So, this summer in Phoenix, AZ has been the hottest, nastiest one we've had in a while. It's not been easy to get out to the stable and do the work that really needed to get done with Fiona. I mean I am from AZ, born and raised, and this summer almost did me in. We were over 110 for 30+ days. Not good!
Despite the weather, Fiona and I have taken HUGE strides forward. I was hoping to have a lot more pictures and video to share at this point, but we are were we are with that. I have a few videos to share of our lesson this morning. These videos are not very exciting to watch, but the represent a year of some of the hardest work I have ever had to do in my life.
Getting my confidence to a level that I felt comfortable taking Fiona out in a WIDE open space, has taken WORK. I don't mean running my horse sick or running myself sick, or fighting with her everyday, or "making" her listen to me. I mean working on myself. I had to believe in myself on a whole new level. I was so scare of this horse when we started this journey, that I would literally worry myself out of doing anything with her. "She's going to get scared", "She's going to get hurt", "She's going to run away"...the excuses were limitless. I had to get to a place where I believed she could do this and that I could handle the worst even if she didn't make it through. I am still not sure I would have held it together if things really did go wrong, but I was brave enough to try and we reaped the rewards. Fiona and I now have the whole world to explore (granted we will be exploring very slowly at first).
Thank God Samantha Lynch was there with us. Sam is our shining light in this whole process. I know that sounds corny, but Fiona and I were in a very dark place when we met Sam. She has been like our trustworthy and steady guide from that dark place to this sunny park across the street.
Earlier this year, we were trying to get Fiona to do an obstacle course clinic Sam put together. Sam was working her on an obstacle and Fiona spooked and ran Sam down. This was no fault of Sam's, Fiona is fast and strong and just caught her off-guard. Sam dusted herself off, we caught Fiona and got Fiona calmed down. I told the stable owner later that day, "Sam and I are a good combination because we are both too stubborn to stop working with this horse" Boy, was I right! We've just gone slow and steady and Fiona's doing great! I told Sam early on, that I knew Fiona and I were long shot but I asked her to stick with us and we'd make her proud. I hope we have, but if we haven't...it's ok..we are not done yet. We will still make her proud. :)
Here are the videos. Enjoy! Oh and a special thanks to Sprinkles, our escort/guard horse.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
TO HAVE A HORSE IN YOUR LIFE
Our barn owner emailed me this and I liked it so much I thought I would repost it here:
TO HAVE A HORSE IN YOUR LIFE
To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short
years, a horse can teach a young girl courage, if she chooses to grab
mane and hang on for dear life. Even the smallest of ponies is mightier
than the tallest of girls. To conquer the fear of falling off, having
one's toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated at a horse show is an
admirable feat for any child. For that, we can be grateful.
Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle or a computer, a horse
needs regular care and most of it requires that you get dirty and
smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to leave your cozy kitchen to
break the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink heartily; we know we've made the right choice.
Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are
easy keepers, requiring little more than regular turnout, a flake of
hay, and a trough of clean water. Others will test you, you'll
struggle to keep them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their
feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so
accident prone you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to
injure themselves.
If you weren't raised with horses, you can't know that they have unique
personalities. You'd expect this from dogs, but horses? Indeed, there
are clever horses, grumpy horses, and even horses with a sense of
humor. Those prone to humor will test you by finding new ways to escape from the barn when you least expect it.
Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic, obstinate or willing.
You will hit it off with some horses and others will elude you
altogether. There are as many "types" of horses as there are people-
which makes the whole partnership thing all the more interesting.
If you've never ridden a horse, you probably assume it's a simple thing
you can learn in a weekend. You can, in fact, learn the basics on a
Sunday, but to truly ride well, takes a lifetime. Working with a living
being is far more complex than turning a key in the ignition and
putting the car or tractor in "drive."
In addition to listening to your instructor, your horse will have a few
things to say to you as well. On a good day, he'll be happy to go along
with the program and tolerate your mistakes; on a bad day, you'll swear
he's trying to kill you. Perhaps he's naughty or perhaps he's fed up
with how slowly you're learning his language. Regardless, the horse
will have an opinion. He may choose to challenge you (which can
ultimately make you a better rider) or he may carefully carry you over
fences - if it suits him. It all depends on the partnership - and
partnership is what it's all about.
If you face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to work at
it, you'll learn lessons in courage, commitment, and compassion in
addition to basic survival skills. You'll discover just how hard you're
willing to work toward a goal, how little you know, and how much you
have to learn.
And, while some people think the horse "does all the work", you'll be
challenged physically as well as mentally. Your horse may humble you
completely. Or, you may find that sitting on his back is the closest
you'll get to heaven.
