The Quickest Way to Get a Horse Filthy

Tue May 9, 2006

Is to give him a bath the day before!

Quzqo got "spot-cleaned" last night since it was mid-70's...mainly the poop stains on his belly. I should have known better. He was SO tired yesterday (from being out in the field all night), it's apparent last night he ZONKED out on the floor of his stall...because this afternoon, he was ENCRUSTED in pee and poo stains! AAAUGH! His whole armpit area was RED with pee stains (horse pee turns red when it hits the air...don't ask me why, I have no idea)(that explains all the red-stained snow in the pasture in winter...oxydized horse pee). BOTH sides of his barrel/belly were crusty with poo bits...it was like he deliberately ground himself into every bit of poo he could find, just to spite me! He even had green dots and splots on his neck! He musta zonked out, LOL! And mercy, the smell!! Hoo-Hah!!!

All he earned himself was ANOTHER trip to the wash rack, luckily it was 70 or so, still warm enough to hose the horse, LOL...I got most of it scrubbed off (what an aroma!), but he's got these "brownish" tones on his barrel, that might be roaning, or poo, I can't quite tell, he's so blotchy normally! *sigh*

Gads, he was in a pissy mood, LOL...glad I wasn't going to try to ride him. That quiet, wonderful horse of last night was nowhere to be seen...instead I had a pawing, ear-flattening, take-shots-at-Sue-with-the-mouth EVILE EMPEROR KUZCO! (change his name to Palpatine, lol!) Threw his dirty ass in his stall & left him making love to his bucket of sweet feed, fine for him. I'll deal with him tomorrow when he's well-rested (oh boy)

My strategy will be to leave him out in the field Friday night so he's tired Saturday for the horse show, LOL...hey, it worked that one time last year!

5 Days Til Show Day

Mon May 8, 2006

5 days 'til our first show! It's 2 hours away, which means we have to leave the barn at 6 a.m., AAAGH! His tail didn't heal up right from the break this past winter (DAMN!), so he's got a lump at the top, but I figured if I fluff up the hair at the tailhead and zap it with hair spray, it "looks" normal from a distance...so we'll still do halter.

Luckily this show has no Novice Showmanship, so we dodged that bullet, LOL, but it will have Novice Pleasure (open) and Novice Equitation (open), don't know if my friend with the Paint will go Novice or into the Grown-Up class (she just learned to ride huntseat this winter, so I'd think that'd qualify her as a Novice!).

Anyway, we had a great lesson yesterday with the trainer, along with two other ladies and their young horses (Novices on Young Horses = Wacky Hijinks!) (there's a difference between a "novice" rider and a "novice" SHOWER...we're all experienced riders, but novices at the Showing aspect) (and there's a SHITLOAD of difference I found out, lol). Coos was copping a big 'tude even while I was brushing him...it was 11 in the morning on a sunny day, can't blame him for feeling his oats, so to speak, and even lunging him in the round pen barely got the edge off (sadly he never raised his tail past the horizontal, ah well).

Well, the lesson was pretty much the trainer harping (nicely) on me about Quzqo's headset and his head-tossing, trying to avoid "giving" (he'll "give" if he's in the mood...if he's not...screw YOU!), yet going on about keeping my feet right in the stirrups, and sticking my chest out...I'm supposed to do all that AND "bump the horse" and "see-saw" with the reins when he tries to take the bit away from me (i.e. suddenly plunging his head down and yanking the reins from my hand). He was
wearing his nummy copper-roller snaffle, so don't think I had some rusty bicycle chain mule bit in him and was abusing the boy (LOL...the softer copper parts of that bit are now dented with toothmarks from his chewing and playing with it). A lot of it was just "The Emperor Declines Your Request To Give To The Bit"!

After about an hour (there WERE periods where he did drop his head and round up and we just FLOWED across the dirt, much to the delight of the trainer and the other ladies), the trainer asked if SHE could ride Himself. Sure, be my guest! She wanted to see if she could work on his headset. I was looking forward to seeing how beautiful my horse is under saddle, lol...hell, I can't tell from riding, and that split-second glance at our reflection in the show booth's glass window. She got on him (from the ground, grrr...the woman has 5 foot long legs I swear!) and off they went, and boy, did he give her shit, LOL!! He wasn't going to behave just cuz she was on him, nuh uh! Arena sour little shit, snrk.

But she wouldn't give and he couldn't surprise her and yank the reins from her hand, and he gave her some shit at the gate forcing her to spin him in a circle (huh...that's what I look like on trail rides! Pretty spectacular!)...after a few minutes he DID give up and tucked his head nice (not cranked to his chest, just a pretty above-the-vertical) and trotted with so much extension he looked like a danged dressage horse! Phew! Pretty boy!!

When she got done she was out of breath and said I deserve a million "gold stars" for putting up with him, and she now appreciates how much effort it is to ride him, keep him straight (not veering to the gate), and the headset nonsense. I got back on and the difference was amazing...he was behaving, LOL! He tried a couple of times to yank, but I did what she told me, and it must have reminded him of what SHE was doing, because he'd give up and just hold his head nice, be rounded, and trot along!

