Ickiest Job of the Year

Ickiest Job of the Year

We have a 20-year-old Thoroughbred at our barn, Star, who has a very bad respiratory infection. They were treating it for a while with antibiotics, and it wasn’t working. The vet put a scope down her windpipe to find very swollen. It was open only about the width of a coffee stirrer.

Star needed a tracheotomy. They made a whole in her neck and put a metal piece in it to allow her to breath. This was weeks ago. The vet did do a followup, and there has been some improvement.

She was always pretty noisy at feeding time—but she can’t neigh anymore. Instead, she blows really hard through the hole.

The other night, her owner didn’t have any help when she came out to clean the apparatus. She begged me to help. I’m the squeamish kind and volunteered Kevin, but then realized I’d probably do a better job.

The metal piece is in 2 parts. She had to remove the part that inserts into her windpipe, and I had to hold the metal washer in place on her neck until she was done.

It was a weird sensation—feeling her breath on my hand while my hand was on her neck. Good thing I was there, because a fly landed near it, and she tossed her head.

It is a good thing that Star is so compliant. We are all hoping that she will recover soon.

Horsecation

Horsecation

Yup, Ellen and I did it again. We took another horsecation—and it was great. Anytime we can get away from work and get some time in the saddle is a good thing. The weather was cool, and the rain stayed away until our vacation was technically over. A special part of this vacation was that we had an extra horse to ride. Kevin was taking care of family business, so we were taking care of Starry.

On our first day, we took Cole and Dante out for lovely ride. There really isn’t much to say about our rides. The horses are well behaved, and we have a great time.

We then saddled up Ranger and Starry. I haven’t ridden Starry that much over the last few years, so he takes a little getting used to. First of all—he is really tall—and narrow. I had to shorten my stirrups to ride him. He has a rather uneven walk, because he has a pretty bad club foot. That is a little weird, too. Then, there is his trot—the worst in the entire world. Bad enough it throws you so far up into the saddle, but it is irregular, too, due to the club. I figured it didn’t matter much, though. We were only planning to do a little trotting. Now that he is older, Ellen asks Ranger if he wants to trot—if he does, great. If not—that is fine, too.

So, we walked and talked and enjoyed the weather. We did trot a little, as expected. Ranger seemed to like the company, and Starry behaved like a gentleman.

The next day, Ellen and I took Cole and Dante on a longer and lovelier ride. We went up to the fields by the show ring to enjoy the goldenrod. The weather was cooler, and we even got to wear jackets. Yes, we like wearing jackets because it is great to have pockets.

I got to ride Starry, again. The cooler weather got Ranger revved up—and Ellen trotted him a lot. I couldn’t believe it. There I was, struggling to get Starry’s rhythm—and I think she was laughing at me. We would walk a little bit and then she would go off, trotting, again. She finally got revenge for the times that she rode Starry with me, and I made her trot. Still, I was very glad that Ranger was having a good day.

Later that afternoon, the rain started. We did get a few breaks and we were able to ride the following morning, but only up and down the hill to the river. The following day found us on the hill, too. We got a lot of rain. Dante and Cole seem to like doing the hill. We usually go up and down it 3 times with a lot of trotting and a little bit of cantering.

We took the extra time we had with our shorter rides to get some pictures of the guys, which I will be using to decorate the blog in the weeks to come.

Invisible Stall Guard

Invisible Stall Guard

With more time on my hands since MerryLegs left, no horse in our little herd is safe.  I decided to teach Dante “Invisible Stall Guard.”  It is something I taught Cole a long time ago, and it is so handy.  I can leave his stall door open with no stall guard up, and he will stand at the door and wait for me.  I don’t push my luck and leave him attended for very long.  Still, if I need to dash over to the tack room because I forgot something, I can do it with such ease…

I’m not a fan of crossties, so years ago, when we moved our horses to a barn with only 1 set of lousy crossties, we got into the habit of tacking up in the stall.  We never got out of it.  We have good cross ties at this place, but still tack up in the stalls.  So having a horse that knows “Invisible Stall Guard” is so handy.

