Newsletter

I have been posting my newsletters here for some time, and I will keep doing it, but anyone wishing to get them via e-mail, which is the way I distribute them, can just send their e-mail address to mine: judiemail@yahoo.com

Housecat Tip of the Month

Housecat Tip of the Month

I got this idea from Ellen. She made a maze of plant pots for her cat to play in, and he loved it. I had a bunch of boxes from all the mail order gifts I bought. I created a maze for Thunder to explore. He took to it instantly. He walked around, sniffing and rubbing his head on the corners. Some of the boxes he was able to go into or under. He liked chasing his toys through it, too.

After a few days, he seemed bored of it, so I rearranged it. His interest was renewed.

Even if you don’t want to have a bunch of boxes laying about all the time, just setting them up for an hour or so will give your cat a lot of entertainment.

Trail Training Newsletter #120 - Three Weeks Later

Three Weeks Later

Well, I hate to admit it, but I haven’t been trotting full laps with ease. In fact, I haven’t been trotting full laps at all. There always seems to be something that stops me from doing that. What I have been doing is walking full laps, trotting laps that are three quarters of the arena and trotting circles on the scary end.

One of the reasons that put me off doing the full laps is a little weird. It seems Cole is obsessed with going over to that end. Once, he tried to bolt to get there! He tries to drift that way, and if we do trot over in that direction, I have trouble stopping him! I’m not sure what this is all about, but at least he isn’t afraid! He is just being a little unpredictable about it.

I had 6 days in a row to work in the arena over the Christmas holiday. The first day, I lounged him first and he was a lunatic. Once he settled down, I decided to ride, anyway, and we had a really nice ride. He didn’t spook a single time, which was a miracle. Well, he didn’t spook for 5 of the 6 days, so my confidence has skyrocketed.

Another reason that I haven’t trotted full laps is that we have been working on a new lesson—riding with other horses. I even rode him with a horse and mule at the same time, one day. We even trotted! He will tend to veer in the direction of his companions, but that is the worst of it. Before my long weekend, he was spooking so much that I didn’t want to ride with anyone else. I worry about him startling the other horses and causing a wreck. I think I worry too much.

We even trotted circles with other horses. We even worked when a horse was being lounged on the other end—something I really struggle with when I ride Cruiser to this day.

We made great strides.

By starting him out mostly on the trail, I managed to teach him about following my weight cues—and I didn’t even know it. I am pleased to say that Cole understands turning with a shift of the seat bone. I gently support it with my outside leg, but as long as he is in a cooperative mood, the reins are already becoming irrelevant.

This is making me a better rider—fast. Every winter, when I start riding in the indoor arena, again, I struggle with my left seat bone floating away—and sometimes just not listening to me. This doesn’t work with Cole—I have to keep things exact or he does things I don’t expect. He may be doing them, not because he isn’t listening, but because he is!

On my latest ride, for the first time, I decided to try a figure eight. This was brave, because one half of it would throw me on the scary end of the arena. I wasn’t afraid for long. I was amazed. His circles were round and nearly equal in size, and the change of direction in the middle was perfect and effortless—to the aforementioned seat bone shift. I thought I was dreaming. We did three in a row. Though the circles were small, which is easier, I didn’t expect those results. We did it again! I swear he seemed to enjoy it. I certainly did. There was a moment when I had a Twilight Zone feeling. Just what was I riding—couldn’t be a horse of mine. It shouldn’t have been so effortless and successful. It must have been beginner’s luck because I haven’t had such circles since, but he has been doing the change in direction perfectly. At least it gave me a sense of what is possible.

Oh, and he is so sensitive with his walk/trot transitions. If I over signal with my leg, particularly early in the ride, he will jump or even buck. I have to be oh so gentle. Often, I just use the word. We haven’t started cantering, yet. (Rome wasn’t built in a day—I am only starting to get brave.)

Years ago, I had a 1981 Camaro Z28. The engine was a 350 with a 4-barrel carburetor. If you didn’t touch the gas pedal very gently, it would jump forward and startle me. That is what riding Cole is like. The car also had a double kick down. The kick down is when the automatic transmission shifts down to give you an extra boost of energy. Most cars have one, but this car would do it twice. My dad found this out one day when he was driving it. I never had the nerve to try. I somehow think that Cole might have a double kick down, too, but right now, I am afraid to try. His sudden spooks have shown me he certainly has at least one kick down.

