I took advantage of a recent sunny day to build a hay feeder I had been wanting to do for a long time. It’s made from a piece of hockey barrier netting about 10′ x 12′, a few plastic coated cup hooks, three 2x4s and a sheet of exterior grade plywood. The posts had been put in my the barn owner in preparation for a shelter.

It is filled from the back without opening or closing anything. It will easily hold a small square bale, maybe even more. For now, I’m having them fed their usual meal of two to three flakes each. I may try going back to 24/7 free choice at some point. I’ll have to wait for the roof though, so the hay doesn’t spoil.

I had planned to split the net and have half hang to each side. That would make two separate feeding areas, so that a dominant horse wouldn’t monopolize the hay. I may still do that, but for now, Beau and Lily are sharing nicely.

I could see feeding stations like this in a couple of areas of a paddock paradise track, with an A frame roof off the two poles. It would provide a bit of a rain and wind break, along with a feeding station, without having to build a full shelter.

This photo is from last year, but it does capture a bit of what last night’s ride was like. Though we came back in near full dark. I have flashers and a reflective safety vest to wear, so were were okay for the short bit we had to ride on the road. It was a fabulous evening! Lily moved out and rated back down with ease. We mostly trotted with a bit of rocking chair canter thrown in. The air was crisp and became chilling on the last stretch. I was grinning throughout the day at work today just thinking about it. Horse therapy is the best!

So that is one think I am thankful for. More importantly, I’ve been thinking a lot about lately the wonderful children I share my life with. I feel so very fortunate to be their parent. And I look forward to when they both return from their adventures out in the wide world.

Gurunam is in South America for her study abroad. Here is a recent blog post with photos from her visit to Iguazu Falls. Look it up. It seems like a fantastic place! Apparently, when Eleanor Roosevelt visited, she said, “Poor Niagara!”

Photo courtesy of Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa

My trip to India this fall was another experience for me to grateful for. There is much to say about that. I am still considering what I would like to write about it. On a pracitcal level, it was very nice to get to know the staff and see the school grounds. I found that India had not changed all that much since my visits back in the ’80′s. Yes, people have cell phones and there are a few more cars, but much still remians the same.

I love this time of year when the light turns to gold and the temperatures start to drop. And even the darkness that falls early. It is a time of reflection.

Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

How:

Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

Bowdrie (Beau) SMR 2322

I have been researching his pedigree. Bowdrie was bred by Kim Kingsley of the Horse Head Ranch in North Dakota. Beau’s sire was an accomplished endurance horse. His AERC winnings must have been 1989, as online records only go back to 1996 and he’s not listed there. I can guess that he competed in AERC rides in 1989 as a 14 year old and went back out in 1999 as a 24 year old in UMECRA rides. If anyone can correct me on this, I welcome it.

Chief Half Moon SMR 607

Blue Northern SMR 1709
photo by Mike Turnock

Blue Northern SMR 1709 in 2005 at the age of 17 photo by Mike Turnock

The other notable thing about Beau’s pedigree is that he is linebred Chief Pushmataha, having him for a grandsire on his sire’s side, great grandsire and great great grandsire on his dam’s side. Chief Pushmataha was said to go back to Choctaw Indian family breeding. He was registered in numerous Colonial Spanish/Spanish Mustang registries as well as the ApHC. I’ll end with these photos of him…

Chief Pushmataha SMR 47 as a young horse

Chief Pushmataha SMR 47

I’ve wanted to set up a paddock paradise for years. It is a great concept. Many horses these days are kept in small paddocks or pastures and end up standing around. Horses have evolved to move. Feral horses on BLM land travel miles every day from forage to water to shelter. Without this movement and grazing most of the day, horses can develop all sorts of issues, from illness to behavior problems.

Yesterday afternoon, I went ahead and put up a single strand of electric tape on fiberglass posts to make a track. My horses’ paddock is 75′ x 160′, so not very large. Even so, I think that it was worth doing. I saw Lily and Sasha moving around the track even as I was putting up the fence. I think that they have enough incentive to move with their favorite shade tree in the NE corner, opposite the water.

