Cow horses

Can't I go in there?

We had an awesome day today. Lena got to help with real cows and Calabar got to show people even crazy ex-racehorses can stare down a cow or two. Or seven. Maybe more, I lost count.

Getting the two of them in the trailer this morning was a bit of a challenge, but we prevailed. ("Why are we leaving? We like it here??")

Then we rolled down the road about an hour to the other property in Jamestown to see if Lena remembered cows and if Calabar could deal with cows. (Racetracks, after all, don't have a lot of cows wandering around.)

I was only a tiny bit nervous. I mean, what could go wrong besides everything?

It turns out my horse is a budding cow horse in racehorse clothing. Who knew? Oh, right. He did.

The first thing they got to do is run loose in the huge, round custom arena Ike had built specifically for cow work. The outer arena (all welded pipe) is 150 feet across, with the cattle pens attached to the back side. The cattle pens then open directly into the inner arena, which is 80 x 100 feet, and can be closed off to work cattle inside.

It's awesome. The footing is deep sand and the big sprinkler was going around overhead like a big, soggy, automatic lunge whip. Lena and Bar took off together racing each other and the sprinkler. They were beautiful and graceful, breathtaking to watch. Did I have my camera? No. I did go back down to the truck to get it, but by then they were mostly done blowing off steam and rolling, except for one full speed dash by the ex-racehorse that I was too slow to catch. Besides, I think that would be akin to stealing his spirit and the photo would never have done it justice in any case. Or so I tell myself, anyway.

Then Ike had us take them up to where they could see the cows from the other side of the fence. Bar blew a little, but didn't spook or move away, so the next step was to take them in with the cows--all still with Steve and I on the ground leading our respective equines. Lena went right in, of course, and headed right to the middle of the herd without batting an eye. Bar walked in with me fine, and the cows obligingly moved away from the big, brown horse. He and I stopped and watched Lena, then Ike had Steve and Lena push a couple cows towards us to see what Bar would do. Stood like a rock, did he, and so he and I walked forward driving the cows back to the herd.

We took them back down to the trailer and saddled up, then went back up to the nifty arena, working alongside Cheri, Tiffany, and Linda (another Slide devotee) as they warmed up the other horses.

The other new thing for Bar (besides the bovine component) was being around this many new horses all at once and not being on the racetrack. Surely the various spotted horses gave him some comfort, and I was able to keep him mellow and trotting even when other horses came loping up behind him. We only had a couple minor arguments about it--particularly when Lena would lope on around him--but I wanted him to listen to me instead of going along with the crowd and he did.

Ike on Tango

Then it was time to work cows. Calabar, Lena, Steve, and me were initially relegated to the outside of the inner arena and I took a few pictures before nervous glances from Cheri and Steve made me put away the camera so I could be sure to hold on if anything happened. Safety before journalism, I guess.

The very first time a cow came close to us on the other side of the fence, Calabar proved I didn't have to worry. He arched his neck, dropped his head, and stared that cow right in the eye. He blew a little too, just for emphasis. The cow chose to go the other direction.

Lena just wanted to get into the action, and got to the next set of cows.

Cowboy Steve and Lena on the other side of the fence

While Steve held the right corner and Cheri held the left, Calabar and I worked the railing from our side. He never once stepped away, he never once spooked. Every time a cow came close, that big neck arched, that head dropped, and the cow went the other way. The ear pinning came next. I think he was watching the cutting horses and saw he was missing that part. He even banged himself on the fence once going for a cow.

At one point, while I was still in the saddle, he started to twitch and shiver. I got worried he wasn't feeling well and immediately got off to check him. He was fine and the general consensus was he'd built up a lot of nervous energy from so much new stuff and it had to go somewhere. I'm awfully glad it didn't go into bucking or spooking, but I opted to stay on the ground as his cow back-up after that. (Besides, then I could take pictures.)

Calabar after the energy release with me on the ground at the end of his lead rope

After the trained horses had worked, Lena and Rain got their chance. Rain is owned by long-time Slide friends Dave and Linda. Linda and Steve started out cutting each other, which involved what would have been impressive horse ballet if it were planned as well as much laughter. Calabar was dozing a little at this point, since there were no scary cows to worry about.

Cow horse ballet by Lena and Rain

Then Lena and Steve got to work a real cow all by themselves. As long a day as it had been for us so far, Lena and Steve did a great job and learned a lot about working together mentally as well as physically.

Lena Rey the fierce. "Run, cow, run!"

What an amazing day. Lena had so much fun and Calabar proved with a cow-horse worthy glint in his eye that ex-racehorses can do more than just run fast.

So proud of Lena. So proud of Bar. So proud of Steve and me, too.

Slide Mountain Revisited

Steve and I went back up to Slide Mountain Ranch for a quickie weekend and realized just how much we missed being up here.

Slide is where Lena came from, and the people and place that got us far enough to want to have horses in our lives. And not just horses but interesting, curious, fun, energetic, horses.

Thank goodness for Slide and Lena or I might have had a much harder time staying with Bar through all of our troubles.