So, Cole has been a challenge in the arena, but I am growing in confidence and learning, and it has been a lot of fun.

I still can’t wait to get back on the trail…

Trail Training Newsletter #120 - Arena Success with Cole

Arena Success with Cole
I wrote last month about the trouble I had riding Cole on the scary end of the arena. Cole was fine. The problem was me. We had so many reasons to stay away from the scary end when I first started to ride him, that now I was petrified to go there. He no longer spooked there anymore than any other place, but every time I tried to ride him over there, I got that panicked feeling in my stomach and couldn’t breathe.

This state of affairs bothered me so much. I wasn’t afraid to take him on the trail—we have trotted and cantered out there with great success. Just walking full laps around the arena was scarier than driving on a snowy street—something I do a lot this time of year. I couldn’t even imagine trotting. In my head, I pictured him bolting once he got around the corner and running to our barn door.


I knew I could handle his arena spooks. I have had plenty of experience with them, and I can get him to stop right away. I love to trot—particularly fast. If he decided to trot fast on that end, what would be the big deal? I have lounged and led him there, plenty, and he now gave me very little trouble. What was the problem? Irrational fear. I was frustrated with myself.

When I started this month, I could ride him at a walk if Kevin was by my side. A few evenings when I rode, I did wander over there by myself for a minute or two. I was so proud of myself.

I practiced in my head what I wanted to do, and when I would mount up, all those awful feelings would come back. I would use any excuse I could find to stay on the safe side. This had to end.

Now, there is something odd that happens to me at times. When horses intimidate me, I will say to myself that I won’t try whatever it is that I am afraid to do, and then in the next minute, I find myself doing it.

I am like my cat, Thunder, when I put something scary on the floor, he doesn’t want to investigate it, but can’t resist. He stretches his neck out but braces his body so he could jump back in a moment’s notice. That was me—but that is no way to ride a horse! A horse needs a confident rider, or he will want to jump back at a moment’s notice, too.

One evening, I decided ahead of time that I would mount right up and ride to the scary side and do my walking warm up, there. I made it three quarters to the end, circled back and made it all the way there! I then did large and small circles for about 5 minutes. This was a major breakthrough! I then did all my trotting on the safe side.

The next day I was at the barn, the weather was lovely for December, so I decided to take him for a walk on the hill. Even though I lounged him first, he was awful. When I got back, I was able to turn him outside to romp around. He ran and bucked and ran for several minutes. Then he was happy. I brought him in. No wonder he was bad on the hill—he had an excess of energy to burn off.

I brought him in and hung around talking to Kevin. I then had an inspiration—I would ride! He would be settled down from his running, and the arena was empty. They would be starting the afternoon feeding, soon, so I didn’t know how much time I would have, but I would at least get to warm up on the scary end, again.

I mounted and went straight over, rode some circles at a walk and felt pretty good. I went back to the safe end and started my trotting. Even with all the distractions from the people that were in the barn, he did pretty well. In fact, he started to do great for such a green horse.

I decided to see how far along the wall I could get to the scary end before stopping. We made it past the three quarter mark. I then walked the rest of the way back to safety. We trotted about, some more, and then I decided to try it again. I knew how far I could make it, so I decided to push to the corner and if I wanted, I could stop there. I made it to the corner, and decided to keep going to the center of the wall on that end. Three strides later, I was there—and decided to keep going to then next corner. He was fine, so I didn’t stop. I went around the corner, figuring I could stop there. Well, I didn’t. I just kept going. I made a whole lap. At that point, I decided to try it again—using the same plan. In the end, I did three and a half laps. I only stopped when Cole decided to stop on the scary end on his own—and didn’t want to go any further. I gently convinced him that he needed to go on, and we got back to the safe end. We walked a little more and then quit for the day.

I felt so great. I knew that, though I would still have to battle the fear for a little while longer, I had a new starting point. I felt as good as I did the first day we went on the trail, the first day we trotted and the first day we cantered on the trail. This was a big first day—I trotted laps. Soon, we will be going around and around, and I won’t give it a second thought.

