The Mist

My only conclusion is: Aliens stole his ever-lovin' mind and replaced it with mashed potatoes.

Seriously.

Gabe absolutely, completely and entirely lost it Sunday afternoon. Sure, it was quite foggy out, sure it was quiet and still and wet, maybe my dumb dog did decide that running mad circles around us and under us was a good idea and perhaps Chief was being a little stupid too, but that was no excuse for Gabe to behave the way he did.

This was his worst behavior ever and honestly, it scared me. Not because he threatened to throw me and run away, but because he was spinning in tight little circles, cantering sideways (I think we may have even cantered backwards a couple of times), blowing hard, tucking his chin to his chest and hopping, tossing his head and trying to rear and spin at every. little. sound. We didn't even make it halfway down the driveway when Chief (whom Kayleigh was riding bareback) spooked sideways, snorted and startled the crap out of Gabe, immediately putting him on an even higher level of stupid. I was more worried that we would slip and fall in the mud and occasional patch of ice or go sideways down a ravine than I was worried he'd run off with me. Running off I can handle, horse falling on me, I cannot. I got off, put him on the line and worked with him for a bit trying to get him to switch from reactive to thinking side of brain.

Failure. Massive. He was good and long gone, deep into his reactive, flighty brain and there was just not a whole lot I could do to get him back without risking a slip and fall. That's how awful he was. Because it wasn't just mud, it was a layer of mud over permafrost. Super super slick. Even the grass was slick. Ugh.

But I couldn't untack him and put him away after this awful, horrible, no good, extremely dangerous kind of behavior. So, into the arena we went with the idea to just work and work and work at the walk until I got his brain back. I wanted to avoid the arena in the first place (which is why we were heading down the driveway) because it was wet and I didn't want to destroy it. Fail.

The fog was heavy and dripping from the trees. It was misty, my face, helmet, saddle and horse soaked from it. The whiteness oozing around the trees and deep into the wood was heavily, eerily quiet. A still, deep kind of quiet that Stephen King writes about. I understand why he lost it, but that is no excuse, it's not even a good reason, period.

So we walked (kind of), flexed left and right (he got my toe popped in his nose a few times for biting), circled, halted, backed, more flexing, lots of stop and go. I flopped and flapped around on his back, I yelled into the woods so it would echo eerily back, I made him walk into the woods where he DIDN'T want to go ("Heart attacks are free. Give your horse one every day." - Clinton Anderson) and did everything he didn't want to do (at a walk-jig-wiggle) until he decided to just WALK. Whew. Who knew walking quietly was so damned HARD!?

Once I got the walk and he could stay at the walk without jigging, jogging, shimmying or scurrying, we trotted. And trotted. And trotted. I circled and circled and circled on a loose rein, keeping him moving forward until he sighed, dropped his head and licked his lips and I felt him really give in and relax. There is a big, muddy, icky circle in my arena now. Nice.

It only took 45 minutes to go from OH MY GOD I'M DYING!!! YOU'RE DYING! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!! over-reactive to relaxed and licking his lips quiet. Yeah. Only 45 minutes. Ha! I don't know what got into him, but it was completely unexpected and entirely out-of-character for both him and Chief. I do expect the occasional silly stupids from Gabe, I can handle the silly stupids and usually do so with a smile and a correction, but this was dangerous and scary, and I don't typically get scared easily in the saddle. If he behaved regularly like he behaved Sunday, I'd be worried about getting on him and he'd most likely find himself in a new home pretty quick.

Whew. Dumb horses.

Keepin' 'em healthy

Apparently I spoke too soon about having unseasonably warm weather.

It got cold and dumped ice and snow on us. Fun! Thank goodness the water tank heaters are working. I can deal with just about any aspect of winter that comes with having horses, but breaking ice I absolutely ABHOR.

Actually, instead of getting cold and staying cold, Mother Nature has been at the roulette table again. A day before the ice and cold it was 60+ degrees out. It got so damn cold and windy and snowy Thursday and Friday I ended up calling the farrier and giving him the option to reschedule. I don't have a proper barn so standing out there in the wind and cold and snow makes farrier work absolutely miserable. He rescheduled and I am glad he did! I don't like standing out there any more than he does! Their hooves actually look really, really good at the moment and it won't hurt hurt them one bit to wait a couple of weeks. Calypso has a touch of thrush in her front feet, but she always seems to have a touch of thrush, no matter how often I treat it.

Monday this week it was again 60+ degrees. Then it rained and rained and thunderstormed and hailed and the wind gusted like no one's business. Think Midwestern spring weather.

That evening, it turned frigid and cold again.

Weather like this is a horse owner's nightmare.

Colic is always a worry when the weather won't settle into something stable for a while. The constant change from warm to cold to warm to cold wreaks havoc on our poor beasts. And there's not a whole lot you can do to prevent it but keep them as hydrated, moving and as full of hay as they want to be. That's why I absolutely love my tank heaters and will never go through a winter without them. I know that my horses always have unfrozen, slightly warm water to keep their finicky digestive tracts moving like they are supposed to. And the extra helps too, not only to keep them toasty warm even on the most frigid nights, but to keep something in those guts. I'm a HUGE advocate of feeding well-soaked beet pulp during the winter, too, anything to help get as much water into them as possible, especially when it's cold and I know they tend to decrease their water intake. I think the horses really enjoy their morning and evening meals of steaming beet pulp, especially when sometimes I'm feeling extra generous and hide a couple of peppermints in the mix. They dig in and slurp away!

On the bright side, I've already noticed the daylight sticking around a little bit longer every day and poor Gabe is already starting to shed out some of his winter coat. The shedding seems a bit early to me, but who am I to argue with his internal clock? And it means spring is getting closer and closer, always a welcome time of year.

I have big plans for the spring, not only for riding and trail riding trips, but also plans to make some fairly significant lay-out changes to the farm to make things more user and horse friendly and make a little more room for a friend's horse I expect to move to my place this spring. We're moving paddocks, moving and rebuilding run-in sheds, increasing the size of the arena and adding a few more trails through the woods with cross country-style jump options. Actually, I need to get busy on clearing trails now, when all the foliage is gone and it's easy to get through the underbrush when I can see where my paths are going!

