Mares

I love owning a mare. I know. I'm weird. Geldings are calmer, steadier, more affectionate, and generally better choices for new riders like us. I read somewhere that with a gelding, you're always dealing with the same quirks, but a mare invents new ones all the time. That's been true so far with Lena, but I can't really say I would want it any other way.

As we get to thinking about horse number two and what we want, there is a logical assumption that we consider a gelding - a nice, calming influence on Lena - and part of me thinks that might be a good idea.

But the other part of me loves - absolutely loves - the quirks that come with owning a mare. Yes, even when she's in season and not necessarily focused on arena work - or much of anything but her own hormones.

She is passionate and moody, sensitive and emotional. And I love that about her. I think she is amazing and I love playing with her, riding her, and figuring out what mood we have on any given day.

I don't honestly know who or what the next horse will be, and as long as Lena accepts him or her, I don't care. Of course, since she may be the most spoiled spotty horse in all of Sonoma county, getting her to share her humans at all - regardless of the gender of her new trail buddy - may be the biggest task of all.

33 second nose bag lesson

While Steve and I were at the packing class, we witnessed the power of a nose bag of grain. Shake it, and they will come.

So we found a nose bag today and introduced Lena to the concept.

The first thing she did was stick her nose in it. Then decided it was too scary for all of about, yes, 33 seconds. I shook it at her and she walked away from me, rolling her eye in my direction. I shook it at her again and she walked away again a couple more times.

It didn't help that she could see her regular bucket o' grain outside the paddock and she did wander over and hint that Steve could give that to her any time since I was being silly with this weird bag thing.

But then she decided maybe the nose bag wasn't too terrible and buried her face in it until she had effectively snarfed up every last little rolled oat.

I can't guarantee that it will pull her away from a meadow of lush, green grass, but that's an experiment for another day.

Happy Halloween!

He just won the Breeders Cup!

More packing notes and pictures

I finally sat down and put a series of pictures together. Some of them were taken by Tammy Ybarra, our instructor's wife, and some by me. She took the shots of us pulling and tying all that rope -- since our hands were busy -- and the one above of Four-by-Four and me.

Click here to see the set of pictures.
Steve and I are both trying to retain what we've learned and find ways to keep the rope patterns in our heads until we can get some way to practice.

In the meantime, we are riding Lena and figuring out where we go from here. Obviously, we'll need at least another horse and probably some more tack and gear. (Yay!) We also need to work with Lena to get her less spooky and more able to deal with weird things we might encounter. Like scary blankets and tarps, for example. Not to mention mules. She might wonder why on earth these fine large-eared critters seem to want to follow her everywhere.

Steve Ybarra kept telling us that the more we can expose her to, the better, so we'll be working with her on new things, trying to make her as trail-worthy as we got our loads to be by the end of the class. Mostly, she's pretty good at learning. Sometimes, though, it depends on her mood. And the weather. And the full moon. And any number of other factors that are involved with having a horse.

One of the many things that make owning Lena worth a lot, actually. She's a good - if sometimes goofy - teacher.

Yosemite Packing School

Well, it was indeed an adventure and a grand one at that.

Unfortunately, my grand plan of typing up my blog entries every night in Notepad - or even live since we actually had wireless - ran into the harsh reality of total exhaustion every night except the first night.

Here is what I wrote the first night:

Thursday night, 10/18/2007

So here I sit, on the ground next to the tent, watching the mosquitoes fly in front of the computer screen. Bonnie Raitt sings in the background, sounding a bit tinny through my laptop speakers.

Yes, actually, I'm at a campground. AND! I've got power! Very cool. There is even wireless, but I can't access the network, yet - I suspect I need to pay a fee for it.



Wow. Big mosquito just buzzed my screen. Hang on.. time for repellant, be right back.

Okay. This this is pretty geeky. Oh, well.

The sky is beautiful, pinky, orangy clouds as the sun sets. Oak and Manzanita curling up around us into the sky, sweet, cool air to breathe.

And, yes, I miss my horse. However, unlike other times I've been away, at least I'll get a horse fix this time. Without accosting mounted police officers, anyway.

We made sure to stop by the barn and say good-bye, of course. My daughter will come up and ride her Sunday and a couple of our barn-mates are keeping an eye on her, so she won't feel too neglected. Lucky horse. :-)

More on our adventure tomorrow night - maybe even live, if I can get onto the Wireless. :-)

***

And that, folks, was as far as it went where documentation was concerned. I was lucky to stay awake through dinner most nights. :-)

But!

