The Calm Before The Calamity

Sun May 27, 2007

Finally got around to downloading the pix from my digital camera today, including the pix taken by a friend at the horse show! Damn, we were lookin' pretty FINE (except for my biggish butt). This is the only shot she took where Coos was in proper position. Ah, I look wistfully at that strong, straight, unbroken right leg of mine, knowing that less than 1 hour after that was taken...Arrrgh!!!

Hey, I did get to the barn today! One of my friends drove me over there, she brought Coos in from the pasture, and I got to sit in my wheelchair while he grazed...granted I sat as far away from him as I could in case he spooked...last thing I wanted was to be trampled (again)!! We also managed to brush him (hard to do on crutches) and got him looking all pretty again, not like he'd been neglected for 2 weeks. We topped off the afternoon with a big, wonderful bran mash that he was about climbing his stall walls for, LOL!

Nice to see my boyo again. No major injuries, he's put on weight, and was in a very twitchy mood! When I get back on my feet, I'm going to have a LOT of work to do with him to get him back to earth, LOL! Dang, he a purdy boy though! I sure missed that horse-smell!!

Nice to have horse hair on my pants again, LOL!

(doesn't that arena look SWEET for a driving class though?? *sob*)

A Day At The Horse Show

Sun May 13, 2007

Well, yesterday morn bright and early Coos and I (and 3 other people and another horse) drove 2+ hours Up North to Gaylord, Michigan for the first in a series of 6 open shows held at the fairgrounds! We didn't even get lost like last year, only had a tire go nearly flat, not entirely (like last year), and had to go through a 17 mile detour, so we arrived 30 minutes after the show started. Good, I didn't want to do Showmanship anyway!

Of course only in the light of daytime can one truly appreciate just how many green spots and poo stains and pee encrustations one's nearly-white Arabian had accumulated during the night, even wearing a sleezy AND a day sheet...why, he even had green smears in his MANE and along his right cheek! That Cowboy Magic green spot remover does the trick...so did some of that blue shampoo...and finally, a light coating of French White Chalk over the stubborn parts!!

We won Pleasure Type Geldings! WhooHOOO! Of course there were only 2 entries, and one didn't show, so we won by default, but oh well, that's how Coos generally wins any halter classes, heh heh!

We got to go into the show-back for Overall Halter Champion...normally they divide it up by Stock Type and Pleasure Type, but not this show, so the one Arabian amidst a sea of Paints and QHs didn't stand a chance.

Then...PANIC TIME!! There was only a 15 minute tack change between the halter showback and Pleasure Driving! We RAN back to the trailer, I'd laid out the harness ahead of time, the cart was in position, my helpers were walking our way! I slipped the show halter off and put the lead around his neck, grabbed the black nylon halter...just that instant Coos put his head down to snatch some grass, stepped forward, stepped on the dangling end of the lead, pulled back and PANICKED...he reared backwards, smashing into me...I lost my balance, toppled backwards into the side of the trailer, careened sideways...I FELT my leg snap, and I hit the ground HARD...my hat flew off, my glasses too, and all I could do is lay there SCREAMING "FUCK FUCK FUCK MY LEG MY FUCKING LEEEGGGGG!!!"


Long story short, I've broken my right tibia and fibula in THREE places, and spent the day in the Otsego County Hospital, which luckily was right next door to the fairgrounds. They caught Quzqo and put him in a box stall, and my friend's Paint mare spent the day tied to the trailer with lots of hay and water, so they got to enjoy a lovely day of relaxation, I got to enjoy my first ever morphine experience, and my friend who, bless her heart, gave up her showing day to stay with me.

They were going to do surgery that very day, but that'd mean I'd have to stay 2-3 days in the hospital 100 miles from home...no thanks. Then they offered to arrange for transport to the local hospital...ha, can you imagine THAT ambulance bill!! (I hate to think what the 400 yard trip from the fairgrounds to the hospital will cost...they couldn't even start an IV because my veins are so tiny)(I should get a partial refund!). Finally they called the local hospital, and tomorrow (Monday) I go in to have this taken care of, and I got to ride home lengthwise in the back seat of a car, dozing in a lovely morphine haze.

