his legs, I thought I'd try to pick up his feet. So I ran my hands down his legs to his fetlock. He didn't respond at all. So I tried again, and then tapped the back of his fetlock gently and repetitively. After a few seconds he shifted his weight a miniscule amount off that foot, so I praised him and then stood next to his shoulder facing the same direction he was facing (so we were facing the same direction). I think he likes praise but I don't want to overwhelm him with too much focus on him. Then I did it a second time and got a slightly bigger shift. A third time and he actually lifted his heel up. A fourth time and he let me pick up his foot. A fifth time and he picked it up for me. I obviously praised him profusely, and of course I put the foot down very gently. He figured out what I wanted on the other front foot by the third try. So I don't know if he HAS had his feet worked on before, or at least picked up, or if he's a very fast learner. To be honest, I don't get the sense that he's an extremely intelligent horse. But maybe I just don't know him well enough yet.

I didn't try his back feet. I didn't sense any problem with me touching them, but I thought he did so well with the fronts that we would just end it there.

Pony was watching all of this. I DO think horses can be jealous. If it's not exactly like what we think of as jealousy, it has to be similar. He decided that the new horse needed to be put in his place. Unfortunately he decided this when he (Pony) and I were standing near each other next to the paddock and NH (new horse) on the other side of the fence in the paddock. So Pony lunged past me at NH. He didn't touch me at all on the way, but this is completely unacceptable behavior (It is one of my few VERY CLEAR RULES that they DO NOT act out against each other while a human is present) and I let him know that very clearly. Then about a minute later I went over to him and hugged him and told him that he is and always will be the Worlds Best Pony. He didn't really seem mollified. We went back to where we had been standing and he stood there nicely for a minute or so then he started to lunge again. I stopped him before he could get started and chased him off. Then I stood between them and kept them apart (the fence was there between them also), raising my finger in a significant manner every time Pony thought about making a face at NH. So hopefully this helped NH feel more secure (I am protecting him) and also reminded Pony about the rules. I also went and paid some extra attention to him afterwards. 

I was out there today because the vet came for Moonshine. He was amazed at how much better she is -- no sign of pain at all. He actually said we could ride her at the walk if we wanted, but I don't think we do. I don't want to chance it. I suggested we'd just hand walk her over poles instead and he said that would be really good for her. 

He doesn't want her out in the big pasture yet. He wants her ideally in the paddock the NH is in right now. I thought maybe they could go in together as he's really submissive and she likes to be the boss, but (1) I don't want him getting buddy sour and (2) she's in heat right now and he is VERY interested (they were flirting hard over the gate), to the point where I wonder if he might try to mount her. That certainly wouldn't be good for her stifle.  

So maybe what I will do is see if she can have that paddock at night and he can have it in the day.

That's what's going on with the horses today! I'm really happy he's picking his feet up. Hopefully tomorrow I'll try his back feet.


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## gottatrot

So great to hear how well Moonshine is doing! It sounds like your new guy is very sweet.


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## ACinATX

I need to talk to the grooms. I think they are giving Moonshine too much feed. The feed bag has become depleted rapidly and she is getting SASSY! She looks great, mind you, but she's getting a bit of an attitude. And she has a whole bunch of energy. She doesn't need to have so much energy.

Today after I put Rowan out she wanted to go out too, so I put on her halter and let her out. I figured she was just going to graze like usual. But she took off cantering to where he was. Well, she cantered for about two strides, then realized it wasn't a good idea because the ground was slick, then tried to slow down. See first picture for results. I yelled at her, obviously. But she didn't care, obviously. The thing is, she fast walked over there, let him see her, stood there for a few seconds, then walked off.

After a while, she wandered off and I lost sight of her. Then I realized she was in the arena next to his paddock, grazing in the corners. Yes there is green stuff in those corners but not much. I'm pretty sure she was just trying to get his attention, and then every time he came up to her she'd walk away. I mean, there's no reason for her to try to be grazing in there. I even went and looked, and no there is no super secret stash of yummy grass or cookie plants over there.

I told her "You're such a Moonshine." And then I told my daughter and she was like, "She's such a Moonshine!" That mare is really something. I'm pretty sure she wants him in her herd and is playing games to make him want it too. It's like the all-horse version of a Join Up.

ETA: I got to thinking, as good as that senior feed is making her look and feel -- do they make that for hoomans?


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## ACinATX

Today I hauled Pony by himself for a lesson at a western barn. I learned a lot, and not all of it was good.

First, I learned that I CAN drive a horse trailer on I-35. Those of you in Texas will know what I'm talking about. It was actually just fine going out. Coming back, it was pretty bad. Heavy traffic, off and on slow-downs, lots of big rigs, and plenty of jerks trying to use the right hand lane for passing. So while I CAN drive a horse trailer on I-35, I still don't want to.

Second, learned that Pony CAN go somewhere on his own. But he was not at all happy. He was whinnying as soon as we got there. I let him hand graze for a bit but it didn't calm him down. So I got him saddled up. Typically once he realizes he's going to work he settles down. He did settle down a bit after I got him saddled, but the lesson in front of us was running super late so we had to wait around for a while. Then he got his lead rope caught in something on the trailer, turned his head hard, and the leather on his halter broke.

Which leads me to the third thing I learned, which is that Pony doesn't see me as a leader. I mean, I guess I kind of suspected. When his halter broke, he trotted off until he found some other horses. These horses were obviously complete strangers to him, but he preferred to be with them. I rounded him up with a bucket. Luckily I keep a spare halter in the trailer just in case. But yeah. If he's stressed out and wants comfort, I am not that place for him. I need to think about that a lot. Like: what have I done to DESERVE to be his leader? How have I demonstrated leadership to him? Just telling him what to do, that's not really leadership, that's bossing.

The fourth thing I learned is that even when Pony is stressed, he DOES go to work and will work, even if it's on his own terms. So apparently they had gotten hit with a surprise storm late last night and the footing was terrible. They had us start in the round pen, where the footing was supposedly better (no; it was terrible). He walked and trotted and did tiny circles and did what I asked. But -- and let me point out this was a small round pen, maybe 40 feet diameter at the most, once per lap he let out an ear-splitting whinny. So it was like walk walk walk walk WHINNY walk walk, etc.

We eventually moved to the arena, which also had terrible footing. We worked on some things and he did really well. He tried very hard. Once we got to really working, as I expected, he settled down. I finally learned how to back him up straight, and you know what, he does it beautifully! Really soft and nice!

I didn't realize, until the lesson was almost over, how stressed he had been. It was obvious in the round pen, what with all the whinnying, but like I said once we got to working he seemed fine. But it was only when we were almost done that he let out a sigh. That's when I realized how tightly he had been wound up.

Here's the thing that really made me happy though -- he didn't shy at anything, even though there was lots going on. he didn't spook. He wasn't too looky. He looked, but he wasn't looky, if that makes sense. So that was good.

So, we went out there and did the lesson and overall it was OK. We survived. No one was hurt. But it made me think about our relationship, and what I'm thinking is not all good. I need to figure out how to become the trusted leader for him.

I took the trailer out three times in the last week -- to get Rowan, to get it serviced, and to this lesson. I was SO HAPPY to unhook that thing and just be driving the truck by itself. We've got a show schedule don Sept 24 and I am happy to not have to think about the trailer until then.


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## gottatrot

Sounds like a stressful day! Reading your post, I was remembering the discussions about how horses' personalities are all different. I don't think it's correct to assume Pony's response means there is something wrong with your relationship with him. I think it is just an indicator of how he may react in stressful situations. I've read several times how if a horse gets lost on a ride in a strange place, they will often hide and not even make a sound when their own herd mates are ridden a few feet away from them. That doesn't really imply they don't see the other horses as friends or leaders. It's just a stress response. 

In my opinion, a human can be a good leader and have a good working relationship with a horse, but how the horse will relate to that can be very individualized. For one thing, there was one of you and it sounds like several horses where Pony ran to. That is simply instinct, to find a "herd" in an unsafe situation. Most likely if he had been with another horse near the trailer, he still would have preferred to find a herd where he wouldn't stand out or be picked off by a predator. 

I find it more telling that he listened to your cues when the situation didn't seem as dire to him. 
In my opinion it is a rare horse that trusts a human more than instinct in a scary situation. I think in most cases it just seems like that is happening, but really the horse is not that scared or else trusts their own judgment along with some small reassurances and it looks like they are looking to the human for guidance. It's built in to horses that they follow the herd, but in the worst case like they are separated out by a predator, they must rely on their own judgment. They will always fall back on that because they're not helpless or immature, they have mature brains and make their own decisions in the end.


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## knightrider

gottatrot said:


> . I don't think it's correct to assume Pony's response means there is something wrong with your relationship with him. I think it is just an indicator of how he may react in stressful situations. I've read several times how if a horse gets lost on a ride in a strange place, they will often hide and not even make a sound when their own herd mates are ridden a few feet away from them. That doesn't really imply they don't see the other horses as friends or leaders. It's just a stress response.


I couldn't have said it better.


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## ACinATX

We had a lesson on Wednesday. It was mostly lead changes. We did well at first. Pony can do a simple lead change with just one or two trot steps. But the instructor wanted flying lead changes. She just wanted us to get them by pushing with our leg and then yanking the rein really hard. Pony and I tried twice and didn't get it at all. She was like "keep pulling, pull him around in a circle, he knows how to do this!" But you know what, after that second try, I really got the feeling Pony had no idea what I was asking. So he was getting grumpy at me because I kept asking him (harshly IMO) to do something but he didn't know what I wanted and the pressure never went away. And I got grumpy because he wasn't doing it and I didn't know how to do it. 

So I just stopped. The instructor was like "Don't give up!" but I told her, "I don't think Pony understands what I'm asking him to do, and he' s just perceiving this as punishment. He's getting mad and I'm getting mad." And I refused to continue. The instructor insisted he knew how to do this, but I pushed back: "Exactly who trained him to do this?" She answered "Trainer A and Trainer B." Well, neither of those trainers has taught him to do flying lead changes, I know for a fact, since I have talked to them about it. I told her that but she didn't really believe me. 

I told her I wasn't going to try to keep doing something I didn't think he could do, so we did a few more simple changes (which he again did very well) and called it a day.

Yesterday as she was leaving, she stopped me and said, "You were right, it was Moonshine who can do flying lead changes, not him." She rarely admits she was wrong about anything, so I guess it's good that she did. But I'm still annoyed that she insisted he could do it and wouldn't listen to me when I said he didn't understand. I'm sorry that I put him through that.

But I'm glad I somehow realized that was the problem and I'm glad I stopped after I realized it.

But I'm still mad about the whole thing.


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## Knave

I would be mad too, but I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself and your horse! That’s never the way to get a flying change in any case, not the way to teach it, and not the way to discipline for it. So, you did exactly what you needed to do, and I’m proud of you!

It’s really hard to stand up in that situation. I’ve been put into it on colts, with someone who’s never even started a colt! I try and explain why you can’t read when you don’t know your abc’s, but it seems that never seems to satisfy. I hate being in that situation.


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## gottatrot

Good for you!


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## ACinATX

Stuff has been happening, but not enough in any one day to really write about it.

One day, I decided to do some work with Pony, just leading him around, to work on manners. Like, maintaining a desired distance when following, not nibbling my hand, and then when we stop, not rubbing his head on me. He did perfect on all of it, which was great I guess but I had been hoping for a teachable moment. When we stopped, I sat on the mounting block and he just dozed off. Also when I was leading him, this other horse came running down the adjacent pasture, galloping, bucking, and SQUEALING! Over and over and over again. I have never heard a horse make that sound before. Of course all of the other horses got a little jumpy from that, but I asked Pony to stay with me and he did. I looked out where that horse had been running from, and the two mini donkeys were just standing there eating like nothing had happened. I walked out there too, but I couldn't figure out what had made him do that.

Moonshine can make a mare face with her entire body. The groom was walking her past Rowan the other day, and literally her whole body was mare face. Also, while walking, she managed to point both her head and her back feet at him, so as to threaten him from both ends. His response was, "Can we be friends?"

Something I have been thinking about is how none of my horses like to be groomed. They tolerate it but they don't like it. And I keep reading other people talking about how their horses like to be groomed. So, I am starting to think the problem is me. I go in there hard and fast and get them as clean as possible in as short a time as possible. So today I really tried to be mindful and blending and nice when grooming Pony, and I found that my curry combing got a lot slower and more deliberate, with force that sort of changed depending on what muscles I was currying. My hand was also rotating in strange ways. I think Pony liked it. I guess I have always viewed grooming as a chore to be done rather than a chance to create a physical connection. I'm going to try to change my ways.

Pony has been acting up a bit lately under saddle. He's being ridden by kids two or three times a week now, and getting no training rides, so the only one who is keeping him steady is me. And I am not up to the task. (I'm also wondering if it might be a little jealousy related). What's happened the last two times I've jumped him is he is trying really hard to avoid patches of deep sand (apparently) and I'm trying to overcorrect with the reins. Last lesson he ran out of the arena. The instructor said it was because I had too much inside rein and had overbent him. Today he tried that again but we worked through it. But then we were riding a series of jumps and I let him get a little fast and there was a tight turn in deep sand at the end. I guess he felt off-balance because he pulled his head down hard and I went flying.

This is my worst horse injury to date. I fell on my hands, scraped up one really good and hurt the finger on the other. Then I fell on my head and took a chunk out of my helmet! Oh well, I've been needing a new helmet. The scrapes were bleeding a lot, so I went to treat them and the instructor got on him. She was also having problems with the deep sand areas but obviously not like I was. She agreed to ride him once this week before the show on Saturday (did I mention we're going to a show on Saturday?). I got on him at the end and we just trotted some crossrails.

I washed out the scrapes and then used one of my alcohol wipes on them (ouch ouch ouch) but they were still bleeding so I had the very good idea (seriously good) of putting Wonder Dust on them. It worked great! Later I also poured some Betadine over. All of those horse injury products are coming in handy!

I don't appear to have a concussion but the tendon in my finger tore off the bone of the last joint. I'm in a finger splint now and am supposed to find an orthopedic surgeon next week to look at it. I may need surgery. It doesn't hurt too much, though, and I don't think the finger splint thing will be TOO restrictive.

Also I signed up for this show thinking it's the end of September so it might be hot but not unbearable. But it looks like it might be near 100 that day! Boo!

Last thing, I don't know if it's me being out there more so him getting more alfalfa hay and pellets, or me having Rowan, but Teddy looks really good right now! I feel like he's gone from a 4.5 to a 5, and seeing as how he's a hard keeper and we're getting into cooler weather (in theory) I think that's great.

Oh actually, that reminds me of one really last thing. I facilitated the barn owner getting more round bales from the guy I really like. So I didn't have to go and pick up one this week! Rowan got a brand new round bale, but also she put one out in the pony pasture. She had been free feeding a mix of alfalfa, timothy, and orchard grass, and I was concerned about that. So I'm really happy she's switched back over to the coastal hay.


