View at the end of the day

The driver gets to see the noses that occasionally push against the window screens, but I like this view at the end of the ride, too. Everyone safely back in the trailer as we're headed home.

Actually, Steve and I did a funny thing when we got back to the barn. We are able to park our trailer without either one of us getting out of the truck because of the parking spot I commandeered after one of our barn-mates left. We very carefully backed the trailer into our spot, evenly spaced between two other trailers, angled to give all of us enough room to tie horses to those trailers as needed, far enough back to keep the hitch out of the way - in other words, a perfect parking job.

Except our horses were still in the trailer and probably wondered what on earth we were up to.

Luckily, the perfect parking job hadn't taken very long. We chuckled at ourselves, pulled out again and unloaded them in a jiffy. Doc returned to a very happy Taffy and Lena went back to her pen, no doubt to roll around in the dirt. Steve and I went to the grocery store, out to Sushi, and are now home sitting in our pajamas on the sofa.

All in all, a positively fabulous sunny Saturday in Northern California. Even with the spaciness there at the end.

New trail

We took the kids out to a new place today, very private and quiet, and with a nice sea breeze to keep things cooler than they were inland. The shot above is from the ridge we got to after the climb up. Yes, that's Lena's butt in the lower left corner. Oops.

Of course, it wasn't all that easy to get rolling today - Doc wanted to run around the pasture for awhile first, even after I took Taffy out and tied her to the trailer. Steve waited for the circles Doc was running around in to get smaller and Taffy got a massage and beauty treatment from me. Lena spent the time tied to the trailer, calmly munching on alfalfa.

Eventually, Steve got Doc and we turned Taffy back out in the pasture - much to her dismay - and got on the road without any fuss from Doc or Lena about actually getting into the trailer. Sheesh.

Doc and Lena have a little contest on the trail when it come to who gets to go first. She usually likes to, unless we come to something scary, then she'll let Doc go ahead -- just in case the mountain lion is hungry. But then she wants to be right back in front. Here she is attempting to pass on the outside:


This picture seems to echo a theme for me - the rider in front over the ears of the horse in back. Big ears in Lena's case. Hm.

The trail in is a nice steady climb up, then it opens up into grasslands and a ridge with a great view of the valley below and out to the ocean. Plus a really cool Douglas Fir with ferns growing in (on?) it.



And look, here's a picture of me! From the front! Our new little camera has been great on the trail, but Steve would prefer if it had a view finder. The LCD screen on the back is great, until you're in the sun, then not so great. Have to add that to the wish-list, I guess.



We also decided we need to get a collapsible water container and bucket to leave in the trailer to water the horses in places like this where there isn't any water system set up.

And finally - here is Steve in what I like to call the "Cowboy" shot, complete with waving grasses. He said it's not really a cowboy shot because he isn't wearing his cowboy hat. Oh, well. I like it anyway.

Lena gets a massage

I know what you're thinking - how kooky is this? You get your horse a massage? Don't you need one?

Well, yes I do, but my friend Karen offered to give Lena a massage because I've referred some other customers to her and I wanted to see how Lena reacted to a full massage.

Here's proof that even horses like body work:



The yawning is a really good sign that she's releasing the tension and the toxins that have built up from her normal workouts and routines.

Karen is great with horses, and Lena responded pretty positively to the treatment and the handling. Just like any athlete, she has spots that need a little more attention than others. Her neck got a lot of attention - we're working on collection a lot these days - and we learned a new stretch, too.

The other thing that was really a bonus for me was Karen's response to Lena. You know we get a lot of comments about calming Lena down. Steve says a lot of that is probably jealousy and I should just disregard it, but it's hard not to let it get under my skin sometimes. Karen was full of compliments about how much wonderful energy and spirit Lena has and to embrace it and enjoy it, not try to squash it. Since that is how we feel, it was refreshing to have reinforced for once.

May have a cow work connection now, too, so more on that later. Lena would love to chase cows and not ravens.

Cool Car

Obviously, I love my horse, but I also have another fetish - cars. Steve shares this with me and we regularly buy car magazines and contemplate how large our garage would have to be if we ever struck it rich and could buy all the cars we like.

