The last 2 years Cowboy has been suffering from anhidrosis (nonsweating). The first year he had a little sweat and I really wasnt riding much so it wasnt too bad, but last year he got really sick and those few weeks of hot hot (umm much like RIGHT NOW) weather I was out hosing him off several times a day and sticking him front of the fan etc. It was very concerning, esp when he got so sick because some horses actually have to be MOVED to a cooler climate ! I had tried several supplements, and I got a little response from one of them called One AC last year. He made a little sweat behind his ears and one spot under his mane. BUT. It made him a crazy horse ! So I had to stop it. Over the winter I continued to search and stumbled upon a herbal supplement called chastetree berry. Apparently folks give this to their Cushing's horses but the mechanism of action of this stuff is much like the One AC so I thought I would give a go. I have gotten more sweat than previous, but not like a HUGE sweat (maybe that means I havent been riding hard enough? LOL) Actually Ive been a little nervous to push him really hard, didnt want to set off a crisis.
SO !! Yesterday I worked then ran errands than went rushing out to the barn to hose him off, I was really scared of what I might find (like other horses sweating and him not, and also him having that hang dog sick look) and... ::drumroll::: I FOUND SWEAT and LOTS of it !! yay ! He had the same amout of sweat as the rest of the horses, but since I was already there, I hosed him off, stuck him in front of the fan and gave him a bunch of horse crack (hay stretcher..Man they LOVE that stuff!). He was a happy boy, esp when I put him back up without riding or exercising him !
The good news (or for him bad news lol) is that now I feel ok about going out and riding in the evenings etc, well maybe after tues :)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Kate & Pro - 6/6 (hot but good)
**Today's image is from a few weeks ago, when Pro re-learned how to be a lesson horse and gave my boyfriend a ride. I used to be scared to let them out of a round pen but now Erik can trot (and post!) a 20m circle all by himself. Such natural talent. And recently I let them CANTER all by themselves!! Erik actually has soft hands, and keeps the reins light, so Pro is happy to get a relaxed frame with him. I think they're adorable, don't you??Now on to tonight's ride...
Still very hot. It was 8:30 before I rode. I couldn't bear the thought of breeches, so I rode in shorts (I know, I know). It made me wish I could ride like that all the time if it wasn't so pinchy - with the humidity, my legs connected with the saddle and STUCK. There was no sliding, no moving, no nothing. Mostly because I was stuck to the saddle and uh, mostly because it hurt to move my legs. ;) I tried some sitting trot but mainly kept to the walk.
After Andrea's report about the poles, I spent some time in that part of the arena. The poles have been moved (not my doing) so he was okay with that. He was actually pretty well behaved, which only confirms my belief that he endorses different personalities with Andrea and me (ie, spooking at different things with each of us, etc). I think it amuses him. And I think it means he needs a new hobby!!!
It's Andrea's day tomorrow, and then I'm back on duty for Sunday. Even if he delightfully endures the heat, I don't want to push him physically...but I will do my best to keep up the regular workouts and just lighten the exercise so they're more "mental" in nature. :) And so I don't pass out since I'll fatigue WAY before him and his desert heritage!
Pepsi's Diary- My Continuing Torment: Part 1
Today my captors continued my torment.
First they put me in that white round thing they seem to refer to as a 'round pen.' Then that crazy human (who for a while I reffered to as MY person, before she starting acting all weird on me) started beating the fence again! At least she didn't yell at it this time, but I still wasn't going ANYWHERE near her!
After I was hot and tired and pretended I was listening she DID let me eat some grass. It's funny how easily these humans are amused- all you have to do is follow them around the 'round pen' and they pat you and tell you what a good boy you are! I'll never understand how they didn't get eaten by the dinosaurs millions of years ago...they're stupid enough that they really shouldn't have survived this long.
Anyway, after my roundpenning session my human captor escorted me into the barn. That is where the REAL torture for the day began. First, she tied me between two ropes she calls 'crossties' and then made me stand for a professional torturer, often referred to as a 'trimmer.' After clipping my feet until I could no longer walk, my captor then made me stand and watch her PAY the trimmer for her services! Isn't that TERRIBLE? Is there no justice left in the world?! (I did get them back though, because I gave the trimmer a HORRIBLE time. I kept pulling my feet away whenever she was trying to cut them, or whenever she used that other instrument of torture called 'the file.')
Anyway, my guard started to trust me at this point and went to fetch some water for herself. (Not for ME of course!) As soon as she left I went up to another captive to pass along some information about our planned escape. This poor horse was even locked in a BOX! How can these humans be so cruel! (They call it a stall and tell us that it helps keep us cool since it has a fan and all, but I know the truth!) Anyway, I felt so bad for him I tried to create a distraction so he could get out, but he was too tired to move. My captor heard me though and came to catch me. I could tell she was mad that I hadn't stayed where I was supposed to though, and I immediately tried to run away. I made it all the way back to my pasture where my other POW's were, but they hadn't time time to get the fence down and the hotwire off, so I was resigned to my fate and let her catch me. If I can keep her running after me longer for next time, maybe they'll have time to destroy the fence and we can ALL escape!
Anyway, after she caught me she put me back in the round pen for more work. She must have been taking her aggression out on the fence again though because she just kept hitting it! I had to keep changing directions to get away from her! Finally, she stopped htting the fence and I came up to her hoping she would give me water. She took me back in the barn and gave me some water, but she also brought out a long yellow snake that spits water! She called it a 'hose' but I know what a snake looks like!!