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## boatagor

I didn't think Dylan liked to be groomed for years. He seemed to just tolerate it. I remember going to buy some brushes and the woman asked me what he liked and I was thinking, how would I know what he likes?! Aren't they supposed to just stand there?

Then I bought those grooming gloves, I think they're called HandsOn or something. He absolutely loves those. He will lean in while I'm brushing, and twist around to mutually groom me, and just really seems to enjoy it. I used those for a while and then tried to go back to a rubber curry and he wouldn't let me near him with it. The only time I can use something other than the gloves is when he's shedding, then I can use a shedding blade lol. And he lets me use a really soft brush on his face but only after I've already given him a good scratch with the gloves. So I highly recommend them!


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## gottatrot

Sorry about your tumble.


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## knightrider

None of my horses have ever liked to be brushed. They tolerate it nicely, but they don't seem to enjoy it. I don't know how many horses I have owned, maybe 12? But I haven't gotten one yet that liked to be groomed. I have a birthday coming up. I think I'll ask for a grooming mitt. Thanks for the idea, @boatagor!


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## ACinATX

I'm going to get some too, I think! At least at some point. Thanks @boatagor we'll see how they like them!


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## Knave

Mine love it, and a friend bought me these brushes that seem like cheap little things to her, and then her horses loved them. I gave them a shot because she told me to, and my horses loved them too! Lol. They are plastic… I’ll see if I can find a link.


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## boatagor

I hope they work out! I actually like them a lot better because my hands tend to cramp if I hold onto something for too long. And it's like I'm giving him a massage every time!


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## Knave

I don’t know if it’s intrepid or roma…


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## knightrider

Knave said:


> Mine love it, and a friend bought me these brushes that seem like cheap little things to her, and then her horses loved them. I gave them a shot because she told me to, and my horses loved them too! Lol. They are plastic… I’ll see if I can find a link.


I got one on the Horse Forum recommendation. It just feels so small in my hand and not quite what I want. I don't think my horses love this one.










This is the thing that was recommended on Horse Forum, and I got one. I do kind of like it, but kind of don't because it is sort of small. It is Equipure Jelly Wonder Brush. I do like the way it is both currycomb and brush. It doesn't really flick the dirt away like a real brush does, just kind of glides over the dirt. But I do use it often. I might like the large.


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## Knave

That one looks different than what I have @knightrider.


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## gottatrot

I heard on the forum that Haas brushes were great. Hero always made faces when I brushed him, even when I was gentle. I just went with a cheaper Haas brush, around $10 from Riding Warehouse. They sell them in a lot of places. Hero actually seems to enjoy being brushed with it sometimes, and on his worst day doesn't make faces about it. Aria really loves it. I don't know exactly why it feels so much better than other brushes to the horses, but it seems to. Sometime I am going to get a more expensive one to see what that is like.


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## newtrailriders

I'm so sorry to hear you may need surgery! I can't believe you'd even consider trying to ride - you must be very tough! That sounds like it would hurt like crazy.

My horses enjoy it when I scratch back and forth over their entire bodies with a mane and tail brush. It works up dirt and loose hair, like a curry brush. They love iet!


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## ACinATX

It turns out that with my finger the bone is fractured rather than the tendon having pulled off. Apparently this is actually a better scenario for healing. The doctor said it's a nice clean break and should heal well. I just have to wear the finger splint for five weeks.  This is the first time I've ever broken a bone, as far as I know. So I'm feeling like, Oh this is the worst thing ever. I know it's not that big of a deal. It's just annoying because I can't fully use that hand.

I had a lesson scheduled today but didn't take it. I had something I wanted to work on on my own, plus I didn't want the group lesson to be where I figure out if I can use my finger while riding or not -- I have a private tomorrow and we'll work through it then.

I've been reading True Horsemanship Through Feel and I really like it. One thing he said that really jumped out at me was the importance of being able to control your horse's feet. And the way he taught himself to do that was to first just feel their feet. Just focus on one front foot, and keep track of where that foot is. He also said, and this is so blindingly obvious but I never thought about it much, it's a lot easier to move that foot when it's up in the air than when it's down on the ground. I mean, duh, right? So I thought about how Pony's front feet should move through a turn. If I want him to turn right, then I imagine his left foot moving forward and left first, crossing over, and then his right foot would sort of follow along.

So I rode him bareback and just at a walk. First of all I focused on just the front right. But that was pretty easy, so I ended up focusing on both of them. I could see his shoulders move and I could feel my hips swinging with his front feet. I also put my hands on his shoulders to make it easier. I found that I could soon say "left-right-left-right" and be completely accurate without looking.

So then I started cueing that shoulder to move when his foot was in the air. He was so responsive! He picked up his front left foot, say, I cued him with my left foot, and he turned right. So easy! I think there are a lot of things missing in my riding right now, but feel is certainly a big one. If you can feel your horse, you can work _with_ him. If not...?


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## ACinATX

I taught Pony to drink from a hose today.

Actually, that's not true. What is true is that today, the circumstances lined up just right for Pony to learn to drink from a hose. Here's what happened. He wanted to drink Rowan's water, of course (it would go so nicely with Rowan's hay that he was eating). But Rowan's water was on Rowan's side of the fence. If it's totally full, Pony can stick his head in sideways through the fence and drink it, but it wasn't, so he couldn't. He started playing around with the faucet and hose instead. And I thought, this is a teachable moment. So I went over there, turned the water hose on medium, and invited him to investigate it. He did and learned that it was water! Drinking was a bit tricky, but it seems to have worked. I am not sure how good the video is, but the place where I burst out laughing is because he got it up his nose. Doing this made my finger splint wet, but it was so worth it. I was also super lucky that for once I had my phone on me.

Lately I feel like we've been having some issues, but moments like this remind me of why Pony is The World's Best Pony.









pony drinks from hose







youtube.com


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## Txshecat0423

Skip drinking from the hose…he acts
like he’s drinking from a water fountain [emoji1787][emoji1787]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

Some things have come together to make me realize that my riding is probably making Pony bracey. For one thing, my instructor did a lunge line lesson with me and pointed out that at the trot, when I'm not holding the reins, his head is relaxed. But when I do hold the reins, his head goes up. Second, I've been reading and watching videos about lateral flexion and the thing is, Pony is very sensitive to light pressure, but he doesn't want to flex in response to rein pressure. He'll turn his head around nicely if I'm offering him a treat from the saddle.

Today I rode him for a very short period of time. I did do it in the halter and lead rope, and maybe to be fair to him I should try the bridle, but I'll describe how it went.

From the ground, he could turn his head, but under saddle, at the walk mind you, he would turn but he would hardly turn his head and his neck stayed stiff. So, let's say I wanted him to turn right. I picked up the right rein just a tad. He responded to that very light pressure, but he responded by turning his neck and head as one unit, and his body as one unit. Like, imagine that he was two stiff pieces of board with a hinge where the neck meets the body. That's how he turned. Unless I asked for a tighter turn, in which case he'd bend at the poll a bit but not much.

Oh, and at a standstill he will only turn his head very slightly, just enough to where I can see his eye a little. I mean, if I use more pressure yes he will turn it more. Or, again, if he thinks he's going to get a treat he'll turn it. But that's something also.

Basically I think I've been not nearly soft enough with him -- I've used too much force and now he's bracing against it. So that's something I'd really like to work on now. Which is kind of good, since I don't want to canter at the moment due to my finger. I can work on this at the walk and the trot.

I also worked on head down from poll / lead rope pressure, since I'm doing that with Rowan also. I guess I never told him that, because he was totally clueless. I feel like people do head down from poll pressure because they want their horse to be easier to bridle, but I just taught him to basically bridle himself so I skipped that whole thing. So there's another thing where we can work on yielding to very light pressure.

The trainer who's coming out to work with me and Rowan, I talked to her and she's happy to work with me and Pony on this. I told her I want to start on the ground and then try to get it going under saddle. She thought that would be great.

ETA: at least two of them need a trim. I thought I was so smart being able to trim them myself; when the barn farrier got hurt and couldn't work I thought "Ha, no problem, I'll just do them myself" (except Moonshine due to her leg). But now I'm the one that's hurt and I'll have to get someone to trim them. I don't want the barn farrier working on Teddy and I know from experience that he won't think Moonshine needs a trim, even though she does. I need to try to contact some trimmers that I was recommended by some other people.

I also forgot to mention that I got fed up with all the flies and hung one of those liquid fly traps out there. After an hour it already had like 40 flies in it. I think I'm going to get one for Rowan's paddock too, I'll just need to find a place where he can't get to it.


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## ACinATX

I just wanted to note that when we came out today there were SO FEW FLIES! It was like late autumn. It was SO NICE! The product is Big Bag fly trap and I just ordered two more. I moved this one out to Rowan's paddock since he's really being bothered by flies, especially in his eyes. 

I really recommend them, at least based on this one day's worth of use LOL. I do expect you have to put them somewhere where the horse can't get to them, and there is a slight odor associated with them.

Also I worked with Pony on head down today and he seemed to remember what we did yesterday -- it just took him a couple of times to get it. So that was good.


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## Knave

I use a ton of them! They were filling completely in a week this summer, and I don’t hang one, I hang 12-14 at a time. The flies were terrible!

Luckily they are dropping in numbers now. It has been freezing at night. I’m sure they’ll stick around for another month or a little more, but they aren’t nearly as thick.


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## Knave

Oh, side note, it doesn’t smell bad now, but after a little over a week, the smell of the rotting flies will be horrendous. It’s awful to take them down, and I’m pretty sure the garbage person hates me.


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> Oh, side note, it doesn’t smell bad now, but after a little over a week, the smell of the rotting flies will be horrendous. It’s awful to take them down, and I’m pretty sure the garbage person hates me.


Eww, OK, good to know. I'll bring a clothespin for my nose LOL. At least we have a dumpster at the barn, and half the time that thing smells like something died in it, so hopefully no one will notice anything out of the ordinary there.


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## TrainedByMares

I use them too. They are effective but they do stink. Mine caught a serious amount of flies. You definitely don't put them anywhere near where the horses can reach them. We had such a bad fly year. I thought it was something I did wrong, like not pick the one pasture all winter.


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## ACinATX

I think our situation isn't helped by the fact that one of the outside stalls in this barn is now being used for eight ducks. They make a terrible wet mess.

I feel like I had just been getting used to there being more and more flies, but wow today there were so few! I love it!


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## TrainedByMares

We have gnats that bite and burrow into ears or underbellies too. I use flymasks with full ears to keep them and the flies at bay. The flymasks come off every evening when they go into stalls.
I got bit by flies more this year than I ever have before!


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## Knave

We have a lot of flies biting too @TrainedByMares! I noticed the start of them last year, or the one prior to that. They would bite my legs when I was milking Mama. They look like regular flies, but I guess they are in the horn fly group? My husband acted like I was crazy, but this year he finally got bit a couple of times. We had almost no flies in the house, I’m not sure why that was this year, maybe because the kids are better at shutting the door quickly. The ones that did get in were biters!


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## TrainedByMares

Yup, little black horn flies and stable flies! Nasty! I got bit on the leg by a greenhead and got a big red welt that lasted a week. This year was bad for the big-boy horse flies,too. They kept the horses bucking and running away. I go out in the paddock to protect the horses and kill the monsters when I see them. I had one savage turn the tables and attack me last month! I love when I'm working in a building or out on the property and they fly in because I smell like horse. They land nearby and look around...'where's the horse?' And I'm like 'oh,you made a big mistake!' and then I kill them.

The DuMor Platinum Equine Fly Spray worked well this year. I was happy with how it kept the little flies at bay.


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## ACinATX

I cantered Pony today for the first time since I hurt my finger. It's still in the splint, so I told the instructor that I wasn't going to hold the reins tight, because if he decides he wants to fight about something (usually this involves him rooting) I am just going to give him the reins, as I can't fight him with my finger being like this.

Well. I held the reins with very loose fingers and guided his head gently, and he did GREAT! He felt really soft and relaxed. My instructors have repeatedly criticized me for my finger being too loose, and I know that it does lead to rein slippage, but I'm wondering if there's some happy medium here. This all goes back to him being bracy, too. I'm starting to wonder if I've been riding him with too much contact?

I'll talk about it with the instructor who's coming tomorrow.


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## ACinATX

I drove out to the horse rescue show this morning. I wrote about the show itself in my other journal, but I wanted to write about the drive here. This isn't about horses at all, but I felt this way and I wanted to write it down.

After we move to the PNW I don't know that we'll ever come back here. Maybe we will. But as much as I'm tired of living here, it has brought a sort of bittersweetness to my interactions with, well Central Texas. I feel like I'm starting to see some of the truth in things.

The drive was through rural Central Texas, east of Austin. All of the greens here are dusty green, the sky is a little hazed, every thing is slightly sepia toned. The land -- long, low, slow hills take their time getting anywhere -- where would they go anyways? And the wide, wide flat spaces between them. Fields newly turned or not quite so newly turned. Some are still growing crops, I suppose they must be irrigated, as dry as it's been here. You can see so far when you get to the top of one of those hills, even though they really aren't much in the way of hills. The four, five, and six-story downtowns of small towns to the north and east -- those downtowns from 100 years ago. If I changed my mind and drove toward one of them instead, what would I find? All the buildings deserted except for the courthouse? A bustling small town square? You never know around here.

And the water towers, standing sentinel every few miles, proudly proclaiming the name of whatever tiny township they are associated with: Mansville, Hutto, Taylor. We are a place. We exist. We are here. Is it my mood, or are they also slightly melancholy? If the town is small enough to have only one high school, the high school will often be featured on the tower. To me, those water towers are so emblematic of Texas, but also of the entire Midwest. I wonder if they exist elsewhere.

Dusty overgrown pecan orchards here and there, trees half falling down. A small family cemetery that you would miss if you didn't know what to look for. Tin-roofed barns, weather-stained and sagging but still friendly feeling. The old farmhouses. You'll typically see maybe 100 acres of fields, and then in the middle of it a lonely old farmhouse surrounded by an old fence and older trees. Just sitting there all by itself. It doesn't often get too cold here, but I can't help but think of lonely winters in years gone by, fingers of wind finding cracks in the old wooden siding, the fire sputtering. I don't know if I imagine coyotes howling or not. I don't know where they would live, in this land that's been transformed to suit humans and their needs. There aren't any rivers out here or riverbanks, no hills where a den could wiggle its way in. Just field after field of crops.

It's beautiful. Is is beautiful because it's slipped into my heart, or is it objectively beautiful? I tend to find any rural place beautiful. I love wild lands the best, but these fields, these hills, this sky -- there's an eternal sense of waiting here, maybe that's what I feel. I don't know what they are waiting for, but those hills will outlast us, and maybe one day the fields will fall fallow back into the grasslands they once were. As for the sky... the sky will always watch down. I don't know. That's how it makes me feel, and maybe that's where the sense of beauty comes from.