As much as I think the hybrid and electric cars are great, they don't fit the criteria of cars we'd like to drive all the time. I know that is incredibly politically incorrect of me, but I love driving. I have a visceral connection to my vehicles - usually from the moment I meet them - and thus far I haven't met an alternative fuel vehicle that does that for me.

Until yesterday.



O'Reilly, my employer, is hosting FOO camp, our annual gathering of interesting and eclectic and influential folks. One of them - sorry didn't get his name because I was too busy staring at the car - brought my dream electric car. 0-60 in 3 seconds, baby. Hoosier tires, no less. I admit that I may not have all these specs, facts and figures exactly correct, so please excuse any errors. I must be in love. Or in lust at very least.

The lines are clean and beautiful, and even if I don't necessarily understand all the engineering, I can certainly appreciate the results.

Of course, it's two years and I think $150,000 out of my reach, but this is an electric car that would get me onto the freeway at the speed I need to be at. And then some.

Of course, because I turn into a crispy Irish potato in the sun, I might have to have a roof on mine.

Favorite rides so far

Here are some links to our favorite places to ride so far:

Bodega Dunes
The ride through the dunes to the beach is a great warm up for the horses and on a day that's hot inland, that sea breeze is very welcome. Parking is great, easy to pull into and out of with a trailer and easy access to the trail head.

Shiloh Ranch Regional Park
Another great trail that has a nice steady uphill to warm up the horses. Not too rocky, though a bit here and there. It's a good climb up and then a really great loop back on the Pond trail, I think, that brings you back level and in the shade.

A great beginning ride, or just a quickie, is Riverfront Regional Park in between Forestville and Windsor on Eastside Road. It's a nice flat loop with good parking for trailers on the road in.

Armstrong Woods has a more challenging trail, but it's also nice when it's really hot inland because you're nestled under redwoods for a lot of the ride. It's strenuous and a little technically difficult in some places. When we went there, one of the women in the information booth told us she didn't take her horses on it, but Lena and Doc both did fine even on the stairs and steeper parts of the trail. Parking can be tricky - go early if you want to park in the free lot and try to get one of the pull-through spots. Otherwise, it's worth it to pay the fee and pull into the picnic area so you have ample room for the trailer.

Back to the beach

I have my computer back and free time to post, so I'll continue on with the blogging about the last trip to the beach. I know you were all hanging on the edge of your seats in anticipation, right? Just like Katie is hanging off the left side of the saddle in the above picture. She didn't believe me until I showed her several shots with same amount of, um, off-ness.



Each time we go out, it gets easier and easier to load Lena - both before and after the ride. I think she really enjoys our excursions and, hey, anything is more fun than circles in the arena.

Doc discovered the loose corner in the new window screens Steve installed a couple weeks ago. I looked in my side mirror on the way to the beach and there was this brown nose poking out. Luckily, he couldn't get his whole head out and Steve tightened that corner down after we got back. Here is Steve installing the screens with superior skill and equine assistance (I know, it's crooked, I'll fix it later):



We succeeded in getting them closer to the water this time - much closer - but they still thought getting in was for crazy horses. We did see a couple horses get in up to their knees, but when we were going back and saw them on the trail, Lena decided that they were too silly to follow and went the complete other direction.



I managed to get us out to the beach without any major mishaps and Katie and I found the picnic area with hitching posts - after we'd already had lunch, of course. I need to get a map because I'm not sure we can find it again. Ha!

Beach Ride two

This time, it was Katie and me - and Doc and Lena, of course. We got a little closer to the water this time, Lena even got wet!

Doc and Lena get along so well, it's really cool. Doc tried to take a bite out Katie's sandwich soon after this picture was taken.



More later, Katie wants my computer.

Sand and Surf

Let me preface this post by saying I'm officially fired as the family photographer.

However!

I still took some great pictures of our beach adventure today. So there.

It all started with Lena rather calmly tied to the trailer while Steve attempted to catch Doc. For an old guy - Doc, not Steve - he moves pretty fast when he wants to. Finally, using carrots and some sibling rivalry between Doc and Taffy, we captured him.

We actually decided to load Doc first, to see if that would make Lena easier to load. It sort of worked. We only had to wave the stud chain at her instead of using it. Doc was in and that was good, but the space to maneuver was now smaller than she was used to. She did get in, though, and we were off - with me driving to get my hauling practice. Steve is pretty good for a back-seat driver, but it's still a new experience for me and takes some getting used to.

