Ponying Poppy

There’s quite a few things I need to update the blog about:

• Lucy’s new saddle
• Our first road trip for trail riding
• Poppy’s training

Given that my right arm is still exceedingly sore from my Poppy training exercises from yesterday, I think I will talk about that event since it is most recent.

I have been training Poppy pretty well this summer.  He has been pulling logs and has been desensitized to the notion of some heavy thing dragging behind him.  Poppy is getting to the point where training him is becoming a two person job.  I find it impossible to attach his cart to him alone.  He always side steps out of the way when I come after him with the cart.  Luckily, though, I snagged Buck yesterday and we were able to attach and detach Poppy from his cart 3x while he stood quietly.

After that morning training session, I’m sure Poppy thought he was off the hook but I had other things in mind.

Little One, the 25 year-old-done-it-all-mare staying with us, is just too good of a tool to let go to waste.  Ever since her owner told me she was good at ponying other horses, I had that thought in the back of my mind for Poppy.  “What is ponying?”, you non-horse people might ask.  It is the seemingly simple task of riding one horse while leading another riderless horse alongside.  It can be used for training a green horse, leading an inexperienced rider, or having a pack-horse on a trail. 

I had no idea the work that ponying would turn out to be.  Poppy leads fine from the ground, but being led by me on horseback was quite a challenge!  Not only that, but I, of course, had the job of actually telling the horse I was riding where to go (and NOT TO EAT!) all the while encouraging Poppy Harlow to step alongside Little One.

What makes Little One especially good at this task is that with my body twisting atop her back, Poppy pulling and offering resistance, and my weight totally off balanced, she just kept walking in a straight line.  I feel sure that my stand-by horse, Cinco, would have spun around to face Poppy to relieve the pressure caused by the pulling and the yanking.  But Little One just walked forward one step at a time and as long as I could maintain my grip on the 160 pound Poppy pulling the opposite direction we could get going.

It didn’t take many big tugs to teach Poppy that when he is pulled he is to follow, but enough distraction on my part toward Poppy gave Little One the signal to sneak some grass and BOY was it hard being the dominant one in that situation! 

All-in-all, it was a successful lesson for everyone.  This is a skill that Poppy will need in his future and also a fun and different way to spend my rides around the property.  Who knows, maybe we can pony Poppy on the trail one day!

Saddle fitting (Lucy)

I guess we’ve come to the conclusion that none of our saddles really ever fit Lucy.  The conclusion came about from a series of puzzle pieces that we finally put together, forming the big picture.

We always thought Lucy was just bratty about being saddled.  In the very beginning, she’d make a conscious effort to dump her saddle off her back mid-saddling.  She would spin and duck and back up and bolt forward.  This was also during her adjustment coming to the farm and she just wasn’t a very happy horse.   Eventually with some groundwork and some bonding, Lucy began to stand still for saddling.  That doesn’t mean she wasn’t giving us some tell-tale signs of an ill-fitting saddle, though.

She’d kind of thrown her head back when the saddle was placed on her back, paw the ground, and bite the air when the girth was being tightened.  Still, we remained clueless that the saddle was the issue and not her attitude.

While riding, she was always cooperative on the trails, and perhaps that was because she enjoyed trail riding.  In the arena, however, she was not the same horse.  Lucy would resist transitioning to trot and canter and upon doing so she’d trot and canter in a very odd fashion.  While trotting she’d pick up her head and tuck it under and then bite the air.  It looked as if she was fighting a bit, but she had no bit in her mouth.  At the canter, she arched her back so that her body looked like a semi-circle and only remain in the gate for a few steps.

She even began to continue these habits during bareback rides, when clearly the saddle wouldn’t have bothered her.

We used every saddle we owned on her with little improvement.  She did get better through multiple bareback rides when she realized that she didn’t need to protect her body from pain from a saddle because there was none.

Finally we found this book on Google Books where the biomechanics of saddle fitting was outlined as well as consequences of poorly fitting saddles.  We realized that Lucy exhibited so many symptoms.  She wasn’t being difficult at all, she was actually being an angel despite a very painful riding experience!