After that she started discussing me with the head guard: they call HER the 'instructor'. The head guard said that I needed to be 'taught a lesson.' They both kept talking about patience and how I didn't have any. Of course I have patience! You HAVE to be patient in order to wait for the right time to escape! How dumb do they think I am!?!
Anyway, they led me up to a tree and TIED me to it!!! I tried talking the tree into helping me escape, but it refused. So, I finally untied my leadline so that I could get free. Unfortunately, the humans weren't as stupid as I thought they were because they noticed and tied it even higher where I couldn't reach it. Damn!
So, for the next two hours I tried EVERYTHING I could think of to get myself loose! I tried pawing the tree, I tried chewing the tree, I tried mounting the tree and attacking the tree. I even tried pushing the tree over! All to no avail. I even tried convincing the small humans that they call 'children' to untie me, but I don't think they understood what I wanted. They just kept saying how I cute I was and how funny I was being. (I REALLY don't understand how humans haven't been eaten by larger creatures yet. Perhaps it's because they only allow themselves to be around herbivores? Yet, they keep dogs at the barn to watch us in case we try to escape. Why haven't the dogs eaten them yet? Hmmm....I should think more upon this later- perhaps the dogs and I could work out some sort of agreement.... But I digress.)
Anyway, after 2, almost 3 hours, I was too tired to fight and I finally stood still and wanted to go to sleep. At that point they told me I was a GOOD BOY and led me back to the pasture! My human captor made me move over and back up and do some sidepassing before she would take my halter off, but after I did all those things she let me go!
I will NEVER understand these humans. I will continue my diary tomorrow however- now I need to go find grass!!
First they put me in that white round thing they seem to refer to as a 'round pen.' Then that crazy human (who for a while I reffered to as MY person, before she starting acting all weird on me) started beating the fence again! At least she didn't yell at it this time, but I still wasn't going ANYWHERE near her!
After I was hot and tired and pretended I was listening she DID let me eat some grass. It's funny how easily these humans are amused- all you have to do is follow them around the 'round pen' and they pat you and tell you what a good boy you are! I'll never understand how they didn't get eaten by the dinosaurs millions of years ago...they're stupid enough that they really shouldn't have survived this long.
Anyway, after my roundpenning session my human captor escorted me into the barn. That is where the REAL torture for the day began. First, she tied me between two ropes she calls 'crossties' and then made me stand for a professional torturer, often referred to as a 'trimmer.' After clipping my feet until I could no longer walk, my captor then made me stand and watch her PAY the trimmer for her services! Isn't that TERRIBLE? Is there no justice left in the world?! (I did get them back though, because I gave the trimmer a HORRIBLE time. I kept pulling my feet away whenever she was trying to cut them, or whenever she used that other instrument of torture called 'the file.')
Anyway, my guard started to trust me at this point and went to fetch some water for herself. (Not for ME of course!) As soon as she left I went up to another captive to pass along some information about our planned escape. This poor horse was even locked in a BOX! How can these humans be so cruel! (They call it a stall and tell us that it helps keep us cool since it has a fan and all, but I know the truth!) Anyway, I felt so bad for him I tried to create a distraction so he could get out, but he was too tired to move. My captor heard me though and came to catch me. I could tell she was mad that I hadn't stayed where I was supposed to though, and I immediately tried to run away. I made it all the way back to my pasture where my other POW's were, but they hadn't time time to get the fence down and the hotwire off, so I was resigned to my fate and let her catch me. If I can keep her running after me longer for next time, maybe they'll have time to destroy the fence and we can ALL escape!
Anyway, after she caught me she put me back in the round pen for more work. She must have been taking her aggression out on the fence again though because she just kept hitting it! I had to keep changing directions to get away from her! Finally, she stopped htting the fence and I came up to her hoping she would give me water. She took me back in the barn and gave me some water, but she also brought out a long yellow snake that spits water! She called it a 'hose' but I know what a snake looks like!!
After that she started discussing me with the head guard: they call HER the 'instructor'. The head guard said that I needed to be 'taught a lesson.' They both kept talking about patience and how I didn't have any. Of course I have patience! You HAVE to be patient in order to wait for the right time to escape! How dumb do they think I am!?!
Anyway, they led me up to a tree and TIED me to it!!! I tried talking the tree into helping me escape, but it refused. So, I finally untied my leadline so that I could get free. Unfortunately, the humans weren't as stupid as I thought they were because they noticed and tied it even higher where I couldn't reach it. Damn!
So, for the next two hours I tried EVERYTHING I could think of to get myself loose! I tried pawing the tree, I tried chewing the tree, I tried mounting the tree and attacking the tree. I even tried pushing the tree over! All to no avail. I even tried convincing the small humans that they call 'children' to untie me, but I don't think they understood what I wanted. They just kept saying how I cute I was and how funny I was being. (I REALLY don't understand how humans haven't been eaten by larger creatures yet. Perhaps it's because they only allow themselves to be around herbivores? Yet, they keep dogs at the barn to watch us in case we try to escape. Why haven't the dogs eaten them yet? Hmmm....I should think more upon this later- perhaps the dogs and I could work out some sort of agreement.... But I digress.)
Anyway, after 2, almost 3 hours, I was too tired to fight and I finally stood still and wanted to go to sleep. At that point they told me I was a GOOD BOY and led me back to the pasture! My human captor made me move over and back up and do some sidepassing before she would take my halter off, but after I did all those things she let me go!
I will NEVER understand these humans. I will continue my diary tomorrow however- now I need to go find grass!!
What Injections...?
After Artie behaved with the twitch the first time, I thought he'd be evasive and a handful when "it" (the twitch) came around again.