Not in a lot of pain, with my temporary splint and Vicodan Rx, it's been a challenge to learn to use crutches (never had to use them in my 48 years!). My neighbor is taking care of the chickens for me, and my brother will take the dogs tomorrow & drive me in to town.

Mr.Quzqo has earned himself a 6 week or so vacation, the little shit!

I'm just SO damned disappointed that I didn't get to go into Pleasure Driving...that was a sweet arena up there!

O the Pain, the Pain, the Pain of it all!

Fri May 11, 2007

Had the bright idea of working Quzqo in harness last night in preparation for our Pleasure Driving debut Saturday (!!!!!!!!!!), but I didn't lunge him first because he "seemed" mellow..it was evening, he'd had his dinner, he stood quietly for brushing. I had that teenage twit girl help me hitch him up, OUTSIDE for the first time...seemed like a good idea, since we'll obviously be outside at the horse show tomorrow! He was a wiggly head-tossing hellion, probably because we were right outside the indoor arena, and he tends to be rather...um...er...energetic in that area due to all the horses and huge stacks of yummy round hay bales and other distractions. Plus we were on an incline, but luckily another boarder held the cart from rolling backwards, LOL!

Got him hitched, and I gave the teen a ride in the cart. I felt sorry for Coos because that girl is on the "big" side, and probably weighs close to what I weigh, and he was working as he hauled us along. Plus the grass is getting so high in the field that it made it harder to pull. But the worst thing was the no-see-ums and skeeters that were out! Coos is VERY sensitive about bugs in his face, it's almost impossible to ride him in the outdoor arena because he's so busy head-tossing and ducking and trying to avoid bugs in his face, he's more than once yanked the reins right out of my hands (not cool at the canter!). So the poor horse is hauling two fat butt humans through tall grass with bugs in his face! He was cranking his tail, which is now wrapped for the show, so he kept catching a rein UNDER his tail, LOL! It was interesting to say the least.

After I offloaded the girl I went back to the field to do some real work. Forget THAT! He was SO obsessed with getting away from the bugs he barely listened to me or the reins, and any trotting was at a downright unnerving speed...I was bracing my feet against the front of the cart like a harness racing guy! And the PULLING, yee gads! That's probably why my shoulders are KILLING me this morning, I have a sharp pain in my right bicep, and my right hand is numb, LOL!

Gave up on that sooner than I'd have liked, and we ended up in the driveway, where there were no bugs, and he calmed right down and became downright sluggish and mellow! Since it was around 7:30 p.m., there was little traffic on the road, so we took our maiden voyage out onto pavement! He did super, and the evening was SO lovely and warm and fragrant, with frogs peeping and birds chirping...I could SO much have just gone right on down the road for a lovely evening drive (if I'da had my slow-moving vehicle triangle on, I might have gone for it!).

A few cars did whiz past, and he didn't care one way or another! Probably just relieved to be away from the bugs and tall grass and having to haul two monkeys!!

So, at least we ended on a good note. My friend with the Paint was there, obsessing over her mare with some last-instant clipping, and she touched up Quzqo's trim job for me. All he'll need is a little whisker touch-up tomorrow morning and some face gloss on his nose and he'll be ready to go!

A hobbyist who lives in the town the show is at will be stopping by (hopefully), so I'm sure I'll get some good pix of us in action, or else catch the news footage on CNN, LOL ("Chaos in Rural Michigan Horse Show As Wild Arabian Crashes Into Crowd of Onlookers!")

But dayum, I'm majorly sore this morning...those little old ladies driving their horses around must have biceps like Aahnold!!

Kids and Karts

Mon May 7, 2007

My younger Niece came by the barn yesterday with ALL her kids, along with my nephew's wife and her little son, all looking forward to cart & pony rides!

