It was a very good October with my horses. Pie's treatment for Lyme disease started and he's been at the full dose for a little more than two weeks - we have two weeks to go. His grumpiness and soreness is already much improved, and he's moving very well. Red's rehab is progressing very well so far, and he's able to do a fair amount of continuous trot work and is using his hind end well again. Dawn continues to be wonderful. Who could ask for more?
I try to ride each of my horses five times a week, with two days off. The routine I've developed is to ride Dawn from Saturday through Wednesday, and give her Thursday and Friday off, and to ride Red and Pie from Sunday through Thursday, with Friday and Saturday off - this means that Friday is a non-riding day for me, which means I can do other things during the day and then just stop by in the afternoon to check on the horses and pick feet. If I manage to ride each horse 5 times a week, each horse will have 21 or 22 rides per average month, depending on such things as farrier, vet and chiro visits, and other commitments I may have - riding's pretty high on my list but occasionally I have to be somewhere else. Now that I have an indoor arena, the weather is no longer an issue, which has really improved my consistency.
October went well - Dawn had 21 rides, and Red and Pie had 23 each, although 7 of Red's rides were just at the walk as part of his rehab. That's a total of 67 rides - I'm a big believer that time in the saddle is a major factor in how well I ride, and how well my horses and I communicate and work together.
Today was a great conclusion to the month. Dawn and I had an excellent walk/trot ride in the indoor in the morning - I was working on her relaxation and riding the hind legs and she responded by very nicely bending into the corners. We didn't canter, because I wanted to solidify my work at the trot. Red and I had an excellent ride in the afternoon. His trot work was very good on both diagonals, and we were able to do a fair amount - this is the second day in a row he's done a good amount of trot work, and if he's still feeling good tomorrow, we'll do some more. We're working on gradually building up his stamina. Then Pie and I had an outstanding ride - we had the indoor to ourselves and were able to do a fair amount of cantering. His canter is really coming along rapidly - he can now sustain it much more easily and the softening and lightening of footfalls are really improving on both leads.
So that's it for October - now on to November - every day I go to the barn with a sense of excitement and delight in how wonderful my horses are and how privileged I am to have them and be able to ride them frequently. Our communication is deepening, day by day, and it's a great joy to me.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
What Do I Want from My Horses? (With Three Fabulous Rides)
I've spent most of the month of October considering the two challenges of riding all my horses the same, and developing my own style. This requires that I know what I want from my horses - how I want them to feel and respond, which results in how they look under saddle. I've ridden a lot in October, and I'm beginning to get a handle on this, and my horses are responding accordingly. (This post, and the others in this series, have been added to a new sidebar: Where We Are, and Where We're Going.)
Here's a practical example of where I'm going with this - the three rides I had today on Dawn, Red and Pie. Each horse is different, and we're working on slightly different things - tasks - in our rides, but it's really beginning to come down to the same thing with every horse in terms of the fundamentals - the tasks are just to-dos on top of the foundation that needs to be there. My horses are very good teachers - where we struggle - where there's an absence of feel between the horse and me - this is usually an area where I'm not sticking to the requirements for how I need to ride for the feel to be there on my end. If I offer the feel, the horses meet my challenge with astounding honesty and willingness.
My morning started with Dawn. It was 37F, with a howling wind and wind chills in the upper 20s, and the arena doors were wide open. Dawn had been wearing a lightweight blanket for turnout, but that came off for our ride. There was another horse in the ring, who was all amped up and rushing and pulling and radiating tension. Dawn was very alert, but paying attention to me as we led into the arena.
We just went about our business. I mounted up - Dawn stood on a loose rein. We did our walk warmup on a loose rein, and then moved up to trot, starting with very light contact on the reins. After a minute or two, we added some loose rein stretching down work to our trotting. Dawn was all business, relaxed but also forward. I need to work more on riding the hind legs with her - when I don't she tends to cut the corners. We also did some canter work - just plain beautiful - and then went back to our relaxed, forward trotting. I told Dawn what a wonderful mare she was.