Last night, he was WONDERFUL! YAY! He was back on top of my favorites list.
This morning he must have thought we were playing tag; so I had to push him away several times. But he soon, very soon, realized that he was fighting a losing battle. I must admit though; I like watching him run around a bit though. hehe. When it came time for Ms. Twitch to meet Mr. Artie's nose, he actually lowered his head for me and never even wiggled his nose or bobbed his head. Alex and I think he's addicted. ;-) He didn't even flinch for his shots. I don't really care if he is addicted -- so long as he stands like a gentleman. :-P hahah.
Hopefully his affair with Ms. Twitch will continue through the next 7-8 days of injections. *crosses fingers, knock on wood*
Last night, he was WONDERFUL! YAY! He was back on top of my favorites list.
This morning he must have thought we were playing tag; so I had to push him away several times. But he soon, very soon, realized that he was fighting a losing battle. I must admit though; I like watching him run around a bit though. hehe. When it came time for Ms. Twitch to meet Mr. Artie's nose, he actually lowered his head for me and never even wiggled his nose or bobbed his head. Alex and I think he's addicted. ;-) He didn't even flinch for his shots. I don't really care if he is addicted -- so long as he stands like a gentleman. :-P hahah.
Hopefully his affair with Ms. Twitch will continue through the next 7-8 days of injections. *crosses fingers, knock on wood*
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Pro's Ride
Hey,
I guess since this is my first actual post I should introduce myself at least some. I'm a grad student at UNC getting my PhD in Bio. I grew up with horses riding mostly hunters. Around high school I got bored of hunters and attempted to swap to jumpers/eventing but my TB at the time was not amused by the idea of logs on the ground as jumps. He'd jump 3'6" without blinking in the ring, but a solid 18" tree trunk in a field terrified him. So we stuck with Jumpers and then I started doing dressage when I moved to NC and had no horse to ride. I figured if I was going to pay for riding time (lessons) I might as well learn something. Around Christmas I saw Kate's post that she was looking for someone to half-lease Pro in exchange for barn chores. Definitely best deal I've ever gotten in on! My mom bought a 6 month old Polish Arabian 12 1/2 years ago and I miss him so Pro's a great substitute. (That's my mom's Arab, Lyric, in the picture).
So, back to how today went. I last rode him on Sunday right after he'd pulled his "OMG everything is going to eat me!" trick on Kate, so he wasn't sure what to expect. I'd been very low key about the things that seemed to be residual nerves, lots of pats and good boys. Of course that meant that today he was offering to spook at random stuff just to see what I'd do. Nothing like fighting with a desert bred horse in 95 degree heat... He wasn't bad, we just had to go through all of his 212 resistance tricks to get to the good part. Once he was going better I did some work on getting a really nice, animated trot out of him. He tends to get stuck in his front end so I used Kate's almost-walk-now-TROT trick and kept after him with rhythmic bumping from my inside leg. Then I tried to really collect him at the canter. Kate gets him to do this amazingly collected canter but then he starts swapping leads in back. I don't collect as much and he doesn't do that, but I was tired of him thinking I was the push-over rider so I made him collect more. I'd say that contest ended up being something of a draw.
We've got a lesson scheduled with Gayle on Wednesday, so I'm excited about that. Kate's going to ride after me on one of the other horses at the barn, Elvis, so I'm looking forward to a full afternoon of horses and horsey gossip and pretending grad school doesn't exist!
(Kate's edit -- Sorry to hijack, but I just HAD to add in a picture of Andrea and Pro!!!!)
Roundpenning Pepsi 6/5/08
Well, Pepsi was SO good while I was working him today. I went out at about 8:00 because it was just too hot for me to work him before that. I put him in the round pen and let him warm himself up at the walk. When he started trotting I started going toward the fence again and waving the lunge whip at the fence. He just turned right around and went the other direction. :D
After about 15 minutes of him being absolutely perfect I took him in to hose him off. We were almost done when one of the boarders pulled up with her trailer and unloaded her horse. Pepsi was NOT happy that he couldn't see what was behind him (she pulled up directly behind the wash stall, which, in her defense, is about the only place on the farm where the trailer will fit!) and started throwing a fit. After about 90 seconds of him ignoring me when I told him to knock it off and calm down, I finally grabbed him by the halter, looked him straight in the eye and told him to KNOCK IT OFF NOW! After staring him down for close to a minute he finally got the hint and behaved.
Anyway, we were almost done when I was trying to put some medicine on his feet (just to ward off thrush) and he tried to swing into me. I slapped him good and told him to quit it, and that horse pointed his butt right at me and seriously thought about double-barreling me. His feet didn't actually come OUT, but they did come up, along with his butt which was about 3 inches in front of my face. I didn't even hesitate- he got pulled back into the round pen and I let him run himself around until he could hardly breathe. Only AFTER he listened to me did I allow him to walk and then finally to come into me and take a breather. We did some moving over of the hindquarters and shoulders while he was in the middle, and once his eye was soft, his head was low, and he was moving over when I asked did we finally go back in.
At this point I stuck him in the wash stall, hooked him to the cross-ties and just sat down on the ground in front of him while he got to stand there for 10 minutes. AFTER he stood patiently I hosed him back off, did some more moving over IN the washstall, and then we went out to graze.
When I was ready to go home I walked him up to the field and made him do even MORE hindquarters and shoulders over, along with lots of backing up and halting before I took his halter off. Once I did take it off he stood there for a moment for a scratch and then calmly turned and walked away.
I am winning the battles, but I'd prefer for there not to BE any battles in the first place!
