Red Pony Farm: A journey in motion

Calling the Horses In

Everyone needs a fairly consistent and foolproof way of calling the horses in. whether it be for a visit from the farrier, or an early feeding due to an unforeseen need for a sudden schedule change. Over at Vienna farm in Gorham where I learned almost everything I know about horses, there was a sure fire way to call in the ghetto horses, at any time.

The ghetto horses where thusly named because in 1991 they were the few school horses, youngsters, that resided in the large run-in shed and pasture. They were not boxed in at night in the cushy luxurious stalls in the main barn, and had free roam of 7 acres of pasture. So it was very handy to have a way to call them in when needed for whatever reason.

The call was a sign song Horrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-saaaaaaaaaaaas that consisted of two notes an octave apart in range. Much like the traditional call for pigs: "SUUUUUU-EEEEEEEEE" but more drawn out like the whinny of a horse minus the exaggerated treble effect.

Every time the ghetto horses heard that call they knew there was likely something good to eat at the source, and there usuallywas. They heard it at every grain meal and randomly just to receive a carrot and an ear scritch, or the occasional vet exam, or hoof trim.

I adopted this custom when I brought my beloved Vienna farm bred, son of Tex, "Kashmir "home. Since then , All the horses I owned in Standish were trained to that same call. It made vet calls and farrier appointments so much easier.

Well I just noticed that I haven't kept it up here on the hill in Hollis. But this month as I am letting my gang of three out loose to scavenge for greenery in the evenings and well past dark I am thinking it would come in handy.

I tried it out last Thursday and was so surprised that Annabelle after 4 years being away remembered! I called Horrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsaaaaaaaaaaaaaas, and within 60 seconds there she was looking for a goody, Lucy and Spot not too far behind, wondering where she was off to in such a hurry. They got their carrots too.

Six Whole Minutes Faster Today

Me & Lucy, Cindy & Hot Spot:

Shaved 6 whole minutes off our time: 7.29 miles in 1 hour 43 minutes! AND today there was so much more ice on Mansion road to deal with. AND we stopped for a couple of minutes to talk with the Poulin Grain rep from Longhorn Horse and Pet supplies, who is out going door to door to speakwith folks who even just have one horse in their back yard! He's a good guy, and I beleive in their product. Check em out: Poulin Gain Vermont. Pretty close to local and a good product to boot.

Any hoo! Besides the great ride (very windy angain this Saturday but both horses were less spooky, and I was very happy with Lucy's progress in getting used to the route and working on being ok with it.

I stayed in the saddle except for 1/2 mile past the house with all the flags and bird feeders and wind chimes, kids toys and winabagos for storage units. I was working on moving with Lucy's giant walk so as not to let it bump me at every stride. . .  oops, it's 5:01!  it's gonna be dark soon, and I have to haul wood in and stack it on the deck, and get to the store to get stuff for the chilli for tomorow: Skijoring clinic is tomorrow!!! 6 people are bringing crock pots of yummy hot foods! Back soon to finish the post . . .

Conditioning Week 3: Neglect of the human component

We rode again on Monday: 7.29 miles in 1 hour 49 minutes. How on earth will we get up to speed by May 10th? We will just see I guess. Tomorrow (Saturday Feb 21) we will ride our 7 miles in at least 10 minutes less.

I was in the saddle for a Meir 5 hours last weekend and I am in so much stinking pain, that I am beyond disappointed,  and totally pissed off. It is not a lot of time but I haven't ridden much in many months, Just an hour once a week.

I spend several moths of 2008 doing physical therapy, MRI's , tons of x-rays, I have a 12 mm wedge in one shoe that was torture getting used to. It completely changed the way my left foot moves and the adjustment of just the foot was very painful. Even though the process of getting up to 12 mm was gradual. I incremented 2 mm every six weeks. A gap appeared between my second and third toes on that foot. I'm over it now. But what a nuisance always moving the silly thing between shoes and having to find boots that I can put it in and a ridged enough insert to put over it to keep it in place! I should have several but they are expensive and insurance one buys me one, as it should.