Sometimes...

I have to remind myself that although the sweltering, icky, yucky, horrible hot SUCKS....

The alternative is worse:



Because while hot is hot is hot, cold is just MISERABLE and a whole lot more work to deal with. Cold toes, cold nose, frozen horses, frozen mud holes, ice, more ice, snow...brrrrr....


Nope. I'm not ready for winter yet. I know I should be getting ready and get that hay shed filled, but it's an admission that winter, yes, it's coming.

And it can take its own sweet time for all I care. Fall, on the other hand, I am ready for fall!

Nearly disastrous

As I called Gabe in from the pasture and slipped the halter on, I realized I haven't ridden for over a month.

A long, long month of unbearable, debilitating and dangerous heat. A month of bugs so bad nothing seemed to work to keep them off my horses. After too much money and few discernible results, we finally did find something that has worked and is working well. And is far, far cheaper than the $20 bottles of horse-specific fly spray. A concentrate of 10% permethrin, made for all varieties of livestock: $8 a bottle. One bottle makes about 12 gallons and it WORKS! Not just for a few minutes, but for 2-3 days at a time. It stinks like crazy and probably isn't the gentlest stuff on their coats, but they are nearly 100% bug free all day and all night. It doesn't work very well on those fist-sized horse flies, but really, does anything but a flyswatter?

He was filthy. His greyish-silver coat streaked with dried sweat and brownish dirt came clean with significant elbow grease and about 45 minutes. I found dried blood in his tail which I can only surmise came from the crater-sized holes left in his hide by those nasty, horrible, good-for-nothing green and black horse flies. A pox on them.

He seemed happy to be messed with and stood relaxed while I scrubbed and flicked the dirt away. He is losing his summer coat already...how time flies.

The girth tightened one hole larger than a month ago and the running martingale seemed to fit his chest a bit more snugly. Seems Mr. Gabe has put on some weight despite the heat. I guess 12+ hours a day on thick, lush pasture will do that for ya!

Our ride very nearly ended in disaster before it began. Bad disaster.

Unknown to me, during the month-long hiatus from riding a swarm of wasps took up residence in my mounting block.

A BIG swarm.

I climbed onto the mounting block, pulled Gabe up near it so I could get on and noticed what I thought was about 6 big horse flies swarming his head. I swatted at them and suddenly realized they were NOT horse flies. They were wasps.

Just as this realization hit me about 20 more flew out from beneath the mounting block and swarmed me and Gabe in a buzzing, terrifying cloud. Have I mentioned that I tend to have a very bad reaction to bee and wasp stings? So, not only was I terrified my horse would get stung and freak the hell out and kill me in his freaking out process, I was terrified I'd get stung and have a reaction when no one was home and knew no one would be home any time in the foreseeable future. I briefly wondered how long it would be before someone found my body or figured out things weren't quite right at the ole homestead.

A moment of panic...do I mount and get the hell out of there and risk one or both of us getting stung or do I jump off the block and get the hell out of there and risk the same thing?

I chose the former, jumped on quickly and booted Gabe away from the block before I could even get my feet in the stirrups. Completely opposite of what I usually do and I think he was confused as I usually make him stand there for a couple of minutes before moving away. There is nothing more annoying and dangerous than a horse who won't stand still so the rider can climb aboard safely.

We escaped without either one of us getting stung but my heart was pounding and kicking him off the block so quickly (and rudely I'm afraid) had Gabe wound up for the rest of the ride. He was good, but ready to go and full of himself, especially near the Corner of Absolute Doom, Death and Destruction. It must have been particularly packed with horse-eating monsters last night because he wouldn't get near it and boot-scooted across the arena every time we came close to it.

Weirdo.

The longest months

There is no denying it.

The frost has been on the pumpkins, the trees are dropping their leaves in great colorful drifts, there has been a thin skin of ice on the water tanks in the morning and the horses are getting fuzzier by the minute.

Winter is just around the corner.

The cold, the ice, the mud...oh. The mud. In this part of the world we hover right between being in The North and being considered Southern. Some winters are bitter cold and the ground freezes solid and we get real snow. Other winters are more southern in nature - we don't get real snow, we get ice storms - and nothing ever really stays frozen for long so we are left with lots of thick, sticky nasty mud, the bane of every horse owner every where. Mud sucks. Literally. It sucks off shoes, it sucks off boots, it pulls tendons and wrenches ankles. There is nothing that sucks the energy out of me faster than having to slog through mud. I can't even tell you the number of times I've walked right out of my muck boots and planted my poor socked foot deep into cold, nasty mud.

I spend every season battling mud. Gravel disappears into the quagmire of nastiness. I'm pretty sure the gravel breeds mud, no matter how much I put down there is always more mud. It's incorrigible.

Aside from spending the other seasons prepping for the mud in an attempt to stave it off in the winter, I've been preparing for winter in other ways too.

My hay shed is FULL of beautiful sweet-smelling hay. There is something very comforting about a full hay shed going into the winter. That is one thing on the list of things I won't have to worry about for a few months.

Blankets have been found, examined and repaired. I still need to get them to the laundromat for a good washing. The horses don't wear them often, I prefer their natural coats, but when we get a good ice storm with lots of wind I blanket 'em up. You can have a cold horse...you can have a wet horse, but you should never have a cold, wet horse. Those who have horses living on pasture know: Even if they have a place to escape the weather (ie cozy run-in sheds bedded with nice, fresh straw) they rarely use them when they are supposed to. Silly beasts!

The water tank heaters have been found and examined for wear and tear and tested to make sure they still work. Calcium deposits from the winter before have been scrubbed off.

Fences have been examined and tightened and repaired where needed. Pastures at rest for the winter closed off, sprayed for weeds, limed, the clumps of poo spread and mowed one last time. I missed the fall deadline for overseeding for this area, so that will be done as soon as possible in the spring. There are only a few areas that need it this time, thankfully.

Although it's not quite cold enough yet, the hose still needs to come inside at some point. Filling tanks with a frozen hose is not only frustrating, but often impossible and frequently ends with a burst hose.

