Quzqo Stories

Quzqo T. Butthead

2011-05-18T17:59:00.001-04:00

Finally had a day "off" (ha!) and made my way out to the barn after lunch! Quz was "in a mood", I could tell that when I went to catch him and he was so ignoring me that I had to drag his head up from the grass to put the halter on him.

I'll admit I was a little nervous, as I planned to take him off the property, something I haven't done RIDING since last October. Wasn't even going to try to take him the usual route where the antique hay mower stands guard and terrifies him out of his freckles! I did go the full monty in tacking him up...breastcollar and shanked bit, cell phone in pants pocket... just in case.

O, he was a mischievous little scamp of a horse, swinging his butt away from me when all I was trying to do was tie my butt-saver pad to the saddle seat...I just chased him round and round, him doing perfect turns on the forehand as he thought he was being clever, swinging his butt away...we did maybe 10 rotations before he gave up, and was probably surprised that all I did was fuss with his saddle. When the time came to actually get on, I just bribed him with a piece of carrot and he stood stock still, chewing, until my butt ALMOST hit the seat...he took off a split second before that moment, sigh.

Tried to open the indoor arena gate, he was all Drama Llama about GET THE GATE OPEN GET THE GATE OPEN I DON'T CARE IF IT'S ONLY OPEN A FOOT I'LL SQUEEZE THROUGH IT I WANT OUTOUTOUT!, he didn't buck but he did give a little sissy hop of the front end (I wouldn't dignify it by calling it a "rear"). Round and round we went until I managed to get him close enough that I could grab the gate and pull it, then I had to spur him out of the way before it swung over and smacked us!

Then we went OUT!

Of course immediately he was all Mr. Chicken, oh my gosh there's logs and horses and a wagon and a trailer and a dark spot on the ground. Creeeeping along slowly as he could, oh noes, what might be behind that tree!! I just gave him a nudge and he gave up that charade.

Instead of heading inland along the fenceline, I rode him along the road, slightly trespassing in the neighboring hay field. He didn't quite know what to make of that, having never gone that way before. We reached the dirt road about 1/2 mile away without incident.

Then it was "Oh my feet hurt on these stones", he was mincing and limping and tripping and shuffling along...I tried to trot him on the sandy shoulder of the road, and he petered out, like "oh, my feet hurt too much to trot!". That's okay, I did want to enjoy the wildflowers, and he gave me plenty of time to do that, at his arthritic snail's pace.

We neared the top of the hill when suddenly he SHOT to the left and tried to crash into the bushes! WTF???? Had a devil of a time turning him back to the road... THEN it dawned on me...that was the little game trail we take to go HOME! You little shit, BWAHAHA! Better memory than an elephant!!! Got him going straight again, he picked up the pace, was almost walking eagerly...then AGAIN he veered to the right, where a little two-track leads to the same hay field we would go home by! Oh no you don't!!!

We got to the crest of the hill, and he gave a half-hearted Drama Llama performance about not going one step further, but the spurs and the reins counteracted that idea, and he made a big production of going down the hill, insisting on zig-zagging down instead of walking straight (because the rocks hurt his feet you know...funny, the rocks don't hurt his feet when I drive him on dirt roads). Couldn't get him to trot, he just pooped out on me. I took him down a little two-track, past the bright NO TRESPASSING sign, to check for morel mushrooms...we only went a few dozen yards in, because the blackberries are growing up and wrecking that trail as well. I turned him around (beautiful turn on the hind quarters), and came back to the road.

I KNEW what would come next...he tried to veer left to go back, I wanted to go right to continue! O the Dramatics!!! We tossed our head, we balked, we pranced, we spun in circles, we snorted, we tossed our head some more. I had to circle him around until he got dizzy, then combined spurs with a slap on the rump with the reins to get him moving west like we originally did. And he sulked his way down the road.

Without warning I turned him around and we were heading back...and I got him into a canter, and the little turd broke into a hand gallop and just ran like a goofball down the road, apparently the little rocks no longer hurt his hooves!! We galloped until he slowed to a canter, then a trot, and I made him keep trotting just a little bit longer than HE wanted to. No ouchy feets I noticed!!

Uneventful ride home through the hayfield, we even stopped by the scary antique hay mower, and I let him graze a little, he didn't seem to care one way or another. I bet if I turned around and headed back he'd care!

Made it back to the barn unscathed, but both a little sweaty! That was a big personal roadblock to get past! I'm hoping for more nice rides in the future!! Without the drama llama dramatics!

I'll Do What I Want!

2011-01-27T10:49:00.001-05:00

Rode the horse last night, there was another boarder and her daughter there, riding their new Paint mare (bought from Bob, of course). They had one lone light on in the arena... Bob doesn't want us using the big huge lights because they make his electricity bill skyrocket. So I showed them how to turn on ALL the aisle lights to illuminate the arena (lol, I don't know...does turning on 20 or so incandescent bulbs save electricity over 6 big overhead lights??).

Rode Coos, he was VERY good and actually had a little P&V in him! Enjoyed my new saddle, very comfy!

The mom and daughter left, I finished up with Coos, and was busy untacking him, when this young blond chick comes bouncing down the stairs to the arena, and blithely flicks on ALL 12 overhead lights (6 are enough to illuminant the entire lower barn and arena). I asked her how she gets to use the big lights.

She snottily said "I'll do what I want", and "Nobody's here anyway" and bounced into the arena and downstairs to get her horse.

That pissed me off mightily....Bob specifically mentions each month in the board bills to please use the SMALL lights to save electricity (and keep the board from rising), and this little ditz wants to do what she wants. Well, bitch, I don't want to pay for YOUR electricity usage! So I flicked OFF one bank of lights, flicked off ALL the aisle lights, and when I left, I flicked off the lights to the stairs as well. She was ditzing around with her horse in the arena, not noticing the light had been cut in half.

When she shuts off the lights she'll be in total darkness since I shut off the stairs light, and I also shut off the lights in the viewing room, so she'll have to stumble through that since the light switch is by the front door, allll the way down the length of the room. I should have moved some benches right in the walkway too, so she'd trip, ha!

Hate to be a snitch, but I wonder if Bob would like to know this.

Pissed me off, I'm still pissed. Little bitch. Just the kind of girl I loathed in high school...they had horses too!

Resisted the urge to key the side of her car on my way out.

__,_._,___

New Saddle...

2011-01-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

Is SAAAAWEEEEEETTTT!!! Oooo, comfy, and it fits the horse GREAT, and he seems to like it! Seems light as a feather, love it already! Wish I had a trail to ride on with it, lol!!

Quz survived being back in the Big Brown pasture, no new chomps on him. In fact, he liked it so much that he refused to let Bob catch him tonight. Bob had just given up by the time I got there, he said Quz was more interested in "running in circles" than being caught, lol! Good thing I came out, as he said he was just going to leave him out if he wouldn't let himself be caught. Wouldn't blame him.

Quz was snacking on a corner of a hay pile that Bill the Paint was enjoying, and I had no trouble bringing him in. The Big Browns had already been brought in and were in their stalls, so that was nice.

Lovin' that saddle though, glad I bought it! Now to sell off the old heavy one!

Horse Social Experiment FAIL

2011-01-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

Got out to the barn after work, and found Quzqo standing waaaaaay the hell out in the middle of the field, at least 1/4 mile out, all by himself, butt to the wind (and baby, it's a wind! And COOLLLLDDDD)

All the mares were ganged up around the round bale, stuffing themselves, poor Quz looked so little and sad out there. Even sadder, I had to hike out there to get him because he wouldn't come when I called (knee-deep snow anyone?)

Sadder still, his hoofprints in the snow were all but obliterated by the wind, which means he'd been standing there quite a while. He was a little headshy and twitchy, but I managed to halter him and he about dragged me in.

Had to whip our way past the mares that turned from the hay and started coming at us, ears pinned. He dashed through the gate, and I had to whip our way through the geldings from the other pasture blocking the way! I chased 'em all out of there, giving us a good 20-30 foot clear zone, and Quzqo heaved a HUGE sigh! It was pitiful!! Poor boy!

When brushing, I found a HUGE scalped area on his butt cheek...hair, skin, peeled right off by a bite or kick! Dammit!

So, reluctantly, I asked Bob to put him back in with the Big Browns...the enemy you know is better than the enemy you don't know. At least there there's only 4 other horses (as opposed to the 10 mares), and the hay is fed by hand, so it's spread out, not just a round bale plopped in the middle. And again, he'll have the run-in shed, since we're due for some nasty-ass cold weather, that'll be nice. And yes, it's a few feet from the barn entrance and I won't have to whip my way through a seething mob of crabby geldings like Indiana Jones!

*Sigh*

I survived Junior High, he can survive this.

On the bright side, my new saddle should arrive tomorrow! Yaay!

Just What I Need!

2011-01-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

Another saddle!!

I've been wanting a lighter saddle for quite a while now, because my 28# leather saddle is getting too hard to lift up onto my big, tall horse's back. I used to want to keep it because of its security, but since Coos was able to buck me right up and out like nothin', so much for THAT reason.

A FB friend posted she was selling her Abetta saddle on eBay, I was all set to eSnipe it today, until I did some research, and found what my max. bid for her used saddle was about what NEW ones were going for on eBay, so that wouldn't do! More research also revealed THIS saddle for a very reasonable price, and do I wait and maybe get the first saddle for less, or take the risk of being outbid on the first saddle, and meantime having the 2nd saddle snatched up with that BIN?

So, casting caution to the wind, I snatched up the 2nd saddle, should be here later this week! Wheee!

Need to take pix of my leather saddle & stick it up on Craig's List for a few months, then when spring comes, put it on eBay when there's more of a market for such things.

Quzqo might appreciate a 15# saddle as well! AND being synthetic, it won't go green and fuzzy in late summer with all the humidity at the barn.

Quzqo Hefner

2011-01-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

FINALLY I was able to get out to the barn in the day time to observe Quzqo in his new pasture situation (even yesterday I got out there around 4 and he was already inside in his stall). He was doing pretty much what I figured...stuffing his face at the remains of a round bale of hay, and off in the distance a small group of horses were frolicing in the snow. He was sharing the bale with that cool varnish roan Appy, happy as clams!

Apparently the mares he's in with are more like teenagers, VERY young looking, maybe 2 yr olds...a couple of chestnuts, a VERY tall, lanky chestnut, a gorgeous dappled buckskin, and they were all cavorting and scampering like young'uns! They saw me walking across the pasture and immediately came over to investigate. They weren't very respectful of my space, especially the frighteningly tall one (she's 16hh if she's an inch!) but I shooed them off with the halter and lead. They just about giggled and squealed and scampered around like junior high girls! Yeesh!

Quz looked at me like "yeah?", and kind of meandered out of the way of the capering girlies. Had a bit of a battle to the gate, so many silly fillies here and there. They weren't being mean or aggressive in the least, just curious and giggly (if horses giggled). Quz was kind of cool and calm and Mr. Suave about it! He even walked out of the gate calmly with no rush or concern (the same gate that trapped him against the hot wire weeks ago)

As we were walking to the barn it seemed he cast a glance at the old pasture where the Big Browns were standing, and I could almost sense him going "neener neener neener!"

One of his pasturemates was being ridden in the indoor ring, and the young girl who is leasing her rode over to say "hi". The mare and Quz sniffed noses, and he took a little playful nip at her nose! The little smoothie!!

Maybe they need to change the name of that pasture to The Playboy Mansion or the Bunny Ranch, ha!

Glad he's happier now. That makes me happy.

A New Pasture for Quzqo

2011-01-06T11:10:00.001-05:00

After noticing even MORE down-to-the-raw-skin bites on Quzqo's rump yesterday, Bob asked me how I liked Quz in the new pasture. I said I liked it there, but he doesn't, so Bob offered to move him back to his old pasture, which is full of new horses. So we're going to try that today, HOPE it goes well. Quz has been very unhappy, I can tell, and that one Big Brown with the star on his head charged at Quz yesterday, ears flattened, and I had to shoo him off with the lead rope. Quz also BOLTS out the gate to get away, and slipped on the ice yesterday, scared me, I don't want him to fall and get hurt!!

So we'll try the new-old pasture. It's got 4 mares and a gelding in it, hope it works out. It's also 30 acres, so he's got room to get away, and his usual water trough so hopefully he'll drink something!!!

It's also got two big round hay bales...he'll love that!

Just Doesn't Pay To Be Nice

2010-12-26T11:48:00.000-05:00

My nephew, his wife, and 2 little boys were coming out to the barn this afternoon to ride RolyPolyOly the Shetland Pony.

Well, after me getting out there early, packing in cocoa and supplies, hiking out into the big field to catch the pony, drag him back, tack the little biting/nipping shit up, and standing around in the 23 degree indoor arena for **45 minutes** getting nipped at and dragged around... they never showed up. Not a message, not an email, nothing on Facebook, just never bloody showed up.

So I put Roly back outside, after giving him an apple, saw Quzqo was busy digging through the snow for weeds like a starving mustang, and came home.

That'll learn me.

Quzqo, Quzqo, Who's Got The Quzqo!?

2010-12-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

Was mightily PISSED today when I discovered somebody'd "borrowed" Quzqo's halter right off the hook on his stall, GRRRGH! So I had to get my rope halter (that I keep locked away so it doesn't get borrowed) and hike out into the snow, bullied my way past a herd of horses blocking the gate, got to the gate to his pasture...where is he?? I saw one horse about 200 yards down the fenceline, but no Quz...

Now sometimes he doesn't show up very well, being white-ish with snow on the ground, but no... there was a grey horse in the next pasture, but that was Colby... I'm thinking if he died, they should have at least called me...did somebody steal him??? Halter and all!??

I turn to look around, and there's a gray horse in the pasture next to the barn...is it...?? I saw its tail was banged at the hocks, yep, it was Quz!! (I whacked his tail off this fall as it was dragging in the mud it was so long, it'll grow back by springtime). He was in the pasture with his old buddy, Bill the Paint, and Moka the boarder horse (gorgeous chocolate sorrel!), and a black Morgan-looking horse, stuffing his face with hay. Well now...o-kay.

And he was wearing his halter...which is where it'd disappeared to, ha! Normally they turn them out w/o halters, but who knows what goes on on the weekends.

I hope that's his new permanent accommodations, at least for the winter, as they built a NICE run-in shed there, and it's literally steps from the barn door!! And those are his buddies.

Had a WONDERFUL ride on him, considering I haven't ridden in two weeks. He's such a good horse, I'm lucky to have him at this time of my life.

My niece and I are planning on me giving lessons to her oldest daughter this winter, on Quz, and he'd be a perfect lesson horse. That girl has natural riding talent, but she doesn't know equitation, per se (how to post, how to cue for the canter, how to use leg pressure, how to not get
upset and cry if the horse doesn't do what you want)...we figure I can give her lessons starting at the ground floor and maybe by summer we can do some horse shows!! (she can't even do walk/trot since she doesn't know how to post). Should be fun!

Quz' stall was immaculate, fresh sawdust, hay rack filled with nice hay, grain in his bucket, his water clean and liquid (not frozen, ha ha). I put him back outside when I got done riding since it was still early, but nice to know that nice stall awaits him later today. Quite a change from Tuesday!!

Snowed In

2010-12-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

We've been BURIED by a major winter storm this weekend, nearly 18" new snow, drifting, horrible roads, needless to say I didn't go anywhere near the barn for days!

But today I made it out to the barn after work, I'd gotten a message from one of the boarders on FB today, wondering if I'd made it out at all. I got concerned...apparently as of last night the driveway hadn't been plowed and it was impossible to get in!

The driveway(s) was/were still unplowed, at least 18" of snow blocking the way, even a Subaru can't get through that (without a good head start). There was a set of BIG tracks but it'd drifted over and almost erased...the house was dark, Bob's Kia was parked by the house, covered in snow...but no sign of his big dually pick-up.

I ended up parking out on the road with my 4-way flashers on so nobody'd hit (thankfully it wasn't snowing out there...no lake effect bands around, though in town it was nasty!). I got down to the barn area and was greeted by a near-hysterical Willow (Bob's wife's mini Aussie Shepherd), and equally hysterical chorus of whinnies and neighs. Turned the light on, trash all up and down the aisles...Willow had gotten into the trash and had been entertaining herself with it. She was locked in the barn.

Long story short, the barn is snowed in, and the horses have all been in their stalls since Saturday night (when they were brought in). Quzqo was apeshit in his stall, NO water, just some ice at the bottom of his bucket, and his bedding, my God, it was black and saturated...obviously
it hadn't been cleaned in 3 days! I was NOT happy, needless to say.

Got Quz out and turned him loose in the arena, he rolled and then tore around a bit, with Willow chasing him.

I called my FB friend boarder and gave her an update...she and her daughters do the weekend chores and she said Bob had called her, telling her to not come in on Sunday, or Monday, as the weather was too bad, and he'd take care of the horses. I guess that didn't include cleaning stalls. Not even picking the solid piles out, GRRRRGH.

The outside horses all had their huge super-sized bales of hay, so they were set. I tried to open a door to look, but they were all iced shut, probably with big drifts on the other side. My friend said Bob said the tractor was broken, so he couldn't clear the barn or the driveway (it's got a front loader on it).

Considering how clean Quz was, it's obvious the poor boy didn't lie down to sleep. Who'd want to in inches-deep shit and soaked sawdust. I cleaned his stall (filled the entire wheelbarrow!) and put in fresh sawdust, so at least ONE horse is in a clean stall tonight.

As I was leaving, Bob showed up (and another family of boarders who also parked on the road with their flashers going) and said he'd get the tractor fixed this evening and the driveway should be cleared by tomorrow. I sure as hell hope so!

Horse vs Gate

2010-11-23T13:18:00.001-05:00

I'm seriously hating those big brown horses in Quzqo's pasture! I was bringing him in through the gate. the gate opens IN to the pasture...two of the Big Browns crowd behind him, he panics and lunges through the gate, which wasn't quite open all the way...he gets JAMMED between the
gate and (tah dah) the electric fence!

Horse is wedged and freaking out, he finally rears back, lunges to his right, rears up and spins away, dragging the lead rope with him. I beat the other horses out of the way (ha, they didn't know I was there), Quzqo goes maybe 150 feet before stopping.

And he's holding his left hind up and doesn't want to put weight on it.

SHIT!

No blood, no bones sticking out of the skin, I'm crying and cursing, I do catch him, and he eventually puts his leg down and gingerly puts some weight on it. I gave him his apple, which he ate, but he's shivering.

I get him to take a step, no problem, he's limping a little and when he stops, he raises the leg up. We slowly make our way back to the gate. Of course he wants NOTHING to do with that.

I managed to shoo the damned Big Browns away from the gate, Quz wants out, but he doesn't want to go through the gate. I managed to get the gate waaaay open enough that he scooted through, and I got it shut just as one of the Big Browns was starting to lunge through it. THAT bastard deserves to get fence-zapped!

One wire of the fence is snapped.

Got Quzqo inside, he was walking carefully, but no noticible limp. When I tied him up, he raised his hind leg and didn't want to put weight on it. I felt a lump on his stifle, don't know if that was just a contracting muscle or a swelling or what...nothing unusual further down, nothing broken or out of place. He got upset when I ran my hand down his leg and raised the leg further up and out and started shivering, poor boy.

About that time Bob was doing the grain, so I told him what happened (telling myself to NOT CRY DAMMIT! and I didn't), so he came and checked Quzqo over...Quz was NOT thrilled, he doesn't like Bob one bit. He managed a quick check of the leg before the horse swung his whole body away, and he was putting his weight on the leg, no problem bending it. so Bob figures he might have gotten burnt by the fence, and he'd keep an eye on him.

I sent Quzqo to his stall with some bute and applesauce mixed in his grain...he was a jumping, twitching MESS, just leading him down the aisle he was spooking and shying and just near hysterics...can't blame him one bit!

Poor baby. I don't go out there for a day, and when I do show up, I throw him into the electric fence!

Payback's a bitch, horse, ha ha!

===============

UPDATE

One day later, there's no limp, no swelling, no tenderness! Thank God!

Those damned Big Browns (there's 4 of them, though one's a sorrel) were blocking the gate again, so this time I took my driving whip out with me and chased those assholes away. Quz got all upset because I was waving a whip around, but he WANTED to come to me, poor boy. He should know by now that pasture-whipping is for the OTHER horses, not him (I've had to do it enough times). Chased the Big Browns far enough away and was able to get Himself out the gate (opened it waaaaay wide for him) without incident.

He's so nervous and frightened of everything right now...hope his normal mellow personality takes over the controls again.

LOL, Carlos the Spaniard (yeah, right) was driving the tractor in the indoor arena, and he stopped, came into the tack room, and was pantomiming something at me (remember, he's also deaf as well as "Spanish"), I didn't understand, so he found a pencil and a scrap of paper and wrote "Are U Ride Horse?" and I laughed and shook my head "no", so we went back to piling up sawdust with the tractor in the arena. I'll give him that, he's VERY courteous to the boarders, and if you're riding, and he has to take the tractor out, he closes the gate and the door behind him. Bob just leaves doors/gates wide open to the world, never mind if your horse likes to bolt for those escape routes, ha ha!

Cute Ignorant Child Quote of the Day

2010-10-30T13:26:00.001-04:00

Today they had a big Halloween shindig at the barn, I can't recall the last time so many people were there...I have NO idea who the hell they were either...a dozen or so were boarders, but the rest, dunno. LOTS and lots of kids...noisy obnoxious destructive little rug rats that made my Nieces' kids look like angels (HA!) Running and screaming and singing and stomping and tossing balloons out of the viewing room window into the indoor arena, climbing on the hay bales and ripping out big handfuls of second cutting hay and throwing it at each other. AUUUGH!

I was brushing Quzqo in our usual spot, outside the original tack room, which has "TACK" in big wooden letters on the door.

One of the kids walks up, asks if he can pet the horse, then asks "Is your horse's name 'Tack'?"

LOL! Guess it made sense, his name was on the door, right?

I'm In Love!

2010-10-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

There's a huge consignment auction near here tomorrow, and this afternoon my ex-neighbor and I went to scope it out. First damned thing I see is this AMAZING two-wheeled horse cart!! It's gorgeous!! It's all I can think about now, LOL!!!

Turns out to be a Meadowbrook, painted dark maroon, made by the Hoosier Buggy Shop in Topeka, IN (just south of the Michigan border), they're still in business...it was made in 1975 and other than some paint scuffies and a small (less than 1") chunk of rubber missing from one of the wheels, it appears to be in awesome shape! Amish made, and yes, it will fit Quzqo!!!

So now I'm all a'twitter about it, dare I? Dare I not? Should I wait? I'd really love to upgrade to a Wagner cart but those start at $2300.00...

Only drawback to this one is you have to get in from the rear and there's no way to bail out in an emergency. I dunno. I'll probably bid on it, what the hell, if it stays under $300. I can drive down to Topeka and buy new wheels if I need!

The auction site is about one mile from the barn, so it wouldn't be much trouble to get it there if I can't employ either my brother or my neighbor with their flatbed trailers. Worse comes to worse, I can tie the shafts to my luggage rack and drive very slowly down the shoulder of the road to the barn, LOL!

What do you think, sirs?

Even the leather bits are in good shape, the upholstery is great, no cracking or tears, the shafts are solid, the wheels aren't wobbly in the least.

Swooon!

====================
UPDATE

No cart, y'all can relax! I didn't even go NEAR it so as to not feel the pangs of impending loss!

Don't know what the cart went for, since I left before they even got to it. I'd rather NOT know!

Hit the barn on my way home and brought in the new cart-less horse...there's this new family of boarders who annoy the HELL out of me...it's a BIG family, lots of pre-teen boys and girls, they have a big TB named "Moose". And for SOME reason they insist on leading him around by his halter. No lead rope, just a hand on the halter. I mentioned it in a light-hearted manner to two of them, but they just looked at me like blank-eyed cows, so I think I'll just MYOB and if they get their fingers torn out of their sockets, well, sucks to be them.