Fear may be irrational, but it doesn’t have to be permanent.

Another Cute Cat Story

Sometimes my new dog, Maggie, can really get annoying.  One day this weekend, I came home from the barn and greeted her, of course.  I then went to greet Thunder, the wonder cat.  Anyway, Maggie, aka Dumb Dog, wanted to continue to greet me.  She started jumping all over me and knawing my hands.  She just wouldn't stop.  I kept telling her "down" which is the only command she knows, but she just kept getting worse.  Thunder got mad at her.  This has happened before. Whenever she misbehaves for me, Thunder shows up to discipline her. 

All he did was glare at her, and she layed right down.  I started to praise her, but Thunder didn't agree that she was good enough.  I think he wanted her to leave the room, so he smacked her in the head!

Last night, before her walk, she wouldn't let me hook up the leash because she was so excited.  She had been doing so much better with this, that it surprised me that she relapsed.  I was sitting on the stairs, trying to hook her up.  Finally, she stopped jumping around.  I hooked her up, looked behind me, and there was Thunder, glaring at her.

Is this really the cat that was so afraid of her in the beginning?

Cole Training

It was still a good night with Cole.  Hewas wild during lounging.  He started out great, and I was nearly ready to quit, when he grabbed my sleeve, and I smacked him.  Well, then he went into a rebellion.  I think it was about a power struggle.  There is a little stallion left in him,  I held firm and stayed patient during his bucking and rearing and bolting, and eventually he stopped and started to listen, again.  

When I rode, he spooked once when Starry squealed.  After that, we did lots of trotting, transistions and a series or perfect figure eights.  I never tried them before with him, and I was astounded.  They were small, so that makes them easier.  He did even circles and effortless changes in the center with only a weight shift.  I was stunned.  He seemed to like doing them.  I have never, never ridden such easy 8s on any horse.  It must be beginner’s luck.  I’m sure he will start to challenge the concept, soon.

At one point, he trialed a Passage!  I clicked him for it, but he didn't repeat it.  It felt beautiful.  I didn't have him collected--we aren't even on the bit, yet.  I'm not sure what induced him to do it, but for a moment, I was riding a Lippizan.

Cole's Christmas Gift to Me

Looks like we are getting a thaw next weekend! Hurray! Hurray!




It was a fine Cole weekend. Wednesday evening, I started out lounging him, and he was a lunatic—airs above the ground—bigtime. I nearly didn’t ride him, but he suddenly settled down. He has been settled ever since. I rode him that evening, and 4 more days—and no spooking. It was a big event to get through one ride in the arena without a spook, but more than 2 never happened before this weekend. Five rides? Heaven…



We rode with other horses being led or also ridden. Other than trying to drift their way, he did fine. The transition to a grown-up horse was the best Christmas gift I could imagine—and I certainly didn’t expect it. But then, that has been how Cole has been all along. He improves suddenly and permanently. He just needed to get used to the arena, and now that he has, he is ready to work.



I am also way more confident riding him than I was just a week ago. I’m sure that is helping, too.



I rode Cruiser, too, each day, but he just doesn’t have any enthusiasm for arena work, anymore. Right now, I am just making sure he is getting enough exercise to help with his insulin resistance. After all these years, if he doesn’t want to work hard, I won’t make an issue of it. We’ll be back on the trail soon enough. He is getting nervous in the corners going in one direction. (Eyesight? He is getting a cataract in that eye.) He is reluctant to go in a collected frame, and I suspect his thyroid tumor, which has really grown in the last year, may be interfering.



Cole likes his new stall. It is larger with 2 windows, and maybe we can open them next weekend during the thaw. He and Cruiser definitely like each other. We will be putting bars up between them. Right now, it is solid wood with a 3 inch gap between 2 boards that they can see each other—and nibble noses.

Ice skating

It was a lovely evening, last night—about 30 degrees and no wind. I decided to check the ice on the creek behind our house to see if I could ice skate. Creeks can be very unpredictable. You think it will be fine only to discover that the water ran over the ice and turned it into slush. Or, that slush froze and made crummy ice that shatters and sends you down to the next layer of ice—totally unskateable! We have always called it “shatter ice.”




Of course, getting a few inches of snow ruins everything, too. Last year, the ice always had too much snow, and I am too lazy to shovel. I didn’t skate a single time.