It was very easy to teach Cole.  I just gave him treats for standing by his door quietly.  I gradually increased the time.  I don’t have to click him each time we do it—I just tell him he is good.  Every now and then, we have a reinforcement session.  Cole has only sneaked out of his stall once, and I just gently turned him around and guided him back to his stall without even a rope or halter.

Dante has had a few of sessions, and is proving to be way more tempted to wander out than Cole.  I made the rule that he has to stay on his stall mat.  When he stands for 10-15 seconds, I click and treat.  When he steps out, and I push him back in place.  Now, here is the tricky part—I don’t want him to chain incorrect behaviors.  Simply, I don’t want to teach him that if he steps out, gets pushed him back and then he stands for 10-15 seconds that he will get a click.  Yes, horses can do this.  Once I put him back into his stall, I have to wait a lot longer before I click him for staying in his stall.  That is harder, so then he wants to step out again before he gets clicked for staying in—and we are back to the beginning. 

When I clean his stall and he is in it, I trained him to stand back away from the door, so I can get to the wheel barrow.  He does this very well.  I did add a good chain to the behavior.  Sometimes his neck or big head is still in the way, so I taught him to stand quietly, and when I approach with the pitch fork, he will swing his head away from me in the opposite direction to make room for me to reach the wheel barrow.  I click him every 3-4 forkfuls.  This is a good chain.

My last session with Dante is demonstrating to me that he is starting to figure out what I want.  After we did a lot of gentle pushing back into the stall, he started to stand with his feet on the matte—and when I looked at him, he swung his head out of the way like he does when I clean his stall.  Then he looks at me as if he is saying, “I did it.  Do I get a treat, now?’’  Of course, as long as he keeps his feet on the mat, he gets clicked and treated.  He made another good chain of behaviors—even though that isn’t exactly what I intended, it is good enough for me.

I think it will only take a few more training sessions and he will understand.  It will still take a lot of reinforcement until he is reliable like Cole—and I will have to increase the duration, too, but he is on his way.

Long Labor Day Weekend

Long Labor Day Weekend

Hot.  That is the best way to describe this weekend.  Hot.  We did a lot of sweating.

Saturday, the river was too high to cross, so we just rode on the hill.  The biggest event of that ride happened towards the end.  We like to trot back and forth at the bottom of the hill.  Usually, we let Dante lead because Cole gets hyper and will go faster than Ellen may want Dante to go.  When we were nearly done with the ride, I asked if we could do it with Cole in the lead.  We zipped down to the end.  Cole seemed happy to stretch his legs.  We zipped back—trotting over a little dip in the trail.  Ellen didn’t want to trot it, so she paused Dante.  I dind’t know and trotted on.  Well, Dante decided he needed to catch up—and jumped the dip.  Ellen was very surprised, of course, but she was also thrilled.  I wish I could have seen it.

Sunday, we decided to go on our usual shorter ride because of the heat.  It was just so uneventful—but nice.  I talked Ellen into passing up home and heading for an access trail a short distance away.  We often use it to lengthen out the ride a little bit.  We were walking down the hill towards it when the airport fired a shot.  They shoot to scare the geese when they block the runways.  Ellen and I both jumped.  Dante lifted his head up a little higher.  Cole didn’t seem to notice.  A minute later, they fired another shot.  Ellen and I spooked—Cole lifted his head a little higher and Dante ignored it.  They must think we are way too spooky.

Monday, we would have gone to the show ring, but it was still so hot.  Much of that ride is in the sun.  it seemed so unappealing, so we just did the same ride as the day before.  The ride was slow and steady, due to the heat.  On the way home, we met Kevin and Starry.  We opted to cross the river via the ford because it is deeper there, and the water was very muddy.  We couldn’t see the big rocks we have to thread through.

Ellen and Kevin were ahead of us, and Cole had dropped behind a bit.  They were already off the ford when I looked back and saw a large truck pulling something.  We are riding right in the street with no place that we could move to give traffic room.  I didn’t know how Cole would react to it, so I stopped him and asked him to stand.  The truck was actually pulling a large boat.  They passed within a couple of feet of us.  I clicked Cole for his marvelous behavior, and I was giving him his treat when the motorcycle following the trailer passed him.  Cole was so awesome.   Poor Ellen—she was shaking.  She said Cole looked so small next to the truck.  Of course, Cole looks small compared to just about everything.  He’s a big horse in a pony’s body.