Maybe Moose doesn't like to be lead with a rope, or tied...from his race track days, I don't know. The one girl was leading him around the arena in her SANDALS and she let out a huge scream and ran away, leaving Moose to wander...yep, he stepped on her. Gee, if he was on a lead rope, your feet would be further away from the horse's...duuhh!

Lots of yelling and fighting and all that loud kid crap that reminds me of my niece's family, including the threats of "if you can't behave go sit in the car!", ha ha! Poor Quzqo had to listen to all that, I made my escape!

Now I'm all the more determined to save up this winter for that lovely Wagner Pleasure Cart!

Driving Around The Neighborhood

2010-09-27T13:34:00.002-04:00

Took Quzqo for a drive yesterday, it was SO nice out, no bugs, not hot, no wind. Just as we were leaving, Bob and his extended family and friends were all returning from a trail ride (that I wasn't invited on, grumble) (not that I would have gone, ha ha)...I'd wondered why there were 10 cars in the parking lot but no people, they were all riding! Happily nobody spooked at the horse and cart and Quz didn't spook at the long line of horses coming down the road at us!

Just as they got down into the field off the road, Bob's horse spooked and bounced around sideways....so I'm not the only one (and no, he wasn't riding an Arabian!)

We went our usual "around the block" route (which is about 5 miles of road driving), and were approaching my friend's house and I was surprised to see...my ex-neighbor's car in the driveway! I saw her disappearing around back, and my friend's Lab, Chester, was bouncing around in the yard. What the heck, I drove Quz up the driveway and into the side yard. Chester barked at us, which brought my friend around the side of the house!

The ex-neighbor was visiting as they were going to go into the back field to hunt mushrooms, and were in the process of getting their riding mower out of the garage so the neighbor could ride out there (too far for her to hobble with her bum knee). I offered to give her a ride IF the cart could fit down the trail. Course it was wide enough, since that's what they drove their tractor/trailer down doing syrup this past spring!

I was SO pleased with Quz, he just marched right through the back yard, ignoring Chester, ignoring cars, trees, back yard stuff, and we followed the friend down the woodsy pathway (she had to pick up the pace cuz Quzqo was all enthused about this new place to go for once! Mighta run her over if she slowed down). About 100 yards into the woods we came into a clearing where the neighbor got out to go search for mushrooms.

I let Quz graze while we waited, feeling like the taxi driver in "Black Beauty", ha ha! At least it wasn't snowing. I got bored after 10 minutes or so, and tried to get Quz to step around the fire pit and move someplace else, but he started acting upset about SOMEthing... this ignorant Monkey took too long to notice he'd about rubbed his BRIDLE OFF!!! His right blinker was down on his cheek, the left blinker was in the middle of his forehead, one ear was behind the crownpiece, holy shit!!

I hollered for help from the other ladies but they were too far away and would have been useless anyway (now that I think about it). Quz started lunging forward in a panic, I got him stopped and jumped out of the cart (THAT is why I never want a Meadowbrook cart!) and ran to his head and managed to pull the bridle back to where it was supposed to be! Goofy horse!!

The ladies were done with their hunt, only finding a couple of giant puffballs but nothing else edible, so the neighbor climbed back in the cart, and we headed back down the path. Quz was more than happy to leave, he KNEW he was heading home!

We stopped in the back yard, the neighbor got out and Quz snagged some more lovely domestic grass from the lawn, and after a bit more chitchat, I pointed the horse towards home and he was on his way, don't try to stop him!!!

That horse never ceases to amaze!

Captain Obvious Rides a Horse

2010-09-13T10:44:00.003-04:00

Had a good time with Quzqo yesterday, took him for a drive until he started limping and acting unhappy...he was limping on the leg his knee cut is on, so I didn't know what was up! So we turned around to head back, and within the second the little bugger picked up the pace and merrily trotted, limp-free, back to the barn! He kept trying to slow down but I kept him trotting...make him re-think his little plan!

ANYway, when we got back to the barn I sat on the hill right by the barn and let Himself graze on the knee-high grass there... meanwhile a new boarder and his kids were hand grazing their horse behind us. The dad had put the little girl on the horse's back, and the boys were jealous. All I could see was DISASTER ALERT (read too much Fugly Horse of the Day I'm afraid)... The boys were about 10 or 11, both VERY hefty lads (if you catch my drift). All I know is suddenly I heard thudding hoofbeats and a THUD! I got up and peeked over the hill, one of the boys was slowing getting up from the ground, rubbing his butt, and the dad had the horse by the halter, asking the boy if he was all right.

Obviously the horse didn't care for the little big boy on him bareback, ha ha...and thankfully the dad didn't take it out on the horse like some assholes might. The kid was trying very hard not to cry, and was moving very slowly. "That HURT!" he kept saying repeatedly. Like, duuuuh! Ya think???

Later after I put Quz away, they were coming into the barn with the horse, Dad still had a death grip on the lead right up by the halter, and the boy lamented to me that he'd gotten bucked off!!! I said yeah, I got bucked off a month ago and I'm still recovering. Guess that wasn't what he wanted to hear, ha ha.

Last I heard as they disappeared into the back barn was "Getting bucked off HURTS!"

Guess he won't whine that it's unfair that sis got to sit on the horse any more.

Coulda been a lot worse. Thank goodness for the Michigan Equine Liability Law (i.e. if you kill yourself on a horse, it's your own damned fault)

P.S. Quzqo WAS a perfect gentleman on our drive, other than the "Oh I'm Lame" theatrics. No spooking, no silliness, but I could tell his heart just wasn't in the whole driving thing because he slogged out onto the road like a slug on sedatives. But at least he behaved.

The Day After the Day After the Bowen Therapy

2010-09-09T08:51:00.001-04:00

Paging Rod Serling, Rod Serling, please pick up the white courtesy phone! (do they even have those any more?)

Okay, I'm keeping an open mind about this Bowen stuff and all. I did my 3/8 mile hike out to the pasture to catch Quzqo, and he dragged me the 3/8 mile back to the barn. Brushed him without incident, he let me doctor up his new greasy heel infection (love rainy weather!), didn't frankly notice anything particularly different about him.

His nose is getting sunburned and it's starting to crack and peel, so I'd been putting aloe vera gel on it. This usually means a big Drama Queen battle, the instant I raise my goo-smeared fingers towards his face UP goes the head and he keeps his head as high as he can so I can't reach him. If I pull him down with the halter, he moves backwards. Usually I have to blindside him with a quick dab to the nose...as soon as he feels the gel on his nose, he's like "Oh, that stuff" and lowers his head and allows me to massage it in, probably enjoying its cooling smoothness on his chapped nose.

So tonight I'm ready for battle, UP goes the head...I wait a moment, then suddenly, he lowers his head back down, arches his neck prettily, and allows me to apply the gel right then and there without a single bit of fuss! Couldn't believe it, but was true, the first time that's ever happened!

Now the therapy lady did say the Therapy would help settle him down...is this something significant, or just a coincidence? Dunno.

Might ride him tomorrow, see what's different there, if anything.

DooDooDooDoo (Twilight Zone theme)

Blam! Shot Right Down!

2010-09-09T08:49:00.003-04:00

Whoops! Looks like the retail price of one of those neato carts is (*gulp*) $2300.00. Yoiks! Cripes, could get a nice Meadowbrook for $900! Ah well, dreams are nice and don't cost anything.

Will just tighten the bolts on my cart, maybe give it a new spray coat of Rustoleum, and enjoy the view of the horse's butt cheeks.

To Dream The Impossible Dream

2010-09-08T13:53:00.004-04:00

Well, probably not "Impossible", but bet I'll have to sell off some of the horse collection to pay for it!

Was looking through my web browser bookmarks this morning, and came across this in my "Model Horse" category. I'd assumed it was for model-scaled vehicles, but no, it's for Quzqo-scaled carts:
It's definitely an upgrade from my EZ Entry Cart, and I love the big solid wheels and the extra height (you can look OVER the horse's butt instead of right at it!). I emailed them for prices, so we shall see, I'll have all winter to save up for it, and if I can sell off my old cart, that'll make a huge dent in the price right there.

Nothing at all wrong with the old cart, but I feel now I'm totally hooked on driving, so it's okay to take off the training wheels and graduate to a Big Girl Cart!

I saw a couple of these at the Kentucky Horse Park this past summer, and they are NICE! Hopefully not ridiculously nice (price-wise). We shall see!

Day After Bowen-ing

2010-09-08T13:37:00.002-04:00

Stopped at the barn on my way home from work, and found Himself snagging life-sustaining bits of grass from the worn-down pasture...getting near the end of the season, all the good grass has been eaten. Never mind inches away there's shin-high luxurious grass porn so green and sumptuous it's all I can do to not eat it myself. BUT, one day, years ago, a horse had pooped there. The poop is gone, but of course that grass is forever tainted according to the Canon of the Horse, so they'd rather gnaw desultorily on dried Canadian thistle stems than eat poop-grass. It's a horse thing, you wouldn't understand. (Hm, but I merrily put horse poo on my garden and eat the lovely green beans and tomatoes that benefited from that. Maybe I better investigate)

ANYway...Quzqo saw me marching through the weeds toward him, and he left off his thistle-gnawing and walked right up to me. It was so hard to not pat him, but I did give him his peppermint (crap, I forgot to buy peppermints at WalMart today! Better look under the car seats cuz I'm all out!). Managed to halter him without making contact, and he about dragged me to the gate. He didn't want a drink, he wanted IN and he wanted IN NOW!

His leg injury is looking well, so we didn't even stop to smear some Swat on it. Straight to his stall, where Injustice of Injustices, NO FOOD! Oh Noes! He did bump me while he was spinning around to frantically check his grain bucket (it too, was empty), I hope that didn't upset his nerves or Chi or fascia or whatever, that little contact.

Other than his near-hysteria at the sight of an empty hay rack, I can't say I noticed anything too different about him. But it hadn't been 48 hours yet. We'll see what this evening brings!

Bowen, Bowen, Bowen, keep dem dogies Bowen

2010-09-07T12:14:00.003-04:00

Bowen Therapy. Ever hear of it? Me neither. Apparently it's a "gentle, non-invasive therapy that helps the whole body naturally rebalance, repair, and heal itself". A friend of mine on Facebook was also a friend at the Arabian show barn where I used to board, and is a practitioner of this new holistic therapy. A friend at the barn (current barn) asked her to take a look at her daughter's horse, because apparently he'd been bolting and bucking and generally endangering the girl's life.

I made a point of stopping by the barn at the time of their appointment, as I was curious, and wanted to see my old friend again. She worked with the horse, it looked like massage with a little chiropractic involved. So I went on out and rounded up Quzqo to bring back in for spa day.

When their session was done, the Bowen therapist came over to visit, and admire the horse (of course). Immediately she was struck by his "energy"....it was apparently radiating off of him like heat waves from blacktop pavement. She held her hands out and just "felt" all that "energy". I was a little amused because right then Quz had his head hanging down, his ears sort of at half-staff, and a hind foot cocked, probably just waiting to be escorted to his dinner.

She ooed and aahed, and put her hand to her face and exclaimed how HOT they were, just HOT from all that hot Arabian Energy...she touched my arm and yes, her hands were hot, but it was summer after all. But hey, I've witnessed some pretty unexplained things with horses over the years, to who am I to say yeah or nay (or neigh).

She tried to touch Himself on the neck, UP went the head, out bulged the eyes, No Touchee!!! She backed off and massaged the air above his back for a few seconds, keeping an eye on his head, looking for some signs of relaxation like licking and chewing or a big yawn. He obliged with a huge jaw-cracker of a yawn, which she celebrated as a "release" of tension and anger. Well, he was yawning when I brought him in from the pasture... maybe that was a tense situation he needed release from, I don't know.

Well, we caught up a bit, and she left, and I threw the horse back in his stall.

Couple of days later I came back to the barn, and as I was leading Quz back to his stall, just for shits and giggles, I stopped him, and put my palms against my face...okay, they were warmish. Got that. Then I held them about six inches away from Quzqo's side about where his heart would be... No B.S. now, I SWEAR I felt hot heat just pouring off of him. Like a radiator! It tingled! I put my hands on my face again, they were hot!! I touched the horse himself, his fur was cool, since we were in the shade. None of that blast furnace heat I felt seconds ago.

As I said, I've witnessed stranger things in the equine world, so...there might be something.

I didn't think Quzqo was in any particular pain, he's certainly not arthritic, hasn't sustained any injury other than his leg cut (which is still healing nicely, it was deeper than I originally thought, but the joint isn't involved). Maybe he torqued himself bucking me off, other than that, he hadn't exhibited anything out of the ordinary.

But when my friend at the barn scheduled another session with the therapist, she (the therapist) emailed me to see if I'd be interested in having Quzqo done. She thought maybe she could help with his hyper sensitivity (No Touchee!!!) and spooking behavior. I know what benefits massage, TTouch therapy and chiropractic helped my old horse, Tezlu, and Quz won't let me massage him, so maybe this might help out. Why the heck not?

So yesterday we had our appointment. She worked first with the show horse, lightly massaging him here and there, stretching this and that. The horse seemed to enjoy it thoroughly...VERY much, if you get my drift (he's a boy... hint hint), and at the end his head and ears were drooping, his tail was swishing slowly, and he looked like the most contented horse on the planet. I thought to myself 'if she can get Quz into that state, I'm sold!'

I brought Quzqo out of his stall where he'd been busy pitching a hissy because there was NO FOOD in there! He marched amicably down the aisle, and into the arena, probably wondering what his Monkey was up to now.

Uh oh, there was another Monkey in the arena. In his experience, that usually means an injection in some part of his body, and I could see he was tensed up, not trusting this new Monkey one bit.

She did some long-distance massage, again remarking on the amount of energy radiating out of him (he does crackle some days, for sure!), and showed me how to calm him by repetitively pulling my hand down the lead rope without touching the actual rope...somehow pulling the energy out of the horse and communicating like another horse. I refrained from making a remark about incense and aromatherapy, maybe some Yanni on the radio. But the horse seemed to enjoy it, and curled his neck around to snuffle at her, at which she pleaded "don't let him bite me!" I guess that's a common reaction she's gotten in the past.

He tolerated that for a few more seconds before backing away, like "Nuh uh, that's enough of that!". She repeated it, he enjoyed it for a bit, then backed away. At this she got kind of misty eyed and emotional, and proclaimed "he's saying it's nice you want to be my friend, but why would anybody want to be MY friend? I don't deserve it."

Course I teared up as well, my poor horsie! He doesn't have any horse friends, hanging out by himself in the field, and avoids the others in the pasture (especially that blue roan that pins his ears at him). My poor, poor boy!

So we kept reassuring him with the rope-stroke (oo, naughty!), and when he backed away, she'd go on to something else. His withers were tight, his poll was tight, his back was tight, he dragged his hind legs (he's always done that, I chalked it up to laziness...too much effort to lift those feet). So for the duration she massaged when he allowed it, massaged long-distance when he didn't, let him take breaks where I walked him around, back to rope-stroking and massage and forehead-tapping (he's supposed to like that she said, and he didn't draw away, so maybe he does). We lost count of the "releases" through huge gaping yawns, at least 20, maybe more. Plenty of licking and chewing, plenty of nibbling and nuzzling (and I didn't even have any treats).

At least three times I heard the bones in his neck and spine "adjust" with loud pops, though she was barely touching him (unlike the chiropractor with his mallet and rubber chisel). Things were progressing very well, until the inevitable happened.

The barn owner started wheeling the hay cart around. Game Over, man! It's DINNER!!! No, he wasn't agitated because he was stressed, he was stressing because all the other horses were getting hay and he'd starve to death trapped in the arena with the funny rope-stroking monkeys!!

I walked him and tried to find a spot in the arena where he couldn't see the delectable second cutting hay being handed out to all and sundry. The therapist worked a bit more, and once dinner service was over, Quzqo focused back on the task at hand, namely lipping at anything he could reach.

Put a gun to my head, I still couldn't say exactly what-all she did, but a few things she pointed out afterwards were different. His back looked flatter, he didn't quite have that deep a dip behind the withers that he had been developing. His butt was looser and flobbier, he had actual floppy man-boobs, being all relaxed on a muscular level. And his right fore hoof now looked at a longer angle than the left, because his shoulder was more relaxed.

I'm not supposed to ride him for 48 hours, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's different. Heck, the Rx is I'm not even supposed to TOUCH him for 48 hours, just the barest minimum such as putting on a halter, or putting Swat on his cut. No petting, no patting, no brushing, no full-body hugs. That will be harder on ME than him. But we don't want to disrupt the healing of the nerves and muscles. Of course he's going to flop himself on the ground and roll and roll, that won't mess up his fascia, but if I were to pat him on the neck...

So we shall see what happens, and if there's marked improvement in his behavior. Apparently the other horse had been dramatically changed from a bolting, fearful menace to a proudly cantering, on-the-bit paragon of equine performance. Don't quite color me skeptical just yet.

For more information on Bowen therapy, there's plenty online information!

First Hurdle Crossed

2010-09-01T15:09:00.001-04:00

Finally my back/legs/ribs were at a state that I figured I might be able to at least sit on Quzqo, more to jump the mental hurdle than the physical one. It helped that it was 89 degrees out, and the horse was a limp dishrag energy-wise, ha ha!

There was a family of boarders riding horses in the indoor arena, which would also be good; he'd have company and maybe not feel tense. He wasn't happy when I put the pad on his back (but he never is), I tried some of that hands-off massage and he dropped his head and started licking and chewing!

*I* needed some hands-off massage to calm ME down. But he stood still for me to get on instead of his usual antics (too hot to be naughty), and took off walking before I got my right foot in the stirrup (we need to work on THAT next).

He was pretty much normal (why wouldn't he be?), only once his head shot down and I was afraid he was going to buck (lol), but he was just trying to snarf up some hay on the ground next to a hay wagon in the arena. We walked around, dodging the other horses (dang people who can't steer a QH, lol!). After a few minutes we jog trotted, and only issue was the tweaking of my lower back. And the horse was breaking into a sweat, so we called it quits, I didn't want to torque my spine or something. It was kinda sore, but at least I Did It! And wearing jeans and boots in 89 degree weather isn't that great either, lol!

Next step will be to ride him in the outdoor ring, then maybe go around the fenceline. But not 'til my back is 100% good (or at lest 90%)

His knee wound is slowly healing, it's oozing clear red stuff, but long as it's not pus I guess. It was worse than I first estimated apparently, but at least it IS healing.

2010 Speckle Update

2010-08-18T18:43:00.004-04:00

It's that time of year again!!!!

Remember 2009:

And now, the 2010 version:

Not a whole lot of change. I guess now that the legs are pretty much white, that's it for anything dramatic until one day those speckles on the shoulders fill into a nice bloody shoulder.

The right side, 2009:

And the right side in 2010:
The right side seems more speckly overall. And his Redneck Trail Horse bridle path is growing out so nice, I think by Christmas it'll be as long as the rest of his mane (1" a month seems to be his hair growth rate)

Until next year!

Bucked Off Back Into Love

2010-08-18T18:28:00.002-04:00

It's been 11 days or so since I got bucked off, and I can ALMOST walk without pain, the bruises and scabs are fading, the rope burn on my finger is scabbed over nicely, why, there's almost no limp, almost!

Managed to get out to check on the horse only a couple of times because, well, it hurt like bloody hell to walk or bend over to pick up a curry comb or brush, and let's just say Quzqo hasn't been my most favorite horse in the world recently.

Yesterday I stopped by after work, and enjoyed a 3/4 mile hike out into the pasture to catch him and bring him back to the barn, my sciatica was singing "Ave Maria" in a not-nice way by the time we returned, but I was able to ignore the pain by fixating on the amazing 3-4" long bloody scrape/cut Quzqo now sports on his left fore knee!!

Can't say when that happened, probably that morning, judging from the cleanliness of the wound, and the amount of dried blood encrusted on the front of his cannon. But it didn't look deep, it was dry, no swelling, no limp (lucky horse), so I washed off the dried stuff while he bent down and mashed his goobery wet horse lips into the top of my head.

Today I stopped out, feeling much better sciatica-wise, and happily he was close in by the gate, so no hike up and down the hilltops. The leg was pretty much unchanged, and while I bent down to poke and prod, I felt those big, warm, goobery wet horse lips nibbling on my good work shirt on my back..

He's been acting like a sad puppy these past two days, maybe he is in pain (welcome to the club, buddy), but he's back to being that Quzqo I fell in love with on Day One. Mr. Pocket Pony, all sweet and cute and nibbly (I know, nibbling is bad horse manners), arching his neck and peering at me through his forelock with those big chocolate brown eyes...I melted like a starlite mint on a hot summer day.

He's back to being my Big Ole' Guy, my Cutey-kins, my Mr. Cute-iful. He didn't mean to throw me into the hard packed gravel driveway from a height of 6 feet, causing me 11 days of constant pain, no, and I gave him a big hug, careful to keep my feet away from his hooves, and making sure nothing was around to make him spook and throw me into the wall. He's my horse, and though others may think I'm insane for not selling him and taking up a safer pasttime, like hang gliding, I don't care. He's my boy!

I Kill You!!!

2010-08-08T17:43:00.004-04:00

Haven't ridden Quzqo very much these past few weeks, it's been too frickin' HOT, and one thing I've found as I get older; discomfort isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Sweating to death in blue jeans and leather boots while sitting astride some 102 degree furry beast in 90 degree weather no longer appeals to me, neither does the resulting blisters in tender bits of my anatomy, and other accompanying rashes and discomforts.

So we've pretty much just pottered around the barn property, but only on cooler days (say, low 80's), riding the property line, which is a nice 20 minute ride or so, with opportunity to canter, trot, spook at sparrows, and confront scary Belgians.

I've driven Quzqo a few times, but that's not the same as riding.

So this weekend the weather was perfect, I actually had time, and even rested all morning so I'd have the energy to actually take Himself for a real life bona-fide Trail Ride off the property for the first time in a month or more!!

Quz was unusually mellow, temps were in the mid-70's, I thought he'd be more energetic with the cooler weather, but no, he was happy to just plod along as I led him in from the pasture. Since we were going off the property, I pulled out all the stops: trail saddle, breast collar, bear bells, and since they'd mown the hay next door, I used his bitless bridle (otherwise he'd be diving for the grass and I couldn't do a thing about it with that bridle).

Our ride started out slowly, he was just dragging along, doing all he could to avoid leaving. I tried to tell him that the longer he took to walk away from the barn, the longer he'd BE away from the barn, so it'd be to his benefit to actually walk FASTER!

The neighbor behind the property now has an antique hay mower parked right by the edge where we ride, I don't know if that was deliberate, or just a coincidence. Of course Quz wanted no part of it, but we took a 20 yard detour around the thing and once past he was back to dragging along like he was 21 instead of 12.

We didn't go anywhere too exciting, just our usual route down Fewins Road, up Reynolds, across Bronson Lake into the State Forest where they'd done logging last year. There were still massive piles of logs along the two-track, but it was nice to see the green shoots emerging from the stumps. Nature will find a way!

We did a fair bit of cantering, trotting, met a couple of dirt bikers puttering up the trail, made it to the little stream I love, turned around, cantered and trotted back, Quzqo was near golden perfection, such a wonderful sweet lope, why he couldn't ever manage that in a show ring, I'll never know. We cut through the woods that had been logged this Spring, and thankfully the local rednecks had cleared the cutting debris for their ATVs, so we could ride that trail once again.

Saw a deer skull picked clean by Nature, made a mental note to come back for it another day when I have saddlebags.

Contentedly we made our way back towards the barn, stopping to feast on some alfalfa, or for the horse to take a pee, just admiring the scenery and fresh air and lovely day, and congratulating myself on having such a wonderful time, despite my earlier reservations.

We were walking up the hard dirt and gravel driveway to the barn, I was thinking about where to stop to dismount.

Quzqo EXPLODED into a spectacular BUCK and I flew out of the saddle like a jack-in-the box!

I had time to think "this is going to hurt!" and SLAMMED into the concrete-hard dirt of the driveway, knocking every bit of wind from my lungs. The pain was indescribable, not that I could have described it, as I was trying very very hard to breathe, but couldn't. It might have been 15 seconds before I was able to inhale at last, and was too busy concentrating on how freaking much PAIN I was in to more than glance up at the horse, and saw him standing by the open barn door, looking at me.

