An Encounter with Woodland Spirits

Haven't taken Quzqo out on the trails alone in, O, let's say a month or so. To say the weather this Fall has been crap would be an understatement. If it's not rainy and dark, it's windy, or it's snowing. Always on the weekends...and throughout the week, come to think of it.

But gosh darn, now the clock is ticking. In 20 days or so, firearm deer season starts, so the opportunities to go out and about are dwindling down to a precious few!

The wind and rain did a job on the fall colors...it's almost like Nature has turned into Seinfeld's Soup Nazi...snatching the beautiful leaves away, shouting "NO COLORS FOR YOU!". Nearly overnight, trees have gone from being a sickly brownish-yellow to bare branches. But at this point, any color is better than nothing, and even bare grey branches are best observed from the back of a horse!

I was a little concerned, since Quz hadn't been out by himself in so long a time. I tacked him up with the most secure saddle, breast plate, bear bells, our new Myler bit, whip and spurs and plenty of peppermints, ready for just about anything!

Happily he struck out with his usual apathy and leaden trudging away from the barn. I didn't get too much of a pouting Drama Queen display as we left the property, and we made it down the road without a single exploding spook or petulent refusal to move forward!

It wasn't THAT bad out, relatively warm (well, mid-40's are what passes for "warm" these days), with plenty of mud puddles to dodge. Quzqo had his shoes pulled two weeks ago, so he wasn't sore and trotted nicely down the dirt road. It was really quite nice, outside of the dark drizzley atmosphere and a feeling of impending doom.

Well, poopy...the trail we usually take through the woods, was now gaily decorated with fresh, shiny NO TRESPASSING signs! Crap crap crap!!! It's an 80 acre piece of property that's been for sale for around 7 years, nobody lives on it, they planned to make it into a housing development before Michigan's economy really tanked. Dirt bikers used to use the trails as well, but I'm hoping it's a temporary thing for hunting season. Of course by the time that's done with, there'll be two feet of snow on the ground, making it a moot point for riding!

Not like I haven't faced this before, so we just rode along the roadside up and around the property. When the traffic cleared, we zipped up a side-trail, ignoring the older NO TRESPASSING sign on a tree, and disappeared into the trees. Huh? What? did somebody see something?

Hard to sneak on a white horse, but I was glad I didn't have any Hunter Orange on, heh heh.

We enjoyed, guiltily, wandering around the trails back there, which was about as ugly and depressing as the rest of the area, moreso since the trees never really recovered from the tent worm invasion this summer. We crossed over into the property behind the elementary school, and walked around on the nature trails (relax, concerned parents, Quz didn't poop or pee the entire time we were in there, so it was safe for the kiddies).

Specifically, I wanted to go see, and get photos of....this:


I imagine it's some kind of art project....Hey Kids, let's do casts of your face and stick it to a tree, won't that be cool!!!

The first time we found this back there, I'll admit, it freaked the hell out of me. Seems a little too pagan for a public school project, little too New Age or maybe even Japanese mythology. Little scary dead-eyed faces stuck to trees!!

But no, they didn't limit it to faces, they had fun in art class, casting all sorts of body parts!


Grasping, reaching hands, and in the lower right, a frickin' TORSO impaled on a treetrunk!

Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen! (Pardon the blurriness, Quz was adamant we keep walking, no matter how I tried to stop him)

They are kind of cool, in a creepy, Blair Witch sort of way. Especially stuck out in the middle of the woods, a good 100 yards or so away from the actual school building. They've been there for years, and I've never noticed any new ones added. Maybe it was a one-time project. For good reason.

We made it back to the barn, with Quzqo saving his one major violent freak-out spook spectacular once we were back on the barn property and a few yards away from the driveway. I still don't know what he saw in the ditch, but it was pretty scaryfying, judging from his reaction.

Maybe we brought back one of those scary woodland creepies with us!

Solid!

One of the major minor annoyances I have with my horse cart, are the tires. They're basically oversized bike tires, much maligned and looked down upon by the hoi paloi of the Driving Elite, but hey, it's all I can afford, okay? But being bike tires, they tend to lose air, just sitting in the unused aisleway of the new barn, which means each time I want to drive, I have to bring in the bicycle pump and get the air pressure back up where it belongs.

Another annoyance is when I carry pretty much any passenger, the added weight causes the tires to squoosh down. Even if they're inflated to rock-hard, you add a payload of around 400#, and you're going to get squooshed tires. This makes it harder for poor Quzqo to haul us around.

And of course there's the constant fear tickling the back of my mind...what if I get a flat 4 or 5 miles from the barn? Granted I could always unhitch the horse and ride him back...what a comedy of errors THAT would be. I'd rather avoid it.

I've known for years that they make something called solid tubes for these tires. No inflation needed! And just so happens that the company where I got the cart from initially, American Cart & Harness, was having a big sale on them (partly, okay, mostly because they're going out of business, drat). I ordered a set, along with a fuzzy breast collar pad for the harness, and a little lunch hamper that hangs down under the cart seat. Who knows, SOME day I might actually go for a picnic, but hey, it was on sale!!

Unfortunately it turns out the tubes were out of stock, but the nice folks at AC&H found another source for solid rubber wheels, would I like those instead? Sure! They ordered them for me from the manufacturer, Nu-Teck, they were drop-shipped, and at long last, solid rubber wheels!

I ASSumed (and you know what happens when we assume...) that since the cart wheels were oversized bike tires, that a bike shop could install the new tires for me! I took them to a bike shop in town that I've done business with for 40 years or so (okay, so I haven't been there since 1985, but I bought a bike from them back then!), and left the wheels with the slightly skeptical repair dude in the back room.

Next day I get the call; they couldn't do it. Even with three strong men, they couldn't stretch the solid tires enough to get it up over the rim! Shoot!!! I picked the wheels up, and not ready to give up, drove across town to another bike shop. Can't hurt to try.

Well, I walked in with one wheel and one solid tire...the young guy behind the counter looks like I'd walked in with a rotten skunk, and outright says he's not even going to try, so sorry. Going to have to "decline".