Horses who are experiencing a poorly fitting saddle, according to the book above, may have the following symptoms.

• anxiety during saddling
• hollowing of the back
• evading the bit
• choppy transitions
• tripping
• speeding up
• headshaking

We tried a couple of solutions with our current saddles, attempting to change rigging and girth positioning.  We placed a stark white towel beneath her saddle and made an imprint of her back using dirt/sweat that was left on the towel.  We weren’t sure how to interpret the markings but we knew the weight distribution wasn’t equal.

Lucy is a short-backed horse due to her Arabian heritage.  She also has a very wide back (from her quarter horse side).  This, I suppose, is what is making her hard to fit.  Our saddles had rigging (where the cinch goes) too far forward so the saddles were pulled forward on her body, digging into her shoulder blades and front legs.  The backs of the saddles would flop up and stay in little contact with her back.

Have you ever looked into saddles online?  Too many options, so much to understand.  Swell, gullet, bars, twist, length, skirt length, flex tree, treeless.  Impossible.

Buck cried uncle and spent $100 on a cheapo treeless saddle.  Lucy rode beautifully in it.  But a cheapo treeless saddle ridden in consistently will fall apart OR not be good for Lucy’s back.

Finally, Buck’s made a decision and purchased a saddle.  He spent way more on the saddle that we expected but I think it was totally necessary.  As much as we ride?  As much as we love Lucy?  We have to get this right.

Review coming soon!

Horseback riding in the Carribbean

Buck and I just got back from a week-long cruise around the Western Caribbean.  One of our goals for our trip was to find a place to go horseback riding on the beach.

The ride was overpriced and ‘beginner’ status but it was definitely fun and it helped pacify how much we missed our own horses!  Plus, I felt like I was doing the trail horses a favor by paying to ride them (instead of having some novice ride them).  So here’s our experience:

We rode on St. Maarten at a ranch called Lucky Stables.  The intermediate ride, which included trotting and cantering, was $120 per person for one hour.  We weren’t paying that.  We chose the beginner ride, which was half the price, hoping we’d be the only ones on the trail, thus the guide would take pity on us and appreciate our knowledge and let us ride as intermediates anyway.  Not the case.  Buck and I saddled up with another American family – a prissy mom, a sheepish dad, and two whiny teenagers.

We rode mixed breed, Spanish descent, horses that were small and nimble.  Really, they were ponies.  See how far Buck’s legs go down on Prince?

We felt bad for the other horses, whose riders were literally squealing “HE’S NOT LISTENING!” while yanking and kicking and wobbling around.  We tried to tactfully give advice, but the riders weren’t listening either.

So we were on a walk-only ride with very rocky terrain.  The rocks were so severe in some points that the horses had to step down from rocky shelf to rocky shelf like a set of stairs.

The sights were gorgeous.  We walked right along a cliff that overlooked the teal and aqua waters of the Caribbean ocean.  The guide was a sweet guy, too, and I was happy to see he was riding his horse in a halter only 🙂

The most exhilarating part of the ride was when we went riding through the ocean.  We didn’t actually swim, but my horse began to, making motions like giant rears as she was trying to lift off the ground.

The horse clearly knew the drill here.  They walked into the ocean, went left, then snaked back deeper to the right, and then deeper once more to the left.

My horse pooed as soon as she got in the water.  Buck artfully avoided the floating mass of excrement drifting toward him.  The prissy-pants girls behind him?  Not so lucky.  Heh.

That time I almost killed the horses

Buck and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on Friday.  We also were reunited after being apart from each other for 10 days due to business and play travel (he was working, I was playing) on that day so we were excited to spend some quality time together.

We started off the evening by hanging out in our swing chairs in one of the pastures.  The horses were clearly happy to have Buck home as evidenced by the fact that they insisted on eating in the crappiest-grassed portion of the pasture because that’s where we were.

Eventually we mosied on to dinner and went through the mental mind bender of trying to remember details from our honeymoon.

