Still Having Fun!

Things are still progressing nicely with our new attitude (whip and spurs)! Last night I had NO trouble bridling the horse (warm bit, slack in lead rope!), NO trouble getting on...okay, he did wiggle his butt a few inches to the right, and when I raised the whip up over his rump to get to the right hip to give it a tap, the poor boy flinched and tucked his butt...I gave him a fly's weight of a tap, brought him back up to the mounting block, and he stood good as gold!

Riding was wonderful, he's become SO good...I can't get over being able to just cue him with an outside leg and have him ooze into a wonderful rocking-chair canter, both directions, and he keeps going until I say slow down!! I'm afraid I sort of took advantage of that last night, because when we stopped so I could chat with a friend, my poor horse was PUFFING for breath and actually....SWEATING! LOL! For Quzqo to raise any kind of sweat is noteworthy!!

I can feel his ribs again, so he's lost all his summer flab from his 4 month vacation! Time to add the BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) to his grain, he's gonna be workin' now! Gonna EARN dem Pony Pops!

My friend with the lame Paint mare told me last night that her mare is going to a new home; a veterinarian in Kentucky, and she'll be used to teach young children to ride! That's a great arrangement for the mare...life of ease in Horse Country with un-demanding kiddies riding her. And it'll free up my friend from the guilt and stress of having to maintain a lame horse that she can't afford! Nice when things work out for the better for all parties concerned.

...And Then There's Days The Peppermints Don't Work

Rode again last night, went bitless, and that may be why the Peppermint Bribe at the mounting block didn't work; he was able to scarf down the candy and immediately swing his butt away before I got my foot in the stirrup iron!

Soooo....taking the other tack suggested on this thread, I got my 4 foot long fiberglass whip, and introduced it (gently) to Quzqo's hinder end from the ground, just moving him here, there, and the other place, and tried the mounting block. He started swinging his butt away, I tried to tap him on the off side butt with the whip, but that just succeeded him in backing up totally. We did a little more ground work and came back to the mounting block, this time I kept the whip in my left hand, but kept it down, and bless him, he stood rock solid still so I could get on!!

We had a wonderful ride, he'd tried to slow down or stop a few times on his own and got a pop with the whip for his trouble. I got him into beautiful canters both directions, even managed some 20m circles to the left...and they were ROUND, not egg-shaped, lol! Towards the end of the ride I was able to get him into a sweet canter on his "bad" lead (left) from a sitting trot with just a single application of the right heel (er...and the spur attached to it). Sweet!

Hey, guess what; riding's become FUN again!

Another Day, Another Story

I'll admit I was eager to go to the barn tonight to try out all the great suggestions given to me by friends on how to deal with my lazy horse. The horse was in the middle of his hay, and not enthused about leaving it, but instead of my usual indulgent attitude, he got a backhanded pop with the lead rope for resisting my efforts to lead him from his stall. He got the same about two more times as we walked down the aisle and he'd dive towards the tempting bales of hay.

Got him bridled with no trouble, yes, I had his lead rope tied around his barrel, but again, he accepted the bit without putting any pressure on the rope, so that's good!

I got him standing by the mounting block and rewarded him with the peppermint (so thereby reinforcing the standing still is good philosophy), he never even made a move to back up or swing his butt away. I was impressed because there was an OTTB being lunged to our left, and a 3 yr old Paint mare being lunged to the right of us, and we were sort of in the middle between two very energetic horses running in circles, lol!

Tonight I wore my spurs AND had my 4 foot long fiberglass whip. Just having the whip was enough to keep him inspired for a while, and I don't know if it was just the whip & spurs, or the change in the weather, or the energy of the other two horses in the arena, but he was a WILD MAN, yeehooo! Trotting, breaking into a canter un-asked for, just frisky as could be! I did pop him a few times (not whippings or beatings, nobody needs to call the cops on me) & kept him going, the only time we stopped was when I asked him to because I had to catch my breath, lol!

We cantered both directions many times, did some collected trotting, some extended trotting, even got him to side-pass over a pole on the ground, both directions! All in all a VERY enjoyable evening. I'll admit some of our "issues" are due to MY laziness, so I'll try now to be more proactive, riding with both the whip and spurs. Maybe in a few days I can try bridling him w/o the rope as well.

He wasn't too traumatized by this new direction, as he still managed to goober up my hair with slobber when I was untacking him, lol!

Help! My Horse Is Too Smart For Me!

I realized tonight that Quzqo has me perfectly trained! I'm still having "issues" with bridling him...you may recall last winter I had problems with him tossing his head whenever I brought the bit near his mouth (he's fine with his halter or bitless bridle though), and I had to literally tie his head down (ran the lead rope between his forelegs and around his barrel, so if he flung his head up he'd goose himself in the armpits). Tonight I did that and he totally fooled me by keeping his head down (with slack in the lead rope!) and accepting the (warmed) bit like a perfect gentleman.

BUT...as I was preparing to get on, and was climbing up on my chair (the ole' broken leg is still giving me grief), the little bugger swung his butt away and I could almost hear him sniggering at me! I got back down, lead him back to the chair, got him in position, he raised his head in preparation to back up and swing his butt away, when I produced his Beloved....a Starlight Mint!

He greedily snarfed it up and stood quiet as a rock while he concentrated on maneuvering the mint up over the mouthpiece of the snaffle back to his molars, giving me ample time to get my crippled ole' self up on his back!

Once on board, he decided he didn't really WANT to give me a ride, and kept stopping at every opportunity! I did have my spurs on, but he can ignore those readily enough. We'd trot maybe 2/3 around the arena before he'd stop. And it'd be w/o warning! If I felt him slowing I could urge him up again, but as soon as my mind wandered, BAM, back down to a halt!

A couple of times he stopped, and parked out, like he had to pee! I dutifully stood up in the stirrups, ignoring the pain in my ankle, because what's more important...the 8 metal screws embedded in my leg bones, or my horse's comfort as he tinkles? We stood there for about 30 seconds, and I didn't hear any waterworks! Was he faking? Was he colicing? I got him moving again, he sidled to the middle of the arena and stopped and parked out again and raised his tail! Again I stood up and forward in the stirrups and waited...his tail went back down and he stood there happily smacking his lips and drooling. FAKE again!

I got off and put him in his stall, he stood by the bars and nickered at me. I gave him five whole minutes in there and there was NO piddling, so I got him back out, back to the arena, and back to the mounting block! (not the chair this time). The bugger again SWINGS his butt away from me! I walk to the gate, with Quzqo tagging along at my elbow, and duck into the tack room to get more bribes...yes, more peppermints! Again back to the mounting block, I get him in position, again he hollows his back and prepares to back up and swing his butt...but lo, the beloved peppermint appears, and he accepts my bribe, and stands steady as a rock, slurping on his peppermint while I get back on board!

I did get some decent riding in tonight, it was all I could do to get that horse to trot, though we did make it 1-1/2 times around the arena without stopping! Cantering, well, that's another issue. He was just as big a slug on Saturday, but when I turned him loose in the pasture afterwards he TORE off at a gallop into the field. Yes, I'm feeling like I'm being taken advantage of!

Bronco Buster

Wed December 1, 2007

My niece has decided it'd be fun to lease a horse at the barn for a couple of months this winter so the kids could get some real riding in! I talked w/Bob, & he agreed to lease one of the lesson horses! Tack included, how nice!

So, she came out to the barn Sunday w/all her kids and one of her sister's, so we had 6 charming children underfoot! The horse Bob suggested was "Leo", a FAT old QH gelding, very pretty red roan & I'd certainly seen enough tiny children bopping around on him to know he'd probably be a good choice!

The older kids walked out to the pasture with me to get him, hiking through the foot-deep wet snow (thankfully it was "warm" out, i.e. 35 degrees). Leo seemed like a sweetie, very QH-like! Got him haltered, & the kids wanted to go visit Tezlu's grave which was in the same pasture, so we did that. LOL...the other niece's girl wanted to dig him up. Er...no, I don't think we'll do that. Come back in 20 years, it might be safe, but not now, especially with a foot of snow on top.

The kids and my niece brushed ole' fat Leo, lol, he didn't budge one inch while being brushed, just stood still as a statue with his ears slightly back. Quite a contrast from Coos! Leo is about 16 hands too, a BIG boy...my niece wasn't real sure about that, she'd been too used to Quzqo's 14.2 hands, and heck, Tezlu was 15.2.

We got him tacked up with one of Bob's western roping saddles & Leo's customary bosel hackamores (he's so good he doesn't need a bit) & got him out in the arena. My niece got on & started walking off...she was VERY tensed up, lol, she hadn't been on a horse since Tezlu.I turned my attention to getting Coos out of his stall (I'd brought him in earlier, & he managed to suck down his 2 flakes of dinner hay in half an hour!) & got the kids brushing him (lol, poor Coos had 4 girls brushing him at once, but he was as good as gold and stood for it!). Suddenly I hear my niece yell "DID YOU SEE THAT???"

See what? "He bucked!!!" Nawwwww, not ole' Leo! So she got him walking again, and sure enough, up went his hind end in a little hop!

Seems every time she squeezed him with her legs, he'd buck his fat QH butt up in the air!!! Needless to say she got off of him post haste (which is exactly what he wanted her to do!!!). I gave her a lunge line & she tried to lunge him, thinking he was just frisky from the field (she was used to Tezlu remember). HA, he about walked right over her, and stood and looked at her like "what?". So, I got out there and gave it a go, and snapped the whip behind him and "projected forward energy" and he at least walked in a proper lunging circle. After a LOT more whip-snapping and hollering and chasing I got him into a flumpy sort of jog trot. The young lady who was finishing up the daily chores walked by and exclaimed in all her years she had NEVER seen Leo being lunged! he just never needed it! My niece told her how he bucked, and Emily said "Oh, yeah, Leo always bucks! He does that to try to get you to give up and get off of him, but after a while he gives up!" LOL...gee, nobody told US that,! She uses him for lessons and uses the bucking to help the students gain confidence by dealing with his bucking (pulling him a circle, kicking him in the side, keeping him moving, etc).