I managed to roll over onto my stomach, as my left hip was aflame with pain, and tried to breathe. Within seconds I heard gravel crunching behind me and an SUV pulled up. An older couple got out and came to my assitance, apparently grandparents of one of the boarders (this day was Fair day, and everyone was at the fairgrounds with the horses, and that girl had forgotten her western bridle). They helped me up once I determined nothing was broken (believe me, I know what THAT feels like), and we watched Quzqo wander into the barn, down the aisleway, and into his stall, where the man reported he was eating his grain.

Gee, thanks Quz.

I managed to shake off the shock I was in, found I could walk as long as there was a wall to lean against, we got the horse untacked and the tack put away, I shuffled slowly to my car, and as I drove home could feel my butt swelling by the minute.

Let's just say I now have a deep purple bruise the size of a Medium Pizza on my left butt cheek, and very sore everything else from hip to neck. Nice deep abrasians on my left elbow where I landed, and a huge rein-burn on my right hand. Oh yes, and new and exquisite forms of pain whenever I move.

Don't know WHY he exploded like that, my guess is maybe a fly bit him someplace ultra-tender. I've owned that horse for over 6 years now, and NEVER EVER had he done that. Needless to say MY confidence is shaken to the core, it'll be a while before I can physically ride, never mind the mental obstacle now in front of me.

And why do I keep falling off onto hard painful surfaces. Just once I'd like to fall in a deep fluffy snowbank!

I'll see if I can't hobble out to the barn tonight to check on Quz, he was a filthy sweaty mess when I left him, but I didn't really care, he could rot in his own filth as far as I was concerned at that point.

It's important to trust your horse, and him trust you. Let's hope I can overcome this.

p.s. And yes, I was wearing my helmet. This is the PERFECT example of why you should ALWAYS wear a helmet when you ride, because, well, you never know what will happen!!!

Take That, You Maggot!

2010-06-08T18:43:00.002-04:00

Back when I first got Quzqo (back in 2004!), I was delighted to find out he was easier than anything to paste worm. Ole Tezlu, my previous horse, was nigh impossible, he'd literally hide his head in the corner of the stall (I can't see you, you don't exist), I'd have to haul his head around, then he'd clamp his lips tight, so I'd have to force the end of the worming syringe in between his iron lips and get it towards the back of his tongue. Then once I squirted the worming paste in, he'd refuse to swallow it, and stand there, lips clamped together, melting wormer oozing from the corners, giving me the stink-eye and sulking.

But with Quzqo, who was young and ignorant, he took the syringe like a dream, swallowed the paste, then had an attitude of "well, now what shall we do?"

But then the barn owner decided they'd take over worming all the boarders' horses, so the horses would be on the same schedule, and that would eliminate the possibility of one irresponsible boarder neglecting their horse, and then spreading worms throughout the pasture. Well, okay, I guess, it's not my barn after all. A couple of times a year an extra $9 or $10 charge would show up on my board bill, which meant Quz got wormed. Okay.

Well, hate to say it, but it's been years since I saw that charge, and I can't imagine (the way things are in this economy) that he'd been being wormed for free. I know that these days people no longer worm every 8 weeks, instead maybe in the spring and the fall, or only after a fecal test. But Quz is getting ribby, and the top of his tail is all frazzled, like they get when they've been rubbing their butts on things to scratch an itch...a classic sign of worms!

So tonight I stopped at TSC and splurged on a tube of no-brand Ivermectin (hey, it was $5 cheaper than Zimecterin, and had the exact same stuff in it, just no ad campaign), and headed to the barn.

I don't know how they'd wormed him in the past. I know how they deal with horses for vaccinations or Coggins tests, and I know the barn owner's impatience with fussy little horses, so I could only imagine Quz being cornered in his stall, having his ear pulled to subdue him, having nasty wormer shoved in his mouth... so I expected a full blown Drama Queen performance this evening!

Surprise is a good technique, so I went into the pasture and brought him to the gate, with the wormer in my jacket pocket. Before we left the pasture, I brought out the syringe, he sniffed it curiously (it did smell good...apple flavored!), but as soon as I raised it towards him, UP went the head, high as he could go, and he started backing away. But hey, we had the entire pasture (maybe 20 acres or so), lots of room, and he's not that tall, so I was able to squidge the end of the syringe into his mouth, and squirt the goo onto the back of his tongue. He made faces and smacked his lips, and allowed me to rub his forehead and pat his neck and heap further praise upon his wonderful Self for being so good!!

I was surprised myself, I was expecting all sorts of theatrics! Maybe Bob hadn't misused him for previous wormings, or maybe it'd been so long he forgot, or maybe he trusted me. But I feel better now that he's full of poison, hopefully killing any uninvited interlopers.

He got a reward of grazing on the two-foot tall grass by the barn while I played with the barn corgis. I probably won't put him on an 8 week rotation of worming, but at least this should clean him out for now.

Law and Order

2010-04-29T14:19:00.001-04:00

Looks like it's going to be quite a deal this weekend, the "West Shore Academy" for "Michigan Association of Mounted Police Patrols". All the empty stalls had been cleaned and bedded with fresh sawdust, with little name cards on the stall doors (at least 4 different Mounted Units from 4 different counties so far, I didn't go into the new section of the barn).

There were two gooseneck rigs parked in the side pasture when I drove up, and half a dozen horses running loose in the outdoor arena. I'd tacked up Quz and took him for a little trail ride around the property (his canter is sooooo sweet!) (he had a major spook-fit over two scary ROBINS in the grass). By the time we got back there were two smaller rigs parked in the pasture. I imagine by tomorrow afternoon it'll really be hoppin'!

I heard one of the folks mention "flares" as I rode by...uh-oh.

When I was getting Quz, I noted his pasture is pretty far away from them, with plenty of hills to muffle any noise/explosions/helicopters, so he should have a pretty okay time of it.

Fun to see what-all's going on by tomorrow!

I padlocked my tack cupboards just in case....barn full of strangers you know. Of course they're supposedly law enforcement, but still...

Punched The Core!!!

2010-03-29T11:44:00.003-04:00

Dunno where the title of this entry came from, but it symbolizes obtaining the impossible, reaching the unreachable, punching through the crust of the earth to pierce the very core! Or, in my case, finally scraping up enough intestinal fortitude to do something I've been wanting to do for over ten years now!

Conditions were as perfect as they were going to get: Sunday afternoon. Clear weather. A large percentage of the population away on Spring Break. No tourists, no commuters, no big rig trucks. To quote the bar owner in "The Full Monty", "it's now or never!"

The barn was rather busy this fine sunny Sunday afternoon. The chalk board proclaimed it was "Clean The Barn Day", with free cake for the cleaners (dang, I didn't know about that!). There were people cleaning stalls, sweeping aisleways, brooming cobwebs from the walls, and in the indoor arena there appeared to be a group riding lesson going on. Making things more interesting, the door at the end of the aisle was blocked with a two-wheeled draft horse forecart, and the main arena door was blocked by a tractor.

I planned to drive today, and my normal M.O. is to harness Quz in the cross-ties, hitch him up, then lead him and the cart out the door that was blocked by the forecart. If I hitched him up in the arena, I would lead him out the door blocked by the tractor. A Third option would be to hitch him up in the cross-ties on the other side by his stall, but they were cleaning stalls, and tying the indoor horses up in the aisleways while the stalls were being cleaned.

One option remained....the aisleway "downstairs" where my cart is stored...it opens up into the front parking area, has cross-ties, and is relatively quiet. If it works out, it might be my new method, which would cut out the step of wheeling the cart up the ramp, across the arena, and into the aisleway. Less work for me!

Brought Himself in, the grass is just starting to emerge enough to make it worth a horse's while to actually graze. Quzqo got his 2010 shoes put on this past week, so he was ready to get down to business!

While he enjoyed his Sunday bran mash in his freshly-cleaned stall, I hauled his harness over to the stall, and brushed and partially tacked him up in his stall. Then I lead him out the door, down and around to the "downstairs" portion of the barn, and into the aisleway where the cart was waiting.

We were having MAJOR wind conditions that day, and with the aisle doors open at both ends, we were almost in a wind tunnel. Combine that with the creaks and groans of the building in the wind, being in a New and Special Cross-Ties, to say Quz was a little jumpy would be an understatement.

Got him harnessed up the rest of the way, and once the shafts of the cart settled down on his sides he calmed a bit (mostly because he was no longer able to wiggle side-to-side). Instead he pawed the concrete and tossed his head. "Come ON, let's GO!!"

We burst out of the barn and kept going, I managed to get him stopped before he went all the way to the front pasture to visit those horses. He stood still while I got into the cart, we waited maybe 15 seconds before moving on, and out onto the road!

He was so full of P&V, the day was bright, the wind at our back, after a quick visual check that all the harness parts were buckled to the proper cart parts, I said "Trot!" and off we went, heading south on Lake Ann Road!

Have to admit I was distracted by the neighbor's property across the road when suddenly I saw a commotion to the right, and instantly Quzqo bolted forward and began galloping up the road! While I tried to slow him, I saw the three young horses in the other front pasture (known as "Mexico") galloping along the fenceline, tails flagging, heads tossing, freaking themselves out at the scary Horse and Cart on the road!

Quz galloped maybe 50 yards before I got him slowed to a canter, he was not interested in slowing any further. I remembered John Lyons' advice that you can ride as fast as your horse can run. I can drive as fast as my horse can run, so I let him! He cantered on, a car or two passed us in the other lane, but our side of the road was clear, so why not! At the top of the hill he slowed to a trot on his own, and we continued trotting up to the stop sign at the highway.

Now for over a decade I've had this terror of crossing the highway. U.S. 31 is a major regional highway, still only two lanes, but this intersection has been the scene of many a car wreck, and even a fatality or two. Images of being T-boned by a tractor trailer or RV haunted me. But this day I figured it's the safest of the windows of opportunity. God was smiling on me, the only cars coming were easily 1/2 mile away to the east. But I trotted Quzqo right across the highway to the other side anyway.

He had no desire to slow down... So I let him trot! I was thinking I should have borrowed one of the racing sulkies at the barn, the way that horse was trotting! I was glad he had shoes on his front feet, I was glad the cart seemed to be holding together, I was glad there were no cars to be seen ahead or behind! And on we went!

About half a mile down there's a small hobby farm that is home to maybe a dozen Miniature Horses, a black horse, and sheep and bunnies. The Mini pasture runs right along the road. As we trotted past, the Minis started an adorable little stampede along the length of their fenceline, shocked at the horrific Horse and Cart passing their home! I burst out laughing, and I think that may have spooked Quzqo into a little faster trot! O, to have a video camera, there's nothing more adorable than stampeding Miniature Horses!

At the mile mark Quz petered out and slowed to a walk. That's a lot of energy to expend, glad we got it out of the way!

I didn't have a planned route, my main concern was crossing the highway. Sort of like the dog that chases the car; what does he do with one once he catches it? We came to an intersection of dirt roads... to the west, a long, tempting straightaway to parts unknown. To the east, a long tempting straightaway, with a relatively steep hill down into a swamp, and ultimately leading to my house!!

Another fantasy I've had is how fun it'd be to ride/drive my horse to my house....heck, I'm halfway there! So we headed east!

Down the hill, up a hill, down a hill, down another hill...I'm thinking "crap, he has to walk UP those hills going home!". We passed quite a few homes, most with barking dogs. Down into the wooded swamp, past the "Snow Plowing Ends" sign, past another home with barking dogs. Barking LOOSE dogs.

They came pounding down their driveway and out onto the road...three BIG dogs, barking, stopping, advancing, then they began running after us. One of them I swear was a pit bull or a pit bull cross! Quzqo was tensing up. The lead dog got maybe ten feet behind me when I turned and SMACKED the ground behind us with my whip. The loud POP made Quz jump, but the dogs leaped back like they were hit instead of the ground, and after some hesitation, they turned and ran back to their driveway. Whew!

Bad thing is, we'd have to come back past them!

It was really quite nice down in the swamp, at least this time of year. Probably not so much in July and mosquito season. We almost missed our turnoff onto another two-track that eventually turns into a wider dirt road, past another horse farm, and finally onto MY road!

So many times I've daydreamed how it'd be to ride/drive Quzqo down MY road to my house. Well, this was IT! Have to admit, it was pretty anti-climactic. Kind of dull actually. Quz was content to walk along slower than ever, he'd decided about half a mile back that the drive was OVER and it's time we should be going back (I can tell when this happens, because he starts to veer towards random driveways/side-roads, thinking they lead back to the barn).

And we made it!!

Unfortunately he took us stopping for me to take the photo as meaning we're turning around, and I had a devil of a time getting him moving forward. I figured we had to at least make it to the driveway to be officially "Home". I was attempting to hold him still and call my across-the-road neighbor on my cell phone so she could come out for a vist with the horse, when she appeared on her own, having seen us out her front window!

Quzqo was having NONE of this "stand still and behave" nonsense, and started backing up, rearing, head-tossing, backing us up into a pine tree, but still she managed to snap this portrait as further proof of our achievement!

After a few words, I pointed the horse west, and got him going at another roadster trot, we FLEW away from there, and I figured at that rate we'd be back to the barn in half an hour!

That lasted maybe 1/4 of a mile before Quz pooped out again, and was content to amble along at a human's pace. I wouldn't have minded, except this time we were heading INto the wind. A brisk, 20mph wind straight out of the NORTH. And baby, it was ice cold!!

Eventually we made it back to the swamp, and the trees cut the wind. It would have been enjoyable (I think I found a wild blueberry bog) except for the guy on a ATV blatting around the two-tracks behind us. I kept waiting for him to try to pass, but he kept finding side-trails to go down instead.

We came to where the dogs were, the dogs were off somewhere else, so there was another non-event. Fine with me!

Up up up the hills. Quz did better than I'd feared he would. I explained to him that it'd be dangerous for me to get out of the cart and walk beside him to make it easier, and it's probably just as well I don't understand Horse.

It was pretty much uneventful back to the paved road, other than the amazingly cuttingly bone-chilling blasted wind that would not let up. I had dressed for 50 degrees, but now that it was after 5 p.m., it was no longer 50 degrees, that was clearly evident.

I tried a little experiment as we came to the cross-roads, allowing the horse to choose which road to take to go home. He immediately started turning to the left...the absolute opposite direction of the barn! So much for that idea, LOL!

We made it past the Mini Ranch without another stampede (darn!), but one little Mini pranced and cantered along the fence, whinnying at us as we passed.

Quzqo was not impressed by the rumble strips on the road. We managed to go around them, no way would I want to go OVER them. Talk about a bouncy ride!

And again we were at the highway. Cars were whizzing past as we approached the stop sign. An SUV pulled up behind us. Again luck was with us, as the approaching car was maybe 1/4 mile away, and we trotted across the road and headed towards home!

That half a mile was the longest half a mile in my life! Frozen to the bone, having to pee, hungry, the horse probably tired and sore, the sunlight weakening, the wind never letting up. Heading into the arena (the tractor had been moved from the doorway) was heavenly, with the wind stopping, it felt almost balmy warm in there!

Poor Quzqo was traumatized. His winter fur had been rubbed away under the shafts and breeching, right down the short summer stuff. He was still jumpy and jittery, but not so much that he'd refuse a peppermint!

We arrived back at the barn at 6:10, exactly 1 hour, 20 minutes after we left my house. I'm sure we could have made better time if SOMEbody didn't insist on walking instead of trotting. Maybe in the Fall when we're both in better shape. Have to say, I'm in no real hurry to repeat that trip!!

But at least now I think I'm over my fear of U.S. 31, and look forward to doing it again, and this time, heading into the west to see what we can see!

Quzqo's European "Look"

2010-03-04T14:12:00.003-05:00

Too cheap to get my clipper blades sharpened, I've decided that we're going to go for the "European Look" this season. Over in Europe the Arabians are shown without a bridle path, with their whiskers intact. These are known as showhorses. Over here in America, that "look" is known as "Redneck Trail Horse".

By my calculations, we will have a uniform mane length by March 2011!

Let's just hope I don't get bitten by the Horse Show Bug between now and then, because if I do, that will have to be trimmed! Judges just aren't that understanding.

An Encounter with Woodland Spirits

2009-10-26T12:15:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-10-26T11:50:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-20T20:12:00.001-04:00

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

2009-09-11T13:46:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-31T11:19:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-21T11:57:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-08-14T12:03:00.000-04:00

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!!!

2009-08-11T21:08:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-07-31T14:22:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-30T12:37:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-25T19:13:00.005-04:00

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

Into the Woods

2009-06-22T14:37:00.003-04:00

I worked so hard in the yard yesterday, and it was still in the 80's after 6 p.m., I was in NO mood or condition to ride the horse! But hey, that's why I trained him to DRIVE, ha ha!!

It was a BEAUTIFUL evening, a soft breeze blowing, the horse was halfway through his dinner when I got there, and he was sooooo slow and unenthused, I had to drag him from his stall and down the aisleway. Good!!

Got him brushed and harnessed and hitched without any problems, but once I told him to "Quzqo, WALK!" he leaned into the breast collar and hiked right up the hill and away we went! Once we got to the paved road he slowwwwed waaaay dowwwnnn...but that's okay, it was such a peaceful evening, very little traffic being Father's Day/Sunday evening, I was content to just dawdle down the road, listening to the birds and crickets.

We went in a different direction from last week, I've had enough of angry rednecks yelling at us. This other residential road is full of higher-class people with nicer yards and better attitudes, who are more likely to holler out "Your horse is pretty!" than "Git back here, Killer!!"

Didn't see much of any people, there were some rednecks further down sitting on the steps of their singlewide while their red hound dawg barked and bayed at us, and I heard them laughing, but don't know at what.

Got Quz trotting, and THAT he was interested in! That previous sluggishness disappeared, and he booked right along, ears forward, clip clop clip clop merrily along!!

We left the paved road and headed into the State forest at the end of the road...lovely flat wide dirt roads for miles and miles! Much to my surprise, Quzqo kept on trotting...normally he wants to walk so he can shy at stumps and dappled sunlight on the road, but no, this time he wanted to GOGOGO!! So I let him!

We blew past "Calamity Corners" (the spot where I fell off Tezlu on Father's Day in 2000 after being chased by dirt bikers) and headed straight instead of turning left as usual, and headed for the human camp ground instead of the horse camp ground to the north. What the heck, I haven't been that way since Tezlu times!! Beautiful deep woods, oaks and maples...we had a car come up behind us, but there's enough cutouts in the roadside (because this part isn't wide enough for two cars to pass), and we ducked into one of those so the guys could pass.

There were a few more cars, and we came to an intersection of dirt roads. To the left was the road to the human campground, to the right was the road out to another paved road, and I don't know (yet) where the straight-ahead leads! We stopped to let the traffic clear, and then I found out why Quzqo was constantly switching his tail...MOSQUITOES! There were zillions of them, EVERYwhere, clouds of them, and they were all biting us!! I was trying to swat bugs and hold the reins, the horse was cranking his tail and flinging his head and wiggling.... soon as the last car crept by, we turned around, I put Quzqo into overdrive, and we TORE out of there at a road-eating trot! It was GREAT..the road was smooth, we left the mosquitoes far behind, and that horse was just trotting and trotting. I was impressed that he didn't want to slow, so I didn't ask him to. We made it totally out of the State forest, had to be a mile easily, got across an intersection, and got him trotting again, and he went on, at a slower, more civilized pace!

Towards the end of the road I got him walking, then I noticed him LIMPING on his left fore! Shit!! It wasn't a big limp, but noticeable...so we walked, but the further we walked, the less the limp, and by the time we got back to the barn, he was fine. After untacking him, I examined his foot, and there was a spot where it looked like a stone had hit the sole, but he wasn't tender about it. Who knows.

I was SO pleased at how well he did...no spooking, no shying, even leftover Graduation Party balloons tied to a mailbox didn't bother him! Glad to be getting the old Quzqo back again!!!

LOL...there's now a Belgian in the stall right next door to Quz...talk about a contrast of sizes!!!

My, What Big Testicles You Have!!

2009-06-15T15:51:00.004-04:00

There's a saying about the only thing that separates the men from the boys is the size of their toys. Well, it seems this past weekend was THE weekend for all those overgrown boys to be out and about, showing off their toys and their apparent testicular endowments personified by those V8 engines and glass-packed mufflers!

I'll commend Quzqo, who has no testicles, with maintaining his level-headedness when it seemed we were confronted with a never-ending weekend-long parade of Redneck males in/on about every kind of mechanized projection of their masculinity short of a Monster Truck coming down the road!

Saturday on our trail ride, we were both surprised to find two good ole' boys four-wheeling in a bright red Chevy truck , doing donuts and going round and round in a hilly empty field without roads (just a horse trail). We stayed on the opposite side of the field to see what their plan was, and apparently it was to drive aimlessly over saplings and wildflowers before heading up a sharp bank and back onto the road and southwards to find other unsuspecting natural areas to express their virility through their shiny red truck. My my, weren't we impressed!

A local campground also hosted their "Harley Round-Up" this weekend, I can't recall a time there were so many Harleys on the road, roaring up and down, their elderly riders sporting the barest minimum skullcap helmets, their beer guts interfering with their ability to steer their Hawgs. Thankfully Quzqo isn't fazed one way or another by a blatting glass-packed muffler, so if they thought they could scare the horse, I hope they were disappointed.

On our Sunday afternoon drive, we were going down a dirt road I like to call Deliverance Drive, due to it's frightening dirt-poor white trash hovels (I have GOT to take photos one of these days). I got Quzqo trotting so as to get past the scary buildings as fast as we could, when I saw a rather large woman unloading groceries from her car. At her feet was a small black dog, bigger than a Chihuahua but smaller than a MinPin...it immediately started yapping and heading for the road. The woman started hollering at the top of her lungs for the dog to git back here! Oh, yes, a yapping dog and a hollering human, Quzqo loved THAT! I calmly told the woman that it was all right, even called her "Ma'am" but little doggy was in the road chasing after us, and the woman kept on hollering. Quz shifted into third gear, almost broke into a canter, but blew out of there, trotting powerfully over the lovely washboard road, pausing only to shy at a mailbox before we made it past the settlement into the open countryside beyond.

I hate going down that stretch of road. Seriously.

On our way back to the barn (and boy, does Quzqo know when we've turned around and are heading HOME!), I went a different route, returning down the dirt road we leave by... Now leaving entails going up a long, gradual incline and down a short, sharp decline. Which meant going home, we have to go back up the short, sharp incline, and then the long, gradual decline. I was worried about this, because Quzqo gets very slow going up that hill when I'm riding, and sometimes I dismount and lead him instead. I was pondering where to stop the cart to get out and lead him, when behind us I heard a large engine with a bad muffler approaching. Ah, shit, a big pickup truck racing down the dirt road, heading for the hill and us!

I got Quz off to the side as far as I could (which wasn't far with 10 foot high dirt banks on both sides), and the truck slowed and trundled past us, blaring rap tunes with the bass thudding, and two ugly dogs hanging out the passenger side window (one was a half-Rottweiller, couldn't tell what the other one was). Quzqo was fine with that, but then suddenly right on his bumper came a big white van that neither of us knew was there, its engine sound drowned out by the hick-hop music blasting from the first truck! Quz froze in place, pointing slightly into the lane of traffic, the van slowed slightly, then tore off in a cloud of dust up the hill. Quz started to back down the hill....NO! Forgive me O Wise Ones of Chronicle of the Horse, but I slapped the reins on his rump and he leaned forward and tore off at a ground-grabbing trot up the hill after the van and had NO problems running up that hill and beyond!

Heck, he wasn't even breathing hard when I slowed him down eventually!

Back on the county road leading to the barn, we were passed by a few more Harleys and a modified hot rod. By that time Quzqo had seen it all and wasn't impressed. All we needed to make the day complete would have been some ATVs and dirt bikes. Maybe next weekend.

Kind of makes me long for the days of $4.17/gallon gasoline, when people couldn't afford to waste their money.