A picture is worth a thousand words—a video even more.  I was looking at the latest sales video from the place that took MerryLegs.  There he was, in the background, being lounged.  He looked quiet, relaxed and obedient—just as good as when I would lounge him.  Later in the video, the sales horse is going through his paces in an indoor arena, and MerryLegs is tacked up, tied to the wall.  He appears calm and well fed.  Good for MerryLegs.

In other news, I saw 5 monarch butterflies migrating; 3 on Sunday and 2, yesterday.  I don’t see as many as I used to, so I was pleased to see some.  This year, my milkweed patch did attract 1, but I got no caterpillars.

One of my night-blooming Cereus bloomed last night for the first time in years.  It was quite pretty.  The flower only lasts for one night.

Kevin and I celebrated our 19^th anniversary.  He took me out to dinner, we fed the horses and then spent the evening watching “Shameless.”

Ranger Lesson #1

Ranger Lesson #1

This is not about me teaching Ranger something, but Ranger teaching me something.

Lesson #1—do not, repeat, do not clean feet out of order.  It is left front, left back, right back, right front.  Don’t even think of starting with the right front.  I usually just grab the hoof that is closest—my mistake.  It actually took me a few days to figure out why he was so snarky when I was cleaning his feet.  When I realized my mistake, all was well with the world.

Ranger absolutely does not like any change.  Things are done a certain way—his way or the highway.  Well, after 20 years in our family, he has earned the right to be a tyrant.

Left front, first, always…

My New Horse

My New Horse

One of the reasons I got MerryLegs is because I missed my Cruiser.  I thought a new horse would help me miss Cruise a little less.  Well, that didn’t go as planned, but Ellen recognized the situation and gave me Ranger.  Well, I should say that she is sharing Ranger, but as far as I’m concerned—when she isn’t there, he is mine.  If I can’t have Cruiser, I can have his best friend.  (This doesn’t mean I am sharing the cost of his upkeep—I can’t lose with this situation.)

Ellen thinks that the more he gets out and moves, the better it will be for him.  In his mid-twenties, he is arthritic and has breathing problems.  Still, in his head, he is a young horse with too much energy, but his body just doesn’t want to cooperate.  We think that more exercise sessions of short duration is just what he needs.

I plan to take him on walks around the property in the evenings.  He is a great horse to walk, and goes so fast that I will get a terrific aerobic workout—just like when I used to lead Cruiser during his last few years. 

He will occasionally spook—more so now that he is older.  It is probably due to the cataract in one of his eyes.  It takes him a bit to settle down, and sometimes he doesn’t settle down at all.  You must remain calm and get him to a safe spot to relax. 

Once the weather turns, we will be stuck in the indoor arena.  I will still walk him, but that gets a little boring in there.  Ellen did tell me I can teach him some tricks.  Ranger loves clicker training, so I think he will be a quick study when it comes to tricks.  I just have to make sure that none of the tricks are too obnoxious.

So my new horse is our old horse, and I am fine with that.  Ranger and I get along great, and I am glad I get to spend extra time with him.

I always wanted a horse like Ranger—now I’ve got one.

MerryLegs Looking for a Home

MerryLegs Looking for a Home

I have decided that MerryLegs will not work for me.  Even if I can find a trainer who can work out the bucking problem, I don’t think I can ever have the confidence to ride him, comfortably.  I got hurt too bad—and I still haven’t entirely healed.  I’ve had confidence issues in the past, so this isn’t anything new—but this one is too big for me.

I would love to return him to his previous owner--though it would be expensive--I think it would be the best.  He would be the happiest there--and no one would be taking the chance of riding him and getting hurt.  The trainer that I hired to help me said that he was very dangerous, and returning him would probably be the best thing.  Our barn manager, who has trained many horses in the past, said she would never get on a horse like him, either.  Our barn owner, who in his younger days was a prominent breeder and trainer of top-level reining horses didn't even think he wasn't even halter-broken when I got him--let alone ridden.  I don't agree with that, but something about him is amiss. There were some things, that I won't go into here, that were very disturbing about him.  He won't be an easy project for anyone who gets him--and a life of a pasture potato just might be the best for him.