I guess it's a testimony to my ignorance...I thought it was just a frickin' bike tire, but that's what I know. With our (very) brief discussion, it occurred to me that maybe I could take it to someplace that sells motorcycle tires...surely they'd have the equipment, and it's sort of like a small, thin motorcycle tire.

With renewed hope, I returned to work, but sadly, the guy I planned to ask where he gets his motorcycle tires mounted, had gone for the day. Well, crap!

Later that afternoon, with a spare moment, I did a little Googling. With that research, I found out why the guy at the second repair shop looked so crestfallen and repulsed when I walked in with solid bike tires. But happily, I also found out how I could mount those tires myself!!

My brother came by yesterday to till the garden and do some chainsaw work around the property, and since he had a web strap tightening tool, I enlisted his aid!

We ended up sticking the wheel over his trailer hitch, with the tires half-mounted on the rim and held in place with zip-ties. He ran a rope around the remaining tire, tied it to the tightening tool, and with the rim well lubricated with dish soap, managed to stretch the tire, and using a flathead screwdriver, eased the tire into the rim!

It was RIDICULOUSLY easy, the tires snapped right down into the groove, and look great! I'm half-tempted to call up both bike shops and give them a loud razzberry!

Took the tires back to the barn, put them back on the cart, and now I'm anxious to get on the road to try them out!! Of course the way the weather's been, that might not be 'til Spring 2010, but I know in the meantime, they won't go flat sitting there, waiting!

Just a Sunday Drive

Beautiful day today, temps in the upper 60's, the faintest breeze, clear blue Autumn skies (I know, Autumn isn't until Tuesday, but it had "that look" to it). Tuckered out from stacking firewood, the fact I wanted to drive the horse today was a given!

So instead of my usual long-winded blathering, how about a photo essay instead!!


My tack cupboard #1. Somehow I ended up with two tack cupboards, probably because I've got seniority (having boarded at Windsonnet since 1998...yow!) and I've just got so much junk....the price one must pay for owning the ultra-versatile Arabian breed...that's why I need three saddles, 6 bridles, 4 halters, and a harness!!

Sure like to know what the heck happened to my iPod Shuffle I THOUGHT I had left in a spare brush bag on the upper shelf...it's not there now, but my heart won't allow me to believe that someone stole it. I might have taken it home, but I can't find it there. Like locking the barn after the horses ran off, I have it padlocked now, but hopefully it turns up. Otherwise I hope the thief enjoys Bollywood music and Weird Al tunes.

Off to the pasture to get the horse. Happily Quzqo was already up front, waiting his turn to get a drink.


Playing peek-a-boo behind his buddy, "Bill" the Paint horse.

Bill never did let him get his drink, so I brought him out of his pasture and he was able to get a drink in the neighboring paddock. Gotta get a good drink before the workout he was in for!

Sophie the Paint mare watches from the other side of the fence. I remember when Sophie was foaled on the farm years ago...she's a couple of years younger than Quz. Sweet little pudgy gal!

Since it's Sunday, that's Bran Mash Day! Today's Mash featured a fresh, crisp, locally-grown Ginger Gold Apple, with a carrot and dried molasses mixed with the bran and water!


Bran Mash...Garrrrrrggggghhhhhhh

Quzqo is THE drooliest horse I've met (recently...there was a Thoroughbred back in the early '90's who'd drool his grain and leave puddles outside his stall). He just loves his bran mash, and slobber-drools ridiculous amounts!

Senior Corgi, "Lola", helps herself to some bran-and-horse-spit-spattered mash from the floor! Yummy!

While Quzqo was enjoying his mash and being brushed, they had a couple of new horses loose in the indoor arena, who didn't WANT to be caught. They were tearing around the arena, bucking and snorting and blowing, galloping and careening.

Quz was fine with that until one of them came up and stuck its head through the rails and tried to get at the bran bucket. Then Quzqo pinned his ears and started to swing his hind end towards the rails, ready to kick. That's when I'd decided he'd had enough (he was almost finished anyway) and moved him away from the rail and into the cross-ties for harnessing.

*Sigh* Time to work. Such enthusiasm.

But O, what a dapper lad once he was dressed!! No, I don't use the overcheck, it pisses him off, and he's fine without it.


I know some folks insist that hitching up a horse by yourself is dangerous and shouldn't ever be done, but I say it depends on the horse. Quz has become so blasé about the whole thing, it's simple to hitch him up while he's in the cross-ties, then lead him out the wide barn doors, cart and all. He stands good as gold while I get in the cart (now), and waits until he's asked to move forward. Usually.

We headed off towards new adventures, cutting across the barn lawn towards the road, avoiding the driveway where Carlos the Spaniard was mowing, and Bob the owner was sawing logs with a chainsaw. Yeah, I think we'll avoid that part of the facility for now:


Beautiful looking weather, eh?

Quzqo started his usual toe-dragging "I don't wanna leave the barn" act, but a bit of pestering with the whip on his butt got him moving at a brisker walk ("Feel the lash of my whip, horse!!")(Yeah, light fwapping on his well-cushioned behind, real abuse there). We were walking nicely down the roadside, I heard a motorcycle coming up behind us...no worries, it wasn't a big one -

SCREEEEEECH!!

For some reason I have yet to figure out, the motorcyclist JAMMED on his brakes a few yards behind me, so much so that I could smell the burning rubber, then accellerated rather shakily off, his bike stuttering and sputtering until he got it into gear (do motorcycles have gears? I assume so) and disappeared. Don't know what that was about, unless he was daydreaming and all of a sudden a horse and cart appeared on the shoulder of the road and he panicked. I thought we were visible enough, with the SMV triangle sign on the back, and I was deliberately wearing my bright neon orange "Club Gitmo" t-shirt, plus the horse is WHITE... Well, glad the guy didn't flip his bike and crash into us or something.

Happily, Quzqo barely twitched an ear. That's my boy!

For something different this time, we headed straight down the road, instead of turning at our usual intersection. We've never gone down that side of that bit of road. Traffic was nearly non-existent, so I felt safe enough driving in the right lane, not on the shoulder.