So, I got on the little darling to give it a go...after a few steps at a walk, I fell him tense up, and WHOOP up goes the back end! I quickly cranked his head to the right and gave him sharp heel jabs in his fat sides, which pissed him off, LOL! He straightened out, WHOOP up went the rear again, again I cranked his head to the side and kicked him forward, making him WORK for his trouble!

I lost count of how many times he bucked. He didn't appreciate getting heeled though, I found if I just squeezed with my upper calves he'd move forward without complaint...could be he's ticklish! He sure neck-reined like a dream, and I got him into a nice jog trot...I'll confess I can't recall ever riding a nice western-type QH before...besides being three feet wide across the back, he had a sweeeeet trot! I'm used to Arabians, LOL! And when he was trotting, he couldn't buck! I got him into a lope for a few strides after about 100 yards' of cuing, and that collapsed back down to walking... He WAS getting tuckered though, and first he'd start switching his tail, then I'd feel his back tense up...THEN I'd yank his head up and move him forward so he couldn't get a buck going, LOL! Yee gads, lazy AND ornery...you'd learn to ride or die trying!!!

By this time the kids were terrified of the horse, and my niece wanted nothing to do with him. I got off, and she tried to get the oldest boy to ride him...nope, he wouldn't go near! Eventually we ended up just giving pony rides on Leo, and I figured Leo knew he had harmless tiny humans on his back and behaved good as gold. It's only when those pushy long-legged adults get up there that he kicks up a fuss!

I got Quzqo tacked up, and I rode him a little bit (dammit, he's MY horse, I want to ride him!!!)... Coos was lazier than Leo, and I soon gave up, and started giving pony rides as well. LOL, the youngest, the 3 yr old, got to ride first, and Coos was SO lazy, I totally let go of the reins and just walked around the arena with the horse tagging behind me at my elbow, and the little boy was sitting so happily up in the saddle, riding "all by himself", LOL!

We did about 2 hours of pony rides, each kid had to ride each horse, some twice, some doubled up.. The oldest boy got to ride Quzqo by himself and got some good trotting done...he was obviously a lot more confident on Quzqo than the Feared and Hated Leo!

Bob showed up and he and my niece discussed the matter, and Bob will let them "test drive" a different horse next weekend, namely "Colby", an older grey QH gelding who, at least, has been ridden recently.

Gotta laugh...one of my niece's daughters was whining and crying while Leo was getting unsaddles, and Bob walks by and in a mock gruff voice says "Hey! There's no crying in this barn!" and she shut up instantly, BWAHAHA! Loved it!

Don't know if it was related to the bucking, or the snow shoveling, but my back was KILLING me last night, had radiating sciatica pain down my right leg My ankle wasn't happy either, from the bucking, and the walking of the pony rides! If my niece wants to try Colby, SHE can do it herself, ha!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

Nov 26, 2007

Jingle All The Way!

Although my horse is neither bob-tailed nor lean and lank, Coos and I had a GREAT time Sunday driving up and down the roads, showing off our new SLEIGH BELLS!

I'd ordered a set of brass shaft bells from Smucker's Harness Shop. & they arrived last week. I've got them zip-tied to the front of my cart, and I also ordered a bright RED fleecy saddle pad for the harness saddle, so not only did we sound great, we looked snappy too!

Coos got introduced to the potentially scary bells last week, he got to sniff them and enjoyed peppermints. I walked around him & behind him, ringing the bells, & he kept an ear on them but didn't worry, just one more strange thing his monkey is up to!

By yesterday the roads were dry pavement, most of the weekend's snow had melted, and the shoulders were mostly bare dirt with some slushy snow, no ice. Of course it was coldern' a well-digger's boot bottoms out, but oh well.

He was SOOOO mellow, I'd have sworn Bob was lacing the hay with marijuana. And he was in a very friendly, cuddly mood (for once), probably grateful I wasn't accompanied by half a dozen screaming kids! Heck, he even let me put the (warmed) crupper on without clamping his tail between his butt-cheeks and accepted the bit with a minimum of fuss!

Got the cart on him without much trouble, even with the bells chiming behind him as I did so. Lead him out the barn and up the icy hill to the side yard and thought I could get in the cart there. HA! As soon as I left his head and walked back to the cart (still holding the reins of course) the little shit started walking off and turning back towards the barn! I had to rush back to his head and grab the reins and turn him back AWAY from the barn, and lead him down the hill to the outdoor arena. I had him pointing away from the barn & this time managed to get in the cart, and he actually stood still for a few seconds before starting to back up and attempt to turn (towards the barn). He got reins slapped on his butt for his trouble but I think all that thick fur muffled the impact, and he crouched back in the traces like he was going to rear up. This time I popped him on the butt with the whip and gave him a loud "WALK!" and he did, off into the side pasture. I figured to do a little warm-up and equipment check there, to make sure everything was adjusted & buckled.

Thankfully that was uneventful & we soon headed out onto the road. Sunday afternoon is usually slow traffic-wise, and yesterday even moreso, probably due to it being November (no tourist traffic!).

It was SO cool to be driving down the road, listening to "jingle jingle dingle jingle" & "clip clop clip clop" "Snorrrrt", LOL! Couldn't hear much else because we had 10-20mph winds and the wind in the pine trees was deafening...hard to hear traffic coming up behind us, but even when a car or truck did whiz by, Coos didn't give it a second thought!

We got onto the secondary residential road with almost NO traffic, and since it was residential, little worry about deer hunters. Okay, yes, I was also kind of hoping little children would be playing and hear the jingle bells and come running thinking Santa was on the road, LOL, but no, that didn't happen. We did set off a pack of St. Bernards barking in their kennels though, and freaked out the small herd of TWHs down the road. I got Coos trotting a few times and boy, did THAT make a racket, LOL, but a nice jingly racket!

He spooked at a blowing leaf, and coming back he spooked dramatically at a wet spot on the pavement, but other than that he was gooder than gold!

On the return trip one of the St. Bernards had gotten loose and started running across the lawn towards us...oh shit...I had my 6 foot long driving whip & I know that's how you deal with dogs, but thankfully he stopped about 100 feet from us and turned back. I was ready for him, lol!

Mercy it was freakin' COLD though, especially coming back as we were driving INto the wind! I tried to pull over and stop so I could button my coat, but nope, SOMEbody felt the slack in the reins and started walking off and turning south on his own, the little shit, so I forgot about buttoning the coat & had to steer the horse back on to our side of the road! I can see what we're going to have to work on; stopping! He didn't want to stop at the intersection where we had to make a left turn, and started crouching in the traces again. Thankfully no cars were coming, so we were able to continue, but I'm going to have to work on that as well. He's really developed some attitudes during his "vacation" this summer as he's like that under saddle as well.

By the time we got back to the barn I was chilled to the bone, even going into the unheated barn felt "warm" since it was out of that damned wind! Coos was yawwwning as I untacked him, & I tucked him into his stall with a huge WARM bran mash (with carrots and apples and dried molasses!), one happy horse!

During the winter there'll be days where it'll be clear and bright and the roads will be dry, so it's kind of nice to know that on those days I could just take him for a drive to get "out", no matter if the trails are under 3 feet of snow! Looking forward to that, though I might figure out something to use for a lap robe! There's a reason those old-timey sleigh riders used 'em! You get COLD down there, especially when you're trotting! Major wind chill, lol!

My Amazing Brat

Tue Nov 6, 2007

Quzqo was in full Quzqo Mode tonight! MISERABLE weather, high-30's, sleet/rain/snow, high winds, wet horse, thankfully he was inside by the time I got there tonight, but they hadn't been fed and he let me know what he thought about THAT! I tried to mollify him with a peppermint and a handful of hay, but we know how well THAT went over!

He was in total No-Touchee form, rolling his eyes, tossing his head, wiggling and pawing. Yes, of course I planned to ride him! It's Tuesday!

My friend with the crippled Paint mare was there, test-riding the NEW Paint mare that Bob found for her (I see a pattern with that man). HUGE mare, only 3 yrs old, green broke, minimal sabino, but a VERY cool sorrel dun color...the body is sort of a caramel golden brown with dorsal stripe, but the mane and tail are creamy flaxen! Very interesting! Can't say what color her legs are as they're pretty much white, with a big white apron face and some big belly splotches. HUGE horse though, my friend looks tiny riding her, lol!

As for her "old" mare, she's got her at her home, on some sort of joint supplements, and she says she sees improvement in her condition & plans to just give her the winter off. She also got a second and third opinion and those vets don't think her knee/hip tendon is ripped apart or even torn, and considering the first vet didn't even X-ray, well, she's going the supplement route. Time will tell!

ANYway, back to Mr. Bratty-pants; got him saddled with the treeless saddle & put on the bitless bridle, but I had spurs on so I figured I'd get SOMEthing done tonight. Trouble was, Coos decided there was no way I was going to be allowed to get on his back! He'd wait for me to get up on the mounting block, and swing his butt away, or back up, or back up and swing his butt away! Rolling his eyes and holding his head waaaay high up! Little shit! Brought him back to the tack room, he probably was thinking "hooray! I won! Now I get to eat!!" (it didn't help that Bob was wheeling the grain cart around just then). Put his halter on over the bridle, got the lunge line and whip, and back to the arena and CHASED HIS WET BUTT!! Yeehaaaaw, that little booger can RUN when he wants ta! He cantered and high-stepped through the soft footing round and round and round and high-headed (no flagging tail since it's still broken, dammit), rolly-eyed and all, and if he started to slow I swooshed the whip and he'd jump forward again!