Do you remember the time you sang me “You are My Sunshine” in the Cypriot amphitheater?

Do you remember when I threw up on the Sunset Cruise on our Wedding day?

Conversation led naturally back to our pets.  I told stories of the dogs, cat, and horses that Buck missed will off on business a few days prior.

There was that time that Poppy (the miniature horse) sneaked UNDER a fence into a pasture that has been permanently closed – meaning there’s no operational gate into and out of the pasture.  Naturally, he became panicked in the pasture once separation from the herd was evident.  Apparently you can’t go out the same way you come in…at least to Poppy.  So, there I was, simultaneously laughing hilariously at the miniature horse speeding circles in the pasture, bucking and kicking all along, and being truly concerned for his well being.  Comedy turned into true frustration, though, when Vinny (the pit bull) broke free from the stall where I had temporarily placed him.  Me chasing Poppy, Vinny chasing Poppy, Lucy freaking out in the neighboring pasture.  Oy vey.

Though the sun had set when we arrived home, we still set out to find the horses.  That’s what we do.  We just spend time in the barn or in the pasture with them even after a long day.  We walked into the barn to see a stray bag in the middle of the aisle.  Closer inspection showed that it was a sunflower seed bag and that the feed room door was wide open and ransacked.

I’ll mention now that it was my fault.  I didn’t latch the door; I only closed it.  It was a careless, stupid error. 

Buck was angry; I was worried.  I ran out to find the horses, who were eating peacefully in the pasture where we left them.  Then we started thinking of the negative consequences of the break-in.  Colic.  Founder.  We started researching a bit.  It was not good.  It was clear that the vet needed to be called.

It was 10pm on Friday night.  The vet didn’t answer; we left a message.

I posted on a farm forum.  Suggestions rolled in by the dozens: feed the horses, withhold water, don’t feed the horses, give them oil, give them a beer, walk them, stall them.  As the responders began to fight with each other regarding their preferred suggestions, my tears started coming.  I sat on the couch, feeling helpless, guilty, and like my horses would be dead tomorrow.

You see, there were nearly 15 pounds of black oil sunflower seeds in the feed stall.  We were feeding them the horses at a rate of 1/2 cup per day.  Some horse, and we don’t know which one, ate those seeds.  In a best case scenario, they shared them.  But the horses don’t share delicacies like grain or seeds.

The vet called back while we were out in the barn for a 2nd time that night.  He wasn’t overly concerned.  He said the seeds were high fiber, which was a good thing; they’d move through the system quickly.  We asked about the protein content of the seeds since high protein can lead to founder.  He said the seeds were not high in protein.

We took a deep breath.  I stopped crying.  I put the 5 lead lines and halters I had draped all over my body in preparation for hours of walking the horses (to prevent colic) back and headed to the house.  We did a little more googling, though, and it was clear that the vet was dead wrong about the protein content of the sunflower seeds.

No, almost 2 days after them eating the seeds, we know they won’t colic and die.  But will they founder?  We’re definitely on high alert.

Horses and Water

 

So, of our 4 large horses (mini horses like Poppy Harlow don’t count!), we’ve got 3 who are pros at entering water.

Bertha does whatever anyone asks of her and will walk in calmly and stand there until asked to walk out.

 

Lucy makes her way easily into the water as well, and then flaps her lips all around in the cool lake, blows bubbles, and paws at the water.  She is ready to stop, drop, and roll at any minute.

Little One stands still and cools off – occasionally motors her head through the water – and would rather stay IN than walk OUT.

These three horses were all taught about water from Patti, Buck’s big sister.

Cinco, our gelding who came unbroke to us, is supremely cautious of water even whilst watching his mom, grandma, and sister partake in the fun.

So I am charged with teaching him to understand that water is okay.  Let us all remember that I am not a horse trainer.

Cinco knows and trusts water coming from a hose.  He will walk around water puddles or jump over streams.  Just two days ago it rained really, really heavily so we paraded around the neighborhood walking THROUGH every wet spot in the pavement or puddle on the side of the road we could find.  By the end of that exercise he was bravely stepping into these shallow water features; he had previously made it a point to dance around them.