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## Knave

I love your post! I’ve never been to Texas, but I can feel it the way you described it.


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## gottatrot

What a beautiful post. I could feel it too. Very different from the Pacific NW, but we've traveled through all the states and there is beauty to be found in every rural place. Lonely places are the best, I believe.


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## TrainedByMares

I really enjoyed it,too. I could imagine riding along and observing those things as well.


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## ACinATX

When I got out there today, Pony and Rowan were playing nipping game over the fence. The gelding pasture, where Rowan is supposed to spend half his time, and the pony pasture share a long common fence.

The interesting thing about it was, they were playing a very vigorous nipping game, but Pony wasn't being nasty to Rowan at all. This made me think that maybe it's my presence that's getting him all worked up and nasty toward Rowan. I need to spend more time with Pony so he doesn't feel like he's being left out.

When I called them in, the owner's dog started running along them and barking and acting like it was chasing them. Teddy ignored it, S (another pony in that pasture) veered away, but Pony snaked his head down and ran the dog off. And for good measure, once I let them in, he ran the dog around some more. And for extra good measure, he tried to run around a horse that was loose inside (I told him to stop and he did, believe it or not). And for extra extra good measure, he then ran around the barn owner's other dog. Pony can be a butt, he doesn't take poop from other animals. Not if he can help it.

I spent some time doing some "clicker" training with him just like I'm doing with Rowan. Otherwise, unfortunately, despite what I said above, I spent most of my time with Rowan. I was out there with my daughter and she didn't want to stay for too long. 

I have a big project at work right now that's due at the end of October. If I can get it done sooner, or if it looks like I'm in a place to get it done sooner, maybe I'll take a mental health day and go out there and spend time with both of them.

Teddy doesn't need a lot of time. He's happy to come in, and say hi, and get fed, and have me tell him he's a good boy, and then graze. And then come back and say hi again and then graze some more. And my daughter was there to do things with Moonshine, so that's OK there.

They are all overdue (IMO) on their feet. I'm going to see if I can maybe do them from the top, even with my finger like it is. That will correct some of their problems. I guess, actually, practically, that's got to be what I do next time I go out there. So I guess nobody is going to get extra time spent with them.


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## ACinATX

So in our lesson yesterday, Pony did that thing where when we're cantering left he throws his head down. I knew I couldn't hold him with my finger in a cast, so I just let his head go. It wasn't the best choice for training, but it was the best choice for my wellbeing.

I realize now that that's exactly what he did when I fell off. The thing that kills me is that this is what he USED to do, like two years ago. I had the trainer that I like ride him twice a week and after, I don't remember, maybe half a year (?), he stopped doing it. So why is he doing it again now? His saddle fits and he gets regular bodywork so I don't think it's pain. Is it that they've been putting a bunch of kids on him and not doing any training rides? Maybe there's only so much of that kind of riding he can do before he starts seeing an opportunity? But I feel like it's not him trying to be bad, it's just that he's unbalanced. But why is he unbalanced NOW? I also feel like at least some of it has to do with how bracy he is.

So today instead of me riding him in a lesson, I asked the trainer to ride him (she's the one who does my Saturday lessons). Before she did, I wanted to work with him a bit on suppling at the poll and bending his neck, and I think we did accomplish that, at least a bit. Then she suggested we do spiral in / spiral out, which we did. He did pretty well, overall. But not great. Part of my problem is that I still don't have too good of a feel when I'm riding. After that, I got off and she got on. He did try to root with her at the canter, and we discussed what she did about it. Once my finger is healed, I will canter him again. I asked her if we can just do this again next week and she said yes.

I've started to think that I need to do more ground work with him. Bill Dorrance really emphasizes developing the feel between you and your horse on the ground before working under saddle. So I'm going to do some work with Pony. Today what we did was backing up from halter pressure, which he didn't understand at all. So I bridged it with saying "baaaaack" and then he figured it out. We also worked on head down from poll pressure, again, and again he was like "I have no idea what you are asking for." I got backing up, head side to side, and head tossing (and mind you it was very light pressure I was using). Finally, I got a tiny try in the right direction, so I rewarded that. Another half dozen times and I got more of what I was looking for, etc. It just took a really long time. Unless Pony is super smart and realizes that the longer he drags things out the more alfalfa pellets he will get. Hmm.

Pony, I noticed, when he's feeling a bit overfaced, puts his head down and tries to graze, even if there's not really any grass there. So when he wanted to do that, I took the lead rope off and walked away and waited until he came to me to continue. That worked pretty well.

Also I rasped Pony and Teddy's feet from the top, and Pony's from the bottom a bit. It turns out I can use the rasp with my finger like this, just not the nippers. But I meant to do Moonshine and forgot, and her feet are getting really long. I will try to do it tomorrow.


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## TrainedByMares

My feeling is that any good work you do with Pony could be undone by less experienced riders. Is it worth it?


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## ACinATX

TrainedByMares said:


> My feeling is that any good work you do with Pony could be undone by less experienced riders. Is it worth it?


Sure but here's another thing. He's already gained some weight just from being "off" (only ridden by me) for a couple of weeks. I'm starting to seriously think about a grazing muzzle, but I really feel like they are unkind. I don't know what else to do to manage his weight.


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> Sure but here's another thing. He's already gained some weight just from being "off" (only ridden by me) for a couple of weeks. I'm starting to seriously think about a grazing muzzle, but I really feel like they are unkind. I don't know what else to do to manage his weight.


Nicki wears a'Best Friend Grazing Muzzle' at certain times of the year. Treats the mini wears one any time she is on grass. I don't believe the muzzle is unkind. Nicki has to wear a flymask with it to prevent rubs on her chin though.


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## ACinATX

The new trimmer came out for Rowan and did the others, too. He was really nice. He said basically what my old trimmer said, which is Pony has not quite thrush in his front feet. I know what he means now.

They all liked him. Even Teddy. I did give Teddy a bit of feed at the beginning, and Teddy did let me know that he would prefer to not be there about halfway through, but we stayed there and he was fine. Overall he would rather have been somewhere else but he wasn't really worried about it. I thought about how when I first got him he would get super worried and then rear. It's nice to think about how much progress they've made, sometimes.

The trainer rode Pony. I had wanted to ride him a bit before she did, and then I wanted her to teach me the "correct" way to get on and off a horse, since I want to do it "right" with Rowan. However the trimmer and the lesson conflicted, so she just rode him and I didn't even get to watch. She said he was pretty good.

I made an obstacle line thing. You can make one of these yourself with things you already have just lying around LOL. A tree, baling twine, the remains of a round bale hay net, an old piece of hose, an old saddle pad, and a bunch of socks with holes in them. I should have added some empty feed bags -- maybe I will next time. This one horse that was out grazing took one look at it and trotted off very quickly LOL. It was quite windy today. Teddy however looked at it and then realized there was good grass over there, so he just went on over.

I walked Pony through it. The first time, I left too much slack in the lead line and he just went around. The second time, he thought about it and then went through. I'll see if my daughter wants to take Moonshine through tomorrow. I was thinking to make some more obstacles also. I personally really enjoy doing obstacles.


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## TrainedByMares

I need to make some obstacles and work with them. Good idea!


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## ACinATX

I round penned Pony today. I was wondering if I could get any clues about him pulling his head down when he canters. What I found was that he does do it loose and with no tack on. It got worse the longer we went. It seemed to happen more when I would make a kissing sound to make him keep going. I am not sure if I was making kissing sounds to keep him going because I could sense that he was about to break to a trot or not. Certainly on the couple of occasions where it was clear that's what was happening, he did pull his head down. So I'm wondering if it's due to lack of physical fitness. Maybe he gets tired and then gets a little off balance and then puts his head down.

So I had him canter a lot, almost all to the left. Like I said, it just got worse. But at least he got some exercise. He was breathing hard by the end of it, but he got some food rewards so he didn't mind too much.

We had spent a lot of time in the round pen at one time, and I had forgotten how responsive he is in there. It was actually kind of a pleasure to do it. It feel effortless with him. As opposed to with Rowan, where we are both trying very hard. Maybe we'll do more of it. He could use the exercise.

It's a 60-foot round pen so I don't feel too bad working him in there.


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## Knave

It’s hard to see because you didn’t keep him moving enough to really look at it. It appeared to be kind of a playful thing to me, or a half sassy thing, but I couldn’t really decide. If you wanted to be able to get an opinion on it I think you’d have to break him into a lope in that direction and hold him in it for enough time for him to relax into it. Not by nagging of course, but it kind of looked like you had to nag him because he might be a little lazy, and it was the lazy that showed the sassy. Does that make any sense? That’s why he would have to move out enough to get loose and stop being a little argumentative.

Now, I do realize it is easier said than accomplished with some horses. Some are just so stubborn about such things. Lol.


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## ACinATX

Yeah he's on the lazy side for sure. I do think he's a bit out of shape and that's not helping. Yes it could be him being sassy also. He does that trotting sometimes when he doesn't appreciate my requests. It's hard to tell if it's the same thing at the trot and at the canter, though.


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## Knave

I would think it was, but like I said, I really couldn’t see. Queen will throw her head down when she’s mad too. I’ve only had her in the round corral a handful of times, and not consistent times. She will do that and then I get after her, sometimes she would blow up, but after that nonsense was through she wouldn’t throw her head down. She was more dramatic than pony, but she’s also not a lazy horse, so hers was coming more from a different place.


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## ACinATX

I had a nice day today. The barn owner keeps telling me I don't need to tell her when I'm coming for a lesson, because she will be there at the normal time. So I didn't tell her today, and she never showed. So I did what I wanted with Pony. This was working walk, responding to very light rein cues, spirals in / out, trotting big and small, and one tiny canter each way. Actually no one at all was out there when I was riding him, and my finger is still in this cast (should be off this week!), so I didn't want to canter Pony to the point where he started rooting his head. We cantered briefly to the right (his preferred direction) then downward transitioned through body language, then same thing on the left. He had no problems.

I do think I want to keep round penning him. I still think it's possible that him being out of shape is at least part of the problem here. So I can just round pen him at the canter and see what happens when / if he gets in better shape. 

Also today we were riding in the arena next to Rowan's paddock, so I rode Pony over there (not too close) and worked on some easy things (we worked on backing up too, I forgot to mention that) and then used my "click" reward sound and rewarded Pony. I don't really think that Rowan can really make the connection of me doing this with Pony and maybe him feeling OK when I get on his back, but it can't hurt either. 

For some reason the groom brought his daughter today. I'm not sure how old she is -- Maybe somewhere between five and seven? Anyways I went over there and offered for her to ride Pony if they wanted. She was SO excited! I mentioned she would need a helmet so she went and got one on right away and just kept wearing it around.

When I was leaving, they had him in his stall and he was showing her how to pick his feet. It was so cute -- Pony of course is very photogenic and then the dad was holding his foot and the daughter was very clumsily trying to pick them.

When I was leaving the SECOND time (I left the water running in the water trough, I realized about five minutes after leaving the first time  ), he had her on Pony in the arena and was taking pictures. Also very cute. It just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling every time Pony makes some little girl so happy. I think he enjoys it also.


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## ACinATX

Yesterday I went and spent pretty much the whole day out there. It was great. I didn't do much with them, though. It was a rainy blustery day when I got there (progressing to just rainy later) and I just brought them in (once they would come in), put them in stalls, and fed them. I love the feeling of sitting in the barn on a cold wet day, listening to horses contentedly munching their hay. 

After I turned them back out in the pasture yesterday, though, Pony rolled and got super muddy. I was worried about getting there and getting him ready in time for my lesson today. But while he was muddy, it was all dried, and it curried off pretty easily.

I had a good lesson. We spent the first 10 or so minutes with the instructor teaching me, at my request, the proper way to lead a horse and more importantly the proper way to mount and dismount. I tend to just find a high place, get Pony settled, and then clamber onto him from the high place. I don't want to do that with Rowan, at least not yet, hence the lesson. So actually I guess I had NEVER mounted the proper way because it was really eye-opening to me. I had read a bunch of things about making sure your center of gravity is balanced over the horse, but when she showed me today, I could really FEEL it, and FEEL how it made me more secure. It was really interesting.

Also kind of interesting is that Pony, who will usually park himself at the mounting block and not move ever, didn't seem to like this practice and after the second try he kept scooting his butt away. Or maybe he was just confused about how I was standing over him, or how long it was taking. I don't know.

So the really big thing I got out of this lesson, and I think it might be a game changer for me, was the proper use of the outside rein with a horse that wants to throw its shoulder out and duck out. So I know in this situation I'm supposed to have an opening rein to the inside and a blocking rein with the outside. But this never made sense to me, and when I'd tried it I just got really discombobulated. I have a hard time doing two different things with my hands.

Today was mostly walk and trot, but she asked if I wanted to canter (I still have my finger thing on) and I did, but just briefly. We cantered right first, which is his good direction, and it was really nice. Then we trotted left. I wanted to get a good trot before asking for the canter. Well, we got to the spot where I USUALLY ask for the canter, and he thought "she is going to ask for the canter" so he pulled his head down and threw his shoulder out and tried to dive out. In fact, I wasn't planning on cantering right then, and I thought, I will try this thing with the two reins that everyone keeps telling me I need to do. And it WORKED. It kept him exactly where I wanted him. And since I am more balanced at the trot, his whole head pulling thing was just a non-starter, as I just held the reins like normal and didn't let him do it. I just don't understand how using that outside rein as a blocker can block his whole shoulder moving out. 

Anyways, we trotted around the arena three times, and each time he wanted to do the same thing there, and each time I held him in. And each time it worked. After that, I asked the the canter in a different place, and I got a really nice canter. So that was it for the lesson.

I gave him some alfalfa pellets and left him in his stall while I worked with Rowan. 

While I was over there, I saw Moonshine come out and roll in the grass. She LOVED it! She was just rolling and rolling and rolling. The people in the lesson were also like "look at the horse rolling in the grass!" It was really nice.









But guess what, it was not grass. You couldn't see it from the paddock, but Moonshine had found the one muddy spot out in all that grass, because when I went to see here, she was just covered in mud. Even her halter was muddy!









My daughter is coming out tomorrow, and I told her this is what she has to look forward to.

















And I hadn't even seen Teddy roll, but I guess he found that same spot.










That's fine, he can be muddy.

After a while, I took Pony to the round pen and round penned him. First we just did simple things while standing there, like reinforcing dropping his head from poll pressure (he had forgotten again), and taking a single step back, etc. Just to get him focused and not thinking that being in the round pen means he needs to run run run.

Then we got going. I really wanted to work on my body language after all the comments from my thread about him cantering left. The kind of interesting thing is, he starts at a walk but at some point decides that I want a trot. And once he starts trotting he doesn't stop. I experimented with dropping the whip and just standing there completely still, and he kept going. So then we did some work between walk and trot with me bring really conscious about my body language, and he was willing to come down to a walk from that. So that was good.