Doc is older and a much more experienced trail horse, but Lena watches over him, too. We let her go first, dealing with scary yellow-flower bushes and rust-colored ice plant, all the way to the beach.



Here is the scary yellow-flower bush:



We got to the beach and things were okay, though both horses seemed a bit concerned with the large and energetic body of water they could see.

We took off their bridles and tied them up to have some lunch - sandwiches in the sand - and gave appropriate carrot rewards. Lena pawed in the sand, then she and Doc inspected the hole she had made.



Then Lena decided to go over the log she was tied to, get her lead rope tangled around her front leg and get a little freaked out. In the moments that followed, half my ham sandwich - rather than the camera - ended up in the sand, but Lena listened and there was no major mishap. Phew.



After I let Steve eat his sandwich, he took Doc and Lena - not Doc O'Lena, to whom they are both related - down to the water while I finished the rest of my non-sandy sandwich.

They were less nervous and more curious being led than they were with us riding, but the ocean being big and powerful, there was some amount of trepidation on the part of our equine buddies. Here they are inspecting the rather circuitous route they took to the water's edge.



And here is Steve managing to stay out of the way of eight horse feet - a feat which takes a lot of talent most days.



All in all, a great day. Good exercise for the horses and for us and a beautiful day all around. Except for trying to get Doc's fly mask on after taking off his halter. Didn't happen, sorry Carey! Next time: fly mask, then halter removal!

Horse thoughts from Portland

So I join you this evening from lovely Portland, OR, where I will be working the O'Reilly booth at our Rails Conference for the next two days.

It's was beautiful here today and on the way from the airport I saw some really cool horse statues made of driftwood - kind of like this one.

Yes, I am so horse crazy that not only do I notice driftwood statues, but I see horse trailers at every turn. Though not in downtown Portland, at least so far.

I am ready to tune out, now, after dutifully getting our booth set up - even managing to not fall off the table - and going through my email. No fires, phew.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have enough energy to talk about making sure your horse's gate is really latched. Of course, that would require confessing the truly deep nature of my ditziness, but if I can accurately portray in words the look of mischievous triumph on Lena's face, it may be worth it.

I also want to write about getting to watch Fenway get a really great massage from my friend Karen, really cool to watch. I was so busy watching, though, that I didn't think once to take pictures of it. I know... I'm fired.

And then there was Doc trying to tell us we are not done with our trail ride until we get to the top. We should have listened to him, says Phil, Doc knows what he's doing. Phil, Carey, Doc and Taffy are off on a 3-day overnight trip up north and I can't wait to hear how that went for them.

Quiet hotel rooms are great places to remember the things you keep forgetting to write about.

Trail ride

I finally got to experience the Doc and Lena show last weekend, and I have to say she's a much calmer horse when she has a buddy. And Doc is a great trail horse, as well as a nice calming influence on the dancing spotty horse.

Yes, I know. They are herd animals, of course she's better with a friend, but I don't think either of us realized how much better she would be.

We took them up to Armstrong Woods and on a pretty challenging trail. Doc chugs along like a compact little tractor and Lena was just happy not to be crossing drainage pipes by herself.

Sometimes she would go in front and sometimes Doc would - it depended on how unfamiliar something looked to her.

We got down to the picnic area and had a snack, and Doc got a massage. Lena was too busy sniffing and looking around, though she did let me work on her a little and stood mostly patiently while we ate. Mostly.



One of the really interesting side-effects was how many people came up to us and asked about the horses, asked if they were ours and wanted to know about them. One woman - after checking with us and watching Lena for a minute - picked up Lena's front foot to show her young son how big and heavy those feet can be. Lena was cooperative and calm, even though she and Doc were both anxious to get on the trail.

Back to Things Horses Have Taught Me

So I was reading back into the archives and came across this post, which is just as true now as it was when I wrote it.

I am small!

I got stepped on again today and we had more blanket trauma, too. Mornings like this always serve as reminders - rather painful on occasion - of all the things I learn and forget on a daily basis when working with Lena.

Maybe someday I'll remember in time to watch her feet instead of just her head.

Equine Massage and Accupressure Class

I just took the final last night, but Sunday really was the highlight of the whole class.