I will continue to work on getting him used to water outside of our trail experience so that there is less pressure from me or disappointment from me if he does not behave as I expect.  Crossing water and drinking from water is actually an essential skill of a good trail horse so I will make sure he will be catching up to the other members of the herd in just a short time.

Any advice on training horses to accept water is greatly appreciated!

I’ve just started coaxing him toward the water but I think the next step will be asking him to enter the lake (with me on the ground) and when he refuses, working him in circles.  After a few circles I’ll give him another opportunity to walk in and shortly he’ll see it is easier to step into the water than it is to lunge circles.

 

Trailering

I guess I never officially said it on the blog, but back in March we bought a horse trailer.  Buck and I had been keeping our eye on Craigslist for quite awhile, waiting for a good deal to pop up.  Finally one came: a 1994 Gore all-aluminum step up 2 horse trailer.  It fit all our desires.

We wanted aluminum because it holds less heat that steel and is easier for our mid-sized truck (Toyota Tacoma) to pull.

We wanted a step-up because that’s what Lucy was used to (Cinco had only been in a trailer one time ever before so we didn’t care about his preferences).  Plus, people say ramps are noisy and scare horses.

We wanted a two horse trailer because we have 5 horses.  🙂  Well, we have 3 horses and 2 are still on vacation here.  Buck and I are really just two people, though, so when we get down to our core herd only two horses traveling our necessary.

We wanted a reliable brand.  When our farrier saw our horse trailer he confirmed that it was a good one.  Thank goodness.

Just because we had a trailer, however, doesn’t mean we’re off to the trails.  Training the horses to get in and out easily was our next challenge.

Since March our training has gone something like this:

First load: easy
Second load: 10 minutes
Third load: give up
Fourth load: 10 minutes
Fifth – tenth loads: 2-3 minutes

Then we loaded, drove them around the block, and reloaded.  Now Lucy will get in it with no lead line at all.

How did we do it?  First, we made sure they were hungry for some grain.  Second, we tempted them with grain in the trailer and rewarded them when they stepped in.  If they didn’t step in, we worked them in circles around the trailer and made it clear that it was easier to get in the trailer than to NOT.

Now we just need to get the courage to go somewhere.  I think even Poppy Harlow is game!

The Trail

We would often complain that our farm was just perfect except for the lack of suitable trails.  Riding in the arena and the pastures can get so boring.

I told you before about a neighbor who allowed us to ride on his property here.  It is a nice change of pace but not really a trail.  It is just an out and back type deal and is over and done with in about 15 minutes.

This weekend, though, we struck gold.  You see that red line below?  That is a small four-wheeler trail that I talked about last summer here.

Over the fall, two huge trees fell over that trail and we hadn’t ventured back.  Then, just last week, some property sold and a house was being built so an access road had to be built for the tractors and backhoes and whatnot to make it to the lot.  We were able to take our horses back to where we had been last summer and I guess the leaves are a little thinner because where our adventures normally ended (that red line indicates the path from our home to the end of the trail.  Note that most of that distance is on the street, not in the woods!) they actually just began.

Buck saw just through some high bushes a dirt road and we uncovered a maze of trails that has made our life 1000x better.  Seriously.  Life changing.

I’m talking about miles of trails that are well-cleared and wide.  Google Maps gives this dirt road a name, so we’re thinking it is a public road, but there is not a house nor camper nor trailer to be seen.  Just miles and miles of wide, lovely paths.  The purple lines in the photo above shows the plethora of trails we explored this weekend.  Two of them end up at a peninsula where the horses can go right down to the water and drink!

Slightly rolling hills and curving trails keep it all interesting and just perfect for trotting and cantering.  There are about 3-4 low spots with a stream and some puddles that kept our days exciting.

We uncovered all this on Saturday and were giddy with excitement anticipating the Sunday ride.  We had such a perfect ride – beautiful weather, well behaved horses, and exciting stuff to do.