You can choose to intimidate your horse, but do you really want to? The
results may come more quickly, but will your work ever be as graceful
as that gained through trust? The best partners choose to listen, as
well as to tell. When it works, we experience a sweet sense of
accomplishment brought about by smarts, hard work, and mutual
understanding between horse and rider. These are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying his work.
If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our lives, most of us
have to squeeze riding into our over saturated schedules; balancing our
need for things equine with those of our households and employers.
There is never enough time to ride, or to ride as well as we'd like.
Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures.
If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them.
Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and
whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an
unsettled world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are
clear: a warm place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of
regular meals. Some of us need these reminders.
When you step back, it's not just about horses, it's about love, life,
and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a
foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there
is also loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a
life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the accelerated life
cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss and death that
caring for these animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is more
than a moment of sorrow.
We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have
been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe and wonder. Absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To see us in our
muddy boots, who would guess such poetry lives in our hearts? We
celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses
have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of fields
of battle.
Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made
and challenges met. The best of horses rise to the challenges we set
before them, asking little in return.
Those who know them understand how fully a horse can hold a human
heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the lingering
taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding when or
whether to end the life of a true companion.
In the end, we're not certain if God entrusts us to our horses or our
horses to us. Does it matter? We're grateful God loaned us the horse in
the first place.
Author Unknown
To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short
years, a horse can teach a young girl courage, if she chooses to grab
mane and hang on for dear life. Even the smallest of ponies is mightier
than the tallest of girls. To conquer the fear of falling off, having
one's toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated at a horse show is an
admirable feat for any child. For that, we can be grateful.
Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle or a computer, a horse
needs regular care and most of it requires that you get dirty and
smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to leave your cozy kitchen to
break the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink heartily; we know we've made the right choice.
Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are
easy keepers, requiring little more than regular turnout, a flake of
hay, and a trough of clean water. Others will test you, you'll
struggle to keep them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their
feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so
accident prone you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to
injure themselves.
If you weren't raised with horses, you can't know that they have unique
personalities. You'd expect this from dogs, but horses? Indeed, there
are clever horses, grumpy horses, and even horses with a sense of
humor. Those prone to humor will test you by finding new ways to escape from the barn when you least expect it.
Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic, obstinate or willing.
You will hit it off with some horses and others will elude you
altogether. There are as many "types" of horses as there are people-
which makes the whole partnership thing all the more interesting.
If you've never ridden a horse, you probably assume it's a simple thing
you can learn in a weekend. You can, in fact, learn the basics on a
Sunday, but to truly ride well, takes a lifetime. Working with a living
being is far more complex than turning a key in the ignition and
putting the car or tractor in "drive."
In addition to listening to your instructor, your horse will have a few
things to say to you as well. On a good day, he'll be happy to go along
with the program and tolerate your mistakes; on a bad day, you'll swear
he's trying to kill you. Perhaps he's naughty or perhaps he's fed up
with how slowly you're learning his language. Regardless, the horse
will have an opinion. He may choose to challenge you (which can
ultimately make you a better rider) or he may carefully carry you over
fences - if it suits him. It all depends on the partnership - and
partnership is what it's all about.
If you face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to work at
it, you'll learn lessons in courage, commitment, and compassion in
addition to basic survival skills. You'll discover just how hard you're
willing to work toward a goal, how little you know, and how much you
have to learn.
And, while some people think the horse "does all the work", you'll be
challenged physically as well as mentally. Your horse may humble you
completely. Or, you may find that sitting on his back is the closest
you'll get to heaven.
You can choose to intimidate your horse, but do you really want to? The
results may come more quickly, but will your work ever be as graceful
as that gained through trust? The best partners choose to listen, as
well as to tell. When it works, we experience a sweet sense of
accomplishment brought about by smarts, hard work, and mutual
understanding between horse and rider. These are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying his work.
If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our lives, most of us
have to squeeze riding into our over saturated schedules; balancing our
need for things equine with those of our households and employers.
There is never enough time to ride, or to ride as well as we'd like.
Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures.
If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them.
Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and
whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an
unsettled world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are
clear: a warm place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of
regular meals. Some of us need these reminders.
When you step back, it's not just about horses, it's about love, life,
and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a
foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there
is also loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a
life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the accelerated life
cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss and death that
caring for these animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is more
than a moment of sorrow.
We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have
been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe and wonder. Absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To see us in our
muddy boots, who would guess such poetry lives in our hearts? We
celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses
have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of fields
of battle.
Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made
and challenges met. The best of horses rise to the challenges we set
before them, asking little in return.
Those who know them understand how fully a horse can hold a human
heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the lingering
taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding when or
whether to end the life of a true companion.
In the end, we're not certain if God entrusts us to our horses or our
horses to us. Does it matter? We're grateful God loaned us the horse in
the first place.
Author Unknown
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Fiona and The Four Agreements
Quick update: Fiona's doing great! We are back to riding more often. Her trust in me has grown by leaps and bounds. We even rode across the property the other day. It was unbelievable! The tractor and the feed cart went by and she never waivered. I love that little horse. She's really turning out OK. We are in the process of getting a new saddle. She outgrew the old one and it started to pinch her. I think it was even starting to make her buck a bit into the trot and canter. oh yes, we canter now! ..well, we are just getting started...but it HAS happened! I am still trying to get some video done. I am holding out for a cantering video though, so it might still be a bit. On to the subject at hand.....
There's a book called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it! In short, the book describes four rules to live your life by which will help you grow spiritually and move in the world more easily. Well, at least that's what these rules have done for me.
Here are the "agreements" or rules:
1) Be impeccable with your word
2) Don't take anything personally
3) Don't make assumptions
4) Always do your best
I read this book a long time ago, but I read something on a horse trainer's website that triggered one of the rules to pop into my head. "Be impeccable with your word". The exact words I read are not important, but the underlying message was "The horse needs work."
The most important thing I have learned in the last few months is, the horse is just fine, the owner needs work. Horse owners HATE to hear this. I HATE to hear this. It makes me feel like I am broken or not good enough. This thought leads RIGHT into the next agreement. "Don't take things personally".
One of the great things about working with horses is you are NEVER done. There's always more my horse can teach me and there's an endless number of "sports" I can teach my horse to participate in. There's dressage, endurance, barrels, poles, trail riding, the list goes on and on. So the statement "the owner needs work" really means the journey hasn't ended, not that I am broken or inadequate. It means I am still alive! This is what living is about...moving forward, learning, working, playing.
I don't have a clean segway into the next rule, but it definitely applies to horsemanship. "Don't make assumptions" Don't assume that the horse is the problem. The horse is never the problem. The saddle can be the problem (which I had happen recently). The owner can definitely be the problem. Lack of knowledge can be the problem. It's our job as good horse owners to discover our the truth about our horses, based on the facts. So don't just guess or assume that you know the root cause of an issue. Do your own investigation. If your horse bucks you off, change things and see what makes it better..or God forbid, worse.
The last rule applies so much to horsemanship, I can't even fit it all into one blog post. "Always do your best". Now I think most people interpret or apply this rule when they want to bail out early and quit what they are trying to do before they are done. I don't often have that issue, unless I am afraid and even when I am afraid of something with my horse, I come back and keep trying. I have to apply this rule when I don't get to my goal in the timeframe I want to and then I tend to beat myself up for it. You don't hit a grand slam every day. As a co-dependent Capricorn, that is very hard for me to accept. I have a goal every day, week, month and year. If I miss one, it's a disappointment. Yes, my standards are WAY too high. Sometimes your best isn't your all-time, record setting best, and that's OK. :)
Hopefully this helps some people in their work and play with horses.
There's a book called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it! In short, the book describes four rules to live your life by which will help you grow spiritually and move in the world more easily. Well, at least that's what these rules have done for me.
Here are the "agreements" or rules:
1) Be impeccable with your word
2) Don't take anything personally
3) Don't make assumptions
4) Always do your best
I read this book a long time ago, but I read something on a horse trainer's website that triggered one of the rules to pop into my head. "Be impeccable with your word". The exact words I read are not important, but the underlying message was "The horse needs work."
The most important thing I have learned in the last few months is, the horse is just fine, the owner needs work. Horse owners HATE to hear this. I HATE to hear this. It makes me feel like I am broken or not good enough. This thought leads RIGHT into the next agreement. "Don't take things personally".
One of the great things about working with horses is you are NEVER done. There's always more my horse can teach me and there's an endless number of "sports" I can teach my horse to participate in. There's dressage, endurance, barrels, poles, trail riding, the list goes on and on. So the statement "the owner needs work" really means the journey hasn't ended, not that I am broken or inadequate. It means I am still alive! This is what living is about...moving forward, learning, working, playing.
I don't have a clean segway into the next rule, but it definitely applies to horsemanship. "Don't make assumptions" Don't assume that the horse is the problem. The horse is never the problem. The saddle can be the problem (which I had happen recently). The owner can definitely be the problem. Lack of knowledge can be the problem. It's our job as good horse owners to discover our the truth about our horses, based on the facts. So don't just guess or assume that you know the root cause of an issue. Do your own investigation. If your horse bucks you off, change things and see what makes it better..or God forbid, worse.