I have 2 herniated discs. A curvature of my mid spine, a decrease in height of over an inch do to compacted discs several of which are thickening. I also have a bunch of vertebra that have "inflamed edges" due to friction (?) The doctor was surprised that I was not having a lot more symptoms. I told her to please not tell me what those might be or I'd likely start having them on my way home! This is all just natural aging stuff compounded by a life of heavy lifting and shoveling and falling off horses. I also have a huge amount of scar tissue in my glutus meadius on the left from a bad fall 3 years ago, I still feel that every day. The feeling in the entire area have never returned, but once in a while it tingles annoyingly, and it always feels very tight and uncomfortable underneath when I run.

But my joints are very healthy ;^)

Anyway, this week I am physically right back to where I was when I started at the spine center. And I have no one to blame but me. I was given a series of very precise exercises to do for endurance strengthening. They are NOT easy to do. I put them off on the days I don't hurt. Then when I hurt I do them and strain something! I am an idiot!

I will not go back to the spine center in this condition, crying to be fixed, begging Dr. Leigh Smilowicz for another one of her amazing deep pressure tension release therapies when I let this happen through neglect and laziness.

So, I am doing my exercises through the pain. I will continue to condition my horse and strengthen myself. I will wait one month maybe 6 weeks and then I will go back.

I starting back jogging this week, have done a little this winter, very little, but I must get going on it BECAUSE:

I just joined The Ride & Tie Association  There are no ride and tie events north of Maryland, east of Michigan. I plan to change that in 2009. It will so help keep my body strong!! I will post more on what it's all about later. I have a skijoring clinic to help get ready for on Sunday, so that is all for now.

Lucy's Conditioning / Training: Week Two

We rode out on the road again Yesterday. 7 miles in 2.5 hours. I forgot to stop the clock when Cindy took an un-scheduled dismount and we fartst around while she was trying to find the right sort of snow banking or random stump to mount from, get Spot's saddle tight enough, then to get him to stand still long enough for her to haul herself up. I finally had mercy enough to hop off and hold the opposite stirrup so she could get on.

When the two horses spooked at some unseen-by-us-humans ghost in the wind, and she had become irretrievably unseated, I was very impressed how well Cindy clung on his neck and shoulder long enough to actually deliberately ride him into the snow bank at the edge of the road so she could fall intothat rather than onto the pavement or mud! It saved her a good 20 inches off the drop and it was fairly soft.

We did a lot of walking still. Lucy has that huge fast walk, and I really love to just get it deeply ingrained mile over mile over mile. Yesterday the wind blew a gale, gusts up to 25 mph. With wind whistling in their ears our horses seemed to think that every thing that moved was a predator with killing on its mind, especially the styrofoam take-out container and the man on the roof of his house removing snow. even some things that didn't move at all,like the 5 foot high boulders beside the road and the empty trash cans at the end of a drive way. And oh my God, it's amazing that we lived through the encounter with the rolled up morning newspaper inside the little bright red plastic sack laying next to a mail box!

Lucy got sweaty quickly with all that worrying so I hopped off every once in a while and walked till she was relaxed long enough to dry off.

We did very few trots and one very short canter (maybe 1000 feet). There are some great conditioning guidelines offered at the American Endurance Ride Conference website (see side bar). And the Barb Wire (also side bar under Endurance blogs) has lots of great info.

However, I don't have lots of time. I only can ride on weekends till March 8th. So Lucy and I are not getting that precise. We will do the best we can and if we don't make it 30 miles at our first ride in May, oh well. I will get frustrated if I dwell on my lack of time to ride.

Another consideration is her mind. The biggest reason I picked Endurance over Competitive Trail is that I can get off and walk as much as Lucy needs me to on those first rides. It seems to calm her, and it will be a tool I use all this season for sure.

I am not going to be administering electrolytes during the rides. I have made this decision after going back and forth with it for months. Also I am not going to allow Lucy to reach a level of stress where she risks ulcers. I have a personal bias for that sort of thing. I would love to compete. I'm a competitive person, but I will not go that far. Lucy will let me know what she can do naturally. And that will be that.

I have a feeling we may gravitate toward ride and tie for that reason. Lots more rest periods for the horse. and the Cowboy races that Piper Ridge, Hearts and Horses and Footloose farm are getting going this summer.

