Horse LISTENING

Rare Sightings

2012-01-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, winter has finally arrived in NE Ohio, and with it comes the sightings of the rare silver-back Percherons.
Like the Yeti, these beasts have only been seen when snow is falling thick and heavy; and especially in blizzards.
They meander in and out of sight, seemingly unaware of us, as we do our chores as fast as we can.
Sometimes they stand near the gate, not moving, staring at the door as if that alone will cause the door to open into a grand cave.
At times you will hear one squeal, and plumes of snow shoot out as the herd breaks apart in different directions. Yet, they maintain their silver-backs.
Then the door opens and the silverbacks rush into the barn. And back out again. And back in again. A few may charge into some empty stalls. But those silver backs just charge them full of energy and it takes awhile to sort it all out.
By that time, the silverbacks are less silverbacks and more, well, just plain wet.
Bill, and some of our overachievers in hair growth, hold onto their silverbacks for a bit longer.
Ultimately, everyone needs to be scraped off. When it snows, it's cold, and no one like to be both wet and cold for the night.

The Horse Magazine

2011-12-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

Every month I get an e-zine from The Horse.com. Along with the generic e-zine, there are many variations that deal with feeding, specialized health, lameness, etc. I think there's at least 5 variations.

Last week, the December edition of the e-zine showed up in my e-mail, and I carefully scanned the articles to see what I wanted to read. There was an article about how horses handle fear. What I had hoped would be in interesting neurological/physical read, turned into a research essay from Germany about how horses behave when a fear stimulus is created and a human is involved. Specifically, 1) if a human was not there; 2) if a human was there; 3) if the human was leading the horse or on the ground; 4) if the human was on the back of the horse; and (ta-ta-ta-DA!) 5) the expertise of the human. The Result: (trumpets and drum roll please) the expertise of the human made the most difference in how the horse behaved to the fearful stimulus.

REALLY?!

Somebody needed a GRANT and published a Research Paper on this???!!!
I think most of US could figure that out in less than a week.

Anyway, I was so disappointed in this article that I really questioned whether a The Horse was really worth keeping around. I mean, I just felt like this was so elemental that it just was not up to the standards that I had seen glimpses of in other articles.
The biggest problem I have with the e-zine is that there are some articles I start reading on the content page, then when I hit the "read more" tab, I get a log-in box. I find that irritating, since I've started reading, I'm usually in the middle of the sentence (cuz that's always where they put the "read more" tab) and then I find the pop-up box in the middle of my screen.

While I was chewing on this "I can't believe they actually printed that garbage," and debating cancelling the e-zine, I went to my local tack shop to use a gift certificate. I had some spare bucks to play with, and....lo-and-behold! a hard copy of The Horse was in the magazine rack.

What I found out was that the e-zine and the hard copy do NOT mirror each other.
I checked both the November issue and the December issue, and did not find any reference to the above research paper (well, at least directly).
But I bought the December issue, with it's emphasis on Chronic Pain.

The ads in hard copy of The Horse is definitely geared toward veterinarians....there are ads for cutting edge drugs and equipment that your average, everyday horseperson is NOT going to be able to afford. But the articles are actually written with the average, everyday horseperson in mind. They are clear, concise and do not use the humongous terms medical people (both human and animal) tend to chatter to each other.

What I CAN say is: If you can find a copy of the December 2011 The Horse Magazine---GET IT! Very interesting if you really want to get a handle on your horse's pain!

While all the pain articles were very good (I know I gleaned at least ONE new thing from each of them), the best one, by far, was "Detecting Discomfort" by Sue McDonnell, PhD, Cert. AAB (Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist). She actually has a LIST of things to watch for that suggest your horse may have pain. And she explains why it's so difficult for us humans to spot. In other words, it's HORSE LISTENING to a "T", and she explains it well. She also suggests using a video camera to watch how the horse behaves when there is no human interaction. If you go back to my May 2009 blog (explaining why I hadn't been blogging) you can see WHY I can only agree with her. Fire behaved one way with us in the barn, and was completely different (almost a "dummy foal") when we weren't. And she almost died because of it.

So, while I was planning on deriding The Horse.com and it's hard copy The Horse; I found that I ended up with access to some very interesting, and very useful information. And I suggest you check it out, as well.

Rose

2011-11-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Rose is our newest addition. Even if she IS 14 years old.

The Irish Rose Jasmine. I wish they had called her Jazzy....Rose is so lame. And the Irish Rose is a Farm name. I did call her Jazzy when I first looked at her at the sale....and she did respond to it. But she's been called "Rose" for at least 10 years, and that is the name she responds to automatically.

The Irish Rose Jasmine could be an incarnation of another horse we had, The Irish Rose Liza Jane, except Liza died in 1999. Liza was 17.1-17.2hh; Rose is 18hh or a little better. No relation whatsoever (except Farm Name) but she has the same face, same expression and many of the same mannerisms. So much, that I've called her Liza a couple of times.

Hubby took her to a drive last week, and she was driven single. The previous owners said she was broke at one time, but that they had used her as a brood mare for the last 7 years.....never even hitched her. Until just before sale time, when they hooked her with another old lady and the 2 of them just walked off as if they had been hooked the day before. And, even in the cart, which is usually more difficult than team when working new horses, she worked just fine. And she's sweet, which is a definite change from the rest of our barn.

And she "talks". Both Rose and Bill are the barn "talkers". No, not with nickers or snorts or neighs.....but with their eyes. There is absolutely no doubt about what she is trying to convey to the stupid human who is too dense to understand things right away. But, she's patient, and waits until the human "gets it".

She wears her heart on her sleeve, so to speak. One look at her and she tells you how she feels about what is going on around her. For one, she doesn't understand why there is no grass in the pasture they are in (they ate it all, most of it before the frosts, and the frosts killed the rest), and why they can't go on the other side of the fence where there IS some. Me, too, Rose. But, the stupid humans don't have it fenced yet, and we'd prefer you remain on our property rather than be shot by our neighbors who don't know the difference between a horse and a deer (even if the horse is 2000 lbs compared to maybe 400 lbs on the deer). It IS hunting season, after all. And she doesn't understand why she is kind of ostracized. Although Princess will come up and groom her, she will, just as quickly, turn around and kick the $%!# out of her. And, unfortunately, Princess doesn't just kick and quit....no, she continues on until her anger over whatever is finally vented. (Princess and K go on kicking sprees against each other and needs human intervention. Fortunately, they aren't very often). Even as Rose moves away, Princess will follow. And you can look at Rose and see that she is totally confused about why this is happening.

Even Jill (who DOES seem to be mellowing) merely pins her ears and looks ugly at her. And Rose doesn't understand why. Then again, there ARE times when Jill will break up the altercations.

It doesn't help that Rose is so obvious, so "verbal" as it were, that she gets a lot of consoling. Which only makes the others more jealous. So we try to keep it even.

I can only wonder what's going to happen when we start working with Dee and Bo this year. We'll be watching for signs.

Catching up

2011-11-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all.

Well, it's been a wild ride this year. Sold our broodmare to some friends of ours that fell in love with her; bought a mare for the same friends (and one for us!); made up our first 6-horse-hitch this year (at times THAT wasn't pretty!); and just bought an old mare that reminds us of another horse we once had.
Yep, another horse we really don't need.
Oh, well.

Our Jill horse.....the horse that hates everybody....except Bill the gelding...has surprised us. Maybe she's getting mellow as she ages. Poor Bill came up lame at the Fairs this year. As both the Rock of our multiple hitches and the mate for Jill, this was indeed a hard blow to us. Star and Princess (who we bought this Spring) are the lead team, since they are just awesome to watch. So we thought to put K and Queen together. And we found out that K as grown up to be pretty close to 18hh, to Queen's 17.1. On a lark, we put Jill and K together, expecting an explosion of some kind. And they worked. In fact, K pulled her weight, instead of sandbagging and being lazy. Of course, that might be because Jill can have a real hissy-fit when her partner doesn't hold their end up (just ask Bill!). Now Jill and K are the wheel team. That left Queen in the middle by herself, but our friends who bought Sheena wanted her used. Sheena is the same size as Queen, so it worked. Our first 6-up did reasonably well. The second time we showed it.....well, there was just a lot going on.

Star and Princess had been in a wreck the day before. They had been in the "Tandem" class; a class where one horse is in a cart and the other is ahead of it in single file. Apparently (according to witnesses), while they were waiting for the rest of the class to enter, Star (the lead horse) get hit by some rocks thrown by some kids. Now the kids didn't mean to hit the horse; they were throwing them at a mailbox that is placed high up along the fence for another program at fair. But even though they hit her several times and she jumped, they didn't quit, either. When she was hit the last time, she just started backing up, then turned 180 degrees. Now, once that happens, you have one going north and one going south and it is not good no matter what. Star boogied and Princess couldn't back up fast enough and everything eventually went down, with Princess literally falling over the cart. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it)it was so muddy that the ground was soft. Ultimately both horses went down, the cart went on it's side, and the horses ended up tangled in each other's harnesses. It was ugly.
Fortunately we had a lot of horse people hanging around (most of the drivers in the rest of the class were busy with their OWN rigs), even though most of THEM were not particularly draft horse people.
Two people jumped on the horse's heads. For those of you who do not know, this is one of the best ways to calm a trapped horse. Kinda like the squeeze chutes for cattle and sheep. The horses stopped thrashing around, and people came to help get them untangled. It took awhile, but when all was said and done, the harness was off, the cart uprighted, and horses lead from the ring. A few scrapes on horses, one harness piece was cut (but easily replaced) and the holdback lost a snap.
The dramatic wreck, described as one of the worst wrecks the judge had ever seen (oh,yeah, he was on one of the horse's heads)ended up with both horses fine, the cart in one piece and a really, really, REALLY dirty harness. Thank goodness for BioThane. Considering that I have seen a few tandem wrecks in which the horse in the cart was actually impaled by a broken shaft.....I consider us very blessed.

Neither horse seemed worse for wear. I took them into a ladies' team class and they were a bit nervous but performed like troopers.

Queen, however was all out of sorts. She did not get used much, and I think, in some ways, she was not happy about everyone else getting to go out. Queen is a work-horse in the true sense of the word. She actually LIKES to be hitched. But, we found out, not by herself. We had intended to use her in a cart class, but she was so wound up, she started bucking and kicking, so she was pulled. By the 6-up, she STILL wasn't happy, so the great swing (middle) team we had the first time was not so great the second.

Live and learn.

But then, that's what horse ownership is all about!

Babies and Self-Destruction

2011-02-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

Watizzit about young horses and self-destruction? It seems that if they can get into trouble, they will find a way....and an unusual way at that.

"D" decided she wanted into the barn, even though Jill was already in the barn; which generally means that anyone coming in behind her is going to get blasted. Roy had closed the gate to the pasture in order to get Queen Jill in her stall without any bloodshed.

NOT.

"D" decided to jump the gate. "D" is 9 months old, approximately 12hh, and the gate is around 4'6" tall. In other words, the gate is bit higher than her back.
Well, she got her front legs over it. But her back legs got a bit tangled in it. Since we are both firefighters, he likened it to "locking a leg" in a ladder....which is to wrap your leg through and then back under a rung, which allows you to have both hands free to do whatever needs to be done. I was working, so Roy was on his own. Even HE is not really sure how he managed to pry the gate off the hinges and unwind the leg. But it all turned out ok in the end.....except for the gate....and her hocks.
By the time I got home her one hock was huge. The other was scraped as well, and swollen, but not so bad. It was really ugly.

You always worry in youngsters, since you are not really sure just how much damage they have done. It's just so easy to stretch a ligament or tendon and NOT have it return to normal. Or a lesion could start a real nasty scar-tissue process and you end up with not only an ugly site, but also a stiff joint.

Before we got Star, she had been in a tussle with something (probably wire) and cut her leg. Fortunately, she did not do damage to the joint (she still has awesome hock action), but she has a "fat leg"; the scar tissue that was created was massive. She cannot be shown in halter classes.

Only time will tell with "D". Her Canadian sister "K" also banged up her legs as a youngster, and come through with no scars or problems. But that situation was not as scary as "D"'s It is still too early to tell for "D". So far we have got the swelling down with Bute (yeah, Bute), and the scrapes are healing and should not "show"....no white hairs or anything. But the hock is still stiff, and the swelling just below the hock is still there. But, it doesn't seem to stop her.....she still will run out (or in) although she prefers not to use that leg consistently as her lead push-off leg.

I just don't know what it is about babies and self-destruction.

A New Year

2011-01-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the first of the year brought RAIN, and 50's and the snow melted (Yea!!!).....for 2 days. Then the snow and cold came back. Once again, the road to the barn was filled up, and wheelbarrowing grain and sawdust was the game. This time, however, hubby snowblowed not only the house drive, but the extended drive and out to the barn. How nice!!!! You could actually walk out there!!

And then it snowed again, and it filled again, and he had to blow it out again.
Winter is just not fun in NorthEast Ohio when you've got animals. I'm beginning to think we need to build a barn to house enough sawdust for winter!!

Although "D" (Melody) likes it. Oh, yeah.....snow outside....get out the door.....and ROLL. Never mind the fact that 4 more much bigger horses are on their way out the door, too.....NOOOOOOOO. That snow is just too inviting, and down she goes. At least Star and Bill wait until the ruckus settles before dropping and rolling.

For the most part, it's quiet time in the barn. D and K are growing (at 6 months and coming 3 yo it's expected). In fact K is now bigger than what WAS to be her partner this year, Queen. If she continues on, she may even get taller than Star, and that could be troublesome. After all, the next partner for a MARE team would be Jill......and that just won't work. Although Bill would be fine. But I'd rather not subject Bill to any more work than is necessary. He's 15, this year, and although he has done very well on the Adequan injections, I'm sure there's some damage in his joints.

But weather (and sunlight) is the issue. I really don't like having to shut up the barn to keep the snow out....since it cuts down on ventilation and light. But with the snow coming in from the EAST instead of the West this year, it tends to get into the feed room.....and that's one problem we don't need. We had that last year, where some feed apparently got wet, and actually molded!! We were not aware that it had gotten wet, and started feeding it, when I actually saw it. Not good. But found in time, and no one got sick.

But it does stay dark until almost 8am. Although it has been lighter until after 5pm, it still is a long spell of "dark" for the horses.

But it hasn't stopped heat cycles. Star's in hers right now, so I expect Queen will show up with a day or so. Even Jill (who tends to be either dormant or a "silent heat-er") has been obvious. Of course it's during the coldest times. Go figure. But even K has been cycling along this winter. Maybe it will be an over-all warmer winter.....but we sure could use a break from the snow!!