Permanent fencing is black with gates in thick blue.
The electric tape that I put up today is in blue.
The water is light blue.
Rubber mats for hay are brown.
The shade tree is in the upper left.

The fencing is not hot at this point. I’ll have to look for a solar or battery powered charger before any grass starts to grow in the middle. The temptation would be too great to just push through or under the tape.

The next step will be to take some old carpeting that I’ve had for a while and spread that along the west track between the gate and the water. I will cover it with gravel and/or hog fuel. With the choice determined by my budget. The footing gets quite slippery in the winter with all the rain we have here. I hope that this change will help on that front; in letting some vegetation grow in the middle, and putting down a more solid surface in the higher traffic area.

At this point, I am not going to set up any slow feeding hay stations. Lily has gotten good enough at my small mesh hay nets to go through nearly forty pounds of hay in a day! I just don’t have the time to devise new methods to slow here down right now. So they will stay with their twice a day loose hay.

Sasha finding hay scraps along the north track.

Lily under the shade tree in the NE corner.

Lily coming up from the water towards the gate. Beau is in the alley outside their paddock.

The girls eating their dinner hay on the track.

Peaceful dinnertime - Sasha in the center, Lily on the track and Beau in the barnyard.

Buy the book, Paddock Paradise, by Jaime Jackson

More links:
Paddock Paradise FaceBook page
Paddock Paraside Wiki – TONS of great information here and not just on PP.
Jaime Jackson’s Paddock Paradise site

Slideshow of the first afternoon.

After a week of sharing a fence line with Riley and Sonny, we tried Beau in with them today. I have to say that this was one of the calmest introductions that I’ve ever seen. I had my camera with me, as these situations usually yield some pretty darn good shots. This was the best action shot I could get this time around.


Most of them were more like this.

Beau deferred to Riley and all seems to be going well. During the day, the geldings get access to the barnyard, the pastures behind Lily and Sasha’s paddock, and the alley in between. Most of the best grazing is in the back pastures. Sonny and Riley moved from there to the their pasture (with the shelter and water) a few times. Beau spent most of his time hanging out in the alley near the girls.

He and Lily spent a good amount of time grazing along the fence nose to nose. I think that they understand what I told them earlier this week. That they will both be with me for a long time and that they need to get along. Lily doesn’t usually make friends very fast, but she seems to be warming up to Beau.

I am glad that Beau can have more horses to hang out with. I left him eating dinner with Riley and Sonny.

All the rest of the photos from today are here…

Time for an update. I hope to keep up with my blog more this winter. I’m planning on posting horse stories here and not spend so much time on FaceBook.

I got in two short rides in before my trip, a ten minute bareback ride and another in the round pen.

Then I was off to India a few days later. I was gone for two and a half weeks. Then I was sick for another week and a half after I came back. I feel like I lost the entire month of September.

In any case, our first ride on my return was at Elijah Bristow State Park. Beau was pretty high headed for most of the ride and got a bit excited by other horses running around. It was still a great first ride together. It was really nice to know that I could take him out and just ride. I found that he loves water. He walked right in and took a nice long drink. I had to keep him moving when he started to paw, as I felt his knees start to buckle! I didn’t want to take a swim myself.

This is one of my favorite shots from the day, even though it’s not entirely in focus. My good friend, Candee, took it, along with all the other photos of me riding so far.

Right after I mounted up.

I had signed up for a Connected Riding clinic with Diane Sept months ago. It was last weekend and I decided to take Beau. Aside from some trailer loading issues, he did really well. He seemed to like being in a stall. I wasn’t sure how he would take to that. The clinic was a good opportunity to try both my saddles on him and experiment with different bits.

He definitely needs his teeth done, so I’m just riding him in what he seems most comfortable for now, which is two reins, one off the cavesson and another on a Myler, ported curb. He sees the vet for his teeth a week from Saturday. After that, it will be easier to make some decisions on bitting. In the video below, I was trying a Myler comfort snaffle and you can see that he is chewing on it pretty consistently.