The trainer insisted I ride with her during the week so she can nag me, LOL! I guess I need it!

When I was done riding, Quzqo stood like the End of the Trail horse...head down to the ground, tail lax, poor tuckered thing. But when I turned him loose in the pasture, the little shit TORE off at a canter up the hill, LOL!


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Next Day....

Guess yesterday's lesson stuck with him (and me!). That, and he was half-asleep since I don't think he came in last night and thus camped out in the pasture, lol!

He got a partial bath (just worrying about the manure stains on his tummy), tomorrow a cold front comes through and no baths for a while. Nice thing about having such a normally dirty-looking blotchy grey color, you can't tell what's dirt and what's not (unless it has greenish tones). Supposed to rain the next two days, so maybe he'll get some of that dust washed off his butt!

We tried a new hairstyle tonight (I'm trying different French Braids to see which looks the nicest)...yesterday I did sort of a triangle, but it kind of flopped around. Tonight I did a tighter braid up along his crest, and when he tucked his head it looked AWESOME! Phew! Need to get some white/light grey yarn so I can tie up the end properly-like (since there's around 15 classes between his halter class and our novice classes Saturday, I think I'll have plenty of time, lol)

Ah, me. And so it begins!

At The Clinic, Auction Fun, New Breeches, Poker Run

Mon May 1, 2006


There was a showing clinic at the barn this past weekend. They also had a used tack sale at the barn up in the viewing room/club room, and I spent most of Saturday monitoring our two tables (me and four other ladies ganged up). I personally did "okay" selling my crappy old stuff and some Breyers, think I made around $26 or so. Spent nearly that much, LOL...bought Quzqo a new bit (like he needs any more). A cool Dee-ring snaffle with copper rollers on the mouthpiece! Haven't tried it yet, we'll do that tomorrow! Also got him a "new" used set of splint boots, cool rigid plastic/vinyl in PURPLE (an Imperial color at least)...his old set of splint boots are torn to hell from him striking his inside right fetlock w/his other hooves.

And got myself a new used pair of Breeches, BIG and comfy, LOL...not a 30" waist like my current pair that I have to lay down on the bed to zip them up, ha! (they were free, can't complain). Tack sales are always fun!

That late afternoon they had an auction of NEW horse equipment...the barn owner's buddy from downstate came up w/his big trailer full of stuff to sell, they do that a couple of times a year and SOMEhow I always end up finding things I MUST HAVE! Damned auctions, LOL! Ended up w/5 rolls of VetWrap ($1.50 ea), a PURPLE ladies' lunge whip (lightweight, and matches C Quzqo's new splint boots!) (I now own 7 whips...that's scary!), got a nice pair of leather work gloves for $5, a set of saddle bags w/water bottle holders...only later did I discover they were pommel bags, which fit over your saddle horn! Except my saddle doesn't HAVE a horn! GRRRGH! Have to figure out SOMEthing I guess. I also invested $9 in a set of stirrups which fit over your saddle for kiddies to ride...you can adjust the stirrup length to little short legs...except..duuuh, it has to slip over a SADDLE HORN...again, an object my saddle is lacking! ARRGH! Again, I'll have to figure out something, *sigh*.

Best buy of the day was a "Jolly Ball" horse toy...thick rubber ball w/a "handle" on it, puncture-proof, squishable...no, not for the horse, but for the dogs! LOL, when I got home that evening I tossed it to the dogsters and they went right for it, grabbed it by the handle and bombed triumphantly around the yard, delighted out of their minds! When I threw it to Leela the Dal, the idiot dog didn't "get" the handle, and was trying to bite the ball (it's about 10" in diameter), LOL! She got mad and started barking at it...Monty the Corgi looked at her like "What? Are you stoopid???" ha! As of this date I have NO idea where it is, they lost it somewhere in the yard already, *sigh*.

Sunday morning was the benefit Poker Run trail ride, something I was looking forward to! Keep in mind though...I hadn't ridden Quzqo since THURSDAY...and to say the lad was well-rested would be an understatement, heh heh.

First and foremost, I did NOT fall off the horse! Huzzah! In fact, nobody on the trail ride suffered any injury or mishap worse than a couple of horses deciding to drop and try to roll at some of the card stops (got some good ideas for live show Trail setups, lol).

Perfect weather Sunday, temps in the mid-60's, high overcast, good 10 mph breeze (blew the bugs away), could hardly ask for better! A good crowd showed up, around 25 horses & riders, from 3 yrs old to 60+ (okay, the 3 yr old rode double with her mom, but still). A good cross-section of horses too...lots of QHs, Paints, a Morgan, 3 TWHs, a pony mule, and... of course...ONE particular Arabian!