Maybe I shouldn't say that.....it's freezing rain right now...and that's worse than snow. At least snow stays on top of the hair and can get brushed off when they come in.....freezing rain seems to penetrate to the skin and stays wet much longer. I really don't like my animals being wet when the temperature threatens to drop!!

What can I say.....my creatures are spoiled (rotten).

Beginning 2011

2011-01-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

Spring has joined us for a few days.....in the 50's, and the snow is melting.
Which makes mud.
Which makes everything filthy and slippery.
Including what the horses are walking on.

I'm not sure which is worse.....the cold and snow.....or mud.

Mud clings to everything, especially horse's feet and legs. Mud's more slippery than snow making slips and strains easier. Or it will hang onto one foot while the rest go sliding. It clings to the pasterns and legs, allowing for "scratches" and other nasty skin problems. Guess you could say I'm not a big fan of mud.

2010 was, in many ways, not such a good year. But, in other ways, good things DID happen. Horses we sold went to happy homes....and I always like that.

Lilly did not break (bummer).
Athena twisted a gut (devastating bummer).

And we've been treating Star for a fat leg.

Star was not bought to be a halter horse....she was bought because she can MOVE!
She has an old injury on her left hind leg, which looks like a wire cut but no one is really sure what cut her. It was not treated early enough, and so her hock always looks "fat". On Christmas Eve, our friend Caren was kind enough to feed the horses for us so we could make a trip into Michigan to see Roy's family. SHE is the one who noticed that her leg looked fat. She called us to let us know. Naturally, we checked her when we got home, but, it really didn't look much worse than normal.

Ho, ho, ho.

I worked Christmas and the day after, and hubby told me her leg was not looking good, she was not a happy camper and did not go to demolish her grain.

Rule No. 1 at our place.....if the horse won't eat.....CALL THE VET.

Temperature check was 102. Time for SMZ's and Bute.

Monday, he went to work and I came home. When I checked on Star, I was stunned.
IT WAS A TREE TRUNK! Vet came out that afternoon....well really close to noon. (I have GREAT vets and he snuck me in before going on the rest of the afternoon's calls.)

Temp down.....leg down (I had let her out earlier and she had been bouncing around in the snow).

But I learned something. After he checked her over, and finding nothing specific (we had checked her over for any new wounds, naturally), he said he felt it was due to the old injury. He said that sometimes the lymphatic system can get "clogged" at the old injury site, and things will back up. There does not seem to be a rhyme or reason for it, it just will. He gave her a shot of Banamine to help drop the swelling, and we've been continuing on with the Bute and SMZ's....antibiotic is a "just in case we missed something" thing.

She's pretty much back to her normal self, although the leg is still a bit puffy.
She doesn't like taking the dose of SMZ (Carrots help that) and she really is not a fan of powdered Bute in her grain. That kind of surprises me, because the powdered Bute has a taste of apples in it, while the tablets taste like....well, chewing aspirin.

But it's a New Year....with New Hopes.
Here's to it.

Winter's Here!!!!

2010-12-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

Winter has arrived in NE Ohio!! And none too gently. We were lucky through this first onslaught....most of the heavy squalls went west and south of us, so we only had to deal with 6-8" vs 2' in Burton!! But this next storm promises to be ugly....and they are talking about FEET instead of inches.

The biggest problem with winter in our area is that the road back to the barn gets blocked. The drifts tend to set up right where the road leaves the main pad, then another at the end of the old barn, another halfway to the hay barn, another in front of the hay barn and then one humongous drift right in front of the horse barn. We can easily get easily get 5 18" drifts out of a little 5" snowstorm. This time the winds are expected to be over 50 mph, so the drifts will be even worse.
Occasionally, we luck out and the wind comes from the direct west, which blows most of it right down the drive and across the street.

This blockage makes life interesting when you have sick-y animals.

Right now our newest arrival, weanling Melody (or "D" as we are calling her), is having trouble shaking the snots. It seems all weanlings get "the baby snots" when the weather turns.....and since our weather has had a hard time deciding whether it wants to be warm or cold-----she's been dealing with sinus problems for some time. Now she has developed a cough....a cough we've been treating for about 10 days now. So even tho her lungs are clear and air is moving easily, she has a dry cough, high in her airway. As a medical professional, you get an ear for where these coughs are starting. We have her on an anti-biotic to prevent bigger problems.

I don't like putting horses on antibiotics unless they need them, for the simple fact that they begin to build up a tolerance to the medicine (as do the little nasties that live in them) and it gets trickier to treat them as they get older. It's no different than we see in humans, where the so-called "super-bugs" run rampant because we all have had way too much antibiotics for no reason (colds/flu are VIRUSES and cannot be treated with antibiotics which is for INFECTIONS). But all things considered, antibiotics prophylactically (oooooow, THERE's a big word!!!) is probably the better part of valor. In other words, trying to PREVENT pnuemonia or bronchitis is better than treating it once it gets a hold of the horse.

The snow also makes it harder to get sawdust and feed back to the barn.....it needs to go back little bit by wheelbarrow or shoulder.
That's probably one of the biggest drawbacks of farm life. Since we don't plow or harvest with tractors, the tractor we have is not quite up to the serious plowing it needs to do. Oh, we've TRIED....but it just isn't heavy enough (and we get some really heavy snows!) Some day I hope to get a bobsled style sleigh to let the horses help in their own care. Hey! What a novel idea!!! Totally new concept!!!

2010 Shows, K's Futurity

2010-11-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

The sting of losing Athena is still with me, but I want to get this down before I forget.

This year, fairs were not especially kind to us....from the judging standpoint.
We did not place in some classes as we should have. Some were legitimate reasons, others were, well, things that made you go "Whaaaaa?"

We had sent our 2 2yo's to the trainer. Unfortunately, Lilly, the best looking one turned out to be not so good. Oh, she was a beautiful mover, but hitching her made her literally crazy.....bucking, kicking, urine everywhere. We've had these kind before, and I think SOME of it is due to the fact that they get so nervous, they just can't focus long enough to get it together. In fact, several of our horses WERE exactly that, and once they were paired with a teammate they knew, or were worked with, they got the idea. However, at this stage of the game, we just don't have the wherewithal to work with it. Thus, disappointingly, she was relegated to halter only. Her partner, K, however, got it together in record time, and was added to the string.

This is about K's ordeal......and what LISTENING can do for a horse.

K is lazy. That's the blunt way of putting it. She just doesn't want to expend any more energy than she has to. She didn't do anything wrong, but it wasn't the nicest drive, either. She did not do all that well at the first fair, but that was not surprising....most 2 yo's are more like pinballs than bowling balls.....they bounce from side to side. But, then, she didn't do anything stupid, either. Her had was way low....almost painful to watch.

The more experienced drivers around us convinced us that she needed to be in an over-check bit, to get her head up. If you read Black Beauty, this is what they used for the city draught teams to make them look prettier. So we tried it. It didn't work so good, but the "experts" insisted that when she "got used to it" things would change. She didn't "get used to it" and the fairs were over.

However, K still had her futurity show in mid-September. The week before the show, we took her to the local fairgrounds to basically just keep her going.
To say it was ugly......well, that 's just being polite. She fussed, she fumed, and finally she got plain old p.o'd and stopped. Just stopped and grew roots. She wouldn't go forward, backward or to the side. And the look in her eye.....oh, man, if looks could kill......this was a Mythbusters' Asian Arrow Machine Gun. She was having NONE of this. We tried to back her, and she just absolutely refused. She didn't go up (rear), she just planted her feet and stayed there. Jim, our friend and wonderful helper in this, actually PULLED the cart back, pulling her off her feet so she HAD to back up. We probably did this several times. Frustrated, we stopped, but after pulling off the cart, decided to ground drive her a bit.....and she went just like she was supposed to......even backing up!!!!

I thought long and hard for the next few days about this wreck waiting to happen. Then I figured we just needed to drive her a bit without the over-check. So we did.
And we had forward back, although backing still wasn't so good. And the head actually came up!!! Hmmmmmmmm. So, on a whim, the next night I put her in the "D" of the bit. And I had a whole different, far more willing horse.

A note to those who do not drive.....most draft horses are driven with a straight bit with a long curb on it. On this curb are holes for lines (reins) so you have more control over a 2000# animal. We usually have it "1 down", or in the middle, on young or very strong horses. I've only used it all the way down once, when Jill got so strong she nearly pulled my arms out of their sockets. Only had to do it once, though.....she got the message.

So, we figured that she would just go ahead and go into the Futurity show, and whatever she did, she did.
And, boy, did she!! I can't even begin to tell you how anxious I was when we got ready for the cart class. Because I simply didn't know what she would do. We got through her halter class, no problem, and I thought she did real well. Cart, well, here goes.......

SHE WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!

Well, I thought so, anyway. The judges, not so much, but some of these horses were really, really, really nice.
Anyway, K went into the cart class like she LOVED it. Her head was up, and she really moved out. She was actually FUN to drive. I had a feel in her like I used to with Bud.

Then the obstacle course. She did the back-up fine, crossed the bridge, no problem and went to the 90-degree turn. She started it, then turned her neck and looked at me......and I knew.....it was over. That look said, "Not today, lady" (once again I am taking the polite term) and she just absolutely would not do it. When we were asked to continue on, THEN she did it and finished the rest of the course....not so nicely, but it got done with no more balking.

So, we blew the futurity.

But I learned something.....something we will continue to use......
We fought the horse, using things others said would work. And they do work. Just not for her. And we pushed it.....doing exactly the opposite of horse LISTENING.
But, when we LISTENED, and did things differently....did things that most people would have said would be the WORST thing we could do, namely take off the over-check and make the bit LIGHTER rather than heavier, she became everything we wanted her to be.

Now, we'll have to do the same work with Queen.....she likes to tuck her head and drop it....but she has go, whoa and turn, down to a science.

What Happened?????

2010-11-19T03:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a baaaaaad day.

Athena died.
My beautiful, 4 year old, awesome-moving, blue roan twisted a gut.
And I don't know what I could have done differently.

It was a normal morning, although for the first time in months she had eaten her breakfast awfully fast. We kept a big rock in her feed tub to stop her from bolting her food. She has eaten so fast that she has become "icky", but she hadn't had a problem in over a year (since we added the rock).

She tore out of her stall and into the pasture as normal.
When she came in, she was slow; but everyone was slow that day.....it happens sometimes (not often, but sometimes). When I was finishing up the barn chores, I brought in the stallion and noticed her laying down. That was odd, but then, I had put them out a bit early and some of the horses are definitely not morning creatures. She got up right away, and I checked her out.....her ears were warm, her gums were pink and she seemed otherwise normal.....but I did notice that she did NOT drink any water when she came in, and she had pushed her hay snack around but hadn't eaten it. Red flags right there. I did see some pooh....false sense of security, there

I walked her a bit and she seemed to brighten, so I put her back in the stall for a bit. More pooh. I checked on her again about 30 min later and she looked uncomfortable. So, I gave her some Banamine and walked her for 30 minutes. She seemed to respond well and when I put her back in her stall, she seemed normal. More pooh.

I went in to eat lunch. I went back out....she was up but just standing there. She just didn't look right. Nothing specific.....her ears were still warm, her gums still pink.....but just not right. There was another pooh pile. Then she flummened....stuck out her upper lip and it was quivering. I knew something was wrong, then....her mother did the same thing when she was in bad shape. She looked a bit bloated, although her flanks were still sunken in. I started walking her again. Then she started kicking at her belly.

I called the vet.

While waiting for the vet (I have a great vet service and they come as fast as they can when I call) she just kept getting worse and worse. More and more uncomfortable. She looked more bloated.

The vet came out....sedated her and tried his best to do what he knew he needed to do, but she would not cooperate. Her rectal exam was abnormal.....he could not feel her colon or her cecum. Not good. He could not get her stomach to release its fluid retention. The heavy sedation just took the edge off, and it was not long before she was hurting again. He sedated her with even heavier stuff. She finally let him get a rectal, but it was still abnormal. As we watched, I noticed she looked even more bloated. Even under sedation I could see her muscles quiver with pain. The swelling went into her chest and came up between her legs; her flanks were now round.

Options: Surgery at the Equine Hospital (if she would make it there). Surgery on draft horses is a last resort, since they do not do well. Most don't make it off the table and of the ones that do, most of THEM end up not waking up or not surviving long enough to come home.
Option 2: Take her on a really really bumpy trailer ride and hope the twist would untwist.

As she came out of the deep sedation, it became obvious that even THAT wasn't a decent option. She was hurting too much; it was time.

This was the same horse I was hoping to begin riding; the one I wanted to turn into a Hunter/Jumper and/or Dressage horse.

I cancelled my riding lessons for the time.....I need to put some distance between this and riding again. It was too painful to think about it.

Time Flies

2010-11-15T12:24:00.001-08:00

Holy smokes!!! Time flies when you're having fun, they say.
Well, maybe I wasn't exactly having fun, but we were busy trying to get things together for the Fall Fairs. Having a 2-year-old to work, plus getting all the others ready to do things they had never done together before.....well, it just kinda used up all our time. Between one thing and another, hubby and I have just been busy, busy, busy....and then the computer crashed. I am now on public computers (which is NOT fun!!). But I have lots to say.

Fairs have come and gone, and although some of the judging was a bit questionable, I was more than pleased with how our horses performed. Only the 2 year old, "K", had issues and she had issues right up to her futurity show in mid-September. But we learned a lot in the space of one week (7 days) after her spectacular temper tantrum.

Although I don't have time right now to really go into it, I hope to "catch up" on everything this weekend, when there's more time to put this together.

Oh, and I'm STARTING RIDING LESSONS again. Yep, the old lady is going to get back on a horse after 25 years of driving. Who knows, maybe I'll see you around the dressage or H/J shows!

Sunday's Doin's

2010-05-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

It was COLD this weekend!!!!
Usually our horses know that cold equals day off.....but not today. Even though most of the people from last week were not available (it WAS Mother's Day after all), two couples did come out. And four horses got worked.

We hitched Queen and Star again, this time putting Star on the off side (right side), since she has this habit of "freezing" as she comes up to the wagon tongue. Star is the first horse I've ever seen Freeze when she gets overwhelmed. Most of the others just go bonkers or throw tantrums. While "freezing" is less dangerous to your body, it's almost as hard to get past as a bonkers horse; it's hard to get their attention back on you! She didn't freeze coming up to the right side and we thought this would work out great. Unfortunately, she has an injury to her fight hind leg. Although we don't know EXACTLY what happened (we've been told she got caught in a fence), the tongue just touching it sent her off. She'd buck, fling her tail and basically act like Jill. Only Star settles down much quicker when it's over. Queen doesn't care which side she's on, so we'll work with the comfort factor for Star.