I took him into the arena Sunday morning before the clinic started to get a bit of time riding alone. I am going to use this video as a baseline. It will be interesting to compare this to how he is in six months or a year. This was our first canter together as well. We rode for a few hours later in the day. We were both tired at the end of, but it was definitely worth it. I learned new things and reinforced stuff I used to know.

Needless to say, I am very happy with Beau. I look forward to working with him and seeing how he muscles up and develops. I also hope that he and Lily get along, as they will have years together. They are sharing a fenceline for now. I moved Beau to my boarding barn just last night. He is temporarily in a paddock behind Lily and Sasha. He was trying to snake the mares through the fence. Sasha was flirting with him and Lily was telling her to stay away in boss mare fashion. Lily is very good at making snarky, mare faces, which she continued for most of the time I watched them.

This evening, I put hay on both sides of the fence, so that they could spend a bit of time together. Beau reached his head over very carefully, as the top wire is hot electric. He had a bunch of hay sticking out of his mouth. I don’t think that he realized it was there. Lily was reaching towards him, but not to say “Hi”. Instead she grabbed the hay and pulled it from his mouth. Beau was startled and spun away. After than he was very deferential to Lily through the fence. I think that they’ll be okay together.

This deserves a blog post and not just a FaceBook update.

Meet the newest Eugene resident…

In early June, I found out about three SMR horses who’s owner wanted to surrender them to a rescue or rehome them in some way. He preferred for them to go to homes that knew what they were. So I started networking to make that happen. One was a 20 year old mare with a bit of a sway back. The other two were teenage geldings. They were a family unit, dam, gelded sire and son.

After much organization, they arrived in Eugene late last night. This morning the mother and son left on their way to northern California. The younger gelding will be making one young lady very happy. He will be Maida’s first horse after her two small ponies.

The older gelding is staying in Eugene. His registered name is Bowdrie. He was bred by Kim Kingsley and lived in eastern Oregon and eastern Washington most of his life. I understand that he has had quite a bit of trail experience, but hasn’t been ridden in the last couple of years. I can tell from the morning that he has a lot of power and go.

Here is Maida going out this morning to catch her new horse. He’s the dun roan in the front. He came right up to her.

I stayed with him a while longer. When he had settled some, I removed the halter. He continued to follow me around. He’s a smart, sensible horse and it will be fun to see what he knows. I won’t have an update for a month or so, as I’m headed off on a trip. I had hoped that they could have come earlier, but they didn’t. I trust that this all happens they way that it’s supposed to.

Funds are still needed to cover the costs of this rescue for the California bound horses.

Maida’s story

Donate to Wind Horse Foundation
WHF blog

Checks should be made to Anne-Marie Pinter, (Director) with WHF in the memo.
Mail to: 6061 Summit Drive, Garden Valley, CA 95633

Or donate through PayPal: ampwwr@yahoo.com. All donations are tax deductible retroactively by the end of the year.

THANK YOU to those who have helped with funds already, including The Lido Fund (a great place to donate ongoing) and also to those who will donate in the future. And special thanks to those directly involved, Maida, Anne-Marie and Candee. Without very deep pockets, it takes a coordinated effort to make this sort of thing happen.

Looking a little spaced out

She has passed some manure, but it’s not normal yet. I sat with the Shannon (vet) and Gina talking about strategies. She needs to have buddies, as she gets stressed alone. Shannon also thinks that she may have ulcers and she’s going to be on UlcerGuard for a week or so and is to have hay available as much as possible and fed soaked BP and pellets a few times a day. Her weight looked really good, an improvement since last week.

Getting tubed

Several people at the clinic noticed that she was different than your average horse. I got to talk about Spanish Mustangs (surprise, surprise) and told them that she was descended from the real San Domingo of the Margaurite Henry book. And one of the other vets came up to tell me that he had never seen a horse like her and that she was obviously unique.

What did you expect?

Donations to her medical fund are welcome and can be sent to simrat@akalranch.com via paypal. Or if you are in Bend, they can be sent c/o Pony Pros.