I got to ride Lena's half brother Eclipse, which is a pretty special thing. I wrote a post about him a few years ago, calling him the horse ambassador. He is now 26 and has slowed down some from when I first met him, but don't tell him that. He still teaches his rider with every step, and my lesson was to pay attention and not assume just because he is the best horse on the property, he won't try to eat the veggies growing in the garden. Cheri is worried he's starting to develop Cushing's disease, which can happen to older horses. He may be, but he was still willing and eager to come out and play and even thought maybe we should head out on the trail instead of getting a bath.



I also got to handle Dandy, who was the first horse I ever rode at Slide. She is a Paint mare and one of their best trail horses. Calm and steady, willing to go over or through just about anything. She's the horse that, after we had loped (read galloped) up a hill with me clinging on for dear life and yet laughing the whole time, Ike turned to me and told me to trot through the creek because "that horse likes to roll in the water."

About a year ago, Dandy had a bad accident while tied up that lead to some serious neurological problems. They nursed her until she was more stable, then turned her out with their other horses on their 100-acre ranch and watched as she regained her coordination. She is not as confident as I remember her, but she is back to bossing around the small herd she's with, so that is a good sign. Steve rode her very gently because she is still getting back into shape, and then we took her down to have a bath. She was a little apprehensive about being near the hitching rail, and you can't tie her, yet, so I spent a lot of time just talking to her and hitting some of the acupressure points I could reach. Finally, standing in the sun after her bath, she dropped her head and cocked a back leg and just hung out there with me like that for awhile. Pretty cool.



Slide has a whole crop of new youngsters they are really excited about, too. Mia, a 4-year old Paint mare; BB, a 3-year old nearly coal black mare; Elvis, a 2-year old Paint gelding; and two other young geldings whose pictures I got (above), but names I did not. I could recite which foal came from which mare, but I'll refrain. Cheri is working a lot with BB Cat, who I remember as a tiny little orphan, but has turned into a beauty. Her personality reminds me a little of Lena's--won't hold still and thinks you are obviously there just to pay attention to her--but she's a fun and interesting horse and I'm looking forward to seeing how things go with her.



These two little colts pictured below were also a hoot. I haven't been around many babies, at least not with a significant amount of horsemanship under my belt. These two were so curious, so interested in everything I was doing, I felt like I needed horse eyes to keep track of both of them. As it was, I used my arms and kept my head swiveling as best I could.



Steve also got to ride one of Lena's other half brothers, Junior. He acts a lot like Lena and is a really awesome trail horse. The trails Ike has built behind Slide are definitely challenging in some spots, but wonderful for making horses slow down and think about their feet. It really made me wish I had brought Bar because both Junior and Cloud, the horse I was riding, have downhill worked out really well and Bar could use a little tutoring in that department. (Not surprising--racetracks don't have a lot of up and downhill, after all.)



I also love knowing more about where Lena came from and seeing a horse like Eclipse--so similar in personality--still wanting to come out and play at age 26! Their dam, Buttercup, was apparently quite the horse. The picture below is of Buttercup as a yearling, and is a little distorted because it was taken in the semi-dark at an angle of a picture that hangs in the bunkhouse, then cropped to cut the frame out. But, hey, it kind of worked! You can certainly see where Lena gets her build and her beauty. I can't tell, though, if Buttercup gave Lena those wonderful, curly, expressive ears.



It may seem weird to go on vacation to ride other horses, but I came back with a renewed faith in myself as a horse-woman, and some new ideas for working with Bar. I also came back knowing we have a place to take Bar and Lena that will not only accept us, but help us be better horse people. That means a lot to me.

I also got to check out where my daughter Katie would be staying when she goes up to work for Ike and Cheri this month. I'm almost jealous! It will be an interesting and once-in-a-lifetime experience for Katie and I am so glad to know people who can offer that to her.

That's a lot for one post, but it was a lot to cram into three short days. The next trip will definitely be a little longer and include Bar and Lena. I wonder if that means the next post will be twice as long? Maybe so.

Slide Mountain Ranch TV clip

Slide was featured on a show called California Heartland last week! Pretty cool clip, and a good look at how fun their horses are and (IMO) how well they can take you from tenderfoot to a lope in just a few hours.

Here is a link to the clip.

Really makes me miss them and riding up at Slide!

Another fan of Slide Mountain Ranch

Cheri from Slide Mountain, where Lena came from, sent me an email reminding me they are going to be featured on California Heartland on KVIE Monday night, November 17th, at 7:30 p.m. There is a preview of the episode at the link, and the broadcast schedule can be found here. I hope we get KVIE, or I'll have figure out how to tape the show when it airs on KQED Thursday at 2:30 p.m.!

She also sent me a link to another blogger who is a fan of theirs - In the Nicker of Time. I added my own comments to her piece about Slide, of course.

Just wanted to give a shout out to the folks at Slide, since we wouldn't be where we are with our wild and crazy horses without them. And that's a good thing!

p.s. Looks like I might be able to watch the episode online when they post it here. Phew!