Well, it was a miracle. I found I had a long stretch (about 1,000 feet) of good ice to skate on, and with care, I could reach a few other decent areas to skate. It was really fun. Though our creek is now part of a public park, I am the only one that skates and very few people are there at night. I was all alone; it was so quiet and peaceful. I love the sound of the skates on the ice.



I have been skating since I was a teenager. Our best friend lived next doore and had a pond, and we would shovel it off and skate much of the winter. I learned how to skate on that rough ice, so it was easy to teach myself how to go backwards, spins and such. We eventually started to skate at the local rink when the pond wasn’t any good. We both even worked there for a while in the snack bar. On slow days, I would take my skates and go out skating on during the pubic sessions.



I am totally self-taught, and I skate more like a hockey player than a figure skater. Honestly, it is the only time I ever feel graceful. I don’t know if I look graceful, but at least I feel like it.



When I was in college, I skated with my then boyfriend. Sometimes, we would go as much as 3 times a week, and we used to frequent 3 different rinks. For Christmas, he got me a really nice pair of skates to replace the hand-me-downs I had been using. I still use those skates over 20 years later. Thanks, Jeff, if you happen to read this.



I no longer skate at rinks very often, but if the weather is right, and the ice is right and I am actually at home for a change, I grab my skates, go down the hill in my backyard to our creek and enjoy one of the few nice things about winter.

Cat Chases Dog

I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. Thunder didn't just stalk and pounce Maggie, he chased her. And, he didn't just chase her a little, he chased her around and around the living room--over the couch, over the loveseat and around and around, again. The dog thought it was fun until he caught up with her and she felt his needle-sharp claws dig into her hind leg. She yipped and ran some more!




I was laughing the whole time. Thunder loves when I laugh, so that only encouraged him. Afterward, he started walking with a swagger--he was rather proud of himself.



The dog is more cautious around him, now, and there hasn't been a repeat of it. He still stalks and pounces her--he has chased her out of a few rooms, too, but she just gets out of his range and doesn't let him get to her, again.



We've come a long way...

Monday Rides

Tolerable temperatures and no major snowstorms for the immediate future.  What a relief. 

My rides last night went fine.  Cole was a little fractious, at times, but I could see some progress being made.  We did a lot of walking and a fair amount of trotting.  He behaves better counter clockwise than clockwise.  We were working on out clockwise bending at a walk.  We walked on the scary end--no trotting there--to hyper.  I think I will concentrate on that tomorrow.

Cruiser was pretty hyper, too.  I started out with a lot of transistions, and that always gets him excited.  It also got him paying attention to me.  He became more responsive and I ended up riding him nearly an hour. 

I have a 4-day weekend, but I will be stuck in the arena.  It will give me an opportunity to really focus on the arena riding.  I really wish I could go down the trail.

I miss the trail!

I haven't been on a trail ride since Thanksgiving weekend, and I really miss it this year.  The river is already frozen, and the footing it bad.  My old horse, Cruiser, doesn't go out in bad footing. My young horse, Cole, is simply too hyper going up and down the hill to the river.  I have done some leading with him, and once he gets bored, he starts to act up.

I do have the indoor arena, but it hasn't been satisfying this year.  Cruise  has been acting like one of the directions is uncomfortable.  He has started spooking, too.

Cole has been pretty good if I can ride him alone, but I don't feel comfortable riding him with other horses.  Yesterday, when it was time to ride him, there were 3 other horses in the arena, so I just led him to get him accustomed to all the activity.  He was very excited, at first, but he started to behave decent, so it was a good lesson--still, by the time I had the arena to myself, it was nearly time for them to get their afternoon feeding, so I quit.  Totally unsatisfying for a person who loves to ride.

Some good news--Cole is going to move to a better stall.  It is a corner stall with 2 windows to the outside.  currently, he doesn't have any window--just open bars to the stalls next to him.  It is also quite big, so he can do all of his stall exercises with more room.  It is next to Cruiser, and I have permission to install bars between their stalls so they can interact.  I will move him in the next few days.  There isn't a big hurry, since it is too cold to have the windows open right now.