The only thing we need to work on, and we’ll be back to the trail plenty to do so, is teaching our horses not to jump over the stream that leads to the dirt road.

Gelding Games with Cinco and Poppy

Nearly every day lately I look out the window or walk into the barn and see a variation of tag going on between Cinco and Poppy.  The first time Buck and I saw them play were just stood dumbfounded with grins on our face, so happy to see these guys enjoying each other so much.

If Cinco wanted to hurt Poppy he totally, totally could.  But as you can see from the video, Cinco only hints at bucks and kicks, totally knowing he can’t follow through.

Before Cinco moved in with us his favorite pasture mate was a blind miniature horse, a little bigger and certainly less playful than Poppy.  When we got Poppy we hoped Cinco would have a similar attachment to him.  It took months before they bonded like this, but now I’m so, so thrilled they seem to be such buddies!

 

Rank No Bit Bridle Review

While were were at Equine Affaire this year, I made it a point to look for bitless bridles.  I was hoping to talk to people about them, check out how they’re working for them, and see what types of bridles were on the market these days.

Cinco was started in a Dr. Cook’s bitless bridle upon recommendation from Buck’s sister and Cinco’s former owner, Patti.  In fact, Cinco has never had a bit in his mouth in his whole life.

Patti had me start in a bitless bridle for a few reasons.  I think the first was because I was a novice rider and she didn’t want anyone yanking on bits inside her horses’ mouths.  Now, a much more experienced rider than I was then, I feel sure I have much more quiet hands that I would have back then, but still have had no use to transition to a bit.

The type of riding we do is super casual.  We don’t show.  We ride around the house; we trail ride.  I’m not concerned about collection with Cinco.  That information might be relevant to some horse people.

Lucy, our mare, was started in a bit with Patti but when she came to us she arrived with a Dr. Cook’s bridle as well and hasn’t had a bit in her mouth since living with us.

Buck and I, having not ridden significantly using bits in horses in general OR our horses, cannot really compare bitless riding to bitted riding.  We know our horses turn left, turn right, and stop.  They “give to the bit” although there is no bit, and they flex their heads left and right when asked.

Life long learner that I am, though, I couldn’t resist checking out Doug Rank and his bridles at the Equine Affaire expo.  He was the only bitless bridle booth present other than Dr. Cook’s.  The difference, though, is that Doug designs and makes his bridles – the original Dr. Cook was not present at its booth.

I informed Doug that he didn’t need to convert me to a no-bit riding style, as he probably has to do for most customers, and that I just wanted to know why his bridle was better than what I currently use.  He piqued my interest enough that we bought bridles for both Lucy and Cinco.  Doug happily even made Lucy’s custom to fit her smaller Arab face.

My review is going to be divided into three parts: Doug and his craftsmanship, the bridle while riding, and a strict comparison to Dr. Cook’s.

Doug is awesome.  He is genuine and honest.  He cares about horses.  I watched him hand-tie these bridles and he does a meticulous job.  The craftsmanship is sound and there are no secrets.  He patiently gives people his rationalization for developing this type of bridle and his progression from other bitless bridles (novals, bosals, Dr. Cook’s).

Cinco transitioned into the Rank bridle easily from the Dr. Cook’s.  The bridle is extremely adjustable.

There are two knots on the sides of his face with nice ropekeepers for keeping the tails tucked in.  Doug instructs you to adjust the bridle so that the noseband is about 2″ from the corner of the horse’s mouth.  The throat-latch is also adjustable and my bridle has a handy clip that makes it easy to connect and disconnect.  The brow band is optional and we opted for it.  It is a little baggy on Lucy’s smaller head but fits Cinco perfectly.

The nose band has  a spring-release action to it.  When pressure is released by the rider, the nose band literally pops open, relieving the horse of any signal or pressure.  The reins ride through a metal lined ring on the noseband so that there is little friction or delay when giving or releasing signals.

These two options (spring release and the metal lined rings) are upgrades on the bridle and I highly recommend them.  I haven’t ridden without them but they make total sense.