I think we got better at the canter. I did what everyone said and backed off the pressure as long as he kept cantering. At first, he was breaking every couple of strides, so I'd have to go after him. But by the end he was cantering a whole lap (wow  ) without breaking. So maybe I'm getting better. He got a couple of cookies also.

After I put them out I was going to go, but I saw them dozing out in their shelter and went out there to sit with them for a little while. I hadn't done that in a long time. It was nice, but without Moonshine being out there it was a little different. She always figured out how to get the dominant person (human or horse) so protect her, and I realized that I wasn't feeling that sort of protective feeling I used to feel when I was out there with all of them. It was like missing salt in your soup -- it just wasn't quite as good. It was nice, don't get me wrong, but maybe I will have to get used to it if I want to do it again.

After that, I hugged everyone (even Rowan; he's starting to get the idea) and left. I had that nice warm fuzzy "I have just been with horses" feeling.


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## ACinATX

Yesterday someone jumped Pony. He did pretty well considering he hadn't jumped in probably six weeks now. I watched him and enjoyed it. But what I wanted to do with him was work on trailer loading. I need to be able to load him by myself. The problem is that sometimes after I bring him in and tie him, he wants to step back. I don't mean pull back or anything, but he decides he's done being in the trailer and wants to back out. I'm concerned that there is the possibility of him panicking when he realizes he's "stuck" in the trailer and sitting back.

My goal was, I need to walk him on, tie him, and then he needs to stay there while I walk around to the back and do up the butt bar. Yesterday my daughter was there to help reinforce this. After a few tries, we got it. Then we got it again. I was happy with that.

So today was the day for me to take him out to the obstacles / trails. He loaded up just fine, just like we had practiced, and got a cookie for it. After that, though, things went downhill.

Whenever I am towing the trailer, for the first few stops I like to watch the dashboard where it tells me how much trailer brake I'm using. It helps sort of remind me to be gentle when braking. So this first stoplight, I braked gently. Really gently. So gently that no lights came on to show that the trailer was also braking. Wow, I thought, I am super soft today. Go me. But then I thought, no really I don't seem THAT soft. So I braked a little harder. No lights lit up. And then I realized the stopping felt weird. So I braked much harder. Still no lights. So the trailer brakes weren't working. The truck is supposed to inform me of this, but it didn't.

I'm familiar with this stoplight and know that I have at least 30 seconds (it's red) so I get out and unplug the electrical cord and plug it back in. Get back in the truck and apply the brakes -- it's working now! But now the left turn signal isn't working. But the light is green and I have to go anyways. So I get to the access road to the tollway, where I know there is a place I can pull over, and I pull over. Turn the truck off and on. Unplug and plug the cord. I'm thinking I'll just turn around and go back because I can't drive Pony like this. I tried one last time and it worked! And my brakes were working. So I got going, and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Pony unloaded nicely and wasn't so stressed (like last time I took him somewhere by himself) that he couldn't eat. So that was good. However, I know that it helps him settle to get to work, so I quickly saddled and bridled him and walked him (me on the ground) over to the obstacles. We did several of them and then walked out (me still on the ground) to where the trails started. We were about a minute in when a rabbit jumped out of some bushes. Pony jumped sideways (not into me -- thank you Pony) and wasn't very happy after that. So we went back to the obstacles, but he was still unsettled. So I mounted him and we rode in the arena for a bit. Just stuff to make him focus -- changes of gait, circles, serpentines, figure eights, etc. He was whinnying a bit to the other horses at first, but he settled down. Then we went over and rode through some of the obstacles. He was OK but starting to tense, so we went back to the arena and worked for a while.

We repeated several cycles of that and ended on a good note with him being calm in the arena. He hadn't whinnied to anyone in a good 20 minutes and he was listening really nicely. But we never got to ride out on the trails.

Having said that, nobody got hurt and there were no repeats of last time I took him somewhere by himself and he just couldn't focus. I don't know if it helped that he had been here before, or that there were other horses there that he could see most of the time, or that he's just getting used to it. But after I rode him I took him back to the trailer and untacked him while he calmly ate. He loaded back nicely (another cookie) and we went home. We had about an hour of working time.

Speaking of working time, I guess I'm just going to have to start putting in the time like this. I want him to be able to go somewhere by himself. I suppose I just need to keep it simple like this and keep expectations low. And, even if what I want to do is go out on their trails, be able and willing to step back to something where he's comfortable and just work there. I guess we'll probably need a lot more trips like this before he's really HAPPY to go somewhere by himself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The barn owner got FOALS! I don't know why -- she's always claimed to not like foals. But she got them and they are CUTE! I took Pony to meet them. I don't know if anyone remembers, but he's very nice to foals, which is kind of surprising given how much of a butt he is to other horses. So he met these guys very nicely and let them chew on his muzzle. The bay one is the mother of the tiny bay one and seems to have taken the chestnut one under her wing as well. The bay foal really wanted to come meet Pony, but she kept nickering to him "come back." So he'd stand there and look at her and then look at Pony and then look at her. Eventually he came over to meet Pony. Mom wasn't too happy about that. She made nasty faces at Pony and tried to keep "her kids" herded away from him LOL. 

I hung out with Rowan for a bit and then came back to give Pony and Teddy extra goodbye hugs. I don't know why, but Teddy gave me a very nice hug today and it really just made me feel so calm and peaceful. He's quiet, and worried, but he's such a sweetie.


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## updownrider

Do you tie in the trailer before putting the butt bar up?


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## ACinATX

updownrider said:


> Do you tie in the trailer before putting the butt bar up?


Yes. I think if I don't tie him he'll definitely scoot back. I agonized for months over whether to tie first or put up the butt bar first, and this is what I came up with. Obviously the best thing would be if he would just self load, but we're not there yet.


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## gottatrot

Aww, the foals are so cute!!


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## TrainedByMares

You could apply some dielectric grease ( auto parts store or online) inside the trailer socket where the electrical contacts are. That will keep moisture from causing crossover contact and corrosion. I would get a small file or sandpaper and clean all the contacts first on trailer plug and truck socket.


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## ACinATX

TrainedByMares said:


> I would get a small file or sandpaper and clean all the contacts first on trailer plug and truck socket.


OK, so really stupid question about this. If I stick a file in the truck socket, will I get electrocuted? Only if the truck is on? Only if the file is metal?


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## TrainedByMares

ACinATX said:


> OK, so really stupid question about this. If I stick a file in the truck socket, will I get electrocuted? Only if the truck is on? Only if the file is metal?


The truck and trailer brakes and lights work on 12 volts dc so,no, you won't get electrocuted. You could try a cardboard fingernail file or a small metal file will work if you do one terminal at a time and don't cross-contact any terminals. If the truck ignition and light switch is off, you shouldn't have any live terminals except maybe one that charges the trailer breakaway battery.


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## ACinATX

I had a couple of so-so lessons on Pony this week. Nothing really worth mentioning except (1) we had some very nice canters, very short but very nice and no resistance on his part and (2) I might finally be starting to understand how to apply correct leg pressure. But don't get too excited, I will probably forget it by next week.

I had to trim Pony's fronts. I mentioned that I really liked the farrier that came out, but he left the hoof walls longer than I would have, plus Pony was in the middle of shedding his soles so this was really inevitable. I took as much as 1/4 of an inch off. Luckily his hooves were a little soft from the rain we've had. I still had my finger splint on, and it kept moving up and down when I was trying to nipper and it was NOT HELPFUL at all. But I did get him done.

When I was working on Rowan at the mounting block, I asked my daughter to come hold him. She had wanted to do something with him, and also he was being a little fidgety today, so I thought why not. But she was using WAY too much pressure, and not releasing it when it was time. So I showed her how little effort it takes to get a response from him, and had her lead him and then back him up and step him forward slowly one foot at a time.

I mention this because I think it got her thinking, because when she was walking Moonshine over poles she called me over and asked "What is the right way to lead a horse? Where should their head be relative to yours?" I told her it really didn't matter, as long as you were consistent and the horse was where YOU wanted and listening to YOU. Moonshine has gotten pretty pushy when being led, now that she's not ridden any more. So my daughter worked on finding the right amount of pressure with her, and I think that was really nice. I wonder if part of Moonshine's problems were that my daughter was always using too much pressure. The thing is Moonshine always liked to resist, so you would feel like you HAD to use a lot of pressure. But the not giving a release thing was bad.

I am starting to think that what Rowan will have taught me is softness and feel. He's so responsive to the lightest pressure that I've come to realize I use too much pressure with Pony, and I've really been trying to train us to use less.

So, speaking of Pony, we finally tried the grazing muzzle on him today. It fits really nicely. He was fine with it at first, didn't put up any resistance, but then he realized that HE COULDN'T EAT! My daughter took this video of her and the barn owner but mostly Pony having a minor meltdown over this.






After all of that, she was still doing stuff with Moonshine, so I decided to have a quick bareback ride on Pony to think about leg pressure some more. Well, he would not let me get on. He was very fidgety at the mounting block. Also he kept getting little shiveries on his back, so I wasn't sure if he was anticipating pain or just being naughty. I was feeling grumpy by this time, so I took him to the round pen. I told him, either you let me mount you from the round pen fence, or we are going to have a discussion. So he let me mount. We just walked around a bit, thinking about leg pressure. It started getting really warm (it was already muggy) so we stopped.

That is it for now.


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## ACinATX

I wanted to post an update about Wysocki, the cat. He's obviously not a horse, but he's a pet so every now and then I want to talk about him.

You would never believe this guy had been feral. He is SO people-oriented. Well, at least HIS people. All other people should go away. Once we explained laps to him, he never looked back. Now I can't even do stretches where I'm lying on the ground without him coming over and sitting on me and demanding attention.

He is VERY demanding of attention. He understands that if your eyes are not on him, that you are not paying full attention to him, and he will work to change that. Lately what has been happening is that I come home from a morning walk or seeing the horses and I need to get right to work. So I sit on my chair, open the computer, and start. Then he comes and jumps on my lap. I sort of halfheartedly pet him while going through my emails. That is not good enough for him. So he gets up on his back legs, puts his paws on my shoulders, and puts his head right in front of mine: "Pay attention to MEEEEEEE." If that doesn't work, he'll put his head under my jaw and butt me.

He does the same to my daughter. She is not allowed to look at her phone or computer while he is around.

He also follows us from room to room. So he might seem like he's asleep in one room, but let's say I go over to the kitchen to make lunch, well two minutes later he shows up in the kitchen. He of course wants to eat whatever I am eating (or especially whatever my daughter is eating).

He also has an interesting quirk around food. He wants to bury his food. The picture that appears to be a random pile of junk, at the bottom is this food toy. And he has dragged all of that other stuff over to bury it. It's really amazing. He keep telling him "No one is going to steal your food" LOL but I guess he doesn't believe us.

He has another eating quirk that is quite bad. He eats string. String, ribbons, drawstring, drawcord, shoelaces, you name it. I mean, he actually eats it. After one incident, I made my daughter dissect his poop and it was in there. So now we have to hide all string things. He's never thrown up, his appetite is good, and he seems to be in good health. But I can't help but wonder how many string things are still lodged in there?

Here he is in his cat tree. I found this free on the side of the road. I've always felt like cat trees look kind of yucky and I didn't want to spend money on one when we have plenty of furniture he can climb on, but when I found this one free I felt like, "OK, I can do that." The scratching area at the bottom was pretty scratched up and it needed cleaning, but it wasn't too bad. And he LOVES it.


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## knightrider

My daughter's cat ate some string and it got stuck inside him. There was a bit of string coming out his anus, but when you pulled on it, the cat growled and showed pain and the string would not come out. We took him to the vet. They gave him a shot that relaxed him, pulled the string out. $300 please.


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## ACinATX

I caught a pony today. This was S, the annoying pony in the pony pasture. I was out there waiting for the vet for Rowan, and the groom asked me if I would catch him. I guess S isn't letting the groom catch him any more. S has a list of people who he knows will probably make him do something he doesn't want to do, and he won't let any of them catch them. Even with food. I guess the groom has made this list.

Anyways I laughed, and then I extra laughed, but he really wanted me to try. So I thought, why not. I've given him cookies a few times, I've petted him a few times, and I've had a lot of interactions where I've had to chase him off. I mean, a LOT. If this guy has no reason to think you'll do something he won't like, he's a velcro pony. 

He offered me the feed bucket which had some alfalfa pellets and other stuff in it. I don't believe in going out there and asking a horse to come to you by showing it feed, so I put some in my pocket as a reward if he let himself be caught. They were all out at the round bale, so I went out there with the mental intention and body language of, "I want to give Pony [my Pony] or Teddy some of this food in my pocket. I targeted Pony. So he got very interested when I walked up. But S was more interested, much more interested. He came up to me and I tossed the lead rope over his neck and then gave him a handful of pellets. Then I haltered him and gave him some more. By that time my own Pony had shown up so I gave him some, too. But I kept myself between them because my own Pony is dominant over S and would likely to try to chase him off.

I walked S over to the groom and that was that.

I think probably I caught him because in his mind I'm always going out there for Pony and Teddy, and Pony and Teddy are always very eager to come in. For that matter, S is often there at the gate with them and I have to chase him away. So maybe he thought he would finally get some over whatever Pony and Teddy get whenever I bring them in. I think targeting my own Pony helped also, but mostly I think S had no bad associations with me so that's why he let himself be caught.

That was just something interesting that happened today.


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## ACinATX

So last night I had a dream. I often am a different gender in my dreams, but this time I was not only a different gender, but a different species as well. And not only that, but I was a specific animal.

I was Pony! In my dream, I had gone to a bank, only of course in that way dreams have it wasn't quite a bank. I (Pony) had to get a sticker. The sticker said something like "Watch out ladies" because I was travelling, and I was so handsome and cute that I needed a warning. It was going to go on my butt.

Just putting that out there for posterity. And for a laugh, too, I guess.


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## Knave

In my dreams sometimes I am a man. Usually I look a specific way as a man. I’m pretty attractive. Sometimes I am different women. These women I don’t know in real life, but I am them for a time in my dreams.

I have never been an animal however!


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## ACinATX

Knave said:


> I have never been an animal however!


Me either. I wonder if it's because, to me at least, Pony is less of an animal and more of a person.


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## Knave

I feel like that about my horses though too, and even my dog. They are my friends. I just guess my brain has never made that leap.


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## TrainedByMares

Those are some wacky dreams! You two need to knock off eating before bed,okay? Lol


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## ACinATX

I need to be honest about this. There's something about that small paddock (not the tiny paddock / stall combo) that Moonshine doesn't like. I've seen her pacing that fence frantically on several occasions now, and I can no longer blow it off as "she's just upset because I didn't give her any alfalfa hay" or "she'll settle down." Pacing the fence frantically with her bad stifle in the mud just can't be good.

