February—the Longest Month

February—the Longest Month


Most years, including this year, the calendar states that there are 28 days in February. If that is the case, why does it seem like such a long month?


Here in Northeast Ohio, we can typically ride on the trail regularly through November. Once December hits, it is touch and go—for months. Things get better in early March, and by the end of the month, we are trail riding on a regular basis.



I feel that Daylight Savings—this year on March 10th, should be a national holiday because I could now go on trail rides in the evenings after work. My life changes into one of lots of trail riding instead of occasional trail riding. Soon, I will be trail riding 5 days a week. I was one who cheered quite loudly when they moved it a few weeks early a couple years ago. I wish they would make it sooner.


Winter starts out good. I am usually all enthusiastic about working in the arena. I can concentrate on my training goals. This year, I wanted to master the canter with Cole—which I did on the left lead. We won’t talk about the right lead. I wanted to increase his duration of the “big trot” beyond a lap. I did, but I found I could only last about 3 laps top before I fell apart due to exhaustion. I fixed our sloppy turn on the haunches to the right. We solidified backing up. Our bends are becoming beautiful at a walk. The trot is tougher because of his impulsion, but I am working on it.



Ellen had her most productive winter, ever, with Ranger.



And now, it is February. Suddenly, Cole can’t trot far, again, because he needs to snort. I am losing focus and losing my seat at the same time. We get distracted with talking to people. Cole’s transitions are getting sloppy. My indoor rides are getting shorter if it is safe to ride on the driveway. I end up just walking up and down it—in the dark. Face it; we are bored in the arena. Ellen is, too.



Where is spring? We hoped it would start last weekend, and it didn’t. On Saturday, the driveway was too icy to go outside. On Sunday, the driveway was fine, but the hill leading down to the river was too icy. Will it be this weekend coming up? After all, nearly everything is melted and it is supposed to be above freezing all week—until Friday night. Then it is turning into winter, again. Alas, will consistent trail riding ever begin? I know it is close, but why does it seem so far away?

We Go on Our First Trail Ride of the Year

We Go on Our First Trail Ride of the Year


Well, my second, but my sister’s first. She had to work on the one nice weekend day during the January thaw. From then on, the river has been too high or the river, hill or driveway was too icy. The last time we rode together was some time in December. Each weekend we hoped the conditions are right, only to be disappointed.


Well, Saturday didn’t disappoint us. The river was low with no ice, and just a couple days before, the hill thawed out. We were in business.



We thought we would ride in the indoor arena first to settle them down, but at the last moment, we changed our minds. We couldn’t bear to go in there after all these weeks. We decided to go straight to the park.


It was very cold, but there was no wind and the sun was shining. This time of year, it actually gives off some heat.



Our biggest concern was crossing the river. Cole is pretty good, but as you have read in the past, Ranger can be funny if he hasn’t crossed in a while. That happened back in November after he was laid up with an injury for a few months. When we tried the next day, he crossed, but the first day he panicked, spun and simply refused as I rode off down the trail, alone. We didn’t know when we would get another chance, so we wanted him to cross so much on his first try.


I rode Cole down the river bank, first. Ranger followed right behind. Whenever Cole hasn’t crossed for a while, I click him for his willingness to step into the water. He took one step in; I clicked him and gave him his treat. I heard Ellen saying, “I don’t think Ranger is going to cross.” At that moment, I saw Ranger approach the river.



I asked Cole to proceed. When he had his two front hooves in the water, I clicked him, he stopped and I fed him his treat. I saw through the corner of my eye that Ranger stepped into the water. I then heard Ellen say, “He’s going to spin.” She was wrong. He just kept going; passing up Cole and getting to the other side long before we did.



The best part was that Ellen never told him to cross. He just did.



Since the ground was frozen, we kept the horses to a walk. We knew as long as we were leaving home, they would be fine. The big question was what would they be like on the way home? Cole has a tendency to want to trot home if he hasn’t done much on a ride. Ranger is usually fine. He will just walk fast. This is where Cole’s spirited personality sometimes gets the better of him.