A huge thank you to the folks that have already donated and especially to Kali, Les and Gina.

I had started a happy blog post about Sasha going to Bend for training at Pony Pros. A ride serendipitously was found and she went up on Thursday, July 21st.

I visited her the next Saturday and talked to Gina Papa, the assistant trainer at Pony Pros. Sasha looked great and meeting Gina was a pleasure. Gina already had her learning to smile.

Sasha was doing well, but has had a setback. Yesterday, she started to colic and is now at Bend Equine Medical Center on IV fluids. Kali, Les and Gina have been just great, providing care and communication. I know that she has had excellent care.

He vet costs are already well beyond anything I had in reserve for her. So I am asking if you are reading here and have anything to spare, that it would be most helpful. Some lovely people have already stepped up and offered. THANK YOU!

Bleh … technology … The paypal button doesn’t seem to be functioning correctly. Donations (not tax deductible) may be sent to simrat@akalranch.com. Please add a note that it’s for Sasha. Thanks!

I sincerely hope that I have good news to report tomorrow morning and that Sasha will have improved. I have cancelled my morning meetings and may drive up to see her.

At the same time, three other Spanish Mustangs are on their way to a way station in their journey south to new homes. They were picked up at the same time that Sasha was on her way to the clinic. The Lido Fund has helped with some costs of their transport. If, by any chance, there are extra funds, they could go to help with gas and transport costs for those horses as well.

I never intended to get so involved in SM rescue, but it seems that is the way of it these days. I keep having horses come to my attention that need new homes or help in some way. It is very hard for me to not help. The key is to keep it within my resources. I guess I’m not doing so well on that front lately! It is not my way to ask for help, but now I am.

Pretty Shield (Sasha)
SMR 3977 ~~ 14 hands
(Chato’s Shadow x Shinie Eyes)
Born 8/3/1999 at Caballos de Destinos in Pringle, SD, bred by Sharron Scheikofsky.

Sasha is available to a good home. She is quite sensitive, knows natural horsmanship type ground work, lunging, ground ties, loads well, handles vet work and trimming. She has had 120 days training with two trainers, the most recent being Kitty Lauman several years ago. She will need retraining with her undersaddle work. Along with her being sensitive and watchful, she tends to be anxious when alone. She needs the chance to bond with someone and gain trust. Sasha is sweet and wants to please. I would love to see her with an intermediate or advanced owner that would give her a chance to see what she can do. She has a great, moving out trot and a very smooth looking canter (video at the bottom of this post). She would certainly have the soundness and stamina for endurance. She’s not taken a bad step while I have had her. She’s done great ponied out on roads, over bridges, with traffic, bicycles and on trails. She is up to date on shots, deworming, trimming and dental work. She has two blemishes, a scar on her back (shown in photos below) and a dent in he neck. My vet thinks that it might have been an abscess from vaccination. He legs are straight and clean.

She is very nicely bred to foundation SMR stock and could be an excellent addition to a broodmare band. Sasha is heterozygous for LWO and SB-1. She likely also has splash in the mix, but there is no test for that yet. She is a striking grulla medicine hat with two ice blue eyes, and a long, silky double mane.

If you are interested in talking with me about Sasha, please email. Price is negotiable to the right home and would only be to recover some of her rescue costs.

Yesterday, I gave Sasha her first soapy bath and took photos. She stood really well to be hosed. It was clear that someone had trained her on this. The barn owner was using a tractor in the area, tilling and moving compost for a new garden bed. Once Sasha saw it and had a jump, she settled down and was fine with the noise and movement. We just had to stay out of his way.

Somehow I ended up with a lot more good photos of her near side and very few of her off side. She’s not as good at posing as Lily is, so I just took tons of photos and culled to a few good ones. I can ask Lily to stop when she’s 20 feet away and she’s stand there and pose. I haven’t had Sasha long enough for her to know that she is a constant photo subject.

Here are all the beauty shots, with a few of my Lily thrown in at the end.

There are some interesting herd interactions and body language to watch. Sasha is eventually yielding, but she’s also doing some dominance posturing as well, almost snaking with her head down at times.