I was curious if I could figure out what was the reason, so I put her halter on and let her out. She walked past me nicely, then trotted off, then cantered over to the barn. I thought, "Oh, she wants to go back to the tiny paddock and stall, that's weird." But then she came trotting out of the barn and went over to the back gate to the big pasture. That also borders the pasture where Pony and Teddy are. I'm starting to wonder, though, if she wasn't trying to find Rowan. They've been stalled together off and on for several weeks now. I mean next to each other, not in the same stall obviously. And Rowan, interestingly, no longer seems intimidated by her. In fact, he did today suggest that he was thinking about pinning his ears at her. And she LIKED it! She wasn't obviously in heat (this time) but she came over to the window between their stalls and spent some time just sort of touching noses with him. I wonder if she likes him now that he's acting tough LOL.

She was perfectly at ease once I put her back in the tiny paddock / stall (I walked her back and put her in before I let the others in, because last time Pony came in he wanted to run her around a bit). I told the groom to keep her in there tomorrow.

Basically, though, I need to figure out what is causing her distress and see if there is any way I can relieve it. I'm not going to keep Rowan stalled to keep her company, but his pasture borders that tiny paddock on two sides, so maybe she'd rather be there. Or maybe it wasn't him, maybe she wanted to get back to Pony and Teddy, and so I should think about putting her back in the pasture with them. I told myself today that I'm not going to extend her life by putting her in that paddock forever if she really really doesn't want to be back there. I'd rather she had a shorter happier life.

But we'll see.

ETA: I didn't take a picture, but she looks awesome in her new mauve turnout sheet. Blue/bay roan plus mauve = very nice!


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## ACinATX

For over a week, the barn owner has had hay "definitely coming" very soon. Lots and lots of hay. But it hasn't yet materialized and they ran out of coastal. I don't want Rowan to keep getting his hay switched around, so I went to the feed store to get some square bales. I went to the feed store that's farther away but has consistently better hay. 

When I got there, they had multiple signs saying "Sorry we are out of coastal square bales." Well, hooray for Moby Truck (aka "Trucky") because they had huge wonderful round bales. Also, last time I was at TSC I randomly bought some ratchet straps because, you know, everyone with a truck needs them. Last time I got a round bale I didn't worry about tying it down, but this time I would be on the highway. So I double strapped it. I also got three bales of alfalfa and a couple of bags of feed. All of it fit, no problem.

I feel like Trucky is happier when he has a job, and he seemed pretty happy with this job. A thousand pounds in the bed and 500 pounds of other stuff? That's right in the middle of his comfort zone. 

Anyways we got it back no problem, but then I couldn't figure out where to put it. I think this is a 1,000 pound bale, and I didn't want to leave it out in the rain to get moldy. I didn't want to put it in a paddock to get wasted, either. I wanted to put it in the hay barn, since it was mostly empty, but the barn owner said we'd just have to move it again when her hay comes (which will be very soon).

So I ended up putting it in the back of our barn aisle. I backed the truck up as far as I was comfortable, then we pushed it off and it rolled halfway down the aisle. It wasn't too hard to roll it the rest of the way. We got it pushed as much to the side as we could. So, for now, Moonshine can reach over and eat from the top of it. And I will pull off of it to feed the others. It makes it a little hard to get into "my" stall, but that's OK. I'm glad to have a clean dry place for it where it won't get wasted. 

Everyone came to try it, and they all liked it. I should hope so -- it was $215!!! The bodyworker said she's been buying hay from this same place for a year, and back in the spring it was $115 for a round bale. At least this one should last quite a while.

It gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling to see that big ole round bale sitting in my barn aisle, and to know that my horses are provided for.


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## gottatrot

I feel that same warm fuzzy feeling when I have good hay. I love how your "Trucky" has a personality.


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## ACinATX

I've been building up to some realizations about riding Pony, but I'm not sure what to do about them. This kind of came to a head watching this girl ride him today. She was riding him, and more or less getting him to do what she wanted, but it was really sloppy and ugly. I mean, frankly, this is pretty much how I ride him. IDK, maybe I ride him a little better, at least when I'm really concentrating. But not much.

So the problem is, in lessons, I don't feel like I get to work on something until I'm solid on it, before the instructor jumps to something else. Like, if we are cantering 20 meter circles, I don't want to just canter two, and them not be good, and then she's like, OK we've done that now let's build on it. Anything I do, I want to do it well and understand it within my mind and body before moving on to the next thing. I don't really want to do four separate things in one lesson, unless I do each one of them very well, and then we can proceed to the next. But I feel like the instructors are afraid I'll get bored just doing the same thing over and over again. I don't, not if I can feel that I am making progress, or especially if I feel like there is something I don't understand about it.

Further, I think I understand a lot about where Pony is, and where I am, and what we need to do to progress. For instance, with cantering, I think we need to just do a lot of trotting, and then a little cantering, and have that cantering be really really good, and then just go back to trotting or even be done. Despite what I said about cantering circles, right now I don't think that we need to be cantering a bunch of circles. We need to do one length of the arena, or half a lap, and do it really really well. He needs to understand that he's done well and that that is what I wanted. And it needs to be short enough for him to not throw a fit. And it needs to be GOOD and we BOTH need to be FOCUSED. Then we can build up from there. In other words, instead of cantering for five or 10 minutes in a lesson, and it being sloppy, I need to canter for 30 seconds, at least at a time, and it be very good.

Further, we need to work on softness and responsiveness. I need to know what I'm looking for, I need to ask clearly, and I need to expect him to do what I'm asking.

And I understand, after my lesson with this other trainer, how I need to use my aids better. 

So I have all of this understanding, and I even have an idea of how I need to proceed, but I am not getting that out of lessons right now. The problem is, if I don't have a lesson I won't ride. Usually. I will go out there and find other things to do. I am just not really very motivated unless I have committed to it.

So I am not sure what to do. Continue with lessons that, right now, I don't think are helping much? Or keep going out there thinking that today will be the day I ride him and we work on what I want to work on, and then I just don't?


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## ACinATX

Also, after reading what @Knave said about her father in that other thread, I just realized that I've never really had anyone that I have spent time with around horses to model myself after. I remember this one person who used to ride with the college team when they rode with the barn owner. She was really calm and quiet and yet the horses always did what she wanted. She didn't have to make a lot of noise or pitch a fit. She was just calm and clear. I didn't see her much, but what I saw I always tried to emulate.

There are a number of people I've watched work with horses and I have thought, there is nothing wrong with the way they interact with horses. Or, there have been a couple of things I liked. But except for this one woman, there's never been anyone I have watched in person where I really wanted to act like them. I've kind of had to figure things out for myself, I mean the way I wanted to be with my horses. I suppose there are good things in that. But I wonder what I'm missing, not having someone I really respect to model myself after.


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## Knave

I can see this on both sides, if I imagine. It is possible the trainer is following more what Pony needs. For example, if I give my children a lesson, I am watching the horse as much, if not more, than the girl. I try really hard to both benefit the rider and the horse. So, the girl may not be loping a circle correctly (as your example), but I see the horse move into a better movement and correct something he is doing, then I have the girl stop to reward the horse. Does that make sense? I want to improve my children for certain, but I put the ride of the horse above their education.

Now, I think that if you don’t like the lessons then don’t go, but also you need to ride Pony one way or the other…


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## Knave

I feel like there are pros and cons to having a father like mine. I love the horses, and so it is amazing to have such a well of information and someone to emulate, but it also has always offered a lot of pressure and intensity. Calmness with horses does not always translate to people, and both my father and I are examples of such lack of patience with humans.

Sometimes it creates a pressure to emulate rather than create. So, it takes a lot of personal confidence and determination to try something outside of the standard set.

The positives far outweigh the negatives, growing up with such an example, but you may as well celebrate the positives of how you have it. Play with learning on your own! I know my youngest prefers riding alone 80% of the time. This gives her the chance to experiment and come to her own conclusions without that level of expectation.


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## ACinATX

Here's a story that happened yesterday. Captions are ABOVE the pictures.




Pony: "Ooh, what is dis? Pony's pony senses got activated!"













Pony: "Yes! Something in here is very interesting!"













Pony: "Very smart Pony here."













Teddy: "What are you doing over there? Maybe I need to come over too!"













Teddy: "I am the boss of you so this is my dumpster now."












Teddy: "That means you have to move."










(You miss the part where Teddy figured out there wasn't anything he wanted in the dumpster)



Pony: "A happy ending."


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## ACinATX

We took the cat to my in-laws' for Thanksgiving. We haven't done this before, but we thought he might rather come with us than be home all by himself. He didn't like the trip very much. He wasn't too bad when we got there, like he was OK with the strange place, but once he realized there were strange people around he didn't like that too much. He spent most of the time hiding under the bed. Well, except at night, when he was emboldened to come out. He spent some of that time sleeping with us, but some of it meowing at us to wake up and play with him. I'm glad I took my own car and had planned on leaving early, because three nights of that was all I could take. 

It meant that even though I came back yesterday, I couldn't just go straight to the barn because he was in the car. And by the time I got home, I wasn't going anywhere.

I went out there first thing this morning, though. The barn owner had had one of the kid riders get ready to ride him, but she asked if I would rather ride him, and I did want to. The kid told me she had picked his feet and groomed his saddle area. But I took off the girth and she hadn't done down there. I'm sure that having stuff down there rubbing against the girth must feel terrible.

So I did what I wanted to, sort of. We only had the dressage arena, and only half of it, due to all the rains. But one thing we did was lots of working walk. I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier to do what this other trainer had said, which was ask once and then insist. Rather than keep nagging at him with my legs. So I asked for a working walk, and if I didn't get it I gave him a tap with the whip. Success! Of course he'd fall out after a bit, but then we'd pick it up again.

We also did some really nice canters. Very short canters, but nice. Nice transitions up, no fighting, and nice transitions down. I did lead him to think I was going to ask for the canter going left in a certain place, so he started to pull his head down, but I just made him trot circles instead. After a couple of times of that he was ready to pick up the left leady NICELY and without fighting about it. We also worked on turning with less pressure and more softness. That went OK. Not great, but OK. We only rode for half an hour, but I felt good about it. 

I'm copying this bit about Moonshine from the Rowan journal:

_I let him into the grassy area with Moonshine. I was kind of interested to see how that would work, since they seem to have worked out their relationship at least when there is a wall between them. However... with no wall, Moonshine decided that she needed to show him who was boss. So, he was just calmly eating grass and she came up and made nasty faces at him butt. He scooted a couple of steps over. Emboldened, she turned her butt to him and started kicking (air kicks) to really show him who was boss. But I guess he could tell they were just air kicks, because this time he didn't move, he just kept eating grass. She didn't like that too much. She came around the trailer and was going to charge at him, but I told her to shoo and she did, but not without some attitude. But then she slipped a bit when she did that. If I let them out together again, I'll do it when it's not wet._

They had a horse out in their pasture, which was kind of weird. He was Rowan-sized and Rowan-colored (sort of -- he had a wide white blaze and one blue eye). But Teddy and Pony seemed to be getting along with him fine, so no problems there.

Here are pictures of Pony's dream come true. The barn owner's hay finally came, and the only place the guy could unload was in the pony pasture. So for now he can imagine they are all for him.


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## ACinATX

I am going to admit this here and not in my other journal, or at least not for now. Yesterday I was working with Rowan in the arena and then Pony was getting into something so I had to grab him and put him back in a stall. While I was doing this, Rowan started pulling things off the arena fence that people had left there. So they were both getting into things. And I called Pony "Powan." Hopefully he didn't hear that LOL.

I rode him again today. Still trying to work on some things. I was pretty happy with him, mostly. And the parts where I wasn't happy with him, I was happy with me. So all went pretty well.

I wanted to ride him in the arena where he has historically had problems cantering. So we did. We worked on working walk (went better today!), then trotted a bit, then it was canter time. He did pretty well at first, and then he started anticipating. I was trying to keep him thinking about what I was asking rather than what he thought I wanted, so I kept switching things up on him. We cantered right several times, just maybe a dozen strides then coming back. Then we started left. And he assumed we were going to canter, so we didn't. Just a lot of stuff like that.

At one point going left he had a little fit. He thought we were going to canter, and we didn't, and he started rooting and really thinking about bucking. So we just trotted tiny circles and small serpentines until we got back on the same page.

Aside from that he had no issues. One thing I really wanted to focus on was cantering straight lines. Maybe you would think this shouldn't be too hard, but you should have seen that girl ride him the other day -- it was super wiggly the whole time. I know he does that when I ride him too. So we focused on quality over quantity and that went really well.

He was panting at the end of it. It was pretty warm and he has his winter coat, but also he might be out of shape again. I gave him some pellets and left him in his stall with some hay.

***

Moonshine trashed her stall again. I don't know, whenever I see her she's just standing around or eating something, but she must party like a rock star at night. You wouldn't think someone could get a stall that disgusting in less than 24 hours. Sheesh.


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## ACinATX

I still don't know what's up with Moonshine. I went out there on Tuesday morning and it looked like the groom had gotten there early, fed and hayed, and left. But she hadn't eaten her feed or her (alfalfa) hay, which isn't like her at all. She seemed "down" too. I let her out of her stall and she was happy to leave, but then she just went somewhere else and just stood there. Then she went in the hay barn. The horses love to break into the hay barn and eat forbidden hay, but she just put her head in a corner and stood there.










The vet was coming that afternoon, so I had her put on her list of horses to see. But she said everything was normal, and she had eaten her feed and hay by then. Did I mention I'm thinking about using this animal communicator my bodyworker told me about? I feel like it's ridiculous, but I also think it's possible that this lady may just pick up on things that other people wouldn't. The bodyworker said she was skeptical, but this lady had some really interesting and valuable insights. I just am out of ideas about what to do about Moonshine. I put her in the paddock, she makes herself crazy pacing. I leave her in the tiny paddock / stall and she's mopey or grumpy.

Teddy is doing well. He just keeps going. He used to be injury prone but... nah, not going to jinx it. His teeth haven't gotten significantly worse lately either, not that I know of.

Pony is not very happy about all the time I spend with Rowan. I need to spend more time with him. I am going to be taking off almost two weeks over Christmas, so hopefully I can do something with him that we'll both enjoy.

Poor Trucky needs some fly spray. You wouldn't think they'd still be this bad in December. I shudder to think what it's going to be like in the spring.


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## Txshecat0423

@ACinATX, I’ve posted a couple of times regarding the use of animal communicators. It’s always been helpful for me, and doesn’t cost any more than a mid-level vet visit. If you have it done, I look forward to seeing what they have to say!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

@Txshecat0423 I'll talk to my bodyworker and see if I can get contact info for the person she used, but do you have someone you use who might travel to me?


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## Txshecat0423

I didn’t do in-person visits any of the four times I’ve done it. Two were by phone and two by FB messenger 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ACinATX

Pony and I worked on impulsion and cantering again. His impulsion at a walk has gotten a lot better. I don't know, I just miscued him to canter a couple of times today and just didn't have it together very well. When I cued him correctly he was fine; when I didn't, he picked up the wrong lead and broke into a trot after a while. I did get a really really nice canter to the left with no "wonies" so I let him be done with that.