Unfortunately, the previous owner really wants him trained so he can live a productive life--but she cannot afford that at this time.  She thinks euthanizing might be the best choice if he doesn't go to a trainer.  Regardless, she won't take him until the weather is cooler, so I will use that time to find a different situation for him.

I need someone who can stay on if he decides to do some crow hopping.  He bucked me off twice and a trainer off once, so I am fairly certain that he will do it again—but his rider has to stay on.  MerryLegs isn’t a fighter.  I don’t think he will buck for the rest of his life—that doesn’t seem to be his nature.  He did it only once on the lounge line and only once on a lead rope.  He never tried it again in either of those circumstances—not even a hint of it.  Still, my heart races at the thought of being in the saddle with him.

He is actually a quiet, low key horse.  He is doing very well with his ground work and really seems to like to be with people—I think that is a Morgan trait.  He is only 6 years old, healthy and sound.

Anyone who thinks they can manage him and is willing to help him get past this stage of his training—or is willing to work with a trainer that can handle a horse like him, please contact me.  In the end, he will be a great horse for someone—just not for me.

***********************************************************************************

(I put everything back.)

I removed all the posts and references to a horse that was given to me.  He didn’t work out, and I had to find him a new home with a trainer that has more skills than I do.  It was a sad tale which I told in an honest manner, yet I have been accused of libel and threatened with legal action if I didn’t remove it.  I am sure that nothing I wrote was libelous, but to avoid any sort of hassle, I removed my blogs about him.  I don’t suppose many people will even notice.  There are very few hits on those pages.  Everyone has moved on. 

I want people to know that I not trying to hide the facts from anyone.   There was nothing to be ashamed of, and I was willing to stand by what happened as a truthful and sad story. 

To the person who keeps telling the former owner that I haven’t removed everything, I have to ask.  What kind of friend are you?  Do you like making her upset?  You should be ashamed of yourself.  If you were a real friend, you would protect her from unhappiness, not cause it.  

***********************************************************************************

Clicker Saves the Day

I approached a bunch of trainers with my problem, and I told them I was looking for a home for MerryLegs with someone who can train him through the bucking problem.  Well, the horse gods were smiling at me, and I found one--and a good one, too.  They specialize in training family/trail horses.  The nice thing is that they don't rush the horses.  They spend about a year putting a lot of thorough training on the horses before they try to sell them.  It is a big place with several experienced trainers.  I was very honest about the problem, and they thought they could help him.  I'm sure that his amazing beauty influenced their decision.

I got several independent references for this trainer, and I also checked thoroughly on line for bad reviews--and didn't find any.  The horses in their ads sound too good to be true, but one person knew someone who bought one, and he was, "Exactly as advertised."

This seemed like MerryLegs' best chance to become an honest citizen in the horse world.

I made the arrangements for them to pick him up.  The hauler was supposed to arrive at 9:00, Tuesday morning.  We were swamped at work—and shorthanded because someone was on vacation, so I couldn’t get away.  Poor Ellen was subjected to the sad task.

I talked Kevin into being there, too.  It wasn’t hard to talk him into it—he is always happy to help us out.

At about 9:20, I get an email from Ellen.

“Clicker Saves the Day.”

That made me smile.  Now, I just had to wait for a further update.

Ellen called me a short time later while was walking Ranger on the loop.

The truck showed up on time.  They brought MerryLegs out and led him to the trailer.  He wanted no part of loading.  I don’t know if he equated the trailer with a very long journey or if he just didn’t like it because it looked different than what he was used to.

The driver and Kevin tried the traditional techniques with the rope and tapping with the whip, but MerryLegs was adamant that he would not go in the trailer.  Ellen was watching, and started to worry that they wouldn’t be able to load him at all.  After about 10 minutes, she told them to let her have a try.  After all, she had a big bag of carrots in her pocket.

Ellen stood in the trailer and rattled the carrot bag.  That got MerryLegs’ attention, and he took a step forward.  She clicked him, gave him a carrot and repeated.  Before she even knew it, he was halfway into the trailer—then he was all the way in.  in less than a minute, Ellen got him loaded.