After about 15 minutes of him being absolutely perfect I took him in to hose him off. We were almost done when one of the boarders pulled up with her trailer and unloaded her horse. Pepsi was NOT happy that he couldn't see what was behind him (she pulled up directly behind the wash stall, which, in her defense, is about the only place on the farm where the trailer will fit!) and started throwing a fit. After about 90 seconds of him ignoring me when I told him to knock it off and calm down, I finally grabbed him by the halter, looked him straight in the eye and told him to KNOCK IT OFF NOW! After staring him down for close to a minute he finally got the hint and behaved.
Anyway, we were almost done when I was trying to put some medicine on his feet (just to ward off thrush) and he tried to swing into me. I slapped him good and told him to quit it, and that horse pointed his butt right at me and seriously thought about double-barreling me. His feet didn't actually come OUT, but they did come up, along with his butt which was about 3 inches in front of my face. I didn't even hesitate- he got pulled back into the round pen and I let him run himself around until he could hardly breathe. Only AFTER he listened to me did I allow him to walk and then finally to come into me and take a breather. We did some moving over of the hindquarters and shoulders while he was in the middle, and once his eye was soft, his head was low, and he was moving over when I asked did we finally go back in.
At this point I stuck him in the wash stall, hooked him to the cross-ties and just sat down on the ground in front of him while he got to stand there for 10 minutes. AFTER he stood patiently I hosed him back off, did some more moving over IN the washstall, and then we went out to graze.
When I was ready to go home I walked him up to the field and made him do even MORE hindquarters and shoulders over, along with lots of backing up and halting before I took his halter off. Once I did take it off he stood there for a moment for a scratch and then calmly turned and walked away.
I am winning the battles, but I'd prefer for there not to BE any battles in the first place!
Knight's Ride 6/4/08
Ok, I went out to ride Knight again yesterday after I finished round-penning Pepsi. This horse was an ANGEL!
I've started to groom him and tack him up as he grazes by the hitching post- he just stands right there while I do everything I need to do and doesn't move.
Anyway, I couldn't find his bit and was running around looking EVERYWHERE for it before I finally found it. This horse just stood there and watched me the whole time like, 'Whatcha doin??' Still not moving although he had plenty of opportunity too!
So I get on and we warm up down the trail. We go through the woods and out into the fields. He's VERY up today (not sluggish or sore AT ALL) and as we're walking along through the fields he spooks from some deer. Almost unseated me just because I was so NOT prepared for it, even though all he did was canter for about 3 strides. Anyway, today we worked on trot sets and walk-trot-halt transitions. He didn't really want to slow down, and my seat isn't quite solid enough yet to really help him with the downward transitions, but we eventually got there. He gave me one more good LOOK at something as we were trotting along, but that was it. We worked fairly consistently for about 30 minutes, and the ride itself was about 45 minutes long. We also did lots of serpentines and circles through the field. Going through the field really helps your eye too because you can see EXACTLY where you're tracking and where you're not- so you can see all the ugly circles and all the pretty ones!
Finally, as we were heading back in I decided to see what he would do about this one tiny little log on the trail. (Remember he was originally a jumper!) So I ask him for a trot about 20 strides away and just get into two-point and give him the reins. He sees it and at first I think he's just going to trot over it but at the last minute he seems to go "You'll let me JUMP IT?!!" and just goes whee!!! over it. He barely came off the ground over it because it was so tiny, but he was sooooo cute going over it and just seemed so excited about getting to jump anything at all after it that I gave him a great big pat and called it a day.
So all the horses were good for me yesterday! I hope the trend continues!
Oh, and before I go- he's started to understand that he'll get an alfalfa cube after the end of every ride, and now he just stands and STARES at me until I give it to him. I mean, seriously- he'll just stand there not moving and watch me walk all around putting up his tack and stuff, and he'll even follow me with his head and neck to see when I'm coming to him with the alfalfa cube. Then, after I've gven it to him, he'll happily go back to grazing until I put him up for the night. :)
I've started to groom him and tack him up as he grazes by the hitching post- he just stands right there while I do everything I need to do and doesn't move.
Anyway, I couldn't find his bit and was running around looking EVERYWHERE for it before I finally found it. This horse just stood there and watched me the whole time like, 'Whatcha doin??' Still not moving although he had plenty of opportunity too!
So I get on and we warm up down the trail. We go through the woods and out into the fields. He's VERY up today (not sluggish or sore AT ALL) and as we're walking along through the fields he spooks from some deer. Almost unseated me just because I was so NOT prepared for it, even though all he did was canter for about 3 strides. Anyway, today we worked on trot sets and walk-trot-halt transitions. He didn't really want to slow down, and my seat isn't quite solid enough yet to really help him with the downward transitions, but we eventually got there. He gave me one more good LOOK at something as we were trotting along, but that was it. We worked fairly consistently for about 30 minutes, and the ride itself was about 45 minutes long. We also did lots of serpentines and circles through the field. Going through the field really helps your eye too because you can see EXACTLY where you're tracking and where you're not- so you can see all the ugly circles and all the pretty ones!
Finally, as we were heading back in I decided to see what he would do about this one tiny little log on the trail. (Remember he was originally a jumper!) So I ask him for a trot about 20 strides away and just get into two-point and give him the reins. He sees it and at first I think he's just going to trot over it but at the last minute he seems to go "You'll let me JUMP IT?!!" and just goes whee!!! over it. He barely came off the ground over it because it was so tiny, but he was sooooo cute going over it and just seemed so excited about getting to jump anything at all after it that I gave him a great big pat and called it a day.