When I dragged my boy, Quzqo from his stall (after bringing him in from the pasture to see if he had to pee), he was like a sulky 10 yr old who didn't want to do chores...slogging, dragging, dawdling, shuffling along..."I don' wanNA!", LOL! Good, he must be TIRED (ha ha, right). We all got our first cards (Jack of Diamonds, that was a good start), and we were off! Right off riding along a roadside, which normally would fill my heart with terror (the horse isn't afraid of the traffic, but I've been so traumatized by riding along the road with spooky Tezlu [let's SPOOK and swing our hindquarters out into the lane of traffic with an 18-wheeler coming our way!], I'm normally the basket case). Luckily the sight of 25 horses along the road caused any car/truck to slow WAAAAY down, if only to gawk, LOL! (hate it when they go whizzing past at 60 mph, their rear view mirrors passing within a foot of your toe in the stirrup!)

The horses were as excited as the people, was amusing to see the normally blase' show horses who so nicely plod around the arenas, doing "the Big Ben" sideways down the road, LOL, and I was well-pleased that Coos was walking smartly onward, past the scary mail boxes and dumpsters, and gradually falling behind.


All went well until we reached a neighboring horse farm...the lady there raises beautiful TWHs and has granted permission for trail riders to use the sandy two-track along her property to reach the State land behind it. Unfortunately that road follows her fenced pastures full of VERY active TWHs! She had a gorgeous dark palomino in the front paddock who was BOMBING back and forth along his fence, tail flagging, neck arched, snorting and whinneying. Now Quzqo is a gentle sort, tries to stay out of trouble and doesn't like conflict. Let's just sum up the following events by saying my horse was TERRIFIED of that horse...and the horse in the next paddock which was also running and snorting, and Coos was from then on totally APESHIT with TERROR at EVERY damned thing along the two-track! In fact, I couldn't even get him onto the two-track, he decided he'd gone close enough and it was time to go home, and started to rear and spin! Not his normal little bunny hops, we're talking Hi-Yo Silver AWAY!


I didn't have time to be afraid, I was more frustrated and pissed off, frankly, but all I could do was keep spinning him in circles, the second we stopped, he'd rear up and spin again, once he even started off back to the barn, but a one-rein haul yanked him back to Earth! Thankfully four other riders had slower horses than me, and were coming up to us, and even though their horses were also upset by the TWHs, their presence helped Coos make it onto the two-track (that and a pop to the ass w/my dressage whip).

It was an adventurous 200 yard ride down the two track, because then everything was terrifying for ALL the horses...bales of wire, a manure spreader, and much to our despair, up ahead there was a band of 6 horses all galloping back and forth, harassing the trail riders up ahead of us. Thankfully those riders kept that band distracted and they never did notice us...last thing we wanted was a herd of horses galloping at us...I knew Coos would totally lose his brain if that happened. But as bad as that was, the horrific terrible PILE OF CINDER BLOCKS on the right side of the road was worse...Coos jammed on his brakes, reared and spun backwards right into the QH behind us, smacking into his shoulder! I felt bad because that was the woman w/her 3 year old riding behind her, but they were okay.

Got past that mess into the woods, where suddenly the horses decided that stumps and logs were SCARY!! Quzqo was a total brain-free idiot, jamming on the brakes, rearing and spinning (fun w/trees all around). Pretty soon that settled down
into mere veering off the side of the trail, giving the offending stump the hairy eyeball. We got into the deep woods, free from galloping, snorting horses and stray manure spreaders, but Coos was still upset because we were behind the other horses and he had to keep up! JiggyTrotJiggyTrotwalkwalkwalkTrotTrotwalkwalk! AUUGH! Eventually we oozed up in front of the others, and with a clear path ahead, the horse just settled right down, heaved a big sigh, and trucked onward on a loose rein!

With his long Arabian stride, we soon left the QHs far behind us...if I tried to stop and wait, Coos got upset and wiggly, so I figured they didn't really need us, and it was upsetting my horse, trying to keep him slowed down, and we were on the side of a hill with lots of trees that wouldn't be pleasant to rear into, so I just let him go forward. The rest of the riders were so far ahead of us, we couldn't even hear them. So we were pretty much alone in the woods. The change in the horse was amazing! He settled right down, listened to ME (we are going to WALK over that log, we are not going to JUMP it), and he dropped his head and sniffed the ground like a bloodhound as we walked along. Heck, I finally was ENJOYING the ride!! He even stopped for me and stood still as a rock while I snapped some pictures. THAT was the horse I know and love, thank you!

Caught up with the other 20 riders at the trail camp/watering hole & got my second card (Queen of Hearts), and once the stragglers caught up (Coos and I were a good 10 minutes ahead of them, lol), off everybody went again! We got stuck in the middle of the pack, which, needless to say, upset the horse, and again it was JiggyTrot JiggyTrot walkwalkwalk TrotTrotwalkwalk HeadTossHeadToss JigJigJig. One thing owning Tezlu for 15 years taught me was techniques for maneuvering through a pack of trail riders to get to the front (Tez HAD to be in the front, nothing else would do)....eventually we got ahead of the TWHs which were leading the pack (because they were the fastest, most the QHs ended up in the back). Once we got in front of them we were able to keep ahead by a good 15 feet or so, and the ride became enjoyable again. Got to the third card spot (the barn owner's son-in-law just drove to the spots w/his pick-up & waited, ha. After the first stop, the first horse to arrive was Coos!) Think that was a 6 of Spades for me. Bleah!