For myself, I'm working on keeping my heels down. If I do this by myself, and we're just trotting around the arena or making simple serpentines or going over a few poles, it's easier to remember than if I'm in a lesson and trying to remember some complicated pattern the instructor wants me to do ("Now do it all but change directions!" Ugh). 

I don't feel this way as a horse owner, but as a rider I do -- I feel like I've had the same year of riding over and over and over again. How can I still not have decent body position? How can I still not have a decent two-point? Why are my reins still uneven? How can I still not understand how to get impulsion out of Pony?

I was a little surprised by him -- I think he prefers coming in, being ridden, and being turned "in" (on the grass) to just coming in and being put in a stall with hay. He gives me sad looks when I put him in a stall with hay, and then when I let him out he gets into trouble. Whereas today I got him ready pretty quickly, rode him, and then put him on the grass afterwards. And he didn't get into trouble at all. He was happy to just eat grass.

Also on Sunday I decided to let him out of his stall, but with the grazing muzzle on, the theory being he'd get into less trouble. But after my daughter put the grazing muzzle on him, he just stood there in the barn aisle looking pathetic. So I took it off. Then he got into trouble. I'm such a sucker. (When I say got into trouble, I don't mean BAD, I just mean he wandered over to the other barn to see if anyone had left any feed in their stalls when they got turned out).

So I put it back on, pathetic looks or not. And he eventually wandered off and TRIED to get into trouble. Picture this: outside the stall with the mom and foal there is a metal trashcan and inside that trashcan is extra delicious mom and foal food. A smart Pony could bite the lid of that trash can and nose it enough that it would come off. Now, picture a Pony in a grazing muzzle trying that it. It was just like "bonk bonk bonk." But still, I had to put him back in his stall. Just in case.

Moonshine continues to be moody. Now I'm wondering if she's sad because my daughter rarely comes out to see her right now? I'll get her out there more during the break. Teddy is fine. He likes his life. He comes in, gets fed, gets to eat grass (because SOMEONE doesn't get into trouble, coughcough Pony), gets alfalfa hay, gets his feet picked, gets fly sprayed if needed, gets told he's a good boy a couple of times, and has no pressure put on him.

Here's a picture with all three of them in on the grass. Nice to see them kind of together again.


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## ACinATX

Bleah. All of that, and I still left without putting a turnout sheet on Pony.

It was cold this morning. And windy. And a little rainy. So I got ready to go early, to go put turnout sheets on everyone. I couldn't do it yesterday because it was too warm. It was just light rain so I figured they'd be in the shelter and not too wet and I wouldn't have to be out there too long.

But within five minutes of leaving, it was pouring down rain. I'm glad I took Trucky! The sun was due to rise in 15 minutes but it was just pitch black and pouring. When I got to the barn, the gate was locked. But it was so dark I couldn't see the numbers on the padlock, not with my bad eyes. I put the truck headlights on bright, but it just made the padlock more reflective. I tried using my phone and that didn't help either. I was getting soaked. Finally I turned the headlights off and the phone on and squinted terribly, and got it open. Literally at that exact moment the groom showed up. Well, at least I saved HIM from being soaked. Note to self: time to put reading glasses in the truck.

The barn was flooding. I got a good look at the flood pattern and I understand it better, but that didn't stop it from happening. Also I learned that my waterproof muck boots, while still mucky, were no longer waterproof. At least I had wool socks.

But speaking of wool, it turns out there is a limit to wool's insulating properties when wet. If your gloves are soaking wet and it's really really cold and windy, they don't really keep your hands warm any more. Luckily I had a second pair in the truck, but those soon got soaked also. I mean, my hands were better off than without the gloves, but they weren't warm either. And then my jacket got soaked through. It's just water resistant, so I guess that's not really surprising. So I took it off and put on another one that I had in the truck. 

I guess I must have mostly gotten soaked while at the gate, because once I got to the barn I was mostly under the roof. I put on Moonshine's and Rowan's turnout sheets and mucked their stalls. They had been in overnight. Rowan's flooded. There isn't much I can do about that. He can't really get turned out right now because the pasture flooded too.

I could see my horses back in the shelter, and even though there were a lot of horses out there mine were in the shelter because they are the bosses. So I figured that when I brought them in (which I did once the rain let up a bit) they'd be dry and I could just put on their turnout sheets. But no. They were quite wet.

But surprisngly they weren't shivering. It was a bit above 40 and windy, but they seemed fine. So I brought them in and put them in stalls. Teddy's was half flooded and Pony's was so flooded that his feed bucket, which I had left in there overnight, was floating around in circles. So I made a spot for him in the hay storage half of the barn, and one in the aisle where I was, so he would have somewhere dry. I tried to towel dry him and Teddy, but I don't know how much good it did. And I kept watching all of this steam coming off him, but he never seemed any drier.

Teddy eventually got kind of dry, to where I didn't feel bad about putting his lightweight turnout sheet on him. But Pony not only didn't get dry, he kept leaving and going out in the rain to eat grass. I brought him back a couple of times, and then I was like, "You know what, if this isn't bothering you then I'm not going to put on the turnout sheet." He can go back out and be in the shelter for a few hours until the rain stops. 

The wind was picking up even more, but he really didn't seem to mind. He has a coat like a seal -- dark, thick, and oily. Not to mention he has the blubber of a seal too. So I guess he'll be OK.

I turned them out and left. I have rarely been so happy to be leaving the barn. Ugh.

Well that was quite the gripe. Next time (if I remember): a meditation on the afterlife.


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## ACinATX

*A meditation on the afterlife*

I like to imagine my horses as people, and as such I have often imagined what they think about the afterlife, religion, etc. Here is what I like to imagine.

Moonshine. Moonshine says she made a deal with the devil and when she dies she's going straight to hell where she'll be allowed to torment everyone. Pony, however, says that she's not really evil, she's just grumpy, and that she will go to the grumpy basement, which is many levels above hell. It's where all the grumpy mares go. They are put in one big room and get to grump at each other for eternity.

Teddy. Teddy believes in a straightforward heaven / hell. Well, actually, he believes in heaven and "the down place." If you are good, you obviously go to heaven. He doesn't want to talk about the alternative. In heaven you are reunited with all of your friends, and there are endless green fields, sunny skies, and cool breezes. Everyone is young again. If you want, there is a passage to human heaven if you want to go visit special humans. 

Pony. Pony seems to believe in something like reincarnation. This is how he explains it: "Ponies doesn't die. Ponies just goes and floats around for a wittle bit and then when they is done they goes out again. They can be ghosties when they is floating if they wants. Hoh hoh hoh. Boo."

This isn't really a journal for Rowan, but I imagine that he is more horse-like than the others. He mostly lives in the moment. He has seen a horse die, and after it died it didn't go anywhere, so he doesn't understand this afterlife the others are talking about.


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## Knave

I don’t know what horses think of the afterlife, but I like to think there are horses in heaven. Actually, the white horses coming down from heaven and the fiery horses pulling the sleigh should kind of prove horses go to heaven, and therefor I will consider no alternative. Lol.

I think sometimes that horses understand God much more than we ever could. I think they display God to us, and I have learned a lot from them about myself, and how I should be instead of how I actually am.


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## ACinATX

I had a nice ride on Pony today. I was going to join the lesson, but then it was still really cold and I thought, I'll just have to stop every minute to blow my nose, and my eyes will get all watery, and I won't feel like I've accomplished anything.

Also he was muddy. He's the only horse out there right now without a turnout sheet on LOL. But he's totally fine. He was fine when it was 40 degrees and windy and rainy, and he's fine now that it's 40 degrees and foggy. He'll get his sheet on tomorrow, though, since we're expecting severe cold.

Speaking of severe cold, the barn owner is really being proactive about the cold this time. She bought some heated buckets and was going back to Tractor Supply and offered to pick up a couple for me. She got generators! And she's tarped up the other barns so they aren't so drafty. That's nice to see. My guys, I'm planning on leaving them out in the pasture, though. I left them out for the snowpocalypse and they were fine, so I think they'll be fine now. Well, by my guys I mean Pony and Teddy. Rowan doesn't have a winter coat and Moonshine doesn't need to be out there. That's who the heated buckets are for.

Anyways, my ride. I decided we'd just ride bareback and do some simple things. I brought the treats for him, too.

Ahhhh!!! Getting on Pony bareback when it's cold is like sitting on a nice squishy hot water bottle. He was so warm and soft! Bareback was 110% the right decision! 

We just walked around at first. I was trying to think about feeling his footfalls. Then I thought about the question I had asked about encouraging him using his hind end, so we did a bit of working walk. I had forgotten my whip, but he picked it up nicely anyways. Maybe it's becoming a habit for him! Then we did a lot of transitions, walk-trot-walk-stop-walk etc. I can now feel when he's using his back end for a transition downward vs not. What he wants to do, when he transitions downward, is to just plant his front feet and stop. But this time we got a lot of good use of the back end. I don't know how I achieved that, though.

Also, we had a tiny canter! On purpose! Except, I tried to signal him by saying "Can-TER!" which is my signal for Rowan but not Pony. But he still picked it up. Probably it was not the best idea, especially since I was truly bareback, not in the sticky bareback pad, but I didn't fall off. _That_ downward transition was rough, though, LOL. But after that I let him be done.

Afterwards, I felt very happy. I don't know why. It's not like we accomplished much. But we had a nice relaxing peaceful ride, and we were both happy with it, and that just feels good.


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## ACinATX

My daughter and I went out yesterday to prepare for the cold. We stripped Moonshine's and Rowan's stalls and rebedded them nice and fluffy. I switched them out so that Rowan has the stall and tiny paddock and Moonshine has the double stall. I wanted to encourage Rowan to move around so he hopefully won't colic.

Moonshine was a handful yesterday. In order to facilitate cleaning the stalls, I had my daughter put her in the small paddock next to the arena where we put her when we can. However, she somehow got out and came running back to the barn. My daughter then apparently gave her a bucket of alfalfa pellets to calm her down, which to me is just reinforcing the behavior but whatever. But I needed that space, so I told her to take Moonshine back out to that paddock. But then 30 seconds later Moonshine came running, and I mean running, back. My daughter had let her go while standing next to the gate, which she hadn't closed. In her defense, the entrance to that paddock is really muddy right now so you don't really want to stop and make your horse turn around there while you close the gate, but still.

I grabbed Moonshine and grumpily asked if my daughter could put her in PROPERLY. I guess she did, because Moonshine didn't get out again. We got everything done just in time for the cold front to come in, early. When that front came in, you KNEW it! We put blankets on everyone, turned out Pony and Teddy, and left.

Unfortunately my daughter had blanketed Teddy and she didn't do a very good job. When I got out there this morning, his blanket was half off and he was shivering. Even though it was sunny and he has a nice thick coat. It WAS 15 degrees, to be fair. I had been planning on bringing him and Pony in and feeding them, but the barn owner had left her faucets running so there was basically a big ice skating rink in front of my barn. So I brought Pony and Teddy some alfalfa hay in their pasture and fixed Teddy's sheet.

Poor Teddy must have still been cold, because he only ate half a flake of the alfalfa hay before he left to go stand in the shelter. He picked a spot that was sunny and out of the wind, and he soon stopped shivering. But I brought him a double flake of alfalfa to eat out there. He was happy to eat it.

Teddy is older and a little skinny, but he has a thick and fluffy coat, so I was really surprised he was shivering. Plus I feel like the last two cold snaps we had, he was fine. I don't know if it was because his sheet wasn't on right or because he just needs a thicker sheet at this point. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on him.

Pony was also all fuzzed up and he was happy as a clam, if clams are in fact very happy.

Moonshine seemed fine and had a bunch of good poops waiting for me, but the poop she had after I got there was wet. She was having wet poops yesterday also. She also wasn't too hungry, but she did eventually eat at least her alfalfa hay. I think she was glad to be in the stall that faces east, as it was quite sunny in there, and there was a wall blocking the north wind, so it felt pretty good.

I'm really glad the barn owner got those heated buckets for me -- her other bucket was frozen solid, but her heated one had nice tepid water in it!

It was 15 when I got there and about 25 when I left. It was very windy but sunny. Aside from my toes getting numb, which I fixed by putting my "hot handz" hand warmers in my boots, I was comfortable the whole time. I had wool leggings and flannel lined khakis, a cotton tneck, a cashmere sweater, my barn coat that is lined with flannel, two pairs of wool socks, a wool gaiter/mask, and my wool hat. I was comfortable the whole time -- didn't feel the need to take anything off but wasn't cold either.


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## ACinATX

This is the journal where Wysocki the cat gets mentioned sometimes.

Today I have a sort of "OMG cats" moment. Wysocki likes to bury his food. It's called "caching" and some wild cats do it also. I posted a picture once where he had dragged multiple random objects over his food thing. He does the same with his feed bowl. He will drag paper, napkins, t-shirts, anything that is unfortunate enough to be around, and use it to cover his food.

That's not the OMG cats thing, though. The thing is, he's the only cat here. No one here WANTS his food. AND... the stupidest part is, once he buries it he doesn't know it's there any more. Even though he's the one that buried it, and you'd think he could smell it, too. But no. He "buries" it and then it's gone. I fed him this morning and he took a few bites and then buried it very thoroughly. The last couple of hours he's been acting hungry. So I brought him over there and uncovered it, and he was like "Finally! You fed me!" and gobbled it up. SMH. It's like it literally disappears once he's buried it.

What I'm trying to say is, the only one he successfully hides it from is himself.


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## gottatrot

Very funny! My hamster also carefully hides her stores of food from the nonexistent hamsters and wild beasts that I guess she thinks are going to come and steal it in her cage.


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## ACinATX

Teddy wasn't shivering today. It was warmer and also his turnout sheet hadn't slipped back again. I tossed him and Pony some alfalfa hay, and then because the other two ponies out there were looking pathetic, I tossed more out. They had plenty of hay in their ring feeder thing, though. I don't know why they weren't eating that.

I didn't bring them in because the area in front of my barn was still super icy.

I went out and gave them both hugs and no treats afterwards. Usually I give them a treat. Pony in particular was like, "Where is my treat?" He kept trying to find the hidden treats that must be in my pockets, but in fact my pockets were sadly empty. And then I just hugged him again. And again. He was very warm and fuzzy. Today is my birthday so I get to hug them as much as I want.

My daughter showed me this video a few years ago, and it still cracks me up.







ETA: I forgot to mention Moonshine HAD stocked up a little in her lower back legs from being in the stall for 36 hours. So I turned her out into the arena to get some exercise, but she wasn't very happy. She was just pacing in a worried way. On the one hand, she got some exercise, but on the other hand I had to take off her turnout sheet because she was really sweaty. I think it was anxiety not exercise. It was 30 degrees and she was super sweaty. I'm still just in the "thinking about it" phase with this. Could one of those "happy mare" type products maybe help her? Would magnesium help her?