Sunday 1/16 – I took Sasha for a walk down the road to Three Cedars arena to show her some new sights. Lily called for her, but Sasha was fine. She was alert and a bit nervous, but behaved very well. We stopped and chatted with people; I hosed off her muddy legs in the hot water wash rack and lunged her a few turns in the arena. There were people and horses around and she took it all in stride. Next time we go to Three Cedars, she will have a saddle on.

Saturday 1/22 – Rachel and I went out and I ponied Sasha for the first time. She was a gem. She’s obviously done this before. Lily was full of energy and I had to pay more attention to her than Sasha. We mostly walked, but trotted some too. I hardly had to think about Sasha back there. We went down the road with traffic, over the bridge with the Willamette rushing below, barking dogs, yahoos spinning gravel in the trailhead parking lot and she only spooked once.

Well, I didn’t get to finish this post in time to get it online in week three of her being with me. Instead I’ve been consumed by another project. We have decided to redo our kitchen, along with a bunch of other smaller home improvements. Our cabinets have been slowly self destructing over the years, so it’s high time. We should have new, custom cabinets soon, so demolition will be in order this week. After the cabinets are in, I’ll be doing the counters and tiling myself. All this means that I don’t foresee a lot of horse time.

I tried to tell Lily why I haven’t been around so much, but I don’t think that she understands kitchens so much. She puts her head down for me to rub her ears and sighs. I’ve been to the barn maybe twice a week lately and not ridden since our ponying session. I don’t think that the girls really mind. They have food, good care, daily turnout and the company of each other.

I have worked with Sasha a couple more times, just things like catching and grooming her, seeing how she is with clippers (great! – she lost her long chin hairs.), and taking both mares out for a walk and grazing. She still doesn’t like me to catch her sometimes. Though I think that she is getting used to having me around.

Here are some shots of her modeling my bosalito … and dirt.

I am really looking forward to getting more beauty shots of Sasha this summer, when she is shed out, clean and has picked up more weight.

It’s time for an update on Sasha. She has been here almost two weeks now, after spending almost a month and a half at Tired Dog Ranch. I’ve had a couple of friends ask if I have ridden her yet. The answer is no. She is underweight and had rain rot from her withers to tail. The rain rot seems to have cleared up pretty quickly with a bit of work and one treatment. She has also been wearing a sheet or blanket when turned out. We have been having our normal rains, along with some freezing temps as well. I bought a light blanket for her, so that she can spend all her energy gaining weight and not keeping warm. There have been some days that never got above freezing, which is unusual for us.

It’s been a busy time for me as well. I work full time at an office job, so my barn time is limited to evenings and weekends. Evenings are dark, though I have taken her for a few short walks. Weekends often have other commitments and, dare I say it, things like laundry and housework to do. And somewhere in there I also need to fit in some family and studio time. That’s why my work with Sasha has been limited.

Last weekend, I worked a bit with her on yielding her shoulder and hindquarters. She tends to get too close, especially with her shoulders, so I’m definitely showing her that it’s best to give people a bit of space, even if she’s nervous. A friend came out and we took Sasha and Lily for a walk down the road. When we turned around, I held her back, while Lily walked ahead. Sasha got a little nervous and called once, but didn’t fret too much. We do quite a bit of standing and taking deep breaths between little bits of work.

Last night, I saddled her and took her out in the dark, so she could move a bit. She took saddling just fine, even with a rain sheet over the top of the saddle. She actually seems to settle down once tacked up. I noticed this when I tried on my old training bosal. It was huge on her and too heavy. I haven’t used it in years, so it’s going to be sold. I have a smaller bosalito that might work for her. She seemed to know just how it worked and yielded nicely both directions.

This Saturday, I will be at the Oregon Horse Center selling a pile of tack to raise money for Sasha’s care. She has an appointment with my regular vet next week to have her teeth checked again. Her jaw still clicks sometimes when she eats.