Wednesday Night Rides

The wind died down, so I was able to ride Cole, again.  I lounged him a little, first, but he seemed quiet, so I thought 10 minutes was enough. 

My boyfriend was leading his horse around at the beginning of our ride, and although Cole did want to visit him, he behaved overall.

The first two times I asked him to trot, he did it with a buck.  When my boyfriend took his horse out of the arena, Cole did have a temper tantrum--taking off and running towards the barn door.  After that, he was rather hyper.  When we trotted, he went very fast and at first was all over the place.  He did settle down and do better.  Though I didn't do full laps around the arena, we did do small circles on the scary end at a trot.

I am only now starting to realize how sensitive he is to weight shifts.  Shifts that would put Cruise into a nice arc sends him into a tiny circle.  There is no doubt that this horse is going to make me a better rider--once he settles down, and we can really work.

Cruiser did well on his ride.  Each time, he is getting a little better.  I started to do some series of half halts with him--it makes him round up and move with more spring.  I didn't want to do this until I knew he was physically ready.  After travelling long and low all summer, it is a big change for him to move with some collection.

I have also realized that half of my body is frozen at the trot.  I might have picked this habit up over the summer with Cole--nerves may have froze me.  When I pay attention to what I am doing and move in a more symetrical manner, he vastly improves.

My boyfriend had to leave to watch the Cavs play against Lebron, so I did all the feeding and watering myself.  There are about 30 horses.  They only get hay in the evenings, so it isn't so bad--pretty easy money. I do it twice a week.

The storm is over

They predicted 3-7 inches of snow for last night.  We got a quarter inch.  I believe it over.  The wind was vicious, though.  I rode Cruiser last night in the arena, but I decided to play it safe and not ride Cole.  The doors were constantly banging, the wind whistled over the roof and there were all sorts of other noises going on.  I led and lounged him, and he was very edgy.  I then turned him outside to play in the snow.  He carefully ran and bucked a few times--and then wanted to come in.  He is a funny horse.  He used to live outside before I got him, and he doesn't seem to want to stay out there, now.  I'm sure it would be different if there was grass to graze.

It sounds like I will be able to ride him tomorrow when I go out.  The wind is already easing up.  I sure have had enough to winter!

Arena Triumph!

I rode Cole on Friday morning. I was alone in the arena.  He was doing really well, and I decided to trot a full lap around.  That meant the scary end!  Well, I ended up doing 3 laps in a row, and he was fine.  So was I.  There is nothing like conquering fear.  I was walking on clouds all day.

Unfortunately, the arena was very busy on Saturday, so I just led him on the trail.  Sunday, I didn't have enough time because I had to go to a very boring Christmas party with my dad.  Ugh.  Anyway, I only lounged him.

I am going out tonight, but we are supposed to have high winds.  Young horses are hard to ride in the wind when you are in an indoor arena.  We'll see if I can even lounge him.  I can't wait to try, again, but I have to be sensible.

Weather Update

We didn't get much from the big storm.  It was north of us, and we mostly got rain.  Once it got cold, we got a few inches.  I cleaned off 6 inches from my car this morning, but the roads were ok. 

Now, the real problem-LAKE EFFECT!!!  Being close to Lake Erie is a real problem.  The lake is still warm.  When the cold air goes over the lake, it makes snow--lots of it.  They say it may stop by Wednesday, and we should have a foot or so.  But it is so hard to predict that it may be much less or way more--depending on the direction of the wind.

We had the same thing happen last week, but this time, it is much colder and the wind is worse.  We live in the secondary snowbelt.  The horses are out of it, and usually have half the snow.  In the snowbelt, they are expecting 2 feet on top of the 2 feet from last week.  I wouldn't live there if they paid me.

I am so ready for winter to be over.

Good arena ride

I had a very good ride with Cole in the arena, last night. I lounged him first, but I reduced his time from 20 minutes to only 12. I decided that he starts to act up when he gets bored, and maybe if I lounged him less, he would be better overall. I was right. By the way, I get bored of lounging, too.