It's also time to give all my brushes their seasonal scrubbing and disinfecting. I do this once every season. It gives me the chance to really examine my brushes, replace the worn ones and keep things nice and clean. You can't get a dirty horse clean with a filthy brush!

I found the Thrush Buster, the heavy duty mud brushes and the scratches remedy. Again, the mud. My bane.

Calypso likes to break out in rain rot every winter, so I've dug out the ointment/scrub for that, too. This year I'm going to do my damndest to try to prevent her from "rotting." We'll see what happens.

My tack needs a good scrubbing and conditioning. The cold, dry weather wreaks havoc on good leather.

While many people don't consider it, I also stock up on electrolytes for winter use. I have discovered it can be a challenge to find electrolytes during the winter at the feed store, so I stock up at the end of summer. The horses tend to drink less during the winter, and, combined with the cold, less desire to move around and increased dry roughage (hay), it's a recipe for colic. I feed electrolytes daily in the horse's warm beet pulp mash to encourage winter water consumption. It seems to work. The tanks don't empty quite as fast as they do in the summer, but the water level lowers steadily and gives me peace of mind knowing they're getting enough in their tummies to keep things moving right along properly.

And finally, now that I've found and fixed the horse's outerwear, it's time to find mine! Gloves, coats, hats, scarves, etc. Oh, and thick socks...must have thick socks for riding. I can stand cold noses. I can tolerate cold fingers, but when I dismount after a chilly ride, the last thing I want is to feel like I've shattered my feet when I hit the ground! So, warm socks top the list.

I still need to replace the handles on my wheelbarrow. They snapped this summer and need repaired. Can't clean run-ins without a wheelbarrow! I've been using the yard cart on my mower to keep them clean until now, but when it's muddy, that mower ain't going through it without a fight!

Are you ready for winter?

Is it fall yet?

What I love most about summer: The heat.
What I hate most about summer: The heat.

I guess there's just no pleasing some people!

I look forward to every summer and the chance to ride every day if I feel like it. In my somewhat skewed memory, summers as a horse-crazy teen were dry and hot and windy — that hot, dusty summer smell mingling so perfectly with the scent of my mare's sweat sticky-slick on my shorts-clad legs and that delightful horse aroma enveloping me as we went wherever our imaginations would allow. The occasional dip in a nearby creek or swim across the river cooled our dusty skin. We dried quickly, that hot wind evaporating the water and the sweat and leaving us appropriately cooled in the process.

Heat has never bothered me.

But these summers in Illinois are different than those I grew up with in Kansas.

They are hot and disgusting: A sticky, wet, muggy, suffocating heat that leaves little energy or desire to do anything but sit around in the air conditioning and curse the summer. And that means very little energy to ride. The endless days of dangerous heat advisories haven't helped matters much as I pace inside and beg for a breeze, a dip in temperature, a cool fall morning.

There is no constant wind to dry the sweat. There is only sweat that soaks and drips and drenches and clothes that cling uncomfortably to every inch of covered skin. There is no relief, just relentless, brutal heat.

My horses come in from the pasture drenched in sweat and drooping from the tips of their ears to the ends of their tails. The horse flies have been absolutely unforgiving this summer and no amount or brand of fly spray deters them. Who wants to ride when the horse is already exhausted and miserable? Not me.

I just want to ride. I need to ride. I dream about riding. I rode Sunday but it was a short ride just to get on and do my soul good. It did a lot of good but I need more!

I hate Illinois summers. Hate. Them.

You see, the bitter cold I can deal with. As long as my face isn't getting frostbitten, I'm outside. The dry heat I can deal with. This boil-water-on-your-skin and suck the life out of you humidity? Not so much.

Please fall, arrive soon? I miss you much. I'm so totally over summer.

As the sun rises

The weather here has been absolutely phenomenal for the last couple of days: Down into the 60s at night and a tad bit chilly in the morning. Perfect riding weather!

Wednesday morning the kiddo and I set out bright and early on Chief and Calypso for a nice little trail ride before I had to leave for work. The world is so amazing and fresh and beautiful at 5 a.m. when the sun is just starting to peek up over the horizon and the birds are waking.

Of course, the ride always begins with grooming! She has some trouble reaching his back, but he's patient.

Saddle? We don't need no stinking saddle!

I love the trails we have to ride on. Lovely, especially in the morning. Look! Calypso is listening to me! She was a good girl. Fat and out of shape, but good. Please forgive the mud "beads" in her forelock. She wouldn't let me get them out yet insists on rolling in the biggest mud puddle she can find each and every time. Little pig.

Oooohhh...someone was NOT very happy with me for leaving him behind. If a horse could be jealous, I'm pretty sure he was.

When it's scorching

Holy wow it's hot. Really, really hot. Excessive heat warning hot, horses standing around sweating hot. Water tanks bath-water warm by the end of the day.

What do you do when it's so hot you barely want to step outside yet you absolutely long to ride? Smart people get up with the sun to ride.

Not so smart people complain about not being able to ride because it's too bloody hot.

Guess what category I'm in?

Yeah. The not so smart one. I keep meaning to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to get a ride in while it's still bearable out. But that dang snooze button is far too close to my bed to make a 5 a.m. ride reality very often. I've only managed it a couple of times and each time I've been so pleased with myself and had such a wonderful ride.

Instead I get home from work in the afternoon and watch my horses graze, wishing I could ride. Wanting to go for a gallop and feel the wind blowing across my face. I'd say through my hair, too, but I'm just old enough to know I'm no longer invincible and I always wear my hard hat.

The horses are gross. I think they'll all get showers tonight. I may not be able to ride, but I sure can cool 'em off and clean 'em up. Last night they came in from the pasture dripping with sweat and of course, my sweet, gray darling found the muddiest spot he could locate in his paddock and rolled. He is now dirt-colored and crusty. Ugh. But the bonus is he's so gross the flies can't tell where the ground ends and he begins. Nasty beast.

I always have mineral blocks out for them but during the summer, they get electrolytes in their evening feed too. I just don't think they are able to lick enough salt off those blocks to make up for what they are losing standing out there dripping. As much as the heat sucks, I'll take the heat over the endless mud any day of the year!