The last rule applies so much to horsemanship, I can't even fit it all into one blog post. "Always do your best". Now I think most people interpret or apply this rule when they want to bail out early and quit what they are trying to do before they are done. I don't often have that issue, unless I am afraid and even when I am afraid of something with my horse, I come back and keep trying. I have to apply this rule when I don't get to my goal in the timeframe I want to and then I tend to beat myself up for it. You don't hit a grand slam every day. As a co-dependent Capricorn, that is very hard for me to accept. I have a goal every day, week, month and year. If I miss one, it's a disappointment. Yes, my standards are WAY too high. Sometimes your best isn't your all-time, record setting best, and that's OK. :)
Hopefully this helps some people in their work and play with horses.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Return of the scary white tarp thingie
So in an effort to bolster both my confidence AND Fiona's, we've spent 3-4 lessons in the last few weeks working on Fiona's archenemy, the evil white tarp thingie. Today, she touched it with her nose. That's a pretty huge leap forward. I think she's only a few more lessons from walking right through the thing. I might cry tears of joy when that happens. She is truly terrified of this thing...or she was. See my blog entry The Struggle with Strangles, third paragraph.
Just a quick update for today and hopefully I will be writing a "demise of the scary white tarp thingie" entry pretty soon. :) Night all!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Independence is Sweet!
Happy 4th of July everyone!!! I hope you are all cooking up a storm and enjoying the summer sun!
Fiona and I are doing really well! I even have video to prove it!! I walked her across the entire property last week and NO SPOOKS! Not one! She even put her nose on a horse trailer!...and then LICKED THE DARN THING! It was awesome, I doubled over laughing.
Today I was lunging her over a pole and she tried to roll it over with her nose and then chewed on it a bit. She's quite the character I tell you.
We've been working mostly on groundwork. We did have one ride last week because I hadn't been on her it a bit. She did pretty well. She thought about bucking at first with the saddle on, but she just thought it was too much work and stopped. I kind of like that she is chubby and lazy now. It is over 110 degrees here after all.
The groundwork lessons have helped immensely. I have realized that most of my fear was based on the fact that I didn't know what to do to get her under control if she flipped out. So we've just worked on controlling her feet, controlling her feet and more controlling her feet. It's REALLY helped. I feel much more confident with her on the ground. Our trainer moved a pole behind her a few weeks ago and Fiona shot forward, but I kept her head to me and she just turned her butt away and then stopped. The best part about it was I never lost my cool. I didn't flip out and try to keep her moving...I just acted like nothing happened.
Drill team is on hold due to a injured instructor, so I am back to riding Fiona exclusively at the moment. I think it's probably for the best. She probably needs about 500 hours of riding before she can go out on the trail, so I better get cracking. I have started a riding log that I keep at the barn. It's very short so far, but it will grow. :)
So here's a little video of us working on the ground. Again this is not our finest work, but she is listening and she looks WAY better than when she had stranges a few month ago. Please forgive the nightgown look I am sporting, I am still transitioning wardrobe from 60lbs ago!!
Fiona and I are doing really well! I even have video to prove it!! I walked her across the entire property last week and NO SPOOKS! Not one! She even put her nose on a horse trailer!...and then LICKED THE DARN THING! It was awesome, I doubled over laughing.
Today I was lunging her over a pole and she tried to roll it over with her nose and then chewed on it a bit. She's quite the character I tell you.
We've been working mostly on groundwork. We did have one ride last week because I hadn't been on her it a bit. She did pretty well. She thought about bucking at first with the saddle on, but she just thought it was too much work and stopped. I kind of like that she is chubby and lazy now. It is over 110 degrees here after all.
The groundwork lessons have helped immensely. I have realized that most of my fear was based on the fact that I didn't know what to do to get her under control if she flipped out. So we've just worked on controlling her feet, controlling her feet and more controlling her feet. It's REALLY helped. I feel much more confident with her on the ground. Our trainer moved a pole behind her a few weeks ago and Fiona shot forward, but I kept her head to me and she just turned her butt away and then stopped. The best part about it was I never lost my cool. I didn't flip out and try to keep her moving...I just acted like nothing happened.
