Back in the Saddle Again

Well, Beauty is fit, healthy and back out on the trail.  It's been a long haul since her snake bite on 5/1/11.  After many, many vet visits, blood draws, and even a trip to UC Davis, she was finally declared healthy a few weeks ago.  We started back in the saddle on Friday, August 12th.

I was pulling my usual bull____ about needing to go slow and build up to it when Kimberly took things into her own hands and hopped on for a trek across the street last Friday.  Earlier that evening when playing with the circling game w/her saddle on, there was quite a few bucking sprees.  It was hard to judge if Beauty was saying "get that stupid saddle off me!" or, "Wahoo - I have my saddle on again!"  (Which do you think it was??)  Anyway, we played on-line for a half hour or so, then I turned her out with Jeffrey.  Shortly later, Kimberly drove up and off we went.

On the trail, Beauty stood to be mounted, and walked off like no time had elapsed since her last ride.  Such a good girl.  I probably said it 85 times that night, "Such a good girl."  So, with Kimberly breaking my ice bubble, Saturday, off we went to Contra Loma with Beauty, Rosie & Casi.  After entering the park and climbing the fence to mount Beauty (my first time since March), I was shaking like a leaf, heart pounding.  Not sure why. Beauty was super calm, standing like a good girl (there I go with the good girl again).  I mounted and off we went at a nice walk.  I played with a few steps of trot at the beginning and felt that she was probably going to buck a little.  That was all it took to scare me off the trotting.  We walked out about 1/3 of the trail, it was pitifully hot, no water or shade in sight, and I was ready to throw in the towel.  As usual, when something bothers me, I begin to find things wrong that I can focus on and worry about. This time it became my knee.  By the time we stopped, I was done, and hopping off, announced that I was done.  Needless to say, we continued on, but with Kimberly on Beauty and I walking beside Rosie looking for a place to mount bareback.  Found one shortly and we continued on with the ride.  Rosie was such a pleasure to ride.  Her energy level is CRAZY - but it's a safe feeling crazy to me.  Even bareback, gaiting or loping, it's a pleasure.  We spent quite a bit of time on the leg home from Contra Loma that day with all of us either gaiting or trotting alongside of each other, our hair and manes blowing in the wind - and the horses all being just lovely.  It was a great first day back for Beauty.

The next day, Sunday, we again headed out - this time to Round Valley.  I rode Beauty the first 1/2 of the trip (about an hour), and asked Kimberly if she would ride her back.  Kimberly is so good at picking up on Beauty's sauciness and dealing with it immediately; whereas, I might just slow down and not really correct the problem at the time.  It's so good for Beauty and me that she is willing to ride for me now and then.  Really helps with Beauty's coming along, as she is still a fairly green trail horse.

And that's my story - at least for now.  I'm looking forward to the weekend (and it's only Tuesday) so we can get her back out on the trail.  Beauty loves her job - she is at her element when you take her off course and go jeeping up a hill, or down into a ditch or ravine.  She is all focus and concentration - watching where she puts her feet, watching her surroundings.  "Such a good girl!"  :)

I was worried that the snake bite might make her leery out on the trail, but she is confident and curious and does not seem to have suffered any mental damage at all.  (Kimberly would shake her head and laugh at me for that last comment!).

Happy trails!

Rattlesnake

So, I got a call on Sunday, May 1st about Beauty - a frantic call from her trainer.  I didn't get the call. Unfortunately, my phone's battery had died. I knew it had died - realized it Sunday morning when we were all setting off on our trail ride.  Oh well, I thought to myself, no one ever calls me.  My phone charger is at work - I would be w/out phone until Monday.  No big deal...

Monday morning at 6:00 a.m., I log on to check my e-mail before starting a pot of coffee and jumping in the shower.  First thing I see is a frantic e-mail marked URGENT from Beauty's trainer.  Oh Crap!  It was short and sweet - Beauty had been bitten by a rattlesnake while coming in from pasture Sunday morning.  They had been trying to reach me - to no avail - please call ASAP.  The vet was waiting to hear from me regarding emergency treatment authorization.  Several phone calls later - I was informed that treatment had been administered, Beauty was recovering from a very nasty snake bite - and she was to be released to me that afternoon!  Thank God she was fine, and the veterinary team had made a great decision to spare no efforts to save her. 

I found out later that the interns at the ranch noticed within minutes of the bite that she had been bitten.  They quickly threw her in the trailer and raced her to the nearest emergency equine vet - about 18 miles away.  The vet's staff got tubes up her nose before the swelling sealed her nostrils shut and she suffocated. So lucky.

By 8:00 a.m., I had made it to work, printed MapQuest directions, and was on my way out to pick up the trailer to begin the trek to get Beauty - a four and a half hour drive from Brentwood to Porterville.  It was a long drive - I spent most of it crying.  Upon arrival, I was led to see Beauty.  What a shock.  Her face was HUGE - about the same thickness from her eye/jaw area down to her muzzle. I'd never seen swelling like that in a living creature.  She looked miserable! Beauty gave a soft nicker of recognition and buried her painfully swollen face into my belly, releasing a huge sigh.  "Oh," the vet commented - "she really loves you!"  Feeling was mutual!  She continued on by saying, "She was such a good girl, very sweet.  She was a pleasure to have here.  She was so calm - what type of training do you do with her?"  I answered, somewhat distractedly that I study natural horsemanship and that has been her foundation training.