It was awesome and we learned a lot. Like the fact that mules follow horses without having to have halters on them. (At least most of the time - unless you've captured them just to worm them and give them shots, then they might give you a little trouble for a second or two. Or 30. More on that later.) We also learned that there is a lot to learn and that common sense and communication go a long way when you're working together to tie weight on 1,200 pounds of muscle.

I have never pulled on so much rope in my life! Steve and I figure we loaded and tied the equivalent of a 5-day, 6-mule pack trip in two days. (30 loads, easy.) My hands, though not blistered much, were indeed feeling the strain. As were my shoulders, arms, back, and stomach muscles. Great workout, by the way. It made me very glad I'm in decent enough shape; it was hard work! But very satisfying, too. And really, the only way to learn the art of packing is to do it over and over again until it's second nature. We're hoping to set things up so we can practice at home, though I can't imagine Lena being nearly as cooperative as the two mules we worked with, Mabel and Four-by-Four, and suspect we'll have to rig ourselves a practice mule like we started with.


This is Mabel, she's 26 (-ish) and retired. She's a Percheron cross, so very tall and a bit challenging for those of us of the short persuasion when it comes to checking our knots. Luckily, she is also very patient with folks tying loads to her.



This is Four-by-Four (4x4) and I am not sure how old he is. He is a quarter-horse cross, so a "small" mule compared to Mabel.



On the last day, we also worked with Steve Ybarra's horse, Peanut, a cutting-horse bred gelding who is actually distantly related to Lena. We rode him and led 4x4 through an obstacle course. He did a great job of showing us how to deal with mules and various obstacles.



It was a great trip and my first real exposure to mules. They are pretty cool animals and fun to work with. I'll be setting up an online gallery of more pictures of knots, loads, and mules shortly.

Lena was mostly glad to see us, and really glad to get out on the trail today with Doc. It was absolutely gorgeous here and she was on remarkably good behavior.



All in all, a great experience that I would recommend to anyone seriously considering wandering into the back country with horses. It's an eye-opener about what you really need to do to safely get to some of the most beautiful places in this country and not end up hiking out chasing your stock.

Off on an adventure

So Steve and I leave today to go to our 3-day introductory packing class with the Yosemite Packing School.

We'll be learning the basics about balancing loads, working with stock, basic livestock first aid, and I'm sure a few other things. There are actually three courses you can take, this is just the beginning. The Intermediate and Advanced actually include going out on the trail. (Click on the "Courses" tab on on their site to see them all listed.)

We are NOT bringing Lena this time, mainly because it would have been our first long trip and we didn't know what to expect once we got there. Probably our first long trip with her will be up to see Ike and Cheri at Slide. (She says hopefully.)

I don't think I'll have internet access, so most of the posts will have to be typed into Notepad and posted when we get back. Should be an interesting experience at very least.

Cowboy Hall of Fame?!

I just saw Katie's post about Oklahoma City and The Cowboy Hall of Fame! How cool! I wish I could be there, too, but instead of Maker Faire, I'm going to be going to an introductory class on packing with horses and mules!

Steve and I leave Thursday for our class at the Yosemite Packing School in Coarsegold, CA. We'll be learning about balancing and tying loads, as well as trail first aid and stock management. One of our biggest questions is how to feed your animals while you're out there, including how much food would you have to carry and what is the best way to do that. Fundamentally, we need to know if we need more than two horses to do any back-country trips!

We are not bringing Lena this time, since it's mainly introduction and classroom work, but are looking forward to it nonetheless. We could have brought her, but figured that combining our first long trip with her and completely new circumstances would be a mite distracting for us, as well as a bit scary for her.

We'll be camping, so I hope the weather isn't too bad. My daughter Katie will be coming up to tend and ride Lena while we're gone, which is really great news. Good for us and good for Lena.

Morning greetings

One of my favorite parts of any day is getting to the barn and seeing this nose pointed at me, those big curly ears directed at my voice as I come up the path to the barn.

I know it's mostly because I bring food, but it still makes me smile every time I see her, hear her nicker at me, watch her pace her circle while she waits for me.

Every morning during the week, I stop on my way to work to see Lena and give her a scoop of grain. I also give each of her neighbors a bit of carrot. That means that they all perk up when they see me, of course.