Both directions, TWICE, until he was trotting nicely and rounded with his head lowered.

Amazingly, when I got him to the mounting block, he stood rock still and patiently waited for me to get on (damn, that hurt my ankle though!), THEN he walked off without me asking him to, lol!

Oh, mercy, was he full of beans! Where was that energy Saturday on our trail ride? No, there's nothing wrong with his shoulder now! He was a trottin' fool, and if we got to a corner, he'd tuck his butt and head off into a canter, whether I asked him to or not! Loved it! It's so darned RARE that that horse WANTS to canter, I was definitely going to let him, lol! Love that sweet, balanced, rocking-chair canter he can get into! Too darned bad I can't use the bitless bridle in the show ring!

He was SO good after I chased the hell out of him with the whip, I think there's a lesson in there somewhere! Rode for maybe 40 minutes, my ankle didn't mind at all (other than the mounting block!). It minds NOW, of course, but not while I was riding. I think the stirrups have a lot to do with it.

I left him with an amazing amount of hay (Bob must think he's a bigger horse than he appears, lol, I swear there were 3 flakes in his hay rack!). When he wants to be a brat, he can be a helluva brat, but when he decides to behave, he can be SO good!

No Pain, No Gain

Sun Nov 4, 2007

Went on a trail ride yesterday!! Temps in the mid-40's, mostly cloudy, a
light breeze, barely any leaves left on the trees. Bob was FINALLY in
the process of fixing the gate to the Bad Boyz pasture. He'd been busy
these past few weeks rebuilding the fences to that area, with HUGE
telephone-pole-sized fence posts (because they ARE cut-up telephone
poles!) & wooden boards, all to replace the livestock fence panels they
had been using for years. Nice, working gates would make me happy!

Quzqo was in a funny mood, a little "high strung", a little "snotty", a
little "attitudinal". Like, what else is new!

Dragged out my trail saddle, that I haven't used since early September,
tied my hunter orange sweatshirt to the back ('tis the season), got the
old Crabby Appleton tacked up, and even got him bridled without too much
drama queen antics! Didn't feel like bothering with my spurs, and I
figured I'd lead him down to the outdoor arena and pick up my whip I
dropped last weekend.

Of course the whip was nowhere to be found! I've seen equipment left out
there for WEEKS undisturbed (in fact they're using somebody's purple
lunge line to tie shut the gate to the round pen!), but do you think my
innocent little whip, left by a jump standard, could be left alone for 6
days? Noooo!

So, off we went, no spurs, no whip, but at least a Kimberwicke in his
mouth! I had that much going for me!

OH, the drama! A study in barn sourness!! Hell no, he won't go! The
Emperor did NOT want to go on a trail ride! The Emperor wanted to go
back to the barn and be fed treats! We got to the corner of the property
where he usually throws his hissies, and I thought I'd be clever by
cutting across the hayfield, thereby avoiding the exact spot he usually
wads up his panties. But no, he's too smart for that, and even before we
got to the trail across the field, he jammed on the brakes and started
to spin 180 degrees to go back! No spurs or whip, all I could do is haul
his face around and slap him HARD in the rear with the end of my reins
(split reins, thankfully). He went the direction I wanted, but very
slowly, hesitantly, repeatedly starting to balk, with me constantly
giving him heel pressure heel pressure heel pressure! Yeah, my ankle was
not happy, but it would get a LOT unhappier!

We made it up the hill and across the field to the road,
he started a little bit of stopping but I kept him moving forward. Got
to contend with not one but TWO power company trucks coming down the
narrow dirt road, thankfully the horse was too worried about the ditch
to pay that much mind to the huge red and white trucks trundling past us.

Cut through the woods and promptly got lost! The trails had been altered
due to all the logging they did in 2006, and with all the leaves on
the ground, I couldn't even SEE the trails. Quzqo decided to walk OVER a
pair of small saplings rather than go around them (like I wanted), and
one of them apparently snapped him someplace sensitive, he jammed
on the brakes, flung himself backwards and 180 degrees! O, my ankle did
not appreciate THAT either!

We ended up making our way down the huge clear-cut swash through the
woods which was an annoying landscape of small hummocks and dips and
ground-out stumps, until we made it to the paved road. Not as pretty
(especially with the 3/4 rotted dead deer in the ditch, bleah!), but at
least I wouldn't get lost.

The horse didn't WANT to go down the road, he wanted to go BACK, and the
little shit started acting up right on the shoulder of the road,
side-stepping backwards into the right hand lane! Of course cars were
coming, and luckily a white horse is very visible, so I heard them
slowing as I heeled him back to the side of the road where he sulkily
shuffled along the way I wanted him.

Our next argument was where we would cross the road to get back onto the
trail. He wanted to go back, and started side-passing down the pavement
even while I had his head cranked in the other direction (those trainers
are right; you don't want to control the head, you want to control the
FEET, and at that moment, I didn't have that!)

Of course I won in the end, and scrambled him right up a grassy bank
(about 30 feet away from the trail I'd aimed for initially) and Mr.
Crabby switched his tail the whole time, and had his own ideas about
which trail to take. If I'd had my spurs and whip, I know he wouldn't
have been quite so full of his own ideas, but oh well.

Got to the next dirt road and we did some trotting until the pain became
excruciating (yep, good time to stop posting, when the ankle pain is
"excruciating"), then more walking, and we tried cantering a bit, which
didn't hurt my ankle one bit, but either the horse was sore and didn't
want to canter on the hard-packed dirt, or else he was being a petulant
little snot...I'm leaning towards the latter.

Saw another dead, half-devoured deer in the ditch, lovely lovely. Coos
was worried about it (I imagine he could smell it even if I couldn't),
but no further issues. Into the woods for a nice, relaxing, slow,
funereal shuffling walk. I swear, even with my limp, I could walk faster
than that horse! I bet he was a civil servant in a previous life!

Made it one of my favorite stream crossings and we just relaxed there a
few minutes. I fed the horse apple slices & just enjoyed the quiet and
the burbling of the stream. When we finally turned around I expected a
different horse!

Wrong! Same ole' shuffling mope even on the trip home! The few times I
tried to trot him he'd only oblige me for a few yards before shutting
down again. Truthfully, the way my ankle was screaming, I wasn't much
for trotting anyway. Maybe I should have used my English saddle, but I
don't know if I would have stayed on during that sapling-spook-fit!

Heading back along the paved road I noticed a real estate sign in front
of that patch of woods with the clear-cut swath we'd come through! Hey,
that's great, that means the original owner (who bought it from the
State of Michigan, grrr) won't be making a subdivision after all!! And
the way Michigan's economy sucks, I doubt it'll sell any time soon
either!! When I got home I looked it up on the web...lol...42 acres of
hardwoods...$550,000.00!!! YOW! I do doubt it'll sell any time soon!!

We got back to the barn 2 hrs & 45 minutes after we'd left, a trail ride
that used to take me and Tezlu 2 hours, if that.

Today it's sunny and dry. Today I think I'll drive!

Whip It! Whip It Good!

Sat Nov 3, 2007

Stopped at the barn last night on my way home from work, & the horses
were still outside. Not wanting to be trampled by that big stupid
chestnut gelding again, I took out my LONG quasi-driving whip (it's
yellow fiberglass, around 4 feet long, got it on eBay along with my real
driving whip). Bob still hadn't fixed the gate "for real" (although he
told me he was going to). Instead the top is tied to the post with a
lead rope (instead of being set on its hinge like it should be). It was
also crowded with geldings on both sides. Coos was standing a bit to the
side as usual and saw me coming.

I had two ponies and a QH in my way, so I took the whip and just whipped
it (duuh) through the air, and it made a WONDERFUL high-pitched whipping
sound. Those horses turned tail and RAN back up into their pasture, heh
heh. The horses on the other side of the gate backed away from the gate
sort of worried-like. I managed to get the gate open, and closed, they
started crowding in again...WHOOOOSH goes the whip! Again, I was just
whipping the air, never got near actual horseflesh, and those geldings
all turned and hurried away. Quzqo flinched a bit, but again was "you
don't mean that for ME, right?" and stayed put, lol!

Got him haltered, the horses started crowding back up...and again I went
after them with the whip, even hit one (not THAT hard) in the chest (he
was wearing a blanket, so it didn't hurt him, it just made a good loud
noise!), those guys turned tail and RAN! LOL! Cleared 'em out totally!!
Coos was a little worried, but when I got him on the other side of the
gate I let him sniff the handle and rewarded him with a piece of apple.
He, of all horses, should be used to whips by now, what with all the
whip-based clicker-training I've done!

That was nice though...horse-free maneuvering through the gate
area...kinda refreshing!

Oh, I found out why that chestnut gelding is such an ill-mannered lump.
He's owned by Bob's wife! She rides maybe once a month and doesn't do
ANY day-to-day handling of the horses. No wonder he has no manners! Grrgh!

Today appears to be dawning a clear, sunny day. Hopefully there's a nice
trail ride in my future...assuming nobody comes up lame like last week!

Fix The D@mned Gate!!

Oct 30, 2007

Sometime between Wednesday and Saturday the gate to Quzqo's pasture came
half off its hinges, and it's swinging by the lower hinge...barely.
We're talking a full-sized stock fence panel, maybe 8 feet wide, VERY
heavy, and only with one hinge. If you're careful you can pick it up and
walk it backwards and set it back on the ground (or go through and bring
it back to the closed position and chain it to the post). Bob was off to
Minnesota all weekend (some big horse sale), so it's understandable why
it wasn't repaired. Nobody was around to help me lift it up back on its
pins or I would have given it a go.