Drill team is on hold due to a injured instructor, so I am back to riding Fiona exclusively at the moment. I think it's probably for the best. She probably needs about 500 hours of riding before she can go out on the trail, so I better get cracking. I have started a riding log that I keep at the barn. It's very short so far, but it will grow. :)
So here's a little video of us working on the ground. Again this is not our finest work, but she is listening and she looks WAY better than when she had stranges a few month ago. Please forgive the nightgown look I am sporting, I am still transitioning wardrobe from 60lbs ago!!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Quick update, more later
Wow what a month. I am happy to report that Fiona is over her strangles and back in fine shape. Her trainer has been doing a great job getting her muscle tone back up so she’s ready to ride again. While Fiona was in sick bay, the stables have been getting a major overhaul. There are new barns going in and a new tack room. The construction has been going on right outside Fiona’s stall, which has been remarkably good for her. The first few days she was NOT very comfortable with all the commotion, but now she just kind of ignores it for the most part.
Drill team is also going well. I rode Zach again two weeks ago and he was wonderful. He’s a little slow, but that’s better than the alternative for the moment. I am scheduled to ride him 3 times this week while his owner is on vacation. I am definitely looking forward to that. Apparently he has a little buck leading into his cantor. That should make the week interesting. J He’s already spooked with me once. It was nothing major, but it got my attention. He shyed away from a noise on the other side of a wall. There are houses on the other side of the wall and someone had the audacity (sarcasm) to make a noise in their backyard. It caught him off guard and he leapt sideways. I stayed on though and we kept riding. Good to know it’s not just my horse that does that stuff.
I am also continuing to watch a lot of Rick Gore’s videos. I like his approach to horsemanship. He really does take the horse’s needs into account first. It’s made me re-think a lot of what I have been doing and thinking about this process. Check out the Gymkhana videos. WOW, that's all I am going to say.
I am going to try to take some more video of Fiona and post it soon.
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Struggle with Strangles
Well our training has been thwarted for the last few weeks by an outbreak of strangles at the barn. I had never even heard of it until it started getting past around the barn and I didn't really care about it until the horse next to mine had it, but first let's get caught up on how things are going.
Fiona's riding was going pretty well before she got sick. We had about half a dozen successful rides and one time where she bolted on me. Good news though! I stayed on, I got her stopped (got good reviews on my one-rein stop), and I kept riding. I was a wreck!, but I kept going.
Fiona did go to the obstacle clinic, but it was kind of short lived. She lunged over the stuff on the ground just fine after she circled a few times. I have never seen a horse avoid stepping on something and still look as "refined" as she does. She is SUCH a girl! I knew the white curtain obstacle would get her before we even started. It is basically a white shower curtain liner cut into strips that flaps in the wind. She did ok in the arena...just checking stuff out and stood their calmly. I handed her off to Sam, my trainer, and she walked her up pretty close to the evil shower curtain of death. Fiona tried SO HARD to not be scared. She started shifting her back end around just a bit. Then she bolted. Sam tried to step in and stop her, but Fiona ran her over. :(
We caught her and Sam took her to a roundpen. I lunged her in there for about 45 mins. She was FIRED UP! when she got in there, but she settled down after a bit. That's when Sam cleared the arena so she could work with "That Arabian" as one person put it. She got her to do some good things like walking over stuff.
Another VERY interesting development; Fiona LOVES cows!!...and they love her! Go friggin' figure?!?!! Cows are the only thing I have ever seen her sniff and step into, instead of shying away from. It was great!. Sam taught me to lung Fiona in circles and move the cows with her. It was really fun.
Oh and I started riding in the drill team at the stable! I am riding a different horse, an arabian names Zach! He is cute and friendly. I am grateful for his assistance while I am still getting Fiona ready. I am really hoping to ride her in the final show in the fall, but we shall see.
Now onto the bad news....ugh..
I told Sam, a few weeks ago that Fiona seemed depressed. She was also starting to toss her head during bridling, which she hadn't done in a very long time. About a week after I said that, strangles!
For those of you that do not know what strangles is, here's an interesting run-down on it: Strangles
It sort of like strep throat for horses, but it looks way worse. Fiona didn't abscess in the nodes you have to lance and drain...thank goodness. However, she drained through her nose and that can call something called chrondroids. I have to call the vet today and find out if she has to go into the vet (yay trailering! NOT) to get scoped and flushed.
The vet put her on antibiotics for 5 days and that has DEFINITELY helped. She got the lightest case of any horse in the barn that I have seen. She's been back to normal with the exception of her weight which is back down again. :(
If there is an up-side, this downtime has given me plenty of extra hours to read and watch horse training videos. I found a guy named Rick Gore. I watched a few of the videos on his youtube channel. He had some interesting stuff on herd dynamics and he clearly loves his horses. His language is colorful and I am sure a lot of people listen to him and think "This guy is a complete jerk!". If you can get past the language and the goofy laugh, he actually has some really good advice.