Just like with Ranger and the river, Cole surprised us. They both walked home at a good speed, but in a sensible manner. About halfway home, we found Kevin on Starry and he joined us.


We didn’t have a single problem with any of the horses on the ride. this ride wasn’t much different than if the ride way in July. In fact, the only difference is that we were really cold. Once we crossed the river on the way back, we dismounted and led them up the hill.



We were in a state of shock that the ride went so perfectly



To top off the ride, when we dismounted, Cole went into a bow.

Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever




Or maybe I should say indoor arena fever. It has been a while since I have been on the trail—weeks—and even longer since I could cross the river. last week, the driveway was icy and we couldn’t even get out of the indoor arena. Since then, I has thawed, and we have been spending a lot of time going up and down the driveway. I am so bored of the arena.



This happens every year at this time. I am hoping for a change in the weather, soon. The trail is calling.



In the meantime, Cruiser keeps getting better, and now he is starting to gain weight. He has been frisky and fun. I’m not going to ride him until he puts more weight on, but at least it looks like I will be riding him, again, someday…

Cruiser Surprises Me

I took Cruiser for his evening walk on Friday night. For the first time in a few weeks, we had to walk in the indoor arena. The driveway was a sheet of ice, and though I didn’t want him to be in the dusty arena, I didn’t want him on the ice, either.


Since he got his cough, I only hand walk him for a half hour. It had been a few weeks since he quit coughing during his walks, but his breathing is still labored—but gradually improving.



We were lucky to be sharing the arena with a really nice woman and her horse. Hand walking goes much faster if you have someone to talk to. It was a windy night, and the doors were pounding. It was also chilly and Cruiser had the day off the day before. The other horse was white, and Cruiser always acts goofy with white horses. I guess I am just trying to make excuses for his bad behavior. After only 5 minutes, we had our first spook. It wasn’t a little spook, but a full-blown, Cruiser-style, leap-buck-spin spook. He made the other horse spook, too. Then he spooked again. Then again and again. At that point, I quit counting.



He told me we were going to slow, and he started to gait. By now, our companion was standing in the middle of the arena—afraid to move since Cruiser kept spooking her horse. Gaiting wasn’t fast enough, so he started to trot. I figured that maybe if we trotted a little, he would settle down and stop spooking. I was worried about him coughing, though. I jogged alongside, waiting for the cough. Cruiser kept going faster and faster. He tried cantering in hand, but I drew the line with that. When he still didn’t cough, I decided to see how far we could go. After a few laps, I had to quit to catch my breath—but he didn’t want to. I rested and we trotted again until I got too tired. We did this a number of times—and he never coughed.


I was astounded. Just the week before I tried trotting him and he coughed a lot. My spirits fell as much that day as the soared this day. Maybe there is hope that I will be riding him in the spring, after all.



We did some more trotting Saturday and Sunday, and he didn’t cough a single time.

Stormy

I love this picture.  He knows how to pose to the best of his advantage.

My nephew, Stormy

Isn't he an adorable cat?

 He is a very inquisitive cat, and likes thinking toys.  My cat, Thunder, prefers toys that are human interactive, and solo thinking toys tend to bore him.

This is the toy I got him for Christmas.  My sister hears him playing with it in the middle of the night.

Cole Posing Pretty

This is Cole parking out like a Morgan.  He taught himself how to do this--I just encouraged him with clicking.  He learned it in his stall, and he only recently started doing it outside.  I have to wonder if the desire to park out is genetic.  If he was a Quarter Horse, would he have done this?

 A proper Morgan park out would have his front legs vertical, but Cole Train always over does everything.  No wonder he takes this to an extreme.  It doesn't matter--he will probably never see a show ring, anyway.

His next step, after I click him for this, he will lean often lean back and bow like a dog.  He does it much lower in his stall than outside, but I'm sure he will start getting lower outside, too.  He is a very silly little horse.