In the afternoon I rode both Red and Pie and they were both fabulous as well, and both were lavishly praised. It was still very cold and windy. Red and I had a session with more trotting than we've done. He starts out a little stiff - I think we're dealing with some hock arthritis - but improves as he goes, until he gets tired. We did some very nice trot work - forward and engaged, with good softness. With him I need to work on not trapping him between my leg and hand, or moving my body, and riding his hind legs through feel instead - if I use too much leg he fusses and either slightly resists going forward or gives me a transition that is too big. If I use too much hand, he tends to go behind the bit. He's great at teaching me "just right". He's not as relaxed as Dawn in his work yet, and I need to focus more and relax more at the same time to give him this feel.
Pie was next. The ring was very crowded, and the big overhead doors to the barn aisles were going up and down as people came and went - none of my horses have any problem with this, although in Pie's and Red's case they've only just "met" the doors. Pie was attentive and forward and dealt with all the commotion and horses without batting an eye. He did some great trot work, including bending much better into the corners - I was paying attention to riding the hind legs instead of his head - and we finished with some lovely leg yield at trot back and forth through a line of cones down the center of the arena. His softness was excellent - it's really there now at the walk and trot, canter is still a work in process although he's been improving very rapidly.
So with that summary, and those examples of what we're working on, here's the outline of what I want from my horses and what I'm doing to get it - what I have to offer them to get them to offer me back what I want.
Relaxation and forward. Getting those two things, together, both working, is a wonderful thing. But what do those words mean? Relaxation: softness of the whole horse from jaw to tail, and down through the legs, where the core is engaged and the top line relaxed. But even more importantly, relaxation, and softness, are also mental - unperturbed concentration on the task at hand: calm in the midst of action - this comes from the inside of the horse. Forward comes from the hind end of the horse - horses are rear wheel drive. From forward comes engagement and quality of gaits, and this all feeds back into the horse being soft and relaxed. If you have these, you have everything. It's a lot more than mechnics, though - there's a specific feel of the whole horse as I ride that goes with all that, and I have a clear idea of what that feel is - we have it more and more often, the three of them and I.
What do I have to offer my horses, all of them, to get this consistency from them? I have to offer my own mental and physical relaxation and softness, and focus, so they can join me there. I have to ride the hind legs, by being part of the horse, and "in" the horse - riding from the inside of the horse, not just applying aids to the outside of the horse. There are some mechanics involved in all of this - a soft, following contact with zero pressure - just a live contact with the horse's mouth - that's a softness the horse can meet. I often ride with only the weight of the reins. Keeping my posture and body position neutral so I don't interfere with the motion. A soft, following seat. Going with the horse, and not blocking or bracing. Maintaining my focus and attention, and centered calmness. Feeling of the horse, and offering a feel back to the horse - it's a circle.
I know exactly the feel I want from my horses, and every day we get closer to being there, with the whole package. It starts with me, and my horses are teaching me what to do, every day and every ride.
Here's a practical example of where I'm going with this - the three rides I had today on Dawn, Red and Pie. Each horse is different, and we're working on slightly different things - tasks - in our rides, but it's really beginning to come down to the same thing with every horse in terms of the fundamentals - the tasks are just to-dos on top of the foundation that needs to be there. My horses are very good teachers - where we struggle - where there's an absence of feel between the horse and me - this is usually an area where I'm not sticking to the requirements for how I need to ride for the feel to be there on my end. If I offer the feel, the horses meet my challenge with astounding honesty and willingness.
My morning started with Dawn. It was 37F, with a howling wind and wind chills in the upper 20s, and the arena doors were wide open. Dawn had been wearing a lightweight blanket for turnout, but that came off for our ride. There was another horse in the ring, who was all amped up and rushing and pulling and radiating tension. Dawn was very alert, but paying attention to me as we led into the arena.