I was then updated on all the heroics that had led to saving Beauty's life, given a very brief lesson about follow up care, including penicillin injections and banamine for the next 5 days, and outside we went, me leading Beauty, to load up and head home.  Of note here, I might add was the fact that the vet asked if I'd need assistance loading her.  I said no, she loads fine.  She followed along with me anyway, and stood by while I opened the trailer door, led Beauty into the first stall, loosely tied her to her blocker-tie, asked her to move her rump over a bit so I shut the partition, and stepped back out.  The vet said with a smile, "Oh, wow! She is a very good girl."

The ride home was uneventful other than the fact that I had to look in the mirror about once every 30 seconds to make sure I could see her little bits of mane flowing out (indicating she was still standing!)  Four hours later, we arrived safely back at Kutchera Ranch in Brentwood where I board my horses.  Beauty called out in recognition and got several answering calls from Jeffrey and her other pasture mates.  It had been 1.5 months since she left for training, and it appears her horsey buddies (and big brother Jeff) were all happy to see her.  Another interesting and touching note here was the fact that when Beauty continued to give out a few whinnying calls upon arrival, Jeffrey started trumpeting from his pasture in response. He got quite frantic, racing up and down the pasture fence close to the gate, tail raised to the sky!  What a sight. He was carrying on so much that I had to leave Beauty, go out to pasture to get him, and bring him back in to Beauty to say hi.  Beauty gave him a deep "mommy nicker", they exchanged nose breaths, and that was it - back to normal.  So sweet, it made me cry. It's the first time that Beauty has shown affection for him (he loves her - always has).  And Jeff recognized her whinny from the trailer - that was so amazing to me. He couldn't see her from his spot in the pasture - it was all whinny recognition that set him off.  So amazing. I love my horses!!

Anyway, my first priority upon getting Beauty settled in was to see to her penicillin injection.  I was fairly confident that I could do this as I had just had to give my son a new protocol drug treatment regarding his health condition that required injections 3 times daily.  My son handled this very well - said I was gentle and kind, and would kiss me on my forehead afterward, knowing it probably hurt me more than it hurt him.   I had that positive experience in my mind when I pulled out the huge 18 gage needle and syringe and filled it with penicillin, heading to Beauty's stall. Friends were on standby, holding her halter and lead rope, and in I plunged the needle.  Beauty reared, striking out, barely missing all of us.  I made 2 more attempts before throwing in the towel and calling our local vet.  Luckily, she advised me to put her back in the trailer and deliver her to their clinic where they would take over the very difficult and painful penicillin injections and other care while she was recovering. Whew!

We arrived at the clinic 20 minutes later, with some blood and trauma evident where I had tortured her with the needle.  Beauty's neck was tended to, she was neatly & professionally injected by the vet and her assistant, and settled in for a 5 day stay while the medications and care were administered.

I picked her back up Friday evening after her last shot and we returned to Kutchera Ranch.  Beauty is now on stall rest for a month.  Her blood work showed very high muscle enzymes from the venom of the rattlesnake.  She was very depressed, eating poorly, and dull eyed over the weekend, but by now (Wednesday, May 11th) has perked up somewhat.  It's going to be a long haul - getting her through this month.  She is not a happy stall horse, and the better she feels, the harder it will be for her to remain stalled.  However, due to the venom, she is in danger of tying up or of cardiac arrest for the next 3-4 weeks, so must stay calm.

That's my story!  It's the second time that I've brought her home from training and have not been able to ride her to continue her progress that she received while at training.  (Last year, she kicked me about 3 days after returning and I was out of commission for 2 months.)  Oh well, at least with the Parelli system in place, I know that I have the knowledge to get her going again. Before you know it, we'll be loping down a country road this summer, wind flying in both of our manes - smiles big on our faces.  I am so lucky to still be able to have that dream.  Beauty is so lucky - it could have gone the other way.

An aside note - yesterday's news cast mentioned that California is experiencing a huge surge in rattlesnake population due to the heavy rain and proliferation of rodent wildlife! 

Fell of my horse... :(

Yup, I did.  Jeffrey.  Bless his heart.  I love him.  He's a fun horse. He tries so hard.  I have to step up my game to ride him.

We were riding in the outdoor arena - huge arena - working on ride the rail, when the cowboys showed up and asked if they could bring in the mechanical cow.  "Of Course!"  Sounded like fun.  And it was fun! 

Jeff was his typical RB self, but more extrovert than introvert this time.  Head high, neck arched (like his arabian sister), and very, very in tune with the cow.  I'm sure he felt he had to take things into his own hooves if we were to survive this.

The cowboys made their laps, roping the cow, letting it loose, and Jeff, Kimberly, Rosie and I would all trail slightly behind, playing like we were roping too.  Jeff and Rosie were great, it was good stuff.  Then, on our last lap around, at mid trot (yes, I'm trotting while chasing the cows - keeping up with the other horses lopes - jeff is a speed trotter!), I went one direction and Jeff went another - and off I went.  Down onto my big soft padded fanny.  A collected gasp from the audience  - then laughs when I popped up, unharmed.  whew!  Lucky!  And worth noting.  It's my official 3rd fall from the big guy while he was in motion.  (Yes, i've fallen off when he's standing still - not proud of that.)

Jeff, got to love him.  I do.