Our Journey Through Caterpillar Hell

2009-06-15T12:10:00.004-04:00

Right now, in mid-June, Northern Michigan is in the midst of the worst Tent Caterpillar infestation in remembered history (well, MY remembered history anyway). The "normal" tent worms have already decimated the wild cherry trees (and are working on my rose bushes, grrrr), and now the Forest Tent Worms are wreaking havoc on the hardwood forests in the area!

This is clearly evident by the forests behind the barn property.

The right side of the forest has been stripped by the little buggers, it looks like an early Springtime forest! The left side has been mostly untouched, and that's what the whole thing SHOULD look like!

The insects are stripping the maples and beeches of every bit of greenery it seems! The damage is awe-inspiring in its destruction!

This past weekend I took Quzqo on a nice 3 hour trail ride on Saturday, by ourselves, and unfortunately our path took us right THROUGH caterpillar-infested forests. Not only did we have to look at this mess, but also caterpillars constantly falling from the canopy, landing on my shoulders, legs, head, hands, the horse's neck or head or rump. Or else coming across them hanging at eye-level from threads of silk, lowering themselves to the ground so they can move on to the next tree. If you stopped and listened, you hear a constant soft pattering sound like raindrops...which is either falling worms, or falling worm poo. Needless to say, we made it out of those woods in record time!

I mean, seriously, LOOK AT THIS mess:

I'm no fan of insecticides, but you can't tell me a mass spraying with BT or something couldn't have helped! Er, that'd be assuming the state of Michigan had any money, ha ha, silly me.

We took pretty much the same route on Sunday, only driving this time. Although we didn't go through the forest, thankfully the trail is too narrow for my cart. But I was able to get more photos, such as this:

All the little bits of leaves on the top edge are what's falling from the trees. The black specks are caterpillar poo. It's mind-boggling to see all this poo over a mile-long stretch of road...imagine how many caterpillar rectums produced all those little poos! And how much food it took to produce all that! I guess the bright side will be that the forest floor will be well-fertilized!

And the little poo-producers themselves, humping along like inchworms across the road. They ranged in size from 1/2" to 1-1/2", very pretty with turquoise sides and dots on their backs. Whenever possible I swerved the cart to ensure running over as many as I could!

Even Quzqo wasn't immune...this little hitch-hiker landed on his dock as we were trotting down the road, and danged if he/she didn't hang on for dear life to a trotting Arabian's tail for a good quarter mile before it started slipping down.

Seconds after I took this photo, Quz swished his tail and the worm went flying!

Less than half a mile away, across a relatively well-traveled paved county road, THIS is what the landscape looked like:

Full, lush green Maples and Beeches. A few of the normal Tent Worms were crawling on the road, looking for more wild cherry trees to kill, but I didn't see any of the Forest Worms...probably they couldn't make it across the paved road, who knows.

The Experts say "be patient" as this infestation will be over with "in a few weeks"...we won't have any trees left, but "be patient". Next year we'll either have a BIGGER infestation, or, what I hope, they'll have eaten themselves into starvation this year and their numbers will be miniscule next year!

Anybody know of a cure for the chronic Heebie Jeebies, cuz I've sure got 'em! Brrrrrrr!

Why I Don't Miss Horse Shows

2009-06-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

Today was a big horse show weekend in town, the same show I attended full-bore last year, spending lots of money, renting a stall, pissing off the horse, and amassing a large collection of last place ribbons for my trouble.

I had no plans to attend this year, if the thought surfaced, however briefly, it quickly popped like a soap bubble to be replaced by throat-clutching revulsion. Instead I watched with amusement the other folks at the barn fussing and preparing their horses for the big weekend. Quzqo got to wear his manure stains all weekend, his muzzle was unshaved, his hooves unsanded, my brand new box of French White chalk remained unopened in the back of the tack cabinet. And a wonderful feeling of calm and peace replaced the stress and nerves that I normally would have felt.

I did go to the show this morning, to WATCH. That's the bad thing about showing, you never get to watch the show, because you're busy in the back of a trailer trying to squeeze into your breeches or looking for a safety pin or wiping green drool from the horse's lips. Took plenty of photos of unusual horse colors and patterns, and watched the Pleasure Type halter classes, knowing that Quzqo would have cleaned up, looking at the ribby, elderly mares that would have been his competition. But he already has a nice collection of Pleasure Type Championship and Reserve Championship rosettes. Who needs more hollow victories.

There were a LOT of ribby horses being shown. You shouldn't be able to count their ribs from across the arena. Is it the economy, people can't afford the hay? But they can afford to bring the horse to a show and pay the entry fee. To be fair, I did see a significant number of downright fat horses as well. At least the judges placed those who seemed to be in the best condition, pleasantly padded but not obese, trim but not ribby.

I watched some people already in the practice arenas in their Huntseat garb, some in Western tack, no sign of anyone showing harness. The pattern for the trail class was frightening, and I was glad I wasn't showing. Yes, I'm sure Quzqo would have enjoyed backing through a serpentine of cones, and pausing on top of a wooden bridge so I could open a mailbox, show the letter to the judge, close it, and continue on. Uh-huh.

The show broke for lunch around 11, and I'd had my fix. That afternoon I went to the barn and saddled Quzqo up for a 3 hour trail ride, where I found myself with a goofy grin on my face at random moments. We probably did as much as if we had gone to a horse show, with walking, trotting, cantering, hand galloping, a trail course, backing, side-passing up a road shoulder to avoid a pick-up truck coming towards us on a two-track. I know I had a much more enjoyable afternoon, it didn't cost me anything, the horse was happy, and I wasn't exhausted and hadn't cried all day.

I don't fault anyone for enjoying horse shows. Please, continue on. You need to be a certain personality to be good at it, and your horse does too. It's obvious neither I nor Quzqo are that personality. So we'll just do what we enjoy, you do what you enjoy, and I'll come watch, and maybe I can convince you to come on a trail ride with us some time.

He's Back!

2009-06-11T20:55:00.000-04:00

Yes, the Quzqo I know and love has returned!!

I haven't ridden him off the property since that near-disastrous Memorial Weekend Poker Run Trail Ride nearly 2 weeks ago. The few times I took him around the fence perimeter, it was like riding a Mexican jumping bean on Starbucks...jittery, spooky, jumpy, twitchy snorty tail-wringy equine incarnation of Mr. Chicken!

But tonight I took Quzqo out and off the property. The big difference was that it was nearing sundown, he'd already enjoyed his dinner, and just in a mellow kinda mood all around.

We cantered up the hayfield until he pooped out near the top of the hill, gave a prefunctory Drama Queen performance as we left the barn property, and up into the woods and down a dirt road. I was admiring the late spring wildflowers and the sweet smell of honeysuckle, listening to the clip-clop of Quzqo's hooves on the hard dirt. Suddenly there was a crash to the left in the trees, and I the south end of a Whitetail Deer heading north!

Quzqo halted mid-step, pricked his ears, lowered his head and continued walking.

I don't know what caused the change in personality, but I like it...now THAT is the Quzqo I knew and loved!!!

A June Evening Drive

2009-06-05T14:55:00.003-04:00

I was just plain tired last evening, but since I hadn't visited the horse on Wednesday, I wanted to go to the barn. Wasn't planning to ride, didn't have any real idea of what I wanted to do, I just needed my Quzqo fix!

It was such a beautiful evening though...the sun out, the honeysuckle in full fragrant bloom, a gentle warm breeze, low traffic...sun not setting 'til around 9:30...horse was fed and looking at me out his stall window, like "well???"

What the hell, let's drive!

I haven't driven Quzqo since that incident in the ditch on Mother's Day. Not that I've been afraid, I just didn't get around to it (as an aside, I recently drove the car past that spot in the road, and y'know what? It WAS a deep, steep ditch and I had every right to be scared at the time!). Like they say, you only live once!

Quz was all for it, pawing at the pavement as I harnessed him up, stood good as gold as I got into the cart (okay, yes, I give him a peppermint so he's distracted trying to chew it with a bit in his mouth, so sue me), and stepped right out when asked. We didn't go our usual route, instead turned right onto a residential street.

Such a beautiful evening...since Quz is shod on the front hooves, I didn't have any reservations about trotting him out on pavement, and he had no hesitation either, and we merrily headed down the road! Love the sound of those clip-clopping hooves!

After a mile or so we came to the edge of the State Forest, and as it was getting towards twilight, I had no intention of taking him into a gloomy forest. We rested at a stop sign, he fussed and fidgeted but stood relatively still. About 1/4 mile down the interesecting road we both saw a small pack of pre-teen boys on bicycles, wheeling hither and yon down the middle of the road. I could hear them yelling and hollering and picked up "A horse!!" and then whinneying noises!

Quzqo saw the glittering shapes moving erratically coming towards him, his ears pricked up, his head went up, his feet went up, and he was having none of those things coming towards him. I turned him around, he couldn't do it fast enough, almost prancing in place, head up, neck arched, ready to explode if he could! I got him walking as the boys got closer, he broke into a trot, a ground-devouring roadster trot and I could NOT slow him down! We left the boys far behind and Quz just flew down the road. No traffic, maybe a mile before he came to the busy county road near the barn, so what the hey, I let him have his head! He trotted and trotted, head up, ears pricked, just enjoying the ability to run! The wheels were humming on the pavement, I glanced nervously at the bolts I could see, everything was still tight...I quick glanced at the harness, everything still buckled, nothing frayed and about to snap. Mailboxes flew past us, that "clip clop" sounded more like a Thompson machine gun. His tail was flying high and nearly hitting me in the face. The reins were thrumming in my fingers. Katie bar the door, here comes Quzqo!!!

Luckily I was driving Quzqo, and to paraphrase John Lyons, I can drive as fast as he can run, and after maybe 3/8 of a mile he pooped out and slowed to a more civilized trot. We slowed to a walk as we went by the farm with all the Tennessee Walking Horses (it's good manners after all). By the time we reached the county road, whatever bee was in Quzqo's bonnet had buzzed away and he was content to walk along the road, oblivious to whatever traffic flew by.

I felt good as we returned to the barn, Quzqo was sighing and his ears were sort of flopped off to the sides, his whole demeanor the picture of mellowness. Was it good for you too, Quz?

Things Aren't So Bad

2009-06-01T10:32:00.002-04:00

Y'know, I was actually kind of traumatized by that Memorial Day weekend trail ride. I'll admit now that my confidence in Quzqo has been shaken, and I can't quite trust him like I used to. I don't know if it's ME who has messed HIM up, or visa-versa; he seems to be getting worse the older he gets, more spooky, more jumpy. Maybe it's my fault in that he needs to be ridden more, needs to get out and about more. He needs to be more a Horse of the World, and not limited to the comfortable and familiar surroundings of his pasture and his stall.

At least that's how I felt until Memorial Day weekend. I was mowing my lawn (it needed it), and I happened to glance up just as a neighbor rode past my yard on a bay horse. I'll admit I couldn't quite identify the gait, as it seemed to be walking, trotting and pacing all at once, with its back hollowed and head held high and tail wringing, and the woman riding (no helmet, for shame!) had a grim expression, and neither party seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I don't know if my mower upset the horse (It would have upset Quzqo!), but watching that woman and her high-headed hollow-backed mystery-gaiting horse clipclop down the road made me realize that my horse isn't THAT bad after all. He'd more likely than not go trotting down the road, head level, tail still, long ground-eating stride, and he might shy sideways at the trot at a lawnmower, but keep moving forward willingly (especially if he knew he was heading home).

For all his faults, and all of mine, I think he's actually a pretty good horse, and I don't have it all THAT bad, all things considered.

Wednesday Night Horse Wrangling

2009-05-28T21:21:00.002-04:00

Last night I went to the barn to ride, and when I got there, this guy was loading manure into a trailer with Bob's tractor (as Bob was bringing in horses for the evening). Common enough sight, especially this time of year (gardening and all).

I got Coos out of his stall, and as I was walking him around the far end of the arena to the tack area, in come galloping two horses into the arena from outside. At first I thought Bob had let them loose to run into the barn on their own...that's what he does with Quzqo , but Quz is uber-intelligent and will trot right into his very own stall (and trot right out again if there's no food in it!)

But then I recognized the horses as the Muslim family's crazy Trakehner mare and her POA companion (the one that was in front of us on Saturday's trail ride...you can see her in the pix on my blog). They ran into the round hay bales, started scarfing down hay, then wheeled away to run around the arena... in the wide-open far doorway a lone figure appears and calls "BOB????" It was the guy who was loading the manure!

The mares BOLTED back out of the barn and started racing around the barnyard...oh SHIT! The manure pile is in the pasture the mares are, er, were in, and obviously while they had the gate open to get the tractor through, the mares bolted and were loose!!! SHITSHITSHIT!!!

Course Bob was nowhere to be found, having probably headed on up to the house for dinner. The way the mares were galloping hither and yon, I was worried they'd head for the road. Frankly I'm intimidated by that Trakehner, she's got a reputation for kicking and striking out at humans, plus rearing and biting...there's a reason she was in a pasture with only her friend for company!

They ran around the paddocks where the pony mare and her baby are living, ran down to the outdoor arena, ran up and down the mares' pasture, trying to get back in, stopping to graze and snatch up huge mouthfuls of long grass. I tried to approach the pony with a lead rope, she let me get so close before wheeling away and galloping bucking down the hill with the Trakehner following close behind!

The manure guy had NO clue about horses, so I used him and his lady companion as barricades to block the exit towards the front and the road, and I slowly walked up after the mares, with my arms outstretched and the lead rope whirling (they'd already bolted past the manure guy to escape once, almost knocking him down). I figured a scary whirling lead rope would prevent that.

I tell ya, I've gotten SO cautious since the broken leg thing, I guess that's understandable!

The idiot mares wandered into a narrow space between a pasture fence and the guy's truck and trailer, with a mangled fence panel at the end (I don't know if they hit it w/a tractor a horse smashed it)...last thing I wanted was the mares to spook and get tangled in the panel, or smash into the fence, or smash into the guy's truck! Eventually they came back out, and we backed away in unison so they didn't feel threatened.

The pony mare again pointed herself towards the barn, and once she started moving that way, we followed and sort of herded them in...they ran down the aisle, ducking in and out of stalls. I got the manure guy to close the gate to the indoor arena as I closed the door to the aisle. I tried to get him to close the big doors too, but he didn't understand, so he stood in the gap between the arena fence and the wall, blocking the way out that way!

The mares were trotting up and down, they both ducked into a stall, the POA ducked out, I tried to slide the door shut to trap the Trakehner in the stall but she shouldered her way out, nearly breaking the door, and they both ran to the now-closed door. There they flirted noisily with my farrier's QH gelding, kicking at the wall and squealing...the manure guy got them moving again down the aisle, and THANKFULLY they ducked into the open arena gate. The POA slid on the mud from the rain (the roof leaks right there) and almost went down, but regained her footing and they both galloped back to the big door, only to find the gate shut!

I ran like hell across the arena to shut the far side gate...all this time Quzqo is tied by the tack rooms, just nickering and whinneying and dancing around, getting all worked up by the chaos. Even the outside horses were galloping back and forth.

I ran to the far end to close the big gates there (where the tractor is normally parked), the mares ran through the opening and were milling around the hay bales...I managed to shoo them back into the arena and got the gate shut. And they ran and galloped and bucked and snorted and whinnied and rolled and carried on!

The Manure Man went back to loading up his trailer, but once he was done, he had to bring the tractor back in (I'm wondering why Bob just let some stranger use his equipment like that, but maybe he knew the guy from somewhere else)...so his lady friend goes to open the end gates...and the MARES ARE LOOSE THERE! Thankfully they wandered away and they were able to get the tractor into the arena, and close the gate behind. This time I'm thinking if the mares got loose, to hell with 'em, I ain't chasing them anywhere, if they get hit by a truck, so be it. My socks were soaking wet from chasing them the first time (yeah, my boots leak)

We got the tractor parked, and the guy asked if maybe he should stop at the house on his way out and let Bob know what happened. Duuuh, ya think????

Had to LOL...they both were scared of Quzqo, the guy didn't want to go around his rear end, so he ducked UNDER his neck to get by him. Just as the woman was about to make her way behind him, Quz chose that moment to raise his hind leg and stomp it down...she jumped back like she'd been stung...so I had to move him waaaay over so she had around 6 feet of space between the horse's butt and herself, ha ha! Quz does that leg-stomping thing when he's agitated and frustrated...which was understandable, considering the circumstances.

So they left, and I had an arena full of batshit mares running and whinneying and carrying on, and I was disappointed because dammit, I wanted to RIDE! Bob never showed up, I knew their people would be by in the evening to tend their horses, but it was only 7 and they don't show up 'til 8 or so. I managed to screw up enough courage to catch the POA and I got her into her stall, which only agitated the Trakehner who started whinneying and trotting back and forth back and forth. I stepped into the arena with a rope, and she tore away from me, not wanting ANYthing to do with me! Dammit, it's not my job, I shouldn't have to do this!

I was so disgusted and discouraged, I just put Quzqo back in his stall and was ready to leave, when the barn's resident trainer showed up to ride a couple of her horses. Thankfully she's not the least bit afraid of "Angel", and the horse walked right up to her, she got a rope on her head, and put her in the stall with no problem at all. Figures.

So I did get to ride Quzqo last night, we had a good time, he did well, the mares' people did show up around 8 and were not pleased to find out their horses had been running wild. Can't blame them one bit.

I guess it was a good thing I was there to help, imagine if nobody was around, though the mares probably would have ended up grazing outside the mares' pasture until the family did show up. But you never know, and I'd hate for a family in a compact car to smash into a Trakehner on the road.

Noteworthy occurrence: I had run out of peppermints, and I normally bribe Quzqo to stand still when I mount with a peppermint. This time I just growled that I was in NO mood for bullshit, and he stood rock-solid for me, ha ha!

Where the Wild Things Roam

2009-05-26T20:46:00.004-04:00

The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend was also the day the barn hosted their "Poker Run Trail Ride" in conjunction with an "Extreme Cowboy Trail Race". Back in March when I found out about this, I was ecstatic, and have been looking forward to it all spring long! I should know better by now. All I'd need to do is re-read this blog, especially all the entries dealing with past group trail rides. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results each time?

For the past ten days I've been laid low with a nasty respiratory flu, but by God I was determined to go on this trail ride if it killed me! Being sick also meant I hadn't ridden the horse in over 10 days as well! Hm. What could possibly go wrong??

I awoke Saturday feeling weak and dizzy and headachey and congested. Maybe a protein-filled breakfast would help. No, it didn't. Well, I figured I'd at least go to the barn and get the horse, who spent the night out in the pasture instead of in his stall. My theory is that Quzqo doesn't sleep well outside, so he'd be tired out ahead of time. Makes sense, right? Right?

IF I felt good enough to do that, I'd at least brush him...and if I could, tack him up. IF I managed to be able to lift the saddle, I'd at least sit on him in the indoor arena...if I was too dizzy to keep my balance, I'd go home.

There wasn't much of a gang at the barn yet...a couple of families were camping out in the south pasture, and the barn provided breakfast (for a price). I dragged my horse in from the field and gave him breakfast, and I dozed in the tack room with a bridle on my lap so I'd look like I was doing something and not sleeping.

Yeah, this sounds like someone ready to go on a 3 hour trail ride, doesn't it??

Things began picking up around the barn...boarders began arriving to get their horses ready, people bringing their critters in from the fields. A quick look out the door revealed quite a few trailers had pulled up, and strange horses being tacked up. Hey, looks like this thing might take off after all!

Quzqo finished his breakfast and I got him tacked up, surprising myself with how easily I was able to lift my heavy trail saddle up on his back. I must be stronger than I feel! One thing I've learned with age is that falling off a horse hurts, so I pulled out all the stops; western trail saddle, breast collar, shanked curb bit. No more trying to impress people by riding with the bitless bridle or in an English saddle! I couldn't find my red ribbon for Quzqo's tail (yes, he's a kicker), but we found some hot pink construction ribbon that I used instead. It got the message across I'm sure.

By that time the indoor arena was full of people warming up, getting to know their horses (the barn was also renting out horses for those who didn't have an extra). I was able to get up on Quzqo without issue, and I felt a little light-headed, but my bear-trap of a saddle kept me upright whether I wanted to or not.

Blearily and fuzzily we made our way outside and congregated in the yard where others were getting ready. The ride was already 15 minutes behind schedule, having been slated to leave at 10 a.m. Par for the course. The horses were already acting up, picking up on each other's nervousness and that of their riders. I didn't feel particularly nervous, feeling more like puking and taking a nap at the same time. It's kind of nice riding while ill...there's sort of a sedating effect, any anxiety nullified by a pleasant buzzing in the ears.

It was a beautiful day though...blue sky, sunny, cool, but not cold. Occasionally a horse would kick at a neighbor, a novice rider would burst out in tears of fear as her loaner horse would begin backing up and for some reason the fact the rider was cranking on a curb bit wouldn't make it stop. Eventually I gave up offering riding advice, they didn't listen. Fine, pull those reins tight as a guitar string, maybe you'll be able to back that horse all the way around the trail. Keep those heels up and hunch forward, there you go! Have a good ride!

A lot of familiar faces showed up, friends and acquaintances, past boarders and riding buddies. Many asked how my leg was doing. Just fine, thank you, doesn't hurt at all any more. Quite a few remembered my disastrous accident when I was chased by dirt bikes, and had to keep reminding me of it. Since I still have amnesia from that, well, I guess somebody has to remind me.

Bob, the barn owner, came around the building astride a big Belgian mare! Oddly, he didn't look ridiculous, even when he rode near his little grand daughter who was riding the infamous Shetland Pony, "RolyPolyOly".

Two of my friends were taking their green horses out on their very first group trail ride, and were understandably nervous. C'mon, what could happen? Look at the size of the group here, they'll be FINE!

We all headed off, Quzqo and I were near the end...I'm beginning to realize that's maybe NOT the best thing to do...but more on that later. Reportedly there were 38 riders, which, I think, is a record for ME at any rate! It made quite an impressive sight...all sorts of horses from Quarter Horses to Paints, Appaloosas, Tennessee Walking Horses, ponies, the afore-mentioned Belgian, even another Arabian!

Heading out across the hay fields

The first mile or so went well. Quzqo was surprisingly well-behaved, with none of the usual Drama-Queen antics at the property line where I used to be treated to rearing and spinning...actually, another horse performed that duty, right at the same spot. A little bay mare ridden by an experienced teen girl, she (the mare) stopped, balked, started backing up, gave a little half-rear, and was 30 feet into the hayfield back to the barn before the girl got her back in the right direction. Gee, that looked awfully familiar *cough*Quzqo*cough*. But this time he was fine, didn't even shy at the tractor tire on the roadside, or the satellite dish he usually spooks at. Too busy trying to keep up with the 30+ horses in front of him!

For some reason everyone stopped after a bit, I think it was for tack adjustments, as a few folks dismounted... Quzqo took the opportunity to pee. The little bay mare started acting up again, backing up and swinging her rear all over the place. The girl couldn't stop her or turn her, and the mare backed right into my friend's young Quarter Horse (who had only been out on the trails once before in his young 4 year old life)...the mare suddenly began kicking poor "Charlie", giving him three rapid-fire double-barrel kicks to the left haunch! His rider couldn't get him to move his massive QH Butt out of the way fast enough, and she got one of the kicks to her ankle!

Bob swapped horses with the girl, and he rode the little bay mare the rest of the way. She appeared to be behaving with him on board...ya think? I don't think the gal was thrilled having to ride a Belgian, but at least she (the Belgian) wasn't prone to rearing, spinning, or backing down the trail!

"Charlie" didn't seem to have suffered any injury, he wasn't limping, there wasn't any swelling or edema. I think it's because the mare was so close, she couldn't build up any velocity. Having been shoved into the rump of a TWH years ago, and getting kicked in the back with both hind legs, I can attest that it doesn't really hurt that much when you're that close.

The bad thing about riding with a massive group of riders, is that you can't really do much more than walk. We got to the stretch of dirt road where Quzqo and I traditionally trot, canter, and gallop, because it's long, flat and straight. Can't do that with dozens of horses in front of you. So we walked.