Happy trails...I hope I'm out there on them bright and early tomorrow morning!

Fur, feet and frozen fun!

I am a big cheater. A big, ole, lazy cheater.

After spending nearly four hours to de-mud Gabe and Chief (my husband de-mudded his own mare and it took him well over an hour!), I threw in the towel. Those beasts got blankets. Not because they are cold. Not because I feel sorry for them out there in the frigid breeze but because that was a LOT of work and I don't want to do it again any time soon! I'd much rather haul a load of muddified blankets down to the laundromat than ever have to chisel my horses free from their mud cocoons again. Miserable. Absolutely miserable.

Some places have sandy mud that dries loose and you can just knock it off fairly easily with some good old elbow grease. Our mud is mostly clay and when it dries, it dries HARD. Calypso still has some huge chunks in her mane that look like gigantic pony beads and rattle when she shakes her head. I can't get them out without shredding her mane. If I can't get them out when it warms up and I can effectively use water, she may end up getting roached. Poor Gabe's flanks look like he has a bad case of mange. The mud was so firmly adhered to those long hairs on his extra sensitive flanks that the only way I could get them off was by cutting them off. I even tried softening them up with a damp, hot towel and was not successful. It was so cold the damp towel was soon a crunchy ice cube. *sigh* Winter horse keeping SUCKS.

The farrier came out today. I should have canceled the appointment and rescheduled. It's about 10 degrees out, before the wind chill and it's WINDY, so standing out there with the farrier was a miserable experience.

The horses probably could have gone a couple more weeks because he didn't take off much hoof. Just evened them out and re-set Calypso's shoes. Their hooves just haven't been growing much in the cold. I am happy to announce, however, that although we have had absolutely HORRENDOUS mud, none of the beasts have thrush or white line or anything else funky going on. Their hooves are hard and healthy. Gabe, however, did manage to slice open a bit of his heel bulb this morning, most likely on one of the hard, frozen "mud mountains" out in their paddocks. It's not bad, but it is the first time he's done that. I prefer the ground to be frozen over sticky and muddy, but dang, I wish I could convince the horses to just stand still while it's muddy instead of making huge hoof pits all over the paddock just before it freezes.

Hurry up spring! I'm freaking COLD!

Who's on Ark duty?

Gabe is back to his old tricks so I'm assuming he's feeling 100 percent once again, thank goodness! I've decided to make all of the horse's morning and evening meals much soupier than I have been and I'm adding about a tablespoon of salt to each feeding to encourage the drinking. They are all gobbling it up and the level of the water tanks seem to be continuously falling, so that's a good thing.

I knew Gabe was definitely feeling better when he kept tipping over the wheel barrow, trying to steal the pitchfork out of my hands and hanging his head over my shoulder while I was cleaning his run-in Sunday. That horse knows exactly where to put his body so he's right where I want to clean! Then, he has to be right at my back, resting his chin on my shoulder, sighing into my ear and nuzzling at my hair. A year ago, he would have been biting chunks out of me, now, he just makes a pest of himself and begs for face and ear scratching.

It rained yet again and the weather forecasters are calling for MORE rain. The mud that was drying out a tad bit (still sticky and nasty, but a little firmer and some of the puddles had diminished in size a tad) is again thick, sticky and disgusting.

My husband and I spent part of the day Saturday removing a cross fence. We had the fence up back when Chief and Calypso couldn't play nice with Gabe so they were kept separated when turned out in the pastures. They all get along very well now so we decided to go ahead and take down the cross fence. The pasture is a bog. Both of us kept punching through the grassy sod into goopy, nasty mud below and making rather obscene squishing noises wherever we walked. I could pull the T-posts out of the soupy ground with ONE HAND, and those suckers were set deep. Our fences are capped T-posts with three strands of ElectroBraid. The corner posts are round 6-inch diameter wood posts set at least three feet into concrete. The freaking corner posts are LOOSE due to the bog-like conditions, the T-posts are loose and because we keep having freezing, thawing, freezing, thawing conditions, the ground has heaved some of them up and others out of the nice, neat, straight line they were set in. GAH! We have our work cut out for us when it finally does dry out enough to re-set and straighten some of those posts.

So, I've tried to think of a few positive things about all this rain and wet. I couldn't come up with many, not this time of year.

1. Our well is most certainly full!
2. Spring flowers and grass are getting a nice, long pre-season drink.
3. The water table is sufficiently high to deal with the summer dry season.
4. The waterfowl are happy.
5. The pond and creek are full, full, full!
6. We drained our 12-foot deep swimming pool this fall and it's almost FULL again! Guess we won't have to order a water truck in to refill it this spring.

I don't think I have enough blog space to list all the negative things about the rain and wet this time of year!

I'm a whole lot worried about what spring will bring as that is typically our "wet season." The road we live off has been flooded more often than not this year and the road itself is starting to crumble and sink. It's next to a deep, deep creek with very, very high banks. The creek has been creeping closer and closer and closer to the road and I have a feeling we may lose sections of the road entirely this spring if it's as wet and rainy as I expect it will be.

Mud baths

Yesterday all three horses decided it would be a fantastic time to roll around in the mud. More than once. The thick, sticky, nasty mud that stuck to them like a second skin. I looked out and I no longer have a gray, a bay and an appaloosa...I have three mud-colored horses. You can't even see Chief's spots any more! The only part of Gabe that is still gray is the front of his face and I'm sure it's only gray because he couldn't figure out how to cover that part of him in muck. Even his forelock is matted in a muddy sheath!

Gabe now has dreadlocks and his tail resembles a baseball bat, it's so coated in mud. I tried grooming him, but it was an effort of futility. The more I groomed, the angrier he got because each stroke of the curry pulled his long, winter hair and I'm sure it HURT! There is no way I can get that caked-on mud off without a bath, and, unfortunately, I don't have a heated wash stall to do that job.

I don't know what the heck I'm going to do to get that mud off. I can't just leave it there, that would make me a horrible horse mommy! And I can't wash it off, it's too cold. Why, oh why, can't I have fastidious horses who refuse to slog around in the mire like pigs? Instead, I have a herd of horses who all believe they are kin to hogs.