It was a lot of information crammed into three 3-hour classes and one all day session - especially since I missed one class to go work a tradeshow.

The morning started out with a discussion of other available resources if we want to delve deeper into either massage or accupressure. There is actually not a ton out there for horses, so Diana Thompson, the instructor, is actually working on a pretty comprehensive and horse-specific set of texts.

Then we actually got to meet and touch real horses. Now, I'm lucky enough that I have Miss Lena and had been practicing on her over the last few weeks. Actually longer, since my friend Karen MacDonald came out to give me some pointers a few months ago.

Now, Lena does respond, but nothing like the way some of these horses did. Of course, most of these horses don't dance in circles around you, either.

I actually fell in love with one of the horses I got to work on. He's a Boy Scout horse, though I don't know exactly what that means - except that he'll go away at the end of the summer, I guess. His name was Stone and he was a bay paint gelding with some seriously sore hip muscles.

What drew me to him was his energy - he actually reminded me of Lena because of the heads-up, alert attitude. The young woman who worked with the horses at the JC's farm didn't think he'd work out for the class because he was a little too antsy. Apparently he bucks, too, which when I felt his hips and back, made complete sense. I'd probably buck too if someone got on me when I was that sore.

I won't say he became putty in my hands, but he would calm down and respond to me even as he got truly bored at the end of the day. I could even get up close to his ears and use the pressure point on his forehead.

The highlight was when we did the circle-touch method on his tail. I went down the sides, then started down underneath on the skin. He shook his whole body then started with some jaw-splitting yawns. These are good signs, by the way. It was really cool.

Lena could take some lessons in relaxing from Stone, but maybe if I'm patient, I can get her there.

New trail riding buddy for Lena

Not sure if you all remember Phil and Doc from the day at the dentist, but Steve and Phil worked out a pretty cool agreement that might work fairly well for all of us.

Phil and Carey - Doc's owner - and Phil's horse Taffy needed a bigger trailer. We, as you know, would love to do more trail riding, but needed a second horse and aren't ready to buy another one just yet. Phil, Carey, Taffy, and Doc tend to ride during the week. We trail ride primarily on the weekends.

So far so good. Phil and Taffy took Steve and Doc out on Friday to introduce Steve to Doc and his trail gait. Then Katie and Steve took Lena and Doc out on Sunday to the same place to see how the two horses would do. Apparently it went great, though there are no pictures of either event. Katie, Steve - you're both fired.

Where was I during all this? Well, Friday I worked but did get out and ride Lena at lunch time. She had a distinctly baffled look when I got there and kept looking out of the arena at Steve's car, obviously wondering where he went with those "other" horses and why he left without her.

Sunday I had my all-day session for the equine massage and accupressure class so spent six hours massaging and touching other horses. No, I didn't take pictures of that, either. I know. I'm fired, too.

On the Road Again

I'm in Santa Clara, at the MySQL Conference, working our booth, helping to provide an O'Reilly presence at the show.

Actually, now I'm back in my room, nursing sore feet and and an aching knee, and really enjoying watching my screen-saver rotate through my pictures. I see images of Lena, shots of Katie and Steve and Adrienne, and even some of the Mustang (Wanda, if you forgot) and Gus (the truck, of course).

It makes me realize exactly what's precious and important to me, and that's pretty cool.

Dog-sitting

Our neighbor Chris has a really sweet yellow lab named Christy. She sometimes slips her electronic fence and comes to visit and today we're dog-sitting because Chris is in the City.

So far, Christy has worn both Adrienne and Katie out, learned how to play tug-of-war, tumbled down the stairs, and tried some steak.

She's a big bundle of energy and a lot of fun. All in all, a great dog to borrow.

Cool Dressage Video

I admit it, I have never really seen Dressage in action. I had seen still shots of Katie D. and Fenway working and heard the passion in her voice when she talked about the way Fenway could move, but mostly the skill and beauty of the sport eluded me.

I also admit to a certain amount of bias based on our earlier experiences at the Dressage-focused barn.

Then my daughter Katie sent me this video.

Wow.

This horse is not only graceful and athletic, she is having fun - as is her rider.