We are riding out again tomorrow. Plan on bring my camera just to take a picture of the footing on Mansion road. It is so awesome. It won't last long either. Soon the grader will dredge up a layer or rocks that we will have to use boots and pads to protect bare feet from! More trotting and cantering tomorrow. In the calm winds the horses should be relaxed.

Riding Horses with Dirt-bikes: are we crazy?

 

It worked! Under the professional direction of Terry McClare our horses first followed the bikes around the arena.

In the morning there were ground exercises to work on moving the horses feet where and when we need to. One of the horses had trouble "changing eyes". He would get very worried when things moved from one side to the other behind him, so lots of work was done to help him get comfortable with that.

We broke for lunch of chili and sandwiches and hot coffee, which the dirt- bike riders shared with us while we all got acquainted. I must remember to ad a bikers raffle basket, besides the one full of horsey stuff, to the next event!! How biased of me!

 We met the bikes on separate tracks. We trotted up behind them and passed them. Monty, my mount for the afternoon, was quite startled when the bikes started. It was a bit loud in the indoor arena.

 

We did most everything as a 3-horse group. Then we stood a bit further apart and let the bikes weave in and around us. 

The day was a success in spite of the small turnout. Three horses were able to encounter dirt-bikes in a way that helped them gain confidence. The bikers learned a lot about horses that they didn't know: like how quickly a horse can bolt--when while trying to sidle up beside the bikes Monty suddenly exploded and I found myself on the other end of the arena in a flash. The tractor had suddenly appeared at the back door of the arena. I think it spooked him so badly because he couldn't hear it coming over the sound of the birt-bikes. He came back without a problem as you can see from the photo above, and we got our picture. And we all had fun!

And then of course, the META demo Bridge:

 

This bridge will be accompanying us to all the Trail User Encounters. It will be on display at Cabela's for the open house next Saturday too.

Stay tuned for a list of Encounters to be published in late January 2009. We will introduce horses to everything from Babies in Strollers to dog sleds, and non motorized bikes too.

If you are interested in hosting a Trail User Encounter Clinic in your neighborhood please contact me! I am looking for more venues. And if you're outside of Maine / New HAmpshire, I can hook you up with trainers in your area who could do the same thing.

Lucy's Big 'Coming Out' Event

Lucy Goosey went on her first over night away ride. It was a pleasure ride to benefit Mid-Maine Equestrian Search & Rescue. She rode in this trailer pictured. A 2-horse stock with no divider-which I prefer over rough terrain. I think they have more room for balancing. Most of my trailering experiences have been in this type set up, or loose boxes. Partitions appear so restricting to me, leaving leaning as the only option when balance is lost and it aways seems to me that when leaning the feet could slide out from under them. In the hour long ride over rough and hilly and narrowly winding roads, she was very well bonded to her new friend Stonewall Sally, who I think is Morgan / Connamerra or maybe Arab / Connamara. We stopped along the way for sandwiches along a stretch of winding road near Sebago Lake where we had lots of stop and go traffic due to Friday evening tourists and campers. I checked on Lucy and found found her standing with her front feet about 4 feet apart, head lowered in a serious balancing stance, ears almost flat out to the sides. She looked slightly bewildered. I picked her some green grass and she righted herself and ate it. She was going to be fine.  Lucy and sally stayed in this mobile pen together:

The very first thing we had to do was cross this bridge. This scary metal grated bridge above a small river.

Lucy was very interested in looking through the holes at the water on the way out. I hopped off and led her across. She even went first (after me). These pictures were taken on the way back to camp. Lucy followed sally closely with me staying up this time. I was so proud of her!!!

She went through all the puddles, without stopping to ask why and some of them were rather large.

Sometimes she would be in the lead and sometimes Sally would go first. She traveled 12 miles. She got a little ouchy on the gravel roads and I walked her over 1/2 of them (on the trip back to camp). Her feet are soft due to all the rain and endless mud during Maine's new July monsoon season. I am just tickled pink with Lucy's progress. I am also proud of myself for being so patient and sticking to my commitment to not rush her into compitition.