Once inside, he seemed to relax and feel right at home.  Mission accomplished.  Clicker really did save the day.  I do know that he is going to a traditional trainer, and few of them see the point in clicker training, but maybe the driver will mention the episode to his boss, and that will get him thinking a little about our alternative form of training?  Maybe it will plant a seed in his brain of another tool to put in his tool box?

So, MerryLegs was on his way to a new life and a trainer that can stick in the saddle when he bucks.  (I hope.)

This whole thing was such a sad story.  It started out so happy, and then things changed so fast.  I hope it ends happy for MerryLegs, after all.

The Decision

The Decision

There was no way I could get back on MerryLegs’—the fear was too much, so I realized I had to get help. There is a very good trainer who works at the stables next to us. I contacted her, explained my situation and she agreed to help.

The big day came. It was 3 weeks after the “incident.” I walked MerryLegs over to their barn, and we took him to the round pen. Kevin came with me. Ellen couldn’t bear to watch. The trainer started by getting to know Merrylegs with a little ground work—stop, go, move over. She then announced she would try riding him.

I helped her up and got out of the way. She walked him around in small circles in each direction and all went well—for about 2 minutes. He simply exploded. She was off him on the third buck—and in that moment, I made a decision. It was over between us. Regardless what happened, I could never trust him, again.

As she dusted herself off, she said, “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming. Very explosive.”

Just like when I rode him, the bucks were sudden, multiple and very, very fast. There was simply no warning—which is really strange. Horses usually will give you some sort of warning. When it happened to me, I thought I might have missed the warning, but I didn’t see one when I was watching, either.

The trainer wasn’t hurt beyond some bruises, fortunately. She didn’t want to continue training him in the future, of course, because she trains horses for a living—she couldn’t get hurt. She told me that probably something in his previous training was affecting his behavior—and it was not likely anything that I did. She didn’t think it was saddle fit, since he had hardly been ridden enough to get a sore back. There might be some other physical problem, but it was unlikely at his age. She said she started a lot of young horses in her life, and she never encountered anything like this, before. Maybe a person experienced with problem horses would be best for him.

I saw Ellen wandering our direction, and I met her with the bad news. She agreed with me that he just wasn’t worth the risk for us to try to fix. She hated the thought of me riding him, and she would never ride him, either.

I have contacted the previous owner and offered to give him back—I would pay for shipping, too. I am still waiting for a decision from her. In the meantime, we are just going to do ground work.

If a trainer can fix him—and probably he can be fixed—he just needs to know that bucking is futile—I just don’t think I can ever ride him. After all, he was supposed to be a trail horse. Bad enough if he has a tantrum and bucks me off—even worse if it is 5 miles from home.

Also, I would be afraid to ever push him to hard. What if he decides he doesn’t want to go forward—do I kick him and risk him going airborne? If that is in my head, how can I effectively train him to be obedient? Clicker training can’t solve everything. It certainly can’t take the fear out of my brain.

I confess that my decision is based on my fear. It is no secret that I am not a bold, fearless rider—I never have been. I have had problems with fear before, and it’s no fun. This time, I have something real and solid to be afraid of.

He had 2 bucking fits in the past. Once was on the lounge line—and I just held him in place until he stopped. The second was on the lead line when I got frustrated and tapped him too hard to go forward. I did the same thing—held him in place until he stopped. He never tried it again. I think that may be how he would react with a rider that didn’t fall off—but it just can’t be me.

It was so much like a fairy tale, and now it is over. I just hope I can find a “happily ever after” for this.

MerryLegs, ScaryLegs and the big white bunny

MerryLegs, ScaryLegs and the big white bunny

Kevin had an idea.  He brought out an old pair of jeans, filled them with sand and we have put them on MerryLegs' back when he is in his stall.  I have him walk around the stall, and click him for quiet behavior.

Ellen had the big white bunny idea.  She brought it out this weekend.  When we were done with our lounging, we introduced the bunny.  She showed it to him on both sides.  He was worried, of course, but not for long.  I clicked him when he stood still.  Then, the bunny touched him.  He flinched, but soon, he didn’t mind it.  It wasn’t long before bunny was his back.  He got lots of carrots for that.