I started the ride by going right down to the scary end of the arena and walking about over there for about 5 minutes. He behaved perfectly, and now I am so much more confident over there. I then did some trotting, but kept it on the safe side. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I think he was trying to figure out how to get clicked. He tried going faster, going with his head up, down and turned the wrong way. He threw in a half-hearted buck, too. When he dropped his head and took light contact with the bit, I clicked him. (I have been clicking him for this all the time on the lounge line.) I also clicked him when he went at a rational speed. After a bit, he did both at the same time—and he started to repeat it after I clicked and started him back up.



I am now starting to see how clicker works. At this stage of his training, Cruiser would just lug at the bit and ignore me as we trotted about. It took a long time before he started to understand lightness. Cole is guessing, and when he gets it, he is clearly rewarded so that he wants to repeat it.



I have a long weekend, so I probably won’t be back in the arena until Monday. I am looking forward to seeing if I can build on this.



Cruiser had a good ride, too.

Bah Humbug

Okay, here is the big confession. I don’t like Christmas. In fact, I don’t like any holidays. My sister is the same way. We would love to completely skip the whole thing. I don’t want gifts. I don’t like trying to figure out what gifts to give people. I hate shopping. I don’t care for the decorations, and I hate the music. The songs “Winter Wonderland” and “Let is Snow” should be permanently banned. Whoever wrote those obviously didn’t live up north. Getting together with my family doesn’t mean anything. They all live in town—we can get together whenever we like. We don’t need a holiday to do it.




This isn’t new. I remember starting to feel this when I was a teenager. It gets worse every year. We haven’t put up a tree or decorated in decades.



Total Bah Humbug.



I do like the food and the days off from work. That is about all.

Weekend Update

It was a pretty crummy weekend to ride. The terrain wasn’t suitable for Cruiser, so we stayed in the arena. My sister joined us on her horse. Both days, when we were done, we took Cole for a walk up and down the hill to the river. I must say, he is noticeably improving. The first trip up and down goes well. The second, he starts to get bored and the third, he tries my patience. The good news is, he used to try my patience every time we went on the hill. If I solve this problem—it is our worst one—I feel he will improve with everything else. I click him when he is good, stop him or circle him when he tries to trot or walk in front of me, and make him stand until he settles down whenever he gets wound up.




I rode him in the arena Friday night, and he is getting better. We trotted on the safe end and walked full laps to the scary end. I have clicked him so much for quiet behavior over there that, not only does he behave there, but he keeps trying to go over there! Now, it is only scary for me. I am getting better, too. He did have one bad spook, but he was in the middle of the arena, at the time.

Wednesday Night Rides

Cole was a handful, last night, when I lounged him. He kept spooking, and when he couldn't run away, he would rear straight up in the air.  One time, when he landed and looked at me, I just yelled, "Mingo!" and then I realized my mistake. Whenever Cole frustrates me, I call him Mingo.  I lounged him for 25 minutes--much longer than I normally do--just to make sure he was safe to ride.  I think it was the wind blowing at the doors and walls.  In the end, it was a good lounging session.  We worked on trot extensions for the first time.  He caught on beautifully.  I don't lounge him with a whip.  I was merely raising my arm, clucking to him, and he would extend out.  He never changed his rhythm, either. It was awesome.  I rode about 15 minutes--mostly at a walk since he had had such a vigourous workout.  We practiced walk/whoa transitions.  He only spooked once, and I got him under control very easily.

Cruiser did well after a lackluster performance on Monday.  I was relieved.  I was starting to worry he was having physical issues.  I think it was just too warm on Monday (50s.)  The cold weather, last night, brought him to life, too.  He did far less of his Saddlebred imitation and acted more like the Morab that he is.  We got some great bends and transitions.  His carriage in improving, too.  I always find that after a summer of trail riding, he has trouble getting into his pretty, round way of going.  It takes about a month of work for him to get those muscles working, again.  Well, it's happening.  We take a lot of breaks, though.  I don't want him to do too much, too soon.  He can move quite gorgeously.  By the time we are really excelling, it is spring and I head out for the trail for long and low riding.

We'll see how they do on Friday.

Lebron

What would any non-sport person Clevelander do on the night Lebron is coming back to town? Turn off the TV, turn on some Springsteen and have a Cat Party!




Yes, I do believe that Thunder and I are going to have a celebration. No basketball for us--it will be feather toys and catnip.



My boyfriend will be at his house, glued to his TV, while we are playing Throw and Chase. Who do you think will have more fun?