We had a little ribbon cutting ceremony at the new horse safe bridge that META supplied materials for (and in this case built and installed). It is META's first bridge and it is on one of the trails up near Scribner's Mill in Harrison Maine. We hope to have a couple more installed this summer. We also hope to gain the new members to pay for them (~30 members per bridge) Twenty dollars from every membership of twenty five dollars goes to the bridge materials grant program. Adding members is a challenge. Anyone out there have ideas on what we can do to create a sense that we are valuable to the average Maine equestrian trail user? It sure would be appreciated!

In this Picture Scott Hatch President of META is standing beside the stack of stringers (3 per bridge) that the decking (foreground) is laid over. This bridge is so amazingly solid. It feels like it's laying on the ground when you go over it with two horses in single file. It doesn't move at all.

Who wouldn't pay $25.00 a year to have bridges like this on all the trails they ride?

There are approximately 24,000 Horse owners in Maine. If only 2000 join META annually, that's 66 bridges every year. The bridges are good for 20 YEARS! At some point all the money will go to managing the trails that our bridges are on.

Freedom to bolt . . .

. . . being allowed to create a safety buffer. Could the habitual and abrupt removal of these 2 liberties (dare I say prey animal necessities) cause a horse to worry excessively when faced with fearful situations?

Getting behind on fencing projects inspired me to explore letting Lucy Loose to graze about the property. Lord knows she isn't going off down the trail on her own--nor down that driveway to death yet--especially when all the other are staying behind. Supervising her exploits at liberty has been very enlightening. I have witnessed that she can be very bold when she is uninhibited.

One evening this week she stopped short coming back from our mounted jaunt into the woods to look through the missing stump pile at the view of the cabin she hadn't ever seen from that angle, and at various other changes directly in front of her in that area. One thing that bothered her quite a lot, when we advanced once again, was the large pile of dark green plastic Dan had piled up when cleaning up the debris left from last winters fire wood pile. She gave it very wide berth in passing and blew slightly at it, then hurried along.

As soon as I turned her loose after removing the saddle she rolled in the sand and then went directly over to closely examine that pile of plastic, blow at it some more and touch with her hoof. This puzzled and interested me! Why was this monster so much less worrisome when she was at liberty?

Once I witnessed her stepping onto the great huge steel tail gate that goes on the back of the dump truck to get over it because it was in the path she takes (shortest distance) to visit Dove. She stepped on it coming back to. Never stopped to examine it at all. The next day she walked right passed Dan and the Dump truck while he was working to get the tail gate on and making all kinds of noise. When I am on her back she eyes it more cautiously.

Another time there was suddenly a big black 15 foot length of plastic culvert blocking most of that path. She just stepped around it to fit through a 16 inch clear space left between it and the fence.

I thought perhaps it was because with me up she has so much more to think about: balance, what I am asking, what I'm going to do next, etc., that she can't process it all so quickly or efficiently. And maybe I focus too much on some scary things to try and be ready for a spook, and send her more "this is scary" vibes.

Then my very insightful friend Margaret suggested also, that Lucy likely feels much more secure knowing that at liberty she can flee as she sees fit without being encumbered or forced to stay closer than she thinks is safe.

That got me thinking about the several times this year I have heard mention of horses getting claustrophobic when fetched up hard in the bridle and held for too long. Horses who want to move along much faster than they are wanted to by a rider. Horses who are too worried to be given any slack in the reins for fear they will run away. Horses who will bolt hard losing their head and don't know when they are safely away. There are horses who have lived too long with these rules, or been too abused, or too frightened to be safe any other way. So,

I want to be very sure that I remind folks here that I am not very experienced at all in training horses and do not advocate letting a horse bolt and flee when it could injure someone or / and itself. I am simply contemplating some witnessed behavior and creating conjecture.

I've ridden horses who were quite comfortable with strong pressure on the reins for longer than I was interested in holding it. But I've had others who flipped out with continuous pressure in a variety of bits and head gear alternatives. So there are no hard and fast rules here that I am trying to give.

I did have one horse though who got very grumpy from too much pressure on the bridle at faster gates, but would leap and shake and sometimes buck when I let her go in the canter. Therefore, I was very reluctant to let her go. She always wanted to gallop from the canter and we ended up in tug of war which turned the canter into a squeezed up twisting unsafe gate(funny, gallop didn't seem so appealing to me about then!)