Managed to keep Coos pretty much in front the rest of the way, and I thought he was finally tiring out (3 hrs into the ride!), because he was letting the other horses pass him. After the next-to-the-last card stop (Ace of Hearts), the horse recognized the road and knew where he was! Uh Oh! When we continued on (after 4 or so riders had to dash into the woods because they apparently couldn't hold it for another 30 minutes!), all bets were off, Coos was headin' HOME! We passed the TWHs in the front (Grrr...Smug riders as they gait along w/o a care, grrrr) and left them in the dust as Coos got into his GOOD trot...his long-striding floaty trot that is NICE! Heck, we left 'em ALL behind...nothing nicer than a long, empty dirt road! I didn't know that the gal riding one of Coos's Pasture Pals was following us...I also didn't know that she couldn't control the horse, so now, in retrospect, I feel bad (a little). After about half a mile (including through some woods) I saw motion out of the corner of my eye, and up comes that girl on the sweaty grey QH! Apparently he'd just took off after Coos, leaving everybody behind! Which ticked ME off because the instant you add another horse to the mix, my horse stops listening to ME...and since the girl couldn't control Colby, HE took off trotting, which got Coos wanting to race after him, and we were entering a forest with narrow winding trails and logs across the trail....yes, the jumping thing raised its ugly head!

My mistake was trying to stop my horse while the other horse took off cantering....I got him turned around, but he started rearing and spinning and trying to bolt to keep up with Colby. I was fuming by that time and have to admit that I sort of lost that fight. I did slow him down enough that he was able to STEP over the log instead of leaping it, but I gave up after that, and once I released the rein pressure, the horse calmed down and slowed down to a civilized trot. Once we got to the dirt road leading to the barn, I made him trot when he wanted to slow down, and we kept pace with Colby until we approached a couple walking a dog. I made the girl slow her horse down...using the dog-walkers as the excuse, plus she needs to learn trail etiquette and not to gallop back to the barn. By that time the horses needed a chance to cool down, lol!

Once we got back on the barn property, Coos just mellowed out and happily do-bopped along the fenceline, probably imagining the big buckets full of golden grain waiting just for HIM (yeah, right). And in the grand tradition of Tezlu...we were the first back to the barn, beating the rest of the riders by a good 20 minutes, LOL! In fact, when I had dismounted at the barn, the first of the riders were just coming off the dirt road into the field...a good mile away! HA! (Tezlu used to just trot so fast and so far, we'd always beat the rest back, even when he was a 26 yr old fart!) One of the barn moms was there and even asked me how "Tezlu" did on the trail ride, because she saw us coming back first, LOL! We agreed Tez must have posessed Coos' body and took over, ha!

We got our last cards, mine was some totally useless black card I don't even remember. One of the ladies got a Royal Flush, and the barn owner's 5 yr old grand daughter got a really good hand too, can't remember what though. Well, it got me out in the fresh air, I learned some things about my horse (like, don't go out w/more than one other horse!), I didn't fall off, and got my adrenalin rush for the week!

Did a little research online this afternoon re: rearing, and turns out I did the EXACT recommended thing when the little shit reared...release the rein, yank 'em in a circle, and kick them forward (or pop 'em in the ass with a whip). Keep them moving forward, they can't rear if they're moving forward! Good to know!

Tonight I stopped out at the barn after work, and the little shit was already in his stall, throwing an Imperial Hissy because His Food was Not In The Imperial Bucket! Oh Horrors! He got brushed for his effort, and lunged as well (had to try out the new splint boots). Amazing after he got lunged and a little Clinton Anderson Desensitization Treatment (I did the thing where you flick your hand in their face until they stop flinching...Coos has Issues with his right side...but he settled down to lick & chew rather quickly)...a little showmanship practice (we're horrible! Absolutely wretched!!)...totally different horse. Very calm and cute and cuddly and nice...he's a wimp at heart, LOL!

12 days until our first horse show! Let the adventure begin!

Trail Ride from Heck

Mon Apr 10, 2006

First BIG Trail ride of the season this past Sunday morning! Well, more than three horses anyway! Hadn't ridden Quzqo in THREE days, but he'll be finnneeeee!

While I waited for the other ladies to get tacked up, I took Himself to the outdoor arena (nice deep energy-sucking sand footing) and rode him ragged, lots of fast trotting and nice cantering, backing, turns on the hindquarters, doing the trail obstacles, and he was good as gold! What a GOOD boy my Arabian Horse is!! (Smug Alert! Smug Alert!)