Cole Train’s Trick of the Month

Cole Train’s Trick of the Month


Last month, I told you about Cole Train teaching himself to bow, but that he would only do it in his stall. Well, he decided he could do it outside, too. When I ask him to bow, he parks out like a Morgan with his front legs forward and his back legs back. I click him and treat him. Then, he starts to shift his weight back to bow like a dog. I click/treat for that, too. In his stall, the bow can get quite low. I expect, in time, he will do that outside his stall, too.


Now, for the new trick. This one was particularly easy to teach and quite spectacular to show off. I got my chance to show Kevin, and he was quite amazed. I think that we spread it over 3 sessions for a grand total of ten minutes before he had it mastered perfectly.



Cole now plays ball.



We have a jolly ball at the barn that belongs to the barn dog. Since Cole understands targeting, I reviewed it with the ball. If he touched his nose to the ball, he got clicked and treated.



The next step was to teach him to follow it. I put it on the ground and clicked him for reaching down and touching it. That didn’t take long, so I started pushing it away from him with my foot. Now, he had to take a step to touch it with his nose.


I gradually increased the distance and clicked and treated for every touch. Soon, he was trotting to it. He thought it was a fun game.



I can now kick or throw the ball as far as I can with Cole loose in the arena. He will trot or canter after it, stop, touch it and stand there to wait for his click and treat. It is really cute. I suppose I could teach him to retrieve it, but this is good enough for me. We now have a little game we can play together.


Only problem is that before I ride, I have to remove the ball from the arena.


I think I have Kevin convinced to teach Starry the same game. I think Starry will catch on just as quick, and since Kevin doesn’t ride in the arena, it will give them a game to play when the weather is inclement.

Cruise Improves

I am thinking it is a miracle. I was so sure that Cruise would never recover from his cough. No one heard him cough all weekend. I haven’t heard a cough in more than a week. Kevin heard a couple on Wednesday. That is the last time anyone heard him cough. I am still leading him for a half hour each time I go see him, and he was coughing 9-10 time each time—not anymore. I am so happy. He must have had an infection, after all, and the antibiotics did the trick.


I think he probably had a hay dust induced allergy to begin with. We put him on steroids to help his cough, and they did for a while, and then he seemed to get worse. We took him off hay and started feeding hay cubes, and that didn’t help. That’s when the vet came out the second time. The blood work didn’t show any infection, but steroids can mask an infection—and they must have.


We haven’t trotted or gone on any hills, so I’m not sure if he can do more than walk around. Time will tell. I just want him to heal up. we’ll see what he is like in the spring.



I truly believed that this wouldn’t happen. I was totally pessimistic. Now, I am in a state of shock.

Are Things Looking Up?

The last two times I took Cruiser on his half hour walk, he didn’t cough at all. The two times before that, he only coughed twice. I have gradually reduced his steroids by 20 percent, too. Can I allow myself to have some optimism? This is the best he has been in months! I’ll see how he is tonight. The farrier is coming out. I am going to have him pull his shoes since I’m not riding him, anyways. This will give me the option of walking him in the snow, too. The more I keep him out of the arena, the better.


Cole is learning to park out on command in the arena. For some reason, when I ask him to bow with a verbal command, rather than doing his dog bow, he parks out—like a proper Morgan. It is so cute how when he hears the command, he gets this look on his face (the thinking look) and slowly stretches his legs out. In the stall, I can wait until he squares up before clicking. He hasn’t gotten that good in the arena, and quits when his front legs are still uneven. I’m sure he will fix that in time.



He will now keep his lovely trot as long as I can keep a my seat. Eventually, I get tired and have to stop. Sometimes I forget to breathe—and that doesn’t help. I am building up my strength. I follow the instructions of Mary Wanless of Ride with Your Mind fame. The stuff works, but it is tough. I was dripping with sweat last night—and it was cold out.


I have to get Ellen to video us this weekend. Usually, she is riding Ranger when I’m riding Cole, so that makes it tough.


Ranger is doing well. She is cantering him, now, and there is still no sign of lameness. Whatever it was, it seems to be better. Maybe the vet was wrong and it wasn’t arthritis. We know he has it, but maybe that’s not what was making him lame. I sure hope that was the case.



It’s so nice to be able to write a more optimistic blog. Maybe this will be a good year, after all.