Down another residential street, where we came across a pair of Huskies in a fenced-in yard. The dogs were at the corner of their yard, standing stock-still, watching us. Quzqo saw them, and froze in his tracks, staring at them, ears pricked...ready to jump sideways. I urged him forward, he started to veer to the left. Yes, of course by that moment a car was coming towards us. Thankfully the dogs began to bark frantically...Quzqo went "Oh...dogs...okay", lowered his head and walked calmly forward!

Once he knew they were just dogs, he was fine. That's why I hate it when people stand frozen, not making a move or a sound so they don't "scare the horse", not realizing that that's exactly what DOES scare the horse. I always call a greeting, to get them to move or say something, so Quz knows they're just people and nothing to worry about.

We continued on down the unpaved portion of the road, and at long last, a photo of the scary redneck hovels on "Deliverance Drive" that I've mentioned in the past!

Scary broken-down singlewides, empty ramshackle hovels, a truly amazing compound that originated as a small travel trailer with little wings and rooms built on to it. Trash everywhere...no excuse for that, not with a recycling drop-off point maybe 1/4 of a mile away. Quzqo didn't do his normal spooking this time, maybe because nobody was home and hanging around in their yards to frighten him.

We did encounter "Killer" the Spaniel, but he only ran onto the edge of the road to bark at us. We were trotting past at a pretty good pace, and were by his property before he had a chance to get his scary, angry Redneck owner out there yelling at us.


Further down the road we once again encountered the Flags-And-Hockey-Sticks mailbox display that was the scene of much consternation a few weeks ago. Thank goodness there was no wind today, and we passed without incident.


At the end of the road it turns into a two-track into the woods. Things seemed quiet enough, and I knew where there were wide spots in the trail to turn around if needed, so we went on in!


There are a lot of surface roots making the road kind of bumpy, and I know further on there's some big dips, and a couple of hills with loose sand. My biggest worry would be what if we met dirt bikers, ATVs, or oncoming trucks or cars? There's very few places on the side that we could pull over to....if I'm just riding, it's easy enough to climb up the roadside and wait in the trees, but not so with a cart.

After about a hundred yards we came to a clearing, and being the cautions (coward) soul that I am, we pulled up in there and started to turn around. Quzqo began to be a stinker, and refused to turn, but tried to head into the trees, I got him 3/4 of the way around when I saw a glint of light to the right...coming down the trail was a huge red Dually pick-up truck!!!

Lord, I know You are watching over us!!! And for that I thank You!!!!

I backed Quzqo up into the clearing, well off the two-track, and the truck trundled past, filling up the entire roadway, a fat, old, pickle-puss of a woman at the wheel. She didn't even glance our way, I wonder if she even realized we were there!

Back the way we came, I, at least, was disappointed, as I'd love to drive that entire trail through the woods, as it comes out eventually at a paved road that loops around back to the barn. But not at the risk of meeting a Dually or worse!

Quz was happier than anything to be heading HOMEHOMEHOME, and trotted energenically back the way we'd come, past the Hockey-Flags, past Killer's house, past Deliverance Drive, down Reynolds Road back towards the barn.


You might remember the Great Forest Caterpillar Invasion of 2009... I'm sad to report that those trees that were defoliated by those caterpillars haven't really recovered:


Doesn't look much better than it did back in June. Sure hope those trees can survive the winter, I doubt they got much food stored up with no leaves.

Our shadow as we made our way home.


Back at the barn!

I deliberately parked my blue Forester off to the side, just in case I didn't make it back to the barn, and had to go to the hospital instead...this way it's not in the way if it had to sit there a few days.

Hey, I seriously take this sort of thing into consideration! Lessons learned in the past, believe me!

We were gone around 2 hours, a good drive indeed! Quzqo was suitably tuckered out, and ready for dinner!

Hurry, Monkey Slaves!!! I hunger for my grain!!!

The Latest Portrait

Took Himself for a little evening trail ride last night, the days are definitely getting shorter. We ventured off the property and down the road, into the woods, and managed to blaze a trail across an old road cut-out that had grown over, to find the nice trails behind the elementary school nearby. I brought a small can of florescent pink spray paint, and sprayed bright pink spots on the trees marking the entrance to the woods so it could be seen from across the 50 yards of blackberry brambles, wild lettuce, tree stumps and mullen!

Before we were halfway around the school trail (yes, I took care that Quz didn't poop on the pathway where school kids might encounter it!) I noticed it'd gotten darker...the sun was definitely setting, and Quzqo was more than ready to head home!

We made it home safe and sound, with the sun well below the horizon line. He was yawning as I untacked him, and I was ready for bed time myself (it was only 8:15, sheesh!). But I'd noticed how long Quzqo's tail had gotten, that it's now touching the floor!

So...
Says it all, I think!

The Frenchman's Blue Plate Special

You'd think that after all the hours under saddle Quzqo has endured this summer, he'd be rather blasé about trail rides. I'd taken him out in harness the other evening, and he behaved perfectly well, better than ever in fact! So one would assume (and you know what happens when you assume...) he'd be fine going out on the trail this weekend!

Got him all tacked up and headed out on a coolish late August Sunday, temps in the high 50's (August??? In Alaska maybe!), a good breeze from the north, sunny. They were cutting hay in the fields adjoining the barn property, and the local high school Equestrian Team was holding practice down in the outdoor arena. I rode Quz over near the arena and stood on a hillside watching the goings-on. He was very interested, standing rock-still, probably worried that his future involved going into that arena and running around in circles like those poor horses down there. Had to laugh to myself...two of the non-riding teen girls sitting by the arena turned and stared at us... rudely so. Were they thinking "what a beautiful white Arabian!!!" or "What's that old lady doing here???". I prefer the former, of course.

We headed out the driveway, avoiding all the trucks and trailers parked in the field below. Briefly were chased by a houseguest's Cardigan Corgi but he gave up because actually chasing a horse would mean work. Off into the field where they were cutting hay. Luckily the tractor was pretty far off, not that I think Quzqo would have issues with it, but I knew I shouldn't chance it.

Got him into a nice trot, and then into an awesome canter that quickly turned into a hand gallop up the hill. I rode one-handed, just giggling to beat the band as he flew up the fenceline and up the hill. The little bugger actually WAS hand-galloping! Cooler weather and exciting wind, and not having been ridden/driven for two days probably.