We also hitched the two grays, Athena and Missy. Poor Missy is 2 months pregnant and not feeling up to par, but we needed to see what they can do together. But Athena was so wound up from waiting that I had to get the bugs out of her first, so we hooked her to the cart (which took 4 people, where normally just 2 of us can do it). She was so much like my TB Rusty.....she wanted to just run, but I don't want her to get that idea while she's in the cart (she's still young yet), so I kept her at a trot, although I let her go as fast as she wanted. At times she'd fall into the canter, but came back easily into the trot (at least she's broke enough to respond to me!). When she finally did a flat-footed walk (most of our show horses only walk out in the pasture; whenever they're hitched, they do a kind of jig where the foot pattern is a walk, but it sure looks like they're trotting), I knew it was "safe" to put her into a team. I just had to laugh.....Rusty used to need a 1-2 mile "blow", where I'd let her run as fast as she wanted to, before she was able to settle down and begin working over fences or on transitions or whatever; Athena felt exactly the same way. Apparently Athena is connecting with me on that same level.

I really thought that as a team they would not look quite right, but I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was their height close enough to not be distracting, but they moved somewhat the same. Once Missy gets over her PG ickyness (in a few months) we'll really be able to see what they can do.

I almost always learn something when I work with horses, no matter HOW many times I've worked with them. This time I became even more aware of the effect of "presence". We see it in humans all the time.....there are people who can walk into the room and no one even notices, and those who come in and everyone notices. Well, it was the same with these teams. When you stand next to Star and Athena, they seem larger than life. It is only when you put them next to another horse that you realize that they are NOT the huge horses that they appear to be on their own. Missy and Queen, although strong personalities in their own right, don't have that same presence, and seem smaller than their teammates. Yet when you put them in the teams, you realize how close they really are, at least in size, to each other.
Charlie, our first stallion, was like that. All of 16.1 hh, he looked like he was 18.0 hh+, and he carried himself like a big boy. As did Mac, who was 17.2, but looked so much bigger.

So, other than being exceptionally cold, and having snow or ice pellets hitting us while driving, it was a good day.

I may need to take up riding Athena. The "Rusty" feel was so strong, that I really do believe Athena would make the most awesome 3-day horse. She was doing her "floating trot" while I was drivng her, and the other three got to see the different between her "ordinaty floating trot" and her extended trot. Either trot is very impressive.

Catchin' Up--barn, sales, etc.

2010-05-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

They say time flies when you're having fun.

Well, it's not been particularly fun.....but the time flew by anyway.

Stall floors are just about done. It takes a long time to get everything coordinated to finish them.....the stone/gravel needs to be added and leveled, the mats cut. We had to re-finish one of them.....there had been a big hole, and when the weight of a 2000-pound horse got put on it, the stone continued to settle until there was a hole again. Guess we just rushed it. The last one also had a huge hole in it, and it took a lot of chipping out of high spots to get to a point where I could start adding stone and leveling it. This time I took my time....layering the stone a bit more. I think that's what went wrong before.....I had chipped the high spots out and put it into the hole, but the new gravel did not mesh well with it, and allowed it to settle further. This time, the old gravel was well-mixed with the new, so hopefully we won't see the same problem.

We sold Odonata Miss Firecracker at the Dover Sale. Typically, she did not bring much. The good thing is she went to some people who were VERY interested in her and apparently wanted her. So we let her go, since we had seen several that might make a match for our awesome Star. She was early enough in the sale that we could do it.

There were 5 originally. The one I liked the best needed 5 people to hook her to the cart. Not a good start. And there was something.......she was an awesome mover, she was a beautiful mare, and she was young. But there was something.....odd. I watched her a lot, trying to figure it out. She kept trying to fall into a canter; and I wasn't sure if it was because she was being driven right to the "breaking point" or something else. Then I saw the slight hitch in her stifle. A tad of hesitation as the stifle joint moved to bring the leg forward, and the sudden "release" of the joint to allow it. Not a smooth move, but a catch. My favorite one had stringhalt....a stifle problem. DARN!

My next choice was way too big for Star, and would have been great for Jill: if Jill wasn't such a cranky-butt who hates everybody.....everybody but Bill.

My third choice looked good, but my gut was not totally convinced. There was a picture of her hitched.....and if you looked closely, you could see that it had been Photo-shopped. The leg had been moved to look snappier than it actually was. Why they did that, I don't know, cuz she moved very very nicely anyway.

Numbers 4 and 5 were pretty close. Both had better toplines than the other three, but just did not have the "presence" the others had. Both moved just as well. A thorough going-over found one of them to have a cloudy left eye. Probably due to an injury, since it was not just a single cloud, but a large one in the lower third and a smaller one about halfway up further back. Once again, my gut suggested that this was not going to get better; in fact it was probably going to get worse as time went on.

Fortunately, there were several who were early in the sale, so it would be one of those, "well, if we don't get this one, there's the next". And there were others who might do just as well (one had a particularly weird shoeing job), although we weren't going to push it just to have one. And coming home without any would have worked, too.

But we bought one. The first 2 we were interested in went rather high (which was nice to see, although it did not affect our baby). Well, at least higher than we wanted to go for the quality. But then Queen came in. She was 6, and not bred this year which was to her detriment (later we found that she had been bred before..twice...but they did not breed her last year or this because of prices....and who could blame them?). We bought her for half the price we would have paid for her. I had a few concerns yet, but we took the chance.

Bringing her home, we found out something about her......she is a go-with-the-flow kind of horse. Friends of ours also bought a very very nice horse, and some people we know who live close by also bought 2 youngsters. So, we had a loaded trailer. Because it is a stock-type trailer, there is no center divider; we usually put horses head to tail in them, since there is plenty of room for them to move with the movement of the trailer. But, I was driving behind, in the car, and it soon became apparent that head-to-tail was not going to work.
The big Belgian had slammed her body cross-wise and was standing sideways, plastered up against the front of the gooseneck. The 2 babies in the back were also having issues, with one pushing the other literally up the wall. I just kept seeing the sale numbers on the one's butt getting higher and higher as it stepped up on the wheel well because it was getting pushed by the other. Poor Queen had her head resting on the Trixy's (the Belgian) butt.
We pulled the 2 babies off and tried to change places with them, but the "problem child" immediately turned sideways and would not go head first. So we ties both of them sideways instead. We tried to get Trixy to move, but she just went right back, so we re-tied Queen so she could ride sideways, too. Problem child still kept smashing the other baby up against the back door, but the movement of the trailer was enough to pull it off at times. When we got to a rest area to check up on them, Trixy was STILL smashed up against the front of the trailer, the 2 babies were smashed up against the back door, and Queen was just standing there in a 3/4 position, taking up the space Trixy left her. She had about 3 feet on either side of her, between Trixy and the middle gate, and she was just as happy as a clam.

Once home, she paired up not with Star (who squealed and pinned her ears at the newcomer and chased her around for awhile) but with our 3-yo Sheena. Of course, Jill just went right after her, although Jill was actually the second horse to "warm" up to her. Jill actually ALLOWED her into her space (which is 5 feet around her body) without trying to kill her, after a few days. Bill....he just doesn't care. Although Star hasn't really warmed up to her, she's no longer chasing her around or away. However, Queen has a habit of squealing when she gets a bit nervous...which suggests a past that needs to be reckoned with. And the squeal is noteworthy.....a panicked, "I'm gonna die" squeal.

Sunday was the first time we were able to get everyone together at the Fairgrounds to see how things were going to go. 14 people, 9 horses, 3 carts, 1 wagon and 1 forecart all came. The objective was massive. Bill went to "help" a problem child. He's the rock, the one who doesn't do anything wrong. The problem child belonged to the Sparks, a family we have known for awhile. Rosie (the problem child) does not like being driven, although she was fine in the team. She just does not like being by herself. Sparks also have Lainie, who was the problem child last year (and really WAS a problem) that Bill "helped" get through her issues. I drove Star for the first time, single. She is definitely a man's horse. My arms are still tired! She's easy to drive, but if you relax for a second, she dives right into the lines and goes faster. She doesn't run away, but whatever you give her, she steps right up to take! Roy would definitely not be able to drive her with his hands.....mine hurt enough and his are way worse. While Star and Queen were hooked as a team, I drove Sheena around. Sheena is still a bratty 2/3yo. She needs a lot of time driving to get her consistent and compliant. She just likes to do what she wants to do. And of course Bud (my old gelding that Chris and Jim have now) was there so we were going around in carts, and teams....just all over the place.

One of the things we wanted to do was put Sheena and Bud together, since Chris has expressed in interest in getting her. And they actually did fairly well together.
Probably better than Star and Queen. Team is not Star's cup of tea, and she "freezes" when she's brought up to the tongue. They didn't start out so good, so John (the teamster that drives for us) ground drove them for a bit before hooking them. Queen knows how to do things (like step over a tongue) so it was a bit easier to get Star in the right place. Neither horse did anything stupid, but they did not work together very well. Again, just miles, while they get used to each other. Once they got going, they moved very nicely together, and match rather well. When looking at them separate, Queen looks so much smaller, yet pics show they are just about the same size. I think it's because Star has so much "presence" and Queen does not. But the pics show the truth, they are within and inch of each other. They move pretty much the same, but they don't move together....almost as if there is a competition as to who can be in front.

It was exciting and fun. Next time I will need to drive Star and Queen.

Things that make you go Hmmmmmmm

2010-03-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

For some time now, our older gelding, Bill, has had a patch on his right hip. It's kind of a strange kind of patch......it looks a bit like a wart, yet not. And at times it seems to heal over, only to show up again. The Vet has looked at it, and none of the several vets can figure out what it is. The best guess was some kind of mite. However, none of the other horses ever got it, even though Bill has gone out with them. Also, it never seemed to get any bigger. Bill has been in the same stall for the last 10 years.

Since we have been fixing stalls, there have been several moves. Bill has been on the other side of the barn, keeping Jill (who hates everybody else) company......which also keeps the barn quieter and in one piece from her kicks. I had noticed that his patch was healing over; this time staying healed.

Well, Sheena is now in his old stall.......and it has not been re-floored. It should have been, since it is the most torn up.....there is a huge depression in the middle of it and the original flooring has heaved in spots. It was not done because there were other stalls that were taking on water, and that stall somehow stayed dry (which is good, since it would have been a mud wallow oherwise). It's next on the list, as soon as we get more gravel.

Well, you probably guessed it, Sheena now has a patch, in exactly the same spot as it was on Bill. Now if it were mites or bugs of any kind, it is highly unlikely that they would choose to reside in exactly the same place on two different horses (never mind the fact that no other horse in the barn has it).

My guess is, that when they lay down, they end up in exactly the same spot, as the "vallow" would allow thier bodies to slide into a particular position, kinda like a bean-bag chair. Although the shoarpese point is on the other side, there is obviously a point that I haven't really seen on the ground that must press on tat same spot on both horses, causing a rub, causing a callus, causing the wierd looking patch no one can figure out.

Who'd a thunk?

We'll see if it's true, once the floor is in.

Is it Spring yet?

2010-03-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

HoooBoy! It has been one crazy winter!!!

Like most of you, I've been spending most of my time attempting to keep the snow to a manageable level on my drive......but I've not been winning. The long drive to the barn is STILL under 15-18" of snow. The tractor simply gave up trying to push the heavy snow.....and there's no place to put it anymore. So we wait for the melt. And even though we've had several really nice days of sun (which we've had VERY little of here in NE Ohio), the temperature has not been warm enough to really get the melt going. I can't wait until I can get back to the barn via the drive, but I am NOT looking forward to the mud on the other end. Already, my "rollers" have found mud puddles......at least enough to get mud on themselves.

This has been the first year when the horses have not been interested in really running and playing in the snow. Mostly, they've wanted to stay close to the gate......and have not wanted to stay out very long. True, it has been rather raw.....the wind has been cutting through everything ....but they haven't really stretched their legs like normal. Whether the snow has been too heavy along with the drifting......not sure. I have to admit.....trudging out to the barn has been tough enough....I haven't really gone out into the pasture.

My youngsters have been growing. The yearling, Fire, is already close to 16hh and the 2yo's K and Lilly are 17hh already. And their butts are still 4-6" higher than their withers. Athena, the now 4yo I took to the sale and came back home with.....matches my older grey mare, Missy. They should make a very nice team this year. The 3yo Sheena looks small compared to the 2yo's and 4yo.....but she really is over 17hh, when you "stick" her.....she just doesn't carry herself like a hitchy hitch horse. She can move like one.....but she really doesn't wanna. She is kinda our "fifth wheel".....she doesn't really match anyone. Again.....she CAN match our wonder-horse, Star, but she doesn't really wanna. As a horse listener......I have to respect that (even though I would rather see her at her full potential)....because she is not going to be happy, and I don't want her to get balky. She would do well with someone who wants to show her lightly at local shows and have fun with her. She loves the attention, and has done well for us at shows, she's just not quite what we need to finish our 4-up hitch.

Here's hoping you all have a nice Spring.

Barn Reflooring

2009-11-25T15:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging much, as my time has been filled with re-flooring the barn stalls. It is a time-consuming project, since you have to work around the poles and partitions that are already in place.

I never thought I would have to replace the barn floor, since it is on a rather thick base of blue clay......but this is the second time in ten years that it has become necessary. The first time we filled and tamped and it worked.......for awhile. But I have come to the conclusion that drafties are far harder on the ground than I thought. This time some of the holes have actually gone deeper than the clay, allowing ground water to seep up into the stalls. And, of course, the ever-present rodents keep creating holes under the walls which also allows water to sneak in.

I've had light horses for a long time.....and never had as much of a problem with them tearing up the stall floors. Even though many of them were paw-ers, they just didn't do as much damage. Oh, sure, they were able to make lumpies and holes in their stalls, but not like my big ones do.

I guess it has more to do with their weight. 2000-pounders manage to push and shove material around creating higher lumpies, even hills, and bigger holes. Some of the holes actually look like wildebeest wallows...convenient and comfy for them while laying down.....but massive problems when trying to get back up out of them.....kinda like a bean-bag chair. Once they get their "big shoes" on (scotch bottoms/show shoes) the poor dirt floors don't stand a chance; they get chewed up and re-distributed in ways they shouldn't be.