While she snarfs the grain, I pet and talk to her - sometimes I even sing to her. If it's sunny, I stand in the sun, soaking in the warmth as the day starts. If it's raining, I stand with her under her shelter, listening to the sound of rain drumming on the tin roof. Yesterday, I moved her hay enough under the shelter so she could either stick her rear out in the rain or stay dry. I have no idea what she decided to do, since I had to go to work, but I am sure she did whatever suited her mood that morning.

After she eats her grain, we do carrot stretches. They help keep her flexible and that's a good thing. (Stretching is good for me, too, I just don't do it for carrots.)



Just like me, one side is more flexible than the other and some stretches are harder than others, but I've noticed more fluid movement since we started and she actually seems to sort of like it, though it's probably just the carrots.

Oklahoma City

Howdy from Oklahoma City!!!
I'm here on behalf of CRAFT magazine for an arts/crafts show called the Girlie Show.
It was really neat show, well organized, cool artists, and lots of people.
So what does this have to do with horses???
Well tomorrow before my flight to Austin, I'm making a stop at the Cowboy Hall of Fame!
I can't wait. Ellen's (my horse trainer) mentor, Tom Dorrance, is in the Hall of Fame so I'm really looking forward to seeing his exhibit. I'll post some pictures tomorrow night!
Jess - I wish you could go with me!!!

Maker Faire

I may be MIA for the next couple of weeks because I'll be putting on an event called, Maker Faire, in Austin! Maker Faire has nothing to do with horses but yet it's like a horse show in many respects. Maker Faire is two-day family friendly event celebrating arts, crafts, science, and engineering. Makers from all over come to share and show off their projects and inventions that they've been working on.
Ways in which Maker Faire is similar to a horse show:
*You get up really early everyday
*You go out to late dinners in a big group
*The Show Office is similar to the tack room at a horse show because it's always messy! And it's the hang out spot!
*The food is generally crummy!
*You're tired and dirty at the end of every day!
*You leave at the end of day feeling like you accomplished something big!

Click here to find out more about Maker Faire

Horse-to-human therapy

While I think there is great merit and progress yet to be made in the realm of physical therapy for injuries and disabilities using horses, that's not what this post is about.

We had a rough few weeks here around some personal family things and I ended up taking Tuesday off to both get some sleep and to get my brain back into some semblance of normality. (Hush, out there.)

For me, that process involved yoga in the morning and a trip to my favorite spotty therapist, Lena.

Just being outside, under a big blue sky, with the warm smell of horse and earth was a great start. She and I had a great ride, working on some basic stuff, and the usual "I'm the alpha mare" discussions. (The picture above is from many months ago, it was just Lena and me on Tuesday.)

Riding her, working with her, feeling her move with me - or in spite of me sometimes - cleared out a lot of the cobwebs and ickiness lurking in my head and my heart. She gave me a little peace, even while she tested the limits like always.

By the way, warm, dusty horse skin makes for wonderful aromatherapy.

Herd dynamics

I had an interesting lesson in herd dynamics this week when my friend Karen (yes, Lena's favorite masseuse) moved a mare to our barn.

Ellie is a four-year old thoroughbred mare who didn't race (I don't think). Pictures are coming, but I keep forgetting to grab my camera and since she's out in pasture, sometimes she's too far away. Karen is training her to sell and says she's a great trail horse.

Monday night, we picked Ellie up and moved her into the big pasture at our place with two Belgian mares - mother and daughter - and two geldings that are also new to the barn. Karen said Ellie was pretty dominant, but I was a little concerned because Ellie isn't very big and, well, I've seen those two mares be awfully nasty to some of the other horses in there.

I needn't have worried.

First of all, she out-ran all them -- trotting big, bouncy circles around them as they chased her, galloping with her tail up in the air while they watched her as if they had no idea what hit them.

Lena was watching me as well as all the commotion with great interest.

I left, telling Karen I'd be sure to check on Ellie when I got there in the morning, and telling Lena to keep her eye on Ellie, but still feeling vaguely worried.

The next morning, I got to the barn and saw the pasture bunch by the gate of their pasture. One of the mares pinned her ears and ran at Ellie, who pinned her ears back, but didn't budge one inch. Not one. She just swung her rear end in that direction slightly and the other mare veered off. Meanwhile, the two geldings were not only following Ellie like lost puppies, they were ready to defend her, too.