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## TrainedByMares

Happy Birthday AC!


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## gottatrot

The video was funny!


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## ACinATX

I rode Pony today, bareback because I don't have to get him tacked up then. I am still trying to figure out how to create impulsion on him. I have to say, his working walk has become truly amazing. It's like it was there all the time but I just didn't know it. I am still not asking for more than, I don't know, 20 strides at a time. I understand that they have to build that muscle slowly. I don't know, maybe I am going too slowly but it's probably better to go too slowly than too fast.

We did a lot of walk-trot transitions. I think I figured out what gets him to engage his hind end in downward transitions -- I think it's me leaning back. Not WAY back, but just a little. I normally tend to ride leaning forward or hunched over. 

I didn't notice any difference on the upward transitions, though. He is very responsive, however. We only rode for 20 minutes but I was really happy with it.

Moonshine continues to be unhappy. I'm thinking next time my daughter comes out to the barn, which should be some time this week, we should try putting her back out in the big pasture and see how she feels about that. The holes are mostly gone. This is how she is now:

If she's in her stall / small paddock, she hates everyone next to her and has bitten deep gouges in the 2x6s trying to keep them away
If she's in the double stall, she is mopey (just stands in the corner)
If she's in the bigger paddock, she gets anxious -- runs around and works up a sweat
I remembered today that I said her mental health is important, and right now I'm not sure her mental health is all that great. Maybe turning her out in the big pasture where she can be with other horses would be good for her. 

We stopped at South Texas Tack on the way back from Houston and my daughter found this product called "Mare Magic" which is just raspberry leaves. We can try that. I might also add that magnesium supplement I have into her feed. I'd really like to try to figure out how we can make her feel better mentally.


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## ACinATX

The trainer came yesterday for me and Rowan, but I asked her to do a session with my daughter and Moonshine, something on the ground that would be fun for both of them. It seemed like it went well. But then she was working with her again today and it seemed like Moonshine wasn't that interested. They were working in arena 3, the one closest to our barn, and when my daughter took her out she was kind of jigging, then my daughter let her go and she ran back to our barn. However, my daughter tried again later, with her just out loose, and I think that went better. I know it has to be frustrating for my daughter, Moonshine's general disinterest in working with someone. I kind of feel like that attitude was part of why she started losing interest in horses in the first place. I keep trying to get her interested in Rowan, but she's not really having it. She's happy to help out, but doesn't really want to get emotionally involved. I knew that was how she felt going into it, and I didn't expect any different. It's just ... I wish she could experience working with a horse that really was mentally engaged and interested. It's so very rewarding. I mean, Pony is very much the same, only he's a little over-excited sometimes.

I rode Pony bareback again yesterday and worked on transitions but my transitions weren't as good, so I'm going to think about that. When the trainer comes back, I might have her do a session with me and Pony. Now that I'm riding Rowan more, I expect to have her come out more. So maybe there will be more chances for her to work with Pony and me. I rode him again bareback today but only for maybe 5-10 minutes. I was just filling in time before the bodyworker came.

I did deworm him. I think I've mentioned before, he doesn't like it. Of course. After I tasted it the other day, I have to say, who can blame him? What he does is, he tosses his head up and down over and over again. You just hold on to the bottom of the halter, not holding him down, just following his motions, but not letting him go crazy. Just keep holding it for a few minutes. After his protest is over, he will put his head down nicely and take the dewormer with no problem. It's kind of funny, almost like a switch is flipped.


----------



## ACinATX

Related to training Rowan, I bought several new books on starting horses under saddle. I mean new to me, not new new. One of them was by Cherry Hill. And I realized that her approach has not aged well, at least for me. Her approach, as I read it now, is one of benevolent domination. Humans know best. Horses must do as we ask at all times, but we do need to make sure we are being clear and fair to them. But when we tell them to do something, they need to obey. People need to make it clear, at all times, who is the boss (human) and who is subservient (horse).

When I was a new horse owner, unsure of myself and honestly intimidated by these 1,000 pound pets I had brought home, pets I thought were "unpredictable", "disrespectful," and "disobedient," her approach I guess fit in with where I was. Honestly I DID need to get firm with them, and while in retrospect I think I probably came down too hard for too long, Pony at least would have walked all over me (literally) if I had not done so.

I think having Teddy opened my mind to the possibility that maybe horses didn't actually spend their time plotting against me, and I shouldn't punish them just because they didn't do what I wanted when I wanted it. Teddy was just so sweet and wanted so much to please, even if he was scared to try. And I could TELL that he was scared, and anxious, and worried. And I started to realize that things like him rearing at the farrier weren't him trying to be nasty, it was him being unable to deal with the anxiety.

Anyways, her philosophy I guess doesn't resonate with me any more. What I want now is a partnership with my horses. Yes I still need to be the boss, if it comes down to that, but I want to listen to them, and them listen to me, and all of us to be on the same page, more or less understanding each other. I want them to do what I ask because they WANT to, and because it pleases them to please me. Like Rowan lining himself up at the mounting block. I just step up there and catch his eye, and he walks over, with a smile on his face! And I also would like to do what THEY want to do, to the extent possible. If they aren't happy, then we need to step back and figure out why, and make whatever changes are necessary. I guess I'm looking for more of a give and take relationship now.

Having said that, I don't know if it even would have been possible for me, as someone who was totally new to horses, to be able to work toward a partnership with Pony and Moonshine when I first got them. I couldn't read them at all, so I wouldn't even have known what they were thinking. I had no timing. I didn't even understand what really constituted normal horse behavior. So I guess not. I'm glad I have advanced in my horsemanship that way. I'm still a pretty crummy rider, but I honestly do think I'm a pretty good owner.

Although, having written that, I wonder where I will be with my horses in ANOTHER five years or so? That's really exciting to think about. Ooh! Maybe I will finally learn how to ride LOL.


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## boatagor

What books did you get? I have 5 or 6 I got for Christmas that I haven't started yet because I'm re-reading a fiction series about eventing 😂


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## ACinATX

I wrote a mini review of each of the books I bought, and some ones I already had, but I was just letting it sit on my computer. Here it is:

*Countdown to Broke.* clear, concise, straightforward. Really gives you a step-by-step approach. The pictures add a lot of clarity. Cons are that he doesn’t always tell you how many times you should work on a certain step before proceeding to the next one, and some of the steps seem out of place to me. For instance, I’d personally want a horse halter broke before working with them in the round pen, and I don’t like the fact that he gets on the horse before having what I consider a clear “move out” and “stop” signal built in. He uses an opening rein for moving out—gets the horse kind of off balance to where it has to take a step. And he uses the one-rein stop for if you really need to stop. I don’t know why you wouldn’t start with clear verbal cues for both of those. I did, and it worked great for me. Also the more you progress, the more “Western” it gets. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just mean, e.g., there is a lot of emphasis on getting a certain headset that only certain Western riders would want in a horse.

*Making not Breaking, by Cherry Hill.* When I was a new horse owner, lacking confidence around my horses, Cherry Hill’s benign domination approach worked really well for me. However, reading this book made me realize that it hasn’t aged well, at least for me. I am more interested now in creating a partnership with my horse rather than teaching it, even if in a somewhat kind way, that it must always obey me no matter what. Another thing I don’t like about this book is that only 100 of the 230 pages are really about starting a horse under saddle, and only 60 or so of them (just one chapter – chapter five) really give you a clear, step-by-step approach of what to do with your horse. Those 60 pages were informative, but they didn’t have a lot of new information for me. And with a subtitle of “The First Year Under Saddle,” I would have hoped for more specifics about actually working under saddle. I bought this book cheap, used, and it was worth it for what I paid.

*Training and Retraining Horses the Tellington Way*. This one definitely emphasized the partnership aspect, and it also stressed kindness and taking things slowly. The pictures were great. There were also some interesting ground work exercises. However, the mounted work section of the book was only about 30 pages (out of almost 300). The thing I absolutely hated about this book is that it is very “technique-y” and “gear-y”. Here’s an excerpt: “A few minutes of _Ear TTouch_ and some stroking with the _Wand_ down the chest and legs will help your horse concentrate. Calmly saddle the horse and put the _Lindell Sidepull_ on. Attach a _Zephyr lead_ to the sidepull and place a _Balance Rein_ around your horse’s neck.” The italics are hers and indicate a proprietary object or technique. Or: “On Day two Silvia and I led Big Surprise in the _Homing Pigeon_ through the _Labyrinth_ … I followed with _Hind Leg Circles_ and _Tail TTouches_…” To be honest, I was expecting that the book would be largely about different ways to use her theory of bodywork, and I was not surprised in that regard. However, this book is just too method-y for me. It felt like I was going to have to learn a whole new language and new way of riding in order to implement most of it.

*Horse Control – The Young Horse.* An older (1974) book from Australia. The really cool thing about this book is, if you follow any Australian trainers, you will see that their approach comes from the same approach this guy is using. He’s like the Bill Dorrance of Australia. This book had a lot of useful nuggets, but the way it was arranged made it really difficult to read. Plus I’m sorry to be so pedantic, but all of the tiny paragraphs and the weird font contributed to it being physically hard to read. Ultimately this really isn’t a philosophical book but it isn’t quite a training book either. The chapters are arranged in the overall order you’d probably approach things sequentially, but they take a kind of scattershot approach – he will spend a whole chapter on one thing but then not talk about some other very important thing. I’d recommend reading this book first or last, to get out those nuggets, but you wouldn’t want to use it as a manual on how to start a horse under saddle. Overall his approach is calm but determined, and he emphasizes considering things from the horse’s point of view. However, he’s not really emphasizing that partnership. It definitely emphasizes being very clear to your horse that you are the boss.

*True Horsemanship through feel by Bill Dorrance.* This isn’t a book about starting horses per se, but there are a couple od chapters on ground work and then a little on ridden work also. Bill Dorrance has a reputation for being somewhat cryptic, but working through all of the groundwork exercises, I really came to understand what he was saying. Even though I strongly questioned the value of the exercises before doing them (“One step forward and then stop, one step back and then stop – what is this supposed to accomplish again???”), I saw very definite, very positive results from doing them. If I ever start another horse, I will absolutely use this book.

Overall, from the books I've read, if you want a clear and straightforward book with definite steps that tells you how to start your horse, I'd say Countdown to Broke is your best bet. But don't forget to interlay reading that with reading someone like Mark Rashid, whose horse-centric and compassionate approach should remind you why you got horses in the first place and what you are hoping to get out of them (at least if you are me LOL). Mark Rashid never wrote a a book about training horses per se, although *Finding the Missed Path* is sort of one. But reading through what he's written really helps you understand horses on a whole other level.


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## boatagor

Thank you! I have the first two and plan to start on Countdown to Broke after I'm done with this series. I also got a colt starting book by Stacy Westfall that I want to dive into.


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## knightrider

boatagor said:


> I'm re-reading a fiction series about eventing 😂


I love fiction horse books? What series are you reading?


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## boatagor

knightrider said:


> I love fiction horse books? What series are you reading?


It's called the Eventing series by Natalie Keller reinert. I'll try to link it. I don't know a ton about eventing but the horse descriptions seem pretty accurate, the writing is good and there's some great character growth in the series. This is probably my third read through! I have read a few of her other books as well but they don't pull me back in like these ones 🙂









The Eventing Series


Visit Amazon's The Eventing Series Page and shop for all The Eventing Series books. Check out pictures, author information, and reviews of The Eventing Series



www.amazon.com


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## knightrider

boatagor said:


> It's called the Eventing series by Natalie Keller reinert.


Oh, I do like her. I'm sure you are e enjoying that series!


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## egrogan

If you like Natalie's writing, you might also like the podcast she co-hosts called Adulting with Horses. On the podcast, she talks frequently about her own horses and what it's like to be a writer. It's probably not for everyone and falls into the 'not safe for work' category, but I really enjoy it. Her co-host is a part time Vermonter and a great person too.


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## boatagor

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm always looking for good podcasts 🙂 going to start listening while I feed this morning.


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## egrogan

@boatagor, I have really increased the number of podcasts in my rotation over the past year and definitely appreciate them during chores, dogwalks, etc. You might consider downloading the free Horse Radio Network "all shows" feed (you can download it on any podcast player, I use Stitcher)- they have 40ish podcasts on their network, across all disciplines and also covering training, horse care, etc. I probably listen to 8-10 of their shows on a regular basis (most come out once every two weeks, and their flagship show "Horses in the Morning" is a daily 1 hr show).

Sorry to derail your thread AC!!


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## Knave

I am going to have to look on Pandora and see what I can find @egrogan.


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## ACinATX

I rode Pony today with the thought of figuring out a better two-point position if I have to keep riding Rowan that way. Maybe once we start trotting in the arena, which is quite large, his trot will become easier to post, but I want to be able to do a better two-point just in case.

So we did a lot of work on the lunge line. Pony wasn't happy about that, and he also kept trying to chase the instructor's dog, who was running around in circles as well. She eventually had to tie the dog up, and then he got better. He was feeling pretty grumpy about it for a while, though. I had to post, then stand, I mean fully stand up, then lower myself back into two-point by sticking my hips out back. That was pretty hard. Also I was doing it with no hands. Which I guess you would, in a lunge-line lesson. I can't believe it was just last year where I couldn't get myself to take my hands off the reins at a trot.

After all of that, the posting trot around the arena was super easy. I also felt way better about my two-point position. 

After that we cantered, and I experimented with different rein positions at the canter. It turns out he likes a wide opening outside rein and hates a strong inside rein. Well, I guess I don't know if he LIKES the wide opening outside rein, but his canter was much better when I did that. She said it was because he not only canters on the forehand but canters heavy on his inside foot, and this at least shifts his weight out a bit. He doesn't go well when I hold the reins high, but he does when I hold them low. I also learned that probably one reason he's stiff and bracy in the neck is that when I use inside rein I don't use a proportionally giving outside rein. So I will definitely work on that.

However, this is part of why I hate tack. It is so complicated. It just reminds me that I can't use it very well. I guess I can hope to get better. I will say that after probably my fiftyeth reading about the rein aids, I think I have a good understanding of what they do, mostly.

After the lesson I did some in-hand stuff with Rowan and then came back to do in-hand stuff with Pony. It's just the same stuff I started Rowan with -- one step forward, stop, one step back, stop, etc. Pony gets a little grumpy when he doesn't know the answer, and he gets really excited when he does ("Treat now!!!!"). He isn't as deliberate as Rowan. But I'd like to keep doing this with him and see where it takes us -- it's certainly taken me and Rowan really far.


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## ACinATX

We put Moonshine out in the pony pasture today. Just for an hour, to see how it went. It went great. She seemed as happy as she's been since she got injured. She had some interactions with the other horses that kind of puzzled me, but, you know, mares, eh? Who really understands them? I mean, I just feel like geldings are really straightforward. I still don't understand mares.