Going through all my gear made me think about my goals and my horse activities. I ended up adding things to the pile that I didn’t think I would. I have been collecting gear on the chance that I would try different disciplines. All the western related stuff is going. All the Paso Fino gaited gear is going. All but the two saddles that really work are going. Trail bridles are going. Well, there is one huge curb bit I’m keeping, just because it is interesting and has lovely handmade curb and rein chains. I’m too much of a collector to get rid of everything!

And I also might move a little quicker to ride Sasha than I had planned. You see, it would be best that I rehome her sooner rather than later. And the best chance for her is to get her going under saddle well. I have other responsibilities in my life at the moment that need my attention. That means that I am open to discussion on a new home for her. She’s a really nice mare and when she gets her weight up and sheds out this spring, it should be like a butterfly unfurling it’s wings. There will be a price on her, based on how far she gets in training. If you are interested in her, drop me an email.

There has been little opportunity for good photos, due to weather, light and dirty horses. Here are the only daylight ones I have so far from last Saturday. The two mares are getting along just fine. They get led in together by one person now and hang out in close proximity, though Lily still puts Sasha in her place regularly.

Amy Jo’s truck pulled in with a layer of snow covering the hood and cab. Temps here didn’t break 40 today and it was obviously colder up the mountain. Sasha (Pretty Shield) unloaded and was introduced to the paddock pretty calmly, with only a few snorts along the way.

I had put out a couple of piles of hay for distraction. At first the two mares just settled down to eat. Well, Lily mostly ate, while Sasha wandered off every so often to check things out. After a little bit of that, Lily sorted out just where she thought Sasha belonged and as long as that was maintained, all was well.

Lily made sure that Sasha stayed well away from the two horses next door. She's standing guard down there by the fence line.

Not buddies yet! Lily make it clear that she was in charge of where Sasha could stand and how much hay she could eat.

So Sasha hung out with Rosie on the other side of the paddock. Lily was just fine with that.

I spent a couple of hours puttering around, watching them. I brought Sasha in and showed her the stall, gave her some feed and started to pick at her witches knots. I think that this girl will make me a Cowboy Magic convert. I’ve not really needed it up to this point. Her mane is fine and wavy, so they form very fast. I spent most of my time with her working out the knots, brushing her mane and lovely, long forelock and working my fingers down into her winter coat to get the dirt out.

I even was rewarded with her nose on my belly and a deep sigh. I think that she knows she’s landed.

Pretty Shield (now SMR 3977) and I earlier this month

This quote is from an article by Dr. Thomas Ritter that appeared in Flying Changes magazine. It is worth reading the entire article.

This sort of balance is something that useful in all areas of life. It’s just another reason I am glad I work with horses. They continue to push me to learn more about myself. in a couple of months, Sasha will move from her rehab time at Tired Dog Ranch to my boarding barn. I look forward to having the opportunity to learn from her.

Pretty Shield or Sasha, as she is being called for now, was a horse in need. Her owners lost their business and house and she needed a home fast. Through the wild horse folks in central Oregon and the Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition, she came to my attention. She is now safe at Tired Dog Ranch for few months of rehabilitation. I have confirmed with Dave Reynolds that she was born at Caballos de Destinos in South Dakota, out of Shinie Eyes and by Chato’s Shadow. She will be registered with the SMR this week. She is 11 years old. Please excuse all the mud. It was too cold to get her really clean and she had already had a good roll. All the photos from her second day at Tired Dog Ranch are below.

Initial assessment:
> She’s a little underweight, but not bad.
> Her feet are neglected and loo long. They should come back well, as they are otherwise in pretty good shape with only a little thrushiness.
> Her matted hair was easily teased apart. It just took some time by Amy Jo and I. Her mane is quite long and silky.
> She has a significant load of worms. The first dose of Ivermectin, resulted in wigglers in her manure the next day. In another couple of weeks, she will get Equimax and a Panacur purge at some point too.