We just went about our business. I mounted up - Dawn stood on a loose rein. We did our walk warmup on a loose rein, and then moved up to trot, starting with very light contact on the reins. After a minute or two, we added some loose rein stretching down work to our trotting. Dawn was all business, relaxed but also forward. I need to work more on riding the hind legs with her - when I don't she tends to cut the corners. We also did some canter work - just plain beautiful - and then went back to our relaxed, forward trotting. I told Dawn what a wonderful mare she was.
In the afternoon I rode both Red and Pie and they were both fabulous as well, and both were lavishly praised. It was still very cold and windy. Red and I had a session with more trotting than we've done. He starts out a little stiff - I think we're dealing with some hock arthritis - but improves as he goes, until he gets tired. We did some very nice trot work - forward and engaged, with good softness. With him I need to work on not trapping him between my leg and hand, or moving my body, and riding his hind legs through feel instead - if I use too much leg he fusses and either slightly resists going forward or gives me a transition that is too big. If I use too much hand, he tends to go behind the bit. He's great at teaching me "just right". He's not as relaxed as Dawn in his work yet, and I need to focus more and relax more at the same time to give him this feel.
Pie was next. The ring was very crowded, and the big overhead doors to the barn aisles were going up and down as people came and went - none of my horses have any problem with this, although in Pie's and Red's case they've only just "met" the doors. Pie was attentive and forward and dealt with all the commotion and horses without batting an eye. He did some great trot work, including bending much better into the corners - I was paying attention to riding the hind legs instead of his head - and we finished with some lovely leg yield at trot back and forth through a line of cones down the center of the arena. His softness was excellent - it's really there now at the walk and trot, canter is still a work in process although he's been improving very rapidly.
So with that summary, and those examples of what we're working on, here's the outline of what I want from my horses and what I'm doing to get it - what I have to offer them to get them to offer me back what I want.
Relaxation and forward. Getting those two things, together, both working, is a wonderful thing. But what do those words mean? Relaxation: softness of the whole horse from jaw to tail, and down through the legs, where the core is engaged and the top line relaxed. But even more importantly, relaxation, and softness, are also mental - unperturbed concentration on the task at hand: calm in the midst of action - this comes from the inside of the horse. Forward comes from the hind end of the horse - horses are rear wheel drive. From forward comes engagement and quality of gaits, and this all feeds back into the horse being soft and relaxed. If you have these, you have everything. It's a lot more than mechnics, though - there's a specific feel of the whole horse as I ride that goes with all that, and I have a clear idea of what that feel is - we have it more and more often, the three of them and I.
What do I have to offer my horses, all of them, to get this consistency from them? I have to offer my own mental and physical relaxation and softness, and focus, so they can join me there. I have to ride the hind legs, by being part of the horse, and "in" the horse - riding from the inside of the horse, not just applying aids to the outside of the horse. There are some mechanics involved in all of this - a soft, following contact with zero pressure - just a live contact with the horse's mouth - that's a softness the horse can meet. I often ride with only the weight of the reins. Keeping my posture and body position neutral so I don't interfere with the motion. A soft, following seat. Going with the horse, and not blocking or bracing. Maintaining my focus and attention, and centered calmness. Feeling of the horse, and offering a feel back to the horse - it's a circle.
I know exactly the feel I want from my horses, and every day we get closer to being there, with the whole package. It starts with me, and my horses are teaching me what to do, every day and every ride.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
All Horse, All the Time: Three Stars
Some of you may have noted that my blog now has a subtitle: all horse, all the time. This is a joke (not really) in my family. My non-horsey husband (who does assist from time to time with hoof picking and even grooming from time to time when I am out of town) coined the phrase, I think.
Today was a wonderful day - it involved all horse, all the time, and all three horses were stars. It was an unusual day, weather-wise - the highs topped out in the upper 70sF with some wind - just plain beautiful, although the horses found it a bit warm now that their winter coats are coming in.
My day started with an outstanding ride on Dawn - we had the indoor to ourselves, which was lovely. If I kept my head up, my elbows to my sides and my posting just barely there, we had marvelous softening and engagement at the trot. Her canter work was also wonderful - she was round, and soft, and very forward. In fact she was beautifully forward in all gaits. We'd done some marvelous flying lead changes yesterday on the center line in both directions, and there was only one buck when she couldn't get her feet organized. So today we did no lead changes, just cantered the whole arena and some circles - her power and willingness always astound me.