Well, tonight I stopped at the barn after work to make sure the horse
wasn't limping (he wasn't), and the gate to the big pasture was shut,
locking those horses into the back field. The broken gate to Quzqo's
pasture was shut, and a boarder's Paso Fino was wandering around in the
holding area for both pastures. Don't know why he was locked in there,
maybe he's on a diet, I don't know.

UNfortunately the geldings in Coos' pasture know when it's getting near
dinnertime, and they ALL were hanging by the broken gate, Coos was
standing a little ways off to the side, but when he saw me coming he
maneuvered himself into the midst of all the big QHs and Paints and TBs
(well, one TB) to get closer. I managed to drag the gate open and got
in, and dragged it shut and proceeded to flail away at the stupid brown
horses trying to crowd in. I had a rope halter with me, which is
SUPER-SCARY & cleared a path for Quzqo to come forward through. I got
the horses shooed off, Coos came up, I dragged the gate open, hoping
he'd walk on through...of course he wouldn't, GRRRGH (NOW he decides to
be well-mannered), so I was about to drag the gate shut and go put the
halter on when this big dumbass retarded QH comes BARGING right past
Quzqo and nearly SMASHES into me, shoves backwards against
the post (all I could think of was: A) Breaking my leg again and B)
Electric fence wires by my face) and barges through the gate and into
the holding area! OH, did I say bad words and very loudly!!! I went back
into the pasture and flailed the halter around, cursing loudly, scaring
the shit out of the remaining horses who buggered off...Coos jumped away
but came right back up, like, "you're not talking to ME, right?? It's
those other horses you're telling to eff off??" I got the halter on
him, my hands were shaking and I was near to tears with fright because
that big brown bastard did seriously shake me up! He's a huge
chestnut with no manners, is all over you whenever you go into the
pasture...I did not appreciate that back when I was on crutches out there!

Got Coos out, got the gate shut & chained back up, the big QH was busy
sniffing the Paso's butt, and neither one acted like they were about to
kill each other, so I figured "screw it" & left them. As I said, it was
almost dinner time so somebody'd be out to bring them in. Got my horse
in & spent some quality time brushing him and just trying to calm myself
down. I don't mind being smashed by my own horse, but when it's some
OTHER horse...that's different.

Guess I'll just have to remember to carry a whip out there with me in
the future, get some respect into those idiots one way or another. Most
of the geldings are afraid of Quzqo AND me, there's three dominant
horses that don't take either of us seriously (two of them I've seen
chewing on Quzqo's face and neck...of course he stands there and takes
it, grrrgh).

I left a big, terse note on the blackboard for somebody to "please" fix
the gate. Considering I just paid my board, I'm in a particularly crabby
mood...I'm not paying $300/mo to have to wrestle gates and be trampled
by ill-mannered horses thank you very much!

Never Mind

Mon Oct 29, 2007

Quzqo is fine today! What a maroon! Okay, he DEFINITELY was limping
yesterday, but not today, so...whatever, lol! Thank goodness! He's too
young to be limping...until I think of my friend's Paint mare w/the torn
knee ligament at age 4...

In fact I even rode him this afternoon, just a short trail ride around
the property and into some woods. I had already taken Neezer the Corgi for a 3/4
mile "educational" walk, and I had to hike another 3/4 mile round trip
to catch the horse and bring him back in, so my ankle was calling me
names, so a short ride.

I'd forgotten to put on spurs, and I'd dropped my whip in the arena (and
wasn't about to dismount to pick it up again), and I had the bitless
bridle on, so I was pretty much a useless sack of taters for the horse
to totally ignore when he wanted to graze instead of move forward,
ARRGH! We did do some trotting, as I figured any lameness would show up
at the trot. Nothing, he did fine! We had a little disagreement (ha!) at
the property edge. I wanted him to walk away from the barn just a few
feet to make a point, he wanted NOTHING of the kind and proceeded to
BACK up the hill behind us! We made about 50 feet backwards before he
gave up and walked forwards and actually left the property for maybe 10
feet before I turned him around and we went back. At least he's good at
backing!

Pleasant enough ride through the woods, the fall colors are over &
laying on the ground, but it smelled nice and leafy and the sun was
shining, can't complain.

I think next time I'll dope myself up on Ibuprofen before heading out,
these 30 minute rides are annoying me! But at least the horse is fine!

A Day Without Worry is Like a Day With Sunshine

Sun Oct 28, 2007

Quzqo hurt himself yesterday. GRRRGH! Went out to the barn
mid-afternoon, it was rainy, 45 degrees with gusty winds, all the
geldings were huddled together looking unhappy. Quzqo was standing oddly
with one hind leg sort of splayed outward, and when I got the halter on
him, he didn't want to move. But he did, and was moving VERY strange,
very slowly and hesitant.

Got him inside and on the level floor of the aisle I could plainly see
he was limping front AND back! It appears his left shoulder/elbow and
something with his right hind. WTF! There was no mud on him, so he
didn't fall down. I did find a small fresh bloody wound on his left
forearm, but it's just a scrape, and nothing on the hind end. *sigh*

So, put him in his stall with a flake of hay, & went home. Came back in
the evening, he did NOT want to leave his stall. Balked right in the
doorway, which is VERY odd for him. But I got him out again and walked
him to the tack room. Still walking odd and a limp especially on the
fore. No swelling, nothing hot, it's definitely his shoulder/upper arm
though. Great. Hopefully a good night's rest will help.

Yeah, I'm over-reacting, because his limp is about as severe is mine
(i.e. not very), but after dealing with Tezlu's infirmities for so many
years, I'm pretty hypersensitive about the least little thing! Wish I
had some Bute to give him, but Bob was out of town & didn't find any in
the barn's "medicine shelf".

Who knows what the hell happened, *sigh*. Just as that hematoma on his
throat heals up, something else has to happen. That horse isn't happy
unless he's bleeding or swollen somewhere!!

A Momentous Occasion!

Wed Oct 24, 2007

Last night I was able to get up on Quzqo using the mounting block!! No
chair, no stacked-up chairs, just the regulation mounting block! Huzzah!
And it only hurt a little bit!!

Coos was an absolute slug, he must have had a busy day to get himself so
worn out (it was lovely yesterday...cool, sunny, breezy, probably lots
of excitement in the pasture). Little shit nipped me in the arm when I
was getting ready to return him to his stall, he got a smack in the
chest for his trouble. I had planned to "kill him" for 15 seconds like
John Lyons recommended, but that smack in the chest had him almost
bouncing off the ceiling in wild-eyed terror, so I left it at that, lol!
I don't mind being lipped, but I felt teeth, and that's where I draw the
line!

Bob told me there's a new boarder coming in in November, moving up from
Kentucky!! And she has a pair of horses, and asked him if he knew anyone
who drove! I guess she wants to train one of her horses to harness, and
of course he mentioned me, LOL! Yeah, well, I can help only if the horse
is Quzqo-good about it. I did ground-drive Coos yesterday before getting
on (harness reins run through stirrup irons), but that walking on the
uneven arena footing just about killed my ankle, so that didn't go on
for too long. Happily it didn't hurt while I was riding (only when I got
off and back on the ground again, lol!)

Quzqo is finally losing weight, I felt ribs at long last! Me too! Hope
the weather's half decent (i.e. not raining) this weekend, I need a
trail ride while there's still some color on the trees!)

Cutthroat Competition in the Pasture

Tue Oct 9, 2007

Somebody bit Cusco's THROAT this past weekend, he's got toothmarks on
one side of his trachea and a golf-ball-sized hematoma right near the
top on the front. I wish they'd cut it the heck out! (er, the behavior,
not his throat!)

A Grand Day Out

October 7, 2007

The weather here in Northern Michigan has been RIDICULOUS this weekend! It got up to 88 degrees yesterday, 87 degrees today! TOO hot to ride the horse...the last thing I wanted to do was put on long pants and boots and sit on a 102 degree furry animal!

Gee, it's a good and lucky thing I trained the horse to DRIVE, isn't it?? ;-)

Also lucky the weather was so warm that Quzqo was sort of draggy...poor thing is growing in his winter fur, I doubt he was thrilled with the temps. Luckily there was a good breeze blowing, it helped keep the stuffiness down.

The barn was desolate today due to the High School Equestrian Team Finals being held downstate...that took out most of the teenagers. There WAS a Pony Club meeting being held however, and their project was to do a "Barn Safety Treasure Hunt", so there were about a dozen kids running around the barn, checking the safety of the stalls, the feed room, the fences, the pastures, etc, etc. I chanced to hear them when they were checking out Quzqo's stall, and I guess he got extra safety points for having a salt block in there, LOL. Yaay me!

Inflated the tires of the cart back up to where they should be (I might invest in a set of tubeless tires this winter), brushed off the amazing amount of dust, cobwebs and manure (HOW manure got on my cart I'm VERY curious to know...it's only been 2 weeks since I used it!!) & wheeled it down the aisle, then got the horse. Harnessed him up w/o incident (that's a miracle right there!), got the cart hitched up & down the aisle we went to the outdoors. Thankfully the OTTB who had been stall-bound due to an injury has healed and was outside, so I was able to lead Quz right down to the door w/o worrying about upsetting "Memo" in his stall. A teen was grooming her horse in the aisle across the arena, and I heard scampering hooves on concrete, so I don't know if the mare spooked at the horrific sight of a horse and cart or not, I was too busy trying to make sure we made it out the door without catching the doorjam with a wheel!

Was able to get in without incident (that's also noteworthy, if you'd witnessed my previous attempts with Quzqo ready and rarin' to GOGOGOGOGO!), and awaaaay we went!!

