If you can't stand the heat--go riding

Hot rides last night!


I took Cruiser on trail. Due to the bugs, I tried a new thing on our ride. We trotted and cantered until we got to the next river crossing. Instead of crossing, I turned back there and trotted back towards home. You see, the bugs are so bad through there that when we use that section of the trail for cool out, we are swarmed. I passed up home and headed the other way for the cool down, and I was right. There were less bugs—and we got to go on a trail that we haven’t been all year.

We quit going there last summer because it is closer to the road, and for some reason, last summer he was spooking at motorcycles like crazy. It took the fun out of going that way—which is less scenic, anyway. When he started to spook so much, I began to stop him whenever I heard a loud motorcycle coming toward us. I think my strategy worked, because he is spooking so much less at them this year. I may start going the other way on a regular basis.

This was the second ride that I did a lot of cantering. Instead of stopping at 16 strides, he was going to 32—in spite of the 90 degree weather. I was so glad he was so happy to canter last night.

I rode Cole in the outdoor arena. It is huge, and I am working on riding him the full perimeter. My concern is bolting and spooking on the far end.  It is funny—the braver I get, the smaller the arena appears. I can walk him counter clockwise all around and do a little bit of trotting. We are having trouble clockwise—my weaker side, regardless what we are doing. On our first lap around, when we were at the far corner facing the gate, he tried to bolt to it. I was able to stop him on the first stride and made him stand. Then we walked to it. After that, I mostly worked him on that arena side and corner. He didn’t try any more shenanigans. It didn’t seem to bother him that the horses were turned out next door by that corner or that the kids where riding ATVs on the other end.

We only did a little trotting cuz of the heat. The mosquitoes and gnats were awful, since we were walking. He had another lesson on keeping moving even when bugs are annoying him.

I was pleased with our progress…I just wish it was cooler…

Ranger in the River

Here is my sister on her horse, Ranger, crossing the river.  Isn't he a beautiful horse?  We don't know what he is, as he was an auction rescue.  She has had him for 16 years, now.  We think he is about 20.  Cruiser and Ranger are best friends and trail pal--just like my sister and me!

Cruiser Misbehaving

My sister sent me this picture.  I think her boyfriend took it.  I'm not sure what was going on, but it is evident something must have startled Cruiser while he was going up the river bank.  I don't remember it.

Cruiser is easily startled, but not nearly as bad as he was years ago.  I remember being happy after a ride back in the early days where he only had 3 bad spooks.  We had a lot of white-knuckle rides.  These days, I only worry that he will hurt himself (reinjure his bowed tendon) doing something sudden.  I learned long ago that I wouldn't fall off, and I could stop him pretty quick.  I no longer let anyone other than my sister ride him.  I just don't want to spend months and months healing his tendon, again. 

I have had him for over 21 years, and he really is a terrific horse.  He never gets tired and has so much enthusiasm.  He is a happy horse on the trail and a joy to ride--unless he spooks--but I can forgive him for it.

Maggie is a Sprollie

I figured out what our dog is.  She is a Sprollie--a Border Collie/Spaniel mix.  Whether she was intentional or an accident, we will never know.  Judging from the area she was found in, anything is possible.  It was a very poor area that is somewhat close to one of those trendy areas (Ohio City) of Cleveland.  They certainly are cute puppies.  Since she isn't trustworthy off leash, she could have run away and got lost.  The vet thinks she is only a year old or so, so they found her when she wasn't even full grown.

Since we got her in October, she has grown a beautiful coat.  It is so long and soft with pantaloons and a pom-pom looking short tail.  The vet felt her tail was natural and not docked.  She is 32 pounds--a very good size.

Other than the fact she likes to wander out to the street and look for garbage and chase deer out of the county when she sees one, she's a pretty good dog.  (We keep her on a leash.)  She listens to Thunder the Wonder Cat when he reprimands her, which is a lot. 

Successful Monday Rides

Had the best ride on Cruiser of the year! We went out on trail for more than an hour with lots of trotting. He was calm enough that we did some cantering. He only goes about 15 strides and then drops back to a trot (arthritis), but he is more than happy to do it! For the first time this year, we were also able to trot towards home—which was great since the mosquitoes were brutal. He would still get a little fast, and then I would make him walk for a bit until the mosquitoes caught up, again. He had lots of energy left when we got home, and I think he’d of done another hour. I guess that warm weather, 4 consecutive days of trail riding and being a few weeks away from turning 24 meant that he finally settled down to acting like a normal horse.


I rode Cole in the outdoor arena, and I am very happy to report that the “big trot” is back. He was more consistent, and when he lost it, I was able to get him back with very little trouble. I think I figured out the problem—the saddle was a little too far forward (maybe a half inch) and that may have been inhibiting his shoulder movement. I should have known better, (I have a section on it in my book with a lovely diagram) and I’m not sure why I had been saddling him that way, but for the last few weeks, I haven’t been able to get the girth as tight, either, which I didn’t understand because he hasn’t gained any weight. It can’t be coincidence. I got a reminder from reading one of the blogs I follow, and the light bulb went off in my head. I was thinking it was a saddle problem, but he wasn’t showing any signs of soreness. He just didn’t want to stride out with his shoulders inhibited.

When I was done riding him, I turned him loose to roll, and he had a really good run. My teenage friend videoed it, and she is going to give me a DVD with it. She is so sweet.

I went to water this morning before work, and I saw I forgot to turn on the electric fence. The next thing I saw was the baby deer in my bean patch. It dashed out, and I plugged in the fence when I was done. I saw no damage since the beans haven’t sprouted, yet. My cukes are sprouting, already.

Great Weekend for riding and dogs

Finally, we had a great weekend for riding. I took Cruiser out Friday night by ourselves. Saturday and Sunday morning, I rode him with my sister on her horse. Each time was about 5 miles. It was so great to just get out and ride.