So, after 12 years and several $1000's of dollars last time, we are trying something new.....well, new for us. This time we are covering the gravel/fill with rubber mats. I've used mats before....in my trailers, under the horses at fair time so they don't start digging to China while bored. When my girlfriend boarded her horses with us, one of them was on mats because the stall floor was in sch bad shape. My girlfriend used mats in her barn at home, and loved them. I'm not so sure, myself, if they are the best choice. I seem to lean more toward the natural end of things, and am not really thrilled with horses lying on cold mats in the winter.

But.....something needed to be done. We are still in the process of fixing the floors, but we have more than half of them done.....and we're running out of mats and fill. The fill is a whole 'nother issue......since the partitions have been in place for some time...it is a one-wheelbarrow-at-a-time and then dump the stuff, rake it out and try to level it as much as possible. That's where the REAL labor is. A skid-steer would be wonderful.....but it would have to be small; like 3' wide. We don't have one, and renting one every week is not a good option. Which is another reason why this project is so labor intensive......between us working our "normal" jobs and keeping up with barn chores there just is not the ability to just "get-r-done" in one fell swoop (although that would be wonderful!!!!) Between working with the feed store to get the mats ordered and in, and dealing with the gravel haulers (who have bigger jobs to do) we are somewhat at the mercy of other interests. However, they have ALL been trying to help as much as possible.

The horses who are now on mats are handling it quite well, thank you. Except for Missy, who thought that the black floor was nothing more than a big hole waiting to swallow her....and nearly killed me the first time she even SAW a matted stall (which wasn't hers, by the way) let alone go into hers once it WAS matted. Fire definitely does NOT like the mats.....she likes pawing the ground and sniffing whatever odors manage to waft out of it.....not something she can do on the mats. She's not much of a paw-er, and being a baby, doesn't do much damage, if any. The others are like.....whatever. Some of them secretly like the noise the mats make when they walk on them, I think. However, we have discovered that it is harder to un-cast a cast horse, as they cannot get a grip with their feet on the rubber like they can with the dirt.

But some good has come out of it on our side, too. It IS easier to clean the stalls. Oh, you still take out as much stuff as before, but it's easier to get to and under....plus you're not taking out even more materials from the holes. And, surprisingly, there is more "clean" stuff left. Because the mats are a bit slick, the sawdust moves from the middle to the sides, so raking what's up against the sides back to the middle has given us much more "decent" sawdust left over!! Plus, the mats keep the decent sawdust from picking up moisture from the ground.

We still have several more horses to do.....some may not get theirs done til Spring, depending on weather around here (getting more fill is tough right now since things are so wet that large dump trucks have a habit of sinking in)....but we've got most of them done....so that only one should go through the winter with a lumpy stall.

I will be so glad when it's all done!!!!

Sales Report

2009-10-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it's over. The Sale, that is.
And to say it SUCKED, is putting it mildly.

We brought Athena back......I just could not give her away.
Summer, however, did not share the same fate. Although we did not want to give her up, we definitely need the room and need to down-size.

It wasn't just our horses......it was everyone's. Oh, yeah, there were those who everyone really wanted......all the ones WE were interested in went for $3000 and up......but there were a LOT of really decent, nicely to well-bred horses, broke, carrying babies that went for anywhere from $500 to $900. Like the auctioneer said.....these aren't horses that were on their last legs; these are horses in their prime: 5-9 years old!

There were people there that looked at horses, made their notes, asked questions, made comments.....that went home empty-handed. People who should have picked up something and would have obviously given them a good home. Why didn't they? I have a theory.

Most of the people who really took time to ask questions were not your normal draft horse people. Most of them looked like hunter/jumper or sport horse people, or people just getting interested in possibly getting a draft horse. But the prices may have stopped them......after all, a saddle-horse that only commands $500 these days is usually a puke, a problem and/or too old to do anything. However, 90% of these horses were none of the above.

Just look at the financial logistics:

to get the horse on the ground (i.e., be born) is a stud fee of approximately $500
there is 2 years of maintenance; feeding, vet, trimming, caring and, maybe, showing
the horse is trained (broke), usually for a fee: a cheap fee is about $500; the trainer only keeps the horse for a month or so
the horse is "finished"....used by the owner
the horse (if its a mare) is bred and is going to have a baby. Stud fee: $500

Just picking up the "big" fees, there is already $1,500 invested in a broke, bred mare.....and they are selling for $500. But it's not a good thing for the draft horses.

Why? Because the cycle of the 1940's will happen again. When horses were replaced by trucks and cars small breeders simply closed up shop. And when people wanted to get them again, they were few and far between. It took a long time to build up the numbers.

Now, there are many small breeders wondering if it is worth breeding anymore. Many of them have very nice horses; it would be a shame to lose those bloodlines. If it is no longer worth it, it will come to pass.

Just another sign of the times, I guess.

Selling horses

2009-10-20T07:23:00.001-07:00

Anyone who has sold older animals will tell you......they seem to know when you are "getting rid of them". Weanlings of any sort (cat, dog, horse) don't seem to have the same feel, but the older ones definitely do.

Most of the horses I sell are sold for only one reason......they do not fit in with the program.
In draft horses, most of the time it's because they don't have a match/mate; and unless they are phenomenal movers don't have a place locked up on the show thing. I have to admit, we have been very lucky in finding great homes for our "odd-man-out" horses.
But that doesn't change their attitude......or the fact that they seem to "know".

Once a horse is officially "on the market" most of them become like lost puppies.
"Don't you love me anymore?" The sad eyes....the sudden "joined at the hip" with you. They want to be petted and played with.......they "say" with every movement, "You don't really want to sell me, do you?"

I have a hard time selling any horse. I do connect with all of them.....especially ones that I bought from a sale and ones I helped into the world. After buying/selling over 150 horses, it still isn't any easier. But Athena is trying to make it easy.

It seemed that as soon as the paperwork was sent in to the sale, she knew. While Summer has done the "sweet" thing noted above, Athena is more like a child who has to go to camp; but no matter how much he wants to go, is scared of leaving home.....and begins to "act out".
Psychologists call this "making it easier to separate." It's always easier to leave when you're angry.....and it's always easier to "let go" when you're not happy with something.

Athena has never had any vices.....til now. While she has always been independent and superior, she usually went along with things, as long as they were done her way or she could "live with it". The day the papers were sent in.....she started being aggressive. She crowds when you go to feed her; she comes at you with mouth open when you try to fly-spray her; she's taken up nipping; and she doesn't want you to catch her when she comes in from the pasture. None of this was there prior to this day. Since none of this is tolerated in my barn, she has since given up such shenanigans with me....but my guess is she's going to push buttons for someone else.

Until Sunday. On Sunday, we helped some friends with a problem horse (couldn't break her) by bringing up our "rock".....Bill. Bill deals with Jill all the time.....and does a wonderful job....so naturally, he was elected to be the teacher. While his partner lunged and leaped like she was jumping no-stride 2-1/2' cavaletti, poor Bill just tried to keep up......until the mare finally settled down and decided she really could do this thing without being stupid. We had also brought along Summer and Athena, since they really hadn't had a good hitch since May.

While Bill was a star that day, Athena came in a close second. She was perfect hitching.....was actually happy being hitched and played with. While Roy worked Summer, I let Athena lunge for a bit (she's been known to be a bit "hot" if you put her right into a hitch), on her own terms (she knows how to lunge and pretty much does it herself after a few reminders). The more we worked, the more she wanted to work. She really seemed to enjoy herself, while Summer and Sheena really wanted to just go out in the pasture. Not that they were bad, they just weren't as much fun to drive.

As much as her original trainer said she prefers to be ridden, she really liked being driven in the cart. We did not get a chance to drive Athena and Summer as a team.....but then, they don't match anymore, and it would be like driving Mutt and Jeff with their size difference. And that is why they are going to the sale.....they have no matches with our black horses or even our other, very fancy dapple gray.

The sale is this Friday, and I admit I'm stressed. Hope and pray for them to find that good home.

October Sale Time

2009-10-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

It's October.......and for draft horses, that means sales.
It's a time that's both exciting and sad.
Exciting because there may be something there you just can't live without.
Sad because you need to send some friends along to find new homes.

It's sad this year. We need to sell some, and 2 of my nicer animals are going to be leaving.

Summer, our dapple gray 3yo, did not grow as big as we had anticipated. Her team mate, 3 yo blue roan Athena, is pushing 18hh. Their Mutt-and-Jeff appearance makes them no longer the nice team they were. It is, of course, still possible that Summer will grow more......but she will be a "late bloomer" and will not match Athena for a few years. That's a few years too many. We did not breed them......I don't like breeding 3yos.....and that will likely have a major effect on how much they bring. Both are extremely well-bred.....but sometimes that means nothing.

Summer takes care of hubby. He is not an aggressive driver and at times loses focus......but she knows just what to do and keeps him safe. She's a super horse for someone who is new to the business or wants a safe horse for their kids. She had held her own in competition, beating older more mature horses, so she's a nice mover. She's also broke to ride (although I haven't ridden her since last year). And she's a good baby sitter. My present foal, Fire, will need to be weaned again. No vices, either. Just a real nice mare that I would keep if I could.

But I am really going to miss Athena. This blue-roan moves like a 3-day and/or dressage horse. She is the "modern" kind, which means she looks more like a warm-blood than a full-blooded Percheron. She also was broke to ride last year (again, I'm not riding them) and the trainer said she actually preferred to be ridden than driven. She also has held her own against more mature horses and placed well in her classes. She's actually jumped over me when I got knocked by another horse right into her path. I just remembered thinking "this is gonna hurt" and then seeing her feet over my head. This horse and I have quite a history together, which makes it especially hard to see her go.

As a baby, she almost didn't make it out. She got her shoulder caught on her mom's pelvis and no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't make it move. Just when I figured was going to have a dead baby, suddenly, it gave, and she came out. When we lost her mother the next year, I really wanted to keep her forever. Then, while out with mares and foals, another mare decided she didn't like her and attacked her. Again, I thought I would have a dead baby......but with a lot of love and care she pulled through. She has her own personality......I gave her the name Athena for a reason......she thinks she's a goddess! And she has the blue roan dorsal stripe down her back and the dark outline of her eye......which actually makes her look more like Cleopatra! It is very Egyptian-like.

I am not looking forward to losing these two.....because that's what it is.....losing them. But circumstances force the issue. 11 horses and 2 people to care for them.....gets to be a bit much at our age.....especially since 1 (me) does most of the day-to-day stuff. I know they are not getting the attention they deserve, since it is focussed on others who need it more right now.
But still.......next week will be a sad week.

Busy, busy, busy

2009-10-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

Haven't been blogging......life has this uncanny way of interrupting your great intentions.

We needed a new roof on the house.....and were in the process of doing a loan for it. Then, when the roofers are on the roof....I call to find out when the money will be deposited in my account and the Bank tells me.....there's a problem.

A problem? You've had the information for a month and NOW you decide there's a problem? You sent me all the info on how much my payments are going to be and when you're going to start taking them out of my account, and NOW you decide there's a problem? What's the problem?

We're CAUV......agriculture use value. Well, duh. And that means.......? Well, we're getting a tax break already. Yeah, and that means......? I mean, they'd give Donald Trump all the money in the WORLD and he has tax breaks out the wazoo. Try again. Well, the value of the house isn't enough for your amount. 1/10th? You can't get me 1/10th the worth of my place?

Well, the rejection letter came back saying that the credit report show insufficient activity. Insufficient activity? (Notice they changed the tune of CAUV....clever, huh?) Been with that bank 15 years and another branch for 2 years......had 2 mortgages with that bank......have a credit card......have had credit cards since 1969 or theresabout. I guess I still had insufficient activity after 17 years with them.....huh?

Went to another bank.....they had a problem with CAUV. Looks like you can't get a loan for remodeling or a 1st mortgage if you have CAUV. Which doesn't make sense.....people who want to move out to a farm are going to do everything possible to keep it. They just do.

I can put it on my credit card (at exhorbitant interest), but not get it otherwise at lower interest like any normal, prudent and financial-thinking person would do. Who'd a thunk?

So scrambling to find enough to scrape together. Did pay the roofer (he was a great guy), but depleted everything else. Being in the horse business, we have a lot of assets.....but they are not very liquid.....in fact they are positively granite boulders.

In scrambling, went to the Credit Union where we had just depleted our account. In less than a week, we were approved for 1/2...that's 50%.....of the value of our place. We don't need that much......but it was interesting how easy they were able to get it done.

Breathing room at last.......well, at least for right now!

Fairs are finally over!

2009-09-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

Fairs are finally over!! And while I'm still cleaning things and packing them up for next year, I decided to take a break (big sigh) and try to start blogging again.

We did very well this year. While it was not the smoothest or easiest Fair we've been to, Geauga made us "right proud", with bragging rights. Star was the star of the show.....the judges definitely liked her. Star has several issues.....and one of the judges actually commented on how she is such an awesome mare with a few screws loose. And even though she is no longer considered a "halter" mare, since she has a thick area just below her hock from a wire(s) cut she got long before we got her....she managed to become the Reserve Grand Champion mare. Star is a well-bred, well put together mare who should place high, but many judges will not look at a horse that has an injury since it's sometimes hard to tell if it truly is an "injury" or an unsoundness. She won her age class, and was "beat" by a 3yo who is also truly awesome. She won her cart class, then a few classes later went out and won the Champion class, a class with all of the winning cart horses.....from Men's Mare, Ladies Mare, Men's Gelding and Ladies Gelding classes. Geauga is a big draft horse fair.....usually has about 200+ drafts horses and another 50 or 60 Halflinger draft ponies. We generally get judges who judge at the State Fair and National Show level, and almost all of them are pleasantly surprised at the quality of horses at Geauga County Fair. Many of the exhibitors showed or still show at the State Fair/National levels. So it is not an easy task to win a class, let alone a Championship!

I was very proud of Jill. I wrote about her melt-down and was truly concerned about using her, especially since she was in the bulk of our hitches. Several times I thought she was going to blow, but she always seemed to think better of it. Of course we were listening real good, and stepped in real quick when she started to do her dance. As long as Bill stood beside her, she seemed to be able to stay in control. Not so our cart class. We did very nicely as long as we were moving....it was the standing that she just did not care for. The class was so big, it was split, so we had to stand twice. She reared in the cart several times, and I had to walk her around and back into line to stand. She started to get the message a bit better by the end of the second round. Imagine my surprise when my number was called to return for the final round. She placed a respectable 4th out of 16....which makes me wonder what she would have placed had she stood still. Ladies horses are supposed to be easily handled.