And we have more rain on the way. Joy.

There are some days when I would give my right arm for a barn with roomy stalls and a heated wash stall...today is one of those days!

Oh, the warm days of spring, how I long for you.

Three big piggies

I'm not much of a betting person.

Occasionally, I go to the track to watch the ponies run and I blow a few bucks on the filly in my favorite colored silks.

But today, I'm willing to bet my horses are dirtier than yours. It's a fine art, and they have it perfected. The week's worth of nonstop rain has certainly aided their quest for ultimate dirtiness.




I mean, really. Come on, Gabe. Is this NECESSARY? Seriously? It's CAKED on there, ground in and just all around nasty. Pssst...you missed a spot. I see some clean hair right there behind your elbow.





And you'd think, as a girl, Calypso would be a little bit more conscientious about the health and cleanliness of her hair. Not so. She gets just as dirty and nasty as the boys.


I'm willing to bet he considers it a challenge. Must. Be. Dirtier. Than the GIRL! MUST!

Face, eyelashes and mane? Check.

Butt? Tail? Back? Withers? Check. Check. Check.


Ha! I WIN! WHEE!!!

Hey horses? You and the mud win. I give up. You can officially be known as pigs from now on!

Save me from the swamp moles!

Ahh...fall. I love fall: The changing leaves, the crisp, cool air, spirited horses, Halloween, bonfires and prepping the gardens for spring. I've already planted about 200 more tulip, daffodil, narcissus, anemone, crocus and iris bulbs/rhizomes. I'm looking forward to seeing them come up in the spring!

However, I can really do without the mud. Rain, I like. Mud, I hate.

I hate the mud pit the paddocks so quickly become after a week of rain. And those silly animals prefer to stand IN the rain, in the mud, instead of going to hang out in their dry, cozy run-in sheds. Chief and Calypso aren't all too fond of their shed, but Gabe, he LOVES his. My family refers to him as Eeyore when he's out there, standing in his run-in, napping with his head down. He kind of does resemble Eeyore a bit, especially on those gray, gray rainy days when there's really nothing to do but hang out in the shed and sleep. I can almost hear him mumbling to himself in Eeyore's deep, woe-is-me voice!

I hate that the mud ruins my training program. I can't very well get out there and work on transitions or lateral work when the "arena" is pastern deep with sucking mud. And we've a recent infestation of MOLES which have done no favors to the condition of my turf arena. Ugh. Just when it was starting to look really, really nice the moles moved in and destroyed a big section of it practically over night.

Yes, I did put poison out for them, much to the dismay of my youngest, Kayleigh. However, when I asked her if she'd rather me kill the moles or have to put her horse down because he broke a leg in one of the mole hills, she was a bit more understanding. I certainly don't relish poisoning the moles, but they can't make their homes in my arena. I haven't seen any dead ones yet, so hopefully they'll just die underground. Wow, that makes me sound horrible. But having your horse tripping through mole hills, holes and tunnels is NOT a fun experience.

We've had the wettest October ON RECORD here. There hasn't been much riding because it seems like it's constantly raining. Constantly. As in every. single. day. I've been able to ride a few times during the month, but, of course, when I can't ride Gabe consistently each ride is a "reminder" session instead of a session where I can introduce something a bit new or work on something we had issues with last time.

If I don't ride regularly he behaves like a nutty juvenile for the first 10 min. of each session before he'll settle down enough to get to work. Some days, his work ethic is non-existent and we do nothing but very basic things like going and stopping and turning because he just can't seem to concentrate on anything other than the basics.

Other days, he's all for giving it his best effort and we can try harder concepts, like lateral movements, changes within the gait, bending, connectedness and transitions. I never know which horse I'm going to get when I climb up there! It's a good thing I truly enjoy the challenge that is Gabe, but I admit, sometimes his "baby behavior" can be incredibly frustrating.

I have upped my own fitness program to keep up with him, especially as he is gaining muscle with the work we are doing. I'm weight training 4 days a week, doing Pilates and Yoga 3 days a week and on those three days, I also do some kind of cardio (walking/jogging, jump rope, one of my cardio videos). I'm already feeling stronger, more balanced and improved overall.

Lazy days

Gabe has a new nickname: Mr. Lazy Pants.

Lounging around in the pasture and filling up on grass and clover and alfalfa all day must be hard work because when they come in for their night meal, he's seriously draggin' butt. It could be the weather, too: Hot and HUMID. The humidity is such an energy sapper for every one.

But I really think his Highness is feeling a bit worn out by the work it takes to be at the bottom of a herd, and his insatiable need to be a pest. This is the third week I've been able to turn all three out together as a herd and Gabe can be a bit overreactive. If Calypso turns her butt towards him, just turns, no threatening or warning, he's running to the other side of the pasture. If Chief lays his ears back at him, just a warning to back off a bit, not going after him, he's running to the other side of the pasture, flinging his head around and throwing a few bucks and squeals in there for good measure. I can't tell if he does it because he really is worried about getting kicked or if he's just using it as an excuse to run. He does like to run...when he's not being Mr. Lazy Pants.

He always runs back to his starting point, almost like he's saying "Ha! Ha! You can't catch me!" And they can't. Even though he's a track failure, he's MUCH faster than the other two butterballs and escapes teeth and feet every time. He hasn't a single mark on him, they just can't catch up to lay a tooth or a hoof on him. He has some amazing sliding stops and spins for a TB, that's for sure! My pastures aren't liking those sliding stops so much.

But he's a brat. Seriously, he's a giant, pestering brat and I really can't say I blame the other two for not putting up with his crap and giving him the stink eye when he comes near. I watched them this weekend and Gabe would creep up on one of the other two, slowly grazing his way towards them, watchful and wary, acting like la-tee-da, nothing going on over here, don't look at me, I'm just eating. Then, when he got close enough and the other horse was ignoring him and contentedly munching away, he'd reach out, nip the other on the butt, spin and take off running and bucking like a mad man while the other one whirled to find him already gone. He did it several times. He's like the bratty kid down the road who rings your doorbell then runs away.