Later, when he was back in his stall, we put “scary legs” on him to show Ellen what we had been doing during the week.  We decided to toss the bunny on to get a picture.  He was great, and stood as still as could be with him balanced up there while Ellen took the picture.

Overall, we had a really good weekend.  His lounging is doing well, and I led him to the river twice.  On Sunday, we followed Ranger down.  This was his first time with another horse.  We had always taken him by himself.  At the bottom, Kevin was coming back from a ride with a friend, and he was a little uneasy when the horses passed him, but he quickly forgot them and said he would rather just follow Ranger.  He also didn’t like when I turned him to go away from Range—but only the first time.  The second time I tried, he was fine.  He dipped his feet in the water, but it was too high for me to lead him across.

Ranger was so nice to him, too.  Not once did he make a face or act like a bully.  He was happy to have him there and acted more like he was showing his little brother around.

  

The best news—he decided he can walk out of his stall and then out of the barn without a hassle!  When he readily led out on Saturday, it so caught me by surprise that I was speechless.  He has been doing it ever since.  

Four-Day Weekend!

Four-Day Weekend!

Ellen and I had our first long weekend since May, and we had a great one, too.  So often, we are rained out—this time—barely a drop of rain fell.  The river was so low and the temperatures were comfortable. 

The memo must have reached the park department, because they finally started to do some maintenance on the trails, but it wasn’t all that bad.

The first day, we were going to ride to Flane, We thought we would try to cross the second river crossing instead of going on the ford.  We haven’t been able to do it in a couple of months because a tree fell on the river bank and there was tons of debris.  Still, we didn’t want to risk the odd weekday traffic.  I thought we could manage riding up it, at least, and that we should try. 

We were pleased to see that the tree was gone and the debris was partially cleared!  Hurray!  When we were halfway across the river, a school bus crossed the ford.  We were so glad we made the decision to try the river.

We got about halfway down the sewer plant trail, when we saw a vehicle blocking the trail—they were out doing maintenance.  He said he would move it, but we opted to turn back.  We asked if he cleared the river bank, and when he said, “Yes,” we were able to thank him profusely.  He said they would finish getting the rest of the debris and fixed the very rutted hill.  As we peaked around the tractor, we could see they had done work ahead.  This was fantastic.  This part of the trail was so rutted and rocky, we  could only walk on it—and we felt guilty about doing that.  Many times, we just didn’t bother to go that way because of it.

We ended up passing home and going a little the other way.  Kevin was riding out to meet us, so we rode with him a little while, too. 

The next day, we went the other direction to the show ring trail.  We hadn’t done this since before the rain deluge, so Ellen was a little nervous.  Dante and Cole were perfect on the way out.  We were glad to see they fixed the big hill going up to the show ring.  They have to fix it every year.  We manage well enough when it is rutted, but it is so much easier when it isn’t.  We trotted the whole trail, there and back.  The horses seemed to enjoy themselves.

I opted to lead Dante through the hectic Lagoon on the way home.  There is one spot where he is unpredictable.  Starry met us shortly before we got to that spot, and he followed behind Dante.  Sure enough, a car came by and Dante scooted right in front of me and circled around.  He was fine after that.

Ellen was leading Cole, and at one point, they got so far behind that we had to stop and wait for them.  she told me that when they passed the truck with the park worker emptying the garbage cans, Cole wanted to stop and bow for him…

We made it home with no more incidents.  What a great ride.

The next day, we repeated the ride, but this time we met Starry earlier in the ride, Dante was perfect and Cole didn’t have to do any bowing.

We originally planned to go back to the show ring trails on our last day, but we felt like going the other way, instead.  We wanted to see how the maintenance crews did with the trail.

Our first happy surprise—the river bank was cleaned of the debris.  It only got better.  the rutted hill was fixed—then at the top of it—the whole sewer plant trail was resurfaced.  It was the first time I was able to trot that whole trail in literally years.  Dante trotted it for the first time, ever.  It was awesome—no guilt about riding over all the stones, either. 

Once again, we met Starry.  Kevin got to see the new trail, too.  We were a bunch of happy trail riders.