Finally the rest of the ladies show up...the barn's resident trainer (the one I've been taking lessons from all Winter) riding a client's TWH mare, another woman on a TWH, Another lady on a QH and her daughter on a green-broke 4 yr old QH gelding (the little booger that I've seen chewing on Quzqo's head, including that morning!), another lady on a QH, and my friend on her Paint mare! A pretty good crowd, and a beautiful clear sunny warm (well, if you want to call 50 degrees warm...around here, we DO!) day! And off we go!

No Barn-Sour Hissy Fits from Himself as we leave the barn property, that's a good sign...usually just as we reach the property line and if I turn him right (towards the Big World) instead of left (back to the barn), I'd get balking, rearing, spinning, head-tossing, tail-cranking and a whole bunch of 'tude! But not that day...too many horses to follow! (including his Lady Love, the Paint and his pasture pal, the 4 yr old "Buster")

Lucky we were also the slowest horse, so we were at the end of the column when the DIRT BIKE came blatting up the dirt road we were approaching! The first four horses spooked at the dirt bike, the others spooked because the first four spooked! Yeehaw! Buster the QH TORE off down the hill at a gallop with his young rider (well, she's mid-teens) (and a bosal, no bit)... both her mom and the trainer hollered about pulling him in a circle with one rein...she did just that and got him stopped pretty quick! PHEW! Everybody got their composure back, and after some shying and spooking as we got onto the road (might be more dirt bikes, you never know!), things calmed down and we got to enjoy the beautiful spring day (maybe some day there'll be green growing things! Not much in sight yet!)

Did a bit of riding the trails, did a lot of brush-poppin' because Deb, the trainer, HATES being limited to trails or roads and likes to make her own. All I could worry about was Quzqo's cool white horsehair shoo-fly tassel hanging from our cinch...didn't want it to get torn off by a branch or something! Eventually we made it back to the Michigan Shore-To-Shore trail (NO motorized vehicles allowed, hoorah!), down the steep hills, across the cool wooden bridge that spans a fast-running woodland stream, up the steep hill, down the narrow two-track, across the paved road, down more one-horse-wide trails...about that time I think the horses were getting bored, because they pretty much all started causing shit. One of the QH's got too close to Quzqo, so he kicked it with both hooves. Buster got too close to Quzqo, so he kicked HIM in the chest! Buster BIT my friend's Paint mare in the butt and got kicked for his trouble. The gal on Buster thought it'd be fun to TROT down the hill trail (trail is about 3' wide with trees on both sides and curvy!)...which meant Quzqo felt compelled to CANTER! He's due to have his feet trimmed Saturday, which is probably why, 2/3 of the way down (with me closing my eyes and praying) he TRIPS and stumbles...thankfully neither of us went down, but I got to bounce my head off the back of his neck! Was NOT saying kind things to that horse!

No, couldn't stop him...there's that point where a horse doesn't care WHAT you've got in his mouth or wrapped around his nose, beyond all reason and sense...that genial and golden horse earlier who would back off the trail course bridge and do a sweet turn on the hindquarters was no more. Instead I was astride a mindless, thrumming bundle of Instinct and Energy! Hoo-RAH!

I might as well have gotten off and walked, for all the mind he paid me, LOL! At least I knew he was too lazy to run off and wouldn't leave the rest of the "herd", but since the lead horses were smug people on TWHs ("Why Post When You Can Coast"?), we never got into a good distance trot or canter...pretty much hours of stop/start/stop/start frustration. Since the trainer was leading us, she took us to parts unknown...if I knew the trails, I would have moved to the front of the line and said "see ya later, we got some trotting to do!" but alas, no.

The trainer had the genius idea of watering the horses at the edge of a small lake...there's a short slope (about 45 degrees) from a two-track to the water, with a sandy bottom...AND a couple of guys fishing in a boat, which meant they'd parked their pick-up RIGHT by the slope, leaving half a two-track's space of room to get the horses. Those who dared ended up with their horses' rumps on the two track, and the fronts 45 degrees down into the water. The girl on Buster tried to get him in the water, but, hey, guess what? This was Buster's FIRST TRAIL RIDE and he'd never even SEEN water before! (well, other than puddles, that is). I could imagine the thoughts of the fishermen as they saw this big tan horse tap-dancing inches away from their shiny black truck, LOL...never mind the earlier splashing of the horses, probably scared away any fish in the area!

Fortunately they didn't force Buster...Quzqo and I watched from a distance (wasn't even going to try, especially with the truck there!!)...he decided we'd watched enough and began to turn back...and rear...and spin...and fuss, and spin...and rear, and spin...and fuss....the instant the rest of the horses came back, they ALL knew...we have turned back...we are going...HOME!

A RACE TO THE BARN! Of course the trainer knew "short cuts", which included more brush-poppin' and...a stream crossing! I wasn't worried, Quzqo loves water...but we were all worried about young Buster. The first horse to approach the stream got stuck (briefly) in the fetlock-deep black muck along the edges, but managed through...the stream was about fetlock-deep with a nice pebbly bottom, no worries. Quzqo and I stood back and observed, and when I deemed we should give it a try, the little booger marched right on through the muck and into the stream, stopped, pawed at the water, dipped his head, but I think the movement of the water baffled him...by that time they were trying to convince Buster to cross, so we moved out and up the opposite bank. Oh, let me correct that...we JUMPED from the damned stream bed UP the three or so-foot dirt bank to the grass! Couldn't WALK up like the other horses, noooo, we had to SPRING like a damned kangaroo!!!