Into the deep woods down the two-track. Most of the column made the turn onto the Shore-To-Shore trail, and as we were approaching the turnoff, a familiar sound came echoing through the trees.

Dirt bikes.

I've got an aversion to dirt bikes. Even if I see them being hauled on a trailer down the road, I make the sign of the Evil Eye in their direction. And here came no less than four of them down the two track! Thankfully they were going slowly, and there's an advantage to riding a white horse, they saw us right away and stopped. We waved and moved off the road into the trees before they continued on. Bob and a few others were about 100 yards behind us...hope that little bay mare liked dirt bikes!

The four or five riders in my group eventually lost the others, because some horses walk faster than others, some horses stop to pee, some didn't want to cross the bridge and had to be led across. Once we were away from the others the horses calmed down and walked/jogged nicely. Quzqo was very agitated, and was constantly tossing his head in frustration. It wasn't the bit bothering him, he was just getting himself fired up and had to express it somehow. I noticed he was the only horse darkened with sweat, and not from any exertion. I lost count of the times he flipped his reins up over his head, leaving me with either both reins on one side, or else a rein flopped between his ears. Eventually I managed to tie the reins together below his neck with some baling twine in a makeshift German martingale...didn't stop the head-tossing, but kept the reins where they were supposed to be.

I notice he only does that constant head-tossing on group trail rides. Hm. File that little nugget of information away for later.

After 90 minutes a pattern had developed...Quzqo became a high-strung needy insecure herd-bound tailgater, and any attempt by me to slow down his frantic walking-jogging to keep up was met with head-tossing, side-stepping, tail-wringing and grunting. The worst parts were when the horses maybe 10 ahead of us would begin to canter up a hill, which of course triggered a near-stampede by the other horses, and plenty of curses from their riders who didn't WANT to canter uncontrollably through the woods. My friends on the green horses were about ready to head home, they were getting so stressed out, as their horses would give little bucks or side-steps or back into trees, getting so worked up themselves. Thankfully I had the shanked curb in Quzqo's mouth, or it would have been Katie-bar-the-door-good-bye-Sue (gee, just like last Fall!).

Instead of being able to bolt after the other horses, Quzqo either backed into trees, or side-passed up, or down the hills, depending. We came to a VERY steep hill, that Quzqo has been down a few times before. But this time, since the horses ahead of us were fast disappearing into the trees, he became frighteningly upset, and when he wasn't trotting in place on the hillside, he was side-passing down the side of the trail in the underbrush, tail cranking, head tossing, grunting away. I felt bad for the boy, he was obviously scared. I know it was the fact I was sick, but I felt rather distant from all of it, almost an observer. I suppose I'd snap back to reality if he started falling down the hill with me under him. Luckily that didn't happen.

We came to our nemesis, the Mud Pit on the trail, a 3 foot wide mud bog smack dab in the pathway. Over the years people had tossed branches into it to make some sort of half-assed bridge, but that obviously didn't work, and now it's about 6" of hoof-sucking black goo. Quzqo HATES that bit, and if I were by myself, there would be no way to get him across it. One benefit to riding with a group; without a moment's hesitation, he bunched up his hindquarters and FLEW across that muck!

My friend, Sandy, had to dismount and lead her young Quarter Horse, Spike...between calling to me to wait up, she kept warning Spike not to run her over. Meanwhile I've got a tap-dancing Arabian doing his best to side-pass up a trail too narrow for a horse to fit through side-ways.

Further up the trail we were surprised by a deer busting through the underbrush. Quzqo jammed on the brakes and spun 180 degrees, catching me totally by surprise! I didn't lose a stirrup, but almost lost my shoe! Now if I'd have put his rhythm beads on him the jingling would have warned the deer off before we got near it... no, I didn't think to put his rhythm beads on. Figures.

Since the point of the ride was a Poker Run, Bob's daughter met us at various roadsides with playing cards and handed them out to each rider, and at the end we'd show our poker hands, whoever had the best cards would win the cash jackpot. My biggest challenge was getting the horse close enough to the SCARY WOMAN WITH PLAYING CARDS in order to draw one!

Once we left the hilly terrain behind, things did calm down. No longer could people go galloping up hills, freaking out the horses (and riders) behind them. I won't say we were able to relax, but Quzqo could at least lower his head and quit tossing it for a while, and I think I got a glimpse of the surrounding landscape and even got a chance to take a couple of photos!

Even Quzqo's ears look annoyed in this photo!

My friends on their Greenies, bringing up the rear.

We eventually made it to the trail camp where most people decided they needed a potty break. Well, there are outhouses after all. Even if I wanted to stop, Quzqo wouldn't have any of it, and he kept going, refusing to stand still and wait more than a few seconds. My friends and I decided we didn't need a break, since we were maybe 40 minutes from the barn. They wanted to get back and get off their stressed out Quarter Horses, and I seriously had had enough of dealing with my Drama Queen and his herd-obsessed antics.

We left the main group back at the outhouses, and headed out of the campground. Of course, away from the herd, Quzqo adopted his Don Knotts personality and began spooking at cars/people/tents/signs/pumps/stumps... I'd had enough and he earned either spurs to his sides or a smack in the butt with the end of the reins to get him past his self-indulgent spooking fits. We got back onto the campground road, a few other riders were also going on ahead, and I saw them leaving the road and heading up into the little narrow trail that'll lead through a forest for at least an hours' worth of windy hill trails. Which would mean at least another hour's worth of Quzqo antics.

No thanks.

I pointed Quzqo down the dirt road, he wanted to spook at some fishermen, I spurred him past them (I don't enjoy him trotting in place sideways on a narrow dirt road with a lake on one side and a steep drop-0ff into a swamp on the other), got him trotting, and gave him his head. We flew past the other riders and disappeared over the hill down the dirt road.

He FLEW! He stretched those legs and his neck and pistoned down the road, I stood in the stirrups, gasping for air with my congested lungs, and feeling like a ton of lead weights had been lifted from both our shoulders! I just let him run, and run he did! A quick glance behind, nobody at all. Slowing him to a walk so we could descend a steep hill, it felt like cool refreshing water...a calm and peace I hadn't felt all day washed over me. The horse let out a mighty sigh.

A truck passed us, Quzqo didn't care. Once the truck was gone, I got him into a canter, and we cantered happily down the road until I couldn't breathe, then we trotted the rest of the way.

We took the roads back to the barn, a route Quzqo has travelled many a time. Not as pretty as the woods, but by that time I couldn't keep track of all the body parts that were in pain and only wanted to get back to the barn! I felt bad for the horse too...due to all the walking we had to do, our normal 3-hour ride was approaching 4 hours!

Needless to say we were the first ones to return to the barn. Alas, no prizes were given for that (not that it'd be fair since we took a short cut). The horse was a sweaty mess, I was a sweaty mess, and I was damned glad it was over with!

My friends with the Greenies also took the same short-cut we did, and got back to the barn maybe 20 minutes after I did. A couple other riders came in shortly thereafter, cantering down the road back to the barn. I think the rest of the riders came in maybe 45 minutes after me. By that time Quzqo had been hosed off and turned out to pasture, where he TORE off, glad to be rid of me no doubt!

Well, my poker hand ended up being a pair of 2's, a pair of 6's and a king, but not good enough to even get 4th place. Some boy ended up with 3 Aces and won $59, which he spent at the tack auction that evening on a longhorn steer skull. There's a moral to that story somewhere I'm sure, but heck if I know what it is.

So, what did we learn. Don't go out in large groups if you want a relaxing trail ride. Put bells on your horse to warn wildlife. Buy a German Martingale. Monkey Butt Powder does work, but not on the parts you don't apply it to. Don't ride angry.

But as I like to say, any ride that doesn't involve a phone call to 911 is a good ride! And you know I'll do it again in a heartbeat.

Love Those Near-Death Experiences

2009-05-10T20:32:00.004-04:00

What a way to spend Mother's Day...almost joining her in the frickin'afterlife!!!!

Today was special because today my neighbor lady came to the barn with me, and we took Quzqo for a drive! Fun! And a good workout for Fat Boy, hauling both of us over hill and dale, ha ha!

He was good until I started harnessing him, then he started to get all "Let's go let's go let's go let's GOOOOO!" pawing the concrete, flinging his head, trying to walk off until he hit the end of the cross-ties, then pawing and flinging the head, fuss fuss wiggle wiggle!

I knew there'd be NO help from my neighbor, who wants nothing to do with horses, she wouldn't even give him a treat, and kept herself a good 10' away at all times (so he won't kick her or bite her).

Being Mother's Day, there was also a big Mother's Day shindig up at the barn owner's house, with his three daughters and THEIR families/hubbies/kids running around, and they were hauling horses in from the field for pony/horsie rides.

Got Quzqo hitched up and sent my neighbor ahead to open the door and to stay out of the way. He was as good as gold once he was on the move, and stood quietly for me to get into the cart, and for her to get in as well. I felt the cart tip back and the shafts go up, LOL...not quite balanced for that big a load. Now my neighbor isn't a hefty gal, but still the weight had essentially doubled.

Didn't bother Quz, we stepped right off when I told him to, and eagerly strutted towards the road. Once we got on the road we trotted off and he did so prissily, not really wanting to leave the barn, but wanting to GOGOGO...sort of torn between the two appealing alternatives.

He gamely hauled us up the lonnnnggggg 1/2 mile hill, the woods are GORGEOUS, just full of trilliums and dogtooth violets and spring beauties, the trees leafing out in that baby green that only springtime is allowed to use. More trotting 'til we got to the end of the dirt road. my neighbor got out of the cart to retrieve a beer can for me (ha, I knew there was a good reason to bring her along), and while we were waiting, I phoned up our mutual friend who lives one road over, and see if she'd like us to drop by! She sure did, as her husband was visting for a week from MN, plus her sister and her husband were visiting. Full house!

We got to their house about 20 minutes later, and Quz was again regaled with carrots (no maple sugar this time) and nose-pats and adoring noises from everyone who were suitably impressed. We then gave cart rides to everyone but the sister, who didn't want anything to do with the horse except to look at him from a safe distance.

Gave the friend a ride up and down the road, then her husband, then her brother-in-law, they were all impressed. While we were yakking in the driveway, a mini van slowed to a stop and the woman asked me all sorts of questions about Quz and driving, where'd I get the cart, the harness, etc, and turns out she's training their 3 yr old filly to drive, and was very interested. I have NO idea who she was, never saw her before, but that was kind of cool!

After a while it got time to be heading back, so my neighbor got back in the cart, got Quzqo turned around, and he KNEW darned well he was heading back to the barn. He'd had enough of pony cart rides, he was heading HOME to his grain bucket by God!

Well, he took off at a fast walk, I barely was able to get him to a stop at the intersection. Truth be told, my neighbor was blabbing so damned much I couldn't hear the cars coming...but we got a break in the traffic and turned south towards the barn.

We were doing fine, Quzqo was happy, my neighbor was blabbing away...suddenly I hear something go thunk-thunk behind us...quick glance...there goes my neighbor's water bottle, rolling away, it'd fallen out of her pocket. I asked her if she wanted it, she said of course (it was just a water bottle, not a store-bought fancy one!). So I stopped the horse, and just as she had one foot on the pavement and the other in
the cart, the horse starts walking off.

Now the lady has a bum knee, and couldn't get moving fast enough, I'm afraid I hauled on the reins a little hard to stop Quz...she got free of the cart, and Quzqo started to freak...he wanted to GO HOME NOT STOP, and his butt went down, and started to BACK UP! NOT GOOD! I slapped the reins on his butt and he backed up more, at an angle, and the cart started slipping down into the ditch!!! I got him back up on the shoulder, and quickly got out of the cart (EZ Entry...EZ Bailout!!) and went up to his head to calm him down. My neighbor got her (damned) water bottle and stood behind the cart, not knowing what to do.

Quzqo(sort of) calmed down, traffic cleared...I walked back to the cart and got in...IMMEDIATELY he crouched down and started BACKING UP again! NOO! He lunged forward and took a left straight into the middle of the road, backing zig-zags on the centerline...cars were coming, the ones in the northbound lane stopped a good 100 feet away. The horse started backing up...I slapped reins on his butt, somehow I had dropped the whip, and the more I hit him on the butt and was yelling "WALK! WALK" the further back he went. The cart went entirely into the ditch, and the horse followed, somehow turning so that the cart was at a 45 degree angle SIDEWAYS and the horse this ---><---- close to exploding into a full-flung freakout. I'll admit here and now...I was scared shitless! Hello, Worst Nightmare, table for one! Quzqo luckily froze in place, his legs all bunched up underneath him like one of those Chinese horse statues, I managed to get out of the cart and up onto the shoulder above Coos. Slowly and carefully I led him forward and up the ditch bank back onto the shoulder. My neighbor was acting as Traffic Cop, halting the traffic coming up behind us. We stood on the roadside for a few minutes, Quz was nuzzling my arm and lipping at my sleeve, like he wanted reassurance that it'd be okay. I kept rubbing his head and petting his neck as the cars whizzed past. I ended up leading him a fair distance down the road to a private dirt road, then down that a bit until we were far enough from the paved road. Only then did I get in, then my neighbor. He was fine this time, moved forward willingly, got a little silly towards the intersection, so I turned him in a tight circle before going on. We got back on the paved road, and got him trotting. He FLEW down that road like a harness racer, only one goal; to go back to the barn!! He covered that mile or so in less than 10 minutes easily! All my neighbor could say was "Well, that was exciting!" Yeah, easy for her as she was safely standing up on the shoulder of the road!! Hadda LOL, as I lead Quz into the barn after unhitching him outside...he was dragggging and yawning, and the barn owner says "he's sure slowed down from when you left!" Yeah, I'd say! Can't really blame him, I told my neighbor next time I'll BUY her a new bottle of water, she ain't ever getting out of the cart on the road heading home again! There's a reason the driving pros say NEVER get out of the cart until you're back at the barn and finished. I'm still a little shaken up, a combination of fear, insecurity, and yes, embarassment. I'm thankful the worst didn't happen but for a few split seconds as the cart was teetering as the horse slid down the embankment.... Poor boy gave himself a couple of lacerations on the insides of his front fetlocks. I have to find his splint boots. But as I like to say, any excursion that doesn't end with a call to 9-11 is a good one, and we left him tucked into his stall with his face in a bucket of bran mash (with apples and carrots this time), and to celebrate our surviving another day, stopped for ice cream on the way home. Don't know if my neighbor will ever want to do that again...wouldn't blame her if she didn't.

Teetering on the Brink

2009-04-29T14:14:00.002-04:00

Ever since I moved my old ex-Arabian, Tez to Bob's barn, I've gotten it in my head how cool it'd be to ride my horse home to my house, maybe let him "camp" for the weekend, then ride him back to the barn. It's only 4 miles one way, and last week I discovered a great dirt back-road that bypasses the long, paved-shoulder (slippery footing for horse) hill. Other than having no place to put said horse once he arrived at my house, the big obstacle has been my wimpy fear of riding across a major U.S. Highway to get there!

I keep reminding myself that I successfully, without death or injury, rode Tezlu across a 4-lane U.S. highway...TWICE, when I went trail riding with the barn manager's husband at the old Arabian barn we were at, but with age comes wimpiness. Never mind the stretch I'd have to cross has a clear view both directions of at least half a mile, so any cars approaching could be seen in plenty of time. Last night going home I deliberately drove across the intersection at 4 miles an hour and counted how many seconds it took...a whopping TEN seconds to cross!

So last night I took Quzqo for a calming, relaxing trail ride around the barn property, just enjoying the peeper frogs singing in the swamps and the birdsong and the setting sun. We made it around the fenceline but instead of turning left to go back to the barn, we turned right and headed south...towards the highway!

It's a good half mile to the highway, but we were in the field next to the road...had to approach and pass a large commercial cherry orchard, with SCARY metal tanks and wash tubs and hoses and things...he was fine 'til we came to a cherry tree STUMP...I swear, his neck arched, his butt
tucked, he began dancing in place, and I managed to get him to sidle past...until he saw the diesel fuel tank...JAM on the brakes, and a 180 degree spin down INTO a ditch right over a shrub and up again! I told him he was an idjit and got him past the fuel tank, I could feel his heart pounding even through the fenders of the saddle!

Next up was a HUGE fallen tree from eons past, maybe 3 feet in diameter, 15 feet long...Quzqo has "issues" with logs/poles lying on the ground, (I'll never forget the 10 minute battle I had trying to convince him that he could indeed walk past a power pole on the ground) Of course, he walked right by the tree without batting an eye, now apparently on a mission to get past this horrifying cherry orchard. To be truthful, I haven't ever ridden him up that way, I did drive him once, but obviously the blinkers hid all those horrors from his view.

The corner of the highway was loaded with power poles, stop signs, road signs, signs stuck in the ground advertising tree services, damp window services, snow plowing, etc. It was around 7:30 in the evening, still "rush hour" and I could see cars approaching both directions. Quzqo was dancing and wiggling and ready to GOGOGOGO on across the highway, he was all for it! Granted the closest car was 1/4 mile away, but my criteria for highway-crossing is NO vehicle in sight at all, so...we turned around and headed back, having gotten within 15 feet of the highway...a new record, for me!

Here's the odd part; Quzqo didn't WANT to go back, he wanted to keep going! He started draaaagggging along, shuffling, barely moving, kept stopping, and kept looking backwards towards the highway. We got halfway past the orchard, when he suddenly tried to pull to the left. Off in the distance I saw dozens of BEEHIVES! Just for an experiment I gave him his head, and he turned towards the beehives and started marching straight for 'em! I stopped that immediately and manhandled him back in the direction of the barn, and again he shuffled along, cranking his tail in irritation!

Okay...what's that about. Could he smell the honey? Was the bee buzzing attractive? Did he grow up with bees??? I used to ride Tezlu past the hives when they were on the edge of the orchard, and the smell of the honey was quite pervasive, but the horse never gave them any notice. But Quzqo was absolutely obsessed with heading towards the beehives!

One of these days maybe I'll indulge him...on a COLD day when the bees aren't busy, ha ha!

We made it back to the barn property, Bob's son-in-law was busy repairing the outdoor arena gate which had fallen off weeks ago...thank goodness for that! (they really need a different, lighter type of gate that wouldn't keep falling off its hinges all the time). I'm nice and distracted by pondering arena gates when Quzqo spies the DEADLY PINE BOUGH on the ground and JAMS on his brakes, ducks and spins to the right, I felt my butt leave the saddle but thankfully the pommel kept me on board and I got him back on the ground. Oh Noes, the Scary Pine Bough that was all of 12" long on the ground, Ohhhhhh Noooo! I had to ride him around it a few times, let him sniff it (he kept jerking his head back, jumping in place, snorting), until ultimately I rode him right over the thing and he was fine. Goofball.

So...maybe some warm Sunday morning when there's no traffic, I'll be brave and ride him across the highway and to my house... I found the perfect tree to tie him to, unless I rig up a picket line for him. He can graze in the side yard, I could eat lunch and relax, then have a nice ride back to the barn in the afternoon. It's a goal at any rate!

And of course if I can ride him home, I can also DRIVE him home, as that back dirt road is perfect for a cart as well!

Since I probably won't be showing this year, I gotta have some kind of goals to aim for, ha ha!

It's Nice To Share

2009-04-13T13:07:00.002-04:00

Sunday dawned gloriously with a clear blue sky, gentle-ish breezes, and a "warmth" not experienced since sometime in 2008...if you want to call 50 degrees "warm". In these parts, we do.

I got out to the barn a little later than I'd intended, thanks to a 3 mile walk with the dogs. I didn't mind exhausting myself because the good thing about driving a horse is it's a sit-down activity with very little physical effort on the human's part! Perfect for an Easter Sunday afternoon!

It's always a good sign when the horse is waiting by the gate for you, and comes out on his own, and patiently waits to have his halter put on, then entertains himself by smooshing his goobery slobber-lips on the back of your shoulder as you lead him to the barn. A bored horse is a horse that'll most likely enjoy whatever it is you're going to make him do!

Quzqo just about snored through his grooming, content to be adored and have attention lavished upon his glorious self. He's shedding quite nicely, and even though most his winter fur is gone, he hasn't shed the winter blubber...but we'll work on that!

It's not my imagination that as soon as I began putting the harness on, he perked right up. Before I got the breast collar secured, he started tossing his head up and down in the cross-ties, and when I was fastening the breeching, he began pawing at the pavement with a forehoof, getting himself all nice and wired up! Goody!

Got him harnessed, got him hitched up without too much of an issue. As I started leading him down the aisleway he started to pull forward and I had to slow him, imagining what'd happen if he got loose and tore off, flashing back to that infamous YouTube video of the runaway Fine Harness Arabians!

Before we got out the door...I heard a close-up CHAINSAW begin to roar! Bob was cutting firewood up around the side of the barn! Oh, jeezum crow, he couldn't WAIT 5 minutes??? It stopped after a few seconds and we burst out of the barn, the horse high-headed and ready to explode, if he knew he could (cart shafts have a somewhat calming influence because he knows he can't really go anywhere sideways). I got him calmed down and pointing the right direction, and at that time Bob noticed us and let me know he'd wait 'til I was done to continue. Thank yew indeed!

Happily Quzqo stood rock sold while I got into the cart...we had, um, issues with that the previous year. He stood for maybe 15 seconds before deciding we'd stood long enough, and started walking off. I got him stopped and made him stand for another 30 seconds until I wanted to move forward. Back to square one...almost!

I took him off into the side pasture to warm up and evaluate if my life would be in danger should we go out onto the road. He was perfectly fine, pulling strongly, moving forward with enthusiasm. Why wouldn't he be, this was something he obviously enjoys!

Out the driveway and onto the road! Being Easter afternoon, traffic was extremely light. I think the horse knew what was up and immediately began dragging his feet, plodding at a glacial crawl as we left the barn behind us. I just enjoyed the blue sky, the birds singing in the leafless trees, the clip-clop-clip-clop. That kept me happy for maybe two minutes, I could walk faster than that on my own! Amazingly, some gentle flogging with the whip reminded Quzqo that he CAN walk as fast as a human, and maybe even a little faster, and he kept that brisk walking pace for longer than I figured he would!

We turned off of the main road onto my 2nd favorite dirt road, and there I got him into second gear, a GREAT enthusiastic TROT...he even managed to get himself a little excited and shied sideways as we passed a scary flag on a flag pole! He trotted on up, up, up the gradual incline before gravity took its toll and he slowed back down to a walk. I almost felt sorry for him, but I know it's not safe to get out of a cart, so sorry, Quz, I have to stay where I am while you do all the work!

We passed soooo many temptingly-close beer cans on the roadside...I need to find a kid to ride with me who can jump out of the cart and pick up cans, I could have made 50 cents on that road easily! Maybe I can attach a small hook to the end of my driving whip, so I can hook the cans from the cart and put them in a bag attached to the seat or something...I'll have to work on that. Hey, what can I say, I'm my father's daughter!

Quzqo was a trotting MANIAC! I never get that much trotting out of him when I ride! I think the new shoes make a difference, if it's more comfortable for him to trot, he's more likely to do more of it! We did about a mile on that dirt road, then turned North onto another paved road, and trotted maybe half a mile on the nice wide shoulder. I stopped him, and dug out my cell phone to call a friend who lives nearby, as I wanted to surprise her with a visit!

Well, they say talking on the cell phone while driving is not good. I can attest that talking on the cell phone while driving a HORSE is also not good! Unlike a car that will stay obediently parked on the shoulder, a horse will feel slack in the reins as one fumbles with the phone, and take that opportunity to start walking off into the road and changing direction all on his own! I doubt my friend felt insulted by my sudden ending of the call as I stuffed my phone back in my pocket, took the reins in both hands and tried to stop Quzqo from walking back to the barn down the middle of Reynolds Road!

I got him stopped and turned around, to find a bewildered motorist stopped up the road, waiting to see what was going to happen next!

We got back on the shoulder and turned down my friend's road, with the car slowly tailing us, not sure (I assume) if he should/could pass or not. Eventually he did, his slow creeping pace actually spooking Quzqo!