Delivered to Training - or "Just Rip Out My Heart"

Well, I've successfully delivered my little Beauty back into capable hands. And by this, I mean to say, I've again elicited help for a horsey-dilemma that I am totally incompetent to handle.  All of the "buck blogs" noted earlier were the reason that this was an inevitability. I admit it - I'm not able to handle this and have asked for help.  And this admission has caused me some shame, I admit.  What do I mean, "I'm not capable?" Does that mean that I'm just not willing to put in the time?  Does that mean that I'm not willing to study the problem enough to come up with a solution?  Maybe.  But, I think at the core - it's just plain old fear.  I LOVE my life now. I love the fact that I own 2 amazing horses.  I can now go out anytime I want and bury my face in their necks and smell in that wonderful scent that I longed to smell as a horseless child. This was my dream, and it's now my reality!  But, I'm also practical.  What good is any of this going to do me if I get bucked off (by my 'sweet little Beauty') and break my neck?  Nada, that's what! 

So, yes, again, I've delivered her into the hands of those that are more capable.  Matt, Beauty's handsome cowboy, is unfortunately leaving in a week.  I'm sad to see him go but happy for his new life. He will always hold a very special place in my heart as one who loved my 'sweet little Beauty' as I do.  Beauty is by now out to pasture with the herd, learning her place again.  Last year, Dave said, "She's just above the mules" which meant about #26 in a herd of 28 or so.

This is a good thing, yet, I feel so empty without her!  I know she is going to come home in 2 months being a much better mount for me than she was when I delivered her.  I know she will have her manners back in place, and will have learned how to take off at a canter and not get so upset by it that she wants to remove her rider.  All good things, but I miss her.  I'm sure this will mellow a bit once a week or so has gone by.  Then I'll start looking at my phone and checking e-mail waiting for the update call or message.  Is she safe?  Has she gotten hurt?  Is she having a good time or is she miserable?  (Does she miss me?)

In the meantime, I now have more time to focus on Jeffrey (probably much to his chagrin!).  I've let him get away with murder lately in my distraction with getting Beauty ready to send off.  He has reverted back to his old spooky ways - snorting at leaves blowing on trees, or a errant plastic bag or piece of paper on the ground.  We have much to work on.  My short term goal over the next two months is to practice my canter with Jeffrey. He is more forgiving of my mistakes.  Plus, I figure if I can get the canter nice and smooth on this big gangly guy, with Beauty, it will be easy!

So, here we go! Two months without my Beauty. It will fly by I know.  I will reawaken my cherished relationship with Jeffrey as I anxiously await her return.

Fear: Rational vs. irrational

Fear.  This is a subject that I have been up close and personal with in my life.  I thought it might be interesting (therapeutic!) for me to write down where I am now and how I've been able to overcome some of my issues, as well as where I hope to be someday.  My issues deal with my personal life - personal experiences - horse wise and otherwise. I won't talk about all of them, but will share some of the more recent events.

Fear.  For me, it's the factor that keeps me from doing or being what I may see myself doing or being.  I'd love to be able to whitewater rafting. When a friend asked me last week via e-mail if I'd like to join her on a trip this summer - a level 4 whitewater rafting trip - I didn't even respond. It's not even in my imagination to consider.  Today, my co-worker told me how her and her husband are going to paintball parks and having a ball.  "I just want to explore fun things, like parachute from an airplane!"  Again, nothing I'd ever consider in a million years of options (the parachuting - I love paintballing!).

Fear cripples you on a more personal level too.  My son was diagnosed with hydrocephalus due to a very large brain cyst 3 years ago and has undergone 8 brain surgeries - 5 of which were emergency, to save his life.  The fear that my family has survived in helping him through this over the last 3 years has been incomprehensible.  Even now, when I think back to that first night in the emergency room when he came out from under the CT scan, while waiting for the ambulance to take him to Redwood City for neurosurgery, my mind gets two or three thoughts in and then the door slams shut and I stop remembering. It's a delayed reaction to the fear.  It's crippling.  I see this as a rational fear. It has substance and a basis for being there. I can work on diminishing it, but I haven't figured out how to get rid of it - it's always there.

When I first bought Jeffrey 6 years ago, I was so green that I didn't even think of horses being a danger; anything to fear.  All I remembered was my carefree childhood where we would hop on bareback and gallop off into the sunset - yes, we really did that!  Jeffrey had obviously been abused (now I see that, didn't then), and when he would pick up his back leg and aim it at me in a mock-kick, I thought he was just picky and didn't want me to touch him there.  I didn't realize what he could do to me with that strong leg.  Beauty showed me last year!  Gradually, after one near catastrophe after another, I understood that being around horses was going to involve some level of fear.  I also see these fears as rational fears.  I have had enough minor horse accidents to maintain a sane level of concern (fear) about the horse activities I partake in.  But, it's a level of concern I'm willing to handle. I'm not willing to let fear make me give up my passion.  This level of rational fear has led me to pursue my natural horsemanship training.  I love learning everything possible about horses, horse behavior, proper tack, proper seat, on and on.  The fear has created a drive in me that has resulted in my becoming a fairly confident and competent horsewoman (looooong way to go though!), thanks to the program designed by Pat and Linda Parelli!!!  Savvy has overcome rational fear and has turned it into knowledge and strength.