But he IS Quzqo and he petered out before we reached the top of the hill. Walked down and near the neighbor's horses, which now includes a mare and adorable foal, and an odd companion mare with a penchant for spooking and wild galloping, tail flagging, head high. She waited 'til we got close before she exploded and bolted around the pasture...Quzqo jumped sideways and attempted to spin to head back the way we'd come. I didn't bring my whip, but I did have spurs, and managed to get him back heading our original direction, and he marched past the scary fenceline filled with insane Quarter Horses into the open field.

Past the danger, he began his usual slogging pace, if I tried to get him to walk a little faster, he'd break into a trot. More than once he tried his "I have an itch" scam where as soon as I let him lower his head to scratch, he dives for the grass. But I had the shanked curb in his mouth this time, so he had to do what I wanted for once!

He was pretty good as we headed down the dirt road, other than balking as we left the hayfield. Hm, he hasn't done that all year...is he reverting? Is he bored and thinking up new things to test me with??? Again he balked as we headed into the woods, trying to turn and go back the way we came. I regretted using roping reins, since I didn't have any extra to pop his butt with like with split reins!

More petulant hoof-dragging and trying to turn back at every pause. We were in another set of forest, and could heard dogs barking up ahead. Quzqo stopped and downright refused to move one more step! His head came up, ears forward, I could feel his heart pounding through the leather of the saddle. If I tried to cue him forward, he started backing up and trying to turn around!

There were multiple dogs barking, probably up at the dirt road ahead, out of sight. Quz isn't normally concerned with barking dogs, so this kind of concerned me. But I couldn't let him get his way and chicken out. I let him stand and ponder for a minute or two, but if I tried to cue him forward, he'd start backing and trying to turn back. Once we ended up with his butt up on the side of the trail in the trees. I was wondering about my own supposed wisdom in pursuing this plan of action...in the movies the horses are always the ones to warn the ignorant humans of impending doom ("Black Beauty" anyone?) and it's the pig-headed humans that have to have their way, much to the misery of all involved.

Yeah, I'm a pig-headed human, and after some reassuring pats and then a curse and a series of smacks to the pommel of my saddle with the reins, he hesitantly marched forward, coiled so tight I was sure he was going to explode at any second!!

I could see movement through the trees...and Quzqo burst out of the woods into the road, and then we could see that Dog "A" was in fact "Killer" the redneck Spaniel out in front of his house to our right, and Dogs "B" through "E" were down the road to our left, helping their human install or remove full-sized American and Canadian flags from the crossed hockey sticks adorning their mailbox!!

Did I mention there was a pretty good sustained wind?

Dogs "B" through "E" saw us and began barking louder and bounding in our direction. They appeared to be various mixes, one had to be part Great Dane, a couple of Lab or Golden Retriever crosses, and one smaller Mutt. The man stopped messing with the flags long enough to begin bellowing at the dogs, which of course, only got them more excited!

Quzqo froze and regarded the canines approaching. There was no way I was going to turn him around, because that'd guarantee a dog chase! So, since the man couldn't control them, I cued him forward, and we walked towards the oncoming dog pack.

As predicted, the dogs stopped and bolted back towards their human, tails between their legs. I called to the man that it was all right, they're only doing their jobs, in an attempt to get him to quit his hollering. As we approached the man, dogs, and waving flags, here comes an ATV down their drive way, I assume with the wife driving! Gee, all I needed now was a marching band and maybe the Goodyear Blimp for good measure!!

Quz did a little side-spook but kept going, and he managed to walk past the melee of barking dogs, waving flags, hollering humans and blatting all-terrain vehicles. Let's see THAT in a horse show trail class!!

We kept it to a walk until we were maybe 75 yards past the driveway. Quzqo was thrumming with tension, I could feel it. Once we were well away from the dogs, I got him into a trot that turned into another hand gallop and off we went down the dirt road!

Into the woods again. The heavy, heavy rains of the past few days filled all the dips in the two-track with water, so we had a veritable obstacle course of puddles and small ponds. Of course he managed to avoid every single one, even the ones I tried to get him to go through. We made it as far as my favorite little stream, and stood quietly for a while listening to the water gurgle. That went well for a few seconds before Quzqo decided I'd had enough listening to water, and started to turn around. Of course that meant he had to walk a few yards in the original direction, despite much balking and tail-cranking, THEN we turned around on MY say-so.

He hauled back, wanting to trot, but I kept him walking. He spooked at the puddles, at the shadows, at the sticks. Just because he was being such a dick, we took a left turn onto the Michigan Shore-to-Shore trail...it was like steering a barge! Again I had to smack my pommel with the reins to get him moving. He was stopping, sniffing, trying to turn...it was like pulling teeth to get him down that narrow trail on the hillside. About halfway down he resigned himself and plunged forward in an effort to get it over with. We crossed the stream again, and once on the other side of the little bridge, stopped, assuming (wrongly) that we were turning around. Just because of that I pointed him up the trail. And did he ever refuse! He tried to spin, back, anything but move forward. I spurred him upwards and probably calling me every name in the book, he went up the hill. Once at the top I turned him around without warning, and we went back down, much to his surprise and delight!

We got back out onto the dirt road and I got him into a trot (my butt was numb from all that walking), then a canter. He was good for a few yards before he decided no, he didn't want to canter, and kept dropping back to a trot. I kept getting him back into a canter, then he'd veer suddenly to the left or the right, depending what side the invisible horse-demons were on at the time.

At least the man with the dogs, flags, and ATV were gone, looks like he was removing them since all that was left on the mailbox were the crossed hockey sticks.

As I was pondering our good fortune, and debating if I wanted to turn right and go back through the woods, or go straight out to the main road, without any warning whatsoever, Quzqo jammed on the brakes and reared up in a spin! The visor of my helmet hit the back of his neck as I flew forward, and my goodness, how nicely up-close I could see all the fleabites on his neck!! We ended up 90 degrees to the left, and I spun him around further. "You want to spin! FINE!! SPIN!!"