Ended up heading down the county road to the same quiet residential side road we drove down on Labor Day weekend (I was feeling daring). Quz did very well, but traffic was VERY light...late Sunday afternoons are like that. Once we got to the side road, he decided he'd try to duck down every driveway that came by, the little turd! Every driveway on our right which was also the direction back to the barn! We had a few discussions on the matter, but it wasn't really resolved until we ran out of driveways, he gave a big sigh and resigned himself to walking forward.

I'd tied his tail up in a mud knot, hoping THAT would keep him from trapping the reins in his butt crack, but he was so pissed at having to be driven (and leave his precious barn) that he was switching that tail like an angry cat, and the knot soon came out...after half an hour he just had his lonnnnnng braided tail swishing around like a bullwhip! But I found if he'd swished it so that it landed by my feet in the cart, I could put my foot on the end, and that trapped it enough that it couldn't catch a rein, LOL! One of these days I'll figure something out...maybe just trim his tail right below the bone! The rate he grows hair, it'll be dragging in the dirt by spring!!

VERY peaceful and relaxing drive down the road. A few folks were sitting in their front yards, also relaxing and enjoying the weather, so I imagine they got a treat seeing a horse and cart go by. The trees are about 75% colored up around here, so that was gorgeous to see, along with enjoying the SHADE and the light breeze. SO nice, I wished I had someone with me so I could have handed them the reins and I could have taken a nap, lol! Clop clop clop clop clop clop.

Eventually the pavement gave way to dirt as we entered the State Forest, and once we got off the washboard portion, I got him into a trot, and he trotted SO nice!! Despite the previous tail-cranking, it's obvious Quzqo enjoys driving, and especially trotting and driving!! We just flew (in a relaxed, pleasant fashion) down that dirt road, with a canopy of autumn colors overhead, and a balmy 85 degree breeze wafting over us! It smelled like sweet fallen leaves and woods and the occasional horse fart. We met a few vehicles, but luckily the road is wide enough that they passed without incident.

Got to the intersection of dirt roads where I'd turned around last time, but since things were going so well...well, you know me...gotta push the envelope! We turned left and headed down the single-lane dirt road to the trail camp.

THIS was interesting, due to many blind corners and blind hills, and with the wind blowing, it was almost impossible to hear oncoming vehicles. THANKFULLY we only met TWO vehicles as we drove towards the trail camp, and THANKFULLY both times it occured near a wide spot in the road (they deliberately built these "pullover spots" every so often so if two cars are coming at each other, one can pull off to the side so the other can pass), and I was able to pull Quz over and wait. Of course the goober just HAD to spook both times, but thankfully it was in-place and I kept his feet moving forward as soon as possible so he wouldn't have time to think of more things to do.

Got a LOT of trotting done on this road...made poor Quz WORK his butt trotting UP those hills boy howdy yes! He was getting sweat spots under his breeching (as that's all I could see, lol)!

We were approaching an earthen dam when suddenly a mountain biker pops out of the bushes and turns down the road! Scared both the horse and I out of a years' growth! Thankfully Quz and I both spooked "in place", and a little whip-aided cajoling got him moving on.

We made it to the earthen dam by the campground...a spot that I've always had trouble with him under saddle. Silly me, thought it'd be different in harness. Nope, he spooked, balked, and basically acted silly, but not as silly as under saddle (thanks to the blinders I suppose) and luckily there were no fishermen or it wouldn't have been pretty! Got across the dam and into the campground...made it as far as the sign, then turned around, since it was a very narrow curvy road full of blind corners & judging from the vehicle traffic previously, I didn't want to meet anyone on THAT particular little road.

Met another mountain biker coming out of the campground, nice lady, said "hello" as she went by. Quz sort of gave her the hairy eyeball but didn't spook. He knew he was heading home, he was on a mission!!

We got to trotting again, UPhill (work it, fat boy, work it!)(He HAS lost weight since I started driving/riding him, FWIW...lots of space between his barrel & the shafts this time!), it was SO bloody FUN just zipping down that nice dirt road, the trees all around, nice and comfy temperatures...we're trotting along towards this blind corner, so I slowed him down...Just In Case...I had a "feeling"...we approach the corner...BAM, here comes this white mini van BLASTING around the corner (well, relatively "blasting", maybe 30 mph). Thank GOD the woman slowed down...it took her quite a few seconds while I was halting Quz and trying to get him to the side of the trail (which was a high dirt embankment, nowhere to go really)...I suspect it took that long for her brain to figure out just what she was seeing, which from her point of view might have been a riderless horse in the road.

Bless her heart, she pulled over to the side of the road, and allowed Quzqo and I to go past, and she apologized, which wasn't necessary, but nice all the same.

Bad thing was, Quz spooked so badly that he broke his overcheck rein! Snapped the leather piece that held it to the saddle! So there he was, with the overcheck rein flopping around by his head...he didn't care, and there wasn't anyplace for him to graze, and I knew he wasn't about to start bucking, so I didn't worry too much..wasn't about to get out of the cart and unbuckle it either.

Pleasant enough drive back to the barn, the horse did VERY well once we got out of the State Forest, even did some trotting along the county road! He was a sweaty little horsie when we got back to the barn, LOL! GOOD! He needs it!

He got a quick hose-off and then tucked in his stall for the evening with a nice bran mash and his hay. God, that was fun though. Next weekend the colors should be at their peak...we shall see!

Who Needs Physical Therapy

Who needs Physical Therapy! Today the horse was WAAAAY out at the farthest point of the pasture (3/8 mile hike one way)(uphill). Took me a long time, and my leg was screaming "Glory Hallelujah" by the time I got to him, & took about as long to hike back to the barn (didn't help that he kept wanting to stop for snacks). Brushed him up & then hobbled down to the round pen, where he did NOT want to go inside, but he did eventually.

Ended up free lunging his butt maybe 15-20 minutes in nice, deep, energy-sapping sand, but he was just trotting and cantering all on his own, I even sat down and let him run around me (horribly unsafe and frowned on by all horse professionals, so don't do as I do, do as I say, lol) until he tuckered out on his own. Then a nice break for the only green, lush grass on the property (growing near the wash rack, so it got plenty of watering!) before stripping him of his splint boots and letting him back out into the pasture. He flung his head prettily and stalked off w/o a second thought. Fine, be that way! Harrumph!!

I'd managed to squeeze my foot into my running shoe, which was the cause of my pains (swelling foot + tight constricting shoe = misery), but now that I'm back in my fake Crocs, all is well again.

The place was pretty desolate today...the county fair starts tomorrow, so I guess all the 4-H kids were at the fairgrounds, decorating the barns, & Bob took a trailerload of horses downstate to a horse auction (where he is also picking up a new Corgi puppy, & offered to get me one for the bargain price of $450, yikes!

Lovin' my pretty horse, even if he is an arrogant prick at times.

I've Been SO Naughty Again!

Tue Sep 4, 2007

My surgeon might even give me a spanking, lol! (Hey, he is so easy on the eyes, it wouldn't be a bad thing, BWAHAHAA)

Yes, I rode Coos yesterday! Bad me! Treeless saddle, bitless bridle, witless rider, but all went quite well! I stacked up four lawn chairs (those resin ones) & used that as a mounting block, so it was about 6" taller than the regular mounting block (I SO missed the REALLY TALL mounting block they used to have when they did therapeutic riding there), and after some initial wiggling and horse-positioning, I was able to get right on him w/o him tearing off (thanks to cranking his head to the left so he couldn't go anywhere...if I learned ANYthing this year, that's the best thing!)(That, and don't let a lead rope dangle on the ground when changing halters at a horse show)

Of course he was good as gold, yadda yadda, but better still; I was able to bend my ankle enough to actually get it into the stirrup, and IT DIDN'T HURT! WhooHOOO! Well, not initially anyway. We even did some trotting... a sitting trot, obviously (not up to trying to post just yet, not until after my appointment tomorrow).

Quickly bored with going around and round, we got the gate open and went outside. I just let him do some grazing, it was wonderful to just sit on his back after nearly 4 months! We even made it down to the outdoor arena and walked around that. He was being very cautious, which surprised me...staring at this, halting and snorting at that...cripes, he was in there a week ago...THEN it dawned on me...he was in there a week ago...with BLINDERS on! Duuuh! LOL! But he behaved and didn't kill me, and we ended up back indoors for some more trotting. About then my ankle WAS letting me know it was still there and I wisely called it quits. Didn't suffer any lingering pain, so I'd say no harm done!

Was SOOOO tempting to want to go on the trail, just for a little bit, but I know better than THAT. If I get the green light from the surgeon, you can bet I'll be on the phone, organizing a trail ride for this weekend!!

I Cantered!

Thu Sep 20, 2007

It's truly amazing how fast my ankle is healing now (like the Surgeon said it would!) A week and a half ago I couldn't post at all due to the pain, and as of last night, I can post all I want w/o ANY pain whatsoever! Getting the foot in the stirrup is still a chore, because it's hard to bend it inwards to pick up the stirrup with my boot toe, but once it's settled, no pain (and no numbness assuming I do more than just sit there)!

Rode the horse last night, and he was in an unusually friendly and cute mood. He wouldn't let me get on him though...waiting until I was standing on my stacked chairs, THEN swing his butt away from me! I'd get down, walk him around again, get him in position, get up the mounting block and onto my chairs...THEN he'd swing his butt away! I finally got down, took the reins (soft rope reins on my bitless bridle) and fwapped him across the chest and moved him backwards!! Brought him back, put him by the chairs, and lo and behold, he stood rock solid for me to get on, lol! I love it when he's so easily "persuaded" to behave himself!