Luckily the horse was still tuckered out from Saturday's workout, so he was gooder than gold the whole time! We ended up making around 10 trips around the side pasture (lots of hills), so he was TIRED, lol!

He stopped to pee, and when he lowered his tail, he swished it and caught my right rein and CLAMPED it down under his tail! Yikes! Took a bit to un-clamp the tail & free the rein, but I sure know why they docked harness horses' tails, LOL!

The two littlest boys (2 yr olds) CHASED us around the field, they so wanted rides, LOL!

A grand time was had by all!

$10 and 6 Hours

Sun May 6, 2007

My friend from the barn (w/the Paint) and I drove across the State of Michigan to attend the Northern Michigan Horse Expo (3 day event, but we just went Friday)...3 hours to get there through some GORGEOUS Northern Michigan landscapes. I've never EVER been to that part of the State, and it's beautifully WILD...no billboards, no cell towers, no power lines, just HUGE old trees and wilderness...we even drove through a little town that touts itself as "The Elk Capital of Michigan", and their Visitor's Center had a full body mounted Bull Elk in a showcase outside the building (poor thing looked a bit sun-faded, lol).

Of course the Expo was teeny tiny and pathetic compared to anything like Equine Affaire or Equitana or even the one in Lansing I went to in March, but still, the fact it was Up North was excitement enough. They had a pretty good vendor/shopping area set up in a practice hockey rink, and even though I THOUGHT I bought everything I thought I'd need in Lansing, of course I found more stuff, LOL! The neatest thing was one lady selling magnetic number holders for your show numbers! Super-strong magnets (decorated with silver & rhinestones) that hold the show number to your shirt or coat. I kind of balked at the $17 price tag for four little bling-bling magnets, but what the hell, and got a set with little pearls in the center (more subdued for Huntseat). Glad I did, because the woman SOLD OUT within 10 minutes!! There was another vendor selling them for $30/set! No thanks! So, I'm happy about that, and I just pray I don't lose 'em somewhere!!

They didn't have demos or stallions or exhibitions per se, just two trainers giving seminars...one was Ken McNabb of RFD-TV fame, and the other was Stacy Westfall (A 2006 "Road To The Horse" competitor). Despite the agonizing concrete benches and the COLD ice hockey arena environment, we sat through all 4 of their seminars (90 min each, YOW!), from colt starting to problem horses to more colt starting to Q&A. I learned a LOT, and my friend was ecstatic because she's been having horrible issues with her dominant/aggressive 9 month old QH filly at home! I took a lot of mental notes & could hardly wait to try everything out on poor Quzqo, heh heh.

Cripes, we didn't get back until Midnight, and had an exciting drive home which included seeing a Black BEAR standing on the side of the highway, and being detoured by cops due to a major accident and downed power lines!

Yesterday I tried out some of my new knowledge on Coos, and it all worked like MAGIC, including finally being able to lunge him to the right and him changing his direction with just me pointing (otherwise I had to walk up to him, turn him to the right, walk him in that direction, and THEN send him off, and he'd switch back to the left after a few strides because he didn't WANT to go to the right for some deep-seated phobic reason I haven't figured out yet). But after about 5 minutes of working with halter and stick-and-string, he'll shoot to the right whenever/however I ask!

I also used Westfall's technique to get Himself to stand still for mounting and NOT go walking off before my butt is in the saddle...mostly using flexing and bending and, well, keeping his head cranked to the left so he CAN'T walk off, LOL! It worked like a DREAM...three times!

Haven't tried their method for making a pokey lazy horse move his butt along yet, but that day will come!

Definitely worth 6 hours of driving and the $10 admission!

And my friend reported that she tried some of the lunging and desensitization techniques on her filly yesterday morning, and made GREAT progress, even so that the filly walked up to her, licking and chewing and stood quietly instead of charging with ears pinned!

It's so neat when the lightbulb goes on...in horse AND human!