I find the herd dynamics interesting. There's definitely stuff to be learned by watching and knowing a herd of horses. They completely rely on order and hierarchy. The leader is always tested, and is required to remain vigilant. There's one video that talks about her dynamics that I found fascinating. Watch what happens when Rick leaves the herd without a leader. This is a strong indicator of how important a strong leader is to a horse.
That's all for now!
Fiona's riding was going pretty well before she got sick. We had about half a dozen successful rides and one time where she bolted on me. Good news though! I stayed on, I got her stopped (got good reviews on my one-rein stop), and I kept riding. I was a wreck!, but I kept going.
Fiona did go to the obstacle clinic, but it was kind of short lived. She lunged over the stuff on the ground just fine after she circled a few times. I have never seen a horse avoid stepping on something and still look as "refined" as she does. She is SUCH a girl! I knew the white curtain obstacle would get her before we even started. It is basically a white shower curtain liner cut into strips that flaps in the wind. She did ok in the arena...just checking stuff out and stood their calmly. I handed her off to Sam, my trainer, and she walked her up pretty close to the evil shower curtain of death. Fiona tried SO HARD to not be scared. She started shifting her back end around just a bit. Then she bolted. Sam tried to step in and stop her, but Fiona ran her over. :(
We caught her and Sam took her to a roundpen. I lunged her in there for about 45 mins. She was FIRED UP! when she got in there, but she settled down after a bit. That's when Sam cleared the arena so she could work with "That Arabian" as one person put it. She got her to do some good things like walking over stuff.
Another VERY interesting development; Fiona LOVES cows!!...and they love her! Go friggin' figure?!?!! Cows are the only thing I have ever seen her sniff and step into, instead of shying away from. It was great!. Sam taught me to lung Fiona in circles and move the cows with her. It was really fun.
Oh and I started riding in the drill team at the stable! I am riding a different horse, an arabian names Zach! He is cute and friendly. I am grateful for his assistance while I am still getting Fiona ready. I am really hoping to ride her in the final show in the fall, but we shall see.
Now onto the bad news....ugh..
I told Sam, a few weeks ago that Fiona seemed depressed. She was also starting to toss her head during bridling, which she hadn't done in a very long time. About a week after I said that, strangles!
For those of you that do not know what strangles is, here's an interesting run-down on it: Strangles
It sort of like strep throat for horses, but it looks way worse. Fiona didn't abscess in the nodes you have to lance and drain...thank goodness. However, she drained through her nose and that can call something called chrondroids. I have to call the vet today and find out if she has to go into the vet (yay trailering! NOT) to get scoped and flushed.
The vet put her on antibiotics for 5 days and that has DEFINITELY helped. She got the lightest case of any horse in the barn that I have seen. She's been back to normal with the exception of her weight which is back down again. :(
If there is an up-side, this downtime has given me plenty of extra hours to read and watch horse training videos. I found a guy named Rick Gore. I watched a few of the videos on his youtube channel. He had some interesting stuff on herd dynamics and he clearly loves his horses. His language is colorful and I am sure a lot of people listen to him and think "This guy is a complete jerk!". If you can get past the language and the goofy laugh, he actually has some really good advice.
I find the herd dynamics interesting. There's definitely stuff to be learned by watching and knowing a herd of horses. They completely rely on order and hierarchy. The leader is always tested, and is required to remain vigilant. There's one video that talks about her dynamics that I found fascinating. Watch what happens when Rick leaves the herd without a leader. This is a strong indicator of how important a strong leader is to a horse.
That's all for now!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Whoa, I fell off the blogging truck
So it's been almost 2 months since my last post. That could be evidence that Fiona and I have made absolutely no progress whatsoever, but IT'S NOT! The truth is we have made amazing strides in the last 2 months. It's been almost too much to keep up with and that pesky job I have to maintain in order to support my horse habit, I haven't had much time to write.
Let me see where I left off here. Fiona was starting lessons with Samantha Lynch (http://www.samanthalynch.com/) and the first day was rough. Fiona didn't even want to be saddled, much less be ridden. Sam was able to muscle through and get the ride to happen. Since that time, Sam has been riding her 2-3 times a week. I have been doing groundwork for most of that time a couple of days per week. So Fiona's been getting a pretty good workout.
So a few weeks ago, on 1/28 I had what I would consider my first successful ride on Fiona. It was short and uneventful. It was so uneventful it was almost anti-climactic. It sort of felt like I went from an abusive relationship to a peaceful loving one. There was no drama, no fighting. We both just did what we were supposed to do.