Today, they were all in relatively close proximity and mostly getting along.

The way I understand herd dynamics, that's about right. The alpha mare organizes the herd and keeps them together, though when a stallion is present he "technically" runs things. That probably defaults leadership to an alpha mare in a non-stallion environment, or so it would seem in this case.

I can't help but wonder what would happen if we had Lena and Ellie in the same pasture. Hmmm.

Horse Anatomy

Last Monday night Ryan and I went to his Uncle's horseshoeing class at SRJC Shone Farm.
Task of the day - dissecting horse legs! It sounds like a gross activity but it's actually very interesting. The horse's leg is very complex and it's fascinating to see how it actually works. At Cal Poly we did a lot of dissections in my animal science classes so it wasn't foreign territory but it's amazing how quickly you can forget!
See if you can identify some of the main tendons,ligaments, and bones:
Extensor Tendon
Superficial Flexor Tendon
Deep Digital Flexor Tendon
Suspensory Ligament
P1,P2,P3
Navicular bone & bursa

For a more detailed picture (slightly grosser) check this pic out : Detailed View

Steve gets quality Lena time

I am at a conference in Santa Clara until tomorrow afternoon so Steve had sole Lena duty tonight.

I called him tonight to say hello and he told me he'd left work early and spent a long time with her today, riding, walking her, even rinsing her off. She was in great need of all of those things and I'm glad she got them. I'm also glad Steve has that to give to her.

As hard as it is sometimes to share one horse between the three of us who ride, I think in the long run - even in the short run - it makes Lena a better horse. It also makes us better humans.

Our Kitty Cats!

Jess's post earlier this week about Tigger hit a cord with me. My cat Babar, pictured above, passed away this summer from
FIP. He was two and half years old.
I'm not really a cat person and I had quite the love/hate relationship with Babar. But now that he's gone, I really miss him. It's amazing how creatures, big or small, can make such a large impact on your life.
So cheers to Tigger and Babar. You were great cats and you will be missed!!!

Why spottyhorse.blogspot.com exists

This post actually stems both from the re-introduction of Katie D. and a question Mike (our new farrier) asked me.

When we bought Lena, we had absolutely no idea what we were getting into. Two weeks later, when we had to think about putting her down during a bad case of colic, we had a good idea.

My goal - which may be different than Katie's - was to share the good, bad, and ugly of life with horses. In my various searches for information on the web, I've found little bits of stuff scattered all over. We'd like to consolidate it and give folks a central place to find good - or at least tried once or twice - techniques, information, tips, tricks, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love it. (Duh.) I can't imagine life without a horse in it and I am so glad to have Lena. But. It is a lot of work. It is a lot of dedication. It is a huge commitment of time and money. And it is a lot of risk.

In fact, I love every minute of it - even the scary ones - but if there was something I could impart to people thinking of buying a horse, it's that it is a big deal and you have to have time and energy and patience to put into it.

Do not enter it lightly, but if you are willing to invest, it reaps a reward beyond almost anything else I've ever done. (Parenting ranks slightly higher.) :-)

New shoes (and shoer) for Lena

It was time for Lena to get shoes and, unfortunately, our regular farrier seems to have disappeared.

I got Mike's name from Phil and Carey (Taffy and Doc's owners, respectively), and he came out today to put new shoes on Lena. Now, even though I took the Farrier Science class at Santa Rosa JC, I hadn't gotten to watch our previous farrier work, so I was looking forward to our appointment today.

It was really neat to watch and I'm glad I got to see it all the way through.

I liked the way Mike handled Lena, who naturally had to test the new guy. He wasn't mean as she tried to dance around on three feet, but he was firm. She did check him out rather thoroughly. Lots of smelling.


He worked quickly and efficiently, but paid enough attention to her that she knew he was paying attention. (Even while he had to listen to our whole horse history, the poor guy.)

He did really nice clean up on her back feet as her toes were a little long back there. Her frog was shedding, so he took a lot off, plus trimmed up the toes really well. You can see the extra stuff flying off in this photo. Pretty cool!


Here is a shot of him clinching down the nails so they don't bite either us or Lena.


Mike impressed me with the way he dealt with Lena, and the way he worked with me. I know I'm not easy and I'm a worrier, but he answered my questions and didn't mind the camera going off while he worked. Best of all, both Steve and I noticed how much easier she was moving when we rode tonight.