She has done well with other horses, yielding when she needs to and also standing up for herself with Cornelius, the herd leader, but not challenging him. The first day in with the herd, she was able to share hay piles with 3 different equines (Cheyenne, Vinnie and Fivey). The next day, she added Margarita and Lydia to the list. Cornelius and Lola continue to sometimes push her to the outside of the group and she’s usually on the periphery, but that it totally normal.

When I turned her back out after trimming, Cornelius was lying down. He stayed there, while she had a good roll just 30 feet or so from him. She can flip from one side to the other with ease. I think the fact that he allowed her to do that was an acceptance.

It took me a bit of walking her down each time to catch her. That will improve with time. I found at the very end that she loves apples, so there is a tool I can use next time. She leads very well and knows how to lunge. She was reluctant to give her feet at times while trimming, but was also distracted being outside of the pasture. That’s all the assessment I was able to do on her level of training.

I know that she had 30 days training as a two or three year old and 90 days later on with Kitty Lauman. Other than that, I understand that she has not been ridden much at all. She seems to be an intelligent horse that takes time to think things through. I look forward to continuing her training.

Stay tuned!

Sunday the sun came out after several days of torrential rain, with more forecast. I grabbed the chance to get out to the barn. I arrived to find this lovely mare to greet me. I didn’t take the photo until after I brought her in to consider my plan of action.

I figured that I would take it step by step. It was warm enough outside, so out came the hose. There is no other way to really groom this much wet mud off a horse. If it is dry, a metal curry works great. There is a method using damp, hot towels that can be quite effective. I didn’t have a pile of towels and hot water though!

After watching the brown water the consistency of chocolate milk stream off of her (both sides were covered equally), we went for a walk. Down the road in the sun we walked. I took the opportunity to correct a bit of barging ahead that Lily does sometimes. When that was issue resolved, I walked at her hip and ground drove her one reined. It was all a good readjustment of roles. I guess her time off had increased Lily’s self importance somewhat. Now she understands again that she is welcome to her opinion, but mine overrules hers!

I also fitted her winter rain sheet. Though Lily doesn’t seem to want to be seen in this one. It’s not as nice as her other sheet. A bit baggy around the shoulders, I think.

I didn’t end up really riding, just hopped on bareback and took a turn down the road once and back. Here is the product of the bath, a shiny dappled dun coat.

I contemplated leaving her out with her sheet on, but it was too warm. (sigh) Both sides were soon coated again. At least it was relatively dry mud, not quite like the previous layer.

I am looking forward to the week of sun that’s forecast. I want to haul in some loads of hog fuel. Her paddock has to be dry to get my two wheel drive truck in … and out! It’s getting dark just after seven these days. That will only progress earlier and earlier, now that we are at the equinox. I am sure that Lily will have more rest time this winter. It’s all for the good I suppose. For now, I will enjoy every sunset and every breathtaking ray of light that streams through the clouds.

I guess that this is officially a Thankful Thursday post, even though it is going out on Friday, as I am SO grateful for this ride today.

Who's that Perfect Mare?

She had gotten in the habit of taking short, choppy strides before she went totally lame. I could not get her to go on the bit. Any attempt at contact sent her head in the air and rushing or skittering crookedly sideways. So the riding that I did do last winter was loose reined, trail rides. I had hoped to get her okay with contact again at some point.

Then she went lame and it was all on hold. For a while, I thought it could be permanently on hold.

It is possible that the way I was riding her contributed to her lameness. I had been riding her in a jaquima meant for Paso Finos and was asking her to gait. The jaquima does lift her head. She goes very lightly in it and on a loose rein seemed fine. I don’t think that this was the primary cause of her lameness, but it might have been a factor. I do believe that she had an injury of some sort. If it really was an avulsion fracture or a ligament injury, I really don’t know. The summer of rest certainly helped her. The supplements she’s been taking have helped her. We are currently using Ligand-3 from Foxden Equine. I wet a week’s worth with olive oil and add it to her feed. She gobbles it right up.

The turning point seemed to be her recent treatment from Ferronato Shen. I had heard very good things from a friend about the work she did. Her evaluation and massage session with Lily turned up a very tight back as her primary issue. I won’t go into more detail than that on my blog. Needless to say, I believe that Ferronato was correct. Now I rub down her back after every ride and am very conscious of how I ride and handle Lily.