And it's a good thing!  I'm one of those people who doesn't need much assistance in creating a fearful situation in my imagination. Over the years, I've allowed myself to be fed others fears by hanging around the wrong types of horsey people.  Maybe good horse people, just not a good match for me.  I have enough fear on my own behalf without exposing myself to their fears on a daily basis!  I'm one of those people who can see 10 catastrophes in any given situation.  Say I'm trotting up a lovely trail on a sunny afternoon.  Beauty (or Jeffrey) is in a great mood, no spooking, just enjoying our time on the trail.  But, inside, my mind is working overtime creating things to be afraid of.  Will she slip and fall down the hill (even though we're easily 5 feet from the edge of the trail, and the hill isn't that steep anyway)?  If she does, will she squish me like a bug as my foot gets stuck in the stirrup?  Oh, foot stuck in the stirrup - what if I just fall off and get drug for hundreds of miles (even though I'm riding in a saddle w/breakaway stirrups and I'm only across the street from my barn)?  Will an inconsiderate bicyclist come charging up behind us and spook her into leaping for safety over the edge of the trail? Will a squirrel run out in front of us and spook her (even though this has happened and she DID NOT spook), causing her to careen off the trail and fling herself and me down the hill. Will she step in a hole that she doesn't see and break her leg? I make myself sick....the list just goes on and on.  When riding anywhere near barbed wire, the imagination goes wild.  When riding on steep single track trails - OMG I could write a book about the scary thoughts running rampant in my mind.  I see these fears as irrational fears.  Being able to tell the difference points you in the direction of being able to do something about them.  I'm working on slowing the non-stop dialogue in my head that keeps fear alive for me.  Here also is where the Parelli program of natural horsemanship has put me leaps and bounds ahead of where I otherwise would have been on my own.  What are we afraid of - usually something that we don't understand.  How do you increase understanding?  By breaking it down and studying the parts.  That is what Parelli has helped me to do.  Do you have a hot, snorty horse that pushes into your space and causes you fear (and possibly bodily injury!)?  The Parelli program teaches you how to break this situation down and learn to manage it properly.  What to do, when to do it and why to do it, and how firmly or softly.  Just amazing.

For now, fear is still something I live with on a daily basis.  But, I'm working on it.  The rational fears are there, kept at bay by my faith, and the irrational fears are slowly disappearing.  Whew!!!

Riding through the buck, part 3

Sunday afternoon.  Had lunch w/my horsey friends and made our way to the arena w/our horses. My old guy was out to pasture playing with his buddy Luke and Beauty was whinnying for attention.  We all started out either on-line or at liberty, working on our specific issues.  Beauy was on her 45ft line and we worked on circles, transitions in the circle game, change of direction and yoyo. She was so connected that I dropped the line and  continued play. All was well.  More liberty circles and change of direction (w/other horses/owners in the same arena mind you!!!!).  I thought  I'd try our squeeze game and made the mistake of squeezing too close to the wall - pipe paneling.  She would send thru - but after the turn and face when I asked her to come back thru, she would swerve off in the opposite direction, telling me my squeeze was too tight. Of course, it took me 3 tries at liberty with her turning her butt to me before what she was telling me registered!  Anyway - as usual, we went back on line, I stepped back several feet, and she got her confidence back - did the squeeze flawlessly.

We all tacked up (except for Kimberly where tacking up means tying her savvy string around Rosie's neck - heavy sigh on my part for wanting to be there!)  Beauty and I worked on ride the rail at a walk. I was trying out Kimberly's endurance trail saddle which is a combo of an Aussie and English saddle. Very cool. It's a wide tree (Rosie, bless her heart is a porker) and seems to fit Beauty well. I had decided for my lesson w/Dave, I'd like to try it rather than my synthetic western saddle that I've been using.  After a few adjustments to stirrup length, we were off and trotting.  Beauty was connected to my requests - changing gait at request, direction at request - going over obstacles, with her happy, willing personality.  I set her up for the canter, going down the long stretch, then sat back and started cantering in my body.  Good girl - she gave me about 5-6 nice canter strides - then the shit hit the fan.  We were approaching the turn, about 20 feet from the corner of the arena and she went into a big bucking fit.  About 3 bucks put me out of the saddle and onto her neck  about 10 feet from the wall (pipe paneling) - and still at a fast pace, more like trot than canter.  From her neck, I quickly went through my options:  1) careen into the paneling and break my neck and hers; 2) jump off over her head and land like an acrobat on my feet in front of her before hitting the paneling (yeah, right); and luckily chose option 3) - get your butt back in that saddle - NOW!  I heaved backwards, landed soundly in the saddle, lifted my inside rein and made the turn, before coming to a weak and shaky halt.  I let out a huge "Whew! I'm alive!" and started to laugh.  Kimberly let out a sigh too and joined in the laugh.  Flo said, "Crap - I missed it, what happened?"  I declared that I was done for the day, and dismounted.  "You can't stop on that note!" - Kimberly.  "I know, but I also can't do that again. I'm throwing in the towel for the day."  me.

So, we switched horses and Kimberly got on the devil (I mean my sweet little Beauty) and I got to get my confidence back on sweet Rosie.  Beaut & Kimberly made a few laps around at a trot, and stood and calmed down for a while to end on a good note.  And I - I got to get all the confidence back that I thougth was gone for good.  I was bareback on Rosie with only a halter.  We gaited around - following the rail, around obstacles, over jumps (little ones), over cavelleti, in and out of barrels and cones.  Kimberly called out - try the canter - you are almost there and you don't even realise it!  Sure enough, I did the exact same set up that I had tried with Beauty - asked for a nice fast (gait, not trot), then sat back and started cantering in my body - and off she went!  Wow - my childhood flashed before my eyes and I was a kid again, cantering through the woods with my friend Anne on our horses, playing hide & seek and cowboys and Indians!  What a feeling. Rosie and I were one - my butt part of her back! Unbelievable.  what I had just failed at so miserably on a saddle with Beauty - was happening, and so sweet with Rosie. I'm still on cloud 9!  It helped me to realise that my mechanics are right - it's just the presentation that is off.  I'm really "green on green" trying to canter this lovely, lively little girl.  We just have to get our cues figured out. Beauty is as light and sensitive as Rosie is, but with much more movement in all that she does. We just need to get it figured out.