So all the horses were good for me yesterday! I hope the trend continues!
Oh, and before I go- he's started to understand that he'll get an alfalfa cube after the end of every ride, and now he just stands and STARES at me until I give it to him. I mean, seriously- he'll just stand there not moving and watch me walk all around putting up his tack and stuff, and he'll even follow me with his head and neck to see when I'm coming to him with the alfalfa cube. Then, after I've gven it to him, he'll happily go back to grazing until I put him up for the night. :)
Experience with Injections
So, it seems that Artie is now sick. *bangs head on wall* So, he will have 30cc of penicillin (split up into two injections) administered IM twice a day. Oh boy.
First two rounds on injections went GREAT. He flinched, but nothing silly.
Last night was a different story. Kara's owner's mom, Margie, was out there helping me. Artie was being an obnoxiously snotty (HA) brat. Margie wouldn't get tough on him. Artie tried to blow through her. So, I grabbed the lead rope and back we went. We turned, we moved front end, hind end, backed up, moved forward, etc. Try again. No go. Same exercises. I seriously thought about opening the paddock gate, wishing him luck, and slappin' him on the arse. If I could have picked him up, I would have shaken the mess outta him -- needless to say, I shouldn't have children. HAHA! Instead, I took a few minutes for everyone to "think". I came back and tried a more gentle approach. No go. Ultimately, I was unable to give him his injections last night *sighs* but I was able to get him to lower his head with poll pressure and he would stand still for the needle to be close to him.
This morning, per the vet's request, I headed out to go find a stud chain and a twitch. I don't normally result to such devices, but he WAS going to behave like a gentleman; or atleast like he had half a brain. I EXPECT and DEMAND that he have good manners and behave. So, I haltered him, did some ground work, and then had him stand still for a few minutes. I played with his nose and configured the twitch on. I had Gwen (Kara's mom) hold the twitch and Artie's lead while I stroked his neck and talked to him. After several minutes, injection #1 --> IN! Injection #2 --> IN! And he hardly flinched. Mwhahahahah!!!!
I will be employing the twitch again tonight. I'm hoping maybe in another time or two, I can "wean" him off the twitch.
Due to Artie's illness, i don't think we'll be doing much riding in the next 10 days. But, we're obviously doing groundwork. ;-)
Thanks for reading; hope it was mildly entertaining.
First two rounds on injections went GREAT. He flinched, but nothing silly.
Last night was a different story. Kara's owner's mom, Margie, was out there helping me. Artie was being an obnoxiously snotty (HA) brat. Margie wouldn't get tough on him. Artie tried to blow through her. So, I grabbed the lead rope and back we went. We turned, we moved front end, hind end, backed up, moved forward, etc. Try again. No go. Same exercises. I seriously thought about opening the paddock gate, wishing him luck, and slappin' him on the arse. If I could have picked him up, I would have shaken the mess outta him -- needless to say, I shouldn't have children. HAHA! Instead, I took a few minutes for everyone to "think". I came back and tried a more gentle approach. No go. Ultimately, I was unable to give him his injections last night *sighs* but I was able to get him to lower his head with poll pressure and he would stand still for the needle to be close to him.
This morning, per the vet's request, I headed out to go find a stud chain and a twitch. I don't normally result to such devices, but he WAS going to behave like a gentleman; or atleast like he had half a brain. I EXPECT and DEMAND that he have good manners and behave. So, I haltered him, did some ground work, and then had him stand still for a few minutes. I played with his nose and configured the twitch on. I had Gwen (Kara's mom) hold the twitch and Artie's lead while I stroked his neck and talked to him. After several minutes, injection #1 --> IN! Injection #2 --> IN! And he hardly flinched. Mwhahahahah!!!!
I will be employing the twitch again tonight. I'm hoping maybe in another time or two, I can "wean" him off the twitch.
Due to Artie's illness, i don't think we'll be doing much riding in the next 10 days. But, we're obviously doing groundwork. ;-)
Thanks for reading; hope it was mildly entertaining.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Juby Beats the $hit out of the Fence Today!!!
Got your attention with the title, didn't I? ;)
First of all, let me start by saying that Alex is a GENIUS. An absolute GENIUS I tell you! Like, there should be a Nobel Peace Prize for Horse People, and she should get it. Because even though she may not be responsible for peace in the world, she DID help me to acheive a certain level of peace with Mr. Fizzy-Pants today, and I was really starting to think I wouldn't EVER get that!
Ok, so here's the deal....
Alex and I have been talking over AIM a lot lately, and she's been giving me some advice on Pepsi. Now, I've had LOTS of people give me advice on Pepsi...some of it worked, a lot of it didn't. I'm used to that. But what she said was "Put him in the round pen, and when you want him to change direction, get after the fence...NOT him!" I'm like, okaaaaaay- she wants me to beat the fence. "Are you sure you're feeling ok Alex? Not feverish or anything, are you?"
"I'm fine. And I PROMISE it will work. Just beat the fence like crazy and he WILL turn and not kick out!"
I think 'ok, fine- what have I got to lose?' I don't REALLY think it will work (unless her ultimate goal is to get everyone to call the "crazy cops" on me, which probably WILL work) but I figure I'll try it anyway.
So I go out today, grab Pepsi, throw him in the round pen, and let him warm himself up. He starts out just walking, then starts trotting. I figure now's as good a time as any to try this crazy thing, and I do just what she said- I pick a point on the fence, calmly walk up to it, and start YELLING at it while BEATING it with the lunge whip. Pepsi takes ONE LOOK at me, snorts, half-rears, and then doubles back and TAKES OFF. Well, it worked that time! So I find another spot on the rail and do it again. I start yelling at the fence and beating it with my lunge whip while COMPLETELY IGNORING MY HORSE. Once again, he sees me, turns around, and heads in the other direction!