I've noticed that...when cars/bikes/people slowly creeeeeep past the horse, it's more worrisome than if they just go by at a normal speed. Probably a predator thing.

Quzqo trotted on down the road, preferring the pavement to the gravel/dirt shoulder...as I said, he must love those shoes! Only a brief in-motion spook as somebody's large brown dog ran wildly at the end of its dog trolley in the back yard.

Our friend, Pati, met us in the driveway, after dashing back in to bring out an Offering for Himself...a nice orange ORGANIC carrot! Quz was game, he didn't mind having to trot approximately 4 miles to get a treat, and managed to scarf it down, never mind having a bit in his mouth!

Pati hesitantly got into the cart, muttering "this is scary!", and we headed back down the road at a pleasant walk. After a few minutes I asked if she wanted to "go fast", she grabbed ahold of the side rail and said "sure!". Quzqo took off at a nice trot (he's SO good with verbal commands!), and whaddaya know, it's FUN, not scary!

We went past the big brown dog, this time it sort of ran on its tether but didn't bark, and the horse didn't notice. We got to the Lake Ann Elementary School and headed into their big parking lot where I handed Pati the reins! LOL, she was surprised, but was game, and did a fairly decent job steering the horse...managing to turn him at the last moment before he headed into a snowbank! She drove him around the lot and out back onto the road towards her house!

Quzqo chose that moment to spook at a shadow, which about gave Pati a coronary, and she quickly handed the reins back to me! We trotted past the brown dog for the third time, and he just sat there and looked at us....old hat by now!

Once back at the house Pati brought out some maple sugar and offered Quzqo a lump in the shape of a maple leaf...THEN I was offered a piece as well. It's only fitting, the horse did do all the work! It was wonderful sugar...I thought so anyway. Quzqo spit his out on the ground! Twice!

About that time I think his patience was wearing thin, he KNEW he was pointed back to the barn, and didn't want to stand around in a driveway being fed strange-tasting treats. We said our good-byes, and back onto the road, heading home!

It's unusual to see that much energy in a Quzqo, and since he was willing and able, I let him go, and he trotted nearly a mile and a half down Lake Ann road on the shoulder, just floating along, eating up that road!! I think we made it back to the barn in record time! He even had some sweat under the breast collar...not easy to do in 45 degree weather!!

Unhitched, untacked, brushed down, and settled into his clean stall with a warm bran mash to occupy him until his dinner would be served, I thanked him again for a wonderful drive, and thanked him for not killing me! Every day should be as pleasant!

The Shadow Knows

2009-04-11T21:17:00.003-04:00

Today was our fourth venture into the Outside World (outside of an arena that is)...with an impossibly blue sky overhead, a gusty cold wind that was mercifully blocked by the forest, birdsong in both our sets of ears, and the promise that hey, that snow WILL eventually melt...all the way! Some day.

Quzqo was in a good mood, one of the benefits of heading to the barn during the daytime before he's all tired and yawning from his busy horsey day of eating, pooping, and rampaging around with his fellow "Bad Boyz" in the pasture. Horses in a good mood are so much easier to deal with.

We didn't go for any major excursion, just a nice 90 minute trip around the neighborhood. Again I forgot to attach my pommel bag, which meant I had to pass up 6 beer cans on the roadside...Michigan has the 10 cent deposit on beverage cans, and I like to gather them up on dog walks and trail rides...those dimes add up! But with no place to carry them...I suppose I could have tied them to the horse's tail, that would have gone over well! I bet I would have made it back to the barn in record time!

Finally the snow had disappeared enough that we could head INto the woods a little bit, though all north ditches were still filled with a yard of snow or so, so we couldn't go our usual route, and I didn't feel like riding through the scary Redneck White Trash Michigan Hillbilly neighborhood (I have got to get photos one of these times, but frankly, that's not a stretch of road I want to ride one-handed through).

Quz was fine in the confines of the trees, and seemed almost genuinely interested... maybe because there was nothing to distract him such as lush, delicious maple leaves dangling at lip-height to try to grab as we walk by. We did encounter quite a few stretches of snow on the trail from an inch to maybe 6 or 8 inches deep. I swear he got "stuck" in one deep snow pile and almost refused to move...I got him unstuck and we made it through and out of the woods.

Only then did I see the new, bright "NO TRESPASSING" signs!

Well, heck, they need to post them on the OTHER side of the property where I went in...how was I supposed to know! Sheesh!

Hm...the forest IS for sale (nice 5 acre lots)...I could say I was interested in buying and was just checking out the land on horseback...yeah, yeah, that's the ticket!

We got a good amount of trotting in, some GREAT cantering too...that boy can canter when he has a mind to! We need to work on that fabled "Arabian Endurance" though...again he quit on his own to huff and puff and flare his nostrils. I think he's losing weight, or maybe it's just him losing his winter fur that makes him seem thinner. I need to lose my winter fur so I look thinner too!

Four successful trips into the great outdoors without too much drama. Lord willing, tomorrow, I drive!

Dude, Where's My Trail!??

2009-03-28T19:50:00.004-04:00

Here it is, almost APRIL and the woods are still choked with snow that can be measured with a yardstick!! But at long last the roads are clear enough that I was finally able to take Quzqo OUT of the indoor arena and go someplace where we could travel in a straight line for a long, long time!!

He hadn't been ridden outdoors since early last November, so I didn't take any chances, tacking him up in our good trail saddle, breast collar, and a shanked bit. Had my cell phone, and tied my hunter orange sweatshirt to the back of the saddle. He also has shoes on his front feet for the first time in 2 or 3 years. We were READY!

It was a balmy 34 degrees with a nice 10 mph wind, making the wind chill around 21 degrees, and of course just as we stepped out of the barn, the sky clouded over, reminding me that we've got a winter storm forcast for tonight into tomorrow. Oh goody.

The horse did surprisingly well, considering it's his first time outside a fence in 5 months (!!!!!) and he's an Arabian. Oh, we had a couple of little spook-fits leaving the property (OMG a SNOWBANK!), and when we got to the end of the fenceline he pulled his usual Drama Queen "Oh no, we're NOT leaving the property" but I had spurs on and got him moving off the property. You'd think having stared at the same fences all winter, he'd be eager to see some new sights!

There was between 1 foot and 3 feet of snow in the woods, so we stuck to the roads. Since he's got shoes on now, we were able to trot and canter without him being "ouchie" about the gravel...that was a nice change!

LOL, as we were leaving we came to a long hill, and we started trotting; he broke into a canter...the same thing he did years ago when he ran off with me and I ended up in the emergency room! I briefly worried on that, then it occured to me; this horse is so FAT you can't feel his ribs even if you push hard! Yep, halfway up the hill he pooped out and walked the rest of the way, puffing and huffing!

Our ride was pretty much short bits of trotting or cantering with lots of walking, cuz both of us are out of shape. It was interesting to see all the treasures uncovered by the melting snow...articles of clothing, car parts, election signs, and the requisite deer rib cage.

We made it to the edge of the state forest where the Shore-to-Shore trail goes in...the snow was pretty deep, so we didn't even bother trying.

He did darned good though, no major spook-fits, good as gold on the road when cars and trucks whizzed by. I'm optimistic for what this year holds!

Dealing with Non-Believers

2009-03-20T14:11:00.003-04:00

My neighbor is a very outgoing social sort of gal, and is forever inviting me hither and yon for this speaker's presentation or this art gallery show or this concert or this "women's event" (sorry, I gave those up back in the '80's when my subscription to "Ms" ran out). This Sunday will be a once-in-a-lifetime open house event at some new eatery downtown with hors d'oeuvres and wine tastings and probably a heaping helping of snobbery and pontificating blathering. Yeah, she invited me along.

This Sunday also will be the first day this YEAR where the roadsides will be clear of snow and slush, and it'll be sunny, and dry, and temperatures in the low 50's, and I've been dreaming all week of taking Quzqo out for a drive on the roads...outdoors! In the fresh air! With firm footing and we will be able to go more than 100 feet before having to turn a corner. He even got shoes put on his front feet yesterday in preparation for our driving and trail riding adventures to come!

Gee...which do you think I'd rather do?

I tried to explain this to my neighbor, and I could see her glazed, uncomprehending look, even over the telephone... how could anyone prefer to do something with a big smelly horse rather than enjoy tea sandwiches and fine wines in a posh downtown eatery on a Sunday afternoon?

It'd be impossible to really explain, how I prefer the smell of horse manure over merlot fumes, I'd rather run my fingers through a fuzzy fur coat still attached to a single-toed beastie that nickers on one end and farts out the other, than a fur coat on a hanger in a fancy store. My non-existent manicure probably has horse dirt under the nails, because $30 will buy a hoof trim for the horse rather than acrylic nails for myself.

It's probably not worth the bother to try to explain. They'll never understand, but I understand, and you probably understand as well.

================================

Addendum: Well, this idiot overdid it on Saturday and swilled half a bottle of Chardonnay, and thus woke up with the Migraine/Hangover from HELL on Sunday! So I never got out to the barn to drive or ride or much of anything, instead spending my day shivering in bed wishing for death. Well, there's always next weekend...

At Long Last...a Video!

2009-03-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

Over the years I've had requests for a video of me actually riding Quzqo, so people could help me with my problems with him, or just to see. This past weekend a good friend came to visit, and she was kind enough to be my videographer. This is hardly the ideal conditions for videotaping, but I had a willing body to hold the camera, so one makes due with what one has!

Some disclaimers!

I hadn't ridden the horse in a week and a half
It was night, and the barn owner doesn't want us using the BIG arena lights to save electricity and $$ (though now I wish I'd gone ahead and used them, ha ha)...that's why it's dark!
It was around 14 degrees IN the arena, so I'm bundled up to the gills.
Just so nobody turns me in to FHOTD for being an inappropriate-footwear-wearing @sshat, I AM wearing my winter boots, but they have a nice heel to them.
Normally I ride with spurs, I didn't, so that's why I'm pummeling the horse's sides now and then.
I'd never ridden in that saddle before...I just bought it that day and was trying it out. Yes, it's too small and I will be selling it shortly
I'm riding with a bitless bridle.
The weird as heck glowing face of Satan is actually the reflectors on the tractor parked in the corner.
I guess that's it! Enjoy!

My Horse Is A Dick!

2009-02-21T16:19:00.003-05:00

On at least two separate occasions, our barn owner, Bob, has outright told me my horse is a Jerk. I've heard him refer to Quzqo as an "Asshole" and "Idiot", and more than once I've had people come and tell me how uncooperative my horse was while they were attempting to bring him in in the evenings.

MY horse? My sweet cuddly wuddly poopsie woopsie pocket pony? Mr. Cute-iful? Mr. Pretty? MY Cooskie Wooskie? (Okay, I never called him that...seriously....honest!)(though I may start).

Well, the other evening I stopped out at the barn on my way home from work, we'd had a pretty significant snowfall, maybe a foot or so of new snowfall. The gelding were still out in their pasture, I gathered up my rope halter and started for the door.

There was a full-fledged stampede a'happening out in that pasture! ALL the geldings, except for old Colby the QH, who was standing by the gate being a gentleman, were TEARING around in the snow, full bore, heels kicking and flying, galloping, rearing, wheeling, snow flying in their wake. And me without my camera! It WAS in the car, I debated if I could run back to the car and get back with the camera before they stopped cavorting... I didn't think I could.

There, of course, was Quzqo, in the thick of it all! This small grey dervish just kicking ass and taking down names! He was cantering prettily through the snow, then wheeled like a rattlesnake, striking out with teeth and fang at whatever butt was close by, then snap around and rear up on his hind legs, forelegs lashing out, before leaping off and trotting around the outside of the mob. Everybody was beating on everybody else...galloping willy-nilly, rearing, bucking, kicking. I saw my farrier's younger gelding fly all four feet off the ground straight up in the air and tear off kicking and bucking just for the helluvit!

Quzqo reared up at my friend Gail's Thoroughbred, who reared up and met the challenge. Quzqo came down, wheeled to the side, JUST as Memo spun and KICKED with one long hind leg, right at the space where Quzqo's head was a split-second ago! Yow! (I guess that might explain the blood icicle of a few weeks ago...which is healing nicely by the way)

Quzqo took after my friend Sandy's QH gelding, Spike, snaked his neck out and grabbed ahold of Spike's turnout sheet...Spike lunged forward, tearing the fabric out of Quzqo's teeth.... Ooops.... Sandy is always bemoaning the fact that "somebody" is tearing/biting at Spike and wrecking his blanket/sheet. Er...oops... um...gee, that's awful, whoever would do that??

Quzqo then began placing face-tag with one of the other QHs out there...let's try to bite each other's faces, it's FUN!!

Bob went out to open the gate so the horses would come in to the paddock by the barn, they saw him from the distance and instantly they stampeded towards the gate. Dinner time! It reminded me of young boys, busy playing games until mom calls "dinner!", they drop their toys and run for the kitchen!

So I guess next time Gail or Sandy complain to me about Memo's latest injury or Spike's torn blankets, I'll continue to shrug and say "gee, that's awful, wonder how that happened!"

Some Thoughts on $100 Horses

2009-02-02T15:06:00.002-05:00

These days the talk is all about how people are ditching their horses at auctions, and reading those reports, I automatically get a twinge, feeling sorry for those horses that were sold for ridiculously low prices. Many years ago I went to a regional horse auction, and it just tore my heart to see those sad beasties in cramped pens, and it was worse watching them be sold (or not sold).

Nowadays you see an auction report, and read about beautiful young horses going for next to nothing...of course you imagine they're heading straight to some Frenchman's dinner plate or worse.

But yesterday it dawned on me. Quzqo cost $100 at auction, and look where he ended up. Now I know not every cheap auction nag (even skinny, dirty, 6 yr old untrained Arabians) is going to end up as a fat spoiled peppermint addict who rides and drives, but still, it might not end up so bad for those horses after all. One can only hope.

Icicles of Blood

2009-01-29T16:18:00.000-05:00

Went to bring in Quz last night, he was busy face-fighting with my friend's QH, Spike. He got chased off by the OTTB, and eventually made his way back around to where I was standing (it's SO nice that I have a horse that comes to ME for once...less hiking in the snow!). It was then I noticed he had a 3" long blood icicle dangling from his jowl!!!

Had to melt it off (and the surrounding frozen blood-soaked fur) with warm water compresses, and trimmed the 2" long fur with scissors, then more with clippers, before I found the source of the bleeding. Mr. Quzqo somehow managed to give himself a 1/4" round puncture wound in his fat little jowl!! It's deep too, I flushed it with a syringe of warm water/Betadine, and I got the tip in 1/4" or so before he flung his head up in an "SHIT THAT HURT!" response! *sigh*

No debris came out, so it was a clean wound...HOW or WHY, I have no idea...and at least it's on the underside, so gravity will help drain it.

Didn't seem to bother him except when I put the (blunt) syringe tip into the open bloody wound, so that's good I guess.

Never have seen a blood icicle though...that's a new one on me (the air temps were around 12 degrees yesterday, which is why 100 degree blood could freeze solid within seconds of dribbling I guess)

(This is the bloodiest bleedingest horse I've ever known...Tezlu never got himself bloodied up so much!)

Winter Portraits of Fuzziness

2009-01-18T12:42:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I bought myself a new digital camera (Fuji FinePix S1000 10 Megapixel!) for Christmas, and had fun trying it out on the horse. I need to practice, and familiarize myself with all the fiddly little settings, but I think these are kind of nice, considering...

No, he didn't empty the round bale holder behind him by himself, though his "full figure" might lead you to think that!

A Happy, Hellacious Holiday!

2008-12-27T12:21:00.001-05:00

Well, survived Christmas Eve with the family. GADS I spent all day cooking, wrapping, packing, toting, decorating, cleaning...made horse-shaped sugar cookies, got those decorated Tuesday night. Weds. morning I made not one but TWO pumpkin pies (crust from scratch as well, move over Martha!). Toted a carload of stuff over to the barn...punch fixin's, decorations, table cloths, candles, radio, pies, sweet potatoes, dishes/plasticware (can't call it silverware, ha), etc, etc etc. Cleaned what I could, dragged the heavy wooden tables around into position, they'd moved the wet stinky horse blankets out of the way.

Eventually I got Quzqo in, he was soaked through from the heavy snow...even soaked through his winter blanket, poor guy, he looked like a drowned rat! Rode him for a little bit, found him to be near comatose...good! At least he'll have time to dry off before having to perform his Christmas Eve performance!

My brother showed up around 4 & helped move some benches, set up his "robot" Christmas Teddy Bears (cute HUGE animated things), made some snarky disparaging remarks about the facility (windows are dirty, you can't see out the front window because it's covered in snow, the driveway needs plowing, the wiring for the furnace blower looks funny, family will be late as usual, etc etc), and then went back home. Fine...you don't like the place, we'll hold Christmas at YOUR house next year, hah???? It's certainly big enough!

I did go home and fed the dogs, had a cuppa coffee, then back to the barn to get things started...officially the party started at 7, since when I sent out the invites, I was assuming I had to work that day, not knowing we'd all get the day off (glad I did, can't imagine how I could have gotten all that done otherwise!!). My niece showed up around 5 to help how she could, and to bring in her food (she had to work 'til 3)...her husband was coming later with presents and some of the kids... the rest of her kids were with her brother's wife for the day, helping her out (new baby & all).

We went out to bring in Roly Poly Oly the Shetland Pony...and discovered that for the past weeks, Bob had been content to just toss hay over the fence, never bothering to open the gate to the Pony Pasture...so there was about 10 feet of knee-high SNOW blocking the gate!!! The gate itself was ICED into the ground! ARRRGH!!!! Between the two of us we kicked the snow out of the way (keep in mind it's 22 degrees with 15 mph sustained winds and heavy system snow), wrenched the gate from the ice, got the hotwire unhooked, then had to trudge through knee-deep snow into the paddock to catch Roly! One good thing, the deep snow kept the ponies from coming near the gate, ha (Bob's got around 6 ponies in there, cuteness overload!!). Luckily they were all involved in their evening hay to care.

Roly is a typical snotty pony, and was GLAZED with ice, LOL...he looked like a glazed donut (fat enough too). We just turned him loose in the indoor arena where he trotted around a little bit before settling down to clean up the hay scraps here and there.

We were relaxing up in the viewing room when my brother came back with the ham and presents, and as we were yakking, we heard a thudding crash in the distance.... since there were 3 horses in the barn, I figured it was just somebody kicking the wall or something.

A couple of teen girls showed up and went to ride their horses...soon the younger one came up and informed us that Roly had squeezed through the arena rails and was running loose in the aisles!!! She'd caught him and put him in a stall, LOL! That little shit! Guess that's what the thudding crash was!! (the "rails" are PVC pipe, so easily pushed aside or back into place)

Well, eventually everyone else showed up... We managed to get through the food...same stuff they all bring every year...overcooked green bean casserole; COLD potato casserole; overcooked unsalted potatoes and beans, my sweet potatoes were disgusting as well (pineapple sounded like a good addition...it isn't). The ham was good, the pie was good at least, though they only ate half of one pie, so I'm living on pumpkin pie this week!

After that we went down to the barn to harass equines. We got Roly saddled up and the pony rides commenced for the little kids. They LOVE Roly, and he IS a good kid pony, despite being a little shit that bites whoever's leading him, ha ha! One of my niece's middle kids was on him, being led by her older brother, when she started CRYING because Mom had left the scene (c'mon, she's 7...it's a little OLD to be acting that way)...I mean SCREAMING crying, and Roly just stood there like "Oy veh, what-EVER, kid." He shook himself, and that got the girl SCREAMING in terror...poor big brother, was totally befuddled...of course Mom came tearing back, ready to lay into the older boy for tormenting his sister... I defended him, because he wasn't doing anything at all! The girl wanted OFF and she wanted OFF NOW! but Mom wouldn't have any of it, and made her stay on the pony, ha ha! She led her around until she stopped crying, then made him trot, which got her crying again, lol! They did end on a good note, which is what's important. I still can't figure out what was so terrifying about Roly... she'll ride Quzqo with no problem!

Go Roly Go!

Maybe she saw Roly BUCK when Mom put the two 5-yr old boys on him...lol, then we figured one kid at a time is what Roly prefers!

We got Quzqo harnessed up and hitched to his cart, and I drove him around a few times to just make sure he was all right, then gave the reins to my oldest grand-niece...she's driven him before. So she got to drive the kids around, and I HOPE her dad was suitably impressed!!! LOL, she sure got Quz trotting a LOT...needless to say the cart had less weight without ME in it, so he was able to easily pull it through the deep, soft footing.

Pretty soon my younger-older brother was standing in the window of the viewing room, pointing at his watch. Okay, so it WAS around 9:30 at night, but still, c'mon, what, you got someplace to be??? The kids were having FUN, who cares if he was bored? He could have come down to the barn and led the pony around or HELPED OUT.

The guys were getting impatient, so the kids dashed on upstairs to open presents, leaving my niece and me holding horses, literally! She got Roly untacked and tried to get him back into a stall, but Roly wanted NOTHING to do with that, and smashed his way OUT, almost dragged her down the aisle, and stepped on her toe! She didn't know what to do, I couldn't help her because I was trying to unhitch Quzqo and couldn't leave him unattended! She just gave Roly a flake of hay right there in the aisle and held the lead. Meanwhile we could see my brother in the window, staring down with disapproval (well, his body language in his silhouette sent that message) Gee, maybe come down and HELP???

Got Quzqo back in his stall, I literally threw the harness back into my tack cupboard, then my niece and I led Roly back out into the stormy night. Our previous footsteps were obliterated by the new snow, the gate was drifted over AGAIN, again we had to dig it out with our feet and wrestle the gate wide enough to fit Roly's considerable width through. I got him back in (he was the perfect gentleman, I was afraid he'd barge through and knock me down), he trudged through the belly-high snow back to his hay!

We finally get back to the barn (it was 30 minutes from the expiration of our Winter Storm Warning), & everyone was seated around the Christmas Tree (my 4' aluminum one on a table, lol). I made a grumbly comment about gee how nice everyone thanked me for the pony rides and all (i.e. NObody did), as I was cold and tired and headachey and had snow down my socks. My older older brother made a loud comment to the room in general about whose horses did they all just ride? There was a silence, like duuuuh? Then I got a rousing "THANK YOU AUNT SUE". U-huh.

So, they disemboweled the gifts...I copped out and gave Breyers to the kids, snrk...from my body box that I couldn't sell. Hey, they don't know! I gave my niece this old old Japan china horse, and when I told her that it had belonged to her mother who gave me her small horse collection back before she was born, she started tearing up and got real quiet... I'm thinking maybe I made a mistake, but I think she was touched by that. She said she didn't even realize her mother HAD a horse collection. Well, if you want to call 6 ceramic horses a "collection".

They were all busy packing up their booty, so I went back down to the barn to continue cleaning up...had to blanket the horse, give him water, turn off lights, put the cart back, close doors, sweep up, *sigh*. By the time I got back upstairs, they had the tables stripped & were toting stuff out to my car. It was nice they took the initiative, but as I found out yesterday, they'd also toted stuff that belonged to the barn, and instead of placing items IN the boxes and bags I had, they took individual things out and put them on the floor of the car!! Candles, holders, plates, bottles...erm...wouldn't it be better to put them in BAGS and tote the BAGS out????

O, I was ranting and raving yesterday when I went back to the barn to clean up!! Tsk, no Christmas Spirit for me, ha! Returned the stuff taken from the barn, pulled the tables back to where they belonged, yanked down the decorations, swept up, put my harness away properly, put the tack from Roly back in the barn's tack room. No wonder I only wanted to lay around like a lump, sheesh!!!

I dunno, there was an undertone I felt of disapproval and snarkiness...I'm sick of it. I don't think I'll host it next year...if I have to listen to complaints about the barn, bitching about the horses, little if any HELP...what's the point??? I bust my ass and I'm still the only one walking around in the cold and dark, turning out the lights. Personally, I wouldn't mind spending a quiet evening alone, watching a good movie and relaxing.