I sure do love it when someone likes what they do enough to do a good job.

Not our new horse

As much as I would love to have horse number two, we are not there yet. :-) The new horse is Katie D's new horse! We are lucky enough to still get to borrow Doc from our friends Phil and Carey until we get our next horse.

Katie is my partner in crime in this blogging enterprise. She has been riding far, far longer than I have and has come to my rescue on horse-related issues more than once. Her horse story starts here and you've all seen the most recent post.

Katie D. and I both work at O'Reilly Media. I work for the Marketing department and she works for Make Magazine, which is part of O'Reilly.

Katie D. should not be confused with my daughter Katie, though I admit it's confusing.

Katie D. has been doing Dressage for many years. We have only been doing what we've been doing with Lena for a couple of years. Why would we come together? Well, fundamentally I think it's a common love for what horses bring to our lives. It's also a nice respite from the much more technical aspect of work - programmers and Makers don't necessarily understand the joy of a soft horse nose in your face.

That and Katie D. is absolutely not snobby at all. She thinks Lena is wonderful, just like I think Bee and Fenway are wonderful. (I'm sure Willoughby is, too, but I haven't met him, yet.) I have to say that not all Dressage riders have thought Lena is wonderful, but then again, neither have some of the Western riders at our barn. Oh, well.

I may be a little snobby, but only in regards to how people treat their horses.

So, no. The new horse is not ours. BUT I am on track for next spring to be the time for it to happen. Patience is a virtue, but boy is it hard!!!!

Tigger

Steve found Tigger's body this morning, and we buried him up on the hill by Virginia and Sputter.

It has been a weird few days of silence, no one meowing for breakfast in the mornings. Very odd to wake up without him staring in the window at us with that mildly annoyed look on his face, as if to say: "How dare you sleep when I'm starving?"

He was, as Steve said, as fine a cat as has ever lived, with his super soft rabbit fur, his rumbly purr, his raggedy and filigreed ears, and of course the gigantic 6-toed feet attached to his tiny barn-cat body.

I wish I had known him longer, but I'm glad I knew him at all.

He will be missed.

Missing Cat

We are missing a cat in our household. Well, The Cat really.

Tigger, our 17-year old, scruffy, gray tabby hasn't come home to eat since last night. It's not that he doesn't occasionally miss a meal, but he has been aging rapidly this year and had quit grooming himself of late, probably due to arthritis in his back legs and pelvis.

He also couldn't gain weight no matter how much he ate - and he ate a lot. I'm sure we could have taken him to the vet - at great physical peril to ourselves - but he's 17, an outdoor cat, and still seemed to be moving mostly okay. His coat, until he stopped grooming, was soft and thick, too. Actually, it was still soft and thick, but he had bad dread-wads on his hind end that we had to start cutting out.

Steve and I have both searched everywhere we know to search, and every meow makes us look up and check the back door, but we think he has probably crawled off somewhere to end his days peacefully.

We always wanted to figure out a way for Tigger and Lena to meet, but never could. It's too bad, they have a lot in common and could have shared stupid owner stories for days.

Tigger, wherever you are, we love you and we miss you.

Now I'm hoping for that ironic twist that would make him saunter in the back door the second I publish this post.

Welcome Willoughby!

Willoughby is now part of the family! I had a nice chat with the vet this morning and he gave me the good news that Willoughby passed the exam! I'm so excited!!! He will go to Ellen's house (my trainer who lives in Templeton, CA) until I get back from Maker Faire.

I can't wait for Bumble Bee to meet Willoughby!

Cutting horse videos

I was on the NCHA site the other day and it said there were lots of cutting videos available on YouTube, so I just took a peek and it looks like there are some good ones.

I love to watch cutting and I wish we could get Lena more involved in it, even just for fun. (Back to the us not wanting to hang out at shows all day thing.)

This one, of an Appy cutting a buffalo, is kinda scary, though. The horse is tough, but the buffalo out-weighs it by quite a bit and there's another one in there, too!

What I love about my horse

I entered a contest last night to win a trailer, not because we need one but because all I had to do was write a short story about why I love my horse. Could it be an easier subject for me?