Did a lot of trotting, and the lack of pain made me brave, and got Quzqo into a nice canter...he did beautifully! I think that deep new arena footing helped because it sure was soft and non-jarring. Plus he had to pick his feet up higher, heh heh. Cantered both directions, NO pain whatsoever, and we even made it all the way around the arena without breaking gait!

Only rode for half an hour or so, didn't want to press my luck. Of course when I dismounted, THEN my ankle let me know what it thought of all that nonsense, ha! Stupid ankle!

The Way To Measure The Success of a Trail ride...

Sun Sep 9, 2007

Is to count the leaves stuck in your tack when you get back to the barn!



Yeah, I did it! I went on a trail ride this afternoon, yaay me! Went with a relatively new boarder to the barn, a nice lady, my age, with an ADORABLE little QH mare (that Bob sold her)...bomb proof, easy-going, sweet little jog trot, the woman loves her! I was happy to be able to show her the trails, because she'd never been off the barn property, not knowing where to go.

She'd been at the barn for 3 months, but like I'd ever seen her, duuh. I guess I did a few times in my crutch-hobbling, but it's nice to be able to interact with folks again!

Quzqo was HELLISH! I had to keep reminding myself he hadn't been on a trail ride, or really even RIDDEN since May 11th. Never mind that yesterday I drove him for about 45 minutes, with lots of trotting in deep dirt in the outdoor arena (and he did VERY well). It's a whole 'nuther thang under saddle!!

I got to use my new Kimberwicke bit and at least THAT works great! Not as harsh as my cowboy pelham, but more kick than a snaffle! I rode Coos a little bit in the indoor arena to see how he liked it and how my ankle liked the stirrup of my trail saddle. The horse liked the bit, my ankle did NOT like the stirrup, but tough!

The fun began when I opened the arena gate and TRIED to get Quzqo to go out...trouble is, I only got it maybe 3 feet open, and didn't WANT to try to squeeze through that small a gap...I wanted to open it further, but SOMEbody wanted to go OUTOUTOUTOUTOUUUUUT!!! And SOMEbody was VERY displeased when I told him "no", we have to open the gate more! VERY hard to do on a prancing Arabian (I SO admire those trail folk who can negotiate the gate obstacles...truly I do! I'm the only one at the barn who can't do it!). "Lisa" went ahead and went outside the barn through the opening, I thought maybe I'd TRY to see if we could fit through there w/o smashing my left knee on a wooden post, but Quzqo wanted to RUSH through...no way...so I was trying to hold him back, the little shit was REARING and lunging and rearing some more, I pulled him in some tight circles, tried to get back to the gate to pull it open more, he REARED up and then BUCKED! LOL! I spun him around and made him walk AWAY from his beloved gate and go around the indoor arena. Oh, was he pissed, snark!

Lisa came back and managed to open the gate ALLLL the way open, so there was a nice 12 foot opening, & I made Quzqo STOP half in and half out until he settled down. He did, and off we went!

Yeah, my ankle let me know what it thought of all that nonsense, but nothing I couldn't handle. I was glad I had my helmet on my head, and a whip in my hand though!

I tell ya, it felt like May, 2004 all over again!! Seriously!

We did a little trotting on the fenceline away from the barn, I could sit that okay w/o jarring the ankle, that's good to know. No MAJOR spook-fits, just plenty of minor ones. I just reminded myself that the horse hasn't been on a trail ride since May 11, so it's understandable. The driving doesn't count, since he had blinders on, lol! I was tempted to go back and put his driving bridle on...that might be the way to go!

Thank God for Michigan's suck-ass economy and the bursting of the housing bubble!!!! That big plot of hardwoods that last spring was plastered with "No Trespassing" signs and surveyor's stakes and that was destined to become a housing development has been literally abandoned!!! All the "No Trespassing" signs had been removed, the surveyor's stakes were faded and fallen over, the big swath they'd cut through the woods for the road was grown over with Mullien plants and brambles...nobody'd been there in months! Hoorah! That means we could ride through there again, ha! (Yeah, I've got my priorities straight! Thousands are unemployed and broke, but *I* can ride through some woods, hoorah!))


We still rode along the roadside though on the way out, and no major incidents despite the cars & trucks that went by. Saw what was left of a road-killed deer in the ditch, that was kinda gross, but the horses didn't care.

Eventually we made it to the Michigan Shore-To-Shore trail (about half hour ride normally, 45 minutes with Quzqo) and did some more trotting and cantering on the wide, flat dirt road! LOL, poor horse had a hard time cantering, he's so out of shape...those cantering-with-rider muscles are all flaccid and weak!! I discovered if he takes his right lead, it doesn't bother my ankle at all. If he takes his left lead, it bothers my ankle...a LOT! (Yes, I tried both leads). So, have to remember...right lead only for a while! You wouldn't think how much your ankle is involved in riding a horse until one hurts it. LOL...I tried posting...didn't even get one post. Forget THAT nonsense for quite a while! Ouch!

We made it to my favorite little trail bridge that crosses a small stream, got over that and as soon as we turned around, the horses went nuts about heading BACK! Thankfully Quzqo is too out of shape to go galloping off, he settled for trudging up the hill, puffing as he went, LOL. He needs to turn in his Arabian Membership Card...he's a disgrace to the breed! A fat, puffing Arabian! Who ever heard of such a thing!! Tsky!

Coming back we cut through those afore-mentioned hardwoods, having to make a few little detours as they'd piled fallen trees across the trail to deter people from using it. Horses, being the ultimate all-terrain vehicles, had no problem cutting through the trees and going around. That's where I got those leaves stuck in the saddle, LOL! In fact I had a fairly long thin branch caught under my left fender and up through the leather keeper by the pommel, LOL! THAT took some doin'!

Made it back safe with no further harm done to horse nor monkey! My ankle was an odd combination of numb and screaming pain, my butt was VERY sore, my legs will be equally sore by morning I'm sure! But it was worth it & we're already planning to go again next weekend!!

Sure feels nice to be TIRED again!!

2007 Speckle Update Photos

Sept. 3, 2007
Definitely getting more fleabites, and getting lighter. I sure miss those cute dapples though.

Talk About Prophetic Statements!!!

Mon Sep 3, 2007

From nearly 3 years ago to the date:

"Well, when I'm totally crippled, I'll get a cart & harness & show him in driving classes, LOL!"

Quzqo Hits The Road

Sun Sep 2, 2007

And it didn't hit back!

Yep, a beautiful day for a Sunday drive! Mid-upper 70's, blue sky, low traffic due to the Holiday weekend, horse spent the night outside so he was tired, all according to my plans!

Got out to the barn this morning, happy to see the church parking lot full of cars...better they be in the parking lot than out driving about on the same road I planned to drive on! Got Coos harnessed up & hitched up in the cross-ties and managed to lead him down the aisle outside... trouble is we went past this injured horse's stall (somebody kicked him and tore a hole in his butt...it's pretty gross...I have a suspicion just which little grey horse might have done it too!)...that horse is TERRIFIED of the cart...never mind last time I lead Coos & cart past he didn't care (that was BEFORE we spooked him outside & he dislocated his mistress' finger & ran galloping off into an empty field)...Mr. "Memoir" cared this time & to have a 16hh TB trying to scramble up his stall walls in terror...yikes! (I checked him later and he was fine, no harm done!)

His owner is not enchanted with my driving pursuits, so... enough said.

Y'know, it's probably not the BEST conditions to drive when you've got 10-20mph sustained winds...just for future reference!

Coos was a little...um...excited, I had to lead him down to the arena so he'd stand still long enough for me to get in the cart, then I decided to drive him around the yard a bit just to get the edge off. Well, it seems a horse and cart is VERY interesting to the two horses Bob had in the side pasture...those big shits came GALLOPING up to the fence and started snorting and ripping back and forth. Coos apparently saw them galloping towards him (we were maybe 20 feet from the wire), and the goof spooks, spins 90 degrees and starts bolting!!! ShitShitShitShit!!! I managed to get him down to a trot (he only got like one stride at the canter) and quickly to a walk & got him organized again, and we walked back by those horses three or four times until all parties concerned settled down and got bored! Well, that answered a lot of "what-if's" I had in the back of my mind, LOL. Just glad he listened to me!

It's also not a great idea to leave the barn property using the driveway with the blind spot on the left caused by a huge bush growing about 30 feet away by the road. I SWEAR as we were approaching I didn't see ANYbody coming in either direction...it's only as we leave the drive and go into the road, and the horse is totally in the right hand lane and I clear the blind spot do I see a black SUV heading right for us!! ARRUGH!!! I quick popped Coos on the butt and got him trotting across the road to the other side & gave a friendly/sheepish wave to the driver, who HAD slowed down (I found out coming back that way that the driver had a much better view of that driveway and probably saw the horse before the horse even stepped onto the pavement). GAD, needless to say THAT has been haunting me...what if.... So...not using that driveway EVER again (hell, Bob's got four driveways, plenty of choices)

We walked about 1/2 mile down the road (very narrow shoulder, I hate it!), with TONS of traffic whipping past us! Of course, by that time it was after Noon...church had let out! Great! Thankfully everybody at least moved into the opposite lane to give us plenty of room, the really nice ones slowed down as well. One MORON honked his horn, but thankfully AFTER he'd passed...I hope he looked in his rear view, expecting to see a panicked horse, and got a good look at my upraised middle finger instead! Shithead. (the horse didn't react one bit, good boy!)

THANKFULLY we made it to the quiet residential street I'd aimed for and not only was traffic non-existent, the shoulders wide and grassy, but the trees cut the wind down to nothing! I tell ya, you could hardly hear the oncoming traffic for all the wind noise!