I'll admit right here I was pretty pissed off after putting up with 2 hours of his foolishness and attitude. We headed down into the woods (because I knew what spookable things would be down the road) and after one more in-place spook, took up the reins tighter than normal and kicked him forward. If his attention is on ME, it'd be less likely to wander and see boogie men in the shadows!!

We made it to the road, and instead of crossing back into the woods, we side-passed down the side of the road until we got past the SCARYSCARY realtor's sign that is always good for a bolt into the lane of traffic, then into a great ground-eating trot. Onto another dirt road where I got his sorry self into another canter, and this time he was all for cantering, because he knew he was heading HOME!

Eventually, without any further Sue-Loses-A-Stirrup caliber spookings, we did make it back to the barn. I was less than pleased with my boy, but I know he's just being a horse, a high-strung Arabian horse, and I probably wouldn't like anything less. I dismounted, congratulated him on not killing me, and told him see, I didn't kill you either! Here we are, home, safe and sound!!!

I led him into the barn, and was walking him past a big pile of sawdust. I didn't notice the wheelbarrow by the sawdust until apparently Quzqo hit it with his right hind leg and he EXPLODED up into the air and in front of me, knocking the wheelbarrow over, and landing maybe 15 feet ahead of me, reins dangling, stirrups akimbo, and standing on three legs!!!

SHIT!

He was hesitant to put any weight on his right hind...I checked him over, there was no visible injury. Shitshitshit!! All that nonsense on the trail, and he hurts himself in his own barn!!!

Gingerly I led him forward, and he limped a couple of steps then began walking normally. Quickly I untacked him, double-checked his leg, nothing was swelling. But taking no chances, I took him out to the wash rack and ran cold water on his leg while he grazed. I was happy to see him putting significant weight on that leg, and he had no problem walking. Put him back in his stall where the Magikal Hay and Grain Fairy had come and filled all his food containers, Joy Joy! But I stole his grain bucket away before he could dive into it, and spiked it with some bute powder. He didn't seem to notice or care and scarfed it right down!

So I'm hoping and praying he didn't do more than maybe bruise himself, or maybe tweak something when he jumped over the wheelbarrow. The hoofprints in the ground are pretty deep where he launched himself, and the impact prints are impressively far away from his take-off point!

Now I feel guilty for cursing him and calling him a Frenchman's Blue Plate Special for trying to kill me with his spooking. When I check on him tonight, it'll be nothing but peppermints and nose-kisses for sure!

---

An Update: Visited Himself this evening, and happy to report that Quz is fine, no limp, no swelling. Whadda boy!

Trail Ride Poker Run - 13th Time's the Charm

It's August and time for the monthly Poker Ride and Extreme Cowboy Race Weekend at the barn! I'll admit originally I wasn't going to do it, but then that Friday evening Bob asked me if I was coming along and before I could do anything my mouth went and said "Sure, I'll be there!". Stupid mouth!

By this time I'm pretty blasé about group trail rides, so I didn't hurry to get to the barn, I brought Quzqo in from the field, put him in his stall to enjoy a flake of hay while I organized my tack. I was still saddling him up by the time the indoor arena was full of trail riders warming up and familiarizing themselves with their loaner horses.

No Amish this time around!

Quz was sort of mellow about the whole affair as well. Maybe he does pick up on my emotions. I didn't even bother mounting up until everyone else was heading for the gate to go outside...I figure the less time sitting in the saddle, the happier my butt will be!

Despite the lying Weather Channel radar, there was a steady drizzle falling, probably that light stuff that doesn't show up on radar. But it was the lower 60's, I had enough layers on, and my tack is fugly, so who cares if it got damp. We ended up with around 14 horses and riders, and headed off!

Quzqo and I started out 4th in the line. As is usual, by the time we reached the road, about a mile's distance, we were dead last. I don't even worry about it any more, I know it's going to happen. I think he prefers it like that!

He also sported a bright red ribbon on his tail, and I was surprised at how many people assumed it was just decoration, and I had to explain to them about the kicking thing. Once they found out he kicks, they gave us wide berth. I recommend red ribbons even if your horse doesn't kick; it keeps people from letting their horses crowd you!

One of the riders compared Quzqo to the Arabian in "The Thirteenth Warrior"...I take that as a complement! And surrounded by all the big stock horses, he did sort of look like "Ahmed's" little Arabian! Jumps like him, too!

Hey, look, even their weather is similar!!

Quz, for the most part, behaved admirably, I was surprised! No kicking, no fussing, no drama queen temper tantrums. Maybe it was the grey day and drizzle that put a damper on things. In fact, most the horses behaved admirably. Must have been the weather!

The woods were amazing!! Normally this time of year, everything is dried and brown and dormant due to all the heat and lack of rain. This has been a unique summer, in that it's been much cooler than normal, with above average rainfall. As a result, the forest floor was carpeted with more diverse mushrooms and fungi than I can ever recall seeing! Bright fire engine red, bright yellow, orange with spots, black, white, creamy, splotchy, upright, flat to the ground, clusters, singles. If I was alone I probably would have dismounted many times to take photos, assuming I had my camera with me.

Unfortunately the heavy rainfall also meant that the Black Hole Of Sucking Death, i.e. the patch of mud at the bottom of a swamp on the trail, would be under water, and it was. The scene of our spectacular 13th-Warrior-Caliber leap on July's poker run came up sooner than I'd like, and I surprised myself by being absolutely terrified as we approached. It was bigger. It was wider. It was longer. It was deeper. It was six feet across and totally submerged in standing water. Fear gripped my very being, Quzqo became all wound up and antsy. Recall the trail here is about three feet wide with sharp drop-offs into swamp on either side. The front horses crossed without issue, being either too young or too stupid to know they should be afraid. The huge grey Quarter Horse in front of us was terrified, and proceeded to back his ample backside down the trail towards us, but we had horses behind us, and no place to go!

Last time some of the riders opted to go off the trail and lead their horses around the mud pit. The ground was uneven and soggy, but it wasn't a foot deep in black tarry mud and standing water. Bob's wife, Pam, dismounted and began to lead her horse off the trail. I felt like I was sitting on a water balloon filled with nitro-glycerine about to explode...Quzqo WANTED to go forward. He WANTED to jump the damned mudhole...I could tell he was rarin' to go, to go leaping skyward and kill Sue in the process!!!