Pie and I had the opportunity to go on a trail ride with another boarder, so we took it - he hasn't been out on the trail since before his Lyme diagnosis, a number of months ago. I had to fetch him from the far reaches of the pasture - he was at least a half mile from the barn and there was a lot of mud to wade through to get out there - but he came in willingly - usually I have to really urge him. On the trail, he was forward, and interested and just plain happy. He looked at a number of things, but was always willing to move forward when I asked. We had to negotiate a number of obstacles - the road we cross is under construction, with barrels and flags and at least a 12 inch step up to the pavement and the same down - but he took everything in stride and was willing and happy. There was a spring in his step, both coming and going, despite the heat - usually, coming home he is dragging and sluggish, but not today. He trotted along right next to the other horse without complaint, and was soft, soft, soft. This is so different from the sullen, tired, slow and crabby horse he has been recently that it's just amazing.
Poor Red only noticed Pie's absence as we were leaving for the trail ride - the trail goes along the pastures - he was calling for Pie, and when we came back, he came all the way to the pasture gate to wait for him and then they galloped off together.
In the afternoon, I had an outstanding ride on Red. We started out doing our walk and then trot work, and he was just plain slugging. It's hard to tell with a horse coming back from an injury if the "slows" are due to discomfort or just to habit - I've been very conservative in our work, but today he didn't seem sore, just sluggish, and I was having to use too much leg. I got my dressage whip, to be able to reinforce primary cues if necessary so as to not use too much leg, and what I got as a result - almost no use of the whip - was just plain wonderful. He apparently decided I was serious about working, and we got some wonderful trot sets all the way around the ring and also across the diagonal - his trot was powerful and engaged and forward, and his softness was suberb, and he was completely sound on both diagonals. It was like riding the wind, or like riding a river - the metaphor I sometimes use. We'll see how he is tomorrow, but it appears that Red is back - what a feeling.
So, all horse, all the time, and just plain wonderful!
Today was a wonderful day - it involved all horse, all the time, and all three horses were stars. It was an unusual day, weather-wise - the highs topped out in the upper 70sF with some wind - just plain beautiful, although the horses found it a bit warm now that their winter coats are coming in.
My day started with an outstanding ride on Dawn - we had the indoor to ourselves, which was lovely. If I kept my head up, my elbows to my sides and my posting just barely there, we had marvelous softening and engagement at the trot. Her canter work was also wonderful - she was round, and soft, and very forward. In fact she was beautifully forward in all gaits. We'd done some marvelous flying lead changes yesterday on the center line in both directions, and there was only one buck when she couldn't get her feet organized. So today we did no lead changes, just cantered the whole arena and some circles - her power and willingness always astound me.
Pie and I had the opportunity to go on a trail ride with another boarder, so we took it - he hasn't been out on the trail since before his Lyme diagnosis, a number of months ago. I had to fetch him from the far reaches of the pasture - he was at least a half mile from the barn and there was a lot of mud to wade through to get out there - but he came in willingly - usually I have to really urge him. On the trail, he was forward, and interested and just plain happy. He looked at a number of things, but was always willing to move forward when I asked. We had to negotiate a number of obstacles - the road we cross is under construction, with barrels and flags and at least a 12 inch step up to the pavement and the same down - but he took everything in stride and was willing and happy. There was a spring in his step, both coming and going, despite the heat - usually, coming home he is dragging and sluggish, but not today. He trotted along right next to the other horse without complaint, and was soft, soft, soft. This is so different from the sullen, tired, slow and crabby horse he has been recently that it's just amazing.
Poor Red only noticed Pie's absence as we were leaving for the trail ride - the trail goes along the pastures - he was calling for Pie, and when we came back, he came all the way to the pasture gate to wait for him and then they galloped off together.