Coos did pretty good...he spooked in place a couple of times at scary blowing leaves. We made it past the TWH farm on that road (he had a traumatic experience with their stallion whose paddock was right on the road two years ago), & actually made it across the county line to a nice wide dirt road that leads to the State Forest & the campgrounds/etc. Soon as we hit the dirt I got Himself into a wonderful trot...a bit bouncy due to the rough road surface, but he just lowered his head and trotted SO nice! That was FUN!!! It got to be a bit woodsy, but no oncoming traffic, so I kept him trotting...suddenly he JAMS on the brakes and thankfully I had my feet braced against the front of the cart! He suddenly decided the dappled sunlight and shadows were SCARY! He was trying his darndest to give them the hairy eyeball and side-step (hard to do with blinders and a cart)...durn horse! I will say I AM getting better with the whip, and encouraged him to keep moving forward, thank yew very much! We got past that scary stuff and made it to a crossroads (right where Tezlu dumped me that time we were chased by dirt bikes), turned around and headed back. I'd have loved to go on to the camp ground, but there's SO many blind curves, it's nerve-wracking riding a horse with an elevated POV...it'd be foolish to do it lower and behind a horse!

Again he decided the dappled sunlight was out to get him, but we made it past the worst of it, and I got him trotting again, which he did with a LOT more enthusiasm since he knew he was heading HOME, LOL! I'll admit I had trouble slowing him down, durn thing, he was HAULING! Got him walking long before we hit an intersection, and was happy he actually stopped when I asked him (well, there WAS a stop sign, after all).

An uneventful walk back down the residential road (it's about a mile or so long)...LOL, as we went past the TWH farm, their herd of Walkers was in the front pasture (BEAUTIFUL palominos and duns!), and they went BERSERK at this horrific sight (horse and cart)! They were running-walking and snorting and carrying on...Coos didn't care, he was on a mission (to go home!).

The trip back along the main road to the barn was also uneventful, thank GOD! (I was prayin', you better believe me!)....wider shoulder, less traffic, and that's when I saw that the SUV driver had a lot better view of Bob's driveway than I thought, phew!

Brought Coos in the back door to the barn into a set of cross-ties, so we wouldn't have to go near Mr. Memoir and get him upset again, sheesh. I should hold a Cart Sensitivity/Desensitivity Training Clinic...Get used to it, horses!

Coos enjoyed his Sunday bran mash, he actually had some sweat this time, ha! But man, that wind was driving ME crazy, much less the horse! Won't do that again in a hurry (would have been just as nuts as if I'd ridden him on a trail ride). But he did seem to enjoy the trotting....as did I! I'm trying to figure out a route to the other dirt road I'd use for cantering (when riding that is)....unfortunately it involves more road driving, and going down a very steep (but unpaved) hill with a blind spot at the top. *sigh*. What I'd LOVE is if somebody would ride their horse with me, sort of as an outrider, but crap, everybody's horses are afraid of the cart (or they no longer board there, like my friend w/the Paint mare). Well, we shall see.

Best part was, we were out for about 90 minutes, and I don't have any blisters on my mahooky-doo, LOL!

The Sheath Cleaning Song

Got this from another Blog, but it's too good not to repeat:

To the tune of "If you're happy and you know it"...

If it's hanging and you see it lube your hands
If it's hanging and you see it lube your hands
If it's hanging and you see it
Grab it quick it's time to clean it
If it's hanging and you see it lube your hands.

If it's peely and it's crusty pick it off
If it's peely and it's crusty pick it off
If it's peely and it's crusty
and the smell is kind of musty
If it's peely and it's crusy pick it off

If his weenie has a beanie dig it out
If his weeny has a beanie dig it out
If his weiner has a beaner
Pull it out and he'll be cleaner
If his weenie has a beenie dig it out

Now he's happy and you know it wash your hands
Now he's happy and you know it wash your hands
It's a job that's kind of kinky
And now your hands are really stinky
But he's happy and you know it wash your hands.

Talk About Speckles!

Fri Aug 17, 2007

Snapped this picture this past weekend while I had Coos trotting in the
round pen!

Love those whiskers!

Drove My Horse...Again!

Tue Aug 14, 2007

Another beautiful evening, I was feelin' pretty good (comes from sitting on my butt all day at work & staying off the ankle, lol). Luckily Quzqo was in his stall when I got to the barn tonight, but he hadn't been fed, so he was Displeased. Gave him his 1/2 scoop of grain to shut him up, & when he was done, he got hisself a brushin'!

Judging from the way he was trying to dig a hole in the concrete of the aisle, I knew it'd be foolish/stupid/death wish to just tack him up right then and there, so he earned himself a trip down to the round pen & got his fat butt lunged for about 15 minutes in the deep, strength-sucking sand, ha! When he was slowing on his own, dropping his head and licking & chewing and looking at me with pleading eyes...I figured it was enough, & back to the barn we went!

THAT hike about killed me though, what w/walking through that soft arena sand & then going UPhill, gaah! So much for my ankle not hurting all day!

Even though there were quite a few people around the barn, I felt good enough to try an experiment. With Coos in the cross-ties, I harnessed him up (BIG surprise, he let me put the bridle on him w/o him kicking up a major fuss! He put up a minor fuss, but not a major one!). Then, with him still in the cross ties, I brought the cart up behind him in the aisle & hitched him up!! Once all straps were secure, and after moving a couple of chairs out of the way, I was able to lead him down the barn aisleway and out the end door, cart & all!

I'd already asked Bob's permission to drive him in the empty "Bad Boyz" pasture, & managed to get him out there. Bad thing was, the gal who does the evening chores was in the process of turning horses out for the evening into the "Cannonball Run" pasture, which is where Quzqo spends his days. Even though he couldn't see them w/the blinders on, he could HEAR them galloping off up the hill to the pasture, and he got rather upset and agitated, the little shit! He wanted to take off, spin, fuss, he crouched back on his haunches a couple of times & got a pop in the ass for his trouble. I hadn't even gotten IN the cart yet, and was in no hurry to do so until His Emperorness decided to calm down and behave!! He did only after I got him pointed away from the pasture & there ceased to be horses running around...then I got in the dang cart.

He did pretty good, the ground was pretty bumpy with plenty of ridges where old fence lines used to be, and we discovered the SCARY way that there are large critter holes dug in there (yes, he stepped in one & spooked himself, but he was walking slowly so no harm done). There were two strange horses up in my Farrier's ex-pasture (divorced y'know), and they freaked out of their brains at the sight of us, LOL! I don't know if they'd sold the house & that was the new people's horses, but they were NOT happy, snark! Ditto the residents of Cannonball Run, they were snorting and spooking and stampeding and blowing...which got Coos upset, but oh well.

After a while in the pasture, tired of dodging critter holes and dealing with Quzqo's temper tantrums (barn sour? herd bound?) we left the pasture & went out into the driveway, down and out onto the road, down to another driveway, around the side yard a bit, back out onto the road...it was getting towards dusk & the light was fading, so I didn't want to stay out there too long.

Led him back down the aisleway & to the cross ties & was able to unhitch him w/o a hitch! GREAT to know I can do this now! Poor boy was yawning & ready for beddy-bye, LOL!

What a good horsie!

I Was Naughty

Wed Aug 8, 2007

Naughty naughty me!

Went to the barn last night...and RODE MY HORSE! Bwahahahaaa! Strictly against Doctor's Orders, HA!! Luckily it was hot & the horse was tired (he was yawning while I tried to put his bitless bridle on him). My new Endurance/Trail Riding Shoes arrived, so had to put them to the test (could BARELY get my swollen right foot into 'em, but I managed!)

All went well until I mounted (using the mounting block). AUUGH! Didn't occur to me that putting weight on the bad ankle & pushing upwards might cause excrutiating agony, LOL! Yikes! No permanent damage done, other than my leg killing me the whole time I rode, which took the fun out of it. I couldn't even bend it enough to put it in the stirrup, so I rode stirrupless.

Coos was gooder than gold (of course), we just walked around the indoor arena, and I was pleased that he remembered such things as backing, lateral bends & turns on the haunches. The thought of trotting briefly crossed my mind but it quickly went away, replaced by fear, lol! I rode about 15 minutes I think, before giving up & found a soft spot near the gate to dismount. That worried me more than getting on, but I was able to slide off and land solely on my good foot, so no problems with that.

I think the horse enjoyed "doing something", why else was he so good! Happily my leg isn't killing me this morning (yet), so no harm done, and I got that out of my system & probably won't feel like doing it again any time soon, lol!

Drove my horse!

Sat Aug 4, 2007

Didn't plan to but gosh, last evening was SO pretty and calm and lovely, and the barn was just bustling with helpful horsepeople, and the Barn Owner even hiked out into the pasture to catch Quzqo for me (he couldn't, but Quz came trotting down to the gate on his own, lol), I figured why the heck not!

It went quite well, considering he hadn't been driven in weeks, and hadn't been "worked" in nearly 3 months, lol! My biggest mistake was attempting this at dinner time, although he did get to eat his grain & a few mouthfuls of hay before I dragged him out into the aisleway for work. Turns out my boy has turned quite barn sour these past few months, which is a little trickier to deal with when you're sitting in a cart behind the horse in question! No, no rearing, no spinning, just a few discussions between horse and driver (he discovered he can't spin when he's between a pair of metal shafts, HA HA HA)

End result was he earned himself a nice trot along the road UPhill for about half a mile, and Mr. FattyFatFat was workin', ha, even though the tires were fully inflated & it was good firm footing. I'm very pleased with him (I did drive him a few times around an empty pasture w/lots of hills before taking him out on the road), because he was totally oblivious to the cars that went by (not too many since it was nearly 8 p.m. on a Friday evening). He did look closely at the rumble strips on the pavement, but didn't even flinch when a car went over those same rumble strips as we were near them!