But, as I like to remind myself, at least nobody was rushed to the Emergency Room, and nobody wet their pants!

Today is Blog Action Day 08

2008-10-15T12:15:00.002-04:00

Today is some feel-good foolery where everyone with a Blog is supposed to post on "Poverty". http://blogactionday.org/

Only because I don't have anything better to do, I'll play along. I've boarded horses for nearly 20 years, so that means I've paid board every month for 240 months. The first board I paid was only $165/mo. Today's board is $300/mo. Taking an average it comes out to $220/mo. Multiply that by 240, and I've spent roughly $52,800 paying for my horses' room and board! That's not counting farriers, veterinary, tack, treats, carrots and Starlight mints!

When I first bought my old horse, Tezlu, I was reprimanded by my yuppy brother about "wasting" money, how the horse would never increase in value, and it'd be a wiser choice to invest that $2000 I spent on Tezzer into Mutual Funds. Well, maybe that was true for a while, but considering today's market, I think I've broken even...if the $$ was in the market, it'd be worth nothing, and since Tezlu is pushing up Canadian Thistle, well...he's not increasing in value.

Anyway, I don't know where this is going actually. I could be richer if I didn't have board to pay every month, but we all know riches can't be counted monetarily, and spending that nearly $53,000 is proof that you CAN buy happiness!

We return you to your previously-scheduled self-loathing about how you have so much and others live in poverty!

Color Tour Trail Ride

2008-10-12T21:00:00.003-04:00

Y'know, it's been probably 2 YEARS since I've gone out on a group trail ride. Last year, of course, I broke my leg (or more accurately, Quzqo broke it for me!), and even when I was able to ride again, the pain kept me from going out for extended periods of time.

This year my past trail riding buddies had either moved away, or their horses were crippled, or too green, or they were too busy with horse shows, so pretty much all my rides (with the exception of a few that didn't get a mile from the barn) were solitary.

Since Autumn is a brief and glorious period here in Northern Michigan, and our riding days are numbered with firearm deer season a month away, I took a shot (no pun) and wrote out an invite to a group ride on the dry erase board at the barn.

"Color Tour Trail Ride
Sunday, October 12
(weather permitting)
Departing 2 p.m.
Everyone Welcome!"

Sunday arrived, and it was GLORIOUS! Ridiculously fantastically glorious weather, almostunheard of in Northern Michigan in mid-October! Sunny, no breeze, mid-70's, and the trees in an orgasmic display of fall spectacle! I got to the barn around 1, not caring if anyone was going to come on the ride with me or not, it was too beautiful to not go!!

Since this was going to be a "real" ride, I went full-out tacking up the horse; trail saddle, gel seat pad for my butt, breastcollar, bear bells, water bottle, an apple in case I get hungry, camera, hoof pick, toilet paper (you never know...)(course there'd be no shortage of leaves if needed...), baling twine, and to top it all off, his biothane bitless bridle! All I forgot to do was the red ribbon for his tail, but since as far as I knew I was going alone, why bother!

Well, as it turns out, Bob and his wife, Pam, were coming along, and had to go catch their horses to ride! Another girl who had been riding in the indoor ring also decided to come along on her HUGE Percheron-X gelding named "Steven". And a mother and daughter team (relatively new boarders at the barn) also were saddling up, turns out they were avid trail riders, but didn't know anyone who rode the trails at the barn, and didn't know where the trails even were! Well well well, it felt like Christmas Morning!

We headed off around 2:20, with Quzqo and me in the lead! Even before we were off the barn property, we were overtaken by Bob on this new blue roan he'd just gotten in last week, and the girl on Steven (no surprise a Percheron-X had a longer stride than a 14.2 Arabian!). Steven kept crowding Quzqo's butt, and JUST as I was going to open my mouth to warn his rider, Quzqo kicked out at him with both hind feet! He did that twice, but missed both times. She never did make a real effort to keep him away from Quz (I don't think she could...Steven was quite large and strong), so I had to keep moving behind him out of the way) Everyone rode along the shoulder and headed East towards the Lake Dubonnet campground. It didn't take but a few minutes for Mr. Pokey-Butt Quzqo to be the dog-last horse in the line.

We have an informal arrangement with a small TWH farm down the road (Quz and I have terrorized those horses in the past with our scary cart) that we can use the two-track alongside their property and the wonderful horse trails cut into the forest behind them. That is a beautiful ride through there no matter the season. Very narrow trail, very winding, lots of hills and trees, and it works its way along a swamp/bog/river leading to Lake Dubonnet. Just beautiful! A couple of times I had to clamp my feet against the horse to keep from smacking them into a nearby tree trunk, and Quz helpfully would move to the left or right when I asked.

Lots of hardwoods and bracken fern. In a week or two I suspect the actual trail will be hidden by all the fallen leaves, so it's a good thing we went when we did!

Yeah, it's a little difficult taking photos from a moving horse.

It was amusing; us ladies were just ooing and aaahing at the beautiful trees and colors, pointing out a particularly spectacular maple or beech, or a bright yellow bracken, or a notable stand of birches, and up ahead of us, Bob was yakking away on his &^%$# cell phone! I told Pam he needed to get a Bluetooth headset so he can have both hands on the reins, ha! (He has one, he just doesn't like to use it).

We made it to the dam near Lake Dubonnet, it's just gorgeous (okay, I need more words than "gorgeous"...time to check out thesaurus.com!) Ah...it's just respendent! That's a good word!

I mean c'mon....you've got to agree:

There's a horse-watering area near there, as it's near the Shore-to-Shore Lake Dubonnet Trail Camp, so we all went down there. Bob's new horse didn't want anything to do with the water. Steven the Percheron-X went in gamely and out again. "Showtime" the QH went in and got a drink. Once the others cleared out, Quzqo walked right in up to his knees (he would have kept going but I stopped him...I once saw a fellow on a QH go out towards the middle and both he and his horse fell into a hole and both went underwater!!!)(I have a deep-seated terror of drowning, it's a childhood thing). Quz dropped his head and began fladdling his lips in the water, he'd paw mightily, splashing everyone around, then he'd plunge his FACE into the water and toss it so water went everywhere. He'd paw and splash and was just having too much fun! I was alert for the sensation of his hindquarters dropping, meaning he was about to roll, but I didn't let him stay out there long enough. I've never SEEN him roll in water,or even attempt it, but I wasn't about to try now!

With both of us pretty well soaked, we continued on and to "The Loop" rather than turn back. I got the feeling Bob would have liked to have turned back (ha ha). We got up to the road and Quzqo headed to the left...trouble being, we needed to go to the RIGHT! And he would NOT stop, would NOT turn, the little bugger!! We got about 60 feet down the road before I was able to crank his head around so that the rest of him followed and a pop on the butt with the whip got him following the other horses. That's pretty much when the whole tone of the ride changed. And not for the better.

There comes a point in every group trail ride where the horses succumb to the herd mentality, and it almost becomes like they have some sort of mind-meld, and all become one. Sort of like the Borg. It was fun at first...we'd all be trotting down the road or trail, then someone's horse breaks into a canter...which means they ALL have to break into a canter, which turns into a gallop, and you can forget about slowing or stopping or pretty much ANY frickin' form of control! Especially when you're dumb enough to use a BITLESS bridle!! But more on that in a bit.

I strongly suspect the mother-and-daughter team didn't have the best control over their steeds, or else they LIKED to trot down hills and gallop UP hills, because that's pretty much what they did for the entire ride! I do NOT like trotting down hills (I do like galloping up hills though, ha ha!)(although I prefer to have some sort of CONTROL over my horse while doing so!). We'd just come down a small sandy hill, and the horses way ahead of me broke into a gallop up the next hill...I held Quzqo back, not easy to do, and I knew I couldn't hold him for long, so as we got to the base of the hill, I totally gave him his head, his hindquarters bunched up and we LAUNCHED up that hill!!! I had grabbed a handful of mane and just held the hell on! YeeHOOOO! that boy can GALLOP!!!

Course at the top of the hill the leaders had slowed down, and we ALMOST bounced off Steven's massive rump! After about the dozenth time they did that, Pam and I gave them advice to keep going once they reach the hilltop so the horses behind wouldn't rear-end the horse in front!

The trails around there are just lovely, er, magnificent (by Michigan standards...okay, no grand mountainscapes or canyons or fjords), it was downright balmy, not a bug to be seen, no tourists, no dirt bikers, no hunters. It couldn't have been a better day!

Occasionally Quzqo and I got to the head of the pack, and I got to do some nice, civilized trotting and slow, controlled cantering, and then we'd wait for the rest to catch up.

Eventually we made it to a nice narrow two-track through the woods, and the horses up ahead took off at a canter, which means they ALL took off at a canter - hand gallop - GALLOP! If I'd dared let go, I would have thrown my hands up in the air in exasperation and said "to heck with it!" but I had one hand in the horse's mane (I keep it long for this very reason!) and the other on the reins, and for the first time in a long time, I was frickin' PANICKED! Blind, unreasoning, ready-to-fall-off-and-DIE panic! Trees were flying past at blinding speed, Quz was galloping after the others at breakneck (literally) speed, and although my seat was firmly in the saddle and really in no danger of becoming unhorsed, my mental block reared up and I briefly hunched forward into the typical N00b panic pose! Damn, I HATE THAT! I managed to regain my composure, sat back upright (still at a gallop over hill and over dale) and managed to shout out "CAN WE SLOW DOWN PLEASE!!!!"

Thankfully they did slow down and again we almost bounced off of Steven's butt! I was gasping for breath, all the horses were huffing and puffing. I don't mind the occasional canter, but I'm no fan of speed! Although I am impressed that Quzqo HAS such speed in his lazy old self!

The horses were really in no mood for a slow, relaxed amble through the forest any longer. They were ALL wired up, shying at stumps, taking off at the trot. We zipped right by my favorite little destination, "Peanut Lake" (a tiny little lake surrounded by hardwoods), and came to the swamp that'd been an obstacle to me all summer long . There's a three-four foot wide mucky spot in the trail that Quzqo would NOT cross when we were alone. My theory was that if five other horses go through it before him, he'd follow (if not, I'd really be in a predicament, ha ha!)

We came to the spot, and Steven was first...he balked, crashed sideways into the trees, then tromped his way through. The next four horses either hopped, jumped, or slogged, but all got through. Quzqo was in such a hurry to keep up, he pretty much jumped-hopped through it and we made it in one piece!

More hills to gallop up...this time I was "centered" and calm and just let the horse carry me... was it John Lyons who says "I can ride as fast as the horse can run"...I have to remember that one. The lead horses were tiring (QHs...no surprise there), and eventually Quzqo and I made our way to the lead. We came to a paved road, and just as we were stepping onto the pavement, Bob and his horse pop out of the trees a few yards down the road, startling Quz into another danged sideways spin! I didn't lose so much as a stirrup, but I don't care for watching the pavement swirl around beneath me!

Yeah, I ride with a helmet, why?

Final leg home through some flamboyant hardwood forests! Bob made a snarky comment about my bear bells/rhythm beads (i.e. he can't stand them)! Truth be told, I don't "hear" them, I'm so used to them I don't notice them. I'd rather endure a constant tinkling noise than a sudden burst of deer or grouse (kind of like last weekend!).

Quz and I got to trotting, and since we were in the lead, he was more relaxed and had a nice ground-covering trot. But of course that got the other horses excited (though I thought I was far enough ahead of everyone that they couldn't see... there's a lot of curves on that trail, but maybe they heard the hoofbeats), and soon enough the two QHs and Steven were literally on our tail...them cantering, Quz trotting, and me laughing at the complaints from the ladies behind me! A line from "Jaws" came to mind...."Your turn, Quint!" How do YOU like it, ha!

Turns out we'd left Bob and Pam in the dust, and we had a five minute or so wait for them to catch up. Quzqo wasn't impressed with having to stand still, and was pawing and tossing his head (and flinging his spit-foam up over his head to hit me in the chest!) and walking in circles, tail-switching.

Again more trotting and hand-galloping down the dirt road, pausing only a moment when Quzqo shied at a circular tire-track in the road, where I lost my left stirrup, but managed to regain it without missing a beat!

Still more dazzling foliage to enjoy between bursts of trotting and cantering:

I got back to the barn exactly three hours from when we left. I say "I" because the other three decided to take the long way back to the barn, riding along the far side of the property. Me, my butt wanted to get home quickly, so we took the more direct route. Only when I got back to the barn did I see Bob and Pam emerging from the far trees about a mile away! Maybe I should have ridden with them and their nice leisurely walking pace!

Quzqo does not look impressed.

Maybe a good all-over body shake will help!

Quzqo would have won the Sweatiest Horse Award, but I suspect part of it was due to nerves, and the rest to being a galloping dork.

Sometimes the best part of a trail ride is when you get home, sore and bone-tired, hungry and thirsty, and knowing you can relax, get a bite to eat, take a hot shower, and thank the Lord for keeping you alive to ride another day!

Like tomorrow!

Our route:

A Qollection of Quzqo Portraits

2008-09-30T09:26:00.003-04:00

One nice thing about being a model horse customizer, is that I can make my own model horse portraits! These are a few of the mini-me versions of Quzqo that I've created or accumulated over the years:

A Young Quzqo, done on the Bridgette Eberl "Jamil" resin, painted by myself. I have NO idea if he looked like this, I'm just assuming:

An older Quzqo (and much thinner!) done on the Peter Stone "Chip" Arabian, painted and customized by myself. This was obviously done before he got that scar on his hip.
A Breyer Stablemate(tm) Arabian painted by my friend, Marcia Seelhoff, as a portrait of Himself this year, in a feistier mood than normal!

Fun!

The Trail Drive

2008-09-21T21:54:00.000-04:00

Driving the horse down the road is a blast, but it's even more fun with company!

This late afternoon I was hitching up Quzqo for a drive 'round the (4 mile ) block, and imagine my delight to see Bob and his wife, and a few boarders were also tacking up for a trail ride! We all finished about the same time, and as I was getting into the cart outside the barn, the trail riders all emerged from the indoor arena, and we all set out together!!

Now there's no way I can take a cart on a horse trail (well, not the one-horse-wide ones anyway), and since I saw the riders were heading South to take the long route around the property, I told them I'd probably see them up on the road, and Quz and I headed off down the main paved road Northwards!

By the time we made it to the road and leisurely walked up the hill, the trail ride was halfway up the hayfield perpendicular to the road. We waited for a few minutes at the top, until an approaching car made me move the horse out of the way, and seeing the riders were still about 1/4 mile away, and I was bored, we continued on down the road and down the steep hill.

After we'd made it down the hill, which takes a while because Quzqo is very careful, pushing his butt back into the breeching to keep the cart from running up on his heels, the riders finally crested the hill and made their way down towards us. We waited for them to catch up, Quzqo straining to listen and turning his head to try to see what was coming up behind! He could hear the snorts and hoofbeats and the voices, but those darned blinkers kept him from seeing. When the horses magically appeared within his field of vision, he did startle in place, but then relaxed, and seeing that none of the horses were spooked by the cart, we walked along with them!

That was different...let's just say "Dusty", ha! Things are a lot dustier down at horse-butt level with half a dozen horses walking down a dry dirt road...not that appealing!

The riders soon took a right turn into the woods down an old logging trail, and I bade them farewell, and we continued down the nice dirt road at a snappy trot. Apparently Quzqo's feet no longer bothered him, and he was willing and able to do his best roadster imitation!

We headed North on the paved road, and I got Quzqo trotting again; the little bugger actually broke into a canter before I slowed him! I heard something unusual coming up behind us, turns out it was a tractor with a front loader...hmm...that should be okay...???? They passed us, and Quzqo tensed up but didn't spook...until the big white pick-up following the tractor went BLASTING past, and poor Quz about jumped out of his harness! The driver had a big shit-eating grin on his face...yeah, well, there's a special place in Hell for jerks like you, my friend!!

Today we did something different...when we got up to Bronson Lake, we turned left instead of just wimping out and heading right ("around the block"). If you go left, you go down a dirt road bordered by some of the downright scariest redneck hovels in the township. Quzqo usually spooks a couple of times along this stretch when I ride him, how would he behave being driven? It was pretty quiet, nobody working on the wrecked cars in the driveways, nobody sitting on the porches of the singlewides, drinking beer, nobody driving their ATVs or dirt bikes...looked safe enough.

Once we got over some small hills, I got him trotting again, and he went right to it, head high, tail up, just happy as can be! It didn't take us long to make our way to the end of the road. It does continue into the woods as a two-track, and eventually joins the Michigan Shore-To-Shore trail, but I couldn't picture anyplace wide enough in there to turn a cart around (and there's no way I could go all the way through to the paved road on the far side...it's a little too adventurous in there for a horse and cart)(famous last words!). We turned around at the cul-de-sac (fancy name for a dirt turnaround spot), and headed back just in time to see the trail riders from the barn emerging from the woods waaaaay down the road by the redneck hovels!

Yeah, I'll admit I felt a little snarky, seeing as I was obviously covering more ground quicker than them...I suppose if they stuck to the roads and did as much trotting, they'd be heading home too, but that's not the point of a nice trail ride. We passed by them as they headed for the woods and we headed towards home.

We pretty much followed the same route as the previous time, heading down the residential road, absolutely nothing spookworthy to be seen. In fact, it looked something like this:

Sorry, no sound, just imagine the clip-clop-clip-clop and the squeak of the leather and jingle of the harness hardware!

Uneventful drive South on Lake Ann road other than seeing a white pick-up hauling a BIG white 5th Wheel travel trailer approaching. I just stopped the horse, turned his head to the right, he couldn't see it coming due the blinkers, truck passed, horse was oblivious, we continued on!

It was just a beautiful afternoon/evening, temps in the upper 60's, only bugs being the little no-see-ums floating in the sunshine, the colors on the trees are just beginning to turn...totally glorious! There'll be precious few lovely days like that before winter sets in, I intend to enjoy as many as I can!

The Near-Perfect Trail Ride

2008-09-20T15:19:00.000-04:00

Sunny
Warm, but not too hot
Horse in good mood
No spooks
Met friendly dirt bikers on the trail who waved back
Found three beer cans...that's 30 cents deposit, and me getting off and on the horse two times successfully!
No bugs
A good time had by all!

They Call Him "Scarface"

2008-09-19T13:06:00.001-04:00

If there's a way for a horse to injure himself, he will find it!!

Came to the barn yesterday evening, fully anticipating a lovely quiet evening trail ride, maybe using the bitless bridle for a change. It was in the low 70's, sunny, the trees are finally starting to think about changing color for Fall...it'd be perfect.

There's probably some sort of horseman's Murphy's Law.... the more you WANT to do a horse-related activity, the greater the chance the horse will be injured, preventing that activity.

This is what I found waiting for me in the pasture:

Don't have a clue as to how he did that to himself. Common theories revolve around a little greedy Arabian sticking his head through a wooden fence section and then being spooked so that he bumped his noggin and scraped half his face hide off.

Whatever he did, he gave himself a big swollen nose for his trouble! To me he looked like a Kladruber, no more lovely Arabian dish!

He didn't want me to touch his face (no surprise there), I knew there's no way I could get a cold compress on there.

But hey, the rest of him was in good shape, so I did take him for a short trail ride through the neighborhood. Needless to say, the bitless bridle was "out" (all that noseband pressure...ouch!), we used a snaffle without a cavesson instead.

Inconsiderate monkey that I am, I did get him cantering, and he kept halting...then it dawned on me; he probably couldn't breathe very well through those swollen nostrils!!! Arrrgh! I apologized profusely and we walked the rest of the way home. My poor boyo!

Before (cute little dish face!):

And After:

Kladruber Nose!!!

Well, it gives him character, and so what if everyone thinks I beat my horse with barbed wire!

====================
UPDATE 10/7/08

Happy to say the nosal swelling has disappeared with no permanent lumps, and the scrapes are filling in with white (and fleabitten) fuzz! Whew! He'll be normal-looking in no time... or as normal-looking as Quzqo can be!

Our Portraits

2008-09-15T14:31:00.000-04:00

A Big Thank-You to my two dear friends, Cheryl Monroe and (Evile) Suzanne Feld, for these lovely portraits of Quzqo and myself. I've wanted a "good" photo of the two of us, which isn't easy, since either:

The Horse Looks Goofy
The Horse is Misbehaving
The Horse's Eyes Are Closed

I look Goofy
I'm Misbehaving
My Eyes Are Closed

But the benefit of taking nearly 50 photos between the pair, I came up with a few shots I actually like!

I really like this one...it's not posed, and we both look pretty pleased with ourselves!
Another unposed shot...I should have just had them follow me around with a camera as I did my usual routine, they probably would have gotten more nice photos like this!

Totally UNPOSED, LOL! I wasn't really cussing him out (er, maybe I was)...
Fun!

Friends Shouldn't Let Friends Ride Quarter Horses

2008-09-13T13:44:00.001-04:00

My Evile Twin came to visit this past weekend, up from the Big City. She's a horse-lover like myself, and used to ride back in the day. I'd actually taken her on an "interesting" trail ride a couple of years ago with Leo the Bucking QH as her steed. Though he hadn't begun the bucking thing back then.

I promised her a better mount this time around, and we headed out to the barn on a lovely Friday morning. It was SO peaceful out there; school's in session, so no kids at all (yaay!), all the adults were at work, except Carlos the Spaniard who showed up around noon to do some work around the place. It felt like my own personal barn!

We got good ole' Colby the QH who was up by the front gate and tucked him into an empty stall with a bit of grain for a treat, and then hiked the 2/3 mile or so into the pasture to get Quzqo. By the time we returned, Colby had finished, had peed and pooped and was ready for whatever else we had in store!

Got him tacked up, I let Suzanne, my twin (not really, we just look similar in a vague sort of way) borrow my bitless bridle, and got her on board the horse and warming up in the indoor arena. Once I got Quzqo tacked up, she was ready to go!

Last time we left the property and headed for the Shore-to-Shore trail (didn't make it due to Leo's misbehavior). This time we stayed closer in, and originally were just going to ride along the property line outside the pasture fences. But Colby and Suzanne were doing so well, I figured we should push the envelope, and headed for the woods!

We didn't get into the actual trees before something went "snap" in the forest, and Quzqo jammed on the brakes, ducked and did a 180 degree spin (but I stayed on) and bolt! Colby also spooked and spun, but much more sedately, and hey, Suzanne stayed on as well! Yay Us! Don't have a clue what made the scary snapping noise in the woods, could have been anything, and I managed to get Quzqo to actually walk on.

I haven't been in these woods since last year. There's new people living in the house behind the barn property, and they like their ATVs. It was apparent they also liked the woods (not their property either) because there were now some wonderful cleared trails smashed through the rotting tree tops left over from logging done years ago! Awesome! It was quite pretty in there (when have I ever said "Oh, it was so frickin' fugly in those woods!"), and we did a little bit of brush-poppin' where the trails had become overgrown with blackberry brambles. Quzqo still managed to snatch a mouthful of blackberry leaves or maple branches as we went.

Other than the one spook-fit, it was pretty uneventful. Suzanne had the joys of learning to ride a remote controlled push-button trained-to-the-gills Showhorse who'd almost work off of brain waves, he was so responsive. It took a bit to figure out why he'd suddenly take off trotting... seems a little lean forward was all it took!

The horses were spoiled with Fuji apples and plenty of grooming before being released from their bondage. Rough life, but somebody's got to live it!

To Boldly Go Where No Horse Has Driven Before

2008-09-01T12:28:00.000-04:00

Y'know what I think is great? That I can now harness up the horse, hitch him up by myself, and hop in and take off without the fear and nervousness of the past. I'm so glad I did the work I did with him so that he now stands quietly while I get in the cart, I no longer need someone to hold his head or to help me hitch him up! Why didn't I do this years ago! Oh, I didn't own Quzqo back then...I guess that's a good enough reason!

The Sunday before Labor Day this year was a balmy golden day, I got out to the barn around 5-ish. The horse already had eaten the bulk of his dinner, so he was in an accommodating, pleasant mood (Arabians are so much easier to deal with when they're in a good mood). Got him hitched up, and off we went down Lake Ann Road. A few cars whizzed by, a truck or two as well, he doesn't care, and I'm not as nervous as I used to be, driving on the road. Then I remind myself what happened the last time I got lackadaisical about anything involving the horse...8 screws and a metal plate in my leg, that's what!