Let me say at this point that I adore my deep-seated trail saddle, and adore my suede chaps which helped me stick to the saddle so nicely.

Well, they never did convince Buster to cross that sparkly stream of water, so the teen, her mom, and the trainer had to double-back and take the extra-long way around, and the rest of us continued up the track and waited on the dirt road for them. Not too awful long a wait. I kept Quzqo busy by working on our lateral work and turns on the forehand. Little shit didn't deserve a rest, LOL!

The ladies discovered that it was now 2:20 in the afternoon (we left the barn at 11:30 a.m.), and the vet was going to be at the barn at 3:00 to do something or another. So now the HUMANS were in a rush as well as the horses! Off we go again, but now we're HURRYING! Oh, let's TROT! Let's brush-pop and trot through the hardwood forest, it's fun! That's when Quzqo got kicked by Buster, and Buster bit his rider's mom's horse in the ass! I might as well have thrown away my reins, for all the horse was paying attention to me! We're busting through the woods, there's a tree across our path, everybody walks across it or high-step trots over...except for...Quzqo...no, he had to JUMP the damned thing! NO warning, I was trying to slow him so he could step, no, he had to JUMP, my butt went airborne, I went forward, but thanks to my saddle and my chaps, I didn't leave permanently and bounced back into the seat! Next log across the path, the same thing, the horse JUMPS over it! We're not talking a little hop, a little bobble, we're talking Grand Prix Gem Twist Lonesome Glory LEAPS into the AIR and coming down and cantering off and bouncing Sue out of the saddle! We're talking logs maybe a foot high here...nothing that requires a horse to sprout wings and LAUNCH skyward!!!

Time must be running out, because the horses up front began to lope...yeah, nice, civilized, well-behaved horse loping. Behind them we had the CRAY-ZAY OMG We're Going To The Barn faction, lead by Himself! Despite my efforts to keep him to a trot (I've got the sore legs and arms to prove it!) Quzqo broke into a canter...and look, there's a LOG ahead of us! Shiiiiiiit **BAM** skyward we flew OVER...before I could recover (I think I was slightly sideways in the saddle) ahead of ME is a tree trunk, in front of US was a fallen tree and we were headed right for it...the horse ERUPTED beneath me and we both FLEW over that tree and again I was nearly bounced out of the saddle when we hit the ground and cantered on! I yelled at the bouncing brown horse butts ahead to slow down a minute...the ladies glanced back like "huh? what?" and the gasping and giggling gals behind me were "Oh MY GAWD Did you see THAT!" "What did you DO!" "I don't believe it!!"...that danged tree/log/branch/dead fall that Quzqo flew over was at least 3 feet high at the point he jumped (it was about 4-5 feet what I saw!)(it went down to a foot or so where the other horses had the good sense to cross over it!). My friend with the Paint confirmed
that he just FLEW over it, tucked his hind legs up so nice and cleared it with no problem (except for the rider!!) GAH!

No, the story doesn't end...we finally got back to the trail, with two more fallen logs across the path..the EXACT SAME LOGS HE WALKED OVER on the way out...no, we had to JUMP the damned things...I was ready this time, but he popped straight up like bread from a toaster, and let's face it, a trail saddle (basically a Western saddle w/o a horn, thank GOD for that!!!) is NOT
constructed for jumping, and again I fell forward and bounced back into the seat. I should just use the friggin' English saddle next time at this rate!!

Somewhere on the last jump I did lose the spur on my right foot (not that I even needed spurs, LOL), so tomorrow night I'll have to go back out and look for it...luckily it wasn't lost TOO far from the barn). When we got to the dirt road, Quzqo was wound up tighter than a watchspring, and I trotted him on ahead of the others..we FLEW baby, you better believe it! Had a heck of a time turning him around (rear/spin/snort), and we cantered back to the other horses, turned around, trotted down the road, turned, met the others, and I tried to make him WAIT so we could join the back of the line...oh my gosh, he was REARING and spinning and causing such a fuss...the look of fear on the face of the Mom was priceless, LOL! I was laughing and shouting "WHEEEE!"...what a maroon (the horse, or the rider??)! No wonder he sold at auction for $100!!!

Finally at long last, after 3-1/2 hrs on the trail, Quzqo got to go back to his pasture...he got a long drink, rolled in the dirt, got up, and cantered off into the distance without even a backwards glance...I could have died on the spot for all he cared, LOL! For all I cared, he could just stay out there, I wasn't coming back to bring him in at night. And apparently he DID stay out all night, because today after work, he was ZONED, BWAHAHAHAAA...(he never sleeps well out in the pasture)...Didn't ride him, just brought him in, brushed him (new chew marks on his face), and put him in his stall...last night's grain and hay was still there, I could tell he hadn't been in his stall due to the dried remains of his bran mash on the sawdust.

