Super Sunday

I went out to the barn at about 9:30 this morning. J and T were home working on getting him caught up in math. I wanted to work Ashke in the arena, and Sunday is a riding day, so I went out.

I miss Nicole.

We got saddled up and headed to the arena. I decided to take Nicole up on her offer and try her saddle pad she got from Back on Track. The saddle fit a lot better with the thinner pad. Ashke's back has filled in so much, I don't think he needs the thicker saddle pad. I think the Back on Track pad helped keep his back warm, and I think the better fit on the saddle also helped. All I know is we had a great ride.

For the first time, Ashke came back into my hand, dropped his head at the trot and brought his haunches up underneath him. Not for the entire ride, but often enough that I can see we are making progress. He tried really hard to do what I was asking him for. Our trot was much improved and he seemed a lot more settled. He even shared time and space in the arena with other horses without going all psycho on me. His head was down for most of the ride, sometimes he even managed to get it low enough to raise his back. I was very happy at his effort.

We cantered as well. Five or six times around to the left and four or so times around to the right. Our only bad moment came as I asked for a transition from canter to trot moving to the left. He stumbled and almost fell. I think he tweeked his right hammie with that stumble. He didn't move lame or feel off, but I wondered. He picked up his right lead just fine and felt more balanced at the canter today than he has in the past. He didn't charge off with me, and transitioned down to a trot when asked. When I walked him out to cool him off, he was walking pretty slow. Ashke was one tired pony.

When I stripped off the saddle and brushed him off, he reacted to the brush running over his hamstring. It seemed like it felt sensitive or tender to Ashke, so I spent some time rubbing it. I pulled out the horse liniment and applied it liberally to the right hammie. I will be back out on Tuesday, so I plan to either lunge or ride him to make sure the hamstring stays loose. I don't want a set back at this point.

Snow Adventure

It was snowing today when we got to the barn. I was delighted by the snow and the lowering clouds and the brisk feel to the air. J and T and Tia were with me and we decided to go out onto the Mesa. I saddled Ashke up and off we went.

I choose not to warm him up in the arena, instead we headed out for the Mesa. I walked Ashke out past the outrider barns and mounted up from a bale of hay. We headed out, made it through the gate and then Ashke lost his mind. He had no desire to continue at a mannerly pace, instead insisting on lifting his front feet off the ground, backing incessantly, and otherwise being a tool. I finally got him to stand long enough to get off under my own power. He started rearing and bucking and generally carrying on. I had fitted the halter under his bridle and had the rein attached to the halter ring. I just let him run out to the end of the lead and work around me in a circle. Here are the last 30 seconds.

He was snorting and galloping in a small circle and I moved with him to try and keep him from slipping. The snow was hitting the high powerlines overhead and hissing and spitting. Every time we ended up under the powerlines, Ashke reacted poorly. I think the electricity in the air was setting him off. He finally worked enough out of his system to walk like a civilized horse next to me.

He wasn't happy from the very first step.

Big fluffy white flakes floating slowly down from an overcast sky. I hand walked him up the road to the fork that leads to the bridge, and then down that trail to the bridge. At the bridge I mounted up and rode the trail to the main road.

Ashke had no problem going forward. He had a hell of a time standing still, though. And he walks so much faster than anyone can follow that I had to wait for the walkers to catch up. J and T were geocaching and found one near the bridge. Ashke wouldn't stand still so we spent our time riding in circles around the bushes nearby. Then we walked up the trail to the main road, then paced up and down the main road waiting for the walkers to catch up.

 

You can see from the tracks on the ground how unwilling Ashke was to stand still.

I think he enjoyed himself, even if it was difficult to find patience, or listening ears. Overall, he was very up, but still listened. Just couldn't stand still.

This was the attempt to stand still look. We rode up and down the road while J and T found a second geocache. There were powerlines overhead and the sizzle of frying snowflakes was making Ashke antsy. His front feet left the ground several times.