In the afternoon, I had an outstanding ride on Red. We started out doing our walk and then trot work, and he was just plain slugging. It's hard to tell with a horse coming back from an injury if the "slows" are due to discomfort or just to habit - I've been very conservative in our work, but today he didn't seem sore, just sluggish, and I was having to use too much leg. I got my dressage whip, to be able to reinforce primary cues if necessary so as to not use too much leg, and what I got as a result - almost no use of the whip - was just plain wonderful. He apparently decided I was serious about working, and we got some wonderful trot sets all the way around the ring and also across the diagonal - his trot was powerful and engaged and forward, and his softness was suberb, and he was completely sound on both diagonals. It was like riding the wind, or like riding a river - the metaphor I sometimes use. We'll see how he is tomorrow, but it appears that Red is back - what a feeling.
So, all horse, all the time, and just plain wonderful!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Good Rides All Around
It was a beautiful day today - sunny and crisp with a bit of wind - and I managed to have three really fine rides.
Dawn was up first, and we had the indoor arena to ourselves. It was quite chilly, and she was very forward but also responsive. She did some very nice softening work at the trot, both shortened and lengthened, and then we did a good bit of canter work. We did a number of laps of the ring - there's one very deep area in the footing along part of one side, but we did fine by coming to the inside of that area. There was one point where we were cantering on the right lead - this is the lead she finds harder to maintain - where our circuit required us to come to the inside to avoid the deep spot - she did a flying lead change to the left lead, but because I was still thinking the feel of the right lead, she did a flying change back to the right lead after a single stride in left lead. A one tempi, if unintentional - the mare is seriously athletic. I should try some counter canter with her, although our indoor arena is too small and the turns too tight - we might be able to attempt it out in the field.
In the afternoon, Red and Pie got rides as well - they'd both had two days off. I rode Red first, so that we could be in arena immediately after it was dragged when the footing was at its best. We had a really fine ride in walk and trot - he's now trotting well all the way around the ring, including turns and diagonals. He still tires quickly and the downwards transitions aren't always good - sometimes he just lets go with the left hind rather than using it - but all in all his rehab is progressing really well. His trot just feels wonderful - it's great to be riding it again. I also got to lead him to the outdoor arena and we rode around there a bit at the walk - he managed the hills to and from very well with no hind leg dragging.
Pie and I also had a fine ride. We warmed up at the walk out in the pasture with its hills - it's quite a workout out there even at the walk, and then returned to the indoor for a very nice session in all three gaits. We were the only horse in the ring - it's not a very big ring so that's an advantage - and he did some very good shortening and lengthening work at the trot and we also did some nice canter work. His balance at the canter is improving in both leads, and we were able to make several circuits of the ring with him managing the corners well. He still tends to invert when cantering, but we did manage several moments of softness - that will come. After our ride, as we do every day, I fed him his evening grain with the addition of his 120 doxyclycline pills and a generous dressing of cocosoya oil - he gobbled everything up and licked his dish clean. We've been 7 days at the full dose - only another 23 days to go . . .
The weather's warming up over the next several days, so I expect there's more riding in my future . . .
Dawn was up first, and we had the indoor arena to ourselves. It was quite chilly, and she was very forward but also responsive. She did some very nice softening work at the trot, both shortened and lengthened, and then we did a good bit of canter work. We did a number of laps of the ring - there's one very deep area in the footing along part of one side, but we did fine by coming to the inside of that area. There was one point where we were cantering on the right lead - this is the lead she finds harder to maintain - where our circuit required us to come to the inside to avoid the deep spot - she did a flying lead change to the left lead, but because I was still thinking the feel of the right lead, she did a flying change back to the right lead after a single stride in left lead. A one tempi, if unintentional - the mare is seriously athletic. I should try some counter canter with her, although our indoor arena is too small and the turns too tight - we might be able to attempt it out in the field.