And I'm soooo happy to have friends that now allow me to step outside of my comfort zone and make these leaps in learning.  I'm no longer just "walking down the lane" - I'm challenging myself, and getting more physically and mentally fit with each day.  And #1 on Matt's list when I get Beauty back to Porterville will be to get the transitions from trot to canter smoothed out!  I plan on a few lessons while she is down there so they can help me with my body mechanics.  I remember thinking a couple years ago - I can't wait until I can sit on Beauty's back.  I'm now riding her out on the trail, jeeping up and down hills, trotting and cantering all over - feeling like a kid.  It will just be a matter of time before we're cantering with confidence in the arena too.  I love this Parelli program.  We're taking the time it takes and stepping out of our comfort zone to increase learning.  Whew - Can't wait for the weekend!

Riding through the buck, Part 2

We started out on our ride today and before she had taken 3 steps into the park, she crow hopped. It was a little one, just as if to say, "tighten  your belt lady, we're going to have a ride today." After a few head tosses, I decided to eliminate any tack problems. I've been riding lately more in the halter than bit, but we had decided to put the bit in today just because.  After the crow hop, about 20 minutes into the ride, we stopped and I traded equipment with Kimberly's mare, Rosie, and put the halter on Beauty - bit on Rosie. Even though we had been walking, mostly on the trail at this point, Beauty was already sweated out. It felt more like emotional sweat to me, she just wasn't feeling right. She still has her wolf teeth - they are tiny little things, and her vet and Dave Ellis have both said she wouldn't have to worry about the bit hurting. But to be safe, before she goes back to training, she's getting a float - this coming week - and they will pull the wolf teeth.  One less thing for me to stress about! 

So, off we went again, doing a few jaunts up hills, down gullies. She had calmed down quite a bit with the removal of the bit.  The bucks were more like crow hops, coming now and again, mostly when she was being her typical left brained self - wanting to do what she wanted, not what I was asking.  I decided to give her a job and began working on leg yields and half passes, and she seemed to calm into the work.  From there on, she was pretty compliant with my requests - but as kimberly pointed out later - she always tests me - just a little. When I don't pick up on it and shut it down, then her snotty face comes out and she tests more.  It's so interesting - she is such a great trail horse, but you really need to ride her the whole way! No putting her on auto pilot. Just before the halfway point where we water them, I had asked her to drop down a little slope about 6 feet, but a pretty steep slant, and the little turd threw a big buck! It was a close one, and I'm sure I'll have a saddle horn bruise on my legs to prove it. It was her last snotty however, and she was great the rest of the ride. 

She needs a firm leader - a fair leader, but firm.  I'm not always so firm - sort of wishy-washy really.  When kimberly rides her, at the very first sign of the snotty face coming out, she circles her to a stop - and continues this until Beauty goes, "fine, be that way!" and does what she's asked.  And she REALLY likes to get off the trail and really ride!  She enjoys jeeping up and down hills, exploring, looking at things that show up, and you can see it in her pictures. She's really a fun trail horse. My poor Jeffrey always seems like he'd rather be anywhere but on the trail.

Anyway - tomorrow we're back in the arena and will be working on our canter.  I'm hoping to have a buck-free day and will ask Kimberly to take over if things seem to be getting out of hand.  Oh to be young and fit, and such a confident horsewoman like her! I'm so very fortunate to have such good, solid friends to share this journey with. Makes it all worth while!

Riding through the buck

In an effort to be fair to myself and document the bad with the good, I thought I'd make a few notes about last night.  What keeps pushing to the top of the constant on-going monologue in my head, what I keep mulling over, were our transitions from trot to canter in the covered arena.  Beauty and I.  When I began riding her earnestly last year in the arena, she would buck, or crow hop, at the walk trot transition. We've got that worked out now after months of trail riding and lots of trotting.  She is pretty coordinated for a young gal and seems to be able to support and balance herself well while carrying my weight.  So, now our issue is the trot to canter transition and the bucking that she seems to want to do at the beginning.

When we begin, I like to warm her up a bit with a few games on-line on the 45 ft. line.  We do the falling leaf pattern, change of directions, and work on our circles at several different speeds.  Sometimes, she will buck with the saddle on when I ask for the upward transition to canter.  She gives one or two good bucks, then settles into the canter.  Then I mount and ride her for a while, playing with obstacles, or practicing riding the rail in the 1st track with minimal direction from myself.  As we slowly warm up and get into a nice trotting pattern, she is still calm, doing everything nicely, with minimal sassyness like little head tosses.  But, when I move into the canter and put my weight back, she more often than not springs into a series of bucks.  Some last night were not more than crow hops, but one series almost unseated me.  She popped me out of the saddle and onto her neck before I bounced back into my seat.  She doesn't carry on with it much, and I know if I were more agile and able to do the one-rein up to a stop, I could probably get her to quit before it even gets started.  But, I'm still finding myself floundering around on top of her, not able to nip it in the bud quickly enough.  Oh well, I know that with most things, practice will fix this.  After all, it's green trying to teach green.  And believe me, it's going to be top on my list of things to work on when I take her down to Dave Ellis' later this month!  Ride, Matt, Ride - Ride with the wind! (Canter her little butt off and get this stupid bucking bullcrap over and done with!)