Since I’ve started riding her again, it is in a french link snaffle that fits and a new to me Ortho-Flex saddle. The difference lately is really good. She reaches out in her stride. We had gotten up to a couple of miles of walking.

Leg yield on the way home. Not so easy to do with one hand on the reins and one taking the photo.

After stretching her legs like that, I asked for light contact, her neck arched right up and she gave it to me. We did some circles, spiraling in and out and leg yield. Her head would pop up, but she would come back when asked. It was lovely and even better than years ago, when I rode her Training Level.

It really has been two years since Lily and I have done any work in earnest. I leased her out for the first half of 2008. I had too many horses at the time and she was the most trained and easiest to find a leaser for. When she came back, I bred her to Paisano. Then she went to Tired Dog Ranch to foal out. There were a few rides here and there. I could tell each time that something was off. There were mild resistances from Lily. Though she would do what I asked, it was not with the willing, happy attitude of the past. It was really just a feeling more than anything I could put words to. I guess it’s not a bad thing that her physical issues came to head this year. Whatever it was, it seems to have worked it’s way out and we are on the other side.

So now, I have a second chance to begin again, training Lily. I have learned so much in these two years and I look forward to having the chance to apply it. It is like a new world for me. To have Lily back and sound again is a gift beyond measure.

(And, by the way, the “Wah!” title is not a cry, but the Wah! of bliss.)

How:

I rode Lily last night. I hadn’t ridden her since May 1st, when she was very lame on a trail ride. It’s been paddock rest and numerous vet visits since then. The last ultrasound on Friday looked very good and my vet does not think that she has DSLD/ESPA. Yay! Since her healing had gone so well these last two months, he gave me the go ahead to take her out on short, flat, walking rides.

One of our fist rides in the Black Forest back in May

Riding in the FreeForm SB last November

So now, with these walking rides, I will have a chance to break in my new Black Forest saddle and decide if it will work out for us. I do think that it puts me in a much better spot than the FreeForm did, so that’s a good start. I do wish that I could find a sheepskin seat for it. I suppose that it will get more comfortable with time, but for now, there are a couple of creases that would not do well on a longer ride.

I flipped the photo from last November for a good comparison of where the saddles sit on Lily. I checked her today and she free lunged sound! I’ve been treating her legs with Sore No More and doing some massage on her back and haunches. This seems to help her comfort level. I hope that this first month of walking rides continues to go as well as the first one.

Luna has gone home to her breeder and original owner, Patty. I have had the intention of getting down to just one horse for a while now. So I knew that this was the right thing to do. She looked happy and relaxed when I left her. Lily did seem to miss her when I got back, but she has adjusted. Lily has her next vet checkup on 7/16 and is still on pasture rest until then. So, I go out and just spend time with her finding new spots to scratch and massage. She may be a bit bored, but I think that she’s enjoying it too. It has been interesting to adjust to just one horse again. It’s been a month and I am starting to get used to it.

I’m took an entire week of vacation to clean out my studio. This was a momentous task, as it has been accumulating STUFF for years. Pretty much ever since I stopped being involved in model horses around 2002. I had boxes of old papers, thing to give away, things to sell and a few things to carefully pack away and label to look at another time. I cleared out enough to allow room to start painting again. And this time, it’s not model horses.

I already have a few paintings in progress and a number of panels waiting for a bit more prep. And then there are the sculptures that are staring at me. It was a real pleasure to unearth art supplies and work in progress that I had forgotten was there. I’m making a point of carving out a few hours every week to do art. It’s been a treat.

There are still a few piles to go through and some untouched areas to organize, but I feel such a weight lifted! I can’t say that I wish I had done it earlier. It just wasn’t the time yet. Now it was. I’m not sure if I’ll continue to post here about my artwork or not. I have simratkhalsa.com where I can do that. Though I may want to keep that as more of portfolio site. Ah well, time will tell.

My new favorite thinking spot, where I can study my easel.