In the afternoon, Red and Pie got rides as well - they'd both had two days off. I rode Red first, so that we could be in arena immediately after it was dragged when the footing was at its best. We had a really fine ride in walk and trot - he's now trotting well all the way around the ring, including turns and diagonals. He still tires quickly and the downwards transitions aren't always good - sometimes he just lets go with the left hind rather than using it - but all in all his rehab is progressing really well. His trot just feels wonderful - it's great to be riding it again. I also got to lead him to the outdoor arena and we rode around there a bit at the walk - he managed the hills to and from very well with no hind leg dragging.
Pie and I also had a fine ride. We warmed up at the walk out in the pasture with its hills - it's quite a workout out there even at the walk, and then returned to the indoor for a very nice session in all three gaits. We were the only horse in the ring - it's not a very big ring so that's an advantage - and he did some very good shortening and lengthening work at the trot and we also did some nice canter work. His balance at the canter is improving in both leads, and we were able to make several circuits of the ring with him managing the corners well. He still tends to invert when cantering, but we did manage several moments of softness - that will come. After our ride, as we do every day, I fed him his evening grain with the addition of his 120 doxyclycline pills and a generous dressing of cocosoya oil - he gobbled everything up and licked his dish clean. We've been 7 days at the full dose - only another 23 days to go . . .
The weather's warming up over the next several days, so I expect there's more riding in my future . . .
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Their Trust Almost Breaks My Heart
Just think about how much trust our horses place in us - those of you who have adopted and worked with wild horses will know this even more than the rest of us, but it's really true of all horses. Those who have worked with horses who have been abused or neglected know this even more truely.
Just think about all the things we ask our horses to do, which they do willingly for us, and how much trust that takes -
we ask them to stand tied, or to stand still when ground tied - the ability to move is essential to the prey animal they are.
we ask them to hold their feet up for us, disabling their ability to move in case of danger.
we ask them to accept farrier work, or visits from the vet, often involving unpleasant poking with needles or worse.
we ask them to be haltered, and to lead and follow us - are we worthy of the trust to be their leader?
we ask them to trust us that they will be fed and cared for - are we worthy of that trust?
they enter the confined space of a horse trailer at our request and take long journeys with us to strange places.
we confront them with new tasks they do not understand at first, and new places, and even new horse herds and companions.
Just think of the trust it takes for a horse to let us do all those things, and more.
What made me think of this was my in-hand work with Red and Pie a few days ago. One of my fellow boarders has what I call a "victory stand" - it's like the round stand elephants stand on in the circus - it's made of heavy aluminum and has a non-slip top - it's probably at least a foot high. Red's apparently done some obstacle work in the past - he walks across a wooden platform just fine - so I tried him out with it first. With Red, there's still a bit of resistance in there - if you ask him to do something he'd rather not do, he can stall on you, or if he takes a mind to explore something or go somewhere you can be the last thing on his mind. There's no harm in any of that any more - he's not trying to dominate, take control or protect himself, he's just easily distracted and the connection/softness I have with him still comes and goes, but he comes back much more quickly now. So with the stand, I got a few minutes of resistance, but when he understood that it was important to me, he pawed heavily a few times to test the surface and then stepped right up and stood proudly with his front feet up until I asked him to back down.
Now Pie was a different case. He'd clearly never seen such a thing before. As I was leading him out of the back barn through the door into the arena, he saw the new object, and stopped, snorting. He thought about heading back the way he'd come but didn't - he came right through the door with no pulling on my part, just because I asked him to. And he immediately approached the object, snorting and glancing at me from time to time. As soon as he touched it and I praised him, he was no longer worried about it - that's my Pie! It took him a moment to figure out that I wanted him to step up on it. Once he understood what I wanted, it took him less time than Red to step up - he seemed comfortable because I was. It almost broke my heart - Pie is a horse who can be somewhat standoffish and hard to reach, but he looked to me for guidance and safety and was happy to do what I wanted - what more can you ask?