So, the goal of this post is to be able to look back at it in several months and say to myself, "Oh, yeah - I remember when she used to have that problem!"  Of course, in this mental picture, we have been cantering off into the sunset everynight, and the little crow hops and bucks are a bad, fading memory.

Get on that tarp, darn it!

An interesting day yesterday. Beauty and I and some friends were playing in the arena - lovely day, warm sun, such a nice break from all the cold, wet weather.  We had set up several obstacles and I had the idea to work on my arena cantering with Beauty.  Soon, other horses started to join us, and it became a bit crowded.  A trailer arrived and unloaded a big sorrel quarter horse and several people. A woman tacked him up and joined us as well.  The tarp was set up about 30 feet from the entrance to the arena, and I noticed that the horse did a mini-spook and snort when the woman asked him to approach the tarp. She skirted around and headed to the end of the arena and started trotting circles. 

My friends and I continued on with our obstacle play as other horses came and left.  After a few minutes of trotting circles, the woman and the big quarter horse made their way back to the gate to exit the arena.  My friend was on her little mare who was standing on the waded up tarp and she was flicking the tarp with her carrot stick & string while we all stood around chatting - no one really noticing the woman trying to open the arena gate.  A few seconds later, the woman called out to my friend - "Hey, can you stop doing that (flicking the tarp with her stick/string)?  It's freaking him out.  He was scared as a colt and I don't need him to be scared right now!"  The flicking stopped and we all watched in silence as the woman and horse maneuvered the gate and exited the arena.  One of my friends immediately said, "I'd want my horse to be exposed to things.  That's how you teach them not to be afraid."  She is not a Parelli student, but is very natural and knowledgeable. A good horsewoman.  The others of us agreed, and we went on about our business of play. 

Shortly thereafter, back comes the horse, this time being towed by an older "cowboy gentleman."  "Hey," he says.  "Can I use your tarp?  These guys (apparently the horse owners, husband & wife combo) bet me I can't make this horse get on the tarp."  So, for the next several minutes, the horse was lunged, snorting and spooking all around the tarp. It was a painful process to watch.  Other horses would walk by, step on the tarp, in an effort to calm the big quarter horse - to no avail.  Eventually, I couldn't watch anymore and left the arena to go use the potty.  When I got back about 5 minutes later - success - he had the horse skip quickly across the tarp.  I'm not sure what happened, but I think from a comment, one of my Parelli friends interceded and offered some advice - but I'm not sure.  Anyway - the old cowboy declared victory and they left the arena.  It was just one in many similar days over the course of my horse owning years that I am Oh SO Pleased that I've found the Parelli program, and have learned so much from it.  And from the look of that poor quarter horses face, I know my horses are happy too.

Murphys Horse Laws - swiped from another horsey blog...

*If you do a thorough check of your trailer before hauling, your truck will break down

*There is no such thing as a sterile barn cat No one ever notices how you ride until you fall off

*The least useful horse in your barn will eat the most, require shoes every four weeks and need the vet at least once a month

*A horse's misbehavior will be in direct proportion to the number of people who are watching

*If you're wondering if you left the water on in the barn, you did

*If you're wondering if you latched the pasture gate, you didn't

*Hoof picks migrate

*Tack you hate never wears out

*Blankets you hate cannot be destroyed

*Horses you hate cannot be sold and will outlive you

*Clipper blades will become dull only when the horse is half finished

*Clipper motors will quit only when you have the horse's head left to trim

*If you approach within 50 feet of the barn in your "street clothes", you will get dirty

*You can't push a horse on a lunge line

*If a horse is advertised "under $5,000" you can bet he isn't $2,500

*The number of horses you own increases according to the number of stalls in your barn

* An uncomplicated horse can be ruined with enough schooling

*You can't run a barn without baling twine

*Wind velocity increases in direct proportion to how well your hat fits

*There is no such thing as the "right feed"

*If you fall off, you will land on the site of your most recent injury

* If you're winning, quit.

My crash and burn stories

(I had to delete the photo - just couldn't stand seeing it when I log on.  That was a painful day!)
Lately, I've had nothing but sunshine and roses to write about.  And, I've been thinking - it wasn't always this way.  I thought I'd document some of my more "cloudy" times with my horses - if for no other reason than to remember how far we've come, and as a reminder to myself to stay alert and pay attention to their body language at all times.

About 6.5 years ago I answered an ad on Craigslist to sponser a horse. I had just started a new job, my kids were pretty self-sufficient, so I had the time and the money to do it.  I met with the horse owner, got about 20 minutes of instruction, and off we went.  There were 2 horses that I had access to.  I quickly migrated to the younger, and it's a miracle that I'm still here to write about it.  Corey...  she bucked me off one night on a night ride with my soon to be friend Kimberly.  The saddle horn put a grapefruit size bruise on my stomach and thigh and I ended up on Corey's neck.  I finished the ride going home on Rosie - Kimberly's mare. Not long after, I was trying to get Corey to go into the round pen so I could work her a little. Like a typical greenie, I stood in the the middle of the gate entrance, facing Corey dead on, and pulled with all my might.  I wasn't thinking about what I would do if she actually came - she'd trample me getting through the gate.  I needed Parelli bad at this time, but it was still in my future.  After about 5 minutes of pulling, Corey got tired of it and squirted through the gate opening, slamming my face up against the bar, and I thought at the time, fracturing my cheekbone.  But, it was just a bruise.  Lucky for me!