We turned around a hundred yards before the intersection with a major US highway & headed back downhill, and even though I was expecting SOME sort of display, he plodded on nicely as we walked past the barn and on down the road in the other direction (spooking the horses in the front pasture, heh heh). LOTS of cars going by, but they all gave us plenty of clearance, which says something for doing something "unusual" like driving a cart instead of just riding along the road. Plus the bright tropical print shirt I was wearing gave us plenty of visibility along w/the SMV triangle on the back of the cart.

Quz did SO well, & even had some sweaty marks when we finally got back. It wasn't as relaxing as I thought it'd be, what w/the higher-than-expected traffic and the horse in a pissy tail-cranking mood (can't think how many times he caught a rein under his tail, arrgh...need a taller cart!) but all's well that ends well!

LOL...when I came back from my drive and Bob was (VERY inexpertly) helping me unhitch the horse from the cart (I was surprised, because Bob does drive, but 4-wheeled carriages, not shafted carts...so he starts unhooking everything on the horse's right side and THEN the left side, and wanted to lead the horse out of the shafts w/the traces still hooked to the singletree, yikes!), this new Boarder and her daughter were walking from the front pasture (where their horse is), and the mom said:

"We want to know ONE thing....can Maddie (their horse) do that?"

Bob said "Any horse can do it, just some go faster than others!" lol!

Maybe I should start running driving-training clinics, make some moolah!

Thanks to the power of Motrin, I might just go out there this afternoon & put Himself in the round pen and work on a little ground manners & the like. I ordered myself some nice riding sneakers (okay, "endurance and trail riding shoes") and once those come in I'll see about actually getting on his back & doing some easy walking in the indoor arena. I can't wear boots because my ankle swells so darned much, I probably would have to cut them off again, lol!

The barn owner's little granddaughter was riding yesterday, and she commented that I had a cane! I told her I'd broke my leg, and she matter-of-factly asked "Then why are you HERE?" LOL...excuuuuse me, child! "Why even come here if you can't ride??" Ah, children...from the mouths of babes. So much for them to learn.

A Driving Ambition

Sun Jul 8, 2007

WhooHOO!

Yesterday evening I went out to the barn, and even though Coos was WAAAAY the hell out in the pasture, I managed to hobble-walk-hop on my walking cast all the way out there (uphill)...thankfully they'd mown the pasture, so it was easier for crutching! And also Thankfully, once I got close enough for him to hear me calling his name, Quzqo left his grazing and walked the 150 feet or so right up to me on his own!!

He got a carrot chunk for his trouble, and UNfortunately all his pasture pals saw him getting treats, and all 7 of THEM came downhill as well, and I soon found myself entirely circled by curious geldings! None of them are mean or pushy, just very friendly, which isn't great when you're on crutches in the middle of a field! I was worried I'd get knocked over, or somebody'd start a fight and hooves would start flying. That didn't happen, and with some well-timed crutch-waving I shooed enough horses away that I could escape and start back downhill, and THANKfully, Quzqo walked along with me! UNfortunately, all his buddies also came along, and one big minimal overo Chestnut was trying to get his nose in my pocket where the peppermints were! Hard to crutch-walk with that happening!

But, long story short, I made it down to the gate in one piece, and Coos was waiting for me, and I got him haltered, & we made it to the barn. My friend had shown up to help me out, and after Coos enjoyed some evening grain and a good pee in his stall, we brought him out to the cross-ties & I gave him a good brushin'!

Managed to harness him up by myself, as my friend had gone to get her TWH mare (I insisted, because I felt guilty for some reason). He was a little twitchy when I put the saddle on him & clamped his tail when I tried to put the crupper on, but by the time I got to the bridling, he was fussing and wiggling and ready to GO!

We got him out into the arena, and I held him while my friend brought the cart up, and we got him hitched up w/o incident (though the shafts are a tighter fit than they were 50# ago!!)(let's also say that I wasn't using the same holes in the harness that I was using back in May, HA! Fat Boy!!!). I hopped into the cart w/as much grace as someone in a walking cast could muster (I'm pleased I made it IN in the first place), and w/my friend at his head, we walked around the arena once before she tied the lead rope to the overcheck hook and away we went!

The bad combination of soft tires (my foot-powered air pump is still in my other friend's pick-up) and that ridiculously soft arena footing made it very hard going for Quzqo, so once I was certain he wasn't going to be nutty, we ventured outside!

He was gooder than gold!! We went around the driveway a couple of times, out on the ROAD, back up another driveway, around the side lawn, back out onto the road again, and pretty much just dinked around. The nice side pasture where I used to drive now has horses in it, so that's out, and the outdoor arena is such deep, soft sand, that's definitely out of the question. LOL, it was fun going by the front pasture where the summer camp horses are kept, because they were FREAKING every time we went by! Guess they hadn't seen a horse and cart before, ha! Good for 'em to expand their horizons!!!

Took him out on the road again, and a large white pickup was approaching behind us. I have the Slow Moving Vehicle triangle on the back, so I was street legal, and the truck slowed and moved into the other lane as it passed. For the record, Quzqo didn't even twitch an ear! What a good boy!!

He did spook/startle at Bob's corgi bitch, Lola, that emerged from beneath a parked car by the house, but she was more frightened than he was, LOL!

Finished up the drive by having my friend get on board, and drove her around pretty much the same route, even though the tires were very near flat under our combined weight (I need that air pump!!), LOL. I was pleased because I've invited her to go for a drive with me pretty much every time I saw her and she'd always declined (she's a rather, um, "careful" lady), and this time she accepted, and she enjoyed it immensely. She used to drive & had been talking about training her mare to drive, and I think this got her inspired! She's got a nice cart & harness already, so no reason not to!

Poor Coos has lost that tight, quarter-bouncing butt of his these past 8 weeks so he was workin' to haul for sure! But this'll help him get his buff physique back in no time! I'm really looking forward to taking him further down the road, which luckily doesn't get a lot of traffic in the evening (once everybody's gone home for the day).

Felt SO good to at least do that much, after all this time! and I'm SO proud that he settled right into it w/o any silly drama queen antics! I figured he wouldn't bee too wild after the 92 degree day we had yesterday!

For his reward he got a nice flake of hay & I found his Pony Pop (it'd been lost since the horse show), & he got to spend the night indoors away from the bugs. I'll have to head out there tonight because it's Bran Mash Sunday!

I'd mentioned to a coworker that I was hoping to drive Coos this weekend, and she got all worried and said "Do you think that's smart? What if he flips over or something?????"

LOL!

Thoughts on Firecrackers

Mon Jul 2, 2007

After telling myself pretty much all day yesterday that I was too tired to go to the barn, of course I went, LOL! HAD to see my boy!! It's an addiction I tell ya!

I about did a Dance of Joy when I saw he was already in his stall (it was around 7 p.m.)!! Hoorah! He'd pretty much eaten most of his hay, so he was amenable to greeting me at the stall door & about climbed on top of me to get his beloved peppermint. GAD he looks scruffy...inch-long whiskers, 2" long bridlepath sticking up, his nose is all scabby and peeling from the sun, he's got dark tearstains under his eyes, my poor, poor neglected boy!!

BUT...His mane is detangled! Still! I put more of that detangler in it & finger-combed it, with a finishing swipe of his body brush, and it's laying nice and flat, with an obvious short spot in the middle, LOL. Well, IF IF IF I were to go to any horse show this year, I'd braid it up anyway, so it wouldn't be noticible.

He was in a good mood, probably because his tummy was full (I've asked they cut back his hay & grain & keep him in all night so he's not out stuffing his face 24/7), & enjoyed scratchies on his chesticles where the bugs had been biting. He CAN behave! He CAN act civilized!

The highlight of his evening was the presentation of the Bran Mash! LOL...he acted like a kid on Christmas Morning! Luckily he still remembered his manners and backed off when I raised my hand, I didn't want to get trampled over a bucket of wet bran & molasses! Oh, he dove right into that bucket of goodness & ate & ate & ate and while he ate, I finger-combed his mane.

Haven't gotten up the nerve to harness him up, but he isn't ACTING goofy (remember my free-lunging attempt Saturday?). Trick is, finding someone to help me. Well, it was a horse show weekend, so it was pretty dead around the barn. I could harness him, but no way can I drag a cart. We shall see, maybe on the 4th.

Of course he wasn't acting the least bit goofy at that horse show either.

It's also close to the 4th of July, and there's the worry of firecrackers going off. But Quzqo is good about explosions. Last fall we were riding down a dirt road, and two guys were sighting in their shotguns about 100 yards to our right...they let off a shot and *I* about jumped out of the saddle! The horse kept on ambling down the road w/o twitching an ear.

Plus the barn isn't really near any houses, much less houses with kids or rednecks living in them. And I have no plans to go driving down the road into neighborhoods with both afore mentioned subspecies of humanoid.

Oh...here's something interesting: My friend with the Paint mare told me that she was grooming her horse last week in her usual spot in the aisle, when suddenly, without warning, HER mare suddenly spooked and swung her massive hindquarters around and smacked right into my friend, knocking HER off her feet, she hit a plastic chair and fell to the concrete floor!!

She didn't break anything, but has massive bruises on her leg, thigh, and torso! Damned horses!

The horse spooked because Lola, the Corgi Bitch, quietly hopped down off a bale of hay, LOL! Glad nobody got seriously hurt.

It's the stuff you THINK will scare a horse that they ignore, and something you wouldn't ever thing would be scary drives them over the edge. Heck, Coos about jumped out of his hide when that mare in the stall next to his boinked him in the butt the other day!