Rearing in a cart is a frightening experience....there is no where to escape to. But watching her, I realized that she wasn't rearing in fear, fighting to get away.....she was not rearing high enough to get off balance. She was just having a temper tantrum. Similar to a melt-down but not as severe. No one got hurt or was in any danger. So we made it a lesson.....never expecting to place.

Our unicorn hitch turned out very nice.....Bill and Jill on the wheel and Star (of course) out front. Star still doesn't quite "get it".....that she's supposed to be out there by herself.....but she was right out there like she knew exactly how and what she was supposed to be doing. Well, at least while they're moving......she doesn't get the backing up part yet. But then, we've only done this a few practice times, so we were very pleased to get a 2nd (out of 8) in that class!! We have some awesome pics of the three of them in step and a real cute one of them all looking at something off to the side. Those will be in upcoming issues of the Percheron News this Winter and Spring.

Well, break time is over.....time to continue on.........

"You're not listening!"

2009-08-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

It's fair time. And that means that I have minimal time between fairs to do a blog. But I did want to put this on......since it shows that even when we humans know better, we still push our critters too far.

Jill is a mare with a past......a bad one. She has PTSD and is either bi-polar or has a severe case of Jeckel/Hyde. I "pet psychic" once said she prefers to be called "Jillian" because it is more elegant than just "Jill". While I laugh about it, I also have to admit that when I first saw her I saw an elegant, classic Percheron filly......not the terror that lives beneath. And the funny thing is, when she is being stupid, I'll say, "You're being a Jill" and she actually does calm down and get better. So who knows.

Jill was trained in an unusual way. She would not cooperate with being teamed up with another horse.....was not quiet in a cart......so she was ridden first. After several days, she was put in the cart and tolerated it. But she never would stand to be hitched to another horse. For several years she was just a cart horse, and she did ok. Then we lost our awesome mare in foaling and she began to pal around with our big gelding Bill. One day last year we hooked them together and, although she was not happy with him cuz he was sandbagging that day (usually Bill is our Rock and rarely sandbags) she put up with it. So the now 18+hh mare became his partner.

This year an extremely capable man wanted to use Jill and Bill as the wheel team (closest to the wagon) and put our newer awesome mare out front in the Unicorn position. We also have a 2yo we were using in a 4-horse hitch. The first time they hitched, Jill was perfect, while the two in the front tried to figure out just what it was they were supposed to be doing. The second time, (two weeks later) Jill Hyde reared her ugly head.

Jill had been switching her tail the entire time (even when just teamed with Bill), and we KNEW that she was absolutely agitated.....and that usually meant a blow-out. But we pushed her on with the 4 and then the unicorn. We had just taken Star out of the unicorn position when Jill's eyes started "spinning" (a term I use when they lose focus and begin to panic) and sudden off she went.....bucking, rearing, kicking. I got Star out of the way, so the guys could handle the team, but she was not listening. When Jill gets this way, someone needs to get right in her face and let her know that the human is in control and it will be okay. Until she can make eye contact, she goes right into panic mode and there's no stopping it. She kicked, she jumped, she sat on the wagon pole, got her feet over it, panicked more. Eventually she broke the 4x4 pole (it was between her legs) and managed to get all twisted up in the harness, facing the wagon, while Bill was still facing away from the wagon. What a mess.

Poor Bill. He is SOOOOOO good. As Jill is doing her thing, he just steps aside.....oh, you're coming here? ok, I'll just take another step.....ok, another step......just getting out of the way, but not participating in all the ruckus.

We knew she was pissy and we pushed her too far. Had I been able to get in her face right away, it may not have happened.....but it did.

However, since she is as big as she is, this is not the way to end a session......so she was hooked to the cart to be worked a bit more before being finished. Of course, she LOVES the cart....so it was not a punishment......even the guy driving her was laughing, saying "she obviously doesn't think THIS is punishment!" Her other bug is standing still for any length of time, so he made her stand, instead.

The long and short of it is.....she did fine at the fairs we've been to so far. Our biggest fair is to come, and we shall see how it turns out.

But the important part is......we didn't listen.....we pushed. And while pushing is often necessary, there is a fine line......and we crossed it. We humans have a time schedule, which causes us to push issues; the horse has only one issue.....how do I feel? We ignore that at our own peril.

Stallion Behavior, Part 2

2009-07-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

"He's supposed to act that way. He's a stallion!"

AAAARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Every time I hear that, I want to clock the speaker upside the head.
Wherever did we get the idea that stallions are supposed to be uncontrollable, overly aggressive and otherwise bad mannered?

Well, after watching people who probably shouldn't have had a stallion in the first place, it becomes real obvious that many human males seem to think that having an aggressive stallion under their control makes them look just too cool .....that people will look up to them. And you might, at first.....until you realize that they are scared to death of the monster they have created.

Some people say its the testosterone. Well, yeah, testosterone does make them more aggressive, just as estrogen makes mares moody. But it's not just the hormones.....it's the way we humans treat them. A horse....any horse.....just wants to be a horse. If it has its "druthers", it would rather be out in a huge pasture of lush grass and just eat. And maybe procreate. After all, any creature with testosterone usually only has one thing on his mind.

But, he can learn. For all Mac's wild entertaining in the halter show ring, he was a first-class gentleman in harness. In fact, we could hitch him with a mare. And, Mac made many children friends at fairs, always bringing his head down for them to pet. Friends of ours had a stallion that they bred their mares to and then used all of them in their hitches. Ben was a lead horse, all the way, and when in harness, he was all business.

So what makes some stallions "different"? Horse handling. Well mannered stallions are expected, first of all, to be horses.....not some special kind of creature we are all supposed to ooooooh and aaaaaaaah about. They want the same consideration as the mares and geldings. I've known a lot of stallions that basically lived their lives in over-sized stalls.....only coming out to breed. It's amazing what daily turn-out can do for a stallions behavior and his outlook. And, if you think about it.....if you're just coming out to breed, well, every time a leadshank is attached, he's ready to go breed something. It's exciting for him....it's the highlight of his day. Finally! Something other than four walls!!! Of course he's going to be stupid!

Stallions are smart.....or at least they have a knack for getting into mischief. They need/want the discipline that goes with being handled. They want the guidance of another party to let them know what they are supposed to be doing.

Take a wild herd. We have all succumbed to the Disney Syndrome....where there is a fantasy idea about the stallion being the all-powerful, wonderful herd leader. Check out the herd. The stallion is only tolerated at best. He is only allowed into the herd if and when the mares "say" it's okay. It's not unusual for a mare to go out to him if the others don't want him around them. The Beta mare is the one who will "shoo" him out and make him stay out. It is the Alpha mare that is the leader.....a post that seems to be shared by the Maternal Mare, who is usually the last one in line. It is the Maternal Mare who "decides" if he's allowed in the herd, close by or kept away. (The Maternal is NOT the omega mare, although it often looks like she is. She has her own "job" to do and that is to keep the herd intact......that's not the stallion's job.) So how do I explain the "protectiveness" of the stallion. It's not so much protective as it is possessive. As in "these are MY mares and you can't have them."

We humans have a ton of beliefs about stallions. Somehow they are more noble than mares or geldings.....they have an "air" about them. And we let them get away with murder. Well, ok, maybe not murder, but you get the idea. A lot of people actually fear all that testosterone, and either allow the horse to run amok, or try to over-compensate by becoming brutal. I've watched people who I know fairly well and feel are very competent, suddenly become like brand new students afraid the horse will step on them when dealing with stallions.....I kid you not! And I've watched a trainer work with this stallion (that took 2 people to bring into the round pen) for 5 minutes and you could see that the horse was looking for that discipline to help him get himself under control. Because that's really what it is. If you leave a horse by himself a lot, he has no need to control himself. What he needs is someone to draw the line and let him know when he has crossed it. Surprise! This is no different than any other mare or gelding. We just seem to be more at ease with them, and more afraid of the response of that testosterone creature.

Stallions are no different from humans, in that respect. Put several 12-year-olds together with no supervision and see what happens. Ditto, 17-year-olds. Over discipline and you may have what appears to be a meek and scared boy, that will eventually turn on you. Under discipline and you get a bully.

The choice is yours......either your stallion becomes a gang member, or he becomes a respected, enjoyable partner.

Stallion Behavior, Part 1

2009-07-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

"He's supposed to act that way.....he's a stallion!"

Oh, I've been confronted with stallions that are just plain mean, and DO intend to "get you". But I've also had to deal with geldings who would just a soon kick your head off, too. But it all boils down to the way you treat them......treat them like they are supposed to be mean and nasty, and they will be more than happy to become the animal you have wished for.

My first experience with stallions came from a Standardbred breeding farm. There were four very high quality stallions that (with a lot of black type) and four distinct personalities. There was the "I'm really a gelding in disguise", an absolute gentleman.....you could change lightbulbs by standing on his back. There was the bored old man who liked to keep you on your toes by taking a nip when you weren't paying attention....always with that gleam in his eye that made you think he was laughing at you (he was). There was the awesome "in-my-prime" guy who would try to bully you, but once you stood your ground he didn't try anything stupid. And there was the "I-hate-you-all-and-want-to-kill-you" guy that came at you teeth and hoof.....all the time. Only the farm manager was able to work with him, and most of the time he was muzzled when handled. He never did get any better.

Later I dealt with TB stallions, and again, found that they were individuals. Some were fine, as long as there wasn't a mare in heat close by. Some were, well, dangerous. It wasn't until later that I learned the "one-finger" rule. But more on that later.

Eventually came the time when we wanted to breed our Percherons. My husband had seen a colt that he really liked, but the man wasn't interested in selling him as a weanling. It wasn't until the fall of his yearling year that the man called and asked if he was still interested in him. My husband went down to look at him and decided to buy him. He didn't take a trailer......the horse was in Amish country and the roads are, well, rather narrow in that section. When they say "make a left at the pig trough" they mean it! We had to wait for several bicycles to find drives to hop into before we could get past them!!

My first view of Charlie was in a low-ceilinged bank barn. He was in a calf pen. And he wanted nothing to do with humans. He did not have a halter on.....it seems that this "crazy horse" wouldn't get caught, so his youngster halter had grown into his skin and been cut off. He had a really nasty, pus-filled gouge actoss his poll.....just beyond ear to ear. They had been treating it.....sort of.....he wasn't real cooperative. So while hubby and Amishman talked man-talk, I went to sit on the pen and try to figure him out (yep, too many Disney movies seen). Several times he "chased" me off the pen, and then turned his butt to me with that "go ahead, make my day" look. I had his halter in my hand.....a big one with sheepskin on it to protect his cut.....and eventually his curiousity got the better of him and he came over to check me out. It took a few tries, but at last I got the halter on. I was going out to get the lead so we could get him on the trailer, when the men (a few more had shown up) came in and they said, "ready for the rodeo?" Now, I was stupid.....I just figured that they meant getting him into a trailer would be, well, ugly, at best. I nodded and asked if Roy had brought the lead shank (which he had, of course). "No, I mean getting his halter on."
"It's on," I blurted. They looked at me like I was nuts. But there stood Charlie, head over the rail, with his halter on. "How did you....." But I just took the lead shank and attached it to the halter.. To be honest, I don't remember much about the going on the trailer part......I know it took a few tries, but it wasnt as bad as I've seen. Ultimately, Charlie acted like a gelding when being handled, but trumpted like an elephant when it was time to breed. Yes, he let his ladies know he was coming!!! This "crazy" horse let a 16 year old girl show him at a major show.....and was the perfect gentleman even with four other obnoxious orangutans leaping and kicking in the show ring. Charlie also tended to be a "ham" in front of an audience. Once when being judged for Supreme Stallion, the judge went to point to the Belgian, and Charlie stomped and picked up a stance that sent the crowd (and the judge) into fits of laughter.

Mac was our second stallion. He was an awesome young man, again pretty much a gentleman. Except in the show ring. His first show was Ohio State.....and he was the usual gentleman. His third show was Indiana State...and something happened. We were on the way to get him his bath before the show, when we passed by the stall of another stallion his age. This stallion was one of those "He's a stallion, he's supposed to act that way". This stallion charged at us. Although it startled me, Mac went balistic. He reared up and threw himself at the other stallion, nearly taking the stall down. I had never seen him so riled. He quieted down while we got his bath done, and he was fine in his own stall.....even though a Clydesdale stallion stood in the next stall.....in fact, he and the Clyde seemed to take a liking to each other. He also took a real liking to the two foals who were next to him. Then, in the show ring, with three other orangutans, he saw the stallion that had gone after us. He pinned his ears and watched that other stallion. As the stallion made his run, Mac was waiting and tried to rush out and get him. He was easily controllable, but he did NOT want that horse anywhere near us. Nor did he want to take the chance that any other horse might hurt his human. Although I was not aware of our bond at that time, there were several horsemen, who's word could be taken as law, who mentioned that fact that Mac always put himself between me and whatever he considered danger.....and if that meant the judge, then he made sure that judge gave us a clear berth. Yet, this same horse, who did airs above the ground in halter class to keep between me and who/whatever, was broke to drive and I drove him in a ladies class where he was an absolute gentleman. That was one class where those same horsemen said, "you really won that class" although I got a 4th. (It was nice that several of them really went to bat for me by screaming at the judge who said, "women should not drive stallions" yelling "he did everything he was supposed to". It was this same horse who, while waiting for a Supreme Champion class, slipped his show bridle (well, it really kinda fell off.....he had a head set that made it hard to keep any kind of halter or bridle on him), and stood there like "Mom, something ain't right", while 20 4-H horses, stood in tie stalls not 15' from him (and at least half had come into heat that week).....and he never made a wrong move.
It was Mac who taught me the "one-finger" rule. Just like a stern mother or grandmother, who shakes her finger at you when you've been bad....and you know you're in big trouble.....Mac responded to the wagging of a single finger by putting his head down and standing still. Eventually, I didn't even have to wag it, just hold it up. It was a fluke discovery......but one that has proven itself over and over.

Slick came to us as an older horse. He had been labeled "crazy".....in fact one of his previous owners was going to shoot him he was so crazy. But his bloodlines were wonderful. We had been told that he could only be led with a bridle, that he was too crazy....you needed a bit to control him. So we used the bridle.....and he behaved "like a stallion"....prancing, trumpeting, basically being "on the muscle". Getting the bridle on was difficult.....until I held up one finger. Sure enough, he dropped his head and stood still. Then, one day, I forgot to put the bridle on. And I discovered the gelding inside the stallion. Even though I lead him right past Mac, he just kept his head down and plodded along beside me...."I'm a gelding". (Mac, of course was not happy that he was not between this "new guy" and me). Slick was great for traumatized mares......he wined and dined them. He was the first horse we allowed to pasture-breed, and he definitely knew what he was doing. It was a comedy show in some ways. We had a traumatized mare (we didn't know it until we tried to breed her).....but he was able to snort, shnuffle and gently convince her it was ok, then did his thing. I don't think she even knew what happened....and when it was all over she had a real funny look on her face.