I do this for another few minutes, and he starts to calm down a bit once he realizes that whip isn't coming anywhere NEAR him. He sees me get to the fence, sees me whipping it, and thinks "I'm not getting ANYWHERE NEAR that crazy lady!" and turns around and heads the other direction. After about 20 minutes of this he's starting to turn as soon as I start HEADING TOWARD the fence- I don't even have to be at it now!
After a few more minutes I let him come into me and petted and rubbed him all over. He stood there licking with his head dropped, letting me rub his face. Then he followed me around for a few minutes at the walk with lots of circles, changes of direction, and several stops.
I put him back on the rail and we did some more turns. I didn't even have to yell at the fence by now- I just had to wave my whip around a little and he would turn. I was just about to stop when he BLEW past me once. However, I will say that he WAS getting ready to turn (had his nose pointed to the outside and I could tell he was starting to shift his weight) but something obviously spooked him and he immediately changed his mind and blew past me. So, we just continued for a few more minutes (I had to yell at the fence again the first few times ;) ) but then he settled down and got nice and quiet again. We ended up with him getting rubbed and patted while he licked and licked and licked. :D
He was also an angel in the wash stall too- he tried pawing/striking once, and I SLAMMED his leg with my crop and yelled at him until he backed up. After that he got the idea and didn't try it (or anything else!) again!
So, all in all, Pepsi was SO good today and I'm so proud of him! Thanks Alex!!
First of all, let me start by saying that Alex is a GENIUS. An absolute GENIUS I tell you! Like, there should be a Nobel Peace Prize for Horse People, and she should get it. Because even though she may not be responsible for peace in the world, she DID help me to acheive a certain level of peace with Mr. Fizzy-Pants today, and I was really starting to think I wouldn't EVER get that!
Ok, so here's the deal....
Alex and I have been talking over AIM a lot lately, and she's been giving me some advice on Pepsi. Now, I've had LOTS of people give me advice on Pepsi...some of it worked, a lot of it didn't. I'm used to that. But what she said was "Put him in the round pen, and when you want him to change direction, get after the fence...NOT him!" I'm like, okaaaaaay- she wants me to beat the fence. "Are you sure you're feeling ok Alex? Not feverish or anything, are you?"
"I'm fine. And I PROMISE it will work. Just beat the fence like crazy and he WILL turn and not kick out!"
I think 'ok, fine- what have I got to lose?' I don't REALLY think it will work (unless her ultimate goal is to get everyone to call the "crazy cops" on me, which probably WILL work) but I figure I'll try it anyway.
So I go out today, grab Pepsi, throw him in the round pen, and let him warm himself up. He starts out just walking, then starts trotting. I figure now's as good a time as any to try this crazy thing, and I do just what she said- I pick a point on the fence, calmly walk up to it, and start YELLING at it while BEATING it with the lunge whip. Pepsi takes ONE LOOK at me, snorts, half-rears, and then doubles back and TAKES OFF. Well, it worked that time! So I find another spot on the rail and do it again. I start yelling at the fence and beating it with my lunge whip while COMPLETELY IGNORING MY HORSE. Once again, he sees me, turns around, and heads in the other direction!
I do this for another few minutes, and he starts to calm down a bit once he realizes that whip isn't coming anywhere NEAR him. He sees me get to the fence, sees me whipping it, and thinks "I'm not getting ANYWHERE NEAR that crazy lady!" and turns around and heads the other direction. After about 20 minutes of this he's starting to turn as soon as I start HEADING TOWARD the fence- I don't even have to be at it now!
After a few more minutes I let him come into me and petted and rubbed him all over. He stood there licking with his head dropped, letting me rub his face. Then he followed me around for a few minutes at the walk with lots of circles, changes of direction, and several stops.
I put him back on the rail and we did some more turns. I didn't even have to yell at the fence by now- I just had to wave my whip around a little and he would turn. I was just about to stop when he BLEW past me once. However, I will say that he WAS getting ready to turn (had his nose pointed to the outside and I could tell he was starting to shift his weight) but something obviously spooked him and he immediately changed his mind and blew past me. So, we just continued for a few more minutes (I had to yell at the fence again the first few times ;) ) but then he settled down and got nice and quiet again. We ended up with him getting rubbed and patted while he licked and licked and licked. :D
He was also an angel in the wash stall too- he tried pawing/striking once, and I SLAMMED his leg with my crop and yelled at him until he backed up. After that he got the idea and didn't try it (or anything else!) again!
So, all in all, Pepsi was SO good today and I'm so proud of him! Thanks Alex!!
Gabby's riding and a horse search update:
I was supposed to have a lesson last night...but she called and cancelled an hour before my lesson, grrrr....anyway. I went out and did a little dressage on my own. Hobbes is such a good boy; always ready to work, even if he is lazy. We did lots of transitions and I ended on a lovely walk to canter, he was so soft and energetic I just praised like crazy and called it a day.
Used some saddle-tite (apparently this is cheating!) on my new boots and they were great to ride in. I feel like my riding is much better in the dressage saddle w/ my tall boots on vs. my 1/2 chaps and paddocks. Why is this? Maybe its because I can't bend my legs much yet, b/c the boots haven't dropped enough, so it keeps me from sneaking my calves farther and farther back until I'm back in hunter perch!