Tomorrow I think I'll set up some jumps in the arena...if we're going to be jumping, we'd better practice!!

(Why did I find broken twigs in my boots I wonder!?)

Hi Yo Quzqo Awayyy!

Mon Apr 3, 2006

Yep, Quzqo and I went for a trail ride yesterday, all by ourselves, which is kind of relaxing and actually more fun than going with others...got a LOT more trotting and cantering in, and since we were alone, the horse paid more attention to ME rather than what the other horses might be doing! Course the little shit started his hissy fits literally as soon as we set foot off the barn property...not much, just a half-rear and spin on the haunches, which earned him his head yanked back around and some input from the Spur Twins (I left Mr. Whip back at the barn)(I have to be careful not to use that phrase when I'm with my friend with the Paint, because her last name IS "Whipp", and she might think I'm referring to her husband, LOL!)

Well, from that point on, it was pretty much an exercise in keeping the horse moving forward, because the INSTANT I relented and let him slow, he'd jam on the brakes, rear up and start spinning! Stop, Rear, Spin...I tried to not let him get past the stopping part, but he got a couple of good rears in, and of course I just hauled him to the side and a good jab with the Spur Twins and forward we went. He's got his certain areas where he tries that shit, and I'm glad I know where they are...in my farrier's hay field...up on the dirt road...through the woods...then I get a respite as we cross another field and go through some thick woods, but as soon as we get to the next dirt road, it all starts again (the little goober tried it as we were crossing a PAVED road...not impressed). I was just glad I know what I'm doing (and what he's doing), and I can see WHY they probably put him up for sale, LOL! If I were a timid sort, I sure wouldn't want a horse that did that!

He reminds me of another horse owned by a lady at the barn...she had a fat Appaloosa named "Larry", and one day she came on a ride with Tez and me. We got a few miles from the barn when Larry decided he'd gone far enough and started rearing and spinning!! The lady was TERRIFIED (for the record, she's the same lady who got bucked off Thursday night), and totally intimidated by Larry, and we ended up turning around and going back, which is what Larry wanted to do, of course. A few days later we went for another trail ride, and this time we barely got 200 yards from the barn when Larry started rearing and spinning, rearing and spinning (not fast or high, about the same ferocity as Cusco). She wouldn't kick him, she wouldn't turn him, she REFUSED to carry a crop (which was my first bit of advice for her...Tezlu never reared, but he was expert at the stopping and spinning bit, LOL). Well, she ended up selling Larry, he was just too much horse for her and she couldn't deal with his barn-sourness. Probably the same thing with Quzqo.

As I told Quzqo the first time I took him out on the trail and we got about 150 yards before he started rearing..."I owned Tezlu for 15 years, you ain't NOTHIN'!", LOL! (Heck, Tez dumped me 8 times the first year I owned him, Quzqo's only done it once!). We got some NICE trotting on the long, straight dirt road, even some cantering on his least-favorite lead (the left, for the record)...down a two-track into the forest, onto the Michigan Shore-To-Shore Riding & Hiking trail, and O, mercy did the hissy fits begin THERE! Only with the added bonus of big trees on all sides (yeah, I had my helmet). He did NOT want to go down the hill, there was no way he was going down the hill, I could just drop dead and go to HELL, he was NOT going down the hill, we're going to rear, we're going to spin, we're going to squeeze between beech trees and try to get back up the hill, we are NOT going down! Yeah, he eventually went, he wasn't happy about it...lucky for him there was a lot of ice-snow further down in the swamp, so we did turn around on MY say-so, and came back up to the two-track.

Wasn't ready to go home, so we turned right and went further down the two-track...but gosh darn it, there was another hill and By God we are NOT going down there! Oh, NO ma'am, we're going to stop and REAR and Spin And snort and Rear and spin and back up and snort and freeze and stare and snort and back...then for bonus we'll turn and clamber UP the steep dirt roadside and go through the trees before The Spur Twins convince us to get back DOWN the bank back onto the road, and then we'll be more convinced to go down The Scary Hill! OOOOOH! What a maroon!

We made it as far as the little stream that runs through the woods, rested there a bit, then, on MY say-so, turned (nicely on the haunches), and orderly, and slowly, walked like a civilized horse (and rider) back to the top of the hill. Then we TROTTED pretty much the entire way out of the woods, BWAHAHAHAHAaa...I MADE him move his fat butt whether he wanted to or not, LOL! He'd start out VERY perky and Tezlu-esque but within the minute start petering out, 'til I squeezed him and he'd jump up and move out into a very nice ground-covering workmanlike trot. No worries about diagonals or headsets or anything, just to be moving!