Just think about all the things we ask our horses to do, which they do willingly for us, and how much trust that takes -
we ask them to stand tied, or to stand still when ground tied - the ability to move is essential to the prey animal they are.
we ask them to hold their feet up for us, disabling their ability to move in case of danger.
we ask them to accept farrier work, or visits from the vet, often involving unpleasant poking with needles or worse.
we ask them to be haltered, and to lead and follow us - are we worthy of the trust to be their leader?
we ask them to trust us that they will be fed and cared for - are we worthy of that trust?
they enter the confined space of a horse trailer at our request and take long journeys with us to strange places.
we confront them with new tasks they do not understand at first, and new places, and even new horse herds and companions.
Just think of the trust it takes for a horse to let us do all those things, and more.
What made me think of this was my in-hand work with Red and Pie a few days ago. One of my fellow boarders has what I call a "victory stand" - it's like the round stand elephants stand on in the circus - it's made of heavy aluminum and has a non-slip top - it's probably at least a foot high. Red's apparently done some obstacle work in the past - he walks across a wooden platform just fine - so I tried him out with it first. With Red, there's still a bit of resistance in there - if you ask him to do something he'd rather not do, he can stall on you, or if he takes a mind to explore something or go somewhere you can be the last thing on his mind. There's no harm in any of that any more - he's not trying to dominate, take control or protect himself, he's just easily distracted and the connection/softness I have with him still comes and goes, but he comes back much more quickly now. So with the stand, I got a few minutes of resistance, but when he understood that it was important to me, he pawed heavily a few times to test the surface and then stepped right up and stood proudly with his front feet up until I asked him to back down.
Now Pie was a different case. He'd clearly never seen such a thing before. As I was leading him out of the back barn through the door into the arena, he saw the new object, and stopped, snorting. He thought about heading back the way he'd come but didn't - he came right through the door with no pulling on my part, just because I asked him to. And he immediately approached the object, snorting and glancing at me from time to time. As soon as he touched it and I praised him, he was no longer worried about it - that's my Pie! It took him a moment to figure out that I wanted him to step up on it. Once he understood what I wanted, it took him less time than Red to step up - he seemed comfortable because I was. It almost broke my heart - Pie is a horse who can be somewhat standoffish and hard to reach, but he looked to me for guidance and safety and was happy to do what I wanted - what more can you ask?
Monday, October 15, 2012
Happy Retired Horses
Just for fun today, a selection of recent photo of the retirees, living down at Paradigm Farms in Tennessee - photos thanks to Melissa! (Can't make the small ones any larger without them fuzzing up.) Maisie's in her late teens, but couldn't stay sound when being ridden, although she's doing well in retirement. Lily developed heaves in her late teens, but that's pretty much a non-issue now that she's on 24/7 turnout in in a better climate. Lily's now in her mid-20s, I'd guess, and has Cushings, but it's controlled by medication. Norman the pony had had a hard life before we got him, and although he's perfectly sound and only in his early 20s, we weren't going to sell him on - he needed a forever home.
Here's Maisie in all her beautiousness:
Maisie and Lily enjoying some grazing together:
Norman the pony going somewhere with purpose:
Lily and Maisie love to groom:
Lily on the left with a pony friend:
Norman stretching up to groom a bigger pony:
It always makes me happy to see how good they all look, and how well cared for - I always tell Jason and Melissa that they take better care of my retired horses than I ever could!
Norman the pony going somewhere with purpose:
Lily and Maisie love to groom:
Lily on the left with a pony friend:
Norman stretching up to groom a bigger pony:
It always makes me happy to see how good they all look, and how well cared for - I always tell Jason and Melissa that they take better care of my retired horses than I ever could!
Friday, October 12, 2012
This and That
I had good rides on all three horses today - tomorrow everyone will get a day off as it's my music day.
I rode Dawn in the early morning, and had the arena to myself. It was a lovely day, although cold, so we made an excursion to the outdoor, although only briefly, as she found the footing a little hard - it hadn't been dragged in a few days. So we went back inside and had a very nice walk/trot/canter ride - good stretching down and decent relaxation. We both enjoyed it, I think.