Update on the horse search: Called/emailed about a few horses. the selection so far:
1 - 9 yr old App. QH. Supposedly fabulously laid-back. Done dressage and hunters - but from his videos he is a craptastic jumper, although w/ auto changes. He likes to overjump by about 3 feet and barely fold his legs. Luckily, I only jump 2'6" and could care less about winning, so this fine as long as he's steady and honest. He's the cheapest so far.
2 - 6 yr old TB. ADORABLE! Rated a 1 on the hotness scale. Done up to training level eventing and low level hunters. He is exactly what I am looking for as a forever horse, assuming the seller is truthful, but at the top, and I mean TOP of my budget. He will pretty much put me at 0 dollars in my savings.
3 - 10 yr old TB. He appears to be an exact replica of my current horse, Hobbes...but he's grey! I mean, his built is so similar, they look like twins. He is supposedly extremely quiet in all situations (former racehorse), but hasnt' really done much competing...however, he is steady over 2'6" with changes. Unfortunately, the seller will not return my calls/emails, so I have no idea how much he is.
Used some saddle-tite (apparently this is cheating!) on my new boots and they were great to ride in. I feel like my riding is much better in the dressage saddle w/ my tall boots on vs. my 1/2 chaps and paddocks. Why is this? Maybe its because I can't bend my legs much yet, b/c the boots haven't dropped enough, so it keeps me from sneaking my calves farther and farther back until I'm back in hunter perch!
Update on the horse search: Called/emailed about a few horses. the selection so far:
1 - 9 yr old App. QH. Supposedly fabulously laid-back. Done dressage and hunters - but from his videos he is a craptastic jumper, although w/ auto changes. He likes to overjump by about 3 feet and barely fold his legs. Luckily, I only jump 2'6" and could care less about winning, so this fine as long as he's steady and honest. He's the cheapest so far.
2 - 6 yr old TB. ADORABLE! Rated a 1 on the hotness scale. Done up to training level eventing and low level hunters. He is exactly what I am looking for as a forever horse, assuming the seller is truthful, but at the top, and I mean TOP of my budget. He will pretty much put me at 0 dollars in my savings.
3 - 10 yr old TB. He appears to be an exact replica of my current horse, Hobbes...but he's grey! I mean, his built is so similar, they look like twins. He is supposedly extremely quiet in all situations (former racehorse), but hasnt' really done much competing...however, he is steady over 2'6" with changes. Unfortunately, the seller will not return my calls/emails, so I have no idea how much he is.
Kate & Pro - 6/3 (still good!)
Well, another good boy! I didn't think I was going to get to ride since it started sprinkling when I drove out, but the rain had passed and we were good to go. I pretty much did the same stuff as the previous day's ride, but after that, I made him walk AND do trot circles by the poles. He was calm and responsive, so we even did some trot/canter transitions on the circle. I'm very pleased with him. :)
I've also been mixing in more and more sitting trot and he's taking that very well. We played our favorite "game": sitting trot, half-halting until he almost walks (or walks 1/2 step), and then pushing off into a big posting trot. Really getting that BUTT engaged! He likes it because I throw in some actual walk transitions here and there so it keeps his mind engaged, too. He likes to try and outguess me and figure out what I'm asking.
Happy riding!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Pepsi & Groundwork (Better!)
So, yesterday I went out to do groundwork with Pepsi. I was going to put him in the roundpen but someone was already in there lunging, so we went to work in the ring instead.
I started off with the chain and a crop. After a few minutes of him tuning into me really well I took the chain off and we continued to work- hindquarters and shoulders over, back, walk, jog-in-hand, etc. He got a little looky and spooky at some deer, but we worked through it. Finally, after about 20 minutes I went to take him back to the field.
As we were walking up he wanted to trot up and I made him halt, back, halt, walk, back, move over, etc. until he got the idea that he had to do what *I* wanted him to. Finally, when we got to the gate he started blowing and snorting, so I backed him up again until he listened. I opened the gate SLOWLY and made him walk, halt, back and walk up again until I trusted him to walk through without trying to bolt back to the herd.
Finally, as I was turning him around to take off his halter, he thought for a split second about just taking off, and jumped in front of him, waved the crop in front of his face, growled at him, and he went "NEVER MIND! I'm staying RIGHT HERE!" We then did even MORE gorundwork until I had his full attention again, and after he gave me a VERY nice sidepass when I asked him to move his shoulder over I gave him a rub, told him good boy, and quit for the day.
He waited patiently for me to take the halter off, and as soon as I gave him the signal (I backed away and waved my hand) he TOOK OFF galloping back to the herd. Silly horsey just needs someone to gallop him 2-3 times a week. ;)
I started off with the chain and a crop. After a few minutes of him tuning into me really well I took the chain off and we continued to work- hindquarters and shoulders over, back, walk, jog-in-hand, etc. He got a little looky and spooky at some deer, but we worked through it. Finally, after about 20 minutes I went to take him back to the field.
As we were walking up he wanted to trot up and I made him halt, back, halt, walk, back, move over, etc. until he got the idea that he had to do what *I* wanted him to. Finally, when we got to the gate he started blowing and snorting, so I backed him up again until he listened. I opened the gate SLOWLY and made him walk, halt, back and walk up again until I trusted him to walk through without trying to bolt back to the herd.
Finally, as I was turning him around to take off his halter, he thought for a split second about just taking off, and jumped in front of him, waved the crop in front of his face, growled at him, and he went "NEVER MIND! I'm staying RIGHT HERE!" We then did even MORE gorundwork until I had his full attention again, and after he gave me a VERY nice sidepass when I asked him to move his shoulder over I gave him a rub, told him good boy, and quit for the day.