I know he just wants them to play with him, but they aren't having any of it. I almost feel kind of bad for him because he's so playful and the other two, well, they just aren't. Chief is a Grumpy Old Man, and Calypso, she's just fat and not terribly athletic. It's easier to bury her head in the grass that *gasp!* trot or canter! But, I imagine he's having fun just pestering them or he wouldn't keep doing it.

Either that, or he's one of those horses who belongs on the short bus and takes a LONG time to figure things out. I really hope he's just having some fun!

Green, green everywhere

It always amazes me how very busy life becomes when the days get longer and the plants spring to life. I've already mowed our pastures TWICE and two need another mowing this weekend. The grasses are up to the horse's bellies and going to seed, so they need to be knocked back down. I like the keep the grasses between 8 inches and 10 inches high, any taller than that and they start going woody and losing nutritional value. Plus, regular mowing keeps any weeds in check and gives the grasses and legumes a leg up to overcome and overtake any pesky weeds. Pasture maintenance is such a labor-intensive venture! The horses are definitely happy in their green paradise.

Last weekend I got a wild hair and decided to try putting all three out to pasture together again. Last year it was a disaster. Chief tried to run Gabe through the fences and just kept after him All. Day. Long. He was overly aggressive and the risk of injury far outweighed my desire to have a happy little herd of three instead of separating them.

I put Gabe out to the pasture first, then turned Calypso out with him. The two usually go out together so I knew there wouldn't be an issue. Once those two got their bucks out I turned Chief out with them. He trotted up to Gabe and Gabe up to him, necks arched, tails held high. The sniffed noses and Chief squealed and struck out with a front leg. Then the two changed position and inspected each other's boy bits, squealed a bit more, sniffed noses again and dropped their heads to graze. That's IT. No running, no kicking, no biting, nothing. I guess Chief really just needed a year of getting used to Gabe over the fence before he was okay with welcoming him into his little herd of two.

Gabe is definitely on the bottom of the totem pole, where he belongs. He is very, very responsive to pinned ears and swishing tails and sometimes looks a bit dejected as Chief and Calypso graze side-by-side while he follows them at a safe distance. I think that will change after awhile, they all just need a chance to get used to the new herd dynamics. Gabe really, really wants to play though, he's such a baby still. He often goes running around the pasture, tail high, snorting like a crazy horse, and swings in to make playful bucks and nips towards Chief and Calypso, inviting them to play. They tolerate him, but haven't ventured to participate in his little games yet.

Not much riding lately. The tilling and planting and mowing and repairing has kept me obscenely busy. Not to mention my husband has been working TONS of overtime, meaning he doesn't get home until the sun is setting, and I won't ride Gabe without another adult home, just in case something happens. I'd hate for something bad to happen to me with just Kayleigh home! I so hate having to depend on someone else's schedule to get my riding time in. Hate. It.

Living in a bog

Well, guess what. It's raining again. It's been raining every day since Monday and is supposed to continue raining every day for the rest of the week. Yay us. I know, I know, I shouldn't be complaining. At least we have enough rain to really green up the fields...but what good are green, lush fields when I can't turn the horses out on it because it's like walking across a bog?

The ground is so saturated that when you walk on it the sod sinks and it does feel a whole lot like walking across a bog. If you listen while you walk you can hear the water move air bubbles through the soil three feet away from where you put your foot. Not exactly ground conducive to riding, that's for sure!

I can't plant anything, I can't ride, I can't mow (and mowing is desperately needed!) and our mosquitoes are HORRIBLE. I've never seen so many of the nasty bugs around here this time of year, ever. And they are almost big enough to carry off a horse! We have to mosquito spray the horses every evening and make sure their fly masks are on or they are absolutely miserable. The mosquitoes are swarming like mad, they are evening bothering my poor goats, so the goats get mosquito-sprayed, too. Unfortunately I haven't seen any fly masks for goats or they'd have some! Thank goodness the flies/horse flies haven't made a big appearance yet, it's just the mosquitoes at the moment.

When it dries up a bit more I plan to take Gabe out for a longe session involving the oh-so-scary gate. Once again I'll ask my patient, darling husband to help me train my horse and have him knock the thing over again and again while I'm longeing Gabe just to get him desensitized to that particular noise. Nothing like turning a scary thing into a learning lesson that will benefit Gabe and myself in the future.

Hitting the dirt

Ahh, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

I got my butt dumped into the dirt yesterday. In a way, it's kind of a relief that that particular first is finally over and done with aboard Gabe. I've been anticipating it and I think that anticipation translated into unnecessary nervousness in the saddle. Is it goofy to say that now that he's launched me I feel more confident? I admit, I was scared of the fall...it's an awful long way down, but now that I've done it and survived without a bump nor scratch, I no longer have to fear the fall. Sounds weird, I know, but it's true!

Sunday was beautiful, quite windy, but gorgeous. Ok, it was very, very windy and gusty and I was a bit tempted NOT to ride because of the gusts, but, I bit the bullet and refused to let the weather make me its slave once again.

Robert, Kayleigh and I all went for a ride. Another first! We've never all three been able to ride on separate horses at the same time! Kayleigh used to be small enough to ride double on Chief with Robert and me on Calypso, but she's gotten too big for that any more. It was wonderful! I was only able to ride in the arena area and Kayleigh and Robert went for a short hack after I was done riding Gabe.

We are in the process of fencing in the arena area to turn it into another pasture as well as make it safer for riding. An enclosed area is always a nice thing to have to ride in, especially if you have kids or are riding very green horses. But, it's not fenced yet. We have it all cleared and to be fenced, just haven't gotten to the posts and fencing part yet. There is fence along two sides where it abuts the dry lots and one of the grass pastures, a deep creek and woods on one side and an opening in the woods where it leads to a bridge over the creek and back out to the rest of the property. This opening is where the gate will be installed. The gate is not properly installed yet (ever try to dig post holes in thick mud? Not fun!) but, we had the metal gate leaning against a corner post and a tree to block that opening.

Remember that gusty wind I mentioned?

Blew that gate right over as Gabe and I were walking away from it. Ever hear one of those big, metal gates hit the ground and rocks? Not exactly silent.