Then came Jeffrey.  I had been the proud owner of Jeffrey for about 2 whole months the night he bucked my butt off in the arena at Franklin Canyon.  Still not knowing much about horses and having seen other owners give their horses some grain or mash at night, I bought a huge bag of Equine Adult.  It's mostly molasses, I think.   After about 2 weeks of 1 coffee can each night, Jeff was as high as a kite!  I was of course too green to know this - I just thought he was feeling good (and he looked magnificant!).  On the night in question, we made our way to the arena so I could turn him loose (he running mad, crazy circles around me from his stall to the arena).  I let him go and he went careening off, screaming at the top of his lungs.  He ran for about 45 minutes without even looking my way.  About 2 hours later when he was fairly calm, I got a wild hair.  "Why don't I jump on bareback and go for a little ride" (in the arena - thank God.)  I led him up to the mounting block, which was just a touch too short for me to get on. So, I had to jump a little.  :)  You're seeing where this is going, right?  Well, I jumped on and OFF he went - taking about 6 gallop steps - and went into a massive buck!  Off I went, flying straight up in the air, over his ass, and landed in the deep, soft arena dirt flat on my back.  This is the first time I probably should have been killed. And, it was the only time I've been bucked off. Not a fun experience. Needless to say, I took Jeff off the Equine Adult that night.

Out on the trail, again at Franklin Canyon, Jeff and I were on a trail ride with my friend Carol & her gelding Sedona. On our way home, I got too close to the edge of the trail and a broken limb from a bush caught my jacket.  I pulled the whole bush forward about 2 feet (it was dead) and then it snapped back in place, making a deafening noise.  That was when I learned about the butt tuck.  A nifty move that a horse can do where one minute you're sitting on their back, and the next - nothing - just plain air.  They tuck down and spring forward into a mad dash to escape whatever was just about to eat them (the bush in this instance). Anyway, he bolted down the trail until we got to a turn in the bend that had a little 2 inch stream of water going by.  Thank God he was afraid of crossing water (and was not a big fan of jumping either)! I survived.

Fast forward a couple years and we're now boarding at Kutchera Ranch in Antioch. I'm usually the only one at the ranch - going out after work and playing with my horses for 2-3 hours each night.  The last day stragglers are usually leaving just as we're getting warmed up. So, one very dark, very windy, and very alone night, Jeffrey was his typical nut job self and had gotten himself all worked up and sweaty. I didn't want to put him away like that so I decided to hop on (bareback w/a halter and one rein) and walk him until his sweat dried. We made it about 1/2 lap around the indoor arena when a monster jumped out from behind the bushes and bit him on the butt (or maybe it was just a cow in the field behind us - who knows...).  Jeff did his famous butt tuck, but this time I wasn't so lucky.  He careened away from the noise that startled him and was heading straight for the arena pipe paneling at a speed I knew I wasn't going to survive when he turned to avoid the fence. I had probably just finished that thought when I went flying off his butt again - rolled about 10 times (I left a skid mark of about 15 feet) and came to a stop.  My mouth was full of dirt - I had dirt in every nook and cranny of my whole body - including inside my underware, and I was pretty sure that I had broken my foot. I hobbled back to his stall, put him away (did my chores like a good mom), and made my way to the hospital.  Not broken, just badly sprained.

Sometime after (or before - it's all cloudy now), I was lazy and wanted to mount and ride rather than walk to the arena to turn him out (yes, Jeff again). I climbed up on Rosie's paddock panneling, swung a leg over, missjudged, and fell straight down on my back looking up at Jeffrey's belly. Bless his heart - he just stood there looking down at me - Watcha doing mom??  X-rays revealed that I had NOT broken my back. Whew!

Beauty's turn.  This is probably my most painful and embarrassing story to date.  I had just gotten Beauty back from training, maybe like 3 days prior.  I had not yet purchased my BG panties and was still a little intimidated riding her - even though she was doing really well under saddle.  So that afternoon, I saddled her up at my trailer and was about to mount when I noticed that the little bit of baling twine that I had used to secure her stirrup to the saddle (I had lost a screw and had made my repair with baling twine - I'm writing a book about the million uses of baling twine - but that's another story) had come unraveled. So, standing square facing her belly, mid body of the horse, I started fiddling around with that stupid white twine (snake - I'm sure she thought it was a snake).  Here's the embarrassing part - I'm sure she had given me about 10 signals prior to kicking me, but I wasn't paying attention - I was focused on the twine.  And yessss, did she kick me.  She swung her butt towards me and cow kicked the $$#@^%&% out of my right thigh. One minute I'm fiddling with twine - the next I'm sitting back in my trailer door wondering what happened. Beauty went on munching grass like she had just swatted a fly off her back w/her tail. It happened so fast, and took me so much by surprise, that I really had to sit there for a few moments and try to figure it all out. My whole leg was numb - the pain came later. But, like the stuborn B___ch that I am, I went ahead with my lesson, only on the ground - no way could I have mounted her.  It wasn't until several hours later that I thought she might have actually cracked my femur. X-rays again proved me wrong - luckily!  The best part was the AMAZING bruise that developed!  From the top of my hip to below my knee, my whole thigh was BLACK, front and back.  Then it turned red, green, and finally months later, a sickly yellow.  I still sport a sore, dead spot in the shape of a half moon that will be permanently dented.  I had so much fun freaking people out and would drop trou at the drop of a hat to show it off.  Good times!

Well, that's it!  I'm still alive and kicking and will hopefully, God willing, not have any more stories in the future to add to this!  Happy trails!

Other things to do when it's raining...