Here are some very unexciting video clips of the ride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlQkHq_wZQw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL - stepping on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SDkZSQbb3Y&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL - little walking around getting used to one another.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNpOLQIMGg - trotting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNpOLQIMGg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL - more trotting toward the end of the ride
I don't know why I wasn't MORE excited about it. It's a HUGE accomplishment..I mean HUGE! Well since then we did a few groundwork lessons on the property with Sam and 2 more AMAZING riding lessons.
I even......drumroll please........... got on Fiona all by myself!!! Now that was exciting! I had Linda and Alison (a couple of lovely ladies from the stable) there for moral support and security. They were sitting there with their finger on the "9" just in case the sh*t hit the fan. It never did! The ride was great! Fiona fought me for control of her head a bit but for the most part it was a raging success. I have to say, I was pretty excited about that one. After the ride, Fiona even stood in the same place for about 10 minutes while I talked to Alison and Linda. She even ate hay out of the back of LINDA'S GOLF CART! This is the same cart she wouldn't even walk by calmly in August!!! It's crazy!
The 2nd and 3rd riding lessons were both great. We are both very comfortable with one another. Her trot and walk fit will with my riding style. She's not too fast, which everyone was really worried about. She actually STOPS if I get off balance or do something that confuses her. I will take that over a bolt any day!!
Our next big step is an obstacle clinic on March 12th, led by Samantha. I will probably lead Fiona from the ground for most of it. I am planning for her to be a rockstar though. I am going to saddle her up first and then if she does well, I will ride her on the obstacles.
We also had an interesting little lesson in respect with regard to food. Fiona tried to run my down to get to an empty bowl because she's never really been forced to have manner around mealtime. I backed the horse up about 15-20 times before she finally just stood there waiting for permission to move forward. It was a big step forward for us I think.
I feel like I am finally starting to understand how to gain her respect and trust...and confidence.
Wish us luck on the obstacles!!! Meta is going to come to the clinic and take pictures and video!!!
Steph
Let me see where I left off here. Fiona was starting lessons with Samantha Lynch (http://www.samanthalynch.com/) and the first day was rough. Fiona didn't even want to be saddled, much less be ridden. Sam was able to muscle through and get the ride to happen. Since that time, Sam has been riding her 2-3 times a week. I have been doing groundwork for most of that time a couple of days per week. So Fiona's been getting a pretty good workout.
So a few weeks ago, on 1/28 I had what I would consider my first successful ride on Fiona. It was short and uneventful. It was so uneventful it was almost anti-climactic. It sort of felt like I went from an abusive relationship to a peaceful loving one. There was no drama, no fighting. We both just did what we were supposed to do.
Here are some very unexciting video clips of the ride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlQkHq_wZQw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL - stepping on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SDkZSQbb3Y&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL - little walking around getting used to one another.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNpOLQIMGg - trotting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNpOLQIMGg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL - more trotting toward the end of the ride
I don't know why I wasn't MORE excited about it. It's a HUGE accomplishment..I mean HUGE! Well since then we did a few groundwork lessons on the property with Sam and 2 more AMAZING riding lessons.
I even......drumroll please........... got on Fiona all by myself!!! Now that was exciting! I had Linda and Alison (a couple of lovely ladies from the stable) there for moral support and security. They were sitting there with their finger on the "9" just in case the sh*t hit the fan. It never did! The ride was great! Fiona fought me for control of her head a bit but for the most part it was a raging success. I have to say, I was pretty excited about that one. After the ride, Fiona even stood in the same place for about 10 minutes while I talked to Alison and Linda. She even ate hay out of the back of LINDA'S GOLF CART! This is the same cart she wouldn't even walk by calmly in August!!! It's crazy!
The 2nd and 3rd riding lessons were both great. We are both very comfortable with one another. Her trot and walk fit will with my riding style. She's not too fast, which everyone was really worried about. She actually STOPS if I get off balance or do something that confuses her. I will take that over a bolt any day!!
Our next big step is an obstacle clinic on March 12th, led by Samantha. I will probably lead Fiona from the ground for most of it. I am planning for her to be a rockstar though. I am going to saddle her up first and then if she does well, I will ride her on the obstacles.
We also had an interesting little lesson in respect with regard to food. Fiona tried to run my down to get to an empty bowl because she's never really been forced to have manner around mealtime. I backed the horse up about 15-20 times before she finally just stood there waiting for permission to move forward. It was a big step forward for us I think.
I feel like I am finally starting to understand how to gain her respect and trust...and confidence.