He stood still for a split second, and I took that opportunity to jump off! As soon as my feet hit the ground I felt 1000% safer and calmer and more confident! Quzqo also settled slightly, and we moved aside to let the big grey Quarter Horse move back to the end of the line so his rider could calm him down a bit.

I tried to lead Quzqo off the trail and down into the swamp...he'd have none of it. He balked, he threw his head up, he refused. I turned my back on him and just began walking. True to form, he followed, but only after LEAPING off the trail and landing in the squelchy grass inches from my feet! The next step sucked my shoe right off my left foot as we headed into the bushes. Surrounded by saplings and branches, I had to stop and turn to get the shoe, with Quzqo blessedly patiently standing in the swamp, up to his fetlocks in muck and moss. Retrieving the shoe, we managed to wind our way through the tangle of branches and ferns and fallen trees, my stocking foot squishing in the mud...all I could think of was my tender little toes mere inches from Quzqo's mighty little Arabian hooves.

The other riders who were on foot followed by a different, longer route, but their horses were taller and I don't think they could have fit through the route we took. I stopped long enough to put my wet shoe on my wet foot, and with the help of a raised bank of dirt, managed to get back on Quz without further incident!

Can't tell you how RELIEVED I was to be past that damned mudhole! We all agreed we'd gladly donate money and labor to the Michigan Trail Riders' Assocation to build a bridge over that horror!! Gladly!!!

The rest of the ride was thankfully uneventful, other than the constant drizzle combined with occasional actual rain. One good thing, it kept the bugs down, and it kept the dirt bikers and rednecks in pick-up trucks home and traffic to a minimum.

Quz did surprisingly well. He didn't spook once, he didn't shy, he trotted when asked, he cantered when asked, he backed and side-passed when asked. He was even a little more patient when we stopped to receive our poker cards. I seriously think the weather had a lot to do with it!

As usual, the ride took over four hours. My poker hand was laughably bad and I only hung around long enough to grab a hot dog and a cup of coffee before heading home. But I was happy enough to have had an actually enjoyable ride on a sane, level-headed Arabian for once! Good friends, good horses, not too horrible weather. That's what it's all about!

Left to right: Lorraine (Pam's student) on Colby, Pam on Tru, and me on Himself.

Quzqo Finally Wins a Blue Ribbon!

Well...his portrait anyway.

I worked on this big Prismacolor colored pencil drawing on Sundays while vending at the farmers' market earlier this summer, working from a photo I'd taken on a drive earlier this year. It's a big drawing, around 12" wide, 18" tall.

Entered it our regional fair, and happy day, not only did it win its "Pencil Drawing" class (to be fair, there wasn't much in the way of competition, *cough*cough*), it also took 2nd place in the Graphics Arts Division Sweepstakes!!


I also won the first place Sweepstakes with another drawing, but it wasn't Quzqo, so...

Yay Us!

IT'S GONNA EAT MEEEE!!!

Haven't been riding Quzqo too much lately. I found out a couple of weeks ago that the farrier never trimmed him back in July because he was being such a stinker, he couldn't get anything done, so he just didn't bother to do more than trim the hind soles. Would have been nice if someone told me, instead I just assumed the farrier did a helluva bad job and wondered WTF?

So Quzqo's feet have been growing, nicely protected by his shoes, and now they're as long as a Park Horse's hooves...I'm almost ashamed to have such long feet on him, he looks downright neglected! It also showed me how nicely he kept his hooves worn down without shoes, since he went 12 weeks last summer without a trim due to his knee injury, and they never looked as long as now! And as an added bonus, his left front shoe is loose, clanking when he walks, and easily wiggled! He's been tripping like a drunkard, and if I trotted him, I could hear his hind feet clipping his forefeet.

The farrier's due to work on horses either this coming Friday or Monday, either way I'll take time off from work so I can be there to hold him, and see if I can help out if Quz turns stinker again. He can be hell on wheels when he gets "a mood", and my farrier isn't that patient a fellow, I can imagine the fireworks that might have transpired. He's probably more used to mellow stock horses, not little drama queens. (course he's been trimming Quz for the past 5 years, so don't know what changed!)

ANYway, tonight I felt like a ride anyway, and figured if we just kept it to a walk on the property, it won't be bad for the feet. The horse seemed in a pretty good mood, he'd had his grain and was into his evening hay, I didn't have too much trouble prying his face away from that first cutting goodness!

Tacked up and off we went, should have noticed the warning signs when he was walking tensly like a coiled spring just around the outside of the barn. We made it through the Creaking Gates of Doom (the scene of our big spook-fit on our very first trail ride together back in '04!), up along the fence line by the woods. The evening was cool, but the crickets were noisy, the sunlight golden, just a beautiful, peaceful evening!

We came along the back end of the property, to a steep hill to go down. Quzqo planted his feet and refused to go one step further. His head came up, his ears pricked forward, he snorted, staring at SOMETHING.

The neighbor was working on a run-in shed for his horses, probably 1/4 mile away. I assumed that was what he was seeing. I cued him forward...nope, not moving. He managed a wobbly side-ways step before spinning 180 back the way we came. I spun him right back the way we were facing. He planted his feet, staring... though I noticed he wasn't exactly staring at the neighbor, but rather, straight ahead!

Don't know exactly how long we had our "discussion" on how to proceed, which pretty much boiled down to "Move Forward!" and "Hell NO!"...wash, rinse, repeat.

He'd start backing up..okay, you want to back up, back up! I'd keep him backing up for maybe 10-20 steps, then cue him forward, which he'd do unhappily, get just so far, then plant the feet! Again we'd have our discussion, again he'd either spin around, or start backing. If he started backing, I kept him backing, then move him forward. Each time I moved him forward I DID get him a few feet or inches further down the trail until he'd plant his feet and stare at the horror in front of him!