Here's what I wrote:
"What I love about Lena is everything; the copper-penny glow of the sun on her coat, her big curly ears and the bulls-eye spot around her tail, the dusty warm smell of her skin, and the presence, energy, and personality that shine out of those big brown eyes. Heck, I even love cleaning out her pen every day.

But what I love most are the things she teaches me - patience, balance, trust, and humility. Just when I think I know something, she reminds me I'm still learning. And if I'm learning, I'm living. That is her greatest gift."

New Horse

I know, I've been a terrible blogger.
But I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. A lot has happened in my little horse world since I last wrote. I had to make a really hard decision concerning my horse Fenway. Last year I found out that Fenway had arthritis in his neck. I tried injecting the vertebrae in his neck, turned him out to pasture for three months, and no luck. He was not happy working, it hurt him. So I had to decide between having 2 pastures horses or my riding career. I chose my riding career because that's what makes me happy and that's why I got Finny in the first place. I was lucky was able to find him a great home. He's living in a family's backyard, going on occasional trail rides, and eating lots of sugar! It was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make.
So begins the search for a new competition horse! Exciting but hard because I compare everything to Fenway! I drove to Thousand Oaks this weekend and tried an amazing horse. If I get him, I'll name him Wallabe. He's has the sweetest personality and he is a fabulous mover. He's only six so we'll have a lot of time together.
Wallabe is a son of Weltmeyer, a popular dressage sire. Weltmeyer
The vet check is set for Thursday morning. Cross your fingers!

New gear for Lena

One of the things we've tried to do on our trail riding adventures is make sure we can let Lena (and Doc) graze when we stop. Usually, this means we leave their halters on under the bridles, but that means a lot of gear on their heads. I don't think they mind, but simplicity is always nicer when dealing with 1,200 pounds.

Linda over at Horses and Things had a nylon halter/bridle combo in a lovely shade of red, so we thought we'd try it out to see if it would work for us for trail riding purposes, and if Lena would actually still respond to normal commands.


The bridle/halter combo is pretty simple, actually. It's almost a normal halter, though it has more of headstall arrangement than a standard halter, and then it has a couple extra brass loops on the side where the bit hooks in using what are basically nylon curb straps on clips. It's a pretty simple solution that allows us to be out on the trail with the bit in, then stop and simply unhook it so Lena can graze. Getting the bit in and out of her mouth proved relatively easy, as well.

And, a very important factor, the red looks very nice on her. She thought so, too, I swear.

Lena is fine

She's back to her ornery self, so that means she's fine.

We don't really know what happened and are getting various theories as usual. Peter thought we had run her too hard on the trail after not riding her much last week, and that she didn't get enough water. Dr. Leslie thought it was Lena's cycle causing internal discomfort. Peter didn't agree, but that would make mares different from every other female species on the planet, so who knows.

By the way, we didn't ride her very hard at all - it was only a 2-hour ride with a break in the middle - and it was only in the mid-seventies where we were in any case. We also offered all three horses water afterwards and none of them were interested in doing anything but sloshing it around and onto Katie's shirt.

All in all, there are some days I really wish horses could talk.

Not the face of an angel

You may not guess this from the sweet expression on her face, but Lena was NOT on her best behavior today. (Yes, again.) Steve's comment was that the best we could say is that she could have been worse. True, very true. It's kind of like teenagers - she pushes right up to the limit to see how far you'll let her go. With 1,200 pounds, though, it's better to push back, sometimes hard.

Part of her excess energy was was our fault - we didn't ride her enough this week. Part of was that she was in season today, too. But sometimes "challenging" is an understatement.

She didn't take off with Steve or me, but she danced up the trail most of the way to the top of the ridge and conducted herself in a most lewd way much of that time. It was almost embarrassing.

Katie D. and Bee came out with us, and Bee had a great time! He seemed really happy to be out and so did Katie. Katie is enjoying getting to ride her old friend Bee while she is in the process of finding her next show horse.



The way down was better, until Doc got in front and she decided she had to race him back to the trailer. Then we had to spin some circles and back up, then - even worse - stand still with me on her back while Bee and Doc got tied up and Katie and Steve got off.

Challenging indeed.

...

And just like that, something happens that reminds me how much I love having Lena in my life.

Peter called at about 5:30, just as the steak came off the grill. He said she was colicky, laying on the ground. We covered the meat and called the vet and by the time we got there she was up and looking for dinner.

She didn't get dinner, but as of 8:30, we haven't heard from Peter to say she's having any more problems.