Katie D. is working really hard to get Fenway healthy and also thinking about another horse. I confess to not really understanding the competitive drive she felt, but watching this video, I start to see. I know the joy I feel when Lena and I manage to not only communicate with one another, but actually do something we both enjoy. I see now what Katie misses about riding Fenway, about competing, about working with that level of precision with your friend the horse.

I wish for Fenway to be healthy and happy, and I wish for Katie to find that joy in riding again.

I have a lot of joy riding Lena, though not much precision. :-) My daughter wants to know if Lena could learn some of those moves. I'm sure she could, I'm even sure she would enjoy learning them. I'm just not sure we're the ones to teach them to her - we'd need a lot more training ourselves, first!

Horse Body Work - Lessons

I started an equine massage and acupressure class this semester at the JC, taught by Diana Thompson a local celebrity in the horse community.

You know by now I'm a little obsessive about learning more about horses and being a horse owner, so this would be an obvious next step for me in my weird and wild horse education.

I really like the theories behind Eastern medicine, in particular the ideas behind Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Maintaining a balance in mind and spirit to optimize your health makes a lot of sense for humans, and as kooky as it may sound, for horses, too.

The first thing I am working on with Lena are the five calming points, for obvious reasons. I actually think they make a difference, though we're still getting her used to relaxing into that calmer space.

The flow of energy through the body, indeed through the universe, seems like an interesting way to look at a horse. And at my own body, which for all its comparative smallness, isn't that different.

Horse Lessons

I learned two things today: one, my horse notices me and my actions, and two, you can tell when a horse is proud of itself.

Okay, so the first one I re-learned with a twist today.

Katie was riding and Lena was acting up a little, not relaxing into the arena work and giving Katie a little trouble. I was standing up and taking pictures at first, then just watching, arms crossed over my chest, as Lena and Katie rode around the arena. Lena kept looking over at me, often while fighting Katie for the bit or doing some other Lena-dance.

So I sat down, leaned back, and stopped watching.

Lena's head went down and she started behaving better almost immediately. "Huh," I said, and stood up again. Up went the head, faster went the feet. "Huh," I said again, and sat down, this time for good, letting Katie finish her turn in the saddle without me watching, hovering, making suggestions on hand position, or even taking pictures.

Then I rode for a little while, concentrating on my position and soft hands, before we took her out on the road to the orchard and bike trail where we encountered lesson number two of the day.

We got through the orchard fine, though she really doesn't like the dogs barking at her, and went out the bike trail quite a ways. I had been out there before with her and gotten her across - leading, not riding - one bridge that isn't only loud for hooves to stomp on, but it vibrates for some reason. We got her across that bridge, then wandered down an unpaved section until we came to a much longer, though less vibrating, bridge. I led her here, too, with Katie encouraging her from the saddle, and we went about half-way across before we turned around to go back to the barn.

When we got off the bridge and Katie and I were lavishing praise on Lena, I looked up into those big brown eyes and darned if that horse didn't look proud of herself! She even relaxed a little more and settled into our trip back, much less nervous in the orchard and on the road and strutting along like she knew she'd done a great job. Which she did.

The Trailer has a name!

I forgot! Despite Katie's assertions that the trailer doesn't need a name, Steve named her. Cecelia.

Gus and Cecelia do a fine job of hauling the Spotty Horse.


And, yes, I get the Simon and Garfunkle song stuck in my head on a regular basis.

Easter Sunday Trail Ride

We took Lena out to the same place we went the first time - mainly because it's an easy enough walk for the person not riding, which was good for the gimpy one in the group.

She was not, however, as well behaved as she has been previously. There was much dancing and prancing and trying to turn around and go back the other way.

On our way out, we ran into Diana Thompson, the instructor of the Equine Massage and Accupressure class I'm taking this semester at the JC. She even did a little accupressure on the dancing horse, which did help somewhat, but it's hard for an only horse some days. And today, it was really hard. There were two other groups of two riders and horses each, and Lena seemed to think that perhaps she was missing out on something.

At one point we had to have a discussion about how scary a log is. She went over and sniffed it, it moved, she spooked. So I went over and wiggled the log for her benefit. As you can see, she was not necessarily impressed.


It was not the smoothest ride ever for either Steve or me - and Adrienne came along as the photographer and assistant hiker - but by the end, Lena did manage to calm down a little. A little.