As far as I could determine, the horror with the horse-blood-dripping fangs and yellow staring eyes that he saw was...a couple of dead tree branches on the other side of the hot wire, on the ground, in HIS pasture! Those branches have been there for months, we've gone past them countless times without incident (of course there's also been times there's been huge Drama Queen blowups about it).

After one more back-the-horse-up-practically-back-to-the-barn incident, and the horse stood rooted to the ground, staring at the branches about 50 feet ahead of us down the hill, and imagining what the neighbor was thinking (probably smug about owning Quarter Horses and thinking unkind thoughts about Arabians)...I seriously considered turning him around, riding all the way back to the barn (over a mile), go past the barn and up the other side of the property, and approach the Sticks Of Doom from the other direction. I cued Quz for a walk, and imagine my surprise when he walked forward and began down the hill!!

We edged as far from the Branches Of Death as we could, with the neighbor's electric fence on our left... I could feel Quzqo's heartbeat through the leather of the saddle fenders, it was pounding in his ribcage so hard! It was like riding a stick of dynomite, coiled so tightly I was seriously afraid he was going to explode then and there!

We made it past the Sticks From Hell and marched further down the hill...when we got to the bottom, I made my usual mistake. I said, out loud, something to the effect of "See? Just when I don't expect it, you can be goo-" and he BUCK-BOLTED like a bat outta hell from some unseen horror, perhaps he saw the Death Twigs behind him!

But, it IS Quzqo, and he only got a few yards before I slowed him back to a walk, laughing, and imagining what the neighbor might have been thinking (nothing good!).

The walk back to the barn was a series of twitchy-in-place-spooks and side-stepping at bobbing Queen Anne's Lace blossoms or frightening clover blossoms. A pair of Sand Hill Cranes were in the adjoining field and began squawking at us, which produced more lovely side-passing into the neighboring hayfield. The huge birds took flight, heading straight for us, but thankfully turned to the West and went away!

Made it back in one piece, once in the barn Quzqo let out a huge sigh and began yawning. Another near-death experience, dodging the Grim Horse Reaper yet again!

And Today's Nominee For A Darwin Award Is...

Was at the barn the other evening, harnessing up Quzqo for an evening drive with a friend. One of the younger boarders was there tacking up her relatively new young Quarter Horse. When I say "younger", let's say 16+, since I believe she drove her car to the barn that evening. Younger than ME, let's leave it at that.

I wasn't paying much of any real attention to her, busy as I was fiddling with the multitude of straps on the harness. Suddenly I heard a commotion in the arena, looked up to see the girl being galloped off with across the arena. The gallop quick turned into bucking, and helplessly we watched more and more daylight grow between the girl and the saddle with each buck into the air, until she came off entirely...

Er, no, not entirely, because her foot got stuck in the stirrup, and the horse was hopping and shying and bucking with the girl hanging upside down off the side, her head inches from the ground!!!

I stupidly hollered " LET GO!" and she hollered back "I CAN'T I'M STUCK!!!". Thankfully within seconds she slipped out of the stirrup and fell to the ground, and the horse bolted off, galloping and bucking, heading for Quzqo and me, sliding to a stop, narrowly missing taking out the fence, before slowing down to a stop in the arena center.

Throwing down the rein I was holding, I made it around Quzqo but by that time she was getting up from the dirt and brushing herself off... She said she was all right (that's debatable), never mind her face was as white as a sheet and she was moving shakily.

The girl said the horse had only been ridden 7 times before, and she "probably" shouldn't have been wearing the GREEN RUBBER BARN BOOTS that got stuck in the stirrup.

She caught the horse, stroked him and patted him, walked him around a bit. We finished tacking up Quz, and before we led him out to the cart, I glanced back and the girl was half on the horse, just leaning her weight across the saddle.

Let's see....Minor Child alone working a green-broke behemoth of a horse, with improper footwear and NO HELMET. I know there's that Michigan Equine Sports Liability Law, but still, I'd think the barn powers that be would instill some rules for minor boarders, if only to prevent the bad P.R. that could come from a child being killed at their barn.

But man, I was jealous...I doubt if I flew off like that, I'd be able to jump up and get right back on!

2009 Speckle Update

And the speckles continue to grow!!!

Remember 2008:

And now in 2009:


2008:

And 2009:

The black on his legs is almost totally disappeared (*sob*) and the fleabites on both shoulders are definitely condensing nicely. Up close he's downright hard on the eyes...but further out, he's definitely easy to look at (and he knows it).

I doubt he'll turn into a pink horse eventually, he's got too much white areas yet, but those darker patches are sure intriguing!

Never Say Never

Back over Memorial Day we-all went on a HUGE trail ride at the barn, with 38 riders. It was truthfully one of the worst times I can remember on horseback. I swore to NEVER do that again because how nuts Quzqo acted, and what a horrible time I had of it!

Well, it's been quite a few weeks, I've put a lot of miles on the horse since that time, and, well, I do kind of regret not going on the June ride (just a little bit). And I didn't have anything better to do today, so...yeah, we went on another huge trail ride!

Not AS huge, only 20 riders this time around. I adopted a new philosophy. The May Ride From Heck was partly (okay, mostly) due to ME. I didn't WANT to gallop down steep hills, I didn't WANT to constantly jig-jog playing catch-up with the horses in front. I didn't WANT to die. So this time I swore to make an effort to relax, not to be so uptight, so tense, to go with the flow. Quzqo will take care of me, I've got a good deep saddle, he's not done anything deliberately BAD to me in years (and even then it wasn't all his fault)...Everyone else seems to have a good time, why should I miss out just because I'm a wimp??

The ride was to leave at 10 a.m., I got there in plenty of time to bring Himself in from the field, brush him, and tack him up with the innumerable do-dads that I seem to require for a stress-free trail ride. Experience has taught me that they all have a purpose, and the more I can do to keep myself from fretting, the better! Okay, so Quz was the only horse on the ride sporting a shoo-fly tassel, a breastcollar, bear bells, a cobbled-up German martingale from a leather curb strap, splint boots, and a red "I KICK!" ribbon on his tail, but better safe than sorry!

The unique thing about this ride was the inclusion of...Amish! I don't know if they were personal friends of the family, or just felt the urge to go on a Poker Ride, but I tried my darndest to not stare. Shame on me, but "Amish Paradise" by Weird Al Yankovic kept running through my mind, and I had to keep from giggling.