Now we have Bo. Bo was bought young (a yearling) and bred as a 2-yr-old. When we bought him, he could have been labeled "crazy". He had rarely been handled, and while getting him ready for the sale ring, he behaved "like a stallion"....rearing, bucking, trying to get away from (or get) the man on the end of the leadshank. He's awesome and is, once again, the ultimate gentleman. He has his third crop on the ground now. Yes,he is a stallion and he can become quite obnoxious. But the one-finger rule works on him, too.

So why did my "crazy" stallions turn into gentlemen?
Well, it's not because I'm such a wonderful trainer.......(I'm not).
Part of it is due to horse listening (although Charlie and Mac were really before I got serious about it). But another part is due to really understanding horse behavior....of waiting for them to come to you.....and because I never subscribed to the myths we have about stallions.....which I will go over in "Part 2"

It's Hay Season!

2009-06-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Up in the North here it is finally hay season. And there is a lot of hay to be moved. Especially when you have a rather large herd of show horses, whose pasture is small enough that those large plate-sized feet destroy more grass than they graze, and you are close enough to your neighbors that it would not be unusual to find a stray bullet on your property from their target practice. So, we supplement with hay......a lot of hay. We don't have enough acreage to make it feasible to make our own (plus it's not that great) so we buy it. And therein lies the problem.

You can't find help to move it as fast as it needs to get moved. You would think, that with all the talk about the economy tanking; with all the people moaning about losing their jobs; unable to pay bills; and on and on.......that people would be willing to get paid for a day or two of hard, physically demanding work....even if it was just enough to get them groceries for the week. But no. No one wants to get hot and dirty, even if it will get you more per hour than McDonald's or Burger King. And the time commitment is minimal.
Time was when the football coaches would "hire out" their teams to haying farmers instead of doing weight lifting or two-a-day drills. After all, their team would be getting both cardio and weight-lifting all at once!!! Not so any more....the emphasis is on weight-training in an air-conditioned gym (last I knew games were played outside!) and constant game plays. After all, winning is the all in football!

But it seems to be a common problem everywhere, now. We work for the money to provide for our horses (no really!!! That's where most of my income goes!) As a firefighter/paramedic I see it with our probies coming up.....they really don't want to work and love the job because they feel they can spend all their time sleeping, watching TV or playing PlayStation. And in many stations they can.
Not in ours. We do a lot of training and have other duties.....which the youngers don't like.
But we also have air-conditioned work-out rooms......and they are very happy to spend time with their bros in there......usually competing with each other in the nice climate-controlled atmosphere.
But ask these guys to come out for REAL work? Ummmmm.....how many excuses can they come up with. The same guys who praise themselves for bench-pressing 300+# have absolutely no intentions of getting dirty and sweaty for an afternoon of tossing 85# bales (yeah, we weighed them! Friends down the street get 35#-ers).

What does this have to do with horses listening/training? Well, this philosophy spills over into the general dealing with horses. You know what I'm talking about.....the person who comes to the boarding stables or school and does absolutely nothing to get their horse ready, yet takes them out for their lesson then goes home until next week's lesson. This same person gets all bent out of shape at a show, where they spend more time with the horse in a less-than-ideal-situation (i.e. competitive) and they quickly get frustrated because the horse "won't do everything I ask" for several hours when it usually only takes 1 hour at "home". Or the person who has their horse at their place, but only feeds it until such time as they want to do something and then gets bent because it "won't do what I want". Am I guilty of that? ABSOLUTELY!!!! It was one of the things that Rusty taught me only too well. Do I still do it? Absolutely. I'm not proud of admitting it. But, then, I don't EXPECT the horse to be perfect when we DO start something. And that makes a big difference.

I've spent a lot of time watching my horses be horses. I've spent time in their stalls with them. I know their personalities.....I know when they are feeling good and not-so-good. I have horses who are pretty steady and predictable.....and I have goof-balls who are always on the look-out for mischief-making. I'm the one who needs to make the adjustments....because, quite frankly, they don't care if they "look good" in the show ring. Well, except for Bud.....who thrives on an audience.

But that's the difference. The same people who moan and groan about "not having" are the same people who won't make that effort....won't do the work necessary to "make it happen". Even if the work is to simply listen.

Bud--the Master Teacher

2009-06-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

If Archimedes was expressive, and Rusty verbose, then Bud was positively loquacious. Bud never shut up! He could hold whole conversations....with himself!!!! If he had been a human child, he would have been one of those who hang around the adults going, "Watch me!" "Look what I can do!" "Are we there yet?" "What are we going to do now?" He would have been a pest if he hadn't been so funny.

Bud came into my life as an auction horse. This small 2yo came into the auction ring stomping as if he was the most magnificent horse to touch the earth. His breeding was impressive, and the then owner had hoped that he would grow to become the US version of his brother, a premier sire in Canada. He didn't. So he came to the auction. At that time, slaughter houses were still in the US, and he definitely caught the eye of the "meat men". He was what the draft people call a "chunk".....a short, squat, fat/muscular horse who could pull a lot of weight and "dress-out" pretty good too. But, boy, could he move!!! And a horse that could move like that did not deserve the kill pen.....as far as I was concerned. I decided how much I felt he was worth and started bidding against them. I guess I felt he was worth a lot more than they did, cuz I ended up with a small stallion I didn't need. Ultimately he was gelded and trained......and he became the best horse for teaching me how to drive. I also rode him.....which he "allowed" since I also drove him. He loved being driven......and showed off......prancing around in a cart as if he was really something. He was so talented that even a mediocre rider like me could make him passage and piaffe like a Lippanzaner.

He was my first experience with trying Monty Roberts' "Join-Up". It worked. For the next 10 years he was joined at the hip with me. Right after the "Join-Up" session, he would run out into the pasture then turn around and look at me, very clearly saying, "Well, are you coming or what?" He was the only horse I've had that actually looked forward to working. When he saw me coming with a collar, or he heard the clink of the harness as we got it ready for him......he would just about turn himself inside out. He was like Donkey in Shrek....Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!. If he had been a dog, his tail would have been wagging so hard it would have wagged his whole body.

He has a huge heart, and uncompromising spirit. We had a huge willow fall in the pasture, and we were using the horses to haul the pieces out. Bud, of course, made a game of it, and turned it into a "is that the best you can do?" contest. Prancing, trotting and pulling the branches and smaller logs, he got stronger the more we pulled. In fact he almost ran away with me, then turned around as if to say, "that was fun.....that the best you can do?" So, we hooked him to a 12' long, 2-1/2" diameter log that we pretty much figured would stop him in his tracks....especially since it was in the mud. So I asked him to pull, and he thought he was just going to fly off with it and took off.........but the collar stopped him cold. I really wish I had a video of this, because the look on his face was priceless. 'What the h.....?' I was laughing so hard, I almost missed him getting ready for his next attempt. He turned his head and looked at that log like he was thinking how to move it. Then he, with no prompting from me, took 2 steps back, threw himself into the harness and collar like a real, for-sure pulling horse, dropped down almost to his knees.....and hit the end of the tresses........and that huge log moved a few inches!!!!. And he knew it!......His head shot up, his ears went forward and he got that gleam in his eye....."I got you now!!!" He did it again and, sure enough, the log moved out of the mud and he tromped off with it as if it was nothing......until he hit another wet spot and it bogged a bit in the deeper mud. Once he got on dry ground, he was off and running.....well not literally for him, but I was running to keep up.....and stay out of the way of the log.

People constantly said that he was always watching for me. We went to a lot of fairs, and people I did not know would comment on how he would look for me and when he saw me his whole expression and attitude would change. They would say things like, "That must be Mom". However, it did have its down-side......I was just about the only one who could drive him. Even when I started driving him, as soon as I turned the lines over to someone else, he knew.....and his whole demeanor would change. And, people noticed.

Because of our closeness, it was easy for him to "teach" me even more about Equus. The small nuances were easy to pick up with him. Because he was always so happy-go-lucky, it was easy to tell when he wasn't up to snuff. His eye response was all I needed, to know exactly what he felt and what he needed. The crinkle in his lip told me just how hard he was thinking, how crabby he might be (all 50 nuances of crabby to outright nasty!), the worry wrinkles around his eyes also told me how hard he was thinking, and sometimes even what his concern was! From "what is that?" to "I need to look at that" to "That's just dangerous!".

Might there be some telepathy there? Who knows. I think in words.....pet psychics continually stress that they get pictures from their clients. But he taught me how to "read" Equus in a way that no human could have ever done.....in a way no other horse has been able to do. But what I learned from him, I can take to other horses. I can go to a horse show and "hear" the pain of the horse whose head is forced too low; whose saddle doesn't really fit quite right; whose rider over-uses their spurs; to barrel horses that scream, 'if you just wouldn't jab me/hit me I'd be able to stretch out more.....but since I'm waiting for that ouch, I shorten my stride.' to the horse just so overwhelmed by everything going on that it's in a panic.

That's the down side of learning Equus. Although you can understand and communicate with horses, you also "hear" a lot of things you'd rather not. It's hard to watch a show when so many horses are screaming their pain and/or complaints. But it's fun to watch a horse that is doing what it loves to do. You can tell the horse that loves to cut cows, and the one going through the motions; the one that loves to jump and the one that does it grudgingly. Actually, anyone can tell.....it's just that we don't listen.

Rusty--my 2nd Equus teacher

2009-06-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

If Archimedes was expressive, Rusty was verbose. You always knew what she was thinking....or at least, she always let you know what was on her mind!!

Rusty was a "BLACK TYPE" thoroughbred on both sides. Even though she was an "oooops". Both sire and dam were yearlings, running in the pasture. Rusty's Reward had Rusty's Surprise when she was 2, after being sold as a yearling. So it's not surprising that Rusty did not get very big; in fact she was 15.2hh with shoes on. She had been on the track but had not done a whole lot. I bought her from some people who were trying to ride her Western, and go trail riding.....but it had not worked out well for them.

She was her own critter, who grudgingly allowed humans to do things to and with her. She had little use for people other than "Hey, Stupid Human....throw me some hay/grain." She was a decent enough ride, not exactly willing, but not throwing tantrums every time you asked for something.....except a right lead. She just could not balance herself on the right lead. Even when lunging, she would cross-canter for a full circle before her hind legs "fell" into the right pattern. Even out in the pasture she did it. Although the vet checked her, there did not seem to be a physical reason that she would not "push off" with the left hind first.....she just did not like to do it.

It was Rusty who "told" me about letting a horse be all s/he could be. Obviously not with words, since they don't think in words like we do. But for a number of years she carted me around in hunter classes (which later I came to recognize as something she really, really did NOT like to do) and stymied me in under saddle classes with that right lead. Eventually she got VERY good at striking off on a counter-canter and switch in a few strides.....but if she ever took off with the left hind first, it had more to do with blind luck than any doing on my part (even a blind squirrel finds a nut every so often!). No, Rusty did not rings...........unless the jumps were big and/or intimidating. THEN she was out to get them.

At the time I was working for Chuck Kinney, who now does the jumps for the big shows. Those who know Chuck know he is who he is, and you either accept him or hate him (so it seems). Chuck may not have been high with the people skills, but he knew horses....he had a way with them that was just fascinating to watch. And if ever Chuck had a "soft" look about him, it was when he was riding. It took many years for me to comprehend that he really could talk to those horses, and when he was riding, he was holding conversations with them. I mean REAL conversations. Not via words, but via feel....through his seat, the reins and just seeming to know. He was a tough taskmaster, both as a boss and a teacher. I don't think he ever realized that not everyone found it so easy to "talk" to horses. It was, ultimately, things I learned from Chuck that allowed me to find a way to hold discussions with Rusty.

And she responded in kind. Not just while riding, but all the time. It was then that I learned how, when you allow a horse to do things they liked, they usually excelled. Even so, they often "allowed" you to do things with them they would really prefer not to do.

She became that horse that everyone eventually gets.....the one that teaches you what you need to know.....and the one that will always have a special bond with you. She was the one who ultimately taught me the nuances of Equus.....the differences in the eye, even the amount of sparkle in them; the pose of the individual ears, the pull of the lip from just barely a tight line to the full blown snarl. She taught me what each amount of tenseness meant....and where that tenseness was gave so much information of what was going to happen next. The position of the feet, of the tail, of the neck and of the head.....all of which, with just a little variation meant something different. In order to speak Equus, you had to know ALL the signs and how they all related, and somehow, she taught me how to understand her. She probably laughed at me for my stilted conversation back...when you aren't "built" for Equus, it's not as easy to speak back. But, it can be done. Which I was fortunate to learn as my herd grew from 1 to 4 to 8 to 15. Watching herd dynamics not only helped me understand why certain horses are difficult to train, but also how to use my body to "speak" Equus to the horses on a level they understood. Oh, not just the kick/bite level we humans understand only too well.....but from a subtle position so that no one even knows you are having a "conversation".

Archimedes--my first horse language teacher

2009-06-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

The first horse I owned was a non-descript, bay standardbred gelding...so naturally, he needed a fancy name. He wasn't my first choice (a huge [both high and wide] Palomino QH was), but he was a horse my husband (a non-rider, big time) felt comfortable on. The others we looked at were just way too much for him to handle.

The great thing about having him was what I learned, by having him. We at first boarded at a very nice private stables that raised Gaited Horses, and the owners were kind enough to let me ride and teach me about them. But for "knocking around" and trail riding, Archimedes was better. Later, a recession hit (hard) and we had to leave that place and go to another barn that was.....welll.......not the best clientele. There were wanna-be cowboys and tough guys (like the guy who owned to TWH stallions that he mistreated and underfed). But I learned about people, what they do......in his case, he was scared of his horses, so he tried to get them scared of him!!! Eventually one of the stallions nailed him pretty good and he got rid of them (although the young stallion was probably scarred for life). But there was the time when I was feeding Archimedes and the young stallion (who had been moved next to him for ??? reason) reached over to grab the hay I was tossing into his stall. I have to admit, I was stunned, seeing a gaping mouth and teeth coming at me. Well, Archimedes was having none of that and promptly nailed that stallion on the neck.....hard.....left a mark (but no bleeding). No problem after that!!! Don't mess with HIS food.