Hoo boy! I don't know how jockeys manage to stay on when those horses break from the gate! Gabe sprang forward from a relaxed walk into a gallop in a second flat and left me wondering where the heck he went. BAM! Gone. It did give me an opportunity to admire the pretty wild flowers growing in the grass up close and personal. His spook caught me off guard at a point when I was really thinking about and working on being as loose and relaxed as possible in the saddle so I wasn't inadvertently giving him signals so slow down or stop. I guess I was, eh? ROFL! I was so mad at myself, too. I should have been able to ride that particular spook, I've ridden 100s, nay 1,000s of them without an issue.

Poor Kayleigh was so worried about me. She's never seen me dumped before and it wasn't a pretty land-on-your-feet fall either. It was an eat dirt fall. Thank goodness I had my hard hat on. Without that brim I would have face-planted right on my nose. But, I caught Gabe (he didn't go anywhere, and stopped running as soon as I left the saddle), gave him a reassuring pat, and got back up to finish our session. Not a bit of spook left in him and we finished on a good note.

Aside from ditching me, Gabe was wonderful. He is moving well off my leg. Sometimes I have to nudge, nudge, nudge, kiss, kiss, kiss to get him walking from a halt, but he's walking most often off a squeeze, and that's definitely a step in the right direction. The turns are still sticky and he threw a few little head tossing, grunting fits when I decided he could turn around and walk in the opposite direction Chief and Calypso were heading. He did NOT like that idea at all, but after "expressing himself" in his own unique way, he would sigh and give up and head in the direction I pointed him. Good boy!

Let's talk about mud

It's the bane of horse owners every where. It never gets better, it only gets worse and it's a constant battle to keep it under control.

Mud. I hate it. My horses hate it. We have an unending supply of the sticky, nasty, slick and slimy stuff. In most areas it's only a couple inches deep (not over the top of the hooves) in other places its pastern-sucking deep. I worry about their hooves being wet all the time, but so far, we've had no problems *cross fingers!* and their hooves are quite healthy. They all have a very slight case of thrush, but nothing to get excited about. I've seen stalled horses with far worse cases of thrush than I've ever seen in any of mine. They are just standing in mud, not pee and poo. I treat the thrush a few times a week to keep it from getting worse, but that's about all I can do at this point. Grooming is an adventure, of course, and sometimes Gabe is more bay than gray! There are times you can't tell Chief is an Appy because all his spots are covered in mud. Last night Calypso had a dried patina of mud encrusting her entire body...she kind of looked like she'd been dipped in a milk chocolate coating! Their tails are so long the ends get little balls of mud stuck tight to them. That is SO much fun to groom, I tell you what. Mix in a bunch of shedding beasts and its a party! Their tails are so long the ends get little balls of mud stuck tight to them. I'm going to have a beauty spa day this weekend and wash those tails so I can detangle, de-mudify and whack about three or four inches off the bottom of each. Not Gabe's, of course. His is barely past his hocks at this point, but Chief and Calypso both have about 2 inches dragging the ground.

We have launched a battle against the worst of the worst with tons of gravel and geotextile cloth. But it's an expensive venture. If I could afford to we'd strip and cover both dry (mud!) lots with "cow carpet" and overlay that with stone dust. But it's a tad cost prohibitive at more than $5,000 per paddock (on the cheap side.) Yikes! Right now we are just putting down rock where the horses tend to stand...at the gates, in front of and in run-in sheds and around the water tanks. But the rest of the paddocks remain a muddy mess.

A barn is in our future and I'm still teetering on whether or not I'd actually leave the horses in stalls when the paddocks are muddy. It's kind of a two-edged sword. If you leave them in you can hypothetically prevent deeper mud by keeping damaging hooves out of it. However, leaving them in during the muddy season also seriously increases their energy level so when you DO turn them out, they'll most likely run around bucking and farting like fiends and 1. Rip up the paddock any way and 2. Injure their crazy selves. And I'd double my cost of horse keeping with the cost of shavings for each stall. I'm still leaning towards putting them in stalls during the worst of the weather (super cold winter days, icy paddocks. cold, pouring rain/sleet and just really, really nasty days.) instead of making it a regular thing. Cleaning three stalls every day would take that much more time away from riding and enjoying my horses! Keeping the farm in shape and gardening takes enough of that precious time already without adding more chores to the list.

I love having my horses at home. I love that I can sit on my deck with a drink in hand and just watch them be horses. I love that I can wake up in the morning and glance out the dining room window to do a quick welfare check to make sure everyone is still standing. I love hearing them nicker for their meals when they see me heading out with the feed buckets and hay. I love having my eyes on them every day and not having to trust someone else to notice if something is off or not quite right. I can wander out at any time and just visit with them if I want to. I know exactly what they are eating and when and can adjust feed on the fly if necessary. Extra hard day of riding? You get an extra pound of oats or another flake of hay. Looking a tad on the pudgy side? I can cut feed immediately instead of relying on someone else to do it. I don't ever have to wonder if they got their supplements or medication because I'M the one doing it. I will never, ever go back to a boarding situation again. Sure, I miss the indoor arena and the all-weather arena. Sometimes I even miss the silly barn drama and I definitely miss my riding buddiees. But I don't miss it enough to ever go back. EVER.

I just hate the mud!

The fascinating pile 'o poo

Spring is just around the corner and we are definitely enjoying the better weather around here. Warm and sunny most days. We had rain last night but we needed it. The pastures are greening up beautifully and it is SO hard for me not to turn the horses out on it already! I like to wait until the grass is a few inches long before I start gradually turning them out full time. Last year I didn't turn them out on the grass until after I mowed them all at least once. I don't know if I'll wait that long this year.