Yeah, I snuck some photos, but they weren't posing, so it's allowed.

As usual the kids got their horses tacked up first, and were bombing around the indoor arena. The youngest of the Amish boys was riding the most ADORABLE little pinto pony...c'mon, admit, this is the cutest thing you've seen all day:


Trouble is, the pony was something of a little stinker (as many ponies are), and every time the boy stopped him, he'd lie down, effectively getting rid of his rider! Eventually they put the pony away and caught good ole' RolyPolyOly, the barn owner's sturdy Shetland Pony for the boy to ride!


We had a pretty good crowd, with Bob, the barn owner, his wife Pam riding my farrier's green 3 yr old QH, their Granddaughter on good ole' Colby the QH, the Son-in-Law on his wife's QH Showhorse. A few of the younger boarders were also along, including a young lady who just moved her horse there this past week...she rode English...ah, to be young and brave again! A couple of Pony Clubbers also came along, riding English of course. Quite a few folks had come for the weekend, and were camping in the side pasture, and ready for the ride.

My strategy this time was to NOT let Quzqo be the last horse as he usually ends up, just because he walks so darned slow. We got right into the middle of the pack and managed to stay there for most of the ride. It was GORGEOUS weather, with temperatures in the mid-70's, low humidity, partly cloudy, couldn't ask for anything better!

Awaaaay we go!

Approaching the SCARY GATES, the site of our very first off-property spook-spin-bolt event back in '04!

Decent enough crowd...you can see little RolyPoly at the end of this group!

Grumpy Quzqo...we usually trot and canter along this road, but since it was walk-only...we had to walk.

We did the usual loop around to the Lake Dubonnet campground. I tried to take it nice and easy, keeping Quzqo surrounded by calm horses. He did amazingly well...not one single spook, not one single shy, I think keeping mellow horses near him helped, unlike last time when we rode with a couple of nervous green horses with extra-nervous riders that just ramped up the fear factor for everyone near them.

Everything went quite well, everyone was having a grand time, everyone's horses were behaving. Until we reached....The Swamp.

The Swamp, as I've mentioned in a few previous posts, is a low, swampy area on the Shore-to-Shore trail, sadly in need of a bridge or some sort of reinforced trail over a soggy muddy boggy area maybe 6 feet in length. I've never been able to get Quzqo over that when we were alone, there's usually no problem if there's other willing horses. UNfortunately we've had quite a few days of heavy rainfall, and so yes, the boggy muddy stretch of trail was now under water!

The 10 or so horses way ahead of us got over it okay apparently, because by the time we got down there, everyone else had gone up ahead. The forty hooves also chopped up the ground into a soggy mess. The first rider of our group tried to get her three year old green mare to go through it...nope...instead, the mare spooked sideways and backed into a thick grove of saplings and got tangled up pretty good, including one sapling between her front legs! Since she was off the trail, the rider managed to get her pointed in the right direction and managed to bulldoze through the saplings and around the boggy puddle, to the other side.

The next horse walked right through without hesitation.

The next horse was my farrier's green QH, who would have nothing to do with that water! They too ended up in the saplings on the opposite side of the trail, and backing and fussing and refusing. I don't know how long this went on, Quzqo just stood, I could tell he wanted to GO but he couldn't move, surrounded by stock breeds, he had no choice but to stand on the narrow trail with boggy drop-offs on either side! Eventually Pam gave up, dismounted, and managed to lead "Stanley" off the trail and around, using the path that had been smashed down by the green mare!

Next up was a huge fleabitten grey QH (I believe his name was "Joe" but I could be mistaken). Joe would have NOTHING to do with ANY of that!!! After a few tries, the rider put him as far to the side as she could to make way for us. Oh, goody.

I got Quz up to the edge of the bog...there was easily a 4 foot long stretch of standing water, with maybe 3 feet of mud at the front and backside. He was hesitent, tried to back up, sidestep, then I felt his hindquarters bunch up...

He JUMPED!

Witnesses say he shot straight up in the air, easily four feet up off the ground, in a beautiful display of Airs above the Ground. All I know is that one second we were wiggling on one side of the puddle, next second my face was bouncing off the back of his neck and the pommel of my saddle was smashing into my stomach as he landed! Ah, the pain was exquisite, and I thanked God that I didn't have a horn on my saddle, or I'd have had broken ribs at the least! I was also thankful that I have those sort of glasses that you can bend and smash without damaging them, because that's what hit the back of his neck! Let's face it, when your horse coon-jumps straight up, you can't do any of that fancy jumpin' position stuff!

I'm sure something got wrenched or twisted, but the pain in my side and chest subsided within a few minutes. Somehow I have a big black bruise on my left hand. The horse had mud splashed up onto his croup and my arms were also splashed. Maybe if he jumped for length instead of height... *sigh*. Luckily I knew he'd do that and was ready! That's my Quzqo!

The next rider dismounted and lead her horse around the puddle. The remaining two walked right through, including the grey QH that was previously in hysterics.

Since no one got hurt, of course we were all giggly about it...yeah, it's fun when you don't die!!

We stopped for a potty break at the Lake Dubonnet trail camp. I didn't dismount for fear I couldn't get back on. Quz was a little better behaved there than the last time. I seriously think not having the nervous greenies around him helped immensely!!

Break time!

We made good time on the final leg of the ride. The pain in my back was keeping my mind off of the pain in my butt and the pain in my ankle and the headache and the growling stomach (beef jerky only goes so far). We dragged back to the barn at 3 p.m...4 hours after leaving!

You know it's a good ride when you've got foliage stuck in your stirrups!

But I'm quite pleased with both Quz and myself. I stayed calm and relaxed, he stayed (relatively) calm and relaxed. Even when I turned him loose in the pasture, he didn't tear off in a hissy like last time, but loped a few strides before stopping to roll. A vast improvement.

So next time they have a group ride, which should be the last weekend in August...we'll probably go, and hopefully it won't have rained the day before, or else I'm using my jumping saddle!

Good Quzqo

Bad Quzqo