Haven't been sleeping well, so have been hoping to catch up a bit in the morning hours on days off.  Thus, I wasn't going to make myself available for todays trail ride at 10:30.  I headed out to the ranch at 11:00 (never did sleep, but sat on the couch in a daze from 7:30 to 9:30 and pretended to sleep).  The girls were gone and I started with a nice groom on each of my horses.  Jeff was first and I was just starting to work up a sweat when it got dark and a low rumble slowly became more audible and I realized we were getting ready for a really strong weather event.  It started hailing/raining/sleeting and kept growing to a deafening roar.  Now, mind you, I'm in Jeffrey's little 12x12 stall with his little 12/24 ft paddock off it.  I had just tossed him a flake of hay and when the weather hit, I stopped grooming, cocked my leg and just rested my hand on his shoulder (I was on his off side so wouldn't get trampled if he careened out into his paddock like all the other horses were doing.)  Needless to say, he didn't even lift his head from his lunch pile.  :)  I just stood by calmly, with my hand carressing his shoulder, talking softly and slowly to him and he never moved an inch.  I could feel his 1200 pounds of muscle flexing under my hand, but, he stayed calm, as did I with my foot cocked, massaging his shoulder.  It was a truly amazing moment for my Right Brained Introvert. 

After the hail stopped, I haltered him, hopped on, and we had a really nice session in the arena.  I was riding in his halter with his lead line turned into reins.  I dropped the reins onto his shoulder and went about our lesson - just using my body and suggestion for everything I was asking.  I got beautiful backups, just with my seat alone and some slight leg - change of direction, bow tie pattern, sideways - anything I could think of - all bareback w/no reins in my hands.  Long story not so short - I was very happy that I decided to sleep in and miss the trail ride this morning!

Next came my little Beauty.  Earlier in the morning, Kimberly had turned her out with Jeffrey and told me over the phone "she is in quite a mood.  Just getting her to the arena was an interesting feat.  Don't get on her until we get back, cuz I want to get it on video!"  What are friends for??  :)  She wanted to make sure if I was going to crash and burn, it would be well documented!  After my WONDERFUL session with Jeff, I was feeling confident and haltered Beauty and headed for the arena (on foot - I'm not a fool).  At the gate however, I spurned kimberly's advise and turned her halter/lead line into reins walked her to the mounting block, and with abondon, hopped on.  :)   She was great!  It could have helped that I had a pocket full of cookies, but I think she would have been the same w/o.  We rode for about 30 minutes - very light direction by me on the reins, stopped, backed up (with seat & legs only), side passed, anything I asked.  I love this girl!  I hopped off and decided to see if I could teach her to touch objects with her feet like I taught Jeff.  I swear, it took all of about 3 seconds.  I pointed to the first object - sent her to it, she sniffed it and started to come back to me and I stopped her - sent her back and lifted my foot and kicked in the air.  She lifted her foot - kicked the object - looked at me - I gave her her "ding ding ding" signal that she was right and that was all it took.  First try.  We did it to about 20 different obstacles for the next 10 minutes, and she got faster and had more fun each time.  I was bursting with glee by the end. 

Anyway - a solid, fun filled arena day today in the middle of this nasty weather.

Tomorrow both of my horses are headed out on the trail.  A friend will ride one, and I'll ride the other.  I'm so proud of them and so happy to have found this natural horsemanship method.  Happy, Happy, Happy!

Big Girl Panties

Today (2/13/11)  I have to say that Beauty and I BOTH were wearing our Big Girl Panties.  :)  After yesterday's little concern about crossing the little waterway - today we would have leaped it with glee in our hearts (me and I hope her too).  Beauty is a girl that needs a job, and today at Contra Loma, she had a job.  We jeeped all over the hills, up and down the ravines, trotted, cantered, just had a good time.  I'm sore, but will go to bed tonight with a smile on my face.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures to show soon too.  :)

February 12, 2011

Today was a really confident day on the trail.  I'm not sure who was more relaxed, Beauty or myself. It's been a tough road over the last couple years letting go of all the "learned fears," but with the help of fun, confident friends, I'm really enjoying our outings now.  So, on this trail ride, we started on the main road at Round Valley, then made our way to a side path.  This path took us to a little waterway that was mostly mud.  Leading down to it was a rocky area that the horses had to pick a path through.  Casi and Rosie made their way through easily, but I think I impeded Beauty a bit with my concerns (will she get her leg stuck in between the rocks, will she slip and fall, will she jump the ditch???), all stupid questions of the type that torment me on most of my outings.  Anyway - we made our way down, she took a look at the water, deciding where to cross, changed her mind and together we turned back and took another look at it.  I had decided to make my way around a bit farther when Kimberly suggested that I get off and help her with her confidence by walking through it myself.  Whew!  Good idea.  Anyway, what started off as a concern for me ended up with a nice mounting lesson!  Also of note today was seeing 3 coyotes come trotting down the road towards us as we made our way home. They were all about 20 feet apart from each other, and didn't even give us a look.  We usually see lone coyotes on our rides, but it was the first time we saw 3 together!

Getting Started

Yup - here I am!  Just tracking my journey with my two horses, Jeffrey and Beauty.  Jeff is a 20 yr-old Standardbred gelding, off the track, and Beauty is a coming 5 yr-old Arab/Freisian mare that I purchased at age 1.5 and have started myself (with a little help from Dave Ellis!) and two very good friends.  So, the purpose here is to record my progress and check back in now and again to see where we were and where we've come.  More to come!...