The noseband stays put and is not pulled up the face of the horse as Dr. Cook’s was when I would ask the horse to whoah.  Cinco’s stop is much cleaner with this bridle and I’m able to use less pressure and aid with the Rank bridle.  The signals must be so clear to the horse – there’s no confusion or fighting.

The appearance of this bridle is much more casual than the Dr. Cook’s.  Doug did say, however, that he is developing a leather bridle for sale in the future.  Since we are not showing and I’m not a showy person anyway, I don’t mind the casual appearance of the rope bridle.  The Rank Bridle looks distinctly western while Dr. Cook’s looks sleek and English.  These are just facts – not opinions on whether one is better than the other in terms of looks.

The Rank Bridle can be converted easily to a rope halter by running the rein rings through the back of the throat latch (hard to explain but check it out on Doug’s site linked above!) which is handy as well.

All in all, Cinco and I were very happy with the switch.  I grab for my Rank No Bit Bridle before grabbing for the Dr. Cook’s, so there’s my opinion, loud and clear!

Buck likes his Rank Bridle with Lucy as well.  Lucy is a fussy girl, so in full disclosure, she had a lot of head tossing the first few times she rode in her new bridle, but she is now over her fit and happily plodding along in her new no bit bridle.

Conquering Fear in Horsemanship

There is a bed and breakfast in Georgia that Buck and I ADORE and have visited for years – long before we were horse owners or even dreamed of actually owning horses.  When you stay there you ride twice a day on the farm’s wonderfully trained horses through hundreds of acres of pastures and wooded trails.  Even then – on these proven, safe horses, I had fear.

I wanted to ride and loved the vacation but I was scared.  I was scared while brushing the horses, walking the horses, riding the horses.

When we got Lucy and Cinco, two years ago now, I was scared of them.  It didn’t take long, however, living full time with them to realize that I could not fear them and care for them properly.  Easily, my fear on the ground of them went away.  This was a time when Buck didn’t yet live with me on the farm and our farm was not fully enclosed as it is now.  Faced with the challenges of squeezing Cinco in and out of pastures to take him to the barn to build weight on him, I learned that I must not fear Lucy’s escape or dominance.

Fear on the ground is not something that most horse owners have, though.  Fear in riding is a different story.  I was truly shocked to see how many people showed up at Equine Affaire 2013’s session on conquering fear in horsemanship by Ken McNabb.

I won’t say that I was a fearful rider.  I certainly, however, have had some scary things happen to me while riding (even recently, even on our oldest – best trained, perhaps? – mare).  Still, I thought I could learn from this seminar.  Since returning from EA, I have ridden with a much greater sense of confidence – I am not sure if that stems from the riding lessons I witnessed or this seminar, but I’m going to collect my thoughts regarding fear in riding below based on what I’ve learned from Ken McNabb and what I feel.

1) Horses are flight animals.  They run away from stuff.  They are NOT going to attack you.  They are not going to sneak up on you and ambush you.  People think this might happen.  It won’t.

2) You cannot be fearful of something that has not yet happened.  You can’t freeze and lock up because you think your horse is going to throw you.  If your horse has never thrown you, there is no reason to think your horse will.  If your horse has never run off with you, do not assume it will.  It is a waste of emotion to fear something that obscure.

3) Have an escape route.  If your horse does have a habit to fear, have a PLAN for what you are going to do should the need arise.  This could be a well-practiced one rein stop, an emergency dismount, and mental headset.

4) When you tense up in fear, so does your horse.  Your horse, however, doesn’t realize you are scared of him.  So now you are sitting on a horse, scared, and your horse is scared, and freaking out over the environment looking for what HE should be scared of.

I remember the first time I fell off.  It was scary but then it was great.  Here’s why: you can fall off your horse a lot and survive.  Sometimes you fall off and don’t even hurt yourself.  We aren’t that fragile.

When you lose fear and don’t get lost to fear, your riding greatly improves and I’ve seen the results in just a boost of confidence I received from EA.