Dr. Leslie said it could have been related to her cycle - hard for a mare to tell what in her abdomen is giving her problems, I guess.

I'm trying not to worry and trying to believe that if something goes wrong, we will hear about it.

Not easy, any of it.

So, ornery as she is, I love Lena tremendously and can't quite imagine what life would be like without her.

Maybe that's the lesson of the day.

New horse owie

Lena has managed to cut the back of her left front foot somehow. It's a vertical cut by the bulb of the hoof. She was probably - sorry - horsing around in her pen when she did it and keeps opening it up the same way, but I'd like for it to heal!

It's been about a week, maybe longer, and it starts to heal, but then she opens it up again.

It doesn't look fungal or anything, so I don't think it's Scratches. It's just weird. And it's in a sensitive area, so we've actually called Dr. Leslie to see if she think she should come out.

She's not limping on it or favoring it, so hopefully it's nothing serious.

What to do with Lena

We get this question a lot, along with suggestions, comments, and advice: "Why don't you train her to do [Fill-in-the-blank]?" Or, "She'd be a perfect [Fill-in-the-blank] horse!" Really, I don't think we want to do just one thing with her, but here's a bit more thought on where we are currently at with her and her training.

Lena was bred to be a cutting horse and is very cow-y. However, she's a little tall and leggy to be a cutting horse in real life. She also loves to run barrels and poles, and just plain run. (And run, and run, and run.)



She would probably be a great endurance horse, but I'm not sure any of us our are sturdy enough to be endurance horse riders. 25-50 miles seems like a really long time to be in a saddle and I worry about it being a hard discipline for her, too. I really want to keep her around, sound, and healthy for a long, long time. Katie was actually researching endurance racing, thinking she might be the one to ride Lena in them, but we'll see how far that goes when and if Katie starts putting in the time to train Lena the way she would need to be trained.

There is also the issue of going to the shows and hanging out all day. Maybe if we were all more social, it would be a different thing, but we aren't.



For now, I think the combination of arena work and trail riding will be a good balance. The arena work is good for discipline and just general strength and flexibility work. It's also good for the rider because there is a lot more balance and rider input needed than when we're all relaxing under the big open sky on a trail. But the trail helps her get more settled and calm, more able to accept and deal with new things and reminds the riders about why we are involved in this crazy hobby, anyway.

And of course finding new and interesting opportunities for her and for us to learn from and enjoy remains a top priority in our horse experience.

Video!

Just last week I was wishing Blogger had the option to post video, and now they do!

Here is a video of Steve and Lena from last week.

Tack junkies

One of the obsessions that seems to come with owning a horse is trying tack, finding new tack, finding the right tack for what you're doing, and - of course - caring for the tack.

We are currently looking around at other saddles that are more lightweight and comfortable for long trail rides. Of course, the ones we really like soon climb up into the $1,500+ range.

One option is an Australian-style saddle, like these. We both like the simplicity of the engineering and design, as well as the lighter weight and the support of a higher back cantle. Well, we like the way that higher cantle looks and feels, but have only sat in one on a wooden stand, not on a wild and wiggly spotty horse.

Part of the joy of tack is the workmanship, the way good quality tack looks and feels. Our Crates saddle is a great all-around saddle, good for both arena work and trail. But the other week, when we unwrapped our cutting saddle, the difference in craftsmanship was like night and day. I couldn't help but run my hand over the leather of the cutting saddle, feel it warm up under my hand, and admire the hand-stamped design on the skirt.

It's like art work, only I almost have more appreciation for it than a painting that's only use is to hang on the wall - the saddle has a job that it does well, all while looking like someone poured a little piece of themselves into it when they built it.

Guess that makes me less of an art aficionado and more of a cowboy.

Back in the saddle again!

Despite the expression on Lena's face, we are all excited that Steve is back riding again.

Here is Steve riding, yay!


We rode in the arena yesterday and then went out today for a short trail ride. (Only two hours instead of our normal three.) Unfortunately, I left the camera at the barn so didn't document Steve's successful return to the trail.

Actually, it may be better that I didn't because Lena was not on her best behavior today. She was in one of her flighty moods and took off on Steve twice - once we think because his sweatshirt came loose and slid over her butt and once because he picked up his sweatshirt from where someone had nicely hung it on the sign by the parking area. I think it goes back to the blanket trauma, but it was unacceptable nonetheless. I guess we have more horse therapy in the near future.