He was not the easiest ride.....you definitely had to "ride" him.....no goofing off. Yet, my husband could take him out on the trail with some of the "cowboys" and Archimedes would take care of him. He had an injury that I aggravated when I started working him for shows......he had a bad back left leg, which left him gimpy and unable to canter in the right lead. But, boy, could he gallop!!!! Only in a circle did he have a problem. Yep, you had to ride him, but you could NOT cowboy him. Anytime someone got on him to "prove a point" or "make him do" something......they usually ended up on the ground. That included me. He had this knack of "dropping a shoulder".....and no matter you do, when a horse drops a shoulder.....you're off. And he upped the ante by adding a fishtail or two just before. Several times the wannabes got on him to either catch loose horses or because they needed another horse to go out riding.....and each time he set them on the ground. See Archimedes was a sucker for food.....and even when loose, would head back to the barn where the hay was stored.....so he was an easy catch. But when they dug their heels into him......game on!!

He was also very expressive. He could look like a cartoon horse...and make all the faces you could imagine. He gave me my first lessons in Equus.....the language of the horse. Yeah, I knew about the sounds, the ears, etc. But he showed me the beginnings of the "conversation"....from "go ahead, make my day", to "I REALLY don't feel up to this (but I'm not mad about it)" to "Look what's over there" to "I wonder how that's going to turn out".

It started with his eyes. No matter what was going on, if you looked at his eyes, they told you exactly how he was feeling. Now, I know horses don't "think" like we do.....they pretty much act, react and feel (physically). But they can still carry on a conversation. I always knew when he was saying "that was fun", or "this really sucks" or even "I'm only doing this because you really seem to want me to."

Yes, his ears said things too.....but all the nuances came from his lips. From the little wrinkle to the full-blown snarl...they all meant something. It would take a few more years to begin to understand them.

Ultimately, we had made a purchase of a farm, and he moved with us to 6 acres. Naturally, we needed a companion.....and found someone desparately trying to sell a pony. Smokey was a beautiful pony, as wide as she was tall, and looked like a miniature Morgan. She was also a first class snot. As snotty as she was, she gave us all lots of laughs. She was ridable (my feet didn't even touch the ground she was so wide!) but knew how to get you off.....she'd just get going with that pony trot then suddenly stop and duck her head (or maybe it was the other way around...didn't matter....same effect) and you'd just keep bouncing over her head. She never ran away.....just stood there and looked at you....and you knew what she was thinking. She was almost as expressive as Archimedes.

The third critter was a little fancy shetland pony, bright sorrel with a flaxen mane and tail. I came home from work one day to find a truck and trailer in my driveway. They had just let her out in the field with Archimedes and Smokey. Bad idea. Jody had been raised in someone's garage since the age of 3 months and now she was 2 years old. She had never been in a pasture (or even in the back yard!!), had NO idea what a horse was, and , of course Smokey was not about to share "her" boyfriend. Obviously these people had no idea about horses, and I kept the pony anyway.....just to protect her. Eventually, they all got along....with Archimedes often "herding his mares" around the pasture protecting them from some unseen predator.

Eventually we had to leave Cincinnati for a new position......and all of them got new homes.
But what I learned from them, was the beginning of watching, learning and listening to them....of understanding Equus......the language of the horse.

My Journey with Horses (short version)

2009-06-07T05:48:00.000-07:00

I've been told that my horses are "crazy", "wild", "scary". When I first heard this (a number of years ago), I was really surprised. So I started thinking about it. And, I started comparing my horses with those of other people (especially the people who made the comments!) So I went 'way back.

As a child growing up in Chicago, I did not have a horse. In fact, I did not get a horse until after I graduated from college! My Grandmother lived on a farm, but she did not have horses either. My cousins remember me screaming in terror when we went on a trail ride when I was about 7 and we started trotting.....but then I was the biggest scaredy-cat in the world at the time. That changed the day a group of teenagers rode past Gram's farm and stopped (she had a Gas Station she ran with a general store) for some pop. I was immediately drawn to them. And the first "real" horse contact came when the biggest one put his head down to mine. If you believe in telepathy, he "spoke" to me; but, regardless, it became very clear to me that these big creatures would never hurt me. The girl was nice enough to get me up on him and walk him around, and it was clear to me that I did not need to worry ever again about horses. This experience let me "read" students who were more afraid than they let on, and allowed me to "guide" them more than teach/make them do things.

It proved itself over and over at places I went trail-riding. After a time, the stables I went to gave me a "problem child" horse....with apologies. The group that day needed my nice beginner horse and if I wanted to ride, I would be on this horse. Fortunately, my "usual" horse had taught me quite a bit (well, anything was quite a bit when you start at zero!) So as I started with this horse, I just kind of played around as to how hard to kick (these were stable horses remember and kicking was the norm to get started), how well he turned, and how hard I had to pull to stop (which was not much!). Even then, I was already "listening" although I didn't know it at the time. I had "listened" to my first horse and now was "listening" to him. He was tense (he was pretty much used to being manhandled), but, since I didn't know much, I didn't ask for much. Ultimately I got the feeling that he had been "using" horse......he was used as a ranch horse (and ultimately I found out that was true). Before long, I was able to do sliding stops on him, spin him and go in any direction I wanted. He even "rescued" several run aways (I don't take credit for them.....he put himself in the position to head them off). They sold him during the summer I was off from school; when I came back the next year, they said they had to, since he would not ride with most people. I got on a lot of horses that year and learned a lot more from them. Ultimately, the stables was arsoned by developers buying up all the other land in the area........18 horses, their feed and saddles were in the barn at the time.

Like I said, I didn't get my first horse til after graduating college. But the one thing I learned from each stable/over-used horse I rode is that even though they had the worst "job" a horse can have, and usually had the attitude to match, when you let them be who they are......they can become happy, enjoyable, and dependable friends.

And I think that's why some people think MY horses are "crazy". They are who they are. I ALLOW them their personalities; I don't expect them to be robots and perform perfectly all the time (although there's lots of times I WISH they would). My horses are excited to see me, they seem to LIKE my presence, and when we are getting ready to perform......they get excited about showing off. Oh, I've had my runaways (been put in the hospital by one). But those people who call my horses "crazy" don't see them at home. They know the difference between training, galvanting around for fun and the show ring. You won't see them hyped up at home.....but they know when there's a show and they do seem to want to show off (well, most of them......there are always a few "Eeyore's").

I've had a few horses that were labeled "crazy" before I got them. And we seem to buy a LOT of horses that have major issues......(most of them have gone on to other homes, not as wound up as they were when we got them....I won't sell a horse that has major issues to deal with, because most people don't "listen" or even want to understand!) But I guess I don't see them as "crazy". And the most surprising part is that once they are allowed to be who they are......the change can be dramatic!

Trainers

2009-06-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

Stay with me on this one, please.

Quite some time ago I came across an article that was titled, "What is this thing with girls and horses?" In the article, the author (whose name escapes me) was discussing his observations that a horse will do almost anything to prevent a girl from falling off, but did not seem to go through all those gyrations for a boy....in fact, might even use an off-balance moment to unseat a boy. I began to watch at shows to see if that was true.....and surprising enough, it was. I was into hunter/jumpers at the time and there was no doubt that when a horse was coming into a fence "wrong" it would do whatever was necessary to get over the fence and keep the rider on its back. If the female rider was already unbalanced coming into the fence, the horse would, of course decline the fence.....but......would do everything in its power to try to keep the rider ON while dodging the fence! I've seen horses literally scoot back under a rider already coming off, or at least not ready to take the fence. However, let it be a male rider and it just would run out.....usually in the opposite direction of the unbalanced boy.....and then turn around a look at him on the ground like, "how do you like that?"

Now, take a look at all the magazines, books and training programs out there. How many of them are women? Probably 95% of the trainers with followings are male. Ever wonder......why is that?

I have my own theories, of course. And I am not, nor will I "knock" any of the male trainers out there....they are all good at what they do, whether I agree with their methods or not......obviously their system works for some horses or they wouldn't be around very long. And the same can be said for female trainers.

But there ARE women trainers out there.....they just aren't so well known. AND I'd hazard a guess that 95% of riding instructors (both English and Western styles) ARE women. No matter what level.....4-H, AQHA, H/J, Dressage....or what breed.... most people go to a FEMALE to learn how to ride OR how to ride THEIR horse.

Therein lies the difference.

When it comes to dominating the horse, we go to men.
When it comes to listening to a horse, we go to women.
It's a societal thing. For some reason, we feel that men don't finesse the horse, that they force it to do something it really doesn't wanna do. Yet, once we learn that a horse won't do what we want it to, we go to women to help us finesse a way out of it....or we send it to a male trainer to "fix" it.

But the top trainers HAVE learned to "finesse it". Otherwise they wouldn't be top trainers. This is (my theory here) why they do so well.....they have overcome the traditional "macho male dominant" role and become soft enough to work with the horse.

However.....they don't seem to do so well passing on what they have learned. Yes, they have their "X-number" step programs for making a horse do......well whatever it is you are having problems doing. For someone who has limited experience (and you can be riding for your whole life and STILL have limited experience.....I know I do.....I'm always learning something new from my herd) and is at the end of their rope.....there's the knot.....hang on! But even though they are their "step program" it is the rider who has to FEEL it working (or not working) and vary it.

Many trainers, both male and female, can't teach that. They can do it, they can have student watch them do it, but they can't really explain what they are feeling.....feeling, not only with their physical bodies but mentally as well.

And that is why so many training programs fail once the horse goes back to the owner/rider. Trainers can sqeak "Equus", but it is a very hard language to teach someone else. It's like learning Japanese or Chinese, with it's subtle sound/tone nuances that completely change the word you're speaking. Or trying to write in the characters of those languages. Since "Equus" is a silent language, a body language, one needs to spend a lot of time literally immersed in it. Trainers do that.....they are around horses 24/7.....the have to learn it to do what they do, to survive in the horses' world. They learn to listen with more than their ears, seat and legs. They watch the nuances between horses, how they communicate, how they physically "feel" that day (uh-oh someone's crabby today, or someone's not feeling all that well today) and it's all done with body language.

The great this is that.......ANYONE can learn it!!!!

Explanation in order

2009-05-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

I was talking to some people about Horse Listening and suddenly realized that they really had no idea of what I was talking about. There were questions about neighs and squeals and nickers, etc.; what they meant. I shook my head; they didn't get it. And, it was my fault, because I really didn't EXPLAIN what Horse Listening really is.

Most people think that Listening is part of sense of hearing. Well it is, but that's not ALL it is.
Hearing is the science of sound waves hitting the eardrum, sending chemical and electrical currents up nerves to the brain. The art of hearing comes as the brain interprets what those chemical and electrical impulses are telling it. Hearing is only a part of Listening.

Humans, as arrogant as we tend to be in relation to our animal friends, seem to think that OUR understanding of the senses is the way ALL creatures should sense. But even WE don't just sense that way. Think about it......how often have you just known something was wrong with a family member or friend, even when no one said anything. Obviously they didn't tell you in the normal sense of the word....you didn't really hear it through your ears. But you still knew it. You LISTENED.

The ART of Listening uses all the senses.....including that sixth sense we call intuition. Yes, it includes the sense of hearing from ears, but it also includes the sense of seeing with eyes, sensing with intuition, perhaps even smelling and/or tasting with the nose and tactile sensations (feeling) with the hands. Anyone who has ever had a really sick horse knows they have an odor that is different from anything ever smelled before. Manure pulled out by a vet smells different that that which plops on the ground normally.

ALL of these things are interpreted by our brains, to give us a "big picture". Now, we can get the wrong big picture because we interpret the signals poorly. Anyone who has played the game of "telephone" as a little kid, knows how distorted the message gets as it gets passed on. Why? Lots of reasons. We may have "heard" the words, but our brain "heard" something else. A long time ago someone said, "You may have heard what you think I said, but I don't think you heard what I really meant."

All that said, now let's get to the meat of this.
Horses, as prey animals, have few sounds. Obviously, the quieter one is, the less likely one will attract a predator. So, many animals rely on displays rather than sounds. "Reading" those displays tell you what is really going on. These displays have different meanings, depending on what other display is happening.

OK that was as clear as mud.
Simply put.......ears back mean ????? Well, it depends on how far back, how they are rotated, what the eyes are focused on, what the lips are doing, how the body is held, how the body is situated to the focus, etc, etc, etc. It's absolutely amazing how very small movements of ears, lips and focus can tell another horse to "knock it off", or "don't even think it", in no uncertain terms for them. Or the head position and focus of a foal, who's mom is nickering because it is too far away, will rotate one ear back, and the mare will go back to eating......she knows the foal knows where she is.....and soon, it trots back to her.

So, Horse Listening is an ART that we have to learn. Horses (and dogs and cats) are much better at learning OUR language than we are at learning theirs. The wonderful thing is, when we learn it, we begin to have whole "conversations" with our friends, and our training and just being with them becomes oh, so much better!!!

School Horses

2009-05-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

School horses are absolutely wonderful to study. You take a bunch of horses that, for whatever reason, can't make it "out there" with one owner/rider, and stick them all together with a bunch of people who don't know anything about horses (particularly new students) and expect miracles. Somehow, this creature is supposed to be able to "fit" many different types of students, style of students and mentality of students. And then we wonder why they get "sour".

Well, duh. How are YOU at being around different people all day.....those who treat you well, those that jerk you around, those that lean heavily on you, those that just seem to tolerate you. Think in terms of family get-togethers......especially the really big family reunions. How does that make you feel? I have a great family, and we have wonderful family reunions, but I can only take it for a few days at most. We all have our comfort zone and we like to be in it. A horse is no different.

Think about it. Look around you if you either have students or are one. Anyone looking at this blog is probably far more aware of things than even they might realize. Think of the horses/students you know. Certain students hate certain school horses, and certain school horses hate certain riders. You can see it when they get paired up. Some school horses are just confused as to why the person on their back seems to have "issues", while others just seem to aggrevate the "issue" in order to get rid of the person. Gee, sound like people you know?

However, the HORSE has no alternative. He can't just walk away. So is it any surprise that they get "sour"; that students have to force the issue? That kicking and cropping become the only way to say, "Hello, need to move here"?

We can take a pleasant animal and turn him into a cranky-butt. And you can see the changes in the herd dynamics. So let's look at this.

A school with say 10-15 horses is excellent for this kind of study. The herd dynamics are the same for any group.....even a group of broodmares. But let's look at what happens.