In the afternoon, I rode Red first. This was our first two days in row trot ride. After a good 10-minute warm up at walk, we did a trot set of only straight lines. His trot was the best it's been in a long time - fluid and forward. I had done a lot of muscle massage with him before we rode, and interestingly enough, he really wanted his right hind - not the leg that's been the main problem - massaged. After the trot set, he really wanted to go outside, so I led him down the steep hill and back up the hill to the outdoor arena. He managed the hill really well - no foot dragging - and we mounted back up and I rode him in the outdoor for a few minutes at the walk. He'd only been ridden out there once before, but did very well despite the cold, windy conditions and another horse cantering around. We led back to the indoor after that and did another trot set. After that he was getting tired - the left hind was starting to shorten up, so we stopped there. I've upped his aspirine (I use Aspirease) to twice a day to see if that improves his soundness - if it's a hock arthritic issue that may help.
We got the results of Red's second EPM blood test back - he's still 2/2/2, which likely means that his episode of neurological symptoms was an inflammatory event rather than a new infection. Whatever it was, it seems to have responded to the levamisole in the Oroquin-10 medication, which is an anti-inflamatory. We don't have the results of his C reactive protein level test yet - this is a non-specific test for inflammation. It'll be interesting to see what it shows. I'm encouraged that he started out today even better than yesterday even though we trotted two days in a row. Keeping fingers crossed that our rehab is progressing.
Pie and I rode mainly outside today in the pasture with two other boarders, and did lots of trot and canter work. Pie was very forward and moving the best he's done since I've had him - really big, engaged trot and canter, and seemed delighted to do it. His personality transplant continues to impress - he's interactive, and sweet and just plain a delight to be around, and he's vacuuming up his doxyclycline pills without any problem (the cocosoya oil is a big help with that) - we're up to 90 pills and keeping a close eye on his manure, which remains soft but not loose.
It was a very good day with horses!
I rode Dawn in the early morning, and had the arena to myself. It was a lovely day, although cold, so we made an excursion to the outdoor, although only briefly, as she found the footing a little hard - it hadn't been dragged in a few days. So we went back inside and had a very nice walk/trot/canter ride - good stretching down and decent relaxation. We both enjoyed it, I think.
In the afternoon, I rode Red first. This was our first two days in row trot ride. After a good 10-minute warm up at walk, we did a trot set of only straight lines. His trot was the best it's been in a long time - fluid and forward. I had done a lot of muscle massage with him before we rode, and interestingly enough, he really wanted his right hind - not the leg that's been the main problem - massaged. After the trot set, he really wanted to go outside, so I led him down the steep hill and back up the hill to the outdoor arena. He managed the hill really well - no foot dragging - and we mounted back up and I rode him in the outdoor for a few minutes at the walk. He'd only been ridden out there once before, but did very well despite the cold, windy conditions and another horse cantering around. We led back to the indoor after that and did another trot set. After that he was getting tired - the left hind was starting to shorten up, so we stopped there. I've upped his aspirine (I use Aspirease) to twice a day to see if that improves his soundness - if it's a hock arthritic issue that may help.
We got the results of Red's second EPM blood test back - he's still 2/2/2, which likely means that his episode of neurological symptoms was an inflammatory event rather than a new infection. Whatever it was, it seems to have responded to the levamisole in the Oroquin-10 medication, which is an anti-inflamatory. We don't have the results of his C reactive protein level test yet - this is a non-specific test for inflammation. It'll be interesting to see what it shows. I'm encouraged that he started out today even better than yesterday even though we trotted two days in a row. Keeping fingers crossed that our rehab is progressing.
Pie and I rode mainly outside today in the pasture with two other boarders, and did lots of trot and canter work. Pie was very forward and moving the best he's done since I've had him - really big, engaged trot and canter, and seemed delighted to do it. His personality transplant continues to impress - he's interactive, and sweet and just plain a delight to be around, and he's vacuuming up his doxyclycline pills without any problem (the cocosoya oil is a big help with that) - we're up to 90 pills and keeping a close eye on his manure, which remains soft but not loose.
It was a very good day with horses!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)