For all that carrying on and Drama Queen antics, I'll say he didn't spook ONCE...guess it's better to have the predictable antics vs the unpredictable ones! It's sure nice to be able to just get up and go and NOT have any fear or uncertainty (like this time last year, let's say). I also noticed my back didn't hurt either...sure bugged me during the lesson Saturday, that could have been
tension though. Like I tell people...Arabians are "Interesting" to ride, LOL!

Well, today the high temp was 40 and we had an inch of snow with 40 mph winds all day! The horses were out, of course, but Quzqo has REALLY lost his fuzzy winter coat, and is down to what equals a Light Spring Jacket, fur-wise. When I got out there tonight the poor guy was SHIVERING!!! The sun was out and he was pretty much dry, but he was so chilled! He got his comfy cooler on and I mixed some hot water into his grain (have to remember to tote some bran out there for such emergencies). Poor guy...he obviously hadn't gotten a drink all day either, because he was trying to drink from the poopy mud puddles again...thankfully once he got to the trough he sucked that down an inch or two!

When I got him in his stall & took the cooler off, THEN I see the two LOVELY bloody red scrapes on his left hind...he's got a good inch+ of skin missing from the hock, and about an inch-round chunk missing from his knee, with a 1/2" of flapping loose skin! Oh, ter-fricking-riffic!!! No blood, nothing was bleeding, and he let me touch them...I put some anti-bacterial ointment on them, and there was some oozing from the round wound (I suspect the cold and wind might have kept any bleeding down). Great. Poor guy, can't imagine how the hell THAT happened, unless he slipped in the snow, which is a possibility. Thankfully it's all pretty much melted by now and no more in the forecast, but still...

He was in a VERY bad mood tonight..."I've had a shitty day, alright!??? Now leave me alone!!", LOL! Poor guy. He'll get bugged tomorrow.

Wear Your Helmet!!

Thu Mar 30, 2006

No riding lesson tonight because one of the ladies' mare decided to start bucking, the woman lost her seat, got thrown off INTO the metal stock panels of the round pen and got hit by the mare's head right in HER head! No, no helmet, *sigh*. She's okay, just had the sense knocked out of her and a bloody nose, but she's going to be sore tomorrow I bet.

So, no lesson tonight. Because of that, and the fact the barn owner's granddaughters were riding (5 & 3 yrs old) and very in-the-way, and 4 other people were riding...too damned crowded.

The woman admitted she just can't react quick enough...that horse bucked around 6 times before she got her off...she had plenty of time and room to yank the horse's head around, and we were yelling at her to do that very thing...but by buck 4 there was lots of daylight between her and the seat and that was all she wrote.

Make-up lesson will be Saturday afternoon. *sigh*.

(Should I feel insulted that Bob told me that Quzqo is turning into a fine Quarter Horse because his butt is so big, LOL!)

More Fun at the Trough and Trailer

Mon Mar 27, 2006

Happy to report yesterday's TERRIFYING EPISODE at the water trough (where I moved the pipe that feeds water to the trough and scared Quzqo out of his shoes, if he was wearing shoes, that is) did not leave any permanent scars. Today he drank almost readily from the trough, which had the scary PVC pipe in place (but not moving). It was filled to the brim, so he got to enjoy cool, clean, fresh water! I noticed he didn't drink as long or as deeply, so maybe, just maybe, he'd already come up for a drink earlier in the day! Hope Hope Hope!

Bob, the barn owner, looked at me like I was crazy, even after I explained the problem...not my fault the horse wants me to bend over with him to get a drink, LOL (it's true...if I straighten up, he backs off and looks worried...if I bend over the trough, he lowers his head with me, LOL).

AND...today we began our working on backing out of horse trailers! I borrowed Bob's big gooseneck stock trailer which was conveniently parked right outside the barn (and safely hooked up to his truck), and using the clicker and a pocket full of carrot chunks, got Quzqo to walk up to the trailer and relax...which was an achievement, because when I tried to walk him near the thing, he got...er...um...very upset (he acted like it was a water trough, EE!). But lots of pats and quiet words and an occasional click & carrot, pretty soon he was standing calmly with his knees inches from the trailer, and was curiously nosing around, sniffing the poop inside. From there we worked on backing away and getting a carrot/click, then walking back forward, resting, sniffing poop, backing away. He relaxed because I was relaxed and in no hurry (unlike when I normally have to load him in a trailer, LOL...HURRY WE'VE GOT TO GET TO THE HORSE SHOW AAAUUUGH!!!)

Eventually he WANTED to put a hoof in the trailer (it's a step-up, no ramp), and I got one hoof in, then backed him out...we did that a couple of times and then he got TWO hooves in the trailer, and we paused and he got a carrot and a click, learning he doesn't have to literally LEAP into the trailer (which is what he was doing last year). Backed him off, gave him a treat/click, then brought him back up in, but only the front feet. We did that four times and he started to get distracted, so that was enough for today! Might repeat it tomorrow, and maybe Wednesday go for all four feet and hopefully backing out. Hopefully. But considering last year I couldn't get him to back up out of the barn (that scary 2" drop to the dirt!)...I'm hopeful.