The road back to the barn was steep and he was dancing. He was trotting slower than T and J were walking. I threw pride and appearance to the wind, got off and hand walked him home.

I know for a fact this is the first time he has been ridden in an active snowstorm. He spooked a couple of times, and was a handful, but never made a concerted effort to get rid of me. After I started hand walking him, I put T up to give him a chance to ride. Ashke was very careful to behave while T was up. T got down to try and figure out why the snow was covered by catepillars, so I grabbed hold of Ashke's breastplate to help keep me from sliding on the snow (was not expecting to hike in my cowboy boots). I could feel Ashke become more careful, bracing himself as he stepped in case I slipped and he needed to catch me. It was a pretty incredible feeling.

It was a great day and an enjoyable ride, even if half of it was spent walking.

Friday Late Night Lights

Last night I was finally able to get out and ride Ashke. This week has been so crazy I find myself fantasizing about winning the lottery and not having to work any more just so I can spend some of my time riding. Ashke is shedding like a fiend. Thankfully, he is in a heated barn and has a blanket for the outside times when it's really cold. Otherwise, everything I own is covered in white hair. Joy.

I groomed and saddled Ashke and then we made our way to the indoor arena. I walked with Ashke around the outside of the arena for a couple of circuits and then left him with T while I went to the bathroom. He was chasing T around in circles by the time I got back. In his defense, I think it was T's idea, but Ashke was acting very up. I unhooked the rein and let him take off.

He crow-hopped, he reared, he tore around like a wild boy who has just been set free at recess. I just let him run until he was no longer doing any of those things and had turned in and walked up to me. Then we had a great ride. He is still a little rough at the trot and I can't get him to consistently lower his head, but it is getting better with every try. Our canter to the left was awesome and the one to the right was on the correct lead, but a little rough. I really need to ride to the right first, and then to the left, so he is not as tired when we go to the right. Next time I ride (which hopefully will be today) I want to put some poles up so we can do weaving and practice our turns. He is neck reining fairly consistently, which is a great tool for the trail when I am riding him on a loose rein, but not as effective when I am riding with close contact.

I am beginning to think I should do a dressage lesson or two and see if working with Cinnamon would help improve my connection to Ashke. He is getting stronger and looking better every day. I really need to get his SI joint adjusted again. Will have to see if Nicole can take us out to see Diane in April.

I am hoping to do a ride out today. We will have to see if J, T and Tia are up to getting on top of the mesa. If they are, then that might be a great ride. If not, then I might have to do the flat trail to the lakes.

Puppies

Who wouldn't love to see a picture of our adorable puppies . . . ?

So, here is an update. To give some background, we once had a female boxer dog who seemed lonely. In a fit of stupidity, we bred her to another boxer dog. She had three pups. We were sued by the owner of the male dog because he didn't want to pay us what he had agreed to pay for a puppy (it was an unusual agreement). We went to court three times and finally settled. By then, the pups were six and a half months old and we were all Pack. There was no way to rehome any of them, so we had four. Eight years later, we lost Red. Then a year after that we lost Joey. We were down to two, which we had supposed would be the perfect number. Then we lost Spike. I had said for years that we would not do any more dogs, at least not for a while, but the hole that was left in our family was too huge. Our son was grieving. We were grieving. We missed our pack.

So, we got puppies.

We've had them two weeks now and they are doing awesome. One of the things that has changed since I last had puppies is my understanding of "rewarding the try". We praise and reward the behavior we want to encourage, and gently reprimand or ignore the behavior we don't want. They are already sitting on command, asking to go outside, using the paper or pee pads when we don't see the ask. I know from research that they really don't have control until they're about sixteen weeks, which is still five weeks from now. So, we aren't sweating the accidents. They have learned the "No" when said firmly means they need to redirect their energy or to not bite.