He waited patiently for me to take the halter off, and as soon as I gave him the signal (I backed away and waved my hand) he TOOK OFF galloping back to the herd. Silly horsey just needs someone to gallop him 2-3 times a week. ;)
Artie Pie and Ashley -- 6/2/08
Okay! Well here I am, FINALLY.
First of all, I've been having some personal issues, so I haven't been riding as frequently as I would like. But, I'm getting back on track. ;-)
Secondly, let me introduce myself and my boy. I'm Ashley (dvmintraining from NCHN). I'm a 2nd year vet student @ NCSU College of Vet Med. Artie is my 3 year old APHA gelding. I've had him for 1 year and 2 months. And he just turned 3 June 1st. In March, I sent Artie to the trainer's (luv4horses) to have 60 days put on him. He's absolutely WONDERFUL and more than I expected, especially from a 3 year old.
Due to some horse health issues, I am "stuck" on the property for 28 more days. So, for that time, Artie and I are working on leg yielding, trotting, building endurance, transitioning, and a little bit of cantering.
I went out to the barn yesterday mid-morning. Grabbed a halter and some brushes and brought Artie out to my car, er, tank trunk. :-P I try to get on using stairs or something as not to pull his back as much. The first attempt, he thought it'd be cool to try and sidestep away from me (this is due to an incident last with another certain someone). I made him back up, turn, go forward, stop, turn the other way, etc. Brought him back up to the porch and he was fine. BATTLE #1 -- ASHLEY!
Off we go to the front yard for a ride! For the first 5 minutes (and yes, I have a stop watch. Is that weird? haha) we work on a nice, forward walk; bending, circling, halting. Next, we move it up to the trot. He was doing real well. He did try and sneak out the gate (we don't have the actual gate up yet). Next trip around, I "let" him and he stops before he gets even his head through. So, I push him out the gateway and make him walk over the gate that is laying down kinda off to the side. BATTLE # 2 -- ASHLEY!
So @ this point, we've been trotting (circling, bending, transitioning) for about 20 min. I think to myself, "just two more laps and we're done". So I shortcut it through the middle and he decides to spook -- maybe @ the air release from a big rig. The place I ride is on a 4 way highway. Luckily, his spook is just tucking his butt, raising his head and taking two steps forward. So, we little circle a few times and push it out to a bigger circle and head back for the same manuever. We have to do this 3 times because he spooks 3 times. So, we do the exercise @least 6 more times, without spooking. BATTLE #3 -- ASHLEY!
I always wrap up my ride with a 10 minute or so cool out of walking. Usually walking around obstacles in the yard (trees, wheelbarrow, barrels, cars). He did wonderful with all that yesterday, too. Overall: Artie -- 0 ... Ashley -- 3! And the WAR GOES TO ASHLEY!
Overall, it was a pretty good ride. It was probably a little more uneventful than I detailed above. It was spanned over about 35 minutes. I like to keep shorter workouts, around 30 minutes; for Artie's sake and mine! I was sweating like no end yesterday!
Thanks for entertaining me!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Kate & Pro - 6/2 (much better!)
Alright, Dare. I'm starting off with a picture to make you happy. :) It's from a month or two ago, but it's still one of my favorites.
Much better tonight!!! I didn't get out to the barn until 7:30 (yay grad school) but Pro seemed happy to see me. I decided not to even bother with the poles...I just started easy and gentle on a 20m circle at the end of the arena and went from there. He rounded up nicely with a free-moving walk and moved off my leg promptly, so I was pleased with that. Since he had no troubles accepting the bit, I played around with some shoulder-fore on the circle. He really seems to like (when he's in the mood) figuring out my requests with shoulder-fore, straight, shoulder-fore, straight...like a game to him. Mixed in some half-halts and full halts.
Moving on to the trot, he stayed quiet. I even tried some shoulder-fore (for brief, quick moments, gently) at the trot and he still remained quiet and even figured out what I was asking. He really seems to round up after I ask for shoulder-fore for a few steps and then re-straighten. I mixed in some sitting trot so I could blend in some smoother walk-halt-trot transitions and he was fine with that. His back is so much stronger so he doesn't get nervous and tense up at the sitting trot these days. When he DOES tense up, it's for some other reason, like an errant bunny or ghost. Of course, way before my time, he was leased by someone who insisted she was ready for the sitting trot...and wore the FUR off his back by "trying it out"!!!! So I can understand his tension.
Still great for the canter both directions, even with some playful shoulder-fore for a stride or two. I loved his attention and focus tonight. I had even put some tiny carrot pieces in my pocket so he was *delighted* with the random carrot treats throughout the ride. I ended our cool-out walk by walking past the poles, but I didn't try anything further. It seemed a shame to push the issue after such a pleasant ride. :)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
I sort of rode today....
but was too lazy to really do much! I woke Hobbes up from his midday nap, tacked him up, and went out into the heat of the afternoon. We plodded around making no real effort to do much and then finally gave up and stood in the middle to chat with a friend, who I rarely see. Hobbes quickly went back to his nap as I ran my mouth.
I did begin breaking in my new boots, though. That's sort of an accomplishment, right? I have bought used boots (or rubber ones, as a kid) for my entire life and my fabulous SO gifted me some custom Vogels for my b-day last year. They showed up this week (6 months of waiting) and I did the 'ol soak and wear. Terrified me to soak my brand new boots that are more expensive that my entire wardrobe. Luckily...they're really breaking in nicely. Now...if I can just figure out how to get them off. Right now I'm waiting for Matthew to get home so he can pull them off....
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