I've ridden Gabe four times since my first ride and he just keeps getting better. We are still steering wide, but the stop is definitely there. My last ride we had a bit of a forward issue: He didn't want to go forward. Robert was riding Calypso with us in Gabe's paddock (it's about arena sized) and Gabe was doing beautifully: Circling, stopping, walking, changing speed within the walk and reaching for the bit. He is very, very mouthy with the bit. He likes to suck it up and chew, chew, chew and play with it so we get plenty of foam on the lips. I know in a dressage competition his mouthiness would be counted against him, but I'm not going to put him in a flash or a drop. If he wants to play, I don't care, as long as he listens and doesn't try to grab it and ignore me. I think some horses are just naturally mouthy, and he is definitely one of them. He is the most oral horse I've ever been around, much like a toddler who has to shove everything into his mouth or at least give it a taste. He even tries to pull parts of the bridle into his mouth when I tack him up. He normally reaching around and nibbles at my sleeve or arm or shirt while I'm grooming. He's not trying to bite out of malice, he just seems to need to have something in his mouth. An odd beast he is.

Anyway, we were riding with Calypso and she pooped. Shocking, I know! Gabe was suddenly mesmerized by her pile of poop and refused to move away from it. I wouldn't let him sniff it and trust me, he was trying! I tried to make him walk away from it and he decided backing up was his best option because he did not want to leave that pile of poo, dammit! So we backed and we backed and we backed. I kept his head turned to the side as he was backing and as soon as he'd make even the slightest forward or turning movement, I released his head. He figured it out pretty quickly. There is no good (or safe) way to force a horse to go forward if they are determined to go backwards, the option of going up is definitely increased in that situation. I could have kicked the crap out of him and forced him to go forward, but all I would have managed to do is get in a battle of wills with him, and I'm not going to win. He is much larger than me and will win any "strength" battle. My philosophy is to make it uncomfortable to do the wrong thing and very easy to do what I am asking. Backing up with your head pulled around to the side is not comfortable or easy...taking a step forward and having your head released is much easier! Thankfully he fairly quickly chose the easy path.

The funny thing is, as soon as I untacked and turned him back out into his paddock, he trotted over to that pile of poop and gave it a good long sniff then wandered away like it wasn't a thing. I told you, he's bizarre!

Today is beautiful and I'm sitting in the office with ants in my pants. I just want to get home and RIDE!!!!

P.S. I still have a job! We all were forced to take a pay cut so now I'm earning what I earned in 2005, but at least I still have a job. And for that I am thankful. It could have been much, much worse.

My three kids

What a stellar day Sunday was! I got each horse ridden or worked and spent nearly my entire day outside in this unseasonably warm weather. Sunny and nearly 50! The snow was melting, the birds were singing, the sky was blue and the guys with the chainsaws were gone. A perfect day to take myself outside and get those wooly mammoth horses working.

I took Chief out first. While he is my daughter's horse, he needs an occasional tune-up to keep him honest. For the most part he's excellent for her, but sometimes, just sometimes, he gets full of himself and forgets how to turn when asked. I get on for a few sessions, remind him of his job and all is well. He was NOT happy about leaving Calypso and Gabe behind and those two certainly raised enough of a ruckus to remind him what he had left behind. We were out road riding for about 45 minutes, mostly at the walk since he isn't very fit at the moment. We saw dogs, peacocks and cows and a really loud ultralight flew over us. He eyeballed everything but was mostly well-behaved.

Then it was Calypso's turn. I haven't ridden her in a few weeks due to the crappy weather. She is barefoot at the moment and is one of those horses who has extremely sensitive feet so I try not to ride her if the ground is really hard. I'd leave her shod through the winter if I thought she'd be stable walking over the frozen ground and ice while wearing iron. She's not a very balanced, athletic or agile horse and I do think she'd go down if I left her walking on iron through the winter iciness, so, she goes barefoot and I don't ride her much while the ground is frozen.

She was a complete and total turd. I took her out on the road too, but in the opposite direction.

She kept trying to haul ass back home and walked very, very slowly away from the house. We went about 1.5 miles and turned around to come back. Holy moly! Instant energy! She couldn't remember how to walk...jigging with a giraffe neck was the only gait she knew! So we did lots of voltes. Lots and lots of voltes. All the way home. As long as she walked nicely (I'd even accept a fast walk...as long as it was a walk and not a jig, jog or trot) we'd walk straight. The moment she even thought about switching gears...BAM! Volte. Volte. Volte. Halt. Walk. Good girl. All the way home. What should have taken 20 mins. took nearly 45 mins. But, by the time we hit our driveway she was FINALLY walking nicely on a loose rein. So, she needs more regular work. I knew that. She is not one of those horses you can just pop back on after an extended vacation and all is good. She needs a couple of reminding sessions before all is good.

Finally, I worked Gabe. Obviously I'm not ready to take him out road riding yet and with the snow melting my riding area was a bit squishy. I didn't want to ride him in the squishiness, not after the other two were complete nut cases...I knew he'd be an even sillier nut case! So, he got lunged. He is also one of those who needs fairly regular work or he slips back. He played dumb to my voice commands for a few minutes then straightened up and behaved. We worked on voice commands (halt, walk, trot, reverse) and on keeping our circle round. He really likes to drift in towards me tracking right. I also adjusted the circle size from the end of the lunge line down to volte size and back out again to encourage him to stretch, balance, bend and carry himself, which he did.

Then, he decided to have a stupid moment. Down went the head, up went the heels. Buck, snort, kick, twist, leap, squeal. Did I mention the snow was melting and the ground was a bit squishy? Yup. A bit slippery, too. SMACK! Down he went flat onto his side with a grunt. He stayed flat for a microsecond and was back on his feet, staring at me. He had the gall to look at me like it was somehow MY fault he acted like an idiot and ended up on his butt! You know how sometimes you just have to let kids make mistakes so they learn from them? I have the same philosophy about horses. Gabe made a mistake and he realized it instantly. Whether he blames his fall on me or not, he ceased his rough housing and behaved like a perfect gentleman for the rest of our training session. He was even better behaved and listening nicely! He wasn't hurt, physically. I think his pride and ego were a bit dented, but he is fine. If he learned anything from that fall I hope he learned that HE is responsible for where he puts his feet and HE is responsible for making sure all four feet stay on the ground. And most of all, I hope he learned that goofing around like than on the lunge line is NOT acceptable.

It was a good day. I love how very different each of my horses are. Chief is the slow and steady senior with a bit of sass; Calypso is the ADD/ADHD worry wart and Gabriel is the over-confident teenager with "It wasn't MY FAULT!" issues.