We selected two, because dogs do better in a pack. We provided one kennel with a place for them to sleep and a place for them to go, until they gain control of their bladders. They are housed together so they can play and chew and sleep in puppy piles. We make going outside fun and an adventure with plenty of verbal encouragement , instead of punishment. We don't raise our voices to them, because they are shepards and I don't want them to be timid. We allow them to bark, because I want them verbal when someone comes to their "space". I sleep half the night in my bed and half the night in the chair, because they settle much better when I am close enough for them to smell my hand. I expect bowel control to be in place by the end of next week, since they are already showing signs they are making progress in this area.

They are a delight and a joy. It is so different to have puppy energy again, after the sedentary energy of our aged pups. We should have a new kennel, ordered off Amazon, by tomorrow. They are beginning to get too big to lift from the kennel we made from a $30 roll of wire we got from Lowe's. We need one with a door and sturdy panels. They have gained over ten pounds in three weeks and are too big to fit through the banister any more.

We did change one of their names: we have Lily (fawn) and Skittle (brindle). Jaime and Lily sounded too much a like and they were getting confused. Skittle seems to like her new name.

Strong Sunday

I started my morning by helping my friend Lisa move her new Straight Egyptian gelding, A-Maar, from the old farm to the place where Lisa boards her horses. We were expecting it to take quite a while. I went to catch A-Maar for Lisa, since her shoulder is bothering her and we didn't want it injured, and A-Maar turned his butt to me. I flipped the end of the lead rope at him, not touching him, and kept flipping it until he decided to turn and face me. Once he did, I stopped flipping the rope at him and stood, letting him think about it. He tried to dodge around me and I moved to block him. He stopped and let me get the halter on him. He was very excited to see Lisa (she has been working with him between when she put the deposit down on him and now.) I led him around to the trailer and Lisa started feeding him cookies. For cookies, A-Maar walked into the trailer. Completely uneventful. We trailered him to his new home and got him set up in the round pen. Lisa needs to introduce the alfalfa they feed with the grass he was already getting, so as not to colic him. In a week or so, they will move him in with Blaze. I think he has already started to bond with Lisa and was very affectionate with her. (Got to love Arabians.) Lisa is going to have his feet done when the vet floats his teeth, while he is under sedation. The expectation is that he will let Michelle trim him eight weeks later because of the work Lisa will do with him in between times.

A-Maar

Lisa has found a place in Evergreen where VK can be on pasture for the rest of his life. Sadly, I don't think it will be too long. You can see how badly his hip is starting to twist, and how painful it is becoming for him to move. It was bittersweet for me to see the older and the younger in pens across from each other. It felt like VK passed the torch to the new horse today. 

Then I went and spent the rest of the day riding Ashke. Nicole was really sick so it was my boy and I. There were a lot of horses in the arena and I didn't want to ride inside, so I told Cinnamon where we were going and Ashke and I took off.

We rode our regular trail up to where it meets the main road. Then we turned right and headed into unknown territory.

The plan today was for Ashke and Cali, Nico and myself, to ride the Mesa. I wasn't going to let Nico's sickness derail my plan. We headed uphill.

There is a point where the road goes straight up, at about a 14% grade. Ashke was puffing and struggling to carry us both up, so I dismounted. He was lifting his head too high and hollowing out his back and I didn't want that to continue. I led him up the steepest part and led him back down on our way home.

This is about half way up the Mesa, looking out over the valley below, taken while I was leading him. I think his right hamstring got a bit sore, but he did really well on the ride. He didn't act up, he didn't balk, he seemed really interested in everything we saw. It was amazing.

 

We did over 1000 feet of elevation gain on the ride. You can see where the road we walked up stretched out behind us.

I have been carrying our Nikonpix camera in a gameboy carrier attached to my belt. Takes much better pictures than my iPhone.

After we got past the really steep part, I mounted up again and we headed for the top of the Mesa.

We made it up on top, which is a lot bigger than I would have guessed before we got up there.