Wish us luck on the obstacles!!! Meta is going to come to the clinic and take pictures and video!!!
Steph
Monday, January 3, 2011
Off roadin' for the holidays
Since this blog has mostly been dedicated to Fiona, I am going to go off course a little this time. In short, Fiona is fine. I watched Samantha ride her today and it all went very well. She saddles Fiona in the stall and then bridles her out in the roundpen. Fiona's still sportin' an attitude about certain things, but no major misbehaving.
Anyway, these holidays have been WEIRD! We went to NC to visit my wife's family and experience our first white Christmas together. Hickory, NC hadn't had a white Christmas since 1947, so I believe this one was just for us! While on the trip, both my wife and I got some super virus similar to bronchitis but like amped up big time. We are both still hacking and coughing away. That's been a pretty major bummer, but not really that weird since lot's of people get sick when they go on vacation. I also got my wallet stolen. At first we thought we just lost it, but I found out today there were charges on my AMEX card so someone clearly just took it. Jerks! The charges were for gas and food, so it's sort of hard to be mad at them, but it's still crappy.
Here's the weird part; I have heard of the following happen to people during this holiday season. 1 person got thrown off a horse and broke his ribs, 1 person had a heart attack, 1 person had a stroke and 1 person died. I am not even kidding! All of these events happened between Christmas and New Years and none of these people were over the age of 60.
I met Meta's cousin Brandy on Christmas day for the first time. She was sweet and welcoming, bubbly and fun. She introduced us to her boyfriend, Shane and her massive dog, Cane! Cane is a pitbull terrier that breaks the mold in terms of temperment. When I first saw him I thought "Are we here to have breakfast or be breakfast?" However, he was just sweet as could be, not a mean bone in his body. We had a lovely breakfast with Brandy, Shane and Brandy's parents Steve and Diane. I couldn't have asked for a more inviting home to spend Christmas morning in. We had a lovely time, chatting with everyone and enjoying the amazing southern food. While I missed my family, I felt right at home. That was the one and only time I met Brandy. A few days later, she went out and had dinner and she wasn't feeling well afterwards. She died the night of the Dec 28th, she was 32 years old. Everytime I think about it, it just takes the wind out of me. Our love and prayers go out to Steve, Diane, Shane and Cane.
I am also putting in a good word with the Big Man Upstairs for Jim, Curt, and the lovely gentleman who I met at the stable today but neglected to catch his name. May good health return to your ailing bodies and may the love of your family and friends fill your hearts. Let's hope the rest of 2011 is better than the end of 2010.
Anyway, these holidays have been WEIRD! We went to NC to visit my wife's family and experience our first white Christmas together. Hickory, NC hadn't had a white Christmas since 1947, so I believe this one was just for us! While on the trip, both my wife and I got some super virus similar to bronchitis but like amped up big time. We are both still hacking and coughing away. That's been a pretty major bummer, but not really that weird since lot's of people get sick when they go on vacation. I also got my wallet stolen. At first we thought we just lost it, but I found out today there were charges on my AMEX card so someone clearly just took it. Jerks! The charges were for gas and food, so it's sort of hard to be mad at them, but it's still crappy.
Here's the weird part; I have heard of the following happen to people during this holiday season. 1 person got thrown off a horse and broke his ribs, 1 person had a heart attack, 1 person had a stroke and 1 person died. I am not even kidding! All of these events happened between Christmas and New Years and none of these people were over the age of 60.
I met Meta's cousin Brandy on Christmas day for the first time. She was sweet and welcoming, bubbly and fun. She introduced us to her boyfriend, Shane and her massive dog, Cane! Cane is a pitbull terrier that breaks the mold in terms of temperment. When I first saw him I thought "Are we here to have breakfast or be breakfast?" However, he was just sweet as could be, not a mean bone in his body. We had a lovely breakfast with Brandy, Shane and Brandy's parents Steve and Diane. I couldn't have asked for a more inviting home to spend Christmas morning in. We had a lovely time, chatting with everyone and enjoying the amazing southern food. While I missed my family, I felt right at home. That was the one and only time I met Brandy. A few days later, she went out and had dinner and she wasn't feeling well afterwards. She died the night of the Dec 28th, she was 32 years old. Everytime I think about it, it just takes the wind out of me. Our love and prayers go out to Steve, Diane, Shane and Cane.
I am also putting in a good word with the Big Man Upstairs for Jim, Curt, and the lovely gentleman who I met at the stable today but neglected to catch his name. May good health return to your ailing bodies and may the love of your family and friends fill your hearts. Let's hope the rest of 2011 is better than the end of 2010.
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