She met W, the horse who has been put into that pasture, and let him smell her butt for a while then kicked him. The first time was an air kick, and the second one, I heard it connect. It didn't really bother him, though.

I'll be out there again for the farrier tomorrow and I'll put her out again to make sure this time wasn't a fluke. Then I think I'm going to talk to the barn owner and see if we can put her out there in the daytime, and then be in her stall at night.

ETA: I forgot to mention I rode Pony right after I rode Rowan. I worked with him on getting him to line himself up at the mounting block like Rowan does, and I remember looking down thinking, "Wow this guy is SHORT" LOL. Then when I went to actually get on him, I felt like I was positioning myself weird just to mount him from the mounting block. Like I had never realized how short he is and how tall the mounting block. For a moment, I couldn't figure out how to even get on him, even though I've gotten on him from there many many times.

I think I still prefer pony size to horse size.


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## ACinATX

The farrier came out today. A really nice thing is, Teddy was totally chill. OK I _was_ feeding him some alfalfa pellets, but still. By the time the farrier was on his third hoof, I put the lead rope over Teddy's neck and just stood there with him. He thought about walking off one time, and that was it. The farrier and I also stood there talking for a bit between the third and fourth hooves, and normally Teddy would be trying to escape at that point, but he just stood there nicely.

The farrier was very complimentary of Pony's hooves. He said they were "one percent hooves," which I understood to mean they are in the top one percent of hooves in terms of quality. Of course he could have meant the opposite LOL.

Poor Pony. Rather than leaving him in his stall, I've been putting him in the small paddock next to the arena. Both today and yesterday, as I was riding Rowan and praising him and giving him treats, Pony nickered to me. That's why I worked with him a bit yesterday -- I thought he would enjoy it. And he did. 

I didn't put Moonshine out in the pasture today because she had just gotten trimmed and there are some rocky areas. But I will text the barn owner and ask her if she would be OK with putting her out there in the daytime.

I didn't spend a lot of time out there today. I had to go and get some feed, and also the pollen count has been high lately. Tomorrow is my last day off work, so I will go out there then as well.


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## ACinATX

I put Moonshine out in the pasture today. I did it before I realized it had rained. I like to think of myself as an observant person, but today when I got to the barn and noticed big puddles in the driveway I thought, "Who left the hose running?" And when Rowan came in all covered with mud, I thought "Where did you find a place to get muddy?" And when Moonshine's tiny paddock was all wet, I thought "Hmm, that's a lot of dew." LOL. In my defense, it didn't rain where we are, not at all, so I guess I just assumed it didn't rain out there either. By the time I realized it actually had rained, I was already on the way to putting her out. (I mention this because I was planning on turning her out only when it's dry).

I talked to the barn owner and the groom and asked for her to be out in the daytime.

She was fine. She actually was walking around with a nice working walk, so I think she felt good to be someplace big. She got in one little fight with W and Ch, but I was there on the other side of the fence and said "Guys... really? Can you knock it off?" in my beleagured mom voice, and it totally worked! Then later she was out in the middle of the pasture at the hay feeder and Pony was threatening to run her off. So I told him to quit it and he did! But then I think he realized I was far away, because he went back to it. So I went out there and stood between them for a while. After that they were fine. Then after a while I turned out Teddy also. Look, I got a picture of all of them eating together! That's Pony S that you can also see there. He is looking sad because Teddy isn't going to let him in (notice Moonshine has positioned herself between Teddy and Pony). I'm glad Teddy and Pony are still good with Moonshine, and that she seems to have retained her position out there. Except... Pony S is trying to creep in on her. He pinned his ears at her a couple of times today. I was like "Kick him, Moonshine!" but she didn't.

I read something today that I took as a compliment. The person was writing about sending your horse to a trainer and said something like "A person's horses are a reflection on who they are." The idea being, if all or most of the horses at the trainers seem worried and afraid of people, you should run, not walk, away from there. So I tried to think, what words would apply to all of my horses? Answer: they are all trusting of people, calm, level-headed, and amenable. They didn't all come to me that way, either. So I thought, "this lady is complimenting me" LOL. I will say that two of them are maybe too friendly and none of them respect my personal space unless I make them (although Rowan, believe it or not, is getting to be the best out of all of them). So they aren't perfect by any means. But they are good. I know this isn't a journal for Rowan, but he out of all of them... I could almost feel him trying to change himself to be who he thought I wanted him to be. But all of them are good.

For those who read this journal and have multiple horses, I was wondering, do you have any descriptions that would apply to all of your horses?


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## gottatrot

ACinATX said:


> For those who read this journal and have multiple horses, I was wondering, do you have any descriptions that would apply to all of your horses?


That's wonderful your horses have all improved and come so far. I think you've done great.

I do agree that our horses are a reflection of who we are. But I don't think you can necessarily look at a horse at a moment in time and think that tells you about the owner. Sometimes, yes, and I agree if all or most of a trainer's horses appear distressed, it is a very bad sign. Unless, of course, they have chosen to work with remedial type horses. The Denny Emerson book I've been reading points out that even working on being calm in one small area of resistance can take months for some horses. It takes as long as it takes. I think it is also very important to look at the trainer and how they are responding to the horses. Are they upset, rigid, over reacting, punishing? Or do they respond calmly, softly and with excellent timing? 

I've been out with Halla or Hero when they were fiery and upset, and had people tell me that showed I was nervous or high strung. Those are traits that very rarely can describe me. I think more telling is if you look at horses and see if they have improved over time. If a horse came to a person a distressed and traumatized mess, is that horse becoming calm(er), happi(er), and in general improving? Since I've dealt with horses that others have passed on due to less than stellar temperaments, my goals have often related more to improvement than perfection. 

So I'd say what applies to all my horses is that they have improved over time in manners, attitude, and positive feelings about humans.


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## knightrider

ACinATX said:


> For those who read this journal and have multiple horses, I was wondering, do you have any descriptions that would apply to all of your horses?


I found your idea extremely interesting, as well as @gottatrot's evaluation. I have been buying (or being given) horses since I was 12, and that's a long time and a bunch of horses. I use a sixth sense to choose a horse and haven't been wrong yet, so I suppose my herd isn't a good scientific variable. I only choose horses that I know I will love and get along with beautifully.

Like Gotta, my horses have been very very different over the years, but all perfectly suited to me. Some were locomotives that were extremely difficult to stop. Some stopped just by my thinking about it. Some were super high powered and some were extremely placid. Since I usually buy unbroken colts, I don't often know how they are going to turn out. I just know that I am going to love how they turned out.

So . . . let's think about what they all had in common. I tend to be a quiet, calm person, so an excitable horse tends to calm down. Only a few of my horses were hot hot hot, and by the end of their lives, they were not much hot anymore.
I do miles and miles of trail riding, so they all have been good on trails. They tend to move out readily and go faster with either a touch of my heel or just me thinking about it. They tend to be good for people learning to ride because I like to share my horses and to see people learn to ride. They tend to be good with kids because I LOOOOVE kids. Most of the time they start out as babies and end up dead. I don't like selling horses.

I can't say how many horses I have owned because some of them I only "owned" for a short time. I have bought project horses in the past, some diamonds in the rough I thought I could rehabilitate and pass on to a better life. Some were given to me and I just had to find better homes for them when I knew they weren't "meant to be mine." One horse I got for $200, such a dandy cute little Paso Fino, and sold after an hour and a half. I don't think that should count as my "owning" him. For the most part, I don't like taking on projects, but being into horses for a lifetime, I ended up with some from time to time.


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## Knave

I think about this sometimes too. One day this woman was over because I gave her little a trick riding lesson. Zeus was the horse she used, and the little white dog Pig was running around. They are goofy friendly animals, and they are little girl’s animals.

My Queen was tied up, and a Junie B had been out but needed locked up. It was before I knew how edgy Junie would be (she was a puppy), but she was fairly clear about it. Anyways, the woman eventually laughed when she looked over at my angry Queen. “Do you notice how Pig and Zeus act? They act the same. She’s a lot like that herself. Then look at your Junie B and that colt. They are both really mean animals. Does that say anything about you?”

I thought a lot about that. My favorite horses, besides Sassy, were mean spirited. They are handy, and they are good to me, but you have to watch them if you are someone else. I don’t think I’m mean! Yet, after a lot of consideration around the time, I realized something I thought might be the reasoning.

People scare me. I don’t want them to, but they do. I’m really uncomfortable with people. I’m overly close to the animals I am attached to. I wonder if they sense my discomfort and assume I have a good reason, and therefor they dislike other people. They are dangerous.

Sometimes I think deeply about that. Sometimes our own anxiety makes us dangerous. Bones displays that easily on the side of the mountain. His anxiety is the only reason we are in danger. My anxiety is my own demon to work through I suppose, but I do wonder if my animals show that, rather than any natural level of meanness, it is protectiveness.


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## boatagor

Knave said:


> I think about this sometimes too. One day this woman was over because I gave her little a trick riding lesson. Zeus was the horse she used, and the little white dog Pig was running around. They are goofy friendly animals, and they are little girl’s animals.
> 
> My Queen was tied up, and a Junie B had been out but needed locked up. It was before I knew how edgy Junie would be (she was a puppy), but she was fairly clear about it. Anyways, the woman eventually laughed when she looked over at my angry Queen. “Do you notice how Pig and Zeus act? They act the same. She’s a lot like that herself. Then look at your Junie B and that colt. They are both really mean animals. Does that say anything about you?”
> 
> I thought a lot about that. My favorite horses, besides Sassy, were mean spirited. They are handy, and they are good to me, but you have to watch them if you are someone else. I don’t think I’m mean! Yet, after a lot of consideration around the time, I realized something I thought might be the reasoning.
> 
> People scare me. I don’t want them to, but they do. I’m really uncomfortable with people. I’m overly close to the animals I am attached to. I wonder if they sense my discomfort and assume I have a good reason, and therefor they dislike other people. They are dangerous.
> 
> Sometimes I think deeply about that. Sometimes our own anxiety makes us dangerous. Bones displays that easily on the side of the mountain. His anxiety is the only reason we are in danger. My anxiety is my own demon to work through I suppose, but I do wonder if my animals show that, rather than any natural level of meanness, it is protectiveness.


I wonder about this sometimes with my dog Dodger and his major reactivity to people coming here. I don't really want anyone showing up at my house unannounced and he obviously feels the same. He always immediately calms down and wants to love on them, but acts like he will tear their throats out when they first show up. Honestly, now that we are back in this wooded hollow all by ourselves, I like the way he acts. My husband doesn't, but he's never lived life as a small woman and the fear that comes with that. He's traveling a lot with his new job and I'm often here alone for days with the kids. I probably need to also get a gun or two, but I don't really like guns.


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## Knave

It’s weird for me @boatagor. I’m not physically afraid of people. I feel protected certainly with Junie B and guns, and a sense of awareness. Honestly I drive my husband crazy because I am not afraid so much physically. Yet, I don’t know what I’m afraid of. It’s really stupid honestly. I’m afraid to do something wrong. I guess I’m afraid they will hurt my feelings. Lol! Stupidest thing ever!


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## boatagor

Knave said:


> It’s weird for me @boatagor. I’m not physically afraid of people. I feel protected certainly with Junie B and guns, and a sense of awareness. Honestly I drive my husband crazy because I am not afraid so much physically. Yet, I don’t know what I’m afraid of. It’s really stupid honestly. I’m afraid to do something wrong. I guess I’m afraid they will hurt my feelings. Lol! Stupidest thing ever!


Well that's definitely a different kind of fear for me, but I have it too! I'm physically afraid of people, because I am not strong or fast or anything. When I was a teenager a lot of my guy friends thought it was funny to just randomly pick me up and carry me around. It was funny, sometimes, but really it kinda instilled this idea in me that if someone wanted to overpower me, there's not much I can do because men especially are always bigger and way stronger than I am. I went to the police academy after and even with working out and everything, when we were sparring or whatever, I couldn't even win against the smallest guys. That's one of the reasons I didn't make it as an officer!


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## Knave

I had that realization come to me the hard way once @boatagor. I’m physically decently strong and fit, and I think I have decided to learn from that event rather than cater to it I suppose. I figure I’d be about as dangerous as Junie B. Lol


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## carshon

It's an interesting concept. I have owned many many horses in my lifetime. I come from a "horsey" family and like @knightrider I have been given or purchased horses that many would pass by. Those with "issues" or unique personalities. Most of my horses could be defined as 1 person horses. I'm not sure how that happens for me - but it does. My current riding horse Tillie is not a people horse - at all. She does not approach anyone in the pasture or her run. She is selective about who can put her fly mask on etc. My husband and daughter joke that if something happens to me she will turn feral, as she only likes me. But most of the horses I really bond to have been like that - so it must just be the way it is supposed to be!


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## ACinATX

I had a good lesson on Pony yesterday. We worked on trot-canter transitions. We had one really nice one to the right where he had impulsion and a bit of collection in the trot, and when he picked up the canter it was wonderful. It was like a coil of energy went out from him but the canter wasn't out of control or fast -- it was really nice and smooth and balanced. The instructor took a video, but not of that one unfortunately. This was him going left, which is his worse direction. Also she texted me the video so the quality is terrible. But I do think we're doing better.

It was a muggy 70-or-so degrees, and he was sweaty afterwards. Mostly he was sweaty from the trot -- we really worked on getting a very good trot, with lots of impulsion. I sponged him off and afterwards he was steaming! This is the time of year when I start asking myself if I want to partially clip him. 

After the sponging and sweat-scraping, he gave himself a well-deserved roll in the grass. For once I got pictures!

Moonshine has been back out in the pasture for almost a week now, after getting a trim, and she exfoliated a lot of sole in her fronts. I mean a LOT! That pasture is a bit rocky in places. But she seems like she feels fine. I did put some Keratex on her though. She still seems like she's happier out there, so that makes me happier also. She also seems to have re-established her dominance over Pony S. Pony S also got called out by W -- I mean W called his bluff and Pony S lost. So Pony S is only the boss of C now. Sorry, I enjoy my pasture drama!

Today I rode him briefly bareback. I was really happy with his working walk until he unexpectedly picked up the trot and I almost fell off LOL. We were in the jumping arena where the sand is really deep so he gets a bouncy trot in there. I survived by hanging onto his neck until I could reposition myself on his back. I don't think that really endeared me to him, though, LOL. In my defense of almost falling off at the trot, you have to understand that he's super slippery. 
This is the video of our left canter. Like I said, the quality is terrible. But you can see that he can actually have a very nice trot when he tries.


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## ACinATX

This is a link to a better- quality video:


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## dogpatch

ACinATX said:


> This is a link to a better- quality video:


Date? (1/7/22)


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## ACinATX

dogpatch said:


> Date? (1/7/22)


Oops! Fixed! Thank you!


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