Chaos At The Barn =8-@

Tue May 1, 2007

My (much older) brother was to stop by the barn last night with TWO of his grandchildren to ride the horsie. Not a problem, it's kinda fun, and since the kids will be moving out of state in June (due to Michigan's suck-ass economy, thanks, Gov. Granholm), it'd be a nice break for them instead of worrying about the move.

So I got to the barn early to catch Quzqo (who was about 3/8 of a mile out into the back pasture!!), let him eat some dinner, etc, so he'd be mellow and content and tolerant of kiddies. We-hell, the brother shows up...with FOUR kids! Can't just bring TWO from that family, have to bring 'em ALL (ages 4-9)! All but one had NEVER been to the barn before (mostly due to a feud between their mother and my other niece, which kept them away from Christmas Eves), so they were over-excited or terrified, depending on the kid. They were shocked at the size of the HUGE horse standing in the aisle way (lol, all 14 hands of Himself), at the SMELL, and the birds flying around, how the cat got up on top of the wall, at the strange noises horses make, LOL!

Poor Coos got brushed by the kiddies (I'd already brushed him properly, cuz kids never do it properly y'know), and he was in Full Emperor Kuzco Mode: "NO TOUCHING! NO TOUCH-ING!!!" LOL. He had his head as high as his neck would let it, his eyes were bugging out, and his tail was clamped right between his butt-cheeks, but he didn't kill anyone, so that's good. He also got some carrot chunks for his trouble, fed to him by terrified little children. The one young girl (I think she's 6 or so) didn't even want to come NEAR the beast until Grandpa finally convinced her (plus watching all her siblings having FUN feeding the huge child-eating animal), and she successfully gave the horsie a carrot chunk!

Saddled him up and each kid got to ride. Halfway-through my brother was talking on his cell to my other niece, and next thing I know, she'd dropped off her two oldest kids, so now there were 6 kids climbing the arena rails and running up and down shrieking and hollering (and my brother hollering at them). Poor Bob was finishing up the evening chores and he just left...lol...can't blame him! Probably hoped his barn would still be standing when we were done!

The little girl who was so terrified ended up riding Coos, and once she got on and we took a few steps, she was just BEAMING from ear to ear, and sat that horse like she was born to it! LOL! I couldn't keep her away once she got back on the ground!!

Surviving all that, I harnessed up the poor horse, who was about ready to snap with tension from all the kids and noise and inappropriate behavior (the one 5 yr old liked to stand in front of the horse and wave his arms around...)...never mind *I* was pretty jangled up myself...it's stressful enough harnessing a horse up alone, trying to make sure all the straps are "just so", but worse with kids!!

We got him hooked up to the cart safely, with my eldest nephew (10 yrs old) holding the lead rope for me (Coos is fine being hitched up as long as he has a human to slobber on while it's happening), and I drove him around a bit just to make sure everything was all right. Then we gave cart rides, two-kids at a time. They enjoyed that more than the riding, especially when I got him trotting, LOL! He did EXCELLENT too!

Think we got done around 9:30 p.m., GAAH, poor horse was yawning. The little girl who was terrified earlier got to lead him to his stall (actually he led HER to his stall, lol), quite the change I thought.

I'll make it up to him tonight, poor horse!

LOL, the 5 yr old boy pointed to Quzqo's sheath and said "What's THAT?" I said "That's his pee pee." and the kid jumped back a couple of feet with a loud "EWWWWWW!" Snark! Luckily Coos didn't display his entire pee pee apparatus I guess!

The little beggars saw me getting a peppermint for Coos, so they all wanted peppermints! The horse was astonished that all these monkeys were eating HIS peppermints, HA!

There was THE cutest damned scene and my brother missed getting a picture...one of the kids had some gum, and was distributing it to her siblings, and they were standing right in front of Coos...he had HIS neck arched and head down beautifully, trying his darndest against the cross-ties to get some gum too, ha!