We hooked a left onto Fewins Road, a nice dirt road with a few residences on it. We've been there before, only up to the top of the hill where I'd normally turn around and head back. Not today, today we go beyond the hill...we go....DOWN the hill!!!

We're talkin' STEEP...Poor Quzqo put on the brakes and braced his butt up against the breeching to hold the cart back as he carefully, but gamely, made his way down the slope! What a boy!

Of course it wouldn't be a trip down the steep, narrow hill with HIGH dirt banks on both sides (we're talking canyon quality here) without...a big dually pick-up truck coming the other way!!! There is room for a truck to pass if I pulled waaaay off to the side, but bless his heart, the driver just stopped at the bottom of the hill, off to the side, and waited. We took our time going down the hill, and when we got even to the truck, I thanked the fellow profusely for his consideration!! I appreciated it, more than he'll know!

Once off the hill, we had a nice trot to the next main road, and hooked a right onto the shoulder of that road. That's got a nice WIDE crushed gravel shoulder, plenty of room for horse and cart, and no houses, just woods on both sides. I got him trottin' and he put his shoulders to the breastcollar and just motored on up the road, me bouncing merrily along behind! What a blast!! A few cars slowed and passed us, but Quzqo just kept on trotting up the low hill to another intersection.

We turned right onto a paved residential street, in effect, going "around the block" (granted the "block" is a mile or so long on all four sides...). Oh, this was SO quiet and peaceful and downright magical with the golden early evening light, little bugs flittering in the sunlight, no sound but the horse's hooves on the pavement and the noise of the harness creaking and clinking. I'd wished I had a reclining cart seat so I could have really relaxed and enjoyed it.

We passed the Lake Ann Elementary School, and I wished I'd brought my recycling along, I could have dropped it off, ha ha! Maybe next time!

Back on to the road that the barn is on, about 1-1/2 miles to the south. Much more traffic, but again, a nice wide shoulder, many houses and driveways, but the horse didn't care. He was getting tuckered by then, and less inclined to be silly. We were passing one particularly nice home when I heard a dog barking, and saw a very large mixed breed tearing across the massive front lawn right for us. I had my whip at the ready...Quzqo sort of twisted between the shafts, trying to see what was coming up beside him, and I "felt" his hindquarters tense up for the bolt. The dog's owner was yelling after him "GUS! GUS! GET BACK HERE GUS!" but of course Gus wouldn't have any of it, and came running right into the road, into the path of an oncoming car!

Well, the car had already slowed because of the horse and cart (funny how drivers will slow for a horse and cart, but will blast right by a horse and rider like they aren't even there), and stopped while Gus' dad dragged him by his collar back to the house. Quzqo let out an audible sigh, and onward we walked.

That was such a wonderful drive, I'm glad we were "brave" enough to crest the hill and see what there was to see. I wouldn't do it again on a Saturday afternoon or a Wednesday morning, but Sunday evening on a holiday weekend...that's do-able.

I am lovin' that horse!

The Journey To Peanut Lake

2008-08-29T10:47:00.004-04:00

Quzqo got his feet trimmed back on the 15th, and I suspect they were trimmed too short, because he's been ouchy-footed on gravel ever since. So in order not to discomfit Himself, our latest trail ride was as much woodsy trails as possible. We had a bit of gravel road to negotiate, but that's what soft, sandy shoulders are for!

Last weekend we were on a woodsy trail, and paused a moment so Quz could scarf down some green tasty maple leaves...suddenly he JUMPED backwards and spun 180 degrees and started to bolt back down the trail! I remember hanging off his side and thinking "I MUST NOT FALL OFF!!!" and simultaneously regained my upright position and gathered up the yards and yards of slack reins and was able to stop his headlong plunge into the forest. After a minute or so of discussion that involved another spin, a little half-rear, and much backing, I got him back to the scene of terror, his heart was pounding so hard I could feel it through the leather of the saddle fenders... warily, warily he tip-toed to the side of the path as much as he could and giving the ground the hairy eyeball, crept past the horror...

I never saw what that horror was...there was "nothing" there...if it was still there, it was in an alternate dimension that only horses can see. My theory (judging from the violence of his spook) was that there was a snake on the trail that suddenly slithered off. That'd scare ME too. But it traumatized Quzqo to his core, and the entire balance of the ride featured a psychotic obsession with...STICKS! Any stick laying on the ground was at the least given the hairy eyeball, at worst...a four-legged spook-stop and snort.

But that was last week. This week...horses are related to elephants I think, because yes, sticks were still the Spook du Jour. We were walking down a hill on a dirt road, and since Quzqo's toes were still ouchy, he was keeping to the shoulder where the sand was soft. He got so close to the grassy bank that he stepped over a branch laying slightly in his path, and apparently hooked it with a foot, that dragged the branch underneath him, and (I imagine, because I couldn't see and wasn't paying that much attention) hit his hind legs.

Well, that fat little Arabian shot up in the air and BUCKED a couple of crow-hops down the road, dislodging the branch! I laughed and was glad I had my trail saddle and not the English one I used to use in my younger, stupider days (yeah, 40 is "young"). What a maroon, that horse!

We enjoyed a lovely woodsy ride, other than the stick issue, that soon transfered to a stump issue. I'd forgotten my bear bells, but luckily the biggest animal that we spooked was a squirrel.

It's sort of a boring time of year for trail rides. The Spring and Summer wildflowers are past, and the autumn foliage has yet to make an appearance. There's not a lot of birdsong, just the distant whine of chainsaws as people prepare their firewood supplies for winter. We've had so much rain this summer that the landscape is still a beautiful rich green...a pleasant change from summers past where things are dry and brown by this time. Also noteworthy was the absence of bugs...we missed the mid-summer weeks where the deer flies are the worst, I guess that's one benefit to being lazy.

Today's objective was to ride to Peanut Lake, a TINY little lake about 5 miles from the barn, right on the Michigan Shore-to-Shore trail. It's a gorgeous, uninhabited spot, with beautiful hardwoods and pines, and a nice scenic ride through the woods.

We went our usual route, passing the skeletal remains of the dead doe that terrorized us earlier this year. No beer cans on the roadside to collect for the dime deposit, no dirt bikers, no hunters, a very peaceful and pleasant ride...other than the sticks, of course.

We crossed the wonderful wooden bridge built by the Michigan Trail Riders Association back in 1997....Quz just can't seem to step up on that thing, he always has to LEAP. Usually we turn around and go back to the barn at that point, which is what the horse fully expected. Nope, not today, today we go on, we go up the hill and down the two-track at the top. HA! Let's just say we had a little discussion, with the horse having a different opinion than me, but as usual, I won and we trotted up the narrow tree-lined horse trail.

I love the two-track at the top, it's about a mile, maybe longer, with mysterious off-ramps into the woods, probably leading to the meth labs or pot plots or the orgy groves, I don't know, I've never bothered to investigate. But what's nice is the road is straight, level, with a minimum of spooky things, and one can really get their horse into a nice road-eating trot or even a canter and just enjoy the woods on both sides!

There's a paved main road to cross, and we've been working on his manners at these "intersections" as well as with the cart and harness. Let's just say we need more work... he started walking and swung his hindquarters into the road as the lone pick-up on the road came our way... of course he did!

Across the road the route degrades back into the narrow horse trail (keep your toes in or get them snapped off by a nearby tree!), it's beautiful in there (see photo above), all hardwoods and hilly and windy and full of sticks that must be avoided. Usually we see deer, but not this time.

Well, we got to the swamp at the bottom of a very long, steep hill (I used to have to dismount and lead old Tezlu down that thing...it's so nice to have an agile sure-footed relative youngster to ride!)...I was HOPING that the bog at the bottom would have dried up by now, but no, it was still four feet of hoof-sucking mud that I knew Quzqo would have nothing to do with. I suppose if we were other riders, and their horses went over it, he would jump it, but without that, my ride was at an end. No Peanut Lake.

See, now if we'd had a normal dry August, that bog would be just soft dirt, and we could have crossed it without a problem!

The trip wasn't a total loss, I finally got to photograph this awesome tree growing out of a cedar stump...I saw this stump back in 2006 but for many obvious reasons, never got back to photograph it until now. I just think it's cool, in a parasitic Alien face-hugger sort of way.

An uneventful ride back to the barn, the day was so nice, that the horse wasn't even hurrying like normal. I'll take uneventful any day of the week!

My New Old Saddle!

2008-08-25T15:45:00.004-04:00

Went to an estate sale this weekend in a nearby town, the ad stated "old horse tack". You never know what you'll find so I went!

Well now, when they said "old", they meant OLD, as in Antique! I couldn't resist, even though it about emptied my checking account (but still, under $300), this old beauty definitely from the 1900's or earlier!!!

Of course there's no maker's marks on it, which means it might be from Sears & Roebuck, according to my minimal research. Its condition is amazing...just a few scuffies, NO rot, NO mold, just a bit of cracking on the fenders...I still can't believe it!

Look at the amazing detail on this thing though...I love the leather-wrapped rings for the cinch...

And the neat detailing on the back (yes, even the sheepskin underside is in very good condition!)

Obviously (to me) machine-embossed decoration, which really makes me think it's mass-produced for Sears Roebuck. But definitely old... lots of green oxidation on the rivets there.

Neat rawhide detailing on the pommel. Even the horn is in excellent shape with not one missing stitch! Now THAT is rare!!

Of course Quzqo had to model it! It fit him perfectly...I guess they had smaller horses back in the 19th Century. He looks rather pleased with himself for some reason.

I took him for a short trail ride around the property...it was more than obvious that the stirrups were too long, and the seat is amazingly hard (as in rock hard!). But talk about secure, LOL...with that high cantle and pommel, I don't see how anyone could fall out!

The next day I took it back home, and shortened the stirrups "one notch", which in this case, is about 3". Unfortunately my legs wanted it shortened only 2", so the next ride I took was even more uncomfortable (but much more secure!). It took four days for my broken ankle to quit hurting...no thanks!

Now I suppose I could drill holes so I could make the stirrups the proper length, but I'm hesitant to do anything to it which would ruin its "mint condition"! Like, would I ever really ride with it? I hate the horn...I ride with a hornless trail saddle for a reason. I suppose maybe SOMEday Quzqo will do a proper Western Pleasure class and I'd need a proper Western saddle (after I spend $500/month to get him professionally trained)(and we'd still be beaten by all the stock breeds up here). Or maybe I will eventually put it on eBay and hopefully get the $1000.00 it's obviously worth. Or maybe I'll just keep it and enjoy looking at it, because it is darned neat looking. And then it can be sold at MY Estate Sale...and they'll wonder why it's in such good shape!

2008 Speckle Update

2008-08-01T19:08:00.010-04:00

One of the joys of owning a greying horse; you get a new color horse every year!!

Remember 2004:

And 2005:

2006:

2007:

And today in 2008: (pardon the poop stains)

At the rate he's speckling, I'll have a brown horse again in no time!

Pewp!

2008-08-01T15:36:00.002-04:00

After the horse show, both Quzqo and I were sort of sick of each other, and I gave him a bit of a vacation. We had a couple of relaxing, pleasant (except for the bugs) trail rides, and found some new routes to take, and discovered that you can't lead a balky Arabian through ankle-deep sucking swamp mud without losing your $90 riding sneaker in the quagmire (I did get it back though), and spent some time working on his headset, which he IS getting, so he no longer goes along like a nearsighted anteater with his nose sticking way out front.

I took a week-long vacation to Kentucky, so he got 10 days' vacation, and by the time I got back, he was glad to see me, and I was glad to see him, and now we're back on track.

My niece and niece-in-law came out to the barn this past Sunday with a passel of chill'un to visit the horsie and do pony rides and cart rides. We drafted Colby the Quarter Horse to handle the riding, and I'd lunged Himself before they arrived so he'd be half-civilized for the cart-pulling.

The nieces arrived with three girls and two boys, between the ages of 4 and 10. We hiked out into the pasture to catch Colby.... Quzqo was already in his stall, inhaling his dinner I noticed... never mind it was noon... if it's there, it will be eaten!

As we negotiated the countless heaps of mummified meadow muffins, the youngest girl kept shouting out warnings! "PEWP!" "PEWP!" "Look out for the PEWP!" We were laughing, and from that point forward, any and all references to manure was "Pewp!" It's always great to have a new word to add to the vocabulary!

Colby was brought in, brushed and saddled, once he was busy giving rides, the oldest girl helped me harness Quzqo, and we got him hitched to the cart without problems. Happily it seems he remembered his lessons earlier this year in "standing quietly until asked to move forward". THAT is a big relief!

My plan was to load the cart up with a couple of kids, then take the horse about 1/2 mile down the main road, and back again...that'll be more interesting than walking around in the arena. I took two of the smallest girls first trip out, and even though Quz hadn't been in harness since the horse show, he did VERY well! I warned the kids about no shouting or screaming, to hang on, and keep their feet in the cart. They let out a few excited squeals during the ride, especially when we were trotting, but that didn't bother the horse one bit. He did perfect!

We returned to the barn, and loaded up the two boys (both 4 years old). The youngest girl admonished them "no screaming!" which caused my niece to raise her eyebrows a bit. Hey, it's good advice!

The boys were having a time of their life, and we got to trotting down the roadside at a good clip. One of the boys let out a loud "WhoaHO!", which Quzqo mistook for "WHOA" and he jammed on the brakes on his own, ha! I told them sternly "no yelling!"... last thing I need is for some kid to holler out "HAW!" and have the horse cut to the left (into the lane of traffic!)

It wasn't just fun-time-horsey-rides though, I was working on Quzqo and those "issues" we had about standing quietly, especially at intersections. We stopped at the intersection with the lilac bushes, and he did put up a little hissy, but a pretty feeble hissy, and eventually stood quietly until I told him to "walk".

On the way back to the barn (the boys were VERY concerned that we were actually leaving the barn...they kept track of how far away we were...and were very concerned when they couldn't see it any more...until we cleared the shrubbery that blocked their view) they began to jabber quietly to themselves (I'm sorry, I'm not fluent in pre-schooler)...the one boy began singing softly to himself, mostly to hear his voice go up and down with the jouncing of the cart at the trot, LOL. Cute.

Dumped that load of kids and loaded up the oldest girl and one of the younger ones sneaking a second ride. All went well until I saw something large and white approaching us from the other direction. I thought it was a truck pulling a utility trailer, nothing to worry about. Er...no, it's not just a truck, it's an 18-wheeler hauling a big flatbed full of cherry containers (cherry harvest is in full bore up here). Quzqo slowed...I could see him tensing up...gathering himself up.... raising his head up....the truck approached...the driver DID slow down (bless his heart), but the massive whiteness of it all was too much, and as the truck passed us, the horse bolted forward and to the right towards the (shallow, thank God) ditch! I got him stopped and up on the road again, the girls, of course, thought it was fun as could be. Couldn't fault the horse, I don't believe he's ever seen an 18-wheeler while in harness (and there's a good reason I've tried to avoid that). WHY there's commercial trucking going on on a late Sunday afternoon, well...

When we got back to the barn I gave the oldest girl some lessons on driving, and we went into the indoor arena and I let her have the reins! She was THRILLED to death, and after once around I could tell she was getting the hang of it, the horse was totally bored, so I got out of the cart and let her drive by herself. She loaded up with two other siblings and away they went, walking around in the indoor arena! TOO cute! Colby the QH was giving pony rides to the one 4 year old boy, who was riding all by himself like a big boy (Colby is THE best baby-sitter horse there is....and little Joey was wearing a helmet, for the record). Eventually Colby decided he'd prefer to follow Quzqo around the arena...it was the cutest thing ever, I wish I'd brought a camera!

Eventually all the kids and adults were horsed-out, I can sincerely say that was the most fun I've ever had with all the kids out there. The weather was dry and perfect, nobody got hurt, nobody cried, nobody wet their pants. It doesn't get much better than that!

Show, Day Two

2008-06-29T23:43:00.002-04:00

During the night I'd come to the revelation that shows don't matter, and after the previous day's disappointments and bitter doses of reality, that today didn't matter either. But the horse was 20 miles away at the fairgrounds, I'd already paid for everything, so I might as well go and make whoever is judging today look at us, whether they like the view or not.

I made a few adjustments so I could avoid yesterday's madness. Since the weather forecast was for much cooler temps, I wore my breeches underneath my jeans. That'll save a few precious seconds in the clothes-changing department later on! I wore a universal white shirt, so I wouldn't be changing into my Official Huntseat Shirt With Collar and Stock Pin. Nothing wrong with a nice white collared Oxford. Having the proper clothes didn't seem to help, so this couldn't hurt.

The horse didn't sleep well, I could tell by the lack of green stains on his sides. But Sunday is always Bran Mash day, horse show days being no exception, so he greedily tucked in to his white bucket of branny delights while I went about moving all my tack/equipment from the draft horse stall at the far end of the barn, to right outside the stall. Less steps to take, less time to waste!!

People were busying themselves preparing for the Showmanship and Halter classes, and I sat in the sun, enjoying a hot cuppa coffee and reading a paperback. The girl a couple of stalls down had her big white Arabian out, prepping him/her for the halter classes I assumed. She was busy spraying him with something. I got a whiff...dang, that STINKS! Phew! Another shower walked by and made some comment to her about how artificial showing has become, and she said something to the effect of "yeah, well, you do what you have to do!" and continued spraying her horse's lower legs...with a can of RUST-OLEUM!!

Yes, gentle reader, that girl was spray-painting her horse's lower white legs with RUST-OLEUM! I thought I recognized the smell, since I'd spray-painted my cart days earlier with the same product!! She stopped to shake the can, and I could clearly see the black and yellow oval logo, and the red plaid design element....couldn't see if it was gloss or matte. What the hell! Granted, it did make the horse's legs very very white...she was more "misting" it over, not going for complete coverage. The fur took on a white, but flat color, maybe she figured the judge would be so bedazzled by the bright white that she wouldn't notice the lack of natural silvery sheen.

Yet one more thing to write in the "showing-is-not-for-me" column.

Eventually I got my un-enameled horse tacked up, hitched up, warmed up, and we once again found ourselves parked in front of my car, waiting for lunch to be over. A friend came up to chat, and her little girl was eyeing the cart...the conversation got around to that eventually, and I asked her if she'd like to go for a ride! Of course, and she got up into the seat with me, and Quzqo headed on away from the showgrounds down the dirt road towards the back of the fairgrounds. I got him trotting (we'd been practicing our "road trot" vs "park trot" and he was actually getting it)...A couple of spins around the field, then trotting back down the road to her mom's horse trailer where I offloaded her. She had a blast, I had a blast, that was more fun than the actual class!

Again we were back by the car, dozing in the sun, Quzqo with his head lowered and a hind leg cocked, looking like the ole' grey plow hoss at lunchtime. Another family came by, and the young girl very shyly muttered something about if I was selling rides. LOL, no, but you're welcome to ride anyway! So she and her younger brother (with Mom's approval of course, not like I'm some horse-drawn child snatcher...though I could have been!) climbed in, one on each side, and off we went, same route as the last time. The kids really enjoyed the trotting, especially when we hit the washboard portion of the road, LOL!

Seriously, I could have made some good money selling cart rides that day. Maybe that's something to consider in the future, LOL!

Eventually the class came again, and I had NO nerves whatsoever. Either I was too tired or too numb, haven't decided which. The competition was already in the arena, "working at will", waiting for them to officially call for the class. Knowing Quzqo's opinion of arenas, I opted to just stay outside in the shade of a tree, until the announcer told me to get in there. Kind of an informal arrangement, but, okay. We just walked along the rail, the judges were standing in the middle, talking to each other, my competitor was already trotting her horse, I didn't quite know what to do, so I started to get Quzqo into some sort of trot when the announcer finally said "Drivers, Trot your horse!"

Now today there was no "park trot" or "road trot". No, today we just had "trot" and "extend the trot". Well, don't know about that, so I just made him trot faster, hoping he was extending. We got going quite well, he had more energy than the previous day, that's for sure! The judges called for us to "reverse"...not "reverse across the diagonal", just "reverse". I was just turning the corner onto the short end of the arena, so there was no way I could reverse across the diagonal, so I just did a big circle until I was facing the wrong direction. My competition did the across-the-diagonal because she was already on the long side and could do that without looking ridiculous. The fix was in, eh?

Quzqo did VERY well I thought, backed beautifully with his head tucked and neck arched. In the line-up, the judges came by, and the man judge carefully looked at each horse head-on, then walked around both sides, inspecting the harness I assume. *gulp*. Can he tell mine came from a discount tack dealer on eBay, and that it had cryptic (Red-dot) Indian words scribbled on the inside of the tugs?? Did he have disdain for (gaaag) pipe carts??? But he never said a word.

As I expected, we got 2nd under both judges. But hey, it was fun and we got to do it, so that's what it's all about.

The chaos between harness and equitation went much smoother this time. It was easy to peel off my pants, put on the boots, put on the hunt coat, put up my hair, ready to go!

It's also easy to go into the show ring with absolutely NO expectations whatsoever. I was figuring on another last-place day like Saturday, so if you figure you'll fail, you're never disappointed.

An amusing side-note; as we were entering the arena to find a spot on the rail, one of the ladies in the announcer's booth who knew me exclaimed "YOU'RE RIDING!!!" Er, yeah...I only broke my leg in two places, that doesn't mean I can't still ride, LOL! Glad to be able to amaze!

The Equitation class went well, I thought. Quzqo spooked a little at some people along the rail, and slowed a bit at some people on the other side...maybe he didn't see them when he had the blinkers on, who knows! Again there were four of us adult novices, and I about fell out of the saddle when they called out the placings, and I had placed 2nd under "Judge A" (the lady)!!! "Judge B" (the man") placed me last, so no more about him. That made my day, and I found myself thinking "this showing isn't so bad when you PLACE!"

The Step-up was a near-repeat of the previous one, but with five entrants instead of three, and as we were cantering, I heard a quiet voice along the rail "wrong lead!". I relaxed my seat and tried to feel his stride...sure enough, the little stinker had been merrily cantering on the right lead...except we were supposed to be on the left! I hauled him up, re-cued, back on the right (wrong!) lead! Arrgh! Lather, Rinse, Repeat! Third time he got onto the left lead and after four or five strides they called for the trot. Quzqo doesn't like cantering on his left lead, and picked a fine time to make his point!

So, we placed 4th & 5th, but I enjoyed a little Schadenfreude when Bob's 7 yr old granddaughter didn't win under BOTH judges this time (only one)

Huntseat Pleasure we went back to our old ways, and even though I don't know of anything either I or the horse did wrong, again, we came away with two Last Places.

That was it for the day. I wisely scratched the Trail class when I saw it contained a "rope gate" and a "water obstacle". NO thanks. Just as well...the judges were amazing hard-noses about it, and even with the kids' classes, were disqualifying them right and left for going off-course or failing to negotiate obstacles! Just another of life's hard lessons to learn, kids.

I got the horse cleaned up and settled into his stall for the rest of the afternoon, and headed for the food stand, only to discover that they were all out of everything except coffee and half a bag of potato chips. Luckily I still had two peanut butter & honey sandwiches in the car that I'd made 36 hours earlier, and by that time, I didn't care what they tasted like!

Since my friend, Sandy, is on the board of the association that put on the show, I had to stick around until they were done cleaning up the fairgrounds of all stray poops, making sure the stalls were stripped, gates closed, lights turned off, etc, etc, etc, so poor Quzqo and Spike were pretty much the last horses to leave the fairgrounds around 8:30 p.m., just as rain showers moved in. We had NO trouble loading, as you can imagine!

So that's how it ends. There really aren't any other shows I could attend this summer, even if I wanted to, so that makes it easier to avoid the temptation. Instead I think I'll practice enjoying the trails and back roads, both in the saddle and in the cart, and not have to worry as to whether I'm posting on the correct diagonal, or if the horse is road-trotting or park-trotting.