New horse comes in. He has been selected because he seemed pleasant enough and safe enough to put new students on. He is introduced into the herd, which promptly lets him know where he is in the social order. If he's lucky, he'll find a buddy (often the LAST new horse of the group). From there is his brought in and either brushed hard and quickly by staff to get him ready, or by students (who are also in a hurry to get ready and RIDE!). The brushing may or may not get all the dirt out. The saddle gets thumped on (most new students are young and can't quite reach up high enough to let the saddle down slowly......not to mention if it is a WESTERN saddle and way to heavy for them to lift up!). The bridle is jammed into the mouth, often whacking the teeth as it goes in (serves him right for not opening his mouth for the bit!), and is usually too loose or too tight and the student either struggles with it, trying to get it over the ears, or is unaware that the bit is banging the back of the incisors. The student in unceremoniously pushed on or clambors up as best as s/he can.....pulling the horse's body in one direction, his head in the other (cuz we need the reins to help us up if we aren't tall enough to grab mane), horse stumbles in the direction of pull and is promptly smacked and growled at to "stand there".

Ouch! That little bit of dirt that didn't come out.....that hurts! It's like getting a bit of gravel caught in your shoe.....when you take your shoe off and empty it, there's not much there, but it sure felt like a boulder!!!

Now, he's uncomfortable, and all he can think about or feel is that little bit of dirt. So he's not paying attention. "Kick him" comes the command, which student does. Horse jumps....wasn't ready for that. Student jerks on reins in response (normal response of new student). Ouch, what was that for? That boulder's still there. I don't like this. Ow, I'm getting kicked in the side....jumps.....gets jerked.....what's up with this?

Anyone who's been around school horses knows this goes on. The Newbie student can't help it, it's all instinctive. AND THE HORSE CAN'T HELP IT EITHER......IT'S ALSO INSTINCTIVE.

So, after a few days/weeks/months of this, the horse is suddenly "sour". He's not happy, he's grumpy, and he'll take it out on the rest of the horses when they are out in the pasture, since he can't take it out on the humans. After awhile, he WILL take it out on the human. And while bucking and kicking is the last resort for them, they will use it when it comes to that last resort.

So when your school horse has an attitude.....you need to know WHY. Is it something you're doing...whether on purpose or not. Is it something you can do something about (other than beating the horse into submission)? Or does this animal NOT have the proper mentality to deal with this? Some otherwise excellent horses just can NOT deal with a constant stream of different riders......any more than you could deal with a constant stream of different people; some of us like it, some of us don't.

Listen to the horse. If you truly "love horses" you will listen, really hear and then work with him.

About the Delay......

2009-05-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay. I had a young filly born Mid-March who was exceptional in every way.....but one. She was born rather easily and quickly, but she is a head-strong little cuss, and was trying to "frog" up to Mom's head before she was even half-way out! For those not familiar with birthing, the babies seem to instinctively try to get to Mom's head so she can lick them and get used to them. Since they can't stand yet, they kind of "throw" themselves in the general direction and it looks like a frog hop. Because she was so absolutely determined to get up there right now, she was pulling on the cord, so I had to cut it. I prefer not to, but the choice was..... 1) cut it, 2) let her break the cord close to her body (and trust me, that means a major loss of blood on the foal's part or 3) let her pull the placenta out of Mom (major loss of blood from Mom, plus infection and all sorts of ick). So it got cut......just like human babies.....between 2 ties to prevent as much blood loss as possible. The problem with cutting it is that you usually end up with a "ropier" (thicker) cord than normal.....and that can cause hernias or other problems.

Everything went well......the booger-butt is independent and was not about to let us help her get to her feet; she found the spigot on her own and very quickly.....in fact was the easiest baby we've ever had. I should've known. She was bright-eyed and bouncy.......until no one was around. We have cameras on our broodmares, so we can watch and help if there's a problem. At about 2 weeks of age, I noticed that when there was no one around, she did the "dummy walk". A dummy foal usually does not nurse, is not aware of it's surroundings and it walks into and along the walls, rubbing its nose on the wall as if trying to nurse. I've had one, and it is heartbreaking to watch. However, she was no dummy, since she was easily distracted by people and behaved normally then. She also continued to nurse and check out Mom's feed. She just wasn't........right.

Ultimately I had the vet out; he could find nothing, no temp, no soreness.....nothing. So he took blood. He did a quick test back at the office lab and called immediately and said, "get her to the Horsepital." We are lucky enough in NE Ohio to have several very good ones within 3 hours of us. Her IgG was way low.....less than 400 and they like it at 1600. Something was going on. At first we thought it was a lack in the mare's milk (this is a first foal) so she was transfused with immunity proteins. Fortunately the vet at Equine Specialty listened to me and my gut instincts and went on HER gut instincts and checked her lungs for pneumonia (nope!) and ultra-sounded the umbilicus. Bingo. What looked like a patent yurakus. Meaning the veins, arteries and urinary tract structures that are used when the baby is in utero are still trying to work....and they should stop and shrink when the baby is born. Soooooooo. surgery. Ouch.....for both baby and pocketbook. Sure enough it was way bigger than it should be, but when it was being prepared for pathology (to find out what went wrong) it was full of nasty thick pus. Major, major antibiotics and care have been going on for some time, to clear this all up. All this time she has not acted sick.....like you would expect a sick horse to act. She just would have these little "spells" where she would act like she was a little colicky.....or at least uncomfortable. In fact, it took 4 people to contain her enough to get a sedative in her and 3 people AFTER the shot to get her clipped for the IV!!! You can just imagine the rodeo we had giving her shots at home!!!! (Note to you all: Naxcel is a wonderful drug......but it STINGS when it goes in....and booger-butt let us all know she did NOT appreciate it!!!!) Oh, yeah, she jumped straight up in the air about 5 feet (my arms were almost ripped out of their sockets) for the blood tests.

All things are healing well, now. But the important point is this:

LISTEN TO WHAT THE HORSE IS SAYING!!!!

Most people would have never noticed a change, it was that slight. Just knowing the horse and seeing a change in the sparkle in her eye......being lucky enough to watch the "dummy walk" when the barn was quiet and she was not distracted from realizing that she did not feel good (she is soooooo afraid she might miss something!!).....those were the only markers (and my own gut after seeing it). According to the ES vets, we would have had a dead foal within a week, as the infection was getting ready to bust through the abdominal wall.

So LISTEN. When you know the body language, it can tell you oh so much more than just sight along!!!

Jerry's Story

2009-03-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

I met Jerry, like Herman, at the public riding place.
Jerry was a big, long, lanky thoroughbred, who was as cranky as he was long.
Everybody hated him.....and he hated everybody.
He'd try to smash you in the standing stall when you groomed him; bit at you when you tried to put on tack, and threatened to kick when he saw you coming with a saddle. Beginners and intermediates were not allowed to ride him.....he had a nasty habit of just stopping, as if to say, "that's enough" and no amount of kicking or crop use would budge him beyond a grudging walk. Even though the advanced riders hated him, getting assigned to him was a sign of having arrived to the advanced levels.
Jerry's mind was always working.....and usually up to no good. If ever I have seen a horse that mutters, it would be Jerry. His lips were always moving in a tense pattern....he even looked like a sour old man muttering at all the craziness around him!
One of the instructors, who was taking dressage lessons, decided that Jerry just needed something different.....and dressage was just the thing. He envisioned Jerry as becoming more soft and forgiving and being used by beginners.
NOT.
Dressage made him worse. Jerry was just too long and lanky to even try to collect. He was heavy on the forehand, and no amount of impulsion could make it go away.
Jerry had been a racehorse for most of his life.....all he had to do was run along with everybody else. At the age of 9 he was sold as a hunter/jumper prospect and had a decent run doing that. But, the under saddle classes and pleasure classes were not his thing.....and someone picked him up to be a steeplechaser. By this time, Jerry was getting way too old for that, and did not do well in the money side.
We did notice that he perked up when we started practicing with cavalletti....he really seemed focused during those sessions. Even the students remarked that he went best through the cavaletti. So, on a whim, we decided to set up a cross-rail on some laid down barrels.
As soon as Jerry saw the little jump, there was a massive change in him. His ears came forward (Jerry's ears were NEVER forward), his head came up and he stared at it. Even coming to it at a trot, Jerry pulled on the reins. He wanted to go. The little hop seemed to be a let-down for him, but he was turned around and hopped over it again. Wow, what a difference in his appearance. So we let him canter over it. The girl riding him had not done much jumping, so she was basically steering. He stared the jump down, changed his stride as needed and took off.....3' higher than the jump! Perfect form, tucked up knees, rounded back.....and when he landed he was looking for another one!
Later, just for kicks, we took him over a jump with a pole across the tops of the standing barrels; he went for it and sailed over it and was just oh so proud of himself!
Unfortunately, the stables was not allowed to teach jumping, because of the liability involved. But we instructors would get on him and jump him every so often.
And wouldn't you know......he was so happy he even let the beginners do their thing with him.
On a sour note......he could no longer be a trail horse......he kept looking for things to jump and would jump them.....whether the rider wanted to or not!!
Eventually one of the advanced students who wanted to take jumping lessons bought him to use. I had heard that the stables he went to bought him from her to use as a school horse (again) and that he was a great baby-sitter for the beginner jumpers.

All he needed was the chance to do and be what he wanted.

Herman's story

2009-03-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Every "problem" horse has taught me something.....even if it is just that we need to listen to them.
I'm going to add the various horses that made it clear what they needed.....and what happens when no one listens.

Herman was a big buckskin quarter horse. You know, the real old style.
I met him when I became a riding instructor at a public stables.
He was big, head-strong and basically grumpy. He was rarely used for beginner lessons, because he would not do what he was supposed to.....and usually had his rider in tears before long. Only the more advanced riders could even begin to make him lope.....and that was usually with a lot of crop use and a lot of kicking.
He was used on trail rides, and always was the last in line, since he kicked at anybody behind him. If someone thought they "were a cowboy" and insisted they knew what they were doing, they got Herman. And Herman generally returned back to the barn either riderless or with a rider pretty scraped up by the branches from the trees Herman used to try to wipe them off with.

Not even the instructors were immune from his shananagins, although we were more likely to be able to counter his moves.

Until, one day, all the instructors were riding together.....and we all had "problem" horses. So we decided to "up the ante" a bit, and do some barrel racing. Well, not really, we were just going to do the pattern at a walk, trot and jog.....and maybe make a run or two at them for fun.

Not Herman. He saw those barrels.......those ears went up, his head went up, and he took off. He knew the course, all you had to do was hang on. And he didn't just run the course.....he cut those barrels close, dug in at just the right time, ran full out and stopped just after the imaginary timer line would be. When he was done, his eyes were shining. We all just sat there, dumfounded. Ol' lazy, fat Herman LOVED barrel racing. For three days after that, he was a different horse, he was ready to play with the humans. Then he returned to his same sullen self.

So what did we learn? We learned that all Herman wanted was to have fun his way. All he needed was a little bit of barrel racing, once a week and he was a different horse. Not only did he quit kicking out on the trail, but he was actually used as the lead horse the guides used......and they all said he was the best guide horse out of all of them.

All we had to do was listen.

Why won't my horse......

2009-02-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

After almost 35 years of watching horses in herds, in the show ring, on the trails and in backyards, it STILL amazes me that we know so little about our so-called "best friends".

I admit, I've been lucky. I've had the wonderful fortune of working with top trainers in various fields, including racing (both Standardbred and Thoroughbred), hunter/jumpers, competitive trail, quarter horse, appaloosa and draft horses. I've also been able to watch horses in their natural settings.... meaning that they were out in herds (this on breeding farms). I've worked with 4-H'ers, and Medal/Maclay riders. Just watching has allowed me to see how horses react with each other, how they talk to each other, and what those things mean.

Let's face it. Almost all trainers use the natural responses of horses to get the response they want.
But what happens when a horse doesn't respond they way the trainer thinks they should?
They get labelled.....incorrigible/problematic/mean/stubborn/untrainable

Suggestion....."get rid of it"

Yeah, give it someone else. So how do YOU like it when You get someone else's problem?

So why don't horses "do" what they are "suppose to?"

Several reasons:

They hurt. Either the tack is pinching, something doesn't fit right; or they twisted a knee,hock, hip, fetlock or even their back or neck or something is in their foot or bruised it.
They physically can't. Some horses just CAN'T flex at the poll for higher dressage levels; pick their knees high enough to hurdle jumps, do not have the hoof wall necessary for heavy trail riding, or riding over gravel, or can't drop their head low enough to be a peanut-roller pleasure horse.
They have mental or psychological "problems". These are the ones they say..."Get RID of it!" but these are also the ones who often have reasons for their behavior, whether we know it or not. Sometimes we have to be detectives to figure them out, and that takes time. These will not be 30-60-90 day wonders. Sometimes it takes YEARS to straighten it out.
Their status in the "herd" makes it difficult. Alpha mares usually do well as performance horses, but are not happy in the pleasure or under saddle classes. They often kick or pin their ears when horses go by. Beta horses respond differently than Deltas, or Omegas. Omegas can make nice pleasure horses because they are easily bullied into submission.
They just plain ole' don't want to. When you're not feeling well, you don't usually feel like going to the movies or to a party. So when the horse isn't feeling well, he doesn't feel like getting on the trailer and going to a (stressful) horse show!

You have to take time to watch your horse interact with other horses, interact with other humans and interact with YOU. That's hard.....sometimes it helps to video your riding sessions in order to really, REALLY look at what your horse is telling you.

Does your horse do the equivalent of "rolling his eyes" when you approach with the saddle?

Does he pin his ears?

What is he doing with his lips?

These are all LOUD warnings to another horse.....but we're so busy talking and reprimanding, that we don't even notice it! Horses "talk" via body language. Noises are only used for very specific reasons. Squeals mean danger (and usually include kicking or threats of kicking). Neighs ask "where are you?" or "I'm over here!". Nickers mean, "come closer and be safe". Mares do it to their foals to keep them close, and horses to it to you when it's feeding time.....they want their food to be safe. Pawing means "I want what I want NOW!" This can be regarding food, or being let out, or being untied.

Horse whispering is fine. And it works! But we really need to spend a lot more time horse LISTENING. Whispering is still talking TO the horse, and doesn't necessarily mean listening to him (how many times have you said something and the person you were talking to did not really hear you, or has been formulating their own answer and didn't REALLY hear you). That's what WE do.

And we need to really stop it, if we really, honestly want to have a partnership with our "best friends".