Doc was on his best behavior, however, so that helped some. It's definitely better to have another horse there, particularly one who is generally calmer and more steady than Lena.

Steve thinks that she also just wanted to run, but of course that's still no excuse for bad behavior.

Luckily, Steve was able to stay with her and didn't re-injure himself. I think she looked a little embarrassed when I put the sweatshirt on Doc, then on me, and neither one of us got eaten, but I'm probably reading too much into her expression. Ha!

Why dogs *really* love trucks

It's not the dog-sized back-seat or the open windows, or even the low-stress-about-dirt environment. Nope. It's really the cup-holders.


This is Jake, Katie's dog. He was thirsty; we had water and nice, deep cup-holders. It was all good.

Time with Lena

Katie and I spent the afternoon with Lena yesterday, complete with goofy Lena faces.

Lena was pretty feisty, and we did lots of running and circles and lead changes. I tried to ride her as fast as Steve does, but I can't tell if I succeeded. The dust makes it look like I got close.



Lena has gotten much better at walking over things since we started trail riding with her, and she will even go over the low jump, now. Sometimes she goes over it faster than other times, and sometimes she will step calmly over it. It kind of depends on her mood and where we are in the workout.



She also goes over the poles on the ground, which is good for her back and abdominal muscles.



And, yes, Katie and I did manage to match - totally by accident, I promise. Katie is the one with the helmet, much to her dismay.

One more silly Lena face.



I was rubbing Lena's neck when Katie took these pictures and apparently it felt good. Must have hit a spot that needed some attention.

Actual horse-related injury

It's amazing how fast it can happen, actually. One minute you're riding along like normal, the next you're hoping you can stay in the saddle long enough - and well enough - to get back to the trailer.

Steve and I went out yesterday and had a great ride. We went on a steady uphill trail that really worked the horses, then stopped to have some lunch. Doc and Lena were enjoying the workout and each other, and - since it had been over two weeks for both of them - just being out.



Then we went up the trail a little more to explore, dead-ended at a fallen tree and turned around. I was up in front on Lena when I realized I didn't hear Steve and Doc behind us and I turned back.

Steve was hunched over the saddle horn and in obvious pain, though he really wasn't sure what had happened. Doc had lost his footing a little and Steve says he felt something 'pop' in his hip joint as they both caught their balance. We were at least an hour away from the trailer still, so Steve got off and walked a little, then got back in the saddle and rode pretty silently all the way back to the trailer.

It's a good thing Steve is as healthy and fit as he is, or it would have been a lot harder for him to stay in the saddle on the way back. He had to ride in the way that makes your knees sore, to brace pressure up and off the hip joint. I used to ride that way and my knees would ache for days, but I know it was the lesser of evils in this case.

Today, there is swelling and a considerable amount of pain, but he's keeping it stretched and moving. We've even been into town to get grain, cookware, and have lunch - plus taken a deposit for the van, no less.

It looks like I'm in charge of horse riding for at least a little while. How boring for poor Lena to have only one rider!

Two Truck Family

Howdy, Sports Fans.

I'm back from OSCON and Steve is back from his backpacking trip. Both were good trips, though in very different ways.

Steve decided two things on his trip: He needed a new camping vehicle and he'd rather have a horse do the heavy hauling.

Steve has had a 1991 Previa van since 1993. It has served him - and me on occasions where the Volvo failed - very well. It has traveled up the Continental Divide and hauled more lumber than any of the fancy trucks I see on a a daily basis. It holds lots and lots of camping gear, and 7 passengers if we ever really needed it to. Vanzo, as he came to be known (sorry, Grandpa, it just fit - Vanzo the Van,) is up on Craig's list, now, because Steve's long awaited small pick-up has finally made his debut.


Gus is still the towing machine - and no worries, folks, the Mustang will never leave the family - but the new pickup could come in handy in a pinch for towing, and is certainly a more nimble and powerful backpacking and camping vehicle for Steve alone, and for Steve and me. The most likely name is currently "Sam." Gus is much wider than Sam is.


And he's very fun to drive. I actually squealed tires, though I didn't spin him around the way I did Wanda the first time I drove her.

As to the horse doing the heavy work, we may actually get around to horse number two in the next year or so, which is very exciting. I do of course promise to keep you posted.