I got Cole on the trail Saturday and Sunday for about 3 miles each day. We did some trotting and though he kept trying to canter, he would come back to a trot when I asked. We just flew down the trail. That horse can trot-fast. My sister said that when he starts out, his hindquarters sink down and then he takes off. I know he will slow down, because he did last fall after a dozen rides or so with trotting. It is a little scary to fly down the trail like that, but I know me well enough to know that given time, I will revel in it. I love a fast trot, and I don’t allow Cruiser to do it like we used to protect his tendon.

The best news of all—on the way home, after all the trotting, he was quiet and only half heartedly tried to trot when I wanted him to walk. I guess he needs to get it out of his system, and then he is fine.

Next weekend, I am going to increase the distance of our ride on Saturday and on Sunday, if everything feels right, we are going to go out with Ranger to different and more challenging trails.

Maggie, aka Dumb Dog, made her debut at the animal shelters fundraising car show. My dad had a car in the show. I brought her up there, where she met my sister’s dog for the first time. They acted like they knew each other their whole lives and were bored of each other. (We were concerned because my sister’s dog can be aggressive with other dogs.) I didn’t know how she would be with all the activity, but she was very well behaved and relaxed.

I got a little more done in the garden.  I planted the lima and green beans and got the electric fence working before the deer discovered the wire wasn't hot.  My first batch of zukes are sprouting!!!

Gardening

There is more to me than just horses. I am an avid gardener, and wow, has this been a frustrating spring. There has been so much rain, that I never got my veggie garden tilled. I finally gave up, and started to do it by hand last weekend. I have been working very hard, but haven’t gotten much accomplished. I got my tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cukes and zukes in. I hope to get the beans in this weekend.

The flower gardens are a mess because it was so wet that I couldn’t get much work done in them. At least they are very green. I mostly have perennials and weeds. I want to put some nasturtiums, the annual of the year, in, but haven’t had a chance because of the veggie garden. Ugh…

It hasn’t rained in a week, now, the longest we have gone all year. I even had to water a little last night. I am sure we will end up in a drought, soon.

All the better for me riding!

Cole and the River

Having a river crossing just a quarter mile down the trail means you need a horse that is willing to cross water—and one that does it safely.

I have been very conscientious with Cole’s river training. I make sure that he is most likely to succeed and give him a lot of praise. With all the rain that we have had this year, there were days that I could cross Cruiser, but I wouldn’t risk it with Cole. I bad slip or fall could be a real problem. Whenever Cruiser falls in the river, it takes about a week to persuade him to cross again. I don’t need that with Cole.

I gradually increased the depth of what I was willing to cross, and though sometimes he hesitated, he still entered the water. The only complaint I have is sometimes he rushed.

This river crossing is over an uneven slate bottom, and it is easy to slip or trip. I prefer a horse to cross slowly and pay attention to where his feet are going.

Finally, I decided it was time to cross knee high and muddy water. Earlier in the day, Cruiser and Ranger crossed with ease. I was going to see how Cole did. This is the first time we were attempting completely muddy water where he wouldn’t be able to see the bottom. The current was rather brisk, too. I was doing this without the help of another horse that would lead the way.
We approached the water, and after about a minute, he stepped in. Once again, he rushed across. Halfway to the other side, his hind legs slipped! My heart was racing, but he caught his balance and walked slowly the rest of the way. We made it!

On the way home, a miracle happened. He walked slowly and carefully across to the other side. The other miracle—that’s how he has crossed every time since then.

Some lessons I can’t teach him. Some lessons he just has to learn on his own.

The Hill Revisited

Anyone who has been following the “Adventures of Cole” knows that I have struggled with the hill at the beginning of the trail leading down to the river. Cole wanted to trot it regardless of the direction we are traveling.
Last month, he really improved with going downhill. Now, he seldom trots more that a few steps occasionally on the steepest part.

We still needed to tackle uphill, which was more difficult because that is the direction of home.
Since we had so much rain this month, I only got Cole across the river 4 or 5 times. That meant that I had plenty of time to work him on the hill. To start with, I continued to work with him in the arena or walk him up and down the driveway for a few minutes before putting him in his stall after coming up the hill.

Early in the month, I worked him in the arena, first, and then Ellen and I would take him on the hill—me riding and Ellen walking. Each time, he did a little better. A few times I did it by myself in the evening. At furst, he he was ready to burst on the way home those evenings, so I rode down and led up. by the end of the month, I could ride up, too.

The last couple weekends, I was sick of riding in the arena and I just needed a break. This is when he was being strange in there, so I think he needed a break, too. I decided to do multiple trips with him on the hill. Back last fall, when I was first trying to get him to settle down on the hill, I was leading him multiple trips. The result was that each successive trip, he got worse instead of better! I’m glad to say that this time he got better on each trip down. The first few times I just did 2 trips and towards the end of the month I was doing 3 trips each ride. sometimes Ellen rode Ranger and sometimes Kevin rode Starry. A few rides were with Ellen on foot.

I don’t really need Ellen’s help. I could try it by myself, but she likes joining us. She does the same if I am riding Cruiser. It is great having a companion like Ellen, and the horses think so too. they really like her, and I spend a lot of time keeping them from trying to nibble her.

The results from all my hill work? Last weekend, I took Cole down trail. I met Ellen on the other side of the river, and she walked while I rode. It was the best ride of the year, and for the first time this spring, he did pretty good trotting. When we got back to Ellen’s car, she went home and left me to finish the trip by myself. I had been leading him up the hill after a trail ride because that’s when he was typically the worst. This time, I rode up—and he was perfect!!!! Not a single trot step!!!!!

Now, that put a smile on my face.

Cole Train