We meandered around a bit, doing kind of a loopy circle. The only issue I have with the mesa is that it is incredibly rocky. I'm thinking I need to get boots before we do a lot of riding up there.

There was quite a few people on the trails. Runners, bikers, people with babies and people with dogs. Didn't bother Ashke in the least.

Got close to the edge, but didn't look down. I'm afraid of heights.

There were deer, which Ashke wanted to chase. 

He got real jiggy, wanting to go after them. It was too rocky to try and do that, not to mention, not good for the deer. We motored past.

Silhouetted against the sky. It was very windy and cold up on top. 

We followed a guy with a baby border collie down the hill.

Almost two hour ride. I was pretty tired when we got back. Ashke was more than ready to tuck into his bran mash with carrots and a couple of peppermints.

Not bad for elevation, eh? 

 

On the map, between the one mile marker and the 4 mile marker is a patch of trail that is darker. That is the really steep part where I led Ashke on foot. We had a great ride. It would have been better if Nico could have come, but it wasn't bad as it was. 

Pampering

Last night was all about spending time with my boy. I went out right after work and groomed him, paying special attention to his itchy parts. He is shedding pretty heavily right now and loved the soft rubber curry comb and the shedding blade.

The only thing that was new was a scrape on the upper part of his right foreleg. I have no idea what he did but it is the second scrape in a week. The other one is on his forehead. I know he loves playing with the horse next to him - Fool. (Why name your horse Fool?) His legs were tight and snug, no swelling or heat from our ride. Can't wait for our next ride!

 

 

After grooming him, we went to the indoor arena and I just turned him loose. He trotted and cantered around the arena. He looked so great. There is no hint of any kind of tension or tenderness in his right hamstring. He moves with his head up and his tail flagged. And no hint of any soreness. While we were in the arena and he was running around loose, another horse came in. I gathered him up and put the lead rope on him, then started moving him around me in a very loose circle. He managed to pull the lead rope out of my hand and took off. I called to him and he still trotted away, somewhat spooked by the lead rope. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a peppermint and crinkled the wrapper. He slid to a stop and turned back to me at the sound. Not really spooky, just being a pill.

 

 

 

 

 

After we were done in the arena, I took him back to his stall and gave him a warm mash with carrots. Then I checked on Cali. No heat or swelling in her legs either. Nicole and I have plans to ride together on Thursday evening right after work. Should be fun.



Ten on Tuesday

1. Ashke is getting very solid on the trail. We rode on Saturday and Sunday and only had one issue either day - which involved a white covered rock.

2. I like giving him hanging molassas and grain treats to mess with in his stall. The first one I put out lasted about a week. The second one lasted less than one day. He had molasses in his forelock. Silly horse.

3. I hate how tangled the hair directly behind his ears gets when he has a bridle on. He hates for me to mess with it when I am on him. I'm considering shaving another bridle path but haven't really decided yet.

4. The short mane he is currently sporting is growing out super thick and looks really good. All of the bad, damaged hair is gone.

5. The last time I rode in the arena, Ashke was giving to the bit and bringing his head down. On the trail, I mostly rode on a loose rein, except when we were cantering.

6. The first bridle I bought, which was a web bridle/halter combination with straps that attached the bit so it could be taken off rather easily, and which was way too small for Ashke's head, has been repurposed for a light weight but effective halter. It is light weight enough that I can leave it on under the bridle for our trail rides. The single rein I ride out in can be used as a lead rope too, which makes leading him rather easy.

7. He reached out and bit my shoulder on Sunday. I immediately flicked the rein in my hand back over my shoulder and whacked him on the forehead. He got the message. Poop head.

9. Sunday we are riding to the top of the mesa. Next weekend we are trying for the lake and a new trail Cinnamon told us about.

10. Provided he passes the vet check, Lisa will be taking her new horse home on Thursday. Yeah!