We finally had some really nice long canters on very safe ground (some on long gravel roads) and I began to let her out slowly. I soon discovered how quickly she flattened out into a very solid gallop once we had the canter relaxed. After that several month period she found me willing to gallop more often and I in turn found her willing to just canter if I asked, or even just trot on a long rein. It was a rather remarkable transformation in her--and I image she felt that I had transformed just as remarkably.

Lucy is sensible and has demonstrated that she can be trusted on a loose rein and will respond to a rein aid quickly and go right back to loose rein. ( We are about to do some riding with a horse that she has only met once and who excited her quite a bit, so I may have knew information on this topic come next Monday;^) I don't want to mess up that trust we have but I certainly can't have her leaping on top of Promise! So there may be some holding going on.

It will give me a chance to work on my own discipline by exercising my commitment to be consistent in the "do as little as it takes but be willing to do as much as it takes" theory, releasing at the proper moment over and over and over and over again, all day! Can I do it without resorting to holding? I will let you know. Although connected that's rather a different issue than the fear reaction thing. Another peice of the puzzle nonetheless.

Lucy is also very emotional. Perhaps I could introduce or exacerbate that uncomfortable feeling of restriction that may make her less willing to be bold when I am on her back, if I began to grab her up and restrict her at times due to my own insecurity. Like when meeting potential monsters on the trail.

It's all a big experiment in a way isn't it?

Anyway I will be riding with a new awareness that I could inadvertently cause her to feel claustrophobic if I over react to her worry. I don't want to create any mistrust of my ability to not just keep her safe but to help her to feel safe.

What are your experiences and / or thoughts?

Lucy Again

What is significant in this image?

Why, the placement of the mounting box. It closely resembles the mounting box placement found in the riding school where I learned to ride, where school horses waited patiently for riders to mount with their off sides open to the arena.

Lucy resembled those school horses yesterday morning when I mounted! I was very pleased. The box has been placed so that Lucy stands between it and the fence line to keep her from stepping off to the side. Not anymore.

We also ventured out onto the real trail--off RPF. we even went into the 'deep dark forest' (a dense stand of hemlock and fur where sun seldom penetrates--and when it does it makes ordinary things look very odd and frightening to some horses).

Just after turning around (at a spot where Lucy was very forward) I heard the dogs bark from back in their kennel. It must be Kelly has arrived to drop off the little boys for the day. "We're gonna have to hurry back today Lucy." She happily strode out into her big trail trot, easily slowed over the short section of large rocks, and maintained a nice rhythm for me with few reminders. No getting overly wound up nor fighting to push the speed. It was quite lovely. This afternoon I am going to see how she does on a bit longer trip.

Quiet at the Hitching Rail

Some days I get to feeling a tad bit sorry because we are not doing 10 mile rides out on our own yet. But I don't want a frazeled horse and baby steps is what is working Lucy my Love. So baby steps it will be.

Last year at this time she could not stand qietly at the hitching rail (rope). She would rear and scream repeatedly unless Dove was tied next to her. And  even then she was not really quiet.

Now she eats breakfst there every morning and hangs out sometimes for a half hour or better while I finish chores. Today was longer because I had to clean out the piggy pen. She was just as quiet as you please. Did I mention I LOVE this mare?

We did trot work in the arena this morning.

Lucy Goosey . . .

. . . As you may remember, has been wearing her saddle during meals because she needs to  become 'OK' with wearing it rather than just tolerant. Last Friday I decided that since the saddle was on I would hop up and we would do a morning jaunt around the property through the rough cut but slowly improving and what will someday be worthy of being called bridle paths. It is working so well!

Sunday Lucy started really giving me dirty looks and tossing her nose at me when I went to put the saddle up while she is eating. It's a good sign really because it means she is no longer threatened by it's presence. Still, I would rather not be annoying her to that degree. So, I tried putting the saddle on then leading her to the hitching rail, tying her there and then putting her grain in front of her. This way she gets to eat in peace while I go off and tend to other critters. When I get back she is done and off we go. Lucy is already getting relaxed with the routine. She likes it. No more dirty looks! Life is just so good these days!!